They Call You My Better Half (Virtues Hatching)

[Ember]

"What?" The eggs are hatching. "Now?" No, a sevenday from now. Yes now! Eikane didn't much like when Eikask had eggs. She became even more demanding and short tempered. He did love the gold but she could be just plain rediculous. Her ambition completely made up for his lack of one. "Then what are you waiting for? Call the candidates for your precious eggs." And precious they were, though the gold wouldn't admit that to anyone but the Harper. She genuinely liked her babies. She'd bring them to the top with her, along with her silly siblings and the others...maybe not Cerysk though. Hated that one, trying to steal her Pidesk.

As Eikane set about getting the wherlings' first meal ready, Eikask tilted her head back and let out a howl. All within the apartments would know her babies were hatching but she also accompanied her howl with a reach of her mind in the direction of the candidate barracks. She latched onto any of the minds she could reach and roughly shoved the image of eggs in their minds. Come on, humans. Eikane sighed. Because random images of eggs always made sense to asleep or half asleep people. Words, words. Something whers weren't so good at. Salamandyrs were, though. Nocturne refused him before he even had the chance to ask so he changed his question. "Nocturne, could you get Dementia to...maybe?" Will try, the blue said, reaching out for his mate. 'Mensya. 'Kask things break. Could call?

It was a request though it was also easy to mistake as an order. For those not accustomed to the blue's rough speech when he wasn't trying to be rude, he often came across that was anyways. Not that he cared much if anyone took offense. Eikane was finishing getting things set up as the candidates started to arrive. "I'm only going to say all this once, so pass it on to any of the candidates who come in after you," The goldhandler said when he noticed there were a few candidates already present. "These are baby whers. They are clumsy and they can be violent if they don't think you're good enough for them. Got it? At least make a small effort to avoid getting clawed, bitten, or trampled. If one picks you, feed it. You also may want to give it your blood, it makes the bond stronger. That one -" he paused to point out the smug gold weaving in and out of her eggs, checking on them "- forcefully took my blood. That way's more painful. End of explanation, spread out and don't piss off the gold."

Okay, yes, some of Eikask's edginess was rubbing off on him. So what. He'd had minimal sleep in the past few days. The candidates could deal with it. The queen blinked in his direction before snorting. Silly Hers. He was always perfect, just as she was. Finished checking on her eggs, Eikask drifted away from them a little to watch the candidates and the other whers present. Much to her distaste, that nasty Cerysk was present too. Yuck, yuck, yuck. She would do something about the green but Hers was adamant that she not be so unreasonable. What, exactly, was so unreasonable about hating the strange green who had come from who knows where? Her attention shifted quickly from the green to the eggs as a sharp crack was heard. Which one...?

----

Prudence: Hatched Green - Impressed to Emoyan
Justice: Hatched Blue - Impressed to Kalaht
Temperance: Hatched Brown - Impressed to Hinsero
Courage: Hatched Blue - Impressed to Nysania
Faith: Hatched Blue - Impressed to Porita
Hope: Hatched Brown - Impressed to Zemaren
Love: Hatched Green - Impressed to Faolan

((Yes, Ceryl and Cerysk are there. Also, if you don't tell me not to I'm going to assume your candidates are free to maim or not as I see fit.))

[Sheari]

It was dark. Very dark but darkness was no deterrent to the wandering girl. The whers interested her and she was determined to find one, just to watch it! Moving silently, bare feet on cold stone in the night, Emiliah took to fright when the howl was loosed. Clinging to the wall she looked around, eyes wide, searching the shadows. Eggs, entered her mind and it took a moment for her to realize what was going on. Tentatively at first, then more sure, she moved toward the direction the noise had come from and entered the room.

The clutch was there, clear as day, as was the gold weaving in and out of the eggs. The man nearby spoke and she listened half-heartedly. Again, she was at a wher clutch (it looked like the same gold too, but she wasn't sure if there were any other gold whers), and again she wasn't exactly invited. Awkward? No, Emiliah was used to being where she wasn't, and for the most part people ignored her. She'd never harmed anyone and thus far she'd never been harmed. The trust for the usual people had been built and she felt more comfortable away from her drudge-family.

"Clumsy, violent babies. Feed them and give them blood if they want you," she repeated to assure the man she'd heard. Whether he cared or not was up to him as she took an out-of-the-way position near the eggs. "Don't make the gold mad," she finished, eying Eikask from her spot. She thought the gold to be rather pretty but knew no way of telling her or if she would care. A crack from the clutch turned Emiliah's attention to it. Hope rose within her but she fought it down and tried to kill it. She was not a candidate last she knew, she wasn't supposed to be here, but she wanted to be here, and would leave when the eggs were all hatched or she was told to go.

Maybe she'd finally know what Kalierre had been talking about that dreary day in the tower.

[Requiem]

'Kask thinks break. It took Dementia a few moments - and a questioning pulse to Hers - to figure out what that meant. (Yes, she went out of her way to forget that there was another gold with her own set of eggs.) Then she resisted calling because they weren't her eggs. Dmitri's patient annoyance - if two such words could be paired together so easily - eventually incited her to follow through with Nocturne's request.

Will, she responded shortly to the blue. Demanding golds making demands of her mate to make demands of her. Who did they think they were? This of course required her to exit the apartments so her broadcast would reach further. Pushy glitter-ugly nightbeast's egglets hatch. Stupids no come now, no have nightbeasts. Means wake wake stupid slugheads.

Well, that meant he should go too, he supposed. Dmitri and Dmisk entered the apartments a couple minutes later, having not ventured too far out tonight. The pair slipped into the room, Dmisk greeting Eikask briefly before slinking around toward the back corner where he could see everything clearly. The scarred blue was very protective of these eggs. There might even be one or two whers in here who could help him hold his territory. Now wouldn't that be nice?

Faolan wasn't the quickest to get out of bed, though he'd awoken instantly at the intrusive mental push. The words that followed clarified it. Taking the time to lace up his boots and find an unwrinkled shirt, he ventured slowly forth from the barracks. Now Faolan did want to Impress for a few reasons. But the irony inherent in all that was he hadn't actually seen a wher before. That made this little journey a bit surreal.

Upon entering, his eyes flicked to Eikane, the flicker of a frown touching his lips. But then the slender man strode further into the room, drifting around to where he wouldn't be in anyone else's way.

[Rei]

Nysania had the perhaps unfortunate duty of being attending healer at the wher hatching. Part of her was almost positive that it was just Kalierre being spiteful but what could you really do? She was the new one in the place. The woman was really trying her hardest to keep from steeping on toes but the immaturity of it all was getting kind of old. It was tense in the infirmary and Kalierre really was not helping her feel welcome at all.

Nysania had started defaulting to spending more time with the apprentices and totally ignoring the other healers. If they all wanted to act like snotty teenagers she’d let them. Besides she was already winning over a few of the apprentices by just showing some interest in them. It was easy to pick which ones she could manipulate. For example Erilena seemed not to like Serissa very much and it was easy to get the pretty little blonde talking and more open once Nysania had showed some concern. Maybe it was manipulative but if she could at least get some of the apprentices to give her the time of day she could always use them to strengthen her hold on what little was hers. Perhaps in time the other woman would get less bitter. If not, then it was okay. She’d take what apprentices she needed and work separately if that was what was required. No way she was going to throw in the towel just because some of them decided there needed to be a pissing contest of sorts.

Gathering her supplies Nysania made it to the apartments with haste. For a moment or two she stayed in the doorway listening to Eikane her eyes automatically going to the gold fussing with her eggs. At least the gave decent of not completely kind nor proper instructions. Hopefully this would go alright. The woman had never been to any type of hatching before so it was all a curiosity really. Holding her bag up so that the gold handler would recognize her as a healer she took a position leaning against one of the walls. Nysania wasn’t terribly close to the clutch but she was close enough to see the whole thing clearly. Really should have thought to bring one of the appreciates with her just in case. But well there was no hope for it now. Her eyes flicked to the others attending the hatching. So far a rather loose and small group.

[Ruby]

Hinsero was asleep. Given his status as a day-person, this wasn't out of character. Heart was curled up in her usual place literally on the Candidate's heart, snoring just the tiniest bit (although of course there would be consequences if anyone were to so much as suggest that she was capable of snoring). Together, they were the picture of peace and tranquility, both soundly in dreamland. Of course, it couldn't last.

Eikask's howl and mental push roused Heart, who propped herself up on her front legs, yawned, frilled absently in the Gold's general direction, and promptly went back to sleep. Eikask had better watch herself, that little intrusion had put her on the Green's naughty list... probably forever. Hinsero slept blissfully on, dreaming suddenly of eggs. Dementia's call, though, got Heart's attention. Her mother wanted their attention now. While Heart may never exactly love or respect her mother, she understood that it was Dementia who had produced her and her siblings. The three that mattered, anyway. While she wouldn't obey Dementia simply because she was gold and pushy, she did feel a grudging obligation to the salamandyr.

Alright, fine. Hinsero would go to the hatching, as much as she hated the idea of even risking that he might get one of the inferior beasts, her debt to Dementia would be cleared. Now the only problem was waking Hers. A bite to the soft skin of his neck would do it. She snaked forward, snapping at the place she'd chosen, then returned instantly to her curl, stretching and yawning again as if she'd just woken up. "Wha?" A very sleepy Hinsero asked, adding, "What time is it?"

My lady mother invites us to attend the hatching of the night-beasts, Hinsero my love, she whispered, keeping her mind-voice low (as if she'd ever project to the other fools in the barracks). If it had not been Dementia herself that requested our presence, I would have let you sleep, but... She trailed off, cocking her head at the Candidate. It's a hatching, I should go either way! he thought at her, taking the time to place her gently on the bed next to him before he bolted upright, scampering for clothes, boots, and jacket.

Within minutes he'd made it to the apartments, fast enough to catch Eikane's instructions. Nysania he knew from the infirmary, so she got a smile and a wave; Faolan and Emiliah he only knew from lessons and seeing them around. Heart, although fuming internally, showed only collected calm to the world from her perch on his shoulder. Just let one of them try to take him away from her. She'd show them.

Across the room, Piden leaned in so he could whisper in Ceryl's ear. "Heartless is really living up to his name tonight, hmmm?" he asked, gesturing slightly in Eikane's direction. "I'm eternally thankful Eikask decided Roisk was a better mate, and nothing has yet made the poor choice of selecting Shells. Pidesk had me about ready to die of nerves when he was the sire." Luckily Shells was not in attendance tonight. Pidesk, however, was, curled blissfully around Cerysk. The thought hadn't even crossed the Bronze's mind that Eikask might be displeased by this show of affection - she had Roisk, and Cerysk wasn't even a mate, just a sister-love. They were just friends sharing the excitement of a hatching together; surely Eikask could see that?

[dragon]

It was the middle of the night when the call came. But that was to be expected, given that this was a wher hatching. Emoyan had been expecting the call as well, given that he'd been warned in advance. It was an event of note, and events of note needed recording. He was a man with altogether too much free time on his hands anymore, and was little more than just a Harper. So being a Harper he would do.

And Harpers recorded things. Especially when expressly invited to attend them. Though why he had been expressly invited, Emoyan wasn't entirely clear on. Maybe it was because of a combination of factors. He was a Harper, he didn't have anything else to do really, and he was also old enough to not be an interference with the event itself.

So when he was awakened out of a half-sleep by Skink shrieking at the wall in the direction of the wher handler apartments and Rascal sleepily yawning, Emoyan knew what was going on. Catching Skink with one hand he stuffed the minature menace into a pocket and buttoned it shut. Rascal flitted to his shoulder after he shrugged a shirt on, and wrapped his tail around Emoyan's neck to go back to sleep. Buttoning the shirt, Emoyan took the few moments that were required to be presentable, even if the whole place was going to be so dark it wouldn't matter anyway. Picking up a thong-bound booklet of parchments and a handful of parchment-wrapped charcoal sticks, he headed out.

He'd already acquired sketches of the eggs themselves a few days ago, recording each one and assigning them designations (with Eikane's help naturally). Now he would just record which ones hatched what, who they impressed to, what they were, and hopefully also get sketches of the hatchlings. Thankfully, with all the avian sketches he'd been doing lately of the wild creatures, he had gotten pretty good at fast sketching. That, and also at sketching while not looking at his work. Which was going to be quite invaluable in this instance, where seeing things was going to be a trick to start with.

When he reached the chamber, he stayed near the wall as he made his way around, noting who had arrived and who had not, both as spectators and participants. A few quick notes were scribbled on the front page, where all of the quick notes would go. Sketches would go on the pages to follow. Later, when it wasn't the middle of the sharding night he'd go back over the notes and compile them into a comprehensible, legible, and readable record.

"Good evening." He said to Eikane, aware that the fellow was probably beside himself right now.

[Ember]

Nocturne flicked what might have been gratitude Dementia's way before leaving the gold be again. He'd chosen to chase her because she required little from him. Couldn't really say the same about her bonded but whatever. Eikane smiled a bit awkwardly as one of the candidates parroted him. Interesting girl. When Dmitri arrived he drifted over to the bluehandler. "And so it begins again," he commented dryly. He distinctly remembered Eikask's hatching. It had been an event to remember largely because neither of them were interested in Impressing anything. At least this Hatching they had a Healer on hand. Maybe she'd Impress? A Healer among the wherhandlers would be handy. Emoyan was met with a genuine smile and a "Likewise, Emoyan. Glad you came."

Eikask returned Dmisk's greeting though she didn't bother communicating any further. She had a great big soft spot for her blue brother, even if he was an annoying clod, but she still wouldn't bother going to him first. If he wanted to talk with her he could damn well approach her first. Besides, she wasn't even approaching Pidesk...because that meant also approaching Cerysk and Hers was still telling her 'no'. Eikane himself wasn't even sure the gold wouldn't do some serious harm to the diminutive green if he gave her half the chance. It wasn't like he could keep a constant eye on her either. He briefly eyed the woman bonded to the green before returning his attention to the clutch. Doubtlessly just like everyone else present.

The Courage Egg had just shattered magnificently. What stood in its place was a...was that a purple wher? Since there was no such thing they were left to assume he was in fact a blue. He let out a greeting bark to all, watching them all as if sizing them up. Which, in all likelihood, he was. He started to make his first steps only to trip and fall head first into the Temperance Egg. Among the shards of the second egg to break lay the COurage Blue and the Temperance Brown. Looking more than a little dazed, the brown let out half a growl and moved to dislodge the blue from his back...only to abruptly give up.

The blue mrrruped at the brown curiously though he scrambled off his back all the same. Didn't know how to classify the other male just yet. The Courage Blue had seen all he needed to see of the people present though. It was a shame that woman was already claimed...oh but there was that one and that one too. Well, he already had his choice. He tripped and stumbled and feel a couple of times making his way towards the one person he needed. Eikask snorted in mild amusement. See? There were other clumsy ones besides her. The blue was almost at his chosen when the Temperance Brown made a half hearted sound from the clutch.

Did his brother want this one? The blue inquired. The brown seemed to consider it for a long moment before affirming that he did indeed want that one. The Courage Blue decided that this was quite interesting. He did not wish to relinquish his choice to his brother. The blue turned back towards the nest, crouching low a few feet in front of the one he wanted. If you want this human, come and get her! He backed down from no challenges! The Temperance Brown finally got to his feet - ah, that relieved that bit of shell pushing into his belly - and plodded towards the blue at an almost painfully slow pace. To make it worse he tripped and fell.

And he didn't get up. Fine, fine. His blue brother could have that one. He'd pick someone else after all. Rather pleased, the Courage Blue finished approaching his new bonded. Hello Protected Number One. I am Nyssk and I am Yours. Or rather, you are Mine, the blue introduced himself to Nysania. She should have no problems. He was the embodiment of perfection, after all. The Temperance Brown meanwhile seemed to have decided Impressing or even moving was too much of an effort and continued to lay sprawled out on the ground.

Ceryl's mouth twitched upwards in amusement at Piden's seeming nickname for Eikane. Her voice was entirely too serious though when she said, "Can you blame him? He's bonded to that." Though her tone betrayed nothing ill towards the gold she gestured at, her language was indicitave of her dislike. The gold had been making threats towards her Cerysk and the woman didn't like it, especially since there was no way the green would bear separation from Pidesk again. Cerysk was blissfully unaware of why Eikask hated her so. Indeed, she often forgot the fact that the gold didn't like her. She licked Pidesk affectionately as the babies broke shell. Look, look, so cuuuuute.

[Ember]

Courage Blue
Bonded to: Nysania
Name: Nyssk
Color: Blue #4B0082 #5A4FCF
Based On: Cave Lion
Physical Appearance: This wher looks distinctly...purple. The true name for his colour is indigo but all the same, he looks rather unusual compared to most blues. He's not solid a solid shade of this indigo all over his body but the variations are not too great either. The tip of his tail has a darker shade of this colour, and he has odd half and broken stripes on his legs, more so on the back legs than the front. As well as those stripes, he has large rosette markings on his lowers legs and on his sides in a clear iris colour. Curiously, there are none present anywhere else on his body. In fact, that is the extent of his markings.

He has a very sturdy build, capable of a lot of power for a blue. There is quite a lot of muscle packed onto him, though his length allows him to look well filled out rather than bulky or thick. He is also quite large for a blue. He's not quite the size of a brown but he is larger than most blues. He's quite gifted at conserving his stamina and so usually lasts quite some time while doing any strenuous activity. This blue has a square-ish muzzle and head. Actually, he's a bit square-ish all over, though it's most defined on his head. His claws are an especially fearsome part of him. When he chooses to fight all should beware of his wicked sharp claws which he uses excellently. His wings are an average size and a little narrow.

To say this blue moves like a feline is the best description for it. He moves gracefully and with the sense of purpose of a predator. However, none of this grace will come easily at first. He will be incredibly clumsy as a hatchling and prone to much falling. As he grows older he'll gain the proper control over his limbs though. He is not the quickest of blues - he can sprint quickly enough but his speed will very rapidly decrease. He relies on his stamina and power to pull him through things rather than his speed. He's also usually land-bound. He can glide, sure enough, but his narrow wings and considerable weight will always make gliding short and rather pointless in his mind.

Personality: This blue is without a doubt brave. While he's not fearless, he strongly believes that fears must be faced and overcome through either strength of will or body. He is not one to take rediculous risks but His will have to be careful to make sure he doesn't push himself too hard in the effort to overcome any pain or physical hardship. He also will not stop in the face of shame or discouragement though they do affect him. He'll almost blindly follow what he believes in despite the opposition of others. His beliefs tend to lean towards protecting the weak (to the point of compeltely ignoring and/or abandoning the strong) and making everyone face their problems and fears.

Oddly enough, his desire to have others act like him and be courageous is actually caused by narcissism. He genuinely thinks he's the best thing since Mr. Wishbone jokes. This makes him taking a mate pretty much impossible as he'll always love himself the most. If his love was to be divided up, he'd direct five eighths to himself, two to His, and one to any female that might hold his attention at all. So, rather than say he can't take a mate, it's more correct to say not many females would tolerate his lack of attention for them. Also, while he may not love them, any gold (and I do mean any, regardless of species; this will also extend to any other females capable of producing offspring) will be treated with the utmost respect. No, they're not as good as him, but they are the mothers of the draconid world and so he might as well treat them well since they'll produce more brave beings for the world.

If you haven't guessed by now...yes, he does see himself as a leader. All those courageous beings? They ought to be led by him and protect the weak with him while striving to be the ideal creature. He has absolutely no problem expressing this opinion, or any others for that matter, either. To those who openly scorn his vision he will be most antagonistic towards. While he won't fight them physically he certainly won't hold back on words or growls and snarls. Basically, there exists five classifications in the blue's mind: Protected, Protector (Follower), Mother, Non-Entity, and Enemy. That is how he sees the world's creatures. He also tends to call them by those titles. For example, His would be Protected Number One and the next weak creature he comes across would be Protected Number Two. His might have a lot of trouble figuring out just who the blue is referring to at any given time.

[Rowana]

Roisk sat proudly at the edge of the sands, watching with calm, pleasant eyes. He hummed deep in his throat as the eggs began to sway and crack. Unlike Eikask, he in quite a good mood. He offered each candidate a look of approval as they came. Such a fine bunch for his offspring to choose from. It was good to have others in attendance too. He woofed greetings to Pidesk and the other adult whers, his tail curling happily. Then he purred soothingly for Eikask. She had such handsome children, he assured her. Roivao slipped inside just as the first eggs starting hatching, and took a spot near Emoyan and the others. He was a bit surprised to see Emoyan here, but perhaps he needed the company. Roi waved with a small smile, watching as first a purplish blue then a brown hatched. It was going well so far. Hopefully it would stay that way.

~

Porita woke shaking from the nightmare. Something had forced her awake this time, but what had it been? Her answer came moments later as an odd voice entered her head. She frowned, not quite understanding. This was not a dragon who spoke, and what did it even mean. A few of the other girls were getting up though and then in dawned on her. Of course, whers did not speak. It must have been the gold who had woken her. Sitting up, Porita felt her heart race and her stomach turn in knots. It was a hatching. Deftly she reached for robes and pulled them over her head. The other girls had already left and Porita still sat, taking deep breaths. It's not even dragons, she tried to tell herself. If she couldn't do this, she would be useless next time Millieth or her daughter clutched. Step by tentative step, she made her way to wher sands.

She was late. Wide eyes saw that one oddly colored blue had already chosen and a brown lay on the sands. Memories bubbled forth, but she pushed them back. Faolon was here, so she should be able to do this too. Nervous and fearful she might be punished for tardiness, Porita slipped into the back of the crowd. She could see Hinsero and others from her classes. Slowly, she let out the breath she'd been holding. She was here. Her eyes drifted to the adult whers and their handlers. Whers were beautiful in their own way, she decided, and the first hatchlings looked healthy. Maybe this hatching would be different after all.

[Sheari]

Others filtered into the room and most of them caught Eikane's instructions. Others who were other wherhandlers, and Emoyan, came and exchanged greetings before too much had happened. It wasn't the loud events that were dragon hatchings. All noise and excitement, it was dark, and mostly quiet in comparison. These children would have more humble beginnings than their larger cousins. It pleased Emiliah to know that, she connected more with it.

Clumsy indeed! One egg broke revealing a lustrous violet wher that could only be claimed as blue. She felt eyes on her as he passed his over those gathered before making his move. With a trip and a fall his assistance in helping his brother hatch made her giggle and she quickly covered her mouth to hide it. The bold blue was inquisitive, it seemed, but the pair's antics made Emiliah's other hand fly to her mouth to hide her mirth. This was funny! With their dispute settled she watched another unfold. The brown got up and accepted defeat when he, too, tripped and fell. A selection was made.

The girl watched the brown. He seemed to give up easily. If not give up, then know when he is bested. It seemed odd, because she'd only had the chances to observe the dragons and they tended to fight to the death. Then there was the issue of their hierarchy of colour. Here that seemed absent almost. As the brown lay sprawled she smiled. he certainly looked content and happy to be there, surrounded by people as he was.

A distraction caught Emiliah's eye and she carefully walked over to the frightened girl to enter. She had chosen a position at the back and once Emiliah got to her side she whispered quietly to her. "Clumsy, violent babies," she said, though so far she'd yet to see violent. "Feed them and give them blood if they want you," and once again she was unsure about the give them blood part, but she knew it was coming. "Don't anger the gold," eyes trained on the girl's face. She didn't indicate Eikask, this girl should know what she meant.

[Requiem]

Faolan's pale eyes were half-lidded as he watched the start of the Hatching. Hinsero he recognized as being at the lessons. Porita he knew. Emoyan received a truly wary look from the wher candidate, the man turning aside and hoping he'd changed enough in the intervening turns that the former bluerider wouldn't recognize him. Though why should he, really? Faolan recalled little to no contact with the man, anyway. Nysania was a new face as well. Emiliah he didn't know. She hadn't shown up to lessons, had she?

The eldest of the actual candidates in the room - not that the whers were distinguishing, considering the sort of fight over Nysania - watched the interaction for a moment before slipping further back and sitting on the floor. He wrapped his arms around his knees. It wasn't as hard as it could have been, but his mind kept wanting to wander even though it wasn't a dragon hatching. There was this odd sense that if he just glanced to the side...Fiona would be there. Eyes shining with excitement. Watching each egg crack and each dr- Right. A turn of the head did not reveal her. Of course it wouldn't. Faolan eyed the unmoving brown for a long moment and a queer smile played on the corner of his lips. Just wait. You think life's not worth the effort now...

The blue was amused. He was often amused, granted. If only silently. Could practically feel the daggers Eikask was shooting at Cerysk. If a look could make a wher drop dead...Dmisk had no qualms addressing his clutchsister across a room. He didn't need to be near her to speak to her privately, after all, and no amount of sisterly frost was going to compel him to vacate his choice position. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but note, Roisk is here. Were any of the domestic whers truly of note, anyway? (It was no secret, at least to the observant and his clutchsiblings, that Dmisk didn't care much for the whers that weren't his family. And family was defined as clutchsiblings and...to a far lesser extent...Eikask's babies.)

Dmitri noticed Emiliah's odd mumblings himself, but his attention was stolen by Eikane. Tugging idly at the single glove he wore, the younger of the harpers snorted softly. "No idiots trying to ride Eikask in the middle of it. No hatching is complete without that." His dark blue eyes flicked to Emoyan. He couldn't quite conceal the grin. Oh yes. Hello Emoyan. It just hadn't seemed right to exclude him from their little harper convention, though the punk kid who was supposed to be showing up - Zemaren - had yet to make an appearance. The bluehandler wondered if Emoyan had even thought for a moment how odd it was for him to be invited to a wher hatching to fulfill harper duties. You know, what with the other two harpers already attending.

Clumsy, niiiice babies, Dementia crooned, landing on Emiliah's shoulder. Feed them blood yours and yours forever. Won't anger gold. Then, to 'help' Emiliah out, the gold slipped down her arm and slashed at her palm, licking at the wound with a reassuring croon. On now.

[metaldawn71]

Never hearing a wher's call before, Kalaht awoke with a start. He sat up straight. Following by Dementia's cry out for the Candidates, he knew something was happening when he saw some of the wher candidate move quickly. Stone, his brown flit, chattered excitedly. Now -that's- the first. Stone never was excited about anything. The images he was trying to convey were confusing since they were going a mile a minute.

"Is it time to go, already?" Kalaht asked. Stone conveyed a "hurry" feeling by unfurling his wings and flapping them. He hopped toward the door and squawked with an urgency.

Kalaht smiled and chuckled at his antics. He got up, got washed and dressed and raced out the door. He made his way to the chamber, through the directions that Eikask had given the Candidates. He sighed heavily and entered the chamber. He saw the gold wher and he remembered that you should -never- anger the gold. He was nervous, although he hid it well. This is a first time Standing for him.

Kalaht was there to Impress but would he gain favor with the wher Queen? Only time would tell. It was dark, but not dark enough he could not see. His eyes finally adjusted to the dark.

"Evening." he said, warily to Eikane and nodded respectively toward Eikask. "Hello, my Queen. You look beautiful tonight." Kalaht wasn't rude. He was a polite boy that had been through a lot. He hoped Impression would change him. He hated to be this way. Quiet, moody and snapping at everyone. Now, wasn't the time for shenanigans, it was time for holding his tongue and not ruining it for himself, lest be mauled or just kicked out of this Hatching. His eyes turned attention to eggs.

He gazed at the eggs with amazement. His mouth opened and eyes were wide eyed.

"Wow!" he gasped. "They're amazing!" he got instantly excited and his tiredness had almost left him. The wonderful, beautiful, amazing eggs! He could not believe it! He was actually Standing for a wher. He let out a soft squeal of excitement, careful not to disturb the quiet.

[Tashe]

Zemaren grunted as he rubbed his ankle, cursing the prickling pain that ebbed up his leg. He had been up and ready a few minutes after Dementia called for them and, not wanting to be late, began to jog to the hatching. He had gotten about two-thirds of the way there before a pothole decided to snag his foot and toss him onto the ground. So there he was, sitting on the ground trying to get the will power to walk the rest of the way on his injured foot. Taking a breath, Zemaren maneuvered himself into a standing position before attempting to make any progressive actions. Putting weight on his foot was... bearable. It wasn't too badly sprained but it sure as shards still hurt. Hobbling the rest of the way to the Wherhandler Apartments, he found getting there to be more challenging than he originally expected.

Eventually he was able to find the hatching area, Zemaren wasn't entirely pleased with the fact that he was late but given the fact he couldn't really change anything... he let it be as it was. From the looks of it, two Whers had hatched in his absence, one of which already impressed. See, this is what happens when you're late, you miss things. Sometimes important things. Picking his way carefully and painfully along the edges of the arena, the young Journeyman picked a spot along the wall to stand. Not because he wanted to but because it would allow him to take weight off of his ankle. Zemaren grimaced. He'd have to make it all the way back to his cot to get something to wrap his foot. He either did it himself, or amble all the way over to the infirmary... the latter made him wince. It was definitely a farther walk, a trip he really didn't want to take.

His eyes swept across the faces in the room, settling on two of the tallest men in the room. It wasn't hard to recognize them. Dmitri and Eikane... great. Both of them were here. The harper quickly refocused his attention back onto the clutch. He would consider himself lucky if he could just stand here peacefully...

--

Nautic shifted his position as Nautsk rumbled at the hatchlings, she had been making encouraging noises the entire time they'd been out on the sands and the Greenhandler was getting annoyed. He knew that his Green had a distinct and very strong mothering instinct but sometimes it could get ridiculous. They were waiting at the very edge of one of the side tunnels, watching from the archway so that they weren't in the way of the hatching. Nautic himself was there to support Eikane, while Nautsk was there to support her clutchsister. Like always. In fact, everytime Eikane happened to look in their direction, the Handler would flash the man a thumbs up and a smile. Normally he would be out standing next to Eikane, but both he and Nautsk decided that they'd hang back so as not to crowd the Gold. Since there were a lot more Whers present at this hatching than normal. Both were content just to sit back and watch.

[Ember]

Eikask knew that her babies were gorgeous. How could they not be, coming from her? As usual she ignored the sire's part in it all. She'd done all the hard work so they were her babies. From running, to picking a mate, to carrying them...yes, all hers. Not that she broadcasted any more than her agreement with Roisk that the babies were beautiful. That wasn't really what had the gold on edge. There was the usual concern over the well being of her offspring that a gold had...but there was also intense annoyance that they stole everyone's attention from her. Even Hers wasn't paying proper attention to her.

When she was addressed directly by a human she was gracious enough to dip her head in acknowledgement (although the action was still accompanied by a smug snort). The first, besides the other whers, to actually focus on her. Then she huffed in annoyance when the boy's focus shifted to the eggs and they got a far better reaction than she did. Well fine then. Eikane chuckled softly at Dmitri's words. "I pity the fool who'd try to do so right now. Although, if you wanted to do the honours, Weed...?" Eikane jokingly offered. Dmitri was probably the only one, besides him, the gold wouldn't immediately consider mutilating for such action. Attention seeker she may be, but she still responded appropriately to perceived insults. And hey, attacking a human would put all the attention on her.

She was up to something. Nocturne may be a blue but he was intelligent. If he applied himself he could probably even get better at speaking. There was little point to that though. All he needed usually were the words to tell people off. That was neither here nor there though as he watched Dementia through His' hair. Hmm. He was loyal to His but...whatever trouble his mate might be stirring up was deemed as non-threatening to the man. The noisy gold wher attached to His might be troubled and that may inconvenience His some but not severely. Besides, Eikask ought to be able to handle things to do with her clutch. Dementia and himself did.

As a minute, two minutes went by without any further activity, Eikask stood up and approached the eggs. They weren't dead, she knew that much. Which meant the babies inside were being naughty. The Temperance Brown lifted his head enough to eye the clutch too before he lost interest. Weird siblings were weird. A soft scratching made itself heard eventually and the gold inspected the source - the Love Egg. Was the baby having some trouble with the shell, maybe? Eikask lifted a paw and clicked her claws against the shell experimentally. What happened next made the gold stumble back and nearly lose her footing.

The Love Green exploded from her egg in a frenzy of limbs, dash-stumbling away from her mother as fast as her legs would carry her. She was a surprisingly small wher considering the size of her egg...and she was also very bright. Not entirely watching where she was going the green ran headlong into Hinsero though she didn't spare him a moment's thought, scrambling up after her fall and not wary about where her claws landed. Eeeep! So scaaaary! Thankfully just hatched wherlings didn't exactly have a ton of energy and she was quickly wearing hers down. The green accidentally tripped over the Temperance Brown though she managed to keep upright. Huh? What was he doing...? Nevermind. She needed to find Hers quick or the scary things...oh the scary things!

She tentatively approached one person, reaching out adoringly with her mind. He wouldn't hurt her, right? Just...just let Faolask approach nice and slow. The green adored her Faolan now that she'd found him. Surely he could keep her safe. Back among the eggs, the Faith Egg cracked and a few pieces fell away to reveal flashes of a blue hide. A faintly puzzled croon that sounded more like a drawn out 'ooh' was emitted from the egg. Eikask, satsified and slightly disturbed by her own babies, retreated from the clutch a bit. Perhap she could admit that Roisk had done some of the work too...

[Ember]

Love Green
Bonded to: Faolan
Name: Faolask
Color: Green #76EE00 #96FF1A #CCFF66
Based On: Quagga
Physical Appearance: This green is, well…bright. She almost seems to glow in the darkness of the night. Almost being the key word. When she does glow before a Run it is very obvious and wince-inducing. Her base colour is a brilliant chartreuse green that darkens a few shades at her muzzle and around her eyes. Thankfully the patterns on her hide aren’t so much brighter as simply lighter coloured. As if someone let some of the almost glowiness bleed out. Wrapped around her legs and staining her belly is a lighter green that takes some active examination to actually notice the colour difference. Her tail evidently didn’t know which colour it wanted to be and ended up a strange mix of the main green and belly green that makes it look suspiciously like hair. Her head to her mid back are covered in zebra stripes of a green that is even lighter than that of her legs. As they get closer to the back the spaces between the stripes get larger and the colour eventually fades to the main colour. Her wings are marked by stripes as well.

She edges towards being on the small side for a green though she makes up for it in sheer strength. For all she’ll be nothing to look at when she hatches, she’ll grow into a green with wiry strength. Though she’ll naturally carry some soft flesh around her middle it is possible to build considerable muscle underneath it. She has smaller and closer together ridges than most whers, especially along her neck. Her head is a bit longer than her brethren and she has large eyes. Her claws have a tendency to go dull. Her bonded will have to sharpen them for her as a wherling but she may eventually get the knack of sharpening them on stones or whatever else she finds that works. She has perfectly proportioned wings for her size and a tail that is thick without being overly so.

This girl's movements are...odd. When she walks she tends to have an odd bounce and she keeps her neck in line with her spine. This is nothing more than a habit of hers though. She has no trouble lifting her head when she's stationary - or running. When she runs all out it's almost scary how fast she can be. She'll have no problem outrunning most greens. The larger colours? Forget it! They will not be able to catch her. For all her great speed, though, she'd only able to keep up her maximum speed for less than a minute. Her wings are easily capable of gliding though they are very rarely used.

Personality: This green has a very curious personality...she's almost always running to or from something. What you have to understand about this girl is three things: she loves running, she's extremely easily frightened, and if you manage to befriend her, she will stick to you like glue. Those three simple things define all her behaviour. Whether it's to get food or simply to go from A to B, this girl loves running so much that that's all she will do in order to move about. I mentioned that she can use her wings to glide? Yeah, she simply won't ever use them. Unless she like...manages to run off a cliff, which is pretty much impossible for her since she's always very aware of her surroundings.

Being the easily frightened wher that she is, anything surprising or any sudden movements can send her running. A particularily violent gust of wind? There she goes! Someone appearing around a corner? Same deal. Even Hers, loved as they are, will have to watch out for sudden movements. Assuming she is tired out from running away from things so much and something actually gets close to her when she's freaking out she'll buck about in fear and whatever came close runs the risk of getting her claws. Speaking of getting tired, this green does tire quite often in a night. She will frequently take naps in a corner of her room...while standing up. Oh yes. She can stand while sleeping. Actually, it's more like she can't sleep unless she's standing.

This lovey dovey wher (for she is indeed such a wher when not frightened) is typically physically in contact with ones she loves. Little nips, licking, and rubbing all go hand in hand with snuggling of course. Oh, and she has a tendency to try and gather as many of her loves at once. She even goes so far as to try and physically pull them together. She doesn't care whether they like her or her other company; she loves them and that is enough for her. This type of love is not platonic either. She sees many as her 'mates.' Polygamy, anyone?