When Atlas Shrugs (Mandyr Hatching)

[Requiem]

Miiiine, she mentally whispered as he passed. Like an echo of an echo from behind the falls. One of the many falls. This one was small, barely the length of a man's forearm in width, really just a section of a larger waterfall split in two by a large stone that had taken a route slightly apart from its sister. Behind the small stream of falling water lay an alcove, and in that alcove was draped a small mountain of silken underthings in bright, glorious colors. Not that you could really see them right now. Dementia was half-buried under lace-white panties, just her head and forelegs in sight. Miiiine, the gold whispered to Dmitri again. Not caring to address him privately in the eternal twilight - that just so happened to match the twilight of the world above at this moment - of the weyrbowl, but nevertheless wishing to keep this secret for now.

Time it is, Harperlove. The waters parted should be. Pausing in his stride, the scarred man squinted at the water. "And you propose I do that how?" BrilliantMine, think of something will, yes? That was hardly helpful at all. Naturally. The harper sighed and turned to head back toward his weyr and find something while Dementia watched the shifting eggs. Soon. The Storm and Vengeance Eggs were rocking and there was a delicate tapping from the Love Egg. Already she'd tugged at the minds of her various servants, to include The Devil, Nocturne and the sire of this particular clutch, Atlas. The Nightbeast, too, she summoned, though she touched his mind in request. Even Dementia knew when to be tactful when it came to the wher that shared the mind of Hers.

Ah, Hers was returning. Hatchlings, minions. Come. Abrupt, this broadcast to the Selenitans, but strong enough to carry for some distance. Dementia didn't feel like arguing, even as the blue wher emerged from one of the tunnels at a sedate pace and made his way toward the streaming water that hid twelve perfectly formed eggs marked in swirls of gold.

Dodekatheon Clutch

Each has its lesson; for our dreams in sooth
Come they in shape of demons, gods or elves,
Are allegories with deep hearts of truth
That tell us solemn secrets of ourselves.

Storm Egg :: Rocking
Vengeance Egg :: Rocking
Catastrophe Egg :: Unhatched
Fertility Egg :: Unhatched
Wisdom Egg :: Unhatched
Hearth Egg :: Unhatched
Divination Egg :: Unhatched
Wilderness Egg :: Unhatched
War Egg :: Unhatched
Love Egg :: Tapping from within
Industry Egg :: Unhatched
Cunning Egg :: Unhatched

[Rei]

Okay so maybe snooping around weyrs that were not yours wasn’t the most smart thing a person could do. But honestly! Er’ani swore that door had just been left open. That was just like a freaking invitation wasn’t it? Come see what secrets I hold Er’ani, that weyr had called out to him. Originally he had just wanted to stick his head in and peek around. But the sheer simplicity of the place had intrigued him. I mean really? Did whoever live here have like no preferences at all? How could someone live with so little? There really wasn’t even much to distinguish the place. No vibrant tapestries, no knickknacks, nothing to give the place flavor or interest. It was all just kind of simple.

So the albinorider had been bad and had lingered perhaps a bit too long. He had examined and wondered. Until he heard a noise in the hallway. Eyes widening the teenager bolted for the door and shot out into the hallway just as a large someone rounded the corner. Er’ani didn’t stay to find out who it was. Instead he just slowed down into a hurried walk and made for somewhere else. Maybe if he acted like he was on a mission it wouldn’t be so suspicious? At any rate he half hurried down to the weyrbowl and had just started to cross it when a noise caught his attention. Miiiine. The albinorider stopped in mid step his eyes scanning for the source of the noise but all he saw was Scar face. Then it kind of clicked. He had heard that mental tone before. Gold mandyr whatsherface.

Er’ani half stepped back into the hallway and pressed himself into a shadowy corner as he listened. Do what how? Curious he watched as Dmitri disappeared and then he emerged from his shadowy hiding place to walk out into the bowl. Casting a glance around at the sparsely populated bowl he then squinted at the small curtain of water. There maybe? Before he could go more then another step however strong hands were gripping his shirt and he yelped. Before anything else could happen the albinorider found himself suddenly upside down. What the hell? Squirming in the big man’s grip he called out. “Hey! Hey! I didn’t take anything I swear. I was just curious!” Obviously his word wasn’t good enough though. As C’oar proceeded to give him a few hard shakes he ceased his struggling. Finally the when nothing fell out of his pockets the brownrider unceremoniously dropped him. Er’ani hit the ground with a grunt rolling to his feet before he started to back up towards the waterfall, his hands out in front of him in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “The door was open I swear. I was just curious.” Eyes on the big man he didn’t really notice other people beginning to arrive. Nor did he notice the large wher emerging from the shadows not far away.

~~~~

Really he should know better then to wander off by now. Normally Sel’n didn’t worry too much about F’ur. He always showed up again. But somehow tonight it bothered him that the bluerider was gone. Maybe because he hadn’t been there when he had gotten back from lessons. In fact he hadn’t seen him all day but once briefly that morning. Not that that was too odd but you never knew. Rather then try and rouse Kaaoloth to talk to Inocenth the Weyrlingmaster decided it would just be best if he looked for the other fortian on his own. It would give him something to do anyway. Much better then just waiting around in the quiet.

As he started across the weyrbowl Sel’n took a sip from the flash he kept at his side. The brief whisperings and stirrings of mandyr speech reached his ears but he was so used to ignoring them by now that it was almost second nature to just tune them out. Still every time he heard them his heart twinged a little more. It would be so nice if all the mandyrs in the world just went mute. Then he wouldn’t have to think about Harpy everyday. But really there was no escaping it even on the days he didn’t see or hear a mandyr. So it was a moot point wasn’t it?

Before the brownrider got too far into the bowl a curious scene caught his eye. Just what in Faranth’s name was C’oar doing to that kid? Blinking in interest and maybe slight confusion he started in that direction with the intention of getting to the bottom of the matter before someone got hurt. Really now? He had heard mutterings that the albinorider was a bit of a troublemaker. But what could he have possibly done to irritate someone as calm as C’oar? From the corner of his eye Sel’n caught the movement of some other people approaching though it didn’t really register as something to be concerned about. They were probably just curious about the altercation as well.

[Rei]

(Posting this for the Teddy since she doesn't know if she would be able to get it up otherwise <333)

Someone had stirred things. Who it was, he didn't know yet. Yet being the key word. C'oar was not one to have much of a particularity about things, he really didn't even own much. But it did bother him to know that someone had been messing with what there was. Not having much, it was quite easy to tell when things had been shifted. Especially so recently as for some of it to still be moving.

Pendulums didn't swing on their own, especially not when what they were hung from was not quite attached to the stone it sat upon. It just ... didn't happen. As a result, C'oar went a-hunting for the culprit. Whoever it was, they were close by. Possibly disturbed by his arrival at an atypical hour.

Tracking really wasn't C'oar's thing. Certainly not one of the best things for him. But it wasn't the worst either, even when the area to be tracked through was Weyr halls and such. It wasn't as hard as it would seem, since he wasn't following actual tracks. With Storm ranging out ahead of him, it was easy enough to follow the minor stirs that were created when someone dashed through an area.

With such help, it wasn't hard for him to gain ground on his quarry. Eventually C'oar made good ground when his quarry made their way into the bowl. Aware that while he was fairly quick, he wasn't going to be running anyone down any time soon, C'oar had other plans than just outright chasing this person. Far sneakier, he worked his way closer without directly chasing in any way. While it was almost impossible for someone of his stature to actually sneak in any way shape or fashion with so little cover, diversion was still a very useful tool.

In any event, it worked. Once his quarry was within arms reach, that was all there was to it. C'oar's left hand flashed out and caught the skinny fellow by his shirt and hauled him over by it. With not a word at all, he turned the lad upside down and hung him by his ankles to give him a solid shake to see what might fall out of his pockets. Interrogation could happen later. Like ... what in the world was he doing in there anyway?

So focused on what he was doing, C'oar wasn't terribly concerned with anything else that was going on in the vicinity, though he certainly wouldn't have been anywhere near there had he noticed the nature of the local activity.

He hated salamandyrs.

That and yes, it was perfectly normal to trap skinny people and shake them upside down.

[Zephyr]

What’s going on? There was something going on in the weyrbowl. Leilani couldn’t quite tell what it was. There was always something going on somewhere. Too much for her to always be present everywhere something was happening. Still, it didn’t make her any less curious. Luckily for her, Kate was laying on the edge of her ledge, paws hanging over the edge, head gazing lazily over the edge. Her eyes were whirling with serene blues and greens, clearly content at the moment. That gold salamandyr is making a fuss. I think she might have eggs. Katearath said, tail flicking lightly. This in and of itself wasn’t enough to interest the dragon. She couldn’t care less for the salamandyr eggs. Leilani, on the other hand, was a little more interested. She had only attended one salamandyr hatching, but none of the babies had found her suitable. The brunette girl was deciding whether it was a good idea to risk another hatching, if the eggs were indeed hatching when Kate suddenly perked, her voice rumbling with amusement. Her tail flicked happily. I think Lketh’s is getting into trouble again. Perhaps you should go help him out? Kate said with a sidelong glance back at her rider, who was lounging on her couch.

Lani snorted at the idea. When is Er’ani NOT getting into trouble? Still… She rose to walk over, gazing curiously out of the weyr. She stood next to her dragon, hand absently scratching the green’s scales. I miss Lketh… Came the green’s words, much softer than before. Lani sighed. You miss all the dragons from our weyrling class. The dragon crooned an affirmation , rubbing her head under Lani’s hand for several seconds before the girl made a decision. I’m going down to see him. Hopefully he won’t need help. Kate nodded her head and yawned widely, curling her body into a ball, tail wrapped firmly around her head, obscuring it from view. Leilani knew better than to ask her green for a ride down to the weyr. She knew what the dragon’s answer would be, and it was just better to walk anyway.

Scratching Kate’s head again, Leilani turned and left her weyr, making her way down to the weyrbowl. By the time the weyrling got to where her friend was, C’oar had released the teenager. Grinning widely, Lani put her hands out slightly, wrinkling her nose a little. “ What’d you do this time, Er’ani? Steal something?” She knew that probably wasn’t true, but she couldn’t help but jab fun at the boy who always seemed to be getting into trouble.

---

Olivia was becoming a permanent fixture at most hatchings. It didn't matter that two pets had already found her suitable enough for her, she just loved seeing things born. Maybe one day she would want to train to become a healer? Truthfull, it was probably already too late for the girl to begin training, but it didn't matter. As long as she attended hatchings, it didn't matter to her whether she actually impressed or not.

She had been alerted to the hatching by Impala. The spotty flit had been hanging around Dmitri, probably trying to dig up whatever juicy gossip she could when she had heard the exchange between golden salamandyr and owner. The news of a hatching had excited the girl quite a bit. Merry was curled up on Liv's shoulder. It was getting easier and easier for the bird to ignore Liv's erratic movements, and the blonde girl made her way to the weyrbowl without the razorclaw unfurling his fluffy wings from around his body.

As he made her way to the waterfall Impala had showed Liv in her dreams, Olivia lingered on the outskirts of the gathering, not quite tall enough to see around some of the taller people. Slightly frustrated, Impala finally got an idea and chirruped softly at her girl, scaling the people slightly before the firelizard found a perch on some tall man's head. Settling down with her wings folded, Impala watched and waited, flashing Olivia pictures of the scene with Dementia and Dimitri. It was almost like Olivia could see perfectly well.

And hopefully the person she was sitting on didn't mind the weight of a spotty green firelizard.

---

For once, it hadn't been Au'st who had been sleeping. Oth was curled tightly together with his twin. Ever since S'rring's silly bronze salamandyr had won the gold's flight, the twins had been acting on. Impressing the brown had slightly raised Gus' empathy level, just enough for him to be worried about his new bonded and his brother. Of course Oth hadn't been personally affected by what had happened, it didn't matter. Oth and Uth were so close that Au'st's brown was feeling what had happened too. For a while, Au'st had had this irrational feeling of jealousy. If they weren't supposed to have sex for the safety of their dragons, then what did it matter to him when his dragon was already screwed up?

It was a stupid thought, and rather fleeting at that. He had no idea to how deeply the extent of the twins' bond ran, or if the runsex had affected Oth very much at all...the brown was spending a lot of time with Uth as of late, even more than usual.

So, when Oth stirred, Au'st knew something was up. The length of the brown's body trembled and the tip of his tail flicked. Lifting his head, Au'st stared in the direction that his dragon was. He didn't really care enough to see what exactly was going on, but if Oth was stirring, then something must have been up. For several seconds, the weryling was trying to decide if he could go see what the big deal was. He weighed the pros and cons of actually leaving the weyrling barracks when he finally just decided to go see. Not like he had anything better to do. The boy had slept less since he had impressed, so he wasn't quite feeling the fatigue that he probably would have felt had there not been a dragon attached to his mind.

" I'll be back later." he told the browns, stretching out before leaving the weyr. Some people would probably say that Au'st was too apathetic in most situations to care about curiosity...but despite how he felt on the matter, Au'st had a healthy curiosity.

His interest was piqued when he realized that there were eggs behind the sheet of falling water, and Au'st walked towards the middle of the gathering, eyes straining to see the eggs. He thought he could see random colors through the water, but nothing he could tell for sure. He thought about going to find S'rring and ask the other weyrling about his dragon, but for some reason, he found himself transfixed on the flowing water. The movement of the water was rather distracting and he couldn't peel himself from the action.

---

Looking back, Kaius wasn't surprised that King hadn't alerted him to the hatching. Not only did he seem to care only about attending his mother's hatchings, he had chased Dementia and lost. He was sure he was going to win. Silly Atlas had clearly been more interested in the silly humans' underthings than Men's brilliant glow, and he was obviously the best salamandyr of them all. I mean, just look at how is greenish cast scales sparkled in the sun. Who could resist?

When the tall boy heard the salamandyr's summons, Kauis found himself in the middle of chores. King's mindvoice had been oddly absent from the teenager's mind as of late, and as he heard the gold's voice, he could guess why. He was even less surprised that King didn't follow him out into the weyrbowl as the tall body finished what he was doing and ducked out of the kitchen, heading straight for the weyrbowl.

He didn't know what he was looking for. He didn't seem particularly interested in hatchings, but still, he was hoping to spend some time with Syd and Sena. He had found some unexpected allies in the two girls and they were just fun to hang around. He was sure they'd be here. People hardly ever missed a hatching of any sort. He was disappointed, when scanning the room, he didn't see either girl. Oh well. At least he could probably find something else to keep his attention.

And just, maybe just, hanging around a hatching that King was clearly not a fan of just seemed to be a good idea. At least the mandyr wouldn't be bothering him. There would be no idea the prideful bronze would show his face at the hatching he thought should have been rightfully his. It didn't matter that Kaius was not-so-secretly glad that King hadn't won the gold flight. He was sure he would have never heard the end of it if King had managed to sire a clutch of eggs with the gold.

[Rowana]

N'rik hadn't missed a salamandyr hatching yet (not including the ones that happened when he was gone) and he wasn't going to start now! True, he'd been told that salamandyr's preferred to impress people without any other bonds and as a weyrling he wasn't supposed to attend, but he didn't care to listen. Salamandyrs were amazing in his mind and having one of his own only made him want to have more. Alph, however, did not share his sentiment.

Noooo, boy-mine! the brown salamandyr whispered in his ear. Do not go! Not trust kin! Sneaky, mean, nasty. Not go! N'rik wrinkled his nose at him. "Oh, come on, Alph," he chided. "They aren't all that bad. Don't you want another friend to hang out with?" No want. Have N'rik. Have Ophi. Have Path. Good enough? N'rik shook his head, still amazed that such a fierce looking creature could be so paranoid about his own kind. Path didn't care in the least, happy just to bounce along at his heels as he made his way across the bowl.

I thought mandyrs were neat? Ophiuchustch asked uncertainly. He was settled a ways away and finding it hard to make up his mind between Alph and N'rik's opinion of the creatures. They are! N'rik answered enthusiastically. I'm going to have a whole bunch one day! Alph moaned, but gave up trying to convince him. Maybe if he stayed on N'rik's shoulder it would scare the others away.

As he approached the growing collection of people, N'rik grinned at a familiar person. "Hey, Olivia!" he trotted up to her side. Neither of them were technically supposed to be there, which just made the hatching all the more fun. "Trying your luck again?" He craned his neck to peek through the bodies, but he couldn't see any eggs, just a waterfall. "Where are they anyway?" He hoped this wasn't some prank to catch all the candidates and weyrlings. Not that it wasn't a brilliant one, but he liked pranks better when he pulled them.

[Aftershock]

Considering the twilight hour, M'gnum was sound asleep when Dementia's call went out about the hatching, but Higginth, spending as much of his day avoiding exertion as he could get away with, was usually a light sleeper, and the mental prod of the gold across his mind awoke him, his eyes opening in an orange swirl of confusion as he pieced together what was happening. Stretching his long neck out over the edge of his ledge, he peered into the weyrbowl, his sharp eyes catching sight of the gathering crowd below, clustered around what looked to be a small waterfall.

Noting a few interesting subjects, he prodded M'gnum's mind with, "M'gnumine, you should probably awaken. There seems to be a gold salamandyr calling out about a hatching, and there are some who have already gathered who might interest you." M'gnum, snorting as his eyes shot open from the mental prod, glanced around his darkened room slowly, then sat up and rubbed his nose, saying, "What's that, Higginth? A salamandyr hatching? At this hour?" he added, noticing the pitch blackness of his surroundings except for bright moonlight filtering in from Higginth's ledge. Higginth snaked his head back around to glance at his rider with swirling blue eyes, replying, "Yes, M'gnumine. And some younglings are attending. I do not care, but I know you would not let me hear the end of it if you found I had known and had not informed you, since they are not supposed to be out of their rooms at this hour."

Shaking his head a bit more to clear out the sleep, M'gnum moved his furs aside and slowly felt his way across the room, finding a pair of dark grey cotton trousers and slipping them on, as well as a pair of sturdy brown leather boots. Opening the door to his weyr, he plodded shirtless down the hallway, heading towards the destination Higginth sent to him.

Reaching the back of the crowd, M'gnum sighed as he saw a large number of weyrlings AND Candidates clustered around the small waterfall, and barely a glance of what appeared to be a pile of underwear with a golden leg or two sticking out of it in an alcove behind the sheet of water. Spotting Sel'n, he walked over to the brownrider and placed his hand on his shoulder, saying, "Good that you're here at least to retrieve your weyrlings before they can Impress one of these creatures, Sel'n. I'll have Higginth contact M'kai about his Candidates, but did you want to try to get a hold of M'ta, or would you like me to?" As he waited for a response, he sent to Higginth, "Higginth, please contact Futh and have His come down to this salamandyr hatching to collect his Candidates."

Receiving the message, Higginth searched the mentally through the Weyr until he found Futh's mental signature. Reaching out telepathically to the blue, he said, "Futh, Mine asks me to request you send Yours to this location, where a salamandyr hatching is in progress. Apparently a number of his charges are there and need retrieval before they Impress one of the strange little creatures."

[Ember]

Dementia was certainly an odd gold. Nocturne stretched languidly, eyes shifting briefly to a faintly annoyed red. Not even his progeny and yet she was calling him, demanding him. How unpleasant. Still, he was obviously no longer sick and he rather liked the arrangement they'd had so he would play the good mate and go. He wouldn't ever admit but he might have cared just a tiny bit, too. Or maybe he was just hungry. Hmm. The blue ran down his human's arm and down the table it connected to without a word. "Nocturne," Eikane said, softly but firmly.

The blue paused to glance back at the man curiously. "I'll give you a ride. Need to get out and stretch my legs anyways." The man actually had no fear that he would Impress a 'mandyr. Nocturne, bless the little guy, was not very pleasant company at the best of times. Eikask didn't like additional mindmates either. Surely they broadcasted enough of a general hate field to keep others away. The goldhandler glanced at the sleeping gold fondly. It was still rather early in the night and her energy was being rerouted some for the eggs she was carrying.

Eikane grabbed his cane and walked the few steps to the door and Nocturne. He knew better than to try and pick up the blue. Nocturne ran up his clothes and into his thick hair well enough without his help anyways. He started out only to pause and turn down a different tunnel than the one Nocturne informed him would take them to the hatching. He was well accustomed to hosting hatchings by then to know they'd need something. He hit up the kitchen quickly to snag some meat for the hatching before hobbling awkwardly with a bowl pressed to his hip and a cane in the other. Sheesh.

By the time he finally arrived with a Nocturne in tow there were a fair number of people milling about. He caught sight of several candidates and weyrlings before noticing M'gnum and Sel'n. Well, at least a couple of the weyrlings had to be the senior group since Sel'n wasn't snapping at them. Their dragons were already mature anyways, so no reason to hold them back. He wasn't sure all of them were the senior group but he'd leave the identification of them to Sel'n. The candidates, though, he had some power over and could identify them.

The goldhandler moved towards Dmitri first though, shoving the bowl of meat at him. "Since no one's smart enough to bring food if they actually want one of these," he commented dryly. "Neither are the candidates smart enough to be sneaky." He gave his friend a crooked grin before beginning to move towards the nearest candidate. Just because they really shouldn't be there didn't mean he had to yell at the whole lot of 'em openly. He'd never been that type of person, really.

[Requiem]

Right. Part the water. He'd just part the ocean, too, while he was at it. Still mentally grumbling as he rummaged through his trunk while trying not to awaken his sleeping family, he finally settled on three poles and a random swath of cloth. Not sure what they were holding onto it for, but yeah. Dmitri glanced a little tempramentally at the gathering crowd, then set the poles in place, clustering rocks around them so they wouldn't go anywhere. The longest was set in the center of the water and it was over this that he draped the cloth, binding the ends around the two smaller poles on either side of the central one. It caused the water to sheet down the outer poles (while still dripping some down the center) almost like a small water temple. Gooood Harperlove, Dementia purred, even as the Fertility Egg seemed to undulate from within and distintegrated...into an amorphous blob of leafy green fatrolls of which neither head, tail nor limbs could currently be discerned.

At that moment a chink of the Love Egg fell away, and another, to reveal delicate claws attached to an equally delicate black? foot slowly widening the hole. And even though the Storm and Vengeance Eggs continued to rock, the next to hatch was the Industry Egg that had shown no prior movement beforehand. It suddenly collapsed around a decidedly large and handsome blue, who began systematically removing the larger pieces from his path with the aid of his remarkably dextrous tail. Once the Industry Blue had cleared his way to walk free of the alcove, however, he took a step forward and promptly skidded to one side, eyes suddenly flashing pink with embarrassment. For one of his forelegs was nothing more than a shriveled stump.

A delicately formed green head had by now poked out of the Love Egg nearby, and the female crooned encouragingly to her brother as she squeezed through the hole she'd tapped in her egg. Strong wings, handsome, she told him sweetly. The blue's head, which had been half buried beneath the one whole foreleg, swiveled to view her, frilling questioningly. Handsome? he echoed, sounding perplexed. But he spread his wings, giving them a testing flap, then moved more carefully - and painstakingly slowly - for the edge of their little panty nest. One last glance was given the Love Green before the Industry Blue dropped from the alcove and yes, glided. His wings held him quite easily. They even worked as he thought they should, though the blue overshot his target by a little and had to use his tail, the appendage curling partly around Leilani's neck and causing him to half-crash (though he wasn't so big as to hurt His by doing so) into the girl's jaw. He clung there silently for a moment before adding to her matter-of-factly, Hungry.

While the Love Green continued to extract herself carefully from her egg, a dark, rather colorless grey tail suddenly exploded from the Storm Egg nearby and slapped the ball that was the Fertility Green. She uncurled with a startled cheep, her plump little body trembling. So hungry. And Hers was so far. And that tail! It hit her again as it lashed violently, and she cried out to C'oar, Beloved! Hurts! A clear plea for Hers to come rescue her - and feed her, too, but right now it was the whipping tail that had her most concerned.

Dmitri gave Eikane an annoyed look until he recognized the man, then he blinked down at the bowl of meat and took it from the goldhandler. Then, almost before the bluehandler could assimilate that his friend was there...he was gone again, moving through the crowd on the prowl for...what, candidates maybe? Then the bluehandler jerked, something having bounced off his head and into the bowl of meat in his hands. Was that...an acorn? What? Glancing around, he couldn't find the source, but it seemed he wasn't the only one getting randomly pelted with acorns...

Dodekatheon Clutch

Each has its lesson; for our dreams in sooth
Come they in shape of demons, gods or elves,
Are allegories with deep hearts of truth
That tell us solemn secrets of ourselves.

Storm Egg :: Tail free ::
Vengeance Egg :: Rocking
Catastrophe Egg :: Unhatched
Fertility Egg :: Hatched :: Green :: Impressed to C'oar
Wisdom Egg :: Unhatched
Hearth Egg :: Unhatched
Divination Egg :: Unhatched
Wilderness Egg :: Unhatched
War Egg :: Unhatched
Love Egg :: Mostly free :: Green
Industry Egg :: Hatched :: Blue :: Impressed to Leilani
Cunning Egg :: Unhatched

[Requiem]

Industry Blue[/u]
Name:
Species: Salamandyr
Hatched: October 3017
Looks to: Leilani
Color Codes: 27408b-Primary ; e6e6fa-Spots

“Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines. And everything can be reused.”

[/size][/i]

Appearance: Such a blue as this could nearly rival a bronze in size, and indeed he shall nearly be his sire’s size when he reaches his maturity. And a handsome creature he is, too, royal blue and evenly, powerfully muscled. His wings are large with thicker membranes that will allow him to sustain long glides, and his powerful tail is long and dexterous enough to allow him to manipulate small objects like silverware. His hide is all one color apart from the white spots that follow a pattern similar to that of a fawn, more concentrated along the middle of his back but still dotting down his flanks. Indeed, he might well be considered flawless if not for the fact that he hatched with nothing more than a withered stump for one of his forelegs.

Personality: Considering no salamandyr is generally considered ‘normal’, this male takes it to an extreme. He is an inherently logical creature. Though he is capable of speech, most will never hear him say a thing and will have to take the word of His that he isn’t a mute. The simple truth is that he is not altogether interested in living creatures and so can’t be bothered to speak to them unless absolutely necessary. No, he is far more taken with inanimate objects. In particular, he has the need to fix things, and actually does a fair job with the aid of his unusually dexterous tail and linear mind. If there’s nothing around to fix he might go about inventing things to pass the time, or finding other uses for things that already exist.

Nevertheless, as with any of his species, this blue does have the need to mate. (Even if he doesn’t often associate with other ‘mandyrs otherwise.) This isn’t to say he’ll go out looking for a female – or male, if one happens to be Running, as gender isn’t much of a concern for him – but if they pass nearby and he isn’t in the middle of a project he’ll likely join the Run. The only exception is his clutchsister the Love Green, for whom he has a particular fondness. Such a fondness, in fact, that he will never miss one of her Runs (even if the awkward gait his stub leg creates makes him feel rather awkward around her). And if nasty little somethings like thumb tacks and glass shards happen to be found around whichever male has claimed her last, well, even the logical can be overcome by Love and her erstwhile companion: jealousy.

---

Fertility Green
Name:
Species: Salamandyr
Hatched: October 3017
Looks to: C’oar
Color Codes: 003300-Primary ; 228b22-Secondary1 ; 55ae3a-Secondary2 ; eec900-Markings

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

[/size][/i]

Appearance: The generous would call her plump. The not-so-generous…morbidly obese. Even as a hatchling she has rolls of fat that make her legs look like little more than stubs. When she comes into her adult size it will become almost physically painful to watch her waddle and drag her bulk over the ground. Gliding is out of the question for her (and indeed her wings aren’t very large to begin with) and her short stubby tail doesn’t do much for her appearance. Her coloring, though, is a gorgeous mixture of various greens in an almost leaf-like pattern interlaced with threads of gold. Two such threads run the length of her spine down to her tailtip and up to her eyeridges, the rest curling more randomly along her hide. In motion she might seem awkward, but when she doesn’t move there is something decidedly stately about this fat little girl.

Personality: This little salamandyr is frankly one that enjoys life. Nothing pleases her more than to be touching Hers with a veritable feast at her disposal and other fine salamandyrs for company. While she’ll speak courteously to any draconid, this green never passes up the chance to engage in pleasant discourse with another of her species, especially if he happens to be a rather dashing male. Nor will a cross word ever be spoken by this lady. She is the epitome of courtesy, though if a curse is appropriate for a situation you can be certain she’ll find a cutesy word to replace it. Shards is just too crass. But stars are shiny! Rarely speaking more than four words at once, her vocabulary will quickly grow large enough to get across just what needs to be said.

Okay, so maybe she’s a little lazy and has no problem with allowing Hers to carry her wherever she desires to go, but isn’t that expected of a proper lady? In fact, the only time you’ll see her moving under her own power (aside from when there’s food available and she simply can’t wait any longer for Hers) is during one of her frequent Runs. In fact, she Runs almost twice as often as the average green, and chooses a different mate every time who she expects to hang on to her every word and whim until the next time she Runs. Of course, she would never get angry at him if he didn’t, but such abandonment and negligence leads to a very depressed little green, wherein she’ll curl up on the pillow of Hers’ bed and bemoan her sorrows to his dragon, even refusing to eat for a couple days. Until the hunger eventually overpowers any hold a male could possibly have on her. Then she’s back to her old self.

[draym]

Draym fell out of bed at the strange intrusion that felt somewhat familiar. He had met a salamandyr before, but this one was more prominent in his mind than the little blue had been.

Rubbing his elbow, the Candidate sighed. That little blue had been so sweet, but he had heard that a lot of the creatures were mean. And there was the fact that he was a Candidate and wasn't actually allowed to Impress a mandyr.

Like that had really ever stopped him from doing things around here before. Chores were easy enough to handle, even if they were double chores. Decided, Draym slipped on a warm shirt and slipped quietly out of the barracks. Curfew breaking too, Draym was going to be in for a lot of work.

As the Candidate emerged from the barracks and looked around, he saw a few people walking toward the falls. They knew more about who was the gold mandyr's human than Draym did, so he followed.

The wher was the first thing that really stuck out to the Candidate. Then he saw the small eggs and the golden mandyr that was named Dementia if he remembered right. The candidate nodded to a few people as he eased into the crowd that was beginning to form around the eggs, but all seemed to stay at a safe distance, so Draym stayed out of the way, near the wher and who Draym assumed was his Handler.

Even if Draym didn't come out of this with a pet, it would appear that he would be getting double chores for breaking curfew. There was about an eighty percent chance that this little escapade was going to do nothing for Draym. And apparently, a few of the eggs had already released their hatchings and Impressed. Great...make that ninety percent.

Oh well.

[Lotty]

Even with the sky fading into shades of plum and pink, Kierjaarth saw plenty well enough to drop in inconspicuously before the dark blue of night fell over the weyr and it's inhabitants completely. As if pulling the night sky inside with them, the pair fell in to settle with somber quiet. He and his rider were something of masters when it came to going unnoticed - how else had they managed to survive anyway? - and landed dragonlengths away from the growing crowd. The bronze immediately craned his neck in interest, questioning his rider in that ever half-bored tone, I wonder what has the huddled masses so entranced... Considering the way they are gathered, they've either formed a cult praising a water deity or there is a hatching under way. You and you alone are welcome to stick around to find out. Judging by the way Peccadillo was simmering in distaste under the collar of his shirt, he was betting on the latter.

With the loss of Doppelganger so far off, but still fresh on his emotions at least, the bronzerider made no attempts to even do so much as try and stick around... even if his suspicions were wrong and in fact an eight limed demi-god was birthed, and put on display for all to see and worship, he was still getting the hell out of there. Despite the false security that came with the safety of distance, he climbed down the ruddy side of his dragon, a pair of scrolls balanced carefully underneath his arm. Kierjaarth still made it a point to poke at his rider...which after twenty plus turns together was to be expected, Oh... you're no fun Mi'rah. Besides, I can not butt my head in to see. That would be disrespectful. You however are smaller and can weave your way into the crowd to find out for me. Or you could simply, ask another dragon. As for myself, I'm going to find something to eat in the kitchens first... Which he would surely, in his squirrely manner, gather to take back up to his room. So much of his life was hideously private, simply out of necessity. The man hardly talk to his dragon aloud just to keep from hearing the sound of his own voice.

Turning his jeweled eyes to the crowd, the bronze considered his options, his peripherals keeping tabs on his rider making way across the weyrowl. Who... who.. could I ask... being that the dragon was on self-assigned neighborhood watch half of the time, the bronze busy body could match riders to their dragons with the best of them, and instantly recognized the slew of two-leggers who had nothing more than weyrlings to talk to. Fledglings only provided passing entertainment, and it was not since Jingth that he had known one to be anything more. This left him with a fantastically small field to choose from... but... wait... was that? He immediately beckoned to his bonded, Mi'rahhhhh the man who wears nothing but hair as his own shirt, what is that that you call him again? The dragon was practically flicking his tail in anticipation by now, as Mi'rah threw a brief glance over his shoulder, Oh... M'gnum?

It was admittedly a tad petty, but the name was too apt. In Mi'rah's mind anyone who held - sometimes literally - onto a tomb of chivalry was akin to that of the mad storybook character driven crazy by tales of knights in shining armor, Don Quixote? Oh, yes, yes yes... with his steed ummm Rocinante! Yes, I shall go and ask Rocinante then...

Oh no...
Oh yes...

The name had always been exclusively private. Just like Mi'rah nicknamed S'rei Superman, the bronzer called his other fellow the name of the bumbling nobleman nowhere outside of his own brain. Kierjaarth, knowing no shame was on his way to revealing it, regally tilting his head up to catch a glance of the bronze on the ledge he knew the other to called home. Oh, this would be most fun, now wouldn't it? Oh Rocinante! My dearest Higginth. He pulled his body up to throw his weight into his hindlegs before jumping up to occupy an empty adjacent ledge. It would be no good carry on conversation from a place lower than his olive tinged companion after all, Mine was making such a fuss and ruined all my fun. Yours however seems to be in the thick of it all.... now what may I ask are they all standing around waiting for? The rider however was frozen within sight of his own freedom... should he even attempt to go back... do some damage control before it was too late?

[Rei]

Er’ani was still backing step by step away from C’oar when a few other people started to show up. The old dude Weyrlingmaster and then low and behold one of his old classmates. Grinning at Leilani the albinorider gave her his best innocent look. “Me? A thief? Why Leilani you wound my poor heart!” So saying he pounded his hand against his chest and stumbled back as if it physically pained him. “I promise I was just looking. I barely even touched anything.” Giving her a wink he glanced sideways as even more people began to arrive. Awesome. This hatching was getting into full swing now. Woot! Half trotting backwards further toward the waterfall he paused when an acorn grazed his head. “What the hell?” Blinking Er’ani turned to scan the crowd, still trying to keep one eye on C’oar. Just in case. Thankfully it seemed like the large brownrider wasn’t willing to pursue him further.

Good that left him free to try and figure out who had tried to shoot him with an acorn. Unfortunately after a scan of the crowd he couldn’t figure out who the acorn sniper was. Not that that mattered because Scar face was doing something interesting near the waterfall. Blinking as the harper set up his little makeshift tent he grinned. Oh now he could see the nest. In a little alcove behind the falls. Clever little whatsherface. It seemed that that little makeshift tent like thing was doing the trick though because also as soon as the handler got it up some of the eggs started to shatter. As a blue glided out to smack into Leilani Er’ani grinned at her. “Congrats!” He called back before bouncing up behind Dmitri.

As he approached the harper he slowed to a causal walk eyeing him carefully. When the man was distracted by some gimpy blonde with a cane he paused and waited for the guy to limp off before moving forward. As he passed Dmitri he swatted the taller guy on the ass, just so happening to time it just when the acorn to the forehead distracted the guy. “Nice job slim. Lets hope your craftsmanship stands up.” With that he darted away towards the tent and reaching it grabbed the middle pole. Swinging around it once with his momentum he backed up further under the cloth as another acorn whizzed by his head. “We are under Attack!” He called out to whoever was listening before he glanced backwards at the nest just a few feet behind him. “Don’t worry mother monster. I won’t jump over them this time I promise.” Nope he was all in it for the entertainment factor and boy was he amused.

~~~~

Sel’n blinked as the altercation between C’oar and Er’ani seemed to iron itself out without any needed intervention on his part. Good. That made things a bit easier. When one of his students, Leilani, showed up he gave her a small smile. It seemed they could handle this on their own now. The Weyrlingmaster was just turning to leave when the arrival of several other people caught his attention and he blinked in slight confusion. Just what in Faranth’s name was going on? Surely that little whatever it was wasn’t that interesting? The confusion lasted until M’gnum strode up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Whipping his head around at the sudden touch the brownrider blinked up at the suddenly speaking bronzer.

Impress? Creatures? His weyrlings? What? Slowly but surely the pieces started to click into place. The mandyr's speech….the gathering crowd. His eyes widened further as sudden icy fear gripped his heart tight and squeezed. No. Oh hell no. He couldn’t stay here. Not with those things hatching. The intense terror that gripped him started Kaaoloth into waking with a hiss, his claws dragging across his ledge to make a screeching sound.

Selarinmine? The brown only used the man’s full name when it was apparent he was highly distressed, as it normally shocked his rider back from whatever had him frozen. Finally making sense out of what had his so distressed Kaaoloth started to rock to his feet. I am coming to get you. Reaching out to the minds of M’ta’s weyrlings, so his did not have to stay to do so, he firmly stated. Your changes are far too young for you to impress such creatures. You will take your leave immediately or be forced to face severe consequences. I would think the possibility of damaging your mindbonds would be enough to keep you away. You should be ashamed. Go now! With that the brown started for the end of his ledge.

Sel’n swallowed before stammering out to M’gnum. “Oh my weyrlings are old enough now to impress one of the demons if they are stupid enough. It’s just M’ta’s class and the candidates that should not be here. Kaaoloth is taking care of the young weyrlings and I assume M’kai will take care of his own.” As he spoke, struggling to keep his voice level and his fear very apparent in his gaze, he started to back away from the bronzer and the waterfall. Vanity’s death was still too fresh. He couldn’t handle this. He would have to trust the weyrlings to listen to Kaaoloth and trust that M’kai would get his ass down here soon.

Reaching desperately for the comfort that was the soothing voice of his mindmate the man blinked as an acorn suddenly shot into his field of vision. Blast it all. He only knew one person that would be doing something like that right now. F’ur. Sel’n paused momentarily to try and catch sight of his rouge charge. Kaaoloth would be down very soon to collect him anyway. Perhaps he could just grab the bluerider on the way as well?

[neeuqtar]

My love, that Clutch you wanted to go to is Hatching,[/i] Adaityth said gently to S'vil, nudging him with her nose to rouse him. He groaned, shoving at her nose.

"Go 'way," he muttered, pulling a fur over his face. I'm sleeping, he added mentally, Adaityth snorted at him, but he refused to move. She paused, thought, and then shoved him over, wrapping him in the fur with one strong roll. S'vil sputtered and tried to flail his way free of the fur, but the green picked him up in her mouth and turned, taking a bound she leaped out of the weyr, flinging her wings wide and soaring towards the waterfall where the Hatching was. You-- you-- what are you doing?? S'vil cried.

Taking you to the Hatching, she said in a reasonable voice, backwinging and clinging to the stone like a lizard, opening her mouth and dropping S'vil onto the ground. He flailed his way free of the fur and fixed Adaityth with a glare. She purred at him, and he rolled his eyes and stood up, ducking past the waterfall to join the throng of people at the Hatching.

"Lovely," he muttered, straightening out the (wet and muddy) pleated skirt he was wearing and then searching through one of his many belt-pouches for the smoked meat wrapped in waxed paper that he kept to bribe the pets of others. Maybe some food would make it easier to attract one of the creatures...

[Ruby]

M'kaiMineLove? Higginth calls. Who? Higginth? His is a Bronzerider, but not on council. Something to do with the littlest things? A hatching?[/i] M'kai groaned. He'd long ago learned to tune out salamandyrs, especially since their mental prods made him think of Bomb, something that was guaranteed to put him in an awful mood. That didn't mean their various mental calls didn't register somewhere in his subconscious, and yes, now that Futh mentioned it he'd thought he'd heard something about a hatching. Fabulous.

Kami was already gone, no doubt lurking somewhere above said hatching, watching who impressed the babies so she could stalk them later. Titania was visiting, though, so M'kai offered her a wrist and a quirked eyebrow before heading out the door. Time for his least favorite part of his job: yelling at Candidates while in danger of impressing something. Maybe Titania's presence would be enough to keep any questioning babies away.

And... ugh. After the debacle that was Dementia's run, the Council had been feeling extra strict when it came to Candidates standing for Salamandyrs, and M'kai was sure he wouldn't hear the end of it if some Candidate managed to impress one and screw up their dragonet. M'ta's weyrlings were honestly more of a concern, given that they actually HAD baby dragonets and one of them had already managed to have a mandyr run and catch, but M'kai figured he'd somehow get the blame for that, too. Better shoo as many of them off to bed as possible.

As it turned out, there were even more transgressors than he'd thought. Cutting off Eikane with a gesture - yeah, he appreciated the Goldhandler's help, but it wasn't exactly Eikane's job - M'kai wove through the crowd, tapping Candidates on the shoulder and gesturing for them to follow. Once he had collected the three, he looked down at them, running a hand through his hair. "Draym, Kaius, Olivia. Double chores for a month for attending a Salamandyr hatching. You know you're not supposed to. Did you know there's a school of thought that says impressing a mandyr before a dragon can inhibit your chance to impress?" Never mind that actual evidence said it made little difference. Shaking his head, he waved a hand towards the barracks. "Get out of here. I expect all three of you to come in during office hours tomorrow, we can discuss further punishment if necessary." Turning his back on the Candidates - M'kai could haul them off in a minute if they didn't leave on their own - he scanned the crowd again, looking for younger weyrlings this time.

--

Menial make better choice, still 'ferior tough, Shells purred, attending Dementia's hatching (as usual) for the sole purpose of taunting her mate. No more colorbind, see see, but baby still broken. See broken sky-thing? No foot. What do with no fuoot? Skittering down from the rocks above Dementia's alcove, the red-bronze salamandyr clung to the slick stone, peering around into her domain from under Dmitri's temporary shelter. Not bothering to shield his mental call from anyone, Shells raised his voice to yell, Dendenmine must come, must see what Latlas-fool did to poor Menial's babies! Must see mistkaes ufgly overgrown brown did. So bad, so mad. Must see now that Shells better, best. Yes? Denden come?

As if Piden had any choice. He and Pidesk were down by the library, starting their patrol of the hallways for the evening. Generally, the Guard and Watch both covered the outside, but sometimes an additional Guard was requested for in-door rounds, as Pidesk and Piden had been tonight. As soon as he heard Shell's summons, though, Piden reached over, pulling Pidesk's head around and up. Where are we going? the Bronze asked, shades of puzzlement swirling through his eyes. "Shells... Dementia's clutch is hatching, Shells needs me or something?" But they were working. Surely the Bronze could take care of himself. "But he... he needs me to come..." Yes, Shells had always totally dominated Piden. The Wher huffed at his handler, nudging him off up the corridor. Go, I will patrol. Just hurry back.

--

Ten left the dining hall with half of her menagerie in tow - Big Brother was off somewhere lurking, watching a hatching if his mental feed was to be trusted. Generally Tenlie would have flocked right on over (she could never resist baby anything, especially when her lack of attendance might cause one of them to go wild!) but today she had to get back to her Weyr. She was expecting a letter from Glasscrafthall and she wanted to see if it had arrived while she'd been eating - it should have been here over a week ago, but living in a hidden Weyr meant that mail was highly unreliable at best. Grip, curled as usual around her upper arm, wasn't especially interested either - no flit father meant no flit babies - and Cujo did not approve of additional mind mates. So. Back to her weyr.

That was the plan anyway, but if there was one person able to make her abandon her plans at the drop of a hat it was Mi'rah, and lo and behold there he was. There he was... oddly frozen, facing the dining hall but looking back towards the hatching. Furrowing her brow, Ten altered her course, crossing in to his line of sight with a little wave and a shy smile. "Good evening, Mi'rah. It do be a lovely night, no?" Glancing briefly over towards the pack of people, Ten totally ignored the fact that she knew a few of them - as usual, she had eyes only for Mi'rah. She very nearly asked if everything was alright, but she knew Mi'rah well enough to know that that would just make him stutter. Instead, she added, "Were you planning on going to the hatching?"

[Zephyr]

The brunette had learned long ago that sometimes it was best not to trust Er’ani’s word. She trusted him with her life, but he was exactly the type to steal from some of the older riders, just because he could. Of course, she doubted that he had been doing unsavory at the moment. So, she merely grinned at her friend, eyeing C’oar carefully for a second. She was about to say something when a random acorn smacked her in the shoulder. Eyes widening, she jumped to the side, eyes following the path of another acorn that hit Er’ani in the head. “ What’s going on?”, the girl asked, eyes filled with confusion. Who was throwing acorns at them and why?

She glanced around the crowd the same time Er’ani was, and she couldn’t figure out who it was either. She thought about asking Kate if she could see who had been throwing the acorns, but the green was fast asleep, and Lani didn’t feel like bothering her at the moment. Since she wasn’t being pelted with nuts anymore, she decided to watch the hatching. Unfortunately, whoever had been throwing acorns wasn’t finished and another hatchling flew to smack someone on her left.

Before she had a chance to look for the acorn thrower again, something large and wet slammed into her face. Brown eyes were wide and blinked curiously at the large blue that clung to her neck. She could feel Kate wake up in a second, and was sure that the green had been alerted to an intrusion in their bond. Luckily the green had never been particularly clingy or jealous, but Leilani was still in a state of shock. She hadn’t come down here with the intention of impressing a salamandyr. In fact, she had completely forgotten about the possibility of the eggs hatching with the mysterious acorn culprit loose. For a moment, she was shocked into speechlessness and the salamandyr watched her silently with hunger in his eyes. Finally his spoke, the male’s voice wholly unlike Kate’s and rather foreign to the girl. Hungry. There was no question in that voice. It was simple fact. He was hungry and she was the one he had chosen to fetch him some food.

Unfortunately, Lani had not brought any meat, since she hadn’t expected to impress anything. When the mandyr pressed into her mind once more, she was hurrying forward to thee gold’s owner, hoping he would at least have some meat for the babies. She was relieved when he did and grinned pleasantly at him, still a little confused. “ May I?” She asked, reaching for some meat before feeding it to the salamandyr, who gobbled it up hungrily. “ I guess you need a name?” She thought several seconds about an appropriate name before grinning widely. “ Crowley! Do you like that name?” The salamandyr licked the toes of his good forepaw, frilling lightly. Good. Fine. More food. He demanded and Leilani obliged, taking more meat from the bowl and raising it to the salamandyr’s maw. It was then that she noticed his shriveled forepaw. Nose wrinkling in concern, she turned to Dmitri. “ What’s wrong with his leg? Have you seen anything like it?”

---

This wasn’t working so well, what with Baby passing her images of the waterfall. There didn’t seem to be anything interesting there, at least until she saw Dmitri walking towards the waterfall with some cloth and poles. At the prospect of seeing the eggs hidden behind the waterfall, Olivia was excited. Unfortunately, the firelizard’s images sputtered to a stop as soon as the bluehandler parted the waterfall as the firelizard pitched forward on the head she was sitting on, fast asleep. Eyes widening, Olivia bounded towards the man, tugging on his sleeve. “ Sorrryyyyy. I couldn’t see the hatching and my firelizard wanted to show me so she climbed up onto your head and now she fell asleep! Could you hand her to me?” The request was simple enough and Olivia could be downright adorable when she wanted to be, but it was also quite odd, and the man merely picked the sleeping firelizard off of his head and handed it to the girl. Liv grinned widely. “ Thanks!” She said happily, placing the sleeping flit in her arms before bounding off to get a closer look at the hatching.

It was then that she heard N’rik’s voice. The girl turned, grinning widely at the boy. “ Hey!” She grinned at the boy’s words. Merry stirred a little, peeking bright eyes out from under fluffy down. He cheeped lightly, eyes full of curiosity. Luckily, Impala was still sleeping. If she had been, she probably would have been assaulting the young rider. “ Not like I need more pets. Pippin, Merry and Baby take up most of my time now, but I just like to watch the hatchings. I love watching the babies come out of their shells!” She said brightly, grinning. “ What does Alph think of you being here?” She smiled, watching the brown salamandyr.

Unfortunately, it was about this time that M’kai brushed past her, followed by another boy. Glancing to N’rik with alarm in her eyes, she shrugged a little. “ I’ll be back.” She said shortly, ducking past the boy and following M’kai until he had rounded up one more candidate and turned to them. Merry watched the red haired man for a moment, contented. Olivia listened to his speech, looking as small as she possibly could at the moment. “ I’m sorry!” She cheeped. The thought that impressing a salamandyr could impair her impressing a dragon choosing her alarmed the girl a great deal. “ I didn’t actually want to impress anything! I just wanted to watch.” She smiled meekly at M’kai, taking her punishment without complaining. Turning, she slipped off into the crowd, with all the intentions of leaving. But wait. She had promised N’rik she’d be back. It wouldn’t be too bad to stay a little longer…right? After all, she wasn’t going to impress…she was just going to watch.

Returning to N’rik’s side, she tilted her head. “ I know it’s against the rules to impress a salamandyr, but when did the candidatemaster actually go about policing things?” She looked for M’kai, completely ready to slip away into more people if he decided to walk back her way.

---

This wasn't as interesting as Au'st thought it would have been in the first place. Two of the weird little things had attatched themselves to people, and it seemed that people were on the prowl for transgressing candidates and weyrlings. While he was certainly breaking the rules by being here, he didn't give two fucks. His dragon was probably irrevocably messed up at the moment, thanks to that idiot S'rring. And asking the other man about his dragon was rapidly morphing into berating him and downright yelling at the idiot for impressing in the first place. What he did with his own life and his own dragon was his business, but when he started screwing with Gus' life through the irrefutable bond between the twins, then it got personal.

It didn't help that strange dragons started talking to him in the form of Kaaoloth, Your changes are far too young for you to impress such creatures. You will take your leave immediately or be forced to face severe consequences. I would think the possibility of damaging your mindbonds would be enough to keep you away. You should be ashamed. Go now! Pft. Whatever. Au'st considered himself exempt from the rule. Not only was he actively ignoring any of the creatures that he could, but he was here to protect his dragon. There was no way he was going to let Oth suffer anymore because of S'rring's stupidity. If he had to, he'd talk to M'ta personally. He didn't need some strange dragon he didn't even know telling him what to do.

Squeezing his way past the people, and away from M'kai, Au'st made his way to where Dmitri was, dismissing Kaaoloth's threat. Pointedly ignoring the girl with the newborn salamandyr attatched to her neck, Gus glared a little at the bluehandler. Clearly this was partially his fault, right? It had been his gold that had chased. " Is S'rring here?" He asked the harper, sure that his bunkmate would show up at some point. He had to, right? There's no way Atlas would miss the birthing of his children.

---

Kaius was busy watching Dmitri tend to the gold. Again he was reminded why he was glad King hadn't won the gold run. Suddenly, someone chucked something small, round and hard at his head. Hissing in pain, the teenager saw thee acorn hit the ground, and then looked around for the culprit. Ignoring everything, even the girl impressing something to his right, he looked for whoever had thrown the acorn at him. Unluckily, he was summoned by M'kai just then. Half tempted to ignore the redhead, Kaius thought this might be a good opportunity to confer with the candidatemaster.

M'kai didn't seem to be in a social mood, however, and he berated the three candidates on being at the hatching. Kaius snorted lightly when they were punished. Who cared? He had endured double chores the month after he had impressed King. What was another month, really? He didn't actually want another salamandyr. King was enough for him. He was ready to leave when he thought about why he wanted to talk to M'kai in the first place. " Someone's pelting people with acorns. I don't know who or why, but someone could get hurt."