Dance Until the Sun Comes Up (Dances Hatching)

[Ember]

Eikask tilted her head as she heard a soft sound in the silence of the wherhatching room. She approached the eggs and sniffed at the Tango egg, crooning softly. Hatching now little one? It was time to disturb the candidates then. Despite the fact that a howl wouldn't be heard too well beyond the wherhandler apartments, the queen sat back, raised her head, and howled. It would serve to warn the other whers and handlers that her eggs were hatching. If the others wanted to come watch she was good with that. Her babies were special, after all.

The gold then started informing the candidates and anyone else who seemed to be awake that she noticed with a quick sweep. She especially tugged on the minds of those who had been present at the touching. That settled she had little else to do but wait for people to arrive and her babies to hatch. Eikane entered the room and she bounded over to him. There should be a better system for calling the candidates, shouldn't there? The eggs of a gold like her deserved a better audience than just the interested candidates! He sighed and pet her head. "Unfortunately, most normal people sleep at night, Eikask."

She snorted and strode back towards the eggs, stopping a fair distance away so the hatchlings had plenty of room. Eikane smiled and busied himself with bringing in the meat he'd kindly cut up for the new wherlings. They would have to do it on their own for their whers the night after but he didn't mind doing it for the hatching night. Eikask barked at him and he glanced at her. Would he please stop nitpicking over the meat and come to her, where she could protect him from silly babies who didn't realize he was Hers?

Eikane did as he was asked. He remembered Eikask's hatching and there had been blood spilled. The gold had actually slashed at someone too, though the goldhandler had learned that afterwards from Dmitri since he'd been busy trying to get away from a clumsy gold. Eikask nudged him and he smiled. Enough dwelling on the past then. He looked towards the door to see the first person enter and he waved an acknowledgement and motioned towards the eggs. They could stand wherever they liked.

Eikask was too busy watching the Tango egg, which was already beginning to crack. Whatever was inside was making particularily troubled sounds and it had the gold a bit worried. What in the world was wrong with it?

----

Tango Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Tekivix
Foxtrot Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Kostya
Waltz Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Ximera
Quickstep Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Marsayis
Vienesse Waltz Egg - Hatched Brown; Impressed to Kinstar
Paso Doble Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Dinag
Jive Egg - Hatched Bronze; Impressed to Darmori

Note: If you don't want your character mauled please let me know~

[Requiem]

Dmisk rose from his position outside the entrance to the room that housed Eikask's eggs, poking his snout inside to pose a brief question to the clutchmother. The cold blue, apparently satisifed by his clutchsister's response, settled again outside the door, crossing his forelegs one over the other and letting his head fall on top of them. Still and silent as stone, the calm blue-green slid in slow circles through his multi-faceted eyes. Didn't seem terribly menacing apart from his size. Of the whers at Selenitas, however - Dmisk was probably the most likely to dispose of a candidate based on reasoning that likely only he could fathom. Coldly. Calmly. Without a warning growl or a change to the hues slowly swirling in his eyes. Not a wher to be trifled with.

The second of the mindmates of Selenitas's youngest wherhandler ran delicately along the wall, hissing her annoyance at Dmisk for the politely worded command. And that he'd communicated this 'request' to His, who apparently agreed with him, and Dementia always listened to Hers. Didn't keep her from being irritated about it, though. The ugly wher-gold couldn't call her own pretties? That was her own fault, and Dementia didn't see why she had to do it. Nevertheless, the salamandyr took up a position on the rocks above the falls and broadcasted as loudly as she could. STUPIDS COME WATCH NIGHTBEASTS HATCH. WAKE, STUPIDS. WATCH NIGHTBEASTS HATCH OR DEMENTIA EAT YOUR FACE BLANK. For making her call them at all, she would. Can anyone say displacement?

From a hallway that was suspiciously close to a certain greenrider's weyr, a harper facepalmed as he strode toward the exit that would lead outside to the walk behind the falls and the wherhandler apartments. He lifted a gloved hand as a beautifully colored - if only her temprament could be as lovely - salamandyr drifted downward on outspread wings. "There are far nicer ways to do that." He tsked softly. The gold crooned to him and curled as much around his wrist as she could manage. Harperlove ask, Dementia do. Love Dementia more than beautiful wicked flyer-rider now? "You and Dmisk are most important." Lies, she sulked, licking at the wrist.

Dmitri waved to Eikane as he slipped inside and pressed his back against the wall, half-lounging there. Who would be their newest victims after tonight?

---

Howls, mental tugs and angry salamandyr voices jerked Ximera awake quite aptly, the girl's eyes flaring open. She bounced out of bed with a rather undignified - though happy - squeal, bouncing on the balls of her feet for a few moments. "The whers! The whers are hatching!" Snatching up Laddy, who was chattering excitedly to her about a possible new friend that he could talk to - since she never had managed to liberate Mr. Black the pot - the girl forgot everything else. Sandals. White robe. (Did they even wear such to wher hatchings?)

The little girl stopped in the boys section of the barracks to repeat her elated message - as if the earlier summons hadn't been clear enough - before darting towards a familar hulking shape. "Dinag, Dinag, wake up or you'll be late!" Oh! She spun on a heel. "Darmori, the whers!" Ximera didn't wait for either of the two boys, however, though she did pause long enough to make sure they were at least stirring around. It would be terrible for her to be late and her new love to miss her and go be all alone and sad in the wilds, now wouldn't it?

Darting pell mell towards the wherhandler apartments, she suddenly stopped and dashed back. Most people would have thought to retrieve her robe so she wasn't just flitting around in her - well it was a touch too short it was - nightshirt. But no. What she snatched up were several glorious night flowers that she'd retrieved from the high branches of the trees, kept alive in a vase by her bed just for this moment. Enough for a lovely bouquet for Eikask. (Hopefully she'd put a good word in, or at least be accepting of Ximera, as a result.) Enough for that, along with three smaller budding ones for the wher she hoped to Impress tonight. A birthday gift!

She glanced uncertainly at the large blue, but slipped past him just the same when he didn't move, eyes immediately snagging on the moving egg as she breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn't started without her just yet. The girl made her way mincingly toward Eikask, making soft crooning sounds in her throat and rounding her shoulders submissively. "Beautiful gold...to compliment your beauty." She quickly placed the flowers (other than the three meant for a birthday present) in front of the clutchmother before skittering back and smiling as sweetly as she could, her eyes flicking toward the rocking egg.

[Avu]

Nngh.

So much noise.

That much of the noise was mental didn’t register on Vix. Details like that generally didn’t, not when he was sleeping, please and thank you. The Candidate curled into a tighter ball, burrowing his face against his pillow and actually whimpering in distress. Wanted sleep so, so bad…the sound of other Candidates moving around, though, finally woke Vix entirely. If nothing else, he was a relatively light sleeper. Uncoiling, he lifted his head, sleep-bleary eyes warily appraising his surroundings before a look somewhere between utter confusion and a scowl passed across his face.

“The hell – ?”

All the same, Vix did shove back his covers, slowly, as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Huff. Curiosity killed the feline, maybe, but Vix was always insatiably curious and this whole racket-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing they had going on? Yeah, it was intriguing enough to warrant his attention, maybe. Vix groped blindly through his trunk (now fit with a hidden lock, thank you Dinag and the archives) for a shirt and pants, managed to get them on without tripping, and then padded silently, barefoot, out of the Barracks, drifting in the little eddy of Candidates.

Vix wasn’t familiar with the Wherhandlers’ Apartments. It wasn’t a place he frequented (he had no desire to become a wherhandler, after all), so he remained relatively (read: entirely) oblivious as the destination grew nearer. And yes, somehow he’d missed the whole ‘Hatching’ thing – the calls had been registered more as chaos and noise than as actual, you know, words. Rubbing his eyes, Vix curled bare toes against the warmth that emanated from the floor of what served as the Hatching…place-thing…for the whers, casting a slightly wary glance at the large blue.

The eggs, though. They were moving. Oh. So that was what everything was about. Vix blinked, and then shrugged. “’M I allowed to watch?” he inquired out loud, to nobody in particular – the blue, maybe? Vix didn’t really expect a reply. Maybe he could just kind of…linger in the doorway. Which he did, standing back as not to actually obstruct other Candidates; his cheek pressed against the wooden frame so he could see inside. Whers…his eyes cut briefly to the gold and then back to the eggs. Not pretty creatures. Even ugly, perhaps.

It didn’t matter. He was awake, and there was a show going on, so he might as well stick around, right? Nobody’d see him (the blue wher nearby wasn’t going to announce his presence or anything, surely?), he was at a Weyr…midnight entertainment. Awesome.


[maul away. <3]

[Rei]

Darmori shot up in bed completely awake as the tugging on his mind continued. Along with a loud message from a mandyr, no doubt, that had Harmony hissing from her position on his bedpost. His gold had ran only about a week ago and had been in good spirits since then. Even if she did constantly talk about her Implove and that in turn made the candidate want to go search out Darya. Ick. That part of their bond he could so do without. She didn’t even have nice hair. Trust it to his gold to pick a mate who’s bonded had dead limp hair. Life was so unfair. Still there was not much time to think about such things as Ximera chose that moment to enter the room with calls about whers. It was finally happening! The hatching. Throwing his covers aside and rolling out of bed Darmori hastened to his trunk with Harmony peering at him from above. Donning the white robe (why couldn’t he wear it?) he offered a hand to the mandyr and hesitated. Part of him didn’t want to take her. He didn’t want his gold to upset Eikask. But the problem with that was if he neglected to take her she would follow anyway. Harmony always went with him, everywhere, unless she was asleep and if she woke up without him she threw a royal fit.

Sigh. He would have to take his chances. His yellow gold leapt down to take her customary position as shoulder ornament. Tail wrapping around his neck like some choker collar. He didn’t feel any disproval from her just a vast curiosity which he saw as good. Hopefully she wouldn’t get all possessive on him when the babies started coming. It didn’t take the pair long to arrive at their destination. Harmony giving polite croons to Dementia, Dmisk, and Eikask although likely she would be ignored by her mandyr mother. Not that she cared. Soon she would have children of her own after all and she could show Dementia how a mother was supposed to act. Darmori bowed low to the gold before approaching the rocking eggs. Nervousness flowed through him, tempered a little by the mandyr on his shoulder who hummed to the rocking eggs. Babies where coming. Yes babies where indeed coming the candidate thought before shooting a nervous smile at Ximera. At least he had company.

~~~

As if losing her bedmate to the hatching wasn’t enough now she had a enthusiastic flitter tugging on her hair. Refusing to allow her to fall into slumber. Amour grabbed Elysia’s hair in his jaws and gave it a few vigorous tugs. Up! Up! Wake up lovely. Babies coming she had to see them. Please. Wake up! Baron twitched his tail once from where he, fortunately, remained asleep on the end of the bed. At these one of her browns had sense. With a frustrated groan. The greenrider rolled over and glared at the younger brown. “Go away.” Amour twittered and leapt onto her bare chest rubbing his head under her chin. Must see babies. It would be a gift to them to see her beauty upon hatching. With a frustrated snort Elysia realized the only way to shut him up was attend the stupid hatching.

How perfectly annoying. He was so not worth the seven marks she paid for him. “Fine, fine. Get the hell off me. I’m coming.” She impatiently brushed the firelizard off her chest before removing herself from bed and throwing a short black night shift over her head. She ignored the sling for her elbow, even if she should be wearing it. It looked horrible on her. Besides if they expected her to dress for the occasion they where all dead wrong. Modesty be damned. Making sure her blade was strapped to her thigh she exited her weyr with Amour twittering on her bare shoulder. The brown occasionally leaping off to execute excited midair twists before coming back to rest on her.

As the greenrider drew up to the hatching area she cooed softly to Dmisk running her hand lightly over his head in a brief hello before making for the door. “Excuse me.” She said briskly to the candidate lingering in the doorway before entering the room. Dark eyes scanned the scene before her, a short brisk bow to the gold before she strode over to Dmitri. Still had yet to meet any of her Dem’s handler friends. This would be an amusing first meeting. Leaning against the wall beside him Elysia ignored Dementia completely, standing on tip toes to whisper in the harper's ear. “Better be worth the interruption.” Amour in turn leapt off her shoulder to land in front of Eikask. Giving a sweeping bow he crooned to her. Oh lovely her babies would be. He looked forward to meeting them. With another chirp he took to wing and settled on Eikane’s shoulder. There perfect vantage point.

(Feel free to maul <3)

[Ruby]

Pidesk had been slightly calmer for a few days after the Touching, where he'd finally gotten to see the eggs. In the last week, however, his nerves had increased exponentially, far out-stripping his previous discomfort. He was going to be a father. Any day now, babies would hatch, and they would be his. Well, half his, but close enough. When Piden informed him that they would be mentoring a pair at some point during Training, Pidesk had only dithered more, worrying about his ability, his own inexperiance, what if he said the wrong thing and scarred his lovely baby forever...

You will be FINE, Piden said, in a much stronger thought than usual. He patted Pidesk's shoulder and used his heels to get the Bronze moving again, trotting through the forest on Selenitas' far edge. Piden scanned the darkness, fiddling with his red armband and wishing that he hadn't agreed to this, because obviously it was so necessary. Whine whine whine, complain complain, Pidesk commented, kicking up his heels so his Handler was thrown further forward on his neck. "Hey now!" Piden snapped, trying to regain his balance.

He had only just gotten back upright when Pidesk stopped short, throwing Piden forward again. "Shards, you idiot! What did you go stopping like that for? I know you don't see anything!" That was true, but he had heard something. A summons-call, or something like it. Hard to tell, this far away. It was only seconds before Eikask touched his mind, however, and Pidesk only gave his handler a second of warning - hold on - before bounding back towards the apartments at a breakneck pace. Certainly the Weyr could stay unwatched as long as it took the clutch to hatch. "So that's it," Piden muttered, leaning closer to Pidesk's flank to avoid being unseated by branches. "Hopefully this will kill any ability to have children - that would make it worth it," he added sulkily. Really, did Pidesk have to jump over everything he saw?

Only once he reached the Apartments did the Bronze slow down, requesting that his rider dismount. Piden complied, brushing windswept hair off his forehead as Pidesk nodded briefly at Dmisk, approving of his position, before heading straight for Eikask. He reached out for a nuzzle - beautiful clutch, certainly they would be beautiful babies! Look at their mother! - before settling next to her, sharp eyes on the waiting Candidates. Let them know they were being watched by as many eyes as possible.

Piden followed shortly afterwards, hovering by the door. Should he stand next to Eikane, like in a Dragon hatching, despite the fact that they had hardly spoken since the Run? Should he stand as far away from Dmitri as possible, something that was certainly good for his health? Should he... Hello, who was that? Piden shamelessly ran his eyes over Dmitri's 'friend' as she whispered in his ear, clearly appraising (come on, any girl dressed like that was asking for it, even in the middle of the night). Well, eye candy was a second point in favor of standing across the room from Dmitri, so Piden went with that option. There was some wall availible, which he chose to lean against, running his eyes over the clutch and occasionally flicking them to Eikane or the scantily-clad Greenrider. Pidesk's nerves were getting to him, Piden realized - he crossed his arms to hide the shaking, fixing his eyes on the Tango egg, now. Almost time.

(maul away!)

[Ember]

Eikask was grateful for Dmisk getting Loud One's gold-nasty to broadcast that her eggs were hatching. Not that she hadn't already done so, but the stupids (thanks for supplying that, Dementia) might have been too stupid to understand. How they would go about understanding her babies if they didn't understand her.... Nothing to be done about it though. A stupid was better than the wild. Any of her babies deserved more than that. The gold watched the various bows and...gifts. She sniffed the flowers brought to her by a girl before placing a paw on them posessively. Hers now. The other mindmate that Darmori brought met with disapproval and she brushed his mind so he'd know it. Her babies weren't good enough to earn all his attention?

Pidesk's arrival made the queen stand up and greet him with a return muzzle. She didn't care much if they were shiny or not, browns and bronzes were all good - so long as they paid attention to her. Pidesk's doting on her and her eggs made the queen happy. She'd been unwilling to accept him right away since he seemed to favour the greens but he'd proven himself to be a good father, at the very least. Nautsk, too, wasn't too bad. Not that the queen would ever admit it.... The gold glanced at her clutchsister settled in the corner where she'd been allowed to stay when she came to watch over the eggs. Pidesk, Dmisk, and Nautsk...they were all special cases for one reason or another.

Eikane smiled as he recognized at least a couple of the people present. A few of them had been to the touching. He waved back to Dmitri. Not long after a woman walked in and stood with Dmitri. Oh? That was interesting. She was pretty attractive too (the thought earned him a jealous growl from Eikask). He switched his attention to Piden as he entered and waved at the man. It had been a bit awkward around the bronzehandler after the Run since Eikane was holdborn and had a Nautic but he'd gotten over it after a bit. Something landing on his shoulder made him blink and he was about to greet the firelizard when there was a loud creel.

The Tango Egg, which had been covered in tiny cracks all over it's surface finally broke apart into many pieces. The wher that stepped out from the fragments of the shell was a bright green, eyes whirling alarmed colours. She stumbled through the other eggs making a horrible racket. Alone! So alone! Where was Hers? She couldn't possibly live without Hers! She wasted no time wandering towards the candidates while Eikask commented to Pidesk how strange their daughter was. While the Tango Green continued to attract as much attention as possible another baby was well on its way to breaking out of its shell.

Unnoticed by the clutchmother, a piece of the Jive Egg had broken off and a snout could be seen poking out and inhaling deeply. The colour was hard to make out. It could have been brown or bronze. The Jive Wher made no other moves, seemingly waiting for something. The Tango Green approached Ximera and sniffed her before sitting and howling mournfully. No! This one wasn't Hers! She was nice but not Hers. She continued to howl where she was until a clear bark from the Jive Wher made her glance back at the clutch. There was a moment of silent communication between the two whers before the Tango Green barked back and stood up again. The green scanned those present for a moment. No, no, no, no....

Eikask barked in alarm as her green daughter headed towards the exit at a quick pace. No, no! Silly daughters shouldn't go wild! That wasn't the Tango Green's intention though. Instead of actually leaving she turned towards Tekivix and crooned. Her clutchbrother was soooooo nice to encourage her. Of course Hers was here. She bumped Vix with her head and licked his thigh. He wouldn't leave her alone anymore, right? She didn't ever want Hers to be so far away again! Yes, he'd look after his Tekivisk. The Jive Egg sudden cracked in half, and the helpful brother was revealed to be a bronze.

----

Tango Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Tekivix
Foxtrot Egg - Unhatched
Waltz Egg - Unhatched
Quickstep Egg - Unhatched
Vienesse Waltz Egg - Unhatched
Paso Doble Egg - Unhatched
Jive Egg - Hatched Bronze

[raii]

Karou lifted her head sleepily at the soft howling sound that reached her ears. Just as she began to drift back to sleep, the golden wher tugged on her mind. Oh, the wher eggs were hatching, were they? For a moment, she felt the surge of old excitement, but immediately repressed it. How many hatchings had she been at? She'd even attended a fire lizard hatching once, and even those mindless little buggers didn't like her. Ah yes, a life of eternal candidacy. Or, for a few more years, at least. The candidates all seemed so much younger than her.

She groaned inwardly, dragging herself to her feet. No matter how little excitement she let herself feel, she would always feel disappointed after. Always. She grabbed one of Enia's ribbons, a good luck charm that never seemed to work. Maybe because it was her fault. No. Must not think such thoughts. Better to feel excitement and disappointed. She left her barracks, tracing her way over to the wherhandler's apartments. She reached the clutch quickly and swiftly on her long, graceful eggs.

Just as she remembered. Little people. She nudged past Ximera rudely, glaring at the girl as she tried to scuttle backwards. It was just a hatching! Yeah, maybe once she had felt the need to show respects to the queen. That got so old. It was at a much younger time when she had not yet lost (all) of her childish innocence. Or maybe she gave her younger self too much credit.

((Sorry about fail post and any possible confusions...I ish sick.))

[Ember]

Tango Green
Bonded to: Tekivix
Name: Tekivisk
Color: Green #99DD11 #337700
Physical Appearance: In build this wher is very near to the ideal. Just enough hints of femininity while not seeming delicate or weak. She is small in size over all but nothing is out of proportion. Perfect, unfortunately (or fortunately), does not quite apply though it is a near fit. Not at all hindering but certainly a bit out of place is the fork on her tail. Or rather, the lack thereof. At the very end of her tail is a small indentation but no actual fork. The way this wher moves fully expresses her emotions at the time. If sad, she will hang her head and shuffle along. If she's happy she'll be bounding effortlessly. She is more comfortable on the ground but when she does glide it is no problem for her at all.

Her colouration is what knocks her down from near perfect to simply normal. Truly, it is a rather ugly yellow-green. It is a good thing this green is not in the least bit vain or else she would be in trouble! She got truly unlucky with her colouring for it is a bright colour and stands out in the night. At her extremities the colour darkens to a slightly more pleasant green. Along her back is a broad stripe of the same darker green that is lightly spotted with the yellow-green. Her wings are a solid yellow-green in colour and not very translucent. Almost any other colour and she would have been a true beauty.

Personality: Easily her most definable trait is just how expressive this green is. Any emotion she has very nearly radiates from her, almost as if she has an aura. It is a lucky thing that this wher is often happy. She likes everyone at first glance and continues to like them unconditionally if they don't hurt her or Hers in any way. Her mission seems to be trying to befriend anyone she meets. She is even quicker to try and form bonds with blue and brown whers and can indeed be a little flirt on occasion. Bronzes she will avoid in a sign of respect to queens for this green seems to know her 'place' very well. Obedient to a fault, she is. If a queen or Hers says to do anything she will do it without hesitation. Bronzes also have some influence on her though she won't blindly follow them.

She is not meant for solitary life at all. She becomes highly agitated any time she is without some kind of company. Her happiness is also highly dependant on Hers being nearby. She can manage being apart from them for a short amount of time but prolonged separation will make her howl to the heavens until they are reunited. Beyond the couple of quirks she has, this green is relatively normal. She does not get jealous nor is she obsessive. Hers has little to fear of this wher causing much trouble at all unless Hers requests that she make trouble.

[Tashe]

The infamous Greenpair had been in their usual corner when Eikask let forth her howl, Nautsk almost rolling over onto Her's in surprise. Both the Wher and the human had been sleeping, they had taken (more like allowed) to keeping Eikane and his Gold company during the long stretches of night where there was nothing to do but sit and wait in case the eggs decided to hatch. Despite their often stays, suddenly being disturbed from their nap was quite a startling happenstance. Pushing his Green's tail off of his legs, Nautic sat up and brushed the straw off of his hands before rubbing his eyes free of sleep. Gosh that Eikask could certainly be so very loud. Using Nautsk's leg to help himself up off the ground, the Handler brushed the rest of his clothing free of debris. Meanwhile Nautsk was nearly shaking with excitement. She was so ready to meet the hatchlings! They were going to hatch soon, very very soon! Would they know she helped watch over them? Probably not... but still, she was proud to say that she had! Nautsk was grateful to Eikask for eventually letting her help watch, even if it was from this corner of the room most of the time. Turning in a tight circle as she tried to restrain herself from rushing over to the eggs, Nautsk nudged her Human and chirped. Look, look! Did he see?

"Yes, yes Nautsky I see. Hard not to." Shifting his attention as the first of the people began to show up, Nautic forced his Green to stillness by leaning against her shoulder. She wouldn't move for fear of upsetting his balance and allowing him to fall on the ground. When Dmitri entered, Nautic gave him a wave but didn't expect one in return. He was kind in the shadow of his Wher. Candidates, Elysia, more candidates, Piden... he 'tched' when the Bronzerider made an appearance. He honestly didn't have anything against the man, and his wher was very nice to Nautsk, but it wouldn't be a lie if you said he was a little sore about the fact Pidesk had been the one to win Eikask's Run. Nautic didn't like the thought then, and even more so now. He sighed. "Whatever." Looking to Eikane, he waited until he caught the Goldhandler's eye before offering the older man a double thumbs up. Nautic crossed his arms and yawned. He normally didn't take naps, but when he did it usually left him more tired than he had been before. Wobbling as Nautsk began to shift even more, the Greenhandler sighed before blinking in surprise as the Green fell still.

The hatchling was a Green! Oh what a pretty baby the first hatching was! Crooning happily Nautsk wanted to bound over to her and greet the little one, but she restrained herself. Oh no oh no! She should impress, she should listen to her mother! Nautsk fluttered her wings in distress. But when the little green turned to a Human the older settled he wings with an approving chirp. Another male Greenhandler! Maybe her's would make good friends with the boy. She surely hoped so! And then she could become friends with the little Green too. That would be nice. It would be even nicer if she could make friends with all the Wher hatchlings! Raising her head so she could see the Bronze hatchling better, Nautsk rumbled and chirped quietly. Oh exciting exciting!

[ryanne]

Dinag was proudly awake, having snuck back into the Records Room. He'd been pouring over the archives for hours, his sleep schedule successfully adjusted to what he thought a wherhandler's should be. He knew it was overly optimistic to assume that he was going to Impress, but he wanted to be prepared just in case. He wouldn't be able to care for a growing wher if he was unable to stay awake during the night when the hatchling was the most active. It only made sense to switch his schedule proceeding the hatching. He'd gotten a couple odd looks from the other candidates, but he just brushed it off, saying that he'd always been this active at night. He wasn't sure how much people believed him, but he didn't care.

As he poured over yet another record about whers' activity in the Mines, he felt the tug towards the hatching. For a moment he brushed off the mental irregularity until he realized what it was. HATCHING!? Shards, he all but jumped out of his chair. He needed to get to the hatching. He couldn't be late. Did he have everything he needed? Did he even need anything? Robe, sandals, shards. He muttered some more violent curses as he hastily put the records back and grabbed his glow. He had to sneak quietly back to the Barracks and get his robes and sandals and STILL get to the hatching quickly. He couldn't be late.

Hoping that him being awake already would help him get there on time, he hurried out. Just as he left the Records Room, an assault on his mind in the form of a salamandyr's mindvoice shrieking her demand of everyone's presence. He winced, tripped, and squashed his glow at the sound. Again, a string of obscenities left his mouth. Dinag realized that with the broken glow, he was going to have to find his way back to the Barracks in the dark. That was going to be interesting. Thankfully, he spent enough time wandering around the weyr that he was pretty sure he could manage it.

Hurrying, he made it to the Barracks just in time to see everyone else departing for the wherhandlers' apartments. He threw on his robe and sandals in record time and was trailing not too far behind the main group when entering the room with the eggs and clutchmother. He bowed respectfully to the gold wher, wary of her attention. She seemed properly proud of her eggs, but he remembered how protective she'd been of them during the touching. He didn't want to get mauled by the hatchlings, but, even more than that, he didn't want the gold to maul him either for some slight he didn't know he even committed. The chances of that were low, but he was still going to be careful.

Joining the throng of candidates, he watched the eggs with growing interest. One looked close to hatching and, just as it caught his attention, it shattered, revealing a small green. He watched her with eager eyes. Dinag had no ambitious goals, he just wanted a partner. In his mind, a green was just as capable of providing that as a gold. He winced a bit at the green's howl, hoping that she wasn't going to hurt the small girl she sat in front of. It took him a moment to recognize her as the odd girl that he'd run into in the Jungle. He watched with bated breath, hoping that the innocent girl didn't get injured.

Shards, he'd missed that the Jive Egg had opened. Of course, the hatchling had yet to completely emerge, but it just upped his level of anticipation even more. More hatching eggs meant more hatchlings which meant more bondings which meant that he had more chances. It took a lot of self control to keep himself from fidgeting or shifting from foot to foot. He didn't want to appear too anxious, even though he knew that most of the candidates were just as on edge as he was.

He was already mourning the loss of the green to wild when the green stopped and Chose her handler. Dinag let out a small sigh of relief, any Impression was better than a wild wher.

He didn't have much time to contemplate that. Instead, he focused his attention on the egg that had begun to reveal its hatchling already. A healthy bronze removed himself from the shell to stand in front of the candidates. Dinag smiled, his eyes flitting from the unhatched eggs to the bronze and back again. He didn't want to miss another egg hatching.

[Avu]

…

Okay then.

Vix crinkled up his nose at Elysia’s back, more out of habit than anything that the greenrider had done, before his gaze slid uncertainly back to the clutch. He absentmindedly nodded his head up and down against the doorway to soothe an itch on his cheek. The Candidates hadn’t seemed to notice him – in fact, the only acknowledgement of his existence had been Elysia’s ‘excuse me’ and Vix was very much okay with that. He settled for watching the eggs, crossing one leg behind him at the ankle and leaning against the doorframe a little more heavily. Now that he knew, the initial interest was starting to fade. Maybe he could sleep standing up, hrm…

The first egg cracked, and Vix leaned forward automatically. Oh. A green. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but something vaguely stirred in the back of his mind. Something about Hatchings and greens…? That thought – as well as any others – were immediately dispersed at the little green’s howl, and Vix jumped visibly, muttering a curse under his breath as he received a splinter in his index finger for his trouble. He brought his hand up to his mouth, pulling it out with his teeth as the green bolted for the exit, and automatically shuffled backwards to let her go, but –

But.

But.

What?

His brain had short-circuited. Vix stared blankly at the little green whose tongue ran in a hot stripe up his thigh. But he didn’t need to think, because thoughts were being helpfully provided for him, most prominent throughout the feeling of love and a name, a name so close to his own that it seemed, at first, a mispronunciation of it. The green, however, had flung up her head, tail actually wagging behind her, and the rainbows in her eyes and the upwards curve of her open mouth, a mimicry of a human smile, was undeniable, as was the wave of adoration that poured across him.

Vix opened his mouth, expecting something to come out. Nothing did. After a moment, he dropped to his knees, bringing his hands up to cradle the wherlet’s head, exhaling weakly. He should be panicking. He hadn’t wanted to get tied down to the Weyr, hadn’t wanted to Impress, hadn’t wanted…any of this. He’d planned on leaving within the next few sevendays (though admittedly the chances of his actually carrying that out had been low), moving on to – to – did it matter now? Vix huffed out a weary breath again, dropping his head to press his forehead against Tekivisk’s, closing his eyes as her tongue slipped out to lick along the line of his jaw.

“What am I supposed to do with you?” he asked softly.

Love her, feed her, blood her, keep her –

Vix rocked back on his heels, so abruptly that Tekivisk whined at the loss of the touch, scrambled after him with obvious anxiety. “What was that one? Blood – ” He blanched despite himself, lost his balance, and ended up on his rump, back against the wall outside of the wher Hatching Sands, Tekivisk pressing close to him. “I don’t – I mean, blood, Tekivisk, I don’t – aw, shards…”

[glamourie]

Pretty loudling!
“Oh for Faranth’s sake.”
Wakey, sleeping dumb. Wake. Up. Go see loudling. Wanna see loudling.

Marsayis lifted one hand and proceeded to rub his temples irritably. He wasn’t asleep. It was rare for Sayis to actually be asleep at night, with the heat as bad as it was. That didn’t stop Calamari from jumping around him excitedly – apparently spurred on by the ridiculously loud creature that was announcing to all of Pern (he felt certain even people in Telgar could hear her) that ‘nightbeasts’ were hatching. He had about as much interest in whers as he did in hemorrhoids, though that didn’t stop Calamari from biting his nose and repeating chants. Apparently, the salamandyr just had to see the loud pretty. How did he even know she was pretty? She was probably a fat little nuisance. There seemed to be a plethora of fat salamandyrs and he was betting this one was no exception. Calamari wasn’t. (The thought earned him a quiet hiss and Calamari proceeded to preen – he was handsome and he would surely woo this lovely one too.)

Seeing pretty! Come! Come! Come! Calamari then bolted – right out of the candidate barracks (nevermind that he was projecting loud enough that anyone still asleep would probably still hear him) and Marsayis literally slammed his hand into his face in frustration. Why did he have to Impress such a neurotic piece of work? It probably was an ugly salamandyr. Probably. Hopefully. The last thing he needed was his little pestilence following around someone else’s like a loving, loyal puppy. How ridiculous.

Rolling out of his cot, the candidate proceeded to walk over to Kostya’s bed and rip the blankets from on top of him. He didn’t bother to dress (he was wearing a pair of pants and they ought to have been glad for it), nor did he try any kind of manners in waking his friend. Instead, he reached down and grabbed Kostya by the arm and forcibly hauled him out of the bed. If he had to be around nightbeasts to save his moronic pet from certain humiliation, he was not coming without a meatsack to keep himself from harm. “Wake up, Kostenka, we have to rescue the stupid worm from certain demise.” He didn’t wait for Kostya to get himself straightened out or even stretch, immediately dragging him out of the candidate barracks and in the direction that he knew his little menace had gone. The wherhandlers had the best rooms in the whole bloody Weyr. There was no justice in the world as far as he was concerned.

Calamari arrived first, skittering into the wherhandler apartments and then climbing up a wall. Scrambling, he turned and frilled before cooing right at Dementia, obviously adoring – he was nothing if not fond of fixating on females, Lovely pretty. Lovely. Heard you~

Moments later did Marsayis arrive, his friend being hauled around by the arm with him, and the second he set foot in the apartments, his eyes darted around. And the first thing he saw was a salamandyr on a boy’s shoulder that looked downright yellow. Releasing Kostya, Marsayis pointed at her, head tilting up toward Calamari (yes, he’d mistaken Harmony for the one who released the deafening scream about nightbeasts hatching) in disgust, “I knew it. Why did you have to pick a fat, ugly little salamandyr to fixate on? Ugh. I need to teach you the philosophies of better taste – now come down from there before I skin you and feed you to someone’s feline, you annoying little piece of work.” And if he was keeping his friend in front of him (no doubt to get mauled if any of the hatching beasties decided to come near him), what of it? WHAT OF IT?!

[Sheari]

Emiliah did not feel a tug. She'd not been present at the Touching so it was safe to say she wasn't even a candidate! Nonetheless, she had found a room with the regular weyrfolk and was sleeping quite soundly, until Shrew screeched. The high pitch turned to a low hiss as it was all Emi could do to keep the agitated lizard from waking up someone else. Only the echo of the Salamandyr's broadcast let the girl know what was going on.

There were babies hatching. Wher babies.

Drowsily, Emiliah slipped into some white clothes (she had no candidate robe) and put on some shoes. Where were they hatching? She'd been to the hatching grounds once to try and peek at the eggs, but they hadn't been there. The only other place she could think of were the WherHandler apartments. Really? She only had a vague recollection of how to get there! With a barely audible groan, Emiliah put the hissing Shrew on her shoulder, straightened her posture and smoothed down any wrinkles that might be in her shirt, and began to make her way. Shrew hissed, arching her back and flaring her wings; she really didn't like 'mandyrs. The only thing keeping her on the shoulder of Hers was a hand and the fact that she knew Hers wasn't fond of crowds, even small ones.

Left, left, right? Straight...did she make a wrong turn? Panic began to set in a little at the thought of being lost, with it being dark, and the weyr being asleep. No! Emiliah broke into a run, making turns every which way and only by nearly tripping did she slow down and realize where she was at. Emiliah began walking, her breathing slowly steadying as she walked into the room that she had been looking for. There were a couple other whers and a few more people than she had been expecting. The girl took a place along the wall. She was fine if none of the hatchlings chose her, she could see one had already chosen and one yet was still already hatched. She hadn't brought anything but herself and Shrew.

If the gold mother was unhappy with her late (or disheveled) appearance, maybe she'd be pleased that she had come at all, not being a wherhandler, and not, technically, being a candidate.

[Lotty]

She hadn't seen her wherhandlers in a long time. The longest time! Yes, she acted like they were hers, because in her humble opinion they all must be when she was friends with three of them. Yes, three, but she had been neglecting her duties of keeping track of them or even of the gossip that may or may not have been following them around. It started with just being busy. There was that candidate she was helping, but she got straightened out. She Impressed after all! Her dragon was a little nutso, but dragons were not in her job description... and then that poor dear who lost her salamandyr. So sad! Then well she bumped into that weyrling and almost got kidnapped by his dragon and she had work and oh the list just seemed to never end.

But tonight she escaped.

Sure she had night shifts. Rae had been stuck with them since she arrived at the weyr forever ago, and while she initially considered it to be just paying her dues, she had begun to think that whomever was in charge of the schedule found great humor in the idea of such a sunny disposition working all night long. That didn't stop the girl though, she had this big gapping gap in her night with which to eat, sleep, or search out those other poor souls who may just be nocturnal too. And she wondered how it was that she managed to bump into the wherhandlers all the time.

No doubt she was wide awake for Dementia's loud, loud, loud announcement and despite the chorus of groans it surely elicited from the countless residents woken from their sleep it had a rather inverse effect for herself. She squealed with delight and clapped her hands together merrily right there in the kitchens, swaying a half dozing Cap'n on her shoulder. He was not quite as delighted. Turning her head to the honey-eyed darter she chirped in her own sing songy voice, "Oh Cap'n, my Cap'n, shall we go and peek at the whers hmm?" The bird was unreactive, but Raebeli knew how to change this, "Treats afterwards? I just want to pop in on some old friends..."

And that was the end of that, for the pair were off to search out this hatching. Truly a quest for a girl like her...it was sharding hard to navigate in the dark, but she did get there by way of following the gathering candidates and hopping in line behind a few that had sprinted right past her along a long dark stretch of corridor, though instead of heading right for those eggs, she instead removed herself to the side - Eikask didn't know her after all, ad she didn't want to be picked out and eaten - and looked out for the faces she knew. Didn't see a Quintrell, but there was a Dmitri and a Nautic. Now who to Surprise first? Hmmmmmm? She decided she would get the attention of both being equally opportunity friend she was. Bouncing up behind Nautic, she covered his eyes - was that really necessary in the wherhandler apartments? - and cooed to him, "Guesss whoooo?" Releasing her hands he was able to spare at wave at Demi whether he deigned to look over at her or not. He did seem a little more preoccupied with people who must be much cooler than her.

[Requiem]

Dmisk carefully gave His a mental nudge where Dementia couldn't feel it, a warning of seconds before Elysia arrived on the scene. Which was good indeed, considering the anger was enough to make his hand twitch, even with the warning. Dementia hissed quite thunderously for one so small, frill flaring and waving. Beautiful wicked flyer-rider not allowed, she insisted in a venomous tone. Nightbeast place. No have nightbeast, no can come. Where nightbeast? Flyer-rider stealer harperlove GO WAY. Dmitri plucked her by the tail before Dementia could make good on the desire to carve pretty grids in Elysia's face. "Still." She went limp, but that didn't keep her from growling. A brow rose mildly. "You're catching everyone's attention dressed that way...no doubt intentional. Dementia thinks this is her territory, clearly." Is. Too angry to be more fluent than that, apparently. "It might be interesting; someone annoying might get mauled at least."

Dmisk settled his head further on his forelegs, apologizing to Eikask for the queen worm and her hot temper. She did not like that human...though really, Dementia raged at many things, so it wasn't new. The female was temporarily mollified by the arrival of a salamandyr clearly singing her praises, though all he received from her in return was the closing of her frills and a tilt of her head in curiosity. What was he doing? Meant be heard. Who you? A question that she didn't wait to hear an answer to, as the person's words infuriated her all over again. This time Dmitri flinched, eyes flicking toward the candidate talking about fat uglies. Devil cock baby ugly, big fat ugly goldie, you stupid? No can see? Come close, help you see, she added, wickedly sweet whilst flexing her claws from where she dangled by her tail.

---

Oh she was beautiful! Ximera froze mid-backpedal, staring at the lovely green to break shell. So so very beautiful. There couldn't be a more beautiful green wher on all Pern she was sure! "Did you see her, Laddie?" she asked the ladle, holding him up a lightly higher against her hip (wouldn't want anyone to think she might try to beat a little wherling with a spoon, but people could be so silly sometimes). "Gorgeous." Her eyes flicked toward Eikask, followed by a pleasant smile. "You make such beautiful babies. Is that your mate?" A smile for Pidesk too. "She's gorgeous, mr. Bronze."

Gorgeous or no, though, that wail was absolutely heart-wrenching. Ximera felt her heart drop through the floor at the poor baby crying in front of her. Tears welled in her eyes. She hadn't meant to upset her! But before she could think of anything to do or say, a body pushed into her from behind and Ximera stumbled, falling flat on her seat with a soft cry. She stared right into the little green wher's eyes before the poor thing stopped creeling and headed toward the door. Oh no! Was she so wrong that she made the babies leave? Laddie insisted she wasn't, but she couldn't stop the sniffles, and ow! She'd scraped her knee when she fell. Her hand fisted around the flowers' stems as she wiped at her eyes with her other arm.