measure your life in love (ellie's hatching)

[glamourie]

The steady thrum of humming was enough to wake the dead that morning – so close to dawn that most of the Weyr would still be asleep. It was high pitched humming, too, and so clearly not draconic. The source of the sound was a group of firelizards all huddling around a wicker basket. Inside was a clutch of eggs that undeniably belonged to the proud gold perching on the resting brown dragon’s back. The sun was creeping up over the horizon but it was still dark and Checkoth was not quite awake yet – as evidenced by the rapid pushing on his side of his rider. R’wign was awake because his mindmates gave him no other option. Ellie was very excited, you see, as the eggs in the basket were moving and when she’d tapped them, something inside had tapped back: her babies would be hatching soon, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew that the best clutch of firelizards ever to be laid was soon to be hatching for the world to see. She’d nibbled R’wign’s ear (and gotten mistaken for M’ta) until he woke up, and he was currently half-asleep, eye still closed, pushing on his dragon’s flank helplessly.

“Wake up. Wake up, Check,” R’wign mumbled, rubbing at his empty eye socket grumpily. He made quite an amusing sight standing there in pants and a sweater. R’wign never wore clothes to bed but shards, it was cold. “Ellie’s eggs are hatching. Wake up... guhh... stupid dragon.. wake.. UP!”

The last word was punctuated by a kick to Checkoth’s flank that made him twitch both of his tails in irritation. The movement was so subtle that most people would’ve missed it – but what happened next was enough that no one would have overlooked. Being half-asleep, Checkoth had no way of knowing that there was a basket of firelizard eggs right by him... and his tails did the unthinkable, sweeping the basket clear off the weyrledge and into the canyon below. That one movement was punctuated by a scream so deafening that it could (and possibly would) wake the dead as Ellie and her flitter companions all dove over the edge of the ledge after the basket. And R’wign’s face turned a very comical shade of red that could only be described as horrified. Even Checkoth lifted his head, his eyes immediately going pale in embarrassment and he squeaked, swinging his head over the ledge to see if – if –

- no, the basket had not splattered the eggs and the poor babies within lifelessly on the rocks of the river. Instead, it hung precariously from an egg formation of rocks almost directly above the infirmary ledge. It would be very difficult for any humans to maneuver their way up there, but anyone sleeping was surely awake thanks to Ellie’s unbelievably loud screeching. The gold was upset, and understandably so: her babies were in danger. And the healer apprentices unfortunate enough to try and help were actually dive bombed by her blue companions, deliberately keeping others away from her eggs. Not trusted, they were not trusted, no no no –

Someone get meat and anyone wanting firelizards, come to the infirmary to help. The Elliegold’s babies are in danger!

Swoosh. R’wign scrambled to his feet and turned in a run toward the infirmary in a worry that very distinctly resembled an anxious father. He didn’t even stop to tell M’ta what was going on – but Checkoth’s proclamation was for all to hear, and surely someone would be able to help. Hopefully. Maybe. Poor, poor Ellie.

---

1. Rent Egg Impressed: Blue Poe to Ruliana
2. One Song Glory Egg Impressed: Blue Bubbles to X'rx
3. Today 4 U Egg Impressed: Green Feather to E'rro
4. Out Tonight Egg Impressed: Green ? to K'fuzzi
5. Another Day Egg Impressed: Blue ? to Perion
6. La Vie Boheme Egg Impressed: Green ? to A'emi
7. Seasons of Love Egg Impressed: Green Sweetheart to Nephele
8. Contact Egg Impressed: Brown ? to J'ash
9. Goodbye Love Egg Impressed: Green Sel to Caden

[glamourie]

Gold Elegance and Brown Charming are proud to present….
The Over the Moon Clutch
The nine eggs of this clutch rest, precariously, in Ellie’s typical basket – but that is all that is typical. The basket hangs from an uneven slab of rock, dangling over the end of the infirmary ledge, and it’s likely that if it falls, it will bounce off the edge to send the eggs within to scatter to the rocks below. Any organization of the eggs has been disrupted by their very-awkward tumble. There’s dozens of blankets around the eggs, and some straw as well as flowers. But it’s impossible for any non-flitters to see the eggs within... and humans should take care for Ellie will not let anyone she does not trust near the dangerously positioned basket. Will the babies make it?

1. Rent Egg
An explosion of color, this egg looks like no other. The backwash of the shell is, simply put, bright red. However, trying to call it ‘red’ would be like trying to describe a rainbow as one simple color – it just isn’t a good enough description. Strips of green like scarves drape over the top of the egg, uneven and jagged, far from the most eloquent of color combinations, but it adds an accent that is decidedly original. On the bottom of the shell is a vivid purple splash, as though someone dipped it into paint at an awkward moment. Finishing off the egg’s smattering of shades are smears of yellow all over the middle, no two exactly the same size and apparently of no rhyme or reason in their designs. When considered with to the size of the egg – on par with average for the clutch, but on the small size over all – this one is likely to get a lot of attention. Perhaps it’s colored that way on purpose.

2. One Song Glory Egg
Entrancing would be a good way to describe this egg. The basic color is a pale, luminescent yellow that almost seems to glow, but as a description, this does the shell little justice. There are bright, swirls of gold that seem to flare from the center of the egg, as if there is a sun blazing from its center. Complimenting the shades of yellow are silvery hues that glitter under light, as if woven from the metal. These icy accents very distinctly resemble musical notes, as if sheet music was finely wrought from silver and gold to make this egg into the most brilliantly sculpted of its clutch. Interestingly, from afar, the yellow hues blend in with the silver to be purely metallic; a magnificent sheen to behold. Though average sized, the bright colors are sure to make this one extremely eye-catching – glorious, if on the blinding side.

3. Today 4 U Egg
This cheerful egg looks downright like candy. The backwash of it is a very pretty shade of red – brilliant to behold. However, the top and bottom have pure, fluffy white shades that break up the dazzling shades of ruby without being too extreme; it almost looks like someone carefully dabbed away the color of the shell. The entire exterior of this very ‘cute’ egg is also shiny – yes, shiny, not metallic, and definitely not dull. Shiny. It looks as if someone polished the egg to make sure that it had just enough reflection to be interesting. A casual beholder could and would be able to see their reflection on the surface, and the surrounding eggs are no reflection – in addition to being vivid red and white, all of the other eggs show up on the shell, making it by far the most unique to behold. After all, not only is it pretty on its own, but it has all of its siblings to make it even more gorgeous! What luck!

4. Out Tonight Egg
The backwash of this egg is black, but to call it a dark egg would be a gross miscalculation not many would make. The reason for this is simple: Electric color jolts all over the shell, adding brilliant brightness that is more than enough to make the average person turn and stare. From the vivid pink highlights to poisonous green, blinding yellow and touches of a shade of blue that the sky only wishes it could accomplish, this is one very cheerful egg that just begs for attention. It may not be the biggest egg in the clutch, but it doesn’t have to be, because those neon touches parallel with one another to make it look ritzy and glamorous, with a definite playful edge. There’s no rhyme or reason to the coloring, either, as evidenced by the sharp cut offs and jagged lines that span the entire surface – sort of like staring at a city at midnight; brilliance lights up the dark background of the shell for everyone to remember forever.

5. Another Day Egg
The backwash of this egg is a very dark shade of green, like the forest at midnight, nearly impossible to decipher from black. This alone might’ve made it a somewhat bizarre egg to behold – especially next to the dynamically colored eggs of the clutch – but there are more traits to it that make this egg stand out. Gray-green ‘clouds’ seem to cover the surface of the egg, giving it a strong resemblance to the sky before a twister. As if that weren’t enough, a very pale shade of white-blue jolts down in places, jagged lines from one side of the shell to the other, almost glowing when caught by light. The end result is an egg that looks like the coming storm – broody and depressing – and with the promise of destruction coming soon. Yet – something seems to spark beneath the dark ‘clouds’, almost like glitter edging to them all. Does this storm have a silver lining?

6. La Vie Boheme Egg
A cacophony of colors makes this egg mind-boggling to behold. Is it green? Blue? Red? Orange? Yellow? Answer: All of the above and more. It literally looks as if a rainbow exploded over the surface of this egg, and there’s really no rhyme or reason to the different colors – from swirls to blobs to smears, the entire thing is colorful chaos with a merry feel to it. The one thing that can be said is that there’s definitely a theme to the hue of each color: it’s all very bright. No dark blues, or greens, and no pastels of any kind: everything is vivid enough to sear into the mind of every viewer, unlikely to ever be overlooked. And there’s not even the slightest spot of white or black on the shell. Every color is pure, and where one ends, another begins, until it’s impossible to even tell what color is most prominent. Perhaps it’s red. No, wait, it’s blue… or maybe green…

7. Seasons of Love Egg
An interesting myriad of color makes up this egg, making it difficult to comprehend at first glance. Is it warm or cold? Bright or dark? It’s very difficult to say because all of these things are encompassed at once in this inventively colored shell. It literally looks as if this egg translates all of the seasons over its surface. The bottom is an icy white with shimmery silver ‘snowflake’ patterns that bleed into warm browns and golds that can only be described as resembling autumn leaves. The foliage pattern meets an inferno of red and orange reminiscent of summer near the center of the egg, that evenly tapers off into pastels at the top that blot into white like spring flowers. While the ‘seasons’ have no clear definition of where one ends or the other begins, it’s clear that all are covered beautifully, making this somewhat small egg very pretty to behold.

8. Contact Egg
Dark. Light. Bright. Dull. Extremes is this egg, but in an almost perfect harmony that it might make everyone stop and look twice. The top is black. The bottom is white. In between are smears of blinding orange like flames and powder blue as if it was rolled in paint. Complimenting these vivid differences is neon yellow and green ‘fire’ patterns – outlines that seem as though they’d glow in the dark. The fiery markings span the entire shell, even if you were to turn it over or around, and the entire thing seems to shine, as if it were a finely polished jewel. Being one of the largest eggs in the clutch, this is one that is likely to make people turn and stare – is it for real? That coloring can’t be natural. Yet, there’s something decidedly enthralling about this egg – it almost makes you want to stare, keep looking. Are those shadows moving behind the colors? It certainly seems to look that way…

9. Goodbye Love Egg
A melancholy blend of blues and grays, this egg can be quite bizarre to look at. Certainly it seems as if someone wove silver scarves all over it – or perhaps wrapped it in the shades of a winter night. There is a very distinct frosted appearance to the shell of this dark-colored, broody egg, as if it’s been out in the cold for too long – very odd, considering it was laid in the south. Intricate patterns of white, true white, spiral from top to bottom, blending the egg into what should be perfect elegance… except there are smears at odd spots, as if the shell itself had a tantrum and decided smooth snowflakes were unacceptable. Blurred and awkward, this is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful, if messy, egg to behold that most people won’t even get to see, simply because it’s so small – what a shame…

[Ember]

Nephele bolted upright at the screech, wondering what was wrong. Charming chittered anxiously before disappearing between. All she got from him was babies and danger and...oh. Checkoth's announcement hit her then. Oh crap. The greenrider scrambled out of her furs and bolted out of her weyr. No changing, no brushing her hair, just totally as she was. To say she was something of a mess was an understatement. Her hair was sticking up in odd places and quite obviously tangled. She wore a baggy t-shirt and a pair of old pants rather than her nightshift. Too cold for that.

She finger-combed her hair as she went. Normally she would have taken the effort with her appearance but these were Charming's babies. She would never forgive herself if they were killed and she had a feeling neither would he. Mother flew beside her and trilled a single clear, comforting note. They'd do something. She crossed the bridge to the infirmary and arrived out of breath. She glanced upwards at where the basket had fallen and wondered what to do. She didn't exactly know how to climb a cliff without dying. Might have been a better idea to get the meat. Then again, if the basket did fal lthere'd be no need for it.

Mother joined Charming up near Ellie's fair, though the bronze stayed a bit further away. The brown was positively frantic though he knew better than to make situations worse by flailing about. He crooned at Ellie. Oh their babies, their babies! The two firelizards were ready to help in any way they could. Too bad it was so precariously balanced. If they were able to land quickly and maybe carry the eggs out...but he doubted that would work. They might just have to rely on the bonded humans for help.

[Rei]

Amour who had been his typical baby stalker self had frequently tried to visit the eggs. Every time bringing one gift or another for the gold and telling her how very beautiful and perfect each and every egg was. Babies where the small brown’s one true obsession and he loved them all. No matter the gender, species, or age, if it was a baby he adored it. Hence he stalked the clutch, offering an extra pair of eyes and a extra dose of love to the eggs in the basket. Because of this Amour usually slept close to R’wign’s weyr during the night.

At Elegance’s shriek the brown was immediately awake. With a answering call he flung himself skyward after the gold. Banking into a loop around the basket his hearts leapt. They where okay. But for how long? They needed help. Chirping in distress he leapt between and dive-bombed his bonded’s head. Shrieking at her he nipped her ear sharply, while a sleepy Baron stretched and looked on with mild confusion. Wake up! Up! Up! Up! Babies in trouble! She had to help to. He punctuated each call with a vivid image of a hanging basket and a upset Elegance. Finally getting the message Baron chirped in alarm and leapt off the bed to blink between and join the swarm of flitters all arriving to help in what ways they could.

Amour however was not giving up on waking his. She could help someway he was sure, so with a final desperate chirp he grabbed her eyelid and tugged. That move earned a cry of rage and irritation along with a slap flung his way, that he quite gracefully dodged causing Elysia to hit herself. Winging upwards he watched as she cursed and quite gracelessly fell out of the bed. “I am so going to kill you this time you little bastard.” The greenrider spat before angrily making a grab for the hovering fire lizard. Lopping around her attempts to snare him the brown trilled and continued to send images her way of hanging baskets, distressed golds and smashed eggs.

Finally growing irritated with the mental din Elysia covered her ears and growled. “Fine. Fine. Show me what you’re so worried about you little moron.” That way she could hopefully go back to bed. Dressing as quickly as she could, with a distressed brown dive-bombing her, she flung open her door and followed Amour down the hallways and towards the infirmary. All this to avoid a headache. Idiot firelizard. Worst purchase at a gather the greenrider had every made in her life. Somewhere along the trip through the hallways she seemed to have picked up a follower. A quick glance backwards told Elysia who it was and she gave an exasperated look and a point towards Amour the message clear. Idiot in front was the leader.

Upon arriving at her destination she paused to watch the chaos momentarily as a dragon’s voice quite helpfully cleared things up for her. Firelizard babies in trouble. Well, well. No wonder her little idiot was upset. Baby lover that he was. Rubbing the side of her head Elysia stepped forward to try and get a look at the hanging basket. What did Amour think she could do about it? Go rock-climbing? Getting her eyes gouged out by angry fire lizards did not sound appealing and the apprentices looked harassed enough just trying to get a look at the basket. Idly she turned to A'emi. "Nice wake up call hm?"

~~~

Ruliana heard the proclamation just as she awoke to a distressed Amalath. Oh Rulimine. There are babies in trouble. We must do something. The woman glanced at her dragon with nervousness and gave a nod. She would go take a look. Maybe there would be some way she could help? Dressing swiftly in a light colored tunic and pair of black pants the greenrider moved through the hallways as quickly as she could and towards the infirmary. On the trip she made a quick pit stop to the main hall to get some meat as Checkoth had directed. Why meat would help the weyrling didn’t know. However they had been instructed to get meat and come to the infirmary right? At least she could follow directions.

Moving as fast as she could with a bowl of meat in her grasp Ruliana practically ran into the infirmary. Entering the place slightly breathless, she made her way to the highest concentration of people and halfway there stumbled and tripped over someone’s foot. Her stumble caused her to half fall into a familiar figure. R’wign. Whoops. The bowl of meat had come slightly dislodged during the half collision and a few pieces had slipped over the edge of the bowl to splat unto the ground.

Blushing furiously Ruliana looked apologetically at the brown rider. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…” A cry from a firelizard turned her attention to the basket. “Is that your gold?” Obviously she was winning the awkward award currently. Dipping her head to partially hide her blush she started to try and pick up the dropped meat. “Will she let anyone get to them?” The question was directed at R'wign as she finished her cleanup.

Part of Ruliana wished Amalath could fly. Then again probably better that she didn’t fly yet. The basket was so precariously perched, wind from dragon wings might be more a hindrance than a help at this point. So what could they do? The poor babies.

[Avu]

He was already awake. Well, kind of. Not really.

The greenrider was half-dressed, draped on his back on top of his bed. His pants had no belt, hanging low on his hips, and he had no shirt on. He did have a shirt in his immediate possession, though. It was currently dangling from his fingers, ever so helpfully. He was cold – but at the same time, he couldn’t make himself move. Part of that was probably due to the fact that in his current prone position, one hand burrowed under his pillow to slide absently along the length of his stiletto, all the blood was rushing to his head. Coherent thought was getting fairly difficult. There was also the fact that his hair was hanging in loose curls, brushing eyelashes and shoulders.

And he really, really hated his hair at the moment – hated it enough that he wanted to literally just cut it all off. A’emi wasn’t really sure what hanging upside down like this accomplished, but…he was pretty sure somewhere along he’d had some kind of plan. It just…escaped him.

There /was/ no plan.

“Oh,” A’emi replied, a little fuzzy. “Hnn. That’s nice to know.” He blinked, and very literally nearly fell onto his head at the sound of shrieking. Kyrahth answered them with a low, drawn-out hiss, the green coiling into a tighter circle, but she didn’t seem worried. Still, hearing wild shrieks at this time in the morning made him curious, at the very least, the greenrider rolling out of his bed and peering out of the door curiously, sliding his stiletto thoughtlessly into the waistband of his pants. He saaaw…an Elysia. Who seemed to know what was going on. Ruffling a hand through his hair and pausing to pull on his shirt, A’emi yawned, wiggled his fingers at Kyrahth in a wordless indication that he was going, please don’t die in his absence, and padded after the other greenrider.

It didn’t really occur to him to alert her to his presence. As it was, it didn’t seem necessary – she turned, and he offered her an amused grin at her expression. Okay. Follow the firelizard. He could do that. Where were they going…? He hadn’t the faintest idea. In the end, though, as A’emi drifted to Elysia’s side and followed her gaze to a veritable swarm of firelizards all converging around a…dangling basket thing, his confusion still didn’t really clear up that much. So there…were eggs in there? Why was it…hanging.

He blinked twice, and dismissed it – A’emi didn’t particularly care about firelizards one way or another, but hey. It’d be really funny to see how rescue attempts went, given how harassed the poor apprentices looked. His eyebrows quirked up at Elysia’s comment, the greenrider shrugging. “The best,” he replied dryly, before he grinned, playful and flirtatious again, gaze sliding down her body and back up again. “At least I got a nice view on the way down.”

[Rowana]

Loud chattering woke Merridan a touch earlier than she liked. Auran and Vikky were flying circles around her. They looked so panicked that for a moment she thought the Red Star must be falling. Yet the day seemed nice enough, so what could the problem be? "Stop!" she waved a hand at them grumpily. Rolling out of bed, she started to pull on pants and a shirt. "What's the matter with you two? Is the kitchen out of tea?" She was trying to make light of it, but it did have her worried. Vikky would cry over spilt milk, but Auran?

Ellie's little ones are in danger? Chaoth reported urgently. Checkoth's call had just come to him. He shifted uneasily on his ledge, trying to see what was going on at the infirmary. The cloud of fire lizards was too thick to see much, however. Hatchings in trouble was the worst possible news. "Ellie's? Where?" Mer was awake in seconds. This was trouble and no time to be wasting. The infirmary. Go quickly. They are hatching.

Merridan took off running. That they were hatching was neat. She rather liked Ellie's offspring and wouldn't mind another. Even Vikky was neat, for all she was annoying at times. Right now the first priority was the safety of the eggs. Auran and Vikky whizzed ahead of her to join the throng of fire lizards. They didn't get too close. Neither of them were big enough to attempt to carry an egg, but they fluttered about frantically with the rest. These were their siblings! It was just too horrible!

Mer arrived to find that plenty of people were already present. The eggs were above, balanced on a ledge. Mer whistled and ran a hand threw her hair. "Oh shards," she muttered. It didn't look like Ellie was going to let anyone close to the eggs in her current state. Mer thought she might be able to climb that high, but not if they were going to claw her eyes out. Well, nothing was happening if she just stayed here and no one else was moving.

"Make a net with some blankets," Mer suggested, mostly to R'wign, but loudly enough for everyone to hear. That way if the babies did fall, at least they would land in something soft. Or me, Mer thought darkly. She put a hand on the rocks and started climbing slowly. This does not seem wise, Chaoth pointed out worriedly. Got a better idea? Mer shot back. No, he admitted sadly. Be careful. Best advice she'd had all morning. "Easy, Ellie," Mer whispered as she went. "I just want to help."

[Tashe]

"Ow. Faranath! Be careful." What was that saying? 'Healers make horrible patients?' Well it applied fully to E'rro at this moment in time. Normally he wouldn't have been so snappy at the apprentice, but it had been the apprentice that caused him to injure himself in the first place. "Ag. You're pulling it out to hard!" He'd been in the Infirmary since his first shift began at ten the previous night because for some reason Tiramnet had been unable to make her shift, which in turn forced him to stay for a third straight shift. There was a Firelizard under his care that had an infection which needed to be watched closely, and he wasn't about to trust Raebeli to watch it. Nor did he trust the other apprentices because the majority consisted of Human Healers. So, generally aloof E'rro turned into grumpy E'rro.

Now, back to the accident. While the Brownrider was doing his rounds he sent an apprentice to get a jar of Comfrey poultice from the medicine racks. A minute or so had passed before E'rro went to see what was keeping the boy so long, as he approached the guilty looking apprentice his boots slipped on something slick sending him wheeling across the floor in hopes of regaining balance. Luck wasn't with him. Feet flying out from underneith him, the Brownrider hit the ground palms first, the force driving a glass shard into his left hand and then a smaller one into his side as he twisted to avoid a larger fragment. Covered in a mixture of slick Borage oil and Comfrey poultice, E'rro could do nothing but glare at the apprentice. Yes he should have looked down, but the Boy should have said 'Watch out I spilled something'. He growled for Redwort solution from his splayed position on the floor and decided he needed to get up before either medicinal concoction could seep into his cuts. A few of the others had come over to check out what had happened, he at least had enough sense as to warn them of the mess before sending a few of them to help clean it up.

And that was where he was now... Sitting on an examination table completely shirtless with a bandaged hand and getting a glass shard removed from his side. It probably didn't help the already shot nerves of the apprentice that he was glaring with blatant dislike at him the entire time. When the glass finally came out and after much growling, E'rro let the boy bandage the wound since he couldn't do it himself. Well, he could have, but it wouldn't have been very well done. He was lucky that the glass hadn't nicked anything important or fragmented more, it was a clean removal. But now he smelled as if he had been bathing in medicinal oils. Disgusting. Pulling on a clean shirt, unfortunately he could do nothing for his pants until his shift was over, the Brownrider looked up at the sudden influx of people and the apprentices squawking. "What the shards?" Hopping off of his table, E'rro was amused to see the Apprentices being harried by firelizards. Bringing his fingers up to his mouth, which made him wince since it was the hand he had injured, he whistled at them. "Oi, apprentices back inside. I don't want your eyes gouged out! Although some of you might deserve it."

Ermine, R'wign's flitters are in a basket hanging above the infirmary ledge. They're in a dangerous situation. I really hope you won't be needed. Ah, so that's why the apprentices where being attacked, they had to be trying to save the basket. He hadn't heard Checkoth's call, although he wondered why he hadn't. Didn't matter though, now that he had all these people in the Infirmary. Where was the Weyrhealer... oh there he was. Walking over to the other Brownrider he looked up at the dangling basket. Well that wasn't good was it. He reached R'wign and stood on his unoccupied side. "R'wign is there anything I..."

And then his attention was stolen by Mer.

"Faranath girl! Get back here. Don't attempt a freehand climb! The blankets might hold a basket if it falls but certainly not a human. And there is hardly even enough light out. You'd more than likely miss a handhold and slip." Plus the climb up was high and dangerous. "If were going to make a rescue attempt, the best thing to do is climbing down from the Weyr above us with a lifeline attached to the person doing the rescuing." He turned back to R'wign. "I think that is the best hope of saving the basket, as long as your Flitters don't harass the person to death."

[Shiny]

The loud screeching started J'ash awake. Rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, he blinked blurrily, watching the brown firelizard flying in circles above him. Vomit was squawking, and Ilea, his darter, was beeping loudly. Clearly, something was the matter. Wasn't the Hatching today? Was it time, already?

A mental image of the basket containing the Gold's eggs sitting precariously on a ledge near the Infirmary flashed through the Blueweyrling's mind. Vomit betweened to the scene to help his fellow firelizards. The textured Brown was bulky; he was easily able to carry heavy loads. Maybe he'd be able to catch the basket if it fell - with the help of another flit or two, of course.

J'ash jumped out of bed, rushing to pull on two extra shirts and a thin, jacket-like garment. His hair was messy, but for once he didn't care. Rushing to leave, he stopped abruptly upon seeing his Craivaruth-coloured blanket. That would probably be useful, especially considering it was dawn and cold. He grabbed it and continued his frantic preparations. A yellow eye looked at him from the weyrledge, and the young adult ran towards it. Good, Craivaruth was awake. Well, he couldn't really not be. "Someone else will probably bring the meat," he announced as he stuffed the blanket into a saddlebag and attached it to his dragon, "let's just get over to the Infirmary." He practically flung himself atop his Blue and strapped himself in quickly. In no time, the Blue pair had taken off from the weyrledge.

Keeping a safe distance from the eggs so that they wouldn't get blown off the ledge, Craivaruth landed, and J'ash slid from the saddle after hastily undoing his straps. Pulling the blanket from the bag, he ran the extra distance over to look at what was going on. Yes, someone had brought meat. That was good. Merridan was attempting to climb up to the basket without any sort of safety line, and E'rro was yelling at her. The blonde bit his lip, nervous for the girl. It was too dangerous to do that, especially in these cold, dark conditions.

"I have a blanket we can use, if it'll help," he said loudly, glancing around at the others. The blanket was stuffed with wherry feathers, so it was very soft. Perfect for egg-catching.

[Requiem]

Was it too much to ask for a quiet hatching?

Half-awake and conspicuously wearing clothes so large they had to be R'wign's, the small man waddled out onto the infirmary ledge from inside. Day off, of course Ellie's eggs decided to hatch, and not in the much more conventional manner of nesting on solid ground, nooo. He'd grumbled to himself about it being too cold to be out, how he hated hatchings, etc, etc. All relatively good points had anyone been there to argue with. Then, perhaps inspired by a R'wign ghost, the brownrider drug himself from the furs and found a sweater. R'wign's. Like that was some sort of punishment for waking him up before he wanted to be. Still grumbling and muttering, he gathered up as many blankets as he could manage from the bed and toddled awkwardly with them down to the infirmary.

As if he could sleep with all the panic and screaming going on. Tch.

Shouldering his way past anyone lingering in his path, he plopped the blankets down unceremoniously on the ground, glanced up at the basket, kicked a few around until he was satisfied - take that precious blankets of R'wign the fusser - and plodded for the nearest stone wall to sleep on. If people couldn't figure out what massive blanket bed was for, it was their own fault. He wasn't explaining. Glaring out past the long curls that had yet to be braided, he willed the loudest of the people to die. Preferably of strokes. With lots of twitching.

---

X'rx, with a Minnie perched on one shoulder, had come with a far better attitude to the source of all the commotion, blinking around at the mess for a few long moments. His green creeled anxiously. The greenweyrling, catching sight of J'ash, made his way in that direction for lack of anything else to do before he realized what it was all the fuss was about. Did that basket have...eggs...in it? If not it was some really strong form of flit nip, cause all of the firelizards were guarding it jealously. Stifling a yawn, he eyed the blanket skeptically. "Uh...what are you going to do with that?" Eveyth apparently had some sort of response, and he squinted one eye closed. "Wouldn't it bounce though?" The green didn't know. "Hmmm," he mused to himself. Well, he'd let all the other people figure out what they were doing, then, because he and Eveyth really weren't sure what to make of the situation.

[glamourie]

Babiesbabiesbabies.

R’wign had always been affected by Ellie strongly, and her terror was written very plainly across his face as he made his way toward the infirmary. He tried, mentally, to calm both her and Checkoth down (the brown wanted to try and fly close to the basket for R’wign to grab it and – in theory – it wasn’t a bad idea but the wing beats would doubtlessly have dislodged it from where it hung). He wasn’t doing very well, though, as evidenced by Ellie’s ever-growing shrieks and he was going to kill someone when he got to the infirmary. That thought was enough to distract him long enough to trip against someone else and end with meat down the front of his sweater, a really colorful string of curses escaping him – and he probably would’ve responded violently if not for the face of the person who had dared to run into him being so familiar. Ruliana. Bad timing. Very bad timing for being clumsy even if she hadn’t meant to.

“Yes, that’s Ellie, no, she won’t let anyone near them, sorry Ruliana I don’t have time to talk, I have to—“

He had to get to Ellie. He didn’t wait for any further response from the young greenrider, instead choosing to bolt into the infirmary amidst the sea of people. Ellie was flying rapid circles around the basket, screeching loudly still, her upset painted clearly over her hide that had paled to an unpleasant shade of yellow. He arrived just in time to see Mer head off toward the edge and started flailing – full blown arms winding around flailing. And for good reason. While her intentions were good, even the mental prodding from R’wign couldn’t stop Ellie from positively screaming at Merridan and dive bombing at her with every intention of attacking. Ellie was not a violent firelizard by nature, but her blue companions were less merciful, particularly Grumpy and Grouch who made quite a point to try and slash up the brownrider’s face. R’wign bolted over to the ledge, floundering his arms around in his panic – most of the words being said to him forgotten; how could anyone expect him to be listening to them when Mer was on the verge of learning first hand why firelizard golds were spoken of in song as viciously protective mothers?

“Don’t! Mer, get down from there, she doesn’t trust you right now – she normally likes you but right now she’s scared, she’s upset – Mer, she’ll bite you if you get too close, she doesn’t understand that you mean to help and she’s not listening to me,” he insisted, and he knew very clearly that the only person that Ellie would allow near that basket was him. He had noooo intentions of going up the wall after it either, though there had to be some kind of solution. “Please get down before one of them hurts you badly, none of them are listening to me because she isn’t!”

The firelizards who arrived were commanded with the sharpest of authority to help her. Because R’wign was right: Ellie did not understand right then that Merridan was trying to help. No amount of logic would make her comprehend it. What she saw was her babies in danger and no one that she trusted nearby, save for Hers. She would let no one near those babies. If they came near, all of the flitters were to help her bite them. They had to keep her babies safe~

The basket gave a shuddering rock. Ellie screamed again and flapped her wings before landing, daintily, on an uneven surface of the rock nearby. She craned her head to try and see into the basket and was treated to a quiet peep before a mottled gray-green head poked out of the basket. Peeking over the edge, the baby firelizard peeped again and then flung herself out of the basket, making it rock dangerously. The firelizard in question – the Today 4 U Green – tumbled down toward the ground and literally went splat onto E’rro’s shoulder. Scrambling her claws into his shirt, she needfully cried out, wanting nothing more than to get at the delicious-smelling stuff on R’wign’s. Wouldn’t Hers feeeeed her? What was all the fuss about anyone? Oooh he smelled so good! Squirming, the little chubby green, who upon closer inspection had downright weird markings that seemed to resemble feathers, found her way onto E’rro’s shoulder and nudged at his jaw anxiously. Fooooood.

“Did I mention they’re, uh, hatching?” As if the humming wasn’t obvious enough. R’wign frowned anxiously and removed a piece of meat from his sweater to hold out to E’rro, his head tilting back to look at the basket. He probably would’ve been further distracted if not for the blankets on the ground sending him quite literally into another flailing fit. “You’re lucky I like Ellie or I’d beat you for throwing those on that dirty ground!” he called to his weyrmate in obvious irritation. “Fine – fine – you all think it’s such a good idea, fine...

“EVERYONE PILE BLANKETS AND SHEETS RIGHT ON THIS SPOT!” R’wign whirled and pointed at the pile of blankets that M’ta brought, shifting awkward. “NOW! And don’t go nearer to the basket or Ellie’ll bite you.”

Bossy healer was clearly bossy.

Quiet chittering sounded from above – almost like thoughtful humming. The source of it was a pale blue firelizard who fluttered his wings anxiously – but not enough to make the basket move. For now. The Rent Blue cocked his head to the side, eyes whirling thoughtfully at the chaos below. Such crazy antics... and for what, really...? For little ol’ them...?

---

1. Rent Egg Hatched: Blue
2. One Song Glory Egg
3. Today 4 U Egg Impressed: ? Green to E'rro
4. Out Tonight Egg
5. Another Day Egg
6. La Vie Boheme Egg
7. Seasons of Love Egg
8. Contact Egg
9. Goodbye Love Egg

[glamourie]

Today 4 U Green
Name: ?
Age: Hatchling
Species: Firelizard
Color: Green #6a8e7e - #00b411 - #5ccb80 - #d9fee5
Gender: Female
Based off of: Thanksgiving Day
Looks to: E'rro

Appearance: Chubby. That’s the first thought that springs to mind for most people upon seeing this green firelizard. And it’s putting it kindly. Her body is quite round, even from the moment of hatching and no amount of dieting and exercise will repair it; she’ll always be a roly-poly. Her legs being on the short side definitely doesn’t help her cause any. She really does look as though her belly rubs the ground if she walks and her tail – while thin – is on the shorter side. There’s really no redeeming it: she’ll always look over-fed and coupled with her large wings, she’s more likely to resemble a grouchy salamandyr than one of her own kind. She’s on the small side for her kind in terms of length, though she definitely takes up more space (and weighs more) than the average firelizard. Nothing about her is muscular either and when it comes to picking things up, she can barely lift objects that an average green could – she’s downright pathetic when it comes to that. Her face is very round, wide big, pleasant-looking eyes, and her ridges, being almost non-existent, stand out: she’s a very sweet-looking firelizard. Just… chubby.

Her coloring isn’t slimming, either. Although the backwash of her hide is a mottled gray-green, describing her as that would be a vast injustice. Vivid shades of emerald cover her body in angles and lines like feathers – perfectly beautiful to behold. Sweeter shades of blue-green line the back portion of her body, still in feather like markings, while she has seafoam rings around her eyes that bring prominence to them, like eyebrows. The overall appearance is for her to very distinctly resemble some kind of wherry or other avian. This is especially prominent when she spreads her wings (which bear the same markings as the rest of her body). The pale shade is what her hide highlights as, giving her a shimmery, elegant appearance. But as any connoisseur of fashion knows: wearing feathers when you’re overweight never ends well and she’s a classic example. Her size is just impossible to miss, thanks to these elegant, pretty even, markings. For better or worse.

Personality: Eating. This flitter loves to do it – and most of her actions are catered around just that. Food-seeking is a constant with her and there’s virtually nothing that she won’t eat if it’s offered to her. Meat, fish, insects – all of it is delicious to her, even vegetables and fruit. She loves food. This has the unfortunate side-effect of her coming across as quite the little beggar; she spends a great deal of time clinging to people chirping and chattering musically in an attempt to bait snacks out of them, and she’s completely shameless: there’s no such thing as someone who is “out of bounds” for begging. Food is food, and she likes everyone equally if they’re handing her something tasty. She knows no fear in pursuit of food. Angry drudges are nothing in the face of roast herdbeast; crying weyrbrats have no impact on her if they’re carrying around sweetened fruit. The options are limitless! And she often gorges herself; is it any wonder she’s not exactly ‘thin’? Actually, it’s a miracle she doesn’t spend more time throwing up, considering that no creature should eat as much as she does. Eat, then sleep. This is her philosophy. Nom nom.

When she’s not trying to acquire food (a rare occasion in and of itself), this firelizard frequently can be found clinging to Hers for dear life. She chose based on honest affection and even turns after Impression, that affection won’t fade; she’s sweet as sugar to her chosen and will do everything she can to make sure that her mindmate (and all of their mindmates in conjunction) is happy. Compliments are received graciously and paid in kind; she brings gifts to Hers on a regular basis, and to any creature she likes. And she likes virtually anyone. Never one to hold a grudge, this is one firelizard that will surely make friends easily. She doesn’t really understand the concept of flirting and her flights are likely to be more “game”-like than actual flights, but she does form connections, perhaps more deeply than many of her kind do. Friends are friends for life, and she never forgets a considerate act. Forgive and forget; live and love. These are this firelizard’s mottos.

But just because she’s generally a forgiving soul doesn’t make this firelizard unintelligent. No, this green is quite far from stupid. If one were to observe her, they’d notice that she picks up on the smallest details. While she doesn’t hold grudges, she is unlikely to trust someone (or thing) that has harmed her in the past, and will be a bit weary about anyone mistreating hers as well. She isn’t the most protective creature (she abhors violence) but she does remember – and because she remembers, her feelings of insecurity are likely to bleed over onto Hers if she mistrusts someone. Connects strongly, does this firelizard – for better or worse, Hers will never be in doubt of how she feels, or what she wants… and the latter is usually food.

[Rowana]

Merridan grumbled to herself. People were shouting at her, but most of it was drowned out by the screeching fire lizards. There were a lot more of them than when she'd started. Loudest of all was Ellie and her blues. Once she was closer, they moved up to violence. Mer really should have known they would react that way, but she just wasn't good at sitting still. She had to try, even if it was stupid. "Shards, I'm just trying to help," she grumbled. Unfortunately, she couldn't really fend off attacks and hang on to the wall at the same time. Auran and Vikky were going crazy around her. They were torn between Ellie and their mistress. Ellie's eggs must be protected, but they were hurting Mer! Swirling around her head, they screamed in anger and fear.

I told you it was not wise, Chaoth pointed out. He churned with concern, pacing on his ledge. Please get down? "Fine," Mer said at last. Ellie's minions were starting to score real hits and this was clearly pointless. She glanced down. Fortunately, she hadn't made it all that high yet, only about ten feet. Pushing off with her hands, she jumped down onto a corner of the blankets. So far the babies were safe. It looked like catching them was the best they could do.

"Sorry," Mer mumbled to R'wign. E'rro seemed busy with his new charge. "I just couldn't watch." She looked grumpy and eyed the basket with concern. She touched some of new marks on her face, which were bleeding. Well this was going to be handsome later on, she must look a mess. Most of them were on her face and arms, but at least none were too deep. See if I ever try to help again, she thought darkly. This definitely wasn't how she'd wanted to start her day.

[Rei]

Chirping and fluttering and dipping and diving Elysia’s pair of brown’s congregated with the rest of the firelizards. Both brown’s concentrating on not only the gold but the precariously hanging basket. At Elegance’s command they too swooped down to hassle Merridan. Baron’s wings buffeting at the side of her head while Amour’s teeth snapped at her ear before both looped upwards to let the next wave have their shot. When the brownrider left they both gave creels and swung back towards the basket never getting close enough to displace air but letting Ellie know they where both at her disposal should she need further help.

Elysia watched this all with barely restrained amusement. It was a bit comical really. Not necessarily the hanging basket but all the idiots running around yelling and being stupid. No wonder Selenitas got whipped on a yearly basis. Sad really. Did anyone in this weyr have a clear head in crisis? Seemed as if the answer was no. Stretching in a catlike fashion she leaned a bit against A’emi and yawned. “Glad you liked the view.” Blinking moisture out of her eyes from her yawn the greenrider’s hand fluttered in the air briefly. “So tell me are you as amused by all this as I am?” Idly her dark eyes went to her firelizards as they dive-bombed the poor masculine girl. No sense in trying to call them off when they wouldn’t listen anyway. Served the girl right for trying to play hero. Dark eyes sliding back to A’emi she flashed him a smile. “How many idiots does it take?”

~~~

Ruliana merely stammered as R’wign went on his way. Of course he would be preoccupied. Silly of her to think otherwise. Stepping forward she set the bowl of meat on an unoccupied table for the rest of the congregation should they need it. Thus relived of her burden the greenrider wrung her hands and looked up at the basket. Oh dear. Poor things. Indeed. I do hope they all end up okay. Amalath remarked from her curled position in the barracks as she watched the hatching through her bonded’s eyes. Oh look the little man seems to have a good idea. “Little man?” Ruliana queried softly blinking as she tried to catch sight of what her dragon was talking about. Oh. M’ta. Little man did kind of fit but really it was a tad rude. Darling you need to come up with better nicknames. The greenrider said gently as R’wign spoke up about the blankets.

Finally something she could do. Making her way back into the infirmary Ruliana began to strip blankets off unoccupied beds to bring them to the location directed. On her way she also grabbed a small bowl and filled it with some meant. This was to be brought to the brownrider who had just impressed. Approaching E’rro with something akin to nervousness she offered him the bowl and a slight smile. “For Her. Congratulations. She’s cute.”

[Ember]

See, that was why queens were trouble. Nephele was forced to watch as everything went from bad to worse when Merridan tried to climb up to Ellie's basket of eggs. Despite her concern for her saftey she had two firelizard minds conencted to hers that adamantly wanted her down and away from the basket. Charming's was slightly more 'by any means necessary' about it but that was understandable. They were his babies after all. The greenrider tugged harshly on both their minds but neither of them obeyed her.

Mother was considerably more calm than his brown brother but he remained ready to defend Ellie's eggs against any perceived threat. Charming was already swooping at Merridan, though to his credit he wasn't aiming claws at her just yet. A simple threat that he would if she didn't back off. Nephele busied herself with trying to ignore the emotions of her firelizards. Mother was easier to ignore but Charming had been her first mindmate and, while not stronger than her bond with Nuoth, was still a potent one.

When she caught sight of R'wign he looked...well panicked would be a good word for it. He had the same advice for Merridan that the flitters did; get away from the nest. Something about blankets too. She moved to help position the blankets as R'wign wanted them, externally calm but internally struggling with her pets. Golds were all well and fine when they were calm but when they went crazy they were really...dangerous would be the word she supposed. She just hoped the other firelizards - she had noticed the one land on E'rro - hatched quickly and without disturbing the basket too much.

There was an abrupt lack of defensive anger from her bronze and even Charming was a little calmer. The threat had gotten away from the basket. Merridan didn't look too great but at least she wasn't falling to her death or getting further scratched up by an angry fair of firelizards. Charming turned his attention to the basket and flew higher above it so that he wouldn't disturb it with the gusts from his wings. He crooned at the baby in the basket, though his eyes still showed he was worried.

[Tashe]

Was there really no day but today that this could have happened on? At Ellie's screech he managed to look up in time to watch a small Green jump out of the basket and... fall. Wait what? He didn't have much time to react as the hatchling painfully landed on him. Cupping his hands so the Green didn't fall, E'rro helped it up onto his shoulder. In fact he was about to take it off when he felt hungry. Oh no. "Crap." The Weyrhealer's hand entered his peripherals. "No, no you didn't." Taking the meat, since R'wign was right there he thought it would be in his best interest to simply accept the fact he now had a Firelizard and not give a fuss, he stuffed a piece of it into the Green's mouth. Wow... she was fat. Continuing to feed her strips of the meat until it was gone, E'rro let the Green lick his fingers clean of the juice her eyes swirling in the typical rainbow fashion. The Firelizard crooned and spread her wings, was there more? There had to be more right? He didn't have the time to be creative with names right now. "Since you look like a little bird your name is Feather." He paused then said her name again. "Feather." Oh she liked it. It was pretty and lovely. Now... more food? She chirped hungrily. "In a minute."

Moving carefully, yet as quickly as possible, so as not to dislodge the Green E'rro made his way over to the linens closet. These were the most accessible blankets and sheets short of ripping the ones off of the beds themselves. Collecting as many as he could hold the Dragonhealer strode back out to the ledge, all the while Feather chirping into his ear about food. He noted that Nuisance had yet to appear but on further emotion searching, he could tell that the Blue was pissed. Which made E'rro go 'gah' in exasperation. Its not his fault Feather launched herself out of the basket and he was the person she landed on. Using one hand to stabilize Feather, he used the other to shake out most of the folds in the blankets and sheets as he piled them onto the little mound. Anxious Weyrhealer R'wign was his superior when in or around the infirmary. Orders were orders. He went in and got more. As he came back out of the Infirmary he was paused by Ruliana. "Oh thanks. " He took the bowl with an tired smile. Carefully putting down the blankets he began immediately tearing them into bite sized strips. "Oh there is a closet of linens when all the sheets come off the beds, you should go there next." He pointed in the direction he had come from before offering the bowl to Feather who crooned appreciatively. Putting the Green on a flat surface he told her to stay (the amount of meat should last until he came back to fetch her), then picked up the bedding to deposit it by the growing pile. Wincing as he strained the injury on his side, he tossed on all of the blankets. He returned to the shelf only to find that, not only had Feather finished all of the meat but was now dangling from the edge in her attempts to find more. Oops. Saving her, E'rro put her on his shoulder.

Well, look at the bright side... He thought to himself, No flits are hurt... yet. He sighed. Today wasn't his day.