No End In Sight (Ghost's Hatching)

[Rowana]

Posk's eyes went wide with wonder. Ximera was a princess! No wonder she was such a lovely person! The little blue nuzzled his new friend warmly. Of course he would be honored to be her familiar, so long as he was still Porita's too. Porita would be so lost without him, he explained purring sweetly. Turning, Posk nuzzled his bonded too. Poor, dear Porita needed him to show her how wonderful everything was! Porita blushed again a little, but gave him a gentle hug. Surly she wasn't that bad, was she? Nope, Posk bobbed his head in a parody of a nod. Porita was perfect! Finding her was destiny! Just as being here was destiny! And soon they would have another new friend, that was destiny too!

"I don't know..." Porita began slowly, feeling nervous. She really did think Impressing a fire lizard would be wonderful. Yet, if she did it meant someone else hadn't, and that would be unfair. How could she explain that she just wasn't sure she aught to take that joy away from someone else? Fortunately, Porita's uncertainty was interrupted by the green hatchling flying over to cling to Ximera. "Oh!" Porita covered her mouth in surprise, but her eyes lit with happiness. This was wonderful! Her new friend had so adored the little creatures too. Posk was thrilled. This little one was smart! She already knew that her chosen was a princess! But why were forks important, Posk wanted to know. Maybe they hid some special secret!

[Ruby]

"We'll just have to go see, won't we?" Hinsero asked, a mysterious twinkle in his eye as he guided Porita out of her room and up the hall. Posk seemed to be joining them, so the Brownwherling gave the blue a quick scratch behind the headknobs when he could reach, chatting idly with his fellow wherling about training and sewing and the like as they went, trying to distract her from his true purpose. It was all worth it - seeing the surprise and delight replace fear in Porita's eyes was exactly what he'd hoped for.

Before he could say anything else, though, Porita was tackle-hugged by Ximera. A laughing Hinsero returned the Bluehandler's smile with a friendly wave and retreated. If Porita was smiling, his job was done; leaving the girls and wher to their conversation, Hinsero withdrew a little as the first eggs cracked, ending up next to the only Candidate he saw in the room so far. With a smile for Priya, he leaned against the wall next to her, grinning even wider as the very first Green of the clutch Impressed to... Porita? Oh no, she'd gone to Ximera, but if Hinsero was allowed to guess he'd bet that made Porita even happier than impressing one herself would. Sweet girl. Once the Delirium hatchling had made her choice, Hinsero looked down at Priya again, offering her a hand this time. "I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm a Wherling - Hinsero - so I don't always get to meet the new day people. Are you a new candidate?"

---

Caden had to snicker a little when Mo'rya blamed Epifayrmuth for the mess on the floor - that sounded exactly like the bronze. It was rather a shame that Epi looked like he wouldn't get too much bigger, and Nitrath was already shaping up to be huge; despite the age difference between her and Mo'rya, and him being a bit odd, Caden figured she wouldn't hate it if Epifayrmuth were to catch Nitrath when she rose. Much better than some unknown Wastelander, which was looking increasingly more likely. At least none of them had tried to proposition her yet - then again, they probably couldn't find her. One advantage of looking like a boy.

Instead of saying anything about that unplesant subject, however, Caden glanced around the weyr, one eyebrow raised. "This is dirty? Bronze should stop by my weyr sometime, only Nitrath's area's clean." Regardless, she leaned down to pick up one or two ribbons that had fallen out of Mo'rya's pile as he moved it to the bed, adding them to the top. Of course, they were promptly knocked off again, Caden just shook her head, taking a seat on the edge of the bed instead. By then, a few of the babies had cracked shell. "Pretty," she said, allowing herself to smile a bit as she gestured to the hatchlings, "Greens in particular. Or blue? What's that one?"

Meanwhile, the tailless wildling had happily fluttered over to Ghost, crouching next to her and flaring his wings in a distinctly protective gesture. The presence of so many humans made him very nervous, but so far none of them seemed to want to put an arrow through him, so re replied to Ghost's trill of happiness with a gentle rumble of his own. They were indeed lovely, all of them. Now wouldn't the others hatch? He wanted to see them before someone chased him away!

---

"I have not," Serissa said, taking a place next to Nysania with one hip cocked invitingly. Not that there was anyone here to invite; Nysania was, well, not exactly Serissa's type, and then there was Erilena (pointless) and the other Wherhandlers and Wherlings, all of whom seemed a bit strange. Oh, and there was a Candidate joining them, a girl who looked just about scared out of her skin, and the grim creature talking to the Weyrling Serissa guessed owned this room, and the mother of the clutch. By the knot, that thing was both female and the Goldweyrling - that's right, Serissa remembered now, everyone thought Nitrath had picked a boy, but then the idiot Wastelanders started slaughtering babies that had somewhat overshadowed the anomalous impression. Regardless, Goldweyrlings were hardly ever Serissa's cup of tea. It really was a somewhat depressing showing, wasn't it?

But Nysania was here, and so to Nysania Serissa's attention returned. "Not for lack of trying, though," she admitted, casting an adoring look out towards where Ildyth was perched. "No, it seems like Ildyth is enough for me, but then again I don't blame any baby for not wanting to share their brain with him. I'll try once or twice more - curiosity too, I'll admit," she said with a smile. "If I really wanted a pet I'd get a domestic feline or an avian or something, but Piden - he's a wherhandler too, you might know him, and I apologize if you do - dragged me to a salamandyr hatching a while ago, and I haven't been able to resist since. I'd rather have a firelizard, though, I think; they're all bouncy, but salamandyrs seem to like to kill their siblings."

[Rei]

Erilena’s attention was drawn away from Dy’shi’s answer by the sound of an over exuberant bluegreenrider. A warm smile was given to J’ash as he flung himself at them. For a moment she awkwardly returned the embrace. Hugging two people at once looked hard. “Last I checked I wasn’t a guy silly.” Came a soft and almost automatic tease. But before they could converse much further J’ash was already bouncing away. The greenrider swore her former classmate acted just like a four year old sometimes. With a faintly amused smile Erilena tracked him until he drew up beside T’san. More people here than she thought there would be actually.

Eyes lifting to look back at the clutch the greenrider regarded the babies with quiet interest. The little green seemed to be finally on the move. The brown who had been so demure was now being faced down by a firelizard that reminded her a little of Craivaruth, in temperament and appearance. Was it a green or a blue? Hard to tell from this angle. But the little green who had flung herself from the nest certainly seemed to know who she wanted. A soft smile was offered to Ximera and her new pet before Erilena again poked Dy’shi in the back and gestured to the blue green firelizard. Quietly she wondered if it would impress to J’ash. That would actually be ironic in a way.

Feyrianth curled about Chakraith and draped her neck and tail over her sister's. Thank you. For helping me with Lenamine. Whirling eyes watched the river before them in pleasant shades as the green pressed as close to her blue sibling as was possible. Friends seemed few and far between these days.

~~~

Nysania smiled at Serissa and nodded. So then despite living here for a time she hadn’t acquired any pets either? It made her wonder if firelizards were as picky as dragon’s were. In all reality the Weyrhealer was curious about what made someone acceptable to any of the creatures who ‘impressed’ like they did. Asking Nyssk why he chose her always ended in the same way. Silly Protected number one. There was nobody better. She was his and though not as perfect as he himself, a very close second. Yes that answer was soooo helpful. Biased he was. Then again the little purple hued creature, just from the shell, had actually put up a fight for her of all things. So maybe to him she had been the best one there.

With a soft snort she nodded at her fellow healer. “Makes you wonder what their selection process is like doesn’t it? And whether they actually know beforehand if you are bonded to anything else.” The older woman gave a light chuckle. “Nyssk promises he’ll eat one if I happen to impress. Not that I’d let him.” Tilting her head she shook her head. “Can’t say I have met Piden yet. I am sure I will in due time.” Although why Serissa would have to apologize for that made her curious. Hmm. Maybe she would have to meet this Piden. Attention back on the clutch for a minute Nysania tore it way to give the bluerider a curious look. “Kill their siblings? I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with mandyrs besides the occasional glimpse and of course Kalierre’s little group. Are they cannibalistic?” Since Serissa seemed more than willing to converse Nysania was more than willing to ask questions.

[Ivy]

Mo'rya? The name didn't ring a bell with her, at least not immediately. But firelizards! Oh how she'd been wanting to Impress one of those, almost as badly as she'd been hoping to Impress a dragon. During the past few turns here she had managed to be late or miss every hatching. Even when she'd found some vendors at Gathers who sold off unhatched eggs she always seemed to be a few marks short - or worse she had the marks but the eggs were duds.

So as quick as she could Ivy tucked the supplies she'd been organizing in the infirmary away and stood up. Tucking a few strands of her fiery hair back behind her right ear she glanced around and then made her way out of the infirmary and towards the main hall. There were plenty of people still enjoying their meal and her stomach gave a rumble to remind her she had skipped eating. A frown took over her expressive face for a moment but she ignored the pang of hunger and made her way back to the kitchens.

A smile. A laugh. A flirtatious touch of the arm. The whole thing took longer than she would have liked - after all she was in a hurry! - but soon she had a hand full of meatrolls and was on her way towards the Weyrling Barracks.

Mo'rya, Mo'rya, Mo'rya... Where would his room be?

As she was contemplating this a few other people, each carrying their own supply of food, rushed by. Smiling she fell in step behind them. While they didn't lead her right to the room they did lead her past the room. A light blush colored her cheeks as she realized they weren't headed for the hatching and then she back tracked. Ah! There it was. Entering the room she nodded politely to the Gold and the male who was watching over her protectively - as well as who she assumed was Mo'rya.

Late. Why was she always late?! It seemed as though one of the eggs had already hatched. Maybe two? She was towards the back of the small group assembled in the room and didn't want to push her way past to get a better look. Side stepping she made sure she'd be visible to any new hatchlings but not in the way - she didn't want to bully someone else out of the way to try and increase her chances, especially since she wasn't even sure that would work.

Glancing around she smiled and nodded. A few faces were familiar to her, a few she hadn't really noticed before. Names escaped her but they weren't all that important at the moment, at least not to her. Those gorgeous eggs were and once her eyes landed on them again she didn't move them away.

[Kisha-Ra]

While the Desire blue continued his taunting circuit of the hissing Dream brown the shaking Destruction egg finally shattered, cleaving into two near perfect halves and leaving a huge blue hatchling between them as proudly as any bronze on his hatching. The Destruction blue also circled, though he chose not to taunt the already harried Dream brown. Rather the Destruction blue moved amongst the remaining eggs, tapping on the shells. Come out siblings, come forth!

The Despair egg gave another roll in response to the tap of the Destruction blue’s talon, then a leg shot out, and clawed at the air for a few moments before it vanished back inside to be replaced by an eye, then a green muzzle, while the egg rocked back and forth furiously, the Despair green wanted out!

Unaware of what he had wrought for the nuance the Destruction blue moved on, a shadow of dark blue in the nest. To his surprise the Delight egg shattered under his talons, revealing a beautifully elegant green hatchling who trilled sweetly at her blue brother, and her parents, then trotted over to playfully nudge both the Dream brown and the Desire blue. Wasn’t it time to go and find their beloveds? She was going to find hers right now! Suiting word to action the Delight green trotted further out and sat on her haunches to consider all those present. Who was the best? Who could she love the most?

Turning to follow his new hatched sister’s progress the Destruction blue noted the problems the Despair green was having and gave an inquiring chirp to his mother. Let the egg go please? He could change it into a much more pleasing form it his mother would just let him.

Ghost had turned her attention briefly to her wild, and mostly absent, mate. Of course the inexplicable enmity of some humans towards her kind was causing him problems in tending to the nest with her, and she hadn’t insisted, she had enough help in here really. He need not worry about arrows in here though, none of those present were Bad People, and if any arrived she would have Epifayrmuth chase them out again! It seemed though, that the babies would hurry up because here were more of them. Ghost observed the Destruction blue closely, but he seemed to be up to no mischief, and seemed startled more than anything when another egg shattered right under his claws. So when he asked her to let go of the Despair egg she uncurled her tail from around it cautiously, and watched.

With a little chirp of thanks the Destruction blue set to work, hooking his foreclaws into the hole his sister had made and pulling while the egg rocked furiously. Mystified the Dream brown stopped hissing at the Desire blue to watch, and the Desire blue, piqued that he was no longer the centre of attention turned to see what was distracting everyone. With a perfect sense of timing the Despair egg slammed backward, away from the Destruction blue, leaving him holding a substantial chunk of shell in his claws. The rest of the shell, and the slightly dazed Despair green rested against Ghost’s flank.

To break the scene of the three male hatchlings staring at their sister the all but forgotten Delight green finally made her choice with a trill of joy all out of proportion to her size. She took wing and sailed across the room to settle gracefully on the shoulder of Dy’shi. Hello there beloved. Sorry to interrupt, but she was dreadfully hungry, and she just knew he’d feed her because he loved her just as much as she did him. It was obvious really.

The Dream brown turned back to the Desire blue with a snort. Duty, dear brother-sister? That was the duty. His duty was to find someone for himself, those other blues were not his duty, and nor was the Desire blue come to that. The Dream brown turned away and took up the spot where the Delight green had so recently been perched. Who to pick? Duty could be so hard.

The Destruction blue stayed long enough to make sure the Despair green found her feet, gave her a gentle nuzzle, and turned away. His brother and sister would have to excuse him, he had seen his in the crowd and did not wish to let her get away. Silently the massive blue took wing and landed on the floor before Priya. She need not worry now, he was here, and things would change, he’d see to it.

Meanwhile in the nest the Despair green a round little female, approached the Desire blue with curiosity. The two hatchlings were pretty much opposites, one bright, one dull, one of sleek lines and one a short and tubby shape, yet somehow the pair seemed to connect and chattered happily to each other while behind the pair of them the Death egg developed a huge crack.


Mo’rya stared at Caden in blank incomprehension for a moment or two. He’d always assumed she’d be perfectly tidy for some reason, but rather than comment on the best ways of tidying up, which he was not displaying, Mo’rya was happy to let his attention be taken up by the clutch again. ‘They are aren’t they?’ he agreed, brushing his awareness against Ghost’s to try and get a sense of what colour the stalking turquoise-ish hatchling really was. ‘Ghost seems to think it’s a blue, and I guess she should know. She’s pleased her mate could make it here too.’ That part was probably unneeded, and truth be known Mo’rya was glad he hadn’t had to try and hide the scarred bronze firelizard from prying eyes, but Ghost was so happy to have him here for the hatching that Mo’rya couldn’t help but comment.

‘Do you think Epifayrmuth will be big enough to catch a queen when he’s grown?’ Mo’rya asked, gazing over at his distinctly small dragon, who snorted. ‘It would be amazing if he could, except for all the extra bits about humans getting involved as well.’ Mo’rya had only the vaguest idea of what happened in dragon Flights, mostly coming from having been warned to stay away from them. ‘I think he’d sire wonderful babies don’t you?’ Looking back at Caden he replayed that section of the conversation in his head and realised what it could sound like. ‘I don’t mean Nitrath, well maybe, but she’s already so much bigger than him that it seems unlikely, just a queen in general. Not that I don’t Nitrath’s babies will be wonderful too.’ Mo’rya do stop there.[/color] Epifayrmuth’s cool advice came from across the room with just a hint of amusement. You’re doing what I believe is known as digging yourself a hole.[/color]

[Kisha-Ra]

Delight green- looks to Dy'shi

Name:

Colour: Green #003E04 #373E00 #DFE5DF

Appearance: this green’s appearance can only be described as refined, every line of her body seems to be elongated yet elegant. As a hatchling she will look gangling but coordinated but as an adult she’ll look nothing short of perfectly poised and graceful. Even her head, seems to be elongated with a long muzzle and headknobs that might give her an aloof appearance if not for her large eyes that make her face look perfectly sweet rather than merely elegant.

Her colouration might detract somewhat from her sleek and elegant appearance, or it might not, it’s entirely a matter of opinion. Her base colour is a dark forest green, from which long and twisting lines of brown green begin to emanate from her belly, branching into smaller and thinner lines as they rise toward her spine. Spilling down her back in a gentle rain come flecks of silvery green that seem to clump together in bunches by her brown markings. It’s almost as if some amateur painter used this firelizard as a canvas for painting a tree in springtime. The only part of this green that doesn’t conform to her painted pattern is her wing membranes, which are solid silver green and translucent enough that one can see the fine traceries of her major blood vessels when the light shines through them.

Personality: Undoubtedly one of the sweetest firelizards around, this female is unfailingly polite and attentive to everyone who enters her presence, most particularly everyone male. Females are her confidants, her friends, her family, but males? They are her overriding passion. Any female will be abandoned for a male companion of any sort to talk to, wait on, and flirt with. Oh yes this little green loves to flirt but she’s much slyer than many of her colour, never being overt when a subtle curve to her neck or a seemingly accidental brush of her tail will do the job for her.

Her bonded of course is valued above any other companion, male or female, but the more the merrier, right? The Delight green will always be making an effort to get her bonded out to see the people she deems fit companions, normally the generous, the kind, and the quiet, although she will pick out others if she thinks they can be ‘redeemed’ from their behaviour. If her bonded is shy then she will certainly make all efforts, from simply asking to luring them along with a poor hurt little ‘lizard pretence, to get the ‘right’ people to come to her bonded instead. In particular though she’ll always be on the look out for a handsome male for her bonded, no matter what preference they might have, and will rampantly encourage her bonded to admire such human males as are nearby, and, perhaps more embarrassingly, encourage them to do the same to her bonded.



Destruction blue- Looks to Priya

Name:

Colour: blue #0C0F4A #010221 #DADFE6

Appearance: Right from the egg the first impression of this firelizard will be of masculinity and brute strength. Even as a hatchling he will be a muscular little beast sporting defined muscle groups under his hide as well as sturdy legs and a deep a barrel chest. Even his tail follows this theme being thick and muscular but not overly flexible he can knock things over with it, or even support his body weight from his tail for a time but it won’t be an easy appendage for him to manipulate in smaller gestures.

As if his muscle bound form doesn’t make him look enough of the brute this blue is quite the giant among his colour effortlessly outsizing other blues and even towering above many of the smaller browns. Only his hide colour marks him obviously as a blue, for though his predominant colour is a dark blue it is most definitely a blue shade that darkens up to near black at the tip of each of his sharply angular ridges, this shade also appears on the underside of his jaw, giving the firelizard a three day stubble look in the right light. The only thing about this blue that isn’t dark is one marking on his left flank, the echo of the marking that once adorned his egg, a silvery blade that effortlessly cleaves the dark colours that surround it.

Personality: For this firelizard change is everything, and everything is change. He loves change, he welcomes it, and he’s quite happy to cause changes himself if he thinks the situation requires it. These changes may be subtle, the wisp of perception or shadow of projected image that influences an opinion, or they may be blatant, like the change of an object to a different, and normally smaller, more scattered, form. There’s nothing deliberately cruel in his nature, he is just curious about changes, for better or worse, and it seems to be in his nature to destroy things be it an object, or someone’s faith. If someone is upset or angry because of him he’ll be upset too and he’ll do his best to fix it however he can, but even when he knows he shouldn’t he just can’t help destroying to create, even if his creations aren’t appreciated.

If nothing else at least he’s affectionate, particularly to his clutch siblings, his bonded, and any other creature he may happen to adopt into his extended family. He may not always be overtly affectionate, in fact he often isn’t, it’s as if he’s afraid of crushing other creatures with his massive form, but he is always there, either as a physical presence or a comforting mental presence whenever anyone of his might need him. In matters of Flight only his sisters, a green bonded to his, or a gold will do. Every other female is simply too fragile for him, and salamandyrs are not to be thought of!

[Ember]

Dy'shi let Erilena move back. Despite his rather odd fear of being given a life to be responsible for he was also extremely protective of friends. If Erilena felt safer a bit behind him he'd let her do that. With all the fear and rejection he was broadcasting he figured nothing would bother to pick him anyways. He tilted his head thoughtfully at Erilena's question before shrugging. "If I had to guess, I'd say Chakraith. Wouldn't be the first time she's conspired with someone to do something to 'help' me."

A loud shout and then suddenly he was being embraced by a J'ash. Fancy that. He let himself enjoy it a bit, smiling at the man when he was released. He wasn't really sure where he stood with the bluerider but it clearly couldn't be a bad standing. "It's like a little reunion," the bluerider mused aloud. He watched the progress of one firelizard that Erilena pointed out and smiled. Interesting, that. Then it happened. Perhaps he'd let down his guard because of extra company or maybe the green just didn't care. Either way, some little green found her way to his shoulder and the bluerider could have fainted. Dy'shi's eyes widened and he looked at Erilena. What to do?

The pleasure was all mine, Feyrianth-sister. I could not have gotten Dy'shimine there on my own, either, so I thank you too. Chakraith was happily cuddling with her clutchsister. She always had liked Feyrianth. That it was reciprocated made the blue very happy.

----

As it turned out, T'san didn't have to go searching for someone to amuse him. Oh, sure, hatching babies were exciting and all but he'd been there and done that already. Besides, the man that approached him had a rather interesting thing to offer him. The elbow to the ribs was met with a gentle fist to the shoulder. "Landmarks, huh? I think we could handle that much," he said in reply. To his credit, he'd never onced mentioned Behruth since his offer to help out a little. It was true that Dsoleth was bored and a tad lonely. It didn't need to be said for both men to know Behruth would have some troubles.

Apparently, the brown wouldn't be the only one having a little bit of trouble. T'san laughed at the suggestion of doing the Flight briefing. That would probably be...a lot of fun, actually. "I get to terrorize the weyrlings? Really? Oh, happy day!" He was still chuckling a little as he added, a little more seriously, "Sounds fun, I'm game." He wasn't entirely sure if M'ta was a friend yet but he didn't mind helping the man out. He'd like to get to know the man better and that was enough of a reason for the brownrider.

[Requiem]

Oh, nuzzles! Ximera couldn't help but grin broadly at the attention from the baby blue, that grin only broadening when he agreed. Yes! A princess did need a familiar as well as a steed. Now all she needed was a page and a...

"Oh, hi!" she bleated, when the small green body smacked right into her chest. The girl was quick to cup a hand beneath the lovely - if somewhat brazenly colorful - firelizard. That's the other thing she needed. A handmaiden! And here a lovely little one came just as she was thinking of the need. Posk was definitely right about destiny, the young wherhandler decided.

"Seas can be mean like that," Ximera agreed with a solemn nod. Always eating everything that got in their way. Then she grinned. "Not forks, but I adore Laddy. Would you like to meet him?" The little green chirped inquisitively, forgetting about food for the moment. Instead, she sent a barrage of images at the ladle Ximera dug out of her pocket for her. Food was where, down in the deeps with the dark dark crabman who ate diamonds. Laddy should be a good not-fork and tell her how to climb high enough to reach the crabman's food.

While the little one was thus distracted, Ximera leaned over and fixed her best cute little girl look on Porita. "May I pleeeaase have some of that meat for Hattie?" Hattie? Hattie? A hat on a head looking like a flit? Did she look like that? Oh no, oh no! The flit scrambled to try to see herself, of course only trailing the rest of her after in a circle around Ximera's chest. They girl giggled. "Not a hat, silly. It's just a name."

---

Suffering the punch to the shoulder (though it really didn't much deserve to be called a punch) with a wrinkling of his nose, M'ta actually cracked a smile at T'san's acceptance. There might have been a touch of relief behind it, too. One less problem to worry about. The smile quickly faded, however, at the wingleader's laughter. The younger man could feel the blood rising in his face. Fortunately, he was dark-skinned and it was likely to be overlooked. He didn't really think it was that funny.

Relaxing slightly, he nodded. "Yes, terrorize them however you wish," the short man agreed, venturing another small smile. Not laughing at his awkwardness with the subject, then. "That lesson should be sometime next month. I'll come by in a couple weeks to solidify the date?" When he had a better idea of what his lesson plan would be. No doubt T'san would know more about his own schedule closer to the time of the lesson, too.

M'ta's eyes flicked to the hatching firelizards. (Hopefully Sneak's weirdness was putting off more effective 'woo's' than the ones that had yielded Behruth and Checkoth.) "You're trying to get yourself one of them? Good luck, man. They're rarely what you'd expect," he concluded dryly. A glance was directed to T'san. "Did you...um. Well, Teri remembers you. She's asked about you a couple times." And M'ta could use some adult company every once in awhile, but it was easier to use Teri's questioning as an excuse.

[Kisha-Ra]

The chattering pair of hatchlings suddenly fell silent as a mighty crack sounded out and the Death egg spilled out its burden, another almost black and white firelizard, though this one had blue highlights rather than brown, and unlike the Dream brown this blue looked slightly undignified, his huge wings flopping to either side of him as he struggled to his feet. The Death blue’s entrance certainly seemed to have startled the Despair green and Desire blue as the pair of them scurried backward from their brother. The Dream brown turned back to see what the noise was about, and even Ghost looked a little startled by the Death blue’s arrival.

In total ignorance of all the attention on him the Death blue gave a curious chirrup and flared his giant wings, settling them more neatly against his back. Shouldn’t they all be doing something right now? And he didn’t mean gossiping either. The Desire blue stalked up to the Death blue, who regarded his sibling with a cool glare. The Despair green uttered a soft chattering sound and tapped at the Desire blue’s tail with a foreclaw. Couldn’t they go now please? She wanted to claim hers before one of their siblings did, didn’t he? That inquiry seemed to work, because the Desire blue turned furiously and ran for the edge of the nest. No one could claim his but him! The blue’s legs continued to make running motions in midair as if that would speed him on the way to his chosen human. Ah there she was! The Desire blue dived down onto Ivy’s head and dug his claws into her hair, mantling triumphantly at his unbonded siblings. See? He had the best slave here! Now, slave, feed him, feed the lovely baby firelizard. Wasn’t he wondrous?

The Dream brown snorted at the Desire blue. How infantile. Still now that he had found his bonded he really should go, just not with such a performance as his brother-sister. The brown hatchling dipped his head to the Death blue and nudged the Despair green with his muzzle. Farewell siblings, goodbye mother, father. The brown turned away from the other hatchlings, and the trembling Destiny egg, to rise on his enormous wings of almost black and fly, with a slight lack of coordination, over to where Nysania and Serissa stood and chirped politely to the wherhandler. Do excuse him, but he wanted a moment with his new partner. With that he settled on Serissa’s shoulder, clubbing her around the ear with a wing as he did so. Ah, sorry about that, he apologised, preening the bluerider’s hair. Wings were somewhat clumsy; no doubt he’d get better with them.

That left the Despair green and the Death blue alone in the bright nest, well relatively, there were still adult firelizards around them, and the blue salamandyr, and the Destiny egg which rocked from side to side insistently. However the pair seemed to have nothing much to say to each other so the Despair green moved her bulky form out of the nest, and along the surface of the desk. Hers had to be down there somewhere, but where? The chatter of her bright sibling caught the Despair green’s attention, making her cock her head curiously. Why was her sister talking to an inanimate object? Come to think of it what was she talking about? Hers! There was her chosen. The Despair green feel over the edge of the desk, using her wings to slow her fall, plopped onto the ground and ran across the floor with her extra flesh bouncing comically. Stopping in front of Posk she looked up, and up, and up at the wher. Lift her up to theirs please?

That left the Death blue stood alone, watching the Destiny egg crack with an intent interest, it was clear that he wasn’t planning to leave just yet.

[Kisha-Ra]

Desire blue- looks to Ivy

Name:

Colour: blue #00ffd5

Appearance: if the word androgynous can be applied to firelizards, here’s the one to apply it to. Nothing about this firelizard’s appearance is gender specific at all and he seems to like it that way, his overall build is long and whippy, with a slightly overlong, and very flexible, tail that he uses extensively both to touch and to gesture, thus drawing attention to his most distinctive feature at every opportunity. He seems to lack any kind of muscle at all, his slender frame seeming delicate, almost fragile, but that impression is quickly dispelled by sharp ridges that jut up in a threatening manner and dark claws that seem to indicate maybe this blue is not as helpless as he looks.

Unlike his siblings this firelizard stand out for being but one single colour from nose to tail tip; a blinding bright shade that almost hurts to look at and one that is almost perfectly balanced between the blue and green spectrums; Something this blue will always use to his own advantage to attract and confuse others. In truth his colour is dappled a little but it will take a keen eye to spot the patterning, subtle as it is on his blinding bright hide.

Personality: Oh he is a prideful one this little blue, and quite, quite, self obsessed, and why shouldn’t he be? Is he not the most beautiful, the most powerful, the most perfect creature in all the worlds? Why yes, yes he is, and one day soon everyone will know it. Everyone and everything is a possession in the claws of the desire blue though he does not openly claim them, no it amuses him to see that others think the things he owns are theirs. He prefers to manipulate others into doing what he wants rather than use a show of force, in fact he’s quite the little sneak and will often try and goad salamandyrs and other firelizards into attacking him in front of humans, the humans love him you see, they deserve a chance to prove their devotion.

His preferred method to anything though is to flirt, he much prefers to have his slaves do things because they love him so, and so he’ll make an effort to flirt with everyone he can, be they female, or male, firelizard, salamandyr, or even a stray human, for some reason he’s even quite adept at confusing males into thinking he’s female a green, maybe it’s his colouring or his complete lack of gender defining features, but more than likely it’s in his mind, this blue is able to counterfeit affection to any creature he can mindtouch, no matter how great his true contempt



Dream brown- looks to Serissa

Name:


Colour: brown #210601 #F5EBE3

Appearance: For the most part this brown is a dark near black shade of brown, in fact it’s only visibly brown when directly compared to black. The only markings on his body give him an odd look indeed, almost as if he were clothed in brown-black for his head, part of his neck, his tail just above the mid point, and his feet are all a just off white shade, the colour of old, dry, bones. Add to this the subtle variations in his base colour that ripple and shift when he moves and the impression of a clothed firelizard is complete. As if to go with his mostly dark hide his eye colour will also always be dark.

This brown is pretty well average in size, although you’d never know it from the way he holds himself. His long, sleek body is perfect for holding himself perfectly proudly erect under most circumstances, if he’s unhappy it’s very easy to tell by the slumped stance he exhibits. His head will always be held high on his elegantly long neck, his legs always straight, and his tail always curled neatly behind him. The only thing about him that doesn’t fit into the elegant image are his wings, which are gigantic, seriously huge enough to hinder him in the air as much as help him, his flight will always look slightly undignified thanks to these massive appendages and so he prefers to walk when he can and fly only as necessary. In addition to being so remarkably large his wings are one of the most expressive aspects of his body often flared or flicked for emphasis and when not in use for communication they fold around him like a huge black cloak.

Personality: If his stance suggests a stern, unbending creature, full of pride in himself, well then it would be right. This is one brown who is not at all humble, he takes what he considers of be justifiable pride in everything he achieves. At times he seems driven by what he considers his duty, whether it be to carry out a task for his bonded, to protect a child, or to eliminate a threat, he will always carry out what he sees as his duty to the best of his ability and the limits of his strength. When it comes to failiure: unacceptable! If not prevented by injury or exhaustion he will likely throw himself at the same task over and over, trying a different approach each time until he either succeeds or is incapacitated, or a greater task distracts him.

Though his iron will may gain him followers and admirers it will likely not gain him many friends, however he will always be closest to his bonded and his clutch siblings, although he may not always agree with them. Speaking of disagreement, no matter what the cause he will always have but one reaction whether he wins or loses: sulk. Oh yes this otherwise dignified brown is quite the master of sulking, he has perfected the slumped pose and the defiant glare, the complete ignorance of others that makes them uncomfortable enough to heed his wishes and leave. In the end he will always be needed to be shocked out of his moods by someone.



Despair green- looks to Porita
Name:

Colour: green #9FBB6F #7D8373 #C0C89C

Appearance: There’s only one word to describe this green: fat. Not only that but she is also short, of leg and of body, making her appear to be almost spherical instead of merely plump. Her heaviness doesn’t seem to effect her movement at all though, at least on the ground, she can run almost as fast as a similar sized salamandyr, though all her extra flesh will jiggle comically as she does so. In the air she is not so swift as average sized wings will labour mightily to lift her weight, on the whole she’d rather be carried, or hitch a lift, or walk if she must. At least her face has a hint of the prettiness this green lacks in other aspects of her body, though her head is not quite proportionate. Slightly large eyes set into a sweet looking firelizard face would perhaps offset the rest of her form and make her look cute if not for the way her teeth jut up from her lower jaw. For some reason the fangs of her lower jaw are much more prominent than the upper ones, and always stick out of her mouth, adding a slightly sinister air to that sweet face.

In colouration this green has drawn another short straw, for although it is at least not ugly her hide is dull. A dull grey-green shade to be precise and while it is a restful shade it doesn’t make her particularly stand out. Nor do her markings make her any more remarkable, her back and wings are absolutely covered in broken ring markings in a darker grey shade and a lighter green one, but they, too, are dull. In fact no amount of oiling will ever brighten her hide, and even approaching Flight will only give her a slight sparkle.

Personality: this green is a thinker, an observer not a doer. If given a choice about anything she will always prefer to find an out of the way place where she can see what’s going on around her and observe it closely, passing on the most interesting moments to her bonded. Due to her colouring she’s often overlooked when she does this and it seems as if she likes it this way, going out of her way to find dusty corners and patches of wilting foliage to hide in.

It almost seems as if this green is irresistibly drawn to sorrow and woes, not only will most of her observations be on those subjects but the times when she chooses to intervene in a situation are always when she believes someone needs comfort. She’s quite prone to coming and perching next to anyone unhappy, no matter what their species, even a depressed canine would attract her, and singing sad songs to them. For some reason every sound this little green makes is muted and slightly sad, even when she’s at her happiest, but never more so than when she sings. Tears are something that she cannot stand at all, that’s where her patience runs out and she’ll decide very quickly that a bite or a clawing would give whoever is crying a good reason to do so.

[Rowana]

All of Porita's attention was fixed on Ximera's new little darling. From a distance Porita had always thought fire lizards were lovely, but now that she saw this one up close, she was sure it was the most adorable creature she'd ever seen. Except maybe for when Posk and Jipth were hatchlings, it was hard to be more beautiful than them. Her mind drifted back with the memories, so much so that Ximera startled her with her question. "Oh!" Porita said again. She'd nearly forgotten the food she'd brought and how could she say no to such a pair as this? "Of course." Porita fetched the bowl and quickly passed it to Ximera. "She must be hungry," Porita smiled softly, the rest of the Hatching forgotten.

Posk hadn't forgotten the other hatchlings. While the humans fussed over Hattie, he'd turned his attention back towards the eggs and the grow throng of baby fire lizards. So many all at once! He wondered which would be his and Porita's friend. One must be, after all. They were here and it was destiny! The fact that the number of eggs was less than the number of people present didn't seem to have entered his mind. He watched carefully as another blue and finally the brown found their humans. Then he spotted something round and greenish coming his way. There she was! Yes! This one was theirs! He was sure of it!

Eyes sparkling with joy and delight, Posk leaned down until his nose brushed the ground. Climb up, little sister, he crooned happily. Theirs was waiting for her! The little green scrambled on to the wher's head, clucking softly at him. Going so fast that his passenger had to cling tightly, Posk rose onto his hind legs so that Porita could not possibly miss her new fire lizard. Still distracted trying to help Ximera with the meat, Porita had only been paying half her attention to Posk and his new friend. She stared, open mouthed, at the hatchling, who promptly hopped off to cuddle into her neck. Silly wher was so excitable, the green confided. But that was alright, since Porita was who she wanted.

It wasn't quite like Impressing a dragon or a wher, but Porita couldn't help feeling drawn to the plump, dull colored beauty. A fire lizard had chosen her of all people! This really was the magic of destiny Posk kept going on about. "Um," Porita hesitated, still caught by the moment and trying to remember the other girl's name. Giving up, she continued anyway. "I think we'll need some of that meat, after all," she explained apologetically to Ximera. The hatchling's stomach growled in agreement. "Can Neyki share with Hattie?" Porita wasn't sure where she'd gotten the name, but it seemed perfect. Neyki purred in a happy, but soft tone. Yes, this was just right.

[Ruby]

Good, the wild bronze replied, that made him much more comfortable. Suiting actions to words, he relaxed somewhat, draping a wing over Ghost's back as more babies made their entrance into the world, and found their partners. Each chosen human got a moment of tough scrutiny from the father; they must meet with his approval if his children were to bond with them. They all seemed acceptable, however, and now almost all the eggs had hatched... these things always went to quickly once they began, did they not?

"They look happy," Caden confirmed, watching the clutch parents interact with a bit of a funny look on her face. The funny look didn't get much better when Mo'rya kept talking; clearly his thoughts were right along the same lines as Caden's own, which was a bit uncomfortable and strange. It must be that time, she thought, quickly doing the math of exactly how old Nitrath was - nine months, just three short of maturity. Sensible, then, that her fellow weyrlings would be thinking about flights and the like. The lesson was sure to be coming soon, and a glance over at her uncomfortable-looking teacher made it only seem more likely. Trying not to grimace too badly, Caden fixed her eyes on the wall above Epifayrmuth, subtly (or not so subtly) avoiding Mo'rya's eyes.

"Dunno. Maybe he'll keep growing once the others stop? Late bloomer?" she suggested, then added, "Or maybe the small ones. Like Jingth, she was small, wasn't she?" Caden was more than willing to leave off the rest of what Mo'rya said and pretend it hadn't happened, except Nitrath had something to say on the subject, too. Or I could pick him, and not let anyone catch me at all, the Gold put in, her mind-voice all sincerity and caring. Would you rather I did that, Caden-love? I will, if you ask, even if all my babies end up small. That made Caden's cheeks flame a violent shade of scarlet, and she grumbled, "Sure they'll both have wonderful babies someday. Longer they take the happier I'll be, though."

---

"It certainly does," Serissa agreed, watching as yet another creature found his lifemate. Some seemed to be picking based on personality - the green/blue that had practically broken shell by flirting with it had picked a girl who had apparently come in after Serissa had scoped out the room, because her plunging neckline was quite a long ways closer to Serissa's taste than anyone else in the room, for instance, and the green that had chosen the one full Wherhandler present seemed as nutty as her new owner - but not all. It certainly had nothing to do with who did or didn't have food. "I wonder if there would be a way to test it? Or maybe a Beastcrafter would have a better idea of why they do what they do." It was worth looking in to. Speaking of Piden, hadn't he mentioned some Beastcrafter he knew? "I'm sure you will; he can be a bit of a shut-in, but when he's feeling social, he's, well, very social. He can be a bit much." She left it at that for now, letting the subject change back to pets. "Well if you want experience with Salamandyrs, Piden's got three. And as far as I know, they greatly prefer eating firelizard eggs to their own kind, but I did see a couple of Dementia's spawn cull a white runt that had already impressed - poor girl that..."

But she was distracted, first by a rustle of wings and second by the smooth insertion of another consciousness into her own. Just a second later, the brown that had waited so long to impress settled on Serissa's shoulder, whacking her in the ear as he landed. His eyes whirled a curiously dark mixture of colors as he apologized to Nysania, and all Serissa could do was blink. "No doubt indeed," she replied, bemused, as the near-black firelizard started grooming her curls. There was no need to look so dumbfounded, he told her, the series of images and emotions conveying an eloquence Serissa had never experienced from Ildyth; his duty had been to find one that would be his, and here she was. Was it truly so surprising that he should pick a mindmate who was both beautiful and talented? For clearly she was both of those things. Only the best would do for him, and she was best for him, just as others were best for his siblings.

Drawing himself up to his full height, the Dream brown twitched his wings into position so they draped around him like a cloak. Next order of business: food, and then a name. Would Serissa oblige? Shaking her head a bit (which made the Dream brown lean down to replace one of the curls he had arranged so carefully), Serissa looked over to Nysania. "Sorry... he's mine, apparently. And he wants food. We should talk about this some other time, though..." Slowly, the poleaxed expression faded as she acknowledged her bond, being replaced by a grin she simply couldn't control. Much better, the Brown commented, but added, would she be naming him any time soon? It was her duty, after all, and if she didn't complete it as soon as possible... well. His head dipped down a little, shoulders curling slightly as his eyes glowed a dangerous burgundy. "Alright, alight!" Serissa said, still smiling, as she unceremoniously relieved Hinsero of his bowl of meat (he wasn't using it, after all). "Here's food, and... a name. You look like quite the upstanding little gentleman," - Well yes, but he wasn't sure about her choice of the word little - "So you'll need an upstanding name. What about... Neil?" No, he liked Neil, but it wasn't quite right, and he would only accept perfection. "Matthew?" No, once again, in the right area but not quite the right name. "Daniel?" Yes, that one he liked. Daniel he would be.

[Rei]

Erilena smiled at little at Dy’shi’s remark. “Yeah it kind of is isn’t it?” All that was missing was X’rx and L’nu really. Right? Considering the rest were dead or gone. It was kind of sad in a way the reminder of that. So many of them lost. It seemed to be a almost a pattern though. The whole life was short thing seemed to be horribly true at the weyr. At least for most of the dragon riders. Before the greenrider could comment further it seemed baby firelizards where spilling out of eggs left and right. Blinking Erilena followed the path of a few of them, her eyes widening as one made it’s way towards them to land on Dy’shi. It was almost comical really that the bluerider’s eyes seemed to grow larger than her’s. The younger boy staring at her as if at a complete loss.

With a soft smile Erilena crooned up at the little green on Dy’shi’s shoulder. She used to offer the same noise to Nephele’s and K’sel’s flits as well so by now it was almost familiar. Nudging her former classmate in the side the greenrider gave a small jerk of her head towards the bowls of meat that T’san had brought. When she spoke her voice was soft and encouraging. “Go on and feed her silly. She obviously wants you.” Whether Dy’shi wanted the little green or not impression couldn’t be reversed so he might as well.

Oh! Chaksister. Look! Look! Yours has got a new little. Congratulations. Feyrianth exclaimed happily as she rubbed her head against her sister affectionately. What are you going to call her?

~~~

Nysania watched both the new baby firelizards and Serissa in turn. A soft noise of agreement left her throat. “Perhaps. We’d need a few clutches and proper control groups to test it effectively though.” Something that wasn’t likely to happen. Unless they went beach trolling for firelizard eggs. The little creatures were rare up north. Here in the south there seemed to be a good deal more of them. Hmm. Well it was something to think about at any rate. Tilting her head the wherhandler considered the next point. “Perhaps they would know. But I’ve always been under the impression that beastcrafters take towards more domestic things. Runners and the like.” Although she supposed there were specializations in every field so who knew really? It was entirely possible that one or another might specialize in firelizards or something. The woman never professed to know what the other crafts taught. No she’d been primarily interested in healing since she was but a little thing.

The Weyrhealer grew quiet as the little dark flit that had been one of the very first to hatch settled on Serissa’s shoulder. The quiet apology he offered made her blink before she offered Serissa a small smile. “Congratulations. Seems as if this time you managed to acquire one.” Nysania couldn’t decide if she was jealous or not. Definitely leaning towards not. She really didn’t need any pets. Nyssk was more than enough for anyone. With a wave to her fellow healer she brushed off the apology. “No need dear. You get him fed and I’ll hold you to the continuation of our conversation. Perhaps we could have dinner together sometime?” It sure wouldn’t hurt to get to know all the healers in the infirmary. Not at all.

Turning back towards the clutch, as Serissa moved off to feed her new little pet, the handler was surprised to see that there were only two babies left. One hatched and one still in shell. Well then. It seemed it was almost over. That had gone almost as fast as Nyssk’s hatching had.

[Ivy]

This group of firelizards was certainly... well interesting to say the least. Though it had been her experiences in Selenitas Weyr that nothing was as she had expected it to be. She watched as firelizard babies chattered amongst themselves, as some of them paired off to their new bondeds. As she watched she couldn't help but nibble on one of the meatrolls she had brought with her. It seemed as if she was going to miss out on a firelizard yet again - though a few of them seemed to be taking their time deciding who they liked the most.

Her attention wandered from the eggs then and to the people around her. She heard snippets of conversations and as she looked from face to face she realized she'd seen a few of them in the infirmary quite often. The Weyrhealer was even in attendance - hm, how had she not noticed before?

As she considered going over to say hello and work her way into a conversation - after all just standing there alone was not any fun at all - there was a weight on her head followed by rather sharp talons gripping into her hair. "Hey!" She cried out but then realized what had happened.

Glancing up she reached up and offered the baby firelizard perched on her head a meatroll. His coloration was absolutely gorgeous and she grinned - her own firelizard! His long tail curled lightly against her neck, drawing a giggle from her. Now, what to name such a lovely creature? "... Eros, you're going to have to let go of my hair, you're hurting me."

[Kisha-Ra]

Ghost puffed up just a little as her bronze relaxed. See? She had chosen well. Now though, it was time for their last babies to choose. The gold gave the Death blue and encouraging little sound, but the blue’s attention remained firmly fixed on the Destiny egg. Hatchings were important, mother-gold, more important than choices.

No. Wrong. The Destiny brown gave voice to his disagreement in a mini bugle as he finally burst out of his egg. Choices were important, and choosing to hatch was the first choice, and the best one, obviously, which was why he had done so. Now it was time for the second choice, to bond or not? Was there one among these who Impressed his brother or… the Destiny brown’s eyes, dull grey blue, flicked toward the open window.

The Death blue followed his brother’s gaze, he had not considered that option until now, he admitted, but there was food and company for the taking here so that route was not for him. What of his brother? The Destiny brown seemed to shrug; no that way was not his way either. He knew who he wanted, but he would know his blue brother’s choice first please. The Death blue turned his attention to the gathered humans, there were quite a few there he had to admit, one among them must be right. The Death blue took to the air and looped the room a few times before he settled on one single human. That was right, Impression could not be reversed, so Erilena had better not reject him. Whether it was defiance, fate, or just a sense of the perverse that brought the Death blue to land on the greenrider was a matter for debate but it seemed to satisfy the last hatchling in the nest as the Destiny brown opened his wings and flew directly to J’ash, or rather directly into J’ash’s upper arm, where he clung. A little help from his bonded please?

Ghost looked at empty nest with every sign of pleasure and satisfaction. Her babies were all hatched, all bonded and hopefully all about to be well looked after. Well she’d be able to keep an eye on them all now at least.


Mo’rya looked at Caden, rather surprised to see the goldweyrling looking so… odd. Was it possible that Epifayrmuth was right and he had been unknowingly digging a hole for himself? And was there something wrong with the wall over there? Small queens? ‘Oh, do really think so? Or were you just saying that to try and make us feel better? Because Epifayrmuth’s not worried about his size anyway.’

The bronzeweyrling’s face broke into a cheerful smile as Caden admitted that both their dragons would have wonderful babies, although he didn’t see why she was blushing so much about it. ‘Oh I didn’t mean soon, just some day, I mean they’re hardly even grown yet. It was just that all these hatching firelizards got me thinking about things like that.’