Fate's Choice (Jingth's Hatching))

[Ember]

The air in the Hatching Sands was tense as people filed in. Jingth had checked her eggs earlier only to sorrowfully call the population of Burimyu. Finally her babies would make their way into the world...and she could follow Hers out of it. Nephele looked between Jingth and Chaoth and sighed. She hoped the brown could liven up the event some and that Jingth's passing would be done quietly after the babies Impressed. Hatchings were supposed to be happy affairs but this one was painfully not. She wondered if she could take it as a good omen that the babies were hatching with the first light and not the last.

The greenrider watched as the candidates made their way onto the sands. She smiled fractionally and waved at a couple of them. Namely the ones she had Searched for this clutch herself. She rather thought they had managed to get enough that no dragonets would between. At least, she hoped so. That would just really suck, for lack of a better description. With the passing of their only gold, these babies would be the only hope for retaking Selenitas. A pretty flimsy hope, if you were to ask Nephele.

Sounds of popping and slight shifting interrupted the woman's thoughts and she edged closer on her seat to watch for the first to hatch. The Deepest Secret Egg was shaking violently and small chips seemed to be falling from the cracks spreading across the shell. It was not the Deepest Secret Egg that broke first, though. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Trepidation of the Spheres Egg shattered enthusiastically, stealing the limelight away from the Deepest Secret Egg.

The blue that stumbled out of the fragments of his shell did just that: stumble. He could hardly be called graceful as his uncontrolled stumbling brought him closer to the candidates. Then again, hatchlings rarely were. The blue fell with an indignant squawk and blinked muted red eyes dolefully. He attempted to get up only to find his limbs all fouled together and he flopped back down with a huff. He was going to be late.

-----

01. the road not taken egg - hatched blue; Impressed to C'lan
02. forests of the night egg - hatched green; Impressed to R'lyeh
03. book of transformations egg - hatched blue; Impressed to N'rik
04. last scene egg - hatched green; Impressed to Roselle
05. darkling thrush egg - hatched green; Impressed to S'vil (NPC)
06. deepest secret egg - hatched green; Impressed to Isori
07. chambers of the sea egg - hatched green; Impressed to Qaena (NPC)
08. trepidation of the spheres egg - hatched blue; Impressed to T'ri
09. to be alive egg - hatched brown; Impressed to Ke'von
10. touch the skies egg - hatched green; betweened

((I'll say it now: These are not my babies. They are Avu's, so direct thanks to her. She might be lurking around. Also, unless you specifically tell me (in this thread, I might forget if you do it in the cbox) not to I might maul your candidates.))

[Ruby]

Torino was not late only because he was already on the hatching sands. Something about the sorrowful Queen, clinging to life only for the sake of her babies, attracted and interested him in a way things rarely did. He hardly ever cared about anything, but Jingth was torn between caring too much for two different things - babies and beloved rider - and it was fascinating and tragic all at once. The whole atmosphere suited his mood perfectly, and he simply couldn't stay away.

At first, the Gold had ignored him, then she'd growled, likely trying to scare him off. Torino had stayed respectfully at the very top of the stands, out of her reach (and out of reach of her equally annoyed Brown mate), and after a while it seemed like she'd forgotten him. He had his guitar with him, and his flask, and as the night wore on he talked to (or more correctly at) her, picked out a few quiet, sad songs, and spent a lot of time in silence, just watching her sleep. She didn't seem to want or need comfort - really, it just seemed like she wanted to go - but Torino felt somewhat better that he'd been able to give her whatever small thing he could. He was oddly sentimental, sometimes.

Honestly, he didn't even notice that it was morning (why hadn't M'kai shown up to send him off to bed like a wayward child?) until Jingth finally spoke to him, and of course the Weyr at large, waking him up and letting them all know that the eggs were hatching. With a yawn, he ran a hand through his hair, pulling his lenseless flight goggles up onto his head (they'd been worn hanging around his neck yesterday). A quick re-purposing of his violently pink belt/sash turned it into a scarf, and he slung his guitar over his shoulder before hopping down to the sands. Yeah, he was the first one there. He was such a try hard.

---

M'kai squinted in the early morning brightness as a wave of sadness washed over him, accompanying Jingth's words. He withdrew the arm draped over a sleeping Isori to shade his eyes while he considered exactly what it was that the gold had said, and what that meant. It wasn't a big deal, he could go back to sleep, right? He'd been up so late last night his head ached and his eyes still felt grainy, refusing to open. Yes, he could definitely go back to sleep. Snuggling back in next to the girl whose bed he shared, M'kai closed his eyes...

All of a sudden, what was actually going on hit him, and the Candidatemaster jerked upright. "Shards!" he snapped, shoving at Isori's shoulder so she would wake up faster. "Isori, they're hatching, and I'm here, and oh, shells, I'm gonna loose my job. Why didn't you kick me out last night? C'mon, you have to get up and I have to get out of here..." Pausing in his frantic search for his shirt, M'kai stopped for a second, pulling Isori's head over for one more kiss, morning breath and all. "Sorry," he murmured, letting her go. With a hint of humor, he added, "I'm always grumpy when I don't get enough sleep."

Moments later he was gone, slipping out of the Candidate's door as he attempted to comb his fingers through his tangled mess of red hair. Bedhead was bad enough when you cropped your hair short; it was 100% unmanageable when you had hair as long as he did. Fabulous. Debating running back to his room to change, M'kai figured he didn't have enough time - he'd so enjoyed laying in bed with Isori that he had definitely made himself late. In fact, he spotted a few candidates moving off towards the Hatching Sands as soon as he closed her door, and they saw him, too. So he was caught whether or not he wore the same shirt to the Hatching that he'd worn all day yesterday. Well... fine.

Long legs brought him to the Candidate's entrance before too long, and he made an attempt to organize them into a line. Torino was missing, but that was to be expected. Running a hand through his hair again (self-consciously this time), M'kai raised his voice to be heard over the muted buzz coming from the Stands. "Remember, you can't force impression, and if you try you'll get mauled. Stay out of the way of Hatchlings if you can, and be extra polite to Jingth. I think that's it; if you need me, I'll be over with Sel'n, who'll be your Weyrlingmaster if you impress. Alright, everyone. Calm and slow. Go ahead."

((Tenlie is also in the stands, T'mund's probably not showing up. Tedsy, I thought this would be a good wrap-up to our other thread ^^ but if you want me to change it just let me knooowww))

[Sebz]

Keavon heard the call of the lingering queen as clearly as any had. He was not surprised really, he had been expecting the clutch to hatch soon anyway, so now that it was finally happening, he was prepared. No candidate robes were available in Burimyu, so, assuming there was no dress code, he didn't bother to change. He had stayed up that night, sneaking out of the candidate barracks as soon the rest in the barracks stopped moving. He had gone out to just go sit, sit and reflect. Keavon had never been missed before, so when he did sneak out, he usually never went back to the barracks. He would meet the rest of the candidates at breakfast, or just go straight to chores. True, he had been at the weyr for a while now, but he hadn't made any close friends yet, and likewise, Keavon doubted that he had made any enemies either.

Perhaps now that impression was immanent, it would be good to get to know his fellow candidates more. If he impressed, they would be spending almost everyday together, learning how to take care of their dragons. Keavon decided that he would make a greater effort to associate with the others.

This hatching is not what he had imagined one would be like, he thought, as he hurried towards the hatching sands. Where was the joy, the celebration? He thought, and he suspected that the rest had deduced it as well, as soon as the last hatching impressed Jingith would expire. He had never seen a dragon die, but he had heard it was traumatic for the dragon's and people of the weyr alike. And Jingth was a gold, which only made it worse. Keavon shook his head, rethinking his prior thought. The death of any dragon, no matter the color, would be horrible for the weyr. It was ironic, that the dragonet's birth into this world would be overshadowed by the death of their mother. Life was a cycle.

That subject had been the topic of Keavon's meditation that night. Life could be so easily ripped away, and at anytime. You never knew when death would come and take somebody. Just like it had come for the queen and her rider.

When Keavon heard the cry, he was already on the way to the hatching ground. He liked looking at the eggs, but it wasn't a good idea to do it in the middle of the day. The morning was better, when others weren't around. It might not even be allowed for all he knew, so why advertise the fact that he made frequent visits to the eggs. He never touched them, oh no, he only watched them, thinking about what would happen when the dragonets finally spilled out of their shells. However, since the death of the Weyrwoman, he had steered clear. Jingth was already morning enough, why add to her troubles by sneaking around her precious babies?

"Hello Jingth," he murmured, dipping his head when he entered the grounds, dipping his head in greeting. No longer the lustrous gold she used to be, her hide was dulling. The queen was just holding on. He would have said good morning, but it truly wasn't. This would be the last morning, at least for Jingth.

Torino was already there, which surprised Keavon immensely. That particular candidate had made it clear enough that he didn't care about anything what so ever, and Keavon had assumed that that air of indifference carried over to hatchings as well.He took his position among the eggs, and watched the proceedings with guarded interest. Guarded because that was Keavon's nature. He didn't usually allow others to see how he was feeling, what he was thinking. His eyes flicked over towards an egg that was shaking violently, but his attention was quickly drawn as a blue burst out of its shell and fell awkwardly to the ground. He grinned slightly, watching the indignant dragonet. Where all dragons this ungainly at birth?

(Maul away! But not fatally purlease!)

[dragon]

Isori was sleeping soundly. So soundly and happily that she slept right through the sad call that went through her mind, into a dream, and right back out the other ear as she continued to snooze into her pillow, snugged up against another warm body that she was only so very happy to be against.

She mumbled something when M'kai moved, but nothing more than that. But at his sudden exclamation her head shot up out of the pillow and she blinked at the wall there. "Uh? AH!!" She squeaked at the sudden shaking she got. "Ow! What's going on??" She asked, suddenly far more lucid than she cared to be. Everything was reporting in, including her memory of the oh so splendidly late night before. She smiled for a moment, before M'kai started flailing.

"M'kai! Calm down. What's hatching? Oh! They are? Oh no! Um..." She scrambled around in the furs, before stopping. "You're not going to lose your job! Don't say that. Oh!" she leaned on him as he stole a very sudden and unexpected kiss that she most certainly returned. Freed, she giggled. "Nothing to be sorry for, M'kai." she assured him, giving him the shirt he was searching for. For a moment she just sat there in her furs after he had fled so abruptly. Heaving a sigh, she looked around.

And then remembered why the waking was so abrupt. "Shards!!" Scrambling out of the bed herself, she hunted around for a dress. They didn't really have hatching gowns. So something, anything would do. Finding the modified night gown impromptu dress she had started out with here at Burimyu, she donned that. It was off white, but pretty close. It was also a very simple cut. Sliding her feet into sandals, she finger-combed her hair back out of her face and twisted it deftly into a bun again. A moment was spent searching for the flung pin, and she crammed it in place to hold her hair up.

Oh, Faranth. She was going to look like a mess. But she couldn't be late! No, she couldn't be late. Bother! She shouldn't show up at a hatching looking like this, but she had no choice. She hadn't even had time to pit-bath all that lovely smell of last night's adventure off of her skin. Oof.

She scrambled out the door and sprinted for the sands, fearing she was going to be the last one there. Reaching the sands, she formed up in the line that M'kai was trying to make. One look at him, and she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't the only one that looked a little rumpled. Though just the sight of him had her wanting to at least give him a kiss before she passed onto the sands. If not outright haul him away for round two.

But ... sigh. It was hatching day. She minded herself, and solomnly took her place on the hot sand. She offered a smile to Jingth, the poor, young Gold already at the end of her rope. "Ma'am." she greeted simply, before her gaze shifted to the eggs.

And oh! They were already late! Or at least, she was. There was one hatched and stumbling along already. Isori covered her mouth with one hand, hiding a smile. He was so cute! And blue, too. She wondered if he would grow to be anything like Futh. So energetic! A bit frustrated, but then who wasn't?

"Come on, you can do it. Feet to the corners, there you go." Isori encouraged under her breath, behind her hand as her eyes sparkled. Beautiful baby~

((C'oar will be in the stands, not much there to see though. Also - maulings OK ... just don't remove any bits ^_^ <3 ))

[Rowana]

Chaoth sat as a guardian statue, one wing protectively draped over his mate. It pained him to see her like this. Jingth, who once had shown more brilliant than the stars, was wasting away. He had tried his best to support her, offer assurances that her offspring would be well cared for, and remind her that rider would be waiting for her in the black of between. Yet comfort was all he could give. He could not bring Meira back from the horror that had taken her. He could not mend Jingth's heart.

A few Candidates and others had come to see the eggs, and Chaoth had allowed it. So long as Jingth accepted them and they did not come near, they could look and watch. The boy Torino, in particular, was a welcome if surprising visitor with his music and company. Then the morning finally dawned. Chaoth could feel the life in the eggs and the hum that began in his throat. When Jingth at last gave the call, he was both excited, relieved, and saddened all at once. Ten young dragons, his children, would be hatching to find their riders today. And today, his beautiful Jingth would pass from Pern forever. At least she would no longer feel the pain of her lost Meira.

As the assembly grew and the Candidates at last began to arrive, Chaoth noted the atmosphere of sadness that surrounded the approaching loss of their queen. Jingth would not want her Hatchlings to come to a world so preoccupied, he decided. Standing, the brown offered the Candidates a welcoming hum of approval. Several of them were very polite and it was good to see them willing to come all this way for the eggs. Living at Burimyu was not easy. In a quiet, but comforting voice that could be heard by all, Chaoth spoke to the gathering:

Thank you for coming. It is an honor to have so many to greet our children.

Below the large brown dragon and just off the Sands itself, Merridan stood apprehensively. She hadn't been this close to any Sands since her own Impression of Chaoth. She wasn't sure how she felt being here, when Meira was gone. The memories of that terrible night came back. If only she'd been quicker, or hadn't let Meira explore on her own, or better yet just sent her back to her room. Yet, as Chaoth was constantly reminding her, she knew that blaming herself would help no one.

Mer nodded to the line of Candidates as they came in, offering a smile of encouragement. Most of them already knew, or could see, that Jingth would be gone once the Hatching finished. No need to make what should be a joyous day any more depressing. The first egg began to shake and Mer found herself holding her breath in anticipation. Please let it be strong, she willed. Chaoth was large, but he was only a brown and they needed a miracle now that Meira was gone. Then a blue baby broke free of a completely different shell. Mer breathed a sigh of relief and beamed. Only a blue, certainly, but a healthy one and a good start if only he would Impress as well. There seemed far too few Candidates to choose from...

~

Nabrik wasn't one to wake up early. When the call came into his mind, he was still fast asleep and having some very strange dreams. Even so, he was awake in seconds and automatically reaching for white robes when he remembered that they didn't have them. Grinning, he poked a sleepy Alph. "Sta..." he started, when his voice made the oddest, squeaking sound. Frowning he tried again. "Alph, stay..." It did it again! Was he sick? He felt just fine the night before. Alph was awake and staring at him now with sleepy eyes. What Nabrik want? he asked in confusion.

Nabrik was getting quite frustrated with his voice now. He glared at the air, as if it was to blame, and managed to croak out. "Hatching. Stay." Then he yanked on his shirt, pants and shoes and darted for the door. Sick or not, he couldn't be late! Alph watched him go, having not moved at all since waking. Sometimes he simply didn't understand humans, even his own.

Nabrik ran to join the line of Candidates behind Isori. A few looked like they'd only just woken up, but he was surprised to see M'kai in such a state. Emoyan had never looked so out of sorts at a Hatching before, was the man nervous or something? Isori looked pretty disheveled too, even for someone who just woke up. Come to think of it, was it him, or was Isori actually very pretty? Nabrik shook his head, blanching at himself. What was he thinking about?! He should be thinking about dragons, not girls!

They made their way onto the Sands and Nabrik made a point to put himself as far from Isori and the other girls as he could get. Luckily, he found plenty other things to take his mind off them. His eyes found Jingth and widened at how bad she looked. He'd heard about Meira, but knowing what was happening and seeing it were like a darter and a wherry. He liked Jingth. She was a nice queen. Seeing her like this was just awful. Then the eggs began to crack and Nabrik tore his gaze to the more happier half of the event. Already a blue was on the sands! The boy's eyes lit with delight! A clumsy one, but that didn't mean he wouldn't grow to be spectacular. Maybe this time, Nabrik hoped, a dragon would choose him. Maybe even this one.

[crispypeanut]

Rigelyeh spat venomously as the Queen's blaring call literally shattered his dreams. Cursing under his breath, he dressed himself in whatever clothes were closest, not bothering (as usual), to care about his appearance. If anything, this early morning disturbance was an aggravating annoyance. Some people around here actually had duties to attend to later. He was skeptical about sharing his mind with anyone, especially a baby wurm. He hated lessons and the crash-course he'd received from M'kai was confusing beyond measure to someone so unfamiliar with the beasts.

If there had been anyone else who might have taken his place, he was certain he wouldn't have been there. Selected for candidacy a mere two sevendays hence, he couldn't help but feel out of place, woefully under trained, and unqualified for the job. He was nothing more than a last minute scab to fill a gap in the hemorrhaging artery of this tiny Weyr's ranks.

Still...a bargain is a bargain, even when made with a woman, and Rigelyeh was as good as his word. Dragon or no dragon, he would be useful. And while the people were the strangest (Nicest) he had ever known, the little community they had created out here was...suitable to his needs.

As he entered the Hatching Sands chamber, Rigelyeh granted a curt nod of acquaintance to his instructor before addressing the Gold. "Jingth," he declared with a bowed head and the reverence demanded of a man not wishing to be fangoriously devoured by a gelatin...er...draconian monster. 'Rest well,' he finished mentally as he turned away.

He did not hesitate to join the other candidates, striding leisurely to his place among them. His face was grimly expressionless; his arms, crossed. He watched the eggs with mild interest, but betrayed nothing of the thoughts running through his head.

[cailan]

Cailan had been sleeping when he heard a noise then got dressed in black pants and a white shirt then pulled on his boots. He ran out out of the barracks as other people we're heading to wards the hatching sands and there he saw that the line of candidates had already begun. The candidate started to move around the different riders and had to smile a nervous smile he hoped that his dragon was in those eggs. A smile on his face as he bowed to the queen who didn't growl yet seemed to show a sorrowful look for her rider. She was only hanging on because of the eggs when they hatched that would be it.

The weyr would lose it's only gold and he wondered how they would survive without a gold. He sighed then looked on wards as he stood in place with the others guys there we're so few of them and already a blue dragon had hatched. A blue wasn't good luck as far as he could remember it was the bronzes that we're seen as good luck. His own eyes wandered over the eggs then he thought that he hoped that his dragon was in those eggs. "Please be in there," said Cailan then ran a nervous hand through his hair. While he looked around one thing stuck in his mind would things had been different at Selentias with all their formalities and sighed.

His fate was here at Burimyu Weyr and hopefully his dragon was in there too. Cailan waited to see as another egg was shaking and looked around seeing his friend Keavon. The group of them would be family from now on and would hopefully go through weyrling training together. A small part hoped there was a gold or something special in there that would insure the hope of their weyr. It was in a nature's dragon at a hatching to surprise everyone and he just looked onward reminding himself to breath.

(You can maul if you want just no taking of parts.)

[Ember]

Grumpily, the blue finally managed to get back to his feet. There would have been no further premable to find His - he hadn't been idle freeing himself of his own limbs, after all - except for the fact that the Deepest Secret Egg finally feel to pieces around his green sister and he snorted. Great. She sat amongst the shards of her egg, surveying things for a moment, before abruptly growling at her brother. One could practically see the blue roll his eyes and tune out whatever his sister was saying to him.

The blue strode towards his chosen candidate as briskly as his stumbling legs would allow. That was when he noticed his green sister dart right past his nose and he took a moment to glare at her. Silly sister, she was running towards all the bad ones! He walked the remaining distance to his and nuzzled him affectionately. Ah, how nice. My sister is weird. Ought to chew out her own tongue. I am Arhenaiyth and you, T'ri, are mine, the newly dubbed Arhenaiyth said to Torino. Or was that T'ri now? Judging by the muted rainbow in the blue's eyes, the boy would be going by his new name.

In the meantime, the green was wandering amongst the candidates, clearly displeased with a few of them. No, no, no. Not at all right! She'd started at Nabrik, rearing up on unstable legs to get a better look at the boy only to reach out and push him away (not at all mindful of her claws) and check the others. So far she hadn't searched any of the others as closely. She managed to get from one side to the other before she finally stopped and turned her gaze to one candidate. She tilted her head consideringly before her eyes lit up in a rainbow and she approached her choice.

The green sat before Isori and said in matter-of-fact tones, We must not dawdle like Arhenaiyth. Please show show your Aikelyth where the food is, IsoriMine. With the Impressions of the two already hatched siblings, the others seemed impatient to break their shells. Three eggs started rocking and cracking at an alarming rate almost simultaneously.

[Ember]

Trepidation of the Spheres Blue
thy firmness makes my circle just,
and makes me end where i begun

Name- Arhenaiyth
Color- Blue (#0F9CCF)
Looks to- T'ri
Appearance- Arhenaiyth will rapidly grow into one of the most normal blues to grace Pern, in terms of length; he falls right in the middle of his color from nose to tail-tip. His wingspan is equally typical of a blue—graceful enough, but nothing special. He is also, however, prone to gaining weight if his diet and exercise is not carefully watched by His (because Arhenaiyth sure won’t care). As a hatchling Arhenaiyth won’t be anywhere near overweight; in fact, he even starts out nearly slender—but as time goes on a thick, ropy layer of muscle will develop. And it will be followed by fat. You have been warned.

When it comes to movement, whether Arhenaiyth can be called “graceful” or “clumsy” is almost directly related to his current weight status, and how much practice His bothers to put into anything. Arhenaiyth is more than capable of becoming gorgeous; a sight to die for; he’s also got the chance of being an erratic, unsteady, undependable flight. With experience will come grace, if only Arhenaiyth and His put in the time and energy to ensure it. As a hatchling, Arhenaiyth will find himself prone to stumbling, but as he grows those little things will smooth out until he’s more than comfortable hopping along on land, even if flying would be ever so much better.

A dazzlingly clear, bright turquoise blue, is Arhenaiyth. His hide is fairly matte, with only the faintest hint of a gleam, and even then only after he’s been freshly bathed and oiled. The color fades into a darker blue at the very tips of his toes, and a stormy gray-blue dapples his rump like an appaloosa runner’s blanket, scattering spots up his spine and down his tail and haunches. Around his left eye is a dark blue circular splotch; Arhenaiyth’s other eye is free of markings, but his right cheek looks as if someone dipped their finger in dark blue paint and drew three thick lines from each corner and the center of his eye down towards his jaw.

Arhenaiyth’s eyes have an odd, constantly filmy look to them, and he possesses only two eyelids as opposed to the typical three; while he can certainly see, the blue tends to blink more often than most, and the colors of his gaze are always quiet and muted, no matter how intensely he feels. During the day, Arhenaiyth often claims discomfort, but not enough to drive the blue to being nocturnal—although at night, Arhenaiyth will feel no discomfort whatsoever, will be perfectly capable of seeing clearly at night.

Personality- Arrogance, thy name is Arhenaiyth. The blue will seem to most to be highly abrasive, and it will be difficult to truly like him or befriend him—not that it concerns Arhenaiyth one way or another. While his arrogance usually only makes it appearance around dragons who ‘deserve’ it (in his opinion, that will probably be all golds and bronzes, most browns, and a few blues and greens), omnipresent is Arhenaiyth’s uniquely sarcastic, morbid sense of humor; it’s difficult to comprehend for most that Arhenaiyth is, indeed, only joking and does not actually wish to see anybody run themselves off a cliff and forget how to fly, or anything of the like that he may say, no matter how convincing he may be.

When it comes to Arhenaiyth himself…well, he doesn’t notice or doesn’t care of what his impression on people or dragons may be; he is who he and everyone’s going to end up dead anyway, so what does it matter? With an extraordinary turn of laziness and outright stubbornness, His will find it a difficult task to drag Arhenaiyth to Lessons, Drills, whatever it may be, and Arhenaiyth will typically have no qualms about making his superiority and displeasure known—he’s not a shy dragon at all. Despite the fact that Arhenaiyth hates having to make room for other people’s schedules, he’s very precise about his own; the blue is, simply, impatient and often it comes out dripping in sarcasm.

Arhenaiyth is, however, incredibly, possessively protective of His and while he may roll his eyes and grouch, that protectiveness extends to generally all of his siblings and his closer friends, however few they may be. While he never quite does let go of his sarcasm or his snotty attitude, Arhenaiyth finds other ways to make his approval known. He’s a touchy dragon—will likely invade His’ bed a few times as a Weyrling until it breaks or His shoves him off, for that matter—likes skin-to-skin contact and while his light, pleasant nuzzles may shock some, for Arhenaiyth they’re simply comfortable and nice.[/font]

Deepest Secret Green
i carry your heart.
i carry it in my heart

Name- Aikelyth
Color- Green (#008A50)
Looks to- Isori
Appearance- Aikelyth is fairly medium in size for a green, her body formed with soft, gentle curves of flesh, not really lean but not really chubby either, but somewhere nicely in the middle. She looks simply average – nothing special stands out about her, for the most part, when it comes to her conformation. Muscling becomes apparent in her hind legs and along the curve of her wings, but softer flesh clings to her ribs and down the sweep of her spine, a kind of gentleness in the shape of the large eyes. And if her claws are a tad on the sharp side, who’s to notice them?

Her wings are lovely, taking any attention (be it negative or positive) away from her body. Long and slender, they sweep from her shoulders out and up to curve across her back, the membranes drawing to their end about a handspan past the start of her tail. In flight, Aikelyth is sure to be a pleasing sight, even if she won’t be incredibly speedy or long-lasting. The way she moves makes up for that, even if on the ground she’s just as awkward and stumbling as any other dragon – indeed, as a hatchling, she’ll have quite a few spills and stumbles. All a part of growing up, is it not?

Aikelyth’s color is certainly unique, though beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A deep shimmering emerald green with a hint of blue settles across her hide lightly. It fades nearly to turquoise at her extremities, with dark forest green swirls dappling her sides along her ribs and hindquarters and tracing in spirals down her tail. A pale white-green wraps around her legs in pinstripes, and a light checkered pattern is vaguely visible in shimmering illusions along Aikelyth’s entire body. Dark green, nearly black, tops it all off, highlighting her eyes and tracing downwards past the green’s jaw to streak down her neck in elegant lines.

Her eyes are stunning in their expressiveness; everything that Aikelyth feels colors her gaze prominently. Those same eyes are capable of superb night vision, allowing Aikelyth access to the world be it night or day. The green is certainly daring enough to go between and fly as dazzlingly at night as she does in the day – if only Hers will let her.

Personality- Aikelyth is an idealistic creature. She knows exactly how she wants the world to be – peaceful, lovely, safe, with Selenitas as the heart and soul. It’s all laid out in her mind, clear as daylight and beautiful, flawless. However, on the flip side, Aikelyth is also very down to earth in how to get to her dream; she’s not afraid to get her (metaphorical) hands dirty. Let the ichor and blood soak into the soil, if need be, for all sacrifice is a small price to pay for what she desires, what she believes can be true. Passionate, Aikelyth feels everything deeply, though at heart she’s an independent creature – she desires not friends and love, but safety, even if it causes those she claims as hers to hate her.

The green is not one to sit idly by or just to dream by any means. Aikelyth is by no means perfect; she’s outspoken and fierce, and not easily cowed, to the point of her bravery becoming foolishness. Indeed, even if she’s afraid, it won’t be something she’ll ever, ever admit. Her temper is ferocious and usually accompanied by a physical lash-out – she does not suffer fools gladly. Inaction and sluggishness irritates Aikelyth to no end, and she resents those who feel it acceptable to sit by and let the world suffer in their stead. However unstable her temperament may be, however, Aikelyth is willing to put that aside for the greater good.

There’s a leader waiting to be born in Aikelyth. The green doesn’t aspire to lead in any form of the word, but she could. She knows, innately, how to inspire, and even if others don’t like her, it’ll be easy to respect her for her single-minded determination at all times. Indeed, to most, Aikelyth is the unreachable – the green seems to have an unlimited energy, but in reality, she’s just wary of the world enough not to let them see her when she crashes, be it emotionally or physically. She doesn’t trust or love easily, but when she does, it’s forever. [/font]

[Rowana]

Nabrik's eyes were on the handsome blue, holding his breath as it started stand. Then another egg broke and suddenly there were two hatchlings on the Sands. Nabrik couldn't decide which one to watch, so he kept looking at each one in turn as they began to move towards the small group of Candidates. So far, even with more lessons, he still didn't care what color dragon he got, so long as one would take him. The blue seemed to have made his choice without much thought, so Nabrik turned all his attention on the green on instead.

All at once, that same green shape was right in front of him! The boy held his breath, hardly daring move a muscle while he was examined. Up close, the green was an odd looking creature. Not exactly ugly, but not really what he'd call pretty either. It didn't matter. If this was his dragon, he'd call her the most beautiful creature on Pern! After an age, or a few seconds if you were everyone else, Nabrik was almost sure the green must have picked him. Then the pain hit him and and he fell backward in surprise, landing square on back.

Blinking up at the sky, Nabrik scowled at himself. Stupid mistake, he thought. He should have seen that one coming and moved out of the way instead of gawking like an idiot. He started to get up, and had to bit back a yelp of pain. Reaching a hand, he found that the green had dragged her claws from his shoulder almost down to his waste. He could still breath fine and it didn't seem deep, though the bleeding was quickly making him queasy. The big problem was that every time he moved, either sand or bits of his shirt would get in the wound and make it sting.

Too stubborn to ask for any help, Nabrik settled for rolling over on his side so he could still see the eggs. The pain would go away, he was certain. Then he would stand back up and see things properly. His dragon might still be in one of those eggs and blood or no, he was not leaving until he'd seen all of the hatchlings. Besides, it only stung, how bad could it be? He probably wouldn't even need stitches. At least, not if he could get away before one of the Healer's tracked him down.

A small part of his brain reminded him that it would be hard to run from other rampaging hatchlings while he was lying down, but he quickly shooed it away.

[dragon]

The little blue finally got himself sorted out and made his way off to one of the lads ... the one standing there with an instrument of all things strapped to his back. Isori found everything about Torino was peculiar, but each to their own she supposed. It looked like he was going to have his hands full teaching that one to keep his feet in order. Hopefully he wouldn't be as clumsy in the air!

Her attention was stolen suddenly as she realized that sharp scent in her nostrils was blood. Turning her head, she saw the red marks on Nabrik's chest. "Shards and shells! Are you okay?" She started to turn toward the young boy, but was stopped dead in her tracks when she found her way suddenly blocked by the self same hatchling that had wounded Nabrik.

The green sat before Isori and said in matter-of-fact tones, We must not dawdle like Arhenaiyth. Please show show your Aikelyth where the food is, IsoriMine.[/i]

Isori looked at her, suddenly feeling very weak in the knees. It was a struggle to stay upright as the elation of Impression ripped through her mind. "Oh Faranth!" She swore, under her breath, a tear appearing in her eye. "I ... I ..." for once in her life, she was left without any idea what to say.

Finally she just collapsed to her knees and hugged the little green. "You're so beautiful!" She'd never imagined it would be like this, not even slightly. She'd not been prepared in the least for the sensation of Impression, even with all the lessons, even with the talks with her twin. Nothing had prepared her for the intense sensations roaring around in both her mind and her physique.

Aikelyth shifted her feet and looked around almost as if she was slightly embarrassed by the hug. That I may be, Isorilove. But I won't be for long if you don't feed me. She intoned rather urgently, nudging the young woman with her snout to try and get her moving. Because she really was quite hungry. And she certainly didn't want her blue brother to get there first and trip into the food, possibly ruining it all by spilling it.

"Right, right. Um." Isori wiped her eye, and climbed back to her feet. "This way." She encouraged, leading the way for the first few steps to where she hoped there was indeed some meat waiting on them. After the first few, Aikelyth bounded up to take her place at Isori's side, head carried proudly.

[Ivy]

Roselle was just rolling out of bed when suddenly she heard Jingth's call - she could tell the Gold was upset. She knew why of course, everyone in the Weyr did. Sighing she sat up and tugged her hair back into a loose knot behind her head. Securing it there with only a few wisps escaping to frame her face she stood and grabbed a grey shirt and some shorts, nothing bright and colorful - she knew this was generally a happy time even if she'd never been to a Hatching, but given the circumstances...

Bare feet hit the ground in an even pace. Not too fast and not too slow. For the first time since coming to Burimyu she felt butterflies in her stomach as everything suddenly became real. Before she had been so focused on being upset with that dimglow rider who Searched her and brought her to the wrong Weyr that she hadn't really considered what the Hatching would be like. She had gone through the lessons and listened to everything M'kai said about dragons, just as everyone else had - but it didn't all sink in until just now. Reaching the Sands she took a deep breath before making her way in.

Her toes curled a bit as she stepped onto the Sands, they were hot. Common sense told her to put on sandals before she left her room but she hadn't, perhaps because she wanted to experience everything in full force.

What would she do if she Impressed?

What would she do if she didn't Impress?

A shake of her head was given at the last thought, it didn't seem like an option. There were few Candidates to begin with, surely not all the newly hatched dragons would turn their nose up at her, right? A hint of fear flickered in her dark eyes as she glanced at the other Candidates. Were they as unsure as she suddenly felt? Her thoughts were interrupted as she realized two eggs had hatched and Impressed before she even got there. Torino?? He'd Impressed?? Seeing that boosted her confidence a little and eased her mind slightly. After all, if there was one for him, there had to be one for her... she hoped.

Straightening her shoulders her eyes darted to the Gold and Brown. She stepped closer towards them and dipped her head respectfully. She didn't address them, though she probably should have. Instead her attention was caught by the two eggs that were cracking on the Sands. She fell back in place amongst the other Candidates and held her breath as she watched the eggs, for the first time in a very long time Roselle felt hopeful and excited.

[Ruby]

Torino crossed his arms over his chest, about ten seconds away from unslinging his guitar and sitting down right there on the hatching sands to practice. Shells hadn't even cracked yet and he was already bored. He wouldn't impress - obviously - he was really just here for appearances, so everyone could see how much he didn't care. Seriously, why even bother to hope? He was a good three years older than all of the other candidates, searched just over a year short of aging out, which is what he expected to do. It was obvious, right? He was just here to make the little kids feel better when they didn't impress. Or whatever.

And then the first shell cracked, spilling a blue dragonet onto the sands. Seemed clumsy enough, but Torino couldn't help but like his mis-matched eye markings. The rest of the dragons he'd seen seemed pretty symmetrical, but he liked this one's style. Assuming a dragon got to pick their own markings. Another egg cracked.

Well, that was that. Torino had been vaguely entertained, and now a second dragonet had hatched, and they were no longer cool. He reached up to pull his guitar down, then thought better of it, throwing one hand up in a casual salute aimed M'kai's direction... but before he could voice his ironic adieu, something nuzzled into his crotch. My sister is weird. Ought to chew out her own tongue. I am Arhenaiyth and you, T'ri, are mine.[/i] The first Burimyu Weyrling paused just for a second, recovering quickly even though his entire mind seemed like it had been turned upside down.

"Chill. T'ri. Nice choice, I... I like it. Sounds like Tree, like I have some sort of intrinsic connection to nature. Deck."

Super deck, Arhenaiyth replied, his mindvoice dripping sarcasm. If you would like to avoid a very close conversation with the deck sometime soon, I'd suggest you feed me.[/i]

"Baby dragons understand puns?"

Is that the first question you ever asked, T'ri? Don't do it again, it doesn't sound natural. You know, I totally didn't just hatch or anything, I've been eating the most delicious eggy goop for like weeks or something, so I'm not like, starving or anything. Did you know cracking a shell is as easy as taking a crap? You just, like, think about it and it's done.

"Where did you come from? This is crazy, you sound just like me." Torino - T'ri, that would take some getting used to - looked absolutely poleaxed for literally the first time ever. It didn't last long, though, and with a small shake of his head he hooked Arhenaiyth's neck into a headlock, noogieing him before leading him off to the feeding tables. It was a good thing that T'ri was holding his blue's head up - Arhenaiyth didn't seem to have all of his feet under control yet - but that didn't stop the dragonet from keeping up a running commentary. I wasn't lying about the questions. Quit it. Is there some way avoid eating near my sister? I don't want her enthusiasm to rub off on me.[/i]

---

M'kai raised an eyebrow and clapped halfheartedly at Torino's impression, glancing at the Weyrlingmaster next to him. "Good luck with that pair, Sel'n. You'll need it. The only thing worse than one Torino is two." By then, Isori had impressed, effectively stealing M'kai's attention. Applauding and cheering, he shot a quick thought to Futh - Heh, I was right after all. Did you know she wanted a blue, like you?

I did not. Somehow, I get the feeling you are not upset that she got a green instead. Where were you last night, when you did not sleep in our weyr, hmmm? Futh asked, sweetness in his voice and a twinkle in his eye. M'kai just smiled, scanning the rest of the candidates... was Nabrik on the ground? "Healers!" he shouted, running out onto the sands, only to realize that Meira was the Human healer in charge. Oh no. Where was E'rro? Or Nephele, wasn't she training too? Kneeling next to the boy he asked, "Are you ok?" If his eyes flicked from Nabrik to the retreating Isori once or twice... well. Nothing he could do about that.

[Sebz]

Chaoth's tone was lighthearted, and to Keavon it seemed the brown was trying to lighten the mood. It seemed brave, seeing as the brown was sitting next to his dying mate. Jingth's death would dampen the mood at this hatching, as well as it should. Jingth would be missed.

Keavon's eyes slid back towards the struggling blue. He had managed to scramble back to his feet, and seemed to be surveying the candidates. Keavon was distracted as the egg that had been shaking violently burst open and a nimble green dragon emerged, whose most defining feature at first glance was the strangly colored feet. Quite an entrance Keavon mused as he watched the hatchling shake the goopy egg shells off her hide.

The blue seemed to know exactly whom he wanted as he crossed the sands with determination, heading straight toward Torino. Or should he say T'ri now? Eaither way, impression had occurred, and Keavon watched T'ri make the bound. What had the aloof candidate done to attract the attention of the young dragonet?

The green seemed lest decisive about the choice as she wandered around the sands, examining each candidate that she passed. She seemed displeased with the candidates, especially the males, which didn't surprise Keavon. Didn't greens prefer the females anyway?

Keavon started shifting his feet rather quickly. Ahh, the hatching dance. He had heard some of the weyrfolk joking about it, and, until know, Keavon had been unaware of it's meanings. He was certainly starting to regret not returning to the barracks to retrieve a pair of shoes with thicker hide. Grumbling to himself, he stared at his feet as he started hopping at a more frantic rate.

For the few seconds that Keavon had been paying attention to his feet, he had missed the green drag her claws along Nabrik. Keavon, alarmed at the blood that was welling from the claw marks and the fact that instead of getting up, the young candidate opted to stay on the too hot stands instead of getting up, spurred him to action. Yes, the candidate master was there, but he was closer. Keavon, quickly moving to the hurt candidate while simultaneously pulling his shirt over his head.

"Here," he said, kneeling next to Nabrik, who still was on the ground. "You've got to stop the bleeding," Keavon muttered, eyes narrowed in concentration as he tied his discarded shirt around the wound. It didn't seem to be deep, but you couldn't be too careful. Perhaps his concern was ill placed, but Keavon honestly wasn't thinking about that. Or about how much of a scene he was making. Or the fact that Nabrik hadn't eve asked for assistance. Or the fact that M'kai probably should have been the one assisting the hurt candidate, not Keavon. M'kai was probably looking at him like he was carzy. Or about the fact that shirtless, he was almost most definitely breaking hatching dress code.

[Avu]

While the To Be Alive Egg’s erratic, sharp rocking was impressively determined, only Candidates who were squinting, drunk, or both could’ve honestly claimed that it looked like it was getting anywhere; the egg’s frantic twisting motions, interspersed with the occasional short pause, had only the faintest of cracks webbing over its surface. Meanwhile, the Road Not Taken Egg was steadily shattering, crumbs of shell peeling off to reveal a dark, damp-looking hatchling inside, and the Book of Transformations Egg was enthusiastically wobbling in unsteady, increasingly frantic motions from side to side.

It may have been, ultimately, an overstatement to claim they all Hatched simultaneously.

Still, it was pretty close; the Road Not Taken Egg’s occupant was practically entirely visible, a wet, gloopy mess of a hatchling, before either of the other two eggs had gotten very far, but at the same moment that the To Be Alive Egg spun wildly on its axis, toppled entirely, and shattered into a very surprised, panting brown hatchling on impact, the Book of Transformations Egg abruptly gave out and sent a dark blue hatchling half-slithering into an ungraceful heap of wings and sand, and the Road Not Taken Hatchling gave a loud eep and rolled right out of his shell.

For a moment, none of the three moved; the To Be Alive Brown was evidently catching its breath after such vigorous attempts, its sides heaving, while the Road Not Taken Blue stared at its surroundings.

It was, therefore, the Book of Transformations Blue that gained his wits first and made the first, cautious attempt at untangling wings from feet from tail in order to stand. He planted his forefeet into the sand, heaved, and flapped his wings, slinging slime in all directions, and wobbled upright—before a sneeze sent him toppling right back down again.

Pink blushed into his eyes, and, now aware he was being watched by clutchbrothers and spectators both, he scrabbled back to his feet again and made his unsteady, wavering path towards the Candidates, a barely-controlled pace that looked somewhere in between an actual walk and a tumble. Fortunately, he seemed to know where he was going. Unfortunately for Keavon, he was right in the Book of Transformations Blue’s way. The hatchling’s legs wobbled and he stumbled sideways. It was less mauling than simple collision, but the little blue seemed to panic when his side hit Keavon’s legs and brought them both down hard, his claws scratching helplessly at sand, Candidate, and himself in an attempt to regain his feet.

Finally, he tipped himself away from Keavon, unpinning the boy, only to fall inelegantly right at Nabrik’s feet. He snorted at the sand coating his muzzle and flanks, squirming close to Nabrik. Ow, he said mournfully, I guess I haven’t really gotten this whole walking thing down, have I, N’rik? But that’s okay; you don’t look like you’ve really got it either, we can learn together, you and your Ophiuchusth, can’t we?

While Ophiuchusth had been flailing around, the Road Not Taken Blue had begun to make his way towards the Candidates as well, a stumbling, half-hopping gait that was, while far from graceful, at least rather more controlled than Ophiuchusth’s had been. He glanced around, nervous yellows bright in his eyes, and murmured, apparently unaware that he was broadcasting, Stress, noun; anxiety, tension, pressure, strain… He peered up at the Candidates hopefully as he passed them, tail swishing from side to side in determination, before he gave his wings an impatient flap and nearly toppled straight into Cailan, ending up braced against the Candidate’s legs, teetering for balance.

I found you, the Road Not Taken Blue informed Cailan, very seriously, after a fascinated pause, Mine, aren’t you? My C’lan? Can you tell me why my stomach is making strange noises, C’lan? It’s distracting. Also, he threw a swift, owlish look around the Sands, I do not think I like people looking at me very much. I’m yours, aren’t I, your Asiryth? Why were they all there when I was only looking for you?

The To Be Alive Brown, alone in the ruins of his eggs, was still sprawled in a sticky mess on the Sands, but at his brother’s Impression, drew himself to his feet and puffed out his chest proudly, inhaled, and gave a raspy, cracking attempt at a bugle to draw everyone’s attention to him, thank you kindly. However, unfortunately for him, his limelight was not to be; the Darkling Thrush Egg, in the silence immediately following its brother’s loud call, gave a very audible crack.