That's the way it goes (Hatching

[Kisha-Ra]

Nothing could hold Mo’rya more rapt than hatching firelizards, except maybe hatching salamandyrs, it was about equal really. At least once Rose calmed down (slightly) Ghost seemed to settle down to her usual polite self drifting over the scattered eggs and hatching babies to return to Mo’rya and perch on his free shoulder. The gold provided a commentry in the form of images of the eggs and the newly hatched firelizards, with random images of her own children (those who happened to be present anyway) thrown in just so she could tell Mo’rya how proud of them she was.

It seemed that none of the babies had been more than a little shaken up by their fall, for which Mo’rya was incrediably glad, and he was inclined to believe everyone else was too. Oh! Wasn’t that bronze just the sweetest thing? The jaunty step and eye catching colours of the bronze hatchling caught Mo’rya’s attention and he watched the bronze hatchling until it Impress, sat right in the middle of a huge bowl of meat. Well that saved time the boy supposed.

He seemed to have lost track of a hatchling or two while the bronze had his attention because there were certainly more empty shells scattered around than hatchlings. The only one he could really see was the first hatchling, the dark brown. Oh no, there was the green, buring something apparently, and Ghost provided a clear image of the pale blue sitting in Kaegan’s collar.

Hatchings were so exciting! Mo’rya thought, turning his attention back to the eggs for the moment, the only trouble was that it was so hard to keep track of everything. A peep from somewhere in the region of his feet and the thread of a questioning thought brought the bronzeweyrling’s focus back to something else he’d lost track of. The little green looked up, and up and up, at him, then repeated her question about food. ‘Um, sure, I guess. I didn’t bring any with me but there’s bound to be someone who wouldn’t mind sharing.’ The blonde boy bent at the knees to avoid dropping his adult pets on the floor and offered his palm to the intricately patterned hatchling.

Lifting the green and cradling her against his chest Mo’rya pretty much made a beeline for the guy who’d Impressed the bronze firelizard, even a large firelizard probably couldn’t eat that much, even if they did seem like bottomless pits. ‘Hey, mind if I pinch some of that? I didn’t remember to pick anything up and Gaia insists she’s starving.’ Mo’rya asked and explained once he came close enough.


Their trip to the ground had made the eggs rather fragile, as the clutchmother discovered when she touched one and it pretty much crumbled to reveal a green. Yoalla drew back behind the nearest person, she was convinced she was magnetic to greens, and looked around for someone to annoy. Those two handlers from Eikask’s last clutch were around, and together as normal, but since she didn’t really know either of them Yoalla ignored them. Instead she homed in on the yawning form of Swithin, inadvertantly footballing Denial as she moved. ‘Well you shouldn’t have been down there then.’ The greenhander scolded the serpentine firelizard as Denial rose from ankle level, hissing her disgust, to land in an overhanging tree where she apparently had a good view.

‘Swithin, you’re not supposed to be yawning.’ The bluehandler was also scolded, though gently, Yoalla could make an effort for Yosk, and Yosk really seemed to like Swisk.

[Rei]

Erilena gave Kaegan a sympathetic look as she approached with her squirming and hissing pets. Just what the poor woman needed. More stress. When the goldrider handed her son the newly hatched firelizard and then took him from her the healer nodded. “Oh you’re more then welcome. I don’t mind one bit. Kai is such…” Her words cut off in a small cry of surprise as something impacted into her chest and bounced off it to almost land on Kai. For a moment she blinked down at the almost black brown, thankful that Kaegan had taken the boy before the little firelizard’s flailing could do any harm to him. When the brown righted himself from his perch resting on her arm and gave a nasty hiss to Kai she frowned. The expression only became stern as the little brown took another look around and gave another nasty hiss. Well she very well couldn’t have that. Not at all.

Erilena didn’t prevent the brown from scrambling up her chest and hiding behind her neck but she did impress upon him her unwillingness to accept that kind of behavior. No hissing at children. Or goldriders either for that matter. When the Cherry brown proceeded to hiss at their retreating forms again the greenrider lifted her hand and flicked him hard, right on his nose. “No. You will stop that right now. I won’t have you behaving that way.” He would learn to mind if he was going to be living with her, simple as that. There would be no hisses or biting in her presence. The little brown squeaked in displeasure and gave her a sullen and wary look but at least he had stopped hissing. Erilena sighed. Grim wasn’t around much, only for feeding and oiling and sparse moments of attention. This little one seemed downright distrustful of her and everything else if she was reading him through their link right. Was it too much to ask for her to impress a nice and loving pet like Leo had been? Obviously.

Rubbing at her temple the greenrider moved through the crowd to collect some meat. Offering it to the little firelizard she wasn’t the least bit surprised when he snatched it and betweened away. She hadn’t even meant to impress. This was the last pet hatching she was going to bother coming to, even to please Grim and Feyrianth. The headaches just were not going to be worth it. At least it seemed that the little thing had bonded pretty weakly. No doubt due to his distrust. Really Erilena half wondered why he had even bothered to attach to her in the first place. He would have been much happier as a wild thing it seemed.

Maybe he’ll come around in time? Feyrianth offered in reassurance to hers. Yeah maybe. The woman mentally replied to her dragon, though she didn’t sound all that convinced of it. Ah well. If he ended up as more of a shadow then Grim, it was what it was. Shadow. Hmm that was as good of a name as any for him. When and if the brown came back she’d try and get a better feel for him and see if she couldn’t do anything with him. There wasn’t much more she could do. I love you Lenamine. Came the caressing words followed by the mental equivalent of a caress. I know Fey. I love you too.

Grim called a greeting back to Daniel and looped around him. Yes tragedy indeed but it seemed no major harm had been done. They should make sure that trend continued. Baking back around the near black blue was momentarily distracted by an addition to his bonded’s mind. Not a strong one but one nonetheless. Her displeasure was also noticed and he hovered midair to watch the baby briefly before it betweened away. Interesting. One of the little bright lights had chosen his then. Not that she seemed all that happy about it. That would bear further investigation. For now he had the rest of the clutch to watch and attend to.

[Sheari]

It was much like controlled mayhem. Kaegan had helped up the bloodied L'nu and was now dealing with what appeared to be angry pets of her own. Anusha didn't see her pass the new hatched blue to her son because she turned her attention to the other newly hatched eggs. It was amusing to see the green that had just escaped her mother's paws tumble over herself and then bury a stone beneath the sand. Now why had she done that? The way canines sometimes buried bones came to mind but...it still made no sense to the greenrider.

The first egg to hatch, the black-brown, had seemed to find himself someone to latch onto. The woman had to admit she was partial to the colour, always having regarded brown dragons (and likewise the dragon-like fie lizards) as sturdy. Another egg hatching turned her attention to an olive green that bit her blue brother who ran off screaming to a rider she was unfamiliar with. Ahh, nothing quit like a good old sibling rivalry.

Akos could hardly contain himself. The usually placid, calm Salamandyr loved to watch as baby after baby emerged. His had taken to moving him to her hand but he'd simply returned to her shoulder. Giving up on containing the white in anyway Anusha opened the pouch at her belt to retrieve a meatroll from her now forgotten breakfast. She offered a piece of meat to Akos but he simply inhaled it, choked, and went back to watching, uninterested in the meatroll so close to him.

[Zephyr]

The greenweyling breathed a great sigh of relief when she saw so many hatchlings exiting their eggs unharmed. It seemed that the fall didn't do too much damage, except to the eggs, which were scattered in little shards all over the place. Still, she didn't feel much like moving. Who knew how fragile the eggs were. She could break them all simply by walking around. Still, she couldn't help herself but watch all the little firelizards impress. She knew Kate's thoughts on flitters, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted one. Maybe a mini Katearath that she could hold in her hands? A growl rumbled her mind and Lani sighed. Peace, my love. You will always be my one true. That seemed to calm the green and left Lani staring at the firelizards.

Then she noticed the healer tending to the Gold's owner calling to her, and she jerked her head to the side, perking up immediately. " Of course!" Disregarding her earlier thoughts, she hurried forth, taking the bandage from the pretty healer. Healing wasn't something Lani ever thought she'd be good at, but maybe she would. Who knew? She was quiet. She didn't know if that helped or not. Pursing her lips for a moment, she glanced to L'nu. " She shouldn't have attacked you. The babies are fine."

Of course things weren't that simple.

_____

L'am was busy brushing off all the shards of eggs off of his clothing while all the little firelizards were running out. Very careful not to step on any curious flits, he made his way towards someone who looked interesting, a red haired candidate with a firelizard on her shoulder. He eyed her carefully, grinning broadly after a moment. " Crazy hatching, isn't it?" After a moment, he regarded the firelizard on her shoulder before speaking again. " Your blue is adorable. What's his name?"

_____

Vellani has nothing do do while she waits for Samael's response, so she just sits there.

[dragon]

L'nu looked up again as yet another female came over to him. This was so very highly unusual that he didn't even know what to think. She was nice, too .... again a shock. He let her look at his arms, though he shrugged his shoulders slightly. "No, she didn't. Can't blame her though. This is normal for her, actually. She's been this way since she broke shell." He answered. "I got used to it." Sort of. If anyone could ever actually get used to being bitten and clawed on a regular basis. But he offered her a small smile anyway.

Females were one thing that he just didn't understand, though. And he knew it. To suddenly have one's attention ... and then a different one's ... and then add another to that ... L'nu really didn't know what to do with himself. "Uh ... hi." He said, to Leilani. But then he twitched when the redwort solution was applied to the tears. Not because it stung due to what it was, more because it stung simply because something was touching the torn skin, aggravating the disturbed nerve ends. "Sorry."

Rose watched for a second as Azaran left, mystified why he had done so. His place was here, why was he leaving?! Stupid males, they never seemed to know where they were supposed to be, when. Sniffing, she turned her attention back toward the remaining eggs. There were four of them left, and one little baby was sitting there as if she had nothing better to do. Standing up, Rose walked over to her and sniffed her back. It earned her one of those terrified looking stares from the little green, who at the moment probably could have easily been snapped up and swallowed whole by the Gold.

Nudging the green with her snout, Rose urged her to do something. To go somewhere, to go eat. There was plenty to eat, she didn't have to sit there shivering. Refusing to move, the green just sat there despite being pushed on. Her attention was stolen away from her mother by another egg hatching.

The Pear egg burst to reveal a small gem of a green, shining brightly in very rich colors, she was lovely to see despite the messy nature of just having hatched. Tucking her legs in against her body where she was sitting, she arched her neck gracefully as if she already understood the concept of beauty ... and that she had it in spades. A little gem, she was certainly eye candy for anyone who appreciated those types of appearances. Flicking her tail off to one side, she warbled a greeting to the world in general. Not too far away, the Watermelon egg broke open as well, revealing yet another gem.

But this one was not Green. No, he was Blue, and just as lovely as his sister. A bright sapphire gleam shone from his damp hide as he stretched casually where he was ... on his back. Curling his legs up and snapping his mouth shut again, he looked at the first thing he could see for more than just a moment; the broadside of someone's shoe. Looking downward, he looked up at the rest of that person.

Wow, but wasn't the world a very strange place? He offered a peep in greeting, before rolling over onto his belly and stretching again. Clearly, he was in no hurry to get anywhere, instead enjoying the sensation of not being cramped inside of his shell anymore. A tiny gurgle from his belly seemed to change his mind however. With a brief chirp to his sisters, he hopped to his feet and sauntered a total of one step. Tripping over one of his slightly too-big wings, he faceplanted into the sand. Sitting up again and shaking his head, he snorted the grit back out of his nostrils. Lifting his wings hap-hazardly, he gave walking another try.

Unfortunately, it ended in a sad stagger of a walk as he tried to balance wings and legs. Ending up going in no particular direction from his uncoordinated attempt at locomotion, he finally gave up on walking altogether. Leaping upward he gave a mighty flap with his wings instead.

With a grace that he could have only been born with, he cruised through the air, up and overhead, turning on the slight breeze as he searched for something to sate that hunger in his belly. There was so much activity up here though! He peeped at the other flitters zooming around, dodging sideways to avoid the much larger adults. Wrinkling his sails, he dived downward again, getting tired from the use of new muscles. His attempt at a landing was no where near as graceful as his actual flight had been, and the Watermelon Blue more or less flopped onto Vellani's head. Legs tangling into her hair, he hung on for dear life as all he could see was the ground so very far away off the backside of her head. Stabilizing, he arched his neck and looked around. This was a very interesting vantage point, but it didn't have much in the way of stuff for him to eat. Which was so very very sad!!

After watching her brother's flight and landing ... if it could be called that ... the Pear green decided that maybe she ought to find something to eat, too. But instead of bothering to get up and move, she decided to have her dinner come to her. After all, no proper lady ever went grovelling for food! Striking a pose that looked really ridiculous on a flitter that was still an awkward baby, she nudged her chosen food-bearer to come thither and bring her goodies to chew on. But at a hiss from Rose, the Pear green decided that maybe she should meet Hinsero half way or something ... just maybe.

[dragon]

Color: Blue
DOB: March 3017
Appearance: The jewel tone of this little blue is something that is quite the sight to see. His body is a bright and pure sapphire blue that is absolutely gorgeous. Flawless hide nearly shimmers in the sun as this lithe little creature moves through the air. His color makes it hard for him to hide if he wanted to. It is almost a shame that this little lad is a male; he would be quite the stunning female. He already turns heads, albeit not the golden heads he would like to turn. He does have a rather sweet croon for those ladies who catch his eye.

As far as blues go, he’s neither large nor small. His body is compact and lithe but also sturdy. His flawless hide camouflages the fact that his wings are just a bit too long for his body. The longer wingspan gives him a bit more stability in flight but it does make it a bit awkward to close them tight against his body. He can turn on a dime and likes to do aerial acrobatics, but he is rather klutzy when he tries to maneuver on the ground. The added length of his wings makes it difficult to walk with them spread out unless they are pointed upwards.

Personality: This little guy is generally a very sedate blue. He likes to show off in the air from time to time, but he isn’t excessive about it. The one thing that can get him going is mud. He absolutely adores it! He has been known to knock over mugs of liquid into the dirt just in the hopes of creating a slimy patch of dark happiness for him to befriend. He is certainly mud happy and will make anything and everything as dirty as possible with his wet best friend.

Typically, he stays close to his bonded, but if there’s even one small patch of mud, he forgets all of his training and his bonded until all of the mud is gone. He isn’t the easiest to train because he tends to get distracted by any amount of liquid, hoping that there’s mud. He doesn’t like sand. It gets darker like dirt does when it turns to mud but then it sticks to his hide in an uncomfortable way. At least mud baths help keep his hide softer. Sand doesn’t. He isn’t a very vocal blue unless he’s trying to woo some chosen beauty.

---

Color: Green
DOB: March 3017
Appearance: She is a jewel, making a lovely counter effect to her lovely brother. A bright, deep, rich emerald green in color, her hide is quite lovely and beatific. But she is not entirely flawless in appearance, though she does try to conceal her one tiny fluke: her tailforks are asymmetrical in length. When she is flying, no one can tell this the difference is so small. When she isn't flying, she always has her tail wrapped around something ... even if it's only her own feet. Always the ends are turned to conceal one fork or the other to hide the asymmetry. It's as if she can't decide if one is too long or the other two short; both are embarrassing!

Otherwise she is a dainty, cute little gem. Her bones are very fine, her legs impossibly thin after the bulk of musculature stops. Especially her feet and the leg leading into the feet. Her neck is small and serpentine, capable of twisting in all sorts of interesting directions. So finely built, she is not a terribly powerful flier. Instead, it is too easy for her to glide on the barest of currents, or being entirely blown away by the softest of breezes. In general, it's not very smart for her to go flying on a windy day ... there's no telling when she would come back to ground if she does!

Personality: As if she knows she is quite pretty, this green will often hold her head to a slight tilt off to the side as if she is continually flirting with everyone she looks at. As if to say: Look at me, aren't I precious?! An insatiable flirt, she frequently cons males into doing things for her. This and that, tit and tat. She won't do anything that she can con someone else into doing for her. This doesn't mean she's lazy though ... after all a lady has to keep her figure! She's a very dainty eater and will never consume too much ... and is always careful to do laps around the room even if it's too harsh to be flying outside. Inclement weather she detests with vehemence, and she will utterly refuse to go out if it is not perfect outside. It doesn't matter if it is too hot, too bright, too dark, too windy, rainy, or otherwise. Her hide takes special care after all!

She never fails to flaunt herself, making sure her perfection is seen by all. But! There is a hitch in the getalong. She doesn't want a male companion when the time comes. Instead she is more inclined to choosing another green as her lifemate. There is only one problem with that instance: where is she going to find a green that will chase her? She will be frequently frustrated with her choices when she Flies, and will usually end up having to be Caught rather than submitting. Because she doesn't want a boy flitter! And she will fly herself to the exhaustion point to avoid them.

[Aftershock]

Samael was luckily spared the majority of the confusion of the hatching, only hearing the varying exclamations and varied conversations across the length and breadth of the river's edge. As usual, both himself and Heimdall both heard Vellani's footsteps crunch across the sand to approach him, then the soft thump as she fell to her knees beside him. He flushed very lightly as he heard her voice and recognized her, wondering to himself why the petite nice-smelling Candidate girl would come to talk to a nothing blind weyrfolk like himself. Reaching down to stroke Freyr lightly, enjoying the feel of his leathery skin, and marveling at the fact that the bond allowed him to know exactly where his flit was without hearing him, he replied, "I"m all right. I just think that L'nu's trip was caused by me calling his name, and I was worried I'd killed all the flits. From the sounds, though, it seems at least most of them are all right... including this little guy. Say hello to Vellani, Freyr." Hearing his name, the bronze flit looked up from his meal, and seeing the cute blonde girl sitting near his bonded, he quickly used a paw to wipe any remaining herdbeast meat off his muzzle, then straightened himself and chirruped at the girl in a manner you could almost imagine being firelizard for, "Hello, beautiful."

Cocking his head to one side, Freyr suddenly remembered that his bonded was somehow unable to see. Not wanting to have his bonded denied such a pretty sight, he sent a telepathic flash of Vellani's face to Samael, who suddenly stumbled in shock, having never seen anything before in his life, his brain trying to process an image he had no frame of reference to interpret. As he shook his head to recover and say something to Vellani, he heard Mo'rya approach, and ask him for a bit of meat from the hatching bowl. Moving his head to look up at the new arrival, Freyr decided to let his bonded see his pretty green sister, and sent a mental picture of Mo'rya and Gaia, stunning Samael anew before he could even try to respond, causing him to simply fall over on his side to the sands, closing his clouded eyes in an attempt to get his brain straight again.

[Zephyr]

Vellani was unaware of Samael's thoughts of her. Truth was, Ani liked the weyrkid because he didn't intimidate her at all, which might not make a lot of guys feel good, but somehow, she thought that he wouldn't mind. Plus, she liked talking to him, something she might be able to say for a few more people if she actually got to know him. She found that she would honestly be a little upset if he decided to stop talking to her for some reason. She looked back and forth from Samael to L'nu, tilting her head to the side. " I don't think you caused him to fall. I just don't think L'nu was very balanced in the first place." Ani didn't have much to base this on, just her own observations from hiding in the bushes.

Blue eyes fell on the little bronze near him, and the brightest smile spread over Vellani's face. She didn't know how she hadn't asked about the firelizard before. His little chirp was endearing, and she wanted to reach out to scratch him. Instead, she beamed down at the flit. " Hello, Freyr."

At this point, Vellani hadn't been paying attention to the hatching. She had been relieved that she hadn't missed the hatching when she saw the unhatched eggs on the ground. So, she didn't notice Mo'rya walk over and ask for meat. Instead, she was shocked backwards when she felt something wet and heavy land on her head. Of course, Ani's first reaction was to squeal and flail uncontrollably. First the salamandyr hatching and now this! Why did things insist upon landing on her head? Was her hair that enticing? To her credit, she didn't freak out. She only made some weird screeching noice. She didn't even lit her hands to flick the thing off her head. Instead, she calmy (or relatively so, she was still shaking from the shock of something landing in her hair) lifted the thing out of her hair.

Finally, she was face to face with a very blue, very damp little flit. For a moment, the girl was flabbergasted. Why had a firelizard flown into her hair? It must have been looking for its bonded. She had intended to place the firelizard on the ground so that it could find who it was meant to go to. Instead, she suddenly got the idea that it must have been very hungry, and she glanced to Sam, still a little awed. " Samael, can I have some meat, please? I think this little guy is starving." She would then take a little bit of meat and feed it to the blue hatchling, who gobbled it up with excited little croons.

Ani was so entranced with the flitter, that she hadn't noticed Samael's shock. He suddenly fell over though, and Vellani glanced to him in shock, blinking once before she realized something was wrong. Ani gasped, moving her hands very quickly. The blue firelizard peeped and flew up before he was dropped, settling back in on Ani's shoulder before the girl crawled over to Samael, leaning over him, concern and worry clear in her blue eyes.

" Samael! What's wrong?" She put her hand on his shoulder. " Are you okay? Say something!"

[Ivy]

Another yawn took over his face and then a familiar voice spoke up next to him. Yoalla. When had she arrived? He gave a sheepish grin and nodded, "I know, I know. I'm just so tired. I'm surprised you're not already sleeping." His cheeks took on a slight blush, he had been standing back and hiding yawns for awhile now - but how long had Yoalla been there watching him? Had he known she would be there he would have grabbed some klah, it seemed to help perk him up usually. He and the Greenhandler weren't very close, or close at all if you didn't take into account that one night. That wasn't to say he didn't wish they were just a tad closer, Swisk very much adored Yosk.

He'd been planning on heading back to his apartment to grab some shut eye. Half the clutch was already hatched now anyway, and he didn't know if he was ready for another mind-mate now or not. But with the Greenhandler by his side the idea of going to sleep drifted away and he decided he'd stick it out. "You here to get one of those little ones?"

So much for sleep.

-----------------------------------------

With Eros now in attendance, Ivy just gave a heavy sigh. Even if she managed to get one of the babies, Eros would probably kill it at this point. If not kill it, he'd make its life just as miserable as he made hers. Reaching up she pet her Blue's shoulder tenderly and shook her head, "You make my life far too difficult Eros."

A glance was given around to those who were in attendance. Riders. Handlers. Weyrfolk. Half the clutch was hatched already now, with as many people as there were her chances were looking slim. She noted some dragons there, as well as some whers. From where she stood she studied them, trying to figure out why it was Cainith was so in love with them. Even once she'd aged out of being a Candidate - which at this rate she was sure to do - she wouldn't settle for a wher. They were rather ugly. Eros chirruped his agreement to her thoughts and wrapped his long tail around her neck. His Ivy-slave would be his and only his. Forever and ever.

Suddenly someone was speaking to her and she jumped a bit. Having been caught up in her own thoughts she hadn't seen the rider approach her, and she turned her head to look him over quickly. A smile pulled at her full lips and she nodded, "Interesting and chaotic." When he asked about her firelizard, Eros pulled himself up to his full height (not that his 'full height' was all too impressive) and puffed out his chest. "This is Eros, he's pretty to look at but a pain in the arse." She said this with a bit of a wink, though really she was being completely serious, "I'm Ivy by the way, I don't think we've met?"

---------------------

Eggs. Crash. Sleep. End. Loud.

Shards, it was time to go if Apima was awake - and she was. If her monotone/sing-song mind voice wasn't a dead give away that she was suddenly conscious, her petting his cheek and neck was.

Many! Anger! Flower! Rock! Grow!

Now Apima was not only broadcasting her nonsensical thoughts to Tavis, but to those around him as well. His ears turned a deep shade of red and he swatted at the small Green dangling from his ear. "Knock it off." he muttered to her as he turned on his heel and began making his way passed the small groups of people. Most of them seemed more interested in each other than the hatching - why were they even here? Not that he was interested in the hatching either, so one might wonder why he'd showed up. Apima crooned and chirped in his ear as her frill flared out.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
More. More. More. Five. More.
Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten!


She was practically screeching all of this to everyone that Tavis happened to pass by as he tried to get back inside the inner walls of the Weyr. Apima suddenly bit his ear and he stopped dead in his tracks. What was with this crazy Green?! What did she want?!

More! More! More! More! More!

She pressed on his cheek to make him look back at the people and the few eggs left unhatched on the sand.

More! More! More! More! More!
Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten!


Like it or not Tavis was going to be stuck here until the last egg hatched, because Apima had taken an interest in the clutch. Shards.

[archenstone]

M'ze was looking all around with the confusion happening through out the crowd. Flits where landing on heads and up arms and going all around. Something ran into his shoe and he almost punted it reflexivity. Luckily for him and the little blue he looked down. The blue chewed upon his shoe laces in determination, and he could feel it hunger. "No...no you silly thing. Eat this." He reached to pick up the Blue who held on to his shoe laces a few extra seconds, unwilling to give up the goods. The end result was a very wet, very frayed piece of string that would need to be replaced.

M'ze tried to coach the blue into eating the meat. The Blue chewed it for a bite or two then promptly bit his finger. "Ow! let go!" He wiggled his finger back and forth with only seemed to encourager the flitter more since he help on with gusto even when hanging from said finger. M'ze finally managed to get the Blue Kyanus off his finger and back to eating bits of meat when he got a look at Kyanus' shoulder. "Awwww, lets get that looked at." He walked towards someone he knew was a Dragon healer. "Do you have something for the little guy?"

~~~~~~~~~

Asharra stood on the outskirts watching everything. She was finally starting to get tired which was good. Sleep seemed to be coming harder in her age. She watched as one of the little flying beasties landed on a girl's hair who promptly screamed. All too soon though the girl was coddling the very creature that had bothered her seconds ago. Hmph....theres no way some thing is going to just land on me and I'll suddenly like it. The thought suddenly reminded her of her sister Elisabeta...who had impressed the other kind of monster. It was definitely in her best interests to start backing up now. There where plenty of people for the little flying monsters to make friends with. The thought blanketed her in a confident belief that none of the little creatures would come her way. Even so, the way the one little green looked so.....traumatized.... she allowed herself to feel a little something other than dislike. She never did like to see anything suffer. Even little flying things that get into your nice clean medicinal herbs or tear the infirmary linens.

[Ruby]

Hinsero was about to say something to Ithanna and Porita when his brain was erased; Heart's portion seemed to double (and do something very strange, how the Salamandyr felt about this impression was a complete mystery to Hinsero) and Hinsesk's bit shifted sideways as another small consciousness intruded. The Brownhandler's eyes were pulled over towards the clutch, tracked down and sideways through the egg goop and shell debris, not to mention sand and underwear? to land on... the most beautiful green firelizard Hinsero had ever seen. Maybe not the most colorfully marked, but her body was perfect, and her color was something he'd expect to see on a gem, not a creature.

Catching his eye, the Pear Green snugged her tail tighter under her body and inched sideways slightly, poking harder at Hinsero's mind. Come now, her mother was hissing, and that wasn't acceptable. Sliding a hand up Ithanna's arm to squeeze her shoulders, he said in a somewhat abstracted way, "Sorry, ladies, I'll be right back..." and drifted off, careful to step over shells and anything that looked like it might even vaguely resemble an egg. He wasn't planning on stepping on any of them, but since his beautiful new Green didn't seem to want to come to him, it looked like he was going to have to go to her.

Shortly, though, he reached her, leaning down to scoop her out of the wreckage. Something that sounded like choking came from Heart for a moment, but then the Green salamandyr took off, disappearing to who knew where. Even her presence in Hinsero's mind faded, but he wasn't worried. Heart did this occasionally. Picking his way back out of the clutch, he came up next to the two girls, breaking into their conversation with an enormous grin. "She's mine!" he said, rubbing the new green gently between her tiny, perfect headknobs. "Ithanna, do you have meatroll? Do you mind? I think I'll name her Soul, to go with Heart..."

---

L'nu seemed to be doing well enough - most of the scratches were superficial, only one or two needed serious bandaging. Retriving the roll of bandage from Leilani with a flash of a smile and a murmured "Thank you," Serissa took care of a particularly bad gash near the Bluerider's elbow before straightening up, only to be intercepted by a Weyrling with a new Blue.

"Oh no, what happened here?" Serissa asked M'ze, stooping to get a better look at the baby's shoulder. The redwort was out again in a flash, this time in a small bottle with a dropper. The Bluerider had come prepared. "Can you hold him still for a second?" Assuming M'ze would comply, Serissa cleaned the would of ichor and smeared it with just a bit of numbweed, to seal it and take away the pain. "I don't think it's worth bandaging, he's too little. And it looks like he'll just tear it off anyway. Just make sure he doesn't chew at it, and if he does, bring him by the Infirmary. We'll put a cone on him or something. Congratulations, by the way," she added, smiling at the Weyrling. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Serissa," she said, offering a hand.

[dragon]

The Avacado Egg rolled a few inches before the membrane finally tore and revealed ... a very round green flitter. A rather variegated green, but a round one nonetheless. How she had fit all that in that shell, was anyone's guess. Rolling over to get upright, the green sprawled out in all directions in an expansive stretch, her little legs going as far front and back as she could possibly get them to go. Finally relaxing afterward, she just laid there for a moment, looking around with great interest at everyone around her.

She took a moment to lick at her front legs a bit, trying to clean up just a tiny smidgen. But the act of licking only reminded her just how terribly hungry she was!! Golly, she was hungry. With an obvious effort, she pushed to her feet and trotted away from her egg. Passing her sister who was still lying there on the ground, she had a single purpose in mind. Find some food, and then nap. The napping was important too, after all!

Someplace quiet was good for napping ... so she went where there was quiet, ever trusting that the person she found would be able to supply the food she was wanting, too. As well as a good arm for snuggling in and sleeping on. But ... goodness, all this walking was a lot of work! But she trundled onward, as if firmly determined. Flapping her wings a few times as she walked, she reveled in all the room there was to be had!! Trotting all the way over to where Roivao was, she sat down next to him and peeped up at him, tilting her head in the classic young-baby-is-interested angle as she gazed up at him expectantly.

Because ... he did have food, right?

Watching this, the Dirty Blueberry Green finally got up and did something about her own growing hunger. Leaping into the air, her lithe form and broad wings carrying her easily up into the air. Just high enough for her to spot a good a spot as any to dive down upon. It seemed that the people milling about were ideal locations to go to locate food, even if they did not apparently have any readily available. She'd seen her siblings successfully get fed, even from people that had appeared to have none, or had really had none. The two-leggers found some food. That was interesting and good to know!

Crashing upon Anusha's shoulder, the Dirty Blueberry Green uttered a sharp chirp. Food! Now! She demanded, before promptly getting distracted by the near ear lobe. Well ... that looked like it might be food? With a decidedly predatory gaze, she eyed the lobe.

The Clean Blueberry was the very last egg. And it was sitting perfectly still as if it was dead. No twitches, no shivers, nothing. Rather concerned for her last baby, Rose walked over to the egg and sniffed it. If it turned out to be dead because it had been flung, she fully intended to tear L'nu a new one. Nevermind he was already dealing with a rather torn up skin.

Sitting down, she carefully picked the egg up with her front feet. Turning it over, she inspected the fractured shell on all sides. Setting it down, she tapped it with one talon curiously, trying to see if it was alive.

As if the tap was all that was needed, the Clean Blueberry's shell crumbled to bits, revealing a healthy looking Brown. Heaving a sudden inhalation, the Brown flopped out in a disarrayed heap. After a moment to catch his breath, he suddenly perked up and licked Rose's snout in greeting. Hopping to his feet, he chirruped and tried to get airborne. He failed miserably, crashing down again. But that didn't deter him in the least. He merely kept hopping around in random directions, beating his wings in a hurry. When he finally did make it into the air, the grin on his features was plain to be seen by all. Wiggling happily even as he flew crazily through the air, he went up and down and back and sideways and oh yeah... maybe forward too. But he learned fast, and quickly smoothed out his flight. Zooming crazy loops around the gathering of people, he cooed a happy greeting to everyone there, flitter, mandyr, human, and dragon alike. They all were here!! How about that?!

Looping around one last time, and then doing a crazy hair spin that looked like he was about to crash, he actually landed very neaty upon Tavis' shoulder. With a soft croon and a snout-nuzzle right in the ear, he requested to be fed. Because ... well ... he wanted to explore! But no one could explore on an empty belly! Now could they??

[dragon]

Color: Green
DOB: March 3017
Appearance: A personal watermelon, that is what she is. Not only is she small and green, but she is striped just like the juicy bit of heaven that is bright red in the insides. Unfortunately... cracking this baby open won't get you any red. She is round, very round. Plump like no flitter has any right to be, she is not exactly fat. She just has curves. She's not terribly good at flaunting them though, instead liking to spend most of her time sprawled out watching everyone else do everything else. It is not at all unusual to find this little tiny girl completely stretched out, her front legs stuck all the way forward, her back legs stuck all the way backward and her tail strung out straight too with her belly pressed to whatever she is laying on. This is when she's awake! When she sleeps, she sleeps like a limp rag with her head stretched all the way forward, beyond the tips of her toes.

The only bad thing is that if she decides to stretch out in the grass, she would be perfect for getting stomped, because her striped, variegated shades of green hide makes her vanish into any stand of growing grass, and she's small enough to easily be shorter than most grasses when stretched out. Sometimes the only clue to her presence is her little head sticking up or the near continuous inquisitive chirps she makes.

Personailty: In a word, she is lazy. Sleepy, lazy, she just does not like to do anything if she doesn't have to. She will ride everywhere on her person's shoulder if given half a chance to do so, and if it is possible to upgrade, preferably in the cradle of their arms to maximize comfort and relaxation! After all, who wouldn't want to be pampered and paraded around like the finest Queen in all of perndom? Never mind that sometimes she really does do a fairly good impression of a personal sized melon when being carried around as such.

Such pampering is not entirely one-sided however. For as lazy as she is, she does have a level of decorum and reciprocation... not to mention a small vanity streak. Of what she does do, her favorite activity by far is that of preening. Either herself, or hers. It doesn't matter to her. They both have to look their very best! Her standard of suitable appearance also extends to anyone else that lives with her ... any other pets, any other humans ... even any dragons. They all must be clean, and properly preened to suitability. For as lazy as she is, she can be tireless when it comes to preening creatures that are bigger than she is.

---

Dirty blueberry
Color: Green
DOB: March 3017
Appearance: This little girl is a smooth Olive color with yellow-green highlights that are more yellow than green accenting her finer points. Though she is not a very attractive color, she wears it well with a smooth, healthy hide. Almost making it a pretty color. She is a well filled out little lady, with just enough muscle and just enough padding to make her the just right mix to be proportional and well built. She has decent power for a green, but never loses that distinctive feminine shape.

Her wings are broad and deep both, giving her absolutely awesome lift, and with practice they even give her an edge on agility from air current manipulation. Her tail is very slightly longer than it ought to be to match the rest of her, but all the better to steer through the air with skill and dexterity. Her legs are conversely somewhat shorter than they might have been, giving her an odd looking slinking gait when she walks. But it doesn't stop her from traveling across the ground if she takes a notion to.

Personality: She is a very nervous looking little flitter, always trembly, and always looking absolutely terrified of everything. It would be a mistake to assume she is terrified, however. Because she is far from it. She is just highstrung with lots of energy ... sometimes maliciously bottled up into those trembles. While still most of the time, she is actually fearless. She watches everything with that wide eyed, startled gaze, and when the time is right she explodes with all that energy released - she can be terrifying in and of herself.

She is also a biter ... if someone handles her in a fashion that she does not like, she is not at all shy at snapping out with viper-like speeds to draw blood ... or remove chunks. To make matters worse, she's got a set of serious teeth that are razor sharp concealed in her little mouth. She will pull her bites only for her person, but that does not mean they won't get bit ... or won't get blood drawn. They just won't lose bits of flesh to it. Thankfully, her aggressive biting nature doesn't linger long - she won't keep biting after she's been let go, instead slinking away to go and stare accusingly at the culprit as if they will never be forgiven.

---

Clean Blueberry
Color: Brown
DOB: March 3017
Appearance: This brown does not look very brown, having a more red coloration to his earthy hide. It is a dull, clayish red color, but definitely more red in shade than a true brown color. His name as a brown is saved a bit by the little sprinkles and speckles and freckles that dot him all over in darker, distinctly brown coloration. This is certainly another brown that if he held still for long enough, he could probably vanish into a clay pathway as a lump of dirt.

He is not shaped like a lump of dirt though, instead a very nicely streamlined little beast. Burly as Browns are, he is still very sleek and graceful. With longer limbs and almost perfect wing proportions, he is a very good flier and an even better runner. He is built to move, and to move well with little excess and waste in his motions. Bright and cheerful, his little face almost always has a big flitter-smile plastered all over it, every great now and again spreading so big that it covers the rest of him too.

Personality: If he weren't colored brown, everyone would swear this fellow was a blue and green cross. For he is always moving, always happy, and always flittering about. So very happy, nothing will get this fellow down. If something big and bad enough does happen to give him a glitch, it doesn't hitch his getalong for very long. There is a theory this is due to a short memory ... but he also has aspects that hint at longer memory than would be suspected. He is just, to a word, hyperactively happy. He is extremely good at finding the silver lining to every dark cloud, and painting silver linings on the ones that don't have one!

Positivity is the very air he breathes, and nothing can possibly go irrevocably wrong. This trust in the nature of the world is unshakable and uncrackable. This does not mean that he does not understand sadness and depression ... but it does mean that he is always going to be there trying to cheer everyone up. Either by rolling over and over being cute in the lap, or bringing a single bright flower to the sad-afflicted, clutched tightly in his little flitter-paws. But holding still is definitely a challenge for him, as he always has to be moving ... even when asleep. He twitches and wiggles while sleeping, but interestingly enough, never utters a peep while doing so.

[Aftershock]

Samael sat up, not realizing Vellani's face was right above his own, and bumped his forehead into the blonde's, falling back down onto his back with a grunt of surprise. Hearing the voices right around him, his cheeks colored a bit in embarrassment, and he replied, "I'm fine, I really appreciate your concern, Vellani." He shook his head to clear it again, and then said, "Freyr put images into my head. The first was, I think, of... you, Vellani. I think he finds you beautiful, and wanted to share with me, since he knows I can't see." Smiling, he added quietly, "He and I share that opinion, by the way." Placing a hand on his forehead, he continued, "I don't think he realizes I've been blind since birth... I've never seen anything before. My mind doesn't know what to do with an actual picture." Frowning a bit, he then said, "I don't have any frames of reference. I think it overwhelmed by brain a little."

Sitting up again, slower this time, he suddenly remembered Vellani asking for meat, and responded, "You Impressed too? What color did you get, and what does it look like?" Suddenly realizing Freyr was about to "help" again with an image of Vellani's new bonded, he quickly said, "Please, no more images right now, Freyr. Let me get used to this first." Remembering that Mo'rya also asked for meat, he raised his voice bit and said, loud and clear, "If anyone wants meat, I have some over here."

[Rowana]

Roivao glanced down at the small noise in surprise. Well who would have thought. He didn't think he'd done anything to make the little creatures like him. Yet here one was, looking up at him so adoringly. Just as the inkling of hunger started to enter his mind, Tiida noticed her too. With a hiss of displeasure, she slinked down Roi's leg to confront the intruder. Her small frill waving angrily, Tiida glared at the newcomer. Precious is Tiida's! she proclaimed loudly. Pretty flyer leave! How dare this pathetic creature try to steal her Roi! Male slaves were all well and good, Tiida liked them, but this?! This horrible little green was clearly trying to steal her precious human!

The hatchling blinked slowly at the salamandyr, as if trying to decide if she had enough energy to react. Roi didn't wait to see what she would do. He bent down and scooped up Tiida in one hand and his new friend in the other. "Enough, Tiida," he scolded. "You were the one who wanted a new pet." Tiida want handsome brownling! the salamandyr whined. No pretty greenling! Roisk snorted at her. Vain and possessive creature, he blew at her in disapproval. Their Roi didn't need her fighting with the other mindmates. He liked this new fire lizard, even if she was a little on the round side. Puddleglum appeared, intrigued by the new presence, but immediately retreated to a tree to sulk. Roi would clearly love this new fire lizard more than him, it was his lot in life. Either that, or Tiida would eat it. Either way, Puddleglum was doomed to be unloved, he was sure.

Trying to hang onto a squirming Tiida, Roi looked over his new charge as best he could. She was certainly much rounder than any fire lizard he'd ever seen. She was a lovely color though, bright and cheerful. She was even already purring in his hand. If it weren't for the hunger, she would probably have fallen asleep right there. "What shall we call you, little dear?" Pretty ball! Beautiful flyer! Fair greenling! Tiida spat the names out like the insults she meant them to be. Roi shook his head at her. "Belle then," he concluded. Ball! Tiida argued, used to getting her own way. Roi set her on his shoulder with a tap on her head. "Belle, or I'll start calling you Envy," he informed her. Belle purred again drowsily, snuggling into his hand. Could they please find some food? All this talk was far too tiring.