Up for a game of 8 ball? (Billiard Hatching)

[Ember]

T'san grinned at Elysia's return. "Too true. I thought women always said size doesn't matter?" He added in a wink for her benefit before she leaned over an flicked at his hair. Shaggy? Heh. "Just a little bit. But admit it, I make shaggy look sexy," he pracitcally purred. He made a show of tossing his hair a bit before losing the act and chuckling. It was a good thing, upon reflection, that Svelte had moved to his shoulder and was yelling No, no, noooo! at the hatchlings. They didn't actually want to fight! Plus, fighting was bad.

Oh, Elysia was asking for it by asking if he knew anyone on the sands. Not that she knew she was, but still. "I knoooow...that candidate there," he answered, pointing at Casandra. "She's a lot like you, actually. Well...a lot less fun than you, but whatever. We went skinny dipping. Tricky girl, she pulled me underwater." True to form, he felt no shame for swimming naked with a much younger female candidate. There was a fair amount of concern in his voice when he added, "Not tricky enough to avoid baby dragons, though." Ah, but E'rro was on the scene so it'd be okay.

Then there was an Elysia in his lap and he nearly groaned. He managed in a fairly normal voice to say, "Living chair, at your service." He encircled her waist with his arms partially because he was a bit of a cuddly guy and partially because he really didn't want her wiggling around. He glanced at S'rei but his friend didn't seem annoyed at him at all. Not that he'd ever been the best at reading the bronzerider. "It does seem a bit...extreme to already have a half-dead candidate."

----

Well then. Dy'shi blinked when Sheya came back and...Kyrstin didn't even try and spot him. The bluerider had never taken to being ignored well. Usually he just got sad and got over it but...but Kyrstin wasn't even bothered by Sheya! Like getting flashed suggestive pictures wasn't at all embarassing! The bluerider huffed a bit, annoyed. So basically Kyrstin didn't care at all, had never even considered? Well he could of course be straight but even then he'd get defensive or angry or something, right? So again, he was nothing.

Ah, there was the sadness. But why? He didn't care much for the attractive (he could admit that much to himself) Healer. Bah. Sheya helpfully offered to actually go show some pictures to the candidate but Dy'shi stopped her. "So not neccessary, Sheya. Besides...he seems busy actually helping out." Dy had been so distracted by his own thoughts he hadn't noticed the mauling until it was good and over. And...ouch. Was that one girl even still alive?

[Tashe]

Lights go down its dark
The jungle is your head - cant rule your heart
A feeling is so much stronger than
Your eyes are wide
And though your soul it cant be bought
Your mind can wonder

After Ruth's outburst, the two Blues were momentarily convinced that their mother and the Brown were possibly the scariest things on the face of the Earth, only considering moving after their mother addressed them. You had better lay off the fighting, else I cannot promise Behruth will not sit on you. Lovelies you should go find Yours. The One Shot Blue was the first of the two to move, hissing quietly at the Masse Blue before trotting away from the adult dragons as if he had been expecting the chastising all along. The darker male trotted to one edge of the clutch to lick the little scrapes he had gotten free of ichor, while his Brother waited for him to be a good distance away before taking up an opposite side of the clutch and mimicking his clutchbrother. He too had little cuts and scratches.

Meanwhile the Arc Green had finally pounced on the Corner Shot Green... or rather, had attempted and failed. Instead she went flying into Vellani, effectively covering the girl's legs with with scrapes and gashes as she attempted to free herself from the annoying human. A few minutes of blood and confusion later, the Arc Green emerged with an agitated growl, locating the Corner Shot Green again and chasing her half way back to their mother before a very angry voice forced her to stop her chase. Halfway between sulking and anger, the Arc Green stormed over to the One Shot Blue and chattered at him. On the other hand, the poor Corner Shot Green slunk over to the Masse Blue with a sad little chirp. She knew where her's was but she didn't want to go alone. The meanies would obviously come after her again!

It was not the Overhand Egg that hatched next, but the Trickshot egg, it exploded in a very spectacular fashion sending shell shards toward the candidates /and/ those who were on the Queen's couch (which were two people less, since Kaegan had sent Kai off with Nautic as soon as the Blues had fallen on the girl.) The egg itself yielded a massive bulk of... Brown? So it wasn't a Gold's egg? The mass of Brown wiggled before sending up one wing, then another... then... another? And another? It was this that drew Millieth's attention. When the Queen realized what was going on, she practically flared her wings in complete and utter surprise, nearly knocking poor Behruth in the head. The Trick Shot Brown was actually... the Trick Shot Browns? Two heads and then, two bodies emerged from the shattered wreckage of the egg, revealing what had startled Millieth so badly. Twins! Big... hulking twins, but twins none the less. Rumbling they looked around, movements seemingly in sync with one another... that is until one found what he was looking for. Nudging his twin, Trick Shot 1 waddled over to the Behind the Back Egg, followed closely by Trick Shot 2. They paused for a moment before turning in tandem and smashing their tails into the egg, breaking the egg apart.

And what came out of the Behind the Back Egg? Huge wings and a graceful neck appeared, immediately showing that it was clearly larger than either of the already big Browns. The Behind the Back Bronze chirped before stretching, he thanked his Brown brothers for the assistance. The twins chirped back, then moved onto the Overhand Egg, helping its occupant free of its shell. Albeit a little more gently than they had been with the Bronze's egg. This egg revealed a Blue that was even darker than his already hatched Brothers.

Meanwhile back in the land of the lower colors...

They were at it again. Long story short the One Shot Blue insulted the Masse Blue a little too loudly and now the Masse Blue was defending his honor. The Arc Green and the Corner Shot Green stayed behind their chosen champions, watching each other in case the other decided it would be beneficial to attack. It was then that the Behind the Back Bronze decided enough was enough, even he in his shell had heard those two fighting. Looking to the Trick Shot Twins, he nodded, which sent the two Browns trundling down the sands toward the Blues. And once they got there? Well, they neatly and swiftly flopped onto the two smaller males, effectively pinning them against the sands. The Greens made no move to help them, mainly because the Browns looked like they could easily handle two hatchlings each.

Slowly the Behind the Back Bronze walked toward his subjects siblings, the gangley Overhand Blue shadowing his footsteps like an adviser might shadow a king. Neatly the Bronze passed between the four males and stopped, calling gently to the Corner Shot Green. It was alright sisterHis, she could go choose now. No one would chase her now. Turning he crooned to the Arc Green, who had ignored the now sitting Overhand Blue and shamelessly sauntered up to him. He left the Browns laying on the pesky Blues, he'd let the Greens choose first. They were the fairer sex after all.

Chirping with gratitude and relief, the Corner Shot Green immediately scampered way toward the Candidates. Trotting up to the girl her nasty sister had knocked down while trying to get her, the little female chirped and nosed Vellani's hems affectionately. Vellanimine, oh I'm sorry I took so long. But everyone seemed to be after me. My Blue and Bronze Brothers were nice enough to stop the meanies. I am Gweneveth, please get better before feeding me.

Hello, hello... (Hola)
I'm at a place called Vertigo
Its everything I wish I didnt know
Except you give me something...
I can feel, feel

[Tashe]

The night is full of holes
As bullets rip the sky of ink with gold
They twinkle as the boys play rock and roll
They know that they cant dance - at least they know

Based off of: The Warrior Maiden
Name: Gweneveth (Gwen-neh-veth)
Age: 1<
Color: Green #30BE28

img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/caranmir/Gweneveth.gif [/img]

img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/caranmir/Gweneveth.gif

Appearance: Maidenly is a good way of describing this Green, at least in her looks. Pleasantly thin, Gweneveth is a picture of beauty. A slender arching neck is attached to a dainty pair of shoulders and a head that is equally so. Long legs match a long whip like tail, adding just the right amount of height to her length. Her talons are small but are sharp enough to rip into another dragon with a surprising ferocity. Broad yet delicate looking wings will support her in flight, Gweneveth will have such control over her muscles that watching her fly will indeed be something to be graced with. Because she lacks in strength, she seems to make up for it in agility and swiftness of motion. Maneuvers that would otherwise be a complicated mess become a seamless dance, giving her a position of unchallenged acrobatics. On the ground it seems as though the Green simply glides across the soil, like a human who had danced their entire life. Movement is an effortless thing and a gift which she accepts both humbly and gladly.

As with her body type and shape, both of which are pleasing to the eye, so is her coloring. Gweneveth is an almost solid warm green color, like that of newly grown pine needles. Small lines of a much lighter green cluster on her feet and twine up her leg, but never ascending past any of her knee joints. This same color wraps around the base of her neck in an oval, its ends touching together in the middle of her chest like a necklace. But what one doesn't notice right away are the particular markings located down her back and across her shoulder and withers. These anomalies aren't exactly part of her coloring, despite being only minutely darker than her base coat. So much so that you would need to be standing within half a foot to see the variance in shade. No Gweneveth, like her countless brothers and sisters before her, has inherited a mutation in her genes. Small, raised bumps cluster together in what can only be compared to scales. They are made of toughened skin and provide an almost armor like coat for the Green. She is certainly a warrior maiden, or at least, can be one if she needs to.

Personality: Although not stunningly intellectual in a bookish sort of way, the Green is more known for her street smarts. She isn't the type of Dragon to sit and plan things out, unless there is good reason too, because she doesn't fit the role of a out and about kind of leader. She's more skilled in the ways of diplomacy. A subtle art that she views like a game to be won. The Green will undoubtedly rise in the ranks of capable Dragons in this regard, a skill that shouldn't be ignored. Especially in this day and age. Kind and rational, Gweneveth has the patience of a saint but not everything about her is exactly what it seems. For all intensive purposes the Green is serene and gentle, a calming presence is often a good way to stop disputes, though once she is pushed past even her lofty limits everything about her seems to evaporate. A temper that is hotter than any furnace emerges, one that is not entirely satisfied until whatever is in the wrong comes back to the right. If baited to fight with another Dragon, she will at first demur. But when it comes to true battle, all her maidenly charms go out the window and she fights with a courage one would have thought beyond her capacity.

On the other hand Gweneveth is both a flirt and a tease when it comes to males, finding it quite fun to be the center of their attentions. She will draw them in then push them gently away in a subtle game of cat and mouse, almost never favoring one dragon above the other. In terms of Flights she may or may not pick the same chaser more than once the outcomes usually hinging on proof and fact. If lets say, that dragon is bested by another, she will choose the better skill over a possible personal preference. Who ever wins her, deserves to. Gweneveth will not settle for less than a champion in her sky games. It is possible though for the Green to find a lifemate, but very unlikely indeed. She has startlingly high standards when it comes to settling down.

I cant stand the beats
Im asking for the check
The girl with crimson nails
Has Jesus 'round her neck
Swinging to the music Whoooaaa
Swinging to the music Whoooaaa

[Tashe]

"Cassandra. What a pretty name." That was Ithanna, she had taken over keeping the girl away while E'rro worked quickly to pressure bind her wounds. "I'm Ithanna and that is E'rro. You're in wonderful hands. He's the guy in charge of the whole Infirmary!" The girl talked while she worked on the candidate's upper half. "So don't you worry, you'll be just a-okay. Tell me, how long have you been a Candidate? And how old are you? I know people aren't supposed to ask a girls age, but it'll just be between us girls yeah?" Smiling, she put a little numbweed on the edges of a particularly nasty puncture before securing a pressure bandage on it. "Look, see? We're almost done. Then you get to go rest in the infirmary for a little while."

While his current partner was talking, E'rro had managed to stem the flow of all most all of the girl's injuries, only the smallest un-life threatening ones he had left uncovered. Nudging the Greenrider with the back of an already bloody hand, he nodded, dismissing her to go get the drudges who were waiting with a stretcher. No one could ever accuse the Brownrider of not thinking of everything when it came to hatchings. Moving so the girl could see him, he immediately transformed into Healer mode, his mannerisms taking a drastic turn from the normal. "Alright hun, we've patched you up as best we can, but now you've got to go to the infirmary okay? I'm sorry, but you can't stay on the sands, you're hurt just a little to much for us to handle here." He looked up as Ithanna swiftly returned with the two men. Standing up he grabbed Ithanna and pulled her close, putting his mouth near her ear so Cassandra couldn't hear. "Have Enki tell Nuisance to tell Ae'on or Dorava they've got a serious patient coming in. She needs immediate attention."

Ithanna pulled Enki from her collar (one of the very few pets Millieth had allowed on the sands) and had him relay the message while the Journeyman squatted back down. "Alright, we're going to have to move you now. Just relax and let us handle getting you on the stretcher." And with that, E'rro and Ithanna both began helping the poor girl onto the stretcher.

(Sebz, you can have cass carried away in your next post if you want. >> She doesn't have to cooperate though, but there is no way E'rro will let her stay on the sands, even if she pleads with him. Bloodloss = no bueno.)

[Ruby]

Caden crossed her arms, hovering behind the Weyrwoman - er, Kaegan, with this new harebrained Council who knew if she was still the Weyrwoman - while the baby dragonets... did their best to hatch absolutely as soon as possible. Interesting. Yes, Nitrath and Lketh had taken their time, hatching and watching for a bit, but really this was strange, wasn't it? Nearly all of them were out of their shells, already fighting amongst themselves. Taking a step to the side as Behruth landed to off-load M'ta and company, Caden found herself next to Kaegan, so she said, "'f it's not one thing it's another, huh? No Wastelanders to fight, so they gotta fight themselves."

Up above, Nitrath rumbled in agreement, the gentle gold barely resisting intervening until Millieth did. Not your hatching, not your babies, Caden reminded her, face darkening momentarily as she wondered exactly when Nitrath would be rising and having babies of her own. It was certainly time; Nitrath was over a year and a half old, now, and Katerath had risen months ago. What was she waiting for?

Caden didn't have much longer to ponder. The third to last egg hatched, spraying the couch with flying shards of shell. Instinctively, Caden stepped in front of Kaegan, blocking the older Goldrider and winning herself several shallow cuts to the arms and face, and a big one on her bicep. Sliding back to the Weyrwoman's side with a slightly embarrassed "Er..." Caden wrapped the opposite hand around her upper arm, staunching the blood flow. The Healers had enough to deal with.

--

"You're not a candidate," was M'kai's incredibly hilarious (and incredibly dry) answer to A'emi's question. "And they're not MY babies, thank Faranth." That sentence brought an appropriately horrified look to M'kai's face, but he did his best to wipe it clean as quickly as possible. There were some things he just didn't want to have to explain to A'emi, and Isori's... suspicious weight gain was one of them.

Luckily, distraction came in the form of Titania, A'emi's new pest. M'kai was momentarily thankful that he'd lost Bomb, although the memory of the brown salamandyr was still a raw wound. It just seemed like a bad idea to have a male salamandyr with a female like Titania around. Craning his head sideways to glance down at the Green, he reached up to scratch the side of Titania's head and half-grumbled, "What, don't like watching the hatching from behind every teenager ever?" The words, however, were not suited to actions, because M'kai started off towards the Stands entrance whether A'emi was coming or not.

Glancing back at the Greenrider, he replied, "I gathered. Kami likes you too, obnoxiously. And Futh still pines after Kyrahth, now that he's gotten an eyeful of her again. We should probably just move in together, all our mindmates would be happier not to have to fly across half the Weyr to visit each other." Crap. Had he honestly said that, even as a joke? Of course A'emi would take it seriously, and how was he supposed to get out of this gracefully? Reaching up to rub an eye in general annoyance, the Bluerider started up the steps to the Stands as Futh swooped in next to Kyrahth, careful not to touch or jostle the Green. I remember you, or Mine says I do anyway. Kyrahth?

--

"Down you get," Piden grumped, pulling Phaiden away from the railing just in time to save her from flying shell bits. "But daddy!" the little girl said, lip trembling, big eyes pleading. "No," Piden said, sounding half bored as he pulled Phaiden up to sit on his lap. "You can see from here, and the baby dragons are fighting. Wouldn't want one to think you were a snack, your mom would kill me." Angry little Phai crossed her arms, but still watched the hatching intently under lowered brows... until she spotted Brelas. "Look, daddy, Brelas! He's on the sands too, he was at the Creche. Hi, Brelas!" It was highly doubtful the boy could hear her over all the ruckus the Hatchlings were making, but Phai didn't care.

Piden, however, was distracted. A flash of gold caught his eye, and then he realized why. The gold was a gold Salamandyr, the one that had hatched so recently, and guess who had slid up next to her - Shells. Of course. I thought I locked you in my room! the handler wailed at his pet, several yards down the railing. Lock not so much, Shells replied, not bothering to limit his mindvoice to Piden. Hihi pretty Levi-tan, Shells see what fatty fat-face do. Levi-tan bootyous, need be with pretty lady-person? Shells help. Shells do anyting por Levi-tan.

--

Erno, happily sandwiched between Buram on one side and Tavis watched the hatching with interest... until it turned bloody. Oh no. He knew baby dragons were clumsy, but these didn't seem clumsy so much as... just plain evil? Maybe evil wasn't the right word, but they didn't seem to be running in to the candidates by accident, that was for sure. A glance up at his sister made the boy more confident, though. He didn't know much about Chaoth, but the little he did know seemed like a good enough dragon. Erno squared his shoulders, doing his best to forgive the hatchlings, to project love and happiness and welcome. It was hard at first, especially since his gaze kept returning to poor Cassandra, and Serring, too, but he managed.

In the end, though, it was Tavis, who seemed to be looking at the door more than anything, who got Erno's attention. Reaching a hand towards the other candidate (his eyes were still tracking dragonets, but a flapping hand in Tavis' peripheral vision should make it clear Erno was trying to get his attention), he asked, "Hey, are you alright? Lets just stay still over here, maybe they'll ignore us."

--

Ten was sitting alone... until she spotted T'ke, that is. The bluerider from the Salamandyr hatching! Getting up, she scooted down her row until she found a spot next to her fellow Rider. "You do like hatchings, hmm?" she asked, beaming his direction, until she saw the look on his face. "Or... not. Do you be alright?" A glance at the wailing mandyr made the Greenrider furrow her brow, and she snapped, "Stop that. It do be a Hatching, it's happy, even if the babies do be clumsy sometimes." Yeah, Clumsy. That was it.

((P.S. Ivy, Ruliana should totally come sit with Ten >>))

[Zephyr]

This was turning out to be quite the eventful hatching. At least none of the babies seemed deformed or mutated in any way. She was watching as the little blues were busy licking their wounds, giggleing about how they had been berated by their mother, when a mass of writhing, wet claws and teeth flew into unexpectedly. The hatchling sent the girl flying into the sands, eyes wide with alarm. She wiggled to get away from the dragonet, even as pain lanced her lower body as the hatchling tried her best to get away from her. “ Owwwwwww!” The girl wailed, falling back into the sand as the hatchling finally disentangled herself from Vellani’s being. The girl lay there for a few moments, breathing, imagining her life seeping out of the cuts in her legs. Eyes tight with pain, she rose slowly, eyes widening when she saw the extent of the damage. Her legs were completely covered in blood, due to the numerous wounds the dragonet had inflicted on her. She couldn’t tell that they weren’t terrible wounds, but they hurt like hell, and there was blood…everywhere.

So. Clearly was not as bad off as Casandra, but she felt like she was going to die and effectively fell back on her back, staring at the celling. The sand was hot beneath her back and burned, but she wasn’t about to get up, not with her almost dying and everything. Since she was on her back, the girl missed the spectacular appearance of the browns. She even missed the bronze hatching. She was much too preoccupied with the thought that she was dying and no one was coming to help her! Someone had even come to help Casandra and Serring.

Not fair!

So, she was on her back when the green dragon trotted over to her, as she felt something nose her hems, she looked up into the rainbow eyes of the Corner Shot Green. Moments later, the green’s voice rushed through her mind like cool water, pleasantly numbing her wounds. She forgot all about her wounds and the fact that no one was aiding her and grinned broadly, wrapping her arms around the green’s neck. “ I will always protect you.” After, she pulled away and looked down at her legs. Sand plastered them where the blood was and she looked like a mess. Plus, her legs were starting to hurt again and the pain lanced through her. She tried to get up, causing Gweneveth to skitter away a couple inches, watching in alarm. Vellani’s cry of pain punctuated the humid air and she fell again.

Oh! Do be careful, Vellanimine! I don’t want you to die getting food for me! Gweneveth crooned anxiously, pressing herself against Ani anxiously. Putting her hand on the hatchling’s back, she noticed something odd, several, hard, raised bumps all over her back. If she thought this was weird, she didn’t say anything. “ I’m going to feed you no matter what.” The girl said resolutely, and began the arduous task of dragging herself to the feeding area.

---

Kaius was getting concerned for the other candidates health as more and more fell beneath the claws of ungainly hatchlings. His eyes opened wide as not only a boy, but another girl got all clawed up. He looked to Lilu, trying to make sure she was okay before he took a step back himself. More eggs were hatching, though. He watched with wide eyes as no one, but two browns exploded from the biggest egg in the clutch. They sure were handsome browns, even if they seemed more like bodyguards to the bronze that hatched. And oh was he a gorgeous bronze. Kaius watched him unblinkingly.

Finally, the first impression happened as the first green to hatch ran over to Vellani. He grinned and returned his gaze to the rest of the hatchings. There were no eggs left, all of them had hatched into normal, healthy hatchlings. Now, they just needed to impress. Kai watched the bronze, wondering who would get him.

---

Olivia realized belatedly that she had been creeping closer to the eggs when one exploded into…two browns? She didn’t have much of a chance to notice, because the little girl was suddenly showered with a hale of sharp egg shells. She covered her face, but was left with cuts on her hands and neck. None too bad, but she winced and rubbed her hand on her robes, backing up so she could appreciate the eggs from afar.

A green had already impressed and there was one left. She watched it a little sadly, knowing it probably wouldn’t impress to her. There were so many girls here and so few greens that it was looking decidedly less likely that she would impress today.

---

Saphor’s eyes gazed over the hatchlings, well, despite the bickering, they were certainly fine looking babies. When shards started to fly, she looked over to the stands. Piden had pulled Phai off the railing and the woman seemed pleased. At least he was trying to protect his daughter. If she couldn’t say anything else about the man, at least he was trying. Eyes returned to the eggs, hoping the rest of the hatchlings would impress soon so she could leave.

---

Gus’ eyes fell on the browns as they hatched. They were pretty cool looking, but he didn’t care too much. If he impressed, it would be nice, but if he didn’t, there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. He was much more interested in Sydney impressing the green that was left there. He looked at his sister, smiling. “ There’s still a green. Maybe you’ll get it?” He said hopefully, returning his gaze to the eggs.

---

Buram probably would have helped Vellani if hadn't been showered in prickly sharp egg shells. Even so, he tried to go after the girl as she tried to drag herself towards the meat, leaving blood trails in the sand. He eyed the little green hatchling following her carefully. "Hey!" He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. " You shouldn't be dragging your legs. You'll get sand in the wounds and increase the chance of infection!" Vellani looked at him with a firey glare. " What do you suggest I do then? Gweneveth needs food and I need to get it to her!" Buram glanced over to the other candidates. Kyrstin seemed to have stuff to take care of injuries, but he didn't. Cursing, his unprepared nature, he knelt down next to the girl. " Just wait. Another healer will be here in a second, I promise."

Sighing dramatically, Vellani fell back onto her back again and stared at the ceiling, Gweneveth hovering over her and licking her face affectionately. " Sharding hell." The girl hissed to herself.

[Rowana]

Kyrstin nodded briefly to Serring's words. It might not be as bad as the girl, but it still needed to be treated. Kyrstin appreciated patients who did what they were told and didn't complain at him. Still keeping the pressure up, he lifted the clothe to check the blood. It had slowed considerably, though Serring probably needed a few stitches. He reached up his other hand to check the shoulder wound, which looked pretty much the same.

"Keep the pressure up," he said, checking his supplies. He had a small vile of redwort, a jar of numbweed, and thread and needle for stitching, but he would much rather do it somewhere less likely to get interrupted. Tossing the bloody clothe aside, he pulled out a fresh one, dabbed it with redwort and passed it to Serring. "Use this," he ordered, nodding at the shoulder wound while he got a second fresh clothe with redwort for the leg. "It will sting."

While he work, Kyrstin spared occasional glances back at the young dragons. He was more concerned with the possibility they might attack again, than Impression. They were all out now, including two browns from one egg. That was certainly surprising. They didn't seem very interested in Candidates anymore, though, except for the one green heading towards the girls. Kyrsting shrugged and turned back to his work.

~

Merridan nodded solemnly. She was already standing and ready to help M'ta up at a moment's notice. E'rro would be busy with the girl for a while, so if anyone else was badly hurt, they were it. She wished the hatchlings would hurry up and impress instead of waiting. She couldn't remember ever seeing so many unimpressed dragons hatched at once! It would only lead to more trouble, she was sure of it. Her eyebrows went up at the twin browns. So it hadn't been a queen, this would be interesting. "It sure is," she agreed, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

At least one of the green's had finally Impressed, though the girl's legs looked pretty bloody from the other one. Mer reached down to help M'ta stand and get to her. "Time to go," she nodded in Vellani's direction. At least she had Impressed, maybe she could carry her to the meet tables for treatment instead of lying on the Sands. It didn't look very safe out there today.

~

"What...oh..." T'ke tore his gaze away from the gruesome scene below to look at Tenlie. It was the girl he'd met at the salamandyr hatching, the one with the odd accent. Had he ever gotten her name? "Well, um, Garaeth does," he admitted, venturing a weak smile. If he kept looking at her and not the blood, it would be fine, right. "It's just," he waved at the hatching without looking. "...the blood." He wrinkled his nose, trying to clear his head. Gara looked up at Tenlie sorrowfully. How sweet of her to think such thoughts when it was all coming to blood and violence. Dooom! he repeated firmly, if quieter.

[Avu]

Kyrahth brushed light acknowledgment over Castidenloth’s mind for his response, the green quietly coiling herself tighter on her perch and blinking down at what could only be described as carnage. She expected it was out of the ordinary—but then, she couldn’t recall any other Hatchings, including her own, so perhaps not. At least one of them had Impressed, although the speed with which they had all Hatched left Kyrahth mildly amused; such a short spectacle they were making. Her head lifted immediately at Futh’s arrival, the green’s wings half-flaring instinctively as she eyed him warily, his words earning a blank beat.

Then, in carefully neutral tones, Yes. Futh, A’emi says. I am supposed to know you as well.

“You’re right,” A’emi said dryly, rolling his eyes, “No sane parent would ever let their kid Stand, it only ever gets them chewed up in interesting ways.” He peeled himself off of the wall to follow M’kai, deciding it was prudent to ignore the purr emanating from Titania in favor of winding around to M’kai’s other side and casually linking his elbow through M’kai’s, mouth quirking into a dry smile at the bluerider’s words. He liked Kami too—she was probably the least annoying pet he’d ever met, including Darkling and Titania, if only because they could project all sorts of stuff at him and Kami couldn’t. It helped that she adored Titania, too.

“We’d give Kyrahth an aneurysm,” he said cheerfully, “She’s still recovering from the mental trauma of possibly liking Castidenloth, and anyway, I didn’t hear ‘I like you, we should be roommates and friends with benefits forever’ in there anywhere.”

If you could possibly move faster, Titania interrupted, even as she leaned into M’kai’s touch, nipping at his fingers lightly in a mixture of impatience and affection, The Hatching is going very quickly. The Salamandyr flared out her wings lightly, rearing onto her hind legs and coiling half around M’kai’s hand to look at the Hatching, her eyes flickering soft yellows at the scene. So dawn goes down to day, she commented, almost awed.

A’emi’s belated, and considerably less poetic, response was a subdued whistle and a surprised “Goddamn.”

[Rei]

Sydney smiled as August brightly drew her attention to the new hatching babies. Green eyes widening she took in the scene before her and had to bite back a cry of dismay as the blues blundered into Cassandra and messed her up real good. Sure she was only an apprentice but the candidate almost started over there immediately. It looked like she was well taken care of though. Both E’rro and one of the other women from the infirmary were immediately at her side. Tearing her eyes back from Cassandra she tugged on Augusts’ robes gently. “Let’s step back a little Gus.”

So saying the candidate tugged him back a step and then another step back with her hand tangled in his robe. “I see her. And look! Two browns and a bronze. I bet one of them is for you.” Anything was better then him ending up impressing one of those really nasty blues. As for the green Sydney wasn’t so sure she wanted her after what she did to Vellani. Not that the woman said anything as she tried to tug her brother back and out of the danger zone. There would be other hatchings after all. Hopefully with much less violent babies.

~~~~

Er’ani stood up in his seat as the baby blues blundered into Cassandra and proceeded to trample all over her. He winced as she was left in a growing puddle of her own blood but his brother and another healer were there in record time. Go E’rro. The shattering of the remaining eggs drew his attention then. Twins! Really? The albinorider stared at them in awe for a few moments. He couldn’t ever remember an instance of twins at Benden. Then again he didn’t attend every clutch either. Blinking at the number of dragonets on the sands Er’ani realized with surprise that they were all out of their shells at this point. Huh. Wasn’t that rather odd? They seemed to be more concerned over fighting each other then impressing too. Well what the hell?

Thoughts of how weird that was fled his head however as one of the green hatchlings blundered into Vellani and proceeded to tear her legs up. Even as the green disentangled herself the albinorider was leaping the rail much to Lketh’s displeasure. “Vell!” He called out to her as he dodged candidates to get to the girl. The idiot, what was she doing dragging herself? When he reached her he paused and blinked, only then realizing that sometime in between leaping the rail and getting to her M’ta had already gotten there and one of the greens had impressed to her. The one being chased.

“Hey there little lady. I’m Er’ani. A friend of yours. Don’t bite anyone okay? We are just trying to help her.” Er’ani crouched down beside Vellani. “Hey Vell. You got a green congratulations! Now stop dragging yourself you goof. She’ll live for a few minutes without food but I don’t doubt she’ll be worse off if you keep crawling like you’re lost in the desert.” With that forced cheerful statement he growled as M’ta snapped at him and swung at him with his cane.

“Fuck you I'm not leaving.” Came the angry retort before Lketh interjected his voice like ice. Don’t you dare do what you are thinking Ermine. You can visit her later. Leave them to it. If you must do something Caden is hurt. Giving an angry glace at his dragon he narrowed his eyes on M’ta again before mumbling. “Whatever.”

Rising to his feet Er'ani ignored the older brownrider and smiled at Vellani. “You’ll be okay. I’ll come see you later tonight okay?” Erilena or no Erilena. Nodding to the new baby dragon he turned on his heel and moved to the outside of the grounds. Eyes flicking to the Caden. GoldenSistermine? Lketh pressed calmly into Nitrath’s mind. Ermine would like to know if yours needs assistance?

~~~~

Oh so highly amused at T’san Elysia laughed. “Like me but less fun? Maybe I’ll have to meet her and see if your statement proves true.” She purred back to the brownrider and then winced. “Well providing she survives being a doormat to a pair of rowdy blues.” The greenrider took in the carnage with an impassive expression. In fact she didn’t react at all until her ‘living chair’ wrapped his arms around her. The Benden woman immediately stiffened not really expecting T'san's reaction. Though in the next moment she tried to subtly loosen the brownrider's grip on her slightly so she could relax at least a little. She had been embraced by the brownrider before after all. Nothing but a hug yes?

Dark eyes slipped over to S’rei as he made his comment and she snorted softly as her brownrider chair responded first. “Rarely so violent yes but you should have seen some of the later ones in C’leon’s hay day.” Wrinkling her nose she glanced up at Onyth. “Onyth’s was pretty bad too but we impressed first so I didn’t see much of it myself. Just heard about the events later.” Her eyes scanned he sands a moment until S’rei spoke up again and she made a show of leaning back into T’san. “Quite thank you for asking.” Blinking as her gaze returned to the sands she counted the babies. “Well seven eggs and eight dragons. Looks like only one has impressed. What the hell are they all waiting for?”

[Lotty]

Osnat was sort of bewildered. Usually such scenes of violence and blood shed struck there girl in a detached way. Like a visitor to a museum she felt that you could poke and point without even being seen, but here was the awkward realization that she was in the very midst of the pain of others and she couldn't help be screw up her face, nose scrunching up in distaste. Ok, maybe being eaten was preferable to being ran over and torn apart by baby dragons. Should she raise her arms up in praise and beg great Millieth to take her now in one massive chomp? Hmmmm no... That would probably only make her a clear target for the little beasties and give something Leviathan to yell about from across the sands.

Looking to her sides she noticed Gus finally, talking to his sister. Well safety in numbers wouldn't hurt, except she'd have to be careful that he wouldn't accidentally hurt her just from his own clumsiness. Side stepping behind a couple of other candidates, she ducked low, popping back up to the side of the oblivious boy she met at the salamandyr hatching, "Hey guy..." she gently punched Gus in the arm to make sure he was actually listening before nodding her head at his sister, "Looks like you've guys been in the clear so far. Maybe if we all stood back to back we can warn each other of impending doom..." she was joking of course, adding a snort and a laugh before throwing a cautious look back to the freshly hatched dragonets. There seemed to be a lot of them on the sands, but few who were actually interested in Impressing.

Meanwhile, Leviathan was frilling unhappily from her designated little spot. She was considering bouncing back out onto the sands just to fetch her Osnat who would surely get thrown out for her presence, but was distracted by the certain appearance of a bronze to her size. Her black spars stretched a bit wide before she decided instead to retract them, pulling them daintily back to the sides of her neck. Purred she did then and softly whispered, Shellssssslave. Her tail twisted into a curly q as she neared the bronze and nuzzled him slightly, Fatty Millieth false Queen. Throne is lie! Shells would help got revenge yes? Who was she kidding? He had to help her...

[Ivy]

~

Ivy

~
While she'd been so intent on watching the hatchlings to be sure she wasn't next to get mauled, she hadn't noticed the one egg cracking... that is until it exploded into a shower of shells. Head whipped in the direction of the Trickshot Egg. She'd been half expecting a Gold to come from it, it was the largest egg in the clutch after all. But as Brown wings started to spread out of it she saw why it was so large... twins! Twins in any hatching were uncommon, and she watched the two carefully half expecting them to start fighting like the Blues had. Instead they worked together and smashed the Behind the Back Egg, freeing the Bronze that had been hiding inside. One egg was left on the Sands unhatched, but not for long as the twin Browns also freed the inhabitant of the Overhand Egg - a Blue.

Shards. Two Greens - that certainly limited the chances she'd Impress. She already had two Blues, her firelizard and her salamandyr, she really wasn't wanting to add a Blue dragon to the mix to make it a set. No, she'd wanted a Green - but as one of them finally headed towards Vellani she saw her chances dwindle down to nearly nothing. Hm, when had the other girl been hurt? So much was going on Ivy had apparently missed Vellani getting tumbled over by the Greens a few minutes before. Oh well, even if she was hurt at least she seemed to have a dragon now - lucky.

Pouting ever so slightly Ivy's eyes moved from the dragons on the Sands up to the Stands where she saw Cainith - and the promised skin of wine. Not to drown her sorrows in? Yeah, that's exactly what it'd be for. She just had to wait for the others to choose Theirs before she could go have some.

~

Serring

~
Serring's green eyes moved from Kyrstin to the eggs back to Kyrstin back to the eggs. He realized he would need stitches just a moment after Kyrstin had the same thought - shards, he knew the other boy would want him to leave the Sands. He could see the other Healers trying to move Casandra off the Sands to treat her wounds. His weren't as bad, but if the healers said he had to go he would without a fight.

Taking the new cloth - doused in redwort - he pressed it to his shoulder wound and hissed out. Shards, it stung! Not as bad as it had when the hatchlings ripped him open of course, but still. He could have gone on without having to feel that. He watched as Kyrstin worked on him, more than he watched the Sands. He missed another Candidate getting knocked over, but he didn't miss the twin Browns hatching - how could he when they made such a show of hatching?

Luckily he was no where near the path of the egg shards, he didn't need anymore cuts or scrapes thank-you-very-much. He watched with interest as the twins worked together and freed the last two occupants of the remaining eggs - a gorgeous Bronze and a dark little Blue. He found it interesting how these last four interacted with the first four, seeming to put them in their place. As a Green moved forward, towards the girls, his attention went back to Kyrstin, "Just so you know, if you Impress I will be fine to hobble to the infirmary on my own." A friendly sort of 'good luck' grin was given to the other Candidate before his green eyes went back to the hatchlings - mostly looking at the Bronze and the two Browns.

~

Tavis

~
Was he okay? Yes he was okay. No he wasn't okay. He was both. But to Erno he just shrugged and turned his head towards the other Candidate, "I just kind of want to get out of here, you know?"

So concerned with himself and wanting to leave he was, he missed Vellani being knocked over and apparently injured. He's stopped looking to Casandra to see if she was even still alive - though in the back of his mind he acknowledged it would be bad if she wasn't. He didn't even glance to Serring to see how his treatment was going. All in all he just didn't care. His new goals were to not Impress and thus piss Beta off and prove her wrong - and to get the hell out of here in one piece.

Not surprising was it that he somehow didn't notice the next egg hatch - even if it wasn't the most unnoticable thing in all of Pern when they did. Two Browns were noticed when he looked back to the Sands briefly, but he didn't bother until after they'd already freed the Bronze and another Blue. Looking back to Erno he arched a brow, "Is my counting off? Weren't there only seven eggs?"

Not that it mattered - his attention went back to the door way. Maybe he could just slip out unnoticed. It wasn't as if there weren't a ton of other things going on to keep the attention from him. Also unlikely anyone would try and stop him at this point - there were far more Candidates than dragons and who was going to stop the one guy who didn't want a dragon from leaving? It was then that he noticed Vellani, injured and half-dragging herself through the Sands with a dragon in tow. Shards, when had the little beasts started Impressing? A glance to the others showed they were in no hurry to Impress, but in Vellani he saw his way out. The feeding tables were near the door.

So putting on his best, oh-you-poor-thing face he could he nodded towards Erno and Buram then turned to rush to Vellani's side. But then Buram was rushing past him and made it there first - not cool at all. Way to ruin his plans to use Vellani as an escape route Buram. Way to go.
~

Ruliana

~
Amalath cried out in Ruliana's mind and the Greenrider did her best to comfort her, Its alright Ama, the babies have stopped fighting and the Candidates are getting treated. Shhh. Still, the Green was non-too-pleased from her vantage point with how the little ones on the Sands were acting. They'd nearly killed a girl after all!

Sighing a bit inwardly, Ruliana hated hatchings that went like this. Thankfully many of them didn't. Still, she wished she could be of some help - she felt absolutely useless sitting in the Stands. However without any healer training she knew she'd be less helpful down on the Sands trying to help than she was staying put. So to distract herself she looked around at those watching the hatching.

At first she couldn't find who she was looking for but then she heard her voice. Grinning she turned and looked to her left, slightly behind her - there she was! Standing up she scooted past a few other people and slipped next to Tenlie, "Why hello there, long time no see."

To the other rider she nodded politely, "Ruliana, and you are?"

[Sebz]

Casandra stared blankly at the female healer who kept asking her questions. Why did she insist on her answering them, couldn't they just leave her alone? She was tired now, all she really wanted to do was sleep. "I'm eighteen," she murmured before trailing off into silence. Sleep was what she really wanted, they should just leave her alone.

At this point, Casandra was beyond caring about the hatching, so when E'rro told her she would be taken to the infirmary she barely raised any protest. She would have other chances in impressing, so she needed to concentrate on getting better. "Then I can sleep?" She asked groggily, eyes fluttering open to look up at E'rro. She alowwed herself to be put up on the stretcher, head lolling to the right, in the perfect position to watch the remaining eggs splinter. Then it occured to Casandra that there was not a Gold in the clutch, and her clenched stomach relaxed slightly. She did not need to worry about missing her chance, by being taken away she wasn't missing anything. Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to relax, but the numbing pain made that rather hard.

~

Casiloy watched with dismay as the ungainly dragonets proceeded to injure more of the candidates, and he was quick to step out of the way when any flailing limbs passed him. He was so interested in self preservation, he missed the hatching of the last few eggs, and when he looked towards the clutch again, his was dismayed at the lack of gold. Where was the shiny baby he had been waiting for. Sure, the bronze was relitivly the most shiny out of all the dragonets, but the glistening scales still wet with egg goop where nothing in comparrison to his clutch mother's luster.

He was distracted from the qualm as out of the corner of his eye he saw a green dragon make its way towards one of the hurt candidates. Wasn't that the one who had been tripped by her blue brothers? A grin broke out over Casiloy's face as he watched joy light up the girl's face as impression was made. Maybe he would get to experience in some of that joy today as well.

[Requiem]

With Mer's help they actually moved at a respectable speed that bordered on a jog. Something that was no doubt a good thing, considering Er'ani looked like he was about to pull one of his numerous unthinking 'heroic' acts that just made everything worse. M'ta knelt a bit awkwardly in the sand, catching the girl by the shoulder. "I don't think her biggest concern is her stomach right now, hun," the man stated gently, nudging her to turn over on her back. At the same time he became aware of an annoying, hovering presence very much in his way.

M'ta swung his cane to clear the boy away from Vellani, being certain it didn't come near the hatchling or either Merridan or Er'ani in the process. "You're in my way, idiot. Let me do my job and you can flirt and coddle later," he growled, having no patience for the boy's stupidity at this moment. His eyes flicked to Buram. "You. Apprentice, right? Talk to her and keep her calm. I'm going to stop some of this bleeding, Vellani, then we'll get you and your hatchling safely to the infirmary," he added, his voice gentling.

There was a good deal of blood and she'd gotten sand and grit all in her legs dragging herself over the sands. That he could tell at a glance. But the blood and the sand made it difficult to tell anything else. Choosing a point above the blood and tattered pants, he tore her pant legs and slit the fabric down the front with his knife so it wouldn't pull on her injuries, pulling the fabric away gently. A little water, some gentle probing and several gauze patches later, the bleeding was stemmed to his satisfaction and M'ta waved over the stretcher. "She's not critical, but she'll need to be treated for shock and blood loss," he told one of the healers bearing the stretcher. "And those wounds will have to be cleaned very well. Tell them to be thorough." The man squeezed Vellani's hand gently before they moved to lift her. "Don't worry about anything. The infirmary will take care of you and your dragon, see her fed. Congratulations."

Eyes flicked back to Buram. "Good job," M'ta told the apprentice briskly. "Oh, and kindly tell Kyrstin to stop dicking around with that boy, will you? If it's superficial and the bleeding's fine the child can stay, and if not he needs to be sent to the infirmary. This is not the place to treat scratches. Off with you." The weyrlingmaster shooed Buram in Kyrstin and Serring's direction. It looked like the candidate would be fine but either way it wasn't so serious that he couldn't trust the two candidate healers there to handle it.

Go with Yours, little one, Behruth urged Gweneveth gently, wrapping his mind around hers reassuringly. But from the very displeased look he was still giving the rest of the dragonets (most notably the two blues and that green, but he didn't really trust any of them to behave as they should by this point) didn't bode well for the first lessons.

---

S'rei was only peripherally aware of the skinny dipping conversation. Or Elysia's unease with T'san's arms around her. Instead he was squinting in what looked a good deal like confusion at what was occurring on the Sands. Blood everywhere and dragonets all hatching from their eggs at once to act out some sort of regal drama on the sands. Clearly the drugs Millieth had been treated with had mixed with that bronze Quarth's in such a way as to make a bunch of insane babies. They had to be; there were no obvious physical defects he could detect from here, which made it almost certain that their minds were warped beyond repair.

[Ember]

The brownrider was trying to focus on the hatching and Casandra's plight. Really. A squirming Elysia in his lap was just a little distracting though. He'd been more or less (flights and such) celibate since the takeover and it wasn't exactly an easy feat. He wasn't quite so oblivious to her stiffening and he didn't particularly like making her that uncomfortable but...he tightened his arms briefly in warning and leaned forward a bit to mutter, "Quit wigglin'. I'm trying to focus on the hatching, not a lapful of woman, thanks."

Elysia, being Elysia, would hopefully get his underlying meaning. He loosened his arms a bit and tried to refocus on the conversation between the three of them. "I don't think I've ever actually been to a hatching this violent," he commented almost idly. He'd never gone to many hatchings back at Fort though. And he said as much. "I pretty much only ever went to Dsoleth's hatching before getting to Selenitas." And then Elysia was leaning back into him and he snorted softly.

"Your living chair is comfortable too, thank you for caring." T'san couldn't shrug so easily so he made a thoughtful sound as he glanced over the babies. The browns had it the right way. "Who knows? Maybe they're waiting to mobilize and charge into the stands and terrify the spectators?" He suggested jokingly. "Dso found me in the stands..." he reflected a moment later.

[Aftershock]

Lilu cringed at all the chaos as the blue brothers fought, then the greens. She squeaked a bit in fear as Cassandra was bowled over, then Serring, backing up in fear to try to avoid the aggressive hatchling fights. Soon, though, healers were helping the two fallen Candidates, and it seemed Millieth had gained control of her errant hatchlings, so things calmed down a bit and allowed her to take a closer look at the Arc Green, appreciating the dragonlet's beauty, if not attitude.

In moments, the Trick Shot Egg hatched, and Lilu watched carefully, hoping for her Gold... and instead seeing... four brown wings? She began to wonder if this was a mutant, when suddenly she got a headache, and images seemed to try to emerge from the sea of her mind, only to submerge again. She caught a flash of another brown dragonlet, and a name... Fellsareth... before her headache faded and she found herself sitting on the hatching sands, having missed the Trick Shot Twins helping their bronze and blue brothers emerge from their eggs.

Getting shakily to her feet, confused as to what had just happened, Lilu looked over at the now fully-hatched clutch, noticing that one green was missing... then spotting it over next to another female Candidate, Vellani... it seemed they had finally started Impressing. Blue-grey eyes moving back to the remaining clutch, she noticed only one green left, and started sending love it's direction as she had when she Impressed Tselitel... it wasn't a gold like she'd wanted, but better to Impress a green than not Impress at all. She also wished for the impressive Behind-the-Back Bronze to Impress to Kaius... it seemed heroic and strong, an appropriate match for the Candidate who had so heroically saved the life of her and Rosanna...

---

Cainith came on guard as more eggs started hatching, watching for any mutations and keeping an eye on K'ian. It was quite a violent hatching so far, and when Cassandra was bowled over by the two fighting blue dragonets, he winced a bit, and his eyes moved to Ivy, tensing in preparation to vault the barrier and hit the sands if she looked to be in direct danger, damn the consequences. Another green hatched, and seemed to be quite angry with it's moments-older green sister, so Cainith was tensed as more chasing and violence occurred, crossing his fingers that Ivy would emerge unscathed by all this... and Impressed.

As the hatching continued, another female Candidate was taken down, this time by the tussling green sisters, and then... one Impressed? Biting his lip in worry, Cainith noted that there was only one green hatchling left, and when Ivy looked up at him, he gave her a hopeful, confident smile.

---

Samael heard much of the chaos, but didn't know much of what was going on, though Freyr flashed him images of each hatchling as it emerged. Two blues, two greens... then chaos as a Candidate was taken down by the two blues. Samael didn't know the girl, but he did hope she was all right. He heard another boy call out Vellani's name, and his mouth twisted a bit unhappily, but he did nothing... he knew a girl so pretty as Vellani would have other boys after her.

Soon, though, Vellani herself was tackled by the warring green sisters, and Freyr and Sammy both chirruped in panic as Freyr sent the image to His... and then Samael cried out, "Vellani!!!" and surged to his feet. He wanted to run down and help her, but knew there was no way he could make it without injuring himself, and being a blind boy on the Hatching Sands with so much chaos going on would be surely more dangerous to him than anything else. Freyr circled above the Sands with Sammy, chirruping in worry at Vellani, and Heimdall came to his feet with his master, yipping a bit in pain in his haste due to his still injured leg, but Samael put a hand down on the canine, saying, "It's okay, boy. There are healers on the Sands in case something like this happens, we'll just get in the way."

Suddenly, though, Freyr sent an image of another boy with Vellani, one not in Candidate robes... and obviously not a healer, either. Samael's face fell, thinking this was Vellani's boyfriend, his heart falling as he realized he had no chance with the Candidate girl beyond friendship... though her Impression made him happy. A green, just like his sister! And no Wastelanders to ruin it! Emotionally torn, Samael cried out, "Yay, Vellani!", his voice cracked a bit from the sadness, but still jubilant.