Heroic; Impressively Great (Nitrath's Hatching)

[Ruby]

It was a perfectly normal afternoon on a perfectly normal, sunny day. Nitrath being Nitrath, she seemed to have somehow managed to will her eggs into hatching - without any apparent effort - at the most convenient time for everyone. It was, in fact, precisely when afternoon drills and lessons were finishing (but before anyone would be hungry for dinner) that a hum began to resonate through the Weyr, picked up by more dragons and further amplified by the enormous cave of New Selenitas. Perhaps the only residents that would be inconvenienced were the wherhandlers, although even the early risers among them would likely be up. The candidates would be on their way back to their barracks, herded by their temporary Master, to change for dinner. They could just change into their robes, instead! Perfect.

Nitrath's soft alto startled Caden out of a light doze, and the Goldrider flipped to her feet with a dagger in each hand before she was even completely awake. Staring in confusion at the empty grounds, Caden blinked sunken, dark circled eyes as she took in first the lack of enemies. Only once she was 100% certain it was only her and Nitrath on the Sands did she realize what was going on. "Are they..." Yes, my love. I am sorry I wasn't able to warn you further in advance, but I'm sure they will forgive your appearance.[/i]

Oh. That's right. Caden had forgotten about her appearance.

More specifically, she'd forgotten that hundreds, maybe thousands of people were about to be in the stands, watching her. Well, watching Nitrath and the clutch, but given that Caden had been living in a sand wallow/nest between the clutch and the entrance for the past five weeks or so, she was kind of in their way. She tried pulling her wrinkled tunic into something resembling order and pushing greasy, matted hair off her forehead, but she quickly discovered that her hands were shaking too badly, and her eyes were tearing up so she could hardly see. Hatching. They were hatching. She didn't like hatchings. Smath had been executed on the Fort hatching sands; Nitrath had nearly met the same fate on the Old Selenitas hatching sands. Some of the eggs in this clutch were lumpy, odd shaped. What if someone decided they, too, needed to be killed? What if a rogue Rider, or an old Wastelander, took it into their head that that was what was best for the Weyr? Belatedly, Caden realized she'd collapsed. As if she didn't have enough sand in her hair already.

Nitrath let her hum die out - enough dragons had added their voices by now, and people were even beginning to filter into the stands - and reached a paw out, gently gathering her near-catatonic rider into her arms. Come now, girl,[/i] Nitrath coaxed gently, keeping one eye on the now twitching Wolven egg and the other on the Stands. I have told them not to come, and that weapons are not permitted. It is a different time, a different hatching; no one will touch my children unless my children want them to, but I need you to help make sure of that. You, me, Weith, Weith's, Millieth, Millieth's... between us, no one would dare raise a finger. But I need you upright and alert. Come, now. Up up, it will not be long![/i]

Nitrath wasn't much of a liar, but she passed off the one untruth in her statement without even blinking. Caden had been such a wreck since the clutch was laid - keeping watch all night, dozing fitfully if at all during the day, hardly eating, endlessly paranoid, threatening to ban everyone but Candidates from the hatching - that the Gold had taken it upon herself to privately contact those riders that Caden was most afraid of: the remnants of Wasteland. She had let them know, as gently and politely as possible, that Caden was absolutely being unreasonable but that she would be in their debt if they were to avoid the hatching, or at least make themselves unobtrusive if they did choose to attend. Weapons, of course, were forbidden and that hardly needed to be repeated to anyone, but she'd had it discreetly spread about that those who came armed would be asked to remove the offending implements before entering.

The slight stretch of the truth did its job, though. Reluctantly, Caden rose, brushing herself off and re-sheathing her knives. She was the only exception to the no weapons rule. It was too late to move her nest of blankets and dirty clothes out of the way, so she retreated, hovering halfway between Nitrath and the seats reserved for the Weyrleaders and clutch parents. She would stay on the sands if she wasn't distracting the hatchlings. For her part, Nitrath turned a blue-green gaze on the slowly filling audience, then tilted her head, reaching one claw out carefully to tap on the Wolven egg. It was the Maester egg that responded, though, tilting sideways to smack against the nearby Queenly egg. Cracks spider-webbed the grey surface of the Maester egg, and the side away from the Queenly egg bulged, but no dragonet could yet be seen.

Hello, Selenitans,[/i] the golden queen intoned, picking up the hum again as Caden's two green firelizards spiraled past her to find perches in the rafters. Thank you all for coming, and please help me welcome my children into the world![/i]



Wolven Egg: Green Nildath to Cairenn
Draconic Egg: Not moving.
Maester Egg: Green Istarith to Rosanna
Aiel Egg: Green Quesseth to Py'pr [NPC]
Night Watchman Egg: Brown Tirneth to I'nos
Queenly Egg: Not moving.
Witch Egg: Blue Tulkath to A'herion
Kingly Egg: Green Taarith to K'dem
Elven Egg: Blue Eldath to Saphor
Dwarven Egg: Green Nogoth to Eselda
Barbarian Egg: Blue Adanth to Raylanne
Swordmaster Egg: Not moving.
Republic Egg: Bronze Ohtarth to C'vin
Wizard Egg: Not moving.
Empire Egg: Not moving.
Halfling Egg: Blue Kormath to K'nale

[Zephyr]

Olivia was exhausted. She had just finished drills, or 'training', as she liked to call it. The girl had been astounded at her lack of physical skills. She was pretty sure even some of the kids could beat her in a fight. The girl had been working up the courage to ask Lilu to help train her, but she was afraid that the bluerider would laugh at her, or at least work her beyond her current capabilities...which weren't much. At least by the time her group broke and she was limping back to the barracks - she'd taken a pretty good blow to her right knee - she was sweating. While not exactly attractive, at least it meant that she'd been working.

Pippin, who had been watching the training from the sidelines, followed her in a slow lope, tail swaying behind him in a graceful arc. Liv buried a hand in the dog's fur and yawned. Every single muscle was aching, and all she wanted to do by the time she got into the barracks was flop on her bed and...

...hum?

The blonde girl was suddenly aware of the low humming that seemed to be shaking her bones. Impala, who had been curled up on her pillow jumped straight up in the air, crooning urgently and startling Olivia, who nearly fell backwards into the girl following her into the barracks. Merry swooped into the barracks, making all kinds of sounds. Olivia took a moment to rub the bridge of her nose. "Will you all shut up please?" Merry settled on her shoulder and Impala settled back onto the bed.

Well...the hatching couldn't have come at a worse time for her. She was sweaty and disgusting and stinking. There might have been some people who didn't mind, but she did. Even if she wasn't the first one there, she was going to make sure she was presentable.

Putting her practice weapons on her bed, she grabbed her candidate robe where it was meticulously hanging near her bed and limped to the washroom, cleaning the sweat as best she could and putting her hair up to that it was less unruly. Peeling off her dirty clothes, she slipped her robe on and looked at herself in the mirror. She finally had to acknowledge the butterflies in her stomach.

Three hatchings, and three times left standing. Would this be her lucky day, or would she have to wait again? She silently hoped N'rik would be there. Having him there would make things so much more bearable. Biting her lip, she went back to her bed, and picked one of the wildflowers out of the bouquet he had brought her. It was a bigger flower, a bright violet...easy to see in the blonde of her hair. She grinned, slipping the flower behind her ear. Maybe he'd see that and know how much the flowers, and his friendship meant to her. Maybe he'd see how much he meant to her.

"Here goes nothing." She whispered to no one in particular, starting to leave. Pippin decided to follow her though, and she had to turn. "Stay Pip." She remembered what happened last time, and she really didn't need him getting eaten by any wayward hatchling. "Stay with Baby." The dog whined, not understanding her, but wagging his tail happily. He wanted to go toooooo! Oliva pointed at the bed. "No, Pip. Up. On the bed. Up." It was like trying to get a stubborn child to listen to you. The dog finally got the picture, whined and jumped up on the bed. He flopped down, wagging his tail. He was good! He could come now, right?

Apparently not...

"Stay Pip." Olivia said, turning to go. Merry settled back on her shoulder as they left the barracks and she had given up trying to get him to stay. Maybe Nitrath would be fine with him in the rafters.

The familiar feeling of hot sand under her feet made the nervous butterflies explode as she walked with the rest of the candidates to the hatching sands. Merry was fluffed up as much as possible, trying to look small. As soon as it was visible, the razorclaw exploded in a flurry of feathers, and made his way to the rafters, settling with the other pets, but keeping to himself mostly. This was exciting, wasn't it?

Oliva took a deep breath, the line of the eggs visible even from this vantage point. Finally, the candidate master led them out onto the sands, and Olivia followed, her stomach flipping into her throat. She looked to the eggs, then the stands, looking for N'rik with wide, fearful eyes. Where was he? She hoped he'd be there. Olivia needed him.

---

Saphor was as unimpressed with the timing of the hatching as Olivia was. She'd gotten out of lessons and had just been to pick up Phaiden from Piden when the humming started. Of course once she knew what was going on, Phaiden nearly exploded. Saphor sighed, knowing that there was no way she was going to be able to keep her daughter from the hatching. She wasn't yet a candidate...and that word yet was particularly ominous to the woman...but she made Phaiden promise that she would stay in the sands. No matter what.

That accomplished, surprisingly easily...Saphor suspected that Phaiden wouldn't be kept away from the hatching no matter what, the woman caught Nautic on his way out and asked the greenhandler if he would let Phaiden accompany him to the hatching. She smiled gratefully at him when he agreed, and kissed Phai on the nose, told her to stay out of damn trouble and went to go dress herself for the hatching.

She still resented being treated like a child when she had a child, but she didn't want special treatment. She already got to live in the weyrfolk apartments instead of the barracks. Sighing, she put her robe on, let her hair fall behind her in waves of blonde and went to go line up with the kids that comprised the candidates.

As they made their way there, she didn't understand why she even stood. Not like she particularly wanted a dragon. In fact, she'd probably be better with a wher...but she stood anyway. She did wonder what Piden would think if she managed to impress. The thought made the corner of her mouth quirk in a grin and she had to suppress the dry chuckle as she walked out onto the sands proper, glancing for Phai in the stands before she focused in on the eggs.

Well. They were ugly things, weren't they?

---

Diamonique had been enjoying her time at the weyr. Well, mostly crashing Ka'aen's weyr and using the bluerider as a leaning post. She hadn't seen much of her brothers in the days leading up to the hatching, so Ka'aen had been sought out most of the time instead. That was mainly because the bluerider actually tolerated her presence, and since he did the first time, she didn't really have an incentive to stop forcing her presence on him.

She was lounging in his weyr...without him. She let herself in sometimes just to read or whatever. It was better in here, even by herself than in M'kai's weyr. Sometimes she felt like she wasn't even wanted. That was alright with her. She'd just have a talk with him later about having kids and stuff. Not that she cared. M'kai's child was adorable. But still. Dia didn't know where Ka'aen was, but Hamaliel nearly jumped out of his skin when the humming started.

Babiesss The salamandyr purred, wrapping his tail around her neck and petting her face with a paw. The red haired woman looked at him awkwardly from his weird vantage point and blinked. "You're a baby, stupid." He gave her a look, and nearly fell when Dia got up to put her book on Ka'aen's bookshelf. Can't go! The salamandyr was wailing, clinging painfully to her shoulder. She sighed, lifted the squirming line of salamandyr and deposited him on the chair. "Stay, Liel. Maybe Aodh will come keep you company later"

He was still whining, but complied rather easily. Rolling her eyes, she stepped out, looking for Ka'aen...as if he would magically appear. "Yeah right." She didn't want to go to the hatching alone, but she would. If he wanted to show up later, he would. She had no idea about the plea for wasteland riders not to attend...but surely if he was there to keep her company and was good, no one would mind? And Dia would make sure he was good. Kinda hard to kill helpless baby dragons when some tall redhead was clinging to you...wasn't it?

Sighing, she stretched and made her way to the hatching sands. She was surprised that she didn't get lost, even if...yeah, she almost did. At least no one was around to see her rather impressive fail. Slipping into the place as easily as someone of her stature and hair color could, she made her way into the stands. She was early, so she was able to find a seat easily with a few other open around her so Ka'aen could sit by her if he ever came.

If not?

Well, Dia was sure that she could bitch at him thoroughly enough later.

For now, she allowed the excitement in the place, along with the gentle humming of the dragons infuse her with her own brand of excitement. Eyes wide, she leaned over the railing, all gangly limbs and bright hair and eyed the eggs and the candidates. "Oh wow. This is cool!" She said brightly to no one in particular. She hadn't been to a hatching in years. Though, she couldn't see how much different this hatching would have been to benden hatchings.

[Tashe]

Although she didn't quite mind physical activities, Raylanne didn't see the need for it so many times a week, it was not like she was out of shape or overweight. Stretching her arms as she walked, the Candidate passed by others in her class without much of a second glance. She still hadn't made very many friends, though it wasn't as if she was actively looking to make a familial group. She was about to wipe the sweat off of her forehead when the humming started. Oh, fascinating. Glancing at the flits and mandyrs as they all seemed to momentarily be connected by the noise. Glancing at the Candidate master as he began to herd the younger ones back to their rooms faster, Raylanne picked her pace up to keep pace with the front of the group. Between the time it took her to get from the training grounds to the Candidate Barracks, the thought of just simply not going bounced around about a hundred times. And as she looked at her trunk with a moments pause, the woman sighed, pulling the robes out with a flick.

She shed her clothes with efficiency and donned the simple white cloth. Raylanne had always wanted to be at a Weyr, wanted to study the proceedings of their Infirmary... this would give her a more permanent position she supposed. Sitting down on the edge of her cot, she pulled on her footwear and undid the ankle bracelet that rubbed uncomfortably against the straps. On a second thought she also removed all of her other pieces of jewelry, not wanting anything on her that could be snagged or broken. Quietly, she followed the rest of the Candidates as they were pressed out of the barracks and toward the hatching grounds.

When they were let in, Raylanne paused before moving to stand near to the stands but not quite right against them. This was her first hatching ever. She had never even attended a firelizard hatching. The candidate was definitely more a human oriented person than a Dragon one, but it would be an interesting first experience, especially since she was already starting to sweat again.

----

Picking Kai up with a grunt, Kaegan swung him around in a circle as Master chirped reproachfully from on their bookcase. "Do you hear that honey? The babies are hatching. Lets go see them." She put him down when he giggled happily, taking his hand after the boy's flitter glided down to curl around his neck. Although the Master loved her son with undying loyalty, he was rather a pain then it came to her pets. Fortunately there hadn't been any fights so far this morning. "Azzie, Dash, if you want to go..." She held her arm out so the Salamandyr could hop up and drape himself over her shoulder. Azzie popped between to meet them there.

It didn't take them long to get to the sands, the route had become familiar enough from all their past and recent trips down there. After Caden had decided to basically live on the sands, the Weyrwoman would often take the time to go and visit with her Junior. It wasn't far off to say that she had been worried about the young Goldrider especially since this was her first clutch. Taking a slightly different route from the one that most of the Weyr would be traveling on, Kaegan and her son appeared in the Weyrleader's section. Pacing up to the railing, Kaegan pulled a flat comb out of her back pocket and whistled at Caden, flashing the comb before tossing it down to her when she looked over. She knew what it felt like after spending a night over in the sands to wake up to a hatching. 'In case you want it,' she signed with her free hand so she didn't have to raise her voice, she'd been sick with a cold the last few days.

"Come on Kai," Sitting down she patted her lap, "Here, you can see everything. Are you excited?" "Yes!" "Isn't it lucky they are hatching so soon after your Turnday?" The five year old nodded as he reached up to pet his Blue, who chirped with curiosity. Meanwhile, Millieth yawned as she took up the largest and most spacious of the viewing areas for Dragons. She was not about to miss the very first batch of her grandchildren, plus, her Golddaughter had asked her to come. No dragon in their midst could refuse a dual command from both of them unless they had current allegiances to Fort or Benden. Crossing her legs at the wrist, she looked down boredly on the sands below.

---

On normal days, Nautic wasn't up so early, but these weren't normal days anymore. The Wherhandler had been getting up extra early to interact with... well, babies. Being Joined to Eikane stirred up all sorts of parental instincts in Nautic, his little biological clock started ringing a jaunty tune. Putting on a light shirt, he snuck quietly out of his apartment so not to wake anyone who was sleeping. On the way down the hall, he bumped into Saphor and her daughter almost literally. A little surprised but happy to do so, he agreed to let Phaiden accompany him to the hatching grounds. When they arrived, he pointed to a pair of seats near the front and happily made his way down to them with the young girl in tow. "Look, what luck! Such good seats don't you think?" As soon as he settled down, Nautic yawned and attempted to shake off the drowsiness that the heat brought on. It didn't help much that he'd only recently woke up.

[Aftershock]

Cairenn was returning from her extra chores, the reason for said extra chores on her shoulder with his tail wrapped firmly around the strap of the necklace the Candidate girl always wore around her neck, when the humming began. Pausing her forward momentum, she looked back and forth confusedly, asking, "What's that noise?" The answer came from Fun, who sent to her, "Dragon hatching. You have to go. Probably Impress dragon, replace me." Giggling, Cairenn ran a finger down Fun's back and said, "Silly, I wouldn't ever replace you! But you're right, I have to go! There might be a dragon out there for us!"

Rushing back to the Candidate barracks, she saw some of her fellow Candidates had already put their robes on and were filing out of the barracks towards the Sands. Reaching her bunk, she gave Ivy a smile and a, "Good luck!" if her older bunkmate was there, and quickly divested herself of her clothing, slipping the robe over her head as quickly as possible before realizing it was backwards, and pulling it off to put it back over her head the correct way. Fun, sitting quietly in a pile on her bed where he had been pulled off Cairenn's shoulder along with her shirt, watched His dress quietly, then said, "Go, get dragon. Fun not come, Fun might have hungry baby eat him. Though Fun probably deserves it, might make you sad. Fun no want that, so Fun stay here. Be here if you still want Fun after Impressing dragon." Grinning, Cairenn gave Fun a quick scritch on the chin, then turned to notice she was one of the few still left in the room, and hurried after the others.

Catching up to the Candidate group, she fell in line, wincing in pain as her tiny, delicate feet felt the massive heat of the Sands. She awkwardly attempted to imitate the Candidate who entered before her, bowing towards Nitrath and saying, "H-hello, Queen Nitrath. I-I hope one of your children finds me worthy this day." She also bowed slightly towards Caden, saying, "Thank you for letting me attend this hatching, Jr. Weyrwoman Caden." She then moved fully onto the Sands, her gaze looking out over the Stands to see if she could see Roselle up there somewhere.

---

Samael was sitting in his room, trying to attempt reading a book with Freyr's help, when the humming began. He knew exactly what that was... he had heard it twice before in his life, and both times it had lead to loss on his part. Sighing slightly, he put the book down, then carefully stood up, Heimdall immediately standing and moving to heel at his master's side as Freyr took off from the table he was sitting at with Samael and crooned in warning before landing on his bonded's shoulder.

Samael carefully made his way out of his room and down the hallways until he reached the Stands. He had no one in particular he was watching the hatching for, this time, but he still felt he should attend, to honor the memory of his sister if nothing else. Slowly finding his way to an empty seat with the help of Heimdall and Freyr, he carefully sat down, silently asking Freyr to keep an eye out for Ruliana, and to fetch her if he saw her. He had been spending some time with the dark-haired greenrider ever since she had encountered him in his room a few months back, and he was now at the point he considered her a friend... and a friend would be a good thing to have when hatchings brought up such bad memories for him, having lost his sister to Wastelanders at his first one, and his crush to a dragonrider at the second.

---

Cainith was just getting breakfast when the humming began, and he quickly finished his meal, rushing back to his apartment to clean himself up and grab a bottle of wine he had been saving... the same bottle he had brought the last hatching. Ivy had been unwilling to open the bottle afterward, since she claimed to have nothing to celebrate after not Impressing, so he had saved it, saying that he would not open it until she had a dragon Impression to celebrate. Running a brush through his beard, he then grabbed the bottle and looked at it with a smile... he knew it would be opened this day, for sure.

He quickly checked on Cainsk, Rollhead taking the opportunity to land on His' head to come along for the ride, and made sure his wher was good to be left alone for a few hours, then making his way through the Weyr to the Stands. Trying to find a seat near the front, his arms out and palms open (other than the wine bottle) as he passed through the entrance to the Stands in case anyone questioned him for his Wastelander status, he finally found an open place that had a clear view of the Candidates as they lined up in front of the eggs. There were so many eggs... Ivy was sure to Impress this time, there was no doubt in his mind.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, he fiercely whispered towards the lines of Candidates, saying Ivy's name in an attempt to get her attention, then waving at his lover and showing the bottle of wine to her when she looked in his direction, a smile of confidence on his face that he hoped would transfer some hope to the disappointed Candidate girl... hopefully a Candidate no longer, after this day. Rollhead also took the opportunity to send to Ivy, "Clutchmommy best! Sure to get giant firelizard who likes Clutchmommy! Goddess make sure!"

[Ember]

The physical exercise the candidates were subjected to was probably the thing that bothered Kidem the least about candidacy. Really? He was a dolphineer and therefore exercised everyday regardless of someone else telling him to do it or not. Besides, he liked to partake of the odd sparring matches frequently so being in shape was kind of mandatory for that. The man bounced on his toes as he stood near his bunk as he waited for his roommate to clear off from the chest containing both their belongings. Really quite inconvenient, that.

It was Kidem's turn to grab his clothes when the humming began and he paused, his whole body poised for listening curiously. He didn't realize initially that it was even the call for hatching until he noticed some of his fellow candidates dressing in their candidate robes. Well then. He supposed someone would be angry at him if he just skipped out or watched from the stands. Oh well, a smart dragon wouldn't pick such a disinterested rider for a life partner anyway. He pulled off his gross clothes before pulling on thick leather pants and then the candidate robe. Yeah right was he going just in that flimsy thing.

Decked out in the robe, pants, and thick boots, Kidem made his way to the hatching grounds. Honestly he was more interested in watching the others impress - he'd gotten a handle on the personalities in the class and was having a running bet with himself on who would get what - than participating in any baby dragon shenanigans. Like little Olivia, who was such a good sport about his pranks, or Raylanne, who was very...clinical about things, or Cairenn who...did she just bow? Was that customary?

Kidem sure as hell wouldn't bother to bow. A cursory nod, at best, and then he drifted to the edges of the hatching sands to stand near the stands, near the other people watching. That would be his place for the duration of the hatching, most likely. Plenty of people between him and the eggs. Enough that he was almost but not quite annoyed that his view of his first hatching was impeded. Win some, lose some.

[Chey]

[The best I can do under the circumstances. After this post, Sheari's in charge of him.]

Ilaxnos was on his way back to the barracks for the Candidates when he was aware of a low hum that sounded all throughout the weyr and he could barely contain himself for all of the euphoria that began to course through his veins. It was happening! The hatching was happening! Nitrath's alto hum was unmistakable as it reverberated throughout his bones. He wanted to turn on his heel and get to the Sands as quickly as possible, but his appearance stopped him. He was in no way, shape, or form ready to face the queen dragon and her weyrmate. Dashing around quickly like many of the other Candidates, he donned his robes and was led away by his temporary master.

The Sands were scorching to Ilaxnos. He saw Kelinale there and nodded to the fellow Candidate who had likewise been Searched, but by a different rider than he. He was albeit somewhat friendly with Ilaxnos and he wished him well. If Ilaxnos wasn't lucky enough to Impress, he hoped that Kelinale was. Today would be a big enough day for everyone involved, especially if they Impressed.

Under his quite obvious happiness and enthusiasm was a current of terror. Hatching were dangerous times and places; history had proven as much. Not only fear of more attacks that could only be described as the murder of dragonets, but also the fact that Candidates were mauled-often to death-by baby dragons made Ilaxnos's gut clench. Well, it was a tad late to back down for fear of being mauled. Nitrath tapped teh Wolven Egg, but the Maester Egg was the one who rolled, clacking against the Queenly Egg and spiderweb cracks appeared. Ilaxnos's breath froze in his chest, but no dragonet appeared.

Okay Ilaxnos, time to man up he berated himself.

[InsaneWhitey28]

.:oOo:.

She had been assigned stable duty for the past two sevendays, and could only be grateful the touch of fall was beginning to show, she had managed to escape the largest of the summer heat by an inch. Though working in the stables were far cooler than the kitchens, seeing as they could have a breeze blowing through while in the kitchen there was no breeze and you had fires going nearly all the time. Not fun. Though there was a point where she debated changing the chores with another when she fell into a pile of dung, almost happened again today in fact; runnerbeasts are so moody.

“Cotton will you get out of my dress?” the young woman stated irritably to the tiny green ‘mandyr poking her head out of the top of the very same mentioned dress, peering up at Hers curiously while the teen worked with her mahogany hair to get it tamed down again. At the moment, Rosa had let it down and was brushing through it with her fingers, trying to get the static out of it and get her hair to stop looking like a crawler. Heat, humidity and sweat apparently didn’t go well with her hair. Go figure. Rolling her eyes at the green as the tiny creature refused to move, she shoved her hair atop her head and allowed the temporary candidatemaster to continue herding her along with the others back to the barracks to get changed.

Half-way across the Bowl, Cotton chirped from her position (really, it was rare that the little green was with her considering she had been fawning over Garra ever since her Run; a word that sent shivers down Rosa’s spine every time she thought of it), the little chirp full of curiosity and a slight edge of excitement. Rosanna looked down, raising a brow at the green who was tipping her head curiously as she crawled further out of the top of Rosa’s dress. At this point, Rosa was so over the embarrassment, but if A’emi makes one more comment about how bright red her face had been at their first meeting, she was going to punch him.

Babies. the word was a whisper in her mind, and for a moment she thought she had been imagining it, before the candiadtemaster was suddenly yelling at all of them to get to the barracks and change into their robes. She would call it inconvenient but Nitrath’s eggs sure did know how to pick one of the more convenient times. Which meant she couldn’t complain. Damn.

Running back to the barracks, she was one of the first in there, praising her long legs and immediately snagging the water basin with three others. Washing off as much sweat and grim as she could without a full bath, she wet her hands and ran them through her hair managing to get it to behave slightly better. Slipping into her robes, she snagged the infamous hair pins, and brushed her hair back into a bun, pinning every strand she could to her head. Sadly her hair still had some static in it so the few strands she missed were wandering all over the place.

“Stay here Cotton, or go find Gara,” Rosa stated sternly, earning a quiet stare from the ‘mandyr before there was a chirp of compliance. The teen placed the green on her bed with shaking hands, biting her lip. It was just nerves getting to her, she was of the mindset that at this point she’d probably never get a dragon anyway, it was the fact that this was Nitrath’s hatching. Nitrath had been one of the few to escape that fateful culling of Millieth’s clutch, and she knew that Wastelanders had been warned off, but still. That didn’t stop her heart from beating wildly in fear for the dragonets.

Taking a breath to calm herself as much as she could, Rosanna got in line behind the other candidates, the humming beginning to shake her bones now as the voice of Nitrath rang through all of Selenitas and then they were on the Sands. She wished she had been allowed to bring something that was sharp. Really, because if Wastelanders tried hard enough, they could do it and everything might devolve into bloodshed again.

Oh well. She has hairpins and she’s not afraid to use them.

.:oOo:.

He could feel the humming in his bones, the fateful tell tale sign that the eggs were beginning to hatch. And this time, he had to be present. He had made that promise to himself, that this time at least, he'd go and watch. But that didn't stop his hands from shaking, nor the fear rising up in his chest. The blue firelziard that he had claimed as his without much of a thought, pushed the implements he had been cleaning out of his hands knowing that the sharp objects that could fix, could also damage.

The teen had been avoiding the candidates as much as possible as the days came closer, everytime he wandered past the Hatching Grounds his mind would be overburdened by the sounds of the culling, the screaming, denying, the wailing of the dragons. There had been times he had caught a glimpse of the eggs, and with how many Hatchings he had Stood at, the one he had Impressed and lost at, and those afterwords he had avoided, it had become somewhat of an easy task to guess when the eggs would hatch. This time he'd been off by about a sevenday. But waiting that extra sevenday had set his mental stability off; even Besyr's bombardment of images were able to distract him less and less.

He wasn't going to bother with the robes.

Besyr hummed low in his throat, eyes whirling an excited blue tinged with worry as he pushed the supplies his had been cleaning to the side. It was time to get going whether His liked it or not. He chirped at the frozen Chandil as Nitrath welcomed those to her Hatching, and he found it a rather large problem that they were still in the infirmary. The blue climbed up Chandil's arm to make his way to her his favorite perch on the boy's shoulder, a shoulder which had been shortly padded after the first few tries of Besyr staying in place and not. Firelizard claws apparently hurt. Just saying.

Chandil started slightly when Besyr stroked his head against the teen's cheek, relaxing at the firelizard's tight grip around his throat with his tail. The last four months with the flitter around had helped him a lot, had distracted him and made him... happy. True, the color of the flitter's hide had bothered him immensly for a while, but having a screaming firelizard hatchling in your room with you was annoying enough for him to get over it. In truth, if not for Besyr he may have not even considered going to Nitrath's hatching, though he felt like he should. This was Kerpth's clutchsister, one of the few dragonets that had survived the culling. Yet he really didn't want to go.

Besyr chirped and batted the boy's head with his wing.

"Alright, alright," Chandil muttered ducking forgetting the it was futile messure as he took the firelizard with, "i'm going, I'm going."

And go he did, some of the last into the Hatching, he was behind the trickling crowd and he certianly wasn't one of those whining about being late and not having a good seat. Hardly. If he was refusing to set foot on the Sands, why in the world would he want to be close to them? It was bad enough he had to cross across part of it to get to the Stands. He was pretty sure he jumped over the railing instead of following the line, but. He couldn't remember.

He also couldn't remember getting into the corner at the stop of the Stands, though he was certain he was getting some weird looks. Well. Maybe he jumped over some people too. Couldn't remember. Pressing himself against the wall, he bit his lip, frowning at the eggs as he started shivering. He crossed his arms, holding them close to himself as he tried to block out the noise around him. Urgh.

Besyr crooned, rubbing his head against Chandil's cheek once again, eyes whirling with distress. HIs outragous images weren't helping either what is this!?

.:oOo:.

I'm slightly... offended that Nitrath has asked us to stay away, the disgruntled response drifting in from the bluerider currently making his way to the Stands, having been caught briefly in his chore of the bathing Rhiiseth. It was true the dragon didn't complain much, and didn't demand daily, nor weekly, bathing or oiling but Faranth have mercy should he miss his two week bath.

Well our brethren did make quite the mess of things. It's not like we neccesarily stood in their way now is it? Now, after you oil that spo-ah, yes, there- get dressed and I'll see you at the hatching,

[/color] the blue dragon stated,

Ka’aen went and found Dia, discreetly. He says, "You realize you might fall right?" Uses the excuse he wasn’t involved in the culling as a pass, Rhiiseth is hanging on one of the darker perches. He refuses not to watch babies come into the world and is certain he is clever enough to evade any dragon who would dislike his presence immensely. Aodh went and bothered Hamaliel. Ka'aen has a disheveled appearance and is slightly wet. [/blockquote]

[OOC; I'll be finishing this up later when I get home.]
300A0A

[Rei]

Lketh had settled on one of the rockly ledges ringing the hatching grounds, the one closest to Nitrath in fact. Here he half mantled his near translucent wings, his entire body vibrating from the strength of his humming. These were his sisters babies and as such they were rather special in and of themselves. He touched Nitrath’s mind gently the brush almost like a affectionate mental caress.

I would not miss welcoming them for the world sistermine. Arching his neck his hum increased in pitch. I should warn you however that mine is being an idiot as usual and making his way towards yours. He has no weapons on him. Please do not eat him for his foolishness. He is only trying to help in the only ways he knows how. The albino snorted softly then and gave his another mental jab. Must he always be so reckless and non thinking? One would think that he would learn his lesson at some point. Though if bonding to him had not accomplished this he was not sure what would.

Er’ani in fact had a small bag slung on his shoulder and was making his way to the railing of the sands. Once there he saluted to the people leaning over them and deftly leapt over the railing. Landing with a soft “Ouff” He rose back to his feet and started heading towards the bulk of Nitrath’s side. He made sure to approach so that the gold was between him and any sight of the eggs on the sands. No need to confuse the dragonets or make himself into a target. As he approached he gave a sharp whistle to alert the goldpair to his presence, nevermind that Lketh had already informed his sister. Even as his whistle died away Er'ani heard another and caught sight of the Sr. Weyrmoman. Grinning at her he quickly fetched the comb for Caden from where it had struck the sand and trotted over to her with a quick bow to Nitrath.

Wrinkling his nose the albinorider opened the bag and held out a skin of water for her. He had also brought a few strips of dried fruit and jerky and a damp towel for her to mop off the sweat. “Sheesh Caden. Seriously hun you look like crap warmed over.” The words through spoken in a soft tone were honest and he felt like someone needed to say them. Er'ani still didn’t understand why she was doing this to herself when plenty of others were guarding the clutch. Really and honestly all he wanted to do was help her because freaking out this much every time her gold laid was not healthy for her or Nitrath in the least. Maybe he could work with her to help her come to grips with whatever was freaking her out after this batch hatched. Hell maybe after this babies hatched she would be more ready to listen to reason in general. One could hope anyway.

~~~~

Erilena gave a wide yawn from her spot leaning against the railing close to where Nitrath and the eggs where laying. The greenrider had been picked for on call during the hatching. It was a shame it hadn't been a late night hatching because honestly she should be still asleep now. She just hoped Dmitri, in his half awake state, had understood her when she had clambered out of bed and tried to rouse him to ask him to listen for the twins while she was gone.

He had done little more then grunt at her and roll over while mumbling something that, at least, sounded like agreement. Dementia had been awake at any rate and the mandyr made as good a baby monitor as there ever was. The gold never missed a beat in fact and was wont to complain if the twins got too fussy. (She was convinced that the twins were hers) So really Erilena didn't worry too much about them. They had plenty of protectors between Grim, Dementia, and Dmisk who sometimes took to sleeping inside the twins bedroom.

Feyrianth was enjoying herself anyway. The four winged green hummed along with the rest of the weyr, her four wings shuffling every so often along her back as she arched her neck to get a better view of the eggs hatching below. Those images she shared with Samael as she had every hatching since now. Babies were oh so exciting!

[Sheari]

Almost as soon as Nitrath began humming, Weith and Asshat were screaming at R’men to drop what he was doing. The bronzerider hadn’t dropped his meal, he simply grabbed the bowl of soup and took it with him. The copper bronze was almost instantly at the sands, landing to drop of His and then take his place on the side. Over four turns ago, in a different hatching ground, his sire Ciceroth had taken a similar position as his glorious golden dam Hepaticath watched her eggs hatch. It was his turn now with the massive Nitrath, and if Weith was to epitomize anything it would be pride.

Some of he eggs seemed, to him, concerningly small or misshapen, like the lumpy Dwarven egg sticking out like an oversized clod of dirt. Perhaps the ugliest egg would reveal the best looking hatchling? It mattered not, for they would all hatch to reveal his and the golden queen’s children. Doubtless they would be nothing but the best of Pern. And it was with this that Weith crooned at Nitrath, his hide glimmering ridiculously from the reflecting light of the sands, and greeting his green clutchsister Minth as she entered with His' clutchsister.

R’men stood by his dragon, taking in the scene. Asshat had almost immediately run off to find someway of causing trouble, though Weith assured him that the brown would do anything. Lucia, however was more than happy to perch on his arm, daintily taking sips from his soup. He watched the candidates file in as he finished his soup. It was quite the impressive turnout for the sixteen eggs she had laid. Half of him was surprised they would even be able to conjure up sixteen candidates even with the older ones still being around, what with circumstances making everything hard. Somehow though, they had been able to conjure up more than enough and the hatchlings would have plenty to choose from. There was only one draw, and that was that some would be left on the Sands after the last shell broke. It was better, however, to have people be left behind than to have dragonets between, as they sometimes did when the right person wasn’t there.

~*~

The fact that he was even being allowed to Stand was somewhat of a miracle. Kelinale hadn’t been to pleased when he’d woken up in the infirmary the day after his fight with Alcherion. Apparently he’d nearly drowned in the bathing pool but his dog Cleric had attacked the other to save him. In a way, he was surprised and glad that she hadn’t been put down. The thought left a sort of void at what life would be like without her, despite the inevitability that someday, his fear would become reality. Nevertheless, Kelinale had followed every new rule and restriction that had been put on him as a condition of keeping his candidacy.

That included extra drills and lessons.

Unlike some of the other candidates, Kelinale wasn’t tired after the latest lesson. In fact, he felt so excited he was practically humming! No…that was dragon humming! Cleric trotted at his heels and he rushed into the barracks with the others. He cleaned himself off as fast as possible (essentially, a quick submerge in the bathing pool to get the sweat off) and dressed. His body was soaked and his hair was dripping but he was confident the heat of the sands would dry him off. His green Morrigan, however, insisted he look his best for a queen’s hatching. No mindmate of Her’s was going to go about looking like a ragamuffin, especially when it was the first hatching of the largest gold.

Cleric paced the edge, Morrigan riding her as though she were a small horse, whining as Kelinale entered the large cavern. Her paws lifted quickly in an odd gait because of the transition from cool stone to burning sand. She longed to follow her person out, but the heat and dragons held her back. Thus, the pacing and whining. Kelinale mouthed a “good girl” back to her and her tail wagged sullenly. The candidate sauntered over to Ilaxnos, leaning on the taller boy in a casual way. “Hatchings,” was all he said, cupping his hands before him as though to grasp something. “The parents are impressive though, I can’t wait until the eggs break,” because it wasn’t as if three were moving already.

[Ruby]

Nitrath, as usual, was drastically more welcoming than her rider. The Gold greeted each Candidate individually with a warm mental brush, inviting them forward without words. Caden, meanwhile, glared at each one in turn, snatching the comb Kaegan tossed her out of the air without so much as glancing at it before dropping it to the sand. It was far more important to make sure all the Candidates were worthy, after all, and Nitrath didn't seem nearly picky enough. Caden could comb her hair later. The ones lurking towards the back got extra-mean looks, but shortly Caden's eyes went blank, she huffed, then headed for the sand just below Kaegan's seat where she leaned against the platform and waited for Er'ani. Apparently he was on his way.

And yes, there he was. She snatched the comb from him and started working it through her hair like it was personally responsible for her discomfort. Her eyes never stopped scanning the Hatching grounds - Stands, Sands, Clutch and back again - but she slid sideways a bit, making room for Er'ani to lean next to her. He'd said something; "Huh? Oh. Who cares what I look like? Just another hour or so..." The tremor in her voice was obvious, even with her jaw clenched tight. Every inch of the goldrider's stance drove home the idea that she was barely holding on to sanity, especially now that Nitrath was busy with the clutch.

Oh yes. The clutch. It certainly wasn't bothering to take it's time. The Maester egg shivered and flaked, a grayish-green forelimb stretching into the world with an almost teasing sluggishness before withdrawing, the dragonet inside apparently not yet interested in passing into the world. While the Maester Green did her own thing, though, the Wolven Egg twitched sideways, a tail lashing out from a previously undetected hole. The tail was... yellow? Caden decided she'd wait on figuring out exactly what was going on with that dragon, but her decision was moot. The Barbarian Egg exploded outwards with dramatic force, sending sharp, painful fragments of egg flying in all directions. Candidates close to the clutch were sure to get hit, and Caden visibly flinched, so distracted by the sudden appearance of blood that she missed the hatching of Nitrath's first child.

It was a blue. Probably.

It was certainly blue, a ropy, thick-boned little thing, wet with egg goop and a shade akin to the night sky when it has just begun to lighten into dawn. Two things made Caden pause, once she was able to pull her eyes from the blood: First, was that dried ichor splattered on the blue's nose and neck and paws? Second: ... why was he so small? His egg had been large enough, but Caden had never seen a blue that tiny ever. She remembered one hatching where a rampaging baby had broken open an egg that appeared to be a dud, and a tiny, half-formed dead white thing had fallen out. That half-formed unhatched dragon was approximately the same size as this healthy, apparently hale blue.

Caden took a step forward as Nitrath's eyes shaded a concerned orange and she dipped her head, gently poking a nose at her first child's side to make sure he was all right. The Blue screamed his indignation, and Nitrath's eyes immediately settled back to green; his lungs were healthy, if nothing else! Tottering up on to stubby legs, the Barbarian Blue shuffled off, apparently totally unconcerned by his abnormally tiny stature. Anyone that had gotten sliced by a shell shard got a sniff, but the Blue inevitably shouldered past them, generally knocking over anyone that was small enough to be unbalanced. Every single available candidate, male or female, got at least a moment of consideration, but the Barbarian Blue seemed to get more and more annoyed as each candidate failed to live up to his expectations.

Finally he made his way to the back, assessing all candidates now, not just those that were already bloodied. Tiny claws started slashing at the ankles of those that didn't get out of his way fast enough, until he moved to shoulder by Raylanne and stopped. Wait. You.[/i] Flopping down on the sand in front of the Healer, he shook his head to dislodge a bit of leftover shell as his eyes swirled rainbows. One does not simply come to a hatching expecting not to impress. That said, I can't help but admire your particular brand of brain. As he spoke, the Blue's mindvoice softened, gruff annoyance giving way to something like pride or love... maybe even worship. Yes, he had found His. I am your Adanth, and you are Mine, Raylanne. I ask only for the strength and the chance to defend you from your enemies.[/i]

[Ruby]

Barbarian Blue
Bonded To: Raylanne
Name: Adanth
Color: Blue (123456), Markings (548282)

Appearance: At hatching, Adanth will be quite small, the smallest of his clutch, actually. Were his hide pale rather than dark he would be a perfectly normal White Dragon, but he isn't white at all. Quite the opposite, actually; he's a kind of slightly greyish navy, the color of dark blue jeans. It's a matte color, not especially shiny but not greying either, marked with a grey-green tone that looks somewhat like old, dried ichor. This shade forms a tight circle halfway up his long neck, touches his snout and the tip of his tail, and forms nine rings around fingers and toes. So: certainly not a white.

That will become more apparent as he grows... and grows... and grows. At first, he will grow as fast as any dragon, building his puny 5-foot hatching size into a smallish-green-sized 20 feet over the course of his first two turns. But then, when his siblings have all leveled out and reached their adult size, Adanth will keep growing. It will taper off as he gets older, but the blue will never actually stop getting bigger; eventually he'll pass up all the blues and even some of the browns and bronzes in sheer length. If he lives long enough, he could even grow big enough to theoretically chase Queens. Unfortunately, it cannot last: eventually he will simply grow too large to get in and out of the Weyr, and his legs and wings will be unable to carry him. At that point he will suicide, dropping off his ledge to go between, with or without his rider. Life will become simply impossible. Luckily, this tragedy is very, very far in the future; Adanth will be within the normal range for a Blue for at least 10 turns.

Other than this genetic oddity, Adanth is a normal enough dragon. He's certainly not pretty; muscular, yes, but his muscles are thick and ropy and bulky, even when he's a baby. Every piece of him will appear compact, even when he reaches Queen sizes. His form is practical, not pleasing, and there will be a straightforwardness and economy to his movements that he will never lose. Why pull a barrel roll when a simple bank will accomplish the same thing? Why curl up into a circle when a flop works just as well? Why try to impress a female when you can simply take her out of the sky? This economy will translate to battle, too, where Adanth is brutally efficient. He is likely one of the strongest and most powerful of his siblings, with a kind of instinctive ability that lacks only pure bloodlust. He will kill if he must, and he will do it well, but he would rather not. Unless His is in danger.

Personality: At first, Adanth seems nearly impossible to like. He's brisk and coarse, arrogant even as a tiny hatchling, and fond of making lewd comments especially in the hearing of stuck-up females, Queens, and prudish males. He enjoys getting reactions, good or bad, and will provoke those who allow themselves to be needled to no end. Once people get to know him, though, those traits begin to melt away. Many dragons and people will appreciate his straightforward approach to everything - there is not a manipulative bone in his body - but just because they think they are his friend will not protect them from the sort of abuse Adanth doles out in spades, to friends and enemies alike, although he may abuse them with a touch more humor than his enemies. He likes having things, both material and immaterial; females, trinkets, company, attention (good or bad)... if you can have it, Adanth wants it. On the surface, it seems to be pure greed, for he rarely seems to actually do anything with what he has. He's a hoarder at heart, and his ledge will always be a mess, no matter how cleanly His might be. Try to clean up or throw away his horde and you will be met with an incredibly angry blue dragon who won't pull his punches, although he would never actually lay a finger on His. All in all, not a great collection of personality traits, although the dragon himself is far more often warm and gruff with friends and wingmates than particularly difficult to be around.

This desire to have applies to females, too. Used to taking what he wants, Adanth is a force-catcher, and only the most well-loved of females will be spared this treatment. It isn't unusual for him to be damaged and savaged in flights, by the rising female or by her other chasers. Adanth won't mind; to him, if he loses the girl and doesn't have at least a scrape, he's doing it wrong. Ichor doesn't bother him (actually, sometimes it seems to delight him, especially if it makes someone else uncomfortable), and he won't hesitate to shed it if circumstances call for it.

It's all for a reason, though. Adanth has a hard time committing to anything and giving his loyalty, but once he has, he will literally do anything for that person (or place, or thing). His is, of course, the first thing he will commit to, and everything he does is for His; this will be made abundantly clear, as Adanth treats his with a kind of delicate and loving (and borderline obsessive) respect that seems very at odds with his sometimes abrasive personality. If he's building a horde, it's because His might eventually want or need one of those things, and Adanth wants to prepare for that day. If he's out making enemies, it's because he wants to know ahead of time who he can trust - and who he can't. If he is trying to win a female, it is because His is obviously the best mate for Hers, and it is Adanth's duty to prove that. Of all of his siblings, he will have the most in common with those that seek to command, and will be very easily influenced by bronzes (sometimes in negative ways). He is loyal to a fault, and will discard any sense of morality and ethics if he must to acquire something for those he loves. He's also very literal in his interpretations; his rider had better watch what they idly dream of, because Adanth will immediately attempt to procure it. "I wish I could hold the moon in my hand" is a particularly bad thing to say to this Blue.

[Rowana]

The younglings are coming, Ophiuchusth sang out, his throat humming sweetly. N'rik looked up and blinked at him for a long moment. He'd been concintrating on reading some maps, something he knew he needed practice at, and was find it hard to come back from the daze. "What younglings?" Nitrath's of course! his dragon chimed. Wake up or we will be late!

N'rik's eyes widen and he jumped up from his chair. Of course! He'd promise Olivia he would be there! Rushing about, he checked himself over and tried to comb the tangles out of his hair. Not that it would matter, Olivia would be too busy to notice today. He crossed his fingers for her. Hopefully she would be even more busy soon. "You stay, Path," he told his canine. Path wined, complaining that she never got any fun. Alph was already clinging to his shoulder, mutely declaring that he would not be staying. Shrugging, N'rik climbed onto Ophi's back and they took off for the hatching grounds.

They were a bit late arriving, much to N'rik's disappointment. One egg had already hatched and looked like it had chosen someone. It was a large clutch though, so N'rik knew his friend still had plenty of chances. Dropping his rider off in the stands, Ophi flew up to settle with the other dragons. Lucky for him the Hatching Grounds were inside and not out in the bright sun that hurt his eyes so much. N'rik searched the row of candidates, waving fiercely when he saw Olivia. He wanted to call out to her, but didn't think she would be able to hear him from here. "Good luck," he whispered, settling down to watch.

~

"Come on, Auntie Mae!" Annatolli was trying very hard not to drag her old guardian along by the arm. She knew Hoayamae couldn't walk so fast with her limp and her age, but she didn't want to miss a minute of the Hatching. "We're going to be late!" Xelos, Noish and Nhim danced overhead, adding their own impatient humming to the mix. "Hold yer runners," Mae grumbled, trying to walk as fast as she could. "The babies ain't going no where. It won't be the last Hatching neither." She would almost rather be back in the kitchen, preparing for the feast. Yet if she let Anna go alone, she was sure the girl would be on the Sands themselves if no one stopped her.

Anna tugged Mae down the steps of the stands so they could sit as close as possible to the Sands themselves. Eyes wide, Anna was too amazed to even speak as she admired the pretty eggs and the first handsome blue. She waved to Nitrath and Caden, beaming. "Good luck to your pretty babies, Queen Nitrath!" she called, though her tiny voice was probably hard to hear. Mae shook her head at the girl's enthusiasm. It looked like it wouldn't be long before Anna was demanding to be a Candidate herself.

[Lotty]

In K'sel's head he was a little more bubbly. But considering the fact that ten minutes prior he had been cleaning baby spit off the front of one of his plaid shirts, the rider's words couldn't help but come out a little more dour as he leaned over the railing and interrupted Erilena mid yawn, "Hello darling...." he sniffed the air a few times and twisted his lips into his signature frown before carrying on, "I see that you are up and at 'em and dressed up so nicely at that. What is that scent you are wearing? Eau de baby powder?" With a languid movement he flipped his body over the railing to drop down next to the healer. It probably wasn't overly appropriate for a non-healer to be lingering around on the sands but then... this was K'sel, he had little regard for golds or their riders and with every turn that went by his care level dropped even further.

Besides in his oh so humble opinion it was probably good to have a Legatus member on the sands. Wasn't that weirdo goldy the paranoid type? She'd probably appreciate his presence, and if not well... the worst that would happen is that he would be kicked out. Oh no! K'sel would be soooooo devastated to miss out on hatchings they were only his favoritest things in the world ever. He snorted in amusement at his own thought as he leaned against the greenrider in a clear parallel to the motions his dragon was making, "I'm going to be honest, I only showed because of that guy..." he twitched his head up at Pettahth, "I'll have to run off and be a good daddy any second you know..." The term daddy was said dryly, though it wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy being a father. He had just never imagined such quaint little terms being applied to himself.

Pettahth somewhat enjoyed hatchings even if his rider was incredibly indifferent to them all. Flying into the hatching cavern he immediately spotted a Feyrianth, and having not played with her in quite some time decided that she would be the perfect pillow on which to rest. Quickly, he sneaked in next to the green, burrowing under the dragon's two right wings to ensure his dusty brown side pressed against hers. Together they could share the rumble of their lungs as they hummed out welcomes to the new hatchings. In further greeting he poked his nose against Fey's and noted, Very nice clutch wouldn't you say? I seems like there are littles of all kinds running around the weyr these days.

--

It was a fine day for a hatching wasn't it? Of course Kierjaarth was doing his job keeping a distance from it. Aloof as he sometimes was, the bronze was doing his best to wallow in some alone time while all the other dragons clamored over hatching eggs. He'd hum for them sure, but on his own ledge, and with his eyes closed so that he could get some well deserved sleep. Why he even did so much as pull a wing forward to drape over his head. He was hiding... nobody would even noticed that he didn't come now!

Mi'rah didn't have to same kind of reservations. Although he heard that Caden had made a wishlist of people who had to be kept out... and that the spiciest rumors said that those on the list were everyone of non-Southern blood, the bronzerider wasn't going to be that easily dissuaded. Tenlie should be in attendance after all, and he saw it fit to join her as he had so many times before. In fact, it only took one sweep of the audience to spot the dark haired woman, and in a rare bout of confidence he made a bee-line to the seat next to her, patting her on the shoulder to gently grasp her attention, "Ten... are you excited? I - I know how much you like hatchings... I guess that was a silly question to ask..." he nearly blushed, trying to brush away his statement and try again.

"Uhmmmm so yeah."

[Tashe]

The egg cracking open certainly brought her attention up from the sands as a small piece of shell landed a few feet from where she was standing. A glance around allowed for a quick assessment of the shard affected people, but none of them seemed to need immediet attention so the unhappy screech drew her gaze away. Were hatchlings normally that small? It was a possibility she supposed since dragons came in all sizes and since there was no other hatchling to watch, Raylanne tracked the little Blue's progress across the sands and through the candidates. Even knocking over a few of the smaller ones. Not a very gentle one was he? As he made a second round through the candidates, this time coming around toward her end of the spectrum, Raylanne took a half step out of the Blue's way when he started by her. Wait. You. She watched as the little one flopped down at her feet. One does not simply come to a hatching expecting not to impress. That said, I can't help but admire your particular brand of brain. She was about to retort that she knew perfectly well that by coming she had a chance to Impress, but she didn't get a chance to speak. I am your Adanth, and you are Mine, Raylanne. I ask only for the strength and the chance to defend you from your enemies.

"I..." At a loss for words for the second time in her life, the Healer stared down at the Blue then shook her self out to recover. "Adanth. Well then, this should be an experience." What were the chances she'd impress the very first Dragonette? "Oh, you're hungry, lets go then they are certain to have food over there. Please try not to hurt anyone on the way over." The Blue picked himself up with narrowed eyes. As you wish. Though as they walked through the candidates, Adanth smacked his tail against a couple of legs, the ones just inside the radius of his reach. He stopped the moment Raylanne looked back at him, trotted merrily up so they could walk side by side. When they reached the person who took down the names, she announced them clearly before moving off to the feeding tables.

---------

Millieth took interest in the eggs as soon as they began to hatch, watching as the first of the babies appeared on the sands. Rumbling quietly to herself she cast out a line to Kaegan. It looks like the Mutation genes have been passed on to the grandlittles. Perhaps, or perhaps this one is just small to start. Nothing else seems abnormal. There was no response other than a flicker of agreement. They would just have to see.

Kai on the other hand lept off of his mother's lap to climb up near the railing and lean through the slats to see. "Look Cadie, Babies! Look that one is tiny! Its cute!" Kai had no problem with baby dragons, they didn't register as a threat with him. "I wish I could pet them!" It was then he noticed Er'ani, giving him a little wave before bouncing excitedly.

----

E'rro arrived to the hatching after the Barbarian Blue had hatched, making it in time to help Erilena with the candidates who had gotten cut deeper than the others. Not a bad start to a hatching, at least not even close to the worst he'd seen. Once he was done, the Brownrider gave the Greenrider a wave before taking up a position opposite of Eri. That way they could cover both sides of the hatching sands.

Meanwhile Ismaroth took up the dragon viewing space that was on Feyrianth's opposite side, allowing him to see two of his favorite dragons as well as the hatching arena. He brushed their minds in greeting as he rumbled happily and gave the Green some more room on his side.

[Ivy]

Ivy:
Training was over and she moved with the group for a short time before turning to head towards the Wherhandler apartments as per usual. She was just as sweaty as the other Candidates but she knew Cainith was a fairly early riser and figured she could just get cleaned up at changed at his place - or that had been the plan before she heard the humming. Perses hissed in her ear as his tail tightened more around her neck, Eros appeared in the air above her and did not look all too pleased either before he gave in and began humming along with the other dracnoids of the Weyr. Halfway to the apartments already Ivy stopped and quickly turned, losing her balance in a patch of loose dirt she slid and fell. "Shards!"

Cursing at her own clumsiness, which led to a nice sized cut on her leg she stood and ran towards the barracks as best as her now wounded leg allowed. Rushing past the others, catching Cairenn's 'good luck' she grabbed her robes and made her way to the wash rooms. Olivia passed by on her way out as Ivy slipped in, stripping her clothes quickly and without much grace she grabbed a small towel and wiped up as much of the blood on her leg as she could. Another towel was used to wash her face and parts of her body with a small amount of sweetsand before she dunked her head in a bucket of warm water and ran her fingers through it. Dripping everywhere and not fully clean she quickly toweled herself dry and found something to wrap her leg in. Hobbling around the wash room naked and bleeding from her leg still she was quite the sight should anyone walk in.

Once sure she wouldn't bleed all over the pristinely white robes she pulled them on over her head and smoothed them out. Rushing back to her bunk she grabbed some sandals and pulled them on before hurrying out after the other Candidates. She managed to wiggle past some of the others to place herself near the middle of the line. As they waited outside the Sands she worked her fingers through her hair trying to get it to look somewhat decent, the dampness from her long red locks wetting down the shoulders of her robe. Somehow she prefered the late night hatchings to this one, though surely for most the Weyr this would be more convienent.

They were motioned in and she held her breath as she walked over the threshold into the hot Sands, and she immediately wondered why she had bothered cleaning up when after a few moments on the Sands she felt herself begin to sweat again. A polite bow was given to Nitrath - as it had been given to so many other Golds before her the other times Ivy had stood - and a soft 'thank you' was repeated after the girls in front of her. She shuffled to stand on one side of the Sands with the other girls, glancing over them. Smiling at Saphor she looked to the Stands to see if she could find the other Candidate's daughter. Catching Phaiden's eye she waved to the girl before looking over the others in the Stands and seeing Cainith. Bottle of wine in hand she rolled her eyes to him but her smile widened. She appreciated his faith in her, even if she was losing faith in herself. Even Rollhead was being absolutely positive - which was good since beneath her robes on her arm Perses was curled up and absolutely sending her nothing but negativity. Looking back to the Sands she eyed the eggs, some of them were nice while others were... well kind of ugly. She wondered what would come from them as she watched them move about - but she didn't have to wonder long as they suddenly sprang to life. First one forearm was visible then not, then a... yellow tail? Could that be a Gold? Heart leapt into her throat for a moment before she calmed herself down, reminding herself she'd been passed over so many times before. Even if it was a Gold it wouldn't want her. Then came the Blue in a flurry of shards - one hit her ankle and cut it slightly. Great, just what she needed! Another injury to add on top of the first one. The Blue wandered around and she shrank back when he got close, she wasn't stupid and knew babies weren't very coordinated.

She watched as he seemed to choose his bonded, a female Candidate. Then her blue-green eyes turned back to the clutch and watched it carefully. Waiting to see what was to come.
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Ruliana:
Amalath hummed lightly from her spot on the ledge, causing Ruliana to pause a moment. Azrain's ears perked up and he yipped as Poe unravelled himself from one of the rafters to join in the humming as well. "It is about that time I suppose..." Ruliana said mostly to herself, though Azrain's eyes trained on her and his tail wagged as if in agreement.

Standing up she held out an arm for Poe - the Blue loved hatchings almost as much as her Green did. Making his way down to his bonded he wrapped around her arm, still humming. Amalath hesitated until her rider assured her she could make it to the Sands herself and then the Green was off to find a place so she could watch the hatching. Looking over her outfit she was glad she often kept herself rather well dressed - it meant she wouldn't need to waste time changing. Smoothing out the front of her shirt and then messing a bit with the waist of her skirt she slid her feet into a pair of dainty but practical sandals and then headed out the door, giving Azrain a very firm "STAY" as she did.

The trip to the Hatching Grounds was uneventful, she did get pushed by a few other far more eager riders but she dismissed it. Making her way in she looked around the Stands until she saw who she was looking for. Stepping past and around people as they began to fill the seats she smiled and held out her hand for Heimdell to sniff before taking a seat next to Samael, "You look worried. Or nervous, I can't quite tell."

Even as she spoke to the boy she looked around to see if M'ta and the kids might show up - she wanted the kids to meet her friend.

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Roselle:
Outside of the dome covered Weyr a sleek Green body weaved in and out amongst the treetops, narrowly avoiding collision numerous times. Her rider clung to her riding straps and kept herself pressed down against the dragon, trusting her not to get them killed. Suddenly Tserieth pulled up and cleared the trees, her speed dropping drastically as she did so. She started towards the Weyr without a word to her rider, and Roselle nudged her side with a foot.

Where do you think you're going? We aren't done!

No reply was given, just a soft hum that Roselle felt more than she heard. Eyes widened briefly and then she understood - Nitrath's clutch was hatching! The pair had not strayed too far from Selenitas because they were not really supposed to be out of the Weyr, but they were a good distance away still. Shards! Cairenn would never forgive her if they didn't make it in time to see her Impress! Without so much as a word between them, suddenly Tserieth blinked between and they reappeared inside the Weyr's dome. A steep dive and then pulling up and they were on the ground, Roselle ripping herself from the straps to dismount.

Patting Tserieth's side in thanks Roselle pulled off her riding gloves, helm, and goggles. She'd gone all out for this practice run because of the risks she and her Green had been taking. Pulling off her jacket as she made it into the Stands she looked down until she saw her raven haired niece. Waving she grinned and then took a seat, not giving much mind as to who it was she was sitting next to - attention focused on Cairenn now, and the eggs. She held her breath as the first few began to crack, one nearly exploding, and hatchlings were brought into view. One appeared to be a dull Green... a Gold? Maybe a light Bronze... And a Blue. Roselle wasn't fond of the Blue and eyed it as it wandered about. Biting on her lip she eyed Cairenn and willed her to move out of the beast's way when it came near. They would have gone over all of this during lessons wouldn't they? Hopefully someone had warned her niece about baby dragons and the possibility of being mauled... since Roselle had failed to do so.