It's Quite an Elaborate Scheme (Dael's Clutch)

[Lotty]

Had Quintrell finished his prank, then Mi'rah very well would have managed to fall over. He wasn't the most coordinated man sometimes, and considering he was very, very oblivious to the thief's little maneuvers on his shoes then an accident was practically waiting to happen, but fortunately the bronzerider did have a degree of luck. Trell managed to bond to a particularly surly and pompous bronze mandyr and thus the Bendenite was off the hook; noticing that his laces were untied when the before mentioned mandyr pranced past his feet and to the boy down below him. What he was doing down there Mi'rah didn't want to know, and so he resumed watching the hatching...one eye on Raebeli's darter who was flapping around somewhere. He hid rather well he must say.

Cap'n meanwhile was upset! His little birdy dinner flew to the protection of a dragon and the stupid bronze worm was still yelling jibberish. He screeched indignantly from above, a ringing cras cras sound before he flapped down towards Showoff to squawk one last time, and abuse the creature with a false attack; talons out and ready to grab him up before pulling back and carrying on and out of the chamber. He was going to go fetch his Raelove and see what was taking her so long, besides, he didn't sign up for babysitting, Mi'rah was on his own now.

By now however, Mi'rah wasn't going to really leave. It was interesting watching these things hatch. They all had big personalities, and since none of them seemed too concerned with him, he nearly forgot he was even at risk of Impressing to one. There was a slight lull in the hatching, just the fresh brown one looking around, so the man found that a good time to tie his laces up before he completely forgot about them and tripped over them later. He knelt down and went about tying his boots up and humming some childrens rhyme about bunny ears or something...

[Rowana]

T'ke had seen enough and was even now inching further away from the eggs. The hatchlings didn't seem to care if people had food after all. Not until after they had picked them. If one of them got out this far, he was in trouble. His leg still hurt though, so walking was going to be a problem. Garaeth. We should go now, before Akyo tries again. he suggested nervously, clearing not concerned with the darter in the least.

Garaeth was watching the hatching with fascination. Akyo was still glaring at him. Akyo is fine. It would be rude to leave now. he pointed out brightly. I don't care! T'ke sounded both angry and scared at once. I do NOT want a salamandyr, he repeated We need to go before one finds me! Garaeth snorted. You worry too much, T'ke-mine. I want to watch the hatching. T'ke glared up at him, but Garaeth's eyes just sparkled with amusement. He was enjoying this. And he hoped T'ke would impress one. He liked his little kin. T'ke sighed, looking back at the eggs. At least from here, one wasn't likely to come with all the others in the way.

[ace]

Mina watched with interest as more salamanders hatched. Kunth, who disliked any kind of argument or fight, even with little useless squiggle lizards, was staying far away from the clutch, swinging her head back and forth in distress. Don't let them kill you Minamine! Mina sighed; she realized Kunth was actually scared for her rider's life. Shaking her head Mina looked down at the squabbling salamanders, they were no bigger than her hand. I doubt they could kill me love, they are so tiny!

The weyrling looked back at the clutch just in time to see a blue salamander throw himself at a bronze, and promptly faceplant on the sand. Holding back a chuckle, the girl watched as other salamanders chose their bonded. Elated by their success, Mina went back to watching the clutch, completely oblivious to the presence of the blue that had captured her attention earlier. Hategryhategryhategry! Mina looked down at her foot in surprise, seeing a little blue 'mander curled up on top of her boot. With disbelief, Mina picked up the blue gently, and retreated a short distance to where Kunth joined her.

The salamander ravenously ate the food it was offered, while Mina examined it. It seemed to have a perfect body strcuture, albeit the lengthy tail that was curled around her ring finger. It seemed unharmed from it's brazen atempt to attack the bronze. Stupidbutt stupid go go DIE! The blue salamander's eyes were whirling in red, looking positivly dangerous. He had picked the thoughts out of it's bonded's mind. Smiling, Mina said, "You need a name."

Kunth's eyes were whirling in distress. How come she could feel the little killer's thoughts in her chosen's mind. The stupid lizard would trick Mina into trusting it, and then eat her while she was asleep. No, Kunth would not have it. When Mina commented on the need for a name, Kunth offered one without missing a beat. What about chair? Mina looked curiously at her dragon. "That's an odd name." Not really, Kunth said deviously, I plan to sit on the squiggle lizard before it kills you. It's for your own good you know. Mina's eyes narrowed and she admonished Kunth angrilly. "You'll do nothing of the sort!"

Turning back to her new salamander, she watched him puff up his turquoise frill, and parade around her hand. Mina felt the salamander's emotions and was amused to the condescending thoughts he sent toward the bronze. Nodding to herself, Mina exclaimed with delight, "Your name shall be ego!" NomenameEgo no namemyme chair namemyname! The little salamander sent the command loudly to Mina. "What?!" Turning around so fast that she unbalanced the salamander in her hand causing him to dig his razor sharp claws into her paws in alarm, Mina looked at Kunth who seemed to have warmed marginally to the new addition to their little family, and was now looking very snug indeed. Hmm, maybe this lizard has better taste than I thought. He obviously prefers my name to yours. He might be ok... as long as he doesn't hurt you. Looking at the little blue that was struggling to regain balance, Kunth said in a slightly amused tone I dub you chair.

CHAIRNAMEMY CHAIR CHAIR! Good green green name me.

"Chair." Just wonderful.

(BUHAHAHA, I love chair, and I love Karma. haha, I'm going to have lots of fun with Kunth and Chair. Look out Mina > )

[kysseh]

K'von had caught sight of a familiar face among the observers, and the brownrider did his most subtle version of inching over to say hello. It was not that he enjoyed Aliscia's company; matter of fact, the greenrider scared him sometimes, for a variety of reasons he was not willing to explore. His own mind bothered him at times, and letting it go down dark roads was all around a bad idea. But... the greenrider was appealing. Why? She was holding kids, and K'von adored little things. Since she seemed to have her arms full of two of them, perhaps he could momentarily relieve her of one. Yes, this was a good idea. It would keep him from staring nervously at the hatching salamandyr eggs, at least.

"I promise not to run off with her," was his only mode of greeting, and the man extended one arm towards Reiscia as an obvious indication of what he meant. The response he got was a single raised eyebrow, and K'von knew the greenrider was eyeing him over cautiously. They had known each other a long, long time, Aliscia and K'von, though good friends, they were not. Still, he had seen her babies on occasion, and he had even held the little girl one before. She liked him; he wasn't sure why. "Pleeeeease?"

Perhaps it was Silas quivering nervously that decided her, but Aliscia relented, knowing enough of the former Benden rider to know he wouldn't be a problem with Reiscia. He was trustworthy enough, even if childish. As soon as she moved to offer her daughter to the man, Reiscia fairly scrambled right out of her arms and into K'von's, settling happily on the man's hip and grasping his shirt with both tiny fists. So high up here... she could see everything. The man's arm curled around her for support, but it was largely unnecessary. The girl had no intention of letting go of her perch for the moment, especially when Nia was licking her ears and her mother was a mere hand-grab away. Oh, yes. Life was good.

While Aliscia took the opportunity to move Silas from her back to her chest, murmuring soft comforts to the little boy, K'von and Reiscia started intently at the clutch. The same bit of movement had caught both gazes, and though K'von looked on with alarm as a little green something seemed to make a show of herself in the clutch, Reiscia was jubilant. "Pwetteeeeee," she whispered conspiratorially to K'von, wriggling gleefully. "Pwettee!" Her eyes only grew wider as the tiny green flared her frill and then moved away from the hatching egg. The girl's head tilted, near-gold eyes tracking the motion of the green towards them. It was... coming to them, the pretty? Oh, she liked this very much!

K'von would have liked to have thought that his mental flare of panic was what scared the green off, but no, her course seemed to have been destined for the petite woman next to him all along. Before Aliscia could realize what was going on, a little something had crawled right up her pant leg and across Silas's arm, leaving not a single clawmark behind. She opened her mouth to protest and then snapped it shut when Silas gave a quiet giggle, tickled by the little 'mandyr feet as the creature crawled onto his head. BlueOurs best Aliscia heard the creature announce, staring straight into her face. Oh.... no...

"Congrats. It's a.... I dunno. Want meat?" K'von asked ever-so-cheerfully, earning himself a glare in the process. He held out the bowl of meat and was unsurprised when the greenrider snatched it. "What's her name?"

UglyNotOurs go. Not like. was the proclamation following that, and Aliscia was sure that K'von could not hear her new little pet's scorn of him. She wanted to offer the little creature food directly, for the gnawing feeling of hunger in her head was surely emanating from the salamandyr and not from a highly-amused Tanith. However, her hands were somewhat full, one with the bowl and one with Silas. "My hands are a little full," she commented, kissing Silas's forehead and staring cross-eyed at the little beast atop his head. Not see. was the immediate response, and while the little creature crawled carefully down Silas's head and across Aliscia's torso to plop herself down in the bowl of food, Aliscia became aware that the creature had just exhibited sarcasm. Did salamandyrs do that?

"Pwettee!" Reiscia was declaring, leaning over in K'von's grasp to get a better look at their new family member. "Pwettee gwee!" GoldOurs smart. was the response, and Aliscia resisted the urge to groan aloud, aware of K'von's snickers. What a headache. "You are such a snot,"she informed the salamandyr, glaring at the sudden wave of amusement from the creature. Intelligent, wasn't it? Snot is. BlueOurs best, not GoldOurs. UglyNotOurs. came the response, and Aliscia figured that was that. She sighed.

"Snot, it is."

[neeuqtar]

Uu'n waited for any response from K'lir--nothing. He made a slight face, drooping a bit internally. Apparently K'lir's conversation was completely engrossing. I thought you said he wanted me to know he was here?

Mmm, was Adith's noncommittal response. The dragon was busy with his duty as "Clutchmother," since Uu'n was apparently too engrossed with Baoth's to pay attention to the mayhem going on all around him. Particularly the hungry little beasties flapping around, their beady little eyes marking out salamandyrs as snacks. He glanced over to the red one, which Baoth appeared to be stalking, and looked back in time to see its owner's bow. The blue dragon inclined his head in response; Daeluunya and Uu'n certainly weren't going to.

But it was Dael, not Adith, who saw the eagle-bird dropping down. scrabbling to the top of her perch, the little gold reared and shrieked, a high-pitched, piercing sound at the edge of a human's hearing... but well within a bird's--or a dragon's. That was all the warning the creature would get: Dael had called in the calvary.

Within moments of Dael's warning, Adith reared, his flaring wings spraying sand and his hind toes spreading for purchase in the uncertain ground as he clawed the air for purchase he wouldn't get. With a whine of exhaled air, the dragon snapped with trained accuracy. Adith could snatch a wild feline mid-leap in the dark of the night; a bird was hardly more troublesome. And the blue dragon was not aiming to scare the creature. Dael had already given one a chance, and he was not about to allow the much larger version of the irksome red feathery beast harm the Clutch.

Uu'n was taken completely by surprise. He held onto his grip on the riding straps for one moment of red-hot pain before his fingers slipped and he was flung backwards, narrowly missing the stone of the Stands to slam into the burning Sands. His vision went black and he gasped helplessly for air, the wind completely knocked from him. Adith didn't even seem to notice.

((PS if Adith catches Cap'n, he won't eat him. just spit him into the sand and be a jerk))

((also crap reply))

[glamourie]

The startled scream of fury that escaped Showoff could only be described as blood curdling. He flared his wings and proceeded to jump around the ground, watching the hideous avian with rage. Someone who knew him well might have noticed a slight paling of his color – obviously from fear – but for the most part, he looked exceedingly plain. Dull, even. The glimmer of his hide had faded in slight fear. Still he didn’t back down, obviously angry for the defense of his babies. He was fortunately aided by a high pitched sound from somewhere behind him and the furious-shaking bronze turned to look back at Dael gratefully before frilling at the avian again. His eyes whirled bloody reds and he leapt off the knife-perch to scramble over to Dael’s. Dael and the ugly Blue NotHis could take care of the clutch for the moment, Dael’s was in trouuuuble! He leapt over onto Uu’n’s shoulder, nosing at the winded bluerider with his frill flared wide; that was quite the fall without wings to glide on, was he okay? Mustn’t let Dael’s ugly die, he was useful. It was all the Featherduster’s fault; if he hadn’t come onto the Sands, then Dael’s ugly wouldn’t have gone splat. Though, the Blue Ugly should have known better than to send His flying too. Pffffft. Why was he the only one with smart Stupids? Showoff leaned down and nipped the end of Uu’n’s nose in an attempt to revive him. Ugly Dael’s no die. His worry portrayed to K’lir, who turned to look – noticing the actual chaos for the first time since his arrival.

Whirling around, K’lir looked over the Sands and spotted Uu’n lying on the ground in the sand. Any response that Meira might have had was cut off as he seized the girl’s arm (somewhat roughly, but oh well – he wasn’t trying to be violent) and pulled her to her feet. “Time to play healer, goldrider,” he said without looking at her. He pulled her forward and then threw himself over the front railing of the stands with an agility that would have been impressive if one ignored that he was a greenrider before impressing Baoth. He was used to jumping off of things at a regular pace. His boots hit the sand with a slight squish and he ran along the outside, obviously worried; he didn’t look back to make sure that Meira was following but of course she would be. After all, Uu’n had just gone tumbling from dragonback to hit the scalding Sands – who knew what kind of injuries he’d possess and Meira was a healer. Surely she’d want to help him?

The brown in the sands rolled over onto his stomach, one leg sprawled out awkwardly, and he eyed the different people around him. The wonder and interest quickly turned to ire and disappointment as he flared his wings and gathered himself up into proper posture. His chin jutted up and he flared his wings repeatedly. Were any of them supposed to be worth his while? Hmm. The brown moved around to nudge his clutchsiblings’ eggs thoughtfully, ignoring the dragons and chaos all around him. He finally settled for actively climbing onto the Black Widow Egg, his wings and frill spreading out to show off. He was a lightly colored brown and his appearance was impossible to mistake on the egg. It might have been on the smaller side but – look, look. Wasn’t he fabulous? Ignore the others. Pay attention to him.

Adith’s movements made the green in the Sands freeze, her eyes whirling warningly. Her gaze also followed Uu’n’s tumbling form before she silkily said to Adith, I believe you may have just turned yours into a fleshspot on the ground, Adith.

Her gaze turned up and she flared her wings before eyeing Garaeth seriously. Her head ducked down and then the green took off running across the Stands. All at once, she flung herself forward toward the blue, aiming for the Darter on his head. Her wings flared to propel her forward – she’d either collide badly with the blue, or manage to take the darter off his head. Either or really.

On the Sands, the Belladonna Brown turned to see a flying green dragon and actively squeaked. His claws raked the exterior of his egg perch and he fell backwards to collide viciously into the Black Widow Egg. He tumbled backwards, creating deep gashes in the surface as his body hit the Dart Frog Egg with enough force to crack it. Spacing, the Belladonna Brown whirled about and managed to climb back to his feet as both of the eggs he’d damaged started to hatch simultaneously. He jumped, nervous, and then bolted away from the eggs quickly with a guilty look on his face that very quickly said I didn’t do it. In a remarkable imitation of his blue clutchbrother, he dove underneath the shattered remnants of his shell, not in fright but for defense, his head peeking out to watch the two eggs in interest. Well he’d fight them both, if it came to that, and he’d win. He would.

The two breaking eggs spilled out a mess of shells and tangled limbs, some of which were green and some of which were blue. Squeaking and squawking escaped the two salamandyrs before a dark green hatchling managed to pull herself free. She was nearly black in coloration and on the smaller side, but not unattractively so; the slick gleam of her egg goop was unmistakable. Her wings flapped to dry and she leaned down to groom away some of the egg slime from her hide before turning to look at her clutchbrother. The Black Widow Green eyed him tempestuously before throwing her nose back in a show of disinterest. He was so not worth her attention. Hmm, her egg was pretty. She sniffed and then stood up before actually pouncing onto the Dart Frog Blue. She raked her claws over his back roughly enough to draw little needlepoints of ichor. How dare he hatch with her? She blamed him for rushing her out of her shell and she flicked her tail in the blue’s face before stalking away in agitation. Hmph. She was better than him. Stupid egg-hatching-blue. He could wait his turn.

The slight scratches down the Dart Frog Blue’s back made him freeze; he’d really only been laying on the ground trying to get his bearings but… he liked that. His head lifted and he bounced to his feet before actively following the Black Widow Green as she started through the crowd in search of someone who had food and wasn’t entirely unappealing. Pretty green, pretty green – would she do it again if he asked her nicely…?

Ignoring her clutchbrother, the Black Widow Green (still oblivious to the presence of the Belladonna Brown who was watching her in fascination) stalked forward. She wove through the crowd of people at a leisurely pace, ignoring everyone outwardly. One of them had to be worthy of her attention. At least one. Why were they all so pathetic?

Back in the nest, while the three hatched salamandyrs went about their business, the Brown Recluse Egg crumbled away to reveal a skittish, almost shy little green who hatched and immediately bolted away from the clutch. She actually galloped across the Sands, right past an angry-looking Black Widow Green, before leaping onto the knee of a boy sitting in the scalding sands. Her frill flared and she dove under his shirt before meekly asking, Food, please? Food? She didn’t want any of the others to pay attention to her, but he was special, Hers was. She’d known him from the moment she came out of her shell. Why’d he have to be so far away though?

Disgusted, the Black Widow Green watched her clutchsister before hissing. Then she looked over her shoulder at the Dart Frog Blue (see, she’d known he was there all along) to command, Better, me. Better. Yes?

Love, was the only response of the still half-bleeding blue, but it was acceptable enough.

The Black Widow Green thrust her nose into the air defiantly and then she scampered up to… to an acceptable person. She glanced up at F’ur thoughtfully before hissing at the salamandyr in his arms. Pathetic. He was acceptable, but that one wasn’t. Shrilly twitching her tail, she skulked around him before throwing herself onto F’lix’s pant leg. She scurried up his side carefully before coming to sit on his shoulder, her tail weaving around her body. One claw came up and she daintily licked it before stating plainly, Leave, no. Feed, yes. Now. The simple command was unmistakable and she didn’t look at F’lix’s face – she didn’t need to. He’d be hers whether he liked it or not and if he didn’t, well, she’d make his life a nightmare. To the blue she’d ‘adopted’, she said boldly, Ours, now. Slavemine.

Love, the Dart Frog Blue repeated, then he scurried up F’lix’s leg opposite his clutchsister. He scampered up the bluerider’s torso before perching on his opposite shoulder. He leaned his head around before purring to the Black Widow Green; he liked her, he did. Slaveours?

SlaveMINE. You slave. Mine. Best me. And that was that, really. She’d share with him because he was her slave, but let there be no mistaking: F’lix was Hers before anyone else’s. So sayeth the Black Widow Green.

---

01. Rattlesnake Egg Impressed: Green Aliene to T'san
02. Black Widow Egg Impressed: Green ? to F'lix
03. Dart Frog Egg Impressed: Blue ? to F'lix
04. Oleander Egg Impressed: Green Snot to Aliscia
05. Jellyfish Egg Impressed: Blue Terror to F'ur
06. Scorpion Egg Impressed: Bronze ? to Quintrell
07. Brown Recluse Egg Impressed: Green ? to T'ke
08. Gila Monster Egg
09. Belladonna Egg Hatched: Brown, hiding under his egg observing
10. Cobra Egg
11. Deathstalker Egg Impressed: Blue Chair to Mina
12. Lionfish Egg

[glamourie]

Brown Recluse Green

Name:
Age: Hatchling
Color: Green #344B39
Gender: Female
Based Off Of: Kalina
Looks To: T'ke

Physical Description: This green is unusually… tall, for a salamandyr, with a more pronounced body than is normal for her species. But the height really is what stands out: each of her legs is long enough to seem bizarre for a creature of her size, definitely disproportionate. Her wings are also long for her body, with the ends brushing the ground when she keeps them folded at her sides, pretty much regardless of what kind of posture she holds, she’s bound to look unusual. Her length is not all that impressive either, which goes to make her height all the more unusual, and to compensate she may end up crouching from time to time. There are some advantages to this height: she’s exceptionally fast on the ground, if slightly less graceful than her green sisters, though like most salamandyrs, she actually cannot fly. What she can do is spread her frill to umbrella down from high locations, because her frill is on the massive side when displayed, though she prefers to simply hop from point A to point B to get wherever she wants to go. Much easier than embarrassing herself by doing a firelizard impression, right? Other than the legs and then wings, she’s proportioned well: neither fat, nor skinny, with the typical long and slender tail that makes her species stand out. If only she wasn’t so… leggy.

As far as coloration goes: she’s gray-green, quite plain, at least on first glance. The shade is enough to lean more to sickly shades than anything the other brilliant salamandyrs would behold, but looks can be deceiving. When caught by the light, the green sheen has an unusually sea-foam shade of brilliance that sparkles almost as if metallic. Interestingly, she lacks the spots that most of the smaller colored salamandyrs possess, instead having a very prominent marking that spreads over her entire back in a shade of ivy-leaf green: it starts at the base of her neck and spreads down to the base of her tail, twisting into a blotch that very distinctly resembles a violin. The same shade of green covers her entire frill, adding a splash of color to her otherwise stormy skin. She’s green – let there be no doubt as to that.

Personality: Around females, this salamandyr is extremely outgoing, energetic and friendly. She has a youthful naiveté that can be extremely endearing to those who spend much time around her. She’s independent and adventurous, prone to sneaking off on her own to explore the Weyr or hidden places. Getting into things (including trouble) is one of her favorite pastimes, and so it won’t be unusual for her to wander away from her mindmate for blocks of time – not because she’s not insanely fond of her chosen but because she has to know what the world around her is like. The kitchens? Excellent place to check out. The Creche? What’s that? Hatching Sands! Why’s everyone swarming there? Sneaking around and peeking into boxes, jars, rooms, or other locations where there’s something to examine. One of her favorite things to do is to talk other greens (firelizards or salamandyrs, it makes no difference) into exploring new things with her – new locations, secret places, the works. Sometimes she’ll even share these secrets with Hers! And it means a lot that Hers encourage her to enjoy herself and her independence, for her mindmate is her favorite person of all.

The weird thing though? Despite being quite cheerful and outgoing with other females, she’s extremely shy with males and will actively hide on her mindmate’s person any time she’s approached by a male of any species. Hiding under clothes and/or in hair is not uncommon and she can’t speak to males with any level of coherency. She’s normally quite eloquent, but – her competence goes down rapidly when approached by boys. Stammering one-word responses is not unusual, and those who know her might find this sudden shyness strange. It’s certainly not like her at all. She’s socially awkward with males as well, having a habit of blurting out the wrong sort of things to say without thinking things through, or sneaking around staring when they don’t know she’s there. ‘Stalker’ might be an accurate description of her when it comes to males she likes. She doesn’t mean to be, but she’s not very good at expressing herself face-to-face. Little gifts from a secret admirer is more her style.

She has a particular fondness for brightly colored creatures, and she favors firelizards over salamandyrs. She also likes the mysterious; beings that aren’t so easy to understand. Getting to know them is just like her adventures and she takes great pride in doing just that! No adventure is too great for her!

---

Black Widow Green

Name:
Age: Hatchling
Color: Green #143B00
Gender: Female
Based off of: K'lir
Looks To: F'lix

Physical Description: Size is no definition of power, as clearly indicated by this small, but very strong green salamandyr. She’s dinky. No way around it. Probably one of the smallest greens to ever hatch, but she’s got a subtle strength evident in each movement. Her body can appear quite bulky, but not in an unattractive way. She simply lacks the sinuous grace other salamandyrs have (but makes up for it in being able to pull things that even bronze salamandyrs couldn’t move). Her wings are small for her size, little more than an accessory to make herself appear bigger when need be; she’s definitely never going to be able to fly and gliding is mostly out of the question too. As far as her face shape is concerned, though, she’s definitely a pretty little creature; all feminine angles with a slightly longer snout and eyes large enough to be prominent without dominating her features. Her frill is on the larger side as well and compliments her body beautifully, almost making up for the muscle mass that, when she’s slouching, makes her appear almost circular -- for she has a bad habit of scrunching her entire body up into as much of a ball as possible. Her tail can usually be found curled around her body, rather than swaying around her in the fashion most of her kind exhibit. Small little cannon ball, she is, easy to overlook… easy to underestimate.

Her coloring is mind bogglingly dark; one might even think she’s black, except for the distinct green sheen that shows when she’s caught by light at exactly the right angle. Inky and slick, she is flawless darkness, and those who appreciate darker shades will no doubt find her lovely. However, bizarrely enough, her lower stomach has thousands of small spots, so tiny as to be easily overlooked, except for the shape that they form: that of an hour glass covering her entire abdomen, in a shade of green that could only be described as poisonous. It acts as a beacon, announcing Away, away, dangerous! to anything that beholds her. Interestingly enough, the inside of her frill is the very same shade of poisonous green, and when she flares it while standing on her hind legs, the frill meets up with the top of the hour glass to make it appear larger and more threatening. Dangerous indeed.

Personality: An ornery green, this one is. In fact, ‘ornery’ is probably not the right word, but it’s the most strong that most would use in her presence – she’s got a foul mouth and, unfortunately, she’ll have the worst habit of picking up as many bad words as she can from those around her. She has an inherent fondness for those who will teach her things that inevitably embarrass Hers, so naturally, she’ll spend as much time as she can around them. Aside from that, she’s very fond of bossing around anyone who happens to come in her way, and she makes no bones about shooting off her mouth to everyone. Rank, color, species, it means nothing to her and she’s utterly fearless. There’s no sense threatening her as the more responsive people are to her behavior, the more she does it; she gets an unholy joy out of annoying those around her, and baiting responses. This is one salamandyr who couldn’t care less what is thought of her (the exception being with Hers). Opinions aren’t worth getting too fussed about, obviously. Everyone has one, and most disagree with what she believes anyway.

She’s also best termed under the phrase ‘pleasure seeking.’ Indeed, this salamandyr is quite the little hedonist… whether she picks a permanent mate or not, she’ll flirt with males of every species, and some females, just because she can. It doesn’t matter much to her whether or not she should. Her flirting is not eloquent or ‘neat’ in any way though – she’s ridiculously blunt, prone to just claiming things as hers and pouncing them before licking. They’re Hers, you see, and that means she can do whatever she wants with them. Usually in mating she’ll be faithful… at least, to other salamandyrs. Usually.

As far as treatment of Hers goes, she’s downright devious. She takes a perverse delight in embarrassing Hers deliberately, but that doesn’t mean she’s anything short of defensive and loving; she’ll protect Hers from any and everyone who messes with him, regardless of whether or not they’re right. She isn’t really prone to jealousy though – she’s gorgeous, so why should Hers put any before her? And she’s the only one allowed to give Hers static on anything (which she does quite regularly). Anything that irritates hers will be hunted down with a vindictiveness that is pure female – and while she might not be the smartest, most devious salamandyr ever to hatch, what she does happen to be is strong. She’s not above literally dragging another creature around (flitter or salamandyr alike) and throwing them at things to prove a point. Her fury is one to not be tested. Hers is Her torment-thing, no one else’s!

---

Dart Frog Blue

Name:
Age: Hatchling
Color: Blue #26466D
Gender: Male
Based Off Of: Uu'n
Looks To: F'lix

Physical Description: This blue is small and compact. Thin to the point of emaciation when he first Hatches, the ribby salamandyr will quickly put on muscle, turning into a wiry creature with little fat, every muscle defined and moving smoothly under his hide. His limbs are short, though not spindly—merely in proportion with his slim body and overall small size. The most impressive part about his lithe form is his back, which is more definitively muscled than the rest of his body. Not only does this band of muscle down his backbone allow him almost insane flexibility, but he can rear on hindclaw-tip, balancing with his powerfully muscled tail and frilling defiantly. That same tail is just about prehensile, and he can grip and carry objects using his tail with ease, and even crack it with cruel accuracy like a whip. Unfortunately for him, the muscling makes his tail especially hard to detach, and he can get captured and picked up by his tail, unlike most 'mandyrs. His back muscle also gives him superior flight, for a blue: though his wings are small, he can hold them stiffly out at full stretch with impressive endurance, gliding much like a hang-glider would. So long as he has a place to leap off of and a bit of tailwind, he can (and will), with effort, participate in fire-lizard Flights... and even win, though the time spent mating will be a good deal less than if one of his large-winged and generally larger cousins had captured the prize.

The base color of this blue is a very clean slate blue. He is naturally countershaded, with a darker hue of slate on his back, particularly along his backbone, and a paler, almost grey version on his stomach. Narrow streaks of a very pale gray tinged with blue mark his hide here and there, looking like random slash marks along his torso and limbs, almost impossible to see on his stomach. The most impressive is a so-called “lightning blaze” streaking up from the right side tip of his muzzle and across his left eye. Oddly enough, this blaze has marked the eye itself, leaving a grey-white streak on the facets which never change color. The blue is obviously not vision-impaired, but it's unusual to say the least. His foretoes are extremely dark, with jet-black nails; his right hind is heavily marked with gray and has all five nails white, while the left hind bears only one grey toe (and an accompanying white nail), with the rest of the nails black. His frill is unobtrusive in color... though not in shape. Almost no membrane resides on those frill spines, and instead he has a ring of spines which he can wave and move with eerie precision.

Personality: How to describe this salamandyr in three words? Perhaps the best fit would be “freaky sadomasochistic polygamist.” For this blue is very, very different from your average salamandyr. With very little attention to personal safety, he's quite liable to get himself into some pretty tight scrapes—though he has a bit of luck to him, and is quite likely to escape said situations without any mortal wounds. And, to be honest, he likes it that way. There's just something about danger and, yes, pain, which excites this blue. He'll quite willingly throw himself into the fray without a thought for those who may or may not care about him, and be completely disdainful of those who move with an eye for coming out alive and unharmed. His “soft side” involves biting and getting held down forcefully, and he will express affection both by being bitten and by letting himself get bitten (and even putting himself in the way of sharp fangs). Without a doubt, this blue will collect a fine amount of tiny scars from salamandyr and fire-lizard fangs!

His romantic preferences are also unlike just about every other salamandyr ever Hatched. Unlike his monogamous relatives, this blue is quite willing to claim multiple mates. Indeed, he finds it strange that salamandyrs don't do so more often. However, this polygamy isn't anything like fire-lizard Flights—his affections, once planted, are there to stay. First off, any creature belonging to his Bonded is his mate. Any of them. Including dragons, felines, flitters... He is quite willing to claim salamandyrs and fire-lizards alike as mates—and his Bonded had better watch out if they get a crush on another human. If they lack a smaller creature to Chase, he will simply claim their dragon or wher as his mate. And if they lack a Bonded of any sort? He'll just claim the person themself as his mate, and do his darned best to woo them for his person! As this usually involves biting and theft, it's likely his attempt will fail. Horribly. And freakishly enough, this blue is equally delighted to Chase... as to Run. Though blue salamandyrs don't usually Run, this particular blue never got that memo, and when the mood takes him, will simply launch into an unanticipated Run with as much force as a green salamandyr. And critters beware: he's quite bisexual, and quite prone to gifts of stolen objects (usually carried off in his tail) and would really rather you bit him than lick him...

[Requiem]

F'ur shivered at the cold sweat that left his skin moist, another odd sensation. Well...this would be...interesting. He glanced down at the tiny little thing pensively. How could something so small, so seemingly insignificant, contain within itself so much potential for trouble? The bluerider wasn't stupid by any means. Even when the creature was fainted, the distance of the mind mildly distressed him. He'd have to protect the thing. F'ur suppressed a sigh. Well, he'd gotten exactly what he wanted, hadn't he? The man moved toward F'lix, who looked like he was attempting to push through the crowd. That wouldn't do.

Normally he wouldn't have noticed the little green mandyr coming his way with her odd little manservant or whatever that blue was, but it suddenly became very important not to accidentally crush one of these things. He stopped, glancing down at her curiously as she regarded him. F'ur was relieved at the hiss. One...was going to be more than enough. Terror stirred, curling tightly in his palm and trembling. So much going on and the big flying shadow and the screeches. 'Hungry. You should be hungry, shouldn't you?'

F'ur glanced up at the passing shadows nervously, running a hand through his hair. Distract it. Distract it, or he'd be ducking behind someone in a second, he just knew it. Terror uncurled slightly. Food? Yes, yes, he was hungry, but what if the others tried to steal? "They won't. You can hide where they can't see you. I've got food in my pocket." Terror pondered that for a moment. Well...he felt safer where he could see all the nasty things that might be coming to get him, but maybe just this once. He was rather hungry.

The blue mandyr scurried into F'ur's pocket, nibbling at the food and trying to ignore the fact that he couldn't see.

F'ur's triumphant smile looked slightly flat as he grinned at F'lix. "That's where curiosity gets you." Fighting the idea that he couldn't see and at any moment something nasty was going to try to steal his food from him, and then there might be scary, scary blood, his anxiousness only manifested in a queer shifting from one foot to the other. "I'm reaching down there now, just me," he muttered to the mandyr. It helped a little. If you counted not fainting helping, but Terror still hissed and flailed, and F'ur visibly jumped. His eyes narrowed.

Fingers closing around some of the meat, he caught up F'lix's wrist and dropped it in. "You're supposed to feed them, now that they're yours," he commented, and the amusement was most definitely all F'ur.

[rii]

F'lix was very intent on leaving the sands, even elbowing aside an individual so he could get by them. Really, the former Bendenite was small and slender enough to weave his way out, but he wanted people to move–as such was his irritation, and he tended not to be the rational thinker when under the influence of his annoyance. Since F'lix had been wearing his leathers, he didn't feel the little lizards climbing up his sides. No mind was given until she sat on his shoulder, just the barest tinge of green to her dark hide; nearly blending in with his dyed leathers.

No. F'lix snapped his eyes away and rose his hand to swipe the green off of his shoulder, only he froze when he saw the blue perched on the opposite side. What the–!? Golden eyes widened and his motions became rigid. No. No. And No. He did not want them. Surely they were just using him as a standing post to get to other impression-potentials. Surely. The command to feed was ignored, so was the odd mingling of emotions swirling in his mind. F'lix would not accept it. Shoo pests, shoo!

Growling loudly, F'lix lowered his left hand (the side of the green.. ) and instead raise his right with intentions of flicking the blue away–because that action would be–oddly–acceptable. The blue was hers, after all, and he would come back. No other was better, thus he would return. Only F'lix didn't get the chance to do such as his right wrist was suddenly seized and meat forced into his grasp.

Good slavemine. Feed now. Again she licked at her claws, wholly unconcerned that F'lix did not want here there; or anywhere for that matter. Too bad. He didn't get to make that decision.

"Isn't curiosity suppose to get me killed?" F'lix snipped tersely at F'ur, golden eyes narrowing curiously as he examine the man's.. unusual shifting–then the jumping. Strange. The younger bluerider was torn between being amused.. concerned.. or just plain annoyed. He settled for the latter of the three options, as the green on his shoulder was contributing to that particular feeling. He was holding food, but hadn't fed her yet. Unacceptable. She made her displeasure known by slinking over, moving up the high collar of the riding jacket to reach up and claw at F'lix's jawline–procuring three tiny red spots from her sharp digits.

The blue shivered on the opposite shoulder, creeping low on his belly toward his dark clutchsister. He didn't have food to give her either, would she claw him too? Love.

A very queer expression crossed F'lix face, quickly followed with a venomous slitting of his eyes. These two were going to be the death of him. A piece of meat was handed to each mandyr just to make them shut up for a few seconds. The amusement in F'ur's tone didn't go unnoticed. "Thanks." He commented dryly, before frowning and giving a sad shake of his head. He didn't understand the man. Why did he have to be a jerk? This was not funny in the slightest bit. One mandyr sure.. he could maybe have tolerated that.. but.. two? No, no. He only had one–the blue he would not claim. That one belonged to the green.

Such pests. And sadly.. he couldn't just flick them off or squish them under foot. He felt that strong bonding within himself–a combination from both of the lizards–it, strangely, overpowered the one he held with Saboth. That one had been tarnished and damaged over the turns. He actually felt.. fond of the pair of annoyances.. how utterly unfair.

F'lix turned on heel, back to scowling, and headed out of the hatching grounds.

[Avu]

Meira had just opened her mouth to ask – something along the lines of what that one word Kahrelir had said before had been – when the shrieking from the Hatching Sands became much too loud just to be pure obnoxiousness. Surely. Even Ras wasn’t that loud, normally…she half-turned towards the Sands, closing her mouth, just in time to see Adith’s snap at the bigger of the two darters and his Rider’s graceless tumble off of his back; her eyes widened and she’d half-started to her feet out of instinct when a hand closed around her wrist and yanked her completely to her feet. Apparently K’lir was faster than she. A flicker of pain passed across her face before she actively tried to keep up with the greenrider’s pace, but she wasn’t going over the railing. She just wasn’t; it was too far a drop, there were stairs for a reason, and she’d be no help to anyone if she broke a leg or something. Catching herself on the railing, Meira turned and darted towards the stairs instead.

The heat of the Sands was primarily ignored. A mild discomfort, it was, but nothing horrible. Meira murmured an automatic ‘excuse me’ as she slid around one of the gathered people, opting for a more direct path to Uu’n and K’lir rather than following the outside barrier, and then dropped to her knees. Now the heat of the Sands was much more than just another little discomfort, but it was still ignored; one hand came up to touch Uu’n’s shoulder lightly. Showoff’s presence on the bluerider’s other side was mostly ignored; the thoughts that passed through her mind weren’t at all reassuring. On the upside, the bluerider seemed to be conscious. On the downside, he was lying on the Hatching Sands, which happened to be very hot, and currently, given that he was definitely winded, the extent of damage couldn’t be known immediately. Her left hand slid underneath Uu’n’s head, though she didn’t raise it but a centimeter above the Sands – just so he didn’t get burned.

“Don’t try to move,” she instructed, as firmly as she could. “Just breathe – don’t try to get up or anything – ” What’d they need? It really depended on how badly Uu’n had been hurt, and she couldn’t know without him telling her where he hurt or poking at him, and the latter was…not necessary, given that he was conscious. She swallowed and then shifted awkwardly to spare her knees the heat; she felt bad for making the bluerider stay there, but it would only be a moment till he could catch his breath. And…and her fingers felt like they had something wet on them. Warm, and not much, but – still probably blood. A scrape, then? Had he hit his head? She hadn’t really been able to follow it, but concussions…were not good.

Jingth’s eyes flashed, momentarily a flat white color before yellowish-green shades invaded it again. Hers was there, and Jingth had the utmost faith in Hers; Meira’d make it better. But a soft growl of annoyance still rumbled out of the young queen’s throat, both wings flipping like liquid gold over her back before settling again; her tail gave an odd little twisting flip, too. So annoying, those feathery things. She’d have done something about it had it not been covered by Adith and Baoth. Must they be there? Jingth had been quite happy to watch the Hatching proceed, she had, until they’d come in and started making such chaos. A warning grumble emerged from her throat and Jingth crawled forward on her belly, silently glancing at Dsoleth before she flipped her tail, inviting the brown to follow her if he wished or stay if he wished. Either way, she wouldn’t be remaining here anymore, not when the feathery nuisances were so much closer to Hers; if they didn’t go she would do something about them.

I come. The half-grown gold slunk along the outside of the Sands, not at all bothered by the heat, until she stopped a few yards away from Adith’s, Baoth’s, and Hers, sitting against the wall and curling her tail around her feet, eyes gleaming. Of course the nuisances can fly. So much easier if we could just step on them. she commented privately, annoyance lacing her voice. Humph.

[Rowana]

It was hard to say who was more surprised, Garaeth or Akyo. Both had been completely engrossed with the hatching below when the dark green dragon came flying at them. Garaeth gave an undignified squeak of surprise and reared up. Instead of Baoth coming at his head, she slammed into his chest. Garaeth tried to flare his wings to keep himself up, but momentum took over and he crashed ungainly onto his back. It was a very undignified, uncomfortable, and slightly painful position. His wings were stuck under him and it was hard to do anything about it with Baoth still in the way.

What did I do?! he wailed at her, his eyes flashing yellow. He was uncharacteristically upset and sad. No one had ever attacked him before. T'ke sometimes yelled at him, when he was upset, and one could hardly count the Bendan riders when he was a weyrling. But this was a Selenitas dragon! One of Hepaticath's clutch. He must have done something truly horrible to deserve this. He must be a very, very bad dragon. I am sorry! he begged. I will be sure not to do it again. If you tell me what it was. Then, maybe, you could get off me? he added hopefully.

Akyo, meanwhile, had taken flight the second he saw the dragon coming. He had had enough. Salamandyrs and larger avians were one thing, but dragons?! How was he supposed to contend with that? Even the blue giant couldn't protect him from such a monster, that was clear. Akyo flapped higher into the air and flew away from the hatching grounds, heading for home. Let the stupid human slaves have their worms. The would regret not letting him eat them later.

T'ke would have fallen over, if he hadn't already been on the ground. A rush of panicked feelings and pictures caused him to search frantically for his dragon. Garaeth! What is it? What's wrong? T'ke spotted him up in the stands, but, what was he doing on his back? Was that a green on top of him? It was hard to tell in the dark, it was a dark colored green if it was. Baoth attacked me! Garaeth cried. She hates me! I doubt she... T'ke didn't get to finish, because something was crawling up his knee.

Food, please? Food?

T'ke stared. It was a salamandyr. A tiny, ugly, grey-green salamandyr. It wasn't fair. He didn't want one. He never did. Why in all of Pern had it come to him. He didn't even have food! What should he do? The tiny mind was already invading his own, reminding him of impressing Garaeth. Stupid blue! This was his fault! No wait. It was Akyo's fault! When he found that darter he was going to wish he had sat on him in the egg! But first, what should he do? He wished he could just faint on cue. It had certainly solved the blue salamandyr's problems with greens.

Food? Please, food? she repeated hopefully. T'ke could feel her growing hunger and anxiety. Finally, he opened his mouth, and burted out. "Shard it! I don't have any food! Maybe you should pick someone else!" He immediately regretting it. It wasn't her fault really. She shrunk back at first from his tone, than perked slightly. Shard it? she cocked her head curiously. Shard it, food? "No, no, no," he said hurriedly. Great. Now he'd taught her how to swear, albeit slurred. "I'll go find you food, alright? Just don't say that."

Too late. Shard it! the little green was delighted with the new word. It was such fun! Hers was so clever! Shard! Shard! T'ke buried his face in his hands. Now what had he done. Resigning himself to his fate, he started to get to his feet. Might as well find Shard some food, now that he was stuck with her. Shard climbed up to his shoulder to keep a look out. She could smell delicious food. And look! Some of her green siblings were here! She started to greet them, but shrank back again, hiding in T'ke's hair. There were boys! Everywhere! Looking at her! Staring at her! She snuggled against his neck, whining her nerves and hunger.

T'ke shook his head. She was an odd one, that was certain. T'ke noticed one of the older riders give another some food before he left with two salamandyrs on his shoulders. He thought he recognized him, but he wasn't sure. He also thought he had already impressed one himself, but he couldn't see it. Maybe he was wrong. Nervously, T'ke limped over to F'ur. "I don't suppose you have more?" he asked tentatively, the way he always did when first meeting someone. "Sorry to bother you, but I didn't bring any." He didn't add that he hadn't actually thought he would need any. Shard cringed in his hair. More boys! Couldn't they talk to a girl instead?

[kat]

Ooc: sorry I'm late, I've been gone since last Thursday for my parent's 31st anniversary! >:

Some people had not heard about the Salamandyr clutch until far later than they'd have wanted. Some people included Talien.

After the wher hatching, where he'd been overlooked more times than he could have counted, he'd been feeling quite lonesome. All his friends amongst the candidates had bonded. He, however, had not. Instead of being upset about it, he'd just figured there was another wher meant for him in another clutch. Still, it did sting a little. He'd done so much preparation for the hatching. He'd done research outside the lessons. He'd chatted with wherhandlers and met whers and even helped bathe one. Now, he found he was bored and none too happy about being alone in the barracks, devoid of any familiar faces.

Rationally, he knew he'd meet new people. There would be more candidates closer to when the next wher clutch was due to hatch. There would be dragon candidates, too. He had to admit he missed Tahlor--no, T'lor's--friendly face. Mina, too. So it was that when a Salamandyr clutch was rumored to hatch, he found himself wondering when. Only problem was, he had no clue when 'when' was. He was walking down a corridor when he heard muted whispers from a couple of drudges. What? They were hatching already?! He cursed silently under his breath, and headed for the hatching grounds. With his luck? He'd have missed it already.

When he got there, however, there were still a couple eggs left. He had run all the way here, but most of them were already with the people they'd chosen. Had he missed out, then, for good? His luck lately had been failing at best. He frowned a little, repressing a small sigh. Well, here was to hoping. One of these things could make for amusement and companionship. If he got one, that was. Honestly, he wasn't going to count his luck before it happened. If it happened. So, he got in there amongst the rest of the hopefuls, and settled in to wait and see if his luck might change.

~~~~~~

Rayne was quite comfortably drunk. When drunk, the greenrider loved to wander amongst the Weyr, making conversation with whomever amiable, flirting with a few people here and there, and just generally doing as she pleased. Didn't matter what time of day it was. It wasn't like Threadfall was coming to impede on her lifestyle. Nor did anyone care so long as she kept up with her duties. No one could say that Kyno's hide wasn't just as finely oiled as the next gold or green. No one could say she wasn't in tip top shape for riding. Sure, alcohol was rumored to ruin one's liver and all that. But she was young, and she was carefree, and she was...bored.

Maybe that's why when she saw some boy racing off in Faranth knew what direction she shrugged and took off after him. Why she did that, she had no clue. It was something to do, and he looked like he was in a hurry to be somewhere. Why did a candidate--yes, she recognized him as that much--want to be racing for the hatching sands? He appeared to be going that way. There were no dragons on those sands. No whers, either, obviously. So what was there that was so interesting? Firelizards, maybe? What a neat notion. Maybe she'd be there at a time when she could get one. That would have been quite nice. Kynoath didn't mind, she was sure. Indeed, the dragon rumbled amiably. If hers wanted one, she didn't care in the least. So long as it didn't interfere with her attentions.

Rayne stumbled on in, face becoming a little more sober as she saw that whatever was hatching? Wasn't firelizards. What in the name of the first egg was that? Then she remembered. She'd seen a few of these things about. Mutations of firelizards and something else, or something or other. Well, she was here. She'd run here. The boy was already here, inserting himself into the crowd. No point wasting all that running on nothing, right? Right. And so she made her way up to the front, curious, and espied the little beasties.

Rayne had no way of knowing what these creatures were about. Shells, she'd forgotten what they were called, even. Wasn't important. You fed them, they Impressed or something to you, how hard could it be? She certainly wasn't up to date on her facts. She certainly hadn't been up close and personal with one enough to know they spoke. She might have run back out the way she'd come if she'd had half a clue. Only she didn't, and so she stayed, curious as could be, and quite comfortably drunk. Rationalizing that they couldn't be much different from firelizards. She might find out, she might not. She made a mental toast to whoever it was who gave you the luck to Impress or bond or whatever it was she was thinking--or not thinking--about doing. The life of a greenrider was grand, was it not?

~~~~~~

Mihkal quietly wandered the corridors of the Weyr, as usual by himself. All it had been since he'd gotten here was occasional visits to T'lor and his blue Shith. Weyrling T'lor was always busy, and he felt he was bothering his cousin oftentimes. T'lor, unlike him, had duties beyond menial chores. Today was just another day in which Mihkal was spending alone, exploring the Weyr, with no chores left to do and nothing in particular on his mind that would fill the time until he went to sleep. Life was all too repetitious lately.

He missed traveling, and missed the bustling, active life of a caravan. He missed T'lor's companionship, something that had been constant and not a few brief snatched moments here and there. He missed the changes in scenery, and the--why were those two running towards the hatching sands? Mihkal's dreary thoughts were suddenly cut into. A boy he recognized from the barracks and a young woman with rider knots ran on past him. Headed straight for the hatching sands. Was something going on? Well, if it was, it wasn't a dragon hatching. None of his business, then. And yet...

Mihkal glanced about him. He had nothing to do. No where else to be. Why not? That was the real question, even as he jogged after the pair, not quite sure why, but also not sure of why he shouldn't. He was bored, he was feeling dreary and down. Why not go and see what was up? Whatever it was, it had to be more interesting than wandering around aimlessly. And so it was.

There was a hatching of some sort going on. The gathered people, the atmosphere of the air crackling with excitement. Only a hatching was like this. He mumbled apologies as he strove to get up closer and see what was going on. Firelizards, had to be. Only, when he got up closer? It wasn't. There they were. Those odd little creatures he'd seen with people, but never bothered to ask about. Why hadn't he? Well, he knew they were kind of like firelizards. Everyone he'd seen with them had been pretty busy at the time. 'Mandyrs, someone had said. Like little firelizards, but not? Should he be here? Well, there were a lot of people here. Maybe he could just stay and watch. It was better than leaving. He had no delusions about Impressing one, or getting one, or whatever it was one did to obtain one. Seemed like most of them were gone anyhow. So, he stayed, and he watched. It was something to do, and passed some time. He could leave as quickly as he'd come after...

~~~~~~

Maya kept her ears and eyes open, and she knew that there was going to be a Salamandyr hatching at some point soon. She'd been keeping herself busy, though. She'd volunteered to do a few extra chores, she'd been socializing as best she might with anyone with free time. She hadn't Impressed at the hatching, like so many others, and yet she realized there were Turns to go and that standing didn't mean much.

There were people in the sands. She realized this as soon as she was nearer to them. Voices, excitement, and something going on. She might have missed it altogether had she not been taking a walk. She liked solitude and company equally. One gave her time to think, the other to socialize. They each had a place, after all. Walking into the hatching sands, she realized that the hatching must have been going on for a while. She wasn't certain she wanted the responsibility of a Salamandyr--as she entered she saw some of the new hatchlings and smiled--but she could reasonably handle it. She had her chores in the Infirmary, and she had her chores she volunteered to help with. Then her reading, writing, and socializing, and time spent alone. In reality? She wasn't so busy that she couldn't care for one of these. Still, most were gone, and she stood only a small chance of getting one. Not that it bothered her all that much. Might have been nice, though.

She watched the little creatures with interest. She knew they spoke, if only in broken sentences or words that could hardly be called sentences. Rambled and sometimes gibberish suited it better. Like all things, she'd wanted to study them more closely and had inquired about them from others who owned them. In that way she had learned about them. They ate firelizard eggs, where they could, but were trained not to. She knew that one firelizard had been the dam of all of them, and that they were only found here, at this Weyr. What she knew was enough. She would have liked one, really. That or a firelizard, they were nice companions. She took up a spot and watched, in either case. If she got one today, it would be nice, but expecting was a waste. Hope was a better way to be pleasantly surprised.

[glamourie]

The Belladonna Brown lingered in the clutch, thoughtfully staring out at the different individuals, his frill flaring testily. His clutchsiblings had finally all Impressed, leaving glorious HIM as the center of the clutch, and he climbed out from under his shell in pride. His wings flared to match his frill and the Belladonna Brown squeaked twice, bouncing around like a wiggle-worm. Look at him. Look at how handsome he was. So much better than all of them (especially that blue who was trailing the green like a canine cub). He strutted around, showing off, before a biting pain flared up through his belly alerting him to how hungry he really was. Frill twitching, the Belladonna Brown looked down in agitation at his stomach before flinging himself into the Sands. His frill wide, he actually scurried forward, claws kicking up sand around him as he approached the group with thought. Which one would he bless with his presence? Which of them was worthy? Females were disqualified; they were not good for keeping, he believed, because they tended to be moody. See Black Widow Green for emphasis. He deserved better. Anyone with a salamandyr was also disqualified: he would not share. He just wouldn’t.

Who did that leave?

Avian, was Baoth’s total response to Garaeth; she leapt off of him and actually barreled away, ignoring the startled apologies from the blue as her gaze remained snared on the feathered creature before her. She took off across the ground at an alarming speed, her eyes whirling rapidly as she chased down the flying creature toward the exit. Her head hurt from hitting a full-grown blue right in the chest (curse her aim for not improving) but she wasn’t easily discouraged. She probably made for quite the sight, dark green dragon zooming across the ground toward an avian small enough to be mistaken for a firelizard, but… oh well. Her wings remained snapped to her back for the moment to increase her speed and at the very entrance, she skidded to a halt, kicking up sand all around her. Good. It was gone.

K’lir skidded to a stop next to Uu’n, his knees hitting the ground with enough force to knock up sand over the raggedy pants he wore; he was definitely not dressed up. Both hands went to Uu’n’s shoulders before he said quite bluntly, “How intelligent of you, tumbling off Adith’s back. Are you determined to get yourself killed on me?” he asked; he’d leave the healing stuff to the person who was good at it, Meira. He was just good at being a distraction. Movement behind him made him look back at Jingth and then to Baoth (who’s head was hurting, he realized with a start). He didn’t speak, though he silently requested the green to come closer; he’d check her out soon enough. Probably just a light thump on the head. Nothing more. Silly beast.

Spotting His, Showoff leapt off of Uu’n and came to land on K’lir’s arm before scurrying up to his shoulder. The affection with which he rubbed on the green weyrlingrider’s neck was enough to be startling, and he chirped lovingly to reinforce his feelings. Rescuer His. Chased the bads off, the big uglies did. They were the best big uglies of them all.

He would do. The Belladonna Brown flared his frill and stalked forward toward his chosen. He moved with a comically predatory grace, tail twitching behind him, and he stalked right up to his newly-claimed slave. Right in front of K’von, he came to a halt and looked up before flaring his frill defiantly. Feed, now. Do. If it occurred to him that the brownrider might be busy, it certainly didn’t register as important. He was far better than any of the squirmy humanthings, after all. And he was hungry. His stomach was grumbling. Food was needed. Now.

Back in the clutch, the Gila Monster Egg wiggled awkwardly before toppling over to spill out an oddly colored blue salamandyr who hissed and immediately recoiled. His eyes whirled nervously and the blue twitched one wing before climbing back to his feet. The crowds made him uncomfortable and he looked back at Dael with a questioning gaze before his tail curled underneath him. Why were there so many people? Hmph; he’d much rather have not been noticed. Fortunately for the little blue, he was about to get his wish:

The Lionfish Egg, the largest in the clutch, cracked with an audible clatter that drew the attention of the remaining salamandyr in the nest. As it toppled over to the side, distinctly bronze hide became visible and the ever-clever Gila Monster Blue seized his chance to scamper away in the distraction that his hatching clutchbrother would cause. Why, they wouldn’t notice him at all if he ran off right then – most of them would be busy with the shiny. Stupid fools. He prowled the ground close to people’s feet, examining each one in kind with a critical eye. Unlike the Belladonna Brown, he was much more interested in someone who wouldn’t annoy him. He found that someone in the shape of an individual holding food that he didn’t bother to look up at; it looked male and that was enough for him. The Gila Monster Blue climbed up Eikane’s side and proceeded to slink into the bowl, not speaking. His agitation would be indication enough of his Impression; he saw no reason to mince words when he had food right in front of him. Logical, really. Food first, discussion later… unless his really needed to talk?

The tumbling Lionfish Egg rocked over onto its side and split further before a very bronze wing flared out of the egg for all to see. There was no question as to what the creature within would be, but whether or not he’d get out of the egg with any ease was another story. He was obviously having some trouble…

---

01. Rattlesnake Egg Impressed: Green Aliene to T'san
02. Black Widow Egg Impressed: Green ? to F'lix
03. Dart Frog Egg Impressed: Blue ? to F'lix
04. Oleander Egg Impressed: Green Snot to Aliscia
05. Jellyfish Egg Impressed: Blue Terror to F'ur
06. Scorpion Egg Impressed: Bronze ? to Quintrell
07. Brown Recluse Egg Impressed: Green Shard to T'ke
08. Gila Monster Egg Impressed: Blue ? to Eikane
09. Belladonna Egg Impressed: Brown ? to K'von
10. Cobra Egg
11. Deathstalker Egg Impressed: Blue Chair to Mina
12. Lionfish Egg hatching bronze; wing visible

[glamourie]

Belladonna Brown

Name:
Age: Hatchling
Color: Brown #C88400
Gender: Male
Based Off Of: Piden
Looks To: K'von

Physical Description: This brown is small, slender and visually unobtrusive. Barely larger than a blue salamandyr (and thus noticeably more diminutive than most of his own color), he’s very easy to overlook. His wings are on the larger side for a salamandyr, but not unpleasantly so. The long, wider limbs will make him able to glide for longer distances than most salamandyrs, and it won’t be difficult for him to do flying leaps off of ledges as a result – he can make the glide down to the ground, after all. His legs are on the smaller side, making him lean close to the ground whenever he walks. The end result is that he looks oddly like he’s prowling at all times, and those who don’t know him might find him on the weird side to behold. Interestingly enough, though, the most unique feature about him is that he has ridges – something other salamandyrs don’t usually have in any pronounced form. Down his back they jolt, looking sharp enough to cut, and when he sits perfectly still, this salamandyr has an unusually camouflaged build; he distinctly resembles a tangle of vines, complete with sharp uneven edges thanks to the ridges. Vanishing into the jungle will be very, very easy for him.

If it’s possible for a brown to be bright, this one would be described as exactly that. His hide is on the lighter side but there are no metallic glints to it to make him seem more like the larger colors; in fact, he actually has spots, something that most browns don’t possess. These darker spots align down his back, but there’s no rhyme or reason to them; indeed, they almost seem like inky splatters starting at the base of his neck and streaming down to the base of his tail before zig-zagging to the very tip. Comically, the underside of his belly is actually a pale tan, and his entire appearance is finished by an almost pure white face that would look innocent if not for the fact that the rest of him is built so masculine. Careful examination of his frill also reveals almost floral white patterns against the otherwise light brown of his hide, making him quite the unusual sight to behold.

Personality: If browns are supposed to be nice, this little guy is sorely lacking. Kind, considerate? Never in a million turns. This is one little salamandyr who has quite the problem with authority and/or creatures that should be respected, and that goes as much for His as it does for those around him: respect is earned through trials and tribulation, not simply given freely, and he’s quick to withdraw it if he’s given a reason to change his mind. He’s internally very judgmental and has very little tolerance for other creatures, though of them, he’ll be nicest to firelizards simply because they’re less likely to be loud and irritating to him; he’s not biased toward males or females in regards to what colors he’ll spend any time with though, as each is equally likely to earn or lose his respect depending on their behavior. He portrays himself to other creatures as quiet, generally friendly, and only to His does he express his real opinions: that most everyone around him is rather unintelligent. Why, exactly, is he forced to deal with these creatures who are vastly inferior to him? And why do they think they can boss him around? Come to think of it, His better not try – bossing him around has bad results. He tends to stubbornly stub up and ignore His entirely until the orders are rescinded and an apology is bestowed, and he can be angry for a very long time when he wants to be.

Egotistical, this salamandyr probably should have been a bronze. He has a tendency to assume himself vastly superior to those around him and thus insults don’t even make a dent in his thoughts. He’s also exceptionally vain and will spend inordinate amounts of time preening over his appearance. He will insist upon being oiled regularly to make sure that he looks good, and refusal to indulge him can and will result in biting; His will not be allowed to get away with letting him look unappealing. Being so vain, he favors perches that show off his coloration well, and will strut around constantly with his head in the air like he’s superior. This belief also will lead to him refusing to Chase just any female – only golds or greens that are exceptionally beautiful will do, and when he Chases, he takes it very seriously. Females he deigns to chase should be grateful for his time and they belong to him. After all, he’sthe best catch there is, right?

Despite all appearances to the contrary, though, this salamandyr does, badly, want to be well-liked. His sharp behavior as a result is only displayed to those who intimidate him. Creatures who don’t frighten him (either by being meek and shy, or so nice that it’s impossible not to like them) are treated to a very secret side of this little guy: he’s loyal and tends to lavish gifts on those he likes. He’ll also usually be very physically affectionate once he’s formed an attachment… but the amount of creatures who see this sweet side are few and far between, unfortunately.

---

Gila Monster Blue

Name:
Age: Hatchling
Color: Blue #1F4EA5
Gender: Male
Based Off Of: F'lix
Looks To: Eikane

Physical Description: On the small side for a blue, this salamandyr is one that is more likely to make people think of Terran-lizards than any of his own sleek, elegant species. His body is built average for a salamandyr, flattened out almost to the point of appearing as though he’s unusually wide. His tail is bizarre for a salamandyr, coming out thicker than the normal tail type of his species, without the mobility that most salamandyrs possess. It’s also significantly shorter and thus somewhat bizarre to behold, barely the length of his body as opposed to that of most ‘mandyrs. His legs are somewhat shorter as well, though not noticeably so; at least, he doesn’t appear peculiar when running about. What does look odd is how positively bitty his wings are, looking more like patterns in his hide when they’re flattened against his body than actual wings, and he can flare them but it really doesn’t look terribly impressive. The only part of him that could appear remotely threatening is his face, which is on the rounder side, with defined eyes that have a decidedly slanted appearance. Creepy.

A wonderful array of different shades of blue make up his body, making it hard to decipher whether or not he’s light or dark. Indeed, the backwash of his body resembles a mingling of salt and pepper in azure. The majority of his body is a dark, almost twilight shade of blue – royal in its simplicity, elegant like velvet, but rough, as if touching his hide he’d be bumpy and rigid. Mingled amidst that shade is a lighter blue like sapphires that glints bizarrely when caught by light, and the whole appearance is accompanied by thousands of pale blue spots that cover his back and break into almost ringlets down his tail. His head, around his face and muzzle, is almost perfectly midnight, though – definitely a pretty creature to behold.

Personality: Grouchy would be a good word to describe this salamandyr. For all appearances, he’s exceptionally unfriendly. In fact, he goes out of his way to repel any other creature who tries to befriend him, with casually sniped insults edged in poisonous tones, or simple lack of acknowledgment. A master of dirty looks, this little guy has no tolerance for the average person and instead spends much of his time trying to avoid any kind of contact. His preferred perches are high up or hidden away, where no one can see him, and he particularly likes lurking in small cervices that make it easy to overlook his presence entirely. Observing is one of his favorite pastimes – one might describe it as people watching. The more he analyzes, the more he understands, and there’s no denying that this salamandyr is intelligent (if only he’d use those brains for something other than sniping at people and/or finding the ideal place to bite, he’d be a legend, but he thoroughly believes that infamy is better than fame). He does not tolerate strangers touching him and would really rather they not speak to him, too. And if they insist on bothering him? Well, he’s got teeth and claws, and that spot between their fingers looks particularly tasty to chomp down on. Annoyances.

With his mindmate, this salamandyr still would not be easily identifiable as “friendly.” Loyal to a fault, though – that’s something that would fittingly describe him. Despite all of his scoffing and snarling, he always comes home, and if anyone so much as looks at his human-slave wrong, he’s got no problem tearing them a few new holes. And, seeing as he’s intelligent, one of his favored places to attack is the more sensitive parts of human anatomy – like eyes, lips, and nipples… He likes to leave scars, too, to remember him by. Do not mess with his. Turnabout is fair play as far as he’s concerned.

Many salamandyrs have nicer internal personalities. Perhaps this one does, too, though it’s certainly not prominent enough to ever merit noticing. Interestingly, though he’s vicious about biting, he won’t bite His. He usually prefers to remain hidden but if his mindmate’s in the room, he will stay on his human perch somewhere out of sight. He also talks more with His, however selectively, and his insults are reserved for everyone else. His chosen will quickly learn that the best way to placate this salamandyr is to be totally honest and accepting of him – the vicious side of him will never be turned on the one he chose. Likewise, he’s very selective in who he Chases, preferring creatures that will leave him alone afterwards. Possessive, clingy greens (of any species) are ignored. He doesn’t want anyone who will spend much time around him, though he’s certainly capable of being faithful. He’s just… not too eager to have a constant leech. Is it too much to ask for a hands-off relationship…?

[Requiem]

F'ur frowned after F'lix, followed by a mental shrug. You know what? It just didn't matter anymore. He'd wasted way too much time and effort on that one, clearly. The ex-Fortian let him go with something that might have even been relief. Things would be a lot simpler without the other bluerider, anyway. He was done trying. Terror didn't really know what the issue was, but he agreed that wasting time on those who didn't worship His - the best of all protectors! - wasn't the best of ideas. The little one was beginning to get sated, however.

The ex-Fortian glanced around, wondering if he should stay...but Eikane had clearly Impressed too - thanks to him! - and, his goals both met, F'ur decided now would be a good time to make his exit. After all, Terror was more than enough to make his mind reel. (He was still fidgeting a little, something he clamped down on as soon as he noticed it.) Just as he was about to work his way through the crowd - you never knew what sort of dangers there were when so many people were around to hide them - the tall young bluerider crossed his path. F'ur peered up at him curiously. Looked familiar...

It was actually the nervous behavior that sparked F'ur's memory, and he suddenly grinned. The weyrling! Not a weyrling anymore, of course, but that was neither here nor there. That fight had been fun. A mental quiver alerted him to clamp down on the memories before Terror had a spazz fit in his pocket. "Yeah, no problem, kid. Terror's finished." F'ur mentally prompted the salamandyr out - since the constant stream of worry about not being able to see hadn't abated - and the pale-colored mandyr quickly disappeared in the thickest of the older man's hair, only the orange of his eyes visible from beneath the curls as he watched the interaction warily. (Fortunately, T'ke was distracting him from the blood elsewhere on the Sands, or he likely would have fainted again.)

Palming the last of the meat...though there was probably enough for two left there, if they ate anything like Terror did...he offered it to T'ke. "No fainting on us, got that?" He winked. "The Sands'll crisp you quick if you lay yourself out here." Couldn't resist. One last smile, and he strode from the hatching grounds, away from all the noise and milling people. Of course, now he was in the open and exposed...

"Do stop worrying so much," F'ur muttered to the mandyr. "If anything jumps out at us, I'll just kick it in the nads." Strangely enough, that actually calmed down the blue.

For about two seconds.