Dance Until the Sun Comes Up (Dances Hatching)

[neeuqtar]

Kinstar heard Eikask's call. Unfortunately, at the time she was treed like a cat by a very irritated pack of howlers. She hadn't intended to bother them. Shells, she wasn't even aware that there were wild canine creatures that roamed the jungles!! There was nothing like them at Southern Hold, that was for certain. But so much of Selenitas was like nothing she had seen before. I should map out wher territories.. maybe these howlers, too Kinstar thought to herself in semi-amusement as the pack finally seemed to lose interest. They'd followed her through the treetops until she'd hit a dead end, and it was a waiting game. One she had one.

Lightly, Kinstar dropped down from the tree, taking off at a ground-eating lope that was used to the undergrowth of the jungle. A few yards, and she was climbing back into the trees, running along branches until she saw the clearing ahead that marked the Weyr's cliff. She dropped out of the trees again, but missed her landing, catching her foot on a vine. She went down with a grunt, knocking the wind out of her. Kinstar gasped for air as the air danced in front of her, shoving her body up from the ground. As soon as she put weight on her left foot, she knew she was in trouble. It was surely twisted, if not sprained. Hissing from the pain, Kinstar marveled at her own stupidity. She knew better than to leap from trees without looking first... she was getting cocky. And running to a Hatching she wasn't even a Candidate for... Her mother would give her a tongue-lashing, for sure.

Wincing and hobbling, Kinstar headed into the clearing, blinking at the bright moonlight as if it was the sun. Keeping one eye closed to preserve her dark vision, she hopped on one foot to the wherhandler entrance, occasionally touching her toe to the ground. Ow ow ow!! She only got halfways down the tunnel before she had to pause, trying desperately to catch her breath and think through the throbbing of her foot. She raked her hair back, frowning as she caught some leaves with her fingers. Dreadful. She had to look absolutely dreadful. Oh well. She would get to see a Hatching. The sound of baby whers and cracking eggs was a siren's song to one who had practically been raised by whers.

With a deep breath, Kinstar hobbled the rest of the way to where Eikask's eggs Hatched. Leaning against the doorjamb, the starcrafter looked in. Four were Hatched and Impressed -- two greens, a blue, and a bronze. She smiled, forgetting her pain halfway. Wher Hatchings had always intrigued her. Only a couple of Southern Hold's Hatchings had been like this, with the wher queen guarding. That was probably because the old queen had been so protective of her eggs. The only way to get them to the Candidates had been to pass out the eggs. It hadn't seemed to do any harm; perhaps less tight bondings, but fewer wildlings. Kinstar was ambivalent about this other way.

She didn't even bother to try and identify anyone. She recognized the queenhandler. Eika-something, and she remembered that much because she remembered the queen's name. But in general, Kinstar knew very few people at the Weyr. Perhaps she would attempt to make friends with some of the handlers. Maybe get on patrol; they had a few night people at the Hold who patrolled despite the lack of a wher. But first... babies.

[Ruby]

Pidesk was practically purring in delight, his chest puffing out further and further. Beautiful, perfect babies they were having, even the silly green one! He told Eikask this, adding another nuzzle since she had been so accepting of the first one. Draping his tail over hers, he nodded a 'thank you' at Ximera, then turned his attention back to the clutch. The babies were hatching, oh, so fast!

For his part, Piden had relaxed, a little. He'd returned Eikane's wave, of course, but hadn't moved from his spot on the wall. He knew how violent hatchings could be - even whers had been injured at Pidesk's. No reason to draw attention to yourself, although to be totally fair Pidesk and Eikask's babies seemed quite well-behaved so far. As more and more babies hatched and found their bondeds, Piden unfolded his arms, turning his attention to the people. Elysia continued to receive occasional scrutiny, especially in light of the gold 'mandyr fight (thank FARANTH Shells was out courting a wild queen or something, and wasn't here for this!), but it was the new handlers that interested him most. Harmony's mindmate had gotten another bronze - cheers for him, although Piden couldn't for the life of him remember the kid's name. The nastier of the Greens went to a Candidate just around Piden's height and age, and promisingly attractive at that. Good choices all around.

It was the Wherling who had impressed first that snagged Piden's attention next. Slightly younger and slightly smaller, attractive enough, but something seemed wrong with their bond. Well, not exactly, it just didn't seem like the Candidate wanted his new Green. Fair enough, Piden though, whers were nasty, ugly beasts on first glance - except Pidesk and Eikask of course, he assured his bronze - but Impression wasn't exactly something you could back out of. Sure, it wasn't his place, but Piden pushed himself of the wall and headed in Tekivix's direction, trailing him over to the seats and shamelessly eavesdropping. Oh, it was the blooding that was the problem.

"It'll make your bond stronger," he offered, taking a seat a few feet away from the new Greenhandler and keeping his eyes on the hatching. "I've got a knife, if you need one. Really, I didn't want to do it either, but it'll be good for both of you." He pulled the small, nearly concealed knife he carried on watch off his belt and set it between himself and the candidate. That was a choice a handler had to make for themselves, not something Piden was going to force on anyone. However, it would be easier for everyone if the kid just got up the nerve and did it. The stronger the bond, the better.

[Sheari]

The fray!

Emiliah had been only to hatchings of small creatures, one she'd acquired Shrew from. Now, the creatures were larger, much larger! They stumbled about or played, one had thrown a tantrum before finding the one she liked and it made Emiliah giggle a little bit. Those that had assembled for the intention of Impressing, or whatever term was to be used, seemed a mix of excited and concerned. She couldn't rightly tell.

Shrew had stopped her hissing and had settled, albeit uncomfortably, along Emi's neck. She really wanted to go back to bed! Remaining only for the sake of supporting Hers and her issues with other humans. The girl, in response, had since gotten closer to the wall. She felt the surface with tentative fingers before placing her entire palm against it, then leaning on it, her attention on the babies. So cute! So ugly! Emi resisted the urge to go out and touch one, just to see how they felt. Did they feel like newly hatched fire lizards? Was their skin soft or rough? At that thought Shrew scold softly in her ear. How could they be soft?! They were ugly, they couldn't possibly have soft skin!

Emi looked to her shoulder were the green had taken to lounging quite nicely. She crooned quietly. Thia was a hatching! You must be quiet so you don't disturb the babies!

[Tashe]

Blinking as the world faded from sight, Nautic mindlessly brushed the hands over his eyes with that of his own before planting them on his hips. The mystery person, female most likely by sound of voice and shape of hands, let him see again though he didn't turn around. He of course had and inkling of who it was, but it really was Nautsk's reaction that sealed the deal. "Ahh! I bet a mark that the person behind me, is a certain mindhealer who has an affinity toward Whers." Tossing his bangs, the Greenhandler looked back over his shoulder with a smile. "Hello Rae! Its nice to see you. Though I thought you had Nightshift at the Infirmary?" Nautsk was distracted by the arrival of the woman, momentarily shifting her attention from the hatching eggs. The Green offered Raebelli a happy whine, her tail swishing back and forth excitedly. Hello hello little Female human! Wasn't this amazing!? Little babies everywhere! Look see there, look some have already impressed! Rubbing her maw gently on the woman's shoulder, Nautsk crooned before returning her attentions back onto the Babies.

Oh no! Some had hatched while she was distracted, this meant she couldn't get distracted again or the whole hatching would be over by the time she looked back! Shifting her body, she resolutely locked her eyes on the hatchlings that roamed around on the sands. It was the distressing Green that pulled most of her gaze though. Poor little hatchling! Why was she so upset?! Little hatchlings should be happy and curious. Chirping loudly she was just about to send the little Green a tendril of thought, when the little one calmed down a bit and impressed. Oh good! More hatchlings impressed to their humans and with each Impression the ranks of Wherhandlers grew. So many new faces and so many new friends. Flicking her tail, she made a note to herself to remind Roisk that he had promised her she could at the very least assist him with the little ones. She simply wouldn't take no as an answer! Harrumphing as she settled that thought away, Nautsk blinked before focusing on the egg with the flailing appendages. You can do it little one!

[Rei]

Darmori reached out to seize his gold with a half nod. “Thank you.” Pulling the large mandyr back he cradled her to his chest and cooed softly to her, his other hand lowering to pat Darmosk on his head. The bronze gave a happy bark, tail briefly coiling about his bonded’s ankle as he mentally urged him towards the food. He was hungry and he also needed to blood. Then maybe they could play? He wanted to meet his siblings properly to. The wherling nodded at that. “Yeah sounds good.” He mumbled softly as Harmony gave an enthusiastic chirp. Food? The little bronze gave a soft croon. Yes food. He would share with his new sister if she would like? The yellow gold scrambled onto Darmori’s shoulder, trying to regain a bit of her dignity as she did so. As the bronze pair made their way slowly to the feeding area the boy struggled to make sense of his whirling thoughts. Impression was quite a shock clearly.

Drawing up to the feeding station Darmori grabbed a bowl and gave a hesitant smile towards the other wherlings. It was a little awkward because he didn’t know anyone but Ximera but that really couldn’t be helped. Now food first or blooding? The blooding part made him feel slightly scared but Darmosk also was really hungry so the boy settled for feeding him first. Harmony leapt into the bowl to partake herself as the new bronze handler fished out the first piece and dropped it into his wher’s maw with the command to chew. Darmosk was nothing if not obedient and so the feeding continued rather smoothly as Darmori started to try and figure out where he ended and the wher began. It was kind of disorienting.

~~~

Elysia gave a sideways glace to Dmitri as he spoke but just as quickly her attention returned to the hatching. “I’m fine.” It was the truth. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t had a gold mandyr attack her breasts before after all. (hello Dementia) The greenrider was far more interested in watching the little green approach her and then hiss. A strong disproval from Onyth wafted over the rider. Her rider thank you very much. She didn’t need some hideous wher seeking to usurp her claim. Not that the little beast could after all. Elysia smiled a little at the sense of possessiveness coming from her dragon. Giving Onyth a reassuring mental brush she watched the green wher turn to strut towards the two boys trying to grab the brown mandyr. Hmm. The brief violent scene that followed kept her attention until it tapered off. If nothing else /that/ hatching was at least mildly amusing.

Amour continued to make chirps and give comforting and approving brushes of mind as each baby hatched and impressed. So lovely they all where. So cute, so charming. The walking egg got a head tilt before the brown flared his wings and brushed the babies mind lightly. Careful, careful. The baby didn’t want to smack into a wall did it? Dementia’s arrival distracted Amour from the baby enough to give the gold a polite chirp. That done he took to wing and landed on the back of the mother gold. Oh how lovely and beautiful Eikask was! Such beautiful babies she had as well. Heartfelt congratulations to her and her offspring, they where a joy to watch.

[Ember]

Eikask wasn't annoyed or even surprised at the reactions of some of the new handlers. Hers had been like that too, hadn't he? Look at them now! Of course, Hers was far better than any of them. Speaking of Hers...he was becoming a little pest perch, wasn't he? She growled when Dementia landed on Hers. It was a simple warning: he was Hers and no other female's. She did nod her head at the compliment though. It was only natural that she have such wonderful babies. Eikane also responded to the gold salamandyr. "Hey there Dementia. I'm not that old you know," he told her with a defeated air. Like telling anyone that ever helped. "What was with the commotion over there?"

Eikask was growing more and more pleased with Pidesk. It was dangerous for males to be favoured by her though, since the queen was prone to jealousy. If she did end up claiming the bronze there would be trouble for any of the females who wanted to get close to him. She wouldn't discriminate her daughters from any other green if it came to that. Run Pidesk run. The gold was distracted by Pidesk's moving towards the first baby to hatch's new person. Oh, helpful one, Pidesk's was. She brushed Pidesk's mind comfortingly. There was nothing wrong in waiting for the blooding. Not all were willing at first. Was none of his clutchmates' bondeds like that?

Eikane felt a bit nervous with a salamandyr and a firelizard on his shoulders. Nocturne disliked the flying variety and the Harper was fairly sure the dislike was shared by others of his species. So long as a fight didn't break out on his shoulders he was okay with it. His own blue hid in his hair often enough, having menaces on his shoulders wasn't any worse than that. He blinked as he heard a loud cracking sound and the Quickstep Egg finished breaking apart. The blue - Eikane wasn't certain why he thought it was a blue, the size maybe - growled as he righted himself.

When he stood up he snorted at his appearance and started moving towards the person he wanted. The Paso Doble Egg's breaking made him glance back though. A soft blue wher had just hatched from it. The Quickstep Blue hadn't paused to see his clutchbrother and with unsteady feet he stumbled and planted his snout directly into Marsayis's crotch. Oh! He'd gotten so far already? He withdrew long enough to look at his new bonded and snorted. Fine, he'd do well enough. They'd have to take care of his pest later on though. Marsask wouldn't share His too well with a pest. Hurry up! He was hungry and dirty!

The Paso Doble Blue watched the other whers with something akin to disgust. They were all so...so...ugh. Disgusting. Especially the greens. He barked at his mother questioningly. Why had she Impressed to such a useless creature? Eikask growled at him and stood up to take a defensive stance in front of Hers. Hers was far more useful than he was. The blue just bared his teeth and headed for the exit. Such a waste of his time. He slashed and bit at any people in his way until he got to the exit...and realized there was a meatbag in his way.

The Paso Doble Blue launched himself on Kinstar. He barked in delight, digging his claws into the meatbag. Hello, hello. She was in his way before but now she looked positively delicious. The blue wher ignored his mother's annoying attempts to get him to stop while he crouched low and put his jaws close to Kinstar's face. She didn't need her face, did she? So she wouldn't mind if he ate it! He opened his jaws and waited a moment. What would she do? Call for help from the useless ones? Accept her death? He was so curious!

----

Tango Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Tekivix
Foxtrot Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Kostya
Waltz Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Ximera
Quickstep Egg - Broken; Impressed to Marsayis
Vienesse Waltz Egg - Unhatched
Paso Doble Egg - Hatched Blue; Attacking Kinstar
Jive Egg - Hatched Bronze; Impressed to Darmori

[Ember]

Quickstep Blue
Bonded to: Marsayis
Name: Marsask
Color: Blue #000011
Physical Appearance: In general this wher is best described as compact. A thickly muscled tail that tapers slowly and is shorter than normal is attached to a strong and thick body. He has short, very sturdy legs. The musculature in the blue is unmistakeable leaving no doubt that he is strong. His head betrays him though. He has a softened look about his head that is almost feminine and delicate. His snout also appears as if it was squashed in and will result in incredibly loud snoring. His wings seem large on him but are mostly length and not width. Unfortunately they aren't enough to keep his heavy weight off the ground for very long. He's a very, very quick wher and has an odd rhythm to his movement. A sort of bounce-flat step-bounce.

So close to black is this wher that it will take the light of Pern's moons to be certain that he is blue. Throughout his body his shade doesn't falter at all. There's hope for this blue though. He is speckled with seemingly hundreds of bright blue speckles from the tip of his nose, along his back and wings, and to the tips of his tail. From the underside of his wings the speckles are actually visible and almost seem like an artist painted the night sky on his wings. His hide lends his movements a slightly mysterious aura, as his body has a tendency to blend with the night. Despite his tripping and stumbling about this blue is very quick on his feet.

Personality: This wher is best described as fast paced. He likes to live life always moving and doing the things he likes often to His' detriment. He sees His more as his own personal attendant than a true partner. This means many, many baths and perfection at most any task from whoever he chooses as His. If His' attention is given to any other draconic species the blue will throw quite a spectacular hissy fit. He picked His and thus His is only allowed to serve him. Despite not liking His to pay attention to other whers, the blue is actually quite friendly to others and most especially to other males. They are playmates and, in his mind, loyal friends to guard the weyr with. Females are a little harder to get along with mostly because he is in fact shy around them until he gets to know them well. Only those females that he does get to be friendly with are seen as worth his time to chase. It is likely he'll settle on one wher or possibly a couple to devote himself to. For all he treats His a little strangely, the blue is quite capable of treating humans nicely. The same rules with gender seem to apply to human interactions as it does with whers.

The people and whers who make it to the title 'friend' he is very protective over. This protective attitude extends to his home and friends of friends. If the Night Watch is ever set up again this wher will most definitely demand he and His be involved in every way possible. This wher is quite adventurous. He is likely to go exploring and not let any obstacles slow him down. It will not be uncommon for this blue to drag His into random weyrs in the night to look around. He would never endanger one from his own weyr so other than a few scares in the night his exploring is harmless. Games are well liked by this blue and they will be one of the few times he will demonstrate his affection for His. Be warned though, this blue's favourite game is hide and seek and he always, always wins.

[Lotty]

Nautic was such a good guesser! Or well...Rae for a moment considered the options. There wasn't many other girls who ran around at night in the wherhandler apartments and not many girls who seemed to be such a wher magnet. Oh well, who cared? She was remembered and that was all that was important, "You sir are good. Very, very, good. That, or I need to work on my sneaking up on people skills..." she pinned her hands behind her back and rubbed the ball of her foot into the ground innocently. Awww shucks, she was caught, read the expression. Breaking from the little act, she resumed her normal position, her hands naturally finding their setting spots on her hips and Cap'n reclaiming his spot on her shoulder. The darter wished she would be a little more still, at the rate she was going he was going to fly right back to their home.

"Ah yes I do, but I did have something of a break and I could think of no better way to spend it then here at the hatching..." she felt the nuzzle of the green wher and smiled, turning her head over her shoulder to spot the happy tail wagging Nautsk. Oh how she adored the sweetheart so much, the mindhealer was sure that she was just as excited to see babies breaking their eggs as the wher was and noted it with a spunky little comment, "I'm sure you would agree, wouldn't you Nautsk? Wouldn't miss it for the world," and the mindhealer dared to reach out and give her a pat before turning her attention back to the handler, "Don't tell anyone but I might be just a littleeee late getting back. I don't think anybody is going to miss the mindhealer this late at night..." true enough, as long as nobody had a manic freak out and thought about trying to jump off any cliff faces that she needed to talk them down from.

Her focus on the blonde was interrupted from time to time, but for good reason! First there was the bronze hatchling who came and approached them with friendly woofs and then the green who pranced by demanding their attention. Raebeli couldn't help but give them her attention when they had such big personalities, and sort of bounced with all of her usual delight, "All the little wherlings seem so friendly. It's lovely I think, its just so sad that its all almost over already. It all goes by so fast..."

[neeuqtar]

A... blue? And another one, it seemed. Kinstar was having trouble focusing, particularly with all these people in her way. Honestly, she should have just gone to the healer's... but missing out on a wher Hatching did not really factor into her thought process. At least, it hadn't while she'd been running in the jungle like an idiot. The woman resolutely turned her attention to the Hatching, trying to remember details so she could send a letter to her family and their whers. They would appreciate the gossip, and it would be a good exercise of her penmanship, particularly if she was going to get involved with trying to map out the territories of the wild whers in the area. Plus, she would need help from some of the whers themselves.

Kinstar sniggered as that man she had met by the river got a wher to the groin. That had to be painful. Luckily the rude sound was mostly covered up by a bark from the other blue wherling. Kinstar bent down to probe her sore ankle, keeping half an eye on the Hatching. It wasn't enough. The blue wher cleared a path through the people with remarkable speed, and launched his form at her. If she'd had two good feet (and if they had both been on the floor), she might -- might -- have been able to get out of the way of the hatchling wher. But, taken by surprise and off balance, Kinstar was flung to the floor by the weight of the blue, cracking her head against the stone floor as talons dug through her shirt into her chest and hips.

She gasped, lights swimming in front of her eyes as she fought both to breathe and to focus her eyes. The sight she was greeted by as her hair dampened with blood did little to make her evening better. The fore-fangs of a baby wher -- razor sharp, as she recalled -- jutted from a jaw gaped hardly a finger's-breadth from her face. And shard it all, she liked her face!

"Bitch," Kinstar hissed, every breath sending spears through her chest and hips. He hadn't hit any vital organs yet... she might survive this. Might. Her legs were useless, as the blue was on her chest, but her arms were free. And though Kinstar had the utmost respect for the race of whers, she was not about to let herself just get.. get... EATEN. "Sharding fecking scumsack!" she growled at the blue, as loudly as she could manage, and grabbed the blue by the throatlatch, shoving him upwards in an attempt to flip him over -- anything to get those jaws away from her face, and more importantly, her neck! The searing pain of talons in her flesh would have been enough to make her scream if she'd had the breath for it. Much more of this, and she would simply be unconscious.

[glamourie]

Stupid. Irritating. Obnoxious. Little. Pest. Swat swat swat. Marsayis growled lowly in his throat (oblivious to the fact that his meatshield had wandered off) and surrendered to the knowledge that he wasn’t going to catch Calamari that way. His head tilted back and he narrowed dark blue eyes on the salamandyr, the expression close to murderous. Calamari ignored him; he’d apologized to the gold, sort of, and that was good enough for the brown salamandyr. Which basically meant he was glaring daggers at a creature totally oblivious to his fury. Marsayis treated the gold salamandyr to a look (though he had good enough manners to not snatch her as she ran over his fingers) before grumbling, “Don’t indulge his weird, sick obsession with you, I have enough problems without him fawning over someone else’s pet,” he complained, dropping his hands to his sides. (He, in the process, totally missed that Kostya had just Impressed a wher – or he’d probably have started laughing hysterically at his friend’s bad luck. First mauled, now an ugly. But wait – that meant they were stuck there – sharding...)

“Hey – HEY NOW!”

His comments were lost on Calamari, who flared his frill prettily at Dementia and followed her as any dutiful servant would. When necessary, he did flying leaps instead of gliding – salamandyrs being able to jump several times their own body length helped – and then he came to land very neatly on Eikane’s shoulder next to the lovely goldling. Pretty, pretty, Calamari repeated – though whether he was agreeing with Dementia or just complimenting her was hard to say. He didn’t really have an opinion on the nightcreatures – he’d come because the looovely gold had called them and he liked being called, yes yes yes. And his was very angry with him, getting more so by the moment and he didn’t care because she was so lovely and he wanted to make her happy, bring her pretties all the time. Though, the change in position did bring to his attention, Look, slave has nightbeast. The comment was for Marsayis alone, and it made the rage temporarily stop.

The irritation was replaced by amusement, for across the room, yes, Kostya appeared to have Impressed one of the little menaces. A green one. His first response mentally was, “See, we always said you were the wife of the relationship,” a fact that he knew Kostya would probably roll his eyes at. He didn’t voice it because the realization came at the dawning knowledge that ew, he was meatshield-less. And there were more eggs hatching.

Fleeeee!

Turning half-way, Marsayis started directly toward the door... and he would’ve made it if not for that meddling blue wher. Or rather, the face suddenly planted in his groin that felt entirely awkward and made him jump back, nearly three feet into the air before he ducked out of the way. The surge of feelings that he received – how weird they were – were ignored. Marsayis did the only reasonable thing and skittered away from the wher as fast as he could to hide behind one of the remaining upright candidates. Maybe if it couldn’t see him it would lose interest and pick someone else. Maybe.

His antics earned a slight headcock from Marsask, who watched him go thoughtfully before realizing: it was a gaaaame. His was hiding from him. But that was okay: he was very good at Hide and Seek, see, His would come to find out. Wobbling awkwardly to his feet, the dark blue wher proceeded to start filtering through the remaining candidates, weaving around (and stepping on toes – whoops) to try and get back to His. He’d fiiiind him. He’d wiiiin. And then it would be his turn to hide, right? And His would never get to find him because he was very good at hiding~ He was much better than the wormy, wasn't he?

[ryanne]

What an odd child, he thought when Ximera came up to him. He was even more surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. He managed one awkward pat on her back before she bounded off. "Thanks," he murmured at her parting comment, glad that someone had faith in the outcome. He was beginning to doubt it and it was disheartening.

Dinag was happy when another egg cracked open. Anothe wher, what color was it? He didn't waste too much time worrying about it. Honestly, he really didn't care. He watched the wher as it began to move towards the candidates, again hoping that it would even so much as look at him. He was quickly growing more and more discouraged. If he didn't Impress, he had other options, but he was going to be severely disappointed. He had given up his wanderings to take the weyr up as a home. He'd poured over Records to learn all that he could. Shards, he'd even adjusted his sleeping schedule.

He knew that none of it mattered. It mattered that a wher knew who His or Hers was, no matter what. If he wasn't meant to be bonded to any of the whers here, he was going to have to accept that and try again. Dinag wasn't one to give up too easily, but he also wasn't one to chase a dream that was impractical. He pursed his lips and looked at the whers and their newly bonded. There was happiness on all their faces despite the random bunch that they had been. He would wait and try again. He'd be a sharding wherry not to. This was a chance that not many people would ever be offered and it was worth the wait if he had to give it another turn or two before he Impressed.

And then another egg broke open. A blue tumbled out. Dinag, however, was still watching the Quickstep Blue. Again, he watched as the wher Impressed to another candidate. He chewed on his bottom lip anxiously. That left the Paso Doble Blue and the unhatched Vienesse Waltz Egg. As the blue tumbled into a candidate near the door and began to maul her quite viciously. Dinag winced, hoping that the blue would stop and Impress, or run off into the wild. That wher was positively vicious and he didn't want him anywhere near him. Ever.

[raii]

When her favorite egg started shaking, she grinned. When the obnoxious blue Impressed to that…little girl…she frowned. Oh, the irony. Well, Karou didn’t care about what people thought of her, and had no qualms about seeming like a hypocrite. The blue seemed to apologize to her, telling her to leave hers alone. There’s always a reason to be grouchy. And truly, there was. Not just her past, her bitterness. The weather, the isolation, the morons residing within all of Pern.

Before she could tell that creature exactly what she thought, the green slashed at her legs. In surprise, Karou’s legs gave in, but she quickly found her footing again. See what moody, vain, tantrum-throwers brought? Karou was one, of course, but that mattered not. She was exceptionally moody. She detested every wher and every Impressing human. Then, a pair of legs popped out of an egg. What peculiar eggs.

The girl gave her a flower, and Karou was so shocked she simply took it, observing it. Friends? She didn’t have any friends. She didn’t do friends. Besides, this girl reminded her too much of an insane version of Enia. The kindness and constant effort to befriend others had once been such a beloved trait, but now it sickened her. Disgusted her. She noted that the girl did not say a word about her Impressing.

Oh, she believed in this strange boy but not her? If anyone deserved this it had to be her! She’d stood at so many hatchings…

The strange legged-egg broke, revealing what Karou thought to be a blue. It Impressed quickly, and Karou grinned as the good egg hatched. He was a blue. Quite a few blues, weren’t there? At first she thought he had Impressed to that girl, when she realized it was quite the opposite. He opened his jaws as if to eat her face, pausing for her reaction. What a marvelous wher! He seemed to enjoy the power of fright and dominance as well. Of course, killing the poor kid was a bit much…

Well, she seemed to be trying to fight back. She hoped that girl didn’t hurt the blue. He didn’t know any better. Whoever Impressed him would become one of Karou’s eternal allies.

[Avu]

Vix jumped. Visibly.

His gaze darted to Piden, and then back to Tekivisk, hand stopping mid-motion. The green discreetly leaned up to take the meat piece from Vix, licking his palm on the way, before she crooned at Piden politely. Vix crinkled his nose faintly as the knife made its appearance, nodding in silence at the bronzehandler as he wiped his hand off against his pant leg. “Great,” he hissed through his teeth, twisting to pick up the knife. It felt strange in his hand – Vix wasn’t a fighter in any sense of the word. Nnngh. “Thanks,” was offered absently to Piden, and he licked his lips absently.

Please? Tekivisk pressed quietly, nuzzling his thigh. It left a smear of blood, a stain Vix ignored as he pressed his first finger against the edge of the blade, testing its sharpness. Please, Tekivisk reiterated, softer than before, licking across his palm again, reassuring. And, since everyone else seemed to be cursing – Vix hissed out a soft “shit” and drew the steel across his palm before he could change his own mind. Curse the wher for loving him so much, making it so hard to refuse – after all, it wasn’t as if Vix had practice with things of that nature.

The sharp stab of pain wasn’t unendurable, but it still hurt. Vix bit his tongue to keep back another hiss, thrusting his hand at Tekivisk as his stomach flopped unpleasantly, using his other hand to wipe the blade on his leg and offer it back towards Piden. He nearly dropped it when Tekivisk carefully swiped her tongue across the thin cut, the steady lick suck taste making his insides coil together. At last, he jerked his hand back, unable to cope with Tekivisk any further.

“That’s more than enough,” he snapped, faintly dizzy.

Sorry, came the reply, and Tekivisk licked his other hand, tongue raspy and leaving a smear across skin. I love you, I love you…Vix jerked his hand away without thinking, grabbed a piece of meat, shoved it unseeingly at the green, as he pressed his cut hand against his shirt, feeling the blood seep through and smear, damp and warm, across his abdomen. Well, it seemed he’d cut a little too deep. To be expected, given how quickly he’d made the incision, but shards if he was going to make it slowly.

Ugh. He really should’ve thought this through better.

[Ember]

Eikask was torn between helping the one the blue - most definitely not her baby - was attacking and staying near Hers, where she could protect him. Ultimately Hers and her own hide was more important than some stranger. The gold's tail lashed from side to side in her anger though and she was growling. Stupid, stupid baby. Face-eating was a valid threat but it wasn't meant to be acted upon, according to the people-rules. Sure she didn't always like those rules but they were there for a reason. A future leader of the weyr like her had to obey the rules until the war was over and she could take over her weyr.

Eikane sighed in frustration. He wanted to go over and help but the big gold in his way wasn't letting him. Even if the woman wasn't killed by the blue she would need a Healer...possibly even the Mindhealer. So much for no blood. He'd have to do some cleaning later it seemed. Babies were so dirty. It didn't matter what species they were. With the draconic ones it was all the meat and oil. With the furred kind it was the fur and their droppings. Human babies were probably the worst though. On top of being smelly and messy they were noisy too. How his parents ever managed so many kids, the man would never know.

The Paso Doble Blue was utterly pleased to see that his prey was able to put up a little bit of a fight. This meatbag had a little bit of spunk! The blue's pause lasted a while longer as he seemed to debate how - was it too optimistic to hope 'if?' - he would kill Kinstar. The time was long enough for the remaining egg, which had steadily been shaking and cracking in the background, to break apart and reveal a camouflage brown. The Vienesse Waltz Brown took a moment to look around the room, lower jaw comically dropped in an expression reminiscent of human awe.

Wooooow! So amazing! He looked at the candidates then and tilted his head. Why where they all there? Why was he there? Why, why why? He directed his questions at the growling gold but she ignored him so he stood up and shook himself. Fine, he'd look for the answers from His. He could feel His in the crowd and...oh dear! What was this? The brown took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and made his way through the candidates and new wherlings. This would not do. His was hurt and...and fighting! No! His was not meant to fight. His was meant to be protected.

The brown walked towards His and sharply ordered the Paso Doble Blue to get off of her. Bad clutchbrother. If he wanted to leave so badly then there was no need to continue attacking His. The blue snorted and removed himself to face the arrogant brown. The Vienesse Waltz Brown barked and stated he'd find and challenge the Paso Doble Blue later. His was of the utmost priority for the moment. He brushed Kinstar's mind gently as he crept closer to her. Nothing would hurt her anymore. Kinstask was here!

He could have kept going. He should have kept going! The Paso Doble Blue hissed as he watched the Impression of the brown before snorting and deciding that the meatbags were more interesting than he had first thought. So frail. So easy to scare. Not to mention some of them actually fought back. He'd stick around for a while and torment his siblings and their meatbags. What fun to be had! He needed to pick a meatbag in that case.... Strong minded ones wouldn't work. He sought out a fearful mind and latched onto it. Yes, this one would do. The Paso Doble Blue walked straight towards Dinag and opened his mouth. He could willingly give his blood to Disk or have it taken by force. His choice.

Eikask huffed and curled around Hers. Well, the hatching was over. Surprisingly all the babies had stayed and found Theirs. Could they go back to their apartment? The gold was tired of being forced to stay in the hatching room. "Forced, huh? Who was it that refused to leave her eggs for even a moment?" The gold pleasantly ignored the comment and butted Hers' hand for a rub. Attention please. She was more tired of her babies stealing all the attention than she was of the hatching room. "Yes, your majesty," Eikane said dryly. "But we still have to check up on that brown's new handler you know...." The man mentally nudged the queen into moving and they headed towards Kinstar. He crouched by her and frowned. "We really need a Healer among the wherhandlers."

----

Tango Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Tekivix
Foxtrot Egg - Hatched Green; Impressed to Kostya
Waltz Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Ximera
Quickstep Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Marsayis
Vienesse Waltz Egg - Hatched Brown; Impressed to Kinstar
Paso Doble Egg - Hatched Blue; Impressed to Dinag
Jive Egg - Hatched Bronze; Impressed to Darmori

[Ember]

Viennese Waltz Brown
Bonded to: Kinstar
Name: Kinstask
Color: Brown #7B3F00 #CBBBA0 #300500
Physical Appearance: This brown does not live up to the size of his shell. He's a slight bit on the small size for a brown though its barely noticeable. He's not stocky like his blue brother but he is quite sturdily built. His tail is disproportionately thick with muscle and he has a wicked habit of swinging it side to side with quick, snapping movements. Anything directly at tail height risks being smacked with his strong tail. He seems very much like the embodiment of masculinity. Rippling muscles, rugged features, the whole package. His movement also reflects his strong build. He walks as if he has a purpose and with all the dignity a male ought to move with. He is a slow moving wher in comparison with other whers his size. He has tiny wings in comparison to his body and as such he will never manage even a glide.

This wher is impossible to describe as just one singular colour. At random spots along his body his colouring fades from the colour of milk chocolate to a brown that looks mostly grey and at others it turns to a darker brown. The best description of him would be camouflage, for the colours overlap in just such a pattern. This pattern is entirely absent on his small wings. They are an odd gradient of the three colours on his hide. at his shoulders they're the darkest colour and they fade quickly through the dark brown and chocolate brown, making most of the wings grey-brown. The wings are entirely opaque, allowing for quite a vivid pattern on his wings.

Personality: This brown is very aware of his masculinity. It reflects in the way he walks and interacts with others. He's of the opinion that males are the best. He doesn't look down upon females in a necessarily negative way. In his opinion they should be relaxing between Runs and letting the big strong males protect them and do all the work. With other males he likes to try and assert his dominance, most often by challenging them to a friendly fight to prove who is stronger. Refusal must come directly from the one he challenged and is seen as defeat. Interference from handlers or other third parties do not count. Those he beats he considers his followers and they're expected to act as such.

The inability to so much as glide often leaves this brown frustrated and grumbling for hours on end. Unhappy is he. There is possibly nothing he longs for more than to fly. He'll occasionally abandon his usual dignity and jump off things and flutter his wings in a futile effort to become airborne. Though he'll always have some lingering feelings over not being able to fly he does have another thing to keep him distracted. He has an insatiable curiosity about all things. His handler will frequently be peppered with the wher equivalent of 'why?' as a young child might do. Good luck getting him to stop once he's started.

Paso Doble Blue
Bonded to: Dinag
Name: Disk
Color: Blue #6A99EE, #00007B
Physical Appearance: This blue is nothing short of huge for his colour. He is easily the size of small browns though he may not seem like it. He has thin proportions detracting from his overall size. A long, lean body makes him faster than most whers his size but he sacrifices his strength for this. His tail is shorter and thicker like the average wher's tail. Despite his overall seemingly delicate proportions, this blue is far from feminine looking. His head and ridges are very angular and the ridges almost look sharp. He has wicked sharp claws that easily slice through fabric and flesh. He has a habit of flexing and examining them when he's bored. He has huge wings to go along with his body. He has the potential of being a very graceful glider.

As if to offset his sharp appearance, this blue is a soft light blue that is tinged with a slight purple. The colour fades closer to white along his underside. What really catches attention about this wher's colouring is that he almost appears to be shackled and collared. A single thick band of navy blue wraps around each leg just above the paw. Another even thicker band goes around the base of the wher's neck. His wings are the light blue colour and there is no fading present at all on them. There are very thin navy blue lines near the wing joint that suggest that a pair of 'shackles' might have formed there but didn't.

Personality: The wild blood in this blue seems to run very close to the surface. Its a wonder he bonded at all. He's a very violent creature by nature. Anyone or anything that is foolish enough to get in his way better be ready for a mauling. If His has anything valuable they should put it high out of reach of this blue lest he tear it to pieces with tooth and claw. A though that crosses this wher's mind very often when it comes to others is eating their faces. He will often send the idea to His or to the one who's face he wants to eat for amusement. He has a rather large sense of humour but only for the macabre.

Perhaps the oddest thing about this blue is that he will not chase, flirt, or otherwise acknowledge greens that are related to him. Why? He's oddly afraid of incest. The only whers he'll chase are ones that have absolutely no known relation to him. He also highly looks down upon those that chase those related to them. It sickens him immensely when they actually catch related whers and he'll frequently have to go take it out on someone or something. He does acknowledge golds, though only because he has no chance at all of mating with them.