Flitterbies {Zesa's Clutch Hatching!}

[binker]

Neikolai felt a pang as the little buggers hatched out, going in every direction but him. He wasn't /that/ bad, was he? Well, actually, maybe he was... He toyed with the bowl of meat in his hands, running a finger along the eartern rim and surpressing a sigh. If only there weren't all these people...

"Neiko-bean! I missed it didn't I? Oh! Eggs!" /Just/ the thing to make this day worse... Neikolai twitched at the whispered words right next to his ear, throwing Zaqx a disgruntled look. The younger boy had gotten lost, fallen in the river, and was now soaked to the bone, but he was here! Sure, his pouch of meat was a little water-logged, but... Food was food, right?

He peeked over at R'wign, teeth chattering softly; he hadn't worn a shirt to bed, and had jumped out as soon as he heard Checkoth. He hoped the healers didn't mind that he was dripping on their floor, he was just happy he wasn't swept downshore too much! And just look at the little hatchling strutting his stuff... Wasn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see?

Neikolai inched away from his brother, a hand covering his face; he did not want to be associated with the crazy man who had seemingly just hopped out from a nice swim to entertain them all. Stupid sharding brother!

{-Failsauce-}

[glamourie]

[ Sorry for the long delay. ;; and for the epic crapness of this post ]

R'wignmine smells like a goo! So I must too! To Checkoth, it was flawless logic. However, as the girl came closer, he leaned forward to nose her in obvious affection; no one could doubt that the little brown liked everyone that he encountered. Your little cousin is very pretty. He turned to look at Zesa as she addressed him and the brown crooned audibly, his tail curling upward. She spoke to him! How exciting! A pretty, shiny gold spoke to him! His eyes whirled in delight as he relayed that message to his exhausted-looking rider; somehow he managed to wear R'wignHis out, but he certainly never meant to! He just assumed it was because R'wignHis was old. Ignoring his bonded's glance of outrage at that thought, Checkoth turned to address Zesa directly, his wings fluttering excitedly. Pretty clutch, Little GoldyShiny cousin!

Chirrup? Checkoth looked thoughtful as he swiveled his head toward the clutch itself and the little brown looking right at him. R'wignmine, what does it mean when they do that?

"How should I know? You're the dragon," R'wign countered, poking Checkoth in the side. The weyrling wriggled slightly at the contact, then sent back a vivid image of Roxie and Stumpy at their perches. R'wign rolled his eyes. "Don't judge all firelizards based on those two weirdos, you'll probably find yourself disappointed. I'm convinced they're both half-mad. Stumpy can at least blame his salamandyr lineage, but Roxie's really quite beyond redemption. I think I may've nudged her egg wrong before she hatched or some such." He and Marra were the ones who found that clutch, after all. He remembered very vividly trying to keep the eggs warm, so he could sympathize some with Zesa. R'wign's gaze snagged on the brown as he flew over to land on the nearest bed, and a slender black eyebrow raised before R'wign leaned against his mud-caked dragon. He winced as he realized that the mud was rubbing off on him. "I think he likes you, Check."

As the creature sneezed, R'wign blinked and followed suit, sneezing loudly with his hands over his mouth. A hint of pink colored his cheeks, only to be replaced by blatant blanching at the familiar warm fuzzy hungry-feed-me feelings that washed over him. The scolding made him quirk his eyebrows and he shot an accusing look at Checkoth, who crooned in delight.

"You don't want meeeee." It was futile as the brown landed on his shoulder and he visibly deflated before poking the firelizard in the belly. "What, do stenches attract you guys or something? Browns must like smelly people." He cast a glance at Checkoth. The weyrling crooned again and rumbled, though he leaned his head forward to snuff at the brown firelizard curiously. So small! So delicate! So -- That thought was cut off as Checkoth sneezed, the force of the sound making him fall backwards, legs sprawled underneath him gracelessly. R'wign caught the little brown flitter carefully to keep him from falling over and he squinted at his dragon. "That's what you get, putting your nose in things~"

That itches a little. You smell hideous. Standing back up, Checkoth wagged his tail enthusiastically, in a remarkable imitation of a canine. What are we going to name him?

"I have no idea." R'wign glanced at Meira apologetically, though a loud, shrill sound caught his attention. Wincing, he started backwards and looked around for any sign of meat. The hatching would continue whether he found any or not, but the hunger-pangs shooting through him were decidedly unpleasant. He didn't have any meat, he hadn't wanted to Impress exactly, shard it --

A bag crumpled into his hands, dropped from above. Roxie and Stumpy both scolded him audibly (the green notably louder and more exaggerate in pitch) before landing on Checkoth's back. Despite their outbursts, he could feel the curiosity the two adults felt for the little brown. He carefully pulled some of the meat out of the bag (it was one of his, therefore there was no raw and fresh meat, but what he had would surely do) and offered it toward the brown on his shoulder, who took it neatly from his fingers. His distraction, however, was unfortunate for right in that moment he saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye just before a smack flew right into his head. Panicking, R'wign flailed, making Checkoth squeak in alarm, and the little brown nip his chin scoldingly. "No no no, you all don't want me, what do I have to do to repel you guys? You'd think smelling like a trash bin would do but - noooo..."

Feed the blue too!

"But then he'll stay!"

R'WIGNMINE.

The last part was audible to everyone in the infirmary and R'wign blanched slightly before offering a piece of his meat toward the blue. His gaze fell back on Meira, the healer visibly sulking. "You'd think - you really would - the infirmary smells and lack of meat would just - just - oh, bugger. They're a collision hazard," he said with a glance toward the blue on his head, who was eating the meat from his fingers. "That's going to be your names too - Collision and Hazard." He nodded toward the blue, then brown decisively. His nodding earned scolding from both directions, while Roxie fluted her approval; evidently, the green was perfectly fine with a harem. "Ugh... anyone have any extra meat...?"

[shadowreine]

Keloran just sighed. Maybe he should leave...but no, there *were* still unImpressed firelizards. No sense storming out until the last one had bonded...to, presumably, anyone but him.

So he stayed still, his face now set into a mask. He wasn't going to betray anything of what he was feeling.

Five times Standing, five times left. Surely that was enough attempts...surely it was time to give up. He had to leave if he did, he had to get as far from Selenitas as he could...

...except a dragon could find him anywhere in the South and he sure wasn't going north. So, what did he do?

Accept reality. That was what he did. He was a little old to apprentice, but maybe somebody would be desperate enough to take him anyway. Maybe he could study to be a record keeper. Maybe he could... He needed a backup plan.

He needed his life to stop revolving around dragons. Maybe he should stand for the next wher hatching as well, if he didn't Impress this time...as a just in case. It's not like wherhandlers had that bad a life. But he didn't really want to be one.

What did he want? He didn't even know any more. Breathe. Maybe his negative thoughts... "Shard it, Kel," he told himself. "Of course a firelizard isn't going to come to a guy that's miserable. They're not going to want to inflict that on themselves."

But if he couldn't Impress one...what was wrong with him? All of those thoughts whirled through his mind, and he stared down at the meat he was holding. "Shard it."

He didn't care who heard him.

[Avu]

...apparently weyrling dragons didn't have the same strictures on talking to only their Bondeds and other dragons, as the brown seemed to have nothing against addressing her, though Meira wasn't complaining. It was...interesting. And a lot less crowded over here than at the actual Hatching. Except...er. Meira blinked, clearly confused at his logic. A goo...? Well, sure, why not? Because R'wign definitely didn't smell very good at present moment. And probably wouldn't, either, until he'd bathed. The wherling blinked as Checkoth nosed her, mud staining her sleeve slightly, a slight grin twitching the corner of her mouth as she hesitantly rubbed the brown's neck, the mud grainy under her fingertips. "Mud doesn't smell as bad as that," she pointed out mildly. "Do you want some of the goo he used? Because I'm sure we could get that." She would have responded to his compliment for Zesa, but there was no need to, as the queen crooned quietly at the brown, clearly pleased as she chirruped.

How nice of the muddy brown to compliment her clutch! And her, too, if she'd gotten the right message from Hers! The queen crossed her forelegs, watching silently as a boy, dripping wet and with - definitely damp meat, approached her clutch and scared away another hopeful. How rude of him! A soft, querulous hiss emerged from Zesa, the fire lizard flaring her wings lightly. Tsk! So dirty. (So Checkoth was muddy, too, but at least he'd said her clutch was pretty.) Couldn't he get some respectable, dry clothing on? Something that was definitely a disdainful sniff, and then Zesa returned her attention to Checkoth and His, watching with her head cocked as he...seemed to attract her hatchlings. Well, good; he had other firelizards - her babies would have a very competent Bonded, wouldn't they?

A twinge of something that was definitely amusement made itself felt to the queen through her Bonded, and she peeped curiously as she glanced at Meira, who was stifling the giggles that threatened to explode as she watched the healer, his new pet, and his dragon. All three of them sneezing - probably due to his smell, she thought, wrinkling her nose slightly - and the healer blanching as if nothing could be worse than Impressing. The sight of the sprawled brown dragon, though - definitely amusing. "Are you okay?" she queried of Checkoth, her voice torn between amusement and concern. Were dragonets meant to sprawl all over like that? Not that the brown seemed very hurt, getting back up without any hesitation whatsoever, but...

And then there was another fire lizard attached to R'wign. Meira blinked, definite amusement in her eyes and the laugh that escaped before she bit her lip, as the blue clung to his head, Zesa adding her own amused warble as the queen cocked her head, watching the chaos surrounding R'wign and Checkoth. Oh, was he sulking? Meira struggled to - and moderately succeeded in - making her face relatively solemn, biting her lip very hard as was required, apparently, to keep from falling over in laughter at the expression R'wign had sported for that moment - not to mention how he'd looked, covered in hungry fire lizard hatchlings. "Maybe it's the fact that you've got Checkoth in here," she commented wryly, and then slid back towards the crowd, picking up an extra bowl of raw scraps and slipping unobtrusively back towards R'wign again, offering it to the Healer.

He was obviously in need of it.

The Glacier Brown had finished parading himself around by now, though he'd pulled a few more deliberate stretches and prancing steps before he'd settled down on the side of the cabinet, head idly turned to examine the assortment of choices as he uttered a slight snort, wrinkling his nose as he shot a glare in the direction of Checkoth. Mean dragon, that one; obviously dragons weren't supposed to be in here and he was, and he was taking the attention away from the Glacier Brown, who obviously deserved it so much more! Right? Right. Of course. But now...show-off time was over; now he was hungry. Nobody could be as hungry as he, because none were as large as he, and thus, reasoned the brown, twitching his tail with a petulant hiss, they couldn't possibly be as hungry! Obviously.

The brown considered, sniffing slightly. None of them were worthy of him, really, but...oh, he was ever-so-hungry, and they had a lovely pile of meat each. Well, most of them. Some others were already stuffing the faces of his clutchsiblings. How rude of them! No, they wouldn't do, for then the attention wouldn't be all on him, like it definitely ought to be. So they were automatically out. That left...only several people, really. The Glacier Brown gave a displeased hiss as he realized just how many of the people were already spoken for, and flared his wings in irritation, narrowing his eyes to study them, the same petulant note slipping into his tones as he keeled softly, glancing around to check for sympathy. Not that he wanted it, but - good to check, r -

Crack! The last egg, the Blue Ice Egg, split slowly. The occupant had been tentatively rocking away, and now the shell had fractured from the stress placed on it. A green head uncurled, a soft, surprised, questioning chirrup emerging from the Blue Ice Green's throat as she found herself facing a perplexing length of blank wall, the back of the cabinet, and - oh! The brilliant green creature swiveled her head around, still encased in the remains of the eggshells, craning to see, and then gave a shrill cry of something that was definitely horror. Oh! Oh! Oh! So, so many people and such a large brown and she was such a small green and - oh! Just - oh! The Blue Ice Green uttered another quiet peep as she scrunched herself down in her shell shards again, closing her eyes as if that would keep her from being stared at, curling her tail around her nose and pressing herself into the dark shell.

Presently, one eye slipped tentatively open, checking - and - oh! Scary! Still there! But, with a displeased hiss, the Glacier Brown had decided that he needed to regain center stage and thus, launched himself with a loud cry off of the shelf, landing heavily on E'yan's shoulder and nipping his Bonded's cheek as he flared his wings and shifted his body, trying to obscure the man's view of the Blue Ice Green. Did His see him? He was the only one worthy of attention, as His would obviously see if only he looked, and if he looked at that silly little green - pretty though she might be - again, who clearly didn't know how to take attention well, he would - he would - he would - do something. But first, he needed foooood!

The Blue Ice Green had seized the chance, while her clutchbrother was occupied with finding His, to sneak out of her egg, crouching as she extended her wings, launching herself off the shelf with a miserable squeak and spiraling downwards as her wings, still wet and sticky from her Hatching, refused to catch air properly. A slight, surprised whuff emerged from the brilliantly-colored green as she landed, flailing her wings with a soft, piteous cry, and then, dropping that decision, folded her wings tightly against her body, snaking lithely around the legs of the assembled people, her head held low and her eyes closed tightly, until - whuff! Again her breath left her as the Blue Ice Green stared hopefully up at the young man she'd just collided with, uttering a hopeful, piteous creel as she nudged Keirin's ankle with her head, and then, hopefully, lifted her wings and struggled into the air until she was at shoulder-height for Keirin, landing and nuzzling against the boy's throat, oblivious to the egg goo still staining her body as she tried to sink into Keirin. Sooo scary!

And - that was it. Zesa gave a soft flute, as if surprised by the end of her Hatching, and then dropped to the shelf, nosing experimentally around the egg shells before she took wing again, looping around the heads and dropping to land on Meira's shoulder again, looping her tail with a purr around the girl's throat and nudging her cheek affectionately, her eyes sparkling with joy. Such a pretty clutch she'd made! No bronzes, but who needed bronzes, after all? The queen gave a contented croon as she curled up with a slight yawn. It had been a lovely Hatching, hadn't it?


Icy Ocean Egg- Hatched brown Hazard; Impressed to R'wign
Glacier Egg- Hatched brown ?; Impressed to E'yan
Blizzard Egg- Hatched blue ?; Impressed to Raylin
Undersea Volcano Egg- Hatched blue Cuddles; Impressed to Aliscia
Blue Ice Egg- Hatched green ?; Impressed to Keirin
Northern Lights Egg- Hatched green Laef; Impressed to Ieoha
Diamond Dust Egg- Hatched blue Collision; Impressed to R'wign
Iceberg Egg- Hatched green Tille; Impressed to Farryl

~*~*~

Glacier Brown
Looks to- E'yan
Color- Brown
Physical Appearance- A stunning dark mahogany hide is the most noticeable thing about this brown. Otherwise, he's quite average, though clearly handsome. Large for a brown, he might pass for a small bronze (bypassing his clearly /brown/ coloration). Strong muscles give him a bulky look, the contours of his body etched to perfection. His wings are neither long nor short, wide nor slender, the membranes darker than his hide, to the point where they could be mistaken for black; in the right light, a reddish gleam can enter them when unfurled. His neck is carried with an undoubtedly proud arch to it. Clearly masculine, his head is blunt, his neck ridges clear, nostrils large and body always carried with an arrogance one might usually attribute to a bronze.

Personality- This brown clearly thinks highly of himself, as is apparent in his carriage. Overprotective of His to the point where he might go as far as to warn off even potential lovers, he seems to rank himself higher than any bronze. Despite his arrogance, he's affectionate to His, as long as His takes care to please him. He clearly expects to be cared for, and is usually quiet, unless he realizes something isn't going his way, whereupon he can most definitely be noisy. Fortunately, though, it takes very little to appease him once he realizes that the attention is, indeed, on him. Salamandyrs, flitters - he has little respect for either of them, though he will ocassionally Chase, usually queens, though greens that catch his interest should be honored to have him Chase as well. Little less than a dragon - and possibly His - can make this flit do something that he doesn't want to, so most of the time he ends up lazily attaching himself to His for lack of anything else to do.

Blue Ice Green
Looks to- Keirin
Color- Green
Physical Appearance- Undoubtedly flashy by all means, this small green is definitely eye-catching, perfectly proportioned despite her small - and yes, she is incredibly small - though her slightly blunted neck ridges give her a more effeminate appearance than if they'd been prominent. A long, whippy tail and arched neck are carried with a grace that comes naturally to this little one, and her wings are sometimes partially flared for even better balance - long, wide appendages, holding a kaleidescope of greens, each shade deftly flattering the next, an ocassional silver streak adding a metallic shade to the green. Her body is a brilliant shade of electric green. Her legs and the tip of her tail fade into a darker shade of the bright green. Lithe and slender of frame, she's undoubtedly the brightest of the clutch.

Personality- To this green, her attention-drawing appearance is unneeded and unwanted, for she's surprisingly shy around other flitters and people. It takes quite a lot of effort to get her to befriend some new creature, and Hers absolutely has to be there during the introduction, for this little one is incredibly clingy, seeking protection from Hers as much as is possible. Once she does get over her self-consciousness, though, she's incredibly sweet and playful, though she's highly dramatic, magnifying any negative signal to take it that she isn't liked. With a childish naivete, those who gain the adoration of this green will always have it; likewise, if they get on her bad side, in all likelihood they'll stay there.

[dragon]

E'yan smiled as he felt the familiar pangs of Impression. His little buddy ... his little hungry buddy! And like an idiot, E'yan had totally failed to bring any kind of meat to the hatching. Maybe because he had actually not expected to impress a flitter? Who knew? Maybe it had to be with the time crunch put on him by Kindrith's lack of waking?

Anyway ... he had to go find something to feed this stout little brown. "Hey!" E'yan protested, when the flitter started abusing his facial features. "I know you're there already, cut it out." He reached up and lifted the flitter down, disengaging him from his face. "That was totally uncalled for."

The Glacier Brown sqeaked in protest, flapping his wings madly as he clung to E'yan's thumb, trying to get not only rightside up again, but back up to E'yan's shoulder. "Stubborn little guy, aren't you? Just calm down, okay?" E'yan told him, allowing him to be fully rightside up ... but the bluerider stoutly refused to allow the brown near his face again. "Stubborn little rascal..."

Rascal squeaked again, demanding to be fed, and that E'yan stop fooling around. Finally deciding that E'yan was stronger than even he was, he just sat there in the bluerider's hands and held his mouth open expectantly.

E'yan looked around the room, before finally deciding that he had better go get something to feed the little flitter quickly, before he had a true, all out conniption on him. Taking the brown with him, he left to go find something to feed him.

[nightingale]

Keirin couldn't help but feel badly for the poor, timid little green as he watched her trying to hide within the remnants of her broken shell. Unlike the tiny blue who'd hatched out only minutess ago, she hadn't any conviniently placed clutchsibling to encourage her and tell her that everything was alright. All that silly little brown seemed intent on was capturing as much of E'yan's attention as possible. Kei winced as he heard the wet impact of a newborn flit against the infirmary floor. He hoped the poor little thing hadn't hurt herself -she was so tiny after all!- but he couldn't quite see where she was in order to determine weather she was alright or not. Maybe she'd crawled up someone's pantleg?

Then he felt a light pressure agaisnt his ankle, and glanced down in surprise only to see that the tiny green flitter was nudging her head against his ankle. Suddenly, he was terrified. SO scary! So many people and -oh! They were all so big! Then all at once, he realized that the fear and hunger overtaking his senses wasn't his own. A slow, awestruck smile spilt across young man's face as the flit -his flit- fluttered awkwardly up onto his shoudler and started smearing egg fluid against his cheek. His! And by far the most beautiful, perfectly formed little fire lizard of the clutch -shards, maybe ever!

Scary...ooooh, scaaary! But she was so hungry too...surely Hers had brought her something to fill her tummy? It was after all, so very empty. Keirin's lightheaded bliss was suddenly ripped open by a streak of horror. Hungry! The most beautiful flitter of the entire clutch had chosen him and he wasn letting her go hungry! What kind of idiot was he?

"Saeo, where's the meat I brought?"

He asked hurriedly, feeling the little creature on his shoulder press herself even more tightly agaist his neck as he turned toward the girl. Saeo looked up breifly from her adoration of Raylin's new pet, her face quizzical as she pondered for a moment what on earth he was talking about. All of a sudden, recognition flickered into the girl's eyes, and she passed the bowl of herdbeast scraps she'd been holding to him with a bright grin.

"Oh, congratulations Keirin! She's just lovely!"

He gave her a nervous half smile and a nod, then set about rooting through the bowl for a palateable scrap of meat for his flitter. Grissle...tendon...oh there had to be something good enough for his perfect little green in here somewhere. Finally, he found a thin strip of muscle tissue near the bottom, and offered it to her with a shaking hand. She was so timid he thought, warmth coursing through him as she daintily began nibbling at the strip of meat he had offered her, her head twitching up nervously every few seconds when a noise sounded nearby. She was like a baby ovine...hmmm, there was an idea. What was that old Irish word for a baby ovine again?

"Lamb."

He said decisively, pressing his cheek lovingly against his slimy newborn flitter. Lamb cooed softly as she ate, her eyes whirling a pale greeney-yellow in nervous, affectionate approval of her new name.
And just think, he thought, breathless with amazement as his good luck. Impressing a dragon is supposed to be even more amazing than this...

[Rowana]

G'tor smiled easily as the last fire lizard impressed. He was disappointed not to get one, but more than happy to see each find a bonded. Several candidates had also impressed, which he thought was a good sign. If fire lizards took to them so quickly, perhaps they would make fine riders someday. Standing, he dusted off his pants and headed for the door. He didn't have any reason to stay now and he was only adding to the considerable crowd in the infirmary. Ruskeath would be disappointed, but maybe next time he would impress one. Perhaps he would even see if a salamandyr queen was clutching soon. He had never consider one before, but they were certainly just as interesting as fire lizards. He would look into it later. For now, he and Ruskeath were going to go for a swim.

~

Farryl was too occupied with her own new companion to notice the remain impressions. Tille had eaten her fill rapidly and was now exploring ever inch of her new mistress. Farryl giggled as the mottled green climbed up to explore her neck. Her tiny claws tickled her skin, but never clung hard enough to draw blood. "Settle down up there," Farryl cooed. "Aren't you tired?"

Tille was too excited to be tired. So many things to see and explore! So many people and fire lizards and dragons to meet! How could one spend time sleeping. She nipped playfully at chestnut hair, before poking her head out to spy on her siblings. She trilled sweetly at them, before clambering back around to Farryl's shoulder. She gave a tiny, high pitched yawn. Maybe she was a little tired after all. She could always meet everyone later. With her tail curled around her bonded's neck, she drew into a tiny ball to sleep.

Farryl beamed at her new little friend. She got up slowly, using one hand to make sure Tille was secure on her perch. Then she approached Meira with a bright smile. "Thank you so much both of you!" She indicated that it was directed both to the other girl and to her beautiful queen. She could not thank either of them enough for such a wondrous gift as Tille.

Knowing Meira probably really wanted to be left alone, Farryl's course took her to Saeo and several other candidates. She was sorry to see that Saeo had not impressed one of the little beauties, but two of the others had, including one girl who had impressed Tille's little blue friend. "Hello Saeo," Farryl greeted in mix of happiness and sympathy. "I'm sorry you didn't impress one." She turned to the other candidates with a wave. "And hello to you too. I'm Farryl," she introduced herself to the strangers readily. New friends were always a joy to meet.

[antinanco]

As the final flits had found theirs, Ieoha quietly watched as some of the disappointed suitors began filing out of the Infirmary. She made no move to leave. If she did move, where would she go? Would she risk the fragile Laef’s contented sleep by moving around in excess? Nonsense! The cot she was seated on now was plenty comfortable enough for her to say for the rest of the day. If any of the Healers asked why she was here she could just lie about a broken hip or something. At her age, they’d believe it.

Just to make sure no one currently was noticing her, Ieoha glanced about the room. Meira was busying herself with the brownweyrling and his newest additions to his bonded band. A clump of Candidates, most of them sporting shiny (or was it slimy?) new fire lizards, gathered off to one side. The other rider who had gotten the brown-bronze was running around with the expectant thing in the palm of his hand. Ieoha glanced down to her bowl of food to find it two-thirds empty. It was probably not enough for such a keen brown. Needless to say, she didn’t spend much time with regret.

Instead her time was spent stroking the slumbering fire lizard, tracing the blurred edges of pastel hues with one knobby finger. Laef was like a limp rag doll and allowed the woman to fondle her without the slightest reaction. Her sleep was complete and absolute. Her attention to the flit was complete and absolute. The two were effectively shut off from the rest of the world.