The Clutching

[Administrator]

"Easy, Aslath," Shmee said soothingly, massaging Aslath golden leg with her hand. Aslath hissed, and Shmee winced. It always hurt her to see her mindmate in so much pain. It wasn't new to her now, of course, but that didn't mean she was used to it. It was now that she was relieved that she left Shei back in the weyr with S'rei. She didn't want to traumatize the poor babe. "You're almost finished with this one," the woman cooed on the dragon. Aslath, whose multi-faceted eyes were whirling an angry, pained red-orange, snapped her head back to Shmee. Yes, that is what you said ten minutes ago![/color] the queen snarled. Shmee sighed. It was true, although, Aslath hadn't been pushing as hard as she could have been. Though, now having been through the experience of having to push something enormous out of a tiny birth canal, Shmee knew it was wise to not say that. Besides, this act was harder than it looked.

Shmee looked back up anxiously at the tiers of seats. People were allowed to come watch the Touching, as was tradition. However, nobody was in yet. No matter; they would be soon. T'rid most of all would have to be there. She wrinkled her nose. Faranth, that idiot boy should get there soon, as did his dragon. Aslath was bound to get cranky if she couldn't screech at the dragon whose fault it was putting her through this misery. A wry smile crossed her fair features. This was one of the most useful things males were for: Being there to be blamed as a mother was giving birth. She would make sure to do that to S'rei if he ever made her pregnant again-- just for the experience of yelling at him in the process of childbirth. This brightened her spirits. "Aslath, if Corinth gets here, you should yell at him, since it's his fault that you're in pain right now," she told the massive queen. Even in her pain, Aslath snorted.

I like that idea,[/color] she panted. Corinth, you should come so I can yell at you,[/color] she called, but before she could explain, she shrieked. Shmee grimaced, massaging the poor beast's leg even more.

Sneaking a quick look toward Aslath's underside, she blinked. A tiny little egg seemed intent on getting out. "Aslath, this one's close, one more push and it'll be out," she said firmly. Aslath roared, though whether it was in indignation, anger, or pain, Shmee didn't know. But she kept her blue eyes trained on the little egg. Aslath obliged to Shmee's request, and with another screech, she managed to drop the egg into the hot sands. Aslath heaved a sigh of relief, immediately turning back to nuzzle the egg lovingly. Shmee beamed at the odd red-white striped egg. "It's beautiful, Aslath," she said lovingly. Aslath grunted as she mounded sand around it.

Yes, killing Corinth sounds very nice,[/color] Aslath commented dryly. Shmee laughed.

[antinanco]

A shrill shriek of agony echoed off of the Weyr’s valley and rebounded upstream to a female Candidate poured over a hide in the Barracks. She had paused from her crochet work to take a much-needed slip of klah since the bags under her eyes were heavy burdens. But the noise snapped her back to reality with a slight rattle and a final gulp.

Pasine abandoned her feeble attempt at a suitable sweater since it wasn’t like she was making much progress away and rushed out of the Candidate Barracks. At the docks she singled out one of the wider boats for stability just to be safe and made her way over to the bank, then the Hatching Sands. It was a short and uneventful journey, thankfully, for if it had not been then she might have not been the first to arrive on scene.

For the first arrival, Pasine wasn’t much of a commemoration to the Clutch. She had flecks of earth clinging to her lower body and her bobbed hair was slightly disheveled from the flight to the Grounds. Although, in spite of the fact the Candidate doubted she was going to be putting a foot to sand this time ‘round, her feet still donned open-toes sandals. There would be no repeat of last time, thank you very much. In that one single aspect, in addition to her Candidacy, Pasine fit the occasion.

Despite her aberrant appearance, the Weaver did not make a move to fix any of it. Instead a surprised smile slithered along her face as she realized how barren it was. It was just her, the Weyrleader, Aslath and one tiny egg, not a hundred yards away! A knobbled hand shielded grey eyes from the glow of the Sands in an attempt to get a better look at the tiny egg. It was not what she had been expecting at all. This egg was bright, and with marking she had never seen before! Though, truth be told, she hadn’t been expecting more than an overgrown wherrie egg.

Gathering up her dutiful nerves, Pasine looked past Aslath, who looked like she was about to bite the head off of whoever was stupid enough to make more than a peep, and managed a modest congratulation to the pair. “Best wishes for a healthy clutch!” she called from her railing with a slight nod. Even if they did hear her it wasn’t exactly a statement that required an answer, so Pasine began to anticipate the next eggs and shrieking that accompanied them.

[/font]

[Rei]

Raylin strode into the grounds and waited by the entrance for Vega to calm himself before sending the little flitter off to await her return at the barracks. She doubted Aslath would want a small blue flitter shrieking while she was giving birth. The girl had attended many a runner birthing as well as the birthing of her younger siblings so she knew at least a little of what to expect. She was well aware of the moodiness of a birthing female and had no desire to incur the golden monarch’s wrath.

Saeo would be by shortly she was sure. No way would her friend miss this. Declining to wait for her accomplice, Raylin skirted the grounds throwing a glance at the laboring queen. Poor thing she hoped the birthing went well. The candidate ascended the stands and sat a bit away from where the main bulk of the spectators were sure to sit. No crowds for her thank you. She examined the small egg that had already been laid its shell still glistening with the lubricating fluid that had helped it pass through the birth canal. We’re all dragon eggs that small?

[topaz]

Corvin was startled out of a nap by the anguished shrieking of the golden queen, but his composure returned quickly. He smiled, not of course at the pain Aslath was obviously in, but at his giddy thoughts of shiny, new eggs on the Sands. The boy donned his boots and hurried out of the Candidate Barracks, taking the spiral stair steps to the dock two at a time. He untied one of the smaller, two person boats and stepped in, careful not to capsize it. He couldn't show up to a Clutching completely drenched, could he? While he hadn't bothered to take the time to shave, or even fix his hair, dripping water all over the stands would most likely bother Aslath and get him quickly removed.

Grabbing the paddles, Corvin quickly sat down, his back to the eastern bank and began rowing. It would be so much fast to just swim... He thought absently. After just a minute of rowing he reached land, tied up the boat once more, and hurried off into the arena.

As he entered the large structure, Corvin could clearly see Aslath on the Sands with Shmee. He walked up to the railing around the edge of the stands for a better look at the eggs. There must be at least one out already; the roar that woke him certainly was loud enough to signal that. Sure enough there was one egg. It was strange though; very small, with red and white stripes. It looks like some sort of candy. He thought, and then almost literally bit his tongue, foolishly imagining for a moment that the laboring queen might hear him. Nevermind being soaking wet. That would definitely get me thrown out.

Glancing around at the stands he saw that there were two girls watching the Clutching so far, no doubt candidates like himself. He walked in the direction of the raven haired girl, ascended the stands and took a seat in the middle, quite a few rows away from her. After all the arena was quite large, and to sit right next to someone when it was so empty like this was plain intrusive.

Shaking his fingers through his wavy brown hair, Corvin attempted now to straighten it out a bit. When he finished it was no doubt an improvement but the slight curls were simply unruly and he gave up. Turning his gaze back to the queen he watched with wide, interested eyes waiting for the next earsplitting contraction to give way to another egg.

- - -

Venus stroked the brown mare's shoulder lovingly as it bent down to snag some leftover hay in it's trough. Seeing that it was almost out, Venus took it upon herself to go over to the stable where the hay is kept and retrieve the creature another small bale. Walking back to the brown's stall, Venus heard Aslath's roar of pain, as did the runners who reared and whinnied as if being attacked. Venus ran to the mare and dumped the hay into her trough, petting her roughly before heading off at a brisk pace towards the sound.

A few minutes later she found herself in front of the large arena that housed the Hatching Sands. Still in awe of it's massive size, Venus walked through the tall archway and, seeing a glimmer of gold poke out over the edge of the railing, raced towards the Sands. The brunette was elated to see a large Aslath sprawled out on the Sands. Shmee was beside her, as well as a small half burried egg. Squinting at the peculiar lump, Venus noticed that it's shell was red striped with white..or white striped with red, she couldn't tell. She brought up a picture in her mind of all the things she had heard about dragon eggs, but this one didn't seem to match too well. But of course Venus had never actually seen a dragon egg at all, so she didn't think anything of the strange colors. Instead of taking a seat, Venus stayed leaning on the railing nearby the entrance to the arena. Eye's wide, Venus watched the queen, with a bittersweet feeling. She had never been to a birth of any species, only heard stories, but this mother seemed quite distressed indeed. Even though she felt a tinge of mutual pain for the queen, the eggs must be laid, it was Aslath's duty as a clutching dragon.

[ladybug]

Burena gasped when a cry of agony rent through the Weyr. Realizing what was happening, she let out an excited squeal and dropped the broom she had been using to sweep the dining hall. "Gotta go! Can't miss this!" she yelled to her supervisor. Forget chores, this was so much more important! She wanted to see the clutch every step of the way! She ran to the Hatching Grounds, pausing at the entrance to arrange her dress and pat her hair down, just in case. Then, she stepped inside and headed up to the stands.

She leaned over the railing, inspecting the egg Aslath had laid. It was soft looking now, and kind of slimy. It was pretty, though. Burena liked the red and white stripes. What kind of dragon would hatch out of that, though? It must be impossible to tell dragon color from shell color. Even though the Clutching was a happy occasion, Burena felt bad for Aslath. It must suck to have to lay all of those eggs. Burry was really glad she had managed not to get pregnant. She almost wondered if she was infertile...oh well. That wouldn't matter in the Weyr.

As Aslath made a mound of sand around the egg, Burena turned to look over the other candidates. Why were there so many girls here? Was there supposed to be a gold egg or something? Ignoring the other ladies for now, Burena focused on Corvin. Smiling, she sidled up to him. "Have you ever seen a touching before? It's cool, isn't it? A little scary, too..." she giggled. She considered asking him to hold her hand if she got too scared, then decided against it. They had to have at least half a conversation before that, she decided.

[nightingale]

"You know if I didn't know any better, I would swear an oath that you liked showing up late to this sort of thing."

Saeo growled as she helped her reluctant boatman to lash their vessle to the dock. Keirin winced as a slight shift in his posture incited Lamb to dig her neddle sharp claws into his neck. She crooned meekly, pressing Hers as to why they were helping a girl who seemed so overtly angry with them. Kei stroked his flitter's neck soothingly, reminding her that he had made the mistake of asking her what was wrong when she burst into the boy's dormitory that morning. He wondered if being drafted to row this overly eccentric 'mandyr of a girl places was going to become an everyday event.
Shards, he really hoped not.

"Well come on! We don't want to miss it."

Kei glanced up from his musings only to see that Saeo was already halfway to the hatching sands, beckoning for him to hurry up and follow. The young man double checked the knots holding their boat in place, then started after her. His decidedly unhurried pace drew a gurgle of irritation from the girl as she waited from him to catch up, and as soon as he was close enough, she had him by the wrist as was pulling him along at what she deemed to be a far more acceptable pace.

She released him when the got to the sands, and he used the moment of repreive to cast an admiring glance over Aslath and the beginnings of her clutch. There was a reason they called them queens, he thought with an awe filled sigh -then added in hurriedly as he felt a wave of depression settle over Lamb that a real queen could come in any colour.
He settled himself on the bench next to Saeo as she took her place beside a dark haired girl he recognized from the flitter hatching. Her name started with an R, didn't it? Rinnel or Rayna or something like that?

"Raylin, you remember Kei, don't you?"

Ah, Raylin, that was it.

Saeo beamed at her friend, seeming far less irrirated than she had last time about being left to find her own way across the river. It was the promise of watching her dragon from it's very first moment that put her in such a good mood - and she simply would not entertain the idea that her dragon wasn't among Aslath's newest clutch.

"You both impressed at Zesa's hatching. In any case, I couldn't find Cloar this morning, so he offered to help me across the river -you know how useless I am with watercraft."

[Administrator]

Ah, there were some people. Shmee looked up, smiling kindly at the young candidates. It made her feel so old. She was once a candidate here, eagerly looking over the sands to see if her mindmate would be born. It was such an exciting feeling, knowing the creature that would change your destiny might be lying in one of these small eggs. Was this how they felt now? "Hello, everyone," she called up. Aslath ignored there, clearly having much better things to do than pay attention to the brats that would steal her babies. Shmee gave a timid look at Aslath. I feel another egg beginning to want to come out,[/color] she said calmly. Shmee ground her teeth anxiously. She had been wondering whether she wanted to go up and meet the candidates, but she didn't want to leave Aslath to be pained alone. However, the golden queen crooned at Shmee's nervous thoughts. Mine, it is all right. Go meet the younglings. Maybe you will make me feel better about giving away my children.[/color]

A small smile emerged on Shmee's lips. With one last rub of Aslath's leg, Shmee resisted the urge to get off the hot sands as quickly as she could. Instead, she was able to walk off the sands like a normal person, approaching the stairs that led up to the many seats. In fact, she even thought she looked pretty dignified. This was good. Her goal was to make as good an impression for them as she could; that way, she could become respected by a new generation. She rubbed her shoulder, wishing that little Arlo could join her. But Aslath had never been a fan of having pets on the sands. Aslath, hearing that thought, snorted tiredly, moving from her striped egg to begin piling up another mound to prepare for the next egg she felt in her. You are Mine, and as long as the little cousin isn't on the Sands, he may be here,[/color] she told Shmee wistfully.

Shmee brightened, and silently called for Arlo as she ascended the stairs to the candidates. Instantly, the silent blue flitter emerged from between settling on her shoulder lovingly. Immediately, Shmee stroked his delicate head. She liked having something nearby that could be her comfort, which was usually Shei or Arlo-- or both.

"Hello, candidates," she said gracefully, straightening out her white tunic as best as she could. It was tucked into her pants, so her ability to straighten it out was limited. At the very least, it got out the worst of the wrinkles. "None of you look familiar, so what are you're names?" she asked kindly. "I'm Shmee, in case you haven't seen me around before." Lovingly scratching Arlo's eyeridges, she felt Aslath tense up mentally, the only foreshadow of the pain she would soon be in.

A worried expression crossed her face as she looked behind her at the queen, who hissed. Aslath's eye color intensified again, but no other noises were made-- yet. "Clutchings are never easy," she commented. "I know what it's like now, so I feel even more sympathy for her. It's never fun to see your dragon in pain," she told them sagely.

[Rei]

Raylin almost didn’t notice Saeo’s entrance until she and her tagalong had almost arrived next to her. Who was the boy again? Oh yes the one who impressed the green at the flitter hatching. She raised a hand to her shoulder and stroked it absentmindedly. It felt weird with Vega not on his customary perch. Still he had needed to stay at the barracks. The dark haired girl had heard through the grapevine that Aslath disapproved of flitters on the sands. She probably should mention it to his boy before it made the golden mother any more uncomfortable.

“Kei? Is that his real name or are you giving your boyfriends nicknames now?” Raylin teased in a light tone. The dark haired girl leaned across Saeo so she could speak to Keirin her braided hair falling over her shoulder. “You may want to send your filter away. I heard that Aslath dislikes them on the sands. That’s why I sent Vega back to the barracks. She is having a hard enough time with the labor without further upsetting her don’t you think?” As Raylin straightened up, a slight frown flickered across her face. That comment could probably be construed as rude. The dark haired girl was contemplating how to apologize without sounding stupid when movement caught the corner of her eye.

The Weyrwoman was ascending the stands and heading in their direction. Her eyes widened as the woman stopped before them and addressed them all. Finding her voice Raylin managed to speak, albeit in a meek tone, “I am Raylin of Selenitas Hold.” She waited for the other candidates to introduce themselves as she listened to the pain in Shmee’s voice. Poor Aslath if only there were a way to make the birth easier on her. She was sure however if there were a way Shmee would be all for it. No pain and birth went hand in hand it seemed.

-----

Kaaoloth perched on the rim of the hatching bowl, folded his great wings, and crooned encouragingly to Aslath. He craned his neck as he regarded the candidates below. There are many candidates already in attendance Mine. Are you not coming to watch? Sel’n rolled his eyes from his location in the entryway of the grounds. I am watching Kaao but from a distance. Aslath might not be too keen on a huge audience.

The brown snorted in amusement. Mine she is a Queen. Queens are used to this. The rider gave a short laugh before responding to his bonded. Queens are also temperamental and unpredictable. I would much rather stay out of sight. Kaaoloth declined to respond this time but Sel’n could feel his amusement through their bond. Silly brown.

-----

Danar raced headlong to the hatching ground. He had been all the way on the other side of the weyr of all the rotten luck! Now he would most likely be one of the last ones there. What if his bronze had already been laid! The burly lad practically slid into the grounds and came to a stop sides, heaving as he fought to catch his breath. Only one egg had been laid and it was far far too small to contain a bronze more than likely green or blue. Good he was not as late as he had first imagined.

The candidate scanned the grounds for a familiar face and waved at Pasine. The lad bowed to Aslath before climbing the stands and heaving himself onto the bench by the female candidate. “I was all the way on the other side of the weyr.” He made a face before continuing, his breath still coming in gasps. “Lucky for me Aslath seems to be a lazy layer.” Just then he caught a glimpse of the senior Weyrwoman. Whoops. His eyes widened in fear and he struggled to amend himself. “Not that that’s a bad thing. No sense straining herself.” Danar closed his mouth then. It always seemed to be getting him in trouble.

[ladybug]

Catching sight of the Weyrwoman's wave, Burena waved back, but didn't turn her attention from Corvin until Shmee started walking up the stairs. At least for now, the presence of the Weyrwoman was more interesting than a boy. She grinned as Shmee approached. Burena wasn't shy at all, and she had no problem introducing herself when the Weyrwoman asked. "Hi, I'm Burena. I'm from Selenitas Hold, too," she said. She glanced at Raylin, wondering if they had met before. She looked vaguely familiar, but Burry was sure they didn't know each other. Selenitas was a big Hold, so that wasn't too surprising.

Surreptitiously, she took stock of Shmee. She seemed nice, and she was kind of pretty. Burena dimly remembered hearing some complaints around the Hold when Shmee Impressed her gold, but she didn't care about politics, so it didn't bother her. Her gaze flickered over the fire lizard, and she smiled. Flitts were really cute, and she might try to Impress one if she got a chance here in the Weyr. The acquisition of a dragon came first, though.

[topaz]

Corvin smiled Burena's approach and question. His eyes were large as he looked her over, surprised that she was just as tall as he was. Most girls are at least three or four inches shorter. She also seemed much more confident then the other girls, if not obnoxiously so. Nonetheless Corvin would never pass up a conversation, much less one with a lady. "Oh yes, I've been to quite a few of these things already. But it's stil.." The Candidates reply was cut short as the Weyrwoman came up to greet the Candidates. He grinned and walked over behind Burena, forming a semi-circle around Shmee with the others. During a pause in the introductions he gave his own. "I'm Corvin. Born a raised right here in the Weyr. I've Stood for every one of Aslath's beautiful Clutches, and I'm proud to Stand for this one, wether I Impress or not." He said proudly, curling his hands into fists and resting them on his hips.

- - -

Venus hurried down towards the group and walked around to an open spot closer to Shmee. She smiled up at the Weyrwoman and waited until Corvin had finished to take up the line of introductions. As she was heading to the group she heard the previous girl's answer, glanced around to her and then the other Candidates and smiled, turning back to Shmee. "I'm Venus, yet another girl from Selenitas Hold." She grinned.

[nightingale]

Saeo made a small sound of indignation as she was accused of being Keirin's girlfriend. She folded her arms over her chest and thrust her nose skyward to make the insult she felt clear.

"As a matter of fact I do, but that's not the point."

"Ah...hold on there I'm not-"

"His full name is Keirin, and it just so happens that he told me to shorten it. If he was my boyfriend don't you think you would have known about it before now?"

The girl seemed completely unphased by the faux-misunderstanding as she shifted her attention to the seats behind her and set about scanning the crowd for familiar faces. Keirin on the other hand had gone very pale. Shards...that had been far too close for comfort. It took a very special breed of man to take a girl like Saeo as his own, and he simply cut from that piece of leather.

"Ah...well, Lamb isn't really a disruptive kind of flitter."

He grinned sheepishly at Raylin as the colour slowly filtered back into his face.

"I don't think Aslath will mind her sitting up here quietly with me."

"Look! Shmee's coming over!"

Saeo gasped, the awe in her expression translating seamlessly into her voice as the Weyrwoman approached them. She listened in stunned silence as first Shmee, then the other candidates spoke, praying that her tongue wouldn't slip up when it came time for her to introduce herself.
Okay, go! Hurry up -it's your turn!

"S-Saeo, daughter of Chorn and Carmine of Selenitas Hold."

She stammered, trying to keep herself from shaking as she felt Shmee's attention rest on her. A goldrider -the goldrider! this was fantastic! She'd dreamt of glimpsing Shmee about the Weyr when she became a candidate, but now she was actually speaking to her! She was convinced that she was about to die on the spot.
Keirin too, felt rather privileged to be meeting his Weyrwoman in person. He was not however, quite awestruck enough not to remain oblivious to the other candidates' introductions. There was just something about the way Corvin had 'introduced' himself that rubbed him the wrong way. Was that the way all weyrbred were supposed to act? Bubbling over with pride an humility to the point of seeming insincere? He certainly hoped not...

"Candidate Keirin. It's an honour."

The boy said simply, offering the Weyrwoman a polite incline of his head. Best to leave out that his parents had been riders until he fully understood his situation -Shmee was probably too young to have known them anyway.
He winced as Lamb's claws shifted against his neck, and listened with confusion to the nervousness she projected as she desperately tried to conceal herself within his shirt collar. Oh, oh my, oh there were just so many people! Wasn't Hers frightened? Hadn't he seen how large gold Aslath was? Oh, and that blue who looked to Weyrwoman Shmee, oh he simply couldn't see her!

[binker]

Typically, when one hears a loud shriek, they have to investigate. Sure, Pepsi didn't know /why/ there was shrieking in the middle of his.. Lesson, but his teacher didn't look too annoyed. And the wildling had learned long ago that it took a rare disturbance to keep Neikolai from lashing out.

"Sounds like something is going on." The Archivist stood, looking at his student; Pepsi had wandered in a sevenday ago, took a nap under a desk, and stole Neiko's lunch... After hearing his garbled language, Neikolai had set to work. "We go?" Pepsi frowned at Neikolai's unhappy scowl, before he tried to rectify his sentence. "Will we go see?" A bit rusty, but it would do.

"Yeah, come on... Sounds like it came from the Hatching Sands. Perhaps Ashlath is laying her clutch?" He'd never seen a clutching dragon before, and he was sure they wouldn't be the only ones drawn by the noise. Besides, he had found that too long sitting and learning led to a rather agitated wildling; best to let him stretch his legs before they got back to writing and grammar.

He strode from the Records Hall with Pepsi loping in front of him. For all of his faults, the boy /was/ strong... Neikolai wouldn't want to go up against him. But the other was useful when it came to the boats, even though the wildling was a bit nervous about it all... Neikolai took the lead to the Hatching Grounds, looking along the sands at all the people. Oh, there was Zaqx, waving like a fool... And Pepsi had gotten distracted by peering at Ashlath, moving forward and away from the group of people to crouch and peer at the freshly-laid egg, then at the Gold.

[antinanco]

As if noticing how empty the Stands were jinxed the moment, a flood of Candidates flowed through the entrance and Pasine was more or less surrounded by semi-familiar faces. Well, it felt like surrounded compared to the previously empty seats, but in reality everyone seemed to pair off into their own respective groups.

Faintly chatter began about some recent flitter Hatching. It wasn’t surprising that Pasine had missed it; probably busy off doing work or chores or something. Still she felt the slightest tinge of regret. Thankfully a boy sported a hatchling green and she busied herself with studying it.

Then Shmee decided to grace the Candidate crowd with her presence and everyone immediately snapped to a mock semi-circle, Pasine included. She opened her mouth to introduce herself. A girl named Raylin beat her to it, though, and then Danar appeared with an amusing entrance. If she had any humor, Pasine would have laughed aloud, but instead she felt rather disappointed. Was one of the only Candidates she acquainted herself with a social klutz? He hadn’t seemed that way before…

Snapping out of her own thoughts, Pasine re-recalled that she was supposed to be introducing herself. Why did she always have trouble remembering to do such a simple task? But by then curiosity had taken a hold of Pasine and she waited to see where others were from. One of her eyebrows inched up a fraction at each announcement of heritage and her thin lips twitched in a rare amused smile. Did all these Candidates come from some place dubbed Selenitas? She felt special and proclaimed it as best as she personally could.

“Pasine, from Southern Hold, pleasure to meet you,” she replied when everyone else was done, enunciating ‘Southern Hold’ with most gusto than was usually used. Her head bobbed down in a polite gesture, inadvertently making her bobbed haircut bounce off of her shoulders. And, just in case the Weyrwoman hadn’t heard before, she repeated, “Best wishes for a healthy clutch.”

[/font]

[Administrator]

Aslath heaved, beginning to feel another uncomfortable egg in her way. However, she heard a distant croon. Corinth? She looked up anxiously, almost gratefully. But no, it wasn't Corinth. It was a brown-- Kaaoloth. Well, that dashed her hopes. Snorting irritably, she flicked her tail. Hello, Kaaoloth,[/color] she said, her voice clearly exasperated. Well, at least a male had actually bothered to come see her. Unlike the wonderful clutch-sire. She huffed, getting onto her legs unstably to adjust the position of her swollen belly. However, it was seized by another contraction, and Aslath hissed as she set back down. Fortunately, the queen hadn't noticed yet the other flitters on the Hatching Ground, or else they would have been screeched at to leave immediately. Pained, Aslath pressed her head into the sands, trying to balance out the pressure she felt through her whole body. Faranth, she hated this part.

Shmee smiled kindly as Raylin first introduced herself. From Selenitas Hold. She was of good stock, then. That was good news for the clutch. However, less could be said about Danar. Immediately, her delicate black brows furrowed into a scowl as she watched him. "Excuse me, candidate," she said dangerously, her blue eyes locking onto his. "But I would like to hear you call Aslath a lazy layer after I see you push children out of your butt." She paused, glowering at him. "Do you realize how large eggs are in proportion to her birth canal? Someone clearly needs remedial lessons on dragon anatomy. Having given birth myself, I can assure you, it is extremely difficult, and giving birth multiple times in succession has bound to be extremely taxing on the body. If you have any dignity left, I would either shut up or leave the sands now." Nobody insulted her Aslath while she was around!

But there were other candidates to pay attention to. Forcing herself to relax (and in part, Arlo was helping to do that with soothing nuzzles), Shmee turned her gaze away from Danar and to Burena. She raised an amused eyebrow. Burena and this girl Venus were from Selenitas Hold, in addition to Raylin? She nodded a greeting before turning back to Corvin. Ahhh, so he was an old veteran. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get one of her dragons soon. All that being left Standing means is that your partner just hadn't been shelled yet. You've plenty of hope," she told him encouragingly. That was the job of a Senior Weyrwoman, wasn't it? To encourage them?

And another girl from Selenitas Hold! Shmee had to bite back a chuckle as Saeo introduced herself. "Pleasure to meet you," she said with clear amusement. "Any more girls from Selenitas, and I'll be betting marks soon that this whole clutch will go to one." But it was cute that the girl was stuttering. Probably a nervous girl who hadn't much talk with authority yet. Well, that would change here. Authority was everywhere.

Glancing at Keirin, she raised an eyebrow as she looked at the flitter. "A flitter, then? Aslath doesn't like flitters near her eggs, you know. The only reason she let Arlo on is because he's with her mind-mate," she warned him. Of course, she wouldn't tell him to banish the flitter immediately-- if Aslath happened to notice the poor thing, she would make sure they knew it themselves. "Apart from that, it's good to meet you."

And there was one more girl. Shmee was ready to bet her whole purse on that she was another Selenitas Hold-girl, but fortunately, before she could, the girl introduced herself as a Southern lass. "Southern, hm?" she asked Pasine curiously. "We don't get many candidates from Southern. But it's nice to see diversity." She chuckled. Yes, it was nice to know that other holds were capable of having rider-blood in them. "And thank you," she said with her small smile. She was bound to get many well-wishers over the course of the next few weeks, but Pasine could definitely have the title of the first one.

Aslath, in the meantime, had noticed someone looking a bit too close to her children. She hissed at Pepsi. He had better stay on the Stands, and keep away from her eggs, or else she would squash him. Another spasm seized her swollen body, and she snarled. Oh yes, it was well on its way out.

[Rei]

Kaaoloth fanned his wings as he adjusted his position. Hello my Queen. I wish you and your children well. His eyes whirled a happy blue green, if he had noticed Aslath’s exasperation he gave no notice. Instead he craned his neck to study the grounds with obvious enthusiasm.

Clutchings made him happy. He didn’t know why it had always been that way. Sel’n noticed the flood of happy emotions coming from the brown and he rolled his eyes. Why did he have to be bonded to such a silly beast? I heard that. Kaaoloth retorted with a snort, snaking his head around to stare in Sel’n’s direction. His could be so callous sometimes.

-----

Danar’s face turned pale as the Weyrwoman lashed into him. Ok so he did deserve it. Shells he had a big mouth. He regarded the candidates that had turned to stare with piercing eyes. What right did they have to judge? The lad kept his mouth shut however the last thing he wanted was to be kicked out of the grounds. "Sorry Weyrwoman" he managed to choke out before dropping his eyes to the bench in front of him. He was so busy stewing in his own shame he didn't even bother to listen to the rest of the candidates.

A sharp hiss caught Danar’s attention and he swiveled around to see Pepsi a bit too close to the Queens egg. What a sharding idiot! If he got himself killed it served him right. He grinned at least the lad would take some of the heat off of him.

-----

Raylin listened with polite interest as each candidate spoke there name and birthplace. She had no idea so many had come from her hold. The candidate studied the faces beside her more carefully. Perhaps some did look familiar. Perhaps someone from their families had bought runners from her family at one time or another.

As Shmee informed Keirin of Aslath’s dislike for flitters on the grounds Raylin couldn’t resist giving Keirin an “I told you so” look. No one listened to her. A sharp hiss brought her attention back to the sands and the laboring Aslath. Pepsi? What the heck was he doing? She contemplated shouting at him but decided to let Aslath or Shmee take care of it. The wild boy didn’t listen to anyone anyway so she might as well save her breath.