The Hatching of the 12 Days of Christmas Clutch

[topaz]

Corvin grinned happily as Jermayan helped him up. "Thank you very much sir. I'll do just that." He said, just before the healer ran off to see the female Candidate who had been mauled by a different green. The greens certainly were unpredictable today, he thought, a bit morbidly as he glanced at all the blood that had already been spilled on the Sands.

Completely oblivious to the other hatchings and Impressions, Corvin's head spun around as the newly hatched Icicle Blue ravenously attacked a small pale female Candidate, ripping at her stomach and chest, and even dragging her by the hair! He almost felt as if he was about to wretch, but he controlled himself as Aslath reprimanded her blue offspring. Then, as if nothing had happened, the blue trotted over to one of the male Candidates and Impressed. This Hatching was certainly one to remember.

As if to bolster his thought, the Five Golden Rings Egg Burst apart into a large, brilliant bronze! Corvin's spirits were suddenly lifted as he gazed at the gorgeous creature. To come from an egg as large as a gold's, the bronze would no doubt grow strong and able, and quickly! He stood proudly and stared at the bronze dragonet with wide eyes and a soft, toothy grin.

- - -

Venus couldn't tear her eyes away from the gruesome site unfolding. She felt wretched as she watched Pasine be ripped to shreds by the nasty blue dragonet. What was wrong with these hatchlings? They were all so violent! Venus wanted to go and aid the wounded girl, who she had recently become friends with, but she was frozen in the spot in shock. She had never seen such carnage, especially at what was supposed to be quite the happy event. Fortunately the healers were quick to her side, but the sickening feeling in Venus' stomach did not leave.

A loud crack from the middle of the Sands ripped Venus' eyes from Pasine as the Five Golden Rings Egg burst open, revealing....a bronze!? That egg was supposed to be a gold! Her mouth now hanging stupidly agape, Venus didn't know what to think anymore. Dragonets mauling Candidates to near death, a green Impressing to a boy, and a bronze hatching from what everyone expected to be a gold's egg! It was madness, but...Venus was slightly, morbidly, entertained by the whole thing. She gazed eagerly upon the bronze, standing stoically among the shards of his shattered shell, obviously enjoying the attention. Who knew? Maybe the bronze would Impress to a female Candidate! That would certainly be fitting, she thought bemusedly, at such a surprise-filled Hatching.

[nightingale]

Blood. So much blood. Saeo stumbled backward in a daze, unable to tear her eyes from the blood soaked bundle of white cotton and pale hair that had been Pasine only moments ago. She watched with dull grey eyes as the girl was swarmed by healers and candidates alike...and as the blood-spattered culprit sauntered off to take his place at Neikolai's side.

This wasn't a hatching. This was a battlefield.

Distantly she realized that she was still bleeding. The trembling girl pressed the damp cloth Dorava had given her against a dripping cut on her shoulder, noticing with vague alarm that her wounds were hardly hurting her at all anymore. Dizzy, she lowered herself to her knees and pressed the bloody cloth against her forehead. Where was the quiet wonder she'd felt only minutes ago for these beautiful, infant Thread fighters?
This time she didn't even bother trying to hold her tears at bay.
Scorch the hatching. Faranth...please just let this wretched affair end, before anyone else got hurt....

---------

Shards, another girl down? Keirin didn't recognize her, but it was obvious that one of the male candidates did, as he was shoved forcefully out of the way by the young man as he rushed to her side. Lovers? The idea was absolutely heartbreaking. Hard as it was for Kei to stay put in the face of such a crisis, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help. Better he stay where he was and let the healers do their jobs -carry something if need be.

The loud crack that sounded at the golden egg's splitting asunder drew an angry growl from his throat. He knew that telling the dragonets to just wait a moment while they got Pasine off the sands wasn't an option, but the very idea that the rest of them were to stand and impress while a girl bled to death among them was...well, aggravating to say the least. He offered the gold impersonator and his smaller siblings a rueful glance, sorry that the entrance of such a grand surprise had to be tainted with such grim tragedy. His pale blue eyes went back to the pandemonium on the sands. Shards, just let her be alright...

[antinanco]

Everything was an exciting blurr. A blue, a brown and another brown hatched. Corinth arrived. A green cut down Saeo. Some males impressed. Then something odd happened: a blue approached her. It was the Icicle Blue, a pale little creature that seemed agreeably confident. Her first instinct was to jump out of the way, but then something stopped her. Blues had been know to impress females on occasion, right? She looked down at the Icicle Blue curiously as he sniffed her robes, one brow raised.

What happened next took Pasine by complete surprise. She didn’t even cry out: the Candidate just fell silently with eyes wide in shock, hitting the sweltering Sands with a dull thud, as the blue tackled her a shriek of merciless fury. Instead of sauntering away satisfied like the green had to Saeo only seconds earlier, the beast began mercilessly tearing up her midsection. Pasine pathetically attempt to push the dragonet off of her, her mind only barely registering the fact that the blood tinting her sight scarlet was hers. But she was no match for the starving dragon, despite him being a small blue, and he torn through her thin robes and flesh easily.

Just as suddenly as the attack began, the Icicle Blue switched targets and began attempting to heave her hair away from her head. To add insult to injury, she was now dragged through the dunes by her hair, leaving a small, smudged trail of crimson in her wake. Just as Pasine was certain that her blonde strands were about to be ripped away from the roots, the sensation stopped and everything was eerily still.

Stunned, Pasine lay limply and stared at the sky with wide, watering eyes. It felt like time had finally slowed to a stop, and everything had a surreal dream-like quality to it. Then the dream shattered and reality came crashing around her. An intense wave of pain washed over her midsection and she sobbed, never having been good with pain tolerance. The din of the Hatching hit her doubled with an additional ringing in her ears. Her head swam in what she thought was blood, but she really couldn’t tell anymore.

Something big and black blocked her vision. Pasine tensed and squinted. Had the blue come back for more? She clutched feebly at her torn midsection as if trying to protect it. But then there was a buzz, some indistinguishable murmur that stood out against the thunderous background noise, and it didn't sound draconian.

Pasine lifted her head off of the sand slightly and found an unknown woman working above her. It sounded like she was shouting orders to someone. Not her, obviously. And there was sharding Danar! What in shells was he doing here? She couldn't completely make out what he was saying, but from what she did hear it sounded like he was babbling about letting go of something or looking at his face or something. “Shut it, Danar!” she snapped, grimacing and writhing in pain at the same time, “I’m sharding mauled –“ She stopped, speaking causing her to cough. There was a distinct metallic flavor in her mouth now, and she had a feeling it wouldn't wash away for days. “-not dead!” She swallowed the rising bile in her throat so she spout one more sentence. “Go bloody Impress!” Incompetent imbecile! She was the one mangled, not him. Why was he acting like he just had his head chopped off?

Pasine’s lids were threatening to close over streaming grey eyes, but a new shoot of pain that raced up her midsection kept them wide open. It felt like something was compressing her wound, and she feared that she was going to be squashed in two. What on Pern?!

[Administrator]

Shmee stared helplessly as a girl-- one that she had met-- was getting mauled viciously. Little scrapes from dragonets were normal, but this was far too much. She hesitated, looking at T'rid. She would go down to the Sands and help the girl, too, and help restore order. She couldn't leave Shei with T'rid, though... Well, she'd have to take the babe with her. It wasn't like Shei knew what blood was, right? The mother was torn, but she knew better than to leave her babe with an idiot. Without a single word spoken to T'rid, she bolted down to the Sands. Aslath regarded her with whirling orange eyes. She was not pleased with this turn of events. Though she didn't like any of her candidates, they shouldn't be mauled this viciously. She'd have to speak to her son later about rudeness. Still, he was only a baby, so they couldn't blame him too much... right? And then her gold egg had hatched a bronze... This was definitely an odd Hatching. Well, she always knew something was wrong about the queen egg! It turned out to be a gender-confused egg!

Still balancing red-headed Shei on her hip and Arlo on her shoulder, she ran lightly across the sands, a hard feat, considering sand is hard to run through. She suppressed a groan at seeing the sand near the girl was crimson with stains. Kneeling beside the girl, she gently began to smooth her mussed hair from her face. Looking around, she glared at the candidates around her. "Candidates, return to your places now," she commanded. Shards, she wished someone was here who could hold Shei. But she was not giving her to a candidate, especially as there were many maulings. And weyrlings had baby dragons on their hands. No, Shmee would keep a hold of her babe. Turning back to Pasine, she took up the role of comforter as the healers got busy. "You'll be all right, love," Shmee said tenderly. Mothering instincts took over completely for the candidate-girl. Healers were the type to forget about consoling the injured-- they always concentrated too much on their jobs, which wasn't necessarily a bad trait. But Shmee could help take care of the girl in the kind way.

--

The Five Golden Rings Bronze was far from happy. Why was everyone looking at the bleeding girl now instead of him? Wasn't he shinier than her? Irritated, he marched right up to one of the boys that wasn't looking at him-- Danar-- and smacked him down into the sands with his claws, scratching up his arm. Satisfied, the grumpy bronze then stalked off to look at the rest of the boys. All eyes would be on him now, yes? He took this moment to preen, flaunting off his lovely dark bronze hide. He had tricked them into thinking he was a queen. Well, he should be a queen, but no matter. Being a bronze was almost as good. He let out a loud croon, looking around at his choices. So many good boys to choose from! Of course, he was going to take his sweet time in choosing the very best. The Winter Wonderland Green, clearly irritated with this show, decided to cut to the chase.

The fine young creature marched right up to Zaqx, with no fanfare at all, saying, He's taking too long, and I wanted to pick my beloved Za'x before he even smelled you. I am Irylth.[/color]

Of course, this irritated the bronze quite a bit. Grumpily, he strode up to his boys and confidently cozied himself around Keirin. Well, Ke'rin-mine, we are now partners. From this point on, you are a very important rider. Now, feed me, for Jaymith is one hungry bronze.[/color]

At this point, a mini-explosion happened. The quiet Hot Cocoa Egg shattered, sending its shards flying in every direction. Any candidate that dared stand too close would find themselves being rained upon by the brown and white eggshell. When the dust cleared, a teal-blue dragon was sitting sulkily where the the egg once was. Mine-C'vin~[/color] he whined. Your Mallowth hurt himself on the shards! Can you please come help me, my nice C'vin?[/color]

Even as this occurred, the Christmas Lights Egg gained longer and wider cracks until a powder blue hide was visible through them. The Stars at Night Egg continued to wiggle, as well, and long cracks began to weaken the shell. The Hatching was almost over, depending now on these final two eggs...

[ladybug]

"NO!" Alifyr cried as the icy blue viciously mauled one of the girls, apparently unprovoked. His stomach twisted, and he had to close his eyes for a moment to steady himself. When he opened them again, he found that the blue was walking towards the boys. Alifyr jerked back, terrified, but the blue was certain of his choice. Alifyr stared after Neikolai, wondering what it was like to bond to a killer.

Oh no, A'fyr-bonded, is the girly going to be okay? She isn't as good as you, but your Rudolth doesn't want her to be hurt...![/color]

Alifyr's eyes widened as disgust and fear was shoved aside by a glowing, brilliant happiness. He was speechless as Rudolth nudged him. His Rudolth...he had Impressed! He smiled slowly and rested a hand on the brown's neck. He had to be brave for Rudolth, didn't he. "The Healers will take care of her," he murmured softly. "Come now, let's get you some food." He led the brown off the sands, ignoring the carnage behind them.

***

Burena, meanwhile, did not have much to say. Saeo's wounds she could handle, but Pasine's mauling was much more gruesome. With one look, her vision blackened and the world swirled around her. The girl passed out in a dead faint, tumbling to the sands in a limp heap.

[Avu]

...was he being glared at? How funny. T'rid bit back the grin that threatened, focusing on the Grounds below - namely, the injured boy, now attended by two Healers (two? Was he truly hurt that badly?) - until he could keep his features emotionless. Even then he didn't bother looking at Shmee. She could glare all she wanted; it wasn't like it would matter. Heck, he wanted to glare at something, too, but he wasn't, was he now? (For once, he wasn't taking out his temper on anything or one. He'd do that later.) Tsk tsk...he was tempted to click his tongue patronizingly, and resisted with a great effort. A very great effort indeed - the bronzerider actually bit his tongue to keep from commenting. Corinth should be proud of him. Unfortunately, he realized the bronze wasn't paying a bit of attention to him in the same instant that Shmee chose to speak. The result? A decidedly irritated frown.

Expected to be on time? He hissed through clenched teeth, flicking a poisonous glance in Corinth's direction. The bronze's hum faltered, and the glance that met his Rider's was a mixture of anxiety and pleading. Don't... T'rid paused, forcibly loosened his set jaw, and managed a reasonably cheerful smile. The first in a long time, and possibly the least sincere of his expressions. "It's nice to see you, too, Weyrwoman," he answered sweetly. His tone was surprisingly lacking in sarcasm, though there was a slight edge to it. Well, hey, he thought he should be allowed to feel a little irritated. Didn't most people start with "hello" or "good morning"? Apparently not anymore. So he was a little late. It wasn't like he was going to miss out Impressing like the later Candidates might. He already had a big fat bronze and two other unwanted mindmates. He was just sitting here.

Like...an...absolute...idiot. How exciting.

The soft fire lizard croon brought a startled expression to T'rid's eyes and he glanced sideways at...a blue fire lizard. Wow. Nice and hypocritical. Way to go, Shmee. Hadn't there been some rule against bringing fire lizards and Salamandyrs into the Hatching Grounds? He thought there was, or he'd have brought Stupid along just so he could insult Aslath, something he dearly wanted to do. Probably out of confusion, because he was insulted that she dared draw attention away from the green dragons or something equally ridiculous. Repressing a scowl and a sardonic comment, he bit his lip and turned back to the Sands, watching silently as the Eggnog Green Impressed to one of the girls. Did he know her? Vaguely. Maybe. Do I? he asked Corinth, trying to place her face. I don't recall. Belatedly recalling the dragons' short memory spans, something that bordered on a grin quirked a corner of the Weyrleader's mouth. Well, you wouldn't...

Corinth, meanwhile, gave a light, surprised snort as Aslath addressed him, though he interrupted his Hatching thrum to croon softly. Good morning, Aslath. He shifted slightly, cocking his head to examine the hatchlings with a gleaming eye. A very strong clutch indeed. As always. Technically...had he been larger, the clutch might have been larger, but Corinth...wasn't. He was small, frankly, and to have sired a gold egg had been...more surprising than delighting. (T'rid had very blatantly professed his own surprise, which had Corinth torn between amusement and irritation.) But gold egg or not, it was nice that Aslath wasn't about to bite off his head because of His, which he had been expecting and anticipating.

T'rid's eyes narrowed as he watched the Presents and Bows Blue tear across the Sands to his new mindmate - yet another Candidate that the bronzerider wasn't familiar with - just after the Snowman Egg spit out a brown onto the Sands. No bronzes yet? Less competition, he commented sourly to Corinth, who merely snorted in amused response to his Bonded's irritation. Just then, though, the Jingle Bells Egg split, revealing a dainty green dragonet that promptly grabbed one of the female Candidates by the front of her robes and threw her down again, and - now that was mauling. The Weyrleader's eyes widened, an expression between shock and anxiety briefly flitting there before it faded, replaced by the usual dry amusement. It was only a green, not too heavy in build, either. The Healers could take care of it. There wasn't too much blood.

And - hey! The Rudolph Egg had Hatched...brown? ...it's the largest egg there is, though, excluding the queen egg... Corinth stated simply, quietly, without any inflection to his tone. He sounded - completely calm. Not surprised, not disappointed, not even excited at all about the Rudolph Brown's Hatching past the customary eagerness that he had awarded to all of the eggs. But - exactly! Shouldn't it be bronze? It can't be what it isn't, Corinth answered reasonably, and T'rid didn't bother trying to argue with the bronze. He tore his eyes away from the Rudolph Brown - not bronze, how surprising - in time to see the Snowman Brown Impress to -

Ha! He remembered that Candidate! T'rid swallowed the impulse to burst out laughing. That was the idiot who'd gotten mauled by Stupid. Faranth, how hilarious. Someone who had gotten their ear chewed up by a creature less than the length of their forearm had Impressed a dragon. He knew he was grinning - rather maliciously, but still grinning. The queen egg is Hatching, Corinth interjected quietly, and T'rid blinked, tearing his gaze away from the new Brownweyrling (what was his name again? Cro-something?) and focusing on the Five Golden Rings Egg. Yay for shiny and gold...kind of, but -

Oh! Oh! Oh! The Impression of the Jingle Bells Green went unnoticed in the face of the Icicle Blue's attack on one of the female Candidates. T'rid hissed softly through his teeth, his eyes intently focused on the girl and her attacker as he...seemed to be trying to kill her, at first. And then decided to scalp her as well, and - Aslath's warning rumble made T'rid blink at the queen, and then, glancing back down at the Icicle Blue, realized that the rumble had been meant for him as the thing let go of the girl and made its way instantly to one of the boys. The idiotic Archives one that Stupid had claimed, wasn't he? Haha. Murderous blue on his hands. Have fun! Hahaha. Corinth might not be perfect, but at least he didn't murder everyone he came across.

The Impression of the Rudolph Brown was faded, too, as the Five Golden Rings and Winter Wonderland eggs both Hatched simultaneously, the bronzerider's eyes instinctively going to the Five Golden Rings Egg, the Winter Wonderland Green overlooked entirely in favor of the Five Golden Rings...bronze? Yes, undoubtedly bronze, and - but - it was - it was bronze. I thought you'd already realized that, Corinth commented quietly, his voice relatively emotionless. ...but it's a queen egg! A queen egg containing a bronze? I think not. It was merely deceptively colored, nothing more. But - hadn't Aslath treated it as a queen egg? Most of the time, at least? It matters little. The point is, he is not a queen and no amount of protesting will make him one. He is clearly bronze.

And - wait a minute! Where was Shmee going? T'rid opened his mouth to protest her abrupt departure, but too late; she was already gone. Well. How nice of her. He settled for a scowl. He'd be the first one laughing if she got mauled by doing something stupid and heroic like planting herself in front of some blood-lusting hatchling. Hmph. And - hey, she'd taken her baby down with her. Well. If she got her baby mauled, that'd be nice and dandy, wouldn't it? He scowled, watching absently as the gender-confused bronze Impressed to one of the males (funny it would've been, to have a female bronzerider, he thought absently), just after the Winter Wonderland Green Impressed to another boy...the Hot Cocoa Egg shattered and Impressed to the boy who'd been mauled...

Two more eggs. Two more. Then he could go back to sleep. Hurry up, little eggs. Hurry up...

[Rei]

Danar laughed as Pasine yelled at him. She was still capable of malice. That was a good sign right? “I am not impressing Pasine. My egg hatched brown and I already saw it impress.” Strangely he wasn’t even that upset, just worried about Pasine. He threw a glance over his shoulder seeking to see who impressed the gold and his eyes widened. The Five Golden Rings Gold was a Bronze! He tore his eyes off the dragon as the weyrwoman approached them.

The candidate though about outright disobeying her orders but decided it wasn’t a good idea. Still he couldn’t leave Pasine could he? No he wouldn’t! Danar opened his mouth to plead with the woman and was knocked to the ground. He squirmed around to see his attacker and witnessed a flash of bronze hide leaving and then a tearing pain. The bronze had attacked him! Stupid snobby creature. The candidate looked down at his torn arm and winced. It wasn’t to bad nothing compared to Pasine. He tore some more fabric off the bottom of his robe and wound it around his arm before kneeling down again and grabbing Pasine’s hand.

“Weyrwoman I want to help. She is my friend and I won’t leave her.” He struggled to meet her eyes would she understand?

-----

Raylin furrowed her brow. “Come now Love you have to chew.” She stated firmly for the fifth time. Ebolath seemed to think swallowing her food whole was the fastest way to get it where it needed to go. Sure that fact was true but the Weyrling master told them to make sure they chewed or they would get indigestion. The girl sighed exasperated.

Ebolath raised her head to regard her rider. I am sorry mine. She sweetly intoned. But I am sooo hungry. Raylin rolled her eyes. I understand Love but be that as it may you HAVE to chew. She offered the baby another chunk and smiled as the green complied, chewing thoroughly before swallowing an opening her maw for another chunk.

In between chewing sequences Raylin kept tabs on the hatching. She saw the mauling and glared at the little hatchling responsible as he passed her with Neikolai. Ebolath skittered closer to her bonded at their passing and gave a sad warble. Clutchbrother mine is mean. Raylin looked down at her sweet dragon. It is ok Love. I won’t let him touch you. The pair turned to watch the healers work on Pasine. The girl will be ok won’t she Raymine? “I don’t know love.” Raylin whispered. Her eyes were then drawn to Saeo. “Saeo! Get up! It isn’t over yet! Don’t you give up!” her voice rang across the grounds. Saeo had to impress she just had to.

----

Sel’n stood with the rest of the crowd and watched the drama unfold. Poor girl she might be scared mentally for life. The rider reluctantly turned his eyes away from the bloody scene as the Queen egg hatched to revel…. a bronze? He nodded as Keirin impressed the bronze. He knew that lad would do well. He had a good eye for these kinds of things. He then returned his eyes to the injured girl. He felt Kaao’s own anxiety mix with his own but there was nothing the pair could do.

[dragon]

Dorava glanced up breifly as Shmee appeared, and then went back to her work. She then she looked again. Shmee?? What was she doing here? On the sands? And with a kid that young! That wasn't very bright, not with the maulings going on.

And then the bronze appeared right beside her, expressly to rough up Danar. What in the world was going on?! What had these dragonets been fed?! Dorava was releived when the beast left just as quickly, and the damage done was minimal. "Do as she says, alright? Get out of here, stay on your feet, and don't let them get you again. It'll be awhile before anyone can see you you." She instructed Danar. "Now go!"

If Pasine had been happier to see him, she might have said differently. But more stress was not something the girl needed. She clearly didn't want him there. Dorava reached for her bag, and got several more towels to add to the press. "Weyrwoman, I love having help, but you need to get that child off the sands. Could you go get me a board, or something? We need to get her off the sands. Please." Dorava said, hoping that the weyrwoman would listen, even though she was only a greenrider and technically supposed to follow Shmee's orders.

And where in the world was Jermayan?! He hadn't been that far away! Another candidate hitting the sands got Dorava's attention for a bit, until she realized it was only one that had fainted, not been mauled. Thank the skies for that... they really didn't need another mauling. This one was bad enough, after having had the first two!

This poor girl was going to be laid up for awhile, and would definitely need stitches. But that couldn't happen until they were back in the infirmary! And no one was fetching the bags, no one was getting the board she'd asked for ... no one! Dorava couldn't very well go get them herself, she was rather tied up at the moment keeping Pasine from bleeding out all over the place, and more than likely getting her guts splayed out like a drawing.

Horrible, horrible! Dorava was glad at that moment that she had a strong stomach, and wasn't the type to pass out.

And then her pocket moved, and emptied itself onto the sands. Val took off running across the sands, toward the entrance, oblivious to all who could now see his white back half. Though small, he jumped and landed on one of the big duffles, grabbed the strap in his teeth, and started trying to tug it into the sands. Naturally, he wasn't getting very far. All four feet were braced on the pack itself, while he tugged on the strap. If he managed anything, it would be merely ripping the strap off.

But hey... he was trying.

[Avu]

It was too late for her to get up, really, and Meira was tired. Shells, there had been quite a lot of Candidates with blazing fevers, bites, maulings - and this was before the Hatching, too - in the past few sevendays. And she was glad to be asleep, thanks very much, Meisk curled up against her side. Zesa was notably missing, as the queen had gone to watch the Hatching proceed - with due caution not to be seen by Aslath - from the Stands. Or rather, to be more specific, she had been missing, because she wasn't anymore. The Hatching had turned far too bloody for the fire lizard, who had, after all, watched Hers work in the Infirmary so long, simply sit by without doing anything, and since she herself was rather incapable, Zesa had taken the initiative and gone between, back to wake up Hers. It had taken some doing, for Meira was extraordinarily tired, but she'd gotten there, and, leaving Meisk bewildered and sleepy behind her, Meira had duly left the Wherhandlers' Apartments.

She wasn't looking extremely neat, having haphazardly run her hands through her hair, which, fortunately, did not tend towards any stubbornness whatsoever, and picked up the first things her hands had touched in the wardrobe. The result? A loose, rumpled white tunic and dark brown pants, cut off just below the knees, and plain sandals, and a decidedly anxious expression as she took off halfway across the Weyr, Zesa close behind her and ocassionally speeding ahead before doubling back to encourage Hers to hurry up. There had better be supplies at the Hatching Sands, because she hadn't bothered to detour to the Infirmary. The bronze, brown, blue, and green wings were finally visible, and the sound of the crowd inside of the Grounds audible as Meira slipped inside the Sands, glancing around, her eyes landing on the bag that was being...attacked by a half-blue, half-white 'mandyr.

Erm. Meira blinked, unsure. "Look, I need that, okay? You can hop inside if you want; I'm getting it out there to see that girl - " and, shells, was there someone fainted on the Sands? She'd definitely come off with some burns. "Over there, okay? I need it!" Zesa added a warning hiss to this as she looped to land on Meira's shoulders, Aslath's rage forgotten as she pressed close against Hers' throat, ducking behind the curtain of dark hair as the Healer picked up the bag, held it momentarily open to let the blue 'mandyr jump in or not as he pleased, and then headed across the Sands, looping carefully away from the eggs to avoid being caught in the crossfire, so to speak, before she came to kneel breathlessly at Pasine's side, Zesa uttering a soft comforting noise in her throat. And - shells, was the male Candidate hurt, too? Meira almost moaned. Why was it that every time it wasn't her shift to Heal and she ended up doing it, the injuries seemed to be worse?

She opened the bag, trusting that the 'mandyr would jump out if he'd hitched a ride, and even if he didn't, that was fine. Hastily, she spilled a solution of redwort and numbweed onto a piece of white cloth and thrust it at Danar. "Press that against it until it stops hurting and the bleeding stops, and shouldn't you be on the boys' side? It's not too bad, you can probably stay for the rest of the Hatching, but once that's over you've got to come find a Healer so we can look at it again and see if you need stitches or anything, now go, unless you've had Healer training, you can't help here. And - oh, hello, Weyrwoman, congratulations on the clutch - erm..." A baby. Why did she have a baby on the Hatching Sands? Come to that, why was she on the Hatching Sands?

"We need to get her off the Sands and into the Infirmary," she stated firmly to Dorava, squatting near the girl. "Or at least off of the Sands before she adds a few burns to her collection. Preferably the Infirmary, and - Weyrwoman, can you get Jermayan? He's a Journeyman," she added distractedly. "What've you already done for her?" Back to Dorava. Well, she was anxious. Zesa echoed it with a soft, nervous trill as the queen pressed more tightly against her Bonded's throat, her tail looping in a chokehold. "Oh, shells, can you see if you can get that other girl to wake up, too? I'll take over here until Jermayan can get here, but that girl's just fainted or something, hasn't she? The Sands are too hot to sprawl all over..."

Wow. What a Hatching.

[nightingale]

For a terrible moment, Keirin was certain that he was going to be mauled -and by the largest of the clutch no less! He was only just able to command his body to be still as the bronze dragonet, claws still sporting a fresh coat of blood, came toward him. Well, he thought with dull acceptance, at least none of the girls were in danger this time around. At least his hair wasn't quite long enough to be grabbed....but the pain he expected never came. Instead he watched with dazed blue eyes as the infant bronze wrapped itself around his legs like an overgrown domestic feline.

Well, Ke'rin-mine, we are now partners. From this point on, you are a very important rider. Now, feed me, for Jaymith is one hungry bronze. ...I....I-I'm what? Ke'rin-mine! You are Jaymith's now, so come and feed him.[/i][/color]

Suddenly, it all made sense. He had found his purpose, the piece of himself he hadn't realized was missing until he had felt Jaymith's leathery hide press against him. Disoriented by the sudden rush of emotion and hunger flooding his mind, it was all the boy could do not to trip as he followed his young bronze toward the other weyrlings. A bronzerider...by the shards of the first Egg, how was he going to tell Juno and the others back home?

-----------------------------------

Saeo was dimly aware of Raylin's voice calling somewhere over roar of activity on the hatching sands. Give up? Why did she think that she was giving up? She was still on the sands and...Oh...how had she gotten on the ground? The girl's mind was working on only the most basic of levels as she draped the half-dried cloth about her neck and set about levering herself upright. Weyrwoman Shmee was on the sands, she noticed vaguely. And the girl next to her...surely she hadn't been mauled as well? No...no blood...she looked as if she might only have fainted...well that wouldn't do. One couldn't very well stand at a hatching when they were laying down, could they?

Saeo was thankful that Burena wasn't very heavy. If she had been, it would have been terribly difficult to lift her. As it was, she somehow managed drag the girl to her feet without knocking the both of them back into the sand. Draping the girl's arm around her neck, she carefully allowed her weight to rest against the relatively uninjured right side of her body. Well alright, she resigned to herself as foudn herself pantign and sweatign into her cuts. So it was rather difficult afterall...but the girl had been kind to her. Leaving her laying in the sand simply wasn't an option when there were still two eggs to be impressed.

Saeo's eyes drifted slowly toward what remained of the clutch, first to the the darker egg, then over toward it's lighter sibling. Well, it was now or never...

[antinanco]

Pasine’s organs were not littering the grounds. True that the mauling had been brutal, but it also had been quick: a fact that probably saved Pasine more than she realized. The blue had not had enough time to completely tear to her innards. Yes, there were many wounds, all bleeding profusely, but none of them went deeper than the first layer of skin and muscle. If an inappropriate analogy is needed, then think of tearing an orange peel away from the center of the citrus fruit. Now imagine that orange was Pasine’s stomach, with a few claw marks in area around the main wound for good effect. Her internal organs were more or less undamaged. It was the bleeding that was the problem.

First Shmee appeared, much to Pasine’s groggy surprise. She was certain that the blood-loss was making her delusional, especially since her babe was strapped to the Weyrwoman’s side, but then the apparition began shouting orders and the Candidate knew she was the real thing. It made her angry, actually. Was the only way of getting noticed around here to get mangled by a dragonet? “Oh yeah? S’healer you are,” she snorted at Shmee angrily. Though, as an after thought, the unbearable ache mixed with her low tolerance for pain might have helped in making the usually placid Candidate agitated as well.

“Impress!” she urged Danar, down to one-syllable sentences now. Then he disappeared from her sight-line for a little bit, so Pasine assumed that he had listened to her. But now she had nothing to occupy herself but the pain. It had changed from a sharp stabbing pain to an aching throb. Was it good? She had no idea. She was tired, though. And beginning to regret sending Danar away.

Except then he appeared again, along with another unrecognizable face that she assumed as another Healer. Pasine attempted to voice her displeasure, but only came up with a half-hearted murmur. Instead she tried to shoo them away with her hand, but something was clasped firmly to it. Another hand? Her fuzzy mind struggled to make sense of the situation. The Healer’s hands were all busy… healing. So was this Danar’s? Her head rolled slightly to his side, a contorted scowl of confusion etched into her quickly paling face. If you thought she had looked pale before, now she looked like a black and white photograph.

[/font]

[Administrator]

Shmee watched in alarm as the idiot boy that was being so possessive of Pasine got attacked by the bronze. She winced, and instinctively clutched Shei close to her. She didn't like her babe on these Sands with all these violent babies, but being over-protective, she couldn't see any better solution of where to put her. Shei stared at the bronze with an awed expression in her blue eyes, oblivious to the danger. When the boy seemed to have recovered from his momentary... struggle? with the bronze, she shook her head firmly. "No," she said harshly. "You're already bound to these dragons, and you're not free to leave your commitments until you know that you're not the one that want. Hypothetically, if there is a dragon that wants you, it will destroy anything in its path to get to you. So stand in the sharding circle, candidate. If you don't Impress, do whatever you want," she spat, glaring at him. However, she automatically reached a hand back down to gently brush the side of Pasine's face.

As soon as Dorava's words turned to her, however, Shmee looked up with a look of fury crossing her delicate features. "Greenrider, calm yourself down," she hissed. "I more than anyone else understand danger. There's nowhere else for Shei to go. Do not tell me what to do," she told her, anger lacing her tone. Honestly, the woman clearly sounded panicked. How on Pern was Pasine to be calm if the people who were healing her going mental from it? Sure, Shmee was upset for the girl, but she wasn't trying to control everyone out of worry! "And a board from where? The nearest ones we have are by the river. And what good will it do? Those are for back and neck injuries! I might not be sure, but this blood seems to look like it's coming from her stomach," she added drolly. My my, what had possessed her, to make such jokes at such a time?

Still just as sarcastically, Shmee continued, "A stretcher now, we have one of those tucked away in the supply closet in the Hatching Ground-- you never know when a bad accident will happen. But I can't carry it with Shei."

Fortunately, Meira's arrival seemed to cool the woman's temper. She nodded firmly, quickly noticing the flitter at the girl's neck. Oh, dear. Aslath would realize it now that Shmee had registered it mentally... Sure enough, the golden queen screeched in anger, making a few people jump where they were seated, or, if they were candidates, where they were standing. GET AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN, BEAST,[/color] Aslath snarled commandingly to Zesa. Shmee flinched, casting an apologetic glance to Meira. Still... Meira knew that flitters on the Hatching Grounds were forbidden, right? Arlo sunk lower onto Shmee's shoulder, trying to pretend he wasn't there so people wouldn't complain about unfair treatment. Good thing his bonded had the queen, or else he would be on the opposite side of the Weyr!

"I'll go get him," Shmee told Meira with a quick nod. Smoothing back Pasine's hair one last time, she murmured, "You'll be all right, love." And what was this? Shmee smiled weakly. Pasine wasn't exactly being nice, but she couldn't blame her. Being ripped to shreds was bound to make someone grumpy. No matter, she would keep checking in on her. Clutching Shei to her hip, she darted off toward the man.

"Jermayan!" she called. "There's a bad mauling over there, with a girl, and they're going to need more help!"

--

The Christmas Lights Blue looked around timidly, first at the boys. His should be a boy. Confidently, he waddled over the sands to the boys. How exciting! Any minute, he could get his hungry stomach stuffed full to the brim with joy and... joyness! He cooed pleasantly, sniffing each boy in turn. As he busied himself with this task, the final egg, the Stars at Night Egg made a crunching noise as a green head burst through. She crooned flirtatiously to the crowd, and as she climbed out, she flicked her tail seductively. She was definitely pretty, wasn't she?

The blue snorted. Yes, but not as pretty as His would be! He immediately got lost in a daydream about the type of person His would be. Strong? Yes, of course. Kind? Naturally! Creative? Whyever not? Handsome? He paused his daydreams for a minute, looking at the boys with an odd look over his animated expression. ...Handsome? He snorted. No! How silly could he be? Of course his wasn't handsome! He turned to the girls. No, his was beautiful! He made a purring sound as the Stars at Night Green chose a girl from the crowd. Ironically, it was the boy T'rea's twin sister, Morea. She grinned, her smile carrying an odd look of beauty. Oh, Morea, my name is Heith,[/color] the green cooed.

Ignoring her, the blue approached an odd bundle of girls. One girl who looked like she was sleeping, and another girl, who had red paint on her. Now, why did she have red paint? He chirruped curiously, and butted Saeo gently. This was her! His beautiful, beautiful Mine! Saeo, Saeo, beautiful beautiful Saeo! Why does my Saeo have funny red paint on her? Did you dress yourself up like a queen just for you Cherilith? Oh yes, you must have known your Cherilith was coming today! You didn't have to paint yourself though. Cherilith loves you anyway![/color]

With that last Impression, that Hatching ended-- but not the excitement, for many candidates desperately needed to be tidied up...

[ladybug]

Burena groaned as she woke from an unpleasant, bloody dream. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes...and realized it wasn't a dream at all. And there was a blue dragon in front of her! Had she Impressed? Then why didn't she hear a voice? What if she damaged some part of her brain when she fainted?

Then, she realized the blue had Impressed to the girl supporting her, Saeo. Burena let out an odd little laugh as disappointment and amusement mingled. So much for trying to help. The girl who had been mauled was holding her up! "Congratulations..." she said hoarsely before moving away, staggering slightly as another wave of dizziness made her unsteady. Closing her eyes for a minute, she recovered, and left the sands. She felt too disoriented at the moment, but soon the disappointment would probably set in.

[nightingale]

Saeo had long since given up on watching the eggs as they hatched. It was all she could do to remain upright with the combination of Burena's weight and the heat of the sun willing her back into the sand. It was almost over, she assured herself with grim determination, and so long as she stayed standing until the hatching was complete, she would be able to leave the sands with her dignity intact.
The too-fresh memory of Pasine's mauling drew a violent flinch from the girl as she felt a warm, sticky something butting her in the legs. She only jsut managed to force her eyes open to watch the little blue as he paused in front of them, but the moment they were open she found herself unable to look away, drawn deep into the whirling rainbow she saw before her

Saeo, Saeo, beautiful beautiful Saeo! Why does my Saeo have funny red paint on her? Did you dress yourself up like a queen just for you Cherilith? Oh yes, you must have known your Cherilith was coming today! You didn't have to paint yourself though. Cherilith loves you anyway!

"Cherilith..."

She murmured numbly, amazed by how wonderful the name felt on her tongue. Beautiful...he was calling her beautiful! Drenched in sweat and blood, sand caked into her hair and this gorgeous, perfect little dragon was calling her beautiful! But more than that, he was calling her His.
She flinched visibly when she felt Burena moving against her shoulder, and tentatively allowed the girl to stand on her own. Congratulations? She watched with disbelieving confusion as the other girl staggered away from her, off toward the stands. She had said congratulations...oh...oh no...no, had she just...oh Faranth...
Tears were already burning the girl's eyes as she jerked her head back toward the tiny blue dragon, who still waited patiently in front of her with his head tilted questioningly. Her knees suddenly gave out and Saeo dropped, oblivious to the scorching sand as she felt the most supreme, all encompassing love and completeness flooding her senses.

"Cherilith..."

She repeated, her voice cracking into a sob as she tentatively reached a hand out to caress the dragonet's face. She wanted to ask if he was sure, if he was really Hers, but at the same time she realized how ridiculous the question was. Like an egger canine, the little blue pressed his head against the girl's hand, then moved in closer to she could caress his back and neck more effectively.

Saeo, Cherilith loves you! Why are your eyes watering? I am here now! Oh, and I am very hungry! Can we go eat with the others?

Saeo was certain that the huge smile trying to squeeze it's way onto her face would have shattered it if her left cheek hadn't already been split open. Wrapping her arms around the dragon's neck, she pulled him into the tightest hug she dared offer.

"Oh yes, yes Cherilith my darling, my beautiful darling we can go eat now!"

She murmured in a strange tone that was halfway between a sob and a chuckle, trying vainly to fight back the tears that simply would not stop stinging the cuts on her face. She rose shakily, cast one final glance over the empty hatching grounds, then walked, dragon close behind her, to take her place with the rest of the weyrlings.

[topaz]

Mine-C'vin..your Mallowth hurt himself on the shards! Can you please come help me, my nice C'vin?

Corvin tore his eyes away from the bronze who had just Impressed, swiveling his gaze around the Sands to locate the voice he had just heard. He suddenly felt a mixture of excitement, hunger, and pain as his brown eyes met swirling blues. Mallowth..? In a split second he finally realized what had happened. He had Impressed! What an incredible feeling, he wondered absently. But he was quickly assaulted by a wave of anxiety. C'vinmine? Your Mallowth needs you.. Snapping back to reality, the newly anointed C'vin dashed to his beloved blue and knelt to the ground before him. The precious hatchling had managed a few scratches on his brand new hide, but nothing was bleeding, just slightly red. C'vin smiled, relieved that the injuries were not severe in any way.

You'll be fine, my Mallowth. How about we get you cleaned up a bit, and then get something eat, hm? He said softly into his bonded's mind, an uncontrollable grin stuck permanently on his face. Mallowth's blue eyes swirled faster at the mention of food. Yes! Yes, that sound good. I almost forgot I was so hungry. How did you know? The hatchling asked curiously. C'vin chuckled aloud, at the hatchlings innocent question, as he rose to a standing position. Without an answer, C'vin sent adoring feelings to his blue, who in turn forgot about his curiosity and returned the feeling tenfold as the pair walked out of the Sands, towards the waiting food.

- - -

Venus had not Impressed. She sighed, feelings of both disappointment and relief mingling inside her. Of course being left Standing was not what any Candidate wanted, but the traumatizing Hatching was over, and no dragons had gone between. That was the important thing right? That the dragons were healthy? The mauled Candidates however..

Venus glanced back over to Pasine. She could barely see her through the crowd that had formed, but the fact that she was still lying on the Sands was not a good sign. The brunette tentatively walked over, and stood a yard or two away to give the healers space, but still be able to see what was going on. Venus held her hands together at her waist, subconsciously protecting her own abdomen, as she looked anxiously at the wounded girl.