When Flowers Bloom [Exotic Hatching]

[Tashe]

She had missed BOTH the Clutching and the Touching, and shards if she was going to miss her Queen's hatching. "You will take me to the Sands, or so help me Faranath, I will find a way to make you dread not taking me." It wasn't normal for Kaegan to be so angry, but in combination with the drugs she was taking for pain and the fact she might actually miss the hatching, everything was getting on her last nerve. Including some of her good friends.

"But Kae... if you suddenly turn up missin', the 'ealers will tan my hide."

"When did /you/ start listening to the rules?" Eyeing the Bluerider as she frowned, Kaegan smiled as she saw the other cave in. Kicking the furs off of her legs, the Weyrwoman swung her legs over the side of the bed, using the Bluerider's arm to pull herself up. She truly understood how much she took two working arms for granted in every day life. "Alright, lets go! Dash, if anyone comes in to check up on me, tell them where I've gone." Beautifulmine go see eggies! I tell, I tell. Lovelove yoou! "Love you too Dash. Azzie, c'mere." Watching the Bronze Firelizard glide over and land on Saraina with a concerned twitter, Kaegan sighed with exasperation. "Lets just go already."

"Fine. But if I get in trouble, /you're/ takin' the blame."

---

Millieth increased the tempo of the thrum as her Rider walked into the room, eying Saraina suspiciously as she ghosted along side the Weyrwoman. Unfurling her wings, the Gold picked herself up from the sands, reveling her eggs in full for the first time. Their bright colors picking up an octave as the light hit them from all directions. Slowly padding her way over to her stone couch, Millieth draped herself in a semi-circle around her rider, offering her side as a placed to lean back against. Although she wasn't happy that the Bluerider was there, she allowed her to stay by Kaegan's side, in case her Rider needed to leave during the hatching for some reason.

Once the Dragons picked up the call, Millieth settled her head on her forearms, nosing Kaegan gently so she didn't jostle her injured hand. /Are you sure you're feeling up to this Mine?/ I'll be fine as long as I don't have to move around a lot. Whining slightly, the Gold tapped the end of her tail on the ground before huffing. Her Rider might appear weak, but she at least could look strong. Lifting her head once more, Millieth arched her neck before letting her gaze shift to the entrance. The Hatching was about to start, for the Gladiolus Egg was rocking violently.


---

Gladiolus Egg-- Rocking violently like cradle in a hail storm
Heliotrope Egg-- Unhatched
Oxalis Egg-- Unhatched
Dahlia Egg-- Unhatched
Narcissus Egg-- Unhatched
Cyclamen Egg-- Unhatched
Rose of Sharon Egg-- Unhatched
Phlox Egg-- Unhatched
Queen Anne's Lace Egg-- Unhatched
Zinnia Egg-- Unhatched
Hypericum Egg-- Unhatched
Hybiscus Egg-- Unhatched
Bird of Paradise Egg-- Unhatched

[dragon]

The hatching! The hatching was starting! Nris raced through her preparations for the event, glad that she had ordered everything she might need ahead of time. Not an inherently neat person outside of her duties, her trunk was usually a gigantic wasteland of ... well ... what looked like rubbish. Even if it was just a messy version of her things. But having heard what sort of nerves started at hatchings, and the no-warning natures they had in happening, she had had the foresight to clean up her things a bit.

Even if it was only the things that were required for the Hatching itself.

Thus properly dressed, she made her way in the proper orderly fashion with other Candidates to the hatching ground, as instructed. Bitting her bottom lip, she tried to still the butterflies in her belly as she paced evenly onto the hot, blistering sands, following in the train of other Candidates.

Her gaze fell on the eggs first, naturally. They seemed so ... biolumenescient! It was almost as if they were glowing, now that they were properly revealed to the light. But then she turned her attention to Millith, where the Queen mother lay upon her stone couch. Taking a moment between strides to bow to her. But she held her silence, thinking that maybe it would not be proper for her to speak from the Candidates to the Queen, given the circumstances.

Patiently, trying to ignore the extreme heat billowing up under her gown, Nris took her place on the sands, and inhaled slowly as she watched the eggs again.

[Rowana]

Merridan struggled to pull on the white candidate rob. Whose idea was it to wear these sharding things? It was too much like a dress and left her feeling like she would trip over the lengthy fabric. Still, she couldn't afford to argue right now. Little annoyances were of minor concern compared to her racing heart. The hatching at last! She could hardly believe it! She had been so busy helping with the rebuilding, that she had barely registered so much time had passed. At least her arm was mostly healed now and she no longer needed a sling.

Mer ran to the grounds, holding her robs up to keep from falling. She skidded to a stop before the sands and bowed as she had done on her last visit. "Congratulations!" she rose and grinned. "I'm sure they'll all be lovely!" She was glad to see Kaegan was present as well. The Werywoman didn't look entirely better yet, but she was here. It would have been a sad thing for her to miss Millieth's hatching. Mer took a deep breath and stepped onto the hot sand.

Mer had always considered herself brave. Not fearless, for that was foolish, but able to keep her head in the worst situations. Then why was she so nervous today? Her legs felt like jelly and her stomach was doing flip flops. This was nothing to fighting off Bendan riders, so why couldn't she calm down. She was jittery and bouncy with excitement while her body was frozen with the awe of the moment.

She moved closer to the clutch. She found a spot where she could see nearly all the eggs and stayed there. The large, pink egg was already shaking and looked ready to burst. Mer's eyes fixed on the egg, eager to see what color the first egg would hatch.

[Avu]

”Guh?”

Thank you for that lovely bit of eloquence, Mine. Are you feeling well enough to attend to Millieth’s Hatching? The undercurrent of clear eagerness in the bronze’s tones was nearly palpable; T’rid raised his right hand to rub his eyes sleepily, blinking the last vestiges of sleep away. For a moment, he was disoriented, blinking at the ceiling. What? Hatching – when? – where? Corinth’s eagerness was momentarily washed over by a wave of amusement at his Rider’s incomprehension; then the bronze crooned, the sound breaking through the Hatching thrum that steadily increased in pitch; the vibration was more than a noise. It was brilliant, thrumming, deep; T’rid could feel it in the ground as he sat upright slowly, wincing at the strain on his chest, and then bit his lip thoughtlessly. Millieth’s Hatching, Mine, Corinth reminded him patiently. Would you like to come? I’m about to go. If you want to go, hurry; the Holders from the Relief Caravan are all here and they’ll get all the good seats, and you’ll complain.

“I’d complain anyway,” T’rid observed mildly, swinging himself out of the bed and pointing an almost accusatory finger at Stupid, who was perched on top of Conspiracy, who was asleep. “You. Stay. Okay? No offense or anything, but Millieth probably won’t like it if a brown Salamandyr goes streaking across the Sands to cuddle up to one of her newly-Hatched greens.” Green pretty? Stupid answered, perking up curiously. “Stay. I mean it, Stupid.” The bronzerider quirked one eyebrow at him, and then stepped backwards, watching Stupid intently. The Salamandyr made no move to dart for the doorway, so T’rid swung around, making his way as rapidly as he could to Corinth’s side. His right arm proved quite enough to swing up onto the small bronze’s neck, and Corinth leapt into flight almost instantly. The sky was full of dragons; the bronze veered around a blue, sweeping into the Grounds. Traditionally, dragonriders took the Candidates into the Sands, but Corinth’s priority was his Rider, for the moment. And his own sanity.

Dropping down to hover above the Stands, the bronze waited for T’rid to drop to the platform below, crooning in soft agitation as the bronzerider bit back a hiss of pain upon landing, before he ascended again, arching backwards and backwinging to land neatly on the Rim of the Sands. Lowering his head, the Hatching thrum rose in his throat again, jewel-faceted eyes gleaming as they slid from Millieth to the clutch of thirteen. Rustling his wings, the bronze’s thrum rose in pitch as one of the eggs began to rock – the Gladiolus Egg – until it was nearly a high keen, his eyes whirling even more rapidly in anticipation of the newest generation of Selenitas dragons. The first few Candidates had already began to trickle in. Most of them looked excited. Excited was, he supposed, preferable to terrified out of their wits. Most Candidates fell into one category or the other: Excited, confident, eager, or absolutely terrified.

Have you a good seat?
Better than the Weyrleader’s Box, anyway, T’rid replied dryly. The bronzerider had claimed one of the seats at the very front of the Stands; Wingleaders did get priority, and really – who was going to argue with someone with a broken arm?
Ha, ha. Do you like any of them? – do I even need to /ask/?
You don’t. My answer’s the same as always: No. Why are the eggs so…pink?
Because yours truly is most definitely an expert on eggs?
“Better you than me,” the bronzerider said aloud, attracting one or two odd looks from the ranking Holders around him. Grinning cheekily at them, T’rid shamelessly leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, interlacing his fingers and dropping his chin onto them. O Expert of Eggs – bet that egg’s going to Hatch first.

You don’t say!

[Lotty]

Oh hey there was one of those hatchings going on. Don't cha know?

Kasella was staring blankly at this white (well off white) robes, half reminiscing about hatchings long past and half cursing it's every fiber for failing him so miserably time and time again. Sharding thing. He brusquely unfolded it and threw it on, the oversized garment hung down in a garish manner on his thin frame, looking something like a costume for a rushed together play. But really that's what this all was right? An act, a parade of young faces for the Queen dragon to see, marching along and acting every bit of the model student as to Impress the hatchlings? Why did I have to be this way? he snapped out of it for a second, why do I have to hate everything so much?

He hustled down to the grounds, a swiftness in his feet half forced by his mother. He had promised her he wouldn't be truant for the 4th time straight. He also shaved away - to his dismay - his up start of a beard, for as the aging creche worker said, "Dragons don't want old men." Kasella huffed. He thought that it made him look rather dashing, but if it would appease he mother he would hop one footed over broken glass.

An eyeful of eggs and a half bow later and he was reminded of just how hot those sands could be. Stifling, one could say, but Kasella would refer to it as broiling hot. Just the right temperature for him to stew in his own disdain, simmering to an unappealing taste of hate. Soon he knew it would be too much, he would have a pointed glare for everyone around him, all those Impressing while he stood alone because he couldn't fake fairytale wishes into his brain for the hatchlings to eat up and love. Jealous he could be. No. Jealousy he was.

He shuffled over into place, an arbitrarily picked spot he felt comfortable in and prepared himself for the long haul. How long it would take, he could never know, but he could only hope that if it was decided yet again for him to be left standing it would be quick and painless. But things could never be easy now can it? So let it burst and bloom.

[Rei]

The air was electric with the sound of dragon humming. Hero lifted his head and hummed along as Danar frantically threw his trunk open to dig for his robes. Where in Faranth’s name…Ah ha! Pulling the robes out of the trunk he frowned. Uh oh. They where sleeveless and blood stained and it took the candidate a minute to figure out why.

Aslath’s last hatching. The one where Pasine had been mauled. Danar had ripped the sleeves off to form a bandage against the bleeding. The old blood stains where hers. Lifting it to his nose he gave it a sniff. Well at least it didn’t stink. He had no time to find another. Throwing off his shirt, he donned the sleeveless bloodstained robe and ignored the looks a few of the other candidates shot his way. Oh well, no hope for it now.

He took the stairs two at a time and practically jumped into a boat. Waving a few other candidates in, Danar began to row to the hatching sands. A few tense and anxiety ridden moments later his small group had arrived. As the candidate stepped onto the sands with his ripped in bloodstained robes he swallowed against the lump in his throat and bowed to the queen.

Without waiting for a reaction Danar trotted towards the eggs to take a place in the semi circle already forming. His dragon had to be in this clutch. The candidate sent a quick prayer to Faranth. These hatchlings had to be healthy. With all the sorrow and discord in the weyr what they needed was a spectacular hatching. Please just let Millieth’s babies for once be born healthy and whole.

----

Hurry Selmine! They are hatching! Kaaoloth pranced on his weyrledge as he awaited his rider to fasten his straps. These will be our new charges mine. We must be there to support them! “I know, I know would you hold still for one sharding second?” Sel’n yelled loudly and gave the dragon’s neck a sharp smack.

Bad bad Kaao! Stillstillstill. Ugly babies wait. Vanity chimed in from her perch on her bonded’s shoulder. Kaaoloth obeyed with a snort, and soon Sel’n had tightened the last strap. As he mounted, Kaaoloth shifted and threw himself off the ledge to make his way to the sands.

Landing out front, Kaaoloth deposited his rider and launched himself into the air to perch on the rim of the sands. The big brown added his hum to the din his eyes whirling rapidly in excitement. The Weyrlingmaster nodded to some of the drudges who where setting out meat and turned his eyes toward the sands. Babiesbabiesbabies.

----

Malara breezed into the stands examining the grouping of candidates for Lanthos. She promised she would be here for him and she was, despite Mask’s protests. She had left the blue wher in her temporary housing. He wouldn’t be able to stand the bright light anyway. Taking a seat she watched the rocking eggs with nervous apprehension. This was much different than a wher hatching.

----
“I am not going Ebolath!” Yes you are mine! “No I am not. If you want to go. Go I am staying here.” Fine! Giving a snort the green launched off the ledge and banked into a turn to avoid a brown who had suddenly veered into her flight path. If hers wanted to be stubborn so be it. The green was not going to miss the hatching just because hers was determined to be antisocial.

As she entered the grounds Ebolath instinctively began the hatching hum, alighting carefully on the rim. Arching her neck she scanned the crowd with interest. Eyeing T’rid she crooned and picked out his mind. Hello T’rid. I have not seen you for awhile. I hope you enjoy the hatching. Her attention was then drawn to the rocking eggs and she increased the tempo of her humming to coincide with the rocking Gladiolus Egg.

[ladybug]

When the hum began, Burena leaped into action, running to her room and pulling her white robe on in record time. She quickly made her way to the sands, heart pounding and palms sweaty. For the first time since the attack, she felt hopeful and excited, not worried about what would happen next or wondering who was waiting behind the next corner. Of course she could be left standing again, but even so, today was a day to celebrate. Thirteen new lives would join the Weyr, helping to rebuild.

She took a deep breath before stepping onto the sand. The sands were hot, but she managed not to dance, walking calmly across to the clutch. Burena bowed to Millieth, then joined the other candidates around the eggs. She looked over the rocking eggs, glancing over each one. Then, she looked up to the stands.

Burena saw her parents, her mother Yvere and her stepfather Torton, and grinned at them before waving. They waved back. Because of the caravan, they were able to watch the Hatching this time. Not wanting to miss a second, she quickly turned her attention back to the eggs.

[topaz]

What in Faranth's name was all that hu . . . Humming! That meant the hatching had begun!

Thora was quick to run up to her room and don her white robe and sandals, then immediately dash back downstairs. Before she entered the arena, the candidate smoothed out her long, wavy hair and ran her hands over her robe to make sure there were no wrinkles. She would hate to ruin her chances at Impressing because the queen thought she was not presentable!

Finally walking through the doorway, the heat of the Sands hit her again like it had at the Touching. The robe certainly helped though, being so airy, and she was glad to see she was not the only one wearing it this time. She approached the large golden queen and the Weyrwoman, bowing low to them both, before turning to file into the semi-circle around the eggs. Seeing a familiar face, Thora gravitated towards Burena, settling next to her.

Watching as the girl waved into the stands, Thora quickly thought of her own family. Had they come with the caravan? The blonde had seen the Southern Hold banner in the crowd that settled in the Weyr Bowl, but she had yet to locate her parents. Then suddenly there was an excited fluttering in her mind. Cod? Yes! A quick scan of the stands and the presence in her mind directed her to the blue flitter hovering excitedly over Thora's father, mother and brother Calin. The girl grinned widely and gently waved a hand to show she had seen them. Maybe if she didn't Impress, she could just go back with her family to Southern Hold, and resume fishing. It was a tempting prospect, but as she turned her eyes away from the stands, they fell on the stunning clutch of eggs in front of her. Those eggs were a whole different kind of temptation, and she had to at least give them a try.

Watching the Gladiolus Egg shaking so violently, Thora turned her head slightly to Burena. "Good luck." She whispered, with a smile, and soon her focus was back on the pretty, pink, rocking egg.

"Good luck." She whispered

- - -

Mallowth's deep humming was C'vin's only warning that the hatching had even begun.

Come Mine. Hurry. I don't think any have hatched just yet. The blue stretched cautiously as he got up from his couch, the still healing hide on his back and hindquarters stinging slightly. The slice through his left cheek was still quite sore and would take much longer to heal, but he only needed to open his mouth when he ate so it wasn't too bad.

C'vin, in turn, was healing well. His two chest wounds were lightly bandaged and covered mostly by his dark blue tunic, and the various scrapes and bruises across his body had been taken care of and were nearly gone.

Sliding his other boot on, the blueweyrling rose from the edge of his cot and made his way slowly over to his dragon. "Alright Mal. Let's go." The pair walked - for C'vin did not want to aggravate Mallowth's burn with the flight straps - down to the hatching grounds and took a seat on one of the lower dragon ledges.

C'vin leaned back on his blue, one leg hanging off the ledge, the other crossed under it. Mallowth crooned to His as the boy sighed. C'vin, Mallowth noticed, had been distinctly less cheerful in the aftermath of the attack. He did smile still, which was a comfort for the blue, but he always seemed a bit more tired then he should be. As if all the fighting and death had taken a little more then just blood from the young man. C'vin smiled lovingly at Mallowth's croon and soft nuzzle to his cheek. Reaching up a hand, he patted the blue's nose and kissed the soft, leathery hide. Without a word between them, the weyrling pair turned their attention to the one rocking egg on the sands.

[hseru]

The thrumming was like a gift from Faranth herself sent to grace the Weyr with a breath of hope. K’roi’s days were long and tiresome. The relief sent from the Holds was filing into their depleted stores of food, personnel, and general mood, increasing each in a much needed way. The weyrs being used as temporary infirmaries were still overflowing, but those few who were best off had been released, lessening the overall strain on the staff by at least a little. The new caverns were well under way, but they were only just touching the tip of that task, though the new help the Holds sent their way would be a blessed relief to the workers already at the job.

The strain placed on the Weyr had run straight up to the Weyrleader, and there was more than one sleepless night for the bronzerider. Anger took him through those first few weeks, but he was rapidly running out of an earlier seemingly endless supply of that emotion. Now, he’d have to work off of something else until it was effectively rekindled, and hope for the new hatchlings seemed as potent as almost anything else. Gareth’s bubbling well of fatherly emotion seemed to be rubbing off on him, and the barest hint of a smile traced his lips where previously only a scowl could be found as he strode briskly away from the work site for the new infirmary. The big bronze winged overhead, and landed in a clearing several paces ahead of him, bouncing like a weyrling on his first flight. They’re beautiful Mine, just perfect. They will hatch large, strong dragons. Come, we will go watch. Millieth’s is there already. K’roi vaulted up the proffered foreleg, settling saddle-less between the bronze’s big spinal ridges. “How does she look?” She moves with the help of another, but she has Millieth with her now. The bronze’s tones made it clear that he thought the Queen’s presence would do more good for their Weyrwoman than the aide of another rider would. Patting the top of the big shoulder affectionately, K’roi gave the signal for takeoff, and Gareth responded with a will, catching air like a dragon half his size and zipping over the river in an instant. They saw white robed candidates filing in, and Gareth swooped in to land somewhere behind the spectator stands, letting His off before he sidled over to Millieth, giving her distance should she feel touchy, though his low affectionate croon would be easy to hear. Their hatchlings would be a sight to behold, he was certain.

K’roi climbed up into the stands, claiming the Weyrleader’s seat and noting with a small smile that Kaegan was indeed nestled in the curve Millieth had created with her body. He was glad for her, that she was well enough to come see the event. He was also glad that bastard C’leon was dead, though he wished he’d had some part in the final act. He felt a wave of calm sweep over him and he angled a brief thanks to Gareth. Be a good boy and ask Millieth how Kaegan fairs.[/b] He felt the agreement, and the bronze passed on the question.

K’roi saw flitters adding their own voices to the thrumming, and felt a keen sense of loss for his own little green. Sakki had given herself to save him, and he could have asked for nothing else. The connection had been severed abruptly, but not before the wave of anguish could reach him. The green had seen him through many, many years of heartache, and now a part of him was just... gone. The one good point about being so busy was that he had little time to mourn, but he still felt it in the corners of his mind.

Turning away from that depressing thought, K’roi settled himself in to watch the only positive thing to happen in several weeks.

…

Lanthos for once wasn’t rushed when he reached the sands. The touching had caught him off guard, but ever since then, he’d carried his robes and such around with him to be prepared for the event at the drop of a hat. It was thus that at the first sign of thrumming, he dropped the bowl of herbs he was crushing and practically ran to the back room to throw on his robes and make himself presentable.

Pep clung to him, but he shooed the mandyr back to his rooms. The blue went with much sulking, but waited by the door to watch and make sure he was being sent away. He didn’t want to let Hispet go wandering off to the hot place without him to watch out for him. Pep was the only thing standing between Hispet and something else latching onto him. He’d already let his guard down once, and look what had happened!? Of course, his Bluewings was tolerable for a larger creature, but still, who knew what would decide to bond with Hispet next!?

The candidate made it to the sands in record time to file in with the rest of the candidates. His first clear look at the clutch made him pause, but a bump from behind had him moving again, and he bowed to Millieth as he shuffled in to take his place. Breaking his eyes from the eggs, he glanced at the assembled crowd. Delighted surprise lit his eyes as he found the smiling faces of his parents among the gathering watchers, and he resisted the urge to wave mightily to the family he hadn’t seen since coming to Selenitas. He gave them a small wave, and noticed even as he stopped that Malara was sitting not far from them, just as she’d promised she would be. Grinning, he waved to her too, trying to get the goosebumps to leave his skin. He was all atingle with anticipation, and no small sense of dread. What if he was left standing? Giving himself a little shake, he straightened himself and latched his gaze onto the rocking egg.

[tompoko]

If it wasn’t bad enough already.. Tyrone thought to himself as he began to see the stands fill with riders. Old, young, some very famous, some he’d never seen around the weyr before. They are mostly all there.. But then again he didn’t know the weyr’s riders roster off by heart, and even if he did he probably wouldn’t have a hope of matching all those faces to names.

The Queen’s rider entered and Tyrone took a step back just before the great gold moved from her seat to her human. It was somewhat comforting and a little nerve racking to see Kaegan in the hatching room. Comforting because the presence of her human companion would probably put Millieth at ease. Nerve racking because it was Kaegan, she was here, watching, judging, staring. I think I let too many things get to me.. he thought. That might have been an understatement on his part.

Still in relatively close to the clutch he turned suddenly as he heard a noise from behind him. He saw that one of the eggs had started to move. Not one of the ones he was eying, but even so, it was the first moment of the life of this clutch, and the first sign of his new life or his next wait.

[Tashe]

Shooting Gareth a glance, Millieth huffed before turning back to her clutch. Both smug that a Bronzechild had hatched firs and annoyed that the Brats where going to take away /her/ children. She reached out to speak with Gareth a moment later. /Kaeganmine is still in pain. She should be in bed right now, but she didn't want to miss our Children hatching. I did not want to stand in her way. As long as she is not in horrible pain, I saw no reason why she shouldn't be here. I trust her judgement... mostly./

---

No sooner had the Candidates arrived when the Gladiolus Egg shattered, sending shards in every direction. From the remains of the once pink shell rose the occupant, furling his long wings with a brassy cry. Snapping his sails back along his ridge, the Gladiolus Bronze crooned at his Golden Mother before turning to face his adoring audience. Why else would they be there if not for him? His pale Bronze hide glinted with the sticky juices that he had been suspended in, but that mattered not to him so much as looking his part. He was a King! Arching his neck, the Gladiolus male stepped over one of the shards of his egg, wobbling slightly. Having just been born, he was tired and hungry, weakening him more than he would have liked. He paused in his trek to sniff at the now rocking Oxalis Egg, deciding a moment later that the egg wasn't worth his time. He knew His was far more important than his clutch sibling, and he knew exactly where to find His! Sliding through the sand, the young Bronze made a Bee-line for his human, stopping in front of him with an agitated tail jerk. /D'nar mine. You look silly and smell of blood. I am Olanreth, and I want to be fed./ Using his tail to smack the back of the boy's legs, he continued. /Move faster! Now D'narmine! Clutchsiblings not as important!/

By now, both the Oxalis Egg and the Dahlia Egg had picked up their own tempo, one twitching violently while the other gently shaking every now and again. Cracks began to run down the purely white colored egg, big fissures breaking into smaller cracks until the entire egg was held solely together by the membrane inside. A large kick made the shell collapse, the bottom falling away while the top clinging to the Hatchling's head. Though the odd hat didn't stay one for long, the Oxalis Brown tossed it from it's perch with a violent shake of his head. Being a reddish Brown color, his hide was a contrast to the eggs that surrounded him, making him stand out even more. Flapping his wings to dry them, the Brown made his way over to the Dahlia Egg with interest. Pausing his attempts to dry off he inspected the egg for a few moments before pressing his paw against a large crack in the shell. Making a small hole for his Clutch sibling to work with, he then began to woddle toward where a large group of male candidates waited, sitting back on his haunches as soon as he got there. Make no mistake, the Oxalis Brown wasn't confused... he was inspecting all of the males.

From the Dahlia Egg a small snout appeared through the hole with a gentle peep, she was going to take her time to hatch... she hoped that was going to be alright.

---

Gladiolus Egg-- Bronze Olanreth -- Impressed to D'nar
Heliotrope Egg-- Unhatched
Oxalis Egg-- Brown -- Sitting and musing...
Dahlia Egg-- Green -- Sweetly peeping from inside her shell
Narcissus Egg-- Wiggling
Cyclamen Egg-- Unhatched
Rose of Sharon Egg-- A soft tapping can be heard
Phlox Egg-- Unhatched
Queen Anne's Lace Egg-- Unhatched
Zinnia Egg-- Unhatched
Hypericum Egg-- Unhatched
Hybiscus Egg-- Unhatched
Bird of Paradise Egg-- Unhatched

[Rei]

Danar almost flinched as the pink shelled Gladiolus egg shattered to reveal a regal looking (if pale) bronze. As he examined the hatchling, anticipation began to build and then a fierce joy when he realized the bronze was coming straight for him. Tears pricked in his eyes as the hatchling’s voice echoed in his head. D'nar mine. You look silly and smell of blood. I am Olanreth, and I want to be fed. The smack to the back of his legs was ignored he was to happy to care. Of course his bronze would be hungry how silly of him. Move faster! Now D'narmine! Clutchsiblings not as important!

Stroking the pale head, Danar, now D’nar, laughed. “Of course they are not as important as you. You are the king of the clutch right? Come on now let’s get you fed." The bronze butted at his bonded’s legs impatiently. Narmine I already know we are the most important pair here but everyone else must know it to. We must be the first at everything so we can set a good example. You are a bronze rider now and so important. Giving a soft croon Olanreth arched his neck and trotted towards the meat laden tables with D’nar at his side.

The new bronze weyrling paused long enough to give Lanthos a thumbs up. Which earned a annoyed snort from his bronze. Hurry D’nar. I want the best meat. The rest can be for my siblings. “Coming Olanreth.” The bronze weyrling wiped away some of the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He knew it! A bronze. If only his mother could have seen him impress.

[Rowana]

Merridan's eyes lit up as the young bronze broke free. He was so beautiful! And sure of himself too. It wasn't long before he had chosen and D'nar was leading him off the sands. Mer flashed a grin at the new pair. She like D'nar, from their work together in the kitchens. She was pleased to see he had impressed such a fine dragon. She didn't watch him long though. The other eggs were hatching.

A brown came next. Mer admire his handsome, red color and felt a pang of regret as he moved towards the boys. Browns didn't pick girls, so she had been told. But she silently wished him well in his choice. He deserved a strong rider. Another egg was nearly hatched and Mer thought she could see a flash of green inside. It was hard to tell, and she craned her neck to get a closer look without moving. Two more eggs were moving as well. It didn't looked like the hatchlings were going to wait long!

~

G'tor and Ruskeath took a spot next to T'rid and Corinth. They were a little late, and arrived just in time to see D'nar impress. G'tor smiled. It was a promising start for the clutch and the weyr needed a good hatching to raise their spirits. "Fine looking bronze," he commented with a nod as he took his seat. Good day, Corinth, Ruskeath greeted pleasantly. He hummed happily at the little hatchlings. He truly enjoyed watching the young ones.

~

Farryl clapped and cheered at the first impression. D'nar had been a candidate when Peppeth had chosen her and she was happy to see his patience had payed off. Peppeth bounced with delight next to her. The little green was barely able to sit still in all the excitement. Each of the eggs contained a new friend!

[Lotty]

There was something overly appropriate about Danar Impressing a bronze, Kasella mused. He was the leaderly type, and Kasella couldn't deny that. So as the bronze strutted over to the candidate, he gave a nod, but Faranth forbid he gave a proper smile, that might suggest some kind of friendship, and Danar or D'nar or whatever he was going to call himself now had not yet earned a place in that elite team. So quickly his attention was turning back to the hatching and counting the dragons that wouldn't look his way again.

He cocked an eyebrow at the freshly hatched brown, and watched with mild curiosity as the dragonet bumped another hatching egg in an attempt to aid a clutchmate. That was a nice thing to do he supposed, and almost forced him to watch the brown more intently as he paddled across the sands to his little cluster of boys he was in. Kasella stood waiting rather...well...he just he couldn't think. In the process of trying not to think in his awful cynical terms, he couldn't really come up with anything in the old noggin. Feeling uncomfortable about this sudden and poorly timed revelation that he couldn't think positively, he felt his body practically squirm. Ughhhhhhhh. And this dragon was just going to take his sweet time, wasn't he? It might have been a little taboo, but he folded his arms across his chest in impatience. Hurry up....

[tompoko]

“geez.. your big.” Tyrone had made it a point of establishing this as he stared at the large brown dragon a few feet away. He did it more to verbalize—something—in hopes of quelling his anxiety. It worked relatively well and while the brown dragon sniffed and meandered, trying to make up its mind, Tyrone looked over his head at the other eggs.

I think the Rose of Sharon egg just moved. Or it could’ve just his imagination but he was pretty sure it had. He wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Then again, he pondered if any of these other new candidates knew either. I suppose no one but the eggs and that queen gold over there knows. Everything seemed to be unfolding so fast, it would all be over in just a few short moments.