Hatching of the Chinese Zodiac Clutch

[glamourie]

One hand came up to rub his temples gently, and Keliris turned his gaze back to Kalerary. Her face was twisted into a wry, almost nervous look, and he blinked twice before his eyes followed hers, into the stands where… a dragon was actually climbing them? Head tilting to the side, his stomach plummeted. He’d been hiding in the top of the Stands to avoid seeing any of the new dragons, because newly hatched greens made his mind flash on Calistoth -- “Will you help me DESTROY her?” -- but… but there was one climbing up the Stands. Not just any color, too. It had to be a green. A green. He could handle the adults fine, bizarrely enough. None of them looked enough like Calistoth to be worth looking at for more than a few seconds. But the hatchlings, fumbling and awkward, he just knew… the mere sight of the Snake Green made him recoil and his stomach turned over into a knot, a well of pain flaring up behind his mind; it was exactly the sort of thing he could see Lis doing, so stubborn she was. Why was it climbing up the stands? Why couldn’t it stay on the ground where he didn’t have to see, have to be reminded…? She was snapping at people, too. The thought made him bow his head, his eyes torn away to stare right at the tops of his beat up black leather boots. A curtain of blood red hair splayed in front of his face, blocking his expression from view, but behind the shadow, he was frowning, and his amber eyes were actually shining with unshed tears. He didn’t want to watch --

I would thank you to choose a more convenient spot next time, my love --

His breath hitched in his chest and he tensed visibly, his entire body seeming to tighten from the response. He didn’t move. His entire posture was stone still, though on his shoulder, Showoff uncurled and stood up on his hind legs, his frill actually flaring defiantly. Normally blue eyes changed to a suspicious shade, fading rather than swirling, and there was a hint of agitation in the way that he twitched his wings. Off of Keliris he hopped, coming to land on Kahrelir’s head, his bronze-red hide showing prominently through the black strands. He crawled forward on all fours, and sniffed the air before fixing the young green with a defiant look, as if he was trying to decide what he thought of her. There were no immediate protests, but the slight twitch of his tail was evidence of his discomfort.

Kalerary blinked at the approaching green and actually slid across the seat, until she was almost in Keliris’s lap herself. Her movements did not keep the green away from her though and she squeaked as the hatchling climbed onto her lap, her confusion showing on her face.

-- And to choose better… oh, it is a hatchling-female. She may stay. The little green was careful about her claws, though the material of Kalerary’s pants was still torn in the process; Kale didn’t make a sound. The rest of the hatchling’s words made Keliris turn his head, very slowly, to meet the hatchling’s gaze with what could only be described as absolute horror. Probably the total opposite of everyone on the Sands, but given his history, it was probably understandable. His breathing hitched, or perhaps totally stopped, and his skin went a pale shade of white, like the first snow of winter. Is the little male hatchlings ours, K’lirMyLove? Good. Your Baoth approves, and we will keep him and make him be a good hatchling. Her attempted lick of Kahrelir made the baby smile and hold his hands out toward the green, and Keliris choked. May I eat now? I am hungry, and they kept slowing me down. Do tell them how stupid they were, please.

“N-No, you can’t -- you can’t --”

Can’t what, MyLove? She squirmed forward, and the movement freed Kalerary, who reached over and tugged Kahrelir off of Keliris -- K’lir again -- and into a standing position. That put him closer, and Baoth leaned forward to lick Kahrelir’s cheek before settling on her seat, now freed. How good of the little female-hatchling to give her seat up for her. Tolerable, that one. Why are you frightened of me? Don’t you know that I love you very much? She could feel that he was upset, though why she did not understand. Brushing through his mind told him of another -- that she reminded him of someone gone -- but she was gone. There was only her. Why should one who was gone matter anymore, when he had her? It didn’t effect her choice any. She wanted him, she did. He was the only one for her.

“Surely you want one of the candidates?” he said weakly, actually shuddering away from the green as if she was the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen. And in some ways, she was. She was certainly frightening to him. Not because of what she said, no, but because… because she was so like, and yet so different, from… from… “I - you can’t want me. I’m Calistoth’s, don’t you see?”

You were, but Calistoth is gone and now you’re mine. You loved her more than you love me…? From her tone, it was obvious that the very thought was more than the hatchling could bear, and she flipped her wings in agitation. You have to love me, mine. I love you very much, and I couldn’t stand it if you didn’t love me, too. You’re the only one here that I want. Please, mine, I’m so very hungry. Yes, she was upset --- but part of her was also very, very perceptive; she picked up on the glimmer of hope beneath the horror, and she knew that her words sent a chill of guilt and worry through him. That was all the encouragement she needed. He did love her, and he’d see soon enough that she was better than this ‘Calistoth’ of whom he spoke. She was. She was most certainly smarter. She wouldn’t let Hers go, after all.

Greenlingmine protect Lirlove, or else! The command came from Showoff, and both Baoth and K’lir turned to look at him. He was perching on Kahrelir’s head, but the boy was being led off through the Stands toward Ka’rys and Savitri, hand-in-hand with Kalerary. The nine-turn-old turned and offered the ‘new’ greenrider a reassuring smile, before continuing on her way. It disrupted her view of the hatching, sure, but Keliris -- K’lir -- was going to need to focus his attention on the green. She could watch the baby while he took care of his new dragon. She and Showoff could, at least, and from the way that Showoff flared his frill, she had a feeling he’d take to the distraction with zeal. Was he mad over the new green? Somewhat; Lir was his and he didn’t share well. But… maybe he’d stop wanting to do bad things to himself with her. Maybe. If she could make His happy again, Showoff would tolerate her. Anyone who made His happy was worth putting up with, at least…

Baoth watched them for a moment, before looking back at K’lir. She leaned forward and licked his jaw before butting him with her head affectionately, and she plucked the name of Showoff from Hers’s mind with ease. Soon she’d be able to get an explanation of what he was, too. Soon. See, MyLove? Our hatchling goes with the female-hatchling and now you can help feed me. Please? I’m so very hungry…

“I… Ba--”

Baoth.

“Why- I don’t--” Well, he had to feed her, didn’t he? She’d starve otherwise. His mind was going in a thousand directions, but that resigned thought was enough to push him to his feet. The actual tears did fall then, but being as proud as he was, he kept his head bowed to hide them; he didn’t want anyone to see that he was crying. It would look stupid. What kind of idiot cried over Impressing? “-- Well, come on. Try not to step on anyone on the way down, please, I don’t want to listen to them whine…” The vague amusement that he received told him that she wouldn’t have objected to some of the girls whining, but Baoth did try her best to avoid stepping on anyone as the pair made their way back to the Sands. K’lir never for a second glanced up at anyone as he passed, and Baoth ignored them as well, happy as a clam to be getting food; she knew he’d come around soon enough. He loved her. He just needed to see how much she loved him, and she could show him. She would show him.

Shakily, K’lir moved toward the feeding section and stopped just in time to give his name… which felt just plain stupid since most people knew who he was. “K’lir. That’s Baoth.” Would he have to take Weyrling Lessons again? That thought was dazedly floating through the mild terror he felt, as Baoth slithered against his legs in what could only be described as affection. He carefully stepped over her tail to move toward the feeling tables, and she brushed his mind again with reassurance that, despite himself, K’lir greatly appreciated.

We should talk to Ahth, she added helpfully. After we get food. Okay? Let’s talk to Ahth. You’ll feel better if you talk to someone, and I am sure Ahth will love you… but not as much as I do.

[kysseh]

It appears that our Baoth has her own mind about things. I approve of her choice. I approve of most of their choices. Hepaticath was commenting quite pleasantly to her mate, though her gaze was lingering on a few of the bonded pairs that she was not sure she liked the look of. Still, they seemed to be suited to each other, so she could scarcely begrudge them their lives and happiness. But... well, the gold was of her own mind about what her offspring deserved. Snobbish, certainly, but Hepaticath was a quiet sort of snob. She could not deny that. I will enjoy watching Chaoth and His. Hopefully, Weith's will keep our little bronze- Hardly little, but who was she to quibble? -out of trouble. But her... I do not know.

The queen was eyeing her gold-daughter with a great deal of trepidation, though the arrival of the little flitter distracted her. Her humming paused just enough for a croon to echo up at the little queen, gratified by the creature's obvious compliments and excitement. They are beautiful. Silly, some of them, but beautiful. I am proud. she said simply, her posture becoming more alert as the remainder of the eggs began to split open.

The Dragon and Tiger Eggs seemed to be taking their time, but the Dog and Monkey Eggs split almost in unison. A splotchy blue emerged from the Dog Egg and gave a bewildered squawk as he promptly lost his balance and fell over. Well, walking was hard work, apparently. There went his plans for a good time, if he had to figure out how to walk first. Still, he managed a croon for his clutchsister, the Monkey Green, who seemed to be all legs, tail, and wings in one tangled and squirming knot of dragonflesh. Quite a pair, they were, and quite a mess, at that. They would take time to get going, certainly.

Time enough for the Cat Gold to make her move. She knew where she was headed and move straight and with a purpose, unintentionally right toward the injured candidate and the girl that tended him. Anzalorin was far enough out of her direct path to escape unscathed, but the girl... she was in the way. One forefoot reached out and clumsily grasped at the girl's robe, the gold making a discarding motion to toss the girl aside, heedless of the damage her claws would do. This little girl clearly needed to learn to get out of the way of the queen, and it was a lesson to be learned the hard way. She was a small queen, but compared to most of the hatchlings and candidates, she was still large. Large enough to harm, certainly, though she gave no other thought or claw to the girl once the path was again clear. Ahh, there it was. Now she could follow as Baoth had done, for she was not to be outdone by that green. Hardly. She had a reputation to establish, after all.

Up she went, past the drudges who were already panicking over one dragon in the Stands. Past a few more spectators, who climbed up to get away from her. Stupid, stupid audience. She was clumsy and ungainly and stumbling... but she was not cruel enough to just lash at them, her audience. Her fans. Her servants. She had a better use for them, for after she found Hers. Luckily enough, Hers was loitering near two males that belonged to browns. She liked browns. Chaoth was intelligent, unlike the horribly stupid red Weith. Hmph. They would do to be her first servants, and she climbed her large, sticky, sand-covered body right across R'wign. No claws were used, but she was too large to fit in his lap, instead half-sprawling across him and simply putting her head on Meira's belly. It was all she could reach for the moment. Brown Checkoth's human was a really lousy servant.

You were quite intelligent to bring such fine humanmales with you, MeiraLove. I do love you, you know. I am sorry it took this long, but I wanted to make sure they all saw me. I am their queen, after all. /The/ queen. Please thank this human for being such a good couch for me, though he is rather small for the job. I shall need a bigger one, especially since we will have a clutch, you and your Jingth. Oh, and tell the short human male-servant that I need food. He will get it, will he not? You should not have to get up. You are Mine, after all. the queen very pleasantly informed Hers, her mental tones completely at odds with the violence she had displayed earlier. So polite, Jingth seemed. So... so polite. Her eyes whirled the rainbow of Impression, and she nudged at Meira's distended abdomen, indicating 'their' clutch again. Our clutch will be very fine, even better than that of Hepaticath's, no?

A rumble that could have been amusement echoed from the clutchmother's chest. Hepaticath was eyeing her queendaughter with a mixture of pride and caution. Already, Jingth was threatening to be a handful. She would bear close watching indeed, though Hepaticath was pleased at her selection. The healer-girl would make a fine human for her queen-daughter.

Anu? AnushaMine...? I do hate to be such a bother to you, but your Minth is a bit stuck, you see. I can not untangle myself, and my legs are so long and... oh, dear. I am stuck. Will you help? came a cheerful, if somewhat frustrated, voice as the Monkey Green selected Hers from among the candidates. That girl would do just nicely for Minth, she would. Oh, but she needed help so badly! She flailed about a bit in the sand, working hard to get her long and spindly legs seated beneath her so that she could get up. The trouble was that her legs and tail were somehow tangled, and she was either too tired or too kinesthetically-challenged to sort it out for the moment. Badbadbad!

The Dog Blue spied his sister's misfortune and waddled over to her, clumsily nosing at her in a well-intentioned but doomed attempt to be helpful. Unfortunately, her problem was beyond his very-limited capacity to solve, and she had already called Hers.

Wait, wait... she had Chosen already?!

Giving a terrified squeak at being potentially left behind, the blue toddled toward the candidates, squawking and flopping the whole way. Now to select which one. He was left with few options, it seemed, but he was undeterred by this. The right one for him was here... somewhere. He sniffed around fruitlessly, passing over the girls and most of the boys--why were some of them covered in sticky red stuff? Ewwwwww--until he ended up on the feet of the most helpful-looking and kindly boy. Or... well, he seemed kindly to the blue, at that moment. Yes, he liked Tahlor just fine. Minth needs Shith and His' help, T'lor. She is Shith's sister, and Shith helps his favorite, favorite clutchsister, he does. Come, let's help! Helphelphelp! he chirruped at the boy, sinking his teeth into the boy's robe and tugging insistently at the loose fabric. His sister needed help! Why wasn't T'lor hurrying? Surely he knew that they needed to do something!

[kysseh]

Dog Blue
Name: Shith
Color Code: 86F5F6
Impresses to: Tahlor/T’lor
Appearance: Shortened legs and an extra whippy tail are a recipe for disaster in a creature of Shith’s size. Just on the larger side of average for a blue (at least, in length), Shith seems so much smaller, given the shorter length of his legs in proportion to his body size. Thankfully, his wings are large enough to compensate for the mild shortcomings of his other four limbs. His neck is also just a hair shorter than it should be, though not enough to be noticed except in comparison to a similarly-sized blue when they are side by side.

Shith’s coloration is… odd, to say the least. His hide is three shades of the same base color. The base color is a light sky blue, and splotches of lighter and darker blue decorate the rest of his hide, just a shade lighter and darker than the same basic blue. The most notable of these spots is a dark splotch at his rump that makes the blue look like he wears the dragon version of undergarments. Another dark splotch surrounds his left eye, giving him a rogue-like appearance that completely stands at odds with his personality. The only other splotch of any real oddity is on the center of his back, this one in a runner-shoe shape.

Landbound movements are difficult for Shith, given his shortened legs, but he toddles along just fine when he is of a mind to. In the air, he is fearless and moves with the grace typical of his color, able to keep up with most of his peers and even some of the greens. Shith does have the odd tendency to waggle his tail when excitement, and the tail can get rather out of control and leave destruction in its wake. This is purely unintentional, of course, and he hardly notices when he does damage to his own tail in the process of expressing his glee. Seeing as he is very excitable, he bounces quite a lot, and he can rarely be found sitting still. When he does sit, he sits all the way back on his rump with his forelegs tucked into his chest, perfectly upright and posed. What a strange beast he is.

Personality: Shith and his favored clutchsister Minth are perhaps the most playful and fun-loving creatures of the entire clutch. Shith in particular loves nothing better than a good romp, and he could spend hours chasing tunnelsnakes in an attempt to bring them back to His for a word of praise. Surprisingly, he digs rather well and will happily tunnel into soil, sand, or mud in pursuit of his quarry. Unfortunately, extricating himself can prove to be quite the problem, so His might find himself digging Shith out of sticky predicaments quite frequently. Shith will always be apologetic for the moment and then right back to chasing something the next instant, rarely able to sit still for long.

For all that he has a relatively short attention span at times, Shith is a loyal friend, though that loyalty is a lot of bravado and not a lot of claw. He tends to bounce up and down when angered, making high-pitched noises that will irritate any creature in the vicinity to the point of wanting to throttle him. Self-control is not something that Shith possesses a great deal of, so his insistent noise-making, in addition to his bouncing, will earn him few friends and many enemies when he is riled. Fortunately, he rarely stays in such a mood for long, especially if something small that he can chase happens to scamper by. His friends are advised to not take him along as back-up in a fight. Shith will inevitably squawk a lot, make everyone angrier, and then become distracted, regardless of his good intentions. He really, truly doesn’t mean it. He simply… lacks the focus.

As far as mating goes, Shith will, as soon as he reaches maturity, attempt mounting with anything smaller than him that doesn’t move. Of course, he will get as far as flopping himself down on the back of said female (or hapless small blue, if they look particularly pretty from behind) and then not have the instincts to know what to do next. An annoying and embarrassing habit to be sure, but he, luckily, doesn’t try it for more than about a minute before realizing that something is amiss. When greens Rise, he will be the first into the air, wholeheartedly chasing any female tail that zips by his nose, even if he just caught a female a day or two before. Loyal to his friends, never to his mates… such is the life of Shith. And it’s a sharding good life, with plenty of fun and lots of tail to chase. What more could a male ask for?

--

Monkey Green
Name: Minth
Color Code: 61F917
Impresses to: Anusha
Appearance: A quick look at Minth would have a person writing her off as entirely useless. She is a spindly creature, large for a green but so thin and spidery that she looks quite strange. Most of her body is her long limbs. Long forelegs that nearly match her hindlegs in length, if not in strength. Long and thin hindlegs support surprisingly muscular, though not bulky, hindquarters, and a long and very slender, flexible tail will wrap around anything in the vicinity with surprising strength. Minth looks as though someone took a much, much smaller green and pulled at all of her extremities, stretching her out into a creature that is all angles and limbs. Surprisingly, though, she does not look frail. Her frame is supported by good, strong muscle, which she seems quite able to use.

Minth’s hide seems somewhat washed out in color, perhaps faded by the same cosmic ‘stretching’ that gave her the long and spindly frame. It is a bright and vivid yellow-tinted green that has become slightly faded, like clothing washed just a few too many times. The color looks far from unhealthy, though, and it is dotted by spots of a brighter shade of the same color, the freckles sprinkled delicately all over her backside. Her face is the same startling right shade, and there is a distinct line just behind her eye that separates her bright face from her washed-out body, giving the appearance that she wears a comical sort of mask. A strange attribute, to be sure, but an adorable one. Minth is far from ugly. Simply… strange.

As a weyrling, coordination will be something that completely eludes Minth. Her long legs and tail will be difficult to control and use to the best of their capacities, and she may fall behind without hard work, extra practice, and encouragement. However, once she stops growing and fills out, she will find herself in a completely different situation, able to her flexible, skinny body with a great amount of dexterity if she practices. She will probably find scaling rocky cliffs on all fours to be quite easy, and in the air, opposing dragons would be advised to avoid her long legs and sharp foreclaws. She will be able to swipe and grab with the best of them, and very few creatures her size can match her reach.

Personality: Minth is energy, enthusiasm, and playfulness to the max. Seriousness does not sit well with her on most occasions, and she can most often be found throwing her spindly body into some sort of game. She greatly enjoys tag, hide-and-seek, and any game that will help her improve her control of her limbs and give her time to socialize. Minth can not function at her best when completely alone. She requires a group presence and much encouragement to learn. This does not mean that she need be the center of attention, for she is not so arrogant nor so demanding. No, she is content to be at the fringe of the group, so long as she feels accepted, valued, and suitably encouraged to do her very best. One need only to ask for her to throw in every ounce of effort she possesses to some task.

Unlike her favored clutchbrother Shith, however, Minth’s energy can be channeled into productive pathways. Minth is no genius but is extremely inventive when it comes to problem-solving, usually staring at an obstacle for several minutes before puzzling her way around it. She is not above the use of tools or other dragons in order to obtain a solution. Sure, her solutions can be a bit outrageous, but a little maturity and some experience will help her channel that energetic creativity into more useful areas. Regardless, there is no denying Minth’s clever nature, and she is most upset when others completely ignore her attempts at problem solving. All she wants is a chance, see? And don’t let her get bored; you never know what ‘solution’ she might cook up to that problem.

Minth adores Hers and will probably be very dependent on her, especially early in weyrlinghood when she is at her clumsiness. She enjoys physical contact and will probably try to crawl into Hers’ cot for as long as she can get away with it, not liking the feeling of being left alone for too long. She adores spending time with friends and will happily snooze alongside or play with anyone who cares to spend time with her. Mean creatures aren’t allowed; they spoil the mood and make her sad. While she may find a long-term mate, it is more likely that she will have a selection of males from which she chooses whichever one strikes her fancy at that moment, with that entourage of males evolving along with her personality as she grows.

--

Cat Gold
Name: Jingth
Color Code: FFEB45
Impresses to: Meira
Appearance: This beautiful gold will never rival her clutchmother in length or sheer size, on the smaller side of average in build and in length. Her claws are perfectly curved, her neck neither too long nor too short and is perfectly arched when she is poised in all her regal attitude. Jingth is the perfect queen… in miniature. She is not, however, a scaled down version of her mother, for she lacks powerful muscle but makes up for it in grace and slender elegance, a perfect blend of both of her clutchparents without their size.

Her hide is a very pale honey-gold and will always glitter, even when she is in dire need of a bath and oil. Her every motion will set her hide to glimmering in its perfection, making her seem almost in a constant state of readiness to Rise. Still, those well accustomed to her will ignore her glittering until it turns to a regal glow, and she will positively glow with such a radiance as to be unmistakable. Only a small scattering of spots across her backside will break up the otherwise flawless perfection of her honeyed hide, and these spots are a coppery-tinted gold, hinting at her sire. The entirety of her hide is smooth to the eye and the touch, and it will be no wonder that she is often stared at. She is quite the beauty.

For all her beauty and supposed grace, Jingth is… not always the most dignified in posture. Sure, she is graceful in the air, but her smaller size and evenly-proportioned wings make her stamina less that of an average gold, enough so that large or well-practiced browns may have a chance at her. Her flights are beautiful, and her movements on the ground are not clumsy or awkward. Still… Jingth rarely looks like the queen she is. She doesn’t have to have good posture since she has the hide and the personality, apparently, so she is often found sprawled out or slouched when not hunting or flying. She enjoys sprawling, particularly on top of a nice warm male, and if said male has a hide whose color happens to set off the brilliance of her own… well, then it’s no wonder she is sprawled on top of him. What a picture they make!

Personality: Jingth is perfectly regal and stately in temperament at first glance, a perfect mirror to her flawless appearance. Very rarely will one see her temper expressed or even hinted at, for that would be beneath this lovely queen. She is perfectly and utterly composed in speech at all times, even if her posture is not indicative of this. Jingth has no problem giving out orders while sprawled out on her weyrledge. What position her body happens to be in has no bearing on what she says or how she says it. When the occasion calls for it, the dignity of her temperament and her speech is matched by similar physical poise, but this is rare. Usually, she is simply polite, well-spoken, and easily understandable, nothing shy of pleasant to converse with.

Perhaps in compensation for her lack of size, Jingth is one of the most clever of dragons. For sheer problem-solving capacity, she will be largely unmatched, and were she to only put her intelligence to good and proper uses, she would be respected, even revered. But, like the creature her egg was named for, Jingth is undeniably manipulative when the occasion calls for it. This manipulation, however, is done with such dignity and class as to be almost unrecognized if one is not wise to her agenda. And Jingth does have an agenda. She always has a plan, whether it be a plan to snag the nearest few greens to hunt for her or to have the loveliest (in her mind) bronze in the weyr come be her pillow or attendant. But so politely is it done, so carefully and pleasantly that most dragons (and other creatures) will not realize how they are being played. Luckily for the weyr, her charismatic ways of twisting beings around one of her little claws are usually used for the good of the weyr and not just for her own good. Jingth does have some sense of responsibility, though it’s probably best if the safety of the weyr is not left in her claws. She might get distracted with getting oiled and fawned over.

For all her incredible vanity and manipulative ways, it is unsurprising that Jingth can be somewhat difficult to bond closely with. Superficial friendship with mutual benefits is easy, but Jingth can be quite selfish when it comes right down to matters. This can make her less than popular when others attempt to get close to her, but the few whom she does manage to form a close relationship with will have a close friend who is delighted to tweak matters to her friends’ benefits. After all, her few beloveds should reap the benefits of her charisma and power, no? Above all, though, Jingth is completely and wholeheartedly devoted to only Hers, and the adoration of all the bronzes of the weyr could not compare to a kind word and loving thought from beloved Hers. Jingth’s very existence will hinge upon the emotional stability of Hers, so tight is their bond.

[zoie]

Just like that, three more dragons Impressed. The queen, it seemed, had been taking her time with the whole thing, as there was relief and a sense of broken tension as she did so. The one who got her wasn’t even a candidate, just someone who happened to be there. Just being there, had good results, it seemed. Well, the queen was cute, and claimed. Te realistic side of her told her to focus on the green and blue that were hatched, and the two eggs that weren’t.

The green was stuck. It was plain and simple, for all to see. She was stuck and it would take something for her to get out, but she Impressed. Hers woud hopefully help her, and Nitsa had enough sense to stay out of its way. She had heard f the things that happened to those who got in the way of baby dragons, even on accident. She wanted a dragon, but had to keep her innards inside of her to do so. Not that the gerrn was liable to go that far. Better safe than sorry, as long as nothing was wrong.

The blue was going to help her, it seemed, but stopped. He then headed towards the candidates and went by the girls. Nitsa had heard that blues could Impress girls, but this one didn’t. Instead, it went to the boys, finally finding His. Now all that was left were the two unhatched eggs. Two more chances, and then she would wait, probably for a while. This experience had been a good one though.

Wait till she wrote home! Her father had been to a Hatching once, but not to one where there had been a queen Impresson. She had, and she was temporarily satisfied. She then tried to guess what was in the eggs. They were both small: two blues? Wo greens? On of each? Or neither? The suspense, released once when the queen Hatched, was killing her once more.

[Rowana]

Peppeth was so excited, she could not sit still. She bounced from side to side, rudely knocking nearby dragons and hastily apologizing before babbling on her nonstop commentary of the hatching below.

Did you see? Did you?! Look at the little green! Oh the blues are so funny! What a handsome brown too! Sorry, sorry...I did not mean to bump you...oh look! More green sisters! They are all much smaller then me, are they not? Shiny! What a pretty queen! Oh, the poor bronze! I do hope he will be alright. Pardon, I did not mean to...Ooo! They are all so cute! The boy the green chose looks so sad. I wonder why? Gold's girl is also sad. Why would they be? Is it not happy? Poor little green! I hope she gets free alright. Maybe the blue will help her? Oops, I almost fell down. Only two eggs left! What will they hatched? Well, Farryl-mine?

Farryl just laughed along. She hardly had time to respond to her dragon's rapid fire responses. This was by far one of the most interesting hatchings they had ever been too. She had missed most of Peppeth's because they had impressed first. And Millieth's had not been quite so full of surprises. Peppeth certainly was enjoying herself, even if she could never sit still. It was a good thing she was so small. She could hardly be bothering anyone with her antics, since she took up so little space to start with.

[subtlemystery]

So much to keep track of. There were more hatchings, and more Impressions and Kaerlin was struggling to keep his eyes on everything at once, there was always so much going on. People bleeding, and... Why was that green going up into the stands? Werent' they supposed to pick from the candidates? Scratch that, weren't the candidates picked so that they would have as much to look at as possible, in one candidate class there'd been an amazing amount of diversity between personalities, and there were two of them. Then again, if the person she wanted was obviously not going to come down... Then good on her.

The outcome was not something that Kaerlin would have expected, and how could he have expected that? ReImpressions just... Didn't happen, there was nothing before that he could draw on, he'd never heard of it happening, and hadn't that man just recently lost his green? It was one thing, Kaerlin supposed to pick them later on,but he couldn't imagine the conflict or pain that rider would be going through. He'd still love the little green though, right? It would be horrid if she also went between because Hers couldn't love--

Wasn't the whole 'stands Impression' supposed to be rare? Kaerlin was finding much of his knowledge challenged by the dragons now, as the second dragon in a row decided to clamber up the stands, this time it was the gold. He'd always thought to have it happen once was strange, so another one... Still it was the gold, so Kaerlin presumed that was one thing again, since she was a gold she obviously had good choices. Golds didn't make mistakes. Turning his eyes back to the eggs, Kaerlin tried not to show dissapointment at the fact there were only two left, all the others had hatched and Impressed happily. Lucky people.. Still, he could cross his fingers and hope?

~*~

Kalia wasn't sure what to really pay attention to, her attention was caught between the green, the gold and the shivering eggs. They all seemed to be going off in different directions, perhaps even ready to choose... Maybe, or at least Kalia had thought so until the green started clambering up the stands. That wasn't unheard of, she supposed. Stands Impressions were rare, but not unheard of, the person she did choose though, Kalia would never have guessed. He'd recently lost his green hadn't he? It was hard to tell, but she was sure it was him. ReImpressions had never happened before, Kalia had always assumed that was because the person was seriously so mangled after they lost their dragon that a baby couldn't possibly find the person they wanted underneath. After turns and turns, Kalia could understand, the person would have had time to slowly piece something of themselves back together... But... Then again, if she'd chosen, no amount of logic was going to change that.

The gold was moving too, to the stands also. Well, that was a surprise, but then, golds were generally decisive. Steps weren't going to change that little girl's mind, not if the person that she wanted and was meant for her was waiting up there. If she was willing to climb that high, the girl must be something special indeed. Turning her attention back to the last two eggs, Kalia couldn't help but wonder if the Dragon Egg would even hatch, it wasn't even moving, but the Tiger Egg was... It would be unlike a young gold to clutch a dud in her first clutch, especially one that had hatched a gold. One never knew though, maybe the baby was alive, but couldn't get out, and if that was the case, there was nothing anyone could really do about it. She'd just have to wait and see.

[lokath]

Lokath was, of course, fully aware as the Ram's Egg hatched, actually chuckling slightly as the dragon planted itself in the sand... upside down. For some reason, his eyes seemed fixed to the blue as he wandered through the candidates, stopping to sniff at one girl. He continued to watch the blue, not shifting to look at the green (He wasn't likely to Impress it, after all, and wasn't that what he was here for?). Suddenly, the blue locked eyes with him. A moment's pause, and then... Oh, shards... Bloody shards. The blue charged right at him, head down.

Lokath's feet seemed rooted to the ground, and there was little for him to do but grunt as the blue headbutted into him. Perhaps he would have been able to withstand the force of a newborn creature (unlikely), but the collision was combined with a fierce impact of emotions, the force of which nearly rivaled that of his newfound bondmate... what? I meant to stop in time, I think. Did I hit you hard? Sorry, L'kaMine. It hurt my head. Your legs are fine, right? So, so sorry. A voice in his mind? The... dragon in front of him? And what had it called him? L'ka... The youth had time to gather his wits and sit up before the next burst of communication came.

Could you possibly give your Lith some help? The world is flipping upside down on me. Really, it will not stay put.[/i] His Lith? My Lith? Yes, of course your Lith? Now can you please help me? Lith was still twisiting and writhing, attempting to right himself. L'ka spoke up as he stood, moving towards the dragon. "You sure seem te like bein' upside down, little one." He quickly helped right Lith, before another burst of information (Words? It seemed to be accompanied by emotion.) hit his mind.

L'kaMine, I'm starving. Can we please find some food?[/i] Slightly stunned by his Impression, (He had not been expecting it to be this powerful) L'ka simply pointed towards the food, and began walking that way, waving for Lith to follow. Of course, this left room for interpretation, which was a mistake. Lith, with energy apparently still left over, lowered his head and charged for the food. "Noo!" L'ka tried to stop the dragon before he collided with the girl in the way of his charge, but... it was too late, unless the girl, a late-comer to the Hatching, managed to jump out of the way.

Lith slid to a stop on the other side of the girl, his head cocked in an odd manner. L'kaMine, did I do something wrong? If so, I am very sorry... Just... try and go slower next time. He had done it again. Speaking to the dragon seemed to be different than merely thinking, but... there were other important manners. Making sure Lith had not inadvertently killed or horrified the girl was the first, and getting the silly beast food was the second.

[zoie]

As she was watching the other dragons and the eggs, dividing her attention between the two, one of the blues Nitsa had noticed charging earlier had evidently found His. He was walking with a boy, and Nitsa was more than a little amused to see the look on the new Weyrling’s face. He looked like he had the wind knocked out of him. It was funny, until it happened to her.

One moment, the blue was moving in a most peculiar and entertaining manner, and Nitsa had been peacefully watching him out of the corner of her eye. The next, he had put on a bit of speed and force, and was running… right at her. It was not on purpose, Nitsa felt herself thinking. That was all she had time for before the impact. Nitsa was knocked onto her back, as that was the better option between that, crumpling onto the dragon, or standing upright and breaking something. Her eyes had closed momentarily as she remined herself that the dragonriders at this Weyr were not out to get her.

When she opened her eyes, the blue was looking down at her. Her hair was in her face, and her clothes and hair was full of warm sand. She was beginning to feel the heat through the fabric that suddenly felt inadequate to her. She needed something sturdier. Well, there was one way to solve it. She would remove contact between herself and the sand. She jumped to her feet, brushing herself off and feeling some embarrassment.

His rider seemed decent enough. At least, he was sticking around, presumably to make sure that she was all right and not to gawk or make fun. She shook her hair and felt the little grians of sand hit her arms and go down her back as it rained down. Tonight would be a night for a bath, then. “Hello,” she said finally, polite and to the point. “I’m Nitsa, and ah, congratulations.” She couldn’t think of anything better. Her brains must’ve been addled in the fall, too.

[ace]

Kunth's eating had slowed in pace until the green weyrling could consume no more. Th little dragonet refused to open her mouth as Mina offered her another mouthful of food; Mina breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't known that baby dragonet's could eat so much! She could see chunks of meat protruding out of Kunth's stomach.

Mina now had time to inspect her dragonet. She seemed to be in perfect proportion; though her wings were somewhat translucent. The green's muzzle and wing tips seemed to be black, as well as a little splotch on the dragonet's forehead and a strange shape on her flank.

Her new mindmate seemed to be growing tired, and she flopped herself down onto the sands. This gave Mina a chance to watch the hatching. She turned just in time to see the Gold climbing the stands to make her impression. A Stand Impression? That was unusual especially with the dragon in question being a queen. Well it was not unheard of. Mina turned her attention back to the hatching and watched the Dog Blue nose his way through the candidates until he found his, Tahlor! "Congratulations Tahl- T'lor and Aunusha!" Mina shouted as the blue and the spindly looking green impressed.

Kunth seemed to be examining her clutch siblings, and promptly, took off to get a closer look. Walking in her unusual gait, the green dragonet took of towards the newly hatched Dog Blue and Monkey Green. Wait! Come back here Kunth? The green dragonet stopped in mid bound as looked at her rider in confusion. Why MinaMine? Mina sighed as she caught up to her dragon and said, "Let them get settled first, love." Kunth looked with distress at her clutch sibblings. Trying to drag her dragons attention elsewhere Mina asked in exasperation, "Why do you walk like a canine Kunth?" Kunth promptly turned around and said in a very easy going tone, How do you know that it is not I walking properly, and all the other dragons are the one whose step is wrong. You should be happy that I walk like this, and not like a worm, see what it would like like The green dragonet promptly flopped down onto the sand again and propelled herself like she was swimming, her stomach dragging across the sand. See how silly that would be? Mina groaned in exasperation, she was sure to have a handful with Kunth around. The dragonet pulled herself up and 'ran' towards the sands again, I want to talk to my clutch siblings. Kunth said in a manner of fact tone. "Then why don't you talk to the ones that are being fed by their partners Kunth?" Kunth swung her head around to look at her chosen partner, with a look of amusement on her face. Silly Mine, I can't get a good view of eggs hatching if I talk to those over here. This way, I will be able to watch the last two eggs hatch! There was no stopping this dragon when she made up her mind. The dragon walked up to the newly hatched green and promptly sat down in the middle of the sands. Hello, she said, as Kunth swung her head around to stare at the eggs. "KUNTH! GET BACK HERE!" Mina shouted from across the sands. Silly Mine


~~~

Kevin watched with amusement as both the green and gold climbed the stands in search of their partners for life. The candidate had no idea that that was unusual in a hatching, he had not grown up near dragons. He applauded with the rest of the crowd as the dragons made their impressions, but he now concentrated on the two eggs that had yet to hatch, Possibly one of them held his mindmate, but more likely they did not. He would stand for other hatchings, and maybe then he would impress. Kevin watched in silent excitement as the green and blue impressed, but then turned his attention back to the two eggs.

Once again, his attention was diverted as an already impressed green walked -albeit a strange fashion- back onto the stands, only to sit in front of one of the unhatched eggs and stare at it in amusement.

[Sheari]

The candidate watched as the gold followed the green up the Stands and crawled into a man's lap only to rest her head on the stomach of a woman who appeared pregnant. She looked vaguely familiar to Anusha; hadn't see just lost a mindmate? If she was the same woman Anusha was thinking of when she mused that the woman deserved the little queen.

Anu? AnushaMine...?[/i] Her thought process was interrupted by the voice. AnushaMine? I do hate to be such a bother to you, but your Minth is a bit stuck, you see. I can not untangle myself, and my legs are so long and... oh, dear. I am stuck.[/i] The source of the voice was found and she almost laughed aloud at the sight she was presented with. Will you help? Giggling, she stepped forward and said, "Yes, Minth, I'll help."

Gingerly, she untangled the green's tail from her legs and helped her straighten said legs out. Once righted, Minth tucked her wings neatly against her sides. Much better AnuMine, much, much better. May we go a little slow, I haven't quite gotten the hang of walking yet?[/i] Anusha nodded and adjusted her stride to accommodate the little steps Minth was taking to keep from tripping and falling again.

In the back of her mind she felt Akos stir. He was now well aware of the new addition and he was eager to meet her. The white Salamandyr wanted to leave the candidate barracks but was held back by the fact that the ever-so-vicious Hepaticath was still there.

She might eat him and eating him was not what he wanted.

[Requiem]

Catching sight of movement on the edge of the Sands, M'ta extricated his arm long enough to wave at Merridan, unable to fully suppress a smile. She had her brown, she did, and he couldn't say he was at all surprised.

I am tempted to go play with the flowergirl's little brown right now, Behruth confided in Checkoth conspiriatorially, but I do not think the Happycath would like us on her Sands at the moment. How sad. He rubbed up against Checkoth just like a feline, having missed that closeness while staying at the infirmary and now the weyrledge. His memory wasn't great, but he did know they used to live in the same place. Hmmm. Why were they in different weyrs? ShortyHis didn't much like the weyr they had now because of harpyface (even though harpyface wasn't there anymore).

Yes, we must play now when you are small, before you get bigger than me like Checkbrother and I always end up on the bottom. The bottom of what, he wasn't sure, but he knew it had happened sometime. Maybe. Possibly. He thought it had? Now he wasn't sure. Maybe that was M'taHis...? Their sleepiness must be rubbing off on you. What is this confusion? Checkoth is bigger. Yeeesss. Something about that. I can't quite remember. Behruth ignored M'ta's amusement at his expense. Hmph. Not very nice of him. Ruth let out a big yawn. Oh! Pretty Mandyr Shiny! He could just make out the salamandyr stirring in M'ta's sleep-crazed hair. That explained all this fuzziness.

Wait. Wasn't there something about no flitty crawly things? Uh oh. He'd forgotten. (Not that he knew P.M.S. had decided to nest on M'ta. The blue salamandyr wasn't exactly a creature of habit, to say the least.) Hurry, my little shiny. You must not be spotted, he urged his tiny singing buddy. Their song hadn't been nearly as good without ShortyTheirs to dance with them, but he would very much hate to sing it alone.

Oddly enough, the salamandyr's resulting dive down M'ta's extravagantly large amount of layers of clothing went unnoticed, though that likely had to do with the fact that he had two taller people leaning on him at once and was still trying to decide if the added warmth was worth the discomfort or not. That (he ignored R'wign's flailing simply because Behruth wasn't expressing concern, and the brown was usually a pretty good gauge if another creature was in trouble), and there was a green climbing in the Stands. "Ruth conspires to keep me inside at all hours," M'ta commented negligently, the vast majority of his attention on that green. He hadn't seen such an Impression since he came to Selenitas, though he knew they happened. Theoretically. Kind of made the disappearance of Behruth's clutchsister even sadder, though, considering she hadn't found Hers amongst the candidates or in the Sands.

He...wasn't sure what to think about Keliris, though. M'ta didn't think he could ever...though everyone was different, he supposed. Frowning, he mentally clung to Behruth. If- No. Even if I ask you to? Because you're capable of asking that of me, Ruth. But you wouldn't turn one away. No. He wouldn't. Shards if he'd come if there was the slightest possibility, though. It doesn't matter. We're going to grow old together with Checkbrother and R'wign, all four of us old and gray and cranky and playing tricks on the entire Weyr. You understand? It doesn't matter. Old as Salenth and His? Even older. That's possible? Oh, wouldn't that be fun! Yes. Yes it would.

And he wasn't losing Behruth. Couldn't. Silly brown, to think of such things. Silly brown...

Oh dear. Now the gold was coming up off the sands, too? What was going on? Even he hadn't scared them all up off the sands. Oh. Incoming. Incoming. M'ta shot a quick glance around to see if he could make out who she was headed for and hopefully get out of the way. A nagging suspicion arose in his mind. But no, that was impossible. Two reimpressions. A gold. Impossible. Behruth, however, was glaringly silent in the face of M'ta's dismay. It is a good choice, the brown stated solemnly.

Fortunately M'ta was aware and quick enough to back up off the bench before being half-squished by a gold dragonet in addition to his two personal bookends. Even without really thinking about it, he'd twisted to the side so as not to let Meira's head fall as he did so, one arm snaking between R'wign and the former wherhandler. Amusing as it would have been for the two to do a collapsing act on one another, he figured Meira's knew lifepartner might not take kindly to it. Just maybe. Meira, a goldrider. Either that or the gold wanted to share R'wign, so he was banking on Meira. "Looks like we've got a visitor," he commented needlessly, mostly just because he was feeling rather awkward just standing there looking dumbfounded.

Behruth's mental sigh was nearly audible. Really. ShortyHis had no manners sometimes. Welcome, lovely little queen. Mine simply doesn't know how to greet one such as you. He has been sick, you see. If there is anything Checkoth and I can do for you...Yours is very important to Ours, and we would like to see you both happy. Quite eloquent, Behruth, when he wished to be. Of course, he was currently squirming against Checkoth in his excitement for Meira, which took away some of the dignity of it, but it's the thought that counts, right?

See, Mine? See? The nice friend Impressed the shiniest of all. Yes, I see. Kind of hard to miss. Isn't it wonderful? Still deciding. Ask me tomorrow. Behruth was undaunted. He knew M'ta was happy for Meira, even if he was being a grumpy gus on the outside. That was just the way ShortyHis was. Well I think it's wonderful. You would, Ruth. You would.

[kysseh]

There were only two left, Hepaticath noted. She was both disappointed and relieved by how quickly it was finishing, and she hummed even louder as the final two eggs shattered onto the sands. The final two. And they were a fine pair, they were, a brown and a green. The green looked somewhat chubby, but she seemed to be steady on her feet, unlike her brown clutchbrother who was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Apparently, he was having some issues with control of more than just his limbs.

Indeed, the Tiger Brown could not seem to decide which way to go. First darting one way, then another… he seemed to be slightly overwhelmed by all of the stimuli. He wanted to go to His, but ohhh, his clutchsister was interesting, and Jingth-sister was up there! He ended up skittering everywhere around the sands but toward the candidates until Hepaticath finally stretched out her neck and snorted at him, shoving him ever-so-lovingly toward the candidates. His mother’s lecture was accompanied by a prim snort from the little Dragon Green that trundled her way past him, the noise an obvious form of rebuke for his unnecessary behavior.

The orange-brown dragon gave a loud whine and sulkily plopped his rump down in the sands. He wanted to get there his way, thank you. She had spoiled it. Bad mother! Still, he got up after a moment of sulking, evidently intending to go finally demand food of His. He went his own route, though, which meant heading straight for the end of the Sands and taking the long way around the candidates, finally ending up behind his Chosen. Hmm. His looked large from behind. Was he easy to push over? Time to test it.

Got you! he crowed triumphantly as he stood on his hind legs and threw his front half at the boy’s backside. Ahahaha, he had won! Silly His, thinking that he couldn’t sneak up on him. I have got you, V’raelMine. Your Taith is clever, no? I /got/ you! We should go eat now. Then can we play? And fly? I want to fly. Let’s fly. Come on. The cheerful words were accompanied by a none-too-gentle shove towards the direction that Taith thought the food was in. Hurry up before mother pushes me again. She is so very /pushy/. Is your mother that way? Clearly, following instructions was not Taith’s strength.

He is so unmannerly, is he not? I will teach him better manners later, KaliaMine. the green informed Hers, sitting at the girl’s feet with the utmost amount of patience. See? She would behave and set a good example. Then Jingth and Weith need to be taught a lesson. They are horrible with the fighting, and even /I/ know better than that. Come. Let us eat, and then we will show them how /true/ leaders act. Your Huath knows how to lead properly. So she did, and she would prove it to them all. Hmph. And who said a green couldn’t be in charge? Really.

A low croon of affection echoed from the clutchmother as her golden nose skirted over the remains of the eggs. Thirteen eggs, thirteen lovely… and troublesome… hatchlings. None had been left behind, and with the exception of Weith’s damaged pride and tail, none seemed to have been harmed. This pleased her, it did, though she smelled trouble on the horizon. A close eye on them, she would have to keep. She would have spoken to each, but they were busy with their bondeds, eating and sharing thoughts and trying to not tangle themselves. Instead, she lifted her head toward her mate and rumbled affectionately, her eyes slowing to a contented whirl. Yes, it had been a good hatching indeed.

[kysseh]

((Look for a thread that will have the origin of the names. And some other... hehe... /tidbits/... about the clutch. >.>))

Dragon Green
Name: Huath
Color Code: 155911
Impresses to: Kalia
Appearance: This green is about average in size for her color, though she is without a doubt the smallest of those in her clutch. Her build is a bit on the bulkier side, though, perhaps to make up for her lack of stature, and she will always look a bit chunky in comparison with her clutchmates. Roly-poly, though, this green is not, for her mass is centered around her back, shoulders, and hindquarters and is nearly all muscle. Of course, if she is overfed and allowed to laze about, it is entirely possible that she could become nothing but a lump of green dragonflesh, but given the fact that she is rarely sitting still, that seems unlikely. Her wings are on the broader side but no longer than the average. She will need the extra surface area to get her larger body into the air.

Her coloring is not exceptionally striking, though it can not be called 'ugly'. Her hide is a very dark shade of green, the color of leaves in the darkest depths of the forest, and it is largely unmarked by variations, save for the darkening at the top of her head and on her toes, which are nearer to black than green. Her only other marking is a dozen or so scattered spots of the same dark green shade over the left side of her rump, spots that will probably be roughly the size of a fingertip when she is fully grown. Given the dark coloration on top of her head, she seems to perpetually give the impression of the dragon version of a scowl, and she probably seems quite intimidating in that respect.

Huath's movements are not quick or rushed on most occasions, despite the fact that she seems incapable of being completely still. Her movements are very coordinated, and she has good command of her limbs and knowing where all her body parts are in space. Expect her to be among the first in her class to be airborne. Since she can not (or perhaps, will not) move exceedingly quickly, she will never be the fastest of greens, and her extra bulk will make her less agile and graceful than her peers. She will, however, compensate for this with exceptionally steady and consistent flying ability, and what acrobatics she can master, she will master them flawlessly.

Personality: Dignified, ambitious, and charismatic... Huath could be a gold, if only she were larger and able to reproduce. Huath is a very noble creature and is always concerned with doing the right thing. What she does, she does very deliberately and with great dignity, and rarely will she stoop to a lower level. She does not resort to grudges or vendettas for the most part, probably because she believes herself to be in charge. Do not think that she mistakes herself for a gold, for she doesn't. She simply believes that she can dictate the way things run, and Hers and higher-ranking dragons will be hard-pressed to convince her that a green can not run the show.

One of Huath's greatest attributes is her self-confidence. She is intelligent and capable and is very sure of herself and her capabilities. Never can it be said that Huath is indecisive. She evaluates her options and then presses forward in with a passionate, single-minded focus to get the job done. She is clever enough to come up with new and radical ideas, and Faranth help you if you don't at least listen when she says it. She knows her ideas are usually good ones, and, luckily for her, her magnetic and charismatic personality makes it easy for her to snag others' attention to make herself heard. She will never be short on followers, even if they might be irritated with her egocentric and overbearing attitude at times.

For all her intelligence and charisma, Huath will always be something of an imperious and abrasive personality to those unaccustomed to her manner of looking at things. Huath will never be close to many creatures, though she will be friendly with many, and even Hers will probably be wondering why the little green has so much assurance in herself. Those who manage to adjust to her brashness and self-righteous way of looking at things will find themselves with a loyal and generous friend who will stop at nothing to make her beloveds happy. Huath is a very physical creature and will always be trying to cuddle with Hers and her friends. If she does choose to weyrmate, woe betide whatever male decides to be unfaithful; she will not forget such a crime against her.

--

Tiger Brown
Name: Taith
Color Code: B74513
Impresses to: Vraelnir/V’rael
Appearance: Taith is not large for a brown, about average in length for his color. His build is nothing spectacular either, seemingly not very large nor very slender. A close inspection will reveal this brown to be ripped with muscle, though, a dangerous and powerful creature when he chooses to flex that advantage. He could easily overpower most other browns and any smaller dragon and would probably be able to take on a bronze, given the power hidden in his seemingly-inconspicuous form. Only as he matures will that muscle become fully evident, and only then will he be treated with some respect. Until then, well… Taith is somewhat comical.

The amusement of onlookers will derive solely from the garish coloration of this brown’s hide. The majority of his hide is largely of an orange shade, and while some might find it rather cute, it is something of an eyesore when freshly oiled… and if a person is stupid enough to stare at it for that long. Across his rump are jagged dark chocolate stripes, starting and stopping and twisting and winding with no real pattern, providing a new degree of painful to anyone who looks at him for that long. Still, Taith himself seems immune to blinding qualities of his coloration, though His might get a headache from it.

Taith is positively lethal on the air and in the ground when he wants to be. His movements are quick, fluid, and surprisingly graceful for a creature of his size. He can leap very powerfully into the air and will probably be one of the first weyrlings to try gliding, simply because he refuses to stay landbound or completely still. Taith is nearly always in motion and only very still when he stalks. He will always hunt and fly well, and his prowess in the air will undoubtedly attract many females to him. Of course, they would have to overlook the orange-brown of his hide and his bewildering butt-markings, but those are minor details.

Personality: Powerful in presence and in personality, Taith is a force to be reckoned with from the sheer energy that he exudes. He flaunts his indomitable will and insatiable need to do whatever he wants in the face of those who would stubbornly uphold the laws. Taith hates laws and rules and prefers to do things by the proverbial seat of his pants. He is wholly unpredictable, impulsive, and reckless, even to the point of being undisciplined at times. Wherever he is or whatever he is doing, it is almost a guarantee that Taith is making some dragon of rank beat their head on a rock in utter frustration at his inability to follow orders. The weyrlingmaster and wingleaders who have to deal with him will have to find a way to work around his need to move at incredible speeds on whatever whim floats through his head. When he wants to go, he goes, and nothing on Pern (not even His) can stop him.

To go along with his impatience and recklessness, Taith can be incredibly aggressive, especially toward those who would challenge his right to cause chaos and mayhem wherever he goes. On the flipside, though, this aggression can be quite easily turned in defense of others. For all his wild unpredictability, Taith is very attuned to the needs of others, especially those who are shy or scared. He will work to get them excited, sharing his energy and enthusiasm until he feels they can stand on their own feet with some confidence. He loves to help and is the first in line to volunteer when there are people or dragonfolk in need. These are the rare occasions when he is focused and on task, for the duration of whatever event is at hand.

Taith’s cheerful generosity make him easy to befriend, and his passionate nature will make him very, very popular with the females. It would be unwise to expect him to stay steadily with one female, though one can never quite tell, given how unpredictable he can prove to be. The only thing that can be assured is that he will give wholeheartedly to his friends and to His, enjoying every moment of making them happy. Unfortunately, the thing that would make them most happy (his focus and obedience) is probably the one thing that he will never be able to give. Still, he will occasionally try when he can. Just… don’t expect him to try for too long. He enjoys too much his wild and crazy stunts.

[Ember]

Nephele settled into the business of watching the eggs hatch after greeting their Clutchmother. Her eyes were drawn inexplicably to the Rooster Egg due to it being so desired by that other weyr. Would it actually hatch Gold? It would be ironic if it didn't. She felt the desire of her two flitters to be at this Hatching but she had very firmly told them to go make trouble elsewhere for a while. The threatening image of an angry gold helped a bit...She sighed inwardly. She felt very naked without them around sometimes.

The crack of an egg roused her from her thoughts, startling her. She peered at the eggs, trying to determine which one was cracking. Ah...the Rabbit Egg it was. It seemed to be taking its time though as the OX Egg broke apart to reveal a brown hatchling. She watched him for a moment, hoping for something to happen but he simply stayed where he was for a moment.

The moment was long enough for the Rabbit Green to make her way out of her shell. She was a pretty little dear but she looked so very worn out by her hatching. Nephele felt for the dragonet. The green proceeded to clumsily make her way over towards the group of candidates. The brown too had been moving and Nephele forced herself to concentrate on the literally bigger 'threat'. She did not want to be mauled, thank you.

A sudden pressure on her leg and a flood of feelings not her own alerted her to the presence of the green dragonet again. Nephele looked down in wonder at the Rabbit Green announcing herself as Nuoth. "Nuoth..." The name rolled easily off her tongue and she somewhat shakily reached out a hand to caress the green head. What she felt was the smooth, slightly gooey hide beneath the sand stuck to her mindmate from the tripping and falling.

Despite the hunger Nuoth patiently waited for Hers to be ready. She sensed a rush of love and adoration but also wariness. Finally her bonded felt able to speak and Nuoth crooned quietly at the words. "No need to apologize Nuoth. I do not mind if you are clumsy or not." The girl was loathe to turn from the dragonet but Nuoth had clearly said she was hungry and so food must be found. "Let's go get you food. .." Nephele mumbled as she led her dragon, her precious green to where the food could be found.

I am glad I have found my NepheleMine, Nuoth said lovingly as she tried her best not to trip up on her wings or fall over. To give her credit she did an admirable job. The new and first pair of that hatching made their way quickly to the food and Nephele coached the dragonet how to properly eat. Loving the dragonet, Nephele found, was incredibly easy. She didn't want to disturb the hatchling by rubbing her while she was eating but the temptation to stroke her dragon was overwhelming. The green paused, turning her head to look into the face of Hers. You could never disturb me.

Nephele smiled a real smile and gave in to stroking the green and feeding her until she was quote happily full. How could she not love this understanding, loving creature?

[glamourie]

And once again R’wign was reminded of why he liked Behruth. Given a choice, he’d have kept the other brown rider inside too. He was still sick. Not too much that he needed to stay in the infirmary anymore, but bad enough that R’wign wasn’t sure having his rest interrupted was that good of an idea. He squinted absently toward M’ta, rubbed his nose and yawned widely. It was taking a conscious effort not to fall back asleep, though thankfully, Meira’s talking was distracting. Her question went ignored, because the answer came as Keliris - K’lir, hnn - came stumbling down the stands with his new little green abomination. The back of his mind brushed over the thought of what it would be like to lose a dragon and Impress again… but it was a fleeting thought; Checkoth wasn’t going anywhere, and if he did, R’wign was positive he wouldn’t survive it anyway, so it was irrelevant. The situation would never apply to him, and didn’t merit dwelling on. He had too much happiness swelling through his mind, though most of it was from Checkoth, who was by far more awake than him. Good to know someone was. He just hoped Savitri didn’t take offense and react badly… by beating them with spoons or something. She struck him as the sort to do that. Didn’t she once threaten him with a spoon? He could’ve sworn she did, hnn…

Well. At least Ellie was happy again.

Happycath…? You mean Hepaticath? Checkoth turned his head to look at Behruth for a moment before crooning. I am sure that Chaoth is hungry. I think that I was very hungry when I hatched. R’wignmine says that I was more eager to complain about his smell and I do recall him having a particularly icky scent that day -- like the smelly place -- but most babies are hungry when they first hatch. He’ll probably want to eat and sleep, but then we will play with him, we will teach him to have fun proper. Are you going to share your shinies with him? It seemed like a fair enough question to Checkoth, although his head quickly turned back to the Stands as another dragon climbed up them. Panic flared through his eyes and he spread his wings wide before crooning toward R’wign in an attempt to warn him ---

But it was too loud; the steady hum of dragons drowned out the crooning. What he did see was M’ta moving, out of his good eye, and he cocked his head to the side to inquire why when a sudden weight from his blind spot came right on top of him. His whole body froze as he glanced down to see a splash of pale gold and his stomach clenched. He squirmed back so that most of her body was on his legs, not his chest, as a wave of nausea and true fear passed through him; the last thing he needed was to apply pressure to his chest. The weight of a dragon, no matter how young, would probably have had a very bad effect on him. He twitched and stared down at the creature as she leaned over to nose at Meira, and very slowly turned to look at her in confusion.

Dragons didn’t pick pregnant people. Candidates weren’t allowed to stand while pregnant. It didn’t make sense. Yet… there she was. Unless for some reason the queen wanted M’ta? No, no. His disbelief and confusion covered his face, despite himself, and R’wign fidgeted before lifting one hand to casually poke the gold in the side. It was a very firm poke, though, and he hoped it portrayed his message for her to get off of him effectively.

Little Jingth, you are taking Meiramine away from me? Checkoth inquired, almost sadly; he liked Meira, he did. You must promise to always take good care of her. She is very sad, she is; sometimes I think too sad, and I don’t want her to be unhappy anymore. Promise me you’ll take very good care of her, little queen? I have tried to, but she isn’t Mine the way that R’wignmine is. Also, R’wignmine would like you to please not sit on him. He hurts in his upper parts and you’re making it painful on him.