Hatching of the Sticky Sweets Wher Clutch

[Administrator]

Births are a cause for humming, even if the dragons detest whers. Flitters and a handful of dragons began humming early in the morning, before even the sun could rise. Flitters popped into the room from between, probably to the irritation of the sole human inhabitant. Some squawked excitedly, other crooned in encouragement. The old queen looked up, her golden throat vibrating. It was time for her children to see the world. Looking over at K’lir, she crooned lovingly. She had become quite attached to him over the past few sevendays. Perhaps he would like to see the hatchling of her little children? She knew he had also become quite attached to them, as well. Pity he had that ugly green thing, or she might very well be willing to attach to him.

Only a couple eggs were moving as of yet. The queen looked up at some of the flitters around her, crooning at them, asking them to wake up the candidates that would want to come to the whers. Immediately, several complied, and winked between to screech the candidates awake. Hopefully, the humming would tell them what was going on, as well as if the flitters could send a mental picture of the hatching eggs to their bondeds. Reluctantly, the old queen slid back slightly from the queen egg. No signs of hatching had shone from her precious daughter yet, but little tapping sounds could be heard from inside. This was the one egg that was on the bed, and the rest were scattered among the floor beside it, wrapped in furs and clothes.

The two rocking eggs were the Cotton Candy Egg and the Milk Chocolate Egg. The former had long, jagged cracks along the pastel shell, whereas the second only had a couple cracks. Both were rocking violently, but seemed to be waiting for people to arrive…

---

Toffee Egg – Gold Neisk to Neirin
Jawbreaker Egg – Brown Zyoshsk to Zyoshvar
Candycane Egg – Green Kask to Kayla
Milk Chocolate Egg – Bronze Orask to Oraru
Cotton Candy Egg – Green Ellanisk to Ellanie
Bubblegum Egg – Blue Kedsk to Kedan
Mint Egg – Blue Swisk to Swithin

[missa]

Kayla did not want to wake up, and not even the frantic images sent by Shiny changed this. It was far too early, why was he waking her? She didn't want another flitt if that's what he was on about, he could stop making that sound in his throat now. She wasn't sure what changed her mind, what made her open her eyes, perhaps it was the screech that Shiny let loose near her ear, or maybe the gentle nip he gave said ear. Either one worked, and she batted him away.

"Shiny, what's-" She didn't get any further than that as the small blue salamandyr flashed the images of the eggs again, shaking. Those weren't flitter eggs, flitter eggs were different, no more beautiful just... Smaller. Shards, wher hatching! Shiny gave a sighing cheep as if to ask what had really taken that long as Kayla dressed hurriedly. Hopefully, the queen wouldn't mind that her hair was merely pulled back after a quick brush, not settled with the care others might take.

Really, what was the point in taking so long, there was only so many wher hatchings one could attend. Glancing at Shiny where he perched on her shoulder, she made the choice to leave him quickly, the poor thing was still half asleep... Taking him from her shoulder, she gently placed him on the furs - folding the furs over half his body - before leaving the candidate barracks hurriedly.

How did one approach a queen wher? With a bow? Well, they weren't that different to dragons, smaller but that was the only true difference Kayla saw. They were no less lovely, not in her eyes, everything was equal. It was really the inner beauty that counted, after all, some flitters could be lovely, but down right nasty. Or the most unflattering shade, but the sweetest thing... Fealyn was a classic example, she looked sweet... There was really no need to finish that thought.

Oh how she wished she had Shiny, he would make going into that room so much easier... She shouldn't need Shiny, she had to have confidence, or how would she help a wher grow confident. That was so much easier said than done. Still, all it really took was a deep breath and to walk into the room... That message had yet to reach her feet. Eventually, they obviously got the message, for she made it into the room, bowing respectfully to the gold wher before letting her eyes skate over the eggs. So beautiful, how could anyone say they weren't?

[irbre]

It was early in the morning, the sun staining the horizion, and yet Neirin had been up even before that. She was working in the kitchens with the other drudges, dutifully baking bread and klah for the morning. For the riders, mainly. Always for the riders, she thought with a bit of disdain as she punched a lump of dough with no particular venom. She really didn't mind doing the early morning chores. She preferred them, in fact. It was something she could concentrate on, instead of thinking constantly of that wher Clutch. Still, there was a distinctive feeling of unease in the air, even if none of the other drudges noticed it.

A sudden blur of blue appeared overhead, squeaking excitedly. Although Neirin wasn't particularly fond of flitts, she had to feel a bit of pity when the poor thing crash landed into a ball of dough. With a slight sigh she moved over to extricate it, carefully pulling the sticky dough off his wings. He could worry about the rest himself, as consequence for being such an over-active fool. The blue flitt chirped up at her, bobbing slightly. Neirin blinked, her head tilting. Beneath the murmur of the other drudges and the common noises of the kitchen, she could hear something else. It was humming.

Neirin spun on her heels, bounding out the door without a glance back despite the cries of surprise from behind her. There was no time to wait, not today. It was the wher Hatching, finally, plain and simple. Heart pounding, Neirin jogged down the cooridors. She knew the Weyr like the back of her hand, which also meant the quickest way to where the wher Clutch rested, its bright eggs warm beside the dying Wherqueen. Her vision narrowed to only that ahead of her, no longer seeing the people moving along behind her, even those she jostled out of the way in her haste.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she arrived, out of breath. Her rush had apparently been wasted, for only two of the eggs were rocking and two other Candidates had arrived before her. Neirin composed herself, a nervous gesture, straightening her clothes and running her fingers through her hair for a moment before moving forward to where the Queen wher lay. What was protocal for such a Hatching? She had watched dragon Hatchings from a distance, mainly uninterested, but this was something completely different. Face blank, she moved towards the dying golden form, bending low from her waist, so far that some of her hair fell free and slid down to touch the floor.

She moved back towards the other two present, but was careful to keep her distance. She kept her gaze trained only on the eggs. Two were moving already, the Milk Chocolate and Cotton Candy Egg. Her breath caught in anticipation. It seemed that now this whole fiasco sank in, only now. Would she herself be able to bond to a wher? She knew that anyone could bond to any color, but even so she still wished for a gold. It was a far stretch, yet still... Shaking her head slightly she dared to move closer, gaze flicking between the gold wher and the twitching eggs. It was now or never.

[Excuse my epic fail on this.]

[randi]

Oraru had been sleeping peacefully, lost in a dream that was nearing the end, perfectly content. Of course, he couldn't be left to his dreams, oh no. That'd be too nice. He had been woken by an annoying hum in his right ear, but, when he'd tried to get Breeze to hush so he could rest. The firelizard had nipped at his ear, insisting that Oraru get up, accompanied with a brief mental image of an egg cracking.

So, naturally, Oraru had turned over, and attempted to go back to sleep. Finally frustrated enough, Breeze grabbed a small bit of Oraru's hair, knowing that the candidate wouldn't forgive him if he just let him sleep. Tugging gently caused the boy to open his eyes, swatting at the blue as he sat up. He received a sudden onslaught of images or various eggs, finally getting Oraru to understand why he was there. As he got ready to go, Breeze winked between. Frustrated that he might be late in any sense, Oraru ran towards the Weyrling barracks.

When he arrived, Breeze reappeared, humming along with the others as he took his perch. Oraru entered to find only two others had beaten him here. His eyes scanned the eggs, the visual contact broken by a brief moment where he dipped his head and body in a gesture of respect. When he looked back at them, he stepped to the side, not wanting to block the door.

---

She, too, had been asleep, though definately more receptive to being woken. The blue firelizard landing on her bed was enough to rouse her, the hum telling her everything she needed to know. Ellanie was surprised at the firelizard's reappearance, having only seen him once before. She had fed him, scratched his eyeridge, and been sorrowful when he had left, and there was no doubt in her mind that this was the same one. Whispering her thanks, so as to not wake the other slumberers, she got dressed as the blue vanished.

As she arrived at the room, Ellanie glanced first at the watchwher queen, imagining the pride she must have felt to finally have her children emerge from their shells. With a sunny smile, she gave a bow before moving away from the door.

Happily, she finally allowed herself to look at the eggs. While observing the two that were cracking, a feeling of excitement rose in her. She was finally here. If she Impressed, she would be a wherhandler, finally. Ellanie giggled quietly, barely audible over the humming, her eyes alight. This was her chance. Even if she didn't Impress, she was getting to see a watchwher Hatching, and that thought alone seemed to make her brighter, happier, as her eyes drifted between the two rocking eggs.

[adair]

Yes it was early, but the little flitter that popped into Torra's room merely had to chirp at the young woman, already awake and ready for the day before popping back out to go wake another. Torra was too used to waking up at all hours of night and early morning to sleep in any more and the time of hatching that drew ever nearer and nearer had only added onto that, making her rise early each morning and fall to sleep early each night in preparation. She had been told days earlier that either someone, or perhaps some *thing*, would come and wake her when it was time for the Wher Hatching that she was here for, so she had been prepared and only a little startled when the small creature had come.

Oh but this was so exciting! Very quickly the plump girl looked over herself, seeing if anything about her clothing needed to be changed, but she thought she might do for now, with a green-blue skirt and white top... But should she change into all white? No, that was only for dragon candidates. With a chuckle at her own fancy she leaned and grabbed a long length of fabric, the same color as her skirt, and tied it around her head, the ends trailing down her back and floating behind her as she walked. No need to look bad for any potential partners, that was for sure.

Checking herself one last time the motherly young woman whistled to herself as she walked out the door, closing it firmly behind her and watching to see if anyone else was going to the Hatching... So far she could see a few rushing around, maybe candidates for the Whers, or maybe just busy people, and decided she might as well head on herself, quickly making her way down the halls and towards the Weyrling Barracks where the eggs, and her future lay.

Walking into the room that she saw severl others enter, a bright smile spread across her face as she caught first sight of the eggs, as well as the mother. Well, they certainly looked well taken care of! And of course it wouldn't do to not pay respect to the mother that had clutched and protected such beauties, something she could relate to very well. So with a quiet stride, marked by the swishing of skirts and the gentle jangle of her necklace she walked over, close enough to the golden mother wher to make her gesture noticeable, but far enough away that she wouldn't look like she was threatening the eggs, bowing properly before coming back up. She then turned and joined the other candidates in the room, eyes roving over the eggs... Only two appeared to be twitching so far, the Cotton Candy Egg having large cracks in its shell while the second, the Milk Chocolate Egg, was only slightly broken. Oh well, they would come when they were ready!

[Administrator]

The wher queen let out a small croon to her hatchlings, her weakness becoming more and more obvious as her whirling, proud eyes began to slowly dim. If there had simply been a chance to bond, she would live, but she was old. Her time was coming. Nevertheless, she could spare enough time to see her precious little hatchlings. She hadn't had a clutch in so long, so these were her pride and joy. She could die happy, knowing that they were hatched and healthy, and with people who could adequately take care of them. She looked each person over curiously, thinking if they had had any experience with whers. Hopefully, they would learn what to do. Fortunately, she could sense no malevolent presence among them. That alone made them worthy enough to let them look on. Besides, her children would be smart. They would know to choose just the right person! She flicked her tail tiredly, her gaze moving to each egg, lingering on the hatching ones.

The first egg to hatch was the Cotton Candy Egg. The long cracks grew weaker as the creature within tapped as hard as it could, resulting in the collapsing of the tiny wall that separated it from the outside world. Squealing in surprise and delight, the wher wrestled to get the pleasantly-colored shell off of her pale green hide. This little green was small, and more wirey than the idle muscley wher. However, she was apparently healthy, and that was all that mattered to her dying dam. The old queen bugled weakly, welcoming her first daughter to the world. Her whirling eyes a mixture of red and purple, the green replied with a short trumpet of her own, clumsily getting onto her legs. Shaking the rest of the egg off of her body, she looked around excitedly, warbling. Unfortunately, she toppled over in her excitement. It seems her legs needed a bit of getting used to!

While most eyes rested on the deceptive Milk Chocolate Egg, the Bubblegum Egg unexpectedly busted open with a loud crunch! Indignant of his birthing sounds and the fact that he had scraped himself in doing so, the blue that was within squawked angrily at everyone around him. Irritably shaking the shards from his navy-blue body, he stared at everyone before flapping his stubby wings and plopping down amidst his egg fluids and eggshell. He was pouting, one might be amused to note, yet one also had to give him a bit of pity. Right above his eye ridges, he had scraped it coming out of the shell, with a little bit of ichor beginning to show. The queen had to resist the urge to come lick it off for him-- not that she had the energy to. His bonded would do it... or something like that.

After getting up and sniffing the now violently shaking Milk Chocolate Egg, the green looked around. She paused again, snaking nimbly around the Candy Cane Egg, which was also showing signs of life with thin, web-like cracks. This was so boring! Suddenly whirling back to the crowd, her tail smacked against the Candy Cane Egg, causing more serious cracks to develop. Chirping apologetically, the green scampered away from it, seemingly to try and avoid blame. Looking up at everyone, she decided to avoid any more trouble. Crooning, she stumbled over to Ellanie, nuzzling her lovingly and needily, then tugged on the hem of the girl's skirt with her maw. She wanted the girl to sit down to feed and cuddle her! She was Ellanisk! Pressing this name firmly against her mind, she tugged even more insistently. If this girl would let her blood her... She looked up at Ellanie innocently, blinking her bulbous eyes sweetly at her.

((Just so everyone knows, Selenitas whers don't speak. They send thoughts like flitters, but it's more intense and can do specific images and stuff. I'm just reminding y'all cos other Weyrs have them speak. xD

Also, I'll PM your descriptions as soon as I know you've read it. :3))

[boober]

Kedan was teaching his class; the youngest of the weyrbrats were gathered in the classroom, all dutifully singing the ballad he'd chosen for them. But there was a strange chittering noise in the background, and the puzzled harper stopped his students with a wave of his hand and they all fell silent, looking at him expectantly. What the...? Where had that noise been coming from? Kedan spotted a small lad in back and motioned for him to stand and for the entire group to begin singing again. But what came out of the boy's mouth wasn't singing at all, but the unmistakable squawk of a... firelizard?

Flinching in shock, the harper opened his eyes and nearly sent himself toppling over backwards in his chair. Shaking his head, Kedan ground his hands against his eyes before straightening and glancing about and all but collapsing on his desk. He'd done it again. He'd fallen asleep while working. How long had he been sleeping? He winced as a dull pain flicked through his neck when he turned his head. Wisps of his usually well-kept hair escaped from the loosened leather band that tied it back. But he wasn't given much of a chance to further contemplate his appearance, or his ability to climb into his furs and resume his sleep there. The source of the horrible squawking boy in his dream was suddenly revealed to him as a pudgy green flitter suddenly filled his vision. She uttered an ear-splitting shriek, eyes whirling colors that let him know she was displeased with him.

But all he could do was blink. "Emanor... what are you doing here?" He reached for her, and the green hesitated briefly before bombarding his mind with images of the wher clutch in the weyrling barracks. It was only then that he noticed the thrum coming from the firelizard's throat. That could only mean one thing. Shards. Now it was Kedan's turn to hesitate. He hadn't actually made a decision as to whether or not he would actually stand for the wher clutch. He glanced around his room, gaze flicking here and there. He liked his solitude... but solitude had been giving way to something closer to loneliness of late. He rubbed the back of his stiff neck before getting to his feet. "All right then, little one." That seemed to be the only affirmative that was needed. Straightening his tunic and quickly swiping his hair back into place, Kedan left his room and made for the weyrling barracks.


He hesitated only briefly before stepping into the room in the barracks. What was he doing? He had no idea how to behave at a wher's hatching. And there were already several people there. The queen still reclined on the bed near her golden egg, and Kedan couldn't help but think, briefly, how lovely she looked there. But something was amiss; the old queen looked tired. Rather than ponder on it any more, the harper pushed it from his mind and stepped into the room, issuing a bow to the gold. It never hurt to be courteous, after all. And from the looks of things, the Hatching was well underway, with a green already Impressed and a blue newly hatched. If nothing else, this would certainly be interesting....

[irbre]

Neirin watched silently as more Candidates began to trickle in, the room steadily becoming more crowded. There were so many hopefuls, all of them desiring to get a chance to bond to a wher. Her fingers wrapped tighter around the hilt of the short knife she held at her side. She knew that if she were to bond a wher she would have to blood herself for it first. That was what someone had told her, hadn't they? She fidgeted slighty on the spot, turning his gaze back towards the eggs. Her eyes did not stay on the steadily cracking shells, instead fixing on the dying queen. Even as she watched she could see the color fading from the faceted eyes. She watched the golden form for a moment longer before looking back at the eggs. They were finally hatching.

It was the Cotton Candy Egg that hatched forth, pieces of the shell collapsing to reveal a pale green hide. Greens were good, Neirin knew, for they could reproduce as well. She hid a small smile at the sight of the verdant creature tumbling forward into the world, replying to her mother. Although she was small she appeared to be healthy which was enough to ask for. As she bumbled about Neirin's gaze wandered over to the Bubblegum Egg, which had suddenly opened to reveal an indignant navy-blue wher. The little male had managed to cut himself on his eyeridge and bright ichor glistened in the sparse lighting. The wher Queen crooned, apparently wanting to aid him, but unable to do so. As it was, the blue sat down and apparently began to pout, remaining firmly rooted in the shards of his egg shell.

The Cotton Candy Green moved away, going over to inspect the rapidly rocking Milk Chocolate Egg. When it failed to pique her interest she wandered towards Candy Cane Egg, smacking it with her tail and causing the cracks to widen and branch outward. The green continued on her way, moving towards one of the few other Candidates that Neirin had spoken to, the girl Ellanie. She had been kind and bubbly, obviously deserving of such a beautiful green wher. She had helped care for the young weyrbrats, if Neirin remembered correctly. Neirin cast a slight smile in her direction, her attention already beginning to swivel back to the remaining eggs and the blue wher.

[Kisha-Ra]

Redaro had drifted outside with the dawn, hot bread and cold meat filched from the kitchens in his hands. He sat on the riverbank in his plain workday clothes and dangled his feet in the swirling waters, humming idly. Another fine day of ordinary idyll seemed set to drift by in Selenitas Weyr. Oddly though a great deal of insects seemed to be humming this morning…

Three green firelizards exchanged glances, for once agreeing, how could their minething be so stupid, even if he was male? The wher clutch he thought so much about was hatching and he was lazing around! Telba chirped brightly to get his attention and chattered scolding for his silliness, all three sent images of eggs and feelings of urgency at their dense humanpet.

Eggs? Redaro looked first at Telba and Jinka who stood on the ground heads identically cocked, then at Insi on his shoulder. What did they want to tell him about eggs all of a sudden? Redaro jumped as Insi shrieked in his ear and cast an image of the gold Wher at him.

The whers! Redaro was flying toward The weyrling barracks and the wher eggs. He did wonder, for a moment, whether he should change into that ridiculous robe but dismissed the idea, firstly that would mean a trip to change and secondly no one had for Wher hatchings back at Camp Arrion, therefore Redaro concluded that it wasn’t necessary. His feet were dirty from running over bare earth so soon after being in the water but his clothes were clean and his hair was tied back for a change.

He ran right up to the door then slowed to a dignified walk as if he had walked the way rather than moved at a dead run. With a sigh Redareo noted that two of the eggs had already hatched and it seemed the green had bonded. Still he bowed to the old wher queen and blinked back tears that suddenly sprang up, the old wher was dying, and he could almost see her slipping away. Hurriedly swiping at his eyes when he hoped everyone’s attention was fixed on the hatching eggs Redaro moved away from the door and focused his own attention on the eggs.

((Kisha's muse had left the forum!))

[neeuqtar]

Something seemed to draw her to Clutches. Perhaps it was a maternal desire that brought her to see the children on another, for perhaps she would never bear her own, for her own body had rejected her child. Perhaps it was something else entirely, for it was almost torture to watch the joy of others when her only joy came from the fires of the glassforge, and even that was not true joy, but a forgetting of self. Whatever it was, Varrana was almost impossibly drawn to the cracking of eggs, and when word of the wher Clutch Hatching reached her, she settled her forge and went as well, making it as the first green made her choice. She bowed to the old queen in respect. The poor darling, her life slipping away as she beheld her moment of triumph.

Settling in the back, she waited to watch..

((Crappiest. Post. EVAR.))

[kysseh]

Despite the early hour, Swithin had been awake for quite some time. Not one to be nervous in any normal situation, the tall teen found himself apprehensive about the upcoming wher hatching. What he wanted least of all was to be miserable, but disappointing his parents came in a very close second. And disappoint his father, he had. Granted, he was still working hard, doing what the man would call "honest work", but he still could hear the note of frustration in his father's voice whenever he spoke of his two sons. At least my inability to work the mines isn't my own fault... he thought a tad bitterly. He tried to be a good man; it just seemed he fell a few steps short of his strict parent's definition. Perhaps, with a wher, he could be useful in the mines... if only at the entrance or something...

As he had been sitting outside, staring at the sunrise and enjoying the peace before the chores and daily routine began, he missed the start of the humming. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that it took Dessa a swooping divebomb at his head to alert him that something was up. Giving an uncharacteristic cry of shock, he nearly fell off the rock he had been seated on and glanced up at his companion swooping about his head. He had no need to inquire, though, for Dessa's humming tipped him off that something was happening; she never made that sound on a normal occasion. If that wasn't enough, the obviously baleful look she gave him and her swooping in one general direction had him following, and before he had taken a half-dozen steps, he realized what was happening, and his pace quickened.

He was late, and he knew it, even as he entered the room and settled in behind those others gathered. His little brother--unsurprisingly--was already present, and Swithin gave him a nod of good luck, if not a tad of brotherly respect. He wasn't overly fond of the younger boy, but at least he could be polite to him. And, as if remembering his manners, he directed his attention to the queen wher and managed a bow that didn't look nearly as awkward as it could have, his expression suitably apologetic. He hadn't meant to be late; really, he hadn't. It seemed he'd missed a bit already, though, seeing as a little green was suitably occupied with one of the girls and a blue was... was he pouting?... in the remains of his egg. He felt a bit of excitement rise in him at the occasion but quickly tamped it down, schooling his face into its normal neutral expression. His shoulder felt empty without Dessa sitting on it, but he knew she was somewhere in the room. He was just too interested in the hatching to look very hard.

[Administrator]

The queen wher looked on her children proudly. Such fine younglings! And one had even Impressed already! Crooning encouragement at Ellanie to feed Ellanisk her blood, she looked at the Candy Cane Egg with concern. She didn't like how Ellanisk had busted it so much, even if it was unintentional. No matter. The wherling inside of that one would certainly have more to go to get out still. Looking over to her grumpy blue son, she gave him a firm growl. He needed to quit pouting and find a handler. This would be the best opportunity in his whole life, and she didn't want to watch him simply sulking around rather than actually getting up and doing the one thing she wanted him to do. He huffed, looking up at the gold with a do-I-have-to look. She grunted in reply, affirming it. Grouchily, the blue slowly got up, still feeling sore above his eye ridges. With that, he surveyed the room carefully. Now, which one would be the one that would suit him...? The dam crooned lovingly. She was proud of her son for what he was about to do.

As he looked on the crowd, the Candy Cane Egg, weakened by it's sister's tail, calmly fell to the ground, piece by piece. Dark hide was visible through the membrane, and for a wild moment, it appeared that the wher was black. However, this wasn't so. As soon as the gleaming hide caught in the light of the glows, a green tint was very visible. With a few more tosses, the green wher inside managed to knock herself other, shattering the egg as soon as it contacted the ground. Shyly, the green looked up at the crowds, peeping quietly. This was so scary! Curling up in the furs, she accomplished both the task of drying herself and hiding at once. However, she was curious, and she looked up at the crowd with fearful wonder. Yet she sensed someone in there... Should she go to them? It was certainly safer here...

The blue was still busy contemplating. Sounds of cracks behind him (coming from the Milk Chocolate Egg) were ignored completely, if he noticed them at all. There were so many eager thoughts floating around the room that it was hard to distinguish them from each other. He grumbled a bit, pacing back and forth. But then... He paused. There was one thought floating around that he liked even more, and it was concerning how pretty his dam was. Choosing this one for it's kindness, he whirled to Kedan, not even hesitating at leaping for him, digging his teeth into his wrist, hoping for blood; he was Kedsk now!

Slowly and in a very dignified manner, the golden egg began to rocked back and forth. Long cracks, even though they were thin, ran along the shell, marring the fine color of gold. Immediately on the alert, the old queen stared at it intently. Could it be her beautiful little daughter was hatching?

[irbre]

Neirin shifted, her gaze split between the dark blue wher and the cracking Candy Cane Egg. She watched intently as the shell fell away, peeling back to fall hidden among the warm furs, revealing a brief glimpse of whatever was inside. The wher's hide was amazingly dark and for a moment Neirin thought it black, at least until the egg split open entirely. The light of the glows full upon the little wher it was revealed to be not black but green, the verdant color shining distinctively in the sparse lighting. Unlike her earlier sister, though, this one appeared to be shy, for she immediately retreated deep into the hides, covering herself in the obscuring warmth that served not only to hide her but to dry her as well. Neirin turned her gaze back to the blue wher, somewhat disappointed that a beautiful creature should be so shy.

The Bubblegum Blue had finally abandoned his sulking and had begun to look about after the queen wher had apparently given him a bit of urging. Neirin watched as placidly as possible as he moved forward, his dark blue head swiveling. He whirled suddenly, launching himself at someone to the side and a few people away of Neirin, latching onto whoever it was with tiny sharp teeth. Neirin was forced to hide a smile, not from the sadism resulting in such an act but from the hilarity of the situation. The little blue who had been so grumpy and reluctant moments before had wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. She glanced back up again, gaze now flicking between the queen wher who lay prone on her bed and the remaining eggs.

The Milk Chocolate Egg was cracking further and louder, and had been doing so for a time already. Neirin dared to shift her gaze away towards the gleaming golden egg of the Clutch, her breath catching in her throat when it began to rock sedately back and forth. It was almost entrancing, with the warm golden shell laced over with thin white cracks, graceful in the slightest movement. No doubt something great would come of this wher, no doubt. Neirin watched in rapt attention, her breathing shallow in anticipation. It was one out of the four eggs remaining, and one of the two that were cracking. She ignored the Milk Chocolate Egg for the most part, watching the Toffee Egg intently.

[midnight]

Zyoshvor was half-asleep, tossing and turning, when a firelizard suddenly appeared at his side, chirping urgently and nudging him. "Wha?" He mumbled groggily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He looked into the firelizard's whirling eyes and had a flurry of images of hatching eggs and baby whers. "Oh! The Hatching!"

Heart pounding, he quickly dressed, then hurried out the door with a hasty apology to his room-mate, who had probably woken up. He hurried to the weyrling barracks, hoping that he wasn't too late. He arrived just as the first eggs were hatching. He fell into place beside the other candidates, resisting the urge to lurk in the back of the room like usual. He wanted the baby whers to see him, of course.

He smiled as the first hatchling, a little green, made her way into the world. Most people said that whers were ugly, but Zyoshvor thought that the green was adorable. The same went for her blue brother, who seemed a little grumpy about something. He realized the reason for that when he saw the ichor dripping from a small cut. Poor thing! Hopefully his bonded would be able to fix that up.

He watched the Candy Cane Egg with concern, hoping that the young green hadn't damaged her unhatched sibling. The egg soon hatched, though, and Zyoshvor's eyes widened in surprise at the...black wher? The green tint was lost on his untrained eyes, and for a few moments he was sure that there was some kind of new color in the room. When she moved, however, he realized his mistake and blushed. Well, at least no one had known what he was thinking.

[randi]

Oraru watched with fascination as the first egg broke. He watched the green attempt to stand, giggling quietly as she fell, not out of cruelty, but because it was cute, in a way. Another egg broke, though it was not the egg he had expected. The blue plopped down amidst his shell, pouting, Oraru frowning at the scrape across his head. It was nothing major, he was sure, but he felt bad for the small creature nonetheless.

His eyes went back to the active green, almost letting himself laugh again as she escaped from her destruction, finding her way to her bond. Breeze trilled excitedly from his perch, causing Oraru to lift an eyebrow as he glanced momentarily at his firelizard.

As he turned his head to look, he noticed more candidates coming in, including Swithin. He nodded back at his brother before returning his attention to the clutch, noticing the queen urging the blue to get up and go find his handler. As he did, Oraru turned his attention to the other eggs, intending to make a quick note of who was Hatching, but found himself distracted by the new green, shyly hiding herself from the outside. He doubted that the queen was going to like that. Oraru failed to notice movement of the single egg on the bed, noting the blue's Impression in a rather... odd? manner to another candidate.

---

The moment the green wher showed herself from her egg, Ellanie had watched her, excited to see where the little girl would go. As the toppled, she covered her mouth, hiding a smile. Poor little clumsy creature, yet she didn't seem too unhappy at her loss of grace.

Hearing another egg hatch momentarily drawing the young woman's attention, but only long enough to see the blue start sulking before she returned to looking at the moving green. Once again, she seemed to mess up her movements, making Ellanie smile again, though she felt sorry for the inhabitant of the other egg.

The moment she caught on to where the green was scampering too, Ellanie felt her heart drop, completely expecting, for a moment, for the lively girl to head in a different direction at the last moment. However, at the wher's croon, her eyes lit up, watching on almost dibelief as she was chosen.

Her heart leaped about merrily in its cage, sounding out happily. The name pressed against her mind, and a whisper passed her lips. "Ellanisk,"she knelt to the baby watchwher, almost uncertain if she was still dreaming. One way to tell, short of pinching herself, she supposed. Removing a knife from her side, carried in case of severe emergencies, Ellanie cut her hand letting Ellanisk have her blood. When she was done, the wher rolled over onto her back, happily chirping as her wherling rubber her belly.