The Hatching of the Galactic Clutch

[agdragoon]

Korli looked at the queen egg. My my... what a show off indeed. Korli just smiled. Ahhh how would it be to impress a gold right? Would her parents even really care? Probably but they weren't here. She just shrugged it off. That queen knew everyone was looking at her and that every girl was looking at her. Pffft! Show off. Least thats what Korli was thinking. Yet she could not take her eyes off her like it was a big bubblie pie or an all you can east buffet! Yet she wasn't hungry. She shook her mind free of envy. "Don't tell her who to impress. She'll do it on her own!" She sort of snapped at someone. Well she had an attitude but that was known of her.

Maybe she should of just stayed in the barracks. She was remembering why she didn't like being a candidate. Oh well as soon as this would be over she'd go back to doing what she was doing before right? She shrugged and watched letting ehr eyes wander again over every egg. She had to admit though. That little bronze was going to need help. Maybe she could make something to help him? Likefake legs that strap on some how? Hmmm she's have to plot this out somehow... Faranth she forgot her sketch book! She snorted.

[paryal]

Partol's eyes widened at the hideously deformed bronze. There was no question of it- the creature was ugly, not right. Would he even survive? How could he possibly walk, go from place to place just to get basic food? Luckily, that wasn't going to be much of Partol's concern, as he clearly wasn't bronze material. The creature seemed to have Impressed, showing that he lasted this long, instead of instantly dying. It would be a constant struggle for his survival, however, and the newly made dragonrider would have to deal with the scorn of others if his dragon survived. Partol felt bad for him, truly he did. Looking over at Manna, he saw the young woman was openly crying, fists jammed in her mouth to stop her from sobbing. He frowned a bit; maybe she was too soft for the demands the life of a dragonrider made. Not that Partol should really talk, but at least he wasn't crying, for Faranth's sake. In fact, he was getting involved in the event, feeling his body relax finally. There were still so many eggs left, and so many chances to Impress.

Watching with interest the Hatching of the Mars egg, Partol again felt his heart strings tug as the brightly colored green went from person to person, shoving them over in her frustration. She seemed slightly frightened, and it reminded him rather obscurely of himself. Who would she choose? It didn't seem like she wanted anybody, until finally Partol found her standing before him. He was prepared for the action of her head, having seen her do it before, but he wasn't prepared for the voice in his head. P'tolMine, please can we go away? Everyone's looking at me and I'm just hungry and tired and pleasepleaseplease can we just go? Pleasepleaseplease don't turn down your little Llath? Who was P'tol? Was it really the dragon talking to him? Confused, Partol carefully disengaged himself from the little green, bending down to look her in the eyes. At that exact moment, the full extent of her tiny mind merged with his, and he collapsed onto his rear, staring with amazement at the green. She was his? Llath was... his? His bonded, his dragon?

Breaking eye contact with P'tol, Llath buried her head in his robe again. Please, please, we go now pleaseplease too many people Llath is hungry. Llath. His Llath. His bonded, his dragon. It was almost too much to take, but P'tol took it in stride, a wide grin breaking his face. Much of the sadness seemed to leave from his eyes, as he beheld the vivid green that was his lifepartner. Oh wait, she needed food, and she needed it now. Much of her speech had dissolved into incoherent, yet relieved, screeches, as Llath demanded that P'tol fill her stomach and hide her from everyone else. More than willing to, the young man carefully walked the green away to where the few others who had Impressed were eating, taking small chunks and feeding them to Llath as quickly as possible. They need not have worried about undue attention, however, for the little Queen had made her appearance.

Manna and Paryal both found their eyes riveted towards the golden creature. She was simply beautiful- no one could deny that, whether they wanted to Impress a Queen or not. Manna, for example, almost felt as if she wanted the little girl, if only to show that she was capable of sharing such beauty. Paryal's breath was caught in her throat, her attention taken away from clapping for the newly made P'tol and his green. The question was, who would the Queen choose? There were plenty of capable young woman with the passion and desire- Paryal knew this. The competition would be difficult, and the Queen would have a difficult time making up her mind. They all could only hope, crossing their fingers and broadcasting their own confidence and love.

[Administrator]

The queen was taking her own sweet time, letting everyone look upon her as she slowly zigzagged around her clutchsiblings. She paused as she approached one little group of eggs- something wasn't right. She halted for a moment in front of the Mercury Egg, looking on it curiously. It wasn't moving at all.

Suddenly, without hesitation, the queen swung her long tail at the egg and, before anyone could stop her, the shell cracked under the pressure of the muscular tail. A gasp was heard from the crowd, but the queen didn't seem to mind. She knew that little dragon needed just a little bit of push to get itself out. Pleased with her work even as Aslath scolded her with an admonishing bugle, she tottered back off toward the girls.

This little whack was all that the Mercury Egg needed. The heavy crack was just enough for a mint green hide to show through, and the dragon inside slowly made her way out, crawling weakly. Once again, silence filled the sands as the sickly green looked around. She was horribly thin, and her bones stuck out from under her hide as if she were a walking skeleton, held together by a thin glue. She looked over at her queen savior in adoration, and it was obvious that this golden dragon was her hero, her idol in life.

Despite her weakness, the weak little creature did not give up. Though she had difficulty moving on her own, her eyes sought Nevis with love and mild desperation. N'vis, Mine, your Reenith cannot get up... I am so so hungry...

The queen, on the other hand, appeared to not notice what she had managed to do. She was merely wandering around the girls, sniffing a couple here and there. Narna was given a sniff, as was Paryal, Kalierre and Rilliana, but she showed no idea who she preferred. Korli, Rielana, Beka, Saraina, and Manna were ignored completely in her sweep of the girls. Done with the investigations, the queen moved to the front of the girls, giving her decision one last thought as she eyed the girls curiously.

[agdragoon]

Korli drew her attention back to the queen who had gotten closer. She raised a brow as she was ignored. Mrph! She snorted softly her arms still crossed. She made her way towards the gold though she did turn her head to watch the little green who was a bag of bone. "Poor thing..." She looked at the gold and she had to smile... wait she was smiling? Heh go figure.

"You might not choose me but just so you know little queen. That was an honorable thing you did." She spoke with envy as if she herself should have done soomething to help the one egg. Maybe that was her calling? She looked around to see if any other eggs needed assistance. It was against the rules to help a dragon free itself from their egg but still everything deserved a chance at life! That had a firm grip in her mind. She wanted to help the dragons... she needed to. Someway some how everything else just seemed to dull out. How could she help?

[lokath]

Aen watched quietly as the other dragons Impressed. Eggs seemed to be Hatching every moment now, and Impressions weren't far apart. But the dragons were... strange. One wouldn't leave the shadows and one had no front legs. Aen knew that dragons were NOT supposed to look like that... And the latest... The thin, nearly skeletal hatchling should clearly not have come out of the shell. The golden queen, however had thought otherwise. But had the queenlet done the right thing? The green had Impressed, but it was clearly going to need a lot of help in life... just like the other two. What could have caused such a thing?

Aen shook his head, and returned his attention to the slowly rocking eggs in the center of the Grounds. Many of them had hatched, but about half remained. Chances still remained for the boys and girls Standing, though there was only one chance for the girls in the other circle. The queen ad stopped, and seemed to be considering for girls. Well, he would be glad for the one that Impressed her. The queen surely was... regal. Aen's gaze returned to the eggs that had not hatched yet. Possibly, one of those in there was his lifemate... though the chances were slim. The candidates who had Touched the eggs beforehand certainly had more of a chance than him. But maybe, just maybe, one of the dragons would find him, and choose him, to be together forever.

[evendar]

((How did I know that Nev would get the Mercury egg? I must be psychic.))

Nevis heard the voice in his head and he paled. No, he couldn't Impress before Narn, that wasn't how it worked. She was first in everything. She was the oldest, she was the leader, she...

His thoughts stopped cold as the little mint colored green finally made her way to him.

Oh mine please. I am so hungry. Very, very hungry. Reenith pleaded with her chosen, so very tired. Nevis forgot his sister in an instant as he fell to the Sands, feeling them burn through the fabric of his robe as he wrapped arms about the little green.

"Right away dearest. Oh hun you're nothing but skin and bones. How did that happen?" he asked her as he half led, half carried her off the Sands, one last glance at his sister as he walked away. She smiled and gave him a wink, happy.


And she was. Narna was completely and utterly happy her brother had found a dragon on the sands. She had felt a thrill of excitement as the gold sniffed at her, but made no move to press the dragon. It was her choice. And as Nevis, now N'vis she reminded herself, walked off the Sands with the green she was sure he would find she felt the urge to Impress grow within her. She watched the queen with bated breath, nervous and excited at the same time.

They had seemed so alike, both helping their siblings as best they could, both taking their sweet time in whatever they did. And Narn was sure the beautiful golden dragon was determined and proud. She knew that whoever she chose would fit with her perfectly.

[Tashe]

(Ohh... perfect... now since I'm sneaking Kaegan in she'll start fretting about Milli)

A bronze... a green... the gold?

At the back of her mind Saraina felt the attention shift from the mutated bronze to the Queen as she began to hatch. Almost elegantly, the little Queen broke her way out of the shell that had been her prison until this point, which beyond reason somehow caught the pessimistic girl's attention. A Gold was far by the worst thing that could happen to her, and as she shoved the amazement out of her mind, Sara snorted at the attention grabber.

/Who ever the hell gets that Queen is gonna have a hell of a time./

Shaking her head almost feeling pity for the girl who would get the Queen, the female candidate drew her eyes away from the Queen and shifted them to the rest of the sands.

/Although... I might ask the two Queen's and their Weyrwoman to stand for a painting.../

--

F'rah gasped with the rest of the crowd, though not in horror but in a small acknowledgment. This clutch so far had produced a photophobe and a cripple, but these dragons and their Riders were to be his children from now on. He would have to prepare to accommodate each of the dragon's needs, and undoubtedly would have to set up a twilight class for the photophobe Blue and his rider.

/You see F'rahmine? Some of this clutch might not make it through training... it is... hard to think about. But you must.../

---

Situated on the top most pue in the crowded stands, a young woman sat gracefully as she watched the hatchings and impressions occur below her in the sandy pit. Crimson hair was tied back with a black satin ribbon, while her left arm simply hung in the sling that she wore. It had taken an hour of constant begging to get the healer who was supposed to be watching over her let her attend the hatching. She had been allowed to go on two conditions... the goldrider had to convince Millieth to stay away from the hatching grounds, and she had to take the healer with her.

But now, even when the young and little golden Queen broke free from her entrapment, Kaegan's mind was else where. It was with the mutations of the clutch and the fears from her past...

Would Millieth's first clutch look like this one? Will her eggs suffer because of the treatments they had received? She knew only time would tell... and she prayed that since only six treatments had been administered and four of them had been overly diluted, that her own Queen would not have to go through seeing her first clutch turn out to be crippled.

Gently rocking the unusually quiet bronze flit in her good arm, Kaegan tore her mind away from the horrors that reared their ugly heads and returned to the interesting hatching.

[saberlin]

Rilliana looked down as the Golden Queen broke her shell. The dragon was so beautiful she could barely believe her eyes! What color! The white gold of the young Queens hide captivated her. She was like a symphony in motion as she moved. Instantly there was a song composing itself in her head for the young Queen, and her ink dipped legs and her freckled face. The young one held so much majesty and Rilliana was captivated by it! She noted everything about her from her first regal step to helping her sister out of her egg. She was truly going to be an amazing leader.

Rilliana gasped slightly as the Queen came by her, not out of fear, not at all, but out of the astonishing sight of seeing the Golden Queen up so close to her. Would she choose her, would she get the chance to be linked mind to mind and soul to soul to the most beautiful Queen on all Pern? She looked strong and healthy, unlike her bronze brother that had broken shell just a little while before. Why had some come out deformed while others came out perfectly fine? She would ponder that later. For now her eyes were for the Queen and the Queen only.

When the little Queen made her second pass around Rilliana concentrated her thoughts harder. Thinking of welcoming, warm, loving thoughts. That after all is what they had told her to do. So she was going to follow it. She greatly wanted to reach out and touch the little one, but she would never do that. You could not pay her marks to do that and she was smarter than making such a move. She waited patiently ((he hee....patiently, right)) for the little queen to make her move.

[yakura]

Quell continued to watch, his anxiety growing by the second. Eggs were hatching left and right, popping out greens, mostly. The queen was strange, almost white. There was the thin, sickly blue. Quell felt a pang for it, but his gaze was fixed on the remaining eggs, heart sinking in his chest. His gaze flicked to the deformed bronze, a frown creasing his face. This wasn't at all the Hatching he had imagined it to be. No great fanfare for the sickly dragons coming into the world, just a growing sense of dread. The only joy came from those chosen, not that he blamed them.

[Ohmygoooosh. That post was poop. Dx]

[missa]

Ellanoran had watched, waited, begged each dragonet that they would either choose him or hurry and hatch. He wanted to get back to Kel, he missed the comforting weight of the little brown on his shoulders and his creels. His coffee hide, and birght whirling eyes, the way he crooned in encouragement whenever Ellanoran paused when talking to someone, or scolded him when he ignored someone-

E'nor, your Clestioth found you! Food now, please?

Hot sand met Ellanoran's back as he fell backwards, staring at the blue dragon with shock evident on his young features, this couldn't be right? This dragon had made some sort of horrible mistake in picking it's bonded, some sort of horrible, horrible mistake.

Yet, love swamped his mind, helped him sit up, guided his hands to that smooth neck, his eyes softening with each stroke of his hand. Clestioth crooned softly, nudging at E'nor's face gently, before repeating his plea for food.
"Oh, sorry!" E'nor was horrified, not only had his dreaming stopped him noticing his own dragon's hatching, but he'd ignored the plea for food! He was already a bad rider.

You are not. You are Mine. And is that not enough? Clestioth, Shards, even the name brough a sparkle to the young boy's eyes.
It's more than enough Love.

Will was of course, happier than he should be when the dragons paired off so fast, it all moved so quickly, it was almost like they were all in a hurry... Oh that poor Bronze!

Will's heart squeezed, tears rising in his throat at the sight of him, not because such a marvelous creature was 'ruined' but because of the idea... What he would suffer in years to come. He wouldn't be able to walk, he'd be so dependent on His for everything... Would he even be able to fly without the ability to push off?

Wiping absently at his eyes, Will smiled slightly as the bronze Impressed, at least there was some good in the future for him. The gold was barely noticed, until she helped another hatch, then there was a grin, what a darling Gold. Not above herself in the least, she'd helped a sibling that so obviously needed the help! Will even found himself clapping for her, a grin brightening his features.

Rielana had watched each one, the green catching her attention more than anything else, she couldn't help but love their hides... And Blues, blues were cute, they were like Fiel, who she was missing right now. Then the bronze hatched, and Rie wasn't sure what she should be feeling. Sadness, or happiness that he was different? Disgusted, or interested? She didn't know, and thus only clapped when he Impressed, that was so much easier. Then the Gold, her beauty stilled Rie for only a moment, before her eyes went somewhere else, looking off into the distance.

ONly when she helped the green did she look back, and what an adorable green! Rie's breath caught, taking a tiny step toward sher, even after she noticed the rainbow swirls... She wanted to help and-

Hey! Great, that was brilliant. Not only did people ignore her, but a dragon!
"Really know how to make a girl feel loved, doesn't she?" This was whispered to Beka.

Beka had merely stared, unable to stop tears rising at the happiness in each person's eyes as each dragon chose them. The love so bright it made her heart ache. She'd never known love like that, never known that pure happiness that changed everything about you... Never known the love that could protect you, act as a bubble around the bad things... She'd only ever had her mother's kindness, not her love.

Quite suddenly, Beka wanted to run, wanted to flee the sands and just... Flee. She'd never feel like that, never be able to escape all that happened, and nothing would make it any better. No response as the gold hatched, except the tears that started slowly, silently sliding down Beka's cheeks.

Rielana spoke to her, and Beka flinched, though didn't bother to look up. She didn't care.
"I wouldn't know." She whispered, her voice broken as she looked up only to look around the eggs, and have the Gold ignore her completely. Then her head dropped again.
"What do you mean?" Beka shuddered at the voice, it was curious, which meant she'd have to tell her... Tears came faster and Beka desperately looked at the Stands, watery eyes searching for Lura in the crowd...

"I've never had someone love me, so I don't know what the difference is."
"What about your Mum? Dad?" A laughing that was almost a sob then,
"My father? No, he didn't love me. Nor did my mother. Drop it Rie."

Zadari watched, her heat beating painfully, a smile for each Impression, but hiding her face on Sitath's neck when the Deformed Bronze hatched, her eyes filled with tears for him as Sitath crooned softly, curling his neck about her, holding her close to him
It's alright Mine. He has Impressed, His will look after him. Sitath's assurances did little to help, little to ease the hurt inside her heart, how could that Bronze live the life he was meant to lead then? Would he even be able to play in teh water with His? Like she and Sitath did every day? It was a thought that hurt, that made her snuggle closer to the blue that supported her. Then the green, oh the poor Darling! Even Tirea, who had watched without comment from her shoulder, creeled softly, then crooned encouragement to each and every one. Noting with satisfaction the Gold's pickiness, well, she was an okay Queen then.

{{Make up for the fact I was sleeping?}}

[Requiem]

S'rei's mind flashed with anger. His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing as he noticed the blue that could not bear the light, as he watched the heartbreaking crawl of the deformed bronze, as the green stirred, too weak even to seek out her Mine. It was like Benden all over again. Only one of Salenth's clutch had shown signs of deformity, but most clutches saw a good percentage of the hatchlings seriously handicapped. Could Fath have...? It seemed impossible. Maybe the bronze that flew her, then. What was going on? A few of the dragons gave him hope. The brown that had first hatched, for one, seemed more than perfectly healthy. And the Queen, by the egg, showed no signs of problems. One of the blues and another of the greens seemed fine, as well. But already there were three...he gnawed at his lip in agitation.

***

Mutasim was finally drawn back into the hatching, partly because of all the astonished sounds the crowd was making, and partly because he had to do something to pull his mind from the murderous, dark thoughts that flooded it. He stared at the mutilated bronze, his eyes narrowing with contempt. It wasn't that the boy had no heart. Not really. He simply had grown up in a world where deformity meant death. That creature, in Mutasim's mind, was already dead, even if he did happen to Impress. This wasn't supposed to happen at hatchings, was it? No. Occasionally, yes, but as more hatchlings spilled onto the sands, it became obvious that the worries about Fath's last clutch had been well-founded. The young boy stolidly resisted the urge to glance in his enemy's direction; now was the time to keep his attention on the hatching. His knuckles whitened, so hard was he clenching his fists.

***

They had taken up a position so they might see the rest of the hatching. Though all had seemed to be going fine in the beginning, more and more, the eggs were yielding dragons who would struggle just to survive from day to day. Z'hin squatted, the man and Jessereth holding each other up as they leant against each other. The young man absently fed his brown, as the brown absently ate, the two simply sharing their bond and their sadness at what was occurring on the sands. The deformed bronze had severely shaken them both. And that slip of a green, that blue who lingered in darkness...They are very brave. Z'hin found himself agreeing, as he scratched his bonded behind the eyeridges. To come into life with such a disadvantage, still striving to bond, to take those few steps forward? It was almost heroic.

***

A healer's heart was necessarily calloused, but still it was a healer's heart, and that heart broke so many times over as she watched the poor bronze pull himself across the sands. Kalierre so desperately wished she could go to the hatchling, that she could do something for him, anything. And still she was forced to stand there on the sands and acknowledge that this was a burden the dragon and his newly bonded would have to overcome themselves. She would do everything she could to help...but the fact remained that the small bronze would never be a whole dragon. The thought was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. How could this happen?

She, too, found her gaze drawn to the queen, but it was not with the same worshipful awe that so many of the girls around her regarded the gold. Instead she found herself looking for any flaw in the dragon. Two already had hatched with obvious flaws - three after the gold helped a green escape that tiny egg. But, thankfully, the gold at least seemed perfectly healthy. The blonde healer watched the gold continue to make her way through the crowd, seemingly basking in the attention of all the candidates in spectators, as she slowly moved through the girls. Kalierre regarded the gold with a steady, if sleep deprived, gaze. The lovely creature was certainly showy, wasn't she?

Slightly surprised that the gold had even deigned to notice her - Kalierre still felt that it was more S'rei's desire to see her as a dragonrider than any real aptitude she had that had seen her onto the sands - the journeyman finally accepted that maybe her ability as a dragonhealer wasn't entirely based upon skill. Maybe she did have some of those qualities that drew a hatchling like the regal gold. Still, she didn't think the gold would choose her, not with so many other girls standing around, revelling in her presence and worshipping her with their eyes. She would be a leader someday - was already a leader to some extent - but Kalierre had dealt with leaders too long to think that made them special by itself. No, they had to earn her respect, just like all else.

The journeyman shifted in the sands, watching the gold curiously, wondering which of the girls she'd pick, as her mind briefly wandered to Lauranna. How was the greenrider doing now? Maybe the son, premature and entirely too small, had been a fitting harbinger to this Hatching after all. It seemed the new life of this time period was cursed. At least some of it.

[saberlin]

R'ton wanted to dart from his seat and from the hatching ground. So many were deformed. It was one of the reasons he had been glad to get away from Benden. Only to be thrust into the looks of it all over again. He had to keep reminding himself that the hatching was suppose to be a happy day. But he felt anything but happiness. Granted there were dragons on the sands that seemed to be alright, but already there was a bronze.... the color of his own dragon, that was deformed. Had the sire been from Benden? What had happened with these eggs. He cursed the stupidity of Benden once more under his breath, so that none around him would hear. How was the other bronze of Benden doing? Likely feeling the same way that he was at this exact moment.

How could anyone let such atrocities happen? Even if these malformed hatchings lived They would be deformed for their entire life, always behind in one way, their riders never knowing some of the joys of having a fully functional dragon. It was nearly disgraceful. R'ton was by nature a happy, go lucky man. He was anything but in that instant. He longed to jump on in his seat, and demand the meaning of such a hatching. These children that were standing. He was surprised that some of them did not just walk off of the sands at seeing the dragons. Did they not realize that if they Impressed and their dragons died shortly after hatching, or even during Weyrling training that they were condemning themselves to a fate that was almost far worse then death? TO be halved for the rest of time, always wanting and never being fulfilled. Half of a persons soul was torn away in the instance of your dragons death.

Rage started to seeth deep with inside of R'ton, and even through the happiness of the Impressions that were being made, even Rodonth's eyes started to whirl in an alarmed and anxious yellow

((sorry for another post. Forgot to Post R'ton last time!))

[Administrator]

Lura was indeed watching the Hatching- and was not impressed with what she saw. Little by little, more and more deformed hatchlings were somehow breaking shell. Hating to look at the poor dragons, her own mind wandered. She doubted that they would survive, so her thinking was much like that of R'ton's. She believed that many of this candidates would one day be lost should their dragons die- all of their candidate potential would be lost at the death of their dragon.

However, when Beka's eyes found her, she gave a little, reassuring half-smile. She found it peculiar how she hoped that none of these dragons would want her- she felt oddly protective in that way. She didn't want Beka to have a crippled dragon. Nevertheless, Lura nodded at her in encouragement, promising herself to find her immediately after the hatching.

The queen hatchling hissed as Korli approached her. Was she being that bold? Before the girl could get too close, she raised her claws and swiped at Korli, pinning her to the ground with her goldenrod claws in her shoulders. Grunting in satisfaction that the bold girl was taken care of, the queen removed herself, none too kindly, from Korli, leaving claw punctures in her shoulders and countless scratches on her torso.

Her claws now had a splash of red on them, adding onto her layers of color. Clicking in warning to anyone else who dared approach her, she looked back up at the girls. She would only like someone if they acknowledged the fact that she was queen, which that other girl did not. It was she who got to choose!

As she prepared to pick, she looked down at her claws, where the wet, sticky redness of blood remained. Curious, she looked down at them as a child who had just made a mess with fingerpaints would. Excited, she ran through the girls- to Paryal.

Look what I did, Paryal! the queen said excitedly, holding up a claw. It's red! It doesn't go with my hide though... Why doesn't it? Can you get it off? Is it making your Aezanth even less beautiful?

Overshadowed by the Impression of the queen, the Comet Egg gave a short shudder before sending the shards flying. No warning about that little show of an egg-firework made the nearest candidates leap in surprise, and peered at the newest hatchling eagerly, to see if this one would be healthy.

To everyone's surprise, this brown was in fact very healthy looking. He may be on the smaller side of the scale for browns, but he was absolutely perfect, his dark brown hide still wet with egg fluid. He crooned pulling himself toward the boys. He knew where he wanted to go!

V'nus! Mine, get me some food? I'm huuuuuuungry! Your Vemorath sees food, so if I don't get some, I'll... do something bad, the brown finished lamely, but he got the message across- Impression to Verentinus was made.

The Neptune Egg had been rocking ever-so-carefully throughout the Hatching, finally shattered, the thin shell crumpling easily at the first crack. However, one would have been able to guess that the thinnest eggshell carried yet another deformity: The green inside was instantly recognized as hideously deformed- what she had for wings were instead two weak, thick stubs with the barest membrane for the wings.

The green noticed them right away. Flapping them experimentally, the thickness made them move slower than normal wings would, and it was obvious that unless more membrane developed, the green would never fly. Crooning angrily, she stormed off into the girls, locating Kalierre.

Mine! Please don't let these stupid wings make you reject your Phremath! the green crooned, desperately nuzzling the healer. Don't worry- I swear I'll fly somehow, someday!

[missa]

E'nor couldn't have cared less that the Queen had Impressed, Clestioth did however, his head turning away from the meat offered to him, giving his clutch-sister an encouraging croon. She'd done well, perhaps it would have been better if she hadn't mauled the poor girl, but he could understand the reason behind her actions. She was a Queen and a Queen chose her bonded, not the other way 'round. After this, there was a welcome trill to the brown and a croon to the poor Green, would she ever fly? If not... Well... Who knew? Head turned back, nuzzling His gently, love and affection in every movement made by the blue.

E'nor smilled, running his hand along that graceful neck, eyes softening as he offerred the Blue his last piece of meat, only to have it turned away. He was full, but it was nice of His to offer it. INstead, E'nor wrapped his arms about the blue neck, smiling softly. Warm breath tickled his hair and before E'nor could warn his dragon, Kel popped in from between, landing on Clestioth's back, settling between his wings with a curious chirp. Clestioth didn't seem to mind, and that was a relief.

Will watched the Gold maul some poor girl with little interest, if someone tried to force Impress, they only deserved what they got from the dragonets. It mattered not to him, all that mattered was the slowly rocking eggs on the Sands, and what was inside them. After wards, Will would scold himself for thinking only of something that mattered to him, but right now, the dragons were what was important to him, more than anything. Why? It was simple, here he stood, in a candidate's garb, every thought wondering, would he Impress, be lucky like Ellanoran? Or would he be left standing without a bonded to care for in his heart?

There would always be other clutches, there would be other dragonets, perhaps not as... Odd as this one, yet the idea of being left on the warm sands, left a cold feeling spreading throughout his body. Leaving a cold weight in his stomach, like lead or something he'd eaten that didn't agree with the rest of his day...

Rielana had placed a sympathetic look on her features at the words Beka was saying, how horrid! Never to know what the word 'love' held for any person on Pern, not knowing that comfort and security that Rie had from her brother, if not her parents. She couldn't imagine having to live without that, and warmth for the other brightened her face. Sighing, Rie shook her head, for once, doing as she was told and becoming quiet when asked. It was odd, she'd never really talked to Beka, not until they'd hurried to the Hatching Sands together, they'd only offered names and threats on Beka's part, but now, Rie wanted to-

Oh! Green, and look at her, she was adorable! Who cared that she may never fly? How could that matter to anyone that had a heart... Or in her case, a soft spot for the lower ranked colours.


Beka had seen the smile, as impossible as it may seem, and instantly, a smile twitched her own lips. She didn't want to look back at the Hatching, not now that most of the Dragonets had hatched, there was nothing more to see, and she couldn't be expected to watch either, not when teh Gold had Impressed. Not that she really cared, there was no difference between a Gold and a Green except the colour of the hide, and even that was nothing much. A green fought Thread, face to face, not flying beneath slowly to catch anything the lower colours missed, yet without a Gold there would be no more greens to fight. Both colours were essential to the Weyr...

[evendar]

((Oh darn it. That queen was so pretty too. Aw well congrats Paryal!!!))

Narna's gasp was as audible as the rest as the queen swiped at a girl she had yet to meet, and applauded with everyone else when the beautiful queen impressed someone else. She had been sure. For once in hre life Narna didn't feel strong, she felt so weak and helpless. The gold hadn't chosen her. She had always pulled off the confident manner. Oh I'll be happy with whatever happens, and all that. But the instant that little gold found someone else, someone that wasn't her, she realized that she had wanted this so badly. She had wanted with all her heart to be that queens rider, to be a weyrwoman. And in the instant the gold had chosen someone else, in essense rejecting her, she felt a pang of longing for that rapture she had seen in her brothers eyes.

She began to cry, not bawl of course, she was to strong for that, but she felt the hot tears roll silently down her cheeks as the little gold walked away with someone else. She hadn't cried in ages, not since her mother had come home with a bastard... Narna pushed that thought away. She didn't need more sad thoughts, not now. Biting at her lower lip she turned to leave.