Hatching of the Precious Stones Clutch

[Administrator]

Aslath crooned. Nuzzling Salenth at their fine bronze son and his new rider, she still found it hard to disguise her sadness at her little ones leaving the nest. He is handsome, just like his father, she told Salenth lovingly. Twining her tail with his, she looked among the rest of her clutch. Another son, a fine blue, was now searching for his beloved, and another glance showed two more children would soon hatch. They are such strong little ones. Benden and Fort would cut their hands off to have little ones like ours,[/color] she added smugly. But those two stupid Weyrs would have nothing to do with her little hatchlings!

As she looked amongst the candidates, she paused. What was that? Growling slightly, she realized this girl, this lowly candidate, had a flitter in her hair! GET OFF OF MY SANDS![/color] she screamed at the little green, which would be enough to send any flitter between as fast as they could. GIRL, DO YOU NOT REALIZE THIS IS A HATCHING?! NO FLITTERS ALLOWED![/color] This thought was directed not just toward Beka, but to all the candidates so that it would embarrass her as a punishment. That tone from the queen alone might reduce a person to tears from the sheer force of the words.

Now paranoid, Aslath scanned the rest of the candidates, one by one. And… another?! Aslath was displeased. AND YOU! GET OFF![/color] she trumpeted angrily at Jabari. The queen let go of Salenth, and started to walk forward, hissing at the flitter on Mutasim’s shoulder. Fortunately for him, dragons didn’t have the best memory, so she didn’t remember that she had already yelled at him about this before, else what happened would have, without a doubt, been much worse.

--

Shmee smiled, letting out a sigh of happiness as the first bronze Impressed. “Big bronze,” she murmured to Miguel in her fluffy voice. “Biiiig draggie.” Leaning against S’rei gently, she let herself bask in his warmth. It felt good to be close with him again—somehow, Miguel seemed to have repaired their connection. Though lately, she had been too busy with the babe to try anything intimate, but now that she was figuring out his schedule, perhaps she could fix a different kind of connection…

“How about, when we put him down for his nap, you and I just lock the doors from everyone and… have some alone time?” she asked softly, looking over at him. Raising an eyebrow at his expression, she chuckled. What sort of smile was that? “You look ridiculous, you know,” she told him in amusement.

Suddenly seeing Aslath on the rampage, Shmee frowned, reluctantly sitting back up. Flitters? On the sands? Anger swept over the Weyrwoman. If it was help these kids wanted, they sure wouldn’t get it. What was wrong with them, bringing flitters onto the sands!?

--

The Silver Blue chirruped quietly, glancing around cautiously. Slowly, he approached the boys, automatically ruling out the chance for a girl bluerider with this particular hatchling. He took time to inspect them one by one, an arduous task, to say the least. He passed over Keliris, Skyler, and Tokala. However, at one, he paused. Letting out a curious click, he examined a boy even more closely. Was this the one?

It was! Crooning at the boy, he nudged the now named M’ly, who, while shedding happy tears, announced the dragon’s name was Karath, This pair then left the sands, with the boy chattering on and on about his handsome little Karath, joining K’ran at the bowls of meat.

In two separate explosion hatched out the Peacock Ore Egg and Diamond Egg. These two frenzied fireworks hadn’t been the sedate hatchings of Elazrith and Karath. No, these two knew that they wanted out of their shells, and didn’t go about taking too much time to do so. From the former of the eggs sprung another blue, a curious one of a light shade that had a metallic sheen. Then the latter emerged a sturdy young brown, who made no noise as he peered around curiously.

The Peacock Ore Blue, possessive of the person he hadn’t even met yet, snorted tauntingly at the brown before bolting—towards the girls.

SarainaMine![/color] the blue said before he even made it over, determined to outdo the brown who was still drying himself, Don’t even look at that stupid brown. I am Hokth, and I am all you will ever need.[/color]

Yet the brown wasn’t even trying to compete. Grunting, his muscular legs pushed him over to the boys—not even a glance at Saraina. Plodding over to a specific area, he was torn between two candidates it seemed, from the way he was looking back and forth Tokala and Leyan…

Then, to keep on adding to the fun, the Garnet Egg began shaking urgently, twisting and turning on its spot as cracks ran in a long spiral around the width of the egg. Tapping could be heard inside by the people closest to it; this egg would not have to wait long before its inhabitant broke free.

[missa]

GET OFF OF MY SANDS!

Anai hadn't been expecting that, and squealed unhappily, looking at the Queen with almost pleading eyes before chirupping sadly and nuzzling Hers in comfort before blinking between. Why had she sent her away from Hers? Hers needed her! She needed, needed her protection, what if one of those dragons tried to hurt Hers?

Beka had looked up in shock, pure shock as Anai squealed and went between. Frightened Aslath had frightened her flitter wild, Beka desprately reached out for her darling green. Anai's reassurance flowed back, not that the Green was happy- the force of Aslath's mind-voice quite honeslty made the candidate stumble, completely unsuspecting. Mind flinched away from the pure power in that tone, seeking Anai's comfort once more. Oh it was a Hatching yes, so did that mean flitters weren't allowed to watch? Lovely dragon the mother was, Beka flushed, diverting her gaze to the ground. If she'd told Anai not to come it wasn't likely the Green would have listened.

For a moment, Beka refused to answer Keliris. When she finally did, it was in a whisper.
"He's lucky. And not likely, because this is just what I wanted to avoid! I don't like attention! And Aslath has managed to put everyone's attention on me. Happy now? Can I go? He's over there with one of the others."

~*~

Religna had turned to look at Beka as her flitt squealed and went between, sympathy lighting her features. It was never nice to have attention, and from the look of the other candidate, flushed and most likely either biting back tears or angry words by the look of it, she liked it even less. For a moment, Religna didn't answer her brother, and when she did it was with a snort.
"Ah, alright." His next words confuse her enough to have her putting her hands on her hips and frowning at him.
"I was Searched. I'm Standing, hoping to Impress so I don't have to go back."

A shrug as Religna turned her attention to watch the Blue Impress, before turning back to Rawign,
"I haven't been here that long, what about you?" Despite feeling uncomfortable, despite having to divide her attention, Religna was happy to talk to him. Why had he asked though? Was it not obvious? Did he think all she was fit for was being a mummy's girl and staying in the hold? He'd better not.

~*~

Oh yelling! Bad, icky noices. Go away! Rielana shook her head, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she waved a hand in the air, as though Aslath's yelling was merely an annoyance. There were eggs hatching, something far more important than another candidate merely forgetting that flitters weren't allowed. Though Rie didn't see a problem with it, she wasn't Aslath.

Ooh! Blue! Pretty, and a pretty Brown too! Oh pretty, darling, and the Blue had already Impressed. Clever, clever baby! What else was happening? Oh she remembered that egg! Rielana's eyes settled on the Garnet Egg refusing to move from that spot until it hatched, or another caught her attention.

[lennae]

While the warmth of the hatching grounds had begun to help her dry, Lennae still remained rather damp. The heat from the sands and the wetness of her hair were mixing together to form what would soon be a rather frizzy mass on her head. Gingerly, she reached up to feel the damage, sighing and quickly separating it into three separate strands before plaiting it. While it wasn’t the most attractive thing, it would solve the problem, and she didn’t suppose that hatchlings judged on appearance. If so, then she was certain to be overlooked.

In fact, how did a dragon know whom to pick? Already, three boys had been chosen, each quite different and the hatchlings had given no clues as to how they had reached their final decision. Lennar’s mind soon went off on another tangent; things seemed to be going quickly. She had no idea that often times hatchings were short affairs, rarely taking more than an hour or two.

Suddenly Aslath was yelling something about flitters, a green let out a cry before disappearing between and a girl near her was extremely upset and, it appeared, humiliated by the broody mother dragon’s words to everyone within hearing distance. Lennae looked about, noticing other eyes on the girl and felt sympathy for the other candidate.

She was distracted as the queen began stalking toward another candidate, this one a male, who had also brought his firelizard onto the sands with him. She didn’t remember hearing anything about banning firelizards from the hatching, but apparently they were according to Aslath, and suddenly Lennae was glad that she had never had the luck to impress one. To have so much attention upon herself would have crushed Lennae. She preferred going unnoticed. Oftentimes, it saved her from awkward conversations and prying questions.

Praying that the moment would soon pass, she tried to focus her attention on the eggs that seemed ready to burst at any moment. She didn’t want to embarrass the candidates further, and there was as yet an unimpressed brown on the sands. It also seemed as though the Garnet Egg would hatch open soon, and Lennae suspected that it might be green. Then again, she had little to no experience with dragons and hatchings, and so could be completely wrong.

[melody]

The blue moved towards the males, who all seemed to be in the same spot. That meant it would probably choose one of them. He wouldn't mind a blue, especially not from this clutch! Was it just him or were these dragonets particularly fine? Not a one seemed undersized and they were all so handsome and strong. Any Weyr would be proud and he was proud to be a candidate for this clutch. He winced when he heard the queen's mental roar, at once pitying and scorning the girl it had been directed to.

The dragonet chose and once again he nodded politely in the direction of the new pair, who seemed completely oblivious to anything but each other. Two more eggs showed signs of Hatching in quite a different manner than the previous two but that didn't matter as long as the dragonets made it out on the sands.

One was a blue with a lovely hide with a sheen to it. He raced towards the girls, after snorting at the brown who seemed content to just be there. Would the blue choose Halyn? That was the first dragonet that had shown any signs of interest in the girls. No, it was another girl who was chosen. They were too far away to see any gesture he might have made so he looked back at the brown.

He was a handsome fellow, very sturdy. He was moving... towards his general area. Once again, Leyan found himself daring to hope. Especially when the brown started glancing back and forth between him and another boy whose name escaped him at the moment.

The queen's shout startled Halyn. She stiffened before relaxing. It hadn't been meant for her, although she had certainly heard it! She winced in sympathy for the poor girl (who probably should have known better) who had dared bring a firelizard on the sands. The blue on the sands Impressed and Halyn applauded for the new pair, the gleam in her eyes turning wistful. Would that applause be for her one of these times? Well, maybe not this Hatching. Although she would be very proud to call one of these dragonets hers! They were all so magnificent, really. Briefly her gaze shifted to Alsath before she turned her attention back to the eggs.

Two more Hatched and there was a blue and a brown on the sands. The blue's hide was very lovely! Unusual, but lovely. And... he was heading... for the girls. But when he finally reached The One, it wasn't her. Her smile softened as she applauded once again. There were still quite a few eggs left and quite a few Turns if she didn't Impress this time.

That was comforting. She watched the brown. Would he choose a female too? No, it didn't appear he would. He was moving towards the boys, in the general direction of Leyan. Remembering what had happened with the last dragonet to move towards him, she bit her lip and watched anxiously.

[evendar]

Narna gasped as her eyes opened wide at the Queen's rage. What was wrong with flitters? The little things couldn't do anything, why be so overprotective? She supposed it was a Queen thing. She tried her hardest not to look at the girl who'd brought her flit to the Sands. It really was her fault. But what if her dragon was on these Sands, and without her here the little hatchling would die. That revelation caused Narna to pause once more. What if she hadn't been here and her dragon had hatched? Could she have lived with the guilt that she had killed a dragon because she wasn't here? Narna blinked and balled her hands into fists, determined not to think that way.

The gold was moving, accumulated Sand pouring off her great golden body as she moved onto the scrawny figure who also had a flitter on his shoulder. Narna's eyes widened, she couldn't... she wouldn't? Aslath couldn't push Muta off the Sands. But wait, neither of them were leaving, just the flitters. Narna looked down to realize her feet had been moving of their own accord, unconsciously heading towards Mutasim to protect him, though how she would have had no idea. She stopped, her feet sinking slightly into the heated Sands. What would she have been able to do against a Queen dragon? Yell at it? Narna wasn't even sure she had the strength to yell anymore. Even her arguments with N'vis had been taciturn at best. But she would have yelled for Muta.

Now that she was standing her hand went unconsciously to the chain she wore about her neck, her father's wedding band and the gaudy piece of string hanging firmly from it. It was a symbol, a symbol even Narna didn't understand the full ramifications of. The fact that not only had she accepted Mutasim's gift all those sevendays ago, and that she had given him a gift in return, something of hers, meant something. Whenever the day came that she was ready to love again, ready to find that strapping bronzerider and his devil-may-care attitude, she wouldn't have to look far to find someone more real. Someone who could hold her in the darkest of times and perhaps even laugh with her in the brightest of them. He'd never be her lover, she wasn't sure she even wanted a lover anymore, but she knew in her heart that Mutasim was more than a friend, more even than family. And perhaps, with a little hindsight, he could be something she had always wanted, something N'vis had never been able to give her. Even if she didn't know quite what that was yet.

[glamourie]

Oh no. Keliris's eyebrows raised to his hairline and he narrowly avoided actually jumping at Aslath's reaction to Anai's presence. His initial response was worry for the green as she disappeared between, but it was washed away quickly with a surge of protectiveness for Beka herself. Immediately after Aslath turned away, Keliris turned and snatched her hand, fingers curling between hers so that Beka couldn't leave or try to walk off of the Sands. Were he more of an affectionate person, the redheaded boy might have tried to hug her in comfort, but for Lir, holding her hand was an unbelievable step. Keliris wasn't the kind of person who usually tried to comfort others. He just wasn't. He'd go out of his way to make Anai feel better when she showed up with Beka later, too, if she forgave him for... well, for letting her be there and get into trouble. Even though he couldn't have stopped her anyway.

"No you can't go," Keliris said softly, but his voice did not hold any of the venom it usually had. "What good does that accomplish? Anai is gone. I don't see why Aslath will be upset with you now. You need to be here, and I'm not letting you leave. Leaving is just running away. You're not running from this."

She'd already been humiliated. The worst was done. What more would the dragons do to her that had not already been done? Likely very little. He shook his head, squeezing her hand. His gaze flicked over to Lennae, one of the few other people on the Sands he liked. He hadn't noticed her, and if Beka hadn't just likely been frightened, he'd probably have spoken to her. But even his slighted feeling had halted, and a last casual glance was cast to K'ran by the feeding station with his young bronze before he focused entirely on the Hatching again. He needed to be there for Beka, even if she wouldn't admit that she wanted him to be. Strange; he'd never have imagined it would matter before.

Keliris turned to watch the Silver Blue move across the Sands in interest as he headed away, and he tilted his head once the dragon's name was announced by a boy he barely recognized. Interest lost, Lir took a step closer so that he was right next to Beka, his gaze turning back to the new dragonets. He almost... almost apologized to her. But he couldn't bring himself to outright do so. He liked Beka more than most people but his pride wouldn't let him say something like that to anyone, let alone someone he actually liked. She was expected to know that he was sorry automatically. It was a rule. He bit his tongue, and raised an eyebrow as the Peacock Ore Blue moved toward the girls. The Diamond Brown remained, and he glanced at the two people it seemed to be interested in. He didn't know either of them, either.

Oh well. He didn't know many people. They were both very handsome dragons, though his gaze was drawn not to the Garnet Egg like most people's surely would, but back to the Tourmaline Egg, which still showed no signs of hatching...

* * *

"They'd let you stay even if you didn't Impress. I've met the Weyrwoman and the Weyrleader. They don't strike me as the kind of people who would send anyone back to Nerat unless they wanted to go," Rawign replied softly as he watched the three dragons filter away... though his gaze snagged on the brown. He reminded him a little of Jessereth. A much, much younger Jessereth, but Jessereth none the less. Considering that Jess was one of the few dragons that Rawign liked, it wasn't hard to expect that he had a surprising fondness for browns, more than the rest, although... although there was something distinctly fascinating about Hatchlings in general. Enough that he actually managed to forget Aslath was there, though when she'd yelled he actually jumped and was extremely glad he'd sent Li off to sit with Marra. Though, no doubt, the little bronze was driving her mad with nerves. Li didn't respond well to being separated from his person.

Rawign's gaze settled on the Garnet Egg. Really, the eggs were beautiful. That was the closest he'd gotten to them, after the Touching. Most of his worries from that were fading, though. It didn't seem like he'd offended Aslath by being there, and she hadn't told him to leave like she did the firelizards. (He was glad of that because he couldn't just pop between to get away like they did, he would have had to walk, humiliated, across the Sands... and he really didn't want to look like a fool again if he could help it.)

"I arrived just before Aslath flew," he answered, then thought about it for a moment before coughing. "We should probably catch up later... I'm not focusing at all. But it is so good to see you. You look great. Remind me to introduce you to my flitters later." Not that he'd have much choice because the second the Hatching was over, Li would probably show up. Li... Oh dear. He was not looking forward to his sister's reaction to finding out that his bronze was named after her. He'd realized a sevenday after he picked the name that naming a bronze - which was male, of course - after his sister might not have been the high compliment he meant for it to be, even if Li was the firelizard to whom he was closest.



[ K'ran's still there, I just didn't include his section because no one is talking to him and all he's doing is feeding Elazrith. If anyone talks to him I'll post him again xDD but I didn't want to bore people more with huge posts. ]

[Requiem]

While the Diamond Brown was taking his time in his decision, the Garnet Egg began to twist more violently, sending up a spray of sand to coat the eggs around it. The egg suddenly shattered under the pressure. A green dragonet tumbled out, her wings flared and dripping egg fluids. She stumbled, tripped over a shard and fell flat on her snout, creeling piteously. That hurt! Regaining her feet shakily, the dragonet wavered where she stood for a moment, dizzy from her grand entrance into the world. Where was Hers? She was hungry! Her eyes attempted to focus on the wavering line of girls some distance off.

The Diamond Brown spared only a dismissive glance at his clutchsister. Ridiculous green. He huffed, before turning his attention to one of the two he'd been studying. T'kalMine. Your Leweleth is the only one you should be watching. He glanced around to make sure no other dragonets had come near his human. Satisfied, Leweleth pressed close to the newly named T'kal, glaring at any who came close to His.

She could wait no longer. The hunger pains were excruciating. With another creel, the Garnet Green picked her way shakily through the eggs, her path anything but steady. The dragonet managed to fall into the rocking Peridot Egg with a startled chirp, watching as the small egg was knocked loose and began rolling, before the Alexandrite Egg came into its path. The impact caused a long crack in the center of the larger egg.

The Garnet Green's eyes whirled in panic. What if one of them was hurt?! They'd all blame her. The dragonet darted through the eggs now, in a drunken line for the female candidates. She blundered through them at full tilt, throwing herself at one of the girls. Hers.

RillianaMine! The world was spinning, and I'm so hungry, and I didn't mean to, and I'm so hungry! You're not mad at your Alayith, are you? Her eyes, orange in alarm, peered up at Hers. You'll feed me, right? I'm hungry.

Meanwhile, the Alexandrite Egg, which had shown no sign of hatching, pulsed. The crack the Peridot Egg had made in the shell widened, and then the egg fissioned neatly into two halves. A stately brown stepped out of the fragments, pausing to shake off any little flakes of shell that had managed to get on his glistening hide. He carefully circumvented the Peridot Egg, which was rocking more violently now, as if its occupant was angry at being rolled halfway across the sands. The Alexandrite Brown approached the hopeful group of boys with agonizing slowness.

Finally, a wingtip speared through the shell of the Peridot Egg. The rest of the green dragonet struggled out, glaring around her pointedly as she climbed to her feet. They had better not laugh at her!

[melody]

Leyan was hardly aware of the Hatching of a green. The brown still had to choose. Apparently the agonizing was over. It was Tokala, now T'kal, that the brown finally chose. His shoulders slumped. The bronze hadn't paid that much attention to him but he had actually dared to hope that the brown would choose him.

He glanced at the green, who was quite clumsy. It was a good thing she was heading for the girls! She bumped into an egg which bumped into another one. Would she choose Halyn? It would make his sister so happy to Impress... She too had been Searched so she had as good a chance as any.

Well, apparently it wasn't Halyn she had been looking for. Oh, well. He flashed his sister an encouraging smile before glancing at the two eggs the green had bumped into. Oh, a brown had emerged from one of them! He moved with grace and certainty from what he could see and he was heading towards the boys... Could he be this brown's lifemate?

Halyn watched as the brown finally Impressed. Poor Leyan! She had thought it would be him. Perhaps next time. Meanwhile, the first green had emerged. She winced as the green tripped and made her way clumsily towards the girls, bumping into towo eggs on the way.

They seemed to be all right, though. Her heart pounded. Who would the green choose? She was almost relieved when it wasn't her. That dragonet had been lovely but clumsy. Halyn applauded, genuinely happy for both of the new pairs. One of the eggs the green had bumped into- well, indirectly- had Hatched, to reveal another brown who was slowly making his way towards the boys.

She caught Leyan's smile and returned it with one of her own. Maybe this brown would choose him. Oh, the other egg was Hatching! Another green emerged, giving everyone the draconic equivalent of a glare. It took a lot of effort not to giggle but she didn't. So she stood there silently and waited...

[kaedryn]

Tokala had been entranced by the little Diamond Brown from the instant he had broken through his shell. All shining earth toned colors, he was a proud little one. When it had come near him, head dancing back and forth between him and another candidate, he had clenched his hands, silently willing the little one to choose him. He smiled a nervous smile as the brown seemed to snort at his sister before resolutly turning to him, eyes burning a hole through him.

T'kalMine. Your Leweleth is the only one you should be watching Came the powerful voice of the hatchling in his mind. Tokala, for once his glibe tongue stilled, froze as he stared down at the huffy little one who had spoken so powerfully in his mind. He fell to his knees as if worshipping the little one, tears wanting to creep into his eyes from the emotions running through him, but he knew better than to let them fall. This moment made the pain of his brother's rejection nothing to bear. I will always watch you, Leweleth... You and only you... Now, let's go get our names recorded so we can go get you fed Little Brother.

He threw back his shoulders and walked proudly off the sands with Leweleth walking by his side, his own draconic head thrown back prouder than any of his brethren. Walking over to the person recording the names, he told him "T'kal, belonging to Leweleth." He said this proudly.

[lennae]

Glancing over toward the girl who’s flitter had been banished, Lennae caught Keliris’s eye for a moment before he turned back to comforting the distraught candidate. Odd, she hadn’t noticed him before. While she was normally averse to making the first move in a conversation, perhaps it would be best if she distracted herself with the some idle chit-chat while they waited for this all to be over. Normally, she wouldn’t have done such a bold thing, but she figured that the girl could use some company, and Lennae could definitely use a distraction.

It wasn’t that the hatching was boring, but when people who didn’t know were impressing, one tended to care a bit less about the outcomes. Carefully, she made her way toward the two, doing her best not to catch the attention of anyone else. As soon as she had reached Keliris and Beka, the Garnet Egg had hatched, and a green tumbled out onto the sands. She turned away from the comical sight, focusing her attentions on Keliris and Beka.

“Enjoying yourselves?” She asked quietly, unsure of how well their voices would carry, nor how far. She decided that it would be better to keep attention, especially that of Aslath’s away from them at the moment, if possible.

It seemed that she hadn’t needed to worry, for everyone was soon glued to the clutch. The Garnet Green had managed to knock over the Peridot Egg, which had crashed into the Alexandrite Egg, creating a large crack in it’s shell. It wasn’t long before the Garnet Green had impressed, and two more hatchlings had emerged. A brown, from the Alexandrite Egg and the other a green, from the Peridot Egg.

“What a surprise,” she murmured, more to herself than the other two. “A green dragon from a green egg.” She supposed that more than a few people sitting up in the stands would be taking home marks earned from betting on that egg to be a green. It didn’t really seem fair. After all, weren’t hatchings supposed to be surprises, wrapped gifts that merely hinted at what lurked inside. Not that there was anything a person could about it, short from painting the shell a completely different color. Now, wouldn’t that be interesting?

[Tashe]

The two eggs that had exploded into only fragments were a Brown and a Blue, and each male had a beautiful shading to them. Shifting her weight from one foot onto the other in slow procession, Saraina watched as the blue quickly made his way to the girls side of the arena while the brown slowly made his way to the boys.

/Sarainamine!/

Hunger hit her like a brick wall as the mind connected with her's, and it was that emotion that caused the candidate to look down at her feet. Hitting the back of her head on the wall in surprise, the raven headed woman hissed in pain before willing herself to look down again. /Don?t even look at that stupid brown. I am Hokth, and I am all you will ever need./ It still didn't process, why was there a voice in her head? Surely she couldn't have impressed... but as if the Blue had sensed her doubts, the little male butted her lead gently with his head.

"Oh! Alright Hokth... lets get you fed then." Quickly giving Gina a glance before leading her Blue to F'rah, Saraina cleared her throat, trying to shake off the adrenaline that had appeared. Nodding to F'rah's absolutely elated face and telling him her name and Hokth's, the newly made Weyrling lead her Male off of the sands and into the feeding area. Well she did it... she impressed. But the ramifications of impressing a blue would have to be dealt with later, because at the moment feeding her little one was the only thing on her mind.

---

The yelling of the Queen made Gina jump unhappily, causing her to almost fall onto the burning hot sands. Clutching her heart as it nearly missed a beat, the awaiting candidate switched her vision over to the men's side. Wasn't one of the flitters who disappeared Mutasim's? Wincing as her friend fell back onto the sands only to quickly jump back up from the heat, Gina ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. First he had forgot to ask permission in the touching, and now he had brought a flitter onto the sands, lucky for him Aslath had a short memory span. Shaking her head slightly, the candidate caught a swift glimpse of the blue as he made his way to her friend. Cheering for Saraina as she left the sands with a sedated smile on her face, Gina let her attention linger on her friend for only a few minutes before returning it back to the hatching.

The brown and green had hatched an impressed, while another brown made his way toward the males and a green began to hatch out of her egg. The activity sure picked up after the bronze and Saraina's blue impressed, Gina never realized how exciting a hatching could really be. When her brother S'yn and her cousin F'con had impressed at Fort, she had only been a young child and didn't remember most of it.

Clapping for each of the impressions that took place, Gina kept her hopes up that she'd impress like her friend.

----

/Sara impressed Mine!/

F'rah jerked his head up at the news, he had not seen his charge impress because he had busied himself in recording M'ly's data on the scroll. Almost dropping the slate as he applauded for Saraina, the Weyrlingmaster grinned down at the girl as she told him their names. "Saraina of Blue Hokth. Congratulations." Pointing his ink pen to the feeding area, F'rah was happy to see the new Blueweyrling follow his directions without complaint.

Ruffling his hair with a grateful sigh and a short praise to Farnath, the young weyrlingmaster watched the impressing continue. Standing quietly by the door, the honey haired man tapped a finger against the back of his slate while thinking into the future. He'd have to start relying on his assistant more now, she could take on the younger ones while he took on the senoirs... "T'kal of brown Leweleth." Pointing to the feeding area, the Weyrlingmaster smiled at the proud new Brownrider.

[glamourie]

Keliris turned back to the dragonets on the Sands with his eyebrows raised. The Garnet Green seemed to have found her person, and so did the Diamond Brown. He smiled just slightly, though the expression faded as quickly as it formed. And when he turned his head, he spotted Lennae and actually jumped -- when had she come closer? He very nearly toppled over and his cheeks flushed a brilliant scarlet in his embarrassment, though he managed to avoid squeaking his surprise. That would have been humiliating. He was good enough at making a fool out of himself but the last thing he wanted was to do so at the Hatching in front of everyone.. including the dragonets. Not that he expected them to take an interest in him but still!

Flushed, he looked from one girl to the other before turning back to Lennae, though his response to her was cut off by the Alexandrite Egg hatching a brown... and then the Peridot Egg hatching a green. His gaze lingered on the little green dragon more than the brown, for the way she wiggled about trying to free herself was beyond adorable. He brought one hand to his mouth and grinned, though his palm his the expression, as the last thing he wanted was the dragonet to get angry with him... and she looked like she would. Poor thing! Though, what did Lennae mean by her question? It sounded so accusing, at least to Keliris, who looked for something wrong with everyone he met. She knew he didn't expect to Impress, so what was that question about?

And then the statement about the green dragon? "Most clutches are almost half greens. That we've seen so many browns and a bronze so far in this one is a sign of how impressive Salenth and Aslath truly are," he countered, though why he felt compelled to defend the dragons, he didn't know. There was nothing wrong with greens. Every colour dragon had their place and their purpose, and greens were just as important as the next dragon. Anyone who tried to say otherwise was kidding themselves. Greens were the smallest and the fastest -- that made them among the most useful in Threadfighting, even if they didn't have the staying power of bronzes. Just because the green egg hatched a green -- well, he was overanalyzing. He was sure of it. He did that a lot, though, whether he meant to or not. Keliris had the bad habit of picking other people apart when he was stressed, and what was more stressful than a Hatching? "I think she's cute..."

... although, he was anxiously waiting to see when his favourite egg hatched, though he was betting it would be a blue. "What were you expecting from it...? A bronze?" Such a small egg... "That egg was too small to be anything but a green or a blue..."

* * *

The brown moved off to one of the other boys, and Rawign smiled before nodding his silent congratulations. It seemed to be a handsome little brown and he was lucky. Actually, when it came to brown anything, Rawign was extremely inexperienced - Jessereth being the only brown he knew. Not even brown flits, though Topaz looked to Cezine. How funny. Rawign glanced back at the eggs, just in time to see the little green find her way to Rilliana. He'd met her before, in the Main Hall when he was talking to Mariyelle, and he mouthed congratulations to the girl from his spot, though he highly doubted she'd see him. Would she approach Mariyelle after the Hatching? Two greenriders who had met before...? He didn't know. If he was her, he would have. But Rawign was strangely sentimental on some fronts, and he'd more than once been told that he was strange when it came to people.

Another egg hatched, that time the Alexandrite Egg. Strangely enough, that one was the egg he thought to be the most interesting, from what he could see, and he smiled at the little brown as he seemed to approach the crowd. His eyes turned toward Religna, almost as if to ask what she thought, though he did not give voice to any words. Rawign had never been a social individual and he probably never would be. More cracking drew his attention to the eggs and --

It was Roxie made dragon!

That, at least, was Rawign's first thought was the Peridot Green hatched. The way she glanced around and struggled reminded him strongly of his little green, and he couldn't help but wonder whether or not Roxie was up in the Stands with Li and Marra. Probably not, though. She tended to dislike Mona and Li always chased her away if she sat too near to him. But the little hatchling was very much like his little green, if that almost huffy look she wore was anything to judge by. He could picture her clearly chasing around some other green in fury, and that thought made him grin ear-to-ear, though he managed to avoid laughing... aloud, anyway. His expression gave indication to what he refused to let bubble to the surface, though. Laughing dark green eyes. He cleared his throat, as though to recover from the near-laughter. Poor little green, fussing so with her egg...

[lennae]

Keliris’s harsh tone shocked her. She hadn’t said something wrong, had she? Mentally, she went over her words to him. She had merely asked if he was having fun at he hatching…Her mouth made a small ‘o’ shape as she remembered their earlier conversation regarding this subject. He wasn’t expecting to impress, and she had probably accidentally rubbed that in with her wrongly phrased question. Well, it certainly explained his shortness with her in regards to what she had said next.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I was merely commentating…” She offered lamely as an explanation. Perhaps, she reflected, it would have been better if she hadn’t approached them at all. “I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the fact that a green hatched. Of course I wasn’t expecting a bronze. What do I look like to you, a dimglow?” She hadn’t meant to snap, but the energy from the hatching and Keliris’s attitude toward her had gotten to her.

After a moment’s silence, in which Lennae pondered the best way to offer an apology, she let out a breath before adding in a calmer tone, “I think she’s cute too.” It wasn’t much, but she had never been the best at apologies and Keliris didn’t strike her as the type who did well with them either, so perhaps it would be enough.

She hadn’t been lying either, when she had told Keliris that the Peridot Green was cute. The hatchling’s antics were enough to make anyone smile, though Lennae was distracted by her words with Keliris. Still, she could feel a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips and fought hard to keep them down. While the green was certainly amusing, the glare that she gave to all made it clear that she wouldn’t take any laughing at, at Lennae certainly didn’t want to incur the wrath of the hatchling.

[saberlin]

Rilliana had been absolutely wrapped up in the entirety of this hatching. Especially with the good omen of the Bronze hatching first. It was absolutely amazing. Everything in the air felt right as she saw the bronze Impress and three more eggs, a brown a blue and then a green start to hatch out. Then all of a sudden the Queen became angry! She couldn't tell from what at first but then noticed the two small flitters on a few of the candidates. Why would they bring them here?! That was sure to anger her as it was her precious eggs that were hatching, not a flitter show! One of the boys was that somewhat evil feeling child Mutatism. Well thats what they got for bringing flitters out onto the sands.
Turning her gaze back she noticed that the Garnet green was now creeling and her eyes whirling an absolute orange. Rilliana sincerely hoped that the young one Impressed soon. She seemed to be in so much pain after taking that first nose dive. Then stumbling through the eggs, she looked so sad and pitiful, Rilliana could only feel sorry for her at this point. Though she hoped that neither of the young hatchlings in the other eggs would be hurt by their clumsy sister.
Finally the young green seemed to see who she wanted. It couldn't be her though. Rilliana had only stood once before and walked off the sands! What dragon would want her? As the young green tore across the sands towards her she braced herself readying her body for the impact that the green would soon be making into her. Right before Impact Rilliana saw a shimmer of rainbow appear across the young dragonets eyes before she heard a voice in her head.

RillianaMine! The world was spinning, and I'm so hungry, and I didn't mean to, and I'm so hungry! You're not mad at your Alayith, are you? You'll feed me, right? I'm hungry.


Rilliana wavered as the mind crashed into hers with such a force that she nearly fell over. Suddenly she was on her knees looking into the most beautiful green dragonet face she had ever seen in her whole life. It was the face that she knew would never leave her. She would have a friend, a companion always in this creature. It had journeyed from its egg and stumbled looking for her. Rilliana would care for her Alayith always!

"No Alayith I would never be mad at you for that. You're hungy and came so far to find me! Oh Alayith!" Her voice went high into the notes of a song as she spoke her dragons name. She couldn't help but want to sing as she threw her own arms around the unsteady dragon causing them to fall to a heap on the hatching sands.

Rilliana, your name is really too long. Can I call you Rilli? Rilli I am still hungry... Could you feed me? Please?

The green tried to shake her wings a bit to get her newly bonded's attention and crooned softly into her riders back where her head had wrapped around. Rilliana snapped out of her dazed state of Impression and stood, keeping a hand in contact at all time on her new Green. Her dragon.

"Yes Alayith. Let's go find you food." This time Rilliana was walking off of the hatching sands WITH a dragon. A beautiful, if somewhat clumsy green Alayith. This was by far the proudest day of her life!

((Thank you Muse! I love her!))

[Requiem]

The Ruby Egg was beginning to rock, small cracks opening all along its shell in a vaguely spiderweb pattern. As the largest egg in the clutch, it was sure to draw many eyes. This only made the Peridot Green angrier. They were laughing at her. She was sure of it. The Ruby Egg ruptured, and with a mighty roar - mighty for a dragonet, anyway - the huge bronze made his way onto the sands. He was what everyone was here to see. The bronze bellowed again, flaring his wings. Let them all look on him and tremble!

How dare this bronze try to steal the attention she rightly deserved? The green dragonet screeched her fury, making an ungainly run for the hatchling who had sent her egg tumbling. This was all her fault! But there were fleshy thingys in her way, peoples she did not want. Snarling at Religna and Rawign, she lashed out with her claws at the two who dared to block her path, whirling to make her way toward the cluster of boys. Blood trailed her across the sands. She wouldn't choose any of those creatures who barred her path. They wouldn't have the honor of Impressing one such as her!

Clearly irritated by the fuss that his clutchmate was making - it was drawing attention away from the true king of the clutch - the Ruby Bronze deliberately cut her off, turning his attention to the nearest boy. That green is not for you, J'halMine. You are Tsanarth's!

Crying her aggravation, the Peridot Green bobbed on the sands in her impotent rage. She wanted Hers. Now! Why did everyone have to be so cruel to her? In defiance of her male clutchmate, she pressed into the boy right next to His. You will be nice to your Camith, won't you, F'lelMine?

During all this ruckus, the Alexandrite Brown had slipped quietly behind the cluster of candidates, searching steadily for the one he wanted. He sent little probing stabs at each mind he passed...and continued on, unsatisifed. Where was he? For a moment, the dragonet grew anxious, but then he found the one he was looking for, nuzzling the boy's leg as his eyes whirled pink with love. I have found you, D'tonMine. At last, your Xenorth has found you.

Amidst the general commotion of the Impressions, two more eggs had hatched, spilling a pair of greens onto the sands. The Crystal Green immediately made her way over to the many girl candidates, darting in and out, creeling piteously but obviously not finding what she was looking for. Her head darted from girl to girl, her movements becoming more panicked as time passed.

In stark contrast, the Hermatite Green made steady progress toward the girls, unknowingly following the same path as her angry sister who'd just Impressed. There was no hesitation. No pause of uncertainty. She knew who she wanted and, nudging up to the girl, her eyes colored with concern. You are hurt, RelignaMine! Don't worry. Your Ith is here now.