Hatching of the Precious Stones Clutch

[glamourie]

Rawign offered Lennae a curt nod, before turning his full attention back to the hatching dragons. Rapidly, the number of unhatched eggs seemed to decline, with another green from one of the prettier eggs. His eyes followed the little creature before snagging on the entrance to the Sands. The Emerald Brown was not even noticed as Rawign steadily edged away from Keliris and his fair, his movements intended to be subtle. He did not explain where he was going, nor did he notice as the green turned to Cezine (for he likely would have stopped to congratulate her were that the case). Flying around above the heads of the drudges was a very familiar little bronze blur, and Li being down there meant only one thing. Lost in the sounds of eggs and humming were Marra's words, but he had a sneaking suspicion to why she was down there - and she had to be, for Li wouldn't have come on his own.

Edge, edge, edge. Sneak, sneak, sneak.

Once he reached the farthest edge of the Sands, Rawign turned to peer at the drudges and around them at Marra. It was probably not the smartest thing he'd done, but he had no intentions of actually leaving. Not that he was likely to draw any attention to himself all the way over by the drudges, but... that was beside the point.

Li gave a shrill chirp, obviously agitated. He'd followed Marra silently, but upon spying his person, he took to scolding, though he did not fly over the drudges and land on Rawign. It was a conscious effort on the part of the little bronze not to do so and his eyes whirled, blatantly furious. No doubt Keliris would have a bite in store for him the second he stepped off the Sands. He'd failed. His person was bleeding. That overgrown Roxie-creature hurt his. Angry, Li spat, circling above, though he did not make much sound aside from the beating of wings, and what little noise did escape him was lost in the sounds of the Hatching. He probably looked comical, still humming, yet... spitting and looking close to ready to bite something.

"Marra... what in Faranth's name are you doing down here?" he hissed, trying to keep an eye on the Hatching. He was, still, technically on the Sands. But he felt so distant, like he couldn't see anything. "You'll tempt Li to come onto the Sands and Aslath already had a really bad reaction to that girl's green and that small boy's brown. I don't want to get yelled at!" And he didn't want Li to be yelled at either. The idea of Li being upset by the queen distressed Rawign more than anything else he could think of. Marra could see better from the Stands, anyway! What was she doing...?

* * *

Beka's words drew Keliris's attention back to her, and the redheaded boy tilted his head before smiling. "I'm glad," he said softly, and meant it. The toy was specifically for Anai and he would not have been pleased if she'd turned out to hate it, though from what he knew of flitters, they all liked bright things. Maybe the little toy would console Anai, wherever she'd gone. She'd have something bright and colourful to look at while her person was on the Sands, something to play with. He still felt guilty that she'd been yelled at, although he'd tried to warn her. Mutasim received a curious glance, too, though Keliris missed what Jabari's reaction to the queen's furious shriek was. Poor firelizards. He didn't really understand why they weren't allowed on the Sands, anyway. It wasn't like they'd do anything, would they? Except inspect any new hatchlings that their people happened to Impress? What was wrong with that?

Perhaps it was fortunate that his musings kept him from glancing at Lennae, for he likely would not have appreciated feeling analyzed in any way. It was perfectly okay for him to analyze and pick people apart -- it was not okay for people to pick him apart. But he was oblivious, and when he turned, it was to ask Rawign who the girl he'd been speaking to was.

But the sharding healer was gone again! Agitated, Keliris looked around before turning his full attention to Lennae, "Do you know where that blasted Healer went? He keeps running off. I need to keep him on tighter reins." He was half-tempted to knock Rawign over and sit on him the next time the Healer happened to come back to where they were. He couldn't see him anywhere in the crowds, either, which annoyed Keliris considerably. He better not have tried to run away. Lir would beat him with the first thing he could find -- rock, chair, a candidate. Sharding flighty Healer!

[caffelatte]

It seemed like so very long ago that his brothers had gone away as candidates and Impressed. Back then, his parents had been so very proud. Every waking moment, it was always “his brothers” this and “his brothers” that. Even as a child, Mavorn had been a very low-maintenance sort of person. He had never needed constant supervision, or incessant reassurance, but just once, it might have been nice to have been told, “Hey, son. We’re proud of you.” It never happened. While such words poured like rain in regards to his older, bigger, stronger brothers, they trickled off into nothingness when it came to the youngest of the brothers. Just let it go, was all he’d used to think. So maybe his brothers were meant for something greater than he would ever know. That was okay. He had been just as proud of them as the rest of the family.

But even still, in spite of his own determination to never grow bitter about it all, he somehow ended up feeling...almost less than human by comparison. It was as though he weren’t worth a second glance in his parents’ eyes and that did tend to color the way he thought of himself, the way he carried himself. No one had ever listened when he’d spoken in his youth, so he’d grown quiet and eventually lost that conversational spark that most others seemed to have. No one had ever paid him much mind, so he’d learned to just stay on the outside of things, looking in. Never alone, really, because they never overtly excluded him or anything of the sort. They’d loved him...they’d just never made as much of an effort to show him so, as they had with his brothers. Oh, but how horribly did it all end? Benden had taken his brothers in...and now they were dead. Foolishness, foolishness...all of it. And who were the ones that truly suffered? That would never be him. Never.

Blinking such thoughts away (he really didn’t need to deal with that just now), Mavorn looked up again, giving the activity on the hot sands his attention once more. Glance away for a second and it seemed everyone was trying to hatch! Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but there were a couple who were doing better than just trying, he mused. The Aquamarine Green has shrugged off the rest of her shell and paused, before making her way quickly to the girls. He vaguely recognized the girl she’d picked, though he couldn’t recall her name offhand.

While that had been going on, much more was taking place. Again, it was all happening so very quickly. If he hadn’t been paying such close attention, he might have missed the Sapphire Green running off into the boys entirely. Apparently, she had found whoever she had come for, as well. Although it seemed the brown from the Emerald Egg was still trying to get his bearings. Such a cutie! Come to think of it, not a single one had been anything less than gorgeous. That was to be expected, though. Just look at their parentage! Stunning dragons, both.

[missa]

Glad for-? Oh, Anai liking her toy, well that made sense. Beka returned the smile before letting her glance go over the shaking eggs once more. There were less unhatched now, less chances. Without even realising it, Beka's hand tightened on Lir's, worried. She'd come, and watching people Impress had sparked hope. Hope that maybe, maybe she might Impress too, with each egg hatched, and each dragonet Impressing, that seemed less, and less likely.

If she didn't Impress, she only hoped Keliris would, he seemed a nice person, once you got past the average, grumpy shield. He treated Anai nicely, with even affection, so who knew? It would be nice if he did, then at least he could still be with his brother. For Weyrling lessons would take up much of K'ran's time... Or she assumed it would...

~

Rielana shifted, her lip caught between ehr teeth as she chewed it, watching each dragon. Oh the Hatching was no less exciting than when she first walked on, but now... Well, now, she was getting nervous. Perhaps she wasn't meant to have a dragon, perhaps Fiel was the only comfort she'd ever have. Not that it bothered her, but it would be nice to have someone who completely understood her. Completely knew her mind, and agreed with her.

She'd been left standing last time, and Rielana was beginning to think she would be left again. Oh well, then she'd just have to wait for the next clutch, if she was left standing, the next one. Oh but.. It was so much easier said than done.

(TYo speed up my posting, I'll only mpost my candidates-

[boober]

So much was happening all at once! The queen's enraged demand at Beka brought only the tiniest amount of sympathy from Cezine; they all knew the rules. Everyone knew that flitters were not allowed on the Sands during a Hatching. Otherwise, Sky and Topaz would have been by her side. But her attention quickly moved on to other things. She watched all the dragonets that hatched, tracking them with careful eyes. She didn't seem to notice that she'd been steadily drifting towards the wall, subconsciously trying to protect at least one side from the potential of having a clumsy dragonet sneak up on her.

The hatchlings were beautiful, and Cezine applauded quietly for each one to Impress. These were strong, healthy dragonets, and she couldn't help but feel pride in them. She hadn't had anything to do with their being of course, but they were remarkable and didn't she have the right to feel pride in her Weyr for a change? It was a rare occurrence, really. She watched, arms still folded across her waist as the Crystal Green hatched and found Hers, careful to keep a respectful distance from the young green. The Amethyst Egg caught her attention next as it seemed to explode and expel a blue dragonet. Oh, he was handsome! She clapped for him, and she clapped when he found His. Hopefully none of these wonderful hatchlings would have to between tonight. But that was a thought she didn't want to dwell on at all.

And fortunately, she didn't have to. Cezine was distracted by the Aquamarine Green as she emerged from her shell and seemed to know precisely where she was going. The Candidate smiled at the hatchling's certainty, but it faded slightly as she realized the green was coming towards her. She didn't dare think it, merely moved so that the little green could go by if she so desired, for surely such a wondrous creature was meant for someone more deserving. It wasn't a sudden bout of low self-esteem, just confusion. She'd been rejected twice already and she hadn't expected to Impress this time around either.

But such thoughts were swept away as the dragonet approached and, feeling the tap, Cezine looked down, right into those beautiful, wonderful eyes. Oh, she'd never felt anything like this before, never in her life. Impression was fast and final and had the young woman crouching down and lifting her hands to cup her green's (her green!) head to look in awe upon those magnificent eyes. The sand burned where her knee rested against it, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered now except Brennath. "Yes, I am Yours. I'll always be Yours, beautiful Brennath." Even in the joyous midst of Impression, her words were soft and quiet, meant only for the dragonet before her, who crooned her delight before butting her mindmate's chin lightly with her snout.

I love you Mine, but your Brennath is hungry, so very hungry. One hand ran down the little green's body, as if to make sure she was really real as Cezine nodded slowly.

"Yes, of course you are love. Come, we'll get you some food." With that, she got to her feet and led the little green over to the Weyrlingmaster. "Cezine and Brennath." Once they made certain that F'rah had all he needed from them, Cezine immediately led her dragonet to the feeding tables.

[lennae]

With one eye on the hatching occurring, Lennae watched as Rawign snuck off, away from him. His movements were intended to go unnoticed, but she had spent her life practicing that art, and so his actions were not lost on her. Perhaps, she thought, he had gone off to search for help, but what if that involved leaving the sands? Then the young man would be nowhere to be found if his dragon happened to hatch. What would happen to the poor thing if it were unable to find Rawign?

She debated mentioning this to the other two, though decided against it. She was certain Rawign hadn’t gone far, though she had quickly lost him in the crowd. It wasn’t until Keliris turned to look for him that Lennae realized that yes, she probably should have mentioned that Rawign had disappeared quite a while ago.

“He went off that way, somewhere. Disappeared into the crowds. If you’d like, I can go find him.” Just in case Rawign had left the Hatching Ground completely, it would probably be best if she was the one who left to follow. While Keliris didn’t think he would impress, she had a strong feeling that he would be more likely to than she. Both of them would, for it wasn’t as though either of them were hiding their real reason for having come to the weyr in the first place.

Glancing toward the way that Rawign had gone, she knew that if she didn’t leave soon, it would be far more difficult to find him. While she had a strong feeling that Keliris did indeed want the other candidate to be found, there was always the chance that he wouldn’t be too worried about the healer’s vanishing act.

[Requiem]

Though he didn't want to admit it bothered him so much, it obviously did, and Salenth accepted Aslath's reassurance and her touch with equal grace. Of the two of them, he was more intimately aware of what might happen if those - creatures - got ahold of their hatchlings. She'd effectively shaken him by bringing that to mind. Though she hadn't meant to, certainly, and he could hardly hold his own cynicism against her. He'd face down Morsrath himself if he must to protect these little ones.

Crooning, Salenth pressed closer against her. Oh, yes, they were beautiful. Perfect. No deformities to be seen. No tiny, runty dragonets to worry about. And they all seemed so spirited. Her next comment managed to throw him off a bit, though, such that he didn't return the pressure of her tail right away. Twenty-six dragonets. It was a fairly large clutch, given the stress and swiftness of the flight that yielded them, but certainly not big enough to repopulate the Weyr...Had she meant just with this clutch, or with other clutches? Yes, they got along well - he might even be able to call the affection love - and certainly their Mines were attached to one another. But Salenth was used to the constant shifting of the senior bronze, both in Selenitas and in his time at Fort.

You're thinking too much, Salenth. Just be happy! Look at all the hatchlings you sired. The male's thoughts steadied. Nuzzling up to her warmth, he watched as the remaining eggs to hatch slowly dwindled, as each of his children found their lifelong partner and hurried to sate their hunger. I don't know if twenty-six will do it, Aslath, but I'm sure the clutches from here on out will be perfect with you as their dam. Just as this one is.

***

Lauranna, ever the enthusiast, was overjoyed to see that her little candidate buddy had indeed Impressed. She directed a sly look her brother's way, but he was obviously preoccupied. Oh, he'd know who'd started the rumors as soon as they reached his ears, but that would only amuse her. S'rei might be scary to other people, but she just found his rages laughable. Little brother upset? Awww. How cute. The woman's grin was slightly malicious, though it softened as she stood, calling out, "Congratulations, Religna! I told you that you'd Impress!"

The Weyrleader had been about to speak to his weyrmate when Laurie's shout startled him. It wasn't that it was particularly unusual for his sister to be loud and obnoxious. She'd simply been quiet for so long, giggling behind her hand, that he'd almost thought he'd escaped the little jumping bean. And she was jumping up and down, he comfirmed with a sideways glance. By the egg, that woman acted like the younger of the siblings all the time.

"You want me to tuck you in, sweetheart?" he murmured, ignoring his bouncy sister. His tone had taken on a suggestive lilt. Clearly, though he hadn't touched her in a long time, she could have no doubt that he'd wanted to. If anything, between the success of the hatching and her proposed means of celebration, he seemed likely to burst with excitement. He didn't realize it, but at the moment he was looking just as childlike as his jubilant sister. The siblings had ever been prone to experiencing emotions at their fullest.

***

The green finally decided to leave her shell, Mutasim exhaling through his nose as she went over to the female side. One less dragonet he had to worry about. The candidate didn't much relish the idea of being mauled by any of these hatchlings. Faranth, he'd had enough trouble with the mother! His tiny body could easily get trampled underfoot, and he couldn't even blame the tiny dragonets. They were only hatchlings, after all. Babies. Then who could he rage at as they stitched him back up? Not that he really was the sort to rage at anyone. No, Mutasim rarely showed such emotion. It was weakness. Still, it was nice to have someone or something to blame your misfortunes on. Otherwise you were just stuck with yourself. And, if he were honest, one of Mutasim's least favorite people was Mutasim.

Oh, shards! A green was coming full tilt toward him, though he noted - just before he was about to dive for the sands - that her path would actually take her past him, and thus maintained his position. No. He wasn't afraid of these dragonets. Not at all. The candidate's expression turned wry at the thought, the boy shaking his head. What was with him today? He blamed it on Jabari's distress, which still lingered in his mind, and the fact that Aslath's call had woken him from sleep. That must be why he was acting like such a wherry!

Mutasim's gaze went to the brown remaining, again just watching the dragonet warily. Though the browns hadn't, as of yet, charged into the crowd of boys, he still wanted to be prepared. The hatchlings were beautiful, truly, and perfectly formed. Obviously strong. More than strong enough for someone like him. But he was not the sort to let his mind linger overly long on thoughts of admiration. It would lead him to wishing, to hope, and it was far easier on the candidate if, when he was left standing, he didn't have to deal with strong disappointment. He couldn't deny that there would be some. Maybe just a swift pang, followed by a need to find Jabari, the poor flit. But if he let himself fall into wishful thinking now, it would be ever so much worse.

[ravenmane]

Skyler watched silently as the eggs Hatched and presented the mos beautiful Hatchlings. For the candidate, the entire event seemed to be passing him by. No mater how many times he tried to focus on his surroundings, Sky was continually caught up in the emotion that came with the birth of dragons. They were a mystery that he wanted to understand more, but his chance to Impress slipped away each time a dragon found his or her life-mate. Sometimes, the boy wished he had a companion to really trust, but their were no people in Seleniats besides Ciara that he had really thought of as a friend. His hazel eyes wandered aound the Hatching, searching for someplace he could go.

Skyler felt that deep down, he wasn't going to IMpress. It may happen with a fire-lizard or that lizard creature Uu'n had Impressed. Unable to supress a feeling of rejection, the candidate moved behind the boys to the far edge of the Hatching Grounds. Deep down, Skyler silently held to a small thread of hope, uncertain if he shiould leave or stay. Something kept him rooted to the Sands, allowing him to move about but not leave.

((Skyler has self-esteem issues so this is what he thinks while I think he might have a chance at Impressing.))

[Administrator]

Aslath, oblivious to the worry she caused Salenth, her croon and hum increasing as he pressed himself against her more. However, she did notice his delay in returning the tail squeeze. What is it?[/color] she asked curiously. He always twined her tail just as tight, if not tighter, when she did. Swinging her golden head around to look at him, she crooned. Please don’t be sad when our first children hatch,[/color] she told him pleadingly, not a queenly command, yet a simple desperate question.

Confused by his statement, she replied, Yes, all of our future clutches will be perfect,[/color] she told him simply. What did he mean, with her as the dam? And you as the sire,[/color] she told him firmly. If she could control herself, it would be Salenth she would pick… He was so warm. She did not like the other bronzes.

Did he have doubts? Do you not like me any more? she asked miserably. Why else would he deliberately not include himself in his statement? What had she done to chase him off??

--

Shmee blinked, surprised at Laurie’s shouting. Hatchings must be exciting for everyone, she supposed. “You love the Hatching, sweetie?” she cooed to little Miguel. “Your mommy loves the Hatching. Rei loves the Hatching. I love the Hatching. Does little Miguel love the Hatching?” At this, she tickled his round baby-stomach, glowing as a smile spread across Miguel’s face. He squealed, flailing his pudgy legs around. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Shmee said matter-of-factly, grinning at S’rei. “Not that I cheated at all,” she added innocently.

Still keeping her grip on Miguel, she leaned against S’rei. “Of course I’ll let you tuck me in,” she replied, her voice with hesitant, yet willing, suggestion. She hoped he wouldn’t get carried away… she needed gentleness at first at this before she could let herself be overtaken completely by passion. However, she didn’t doubt him- he was possibly the most considerate person she knew. She trusted him.

--

Marra glared at Rawign as he managed to come over. The drudge that blocked her path was making shooing motions at both of them, but Marra was ignoring him. “Why are you always through yourself in front of big things with claws?!” she demanded, glaring at him as if he got mauled on purpose. Elbowing the drudge, she joined him on the edge of the sands, her eyes flickering over to Aslath warily. Fortunately, the queen seemed preoccupied.

Her hands going to his hair, she smoothed it back, kissing his lips gently. “After the hatching, you and your dragon are going to come with me and I’ll fix you up. Shard it! You’re an absolute moron!” How she could hate and like someone was absolutely beyond Marra.

She paused, eyeing the blood. “The scars you already had are good enough for me. Why need more? Idiot. Do you want something to stop the blood?” she inquired with a frown. She could rip off some of her shirt for him, or perhaps make this drudge give Rawign his shirt.

Without bothering to wait for a reply, she ripped off the bottom of her shirt, right beneath her breasts, but still providing a good-sized, makeshift bandage. Her shirt wasn’t that thick, so once she got through the hem, it was fairly easy to tear from there. Looking at the bandage, she frowned at how uneven it was. She must have ripped off too much from the back. “Take this,” she told him, handing it to him.

At this point, the drudge grabbed her arms, trying to pull her off the sand. “GET OFF!” she shrieked, bringing a hand in a slap against the drudge’s face. “I’m going to wait here,” she said sourly. “Don’t get hurt again, Rawign!” Backing off the sands, she leaned against the wall, watching him with a scrutinizing gaze.

--

The Emerald Brown finally recovered from the humiliation of his not very graceful hatching. With his head held high, he walked determinedly over to a group of eager, murmuring boys. Picking one out, a soft-spoken boy with a halo of dark curls, the brown crooned. Nudging this young man, his friends looked on in envy. S’may, love, please feed your Zyloth!

However, distractions swooped over the Ground before the brownweyrling could even announce his new bonded’s name. The Marble Egg shook twice, seemingly quietly, before shattering where it stood in loud cracks. Shyly picking the shells off of himself, a blue looked up anxiously before returning his head to his sky-blue hide, scraping them off. However, his eyes whirled in anxiety, proving his peacefulness wasn’t as peaceful as he tried to come off as.

The Pearl Egg, unlike its brother, was much more decisive. Pushing himself through the egg, the blue within smashed his shards playfully. Accidentally getting some of the shards stuck to his navy blue feet, his eyes whirled with further intensity as green ichor welled up in a spot where a shard stuck in him. Creeling piteously, he waddled over to Beka, looking thoroughly depressed. Does having green blood make me a girl?[/color] he asked sadly. I am a boy, not a girl. You can see I’m a blue, right? Right? I’m your blue Thoth?[/color]

Seeing that his brother had more reason to be embarrassed, the Marble Blue began to show some hope. With most of the shards off, he crept closer to the candidates nervously. His eyes darting around, seeing the hungry faces of candidates upon him, he warbled sadly before scurrying off to one of the boys who didn’t look as scary. M’vornmine, can we please eat and leave?[/color] he asked, shifting his feet in worry. Everyone is looking at your Byrith like they want to snatch me away… Please don’t let them do that?[/color]

The Rose Quartz Egg began cracking harder and harder, and through the pale shell, a little bit of hide showed through. Definitely dark… A brown?[/size]

[glamourie]

"No, that's okay," Keliris said softly before turning to nod to Lennae. "You should stay here with us." His bad mood was fading, slightly. Truthfully, he was more antsy over Beka than himself. He didn't respond well to feeling as though he was a failure. The very idea that Beka might not Impress hadn't really, truly sunk in until they were on the Sands. And Keliris did not want her to hate him. He didn't like Beka any more than he did his 'associates' (read: friends) but she was the one who seemed to need someone to lean on the most. Lir wasn't the kind of person who was built for failure, at least not in his mind. And if Beka didn't Impress, what did he have but exactly that? Let Rawign walk off - he couldn't care less about the Healer. The number of eggs left to hatch was dwindling, and Keliris was growing nervous. Not for himself, though. His nervousness extended to Beka and Beka alone.

However, a few moments later, that fear was drowned out in the presence of a blue dragonet approaching the three of them. His eyebrows raised, and when the dragon turned to Beka, a wave of relief washed over him. The redhead stepped out of the way, so as to give the hatchling more room, while offering Beka a bright smile. The anxiety he'd felt almost completely evaporated, his nerves finally coming undone and he sighed, audibly. The only thing that prevented him from all-out falling down was the fact that he was still standing in a very public place. Okay, the two people he'd come for had Impressed, could he leave? Well, Lir glanced at Lennae, he really ought to stay with her and to keep an eye on Rawign... wherever he'd gone. Ridiculous boy.

"I knew she'd Impress," he whispered, the words meant more for Lennae. Beka would surely be distracted by her new lifemate and who could blame her? "Now all we have to do is find you a dragon and then I can go beat up that Healer... I've got this checklist in my head of people who have to Impress before I'll explode. You're next." He turned back to Lennae and offered her a smile -- but it was apologetic, too, almost as though he was trying (without saying it) to tell her how sorry he felt for having snapped at her. The words would never come. Keliris couldn't bring himself to ever admit he was wrong, not under any circumstances, but maybe, just maybe, her smile would be enough.

* * *

Throwing -- Oh, for Faranth's sake, he hadn't thrown himself in front of anything, he'd even moved to try and prevent the little green from hurting him more! He practically flailed his response to her, and when she made her way onto the Sands, he looked downright distraught. "Marra, you're being illogical, if Aslath sees you we'll both get into trouble, I'm fine and don't lead our firelizards on here --" His half-flailing stopped when she kissed him, which thoroughly threw his distress away, as though washed off by a current. His gaze softened and he brushed his hands over her cheeks before sighing. "I'm fine, Marra. She barely knicked me. It just looks like a lot of blood because it spread. They're not deep and they barely even hurt. Rela-- wait, what do you mean my scars are good enough for you?"

As though her words puzzled him, Rawign actually blinked at Marra. How she could like looking at his nearly-thorough mutilation was beyond him. He thought he looked highly unattractive, and extra white lines spanning his chest wasn't likely to attract much in the way of attention. Before he could accuse her of being odd (what other kind of person would actually find such marks appealing, even if Rawign did feel less like a monster knowing she wasn't secretly trying to gag any time she saw him without his shirt?), though, Marra was tearing her shirt and his mind took a nice little spiral in its own direction. Exactly how was he supposed to focus on the hatching again? He took the strip of cloth, though, and wound it tightly around his waist over the robes. Any other time he'd have put it under, but it wouldn't work with the long robes. He could deal with his injuries later.

"Tease," he whispered, then gave the drudge holding her a dirty look. "Please stop manhandling her, she's said she'll stay." His voice held a note of poison, as though he was planning to do something unfortunate to said drudge, and it was followed by more shrill chirps from Li, who finally settled against the wall near Marra. The bronze was giving his person-thingy an awful look, but Rawign ignored him. He turned back to Marra with a nod. "Will do my best, m'lady. By the way... that was my sister who Impressed next to me, if you saw." Without waiting for a response to that, Rawign actually turned and speed-walked (he was of the opinion if he ran he might get yelled at) back into the direction of the group. But the remaining people made it hard for him to see where Keliris was, and he ended up approaching a mob of boys from behind, unable to see anything happening though the gasps in the crowd indicated still more hatchlings had Impressed...

[saberlin]

Auryn watched on as more eggs hatched. The brown that had seemed terribly embarrassed before made his way over to a young lad and Impression was made. She could only be happy that they had found their matches as they wandered off of the sands. Just standing here was something to be amazed of. So much new life was hatching out of these large strong looking eggs. Two eggs began to shake with more fervor, first the Marble Egg and then the Pearl Egg, each yielding two magnificent looking blues. One seemed to want to play with its egg shards until the poor creature hurt its paws. Auryn winced at the pain the young creature must be feeling for the first time and a part of her wanted to go and tend to the creatures wounds. But she knew that dragonets were feral before they Impressed and that it could be dangerous to even be near them until they found their bonded life mates. She watched as the blue raised its beautiful head and looked about to find its pair and then found it not in a boy, but in a girl. Auryn wondered what the girls name was as she wanted to congratulate her properly but didn't now a way to find out. "Congratulations!" She called after the girl clapping her hands for her. She clapped and called again when the other blue made his Impression to a boy. Everything seemed to be going so fast that it was almost hard to keep up with it all.

Then she noticed that the Rose Quartz egg, one that she had actually been keeping her eyes on since she had entered started to crack. The hide that was shown from this brightly colored egg seemed much darker than anything that had already walked off of the sands though. Could it be a midnight blue that would blend into the background of the night skies? Or maybe the dark dragonet was to be a brown. Auryn was near to holding her breath in anticipation of finding out what this beautiful new dragonet would hatch to!

[evendar]

Narna flinched as a green dragonet swung past her on its way to its lifemate. Despite her newfound "confidence" the young woman was still on the doubtful side of Impressing. Proving the world wrong was one thing (even though the world wasn't exactly against her), actually meeting that other half on the Sands was another. They looked so ungainly, so... not ready for the world around them. There wasn't a mutant in the bunch, but each and everyone of these dragons brought forth frightening thoughts to Narna's mind.

What if, upon Impressing her dragon, C'leon returned? The very thought that C'leon and his brute of a dragon could catch her precious other half sent shivers of unadulterated terror to her very core. She didn't want this, she didn't want the ever looming fear that a man, any man, would have that much control over her. She might want a dragon to prove to herself, her brother, and Pern that she was someone. But she didn't want the constant fear that C'leon could return at any moment and take her again. But wouldn't a dragon protect her from that? A dragon, any dragon, would surely prove to C'leon she was a force to be reckoned with, someone to fear? Could a man like C'leon even feel something as fear? He didn't seem like the type to fear to her. But then, he'd come all the way to Selenitas to try and catch the Senior Queen, didn't that prove something to the fact that he was fearful? Fearful at least that Selenitas proved some kind of threat.

And would Narna in the skies prove anything to that brutish man handler? Would Narna on the back of a dragon really prove that Selenitas was a force to be reckoned with? Narna didn't know if she was really the person for such a job. A dragon was starting to feel to her like a job she couldn't handle. A job she desperately wanted, but was frightened she wasn't capable of living up too. The old Narna would have faced the fears head on, and a bit of the new Narna wished to do so too, but the very thought of C'leon's giant hands reaching for her body once more, or any mans hands reaching for her like that sent shivers up and down her spine.

Narna backed off to the shadows of the wall. She couldn't bring herself to leave the Sands, for the fear that if her soulmate was in this clutch that she would leave it do die. But she didn't want to be in the light anymore. She felt to exposed by it all. And while her bruises had faded and her scars turned to little white streaks of new skin on her arms, the bruise on her mind was still there. It would stay there too, as long as C'leon was around to haunt it.

[missa]

Rawign had dissapeared, again? Beka looked up, away from the Hatching to look around. Yes, he'd gone. Somehow, during the Hatching, Rawign seeemd to have gotten teh talent of Betweening. Something that could prove to be extremely frustrating. Opening her mouth to speak, perhaps to reassure Keliris that he couldn't have gone far, the words never leaving her mouth.

Does having green blood make me a girl? A blink, as her eyes sought the owner of that sad voice, a slight smile twitching at her lips.
I am a boy, not a girl. You can see I’m a blue, right? Right? I’m your blue Thoth?

"I can see prefectly." Beka murmured, reluctant to release Lir's hand, but doing so to reach for the blue. Thoth. Smile widened as Beka bent to wrap her arms around the blue's neck, placing a kiss to his nose.
"My beautiful Blue." A pause before she looked up a Lir, eyes bright with gratitude. "He says his name is Thoth." Words were merely a whisper before she smiled, getting up as Thoth nudged her.
Mine, I'm hungry. Can we eat please? Oh beautiful, beautiful Blue! Beka smiled as she kissed his nose once more before getting up and nodding. Weyrling Master first,
"Beka, Blue Thoth." Now food.

~*~

Oh she'd Impressed, Beka had Impressed. Where she hadn't in the last Hatching, she had this time. Well that was reason for hope wasn't it! A blue too! A beautiful blue, there were so many dragonets, less and less eggs though. Oh, the Rose Quartz Egg was cracking, what colour would that be? Hm, appeared to be a Brown, dark hide, but it could be a very, very dark bronze, or blue? Who could honeslty tell before the dragonets had hatched?

Waiting, waiting. It seemed like the Hatching was going to go past in a flash of light, and Reilana felt a mixture of feelings towards that. Half of her wanted it to slow down, so the amazing experience wouldn't be lost. Another part of her wanted all the dragonets hatched! And happy of course, happy and Impressed. That would be a great Hatching. None of Aslath's would go between because Aslath was a much better mother than Fath ever could have been. What that Gold must have done to her eggs was... Just... Horrid. How could she have called herself a mother when most of her children had been so badly mutated? Some couldn't fly! Others couldn't walk! Oh back to current Hatching.

[kaedryn]

Usually a proud, confident girl, Kaedryn had nearly been reduced to tears at this point... It was hard to just stand still and watch one after another of the dragonets were paired off... To be rejected every single time... She saw others with the same look on their face, that look that said they were unsure of their own worth, unsure if they were indeed good enough to match up to one of these precious creatures. She raised a hand before her face, tracing each and every scar running along her hands. These were the hands of a dirt poor dog trainer... Not those of a dragon rider...

Raising her eyes just in time to see the Pearl Egg blue walk close and choose a female near her, then another blue, from the Marble Egg, walk over and choose His... She had perked up slightly when the Pearl Blue had come near, but quickly deflated... She noticed then that the Rose Quartz Egg was cracked, revealing just the slightest hint of a brown hide... Sighing again, she turned her attention back to the rest of the eggs, now less than half left unhatched... She had to keep her spirits up, strong... After all, if her dragon was here, he or she surely wouldn't want to greet a depressed person! She threw back her shoulder's, eyes once again bright with fire as she wrenched her mind from the depressed throughts they had fallen into.

[serenity]

So much was happening now that Garieon felt like he was in a dream watching the eggs crack open and split to reveal wet dragonets, spilling out onto the sands only to leap to their feet and rush off to find their lifemates, some did this quickly while others seemed to need to take a larger amount of time. The bronzes Garieon watched Impress with a rush of hope or any other emotion other than a feeling of happiness for the people with whom he’d been living and had secured their rise from Candidate to Weyrling. Bronzes would never be interested in him, this much he was very aware of, browns were a stretch even. At most, Garieon knew he could hope for a blue or a green, if he Impressed at all. The connections of colors to Candidates and their following Impressions perhaps would have made more of an impact on the young man had he remembered any of their names.

Bronze, blue, green, brown, green, blue… The wave of hatching dragonets seemed to have reached it’s zenith and Garieon stood to the side of the group watching the display before him. He didn’t talk to anyone, what sort of conversation could he hold at this point in time, anyway? But there was an idle drone of chatter coming from both the stands and the Candidates with whom he stood. Each time a dragon hatched, he held his breath and as they neared the group his heart began pounding furiously. But none approached him so he simply watched.

{okay, I didn’t want to take up a huge post repeating everything that’s already happened….}

[lennae]

While Lennae heard his reply, she didn’t really hear it, being too distracted by the blue hatchling moving toward him. For a moment, she was afraid. Perhaps he merely meant to knock them over before moving on. However, her fears abated as he stopped before the girl with Keliris, Beka, obviously speaking with her. The girl’s reply merely confirmed Lennae’s suspicions. She had impressed. She smiled warmly to Beka, though she was certain that the recent-made weyrlings was blind to nearly everything but the blue hatchling that had suddenly become the center of her world.

As she walked away, she heard Keliris once again commenting to her. He expected her to impress but not him? Now that was just silly. After all, Keliris had been here a lifetime. He knew practically all there was to know about dragons, at least in her opinion. And though his thorny exterior might be a bit difficult to get through, she was certain that a hatchling would have no problem. She suspected that despite his talk of not caring about not impressing at the hatching that he really did want it. From what she could make of him, she also suspected that if he didn’t, while he might be crushed for a moment, he would force himself to get over it. She dearly hoped that it never came to that.

“As long as you don’t impress first,” she replied. His smile had a tone to it, almost as though it were an unspoken apology. She returned it whole-heartedly, though it faded as she realized that she didn’t deserve it. If anything, he deserved one from her, for the lies she had given to him concerning her background. She had felt increasingly guilty about it and had, on more than one occasion, considered confessing. She almost felt as though now would be the time, though an already emotion-filled hatching was no place to conduct what could possibly turn into a shouting match or a spar or angry words. Another conversation for another day.

“Mayhap we’ll impress at the same time, and then it won’t much matter who’s next, will it?” Her smile had returned as she shrugged the thoughts off. While she might not deserve impression, Keliris certainly did, and while he might be fine with accepting a fate that had yet to be determined, she would strive to keep a small flicker of hope burning for as long as there were eggs on the sand.