Temperanth's Hatching [73.13.21]

[summerrain]

Yuki watched as, one by one, Hatchlings Impressed and left. She watched the Chrome, intreagued by his actions. She didn't notice when the Silverlight hatched, but saw the Chrome dart to His and leave. She then turned to the Silverlight, and knew immediately that something wasn't right. Hedara's expression proved that.

Wait... Could it be a male? Could Silverlights be male? There had been female Brown and Blue dragons in the past, but never had there been a male version of a Queen dragon. Silverlights were considered Queens, right? But... If it was a male, did that mean that the Silverlight and His would be treated semi-normally? Silverlights tended to Impress boys more than girls, which was why they were outcasted. But, a male Silverlight, and a male Rider... That fit the normal for a King dragon...

She looked back at Hedara. She knew the Junior Weyrwoman could do well. She knew the IceRider could get past something like this, if she tried. As long as the Silverlight issue was dealt with before the dragons went Pern-wide, there would be no issue.

[Kyralih]

Sei’a, sitting in the stands below his bronze Lasereth, watched with the rest of them as the large egg finally shuttered and broke to reveal a Silverlight. His gaze, curious and cautious at first, turned hard, staring at the new young ‘Queen’ with mingled disdain and pity for the new young creature. It was entering a world wherein its status was under scrutiny; it would be confused, not knowing where it fit, and all because a select few insisted its coloration should be considered a ‘Queen’. True Queens Impress to females, he thought steely, easily finding the male Silverlight riders in the audience, their attention rapt on the new hatchling, and his brows knitted together. And yet he noticed something in their gaze – a growing concern.

Intrigued, the bronzerider looked back to the sands, to the new hatchling, the Ice Queen that had mothered it, and the rider of that Queen, and he saw it in her eyes, as well; there was something amiss with the little one.

~Lasereth?~ he inquired openly, probing the dragon for any answers.

~He is healthy.~ Lasereth responded, rumbling contentedly for the hatchling.

~He…?~ Sei’a repeated, trying to surround the thought, to accept it.

~The Silverlight is male,~ Lasereth confirmed, still pleased.

The Silverlight is male… Sei’a smiled. This was it; there was no reason for the confounded debate to continue. Queens were always female, Queens Impressed to females, and Queens held power over every dragon in her Weyr. This Silverlight was male, Silverlights impressed to males, and they seemed to have more an affinity for controlling firelizards than anything else. Silverlights were not Queens.

He leaned forward, clasping his hands as he rested elbows on his knees. A small smile formed on his face as he watched the hatching below, assured that the debate would be over at last, and this Weyr would finally accept the truth.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

T’vax grinned as Davquil came bouncing over, trailed by the now much more energetic acting two-tone dragonet. Words, for some reason, were not coming to him. Not that it mattered, not in the least; his face contained the emotions in all their magnitude. No verbal expression was needed. A flicker of unease made him look over at Slinesteth. Sure enough, the little Chrome was trying to remain out of sight as Davquil looked at him.

Mine, they notice me, how can anything I plan be a success if people notice me?

It’s ok, T’vax responded, though he shifted so that Slinesteth wasn’t as readily visible. They’re friends. Friends help with what you plan, they make it more likely to succeed. Aloud, to Davquil, he added: “Slinesteth is just a bit nervous meeting new people.”

From Davquil’s words, T’vax gathered that the dragonet had been asking about him. Ordinarily, of course, he would have known, but he was concentrating so much on maintaining his “shield” against draconic communication that he was relatively surprised that Slinesteth could get through to him. His grin broadening slightly, he gave a seated bow of greeting to the two-tone dragonet. “What is your name?” he asked. He cautiously peaked out from around his mental “shields”, so that the dragonet could answer directly if desired.

Slinesteth was not sure he believed His, but the other human was not looking at him anymore, and well, it was one thing to plan, but those plans must benefit His, so if His truly cared about these others, than the planning would have to encompass them too.

You have to eat to plan, T’vax admonished, though he was having to resist the urge to hug Slinesteth.

Slinesteth stuck his head back in the food bowl and ate a little more. His was right, food was good. Food enabled one to think and plan. He looked his smaller brother over with one eye as he ate. It would take longer to be sure, but he thought this sibling would be good at discovering what people thought. Mouth full, mind busy, Slinesteth was already planning.

[Zane]

X’kel was observant enough to notice that Hedara was concerned about something. All of the dragonets that had hatched thus far had been rather impressive, if not a bit, well, scared? That may have been relatively concerning, he realized. ”Something a matter?” he inquired, moving closer to her so that he could lean in and whisper his question. The last thing he intended was for others in the stands, or even the candidates, to become suspicious of the juniors’ talk. X’kel glanced over at Varketh quickly, trying to gauge what the crimson’s current thoughts were. He didn’t have to, when, immediately, the crimson spoke to His. Something is wrong. Strangely wrong. I can’t place what it is. The crimson’s concern put X’kel on the high alert. He waited for Hedara to answer him, and if she chose not to, he would not withhold from probing her further.

Temperanth, is there something a matter? he inquired of the Ice Queen, watching as she nosed the largest of the eggs. Varketh could only wonder at what was inside the largest egg of their clutch. It was a beautiful egg, to be sure…

As the egg hatched, and gave way, a Silverlight stepped out. It was a… handsome, creature? Varketh could tell right away that something was different about it. It was… male?

~*~

Tikra continued to watch the largest of the eggs with a near lusting written all over her expression. It wasn’t until her thoughts were interrupted by the presence of another candidate that her attention was divided. She didn’t even know the others name, not having cared to remember it. It was too big a hassle, in her opinion. ”Do you think all your parts vital?” she said in a calm voice, her gaze once more fixated upon the largest of the eggs. ”If so, I suggest you stop talking,” was the only answer she gave. She was known back home for making good on her promises. Only she knew that she was the type to make good on her promises, however, seeing as she’d never been caught before. Most had the sense to leave her be, realizing that something just wasn’t right about the overly aggressive girl. Something was… amiss.

And then it happened, the egg cracked, and the shell burst, revealing a Silverlight. Tikra wasn’t sure what to make of it, but the gasps that followed once the creature curiously ventured further into the world, was enough to have her carefully concentrating. What’s so different about this one? It’s just a Silverlight. It was a queen, however, wasn’t it? Well then… She didn’t move, not at all bothering to attempt to get its attention, or anything of the like. Tikra merely stared it down, her expression unwavering, like it had been the entire time she’d been present upon the sands. Nothing amused her; nothing was of any particular interest to her, either. She just watched, and waited… Waiting was a key.

[Kyralih]

The corner of Liera’s mouth twitched up with her contemporary’s response – she didn’t quite know why the outright threat, stated so calmly, incited humor within her, but it did. She would have said something, just to egg her on and see what would happen, but it was then that the egg they were both staring at started to crack. More than ever Liera concentrated on staying calm and confident, staring intently towards the hatching dragonet and willing it to find someone else, anyone else, but the girl beside her.

The dragonet cleared the shell, and upon seeing its dark skin with the silvery sheen, Liera felt better about the situation. A Silverlight; if she remembered correctly, they chose males rather than females most of the time, despite their Queen status; the chances of the little Queen choosing Tikra with so many males available seemed slim to her. And yet… glancing over, Tikra was still staring intently at the hatchling. So, so did she. She considered a taunt, something along the lines of ‘Too bad, eh, Tikra?’ but didn’t follow through, not wanting to miss seeing who the Starlight took to by starting a fight.

....


~Sorry, Lansteth! I was so excited and confused I forgot that they keep the tables here on the sands instead of out near the feasting tables!~ Daeka apologized as she pulled a slab of raw meat from the table and offered it to her sunshiny companion, smiling apologetically to him in a way nearly identical to how she had smiled to the helpful Cavernswoman who had turned them around and sent them back along the wall of the hatching sands to the tables. They found a spot well within view of the main sands, able to see what happens even if they were concentrated solely on each other.

~I am okay, Daekalove!~[/i][/color] Lansteth reached up and took the meet, his eyes swirling red and his thoughts on swallowing the hunk whole.

~Wait! You have to chew it!~ Daeka admonished with a smile, laughing as Lansteth froze, then chewed the hunk exaggeratedly to please her. Chuckling, she reached into the bowl to find a smaller piece so he wouldn’t necessarily need to chew; as she straightened, her hand closing around a slab of meat, she spied Liera across the bowl, standing beside of the meanest people she had ever met. She worried for a moment, but with Lansteth’s gentle prodding of her leg, she turned back to feeding him, knowing that her friend could take care of herself.

After the third hunk, Lansteth’s hunger wasn’t as ravenous and Daeka looked around to her fellow candid—weyrlings, thinking to congratulate them and introduce them to Lansteth. Lansteth, in between swallows, was glancing back over the sands, keeping an interested eye on his Sunlance sibling.

[Nicole]

As usual, Nickta was late to the Hatching.

Nickta was notoriously late to Hatchings; she had been since her first Hatching, where she had Impressed Liakyrith. Then she had been a few minutes late. But to sneak into a Hatching so late...

Well, one of us got here on time.
Not all of us can snap to attention and Fly once the humming starts. Some of us have old bones and live on the other side of the Weyr, thank you very much.

So Nickta shuffled her way through the Weyr, taking her time as Liakyirth updated her on all of the going-ons. A Chrome, a Wood, a Brick...

The timing for the last Egg worked perfectly for Nickta, poking her way through the crowd to get a good look at the front just as its Egg shattered.

Am I hallucinating or...
Male Silverlight? It has never happened. But then again, we are a prime example of things that have never happened.
This might not go over well with everybody. You know how it's been lately.
Then we shall do for it as our Weyr did for us. We will help care for and protect it. And nobody argues with a Queen.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Tamaruk attended carefully to Kyuuki’s explanation. It seemed odd, that some dragons could get by without a rider and others needed one.

“Are there dragons that prefer to operate without a rider?” he asked. He was looking around, and he thought he saw Nickta in the midst of the crowd. He waved, trying to attract her attention, then returned to staring at the eggs. There had been several Impressions, including the Purple Grey and the Chrome, but Tamaruk had been most impressed by the emergence of the Silverlight. Such an amazing entrance.

[Cait]

Where Davquil was oblivious to the Chrome’s discomfort, Niekolgoth was not. The girl, however, did notice that the dragonet’s excitement seemed to fade to be replaced by uncertainty and what felt like a wet blanket over her mind when she probed the new connection. He does not like me, the dragon of your friend.[/b]

Oh, don’t be silly. He’s just as uncertain as you are. Now keep eating. She held out another glob of meat from the bowl and the Purple-Gray hesitated only a moment before opening his mouth again though the wet-blanket feel still remained. He wasn’t at all certain of this new situation and when T’vax spoke to him directly his legs quivered, threatening to deposit him on his belly in the sands once more.

For a moment Davquil was confused and looked over her shoulder at T’vax. He knew her name! Then it dawned on her that she hadn’t introduced Niekolgoth and she let out a little laugh. Setting the bowl down in the sands, she rose on her knees and shuffled around until she was facing her friend, the two-toned dragon peering over her head uncertainly with his one squinted eye. There was something different about this boy; something unsettling and strange. ”This is—“

Niekolgoth[/b]

Blinking, Dav glanced over her shoulder at her dragonet only to find that he’d sunk into the sands, his now full belly extended to either side along with his legs and partially unfurled wings. Confused as to the sudden change in demeanor she shook her head and shifted once more so that she was facing the clutch, T’vax to her left and Niekolgoth to her right then reached out and began to poke at the side of the dragonet’s neck. ”Up, up, up you silly creature. I don’t see what you’re so gloomy about. You made three new friends all in one day.”

[Nicole]

What was that? Out of the corner of her eye?

Ah! Somebody had waved! If she was correct - and she usually was - it was Tamaruk. He seemed to be talking to somebody. Good. The boy ought to be socializing more. He was a smart one, and curious, and that ought to be encouraged.

Perhaps she should make sure it was encouraged.

I am becoming such a stereotypical old woman, the QueenRider thought as she began to rework her way through the crowd, not at all afraid of forcing people to move aside. Plotting and planning with people instead of work. But I do need something to do, after all, and that boy does need somebody to care about him on top of whoever brought him here.

[Terayne]

S'lieze's eyes narrowed as the egg shattered and his fears were realized with the emergence of the black-skinned, silver-sheened dragonet. However, right away he noticed something amiss. Being the rider of a Silverlight himself, he KNEW what they were supposed to look like, and this one was way off. Far too muscular, too large. His head turned, one pale blue eye meeting the whirling one of his Bonded, and he quirked a snow white brow. She didn't speak, merely examined the Hatchling, then rumbled her agreement.

The Silverlight, unlike any other of the beautiful and social Queens.... Was no Queen at all.

________________

Diamond blinked as she watched the Silverlight hatch, and her head cocked faintly as she considered her. Wait.... Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked more closely, and then her brows rose sharply in stunned surprise. That was no female dragon, she thought, having plenty of females currently on the Sands to compare him with. That was no female dragon at all, she thought with a mighty frown on her normally upturned lips. The debate was bad enough about the poor Queens(for she felt they deserved the title even with their quirks) but this abnormal little male, while still a beautiful creature, was only going to make it worse.

For the first time ever, she almost wished that a dragonet hadn't Hatched, if only to save itself and whoever it Bonded to the angst and trouble they were going to have to deal with....

[Shoki]

Hedara paused before responding. It was taking a little time to process this. She hadn't expected any of this. She couldn't have. She didn't know the color could be male. It made some sense, Silverlights were so rare, that they would miss something about them. She just didn't think gender would be one. It was impossible to say how things would go from here. She had to hope that it would not go badly.

"Things have gotten more complicated. That Silverlight...he is unique. Just by virtue that He is male. So...things shall be complicated." Hedara's voice was soft, but still held steel in it. Her expression evened out, as her eyes remained on the sands. Complicated. It was a word she hated sometimes.

Not wrong. Difficult, yes, but not wrong. Temperanth was very firm on that point as she watched her son. Indeed, trouble could come. All she could be grateful for was that her children were well.

---

"Yes. I've treated some of them. A lot of them are, um, older dragons now." Kyuuki had specialized in dragon treatment when working with Vallesh after all. It had made sense, in a Weyr with self impressed dragons to go that route. She pointed out the ice at the edge of the sands to Tamaruk quickly. "They have to look at themselves there. If they want it. It happens much less now." It wasn't a bad thing, it just meant more and more candidates were available, so less dragons self impressed.

---

The Silverlight was quite overwhelmed. So many people were looking at him. Even his siblings seemed to be staring. He sat down neatly and looked around, much like a deer in the headlights. Perhaps he should just sit here and be quiet for a moment, then the overwhelming feeling would pass. Nervousness colored the Silverlight's eyes as he tried not to be too out of the ordinary. However, it was quite impossible to manage.

The two Aurora males soon got over the interest in their brother and started toward the female candidates again. Neither one wanted the other to get the best pick. So a slow walk turned into a race quickly, the blue and green Aurora having the edge, but only just. The Cloud and Brick turned around to watch their brothers' race, looking like they enjoyed watching as much as running around themselves. The Aurora's race came to an abrupt end when the green and blue Aurora dashed, and his aqua and pink brother resolved into a trot. Therefore the green and blue Aurora arrived at Liera promptly. LieraMine! I got you first! Minloth has won! The dragonet looked happy, pleased as punch to have won. He sifted thoughts quickly though. Perhaps I could get a victory snack LieraMine? I'm hungry.

The other Aurora had abruptly decided that racing wasn't dignified. He calmly walked over to his for the rest of the way, trying to look as regal as possible. No need to be rushed, after all, appearances mattered. In that way he strode up to his. Tikra, you are mine. Please pardon Illineth's previous lack of decorum. The Aurora looked as apologetic as he could manage while impressing his. It was rather hard not to be pleased at impressing though.

The Sunlance dragoness was a bit distressed. She was trying not to be, but finding hers was becoming hard. She was looking around at the female candidates remaining with extreme thoroughness, and did not intend to let a single one slip her gaze. It meant that she couldn't spy the eggs behind her hatching.

Three eggs were threatening to break free. The first that achieved it was a Midnight, who looked displeased upon hatching. The humming was annoying. Everything seemed much too loud for him. He shook his head, trying to make the sound go away, but sadly it didn't work. He turned around after hearing the cracking of the egg behind him, which heralded the arrival of a Moonlight dragoness. The Moonlight peered at the Midnight, looking friendly. The Midnight however, wasn't all that happy at the moment, still trying to deal with the noise. The Moonlight looked at him for a bit, then trotted over to the female candidates, electing to leave quietly so he didn't have any more trouble. The other egg was attempting to hatch, but things weren't going so well. The Midnight went away, trying to get away from the sound of the hatching egg. Everything was far too loud. Maybe it was quieter over here. The egg finally got hatched, and the Dream flopped onto the sands. That was tiring. He would just have a break here for a moment.


------

Aurora (m) Minloth (Min- low -th)
About: Minloth is a very single minded dragon. When he wants to do something, he wants almost nothing else. It means that when he wants to do something he can be incredibly persistent. However, if he changes goals, he completely forgets about his previous wants. If his single-mindedness brings trouble he is quick to apologize, though he often doesn't have the foresight to prevent it from happening.
Adult length: 27 feet
Hex: 3c85c3 , 54dbb0, 6bc19a

Aurora (m) Illineth (ill- in -eth)
About: This Aurora is less quiet, and more aloof. He has his, he doesn't need other friends. However, that's no reason not to have good manners when it is required to converse. He is as well mannered as any Aurora can be, however what he says and what he would like to say are two different things. He can talk behind others back to his, if he has a real opinion about someone that is negative.
Adult length: 29 feet
Hex: 26ba7a, de3c90, 26646a

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Tamaruk followed the line of Kyuuki’s finger, towards the patch of ice. “Is it special ice?” he asked. If he were the type to spend ages wondering at his own reasons for acting, he would have deduced that he asked all these questions because he knew Kyuuki and felt safe around her. A stranger was still likely to receive only silence if they attempted to get him to ask them something. He wasn’t really that type completely though, being more one to focus on what he was doing, rather than why.

More dragonets Hatched, three more, to be exact, all of shades that Tamaruk knew. He was completely engrossed in watching once more, applauding the two Auroras when they Impressed, and nearly at the same time too. Though one of them, ack… Impressed to the nasty Candidate. Tamaruk shuddered slightly. He had encountered Tikra, sort of, at an earlier date, and had decided immediately that she was a danger that he should avoid at all costs.

——
Rallin looked over at a disturbance in the crowd. There was an older woman approaching, one of the riders, he thought. He didn’t think they’d met, but he wasn’t completely sure. Then he saw that she appeared to have honed in on Tamaruk.

He smiled. It appeared Tamaruk had converted another adult into liking him. Or wanting to protect him, more likely.

——
T’vax started. Had he spoken the words with his mind as well? He’d tried not to, but… Shardit why was this blasted thing so hard to control! He hadn’t asked to be able to hear every nearby dragon that he didn’t hide behind a shield around. To be fair though, the older dragons could wall him out, if they chose. The dragonet had responded, but he was now laying flat on the sands, his full belly pushed to either side.

He turned to Dav, started to say something, then decided against it, closed his mouth, and once more ducked behind his “shields”.

“I’m sorry Niekolgoth,” he said. “I have trouble making my mind stay quiet.”

Slinesteth ignored the words, or at least, he did not fully attend to them. He was currently unnoticed. That was good. Now, he needed to finalize that plan…

[Cait]

Davquil watched with a slightly tilted head as Tivax—T’vax, really she should try and remember that—began to say something in explanation as to why her dragon was talking to him then closed his mouth and seemed to reconsider speaking at all. At least to her anyway. Watching with a raised brow as the boy spoke to Niekolgoth, Dav fiddled with the thick white material that covered her legs and watched the Purple-Gray out of the corner of her eye as he lifted his head a little higher.

He was still confused and that seemed to make him a bit melancholy. Wiggling her fingers much like she would for a canine, Dav was surprised when Niekolgoth wriggled his way across the sand and plopped his head in her lap. Smiling down at the dragonet, she stroked his nose with two fingers until his eyelids began to droop then turned her head to look at T’vax again. ”What was that about Tiv?”

---

For days Korvalia had been prepared for the hatching. She’d even gotten her “hatching kit” ready and kept it on top of her small writing desk; white robes folded neatly, a carefully coiled leather belt on top of it and a pair of sandals placed just so on the floor beside the desk. It was thus for every hatching she’d been to since she’d been made a Candidate several Turns before. Some of the other Candidates, particularly the ones who were fairly new, giggled about it behind their hands but the young woman ignored them. Then, sure enough, three days after she set out her hatching kit, the thrumming began. Rather than rush to her room in a frenzy like many of the others, Korvalia walked at a brisk yet controlled pace, making quick work of changing into her Candidate robes and tying the decorative belt around her waist to cinch it in—there was nothing worse than looking like she was wearing a sack—before seeing to her hair. A quick brushing assured that everything was in place and that she looked well kempt as she filed out of the barracks with the rest of the female candidates.

Being older and a bit more experienced with the process she ended up entering the Sands near the front of the line and made sure that she had an ideal spot near the center of the group, not too far from the clutch. As the sounds of excitement increased, Korva combed her fingers through her hair once more then fluffed it and patted it down to make sure that there were no flyaway hairs. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, the young woman did her best to look calm though her mind was a bit scattered—for her anyway. This would be her sixth hatching and by far one of the largest she had attended. She’d come to the conclusion back when the clutch had been laid that this would be her final active attempt to become a dragonrider and should she fail to do so she would turn her attention and considerable (in her opinion) skills to garnering the coveted position of the Headwoman’s assistant with the intention of taking over the position should the previous woman step down. It would certain secure her position in the Weyr and allow her to be in a position of power that fulfilled her need for control in her environment.

Doing her best to school her thoughts and steer them away from imminent failure—something she never really liked to think about I the first place—Korvalia turned her attention instead to the clutch which seemed very close to hatching indeed and surveyed the layout of the eggs. Three of the eggs had been placed near Temperanth and before the entire Weyr could get settled, one of the three hatched to a collective gasp followed by silence. The young woman didn’t gasp, however, but rather frowned slightly, a crease appearing between well-groomed brows as she surveyed the strange Hatchling. He—for a female would not be caught did with such a solid build—was large and predominantly a pale silvery color with splotches of what looked to be rust colored metallic markings. Blue eyes drifted to watch the reaction of some of the older riders and Weyrfolk and their expression alone, along with the dragonet’s strange coloring declared that despite his metallic hide, this one was not a good omen for the clutch.

Smoothing out her features so that they were serene if not particularly inviting, Korvalia watched next as the Chrome (the word she heard whispered the most and passed along the ranks of the Candidates) barreled in amongst the rest of the clutch, knocking into one of his siblings’ eggs and causing it to split almost exactly in half—she noticed the slight discrepancy of course—revealing a Gray that seemed to recover from his abrupt hatching rather quickly only to start over towards the females.

Her pert nose wrinkled slightly at the sight of the male dragonet perusing the female candidates. It had never sat easy with her that some dragons seemed inclined to cross-impress. It just made things messy and confusing and…disorderly. This whole mess with the Silverlights was a constant sore spot for the young woman, flying in the face of her desire for order in her life. It wasn’t just Silverlights though; it was all other colors as well; male greenriders, female blueriders…all of them made her just a little bit insane and forced her to clamp down on the desire to point a damning finger and shout ‘WRONG’ at the dragon and rider pairs. Of course she didn’t have too long to stew about this particular perversion to order as several, if not all of the eggs began to wiggle and jerk until finally one of them cracked and fell apart to reveal an Aurora with a rather curious personality it would seem as rather than turn her attention to the candidates, she began inspecting the other eggs, becoming startled when one of the smaller eggs ejected a tiny white dragonet.

It was during this interaction that the first Impression took place, the Gray finally deciding on the proper Candidate for him. Korvalia’s lip curled as she watched the mismatched pair leave the vicinity then staunchly turned her attention back to the hatching eggs as yet another dragon hatched, this one a Sunlance and as he moved towards the female candidates, Korva stiffened, a faint muscle twitch starting just to the left of her nose. So far, in her opinion the hatched dragonets seemed to be purposely trying to drive her insane.

Refusing to look at the Sunlance, Korvalia turned her attention instead to the Aurora and White hatchlings before scanning the eggs, trying to determine which of them might hatch next. It was while she was gauging the clutch that the Aurora finally made her move and to the young woman’s relief, chose a female candidate. The tension around her mouth eased as she finally spotted the next egg to hatch, watching as a pink dragonet spilled forth then tipped her head up, her ungainly wings dropping. For the moment the Pink seemed otherwise occupied with something on the ceiling, or perhaps a sound given the way her head tilted slightly to one side. Turning her attention back to the White dragonet, Korvalia was pleased to see that the little dragoness seemed to have come to her senses and was making her way towards the female candidates when another egg hatched, startling the little thing.

The hatchling that had so startled the white had the young woman narrowing her eyes to attempt to see more clearly. For the most part he seemed to be a Purple but there was something different about his legs and tail. A two-toned dragon! And as she watched, only mildly curious about the hatchling—for he was male and therefore not the one for her—he backed away from the candidates then plopped onto the sands at his mother’s feet.

It wasn’t long before the White recovered and then turned her attention once more to the female Candidates and once she did it seemed that she found her choice and the pair exited, gaining a faint nod from the young woman. Reaching up to tuck a clump of hair the colored of ripened wheat behind her ear, the hatching of another Sunlance drew Korvalia’s attention and several things happened at once, making it nearly impossible to keep up with the spur of Impressions and hatchings. The Pink seemed to disappear though Korva wasn’t sure who it had Impressed to ad now there were two more vibrantly colored dragonets on the sand to join the two Sunlances and the Purple-Gray. Before she could so much as register the hatching, more dragons spilled from their eggs and the hatching descended into chaos and she was hard pressed to keep up.

Was this dragon a male or female? Where did that dragon go? It was all very confusing until finally Korvalia decided that it would be easier to just clear her mind of all thoughts and relax. She only tensed and slipped out of the way when the Purple-Gray perked up and came bound towards the female Candidates. Her eyes became chips of ice as she stared at the hatchling, as though daring it to even think about choosing her. It did not and once more she relaxed until the larger egg near Temperanth hatched, revealing yet another Silverlight; that controversial color. However, there was something different about this one; the set of the shoulders, the width of the tail…if she didn’t know any better…

Tearing her eyes away from the bizarre and even troubling Silverlight as it looked to be taking its time in deciding whether or not it cared to venture forth. Glancing down the line of candidates in either direction she was surprised to find the numbers diminished and more than a little perturbed that she was still standing. The Hatching wouldn’t latch for much longer; they never did. As three more eggs hatched, revealing a disgruntled Midnight, a congenial Moonlight and an exhausted Dream, Korvalia was unable to stop her mind from beginning to plan for what might be inevitable. She would approach the Headwoman during the Hatching feast and inquire about a position as an assistant on a trial basis. Of course, naturally the position would become permanent as she was hardly incompetent and from there it would only be a matter of time and patience before she could take over as Headwoman. Give it a decade at least and she’d have everything in ship shape, yes indeed.

As her mind wandered, her eyes travelled back to the Silverlight, her face slack but for the faint pursing of her lips. If Silverlights were both male and female, then perhaps they were like the Ice dragons—not that that was a particularly good thing in Korva’s opinion as Ice’s didn’t seem particularly picky in whom they chose—and had they chosen the proper genders things probably wouldn’t be nearly as tense as they were. Male Queenriders…her lip curled and she could only wonder if now she would have to suffer the existence of a female Kingrider as well.

[Kyralih]

Though focused still on the Silverlight, Liera was not ignorant of the race heading straight for her, her eyes glancing momentarily away from the silver-sheened black dragon to the pair of Aurora dragonets careening her way, then back to the Queen. The pair of them were cute, competing like that to reach their Chosen before the other, and while she wanted to see which candidate they were heading towards, she had to focus on the task at hand. Tikra with a Queen would be a nightmare. If there were any way she could stop it – but then the racing duo were too far into her periphery and she had to break contact, a sixth sense telling her to move out of the way or be knocked over.

One of them – a cute little guy of blues and greens – had broken into a dash, leaving the other behind as he won their little competition, but looked like his intention was to knock her over. She braced for impact, but the stout little fellow halted promptly before her, looking up at her with adoring eyes, all legs and head and tail, and she was his immediately. She smiled broadly as he rushed to announce himself.

~LieraMine! I got you first! Minloth has won![/i]~[/color] He breathed quickly to catch his breath, his eyes whirling with pleasure, a feeling that she reflected back to him, unable to do anything else, thoughts of the Silverlight and Tikra gone from her mind for the moment as she rejoiced with him. Quickly, though, his mind seemed to change tracks as he quizzically tilted his head to the side, ~Perhaps I could get a victory snack, LieraMine? I’m hungry.[/i][/color]~

Liera laughed, “Of course! You deserve it, Minloth!” She lifted her gaze from his eager eyes to find the feeding tables, spying Daeka and her little Sunlance easily, and they started walking together across the sands to get there. As an afterthought, she glanced back over her shoulder to see what had come of Tikra, her smile fading when she saw the other little Aurora dragonet, Minloth’s brother, standing near her, gazing up at her in obvious Impression. She wondered then if it were a sign – did the dragonet’s competition with each other, and their being Aurora, a color with characteristics meant for battle, signify something more? That she and Tikra would be competing against each other in the future? The corner of her lip tilted up in a confident half-smile: she could handle that.

[Nicole]

Nickta and Liakyrith simultaneously noted the Impressions, both admiring the zealous nature of the brothers. Active and happy dragonets, straight from the Egg, pleased both of them greatly.

Neither one of them ever had to discuss why.

She weaved her way through the crowd until she came up behind Tamaruk, tapping him carefully on the shoulder. "Hello, Tamaruk. Enjoying the Hatching? And do introduce me to your friend."