From Ruin Comes Rebirth (HATCHING) [V]

[Cait]

Barrek was indifferent to the candidates that managed to get back to their feet. Aside from his own flesh and blood he tended to loathe anyone under the age of twenty as a rule. He certainly knew a few young ones that had proven to be quite irritating for the past year or more. It was when one of the other candidates--a girl he didn't recognize--suddenly had a crazed outburst that he started paying attention.

The girl was either having a fit or she was deranged but there was something about her that struck him as...potentially useful. Clearly she loathed anything unnatural, perhaps a bit more vocally than was advisable given the company she was in and what had just happened. Her point about the hatchlings mauling people was moot; it was a well known fact that any hatchling, if properly spooked or angered would lash out at anyone in their path. A brief, faint smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. Once the girl had been dragged down off her soap box and off the sands--which was likely to happen if she didn't shut up and play along like a nice little candidate--he'd have to keep an eye on her.

[Jay Kitten]

The Ice Queen had taken to shifting about uncomfortably as she noticed the agitation in her children. They hadn't Impressed yet, they were Hatching slowly, and they were afraid. There was no doubt in her mind that this forced Hatching was caused by those blasted humans defiling her clutch. But all was not right, and she could only try to encourage the dragonets into Impressing, telling them it would be safe. She reassuringly nudged the Aurora again, who was panicked and clawing at the Sands trying not to be pushed forward.

Behind the little swirly-colored dragonet, however, there were still more eggs. The grey that had Hatched seemed hesitant to even move, jumpy as he was, and he rolled over in the Sand, creeling in distress. Where were his siblings?! There were supposed to be more! He ran hopping toward the Candidates, bashing into Andromedae in his tantrum, flailing at a few of the other Candidates, trying to get them away from him. They all needed to leave, they couldn't be here right now! It was dangerous!

Another egg was breaking, and soon it seemed that it would yield it's inhabitant. The cloudy blue egg was starting to zig-zag with collapsible areas, the egg's shell weakening more and more. But still, the other eggs rocked, and still, the large one in the middle lie mostly still. The icy blue one with the hole in it toppled over, and crawling into the Sand came those yellow, red, orange claws; it seemed to be coming out sideways, and soon it was apparent that those were not the only colors in it's hide. Deep, dark blue overlapped with wisps of purple covered the entire lower half of the dragonet, the firey hide up above attestation to it's true hue. It was a Flame, the likes of which had never been seen before. He was the hottest flame by far, his blues being much more pronounced all over the bottom of his hide, having much more than normal, plus the addition of violets boiling at the bottom of his legs and rump. His tail was completely covered by the darker colors, but his upper body roared to life with the fire all it's own, his wings spewing flames into the air as they unfolded. He- surprisingly enough- mustered a roar, however tiny, and his raging red eyes tore anger into the Candidates as his gaze fell upon them. He bolted off, out for blood, immediately finding a young man closest and pouncing the poor fellow, his jaws locking on the boy's shoulder, tearing at him as his face moved left and right, until he finally tore hard down to his heart. As the male fell over with a yell of terror, it was apparent that he wasn't going to ever get back up, fresh blood now coating the maw of the burning little dragon. His claws dug in as he crawled over the unmoving boy, his eyes now set on a new target.

This time, he looked over to Lavan, and in the background the Grey screamed and fled from the angry dragonet, running away and hopping over pieces of eggshells that had been left by the cleanup crews and mixed in with the newer ones from those eggs that had Hatched. He tripped and fell, his face getting sandy as he slid into the dust.

The Flame's eyes, however, had settled on Lavan, and he was slowly stalking toward him, breathing in and out of his nose loudly. The thrum of the dragons about them had increased again, the breasts of the larger dragons vibrating with the force of their noise. Step by step he moved closer, shaking the blood from his maw, snorting as he finally lunged, his teeth latching onto Lavan's right arm, just above his wrist. With force, he pulled and tugged not unlike a canine playing with a toy, ripping at his skin and creating several small gashes.

But all was not lost... Back at the clutch, an egg had shattered perfectly in two, it's occupant spurred on by the rivalry it felt. The other icy blue egg, the opposite of the Flame, had Hatched silently, and without warning a deep Blue hide graced the Sands, vivid and striking. He was tall for his color, and muscular, a real match to the physique of the terrible Flame. With a small roar of his own, he flung himself at the other dragon, ramming him in the side and spilling him away from the Candidates.

That was when, finally, the silence was broken by one of the new dragon's voices, produced for anyone nearby to hear:

You are out of line![/color] the Blue said, to his rival, whom snorted in displeasure.

But it is you who will be shown the error of his ways![/color] shot back the Flame, who had now decided to turn his fury unto the Blue dragon instead. The two met, a flurry of tooth and claw as they slammed roughly against one another, the Flame's force winning out and toppling them both backward into Lavan, rolling him over. They thrashed near him, the Blue obviously fighting to keep him at bay, away from the boy, before in a strength only one of his muscular aptitude could manage, hoisted the Flame with a mixture of his neck, arms, and wings, and threw him a few feet back, following up with a lunge of his own.

As the two quarreled, all hell seemed to be released with the others. The Grey and his whining only worsened, the Aurora's fear went through the roof, mauling yet another Candidate nearby. Joelall happened to be just a bit too close, and the Aurora's terror pushed it to fling itself against him, claws scratching at his legs as it pushed him back harshly, ramming him in the stomach with it's headknobs. It panicked and ran once more, this time tripping over the Purple, who rolled over in a rather acrobatic display, ending up back on his feet in time to start chasing his own tail again.

Nonono! Go away away! Awayawayaway! DON'T TOUCH ME![/color] He continued his pattern of running in a circle, seemingly thinking that that was the best way to avoid any sort of conflict.

Further back, now, the egg with the yellow tail had finally made a breakthrough, in the form of first one, then another foot coming through the bottom of the eggshell. It seemed as though they matched the tail, and as it stood, it wobbled back and forth, it's balance completely thrown off by the presence of the heavy shell. It teetered, and tottered, smacking into the remaining small egg, the cloudy blue one, before it wobbled away, tripping over itself and causing itself to roll over the small sandy hill that was near where the eggs had been, rolling down and over the green egg's remains, all the way back to the wall near where Aiya stood. It tried to get up again, but fell over, having much difficulty. The Ice Queen was very concerned about that particular egg, it had taken a blow and it's inhabitant seemed to be having a whole load of trouble.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Lavan watched as a Flame burst from the egg and onto the Sands with a roar. A miniature roar, but a roar still.

That is more like it, that is how you greet adversity! Lavan thought, watching as the Flame stalked forward towards one of the other Candidates. Suddenly, the Flame lunged forward grabbing the other boy with his teeth and shaking him, shaking him until he lay bleeding on the Sands, eyes already glassing over.

Lavan didn’t realize he was gaping as the Flame turned that red-eyed stare on him. The dragonet came closer, blowing hard through its nostrils. Lavan had a few seconds to make a decision, and he made it, stepping forward towards the dragonet and staring at it, as if he could somehow convince it to turn back.

He was not successful in that endeavor. The Flame charged forward, lunging at Lavan like it had at the other boy. Lavan’s right arm snapped up, the basic block of a surprised swordsman, and the Flame’s jaws came down. His body was jerked from side-to-side as the Flame shook him, like a canine would a toy, and he didn’t have any way to ground his feet so that he could attempt to strike a return blow. He didn’t notice the Blue burst out into the world, or hear its roar as it charged forward. He didn’t notice anything, in fact, until the Blue slammed into the Flame, driving it away.

You are out of line!

What the…?

Lavan lay sprawled on his side, having staggered to the ground when the Flame’s jaws let go. He was just starting to push himself up when the Flame sprang for the Blue, simultaneous with the Blue’s own forward spring.

But it is you who will be shown the error of his ways!

The two dragonets slammed into each other, and rolled back until they were nearly on top of Lavan, then the Blue somehow threw the Flame back and lunged forward once more.

Lavan pushed himself upright. “Go on, you can do it!” he shouted, unclear even in his own mind which dragonet he was cheering for. He didn’t notice the Aurora stumble into the Purple, or the Purple’s retreat. He didn’t notice even the little egg and the yellow tail grow legs and go rolling towards the wall. All his attention was locked on the fight. He didn’t even notice the Chrome dragon swooping around overhead.

[Cait]

Barrek didn't have long to focus on the outspoken girl as the Hatching proceeded to get quite interesting. The weyrsmith even leaned forward in genuine interest as one of the eggs spilled forth a rather unique looking flame. A flame that promptly decided that it was going to go on a terrible yet oh so very entertaining rampage. It's first victim became the first casualty of the actual hatching if the destroyed eggs weren't to be counted. Barrek watched with rapt attention though he was ever conscious not to allow a twisted smile to take presidence over the scowl.

One less obnoxious young person in the world.

Barrek slowly settled back in his seat as he watched the progress of the flame. The hatchling's attention shifted to another of the Candidates; Brencis' boy and Barrek was unable to keep a soft snort from escaping him. Luckily no one was really paying attention to him at the moment. The woman beside him had her face covered and had turned into the smith's arm earning her an eye roll while the man on his other side was talking to someone behind him. The little lordling didn't move out of the way fast enough and the flame latched on. Before he could go the way of the first candidate--wouldn't that have just been a stroke of good luck--a blue broke shell and entered into the fray, declaring the flame out of line.

Barrek raised a brow and continued to watch, intent on the display of violence as the blue forced the flame away from the sprawled lordling. The boy was daft, cheering on the fight like it was sport...another lad to keep his eye on and certainly one that might be used in future to further their schemes. The other hatchlings were blatantly ignored in favor of the two brawling hatchlings. Never had he seen a hatching this eventful in his twenty-eight years of life. Not once. Twitterpest, disturbed by the violence, tucked herself beneath Barrek's ear and hummed softly, surprised when the smith didn't shoo her away immediately.

[Kaya]

Eira was standing with the senior healers, Wivish doing scans and evaluations. One could not properly treat a patient if they didn't know what was wrong in the first place. Yes, some numbing and liquids were sure to help in this state, but anything more specific would need to come from analysis.

Eira....There is something wrong.

In a whirl of light blonde hair the LifeWing Rider turned to glare at Wivish. Obviously something was wrong with them, look at them. They were a mess.

No, not-- Linked, feel them with me. Wivish insisted, letting out a low, analyzing note once again. Eira slowly allowed her mind to become closer to Wivish's, she felt their songs shakily start to come together. She was hesitating, it wasn't helping. Eira sighed, dropped her shoulders and released herself into Wivish's sensations. Immediately she felt what Wivish had described as "wrong". They weren't LifeWing Riders, their bonds to their dragons were made differently, but still, there was something wrong. Their songs too faint, cloudy, as if locked away somewhere. It sent a bone chilling shiver down their spines. What could have the power to interfere with the very being of a person? Eira backed away from Wivish, a physical step and a mental recoil.

I see. she thought, staring at them with perplexed blue eyes. And we cannot inquire while they are in this state.

Wivish went back to work, but even though she could see the surface level injuries she could not feel them. They were too small, too faint in the fog, in the wool that muffled their songs. So instead she looked for major injuries, internal bleeding, broken bones, things she knew better how to fix from their work with the new mothers of the north.

With enough other hands in the way, hands more skilled in cuts and scraps than her baby-delivering ones, Eira turned back to the Sands. What she saw made her lips fall apart into a small expression of horror. A Flame had just killed a Candidate boy, the amount of blood on the ground and the injuries deep into his chest testified to that. If that had been all, she would have felt despair enough, failure to her duties as a LifeWing Rider (though a small voice asked what she could have done? It was a risk Dragon Candidates agreed to when they accepted that rank). No, what kept her eyes locked in horror was that Flame stalking towards none other than her brother. Lavan. She had already feared for him, when that Silverlight Rider A'mir was freed, battered and starved, she had mistaken him for Lavan. But this time, there was her brother, there could be no other so prideful. "LAVAN!" she cried, hands flying to her face, her heart dropping. Tears were stopped by cold terror as the Flame sunk its teeth into her blood's arm. This was wrong, she was supposed to keep people well, but she couldn't heal the dead...

A Blue came to Lavan's rescue and knocked away the Flame. Her brother looked shocked, rightly so, was the wound on his arm that bad? His blood loss was not on the scale of that other boy. He would live without aid, even after the Hatching though it would surely be provided then. As such she could not interfere with the way of the dragons. The last thing the Weyr needed was tensions with the Aerie as well. That Lavan spoke encouraged her, but her heart was still racing for his safety, and that of the bold Blue who had saved him. She owed that dragon her brother's life, in all likelihood. She would repay that debt, somehow.

[Terayne]

Silence was all that came from the shadows where the young Lady was standing, her eyes filled with tears of fury, of sadness, and pain raging in her heart. This was not how it was supposed to be at all. Hatchlings were not supposed to Hatch fearful, not supposed to come into a world that seemingly despised their very existence! The vocality of the one little twit actually had Aiya growling under her breath. She didn't know what she was talking about. Shards for all they knew SHE had been among those who had done this! She certainly sounded like it.

Shaking with fury, Aiya remained where she stood, just watching, horrified as the Flame came into the world raging. His colors were beautiful, but his temper was not, not at all, and his slaying of the first candidate he came across and attempted slaying of the second only confirmed that this Hatching was horrifically wrong. The Blue's intervention was the only good thing she had seen thus far, his actions saving the young man's life. Her hands fisted as the two began fighting, but she didn't dare intervene, lest she become like that first young man, as much as her heart screamed this was wrong.

Turning, she looked away from it, done with it, not even noticing the egg that came to a halt near her, her strides already taking her away from the chaos. This was not why she had come here. She had not come to see death, pain and destruction. She wanted no part of it...

[shapeshifter]

Before Andromedae could dive out of the way, the Grey dragonet came crashing into her. She was sent to the ground on her back, raising up with a look of disbelief in her eyes. She sat there for a moment until the Flame not only broke his shell but latched down on the young man, ending his life. She was at her feet but knew nothing good came from getting in the way of a new Hatchling. She stepped back, knowing another mauling was next.

Too bad it was her 'beautiful man', Lavan. Her lips parted and she gasped as his teeth locked on Lavan's arm. Her eyes widened to their fullest extent when the Blue dragonet came raging towards the Flame. He was not a small Blue, he stood a chance which was apparent when the Blue collided with the Flame.

He sent the Flame tumbling from Lavan, which gave Andromedae slight relief on her heart. These dragonets were out of control and it wouldn't be long till another person was mauled. Luckily Andromedae had come out with minor scratches from the Grey.

~~~~~


Joelall wasn't much luckier than Lavan. When the Flame and Blue met on the Sands to scrap, it scared the Aurora who had already managed to work a number over on other Candidates. Joelall wasn't quite far enough away, and managed to be caught up with the Aurora. He felt its talons drag across his leg, searing pains forming with instant heat radiating across.

Before he could finish taking a breath his was sent flat on his back by a breath taking blow to the stomach by the dragonet's head knobs. He lay there for a moment, trying recover from being beaten up by a dragonet. He then took a deep breath and rocked backwards to his shoulders. He pushed himself up, arching his back and jumping to his feet. He stood there on edge, waiting to see what Hatched out next. This Hatching was too bloody to let his guard down, compelling him to ignore the white hot pain in his leg.

[mirror]

Some people might think that once things got this bad, with dragonets mauling candidates, a girl spewing hatred, and no one doing anything about it, it might finally get better. After all, it surely couldn't get any worse, right?

Those people would be wrong.

The dragonets were getting more and more scared and it showed. For a moment Garna was silent, pausing to sneer at the pitiful little beasts. This was it? These little things were what was often hailed as the saviors of Pern? These creatures, afraid for what seemed like no reason at all. The destruction was over, they were in no danger. Yet they acted out like little children. Of course, they basically were little children, but she didn't realize that. She also didn't realize that their colors had nothing to do with the maulings. It all came down to one thing for her, mutants were bad, and it must be because of the mutants that people were getting hurt.

Then another egg hatched to reveal a flame. Oh, but not any flame, this flame was oddly colored. A freak among freaks, a true monstrosity. Pure hatred showed on her face for a moment. However, when that flame killed a boy that hatred turned to something else. Fear. For a moment Garna was scared. She tried to hide it, yes, but it was still very there.

The flame seemed to find a new victim and began to approach Lavan. Garna braced herself for the mauling, no, killing. However, before anything could happen something else did. A small icy egg hatched to reveal a blue. A real, proper dragon, the first from this hatching. Of course it couldn't be hers seeings as it was a male but she was still happy to see it.

A foolish blue that went and got in the flame's way, trying to protect the boy. For a moment Garna watched the two fight and was frozen. Then something welled up inside her, a flame inside herself. Anger, passion, a protectiveness that she had not felt for a long while. With a screech she lunged at the flame, trying to push off of the blue. "No," she exclaimed, "you will not hurt him!" Garna was many things. People called her crazy, deranged, unstable, cruel, a bigot, and a traitor. But do you know what else she was? Strong, physically and mentally.

That flame would know her strength.

[summerrain]

Yuki gasped softly when the Hatchlings started attacking the Candidates. She watched a boy with hair as blonde as hers try to dodge away from the dragonets, only to get caught in it all. Her eyes went wide, and she quickly hopped onto Ayleneth. "Get me down there now," she said urgently. Ayleneth quickly glided down to the entrance of the Sands, where the boy, barely seventeen Turns, was being pulled off the Sands, his white Candidacy robe stained red with blood.

"Chiara!" Yuki called, climbing quickly off her Aurora and running to her brother's side. "Chiara, you're going to be alright."

"Sis... You made it..." said the boy softly. He scowled as pain shot through his body, then looked up at her. "I wish I'd Impressed, sis... I was one of the last Candidates Searched from Icy Caverns after all... Maybe... Maybe if I'd Impressed..."

"What are you saying Chiara?!" Yuki muttered, tears rolling down her face. "You'll heal, and then you'll Impress a wonderful dragon!" Chiara uttered a weak laugh.

"I would've loved to ride an Aurora as amazing as Ayleneth," he whispered. "But... I guess I'll just wait..." His eyes closed. Yuki gasped.

"Someone, help!" she cried. "Chiara, stay with me... Please... Don't die!"

((I'm just NPCing him for a bit. Maybe after this I'll actually make him into a real character. ))

[Jay Kitten]

Right about now, the Sands looked quite chaotic. The Candidates were scattered, either trying to be courageous and stand up to the dragons, or flee their wrath. The dragonets were afraid, scurrying this way and that, and generally nipping, biting, or scratching at everybody whom got too close. The dragons around them were louder than ever, many of those in the Stands having to leave or cover their ears out of the sheer pain. Bits of shell were everywhere, the Sands upturned by the flailing, fighting, biting dragons ruining the previously smooth texture of it all, causing ripples and rifts in the fine grains.

Many of the Candidates had had blood drawn already, and even now two of the dragonets were mauling others, the Grey and Aurora having torn into more of the closer Candidates. One ended up with a large gash over their eye, another lost a couple fingers to a hungry maw. But nothing compared to the two fighting over yonder, the Blue having tried to pin down the Flame, and the Flame biting, clawing, pushing against him. His hide was broken in a few places by the talons, ichor staining his blue hide, howling in pain as he kept the other at bay. But it would be short-lived, as soon enough the Flame overpowered him, pushing him back and away, the Blue stumbling backwards. Stopped suddenly, however, the Flame found a second contender pushing him away, and he looked up to see... A girl? In rage, he howled, and dove upon her, his jaws locking about her leg as he tore at her flesh, the Blue pushing now against him and scratching the girl's hip in his attempt to save her. Their wings battered her, Garna's own foolishness forcing her to take damage. In the confusion, the Flame's long neck reached between her legs, and his jaws now locked on another target, hard down on the Blue's tail, halfway to his rump. It was there that he locked in place, and with another roar of pain, the Blue tried to pull away, pushing back against Garna and the Flame. He rolled, pushed, flailed, all in attempt to get away.

It was hopeless, no matter what anybody could do, the dragons were in a scared flurry of attack and flee, and they didn't seem to want to quit any time soon. And now, joining them, was yet another egg, cracked open by a bash to the wall caused by stumbling in a lack of balance. The yellow-tailed egg had finally cracked open, and falling backwards, the dragonet fell onto it's rump, looking around in confusion. It was a Citrine, though quite vivid for it's hue. It's eyes were strange, one was swirling a mixture of purple and blue, and the other, of red and yellow. It's head tilted to the side, and it leaned forward to get up, managing for a couple seconds before it plopped chin-first into the sand. It's hind legs pushed it, and it slid forward, running up a lump of dust all over it's nose and body. As it stumbled, it picked up speed and finally managed to pull up, though it was a very imbalanced run, and pretty soon it plopped down again, whining as it's inability to keep itself upright. But with a nudge from it's mother, it got some help, able to brace itself on her nose as she crooned with worry. With an uneasy step, it finally moved forward, it's eyes changing, the left one shedding the purple for green, and the right one shedding the red for purple. It still looked confused, but now it was up, able to walk for the most part as it loped about randomly.

The cloudy blue egg, as well, finally broke, shattering and falling to pieces as the dragonet inside pushed it's way out. It spilled onto the sand, a mixture of dark blacks and blues, some lighter tones filtering through. A Midnight, standing up, and looking about proudly. Although soon, after his eyes laid on what was going on, he seemed to hesitate, before that fear touched his eyes as well. He retreated toward his mother, though soon he found himself pushed back the other way by the Ice. Looking back toward her, for a moment, he hesitated again, then stepped forward. With a screech of dislike, he snapped toward some of the closer Candidates, keeping them away. This wasn't a pleasant atmosphere at all!

The dragons continued their behavior, seemingly unwilling to go forth and Impress. Their minds hadn't touched the Candidate's yet, and still they snapped, and scurried, and flailed away from the thought. It was havoc unprecedented. The Flame's clutch on the Blue especially, it's jaws locked and unable to be broken. The wriggling of the Blue's body combined with the constant compression from the Flame soon caused the unthinkable to happen, and with a crack his bone broke, and his tail was severed. The Flame, now free from the Blue, let him retreat and instead turned his attentions to Garna, flipping her over into the sands and scratching at her with his lower claws, raking across her stomach and sides before he pushed her away, and rolled to stand, giving out another small roar. The Blue was beside himself with pain, rushing away. Would it ever end? The dragon's hum picked up and finally reached it's peak, encouraging the dragonets now to make their choice or die in the process. And suddenly, without warning, the heralding of the end came.

With explosive force, the final egg shattered near the top, and one pure, white wing unfolded through the hole. Then another, the right side, the white and grey-swirled egg producing two large, ivory wings. But this egg, it was much too large for a White to be inside... The people in the Stands murmured to themselves, some in utter disbelief. There was no way! What could it be?! And, as if in reaction to the last egg being shattered, the Purple, Midnight, Grey, and Aurora all stopped where they stood, calming down immediately and looking toward the large egg, as though waiting. The Flame continued his havoc, tearing into yet another Candidate's back, the Blue now in too much pain to stop him.

One Candidate, however, would hear something no others could. A voice, shooting through her mind. Aiya was the recipient, and the voice was calm, unnervingly so.

Do not go,[/b] it said, I know your pain. The emotions you feel... They are not wrong.

[Terayne]

Do not go. I know your pain. The emotions you feel... They are not wrong.

Aiya froze as the voice slid into her thoughts, remaining where she stood as she tried to process what had just occurred. Her head turned back towards the Sands, and her body followed its lead as confusion and curiosity got the better of her. What?

She came to the same place she had stood the entire Hatching, and immediately sensed the change in some of the hatchlings, their calm expectancy. It seemed to have been triggered by the largest egg, which she now looked to, seeing the wings from either side of it. Blinking, she stayed where she stood, aware of the screams of pain from the Flame's newest victim, the squeals from the Blue, and after a moment, she moved forwards towards the largest egg, her eyes locked on those shining wings, feeling the cool calm it exuded. She was only barely aware of what she was doing, of moving, but she felt no fear, only the same calm expectancy of the eggs Clutchmates...

[mirror]

Pain.

That was all she felt, all that was left. Horrible, searing pain. She wanted to help, to do something nice, to help the only real dragonet on the sands, a creature about to be killed by the mutants. But now there was only pain. Talons tore into her, that horrid flame bit into her leg, severing several veins and beginning what would become severe bloodloss. It was like nothing she had ever felt in her life.

But she did not scream.

To scream was to show her pain, show some sort of weakness. She could not let them think she was weak. Some crying little girl torn apart by other people's words, giving in and sobbing when things got bad. She was no Rekkora. She was Garna, she was stronger than that. She had to be.

So she would not cry.

But crying or not, no matter how strong she was mentally, she was only human, and her body had it's limits. When the clawing stopped, when the blue ran off, tail missing but alive, when the flame wandered away to continue his massacre, she remained on the ground. All she could do was watch the sky, watch the sky and keep herself from crying or screaming. While blood slowly oozed from most of her wounds it was gushing from her leg. An artery had not been severed, no, but plenty of veins had and the blood loss would be bad.

If she made it.

Garna refused to call for help, refused to admit that she was down. Instead she stared at the sky and tried to hold on to her strength.

She was alone in the world.

And if she would die alone on this day then so be it.

[shapeshifter]

Andromedae stood there on edge watching the pure stupidity Garna had managed to muster. She was braced for another tackling from a dragonet. She was still hurting from the Grey's damage it caused but more concerned with the fighting dragonets. The Flame had managed to hold her attention during this time, its will to fight and cause damage was unrivaled.

Then a Citrine and a Midnight? How beautiful! She watched as they came from their shells to join the rest of their brothers and sisters. It seemed as if it was a matter of time before they mauled someone as well.

Andromedae grew sick as the young dragonets tail was bitten in half, knowing it would be crippled. Then that crack, that cracking noise that silenced all but the Blue and Flame. She whirled around on edge to face the largest egg, which called out to Aiya from within. She grew slightly jealous of Aiya that she had Impressed, however it was good to see an Impression was being made.

~~~~~~~~~~

Joelall stood in awe at the whole scene. He had backed away from the haphazard semi-circle that was blood and ichor stained from the sands to the Candidates robes. He was even bleeding. He stood there with white hot pain searing through his body, waiting to see what dragonets Impressed.

The Citrine and Midnight made their way from their shells and onto the Sand just in time for the largest egg to break shell. Joelall could only stand there, his body frozen on the spot from a mixture of amazement and fear of these dragonets. He wasn't even sure if one of them was his mine. That was the biggest question on his mind.

It was evident though that Aiya had found her mine. Joelall watched as she stepped towards the largest egg, waiting to see the body attached to the wings that had erupted.

[Jay Kitten]

The confusion was coming, now, the violence having stopped save for the Flame's hungry rampage, but he too soon heralded the coming of the large egg's inhabitant, freezing in place as he saw more cracks forming between those two wings. The left, and the right wing both seemed to wiggle, attempting to struggle free of their shell, and he frowned in that draconic way, huffing a hot breath through his nostrils again. This was pathetic, everybody so entranced. Did they have no spine? And that Blue, such a coward. Retreating simply because he lost his tail. He turned his back to the large egg.

The Midnight approached the egg, and nudged it with his nose, seeming to be investigating. He was largely untouched by the violence, but his fear and unease was obvious in the swirling of his eyes. Backing away, he seemed to think once more, before he looked over his shoulder toward the Candidates. The Grey had finally ceased cowering, and he brightened up, checking the egg out, though when he looked too to the Candidates, his heart seemed to sink and he drooped, like a flower wilting. The Citrine seemed not to care much for anything happening, and instead went about her way slinking about, wobbling around, her lack of balance quite obvious as those non-matching eyes continued to change through a whole range of emotions, showing different on either side. That was not right, the Ice noted, she had never quite seen a dragon's eyes not match, nor one whom didn't seem to mind violence, as though it wasn't even happening.

The Purple seemed to grow excited now, and he resumed his circles, only obviously not out of fear anymore. He paced about, even going so far as to weave in between some of his siblings. And the Aurora, her head turned upward, was glancing at all of the dragons egging them on.

The large egg finally began to yield, but the first indication of oddity came when one of the white wings folded back into the shell, the other one angling as though it's occupant had turned over. Out from the hole where the right wing had been, came another left wing, this one pitch black and darker than even the Midnight.

The Flame didn't seem to mind much anymore, and he turned his attention to Sesthynat and his brother, whom were close together, pouncing between the two and whipping his tail at their legs, claws and teeth bearing down first on Sesth's arm, then turning to bite at Sentysen's ankles. But now, the Blue, with courage regained, knocked him away again with a stiff shoulder, hissing and circling him now as the final egg split.

The pieces were gouged away by claws of various hues, either pitch black or bright white as the crescendo of humming dragons urged them outward, and it became apparent that the size of the egg was not due to it's holding a large dragon, but rather two small ones. However, it was completely impossible to tell where one dragonet began and the other ended, they were rightly tangled about one another almost in a ball shape, with four wings going every which-way encircled by tails of opposing colors. They rolled about, pulling and pushing at one another until they finally broke free, and the glint the Ice's eye showed quite how proud she was now feeling.

Two dragonets slowly stood, proud and tall, their hides looking as though they spilled into one another's so perfectly that it was like they had been split in two and swapped in half. One was slightly taller, and distinctly more masculine, his hide a dark, deep black with a milky white covering part of his left side, his left wing a complete contrast to his right, white and black respectively. His sister, slightly smaller, more regal, dainty, was of opposite hues; predominantly, she was white, with one solid ivory wing and the other completely ebony, her whole tail white though near her rump a clump of black started and finished near her neck.

It became apparent to all that these were dual-color dragons, one Black-White, the other White-Black, and neither seemed afraid. They looked to one another, then to their siblings, their eyes lighting up with pleasant blues and bright greens. Together they stepped toward the Candidates, pushing passed the Purple and Grey, who let them by, both seemed quite happy with their whole remaining clutch out on the Sands.

The Black-White, however, broke away from his sister and instead moved toward the Flame and Blue, who were still snapping at each other in anger. He pushed between them, separating them and flicking his tail or a wing at either who tried to get too close.

You shall not quarrel any longer, or I will see to it both of you are hurt. The look in his eye was quite serious, and the Blue nodded, ceasing his agression and instead taking his bleeding tail and heading for the Candidates. But the Flame didn't seem to want any of it, and he huffed again, turning his back on the scene. If they didn't agree that these humans were a pitiful lot, then he would go to himself. He moved to the wall, and stared at himself in the ice. Most of his body was unmarred, that Blue couldn't have stood a real chance against him. He was the best, he was the hottest flame of all...

But it was to everybody's surprise now that the Sands had fallen quiet, aside from the humming of the dragons, as incredibly intense as it was. It was time, and the two dual-color dragons brought peace to their clutchmates.

Stepping forward, the excitable little Purple decided he would go first, and he moved to the half-circle, walking the line, examining each and every Candidate with precision. He sniffed at their underarms, poked them in the gut with his nose, or gave them an experimental lick on their hand. At times, he even seemed to jump at the chance to touch one of their minds, when he felt they were just as outgoing as he. But it wasn't so, the one he chose would not be outgoing at all.

YOU! You are Mine, Minemine. J'lall, you! If you no wanna have fun, Majith MAKE you have fun![/color] He was beside himself with joy, now, and he bounced all about in circles around the boy, bumping against him, and licking his hands and stepping onto his hide legs to lick at his cheeks. His eyes held the other's, and they slowly began to spark up, flooding then with color after another in the rainbow known as Impression. Finally, one of the Candidates had been chosen, and the crowd went wild, cheering and hollering with the dragons as they hummed.

Dragonet Profile #1
Name: Majith
Hue: Purple (9900CC)
Personality: Majith is hyperactive. That is to say, even for a Purple, he is hyperactive. His mindvoice can run a mile a second, and often times it does so, much to the dismay of Rider and fellow dragon. He is outgoing, happy, and completely crazy when it comes to suggesting what he would like to do that day. He is loud and boisterous, even on days he's feeling down, and absolutely loves parties. Social to the last, he will likely drag his Mine through all sorts of awkward social scenarios they don't want to be a part of, simply because he wants to go play, and he doesn't care if it isn't fun!
Description: A deep, bright royal purple is the name of the game for this dragon, solid and vibrant all the way around. His paws and headknobs, however, darken up a bit, giving him a sort of cat-like color pattern.
Adult Size: 30 feet, biggest dragon of the bunch
Impresses To: Joelall

[summerrain]

A LifeWing and his rider came over quickly at Yuki's cry for help. She backed away, but only enough to let the pair do their healing thing. Chiara soon woke again, his upper arms bandaged and his right one in a sling.

"You're going to be fine," said the LifeWing Rider before moving on to other injured Candidates.

"Sister, help me up?" Chiara said, almost a question. Yuki, so relieved she could barely comprehend what was happening, readily assisted her younger brother. "I want to see the rest of the Hatching," he told her, voice strengthening again. "I want to see the Hatchlings." Yuki nodded, walking close behind her little brother as he slipped toward the entrance to the sands. He saw the twin hatchlings, and his eyes lit up, almost sparkling. He was at a spot where the Hatchlings could see him if they looked at just the right angle. His wounds had closed, but they would take sevendays, maybe seasons, to fully heal.

Ayleneth stayed a ways away from the Sands entrance, not wanting to be in the way. She watched silently, just as relieved as Hers that Chiara was alright.

Chiara leaned his back against the wall at the very edge of the Sands. Both his arms hurt, and breathing alone was a chore... What would he do if he Impressed now? His robe, once white, was torn and stained red with his own blood. He had passed out from the pain earlier, but now he was beginning to feel the effects of the blood loss. But he was determined to see the Hatching through to the end. Whether he Impressed or not.