From Ruin Comes Rebirth (HATCHING) [V]

[shapeshifter]

Joelall was shocked at the final eruption of the two dragonets from one egg. He stepped back slightly, and watched as the two dragonets struggle to untangle themselves and begin their journey to find their mine.

Joelall watched as the Purple dragonet made his way around the Candidate, checking them out until he heard YOU! You are Mine, Minemine. J'lall, you! If you no wanna have fun, Majith MAKE you have fun! He dropped to his knees as tears flooded his eyes and flung his arms around the dragonets neck.

It took you long enough to find me... J'lall said, happier than ever as he felt this connection growing stronger.

Mine, I am hungry. I want some food...FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! Majith said excitedly. The little Purple wiggle his way free of J'lall and started to jump around him excitedly. He spread his wings out and raised up on his hind legs. He licked J'lall's face again and then started to wobble around him in circles, Feeeeeeeddddddd meeeeee! Wait...wait wait...after they Impress?

J'lall knew he wanted to see the other Impressions made so he nodded to the dragonet, Yes, mine. We can wait my little one. J'all affectionately scratched behind the dragonets knobs and they moved off to the side, J'lall limping the whole way. He sat down toward the entrance, away from the other dragonets and Majith crawled into his lap, plopping down and almost knocking the wind out of J'lall.

[Kaya]

Wivish had done what she could among the fast moving hands and with what she could spare, given the other injuries on the Sands. At the moment the goal was to prevent death. The survivors could continue with treatment over time, they could wait.

The red beak turned up and focused back in on Eira and found a wall of panic. Wivish clumsily hopped over to her Rider and dropped a wing to nudge her with the large feathers.

All is not well?

Lavan. You were healing, I kept myself away so you could focus. The Flame there, he killed one boy and went after my brother. I was so worried,...still am, she admitted, Then a Blue interfered, and Lavan is still standing for the moment, no great blood loss either.

As the two were catching up was when Garna took her foolish leap. They watched helplessly as the Flame tore her skin into ragged pieces, but what sent a sinking feeling into their guts was the pool of blood that formed too quickly from her leg wound.

Major vessel rupture, left leg, Wivish diagnosed. She's bleeding out.

"Someone get that girl off the Sands!" Eira called but looked as she did so. There was so much chaos. Saying 'someone' did little good. With the bursting open of the huge egg the Sands quieted and too many people stared stupidly as they left injuries to get worse and Candidates to die. The fools. This was above tradition. Life was sacred above all else. It was the creed of LifeWing Riders, so Eira believed.

We're going to go to her.

We have lost too many today. It seems we have an opening. Let us go. the grey and white LifeWing fluttered, her reddish orange feet pulling up against her underside as she rose shortly only to descend over Garna. She exuded a note of calm around her. This one first. They would save her, the one some glared at as foolish. So quick to judge another fragile human. Only those that took life did not qualify to have theirs back fully, in the pair's opinion.

"Stay with us," Eira said in a calm healer's tone. She pulled cloth bandages from her pouch and set them on the girl's stomach, pulling something like a belt from further in the pouch. She looped it around her leg and cinched it tight. The Candidate couldn't lose any more blood. Wivish sang, a quick and hurried tune. They needed to stop her bleeding, at all costs. The girl was in shock, no doubt her kidneys were reeling. "Look at me," Eira demanded, pushing down on the wound with the cloths. "Look." Her voice was firm.

[Cait]

Barrek twitched slightly when the next thing he knew, the girl he'd seen before--the one with the mouth--entered the fray. His estimation of her intelligence plumetted and he watched as she was tossed about between the two dragons. He'd keep an eye on her, yes, but unless she proved to be a bit more discrete or even the slightest bit more intelligent than she'd displayed at the hatching he wasn't going to bother with her. Of course that all depended on whether or not she survived the mauling. While people the stands fled in ones and twos, hands clamped over their ears and horrified by the display of the hatchlings, Barrek was perhaps the calmest soul present. The sound, while disconcerting and certainly annoying with the way it vibrated up his legs and all, wasn't as bothersome to him. He spent much of his day in a hotter than dragonfire forge with the sound of many hammers clanging away at metal. The rest of it; the violent unpredictability of the hatchlings and the pain and suffering and madness...was that supposed to affect him? Certainly if anyone knew that he was mildly amused behind that scowl of his, they would brand him unnatural.

Barrek continued to watch the all out brawl between the two dragons and found himself extremely impressed when the flame managed to rip the blue's tail almost clean off. Barrek leaned forward again, hands on the edge of the low wall as he watched the flame turn his anger on the girl once more. Yes, he probably wouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on that one. Scrappy little thing she almost reminded him of Dalonia, the little sister of his friends Derron and Ellaren; he'd sent them to go check on why she'd stopped sending reports with Twitterpest and they weren't due back until tomorrow or the next day depending on how long it took. They'd be upset they'd missed all this fun.

Finally something managed to distract the man from the flame's wrath by the explosion of the largest egg. Well it didn't explode entirely but two wins burst out, two white wings. Not entirely interested in any of it now that the other hatchlings had all but settled, he let his gaze wander and what ho. He allowed a faint smirk to grace his lips momentarily as blue eyes found Eira on the sands, fussing over the candidate that had been first to be mauled and first to fail to get the heck out of the way. How long had it been since their delightful encounter? Her shout rising above the insessent thrum of the dragons snapped him out of his reverie. Candidate? Oh right, the girl. Glancing to either side and seeing that everyone thought that 'someone' meant 'someone else' Barrek contemplated adopting the same philosophy...until Eira started into the fray, determined to save the idiot girl or get herself killed.

Another scream from a candidate, courtesy of the flame made up his mind. Some could call him noble if they wanted, praise him for his courage. But the only thought in the weyrsmith's mind as he stood was that it would be a shame for such a pretty little wisp of a thing to get mangled before he had a chance to enjoy her. Shooing Twit from his shoulder and up into the rafters even as he put his hands to the low wall and levered himself over it. Landing on the sands, his eyes located every hatchling as he moved steadily towards Eira and the girl that lay on the ground. The flame was after another candidate and the blue was after the flame again, clearly not having learned his lesson the first time.

Stopping near the two and the large bird--he'd never quite liked the LifeWings--then turned in a slow circle, keeping an eye on the hatchlings though things seemed to settle for a moment as the large egg hatched, distracting all but the flame from their chaos. A pair of bi-colors had tumbled from the egg from the look of it; black and white the both of them and as they got to their feet and shook themselves out and the larger of the two moved towards the flame and the blue who was back at it again, trying to play knight with his life oozing from his tail.

Something passed between the two and the flame turned away and moved towards the large sheet of glare ice and Barrek sighed. Shame that, losing a fierce little thing like that flame to the wilds. Things seemed to settle as all of the hatchlings with the exception of the flame and the bumbling citrine turned their attentions towards the candidates with a more determined focus. Fun time was over, it would seem. "She dead yet or you want me to move her?"

[mirror]

She didn't pay any attention to the large egg hatching to reveal a pair a dual dragonets. After all, why would she? Shards, how could she? It felt like to was taking all of her energy just to keep her eyes open at the moment. But even then it wasn't working. Her head was beginning to feel... light, blurry. The pain was starting to fade, being replaced by a horrible numbness. For some reason that did not make her happy. When there was bleeding involved the pain starting to fade was almost never good. And her vision was starting to fade. Blackness was beginning to take over, starting at the very edges of her eyesight and slowly traveling inward.

When someone walked over to her Garna didn't notice at first. Really she was beyond noticing anything, and that possibly extended to someone talking directly to her. However, she did feel someone wrap something around her stomach and her leg. A good thing though, because she may not have known it but if a little bit more blood had been lost she would have died. As it was she would probably be in the infirmary for at least a day.

It was at the last time that Eira said look that it finally got through to Garna. She looked at the healer's voice, recognition showing on her face for the first time. Not that she knew who the person was, just that she knew that someone was there. Her voice was cracking as she whispered, "who are you?"

[Terayne]

Aiya stopped when the egg split, revealing its dual occupants as they rolled about. She just watched them, silent, still, as they managed to unfold themselves and sort themselves out, giving everyone their glimpses of them, their calm, their pride. And those beautiful blue-green eyes, FINALLY the proper shade for a Hatching...

A smile ghosted across her lips as she watched the Purple, in all his hyperactivity, running around like a mad thing. But he was no longer scared. She could tell that with no problem. Taking a deep breath, she looked around her, at those Candidates remaining, the blood, the ichor, on the Sands and the white robes of her fellows. Closing her eyes, she just focused on the sounds. The now gently humming dragons, the songs of the LifeWings, the happy sounds of the newest Bonded pair.

Save the LifeWing songs being so prominent, this was how a Hatching was supposed to be. Nodding to herself, she turned and just watched the new Purplepair, before looking around her at the rest of the Hatchlings. Only now did she realize she stood not far from the remains of the large egg, close to the Hatchlings who not long before would have likely torn into her for being this close to them. But now, they were passive, happy and ready to Bond. Well.... MOST of them. Her eyes flicked to the Flame, staring at himself in the ice. That one, she felt, would never be happy with humans, not with how his life had been forced to begin.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Lavan might have been cheering the dragonets on, but even he had to stop and stare in dumbstruck amazement at the sheer insanity of what happened next. A girl, one of the other Candidates, ran forward and attempted to separate the fighting dragonets. Now it really was with a sort of horrified fascination that he watched the duel, watched as the Flame attacked first the girl, then reached past her legs to bite down on the Blue’s tail. The Blue started squirming, trying to break free. Lavan was completely unaware that he was shouting for the Blue to turn and “bite his nose, you fool”. The Blue finally tore free, though he had to sacrifice his tail to do so.

There was a moment of absolute chaos, as the Flame continued to attack other Candidates, then the final egg split open, revealing two of the most rega dragonets Lavan had seen. One Black-White, the other White-Black.

Lavan stared at them. He probably wasn’t alone in that, but he didn’t notice. He didn’t even notice his own sister entering the Sands to come to the aid of the crazy girl that had attacked the Flame. His gaze followed the larger of the two dragonets, the Black-White, over to where the Flame and Blue were, watching as the Black-White ended the fight as if it had never taken place, the Flame going off to stare into his own eyes on the ice.

In the next instant, the Hatching was suddenly silent, and then the Purple raced over and started bouncing in circles around one of the boys. Lavan thought the kid’s name was Joelall. The crowd went balistic, and even though he’d expected it, Lavan flinched. It was bloody loud.

[summerrain]

Chiara watched as the first dragonet, the Purple, Impressed finally. With the arrival of the twin Hatchlings, everything seemed to have calmed down. He could hear Ayleneth start humming quietly, smiling slightly at the sound of his sister's Aurora.

"Congrats," he said to the boy who walked off with the Purple. He once thought it wasn't quite fair that some Candidates Impressed after merely two Turns, while he had been Standing since he was thirteen. Five Turns he'd been a Candidate, five Turns without Impressing. He had already been starting to think that his chances were slim to none, but he knew now that he was almost guaranteed to remain a carver, carpenter, and never a Rider. Why would a dragon Impress to him when he was this badly injured?

He slid down the icy wall, the cold felt good against his still-fresh wounds. His breathing was more labored now, and he looked up to the ledges. Some dragons sat humming, and other ledges were deserted. He knew he wouldn't be noticed where he was. He may have the same hair and eyes as his sister, but it didn't matter. His sister hadn't been here for two Turns now. Last time was the male Silverlight. He turned his gaze back to the Hatchlings, a small hope lingering in his heart that he still might Impress, despite being so badly injured.

[Jay Kitten]

The day was starting to look up now, as the Black/White took his place next to his counterpart, both of them looking about curiously at the new world they had entered. The Aurora had started sniffing about the Candidates, as did the Grey, and the Blue was slowly making his way over as well, though his loss of his tail certainly was making him a bit faint. All of the dragons now were calmed, and in the calmness of the moment, the Midnight had plopped his backside into the Sand, and his face was making odd looks at some of the Candidates. He looked very thoughtful, or perhaps very confused.

But the Flame, while everybody watched him, noticed. In the reflection of the ice, he could see himself, and everybody behind him. They were all behind him, except... Ahhh, now here was an interesting idea. A man that was near one of those ugly bird-things, a man who for all he could tell knew what he was doing. His mind reached out, and as it did so, he spun. It would take plenty of force to do what he would next, and he ran so fast his tired legs didn't want to go any faster, his wings having to flap to take some of the weight off. He lunged, straight for Barrek, and flattened him with quite a strong leap to the chest. He then made a haughty look up at the rest of his siblings, before he looked down, and slowly, those eyes burst into flames, turning from red, to orange, to yellow, then flashing passed green quickly and into blue and purple as the brightness of Impression took him.

You... You have seen Upsenth. You like Upsenth. But Upsenth doesn't care, no, B'rek. I only care to have a strong Mine. Strong like you. His mind folded into the smith's, as though he was crawling in and making room for himself whether the other liked it or not. He wasn't one to give up his opinion over anybody else's, and it showed as he forced himself upon the man. Upsenth had made his choice.

But down the line of Candidates, the Aurora had as well, a boy that the Flame had attacked earlier. She purred and rubbed up against him, nipping at his wound as though telling him to get it looked at. Borealth can feel your pain, Se'sen. Please fix it? For me? She gave him the puppydogs, her eyes turning to the yellow of worry, matching parts of her colorful hide.

Two more Impressions, and some of the Stand-goers were upset over the Flame. They boo'd or roared outrages, while some cheered either of the dragonets on. Who cared who they chose, as long as they did? It was better than Self-Impression, though there were whispers of Barrek being in the wrong to go where he wasn't allowed. The general consensus with the Aurora was a happy Impression, and her eyes changed to match the colorful nature of her own hide, before she was lead from the Sands.

Three down, and six to go! The Grey was getting restless, as though he was having difficulty deciding, and the Citrine was wandering still, completely oblivious to what was going on. For a moment, she looked around in the eggshells, before she sauntered over to where Wivish stood over the downed Candidate. Reaching forward, she plucked a feather with her teeth from the large bird, looking up at her as she chewed it slowly. One eye silver and gold, the other blue and green. Was she scared, afraid, cautious, or content? Whatever it was, she didn't seem to mind, and huddled up against the bird for warmth momentarily. When she was a bit warmer, she went to investigate what the bird had been looking at. And, down on the ground, she found a girl, with another lady over her. Looking back and forth between the two, the feather she had in her mouth fell from her maw, and she instead went to Garna's hand, taking that in her mouth. For a moment, it seemed like she might bite, but instead her tongue tasted her fingers, sliding between them in her mouth. She was smiling in that strange draconic way, and soon enough, her mind touched Garna's briefly.

Soutath confused, why is GarnaMine on the floor? Sandy places are for dragons. You taste good! she said, and one of her eyes lit up in that brilliant rainbow, followed shortly by the other, in reverse colors. Soutath blinked, and her head tilted, even with the girl's hand in her mouth. It seemed, by the feeling through their Bond, that she genuinely didn't understand the nature of her wounds. She looked up at Eira for an explanation.

Dragon Profile #2

Name: Upsenth
Hue: Flame (800080, 3333FF, 993300, FFCC33, CC6600, 990000)
Personality: Upsenth doesn't care about you, or what you want to say, or who you are with, or what your favorite color is. In fact, uncaring seems to be the best word to describe him. He is cold, cruel, and underhanded, the "bully" of the bunch. He likes overly mean pranks and causing chaos, but most of all, he likes fire. In fact, he's a bit of a pyromaniac, and often times will stare at unshielded fire for minutes at a time. He will chew firestone as though it was a food source, almost like he was addicted to the stuff, later in his life. There is a part of him that holds loyalty high, however, and his cause will always be the most just to himself. He feels as though anybody who disagrees with him should be chastised and corrected rather than taught a different opinion.
Description: As a Flame, multiple hues grace his hide, although for a flame, oddly enough, blue and purple are the two most prevalent. His entire lower half is completely covered by mixed, flame-like patterns of the two hottest colors, and they run into a thin band of greenish before yellow, red, and orange take over in his upper half, yellow being the third most abundant color on his hide. He is the hottest flame, by far, in appearance, with a stare and teeth to match. He is slightly large for his color.
Adult Size: 28 feet
Impresses To: Barrek

Dragon Profile #3
Name: Borealth (Bor-y-alth)
Hue: Aurora (FFCCFF/CCFFFF/A6D8FF/A6FFB7/EEFCFF/FFAAE4)
Personality: This careful little Aurora seems to be waiting for something, upon first impressions she will always be mistaken for somebody trying to find someone or something. But that is only because she is curious about everything around her, always looking about and questioning herself on the appearance of things. She is loyal, just like an Aurora should be, and her mind is always wandering to those she cares about. Keeping to herself mostly, she delights in sharing with her Rider's life and constantly surrounds him, treating him much like a precious childhood heirloom that cannot be marred in any way. She is polite and proper at all times, using titles constantly, even to her Rider, which is of course annoying.
Description: On the smaller side for her color, Borealth sticks out as being one of the more colorful displays around Ice Stone. Her light, icy-blue hide is swirled with vast quantities of green and violet, dancing about each other along the whole middle of her entire frame, nose to tail. Her wings are mostly blue, however, tinged with light yellow on the edges and some lavender in the membranes. Her head is slightly larger in appearance, her head-knobs just a bit longer than usual, giving her a very cute look.
Adult Size: 27 feet
Impresses To: Sentysen

Dragon Profile #4
Name: Soutath (Like south, otherwise phonetic)
Hue: Citrine (FFFF99)
Personality: Soutath doesn't mean to be difficult, she just simply is. Not a hindrance, per-se, her dented egg has caused her to be born just a wee bit off. While a Citrine normally enjoys tasting things often, Soutath generally loves tasting everything that she misassociates as food, and is a generally slow learner when being taught, preferring instead for a more hands- or mouth- on approach to things. Her temper was not effected, however, still being a bit of a hot-head though often times her temper is sparked from a reason that doesn't make sense to anybody but her. Thinking differently, she will go through life with an outside-the-box approach, and in regards to her Mine, might humble them more when they realize she is just as capable as any other dragon.
Description: The hide of this particular Citrine is solid and defined, a bright, vivid off-yellow, with a lighter undertone to her belly. She has big, adorable eyes that are more often than not mismatched in color when her emotions are wandering, denoting her oddity more so than any other feature about her. She can, at times, seem unfocused on what she is looking at, as though staring right through it. She is of average height and length for her color.
Adult Size: 18 feet
Impresses To: Garna[/center]

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Lavan watched the Black-White and the White-Black as they stood and watched the Candidates. A blur of motion caught his eye then, and he turned, just in time to see the Flame launch himself at the Weyrsmith, who was right next to… Lavan stared at the woman next to the Smith. His sister. Eira. What was she doing?!

Lavan started to step towards them, intending to somehow keep the Flame from reaching his sister. However, before he could take more than two steps, the Flame landed on top of the Smith, sending him to the ground.

What the…?

Lavan stared. He didn’t even notice the Aurora’s Impression. He did, however, notice the Citrine’s Impression. The little dragon went right up to the crazy girl-Candidate and took a hold of the woman’s hand in her mouth.

[mirror]

The bleeding, or the worst of it at least, might have stopped but Garna was in no condition to stand up and watch the hatching. And so everything that was going on passed the girl by. The flame that had seemed to have impressed to himself ending up impressing a man from the stands, the aurora impressing to a boy that had been mauled by the flame. However, soon something happened that she couldn't possibly ignore. A dragonet, a yellowish beast, citrine, some part of her recalled. The thing looked rather ridiculous with the feather in its mouth.

Then the creature made its way over to her. Despite how much blood she had lost, how disorientated she was, part of her still managed to be horrified. There was no doubt in her mind that this dragon was here to finish the job. This was how she would end, killed by a filthy mutant. Anger and disgust bubbled up inside her. She wasn't even fighting like she was with that wretched flame. She wasn't even helping a real dragon. There would be no honor in this death. Maybe it will be fast, she told herself. The last thing she wanted was the moment of what might be considered poetic justice to linger.

Killed by one of the beasts she hated so much.

When the citrine dropped the feather to take her hand in her mouth she though she was going to bite it off. But no. There were no fangs sinking into her flesh, instead it was, wet. That was a tongue she felt, that was definitely a tongue. As the confused Garna looked at the dragonet she saw what looked like a grin.

And then there was a voice.

Soutath confused, why is GarnaMine on the floor? Sandy places are for dragons. You taste good! As she spoke the eyes, or one of them anyway, turned into a brilliant rainbow while the other slowly turned in what looked like the opposite. But those odd miss-matched eyes couldn't matter less to Garna at the moment. Because she was flooded with emotions. Love, devotion, caring, it was like nothing she had ever felt before. And there was a name, Soutath, a name she had only just learned but instantly treasured. It was ironic, it was poetic justice even without the death, but for that moment Garna didn't care. For there was one thing she knew for sure, Soutath was hers.

Or maybe she really didn't realize how ironic it was at the moment.

Garna's voice was soft as she asked, "S-Soutath? Are you a gold?" Despite having identified the color pre-impression part of her, that part that was so deeply ingrained in her, figured that she simply couldn't impress a mutation. So her first guess must have been wrong. If she was in a healthy condition she probably would have realized that this tiny creature could not be a gold. But her disorientation took care of that.

Soutath tilted her head to the side, Garna's hand still in her mouth, before replying, I don't think so. She then let go of her rider's hand and took her own paw in her mouth. Nope, she added, I don't taste like a gold. I think I taste like sand. Sand and citrine. An odd way to tell her rider that she wasn't a gold but a way none the less. Removing her paw from her mouth she went on to place her head on Garna's stomach, licking at the bandages, before asking in a quiet voice, does it matter?

The girl was silent for a moment, not completely sure how to respond, before saying so only her dragon could hear, no, it doesn't.

[Terayne]

Aiya continued to just watch, identifying that something was off with the Citrine as soon as she saw her. That must be the owner of the yellow tail from the dented egg, she thought, watching her. She'd been walking away when she Hatched after all, and hadn't seen it. But the color was right, if a bit more golden than normal. She saw a purple/blue/yellowish blur and tensed as the Flame rushed almost right in front of her, then tackled the large man she vaguely remembered being called Barrek? But instead of tearing into him, those eyes, so full of rage and pain and hate, turned briefly rainbow. Impression had occurred, but Aiya feared it would not be for the better. Not with that Flame being such a vicious, violent creature so early...

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from that scene only to find an even odder one. The girl who had been calling the dragonets who'd hatched mutants, freaks, who had only tried to help the one who was of the oldest hues, had her hand in the mouth of the Citrine. But quite obviously no pain was being felt, and the eyes soon changed, though one seemed to be the reverse of the other. But both were rainbow, and that was enough for the compassionate girl. The Citrine may had chosen oddly, but she had CHOSEN. She had defied the odds and lived to Choose. That was enough.

Her eyes closed once again, and she found herself drifting oddly, as if the world around her was finally settling back into its proper ways and place. She had been shaken to her core when she saw the destruction and violence that had begun this Hatching, but now, it was as it was supposed to be.

[Cait]

Barrek's slow turning kept everything in sight at one point or another and as he turned, a flurry of bright colors and movement caught his attention. Spinning around, Barrek's eyes fixed on the flame that had so amused him before was now charging headlong toward the little cluster of birds and broads. A quick look around showed nothing and noone to shove in the way save the candidate he'd already had a go at and somehow he doubted Eira or her little pet bird would appreciate that; not that he cared beyond it ruining any chance of his getting lucky with the little Lady. So of course he did something stupid and quite possibly insane.

Shifting so that he was between Eira and her little project he spread his stance, crouched down slightly and let out bellow, his face positively frightening as though just by redirecting aggression at the hatchling that he might deflect it. It didn't work so when the flame slammed into him, Barrek grabbed hold of the flame's blood and ichor stained snout and shoved even as he slammed into the sand, calloused fingers curling and gaining purchase as his bellow was reduced to a wheeze when the hatchling landed on top of him. Small though they might be when newly hatch--at least when compared to their fully grown counterparts--this one was solid.

The flame pulled his head away and rough though his fingers might be it was hard to keep your grip on something slicked with blood and gore. Immediately Barrek's strong hands strong hands grabbed for that tender spot where wing met body then he froze as he caught sight of the flames eyes. What in the actual...

You... You have seen Upsenth. You like Upsenth. But Upsenth doesn't care, no, B'rek. I only care to have a strong Mine. Strong like you.[/b]

Barrek continued to stare at the flame as it burrowed its way into his mind, insidious like some sort of mold or tunnelsnake. Growling, the smith shoved with both mind and body, the growl transforming into another enraged bellow as he shoved the flame from him. The hatchling--Upsenth--hissed and lashed his tail as the smith surged to his feet, oblivious to the various little scratches he'd garnered from the tackle-impression. There was no way he was going to have a dragon; he was darn near thirty years old for Faranth's sake! "No! Just 'cause I found yer little fit amusin' doesn't mean I like ye. Get! I don't want ya!"

The man flung his arms in a violent shooing motion and took a threatening step towards the flame. Upsenth's tail twitched and he lowered his head slightly though none who were looking on would think to mistake it as submission. With a hiss, the strangely colored flame lashed out and caught the smith's left leg with his claws and tugged. While it wasn't enough to cause the man to shout in pain. I do not care what you want. You are mine now. You will feed me.[/color]

With another growl, Barrek--now B'rek entirely against his will--reached down and grabbed hold of the flame's claws, pulled them out of his leg and then retaining a hold on the limb tugged the little terror off balance. Upsenth let out his own little bellow of anger and indignation and lashed out but the man held strong. First he pinned one wing and then the other to the hatchling's side and then released the leg long enough to grab Upsenth up, ignoring the vicious kicks and the raking of teeth against flesh. "You want t' eat, ya little monster? Fine! I'll feed ya...t' the darn whers!"

Of course he wouldn't; the sickening feeling of being possessed by the little monster had already sunk in but B'rek fought it with every bit of him. If he could strangle the little beast right then and there and be done with it before he got his bloody little claws any further into his mind, he would have. But that would've not only ended in his death most likely courtesy of mama Ice Queen, but it would also mean that his little secret would get out; he wasn't just some jerk of a man, he really and truly was just as much of a monster as this squirming mass of rage that had latched onto him. If he weren't so utterly pissed off he might have been slightly amused that of all the people present he'd been the one chosen. But he was pissed...and would be for some time.

[Jay Kitten]

The Ice Queen was so proud of her children, and now she was finally swelling with that pride as she continued her hum, encouraging those of her's who still hadn't Impressed to do so. The remaining dragonets seemed to be waiting, choosing, thinking. The little Grey, each time he found a Candidate nice, would step forward, puffing his chest out, before he would retreat, drooping again when the choice wasn't correct. The Midnight was simply sitting there, looking quizzically back and forth at people, and the two dual-colors seemed to be waiting for their sibling's choices, though the Black/White was pacing back and forth and examining the remaining choices.

Finally, though, the Midnight suddenly shot up, and he carefully made his way over to a girl, a particular girl of which he had decided upon so very nicely. It had taken a few minutes to choose, but finally his mind met her's, and he looked up to her, standing before her, with those bright, rainbowed eyes. Astrielle! I have picked you. But never mind that. I am Fifth, but I want to know, why? Is it because I was the fifth egg laid, or am I possibly the fifth that was supposed to Hatch? But I didn't, so that can't be it. Could it be because I was fifth from the left in the line of eggs? Or the right? Or perhaps it's because I Impressed fifth in the order of my fellow dragon?[/color] He looked up, then down, a worried face crossing his expression as his emotions denoted the same thing to the woman. He really did seem quite confounded by the nature of his name, however, and he was quite possessed for the time being with the thought.

Further away, though, the Blue was losing ichor still, and the tough little thing he was finally plopped down in front of a male. He had chosen previously, when he had come to his defense in the first place, but he had been too preoccupied to start his actual Impression. L'van... I think I am in trouble. Please help? I am hungry and hurt... Thoth's tail is gone...[/b] The blue was obviously in need of some LifeWing's attention, having lost an appendage in the process of his hatching. He sounded a bit faint, but nevertheless, his eyes slowly changed colors in that telltale sign of Impression, his emotions flooding into L'van's brain as he Bonded to his mind. He collapsed at his feet, huddling against him now as he waited for attention.

The three remaining dragons looked about them, there were about six or seven Candidates still out on the Sands, and a few more on the sidelines injured. However, it seemed as though for now they were still in suspense, the greyscale dragons all waiting or deciding still.

Dragon Profile #5
Name: Fifth
Hue: Midnight (000033)
Personality: Fifth is a very strange dragon, indeed, a mystery sometimes even to himself. He can't ever make up his mind, and he is constantly possessed by thoughts of alternative states of being, like what would happen if he makes two separate choices and their outcomes. He can't stop staring at the stars at night, and for hours he will simply wonder why he is there or doing what he is doing. If ever he asks a question, it is followed by another, and they are usually too general or broad to be answered easily. He likes riddles or puzzles like most Midnights go, but his own riddles are far too complex or difficult to be easily solved. Distracted often, he is prone to "spacing out".
Description: As a midnight, his hide is dark, deep deep nearly-black blue forms the base of it, with curls of lighter navy running up his throat and under his chin. Several small lines of royal blue run along his spine, and the same navy from his neck can be found along his haunches in random array. The last half of his wings or so fade to actual black.
Adult Size: 27
Impresses To: Astrielle

Dragon Profile #6
Name: Thoth
Hue: Blue (0000CC)
Personality: Thoth is a focused, driven dragon who will do anything to keep his Mine at ease. He is all for helping out, but when it comes to the end of it, he had better get something in return. He is a well-spoken dragon for being one inclined more to physical activity rather than mental, but he is a fervent believer in regular exercise. That isn't to say that he isn't clever, he can usually come up with solutions to things that other dragons wouldn't normally think of. Articulate and athletic, he's very well-rounded though prone to outbursts when he believes somebody else's opinion is wrong.
Description: A run-of-the-mill blue in shading, the major difference with Thoth is his larger-than-average wingspan and a tail about half the length of a normal dragon's, due to an injury at the Hatching. However, later in his life, it will not be much of a disability to him at all. In fact, he will grow to like it, as it stays out of the way when he is moving about quickly, which his wingspan allows him to do nicely. He is a compact, but well-muscled package, topping in at a larger size for his shade.
Adult Size: 28 feet
Impresses To: Lavan

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Lavan had stared as the Weyrsmith somehow managed to pick up the Flame, seemingly indifferent to the teeth and claws, or the fact that the dragonet was, counting head, neck, and tail, was nigh on eight and a half feet long. Of course, the Flame’s actual body was only about 3 feet long, but still.

Resolutely returning his gaze to the dragonets, he saw the Blue coming closer, seeming to waver slightly, though despite the ichor pouring from the wound, the little dragon was still on his feet and moving. The Blue, his body the same length as that of the Flame, staggered a couple more steps, only to flop to the ground in front of Lavan, his nearly foot-long head raised slightly, so that his eyes, now shifting to rainbow hues, could meet the boy’s pale blue ones.

L’van… I think I am in trouble. Please help? I am hungry and hurt… Thoth’s tail is gone…

Lavan, now L’van, stared into those rainbow eyes. He didn’t notice that he’d dropped to his knees beside the Blue, beside Thoth, one hand reaching out to touch the dragonet’s neck and shoulder.

“Eira!” he shouted, glancing over his shoulder at his older sister. “Eira, you have to help Thoth!”

“Don’t worry Thoth,” he whispered, hugging the dragonet’s head and for once totally uncaring what any thought of him or his family from this action. “My sister’s healed loads of people, she’ll be able to help.” It was true too, as far as L’van was concerned, one of his earliest memories of his older sister featured his mother dragging him in to see her and Wivish after he’d gotten into a particularly serious brawl with a pack of kids from a mining family.

[shapeshifter]

Andromedae looked over to Lavan who had just become L'van. She felt this pain in her heart as she saw the little dragonet's tail was severed and she wanted to run over and fall to her knees. The poor little thing didn't deserve to be tailless...however maybe the LifeWing could help.

She returned her attention to the female Black and White, staring at it. It was a gorgeous dragonet but Andromedae started to get the feeling her dragonet wasn't here. She saw that there weren't many left that had not Impressed...so only time would tell.

~~~~~~~~~

J'lallMine, mineminemine, I'm bored...can we go play? Majith crooned, raising his head up and licking J'lall's face. NOM NOM, you taste like taste.... Majith said and leaped from J'lall's lap. J'lall stood and looked at his dragonet confused, I taste like tastse? He wasn't exactly sure what Majith meant by that...but questioning it wasn't on his top priority.

Majith started to bounce around and roll in the sand, This itches, my hide itches...I need scratches! J'lall nodded and replied, Well...I guess I need to find some oil, huh? J'lall wondered off to where they tended to keep the oils and food for Weyrlings after the Hatching. When he found the table he grabbed a small pot of oil and a bowl of pre-cut meat, noting Majith was bouncing along hot on his heels the entire time. It amazed J'lall at how such a small body had so much energy. He chuckled and moved the two of them off to the side and plopped down on the ground.

Take small bites or I'll take it from you! J'lall said in a scolding tone at Majith, who had begun to scarf down the meat as soon as the bowl touched the ground. But...but....ohhhh kayyyy... Majith sighed and started eating more slowly. J'lall took the opportunity to begin slathering oils onto Majith's skin, who began to croon immediately. So many happy feelllsss~!His eyes began to swirl with an array of blues and greens.