Archith's Hatching!

[Jay Kitten]

A rough push sent the girl stumbling forward. She cursed under her breath, but her brother would hear nothing of it. V'ridian continued to shove his sister. "Come on, go, go! You'll be late if you don't hurry, and you know mother will be mad if we have to move all of your stuff back!" Lavender just sighed, but did as she was told, knowing he was right. He really was pushy, but she did need to hurry up, lest it start without her.

V'ridian himself was in a pleasant mood, he had been occupied with his new friends at the Weyr for the past couple of days, and of course starting drunken bouts of singing in the Lower Caverns, a past time of most Harpers. Lavender had come to watch him perform the night before, and had gotten an earful for being awake that late in the day. V'ridian was developing overprotective habits now that she was away from home, much like a mother bird if she did say so herself.

The Harper pushed her onto Cirryyth's back and they had an easy flight over to the Bowl, where he set down on the sands and let her off before returning to a ledge to watch the show.

But all wasn't the same for Lavender, for at this moment, as soon as her sandalled foot felt the heat of the sands, her stomach churned, as she realized this was it. She was here, a Candidate, about to become a Rider. She was sure of it, destiny awaited her... She felt sick to her stomach, what would happen if she did fail? She was certain that failure would net her a lower rank in her brother's eyes. She didn't want that, she actually cared about V'ridian's opinion. She clutched her stomach and tried to suck it up, though the discomfort was obvious on her face, as it was becoming a shade more similar to her red hair as the weight of the situation moved down on her.

It was then she realized Cirryyth wasn't there anymore. What? Where had he gone? Oh how could this get any worse? She shuffled into position. She was standing now before the Gold of the Weyr, her massive body dwarfing the girl and making her feel that more unstable. She bowed, however, and then stood up straight, her face had changed. Lavender now wore a serious expression as she looked to the dragon, her demeanor fitting of her brother more than herself.

"I will not fail," she stated to Archith, and then smiled, her beautiful face lighting back up as she shook the weight of the situation off with the inspiring sight of the fantastic Gold. Her bright face nodded to the Queen. "Good day, Ma'am." She followed with a curtsy and took her place among the other Candidates, smoothing her dress down.

The hard part was over, now was the harder part.

She took a deep breath, and steeled herself, waiting... Waiting.

[Kaya]

Archith watched with rapt attention as the slightest of cracks pushed their way across the eggshell she had touched. Her children were coming and Rilora's people were here. All was as it should be, her eyes flickered over all the attendees who had come, Candidates and observers alike. It pleased her to receive this much attention, but this one day she wished to redirect it to her offspring. A glimpse of Bronze in the sun let her know Promeuth was there. Her heart lifted with the deep breath she took. The Queen exhaled slowly onto the egg.

Though the eggs around here were all shaking lightly the one in front of her nose wavered with growing intensity. It wasn't an outstandingly large egg. What did stand out was its desire to be free. It was as if the dragonet within felt the shell pressing down on him, encasing him against his now realized will. What had once been his comfortable home was now a great irritation on his skin. He rocked the egg, trying desperately to break free. The first break in the shell left him with the feeling of air brushing up against his skin. It was different. He liked it.

Archith, now satisfied with the progress the first egg was making, turned her attention to the one to its immediate left. She approached it slowly, head reaching forward at a cautious pace. Finally the golden nose contacted the light brown egg. She pushed the egg so it moved in the sand and tilted further toward the Candidates. It was time for this little one to arrive. His turn in the grand scheme of things.

Though a grimace threatened Archith's lovely face, she kept herself in check. This intruder would be dealt with. She could handle it herself, though she didn't want to take her concentration off the Hatching. It had started, it required her full attention now. So instead of directing all her irritation at him for stealing even a moment's attention from her children, she decided to mostly ignore him. However, what Archith decides with her head and what she actually does are often different things. In some way, the amount of nerve the dragon had remotely intrigued her. Archith accepted his arrival, but he better not interrupt again until her children were finished. Mosiliath. Join us.

The egg that had been touched first now had several holes in its shell. The color of the dragonet within was almost visible, but not quite. He wiggled around again, knowing that his release was coming soon. The egg cracked and joined two of the holes. Then another one. A large piece of shell shifted away from the egg and a brown head poked out to look at the world. The Brown dragonet immediately squinted his eyes and cringed back as the heat hit his face. Tentatively he stretched back out, taking in the world around him. As strange as it was, the Brown quickly decided it was better than the egg. He thrashed around to discard it but managed to get sand all over his damp hide. Trying, and failing, to get it off he whined in frustration. This was not what he had wanted. And it itched. It itched terribly.

Archith was now inspecting a third egg, one just to the left of the other two. The second egg was making good progress breaking free, meticulously working to weaken the egg. He had tried several different methods now and had finally settled on the most effective and least painful one. It only took a few more shakes before a blue leg crushed the shell and found the sand. It recoiled to continue breaking its egg. The Blue was almost out. Though insane hunger drove him on, he carefully broke the rest of his container. He had felt the Brown broadcasting his displeasure at being covered in sand. The Blue didn't wish to have a similar experience.

[inksword]

Raaiz watched every moment the gold made, the way her neck curved as she slowly bent over and nudged the eggs, watched her nostrils flare as she let out a long breath over the shell of the egg in front of her. His wide blue eyes wanted to take in every detail, every moment needed to be captured in his memory. He was undecided on whether to watch the golden queen or the smooth eggs. His attention was torn from the queen completely when the first egg began to rock back and forth, rolling back and forth on its wider base, each swing becoming progressively larger as the dragonet inside rocked. The hum of the hatching reminded Raaiz distantly of the roar of the ocean of his home, and though his heart still pounded his mind felt an ease make its way back into his mind after the frantic panic of getting to the hatching sands.

Raaiz found himself unknowingly holding his breath as he watched the egg wide-eyed. It seemed the whole room, no the whole weyr was holding its breath along with him, waiting for the first dragon to emerge. Raaiz slowly raised himself up on his tip-toes, leaning forward slightly. There wasn't anyone obscuring the shorter boy's view, especially since the gold had made the candidates all arrange themselves in a neat circle. Raaiz was on the edge of his seat... well... feet, watching as a second patch of thick shell broke away and left the second hole in the smooth tan shell. It seemed to take tortuously long, seconds stretching into minutes, as the dragon fought and then... it was free!

Raaiz let out his breath suddenly as the brown tumbled free of the egg. Skin coated with the thick egg fluid, it picked up the sand around it dappling the dark brown hide with the yellow speckled grains. Raaiz thought it was kinda of pretty, but the brown lashed its head back and forth unhappily at the sand. Raaiz fell back down onto his heels, and a small smile curled up at the corneres of his lips as he watched dragons being born. He immediately felt guilty for smiling when the brown was obviously experiencing discomfort, and once again forced his smile down into a look of nervous seriousness... though he couldn't stop the giddiness swirling in his stomach.

Once the brown was out, it seemed like the dam had been broken and the other dragons began to hatch as well, already, a second dragon worked its way out of its shell, and already a third egg was beginning to twitch and move. The second dragon was a blue... Raaiz liked blue... but more importantly, both dragons that had come free were males, meaning they would impress boys. Raaiz straightened as tall as he could, still eagerly watching the eggs but the back of his mind whirled with nervous anxiety and anticipation as the two newly hatched dragons found their feet.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar watched, his attention focused on the eggs as they begun to rock faster. He saw a large shadow arriving to one side, and flicked a glance at it. A Tiger had just arrived, but it wasn’t the Weyrhaper’s Tiger, Cirryyth. For a couple seconds, Kalitar was curious, then one of the eggs started shaking even harder, rocking back and forth.

Kalitar’s focus was held on the egg, even the others next to it seemed to fade out of sight as he waited for the dragonet to break free. Some part of his mind was conscious of the other eggs and a small part of his mind was aware of the other Candidates with him in a circle on the Sands. The stands, and the audience, however, did not exist to his mind, as Archith reached out and touched a second egg with her nose, expanding Kalitar’s focus to include that one as well.

The first egg rocked harder, already the shell was full of holes, the dragonet’s color almost visible within. A crack appeared joining two of the holes, and Kalitar’s breath stilled in his chest as another crack joined the first, and then part of the shell fell away, revealing a dragonet’s brown head.

Is something wrong? Kalitar thought, hints of desperation on the dragonet’s behalf flashing through his mind, as the brown head recoiled back into the shell. Less than a second later, the Brown had re-extended his head and was thrashing to get free of the shell, leaving Kalitar to feel a little foolish for having worried. That feeling vanished to one of awe, awe and a tense, pervading excitement at the fact that he was watching a dragon’s birth. He had to suppress a cheer when the Brown broke free of the remainder of the egg.

Almost at the same time the Brown emerged, the second egg that Archith touched hatched, revealing a Blue. A third egg was rocking. A brief smile flashed across his face, his stance was still outwardly calm, head up and shoulders back, though still a thread of nervousness edged through his excitement. Forcing himself to ignore it, Kalitar divided his attention between the two dragonets, who got the majority of it, the rocking egg, and the other eggs, all the rest of that perfect circle which sat still. In an unoccupied corner of his mind, Kalitar wondered if Archith’s touching the eggs was some way of telling them to hatch, and if the Queen would have to touch all of the eggs before they too, could enter the world.

[Lark]

Saka jumped at the sound of cracking egg shells. They were coming! They were coming! The firelizards seemed to intensify their humming as did the dragons. Her eyes were al on the eggs though. The great gold had nudged them carefully, enticing her children out into the world. Slowly they tumbled about, breaking tiny holes into the shells. Please....please.....and then like magic a dragonet was born. It tumbled out, it's brown body the only thing Saka could focus on. A brown wasn't a bad sign. She felt bad for it though slightly. After all, its cries as it fell onto the hot sand were heard by everyone. The next to hatch seemed to heed that and kept upright. The blue was pretty, but both Saka knew were more apt to impress to boys. So, her eyes went to the third egg.

Zorasn on the otherhand was forcing himself not to twitch with nervous excitement. The dragonet's had finally managed to start escaping! Not to mention the first two were male. That was good for him and the other male candidates. Pushing his hands behind his back to stand at attention, Zorasn took a deep breath. No need to get overly enthused right now. They didn't even seem to need their riders yet. Though, the healer candidate knew it would happen eventually. Would one be his? Lifting his eyes to the stands, Zorasn hoped so. Imagine that, if he'd be the first to impress. That would shut his father up quick!

Inoria smiled as the first of the dragonet's came out. A brown, then blue after. Old colors yes, bit babies nonetheless. Petting Zaranyth's hide she remembered her own hatching. The female dragon had been slightly confused, looking for Hers through the makes first before recognizing she wanted a male. They were here together though. Counting the eggs that were shaking, Inoria nodded her head. So far so good. Moving closer to the food buckets, the weyrlingmaster started preparing things for the first impressions.

Nituna's headache had lifted with the start of the hatching. Looking at the two dragonet's on the sand, the blond smiled. Her starlight was in a strange mix of liking the fact that there were more males that could give her attention, and disliking that Hers wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Nituna ignored it until Dynaskith bumped her head against the back of her body. Miiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnneeee! Sighing, Inoria turned around and rubbed the yellow speckled, blue neck. "Relax love. You're always the one I love most." The starlight crooned then and nodded her head as Nituna turned back around to watch the dragonets.

[Moo]

Shifting his weight around as he settled in behind his rider, Mosiliath adjusted his wings and looked out at the Sands. The eggs trembled and rocked, and the Tiger grew more and more attentive with every passing second. He rather enjoyed the Hatchings, and still had trouble fathoming that he was once that small. All of a sudden, he heard her voice. The Queen’s. He listened in silence. Her welcome, though short, spoke to him in volumes.

His tail knotted in embarrassment. He understood his display was inappropriate at the present, and he admittedly felt a little sheepish. He was old enough to know better. Though he knew his original intention was not to attract attention, she, however, did not. He turned to focus on the young, Golden Queen and told himself that he must speak to her and make amends – but only after her moment on the Sands. He dared not speak to her while she was tending her eggs. Mosiliath’s eyes swirled light blue as he relayed this message of welcome to his rider.

Well, thought D’gan, a little amused by the reserved state of his dragon, that will teach us to arrive outside protocol.

And if we have angered them?

At least we made an impression.

D'gan paused and watched his Tiger with bated breath.

Mosiliath blinked. Impression. Oh! His eyes whirled dark green, and he rumbled to himself in amusement. I get it. You are funny.

D’gan resisted the urge to laugh as his dragon caught on. You've never found my other jokes humorous.

The Tiger nuzzled his Rider with his nose. That is because they were not. But this was your best. Make another one. He rumbled again, quite pleased with himself.

D’gan snorted when he heard Mosiliath's simpering tone. Flattery will get you no where. Now, let us quiet so others may watch the Hatching in peace.

They turned around at the sound of cracking shell. It was not long before the first two dragonets emerged into the light. A smile rose on D’gan’s lips as he watched them. He had learned long ago that it did not matter which color hatched first, so long as the dragonets were healthy, it would be a success. He did not doubt the young Queen’s abilities. And as with every Hatching he had been present for, his own memories of Impression seemed to surface. How nervous he had been. The blue-gray of the coming dawn, and his early arrival to the Sands. How certain he seemed that he would not Impress, that he would not live up to his father’s expe--

-- Now, none of that, Mine.

A calm voice flooded into his mind.

You are a great Rider. I would not have chosen if you were not there. You are Mine and I am Yours. Do not give yourself those thoughts.

D’gan did not respond, instead fixed on the Candidates, but Mosiliath could feel his rider’s old anxiety ebb, and took that silent sign as his thanks. He resumed his watch and hummed encouragement to the young. It was a privilege he would never grow weary of.

[Jay Kitten]

The girl watched from her place as the gold began to touch her eggs individual, and from them, came dragons. The first curious little fellow was a brown, cute in his own right, though she knew better than to underestimate the ravenous hunger of dragonets, as Cirryyth had been quite a handful when V'ridian had her help him on one of her visits to her brother's Weyr. Nearly lost a few fingers on multiple occasions. Still had some scars, even.

Regardless, her breath was taken away by the spectacle of the life of a dragon, being birthed from their mother's loving protection in the form of hard shell. But their yearning wasn't lost on her, it felt like she could almost feel each of the dragonet's desires, pushing her. Call her empathic, but she wanted to feed them all just to get their hungry little bellies full. Poor creatures were likely starving.

She held a hand in front of her mouth as the second and third finally removed themselves from their shells, though they continued to break at them until they could get free. So far, a blue and a brown. Surprising, considering she had heard of the great many colors of this Weyr's bloodlines. Would they continue the tradition and birth more strange hides, or would the genepool be more limited this time around?

She wondered silently to herself as she watched.

[Kaya]

The Brown was already to the boys by the time the third egg made its way into the world. The dragonet danced around the hot sands, uncomfortable to the extreme. He was hungry, he was itchy, he was upset and miserable and he wanted out of this place. Being back inside his safe egg would have been better than this, but it was broken into a million little pieces. It was his own fault. Squirming, he whined quietly to himself. He had to get off of this hot ground. Bumping into one boy he flinched away. It felt strange on his hide and he couldn't imagine why someone would want to wear material or anything on their skin. Wasn't temporarily being covered in sand bad enough?!

J'ston! Sivith needs OFF these itchy, terrible yellowish things NOW! the Brown demanded. He hated feeling like this. Itchy, hungry, miserable and...he realized he felt kind of warm and fuzzy too. Like he'd found the thing - the person - who had made it worth it to wade through all the trials of his life.

The third egg had already broken to reveal a tiny, lightly colored Citrine. She was lashing her tail about wildly as if it were a toy. She hadn't quite gotten used to all of her limbs yet and tripped over her feet. She plummeted into the sand and managed to get it up into her nose as well as in her mouth. Livid, she shrieked, spewing sand every which way as she wildly thrashed about trying to remove the intruders. This would not be her life! This would not be how she felt! The back of her mind told her people were laughing at her. She tried to roar again, but it came out as a squeak.

I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS. ENETTA, COME FIX THIS. HELP TRATETH! ....NOW!

Archith had already touched and attended to the fourth and fifth eggs. The fourth spilled forth a dragonet whose hide was one of the deepest royal purples ever seen in the Weyr. Like many others, his hide was currently speckled with golden sand grains. However, none of it bothered him. Not the roaring of the crowds, nor the sand nor the bright, dazzling morning light. In fact he rather liked all of it and soaked it in with pleasure. Without hesitation he too headed off toward the boys where a Blue was still inspecting just about everything over there.

The fifth egg took longer to hatch. In fact the sixth egg beat it in their race to be born. A Sunset emerged from that sixth egg, but something was different about her. The crowd quieted, though only the slightest bit before resuming its shouts and commentaries even louder than before. This dragonet, though colored in beautiful reds, oranges and yellows, was covered in a dark, hazy overtone. Only a few of them had been seen in the Turns since Dark Mists Weyr, and some took it as a distinctly bad omen for a dragon of their ilk to find the world. Archith turned to the dragonet, who had hatched out of turn, and growled at her. Still, nothing could diminish a mother's love.
While some might have seen the growl as threatening from the Queen that towered over this young dragonet, Archith revealed to no one the exact conversation they had. She expected her daughter to do the same. With a nudge of her nose, Archith sent the Sunset wheeling off towards the females. It would be best for her to leave the sands in a timely fashion.

Archith turned her attention to helping the fifth egg hatch. The seventh threatened to break order again if this little one didn't make it out soon. She rubbed her nose over the shell and rocked it back and forth a few times. Satisfied, the Gold sat back to watch. In another minute or so a splendid Dream had made his way into the world. Archith gave him a rather ungraceful lick before encouraging him to go find his future Rider. Now the seventh egg needed her attention, but not too much of it, for a Green soon arrived.

And then would come the eighth egg, and so on, for that was how Archith's world should turn. What a day it had been so far!


Dragonets

Sivith
Name: Sih-vith
Hex color: 8c4727
Adult size: 30 feet
About: His hide is a little darker than the average Brown. Sivith is extremely aware and hypersensitive. It's likely you'll find he's allergic to something. On top of that he's very sensitive to touch and knows exactly how he feels physically all the time. It makes back rubs better and itches worse. Expect him to complain fervently until his growing hide stops itching. Due to his sensitivities, Sivith is likely to be one of the least lazy Browns. Faranth knows if he'll ever find a comfortable spot. He is extremely grateful for all the good things in his life and acts of kindness directed toward himself. He can keep track of several things at once in his head, but with all that thinking going on don't expect to be able to sneak up on this Brown.

Trateth
Name: Trah-teth
Hex color: fff8af
Adult size: 16 feet
About: Quieter than most Critines, she has lost none of her temper. She is prone to snap or seethe even on the best of days when something goes amiss. She prefers small groups, routine, and a predictable life. Her world goes by the book. For her everything has a place and should be in it.

[Lark]

Saka nodded as some eggs started hatching again. Finally! The young girl skipped on the sands a bit as she waited. So far only males, just males, males, males. Well, what was this clutch? Se...Nope! Smiling wide as a Citrine climbed out of a shell, or perhaps toppled was a better word, Saka laughed. She didn't seem happy for a Citrine, and the little thing soon found her partner. The brown had too evidently, but the candidate didn't pay attention to the brown much. He wasn't her own dragon, never seemed to be in the first place. So why bother? Sighing, the young girl pulled at a lock of curly red hair. The white feather tied in it caressed against her hand then, tickling her and making Saka giggle quietly. Her toes wiggled as she silently pulled off one shoe just for a moment. She wanted to see something.

Of course she was stopped, foot raise off the ground slightly and only clad in the colorful tights she wore. Instead of placing her foot on the hot sands like she wanted, just to see what it was like, her mind locked onto a myth it seemed. The odd sunset female was intriguing for two reason. One, she was female. That meant she may impress to Saka herself. Two, she was not unlike how DMW dragons had been. Or at least according to the stories she had been told before bed as a younger child. She still remembered them well. The words haunted her. Dragon against dragon. Shaking her head Saka decided this dragonet wasn't as harmful. It was a sunset and it wasn't causing trouble. In fact, Saka liked it quite a bit. Not only was it odd and different, it seemed perfectly okay with it's differences too. Something she could definitely relate to.

Zoran bit his lip as he watched the male dragons hatch. The females were payed less attention. They were for people like Sak, not him. No, he would be good with one of the males out here. Watching the dragonet's, he calculated any possible sign of injury or distress. The two impressed ones seemed to dislike the sand. As they closet, the healer candidate leaned over and whispered. "Try using the oil they give you. It'll help take the sand off and make them stop itching." Now it wasn't like he could tell they were concerned about Thisbe wise he could hear them. No, Zorasn was no HAD. He was however a good healer and he could tell when something was bothering his patient.

Inoria welcomed the two weyrlings as they came over. Holding out suitable sized buckets for each, she led them in the right directions. Zaranyth meanwhile crooned happily down at her newest charges. They both for noe decided to ignore the unimpressed hatchlings. Including the strange sunset. That would only take Inoria away from her duties....still....no! She would deal with that problem when it cane to her. Now, it looked like the picky blue and eager green may choose first. Though, that purple male was not to be counted out either.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar watched as the queen directed the eggs in their hatching. It did seem as though the order of nudging dictated the order of Hatching, but then the pattern broke down, when the sixth egg nudged hatched a Sunset before the fifth egg hatched. He saw Jerston walking off the Sands with the Brown, and in some detached part of his mind a thought skipped across the surface, a brief wonder as to how the other boy’s name would be contracted, probably as J’ston, but J’ton was a possibility.

I’ll have to ask him, afterwards, Kalitar told himself. He saw Enetta and the Citrine moving, and realized that the Citrine dragonet had also Impressed. He wasn’t worried yet though, after all there were still many eggs, as well as the Blue and the just hatched Purple and Dream. The dark haze of the Sunset’s colors recalled some old, half-whispered stories of a war between the Weyrs, but Kalitar put them from his mind, mostly by focusing on the three male dragonets.

The Dream was still back by the eggs, near the new-hatched Green, but the Blue was nosing among the boys, and the Purple was fast approaching. His heart beating faster, Kalitar wondered if he would Impress one of them, or if one of the as yet un-hatched eggs contained his dragonet. He refused to consider the possibility of not Impressing; his friends might never let him live something like that down, even if he ever managed to allow himself to forget about it.

[Jay Kitten]

The impatience had started to seep in. Already two had Impressed, it seemed, and even more, she bit her lip and watched as the rest of the first six broke shell.

Her mind was racing, would she be good enough? She drew away from the crowd, it was just her and the other Candidates. Dragons... Were quite an accomplishment, and to fail at such a task where her family had succeeded might have adverse effects upon her standing in her family.

She clenched and unclenched her hands, a bit of a nervous habit as she rolled her lip between her teeth for a while longer.

What a day so far...!

[sweetlilangel]

J'ston kept the list going in the back of his head until the first dragonet was fully out its shell. Only then did he allow his full attention to turn to the eggs and hatchling. Immediately and instinctively he checked over the hatchling for any scratches from the egg or defects. This still kept his mind busy while allowing him to focus on what he should be: The dragons.

His attention had just shifted to the next hatchling that broke free when he froze. His eyes widening, Jerston snapped his eyes back to the brown who had brushed against his robes and was now standing before him. He could feel his skin tingling with the itch of the sand where it clung the dragon's hide and his stomach clenched, the dragon's hunger compounding his own as he realized he hadn't eaten yet...

"Sivith," He whispered softly. This was his dragon.. Not his father's Jerith, not someone else's reporting an injury or requesting to meet him. No, he could tell from the warm feeling building in his chest and dazing his mind that this was his Sivith. One hand reached out to touch the dragonet and brush some of the sand away. He barely registered the words of the nearby candidate, though some part of his mind registered them as correct. The oil might help. His hide would need to be cleaned with water and sweet sand first.. get all the goo from the egg off. The rumbling from both their stomachs reminded him that food would be the first thing Sivith needed.

With a smile of acknowledgment to the candidate, J'ston lead the brown towards their Weyrling Master and the buckets that contained the meat. He accepted the bucket offered him with a nod of gratitude and set about feeding Sivith, who was complaining still about the itching sand on his. Though his eyes shot through with hints of blue-green when he took his first bite of the meat.

Oh. Oh, it is glorious.. So chewy and tasty. This sand still itches though... We will make it stop soon? he pleaded, though J'ston could tell he was pleased with the free hand rubbing his head knobs gently. The joy from that sensation practically hummed through their bond.

[Shoki]

Dalziel was sitting up against one of the corridor walls, sleeping. Pounce had curled up into his lap, purring softly. The boy had spent most of the last night chasing the feline around the Weyr. The silver cat had been uncharacteristically naughty, and he had been so tired by the time he had caught her that he had just sat down and got some shut eye. Pounce had woken from her sleep some time ago and had been expressing her affection to her human. However the low vibration from her purring did not appear to be noticed. Vexed by this, the feline climbed up his chest and onto his free shoulder. His head had flopped to one side sometime during the night and would likely give the lad a sore neck when he woke up. Pounce decided it was time for Dalziel to wake up so she began to box his head with her paw. After two hits he showed some sign of stirring, making the feline purr and rub her body against his head. The boy groaned and opened his eyes, feeling soft fur against his head. Why was he not in bed? The events of the previous night caught up to him slowly as he woke up. He decided it would be best to be off so he gathered Pounce into his arms as he got up. He paused once he had righted himself. There was something going on. The boy listened to Pounce for a moment. She was purring but that was not loud enough to be-
“Shards!” He bolted with Pounce in hand toward his barrack and then the sands. He’d probably slept through half the hatching at this point.

A very embarrassed candidate made it to the sands in proper garb. Dalziel quickly scanned for Dan and spotted his twin. A sense of relief struck him. He minded his manners to the Queen of the clutch, bowing in her direction be fore taking a spot next to his brother. He turned to his brother for a moment and made sure Dan could see him before mouthing one word. “Pounce.” More explanation would be required but it was a fair reason he was late. With that done and having finally joined the hatching, he took a look at what was happening. A Brown had hatched as well as a Citrine and they had already found their partner. A Purple, Blue, Sunset, Dream and Green were all on the sands. He had missed a lot. That would not do. Dal would have to be more observant to make up for it.

---

“Makaleu you idiot.” The female candidate berated herself in the same method as he mother used to. Her full name rarely got aired out unless she was doing a formal introduction or she had done something stupid. In this case, she was late. Mau had gotten something of a head cold this morning, a very unpleasant, but not unexpected malady to have. Her thinking had been a tad fuzzy this morning because of it, and needed a good cup of K’lah to have any sort of coherence in her train of though. She had ran late because of it, and still had a handkerchief balled into her hand. Once she had found herself near the sands she blew into the handkerchief one more time, stood up straight and walked onto the sands. She was not sick, just looked a little tired. Obviously, it was that she could not sleep. She gave a bow to the golden queen, obviously it was a honor to stand for her hatching. Mau slipped into the candidates, hopefully not a major distraction. She looked for Enetta, and saw her with a Citrine in front of her. Mau’s face lit up instantly. How cool, to get here in time to see that her new friend had impressed. It made her mood much better. Now she could really feel good about standing here. Her head cold had nothing on something good happening for a friend.

Mau glanced at the other dragonets, and picked one to watch. The purple was the one she picked. The range of colors never ceased to amaze her. The lovely purple was heading toward the males, making her wonder how dragonets picked their riders. The idle thought was a touch fuzzy on the edges, and it was second to observing the colors on the sands.

[Kaya]

The eighth and ninth eggs had already been touched. Archith was turning to the tenth when two Candidates ran in late. Though she had willed herself to allow those without the right shoes, those who forgot to bow or thank her, she would not let these late ones get off free. She worked her way through the gap in her circle where the seven eggs had been, careful with her tail. She approached the boy first, seeing he was with another who had been on time. Well, then those on time would stand in the proper place. Those who didn't:

She nudged Dalziel back with her sand flecked muzzle. He had been late. He would stand in the back. She didn't want him to fall, though added embarrassment for him wouldn't have bothered her Archith knew that the wrong patches of hot sand could burn people. She didn't want less Candidates, just ones who learned their lessons. The boy promptly pushed a good several feet back from her eggs she turned and repeated the process with the girl who came late. And would do the same to anyone else who had the nerve to be tardy to the most important day of her children's lives.

In her absence the other eggs Hatched. The eleventh wiggled, as if it couldn't wait for her approval to be set free into the world. As soon as Archith's nose touched the shell a boisterous Pink broke forth into the world and in quite succession broke out into song. Well, her idea of a song. She had potential...just no training. A few people might be plugging their ears if she got to close. With just as much energy she sped off towards the girls where the Sunset and Dream had already gone.

The ones before the Pink had come into the world quiet enough, shadowed by Archith's disapproval of the late Candidates. They were content enough, however. A large, determined Iron and a wide eyed Cloud had wondered off toward the males without so much as a second glance at their eggs. The tenth egg had housed a mellow, who followed after his brothers. The Iron was taking one sturdy step after the other, his focus honed in on the boys, taking in who was there before he was even close. The Cloud on the other hand took his time. He stared longingly at the sky. They both had that pale, early morning blue color. The dragon had wispy white 'clouds' over his hide: his namesake. The Cloud slipped behind the boys to look for his future Rider. They were all spread out well enough he could see them all, but he liked to see things from different angles. His blue wings occasionally flopped into the sand when he got tired of holding up the large, rather ungainly things.

The Sunset bristled as other dragonets came into her space. Yes, they were looking at the humans too, but she would pick first! She would take whichever one was meant to be hers and they would wait until she had figured it out! She hissed, swiping her claws at the Green. She caught the other dragonet on the cheek, leaving three light scratches there. Nothing that wouldn't heal easily, but it was enough to cause the Green to flinch away and start crying, little whines escaping her throat. Her sister was not nice at all!

SAKA! I am tired. Tired of all this! Plorath insists that we go NOW! ...I'm hungry too. the Sunset admitted at last. The hunger that had been building up inside of her was now the only thing she could focus on. Food first! Plans later.

Peering out from the remains of the twelfth egg was a timid Jungle. He was too aware of all the eyes on him. Kicking up sand as he sprung to life, the dragonet leaped into the air and dove to hide behind the thirteenth egg. Maybe they wouldn't see him now...

The Blue from the Hatching's start was now near the end of the half circle of boys. He didn't seem bothered though. His was near. He knew it. Patience. He spotted him at last! He was near the end of the line. The Blue held in his excitement, kept walking at a study pace. At last he felt he was close enough to speak. H'rarn, hello! My name is Korith. I have a feeling we'll be getting along quite well. H'rarn didn't know how to feel about the dragon's words, but he knew how they both felt. On the outside, not too much changed. A smile, a raise of the head, but inside was where they felt the full force of their experience. With a hand on the dragonet's neck, H'rarn looked into the eyes of the Blue. They had waited, and now they had found each other. With a reserve they didn't know they had, the two walked of the sands together in a companionable manner, as if they had already known each other and were being reunited.

The Purple was the next to find his. He had taken in all of the Hatching Grounds that he could, and with his senses full to the brim, he bumped into a particular boy. On purpose. K'tar! Look at all the people! Look at everyone looking at everything! Maybe now they will look at us! They will look at K'tar and Viarth! The dragonet's tail swished with his excitement and his eyes whirled speedily. The world was theirs to see! And look at how BIG it was!

To the Jungle's dismay, the thirteenth egg shattered to release a rather stunned Moonlight. Why was this dragon so close to his egg? The thought puzzled the new born. The two stared at one another, unable to process what the other might be thinking. How odd the other one was.

Archith on the hand, couldn't be happier. Half of her children were out and about without a hitch. The late comers were now forgotten to her pride swollen mind. What grand children she had. In no time at all now they'd find their Riders and start off the rest of their lives with breakfast and a long nap. Just as it should be. The Gold was very pleased.


Dragonets

Plorath
Name: Plor-ath
Hex colors: 9c0d0d / c88100 / c9c900
Adult size: 27 feet
About: Exuberant and more than a little mischievous, she takes pride in her identity and the extra attention it brings her. Willing to take credit for broken dishes and spooked runners, even if it wasn't her fault, this Sunset is determined to make a name for herself in the Weyr. Negative attention is better than none at all.

Korith
Name: Kor-ith
Hex color: 0000ba
Adult size: 26 feet
About: Korith keeps things in and consciously selects what parts of his thoughts and self he is comfortable sharing with others. He is highly in tune with the sentiments of those around him and attaches memories and feelings to specific locations, which he will relive if he visits them. He is very aware of time and its passage.

Viarth
Name: Vee-arth
Hex color: 3f0063
Adult size: 31 feet
About: Viarth is a tease and revels in the spotlight. He has a creative streak in him, wondering what kind of wild things could be put together to make every day tasks easier - part of it comes from curiosity, the other half laziness. He is exceptionally bad at anything the first time he tries it, but learns quickly and must try things with his own claws and wings before he gets the hang of it. Nothing bothers this lighthearted dragon, it all slides right off his back.

[krillian]

His first day in the Weyr and he was at a hatching. In a hatching? Right down in the hot sand and the smell of dragon. The huge Queen was managing to watch everyone as they stood before her eggs. If he moved wrong, she would know it. She had already shown that! He'd been fortunate to be behind a Candidate who knew what he was doing, and copying the other Candidate's actions had worked.

Being on the Sands was overwhelming and almost terrifying. Krillian could feel all the watching eyes of the other dragons and their riders too. He had never felt so small and had so many eyes on him before. The watchers were excited and somewhat critical. It was tough not looking around and up at those eyes, but once the eggs started cracking, critical eyes just didn't matter anymore. The really important eyes were in front of him now.

Krillian stood straight and did his best to continue to imitate the Candidates who seemed to know what they were doing. He sure as shards didn't! He'd been awake and clean when the humming started, one advantage of being used to rising with the dawn. He'd dressed quickly - he'd never had put the candidate's robes away after getting them last evening! That was a very good thing, seeing what the queen had done to the two late arrivals.

Hatchlings were colorful and sandy and uncoordinated and apparently dangerous. They reminded him of yearling runner beasts - but hatchlings had teeth and claws. Krillian moved his weight onto his toes after seeing one lash out at another with her claws. He had no interest in being in the way of a charging hatchling. The trick would be to tell if they were running to him or through him. Please, let one chose him?