[G] [H] 739.05.28 | Break of Dawn

N’mor came to slowly; he’d spent many of the night hours engaged in rather strenuous activities with Z’rin; as such, waking up was not on his list of to-dos any time soon – probably not until after midday, if he had his way. Unfortunately, there was that niggling feeling that just wouldn’t go away and it wasn’t until he floundered into consciousness that he realised it was Rhezalth trying to wake him up. With a sigh, he realised he also had a full bladder and between the two a long and lazy morning was not on the list at all. Sitting up slowly, N’mor rubbed at his face and slumped, querying what it was that Rhezalth wanted that couldn’t wait until lunchtime.

The babies stir, the bronze said mildly, his tone clearly baiting a response from his rider. It took N’mor several moments to comprehend what it was his dragon had said, before he raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Of course they are.” Hatchlings never could wait until a reasonable time for making an appearance. If it wasn’t the middle of the night, it was some fucked up hour of the pre-dawn. Just about falling out of bed, N’mor stumbled around the darkened room before thinking to flick the cover of his glows so he could actually see. That done, he found some clean clothes and made his way to the bathing room. Despite Rhezalth siring a clutch, N’mor found he wasn’t important enough to have his own weyr with a bathing suite. It was annoying, but what could he do?

Emerging from his bath refreshed and much more awake, N’mor made his way back to Rhezalth and mounted up, letting the dragon glide down to the Hatching ground and enter the large cavern. The bronze dragon settled himself regally not too far from Nadioth, but not close enough to get slapped with her tail or snapped at. He wasn’t especially fond of the gold, but he didn’t particularly dislike her, either. It was more his nature to be irritated by anything that breathed and consider most other dragons a waste of space. Nadioth got a few brownie points, because she’d been caught by him and their clutch was about to Hatch. That was pretty cool, really.

N’mor nodded to Vaeyla, and settled himself on Rhezalth’s foreleg, watching the eggs as they wobbled slightly. It would be a while yet, before they managed to actually Hatch, and he knew they were in for a bit of a wait before the Candidates were called to attention. That said, the dragons were beginning to pick up on the event, and were slowly filtering into the cavern, humming even as they chattered, if Rhezalth’s interest and rare comments were anything to go on. N’mor was rather amused by the prospect of the dragons’ having their own system of betting and excitement for the upcoming Hatching.

OOC;
First dragons began to realise the Hatching was starting at about 3:30 to 4am, and the important Weyrfolk began filtering into the Sands. The Candidates will have been woken up at about 4am and are expected to present themselves onto the Sands by about 4:30-4:45am. The first egg with actually hatch at 5am, hence the timeframe given in the description. The next admin post will take place at 5am IC time, so keep that in mind as you make your Candidates and additional character posts! All candidates will be on the Sands by the time the first egg hatches, regardless of who has or hasn’t posted.

At this stage, the Hatching is G rated. If it gets gory, it may change to M. We'll see how it rolls! No promises one way or the other~

Mylorah's first instinct was to believe the voices telling her the eggs were showing signs of hatching was a joke. Only a bored Candidate would think it was hilarious to wake everyone up in such a way to see how everyone panicked and began flailing around only to see some idiot laughing hysterically in the doorway. However, when the voice came closer, indicating the person had reached her end of the room, Mylorah realised it was one of the Weyrlingmaster's assistants calling them all to rise and that they had roughly thirty minutes to get dressed and be on the Sands.

Throwing the light sheet off, Mylorah jumped to her feet, rubbing at bleary eyes. She took a moment to stretch her arms over her head, feeling her back crack in just the right away to make her sigh with relief as the odd way she had fallen asleep slipped away, hopefully not to come back and haunt her later.

It didn't take long to slip out of her sleep wear and into the ugly robe Mylorah was still convinced would be better used to lug potatoes around in. But wore it she did, as well as her boots, laced up tight with the ends tucked in to help ensure they didn't come undone. She had taken all the advice she had been given this time around and last time and merged them into her own routine. The only thing left for her appearance was her long hair. Typically, she liked to wear it down and play with it when bored -- like standing around watching eggs would likely make her. However, she wanted to see everything clearly and didn't want an excited hatchling -- or scared friend -- getting tangled up so she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and then wrapped it up and secured it in a neat bun.

The last thing she did on her way out was splash some water on her face to make sure she was wide awake and fresh-faced before facing the world. As she left the Candidate barracks, she joined up with a group and walked over to the Sands together, smiling and laughing, though she could tell a lot of them were nervous and trying to act like they weren't. She had to admit, she was a bit nervous as well. Hatchings could be so unpredictable. She didn't know who would Impress or if anyone would be injured but hoped no one would be, even if that meant balancing out that hope with her chance at Impressing this time.

Once they reached the Sands, their chatting died down a bit as they took in the sights and the slowly filling stands. She some familiar faces from Ista but not too many had made the trip in from other Weyrs yet. She wondered if R'nd would be there but then called herself silly for doubting. He may not know about her but he knew about Ayontay and would be there to support his son if nothing else. Although, with N'mor's dragon siring the clutch, Mylorah didn't doubt that B'jin would have dragged R'nd along to be a proud dad.

Speaking of Ayontay, she looked around and spotted him slowly making his way over and gave him a wave. Her older brother Korlin was given the same greeting a few minutes later when he showed up as well. She kind of loved having family Stand with her and knew T'ryn would be watching from the stands as well. There was just one person left to greet that was already there and she blew kiss at N'mor when she caught his eye, laughing at his usual reaction. He was so much fun!

When word came that the hatching would begin at any moment, Ayontay had sent word via Shadow to R'nd and B'jin. He knew his dad wanted to be there and it wa sa good thing he had made the note days ago to toss at Shadow since Ayontay was slightly in panic mode.

This wasn't his first Hatching but it was still a bit nerve-wracking and left him feeling a bit frazzled. So many things could happen over the next several hours and they could change his life forever. He could Impress! That was the ultimate goal, of course, but that brought about so many new things that it would likely leave him overwhelmed until graduation. But there were also the possibilities of not Impressing, of a friend doing so, of someone getting hurt, of getting a dragon but not the colour you thought you'd get. Not that Ayontay thought about that too much and didn't think he'd care if he landed on green or bronze. He'd still be with a dragon! But he did admit he thought it'd be cool to get bronze like his brother. But maybe blue like his dad would be cool too. B'jin was fun, so maybe green would be okay. Brown... well... he didn't think that was what he wanted after all.

Distracted with his thoughts, Ayontay dressed without issue but almost left with the mess that was his hair being unattended. He had to dig through his bag of bathing supplies but finally found the elusive brush and worked quickly to remove any evidence that he had fallen asleep with damp hair and hoped he looked presentable. Given the early hour, he didn't think appearance would matter too much as most of the spectators wouldn't be in much better shape.

He walked silently and alone to the Sands, following a group that he could have easily caught up with and chatted to since he did count some of them as friends but wanted the time alone. It could very well be the last chance he had to be alone with his thoughts if a dragon thought him worthy and invaded his head. Not that Ayontay was really sure about what else he wanted to think about. He had mostly gotten over the drama of his first kiss but now he felt weird around Madiquel but he tried not to let it show and affect their friendship. In fact, when he finally reached the hatching grounds, Ayontay stepped just inside and glanced around to look for his best friend, smiling brightly when he saw and waved. He wasn't worried when he didn't see R'nd yet since it was early and the man would likely take his time making himself look perfect and grinned at the note Shadow brought back to him a minute later that stated as much.

Shaking his head and giving the note back to Shadow and telling the flitter to go hang out with Clover in the rafters, Ayontay strode forward with all the confidence he could muster and joined the other Candidates.

Kordiavis was dressed and looking rather presentable compared to a good portion of the other Candidates. Didn't they have any standards? It didn't matter that they were all wearing ugly robes that no amount of gems could make desirable, they could have at least brushed their hair or stopped shuffling along like they were sleep-walking. Shaking his head in disgust, he finally pushed off from the wall he had been leaning on to observe the frantic antics of everyone else and meandered his way to the hatching ground.

It was his first Hatching and while he knew he should be excited or nervous, he wasn't. He felt almost empty inside. He wondered if that was the result of his excitedness over the possibility of being a dragonrider clashing with his fears of what his mom thought about it all. He was tired of living by her whims, worrying what she would think and how she'd react. It was why he decided to Stand this time. It was his life and he was going to do what he wanted with it, finally. But it made him a little nervous as well. He knew she already blamed him for her not being with her dragon. Her dragon died in the plague but she was pregnant with him at the time and couldn't kill herself to 'reunite' with her dragon. Kordiavis still didn't fully believe that story and figured other people stopped her from doing the deed. Now, he wondered how Alcynnia would react to him Impressing. Or what if he didn't? Who she gloat or say it was for the better because then he wouldn't have to experience the pain of when the dragon left him?

He wasn't going to think on that any longer. He dwelled on it way too often the closer the hatching got and it was time to let it go and just see what happened. When Kordiavis entered the area, he scanned the groups looking for people he both tolerated and even liked. He saw Mylorah and Misharan standing in the general area of each other and figured that was a good spot as well. He found them both interesting, especially after the poker game and decided they could make the Hatching more enjoyable. He also knew they both had experience with them and would know if something was going wrong and warn him.

"Hey," he greeted them both but didn't say anything else. What would he say? 'Great day for a Hatching?' Maybe a 'did you get any sleep?' He didn't really care. He had slept and assumed everyone else had received several hours as well.

Not being a morning person in the slightest, the commotion in the Candidate barracks didn’t initially disturb Nerreh. She slept through the noise until her friend the next bed over shook her awake. Blearily, Nerreh blinked at her, unsure if she was awake or this was a weird dream. Eventually she managed to process the words ‘eggs’ and ‘hatching’ and ‘now,’ and once they had registered Nerreh snapped awake, all vestiges of sleep gone from her mind.

The eggs were hatching.

Within seconds Nerreh was out of bed and scrambling for her Candidate robes, which she had started leaving on top so she could get to it as fast as possible. Usually Nerreh was more self conscious about changing, but today she didn’t care; getting to the Sands on time was more important! She was in such a rush she put the robe on backwards, and had to pull her arms back inside and try to wiggle it around the right way. Her boots were put on in the same haste, though Nerreh did manage to put them on the right feet first try.

She had already reached the door before she remembered that she might want to do something with her hair. Glancing back at her trunk, over halfway down the room, Nerreh shrugged and kept going, carding her fingers through her hair for a few seconds before giving up. Her hair was always a bit of a wavy mess anyway. She thought she might want to cut it soon, crop it short like most of the boys wore it. Dealing with longer hair, even if it only just barely passed her chin, was such a hassle!

By the time Nerreh had made her way to the Sands, following the flow of Candidates, the tightness in her stomach had appeared and settled, the anxiety of Standing for the first time after putting it off for so long. The fear of rejection had kept her off the Sands too long, and Nerreh couldn’t stop her hands shaking as she stood waiting with the other Candidates. While on one hand she knew she shouldn’t be disappointed if she didn’t Impress today, she knew she would be. Nerreh wanted that kind of a connection with a dragon, like she’d seen her friends and family have. She wanted to prove that she could Impress and ride a fighting dragon, no matter what people said. She wanted to be something in her life, not just another Lower Caverns woman cleaning up after people who had dragons. She wanted people to stop treating her like a little girl. She wanted, she wanted, she wanted. And she may have to wait another ten turns, or even never Impress! Nerreh’s stomach flip-flopped unhappily. Shards, she was always like this at Hatchings, but she’d thought maybe it’d be better now that she was a Candidate, not worse!

Trying to shake all the emotions off, Nerreh took several deep breaths, careful not to look at the people filling the Stands (Her family would probably be there, her grandfather would probably bring them all up from Telgar, and then her cousins in Ista), waved at Vaeyla and Nadioth, then shut out the rest of the world and focused on the periodically rocking eggs on the Sands before her.

Z'rin was exhausted when he got home from his enjoyable visit with N'mor but he still took advantage of the late -- or early, depending on perspective -- hour and used one of the large and empty bathing pools to soak in for a bit. He was nice and relaxed by the time he got out and easily fell into bed and asleep. Only, Varralath had other ideas and mentally nudged him in more creative ways until Z'rin finally rolled over with a very loud, "what!"

He groaned at being so cheerfully informed the Ista Hatching was about to begin. He had just left Ista and now he had to go back? He wondered if N'mor would really care if he showed up or not. It had been a promise made right after the Flight had been won. Did the bronzerider even remember it? It wasn't like they did a lot of talking outside of the amazing sex. In fact, they didn't do much outside of the amazing sex. N'mor likely wouldn't care at all if he sat through hours of wobbling eggs and excited dragonets meeting their mates.

But Z'rin liked watching the excited dragonets meeting their mates.

And he had said he would be there so he would be there. Even with barely an hour of sleep.

At least he had bathed already so it was a simple chore of dressing again and fighting with his hair until it was tamed. Varralath was geared up since a lot of important people would be at the Hatching and Z'rin didn't feel like getting in trouble for riding about without safety in mind. Besides, he'd likely have to watch from atop the big blue guy since Ista was a bit smaller and the stands would be given to those more important than him and those without a dragon to sit on. Then again, he was getting there early enough that he might be able to steal a spot and keep it.

That was the goal when they landed at Ista again. Varralath took off for an unoccupied ledge while Z'rin plunked himself down a bit further up the rows, knowing those more important people would want to be closer to the action. He knew the moment Varralath had relayed their arrival to Rhezalth when N'mor turned to the stands, scanning the people. When he appeared to have been spotted, Z'rin grinned widely but didn't wave since that would call unwanted attention. He didn't care that his relationship with N'mor was secret, knowing full well the reputation the young bronzerider had to maintain and it didn't hurt anyone. As he watched N'mor go back into stoic mode, no doubt pretending he was interested in everything happening around him, Z'rin did not envy him. He didn't like being the centre of attention and wouldn't have liked Varralath siring a clutch. Hooray for being a bluerider!

B’jin came to with the slowness of someone fighting to remain asleep; unfortunately, with screaming firelizards fluttering around his head and Larrikith’s deep amusement on the edge of his mind, sleep was quickly flung to the depths of between and B’jin sighed as he rolled over, untangling himself from R’nd and staring up at the shadowy forms of the firelizards flying around the room. There were too many. “Shimmer?” A frown was as much in his voice as it was on his face. “You’re supposed to be with N’mor.” Funny, how easily N’mor’s honorific had come to him, while others – such as Valerian – would always retain their full name in his mind.

Shimmer screeched, and landed on his chest, chittering excitedly. Leaning over, B’jin flicked the shade off his glow light, and the room was lit up softly. His frowning face followed the antis of Rell and… who was that blue? He groaned unhappily and buried his face in R’nd’s neck. “Why, Rin?” He asked rhetorically, quickly getting distracted by his lover’s neck and the soft rise of R’nd’s heartrate as indicated by the vein in his neck. Smiling to himself, B’jin licked R’nd’s neck and nibbled sensually before Shimmer shrieked, landing on R’nd’s head and shrieking again. Larrikith’s laughter was loud and vocal as B’jin jerked back from his blueriding lover and sighed dramatically again. “Really?” He grumbled. Honestly. They had time. Hatchlings always took forever to actually get to the Hatching part.

Grumbling, B’jin slid out of bed and found some clean clothing. Giving R’nd a grumpy look, B’jin kissed him lightly on the lips and slipped out of the weyr to go find an empty bath. Bathing together would be a bad idea, if they wanted to end up in Ista any time soon… Smirking to himself cheerfully, B’jin set about bathing and making his way back to the weyr in good time, finding Larrikith awake and ready to be strapped up when he re-entered. R’nd was gone, but since Ayyonth was still on the ledge, B’jin figured his mate was probably in a bath himself, or foraging in the kitchen. He hoped it was the latter. He hadn’t thought of food until that moment and Hatchings took forever and he would definitely be dying of starvation by the time they actually got to eat.

When R’nd appeared (from the baths, apparently, judging by his wet hair) B’jin jumped at the chance to go with and collected Eridella and Benden. B’jin quickly charmed the woman onto Larrikith, leaving Benden in his father’s hands, though he did make a point to stress the length of the Hatching and nodded in approval when Eridella had snack bags brought, mostly for Benden, but also for B’jin who laughed and kissed her cheek. Shortly thereafter they arrived in Ista. The cold of between worked well at making sure everyone was well and truly awake, especially in contrast to the muggy heat of Ista. B’jin grimaced, glad he was in Telgar these days. He never had taken to the weather at Katila and he was glad to be away from it.

Larrikith flew in low into the Hatching Grounds, skimming over the heads of the people milling around, and making her way towards Rhezalth. She eyed Nadioth warily before closing the distance, keeping the bronze dragon between herself and the gold, as she landed and touched noses with the younger dragon. B’jin, who had seen N’mor look over into the stands, was busy scanning the faces there before he spotted the likely person, since the bluerider – bluerider! – was still staring at N’mor. B’jin’s eyebrows lifted, and he bit down on a smile, though Eridella’s expression belied that she had seen the exchange too. Sliding off the dragon, B’jin helped Eridella down and squeezed her hand, flashing her a bright smile, positively trembling in delight at finding out something he was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to know about!

“N’mor!” B’jin called cheerfully as he strode over to his son, wrapping the boy in a tight hug before letting him go and grinning at him. “Excited?” he teased, throwing a subtle glance in the direction of Z’rin, and lifting his eyebrows at the young bronzerider. He watched with great interest the way N’mor’s face lost and gained colour in quick succession before smoothing out into his usual stoic expression. Laughing, B’jin wrapped an arm around N’mor’s shoulders and turned them both towards the Sands. “Anyone you’re really hoping will Impress?” he asked, still grinning.

Despite the annoying regularity of Hatchings being at ass o’clock in the morning, Misharan was always taken by surprise. It was always by some miracle that he managed to get out of bed, dressed, and onto the Hatching grounds before it was over. Honestly, Misha wouldn’t be surprised if one day at an early morning Hatching he would Impress and not realize it for several minutes due to being still mostly asleep.

That particular morning he’d managed to get to the Sands in a reasonable amount of time, his hair glistening in the first few rays of sunlight that were starting to be visible, having dunked his head in a bowl of water before leaving the barracks. It was fairly successful at making Misha slightly more coherent, but he could still feel his eyes barely staying open every time he blinked. He had moved along with the group, not really knowing who was around him, focusing on keeping awake and not stumbling. Tripping would be embarrassing, especially if he took someone else down with him by mistake.

After some period of time, though Misharan could not tell you how long, someone approached and said something to him. It took a moment of blinking at the other Candidate for Kordiavis’ name to reach the surface of his foggy brain. “Hng.” He said, giving a fairly lackluster wave. Proper words were too complicated for him just yet. As the time moved on, Misha was sure he’d be awake enough to hold a conversation if he needed to, but at that moment one syllable words (or weird noises, really) were about all he could manage.

At least he was too tired to be nervous.

Early mornings hadn’t ever phased Tala, and she was up and presentable in no time, getting ready before most of the other Candidates. She did, however, make a detour to visit her daughter, staying with a friend while Tala was in the Candidate barracks. There was no real reason to stop by, but Tala rather wanted her daughter and friend there for her, both for support and to witness her dragon’s hatching, if she did Impress today. It felt important to her.

She did feel bad about waking up her friend, but the other woman was an early riser anyway and brushed of Tala’s apologies, saying she would have gotten up soon anyway, even without a Hatching. Tala had given her friend a quick hug and a kiss to Ryvala, who was still sleeping, and ran back to the Hatching grounds.

Thankfully, she was still on time, and not even the last Candidate to arrive. Some people had such trouble waking up in the morning, so her errand hadn’t caused any problems. With a sigh of relief, Tala took a spot on the Sands, boots keeping the heat of the sand to a manageable amount and stood ready for further instructions or the crack of eggshell and cries of dragonets. She hummed along with the dragons gathered, excited as always by the prospect of new dragons, new bonds, new family.

It was happening!

The bussing the barracks were exiting on its own, even if they had been pulled out of bed at a shitty time. This was something he had been looking forward to even if his father and younger brother was coming, the letter still fresh in his mind. He had been pissed, possibly snapped at a fellow candidate or two. But he could deal with it later, he did not have the time to worry about his dumb brother or father. Wasn't like it matter what the man thought, as far as he could tell he could do nothing to change or affect the dragon which would choose him.

Hands pulled through his hair, as he fights to tie the leather strap around it. Once its up he rushes to find his cloaths, halfway dressed he realize he needs to warm the hatching robs and not his normal everyday clothing. Swearing loudly everything is ripped off, a button ripped from its place on his shirt as everything is just dropped on the bed. The right clothes out and he faces another problem as he fights to get it on. Rumbling in protests he finally manages to get everything on, but the rushed of and on dressing has left his hair all over the place again. He needs to get it cut back down soon, shitty hair. Wasn't even that long but it was long enough to be pulled back in a small ponytail.

Hair done he rushes out the door, quick to grab a pair of thick shoes on the way. He finds that most other candidates have already left and he curses everything.

However, on his bed, his brown filters rolls up on the sheets. Hunter being in no rush to leave his sleeping spot, the brown no bothering to get out of his comfy bed this early.

Siroll rushes through the Weyr, quick to get the sands, shit if he was late. But appears he was just on time, but in the last minute. Reaching the other candidates, and soon spreading out over the sands. A long breath to calm himself, he made it and it was time. But even so, even with his calm exterior, his heartbeat was over the roof. Excitement and slight worry in his chest. Dragon hatchings could get bloody, young dragons were not held back like adult dragons form hurting a person. Finding a spot on the sands he looks around finding the familiar face of Mylorah in the crowd but she was quite a distance from him. For a moment he debated going to her, but ended up raising a hand in a wave a smile on his lips along with a nod. His way of saying good luck without screaming it across the other candidates.

Mentions: Mylorah

Casa was less than thrilled by the early hour, or Thallyath demanding that she rise, bathe, dress and make an appearance. Of course, Casa would never have let a Hatching go by in her home Weyr without attending, but she would have liked to be woken up in a nicer way. Like maybe Thallyath could have asked Syrendryth to send T’ryn by to give her a nice good morning kiss? Would that be asking too much? Judging by Thallyath’s opinion of that thought, yes, yes it was. Casa pouted to herself as she made her way to the baths before coming back to get dressed, doing a mad (and very unladylike) dash down the hall in nothing but her towel. Honestly, she only did it to bait Thallyath, and was quite delighted when the dragon found it amusing.

Once she was back in her weyr, Casa bowed to Thallyath’s desires and pulled out one of her nicer gowns, a light and airy piece she’d had made especially a few weeks back. The summer was becoming unbearable and Casa, if she was going to be wearing gowns, wanted to wear something comfortable. The material was soft and gauzy, floating around her but falling in Thallyath-approved lengths to her ankles. It was sleeveless, underneath, but had long flowing ‘wings’ down the top of her arm. Or that was where they fell when she wasn’t rushing headlong down the hall towards T’ryn’s weyr.

“T’ryn?” Casa came to a stop outside his door, and knocked on it solidly, tilting her head and brushing her hair back from her face as she waited for him to appear. Thallyath had told her he was still in, since she’d invited herself to land on their ledge and the bronze was still there. She eyeballed him, but didn’t speak, as if daring him to put up a stink about her being there. She knew he didn’t like their riders being together any more than she did. Not because he’d said anything, but because she’d picked up on his expressions of disgust; as much as she didn’t like to accept it, chances were he had picked up on her own. Ugh.

When the bronzerider opened the door, looking harried but dressed, Casa threw her arms around his neck and kissed him happily. “The babies are hatching!” She stated the obvious, laughing excitedly as she leaned back a little bit, grinning up at T’ryn. “Are you ready?” She asked, stepping back and giving him a once over. Her grin turned naughty as her gaze lingered at his crotch, and she ran her hands down over his hips as she looked up at him from under her lashes. She’d been upping the ante on her invitations since her talk with Mylorah, but it seemed T’ryn was… nervous? Scared? As thick as a log of wet wood? She couldn’t decide. But he really wasn’t getting it. At any rate, now wasn’t the time to push the subject. Leaning up again, Casa kissed T’ryn with no small amount of frustration, and then took his hand.

“Come on, we’ll be late!” She teased, as if he’d been the one lingering.

Reaching the two dragons, it wasn’t long before Thallyath landed lightly on the Sands, chirping a cheerful greeting to Nadioth, though she kept a (very) respectful distance. She wouldn’t like to be crowded, or have dragons crowding her eggs, in Nadioth’s place! Leaving her dragon, and claiming T’ryn’s hand once more, Casa bounced cheerfully across the Sands, scanning the filling stands with interest. Turning her attention to the actual candidates, Casa waved happily at most of them, flashing a bright grin at Mylorah when she spotted the other girl.

“I like your sister,” Casa informed T’ryn, as if he were completely unaware of their friendship. Maybe he was! “I hope she Impresses a nice dragon.” Whether that was today or ‘next time’ was debatable. Honestly, Casa would like her on gold alongside herself, because then they could have fun and Thallyath would hopefully have a friend!

Normally R’nd thoroughly enjoyed B’jin waking him up. This time, however, it was accompanied by a lot of firelizards that were squawking at each other with one landing on his head. He sighed, remembering the way Rell had landed on his head right after hatching but Shimmer was older and larger than Rell had been at that time and he gently tried shooing her away, promising her he would get up if allowed.

He contemplated just dressing and going, but he was too much of a clean freak to avoid a bath no matter how tired he was. Some activities simply required a bath afterwards and it wasn’t like he was in a hurry. It was extremely rare to have the eggs start wobbling with hatchlings popping out immediately after. Besides, he had to give his sister time to get ready and Rell had only left a few minutes ago with the message letting Eridella and Benden know it was time.

Eridella was excited to see another Hatching, especially one that her nephew was Standing for so it was a rather easy decision to invite her along. R’nd asked Benden to come as well since the boy was nearly eight and could start Standing as well in a few more years. He sort of felt like the boy would be better left at the Hold where he seemed to fit in well, but R’nd wanted to give him a chance to make a proper decision when he was old enough and Volfetti had agreed to those terms years earlier. Unsurprisingly, when the offer to take Benden’s mother along was denied, R’nd suspected Volfetti still didn’t forgive the dragonriders for taking her away from her life that didn’t have room for her anymore when she was finally able to return.

He was bathed and dressed, hair styled though still damp, and his favourite scent was dabbed on. R’nd felt he was ready go. He sent Rell off again, this time to go ahead to Ista Weyr, find Shadow, and keep the younger firelizard out of trouble during the Hatching. He didn’t think Shadow would cause any issues, but this way both blues were keeping the other occupied.

The stop to pick up Eridella and Benden was brief, pausing only long enough to ensure they were both strapped in and had everything they needed. He was impressed with how quickly they were ready and rolled his eyes as Eridella teased that he likely took longer to prepare than she had. He loved her, but R’nd was glad she was riding with B’jin right then. Older sisters were the worst sometimes.

Upon landing in Ista, R’nd helped Benden down before Ayyonth relocated to a better location for him to watch everything. He knew R’nd was going to take full advantage of having his Lady sister with them to secure some good seats for them and wouldn’t be needed until they were ready to leave.

R’nd was crouching to be more on eye level with Benden as he pointed out various objects of the Weyr, who the sire and dame were for the clutch, who some of the Candidates were that he had Searched so he missed what B’jin and Eridella saw but glanced up all the same. He frowned when he didn’t see anything that was worth noting and decided he didn’t want to be involved with any sort of teasing of N’mor. The boy still creeped him out though not nearly as much as when he was younger.

What did catch his attention was T’ryn arriving with Casa, well, more specifically, what the goldrider said. She liked his sister? R’nd’s frown deepened as he glanced around to see if Ayontay’s mother and sister had arrived yet. As far as he was aware, that was the only daughter he had which was something B’jin had delighted in pointing out. Not only was there only one daughter but she was the full-blooded sister to Ayontay as well. Their mother, B’jin had gone on, must have been pretty special to earn two rounds of dating.

Wait.

R’nd’s line of thought skidded to a halt as he realised Casa had said she hoped the sister Impressed. Did that mean the girl was Standing now? Wynera was too young to Stand so that meant he had another daughter! R’nd scanned the Candidates, naturally looking for a blonde girl that may have resembled him. There were several blondes – he was actually quite convinced the bronzeriders that accompanied Search parties purposely picked out blondes for goldriders – but he couldn’t tell if they were his or Searched. He knew T’ryn wouldn’t tell, even if he pestered the boy but maybe Casa would accidentally slip up if he got her talking?

That was something to consider as he stood up, checking out the Candidates one last time before ushering Benden off to the stands to hold some good seats for the rest of their party still picking on N’mor.

T’ryn was lacing up his left boot when he heard Casa calling for him. He wasn’t surprised that Syrendryth didn’t inform him of her arrival. Even months after their first date, the bronze dragon still wouldn’t approve of Casa, thinking her too beneath him to bother with. It didn’t seem to matter that he liked the goldrider and had fun with her. Nope. All that mattered to Syrendryth was finding the perfect match for a mate and it wasn’t Casa. T’ryn was still afraid to ask if the damn dragon had any suggestions on who was apparently perfect for him so he simply tuned out the snide remarks and overlooked the lack of assistance when it came to letting him know when his girlfriend was coming.

T’ryn smiled and laughed at Casa’s enthusiasm after the kiss. That was the perfect example as to why he liked her. Her energy was so contagious, she was spontaneous, and simply lived in the moment, not caring all that much about what was expected of her. He was kind of envious of that ability of hers and wished he didn’t care so much about what a bronzerider was supposed to be and how he should act. But when he was with Casa, he could let loose a bit more and enjoy being young and, well, maybe not in love but enjoying the woman he was with.

Except in recent weeks he was starting to see her more as a gorgeous blonde piece of torture and her wandering hands proved it yet again as they seemed to invite more and then slam a door in his face as they stopped. Casa was doing so many suggestive things lately and just as he was about to screw up his courage and take the invitation, she always pulled away and didn’t seem interested anymore. Was she just toying with him to see how riled up she could make him without offering anything? He’d been taking his time, their conversation that day in the abandoned Benden Weyr playing in his head regularly. They were both virgins and she had seemed content to take it slow and he liked playing the gentleman to his beautiful companion; it was almost as if he was courting her like some of the lords did. He liked romancing her, thinking she was too shy to want anything along the lines of simply tossing her on the bed for wild sex.

He just wasn’t sure anymore. Casa was practically throwing herself at him and then shutting off before he could blink. T’ryn wondered if she was trying to dump him, but her kisses still held their usual fire and as she dragged him to their dragons, he tossed that idea aside. People had warned him that women were hard to figure out, but he thought Casa had always been a pretty straightforward woman. Maybe he could just try talking to her. Syrendryth snorted at the idea as he took off for a spot to watch the hatching.

T’ryn figured he could ask later, after the hatching or something. He wouldn’t ask while they waited; too many people around, including his dad and B’jin. “Hm? Yeah, she’s pretty great,” T’ryn smiled as a new topic came up to distract him from his hormones being turned on and off. He liked Mylorah, finding her confidence inspiring. She didn’t seem to seek anyone’s approval but he wondered if it was just for show or not. He and Ayontay both seemed to be screwed up in one way or another and needed R’nd’s love and approval, but Mylorah had never made any indication that she wanted to be in their dad’s life either.

“I hope she does as well. She’d make a great dragonrider. Maybe a goldrider and she could hook up with N’mor. You two can secretly lead through us clueless bronzeriders.” T’ryn laughed, not at the idea of the girls having better ideas and ruling behind the scenes, but at seeing himself as a Weyrleader and being absolutely completely in the dark about what to do.

“Come on, I see a couple of seats in the front. I wonder if we can get away with stealing them. We’ll pull rank or something,” he laughed again as he lead her off to the seats, draping his arm around her as they sat down to hold her close.

Humming. Why were things humming? Vaeyla made a whining noise and she sifted, moving closer to K'ton and, in an attempt to ignore said humming, pulled her pillow over her head. However, the humming persisted and, in fact, became increasingly insistent that she pay attention to it.

As did the presence in her mind that felt a plethora of emotions, the main one being annoyance, followed by something akin to excitement, or at the very least happiness. Digger, obnoxious beast that he was, dropped onto her back from wherever he had been perched, his humming not stopping as he stuck his head under her pillow to grab onto and pull several strands of her hair, which caused her to yelp, jump up, and inadvertently elbow the brownrider beside her.

NOW the presence in her mind was extremely amused, as it was her fault the little beast that was now screeching and flying overhead had snatched a mouthful of hair in the first place. Finally awake her brain started connecting small dots. It was extremely early, she was being woken up by humming and her dragon was not speaking to her but was annoyed and excited.

"Shells!" She tossed the blanket aside as she rolled over, giving K'ton a thump to his arm as she did so. "Hatching! Get up! They're hatching!!" She threw herself out of bed, grabbed some clothes and pulled them on as she hurried off to the bathing room to freshen up.

A short time later, after several minutes of trying to forcibly get her mate moving, mostly because he enjoyed seeing her face turn different shades of red, which had nothing to do with anger, they were sleepy yet excited, she more than he most likely, and landing on the warm sands where she dismounted after giving K'ton a kiss. Ironth greeted Nadioth who crooned at him softly, then in the very next breath growled and snapped her teeth at him to be gone from her and her eggs. That's not nice!, she said from the sands by her dragons head. I don't have to be nice. What took you so long? The annoyance in her dragons voice was fairly normal these days, so she ignored it and simply hugged her muzzle, so to speak, and planted a soft kiss to her hide. Ready for this? Nadioth gave a snort and a soft grunt in response, tail sliding back and forth across the sand, tongue lashing out from between slightly parted lips. Yes.

She watched as Ironth and an amused K'ton took off from the sands to find a perch and seat, respectively, then thought of something. Have Digger show Evritt where K'ton is so he will have a good view, please and thank you. Done. However, I do not understand why he can not be here with us. Yes you do, you just don't like it., she told her as she let dark eyes wander over the eggs, some of which were starting to wiggle here and there. No, I don't. He's mine and yours and should have one of MY children., Nadioth huffed. We've been over this...he has to wait just like everyone else. You will fly again, he can stand when he's old enough. The gold grumbled but dropped the subject as dragons and riders started to filter into the sands.

Rhezalth entered and settled near her, though smartly not too near. She growled low at him regardless as he rudely did not greet her as was expected of him. Manners meant a great deal to the gold and though she had allowed him to sire her clutch, he was most certainly NOT her Ironth, who had manners in spades. She snorted and ignored him for the time being when Vee smacked her leg for growling at him. He's rude! No, he's young. Excuses!, she hissed but said no more. Vee gave N'mor a wave and an apologetic smile for Nadioth's grumpy growling. She assumed most people would be used to fussy gold's at hatching time, but as she had told her dragon about his, he was young. Oh well, he'd better get used to it and soon if Rhezalth was going to be catching golds often.

Nadioth paid little attention to most of those who entered the sands for the hatching, however, when the candidates started filtering in she raised her large head off the sands and scanned those who entered, prompting Vee to do the same. She smiled and returned the wave when she saw Nerreh enter. Nerreh's here! I see her, and of course, she is. I told her she had to be. I would have demanded she be brought had she not., Nadioth said matter-of-factly. She liked a few of the other candidates as well, very few, but they had all been very good while touching her eggs, as loathe as she was to admit it and hoped they all impressed well and took good care of her children. Vee felt her dragons line of thought and gave her leg a pat after climbing up on it to sit. I am sure they will all Impress well. Indeed.

For the most part, Nadioth remained quiet after that. A hiss or low grumble here and there when dragons or people came too close. She had eyed the green Larrikith with something close to malice when she dropped her rider off near Rhezalth, but she knew the green and her rider well enough to control herself, which Vee was excessively proud of her for. Vee had looked over and given the weyrlingmaster a smile and wave but wasn't certain if he had seen her, as he was busy embarrassing the shells out of N'mor. She couldn't help but giggle. Luckily she was then distracted by the arrival of another dragon to the sands, Thallyath had landed and properly greeted Nadioth, which pleased the gold. She whistled a return greeting to the older gold, even though she didn't particularly care for other females near her eggs she liked Thallyath and considered her a proper gold.

From there on, until the first egg cracked it shell Nadioth and Vee spoke only, or mainly, to themselves, returning greetings, as was proper, to those who deserved or provided them first.

((OOC: I will fix errors tomorrow *flees to work late))

Only years of etiquette engrained into her stopped the young woman from jerking away and leaping up, out of bed.

It was also the only thing keeping her from reaching up and covering her ears. There was a godawful humming noise in the air, thrumming ceaselessly in her ears. It was unlike anything she'd ever known before, and she had to bite her lip to keep from shouting 'the hell is that?'

Just as she was moving to get up out of bed, someone began to bang on her door. Reaching down, she pulled her blanket up, covering her chest, although the person didn't open it, instead shouting that the eggs were hatching - the eggs were hatching?

Theodosia hurried to her feet, rummaging through her trunk to find the rough robe that she was supposed to wear to the hatching. It was harsh to the touch, and hardly seemed fit for more than carrying around produce, but that was what they were supposed to wear, and so she did. Her boots were pulled on as well - good quality ones, which were tailor made for her feet, and would protect her from the heat of the Sands. She took a moment, attempting to decide which eyepatch to wear, before deciding on the medical grade one. Who knew how long they would be on the Sands, and it would keep her cooler. It was better at wicking away sweat then the silk one was, at least.

A quick brush of her hair later, and she was making her way out to the Hatching ground. Having explored it her first few days here (and she couldn't believe there was a hatching only a handful of sevendays after she had arrived), she knew where it was, and even if she didn't, the crowd of people making there way in would guide her.

As she walked in, she took a moment to look up, seeing Dragons and Flits crouching up ahead. It was certainly worth a second look, but the eggs were moving, and so she moved to join the other Candidates. A polite bow was given to Nadioth and her rider, although she wasn't fool enough to get near.

Theodosia stood not far from the other Candidates, just far enough that she wouldn't have to be bothered by being touched by them, but not too close to the eggs to alarm Nadioth. She stood, tall and proud, head high, chin up, shoulders back, a downwards tilt to her lips like always.

Mulrissa woke to the sound of chirping, and rolled over to find a brown firelizard on her pillow. She recognized her son’s Sandy, and immediately sat up. “The Hatching is starting?” She asked the flit, who chirped excitedly and started zipping around her bedroom. ’Bedith, did you hear that?’ She asked her dragon, who grumbled sleepily from farther in the weyr.

I heard. I also knew already. Bedith replied as Rissa got up and headed towards Ginorra’s room to wake her daughter. Do you still insist we attend? The gold asked, though she knew the answer.

’Chalris is Standing. It’s only his second time on the Sands, and we’re going to support him.’ She explained for the umpteenth time, knocking on the door to the smaller bedroom.

“Ginorra, the eggs at Ista are starting to hatch. Get ready to head over there.” She said, before returning to her own room to dress.

Chalris is a competent child, and does not need us there. I would expect no less from one of yours. Bedith sighed, starting to uncurl her bulk sulkily, still very much not enthused about rousing and attending some other gold’s clutch Hatching. It wasn’t hers so why should she care?

Still, within the next half hour Rissa, Ginorra, and Bedith were ready to head out. Sandy had stayed with them, deciding that clinging to Ginorra’s shoulder was more fun than risking the wrath of Nadioth if he stayed with the Candidate he had bonded to. Soon they had arrived at Ista, the island Weyr much hotter even at dawn than Telgar.

“Bedith, drop us off somewhere than go find someplace comfortable for yourself.” Mulrissa asked, speaking aloud for Ginorra’s benefit. Bedith complied, though she landed as far as she possibly could from Nadioth without making her bonded and her bonded’s child walk across the entire Hatching Grounds. Once they had dismounted, Bedith gave a terse yet polite greeting to Nadioth. She had a slightly higher tolerance for the other queen than she did for most golds, as Nadioth was younger and they’d never really been forced to share space (and therefore get into conflicts). Still, Bedith hated when other golds were given more attention than her, so she kept the greeting brief and quickly made her way to the most out of the reach ledge she would fit on, where she curled into a towering mass of disgruntled gold dragon and waited for the proceedings to be over so she could go back to sleep (she wasn’t rude enough to sleep during the Hatching, but it was tempting).

By the time Bedith had found a spot, so had Rissa, and she had started looking at all the Candidates for her son. Thankfully, his bright hair and dark skin were distinctive so he was fairly easy to spot. “Look! There he is!” She said, poking Ginorra in the arm and pointing at Chalris, before waving excitedly at him. He waved back, and as he turned to pay attention to something the Weyrlingmaster was saying, Mulrissa settled in to wait for the first shell to crack.

5:20 AM
The first of the babies didn’t feel inclined to keep those in attendance waiting for too long. After all, it was time to see the world and they were all but ready to do so! With the dragons humming surrounding them, and making their very eggshells quiver, the hatchlings within certainly felt no lack of welcome. The addition of all the emotions radiating out from every direction was very curios, too! So it was, that the first hatchling finally managed to shove one hind foot through the shell, toes wiggling. There was a collective half groan-half sigh at the site of the blue foot, but it could be worse. A bronze would have been the best first to crack, but it wasn’t a green, so there was that!

The Shine egg didn’t stand up to the assault from the little blue within, and the shell quickly crumpled around the little one, releasing the ruckus little hatchling onto the sands where he sat blinking for a few moments. Shaking himself, the Shine Blue climbed to his feet and took bouncing but wobbly steps towards the candidates, weaving through a couple before nuzzling his sweet little head against the leg of a younger boy, barely old enough to be on the Sands but clearly the perfect mate for first Impression…

The Impression of the first pair was quickly followed by the Hatching of three more eggs, seemingly in competition as they rocked. Attention was snatched when one hit the second as it toppled over, and sending them both twirling slightly on the hot sands. A few moments later, and it seemed they had worked together to make both their shells almost explode outwards in a shower of fragments, revealing to little green dragonets, though they were markedly different; the green Ambient was a shocking shade of neon rarely seen in youngsters, while the green Rainbow looked more like the deep green of a forest at night. The two girls stood for a moment, sniffing noses and chirping at one another, before they set off in opposite directions, wobbling and stumbling.

Lost in the array of Ambient and Rainbow hatching, the little Heaven egg hatched with very few people being aware, only the candidates close enough took note of the young blue that slipped serpent like out a relatively small hole in his egg’s shell, slinking around the ankles of one boy, he hissed and snorted and seemed quite the little grump. His eyes were a hot colour of red and orange, and his little teeth were bared as he snaked his way around another youngster’s legs, uncaring about the sex of the candidates as he made his way. Reaching one, it seemed the candidate in question quite pissed him off, for he lifted his head and bit the candidate nastily on the hand, giving it a good shake before spitting it out and stalking off. He found his bonded – who looked quite shocked – standing not far away, and snarled at the boy for staring when he, a beautiful blue, was obviously in need of food.

5:55 am

After a lengthy pause, during which the newly Impressed took care of feeding their youngsters, and the Candidate who had been bit had their hand wrapped and were ushered back onto the Sands, the Constellation egg decided everyone had been quite patient enough, and it was their turn to make an appearance. They did so in a very mild sort of way, the egg toppling sideways and feet popping out the bottom, in a very comical manner. With the way the egg was shadowing the limbs, a colour couldn’t be made out until the egg took a few stumbling steps and crashed into the unwary legs of a Candidate. As the Candidate looked down, the eggshell gave up the game, cracking in almost slow motion before falling away in shards. The little green dragonet peered up in amusement, chirped, and pranced two candidates to the left, where she nuzzled happily against a young man’s stomach, almost purring her delight at finding him so easily.

[[Next egg to hatch: 6:10 am]]

Shine - Blue
Heaven - Blue - Grumpy, bit Ayontay on the hand.
Ambient - Green
Rainbow - Green
Constellation - Green - Playful.

They didn't have to wait long, it seemed, before the first egg hatched. This one was the Shine Egg, which she hadn't had a chance to touch at the Touching. A little blue popped out of the shell, wobbling through the crowd of Candidates - and she stood tall when it neared her - before nuzzling against a young boy.

Having turned her head to look at the Impression, the eggs hatching were on her blind side. So it was only the reaction of the other Candidates that drew her attention in time to see them hatch. One was a bright shade of green, the other deep green. They seemed to be rather attached, as they sniffed at each other and began to chirp at each other.

Another Dragonet hatched, this one blue in color, with eyes that whirled red and orange. He weaved his way through the Candidates, before suddenly biting ones hand, before stalking off to Impress on a boy that she rather felt pity for.


Some time later, another egg hatched. This one was a little green, the egg tumbling to the feet of a Candidate. Once it had hatched, it only had to trot over two Candidates to find Hers.

Ayontay heaved a sigh of relief when some of the eggs started cracking soon after arriving. Hopefully it'd be a quick event since standing around for a few hours on hot sand sucked. A lot. But even with the few enthusiastic eggs, there were still a lot more taking their time so it could be a while yet for standing about looking like he wasn't about to lose his mind to boredom. Unless he Impressed right away! That would be amazing.

When the first leg made an appearance and showed it was blue, Ayontay dared to hope a little more that this could be his moment, his time to meet his life mate. But the happy little boy went to someone else but Ayontay still smiled at seeing the bond made. How could you not? Even if it wasn't you, someone else now had a dragon and that dragon wasn't crying and about to vanish before their eyes, alone.

He chuckled at the two little greens that appeared about the same time and hoped they remembered their hatching and stayed good friends. Looking at who they bonded to, he hoped the humans could be friends. He laughed again, this time wondering if the dragonets would make their riders be friends whether they wanted to be or not and wished them well.

When the next blue hatchling started slinking about the sands, weaving around Candidates, and generally looking grumpy, Ayontay started to feel a bit nervous. Flashes of the hatching that Hoth was from came to his mind. He was rather young at the time, but old enough to remember the tiny bronze hatchling was cranky and mauled a few people, Indivara included. She bore the scars on her face as a reminder to all that dragonets could be dangerous and to follow the rules -- since she had snuck onto the Sands when she had been denied.

Suddenly, that grumpy blue hatchling was almost upon him. Ayontay was doing his best not to panic and run away, having been told over and over that such actions would only confuse, excite, or enrage the hatchlings. When the blue stopped in front of him, he was sure he was going to pass out from fear and the lack of breath as he realised he had stopped breathing. He knew this wasn't his mate, not because of the hatchling's temper but because his mind was still his own. He had pestered T'ryn so many times about what it was like the moment Impression happened and this didn't seem like it at all.

He wasn't sure what he did, and likely never would, perhaps it was the act of gulping for air when his lungs started to burn and demand he breathe, but suddenly there was a dragonet on his hand and shaking it like he had seen Shadow do when he tried to tear off a large chunk of meat. Oh, Farnath! Was he about to lose his hand? N'mor seemed to function all right missing an arm but Ayontay knew he wasn't as strong as N'mor and...

As quickly as the blue grabbed him, it was over as he went off to find his mate. Ayontay fell to the ground, cradling his hand to his chest as he sat there in shock, eyes unseeing everything around him. Had he screamed when it happened? He knew he heard them but couldn't remember if he was one of the voices. He also heard Shadow's angry cry but he heard R'nd calling for Shadow and Rell to stay where they were, which they must have done since not a single firelizard circled him. Instead, an adult was beside him, checking his hand briefly before dragging him to his feet and guiding him away from the action.

His hand was examined and cleaned and just before it was wrapped up, Ayontay dared to look at the damage and then glanced away, not liking the view. Maybe it was fine and just looked worse. He nodded as the Healer said it was fine and that he could move his fingers still so everything would be fine. Maybe some scars, but who didn't like scars, right? He nodded again, not really listening. He was too busy replaying what happened and wondering if he really had to go back out there. He was injured and had blood on the front of his robe, he noticed absently. How did that get there? Oh, right, when he held his hand to his chest. Would the scent of his blood enrage other hatchlings? What if that blue came back for another taste?

He knew he was being paranoid and overreacting. Dragons didn't purposely harm humans. He must have startled the hatchling with his gasp and instinct had him defend himself. Still, Ayontay was hesitant to go back out there and only when a green and her new bonded walked by him without being attacked, did he find his courage to go back out there. Indivara had managd to Stand again after she was far more brutally assaulted, so he could as well.

Still, he wasn't too sold on the idea of Impressing to a blue anymore.

He gave a small smile and waved with his bandaged hand when he heard his dad in the stands and saw him with the rest of his family. R'nd, B'jin, and his aunt Eridella were doing their best to smile and not look panicked. His mom, however, was crying and his sister Wynera and brother Benden were both wide-eyed. He had to put on a brave face for them and smiled a bit brighter and gave them a thumbs up with his good hand to let them know there wasn't anything to worry about.

Instead of going back to the little group he had been in, Ayontay moved over to Mylorah's group where she immediately pulled him into a hug. He noticed her tears but didn't tease her about them, just happy to have someone to hug back since Madiquel wouldn't have been allowed to see him no matter how worked up she was. In fact, he couldn't even bring himself to find her in the crowd, knowing she'd be upset and that would make him upset and he didn't want to see her crying for him.

When Mylorah finally let him go, she stood almost protectively beside him and he managed to chuckle at that. She was a pretty cool big sister. Since it was quiet among the eggs, Ayontay found himself giving in and scanning the crowd for Madiquel after all. If she was crying, his heart would break at causing her distress, but if she smiled, he felt like he'd be able to get through the rest of the Hatching without passing out--which he thought he might do as the shock wore off and the pain started to set in.

Madiquel wasn’t really thrilled by the early hour wakeup. With Clover screeching and tugging on strands of her hair, the girl didn’t really get the chance to pretend to be sleeping, even if she hadn’t wanted to see the Hatching and cheer on her friends. As it was, her little green firelizard definitely made sure she was awake, and the humming of the dragons made sure she stayed that way – to say nothing of the excited babble of the Weyrfolk. That said, Madiquel was glad she was known to be a visitor for the Hatching, and that no one was trying to herd her into working in the kitchens in preparation for the morning feast.

Slipping away from the hubbub of the Weyrfolk in the kitchen and dining area, after she’d bathed and dressed, Madiquel dashed to the Hatching Sands, dodging between people and dragons to slip into the cavern and peer around, looking for somewhere suitable to watch her friends from. Seeing Larrikith land, Madiquel quickly spotted R’nd a moment later, along with a few other people. It took her a fraction of a second before she recognised Ayontay’s siblings and R’nd’s sister, and she dashed across the sands (away from the eggs, she wasn’t silly!) and then through the Stands so she could join the bluerider and his family.

Madiquel greeted them politely, if a little shyly, and gave Benden a hug. He was starting to get to that age where hugging girls wasn’t cool, but he was also a super sweetie like Ayontay and he let her cling to him even if he wouldn’t have let many others do so. Eridella drew her into conversation, and Madiquel relaxed slowly; she liked Ayontay’s family, she just wasn’t used to being around them without her best friend. Looking up as the Candidates began to enter, Madiquel waved to a few happily, before bouncing on her toes and waving erratically at Ayontay. She mouthed a ‘good luck!’ with wide eyes when their gaze met, and beamed at him.

Surprisingly, once everyone was on the Sands, it was a very short order before the dragonets began hatching. Madiquel was thrilled, because hopefully it meant a lot of her friends would Impress quickly, rather than all of them slowly boiling to death in the Hatching Grounds as the sun rose slowly above Ista. It was early yet, but Madiquel knew it would get hot. She also knew she’d have to go home, soon, after the Hatching. Was it bad of her to half-hope that her friends didn’t Impress, because she wanted them to Impress at Fort so she could be with them? Would Papa let her visit if her friends Impressed here? She knew he hated her going between but…

Madiquel’s thoughts were interrupted as she realised what she was seeing, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth and muffle her scream of horror as the little blue dragon latched onto Ayontay’s hand and appeared to be attempting to bite it right off! Horror filled eyes flooded with tears as time seemed to slow down entirely and all she could imagine was how painful it would be to lose a hand and how Ayontay wouldn’t be able to do any more carvings and paintings if that happened…

It felt like an eternity, but soon the little dragon had let go and moved on to Impress. Madiquel bit her bottom lip, heedless of her tears and pressed herself against Eridella’s side so she wouldn’t break all protocol and embarrass Fort by dashing across the Sands to her friend to make sure he was okay. Someone else was there – an adult who was actually useful – and they were taking care of him. She could hear Eridella murmuring to her and Madiquel tried to control herself as Ayontay was shepherded off the Sands to be cleaned up.

She really wanted him to come and join her in the stands, where he wouldn’t be at risk of a nasty dragonet any more, but she was still so proud of him holding himself tall and re-joining the candidates. He was so much stronger than her! Madiquel didn’t ever want to be on the Sands, not with how horrible the baby dragons could be and how screwed up the adults could make you when they left you forever. It just wasn’t worth it! Madiquel decided, with a pout, that she didn’t want Ayontay to Impress. What if he got a mean dragon? What if the dragon died and left him insane like her Papa? She couldn’t stand that!

None the less, Madiquel did her best to give Ayontay a watery smile when he met her eyes across the Sands, her hands clasped together against her chest and eyes wide with worry and pride, even if she didn’t want him to Bond to a dragon, she wouldn’t ever make him feel like he shouldn’t do so! He would be a wonderful dragonrider, really… so long as his dragon wasn’t nasty like that blue!

It was starting! Mylorah was excited and found herself bouncing on the balls of her feet as the hatchlings started popping out. They were so cute! She loved that some of them seemed a bit clumsier than others but the graceful ones were just as mesmerizing. She just loved the little babies! At least, the well-mannered ones. She watched the grumpy blue move toward a group of Candidates, excited for any of them to Impress as she knew them all, but she wasn’t prepared for what happened. How could she be? Even with the cautionary tales and seeing it happen before, she wasn’t ready for it to happen to her brother.

“Ayontay!” Protocol be damned! She screamed his name and managed two steps before a hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. Mylorah was ready to fight the jerk who was stopping her from getting to her brother but when she saw Kordiavis’ calm expression, she hesitated. Honestly, what could she do that others close by couldn’t? All she would end up doing was scaring the other hatchlings and causing panic. Knowing her luck, she’d likely kick an egg as well in the process.

When Ayontay was rushed off, likely to see to his injuries, Mylorah really wanted to go as well, thinking he should have family with him, but Kordiavis stopped that idea before it began by swinging her around and holding her to his chest. Slowly she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his waist, allowing herself the moment of being comforted and distracted. Still, she couldn’t stop wondering why a dragonet would attack Ayontay. He was so sweet and wouldn’t do anything to provoke such a reaction.

She sniffled, holding back the tears that wanted to fall as she thought about how damage could have been done and if he’d ever be able to work on carvings again or even something far simpler like writing. Kordiavis thankfully didn’t say anything to try and comfort her but when he did speak, it was to point out that her brother was returning and heading her way.

Pushing herself free of her friend, Mylorah put on a brave face for Ayontay and quickly wrapped him into a hug when he was close enough. She didn’t say anything, what would she say? It wasn’t his fault he was injured and saying she was glad he was okay seemed redundant with the hug. When she did finally let go, Mylorah took his good hand in hers and stayed close to his side. No one, dragon or human, was going to hurt him again. A glance to T’ryn and Casa showed the bronzerider still wasn’t satisfied and she thought she caught him asking if Ayontay was okay. She gave a small smile and nodded once in reply.

It was only after the lull in the hatchings dragged on that Mylorah realised how much attention she had likely drawn to herself and she wondered if R’nd had pieced anything together. She didn’t look like him so she hoped he assumed she was a friend of his son’s and nothing more blood-related. She had survived this long without his attention and didn’t want to complicate anything with him trying to be a good father now.

Misharan couldn’t help but wince when Ayontay was bitten by the irritated little blue. He’d never gotten a serious injury at a Hatching himself (he’d gotten knocked over by a wild wing flap once, but he hadn’t actually gotten hurt), but he’d seen a few over the turns. A bite wasn’t the worst that could happen, but hands were weirdly sensitive and less serious injuries could be worse when on hands.

Still a bit sluggish from waking up too early, he didn’t react immediately to Mylorah calling her brother’s name. By the time he realized it was her voice Kordiavis seemed to have already responded. Good on him, honestly. Let cool heads prevail and all that. He moved over closer to them, hoping that his presence would reassure Mylorah in some way, remind her she had friends around if she needed them.

Thankfully, Ayontay returned to the Sands, hand neatly bandaged, and came over to hug his sister. Misharan let them have their moment, knowing what having siblings injured was like. His brothers worked in a mine, it wasn’t unusual for one of them to come home with some injury or another, or hearing news of an accident in the mine and waiting hours to know if your family was involved or not. No, it was important to be sure your family was managing.

After everything had quieted down Misharan took a moment to check in with Ayontay himself. Sure, he barely knew the kid, but he considered Mylorah something of a friend. He smiled at Ayontay.

“Hey. You handled that well, you know. Just make sure to keep it from getting sand on it, yeah? Hurts like fuck and is a bitch to clean out.” He said lightheartedly, trying to keep the mood up while passing on real advice. He’d seen enough people get infected wounds from getting dust or grit in it, and while the Healers at the Weyr were good, it was better to not have to deal with it in the first place. “And there’s no shame in having to leave early if it’s too much, alright? No pressure either way.” He added, noticing Ayontay was looking a bit pale. Misha figured he’d be okay, but it never hurt to be clear about what the options were. And really, no one was going to give Ayontay shit for leaving after getting bitten by a dragon. And even on the off chance someone did say anything, Misha knew, looking around at all the concerned faces, there was a good number of people who would kick their ass on Ayontay’s behalf.

It was as if the babies still within their eggs wanted to give the Candidates and those watching time to comprehend what had happened with the grumpy blue and his antics, and the cheerful little greens that had followed him into the world. By the time the next egg was serious about Hatching, the youngsters from the first batch had been fed and were mingling as they learned how to oil their new lifemates.

6:10 am

Just fifteen minutes after the last green Impressed, the Meteor egg decided it was time to do away with the shell and greet the candidates. As the dragonet within fought against the encasing, a little green foot managed to force its way out, letting everyone know what was within. Not surprising, really, though she was to be the fourth so far. Of course, all clutches were known to be green-heavy… As the Meteor green finally escaped, she toppled into the sand and apparently breathed in, so that when she lifted her head up she sneeze – a good six times! – her tiny body trembling with the force of her expelled breaths.

While Meteor green was busy trying to blow her brains out of her nostrils, the Weather egg toppled over, landing against the Eclipse egg and cracking them both open. Pushing his nose out between the pieces of shell, the Weather bronze looked around regally, the markings on his face making it look like his eyebrows were raised, before he quite literally stepped out of his egg shells and walked with a sashaying step towards some of the male candidates. On his way, he ran into the Meteor green and he paused… until she sneezed on him. With a look of utter shock, Weather bronze sat back heavily on his haunches, and stared at her.

Chirping cheerfully, the Meteor green bounced forward and booped her nose against her brother’s before turning and prancing off to Impress with very little fanfare. For his part, it took the Weather bronze a moment to compose himself. When he finally did, he rose and made his way to the youngster he’d been eyeing off previously, and licked his hand, nuzzling at the boy’s stomach. The pair moved off, as the Eclipse egg gave a shudder and collapsed around the green who had been hiding within.

The Eclipse green was a lot more demure than her sisters, and with a quick glance around, hightailed towards a group of candidates. She bumbled into one of them, unintentionally clawing at legs and robes, before she gave a shriek of irritation and tore off towards a lone candidate. Headbutting his legs, she Impressed, chirping in distress as her gaze danced between her new lifemate and the candidates she’s unintentionally hurt just moments before.

While Eclipse was struggling against robes, Dawn and Aurora both Hatched, and Impressed, with absolutely no fanfare. Indeed, Aurora seemed to choose the candidate standing closest to his egg; he slipped out of the shell and pressed himself against the legs of his rider-to-be, wrapping himself around the boy’s legs and peering out from under the hand resting reassuringly on his head.

While Aurora and Dawn were led off the Sands to be oiled and fed, there was an almost awkward silence as the remaining eggs all seemed to fall still, and the creatures on the outside seemed to hold their breaths collectively… This lasted for an eternity, but only a few moments, before the Fog egg flopped sideways, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop in a small hollow. Another few breaths, and the egg Hatched, cracks scattering across the shell before falling away, revealing the first brown of the clutch. The dragonet collected himself and stood quietly with an apparent sneer on his face.

Built with the bulk of a wherling, the little brown quickly revealed he had the personality to match, snarling harshly when a candidate a few feet from him shifted position, causing the boy to freeze. Shifting his gaze, the little brown took in the candidates in a sweeping look, before moving – slowly at first, he quickly gained speed until he was charging – in a very intimidating manner – towards a couple of girl candidates. He didn’t even slow as he launched himself at one, landing heavily on her chest and sending her heavily into the sands.

The dragonet – the size of a large dog – on her chest, the girl had no way of defending herself as he bit her face, most of which fit inside his gaping maw. Ripping his head back, the dragonet shredded her face and left little but a gaping wound where once the pretty girl had been; he threw his head back, swallowing what he’d stolen and pounced on the other girl, swiping her legs out from under her and running his claws across her stomach – he likely would have continued, if his lifemate hadn’t suddenly shouted at him to stop…

[[Next egg to hatch: 7am]]

Meteor – Green
Weather – Bronze
Eclipse – Green – scratched up a candidate’s legs and tore their robes.
Dawn – Green
Aurora – Blue
Fog – Brown Huxlieth to S'oll – killed a girl by eating her face; mauled another girl across the stomach and legs who probably won't survive.

Then it started and the young man watched in hidden amazement as the first egg cracked open. Blue the first dragonet was a blue, and it impressed with quickly. Then more hatched, but in the midst, something happened. Someone got hurt, and was rushed to the side for a while, he watched the young man be treated and missed a few dragons hatch. He did not know him, but the soon thumbs up to the stand made it clear he was fine. Siroll's own eyes would drift over the stands, his dad was there some were so was his brother. He knew they were watching, and likely judging what happened. He returns his eyes to the eggs in time to see the last green of the first hatchlings make her impression and he watched the pair walk off.

It be a moment before more eggs hatched and when they did a green split her shell followed by a bronze! Siroll watched the shiny babe wide-eyed. It was so shiny... possibly it was the egg goo but holy hell.

The little green snessed on the bronze who looked baffled, or as baffled as a dragonet could. It took a while before they both found their life mate and Siroll kinda felt a hint of envy. If he impressed a bronze his father would have nothing to say, and his brother would be greener then the green who had just broken free from her shell. But in truth, seeing the happy newly bonded weyrlings walk off he be happy impressing anything. To see them with a wide smile laughing a crying, that something could inflict this kind of happiness was beyond him and he would like to experience it. And the feeling of the egg minds in his won, to have an actual dragon fully bounded and not just emotions but an actual bond?

Two more egg hatched and impressed, a lovely green and blue. Two more candidates found the one they would share a life with.

And then in a second the hatching went form a happy sunshine tale to one of pure horror.

A brown hatched, his body massive for a hatchling and his temper even bigger. The little monster might as well have been a full-grown watch wher. And he would soon live up to it. The monster charged a pair of girls, she didn't even have a chance to more or a chance to save herself. The bronze tore through her face, coloring himself and the sand red.  Siroll watched in pure horror normally a man to hide his emotions he was an open book to read at that moment. Then the monster brown moved on, jumping on another girl. She faced the wrath of the brown and Siroll started in utter horror. Why weren't any helping her? Why weren't any of the candidates nearby trying to save them?

Normally he wouldn't think of others, he wouldn't worry about others but to see someone die right in front of you to see another girl being ripped open in front of your eyes. "help her" he managed to speak in a halfway mumble. Taking one step forth to the right passing a candidate. But young brown claws had already gotten a hold in the girl. He could teel the by the screams of others, that panic was rising around the brown hatchling. Eye wide he took another step, why wasn't anyone helping her? Soon he be in a full run in between the candidates "SOMEONE HELP HER!!!!" he screamed pushing his way through the other candidate's eye never once leaving the horror which was unfolding. Breaking free from a smaller group he watches the brown, now more crimson then brown tear through his victim. Free from the crowd and now closer to the monster brown. Why wasn't someone saving her? There was adults here? There was a freaking queen why wasn't she saving her! "Leave her alone you monster!" his words causes the browns head to snap in his direction orbs of swirling crimson gazing into his as brown jaws pull open in a snarl.

Why? a deep flat voice echoes in his mind as the dragonet glares at him with his crimson gaze. It's voice cold in a way so cold that the small hairs raise on his arms and neck. A dark feeling creeping over his skin and into his mind as the brown watch him. She was weak, and weakness does not make for a rider. Neither does a woman, she does not belong why should I leave her when she was in my way? the brown stared at him claws still deep in the girl's flesh as the brown stared at him. And he just watches in disbelief and horror. fear is weakness, my S'oll, we do not need weakness Siroll freezes in place as if rotted to the ground as the dragon finally climbs down from his second victim and walks closer long strong strides. Eyes never fading from red not even when the brown stops in front of him. Looking up at him, and then for just a second the red changes to that of impression, a rainbow of colors before it goes red once again. Come now you Huxlieth is still hungry the brown replies his posture straight and without flaw but his eyes crimson and his voice still seeming to have a creeping effect.

Siroll just stares at the dragonet, his what? Horror build in his mind, he impressed to a monster. A monster who murdered a girl, maybe even two for no reason. They hadn't been standing in his way they simply just been chosen out from the group to be killed for no reason? Weakness, was my reason. The weak are better of dead, now food or I will keep feeding myself the brown snarled turning to glare at the nearest girl and Siroll followed his gaze eyes wide and face pale as newly fallen snow. "No" he finally manages to stutter and the brown looks up at him, crimson blood slapped over his face. Then let's go, my S'oll the brown speaks as it starts to walk off looking back at Siroll, No S'oll as to ensure he is keeping up. Walk tall S'oll you are a rider, and a strong rider I never have chosen someone weak S'oll just stares at him before taking in a deep breath and steeping after the brown moving to his side as he walks to the feeding table. It be okay, he be okay, Huxlieth wouldn't kill any more people, he just needed to get off these sands. Get away from the murder his dragon had made, get away from the guilt eating away at him. His dragon had murdered someone for no reason no reason at all.

V’ler knew it was kind of unnecessary for him to record Ista’s Hatching when he lived in Telgar and kept his hands full recording everything that went on there. But to be honest, he didn’t trust anyone else with such important things and didn’t want to see what happened through someone else’s eyes. Everything he wrote down was, in truth, more for himself. Sure he eventually passed along his records of Katila to Harper Hall after making them beg him for nearly two turns – which they deserved for stripping him of his rank and the way the Stolen had been treated by all Halls – but V’ler simply liked having his own completed collection of Flights and major events in his own hand and as his own account to grab at any time.

So he found himself waking up far too early, dealing with Indivara’s complaints about being awake early, not being able to go, and then being left alone in bed. Somehow he still managed to get to the Hatching before a dragon peeked its head out and V’ler settled in at a nice spot where he could see everything and still be left alone.

For the most part, the Hatching was much like any other with adorable hatchlings popping out, doing cute things, or running in circles around Candidates. V’ler hadn’t been prepared for the blue that latched onto a kid’s hand though. Only after all the commotion went on did he realise why the boy looked semi-familiar and knew him to be one of R’nd’s brood. As Ayontay was rushed off, V’ler forced himself to log the event but saw his hand was shaking. Sighing, he set his quill down and rubbed his temples, willing the memories of his own Hatching away. There had been a lot of blood and good people injured and scarred for life; Indivara being the poster child. Typically, he didn’t look back on it, not even during Hatchings, but it was hard not to make the comparisons when something similar happened again.

When Ayontay returned and seemed okay, V’ler took up his quill again and made a note of that. He was happy the kid was back and hoped the damage was minimal. He didn’t think too much more on it when another eager batch of babies made their presence known. V’ler was actually smiling at the little green’s sneezing and running off on her bronze brother, happy the mood had shifted again and people seemed to have gotten over previous injuries.

Until the brown burst onto the scene.

There was no way he was seeing what he was seeing. How could a dragonet do that? With Hoth, V’ler was certain it was all an accident and the cranky bronze had only been trying to get where he wanted to be, but this brown seemed determined to fill his tummy. Just like V’ler was determined not to empty his.

As he watched, somehow unable to look away, he saw flashes of Indivara lying on the ground. It shifted from real memories to her being snacked on and just like in the past, V’ler didn’t move. He didn’t make a single twitch to help those girls on the ground. He hated the sight of blood and already felt like he was going to be sick but continuously thinking that Indivara was one being mauled again had him paralysed. Until the bile finally rose and sent V’ler scrambling away from his notes. He made it about ten feet before losing the couple of slices of bread and cup of water he had grabbed on his way out.

To top it all off, he heard Veeth’s screams in his head. An unending heartbreaking wail that made V’ler want to find his dragon and hold him forever. His sweet dragon was likely upset from what the brown did, but he no doubt also saw what V’ler had been seeing in his mind. Veeth loved Indivara, long before V’ler realised he even wanted her around as a friend and his thoughts no doubt upset him. He tried to soothe Veeth through their bond but it wasn’t going too well. He could barely soothe himself, but finally Veeth stopped his keening, saying something about Larrikith was with him and Ayyonth had joined as well.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and shook from the exertion. He didn’t want to look back. He really couldn’t take the sight of the girls on the ground again but he owed it to them. One, maybe both, were dead. They had been happy minutes earlier, hoping for their chance to Impress, and now this. He didn’t want them to be forgotten and made himself crawl back to his notes, a very shaky hand picking up the quill and dipping it in the ink pot. He didn’t know their names, but he would get the before he left. He had to write their fate first and then he would learn their stories.

He saw the boy walking away with the evil brown dragonet and wished the boy luck. At least, he hoped the kid wasn’t as evil, but V’ler assumed the voice he heard when he wasn’t looking belonged to the one that Impressed such a beast. That helped bolster his hope that the kid could keep the dragon in check and he made another note to get those names later as well.

How was he going to tell Indivara about this Hatching?

Tala had been enjoying the Hatching. She loved the cute little greens, hoping that one of them may turn its eyes to her. The two greens who said hello to each other were so sweet! The blue who bit a boy caused a bit of concern, but the blue Impressed and the Candidate he bit returned to the Sands a few minutes later, hand all bandaged up, so Tala figured he couldn’t be hurt too badly if he was still Standing.

Things quieted down for a bit, before another green broke through her shell. And she was adorable, with all that sneezing! Tala couldn’t help giggling when she sneezed on her bronze brother. She watched the next few hatchings and Impressions with a soft smile on her face. Dragonets were so cute. The greens were her favorite, and Tala really wanted to Impress one of them. None of the greens so far had come anywhere close to her, but there were still a good number of eggs left.

And then the first brown hatched and everyone seemed to hold their breath for a moment. Tala couldn’t help the shocked gasp that escaped her when the brown ran into a nearby group of Candidates and launched itself at a girl. In seconds all Tala could see was the dragonet, the poor girl, and the blood. She had already started taking a step forward before something stopped her. Ryvala. Tala couldn’t run to the hurt girl while the brown was still there and she had a chance of being attacked herself. She couldn’t leave her daughter without her. Tala would not knowingly deprive her daughter of a mother as she herself had been. So she stood by, face stony as the brown moved onto a second girl, determined not to become another casualty.

After what felt like an eternity, the brown’s rampage was stopped by Impressing, to a young man who looked a bit sick about the whole thing. Tala silently wished him luck with that one, before dashing over to the traumatized group of girls. She knelt beside the second girl, who, based on the sounds she was making, was clinging to life. It looked bad. Tala had volunteered to help dig people out and care for the wounded after the Landslide, so she knew bad, and this was definitely bad. From the periphery of her vision she could tell there were Healers rushing over, relieved she wouldn’t have to make decisions about how to try to save the girl.

Even so, Tala stayed with her. The other Candidates that had been standing in this group had backed off a bit, most of them crying or staring in shock. Tala couldn’t blame them, but the mauled girl looked so young. She was almost certainly more scared than the others, so Tala resolved to stay with her as long as possible.

“I’m here, I’m here for you.” Tala said, resting her hand on the girl’s own, pressed against her stomach. “The Healers are coming. They’ll know what to do. I’m here.” She promised, hoping the girl wouldn’t die of blood loss or shock before something could be done.

Ayontay was doing his best to seem like everything was fine, that he wasn’t in pain and longing for some fellis and bed. He kept telling himself he just had to make it through a few more eggs and then he could have his sweet pain relief and sleep. He felt terrible and it was hard to pinpoint what exactly was causing it. Obviously the bandaged hand was high on that list but Ayontay felt like there was something else.

Part of it was knowing he had upset his family and friends, being the cause of their worry and grief. He didn’t like being the centre of attention to begin with and here he was being one of the Candidates to get mauled, forever living in the records with that. He’d likely also have some sort of scarring which would only help everyone remember this moment. His parents and siblings might always look at it sadly and relive the moment it happened and there wouldn’t be anything he could do to make it stop.

The other part that was adding to his mood was he wasn’t sure he wanted to be on the Sands anymore. He wanted a dragon, who didn’t? But as he watched another Candidate get a little beat up from an excited hatchling, Ayontay was starting to lose his nerve surrounded by so many unpredictable babies. They were all told of the dangers in classes and as a ‘brat he had seen some of it first hand as well when he was younger. But it was a lot different when it was happening so close to you without any sort of barrier.

He had just convinced himself back to positive thinking and how some injuries were normal but not that common and everything would be fine by the end of the Hatching when the vicious brown went on his rampage. Ayontay had been feeling sorry for himself with having his hand bit but it was nothing compared to what those two girls received. They were fine. They were probably fine. Nope, one definitely wasn’t fine. He felt his stomach churning as the dragonet left the one girl and moved to the other. He had been whining about his hand but at least he was still alive!

Oh Farnath, people were dying now! Why was he still standing there? Why wasn’t he getting to safety? And how did that monster actually have someone to bond to? Ayontay kept watching the brown pair as they walked away, too afraid to lose track of the monster. It was the only reason why he had watched the entire brutal attack.

Beside him, he heard a whimper and turned to Mylorah to see her trembling and staring in shock with tears running down her cheeks. “Mylo? What…” he didn’t finish asking her what was wrong. It was pretty obvious with everything around them, especially when she let go of his hand and dropped to her knees.

Mylorah was a bit jumpy after Ayontay came back from being tended to. Every time an egg cracked, she braced herself for an energetic dragonet coming their way and when one did, she was ready to put herself in front of Ayontay to keep him safe this time. She wasn’t sure if his bleeding would incite bloodlust in other babies but she didn’t want to risk it and was ready to defend her brother somehow.

She hadn’t been prepared for the brown monster going for the kill though. If he had turned toward them instead, she was certain she’d be the one on the ground without having a chance to even brace for impact. As it was, she was the lucky one that got to watch two other girls meet the brown nightmare. Worse, if anything could be counted as that when you were watching someone die, was that she knew them both. She sat with them the night before for dinner, laughing at jokes and teasing each other about who they thought were cute in their Candidate classes. Everything seemed surreal and slowed down when she heard a familiar voice yelling for the monster to stop.

Mylorah whimpered as she watched Siroll approach and then talk with the dragonet. That’s when she knew he had Impressed. A part of her was so happy for her friend but she couldn’t shake that it was to a dragon that had just killed one, maybe both of the girls she had also called friend.

She let go of Ayontay’s hand and dropped to her knees, watching the pair walk away as she battled her emotions. Was Siroll safe? She assumed he would be; dragons would never hurt their lifemate, but they shouldn’t attack humans in general without reason either. What did it say about his character if he was a match to such a creature? She thought she had spent enough time with Siroll to know he was a good man and still believed it. Not every pair was made of the same personalities. A lot of them balanced each other out. Maybe Siroll would be the conscious the dragon so badly needed. She’d find out after the Hatching. She had to congratulate her friend and make sure he was okay as well.

Nadioth rested behind her eggs, waiting for the human commotion to settle down and for her eggs to do more than wiggle on the hot sands. This is taking far too long. Vaeyla laughed at her impatient dragon and gave her an affectionate pat before raising her hand to cover a yawn that seemingly came out of nowhere. 'Patience, love. Before you know it they will all be hatched, bonded, then leaving with full bellies.' The gold huffed softly as she watched the first of the eggs finally start to crack. It is about time..., Nadioth said absently as she stretched her neck out to watch, with curiosity, as the hatchling inside shoved a blue foot through. Nadioth snorted softly and Vee got a distinct impression that if her dragon had the human ability to roll those multi-faceted eyes, she would have. 'At least it's not a green out first?', she asked with a slightly teasing tone. Nadioth ignored her as she pulled her head back as the egg finally shattered and a healthy little blue, who then stumbled and bumbled toward the candidates, choosing a child who looked no older than her rider's son.

Look there. Your offspring should be out there., the gold said impatiently. 'He's not old enough.', Vee replied as she watched two more eggs hatch, both vastly different shades of green. Vee found herself blinking at the excessively bright green baby, but smiled anyway as she watched them both greet each other, then move off to find their partners. Another blue was hatched, and Vee would have missed it had Nadioth not pointed it out to her. Nadioth uttered a low growl of annoyance as she watched the blue take a serious bite out of a boy's hand before moving off to find his lifemate. Surprisingly the gold did not say anything, only snorted dismissively as it was only a blue and, although the hatchling was hers, he wasn't worth the trouble fussing at. Vee gave the gold a gentle pat as she shook her head. She knew all too well that hatchlings could be quite violent from time to time, at least it was only the boy's hand, he would recover and be just fine.

A short time later another little green hatched without any fuss and went off to find her bonded. She seemed to be a happy thing, chirping as she found and loved on her life partner. Vee much preferred when Impression went smoothly, but she also knew it was never always going to be such. There was a healthy pause between the last green hatchling and the next egg that broke open, revealing yet another green, much to Nadioth's displeasure. I shall never fly again if all my eggs are to hatch green. 'It is only your first clutch love, sometimes it happens this way.' Nadioth was unimpressed with her rider's answer but said no more of it as they both watched the hatchling tumble over and get a face full of sand, which she spent several long moments sneezing about. Oh! There! Look, Nadioth! A bronze! He's a handsome thing too. Yes, I see that. It is about time a worthy hatchling came about. Vee laughed at her comment, but oh did she giggle as she watched that bronze sway himself across the sands to his sister, who of course sneezed on him, causing a pause in his movement.

Oh, can't they get on with it already?, Nadioth complained half-heartedly. 'Patience.' And another green..., the gold complained further. Vee flinched as said green hatchling tumbled into a candidate, tearing flesh and robes, before finding her lifemate. Injury number two. Vee sighed then shrugged as she watched another egg seemed to flop over on its side before cracking and revealing a handsome brown. Handsome he might have been but stocky and violent. Vee barely had time to react once the hatchling barreled into, knocked over, and proceeded to violently kill one of the female candidates. Nadioth gave an angry snarl and started to rise to her feet once she realized what the brown was doing. Thankfully she remembered her rider was there and didn't jump to her feet, giving her the briefest of moments to half slide, half jump off her dragon's leg, as opposed to being thrown across the sands. She still landed hard, and despite trying her best, her entire body was jarred, she'd likely feel it later, and the wind briefly knocked out of her, until the raging temper tantrum started coming across their bond. Shells...

Eyes whirling red, tail lashing out behind her, connecting with the stone of the cave behind her and shells only knew what else, Nadioth started in on her fit of angry, mortified rage. Enough!, the gold snarled directly at the brown hatchling as it moved on to another of the female candidates, seemingly trying to kill her as well. She did not move from behind her clutch but she stood up to her full height and stretched her neck out as far as she could while she growled and snarled at the hatchling, who had apparently had gained his mother's ill temper. 'Nadioth NO!', Vee mentally shouted at her dragon from the sands. Her heart broke for both the girls. It had been many Turns since she had seen such violence on the sands and she wanted to cry for them and their families. However, there were many, many more eggs to hatch and she couldn't have her dragon squashing them in a fit of emotional rage because of one hatchling. Nadioth swung her head around to look at her rider, still growling and upset, shouting for the entire cavern to hear. My hatchlings will NOT, and here she stomped one of her forepaws into the sand solidly, Behave like wild beasts! They will have manners! They will not act like those disgusting, unintelligent cave..things!, the gold raged loudly, her voice echoing in the minds of all within the hatching cavern. She refused, even in a fit of rage, to say the word wher. "YOU will have manners and you WILL settle down RIGHT NOW!", Vee shouted very sternly and very much out loud, at her very upset dragon. There was no sense silently battling when her dragon was raging like she had been personally offended by the brown's actions, for all to hear. At least not for that moment anyway.

Death! Death on MY sands! Unacceptable!, Nadioth continued to rage out loud, the pitch of her voice going up a notch or two, at the indecency of the situation but had sat back on her haunches, staring at her rider as they then, in fact, had a silent battle of wills that the brown-eyed woman finally won. Sadly it was a battle Vee had become all too familiar with over the Turns since she had impressed the gold and generally could back the rage down quickly enough these days, with minimal damages. With another look and growl, at the brown, as he was led off the sands, she settled back down, seething though she still was, to watch over the remainder of her eggs. It took Vee several long moments of deep breaths before she was able to calm herself down enough to let the stress relax from her shoulders and to climb back onto her dragon's offered leg, once she had laid back down of course. I am sorry. Are you hurt?, Nadioth, having managed to calm herself, once again spoke only to her rider. 'You're forgiven, always, and I am fine. Just, be calm. Hatchlings are not like human babies, they are violent sometimes.' I know...but MY hatchlings should know better., the gold huffed then fell silent.

7am

It was a long hour, following the Impression of Huxlieth, which put an end to his murderous intent to rid the Sands of all the female candidates. The body of the dead girl was picked up and moved off the sands by a group of healers, a blanket being put over her body to hide the disaster left by Huxlieth’s teeth. She would be attended to after the Hatching had been completed, and certainly after the living girl was dealt with. The Healers, unable to move her for the moment without making matters worse, worked on the Sands, their voices loud in the low humming echo that was filling the Hatching Cavern.

When the Glow egg began to shudder and make a scene of preparing to Hatch, a healer gently took Tala’s bloody hand and gave it a squeeze, before shooing her off to get back to the activity of attempting to Impress. Most of the other Candidates had shifted around, leaving the Healers to their task and hopefully inviting the dragonets to stay away from the people trying to save the girl’s life. When Glow finally hatched, and a little bronze spilled onto the sands, breaths were held; however, the little fellow just looked towards the working group and crooned softly, almost questioningly. Blinking, he turned his attention towards the active candidates and made his way towards a couple of boys. He Impressed without any fanfare, and certainly without any blood. His baby-voice was clearly heard as he peppered his lifemate with questions about what was going on.

The next egg to make a scene was the Dust egg, and it was quite determined! The youngster within burst out with a scattering of eggshell and a high pitched screech. With a stumble, the Dust green dragonet just barely managed not to face plant into the sands at her feet, even as she cast around, her head swaying from side to side before narrowing in on one candidate and the individuals around her. Like her brown brother, the little dust green started her movement slowly as she got used to her limbs, before running full speed towards the group of Healers, screeching again as she reached them and sending some scattering. A couple of hardy souls stayed put, and she had to come to a sudden stop not to run into one man who stared her down.

The Dust green gave a pitiful mew, and slunk around the edge of the man’s legs, to creep up to the injured girl, eyes a rainbow of Impression as she chirped questioningly. Several of the Healers looked at each other, before looking to their leader. The man shifted his gaze to the Weyrleaders, and slowly shook his head. The girl wasn’t going to live, they were simply doing what they could, now, to make her comfortable. If they’d known she was going to Impress…. But they hadn’t and now she had. The healer dropped his attention to the girl, watching as she lifted a bloody hand to touch the dragonet on the tip of the nose, leaving a smear from her fingers.

The girl’s hand dropped, and a soft, gurgling sigh announced her death moments before the little green dragonet screeched in anguish, her head lifted high and her eyes horrified. She didn’t stop keening for several long moments, before lowering her head, and her eyes – bright red – stared at the brown who was off to the side, being fed. Shrieking in absolute rage, the little green dragonet made a mad dash for him, kicking up sand in every direction, ignoring the way the adult dragons bellowed around them and people yelled out. The little green made it perhaps three-quarters of the way to her goal, before the overwhelming emptiness of being without her bonded finally drove her between.

The silence that followed was unbearable.

Breaking it, however, came a few minutes later as the Zodiac egg and the Horizon eggs both decided to crack – loudly – at the same time. The sound drew attention to their shells, and they both shattered, with the green Zodiac making her entrance into the outside world a few seconds before the Horizon bronze did. He sat back, watching his sister with a kind of relaxed curiosity as she peered around before her attention was caught by the clean-up that was happening where the two girls had died. With a chirp, the green Zodiac hatchling trotted in that direction, trilling and chirping curiously as she finally reached them, her innocence almost unbearably cute as she pressed her head against the hand of one of the Journeymen, peering up at him reassuringly and lovingly.

Content with his sister’s Impression, the Horizon bronze turned his attention to the candidates, his eyes seeming to glance off them as he sought out his lifemate. He found the boy after a few moments, and standing up, made his way confidently towards the child. Horizon bronze paused when another candidate stepped in his way, looking up at the girl with clear amusement. A moment later, he gently pushed her aside with the edge of his nose, and presented himself to the boy behind her, crooning a gentle greeting, laughter clear on his face under the rainbow of Impression. Silly humans.

[[Next Impression: about 7:45]]

1. Glow - bronze
2. Dust – between {green}
3. Zodiac – green, Impressed to a male Healer Journeyman (Zellekath to Eb’zer)
4. Horizon - bronze