[G] [C] 731.03.19 | The long-awaited clutch

The sun shone brightly on the Hatching Circuit, already almost too hot despite the fact that the day was not even half over yet. The temperature of the Sands themselves were almost unbearable; Tsuen wriggled uncomfortably from her seat between Nirinath's legs. It perhaps wasn't the brightest place to be sitting, but the queen needed the support of the Weyrwoman. Tsuen knew that Nirinath hated this part of the process, and the woman knew how she felt too. Perhaps the worst part of childbirth (aside from feeling like a bovine for the last couple months of the process) was the labour itself, and she couldn't imagine laying eggs felt any better even if they were soft-shelled. Worse yet, the gold would be reluctant to move, even to eat, till these eggs were hatched and Impressed.

The butternut gold grunted as another egg emerged to rest on the sands near the rest. So far there were eight, not bad for the few hours they'd been in the Circuit. How are you doing, love? the woman queried tenderly as the gold lowered her head to rest on one of her forepaws. She raised a hand, stroked the lovely dragon across her soft, leathery hide. The gold was muttering something, and while Tsuen couldn't claim to hear every word, she caught enough to understand. The litany was something along the lines of 'Stupid Flight, stupid males, stupid Ronarth, getting me into this...' and Tsuen gathered that the same words were being flung in the bronze's general direction as well. A sympathetic smile crossed the woman's face and she patted the shining neck of her lifemate, then stood and crossed to the tunnels. The temperatures were only marginally better there, but at least the sun was not directly shining on the pail of water she had fetched for the occasion. She dipped a cloth into it and returned to Nirinath, stroking the cloth across her forehead. Tsuen wasn't sure that the water itself helped, but the gesture brought relaxation to her when she was laboring, maybe it would for Nirinath as well.

A small bit of blue entered the otherwise yellow and grey swirled eyes. This wasn't Nirinath's first clutch, but some emotions never changed. So much rode on the eggs the gold was laying that that added to the onslaught of feelings. But she was pleased that Tsuen was taking care of her, and knew that she would always be able to count on that. Finally the queen sighed, and heaved again. Over the next six hours, ten more eggs joined the rest. All were shades of grey and cream, and none particularly stood out over the rest. Their sizes ranged from one the color of bovine's milk to a smallish one that was creamy, as opposed to stark white. Nirinath had carefully moved them around, clustering them together to form some sort of a pattern that Tsuen couldn't identify, but probably had some meaning to the gold. In no particular order, the woman gave them names to write in the logs along with their inhabitants' actual names and who they Impressed to.

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Indecision Paramount Egg
Cool Facades Egg
Brighter Side Of Things Egg
Bird Of A Feather Egg
Tip Of The Curiosity Egg
Love Thy Neighbour Egg
Strong Soldiers Egg
Irresponsible Flight Egg
Endless Romps Egg
Hesitant Strikes Egg
Crumbling From The Inside Egg
Dragging Anchors Egg
Detailed Presence Egg
Empty Room Egg
Deafening Explosions Egg
Bombardment Egg
Slow Journey Egg
Second Rate Attack Egg