[G] [C] 731.06.04 | With Stars In Hand (Open Weyrling Thread)

Allendris admittedly had not been paying much attention to where the newly-Impressed humans were leading their hatchlings to be fed, as he had never imagined that sort of information would be pertinent to him anytime soon. He didn't have to experience a moment's worry, however, because Vyaniorth seemed to be perfectly capable of leading his chosen exactly where he wanted to go. The bronze hatchling simply followed his nose, and Allendris followed, aware of very little else but the amazing sense of poise and grace with which his dragonet was already conducting himself despite the awkward proportions of its newborn limbs... as well as the incredible feeling of that proud and currently blissfully content mental presence melded so perfectly and completely with his own.

And there was hunger. Lots of hunger.

It took a moment for the glass-smith to recognize that it did not come from his own belly, but from the ravenous hatchling beside him as they neared the fragrant buckets of chopped up meat. The sight of it had the little beast creeling eagerly for a bucket of his own. Before Allendris could even form the thought that he should ask for one, someone had shoved a bucket of hot, steaming wherry - entrails and all - into his hands. The reek of it was nearly strong enough to knock him out. Barely holding back a retch, Allendris set the bucket of filth before his dragonet, haunted by the thought that whatever unfortunate creature the little bronze was about to consume had likely been alive and pecking about not 5 minutes ago. Vyaniorth wriggled in eager anticipation of his very first meal. His maw opened wide.

Feed me! the bronze demanded.

Allendris stared. He looked again at the bucket of guts between them. As the two of them were one of the very last pairs to Impress, all around him dragonets were already setting a fine example, diving head-first in their own buckets and chomping away while their overjoyed Impresees fondly supervised. Allendris observed this, and then looked back at his dragon, all puzzlement. "Pardon?"

The little jaws snapped closed. Vyaniorth was a smart dragon; he understood his bonded's confusion at once. No matter! Of the two of them, the bronze saw that had a clearer idea of what was to happen here, and so he would explain. With a disdainful tilt of his head in the direction of a particularly enthusiastic blood-and-entrails-covered blue, the bronze eyed his human, his mind-voice silky smooth as he reasoned, I hope you don't expect me to eat like that. Look, he's even getting the human dirty.

Allendris was momentarily taken aback by the cool intelligence evident in the little hatchling's tone. He hadn't expected a newborn of any species to be capable of appealing to logic. No matter how shaky that particular argument was, it was still and argument, and the fact that a minutes-old hatchling had uttered it stunned the glass-smith into a moment of silence. After a few seconds of thought, however, his conclusion was this: he was not so thrown off his game by the little one's apparent intellect and charming sense of dignity that he was willing to stick his hands into a pile of still-steaming dead thing. "I do expect you to eat like that. And nice try, but I'll only get dirtier if I hand-feed you."

Vyaniorth creeled pathetically, an imploring, baby-like note suddenly filtering into his handsome voice as his jaws opened again. I am SO hungry! You don't want the others to think you can't get your dragonling to eat, do you?

The young man flushed, suddenly aware of that very likelihood with one quick glance at their surroundings. Of the room full of new weyrling pairs, he appeared to be the only man who had yet to successfully feed his crying hatchling. And Vyaniorth really did look pathetic, mouth open and waiting for him like that. But it wasn't his fault! If the stubborn beast would just eat like a normal hatchling--

Allendris abruptly halted that train of thought, and scowled. It had suddenly dawned on him that with that shift in the clever little dragonet's voice... the creature was obviously teasing him. Not only that, but Vyaniorth was fast proving himself quite good at it.

Horrible beast! With a quick, deep breath to brace himself, Allendris plunged his hands into the bucket of meat without a further thought, dropping a gob of it into the expectant maw. The feel of it was just as disgusting as he'd thought, but he was rewarded with a dance of pleasure from his delighted charge. "You're just trying to make me uncomfortable, aren't you, Vyaniorth?" the glass-smith asked with a sigh of defeat. Though his tone was stern with outward displeasure, the young man couldn't help that his thoughts for the gorgeous little dragonet were already hopelessly fond. Indeed, he felt delighted and proud that his young bronze was so quick-witted, even fresh out of his shell.

Vyaniorth crooned with amusement that his chosen had finally caught on. Of course, the sound came out more like a burble, with his mouth held open wide for another bite. I would never! he assured the thoroughly unconvinced-looking human, with a musical lilt to his happy voice.

The Hatching was over, and talian and Indivara were gone from the sands. Krypth butted her head against Jada's leg, crooning lowly as she rubbed against the woman affectionately. The golden nose really was soft, Jada decided, reaching down with a shaking hand to stroke over the soft hide, marveling at the fact that she'd been chosen by a dragon as wonderful as Krypth. Strange; Now that she had time to let her mind settle, she could feel the wholeness. She could tell even without looking at the colored tinge that was beginning to take over the dragonet's eyes that she was hungry. Jada could feel it, and it made her own stomach grumble loudly in response.

I told you to hurry up. I'm hungry! Krypth said, and butted her bonded fiercely, eyes swirling with love and the munchies. It was nice that Hers was starting to feel the same way she herself did, but it would be nice if Jada would hurry up. Krypth had been very patient while Jada saw to her wounded companion, but now that the child was gone it was time for the woman to look to the more important things in life, like herself.

"I thought you were supposed to be loving and affectionate when you first hatch." Jada glared down at the little Gold who kept headbutting her in the sharding side. She moved across the Sands on sandaled feet, following the directions provided to her by a butting head and the sounds of chatter.

That was before I got hungry. Krypth was strangely smug, her eyes whirling as she looked up her bonded's body. Alas, love ends at food, my dear Jada. She nudged her Rider closer, examining the rest of her clutchmates that were already there. She stared at the gobbets flying everywhere, at the red that was just smearing most of the dragonets faces by now, and decided I don't want to eat that. It was disgusting. Her stomach rumbled fiercely, and the dragonet slavered before she could catch herself.

Jada eyed the meat, agreeing. It was pretty gross. Still- a bucket was shoved her way, and it was the same raw wherry meat as everyone else was eating. "Looks like it is what is on the menu, Krypth." she told her bonded. So much hunger. A look around showed her that most of the dragons were digging in, and so she set the bucket down in front of Krypth obediently, waiting for the dragon to take a bite. "Yum yum."

No. Krypth said it firmly, turning up her nose. I want something else. This is too gross-looking.

"Are you hungry, or not?"

Hungry. Jada wasn't dumb-witted, she had to be able to tell.

"Well then." Jada reached into the bucket, wincing at the hot slime that covered her hand and clung to the bottom of the bandages. "Here. Open up." She hauled up a gobbet, and could feel Krypth's horror. "This is all you get for right now. We'll worry about your diet later." The smell was making almost making her nauseated, but Krypth's powerful hunger overrode that minor discomfort, and Jada's stomach rumbled again. The gold opened her mouth, tilted back her head; Jada dropped a small bite of meat into her mouth.

Good. More?

Allendris had heard that newly-hatched dragonlings always ate ravenously, but he hadn't quite been prepared for this. The little bronze gobbled down gobbets of meat as quickly as his bonded could supply them, and sometimes faster - most were small and soft enough that the little one didn't even bother to chew them. Nevertheless, despite his seeming enthusiasm for stuffing his gullet with as much wherry as possible (and then preferably a good measure more), Vyaniorth ate with relative delicacy, sparing his human's fingers from any nicks on the sharp little teeth while keeping his snout surprisingly free of gore. All the while, the dragonet kept his chosen's mind awash in a never-receding wave of love and satisfaction, effectively distracting the young man from the slime and nastiness that covered his hands. Or at least, it was enough to make the distasteful task seem worth it.

Finally, the end of the bucket seemed near. Except, once Vyaniorth had downed the last morsel, he chirruped expectantly.

Is that all?

Allendris, who had until then been staring with a small scowl at the filth that covered his hands, looked at the dragonet in disbelief. The other hatchlings had all seemed satisfied with a single bucket. Yes, Vyaniorth was larger than them, but not by much. How much meat could he stuff into that tiny body?! After a moment's pause, Allendris answered him, with just the slightest bit of hope that the dragon had been asking the question for the question's sake. "I'm afraid so, little one."

Apparently not, because Vyaniorth's reply was immediate, and succinctly puncuated with a squawk. Well then, get more!

The glass-smith sighed, and then raised one bloodied hand to flag down one of the supervising weyrfolk. Somehow he'd always imagined that dragons were subservient to their riders, but oh how wrong he'd been... at least, that didn't appear to be the case with this little bronze prince of a dragonet. Fortunately, Vyaniorth was still small enough that Allendris found the trait endearing and didn't particularly mind obeying his little chirped commands. "Excuse me," he asked the broad-shouldered boulder of a Katilan woman who approached, recognizing her as someone who usually worked in the kitchens. "Could we trouble you for another bucket? He's still hungry... somehow."

The old woman replied with a hearty guffaw, revealing a missing tooth as she spoke in a husky voice that was surely loud enough to attract the attention of every weyrling in the room. Allendris almost cringed at the volume of it. "Well course he is, son! You've got yourself a monster of a hatchling there, boy, and he's got the appetite to match! He'll be a big one I reckon! That's just what we needed for that gold hatchling, you know, a good, big strong bronze..." The woman's enthusiastic rambling continued unbroken as she picked up the bucket and walked away, laughing all the while. Allendris was left feeling quite overwhelmed, and wondering if she had remembered his request for more wherry meat at all.

I sure hope so, Vyaniorth responded to his bonded's thoughts, and his silken mind-voice, full of obvious pride at being the center attention, was like a balm for Allendris's unease. That is, until the sight of a gleaming golden hide set the woman's words to replaying in his mind. Wait just a moment, what was that about needing a bronze for their gold...?

Weren't there plenty already?!

Allendris stared at Jada as she coaxed her hatchling to eat, spine straight as he considered for the first time the implications of their hatchlings' hides. Surely the woman hadn't meant--that didn't mean--he wouldn't have to--

Vyaniorth's loud chirp of greeting to the gold and her bonded served as a merciful interruption to his thoughts. The little dragonet didn't understand the direction his chosen's thoughts were barelling down, and having dismissed them as therefore inconsequential, was obviously quite intrigued by the appearance of another gleaming hide besides his own.

Hello Krypth! Vyaniorth hailed respectfully, loud enough for his bonded and hers to hear, and leaving Allendris to marvel at the way the dragonets seemed to know one other's names and rank by instinct alone. Feeling Jada was also due his own greeting, the glass-smith managed to pull himself out of his stupor, nodding cordially to the girl whom he recognized in passing from their classes. "Congratulations," he said, and then smiled slightly as he watched her hand-feed the gold gobbets of meat, despite the little creature's obvious distaste for them. He held out his hands, showing the other new Impressee their similarly greusome state. "I see we've run into a similar problem."

He realized, belatedly, that that one simple statement carried meany meanings indeed.

What a chore, Jada decided as she coaxed the Gold to eat. She was acting like a baby bird, not a future predator, opening her mouth and chirping for food. The other dragons were digging right in, but not Krypth. Get me something a little less messy, darling, and I will be happy to feed myself. Krypth was very hungry. But the food that was so warm, slimy (and admittedly tasty) was also gross-looking. Jada very much hoped that this was a temporary phase due to her being a newborn; there was no way she would be able to hand-feed the dragonet as she grew bigger, especially not if she expanded to the size of her parents. Right now the beast was smaller than some of the others in her clutch, though not as small as the bronze that had tried to attack Jada.

At the thought of the beast, she couldn't keep her amber eyes from wandering down the line, landing on the small form. Hoth, spat Krypth in disgust. You should not concern yourself with him. He will not harm you anymore, nor will I allow any other to. The gold's tail lashed, smashing into a table, sending plates scattering as she glared fiercely at the smaller dragon and His. Look at what he'd done to her Jada, and now Krypth had to fix her wounds. Both the ones on her body and the ones that had formed for the other people that were now in the care of human healers. We will leave if this will please you, or I can make him leave instead. Not that she had such power, but she could always bite him; Even though he would leave a foul taste in her mouth, for Jada's comfort, she would lower herself to interact with an incompetent creature like Bronze Hoth.

"Slow down now!" Jada reached out, patting the dragonet on the head. Goop immediately clung to the golden hide, and Jada winced at the sight. Krypth's irritation with the cause of Jada’s pain was building and crumbling, growing bigger, and Jada chose to distract her by dropping another bite of food down the little girl's gullet. "Watch your tail." The Harper knew she was chiding, and she also knew that she should. She simply couldn't allow the little dragon to make a wherry of herself this quickly. "Let's think about what you'd like to eat tomorrow. You think this is disgusting, so what would please you?" There had to be something that she would be able to do in order to help keep the dragonet's emotions from causing a mess. And, of course, to keep said emotions from giving her a headache. There was just so much to sort through, to try and understand. She had gone through all of the Candidate classes obediently, listening to the words; actually living through them was quite discombobulating.

Something else. I haven't eaten enough to decide. You should feed me more things, and I will decide what I like the most. It made perfect sense to both girls, and they nodded in agreement. Perhaps you should try something not as messy, so that I will not get all goopy? I do not think being sticky like they are will be very pleasant for either of us.

"Being very sticky usually isn't pleasant." Jada agreed easily. "And while I think you will like baths very much, I don't think you will like the getting dirty part." If only she knew now what she would learn many sevendays later!

There was a loud guffaw from elsewhere in the room, and Jada turned her head. Krypth did as well, blinking placidly at the woman, who was missing a tooth. She was talking to another Candidate whose name she could not recall. Something with an A, she thought; oh why was she terrible with names? Next to the boy stood another dragonet, which was even larger than Krypth. Like the gold, his hide was spotless, muzzle clean. Another picky eater! So Jada wasn’t alone in this. "Well course he is, son! You've got yourself a monster of a hatchling there, boy, and he's got the appetite to match! He'll be a big one I reckon! That's just what we needed for that gold hatchling, you know, a good, big strong bronze..." Why did they ne- Jada's brain kick-started itself, and she went white in the face, glancing down at Krypth, who merely tilted her head and expectantly opened her mouth. 

Their consideration is only natural, Jada. They are looking to the future. Krypth's voice was even yet there seemed to be mild reproach in the tone, though Jada couldn't identify why, exactly. But their considerations are not ours. They are a long time in the future, and nothing to currently concern ourselves with. She reached up, tugging on Jada's neat braid, eyes whirling blue-green. It was a valid point, and Jada took a deep breath, glancing around the room. Were they already looking forward that far to the future? Was it that important? Who was she kidding? Of course it was!

Suddenly the joy that she felt had become a weight on her chest and she leaned down, pressing her lips to the soft, clean nose. Krypth crooned in delight, and proceeded to knock Jada over by lunging into her. The bucket spilled a few of its gobbets on the floor and the gold rubbed her face against Jada’s chest and stomach, crooning softly. “Alright, alright. Let me up. Look at the mess you’ve made!” She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. Eyes were staring in their direction, and Jada awkwardly picked up the soiled meat, looking for a place to put it. Someone came by with a dirty, empty bucket, and Jada dropped it in there. “Thank you. Now, you be good. Finish your meal.”

I am awful hungry. Krypth said cheerfully, and opened her mouth with renewed vigor. Jada obligingly tossed a few more pieces into the dragonet’s mouth. Was she even chewing and swallowing, or was the meat just vanishing?

Jada’s head turned, as did Krypth’s, when a voice attracted their attention. Hello Vyaniorth. Her voice was cool, and she tilted her head up to peer at Allendris as he came closer. I see you’ve let Yours make a mess of himself. Purely hypocritical, of course, as Jada’s own hands were soaked in the same goop as Allendris’. In fact, Hers was probably much more a mess, but that was quite alright with Krypth. 

The Harper pushed to her feet and went to push a strand of hair from her face self-consciously, catching the problem with that action just in time. Her robes were ripped halfway to the knee in front, legs and cloth alike stained in Indivara’s blood, though the sand had been mostly wiped away. She had wherry goop on her hand, her hair was fuzzy, and yet- she held up her own hands towards his, grinning awkwardly. “Congratulations to you also! It seems we have.” She agreed easily, and bent down to beam at the bronze next to him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Vy-“ Jada glanced back at Krypth, who was sulking. “Vyaniorth?” She hated to be guessing, but she hadn’t quite figured out the sulk.

You are being too nice to him. He’s a bronze. Like Hoth. Goodness, couldn’t Jada keep up? Or maybe Krypth had damaged her eyes when she knocked her over! Oh no! She could fix that a little later though. Now that she had told the girl of her error, Jada would understand and back away a suitable distance. 

Or not. “I can see he’s bronze. He’s bigger than you, too.” Jada watched Krypth’s eyes flash, and then felt the sulk deepen. She reached behind her with a foot, not wishing to smear even more goop over the golden hide. “And I’m very sorry, but I don’t remember your name.” It was painful for her to admit such a thing, but Jada hadn’t interacted with him often as she might have. “I’m Jada.” She held out her hand, smile widening. “Since our hands are both messy, we might as well shake.”

Allendris smiled with a subtle sense of pride as Jada bent down to greet his dragonet. He usually wasn't such an  immodest man, but Vyaniorth's own shameless enjoyment of the young woman's approval was rolling off of him in waves, and it was hard not to let that vanity influence him. He would have to work on remembering his manners later, once he'd grown more accustomed to the strength of the two-way mental link between them. In the meantime, he could see that all of the new weyrlings were looking quite enamored with their new charges, so he could hardly feel guilty for allowing himself to indulge in a little bit of the same obvious admiration for his own hatchling. "Yes, this is Vyaniorth. And he is big, isn't he?" The young man paused a moment to clear his throat, and then added, remembering his humility, "...at least, that's what I'm told."

The little bronze, however, having no such reservations, burbled a cheery greeting in Jada's face as his large eyes swirled in a rainbow of happy blues. He turned around once in a circle, showing off his fine form and glittering hide to both Jada and her bonded. He seemed to already have a great deal more coordination and grace than his clutchmates. I am big! he boasted to all who would listen, sitting neatly once he'd finished his circle and holding his head up high.

The bronzeling seemed to deflate slightly, however, when this demonstration was not met with immediate approval from Krypth. He didn't understand her apparent dislike of him, which seemed borne of nothing at all, nor her hypocritical admonishment for making a mess of his bonded's hands. He especially didn't understand what Hoth had to do with anything. As far as Vyaniorth saw things, he was a far better specimen of bronze than Hoth! I am not at all like Hoth! the dragonet insisted loudly, obviously a little affronted by this accusation. If he'd had feathers, they would have been ruffled - as it was, he could only give a little toss of his head to express his disgust with Krypth's mistaken opinion of him. I'm much better!

Allendris, for his part, felt it wiser not to touch on this exchange between their dragonets. Instead, he sent his bonded a silent reassurance that indeed, he was much better than Hoth. He would have said it aloud, except that he didn't want to attract the attention of Remelant - that man had a ruthless and arrogant attitude that the glass-smith didn't much care for. He could only hope that the other future bronzerider's obviously strong will was enough to keep that vicious hatchling's apparent anger problems in check.

"I know," he instead only answered Jada as she told him her name. Allendris was quite good with names; it was a skill he'd picked up quickly as a child, as many Lord Holders and their family members grew quite offended when people failed to recall their names and all of their titles. He did not particularly mind that the young woman didn't recall his, however. He was quite used to always being recognized and remembered in Nerat and even later at the Glass-smith Hall in Ista; his relative anonymity here at Katila Weyr had been a surprisingly refreshing change. He supposed that was all about to change, though, now that he'd Impressed one of the rarest colors of them all... and such a show-off of one, at that!

His stomach twisted reflexively at the thought of shaking the gore-hovered hand that the young woman offered to him, one brow rising slightly as a bit of goop dripped from her proffered fingers - and then she and Vyaniorth both reminded him at once that he was in no position to act squeamish, himself. Well, that had been a bit foolish of him... finally Allendris allowed himself to relax and return her bright smile, doing his best to ignore the horrible feeling of slime sliding between their fingers as he took her hand in a gentle shake as he introduced himself. "I'm Allendris, Journeyman Glass-smith... ah, not that titles matter now, I suppose..." As the young man trailed off awkwardly with the thought of how completely their lives were about to change, Vyaniorth leaned in to have a lick of the nastiness that covered their joined hands, apparently quite enjoying the taste, himself. I'm still hungry! he reminded them all.

Ahh, he was so cute! Jada could feel how disgruntled Krypth was getting at the bronze getting so much of her bonded's attention; however she wasn't quite sure what to do about it. "Well, he's bigger than most the rest of them. Debatably the biggest of them all. I don't know when they'll look at their sizes, however. I suppose we'll find out for  sure then, won't we." she made a silly noise back at the burbling bronze, and then hissed as her dragonet butted her commandingly in the side. "You look lovely, Vyaniorth." He looked like a shimmering brown creature, awkward and lanky, just like her own. Dragons, magical creatures, hah! These were babies, adorable and gangly, with big heads and skinny limbs, and for what she'd been told a little dragon was supposed to look like, he was indeed a wonderful specimen, deserving of praise.

You're not better than Hoth, you're just bigger. Krypth snapped, shoving her body between the bronze and her chosen. Jada hissed, and the dragonet ignored it, because she knew she couldn't have caused Hers any pain. but there was no saying what this bronze was going to do! She had quickly made up her mind about this one. He was foolish, and showy. Egotistical, she decided, and that was a lot coming from her! Jada's hand went to her headknobs, firm, holding the gold close to her side.

"Well, I'll call myself embarrassed." she said easily. "Can I blame your superior memory on me having an easy name, at least?" his brow rose and she started to pull her hand back. She'd offered it because they were both messy. She wouldn't have offered to shake someone with a clean hands when her own was like this! But he smiled, and reached out, and Jada felt her shoulders sag with relief. "Allendris. I'll remember next time." the corners of her eyes crinkled, and she barked with laughter as the bronze leaned in and licked at their hands. The two bronzes were as different as day and night, and Jada leaned down, blowing air playfully at his nose again.

Krypth creeled, alarm shooting through her posture as she shoved her chosen backwards fiercely, further away from the bronze and his boy. Stay back, before you hurt someone too, you big bronze oaf! What if you'd bitten her?! Jada, what if he hurt you? The dragon was paranoid or something, that much was obvious to the Harper. Jada's face was stern and disapproving, and Krypth didn't care. The girl was entirely oblivious to the danger she herself was afraid of with another dragon. All bronzes were alike, even Krypth knew that already.

"Until they get you more meat, you can share with me." she offered to Allendris, holding the bucket out. Krypth watched the bronze anxiously, as though expecting him to turn feral and start ravaging the Weyr at any moment. Allendris, however, was given the seal of approval for having made Jada smile. (Even if it had technically been the bronze who did so.)

Why do I have to move?

"Because you'll get fat after eating so much."

Charath had an admitted lead on her siblings, in that she had hatched and Impressed sooner, so her entire bucket of food had been well devoured. Erisi didn't even bear witness to the event, mostly because he was grossed out by raw wherry meat, and partly because he had Valerian to distract him. The other Harper had proven to be Erisi's life saver once again by efficiently distracting the new Weyrling from his woes. Erisi could have had a lot on his mind right now, especially with the first feelings of Impression still washing over him. He was happy but confused, content but worried. There was peace, and then there was little of it at all. It was a good thing Valerian had stepped in when he did, because Erisi's mood would have started to worry Charath if it had lasted longer.

Somehow Valerian had convinced Erisi to even try and socialize with the other new Weyrlings. Erisi was the judgmental sort, but well, Jada was a Harper, and he had seen her once or twice before back at Harper Hall. She wasn't bad, and he didn't have neither a negative or positive opinion of her (because he hadn't slept with her back then). He had a better opinion of Allendris for two very simple reasons - a) he was hot and b) he was Valerian's friend. If Valerian liked the attractive new bronze Weyrling, Erisi would certainly try to as well. It took very little to please Erisi, but it also took very little to upset him. He was judgmental by nature, but so far Jada and Allendris were off to a good start. He hadn't been around either long enough to develop firm opinions of them. He knew them, yes, but he did not know them.

The Harper slash Green Weyrling stood in front of Allendris and Jada with an almost awkward expression on his face. Impressing Charath had just completely flipped his life around, and he was waiting for Valerian to take the lead. It was likely one of the few times in his life where he didn't know what to say - he had just been following Valerian over to the pair partially to please the other man, and further distract himself. You could start by saying hello.

"Way to be a smartass." Which probably wasn't the best way to greet the other Weyrlings. How was he supposed to know if they realized he was talking to his dragonet over them?

Now you're embarrassing me.

"Me, too."

Valerian could talk more effortlessly with these two.

Sigh.

"That was to Charath. Hey, and... congrats?"

Charath was refusing to regard both Krypth and Vyaniorth. Apparently, she did not like many of her clutch siblings, especially a stuck up gold. Krypth and Vyaniorth would be fun to troll, at least. And then an idea struck her. Krypth, your lips are brown. Are you sure wherry dung wasn't accidentally added to your bucket?

Valerian was still getting over the continuous string of shocking events from that night. It had started with the Hatching suddenly beginning and then moved on from there with the Impressions and the unfortunate injuries some people received. While having a little blue dragon strutting along beside him was rather high on the list of things he didn't expect, it was currently Erisi agreeing to come with him to talk with Allendris and Jada that topped everything. It wasn't that Erisi was a recluse but he didn't go out of his way to mingle with others, especially with dragons involved, so it was a nice surprise to have his friend want to come along with him. Actually, Valerian was a bit relieved. He had decided to stick with Erisi if he didn't want to socialize but Valerian was itching to go see the two friends of his that had managed to Impress a bronze and gold.

Jada with a gold... Valerian was pretty sure Katila was doomed without even meeting the little queen.

When they approached the pair of future leaders, Valerian didn't get a chance to greet them before Erisi was speaking. To the others it probably seemed a little odd but since he had just been interacting with the green dragonet, Valerian suspected she was still teasing Erisi and his friend was struggling to deal with her. Actually, they were probably all going to be struggling for a while, he decided with a glance to Veeth who sat down beside him, yet again in that proper posture that clearly came naturally to him and hadn't been done to show he was better than Charath. His little blue was going to need a lot of tending to given the refusal to be dirty and then making him clean him spotless afterward.

"You know, Allie, I was only teasing when I said there was a bronze waiting for you out there." His mind was still reeling at how accurate that statement he made in jest earlier had been. Out of the two friends he had left behind on the Sands after leaving with Veeth, Valerian would have put all of his marks down on Kerrin being the one to follow soon after. He liked Allendris but the man was rather boring most of the time so why would a dragonet even notice him when Kerrin was radiating so much confidence and enthusiasm that he was practically glowing from it? "Leave it to you to believe me and find one."

Ignore my Chosen, Veeth greeted suddenly, shooting a glance to Charath to make sure she remembered that Valerian was indeed his, he's happy so many of his friends are sharing in his joy.

The more he saw Veeth interact with others, the more Valerian realized how lucky he was to have the blue. He still felt a little connection with Charath from the trust she gave him from the egg Touching but he was more than okay with simply being friends with her which would let him escape at the end of the day. Poor Erisi would have his hands full with her constantly. In a way, that actually made him like Charath even more since his friend would need something to occupy his time and give him a challenge.

You're starting to fawn over her as much as she does you, you know. The lilting voice of his blue was tinged with sadness and Valerian bent down to rub at his tiny head knobs. I still love you more. If ever there was phrase Valerian didn't expect to hear himself say or think, that was likely it. But he meant it.

Glancing up at his friends, Valerian shook his head in disbelief at Jada, a small playful smile appearing, "and you with a gold. Faranth, help us all."

Allendris met Erisi's unusual entrace with a raise of both eyebrows, for as far as he knew he had done nothing to warrant being labeled a smartass... this time. The mystery was solved, however, when the other young man clarified that he had been arguing with his dragon, which he assumed to be the aloof-looking green beside him. Charath, was it? Allendris made a note to remember the name. He hadn't interacted much with Erisi at all, though he remembered the harper as another one with a smart mouth and a reputation around the Weyr for his notoriously bad attitude. Valerian was friends with him, which of course made sense given his roommate's own propensity for snarky one-liners. Still, though Erisi's reputation made Allendris somewhat inclined to be wary of the other man, he could see that the harper looked at least as overwhelmed and confused as he was. Perhaps now was a good opportunity to put aside differences in personality and come together under their shared misfortune of having absolutely no clue as to how to proceed.

Not that he could ever consider Impressing Vyaniorth a misfortune, Allendris reminded himself when the little bronzeling looked up from his sulking over Krypth's having shoved him away from shamelessly basking in Jada's much-appreciated attentions and tilted his head in a silent questioning of the direction of his bonded's thoughts. Not even hours after the dragonet had chosen him and the man was already having difficulty remembering how he could have tolerated life without Vyaniorth's loving presence in his mind. That still didn't mean he knew what to do about it, now that they were joined. He'd hardly learned anything in Candidate Classes about what course of action to take when a friend's gold decided right off the bat that she hated one's bronze, for example.

Well. He would worry about that later. Allendris smiled wanly in response to Erisi's half-hearted congratulations. He had a hunch there was more confusion than sincerity in those words, and though he wasn't sure how Jada felt about it, he could strangely enough relate to the mixed feelings behind them. After all, what had he done that evening that was of note except show up on the sands? "Thanks, though I'm not sure I did anything to deserve it."

Charath still seemed disinclined to interact with Vyaniorth or himself, but he smiled at her anyway, with a bit more warmth and sincerity than he had in response to Erisi's halting compliments. He had no idea how to greet a silent dragonet, but he figured the seemingly standoffish green would be happiest with a simple, "Nice to meet you, Charath."

Valerian was quick to join them, and Veeth too with his wise interjection, which relieved Allendris of the duty of making awkward one-sided conversation with either the harper he barely knew or his uniquely quiet dragonet. It was hard to look relieved, however, when Valerian insisted on using that awful nickname! "Who is Allie?" he demanded, in an exasperated tone that broadcast to all just how old this argument was. But with that obligatory protest aside, the glass-smith only shook his head, his smile growing wry. Of course he'd known even at the time that the only reason Valerian had made that jibe before they'd walked onto the sands was because he absolutely didn't believe it. Neither had Allendris, and he'd answered as much; they both knew he'd walked onto the Hatching Circuit with absolutely no intention or desire to Impress a dragon...

And yet there Vyaniorth was.

Allendris assumed from Valerian's personality alone that the man had also been fairly indifferent towards the idea of Impressing, though from time to time he thought he could see a flicker of hope in the harper who was required to learn and sing all of the inspirational songs about the glorious bond between dragon and rider as a part of his job... still, the glass-smith figured Valerian would understand him perfectly when he answered, "I think you'll know what I mean when I tell you, he found me."

Meanwhile, tired of waiting on his bonded to finish his socializing, Vyaniorth stuck his head into the bucket of meat Jada had offered and gingerly selected the least-messy looking piece. He was famished and even Krypth's suspicious glares couldn't keep his nose out of that bucket when Jada was so generously offering it to him! Well, to his bonded, but that was all the same wasn't it? The bronzeling burbled his joy and gratitude to Jada around the fat chunk of meat in his jaws when he finally made his choice and withdrew. Thus satisfied, he seemed to notice Veeth and Charath for the very first time. Hello to you, he greeted them simply, obviously distracted by his treat. Then he looked between Krypth and Charath, chewing slowly. Whatever was about to go down here... it was gonna be interesting.

"Way to be a smartass." Jada blinked at the strange greeting from the other Weyrling who approached- one of her fellow Harpers, she faintly recognized him from their time at the Hall and then again from Candidate classes. "Me, too." he said again, and she glanced down at the green dragonet at his side, wondering if it was true that crazy people couldn't Impress. Apparently not, but she'd keep hoping. he sighed, and Krypth made a hissing noise at the larger Bronze that was just so sweet, and then- "That was to Charath. Hey, and... congrats?"

"Thank you, I guess." She gave Erisi a wry smile, not very certain what she could say to the almost-stranger. "Congratulations to you as well! Charath is a lovely-" her words were cut off at a sudden flare of utter outrage from her dragonet as the Gold shoved herself forward, eyes red and tail rigid. The Bronze was now being ignored, another 'enemy' apparently having incurred the Wrath of Khan Krypth. Whatever it was that the gold was irritated about, however, she certainly wasn't sharing it with her bonded! "Lovely shade of green?" it was a question more than anything, and Jada was certain her bewilderment was obvious. She glanced to the green and then back to her bonded, then up to Erisi, wondering if he was as confused by the flare of irritation as Jada herself was. It wasn't a big deal if he wasn't, she supposed; Krypth seemed to be having quite the evening. Lots of stress would be a good guess, though it could just as easily be that she'd gotten an angry little thing for a partner. (That would be interesting to try and live with.)

Brains were wasted on you. Krypth spat at Charath. You should have been born with manners instead. Sniffing, the gold moved towards Veeth as he approached the three of them, red fading from her eyes as she chirped to her clutchmate in greeting, reaching out to press her nose to his. Veeth, you'll stay with me, won't you? Charath is being positively impossible. Her tail thrashed, eyes glittering with spite as she glared between Green and Bronze.

Jada (innocent of all wrongdoing in whatever was going down) looked to Valerian with a smile as he also approached, reaching down to gingerly pat Vyaniorth on his big head. It was good to see that he had also Impressed- and oddly reassuring. Yet that impish little smile... "Val!" she protested, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly responsible." She dipped her hand into the bucket, pulling out another piece of wherry meat. "Who wants it?"

Probably that hussy, Charath. Krypth told Jada privately, disgruntled. The nerve of her, breathing my air! You keep away from her now. Throw the meat and make her fetch it. Positively catty, but the gold looked prim as a peacock, waiting on the Blue to submit to her request. Veeth chose your friend Valerian. I like this decision. It would have been quite unfortunate if Charath had chosen him first. I do hope that he counts himself lucky.

He was supposed to be socializing to distract himself from his own troubles and placate Valerian. The attempt was not even worth it as Charath seemed destined to cause trouble. He couldn't even get in a proper conversation without feeling like he had to babysit Charath. The moment his Green's eyes had locked onto Jada's Gold's, he knew there was trouble brewing. Erisi had no idea what had gotten into Charath's head that she had to challenge her larger sister, but once the thought had flitted through the Green's mind their fate was sealed. I almost forgot you were born with brains. If you had any amount of intelligence, you would know that it is put to better use enjoying oneself. Charath answered Krypth wickedly, seemingly unafraid despite the Gold's clear anger.

Erisi should step in and corral his dragonet, but he really didn't want to get in the way of another dragonet. Charath could take care of herself, and this way Erisi would not get mauled. She is a born coward. You do not have to worry for me. She'd never make her bonded so upset as to actually launch herself at me. Charath's dark voice was filled with confidence, as if she had complete control over the situation. She just believed she knew her sister well enough to avoid crossing the Gold's boundaries. Charath was not the type of dragonet to keep silent about those she did not like, and like Erisi, she did not like many people or many dragons.

Maybe now would be a good time to apologize for his dragonet's actions, but the moment to do so came and went without a single comment from Erisi. He really did not feel bad in the end for his Green's actions. No harm had come out of her playful and somewhat cruel teasing. If Krypth couldn't handle it, well, that wasn't his problem until Krypth made it his problem. "Uh, your Gold is very... golden," he answered lamely. He didn't hate the little Gold, but it was clear he'd just take Charath's side out of obligation to his dragonet.

This was a bad idea. He was forcing himself to play nice with people he'd only associate with when he wanted to do them.

Do what?

"Them."

What?

He sighed.

But, really, maybe he should play nice just so he didn't ruin future interests...

What are you even thinking? Charath was still confused, and with another sigh Erisi dismissed that train of thought entirely. Deciding that her bonded wasn't worth getting confused over, Charath turned her mind to different conquests.

Vyaniorth. If you get me a piece of meat I will not prank you until morning. I will instead spend all of my efforts on Krypth. Does it sound like a fair deal?

"...Charath."

I am hungry. Valerian would have fed me more.