[G] [C] 732.07.15 | Rhythm Of Life [Hatching]

R'nya was sitting at his desk, a pen in hand as he went over the notes he had created about his wingriders, a small frown pulling the young man's eyebrows together as he poured over the information. Some of them were beginning to shape up very nicely, and R'nya was quite proud, particularly of those whom he had - admittedly, if only to himself - had little hope for. While he didn't gush over any of them, he felt quite positive the Wing was aware of his approval for their improvement. Quite nods, and a lack of snapping he felt displayed his appreciation quite well. Approving words and claps on a shoulder were not really his thing, but he did his best to show his respect for the way they were pulling themselves together and at least attempting to act like a Wing. It would grow easier with time, of course, and time was something those at Katila had an awful lot of.

Sir, Xyreith's rich voice pressed lightly against his mind, making the dragon known as he stood up leisurely outside and stretched, looking particularly feline in his movements and actions. The young will join us this day, the bronze dragon's voice was approving, though like his rider his expectations for what would arise from the eggs upon the sands was rather reserved. Unlike R'nya, who did not actively follow a colourist thought process, and hadn't since Weyrlinghood, Xyreith was not so forgiving. His bonded's opinion that day on the Sands had struck deeply with the Hatchling and he clung to it, despite R'nya's revelations as they grew. Hide colour was severely important to the dragon, and a lowly brown, while clearly more worthy than a blue, should not have taken what should have been a bronzes!

"Thank you, Xyreith." Placing his pen back in its place, R'nya rose from where he was sitting and proceeded to prepare for the Hatching. There was no rush, the dragonets had made their intention to Hatch that day apparent, as could be heard as the dragons chirped and crooned to one another, spreading the news, but eggs take time to Hatch and R'nya knew he had at least a good thirty minutes before any of them would actually manage to break shell. In that time, he prepared for the event, dressing himself neatly in his riding leathers and making sure his knots were tied and draped correctly, R'nya swept a hand back through his hair before quietly leaving his hut. The Weyr outside was in an erratic state of controlled chaos.

Climbing with practised skill upon Xyreith, the pair quickly made their way to the Hatching Circuit, the dragon more than the human deeply amused by the scattering ants that the Weyr had become when the announcement of the Hatching became known. Weyrbrats were the most obvious, getting under feet and squealing excitedly as they ran around and got in the way. The stolen looked less enthralled, many of them having been denied the chance to Stand for Impression at the clutch. There would only be a small group of twenty on the Sands, including Weyrbred and children brought South during the Plague. With over one hundred having come South due to being stolen, there were a lot that ranged from sour to relieved.

While they were not the first to arrive, they were far from the last and Xyreith settled down comfortably on the edge of the Sands; with the Hatching Circuit lacking the typical Stands that were found within traditional Weyrs, most people sat atop their dragons, a friend's dragon, or on the limbs of a random dragon. Weyrbrats were dodging around the edges of the event, while the young gold Krypth kept everyone at a suitable distance while she preened over her rocking clutch. The child, Indivara, stood beside her pseudo gold with a scowl to match on her scarred face, while Jada wrung her hands anxiously beside the girl. R'nya shifted his gaze, acknowledging several of his Wingriders before focusing on the Clutch.

It was the Bass Egg, the one the Candidates had been heard whispering about to contain nothing of more intelligence than a firelizard, that made it first know that the Hatching had officially began. When a sizable crack rocketed down the side of the eggshell, the Weyr hushed and the dragons took up their hum, filling the air itself with the heavy thrum of their collective voices. Draconic eyes sparkled like bright, excited jewels as the focus was settled on the most excited egg. A moment later, the Cocktail Egg gave a heavy rock, toppling over sideways and rolling for several feet before coming to a stop, apparently hitting a lump in the sands. R'nya watched with subtle amusement as the young men on the Sands shifted anxiously. Very few women had been granted permission to try for Impression, and without counting R'nya would have hazarded a guess of no more than six girls amongst the company of young men.

Beating its sibling to the punch, the Bass Egg released its inhabitant with a the dragonet apparently giving a mighty shove with fore- and hind feet, it shove itself backwards while egg shell rocketed forward. The tiny green dragonet landed in a cloud of sand, sneezing forcefully when it undoubtedly got a massive amount up its freshly hatched nose. A round of soft groans whispered through the sounds of the dragons humming as the colour was seen and recognised. A green first wasn't all that reassuring, although R'nya admitted, he'd be surprised if there was anything much more than greens in the clutch. Unreadable grey-blue eyes shifted casually to look toward S'kef, the brownrider located in the general vicinity of the gold and her rider. He looked less than thrilled, though like R'nya, he didn't seem overly surprised; just not happy about it.

The sneezing green scrabbled to her feet, wings, legs and tail going in every direction as she attempted to learn control of the assorted limbs literally moments after gaining the freedom of life. A pitiful creel escaped the hatchling, followed by a frustrated shriek. A moment later, one of the young men scrambled forward, his face out of the bronzerider's sight though it was obvious Impression had been made as he uttered reassurances to the distressed creature.

Not wanting to be forgotten, the Cocktail Egg twitched, egg shell falling away as the baby within took up once more the fight for freedom, the egg rocking on its odd perch in frustration. Not far away, the Tumbadora Egg took up the fight for feedom, cracks rippling across the surface, destroying the clear brilliance of the shell. A few moments later, it fell still - while the Cocktail Egg finally crumpled, the dragonet within shaking off shards and claiming life. A haughty expression was clear on the little green dragonet's face, and R'nya's left eyebrow arched slightly as he watched hre flick her wing arrogantly - an action that caused her to lose her balance and fall on her nose. Even he couldn't stop the snort of amusement that he uttered. The surrounding audience seemed to be much the same, amusement mingling with dragon hum. A young man's voice cut across the combined sounds; "It's not funny!" as he stormed across to his dragonet, helping her gain her feet.

Just what we need. Another troublesome green pair. Xyreith commented lazily, watching the newly bonded pair do the best they could to stalk indignantly from the Sands while the dragonet tripped and stumbled and the young man tried very hard not to coddle her publicly. "Indeed," R'nya drawled as the third egg, the Tumbadora Egg began to make its intention to Hatch clear. It took a while, and in the few minutes while the Hatchling within attempted to make a break for freedom, R'nya glanced at S'kef once more, noting the brownrider's continued lack of enthusiasm - well, it was only two eggs and greens were an important part of the structure of Wings, especially against fighting Thread.

As if to justify this process of thought, the Tumbadora Egg flaked away to reveal a third green, sitting almost pristine within the crumpled flakes. She peered around with a mild expression on her face, before rising and walking quite confidently over to a young man who lead her off the sands. Xyreith laughed in the back of R'nya's mind, amused by the quiet dignity.

A thirty minute break dragged by, following the third green Impression. As the time slowly made its pass, R'nya took the opportunity to glance around the gathering. A few people were eyeing off Krypth, wondering if the young gold had clutched half dudes and was going to drop the other three between like her dam was wont to do when they failed to Hatch; but the young mother seemed quite content in her watching, despite her bonded's continued hand wringing and the impatient huffing of her Weyrbrat guard. R'nya's gaze moved over the crowd instead, enjoying the pause in the excitement and the moment it allowed to relax from the adrenaline inducing event. Memories of Impressing Xyreith were pressing against the edges of his mind but R'nya refused to allow them to resurface completely, more intent on people watching than reliving one of the best moments of his life.

Another, Sir. R'nya's steely gaze flickered down from surfing the crowd to watch the three remaining eggs, his mild frown from earlier that morning pulling his brows together as he realised two were rocking, though the Bongo Egg was making decidedly more effort than its sibling the Tambourine Egg; R'nya pursed his lips into a flat line, watching quietly and without too much excitement as the casing around the young dragon became a canvas of jagged lines, and then the creature within gave a final burst of energy, and the egg shell gave way, crumpling around the youngster within to litter the sands.

There was a sudden and resounding silence, and R'nya could feel the shock ripple through the gathered Weyr as even the humming of the dragons faltered in surprise, everyone staring in muted shock at the tiny golden dragon that had sprawled in an ungainly mass after breaking her shell, the Bongo Egg a scattering of remains all that was left. The dragons were the first to recover, their humming sky-rocketing in appreciation for another queen to join their ranks and to bring forth further dragonets in the not too distant future. R'nya felt his eyes actually widen, the Wingleader's eyebrows arching up his forehead in surprise before he gave a soft bark of laughter, raising his hands to offer a quiet applause. The majority of the audience knew better than to get too boisterous, but the appreciation, shock, delight, and sheer thrill that was the appearance of a new gold rippled through the crowd. R'nya's dancing gaze shifted to S'kef, giving the shocked and thrilled brownrider a half-smile and a nod of his head.

The little gold mewed piteously as she climbed to her feet, head swaying as she searched for her lifemate amongst breathless women who were staring wide eyed at her. R'nya watched with interest, amused as the girls all seemed taken aback. No one had been expecting gold and the women present weren't ones who had been Searched for gold; they were fighter material girls. A scuffle on the sideline attracted R'nya's attention and he watched quietly as someone he recognised as a Searchrider actively shoved a young woman out onto the Sands, an action that was seemingly quickly followed up by two other Searchers, an eyebrow arching as B'jin  seemed to pluck a young woman out of no-where and shove her bodily onto the sands, the greenrider hissing instructions to her as did so.

A moment later, Larrikith was giving a bugle of success while B'jin stood back smugly, arms crossed over his chest looking every inch the arrogant and self important young man he'd been thirty turns ago. R'nya shook his head, glancing mildly in the direction of the Weyrleader curiously, wondering if the Searchriders would be punished for shoving women on the Sands, or if their quick thinking would earn them thanks - after all, who wanted a fighter on gold? Unwilling to cause a scene, R'nya allowed the rest of the Hatching to unfold without acting on it, though he kept a closer eye on B'jin when he wasn't watching the remaining eggs or those on the Sands; the girls that had originally been presented all looked confused and slightly frazzled, while the two young women that had been pushed forward by the other Searchriders slipped off the Sands as invisibly as possible.

Shaking his head once more and letting go of that worry for the moment, R'nya was almost startled when the Tambourine Egg literally blew its top, the top portion of the egg jumping up then toppling off the side to land beside the rest of the egg. A moment later, a comical blue head peeped timidly out of the hole. The dragonet peered around, the youngsters childish antics earning it both attention and giggles throughout the crowd, before the egg toppled over the the little blue squealed in surprise. His squeak was quickly answered by one of the young men bounding forward, anxious and excited as he knelt beside the egg to help break free his life partner: R'nya could see the boy's hands shaking from across the sands.

R'nya was pleased to see a male dragon make an appearance, the little blue a welcome addition to the four girls currently being fed off to one side. As the little fellow and his human partner meandered their way over to the feeding buckets, R'nya noted the small size of each of the dragoents; much smaller than would be considered average, he expected they would mature on the smaller side of the scale. The immature age of the gold was no doubt at fault, the clutch mother not even a turn old and breeding! It could be expected her clutches and those that hatched would improve in the future, with her own growth and maturity. Well, one could hope. Dragonets were often of a small and similar size upon hatching, regardless of their colour so it was to be expected that gold and green alike were barely any different in length or height. But their shared size could have been at least a foot bigger. Give them time, Sir. They will grow into their own. Undoubtedly.

Focusing his attention upon the final egg, R'nya was just wondering if perhaps it were a dud, when the little one within gave it a solid kick, sending the egg swirling and rolling much like its earlier sibling had done. During the process, the dragonet within appeared to be up-keeping its tantrum, bashing at the egg and sending it skittering in all direction across the sands. Several audience members tittered, and R'nya wondered mildly if people had already forgotten what had happened during the last Hatching when the audience continued to find hatchlings amusing. Glancing at Indivara and her tortured face, he acknowledged that she at least remembered, and judging by her self righteous scowl, was not about to laugh and invite another morbid attack. Not that he could see much skin left unscarred as it was.

With a muffled hiss from within, the dragonet finally gave its egg shell a strong kick, appearing from within the shards in a shower of shattered remains, a brown dragonet with furious eyes glaring out at the world as he righted himself indignantly and inelegantly. Hatching was not a laughing matter! Hissing and snarling, the young brown's movements were jerky and outraged as he picked himself up and stared around at the remaining Candidates with a self righteous expression. with a disdainful snort, the brown hatchling walked without hesitation up to a young man and waited imperially for the new rider to respond before the pair walked off.

Do these gold like torturing us with their offspring? Xyreith asked dryly, drawling the words as he stood up lazily while people seemed to blink and return to reality as they realised the little brown was the last one; the entire Clutch had Hatched, had Impressed - without any major drama, and with a gold! R'nya shrugged in answer to his dragon, before sliding off and making his way across the sands to B'jin; he had a greenrider to congratulate.

---

Mentions of S'kef prompted by Blue-given emotes lol. I was gunna give I'shan the gold Impresser but then I remembered reading somewhere that he doesn't search women :| Sooo... Jinny got her XD Blue can dictate punishment on B'jin for being naughty. R'nya will carry it out/enforce it. The other two Searchriders aren't in his wing and are free to be claimed if someone plays a Searcher.

Jada and Krypth power played with Admin approval.

Because this is an NPC Clutch, no PC women were granted permission to Stand. They will all have been in the crowd watching or elsewhere at the time as decided by you. It would be preferred that the two women pushed on to the sands NOT be PC's as it avoids drama and bitching. Only 14 boys are on the Sands (6 women max for the 20 total candidates); you may have your male PC be a member of the Candidate class or not as you wish. Just make it clear so we can put it on your Candidate sheet we have stored in Admin. Standing or watching won't change future Candidacy chances for boys.

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Hatching Imminent Warning: 10am
Hatching Began: 11.30am

RLGreen01 Hatched from the Bass Egg and Impressed to RLMale01 @ 11:45am
RLGreen02 Hatched from the Cocktail Egg and Impressed to RLMale02 @ 11:48am
RLGreen03 Hatched from the Tumbadora Egg and Impressed to RLMale03 @ 12 noon
RLGold01 Hatched from the Bongo Egg and Impressed to RLFemale01 @ 12:30pm
RLBlue01 Hatched from the Tambourine Egg and Impressed to RLMale04 @ 12:40pm
RLBrown01 Hatched from the Talking Drum Egg and Impressed to RLMale05 @ 12:50pm

Hatching concluded: 1pm

THIS THREAD WILL BE UNLOCKED IN

[countdown=09,29,2012,22,30][/countdown]

THIS IS TO ALLOW AS MANY PEOPLE A CHANCE TO READ BEFORE POSTS ARE PUT UP AS POSSIBLE.
A DISCUSSION THREAD IS IN THE PLAYER CHATTER BOARD.
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DISCUSSING IN THE CBOX

-- ADMIN

Unlike last time, R'nd hadn't been drinking for days or suffering from nightmares about Kerrin Impressing a bronze since the clutch was far too small and sired by a brown. Even Ayyonth stood firm in the belief that the right dragon for their beloved Kerrin wouldn't be in this clutch. This time, he had completely lost track of time and even Ayyonth hadn't been teasing him about the upcoming Hatching. That, while strange, was appreciated since R'nd remembered the horrible hangover he had after days of drinking and then the excessive amount he had during and after the Hatching feast. He really didn't want a repeat performance though he knew he was still going to enjoy the feast with as much enthusiasm as before but he'd try to remember the water before bed this time!

It was, in his opinion, far too early in the day when Ayyonth did alert him to the news that the eggs were stirring. R'nd wasn't in bed, though he would have loved to be, but rather he was giving puppy eyes to the kitchen staff and flirting with some of them as he tried to get a few baked goods out of them since he hadn't wandered to the Dining Hall in time to catch anything fresh. He had just been given two freshly baked buns and he was about to work on getting a nice spread to put on them when Ayyonth informed him of the Hatching. "Well, my fair ladies, it seems we have a Hatching to attend to. I'll leave you to your duties and look forward to the treats you make for the feast!" He laughed as he blew them all kisses and waved before scampering out of the room to greet his waiting dragon.

They settled in off to the side with some of their friends with R'nd staying aback Ayyonth so he had a good view and could eat his buns in peace without someone snatching one as he knew they would do. By the time the first egg started cracking, the bluerider was close to reclining and having a nap though that was always a risk depending on what sort of mood his dragon was in. It had happened more than once where R'nd woke when he faceplanted into the ground because Ayyonth purposely tilted enough to send him sliding down. With his attention focused back onto the Sands, R'nd watched the eggs and Candidates with interest and found he was still holding his breath every time a dragonet came stumbling toward someone. It didn't matter what he believed in regards to who would Impress what colour or wouldn't Impress this time, it all seemed to go out the window which each little step that was taken by each dragonet.

When one faceplanted in a nice display of what happened to him after sleeping atop Ayyonth, R'nd tried not to chuckle and noticed others were doing the same. It was one particular snort of amusement that caught his attention and when R'nd glanced in that area, he found R'nya looking slightly amused. Did his wingleader just show an emotion? R'nd boggled over the sight for several seconds, missing who Impressed the little green, but finally snapped out of his shock and looked away before R'nya saw him gawking and decided to punish him with more laps in practice. It seemed they had hit a lull in the Hatching soon after and R'nd found himself once again reminiscing about Impressing Ayyonth and how happy the blue lump of dragon made him since. "Still hard to believe you were that small once and it was only five turns ago. Sometimes I wish you still were that size; it'd make bathing and oiling you so much easier!" With a good-natured laugh, he gave Ayyonth a pat to the neck, barely restraining himself from full out cuddling the beast in a show of affection and appreciation. He turned into such a sap during Hatchings! You mean a bigger sap.

Finally, the remaining dragonets had decided they had reached maximum potential for arriving fashionably late and started to make their appearances. When the gold hide came into view. R'nd gasped, blinked a few times, and still didn't think he was seeing clearly. Was that truly another gold dragonet on the Sands? When he saw the commotion of the girls being switched out for the pretty little golden bait darlings, R'nd knew he hadn't hallucinated. A moment later he heard Larrikith bugle and saw B'jin's smug expression. It seemed his lover had the golden touch! He'd definitely make sure he congratulated B'jin properly this time and wasn't about to let the greenrider wander off on him this time. There was dancing to be had and flirtatious promises to make and then keep after the festivities.

Speaking of smug arrogance and exploding egos; R'nd tore his gaze away from B'jin to seek out S'kef. The man was already a complete jackass with a violent streak that thought he was better than everyone else. Now that his brown had caught a gold and sired another gold, that pair was about to be a serious problem. Lightly brushing his fingers over ribs that had mended sometime ago, R'nd corrected himself. S'kef had always been a serious problem and now he would be near-unstoppable. Just what they needed. Hopefully D'ren wasn't blind to the brownrider's horrible ways and would keep a careful eye on him and rein S'kef in whenever needed.

R'nd let his mind wander back to the delights of a Hatching feast and what sort of promises he could whisper to B'jin to make him blush since that was far more entertaining than thinking about the attitude towards S'kef now that his dragon sired a gold. It was as they all watched the final egg that R'nd started to piece together some very important bits of information. Krypth was barely a turn old and all the fond, and not-so fond, memories of the last Hatching feast was for the clutch she belonged to. One turn had passed. One turn with B'jin and oddly enough a large portion of it had become solely B'jin in his bed. How could it be one turn already! But the lashing, the playing with the paint, the flight all happened before the Hatching. As realisation dawned on R'nd that he had been spending quite a fair bit of time with B'jin, the colour drained from his face and he felt a little lightheaded. Ayyonth started rumbling with laughter but R'nd swatted lightly at him to silence that. "It's only the sun," and how he didn't seem to mind his very B'jin-centric focus of late.

Thankfully, the final Impression was about to happen and his thoughts were sharply dragged elsewhere. Great, another brown. Hopefully this kid wouldn't be as bad as his sire.

Valerian and Veeth were sneaking in a bit more solo practice of taking off and landing, though they both knew that was only half the truth. They enjoyed flying together, especially when people started to get more annoying than usual and Valerian wanted to slip away for a bit. There was a time earlier in the turn that the young Harper thought about approaching Talian to see if he would want to go for a flight on a dragon that was gentle just so he could get away for a bit as well. But he never mentioned it to the Healer, still unsure if even Veeth could break through the hatred his friend still carried. Of course there was now the uncomfortable fact that he had used Talian after a flight loss and Valerian still had a hard time acting like all was well when they were in a public setting; he didn't want to think about what Talian would view the offered flight as.

Krypth calls, Veeth's melodic voice was a welcome interruption though Valerian wasn't sure what the gold could want. They didn't see much of her or even Jada since the clutching and he was almost ashamed to be thankful about that. He still wasn't sure how to view the things that were said and done between them during the flight and he had no idea how to deal with a cranky gold dragon sitting on the Sands and making Jada worry or sit there herself. He tried, when he had the time, but in the end, it seemed it was better if he left them alone to figure things out on their end first. Her eggs are going to hatch and she wants us there. Like they would miss it! Valerian liked to keep his own records of everything that happened both to himself since the kidnapping and the weyr so perhaps one day he could share it with the rest of Pern and they could see the plight they had endured and the fear the dragonriders had either of a return plague or returning home for various reasons.

"We need to stop at home first so I can get my writing tools." He had been a part of the last Hatching and it was dark besides, but if this batch didn't take all day to rattle and roll before emerging, Valerian would be able to write his own quick notes as everything happened. For his Hatching, he had compared his mental notes to the officially written ones by someone else with questionable rank given the scribbling he called writing just as he had copied the records for everything else that had happened before his arrival.

They moved with reasonable speed from one location to the next until they finally touched down at the Hatching Circuit. Valerian doubted he would see Talian or even Erisi and wasn't too sure about Allendris -- another friend he wasn't making enough time to hunt down lately -- but still green eyes looked over the crowd that had beat him there. Finding no one he could really tolerate and deciding it was better to sit off alone so he could focus on the event and recording it, Valerian and Veeth wandered off to the edge of where others had gathered. He contemplated dismounting so he could spread out the supplies a bit more and sit comfortably but in the end, Valerian decided atop a dragon, even Veeth, held the better view than from the ground. So he skooched back and made enough room to set out his papers and the ink. All he needed now was for the show to get moving. Speaking of, Try not to move around too much, okay? It would only be quick notes with proper records written up later, but Valerian didn't want to scrub ink off of Veeth when the dragon got excited over whatever happened either.

Notes about how everyone involved looked were jotted down since it seemed he had some time. Jada, Krypth, S'kef, Tyrrisath, and the Canidates were all given some sort of description though the Candidates were lumped together as either 'excited and anxious' or 'terrified and twitchy'. Given what happened just before he Impressed, Valerian knew there was a good reason to hang onto fear but so long as they weren't stupid about it and used it more as a caution to behave and not provoke the dragonets, everything would go smoothly.And so it did when it finally began. Valerian jotted down the colours, tried to remember everyone's names -- he couldn't be bothered to remember people that were either boring or a complete waste of his time -- and the reactions of the key players that brought about the clutch.

When that pretty and coveted golden hide emerged, Valerian couldn't deny that he had been one of those that held his breath to see what would happen. It was odd to see a gold from such a clutch, or so he assumed given he was still learning about dragons from the current sources and not musty records in Harper Hall, and it seemed to have caught everyone off guard with the way more girls suddenly appeared on the Sands. Valerian was soon laughing when he saw B'jin's little ray of hope taking home the 'prize' and made certain that smug expression was noted for the rest of time. S'kef's reaction as well as Jada's were also taken down and Valerian couldn't help but wonder if there would be favourtism for Krypth's next flight. S'kef was the first winner and both females likely held that as something important but if Tyrrisath could sire the muchly needed gold dragons, then why risk flying someone who wouldn't?

By the end of the Hatching, Valerian was just starting to feel a cramp in his hand from writing quickly and on such an odd location. he noticed a few smudges on his notes and therefore on his hand but Veeth's beautiful hide looked to be unaffected. The entire process couldn't have taken more than two hours but Valerian found he was getting a bit of a headache from the squinting done in order to see some people and the way his gaze darted around the Sands so he wouldn't miss a thing. Confident in the belief that chores and classes would be called off for the rest of the day, the blue weyrling deemed it an appropriate time for a nap. He'd work on his records after that and catch up with B'jin to get a little more information out of the proud man as well.

They did well, Valerian knew Veeth was referring to Krypth and Jada, even the dragonets but he nodded and added, "they all did, surprisingly enough. I thought a few would bolt or faint but this was a calm Hatching. I'm glad." He didn't care much for Indivara, though he couldn't quite say he hated the child either, and Valerian found himself watching the young girl for a moment to see what she was going through. It had been horrifying to watch from his end when Hoth attacked Indivara and he wasn't arrogant enough to presume he automatically knew what she had gone through then, in recovery, or even now as she watched more dragons break shell. She was a tough child though, he'd give her that.

Carefully packing up his supplies, Valerian patted his dragon on the neck, "C'mon, Veeth. I'm going for a nap but you can go find Krypth or Larrikith after that if you want." Veeth was a popular fellow and he suspected either female would be pleased to see him and hear his well-spoken flattery and congratulations.

B'jin was quizzing the class of early teens, some of whom were rolling their eyes and some of whom were openly amused by his good natured teasing between tossing out questions about the past two hundred turns of history Pern had with human habitation. The current class was learning about the time within the First Pass; a topic B'jin didn't like at all, the greenrider being incredibly twitchy about the expected up coming Pass. It was, perhaps, the main reason he was allowing the class room to tease him about his late arrival, mussed hair and a vibrant love bite on the slope between neck and shoulder. His going crimson and tugging his shirt laces tighter to hide it had done nothing to hinder the attack the children had launched upon it; to the contrary - it encouraged them thoroughly.

Hey, B'jin, Larrikith's voice was mild as she sat up with a spike of interest outside the classroom wall, and B'jin paused, turning to look in her direction with a slight frown, "Yes, dear?" A couple of the kids tittered, but they were fairly accustomed to B'jin and Larrikith conversing during their lesson period - sometimes the green dragon took part in their education, though mostly at the expense of her rider.

"Is she going to fly?"
"She can't fly! She's not due."
"Yes she is!"
"... Really?"
"No... wait..."
"No, she isn't."
"Yes she is!"
"She's not due!"
"Actually, she is."

B'jin, who had been staring somewhat dumbstruck at the students taking part in whether or not his dragon was due to fly (Larrikith was peering in through the window with deep amusement, huffing in soft laughter) was not the only one that turned a disbelieving look upon the young man who had spoken with such quiet assurance. "What? She almost always flies mid-month." The class paused to consider this while B'jin fought to regain control of himself so he could reign in the class now discussing his dragon induced sex life and the money they could  no longer make on it.

"He's right!"
"What does it matter? We all know R'nd will win."
"Yeah, Larrikith's flights used to be exciting."
"Betting on who wins now is laughable."

What!" B'jin's indignant voice cut through their discussion and the students turned to see the greenrider staring at them with huge eyes and a very unhappy expression, though it was far more comical than intimidating. "You bet on my dragon's flights?!" B'jin spluttered for a moment, before snapping his jaw shut and staring at them, demanding an answer.

"Well, not for a while now, Sir. It's kind of a given what with you hooking up with R'nd."
"It's not the riders, you idiot, it's the dragons."
"What? Everyone knows they're weyrmates."
"Doesn't matter. It's Larrikith hooking up with Ayyonth that decides it."
"Not always."
"This is Larrikith. You don't honestly think she'd fly Ayyonth if she didn't like him?"
"His last Weyrmate was a non-rider. How do you know Larrikith doesn't pick Ayyonth because B'jin fancies R'nd?"
"Because it's Larrikith!"

B'jin couldn't help it; with a dry expression and a voice to match, he added his two cents. "She's right. Larri picks Ayyonth because she favours him, not because she favours me. She enjoys torturing me too much. And I do not fancy R'nd!"

If he'd been hoping to be taken seriously, B'jin's hopes were dashed when the entire class paused for a moment before a combination of laughter and smart arsed comments were thrown his way, the greenrider huffing and crossing his arms over his chest while they laid it on thick.

If anyone is interested, Larrikith inserted mildly, putting her head in the window and resting her chin leisurely on the still as she peered at the laughing and rioting classroom of young men and women with sly amusement. The eggs are hatching. It took a moment before that was fully absorbed, and then Larrikith gave a bark of amusement as the classroom really exploded into chaos, with students pelting to get the best seats, a couple of the boys puffing up importantly as they made a mad dash for their rooms, and the candidate robes they were to wear to the event. B'jin turned a flat look upon Larrikith.

"You waited, all that time, before telling them?"
Of course. They were having such fun. She gave a mental smirk, and B'jin rolled his eyes at her, then frowned at his now empty classroom. "Guess we better go before even your tiny self has no where to sit."

Sounds good. Hurry up or I'll go without you. Larrikith had barely finished that statement before B'jin was shoving her nose out the window, and scrambling out it himself, flinging himself aboard her and clinging with a laugh as she made sure none of their wing were around before vanishing between. "You're not meant to do that," B'jin chided, when they appeared above the Circuit and the excitement rushing about below. Pft.

The pair landed, Larrikith managing to sneak closer to the circlet of Candidates than most of the other dragons due to her smaller size, curling up contentedly and watching with interest as the dragonets began to make themselves known. B'jin's brown gaze searched the crowd with interest, before ducking his head to actively avoid R'nya's attention, sliding down off of Larrikith and tugging his Harper wear back into place, the tidy outfit not made for dragonriding, was much more comfortable to be wearing on the heated sands than riding leathers. The rider leaned lazily against his dragon's side as they watched the Hatching, unsurprised and mildly delighted at the appearance of the three little greens.

Unlike the rest of the dragonrider population, B'jin was not affected by Hatchings like the vast majority. His own Impression was so outside the norm that getting misty eyed and emotional wasn't a part of the process for him. B'jin had been intent upon writing the records of Larrikith's Hatching down, and hadn't taken much notice of the tiny green dragonet that was mewing at the edge of the Stands, until he looked down to see his own name scrawled next to what was a distinctly draconic name. It had been Lady Telgar that had reacted first, gripping his arm excitedly with a squeal of delight to draw further attention upon the event. B'jin frowned slightly and pushed the memory aside, though he smiled gently at Larrikith and brushed light fingers over her cheek as she nudged his own lightly with her nose.

B'jin! Larrikith's head shot up, her humming squeaking slightly in a terribly off-pitch sound that caused B'jin to flinch and look at Larrikith in shock. He couldn't recall the last time she'd sounded so off key! Gold! Where is-?! She'd barely finished asking him when one of their Searchee's, a lovely young woman B'jin was actually fond of, could be heard behind them excusing herself as she pushed through to get in from the kitchens (he assumed) so she could watch what was left of the Hatching. Her viewing privileges were vastly improved when B'jin reached over to grab her by the upper arm, tugging her over to him and then shoving her out onto the sands.

"Positive thoughts! She wants you, you want her. Go!" He gave her a half shove, half toss, just about flinging the woman in the direction of the gold dragon and noting with a scowl that a couple of other Searchers had done the same. Well, from now on he'd keep his damned girls at his side when there was a Gold on the sands. Faranth only knew where Jisralna was hiding, having them both on the Sands would be much - "YES!" B'jin gave a hiss of success while Larrikith bugled, and the greenrider's face contorted into a deeply smug expression, giving the young woman an 'I told you so,' look as she stared at him for a moment in wonder, before leading her little gold off the Sands. Fuck we're good. B'jin, baby, we make good look bad.

They had brought six (Seven, if they counted Talian, but B'jin didn't like counting his foster son) Candidates into Katila, and three of them had Impressed; two golds and a bronze. B'jin practically glowed with self satisfaction and the pure, wicked delight in how damned good he and his dragon were at what they did. If you're going to ruin someone's life, make damned sure you do the best possible job of it. You may need to remind people of that, Larrikith inserted into his thoughts in amusement, as R'nya approached them and B'jin frowned, not even having noticed the Hatching of the little blue and brown.

"Sir," B'jin greeted, acknowledging R'nya's appearance with a nod. "Interesting turn out, don't you think?" He wasn't meaning to be a smart arse, but the smug undertone and self satisfied expression when he was usually cowed by the simple appearance of someone holding rank could easily be misread.

When Bordtai had heard the first excited exchange that the hatching was going to begin, he wasn’t sure if he believed it or not.  Had the eggs already been on the sands long enough to hatch?  When he heard it a second and third time, however, as people began to shuffle out of the WeyrHall, he dipped his rag into his bucket of water and washed the last three tables with far more haste than the chore-loving brat would have ever done under normal circumstances.

But these weren’t normal circumstances.  The eggs were hatching.  Better yet, he was old enough to be doing chores alone today instead of being watched with a group of brats like the last hatching.  That meant no crèche worker was rounding them up to stuff them safely away from the potentially vicious hatchlings.  Which in turn meant that if he hurried he might be able to watch.

Tossing the rag in the bucket, he carried it to the door before leaving it just outside and sprinting toward the Hatching Circuit.  It was easy to tell which sands the hatching would be, there were already many dragon’s moving overhead looking for a place to join the crowd on the ground.  It seemed every dragon on the ground had more than just their rider perched upon them for a view of the hatching sands.  Of course, Bordtai wasn’t going to brave asking for a seat on a rider’s dragon.  Instead he weaved carefully between the huge, colorful bodies to make his way toward the front.

While there were a handful of dragons he recognized, less he knew by name.  There was, however, a familiar little green right at the front who’s rider was standing in front of her.  B’jin.  After his first fateful meeting with the man, Bordtai knew he’d never forget him.  The Rider-father, as he came to think of him.  Father to the little princess in his class despite their age difference.  Feeling a little more confident that he’d not yell at him for lingering nearby, the small Weyrbrat made his way to duck beneath the green’s long neck and stand just behind her forepaw and peek around it. 

“Please don’t step on me…”  he whispered, though it was more to himself as he finally found no others blocking his view of the sands that spread out before him besides the candidates themselves and even they were spread out enough that he could catch glimpses of the shells between them. 

While he had been excited and pleased to finally be able to watch a hatching for the first time, he couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed that there were so few eggs.  Of course, he knew that there were only six eggs on the sands before hand, but when the first three had turned out to be little greens (beautiful and exciting as it was) he couldn’t help but be disappointed.  Would there be any blues or browns?  Or maybe even a bronze? 

When it took nearly a half hour before the next little hatchling erupted, he’d been almost ready to call it quits and find a way out of the crowd without being stepped on by a dragon.  The sudden hisses of surprise, however, had him tip toeing to figure out what the commotion was.  A hand on Larrikith’s arm helped to steady him as he finally caught a glimpse of the golden hide even as B’jin scrambled around to shove another woman out onto the sands. 

Adding candidates after the sands were started?  Why would they do that?  Was there not enough females already out on the hatching sands?  Bordtai had paused to double check, but he was right, there had been women on the sands to begin with.  What was the point in adding more?  Even with his doubts and questions, he didn’t miss the fact that it was the new girl B’jin had shoved out there that walked off the sands with the new little queen. 

What had B’jin known that other’s hadn’t when choosing who would stand for the clutch?

It was the sight of a blue and brown hide that made the small boy much more interested than any of the greens or even the gold had, however.  Still on tip toes, he watched with great interest which boys the dragon’s had chosen.  Both were much taller than he was, and neither as skinny.  Other than that, there wasn’t much Bordtai could tell from this distance.  A little chest fallen, he dropped back down off the balls of his feet.  He’d hoped to learn some tricks or secrets why some boys got greens and others got the blues and browns.  It seemed he wouldn’t be able to figure it out this hatching though…

From what little he saw… well it’d be a long time indeed before he could be that tall or put on more weight.  Especially at the rate he was growing compared to the other brats.  They’d have dragon’s long before he would.

J'ver was working on a new project, a smile almost placed on his lips. The previous night he had managed to get S'kef to stand still long enough for him to take proper measurements. With the brownrider's weight having dropped while sick and now being put back on in a delightful array of muscle, J'ver wanted to make sure all of his numbers were up to date so he could make clothes that fit the man without being too tight in some areas or hanging off of him in others. While he thought about colours to use, he had humoured himself with quick sketches of ideas before doing a mock up of the pattern. But still, he couldn't decide on colours by the time that was finished. He eyed his collection of cloth, drumming an index finger on his chin as he contemplated ideas. Something that would go well with Tyrrisath, he decided. Perhaps orange would complement Tyrrisath's colouring; no, a bright green like his sweet Rilaleeyth. That would please them all.

It was as he grabbed the first pile of cloth with a song being lightly hummed that said green dragon interrupted him with some interesting news. Tyrrisath's clutch is about to hatch. I think he and the master would very much appreciate our presence. There were days, quite a few in fact, where Rilaleeyth's meek personality grated on his nerves but J'ver couldn't deny that he found her habit of never referring to S'kef by name to be quite cute. There wasn't a point in pretending either of them truly ruled over the brownpair anymore; S'kef owned them all and deserved them calling him by such titles, at least when they were alone. Firelizards would sprout from the earth and become popular pets with dragonriders again before J'ver would call S'kef 'master' with an audience looking on.

He had a quick moment of considering when the best time to show up would be. It was hard to say how long the eggs would sway with movement before they started cracking so it was difficult to properly gauge when an appearance should be put in. Given his relationship to S'kef and the fact that Tyrrisath was the clutch's sire, J'ver felt he shouldn't dawdle, especially given what some would do with that sort of information. He would be seen as jealous or a jaded lover no doubt. While the jealousy was sometimes there when S'kef coddled that little girl, J'ver simply reminded himself about how good this was for their move in regaining power and one day controlling the weyr and then the world. This golden pair was currently useless given they were still weyrlings, Nirinath still graced them with her presence, and they were only one weyr, but it was a step forward all the same and it was a well-needed ego boost for his dear brownrider.

After taking just enough time to tidy up his materials – he didn’t want S’kef coming by and getting any sort of hint for his next gift! – J’ver and Rilaleeyth took off for the Hatching Circuit, certainly not arriving as the first of the spectators but nowhere near the last either. He found S’kef quickly and easily given his gaze had been trained long ago to find the man he had targeted as acceptable for his goals though Tyrrisath’s large form stood out just as much. J’ver smiled but as he dismounted, intent on joining his lover on the sidelines, S’kef shook his head no and the greenrider froze in place. Of course, how silly of him to forget his place and assume he had a spot next to the man that had flown the little girl that bathed the golden dragon of the clutch. Whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t important right then as S’kef and Tyrrisath put in their appearance and continued the charade of making Jada and every other person in the weyr believe they cared about anything more than the status that they had been given.

Resigned to playing second fiddle, J’ver kept a respectable distance from the ‘happy couple’ and waited for Rilaleeyth to settle in so he could sit on her crossed forepaws. The Hatching, when it finally began, was rather boring and as most Hatchings were with dragonets stumbling free and humans going to assist them. It was amusing to see so many greens emerge when J’ver knew what S’kef thought of the female dragons and he was prepared to tease, and therefore be punished for doing so, the man when the clutch turned out to be entirely green. Naturally, he had to be proven wrong in a grand way when another female broke free of her shell but this time showed off a beautiful golden hide. J’ver’s eyes went large as he stared in shock. Naturally, if a brown would produce gold, it had to be Tyrrisath, the dragon that didn’t do anything half-assed and had a mighty presence. It was unfortunate that men didn’t seem to Impress gold. He would make a fine goldrider and would enjoy their fairly pampered life. Oh, he knew the rider didn’t get a real say in most things and she was just a symbol of what girls should strive to be, but he’d be okay with that. Sitting in a cozy room and never doing manual labour again was a dream come true!

A dreamy sigh barely made it past parted lips before J’ver found himself being pulled to his feet and a mouth on his. He didn’t struggle, there wasn’t a need to when he knew that mouth instantly. S’kef had come to celebrate and J’ver eagerly let the man show it. Almost forgetting where they were, J’ver was close to clinging to S’kef, encouraging him to continue but the brownrider pulled away and gave a throat-clearing cough as he made himself presentable again and returned to his place. A smug look was given to Jada, hoping the girl saw the kiss and was reminded that while Tyrrisath might win Krypth every time and she would have S’kef in her bed for a few hours, she would never truly have him.

That made him smile openly for all to see.

Rilaleeyth, however, was deeply saddened at the sight of the gold in the clutch. Her sweet darling brown was determined and skilled. If he knew he could sire golds and that doing so helped his rider, then he would continuously chase Krypth and no doubt win every time. She wouldn’t be needed or liked anymore. Even J’ver was having thoughts about how he wished she had been a gold dragon and not green. Did any of the males in her life still like her for who she was? Maybe Aveleth would but she didn’t dare go to him, not right now on Tyrrisath’s important day. Though, Aveleth probably wouldn’t want her either. She curled in on herself, tail wrapping tightly around her body, which J’ver barely paid mind to as he settled back down to sit on her tail to watch the remaining eggs crack.

As the Hatching concluded, J’ver found he was glad it was such a small clutch. He was getting bored and the sun was still too warm for his tastes despite the season. It was a nice mix of colours, though, and while he doubted he wouldn’t interact with any of them until the blue and brown were old enough to give chase, J’ver still silently wished them luck as even he didn’t like to think about the end of dragons. “Come, my lady, let’s congratulate all those of importance on a nice event.” J’ver rose and waited for Rilaleeyth to follow suit before moving with confident steps towards S’kef.

This time, a shake of a head wasn’t going to keep him away.

It had been nearly one month to the day since Sanderon had been returned to the weyr from his island arrest. Things were pretty rocky the first few days but things had settled somewhat since then and he was unhappy but secretly pleased for two reasons. He would not be allowed to stand this time. Though his mind did not hate the idea of impression as much as it once had, he was not ready to take the 'plunge' willingly just yet. He was glad also that his uncontrollable rage had not returned. He hoped it never would.

Learning that the impending hatching was now underway, Sanderon set down his task, wiped a sleeve across his brow and was suddenly stumbling forward with a harsh elbow jabbed in his back. Holding back a hiss of pain, he straightened, ignored his smirking taunter and headed towards the hatching circuit, leaving said taunter to smirk as they joined their friends and fell in behind him, muttering sick, twisted taunts meant to cause embarrassment or pain.

Again, Sanderon did his best to ignore them and purposefully slowed his steps slightly so they might get impatient and hurry around him towards the hatching. It took a little while but it worked and a slight twitch of a grin came to one corner of his mouth as he entered the hatching circuit for himself and found a seat as far away from them as possible.

In his silent contemplation of watching a hatching from the stands this time, he saw things from a new perspective. The thoughts that followed because of seeing the Impressions take place from a 'safe' location, Sanderon unknowingly began to accept the fact that one day he too might impress as well. And for once, he did not vehemently oppose such an idea.

When a small gold hatched, and it was clearly a gold from the minor bit of chaos that followed as girls were shoved forward from the stands, Sanderon's mouth turned up in a quiet smile. He had told D'ren back on the island that perhaps a third queen would be laid. He was pleased it had come about so soon. He wondered what the man was thinking of this surprise even now as he watched her impress to her chosen girl.

When all was said and done, he looked upon I'shan briefly and then stood up and left before the last egg's occupant could impress. He wanted to avoid the taunters if he could. Would he go to the feast? He really couldn't say.

S'kef smiled one last time, eyes shining with ambition and cunning pleasure as he watched the little gold and her new rider leave the sands. He'd been nervous about Tyrrisath's clutch; browns rarely caught golds, and there had been plenty of unfavorable whispers after the flight. What sort of clutch would a gorged gold and a brown produce? The rumors and mockery only got worse when the clutch was actually laid. A mere six eggs, all undersized, was hardly promising.

The first three eggs had revealed only greens. S'kef fidget uncomfortably during the early parts of the hatching, glancing towards the young goldrider beside him only to be disappointed to see that it wasn't J'ver. He'd still dismissed J'ver out of social obligation, but if appearances hadn't mattered, he'd gladly have taken the greenrider at his side during those pivotal minutes.

When J'ver approached after the hatching was over, S'kef greeted him with the most devilish of smiles. S'kef's elation over the little gold could only barely hide the brief shimmer of affection that also appeared, albeit briefly, on his often stoic face. "J'ver," he said, quickly dismissing himself from Jada and walking to meet J'ver. S'kef could see the precious determination in the greenrider's face, a willful demand for S'kef's attention. S'kef could tell that J'ver would not be easily deterred again, but for once, S'kef was happy to give the man what he wanted without a fight. S'kef didn't want to send him away. Appearances be damned, he scooped J'ver into his arms and kissed his cheek. It wouldn't matter anyhow; all eyes were on the newly hatched queenling.

"Look at this, love," he whispered excitedly in J'ver's ear. "Tyrrisath has given us a great gift. How long will the Weyrleader be able to ignore me now?" He was no fool. Siring a gold, while not any direct form of power, was certainly prestigious. S'kef would get noticed again; if not by D'ren, than at least by everyone else.

S'kef peeled away from J'ver, lest he get too affectionate in public. "Look," he said, nodding his head towards Tyrrisath as the brown gave a polite farewell croon to Krypth and rose to his feet. "It looks like Tyrrisath is returning to his leading lady." Tyrrisath rumbled in agreement as he made his way over to Rilaleeyth, flopping down neatly in the sand beside her and twining his neck around hers. Krypth is a means to an end he said gruffly, glad to be done with the fatherhood ordeal. What a pain. Now he could recline comfortably next to his sweet green again.

For the first time in a while, S'kef felt true happiness rolling off of his dragon. Tyrrisath was often content, but his emotions weren't exactly intense most of the time. It gave S'kef an unusual jolt of energy. He reached out and clapped J'ver on the shoulder. "I'd say today went well," he said, eyeing the greenrider conspiratorially.