Helyna had already been up for hours, trying to get as much work done as possible in the relatively cooler hours of the morning. This heat wave was putting everyone on edge, and she wished the weather would just break and return to normal soon. The eggs had seemed to relish it; with no signs of movement for nearly two weeks, all she could think was that they liked the added humidity and wanted to linger a while longer in their shells. But it was making Iliyith grumpy and impatient and Helyna found herself spending far too much time in the hatching grounds trying to distract the gold.

[iliyith]Helyna, they’re finally moving. I think it’s starting.[/iliyith] The gold’s mindvoice held a hint of relief. Despite still being able to sense her babies were there, she had experienced anxiety about losing them. One or two of the eggs had been reluctantly moved when they stopped responding, and she’d been expecting the worst, coddling them almost as much as she did the precious gold egg.

I’ll be right down. Go ahead and alert the others here, if you’re sure, she replied, setting aside her work and quickly changing into a loose gown that would hopefully keep the worst of the heat at bay. Vondlyn was already in the creche, so all that was left was to notify the other Weyrs. She’d had the letters ready for nearly a week; all that was left was to add a date quickly, then bundle them up for someone to take. She passed them off to a weyrling on her way down with instructions on where to take them, then entered the cavern.

Iliyith was hovering over the eggs, checking them. She had been curious when the healers had approached Helyna about marking the shells. It had been a day after the Touching, and only two of the eggs had been moved since, but the markings were easily touched up. The first ones marked only with wax had dripped and run, but they’d found a mixture that seemed to work well without flaking too much--at least until this heat wave. It was an interesting experiment, though they all wished they’d tried on a smaller clutch; the constant touch-ups (which of course only she was allowed by the gold to do) in the first few days had nearly had her call the whole idea off.

“It’s a good clutch, my darling. No need to keep fussing over them.” She patted the gold and urged her to move aside. Iliyith’s eyes whirled with excitement and she huffed, but carefully moved out of the way and settled down nearby to watch, beginning to hum. Helyna checked that the markings were all still there, then took her own place, letting Iliyith’s excitement drive thoughts of the heat away at least for now.

[spoiler="OOC RULES:"]

Helyna was alerted that the eggs began moving around 9am and informed the appropriate people so word could be spread. The eggs begin hatching around noon.

Everyone is welcome to come watch, or toss a Candidate on the sands! If you’re only watching, please go directly to the stands, do not linger on the Sands or approach the Candidates. Candidates, you can go right onto the Sands and form up around the eggs and settle in for some waiting.

Candidates:
- Will have been told to wear shoes! Sturdy shoes to save their feet.
- Be in Candidate robes that more or less fit them.
- Will have hair pulled back in a pony-tail or a braid. In addition, they will be no jewellery, belt, sash, or anything ‘extra’. Don’t want anything to get tugged on and cause an injury.
- Iliyith tolerates firelizards in day to day life but she’s not huge on distractions around her eggs; she wants her hatching to be perfect. Firelizards will be allowed in but they must stay with the humans in the stands or up with the dragons on the ledges. If they go near the eggs or Candidates, they may not live to brag about it.

On honorifics – it is SP canon that the dragon picks the honorific. They might pick something their rider likes, something they do not, or whatever. They will usually pluck the name from their rider’s mind, so it is likely that said rider will like their name, or have ‘pre picked’ it on some level subconsciously prior to Impression.

Once Impressed, please move through the following:
- Move dragonet to the sidelines and feed it
- Slap oil on any particularly dry spots
- Head to the Barracks to get some rest. Emotions are exhausting.

PC Impressions will have their dragonet posted on their Candidate Application or sent via Discord! This will let you see your baby before anyone else!

I will probably group most of the eggs in groups of 3-5, but I’ll give people plenty of time for reactions.

Remember: NO SPOILERS. If you want to talk spoilers, keep it to the Hatching Spoilers channel in Discord.

Have fun!”
[/spoiler]

Meryem had flown over to support the hatching and, mostly, because she was dying to get out. The muggy heat sure wasn't helping but at least she wasn't at Telgar. The change was nice and the Hatching was at least something to find joy in. The humming of dragons had always fascinated her and it thrummed through her now in different but harmonious rumbles.

There was nothing like a Hatching to draw her out to sit in the Stands. Silently, she watched the candidates gather and fixed her eyes upon the eggs, giving them a long look. What would they be like as dragonets? Hopefully, they'd all hatch and Impress neatly but one could never be sure. She broke out her fan and waved it to cool her as she waited for the first shell to crack. Hopefully, this one would go without a hitch.

"Good luck," she murmured to the assembling candidates, "and Faranth bless."

Elloren took her place on the sands without much fuss given the heat and wished there were more of a breeze to ease some of the muggy heat that seemed to cover the whole of Benden like a wet blanket. She was just getting used to the thunderstorms that rattled through her when this less rain-soaked day decided to roll along. At least she wasn't soaked to the skin, though that might have offered a little relief.

It was a good day for a Hatching, all things considered, and she was looking forward to seeing all the newly hatch dragonets find their lifemate. Maybe even she would walk off the Sands with one, now wouldn't that be a thing? She could feel the thrumming birthing hum through the soles of her feet and the air around her announcing the clutch's imminent arrival and smiled.

"Come on out, little ones," she murmured. "It might be muggy and sticky and hot but we're all ready for you."

It was hot as balls and Madelan hated it. He hated everything about the sticky, sweaty situation. He'd decided he wasn't built for this shit no matter what people had said about it being abnormal. He was debating whether he would go home instead of staying for the hatching but the knowledge that he could impress here made him stay. He definitely wasn't going to spend any of his time remaining here if he didn't. Hop the next dragon back to Fort where the weather was normal. Fuck this. He didn't even want to put his robes on when Iliyith made the call around humming. Butterball was a sprawled mess and Madelan hadn't bothered to wake the poor fat gold when he left.

Now he stood in the sweltering heat of the sands, waving his robes against his body to try to create a breeze as sweat dripped down his legs. He grimaced harshly, mouth pulling down in a disgusted frown. He should've gone back home. He sighed and puff a breath up across his face before wiping sweat away.

Nim was excited! First the touching, then the hatching in what seemed such short order. It was wild that she was even a part of this. The weather could shove off, though. It wasn't particularly suited to a Hatching, she thought. They might be standing up for ages before anything happened. She hoped the healers had water with them since the candidates themselves couldn't carry anything onto the sand that might get into the dragonets' way.

If they were lucky, it would be orderly out there but you never knew with a clutch. It could be crazy for all she knew. She bounced on the balls of her feet eagerly. Maybe they'd all get lucky and there wouldn't be anyone who didn't Impress. Wouldn't that be awesome?! She peered eagerly at the clutch, trying to find which was the first to hatch.

It was time. Brown eyes looked around in anticipation. Feet shielded from the nearly burning sands, Rakka was excited. She had tightly braided her hair, and as she moved along with the rest of the candidates she wondered absently, what this Hatching would be like. Rakka was hesitant now she held her hands wonderingly as the eggs moved.

She loved dragons so much. What was not to love about them though? Shoulders straight back, head up she looked around and waited, excitement, nervousness. Many emotions whipped through her head as she tried desperately to tone them down, clear her mind of anything but the anticipation as the heat washed over her body.

Not only were the sands hot, but the air was hot and muggy as well. It was different to be sure. Much different.

Fuck all of this bullshit. Rhamnus was in an especially cranky mood as he stood on the Sands near a table set up with water and fruit and a few other snacks. Damn dragons never had the courtesy to pick a good time to drag everyone out to their hatchings. He dragged a towel across his face for what felt like the millionth time. He glared at the fruit on the table as his stomach gave a rumble; it was for the candidates, in case of them got a bit wobbly in the heat and needed to have something shoved in them to prevent or recover from fainting, but he'd been just about to have lunch when things started and he was a bit hungry. Eh, he'd leave them for his potential patients.

Instead he called for Bitty, sending her off to his personal quarters to grab a muffin he'd baked earlier and bring it to him. He gave her a small pat on the head before sending her away to safety and taking a bite. Fuck was it hot. Too hot. At least his new boots were much better at keeping his feet from roasting than the old ones, even though they still weren't quite broken in and were a little uncomfortable on his toes.

The sight of a candidate already starting to wobble made him scowl as he scarfed down the rest of his muffin and grabbed a water skin, stalking out to scold the boy as he tried to get him hydrated. "Come on, it's only going to get worse the longer you're out here, drink as much as you can without making yourself sick."

Once that boy had been sorted out, Rham took a look around and spotted August, giving her the briefest flash of a smile and a nod. He made his way back to his station, beckoning one of the drudges they'd recruited to help and handing him the water skin to go refill. Hopefully this would all just go quickly and smoothly and he wouldn't have to add to his growing list of heat stroke patients who refused to stay hydrated.

Zoremet was absolutely thrilled with the heat, even if it was on the muggy side, and he was wide awake and alert when the Hatching was announced. It had been longer than he'd expected, but at least he'd gotten to relax and lounge and laze about in the toasty warmth that had descended upon Benden Weyr. As much as it encouraged lazy sleepy afternoons, it had definitely helped him wake up in the morning. It also had this way of making water just especially delicious. He wasn't immune to the heat though, and his skin practically glistened with sweat as he made his way out to the sands in his robes after making sure Pit was safe and secure away from the action.

He scanned the stands for anyone familiar, giving the appropriate grin and wave (he was early and alert for a hatching for once!!) and then found his other standing siblings to be near them. If only more could happen during a nice warm day like this! Surely it was a good sign. And after having fun at the Touching (especially with the little pouncer that tried to scare him), he was sure the babies would do well. Hopefully none of them would go between this time, and maybe one of his siblings would even impress! Or himself!

It was blissfully hot! Mylorah was a happy little Candidate; mostly. It was humid and while she had grown up in that sort of weather in Katila, she’d been in Ista too long and grown accustomed to the drier heat. But at least it was heat! Benden was tolerable now and she knew she was among the small handful that felt that way. When the heat started, she dragged Zoremet—or did he drag her?—to the nearest ledge to soak up the sun and relax. It was needed after all the stress lately.

The poisoning she suffered, mildly, not too long ago and now the death of a beloved bluerider, R’jit. She had begged a bronze rider to take her back to Ista Weyr to check on R’dare knowing how close her friend had been to his dad. She felt horrible that she couldn’t do more than just hug him and let him cry without judgement before he told her to get back to Benden and Impress the best dragon. She reluctantly left him in Casa’s care—not because she didn’t trust the Weyrwoman but because Mylorah simply didn’t want to leave a friend in need behind. But if she didn’t Impress at this Hatching, she’d be back in Ista the following day and back to being there for her friend.

First she had to see how the Hatching would go! It was nice of this clutch to be more considerate than others lately. Everyone was awake and most likely had made it through breakfast. Mylorah had been sitting outside with friends when the call came. She took her time getting ready but was soon on the Sands, greeting fellow Candidates and waving at people she knew in the stands. She grinned as she passed by Madelan who was waving his robe about to catch a breeze. “Quit advertising the goods, Mads. You’re only going to increase the heat in here.” She tossed a wink over her shoulder before finding a spot of her own.

Even for her, it was getting pretty toasty in the Hatching Grounds but she was ready for it, having had it drilled in her head since she could walk to stay hydrated in such weather. Besides, the Healers had hydration stations set up along the edges to help with that as well. A look around at some of the newer Candidates and Mylorah hoped it was a quick Hatching. These northerners already seemed to be swaying and the first egg hadn’t even cracked! “Good luck, everyone,” she whispered, both for Impressions and staying on their feet.

As soon as the notice came, Narinoa was back at his bunk so he could change. His hair was already pulled back thanks to the heat but he redid it anyway to make sure it was neat and would stay in. Once those simple tasks were complete, he jogged back to where the dragon healing ward was being set up since he had a temporary desk there. The letter he had written out a few days ago was found and rolled up before handing it off to Pipsqueak. She wasn’t the best at delivering notes but she did well with a few key people that were familiar and liked. “Off you go, Pip. Bring that to L’gan so he knows the Hatching’s starting. Then you be good and stay with him or B’kit, okay?” The little green chirped in response before vanishing to fulfil her task.

Convinced there wouldn’t be any hiccups since Pipsqueak liked L’gan, Narinoa headed off to the Sands. He was kind of doing double duty as a Candidate and an interested researcher. He wouldn’t be taking any notes but one of the young dragon healers-to-be had been roped into taking notes for him. He had worked hard with L’gan to come up with a program that might work and even harder with finding a substance that would stay on the egg in varying conditions and not do any damage. This was all a trial run and he was grateful to Helyna and Iliyith for approving it. For the next Hatching, assuming the other Weyrs and then golds approved, they would get the numbers on the eggs before the Touching to help further document anything they could. But this would do for now.

But despite not being the one doing the actual jotting of notes, Narinoa wanted to be there early enough to observe what he could and to also pay his respects and pass on further gratitude to the gold pair. Once that was done, Narinoa found a spot that was closer to the stands than he usually went with but he wanted to be closer so he could greet L’gan and they could be in touch in case something happened. This also put him closer to Rhamnus and his station. A polite nod of greeting was given to the Healer but Narinoa didn’t try for any conversation as Rhamnus looked ready to throttle a Candidate he was soon stomping toward.

This was going to be an interesting Hatching.

B’kit grinned when the news came--especially since there seemed to finally be a break in the thunderstorms that had been plaguing Benden lately. Even if he’d been willing to make the jump in that weather--which he absolutely wasn’t--J’shom and all the Healers would have teamed up and absolutely forbidden it and he’d have had to miss yet another Hatching. But now he could actually be there for his friends! Tossing the note to his mate he went to triple-check Erebuth’s straps again and waited impatiently for the okay to go.

The grueling months of training had paid off, as they dropped easily from the ledge of the Bowl and circled till Semath and Siolith joined him. Erebuth was too caught up in Kitt’s excitement to be bothered by the fussing, winking between the moment they were allowed. He reluctantly let L’gan check him over after landing at Benden, but his lashing tail and the way B’kit bounced on the balls of his feet ready to be off betrayed their impatience with the whole thing. [erebuth]We’re fine. Please, we don’t want to miss the first eggs[/erebuth] he grumbled, startling a laugh out of L’gan who finally waved them on to go find places to watch.

B’kit grinned as he saw Mylo and Narinoa, waving excitedly to them and to a few other friends. He’d catch up with them properly afterwards. Right now it was enough just to finally be here.

It wasn't the warmth so much as what the humidity in the air was doing to her hair that Zelly was unhappy about. Her normal dark and wavy hair was usually a bit on the wild side as it was, but now it was a frizzy mess that she couldn't do anything with. She was in the middle of trying to tame it when the hatching was announced. After another desperate bout of brushing and combine she gave up and just tied it back in a ponytail and went to grab her robes. It wasn't going to look great, but at least it would be out of her face. Hopefully if her dragon was out there it wouldn't mind. Granted it was hard to pull off anything really good looking in the robes they wore so... it was probably fine.

She tried to make sure she drank some water before she left for the Sands, but found herself grateful as she spotted the healer stations with water. Zelana would gladly make use of them if she started to feel parched. Maybe it would be a quick hatching though and she'd be able to just stand her ground and stick through it till the end without having to break for water.

At least she'd eventually gotten around to talking with Mylo about the poisoning. It had been a rough talk, but in the way that had been good. There had been tears, hugs, drinks, and they'd both felt a little better afterwards about the guilt that they'd been more or less fine while friends had died. As soon as she spotted A'tay's sister on the sands Zelly walked over and gave her a quick hug before stepping back to stand with her and her other brothers. After the gold had gone between last Hatching, she was nervous that something could happen this time too. Especially with the heat. Warmth was nice, but too much could make people go mad, and who knew if it would do something to the baby dragons. Either way, being with Mylo was probably the safest thing she could do.

It was too hot. Sure, Ferra spent most of her time in Ista now, but it was different there, dryer somehow despite being near the sea. Or maybe the sea just provided a nice breeze that made the heat less noticeable. Or maybe she'd just gotten used to the cooler weather in Benden before it had suddenly betrayed her. She hoped it wasn't a lingering side effect of the poisoning, otherwise going back to Ista would be awful.

She practically trudged out to the Sands, baking in the midday heat before looking around to find a good place to be. Ferra found a spot near some other girls, but stayed towards the edge of it to be closer to one of the healer stations with the tables of water and fruit so that she could go have a nibble and drink if she needed to. Hopefully she wouldn't, but after being poisoned and missing the last hatching she was feeling a bit more cautious in general. At least she could still appreciate the buzz and excitement and shared a few smiles and greetings with the other candidates as she settled in.

L’gan had been drilling with B’kit and Erebuth for the past several days, making sure they were ready for the flight. He was pleased with the progress they’d made, and assuming the weather held, he was willing to let them make the jump for Iliyith’s hatching. If it turned again, they’d likely stay at Benden for a while before returning. But it would be a good chance for the young pair to stretch their wings again and get back some of their freedom.

He greeted Pipsqueak when the little green appeared, offering her a bite of meatroll in exchange for the note she carried. “It’s from Narinoa. Iliyith’s clutch is starting to hatch,” he told his mate. It was still early in the day at Fort, but he’d had trouble sleeping the night before and had gotten up for klah and a snack. She’d been sleeping more since the attack, but some habits were hard to shake and the scent of fresh klah almost always woke her.

“I’ll give Helyna your best and tell you all about it when we get back, okay?” He said, stealing a brief kiss. She’d decided to sit this one out, still having troubles from the poisoning several months ago. It had been difficult dealing with the loss on top of everything else, but the two had been managing slowly.

The trip over was thankfully uneventful and after a grumpy Erebuth whined about the caution, he let the two youngsters go find a place along with J’shom, confident the greenrider would watch out for his mate. As Semath went to find her own place to watch from, he congratulated Helyna in passing and checked in with Narinoa on his way towards the stands. “Good luck,” he said with a grin, Pip perched on his shoulder and actually behaving herself for once just like Narinoa had asked. “I’m going to go find a seat nearby in case I’m needed; Faranth willing I won’t be, though.”

Despite living in Ista, Orgailian was not a fan of the current heatwave blasting through Benden. It reminded him too much of Katila and what he felt was better left behind in that place. Most memories could stay there with the humidity. Maybe he wouldn’t have minded so much if the rain that seemed to fall for several days before breaking or a surprise shower out of nowhere weren’t happening. How could he enjoy the weather and sit outside with a notebook with that crap? But to be fair, it did inspire him at the same time and he’d sit just inside where he could watch and listen to the rain fall while he jotted down the emotions it invoked and try to write out scenes that came to mind.

It also helped distract him from the loss of Je’ler and R’dare’s dad. Both were good men and he knew what R’dare was going through, having lost his mom to the landslide. Perhaps the darker mood was why he started to like the rainy days more than the sunny ones by the time the Hatching came along. But it hadn’t been all brooding with the rain. Orgailian still spent time poking through Benden’s collection of books and helping Zelana find the type of healing that interested her. Getting his hands on some of those books was a distraction in itself. Healer Rhamnus proved to be helpful with some strings that Orgailian hadn’t really hesitated to tug on and then all of the time spent alone together with just books finally led to a hook up with Zelana.

He probably should have felt some level of guilt for that second hook up but he didn’t. Not even when he finally strolled into the Hatching Grounds and spotted A’tay in the stands. Most people knew the relationship was open and perhaps it was weird that he had slept with his brother’s girlfriend but he still lacked the guilt. He spotted his other siblings already standing together, with Zelana, and figured he’d join them. Mylorah couldn’t look after both of them on her own, although Zoremet looked fresh and excited. That brought a smile to his face as Orgailian slid up beside him and rested his arm on his brother’s shoulder. “Glad this weather agrees with one of us,” he commented even as his gaze swept over the water stations. He could tell this Hatching was going to suck as he was already sweating in the oppressive heat.

His hair.

His hair.

Ulliendis was close to shaving it all off.

No, he was dramatic but not that dramatic!

But it was tempting as he looked in the tiny mirror he owned. His beautiful hair was a frizzy nightmare and he hardly recognized himself. He looked like some common holder working in the stables or kitchen. The sweat dripping down his temples and making his shirt cling in unflattering ways weren’t helping the image either. It was positively dreadful! He was a hideous sight and would understand if he was shunned for the rest of his life because of the string of bad hair and clothing days.

It was tempting to skip the Hatching so he didn’t inflict such horrors on more people but his curiosity was often stronger than his vanity. He thought about wetting it but it would dry quickly and leave him in the current state of duress all over again. Then again, maybe he could keep dumping water on his head to help stay cool and keep the locks under control. That was an excellent plan! Ulliendis put on the disgusting robe, laced up his boots, and went to the wash basin to wet his hair, slicking it back instead of trying to style it.

As satisfied as he could be with the conditions he had to work with, Ulliendis finally made his way to the Sands, finding he was among the stragglers to arrive for the Candidates. He surveyed the area and debated standing closer to Madelan because he was easy on the eyes and had a decent vantage point of the area or the tables with the water. In the end the hot boy won out and Ulliendis meandered over to that side but mentally mapped out a route to the water for when he was thirsty or needed a hair touch-up.

The wave of heat after the icy chill of between was jarring, and for a moment Gangleri thought K'dar had brought them to the wrong Weyr. He'd seen Benden from the air enough times that he recognized it though, and was grateful when they landed so that he could shrug off his jacket and roll up his sleeves. Maybe the heat was why the killer had struck at the other Weyrs, he or she or they for that matter were just trying to get away from all of this. And really, the murderer was probably the real reason he was here. Sure Mylorah had sent him an invitation to watch her stand, but finding out she was a surviving victim of the current spree was... well it made him feel a bit guilty to think it was intriguing.

It was mostly because of the play (or book possibly, depending on how things ended up going), but he'd been doing research on the incidents and having someone he knew have first hand experience could be helpful. Of course Gangleri was glad that she had survived, she was a wonderful (and too attractive) young woman, and he couldn't imagine how much more dour K'dar could get if something had happened to her too. Though the added little bit at the end that he shouldn't bring up the poisoning to the bronzerider at all so that he could keep both of his eyes and have a functioning mouth made him invite Quil along as well. Hopefully she could keep him safe from the wanton desires of far too young women. He did at least warn Mylorah that he was bringing his wife along too. Hopefully that would keep him from doing anything foolish.

And speaking of his wife, fussing over her comfort was the first order of business once they'd safely landed. "I'm going to get you some water, do you want me to carry anything for you? Let me know if you need anything else in this heat." Eventually he got settled into the stands near K'dar and Mylorah's other siblings and fans, being sure to give her a wave once she spotted him. Hopefully she'd get the dragon she was aiming for, though he knew these tended to be much more chaotic affairs. "At least your boy has already gotten past this part," he said softly to Quil with a chuckle.

[toynolth]I am melting, T'cai.[/toynolth] The blue certainly looked the part as he was draped rather than perched up in the gallery, his tail and wings and limbs drooping off edges as if made of goop rather than dragon. This didn't last for too long before a bronze nosed him, grumbling about how much room he was taking up. With only a brief huff and hiss of objection he straightened up to make room before plopping back down into a more compact blob. T'cai only gave the dragon a brief glance before returning his watchful gaze to the candidates on the sands. Maybe you should go for a swim, I'll be here keeping an eye on things. [toynolth]This will be our first class! I have to be here.[/toynolth] Well then just make sure you don't melt too much. You'll want to set a good example.

That was at least enough to get the blue to stop being melodramatic about the heat and straight up, eager and curious to see how the hatching would go. T'cai had mixed feelings. On the one hand he found one of his lucky socks, but only the right one and not the left, and his right lucky sock was still missing. Hopefully having the wrong lucky sock on the right foot would help, but he wasn't so sure. Either way he was full of energy and excitement that not even the heat could squash as he kept his eyes on the sands. Who would be in his class? Who looked like trouble makers? Who looked like they might be especially interesting? It was a good sized clutch, so he certainly would have his hands full either way.

It was nice to have a Hatching happen at a reasonable hour, instead of so extremely early like the last one. Taydarell pulled his robes tighter about himself as he jogged to the sands, making his way among the candidates already there. The humming was felt as much as it was heard, and he practically buzzed with the excitement of it all.

A tinge of sadness still pulled at him though, and he gulped, hoping that this event wouldn’t be colored by any kind of accidents or unfortunate events. The poor baby gold from the last clutch… No. This was not the time to be sad. He had to have his wits about him in order to hopefully, maybe, find his dragon.

With a straightening of back and squaring of shoulders, Taydarell strode as easily as his still-growing legs would allow. He’d already gained almost a handspan over the course of the turn so far. Emerald flitted form his shoulder and took to the ledge where he saw Kyrionth and Tizalth waiting, and he waved to his brother and Kestra.

Maybe, hopefully, everything would go well this time. And maybe he’d even walk out of here as a dragonrider!

[quayleth]Are you feeling alright?[/quayleth] The gold had felt her rider's momentary dizziness as they popped into the sky over Benden Weyr. Ojassa took a moment to steady herself, reaching down to pat the gold's hide beneath her. I'm fine, dear. I didn't even cough this time! There was a slight itch at the back of her throat on occasion, but for the most part she could breathe easily. Even most of her vision has come back, though it was easy to strain her eyes after reading for a while. She probably should visit brownrider K'tir sometime, since she'd heard his likely would never return.

[quayleth]I'm surprised you remember his name[/quayleth] Ojassa snorted softly as they made their descent. He visits with the weyrwoman often enough. That and he likes to read, I see him at the library on occasion. She'd also heard he lost his daughter and that had struck a painful chord with her. She was so worried about her own boys. She shook her head to clear it of the current perils that were being thrown at the Weyrs. This was a happy day. A gold egg (that would hopefully not disappear between) was cause for celebration considering their numbers lately.

Once she was on the ground and Quayleth made her way to the socialize with the other dragons in attendance, Ojassa walked over to Helyna just close enough to deliver a greeting and message. "Congratulations on your clutch. Weyrwoman Casa couldn't attend since she is sand bound but she sends her warmest regards and wishes." With that bit of courtesy out of the way she went and found a good seat in the stands to watch.

Rhaedalyn gave R’nya a final look that she hoped would stop his fussing. She was fine! It had been months since she’d been poisoned and while she did still have headaches or tremors on occasion, she was fit enough to travel. They had gone through this for Mizeath’s Hatching only a month earlier. She loved R’nya but sometimes he was such a handful; more so than their daughters! The heat was a bit of a deterrent but she was used to the Sands and she made sure they both packed some water skins for the visit.

Once the girls were settled in at the crèche and Rhaedalyn checked in with her Junior, it was time to be off. The trip was, of course, short but the shock of the chill to the slap of the heat caused her to be momentarily dizzy but she recovered before R’nya noticed. On the ground, the dragons made their way to a ledge, bugling their greetings to the Benden leadership and the clutch’s parents. Rhaedalyn allowed R’nya to escort her over to Helyna and N’mor so they could pass on their congratulations before moving off to M’ris and Ameris for a quick chat.

When all the business side of things was taken care of, they found their seats and settled in. Rhaedalyn was excited and nervous, as always. There was less pressure when it wasn’t Aradissicath’s clutch but the nerves were always there for the Candidates. She remembered all too well what it was like out there and wished them all luck.

Kor’is always held an odd view of Hatchings. As a child, he thought they sounded amazing; magical even. When the dragons returned and he finally got his mother to return to the Weyr as well, they lost some of their appeal. They were a lot more violent than he expected and to be quite honest, boring. He attended his first few in the stands, casually spectating before that became boring and his secret desire to have a dragon urged him to Stand. That ended up being a lot of mental abuse from the damned Touchings and being up close with the violence and danger didn’t thrill him either.

And just when he decided he wasn’t going to Stand anymore, [Taith]I came along![/Taith] Taith’s excitement nearly bowled Kor’is over and he rubbed at his temples. “Inside voice, kiddo.” Technically, Taith was always inside his head so a quieter volume regardless of their location was preferred but it was still a lesson they were working on and Kor’is was happy to work with pointing out a roof meant softer tones.

He only continued to attend the Hatchings because Mylorah was still Standing and she was one of the few people he actually liked and not just tolerated. He also knew it would break her heart if he didn’t show which meant she’d likely pout and then punch him in the arm. Neither was appealing, though after fighting with Cazan, he could handle Mylorah’s punches. Probably.

There was just one stop he had to make before they could go. It took several minutes of staring the man down and pointing out how he would disappoint the girl they both liked but finally Fetch agreed (with a lot of pouting of his own) to go to Benden Weyr with him. Kor’is didn’t even know why he took up the task. T’ryn had made the comment not too long ago and Kor’is, caught in some weird moment of kindness that he didn’t understand, said he would take care of it and get the kid there.

And he succeeded as they landed in Benden. Kor’is didn’t really want to baby-sit Fetch the entire time and so led him to Mylorah’s family before sitting a couple of rows behind them. He almost looked like he was being social and that had to count for something.

August was hot, the edges of her hair starting to wet and stick to her face and scalp. The heat was oppressive and stifling, enough so that she'd spent as much time as she could on the cool floor of the barracks or Rhamnus' personal room. The healer was good to her, making sure she stayed hydrated and making sure that she felt much better from her poisoning. The fact that it had been several weeks since that night didn't seem to phase the man. She grinned at him with a wink as she passed by the healer station and watched with amusement as he stomped towards a young man swaying in the heat.

She would make sure that she got enough to drink while the hatching happened, couldn't be passing out from heat exhaustion before the first egg hatched now could she? How embarrassing would that be? Especially now that she'd caught sight of both Rhaedalyn and R'nya, her nerves telling her exactly what was happening. She gulped and turned to wait for the eggs to begin cracking. She reached up and grimaced as her hand shoved wet hair away from her forehead and she blew a cool breath down the front of her robes.

The heat was going to murder her.

T’ryn knew how much it killed Cazan to still be stuck in the Weyr. She had been excited when he said the twins would be fine in the crèche while they went to the Hatching—before he remembered one little problem. Malvayth still didn’t know how to travel between and it would be a couple of months yet before she would be deemed trained and ready. So he had quickly offered to bring the apology gifts he knew Cazan would start making.

So like the last Hatching, T’ryn arrived with a bag of gifts for various people, though he would wait until later on to hand them out. He always felt odd approaching the pairs on the Sands (though it wasn’t as weird as being one of those pairs) and it just seemed more appropriate to hand out gifts without a large audience. But he did greet N’mor before finding his brothers in the stands. He spotted his siblings on the Sands and smiled as he saw how excited Zoremet seemed and even Mylorah and Zelana looked a lot happier than they had been lately.

He waved at a few other friends before finally focusing on the eggs. He had heard a bit about the markings that some of the dragonhealers had wanted to try and from where he was sitting, it seemed safe and an intriguing idea. Not a lot of information had made its way to Telgar yet but he suspected it would after this Hatching and the findings were cleaned up and adjusted. He’d spoken briefly with Mulrissa on what they did know and mentioned he would be okay with the numbering system but that it was ultimately the decision of Mulrissa and Bedith. Maybe he could get some info out of Helyna and N’mor later as well.

She was regretting her attendance at this hatching.

Ista was hot but Ista wasn't wet hot and Maliah decided wet hot was worse than dry hot. She grimaced as a line of sweat slipped down her ass crack as she made her way through the stands. She begged a ride from her sister's little boyfriend, not that it had taken much to get D'io to give her a lift considering Ferra was standing down there on the sands. The man was absolutely slapped with affection for her sister and it made Maliah snicker every time she saw it. Her little poet friend was standing too and Maliah decided that perhaps being a little selfless for Orgailian and Ferra was better than being a dick.

Speaking of dick.

Her green eyes brightened and she wiggled slightly to dislodge some disgusting sweat as she spotted the bluerider she liked antagonizing far more than she should. Her brother had warned her off him but Maliah was an idiot. Well.. Maybe not an idiot but she was definitely a glutton for punishment and made her way towards Kor'is. She could (and did) pretend she didn't know where she was going before flopping down next to him. Her lips curved into a smirk as she set about dragging a sketchbook out of the satchel at her side. "Beastie!" she said with feigned surprise, "I didn't see you here. Hope you don't mind, it was the only empty seat I could find." Might've been a lie, might not have been but it didn't matter, she wondered if he was going to be rude and leave.

Why had Fediletch let the bluerider convince him it was fine to come? People would remember who he was, they'd hate him, they'd make him feel bad... it would be bad luck for the babies! This was a terrible idea, but here he was in the heat, sitting uncomfortably next to Mylorah's siblings, anxiously staring at the eggs. At least he spotted her easily enough and gave her an eager wave (that knocked his elbow clumsily into K'dar's head). After apologizing profusely and being told to just calm down it was fine he settled in, fingers twiddling anxiously.

He wasn't even down there to try and help. So he was going to bring bad luck and he couldn't even try to make it better and maybe he'd be wrong, but maybe he wasn't! Chuck gave a soft chirp in his lap and nuzzled his hand to give it something better to do (because pets were far superior to twiddles). So Fetch tried to occupy his hands for the moment, and if he calmed down, maybe he could try and sketch some of the action to soothe himself. He had brought along his sketchbook in his bag so that he could show Mylo some of his new drawings. He'd been working on drawing people that weren't in front of him! Or even changing the subject while keeping the pose. Hopefully she'd impress, and then he could draw her and her new dragon, but even if she didn't he had a drawing ready as a gift to her. Hopefully she'd like it.

Hopefully nothing went wrong and he'd be able to give it to her after the Hatching.

Helyna smiled and returned Ojassa and Rhaedlyn’s greetings politely. The mugginess of the day was making her irritable despite her best intentions, and all she could hope was that her facade of composure wasn’t melting like it felt the rest of her was.

Helyna had pinned up her hair during the first hour of waiting, but still felt sweat drip down her neck. If this heat kept up, she’d probably go over to the healers table and steal a soaked rag to cool down with. The fan she had brought was barely worth the energy to use it.

But the cracks were finally starting to get larger, and everyone anxiously watched for the first shell to break. She knew there had been a betting pool started up, but it seemed in poor taste to bet on her own clutch. Still, she hoped for a bronze-or even the gold! Wouldn’t that be exciting?

Surprising several people, Egg #1 was the first to hatch, seemingly finally impatient to get out of his shell. [dbronze]Bronze 1[/dbronze] scrambled out, peering around curiously at the crowd for a moment before he made his unsteady way over to the clusters of candidates and headbutted his choice in the legs.

Several long minutes passed after this quick and lucky Impression before the next pair of eggs began to move in earnest. Egg #3 tipped over into Egg #2 and the two cracked open to reveal [dbrown]Brown 1[/dbrown] and [dblue]Blue 1[/dblue]. The big blue sat there stunned for a minute while the brown shook off the remaining bits of shell and chirped inquisitively. The brown then meandered off along the sands, seemingly more curious about the other eggs than the Candidates, his blue brother was intrigued and followed him towards the violently rocking egg #27.

Egg #9 produced the dainty little [dgreen]Green 1[/dgreen]. She had just started to make her way over to the candidates when there was an alarming commotion from egg #27. [dbrown]Brown 1[/dbrown] had crouched down, then suddenly pounced on the egg just as it split open, chirping cheerfully in what quickly gave way to a surprised and pained shriek. [dbronze]Bronze 2[/dbronze] emerged hissing and spitting-mad from the remains of egg #27, clawing up the belly of [dbrown]Brown 1[/dbrown] who managed to quickly scramble away. The bronze rounded on [dblue]Blue 1[/dblue] who began to puff himself up and hiss back loudly, trying to scare off the angry bronze. In all the commotion [dgreen]Green 1[/dgreen] quickly found her mate and ushered him away.

[spoiler=Hatching Order]

Hatching Order / Number on the egg / Color

Hatchling 1 / Egg #1 / [dbronze]Bronze 1[/dbronze] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 2 / Egg #3 / [dbrown]Brown 1[/dbrown]
Hatchling 3 / Egg #2 / [dblue]Blue 1[/dblue]
Hatchling 4 / Egg #9 / [dgreen]Green 1[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 5 / Egg #27 / [dbronze]Bronze 2[/dbronze]
[/spoiler]

Well that certainly took a turn. A bronze hatching first was supposed to be good luck, but the brown stalking over and pouncing a very irritable sibling and the subsequent reaction didn't bode well. At least it looked like the little brown would be fine, maybe need a few stitches, but once he impressed hopefully all that would sort out. If he impressed.

Between the confrontation with the brown and now facing off with the blue, T'cai knew he was already going to have his hands full. And this was only the first few! Help me remember those three. We'll probably need to keep an eye on them. [toynolth]Hopefully they settle down once they find their mates and eat.[/toynolth] I certainly hope so for our sake.

At least the little green had sense to get to hers and then get him out of the way. Hopefully the altercation between the little blue and bronze didn't get any worse.

Oh no. Zoremet hoped that wasn't the little surprising baby that he'd met. He'd feel awful if that was the case. He didn't think it was though, the egg he'd touched had been in a different place and... no he was sure it was still on the sands and unhatched for the moment. Between the little quiet stalker he'd met and this playful guy, it was certainly shaping up to be quite the fun batch of babies... even if one of their brothers was a huge grump.

But maybe that's because he was just coming out. Maybe he'd calm down now that he was out. Zory could only watch and wait to see what would happen as the bronze and blue faced off with each other. At least they were over there and away from them. He wouldn't want to get caught up in the middle of that sort of fight. And in an effort to be extra alert and pay close attention, Zory actually did his best to stay focused on the pair of bickering babies.

N’mor didn’t mind the heat; it was very similar to growing up in Katila, though it honestly left a lot to be desired by sinking its teeth into his Benden home. He much preferred the more mild weather that was usually prevalent in the area. It was nice not to be sweltering and dying day by day. Alas. It was what it was, and N’mor saw no reason to get shirty about it as eh went about his day to day business doing tasks for M’ris. He was getting a lot more comfortable in his role as Weyrsecond, and he had always been a forward thinker, so it didn’t take much to read between the lines and pick up the slack for M’ris when the bronzerider was having a bad day. Or week. Or month. Or whatever.

When the alert came that the eggs were finally ready to make a move, N’mor grinned and finished tiding up the office; he knew there was no rush. But he wanted to be there early to keep Helyna company and to greet those who would come to the viewing. It wasn’t really his job, but again, sometimes he had to step up to fill in the shoes M’ris wasn’t capable of wearing for the moment.

Sliding off Rhezalth, N’mor made his way across the sands while his proud bronze quickly went to join Iliyith with a croon and a nuzzle, standing vibrantly beside her as they watched the eggs prepare to release their little prizes within. N’mor greeted Helyna in kind, placing a chaste kiss to her cheek before they were inundated with the arrivals, greeting those that came forward to greet them, and waving to friends that were less important politically.

[Rhezalth]A bronze![/Rhezalth] Rhezalth crowed, flaring his wings slightly and dancing on the spot in his excitement at the little creature’s appearance, a fantastic sign that had been missing at many a previous hatching. He settled, nuzzling Iliyith’s neck and licking her cheek. N’mor was no less delighted, but was much more décor as he squeezed Helyna’s shoulder with his left hand gently, and gave her a bright smile. A few minutes later, and it seemed the eggs were finished letting their first born brother soak in the limelight.

Kor’is glared at the woman who sat down so close to him that she could have saved time and just sat on his lap. Who the fuck did she think she was? Oh. Being greeted as ‘Beastie’ brought it all back and he gave her an eye roll. “Stubby,” he answered, finding it amusing that it really was one of the most memorable things about their first meeting. Truth be told, she reminded him a lot of Mylorah, at least in appearance but perhaps also a bit in feisty attitude. But it still hadn’t been enough to seek her out again or learn much else about her.

As she pulled out her sketchbook, Kori’s adjusted one of his sleeves on his shirt. The riding leathers had come off immediately and while he was already in a short-sleeved shirt, they now needed to be rolled up to help keep cool. He hadn’t quite reached the level of depravity others in the audience had by removing clothing. “Are you a Hatching groupie or do you actually have someone down there that wants you here?” That was hard to believe but it could be said about him as well.

Eventually, when the first egg revealed its contents, Kor’is gave a slightly impressed sound. He knew there was betting going on, there always was. But the odds always seemed to favour green having the majority of the clutch so he probably would have gone with that if he was a gambling man.

He sat a bit straighter as he tracked the brown’s movements until it pounced on another egg. That was odd but browns were kind of jerks so perhaps not that unexpected. Kor’is kind of felt bad for the bronze but when the retaliation began, he didn’t know what to think or feel. His eyes quickly darted over to where Mylorah was and deemed her group to be safely away before tracking the fight that would break out any second.

Lazerat still felt bad that he missed the last Hatching and how he was glad Zelly hadn’t Impressed at it. He didn’t want to miss her big moment but he also had his responsibilities that he couldn’t shirk no matter how much he sometimes wanted to. But this time he planned better. He told his father he was more interested in staying on land for a bit, doing more of the book work, than going out on the ships. It made it easier to sneak off when Shadow appeared with a note saying the Hatching was starting.

Grateful that he wasn’t stuck in a meeting of some sort which would have ruined all of his planning, Lazerat was free to disappear for a bit since he put in some work that morning. His parents could rely on him to get work done and return to it later on if he happened to slink off for a bit of fun. He was also grateful to A’tay for being kind enough to continuously bring him to the Weyr for visits, though Lazerat hadn’t gone to Benden yet. He felt a bit awkward sneaking into a Weyr that his sister was only a visitor of herself.

When they did arrive, Lazerat was blown away by the size difference. He’d only seen Ista Weyr up until that moment and Benden seemed massive in comparison. It was also fully enclosed, unlike Ista with its missing side. A part of him wanted to stay up in the air a bit longer to take in more observations but he was too excited to see his sister again and he could feel A’tay’s own excitement as well.

In the stands, it was all he could do to stop himself from running down and giving Zelly the biggest hug when she arrived. It had been months since they had last seen each other but he could wait a few hours more and hug her afterward. Maybe it would be in congratulations for Impressing! Lazerat hadn’t fully processed that idea still, almost a year later. But he would be happy for her if it happened.

When the Hatching began in earnest, Lazerat watched with interest and then with fear as it seemed like a fight was about to break out. Where were their mates? Weren’t they supposed to find them quickly and shouldn’t those boys be helping to stop whatever was about to happen? His own instinct was to dash down there and guard his sister but A’tay placed a hand on his thigh to steady him. A glance showed the younger man was just as worried but also confident it would be okay. Lazerat had to believe it would be.

Ulliendis startled when the first dragonet made itself known. The heat had him far too distracted and he was utterly disgusted with himself more than he already was about his appearance. He put some effort into watching the events unfolding and took an involuntary step back when the mischievous brown started something he wasn’t at all prepared to finish. Was this normal? He felt such things usually happened later on at the very least, not right out the gate! But a gold and bronze did tangle last Hatching so Ulliendis supposed it didn’t matter which colours were involved, only that unbonded hatchlings were dangerous.

That thought had him considering Madelan beside him. The fight was close to them but not right on top of them; yet. Maybe he could shove the other Candidate as a sacrifice and make his escape? It was a bit of a terrible thought but Ulliendis knew enough about Madelan to know the reverse idea was being considered now. Perhaps a deal should be struck to help save both of their cute asses in case things got worse. And Ulliendis wasn’t just referring to the scuffle happening now. If this was the opening act, what else was to come?

“Hey, Madelan? What do you say to a watching each other’s back arrangement? I’m sure you’ll have a price other than not wanting to be in a world without me so speak quickly and we will probably have a deal.” Ulliendis was back to watching the angry bronze but he was almost more afraid of the blue trying to act brave but could turn and bolt towards them in a blind panic at any moment.

As the first dragonet hatched, Narinoa couldn’t help but glance over to the healer that was taking notes for him. He saw the man dutifully marking something down and he could only hope it was the egg’s number and colour. He was positioned near a Weyrlingmaster’s assistant so he could hopefully get the dragon’s name as well as the human’s on their way by. It wasn’t a perfect system yet and Narinoa had been worried about needing a better vantage point to help track all the numbers clearly. But those were all things to go over later on.

For now, his job was to be an alert Candidate and by the time a few more had hatched, Narinoa was thankful he was taking it seriously. It wasn’t uncommon for scuffles to break out but they always had the potential to be dangerous for more than just the hatchlings involved. He tensed, ready to run either out of the way or toward someone injured if needed. His healing still bent more towards animals and now dragons but he’d picked up a few basics from L’gan and Eb’zer during their time working together. He’d still stay out of the way of the actual healers but if they were busy helping elsewhere, maybe he would be of use.

Truthfully, he was itching to get to the brown that the bronze had clawed but Narinoa knew better than to approach while there was still so much posturing going on. He kept hoping for the brown to Impress so his boy would call to him, lend him some strength to move away and seek help. He also hoped the hatchlings would calm down and part ways, especially before Iliyith, Rhezalth, or the leadership’s dragons stepped in to control the situation. The angry and commanding roars were never something he enjoyed hearing.

Helyna couldn’t help sharing Rhezalth’s enthusiasm as the first bronze was revealed. Iliyith crooned happily and snuggled with her mate as he quickly Impressed. But then it all went to shit.

Just as it looked like the bronze would attack the blue after all despite his posturing, four eggs suddenly split open around them to reveal a quartet of greens, distracting the bronze and providing less wary targets. [dgreen]Green 2[/dgreen] shrieked as he bit and clawed at one of her wings. [dgreen]Green 3[/dgreen] tried to pull him off and got bitten for her trouble before deciding it wasn’t worth it and running off towards the candidates. In her haste, [dgreen]Green 3[/dgreen] tripped into Elloren, scratching her shoulder and arm badly as she tried to get away.

The two other greens scrambled out of the way of the bronze and [dgreen]Green 2[/dgreen], crying and shrieking their distress. [dgreen]Green 5[/dgreen] in particular devolved into nervous crying, searching anxiously for her mate in the chaos. [dgreen]Green 4[/dgreen] tried to herd her nervous sister towards the candidates but gave up and darted over to her own boy when [dgreen]Green 5[/dgreen] refused to move.

[dgreen]Green 2[/dgreen] and [dbronze]Bronze 2[/dbronze] finally broke apart with outraged squeals and he turned to face the candidates as she limped off. He was terrifying--she’d managed to rake him across the eyes to get him off, and one was utterly ruined. The other whirled a dangerous red as he stalked towards the candidates who were trying to decide if they would run or stand their ground. Biting and clawing his way through the few fools that clumped together for safety, [dbronze]Bronze 2[/dbronze] only calmed (somewhat) when he found the boy he was looking for. Some of his victims looked like they were in very bad shape, and Helyna hoped the Healers would be able to get over to them quickly as things settled down.

[dgreen]Green 5[/dgreen] continued to cry in the background until finally locking eyes with her mate. Still, she didn’t budge until they crossed the sands to her cautiously, calming her down.

The majority of the eggs had stopped moving, as if hearing all the chaos and deciding, ‘no actually, we’ll wait.’ In reality the dragonets inside were probably resting from the strenuous efforts to hatch. But it was still a long, silent quarter hour before [dblue]Blue 2[/dblue] popped his cheerful head out of egg #4. Chirping excitedly, he began to zoom around, running full-tilt towards a cluster of candidates, though he halted at the gasps and involuntary shrieks from the humans. He gave an inquisitive chirp and approached more slowly, finding his boy, clearly not sure what he’d done wrong.

[spoiler=Hatching Order and Impressions]

Hatching Order / Number on the egg / Color

Hatchling 2 / Egg #3 / [dbrown]Brown 1[/dbrown] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 3 / Egg #2 / [dblue]Blue 1[/dblue] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 5 / Egg #27 / [dbronze]Bronze 2[/dbronze] - Impressed NPC

Hatchling 6 / Egg #12 / [dgreen]Green 2[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 7 / Egg #14 / [dgreen]Green 3[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 8 / Egg #15 / [dgreen]Green 4[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 9 / Egg #17 / [dgreen]Green 5[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 10 / Egg #4 / [dblue]Blue 2[/dblue] - Impressed NPC
[/spoiler]

Mylorah watched in horror as multiple greens hatched into the fight that was going down and how it devolved into an all-out brawl. The sounds were awful. Screaming mind voices, screeching out loud, hissing, and general chaos had her unsure of what to do. So far they weren’t near the epicentre but that didn’t stop her from grabbing the hands of Zoremet and Zelana to drag them a bit further back. She didn’t have enough hands to grab Orgailian as well but he was generally pretty good at keeping out of the way of such things and proved it then as he also quietly moved away.

Just as she felt like they were in a safe spot and still had room to run without getting clumped up, Mylorah saw a green charge toward a group and saw Elloren go down. She gasped and squeezed the hands she was holding while waiting to see how bad it was. “Get up, please be okay,” she whispered softly, genuine fear for a friend in her voice. She couldn’t lose more people! She didn’t know Elloren as well as other people due to usually being in different Weyrs but she liked the woman and generally didn’t want to see anyone hurt.

But she couldn’t keep her eyes on the victims that were falling all over the place, not when scared and angry hatchlings were still running free. Mylorah tried to track them all but gave up and kept her eye on the bronze and gave a sigh of relief when he finally Impressed and seemed a bit calmer. From talking with other Candidates after the Hatching, Mylorah had the impression that these babies were going to be little spitfires but she hadn’t imagined anything like this. As she let go of a hand to wipe at her brow she almost laughed but couldn’t bring herself to with the carnage around the Sands. “Spicy heat for spicy hatchlings.”

By the time the little blue emerged sometime later, Mylorah had made sure her little group took a water break and she finally allowed herself to smile again. While she was still worried about those that were injured, it was still nice to see the hatchlings and such a sweet boy this one was as well. It broke her heart a bit to see his good mood falter when some Candidates startled away from him but she believed he made a good choice in mate and the boy would explain everything well.

Maliah was completely unperturbed by Kor'is' tone though her mouth pulled at the "Stumpy". She hated being reminded that she was not as tall and svelt as she wanted to be. Not that she was tiny, mind, but being reminded of it constantly wasn't her cup of tea. She glanced down at the stands, finding both Orgailian and Ferra, her green eyes making sure the two were as safe as they possibly could be on the sands before looking back at the perpetually grouchy man beside her. "My sister's down there," she nodded towards Ferra before wiggling her fingers towards her blonde poet, "And Orgailian of course. Can't forget that sweet boy."

She doubted Orgailian even knew she was up there but that didn't matter to her, her ridiculous need to prove to Kor'is that there was a reason for her to be at the hatching. "I don't really like hatchings," she sniffed with part truth and part lie. She liked the excitement and the party after more than the actual event, "And if F'drel wouldn't have gotten angry I wouldn't have come to this hatching. The weyr in the ass crack of the sun today."

She tugged the soft cotton shirt away from her skin and blew down the front. She should've grabbed some water from the drudges. Eye glanced around for someone roaming the stands with said beverage when eggs started to blast apart. There was something remarkably exciting about watching the first shells to break apart and this time was no different. She frowned and started to stand when the greens immediately started fighting, her eyes for Ferra as she made sure her sister wasn't all up in the middle. "Greens," she muttered before waving towards a drudge with water and asked politely, "Want some?"

Landen wasn't exactly enjoying this hatching, the heat was oppressive and stifling and he didn't like it. He never would've thought he'd say he hated the heat but there was something wholly awful about the cloud of hotness that had settled over Benden. He'd made Pie try to stay as low as possible in the cavern, the small blue not doing well with the heat outside and Landen had been afraid he'd die from it. He groaned quietly as a new blast of heat slapped him in the face and Landen shifted away from one of the lads standing near him.

A bronze hatched first and wasn't that exciting? He couldn't drag the normally exuberant excitement up and the candidate wondered if he had finally hit a wall with hatching? A brown was next, a naughty brown and even though the fellow ended up tore a little Landen couldn't stop the burst of laughter when the brown pounced on the bronze inside. That was probably a bad idea on the dragon's part but it was still amusing, though the bronze didn't think so and Landen grimaced in sympathy as the bronze ran full tilt through the candidates.

The greens that erupted into a fight with the bronze wasn't really that surprising to him and Landen knew the heat was doing a number on his empathy when all he could do was watch impassively throughout the ordeal. The greens and the bronze finally - finally! - impressed and Landen shifted again as the movement of the eggs died back down. They waited for what felt like centuries before an adorable little blue popped shell and Landen's lips curved into a smile as the fellow peeped before running full tilt around the candidates. His eyes rolled at the fearful sounds coming from the others and nodded absentmindedly as the blue found his boy.

Greens? Sure, they were feisty but Kor’is was more worried about the bronze that was injured and angry. He waited until everything had settled down and scanned the scene below. The few people he knew seemed fine if perhaps a bit rattled and the eggs seemed to have quieted down. So he risked a glance at his companion and frowned when she asked, nicely, if he wanted water. “Please,” he replied out of habit from growing up in the Hold. Most assumed, and perhaps correctly, that lords were assholes without manners but as a child such things were drilled into his head, especially when speaking to someone that outranked him. Maliah certainly didn’t outrank him but even he sometimes slipped up and was nice. [Taith]Because you are nice![/Taith] Kor’is winced and muttered, “dragon,” so he looked only mildly crazy and rude.

When a cup of water was passed to him, Kor’is nodded in thanks before gratefully chugging back half of it. He should have brought his own but at least the Weyr was providing for their guests. “I don’t like Hatchings either,” he confessed, rather late to the earlier statement that had been interrupted by the chaos on the Sands. “That was a good example for part of the reason.” He wouldn’t share the other part. She hadn’t earned that level of opening up.

As he watched Mylorah tend to those she clearly deemed herself in charge of, Kor’is thought about Ferra and Orgailian. It really didn’t surprise him that she was there for a sister but Orgailian? And sweet? He found Orgailian to be flirty but fairly aloof and wouldn’t have classified him as sweet. “So corrupting sweet boys is your new pastime?” Kor’is asked just as a blue hatched and almost made him smile with his cheerfulness.

Fuck it.

Narinoa couldn’t stand by and watch dragonets be injured, especially when the few dragonhealers in the Weyr were still relatively new and mostly book-learned with little practical skills under their belt. This was his struggle with being a Candidate still and why he almost dropped out after Erebuth was injured. But he could lend a hand and offer suggestions while still being somewhat actively Standing. It wasn’t like he was leaving the Grounds anyway. He gave a look over his shoulder to L’gan, and nodded at the unspoken question he saw in the greenrider’s expression. Yes, his help wouldn’t be seen as overstepping.

Narinoa made his way through the groups to where the injured hatchlings were being tended. Most had calmed down temper-wise but he could tell they were anxious and some in pain. His eyes kept darting over to the bronze that the healers hadn’t approached yet as his new mate tried to calm him down further. That was good. They would get to him soon when he didn’t pose a risk to any healers. Narinoa started with checking in on the brown that had been clawed, speaking softly to the pair as he introduced himself and what he was there to do. He acted more as assistant, letting one of the young dragonhealers take the lead and Narinoa encouraged him in his assessments as they worked.

By the time the blue made his appearance, Narinoa was smiling at his colleague and giving him praise for his work and then turning to praise the brown for being a good patient. But he was hot and needed a moment’s break. He quickly went to get a glass of water, draining it in three gulps before getting another and taking that one a bit slower as he watched the other healers work. After he finished his drink and breather, he’d step in so another could rest a moment. He was also curious about the bronze’s eye and how that was going.

Damn dragons, making a mess of each other and people. Rhamnus scowled, grabbing his kit in one hand and thrusting a finger at one of the healer assistants before beckoning him to follow so they could get this incident triaged. He hated how violent these things could get, especially hated when any of the candidates were younger. He wouldn't let that get in the way of his professionalism though. A quick evaluation of who hadn't been grabbed by a healer yet, a scan of who could be patched up where they stood with some bandages and numbweed, and a quick point and jerk of his thumb for those that needed to be carried or escorted back to the healer stations so he could stitch them up while keeping an eye out for rampaging dragonets from only one side.

Rhamnus focused on one of the bite victims that the bronze had gone through, bites were always a bigger pain in the ass than claws. He hummed softly to himself as he worked on cleaning up the wound, directing his assistant to hand him water on occasion to flush a wound of sand, to hand him a bit of gauze to mop things up as needed, and finally his stitch kit so he could get the worst of it closed up while leaving some of it open to allow drainage as the wound healed.

And with that patient done for the moment, with strict orders to go to the infirmary after the hatching for a followup, he moved on to the next one that needed stitches but hadn't been seen to yet. At least they'd brought extra help with them today to try and handle the heat, though that was still a concern. As he finished some easier quick stitches he directed his assistants to grab and distribute water while there was a lull, with directions to immediately return to the station once an egg began to hatch.

Hopefully this would be it as far as medical catastrophes, but for some reason he doubted it. He paused to watch the latest little addition, a blue, as it hatched, frowning as it charged a group and letting out a sigh of relief as nothing happened. At least he could take a quick moment to wash up from a bucket.

Ferra did not like the turn this hatching had taken and found herself immediately moving further away from the brawling babies, trying to keep distance from them. At the same time, since the bronze seemed to be the biggest instigator, she tried to keep away from any large groups of boys.

That turned out to be a wise choice on her part as she watched him rampage through a group, covered in a mix of his own and other dragonets' blood. Probably candidate blood too, she thought as she paled. This was probably the most violent hatching she'd ever stood for, and she had to focus and resist the urge to try and run away. Stay calm, Ferra reminded herself, stay alert. If she could just keep a watchful eye on things it would make it easier for her to spot and dodge them. Hopefully.

The lull was actually a welcome break, and a good chance to have some more water as she took a few breaths to calm down. She looked back up at the stands to find her family and gave them a little wave, mostly to reassure herself before turning her attention back on the eggs. And while the blue that came next made everyone a bit nervous, at least that hadn't turned out poorly. Hopefully that was a good sign for the rest of them.

He couldn't watch. This was all his fault and he'd ruined it by just being here to watch. Fediletch covered his eyes as he tried to ignore the sounds, shoulders slumped as he tried to resist the urge to just jump down into the sands to try and help someone, grab a smaller candidate and pull them out of the way. He heard a few yelps and cries and he knew he could have, if he'd been there, maybe he'd have gotten hurt instead of someone else.

Or maybe if he'd just stayed in Telgar none of this would have happened and everything would have been fine, but then Mylo would have told him he was being silly and should have come and how he had disappointed her by not. Except Mylorah was the nicest person he knew, so she'd probably try to say everything was fine, while trying to fight someone else about it. He took a peek once the commotion died down, a frown deeply embedded on his face as he saw all the healers trying to patch people up. Too bad he wasn't smart enough to know how to be a healer and help too.

At least Mylo and her friends and brothers looked like they were okay, and that made him let out a sigh of relief. He'd have felt extra awful if anything happened to her! As another egg hatched, Fetch tried closing his eyes, and by the time he reopened them he saw that nothing had happened. So maybe that was the secret... if he didn't watch nothing bad could happen... maybe he was cursed.

Elloren didn't feel anything at first, one minute she was upright, the next she was bleeding in the sand, pain radiating from her shoulder to her elbow as the green left her and moved on. A little lightheaded, she worked herself back onto her feet and stared for a minute at the blood streaming down her arm from the long gashes before working her way over to the Healers in attendance.

No hysterical screaming from her, just a soft grunt at the pain and shock of the injury.

There were going to be stitches, many stitches, she knew that much but she could still move her arm, so it couldn't be that bad. At least she hadn't gotten bitten or lost her fingers.

She sat, waiting for her turn, her face pale but determined. Once the bleeding had stopped and she was patched up, she was going back out there again.

L’gan swore as the dragonets started to fight, glancing over at Narinoa to see if his help would be needed. From the nod, it seemed so. He sent Pipsqueak up to B’kit and hurried around the wall onto the sands. Giving the bronze some time to calm down seemed like a good idea, so he went to help with the greens, especially the one with the injured wing. This would take a while to fix up fully, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as what had happened to Erebuth, thankfully. It just looked nasty.

Away from immediate danger, Green 2 turned out to be spunky but also melodramatic. This clutch would sure be a handful, and he was glad he wasn’t in charge of training them. It was reassuring though to see how well the dragonhealers here were handling everything. They might not have as much experience, but they weren’t panicking and they listened well when they didn’t know what to do.

Wiping off ichor from his hands, he grabbed a quick swallow of water, watching to see if the bronze pair had calmed down enough yet. That would be a delicate job, and he wanted Noa’s help with it. And possibly Rhezath or Iliyith’s assistance holding the bronze still and keeping him calm while they cleaned it. [semath]Iliyith says she will help, or get someone to help, but she says to wait a little longer if possible. After the hatching, even. Maybe get the pair outside or to the infirmary, away from others… just in case.[/semath] He sighed and nodded, letting Narinoa in on the plan.

Well that escalated quickly.

Before he could finish his negotiations with Madelan, there was a gang of greens jumping into the brawl and suddenly Ulliendis had a bronze dragonet with a grudge against everyone charging in his direction. This definitely counted as the time to sacrifice the pretty boy beside him to save himself but he couldn’t stick to type, could he? Sure he had his caring moments but he was pretty self-absorbed and always looked after his own skin but there he was staring down trouble and he wasn’t moving because he suddenly had a conscience.

“Oh, fuck me,” he growled as he shoved Madelan hard to the side before trying to jump out of the way himself. It almost worked and in hindsight as he laid on the hot sand and an injured dragonet was trying to shake his boot free of his foot (or perhaps his foot free of his leg), he should have just ran. Maybe the result would have been the same but he didn’t have time to examine that right then as the bronze left him and he had a foot to examine instead.

He was suddenly thankful for ordering the boots that went a bit further up his leg than the usual style as the torn leather showed how much more damage he would have received without it. As it was, he could see blood and assumed teeth had still scraped his skin and he was currently riding the adrenaline of the moment to really feel anything. Hopefully nothing was actually broken from the way buddy boy had been trying to shake him like a chew toy.

First it was a bad hair day and now not only did he have sweat dripping down his back and sand sticking to his body but he had an injured leg. Lovely. The only thing missing was Rhamnus scowling as he yelled at him but that seemed like something that would soon happen as he spotted the healer grab his kit and start storming his way over.

Ulliendis considered Madelan for a moment, wondering if the man was worth it all and if he could play up the injury for extra attention. “It’s too hot for this shit,” he muttered instead of anything flirty or heroic before a healer started prodding his foot.

Taydarell dodged, using his smaller size to his advantage, sidestepping the mess of claws and wings as Green 3 dashed toward the candidates in her effort to get away from the fight between her brother and sister. One girl wasn’t so lucky though, and got raked pretty badly. This wasn’t shaping up to be as good of a Hatching as he had hoped, Taydarell thought grimly.

Bouncing on his toes, sweat dripping down his back in the summer heat as well as the heat radiating from the sands, he was at least relieved to see that it looked like they’d all Impressed. He wondered if the bronze’s eye would heal…It looked like it might not. Would he still be able to fly if he couldn’t see well?

The thought was interrupted though, as the eggs continued to rock and a blue made his appearance and zipped over to where he was standing with a group of boys. He let out an involuntary yelp as the hatchling looked like he’d run into the group, nearly squeezing his eyes shut before the little blue slowed as he picked his boy. A lump of embarrassment caught in Taydarell’s stomach. He couldn’t show fear…not if he wanted to Impress, he told himself. But then again, it was hard not to…

B’kit had been so excited to see the bronze hatching first. He wished he’d bet on it, but he’d been more interested in getting inside and seeing friends than on any wagers. Oh well, there would be other chances to win a few marks.

He couldn’t believe how quickly the hatching turned chaotic and bloody-but he had heard from Narinoa that several candidates had unpleasant experiences with that egg from the Touching. Hopefully it would become a more even tempered adult, but he didn’t envy the boy who finally Impressed him. And at least there seemed to be a lull to allow the healers to work.

After the boisterous blue, there was another period of calm. One or two candidates had to step back and sit at the wall for a while as they overheated, something that seemed to annoy one of the healers he didn’t know. But finally another egg rocked on the sands and cracks appeared on two more. “I’ll bet it’s another green next,” he muttered to J’shom, squeezing his hand and smiling.

Egg #18 gave a mighty wobble and a bright green foot popped out. She didn’t have the energy to finish the job yet, so all that was seen for a while of [dgreen]Green 6[/dgreen] was that foot and the end of a gently swishing tail. While she rested, Egg #19 split and out tumbled [dgreen]Green 7[/dgreen] with a grumble. Laying on the sands a moment, she grumbled, looking for all the world like she was melted. Then she spotted the water buckets and perked up, making a beeline for them, her tail whipping into the leg of a candidate too slow to get out of her way as she tipped an entire bucket over with a happy sigh. Only once she was cooler did she look for her mate, meeping imperiously at a group of candidates until a surprised boy made his way over.

Eggs #22 and #24 wobbled together and out came [dgreen]Green 8[/dgreen] and [dgreen]Green 9[/dgreen], bumping heads as they slid from their shells. [dgreen]Green 9[/dgreen] shook it off and licked her sister’s cheek in apology before wandering off in search of her mate, with [dgreen]Green 8[/dgreen] at her side.

[dgreen]Green 6[/dgreen] finally got some more energy and wriggled out of her shell, sitting on the sands and looking around tiredly. Iliyith rumbled encouragingly, and the bright little green wandered over to the candidates, though she took her sweet time.

[spoiler=Hatching Order and Impressions]

Hatching Order / Number on the egg / Color

Hatchling 11 / Egg #18 / [dgreen]Green 6[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 12 / Egg #19 / [dgreen]Green 7[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 13 / Egg #22 / [dgreen]Green 8[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
Hatchling 14 / Egg #24 / [dgreen]Green 9[/dgreen] - Impressed NPC
[/spoiler]

The slender woman had no idea what to do, how to react. She kept turning her head to look at everything else which went on. So many eggs had hatched and she-she longed for just one of the dragonettes to notice her. She want used to feeling invisible, but as she turned in a circle watching as eggs cracked and tiny dragons spilled onto the ground, finding a person and impressing. She felt small. She felt jealous. She felt insignificant.

It was perplexing really, was this how other people felt? She would hate to think that others might feel this way. Brown eyes widened at the powerful feelings impression of others invoked in her. Imagining the feeling that she would feel if-no. When she impressed.

Her face was hot and she could feel sweat beading on her forehead, the back of her neck, her feet, even her hands seemed to be drenched, though she had always had cold skin. So many dragons, dragonriders, dragonettes. More people here than she’d ever seen in her 20 turns of living on Pern. Fascinating.

"How many times did I ask if you were thirsty? Hm? But noo, you were fine. You were tough and didn't want to miss any of the action. Now look at you. Drink." Rhamnus grumbled as he passed water to the candidate he was watching over at his station for the moment. Another candidate came over, a bright eyed and nervous boy who barely looked old enough to stand, and meekly asked for water.

Rhamnus gave him a smile and nod and poured him some as well. "Here you go, make sure you drink as much as you need, don't want to overheat." He turned to give his current patient a withering glare that at least earned him a muffled apology for not listening earlier. With that at least handled, the healer gave himself another drink. At least the patient would be back on his feet soon enough and back out, probably to impress a dragon just as stubborn and hard headed.

The eggs started to hatch again and Rham straightened, keeping a wary eye out in case something went wrong yet again. So far it seemed fine though, just a couple of greens and... he frowned, brow furrowed as a green started to head his way. Was she coming for his patient? Or... oh. Of course. He let out a long sigh, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently in the sand as he watched her drink and then make a sloppy wet fool of herself. Though it probably helped her cool down, so not at all foolish really. "Go on then, finish up and find your candidate and make sure they're hydrated too," he muttered under his breath.

Once she was done he retrieved the bucket and gave it to a drudge to get refilled. If that was the most dramatic thing to happen the rest of the hatching, he'd honestly be a pleased man.