The Hatching (Happy Holidays Clutch)

[Zen]

Gold Orlaith X Bronze Zevranth - 22 Eggs

1. Solitary Egg - Brown Shamath
2. Small Egg - Green Imanith
3. Left Egg - Blue Bosweth
4. Grey Egg - Grey Tinsith
5. Right Egg - Blue Rudoth
6. Guardian Egg - Brown Joseth
7. Buried Egg - White Norpoth
8. North Egg - Green Elvith
9. Rusted Egg - Bronze Menorath
10. West Egg - Green Marith
11. South Egg - Green Angeth
12. Dark Egg - Black Umojath
13. Gold Egg - Gold Stellath
14. Diagonal Egg - Green Niath
15. Smudged Egg - Black Kinarath
16. Middle Egg - Burgundy Ujamath
17. East Egg - Green Preseth
18. Burnished Egg - Burgundy Shangoth
19. Freckled Egg - Brown Dradeth
20. Center Egg - Blue Myrth
21. Vertical Egg - Blue Golth
22. Horizontal Egg - Burgundy Kumath

Orlaith shifted restlessly on the Sands, stood, and turned her whirling rainbow gaze to her lifemate, who was still sleeping. It was, after all, candlemarks before dawn and most would not be awake for some time yet. Talaria…? Talaria…. MINE!

Talaria started suddenly awake, sitting up and blinking away the remains of some already forgotten dream. She trailed her fingers lightly over her face, letting out a long breath in wonder of what exactly had woken her when she felt Orlaith’s presence pushing into the forefront of her mind.

Talaria, they come, my children hatch!

“What…? Now?” She turned toward the pale Gold, who lowered her head to look at her as if she were particularly stupid for asking such a thing.

Yes, now, why would I tell you they were hatching if they were not? The Gold snorted indignantly.

Talaria surveyed the 22 eggs on the Sands, one of them falling slowly onto its side even as she watched as the dragonet within struggled to break free of its restrictive shell. The humming had started as well, it had been soft before, but it was growing louder and Talaria could hear it echoing through the Weyr’s tunnel hallways as Western’s dragons woke to announce the hatching to everyone within earshot. “You have called Navith and A’zael?”

It is not entirely necessary; Navith knows well enough that my children are hatching. He hums even now, she replied, if a bit smugly, though she spoke to the Blue none-the-less to make sure the candidates would arrive in time for her children, Do they come? They must hurry, the first eggs are moving... one is cracking!

Yes, my queen. I have alerted A’zael and he is rousing them now, if our humming has not already awoken them. They will arrive shortly. I will tell A’zael to hurry them. He turned his head to where A’zael had gone off to the boy’s sleeping area, shouting at them all to get up NOW and head to the Hatching Cave immediately, stopping to shake a few awake when his shouting wasn’t quite enough. He was already making his way to the girl’s side, a place he generally did not actually physically enter except on hatching days, due to his nature. Now, however, his mind was much too occupied by the hatching to be thinking of anything else and so it was safe enough. Orlaith says one egg is cracking even as we speak, you must hurry them before it hatches and goes between for lack of a lifemate.

I hear you. They can only move so fast after just waking from deep slumber, you know. “Up and awake now, ladies, if you wish to bond a dragon today! Let’s go, let’s go! The dragonets do not wait, they are hatching NOW!” He walked along each cot, as he had with the boys, “Into your candidate robes and to the Hatching Cave with you all!” He watched has one girl slipped on her robe and stumbled out to the entrance to the lower caverns, away to the Hatching Cave, but in the darkness with the dim, older glows he could not make out which girl it was.

For his part, he would remain in the Candidate’s Quarters until he was sure each one of them had gone ahead to the Hatching Cave. If only the hatchlings had waited a few candlemarks, perhaps everyone would be waking up about now. He sighed in mock exasperation and made his way back out to the commons area, shouting every now and then to hurry, as if the candidates really needed to be reminded.

M’kal awoke to Sabath’s deep rolling humming and looked blearily around before he realized exactly what that humming meant. He threw back his sleeping furs and pulled on suitable clothing, Sabath, the hatching is starting? Take me down, I don’t want to miss anything. He climbed atop the Black, who was waiting by the ledge, and Sabath instantly leapt into open air, descending quickly to the Hatching Cave to get himself a good spot to watch the proceedings.

Sabath may not particularly like Orlaith but a hatching was a fairly exciting event, no matter who the mother of the clutch was. Especially with a Gold and Grey egg on the sands… prospective future mates. M’kal dismounted just as quickly and Sabath rose to a ledge high above to watch as well, wisely keeping a distance between himself and Orlaith. M’kal made his way to Talaria’s side, where she stood in the lower stands ready to congratulate the new weyrling pairs and eager in her own way to see who would Impress the first Gold her dragon had ever laid.

“What an exciting hatching this will be, with so many eggs!” M’kal murmured to her, a bit caught up in it all.

Talaria only nodded and glanced around as a few others entered, spotting a girl in white candidates robes approaching the sands nervously, the first candidate to arrive.

*Those who wish to have NPC family members and what not attend the hatching surely can, the dragons’ humming will continue to grow louder and would probably wake anyone who wasn’t woken up by their own dragon or a rider. Riders of course will know what’s going on and make their way to the Hatching Cave. The first female candidate that arrives anyone can jump in as, or we’ll just say its one of the NPC girls.

[tealah]

Mya shifted restlessly in her sleep, the sound of the strange humming reverberating in her ears. Too deeply asleep to be awoken by it quite yet, she was nonetheless irritated by it and tossed on her cot.

It was the sudden sound of the candidatemaster's voice that actually woke her, sounding out sharp and sudden in the quiet of the sleeping quarters. Accustomed as she was to being woken in the middle of the night for medical emergencies, Mya was able to shake herself awake almost immediately before she hesitated. Oh yes - not an emergency. The eggs were hatching.

With only slightly less urgency (she still remembered well about what would happen to a dragonet with no one to bond to) she reached for her white candidate's robe. As she slipped it on she headed directly for the hatching cave, stumbling and weaving slightly from what was left of the cobwebs in her mind.

Ah, there were the eggs. Some were moving, and it looked like one was cracking already. Mya hesitated nervously - were they supposed to honor the weyrwoman and her dragon again, like they did with the egg touching? She settled for a jerky bow to be safe before taking her place on the sands to wait.

****

While Mya was already heading for the hatching, Falynn was still trying blearily to wake up enough to even shove his arms in the white robe. He tried first one way, then another, before he was awake enough to realize he was trying to put his arms into a pair of pants - not the candidate robe after all. Sheepishly, he dug around to find where he'd set his robe. Oh, there it was. How did it end up under his cot?

He brushed off as much of the dust as possible before shrugging it on. Surprisingly he wasn't running as late as he'd thought. He wasn't the last out of the barracks, anyway, and as he slouched his way onto the sands he was able to bow to the weyrwoman and her gold (once more he was struck strongly with the urge to sculpt her) and find a good spot near the eggs to stand without being crowded.

****

D'ak, the eggs are hatching!

As if D'ak couldn't already tell, having been jolted awake by Rayth's deep, thunderous humming echoing through his weyr. Still, he was quick to stumble out of bed and throw on the first clothes that came to hand (which, since it was D'ak, meant they were already impeccably neat and clean) before making his way out onto Rayth's ledge.

Yes, he could walk down, what with having ground access in his weyr, but it was faster and more convenient for him to catch a ride. "All right, 'lizard," he mumbled. "Get us there."

Of course, oh great one, Rayth replied airily, winging his way to the hatching cave. D'ak dismounted, and Rayth rose up to one of the ledges to watch from a better vantage point. D'ak made his way over near where Talaria and M'kal were, though he was careful to keep his distance. Talaria might still be sore about his rudeness when Orlaith clutched, and besides A'dion would likely make an appearance.

[Alyx]

Cleissa hadn't slept. She had laid in her bed, listening to those sleeping around her and wondering why she couldn't. It was a feeling - a choking, smooth smothering blanket of warmth that seemed to drag any chance of dreams away from her. She thought for she would be a wreak tomorrow....

But then it started. Most of the Candidates were new, they hadn't been here for a hatching. The dull hum of dragons, echoing like a drone threw the stone. She sat up in bed, looking around - wondering how the others slept threw it. Her tongue darted over her lips as she wrapped her arms around her knees and waited, listening to the hum get louder, stronger closer. Sleep was a distant, forgotten thought now. Everything was about to hit the fan - she felt a strange, tight grip in her chest she hadn't felt the times before. A sign perhaps?

Slipping from the covers, she opened the trunk next to her bed and pulled the loose, cream white outfit, resting it on her bed. Sitting next to it, she tried to breath. One breath, two breaths. Waiting....

Then it happened. A’zael's voice echoed in the room beyond; probably yelling at the boys first. Boys were often harder to wake then the girls. Cleissa rose to her feet in a rush, brain kicking into overdrive. Slipping out of her nightshirt, she reached out to kick the bunk of the girl closest to her."Get up!"Her voice was a low hiss as she pulled the Cadidates Robes on over her head, dropping them into place.

Hands smoothed over them, dropping the fabric into place moments before A’zael's form darkened the doorway. Fingers combed threw her hair as she shot him a smile, not sure he'd notice it, and bumped the girl in the bed next to her again. Cleissa tied her hair back as she stepped forward, leaving the shoes resting in her trunk. Not a time to worry... no time for anything really. Cleissa gave a sharp wave to A’zael as she dodged past him with a grin into the common room. "Never goes as planned does it, A’zael?"

Viktor had barely gotten to his feet and dressed, a hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the boys all scrambled to get ready. Stepping into the common room, he was nearly bowled over by a dark haired girl. She stopped, blinking at him for a moment, then smiled. As if reading the confused, sleepy look on the older boy's face, Cleissa reached out to snag his wrist and leaded around him to shout into the Boy's Barracks. "Hurry up!!"

Viktor turned a little too look over his shoulder at the other boys, maybe to find someone in the group that knew this girl, but didn't get the chance. The girl was off like a shot - and took Viktor with her. He made a grunt but didn't stop. Cleissa dragged him along the passage with a memory that spoke of many, many trips like this.

As the pair crossed the threshold into the Hatching Grounds, Viktor came instantly awake. Only a few had beat them up here - but still the humming was deafening. Dark eyes widened, finally gripping exactly what was going on. His cursed a little under his breath and the girl looked at him. "What do I do?" She smiled. "Relax. If you have a hatchling in the group, it will find you - but be ready to move it its trying to target past you. The little things don't know there own strength." Viktor nodded at her as she finally let go of his wrist. "Bow to the Weyrwoman & the Queen like we did at the Touching, then the boys stand over there." Cleissa pointed over to where a few more were gathered and Viktor gave a numb nod.

Following a bit dumbfoundedly in the girl's footsteps, the pair bowed to the Weyrwoman and her Gold Dragon before stepping back to join the others. Viktor felt himself shaking and couldn't figure out hor this little woman next to him was so calm. "Anything else I need to remember since I've just about blanked everything they told us?" Cleissa gave him a silly grin. "Just enjoy it - if you Impress, you won't face it alone. They are all waiting to help us.... they always are." As she waved and jogged off, Viktor realized he hadn't even gotten her name. With a sigh, he moved to stand with the other boys as Cleissa trotted to stand with the girls.

(OOC: Using colors to denote speech is a bad habit of mine. Trying to tell them apart- hope its ok.)

[missing]

Pala had woken up early to get some work done in the infirmary. It was amazing how much grunt work you still had as a Journeywoman when there were no apprentices around. She made bags of different herbal combinations, some for teas, others to be taken with food, all for various illnesses or conditions. She was sure Mya would help with it later, but something about working when no one else was around that was peaceful to her. She smiled, humming along as she worked. Per the usual she wasn't really paying attention to anything but her work.

Midnael, on the other hand was woken by Fin nipping at his ear just before he heard A'zael calling out to them. The eggs were hatching! He scrambled to pull on his white candidacy robe. The upside to being woken up for a hatching was that there wasn't too much to take off before you pulled on your robes. He looked around as the other boys woke up, shaking any awake who needed further prodding than the Candidate Master's voice before heading out to the main room.

He looked briefly around the room, taking account of who was there and who was not. He looked at Fin and nodded his head towards the girl's side, "Can you check...?" She was off, knowing what he meant without further explanation. He watched as candidates poured into the room, his face expressionless. They all had to be there, if anyone was missing it was possible that some dragons would not impress. With such a large clutch he had been told that was even more of a possibility, and so, everyone had to be here!

Fin came back, throwing an image of that annoying healer girl Pala into his head. He sighed he may not like the girl's constant chatter but she had been kind to him. He thought a moment realizing that he normally didn't see her around in the mornings, maybe...

"Fin check the infirmary! Wait, get her robe, you can hold it long enough to go between with it right?" Fin chirped her confirmation and sped off.

Pala, still humming away was oblivious to the dragons humming that filled the Weyr. She wasn't quite so oblivious as to not notice a shrieking green firelizard. She poked her head out of the storage room she had been working in, "Finiky?"

The tiny green dropped the robes before flying over to snatch at Pal's tunic, seeming determined to pull her from the room. Wait... the robes, those were her candidacy robes. She stopped and listened, finally hearing the hum that went through her very bones, "By the first egg! It WOULD be first thing in the morning wouldn't it?!"

She quickly began shucking off boots and clothing, heedless of the fact that she was in the hallway and not really caring where the clothes fell. She pulled her robe over her head before yanking the scarf that held her hair back out and tossing it with the other forgotten articles lay. Fin chirped at her impatiently as she took off running down the hallway, why did the infirmary have to be so far away from hatching caves?!

Standing on the Hatching grounds Midnael shifted impatiently from foot to foot, watching the eggs with a steady gaze.

[brete]

Brete heard everyone and felt her heart hit her throat like a ton of stone. It was happening!!! Thank Faranth her mother had arrived a few days ago. She wondered if mother would be in the crowd by now. Not even bothering to care about what people saw Brete threw her robe on an ran to catch anyone who had already left, nearly falling all over a boy on his way there. What would she do if she didn't impress? What would she do if she did? Oh Faranth! She cursed repeatedly as she finally made it to the sands. Her hair was a fluffy silken mess still stuck inside her robes, her eyes still blurry from the two hours of sleep she had barely gotten, and worse she was sure she had a drool stain on the side of her mouth. Brete ignored all this and stepped onto the sands. Finding another girl and standing with her nervously twitching next to the two most important eggs but close enough to the others as well. Oh Faranth, Faranth help her she was at a hatching. She looked up to see her mother smiling encouragingly. Thank goodness she was there or Brete might have cried for pure joy and fear.

"Sweet Faranth watch over us all and help all the dragons impress, please no betweens...and please...please let one be mine." Brete said under her breath. Reaching out a hand to the girl next to her and squeezing her hand gently before releasing and turning back. Even in duress like this she had to make sure those around her were taken care of as well. It felt like it was her duty to look out for others sometimes.

____________________________________________________________

Salar was halfway to the hatching grounds before he realized he hadn't checked on Lellen. He felt terrible but he knew Lellen would make it. Lellen was the veteran here after all. Salar, like everyone else, was still mostly asleep, so when a girl bowled into him he went sprawling and spluttering into the sands. Leave it to Salar to make a mighty entrance. Picking himself up and throwing his robe on over his half clad body he made his way straight to the solitary egg and stood over it. He knew he probably wouldn't impress his first time but he loved the look of the egg and still felt that they were similar so he stood next to it for comfort more than anything. He too looked up for his mother and found her wringing her hands nervously and smiling like a proud mother, she had two sons on the sands after all. Taking a deep breath Salar sent out a mental call to the eggs. "Dear one are you in there? IF you are come out and find me, I have been waiting my whole life for you."

Turning to look for Lellen he smiled at the thought of them both impressing this time, finally, after years of waiting. It would be perfect and would be so right. They had always done everything together, they should impress together as well. Pulling an anxious hand through his hair he also looked for Cleissa and Zyika, his two newest friends. He honestly hoped they impressed. They were both such lovable things and they deserved it.

[Zen]

Orlaith had shifted a slight distance away from her hatching children to better give them room to search out their lifemate, though she still kept a protective eye on her Gold and Grey eggs. Talaria seemed to be most interested in them as well, her gaze only briefly surveying the rest, noting the candidates gathering on the sands, slowly but surely, as the humming in the cave grew with each new dragon that perched high above to watch the spectacle after depositing any passengers near the stands. She frowned briefly as she registered that A’dion hadn’t arrived yet. Her fingers brushed over the pendant he’d given her before she felt foolish and dropped her hand back to her side.

Lellen woke slowly, sitting up and wiping at his eyes as A’zael came through, shouting about something… the hatching. The hatching? The hatching! He threw away his sleeping furs and dug around in search of his candidate robe, struggling to get his arms into it in his excitement. Oh, sweet little dragon babies, he couldn’t wait to see them! And it would be Salar’s first time standing too. He glanced around quickly, looking for his brother, but it seemed he’d already left. Good, good… he’d catch up with him then! He rushed past A’zael, standing in the commons area, and the older man gave him an encouraging slap to the back as he passed. Standing at the edge of the sands, he spotted his brother and stepped lightly over to him, bumping against him, “Good luck. I’m sure you’ll Impress the biggest Bronze there is.” He grinned happily at his twin and gazed out over the eggs, where a few were shaking, trembling, and the very one Salar stood in front of, the one he’d seemed to connect with at the Touching, started to crack.

Suddenly the side of the Solitary egg burst open, scattering pale shards over the sands beside it and a dark leg appeared through the hole briefly before being pulled back in. There was more cracking as the hatchling within worked to make the hole bigger, to escape. Those watching from the stands seemed to hold their breath as finally, the Brown tumbled from his shell and sat, shaking his head and gazing around at the new world he had entered. He stood and turned to look at the two boys closest to him. Such strange looking creatures…. He let out a low creel as a sharp pain overtook him and glanced down at his belly indignantly. How dare it cause him such pain all of a sudden!

Hunger. He was hungry. He wanted to eat, now. But there was something else, too… something more than the pain in his belly, something else he needed… something he must have or he might as well not even be at all! His eyes whirling red, he gazed at the two boys before him. That one was not right at all! The other… other… maybe…. He stepped forward and knocked his muzzle against Salar’s hand. No. No, no. Not right! He moved away and toward the small group of boys that was steadily growing as the candidates continued to make their way to the sands. Yes… he was there. His, all his, waiting….

V’ktor! I am your Shamath and I am deeply troubled by this hunger I have. Do see to it at once, my V’ktor! The bulky Brown stumbled briefly before regaining his composure and butting his head against his bonded as he approached, his eyes turning from red to the whirling rainbow of Impression as he gazed lovingly up Viktor, sending him his feelings of intense and unbearable hunger.

Brown Shamath – Looks to Viktor

Shamath is not the largest dragon in his clutch by far and he is not even the largest Brown, at least not length-wise. However, he is wide-chested, muscular, very masculine in looks, and his dark brown coloration only serves to make him look even more massive. He has an impressive wingspan, easily as long as some of his larger brothers’ wings, promising that he’ll have no trouble flying a full Threadfall, however his bulk will slow him and his maneuverability will also suffer.

Abilities
Agility: 3
Speed: 5
Endurance: 9
Sensitivity: 1

Proud, Charming, Narcissistic, Calm
Shamath is quite self-absorbed. He is a very handsome Brown and he knows it. He is sure to flaunt himself wherever he goes and being the center of attention is what he lives for. However, he does not lower himself to brag about himself, even if he would be in his rights to do so, for he is too proud for such a thing. He carries himself with dignity and nobility, and has a very commanding air about him, almost your stereotypical Bronze in his attitude. He therefore has no qualms about ordering Blues and Greens to do tasks that are ‘beneath’ him, but he does so with his charming flair rather than simply direct orders. Greens he will flatter and woo and he can be quite complimentary to Blues as well. In all things he does, he is exceedingly calm, and is not at all an excitable dragon. It is very hard to get a rise out of Shamath unless you directly threaten his rider.

Size At Hatching: 6.7 feet
Size At Full Growth: 96 feet
Speaking Color: 34200A

Meanwhile the Grey Egg shifted and trembled and the finest of spiderweb cracks could be seen appearing on its previously unmarred surface while the Small Egg, which had previously tipped itself over, rolled forward slightly, cracks stretching across the pale surface, thicker and deeper than those on the Grey Egg.

Nyxani stood off to the side of the sands, waiting to catch the attention of the new weyrling pairs and lead them over to the feeding area where bowls of chopped up meat waited for the very hungry dragonets. Her Burgundy Roth perched above with the other dragons, still humming and watching the proceedings with keen interest, for he would be a guardian of the new hatchlings while their riders were taught by his Nyx about all things dragon.

[tealah]

Falynn leaned forward excitedly when the Solitary egg burst open. He'd never seen anything being born, not a firelizard or a gemtail or even a chicken, let alone a dragon. How adorably awkward the brown was. Were they all going to look similar or was this one different? Falynn didn't know, and he was looking forward to finding out!

He beamed at the newly Impressed candidate - well, weyrling now, and what was his name again? Viru or something? - as he filed the moment away in his memory. He wondered if that particular shade of brown would always evoke this strong exhilaration in him, or if it was just the heat of the moment... he'd have to reexamine his reactions when there wasn't so much of a flurry of activity.

Oooh, the small egg and the gray egg were both cracking now!

****

When the brown dragonet escaped from his shell, Mya automatically tensed. She'd heard horror stories, of course, about the sort of thing that occassionally happened on the sands. Maulings and the like. She needed to be prepared to assist if something went wrong. If it was bad enough, the few seconds it took for the non-candidate healers to get to the injured might mean the difference between life and death.

In this case the brown Impressed without any sort of trouble. He knocked against another candidate's hand, but that was the extent of it. Still, Mya didn't relax. There were still twenty-one eggs to go - not all of them would Impress so easily as this first one.

Having her healer training take over, Mya nearly forgot that she was one of the candidates herself. As she watched cracks spread over two more of the eggs, she readied herself, and regretted that she'd not had time to prepare a medical kit to bring with her.

[Alyx]

Others began to gather around him and, with them looking as confused as he felt, Viktor began to relax a little. He repeated the words the girl has told him – relax, just wait. If it was meant to be, the little hatchling would fine him. Still, it didn’t keep him from jumping as the first egg fractured, sending little bits of shell scattering over the hot sand. It might have just been him, but Viktor was sure that the whole room held its collective breath as the Hatchling found its way into the world.

He remembered the egg. One of the only eggs he had actually touched for more than a moment – he had remembered the touch of the shell, the feel of the warmth a he has pressed his ear against its shell, wishing words to encourage the little being inside, ‘You, my friend, will be a great Dragon. I know it in my heart. You will rule the skies’. Now, seeing the Brown as he gained his feet, Viktor was sure he had been right. The Brown was a beast of a hatchling, his wings seeming almost a little too big for his bulky brown shape. He had seen runnerbeasts born, and felines in the Hold – but it was nothing like this.

For a moment, it looked like the hatchling was going to claim Salar. Viktor’s spirits lifted, happy for the other candidate for a moment – then the Brown turned away from him, moving toward the group standing to the side. Viktor took a step back, ready to move to let the Hatchling pass. Getting mauled would not do well for returning to work when he went home –

V’ktor! I am your Shamath and I am deeply troubled by this hunger I have. Do see to it at once, my V’ktor! Viktor froze, eyes going round. V’ktor? The older boy stood stunned as the Dragon butted his head against the soft cloth of his chest. No… not Dragon. It had a name… he has a name. Hands lifted, fingers finding the ridges over the Hatchlings eyes as V’ktor smiled. “Alright then, Shamath…. Let’s got get you something to eat then, shall we? I can’t have you starving on me.”

[/b]

Hand resting on the Dragon, he moved from the group toward the exit, guiding Shamath as best he could. Glancing back, he smiled at the girl whom had drug him onto the sands only moments before all this started. She was smiling, wide. He gave her a wave, then turned to focus back on the form of the Burgundy and his rider. Viktor had walked onto the Sand, but V’ktor walked off. So much for going back to the Hold – but V’ktor really didn’t care to go back anymore.

Cleissa watched the young man walk with his Brown off the Sands and beamed. She couldn’t help but be a little proud – he has asked her for last moment advice and he had been the first picked. She liked to think she helped. Still, she felt a little sad that it hadn’t been Salar that impressed the big Brown. She had been relieved when she had seen him sprint onto the Sands; she had been planning to grab him before the stunned Viktor had got her attention.

Seeing him looking toward the girls, she smiled and waved a hand to make sure he knew she was there before turning her attention back to the cracking eggs. The thick, dark lines began to mar the finish of the silvery grey egg – Cleissa could help but feel the rush of adrenaline. She would accept any dragon that she was destined, but the wishes of all girls on the Sands were to get picked by a Gold or Grey. To be one of the best, one with the beautiful shining babies.

Fingers flexed, realizing that someone was holding her hand. Looking over, she noticed for the first time that Brete’s hand was in hers. She nodded at the girl’s words, only half hearing them as she turned her focus back to the shaking eggs.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[lyonza]

Z'mer.

He snuffled into his pillow, burrowing deeper into his furs. There was an insistent sound at the edge of his hearing but it wasn't enough to wake him.

Z'mer!

The rider batted at the air, trying to get the voice out of his dream, which was featuring A'zael, M'kal and for some reason A'dion and Talaria. Candidates were milling about and...

Z'MER! Amoneth roared in his head. Wake up, the younglings are coming!

Z'mer sat bolt upright. "Why didn't you tell me?" he said plaintively, his mind still puzzling over the strange dream.

I did. It took me a long time to wake you. Why aren't you dressed yet? Come on, I don't want to miss it. He could just see the big bronze's tail from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Please tell me you are not prancing about in excitement," he said as he got up and splashed water on his face from the basin near his bed.

The tail that was jiggling abruptly stopped. I wasn't prancing, Amoneth said with a great amount of dignity. I was waiting impatiently. Are you dressed yet? Or shall I go to the Hatching Ground and you can walk.

"Don't get all huffy with me, I'm almost dressed." Luckily Z'mer had been anticipating the hatching for a few days and his gather finery was ready and waiting. The gather shirt of deep red with white embroidery down the front was the best one he owned, paired with his habitual leather pants and high boots. He combed his hair, grabbed the matching jacket of black leather and limped over to his dragon. "Now we can go," he said as he tucked the cane under his arm after climbing onto Amoneth's neck.

It's about time, the great dragon said as he leaped off the ledge and flew the short distance to the Hatching Grounds. Z'mer could have walked, but with his foot still healing, it was easier for him to get a ride with Amoneth.

Being one of the more senior riders (in age and time since Impression, not rank -yet) he made his way over to the stands where the Weyrwoman and M'kal were standing. He didn't know either very well, but still, it was good to be in company of others that knew the magic of Impression. He bowed to Talaria and Orlaith and nodded to the blackrider. "Good morning, Weyrwoman, M'kal," he said. "Impatient bunch, aren't they?" he added with a little smile.

And then it happened. The first egg cracked open and a strong brown made his appearance. Z’mer reached out to Amoneth and relived their own Impression twenty turns before. I do love you, he said to his dragon. Amoneth just sent a wordless blanket of love and affection back, and Z’mer had to fight not to tear up as the new pair went towards the Weyrling Master.

The new one’s name is Shamath, Amoneth informed his rider.

---

Kolinar felt the humming the moment that they appeared from between, having left Telgar moments before. Kenessia’s Loriath immediately added her hum to the growing sound as they made for the Hatching Grounds. Luckily he’d packed his Candidate’s robe and it was near at hand so he was ready to get it the moment they landed. He dismounted when Loriath landed and quickly pulled his pack from her back.

He didn’t have much, his worldly possessions were all stuffed in the pack and it wasn’t even a big one. He scrabbled out of the way and knelt next to the entrance to the cave, opening his pack with deft hands and pulling out the robe. He stripped off his jacket and shirt and pulled the robe over his head. He debated taking off his boots and pants like he was supposed to but the insistent humming increased and he abandoned that idea.

Kolinar looked around, wondering what to do with his pack and then grabbed the straps, stuffed his shirt and jacket inside and stowed it in an alcove in the tunnel at the entrance to the sands from the ledge where Loriath had dropped him.

He heard the roar of approval as the first Impression was made and he ran across the sands to join the other boys. He was familiar enough with the procedure, even if he didn’t know anybody on the sands or in the stands for that matter.

He could tell that he wasn’t the youngest Candidate, but not the oldest by far. Some of the boys looked much older, so did some of the girls for that matter. He schooled his thoughts and features and faced the remaining eggs that were rocking on the Sands. He noticed the Grey egg was sporting some fine cracks on its surface and he was certain it was the next to hatch.

---

Z’mer noticed the late arrival running across the sands to join the other Candidates and something about the boy made him frown, either in recognition or some remembered encounter. It wasn’t something specific, but it really bothered the rider that he couldn’t place his finger on it. He dismissed the feeling with a shake of his head and leaned forward a little to see who was going to Impress next.

[kyra]

Alexander bolted up with all the other candidates at the candidate masters voice. He left Alyzin still sleeping as he rushed into the common room. Looking around he noticed the girls were not up yet, his eyes flickered back to A’zael watching the man go in to wake the girls. Sighing Alexander couldn’t help but be impatient, but he wanted to wait on his sister.

Zyika wasn’t sleeping well anyways, when A’zael ran in yelling at everyone to get up she was already awake. Pausing for a few moments she was a bit slower then the rest of the girls especially since she had been through this for five turns now. Walking into the common room her eyes flickered to her brother right away. He looked slightly annoyed to have been waiting this long. Grabbing her arm he rushed her out to the hatching sands.

Alexander sighed and looked at all the eggs, one egg was already gone which meant someone had impressed already and he missed it. His eyes flickered to his sister anger was in his eyes, but they softened as he saw his sister look around. Zyika wasn’t sure if she would impress, she couldn’t help but show the sadness in her eyes.

“You think I’ll impress?” She asked looking up at her brother who nodded. “Of course.” He smiled softly trying to help her cheer up. To Alexander his sister meant a lot to him, and he didn’t like seeing her down and doubting herself. It hadn’t helped that their mother had insisted after this year that Zyika should just stay in the kitchens if she did not impress. Alexander had been the one who pushed her to stand this year saying that she would.

[missing]

Midnael watched as the brown dragonette impressed to one of the newer, and older candidates. He smiled, remembering when he had impressed Finiky. He'd been told that impressing a dragon was better beyond imagining, so he could only imagine what the man was feeling right now.

His gaze shifted back to the sands and the eggs that rocked there. The small egg had rolled off a bit, surely it would be fine with a bit of a tumble... so strong to have made such progress compared to it's larger siblings. It had a good chance of being the second to hatch, and wouldn't that just show them all? He grinned now, his former masks of unfeeling coolness abandoned for this joyous moment. He found his gaze drawn to the buried egg, searching it for any signs of movement, vibrations in the sand, cracks, anything at all... It had to hatch, had to impress, someone had to notice it and love it...

Fin sent him an image of the caves just before the weyrling barracks and Midnael found his gaze ripped from the eggs once more to turn towards the entrance. What was taking that wretched girl so long? Hadn't she ever run before? Wait... was that..? In the stands... No it wasn't her, she was much too young, and yet the resemblance was there. This girl had thick dark brown hair that fell to her mid-back and was also looking around towards the entrance.

Midnael turned back to the sands, oblivious to dark eyes so much like his own watching him from a more hidden section of the stands.

-----------------------

Midnael had obviously forgotten what a klutz Pala was, and the lack of shoes combined with a long robe she wasn't used to was making her doubly so. She had already tripped more times than she could count over the stupid thing, but fortunately she had managed to keep her balance.

The roar of dragons celebrating cut through her concentration and she tripped again, this time falling forward, palms out to stop her fall. Jarring pain shook through her bones, first in her arms, then in the left side of her hip as she rolled. She didn't feel anything snap, nor did she really care at this point. Hauling herself up, cursing the tears in the once white robe, she took off past the weyrling barracks.

What had the roar been? Had the eggs hatched already? What was wet on her han- Shard it she had split open that blasted cut again! Oh for the love...

[Zen]

Nyxani ushered Viktor and his Brown over to the feeding area and thrust a bowl of meat into his hands, “Feed him slowly so he doesn’t choke but don’t worry about feeding him too much just yet. He’s starving, its all right if he over indulges just a little this time, and when he’s full he’ll likely fall asleep right away, tired out as he is from the struggle of hatching.” She gave him a smile of encouragement and congratulations, “If you finish with that bowl and he wants more, just grab another and keep feeding him.” She gestured to the many bowls of meat behind her, sitting on tables arranged in a crescent shape against the wall of the cave.

Orlaith eyed Shamath approvingly as he walked off the sands with his bonded. He was a fine Brown. She turned back to the Grey Egg as it continued to tremble and crack, but the dragonet within seemed to be taking her time with the whole process and the Small Egg burst into shards before the Grey could get much farther along in hatching.

Sitting amongst the shards of her egg sat a small, bright Green with bulbous headnobs that were amusingly disproportionate to the rest of her body. She gazed about wildly as if she was surprised at her own hatching. So many weird looking things gathered around… and none of them were right! She gave a pitiful creel and stumbled to her feet, shaking bits of eggshell from her back and tumbling onto her side as the motion unbalanced her. It didn’t seem to faze her too much, however, and she worked back to her feet and toward the group of girls that was still gathering. Shoving past one and then another, she stopped monetarily and snorted impatiently. None of them were right at all! And on top of all these strange, not right creatures crowding her, she was hungry.

For a brief moment the little Green stood very still, her eyes whirling red with hunger, and then a boy and girl entered, stepping onto the sands, and she bounded toward them, tripping overself more than once, but simply too overjoyed to care at all. There she was! Right there.

Zyika, my Zyika! I hunger, I do, your Imanith hungers! I was waiting and waiting and waiting for you and I didn’t think you’d ever come but now you’re here and I hunger! Feed me, feed me my Zyika! It hurts and you need to make it go away, right now! What took you so long? Didn’t you know I was waiting? I don’t like waiting so now feed me, feed me! It hurts! And the little Green shared those intense hunger pangs with her bonded, to better hurry her along. She wanted to be fed right now and would wait no longer. Despite her impatience and her hunger, her eyes still whirled in the rainbow of Impression, and along with those hunger pangs she sent her lifemate that undying love that only a dragon and rider can ever know.

Green Imanith – Looks to Zyika

In contrast to her Brown brother Shamath, Imanith is tiny in comparison and honestly very cute. She is streamlined and lanky, promising to become a green lightning bolt in the sky. She is brightly colored, bold, which suits her very well. She has the potential to be graceful, but she’s more likely to focus on speed and fun tricks than elegant maneuvering. Being so small, she will find it hard to keep up with her larger siblings for very long, and will be lucky to last half a full Threadfall. Her headnobs are quite large, bulbous, and disproportionate to her small, skinny body. She just might show promise as a Searchdragon as she matures.

Abilities
Agility: 9
Speed: 8
Endurance: 3
Sensitivity: 4

Confident, Impatient, Talkative, Loud
Imanith appears to enjoy talking simply to hear the sound of her own voice. If her lifemate grows weary of her endless chatter she will happily chat up other dragons instead and occasionally even another human. This chattering away may lead to her becoming ignored in the future and this is something she will not tolerate. She will then focus her full attention on whoever is ignoring her and not leave them alone until she is acknowledged. She is very sure of herself and her abilities and will never hesitate, or really even think things over, before she does something. She is highly impatient and will not wait around for instructions, food, or anything for that matter, but rather she will simply go and do whatever she has set her mind to. This doesn’t mean she’s disobedient, for a firm order from her lifemate will lend her a bit of patience and she will surely do whatever she asked to do, but she is not a dragon to be left sitting idly or she just might get herself into trouble, or worse, injure herself because she failed to think things through before charging off and doing.

Size At Hatching: 3.8 feet
Size At Full Growth: 55 feet
Speaking Color: 43DA32

Talaria tore her gaze from the Grey Egg for a moment as the Brown had hatched and rather quickly Impressed, and then the little Green burst from her shell. As she stood still for a short moment, M’kal leaned forward slightly. She knew he must have had the same thought she did. Would the little Green go between? Only a moment later, however, she was bounding toward a girl and boy that had just entered and M’kal let out a relieved breath.

“A Brown first, not bad… and a fine Brown too,” M’kal remarked to Talaria as he watched the Green prancing happily around her lifemate.

“Yes… the Green is a bit small, but…,” she shrugged it off. Greens were small, this one was just on the lower end of the spectrum it seemed.

Lellen had held his breath as the egg before them broke open and the Brown emerged. He’d thought for a heartbeat it had Impressed Salar when it bumped its nose against his hand, but then it moved away and Impressed someone else, another male he didn’t really know. He gave his brother’s hand a quick squeeze, “No Browns for you, only the biggest Bronze, like I said.” Then the Small Egg seemed almost to explode from within as the Green hatchling tumbled out. He couldn’t help thinking how adorable she was, even though she completely ignored him. She was one of the smallest hatchlings he’d ever seen. He too worried she might go between for a heartbeat. He’d seen it happen before, twice, and it was just horrible to think about. But she Impressed to Zyika and he smiled happily for the pair.

The Grey Egg was still slowly, but surely working toward hatching. A small chip in the egg allowed a tiny window into it, though it was too small, and too dark within to see anything. The Right and Left Eggs were also beginning to crack and the Left Egg soon broke open to reveal a dark Blue. He promptly stumbled toward the boys and Impressed to Logas, a lanky boy that had stood once before. The Right Egg was still working itself out, however, though small holes had appeared in various places about the shell.

*I forgot to mention before, once your character has Impressed, be sure to update their bio and mark them as a Weyrling instead of a Candidate, or whatever they were before, and also post a bio for their new dragons. Feel free to use the image from their hatching for them, and also to copy and paste anything from my mini bio for them. You may, if you wish, expand upon their personality, add more traits, and tweak some of the things I’ve already written for them, but their basic personality should remain the same (those four traits I listed and underlined). If I do not specify certain physical characteristics you are free to add on to that as well. Their abilities cannot be changed (nor, obviously, their color, name, or speaking color).

[kyra]

Zyika’s eyes widened as a green dragon came bounding to her. Was she going to be eaten? Was her first thoughts until her thoughts were interrupted by a different voice that wasn’t hers. Zyika, my Zyika! I hunger, I do, your Imanith hungers! I was waiting and waiting and waiting for you and I didn’t think you’d ever come but now you’re here and I hunger! Feed me, feed me my Zyika! It hurts and you need to make it go away, right now! What took you so long? Didn’t you know I was waiting? I don’t like waiting so now feed me, feed me! It hurts!

A few tears of joy slipped down her face and she laughed already beginning to guide the hungry green to where there was food. “No I was running late.” She smiled even through the hunger pains she felt the undying love coming from the green. Hurry! Hurry! I'm hungry and want fed now. Now that you're here I want food! Imanith responded almost prancing after her bonded to the exit. Zyika saw a brown hatchling and figured it was the hatchling she had not get to see hatch. She nodded to Viktor and Nyxani before grabbing a bowl to start feeding her Imanith.

Imanith began to eat right away and all Zyika could do was smile and watch the green eat. Slowly the hunger pains went away and Zyika looked at Viktor “What’s yours named?” She asked referring to the Brown that he was feeding.

Alexander let out a brief smile as he watched his sister and her newly bonded walk off. “See I was right.” He said under his breath. He stood away from the other candidates, not really wanting to be in the middle of a huge crowd. His eyes watched the eggs wondering which on would be next.

[missing]

Midnael laughed as the Green bounded after the girl towards food, shards that one was a bundle of energy. You'd think such an explosive exit from her shell would have tired her, but it didn't seem to have done so in the slightest.

He watched as the blue impressed to one of the boys. If he impressed anything it would probably be a Blue, or a Green... but with so many females he thought a Blue to be more likely. He wasn't a leader and he knew it, so a Bronze and probably Blacks were out. Wouldn't it be funny if his own dragon mistook him for a girl? No wait that wasn't possible, he was fairly sure. And what was all this thinking about 'his' dragon? He wasn't getting his hopes up remember? No, at the moment he really was having difficulty with that promise he had made to himself.

------------------------

Meanwhile Pala ran along the corridor as more roars sounded through the Weyr. She was fairly certain now that those roars meant the dragonettes were impressing. She was missing it! If the roars were any indication she had already missed at least three impressions! Some researcher she was, not even present to gather the proper information! And what if candidates had been hurt? She should have grabbed something! She had been INSIDE the infirmary shard it all!

At least the weyrfolk had seemed to have the right of it, she had seen a few running towards the infirmary as she left, probably to get numbweed salve and bandages for any possible injuries.

The healer girl turned the corner into the hatching grounds as Fin flew up to one of the ledges. She looked a fright to any who happened to see her. Her white robe was smudged with dirt and grit, her hair was a wild mess, her bare feet and arms were scraped, her hand was bleeding, and her robe was torn in multiple places.

Brown eyes in the stands found her as she made her way to the sands. Laura sighed in relief as her older sister had finally made it to the grounds, even if she did seem to have incurred some battle scars from the trip.

Pala's own eyes found Midnael as he looked sideways at her with a smile. She mouthed 'thank you' before turning to the sands to watch the rest of the eggs hatch.

[Alyx]

The green's arrival brought a nearly dead silence. It looked confused, lost.... Cleissa knew what could happen. Teeth gripped her lip, her heart aching for the hatchling as its gaze cast over the group again and again. "Come on... no betweens, no betweens, no betwee-" Her grip tensed a little on Brete's hand, almost as if the wishes of the candidates could keep the little Green from suiciding.

Then tho, the little dragon was off like a shot; stumbling off toward the door. Zyika? Zyika! Cleissa's lips burst into a smile as she felt the tears. So close.... but as Zyika smiled, Cleissa knew it was all good. How many times had Zyika stood on the sands with Cleissa? Too many.... too many disappointing times. Finally, she wasn't going to walk back off without her lifemate. Cleissa wanted to cheer for her as she watched the girl and her new green leave the Sands. It would be so nice to go with them - it would be nice if they all got to take that walk...

The chaos of the hatching was a distant memory in the fog that Viktor was feeling. He nodded numbly to the words Nyxani spoke, his fingers closing around the edges of the bowl of meat. He blinked, still not totally grasping what had just happened, but Shamath wasn't going to wait for him to let it all sink in. The hungry Brown shared the pangs again, giving his bonded a nudge again.

Hungry, V'ktor. Feed me. Make it go away! It was so much like a command that Viktor smiled at the hatchling. Fingers snagged up a piece of the meat, offering it to the hatchling without fear. Viktor thought it was funny - he was handfeeding a dragon, when months ago he had problems feeding runnerbeasts for fear of losing a fingertip. Thats because I am simply better then a runnerbeast, and smarter..... and handsomer.

He grinned. He wasn't sure how long it took, but soon a green and blue joined them in. He looked up at Zyika as she settled in with her new, tiny bright green. "Shamath. Yours?" Suddenly, it mattered to know these people - he was going to be living here, with them. With Shamath.