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Post by purnip on Jul 3, 2012 16:30:07 GMT -5
The Sands were very quiet throughout the full incubation period. While Bayneth practically took over the territory, Demeth settled without a complaint in a modest corner with her three eggs, guarding them like an ancient stone sentinel. Pananarie was spending a lot of her time in the Tan's company, especially during the last month, reading whatever materials she could get her hands on, or taking short naps against the hide of her beloved beast. While it got boring on occasion and she got up to leave every once in a while, she never spent too long or too far away from the mothering Tan. It just so happened that today, on perhaps the clearest and most pleasant day in the Fall so far, Pananarie was outside picking flowers and old straw-like strands of grass for a hat she was halfway through making.
It had only been ten minutes tops. She even checked with Demeth before she left in case the eggs were showing any unusual activity. Just two days ago they had a scare when one of the twin eggs started wiggling and tilted into the other, causing a small hairline crack on its sibling's shell. Pan sat around the entire day waiting for a Hatching that wasn't destined to happen at the time, so today, after spending all of yesterday in restless anticipation, she felt she was entitled to fifteen minutes alone. Demeth claimed that the three were at rest. The smallest egg worried the both of them and Pan decided that it was pretty much a lost cause. It never showed any signs of life from the very beginning, and its shell hardened a lot faster than the other two. An omelette fit for his lordship, maybe. Nobody on Pern ate dud eggs. Still she wasn't morbid enough to find out. While it always struck her curiosity, Pan never asked what happened to duds like that.
The first to start wriggling was the one that started the last time. Demeth and Pan already deemed it as a 'troublemaker', but they didn't love it any less. Its twin remained stark still, but Demeth sensed its alertness and hummed to herself in hesitation. Was it time? She nearly brought the entire weyr to the Sands two days too early. She glanced over at Bayneth, who was practically over a hundred feet away. Would theirs be hatching all at once, as they often did? If so, were hers showing any activity too? The Tan wouldn't ask. She knew better than to disturb the Orange. She ducked her head close to the twins and listened closely.
Pan, they're ready. You must return. I will call the others before my children hatch too soon.
The girl froze, dropping all the materials she collected without a second thought. There was no need for this gathering anymore. She was making the hat out of boredom--honestly. Pan cursed to herself and made a beeline for the Sands, hoping to get there before the crowding started. Meanwhile, Demeth called across the weyr for her Candidates.
Come, if you wish to Impress my children. Come, if you wish to see them shine. Come, only if you promise not to take my children far away from me.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman 
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 4, 2012 12:13:44 GMT -5
Sam, meet me.
Unath herself did not hold any particular inclinations toward having tanrider Samael at her side. In fact Unath was occupied with the grooming of whatever dragon had the fortune to land beside her on the rock ledge ringing the Stands. She never minded being used as a messaging service, or rather she never reacted to the use. There was no distinction in her rider's opinion.
Q'sis was making an early inroad to the very front of the Stands as he sent his command to Naireth. Since Unath did not pick up on dragon humming- or wher screaming, as the recent massacre had illustrated -his timely presence was all thanks to his own ears catching Demeth's first questioning song. He was still carrying a wherhide pouch full of fruit that he had liberated from the dining hall bowls, but no doubt the cold, colorful flesh would be ruined by Hatching's end.
He attained the very first row, only a rock barrier between him and the would-be queens. He stood by the railing, as if sitting would make him less recognizable, ignoring any threat to viewings he might make for the benches immediately behind him. From his place on the lowest promenade he could make out the twitching of an egg, and his small smile answered.
But this clutch would not be met with the same ease as Naireth's. Pananarie was not even present, not yet. She had let Demeth succumb to a fat woman-ridden yellow of all things. And perhaps most importantly, he did not know Demeth's rider well. He had even grasped his vital judgments of Aylina in their brief company at the past Hatching. Pan was an unknown, and she seemed to avoid him for some inscrutable reason. Perhaps she was shy, like a child, but that did not befit a queenrider.
---
L'xon was handed what looked like a shabby gray shadow of a Candidate's robe, a bucket of freshly diced herdbeast flesh, and a shove at the Sands. When he started walking, one of the kitchen women yelled at him to run, which he did while trying to keep the bloody pail from spilling over either his "gifted" clothes or the leathers he was already wearing. After he had run up the steps of the main entrance, another of the Weyrfolk grabbed his arm and pulled him to a niche behind the Stands to change. The bluerider blurted out an uncharacteristic curse as he went through the complicated exorcism of his riding leathers, and again when he put on the robe.
It was a Candidate's robe style, but deliberately fashioned from coarser, darker material so that no one would mistake him for the real thing. The same sleeveless cutoffs, the same fringe reaching only to just above his knee. It was tight, probably because it was meant for a flabby drudge and not a well-muscled young rider. Humiliating. That had to be the point.
He swung his arms as he moved to collect his meat pail, then crept out onto the Sands with his head tucked low and his bows to the clutchmothers even lower before he crept into the food pit to await the Impressees. He did not have proper sandals, and so his feet roasted nicely in his wherhide boots. Three steps onto the Sands and the back of his neck was already wet.
This was not a singular punishment, but rather the latest in a series of substandard chores. Halventh ignored L'xon's plight aside from a sympathetic twinge of his dragon's heart, and was already humming when he settled on the Stands ledge. Halventh could not even remember why L'xon was being handed chore after chore, but the rider seemed to think he deserved it.
---
Though Ekuda was certainly one of the last to the Stands, he was one of the first to pounce on the Weyrfolk arriving with refreshments, procuring two glasses of Benden red and scurrying back to the company of his conveyor.
"They'll have dainties along at some point so we can say we're washing down something with this," he chirped as he handed Z'an a glass, then plunked down on the bench. Having been pulled quite literally from his work, the dolphineer wore a blue wherhide coat over his shoulders, a wherrybone whistle, shorts, and nothing else. His sandals had been erroneously forgotten in his boat, now anchored by its lonely self off in the south seas. A runnertail of wet black hair hung down his back, though between dragonriding and the heat rolling off the Sands the surface moisture on his skin had already dissipated.
He rocked his weight from one buttock to the other, glancing back at the hard stone beneath him with a frown. "Maybe there'll be a mauling. Don't you love a good mauling? And then another baby comes over and says 'Oh no you mauled my partner for life' and the first one says 'Oh no I'm sorry' and they kiss and make up and it's really cute," he tittered, speaking rapidly like the first gulp of Benden had already gone down. But Ekuda hadn't even sipped. He was looking over the full glass rim at the eggs, and their miniature queen mothers.
Then his head turned to sharp attention at something to the left, past Z'an. He leaned forward, stood up, then sat down again and elbowed the ironrider. "Check the padding on those seats in the Holders' box eh? Maybe we should uh, take advantage of their absence. They're not going to show for a bitty like this. So when the first egg cracks...we move, get it?"
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Reky
Alphahandler
rekyct[M:-999]
SO PRO
Posts: 1,554
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Post by Reky on Jul 4, 2012 13:21:38 GMT -5
Naireth reflexively routed Unath's message to Samael. It was rare that any mind-spoken words were meant for her, and even if that bizarre event did occur, her response would be flat and distant. Sam was the one with the friends and the job. Naireth just made sure she did not get hurt and, on occasion, reminded her of their place in the Weyr, their obligation to obey the real Queens, and of baths. The tan was humming and, of course, did not know why, but Sam told her to find a ledge to perch on and she did.
The rider, then, swiftly dashed her way to the Sands. She was grinning and happy and, as she found her tall counterpart in the front row, a little out of breath. She hopped up onto her toes to press a fleeting, chaste kiss to his cheek, though it was mostly pressed to his late-autumn beard in the end. Up near the rim of the half-sealed cavern, Naireth sat still and unmoved. Sam clearly made up the entirety of the tanpair's excitement.
"We've beat the candidates and her rider," she remarked, but it would undoubtedly be only a short moment more before the first white-robed hopefuls ran onto the sand. Had it really been nearly five Turns since she had been in their stressfully fortunate position? She had, indeed, made nearly five Turns worth of pioneer records of the first tan specimen. Now, the second clutch of a tan was itching to hatch, and though Demeth and Pananarie had so far evaded the closeness of their older and younger counterparts, Sam was still brimming with anticipation.
"We should go congratulate them afterwards," she said, meaning Pan and her dragon. "They need to be around more. Maybe they don't like the rest of us." She was not a shining example of tanrider camaraderie, of course, for her interactions with Valha and Aylina were limited - but Q'sis knew them better and she knew Q'sis, so she consoled herself with that.
---
There were a great many others coming in to watch the Hatching. The Junior Weyrleader R'len had taken up his customary spot on the ledges with iron Kaezeth; Journeywoman Healer Cleo waited on standby, beaming, with a basket of numbweed, redwort and bandages in her arms. E'rin and Jarith found their beloved brothers A'lan and Irith, naturally, and Jarith twined herself about the other white and exuded sticky-sweet joy. Green Memnorooth hummed and chattered wildly to her Lin, blue Ardith spun tales about the wiggling eggs below, and his rider, Pash, looked for Delilah among the promenades and ledges. Kesviry sat calmly in the very highest tier of the stands, and the weyrling Osine had claimed a spot near the front. Even R'fus had dragged his sorry self to see the dragons, and X'ni mustered up some sick amusement for it. Though the Hatching bore few eggs, it would be a good one.
Red-faced and with handkerchief in hand, though, was a newcomer. He'd arrived only that morning from Gejami Hold and had not expected to witness a Hatching so soon. He sniffled and sneezed, but truly, he was happy, and did his best not to dwell on the fact that this cavern was crawling with very large, winged allergens. Feoran had been obsessively cleaning and organizing his new room in the lower caverns, promising plenty of help around the storerooms for the duration of his stay, and his main goal - finding his father - was put on hold. He blew his red nose and wiped his watery eyes dry. He could see a little movement in the little clutch of three...
"Oh, Faranth and the First Egg, this is going to be amazing," he babbled to whoever happened to be next to him. "Have you ever seen a Hatching before? I never have, not even firelizards." A violent sniffle. "Oh, fly me to the Red Star! This is great!" [/blockquote] |
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Cathaline
Lady Holder
cathct[M:50]
Posts: 3,279
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Post by Cathaline on Jul 4, 2012 17:07:29 GMT -5
In fact, Samara never missed a hatching. Unfortunately, for this particular hatching, she was rather busy with another type of birth - one of her holdfolk had been in labour for well over a day now, and the Lady Holder had arrived to offer moral support and suggestions. She was no healer and had never had children of her own, but Samara was ancient enough that she'd attended many births; she didn't get in the way, she simply offered her stalwart presence. It seemed to help, anyway.
However, when the news of the hatching floated in, they were right at the crisis point. The dragons could get on very well without her, she reasoned, although with a hatching that size, odds were it would be over before she could get there. "Kindly inform my husband that I will be going as soon as I am able," she told the messenger, a hapless cyanrider. "You may take him now, or he can wait for me. Or choose not to attend at all, of course." She would pay a visit even if she arrived when it was all over, to learn firsthand how it had gone.
---
Hi, Ardith![/i] Agnith chirped, fluttering in to land beside her first - and so far, only - mate. His stories always captivated her, and she could imagine no better way to experience this hatching than to listen to his creative tales. Oh, look at them go! Baaaabiiiiiies.[/i] She peered down from the ledge, watching their every movement. Hatchings were always so exciting, and Agnith saw no difference between a little subqueen affair like this and one of the giant queen hatchings like they'd recently had. All babies were exciting, potential new friends, and she was happy.
Delilah was rather happy too, settling into a seat close to the sands. It was unlikely an extra pair of healing hands would be required with so few eggs and thus a smaller possibility for severe injury, but she was nearby just in case. Spotting Pash, she waved to the girl, gesturing that the bluerider was quite welcome to join her. This was a good vantage point, too.
---
Since Day'ar had walked right over to the sands (at Ambrith's instigation) from his ground-level weyr, he was among the first to arrive. He chose a seat, assuming his friends would shortly join him, as they always did. Serah was tucked down his vest as usual, and he had firmly shut Starfall and Cecy up in his room. He would probably return to find all his things eaten, he thought morosely, but at least Starfall couldn't cause trouble this time.
However, it was a stranger who took a seat beside him. And not just any stranger, but a sick one. Day'ar was far too polite to flee, but his skin itched, and he could feel the germs leaping through the air. He was going to end up in the infirmary. Not even graduated yet - it would be coming any day now - and he was going to be grounded for months with whatever this person had.
No doubt he is not as wise as you and does not realise that he is likely to infect others,[/i] Ambrith said from his ledge, with grave disapproval.
No doubt indeed, and Day'ar gave a little cough into his hand. Oh, shards, it was already catching! He'd be dead by the end of the hatching. "Well, er, yes," he said. "On account of being a dragonrider and all that, so...yes, I have. I don't know why anyone would want to see a firelizard hatching, however." That felt rude, so he quickly made up for it by introducing himself. "I'm Day'ar, of viridian Ambrith. You?"
He did not offer his hand. He was not suicidal.
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Post by purnip on Jul 5, 2012 11:47:15 GMT -5
Pan was out of breath as she shot down the halls, dodging the folks who were just starting to spill in. She did not expect so many spectators. Demeth's clutch was composed of merely three eggs! Even put together the two sub-Queen clutches made for but a handfull of eggs. Weaving around her human obstacles, she finally arrived, scanning her dragon first before the rest of the cavern caught her attention. On the stands she spotted a couple of the other Tanriders; mostly their dragons on the ledges gave them away. Pan felt a similar pressure upon her to that which plagued her on the day she Impressed to Demeth. It was rather neat, being a part of this exclusive little 'tan club', but for some reason she caught herself shying away from it. Her. Pananarie. Of all people! It was kind of strange just hanging out with a few folks just because their dragons were the same color, but she did have half a mind to try her luck again. She had the vague impression that Q'sis didn't like her. That and her lack of ease around males made her somewhat apprehensive. She ought to feel safe around him; after all, his Tan seemed nice. Dragons had a way of reflecting their riders.
Oh! You made it. Please, join my side, Demeth beckoned, stretching her neck Pan's way. The troublesome one is really pitching a fit. It's going to hatch any second now.
Pananarie spun around to check for Candidates, but her heart sunk slightly when she spotted only a few. Maybe it'd only take two or three, but they had to be the right ones, didn't they? She didn't want this to end up tragically--her heart wouldn't be able to take it. Meanwhile, it looked like Bayneth's eggs weren't making as much of an urgent entrance. If anything, that could be a saving grace. She felt bad thinking like that instantly.
The livelier twin was practically convulsing, its egg swinging closer to the other one that bore its likeness. It threatened to leave another crack on its sibling, but Demeth was hesitating to break them up this time. The calmer of the two seemed to rock away, but other than that, it wasn't making any additional efforts to hatch. It was either evading or biding its time. Maybe both. Finally, the lively one lurched backwards and smashed into the smallest of the three eggs, compromising the crown of its own shell.
The creature inside fought its way out of the jam, breaking up the rest of its egg by pushing and rolling its way free. It finally tumbled out of the wreckage, covered in goop and pasty shells, seething in what appeared to be unfathomable rage. It took him a couple of seconds to sigh it away before he got up and tried shaking the icky contents off his back. Once that was taken care of, he seemed a lot calmer and collected, if not somewhat impatient.
Demeth ducked her head to nose his shells, attempting to salvage the small egg that the Blue's might have crushed. The tiny thing was fine, but that didn't sit well with the Tan. She knew, more or less, that nothing dwelt within. If something had, it would have been way too small and frail to survive. The shell was abnormally thick, and the space it might have left within was far too modest. She abandoned any hope for the smallest and looked to her son with a somewhat distant expression. She was no longer sure how she felt about him. It did make sense though. A boy--a little troublemaker. No wonder she didn't take to him as much as the other. She counted on a daughter.
Pananarie on the other hand was struck by joy at the sight of her dragon's offspring. He was so handsome! She was marveled by the sight of him. Once again, she hoped his destined was out here, and if not, soon to be.
The twin egg went still again. Perhaps it sensed it was out of harm's way.
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Post by larkwing on Jul 5, 2012 19:01:08 GMT -5
She was late. How in Faranth's name was she late?
Suya bit her bottom lip, her eyes narrowing into grey slits as she fumbled with te white candidate's robe. She needed to get there, she needed to be there now. How could she have been so stupid as to be late. Yes she wasnt all that late. However, she was still one of the last ones, if not the last to reach the sands. Bowing and mumbling an apology, the girl scooted to the back of the pack, too embarrassed to even try to be seen.
She wanted to be perfect, she should have been perfect, she should have been the first to be here not the last! Suya gritted her teeth, her has clenching as her hands balled into fists at her sides. Im going to have to be even better now. The only thing that gave the young girl some sort of satisfaction was that she didn't see her older sibling yet on the sands. A boy however sauntered on after she did, which also gave her a bit of comfort since well she wasn't the only late one in that case.
While Suya attempted to seem composed though, Kurosaki just looked like he could care less. He didn't do more than nod at the two Sub-Queens, his eyes shifting lazily from the Tan and Orange dragonesses to their shaking eggs. Suya followed his gaze to see the little blue hatch, her lips pulling into a small smirk at the sight of him. However it was a blue, and more than that it was a fighter. She wasn't interested in it. Kurosaki simply wasn't interested in anything, leaning back slightly on his heels with his hands by his sides, his gaze half-watching, half-not caring as he observed the newly hatched dragonet.
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Ondine
Jr. Weyrleader
ondct[M:-155]
Posts: 436
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Post by Ondine on Jul 5, 2012 19:02:32 GMT -5
When Akanith told him that the Hatching was starting, Z'an's first thought was to fly down right away and get some prime seats before the rest of the rush started. But even as he was getting onto his great Iron, he had another thought. He'd heard of what had happened to Ekuda last time there was a hatching, the huge one with a Red and Copper on the sands at the same time. Poor guy had nearly frozen. So apparently he shows up to Hatchings, but at a time like today...well, there'd be no way the dolphinrider could make it. But with a dragon to get him there...
Well, needless to say that man was rather surprised when Z'an showed up out of nowhere, but he was pretty damn easy to spot. And minutes later, with one quick flight to get back in time, they were sitting down on a bench. Ekuda had procured some wine for them, and the Ironrider was beginning to relax just a touch. Not as much as his obviously gabby companion, but relaxing. A mauling, huh? Well, if the dragons had a nasty temper, it was possible.
But he wouldn't say it was a good thing. Akanith snorted from where he was perched, reflecting the thoughts of his rider. Good? Hah. Messy, painful, possibly fatal more like. And the Ironrider had seen too many years to think of it as entertaining. Evidently, though, Ekuda was far more...lenient with the rules and his outlook on life. Ah well. Being young could do that to you. "Hah. One of 'em is a Brownrider, I'll pass on taking their seats. Besides, we wouldn't be sitting long at this rate."
His words masked his concern, though. There weren't many Candidates here yet, and one of the dragons was already out on the Sands. Would Bayneth's eggs hatch as well? And would more Candidates arrive? The last thing that he wanted to see would be a dragonet go Between. Already he was worried that someone would need to take an egg there, but the candidates needed to hurry up. Where in the name of Faranth were they?
----
Ooooh, it's a dragonet Ondine! One's hatched already! Dilath was squirming with joy and a thick dosing of love, as well as a happy whistle or two. Ondine was, this time, down with the other healers on the sidelines, ready with buckets of meat and healing supplies. Given the experience of the last Hatching, she was just as glad she was down here instead of out on the sands. That had been...difficult.
But this time should be better. Although, to be fair, that dragonet looked fairly annoyed as well, and there weren't a lot of candidates here yet. That was bad. Hopefully the rest would show up soon, although that egg had hatched really fast! Maybe it'd slow down a bit? Maybe. It'd be good. Keep an eye on him for me, please love? And the rest of the eggs too! Dilath trilled as much as she could happily, glad to be of use to her wonderful Ondine. Yes, she could pay attention to so many things now! She was so useful, it was glorious indeed.
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Post by matsi on Jul 5, 2012 20:36:30 GMT -5
((sorry for crappy coding, I'm doing this from my phone)) Bayneth jolted her head up as the tan started to hum and sing. Why was she singing?! She was taking all the admiration again! Greedy sharding tan. The orange kept her whirling gaze on the tan as she sang, her eyes reflecting the jealousy that she was feeling deep within her chest. The orange growled to herself as the candidates poured into the sands, all for that sharding tan! It was degrading that all the attention was going to that ugly dragon. Yet the orange kept her thoughts to herself as she only watched the tans eggs beginning to crack an shake until one youngster finally emerged. Bayneth was so focused on her own greed and fury that she didn't notice the faint tremble of the smallest egg under her wing. When she finally took notice, the orange squealed slightly and lifted her Wing, exposing a pale pale dragonet, flopping in the sand, covered in egg goo. The small dragonet was paler than a flower petal, and to first glance, seemed to be a large white. Then, as Bayneth moved aside, the small baby turned her head around quickly, exposing a bright pink starburst in the center of her head. The pink screamed as she flopped onto the ground and covered her face with her tail. Her soft squeal kept echoing as she peeked over her tail. Bayneth started a louder hum, now that her own eggs clearly were showing life. This made the pink lower herself further into her own bubble. Yet the excitement didn't fade away totally from Bayneth's clutch. The largest egg shook for just a split second, then exploded open, sending shards of eggshell into every direction. The purple that was exposed looked around in silence for a moment, laying in the remains of his egg. A look of confusion was on his face as looked at each bit of shell from his own egg and his pink sister's. The purple stood up at last, letting light hit his hide. He was a royal purple, but it seems like lighter purple lined invisible scales all along his body. Yet, he didn't seem to be aware of his own beauty, instead he was frantically starting to pile the shining-with-moisture egg shells under him. SHINEY! He wanted all of the treasure! All of it!! He did not care about the two legged things, they probably just wanted his treasure! The purple snarled and snapped in his treasure induced panic, then accidently stepped on his tiny sister. The pink did not appreciate the "attack" that she was receiving, and snapped. She popped up from her hiding position and screamed at the purple as she reared up on her hind legs. The purple was surprised, and fell over as the pink let her soft talons smack him in the face. No ichor was brought out, but the purple was clearly in shock as he pulled a few bits of Shiny things away from the frightened pink, who was backing away with whimpers and hisses of fright. LILLIS! LillisMine! Where are you? Your Stresakorth needs you! the pink could feel the mind of Hers, but could not see her. Why was she not there?!  Pink Stresakorth of Lillis Code: fff2fb Perso: shy, not upfront with thoughts and feelings. Fight or flight. jumpy. Based on: unicorn |
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster 
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266 
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Post by Lan on Jul 5, 2012 22:25:52 GMT -5
The tan's voice entered the heads of two siblings that were in the middle of chores. To be honest, they weren't doing the chores all that well. Lillis was primarily ordering her brother, Leeland, around, although both of them were supposed to be helping do dishes. It had boiled down to the two of them half-covered in suds and sopping wet, with a kitchen hand telling them off.
"You two hooligans! Can't ya do anything without making a mess of yerselves?" This kitchen hand had obviously had experience with the siblings before. Leeland hung his head low and shuffled his feet one over the other, his cheeks a brilliant shade of pink. Lillis stared the woman directly in the face, unabashed by their current situation. The tan's call could not have come at a better time. Her hand sought her brother's and she held it tight.
"Sorry, ma'am. We're being called to a hatching. It's important, y'know, that we be there." Before the woman could reply Lillis was darting off, her brother in tow. As the frustrated yells caught her ears the twelve-turn-old smiled. She could deal with her punishment later. For now, they had to get to that hatching!
After they both got into their robes the two ran to the hatching sands, breathless upon their arrival. They bowed to each of the dragons then took their places, side-by-side, to view the eggs. "Can you believe it?" Lillis whispered excitedly to Leeland, who smiled brightly and nodded in return. When the eggs started to move, though, Leeland's face told a very different story. What if one of the dragons injured him? He heard tales of the last dragon hatching being horrifically violent. He didn't want to be attacked!
In the stands A'lan and Irith took their places next to E'rin and Jarith. The healer was cautiously optimistic that this hatching would be less tragic than the last. F'ton and Poseith, too, were in the stands. Poseith would not have allowed their absence, being Demeth was his clutchsister. Your children are beautiful, Demeth. He told her with a fond hum. Nimara and Waroth were there as well, overseeing the candidates that came in. S'in attended out of duty, choosing a spot within view of his wingleader, R'len.
As the first blue hatchling made its way onto the sands Leeland couldn't help but jump. It's going to eat me, he thought, scooting closer to his sister for protection. He fancied the dragon caught sight of him and would make quick work of removing his insides. Oh, Faranth, please don't let him eat me!
So worried Leeland was about the blue that he almost didn't notice the pink and the purple hatching until Lillis elbowed him in the ribs. Oh! More things for him to be afraid of! He bit his lip as the purple trampled over the pink. What if the purple trampled over him? He could lose a toe!
"Stop being such a fraidy-wherry." Lillis hissed at him, shoving Leeland so that he stood in front of her. Leeland yipped and shuddered at his sudden vulnerability, but remained where he was.
It was shortly after her plan that Lillis heard a young voice enter her mind. LILLIS! LillisMine! Where are you? Your Stresakorth needs you! Lillis peeked around Leeland's shoulder, unsure where the voice was coming from. When she saw the pink, however, something clicked. Stresakorth! Perfect, beautiful, pink Stresakorth needed her!
"I'm here!" Lillis shoved her brother out of the way, her arms wide as she ran a bit out on the sands toward her dragon. Stresakorth, upon hearing the voice of her rider, ran and met her part-way.
Oh! LillisMine! We must get off the sands, okay? We must get away from meanpurple and largeorangemother! Lillis giggled and hugged Stresakorth, too happy to move right away. Upon looking up at the very large Bayneth, however, she decided that what the pink said might be best. So they removed themselves quickly from the sands, Lillis giving her brother a friendly punch on the way out. "Your turn, Lee. Don't hide, okay!" With so few candidates on the sands, it seemed their chances were good, even with such a small clutch. Lillis was confident her brother would find his match somewhere.
The two made their way over to where L'xon was handing out buckets of meat and Lillis gave him a funny look. He looked... silly. Like, something was out of place about him. "Your robes look silly," she blurted out. A rumble from Stresakorth's stomach, though, reminded her of why she was there. "Can we have some meat, please? Stresakorth is hungry." |
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Post by purnip on Jul 6, 2012 8:34:17 GMT -5
Demeth did more for Poseith than she did towards any other male at such a casual time as this. She looked his way and said nothing. No contempt, or offense for that matter. Just a wordless acknowledgment of his presence and his compliment. It was a shame to ignore her brother anyhow, especially when he meant no harm. Turning to her children again, she watched the Blue intently, trying to make out his thoughts.
They were rather simple. The Blue was getting his bearings first. He seemed to loathe the sticky film that the egg left all over his hide, but he started to move around in order to grow accustomed to it. He looked about for his mother first, settling as soon as his eyes were upon her. He acknowledged her with a low, short keen. Demeth reared her head back a bit, but she then looked away from him, indifferent. This didn't seem to bother her son much. He gazed at her for another couple of seconds before re-examining his immediate surroundings, eyes set on his sibling's twin shell with a curious determination.
He stared, then the egg gave a small wiggle in response. He took a step closer and it seemed to edge his way. The Blue then growled and roared in a tiny, awkward voice, his posture somewhat challenging. The egg responded by remaining still.
Whatever the exchange was, it might have appeared rather silly to a spectator; a dragon arguing with an egg. The Blue looked as if he were ready to start attacking it at any second, but his attention was snagged by the two hatchlings ambling from under Bayneth's wing. He was alert, his posture that of dominance. What were they doing? WHO were they? Most importantly, what were they trying to accomplish? He simply looked offended by their mere existence, though he didn't even dare to include Bayneth. He didn't have a death wish.
The twin's egg suddenly snapped open, a strong, ashen claw bursting out the bottom side. The Blue whipped around as its sibling cleared out of its egg, shaking off the goop from its back with a little more class and sophistication than its brother did.
The Blue stood erect, daring his Black brother to accept his challenge. It didn't appear that his brother was remotely interested. The Black turned his back on him and started stumbling towards the Candidates, growing used to his long limbs and getting to the point before his brother had any bold ideas.
This didn't bode well with the Blue. He caught up with a clumsy sprint, tripping but collecting himself quickly, determined up until he cut the Black off. The darker brother hesitated. The Blue snapped at him. The Black then backed away with a slight bow.
With that taken care of, though he didn't seem so satisfied with the Black's immediate compliance, the Blue rounded on the Candidates next. His regard towards them was not as aggressive as it was towards the other dragons. He observed them with strong civility until he paused before Leeland.
L'and. Chin up, boy. Your Direth will make sure you want for nothing.
 Impress to L'and Direth - Blue - #4536a0 Personality: This Blue is a bold and ambitious creature, but he's a family man at heart. While he will be ruthlessly cutthroat with strangers or what he might consider to be a rival, he will be loyal to his bonded or whatever his bonded happens to include as part of their 'family unit'. He wants the best for the ones he cares about, and is willing to do anything in order to attain it. Though he can be a brute when push comes to shove, he always leans towards the more strategical end of the spectrum. He knows what he wants and learns quickly how to get it, but he has a weakness when it comes to competition. When he has none, he tends to seek it out, so he can better grasp his accomplishments as they come along.
It seemed as if Demeth couldn't have cared less about the fate of her Blue son, but in her own seemless way, she was pleased he found his on the Sands today. As for the Black, she was disappointed in his gender. She still watched him as she had watched Direth, but one could tell from her posture that she wasn't all that pleased with her offspring. Pananarie would have loved them all regardless, and she was just as dazzled by the Black as she had been by the Blue. He seemed to have a more...agreeable personality.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 6, 2012 10:41:30 GMT -5
The modest affection shown to his bearded cheek pulled Q'sis' eyes to the woman at his side, away from the stirring eggs. He read the first comment off her lips, then glanced down at the Sands as Pananarie bounded into view like a drudge answering the critical summons. When Demeth's rider gawked their way, the male tanrider frowned.
"Whether or not congratulations are in order depends on the outcome," he corrected, dark olive eyes turning on orange Bayneth as she growled at Demeth. Up on her ledge, Unath registered the non-tan in the center of her gaze too. Her reddish talons coiled against the rock; the barrier in front of Q'sis was too low for him to grip it tightly.
Then the first egg, the Hatching's bold announcer, split itself over another egg like a rock. Q'sis examined the blue that emerged, and squinted in an effort to make out the still egg behind the blue's shards. Unath gave her head a shake as her rider redirected his energies. She had forgotten what she was doing here, and looked around at the other dragons humming at her sides. She did not join their song, and after a time took to preening her left wing.
When Bayneth's own off arrived to disrupt their mother's plain discontent, Q'sis went to take his seat at last. He touched the benchtop beside him, though he was not looking at Samael. Both hands met with his primary concern, the rapidly heating bag of fruit he'd brought. He salvaged a glistening redfruit, wiping his thumb across its surface before he drew his belt-knife and began dissecting it. He glanced up at the Hatching occasionally, but Unath's eyes were more than adequate for keeping watch. Every other slice went to Sam, or sometimes Q'sis ate two or three himself right off the knife before offering. One fist-sized heart of ruby pulp was not going to last them very long, but the bag had other offerings, some he thought Sam would prefer.
His tipless finger tapped the blade after Bayneth's squealer usurped Demeth's blue in firsts, taking the first Impression of the night. To a little girl. "She did not lay as many as Naireth," he noted, rather prideful considering Naireth was not his dragon.
---
Halventh's humming broke into the bugling of several artful challenges when the newly Impressed sauntered up and insulted his Weyrling's attire. L'xon had gotten over the phase where he colored up at his blue's every classless comment, and simply regarded the pint-sized rider before him over the crooked bridge of his nose with half-lidded eyes and a tolerant silence. Halventh petered out quickly enough anyway, and went on to hum at the blue hatchling, bobbing his head.
L'xon started to hand the entire slop bucket over, but in a swift recalculation of Lillis' size, elected to transport it to a suitable location for her. He waved her and Stresakorth after him with a smile, looking over the pink as he stepped back. There were actual dragonhealers on hand to make sure the hatchling was in proper form, but he wanted to look. Halventh still had some baby-like softness and immaturity to his features, but there was something incredible that changed in dragons just from their first steps to the end of their first season. Juveniles had dramatically different conformations from these floppy newborns. A word finally occurred to him that would be appropriate:
"Congratulations."
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"Hmmm?" Ekuda tilted his head at the other Inlander, only to be pulled back to the drama of a first Impression. "Woo!" he hollered. "Fresh meat!" Then he turned back to Z'an, full of a seriousness that thinned his lips and cheeks. Apparently the matter wasn't grave enough to keep him from gulping some of his wine before he spoke. "Mm, I forget how new you are. That Holder- I guess technically he could be invited. But I don't think he'll show, really." Ekuda sipped at his Benden. There were eggs crumbling all over the place, but he was glancing sideward at the plush, empty box.
The younger man wiggled on his seat but managed to pay his respects to the Hatching instead till he'd had a couple more swallows of red wine. "Well I'm definitely going over there. It would only be for a moment, there's only like two or three left right? So if some brave kingrider dared to meet the challenge, the risk would be insignificant, and then he could have a story to tell everyone later." It occurred to him as he suggested it that an ironrider might not be as pressed as he was for such petty claims to fame, and Ekuda's eyes shifted to one side as he finished his glass. He got another from one of the Weyrfolk, then stood up and shimmied past Z'an to get at the box.
He crept in to the side of the honored area, settled his shorts-clad rump on the patterned cushion of the Holders' bench, then flashed Z'an a thumbs-up. The dolphineer crossed his legs and settled against the bench's backboard- it had one! -and tried to enjoy himself as covertly as possible. He and Z'an could still talk even if the rider did not move, as they had been bordering the box to begin with.
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Kestrel
Wingrider 
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
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Post by Kestrel on Jul 6, 2012 19:41:30 GMT -5
Viyeri had never really shared the excitement and elation some of the other candidates seemed to get around hatching time, but even so, he was somehow even less excited for this hatching than he had been for the previous one. Which just might have had something to do with the tiny scars that still hadn’t quite faded since that sharding red hatchling had decided to use his legs as her own personal scratching post. He sighed, trying to pretend just for one more blissful moment that maybe the humming he felt was really only his stomach telling him to eat more.
But of course, it wasn’t. Viyeri begrudgingly snatched his candidate’s robe off the peg he’d left it hanging on, undressing and pulling it on with his frown never leaving his face. Fortunately he’d already been in his room, enjoying some rare peace and quiet and surprisingly, solitude. Where was his unpleasant roommate, anyway? Viyeri was someone annoyed to catch himself actually worrying about Tremayne. Oh well. With any luck, his pudgy nemesis was probably beating him to the hatching sands, since he was one of those who actually subscribed to the whole ‘baby dragons just want to love you, please don’t offend them by squirming as they lovingly chew your limbs off’ model.
Well, all right, not all of them were so bad. And Viyeri was hopeful that this hatching, featuring a tan and an orange mother rather than the match made on the red star of a red and a copper, would mean considerably less blood loss for those involved. He used those rather flimsy hopeful feelings as motivation to walk right to where he most certainly didn’t want to, slinking into the hatching sands with another gaggle of candidates. It would be convenient to stay with them, too—that way if another newly-hatched dragon with a thirst for carnage came his way, he’d have a nice human shield or two this time.
After the customary bows to the two dragon mothers, Viyeri took the opportunity to look around a bit as he made his way over to the other assembled male candidates. Spectators were trickling into the stands already, but he quickly looked away from there as he spotted his very favorite dolphineer. Shard it, how did Ekuda always manage to get there so quickly? But it had been a while since the last hatching—maybe Ekuda had found some other candidates to torment and would ignore him this time. Maybe. He could dream.
He was surprised, though, to see L’xon there—well, it wouldn’t have been so surprising to see the bluerider in the stands, but what on Pern was he doing in the meat pit? And in that outfit, no less. Viyeri felt just a tiny bit more grateful now for his much-hated candidate’s robe: apparently, they could be worse. He sent the other man a look of sympathy before deciding he’d better watch where he was going, lest he find himself standing with the female candidates by mistake.
Once he had found his place, though, and the hatching began to settling into its usual chaotic rhythm, he actually felt that annoying prick of excitement starting up again. Not as much as last time—if he couldn’t impress in a hatching with twenty hatchlings, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance where there were only—what, six? And that little one by the tan didn’t look so good. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen it move. But on the bright side, five or six dragons vs twenty dragons meant he was probably a lot less likely to get hurt, so maybe he could relax a little and catch hatching fever with the other candidates after all.
That pink looked like a sweet little thing, after all—not at all like something that wanted to have another go at making off with one of his legs. He needed those to run away from things trying to attack him, shard it. And that blue—well, Viyeri was a little more wary about him, actually. He was beautiful, that was certain…but let’s just say Viyeri was happier admiring him from a distance. The purple from the orange’s clutch was another beauty, though he didn’t look too interested in impressing any time soon. But that was quite all right with Viyeri, because he also didn’t look interested in murder! So far so good.
He watched as the other non-dead-looking egg by Demeth hatched, revealing a black every bit as striking as his blue brother. Fortunately, he seemed less aggressive to boot, and much more interested in the candidates than the purple across the sands. The pink seemed to have impressed while Viyeri wasn’t looking, and the purple was still hoarding his egg shards, so he decided the blue and black brothers were probably the ones he should keep his eye on. There seemed to be a momentary conflict between the two of them over who should have first pick of the candidates, but they resolved it without incident, because the blue was searching, deciding, and look at that, he’d chosen one of the younger boys.
Maybe Viyeri would be out of luck at this hatching, if these dragons were more interested in the younger crowd—both the newly impressed candidates didn’t even look to be teenagers yet. But Viyeri didn’t really mind either way; he’d just be happy to come out of this one without some new scars. He went back to shifting his attention between the purple and the black, waiting to see which one would decide on a rider next.
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266
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Post by Lan on Jul 6, 2012 21:02:10 GMT -5
Another of the tan's eggs hatched, revealing a newborn black on the sands, and Leeland flinched. His sister told him not to hide? Well, he would make no promises. Especially with how that blue was challenging that black like that. Leeland was absolutely sure, now, that the blue was trouble. Please don't let him come over here... don't let him see me... The young dragon candidate would have given anything to make himself invisible. So far all of the dragons seemed so frightening to him. Perhaps he would have better luck at the next hatching with a nicer dragon?
Unfortunately, his prayers to the First Egg went unanswered. The blue made his way to the candidates and Leeland all but froze. Oh no. This was it. He was sure the blue would eat him. He would be a little Leeland snack for the lightning-struck blue. As the blue drew closer, he ducked his head to his chest and squinted shut his eyes. His small hands grasped the sides of his robes. Each thu-thump of his heart he was sure was his last. And then, a voice:
L'and. Chin up, boy. Your Direth will make sure you want for nothing.
By Faranth's First Egg, that was almost more frightening than the waiting! L'and squeaked, collapsing into a mess of fetal position as he grasped his legs and snuggled his head into his knees. "Please... just eat me quickly," he muttered softly, still not quite getting it. Direth snorted and nudged the boy's shoulder with his snout.
I'm not going to eat you, boy. Although, I am hungry. Come on, L'and; let us be off to the food with your sister. When L'and didn't respond, the blue added, I will take care of you, L'and. You can trust in me.
It was the worry that emanated from Direth that finally melted L'and's frightened heart. Wait a second... this blue Direth was calling him L'and... and was talking to him! Did that mean he had just Impressed? How could that have happened? L'and hardly felt worthy of a dragon! He peaked over his knees to Direth, looking over the dragon's violet-blue body, and smiled lightly. Direth meant him no harm. How he was certain of that, he wasn't sure, but for once he was certain about something in his life!
Over on the sidelines Lillis had been highly unamused with Halventh's cries. He was awfully noisy for a blue... weren't they supposed to be calm and quiet? It hardly mattered. She had Stresakorth, who was wonderful and brilliant and energetic. That was what mattered. Stresakorth kept close to her rider's side, not at all as confident as Lillis that the blue meant them no harm. She peaked out from behind Lillis' legs, blinking shyly up at L'xon.
"Goodness... awfully loud, isn't he, mister?" Lillis commented as she and Stresakorth followed L'xon to where he deposited the food. As he set it down the girl nudged her pink lightly toward the food before turning to look at the older man again. "Thank you!" She beamed at his congratulations. When Stresakorth finally started eating, Lillis pet her gently and grinned.
Upon noticing her brother heading over with a blue Lillis cackled and rushed over to him. "Told ya you'd Impress! Worrywart!" L'and nodded sheepishly and continued to move past his sister to follow Direth who had taken to eating next to Stresakorth. Lillis frowned. Her brother was no fun! Maybe this gentleman with the food would be more fun! She turned her attentions again to him, with a childish grin.
"Excuse me, sir, but is that your dragon? He's pretty big! Are you a rider? Why are you the one handing out slop?" It was twenty-questions time, it seemed, and Lillis had little sympathy for any awkwardness the senior weyrling might be enduring. |
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Cathaline
Lady Holder
cathct[M:50]
Posts: 3,279
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Post by Cathaline on Jul 6, 2012 21:38:37 GMT -5
It seemed to take forever for Samara to finish what she was doing, and Ni'on couldn't help being a bit antsy. Why, oh why, did he have to be stuck out at Crescent missing a hatching when he had Candidates in it? But it was his duty, so he resisted the urge to take a quick hop between just to check. It always took time after the call went out for the Candidates to arrive and the eggs to hatch, so probably they'd be in time to see something of it.
Fortunately, the actual birth went amazingly fast once the baby decided his time to join the world properly had come; Samara stayed long enough to hear his first cry and congratulate the parents before strolling out to Devath's side and accepting Ni'on's assistance onto her back. A flash between, and the cyan landed neatly outside the main entrance to the sands; as soon as her passengers were off her back, she fluttered up to the ledges.
Oh, Leeland and Lillis have Impressed![/i] she said in delight. Congratulations to you both. I am so happy to meet you, Stresakorth and Direth. I am Devath.[/i]
As Ni'on took a seat, rather disappointed at the bad timing but eager to see the rest of the hatching, Samara made her stiff way up to her usual place...only to find it occupied. And not by friends or even acquaintances, but by a strange young man wearing a Dolphineer's knots. Her lips thinned, half with amusement and half with disdain. Some people had no manners. But despite her lofty position in the world, Samara was not one to lord it over anyone else. That, and she was well aware that her mere presence often discomfited.
Regally, she settled onto the bench, staring down at the sands. "There have been a great many purples, these last few hatchings," she commented. "The third in as many, with only one viridian and one brown in four. I never miss such an event."
---
Naturally, Jazz and Weslieth had arrived as soon as the call went out, eager to see what would happen to the three little eggs they - well, Weslieth - had helped produce. The yellow didn't even notice the blue's aggressiveness, just that he and his brother were both fine little specimens of dragonkind. His enjoyment was marred a bit by the fact that the third egg didn't move so much as an inch. Why does it not say hello?[/i]
"Oh, my love," Jazz murmured, reaching out to comfort him with her mind. Weslieth knew what duds were, but they made him so sad that he forcibly forgot every time he was reminded. It wasn't his fault, though, or Demeth's; these things happened. Honestly, they happened to humans too, in a way. After that little guy Impresses, we'll go say hi to Pan and Demeth, okay?[/i]
That cheered him up, and he scrutinised the black intently. He did spare a bit of attention for Bayneth's little brood, but not that much just yet.
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Zane
Drudge
zanect[M:0]
They see me rollin', they hatin'.~
Posts: 40
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Post by Zane on Jul 6, 2012 22:11:46 GMT -5
She hadn’t exactly been the most social or upbeat girl in the Weyr lately, which was far from the norm for the ex-candidate. She didn’t exactly mind being the shadow of some of the people in the Weyr. They had interesting lives for the most part… Well, not particularly if she was to be completely honest with herself, but at least their lives were more interesting than Holdfolks. Since she’d gone to Crescent to pick up some of her uncles possessions that’d been left behind, she kept on looking over them like she’d discover something new about the man that she hadn’t before known. Like that maybe he really had been her father, or maybe she had more relatives that she hadn’t been told about, or maybe, just maybe, her own father hadn’t been so disappointed in her after all. But really, how was she supposed to discover much of anything from a few old possessions. They held no real secrets…
She’d made her way into the stands the moment she’d heard the hum of the dragons. It had been so familiar to her all of these Turns, and therefore the reaction to leap up and race to the sands was almost instantaneous. Of course, this time, she was watching the hatching from a brand-new perspective. She wasn’t down with the candidates below, but rather watching them from above. She sat alone in the stands, looking to the gathering faces, trying to listen in on their conversations. She wanted to know what the guesses and hopes were for the double-hatching. Tan Demeth and Orange Bayneth. Well she was about to find out anyways! Goodness, she really was having trouble being patient. She squirmed in her seat, feeling the usual bit of nerves that accompanied hatching days. No reason to be as nervous, now, is there? she questioned, chewing on her lip idly. Shrugging it off, and soon bearing a delighted grin, she took out her sketchbook and prepared to draw to her hearts content.
The hatching began, and it was one of Demeth’s eggs that was first to hatch. Out came a magnificent blue. His markings were astounding. ”My word….” she whispered to herself, wondering who on earth he’d choose. Not many candidates had shown up so far, and it made her feel guilty that she’d not helped to improve the sparse selection. Like he’d choose you anyhow, it’s not your destiny, she reminded herself. Her mind wandering to other matters, such as her art, Raksha happily sketched the sight below. She rocked back and forth a bit in restless anticipation. It wasn’t long before one of Bayneth’s eggs hatched and revealed an adorable little pink. The pink seemed not at all confused on who it was to go to, and impressed to a girl she recognized, even from way up high, as Lillis. She had stood with her at the last hatching, after all. She clapped loudly when the impression was made, resisting the urge to whistle. Lillis was now a weyrling, alongside her adorable pink. She’d have to pay the girl a visit when she could. Maybe she’d attend the sure-to-be-held hatching feast and she could talk to her there. The thought was appealing. Forging stronger bonds with those at the Weyr was never a bad idea… She needed friends, people had always been the one thing that helped to keep her going so strong!
The blue impressed to a boy, but not before his black brethren hatched. The other egg lay dormant, and all Raksha could do was watch, practically able to feel Demeth’s pain at losing one of her babies. I’m so sorry, but perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be, she thought, wishing the tan could hear her. She knew it wasn’t possible, but the thought that maybe Demeth could feel she wasn’t alone was comforting. A purple hatched from Bayneth’s clutch and she watched the sub-king curiously. Another boy had shown up, so he had a few options, really. Either one would be fine choices, she assumed. She liked to think the best of people. Admiring the colors of the purple’s hide, before her gaze flitted back to the black, Raksha couldn’t help but wonder what was in Bayneth’s last egg. I want to be down there, she realized. The thought was both saddening, and startling. She’d reasoned with herself that it was okay, not being a dragonrider. A dragon would’ve chosen you by now, after all this time. You can’t just be stuck wasting your life away as a candidate when you could help the whole of Pern by pursuing a trade. She’d been thinking a lot on taking up harpering. She wasn’t exactly musical, no, but she didn’t think her artistic abilities were horrible. At least she found art to be fun! Maybe the harpers would see more potential in her, potential that they could use. Purple and black, purple and black, she sang to herself, rocking back and forth some more.
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Post by purnip on Jul 7, 2012 20:32:36 GMT -5
The Black watched, or rather zoned out, on his brother as the Blue claimed his human counterpart from amongst the presented Candidates. He appeared to be preoccupied about something. See, he wasn't experiencing the raw desire to Impress to any of these children in particular. He stood and gazed across at the boys, panned to the girl's end, and back over with fading interest. Maybe his was late. He wasn't about to panic over it. The Black was more than willing to wait, but in the meantime his desire to keep stimulated overcame his hunger for bonds and fresh meat.
Fresh meat, fresh meat. He felt the thought provided some kind of clue. Perhaps it was a little too soon to stop searching.
Pananarie kept looking at the remaining Hatchling and his options. Sure, there wasn't all that many to choose from, but there was more than enough Candidates for a human to egg ratio. Demeth didn't appear to be concerned about it anymore. In fact, she was now staring off at Bayneth's Pink daughter, as if envious. Pan noticed and gave the Tan a small pat on the flank. Maybe you should help your son, she offered.
Once again, it didn't appear that the mother was interested in her offspring, but Demeth barely turned to gaze at him with a blunt beckoning. The Black only turned his head to stare back at her, but he then looked away and began pacing before the males, head low like a hound hot on the scent of a trail. What was pricking at the corner of his consciousness? Where was he supposed to look? It wasn't down here and it sure as sunshine wasn't among the females. He wasn't going to allow the women to so much as distract him. He growled to himself in disdain and began to back up, barely holding himself upright with his awkward steps.
None of these, none! The Black was quite calm on the exterior, but his mind was reeling with all kinds of ideas and schemes. He could simply stroll towards the scent of meat, fill his gullet, and find something interesting to ponder about in the stead of this 'urgent' matter. He slowly folded his hindlegs under him to sit and peer up at the male Candidates' faces, but his gaze started pulling him past them...
Eh...E'u...boy. And what is your Alternath supposed to call you? 'The one who swims with shipfish?' You know full well you don't belong there. Down here. You must discuss these shipfish with me; over a meal, no less.
He was staring at Ekuda, or whatever the dolphineer would be dubbed thereafter, with a most analytical squint.
 Impress to Ekuda Alternath - Black - #262727 Personality: Alternath is rather self-absorbed, in an apathetic sense. He doesn't want to waste time building relationships, or maintaining a social life for that matter, unless it's for the sake of learning something relevant. With his rider, he will always come off as a little distant, if not aloof in general. He makes up for it with an admirable brilliance. He is very quick to learn complex tasks, and he focuses hard when he needs to, unless the task he's put to seems way too menial. One shouldn't mistake him for being cold and callous however. He's just...absentminded. Eccentric, really. He has great memory for his color and he tends to chat idly whether he's busy or not, but when he does he never dwells on small talk. He likes to talk about humans, oddly enough. He's not one to compete or concern himself with other dragons. He thrives off of every new discovery, and asks many questions about the things he doesn't know.
"What in the world...? What's he doing?"
Pan was seeing pretty much what everyone else in the stands saw. The Black was just staring up at the seats like someone was dangling meat from a stall. Did someone offend him or something?
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Post by matsi on Jul 8, 2012 9:32:16 GMT -5
((ok sorry again for crappiness sti on phone)) The purple grumbled to himself as he paid his sister no attention. He did not care about her anymore. After all, she smacked him and was probably after his treasure! His treasure. Not hers. His eyes showed his frustration as he put his egg shells into, finally, a neat pile and lay his body across them. No one would be taking it without his permission. He would watch over it all, and add to it, until the day he died! Who cares about the duty that he was sure these flabby creatures had for him. They were just flabby creatures and he was a dragon! While the purple sat on his glorious mound of happiness, Bayneth's last egg finally started to shake and tremble. Cracks formed, then it stopped moving for a few moments. Only soft scratching was heard as the creature inside gently picked at the cracks that let in so much light. Then one shard of shell fell inward and a large eye surrounded by blue looked out. The blue hide that surrounded the bright and large eye was dark, darker than the night sky, but just light enough to not be black. Slowly, the dark blue started to push his nose through the crack, makin it larger as he forced it over him. Stripes, almost like light blue tabby stripes, were revealed on the top of his head and cheeks. The blue stripes were a grey-ish blue, but seemed to glow or stand out against his darker colors. Half way through the egg, the purple looked up to see more shiny egg shell bits. How did that blue get more?! He wanted them all! Hastily, the larger dragonet bounded, well more like shakily ran, over to the blue and shoved his brothers head aside. At first, the blue only yelped and chattered to himself, but then in an instant, red blazed over his features and he broke free of hiss egg and let loose on his purple brother. The purple was taken by surprise and toppled backwards as his brother pounced and let fangs sink into his chest hide. The purple fought back, but was quiet as he did so. He only wanted the shells! He seemed to say this to his brother, for as quickly as he had attacked, the blue was off and walking towards the girls. The purple lay on his back for a moment, a large chunk of hide missing from his upper chest, but no real damage done. Once he realized that it was just a sore cosmetic spot, he rolled over and went back to his "job". He didn't wimper, but he did occasionally stop and lick his own wound as if in pity of himself. (OOC Admin Note: the following Impression has been retconned due to the unfortunate departure of the player. It will be revised later to exclude Raksha.) The blue, unlike his purple brother, was already over the attack and was off, chattering to himself. Now that his whole body was exposed, his markings were exposed. There was more light blue on his wings, in the form of giant eye spots. Then his tail seemed to have its dual tips dipped in blue with two spots like eyes on a snake in that light blue. He was truly the oddest looking of Bayneth's clutch, not that he fully cared. Alright, so half of him cared. It was a bit of pride, but also some fear, to know that he was the most odd of his clutch. Oh well. His person would know what to do! So he walked through the girls a few times, shoving girls aside an chattering to himself. Was she here? No no. She wasn't here you fool! He turned his head and looked up in the stands. His gaze grazed over the crowd. Then anger flashes in his eyes and he started to stomp up the stands stairs, growling, spitting and hissing. Why was she up here? Why! Was she an idiot? Then the inevitable happened. The blues feet slipped off a stair and he toppled forward, slamming his chin on the rock. At first, he only roared and growled in more frustration, but then his demeanor shifted again and he started to let out pitiful cries. Raksha! Duelmarath hurt himself!The blue forced himself to his feet, and up the last few stairs. He forced himself past people and dragons legs to get to Raksha, then looked up at her. He was chattering to himself again, and his mind danced with two sides. Scared and brave. Mean and sweet. Harsh and soft. Both danced in his mind, conflicting with each other and both trying to speak out to His at once. Yet, he only had one true voice and only one could escape at a time. Why were you not down there?! I had to come all the way up here! he growled, but the. Softened. All in all, he was just happy to have found her.  Blue Duelmarath of Raksha Code: 010011 Perso: double personalty/bipolar. When sweet- sweet and shy and scared. When mean- mean, blunt and uncaring. Based on: Chimera The purple had finally gathered up all of the egg shells and had been sitting on them for some time now as he watched his moody blue brother. Maybe he did need a flabby thing too. The purple looked around for the source of the buzz in the back of his mind, for surely that was his flabby. Slowly, he stood and started to push his pile of fake gold over to the boys. There was no way he was leaving it, and he knew his flabby would understand. It took him many moments to finally get to a happy spot in front of the boys, where he then sat on his pile again and just looked at each boy. His eyes inspected and ruled out the males, one by one, until he saw who it was he was looking for. Yet he did not stand. He may not have been the smartest purple, but he was not leaving his pride and joy... Meaning his treasure. Se'a! Come here. he demanded as he flared out his wings with lightly painted sails and shook his head. His eyes stayed on Seta, demanding. Se'a! Come. Or do you not know your name? You are not Seta. How horrible that name is. You are Se'a and you will help me protect my treasure, now come! Come to your Uth! Purple Uth of Se'a Name is pronounced Youth but without yo Perso: offended when call ohh-th or name spelled youth, love shiny and glittery. Not too bright. Code: 9500c0 Based on: tadaa dragon! |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 8, 2012 16:34:16 GMT -5
"He's only making noise so that you'll look at him," L'xon assured the girl as he watched her tiny pink take her first few nourishing bites of raw beastflesh. "Don't be drawn in." If he had possessed any aversion to butchery when he came to the Weyr- he couldn't remember just then, as moments before Halventh had become all the more dream-like with time -it had been erased by dragonkeeping practices. Now looking at the bloody slabs just made him hungry, and made him reflexively consider the last time he had taken Halventh hunting. Only yesterday, though the growing blue still ate much more frequently than an adult dragon.
He shook his head when Lillis fired off a few dozen additional inquiries at him, though he was still smiling. "Keep watch over Stresakorth," he advised as Halventh supplied the pink's identity to him. The blue was now sitting upright and arching his neck, aware that at the moment L'xon mentioned not looking at him to other people...they tended to look. "Make sure she only takes the smallest pieces, or she could choke." A Weyrlingmaster would no doubt be on hand shortly to remind the young rider of her first vital duty, but L'xon was feeling very multi-talented today: checking the infants for injuries or malformations, and ensuring their partners did not let them gorge. What kind of punishment was this that it offered such satisfaction?
Lillis reminded him of a hold child, the kind that approached him at Fort when he was on duty and asked to poke his armor or borrow his sword- though technically there was very little asking on the first point. She also could be likened to his son...or what he imagined his son was like by now. "I am a Weyrling like you. I am here because I let my dragon misbehave," he answered softly, then turned to L'and. "Hello, congratulations," he repeated, since the sentiment's trial run had been so successful. His attention flicked from L'and back to Lillis at the girl's chiding, though he said nothing of their similarity. "Careful now..." he said, taking a step around to Direth's side of the gathering.
---
"Hard times," Ekuda said, not missing a beat. The dolphineer had given Samara a temperate blink when her shadow first interrupted the glowlight. He had pulled his legs in so she could get past him to the next seat down, but otherwise appeared relaxed in the face of the absolute incorrectness of his prediction. "People need to laugh more. Purples are good at that." He took a sip of his wine and spared a very short glance sideward at Z'an, then crossed his legs and leaned back, eyes on the newly hatched black. "Nice to have you here as always," he added to Samara.
The Journeyman's eyebrows furrowed as he kept track of the proceedings. His lips had prepared a straight line of disinterest for this mauling-free affair, but soon a certain glassiness crossed his eyes and the corners of his mouth began to lift. The muscles of his face balked at his first attempt at a full smile, but Ekuda broke free of that resistance with a grin- only to duck his head and mash his free hand against his cheek and jaw. On the Sands below, the infant black likewise snapped his head down, then shook it with a pained squawk before returning to his rainbow-eyed bead on the distant benches.
Ekuda groaned, tucking the heel of his palm against his jawline and rubbing. He took a further sharp sip to dry his wineglass, rubbed again, then sat up straight and turned to Samara. "Can I borrow your shoes?" he asked, the vision of politeness, wiggling the bare brown toes of his crossed leg. He set his empty glass on the box's endtable. "It's important."
Alternath had little time. One urgency had switched over to another, each solution begetting a new problem. Hunger; it was simple, at least. Business with the man in the Stands concluded, he manuvered himself around to face the feeding pit and began heading after the alluring spice of the carnivore's standard. Why the odor was attractive to him was a mystery shelved for later, when the world was not being so distracting.
He only got a few steps before his gangly legs betrayed him chest-first into the Sands. Rather sporting of the grains to be so soft! Still, in the interest of his own physical health, he elected to propel himself the rest of the way on his belly with strong kicks of his rear legs. He slithered up to a young man, two adolescents and two other babies, one of whom he noted with increasing clarity as his brother. L'xon spotted the faded shadow of him and looked up with a grin.
"Hey," the bluerider started, only to have his mirth fade when he did not see another human joining the dragonet. He moved out a pace from Direth, Stresakorth and their bondeds, holding his hands out to either side in what Alternath concluded was a faintly inhibitory posture. He pulled in his hind legs and sat up on his haunches, raising his head and fixing his large eyes on L'xon's face. Ripples of the full opalescent spectrum still washed over the tiny black's facets, and upon noticing this L'xon started to lean backwards from the familiar rainbow.
That's miiiiiiiiine, Halventh complained, more from picking up on L'xon's conclusions than from what his own senses told him. The blue stomped his front paws on the ledge. Alternath's head twitched so sharply towards the blue that L'xon flinched in sympathy. Halventh was lashing his forked tongue out of his mouth, but when he caught sight of those large young eyes looking back at him, he stopped himself mid-hiss and then slowly retreated his tongue back into his mouth. Alternath blinked.
You are rather fantastic.
Oh, Halventh hiccuped more than said, pinching his shoulders up. Really? He cocked his head to offer a profile view. L'xon rolled his eyes, and found the black looking back at him when he focused on the creature. Alternath's ribcage pressed out visibly as he issued a little sigh. L'xon frowned, lowering his arms but not moving from his station at the front of the group.
The bluerider lifted his chin toward the Candidates, and Alternath immediately followed his lead, twisting his head around to examine them.
Ah, the dragonet murmured to himself. He touched minds directly with the pit guard long enough to inform him, That's not at all the case, before hopping up to all fours and stumbling in between Direth and Stresakorth. Paying no mind whatsoever to Stresakorth, he bobbed his head at Direth. Allow me some of yours then, he informed his brother just before dunking his head into Direth's bucket.
Except he was pulled away before he even got a beak-tip in!
"Sorry," L'xon said, holding the tiny hatchling around the ribs and walking him back to a clear spot. You're sure he's alright? the Firefinder asked of his own dragon.
Oh...yes... Halventh replied dreamily.
I suppose it is my size that makes you more apt to handle me. Were I larger, I might be dangerous, Alternath hypothesized into L'xon's head. The young man shook his head. No?
"No," L'xon said. "I mean, I'll feed you till your mate arrives, but please..."
You find my speech disconcerting.
"No! Yes...I mean, this is time for you to get to know your own." The Weyrling was blushing now, and not from the heat of the Sands. Alternath did not respond, and when L'xon got his focus back on the hatchling after waving his hands dismissively to Lillis and L'and, Alternath's head was tilted at one of the unattended meat buckets instead of meeting his eye. L'xon fetched it, and tentatively extended a shred of meat to the dragon not his own.
Alternath gently closed the tips of his jaws around the tidbit and lifted it free of the man's fingers. Though the black was gracious, L'xon was unpleasantly reminded of the last time he had to feed a hatchling for someone who could not do it themselves. This oddly aware hatchling helped the matter little, and L'xon frowned when Alternath kept stopping to rub the sides of his jaws against the sand.
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kireon
Candidatemaster
kirct[M:-191]
Posts: 739
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Post by kireon on Jul 8, 2012 20:42:30 GMT -5
Hatchings were a combination of irritating and enjoyable for the bluerider currently holding a tight mental leash over his bonde. To say that Nelideth was being quite the pain in the ass was an understatement, perhaps the biggest one of the current turn. Not only was he displeased that his eggs had to share the sands with eggs that were certainly not as good as his own, but that those eggs were hatching first and stealing the spotlight away from the children he'd sired.
That tan's dragonets had better not Impress before mine- I don't want them stealing the best candidates out there, only my children get the best![/color] Nelideth grumbled, eyes whirling orange and red despite the sweet toned humming coming from his throat. They should know that dragonets of a King and Queen should come first and mind their manners. H'lios, inform them of the proper way to go about this, honestly, I can't be bothered to explain something so simple.[/color]
I'll tell Demeth's children to hatch quickly and Impress first, as you wish. H'lios replied, antagonizing his already insufferable dragon intentionally. Bad enough he'd caught Bayneth when she'd flown, even worse that she'd clutched and had managed to bring out the micromanaging feral paternal side of the arrogant, egocentric blue with the grand delusion that he was a king in anything other than his own thick head. If anything mattered to the icy eyed wingrider, it was that the Hatching would go along without casualties or serious injury, and that all the dragonets would find their intended person for the next generation to be trained.
And so, they watched the hatching progress. Nelideth trumpeting in triumph as the great orange wing moved aside to reveal a pink. A daughter! A fine little daughter! He crooned at her from his position, H'lios refusing him to leave his perch like the bossy human he was. There was no reason to fear this world and its greatness, it was hers for the taking as soon as she found her intended. Only the best for his little girl would do, a King's daughter only went to the best!
He added his voice to Bayneth's, matching his pitch to hers as he focused wholly on encouraging his children to hatch and enter the world with pride. Honestly, he should be the one on the sands, not Bayneth, she had done plenty of the work, after all. The largest egg was next, shaking for a mere second before it quite possibly exploded to reveal something that gave H'lios reason to slam both palms into his face at once, a hoarse, strangled groan-turned-growl coming from behind his hands as a result. A Purple. Of course that egg had housed a sub-king. Of course. There wasn't any way that the egg could have housed a blue or a black or anything but what it had.
H'lios! Do you see? A fine King for a son! A lovely daughter and a wonderful son fit for only the best![/i] Nelideth proclaimed, beside himself with pride as he bugled in celebration again, arching his neck and wings to show himself off.
Faranth damned beast was never going to let him live it down until the day they both went Between. H'lios just slumped against the wall, uncaring as to how the rest of this hatching was going to go, even with the celebratory bugle coming a third time and the announcement that a blue had hatched out of the last eggs- and Nelideth's private commentatry on the two 'sons' of his were squabbling over something petty and how unbecoming it was for the blue to attack his brother.
He would drink that night. Ooh yes, by the First Egg, he would drink until Nelideth's voice shut up, because there was no way that the night would get any worse.
**
Seta was patient, if nothing else. Between his mother's shenanigans and hyperactivity, his cousin's enjoyment of anything active as long as she was feeling well, and having to raise young felines in addition to keeping Shadow out of trouble, he could take waiting as long as it took for Impression. And, if a dragon wasn't in his future, a wher very well might be. Or, he could even try his hand at being a firelizard trainer, maybe even a breeder of them specifically. It'd be the next best thing to an actual dragon or wher, in his opinion.
Standing on the sands, heated as they were, he waited and watched. A blue hatched from Tan Demeth's clutch, and then a sweet little pink with a loud voice from Orange Bayneth. He smiled at the both of them, finding them endearing and cute. Shadow was with Nana, as he was always instructed to be whenever Seta wasn't able to have him along. Part of him was worried the pink would come to him, not that he'd reject her, he wouldn't be that cruel... but he really liked the look of that blue.
And then, the purple showed up. In an explosion of shell shards. Pretty fella, the grey eyed boy thought to himself with a smile. Purples were... silly, from what he'd remembered from his interaction with C'ian and his bonded. And silly he proved himself to be, hastily grasping at all the shards from his egg, and that of his sister's as well. His brow furrowed at the dark blue who burst forth from his shell's attack on the purple, though reasoned that it wasn't surprising, the larger of them had started it by bumping into him in his haste and greed for the shell shards.
Whoever had those two were certainly going to have a handful on their hands, he thought to himself, running a hand through his recently cut hair and scratched idly. Talkative blue though, odd though his coloring was- attractive in its own right, but still odd. The purple, even with his injury, was quiet- something that he was rather surprised about. He watched the blue, curious as to where he was going and why.
Said distraction was quickly eliminated by the sound of something else, something that made him freeze up, eyes wide for a moment in surprise as he looked down. The purple was there, on top of his little pile of shell shards, glittering as they were, and blinked rapidly. He was... what? Se'a? Wait. He'd Impressed?
No longer Seta, but Se'a; bonded to the purple dragon with light wings and lighter markings over his body, horns and tail. Who... apparently liked to collect things he saw as treasure. I... yeah, I know my name. Sorry, Uth. Dazed, he walked over to the purple, reaching down to gently touch the soft hide of the young dragonet in a combination of wonder and delight. His dragon.
He'd Impressed.
Of course you Impressed, Se'a, why would you not? I am here, that is all there is to it. Now, we will take my treasure and get food. You will help me find more treasure and we will guard it together.[/i] Uth commanded, arching his wings in a manner reminiscent of a much larger dragon with a good deal of pride. Well, his flabby could certainly guard treasure well, and he would guard the most valuable part of his just starting collection very well. After all, some shinies lost that luster after a time; this one, the one currently collecting shell fragments- and he was counting to make sure none were left behind- could not be replaced like those others.
Besides, this treasure would help him be a shiny too.[/size]
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Rappu
Pridesecond
rapct[M:55]
Sailor Melty Rainbow Death
Posts: 496
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Post by Rappu on Jul 11, 2012 10:12:25 GMT -5
Hatchinghatchinghatchinghatching ANALUCIAMIIIINE this is important! Hatching! Dalahirath's shrill, high-pitched voice broke Analucia's concentration. The pair were outside, enjoying the weather and watching Viher and Linne swim around the lake. It's a Hatching! I want to see it! The pink's assertiveness took Analucia by surprise, and she hopped to her feet. "Well, then, can you go gather the pillies from the lake?"
While Dalahirath shepherded the pillies towards Analucia, the girl adjusted her scarf - one she had received from Day'ar - and glanced at her pocket mirror. Yes, she was perfectly presentable. Viher gave her boots a quick toe-crushing hug, and the girl and her dragon were off.
Dalahirath slithered to what she figured was the front row, Analucia in tow. She wanted to see! She wanted to see first who was going to hatch from the eggs and whom they would impress! Look, look, what a nice little blue! Ooh, do you think he will like the meat? I liked the meat! Can you see Lady Samara isn't here? Why do you think that is? Hello, WesliethJazz! AnaluciaMine, Q'sis is here too! She burbled happily, pausing on occasion to greet someone or other. Analucia smiled and nodded when she did that, but let Dalahirath's commentary wash over her mind without interruption. As long as the little dragon only greeted others instead of talking to everyone, it was all right. This was only the second hatching the two saw, and the first one where neither was on the Sands, after all.
---
Laurierd was awake. Wide awake. Normally she was awake at night with Lauriesk, but now she couldn't help feeling that something Important was going on, with a big I and all, and she could. Not. Sleep.
Rolling about in the bed didn't help matters in the least, and finally she threw aside her blanket and dressed. Maybe getting some fresh day air would help her sleep. Yeah, that must be it. People went outside at night all the time so they could sleep better at night, so if she wanted to sleep during the day... Oh, it was kind of confusing. But whatever. The weather was pretty good, anyway, and maybe she could hang out with someone.
The commotion at Hatching Sands' entrance made her curious. Could it be a hatching? She knew some of the Weyr's dragons had clutched, but she had no idea which ones. When you got down to it, dragons weren't exactly an integral part of a wherhandler's life.
She walked in just in time to see some little boy Impress a blue dragonet. It was so sweet! She had never had such luck with a dragon, but then again, she wouldn't care for even a Gold now that she had her Lauriesk. Darling dearie Lauriesk. Clapping and smiling, she made her way to the middle of spectators.
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