Starry Skies [Callistath's Hatching!]

Corian had just finished cleaning some of the dishes when he heard some strange noises. He dropped a dish into the sink and stood there, frozen for a moment. Hatching! Callistath! He actually shouted in elation and bolted from the Kitchens, sprinting to his room to search for his robes. He still had some suds on him from the dishes. He reached his room, threw on his robes and ran out the door again.

Corian ran as fast as he could down towards the Hatching sands, stumbling a little in his haste. His robes flowed around him looking rather messy and somewhat dishevelled in his haste. The smile plastered on his face couldn’t be any broader and his heart fluttered at the thought of watching his friends impress and then finally being paired with his Lifemate. He could see a couple of other candidates running up ahead and ran faster. He would be a Wherry if he was going to arrive late to the hatching! He reached the entrance of the sands and took a deep breath, marvelling at the beauty of the Gold before him. She was intensely beautiful and Corian was so glad to be given the chance to stand.

He bowed to Callistath from where the Candidates stood and waited with them, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He couldn’t wait! He was so excited to be here that he didn’t even really worry too much about not Impressing. He knew this time was lucky. It was his Third time! He would concentrate. Nothing would divert his attention from what was happening. Even now, watching the eggs, he was paying the strictest attention to what was happening. He would not be distracted. Not like last time.

He looked at some of the other candidates present, searching for Ezekiel, Jerrith, Varan and Xiro. He spotted a couple of others he had seen in passing but, given how many candidates there were it was a little tough to see through the crowd. He smiled though, knowing they would be there and watched the eggs, marvelling at their brilliance.

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Fel had been taking some time off to relax, sitting out in the Weyrbowl, watching Rukbat setting on the horizon. She frowned when she heard some strange humming noises. Hold on a second! Hadn’t that been what the candidatemasters had told them to look for. It was confirmed when she heard a voice in her head informing her to make her way to the sands. She leapt to her feet and ran to the candidate barracks to search for her Robes. Finding them and donning them she left to skip her way to the Wyerbowl.

Fel was so incredibly excited she could have passed out. Her leg was feeling amazing today and she was feeling incredibly confident. She wanted to get there before Xiro or anyone really! She saw a few others and broke into a half gallop run to reach the sands. She entered the sands and gasped at the Gold. She had not seen the Dragonness close up and she was indeed a marvel. She stared in dumbfounded shock for a moment before smiling and bowing deeply. She did not get too close to the eggs knowing that the Dragonness would not appreciate that.

She stood in amongst the candidates, ensuring that she would be nowhere near Xiro. She didn’t want him to distract her from what was important. She looked at the eggs intent upon drawing a Dragon towards her once they began hatching. She couldn’t have been any more excited. She had not heard the stories about the previous hatchings and so these thoughts were far from her mind. All she could think of was the possibility that she might find the other part of her soul amongst these Hatchlings. Atenna had given her such hope.

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Tedaon heard the humming and sighed a little. He looked about at the other Healers and shrugged. They may need someone on the Sands, especially if another sharding Red hatched. He grabbed a bag of Healing equipment and walked out of the infirmary taking his time to cross the Bowl and walk to the Hatching Sands. He could already spot the eager candidates as they ran into the entrance of the Sands in excitement. He pursed his lips as he entered the stands.

He waved a greeting to no one in particular letting them know that there were some Healers around if anything happened and took a seat, reclining a little in comfort. He sat there and looked at the eggs. Neras was not with him. He didn’t want an over-zealous dragon taking a snap at the Black and had told him to remain. Neras seemed to be a little happier about him attending the Dragon hatching that he had about the Wher hatching.

No doubt there would be Blacks.

Tedaon pushed the thought from his mind and looked at some of the candidates. There were a lot of them to be sure. He forced a smile and then tipped his head back to look at the sky. No doubt it would begin soon. When it did, he would be ready to assist any of them if something happened.

The first sounding of Callistath's hum hit him hard. The iron dragon jerked upward; his wings flared immediately and he barely waited for his rider to vault onto his back before leaping from the weyr. Kaezeth took up the hum, proud and strong. It resonated so deeply that R'len felt the vibrations through the King's muscled neck. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Kaezeth, however, took this moment into a special place in his heart. His children were going to step out into the world. His and Callistath's children. Even as he landed on the closest ledge to his Queen, he couldn't stop fidgeting. R'len dropped down beside the dragon, resting a hand on the iron hide. He offered an excited smile to Avalle; no doubt Callistath was just as antsy, in her own secretive way.

The candidates and spectators were beginning to flow in. Kaezeth did not have eyes for any of them. He watched the rocking eggs and nothing more. R'len, however, watched them. He watched for anyone he knew, Nimara especially. He hoped she would be around for the feast. He felt like all he wanted to do was gush about the hatching. He was going to be an uncle! Kaezeth was going to be a father! There were going to be up to thirty-five new weyrlings. Some of those candidates running in... One day, he might see them in his own Wing. R'len quickly gave up on imagining it all and simply focused on the now, because it was much easier to handle that way.

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Below the stands and the ledges, Pash scrambled through the hallway and onto the Sands. Her hair was askew from an afternoon nap, her shoulders pink where Rukbat had lightly burned them while she slept. She felt hot already, and coming onto the heated sand of the Hatching Cavern did not help. Her face went red; she panted and tugged at her white candidate robes. She had barely paid attention when she put them on. She had to shift her feet to get her sandals for fit correctly again. She was a mess, she knew, but at least she wasn't late.

As soon as she fell into the female semicircle, she dropped into a deep bow. She was still breathing hard, and bending over made her lungs unhappy, but she held still long enough to feel sufficiently respectful. There were no words offered to Callistath, but plenty of reverence. She figured that no words were better than words hastily spoken between gasping breaths. As she straightened back up, her temples throbbed and she felt light-headed. Running from the bowl to her room to the Sands had been far from a breeze. As her vision sparkled and then slowly returned, she looked around the open space.

She saw Fel and Delilah near her already, along with a few other candidates. She did not see Rolin or Qosis, or anyone she particularly remembered clearly. Well, she had seen them around, but she was too frazzled to remember them right away. She was excited, nervous, scared and sluggish all at the same time. There was nothing she was really in the right mind to think about except for the eggs. Pash finally settled on simply watching them twitch and move, standing stock still herself. Her heart, however, still pounded. She was just too worked up.

She reminded herself, though, that there wasn't all that much she had to be afraid of. She just had to be excited instead, but even that was a lot of work for her little body. Even with deep breathing, adrenaline still coursed throughout her, and she resigned herself to being a mess for the rest of the Hatching. She heard that you remember things better when you've got adrenaline in you, anyways - and she definitely wanted to remember this.