Admin
Administrator
brect[M:-2154]
Posts: 3,754
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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2012 2:00:24 GMT -5
Blue on black, Tears on a river, Push on a shove, It don't mean much.
The process behind hatchings involved a lot of waiting and guessing. Fajra could tell everyone that Kalith's eggs, and undoubtedly Waroth's as well, not the red let anyone near them, would be ready within the next couple of days, but that was it in terms of knowledge and planning. Everything else was waiting and guessing, waiting and guessing, and yet more waiting and guessing. With this hatching, it also involved a lot of snowing. The first true snowstorm of the season had hit a few nights previous and Fajra stood at the entrance to the cavern, staring at the banks that littered the bowl. Even as she watched, more sheets of snow and ice blew across the Weyr. Piles on the rim shed clumps of snow, sending them sailing down to ledges and the distant ground. The temperature was well below freezing, though Fajra remained warm with a jacket and the sands at her back.
Fajra sighed and rubbed her palms against her arms, trying to make sure her fingers retained feeling as the sun sank below the horizon. She was tired, but sleep refused to claim her. Kalith was awake, listlessly counting her eggs and glowering at Waorth. The copper wasn't good company and Fajra found Nimara rather unsatisfactory when it came to conversation, not that she could blame the redrider for being distracted. They weren't close friends either, though Fajra respected and trusted Nimara as a colleague. She sighed once more, her breath appearing as mist outside the shelter of the cavern. Ducking her head, she turned to walk back to the stands. Kalith halted her with a look, her eyes fixed upon her rider. She hummed, deep and powerful voice reverberating though the sand and stone that lay beneath her. Jerking to attention, Fajra looked to the eggs.
The largest egg of either clutch, the pale cream giant nestled at the heart of Kalith's brood, had begun to shake. It rocked back and forth, the pendulum of a clock, ticking away the passing seconds. Unsettled by the pale egg's movements, the second largest egg of the combined broods, the orange one reminiscent of a creamsicle, had begun to quiver. It jerked and bucked, gently knocking against its larger brother before it began to rolling steadily right and forward. Its momentum was halted by its bright, mottled orange cousin. Even as the creamsicle egg continued to twitch, the smaller egg remained silent. However, elsewhere in the clutch, other eggs showed signs of movement. The dark tan egg, the one nearest Waroth's clutch, was wiggling. The tan egg sheltered behind the bright rock stop of an egg and its large orange captive twitched every so often.
Fajra hurried to brush snow off her gown, a simple affair of blue wool, and darted across the sands to stand beside Kalith. She rested a hand against the copper's chest, reassuring the Queen. It was an unnecessary gesture. Though her ego was swelled with pride, Kalith was calmer than she had been in months. Waroth was forgotten, a minor threat to her children at this point. She was quiet, merely humming. Others picked up the call, filling the Weyr with the welcoming sound, but her rider reminded her of something. She let out a low growl, raising her head to issue an order to her dragon minions. Go fetch my candidates! Snow was not an excuse for tardiness. Thankfully, Detritath, Kerath, and Annith were already being loaded with candidates down at the snow banks in front of the barrack, K'var in-charge of the whole affair. As soon as they collected two or three, they and their riders took flight to deposit the lucky souls at the main entrance to sands.
Kalith shifted closer to her rider, withdrawing to allow her eggs and the children they contained more room to shake and maneuver. She even kept her neck free of the sands between her clutch and Waroth. The candidates would need to cluster near the line that divided their two territories in order to have a fair chance at each. Or more importantly, in order to keep Waroth from dismembering them when her hardened eggs began to rock as well. Kalith knew how to share. So long as all the candidate bowed and showed up on time, she'd leave them alone to Impress her children. Waroth wasn't as nice and Fajra knew that fact. Few things but the adult red could concern her more than her snappish dragon, so her gaze was constantly moving from eggs to Waroth to candidates to Kalith. She kept her hand against the copper's hide as the Queen eyed the assembling crowd.
Joker on jack, Match on a fire, Cold on ice, A dead man's touch.
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266
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Post by Lan on Mar 22, 2012 2:09:30 GMT -5
and i'm wondering why sometimes the truth ain't easy to find
It seemed like she had been trapped there forever. Nimara barely moved from her post watching over Waroth and making sure the large dragoness didn't try to do anything stupid regarding Kalith. Regardless, she felt as if most of her time was spent in relative solitude. Enyo would occasionally come in to carry notes to and fro regarding K'var's news about candidates or even the one novel letter from her parents. Fajra occasionally attempted to make conversation, which helped ease the redrider's soul about what she considered were past wrongdoings regarding herself and O'sho. Still, it seemed mostly small talk and usually in the middle of the conversation she would be accosted by Waroth for something or another. Either way, she doubted she was good company for Fajra. Maybe in another life they could have been good friends, but so much had happened that now they were merely acquaintances of mutual respect and trust.
What she had done with her little free time was gone and fetched some warmer wherhide jackets and boots. Even as the scorching sands kept the hatching chamber warm, as each day the snowstorm grew stronger it became harder and harder for Nimara to remain warm after dark. So she wore a riding jacket over her pale green dress as she paced in the upper stands of the large hatching cavern. Fajra had gone out to check on the weather outside, but the redrider knew it would be unchanged. Still, it would certainly be interesting getting candidates up to where they currently were, but it seemed like something that would be so far away.
Oh, how wrong assumptions could prove to be.
Kalith had started humming. Waroth awoke from her reverie of memorizing the mottled shapes on each of her three eggs to glare at the copper sullenly. Humming? Humming? The red growled, taking it as personal insult that the queen's clutch was hatching. She wrapped her claws around her own clutch, her whole faced pulled into a snarling grimace as she watched Kalith's eggs begin to rock, one by one. Nimara rushed down to Waroth's side of the sands, shucking her jacket in the process.
"Don't you dare!" She glared down her dragon, who turned to hiss at her. Nimara kept a firm hold of her as she halted her steps. Waroth grunted and turned so that she could still see Kalith out of the corner of her eye but didn't have to look at her, should she choose not to. It must have taken longer than she thought to get Waroth to calm down, though, for by the time she looked up again candidates were entering. "Leave them, Waroth." The red hissed up at them, at first refusing to move. "I said LEAVE THEM." Nimara's voice was stern, dark, and unyielding. The red froze in that moment, partly from her rider's address of her and part from a strange sensation beneath her. She stared at the eggs oddly, her anger suddenly muted as she curiously pondered the situation. Then, with some dignity, she backed off, although her gaze stayed fixed on her eggs.
My eggs are hatching... Waroth told Nimara, her mindvoice pleading as if to convince Nimara to make them not leave her. It took a second for maternal instinct to kick over, after which she announced to all in the room MY EGGS ARE HATCHING.
Still, Waroth would not be so sensible as Kalith. The copper knew what needed to be done. Waroth knew that her eggs were the most important things in the world and that they needed humans to survive... but otherwise her mind was far past logical.
SHE CAN'T HAVE ANY. She told Nimara, regarding the candidates.
She needs some for her children, too, Warothdear.
But... But... They're MINE! Kalith's put us in charge of them!
Not since you've clutched, love. K'var and Argotath have been safeguarding the candidates in your absence.
THEY'RE STILL MINE.
WAROTH. ENOUGH.
The dragoness grumbled, but conceded for now. Fine... But they have to stand on the line! That way they'll get to choose who they love more! And they better guess correctly...
Nimara sighed, but was glad that Waroth was for the plan that Fajra and she had already discussed. It was best that the candidates line up in the demilitarized zone she and the Weyrwoman had set up to keep their respective dragons from killing each other and smashing the eggs. Now that Waroth was temporarily appeased, Nimara then focused on Fajra's course of action, the rocking of the eggs, and the candidates filing in. Out of Waroth's three the smallest, brown egg had started rocking and and there was a slight oscillation in the second smallest, dappled gray one. The largest, medium egg had yet to move.
i wanna know all the answers but i'm learning that these things take time
|| EDIT: a diagram made of Lark's awesomeness
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Ondine
Jr. Weyrleader
ondct[M:-155]
Posts: 436
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Post by Ondine on Mar 22, 2012 3:16:13 GMT -5
It felt like candlemarks past sunset when Ondine discovered that Kalith's and Waroth's eggs were hatching. She couldn't sleep, her usual restless energy preventing her from simply being able to lie down and accept the embrace of the night. She found that that was, frankly, fortunate when the call came. Hatching. Here, now, in the middle of the night, a blizzard outside. Cold as it was going to be, there was nothing for it but to change into her candidate robes with Rhikail and then head out, exchanging excited talk about who was going to Impress, and what dragons would be there. Well, it was excited on her end anyways, Rhikail was doing her usual lack of expression about anything...other than the frustration that she had with her hair.
And a little more, as Ondine helped tame her fellow candidate's hair. The robes revealed Rhikail's scars from the kitchen fires, and the healer had noticed that the girl had a distinct hatred of talking about it, or them. Well, that was understandable. Ah well. Dealing with Rhikail's hair gave Ondine a chance to work out some of her excitement, and before too long they were ready to go, moving to the front of the candidate's barracks. Into the snowstorm. Shards, it was cold! They were packed onto a dragon along with Seta...and Ondine stopped caring about the cold and the snow long enough to give the man a solid once-over when he wasn't looking. Still as hot as he'd been the first time that she saw him.
Fortunately for her, all of her pets were asleep, so she didn't have to explain to Ruem that he couldn't come. So they got on the dragon and took off, even though, with the wind of flying, it was even more cold than it was on the ground. Thankfully, the hatching sands would be nice and toasty, right? Besides, she couldn't complain if all of this snow kept Thread from falling. She'd seen what had happened to Ma'dai, she didn't want to see any more come in like that than she had to. But that depressing thought belonged far away, she was going to a hatching!
There were a few candidates already there, lining up in what seemed to be the safest spot around. She bowed deeply to both Queens, understanding the value of impressing upon them her respect for both of the massive dragons. But her happy grin was firmly established on her face, and had since she'd known that this hatching was happening. She lined up, glancing between the queens, the eggs, and those that she knew, as well as the Senior Weyrwoman, who was with her Dragon. She'd paid her respects, she was in her robes, she was ready for another hatching. With both clutches hatching! She noticed that one of Waroth's was moving, and several of Kalith's were doing the same. Keeping silent was easy...but keeping herself from moving in small ways was next to impossible. But she did it, somehow. And she waited, happy, watching and feeling the anticipation grow.
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Post by Frangipani on Mar 22, 2012 3:30:31 GMT -5
There was a hatching coming up. Everyone Odowen had spoken to in the past few days had been giddy with anticipation and he himself could not help feeling some of it. He lay on his bed, his hand twitching with nervousness just because the anticipation was beginning to feel more and more like anxiety. Usually he was fairly difficult to scare but the idea of impressing a dragon or not impressing a dragon was beginning to weigh down on him. He kind of just wished it was all over and done with so he could resume his life instead of all this terrible anticipation. If only. He sighed jumped down off the top bunk – who needed a ladder for goodness sake. He was just feeding Drip some fish when he heard it – seared into his brain. The call. From outside. He suddenly thought of the dragon he might possibly impress... he still wasn’t all that sure how he felt about things talking straight into his head but he figured that was something he might have to just get used to. He glanced over at his Candidate robes and sighed a little before throwing them on and arranging to look somewhat neat. It was neater than anyone had ever been able to get out of him but it probably wasn’t the most pristine.
He looked down at Drip, who was looking sleepy. And it was fairly cold outside. Because it was snowing. So it really wasn’t that an astute observation. “Do you think you can stay here a little while? I just have to go do something” He said to her. She blinked in response, seemingly incomprehensive of what he was saying. He petted her lightly and pointed to a bucket of water “Stay” He said again before gesturing to himself “Be back” He continued. If she could have smiled she would have and she skuttled happily enough to the bucket of water in the corner and, upon hopping into it, proceeded to make a mess as she splashed around. This was the first time ever she had been left alone! How exciting!! A little scary but exciting nonetheless!!! ”Drpdrpdrpdrpdrp” She babbled softly to herself. She would make her bigsquishyone proud. Yes she would!!
Odowen exited the Barrack, a small smile on his face and huddled against his coat as he made his way through the snow toward the hatching sands. He reached them in a timely fashion and joined the other candidates who were already there. He stared up at the huge dragonesses and was, mercifully, speechless. He managed a small bow and took his place on what seemed to be a line drawn between the two dragonesses. There was no way he would be pulling any of his antics tonight when he could get attacked by something like that. That wouldn’t stop him from thinking it though. He stifled a laugh as he imagined someone getting caught in the copper one’s nose – he should write a poem about this! A bad poem! He couldn’t help the somewhat mischievous smile that spread across his face as he looked around at the other candidates, the eggs and the two dragonesses. His eyes were drawn to the eggs on both sides already rocking. He couldn't believe it! He had never seen anything like this before. He couldn't help wondering how he could use it in some form of ballad thing.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Mar 22, 2012 3:47:50 GMT -5
OOC: Cath and I co-wrote bits of our posts for maximum lol. No godmodding here!
For once spending the night in the Candidate’s Barracks, mostly due to the storm, Rennin was working on both preparing for sleep, and herding her ever-growing menagerie into some semblance of order for the night. Still damp from her bath - Caramia tucked into her arms from accompanying her - Rennin checked Oracle’s muzzle one last time for the evening, letting the angry flit crawl into her nest box right afterwards, her pale green head sticking out of the shredded cloth and etcetera that made up Oracle’s chosen bed and watching her with red whirling eyes.
Vigilance was curled up on the unoccupied bed below her own, the depressed canine wrapped around the still alert Beliori, the pair’s eyes following her as she toted Caramia over to a shallow bowl full of water tucked under the bunk beds and deposited the pink inside. Mia splashed around a little, but quickly settled herself under the water as well.
She moved to pull a shift over her head, catching a glimpse of the Candiate robe that, once again, was clean and crisp, hanging above her clothing chest. Soon enough, it would be time again for her to wear that white garment...
Someone slammed on her door, pushing it open a crack and alarming all her animals,, “Hatching! The Hatching is starting!”
Oh.
That was fast.
She doffed the shift that was half on, it landing across Vigilance’s head, though he whined and shook it to the floor a moment later. This was familiar to him - Master had done this too. Vigilance dropped his head and whined quietly, prompting Bel to snuggle up to him and lick his nose. Caramia crawled out of her bowl to join the canines on the pet, stroking the upset canine’s face soothingly with her antenne.
Rennin wanted to go to him too, poor boy, but with a copper and red on the Sands, she couldn’t afford to risk delaying at all. She yanked the white robe off its hanger and over her head, getting tangled for a moment, but straightening herself out quickly. She pulled a white strip of woven cloth out of her trunk, wrapping it double around her waist before tying it off, and spreading her arms to the group at large. “Do I look alright?”
All her pets’ eyes we focussed past her, though - Oracle was hissing lowly, and Bel let out a happy, greeting bark - and Rennin suddenly realized that there was the overwhelming feeling of eyes watching her on her back. She turned towards what she thought was only a partially open door.
Well, it had been partially open - until a large grey pillie rammed her way through it. Starfall was not much in the habit of doing so, because doors were a bit heavier than she liked, but this was an emergency. She had a plan, and she intended to carry it through. A hiss was spared for Caramia, and then she scuttled toward Rennin’s ankles, prepared to enact extreme violence if Rennin didn’t run from her. Run, Candidate, run!
This was what Rennin’s nightmares were made of. She’d always feared that one day Starfall would snap and try to murder her.
It looked like that day was today.
Rennin jumped, landing on top of the wooden chest and sliding off a little as her sandals lacked the ability to grip on the smooth wood, but it was enough to let her kick off and somehow clear Starfall. She landed, stumbling into the doorframe, and ran for her left down the hallway, knocking over another rushing Candidate, only able to push the other person out of the way of both herself and the hopefully out of the path of the rampaging pillie behind her.
She hit the common room without stopping, plowing through the crowd and out the door. Snow. Snow everywhere, but thankfully there were dragonriders ferrying Candidates. She threw herself up the nearest dragon, shyness and aversion to people forgotten in the urgency of NOT BEING MURDERED.
She breathed a sigh of relief a few minutes later when she was set at the mouth of the Hatching Sands, breathing deeply to get her shaky nerves under control before going anywhere near the volatile dragons on the Sands. From here, though, she could see the spot by the wall she favored, and eagerly looked forward to settling herself there.
Unfortunately for Rennin, not only was Starfall single-minded, she was easily outraged. The unexpected escape of her quarry on dragonback didn’t deter her in the least. The dragon had an easier, faster path, but had to wait for more Candidates to climb aboard; Starfall went tumbling and rolling through the snowdrifts, making for Rennin’s ultimate destination.
She still arrived second, but just in time. A warning hiss burst from her as she came scrambling through, not quite onto the sands themselves, which were too hot for her liking. She slammed into the back of Rennin’s knees, carrying the girl to the floor not only through her weight, but through the sheer power of her fury. And once she had Rennin down, she tore the sandals from the girl’s feet, not quite understanding their purpose. All she knew was that these things were necessary to go through the snow, so without them, Rennin could not run and hide. She would have to stand. Success.
Rennin wasn’t able to defend herself from getting plowed into the ground by Starfall - she never had a chance against the massive, fury-driven pillie. She went face down into the sand, hard, and her sandals were already gone by the time she thought that maybe she should kick or try to defend herself from being devoured in some way. After the sandals were off, though, Starfall didn’t proceed to murder her.
Rennin levered herself onto her elbows, spitting out a mouthful of sand, grateful that she’d closed her eyes when she’d been hit. She was also grateful that she and Starfall were still hidden from the view of the queens on the sands, because one of them would eat her if they saw this mess. Rolling over, she stared down the gray pillie who held her shoes, “Starfall,” she began pleadingly, “Give those back. I really, really need them.”
Even this close to the entrance and the snow, the sands were still hot. And she knew from experience that inside would be worse.
Starfall just hissed, dragging the sandals into a crack in the wall, far too small for a human to follow. Obviously, sticking a hand inside in the hope that it wasn’t too deep would result in missing fingers. Starfall’s plot had been carried off quite perfectly, in her opinion. If Rennin wavered, the grey would just have to charge her to get her all the way out there.
Rennin stared into the crack despairingly. What would she do now?
* * * F’reki’s original intention had been to go help with the relocation of Candidates to the Sands from the Barracks, but he’d been waved off pretty quickly - so he and Girieth instead made their way towards the Sands, and specifically the stands. They had several Candidates on the line this evening, after all. All kidnappees, too.
And the poor Candidates really were on the line - a copper and a red on the Sands together was not not anywhere close to a combination that he envied. Deep in his old bones, F’reki feared there would be blood this Hatching.
But...he couldn’t dwell on his thoughts like this. Girieth claimed a spot high up, with a good vantage point of the entire cavern - most especially his Candidates, of course - but F’reki made his way down into seating area.
A touch at his shoulder startled him, and he turned - the newly graduated tanrider, Valha. She smiled at him, “Been a while, old man. You have a seat yet? If not, I know someone who might be interested in speaking with you...”
“Lead the way, youngling, show this old man to a seat and I’ll be happy to talk to whoever you wish.” She took his hand and lead him down into the seats - it was quickly apparent where they were going: no where else in the Hatching Cavern was there quite as large a concentration of colors as there was grouped around a tallish young man - it was likely to be unmatched until either more dragons filled in or the eggs started cracking.
Valha manhandled the old bluerider into the seat to Ni’on’s left, her own on the cyanrider’s right covered with a flock of flitters watching her impatiently. “F’reki, this is Ni’on. He and Devath have been Searching - they have a few Candidates on the Sands tonight. Ni’on, this is F’reki - his blue Girieth is the one that keeps kidnapping people.”
F’reki clapped his hand to his forehead, sinking down into his seat, not having the ability to be shocked by the massive number of flitters around him in the face of that introduction. “Nice to meet you, lad.”
Valha lifted Idunn out of her seat and wrapped the baby gold’s tail around her neck, upon sitting, she was promptly covered in her fair, content to listen to F’reki and Ni’on while waiting for the first egg to crack.
* * *
The low hum is what initially caught Isildrasil’s attention, and she frowned as she considered it, before turning and starting to snap orders. Napping drudges were roused, and pots of klah and tea were set to brewing. Mugs were gathered from every inch of the kitchens that could spare them, and soon her workforce was trudging along a narrow, protected path to the Hatching Cavern, each person bearing mugs or pitchers of warm drinks.
She scattered her crew into the stands to offer refreshment to the spectators, and she herself worked her way down to as near the sands and queens as she dared, discreetly waiting with pitchers and mugs in case Nimara or Fajra were interested or able to partake of a little steadying refreshment - she doubted it, copper and red, after all, but it would be remiss of her not to make the discreet offer.
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Cathaline
Lady Holder
cathct[M:50]
Posts: 3,279
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Post by Cathaline on Mar 22, 2012 3:48:25 GMT -5
Ieco was not quite over the shock of his first violent Western snowstorm; born and raised on the Southern Continent, he was accustomed to much milder winters than they got here, and this was apparently especially harsh. When the call came, the hum of dragons starting to fill the air, his instinct was to start throwing on layers as he'd been doing for the past few sevendays; it was with reluctance, but mounting excitement, that he instead changed into the white robe and thick sandals appropriate to his Candidacy.
It was fortunate that dragons were arriving to carry them swiftly to the hatching sands. He was aware that, in nicer weather, there was a closer entrance to the barracks for them to use - but there was no way they could struggle through the mounds and drifts of snow, dressed for the blazing heat of the sands. As it was, his teeth were chattering when he slid from the dragon's back, thanking W'al and Kerath for their time. He paused just off the sands, rubbing his arms for a moment, not wanting to anger the mothers with his shivering, and then strode forward.
It was his first hatching, but he'd paid close attention to the etiquette involved. Nothing was amiss with his appearance; his bow was immaculate, and he had the good sense to face forward, directly between the two clutches and two dams, rather than favoring either. Kalith, he thought, might take offense to this, but having more experience of Waroth as his Candidatemaster's dragon, he was rather more worried about being struck down by her. "Thank you, beautiful mothers, for allowing me this opportunity," he said. Hopefully this would pass muster.
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By now, Saia knew the drill. She hadn't settled down for the night, and so it was the work of a minute to throw on her robe and sandals, tie her hair back in a loose runnertail, and give Dusky a little kiss on the snout. "Sparkle, stay with Dusky," she said. It had been made quite clear since Waroth's clutching that this would be a risky hatching, and she was taking no chances of her firelizard drawing unwanted attention.
Sparkle keened and hummed and nuzzled Hers before consenting to flop onto Dusky's back, the canine giving Saia a long-suffering look. Saia giggled and hurried into the hall, where other Candidates were rushing to get ready. Having attended Couineth's hatching the winter previous, she fully expected dragons to be lining up to give them a much-needed lift, and she scrambled onto Annith's back. The icy air was unpleasant, to say the least, but she was too thrilled to be standing again to let it bother her. In moments, she would be back on the sands, and maybe this time she'd Impress!
-----
Ambrith, Agnith, and Devath all took up the hum, stretching their wings and preparing to fly to the ledges from which they could watch the hatching, each with a certain level of excitement. Ambrith did his best to hide his with a grumpy, I do think they could have chosen a better time,[/i] without giving any hint of what he considered a more appropriate time, or even whether the problem was the day or the hour; Agnith simply squealed; and Devath immediately began to imagine the joy that was about to occur, and wonder whether any of her Candidates would Impress.
But where Delilah and Ni'on made their way to the stands without any drama, Day'ar flew into an instant panic. This was partially because he'd started off in a state of high-level anxiety which had persisted since the blizzard began. His troubles had started when he discovered that a heretofore-unconsidered consequence of having a weyr whose ledge stood barely three feet off the Bowl floor was that, in a blizzard situation, the drifts got ugly; this presented no problem for Ambrith, who was large enough to simply bowl right through them, but Day'ar had spent the last few days petrified that they were going to be snowed in. Sure, he could leave through the inner door, but Ambrith would be trapped. Day'ar had visions of slaughtering herdbeasts and dragging them through the halls for the rest of the winter, of being cast out of the Weyr for missing lessons and chores...
Then there were the usual fears. Dying of exposure or cold. Not wearing enough clothes. As soon as Ambrith started to hum, Day'ar rushed to his trunk to put on two more layers in order to brave the trip to the hatching sands and back. Just as he was picking up Serah from her bowl and tucking her down his vest to protect her from the cold, he froze.
"Ambrith," he said slowly. "Have you seen Starfall?"
Ambrith ruffled his wings and huffed, I'm sure it is not my job to watch your miscreant. You told her to see to it that our girl stands properly this time.[/i]
"Yes, but then she started to get a little more obsessed than I liked, and...you don't think she'll do anything terrible, do you?"
This new fear saw him onto Ambrith's back and across the Bowl in no time at all, the viridian dropping him at the entrance to the sands before flying off to roost on a ledge. Day'ar looked round, and though he spotted a few people he knew, Rennin was not among them...nor was there any sign of Starfall. With grave misgivings, he made his way into the stands and found Delilah, sitting beside her. "Um," he said quietly. "You might want to be ready, because Starfall is missing."
Delilah raised an eyebrow at him. "This is a red and copper hatching," she said. "I assure you that if Starfall sets one pincer on the sands, there will be nothing I can do for her."
"I wasn't worried about her," he said miserably, keeping his eyes peeled as Serah excitedly described everything to him, peeping out from under his vest. Now it was too hot in here, and he thought he might faint.
-----
As usual, Samara had made arrangements to attend the hatching. Atenna bounded in and found her usual seat near Tedaon, down in front where he could easily get to any injured Candidates; she had first gone to ensure Sebolaren came, knowing he had at least one friend among the Candidates and would regret missing it if someone didn't drag him here. Edison leaned casually against the rail, eager eyes taking in the scene.
And then there was Saia, again. A familiar hiss caught her attention just as she was about to head for the line, and she turned back, frowning. She was prepared to scold Starfall away - Day'ar would be so sad if the gray got eaten, it simply couldn't happen - only to find that a catastrophe was blooming. "Starfall!" the redhead exclaimed, but the grey pillie just hissed at her and vanished into a small crack in the wall, carrying Rennin's sandals away with her. "Oh, Rennin, are you okay? You can't stand without shoes. We have to..." But as she looked around in appeal, she knew it was too late. There couldn't possibly be any extra sandals here, because how in the world would the Candidates get here without them? And there was no time to go back to the barracks to get a spare pair, even if they sent a dragonrider. She supposed she could ask a spectator. Maybe Edison would...no, she could see in an instant that he was wearing enormous boots, appropriate for tromping through snow. Not so appropriate for standing. Rennin's feet would bake, if she could even walk in them in the first place.
Her brown eyes lit up as a thought occurred to her, and she quickly dragged her left sandal off. "Here!" she said, hauling Rennin upright. "Hurry, if they think we're late...put this on! We'll each wear one and walk together." And hopefully either the dams wouldn't notice, or would have more important things to think about than a couple of not-quite-dressed Candidates.
Rennin jerked her head up from her despairing contemplation of the hole her sandals had disappeared into at the sound of a voice she knew - you couldn’t help but recognize the voice of someone you’d been a Candidate with for as long she and Saia had. “Saia...” Rennin whispered in a small voice, eyes widening at the offer, “I...what if they notice and eat us?” Regardless, she rose, attempting to brush all the sand and grit off her white robes and out of her dark hair.
Saia bit her lip. “Well,” she said. “I don’t think they’re in the habit of actually killing Candidates. They might get upset and maul us a little.” Or even a lot; all those Candidate lessons had brought all sorts of horror stories, including Calmera’s mauling. But then Calmera had Impressed an orange, and it was all worth it. And Saia couldn’t just leave Rennin here, after all this time.
“Anyway, I’ll protect you,” she decided, grabbing Rennin round the waist. “You have to walk with me. If we fall down, they really will eat us.” This being decided, she hobbled out to the line in the sand with her fellow Candidate in a bizarre three-legged race sort of way. At least they were on time, and Saia briefly let go of Rennin, easily balancing on a single leg to sweep a deep bow to queen and subqueen. “My queen Kalith! My lady Waroth! I am honored to be standing here for you!”
Whether or not she would remain standing, with only one good leg and the heat of the sands already blistering her bare foot, remained to be seen. Saia tucked her bare foot behind her other ankle, trying not to sway. At least she was small. Easier to find her center of balance and stay upright, especially with her arm looped around Rennin's waist. That is, as long as nothing crashed into them, like a dragonet or a fellow Candidate...or an angry Kalith or Waroth claw...
Rennin let herself be hauled along, her shock at the manhandling fading quickly in the face of the need to find the rhythm needed to match her steps to Saia’s. Awkward, but at least they didn’t end up on their faces in the blazing hot sands. On the line, Saia released her to bow, and Rennin followed her example a moment later, dropping into something that was a cross between a bow and a curtsey, balancing on one leg and trying to keep her bare foot from contacting the sands, as she could already feel the start of burns, “Queen Kalith, Lady Waroth, it is an honor to stand before your clutches. I thank you for this chance.”
She hesitantly slipped her arm back around Saia’s waist when they both had finished their proper obeisance, leaning into her fellow Candidate for support and keeping her endangered foot well off the sand.[/size]
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Ruin
Wingrider
ruinct[M:-786]
We build the worlds we wouldn't mind living in
Posts: 1,137
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Post by Ruin on Mar 22, 2012 3:54:00 GMT -5
It was unbelievable how much she ached; she had assumed that, being raised on a cothold, she was made of tough stuff—certainly not as tough as Elly who was out in the fields, but tough nonetheless—instead she was finding that the ‘stuff’ she was mad of, was fluff. It had been her day on shoveling duty. The thick snow seemed to fall constantly, and no sooner had she cleared one path than another needed her attention, and not long after she cleared that one, the first would be back to its previous state. Dora felt as if she’d spent days out there, but really it had only been one, and though it wasn’t exceptionally late in the day they were in the cold months, so Rukbat was already sinking below the horizon. She had only just begun to gather what she required for the washroom when the oddest sound drew her attention to the stone wall of her room. Though she had never heard them before, and though no one really said it, there was enough of a bustle from the corridor to give her what she needed to understand. It was as the Candidatemaster had said to Elly: They really did sing.
Which meant the eggs were hatching and they were doing it now! There wasn’t even time for her to sand herself, oh dear! It was almost unthinkable that she might step onto the Sands looking unkempt, but if there was one thing that had made an impression on her at lessons it was that she mustn’t be late, above all else, not if she wanted to keep her life. Not that the dragons would intentionally hurt her, but it could seem like she was up to no good, and they were mothers. Oh with all those Candidates crowding around, and all of their hatching children, they were probably the most anxious party on the Sands. Dora sorted herself into the white robe she had been fitted for, hands smoothing down the fabric as she checked to ensure it covered her properly and wasn’t out of sorts, and then, before she knew it, she was moving down the corridor to exit the barracks. Don’t run Dora, it isn’t seemly! Luckily, with the press of fellow Candidates coming and going, there wasn’t much of an opportunity for her to break into flight.
Despite her previous activity, it hadn’t occurred to Dora that she should be concerned about the snow and ice. Her only thought, as she was jostled outside with the others who were lucky enough to be in the barracks when the hum went up, was of Elly and where she might find her twin. Certainly the girl heard the singing, and of course she wouldn’t miss this for the world, by all rights Elly had coerced her twin to come here. No, this would be Elly’s day, and she’d not miss it, but it was possible she had been the quickest yet and already made her way to the Sands. Oh, but would she really leave her sister to fend for herself? A rush of wind blew the harsh cold against her, pinking her fair cheeks and leaving her eyes stinging with tears, but this was no simple snowstorm, it was dragons! They were here to help the Candidates! How magnificent they were, and how thoughtful, in fact for the first time since she’d finished her chores she thought of the snow she was standing in. The cold season, almost over though, and then there would be greenery again.
Oh! Her mind had wandered, and now she was certain she had missed her sister through some error of her own. Pitching her head around, Dora tried to spy that brownish-red hair, and instead found a head full of hair so red it seemed like it couldn’t be real. She knew that Candidate! Okay, so technically she knew all of them, but she had spoken to very few, and Saia was one of them. The excitable girl was climbing up on a dragon as yellow as Rukbat at noon, and Dora was not going to be left behind. She owed it to Elly to make a good showing of herself, she didn’t want her sister to have any reason to feel guilt, even if it ended up being Dora’s fault she was mauled, or worse removed from the Sands. There was no way around it, she simply couldn’t be late. The leg up seemed more of a toss to Dora, as everyone was in such a rush to transport the large group of Candidates to the Grounds as soon as possible, but she did her best to right herself on the yellow neck nestled safely between two rigid triangles of flesh and bone. Why, it wasn’t every day a person had a chance to ride a dragon, and that made today all the more special—even if all her hope lay in her sister. Surely there would be a dragon for her Elly baking on those hot sands.
The ride was quick, but joyous, and for one moment Dora imagined she could see the treetops below her, but those were beyond the great stone wall and far below the dragon’s chosen trajectory. Thankfully they were gentler helping her disembark the Yellow than they were thrusting her upon that neck, and Dora managed to find her feet without soiling her robe, the ends of which she held daintily above the slush until her sandal-clad feet were upon the hot dry sand. She considered remaining as Saia’s shadow, but decided against it, and as much as she wanted to blend into the back—there wasn’t much of one for the Candidates. To one side was the Copper and her clutch, to the other lay the Red and hers, and in the middle—the feast? Dora almost chuckled to herself. Dragon’s didn’t eat people! Though now that she was drawing closer, there was trepidation and caution growing in her. What had they said? What had she been taught? It all seemed to fade away in the chaos of how quickly things had happened.
Bowing! She had to! Yes! Ohhh! Before she forgot again, she bowed deeply to both the Copper Kalith and Red Waroth, nearly pitching over both times as she gave them each an equal—and separate—measure of her respect: measure being all of it she could give without throwing herself to the ground and mussing up her robes. Which they probably wouldn’t have appreciated anyway. ”Thank you, Kalith,” she said softly, hoping her voice would carry. ”Thank you, Waroth,” came her soft words again as she straightened. ”For allowing me this honor of Standing.” And please don’t maul me!. Not that they would, but it was always better to be safe, right? None of this had solved her dilemma of where to stand, either would expose her back to the other dragon, and that seemed like too much of a snub to her. In the end, she decided to put herself at the back of the growing group of candidates with her body situated on the line and perpendicular to it: she would keep her attentions on both clutch, and grass below hope she didn’t forget and favor one over the other! It had taken her some time to settle in, to wind her way through the seemingly endless—and growing—clump of candidates, and to pick that most appropriate spot, not to mention greeting the two dragon mothers. She was surprised to find, once she finally looked down the line at the entrance, that Saia was entering again with another Candidate, and they both appeared to be wounded—no—not wounded. Why…they were missing a sandal each and hobbling to keep their unprotected feet off the Sands!
* ---------------*-------------------*
Sebolaren had not been planning to attend. When the hum filled the Weyr he had felt a stirring of pain in his chest that didn’t seem like it would shake, but Atenna had reminded him of his duty. There were friends still left on those Sands, and they would want support—even if he didn’t feel worthy of giving it. Atenna had always known best though, for beasts and man, so he allowed the woman to drag him to those Stands where he could watch, or perhaps attempt to ignore, another Wing formed and new Impressions made. Of course upon arriving Atenna got right down to what she enjoyed best, betting on who would Impress what, and that put a bad taste in his mouth and a gnawing discomfort at his pit—not because of her, she had a motherly warmth for all things new and uncertain and full of possibility, but because it brought back memories. And questions. Had she bet on him? Of course she had. And he had let her down, he had let everyone down.
Quietly he shrank away from her, and though from around his neck a querying cheep broke through the hatching hum, the tri-coloured Orange Ayla did not betray her bonded’s actions. The others, thankfully, were with the dragons singing, perhaps even with Agnith, and that thought was all Sebolaren needed to search out his friend in the growing crowd. He found her easily as one can find a person they know so well, her blond hair sticking out against the dark of Day’ar’s broody crop. His friends, together, and he to join them would make it all the better—for him. Hopefully they wouldn’t mind his presence. Hopefully no one would. Sitting down beside the Pinkrider, he offered the pair a faint smile; perhaps there would be some peace here—just a little.
His hope, however, was immediately dashed by the expression on Day’ar’s face, one that Sebol would recognize anywhere. Something was wrong, and as the young man had grown so very much post-Impression, the dragonless man was certain the problem was very real. Inquisitively, but certain he wasn’t going to like what he heard; he raised an eyebrow at the Viridianweyrling. Peace, it seemed, would need to come another day. Even as he inquired with a brow, a confused murmur from the gathering crowd drew his eyes down to the Sands where two hapless girls were hobbling in using each other as crutches, and with hair like that it was easy to know who one of them was. Oh dear, again his eyes went to the over-dressed Day'ar: Did he know something about this?
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Post by larkwing on Mar 22, 2012 6:03:26 GMT -5
One day led into another. It was just an easy answer as that; one day led into another. Long ago, or perhaps it really was just a matter of three or four days, the candidate had lost the ability to truly see the end of one day and the beginning of the next. Now, this was not in the alarming sense of insanity or sickness, but more in that kind of singular focus one takes to during a project. Sakalas was entirely focused in this case on the present clutches laying on the sands. She knew she couldn't stand forever, though for her particularly that forever was quite a few more turns. However, it was more than that, she didn't want to be left behind again. This was especially since so many friends were such good candidates.
The girl ticked them off in her head, smiling to herself and hoping with each that she too would join them for surely they were moving on. With a wistful sigh she finally dropped her hands that by now were starting to draw close to running out of places to mark the current object of thought, and let her head rest against her pillow. The chores had started to get easier lately, no doubt in order to give them time to go to the hatching once the song had been started. Still, she missed seeing the drudges in the kitchens and the lower caverns were she tended to work, not to mention just the general time to converse idly while working on said job to other candidates and weyrfolk. Talking for Saka was like breathing, and the more she did it the more alive she felt.
A small chitter made her eye quirk upward slightly and she turned onto her side, arms curling in around the little pink firelizard she had impressed to last season. Riku had tumbled about in her dream and her tail was caught between her front paws, her mouth open to attack it as if it were prey or an enemy. Giggling, the candidate pushed gently at their bond as to wake the pink up, and the confused trill was enough to send her into louder laughter. Laughter was good though right, it made people smile and open up. Despite her time and attention being taken by her firelizard, she did not miss the hum of dragons. That song was a particular favorite of hers, one that signaled and event that she just could not miss. Nor, would she ever want to.
Jumping up off her bed, she slipped out of the night clothes she had put on and reached for the candidate robe. Her robe. She had worn it how many times now? Two maybe, perhaps three. It fit over her head, but to her dismay it still swished at the same place despite her desires to get taller. Sighing, she shook her head, grabbed a brush and started to attack the bedwraggled mess that was her hair. It was a wild mess, frizzing just to spite the cold that was definitely getting to Saka's small frame. She shivered for a moment, and continued on. For a moment she considered taking out the three feathers and few beads she had used to braid into her hair long ago and had since only taken out to refresh with new ones.
Just as quickly as she thought to take them out though, she decided to leave them in. As much as the mothers would have hoped she wasn't there for them, she was there for the eggs and the dragonets inside. They deserved to know the real her, not just the one that was prim and proper and all dressed up because she was made to be. So, with a determined nod of her head and a firm hold on her pink to stay in her room, Saka left the candidate barracks and allowed herself to merge into the gathering of people on their way to the dragons that would take them to the sands. She didn't pay too much attention to which dragon she boarded, perhaps Annith, perhaps another. Her mind was already focused on what would happen as she got off.
Kurosaki was no different perhaps than any other candidate. The usual spoil sport had ruffled his hair, quite to Kai's abhorrence, and got out of bed with a great stretch. Hatching, and it wouldn't be his first, but his only one here so far. Yawning so wide it clicked his jaw slightly, he pulled at his clothing and put on the robe he had been given. It was always the same, fuss, fuss, maybe they'd impress but still the same they all had to get ready and be perfect. Oh how he despised that word. He let Kai check him over finally, the blue going about fixing his hair and his robe until it was straight and tidy, and then the firelizard chirped approvingly. "Okay buddy, I'll be back later."
He didn't walk fast, though his lengthened lope still kept him up fine with the group of candidates, and he felt himself push inward to his mind in order to asses the situation. The eggs and Queens in the sands were what he considered, but more so he considered what he was going to do. Kurosaki always seemed the apathetic boy in these kinds of situations, and to be honest that was true only partially though. He cared, oh in fact he cared enough to push-no-shove all those insecurities that he didn't want to face deep into himself and steel himself up with a barrier of pessimistic view and apathetic action. If he did that people stayed away, and he generally didn't get hurt. This would not be the case.
The decision of what to do as he was led to the sands and saw the candidates having to decide between the clutches as to which to face was a quick one. Though the most likely one he should have made was to face neither but try at both, he situated himself first in a deep bow to the two Queens, and addressed Red Waroth first and then Copper Kalith. "Queen Waroth, Queen Kalith I am honored to be here for your children. I wish them only the best in finding their lifemates." Okay, so maybe he knew how to be pleasant when it was needed, but he moved on the further end of the line closer to Waroth's group and faced her. She had been the one that had taught him and though Kalith was the WeyrQueen, the Copper knew how to stay still and behave as well.
Sakalas was no different than that trying to find out where to stand, but she made certain to bow down low, equally however to both mothers, and address them properly. "Thank you Queen Kalith and Waroth for this opportunity. I am deeply honored to have this chance at impression and hope your children the best in finding their lifemates." Straightening, but keeping her head slightly lowered still just to make sure they knew she was acknowledging them, you never knew if one was being distracted by something else and had missed her display, she looked between the two clutches and abruptly did the same thing as a candidate not far from her did. She settled between the two, giving her attention equally by counting off a few seconds mentally before turning her head one way, then doing the same thing again and turning it in the other direction. Surely it wouldn't go on forever, but until the dragonets started to appear and were a proper distraction for the Queens it would have to do.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on Mar 22, 2012 6:48:11 GMT -5
The sound of dragon humming filled the ears of a young man and Ceserat suddenly jumped to his feet. He couldn’t be late. They had told him that if he had been late then he would be in trouble because he would offend Kalith or Waroth. He could not have that, couldn’t have that at all. If he arrived at the hatching too late then maybe he wouldn’t ever be allowed to stand. He would then have to return home to Selae and inform her that he had never even gotten the chance to show the dragons who he was. Ceserat fretted a moment longer before making his apologies to the other weavers and walking briskly to the candidate barracks fully aware that if he ran he would probably just manage to harm himself.
As he got closer to his room, the boy picked up the pace and charged in searching desperately for his robes. They just happened to already be laid out on the bed. He didn’t know why he had taken to doing this but he’d heard some of the other candidates talking and from that figured this was the best option. With care and caution, Ceserat pulled the robes over his head and checked himself. He was immaculate. Next he checked his hair… To him, he had to always be as clean and proper looking as possible.
Still, he had wasted a lot of time and the humming was becoming louder. Walking outside of the barracks he noticed a couple of dragons taking people to the sands. Taking a deep breath he tried to step forwards but found he could not. It was too dangerous to fly on a dragon in the middle of a snowstorm! What if they couldn’t see and he fell or something? Of course, the ‘blizzard’ was not as thick as he was imagining it to be… He took a step forwards and closed his eyes momentarily before taking a deep breath and climbing on the back of a dragon.
A small squeal of surprise escaped the candidate as they took off and landed before the cavern. As he descended, Ceserat managed to skip a step and fall face first into the snow and mud. Looking down at his drenched robes he almost felt like crying. Defeated, he walked into the cavern and bowed before both Queens managing only a small squeak before stepping back and standing with the rest of the male candidates feeling as miserable as he looked. Still, he tried to cheer himself up by watching the movements of the eggs. Maybe, just maybe, one of these eggs here contained a dragon for him.
Another hatching and this one he would have to attend just like all the others. As always, he would be on hand to care for those injured. Of course, he would stay near the stands as he always did but Tedaon had come to terms with some of the things in his life. Finally, he was truly looking forward to this hatching not because of the candidates but because of the dragonets. He strode purposefully out of the infirmary as soon as the humming started and walked across the Weyrbowl. As with anything, he was determined and set in his motions. Neras remained behind, curled up in a tight ball on his pillow in his room.
As he entered the hatching caverns he took a place close enough to the sands that he would be able to assist if required but far enough away so as to cause no offense. Scanning the crowd, he moved towards a particular female with whom he had not caught up in a while. Things had been tough with Threadfall and he’d been kept far too busy to see the young herder but had indeed wished to. Candidate collecting had been at the bottom of his list but she could at least tell him who some of the candidates were.
He spotted one young healer apprentice amongst the white-robed people and looked over at her… Ondine was her name? Either way, he pointed her out to Atenna by way of greeting almost. “Seen that one around the infirmary. She’ll probably do well enough.” He didn’t immediately recognise the man she was standing with more interested in the excitement of the hatching. “Hello.”
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princesal
Wingrider
salct[M:-100]
Poliwogging it up!
Posts: 429
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Post by princesal on Mar 22, 2012 7:59:46 GMT -5
It wasn't hard to believe that when Teriss heard the call, that he had already been up for a while, and had managed to make some bubbly pie. Everyone was getting excited and nervous and a bit agitated, by the upcoming hatching. He thought maybe it might have something to do with the mothers being dragons that were more prone to violence and tempers, than say... a tan. So he had thought to break the tension, he could use some of the berries in storage to make pie. He was careful to ask first, and the berries needed to be used quickly at this point, or would be useless. Having gotten berry stains on his fingers, and with the on edge feeling from everyone else, he had been sent to bathe almost immediately after. The tension was starting to get to him, as was obvious by the visible stress in his shoulders. Probably like every other candidate he had been wondering if he'd impress, he hoped he would (who didn't), but he still had the looming sensation that he was going to go down the same path as both of his parents. A life in the kitchen wasn't so bad. Teri did know for a fact that if his parents knew of the mother dragons of the clutches he was standing for, they would be scared for him. He tried not to think about that.
It only made him nervous. He had seen the scar on his fathers leg, and how it had debilitated him enough to not be able to stand... and that had been a newly hatched dragon. What would an angry mother do? Probably swallow first and ask questions later.
Toweling himself off, that was when he heard the call, and with barely thinking about it, made a beeline back to his room (not even stopping to get a cover from the waist down. Hopefully most would be distracted by the hatching to notice his nudity... he hadn't). Once there, he went to the beds he shared with his roommate to... find them empty. How did that happen every time? Chuckling at the sensation of having gone through this once before, he pulled on his candidate robes, and his sandles, and did his best to push his hair out of his eyes. He wondered if he was allowed to wear the stone that T'von and Moruluth had given him, he had a feeling that it would bring him luck. Not sure, he put it on in such a way that the robes hid most of it. Pressing a kiss to Jelly's head, who cheeped her enthusiasm (she wanted a little big sister or brother), he also trailed his fingers from the back of Phillie Pillie the Pille's back, and with a few soft noises, the pillie sent out a tremendous wave of love and comfort. Already, Teri was feeling good about today.
Today everything was going to change, right?
Rushing out of his room, his made his way quickly through the halls, narrowly and spinningly avoided one of his fellow candidates, he got out to the dragons who were nice enough to give a quick ride, being on time was really important today, and Teri was not going to make a fatal error like that.
Of course, when he got to the entrance, he paused. Because as if like clockwork, all the thoughts about what happened if he enraged the mothers came back, it was as if every softly spoken comment had come back to him in a wash. Immediately he felt cold sweat pooling on the back of his neck that had nothing to do with the temperature of the air. What if he didn't bow low enough? What if he toed out of line? He wasn't the smartest man, he didn't pretend to be, so something that could be so obvious to others, might have completely gone over his head. Whimpering, he would have stood there forever if not, in the rush to get onto the sands, another candidate surged him along. The world spun for a moment, and the next time he was clearing his dull eyes, he was on the sands, in the designated area that had been chosen so carefully. The two mothers were... right there, so close, and... the eggs. Already the sensations were dizzying.
Before there was a moment to doubt, he bowed as low as he could without tipping over, and tried to peel his tongue off the roof of his mouth. He thought his thanks, thought it like he was throwing his arms up to the sky and proclaiming it, but all that came out was a soft voice, "Thank you, b-beautiful mo-m-mothers, for... the chance... ... to..." Taking a deep breath, he straightened up a little, "impress... one of... lovely ch-children." That had been a mouthful for him, and as soon as he said it, he was scrambling back to try and hide in the fold of the other boys... he hoped he had done well. Finally, after a moment of catching his breath (though nothing was going to stop his racing heart), his eyes went to the eggs. Already he saw some eggs moving.
What was going to happen today? He hoped it would be a day he'd never forget.
---- ---- ---- ----
Eggs are hatching...
A hot exhalation of breath blew W'lin's hair back, and he gave his Iron a one eyed open glare. Rubbing at his eye, he walked towards his bed, pulling on warmer furs.
We've already seen a hatching, they're all the same. Another group of idiots choosing another group of idiots. Was your hatching the same? Obviously! Did you see my hatchmates?! That purple!! -mental shudder- Entirely full idiots! Barring me of course, and on certain days you.
Pulling on a hat, W'lin actually sent a smile over at Chyurath, who seemed quite at peace to curl up and go back to sleep, it was gross outside.
You know... today is a red and a copper together on the sands, I have a feeling that some of these 'idiots' are going to get punished very quickly.
That seemed to have Chyu's interest,
I fear that we must, if only to afterwards offer suggestions on what they could have done better. Of course, of course. You're so altruistic.
Both rider and Iron shared a chuckle at that, and before the hatching started, they were finding places to have a good view. Chyurath couldn't be in the stands anymore, but he was happy to find somewhere that if he was next to a dragon, it was at least one he didn't despise... and not a purple. W'lin, put himself to the side, not searching anyone out, and took mental bets on what would happen. He was hoping it would be interesting.
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Rappu
Pridesecond
rapct[M:55]
Sailor Melty Rainbow Death
Posts: 496
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Post by Rappu on Mar 22, 2012 8:45:41 GMT -5
Analucia woke up as the hum washed over her mind. Groggy and sleepy, she stretched and then the thought hit her: they're hatching. She hopped up from bed, brimming with excitement, and threw on her Candidate robe, adjusted it to look good and thanked Faranth she always slept with her hair braided. Saia clearly wouldn't have had time to make her hair just now! Her heart beat slightly faster and she smiled wide. A hatching!
Viher and Linne were happily sleeping in their bowls. Good thing, too - Linne would have tried to make friends with all of the eggs, all of the hatchlings, every single Candidate, the people attending, and Waroth and Kalith. Viher was easier to manage, well, when there weren't any shoelaces around. Analucia sighed and shook her head happily, whispered a "I will be back soon, darlings", took a final glance at the mirror, put on her sandals and then hurried outside.
The blizzard didn't daunt her, nor did the cold. Winters in Fort Hold could get extremely cold, and more than anything, the weather just now reminded her of home. It was fitting, somehow. Grandmother and mama would be so proud of her when they heard that she had Impressed. The thought of being left standing didn't scare her; there were no queen eggs, after all. If she didn't Impress, it just meant that a queen egg was waiting for her in the future. She trembled, but it was more excitement and rush of adrenaline than the cold. Analucia was among the lucky ones transported to the Sands, and later, she would only remember curtsying to a dragon and being carried off.
The hotness was almost uncomfortable after the cold, and it took her a moment to adjust. Analucia walked firmly, properly up to the sands, and bowed elegantly to both queens, thanking Grandmother of all those lessons on addressing one's superiors. Oh, how she was nervous! Both dragonesses were so large and imposing, certainly moreso than anyone she had met so close before. "Graceful Queen Kalith, graceful Queen Waroth, I am honoured to attend this hatching and grateful for the chance to stand here for your beautiful children." She slipped to the Sands as fast as propriety allowed and made her way next to Sakalas. Her fellow candidate was easy to recognize, and Analucia felt too dazzled to stand alone.
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Morndag sat on his bed, writing. Thus it is to be expected that Pillies and Humans would share a symbiotic relationship whenever possibl The hum came and Morndag froze. He didn't even splash ink; he was literally scared still. Hatching would mean going into a small cavern with everyone else and everyone would stare, stare at him and judge him unfit for a dragon. He had had nightmares of attending and things going wrong, like him attending the hatching naked, or everyone else being naked or finely dressed and laughing at him for coming there in a silly white robe, or being told by the Candidatemaster that he wasn't good enough. He sat still for a minute, breathing slowly and letting his heartbeat still. Tremayne would probably be there, and that thought made him even more nervous.
It felt like a dream, like he was being controlled by an external force. Morndag dressed in his white robe and sandals, and walked to the candidate barracks' door. His feet felt like two sticks made of pudding, and his hands shook. He couldn't even take his notebook with him, and so he had nothing to hide behind. Even his long, dark hair was in a ponytail. And it was cold, and dark! Morndag disliked snowfalls. Snow was all right, quite pretty even, but there was something unsettling about big snowflakes that landed on him and danced in his vision and smudged up his notes. Wrapping his arms about him, Morndag stepped outside.
Luckily a dragon had the good sense to pick the shaking candidate up before he ran back indoors. Morndag was carried to the hatching sands, and once there, he saw the eggs. Dragons! He would show everyone and Impress, and not even flinch if one came up to him. He would experience the link between dragons and their riders firsthand, and he could write an academic account on the subject, and-- Morndag suddenly found himself on the edge of the sand, staring at two giant queen dragons. His eyes widened, breath hitched, and he bowed, squeaking out something that vaguely sounded like "honour", and he nearly ran to the Sands, where the rest of the male candidates stood. Once there, he was out of breath and his heart was racing all over his body, but curiously, he wasn't nervous about his fellow candidates any more. He was sure that if he impressed, his dragon would protect him.
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kireon
Candidatemaster
kirct[M:-191]
Posts: 739
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Post by kireon on Mar 22, 2012 10:14:04 GMT -5
Rhikail had been perfectly well into her rest when the call went out. Groggily waking up thanks to the humming and the announcements made for the Candidates to hurry and get to the Sands, she was less than the best conversationalist as she donned her clean, neat robe made to be worn for just the occasion, securing it with the waist tie and everything. Her hair, however, felt like more than a lost cause as she placidly began fighting with it, attempting to tame it on her own into some semblance of style.
We hate these robes. The wavy haired girl decided as soon as the realization kicked in that her burn scars were going to be more than just a little visible. Short sleeves, even in the midst of winter, the hem of the thing would still show the mess of scars that marred her legs, ankles and feet, leaving others to only imagine what the rest of her probably looked like- and her arms were exposed too, and the scars that marred them as well. That overexposed feeling, combined with the absolute certainty that she would not be Impressing this particular Hatching, even if Ondine was sure to, in her eyes, was enough to put her in a bit of a mood.
Her sandals neatly in place, and Ondine's assistance greatly appreciated as the girl attacked her hair with the same enthusiasm she greeted life with, taming the wild, massively wavy mass of chestnut colored bed head into something of an elegant braid that she expertly secured at the end. One of these days, she would ask how Ondine had become so good at it, as she didn't figure it came from her duties and service as an Apprentice Healer. They were off, piled on to a dragon with one of the older boys that she'd heard Ondine talk about on a couple of occasions, the girl's excitement turning into delight... with a bit of what could only be described as a predatory glint in the girl's cheerful blue eyes.
Poor Seta, he was in Ondine's sights, and she did not have the feeling that he was going to be removed terribly soon. Though how serious the flirty girl actually was, well, that was up for debate and required further observation. Once on the hot sands, Rhikail's expression returned to stoic instead of brooding, despite the discomfort the hot sands afforded her and the overly self-consciousness she had of her scars. They would turn pink with this kind of heat, if they weren't already purple-ish from the cold she'd been in, the teenager thought moodily and turned her attention to the two mothers of the clutches.
She bowed properly, deeply to show her respect to each of them. "We thank you for the honor and opportunity to stand here this day, Queen Kalith, Queen Waroth." She stood beside Ondine, catching sight of a couple others, aside from Seta, that she recognized from the Candidate lessons, and some run ins out of said lessons. Her attention, however, remained on Kalith, as the copper queen's eggs were more lively than Waroth's... though she caught the look on Seta's face and gave him a nod, silently letting him know she was going to look out for Kalith the way he would very likely be keeping an eye on Waroth.
Even if they couldn't do anything but try to get out of the way, a warning could at least be shouted out, and she could try and keep Ondine from being harmed, should a dragonet or one of the mothers decide to grow violent.
**
Something in his gut told him that this was going to be a long night, and the hum of dragonsong was exactly what confirmed it a handful of candlemarks after he was supposed to have been asleep. His hair, recently cut by his cousin into something resembling order, and not so far in his face he couldn't see anymore, wasn't tousled, though he gave it a quick comb just to be on the safe side. ...which makes no sense, I'm going to be flown to the Sands on dragonback. It'll get messed up anyway. The futility of the effort seemed to amuse him as he quickly donned his robes and slipped out to join the rest.
He had been more considering over the feel of a dragon beneath him, wondering if he were sitting on the great beast right when a chill that had nothing to do with the blizzard raging around them went down his spine. His back straightened, his body tensing and stiffening as he looked sharply around for the sign of danger.
Nothing.
So why was he...? Oh. That girl. The Apprentice Healer, Ondine, he believed it was.
A funny sort of sound escaped as her roommate, the girl who always gave him an oddly intense stare whenever she saw him, was placed up behind him by the rider of the dragon. Sure enough, Ondine was lifted up next, wedging the smaller girl between the two of them. Why is it, every time those two are around, I feel like something bad's going to happen? Whether it was to him, or to one of them, he wasn't exactly sure.
...but the way Ondine's eyes, pretty shade of blue though they were, seemed to light up when she realized who was sitting in front of her only made his shoulder hunch a little bit. She was... nice, but something about the way she eyed him just made him a little... cautious, yeah, cautious was a good word for it. Not to mention she was... friendly, quite so when she'd kissed him in the Infirmary that one time.
Dropped off, he walked to the stands, standing in the appropriate place and went through the formalities as he'd gone through before here in Dalibor. He bowed deeply, respectfully, and addressed the two queens. "Queen Waroth, Queen Kalith, thank you for allowing me the honor to Stand here this night." The gray eyed youth straightened, deciding his attention would be best served on Waroth, that way he could warn whoever was in her path to get out of the way, or put himself in her way if it came down to it. After all, time with his uncle, and with his young cousin, had given him more than a bit of a protective side.
Saia, Ondine... Ondine's roommate who's name escaped him at the moment, Teriss- poor Teriss, he sounded terrified, and a few others he recognized by sight, but who's names escaped him for the time behind caught his eye. But the four who's names he'd remembered, they were the first he'd go for if violence broke out. Getting them out of harm's way would be his first priority, aside from hopefully not getting killed or severely injured himself.
**
Hatchings.
It'd been a while since she'd realized just how big a deal they were, 'specially with two of 'em on the sands at the same time. Aylina pulled herself out of bed, dressing as warmly as possible and cursed that sharding wind as Wenth poked her head out of her bed, eyes whirrling. Waroth and Kalith are hatching their eggs now...[/color]
Her child-like voice echoed softly in her weyrling's mind, her large, growing form rising as she stretched herself out and made to accompany Aylina to the grounds to watch. We should go, MyPretty, it's what we have to do, yes... but not on the stands. That will be a big no...[/i]
"No need for me t'be on the stands anyway, love." She told her lady dragon, reaching up to rub the soft hide and quickly headed out of the Weyrling quarters. Wenth kinda liked to climb, so they'd find a good place to sit and watch. "I got you, after all. Ain' no other dragon for me." She felt Wenth's pleasure at being acknowledged as being called her 'only' dragon, though it faded as they approached the area together. Wenth climbed, flapping her wings for purchase at times, and settled on a lower ledge than some of the other dragons would have, and watched contentedly from there, dinner plate eyes as wide as they would go.
She did not want to miss anything, not even the littlest bit. Eggs moving... I see them, yes... I see them.[/color] Wenth took up the humming like the other dragons, keeping her eyes on the Sands even as she reported her findings to Aylina. So many other dragons, older dragons too, she liked seeing them, yes... she did. She would greet them if she were not busy humming like everyone else.
Hatchings were exciting!
Aylina smiled fondly, enjoying the different perspective and the emotions running through her dragon as she leaned back from her spot in the Stands. Wenth was young enough to think it was exciting and new, and wanted to watch everything because movement was everywhere... but old enough, or maybe it was just instinctive enough, to know she needed to behave and keep relatively alert. Which one you think is gonna hatch first, Wenth? Can ya see 'em that good from there?
Saia was there, she realized with a large grin on her face. Good for her! Maybe she'd get a friend like Wenth who matched 'er cheery personality this time 'round, would be hard t'believe a dragon wouldn't want her. "Wonder if there'll be any like Wenth?" The blonde mused to herself, enjoying the idea of seeing another sweetheart join the weyr, might do a bit of good to be kind of a big sister-like to another weyrling.
A long silence, the humming feeling like it was vibratin' through her very bones as she blew into her hands, tucking them into her sides to keep 'em as warm as possible as she waited for an answer that finally came. The one in Kalith's will hatch first, the soft orange but not orange, and white but not white one. It moved a lot, yes... it did, it moved a lot...[/color] Wenth replied, considering the moving of all of the eggs and decided which she thought would go. The ones who moved the most would hatch first, right?[/size]
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Post by laushi on Mar 22, 2012 12:25:53 GMT -5
Laushi couldn’t sleep this evening and was already awake when the loud hum began to vibrate through the Weyr. He knew what that meant, it had been covered in the candidate lessons after all. Laushi was out of bed in a flash, his mind racing over the step by step actions that needed to be taken. Slowly his nerves began to calm as he focused on getting ready while controlling his breathing and treating the event like the preparations for a fight. Whatever worked to clear his head right?! Swiftly the young man stripped, for once not caring if his bunk-mate was still in the room. As an unfortunate side effect of the robe design, several of his scars would show anyway and there was no way around it. Letting the fabric fall over his shoulders and head and into place Laushi fished around in his trunk and froze for a second, then cursed with enough venom to make a fisherman blush. His sash wasn’t ready yet.
Laushi had intended to cut a three finger width length of white fabric off of the extra fabric left from sewing his robe ...but had not gotten a chance to do that yet. So instead of wasting time to cut it now..he lifted the one foot wide by four foot long strip of linen and folded it lengthwise a few times till the appropriate width was reached. Tying the sash at his waist so it looked proper he glanced at the arrangement briefly and was pleased to note it looked as if the sash fit right in. Quickly he pulled on his socks and sandals, then his gloves and coat.
The Gloves, socks and coat were for the trip over to the caverns…not for wearing out onto the sands. Unfortunately he knew his knives had to stay behind and although it caused a pain in his heart the boy locked them in his trunk . He darted out of the room and all the way into the Weyrbowl where dragonriders were fearing candidates, and Laushi took advantage of the service. After stepping inside the entrance to the sands Laushi stripped off his coat, ignoring the fact the scars on his arms and collarbone were visible. He then started to strip off his gloves as he scanned the area and the couple of candidates who had already arrived. This is when Laushi noticed that two of his fellow candidates, had only one sandal on….and he knew how blistering hot the sands were. He let his mind flicker over the options and then sat and pulled off his sandals, his feet were calloused from turns of travel and more suited for the punishment…he also had a high pain tolerance. Laushi folded his right glove neatly and then placed it on the sole of his foot. Taking off his sash he tore the fabric into three long strips, one retried his robe, and one he used to wrap about his foot in a criss cross pattern holding the glove to his food and forming an almost sandal looking pattern against the dark leather ‘glove’ sole. Actually, it looked rather sharp!
From a distance they would look kind sandals, although a different sort than the other candidates had on. He quickly repeated this action with his left foot then stood and moved to the edges of the sands, he gave both mothers a low bow. ”I am honored by the opportunity. I thank you for the chance to stand and impress.” he said formally and then proceeded onto the hot sands, aiming for the ‘demilitarized zone’ where a few candidates already stood. He made his way briefly to the girls ..Rennin and Saia... and offered each one of his sandals ”Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered” he said softly. He had relatively small feet for a boy, and it would definitely be a better option than trying to stand one footed the whole time. He knew the heat would eat through the gloves after a while, but he would deal with it. Even if they refused it was to late to put the proper sandals on now as he would have to take the wrapped ones off first.
If they took the offer or not he would still move into proper position and wait for the first egg to hatch..standing sideways so both sides of the line could be watched equally. He kept a cautious look out for familiar faces...Ieco, Kali, Altolec, and Morndag..as well as the pathetic bully Treymane. But the majority of his focus remained on the clutch mothers and the eggs.
*** TO CLARIFY: Because I think a couple of people might be slightly confused! Laushi took his sandals off *before*he was on the sands and made the make-shift ones. Then he bowed, and entered properly. Passing the girls he quickly gave/offered each a sandal *in passing* while still moving to his spot. He only paused for a second to let them accept or not.
He didn't linger near them, or fuss around with the shoes. And is now standing in a proper spot ( A fair ways away from the two girls) between the clutches so each is one one side of him and he can glance back and forth to keep an eye on all the eggs.
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Alec
Wingrider
alecct[M:-360]
Cuteness abound!
Posts: 544
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Post by Alec on Mar 22, 2012 14:02:28 GMT -5
As it were, Altolec was preparing to go fishing in the lake with his pole. As was usual of him, he was checking to make sure everything on the pole was good. Hook was sharp, line was strong, the pole was flexible.
He walked down the Barracks, heading toward the Dining Cavern to see if they had anything that they could spare for bait. Surely they wouldn't mind if he used it to catch a few fish to cook, possibly for the Weyrleaders, even. As he continued, he heard the hum.
Altol cursed silently to himself and rushed back towards his room, taking off his shirt as he ran. By the time he arrived, Laushi had already left, which made him sigh a bit in relief. At least one of them would be on time.
He ran outside and was surprised to see dragons waiting to pick up Candidates. Hopping onto the nearest one, he clung tightly onto one of the neck ridges until they made it to the Hatching Grounds. Not forgetting his manners, Altolec quickly strode up to the mothers and gave each a deep bow. "Thank you for letting me Stand here today to Impress your babies. I'm sure that all of them will make sound choices and become fine dragons themselves." After he had finished, he made his way back to the other Candidates, taking a spot next to Laushi. "Good luck." he whispered to him, then waitied nervously for the eggs to hatch.
T'von strode out of the Weyrling Barracks with Cloud on his shoulder and Loess stuck to his back. Since Moruluth was too young to fly at the moment, the purple sat just outside of the Barracks to catch the rays of the sun.
Do you think Teri will Impress? I hope so. T'von thought back. Poor Teri. He had Stood so many times already, but had yet to find his own dragon. In a lot of ways, T'von felt that Moruluth should have gone to Teri, but he was just as happy that the purple chose him instead.
He entered with a group of others and made his way to the stands. He chose a spot where he could see Teri good, as well as all the other Candidates he knew and began flexing his hands in excitement.
Without any prodding from T'von, Moruluth gently touched Teri's mind. I wish you the best of luck. And if you don't Impress today, T'von and I will still be here for you Satisfied with his message, Mor then touched all the other Candidate's minds. I wish you all good luck! With that, he pulled away, in case his mind in any of the Candidate's might cause problems with Impression.
Feeling Moruluth use his sight, T'von stroked the humming Cloud and Loess, thinking back to his own Impression of Moruluth, as he waited for the line of boys and girls infront of him to become dragonriders.
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Rii
Wingleader
riict[M:420]
RP demon hungers...
Posts: 803
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Post by Rii on Mar 22, 2012 15:30:07 GMT -5
Neither rain nor snow nor dark of night would have kept Elly from making it to the Hatching on time. Yes, she frequently eschewed authority and yes, convention alone was not enough to hold her to every single activity - but this was a Hatching, the very reason she'd come to the Weyr! The chance, the hope, the dream to Impress, and pit her wits against a far more dangerous foe than a mark for fleecing like a newborn ovine. The menace that killed her mother. Thread.
One donning of the traditional white robe and a quick lift a-dragonback later, she was striding across the sands. Never let 'em know what cards you're holding, never let 'em see you sweat. Toeing the line between the two clutches, she swept a bow to the copper, and then the red. "Greetin's Kalith, Waroth. S'an honor t'be standin' for your clutches." Flipping back her ponytail of midbrown hair, her bright eyes sought her twin. Weaving between the candidates, she touched Elidora's arm. "This's it, aye? Moment of truth. Or mebbe the first of a handful." She would have denied it to the end of time, but by the first egg she was nervous. Elianne offered her quiet sister a grin, then leans in to whisper in her ear. "I'll stay right by you 'til we Impress, or it's over," she promised so that no one else could hear.
-----*-----
The eggs are hatching, my G'dan, Prith informed her rider even as she began to hum gently with the welcome. G'dan looked up from the welter of hides and mechanical parts that covered the small desk he'd installed in his weyr, blinking. "Already?"
It is not already. The correct number of sevendays have passed. They are hatching. Rising from her stone couch, Prith stretched and padded to the entrance of their weyr. Abandoning his work, the shy tinkerer followed, snagging his heavy wherhide jacket and fastening it hurriedly. To the Red Star with the straps; he'd ridden Prith without them before, for short hops like this. Mounting up, he gave her the silent order. Take us there.
Bad-weather flying was never simple, but flying was what they did together, regardless of conditions. A swoop across the Bowl, and Prith was landing in a free space on the ledges left for draconic spectators, leaving G'dan to descend into the stands, dark eyes searching for his friends. Aha. There they were. Knowing that this must hurt his friend terribly, G'dan opted to settle next to Sebol, shedding his jacket and touching the herder gently on the arm. Empathy and concern blended in the dreamer's eyes. I'm sorry this hurts you. We're here. He then leaned around the tall man to greet his other friends. "Delilah. Day'ar," and he offered another reassuring, slightly tender smile for the nervous young man. "Another Hatching, with all of its minor upheavals and future promises."
-----*-----
Shards, but she couldn't wait for better weather. Reylia hurried down the inner halls and thanked Faranth that she'd not been across the Bowl. With the winter storms, it would have taken far longer than she could tolerate to get to the Hatching Grounds. As it was, she was soon scaling the steps into the stands with her usual quick, confident pace, claiming the seat next to her brother. "Good evening Sebol. Good evening G'dan, Delilah." She gave Day'ar a quick hug around the shoulders. "Day'ar. You're worrying again. Stop it," she ordered affectionately.
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266
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Post by Lan on Mar 22, 2012 17:50:41 GMT -5
Fermillionesca had been working in the lower caverns that evening. She was mainly set with her firelizards to eliminate some of the tunnelsnakes that had been taking root in the stores due to the recent blizzard. Even inside the lower tunnels, though, she was incredibly cold. A thick jacket that had been with her during her trek from the Candidates' Barrack to the tunnels remained on, therefore, as they had rooted out and hunted the pests.
Now, though, she was heading back as the sun began to go down. Her jacket was bundled tight around her, all of her firelizards except Dexter and Link bundled tightly up with her, she trekked out into the snow in the slow pace of one sludging through knee-deep snow. It was times like this Fermi missed her family's caravan. It hardly ever snowed down South, and while she had adjusted as best as possible she couldn't help but miss the Southern winters.
Fermi entered the Barracks and removed her outer layer quickly, shaking off the snow and allowing her flitters to fly freely in the warmth again. She smiled at each of them then proceeded down the corridor until she reached her own room. She had just entered the room and was about to get ready for bed when shouting reached her ears.
The hatching was happening!
Her firelizards each began to hum excitedly as Fermi began to frantically shuck off her snow-covered clothes and snow boots in favor of her neatly pressed candidate's robes and sandals meant for the hatching sands. "Now take care of each other, ya hear? And stay put!" She told her fair as she thrust her head through the neck hole of the robes and let the length of it fall down the rest of her form. She smooth the fabric around her, then slipped on her shoes. "I don' wanna hear from Kyoya that y'all've been naughty." A glare was spared for Dexter and Link in particular. Kyoya gave an affirmative chirp; he knew his duties.
"I'll be back, mmkay? Don' do anythin' stupid while I'm gone." Fermi smiled at them and blew a kiss, then ran down the hallway and out the doors to where dragons were ferrying candidates to the hatching sands.
The sands, in sharp contrast to the outside, seemed unbearably hot. Fermi caught her breath as the glory of the sands, the gathering people, and the gem-like clutchmothers was taken in a piece at a time. She strode forward purposefully, still marveling at the transformation that had taken place since they had gone to view the eggs with Candidatemaster K'var. Most stunning, though, was that they eggs seemed to be moving. Excitement gripped her and she felt like a child of ten again. She rushed down the rest of the way to the sands, stopping on the edge of the sands where the demilitarized zone met the stands and bowed in each direction to the Queen Mothers. "Thank you." Her words were spare, but she meant them whole-heartedly.
Only after she was satisfied with her payment of respects to the dragons that might very well kill either her or one of her peers, she weaved on the line to find a spot to sit and then stood facing first Kalith, then Waroth, then Kalith again. She noticed the girls with one sandal each and the further gentleman knight that came to their rescue, but otherwise her attention remained on both the eggs and the mothers. One wrong step, she was aware, and she could eat up as dragon meat... which was not something she particularly wanted to happen.
Those girls only have one sandal! Nimara noticed as the candidates filed in, each paying their respects. She bit her lip nervously and mentally called for her firelizard Enyo. The green showed up immediately and landed on her human's shoulder with a quick chirp of duty. Shoe. Find. Bring for candidates. Nimara sent the flit the images of what she wanted Enyo to do. The camo flit chirped eagerly, alighted, then disappeared immediately to go do what was meant for her to be done.
Waroth, meanwhile, was spending her time scrutinizing each of her candidates that filed in. Most were passed over without so much as a growl, but there were a few that warranted her snarls. First, the girls who found fit to make a mockery of her children by hopping on one foot. She snarled, but let them pass. HerNim was fixing the problem, so she would bide her time so long as there was other fish to fry... and other fish there were indeed.
Ceserat walked in MUDDY. The red, enraged, let loose a crow that echoed throughout the hatching cavern above the volume of the humming. She then, hissing, charged at the line of male candidates with drool seeping between her bared fangs. Her swirling red eyes narrowed on Ceserat himself and her hot breath was aimed in his direction in an attempt to ruffle his hair and knock him off balance. She almost dared him to leave the line. HE MOCKS ME! HE MOCKS MY CHILDREN! She shouted at HerNim.
"Leave him, Waroth!" Nimara tugged on the mental bond she held with her aggravated dragon. Waroth snorted, some of her dragon snot aimed in Ceserat's direction, then backed off a couple of steps. She rose her head to its full height, then stared at him for a while longer. Her eyes moved from red to orange as she contemplated whether or not she should eat him. Nimara's hold on her increased, though, and she eventually dismissed the idea. Still, she wanted Ceserat to know the magnitude of his crimes.
Move and I'll eat you up. She blinked at him, as if it were some terrible terrifying wink, and then removed herself back to her position next to HerNim and behind HerEggs. The dappled gray egg was oscillating faster now, to the point where in its current state of lying on its side it had begun to slowly roll its way toward the candidates.
Enyo popped out of between in the stands where a certain blue pair had settled in to watch the hatching. Eying the blond's shoes, she began to screech at the woman most urgently as, with her tiny claws, she attempted to pull the shoes off.
Jaci stared at the tiny flit incredulously, unsure how to measure the situation. Certainly, the little thing meant no harm, but Jaci had no idea what the flit could possibly want with her shoes. She tilted her head to the side and then to the other side, much like her wayward canine might. Finally, she came to the only conclusion that she could have ever imagined.
"Are you... a Nargle?" Enyo ceased her pulling and peered up at the strange woman questioningly, then grunted noncommittally. "You must be! Goodness, though... to come out where I can see you, you must be in desperate need of these!" Jaci removed her footwear and gave it to the firelizard so she might have them. "Just give them back when you're done, okay? Good luck!"
Enyo tried once, twice, and a third time to life the shoes. Only on her fourth time did she get any lift, though, and she eventually maintained enough height to blink between.
The camo flit appeared directly above K'var's head, where she fell with a squawk in a heap of footwear and ruffled wings. Once she righted herself she nudged the boots in his direction with a commanding squeak, relaying the information to his dragon as a series of images of candidates without shoes. Then, without further ado, she disappeared again to return to her human to see if she would be needed for any other secret missions.
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Nia
Sr. Weyrwoman
niact[M:-790]
Posts: 991
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Post by Nia on Mar 22, 2012 18:08:42 GMT -5
Avalle really hated the snow and cold. She sat bundled up in a bunch of furs next to Callistath, staring out of their weyr towards the horizon. The sunset was pretty, even with all this disgusting snow around. At least she managed to be kind of warm, balled up in the furs feeding off of Callistath's bodyheat. She felt a bit less miserable than she had been earlier, now that she was warmer. The brunette Jr. Weyrwoman just really could not stand cold. It needs to hurry up and be summer already, she thought, watching the snow fall with a sullen look. It does, [/i] Callistath agreed without any real commitment to the idea. She didn't particularly mind snow, it was quite beautiful. As the dragons began to hum, Avalle sighed inwardly. There went her warmth. Getting up would mean she'd have to remove the furs from her person and actually move. We must not be rude to Kalith and Waroth, Mine. Come on, get up,[/i] Callistath urged, moving herself so Avalle couldn't lean on her anymore. The brunette gave an annoyed sigh but sat up, pushing her nice, warm furs off of her and kicking them back inside her weyr. Alright alright, let's go, she stretched, cracking her neck and shoulders a few times before climbing up on to Callistath. Although she whined about going to the Hatching, it was always an exciting thing. Plus, she liked seeing the little Candidates all scared and nervous. Callistath landed up on a higher perch, keeping her rather large self out of the way of the other dragons. No need to distract the Candidates from Kalith and Waroth, they were big enough. Avalle yawned and chose a similar seat for herself, keeping away from everyone else in her grumpiness. Hatchings were fun, yeah, but once you've sat behind the eggs they start to get a bit lackluster. Not because sitting behind the eggs was interesting at all, but because of what a pain Hatchings were. And they honestly were. But she did admit she had a bit of a fondness for them, afterall, she had Impressed Callistath at one, so there was a bit of nostalgia there. Remembering being a scared little Candidate who tried to boss everyone around. At least now she didn't have to try. I bet you that one hatches first, she said to Callistath, sending the mental image of the tan egg off to the side. Not the large one?[/i] Callistath asked, more curious than anything. She didn't particularly care which egg would hatch first, honestly. But it seemed to her like the orange one was going first. No way, it's a fake out. Trust me, Avalle said with conviction, although she honestly wasn't sure and didn't particularly care either. Betting on things made them more exciting!
Taryme didn't particularly mind the cold, unlike angry Avalle. He didn't sleep early either, so he was awake and wandering the Barracks aimlessly. Perhaps he could find someone in need, like he'd found Saia that one time. There was a lot of buzz about the eggs on the Sands, and he was quite glad he'd transfered in at this time. No better time to get to know your fellow Weyrmates than to go through a Hatching with them! Plus, he was extremely excited. His first Hatching at Dalibor Weyr! Wonderful! Fantastic! You know, all those words. Dissy gave a croon and swished his tail, equally anticipating it. His had been waiting for such a long time to Impress! He didn't want His to be sad and not Impress anymore. He didn't like it when His was sad. After a few more minutes of aimless wander, Dissy suddenly sat upright and began to hum. Taryme's grin widdened as he listened. Aha! Hatching! Absolutely fantastic! Turning around with a flourish of his long coat, Taryme walked briskly back towards his room. There were already Candidates running past him, probably the ones who had been in their room or asleep. Early ones, they were. Well, Taryme was never really known for being early, but he was generally on time. He'd heard stories about the late Candidates here, apparently a girl had been struck down by one of the gold Queens for being late! And he definitely did not want that to happen. That would probably completely ruin his chance of Impressing, ever. Bad luck and all that. With those thoughts in his head, Taryme picked up his pace and walked faster towards his room, almost speeding up to a run as he noticed more and more Candidates running past him to get to the Sands. He grabbed the wall and flung himself into his room, sending Dissy flying forward. Luckily, he managed to catch himself in the air before hitting the ground and began squawking angerly at Taryme for his impatience. "Not now, not now!" he said to the flit, who settled himself on Taryme's bed with a bit of an indignant chirp. It didn't take too long for Taryme to dig his robes out of his pile of things, as they were the only white piece of clothing he owned. Well, he technically didn't own it, as it belonged to the Weyr, but same thing really. He changed quickly, reluctantly shedding his warm jacket in exchange for the rather flimsy robes. Ah well, it didn't particularly matter. He wasn't the most sensitive to cold out there and didn't really mind. Plus, the Sands were quite warm. He slipped his sandals on last and turned to face Dissy. "You know the drill. Stay here, yes?" he sent a couple images of eggs and angry dragons to reinforce the command, but Dissy had been through enough Hatchings and knew not to go with His. "Good boy. I'll return with a dragon this time, promise," he winked at the flit who didn't particularly understand this last statement. With that, he was out the door and towards the Sands. Despite the cold and snow it didn't take him all that long to reach the Sands. The bottoms of his robes were a bit wet, but nothing too noticeable he hoped. The boy moved towards Kalith and Waroth, giving a respectful bow towards both of them. He moved towards the, er, line of Candidates. This was rather odd, but if the clutchmothers wanted it then so be it. They didn't seem to like each other very much, did they. Then again, Taryme had never been to a double Hatching before. It just made it all the more interesting, really, but it was a bit awkward to try and keep an eye on both clutches. He supposed that was probably why they did it, huh?[/blockquote][/size]
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RavenSong
Jr. Weyrleader
songct[M:-364]
Posts: 710
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Post by RavenSong on Mar 22, 2012 19:31:51 GMT -5
K'var, as dedicated to duty as always, was one of the last spectators to reach the Sands. He'd sent Bip to find any straggling Candidates as the riders ferried them to the Sands in the blizzard. What sharding weather for a hatching. Any and all stragglers had been found, rounded up, and ferried, so now he could go watch the Hatching and watch his kids graduate to Weyrlinghood. Bip sat calmly on his shoulder, her long tail wrapped around his neck. She had some jerky in her foreclaws, which she was nibbling on. As he strode into the Hatching Stands, Enyo appeared before him with shoes. He looked confused, recognizing the flit. Bip chirped a greeting and sat up.
Argotath? he asked.
I don't understand this, the blue said, forwarding the images from Enyo. K'var blinked, then looked at the shoes, then decided to walk in and see what was going on out on the Sands. Seeing Saia and Rennin with one shoe each, and Laushi attempting to give them his shoes, K'var facepalmed. He took Bip's jerky and held up the boots, then focused on the mental image of Bip carrying the boots to the Saia and Rennin. It took Bip a second to understand, K'var urging her that time was of the absolute essence! Once Bip understood, she grabbed the boots in her foreclaws and betweened over, chirping at the girls as she dropped the boots in front of them.
ArgoLove, tell Saia and Rennin to put a boot on. NOW, before they're harmed, K'var said, each girl's name accompanied by a mental picture of their appearance. Nimara's trying to save their hind ends, so I'm guessing Waroth is pissed about their one-shoe-shuffle. Up on the ledges, where K'var couldn't see, Argotath bobbed his big blue head.
Rennin! Put one of the boots Bip brought you on! he said. Saia! Bip brought you a boot, put it on! Each girl got their own address. As K'var took his seat, he watched the girls, hoping they and Laushi would understand. Bip betweened back to his shoulder and chirped at him, earning her jerky back.
----
Finavair had been sewing when the dragons' humming had started. A smile broke out on her face and she quickly ran to her room to get her robes. Flash cheeped at her curiously, getting up from his nest of soft scraps in a corner.
"No, Flash, you can't come with me. Soon I'll call for you, though, so you can meet your new friend if I Impress." She backed her words with the image of her with a dragon. Flash cheeped in protest. He didn't want new friends! He wanted Hisfina! Finavair shook her head and reined him in. "Trust me, Flash. This will be a good thing." She gave her Blue a quick caress, then finished getting ready. Sandals were donned hastily, and she sprinted out into the blizzard to get to the Sands. She took advantage of the dragons flying back and forth and quickly took her place on the demarcated line between the two angry mothers. She bowed first to Kalith, then to Waroth, and spoke.
"Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to potentially Impress one of your children," she said calmly, carrying herself with the prim air of a Lord Holder's daughter. She glanced at Saia, Laushi, and Rennin out of the corner of her eye as they started fidgeting with their shoes, then rolled her eyes and cautiously scooted as far away from them as she could without drawing the attention of Kalith or Waroth. "You three should likely stop," she said softly, warning them before falling silent again. Her attention was quickly diverted to the eggs. They were rocking and rolling. One was due to hatch soon, she knew it.
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Kila
Sr. Weyrleader
kilact[M:217]
Let's move to a cloud so we're never under the weather
Posts: 1,574
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Post by Kila on Mar 22, 2012 20:59:17 GMT -5
Tremayne was fast asleep when the dragons began to hum. He and Viyeri were holed up in their room, enjoying a break from work and cold. Tremayne had collapsed on his bed after chores and promptly fallen asleep. Now he lay snoring peacefully, keeping his roommate awake. When the eggs began to shake and the dragons began to hum, Tremayne smiled, thinking it all part of a nice dream. This illusion was promptly shattered by a rude awakening from Viyeri. ”What the shards, man?!” he demanded, but the sound reverberating off the walls around him was answer enough.
The Hatching! Tremayne realized, his eyes growing wide. He looked at Viyeri with a mix of trepidation and excitement and repeated it. ”The Hatching!” The chubby boy’s face broke into an uncharacteristic smile. Letting out a whoop, he bounced off his bed and over to his closet. His robes had been neatly and carefully hung on the door precisely for this occasion. ”I can’t believe we’re putting these on in a snowstorm,” he said as he tried to hop ungracefully out of his pants, stricken by the hilarity of it. ”I mean, we’re gonna freeze out there!” A nervous giggle escaped him.
Even at such an important event as a Hatching, Tremayne could not keep from complaining. For once, however, it was warranted. ”What the-?” he grumbled as he pulled on his robe. ”This is too small!” The white cloth mercifully covered all of his considerable girth, but the rolls of fat were barely contained. They trembled when he moved and pressed against the robe dangerously. It was doubtful that the outfit would actually rip, but the prospect was horrifying. Tremayne looked up at Viyeri in terror. There was nothing he could do- it was too late. Closing his eyes, clenching his fists, and taking a deep breath, Tremayne gathered his courage. ”Ready?”
The two dashed out and down the hall of the barracks. K’var and a few others were waiting just outside with their dragons, ready to ferry them to the Sands so they wouldn’t have to trudge through the blizzard. Tremayne wiggled up the side of a Cyan without grace before reaching down to lend a hand to Viyari and some of the others as an afterthought. He sat perched atop the dragoness eagerly, fidgeting, impatient to go. While some of the others shivered, his excitement and his fat kept him warm.
Nevertheless, the warmth of the sands was a welcome relief. Just as before, Tremayne was awed by the spectacle of the Queens on the sands. He stopped and bowed to them respectfully before hurrying over to where the other boys had assembled. He knew several of them and despite his excitement about the hatching he felt a slight pang of disappointment that he could not share the moment with them. Though it was a little late for reconciliation, he gave those already gathered a sheepish smile. This was no time for grudges. Focusing his attention on the eggs, he forgot his little regrets. He leapt when one close to him wiggled. They’re actually going to hatch! Upon closer inspection he saw that several of them were moving. He could hardly decide where to focus.
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Post by aikastarr on Mar 22, 2012 21:21:04 GMT -5
The persistent humming that reverberated throughout all of the Weyr brought Odelle’s head up from her pillow, eyes bleary and a yawn escaping her mouth. She had retired early to bed, having finished her chores early and eaten not too long ago. It didn’t take her long to remember that there were, in fact, eggs on the Sands, and that they were, in fact, hatching. Quietly, but swiftly in the same token, the young woman slipped out of her sleeping attire and donned her fresh Candidacy robes. They were crisp and white, untouched until today. This would be her first hatching, so she had to look presentable.
After one step outside, she instantly regretted not bringing a jacket, a robe, anything to keep herself warm. She did love the snow, yes, but whenever she was out in it, she was at least wearing a coat of some sort to block out any and all chills from the frigid temperatures. But there was no time for going back! With a determined little frown, Odelle trudged forward into the snow, steadily making her way to the sands. The passing shadows of a blue, a purple, and a yellow passed over her, but she paid them no mind. She was already on her way by foot, and there was not stopping her.
The heat was a welcome change from the snow outside, and the sands quickly melted the snow that had fallen on her during her journey. Her eyebrows knit at the sight in front of her; the two queens were on opposite ends of the cavern, with a line slashing through the middle. The Candidates were aligned upon this line, facing either the copper or the red. Some were facing forward, determined to whip their heads to and fro to catch all the action. A booming voice echoed painfully in her head as the red dragoness acknowledged the fact that her eggs were hatching. Suddenly very hesitant, even reluctant, the girl shuffled forward and bowed deeply to the both of them at the edge of the line. “I am honored to Stand before your clutches, Copper Kalith and Red Waroth,” she said humbly, quietly. She made her way quickly down the line to stand in the middle, not quite sure which way to face. Should she face the Queen of Dalibor, who had the largest clutch and the most respect due to her status? Or should she face the Red Queen, who had a smaller clutch but had no shame in swallowing a hapless candidate whole if they angered her?
Although she was fearful for her life that maybe, maybe, Waroth would in fact eat her, she turned and faced Kalith’s clutch, anxiously waiting for the first dragonet to spill from its egg. The eggs were rocking with much fervor, and it was quite the spectacle. [/size]
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Post by kitsufox on Mar 22, 2012 21:24:52 GMT -5
L'ryn didn't stir from his sleep until he felt a huff of breath across his face. A large one. That came from a massive Viridian head. You should rise. Duty calls. He really needed to move his bed further from the door through to Helioth's weyr. The big dragon had shoved his head into his rider's quarters again. " You have no sense of privacy." L'ryn told the dragon, shoving him out of the way to sit up. And you've no sense of duty. Kalith and Waroth's eggs. They hatch. As Helioth's big head withdrew L'ryn first noticed the hum that was starting. In the weyr their was a sound of wings and the separating curtain ruffled from the back draft as the dragon took wing. It seemed that eggs never hatched in the light of day. Or in the warmth of summer. He took the tunnels as quickly as he could, pulling on a heavy wherhide jacket as he went. The journey across the snow was quick, and when he settled in the stands to watch the hatching he could see Helioth amongst the growing crowd of humming dragons come to pay attendance on the Copper and the Red as they hatched their eggs. He knew the hatching grounds had been less than peaceful with these two queens in it. He hoped that this didn't mean the hatching would bring blood. -+- -+- -+- The eggs hatch, mine. We must go to them. Salazath's voice was gentle, goading K'fox from his sleeping furs. He readied himself quickly, dressing and primping enough to be presentable for the inevitable near-party that a late-night hatching resulted in. It wasn't the full-scale shindig of the daytime hatch, but it was close enough. He wouldn't be caught out looking imperfect. Then it was the trip through the snow and out into the hatching ground. Here the low hum was intensifying and Salazath flashed through overhead, her pale wings bright against the sky before he settled on the dragon's shelves. K'fox picked a good vantage point, making notes of the eggs as they shook and the agitation of the red dragon. Seeing her in action made him appreciate Salazath's good nature all the more, it was challenge enough to hold a green when she rose, he couldn't imagine dealing with a lust-fill red in the same situation.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Mar 22, 2012 21:42:07 GMT -5
Vibrations rippled through the surface of Ekuda's klah, the stuff steaming and still too hot to drink. He did not notice till several minutes later, when he looked up from one of the five slates piled on his desk. He laid down his chalk, heading over to his rocky dwelling's basin to wash the white from his hands. He returned, scooped up the klah mug, and opened the front door.
The dolphineer closed his eyes as a torrent of snow and wind blasted across his dressy Southern dayclothes, whipping his black ponytail against his back. He did not close the door immediately, but considered the one other thing its opening let in: the distant, anticipatory hum. He pressed the mug to his lips and tilted it enough to let a few drops in. Flinched- it was still too hot. Ekuda opened his hazel eyes to the dim winter sunset, smiling.
He pulled the door closed.
Rocking the kinks out of his neck, he headed to the completely dark corner where his bed rested. He flumped across it, resting the mug on his bedside table. This was a Weyr. There would be plenty of Hatchings to ogle. He could not hold his record of never having missed one against himself now. He'd had even more advantage in the area of attendance before he lived on the island. His greenrider friend had always dropped by to get him.
He had assured her such theatrics were no longer necessary when he had his own two legs to serve. Who knew the weather patterns in the area would conspire against him? He picked up the klah mug and rested the edge against his forehead. Still hot. The dolphineer placed it on his narrow chest very care-ful-ly, and the cloth protected him. He should have asked for a firelizard as a graduation gift. Even sending messages back to the Hall was a pain.
But it had seemed too greedy, considering they had let him walk the tables in the first place. The humming deepened, trembling through the bedframe, and he clutched his mug. He lifted his head long enough to look across the dark, empty house he owned.
Shells.
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Weyrling Q'sis swept into the Sands early astride his Tan Unath, though the dragon had not made so much as a gurgle since the humming started. The rider had heard the call, and he was the one that decided for both of them. He slipped off Unath onto the dragons' ledge, then headed down the nearest ramp to the stands. Unath stayed where she was, squinting at the other dragons that entered, and those guarding the Sands, but she paid no special attention to the eggs or the Candidates swarming in to accept them.
Q'sis smiled as he stumped down the steps to the lower levels of the stands, watching the white-robed figures with new interest. It was not as if goggling at Kalith or Waroth would bring him any real pleasure, and besides, his oiling assistance rode on the success of this Hatching. Where was she? There...
The tanrider's face fell. He stared at the joint hobble of Saia and another diminutive brat for a few seconds, one boot on a lower step while the other was still frozen on a higher step. He worked his thick jaw from side-to-side, then turned his focus onto more practical matters: obtaining a choice view, avoiding Valha and her colorful infestation, and seating himself someplace where the heat of the Sands was not constantly washing over him.
Once he had obtained a bench throne to his liking, right by Aylina, he resumed surveillance of the Hatching in a far more calculating manner. He did check the temperament of both queens, even if it brought him no pleasure. This wasn't about what made him happy, not with these dragons involved. Of course the Red went off first, but it seemed the Candidatemaster had a solid leash on her screaming animal.
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Several minutes later, Journeyman Ekuda was starting his struggle through the drifts clogging the Bowl. His arms were wound in tight hegemony around his chest. He had dressed up in his winter gear, including a wooly headband that stretched across his forehead and protected his ears, his blue wherhide jacket and some formal boots. The road up had not actually been terrible in terms of walkable area: it had to be kept clear for tithe trains and the like. But the Bowl itself only had worm tunnels through the snow where Weyrfolk transferred from those caves that did not have interior connections, and impact zones where dragons had landed.
After marching his cold, leaden legs a few paces through a blanket of snow one foot tall, the dolphineer glanced sharply about and discovered a better way: the snow was much thinner at the base of the Weyr wall. He dragged himself in that direction, making quick time at first to the north, then slowing when he discovered the coat of ice beneath the snow.
Shells!
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A blue dragonet already topping twenty feet produced a sizable hum of his own when the first call went out from Dalibor's queen. He might have grabbed L'xon and dragged the blond out to the Sands if he were not restrained- which, of course, was what the rider was for. L'xon absorbed Halventh's giddiness and remained calm, resting his hand on his beloved's side as they walked through the cold Bowl. Walked! There was an exciting aspect to the control he had over Halventh. It was not a question of dominance. The dragon was just old enough now to be able to reason through his own impulses to simply trust in his human.
It had taken him a while to get ready, as he had been about to take an early nap after a particularly hard day of snow-clearing in critical areas around the Weyr. No one came to summon him along any faster of course. Day'ar no longer lived just down the hall from him. So he could go at his own pace.
Rennin was already there when he arrived, ushering Halventh to the base of the dragons' ledge. The blue failed to comprehend why he could not simply squat in the stands with L'xon, but he obeyed. He jumped when Waroth's anger became known, but L'xon did not. The Firefinder was running his hand across the lowest stone barrier between the stands and the Sands, watching the small girl and her assist- Saia. All he had done, and Rennin had been spared her usual self-secrecy by someone else entirely. The blueweyrling's cheeks reddened, but it was very hot at this level.
He found a bench where, if he stood in front of it, he would not be blocking anyone's view. L'xon looked over both shoulders, noticing Day over his right one, standing with some people he did not know. Well, except Sebolaren. He turned back to the Sands, hopefully before the viridianrider noticed him looking. As he watched the defenseless flesh line up between the aggrieved female dragons, he could not repress a tiny, gut-level regret for ever making efforts to stir Rennin from her favored corner.
---
Ekuda's dogged advance on the Hatching Sand's main entrance never stopped completely though. The snow around the grand stair had already melted from residual heat. He was almost there. He didn't think he had missed the first cracking.
An ice-encrusted droplet of snow slithered down a small, slanted ledge some ways up the wall. Tinier flakes of it plummeted first, dusting the snow around Ekuda's advance with holes. He paused, glancing around at the rapidly appearing phenomena. The ice-ball fell and smacked onto the top of Ekuda's head, then fell off him largely intact. The would-be spectator swallowed, blinking rapidly.
His arms, so long kept in an orderly net around his torso, slipped loose and hung at his sides. He raised one hand towards the Hatching Sands, but it went limp, like the rest of him. Ekuda fell backwards into the soft snow.
Shells...
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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 Mar 22, 2012 22:55:29 GMT -5
Raksha knelt before her pup, ruffling his fur affectionately. He had really grown these past few months. Light sat there looking at her, his form having become rather muscled. He was much leaner then when he was a young pup, and his eyes had far more fire in them. He had a rebellious spirit sometimes, but most of the time he was dead-set on pleasing Raksha. The young artist offered a gentle smile, but it was wane. What had come to pass in these past few months had changed her entire view of being at Dalibor. She played with her dogs left ear whilst staring at her hand as if it was something foreign to her. Everything that had been stressing her out and causing her to just want to be alone was playing back in her head. She couldn’t shake it, and she’d rarely been unable to shake something before. Even after her father had pretty well gone and exiled her, she’d found a way to bear a smile and find something to be happy about.
Rask had heard the humming same as His, yet Raksha was still knelt before the smelly creature of hers. He hopped across the bed, his pudge jiggling. He attempted to be heard, chirruping as he always did. Rask loved His dearly, and therefore even when he was unintentionally ignored he got over it rather quickly. This time though he didn’t have mere nonsense to implore her with. She’d stood for many a hatching before this one, but it was no less important that she go. She had to go. The little flitt extended his neck out past the canine’s head, sounding rather piteous as he beckoned for His to remember her duty as a candidate.
Raksha finally returned from la la land, reaching out to stroke the black flitt with her free hand. ”Calm down, I’m going. You know I wouldn’t just skip out on this. There’ll be so many pretty colors, after all,” the rainbow’s obsessed girl smirked, the cheeriness of her former self present in that moment. When her smirk all but disappeared, and she was staring down at her legs helplessly, it was Light that stepped in this time. He shoved his head forcefully underneath her chin, his skull cracking against her jaw rather painfully. ”Light!” she grunted. The pup had the best of intentions, but even so he could be a pain in the backside. She stood up, not wanting to endure her canine’s pawing from down on the ground.
”Time to do this... thing,” she said aloud, nodding a single time. She mustered up all of the courage she had, and began the epic search for her candidate robes. They were in her chest somewhere, buried under drawings and drawing utensils. She furrowed her brows, muttering some nonsense about how it wasn’t her fault that she was so disorganized. Light flopped his tongue out, panting as he waited for his owner to dress.
Clad in the robes she’d finally found, Raksha wandered over to the looking glass to examine herself. She was only further met with disappointment as she fiddled with her unkempt hair. It was a bark from Light that reminded her she didn’t have time to fuss over her appearance; she really did have to hurry. Tardiness was never accepted-not on hatching day! ”I’m gone!” she shouted, turning to leave, only to grab onto the door frame and launch herself back into the room, checking the looking glass once more. A second bark from Light as she paused there before it, had her heading out the door yet a second-time. This time she made it all the way out.
Heading down the corridor, her heart thudding in her chest, she wondered how Saia was doing. She’d made a point of avoiding her since everything had gone down. Don’t think about it now, think happy thoughts! Think colorful thoughts! she told herself, feeling naked without her sketchbook. She’d had the most random thought last-time that maybe she hadn’t impressed because the dragonets saw that she was busy with something else. If she was busy with something else, and they didn’t want to be rude, then clearly they wouldn’t approach her and disturb what she was doing. It’s not likely she told herself, and with a shrug and a half-hearted chuckle she was walking out onto the sands. The hum rang off even louder in her head, and she stared up at the stands where she could see both people and dragons all around the bowl. The dragons caught her special attention, and she flushed shyly upon seeing ones that she’d drawn before. She wondered if they’d like her drawings of them, or if they’d be offended because she’d gotten a certain feature wrong. It didn’t occur to her that she thought about the oddest of things. Her thoughts were simply her thoughts.
She was here, that’s all that mattered. Standing amongst the female candidate’s she attempted to stand tall, not that she was short but... Well, it couldn’t hurt to focus on her posture! Perhaps that would have her better seen as well!
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Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
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Post by Kestrel on Mar 22, 2012 22:59:17 GMT -5
Fun fact: if you listen to someone snore long enough, it can start to sound almost like wind rustling the leaves off a very unhappy tree. Or a jungle feline with a bad cold trying to roar. Or something. Viyeri was starting to feel too tired to be creative, as his eyelids slowly began to droop, drawing the blinds on his view of the very particular spot on the wall he had been unintentionally staring at for a candlemark or so. Regardless of what the snoring did or didn’t sound like, he had actually started to get used to it, like some sort of nauseating, phlegm-ridden lullaby, droning away and fading into the back of his awareness as sleep took the forefront.
His eyelids were just starting to close, like two waves crashing together to smooth out into a single wet veil over his eyes, when suddenly (isn’t it always suddenly?) it hit him. ‘It’ was actually two things, and Viyeri couldn’t say which had come first and which had come second, or if they had indeed been as simultaneous as two singers in a duet. The first was the hum: the hatching summons. The second was a thought—certainly not a new one, but one that had come back to hit him with such force that sleep’s claws had been knocked away at once. He was not supposed to be here.
It was true, wasn’t it? He had spent so long laughing at the idea of himself as a candidate that he had never prepared for the reality of it—this reality, right now. Coppers, reds, hatchlings. Viyeri always did his best to be wherever danger was not, and walking into the hatching of both a red and a copper was like walking into the proverbial lion’s den. How could he go in there when one wrong move could get him killed? Shells, he could probably get killed even if he didn’t make any wrong moves. There was no telling. And hatchings? What if he did impress? He had his hands full keeping himself alive and emotionally stable, much less being responsible for a creature so important as a dragon.
He sighed, closing his eyes for just one more moment. If I’m not supposed to be here, then where am I supposed to be? Candidacy had been almost dreamlike, floating along in relative limbo, a board he was hanging onto while he floated, stranded in the ocean, waiting to find land or for something better to come along that he could hold onto. How many times could you reset your life? Holder’s son, holdless, kitchen worker, candidate—the more he looked back on different parts of his life the less real they felt, like it was someone else’s story.
But it was his life, and it was still his life, right not. And regardless of how he felt about it, the hatching was happening now and neither dragons, nor Pern, nor the sensible parts of Viyeri himself had any time for his existential musings and identity issues. Right now, he was a candidate, and whatever his reasonings, he had chosen things. So he had sharding well better get his butt over to the sands before one of the dragons did kill him for being late.
Viyeri rolled out of bed, grabbing his pillow and hurling it across the room at his roommate. “Hatching’s starting; get up.” His tone was matter-of-factual, though, and carried no lingering tinges of irritation this time. He had too much to focus on to carry on his grudge with Tremayne for the moment. He quickly put on the hatching robe that had been hanging patiently in its place for so long, slipping on the sandals and waiting for his roommate to be ready.
He just waved a hand when Tremayne looked at him in horror over the state of his robes. “Just try not to move too much. It should be fine.” He followed his roommate out to the dragons, and was preparing to mount the cyan after Tremayne when the other candidate extended his hand to him. His surprise was only momentary, though, and he accepted it, giving Tremayne a small grateful smile before he situated himself. And shortly after they were lifting off, they were already landing, and Viyeri found himself heading into the warmth of the hatching sands with everyone else.
Well, he was ready as he would ever be. He bowed to the clutch mothers and took his place with the other candidates.
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Kaliko had been sleeping soundly, sprawled out over her bed with her pillow somehow discarded on the floor, and in its place her arm was curled beneath her head. Klaus heard the hum first, feelers going erect at once when he felt the vibrations, especially strong in his water dish on the floor.
Neeneenee? When Kaliko didn’t respond, he climbed out and up onto the bed, clamboring over her face. NEENEENEE?!
That had the desired effect, as the candidate awoke with a yelp and instinctively reached up to push away whatever was on her face. Distress almost instantly gave way to excitement, though, and Klaus was still attached to her face as a grin started to spread over it. “Did you hear that, Klaus! They’re humming! It’s the hatching, it’s got to be the hatching!”
The pillie made a few unhappy clicking sounds, detaching himself from her face on his own in favor of the much more stable floor when she leaped out of bed the next moment, racing around in her haste to collect her robe, and sandals, and oh, wasn’t she supposed to look all presentable and fancy-like? She was pretty sure she was. Better actually brush her hair, then.
It still had a fair few tangles in it, but all in all, Kaliko was the neatest she’d looked, well…ever since her arrival at the weyr. She ran all the way to the waiting dragons, passing several candidates in her haste and her excitement, and scrambled up onto the first available dragon. She barely even noticed the snowstorm raging on around her; she was far too lost in her elation over the hatching. This was even better than when her brothers would wake her up to go hunting in the middle of the night! It felt a lot like that too, what with being woken up and all. But she didn’t mind in the slightest. She’d rather be at a hatching than sleep any day!
She might have forgotten her manners once she got to the sands had there not been several people in front of her bowing, and her eyes widened in remembrance. She bowed to both queens, and forced herself to walk with due respect over to where the candidates were lining up, rather than racing straight over. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face, though, as she watched the eggs already rocking and shaking. Danger was almost an afterthought; the eggs were hatching!
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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2012 23:00:17 GMT -5
I'm an engine driver, On a long run, on a long run, Would I work beside her, She's a long one, such a long one.The shell of the pale cream egg began to give way under its prisoner's rhythmic efforts. The dragonet inside, however, did not view himself as a prisoner. He could put up with being confined. He merely had to get out, if this egg would be so kind, because he had to find someone. He knew finding that someone was very, very important, though he did not know why yet; he was sure it would become clear in time. As he pushed and wiggled, the shell cracked and caved. Then the egg broke without a bit of ceremony and out tumbled a brown. He halted himself with his trunk-like forelimbs, sinking down onto his rump. As goo slid from his head, he blinked at the bright, wonderful world that greeted him, examining the dozens of white-robed young adults framed by Waroth and the hot sands. Kalith had been busy glowering at Waroth. Those were her candidates to threaten, damn it! However, at the appearance of her first child, the first of this latest brood at least, she focused on proudly humming and put the red from her mind. The brown turned his head to blink his outer lids at his mother, but she did not need him. Rising to remarkably steady feet, he ambled towards the candidates with single-minded devotion. Or perhaps not so single-minded. The pale brown's gaze moved from one candidate to the next in slow succession, seeking out each of them in turn. He started with Odowen, but that was not his. Then there was Ieco, then Kurosaki. The female candidates were not ignored by him, but they were overlooked. He was a traditional fellow. There was a boy who needed him. Nearer Waroth's small clutch and thus the candidates, the dark tan egg was wiggling with renewed enthusiasm. The light brown had just passed the egg when it began to crack. However, the dragonet only managed to remove the top chunk before she came scrambling into the word. The shell nicked her limbs, but she seemed no worse for wear. The pale hide on her chinstrap appeared to have scrapped or ripped to a degree, ichor seeping onto her neck, but she greeted the world with bright eyes and cheerfully flailing limbs. She even tried to greet it with a trumpet of joy. However, her voice came out raspy and hoarse. She would never be able to sing, but she desperately wanted to sing. She tried again, a delicate croon this time. A hum like a mother. No sound. Or a slight, faint, high-pitched noise at best. The near-white pink would never quite be like her fellows, not that she was any from less due to her impairment when it came to roaring. For a time, the pink sat there, preoccupied with trying to sing. Try, try, try again, that was her motto. The little noises she made were nice, weren't they? A bit squeaky, dissonant even to her untrained ears, but it was the thought that mattered. The effort. The hope. She loved hope. Hope was her favorite thing, except for sound. All the noise of life was wonderful. Even she made noise. Her heart beat. Her tail thumped against the sand. She squeaked. In time, her throat began to ache from her quiet singing. Pain was not so nice, though it did little to dampen her cheer and optimism. Seeking a new way to express her joyful self, she got awkwardly to her tiny feet and turned towards the rows of candidates. The brown had continued in his methodical search through the candidates. He passed Altolec. He passed Teriss. They were not his rider, but his was there. He knew that to be true. Ah, there he was, the boy who needed him! Eyes swirling rainbow, he settled in front of the young man, exuding contentment. It is always best to be optimistic, even if we must prepare for the worst. Perhaps I can help you with those preparations, though, C'atMine? If you like; he said, greeting his rider with parental wisdom and benevolence. Detached but loving, he was glad to find Ceserat in relatively good spirits, but more than anything, he was glad to simply have found his rider, the person he would never leave. Of course, he was not a leaver by nature. And would you mind leading your Deretsoth to food, C'at?W'al beckoned the newly-minted C'at from the far side of the stands; food could be found there, sheltered from the weather and most of the bustle occurring in the cavern. Meanwhile, the orange creamsicle egg was being torn apart from the inside. No other egg could hold the large, orange egg or its occupant hostage. It would be no one's captive. With a final shove, the red within the egg ripped free, third to arrive on the scene and not happy about it. There was no rational reason for her to be displeased. She had yet to lose any female candidates; Ceserat was far from the right rider for her. However, the red with her dark hide and orange streaks had been destined to be born in a bad mood. She felt every small slight, perceived and true, as a new wound. It built and built with each passing second. Lowering her head, the red arched her neck; her claws dug into the sand. Her skin was still baby stuff, so the aggressive gesture hurt, spurring her to new fury. With a shriek, she charged. The pink was picking her way delicately across the cavern, the short distance between herself the candidates gingerly ventured. She was so focused on her steps that she failed to notice the red until the creature was upon her. Thankfully, the larger dragonet merely shoved her aside. One of the pink's pale arms was cut by her sister's claws and she went tumbling into the hot sand, but she got up quickly, apparently unperturbed. The pink was hurt but far from dead. The candidates were going to get worse, because the red was getting worse. Her anger increased with each passing moment and they were her next target. Shoes. The red had decided she hated shoes. There was no logic behind it, but she now hated shoes. For all eternity. Until she forgot, most likely when she finally collapsed in sleep. But more specifically, she hated sandals. And she definitely hated people who thought about sandals. Sandals were the worst kind of drug. The red hated drugs. She didn't know what drugs were, but she hated them and sandals were like them. Laushi, useless to her as a male, another new hate, received a headbutt. Her teeth bit down on his hip, but the bite was glancing, far from particularly vicious. Childish. Mean and violent but more childish than calculated. As her anger increased another tenfold, it was onto Rennin that she set herself. She knocked the girl onto her back on Waroth's side of the sands, slamming full force into the female candidate with her claws extended. The mauling lasted only a moment. Her claws ripped across most sections of Rennin's body to varying degrees; her face was largely saved since reaching the candidate's face was too much effort for the red. Her teeth did find the girl's shoulder, but that was the only significant bite wound. As soon as thoughts begin to set into her mind, threatening to replace the rage, the red flung herself away from Rennin. She knocked into Saia, not about to let any she decided she wanted to flee. She clawed the other girl's legs, but otherwise left her untouched. Saia would be more bruised, Rennin more bloody. The red cared little about either, though so help them Faranth if they tried to flee! Her head snapped from side to side as she surveyed the candidates. Where were the all the girls? Where! Now! To the red's surprise, her violent gaze settled on the pink. The small dragonet was watching her sister, head cocked to the side in mute curiosity. As they stared at each other across the sands, the pink was not silent because she could not sing. She simply needed to make no sound in order to communicate with the red. nor even telepathy. Why was her sister doing that? That question was written on her draconic face and in her swirling eyes. The fact that she was not afraid could also be seen, hidden in every inch of her pale hide, inscribed in each of her muscles. Uncaring of her sister's ferocity, the pink stared the red down across the cavern. She did not dare the lesser Queen to attack; she simply refused to back down, because she did not care. She did not care about her petty, violent sister. As the pink and red faced each other, Kalith watched, humming and waiting. She could not interfere when it came to a dragonet finding a rider, but she might intercede if the red set upon the pink. The candidates mattered not one wink to her, but the pink and the red were important to her. They were her children, future subjects to her and honors to her bloodline. The pale orange-tan egg behind what remained of the red's egg continued to twitch, now occasionally rocking back and forth. The gray egg peeking out from beside that one was also rocking. More at the fore of the group, a dark brown egg was shaking, tremors wracking the mottled lump. Front and center, the smallest gray egg in Kalith's clutch was trembling uncontrollably, cracks beginning to form on its spotted shell. I'm a country lineman, On a high line, on a high line, So will be my grandson, There are powerlines in our bloodlines.
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