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Post by mangonumnum on Jan 18, 2011 21:57:02 GMT -5
{{Woah that's a long color code, haha}} Zara really hadn't been paying attention to the violence around her. She had gotten used to it in Nerat while her brother was still there. Him and Zarem always fighting. Her mind had wandered from past memories such as that to the current cute girls around her. Idly playing with her hair, her mind wandered to the complete present. Oh, a green and black were fighting. She blinked idly. What was the matter? Why were they fighting? Ugh, she had missed it. As to not appear ignorant and be caught in her daydream, she quickly chose a side. The black of course. She began to watch, grinning a sly smile as the interestingly-colored black took over the fight. Yes,of course he would win. She liked him. Greens were common. More would come. A black like that would only happen every now and then. Yes, the black [/i]should[/i] win.
She watched, not flinching, as the black went in for the kill. But, no. The green was gonna fight back. Zara frowned as the black was thrown back and the green desperately tried to escape. No, it didn't look like the black would have that. Good, that's how it should be. The blow given in their next scuffle would truly decide the victor. Yes, the black was to win. He walked away with only a cut. Zara watched as the black violently shove a girl and sniffed at others. Finally, it reached her. A strange look came to the black's eyes as he looked at Zara and she suddenly heard it:
That was so stupid. That Green was an annoying, irritating waste of space. ZaraMine, get Areith food. Now.
What? What was this? Did she hear that black talk to her? Did he call her Mine? She blinked slowly. But...a black wasn't a king. She felt a crushing feeling in her heart. Yes, T'zar must have felt the same way. A disappointment. A desire to deny it. No, her king.... But the black stayed there, starting at her, demanding food with his eyes. And she remembered the smugness she had felt when the black had won the fight. Maybe...this as meant for her.
Areith, seeming to get annoyed with Zara's stalling, pushed her backwards slightly, demanding that they go once again. Suddenly, a smile crossed Zara's face. A confident, smug smile. She would show them all. Her black was the best. She turned and strutted off the Sands, Areith marching beside her. The pair would be something to be reckoned with. [/size]
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Post by fidelli on Jan 18, 2011 22:47:32 GMT -5
Noyth was not sleeping. She was, eyes closed, huge wings stretched out to cover the two tiny eggs carefully, curled very carefully with her back to Kalith, almost asleep, but not quite. She was tired, but like most mothers of new children, she had the ability to run off of sleep that was not quite sleep - that fun half doze that was the only rest the mid got. Most of her mind was taken up by the surroundings and the eggs under her wing, though a little was still on the warmth and companionship of the Blue at her back, curled around her. He was much bigger than her, curling nearly all around them, and she enjoyed that for the most part. She tolerated the safety, like Ripariath for most of what he was - although the scar slowly forming on his face was a warning that she had given him that she was no possession.
So, she was almost quite but not sleeping when suddenly she heard the egg as it shifted, spinning the little bits of sand around and causing the tiniest bit of noise. Her head snaked up, watching as Kalith leapt to her feet and examined the miscreant. MineOwn. A'mor was sleeping, head against the rock, exhausted from too many nights on the Sands only half asleep. In the end, the past sevenday he had barely stirred from here, catnapping. The infirmary, the Masterhealer had left in the capable hands of B'nyur and C'fael, who ran pretty much everything at this point. They were the only ones that A'mor would trust with his precious baby, their precious child. "Mmhmmmm..." The Gray rose slowly, stretching out like a cat. Of course Kalith's silly clutch would decide to hatch in the middle of the night.
A'mor didn't really wake up until Noyth shoved him with her mind - then, with a yelp, he shot up, looking around wildly. What he saw made him gape - Kalith was humming, Noyth had risen to her full height (which wasn't that tall), settling down on her haunches and craning her long neck down and around to check on her two small eggs. "Yesh Kalith, I'm not going to touch them." The temper prone Grayrider ran a hand through his wheat blond hair, shaking his head grumpily. "Thank goodness - I'm getting tired of sleeping on the sharding Sands." His Gray only ignored his complaining, but he could feel her temper rising. She was ticked off - the lack of sleep, the Queen's clutch hatching, his complaining, having to share the sands AGAIN. She had clutched before Kalith - surely her eggs should have began to rock first. She worried slightly that they could be dudes, both - it was something that could still be true. With a nudge, she sent Ripariath up to the ledge - she would stand on the Sands alone. Ripariath's could stay, being Weyrmate's with Her's, but she would stand along.
So, she was not in a good temper, even as she began to hum, when the first candidates began to walk on the sands. It irritated her even more when the second candidate bowed to Kalith, but she was only named. Giving a low growl, she only began to humm again when A'mor settled a hand on her thigh. The third placated her slightly, but she was still growing more and more agitated. And when the fourth turned to be a klutz and land at the Weyrwoman's feet she extended wing out slightly, protecting her eggs. She didn't want this stupid human landing on one of them. The happy one next, to many humans, and they kept on coming in. Another, and another - at least many were polite enough to offer her a bow as they did with Kalith, until young Folansbee walked up and bowed just to Kalith. With a hiss, she tossed her head up and snaked it back down to knock into Her's. They will ALL go in my belly. The Rider only rubbed her eyeridge for a moment, trying to calm her down. Hush love - it'll be alright. They don't deserve your little ones, and they won't get them.
She didn't care, in the end - her head high, wedge shaped face swirling and watching them tramp in, rubbing sleep from their eyes and awe and fear in their faces. They would impress, or they wouldn't - she didn't care. She disliked those that didn't bow to her, hissing quietly at the disrespect. She was just as much a Queen as the huge Copper. She had the ability to populate Pern - on this day she was just as important. Noyth would bow her head to Kalith on any day but this one, when she was just as a mother to Pern. Noyth didn't really like anyone or anything, and giving the respect to the higher ups... Well, it wasn't her favorite.
And then they came. A'mor watched, wondering in his eyes, amusement too, softly stroking the shoulder of his Gray as he watched the Tan tumble out, then the Blue's Impress. Silly young dragonets - the wonder was beautiful. Then they all began to tumble out, one after another, being young dragons, and Noyth even seemed to soften a little. Silly little things. But of course, nothing could stay good for too long, and suddenly a candidate was rushing on the sands. A healer girl that A'mor knew slightly - to be fair, the Masterdragonhealer didn't really like the newbies that much, so he let B'nyur handle them more, rushed on the sands and kept talking. He was confused as to why she wouldn't just shut up and run away, but even more so that she had helped on the women give birth. Where had B'nyur been, or even that C'fael boy that he was starting to trust? Why was this new girl doing something that big? New candidates did NOT play around in his Infirmary. Noyth growled, hoping to send the girl away - Her's would deal with her soon enough, but afterwards.
When she finally did vanish into the crowd, A'mor studied the dragonets with an irritated look to his face. He should have been around more - this girl probably had snuck onto the roster without anybody really knowing about her. That would change, and FAST. But more importantly, there was death on the sands. Suddenly, as fast as it had been, it was gone. The life of the Green was snuffed out, and A'mor suddenly had the bad feeling about this clutch. It could have been from Nim, who had strangled a half scream from up above - Zucherroth, the blind White, had let out a heartbroken croon. He had felt the death, in a way that no other had, and Nim was close to tears. Noyth had helped to raise Anima, A'mor's little sister, and had heard Zucherroth's call, transferring some of it to A'mor to let him know. The White didn't like the looks of the Hatching, and it gave A'mor the chills.
And even more so, as more hatched, the red, the cyans, the blues, Noyth began to check her eggs more and more often. She wasn't nervous, but... There was no movement, nothing. She was patient though, so the stone gray female kept watching the Hatching and let her eggs stand still. So when the Queen egg rocked, Noyth almost jumped because her egg rocked as well. Her head snaked down, but it definitely moved, choosing that moment to begin to rock and spin, shaken by the creature within deciding that THIS RIGHT NOW WAS THE MOMENT THAT SHE NEEDED TO HATCH. And so out she came, fighting out and shouldering, biting tooth and claw to spring out...
Noyth blinked down at her child, while A'mor stared.
She had wanted to come out for a while now, but it hadn't been the right time. But she felt it now, knew that THIS WAS THE MOMENT, and with a well aimed shoulder tap and a toss of her head, she was OUT! Free, struggling from the confinement of her egg, it broke in pieces all around her and she stepped from the prison happily. She was a White, obviously a White, from a distance one uniformed color but if you looked very closely you could see the rainbow of other colors that made her up. But she was different, very different from Zucherroth or Sjanseth because as she stepped from her egg into the wide world... She sparkled. Literally, sparkled. Her hide, for some reason, seemed as though it had a million diamonds imbedded into it, and as she walked she practically shimmered. She was a medium build, small as all Whites are, but not the smallest of them all - and she was happy.
She bounded out, shining brightly as she slipped through the middle of the sands, excited as all gets out. She didn't really pay attention to anyone else, too busy chasing after something that she only saw. But what was most interesting as she ran through the Sands, running straight through Mayalene and knocking her over, was as she slipped through back near the sands and out of the dim light from the glows, was that she stopped shining. Freezing in the shadows, she squawked as she realized that she had stopped being shiny! This was a new amusing game, and she liked games, so she began to run in and out among the candidates and the shadows, sticking to around the outside of the sands, admiring herself glimmering and then not.
As she did so, she found the best spot to dance in and out - although it was right where Ceian was standing, so she proceeded to bump him over and run over him a few times before her happy brain took her out another way, straight into Gallen, whom she practically sat on for a few moments twisting and shining for herself, before darting off to run behind Noyth and Kalith. She hadn't realized yet that the squishy humans she thought of seats were important yet - she would though... Soon enough.
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Post by rai on Jan 18, 2011 23:23:11 GMT -5
Lys felt almost like she wasn't quite there. The sands were hot and she felt a little hazy. She liked the heat but the heat in here was nearly stifling. She took a deep breath, then. More dragons hatched and more Impressed. Besides the death of the green, everything was pretty routine. A second cyan, another pink, and then the red. Well, then things got a bit more worked up once more. The red ran straight for where a red haired girl stood, knocking her over. Lys drew in her breath sharply. Would they have their first mauling? It certainly looked that way.
Only the oddest thing happened. The red put on quite a ferocious display. She could see the red head was terrified, though she kept eyes open through it. But the red only snapped in her face and stepped on her lap. The cloth tore and there might have been a scratch but it just barely missed. Lucky girl...but then the red just left her alone. Lys had not seen that happen before. Not at any of the hatchings she had intended. It was almost like the red was giving the girl a display; a warning, even. Well, it was better for everyone if the teen was not mauled...it did not mean no one would be.
Finally an egg from Noyth's clutch hatched. It was a brilliant, sparkling white! It was lovely, but it didn't seem to be paying attention to the humans around it. A boy was right where it chose to frolic. The unlucky candidate got stepped on a few times as the white ran back and forth. She thought that just maybe he would get away without injury. But then she saw him wince painfully at that last crossing, clutching his leg. The blood stained through the white of the robe. The dragon's talon had gotten him on the knee. From the amount of blood it was probably deep but not a long cut. She saw him grimace, but then he did what she would have done herself. He quickly tore off a piece of his robe, tying it very tightly--even as he seemed to find it painful--to staunch the flow of blood, and to stop the bleeding. It was probably not bad enough to stop him from standing. Just enough to cause some pain. Likely it could need a couple of stitches. He tore off yet another piece and also did the same with it. Lys admired his solidarity, but needed to be paying attention to what was going on. Once he got slowly to his feet, putting all his weight on the left leg which was uninjured, she looked back to the hatching. The gold egg was rocking, and there was also a white on the sands. There were still dragons left to Impress today. The hatching was not over yet.
xXx
Ceian was still excited in the nervous way everyone likely was, at this point. He had stopped clenching his fists and lightly held the sleeves of the too-big robe. He was growing more encouraged with each and every Impression. A red, a white, and then the white was heading his way! But she didn't seem to be stopping. His eyes widened as he tried to take a step back. But between his own clumsiness and the white bumping into him, he hit the sands flat on his back. He thought she might go on. But the creature simply began to prance back and forth, stepping on him once, twice, and then again, not even seeing to notice him at all. The first two times she got him once on the ribs and then once right in the stomach. He had some of the wind knocked completely out of him, and as he gasped for air she finally made her final pass. He felt a sharp pain as one of her talons pierced his leg, and bit his tongue to keep from making any noise. He shut his eyes tightly, his face a mask of momentary pain while he tried to gather himself. Then he looked and saw that there was blood coming through the robe and dripping down his leg. Not good.
He knew only a few things and one was that he needed to stop the blood flow. He was finally grateful the robe was too large. He ripped the bottom, two strips. He deftly tied the piece around the wound. He pulled it tight and grimaced. He had had a brief look. It would need to be attended to but it wasn't so bad that he wanted to go off the sands. Again, he tied the second piece, biting his tongue against the pain. He needed to get up. The hatching was not over. Unsteadily at first he rose, and then put his weight on the leg that was uninjured. He stood, still. He knew the white had not meant to do as she'd done. He knew these things happened. He was simply grateful it was not worse than it was. She had gone over both stomach and ribs. If that would have torn...he shuddered inwardly. Then he took a deep breath, defiantly deciding he would ignore any and all pain. He wanted to Impress and he wasn't going to do it projecting pain. Mind over matter, and so it was. He found he could ignore it if he acted like it was not there. For the most part. Enough. He was still going to stand.
xXx
Tay was hardly able to follow all of what went on. The red hatched and almost mauled a red haired girl. Impressions were being made and yet more eggs were hatching. The one she took a huge notice of, however, was the white. It sparkled! Her face lit up as she watched it, though it then knocked a boy over and seemed to wound his leg. That wasn't so great, but the white was so pretty! And there was a cyan that hatched too, a small one. She really liked the white and Cyan. And the little pink that seemed to prance so happily. Such a wonderful variety of hatchlings! She only hoped one would choose her.
She saw the boy get up and was glad. It couldn't have been so bad if he was standing. The robe he'd tied around the wound was not soaking through with blood. That was good, too! She couldn't focus on that right now though. The hatching wasn't over. Then she finally noticed the gold egg was rocking! She gasped lightly, eyes going wider. The gold...or was it copper? She didn't know but they were so magnificent to look at! Maybe not as much as the white, though? She really liked her. She'd never seen a sparkling dragon before. Not ever! She smiled broadly, trying to watch the hatchlings all at once, it seemed. It was mostly possible. Not entirely. But she did try! This hatching was so amazing!
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Gray
Wingrider
grayct[M:-350]
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Post by Gray on Jan 18, 2011 23:28:48 GMT -5
The queen was rocking, and cracking. Tasia blinked, watching a few flecks of the golden egg fall. So. Someone was going to get a queen. She had never thought of getting the chance to impress a queen. She was sure she would be passed up though. She wasn't sure, but she just didn't feel like queen material. She was too antisocial. She was too unsure of herself.
Just when she thought the Queen would hatch, something caught her eye. Something breathtaking. A little white tumbled from one of Noyth's eggs. Oh my. She was a lovely little thing. She didn't expect what happened next though. She sparkled, and it was so pretty. She was like an opal, with the colors swirling across her hide. Did whites normally sparkle? Tasia didn't know. She had never seen a white. Still. She was beautiful. Tasia watched her frolic and play, darting between shadow and light. She wondered who the little white would impress. A smile was given to Noyth. She would have to congratulate her rider and the dragon later on having such a pretty daughter. She watched as the white knocked a boy over and ran over him a couple of times, then just abandoned him. She seemed to be a fickle little thing, and might be a bit vain when she was older. Though Tasia had to stifle a chuckle at the way the white looked at herself while sitting on a fellow candidate.
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Reky
Alphahandler
rekyct[M:-999]
SO PRO
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Post by Reky on Jan 19, 2011 0:05:01 GMT -5
There was some crazy stuff going on! Emrin felt pretty dizzy. He was trying to focus on all of it at the same time, and it really wasn't working for him. He felt kind of woozy... and in his bout of seasickness (hatchingsickness?) he wondered if feeling like this was normal. It probably wasn't. There were just so many things happening that he kept moving his silly little head around. He was probably scrambling his brains around a bunch - that's why he felt dizzy. He couldn't help it though. He just wanted to see everything all at the same time, because it was all so amazing and entrancing.
He saw the greens and the angry black going about their angry business. Well, he had figured they'd just been playfighting, but his heart sunk as he realized they weren't. The black was -- no, he couldn't be! -- was he really--? Emrin whimpered, "H-hey!" He tried to get them to stop, but his weak little voice did nothing. Soon enough, the green had disappeared. Poof. Just like Seceth and Enlith did, except she didn't come back, and he had a very bad feeling about it. He felt really, really sad. The black went off and picked a girl for himself, but Emrin couldn't decide whether he should clap or not. He didn't feel so good...
He registered that a green had Impressed, and then another, and there was a cyan and a pudgy dragon hatched, and he snapped himself out of it. Why are you being such a crybaby, Emrin? Manly men don't get sad! Be happy! It's a hatching! Babies are being born! And it's not gross like people babies, he told himself. Happy! Now! Because you're awesome, Emrin, so act like it! One should never underestimate the power of the mind on someone's mood and, with his renewed outlook on life, Emrin watched the white-pink find a girl of her own. He clapped like crazy and smiled as wide as he could. Smiling made him feel so much better.
The rest of the dragons on the sands really didn't look that bad, he decided, looking them over. They looked happy. There was... oh, well, he didn't care about making a list, but they were happy. And the group stayed all happy, until the next egg to hatch. Out came a red. Immediately, he felt a sense of doom. Ohhhh no, he thought to himself. He'd seen those reds around - Warpath and Itsakillerdath or whatever - and they always looked angry. He couldn't believe how they were always angry! The world wasn't that bad a place for them to always have to be angry and mean. It was actually a pretty nice place, and it was pretty fun, too. He winced visibly as the red slammed into one of the girls. He felt sorry for her. He couldn't imagine how it must feel himself, because he'd never been attacked by a dragon, but he really felt sorry for it. It couldn't have felt good. At all.
But the red was getting him sad again, so he looked away. There were other things to look at anyways, like the fat -- no, she wasn't fat, because fat was a mean word -- dragon and the cyan and wasn't there a pink still around? And then all of his attention snapped to one thing. It was shiny and glittery and... He gasped. It was a dragon? A shiny, glittery white dragon? Dragons didn't come in glitter. Sometimes they looked like metal, but not glitter. She kind of looked like grass in the morning, when it was all covered with dewdrops, but she obviously wasn't grass because she was running all over the place and sitting on people and being a dragon. He watched her run back to Noyth and Kalith. She was so cute and happy and sparkly, not angry like Noyth and Kalith and that red and the black and the greens and... shells, there were a lot of angry dragons! He was glad there were some happy ones. [/blockquote]
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Post by shimmer on Jan 19, 2011 1:05:09 GMT -5
The sounds of a scuffle grated on Mayalene's ears, pulling her attention away from the two pinks and back to the little green from earlier. It seemed that the black wasn't through yet, and Mayalene winced as the stronger, meaner dragon tore into her. She avoided being killed only narrowly, and the thin candidate bit her lip as she made one last attempt to reach the candidates.
There was ichor all over the sands, and even if she managed to reach hers before the black finished her off, Mayalene wondered if she would make it. Would she ever be able to fly?
It seemed like that last question would never be answered. The thin candidate turned her head away as the black attacked yet again, this time finishing the job. As Kalith and the other dragons keened, Mayalene found herself almost hoping that the little black would fail to find his and between. That dragon was dangerous.
The other dragons got hardly any notice at all, even when one of the two greens from earlier passed her by. With a feeling somewhere between hatred and dread, she watched as the hatchling impressed to a girl she didn't know, one with pale skin and jet black hair. Staring, Mayalene did her best to commit the other girl's appearance to memory.
Whatever happened, in the future she would avoid those two at all costs.
The sound of more eggs cracking was a welcome distraction, and she turned to watch as a pale blue green creature slid onto the sands, followed by a rather chubby little thing, and a dark pinkish red. The cyan seemed... sad? Mayalene hoped it was alright.
The red attacked one of the girls nearby, though, thankfully, it did not seem to posses nearly as much viciousness or brutality as it's brother. The girl seemed largely unharmed. Good. Although she had no control over events to come, she hoped that she would not have to see another death tonight.
The queen egg had started to rock. She noticed this mainly because everyone had suddenly turned their attention towards it. She watched it curiously, wondering just what would come out. Would it be a gold, like the other two queens who resided at this weyr? Or would it be a fierce copper like Kalith? Whatever it was, it was highly unlikely it would impress to her, but it would still be interesting to see...
"Ah!"
With a cry halfway between surprise and pain, Mayalene hit the sand as a small, sparkling thing rushed past. It had not actually hurt her, but the feeling of it smacking into her overstimulated her sensitive nerves, causing her to overreact. After a few moments of lying there, she got up again, trying to get a good look at the dragon that had knocked her over as it darted among her fellow candidates. A sparkly white. It looked sort of like all the stars in the sky had been crushed together until there wasn't any blackness left in between. Beautiful, though she sincerely hoped it didn't knock her over like that again.
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Post by kyrillion on Jan 19, 2011 18:48:00 GMT -5
Gallen watched, his happy wonder polluted abruptly by shock and sadness, as the tantrum-throwing black chased down and murdered his green sister. Well, maybe it wasn’t murder, exactly; it certainly hadn’t been an accident, though, and the young man felt himself drawing up, spine straightening in unpleasant shock as dragons all throughout the cavern took up a brief, but heart-wrenching keen for the lost life. Their pain reverberated through him, sharp and intense, and his signature grin became a sullen, discreet frown, if only briefly. He still wasn’t buying into that whole one-dragon-for-one-rider thing, but he had a moment of unsettled disquiet as it occurred to him that the green had been looking for someone before she’d slipped between. What would happen to whomever it was she’d been trying to Impress? Would they, or could they, ever even know how close they’d come to being a rider? Great Faranth, what if it’d been him, and he’d only felt her death as one quiet, unhappy moment amongst so much chaos and excitement? When all along she’d been running to him, needing him to rescue her? Granted, he didn’t think he had actually been the person she’d been looking for, and this was all very much within the realm of what if – but, hypothetically speaking, how awful. He felt a fleeting urge to turn and run, as he sometimes did when faced with conflict, but he banished the thought immediately – this was not some impending barfight at Benden Hold, or something he could con or talk his way out of, and all that aside, there was nowhere to go. The Hatching was still in full-swing - if anything, it had only picked up momentum.
The reactions of the crowd and his fellow Candidates, at least, told him that such a death was not a common occurrence, and he watched with equal measures concern and foreboding as the black moved on, only to Impress to one of the remaining girls. The whole affair had made him more than a little uneasy, but the atmosphere within the cavern soon shifted once more, and it became apparent that everyone, the clutchmother included, was moving on. And so he reluctantly turned his focus back to the surviving hatchlings and untouched eggs just in time to see the chaser-green turning her attention away from the hunt, her focus drawn first to her black brother and then to the ring of white-robed humans. This one looked like she shared some of his sentiments; the look she sent the black was downright venomous, and she promptly made her own way over and began the apparently arduous process of picking her own rider out of the group. Unlike him, however, the little green was clearly fairly buttoned-down, moving up the line like some sort of military commander, dismissing hopefuls as she went. She gave that boy, Abalan, a brief sniff before continuing on – and then she was standing in front of him, eyeing him curiously, and he squirmed a bit under her scrutiny before regaining control of himself, but not before she’d walked away. Faranth, if he was going to squirm like that the least he could do was keep it to himself. Tossing his indignantly, trying to rid his thoughts of some of the clutter, he fixed the grin back in place and consciously went through and relaxed the muscles in his back and neck that had gone rigid after witnessing the fight between the black and green. Only then did he return his full attention to the clutch.
An awed barrage of noise reached his ears, then – people in the stands ogling at something and trying to be discreet about it. When they all did it at once, though, their whispers mostly just generated a low roar, and Gallen was trying to put it out of his mind as he attempted to figure out just what had set them off. It didn’t seem as if any new eggs had hatched, just that the queen one seemed to be rocking faintly… but wait just a minute, there was a second clutch on the Sands, and it looked like one of the gray’s children had managed to fight her way out into the world, too. And she was a white! Gallen was not by any stretch of the imagination a weyrperson, but he knew that the color was rare, that it likely hadn’t been expected from the gray’s clutch. He watched, intrigued, as the little figure made her way out into the open, and when the light hit her she lit up like sunshine on water. His smile became softer, then, more genuine, his eyes narrowing as they were apt to do, and he watched as she danced her way through the Candidates – tumbling some of them over, as she went about it, but there was clearly no malicious intent. Perhaps just a bit of clumsiness…
And then he found himself knocked to the ground, the little shinning hatchling sprawled on top of him, where she paused for a moment and seemed to admire herself. “You’re a pretty one indeed, aren’t you?” A quiet chuckle escaped his lips, once he recovered from the initial surprise, and just as he reached a hand up to curiously give her a pat on the shoulder she was off again, speeding back towards Noyth and Kalith, clearly not too intent on Impression just yet. Rolling back over, he hopped spryly to his feet so as to avoid getting trampled on by any other hatchlings he might not have noticed in the vicinity, and then swayed for a moment. Once he'd regained his balance, he turned his attention to his robe, attempting in vain to dust it off, as it was now more sandy-brown than white in some places. No matter. No one was looking at him, anyway – all eyes were on the hatchlings, as they should be. --------------
Ripariath had been reluctant to go, when Noyth dismissed him from the Sands, but he’d understood the reason for it. With the eggs Hatching there would be no room for him, and Kalith would surely want him out of the way. And so his only response was to gently touch his nose to her cheek - briefly, affectionately - before obeying her. Springing lightly into the air, he sailed to the nearest ledge and settled in to watch; Kalith’s eggs were the ones rocking, but surely Noyth’s would not be far behind. He left Kyril behind, though, which was more than a little unusual - this time, however, she would stay and enjoy the front-row seat she was given with the graypair. Standing unobtrusively beside A’mor, she watched as the previously peaceful and quiet cavern was overtaken – first by dragonriders, then by spectators moving into the stands and sleepy Candidates filing in from the barracks. She spared the grayrider a quick glance and smile just before the first of Kalith’s eggs hatched; the poor man looked exhausted. Granted, she was a far-cry from well-rested, herself, so she could certainly sympathize – Rip had spent as much time as he was able on the Sands with Noyth, and so she’d found herself spending quite a lot of time there as well over the past few sevendays. This wasn’t by any means the first night she’d fallen asleep up against the rocks, hot from the sands and a touch uncomfortable, but happy – even if she still thought it a touch absurd that her ridiculous blue had sired a clutch again.
They watched the proceedings attentively but silently – with the exception of the single, heartfelt keen that was torn from Ripariath at the green hatchling’s death. As time passed, however, and neither of Noyth’s eggs gave any sign of life, Kyril slowly found herself starting to worry. There’d always been a chance that they might’ve been duds, but she hoped that wouldn’t turn out to be the case. However, just as the queen egg began to rock, one of Noyth’s gave a very small shake and started to spin – and then the hatchling within pushed her way out, and Kyril’s eyes opened wide in surprise. It was all she could to keep her mouth from hanging open in shock as the little white – very effeminate and very bright – took enthusiastically to the sands. Up on the ledge, Ripariath rose to his feet, eyes bright turquoise and whirling like a tornado. That was his baby, his and Noyth’s, and she was healthy and beautiful and he couldn't have been more pleased. His cornflower-blue head snaked around to follow her movements, watchful and diligent, as she began to weave in and out of the Candidates, and he felt as though his chest would burst with pride.
Mine, look! Look at her go, KyrillionMine![/color] He cried fondly, and all the while His laughed good-naturedly at him from down below. I see her, Rip! She’s beautiful. She assured him, voice brimming with affection. She knew that kings and queens were every bit as protective of their clutches as Noyth had been, every bit as proud of them, but they sired so many over the course of their lifetimes. Blues were rarely clutchfathers; there had been only one egg, a pink, last time - Karath. And now he had a little white daughter, as well, and she could distinctly feel how thrilled he was. Ripariath was certainly no king, and he might not have been the fittest father, but he was deeply proud and very fond of both of them, and she knew he would quit fretting over the little white until she sought out her own human and successfully Impressed. [/size]
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Post by lesa on Jan 20, 2011 0:17:22 GMT -5
He should have known something like this would happen. He should have known better than to allow her to watch. He should have known to just leave her sleeping and come himself, leave her with the creche-mothers and come to Stand, so she wouldn't have to see this. She - Djordji groaned, sound unwittingly following the rise-and-fall of the dragon's keening over the loss of one of their own. He had let his daughter, his young, innocent daughter see death first hand, all because he wanted her to see him triumph! All because he'd wanted her to see him go beyond his beloved gardening, the necessary farming, to do something that he'd always dreamed. He'd wanted her to see the dream that he'd held, that her mother had held, for so long that it had floated away like seed-puffs on the wind, blowing away to parts unknown, never to be seen again. He'd wanted her to rejoice with him, to be proud of him (why, fool, she was already proud of you!), instead he had exposed her to death.
Djordji knew Amisi had already known death in some way - none of his family had died, except Sima, and he knew his sweet darling only knew her mother was "gone to the stars", not that she was dead. Until now, he felt, until now, when she's seen and heard and felt a dragonet disappear between. He knew, he knew, his mother had told him that children don't understand death until older, seven Turns or so, but still, still, it was almost worse, explaining to her that her mother was with the stars, and the dragonet gone between because her brother had attacked her. Amisi wouldn't understand, she didn't understand, occasionally she still asked him where Mama was, even though she'd never known Sima, and now she wouldn't understand why brother could attack sister to the point where the sister would be gone forever.
Wracked by the pain this realization wrought on him, Djordji had to fight to keep his head up, to clap for the killer black's Impression, the green after him, the other green after her, the pink after that. He had to be strong, for Amisi. He - he had to be. Another egg cracking brought his head up, sharp. Not one of Kalith's, one of Noyth's, then. He looked sightlessly as he fought down the thoughts of death, of Sima, that took over his thoughts. A laugh brought him back, Sima's laugh, a bright and joyous giggle that she only gave when he teased her just the right way, breaking her out of the serious exterior he gave the world to show her dreamy inner spirit.
That was what he heard then, and he turned his head to follow the sound. A teary eyed (had he been able to see her tears) Amisi was laughing and pointing. Djordji looked and was forced to chuckle himself. Seemed a rather remarkable white had hatched; the color certainly took Amisi's fancy, the glitter and flash of it like dewdrops on a flower. Pretty little creature, for all it ran about and landed on people. Wasn't done maliciously, just as Amisi had no malicious thoughts in her head when she ran at him for him to pick her up, unaware he wasn't ready to pick her up, or ran to him to welcome him home, her head at just the right height. There was no malicious intent here, not like with the black. This little lady was all about joy. Joy that was dearly needed at the moment.
Joy that reminded him he had a child to care for, regardless of what she thought of the Hatching. Joy that reminded him of his and Sima's promise, that she would Impress green and he would Impress blue and everything would be good, they would be weyrmates and fighting Thread. That dream was gone now, but he could still Impress. He could do what he could to protect Pern. He could do what he could to keep the changed dream alive.[/size]
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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 Jan 20, 2011 5:38:10 GMT -5
Corian had been to a few of the Hatchings in his life after having been named a candidate if not to stand then at least to watch. Certainly he had stood once and failed once. He had a one hundred percent failure rate. Things were looking good. Still... It would be nice to actually get a dragon this time. Somehow he thought he might wind up on the sands for a second time. There would be more times... Hopefully. And, if all else failed he could just become one of the Weyrfolk and adopt thirty firelizards to wreak havoc on the town. Well, actually he'd probably wind up with some docile creatures who would rather simply sleep in his house as opposed to actually move anywhere. He didn't know what he would do if he wound up with something that simply loathed moving altogether.
Currently, Corian stood thoughtfully on the sands waiting for the hatching to begin. A few of the other candidates were already there waiting. Corian was towards the back of the group. A shock of excitement ran through him as the thought that he might become a rider crossed his mind. It had been something he had looked forward to for so long and yet he slightly dreaded the thought of it. The thought of having authority and the thought of having to fight made him slightly worried. He was not certain what he would do if a dragon he bonded with passed away under his care. He knew that he would probably wind up leaving the sands empty handed but here he was and it was an exciting time anyway. Like all the others on the sands, he had been woken by the dragon call earlier in the night and had been waiting here with the others. He, like many of the others, had payed his respects to the Copper Kalith and Grey Noyth upon arriving at the Hatching grounds.
There didn't seem to be much talking happening and most people actually seemed a little tense. Perhaps there were just a lot of people who were wondering whether they would leave alone tonight. Whilst Corian had been lost in his thoughts it seemed that a few of the eggs had started hatching...
*****
It seemed to Corian that there was some dissension in the ranks, a few of the Greens had begun bickering amongst themselves. Although it caused him to smile a little he did wonder whether it was best to see this amongst the Hatchlings. Deciding that he didn't care he almost stepped forward to join the two little dragons. It simply seemed like a whole heap of fun to get involved in. Still, he supposed he should wait here at the back or else he might wind up with a dragon attached to his face and a verbal beating once the Hatching was over. He was psyched for the feast though. Anything that involved food was worth his time anyway and he'd be able to congratulate all those who had impressed a dragon. 'Course, his would be the most awesome dragon... Assuming that he was chosen.
He turned his attention to the clutch again as a Black began chasing a little Green. He almost rushed forward in indignation as the little Green was tackled by the Black. Although they were newly hatched it seemed shocking that the Black would have such a violent instinct at such an age. Then again... It was a fighter... That was the short explanation for it. Although feeling some remorse he wouldn't let it dampen his mood. There were worse things that could have happened to that little green... Maybe. He could tell that there were others affected by the sudden display but, then again, there were more still that seemed to accept it. His formally cheerful attitude had slipped away from the keening of Kalith.
He forced himself to think of some cheerier moments and eventually repressed the thought of the Green hatchling. He instead turned his attention towards the other eggs of the clutch that were currently moving. He had spotted a white and even rather confident looking Pink and Red hatchlings moving through the eggs of their siblings. He waited, forcing the excitement back into himself bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet trying to keep his mind off the more upsetting events of the Hatching. He hadn't even noticed the Gold egg beginning to move being so wrapped up in maintaining an upbeat attitude. After all, he hardly wanted to be impressed feeling upset... That wouldn't make a very good first impression. Besides, if he was left on the sands again then he didn't want the Green to upset him even more...
OOC: I just sorta tried to skim through everything that's happened. I just thought that this would be alright for him to be watching or maybe standing because it seems like something that would happen... Let me know via pm if there's anything I need to change... ^_^
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Admin
Administrator
brect[M:-2154]
Posts: 3,754
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Post by Admin on Jan 20, 2011 20:44:21 GMT -5
When leaves have fallen and skies turned to gray, The night keeps on closing in on the day, A nightingale sings his song of farewell, You'd better hide from her freezing hell.
The Queen egg continued to rock and crack. However, with the appearance of the frolicking, sparkling white, another dragonet came wiggling out of his egg. Sadly, the creature only managed to get his front half out of the hole he had managed to make in the shell of his very tiny prison of darkness. Like that, he was obviously a white, the perfect creature to match the other dragonet on the sands. They weren't related, of course, but seeing her playing, he wanted to join the fun! His pale, opalescent hide flickered with color as he tried to free himself, wondering why his front legs could move but his back legs couldn't. There was something around his middle, but he wasn't sure what it was. It was behind him. Finally, the egg gave way and he came tumbling out. It was then that it was fully revealed that, just like the other white, he was a little bit special.
While this white, a male, did not sparkle like the other, in the right light, his hide was a rainbow colors. Not a rainbow in the normal sense of his color, but red to orange to green to blue, all across his body. He took a few steps and the effect disappeared for a moment, turning him back to white and a few patches of pastel color. Then he took another few steps, stumbling forward, and he was once more a rainbow, rather than just a white. However, as he was largely the same minuscule size as the sparkler, a tiny bundle of clumsy muscle and excited energy, there was no doubting which color he was supposed to be. He was simply special, like the other white or his brother, Areith. Fajra was frowning at him and the other white, but Kalith only hummed happily, the sadness of one dragonet's death having passed. Whites were a sign of good luck to a copper like her.
The rainbow white did not appear to notice the candidates. His eyes were on the sparkler, so he went tripping and stumbling after her, showing an utter lack of coordination. He came skipping over to her, dodging around Noyth, and nearly fell right on top of her. Quickly catching himself, he let out a high-pitched trill of joy. He was very happy to see her! She was very pretty! Sitting down, his tail went from side to side and he patiently waited, happy simply to adore her iconic image. He would find his rider after she found hers! Wasn't he such a good guardian? He puffed out his chest in happy pride, not that he really knew much of what to do with pride. He was happy to simply sit there, watch the pretty dragonet in front of him, and offer to play. The sparkles on the hide in front of him mesmerized him, partially because it was her and partially due to the nice shine of it.
Unfazed by anything around her, the falsely demure pink continued at a saunter towards the candidates. She was growing hungry, but she couldn't rush. Her limbs were not yet sleek and strong enough to carry her with any great speed, so she went slowly, shooting eyes at everyone and everything. However, despite her love for all that she could have from those with masculinity, she wanted a girl. She knew there was a girl right for her amongst them. In fact, she picked out her rider with ease. She approached the girl at her usual swagger, the stride she had using mostly attitude and little true coordination. Twining about the girl, claws inches from the newly made weyrling's feet, she nudged at the girl's hands, touch gentle and firm. She was unafraid, forever unabashed. ZenettaMine, your Aphroth needs food. I love you. And that was that. Simple love.
The Queen egg was splitting open. Claws appeared through a crack in the shell, tearing the egg apart from the inside. With a quiet hiss of triumph, the dragonet within emerged, throwing up her head and rustling her damp wings. For a moment, the golden color of her egg flashed across her hide. Then she stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, and it was revealed that she was a copper, strong, red, and metallic. The majority of her body was a flashing mix of dark orange and yellow, mixed with that rich red undertone. However, vines of a bright crimson curved up from the soles of her feet and faintly lined the top of her head. She was small for a Queen, more the size of an iron than that of her mother, but that was plenty impressive in and of itself. Even as merely a dragonet, she was strong and lean, not completely coordinated but quickly learning.
The copper prowled forth as her mother proudly beamed down at her second Queenly daughter. Her future poise was there, her stature not about to diminish her in the slightest. Her eyes, swirling a bright lime green, darted from human to human, from dragon to dragon, from sister to brother. She judged. She considered. For the moment, she calm. However, just beneath the surface, the urge to act lay. She was ready to strike, to force her limbs to listen until they burned. Due to that, she proceeded with some care. She knew the possibilities, but as of yet, she wasn't quite sure of how she fit into it all. She was a Queen, but she cared very little for that. Though she would rule when it was her place, her pride lay in other things. Being social was not something she learned as swiftly as other things. To her, being aloof was easier, so that was what she tried.
Another small egg shattered to send a new pink tumbling out into the world. She was a moderate shade of pink, far brighter than all of her sisters. However, she had no coordination whatsoever. Oh, one day she would doubtlessly have it, but right then, she was gawky and awkward, not yet showing the signs of draconic grace that was yet to come. Blinking goo away from her eyes, she stared about herself, struggling to her feet. She found herself right in the path of her Queenly sister. That immediately distressed her. Aware of her place in the world, she dropped to the ground without a thought. If she were older, she might have had a bit more pride, but right then, her legs barely function as they were. The copper gave her sister a hiss, not liking her sudden appearance, but was satisfied by the prostrating. It meant that the pink was no physical threat to her.
However, the sad cyan from before was still worried and she let out a squawk of warning, picking herself up to slip over. She was trying to make it better. She was trying to tell them what was going on, to speak the truth. Sadly, the copper did not take her approach as anything but a threat. Sisterly affection was not often too strong in dragons and the Queen held few affections for anyone. She would learn them in time, but right then, with no connections made, she could be little but a coldfish. Without a second thought, she lashed out at the cyan, striking like an over-sized snake. The smaller dragonet was no fighter and her blow landed solidly. Surprised by this violence, the pink shot up, chirruping. She tried to waddle forward, wanting to fix things. Whirling about, the copper slammed into her, not afraid to handle with both of them. She'd fight them all!
The cyan and the pink were no Amazons. As the the copper loomed over her submissive victim, the cyan tried to speak up again, tried to find her voice. The Queen wanted none of it. She was marching to war. Her temperamental soul had been raised up, replacing wisdom and insight. She tackled the cyan, landing awkwardly but still managing to pin the smaller female to the ground. As claws pricked at her hide, drawing ichor from her veins, the cyan struggled, trying to raise her wings. The Queen let up, for a moment unsure, and in response, the cyan betweened. The copper blinked in surprise, as the keen was once again raise. It wasn't time to mourn! She turned on the pink, furious, livid, unchastised by Kalith and beyond the grasp of Fajra. She struck again, hitting at her tinier sibling. With a meek glance to the candidates, the hatchling winked into death.
That scene had played out in mere moments. The red turned to watch, no longer interested in the candidates. The copper was left breathing harshly, aware of what she had done but largely unrepentant. She was a warrior. No threat existed where she walked. However, her skills were not yet up to par. She did not notice the red, who stood across the sands, halted only by her young limbs and slowly filling mind. She was furious, outraged at the idea of two of her sisters being dead. At first, she started forward slowly, her rage too great for her body. Most of the time, she would not be too bad for a red. She hadn't grievously harmed Rynille or thrown any bodies around. Right then, though, her rage was uncontrollable. With each step she took, she built up speed. She would soon be at a charge, one met only for the Queen dragonet.
The flighty, mischievous green from earlier had sat safely beyond the candidates while these deaths had occurred. While she felt a hollowness grow inside of her, an ache as the keening resounded through her mind, she knew when to run. It wasn't her battle to fight. It wasn't her battle to win, as much as she would like to add another victory to her record. With her neck stretched as high as possible, she trotted over towards the boys, leaving the girls far behind. They weren't for her. They had drama, like her sisters, and she wanted no part of that. She would pick whose battles she wanted to fight. G'wen, your Niketh needs food. Let's fly! Let's go! She came harrying at her new rider, wings spreading out as if she might actually try to fly right then and there. As it were, she was just trying to make sure he moved. She was not waiting up for him.
The green had fled just in time. The red lunged at the copper and the Queen whipped around to meet her, surging up onto slender hind legs. Kalith screamed, voicing her disapproval. Her daughters! Her sands! The copper broke off, hearing the command in the harsh shriek. However, the red did not listen and viciously collided with her larger foe. Not about to take the assault lying down, the copper surged up and threw her off. Their mother continued to shriek and hiss at a fevered pitch, but they would not listen. Off to the side, the small, chubby pink, her color so simple next to that of a Queen but so perfectly pink, watched. She was within inches of interfering, but she knew it wasn't her place. She couldn't die for folly. There was a candidate for her. She just had to wait it out, even as her stomach twisted into knots of confusion. In time, she knew that it would pass.
On cold wings she's coming, You'd better keep moving, For warmth, you'll be longing, Any day, come on, just feel it?
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Post by rai on Jan 20, 2011 21:15:16 GMT -5
Ryn watched everything, having calmed herself and considered herself lucky she had not been hurt by the force that was the red. That one could have done so much more damage. But she wasn't going to think about it. There wasn't even time, besides. Again it seemed like everything happened nearly too fast to follow. A boy was trampled and seemed to sustain some kind of injury. Another white hatched, leaving two on the sands. The queen hatched--copper, just like she'd suspected--and then the copper was off in a rage; she sent the cyan and a new pink between. Ryn cringed inwardly. Three deaths in one hatching. All induced by their own clutchsiblings. She didn't want to think about that either. There was that pink from earlier, the two whites, the red and the copper. Then something unexpected happened.
The red seemed to fly into a rage, flinging itself at its copper clutchsister. She watched in mute shock as the two battled on the sands. They seemed oblivious to the senior queen's cries of outrage. If Kalith couldn't stop them...who could? Any person who tried to get between that would be in for some serious injuries or be signing their own death warrant. She couldn't do anything. She instead grew worried about the pink being in the way. The whites had gone and hid; had looked to be playing, when they ought to have Impressed and gotten themselves entirely out of the situation. She didn't know what the pink was doing. It didn't look safe, out in the open. Even if only a bit so. She was also concerned about the red and copper. If Kalith didn't break them apart, there could be another dragon going into between. Why didn't Kalith just use force? She was so much stronger than both hatchlings, why didn't she simply swat one away, or pin them to the sands? Ryn wasn't sure.
She tried to keep her eyes on the battling dragons. No way would she let the fight get anywhere near her. She was also eying the pink, and figuring she need not worry about the whites at all. She tried to assess where this fight would go. Death? One winning out over the other without needing to end in one betweening? Kalith breaking it up? One of them Impressing? It was so hard to fathom. She found she was concerned for the well being of all the four dragons she could see on the sands. She bit her lower lip in frustration. She couldn't sharding do anything. Just like when that green had been killed, and then the cyan and other green. Was this death, this violence, really necessary? She wanted to stamp her foot and cuss at the dragonets. To tell them how foolish they were being, how they ought to stop and just Impress. She might have been brave enough, but she wasn't stupid enough. She could only hope, and she was suddenly filled with a whole lot of hope. Did projecting positive feelings and thoughts at them help? She didn't know but by Faranth's first egg she was trying. Her nose crinkled up as she concentrated on sending it to all four dragons. She wasn't sure it would have any effect at all, but she had to at least try.
xXx
Ceian felt as though this were almost, just almost, a dreamlike state of things. He knew it was all real--the pain he was ignoring as best he could in his knee was proof if nothing else. Yet things seemed to be going by in that kind of state. He was there but also watching everything from his spot. Watching it happen with no influence at all over what the dragons did. When the cyan and pink were sent into between after the new copper hatched? Nothing he could do. When the red unexpectedly flung herself at the same copper? Nothing he could do. He was trying to remind himself that this was as it was. No one could interfere. It would result in nothing good if they did. Would Kalith be able to stop it?
He had seen the second white hatch. They had gone safely behind Noyth before the battle between red and copper had started. They were safe, and he could not help but watch, not realizing his jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together. His fists once more clutched the robe sleeves tightly, but now for an entirely different reason. He really wanted the fighting to break up. For them both to find their person and Impress. He didn't want to see yet another dragonet death today. He swallowed back words that he couldn't shout. He wanted to, though. They hung there in his throat, there on the surface. He had seen how fierce the red was. Yet he was upset with himself. He was a coward. Was it better to risk himself to save the dragons? He didn't know. What if it did nothing but get him mauled or killed, and they went right back to it. His mind was a rush. He willed it to stop. Not even Kalith seemed able to stop it. He just wished, very badly, that they would stop.
xXx
Lys was a healer. Death happened, and she knew that. She had dealt with the death of very young children. She had to deal with the fact then that she had done all she could. Sometimes there was nothing left you could do. It did not make it easy to be standing by and watching as three dragonets had been killed. One by the black, and two by the new copper. She knew this kind of thing happened. The copper seemed so irate. She didn't know why it and the black had hatched clean out of the shell in what seemed to almost be a rage. The red, too. It was the red that flung herself onto the copper. That was completely unexpected--did anyone else suspect that might happen? Coppers were queens. Why would a red attack her? The red must not have been thinking clearly.
She didn't know how it would turn out. She knew that the death of either dragon would not be good for the Weyr. She didn't put it in terms of the queen and the red. They were all dragons. Any life lost was a loss, no matter what color or rank they stood in. She had seen the two whites go behind Noyth. She hoped they would stay there until this was settled. They were cute things, those whites. All the hatchlings had been. Watching and waiting was hard, but she had an immeasurable amount of patience. Healers had to. Sometimes you were sitting vigil for days, just awaiting an outcome. She tried not to think of the outcomes that had been bad. She liked to try and think positively. She had no guess one way or another. A bit of optimism and hopefulness were better than negativity or narcissistic thoughts. Besides, if dragons were as telepathic as most said they were? Maybe they could sense positiveness and hope.
xXx
Things were pretty crazy on the sands. Tay found it really hard to see everything at once. She pursed her lips and actually stood on tiptoes at one point to try and see better. So many colors! They were all hatching faster now. She remembered other hatchings, and this happened at all of them. They started a little slower and then it seemed that the other clutchsiblings realized what was going on outside and wanted to hatch too. She smiled as she watched the whites, the second one just as neat to her as the first. She watched in rapt fascination when the queen egg broke, spilling out a lovely copper. Oh, she was so pretty! But that thought was unable to stay long. Her joy at seeing the pretty queen soon turned sour.
She was only twelve turns, despite that most thought her mature for her age. Seeing what happened next put a huge frown on her face. The copper killed not only the smaller cyan but the new pink who hatched. As if that weren't enough for the moment, the red flung itself at the copper. She didn't want any more dragons to die! She took a few steps forward, and then saw Kalith was trying to stop them. And it wasn't working. What could she do? They weren't even listening to Kalith! Compared to the copper she was only one person, and not at all suited to trying to stop two battling dragonets. She could feel her eyes tearing up suddenly. What if those dragons that were killed...what if one of them was meant for her? Did that mean they were forever lost and she might never Impress? She sniffed, trying to not let herself look like she might cry. She took a couple of shaky breaths, looking at the candidates and the people in the stands. No one would be able to stop this...and no one was trying. She wondered what would happen if she flung a shoe at them. Would they turn their anger on her instead? She didn't want to die. She didn't want them to die. She was so confused! Was it right, to try and stop that, knowing you might die? Was it brave, or just stupid? She tried to think of what her mother might say. And how her mother would feel if she died.
She drew in another shaky breath. She couldn't do that to her mom. This was not her fault, and she was taking a risk with her life. If it had been a person that red had attacked it would be worth risking it. But it wasn't. It was a battle between the two dragons. They would sort it out. Even if it meant...she felt her eyes threatening to tear up again and quickly and fiercely wiped them with the sleeve of her robe. She had a fiercely determined look on her face. She would not cry. She would be brave in her own way, and continue doing what she had come to do. To stand in hopes of Impressing, come what may.
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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 Jan 20, 2011 21:53:19 GMT -5
Noyth’s two eggs had been silent, as in no rocking and no cracking. She wasn’t sure whether or not the gray was jealous of the copper queen for how many of her eggs had already hatched and impressed. It seemed it no longer mattered when one of Noyth’s eggs began to rock, dragging away the gray’s attention from the other clutchmother. Tristen looked away from Kalith’s dragonets to observe Noyth’s egg, seeing as she did only have two. What was inside them was really picking at her curiosity. When the egg cracked, and out came a white, Tristen held her breath. It was beautiful, sparkly! Very sparkly! The white bounded around, accidentally running over Candidate’s in the process. She winced as Ceian got stepped over, more than once. He’d definitely have at least some bruising from that, she wondered if Alden would be helping the injured Candidate’s afterwards.
She was such a pretty white, she was awfully distracting. Tristen found that she was watching her for some time, but it was the hatching of another white that stole her attention. This one was equally as beautiful, but in a more masculine-way. Its hide shimmered with the colors of the rainbow, and Tritsen’s mouth was ajar. It was breathtaking! All of these dragonets were so breathtaking, but as more and more hatched, she was more and more blown away. Now there were two whites, how peculiar, how... uncommon. One Noyth’s and one Kalith’s! When Kalith’s white joined the sparkly female white, she simply stared at the pair. What a pair they made. She could feel jealousy welling-up in her for whoever impressed them.
She’d missed the pink impression entirely. The further cracking of the queen egg bringing her sea green eyes right on back to the group of eggs. Another crack... and a rock... and... The queen had finally hatched! She was a copper, a beautiful copper, a bit small for a queen, but it didn’t make her any less beautiful. Tristen watched her in awe, thinking her a calm creature. It was a hasty thought, for then she went on the attack. First the small cyan, who betweened, causing Tristen to stare down at her feet, afraid of looking up only to be faced with more death. Even so she chanced it, looking back at the copper; it was starting on the pink, who wound up with the same fate as the small cyan. Why all of this death? Was this normal for a hatching? She wanted to scream, wanted to pound the copper with such ferocity that she nearly scared herself!
Tristen found herself in different shoes when the red turned, and bolted straight at the copper. When the two began to fight, wing and claw, she stepped forward from her place. She opened her mouth to scream out this time, but no sound came-out. What could she do? I can’t do anything! Even Kalith can’t stop them! she thought, trying not to hyperventilate. Kalith’s shrieks filled her head, her eyes fixated upon the battling red and copper. Would the copper between? Would the new queen really die? Tristen did everything in her power to keep herself from sinking to her knees in the sand. She remained standing, trying to be a stronghold for all those falling apart around her. It wasn’t the time to show weakness! Some of the dragonets smartly fled, not wanting to get dragged into the mess. A green impressed, which she thought was an even smarter action on that particular dragonets part. The pink should go to Hers also, that would be her only true place of safety. She watched the pink, feeling for her. She wished she could help it off in the right direction. She quickly looked to the two whites, glad that they were together. Maybe they had a fighting chance that way. They were so beautiful, the most beautiful yet, in her opinion, aside from the copper queen! She felt like she was being choked out as the fighting continued, her breathing quickening.
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Gray
Wingrider
grayct[M:-350]
Posts: 870
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Post by Gray on Jan 20, 2011 22:44:40 GMT -5
Tasia crossed her arms over her chest as she turned to watch the queen egg once more. Perhaps she had progressed since the white had hatched? And was greeted by the sight of another little one burthing forth from it's shell. Another white. This one just as stunning as the last. She watched with growing amusement as he went after the sparkler, tilting her head to the side. The whites were sure a special kind of dragon. For the two she had seen so far, both were rather unique. One of the previous pinks even impressed!
As she clapped, her attention shifted as yet another egg cracked. The queen. Tasia couldn't help but bite her bottom lip. She felt the rush of excitement almost all girls did when one such as that hatched. That feeling did not last long though. She watched as the Queen postured herself, the copper regal in every way. But that was not meant to last. A pink hatched before her sister, and quickly bowed in submission. Then the poor cyan had got in her way. She balked a bit and braced herself for what would happen next. She knew this wouldn't end well.
The cyan faltered, and the copper struck. Again that feeling of dread filled her stomach. She looked to the others, wondering if someone would do something. The pink tried. But it didn't help, it only made things worse. In a few seconds One was gone. Then another. The two dragonets blinked between. Tasia automatically flung up a wall, her expression not changing from her slight look of detachment. . She would have to get used to death and to sadness.
Tasia cast her gaze to the red again. Oh no. She did not look happy. She looked angrier than even before. And then they clashed. Bronze and red flashing as they tussled and fought. One hand flying up to cover her mouth. Kalith's scream split the air and made Tasia wince. The bronze backed down, but the red was to enraged. She attacked again, and the bronze retaliated.
If someone didn't stop them, Tasia would. There had been too many deaths on the sands already.
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Reky
Alphahandler
rekyct[M:-999]
SO PRO
Posts: 1,554
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Post by Reky on Jan 20, 2011 23:52:50 GMT -5
Emrin smiled brightly as another white hatched. This one was kind of weird, too, like the glittery white. He was more rainbow-y than the other two whites around the Weyr. He wasn't even going to bother trying to name the other two - their names were hard, but he knew that one of them belonged to that crazy scientist man. He liked the little whites on the sands. They were small, which made them seem much safer to him. He wasn't a big guy himself. Most of these dragons could easily take him out if they wanted to, except maybe the whites. They were really happy, too, running all over the place and playing. Happy was good.
He clapped for the pink's Impression (he was proud of himself for getting better at telling what colour a dragon really was, even if it was almost white). The whites were still playing, the fat pink was still sitting nicely, the green was fine, and the red didn't seem to be as angry as the was before. It was really great! Things were turning up. At least, that's what he thought. In only a few moments, though, everything went downhill. The incidents were a series of swift blows to his mental stability. First, the copper hatched. Then, they were fighting. The cyan died. The pink died. Emrin was shaking by then, feeling tears welling up in his entire body. He didn't want to watch anymore.
Then, the copper saw the red, or the red saw the copper... Or whatever happened. They ran at each other. Instinctively, Emrin looked up for some semblance of comfort in the form of someone familiar. He saw X'ni and Enlith up on the ledges, but they weren't looking at him. They were watching the fight, and they actually looked amused by it. Emrin felt sick again, his stomach twisting up inside him. His knees felt weak, like they were made of sloppy seaweed washed up on a beach. He wasn't sure how he was still standing.
He couldn't lie. He hated everything right now. He didn't care if he never found a dragon, but he wanted all the fighting to stop and there was nothing he could do about it. He could yell at the dragons all he wanted, but he knew he was to scared to do that. What if they attacked him for it? He didn't want to die. His voice was tangled in a lump in his throat. The only thing he could think to do was to turn and run and go hide in F'lan's weyr and wait for him to come to it and make things better. Maybe F'lan would let him have the comfiest bedfur, or he'd get him some nice hot klah, or something... He didn't want to go back to his candidate room alone. He'd be able to hear the hatching from there. The only problem with his escape plan, though, was that his legs wouldn't move.
So he cried. With Kalith screaming and the red and copper fighting, all he could do was bend over, clamp his hands over his ears, and cry. The tears were rolling down his cheeks like rivers from all the shock. He couldn't have stopped them if he wanted to. The fighting, really, wasn't all that scary and the roaring wasn't as loud with his ears plugged, but he was shaken. His body was freaking out. His heart was pumping way too fast, his legs were jelly, and all he could really do about it was cry. He was silent about it, though, clenching his jaw. His tears made little wet circles in the sand, but it wasn't like he could see them. His eyes were squeezed shut, too. He wished Rats would just run right in, right then. Rats smelled funny, but he didn't care. He just wanted his dog and his pillies and klah and a warm, warm blanket. [/blockquote]
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Post by shimmer on Jan 21, 2011 0:12:27 GMT -5
The tiny, sparkling white was hard to spot, hiding behind Kalith and Noyth as it was, but still Mayalene watched it in fascination. Whites were rare. She had only ever seen one hatch in a clutch before this, and she had never even heard of one bearing a hide like diamond. Like the black that had hatched before, it was unique; unlike said black, it was no killer.
But what was that coming towards her, all strange and rainbow colored? Another white? In all the hatchings she had attended, she had never seen two whites hatch, much less to whites as strange as these. This event might be the only one like it in all the history of Pern. She was fortunate to witness it.
And then there was clapping, and Mayalene turned to see that the other pale pink had chosen none other than her (former?) roommate. She clapped as well, partly because she was glad, partly because she had spent more time around the other girl than anyone else than these sands, and felt obligated to clap for her almost friend.
Turning away, she started to watch the whites again, when the sound of a panicked squawk drew her attention to the sands two newest arrivals, and the cyan running toward them. Flinching, she watched as two more murders were committed, neither as brutal as the one earlier, but each still horrible in their own right.
The red that had attacked another girl earlier turned around to charge the queen in rage, and Mayalene felt a tinge of approval. Although the fight would likely only result in more needless death, justice needed to be done. Those two hatchlings had been utterly defenseless.
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Post by rai on Jan 21, 2011 1:03:54 GMT -5
T'val could feel how full Hadeth was growing. It was the oddest thing. He himself felt a bit hungry. Hadeth was not. He could sense that. The bond he now shared with the jet black dragonet was so fascinating. He knew it would take many sevendays before he was able to quite understand it and appreciate it fully. He looked forward to those days. Still, Hadeth's mind was all at once the thing he knew best and least. He got a feeling of such immeasurable acceptance and understanding. How was it possible that a dragon came fresh out of the shell with so much...he couldn't even put a word to it. Even as he knew it it was hard to encompass it with a singular word.
Hadeth, having been satisfied, turned towards the sands. He was watching the hatching intently. There were now two whites on the sands, T'val noted. A red, and a pink, and a green. He was quite surprised at the white hatchlings. Very unique in their own way. Not as interesting as Hadeth, however. Or so the great bias in the weyrling was in belief of. Things were looking smooth on the sands when T'val and Hadeth turned to watch. Then complete and utter chaos seemed to break out.
The queen egg hatched to reveal a copper. There was no mistaking her for anything other than what she was. But the copper, rather than deciding to Impress, instead went rogue and before he could even react, killed both a smaller cyan and a pink. He felt physically sick, and yet it was somehow tempered by something. Hadeth?
The black watched the scene unroll before him quietly. Wordlessly he watched two deaths among his clutchsiblings. Yet there was no feeling of revulsion; there was no anger or fear. Not even sadness. There was nothing. Just a knowing acceptance. One that seemed to feel, to T'val, that the black had no normal feelings on death. He was unable to grasp it, not yet. How could the young dragon have been completely not phased by any of the three deaths? Didn't he care that other hatchlings had died? His own clutchsiblings. Hadeth seemed to pick up on T'val's feeling of confusion, and in turn looked his new lifebond in the eyes.
Death is merely another stage of life. All shall die. There is nothing that can change this. We have our time; their time was now.[/color]
T'val still didn't get it. But he didn't feel that Hadeth was cold about it. He didn't take any form of pleasure or positive feeling from the death of the three hatchlings. He was just serene and calm. He wished he could accept something like death so easily. Would Hadeth feel the same if it were someone they had known and cared for? He wasn't even sure. Hadeth had called it another stage in life. T'val didn't comprehend that. But what really was between? He didn't understand that fully, either. Why did dragons go there when they died?
They die on this world. They lose their physical form here, in life as you know of it. No one, human nor dragon alike, can say what becomes of us after death. Only one who has died could reveal such a thing. That is not meant to be.[/color]
T'val tried to wrap his mind around what the large black said. It was true...no one could die and come back to tell them what it was that awaited after. He was distracted then, as was Hadeth, by the red suddenly flinging herself at the new queen. Was she angered by the queen's actions? For her clutchsiblings? Or did she merely wish to pick a fight to prove a point? Maybe it was instinct and pure emotion that drove the red. In either case, things did not look good.[/size]
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Post by lesa on Jan 21, 2011 1:21:45 GMT -5
The calm lulled Djordji into a false sense of security. Armed again with his wish to do the best he could to protect Pern and protect Amisi (though not from seeing death, it was much too late for that, unfortunately), he watched the Hatching proceed head held high, holding the memory of his daughter’s laughter. His gaze did not center on the rocking, cracking Queen egg. He was male, the Queen egg only held wistful thoughts of what Sima could have aspired to, and vague additional thoughts that perhaps he should pay attention to the one who could potentially lead the Weyr he found himself at. In the end he concentrated more on the little… white, pushing his way out. He caught Amisi’s giggle again, picking her voice out of the multitude with the ease of any parent trying to hear their child. She seemed to think the white was cute, how he was stuck half in and half out of his shell, then as he began to frolic with the other white. She would, he thought, find it cute. If he had to pick a dragon for her to Impress, it would be a white. Maybe it was a fatherly thing, but he would prefer her on a dragon that didn’t Rise too often.
Certainly he wasn’t about to say he didn’t wonder what would happen should she someday Impress gold or copper or one of the subqueens, he just hoped in his heart of hearts, like any Holdborn father, that his little girl wouldn’t be dallying with many sexual partners on account of her dragon, regardless of the gender of said dragon. The curly-haired man would get over that by the time Amisi was old enough to Stand (whether he knew he was going to or not). She had seven Turns at least until he had to worry about it. The whites were quite cute – he clapped as he caught the pink’s Impression. Cute little thing, just as the whites were cute (if one ignored the egg-goo).
Then, the Queen fully hatched. Things went between in a handbasket. The copper, terrible and proud attacked her cyan and pink sisters, the dear, sweet little things only trying to get out of her way or warn their fellow sister to get out of the Queen’s way. No harm was meant by it, no harm, no harm at all! Djordji felt sick as it played out in front of him, sick and tired of all the killing (his thoughts swirled back to Amisi, hearing her cries of distress). The sounds changed to Sima screaming in pain from childbirth, the ichor staining and staining and staining the sand to the unstoppable blood that had come after his daughter’s birth, dooming her mother. Faranth!
He tore his eyes away from the spectacle, breathing harshly. No, it wasn’t Sima dying again. It was dragonets, making it better and worse all at the same time. They had to stop it! No more fighting, please! No more, no more, there had been enough death; there had been enough sacrifice this time. No more. Garden-hardened hands tightened into fists as Djordji breathed deep, trying to calm himself. Rushing in to stop red and copper would do him no good, only like as not get him attacked. What kind of a father would he be, running in to stop two dragonets without thought of his watching daughter? If he died, if she watched him die for something like that – yes, they had to be stopped, but not that way – he refused to have his daughter watch him die, not when she was so young. Not now. Not ever, if he could wish it that way. But he knew he would die some day, some day far from this time, when he was old and so was Amisi and she understood, more than understood that it was his time.
Nostrils flared and contracted as he breathed in and out, in and out. Dark eyes caught and held on a boy not too far from him. Older than Amisi, but not that old. Not that old at all, the child… the child was crying. He was moving before he realized he was moving, all thoughts of others not liking what he was doing forgotten. There was a child here, crying, with none to comfort him – all were ignoring him to face the fight. That wasn’t right. Djordji stood in front of Emrin, wrapping muscled arms lightly around the boy. “Shh,” he murmured, as he would to Amisi when she woke from a night terror, “Shh, it’s alright, it’s alright,” it wasn’t really alright, but that was better than saying it would be okay. Because it could never be fully okay – death never was fully okay. Comfort, however… comfort was alright. [/size]
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Admin
Administrator
brect[M:-2154]
Posts: 3,754
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Post by Admin on Jan 21, 2011 1:40:37 GMT -5
Spin your body around, Now your feet are gonna hit the ground, I am growing sleepless, And you're out of lullabies.
The red would not stop, but neither would the copper. The pair fought fiercely against each other, claws, soft with youth, ripping at wings and hide. Teeth bit at necks, legs, and tails, grabbing whatever they could. They tumbled and tussled across the sands, undisturbed by their own violence. Neither of them were apt to give up, their own rage fueling that of the other. They were both warriors, both because that was their way. They each had their own motives, of course, but they were really much the same. Their differences came down to small things. The copper fought to defend herself and what she was in the Weyr. If she could not conquer when required, what was she? The red fought, with blind rage and hatred, to defend her family. Her vengeance was aggressive and unrepentant. She fought to kill in the end, not to even the score.
Behind the epic battle playing out on the sands, two eggs hatched as the last five eggs rocked feverishly, sensing the noise and activity outside the confines of the shells that surrounded them. The first of the eggs produced a small, stout iron, strong and bold. He observed with calm neutrality, then turned as the egg beside him split. A bronze, his hide dark brown and metallic, came forth, bolder than his brother and twice as brash. Though the iron did not appear to entirely approve, he allowed the bronze to stride out in front, letting him take the lead. Of course, the two Kings were hardly the center of attention. The red and the copper continued their battle, not about to be halted by anything around them. Both the iron and the bronze were quite shocked by this display, though the latter found it easier to accept. They had not expected to be born into such war.
And with a shriek, the red digging claws savagely into her back, Kalith shrieking horribly, the copper yanked herself free, took three running steps towards Rynille and Avna, and then winked out of existence. The red was close to collapse, but she forced herself to stay standing, proud of what she had done. She had defended her sisters. She had won. At the lose of her Queenly daughter, Kalith was having a fit. She would kill the little traitor! Kill it before it could even get close to entering the cold! Fajra gritted her teeth, her neck tilting at an odd angle. She forced the copper to stay where she was, reminding her that the red was also her daughter and she could not be killed, not as a dragonet. With the Queen held, the punishment of the red was left to another. The politics playing out on the sands would remain on the sands, at least for the time being.
The red turned to observe the two Kings, stained in ichor and head held high. The iron made no comment, silent as was common with his color. The bronze, however, bold as brass, chirruped chidingly at her, telling her to behave. Bristling, despite her injuries, the red let out an indignant hiss. However, he would have none of that. He wasn't there to fight her. His chiding became a sharp bark, an order that left no question. With a final hiss, she submitted to the fact he would not pick a fight with her like the others, so she turned away and limped towards the candidates. In the meantime, the iron remained resolutely neutral to the entire situation. The bronze, done keeping the red in line, glanced towards the nearby pink, favorable to her appearance no matter the chubbiness she had. He crooned affectionately to her. In response, she chose to ignore him.
The red wasted no time in picking at that point. When push came to shove, she knew which mind she wanted. She kept her pride, even as she dragged wings that would be scarred through her life behind her. She would heal; it would simply take time. With her head up, she came to sit in front of her rider, glad for the bit of rest, glad that it kept her from stumbling. The strong mind before her was a relief to her, not that she showed it. Her rage had faded behind eyes full of only physical hunger. She was left with familial pride and a certain fierceness to what she said. Family is everything, AvnaMine. I may not be able to pick them all, but they are mine, as are you. You must stay with your Herath; she ordered. Though she was terribly hungry, and in a great deal of pain, at that point, she did not speak of it. Perhaps it would have been sensible, but she would not do it.
The white could feel the keening, but he did not join with the others in their mourning. It hurt, to lose another. He understood the concept of death. However, he found joy despite that. He was content to sit with Noyth's daughter and find solace in the glimmers of her hide. Important things could wait until later, when there weren't rainbows and sparkles to appreciate, when there weren't others to meet, when there wasn't fun to have. The warmth of the sands on his hide, one moment white and the next alive with vibrant colors as the light played across it, felt nice. Part of him wanted to sleep, but he had to stay awake! He had to keep an eye on his new best friend. Even he knew there were dangers out there; he'd felt it firsthand. He couldn't let her down! His childish determination was all that kept him awake; he couldn't go to sleep without his friend.
The pink looked strained, the lines of her bulky body tensed with worry. However, she soon sorted it and she relaxed, shooting a bemused expression at the back of the bronze's head when he turned away. She wasn't interested in his affection, though it was nice of him to try. Picking herself up, stretching the worry out of her body, saving her own mourning for a later time when it would be more appropriate, she started towards the candidates. She moved at a trundling pace, but she knew where she was going. She had a purpose. Though she spared glances at several girls, and a boy or two, her gaze always kind, she knew who she wanted. She had tried to mother many others, but she had been saving her true adoration and effort for one person, the individual with which she would make a home. To her, home was very much with the heart.
Upon reaching her candidate, the pink immediately stopped, but she remained standing, content where she was. She would introduce herself properly, after all, rather than rushing through it too much, despite her growing hunger and exhaustion. Rynille, do cheer up. Perhaps you'll be a little nicer now, dearie? Your Hestiath knows you feel worried, but she also knows you'll get better. I know you can always do that. The young dragon sounded permanently halfway between lovingly chiding and bemusedly omniscient. She knew her rider came first most of time, but they were two halves of a whole, so she didn't neglect herself too much. It was hardly as if she allowed anyone to stomp all over her face. She had avoided that by avoiding Herath and her copper sister. Perhaps you can get some food for me? Hestiath wheedled, trying to be highly persuasive.
Honey, honey, honey, You're the death of me, Won't stop holding my hands down, Baby, baby, baby.
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Gray
Wingrider
grayct[M:-350]
Posts: 870
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Post by Gray on Jan 21, 2011 2:41:19 GMT -5
Shards.
Shards and shells.
The battle had rages so hard Tasia didn't even see the kings. Not like it mattered much. Her eyes widened with each bit, and each slash of claws. This wasn't happening. This really wasn't happening. And no one did anything about it. Kalith didn't move until her copper daughter blinked out of existence. She could have stopped it. Tasia was sure of it. She could have stopped the death of her copper daughter. Once again, hatred flushed through Tasia bold and hot, burning her insides like a wild fire. Even more blood on the sands. She clapped slowly for Avna, shaking her head a bit.
Part of her wanted to walk off the sands and just take a bath. She wanted to wash the sadness and filth from her. She wanted to soak tired muscles, and then maybe get some sleep. Tasia was already feeling a bit woozy on her feet. She looked to the Iron and the Bronze, then to the remaining male candidates. Who would they impress? They seemed calm and levelheaded. Something much needed with this clutch. At least the whites, the remaining pink, and the two kings had not been hurt. Thankfully, no one else had provoked the red.
She shook her head, trying to clear. The dragonets death were starting to feel heavy. Hopefully, the night would end with out blood staining the sands once more. Hopefully, it would end quickly. One hand lifted slowly to push her glasses back up, her nose slick with sweat. Strands of red hair clung to her face, and sweat stung her eyes. Wiping it away didn't even help. It just stung more. Shaking her head again, Tasia went to watching the kings, placing her hands on her hips, trying to guess who they would choose.
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Post by kitsufox on Jan 21, 2011 9:17:09 GMT -5
When the glittering white hatched there was no way to miss her. Lorryn caught the movement and the sparkle from the corner of his eye and then blatantly stared when he saw her. Someone impressive would get this one. Someone willing to draw attention at every turn, even more attention than a dragon normally rated. He watched her trample two candidates, leaving Lorryn thinking that at least one had been injured by her prancing about. The boy simply patched himself up and kept at it, the way a person should when there was still something to be done. Things seemed to be going so quickly now, as if they simply could not be troubled to go one-by-one anymore. The dragonets certainly seemed to be coming faster than before, or maybe it was just the impression given by the chaos that hadn't truly left since the black and driven the little green to her death, or the red's near-mauling of the girl.
The hatching continued around him all the while, until everything seemed to stall again as the little red dragonet attacked and drove the newly hatched copper dragonet between. The noise the dragons made was terrible again, a vile keen that ripped his heart out, cut through by the shrieking of the dragonet's mother as she stood at the edge of rage. Bile rose in Lorryn's throat, but he swallowed and ignored the nausea. Instead he forced his attention to the other dragonets. Why didn't Kalith stop them from doing this. Why didn't she make sure they found their riders instead of reasons to kill each other? A small voice in the back of his head echoed with a tentative thought: What does this mean about the people who impressed such murderous dragons? Did it mean they were steady enough to balance them, strong enough to keep them in line? Or did it suggest something darker, crueler and more dangerous?
He wrenched his mind from thoughts too distracting and unbecoming for the situation, scanning the shell-littered sands with his eyes. He'd lost track of what had and hadn't hatched. He had no idea anymore even how many eggs still needed to hatch. Lorryn had even lost track of the newborn dragonets in the chaos. Did he even have a chance anymore?
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Post by claire on Jan 21, 2011 10:35:04 GMT -5
When Varan had first been woken by the humming in the air and the hurried departure of his fellow candidates, his overwhelming thought had been surprise - newly arrived, he hadn't realised a hatching was due so soon. That had been coupled with vaguely uncomfortable feelings as he tugged on the white robes worn for the event. Odd as it felt to be wearing them, it was nothing in comparison to all it implied that he was entitled to be wearing them.
Of course all such feelings had disappeared when he arrived on the sands - a little late, late enough to miss the first of the Impressions - and taken his place amongst the other candidates. He craned his neck, trying to take in the whole scene: eggs rocking and cracking, newly-hatched dragonets tearing about, candidates looking on hopefully. He watched the latter with every bit as much interest as the rest - this was after all the first time he'd seen all his fellow candidates at the same time. There were more than he thought there'd be.
And then there were the dragonets. If pressed he wouldn't have been able to say exactly what he'd thought a hatching would be like, but this...this wasn't it. He'd known in an abstract sort of way that dragonriders were injured sometimes in the course of the Impression, but he hadn't been prepared for the violence of the hatching. Was this normal? The queen certainly seemed distressed by it. He winced at her keening as her children fought and, even as he watched, a newly-hatched copper went between.
With a near-tangible effort he pulled his attention away from the fighting and back to the dragonets that had chosen to Impress instead. It was with something akin to relief that he watched the red choose her rider. One aggressive dragonet fewer on the sands could only be a good thing.
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Post by purnip on Jan 21, 2011 12:22:29 GMT -5
One death after another seemed to follow in the wake of Pan's Impression, as the girl couldn't help but bear witness to as she stood with Demeth on the sidelines. What was most shocking was the Red's victory over the newly hatched Copper. How could siblings fight like that? Pananarie couldn't stand to see the sight of ichor staining the Sands or the shrieking of young dragonets falling between. It was not fair. Their humans were probably going to be left standing. They would never know the joys of finding that one person that just clicks. Pan wanted to help them. She wanted to go out there and break up the fight as it happened, but Demeth advised against it. Where there lies death, life is sure to follow. Such that is the way of things.
"But...It's just not fair. There's more than enough Candidates to choose from--they shouldn't be fighting at all! Demeth, we've got to do something," Pan cried, eyes stinging with tears. "I don't want them to die. They're too young to die!"
You cannot help them. They must help themselves. We can only support them from here, but we cannot interfere. Choices are a part of life. If they choose to fight, who are we to stop them? The Tan lifted her head and keened for her sisters as they passed. She still felt sorrow for their passing, despite their actions. Even the young Copper deserved the respect.
"I..." Pananarie wasn't sure what to say anymore. She wanted to run out there and make sure there was no more fighting, but there was little she could do to stop them. If she was anywhere near the fight between the Red and the Copper, she could have gotten killed. And she had Demeth to think about. If she died, her dragon would die as well. If Demeth died, Pan wasn't sure if she could live. "I don't like it..." Her answer was stubborn, bitter, but all the while she fought back her tears. After this Hatching was over, she'd give all these dragons a good talking to. There was no need for this. It was one thing to playfight, but quite another to tear one sibling into pieces for a reason that couldn't possibly be justified.
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L'am was present at the Hatching as well, as he tried his hardest not to miss any big events in Dalibor. He was there since its steady beginning to its climax, but his expression never seemed to change from that of half-hearted concentration. It looked as if he was going to lose interest at any second, even after all the drama ensued between the Copper and her little sisters. But what did seem to get his attention was the fact that the Queen was bested by a Sub Queen. What's more, the Copper betweened after losing the fight. His eyes widened slightly, but other than that it was hard to tell what he was really thinking about it. Lebeth was keening after every death to a point where L'am couldn't tell when the Bronze stopped to catch a break if he ever did.
He couldn't say he cared. He even seemed to lose interest as he looked to the Bronze and Iron. What concerned him most was his status, of course. He didn't mind fighting harder to keep it; he felt like it was all just handed to him on a silver platter. Even though his heart was undergoing some changes as of late, his mind still dictated that success lead to eternal happiness. Success that could only be attained by having everyone depend on him and respecting him. L'am needed to maintain that. He'd even reinforce it once he knew if those two Kings would survive. Counting chickens before they Impressed was pointless in a Hatching where so many have died before they could reach the Candidates.
Once in a while he glanced about for someone. It had to be obvious by now who that someone was. He wasn't sure if she would even bother to make an appearance, but it was worth checking for. Eulo had clutched, so it was likely that the Greenrider was tending to her. His gaze still wandered for other familiar faces. There were other people he needed to keep an eye on as well.
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B'wie was not present until later, when Sjanseth declared that he now had a sister. The Whiterider responded with the fact that Sjanseth had many sisters, but when his dragon specified that this one was of his color, B'wie paused in his tracks.
"Right now? Hatching on the Sands?"
Hatched. It appears I have new brother as well.
Sometimes it still baffled the rider when his dragon knew things out of the blue, but Sjanseth had many flitters at his disposal. They were sending him the details.
"Two Whites in one Hatching?"
One of Kalith and one of the other. Sjanseth didn't utter Noyth's name. He was still sour about being rejected at the very end of that flight. As far as he was concerned, his sister could have very well been his daughter. It irked at him.
"Hm...well, that's nice." B'wie lost interest immediately, picking up his pace as they traveled to the lower caverns for some oil.
There will be four of us, the dragon continued.
"I guess there will.~"
We've become more common than the Yellows and Grays, Sjanseth mused.
"The more, the merrier.~"
I don't like it, Mine. He had to be frank now, because his rider obviously wasn't getting the picture. Common! Not that I have a problem with it! But the flitters will have three others to flank when they don't want to come my way. It's not my fault I have bad days. And my sister could have been my daughter! My daughter, Mine! Something I will never have!
B'wie didn't know his dragon felt this way, but Sjanseth couldn't blame him. The White calmed down and quickly changed the subject. I can take four barrels of oil. They'll have to roll up the rest. They can't expect little me to move so much weight around.
"I'm sorry, Seth."
The White shrugged it off and moved on. I am over it, Mine. Like I said before, I only need you. Everything else pales in comparison. I am simply tired. A dragon shouldn't be awake at this hour.
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Post by snow on Jan 21, 2011 13:47:43 GMT -5
Zenetta continued to watch from the shadows. She had felt something bad was going to happen and felt sick when it actually happened. A dragon's life was lost in a fight that shouldn't have happened. And the black runt had walked away and impressed as if nothing had happened! She had a strong sense of injustice and forced herself to look away.
Noyth's two eggs had started to wobble and Zenetta forced herself to watch. She had bet a few marks that one of them was going to be a black but after the death of a green she hoped she was wrong. And she was partly wrong as a white dragonet broke from her egg. When the she stepped into the light something interesting happened. She sparkled. A sparkle dragon! Zenetta as caught by the event. She was so pretty as she jumped from shadow to light, showing off her wonderful shiny color.
Then an egg from Kalith's clutch hatched and the new white joined the other. But something was different with this one too. As he stumbled after the female, his color seemed to change and he was rainbow colored. Amazing! How was that even possible? Zenetta was so caught up watching the two pretty colored whites, that she didn't notice a pink coming her way till she was nudged by something. "Huh?", she looked down and saw a pink dragonet staring up at her. ZenettaMine, your Aphroth needs food. I love you.
The most amazing feeling spread through her body as she looked into Aphroth's eyes. It was like falling in love. Her body tingled and her mind seemed to float away from her and hover just a few inches away, inside the pink's mind. Love and devotion seemed to flow to her from this strange link. It was the most purely amazing sensation she had ever felt! "Oh, Aphroth. I love you too", she hugged the small dragon to her.
She would have stayed like that forever but a new sensation flowed from the link. There was a strange pang in her stomach. Hunger? "Oh, you're hungry!", she finally realized, remembering what the pink had already said. Yes, I am. Let's go feed me, and she proceeded to nudge Zenetta's hand and lead her to the exit.
She completely missed the hatching of the Queen egg and most of the drama that was happening behind them. Zenetta and Aphroth were mostly occupied with the process of walking and finding the nearest meat bucket. It wasn't until a deep sadness filled them and the dragons raised a high pitch keen did they noticed what had happened. Two more dragons were lost to between and the copper and red were fighting! A strange, almost painful sadness filled Zenetta's heart. Aphroth clung to her legs as they watched the Copper and Red fight. It was a terrible battle as they bit and clawed each other. Green ichor stained the Sands and Kalith's scream of rage echoed off the walls. Then more pain filled their hearts as the Copper betweened.
There was a deep depression in both their hearts but hunger managed to overcome it, if only a little. You still haven't fed me yet, the pink licked her rider's hand comfortingly. She let go of her legs and looked at her. Love spread through the link and into Zenetta's heart. "Sorry", she managed a weak smile, moving to a bucket and promptly feeding her Aphroth. Slowly the pain faded and all that was left was a feeling of love. Life goes on, just as her father had taught her.
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Reky
Alphahandler
rekyct[M:-999]
SO PRO
Posts: 1,554
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Post by Reky on Jan 21, 2011 13:54:39 GMT -5
On the outside, Emrin barely reacted to Djordji's hug. He didn't know who the man was, or why he was so nice. He knew it wasn't X'ni or F'lan, though - they hugged differently. He didn't care that it was a stranger, though. It made him feel better. Inside, he was incredibly grateful, and he wanted this man to be his new big brother or his third dad. It felt so nice to have a hug. It wasn't Rats or klah or a blanket, but it was close. All it seemed to make Emrin do was cry a little harder and sniffle, but inside he was as thankful as he could be.
He kept his face hidden in Djordji's chest, ignoring everything else that was going on. He could still sort of hear the dragons fighting, even through his hands over his ears. He didn't want to hear it anymore. He moaned quietly - enough to fill his head with the sound to block out the fighting, but quiet enough so that only Djordji would hear it. Eventually, the fighting noises stopped. Tentatively, he lifted his hands from his ears, only to hear the keening from the dragons. They'd done that before, when the other dragonets had died. He choked on a sob. Who had died this time? He looked up at Djordji, and offered a weak smile of thanks, and then peeked around the man's strong arm.
He couldn't see the copper anywhere.
He didn't know if she deserved it or not. She had killed two of her sisters... But did she have to die, too? She was a queen! She was supposed to get old and have babies and be grumpy like Kalith, not... die. Emrin swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, his brow knitting together. Why were so many dragons dying? He didn't want that. Nobody wanted that. At least there were still dragons living and Impressing... and there were two big king dragons now, too, like the Weyrleader's dragon and K'ber's dragon... but he was still confused. Death wasn't a good thing. Why was so much of it happening? People always told him Hatchings were happy. He was kind of mad about that. They were liars.
Still feeling weak, he huddled up against Djordji again. He'd come back out when he was really sure things were done dying. [/blockquote]
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Post by rai on Jan 21, 2011 16:36:14 GMT -5
Ryn was shocked into stillness. The battle had grown so fierce she was sure that one or the other, red or copper, would be killed. She felt as though time itself slowed, watching the two, breath held. Then all of a sudden the copper came running straight towards her, and she braced herself for impact. It never came. The copper had gone between. No. Sharding. Way. The red had killed their newest queen copper? Kalith looked furious, but Ryn could only be ticked off that Kalith, despite all apparent upset at the battle, had done nothing to stop it. Literally nothing. She was the clutch's mother. She was huge and they were nothing right now next to her. It would have been so simple for her to exert a little physical force and stop them. Why had she instead chosen to let them fight to the death? She felt sickened, suddenly. This hatching was turning into a blood bath. Ichor stained the sands and she didn't even want to look at it. Would there be more deaths? She had never thought a hatching could possibly contain so many. Four dragons, all dead by the claws and fangs of another of their siblings. This whole affair was starting to make her feel a discomfort. She watched the red Impress, and shook off a feeling of disgust. Another killer, just like that black had been.
It was then that she noticed the bulkier pink. It was slowly making its way past the candidates. It seemed to inspect boys and girls quietly. With a certain intent look. So it would pick, then? She tried to guess who, but found it difficult. She didn't really know anyone. She hadn't bothered to get to know them. But the pink drew ever nearer, and then it wasn't simply looking at the candidates. It was walking straight towards where she was standing, beside one or two other girls. But it wasn't looking at them. It was looking in her direction.
No sharding way! She couldn't get a pink. She hated the color pink, it clashed with all her clothes, and it was not a proper color for a dragon. This couldn't be right and she must be mistaken. The dragon was not even slim and pretty like the other pink had been. She was practically trundling her way towards her, and no shard--
The voice in her head was so strange. It was too difficult to even wrap her mind around. It was soft and yet firm. It sounded as though it were chastising her mildly, and yet it was affectionately so. It was like all the patience in the world had come and gathered into one small being. She blinked in confusion. She felt acceptance. In a way that she never had before. This dragonet before her loved her. For no reason other than that she was perfect for her, and she...felt like home? She had to shake her head in disbelief. How could this chubby pink dragonet love her? It didn't even know her. She was hearing it speak, and then found she was staring at it.
Rynille, do cheer up. Perhaps you'll be a little nicer now, dearie? Your Hestiath knows you feel worried, but she also knows you'll get better. I know you can always do that. There was a brief pause before the young dragon added, in a voice that sounded hopeful, Perhaps you can get some food for me?
She was still staring. She then registered what had been said, however. She narrowed her eyes a bit, and then snapped lightly, "dearie? No--that just doesn't cut it, Hestiath. My name is Ryn. Not 'dearie', or 'sweet pie' or any of those stupid childish names. So if you think up a good nickname? Feel free to use it. Otherwise none of that sappy stuff, okay? It's just Ryn."
She got the feeling that Hestiath was amused. The pale pink dragonet just looked at her sideways, with a look that Ryn could not help but feel was patience infinite. She got the oddest feeling that Hestiath was quietly observing her. Not judging, like she was used to, but observing. Finally, after what seemed far longer than it was, Hestiath said agreeably,
All right, Rynmine. You shall be 'just Ryn'. Would 'just Ryn' please feed me now?
Ryn was filled with a mixture of feelings. She was quite confused by so many emotions and thoughts running through her head at once. She hadn't thought she would get a pink, for starters. Plus it was clear Hestiath had a little extra junk in the trunk. She couldn't tell if she was big boned or pudgy. Certainly that could be figured out later. She expected a tough, awesome and powerful dragon, even if it was a green or Cyan or something. But Hestiath gave her the feeling she wouldn't want to be fighting with anyone. Would rather be a peacemaker than a fighter. Then again there was this feeling of confidence and power radiating from the rotund little pink. Something Ryn knew a little too well. She might have looked for all the world like a pale, pudgy and small pink. But there was no way any other dragon or rider would be allowed to insult her or walk all over her. She would fight if need be, if only to protect those close to her heart and her home. Ryn couldn't quite pin this strange hatchling. It was irritating her to even try. Besides, she could feel Hestiath's hunger, as though it were gnawing at her own stomach. She grimaced and put a hand on her stomach, and then looked towards the food buckets. Dragons ate meat. Raw meat. Her mouth turned downwards. That was so gross.
"Come on, then. Food is over there," she muttered, glancing at the dragon that was paired with her now for life. She wasn't sure if that elation she seemed to feel was just what everyone felt or if she was actually happy that she had Hestiath. Why did things have to be so confusing? And why did the pink give her such knowing glances? She kicked a bit of sand as she walked, feelings all conflicted. She knew she had immediately loved Hestiath but didn't know if that was even her or just the Impression doing it to her.
Don't spend your time troubling yourself, Ryn. It is what it is. We share a bond that nothing may break save passing into death. No matter how you question what it is, or why it is, it will not change what is. Do try to accept it and not fight it. You will be far happier if you can do that, mine conflicted one.
The voice inside her head was so gentle and soothing. Yet it irritated her at the same time. She had long outgrown mothering. The fact that this young pink should sound like she was almost doing so made her rebel inside. Yet how was she supposed to argue with it? It was like Hestiath had said. It had happened, and it was what it was. No amount of questioning how or why would change it. But it still irked her, somehow.
"Yeah, whatever," she said with a heavy sigh. She didn't like it but she accepted it nonetheless. She glanced back at the rest of those standing, then back at Hestiath. She'd Impressed. No matter that she hadn't expected the pink to be the one, she'd Impressed. She suddenly felt a triumph at that. A dragon had thought she was perfect as a partner. She had Impressed. How cool was that?
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