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Post by larkwing on Apr 22, 2011 22:13:41 GMT -5
Delgar's death was still predominating Rin's mind while the newest eggs started to hatch. The candidate didn't even realize that two of Risk's eggs were hatching finally. The red was still stalking the sands and Rin only could watch her. From babyred to dead Delgar and his wher, then back again. It was the whole rinse and repeat thing replaying back and forth, back and forth.
Finally when the red went to its brown brother, Rin's attention was called onto the newest wher hatchling. It was protective of its siblings' eggs. Hissing at his sister, the two quickly started fighting and Rin backed up not wanting to get hurt again. As it was, his leg still held a slight trickle of blood where one of the red's claws nicked him. A green flash in the corner of his eye made Rin move his head toward Risk's eggs.
It was a green, another green! The red hissed again and Rin snapped his head back in time to see the brown go flying to His. Smiling, Rin thrummed his fingers against his unharmed leg. So, you're not going to kill everyone tonight babyred. Rin laughed again as the green slank over to the candidates and found Hers quickly. They were both candidates that Rin didn't know all that well, but he was happy for them. Come on Rin, you can do it!
Repeating the mantra in his head again and again, Rin looked over at Ausk. How would the adult red take all of the babyred's actions? Apparently the answer was not well. The sub-queen ushered herself and her newly hatched son toward the back of the cave and her eyes watched the babyred with hatred. Rin wanted the blue to come out though. If he could get to the candidates before babyred got to him, maybe another could impress....maybe Rin could impress.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Apr 22, 2011 23:28:53 GMT -5
Casting another glance after his sister and seeing her take up a protective stance near the body of the Green wher, Lokien finished what Damali had started, accepting a blanket from an ashen faced drudge and wrapping up the boy's body before carefully lifting him and carrying him the rest of the way off the Sands.
He was going to have to trust Damali to keep her limbs attached until he had Delgar's body settled. As he passed, he gave Tedaon a short nod, jaw clenched tightly, “I'll be back in a few moments. If you need more supplies, my kit is just over there.” He jerked his head sharply towards where his bag lay on the bloody sand.
Damali had settled herself into an attentive stance less than an arm's length from the little Green, arms crossed as best she could with the splint on, and her good hand on the knife wedged into the splint. She watched the baby Red like a flit would a trundlebug, her attention unwavering and her bouncing stilled.
She really, really hated to hate the Red. She was pretty sure there was something broken inside them that made them unable to help the way they were, and she should really be able to sympathize with being broken somewhere. But...it had killed one of her best friends, and that little kernel of hate couldn't be denied.
She let out a thin breath of relief when the next victim, the brown egg, turned out to be a dud, but when the Red set her eyes on the large, rocking egg, she closed her eyes sympathetically. Until, of course, the sounds of battle reached her. She cheered the little Brown unashamedly, and let out a quiet congratulatory whistle when he Impressed. And a little Green escaped the Red monster as well. And now the Red seemed to be...waiting? Was she honestly waiting for the egg to Hatch before attacking?
Ausk attracted her attention then, and she realized that the adult Red was standing protectively in front of a little Blue who must have Hatched while the baby Red had been stalking Risk's large egg. She felt a surge of affection for Ausk in that moment; she was a Red, and just as violent as the baby could be, but she at least was protecting her hatchling.
Shaking herself free of her thoughts, she turned back to the unfolding drama with the large egg and the vicious little red wheret.
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266
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Post by Lan on Apr 23, 2011 0:13:30 GMT -5
A brown was now on the sands and the volatile red turnedher attentions from the dead bodies to him. Darryl watched, still unable to tear his eyes away. They began to fight and he watched feeling probably about as useless as everyone else in the hatching cavern did. Hatchlings fightening just didn't seem right. He hadn't really thought of tiny whers as being as violent as this red was. However, at least the brown was fighting with a purpose. He was guarding one of the larger eggs, keeping the red from attacking it. It was a just battle. The young man found himself silently rooting for the brown to win, as his cause seemed more just. The red just seemed like a whiny Holder's daughter trying to get her way. If she wasn't careful, she'd probably get killed by either Risk or Ausk. Darryl wasn't quite sure whether or not he thought it was much of a loss, what with the way she was acting.
He was so intrigued by their battle and the subsequent actions of the red that he didn't even see the green that had hatched and made its way over to one of the male candidates. Nor was he watching the blue that had hatched from Ausk's smaller pile. The red had circled the large egg again and seemed to be waiting for something... probably for it the hatch. His hand reached for his knife, resting his palm on the place where it was sheathed and attached to the waistband of his pants. All of this just didn't seem right. Feror and his father hadn't mentioned anything about how sharding violent whers were. And he didn't want to end up like Delgar any more than he wanted to watch the red kill the poor wher trapped inside the egg that she was circling. Duty kept him from attacking to protect the egg, but if the red attacked him and tried to take his life like she had taken Delgar's, he'd have to qualms about killing her first.
Tesla heard the sound of more fighting and kept her eyes shut, her hands still over her face. She didn't want to watch. She didn't want to see all this death and destruction that was going on around her. It was too much. She wanted to go home. Or go to some other place that wasn't here. All the blood and the dirt and the sand and the death. It was too much for her. She just wanted it all to go away. A small whimper escaped her lips; she couldn't contain it even though she knew it might draw attention to her. The fact that the red was enamored with something else to kill didn't even cross Tesla's mind. She believed the red was probably staring at her right that minute, waiting for her to open her eyes so that she could strike.
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Post by alix on Apr 23, 2011 1:08:58 GMT -5
It was harder to see the Sands with tears blurring her vision, but Malissa, half-sucking, half-chewing on the base of her thumb like a teething baby out of nervousness, forced herself to go back to watching. She couldn't miss Damali Impressing (she wouldn't even think of the possibility of the red hurting her other friend as well). Wouldn't. She'd promised Damali to be there, too. Maybe the girl would understand if she left now, but Maly wouldn't be able to forgive herself. Promises were made to be kept.
Out of the corner of her eye (because she was trying to avoid looking that way - it shook her too badly to see Delgar in that state), she saw Lokien wrap up the body and leave the Sands with it. It released some tension from her shoulders; she'd feared without daring to acknowledge that fear that the red would come back and savage his dead body worse. Bad enough that Qosis had gone through his pockets; after thanking him for waking her up, she was going to punch him or kick him in the shin or something (it was a difficult urge to accept, but it actually felt good to accept it). You didn't do that to Delgar, dead or alive!
Mostly, though, she kept her eyes on the Sands, half-heartedly clapping her free hand against her knee when the little wherlets Impressed. None for Damali, yet - she really hoped her friend got one; she had to get one - but that wasn't the new wherlings' fault. She whimpered when the red destroyed the dud egg, trying to will it to stop its rough game. Her throat tightened when the brave little brown challenged his sister over the safety of the large egg, and she was a little more enthusiastic in her applause for his Impression.
If all Hatchings were like this, dragon Hatchings too, she wanted to go back to the Weavercraft Hall. The way that red wherlet was making her worldview creak at the seams made her nauseous.
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Post by kia on Apr 24, 2011 23:41:56 GMT -5
While the Red was stalking over to the large egg, the dark swirling blue egg was beginning to shake. It was lucky that the Red was not paying attention to it. Like many of its siblings before, the egg was covered in cracks. The egg was shaking, the little wher inside trying to free itself from its prison. If it only knew what waited outside the egg perhaps it would not be so energetic or excited to escape from its egg. But the hum of the whers nearby kept making the little one inside want to get out. So suffocating. It had to be free as soon as possible. With another shove, the egg shells gave way, revealing a little blue inside. He was light blue in color, able to be seen easily under the moonlight. He stood up and heard hissing nearby. He turned and saw the Red stalking close to the larger egg. The sight of it frightened him slightly for a moment because he was worried that the Red would come after him. But she was not paying attention. She had her eye on the prize. The Blue stood there and waited. What was going to happen? He was not about to miss any of this.
The large egg, which had fallen over on its side, was still shaking and squeaking. Since it had been knocked over, the squeaks had not stopped. It was trying to let the world know that it was here and to forget it. Deep cracks formed here and there; occasionally a nose or claw would stick out. It was digging into the shell now, trying to claw its way out. More claws began to appear until the shell finally broke down. The little wher was free now as it walked out.
Risk gave a warning roar…
The Red pounced…
She was suddenly on the back or her Bronze brother. He was bigger than her, but the Red`s ferocity gave her an advantage. Another fight had broken out on the Sands, and the Red was in it to win. She wanted all the attention. She was this Clutch`s Queen! She would have all the attention! It was hers! The Bronze could care less about why she had attacked him. All he knew was suddenly he had to defend his life. He roared at the Red and shoved her off, pushing her onto the Sands.
When the Red stood up, she was being outnumbered two to one. The Blue had come closer, hissing along with the Bronze. This was not fair! She had attacked all her victims one to one. They were not being fair! They were ganging up on her! She did not appreciate this at all. She hissed back at them, trying to figure out her plan. She had to escape. She had to do something or she could die this time. She went with her instinct. She attacked the Blue, the weakest in her opinion.
She tackled the Blue and knocked him over. Bringing herself over him, she began to rip his wings off. The Blue screamed in pain, not believing that he was about to die. He had just wanted to live like all the others had done. The Red kept slashing and biting, tearing hide and bone right off his wings and the haunches of where his wings would have been. Right as the Red was about to bring her claws down to rip out the throat, a loud roar echoed through the cavern. The Red looked up in time as Risk tackled the Red.
The Gold hovered over her Red daughter. The Red screamed back in horror. She was going to die! She was going to die! The Gold looked carefully into the Red`s eyes, searching the mind of her daughter. She was trying to decide if the Red should die or continue to live. The Red stopped flailing long enough for Risk to come to a decision. The Gold bared her teeth and gave another roar. Watch step or I kill next time. I be watching, Risk said, moving off on top of the Red.
The Red scrambled to get up. She gave a hiss to her Bronze brother as she moved off toward the Candidates. But she was civil this time. She did not want the Gold to come over and kill her. She moved and coiled around the Candidates, slinking her way through them as she made it over to the Candidate of her chose. She gave a his at the sight of something green and dead nearby. Damali put down! Damask hungry now! Stupid Gold. Wait till weak, then I attack. Only strong survive. Pay attention! she shouted into Damali`s mind, eyes still orange.
Name: Damask Color: Red- B10A0E Info: Agressive, self-conscious of her feet, egotistical, must always be the center of attention Pic: [IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg47/emperess_kia/Dalibor/RedDamask.png[/IMG]
As soon as Risk had let go of the Red, she made her way over to the injured Blue. He was hurt and would soon die of blood lose. There was no chance of him going to make it. A wher could live without wings for the most part, but having them torn at the roots was a cause of death. She crooned to the little one and tried to calm him down. She could sense a brave soul in this one. But it was his time. May first Gold Wher welcome you, she said before ending his suffering.
The Bronze mourned the loss of the Blue. When Risk turned to look at him, he was impressed by her ability to handle this. The Gold gave a snort and nod, signaling for him to go and Impress. And he did just that. He moved toward the boys since that was where his new Handler was. He could see they were scared from the Red`s rampage, but he was calm and mature. He knew what must be done. So he gently shoved his new Handler in the back of the legs, trying to move him to feed him. Khemres, not afraid anymore. Khesk here. Khesk help. We belong. We do good together, he spoke strongly, his eyes whirling in strong hues or blue.
Name: Khesk Color: Bronze- 886F0F Info: Mature, calm, up lifts, rarely raises his voice (answers more in chirps than in roars, but capable of roars) Pic: [IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg47/emperess_kia/Dalibor/BronzeKhesk.png[/IMG]
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Apr 25, 2011 0:54:16 GMT -5
Khemres' gaze was fixed on the rocking large egg, just as surely as he thought everyone else's must be. That, after all, was the egg the red seemed to want to demolish. He'd seen the blue hatch (barely), but the albino was mostly worried about the egg that violent red seemed to want so much to destroy. And then it did hatch, and a bronze appeared, and the vicious creature was on top of him, apparently bent on destroying the king wheret.
Staring in wide-eyed horror, and hoping that there weren't going to be more deaths, the wher candidate bit his lip, chewing on it uncomfortably. As he'd half-expected, the red went straight for the blue - he was smaller, and probably not as strong. Hearing the young wher's screams of pain, Khemres turned away, unable to watch as the blue's wings were basically torn off. He couldn't watch this. The red was too bloody, too violent - he only hoped she wouldn't attack him too, eventually.
Only Risk made it all stop, and Khemres suspected that the red didn't appreciate that. He tensed as she came towards the candidates, wending her way through them, and stood absolutely still, heart hammering as he tried to avoid looking at her. If he were going to die, he didn't want to be looking into that face when it happened. But he didn't die - the red didn't even attack anyone. Nobody else died, except the blue that Risk had to put out of his misery. Khemres flinched, looking down at the sands. He clapped, uncertainly, when the red Impressed, but his heart broke for the poor girl who got her. She'd been standing right beside Delgar - holding his hand. They'd been friends and now she had to live with the wher that had killed him.
Something pushed against the backs of his legs, and the albino barely smothered a shriek. Instead, he emitted a frightened squeak - just as bad as a scream but not nearly as audible. Thank Faranth for that. He turned, eyes wide, adrenaline pounding in his veins, and then realized that something was speaking to him. In his head - it couldn't be a person.
Khemres, not afraid anymore. Khesk here. Khesk help. We belong. We do good together, the wher was telling him, and Khemres simply stared at him in mute shock. What? He'd Impressed? He'd actually Impressed? To a bronze? Nearly dying of shock, the albino blinked, stuttering. "I... I-I-I-I..."
The bronze chirped, nudging His again, a little more forcefully this time. Not afraid. Khesk protect. Start good - feed Khesk. Bond Khesk. He chirped again, pointedly, and at last Khemres clued in. Shocked, he reached down for just a moment, stroking the shiny hide where it hadn't been broken by the red's claws, and then realized what he was forgetting. The blood bond! Hastily he grabbed the belt knife from his hip, flipped it deftly in his good left hand, and sliced into the back of his right wrist. Offering the wound to Khesk, he watched in idle fascination as the green tongue flipped out and lapped up the blood that flowed from the wound. Only when the wheret had decided he'd had enough did the new wherling pull his hand away, making the bronze chirp approvingly.
Dazed, Khemres walked towards where the buckets of meat were being kept. Khesk followed him, glancing occasionally towards Damask to make sure she was behaving herself before devoting his attention to his new handler. As soon as they'd reached the meat buckets, Khemres picked one up - one with lots of meat in it for his new friend - and found a spot by the wall, far from the other whers. Dropping to the sand, since his knees could barely hold him, the albino leaned back against the wall and offered his new wher a piece of meat. The bronze crooned, pleased, and accepted it more daintily than might be expected of a baby wher. Mine learns. Khesk help, but Khemres must learn. This good. Khesk glad.
Hesitantly, Khemres extended a hand to stroke the bronze, hardly able to believe he'd finally Impressed. His dream had finally come true, and he wasn't being snapped at, and Khesk was his wher. His! The albino looked up, towards the stands, wondering if Ezzy were there, and if he'd seen that he'd Impressed. From here, he couldn't see. But he was happy. For almost the first time in this Hatching, a smile appeared on the albino's lips, and he gave a soft laugh, offering Khesk another piece of meat. "My Khesk..."
Yes. Your Khesk. Khesk's Khemres, too.
Sagaral wasn't surprised when yet another fight broke out, between the newly hatched bronze, the red, and a blue he hadn't noticed before. It ended quickly, though, when Risk interrupted. By then the blue's wings were nearly torn off already, and although his face didn't outwardly change, the wher candidate heaved an inward sigh. Another death of another wher. Shards. Was it never going to end?
But then it did, sort of - it ended with the red Impressing to Delgar's friend. And the blue was put out of his misery, with a crunch that made Sagaral close his eyes for just a moment, drawing in a slow breath. Obviously the hatchling hadn't had a chance of making it, if his own mother had killed him. The bronze did, though, and it Impressed to that weird pale kid who always seemed to be running away from people. Kind of a weird choice, but whatever. Maybe the wheret saw something in the boy that nobody else was ever going to find. Wasn't his problem, was it?
Sagaral returned his gaze to the eggs.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Apr 25, 2011 1:06:09 GMT -5
Tasia's inability to listen did not go unnoticed. When the Red had gone too distant for him to reach by any imaginative means, Qosis looked behind himself. He had not been seeking Tasia specifically, but he did see her. But his gaze shifted off her face to the body abruptly vanished from the margin of the Sands. Like Delgar had just gotten up and walked it off.
But Lokien was gone too. So far, for the sake of someone dead. Qosis returned his focus to the Hatching as a violent cracking sound alighted the dim, hot pit. His breathing hardened in momentary surprise as the Red unleashed nothing but a familiar grotesque from a bad egg. When she began ripping into it anyway, he calmed himself, his muscles, back to usability.
"This is just like the last Hatching," he snarled, seemingly to his unbidden follower. His voice carried far enough, but he had eyes only for the bloody mutation that now stalked the greatest of the eggs-- to no response from Risk. "Like what you told me. This...disease of indolence..." His gaze rested on the Gold briefly, before recalled by the motion of the latest scuffle to the Red. "...and insanity." Delgar's blade returned from the boot to his hand, and Qosis flicked it up just far enough to complete one airborne rotation above his palm before he snatched it again by the short hilt. Barely.
It was not weighted well. Not for what he wanted. He needed respectable proximity for aiming, which he did not have. And even then, wherhide was tough. He needed as much of his strength as possible to be conserved. He had not done this in a long time. "You see what it's eyeing?" It. Not she. Qosis could not bring himself to assign any femininity at all to the killer of whers. Nor species. It was Red only.
He closed his eyes when the Red leaped on the Bronze wher's back, and did not open them again till the golden queen had impressed her will on the monster. Qosis grinned at the madness of the belated reprimand, then at last recognized the Red's return to his side of the Sands. Risk had foregone the desperately needed act, and thus would sacrifice more Candidates to her pointless murdering spawn. And more whers, once the Red had its fill of human blood.
Damali was in the path of the beast, and blocked his aim. No choice then but to move out and assist. Still, he could see Damali's blade readied too. And the Red too close for him to handle before it got her. She could begin what was necessary though: "Your knife! Do it now!" His voice might have been loud in the barracks hall, but on the Sands it was only another echo, the easily mistranslated pulse of a sorrowful heart.
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Gray
Wingrider
grayct[M:-350]
Posts: 870
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Post by Gray on Apr 25, 2011 1:43:25 GMT -5
Tasia watched Qosis with growing dread. He was seriously going to do something? Now? During a wher hatching? He was crazy, he had to be. She sighed, taking a moment to rub her fingers and thumb against her temples. Putting her game face on, she talked after him not caring that sand was starting to cling to her night gown or that her feet were starting to burn. Qosis was speaking, but she wasn't really listening. No. He was a madman now, and like some craxy pet, he had to be put down. Figuratively speaking of course.
As she walked though, eyes wandered to the sands where that crazy red was. Great, now she was closer to that beast. That 'beast' was preoccupied though, sitting in front of a cracking and wiggling egg, one of the larger ones from what she could see. A blue hatched while she was staring, but she wouldn't notice him until later. As she neared Qosis, the bronze hatched.
Of course, the red attacked. No surprises there. What did surprise her a bit was the bravery of the blue. Bravery was stupid, any one could tell you that. Thanks to his bravery, he was attacked. Tasia winced when the wings were ripped from his spine, but she continued on. Looks like the gold was taking care of things now, though sickening crunch let her know the Blue's life had ended.
Attention back on Qosis, he saw him stalking towards a candidate and the red. Oh no. He wasn't that foolish was he? Hiking her nightgown around her knees, she ran for him as fast as she could. Long legs speeding her over the sands to the man quickly. Nearing him, she drop kicked him, her foot connecting rather hard with the back of his knee. “Stupid!” She growled laying on the sands. Standing, she would look down to Qosis, hellfires bruning in her eyes. “I knew you were a dimglow but who knew you were this dim!” Tasia threw up her arms in exasperation, only now noticing that all her action had caused Prince to between. Grudgingly, she'd offer one hand to the man on the sands. “Now get up before one of the whers use you for meat.” [OoC: I did obtain permission from Az to kick Qosis ]
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Apr 25, 2011 8:09:15 GMT -5
Damali was so focused on the drama with the Red and the rocking egg that she missed the hatching of the little pale Blue. The largest egg split, revealing a Bronze, and the vicious Red went for him, leaping onto his back accompanied by the sound of Risk's roars. She was shoved down, and then a Blue came out of nowhere to stand with his brother, hissing the Red, who looked increasingly frustrated, back. Damali had to glance back at Ausk to confirm that, no, it wasn't her Blue hatchling standing with the bronze, and by the time she turned back it was already far too late for the little Blue.
And then, finally, Risk intervened, knocking the Red aside and lurking about the vicious wheret while she screamed in terror of her mother. Damali's heart was in her throat; would Risk end the rampage? Would the Red's ichor join that of her victims on the Sands?
But no, Risk let her offspring up. Not without an obvious threat, but she still let her up. And then the Red was coming towards the Candidates. No violence this time, just slinking though legs like a wild feline, hunting. She was coming towards Delgar's wher! Damali shifted to stand over the little corpse now, fully intent on protecting it to her last breath. She pulled her knife free as the Red stopped in front of her, ready for anything. Anything except what happened next, of course.
Damali put down! Damask hungry now! Stupid Gold. Wait till weak, then I attack. Only strong survive. Pay attention! Came the shout into her mind as whirling orange eyes met her own.
No.
Damali was breathless for a moment, that little kernel of hatred for the Red burning in her stomach turning in an instant to something much like what ice must feel like. She'd Impressed. She'd Impressed to a Red monster. She'd Impressed to the monster that killed her best friend and her own clutchmates.
A voice from behind her broke her out of her stunned reverie, "Your knife! Do it now!" The words hit her like an avalanche; she had one chance to deal with this monster, though Damali's thoughts did not match what the person who'd yelled had meant. She sliced neatly into the palm of her hand, the broken side, and crammed her bloody hand into the Red wheret's, no, into Damask's ichor-stained mouth.
Damask sucked greedily on the offered hand, pleased with the offering and delighting in the taste of human blood once more in her mouth. But all too quickly Damali clenched her hand shut, cutting off the flow of blood. Damask growled and bit into the hand, but her new handler responded by throwing her body weight onto Damask's lower jaw, forcing the Red's head to the Sands.
YOU pay attention! You will never taste blood again, never feed, unless I tell you otherwise! Damali met the resulting rush of rage from the wher, from her wher head on with the ice pulled from the remnants of her hate, keeping Damask's head to the sand even as the Red snarled around her hand and tried to force her head up, You are being stupid, and stupid is weak! Only the strong survive, and if you are going to be stupid and weak, I will make sure you end right now! Damali threw back the words Damask had spoken only seconds before, backing them with her unyielding conviction that should the Red not bow to her, Damali would kill her at any cost.
Damask writhed against the sand, held down at such an angle that she couldn't get a grip to push herself up, her fury at this...this indignity from her own handler! She bellowed her rage, Damask strong, take what want! Damask kill, Damask Queen! All watch, all admire strength!
Damask is a monster! Damali roared back, surprising even herself, but backing her shout with memories of a canine who'd taken sick and mauled a few children before it had been put down by her old mentor's Blue wher, Monsters aren't admired! They are feared and hated, and they are hunted and killed!
Still using her broken arm, she forced Damask's head to one side, giving her wher a view of Ausk standing protectively in front of her offspring, Queens protect! Queens think! Queens have control!The brown beat you back because it was protecting his brother! I will kill you if you are a monster to protect these people! Weak monsters kill those weaker than themselves! Are you a weak monster or are you a Queen?
Damask's eyes whirled with rage and slowly growing fear. Her handler was a fragile little human, but there was no fear in her, even though Damask knew that she could easily rend Damali apart. Her handler...was strong. They stayed poised like that, Damali starting to pant from the effort of keeping Damask down, Damask wriggling, eyes locked on Damali's face as their wills clashed. Something had to give.
Damask Queen. Damask protect. And so the Red opened her jaws, releasing her handler's hand, as her hot rage bowed to the cold steel of Damali's conviction, Damask protect, Damali be Damask's control. Damask kill threats? Damask be Queen? the Red asked in a quiet, insecure voice that seemed at odds with her personality.
Damali let Damask rise, and stood herself. Aggression still bubbled under the surface of Damask's mind, ready to be let out at the slightest provocation, but Damask was willing to let Damali try to control it, to control her. The wher was willing to try. Damali held no illusions; it would be hard, and the Red would likely forget this moment a thousand times, and Damali would always have to be their to reign her in, to break this proven killer to her will every day...but Damask was willing to bend to her.
She felt something like love bubble up from somewhere deep inside of her for her stupid, vicious monster who wanted to be a Queen. Damask straightened, shaking the sand off and acting as if their little spat hadn't had an audience at all, and resettling herself now that those pesky dominance issues were settled, Look at Damask! Damask hungry!
“I'll feed you in a moment, we have something to do first.” Damask started to growl at the thought of something, anything being more important than her, but Damali's ice slammed back down on her mind and she stilled with a full body shudder. The redhead gathered up the broken body of Delgar's Green, moving to drape some of her over Damask's back so to make carrying easier. The Red hissed in protest, sidling away and spitting like an angry feline, but Damali, face set in a snarl, forced her back to her side.
Together, though Damask grumbled and complained bitterly the entire way, they slowly carried the Green off the Sands. Lokien, long since returned from bearing away Delgar, waited for them, face grayish and jaw clenched. He smoothly accepted the little wher body from her, “I should have expected this from you, Damali. This is just like the time with the baby tunnelsnake.”
She just gave him and wan smile and settled her hand firmly, proprietorially, at the base of Damask's head and led her off towards the meat buckets. Lokien tried not to think of the way his heart had stopped when he'd come back to see her kneeling with her hand in the Red's mouth. It wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to think about.
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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 Apr 25, 2011 9:03:30 GMT -5
Kire kept one eye on the Hatching and one eye on Kisk, watching with mounting horror as more fights broke out on the sands all perpetuated by the Red. She had known Ausk to be violent... But she had never seen death on this scale before. Kisk looked up at her and cocked his head to one side for a moment. She stared back at him and smiled in an attempt to ease his concerns. Kire scaryed. She stared at him for a moment blankly and then grinned. She missed the Brown impression, trying to distract herself from what was happening.
Kisk... Love He tossed a piece of meat in the air from his mouth and jumped about, waggling his wings happily, Kisk... Idea! Play whers!! He jumped up excitedly, apparently finished with his meal and made to go towards the other Whers Hatching. Kire lunged forwards and grabbed him around his body to stop him. Apparently, Kisk thought it was a hug for he waggled excitedly and then emitted a strange, gutteral noise, attempting to lick Kire by jumping up and down. She couldn't contain herself and almost laughed. She stifled it knowing it inappropriate for the moment.
She sat there on the sands with Kisk trying to hug her... With his teeth... She petted him happily and then turned back to the hatching. Kisk began sniffing the ground. He smelled so many new things since he had started eating. There were more Hims!! So many of them! A little different... There was something else but he was more interested in the Hims... Kire watched as a girl tried to pull the little Green from the sands. A brown and Green had impressed and she clapped softly, but definitely late.
Risk suddenly lunged at the Red once she had stopped attacking the Bronze that had apparently hatched when Kire wasn't watching. She stared and wished for nothing more than to shout but knew she could not. Apparently the Gold offered a reproach to the Red for the little creature slinked away to the Candidates. She then watched as the Red approached another girl and gasped while Kisk walked around her licking pieces of meat when he spotted them, nose to the ground. Taste bad. Spots. Kisk announced to her.
Suddenly the candidate was told to cut her hand, which she did, and the real drama started. The girl threw her hand into the mouth of the Wher and pushed the beast to the ground. Kire could only watch with mixed emotions as the Red struggled and the new Handler yelled at it. Part of Kire wanted to cheer, another part was horrified and, the last part scared her the most. She wanted the Red gone. Forever. She wanted it nowhere near Kisk.
This continued for a short while and Kisk, oblivious to it all began headbutting His, pouncing forwards every now and then in happiness. When it was over the new pair came over towards the meat buckets. Kire scrambled to her feet ready to grab Kisk and run if something happened. She backed away, slowly, Kisk sniffing at the footprints she made in the sands. Kire! Friend! Look! Kisk exclaimed looking at the Red.
He had not even noticed any of the blood on the creature nor what had happened on the sands. He saw only a new friend to play with. There were so many now! The other like him and now this Red. He turned to the other black and began chasing his own tail eventually rolling on the ground. Kire's tension released a little and she chuckled nervously at the Wherlet, conscious of the somber mood. He wound up on his back and flicked his tail, twisting his body trying to get it. It was Love! He wanted it! He wanted to eat it!! [/blockquote]
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Post by larkwing on Apr 25, 2011 14:28:39 GMT -5
Rin stood stock still as he watched another of Risk's eggs hatch. A blue! Another blue! The candidate surged forward momentarily before remembering that the red was on the sands. She stalked around, hissing at everything it seemed. When the large egg started to rock and shake, it finally hatched. A bronze spilled out and immediately the red lunged onto her sibling.
Biting his lip and holding his hand against his wounded leg, Rin watched in terror as the two wherlings fought. But what could he do? The answer was nothing. However, the bigger bronze fought off his red sister and threw her to the ground. Would he kill her? Would he make her pay? Apparently the answer was no. Instead the red went to that newborn blue and tore at his wings until he finally was no more. Tears were sliding down Rin's cheeks now.
The candidate knew that wherlings were dangerous, but this....this was horrible. Risk stepped in and her snapping and hiss rang through Mavrin, shaking him to the core. Not able to stand anymore, the boy slid to the hot sands. He didn't care that it was harder to escape the red from here. He simply couldn't continue to hold himself up. All jitters had left him completely by now.
As the red finally stalked over to the girls, Rin held his breath. Please no more blood....the babyred chose and Rin sighed in relief at first. Then he recognized the girl. It was Damali....Delgar's best friend. Shaking, Rin watched as the two fought with one another, and it seemed that Demali had won. Looking back around, it seemed that the bronze had also made his choice.
Would that blue behind Ausk choose him? Would he even get a wher? Would he even want one? The answer, Rin knew, was yes he did want a wher. He just hoped that there would be no other babyreds. Already there were quite a few less eggs than candidates...or were there now the same amount? Rin had stopped counting a long time ago. Please, just no more death...please. The boy looked up toward the night sky and stretched his injured leg out. It still stung, but he didn't care. It was less than what some were feeling in their hearts right now.
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Reky
Alphahandler
rekyct[M:-999]
SO PRO
Posts: 1,554
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Post by Reky on Apr 25, 2011 20:22:52 GMT -5
Audren's heart was in her throat the entire time she was watching the hatchling red. It was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling and she kept trying to swallow it, but until the red was bonded, she wouldn't be able to calm down. Ausk knew that Audren was shaky on her legs and that, if she wanted, she might be able to get away with misbehaving, but she had her second son behind her. She wasn't going to let him get killed by something as lowly as that baby red when he couldn't fight back. If he died one day, fine - but it wouldn't be on her watch.
The blue, watching the red wheret, was actually fine with being held back by Ausk. He saw the red tackle the bronze, and then the blue. Ugh. Why did she need to do that? It was a stupid thing to do. He didn't understand the reasoning behind it. She wasn't even eating them! She was so stupid! The only reason to kill something would be to eat it, he figured. Killing out of necessity. She was just killing for no reason. He'd never do that, that was for sure. Despite his disagreement, though, he would never try to stop the red. People could do whatever they wanted. It didn't mean he had to approve or make sense of it all.
Risk killed her suffering blue child. The red Impressed, and so did the bronze, and Audren was able to let out a small sigh of relief. She noted who it was the red chose: Damali. She would have to see to the girl right away. She felt a strange sensation like some mother bird, and imagined herself putting her wing over the new redhandler, but it would never be so tender. She would teach Damali how to stick up for herself and how to control her red even when she grew too big to be subdued to a punch. Damali had spark, though - the punch proved it - and Audren liked that. She liked that a lot. Damali would do fine, but she would still need a little coaching.
With the hatchling red bonded, Ausk had no reason to keep her blue holed up behind her. She grunted and shoved him out in front rather roughly. He needed to hurry up! He was wasting time just standing there! She growled at him when he looked back at her, and he carried on. The blue sighed to himself. First she wanted him to stay, then she wanted him to go... Why such the change of heart? Other peoples' minds confused him. He heard Ausk urge him on with another growl and sighed again. Whatever.
He passed a few candidates, his stocky limbs making for steady, albeit lazy walking. He didn't seem too fond of charging forward. He just wanted someone to follow around. He checked a few minds as he passed by, seemingly choosing them at random. He seemed largely unimpressed with the likes of Fenrimere and Darryl, simply walking by them without stopping, but then something caught his attention. He stopped dead in his tracks, facing away from the candidate in question. His bony, knobby face contorted with confusion. There was one thought in the candidate's head that intrigued him, but the rest of it in there...
Yes. Not problem. The blue turned to face Sagaral, now, sitting in front of him. But Sagaral is problem. Sagarsk love, but Sagarsk no get. Sagaral do strange things. Sagaral stupid. Why do strange? Sagarsk sigh. Whatever. But Sagarsk follow. He gave a shrug, bony shoulder crests moving up and down, and looked up with hunger-whirling eyes. Sagarsk eat.
Ausk snorted gruffly as her son Impressed. Good. She only had two more eggs left to deal with, and then she could be done with all of this stupid business. She didn't want to share a room with Risk anymore. She didn't want all of these candidates just standing around. Once the eggs were gone, everyone else would leave, too. She turned to look at her eggs. One was shaking and the other was not. She growled at them to hurry up, but neither did. The one moving egg, blue dappled with brown, was taking its own sweet time. Eventually, though, the network of cracks weakened the egg just enough, and a slinky green hatchling slipped out.
She was very nonchalant about it. Oh, she'd just hatched? No big deal. She didn't have to dwell on that insignificant detail. She was stepping out into this new world, and she was definitely ready for it. She walked with a confident swagger, brushing close to her red mother. Ausk snapped at the dainty thing. Too slow! But the green just let out a chuckling croon and kept at her easy pace. Her hide was mossy, her whole body flattened and elongated. She lifted a narrow head with narrow eyes and looked at Ausk, grinned, and then kept going. There were people standing there, waiting just for her! They were more interesting than Mother. [/blockquote]
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Post by veritas on Apr 25, 2011 21:21:22 GMT -5
By the time Hustafer and Husk had got to their new position, a little closer to the action, the worst of it had long since settled. The red hadn't killed anyone more, for all it looked like she might want to, and new wherlings were forging their bonds. Good; the deaths wouldn't ruin the occasion.
Still, Hustafer couldn't help but be relieved when, in the middle of another vicious attack, Risk herself stepped in to check her violent offspring. He let out a breath, stroking over Husk's head, as the iron, too, grew a little more calm. Younglings weren't being hurt anymore. It was sad that it was too late to save that one additional blue; Husk whined softly, a pale imitation of a mourning keen, when Risk ended his misery. But now they were safe. He could relax, he didn't have to worry about crossing Risk by dashing onto the Sands.
That bronze had grit. Hustafer made a mental note to keep an eye on him and his handler. And that blue from earlier, too. Before he could see whom the bronze had actually chosen, though... there was the red. Going toward the Candidates. Hustafer drew another breath, and held it...
And then he had to bite his lip to keep from cheering out loud as the girl took charge.
Well, there were worse matches for that volatile beast than a girl who seemed immune to pain. At least she wouldn't fear any pain from the wher being rough on her - and, by that same token, wouldn't have that pain distracting her from a reprimand like the one she was delivering now.
"Good girl," he murmured under his breath with a tight, satisfied smile. "Show 'er who's in control, that's right..."
Hopefully that was the Hatching's worst. If not, well... they'd deal with it as it came. They always did.
For now, Hustafer moved to meet some of the new wherlings coming off the Sands with their companions. Time to get the whers properly fed and the lot of them settled.
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Apr 25, 2011 21:37:46 GMT -5
At last the violence had stopped, and Sagaral finally felt like he could stop thinking the red was going to come take a bite out of him. If that had been her plan, his hand was hovering near his belt knife, ready to draw it and kill her before she killed him. As it happened, it hadn't come down to that, and the wher candidate relaxed, more or less. The narrow shoulders visibly dropped, indicating the escape of tension, and he returned his mind to the more peaceful aspects of the Hatching: for instance, the blue that Ausk was shoving out from behind her. Oh, and the fact that Damali was showing the red exactly who was boss. Though that made the boy grin, he turned his attention back to Ausk's blue son.
The hatchling seemed none too interested in blasting full speed ahead, which also meant that he was unlikely to attack anyone. Not that Sagaral really cared if someone got bitten, as long as they didn't die, but it was nice to know that there would be at least a short break in between the maulings and killings. How boring. Pleasant, but boring. Was he fickle? Absolutely!
Since there were no other hatchlings loose on the world yet, the candidate idly watched the blue as it stalked past a few of the other candidates. The hatchling stopped right in front of him, facing away, and Sagaral eyed it narrowly. Was it intending to whip around and bite his ankle or something? If so, he was entirely prepared to shake it off.
Yes. Not problem.
What? Was that the wher?
But Sagaral is problem. Sagarsk love, but Sagarsk no get. Sagaral do strange things. Sagaral stupid. Why do strange? Sagarsk sigh. Whatever. But Sagarsk follow, the voice concluded, and the candidate stared down at the hatchling. Had a wher seriously just Impressed to him and called him stupid all in the same breath? Sagaral glared at the blue, who stared back at him flatly. Sagarsk eat.
"You're kidding," he muttered aloud, and the blue flicked his tail. Not kidding. Sagaral just stupid. Sagarsk rose to his feet, nudging his handler's leg pointedly. Eat now.
Right. Was this even his wher? Sagaral eyed the blue. His name was Sagarsk... he had to be his. Nobody else's name was even close to being similar. And the thing thought he was stupid. How marvelous. Heaving an inward sigh, the wher candidate dropped into a crouch and pulled the knife from his belt. A slightly clumsy slash (he wasn't left-handed and he couldn't cut through his splint), and he extended his arm to the blue. Sagarsk offered a wry snort, and licked up the blood before turning away, towards the buckets of meat. Feed Sagarsk! More demanding now, the blue simply walked off without His.
Already exasperated with his new bonded, Sagaral chased after the hatchling, following him to a meat bucket. The blue sat in front of it pointedly until His picked it up, and then followed his handler obediently to a spot by the wall. There Sagaral crouched, and offered a scrap of meat to his new bonded, who accepted it without complaint and wolfed it down. "You know, you didn't have to pick a problem like me," he pointed out under his breath. Sagarsk flicked his tail, grabbing another bit of meat. Right for Sagarsk. Sagarsk handle problem Sagaral.
I'm the handler here! the boy hissed mentally, and his wher looked at him flatly. You problem. Not understand, but love. Always love. Even if not deserve it. He ate another piece of meat, unperturbed by the glare Sagaral shot at him. He'd picked His. His was stupid, but he would follow him anyway. Right for Sagarsk, he said simply, and then said nothing more, too intent on eating his first meal.
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Post by larkwing on Apr 25, 2011 21:44:39 GMT -5
Rin sat and watched as Ausk let her son walk on the sands finally. It wandered around only momentarily before finding its chosen bonded. Again, not him. However, there were about 8 eggs left. Counting quickly again, Rin smiled. Yep! 8 eggs and only 6 candidates it seemed like. Those were good odds. Unless another red was born. Then it was terrible odds.
Another of Ausk's eggs cracked and a sleak green slid out of it. Rin loved this green even more than the first one. She was beautiful and perfect and fun. Would she choose him though? Sighing, Rin shifted again. Shards and shells his leg was starting to hurt again. And no wonder why, the wound was steadily bleeding again, the sands below his leg turning pink and red.
In the stands, Larka watched from the moment the red hatched to its impression with a mix of awe and horror. That something could do that much damage and yet have no trouble with it was....the dragon candidate had no clue what it was. Covering her mouth, the auburn haired girl was caught between wanting to throw up her dinner and keep her eyes glued.
Seeing the girl nearby have trouble, K'leb moved toward her and put a gentle arm around her shoulders. Shards this was probably a bad idea, but after that hatching...even he was a bit unsettled. "Hey, it's okay." Turning to look into goldish eyes, Larak wiped a tear from her cheek. "Thanks....I'm Larka." The girl smiled lightly before clapping for the newly impressed blue. At least life was moving on.
"I'm K'leb of blue Harlequinth." The blue rider answered her back. Obviously with her age she was probably either a candidate or a rider. And she didn't mention a dragon...or a wher he supposed given where they were at. So, candidate popped into his mind. "It'll be okay. Things always get better after they're this bad." This whole thing had him reliving Quinn's hatching. The blue growled in His mind, but otherwise stayed quite. He was half asleep anyway and didn't care enough to say anything.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Apr 26, 2011 10:27:52 GMT -5
Qosis hit the burning sand on one side, right arm outstretched toward the circle of moonlight delineating the Hatching proper. Delgar's knife escaped his hand and lay in silvery repose a few inches from fingers briefly stilled by the fall. His groan of surprise had barely fledged off his lips when he lifted his head, the left side of his face scalded by a temporary red brand. Golden sand cascaded off half his body as he lurched forward to seize the knife, then twisted around to face his assaulter.
His eyes followed Tasia-- who was not the challenger his gut reaction had prepared him for --while his bare hands remained planted on the fevered earth. He got up without her assistance, pivoted back towards the disaster...and went rigid. For there was the green corpse upon death's unlikely back, in full accompaniment by a new human lifemate.
Qosis had been trying earlier to achieve remembrance of Impression. Maybe it was proximity, or bestirred sensitivity, or an added product of the fall, but the perverse haunting struck him now and did not ebb till the crumpled Green left the Redhandler's care for her brother's. The subsequent wave of nausea forced his knife arm down, and his first step after Damask and her newly exposed back was retracted as he steadied himself on the suddenly uneven sand.
He tried to rub his hand across his forehead and ended up pressing the cold broadside of the knife to the same place. An amateur mistake in the handling of blades, for had he turned the edge just so he would have felt a lot more than the metal's chill. As it was, he closed his eyes against the cool reminder of place and time, and when he opened them again his focus slipped past Tasia and after Damask. Handler and charge had already departed for the next sickening step in their unification. He spotted Lokien's face instead, so bereft of color it was noticeable even in the Hatching's peripheral gloom. There was something to be said for even the briefest stints of healer training: at that visual reminder, Qosis' shoulders tightened, the ground turned solid beneath his feet, and his narrow eyes glinted with resettled awareness.
If only the characteristic crack of an egg had not commanded his attention towards it. If only it had not been a supple Green that met his eyes-- a Blue had already passed unnoticed to the purported safety of Impression. He had started to say something, but at seeing the newest Hatchling his self-inflicted silence was immediate. The knife went back in the pocket of his boot and Qosis left the Sands.
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Post by alix on Apr 26, 2011 14:23:03 GMT -5
Malissa whimpered for the poor blue when the red wheret tore his wings apart, and flinched when Risk roared at her daughter. The gold was so loud, and the red... She seemed scared, which tugged all-too-efficiently at the dragon candidate's heartstrings. The little red might have killed several of her siblings, and Maly's best friend, but she hadn't meant it!
Nevertheless, when Risk released the red terror and turned her attention to her maimed son, Malissa's eyes were glued to the wheret who'd tasted so much ichor and even blood already in her short life. She stiffened when she realized the red was slinking towards Damali.
Don'thurtherdon'thurtherdon'thurtherdon't...
It didn't hurt her. It... Impressed? Malissa wasn't sure, at first, but when Damali slashed her own palm, she took her hand from her mouth and clapped. Damali would teach the little red to play nice! Damali had her own wher now! If Delgar had only been able to see...
...Damali Impress his killer.
Tears started running down her cheeks again, and she choked on a sob. She knew, she believed with all her heart, that what had happened had been a tragic accident. It had to have been. But her best friend was dead and she needed to grieve him, at the same time she wanted, needed, to be happy for her other best friend, and her wher, who had found each other, and that had to be a good thing, right? Right.
She sat stiff watching the battle of wills between Damali and Damask, not realizing what it was she was witnessing. She didn't know Damali to be a bully. Impulsive, yes, but not a bully. Something had to be going on down on the Sands, something she didn't understand. And if she talked to Damali and found out that wasn't the case, well... She'd give the new wherling a piece of her mind.
As Damali and her wher carried poor broken Dsk off the sands (evidence, in Malissa's eyes, that Damask felt remorse for the green's accidental death), she was finally able to pay attention to the rest of the proceedings. Other wherets had Impressed while she'd been focused on her friend. And Ausk's blue son was making his way across the Sands towards the candidates.
She clapped for his Impression, not very enthusiastically, but not as half-heartedly as when the red had still been on the Sands, either. And then she watched his green sister, looking for all the world like there was nothing on Pern that could cramp her style.
Malissa's stomach hurt with all the mixed, confused emotions whirling through her. But to leave now would be rude to the clutchmothers, and to the remaining candidates. Maybe the rest of the Hatching would at least be free of bloodshed, and let her regain some composure before she went to find Damali.
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Post by kia on Apr 26, 2011 21:55:57 GMT -5
After the Red and Bronze had Impressed, there was a pause in movement from Risk`s eggs. After Risk had moved off the Sands and back near her cave to guard the rest of her eggs, she was beginning to wonder if that was all that was going to Hatch in her Clutch. Was she was not going to leave her eggs until Ausk`s eggs were finished Hatching, just in case one her eggs had Hatched a monster like Risk`s Clutch had produced. Instead, the Blue Impressed and a happy-go-lucky Green was prancing around on the Sands. Risk did not have to worry.
But as Risk was watching the green, more eggs began to move again. The luminous green egg had silently Hatched out. The egg willingly broke that there was no fight between the Wher and the shell. Out stepped another Black on the Sands. His hide was definitely black, but the way the moonlight hit the Wher`s hide made it appear slightly blue in places. The Black moved silently and slinked around the eggs. Trying to avoid Risk`s eyesight, he hoped to get away quickly. He was obviously nervous as his eyes had a little orange in them.
But as he moved around, another egg cracked opened after it had spider web cracks covering the entire shell. This time it was the Sandy egg. It began to move and wriggle around as it was trying hard to fight and not let the little one out. The sandy egg fell over on its side and rolled around until it hit the sunset egg. It bumped up against it until the Wher decided it could not get out on that end. With a push on the other end, the egg opened up and released the baby Wher.
It was a little White! And the White was similar to the Black in that when the moonlight hit its hide, a faint almost cyan color short of sheen was seen. But unless the moonlight hit it right, it was not that noticeable at all. The White shook its head, trying to make itself stop being dizzy from falling out of the egg. But the gender was unknown at the moment, and it would stay unknown until it Impressed and the gender revealed. It saw the Black slinking around lowered itself on the ground. Suddenly, it jumped and tackled the Black, letting loose a small roar.
But the tackle was for fun. The Black did not know that at first. He squealed with slight fear and thought he was going to die. Even though he had not seen the Red and how Damask had killed, he was still born with a primal fear of being killed at this young age. When the White tackled him and seem to laugh, he realized that it was not trying to kill him. He still wanted to get away. So he scrambled to get away. The little White followed the Black, trying to convince him to play again.
While the White was trying to get the Black to play with it, another egg Hatched. After a pause in the Hatching, it appeared that the rest of Risk`s eggs were wanting to Hatch and be relieved of the little Whers that were inside. The deep red egg did not have spider web cracks like some of the others. The cracks on this egg were very large and stretched everywhere. The egg shook violently, moving back and forth hard as if it was about to topple. And it would have it a leg had not popped out and stopped it. A little chirp sounded inside as the tip of the head poked to further its escape.
Within a matter of seconds, a Blue was standing on the Sands. He, unlike the other two Blues, did not have to worry about being killed so shortly after being born. The Black was a nervous thing, and the White was too playful to even look like it could hurt a bug. But the Blue was also a little dignified. He moved toward the Black and White and gave a slight rumble, letting the White know that it should leave the Black alone. The White sat down and looked at the Blue, wondering why this Blue had to be serious. Could they not have any fun?
The Black took this opportunity to escape the attentions of the White before it turned back on him. He looked at the Hatching Sand`s exit, and then back at the Candidates. In the wild, because he was so small, he would not survive. And it would probably be best to go Impress one of those white, fleshy humans. At least they were not as white as the White. And even the Gold was looking at him now! With a squeaked, he ran into the Candidates and wrapped his tail around one of them. Mavrin, they nice. Good whers. But Mavrisk nervous. Shy. Shy to meet others. You be there, yes? he asked.
Name: Mavrisk Color: Black- 00001E Info: Shy, slightly nervous, once he warms up he is friendly, constantly needs assurance, introvert Pic: [IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg47/emperess_kia/Dalibor/BlackMavrisk.png[/IMG]
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Post by larkwing on Apr 27, 2011 5:24:03 GMT -5
Rin watched as Risk turned to her eggs. Dread filled the candidate. Were they done hatching? Was it...over? Holding his hand to his leg, the boy stared, hoping, just hoping that this wasn't the end. Amazingly, one of the eggs started to move. It was the luminious green egg. Almost effortlessyly it seemed, it hatched and a tiny black wher popped out.
Rin smiled as it snuck around the back of the cave. Weaving in and out of the eggs to escape Risk. A white hatchling soon followed it and Rin's smile got bigger as it started to play. They were cute those two! Again, another egg hatched and a blue came out. Seeing that the two were playing, or as Rin looked closer, the white was playing and the black was being scared, the blue wher hatchling turned to them. With an easy authority, it got the white to leave the black alone.
Rin watched as the black took the opportunity to go to the candidates. Weaving through them, it finally found His with a squeak and ran toward Rin's direction. I can't be this lucky can I? Rin thought to himself over and over again, but it was true. As the black wrapped himself around Rin's body, the candidate knew he had impressed. Reaching down to touch the dark hide, it was absolutely perfect that the light seemed to hit it just right to show the blue undertones.
'Mavrin, they nice. Good whers. But Mavrisk nervous. Shy. Shy to meet others. You be there, yes?' Rin smiled wide and laughed as the voice entered into his head fitting there perfectly. Of course I'll be there Mavrisk! Throwing his arms around the little black, Rin couldn't stop smiling. The boy simply stared at the little black like a stupid wherry. Chirping, Mavrisk moved closer to Rin's face. 'Mine be there?' I'll always be there for you boy.
'Good. Mavrisk want Mavrin there....food? Mavrisk very hungry.' The wher cocked his head a bit as he asked the question. Nodding his head, Rin looked around for his knife. Shards! It must have gone away when that red knocked me over! Mavrisk gave a little squeek at the mentioning of a red. He could see the mother over with the other eggs already, and automatically thought that's what Rin was talking about. 'Red? Red scary! Red hurt Mavrin? Maverisk no like Red.' Rin nodded slightly. "Yeah. They're pretty scary boy."
Rubbing his leg again, Rin thought of the babyred that now went by Damask. The movement brought Mavrisk's attention to the injured leg, and with a little hiss, the black moved toward it. 'Blood smell good! Mavrisk wants...Mavrisk very hungry...'Trailing off, the wher snaked his tongue out to lick at the wound. Thankfully it was open enough to give the wher a good amount for the bonding to take place. Looking back up, Mavrisk chirped happily. 'Mavrin Mine, Mavrisk His now!' "Yeah Mavrisk. That's right."
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Cathaline
Lady Holder
cathct[M:50]
Posts: 3,279
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Post by Cathaline on Apr 27, 2011 22:57:45 GMT -5
Niton watched the hatching continue with a mixture of dread and anticipation, especially once the red finally bonded - to the poor girl who'd been with the boy who had died. His heart went out to her, really, but mostly he felt relief. The violent wherlet was off the sands now, and that hopefully meant no more deaths. There were too many bodies strewn about already.
There had been more Impressions, but his eyes were still on Rin, fingers crossed for his friend. Though still shaken from the earlier drama, he managed a small smile at the antics of the white, the black, and the blue...and his eyes followed the black as it dashed toward the Candidates and wrapped itself around Rin. As soon as he realized what had just happened, Niton jumped up and cheered. Despite all the horror that had gone before, people were still impressing, finding their lifemates - and most importantly, Rin had found his. Or, well, the wher had found him.
Niton sat down again to watch the rest of the hatching, but his good mood had returned. He vaguely wondered what the protocol was for the dragon candidates to talk to the new wherlings. Obviously Rin would be very busy, and with very different things, but Niton hoped they would find time to chat soon. He really wanted to meet the wher - as long as he could avoid that dreadful red, of course.
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Post by kia on Apr 27, 2011 23:33:25 GMT -5
Now that the little Black had Impressed, it left the White and the Blue standing on the Hatching Sands. The White turned its head to look around for the Black that it had been playing with earlier, only to see that the Black had already Impressed to his Handler. The White got up and began to move around the rest of the eggs. Would the other Hatch and give it another friend to play with? But as the White moved around, it sniffed slightly at each egg. Then, with a whimper, it keened a little.
Risk recognized the sound as sadness not in general but death. Risk growled lowly as her eyes turned orange-red for a moment. The rest of the eggs were duds. She figured as much. There were always at least one dud in her Clutch, but seeing this many left her angry. But the rest of the eggs had Hatched, even if three of them laid dead on the Sands. Ausk better be glad her children had not been in the middle of this. More deaths would not have been acceptable.
The Blue began to feel the pain and sadness and let out his own keen. It was low and sorrowful, the little Blue`s heart and mind went out to the dud eggs. But he would not sit there for very long. His stomach rumbled, and he was hungry. He moved toward the rest of the Candidates. There were only a few Candidates left. Not to mention the array of other humans that were there. There scents were everywhere. But he moved with ease toward his choice. Nothing would detract him from it. Paget, Pask sad for duds. Life goes on. Move on, he spoke, looking at her with swirling green eyes.
Name: Pask Color: Blue- 5A9AF5 Info: Sensible, reliable, does have concerns for others but acts more like mediator, unnerving, observant, reserved to a degree. Pic: [IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg47/emperess_kia/Dalibor/BluePask.png[/IMG]
The little White was left, but it knew it could not cry forever. So it began to move. The Blue had Impressed. It was alone now. It did not want to be alone! Being alone was bad thing. So it began to run. Run as fast as its little body could carry it. And then it went jumping into the air, wings spread, claws out. But it was not attacking the person it was going after. Merely tackling the person. Fenrimere! Roar! Wait! No… Fenrisk not really mean. Just want fun and you! The little White was a female.
Name: Fenrisk Color: White- F0FFFF Info: Thinks she is the big bad wolf and scary (but is completely far from it), likes to jump out on people, sporatic, random, underneath it all she is really a loving and kind Wher. Pic: [IMG]http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg47/emperess_kia/Dalibor/WhiteFenrisk.png[/IMG]
While Risk was being moody, smashing up the duds in her Clutch, Ridan had moved silently through the new Wherlings. In his hand he held onto a black hat. Once he found Khemres, he sneaked behind the boy and put the hat on him. “Congrats, Khemres. And like I promised, your hat. Enjoy your newly bonded Wher,” he spoke, making his exit. Looking at Risk with a stern look, he made her leave the dud eggs and go with him. The night was over, but things were just beginning.
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Reky
Alphahandler
rekyct[M:-999]
SO PRO
Posts: 1,554
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Post by Reky on Apr 28, 2011 8:10:32 GMT -5
The green wher was in no hurry at all. She seemed to be making sure that everyone could see her as she crossed the Sands. She paused every now and then to look around at what was going on, regarding the blue and white with mild amusement. She was simply content to strut towards the candidates like a slippery criminal. She cooed to them as she came closer, watching the blue and white Impress. There weren't very many candidates left, but that was alright. That, at least, made her decision easier.
As her green daughter left, Ausk glared at her. The green thought she was so great! Such an object of fancy! All Ausk saw was her gangly daughter, nothing Impressive yet. Just awkward and brand new. She snorted and tossed her head. It wasn't worth dwelling on. Instead, she hunched up, sitting down for the first time in the Hatching. Risk was smashing her own eggs, she noticed, and the red wher got her own, sinking feeling in her chest. She reached her consciousness out to her final, still egg. In it, she found no life. Really, she had known it all along, but she had been able to focus on other things and put herself into denial. A growl was growing in her throat.
There weren't many candidates left at all, and the green arbitrarily picked one of the two. She cooed again, a deep, sultry noise for such a small female, and twined around Tesla's legs. She then slipped away, as if she was teasing Tesla, looking back with a sly sparkle in her eyes. Then, her long body zipped away, speedy as a feline, and she found herself rubbing up against Darryl. She flicked her thin tail up at him, making a noise akin to a chuckle. She craned her neck and licked his palm, green forked tongue snaking around his fingers in turn.
Oh, helloooo, she drawled. She wrapped her snakelike self around one of the young man's legs, peering out at Risk and Ausk before resting her head against Darryl's calf. Why Mothers angry? she pondered. Mmm, not know, she slurred, and she truly had no grasp of it. Darryl, Dask eat, mmmm? Yessss, eat lovely. She batted her eyelids up at him, chuckled, and untangled herself from his leg. She was ready to go - all she had to do was lead this big boy to the food.
With her last child Impressed, Ausk was done. Risk's clutch was dead, now, too. The candidates should leave! The people should leave! She stood again, lowering her head, and screamed bloody murder at anyone who was still standing around. Her gravelly voice echoed throughout the cavern. Then, she paid them no heed, and turned to her dud egg. She moaned, mourning it. Why? All the other eggs had hatched this time, except for this one! How dare it? She was used to duds, but this clutch was going so well. She snarled at the lifeless orb. With a shriek, she crushed it in her powerful jaws. Then, she curled around the leaking shell, refusing to move. Even when Audren left to urge the wherlings to go find their new rooms, and Risk followed Ridan away, Ausk remained. The hatching was over, but she needed time to let her anger go. [/blockquote]
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Post by cy on Apr 28, 2011 12:24:48 GMT -5
[/i]. How amazing! A smile returned boldly to the yellowrider's tired face, rejuvenated and sincere, and he launched himself away to squeeze through the crowd so he could get out of the stands. He had to go see Khemres, this called for a congratulations of epic proportions! His best friend, a bronzehandler, how wonderful! It was nervewracking, being somewhere so dark and around creatures that could kill, especially after just watching them kill. He had to remind himself that dragons could be just as dangerous and he was around them all the time. But this was different. Whers were different. They were wild, they were vicious, and they didn't have to listen to their handlers. Or something like that. He didn't know, he was no wherhandler, but he stuffed himself up with as much bravery as he could to make his way through, wide blue eyes searching for one boy in particular. He found him, but he was paused because the albino wasn't alone. There was a man, and it was the first time that E'ra noticed that Khemres had been without his hat. Khemres was never without his hat. He couldn't think on it long though, his nerves were wound tight. As a dragonrider, he wasn't even sure he was supposed to be among the new wherlings. He'd been cautious, he wasn't even wearing his knots, but he had a friend here and his friend needed him! He'd not been a very good friend lately after all, busy with drills and dragon-caring and all, but he could be a good friend for this. A snarl in the background pushed him forward, wringing his hands anxiously and making his way up to the albino, his grin large once more. “Khem!” He announced, loud enough to be heard and yet too self-conscious to actually yell. “It's me, Ezzy; congratulations.” He urged, and, before he lost his nerve, he suddenly pressed himself close to wrap the taller boy up into a tight hug, exuding all of his pride and happiness for the lad into that affection – and sure, maybe taking a bit of comfort in the contact as well.[/ul][/size]
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Apr 28, 2011 15:42:18 GMT -5
Khemres sat next to his wher, quietly feeding him bits of meat. Both of them had ceased talking, just content to be together for the the first moments of their shared life. The albino had forced himself to stop thinking about Delgar, and the dead wherets the red had left on the sand, and slowly the nervousness was ebbing out of him. Khesk was right next to him, a warm comforting presence, and it was the bronze that made it possible to tune out the violence that had happened not so very long ago.
Totally engrossed in feeding his new partner, the wherling didn't even notice Ridan sneaking up behind him. His bronze had already decided the man wasn't a threat, though he'd glimpsed him approaching, and he didn't even acknowledge the goldhandler. So it was that when the hat dropped onto his head, Khemres spooked, tensing and whipping around like he was expecting Damask to be standing there about to kill him.
It wasn't Damask, and the object on his head was his hat. Unable to contain himself, the albino let a bright smile light up his face. "Ridan, loo..." He trailed off, the excitement fading from his face, when he realized that Ridan wasn't standing there anymore. He could dimly make out the handler's shape, moving through the scattered forms of the new wherlings, but then he disappeared into the darkness.
Mouth still half-open, Khemres stared after him, and then bit his lip, turning back to Khesk. The wher looked at him oddly, then released a soft croon. Not Khemres' fault. Do nothing. Duds do it, maybe. He nudged at His, and the albino shook his head, reaching out to stroke the ridged hide. His bronze's words didn't make him feel a lot better, and he couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to make Ridan leave so quickly, so impassively.
Shortly it ceased to matter, because a familiar voice caught his attention, and Khemres stood quickly, looking around. "Ezzy!" he whispered, "you came...!" Well, of course he had, but the really amazing thing was that he hadn't left when Damask started killing people. All the same, it lifted the albino's spirits to see E'ra, and he met the hug with one of his one, pulling his best friend close and squeezing him tight. "Th-thank you..!" He hugged the yellowrider harder, and it was obvious from the way he clung onto him that he too was taking comfort in the physical contact. Behind his bonded, Khesk chirped once, quietly, and plucked the last bit of meat out of the bucket, deciding that His needed this moment.
Khemres wanted to keep clinging to his best friend, keep numbing his frayed nerves with the comfort of the touch, but he made himself let go, and pulled on Ezzy's hand with his own, crouching down next to his new wher. "His name's Khesk," he introduced, excitedly, and his bronze chirped affirmatively at hearing his name. "Khesk, this is E'ra. He's my best friend." Grinning, and trying to cut out the trauma of the Hatching and Ridan's sudden departure, the albino was talking a lot faster than he meant to. "Ezzy, this's Khesk. I... I finally Impressed," he added, and the grin was swept off his face to be replaced with a dazed look. His bronze tilted his head, nudging at his mind gently, and then turned his attention to the yellowrider. Nice meet E'ra, he greeted. Although he probably wouldn't speak to most people, Khesk had come to the conclusion that if His were so attached to this boy, it couldn't possibly hurt to make friends with him. But he was getting sleepy now, lulled by the food, and he turned back to His, twitching his tail. Sleep Khesk. Find room?
"Oh!" Totally caught up in his excitement and nerves, Khemres hadn't even heard Audren calling the wherlings, telling them to go find their new rooms. Practically glowing with joy and confusion, the albino stood up again, and offered his hand to Ezzy, not particularly caring if this was something that would be frowned upon. "We've gotta f-find our room. Wanna come? O-or... Khesk needs to s-sleep. I c-can meet you after, o-or something. I dunno." Tripping over his own sentences, the new bronze wherling blushed, but smiled, too, and started off towards the edge of the cavern, driven partly by Ausk's angry scream behind him. He definitely didn't want to stick around here, and he had so much to tell E'ra, and now he had Khesk and really he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing since there was no way he could sleep with this much emotion bubbling through him.
Sagaral was still trying to decide if he was happy to have Impressed or not. True, he'd been dying to Impress a wher of his own... but that was before he found out that the wher who was going to pick him thought he was an idiot. Sagarsk hadn't said anything since setting into his meal, but his handler still found himself surveying the blue, wondering if this had been a dumb idea after all. Of course. Sagaral stupid. Choose to Stand. Sagarsk know what doing. Sagaral never know 'til do something stupid.
Right. And there was the fact that Sagarsk could read his thoughts. Sagaral had no idea yet how to ignore him, so he glared at his blue, who stared back impudently. "I have an idea. Why don't you go to sleep?" the wherling demanded, and his wher shrugged, twitching his tiny wings. Need keep eye on Sagaral. Until find room. Then sleep. He flicked his tail, snatched the last bit of meat from His' hand, and rose, turning towards Audren.
Following his wher's lead (grudgingly), the human half of the bluepair listened to what the redhandler was saying. They were indeed supposed to be finding their rooms, which just went to show that Sagarsk paid more attention than he did and thought he was smarter. Smarter is fact.
Already annoyed with his bonded, the blue wherling heaved a sigh and rose to his feet, leaving the empty bucket on the sand for some drudge to pick up later. Trying his best to ignore the smug chirp that issued from Sagarsk, he headed off the sands and off to the wherling barracks, as instructed, with the sarcastic blue at his heels.
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Admin
Administrator
brect[M:-2154]
Posts: 3,754
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Post by Admin on Apr 28, 2011 18:56:27 GMT -5
I backed my car into a cop car the other day, Well, he just drove off, sometimes life's okay, I ran my mouth off a bit too much, oh, what did I say Well, you just laughed it off, it was all okay.
Paget had been hanging back, withdrawing herself from her brief joining of the games that the candidates and other bystanders played and growing bored. She watched as things unfolded. She merely watched and frowned. However, it seemed fate had other plans for her. She hadn't been paying the blue much mind, thinking he had made his choice when he passed the candidate. She was watching the white and remaining green when he came loping easily up to her. Even then, she did not quite notice him, attention instead taken by the mourning of Risk. It was almost wishful thinking on her part. Or perhaps merely pessimism, a common tendency of hers in recent turns and even before then. However, when a voice and a steady presence interrupted her thoughts and mind, she could no longer ignore what was happening to her. Paget, Pask sad for duds. Life goes on. Move on
Paget looked down at the blue, a tiny creature next to her large height but far from frail. He stared back at her with his swirling green eyes, firmly nestled, though quiet, in her consciousness. She blinked, just once, and then glanced back at the proceedings of the hatching. The white and green had Impressed. The Queens mourned their losses while their handlers drew them away or turned to the wherlings. She did not count herself amongst them, though she supposed, in time, she'd have to join them, because Pask was hers. Calm as could be, she once more looked down upon him. She wasn't angry. She didn't know why he'd picked her, but she wasn't angry. Many things irritated her, but this wasn't one of them. Once he was grown, she go back to being a harper and she'd love him too. The turns would pass in their way; they always did, Pern forever turning.
"Yep, move on;" the harper agreed. Reaching behind her, she pulled out her belt knife, a seldom used thing of fairly good quality and in good repair. Looking at her arm, she paused, the blade held confidently over her skin. Pask felt some small bit of concern, but Paget, not about to accept her own cowardice, hurriedly cut a small slice in her arm. Crouching down, feeling old as she did so next to the teenagers and young adults that made up most of the wherlings and guests, she extended her arm to her new companion. He lapped it up, doing so with some care. It stung and she wrinkled up her nose, but she didn't protest, glad to have seen examples of what to do so that she wouldn't mess up this new relationship. It had been a long time since she'd cared about anything, but caring about Pask was easy; she guessed she just had a lot of space left empty in her heart.
Still crouched by her wher, Paget wondered what to do now that she'd given him blood. They were both looking around in perfect calmness, the blue quiet and steady, the new handler a touch prickly around the edges of her expression. Food; Pask said, seeing it as the most logical course of action. Giving a shrug, Paget agreed; that seemed like the right thing to do. Straightening up and stretching, still feeling old next to everyone else, she ambled over towards where food had been left near to the sands. Pask trotted along with her, catching up with her long stride when she stopped and deposited a bucket in front of him. He set about eating and she set about waiting once more. She saw Audren offering guidance to the other wherlings and nodded in her direction, but she made no move to follow the younger woman's urgings in anything but her own time, remaining for Pask.
"I'll see you later;" Obelir croaked to Ezekiel, standing up as soon as the hatching was completed. The keening and screaming made his head ache, as did the deaths, especially with Obelisk still worriedly twined about his feet. The blue needed constant reassurance and Obelir had no time to even consider that Paget was not a candidate and had bonded. If he'd been able to process it, he would have known that it wasn't that odd an occurrence if there were plenty of eggs. However, right then, he was overwhelmed. Barely looking at the boy beside him, he strode off, stride long but feet barely coming off the ground. Obelisk came with him, never straying far from his heel. The blue could take the violence, but it made him worry for his handler's safety. Obelir wasn't used to violence. As much as he tried to get rationalize it, it wasn't him, so he fled the bloodied sands.
And we'll all float on okay, And we'll all float on okay, And we'll all float on okay, And we'll all float on anyway.
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