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Post by laushi on Mar 22, 2012 23:43:50 GMT -5
The first to hatch, was a light brown. Laushi felt a thrill run up his spine, truly this was the event of a lifetime. Seeing everything up close, feeling the rush, it was a little terrifying but mostly invigorating. He tried to remember the lore…a brown was a good first sign if he recalled correctly. Not the best as far as ‘good omens’ he believed it would have been the best omen if a King had hatched first…but still not bad at all! The second egg hatched not far behind spilling an adorable little very pale pink onto the hot sand, she was scratched up a little in the event but seemed to be alright..he felt his heart skip a beat for a second though.
And then BAM! One of the large eggs spilled a blood hued dragon with orange streaks onto the sands. A red. Well….this might get messy…Laushi wasn’t sure if the newly hatched were as violent as the adults…but he was about to find out. The first victim was that cute little pink, the red made a b-line for the smaller female and Laushi almost stepped forward instinctively. Laushi’s jaws clicked shut and clenched, his protective nature flaring as the poor pale creature was sliced up as her red sister roughly shoved the pink aside. Was anyone going to do something about this? The mother’s rider …maybe she could get her dragon to make her daughter quit it?! Sweat already trickled down the sides of his face due to the intense heat, bringing back dark childhood memories of the fire and being burned. Laushi fought them off, happy thoughts…happy thoughts! Not so happy thoughts, not so happy thoughts! Laushi saw the dragonet approaching him, unbelievably fast for something so newly hatched…weren’t baby dragons supposed to be slightly unbalanced?! Laushi prepared to dodge quickly, but realized that if he did…he would knock down one of the candidates behind or to the sides of him…and they would more than likely be mauled, from a position already down on the sands that might be fatal. You could see it in his eyes if you were close enough, the realization and determination to face the inevitable.
So… unable to move fast enough, and unwilling to toss someone else into the line of danger. He took the hit. Like fire. It burned like fire..the teeth slicing clean through the robe and sliding into flesh and muscle beneath. He screamed briefly in pain a half curse and half gut wrenching cry... jerking slightly away from the dragonet and trying to push her head away from his waist. Laushi did NOT want her going for his gut next.
Hips did not have a ton of muscle on them so the bone was lightly grazed, but the bite was not as bad as it might have been..and the hip did not have vital organs or main arteries. Her teeth left nasty puncture marks and some shredded flesh but for the most part his hip was left intact. There would be no limp in the future if it was tended to before it became infected…and he knew just the rider who could help him when this was all over.
As he was getting chewed on, candidates wisely moved away opening a path of escape for the boy who took it…tearing himself away from the infuriated red as she finished nomming on his hip. Laushi fell momentarily onto the sands, a crimson stain spreading with alarming speed across the formally pristine cloth of his robe.
His right hand quickly slapped down across the wound and pressed tightly, electing a muffled scream of pain from the boy. Green eyes followed the path of the red, widening when he noticed that she was NOT heading towards the girls with the intention of impressing just yet. Rennin was her next target, and the girl was torn up worse than he had been. Laushi hissed and lurched to his feet, blood trickling from between his clenched fingers as the boy half ran to Rennin’s side as the red turned from her and onto Saia.
“Shards and shells” he hissed pulling off his unusually thick sash Laushi looked for one of Rennin’s injuries he could apply a tourniquet too. The healers would be here soon, and that was a good thing…there was little he could do with injuries like this. To attempt and help Laushi removed his right hand from his hip and ignored the warm crimson trickle that quickened in response to the lax in pressure. He wasn’t going to die from blood loss, not for a long time…Rennin on the other hand…he was worried for!
“I’ll help you, I’ll help…don’t worry a healer will be here soon.” Laushi noticed that the red had moved on from Saia, leaving the other girl mostly intact from the looks of it. While he attempted to help with the knowledge of firs aid he had, Laushi also tried to keep glancing at the Red and the pink in case something even worse started to happen…or the Red returned for round two.
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princesal
Wingrider
salct[M:-100]
Poliwogging it up!
Posts: 429
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Post by princesal on Mar 23, 2012 0:53:51 GMT -5
The scariest part above having a dual hatching between two dragons that were known for being more aggressive was the fact that they were lined up in the middle, and he didn't know which way to look. If he looked one way, there were dragons and a mother seeing his back, if he looked another way... well. It was obviously a bit of confusion. He felt almost naked... no... that wasn't the word. He felt as if they were so out in the open, and he was dizzy. Which way did he look. He had managed to bow to both of them, and the fact that neither of them seemed to attack him, it must have been sufficient. Eyes shifting to look at the stands, he was glad that he only needed his glasses for reading, and was able to pick out familiar faces at ease from a distance (or really, pick out the colors).
Shifting his feet, there was warmth through the sandles, and now he was thinking he had gotten really lucky because he had both of his shoes. He wanted to help the other candidates, but he only had one pair. He knew that if he took off his shoes he'd probably be alright, he had spent so much time in the kitchens that he was used to heat, and could ignore any feeling of burning. But they seemed to be trying to fix it. Besides, he got a sudden very purple voice in his head, that made his face break out into a smile. He turned to find T'von, and looked for the beautiful purple that was Moruluth, wanting to smile and wave to them. He sent his thanks and gratitude, and happiness over to him, and tried his best, hoping it got through.
This time he would impress. He would impress, and get to be a weyrling like his best friend. He could learn from him, and he knew T'von was going to be patient. It was going to be a good impression, he could feel it.
It was almost a moment of wonderment when the first egg hatched and revealed a healthy looking brown. He took it as a good sign, because there was nothing better than brown food sometimes, cooked well and delicious. He wasn't surprised when the brown walked passed him, but the young dragon seemed calm and decisive, and he knew that anyone who he impressed to would be lucky. What had caught his eyes was the next egg that had hatched, a pretty pink. Ever since Jelly, Teri had thought about how great it would be to impress a pink, how lucky he would be to impress any dragon.
Totally absorbed in the idea of impressing a dragon, he had been able to forget that he was between two aggressive queens. Until he heard another egg open, and out came a red. Immediately his guard was up, and his eyes widened as the pink got hit. But that wasn't anything compared to what the newly hatched red did when she ran towards the candidates. Teri flinched, he couldn't help it, and after seeing what happened, would wonder if it was him flinching away that made it so that others got hurt. Gasping and covering his mouth as the red sunk her teeth in. But that was nothing to what was going to happen.
Oh no! It was terrifying, he had never seen a mauling, never knew it would be this horrible, his stomach churned, and he wanted to help. What could he do? He didn't really know first aid, what they had been taught didn't really make a dent in something like this. It was terrifying! Is this why his parents had tried to tell him to not get his hopes up? He didn't know... what if... oh... oh... he was sweating cold, and his hands were shaking. The fear was just... he didn't... oh... oh. He wanted to run and hide, and he wanted to help, and it was scary, and bloody, and like nothing else.
Was she alright? Was she going to die? What was the red going to do next?
He risked a glance at the red, hoping to not get noticed, oh no! Was she going to attack the pink?! He felt his heart hammering out of his chest, but it wasn't of joy. This was nothing like other hatchings. Did he help the candidates that had fallen? But he didn't know what to do, did he try anyway and get in the way? He tried so hard to remember what the candidate masters had told him.
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Ruin
Wingrider
ruinct[M:-786]
We build the worlds we wouldn't mind living in
Posts: 1,137
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Post by Ruin on Mar 23, 2012 1:25:05 GMT -5
The golden sands were hotter than she had expected, even given the opportunity to touch the fringe had not prepared her for the radiating heat at the center, but she was grateful for the heat even when it became unbearable. It was a wonderful break from the cold and dead world that existed beyond the Hatching Grounds. It almost seemed that if she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself back on her small cothold at summer, tending to her garden; if she could ignore the droning of the crowd that was matched only by the hatching hum, and if she could imagine that the musky—almost spicy—smell was that of rich loamy soil and not the press of warm dragons on the ledges above. Because she was not capable of ignoring these things, Dora simply accepted that this was not her garden, but it was, at the very least, warm. Her eyes flitted around the expansive cavern, from her fellow Candidates, to those up above who called out bets unabashedly, and then again to those she stood with. It seemed, to her, like Saia and her friends were sorting out their situation with a firelizard, but they were lost within the press of bodies that separated them from Dora, and her eyes had to find another source of comfort.
She wanted to avoid either large mother assuming she had a preference for either of their clutches, because truly they were both magnificent, and certainly if they were going to find a need to rebuke her it would be through her own actions, but it was difficult to find that foundation in the chaos. Why, this was Elianne’s dream! The words of her twin had convinced her to pursue this course in their life, and…well…she simply wasn’t here! Wait, yes she was! Dora’s pale, worried face lit up as if she’d just spied her salvation, and maybe she had, her hand reflexively stretching out to meet her sisters as the girl drew closer. For a moment she simply stole comfort from that familiar form, and then she began mothering, fingers sweeping across Elly’s robe until it was in as pristine a position as her own. She even did her best to straighten out her sister’s ponytail, lips pursed with concentration as she chased stray locks back into place. ”Honestly, Elly, make a good show for the dragons!” It was part nervous habit, and part truth, though what the dragons would like, Dora could not say. That wasn’t any reason for her twin to look like she’d been picked over by a herd of beasts, and that language!
Really, there was nothing to be done for it, except hope that a dragon was here who wouldn’t mind the rough parts that made her sister the girl she was, and Dora would never want her to change anyway. Though she could act the part sometimes. With one final chiding cluck of her tongue, Dora stepped back to admire her attempts at sorting out her sibling, a soft smile pulling at her mouth, but before she could respond to her sister’s promise—planning on reminding her not to make ones she couldn’t keep—her attention was torn away by an audible crack and an even louder ooh from the waiting crowd. There was a dragon on the Sands! Well not a dragon so much as a…fledgling. Yes, that’s what she would call the sturdy, yet awkward, creature that had rolled onto the sands eggwet and tawny. A Brown? Oh, why the boys must be so thrilled! Although she had been told that gender did not exactly matter, well, good for all the Candidates at any rate. Dora’s curious blue eyes followed the newborn until the swell of her peers blocked him from her view, which was just as well because it let her focus on an egg that was closer to her.
Caught up by the fact that this little Pink seemed so much closer, Dora tugged gently on Elly’s hand—oh but wasn’t she just a darling thing? The girl didn’t understand why the dragon seemed to be having trouble vocalizing, but there were any number of reasons, right? Surely someone would see to her soon—once she’d chosen her Candidate! A freshened vigor to the calls above alerted Dora to the real possibility that the Brown had chosen his, but she wasn’t willing to stray from the line in order to catch a glimpse for confirmation, there would always be later—surely this most celebrated event would be spoken of for sevendays to come, not to mention the lives changed in the process. As she returned her eyes back to their stationary position, she had intended to steal another curious glance to the Pink, but found that the clutch was again demanding attention as another fledgling burst from a central egg, and it was a Red. If the same-colour mother to her left had assured the Candidates of anything it was that Reds did not take kindly to offense. Unconsciously Dora smoothed her robes, desperately hoping she wasn’t in the process of doing something that would garner her attention, but the newborn was already stalking her way further down the line. Was it wrong for her to feel comfort in that space? Surely there was no real danger?
Poor Dora, could not have been more wrong.
The angry shriek was the only warning given for what was to transpire, and Dora’s eyes grew increasingly bigger as the Red not only knocked aside her clutchmate, but then dove headlong into the gathered Candidates. The sounds told her all she couldn’t see of the Red’s actions, and she was grateful for the lack of visibility, but equally disturbed because she wasn’t safe behind some wall she was blocked by other living, feeling, caring people, who only wanted to find a purpose here. And how did they pay for it? What had they done that deserved such a response? Pressing even closer to her twin, she found herself torn between the greatest urge to hide or flee, and an equal urge to stay—to know—to help, but what could she do. Dabbler of plants and tender of gardens. A row between the white-clad Candidates opened up as if this was all a planned exercise to see how much she could cope with, and between those bodies she watched the Red take Saia’s friend to the ground.
Was it an instant, or an eternity? How did one measure the passing of time when it was marked by blood and agony? She had never witnessed such a thing in her life, and had never expected a lesson like this to be delivered by a dragon. As the violent newborn finished her work on Saia and paused, Dora tried to sort herself out, loosening the white-knuckled stranglehold her fingers had placed around her twin’s wrist. Her hands flashed lightly across the front of her robes again, and then again, and again: It was entirely possible that she would have continued this motion had the gentle, if insistent, hand of her twin had not brought her back to the present. She risked another glance down the line to find the Red staring not at the Candidates, but at her sister. Dora’s gut wrenched uncomfortably. Would the fledgling harm her own clutchmate as well? Why was she so angry? Would those who were coming to the girls’ aid be safe from the newborn’s wrath? Was anyone? Gently she tugged at her sister’s fingers, a thousand questions catching in her throat as she sought comfort for something she didn’t understand. When the words finally came they were barely a whisper.
”Something needs done, what if they hurt one another?” Elly's response did not surprise her twin, it seemed to be an unfortunate truth, and though Elly would occasionally risk her own neck when she had something to gain, she would never risk her twins; doubly so when the only bet seemed to be mauling or...mauling. Dora took note of the fact that her hands were shaking as they returned to Elly's arm, and the briefest thought was given to how completely inadequate they seemed to help with the messy affair this Hatching had so quickly become, but she had her Elly, and they were promised to each other until old age took them. I think perhaps you chose the wrong life for us, dear, she mused; but there wasn't much time for thoughts like that now.
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Rii
Wingleader
riict[M:420]
RP demon hungers...
Posts: 803
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Post by Rii on Mar 23, 2012 1:32:25 GMT -5
Okay. So the stories hadn't been just Gather tales. Hatchling dragons were dangerous critters. Although, Elly had been under the impression (ha! ha! puns... she always could find humor in the worst situations...) that dragons didn't go out of their way to savage candidates, if the candidates were wise enough to step aside or at the very least, watch out. Well, reds seemed to be the exception to the rule in more ways than one. The Bitran-bred girl kept a wary eye on the red, and a slightly less wary eye on the pink. Now the two seemed to be facing off, the injured candidates forgotten. Little brains, bein' so young, I guess. Hope no one dies, Dora'll pass out. Speaking of... she turned slightly to check on her sister.
Annnnnd yep. Dora didn't look so good. Elly grabbed her sister's shoulder, giving her a quick shake and, when that didn't seem to work so well, reached up and gave her twin a light, open-palmed tap to the cheek. "It's alright. I've got you," she breathed in the other girl's ear. I always swore I'd look after her. I swore we'd get old together. I'd do anything to keep that promise, even if it's stand between her and a rampaging dragon-baby. Elly's clever eyes danced over the Hatching spectacle again, a stubborn gleam lighting their bright blue depths. They would get through this.
As for the dragonets in their silent faceoff... well... there were limits to how far she would go even to make her sister happy. Protecting her sister from a savaging was one thing. Drawing a red's attention to protect the pink dragonet? No. Not worth her life. Sometimes you had to look out for number one. "The mother'll take care of 'em if it's too bad," she returns the bare whisper as softly as she could, for once hoping that it wasn't an empty lie. "More'n our hides are worth to get between 'em."
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Post by larkwing on Mar 23, 2012 2:45:36 GMT -5
One red lunging at the male group seemed to have been enough for Kurosaki. The whole shoe thing had been amusing at first but quickly died down to an annoyance, and his roommate arrived dirty and well apparently between all these things Waroth had snapped. It didn't matter, what mattered to Kurosaki was that the eggs were about to start hatching. He turned his attention to them, backing up slightly from the line and away from the red dragoness. A brown first, then pink, and the brown quickly impressed. He wasn't surprised that it didn't impress to him, there would be no reason for it too other than he was a male.
It did surprise him slightly though at who he chose as his rider, but a pair of weyrlings was still a pair of weyrlings so Kuro clapped with everyone anyway. No one had too much time it seemed to take in everything though, but that just seemed to be the nature of hatchlings, there was always something to watch. A red....a red dragonet hatched. The candidate for once looked at the little sub-queen and felt a flash of fear.
What would she do? Apparently what she would do was to proceed toward the shoe incident and maul a few people. Kurosaki averted his eyes, not liking the sight of blood and shook his head. It was their own fault wasn't it? The pink was her next target, but to his surprise the fighter didn't back down. It just stood there not caring what happened. Hmmr.....well aren't you the little rebel?
Hatching, hatching, hatching, hatching, OH PRETTY BROWN....hatching, hatching, I love hatchlings, OH PRETTY PINK! Hatching, hatching, impression YAY! Hatchlings are fu.........
It had been that simplistic, that loving a thought as Sakalas watched the dragonets finally break free. At the red coming though she felt a twinge in her belly. Surely everything would be okay....it would....but it wasn't. Rennin she didn't know, Laushi she didn't know, but Saia was her friend! Torn between staying safe where she was and running over, the candidate but her lip and looked over at Analucia.
Horror was in her eyes, her body shivering slightly. A question died on her lips as she looked at her other friend. "Ana....."
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Mar 23, 2012 3:50:37 GMT -5
Shoes. So many shoes. So many people telling her to put on shoes. Rennin shook her head, looking from the boots dropped by the Candidatemaster’s green flitter to the sandal she still held in her hand from where Laushi had put it as he moved past she and Saia swayed as they fought for balance on two feet between them - Saia was tiny, after all, and Rennin herself was more in the range of average, after all. Waroth’s charge had frightened her, forcing her to squeeze Saia to her side (and off the ground a little) bit once it became obvious that the danger wasn’t to her, she was able to relax enough to watch... that would be a scene for a wall, later.
However, she smiled at Luashi once he took his place down the line, a shy, quiet expression that expressed her gratitude without words, and dropped his offered sandal to the ground, sliding her bare foot into it, and then setting herself to provide support to Saia as she tried to do similar. She couldn’t run anywhere, the sandal didn’t fit good enough for that, but it at least kept the forming blisters at bay.
Though her foot would hurt later.
That was about to become a laughably small concern.
The distinct sound of breaking eggshell drew Rennin’s attention up and away from Saia’s efforts to become fully shoed - A brown on the Sand! A brown was Impressing...for Ceserat...or, C’at, now? He gave danced ver the clutch, taking everything in, memorizing - a pink had hatched while she watched the brown - there was something odd about the hide around the pink’s throat, and the small sounds she made pointed towards a possible problem. Rennin was fascinated, sparing a quick, wary glance to the red that hatched as the pink started heading their way.
The red suddenly had the full force of Rennin’s attention when she plowed the pink aside, and then sank fang into Laushi - Rennin flinched; Laushi had given Saia and her his shoes - he didn’t deserve that. But the red was on the move again, heading...heading...
Rennin knew what a draconic being intent on murder looked like. The red didn’t have Oracle’s mad thirst for deathdeathdeath, but she knew what was coming, and kicked her own feet out from under herself just prior to the red’s impact on her, knowing that controlling her fall could mean one less thing to worry about when she was having her throat ripped out. Her borrowed shoes flew off when she hit the ground, launching into parts unknown, but Rennin had no time to think about that or the painful heat of the sands on her back as lines of agony spread across her body as the red ripped into her.
She managed a muffled scream when sharp points of pain sank into her shoulder - she felt her collarbone crack under the red’s teeth, even as the red’s claws ripped across her arms, torso and legs.
What was only a few breaths worth of time felt like an eternity until the red climbed off her - Rennin made a low, guttural sound of protest as the red moved on to Saia, but could do little about it. The world was spinning around her, and she knew she was likely losing a rather impressive amount of blood.
She moved her hand- the one that wasn’t attached to a cracked collarbone - to her stomach, feeling the long jagged cuts there - and almost sobbed in relief when they all felt, though slippery with blood, shallow. A gut wound was not how she wanted to die.
She forced her one decent arm under her, levering herself into a sitting position and looked around dazedly - oh look, Laushi was there. “I’m sorry I lost your shoe,” she told him, not quite processing what he was saying to her as he fussed over him, “Did you know you were bleeding?” she added a moment later, looking at his thigh as he fussed over her.
Coming from Harper Hall, and more importantly from the Harper Hall archives, she was pretty familiar with at least the basics of medical practices - she figured she was calm at the moment from shock settling in, and knew that was bad. But it let herself look herself over critically. The slashes crisscrossing her body all seemed to be shallow, cutting skin and some meat, some deeper than others, but overall mostly being dangerous because of their enthusiastic bleeding. The puncture wounds from the claws, on the other hand... Rennin, despite the painful nature of the move, stuck a finger in one of the many of them on her thigh, and touched bone.
Trembling, she retched, not bringing anything up, and withdrew the investigative finger. That was a stupid thing to go, she realized in retrospect as she shook, still in the floaty calm place - though not lacking pain. She lay back down on the sand, not minding the heat so much now despite the blisters forming across all the bare skin in contact with them, and just focused on breathing...
Across the Sands, in the area set aside tending to newly Impressed and possibly damaged weyrlings, L’kie stepped away from the other healers and up behind W’al, putting a hand on the Weyrlingmaster’s shoulder as Sigyn appeared above the one Candidate L’kie had recognized as a healer of any sort - dragonhealer though the girl may be - and dropping a satchel into the girl’s arms, quickly returning to Hers with eyes whirling in distress, “W’al, we healers need to know if we can go on the sands to keep your potential weyrlings from bleeding to death, or if we have to wait until they Impress or the Hatching finishes. Last thing we need is mauled healers out there with the Candidates, but...”
L’kie’s mouth tightened under his beard, strain evident around his eyes as he watched the drama on the Sands, hawklike, “If they Impress, we need to send someone to bring them in to the save the hatchlings. What are we allowed to do, sir?”
* * *
In the stands, F’reki jerked himself to his feet with a cry, interrupting the causal conversation he and his companions had been engaged in, and stood shaking with fists clenched as one of the Candidates - one of his Candidates (never let it be said the F’reki wasn’t just as protective and possessive of his Candidates as his dragon, though he at least knew what the words “subtle” and “restraint” meant) - was mauled by the new-hatched red. Behind him, Girieth wailed, My Candidate! My Candidate!
“That one was mine,” F’reki told his companions through dry lips, eyes still locked on the action below.
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Cathaline
Lady Holder
cathct[M:50]
Posts: 3,279
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Post by Cathaline on Mar 23, 2012 3:59:41 GMT -5
Despite the growing number of friends and family in Day'ar's vicinity, his anxiety could not be calmed. He was thoroughly convinced that something awful was going to happen, and he kept his eyes peeled. Several Candidates had already lined up in the demilitarised zone before he finally spotted the one person above all else he desired to see: Rennin.
On the one hand, for once she was headed for the thick of the action, which would give her a better chance to Impress. On the other, she was doing so with only one sandal, which might raise the ire of Kalith and Waroth...and this necessitated close contact with Saia, which could only be repulsive to his poor Rennin. "What in the world..." he murmured, knowing the girl would never have arrived on purpose without both sandals. How had she managed to lose one?
At least neither dam struck out at the girls, or at their benefactor. Not only that, they soon not only had Laushi's offered sandals, but a pair of boots.
Before the affair could be settled, however, the eager dragonets began to break shell. First, a brown, then a pink, and then - horror of horrors - a red. Beside him, Delilah stiffened and began to rise; no red had hatched during her tenure at Dalibor, but she had heard enough tales of Damask, Herath, and their elders to know that her hands might be needed, though she had not been officially called to duty tonight. It was too much to hope that those vengeful eyes would pass over the three Candidates who were improperly attired, and indeed they didn't.
It happened in a flash, in spurts of blood, and Day'ar clapped his hands over his eyes, peeking out in shock. Rennin didn't appear to be dead, nor did Saia or the boy he didn't know, but it was still horrifying, and he felt quite faint.
This was, naturally, the moment Starfall chose to put in an appearance. Enough time had passed between her theft of the sandals and this time for her to creep up the stands by her own methods, and she tugged at the leg of Day'ar's trousers. He glanced down, and she spat a sandal out by his feet, radiating smugness and contentment. Success!
Well, at least, success at the task which Day'ar had put to her, which was to make sure Rennin stood properly this time. But by now, the viridianrider had ample evidence that he and L'xon had made a fatal error in their calculations. Rennin shouldn't be out there, with a red on the rampage. She really shouldn't be out there with only one shoe. And he was swamped by the horrible guilt of knowing that this was entirely his fault and no one else's. Well, okay, Starfall's, but that realisation would come later.
"Shards," he whispered, and Delilah was arrested in her attempts to go down to the healing area by her friend swooning against her.
"Oh, for the love of..." she muttered, easing the near-insensible Day'ar back to the seat. "Did anyone bring any water?"
Starfall, for her part, seized her sandal prize once more and vanished with considerable alacrity. When Rennin returned to her room sometime hence, either to fetch her things for moving or to return to her Candidacy, she would find her sandals neatly lined up in the middle of the room.
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A brown hatching first might not be quite as lucky as a bronze, but for one Candidate, it was the most fortunate thing of all. Devath's eyes followed the brown's progress, and when he finally settled in front of Ceserat, she let out one of the most delighted squeals her rider had ever heard from her, both mentally and aloud. That's Ceserat! That's him! He's one of mine![/i] she crowed, beyond pleased. Her very first hatching with standing Candidates, and one of hers had Impressed first - and to a brown!
Ni'on laughed and turned in delight to Valha and F'reki. "That's Ceserat!" he repeated. "Or, he was! We Searched him!"
Devath turned her attention to Hephaeth. We did it![/i] For the blue had confirmed her very first Search. Her eyes went to Doggarel, the other member of that pair, but they didn't rest there for long. Her most recent Search, Laushi, had come under attack, and the cyan leaned forward on her ledge, quite shocked.
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This was the first hatching Saia had stood at where she wasn't given this time to nod greetings to her fellow Candidates and watch the eggs in anticipation. No, from the moment she rose from her bow, she was inundated with shoes, questions, and the need to act.
First, Laushi arrived and offered them his sandals. "Oh, thank you!" she chirped, glancing at his feet. Even if she refused the gift, she didn't see how he could fit the sandals on. Seconds later, Bip arrived with boots; Waroth's roar made it clear that she was not in a good mood, if she ever was, and time was of the essence. Argotath's order was unnecessary, but Saia had to own herself moved by the quick thinking and acting of both Candidatemasters. Even if they didn't get mauled, it would've been extremely uncomfortable to stand here on one foot the entire time.
A boot was harder to get on in their position, so though Saia was grateful, she decided to go for the sandal first. She propped Rennin up as the girl successfully got hers on, then dropped it in front of her and tried to step into it.
But the sandal, small as Laushi’s feet were, was still too big for the petite redhead. The sands were hot and slippery, and she’d managed to drop it at an angle. Twisting her body to try to get her foot in, she only ended up skidding, clinging tight to Rennin’s arm as her legs nearly went out from under her. The unfortunate left shot right out, the sandal flipping over and ending up just out of reach, and she only barely managed to keep from losing her balance entirely.
“Oof!” she said, her cheer maintained, and gave an anxious glance to Waroth. By this time the brown had hatched, and she admired his form briefly before turning her attention back to her predicament. Browns hardly ever chose women, so there was no need to consider him. She’d see who he Impressed when she got this boot on. Her foot hurt where it had hit the sand briefly, but she managed to drag herself upright again, tuck the bare foot securely behind her ankle once more, and bend to swipe the boot. The least awkward angle appeared to be holding Rennin’s arm with her left hand, leaning forward, and reaching behind with her right to try to slide it on.
These acrobatics came to a sudden standstill when she realised that more dragons had hatched. And not just any dragons - a pink, a beautiful pale pink, and a red, who first assaulted Laushi - oh, poor Laushi! - and then came straight for them.. Saia had promised Rennin protection, and she hastily dropped the boot, turning in the intent to bear Rennin up under the assault that must be coming. The other Candidate, however, had a different plan. Where Rennin lost her balance on purpose, Saia found herself quite suddenly bereft of what she’d been leaning on.
Instinctively, her still-bare foot touched the sand, which blistered and stung. Instinctively again, she raised it, wobbling and flailing her hands to try to keep herself upright. Thus, she was not exactly in a good position when the red turned and powered into her, that solid body knocking the tiny redhead down just like Rennin. Whether the red was surprised to have been successful at this or whether her rage was running itself out, Saia had no idea, but her mauling was much less severe; the claws raked across her legs, angry wounds that would most likely scar at least a little, and then the dragonet moved off to parts unknown.
Although the gashes hurt like fire and she knew her legs would be bruised black in the morning from the impact, the red’s attack had other, unintended consequences. Saia’s elbow hit the sand hard, scraping badly, and the sands burned wherever they touched - hands, arms, that sharding bare foot. The wind had been quite knocked out of her, and it took Saia a long moment, gasping like a beached fish, for her hands to start scrabbling at the sand. Hot! Hot! Oh, it hurt!
Automatically, desperately, Saia forced herself, shaking, to her feet. This was her fourth hatching and the first time she’d been so much as touched, and she operated on nothing more than the blind need to put an end to pain, at least at first. Biting her lip so hard it started to bleed, she forced herself upright, rammed the boot onto her foot - which hurt like burning, but would prevent further wounds - and stared defiantly at the wall for a long moment, taking deep breaths. She was okay. She was standing. She could still stand. The sand invading the scrape on her elbow might be cause for alarm, and her legs trembled beneath her, but they didn’t give out.
Beseechingly, she reached out for Rennin, but she had neither the size nor the strength to drag the girl to her feet, especially if it would cause her more suffering. “Laushi,” Saia said thickly. Her hair was escaping its runnertail, and blood was slowly starting to pool in sandal and boot, but she didn’t care for her own appearance right now. Her friends were hurt. She managed to get her own sash off and offered it to him, but she was helpless. If she got down there to help him or anyone else with the healing, she didn’t think she could stand up again of her own volition, and standing up was important. Rennin had to stand up too, and until she could, Saia would beat off any number of reds with her bare hands.
Yeah, because that had worked so well last time.
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kireon
Candidatemaster
kirct[M:-191]
Posts: 739
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Post by kireon on Mar 23, 2012 4:45:58 GMT -5
"Shards, Shells and everything Between!" Aylina swore angrily, her hand coming down with a stinging force against her thigh as she watched, helpless, as three Candidates were mauled by that little out of control Red. Two suffered lesser injuries from what Wenth was relaying to her- and how in Faranth's name did her little Tan know how to do a trick like that?- and the other was definitely down. She'd seen a wild Wher injury once upon a turn, but this... this just...
And there was nothing she could do about it- and that was what killed her inside more than anything else. "Shards," helplessness filtered heavily in with the anger in her voice, the blonde weyrling raking her hands through her short, fluffy hair in agitation. Saia was down there, and that healer-girl too. An' that one kid who'd gone and been all kinds of friendly at the lake.
It will be okay, Pretty,[/i] Wenth tried to be soothing, understanding very vaguely that her person was upset because a friend was hurt. she can't be bad forever... no... Kalith will make her behave if she keeps being bad... yes... she will...[/i] Although... Waroth may have something to say about that... Waroth seemed to want the Candidates' attention on her and her eggs... that could be big trouble, yes... yes it could.
The brown eyed girl's hands left her hair, leaving it a touseled, devil may care mess of fluffy white-blonde locks, and folded in front of her, fingers laced as she continued to watch with an obviously concerned expression. "Damn't, and the healers can' get down there neither." Not without invoking rage and potentially getting themselves killed or severely injured. "This ain' s'pposed t'be like this," Aylina muttered. "ain' s'pposed t'be like this at all, s'pposed t'be a happy occasion, not fearful an' such."
She was talking to herself, as she had a habit of doing, having only given a courteous, respectful nod to the extremely tall man who'd gone and sat by her. She'd figured he was automatically a rider and had shown the proper respect in her nod and seated bow. Whether or not she was going to answer herself, or keep chatting with herself... well, that was left to be seen.
**
"...Ondine." Rhikail whispered, the girl's name lost in the noise that followed the little sub queen's rampage. Of course her roommate was going to forget they were on the Sands, supposed to be Impressing. She was a Healer first and foremost, the teen realized... and tore her eyes away from the scene, immediately searching out the reaction, if any from the copper Queen, and then to Waroth for her reaction. One Red was bad enough, from what she knew, but two? What if Waroth decided the little newly hatched Red should die? What if it turned into a battle of Queens?
For the first time, Rhikail felt herself suddenly questioning her ability to Stand here, like everyone else... and the idea that one day, a Candidate she might bring in with her partner, would possibly end up savaged, or even killed dead. Her eyes widened at the look on Seta's face, watched the older boy make a decision to guard the girls... and nodded when he looked to her. She would do what she could, which was not much, but she would let him know if a dragon was going to charge from a direction he couldn't see.
**
The brown was nice, the pink's lack of voice concerned him too, and he was contented to watch the two of them, clapping quietly for C'at as he and the brown headed for the food buckets. The third egg, however, hatched one of the worst things he could have thought of; a Red. Furious beyond belief, the sub-queen charged in, taking one of the male candidates with a glancing bite on the hip, and set her sights on the female candidates.
No! He thought, jaw clenched to keep from yelling out to try and distract it- and found himself regretting the decision almost immediately after as Rennin, the shyest Candidate he'd ever seen in his life, took the brunt of it and was savaged in a way he'd only heard tales about. His heart froze, practically able to hear Nana's scream if she'd been there to see this as the girl his cousin looked up to, the cheerful red head with a passion for dyeing things, was taken down and not-as-brutally attacked. "Saia." Her name escaped before he realized what he'd said, and he glared at the red for all the good it did him.
They couldn't defend themselves, they could only attempt to get out of the way... and that was when it was a single clutchmother on the Sands. Two of them? One being a volatile Red? Absolutely out of the question, you were shoved Between if you did, and shoved Between if you didn't. Seta's normally stoic expression turned thunderous, outward displaying his disapproval of the Red's behavior and moved, carefully, to place himself in front of Ondine's busy form, shielding her with his body as best he could from his standing position. With her behind him, he could make sure nothing got the jump on her- or her patients for that matter. "I can't promise it will work for long, and if there's more I can do, let me know," he told her quietly, over his shoulder, "but I will try and keep the Red away from you, as well as any others with the intent to attack."
A nod was his response, the dark haired girl clearly focusing on Rennin for the time being, as she should. He grimaced at the young woman's injuries, forcing himself to turn his attention elsewhere after a brief check on the red's position- still staring down that brave little pink. Good. He hoped the little pink kept her distracted.
His eyes flicked to Saia, watching the blood from her legs and removed his sash, offering it to her. "Use this for your own injuries, you need to stop the bleeding." He told her firmly, though his expression showed more than a trace of concern for her. "If you have any trouble, let me know, Saia, I'm here too." These were his fellow Candidates, several of them would likely Impress this time around if they survived. He wanted to protect them, to keep them safe from harm like he wanted to protect his uncle, his cousin, and this Weyr from Thread or any other kind of attack.
Seta wanted them to know he was there if they needed the help now, and that he would help them in the future too. The future where they would all fly together in a wing.
He looked to the other Candidate, the one who'd gotten a bite on the hip. What was his name... he'd heard it once in their classes. "Laushi," there it was. "if you're able enough, can you help me keep an eye out in case that goes into a rampage again?" A tight smile, the teen trying to put a softer edge to the sharpness in his voice. "Sorry, don't mean to be shooting out orders, let me know if you can, don't do anything that'll make the wounds worse." He didn't want the other boy to get mad at him, they couldn't afford to fight amongst each other right now.
Taking charge was a little awkward, but catching the wide eyed, dark stare of Rhikail only seemed to confirm that he needed to keep calm and at least act like he had some sense in his head. What was it his father had told him once? Something about taking action and keeping calm in a crisis would help others around you do the same? Maybe, he couldn't remember the exact phrasing, but tried to conduct himself the way a Weyrleader, or what he imagined a Weyrleader would do if faced with a situation like this. She nodded to him, angling herself so that she could look out on Waroth's side of things too, in case an attack would be coming from that side of the Sands.
If the red charges, I'll try and get her attention, have her come after me. We're allowed to move out of the way, so I'll make her chase me. A moving target's more appealing than one standing still. Seta confirmed the decision in his head, risky and life-threatening though it definitely seemed. ...but these were his classmates, he couldn't just think and care only for himself and his fate. That wasn't how a dragonrider should be; the Weyr and its people were his concern, his to protect- and by Faranth, he'd start doing that even before a dragon came into his life!
Seta just hoped that the healers were allowed on the sands soon, that way Ondine had some back up and the pressure wasn't entirely on her. [/size]
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Ondine
Jr. Weyrleader
ondct[M:-155]
Posts: 436
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Post by Ondine on Mar 23, 2012 5:05:47 GMT -5
Ondine had barely noticed the small drama as Rennin and Saia arrived with one sandal on each foot, her eyes and mind firmly focused on everything, not just small, single things. That didn't have to do with dragons. She did notice, but it was peripheral, something that just wasn't as important. What was important were the dragon eggs, which ones were rocking, cracking open. And the first one out was a Brown! Who impressed to a boy that she didn't really know apart from his being a Candidate, Ceserat. Or, well, C'at now, she supposed.
But along with the Brown came a Pink and a Red. When the Red hatched, Ondine tensed. Reds were incredibly violent. The Pink was adorably sweet and cute, although it didn't seem to be able to make the correct sounds...and was that ichor on its neck? How sad! But her thoughts on the Pink were abruptly altered when the Red shrieked and charged at the assembled Candidates. Ondine froze, eyes wide, mind trying to grapple with what might happen in a few seconds. Another Candidate she barely knew got a headbutt and a- the apprentice healer felt a part of her brain kick into action. Teeth in the hip, painful, likely to be infected unless properly treated. Mauling in the sands...
And as she looked around, she realized that there was nobody on the sands from the healers. Nobody but her. An apprentice dragonhealer. The journeymen and masters were off to the side, off of the sands. This wasn't happening. But it was, and she watched in horror as Rennin took a savage mauling, blood drenching the sands, and felt another shock. She was the only healer on the sands. They were her responsibility until someone with more experience, more skills, more resources got her out of here. It was only a short distance from there until Saia had both of her lets mauled, small scratches compared with the bloody wounds.
But the sands were scalding hot, and any exposed skin would eventually blister and burn. Ondine hesitated, unable to see what she should do. She needed to do something. It was a boil in her blood, the need to do something, but everything that she could do would make something else worse. Treat the girl with the biggest injuries first, here, and she would burn. Try to get her off of the sands, a healer might get mauled. The other two with injuries could, would, wait. But her teachers had always told her that one of the worst things about healercraft was you couldn't do everything for everyone. There were times of sacrifice. Times when you did what you could.
Time to do what she could, the hell with the sacrifice.
She turned toward the healers on the side, checking to see what they were doing, when a flitter Betweened out of the air above her, carrying a pack. A medical supply pack. Her eyes lit up, and she turned, moving as swiftly as she could to where the injured were. She moved past Laushi, talking as she went. “Put the belt back on, apply pressure to your wound.” Her voice, somehow, was calm. Not panicked. How the hell was she managing that? Guess all of that training had done her something after all. Was it lying if you pretended to be more calm than you were?
She was closest to Saia, and gave her a quick once-over, trying to see if her legs were really in bad condition or not. “Keep your belt on. I can't help you right now, but you're in no danger. Apply pressure if something's bleeding a lot.” And on to the main case. Her legs hit the ground, her robe beneath her, and she gritted her teeth with how hot it felt. That didn't matter, she could get a sharding burn if it meant that this girl survived.
And it wasn't looking good, either. She'd seen the girl poke a finger into one of the wounds on her thigh. That wound had so much blood in it that she couldn't see the bottom, but it didn't look like a fun experience. Not with the retching. Fine. She tore open the pack, barely nodding to Seta when he spoke to her, and took stock. Stitches, redwort, numbweed, bandages, water, oil...she had what she needed. Her hands were still as she took the water redword and water out, and she started to talk to the girl on the sands. “Hey, I need you to talk to me. How're you feeling right now? Do you feel pain, distant?” Water over her hands, redwort, oil. Now she was ready to work with numbweed. She grabbed a container of water, checking all of the wounds...
What was most critical right now? The deep wounds could become infected, especially since they were on sand. But the dozens of light wounds were bleeding, and it was blood loss that was bound to be an issue. Shards! She had to resist shooting an all-powerful glare at the red that had done it, but if the red came back at her, there might be problems. At least Seta was there to try and keep a handle on things.
She worked quickly. She had to, or felt like she did. Who knew when the next egg would hatch, or when the red terror would come back. Water over the wound to flush it, redwort to prevent infection, water again, and then salve of numbweed before she placed a bandage on the largest wound. This was just first aid, she had to remind herself. She couldn't do anything for those terrible wounds on her thigh, and the bite on her shoulder, until she had gotten the bleeding under control.
And as she worked, it was like the whole world came down to just her and her patient. No dragons, no candidates, no other healers nearby. The outside world was a distraction. She managed to keep a smile on her face, vaguely aware that she was keeping up a stream of questions and comments that was supposed to keep Rennin responding to her. She couldn't do anything about the burns yet, but some small corner hoped that Rennin would Impress, and do it soon, so that she could get off of the Sands and stop developing blisters and burns. They would have aloe at the healer's station, they had to. That would help. But it wouldn't help her now.
If she had time, if she had time, she could get to the deeper, more serious long term wounds. But the ones that were most dangerous now were the ones that were most shallow, and shorter. Paradoxical, perhaps, but now wasn't the time to consider things like irony, or sarcasm, or even thoughts about Impressing.
Funny. They had just been told, during the visit to the sands, that no one was likely to die. Now here she was, making sure that no one did.
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Post by Frangipani on Mar 23, 2012 5:09:08 GMT -5
Odowen was beginning to struggle maintaining focus. Standing here, watching everyone show up was trying on his patience – although the moving eggs was beginning to interest him. Maybe he should focus on that. Then again… He looked back up at Waroth, the red one, hopeing against hope she would not lunge towards the male candidates again. He had to admit his heart had leapt into his mouth at the time and he wasn’t entirely certain he would be able to maintain control of his bladder if she did it again. He cast a sympathetic look towards the boy she had lunged at and considered him. Odowen had not really met too many of the other candidates yet. He spied his new roommate in the crowd and managed to see Ieco as well but other than that it was all a bit of a mess to him.
It was then he heard a crack. There was so much to see here that he couldn’t help gawking as the brown pulled itself out of its shell. He was stunned. Odowen had never seen anything like a dragonet hatch and he just stared, unashamedly as it headed towards the group. His heart hammered a little as it turned to him but he was soon passed over and he wasn’t too sure how he felt about that. Then again, if that wasn’t the dragon for him then he was hardly devastated. He watched its progress through the crowd and saw it settle on the boy who had been lunged at. Oh! Nice for him! He smiled and was about to clap but thought against it upon again surveying the angry red. Then another appeared – a pink and a red. He would be lying to say he wasn’t a little concerned – particularly when she shoved into her sister and began charging the group. Odowen clasped his hands behind his back, kind of wishing now that the whole thing would just be over and done with. He cast his mind back to Drip in the barrack, hoping she wasn’t making too big a mess of the room. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to leave her with a bucket of water…
Then a phrase came into his mind The rocking of eggs So sweet and divine If only that rocking Could be felt for mine
Perhaps it will one day Be felt by me still By the power of dragons Flying over my hill
He snorted in laughter. It was hardly good, heck he doubted that most of it even made sense! But he liked it that way. He looked about him, hoping no one had heard. Then again – all the more fun for him if they were confused by his laughter. Particularly in light of the injuries that were occurring everywhere. It seemed as though everything was resolving into chaos. Glorious glorious chaos. Probably not too appropriate to grin maniacally at the point though.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Mar 23, 2012 5:31:25 GMT -5
What can I do? L'xon, what can I do? I am here. I am strong. Don't think that way. I am here.
Each word burnt closer to him than the last, the frightened dragonet pulling him back from his own reaction. Halventh was not all need: he did not like where L'xon's thoughts were going, so he dragged the young man's mind elsewhere. He was right about his proximity. L'xon could feel that big heart beating with his own, fast and heavy, but steady. Steady.
He stopped trying to dig his fingers into the sides of his skull. He stopped dragging his hands against his hair, and pulled them out of the mess he'd made. L'xon opened his eyes and tried to face Rennin again. She looked no better for the absence of further pillaging by the dragonet. He could see her small hand groping down her own wasted front, while Saia rocked to her feet nearby. The blueweyrling's shoulders hunched, quivering. Halventh's hum broke off into a keen somewhere above, and the shaking stopped.
We can't do anything.
But-
It's alright.
L'xon slipped into damage control. He shut down Halventh, and began murmuring the blue compliments till an uneasy hum rejoined the others. Though the communication was all mental, L'xon's lips moved faintly as he watched the girl bleed out.
---
Q'sis restricted his watch over Saia to the moment the red first made contact with her to the moment it left. Her flailing around indicated considerable liveliness after the fact, so there was no concern but for her intelligence, which had exhibited a precipitous drop from the moment she had apparently left the Barracks without proper footwear.
He surveyed the remaining eggs for the most prophetic quakes in their shells. The brown- he was quite certain the hatchling was a brown, despite his strange hue -had already Impressed. The pink appeared strong enough for its size, and durable to survive the scrape with the red. Pinks were to be monitored, if Agnith's talents were any evidence.
He considered briefly the notion that the mauled bait Saia had hauled in with her might attract more starving dragonets. The smell of bubbling blood could be intoxicating to those that didn't know better. But hatchlings were characterized first by stupidity, and second by hunger. Aside from the reds, and some greens, they did not seem inclined to attack people. They were just masters of the accidental.
The tanweyrling looked to his female counterpart when her own feelings on the matter surpassed the surrounding din. He greeted her with a flat smile and some advice:
"It is to be expected from the reds. They are monsters. That's all there is to them."
---
Flakes of snow steadily coated Ekuda as he continued to lie in the Bowl, a cough and a skip from the main Sands entrance.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on Mar 23, 2012 7:25:46 GMT -5
As Waroth lunged at him Ceserat couldn’t help yelp with surprise and almost stepped back but stumbled a little on his robes but at least managed to keep his footing. A small whimper later and a mental nod of his head as he listened to Waroth’s warning. There were tears in his eyes but he tried to blink them away. It wasn’t his fault that he’d fallen. Well, maybe it was… But he couldn’t help the state of his clothes. It had been snowing outside, did she want him to control the weather and dry the ground? At the thought, Ceserat pushed it from his mind knowing that was not what she wanted. He felt faint and rocked a little back and forth, eyes fixed on the red mother fearfully but at the first sign of a crack, eyes darted down to the first egg.
The brown had a steadiness Ceserat was sure he would never be able to accomplish and he marvelled at the dragonet. He’d never been on the sands but suddenly the terror left him at the sight of a new birth. As the dragon walked, Ceserat’s eyes followed the smooth movements. He seemed to know what he wanted. It was something Ceserat had never been able to do, make decisions for himself. He didn’t rightly know what to think of it. All he knew was that he wasn’t feeling as fearful as he had been and had even stopped flicking his eyes back to Waroth as the brown walked towards the males. He knew nothing of superstitions or even what to expect but this was a hatching, and irrespective of what had happened, it was a marvel to watch.
At that moment there was more movement and a pink hatched onto the sands. She was beautiful but the sound she was making… Well, it was not. He supposed she was a young dragon anyway so it was not surprising but it sounded rather like it hurt and even made his own throat feel sore.
At that moment, Ceserat felt a jolt of fear, nerves and excitement as the brown walked closer towards him. In a moment, he settled and the man’s jaw dropped as he heard a voice in his head causing him to jump visibly and look around as though expecting Waroth’s face to be leaning over his shoulder. It is always best to be optimistic, even if we must prepare for the worst. Perhaps I can help you with those preparations, though, C'atMine? If you like; The rainbow swirls held his attention as he stared at the dragon and a name came unbidden to his mind. Deretsoth… And would you mind leading your Deretsoth to food, C'at?
Food, yes, the hunger filled him now as though it was his and Ceserat… No, he was C’at now… The man stumbled forward realising for perhaps the millionth time in his life just how lucky he was. Hearing some calls from the stands, he looked over and saw the small form of his sister and brothers waving at him. He had not even been aware that they had arrived to watch. Your family is important to you. That is good. You should focus on that for the moment for we will have tough times one day. “Well… Y-yes… Food…?”
He spotted W’al and looked sidelong at his dragonet and then walked over to the buckets. Deretsoth neared the buckets and with measured, graceful movements began eating from C’at’s hand. “You… Chose me…?” Yes I did. You needed me and I needed you. I can feel the joy in you at the moment but also disbelief. You should concentrate on optimism. “Ok…” C’at was still not used to the mindspeaking.
Meanwhile on the sands, Tedaon was very aware of the chaos but knew that he could not enter the sands to help. As always, he was close to the sands not on them but close enough that he could jump in and assist if it were bidden but the mauled candidates he could not assist and images of Delgar’s death flashed in his mind as one of the males was knocked to the ground. “I don’t much care for reds.”
Two girls went down but Ondine, the apprentice healer, quickly set to assisting her comrades. Tedaon watched her movements with interest and a professional gaze. He hoped dearly that she would be safe but her friends seemed to rally around and it appeared to be that she was safe for the moment. Hopefully the red would not set her sights on the pink.
Yeth Devath. It ith very good of you that you chothe him. I wath pleathed that you thaw him that day. Why did she keep speaking to him? Truthfully although Hephaeth complained about the cyan bespeaking him... He didn't honestly mind deep down and actually enjoyed the company of the younger dragon.
[/blockquote]
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266
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Post by Lan on Mar 23, 2012 14:57:34 GMT -5
The sandals fiasco over, or so Nimara had thought, she was able to concentrate more on the eggs of Kalith's that had begun to hatch. The first was a brown, a good omen in her book. A nice, solid brown would bring much-needed stability in the face of the two ireful Queen Mothers. The second was a pink, further bringing a smile to her face. Waroth merely scoffed, but Nimara rather liked pinks. They were sweet and gentle things. Even the one pink that Waroth had began her vendetta against was friendly and kind; she couldn't help that her rider was a bit of a odd one.
Fermillionesca, too, watched the dragons with much hope. A grin crept up the sides of her face as the brown Impressed to the poor boy the red mother had charged upon earlier. Good for him! She flashed him a toothy smile, not that he could see from all the way down the line, and then set her sights on the pink left on the sands.
Then the red came. Nimara bit her lip nervously. There was a pang in her heart as she worried for the candidates that stood in line, awaiting the red's judgment. Reds, despite the small difference in color, were never kind and they were never friendly. There would be maulings tonight, and Nimara was not looking forward to witnessing them. Her breath caught as the red sought her first victims: Rennin and Saia.
Fermillionesca couldn't help but feel a shiver creep up her spine as her eyes fell upon the decimation the red caused first on the pink and then on her fellow candidates. "Shards!" She whispered under her breath, but held her ground. Rennin and Saia; she had seen them before, although they had spent no great amount of time together outside of lessons. Still, her heart went out to them. From what little she had seen of Weyrs, reds were just a menace. They maimed and growled and, while Fermillionesca might have admired their ability to strike fear into their opponents, they seemed far from useful. She certainly hoped NOT to Impress to this creature that had already maimed two of her fellow candidates. It was hardly a life she desired for: babysitting.
On Waroth's side there was action as well. The dappled gray egg was oscillating violently now and had rolled its way so that it was almost upon the line of candidates. It then paused and began to twitch and creak, as if something was attempting to scratch its way out. So close now! So close! The tiny dragonet could almost feel the freedom of the outside!
All of a sudden, the largest egg of Waroth's clutch burst open in a violent act, sending shards of egg in all directions. Standing there, coughing and then breathing heavily, was an orange-eyed green of pale skin. The goo of her eggs still clung to her body and she decided she hated it. She shook herself, sending tendrils of goop over the smallest brown egg next to her. As the heat of the sands began to dry her, the pattern of her skin and her overall shape became more apparent. She was indeed a pale green, and a large one at that. She carried more bulk than her like-colored sisters and had a longer, whip-like tail as well. Darker green swirled across her body in chaotic patterns, giving her a sort of rex-like appearance.
She snarled, setting her sights on the candidates and noticing the smell of blood on two of them already. Well, that wouldn't do! Already she was behind in this morbid contest. She took several steps toward the female candidates, snarling. It was only then that the gray, dappled egg finally released its captive.
A dark-colored, magenta-like pink rolled out of her egg and then took to her feet immediately. Her legs were a bit short when compared to the rest of her angular body, but seemed more than fit to carry her in a weaving motion in and out of the male candidates. She rammed right into the back of Odowen's knees with such speed as to knock him over and went tumbling past him on the sands herself. Oops! Well, that wouldn't do! She cooed and ran two circles around him, then turned on tail to head toward her large mother.
Waroth snarled at her, sending her running again. The pink seemed highly unfazed, otherwise. Nothing would spoil her fun! She moved toward the female candidates now, passing by her green sister. The green snarled and made to lung at the pink, but missed by mere centimeters. She roared her displeasure. It wasn't FAIR! In that moment she hated the pink. She wanted the pink to DIE! Still, she was too quick, so the green set her eyes on the next best thing: Rhikail. The green lunged at her, tackling her to the ground so she could tear a gash in the girl's arm with her teeth. Then, as quickly as she descended, she left, seeking another victim.
The pale green dashed down the line and noticed a male near the victims of her cousin red. She crouched low, preparing to pounce. Then, with a sharp battle cry, she lunged at Laushi, aiming for his legs. Her infant-small claws then scratched at his legs like needles, dragging long and parallel lines this way and that in the topmost layer of his flesh. Then, as quickly as she had descended upon him, she was gone again, spinning out of the way so that she was now on Kalith's side of the sands.
All the while the tiny brown egg's occupant was working steadily and consistently to break free. The pink, that had since grown bored with the candidates, had taken to running circles around the brown egg. She was convinced that she could catch her tail and refused to give up until she had!
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RavenSong
Jr. Weyrleader
songct[M:-364]
Posts: 710
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Post by RavenSong on Mar 23, 2012 15:36:35 GMT -5
A brown was the first to hatch. A smile broke out on Finavair's face. A male that strong was a good omen, she thought the rule went, but knew that a King hatching first was a better one. She watched the calm hatchling traverse the boys' section until he stopped before Ceserat... C'at now, she supposed, not noticing the pink yet. Then a red hatched. That definitely caught the girl's attention. This couldn't be good, reds were volatile and Finavair knew it. She tensed up, watching the red.
Finavair was not a girl that was easily frightened. However, the red charging at Laushi, Rennin and Saia scared her. She was instantly glad she'd decided to get away from them and decided that she was going to get further away as soon as she could. The second the red was distracted by the pink -- the pink that Finavair decided was a queen in her own right and a very good dragon indeed -- she rushed into the boys' section. Screw protocol, she wasn't getting mauled. She glanced over at Saia and Rennin as others scrambled to help them. Finavair was aware that she knew very little about how to help beyond basic first aid, and it looked like that was covered so she decided there was no point in assisting.
The Candidate watched the red and pink square off. Fina's attention was fixed primarily on the pink, but she knew the red could turn and attack at any time. The arrival of a new, murderous green and a spastic pink drew Fina's attention off the red and pink. The green attacked Rhikail, then Laushi got mauled again. Finavair winced in sympathy for them, certain that having dragonets go after you was one of those things that made you wonder if this life was really the one for you. For her, watching two dragons go after one person was one of those things. The dark pink's antics soon caught Finavair's eye, though. A dragonet, chasing her tail? How silly. How absolutely adorable! She straightened her robes and waited.
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Post by laushi on Mar 23, 2012 15:42:57 GMT -5
Blood. His blood, her blood..blood all over the place. Peachy. Laushi had started to try to apply his belt as a tourniquet for Rennin’s thigh, blood soaking the fabric with alarming speed. Rennin was also speaking to him…apologizing for losing his sandal of all things. And she was messing around with her injuries…Laushi knew what he was looking at…shock.
”It’s fine, I don’t care about the shoe. Just…try to stay still..and don’t touch the injuries. Yes, I know I'm bleeding. I'll be fine.” he commanded hoping his tone would cut through the some of the shock. It was at this point that the boy registered Saia’s arrival. She said his name, and he drug his gaze over to look at her pained expression for a second before taking the offered belt. ”Thanks…your legs?” he said while taking in a shuddering breath and turning back to his efforts to aid Rennin, waiting to hear how bad her legs were as he tried to work on slowing Rennin’s bleeding. He kept picturing the smiles and thank you’s the two girls had given him moments before the mauling started, there was no way he was going to let anyone die without a fight.
More arrived. A girl he did not know who appeared to have a good amount of healing knowledge was given a medical bag by a firelizard who popped out of no place. The healer-candidate gave him an order to put his belt back on and apply pressure to his hip. Because she had better supplies now Laushi obeyed, staggering to his feet with some effort. He pulled his robe up from mid-calf to knee height, folding the fabric into itself at his hip before tying the blood stained belt tightly around his hips with a hiss of pain. Makeshift pressure bandage anyone?
A male candidate…Seta if he remembered from chores and classes…was speaking, giving orders and asking questions. Normally, Laushi would have shown irritation at being given orders from someone not qualified; he had an issue with authority figures who had not earned his respect. But in this case wisdom prevailed and Laushi knew there was no logical reason to argue when the request made since…he wasn’t THAT stubborn. He was already on his feet now so the question ‘could he stand’ was already answered. Laushi handed Saia back her sash so the girl could use it to wrap one of her legs then glanced at Seta. Laushi had one hell of a pain tolerance, something that was going to be tested even more before the hatching was over.
“Got it covered.” he said taking a spot on the other side of the girls to help Seta more fully guard Rennin, Saia and Ondine. ”Good orders, are good orders regardless of who they come from.” he assured his fellow male candidate softly, letting the boy know there were no hard feelings over the orders. For a few seconds, all was relatively calm…and then two more eggs hatched. A cute kind of stubby legged Pink…and a large light hued green. The pink he had no concerns over. The green however looked ticked…not an expression he would have guessed would be on a newly hatched green. And the green rushed the candidates, causing Laushi to cuss loudly in disbelief. First the green attacked a girl and knocked her to the ground biting at the girl’s arm. And then, the green decided to pounce on him. Laushi could see it coming the posture, like it was getting ready to pounce.
Once again…he couldn’t move. With the downed Rennin behind him, an injured Saia and a feverishly working Ondine…he literally could not afford to move. So again he sucked in a breath and steeled himself, this time turning slightly to the left so his non injured leg was latched onto. Long bloody lines were drawn down across his flesh, they stung but he was relatively sure the cuts were shallow and looked worse than they were in truth…likely for other watching though, it would have seemed much more severe.
There was no way he was going to go down like this, they would have to try a lot harder to kill him...he had lived through worse already. The punishment he was receiving only steeled his will to not be moved and protect those behind him from the same punishment. Laushi shook his leg to try and dislodge the insane green, and she leg go…
”Son of a Sharding, wherrybrained, crackdusted, shaved bovine from the frozen polkadotted Between!” he snarled ignoring the blood on his leg entirely Laushi went over his options mentally. If he moved Rennin, and the other two would be exposed. And what of the other dragonets? The red was still wandering, and two pinks. The pinks would be fine…the red. That thing honestly worried the crud out of him! ”I. Am. Having. A. Very. Bad. Night.” he snarled under his breath to no one in particular while he tried to keep an eye on all of the current dragonets wandering the sands and the eggs that might soon spill more.
So far one thought kept tearing through his mind 'what in the frozen between was wrong with those hatchlings?!' he had been told Maulings happen but were relatively rare. Rare his hind end. Scratch that...hopefully not his hind end...his hip and legs were plenty.
ooc: I hope I didn't forget anyone! Lots going on lol.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Mar 23, 2012 15:47:51 GMT -5
Numbweed was enough to lessen some of the pain making her feel so disconnected with reality – it was hard to consider a body her own when she couldn’t really even clearly define her extremities. But numbweed – that was good stuff. Excellent stuff.
It was enough to get her head back up and her eyes open, looking in fascinated horror as one of the other Candidates. Ondine – dragonhealer, a distant, fuzzy part of her mind seemed to whisper – worked on cleaning and sewing some of the long, bleeding gashes in her body.
Several things started clicking in her mind as the numbweed more and more started doing its job, letting Rennin gather up the wispy fragments of her scattered attention. She was… laying down on the Sands. They hurt, but that wasn’t the part that was bothering her.
She missed the crack of Waroth’s eggs, but the pale green dragon appearing nearby and tearing at Laushi made her, for one brief instant, totally convinced that Oracle was here, awake, and somehow huge. And murderous, of course, but that was typical. Logic quickly reasserted itself, but Rennin still watched the angry, pale green move off warily.
She looked around, at Ondine, at Saia, at the rest of the people gathered around her, and then at the hatchlings roaming the Sands. Ohhh, that was what was wrong.
“Need… need to be standing,” she muttered, levering herself up with her questionably good arm, getting first into a sitting position, then to her knees, and finally, strugglingly, to her feet, despite the inevitable protests of those around her. Swaying, the bleeding starting to clot up and slack off from all but the deepest wounds and the arm attached to her cracked collar tucked carefully along her freshly stitched belly, she stood barefoot on the hot sand and looked around.
“Are…are you all right? Saia? Laushi?”
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Lan
Weyrlingmaster
lanct[M:-1025]
Nomming ALL the kidpets!
Posts: 1,266
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Post by Lan on Mar 23, 2012 16:03:33 GMT -5
A'lan, too, was in the stands watching the antics of the dragons and their mothers. He had come prepared with gauze and numbweed salve and redwort and other necessary precautions so that when someone get mauled, as they were bound to, he could rush to their aid. Between the copper and red mothers there was bound to be some casualties, he knew. He remembered back to Irith's hatching, which was far more dangerous to the hatchlings themselves. He hoped that the dragons would not be wounded or killed this time. The whiterider had no wish to relive his Standing experience of watching so many of those wonderful beasts die.
As the red hatched he immediately got up. Yep, that was his cue to start heading down. Before he could get there, though, already three candidates had been assaulted and now the red and her sister were squaring off in some kind of showdown. He stopped at the edge of the sands, not daring to move on just yet as he had no desire for either Kalith or Waroth to remove one of his limbs. Instead, he would prepare at his station here and maybe send someone else to retrieve the casualties for him. It was then that he came up with a cunning plan.
Irith? Can you do me a huge favor? He felt the white dragon stir from his place where he, too, was watching that hatching. He was probably with Jarith, but A'lan cared little to find out the dragon's exact whereabouts in the cavern. He knew Irith would be safe and that was what mattered. Can you tell Delilah's Agnith to have her meet me here as soon as possible? The healer could not catch sight of where she was from his place at the bottom of the stands. I am greatly in need of her assistance.
Oh Agniiiiiith! Irith's voice came a moment later to the pink. Mine needs Yours. Yes. He says it's urgent, so whenever she can she should coooooooooome help him out. Yes! He cooed in his effeminate way and then retreated from her mind only after showing her where his rider was down near the sands. Meanwhile, A'lan moved to where L'kie was asking the Weyrlingmaster about the status of how far the healers were allowed to venture so that when the order was given he would be ready. Hopefully Delilah would get there in time to assist him. If she was preoccupied, though, he would certainly manage.
|| EDIT : Tag Cath!
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Ruin
Wingrider
ruinct[M:-786]
We build the worlds we wouldn't mind living in
Posts: 1,137
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Post by Ruin on Mar 23, 2012 16:51:31 GMT -5
Delilah’s motions alerted him that events on the Sands had gone sour, and when the Red cavorted viciously through the Candidates, including Saia in her sweep of terror. Predators. He had known this was a possibility when he Stood, but it had not transpired, but now—now the sands ran red in places from the attack. The large man was on his feet alongside Delilah, but where she had a purpose, he simply had emotions—there was nothing he could do to help, not down there. Teeth gritting, he turned to move around the Pinkrider and make way for her charge down the Stands, only to be confronted by a very large Starfall and a swooning Day’ar. ”I can send the flits for a skin,” he said simply, moving around the woman’s smaller frame and sitting down beside his queasy-looking friend. For a moment, the man was going to jest that Day’ar had again overdressed, but his eyes caught sight of the sandal Starfall had brought as a prize. Briefly his mind turned, and then he recalled the hobbling pair—the mauled pair. The plot had thickened.
Steadying the Viridianweyrling with his hands, he reached out mentally for his Baro and Sigard; the appeared above him a respectful distance from Day’ar, seemingly understanding that for once they did not have permission to torment the man as they usually were wont to do. Water, boys, quick as you can, he thought at them, images passing between them of cool liquid and supple leather; they would be more likely to complete the carry in tandem, and Sebol had little doubt that Avsiran would join them if there was need. Starfall chose that moment to make off with her prize, and he watched after her for a moment before his attention returned to his friends. ”I can watch after him if you need to go,” he said softly, not bothering to affirm what he knew had transpired on the sands with a glance. She was a healer, and though Day’ar was obviously hurting, he was in no threat of dying from his injuries. Looking past Delilah, Sebol’s eyes sought Gess, ”we’ll both watch him.”
Even as he spoke, the Red’s eggs began to hatch, and it took only moments for the sounds to alert the dragonless man that yet another mauling was taking place. Certainly they would need all hands down there now. This time he did not look to confirm what everyone was seeing, he felt no great urge to witness more blood loss, instead he maintained his calm observation of Day’ar, measuring how the man was doing. The newborn had not yet finished her tirade when the trio of firelizards appeared above their head, two Blues and a Brown. They delivered the skin deftly, dropping it into the lap of their bonded man before taking themselves off to join whichever dragon they happened to be favoring as a perch. Sebol sniffed the open mouth to ensure they hadn’t brought a strong gift of alcohol, and held the water out to his friend. ”It’s cold,” he supplied.
*-----------*------------*
Dora had been expecting a respite; that perhaps the sisters would sort out their differences as siblings did and then carry on as they were intended: To Impress and love not hate and destroy, but when the Red’s brown egg shattered exposing an orange-eyed terror, the fair-faced girl felt a terror of her own. Something was wrong here, something had set off these poor creatures before they had even been born. Was it their presence here days ago to touch the Sands? Was it their thoughts? Surely dragons didn’t simply go around mauling people—yet in this case, they seemed to. Before the Green could advance further, a Pink hatched, but the illusion had been broken for Dora. Instead of giving in to her urge to watch and enjoy the beauty of new life, she immediately wondered if the clutchsiblings would be upon one another—or upon them. For one long moment it seemed like the Pink would be allowed to choose hers, but then she came too close to her upset sister in her travels and set the Green off.
That motion was like a spark to kindling, and Dora had to bite back a gasp as the fledgling threw herself upon the nearest Candidate and began following in the clawmarks of the Red. Dora closed her shaking hands tighter around her sister’s arm. They had all been ushered out and set between the clutches like a veritable serving tray, but that wasn’t how it was supposed to be! They were supposed to be served as prospective partners, not…toys to mutilate and discard. What had they gotten themselves into? Oh, she knew her sister could not have anticipated this, and had only wanted what was best for them, but instead of Standing with the hope that they could be better than they were, the only hope she felt was that they survived as they were. It was the smallest blessing that they weren’t in the thick of things, but she knew that luck could sway at any moment with them locked as they were between the clutches.
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Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
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Post by Kestrel on Mar 23, 2012 17:13:40 GMT -5
Well, the hatching started out well enough. Kaliko had a few precious moments, at least, to lose herself in pure innocent joy of the humming dragons, the rocking eggs, and finally, the appearance of the hatchlings themselves. A brown, and oh, a pink! Kaliko could barely stand still, and was only able to keep herself in place by diverting her energy into tugging at her candidate robes instead. The sands were hot, but she barely noticed—it was almost too much for the girl to process just with the dragons everywhere, and the eggs, and candidates all around.
Oh, and another one was hatching—look, a red! Wait…reds. Weren’t reds…? Yep, apparently a red’s anger wasn’t proportional to size, because the little one seemed just as angry as the big one that the candidates were careful not to get too close to. Kaliko’s guard instincts were firing electrically all throughout her nerves, and she glanced around at the other candidates with her almost protectively, but she gritted her teeth. Dragons were not to be harmed, especially not baby dragons, no matter what they did, or who they might hurt. The candidatemasters had been able to impress that much upon her, at least.
Still, it was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do to just stand there when the red charged at some of the candidates near her, including Laushi, the boy she’d met so long ago at Gejami. All those turns of protecting people, and now she just had to stand here and watch them be hurt? It didn’t seem right. It didn’t seem right at all. That red needed a good punch in the nose, that’s what she thought. But if any of the candidates did anything to harm a dragonet, one of their big, angry mommas might fly off the handle and make a go at the candidates themselves—and they could do a whole lot more damage than the hatchlings.
One hand was balled into a fist and the other was squeezing it, both so tight that her scarred knuckles bulged out like blunted teeth. But she waited until the angry red, and then the green, had moved away before she moved over toward the injured girls, and Laushi. She was no healer, but maybe there was something she could do to help out, right?
“Hey.” She glanced out at the sands just long enough to see that the red appeared to be busy with a staredown with the pink before turning back to the other people. “If you need another hand for anything, I can help out.” She looked warily at Rennin as the injured girl stood up. “You alright, there? People bleeding that much don’t usually stand up too well, not in my experience,” she said thoughtfully. “But I wouldn’t want to lie on them sands either. If you’re needing any help keeping yourself up, I can help. I don’t mind a little blood.” Or a lot of blood, as the case may be. Shards, and she’d thought she’d seen it all in the jungle! Some of these hatchlings were worse than the lions.
----
Oh wherryfeathers. Viyeri had just known that the hatching was not going to be all rainbows and happy times, not with a red and a copper (and worse—a red and a copper’s children) sharing the sands. But he hadn’t quite expected it to devolve into senseless violence quite so quickly. What in Faranth’s name had ever possessed him to accept the offer to become a candidate? Sure, being in a weyr made for great opportunities, but not if he couldn’t even survive his first hatching!
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a long breath before opening them again and returning to watching the hatchlings. He may have hated stress and danger, but at least Viyeri was no stranger to them, and there wasn’t really anything he could do at the moment but wait it out and hope that no one died, at the very least. There were healers here—he could see at least one going to work on the injured girls a ways down the line from him, where all the people were clustered around. He wondered briefly if he should help, but he shook his head slightly.
No, he was no healer, nor did he have any sort of skills that would make him useful in a situation like that. He would just be one more body taking up space and breathing up air, looming over the injured candidates probably doing more harm than good. He would stay where he was for now, and just hope for the best. There was really nothing he could do.
Viyeri’s eyes widened as a boy—that annoying one he’d had the misfortune to be splashed by down at the lake some time ago—was knocked over near him. “Are you all right?” he asked, prepared to give him a hand since he was standing fairly close to Odowen. At least in his case it appeared the blow was accidental—fortunately, not all the dragonets were as bad as the green and the red. The pinks both seemed sweet, if a little over-exuberant, in the darker one’s case, and that brown had seemed like a fine, calm, sturdy fellow. He just hoped the other ominously-rocking eggs contained more hatchlings like them, and not more little fireballs, lest all the candidates be doomed to blood loss and limblessness.
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Cathaline
Lady Holder
cathct[M:50]
Posts: 3,279
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Post by Cathaline on Mar 23, 2012 18:35:04 GMT -5
A grateful smile was Seta's reward for his prompt arrival, but even if Saia could have moved enough right now to hug him, she knew such displays were a big no-no on the sands. So far Kalith and Waroth were preoccupied with their own children, but it was definitely not unknown for a dam to take exception to Candidates and strike them down. "Thank you," she said, taking his sash - so many sashes changing hands right now! - and she bent to hastily lash it around the nastiest of her wounds. Most of them wouldn't bleed for much longer.
Ondine had no compunctions about the proper behaviour of healers during a hatching, Saia saw. She kept one eye on events and one on the group beside her. Rennin had to be okay - she just had to. They'd been Candidates together for over a turn and it wasn't fair.
It was no surprise that at least one of Waroth's eggs contained a miniature monster, really. The pink was adorable, but Saia's attention was arrested by the green's movements, especially when she mauled Rhikail and then came after Laushi. Saia bit her lip, knowing she couldn't truly defend herself if she was next to come under fire, though she would do her best for her friends if she could. But she'd already failed to take so much as a step toward Laushi. Her feet were rooted to the ground because she had the awful, ugly feeling that even the slightest twitch of a toe was going to completely unbalance her. And she had to stand.
Even Rennin understood at last, and Saia reached a hand toward her, secretly hoping her friend wouldn't take it, because she didn't think she could stand the pressure. Oh, good, she didn't, and Saia instead handed the sash she hadn't yet used right back to Laushi again so he could use it instead. At this rate they would all be naked by the time they finally escaped this nightmare, and the thought made her giggle through the fog of agony that had settled over her mind.
-----
Starfall, absconding through the snow, trod on Ekuda's prone body. She paused briefly for the sole purpose of investigating his pockets with her feelers and, finding nothing of interest, moved on.
-----
Delilah sighed over Day'ar, who was still conscious but making little, fretting mumbles. She had no idea if he'd quite lost his mind or not, but it was understandable; Rennin was his particular friend, and Delilah was quick enough on the uptake to realise that Starfall was to blame for at least part of this fiasco. Heedless of what the viridianrider might like, she started to undo his top jacket. "I don't know why he must come here of all places with so many layers," she muttered.
Oh, Delilah! Irith is calling us! He, um, says we're needed! Urgently![/i]
Well, she couldn't ignore a direct summons. Thrusting Day'ar firmly into Sebol's grasp, she said, "I'll bring them back." It wasn't a promise any healer could make, ever, but Day'ar needed to hear it - that the girls and the rest of the Candidates would be okay.
With that, she hurried down through the stands to A'lan's side, looking to L'kie, who had clearly just been speaking, though she'd missed his words.
Day'ar was highly suspicious of anything brought to him by the flits, and he tentatively sipped at the water, trying to do his jacket back up. Rennin was going to die, and it was all his fault, and this was unquestionably the worst hatching ever. He cringed as the angry green tore into a boy right next to her, briefly averting his eyes. It wasn't helping that Ambrith was annoyed, up on the ledges. Look at this impropriety,[/i] he commanded. Just look. It is as well that Deretsoth Impressed and left, because none of these females are remotely suitable.[/i] It was just a fact that they were all females, not a misogynistic statement, but it still made Day'ar wince, because his girl was down there bleeding to death.
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Rii
Wingleader
riict[M:420]
RP demon hungers...
Posts: 803
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Post by Rii on Mar 23, 2012 18:47:40 GMT -5
No. No. This should not be happening. There ought to be some way to prevent this from happening. Some improvement on tradition. Some greater care in lessons and preparations. Something. Later he would sit and mull over it for candlemarks in his weyr. For now, G'dan resolutely turned away from the sands. His own private, gutwrenching horror at the maulings - when the worst he had witnessed were scratches during the Hatching where he had Impressed - would have to be suppressed until later. Now he looked up into Sebol's serious eyes, drawing some purpose, some resolution from the dragonless man. He found himself nodding before he'd even fully processed the words. "Go, Delilah. They'll need you there."
And Day'ar needed them there. The shy tinkerer found himself sliding past the others to claim the spot next to the viridianweyrling while Sebol gave him water. Without really thinking of it, he wrapped an arm around Day'ar's shoulders in a gesture of comfort and support. "It's okay," he murmured softly. "Take a deep breath, and let it go. The healers will help them. None of this is your fault. Promise."
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Ow. Shells, but she had forgotten how sharding hard Dora could grip when she was afraid. Elianne did nothing to free herself, though. She didn't like seeing these dragonets mauling people, if only for how much fear it gave her sister; if she had been on her own, perhaps she would have viewed all of this as a rather deadly, serious game. Alone, she could watch, and dodge at will, slippery as a packtail. But she would not step aside and put her beloved Dora into the path of danger instead. With each defiant thought, Elly straightened, her eyes glittering with determination. Come on. I won't fold my hand that easy. It was a hard bluff to make. But by the First Egg, she had brought Dora here. She would see them both Impress, or live happily until they aged out. You won't change me.
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princesal
Wingrider
salct[M:-100]
Poliwogging it up!
Posts: 429
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Post by princesal on Mar 23, 2012 19:05:39 GMT -5
He was freaking out.
No, really.
He was trying his best to keep a smile on his face, but it was weak, and breaking with every passing second. He was terrified with what was happening on the sands, and if it wasn't for the fact that he felt rooted to the spot, he would have bolted. He knew that was awful, and he had never felt the sensation of being a coward... but he had never had dragons ripping his fellow candidates to shreds. He wasn't strong enough for this, and he was starting to think that no dragon would want to impress to someone who was as scared as he was right now. Where was his mom? She would have been there to hug him, and tell him it was alright, or even to say it was alright that he wanted to give up. His father would support it, he knew the pain of being attacked, and wouldn't want his son to go through it. But... but that wasn't right. Because, deep down, even as scared as he was, he wanted to impress to a dragon so badly, he wanted to protect people. He didn't want others to see the same sadness in his own facial features, the same sadness he saw on his parents face when they looked at dragons sometimes. He was simple, but every now and then, certain things clicked with him, and that expression was heartbreaking. He'd rather be hurt in the process than give up without trying. Besides... he had never given up before.
He had just... never been so scared.
It felt strange, and wrong, to feel that much fear from baby dragons. They were suppose to make others happy, but he saw the candidate robes on others start to turn red, and it seemed that this time the dragons were either aggressive, or very... physical. He liked the pink, that sweet pale pink that was seemingly squaring off against the red, she was brilliant and beautiful, and a lot braver than he was at the moment.
Maybe it would be alright, maybe the red would impress, and... and be taken off the sands, and then people could relax again, but then an egg hatched and showed a green. Having been asked before, he never would have considered greens to be violent dragons. But... but this was like no other green he had ever seen. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do, and... and she was in the male candidates again, and she was attacking Laushi. It was utter chaos, and out of fear, he grabbed the person closest too him, which luckily happened to be Viyeri, and held on. He wished it was T'von, but he would to anything to keep him off the sands right now, he didn't want his best friend to get hurt. His fear had him squeezing Viyeri tight, not wanting to let him go, poor Viyeri. He didn't get attacked by a dragon at all, instead he was getting mauled by a Teriss.
----
Watching the chaos errupted below, W'lin tilted back and whistled low. This was bad, but he knew it happened. He knew the healers would help those wounded, and that if the candidates couldn't stand anymore, they would be taken off the sands, but to see it. It was... well... pretty horrific.
Of course, the fact that a candidate had come onto the sands like... well... he felt the world bubbling in his chest, and he and Chyurath both felt the same way.
Idiots.[/color]
Thought at the same time, W'lin shook his head.
and this is just the beginning... If they don't watch themselves, someone is going to be forecefully removed. I'm impressed those two are still standing. Shall we take bets on who will wet their robes first, W'lin? You are a horrible influence, Chyu.
The smug satisfaction the Iron sent through their link had W'lin fighting to hide his amusement. Instead his eyes were trained on the red and the pink facing off against each other. Now THAT was really interesting.
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kireon
Candidatemaster
kirct[M:-191]
Posts: 739
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Post by kireon on Mar 23, 2012 19:20:27 GMT -5
Taking action... yes... they are... more hatchlings...[/color] Wenth commented softly, eyes whirring as she leaned her head forward, trying to see more than she already was for her person. The near literal explosion of an egg surprised her enough to get a snort, temporarily interrupting her own distracted sounding dragonsong. She was a troubling one, yes... that Green was angry too, like the Red from Kalith's... she hoped they did not meet and fight with each other, that would be bad... yes... that would be very bad.
Aylina was caught off guard, momentarily distracted by the commentary on Reds, frowning at the bearded man. "Gotta be some kinda good side to 'em, other than bein' able t'have children, if they're kept." Her attention went back to the hatching, watching the Green she felt Wenth's silent sad-disapproval of when it came to temperment. Who's takin' action, Wenth? Ondine? She's helpin' the Candidates out. "'course I'm after figurin' you're right, ain't much positive t'see outta that little one." A slight incline of her head toward Waroth. "Candidatemaster Nimara though, she seems t'have hers under control." And was nothing like the red she'd Impressed, as far as she'd seen or heard in her time as a Candidate.
Ondine is helping... yes, she is helping. The others are helping if they can too... they are trying to work together.[/i]
Lemme see, look over toward them, would ya, please? She asked her dragon, feeling oddly disoriented as what Wenth saw was projected to her. Huh, so they were, sorta. One boy had clearly put himself in front of that Ondine girl, and kept checking for a sign of an attack. She saw his mouth move a little, like he was walking, saw the tight smile on his face. "Huh, looks like the Candidates down there're tryin' t'keep each other relatively safe now." There was strong approval in the tan weyrling's voice as she commented on the events, and then a scowl when the Green knocked down a girl, bit her and then attacked that one poor kid who'd gotten attacked before.
"That impresses me some, ain' gonna lie 'bout that, thinkin' of any but yer own skin at a time like this? That takes guts an- Faranth, you're kiddin' me here, that girl's tryin' t'stand up!" Aylina's brown eyes widened in a way that rather resembled her Wenth's own large stare, mouth dropping open as Rennin finally managed to get herself to her feet despite her injuries. "That is one strong, stubborn girl," the blonde commented, absolutely amazed and rather proud despite her surprise. "I'm cheerin' for her t'impress somethin' real nice now. Hopefully 'fore she bleeds too much more an' has to be carried off the sands." She added, almost as an afterthought.
**
The smell of blood was disgusting, a hot copper smell that she didn't like at all. Too close to what heated metal smelled like. Too close to what she'd had stuck in her nose for too long now. Rhikail shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself as if chilled despite the heat of the sands. Her eyes darted, watching as two eggs from Waroth's clutch hatched- an extremely pale green that had quite possibly just exploded its way out of her shell, and a dark, stubby legged little pink stumbled her way out and accidentally knocked one of the male candidates over, a coo of apology following in her wake. Apparently her mother didn't care for her very much, as Waroth's roar made Rhikail jump even as the pink pretty much ignored her and scampered in the other direction.
Cute, but not blue.
The green, on the other hand, was something to worry about, and she watched the green lunge toward the happily doing her own thing pink- and miss. Uh oh. Dread filled her as the little roar from the green signalled bad things. "...Seta," the dark eyed girl called out, just barely loud enough for the boy to hear before she was hit head on. Her back and legs hit the ground, arm raised up to shield her face and throat with an alarmed, though determined look on her pale face.
She did not want to be killed. She had almost died once, she did not want to almost die again. Especially not in public, she would not disgrace her family like that! Apparently her arm was what the green had wanted anyway, and she screamed, a sound more of anger than in pain as sharp teeth ripped an ugly wound in her scarred arm. Just like that, the weight was off and the green was after someone else. Her eyes narrowed, "Laushi, look-" too late. Shell it. She fumed, rolling to her good arm and hissed at the burns, shuddering as she beat back memories of another kind of burning.
We are not in the fire. We are on the Sands, there is no fire. There is no fire. Get. Up. Now. We have to make sure Laushi and Seta and Ondine and Rennin and the others are okay. The stubborn blue loving girl told herself sternly, unaware of the tears slipping down her face until she felt them hit her collarbone. And Faranth, she was not going to cry! She dashed her tears away, ignoring the pain it caused her injured arm as she forced herself to her feet. She removed her sash, carefully, but clumsily, wrapping it around her injured arm. Ondine would look at it later, and it wasn't very bad, though she really wasn't looking at it either and was blatantly ignoring the blood dripping off her fingers.
Rhikail attempted to resettle herself, though shakily, back into place and continued keeping watch. "We're fine, keep your eyes out." She told Seta firmly, hoping she just sounded as fine as she was trying to make herself out to be.
**
Seta gave another, slightly less tense smile in return to Laushi. "Thank you," and it was a heartfelt expression of gratitude too. "I'd rather work together than work alone to keep as many of us safe as possible." And watched as more eggs hatched, the little stubby legged pink made him smile a little, little clumsy as she was. But the green that came out caused the smile to fade. Especially when she charged and attacked Rhikail, who went down with a scream of pain and anger. ...she has a temper? I thought she was just... nevermind an- SHARD IT! Rhikail's warning was too late, and the green went after Laushi, tearing at his legs before being shaken off and heading to terrorize someone else.
How many of these dragonets were insanely angry? If the whole of both clutches were like this...
No. He wouldn't think of the results that would bring, it'd be devastating for the Weyr and for the clutchmothers, especially if the dragonets Between'd after dealing the damage. The series of curses from Laushi made him want to laugh, to chuckle even a little bit because of the absurdity of it. "You're doing well, despite the bad night." Seta told the black haired boy, offering a worried, but otherwise encouraging smile. "We'll get through this, and I'll see if I can get a bubbly pie, or six." Because they were going to need it by the end of this. And a nice, long sleep.
Rhikail was insisting she was fine, and he felt himself pale as the sound of Rennin's voice came from behind him, and he turned. She was standing up. Rennin was standing up. "Take it easy," Seta cautioned, trying to keep his voice from sounding too sharp, too stern and too everything but calm. "we don't want you hurt anymore than you are right now."
Another candidate, Kali..Kaliko, or something like that, offered her wary services, and sounded like she was keeping an eye on Rennin too. Seta turned slightly to smile at her, clearly relieved that more and more of their Candidate class was shaking their shock off and hoping to help in some way. "If you can, Kaliko, help us keep look out and shout a warning if you see a charging, aggressive dragonet." He didn't want to put Rennin in the spotlight by asking the tall girl voicing her concern to guard her specifically. "We need all the eyes and lookouts we can get."[/size]
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Post by aikastarr on Mar 23, 2012 19:24:49 GMT -5
The first egg that Odelle could see hatched a softly-colored brown. Her eyes widened a bit as the goo dried and slid off his young body, in awe that such a pretty little baby could have come into the world. She had obviously seen dragons, yes, but not baby ones. They were. . . Endearing, in a way. He definitely had a certain grace about him. And then a pink hatched! Aww, she was so cute! A tiny smile cracked the candidate’s placid face, but it faltered when the pink tried to sing. She noted the green blood, yes. She didn’t know that it was going to affect the dragonet so much as to hinder her singing ability! But the little pink didn’t give up, no she didn’t! Odelle liked that in the pink. She just kept on making those little small noises, as if there wasn’t really a problem!
But then one of the larger eggs hatched to reveal a red. Hide dark as freshly drawn blood, temper like fire, she was a monster and seemed to know it. The young woman began to unconsciously worry at her bottom lip. The little red seemed about ready to rip apart anybody that she came near. Suddenly, the small – well, not exactly small, per say, considering the sub-queen was actually pretty big – dragonet was upon a candidate, and then another. The sound of claw meeting flesh made her stomach turn. Looking about worriedly, the girl tried to find her only friend as of late, Ieco. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to find him. More egg-shattering sounds were heard behind her, but they didn’t matter. She had to keep an eye on that red, for fear that she would be next on the seemingly blood-thirsty dragonet’s list.
With eyes trained on the commencing staredown between the red and the pink, she barely noticed the pink and green behind her. [/size]
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Admin
Administrator
brect[M:-2154]
Posts: 3,754
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Post by Admin on Mar 23, 2012 20:09:00 GMT -5
Summer gone, now winter's on its way, I will miss the days we had, The days we had, I will miss the days we had."Give it a second;" W'al told the healer, eyes fixed on Rennin and the again-bloodied Laushi. Saia looked like she would survive; she could still stand, so she was a lesser concern. "One second." Don't move to fast, he begged. No quick movements. Someone keep an eye on the red! And Waroth's green! His thoughts, of course, did no good. He glanced to the red, who was preoccupied in a staring contest. "Okay. Go now, but move through the candidates and be slow. And don't try to do more than necessary where she is; try to move her." Heavy bleeding would be far better than the red noticing any of the girls again, though W'al didn't say that out loud or even to Kerath. He instead turned to watch C'at and his brown, trying to gauge the pair as they got acquainted with each other. The dark brown egg continued to tremble until the shell at last gave way to the dragonet within it, sending the cyan tumbling onto the sands. She was small, knobbly, and pale, all knees as she lay against the hot sand. With slow, methodical movements, she got to her feet. Her gaze swept the cavern, but there was no emotion in her eyes. She could see the blood. She could smell it. On a professional level, it registered as a contaminate. She planned to avoid it, but on an emotional level, it stirred nothing. No fear. No agitation. She felt nothing for the green, the red, or either of the pinks. They meant nothing to her. As she sat on the sands, she was icily calm, an observer rather than a participant. If the red came near her, she would knock her tail over teakettle without a single thought, but for the time being, she simply sat and waited, content with herself. The mottled tan and orange egg had begun to crack. Bit by bit, the shell was chipped away by the dragonet within the egg and out he wiggled. He was a blue, darkly clad with chains of white streaked across his body. Much like the cyan, he observed the world more than he partook. However, he was also more reserved than his sister. He felt the pain of the candidates and he withdrew from them. He focused, reaching out and out, all across the Weyr. He heard the world rather than saw it. He heard it, the public thoughts of the chattering dragons. He heard the snow raining down outside the cavern. Above all the other sounds and voices, he heard one. He felt it and the voice hurt. He hated the pain. He hated being so sensitive and yet so unable to relate, but he had to go to the voice. Withdrawing into himself except for one tendril, reaching out to the voice, he ventured towards it. The voice was quieter than he would have liked. He wanted it to talk more. Any other voice would have bothered him if it talked more, but not this one. Not his voice. He was the listener and she was his voice. He was also hungry. The voice hurt, but the voice could fill the hole in his belly and this was very, very important. In fact, it was possibly more important than the voice. He truthfully just wanted to find the voice; once he knew where to find her, he would never lose the beautiful train of thoughts he heard, even if he flew a million miles away from her. Part of him want to be far away. The voice kept thinking about pain and he could understand simple emotions such as that all too well. The blue nosed his way right through the lines of candidates. They were blocking what he needed to find. He surveyed Waroth's side of the sands, pausing as he found what he wanted. Then he sighed, as if disappointed, and turned to go back the way he had come. He picked up a rock and once more pushed through the candidates. Shoving the attending healers out of the way as if he were nothing, the blue sat down beside Rennin and set the rock in front of her. This is Mr. Rock. You can talk to him while your Lamith is getting food; he informed the injured girl. You'll find him very similar to me. Don't worry. I know where to find you. He stood up, as if to leave, but then he didn't, lingering restlessly. I might miss you, however, though only a little. Do you think they could find a way to let me bring you with me?The gray egg near the front of Kalith's clutch disintegrated and a black slipped into the world, sliding on his belly to hide behind a small dune of sand. He peered over the lip at the red. She still stared down her sister, the fearless pink having confused the vicious dragonet. However, she had finally reached the end of her short rope. Frustrated, she shrieked and charged the pink, ignorant to everything else that was occurring. The pink scrambled to get out of the way, but she was too slow. The red pinned her tail, ready to kill. Kalith roared, but before the copper could move a muscle, a small form collided with the red at full speed, knocking her away from the pink. The black had come to save the day. Or at least kick the red in the face as punishment for being a nasty, evil villain. Freed by her brother, the pink scrambled toward the candidates. She would not waste this opportunity. She was not a warrior. She would not run from her sister, but she also would not fight the hateful beast. Weaving between the candidates, she stumbled and tripped. She was covered in ichor and sand, though she looked worse than she truthfully was and got to her feet in all of a second. On she went, ducking and weaving among the candidates. Most of them weren't for her, but there was one. There was one who was the compliment of her soul, one who could sing for her even if she wasn't very talented. There was only one who would stare down reds with her, even if they both perhaps knew it wasn't the best idea. There was only one candidate for her and she happened upon her by chance. Once again tripping over her battered, awkward limbs, the pink face planted, sprawling out near Lamith. The blue ignored her. The pink ignored him too; she was preoccupied with something personal. Oh, hello Ondine; she said in her chirruping mental voice. She seemed a touch surprised to have found the girl, but happiness soon replaced the shock. Your Dilath was looking for you, even if I wasn't going about it very well. Doesn't matter now! I need food! Let's go! The young pink had no idea where they were going, but that didn't matter, especially not when she was staring cheerfully up at her rider. Her tail beat the ground behind her, an expression of her excitement, the drumbeat of her happy heart. Lamith! You too! Let's go! The blue glanced at his sister but otherwise ignored her. She was loud. Elsewhere on the sands, the red was trying to dislodge the black from her back. He clung to her with reckless abandon, not about to let go; he knew his guerilla tactics would fail the instant she managed to get him on the ground. He wanted to protect Dilath, but like hell was he dying for her! While the pair tussled, the gray egg at the back of the clutch continued to rock. Across the way, the large orange-brown was also rocking, swaying with ferocity in the remains of Deretsoth's egg. Its pale grayish tan compatriot was twitching beside it, turning in a slow circle. Loving, leaving, it's too late for this now, Such esteem for each has gone, Has time driven our season away? Cause that's the way it seems.
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