Straddle the Line [CalKal Double Hatching!]

[Nia]

{desc=Callistath 4th and Kalesk 2nd}

As far as days went, Avalle had certainly seen worse. The sky was dreary and overcast, but it made no difference to the hot Sands of the Hatching Cavern. In fact, it actually made it a bit better to remain there. At least she wasn't wasting away a nice day. Not that Avalle had seen much of the world outside of her Weyr or the Records Room in a while anyway. That was perhaps another thing that made her not mind the Hatching Caverns so much; at least she wasn't required to socialize or talk to D'lios or anyone else who wanted to bother her. Disturbing Callistath, the Senior Queen, was not something anyone wanted to do, despite their reputation as of late. Kalenna also wasn't too bad to talk to, though the two Golds and Theirs usually tended to keep to themselves. If anything, it was a nice bonding experience for her and Kalenna. She hadn't really talked much to the Goldhandler, and this gave her as good an excuse as any.

If she had to guess, she'd say it was probably late in the day, but it was nearly impossible to tell with the dark clouds overhead. Callistath stirred slightly to adjust her position, nudging one the marbled cyan egg closer to the nest with her tail. One of the smaller eggs had fallen on its side, but Callistath made no move to right it. She informed Avalle that the dragonet inside prefered laying that way, so she didn't want to disturb him. They'd spent a lot of time talking about the dragonets inside the eggs and what they wanted.

The brunette leaned against her Gold and watched the eggs. They'd been sitting here for quite some time. She looked through the darkness for Kalesk's nest and smiled at the Gold and her Handler. It looked as though both clutches were going to hatch at the same time. She and Kalenna had discussed it beyond what they'd discussed with the Candidatemasters. Avalle tended to be very controlling of her Hatchings, but she didn't mind offering Kalenna and particularly Kalesk the keys. Kalesk was smaller than Callistath, and she could go into the Candidates and grab the babies easier than Callistath could. They'd mostly agreed to stay out of each other's way unless necessary. Kalenna was agreeable, though. They'd help each other out.

Avalle sighed and cracked her neck, looking back at Callistath's eggs to inspect them. She'd spotted some sort of movement. A twitch. The large, mottled green, blue and black egg had definitely twitched. The one that had fallen over. The other dark green large egg also gave a twitch, more noticable than the fallen egg's movements. Avalle straightened up and looked closer at the eggs. Callistath moved her head closer to her eggs too, watching as one egg after another began to rock and twitch. Nothing too pronounced, but it was still definitely there. It was starting.

The Senior Weyrwoman straightened up from the eggs and turned towards Kalenna. "They're starting to hatch." It was a casual statement, and one that Kalenna was sure to know already. Kalesk's eggs seemed as though they were occassionally twitching too, but it was too dark for her to really get a good look at them. They'd managed the glows so that it'd be bright enough for the dragon hatchlings while still dark enough to not damage the wher's eyes, but it was a lot darker than Avalle was used to. Callistath's hide glimmered in the low light anyway, making her look a little eerie in a way that- Avalle was pleased to note- might creep out some of the Candidates.

Callistath adjusted her position again, lifting her head from her eggs once she'd confirmed with Avalle that they'd both seen the same things. CANDIDATES, Callistath's call shouted through the minds of the Weyr, ALL Candidates. Come to the Sands at once. The eggs are hatching. The Senior Gold did not want to impose on Kalesk calling her own Candidates, but her words were phrased in a way that would be perfectly clear to everyone who had attended their lessons: both clutches were, indeed, hatching at the same time.

I enjoyed my time spent with you, Kalesk,

[/i] Callistath commented to the other Gold, shifting herself once more to unwrap her tail from her eggs to allow them more room to move and crack. We shall have to do this again sometime, she mused, as though they were both ladies at a tea party finishing off their last cup.

Avalle glanced at Kalenna through the darkness again, moving somewhat closer to the other woman as opposed to leaning on her dragon. It was going to be a long hatching, and with the mix of whers and dragons... it probably wouldn't be the safest thing. It would help to have someone to comment to, in order to keep herself sane as she watched. Someone other than a mother dragon, that is. She grimaced and watched the eggs shake and crack, with the original shaking egg cracking far more than the others. A large egg hatching first was normally quite a good sign for a Hatching, so perhaps it would all go well, and she wouldn't have an aneurysm about it.

Then again, it was Dalibor.[/blockquote][/size]

[Cathaline]

On Kalesk's half of the sands, several of the eggs were hinting that they would quite like to hatch now, please. The soft scratches of claws on the inside of shells was audible in the darkness of the wher-eye-proofed cavern, at least for now, while it was empty. The squat black egg on the left side jerked, then went still; the yellow one on the right rolled over a few inches.

So it was to be a dual hatching after all. Dragon and wher. Darkness and light. All sixty-plus candidates on the sands at once...

Kalenna glanced over at Avalle, and Kalesk quietly told the Candidatemasters and their charges, Whers hatch. All come here now.[/i] Once she had made the announcement, made sure there was no ambiguity and Her Candidates would be arriving shortly, she looked over to Callistath. Good to share sands with. Hope all eggs hatch.[/i] It was pointless to hope for more than that, Kalesk knew. She had not discussed the contents of her eggs with Kalenna, last time or this, but she had occasionally remarked to her fellow gold that roughly half of the nest...concerned her.

But it would be all right. Baby whers could do a great deal of damage, but Kalesk was not the sort to tolerate too much. Then again, with the mass of white robes now pouring into the sands, it might be a little difficult to corral a berserker...

If Newt waited too long, he would lose his nerve. He'd been waffling ever since Ausk's hatching about whether he'd be ready, but at the end of the day, ready or not, he had to go. It was a queen hatching. He wouldn't miss it for the world. As soon as the gold's voice sounded in his mind, he was up and out of bed, jamming his glasses onto his nose and throwing his robe on. Armor would've been a good idea, most likely, but it would take too long to put on, and he shuffled into his sandals. "Come on, come on," he told Letorin. "We gotta go or we'll end up at the back."

In fact, Newt was in such a rush to beat his anxieties to the hatching that he was able to snag a spot front row center. He would've preferred to be much closer to the wher nest, but Letorin was dragon-only, and Newt wanted to stand with his buddy. Not least because Letorin was perhaps the only person who had even the slightest inkling that Newt had doubts about whether or not he was well enough to attend, and if something happened, he'd prefer to be close to his roommate.

Bowing to Callistath and Kalesk, he said, "Thank you both for allowing me to stand." Kalesk briefly inclined her head to him, and privately told Kalenna, Shouldn't be here. Head broken.[/i]

Do you want me to get rid of him?[/i]

No. Maybe crazy baby want him. Better crazy baby and broken man than wild baby.[/i]

Dairine was much more measured and sensible. She'd procured a light leather cuirass, which she buckled on under her white robe; it made her thin frame look curiously bulky, but it would be worth it if it saved her from spilling her guts on the sands. She wasn't afraid of violence, not really, but she still proceeded sedately to the cavern and took a spot on the far left, near the back.

Jazz remained in the Candidate Barracks until the last of them had been wrestled into their robes, talked off a ledge if necessary, and shooed on their way to the sands. She made one more pass before jogging after them to take up her position. So many eggs, so much capacity for disaster. She gave Yuri a nod and leaned against the edge of the stands, watching warily, ready to give orders if necessary.

Fahra went to pick up Cambyses and Samara, and ended up with only the latter, and Valdis, of course. "My husband will procure other transport this time," Samara told the greenrider. "How is your sister?"

"Coping," Fahra said honestly. Well enough that, this time, Fahra felt capable of attending the hatching rather than sitting at Fajra's side. Not least because if she kept hovering, her sister would smack her one.

Samara soon reconnected with Cambyses in their usual spot, and surveyed the darkened sands. "It occurs to me that this is why we do not attend wher hatchings," she remarked, with mild amusement. "How will we be able to see anything from up here?"

Delilah was among the first healers to arrive, her hands bathed and clean, ready to assist the wounded - if there were wounded. It was likely, given that it was a wher hatching and the creatures were known for aggression, but one could always hope, right? Either way, the newly-minted Journeyman was prepared, and Agnith trilled up on her ledge.

Others arrived, of course. The dragons were humming up a storm. Zucherroth took his usual place, leaning over the ledge and watching the swathes of color that, to him, represented people and creatures - their auras, their emotions, their excitement and dread.

Gonna be a good one?[/i] Animatamora asked.

Yes,[/i] Zuchie said. And no. Yes and no...[/i]

[Rii]

The gold’s voice entered her mind, and Nori promptly dropped the slate she’d been practicing writing on. It hit the floor and split down the middle, but she didn’t much care, instead scrambling for her chest of drawers, pulling out the white, sleeveless robe that candidates traditionally wore. Other clothes stripped off, robe on in record time. Knife grabbed. Then she plopped down on the floor to pull her boots on. They were allowed to wear sandals, yes, but she hadn’t had any fit to her feet and she was rather fond of how comfortable boots made by a real trained tanner were. Making sure her braids were firmly tied, she bolted for the Hatching Sands. She wanted to be there first! Or as close to first as possible! She hadn’t really come into her full growth yet, and if some tall candidates got in front of her, she wouldn’t be able to see anything!

That would be unacceptable!

Once she hit the entrance to the hatching grounds she slowed to a walk, catching her breath and walking forward. Nice, calm movements. Drawing close enough to the golds to address them without being too close to the eggs, Norilana bowed. “Thank you, Callistath, thank you, Kalesk, for allowing us to Stand for your clutches.” She’d practiced the bow and the words until she knew she could say them without rushing them in excitement, and hooray, it had paid off! Backing up, she planted herself in an up-front spot, carefully closer to the dragon eggs than the wher eggs. Just barely restraining herself from bouncing, she looked around. Where was Jafari? And where were her brothers? She twisted to look behind her and up into the stands, seeing if she could pick out Joshu while she waited.

Okay! Calm thoughts! Umm… okay she wasn’t perfectly calm at all. She had to work on that. Happy thoughts? She could do that. Happy, welcoming thoughts. Nori took a few deep breaths, stilling her fidgets and clasping her hands in front of her. Okay. Ready.

***

Sora wasn’t the easily excitable type, but she had to admit (to herself, at least) that a thrill of something shot through her gut when the call came. This was it. This was her first Hatching, the whole reason she’d agreed to leave her family and everything that was familiar to her. Would she find out if the Searchdragons were right this time, or would she be like Lilianai, left standing Turn after Turn? She strongly suspected the latter, but she couldn’t help but hope. Just a little. Just a spark.

In her room, she pulled on the chestguard that Jyderin had crafted custom for her, fastening it securely before reaching for the armguards. Plain armor, no embellishments, but its presence marked the shift in her thoughts that the master tanner had fostered; the thought that maybe she was worth something more than the drudgework she’d kept herself to. That she was perhaps more than a nothing person, and the only way she’d find out was to keep living and give it a try. There’s nothing wrong with you, he’d told her - and it was the first time she’d felt that way in Turns. Perhaps that was why even when the armor had been properly fitted to her, she’d continued to come back to him. To watch him work, and to talk with him, when she talked with so few.

Everything fastened, she pulled on a pair of softened leather pants - not near as strong as armor, but tougher than cloth and much better than nothing - and then the white robe over top before she did up her boots. She’d sweat, sure, but she was a Southerner - used to heat just like what was found on the Sands. She could handle it a lot better than the Northern types, so bring it. Tying her hair back in a quick braid and making sure her belt knife was securely in place, Sora gave herself a once-over and headed for the hatching grounds. Ready as I can be, I guess.

Crossing the Sands, she bowed politely to dragon and wher, her expression calmly neutral. “Thank you for the honor,” she offered firmly, before retreating through the gathering candidates. She claimed a spot as far from the whers as she could without being completely at the back of the pack, on the edge of the candidate cluster where she could easily sidestep into open space and not get tangled up in other people if trouble came looking for them.

***

T’yandon! T’yannnndon! Ietermath hummed with pleasure and excitement, completely shattering his bonded’s concentration. Stuffy old recordswork could wait. This was time for excitement!

Stifling a sigh, Mayday’s wingleader looked up from his work. “Yes?”

Eggs hatching. Callistath’s and Kalesk’s both! This is BIG!

T’yandon blinked, then rubbed his face. Why did he have a feeling that this was going to be rather… chaotic? Of course, how could it be anything else, with forty eggs between the dragon and wher, and Faranth knew how many candidates? “Alright, we’d better go.” Methodically he put away his work, then changed into more presentable clothing while his bronze fidgeted impatiently on the ledge.

You’re so -slow- sometimes! They’ll all be hatched before we get there!

“Forty eggs don’t hatch in a heartbeat. Relax.” T’yandon headed out onto the ledge, springing from the foreleg that Ietermath offered him up onto his back. “There, all set. Let’s go!”

It was a fast thing, to swoop down to the Hatching Grounds and slide off of the bronze’s back. While Ietermath settled on one of the upper ledges, T’yandon headed down to the seating tier closest to the Sands, where he could get a good eye on everything. Now all there was to do was watch. And wait.

***

G’dan wasted no time in heading across the Bowl from his weyrmate’s ground-level weyr to the Hatching Grounds; he tried not to miss too many Hatchings, and this one promised to be… eventful. He couldn’t think of a time that a wher and a dragon had clutches hatch at the same time, not here at Dalibor. Not since he’d been here. Shared the sands, yes, once or twice. But this… it would be interesting, to be sure.

Climbing into the stands, he took a seat somewhere in the middle, hoping to save a spot for Day’ar, if the viridianrider decided to come. Delilah, he was sure, would be down with the healers, and he craned his neck to see if he could catch sight of the gleam of his friend’s blonde hair. Sebol… a toss-up, whether he would attend or not. He knew that even with his bond to Sesk, this had the potential to be painful to him. Pursing his lips thoughtfully, he peered into the gloom. What do you think, Prith?

The yellowish-hued green folded her wings, settling comfortably in her chosen spot. Your Sebol will come if he comes. We must live in the now. Watch; things will begin in earnest soon enough, I know.

[phantomofthewolves]

Toreld cradled Sitka in his arms, gazing at the moon in his quarters. He kept thinking about the first hatching he stood at Dalibor, which he failed to Impress. He wondered if he would ever Impress, and if he did, what color would suit him fit? He wasn't the kind of person that would rider a king color, rather he would ride a fighter; a blue would be better for him than a bronze.

Sitka gave a low Mff as he escaped Toreld's arms and landed on the floor. Toreld gave a small smile; Sitka gave him some company, but he wanted a true friend, one who would understand him: a dragon. His thoughts were interrupted by a low hum. He knew that hum all too well: a clutch was hatching! He leapt from his seat and quickly put on his candidate robes and sandals. Sitka wanted to come with him, but Toreld pointed a finger to his bed and simply told him "Spot." Sitka gave a grumpy Mff and went to his spot. Toreld smiled and raced out the door.

When he arrived, he was stunned at the scene unfolding before his eyes. A wher was with her clutch alongside the Senior dragon queen's. This was unlike anything he experienced before; a wher and dragon sharing the sand together?! It was unheard of. He stepped before Callistath and gave a silent bow. Then he stepped to his "spot" towards the left of the dragon's clutch and waited.

[Minute]

Some candidates might say things like their nerves were on edge when a hatching approached. Well that wasn't the truth at all in her case. No, her nerves were completely and utterly fried. Forty eggs, there were roughly forty eggs on the sands to about sixty candidates. Which meant she had forty chances to impress, which was good. But it also meant that she had to compete with about sixty others for one of those forty chances. Furthermore she was only interested in a wher, the only creatures in this place with impressing in her eyes. She couldn't impress a misfit, some freak of a dragonet like her traitor brother. Her bonded had to be perfect. Her perfect wher.

But there was no way that Garna would let it show just how on edge she was. After all, she was Garna, strong, terrifying, brave Garna that no one dared mess with at risk of their lives. Well, maybe Dardra would dare to take a chance with the girl, but she wasn't about to hurt that hyper little thing. There was just something slightly... enduring about her. Either way, she had to look strong, head held high, go wher or go home.

The dual candidate strode onto the sands, trying her best to make it look like she had herself completely under control, before heading toward what she considered to be one of the best spots. Right in the front and near the wher eggs. She wished that she could be positioned directly in front of the eggs but that would probably bring up a few questions. After all, she was supposed to be a dual candidate. Both of the clutchmother received respectful bows from her, although she might have lingered on Kalesk a little longer than the other. Kalesk, the possible mother of her future wher.

With that Garna turned her gaze directly toward the wher clutch, not even glancing at the dragons. Alright then, she thought, let's get this show on the road.

Meanwhile another candidate was making her way onto the sands. Chances were this girl would not be familiar to anyone, for she was, as a matter of fact, new to the Weyr. Most of her free time had not been spent getting to know people but stealing from them. After all, it was always nice to get a horde of knick-knacks going when settling down in a new place. Kahrie had a smirk on her face as she moved to the front of the crowd, directly in front of the dragon eggs. The girl absolutely oozed confidence. It was as if she was not aware of the sheer destruction a hatching could bring. And that was a normal hatching, not the dual mess that she would be standing for today.

Or maybe she did. Maybe, just maybe, Kahrie was expecting some bloodshed.

And maybe, just maybe, she didn't care.

[Kiran]

The day was overcast. It had sent chills through the weyr, a foreboding look that said that autumn was on the horizon and the warm days of summer were slipping behind them. All the same, there were a few that still were excited regardless. After all, eggs were on the sand! Dragon eggs! Wher eggs! It was a bright spot in the gloomy day.

And then a bright spot in the late afternoon when the call came out to come to the eggs. And not just for the dragon candidates... For the wher ones as well.

Jafari could hardly believe it. He was woken from a sound sleep from the commotion among the candidates. All of them were scurrying around, getting armor, throwing on their robes and Sandals. Few wanted to wear boots because of the mix heat of the outside and the sands, but he could see a number had decided on armor. It made sense. He decided against it early on - none of his friends had gone for it so why should he? - and hurriedly threw on his robes, ready for the hatching. Captain chattered around him, hurrying him along to make sure he got a good spot.

His stomach was twisting as he made his way to the Sands. Bowing low to the Queens, Jafari thanked them for allowing him on the sands. He was ready for the possibility he might get a dragon (even if he didn't necessarily want one), so kept his thoughts happy and excited as he took his place second to last in front of the wher eggs. Yes, he could do this. A dragon wouldn't be so bad. Neither would a wher. He just... Wanted.

Imber had been preparing for bed, meditating on the possible chaos of the upcoming hatching. Thinking about what it would be like to face the chaos of the event. About what it might be like to be injured. To die. She knew it was a possibility. But perhaps she would not. Perhaps she would Impress. That was all luck of the hatching. So far, however, this one was not looking so lucky, not with two gold clutches on the sands. Lovely was dancing and trilling about the Room, something bothering her. Imber was vaguely curious, but didn't know what it was until....

The call came out, and everything she was caught thinking on was thrown aside in favor of the rush and adrenaline running through the candidates. She surprised herself with the speed she managed to get dressed with - then again, having been undressed for bed had helped, and she wasn't wearing armor besides - and the speed she was drawn into the Sands with. It was a wave of candidates, all hurrying to their places with wishes to Impress. Imber hoped that some of them would find their dreams, their Bondeds. She bowed to the queens. "Thank you for the honor of standing for your clutches." Imber then snagged a spot almost dead-center of the candidates, more on the dragon side of the eggs but still prepared as she was a dual candidate. If she happened to Impress, it could be anything.

Kira was heading back to the barracks when she heard the alert. Suddenly there was a crush of people about her, and she was flowing with them into the rooms to get prepared. No armor, didn't want to take time for it and was hoping that she would escape unscathed. But with this... Her friend Lili's worry came to mind. Whers meant anything. Her stomach turned. But then again, she was sure that Lili would Impress. Herself? Not so much.

Hurrying to the Sands, Kira bowed and thanked them for the honor of Standing. She took her place a bit farther back, nearer the edge of the dragon eggs. Just in case. Her flits went to her father and sister in the stands, wrapping themselves around to see what happened to their Bonded. She gland behind her and cast a smile at Lili, trying to ease the girl's fears. Lili would Impress. For certain.

Quellyn was excited as well. Misty was rubbing her antennae together in anticipation. He hurried along himself. This would make a great story! So fantastic! He felt honored to be able to do this, be here for it. He took his place way in the back, ready to take in what happened. His eyes strained in the darkness, though, and he wished he had taken a closer spot. Oh, well!

Fyris and Dreaneth took their places. Fyris in the middle of the stands, her siblings haven come and asked if they could see. She was glad that she had been spared this, even if she would have been too old to Impress regardless! But it was too unusual to not go, soooo.... Well. She settled in her seat and prepared for the fireworks.
------------------
This was it. This was it, after sevendays of chores. Sevendays of surprise and discussion and heated arguments of Callistath's chosen mate, and even more his rider. Sevendays of watching eggs; watching and waiting. One moment of realization now, that this was it. The humming of dragons and their kin resonated in Dardranel's very bones. She rubbed her shiny spiky red gem; Wenth's gift to the unchosen ones at her clutch's hatching, and her good-luck charm. The girl rubbed the round gem she'd gotten later, for Melnel, who should've been here with her, alive. She'd make her and Ma proud.

At last Dardranel got to the hatching, bowing and politely thanking the two queens before taking her place next to Garna. She grinned when she saw her dad Neldar in the Stands, before turning back to the eggs. In her rush to take a place next to her familiar tall roommate, Dardranel had ended up closer to the wher eggs. Oh well. She didn't mind if she would get a wher - only downside was the blood bond. Hopefully she wouldn't need to use that mandatory knife she had...

***
It was here. Lanorun sighed, burying his stubbly face in his callused hands, before entering the Hatching Sands, making sure to thank Callistath and Kalesk. No turning back now. He was facing the dragon eggs, but didn't even mind if it meant being there for his two Standing siblings, to protect them if things got awry. He'd come to the accursed place for his three siblings...Joshu was in the Stands, and for once Lanorun hoped to golden Faranth there would be no Stands maulings. Or Impressions.
***
Lisk be good watch-wher! Always watch TinyGoodMouse, protect from evilstupids. If they dare hurt, Lisk MURDER EVILS DEAD. Lisk squawked this to Gennesk and Mouse as she nosed the girl affectionately - something the wheret reserved for only Mouse and Lirmox. The latter was following the former around the Stands.

"Gennesk, we've been training, and I'm much better at restraining, mediating Lisk if she gets upset. So she's safe to be around Mouse with me. I promise." The blond wherling whispered to the brown wher. He often said empty promises in the islands, but Mouse was his family. Lirmox meant this promise.

Ooc: Permission to write Chim's characters given by Chim.

[RavenSong]

K'var strode into the Hatching Cavern almost as soon as the call went out. He'd been taking a nice refreshing walk, and since he was the Weyrlingmaster for this new class, he'd opted to be ready to go at any point. He'd had many tense days in the sevendays since graduating his Sparkles. He grinned openly as he took his place in the feeding area, waiting to greet the new weyrlings as warmly and cheerfully as he could. He was pleased to have the opportunity to teach another class. He glanced over the Candidates as they filed in, then looked for his son. He couldn't find V'kyr, but knew he was there. Bip and Bit perched on his shoulders, chirping at each other before settling into the traditional humming.

---

Os'umMine, the eggs are Hatching, Rhodth said. We need to get there.

"I know, fussbucket. Niorun's down there to Stand, so I'll be damned if I go down there blending in." He'd pulled out some of his Gather clothes and his best knots, the knots he kept tucked away for special occasions only. They were pristine. His clothing was fancier than what he usually wore. It was well cut and made of fine fabric, but free of embroidery. He was fussy with his garb, but not stupidly so. His undershirt was a cream color, layered over with an overtunic of a vivid orange color. A surcoat of a darker burnt orange covered that. His surcoat had contrast stitching of a yellower green, His trousers were a clay brown and were tucked into dark brown leather boots. Getting the obligatory image of himself from Rhodth, he nodded and grinned.

Are you done? Rhodth asked, moving to his weyrledge.

"Yes, yes, I'm done. I look suitable for this occasion." Rhodth sighed as Os'um climbed on. They descended to the Hatching Cavern, where Os'um took a seat. Others had already gotten there. He grinned when Hugin and Munin took up a spot on either side of him. He tried to coax them onto his shoulders so they could see their bonded, but they had none of it. They'd know. "Mind the flits," he said to the people surrounding him.

---

Seph was out the door in minutes when the call went out, foregoing the traditional robes because he was still on punishment for the mistake of moving Seidon. Fortunately his brother was able to Stand again, so it would be his final time in the Healers' area. He made sure his clothes were on properly so if something -did- wander his way he'd be decent-looking.

Discussions had already been had with Lili about Seidon. In his absence, she'd be next to his brother, giving him moral support since he couldn't. He nodded to N'yn as the young Apprentice Healer arrived. N'yn ignored Seph, choosing to give his twin sister Vyna a quick hug before looking around.

"N'yn," he said. N'yn grinned.

"Seph. Ready for some fun?" the smaller boy asked. "Vyna a--... Vyna, are you? I am. And by 'fun' I mean standing here watching everything. Hopefully we don't have to have a suture contest."The Cyanrider grinned at his minutes-younger sister. Seph chuckled.

"Here's hoping my brother and friend Impress. Anything else... well, I'll deal with it as it happens."

---

The Ironrider P'ryt had conveyed Cambyses to Dalibor aboard Hemetath, having gone to seek both. On finding that Fahra was there and that Valdis desired to go, Cambyses opted to go with P'ryt and let the ladies go with Fahra. He didn't care to offend either rider. With a nod to the Ironrider, he reconvened with his wife in their usual spot, straining to see the eggs as he looked around.

"Mmm, yes," he said, sighing. "It'll be difficult to see much, but I'm sure someone will keep us filled in on what's going on." With a warm smile and a quick kiss to Samara's cheek, he turned his focus back to the Sands.

---

"I do not want you near me at this," Naraevhyn snapped at her father as the pair entered the Hatching Sands with Z'dyn and Jyderin. Naras sighed deeply at her and shook his head.

"You can't be like this forever," he said. Nara fixed a glare on her father.

"Oh yes, I can," she said, quickly striding off. She found a seat, ensuring her weyrmate and his father were between her father and herself. She wanted nothing to do with the Master Harper. Naras rolled his eyes and settled down, hoping he didn't give himself a headache in the gloom with his necessary notetaking. He wasn't simply there to watch, he was there to take notes on what could happen with a dragon and wher clutch on the Sands at the same time. He had the sneaking suspicion it would end up like every other clutch he'd seen at Dalibor: bloody and full of dramatics.

---

Davalla was on her feet in an instant when she heard Callistath in her mind. She carefully donned the robes that bleached her out further. She'd procured a leather chestpiece to protect herself and had it on under her robes. A belt was at her hip, properly secured, in case a wher ended up choosing her. She rushed to her place in the lineup before bowing to the clutchmothers.

"I thank you for allowing me to Stand, gracious Queens," she said, not addressing either Queen by name so as not to offend them by naming one before the other. She had no idea if it would offend them in the first place, but decided to err on the side of caution.

[RhiaBlack]

Z'dyn woke with a start, and looked to Baihujinth. The Iron was humming, the dragonsong loud inside their weyr. Without any hesitation, Z'dyn pried himself out of his sheets and slinked into his clothes. Making sure his hair was sorted and he looked presentable, he slid aboard his King's broad back, and winged it down to find his father waiting for him at the entrance to the Sands; Jyderin was amused at the onslaught of some seventy children and teenagers, some young adults.

Excitement permeated the air, but the Master Tanner couldn't help but worry. Baihujinth winged up, taking an open spot on the ledges and settling in to watch. Whers. There were Whers here. He bespoke His' father with a sense of resolved sternness. Not that Bai ever spoke with anything else.

::Mind MineOwn. If they come towards him, I do not wish him to be part of the chaos.::

Jyderin nodded slightly in affirmation, and Z'dyn exhaled as the pair took their place in the stands.

N'tharon arrived shortly after, with Sintharith. Acetone was left in their weyr. The last thing the Blackrider wanted was for his beloved Black firelizard to become a snack for something. Sintharith settled into a spot that was free on the overhead ledges, the Black gleefully humming despite the hour. Hatchings! Hatchings were so exciting! MINE AREN'T THEY--

He peered down, to see N'tharon actually smirking.

*******************

It took a minute or two for it to register, and the moment that the humming and Callistath's voice echoed in her thoughts, Lili was out of her bed so fast she tripped over her sheets and crashed to the floor in a heap. SHARD IT. SHARD IT SHARD IT SHARDING SHELLS.

Growling at her own gangly uncoordination, she recovered well enough and dusted off herself proper. Feet into sandals, robes on, hair back and braided. No scarf this time. She didn't want the Gold on either behalf to get offended by unusual attire.

Lili had chosen to forego the armor, much to the opposite of many of her fellow Candidates. Like she had told Kira. If it was her time to go, armor wasn't going to stop that from happening, and she had a marginal amount of faith that the Hatchlings would be properly corralled by their mothers enough that death would hopefully not be an option. Hopefully. So she hoped. So she prayed.

She scrambled with the others down to the Sands. There were so -many- of them this round. So many Candidates, so many others who had just as much of a chance as she did, and that scared her.

It was so hot, but she'd done this before. She knew the protocol, she knew the process. She knew the rules. Not a sound would escape her, not after her greeting. Moving up into her claimed spot, she bowed deeply at the hips to not only Callistath, but Kalesk as well.

"It is an honor to stand for your clutches. Thank you for the opportunity, Gold Callistath and Gold Kalesk."

Lili moved into her spot, and laced her fingers behind her. Tried not to fidget, tried not to be nervous. Tried not to look at any specific egg, or anyone really.

This was it. This was her last shot.

With any luck, it would be a good one.

((Edited to fix the Hex codes for Bai. I forgot >.<))

[Digitalis]

Phaenna now carried her small but cherished good-luck pebble everywhere she went, often pulling it out of her pocket just to check that it was still there, sometimes several times within an hour, other times, managing to resist the urge for a few hours. She'd been doing so ever since that firestone-bagging chore when she had very nearly lost it forever; despite the danger of losing track of it again, she refused to leave it behind. She had convinced herself that without the token of Wenth's goodwill, her chances of Impressing were zero. Not an entirely logical train of thought, but Phaenna wouldn't claim to be entirely free of superstition.

The call for candidates from the senior queen wasn't entirely unexpected. She'd well known that the hatching of the clutches would be coming up soon. As it became clear that the wher clutch was indeed hatching as well, she grabbed the knife she'd gotten from the stores, fingering the handle with a grimace of distaste. A vague thought passed her mind that she was a little surprised the clutch was not hatching at night. The girl rushed quickly into the candidate barracks and pulled on her white robe and sandals. There was no danger of getting lost this time; she knew the way to the hatching sands now, but she still took some comfort in blending into the crowd.

As the candidates started to arrive in the hatching sands, Phaenna let herself drift to the back of the crowd. She liked having people to hide behind, and she was sure that there were lots of candidates who deserved to Impress more than she did. It would be selfish of her to want to stand at the front. She did pause, of course, to give the clutchmothers her respect. She paused, staring at the gold dragon and then the wher. "Th-Tha-Thank you both for allowing me to attend your Hatching, lovely queens." She felt her face flush, and she covered it by bowing deeply, first to Callistath, followed by a second bow for Kalesk, even though she felt a little nervous exposing the back of her neck to the wher.

Niceties finished with, she took her place and immediately stood on her tip-toes to be sure she could see the eggs as they rocked. From her position, it was easier to make out the dragon eggs, which were a little closer. She had no trouble making out one of the larger quivering eggs, though, which looked as if it were going to crack open any moment now. She gave a wistful smile. Perhaps it would hatch into a bronze, or an iron. She'd always heard that was a sign of good luck for a hatching.

------------------------------

Much like Phaenna, Tamren had been keeping an eye and an ear out for the announcement of the hatching practically ever since the candidate lesson that had prepared all sixty candidates for becoming dual candidates. He was lounging about in his room, trying to avoid having to work on chores, when the call came. He'd come to prefer the candidate barracks; while the pillies he had inadvertently become saddled with disliked the close and dry interior of the barracks, they had shown themselves perfectly willing to follow Tamren about everywhere else in the Weyr he went. He had eventually given up, concluding that they were not simply going to find somebody else to attach themselves to.

The pillies--the brown named Bugbear and the gray named Spook--met him outside the barracks as soon as he'd pulled on a pair of thick boots. Spook gave a Srrr? of helpful curiosity, but Tamren frowned. "There's no way you are following me to the Hatching. How would Callistath and Kalesk react to that? Shoo." He ushered them away with a wave of his hand; the pillies did not protest. Apparently they'd somehow picked up on the fact that dragons and whers did not approve of pillies around their eggs. The brown and gray scuttled off in the direction of the Weyrlake.

Tamren scowled briefly as he entered the hatching sands. There were just a few too many candidates now for him to find a spot on the front row. He bowed deeply to the queens, saying, "It's an honor to stand for your clutches. Thank you for the opportunity." He then went to join the other candidates, settling for a spot just behind the forward-most candidates, far away from the wher side. He had grudgingly brought a knife along with him, as he had been told, but he still didn't intend to Impress a wher. His king was waiting for him, right on these sands. He just knew it.

[Maggie]

The call startled Tamarine enough that she dropped the dish she had been washing. She waved off the scowls of the kitchen's night staff. "Hatching! I have to get to the Sands!" she told them cheerfully, dashing towards her room to grab her robes. She nearly crashed into her aunt on her way. Task was off to patrol, having agreed to take Gennesk's place guarding during the hatching so that Gennesk could guard Mouse.

"Stay safe!" Talin told her, giving her niece a hug. Task grunted at her, uninterested in anything except going out and making sure the Weyr was safe while the babies were hatching.

Tamarine pulled her light armour on. It wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing. She was still yanking her robes on and straightening them as she dashed towards the sands. She filed in with the others, taking a place as close to the front and the whers as possible. She took a deep breath, focusing on being calm and thinnking positive thoughts. It wasn't hard, with all the excitement bubbling up in her.

**

Idra pulled her robes on, making sure that they were pristine. She took a deep breath, centering herself. This was something that she could do for herself and for her sister to better their standing in the world. She knew she didn't have many more chances. She was on the old end, for a Candidate, she would age out soon. But Impression would ensure her place here in the Weyr. She centered herself. Thinking such thoughts would make her nervous and that would hinder her chances significantly.

She sought her sister out before they entered the hatching caverns. She gave her the faintest ghost of a smile. holding her head high. She did want to stand next to Davalla, but she would be standing between the dragons and the whers and Idra wanted nothing to do with those horrible stunted things. She bowed to the queens and murmured the words of thanks she had memoriesed before heading to a spot closer to where the dragons would be hatching.

**

Kaydian's hands were shaking a bit as he smoothed his robes. Seidon would be standing again and that made him a little happier. He hoped his roommate impressed, this time, He was a wonderful Candidate. And he was smart and strong. Hopefully Seph would be allowed to stand soon as well. Kaydian still privately thought that Seph was a bit of a hero for reacting to save his brother, even if he had done it wrong. Pretty hummed at him softly before fluttering away, probablly to the Stands to watch. He tried to calm himself. Think good thoughts, he reminded himself. Good calm thoughts, like thoughts of cuddling Yusk and Yusk singing to him and when his flitties had hatched and the kind of thoughts he had to think when he was holding miss Maelie's little terrorised flitt... He wasn't shaking as he entered the sands.

He bowed to both queens respectfully, as he always had. "Thank you for allowing me the honour of standing for your babies," he murmured before scuttling away to the back. It was unlikely one of the babies would want a Candidate like him and this way he would be closer to where Yusk was so he could turn and look at her if he got too frightened and needed to calm down lest he scared the babies.

***

Gennesk stared hard at Lirmox. Gennesk allow. Lisk is be for scream, Lisk is be for Kalesk-delicious, he reminded them both mildly. What was important here was the babies and having an angry wheret around might not be the best. He would not interfere, this time. Later Lisk is be for Task's Scary-little meet. Scary-little is for control teach. Damask's also is for control teach, he advised.

He loomed over Mouse protectively, humming in contentment. He liked hatchings, even violent ones. Task had been very violent when he was born and he was Gennesk's best friend. All Gennesk remembered was dancing, though. He had taught Task the Dance of Greet. Mini-Mouse is for Gennesk stay. Gennesk is be protect. He nuzzled her happily.

***

My Candidate is going to impress, G'lin, I know it! Anablimyth was wearing a pure white fluffy scarf with silver threads going through it. He had bought the fabric for it on the day he had found Matilda and decided that she was the best Candidate possible. G'lin was dressed in comfortable, ample purple and blue pants that were narrow at the cuff, letting the baloon around his legs. His shirt was made of the same material as Anablimyth's scarf, but it was structured, a nice contrast to the flowy pants. The cuffs were embroidered with abstract motifs that Ana was quite fond of but that Doom thought were childish.

"I hope so, Ana," he answered, staring worriedly down at the sands. A wher and a dragon on the sands at the same time, that couldn't ever bode well. He just hoped that Letorin would finally find his life partner without losing too many limbs.

[maruset]

When the annoucement came, Letorin was more than ready for it. It seemed like this set of clutches had taken forever to decide to hatch. Most likely because of the tension that was in the Weyr.

But that was something for later, and he pushed it aside. Now was for seeing new babies. Laughing, he quickly got ready and followed Newt. “We won’t,” he said. “Too prepared. No way we’ll end up in the back.”

And they weren’t. It actually looked like they were going to be right up front. Which was fine.

He bowed to both of the mothers. “Thank you for the privilage of standing for your children.”

Straightening, he gave Newt a bright grin, full of excitement, and settled in for the wait. Hopefully, if he was lucky, he’d be able to find his partner this time.

His fair flew to find people they knew, and they scattered about, settling down delicately and making sure to be polite as they got comfortable.

***

It had been one long fight, but Iola had gotten Jainath to agree to come to the hatching. The woman had resorted to pointing out that she shouldn’t punish the babies for what she believed the parents did wrong. There was some low muttering about how things should be, but the copper had come.

Sitting towards the middle, Jainath perched above her on teh ledge, Iola watched. This was going to be her and her copperbutt at some point. So she wanted to pay attention.

***

Orkia grinned, heading for the Sands. With so many eggs, both her and her brother were sure to get a match. She settled, taking a moment to bow to both queens. “It’s an honor,” she said with a smile.

There was some nervous energy, but she took a few deep breaths. Everything was ready, now they just needed to wait for the dragons and the whers.

This was going to be -great-.

***

With this being her first hatching, Lavi followed the other candidates, picking a spot towards the back after giving her respects to both mothers. With so many candidates, she wasn’t sure of her chances. But it was good to see so much excitement, and she knew she had caught a bit of it.

Though she had made it before Val, and she saw her brother come in. He glanced around, giving her a nod before settling over towards the wher side. It wasn’t worth the effort for them to try to meet up, so she’d have to go talk to him once the hatching was done.

She really did hope that she impressed, and definitely that Val did if she did.

***

Walking in calmly, Valasco knew he was calmer than his sister was. Even from here, he could see how excited she was. Which was good, as he wanted her to be happy. Hopefully things would go all right.

Giving a respectful bow to both mothers, he glanced around at the ones around him. It was easier to see who most of the wher candidates were. Though not all of them. The ones who were for both, officially, tended to blend in.

Still, they were all hoping for the same thing. Wher candidates even more, as they had to choose to stand.

He gave his sister an encouraging smile, and then waited for things to get started.

[Chek]

Callistath's voice hit them first, and Dizzy shuddered.

Dragons.

Still, she put Capalus down from where she'd been making the long-suffering creature “fly” around her room, slipped on an oiled cape and her boots, and went to await her father in the common room. He wasn't long, coming from the forge as he was, white-clad and fresh-scrubbed, though he still smelled of hot metal and soot to his daughter's nose. She bounced, once, like she was going to engage in her normal shoulder-riding behavior, but stopped and grabbed his hand tightly.

“I'm sorry da.” She bowed her head as he tucked her hand into his elbow awkwardly and lead her out into the light of the overcast day.

“You've proved yourself a responsible girl and you recognize your limits. Don't apologize to me for that.” When they reached the entrance to the Hatching Sands, Dizzy stopped and let her father go; he ruffled her hair but walked on, out onto the hot sand, taking a sentinel position on the end furthest from the dragon eggs; they weren't for him, after all, not at his age. Better to leave space for more likely children.

He bowed, mostly to Kalesk, though his angle could be interpreted as bowing to Callistath as well.

Outside, Dizzy sat down, knees drawn up, and watched the Candidates start rushing past.

Niorun nearly tripped over her, having to hike up her robe and skip over the other girl; she waved a quick apology and slipped on by, making her way onto the Sand; though she paused briefly before stepping out, looking up and over the audience, grinning and waving when she spotted her rather noticeable father. Her babies would keep the colorfully clad man out of trouble; a thought which they echoed dutifully back, one sitting on either side of him.

She put on her serious face; it wasn't her first time Standing, not by a long shot, but there were certain rules to follow! And Niorun followed those rules to the letter. She found a spot, more of the dragon side of the middle, and bowed deeply, first to Callistath, then to Kalesk, “Lady Queens, thank you for the honor of Standing for your clutches.”

Embla wandered in near the back of the pack, back stiff. She wore armor under her robe, as had been suggested, and she was very much torn on whether she really wanted to be here or not. It seemed an awfully long and dangerous way to go for the sake of her cover, after all. But that thought, that very thought, made her nearly slap herself in shame.

Of course she should be willing to go this far.

A bow and a greeting to the Queens later, she retreated to the back of the crowd and stayed there as the massive group of Candidates expanded; though once she spotted her sister, her sister's mate and her nephew, she risked the smallest of waves, barely a lifting of her hand; and more, she kept her body tiled so the Queens and their bondmates couldn't see the furtive action. Better safe than sorry.

Sandwiched between an alarmingly tall pair of siblings, Yhimere (Yhisk underfoot and growling already) anxiously kept watching Damali's hand where it was slung companionably over his shoulder – and more, the tunnelsnake that stared him in the eyes from far less than a foot away, the creature's head emerging from the redhandler's sleeve and that terrifying head resting against Damali's knuckles. Her red wher paced behind them, nipping at Yhisk whenever the green balked at the frog march she and her Yhimere were being subjected to.

“Brother! I'll let you leave to terrorize your fellow healers; Damask and I can take care of making sure our wherling here doesn't cause any trouble like last time. You won't cause me any trouble, will you?”

Fighting down his own instinctive urge to snarl (the red wher's hot breath on the back of his neck was an AMAZING discouragement) he shook his head minutely, “No ma'am.”

Loki shook his head as Damali lead her charge away and forced him and his wher into a cheerful terror sandwich between she and Damask. Already, other healers were gathering; he waved a hand for attention from the junior journeymen and apprentices, “I'm going to tell you this over and over and over because I am not personally convinced most of you are not idiots: do not go onto the Sands without a Master or Senior Journeyman giving you the go ahead first. Hatchings are delicate, and if your actions kill a wher or dragon OR A CANDIDATE I will personally skin you and feed you to a wild wher. Am I understood?”

Valha, groggy and down with a minor, though exhausting illness, woke from her pile of flitters and looked through bleary eyes at the dragon face that hovered over her own; Mith has squished herself full length into the living quarters side of the weyr.

She peeped, quietly for a creature so large, and gave a ragged, half hearted hum.

“You can go to the Hatching if you mind Wenth and Aylina,” decision made, Valha drooped back into the flitter pile.

Mith took a few minutes to consider this, then slurped her green tongue across the whole pile of her person and flitters, then backed out of the weyr carefully. Too far, in fact, as she backed straight off the ledge. She twisted though, wings spreading, and drifted back towards the wall, coming to a delicate landing on Aylina's weyr ledge, leaning down to nibble affectionately on Wenth's toes as soon as the other tan came within range.

I am to be a cloud today.

[Lan]

The time had come.

Matthaus heard the golden mother dragon in his head. It had not been too weird, as he had long been used to Weslieth and Waroth contacting the candidates in that manner... but this dragon was different. Were all of them so different? Penny warbled softly where she slept in her roost as Matthaus attempted to throw his candidates robes over his head. His sandles were slipped onto his feet and he was at the door when he turned back to check on Penny one last time. She was calmly asleep, nestled quite adorably. He smiled and then rushed out into the hallways of the Barracks.

Nimara was positioned at the Candidates' entrance to the sands, whispering "good lucks" and reminders of the recent changes to the rules. However, something far more sinister than the upcoming hatching was nagging at the back of her mind and her eyes constantly looked distant--as if she were convening with her dragon in each moment. High in the stands, Waroth had taken her usual place. She surveyed the goings-on with something akin to patience, although perhaps she was distracted by the discussions between herself and her rider.

A'bar and Ablath, as well, were in attendance. A'bar took his place in the stands closer to where the newly-Impressed weyrlings would be coming off the sands. He was there to assist, if need be, although through Ablath he tried to keep note of the Rainracers, who had been granted permission to attend. If things got too out of hand he would order them to leave, but it was their right and privilege to sit and watch a hatching, so that they might better remember with fondness their own Impression. All of them had been working so hard and had come so far; he was incredibly proud of them. Even his problem child, K'ius, was thought of fondly that evening.

Already there was hustling and bustling in the area meant for receiving the newly-bonded pairs. Yentil was among the crew preparing the bite-sized chunks for the newly hatched. Her eyes occasionally glanced toward the sands where the candidates, dragon and wher alike, were filling in like so many clean, white sheets. They would not be clean for long, however. Some of them might even die before the night was out. She smiled with affected politeness at one of the nearby healers, then focused her attentions on her work once more. Her sharp knife worked through the meat quickly and efficiently.

Lonet prepared her supplies in the Healer's Camp, already having a bad feeling about this hatching. The pale blue Losk stuck by the stands as he was instructed, watching her dutifully. Losk love Losk's, he twittered softly. She smiled, then reached over and firmly rubbed the rumpled knobs on his head.

Tesla, as well, was there to assist the healers, the beautiful and lithe Tessk at her side. Will do good, she told her partner. Occasionally the white's attention shifted to the side of the sands with the wher eggs. She stood ready to defend her handler, if need be. Baby or not, should a wher or dragon try to attack her precious Tesla she would put a stop to it.

F'ton and Poseith were in attendance, along with the pastel blue Echelon. The ironrider anxiously looked for his niece as he moved through the stands. This was not the first time Joni had stood, not by a long shot, but each time he felt the same sense of anxiety about whether or not she would Impress. Somehow, he felt that tonight might be the night... but, then again, he felt that about every hatching his niece has stood for.

Finding Fahra, F'ton quietly sat next to her, moments later moving his hand to lightly touch at hers. They had not seen much of each other since the tragedy of... well, he cared not to remember the details of what had happened. It still weighed heavy on him, as if the wooden carving of the dead copper baby had been transformed into lead. He never had sent it to Kalith... now he would never get the chance. What hurt far worse, however, was how Fahra had lost her cheer. She was regaining it as of late, but he still felt the need to be available as a source of comfort to her... whether she took advantage of his nearness or not. Echelon moved from his human's shoulder to Fahra's and snuggled neatly about her neck.

Matthaus made his way onto the sands and bowed respectively to the clutchmothers, his vocalizations of gratitude hardly above a whisper and likely not heard at all. He swallowed, the sound loud in his ears, and then moved toward his designated standing place. Dairine was at his left and he gave a lopsided grin at her before looking nervously at the eggs. Although he had not grown up in a Weyr, he had been around long enough to hear rumors of the bloodiness of Dalibor's hatchings. He was glad that Penny was safe in her roost instead of here at his side, like he knew she would like to be. It was better to let her sleep than spend the evening worried about her.

Noveth ferried Hanei into the hatching and the greenrider quickly found a place to sit that was next to her father. She grinned happily at him, optimistic about the evening's events. "Another hatching!" She leaned into him, wrapping her smaller arm about his elbow. "Has a dragon-wher double hatching ever happened before?" The girl looked to him for answers, as she always did. Noveth, meanwhile, found a spot next to Hemetath. New things are happening... this is good, the green mentioned matter-of-factly to the iron, although there was some tones of respect for the older dragon that had long ago helped put her in her place.

K'oa moved through the stands as well, his eyes having quickly caught site of his classmate. With the absence of Iroh and Sian at the time, he slipped over to sit next to the bluerider instead. "Hey." He nodded to Willow as he plopped himself down on the bench. "How're you doing?" Although he was speaking to her, he never turned to face her. Instead, his gaze was fixed solemnly on the hatching sands. Geth, from his higher perch, grunted softly.

---

|| tags : Willow, Fahra, P'ryt, Dairine, and whoever else is interested

[Azhdarchid]

Tusk rolled over, opened her jaws in a groggy huff, then raised her head on her thin, curving neck. Neglecting to actually open her eyes, the green wher flicked her tongue out and evaluated the humid air permeating the Weyr for several minutes. Then she dropped her nose to her handler's shoulder. It wasn't actually him she was looking for, and she rooted through the furs till she found her target.

Billy do it, she ordered the firelizard, currently wrapped up in his own wings with more resemblance to an albino walnut than an animal. Tusk's head wobbled on its slender perch, and then the wher collapsed back to the mattress, sleeping on her side. The walnut uncoiled and reacquired definition, blinking huge, glistening blue eyes before he crawled up to Tussbuul's relaxed, ignorant face.

"Eep-ee," the firelizard chirped politely, rifling through the man's dreams for a moment before he began streaming forward the call from Callistath and a few relevant images. A dragon egg, Tusk's egg, crowds and clouds. Tussbuul woke easy, smiled, and reached out to depress Billy's head under the tip of his finger. He rubbed the nub of a skull.

"Thank you Billy."

"Ee."

Come on little girl, the wherhandler murmured, patting the side of his green. Get up. Tusk did not move, so he started trying to get his body out from under the thin summer sheet she was resting atop. "You're heavy."

Tusk's head craned up instantly, eyes flashing wide and lime.

Not heavy,[/color] she argued, and all at once the mass of her pinning the sheet to his legs evaporated. She didn't really look like she had moved, but when Tussbuul brushed his arm toward her, he found her easy to nudge off the bed. She landed on all-fours, circled toward the front of the bedroom, then paced back and sat down while Tussbuul cleaned himself up and put on his finest robes. She got back up on the bed so he could affix a pair of sun-shades to her head without bending over. Soon enough they were on their way through the murk of a cloudy day.

Thinking of hatchlings, Tuss brushed his hand over his belt-knife. The scar where he had bled for Tusk was already gone. All of his ills seemed to pass more quickly with her around, though she had not yet managed the miracle of restoring his leg. Rubbing his fingers around the knife-hilt, he paused, still a few dragonlengths off the grand steps that would take him to the Sands.

His pale eyes rose to the flocks of dragons sweeping into that single dark place, concentrating their colorful bodies in the superheated cavern. The Watchdragon would not enjoy that privilege, he supposed, but he could not see the beast from down here. Weyrfolk bustled in-between the stores, the Sands and the kitchens, and occasionally a stream traversed out to the infirmary opening. He knew most of their faces well, even if half the time he patrolled their quarters they were asleep. Tusk had scampered ahead, but walked back to him now and sat, awaiting judgment. Humming. The white firelizard on his shoulder was silent.

I need you to send a message for me to the Alphahandler, Master Tussbuul decided. A few moments of mental negotiations, and Tusk beamed out her presence to the giant red wher, Ausk.

Ausk. Tusk say what Tuss say. Tuss want perfect. Here: "Audren, it nice day. All distracted by happy day. Do not you think?" The green snapped her jaws together, taking another second to join the words and concepts together. "No dragon on ledge. No eyes. Going take Tusk down to south. Entrance. Walk little. Already seen...best part Hatching." Tusk's narrow shoulders humped upwards as she processed the statements herself, then looked at her handler with the smallest darkening in her facets, the color of disappointment. Will miss see sisters, was the extent of her complaint, though.

Afterwards she got to her feet and trotted out ahead of her handler: southward, to patrol the Bowl's walls and the Weyr's unguarded entrance.

***

[ Q'sis ][ Unath ]

One hand supported the bundle of cloths swaddling his infant son, Qaelis; the other had planted firmly on Samael's rump, "guiding" her to the seats he most desired. It had been little trouble to secure Qaelis despite the throngs of excited brats in the creche. The Weyrfolk were grateful perhaps for the assistance of the weasels he had brought the Winter before, or the training he dropped by to give to their subsequent progeny. But they had Qaelis bundled almost the moment he came striding through the little thickets of toddlers and juveniles.

But the detour did steal some time, nonetheless. So he pushed on Sam to keep her moving, and squeezed when they reached the right spot. When he sat down, it was with a smirk. Shifting Qaelis to the crook of the arm closest to his mother, he offered the baby up but did not quite force him out into Samael's embrace. It was not as if maintaining him was a burden. He had woken up, and his eyes sought what he could see with interest, but he did not fuss, even if Q'sis' hard arm was not the easiest resting place.

On the ledges above, Unath squatted down beside Naireth, looking at the eggs for once, and sniffing when one of the larger ones in Callistath's brood twitched. She half-opened her wings when another tan, Wenth, budged in on her left. After a minute of judging the situation, the dark, spotted dragon bugled over the humming. She was quite pleased with this snuggly arrangement.

Weslieth, she added, when the round yellow happened to land just another space to her left, beside Wenth. Q'sis turned his gaze from the Sands at that, setting his jaw as the yellow joined the pile. His fingers contracted against Qaelis' blanket, but he reluctantly brought his attention back to the eggs. And waited.

***

Wet wet wet wet wet wet wet! Halventh chanted as L'xon worked his fastest to disassemble the wet straps strung across the blue's neck and chest. A huge net of fish dropped to the Bowl floor, where it would be abandoned to the care of someone less privileged. Halventh helped himself to a few snaps of the lode though before he arched his neck and flicked his wet tail, turning around a couple times to admire his glistening skin.

L'xon had to run to chase the twisting dragon down, and slapped a hand against Halventh's forearm to capture his attention. Halventh crouched, and his rider administered a new, dry set of straps. Fancy ones, if a bit old (Day'ar had bought them). While Halventh groomed off the last few strands of water, L'xon jogged to the infirmary, where he knew some clean extra leathers would be waiting. Nothing special, but they fit sharp to his profile. One of the healers held up a mirror while he tried to work his windswept yellow hair into something that would not shame the Weyr, and soon gave up.

He returned to Halventh, and Halventh flew him to the Sands. The blue settled on an already crowded ledge, and his rider leapt free, dodging between the toes of the ledge's other occupants to make his way to the main stair. A drop of water wound down to the point of his nose, and he swiped it off, blinking at the clusters of robes lining up orderly before the squirming eggs. At first he could make no sense of any of them, not even with a rider's eyes, not from this distance.

Then he began noticing thin arms and muscular ones, the curves of backs not quite hidden by the Candidates' cloth. And heads of course: a field of unblemished heads. He easily spotted the one of interest. He headed down.

First row, right behind the barrier. No sooner had he gotten there- standing against the barrier, not reclining on the stone couch -than a certain yellowrider filed in next to him.

"'Master," he greeted, clipping off the important notation. Staring off at the robes, the shoddily protected forms beneath, the heads above. L'xon's hand closed in a fist on the barrier top. And he caught himself.

He straightened his back, and even though it was starting, he looked away from the Sands. His eyes were on Jasmine now, his frown undisguised, though still polite in its way. Unembellished. Concern more than anger, now. Nearly four months later, it could be just concern. But what he said was, "They have understood your teaching." The caveat was the so far he did not say, as he had never in his life been in a threatening mood. He might not have been capable of that much cynicism anyway.

Halventh tilted his head, looking after Braele in the crowd below with ease and interest. She was the one he'd brought after all, and just because L'xon seemed to have forgotten her- oddly enough, the dragon hadn't. But there were so many others flocking in around him, so many others to look at and to look at him. He puffed himself up as big as he could, holding his wings up, a beacon 'pon the rocks. I already brought in fish for today, the powdery blue bragged across the various minds in the vicinity. It was easy to see the fish even with the clouds obscuring the water. I caught a lot. Look at how much tougher my muscles are now... He stuck out one relatively small foreleg, twisting one side up, then the other, and whistling at the results.

[Zephyr]

The boy was in the middle of chores when the humming started. He was always doing chores of some kind. It wasn’t the greatest weather to be outside in, but someone needed to do the outside chores like muck stalls, and Ranthian had eagerly volunteered. Being outside was one of the only times he was able to take his shirt off. He wasn’t sure what it was that he hated so much about shirts…maybe it was the way the material scratched unpleasantly against his skin. Whatever the reason, whenever he was wearing one, he itched something awful, until he was able to pull it off. One reason he didn’t like his shirt was because he was in a constant state of too warm. The kid ran hot, and it made anything on his body supremely uncomfortable.

Yes. This was an acceptable reason.

He noticed the humming as soon as it started; a shifting from the norm. He put down his shovel with a thunk, lifting his head as the voice of the senior gold entered his head. He could tell from the reactions of the ones around him that he wasn’t alone.

A frown creased the boy’s forehead. Shardit, he wasn’t presentable enough for a hatching! He didn’t have enough time to bathe or even clean himself off properly. He grabbed his shirt and stalked off to the barracks to change. He had a little bit of a problem with the white robe he pulled over his bare chest, but it was a respect thing, really. He understood that the clutchmothers might not approve of a shirtless candidate on the sands. He brushed long fingers through his hair, grabbed the knife they were all required to bring and pocketed it.

Then he was on his way.

There weren’t that many others who’d filtered in by the time he’d gotten there, so Nori was easy to find, even without Lanorun looming over hers and the others with his grumpy face. The boy chuckled at the thought, making his way over to hug his sister briefly, flashing her a smile that was a hundred percent genuine for once…not that they’d ever be able to tell the difference. They never had. “Good luck, Nori. You got this. Stay safe, okay?” They both knew that there was nothing he wouldn’t do for his sister, no matter his feelings of being excluded from the family, up to making himself a human shield for her.

He just hoped it wouldn’t come to that and pulled away to kiss her on the forehead before turning to dip his body in a bow to Callistath and Kalesk. “It’s an honor to stand for your clutches.”

---

Adelaide didn’t notice the humming before she’d heard Callistath’s voice. The girl was always a bundle of restless energy, and being so excited about the hatching she knew was any day now didn’t help matters at all. She wasn’t bouncing, from where she was sitting, but only just barely. Her fingers were thrumming on her knee and on the arm of the couch, and her feet were tapping on the floor. It was like this every moment she wasn’t working or doing something physically…it really was distracting.

When the gold spoke, her head snapped around so fast to find it that it was a near blur, and her face nearly split in the smile that came over it at that moment. The girl was bouncing then, on her feet in an instant and on the way to the room she shared with Sora. The other girl wasn’t around, and Addy didn’t take a second to contemplate why. The humming was thrumming to her core and she just moved, pulling on her robe and putting her hair up. She’d thought about the hairstyle she was going to use. It was best not to give any wayward hatchings something to pull…so she put her hair up in a delicate bun, extra hair spiraling down around her face.

She bounced out of the room and nearly ran into a wall in her hurry to stop and turn back to grab her knife, because she’d forgotten it. The girl wasn’t so sure how she felt about having to bring a knife with her. She was a dragon candidate…not a wher, but like they’d been told…anything could happen. She pushed the knife into her robe, checked her hair one more time, and set out for the sands.

To her delight, Sora was already there. Still practically vibrating with energy, the girl took her place next to her roommate, nearly forgetting to greet the clutchmothers. “Thank you for allowing me to stand!” Before she turned to Sora. “You should be excited, Sora!” She whispered cheerfully towards the other girl before noticing who she was basically standing behind. With a grin, Adelaide leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Rio’s neck, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. “Good luck to you too, cutie.” She whispered before releasing him and dancing back into place, falling silent.

Even if she was silent, it was impossible for the girl not to move, and she did, tapping her foot, her fingers against her arm…anything to try and work out all her excess energy.

It didn’t work. It never did.

---

Ever since their last chat, K’ius had been practically locked in his room, only coming out for lessons, training, and food (just barely, and at Shobhaith’s urging). Otherwise, he wasn’t inclined to leave. He’d made himself more vulnerable that he’d ever been in his entire life and had his intentions thrown in his face. In short, he’d humiliated himself in front of his best friend, and he wasn’t in a hurry to face the world. Sandr hadn’t come to see him since that day, and Kai wasn’t sure if he felt good about that or not. So instead of trying to figure out how he felt, Kai kept himself locked away, much to Sho’s frustration.

That’s what he was soing today, watching his pets play at the foot of his bed while he sat there, listless. Shobhaith was watching him, thinking of something to say to break the boy out of his funk when the hatching was announced. Either K’ius didn’t hear or he just didn’t care, because he didn’t react to the humming of the dragons. The eggs are hatching. He offered his rider in a soft voice. But K’ius just shrugged. “So what?”

Thoroughly frustrated with the boy’s behavior, Shobhaith stepped down off of his couch, swept his tail out to knock the boy flat onto his back and hold him there with his tail, mindvoice firm in his head. I know you’re afraid of seeing him, but he’d want you to be there…don’t risk your friendship over something so stupid!

[/i] Kai gave a startled eep and started to respond, “It’s not stu…” Sho growled and stepped away from the boy. It is stupid, and you know it. I’m not going to sit here while you wallow in pity all day. I’m going to the hatching. Are you coming with me or not?

Grumbling, Kai rubbed his chest and sat up, making his pets stay while he went over and mounted Sho. The dragon dropped him off at the sands and went to go take his place with the dragons (not least so he could flirt with the tans), and the boy crept into the stands area. He say Sandr at once, and his stomach twisted when he did. Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the stands without trying to catch the older boy’s attention. It was good that it was dark, and he settled himself in the deepest, darkest shadows of the stands, on the bottom row all the way over on the wher side of the hatching, so that no one would see him.

Hopefully.

Kai wasn’t big on announcing his presence at the moment when all he wanted to do was bites someone’s head off. The boy was practically radiating with DON'T MESS WITH ME waves, his head down and shoulders hunched. His soulful brown eyes were alert though, darting between Sandr and the clutch...this could be dangerous. And you say you don't care. The voice was patently amused...but Kai ignored it.

---

For once, Mouse wasn’t the little urchin that she’d been at other hatchings. The child was perfectly content to sit with Gennesk as she nearly bounced all over him in her excitement to see the eggs. BABIES. I wanna go see the babiesss Gennesk. Can I go see them? She hadn’t been allowed to go see Ausk’s babies, so she thought that this was really overdue.

The girl was contemplating how best to see the babies when Lisk came over. Grinning broadly, the girl gave the green a big, smacking kiss on the snout, Bray chittering nervously on her head. He didn’t like the idea of this wher getting so close to his girl, but the little brown flit was soothed by Gennesk’s aquiesence of Lisk and quieted down, throwing the wher dirty looks from Mouse’s hair. Selene was settled on Gennesk’s neck and Fishie was firmly inserted into Mouse’s shirt, even though he was growing rapidly.

Liskkk, you’re so pretty. I want to go see the babies. You should come with me, it’ll be an ADVENTURE. Oh, oh, oh! She was distracted for a moment, looking for a familiar black shape. Saosk can come too! I love him and I love you and Gennesk! The child cuddled into her brown wher, trembling with excitement.
[/font][/blockquote]

[Dragonwher]

Randiel jerked out of sleep at Kalesk's call, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he shoved off his bunk when his wool-gathering ceased. As he got first a thin tunic on then the leather armor his father had lent him as well as the knife he'd taken to carrying. Then managed to get his boots on as he moved, hoping he didn't end up peeving off one of the Queens as he told his pets to stay put. Then he pounded through the halls he noticed the bite to the air in the bowl as an afterthought. The Sands would be warm enough after all, though as he entered the hatching sands he slowed almost to a halt, face calm trying to let go of the tension he knew lay in his heart.

He did passively wonder whether Mira had asked a rider to bring their parents here again to watch him Impress. If his partner lay in one of the eggs here; no matter the mother. He was told he might well be picked by a dragon but he definitely hoped his bonded lay in the sand nearest Kalesk. However he kept his eyes off the Stands and on the duo of queens as he stepped forward and bowed, eyes respectfully downcast "Thank you for the honor of Standing before you and your children". Then he stepped back respectfully and only ceased backing calmly away when he was rather near the back of the pack of candidates. But much more in line with Kalesk's clutch than Callistath's.

He spared a passing hope that Aela wasn't producing such a monstrous fuss worrying for him that she tried to find him out here. It would end poorly if she did; of that he was sure. He only glanced to his side once and found a fellow Candidate on that side of him. He couldn't remember the boy's name right off, Val-something but he'd congratulate him all the same if he Impressed. And when he spotted the boy who'd lost his wher before the bond could be forged he only hoped that the poor guy Impressed and stayed that way this time. He tried very hard to bury the alternative for the boy under positive thoughts as he'd been instructed.

~~~

Meanwhile in the filling Stands, an actually excited Mira had arrived with a few others, managing to settle with her flits soon enough. She might have tried to sit with Iola or the others from her Weyrling class; but figured if anyone wanted to they'd find her. Instead she settled for perching on the same space Malinoth was occupying. No use making it too easy for the mother wherry that was her big bro spotting her too quickly after all. Nymeria, Asher and Meridia trilled near silently at Mira as they turned to focus on the hatching, then tried to hum with Malinoth.

Who thought to Mira Mine, you don't think your clutch sibling will be upset at us for watching this time do you?; he seemed very...adamant that you stay away. To which Mira responded Still, I think I should be here, he missed my first time standing but saw you find me my second time standing. I was made to miss his first time Standing and he didn't Impress then. So it stands to reason if he's to Impress I need to be watching this time.Then she muttered "and I know why he was scared for me seeing a wherhatching but I'm not so little any longer, we've grown alot Malinoth after all". She smiled as a warm wash of love hit her mind from her partner But if bad happens and it seems too much I'll use my wings to block your sight like you did for me when I hatched.

In spite of the implications inherent in such a statement/promise; the thought her partner would attempt such a kindness made the girl smile. Though deep in her heart she truly hoped her brother would be safe, odd though the feeling of worrying for the one who usually did the worrying was new. As a way to stave off bad thoughts she mentally chuckled you think Caramon managed to get Perrin to tussle with him yet?. Which incurred a slight head shake in Malinoth doubt it, Perrin is too calm for that I believe...or he might have convinced Caramon to resort to playing tag...we should be careful heading to our weyr later...if they got water on the floor and made a mess.

Neither Dragon nor partner voiced a thought on the choice Callistath made; in spite of the...opinions Mira had held for Couineth after what she'd done with Jainath's egg. That was in the past, and well...though Mira didn't voice the idea much she had been raised in the land D'lios' Hold had in its jurisdiction. So while she overheard some folks talk of the likely sneak move on D'lios' part among other things she never responded to such things. Meanwhile down in the space for non riders to spectate Mir and Andel were watching, Andel calmly. Mir fretfully in the way of mothers though she was proud of her son as well. She did whisper to Andel "do you think Randiel will impress this time? he was not so fortunate last hatching...". Andel just hugged his wife with one arm "I'm sure he will do fine Mir; though I wonder where Mira is...she did send that...strongly worded note that explained why we didn't see her during that last Hatching...". Mir chuckled finally "I'm sure she's about Andel; likely up somewhere her brother won't spot her in a hurry". Which earned an answering chuckle as Andel settled to see if his son would Impress safely.

[Raining]

He'd been... deeply pensive for a couple of days -- or maybe he was just hiding out until something happened. Something had to happen, or he was going to drive himself crazy, and not just him.... his small group of pets were a lot more irritating than normal. Zo would not quit clinging, Jemma would fall into the melancholy he was currently feeling... and Gideon was just angry. The only one he appreciated right now, was Vin, his cat. He was the only creature that wasn't mentally bonded to him... so if Sandr wanted to sit without feelings of worry or pity, he could. The cat was happy either way since it meant him getting attention.

Perhaps he was just being mean, and taking his problems out on the only other ones who knew he wasn't in the best shape. They only made him feel worse, he had enough to deal with right now without making him feel worse.

The call came, and his two firelizards began to hum. The candidate took a calming breath almost decided he was going to sit this one out, feign illness. But no, he had to go... his personal drama with a certain weyrling... didn't matter. Or so that's what he's trying to tell himself. Maybe telling himself it didn't matter would make it just go away. Yet... the pit at the bottom of his stomach, and the bile in his throat told him otherwise.

The boy stood suddenly and tossed on his leather armor, it wasn't extravagant or very thick... but it protects his chest and stomach at least from anything serious. Over that went the regular candidate robes, and.... the knife. For a split second he hesitated fingers hovered over the hilt. He really didn't want this... but he had no choice. Fingers closed around the cool hilt of the knife and sheathed it, as he rushed out the door.

On the sands, Aleksandr approached the queens, a sort of happy midway point before the boy bowed, "Thank you for the honor of standing," he told them, respectfully. And so he took his spot, up near the front. Here so close to the eggs... excitement thrummed through him, sort of fogging the other unwanted emotions of hurt, dread, and guilt. Because of the ladder he dared not glance at the stands, if he didn't see him... he wouldn't know what he'd do. So Sandr pushed that from his mind, and allowed only positive thinking to filter through.

It wasn't that hard, not as hard as he thought it was going to be. Here in front of the eggs... he was as confident as he ever was. Or at least he's trying.

---

Callistath's voice echoed through his head, and he practically sat rigid. He feared he would never get used to voices interrupting his own thoughts, or how they intruded so easily into his head. Riocard was told that he was able to wear leather armor... but why? Sure he's heard that some hatchings can be a bit violent, but.... he didn't really believe he would get hurt. He wasn't obstructive or obnoxious... so apart from impression he should get ignored. Or so that was his theory.

The fifteen turn old boy got dressed swiftly, and grabbed the knife like he was instructed to do. Though he wasn't a wher candidate... he was now considered both. Not that it mattered too much, he enjoyed the lessons on both Wher and Dragon.

Out on the sands, Riocard bowed "I appreciate the honor of standing for your clutches." he told them. As calm as Rio seemed to look, and the way his voice fluidly spoke the words... he couldn't deny the sudden spike of nervousness that he desperately tried to shove away.

There was no room for useless negative thoughts... so he tried to keep his head clear. As people filed in, it was easy to forget about his nerves, as he instead glanced at both clutches, and the people around him.

Reading about Hatchings was one thing, actually standing for one... well he also couldn't deny the thrill of actually being here. Of course good feelings were ruined as someone's arm snaked around his neck and a kiss planted on his cheek. He lurched forward, snapping a glare around at his.... bubbly fellow candidate. The glare he threw at her... never worked before... but it was still a clear indication of how he felt (whether it amused him or not). But he allowed his expression to soften as he offered her one nod of his head, before turning back around and rubbing his cheek.

Faranth she was weird.

[Reky]

Risny had been up longer than she liked, and her body felt like it was nearing night already. Holed up in the caverns, folding towels, time was sucked into a void where it had no influence at all, even more intangible than usual. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't unhappy, either - just blank, folding, bored. Something about the weather, maybe, except she hadn't seen the weather since the morning. Then, all of a sudden, time snapped back into play as the golden Queen Callistath called to her. Her fingers dropped her cloths; the basket tumbled from her lap as she stood. For a split second she didn't know where to go, but soon enough righted herself and bolted.

The head rush hit her as she came outside and her steps faltered. The sky was gray and dark, but light still filtered through the thick cloud cover. Midday? Evening? She couldn't tell. She rushed for the barracks but, panicked and short of breath, collided with another body in the squeeze for the door.

"You--" she spluttered, looking up at the tall, older man. Inrahim tried to hold her upright, furrowing his brow at the anxiety in her eyes. "Your wher died--" which she had been thinking about, piecing it together - the interest he put in that Newtollen kid, his age, Audren's wary treatment of him. He didn't know how she had sorted it out and her words barely registered with him.

A firelizard blinked out of between in front of them, paddling her wings desperately. If it were possible to ooze out of between, Ildn had managed it, and the rotund green squealed in Risny's face.

"Ildn!" she panted. "How did you--? Why--" Because she had never seen the stupid fat lizard between before. "You have to go back to Lagha!" Risny gaped.

"My lady, you need your robes," Inrahim reminded her. He felt bad - she was so distraught already and she hadn't even made it to the sands. The girl nodded, though, and off she went with Ildn in her arms. He went his own way, a man walking down the boys' side of the complex. Slowly, her deduction sank in. How had she figured it out? Smart girl, he thought, since he wasn't at all in the habit of making the information public. It wasn't a sore spot as much as it was a delicate one, but it began to lace itself between his ribs and weigh on him. He remembered Inrahisk so vividly.

There were whers to hatch in the cavern this day, though, and Inrahim ducked his head into his white robes. He came onto the hot sand with a sense of forboding that he tried to transmute into acceptance, or excitement. Somewhere, he was excited - he knew that. He missed wherhandling. It had become a part of his very existence. He wanted a creature to love again. But was it selfish? Did he want it just because he had lost Inrahisk? It's for the good of the people around you, he told himself. All of these people. To protect them. To be of use to them. As he bowed, he tried to put this to heart, but doubt still nagged at the back of his mind.

Risny wormed her way up into the crowd of candidates, finding a place between Aelynn and Orkia, and partly stumbled into a deep bow. "Thank you," she choked, then swallowed and stood. She had put Ildn away with Lagha; she had her robes; she had done this before. But shard it all to the Red Star and back, she was still nervous.

---

Out of the shadows, Audren and Ausk came to witness the hatching. The alphahandler saluted to Kalenna and Avalle, but Ausk held her great red skull high and mighty. She was the Alpha, here to watch the birth of her new pride members. Still, she snuffled and clacked her jaw, ducking her head against Audren's back to block out the diffused sunlight. Stubbornly, she refused blindfolds and ate them when she had to. She was a red Queen, an Alpha; day would not defeat her.

Audren, however, knew otherwise, and used the beast's head as a backrest to hide her tiny, fragile eyes. Ausk snarled as Tusk's message arrived, but shared it, and Audren nodded. From her, the red's voice was calmer than usual.

Good. Yes. said the Alpha to the green curtly. Use head.

---

Samael, perhaps even more than some of the candidates, was brimming with excitement. She hurried along at Q'sis' heels as they went to pick up their son, and at his side once they had got him. Her sister was going to Stand, and she hoped so intensely that things would go in Embla's favor. The family settled into the stands and Sam took Qael from his father, settling him against her more comfortable breast. "Good morning," she smiled into his soft, new forehead. The infant's eyes blearily searched his mother's face, and the cavern high above it.

"Look, there's Auntie Embla," she said to the babe, shifting him gently and pointing. Her tan Naireth had alighted on a ledge near Unath, and folded her wings back. Tell Embla good luck, Sam commanded, since her own voice would both startle Qael and not be heard so far down on the Sands. Mine says good luck, Naireth noted duly to Embla. Chirping, black Balto joined the dragon, and sent Samael his view of the rocking eggs.

[/blockquote]

[Serah]

Aelynn was contemplating her life at the Weyr. What if she never Impressed a dragon? Would she become a Wher Candidate? Or would she simply stay on at the Weyr? Leaving Dalibor didn't cross her mind. She didn't want to leave. And she didn't think that anyone at the Weyr would force her to leave if she didn't want to, unless she did something bad.

Though Aelynn was fairly certain that would never happen. When she heard both Callistath and Kalesk call for the Candidates, she was already moving toward her robes and other Hatching gear. The knife was a new addition, but as this Hatching wasn't strictly dragon or wher only, every Candidate was required to have a knife with them.

She wasn't the first to arrive at the Sands, but she definitely was not the last. She saw quite a few open spots near the front. Close to Callistath's eggs. So, she headed to a spot semi-near the Gold dragon's eggs, bowing and speaking a soft 'thank you for letting me stand for your eggs'.

Ahburn had been napping. His chores were finished, so he saw little reason why he couldn't partake in a nap. The two Gold's voices startled him into awareness. At first, he didn't even realize that he had been called to the Sands. He just lay in his bed, awake. It took a few heartbeats to realize why he had been woken up.

He struggled to get everything that he needed on. Nearly tripping over his own feet with grogginess. Ahburn didn't rush to the Sands, feeling the need to take a little time to make sure he was fully awake. When he was sure he would be able to keep his eyes open, he walked onto the hot Sands.

He found his place sort of in the middle area, more towards Callistath's eggs. He was fairly sure he would be out of the way here. He bowed to both Queens before taking his place. Though he couldn't take his eyes off of the eggs, well, the eggs that he could see. This light was not what he was used to.

Kiaja was eagerly awaiting the call. He was pacing the room, just waiting for it. In fact, he'd been pacing everywhere the last sevenday. The excitement was about to burst before Callistath's and Kalesk's voice told him it was Hatching time. He hoped he wasn't bothering his roommate too much as he got himself ready for the probably once in a lifetime Hatching.

He was nearly running by the time he left his room. But he slowed to a fast walk before he reached the Sands. The lighting was what struck him first, after the Gold dragon and Gold wher of course. The lighting, he could probably get used to. Though he hoped he wouldn't need the time to. He felt like his dragon was in this Clutch.

Though, he couldn't be entirely sure. But he wanted a good view, so he chose a closer spot. Not too close, but not too far away. He took the spot next to his sister. Maybe they would both Impress today.

Ryiah was drilling herself on the rules. She had only been through a few Hatchings, and with this one being both a Wher and a Dragon Hatching, she wanted to be extra sure. This was sure to be a large Hatching, on any standard. She didn't want to mess her chances up by forgetting some important rule. Though not much had changed in the rules, just the way they would be standing would be different.

She heard the call, but didn't react immediately. She took her time to get herself ready, calming the nerves that had mysteriously appeared. The nerves hadn't quite calmed by the time she reached the Sands, but there was no delaying then. She looked in awe at the Queens and their eggs. She began walking to a place in the very front, sort of in the middle of the two Clutches.

She thought that would be a good place. If a wher or dragon wanted her, she would be easily found. She was getting more excited with each step she took. She found herself in her chosen spot quicker than she thought. Bowing to the Queens, she silently took her place as she waited for the first egg to break open.

Szene was just organizing her clothes. She had sorted them by season, and now she was sorting them by shade of red. Though of course she kept the seasonal organization as well. She was almost done with her meaningless task. She just wanted something to keep her occupied.

Just as pretty much everyone else, Szene knew there would be a Hatching soon. And then she heard the call. She didn't like wearing the white robes, but she knew she had to. It was mandatory for the Candidates to wear them. White would always be her last choice of color, if she were to be given that choice.

When she reached the Sands, there were already quite a few people there. So she just walked and walked, taking a spot next to a boy she hadn't bothered to learn the name of. She thought it started with an a or some such letter. She dismissed the thought, carefully bowing to the Queens.

Awnia had been up, strangely early for her. She couldn't sleep, she decided. Not with the Hatching being as close as it was. Besides, she thought, sleep could come later. She had taken the liberty of getting herself ready for the Hatching while she waited for the call. If it didn't come today, she could always get ready again tomorrow.

But she was right, soon after Awnia was ready, she heard the Gold's calls. She pointed Cote to the bed, the Green obediently sitting on the bed post. She left her room and headed for the Sands. Taking a deep breath, she entered the already somewhat crowded cavern. There was a good space near Kalesk's eggs, she noticed. So that would be her spot for this Hatching.

She bowed to both the Gold wher and the Gold dragon as she took the spot. Awnia began wondering which egg would break the shell first. One of Kalesk's or one of Callistath's? She couldn't tell right that moment. But she was patient, she could wait.

[princesal]

"Ah, shhhhh- ah..."

Wincing, and standing with a sheepish grin on his face, Otto rubbed his head. When he had heard a voice calling all candidates onto the sands, his excitement had startled himself, and he'd gone sprawling shovel over handle and onto the ground. It was his own fault for choosing the top bunk out of an empty bunk set.

"Roll left, roll left." He said to himself as he moved to change out of his night pants, as if that would remind him to wake up tomorrow and roll left... "Unless everything changes tonight..." With a grin he hurried to get ready. Steady hands skipped over the armor that had been suggested in earlier lessons, reaching for the white candidate robes. Even though it was his first hatching, and people mentioned that wher eggs might hatch at the same time, he trusted in the future. Think positive!

Running a few hands through his hair, Otto found he couldn't keep the smile off his face. First dragon hatching! It felt like only yesterday that he was Searched. His thoughts flickered to his sister, reaching up to touch the stone held around his neck. Her journey was hopefully going to start soon, and maybe tonight his future was going to be revealed.

Pausing for a moment, he finally pulled the necklace off over his head, deciding that if anything did happen, that he didn't want it ruined. As soon as he took it off the lack of the familiar weight made the skin on his neck feel alien. A quick rub over his neck, a few breaths to try to calm his pulsing heart, and an epic fall out of his room.

Chuckling audibly, because he was used to it, the gangly teen righted himself, dusting off the white candidate robes as he went. Looking down at his left foot, the sandle was nearly coming off, and the lacing was trailing behind. No wonder he had tripped. As he knelt down, letting other candidates passed, he was thankful that at least he hadn't tripped on the sands.

Which is what he would have been hoping he could have said not five seconds ago, when he did step out onto the Sands, and literally tripped over his own foot. The big thing just came out of nowhere! The sands were warm to the touch, burning, and Otto was scrambling back to his feet. The shadows cast by the dimmer light allowed him to get away with his tumble with more grace than he'd ever be able to manage in the day, and he shuffled as quick (and trip free) as possible to bow Callistath, "Thank you for honoring me with a chance to stand, lovely queens." He bowed to both gold queens, but also to who he knew as BetaHandler Kalenna, and Weyrwoman Avalle

He may have not been here for long, but the eggs on the sands, and whose dragon and wher they were, and the riders... well the weyr had been a-buzz about them. And while he wasn't the wher candidate program, he felt honored that Kalesk would allow them on the Sands at the same time her children were Hatching.

Otto only fell one more time before standing up in his chosen spot, it was only really obvious because he nearly stomped the small girl that he ended up standing next to. "Sorry, sorry" He whispered, and fell silent, remembering that talking was against the rules.

[small tag: Chek, Niorun ]

[kireon]

Kairhi could have cheerfully kissed the golden queens, both of them, when their voices broke into her mind. Hatching day, their very second and totally awesome two-in-one hatching and it was gonna be amazing. And her sister and mother and family and mentor/rival were gonna be there. The only way this would ever, ever get any better, were if she and Mairhi were to Impress together and continue on as Weyrlings, or Wherlings, together too. They would totally be unstoppable. White robes on, hand laced through her sister's own, she lead them boldly to the sands, coming to a stop before both queens near the center of the candidates and where duals were supposed to stand, after all, and bowed in sync with her sister. Brown eyes bright and energetic, she beamed at the two lovely, massive queens providing them with a chance at a truly spectacular future. "Thank you both for the honor, I'm super happy to be here!" and stepped back after Mairhi gave hers.

Giving her twin's hand an excited squeeze, Kai tried her best to not wriggle around in place and kept her eyes as firmly locked on the eggs aas possible.

This was it, this was totally it.

**

In contrast to the highly energetic twins' eager displays, Jaed ambled behind in a significantly more subdued, but no less excited manner. First hatching he'd ever attended, and he was more than blown away by the sheer size of, well, everything. From the spectators above- and he thought he saw Mith, which meant Valha was probably there. On cue, the very thought of the petite, adventurous blonde sent him tripping right into the side of the stairs leading down to the sand bowl proper. His hip clipped the corner of the stairs, a curse slipping out before he could help it as he rubbed the offending spot ruefully as he gave a smile to Nimara on his way down the actual stairs. He liked the fellow red-head cool, some sort of secret red head society or something like that, and she was pretty, and nice... his sandal caught on a sand dune and nearly laid him flat as he walked past her.

Nope, he was never gonna be cool, ever.

All six and a half feet of him bowed to the queens, gratitude sincere and true, more than a little awestricken by them and their riders, and stumbled his way back to a little pocket off to the left. Maybe if he stood there, things would happen? Or wouldn't, as some people had been murmuring rumors of hatchings going terribly, terribly wrong.

As he shuffled his weight from one side to the other, a thought struck him. Why did the women at Dalibor have to be so fantastic, so powerful, so amazing, and just so, so... intimidating?

**

A Hatching was the very last thing she wanted to attend.

Yet, no amount of pleading, tears or arguing with Niddath had swayed her headstrong blue from his determination to get her out of her weyr- or one of the many places, abandoned, that she had a tendency to hide herself away from the world when she wasn't on Flight duty, in drills, or managing to eat a little bit of something before leaving the hall. So, there she was, and her eyes had naturally fallen on to Loki- there on the sands, as faithful and devoted as the wonderful blue he had bonded with.

The one she'd killed.

The smallest noise had come out, tiny and drowned out in the growing din of the stone ampitheater as dragon, rider and spectator alike crowded in. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be anywhere close to this place. That little thought continued to churn within her head, and Niddath's encouragement fell on unhearing ears and heart. Her hands fisted themselves in the long, dark skirt she wore.

She shouldn't be there.

Willow jerked as if she'd been threadscored at the sudden presence and arrival of her former classmate. Large eyes blinked owlishly, deep shadows bruised the skin beneath her eyes from a lack of sleep, or rather, failure at sleeping for longer than a candlemark or two at a time before the nightmares began again. "I-" Did you... plan this? There was a degree of hurt, betrayal in her voice as she asked Niddath. Dark eyes immediately returned to the sands, or to her lap, it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. "am here. A-are you well?"

She dodged the rest of the question, she couldn't go there. Not now, maybe not ever. Especially not to one of the golden trio, one of the three who were just amazing, and cool, and just so... so together in comparison to her unraveled self. Why?

Geth! Hi Geth, how're you doing? Thanks for bringing yours here, I really appreciate it![/i] He bobbled his head and upper body in greeting, wings flaring out and spreading before fluttering anxiously back down to press neatly against his body. The pain in Willow kept his eyes from going entirely green, or blue, with greeting towards his fellow clutchmate. The brown was just simply a really cool guy, and he liked that. He'd probably never be as cool as Geth, but that was almost okay. Almost. If they could fix what was wrong with Willow, he'd be okay with not being as cool forever.

...okay, so he wouldn't be as okay as he would be if he could do it himself. But it felt like he'd tried everything right then and there, and nothing was working. Maybe Geth and K'oa had other ideas, she really liked them! And Irohvyne and Sian too! Maybe theirs would help as well! Hatchings are meant to be celebrated, Willow. Celebrations can't happen just by ourselves, that's why I got friends to come![/i]

It was a bad lie. A really, really bad lie- and they both knew it.[/size]

[Nia]

The skies were ominous, but Valdis wasn't deterred by them. It was a Hatching! It was going to be really fun and she was excited. She'd never gone to one before. Valdis blushed and wrung her hands together, looking at the ground and shuffling her feet as the dragonrider came for her. How did you talk to a dragonrider...? Oh no, she was going to mess up and fumble and fall off! She was totally going to fall off and embarrass herself. Valdis listened to Samara talk to Fahra without putting in any input but a shy little wave at the Greenrider and a quickly muttered thanks. Despite her fears, Valdis clumsily managed to climb up on Eriputh and successfully arrive at the Hatching without any major mishaps. It wasn't her first time at the Weyr, but WOW! She'd never seen so many dragons in one place before!

In particular, Gold Callistath caught her eye. Even in the dark, the Senior Queen was stunning and massive! She was so, so big! Her rider looked so tiny in comparison! It was scary, just how big dragons got. "It is dark...." she repeated, looking down at the eggs and the dragons. She couldn't take her eyes off of Callistath, however, though perhaps that was only because the Gold was glowing in the low light.

"Um," she quietly piped up after an awkward silence when Cambyses was done speaking, though she did blush profusely as he kissed his wife, "So like, ah... do you think maybe a wher will Impress the same person as a dragon? Can um, can they do that?" She questioned the Lord and Lady Holder, fidgeting in her seat nervously. Dalibor Weyr. The last time she'd been here... Valdis blushed darkly at the thought. Maybe... she'd see him, again. But oooh, what would she say....

Unlike Valdis, Joni was utterly prepared and ready. F'ton had given her some armor in preparation, saying she'd need it to stay safe. It was a bit too big on her, as they weren't exactly the same size, but Joni wore it all the same. She looked at her four firelizards, all sitting on her bed staring at her. Joni hooked the knife in her armor's pocket and grinned at her flits. "Today I'll come back with a new friend! A big one," she clenched her fists tightly together, allowing Ohm to fly over and land on her shoulder. "The rest of you please stay here, okay? Ohm!" she grabbed the Green off of her shoulder and held the firelizard close to her face. Ohm, trusting Her's, didn't try to flick between and instead stared at Joni with the same intensity.

"Go to F'ton! That way we can, um, stay in contact," she informed the vibrantly colored Green, who took to the sky out of Joni's hand and disappeared. She popped into the air above F'ton and Fahra, settling happily on the Greenrider's shoulder. Joni spun around energetically, facing her door and stomping out of it. Her roommate...? Was gone, yeah. Looked like. She was some girl that Joni didn't really know, so she was okay that the other girl had left. No big deal. Right now, it was all about her!

Joni stepped into the Sands and made a low noise of awe, staring around the darkness at all the Candidates around and the Queens. She looked up in the Stands, unable to spot Poseith, but she waved frantically anyway, hoping that maybe he'd be able to make out her energy in the dark. She pushed forward to bow to the Queens, first to Kalesk and then to Callistath. "It is an honor," she said, to both Golds. Joni then quickly ducked away into one of the rows, standing firmly in her spot. She was a little closer to the wher eggs than the dragon eggs, but that was okay. It didn't matter. She didn't mind a wher, she supposed!

Vyna was fairly nervous, and N'yn's hug made her feel better. She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked out across the Sands. It was odd, being here in the Healer's section. She was sure they'd need as many Healers as they could get, though. She'd heard stories of Wher hatchings, and they usually weren't pretty. She smiled at N'yn, wondering if he was so naive as to believe that this would be "fun". "I'm ready," she said, and lightly punched him in the arm. "You'd better focus!" she teased, trying to cheer herself up.

[/size]

[Cathaline]

The foggy, pale blue egg on the right side of the clutch wobbled, tried to roll, was a little too misshapen to manage it. It was the first to do more than shiver, so although it took some time - nearly all the time that it took the Candidates to rush into their robes and onto the sands - it was also the first to hatch. A tiny claw worked its way out of a spiderweb-thin crack, and peeled off a bit of shell; from there it was easier, and at last the wher inside wriggled her way to freedom, light, and life.

Well, light from a certain standpoint. The sands were dark, to protect her eyes; many of the spectators and candidates were probably frustrated, unused to the dimness of a wher hatching. But it was still more light than one would have in an egg, and so much space, and so many wonderful people to meet! She surged forward, between the two larger eggs that hers had been situated behind, waggling her whole body, and stared out at the sea of expectant faces.

She was...well, as misshapen as her egg. Perhaps not fully formed. Pale, pale green, springlike and covered in vibrant, swirling patterns, like a tropical forest bursting into bloom on her hide. She was thin as a rail, her wings translucent, soft-looking. Maybe her development had been arrested in the shell, but if she knew she was an odd specimen of a wher, she didn’t seem to mind it. She gave a delighted little chirp of greeting, and then turned away from the candidates. She had somewhere to be...someone to meet. Her other half was not out there. At least, not at this moment.

Behind her egg, the small black one hatched without fanfare. Its occupant picked it apart with analytical precision so that he, black like his shell, could simply step onto the darkened sands. He was barely visible, between the shadows and the fact that the larger eggs on the right side separated him from the candidates. He settled back on his haunches and simply watched, taking the world in with admirable patience.

The green certainly didn’t see him. She galloped straight up the middle of the nest, straining up toward her mother; Kalesk dipped her head, and they briefly bumped noses, giant gold and itty bitty green. The green then turned away, circled around to the left side of the nest, and got up on her hind legs, bracing her forepaws on the egg that was a mirror to her own. She chirped expectantly, happily, and waited.

Her little brow furrowed when there was no response, no response at all. She pressed the side of her head against the egg and chirped again. Unlike the rest of the nest, it had not given so much as a twitch, and she patted at it, straining to hear something, anything…

The squat black egg in front of her jerked violently and split in half, and a demon rose from the pit of hell. The wher was large, a dark, dark reddish-brown, a color not entirely unlike dried blood; it was impossible to tell whether it was a large brown or small red. The sands were too shadowed to pick up an exact hue, though its dark hide was splashed with patches of red-orange, like boiling lava. Ambiguous though it was, there was no mistaking the red glare of its eyes, sweeping across the candidates with instant loathing. Fools. Soft, squishy, weak, broken fools, all dressed in white - it only made them better targets for wrath.

The hulking brute’s attention was caught by its sister, who squeaked for attention. Could it maybe, just possibly, come help her free their sister from her prison? She was being so quiet in there, quiet as the grave, and maybe…

When the large wher turned, it instantly saw the problem. This egg was imperfect. Poorly-shaped, too soft, dead inside. Its very existence was offensive. How could something so flawed be allowed to continue existing? Better to start over from scratch. With an outraged snarl, the dark wher lashed out, a thick paw smashing the shell again and again. The green started back and fell over herself, landing on the sand with a horrified squeak. No! No! Their sister was going to get hurt -

Their sister was already dead. A barely-developed little thing flopped onto the sand, a fetus that would never breathe, never had a chance - a dud. Not much more than a smear of yolk. The large wher attacked it anyway, stomping it flat until it mixed with harsh grains of sand, until it really didn’t exist, until it was destroyed.

The pale green was crying now, crying for the sister she would never know, who would never see the world or experience life. The dark wher turned on her with vengeful eyes. Weakling! She would never survive, either! She was pathetic and kind and sweet and desperately, hopelessly flawed, and the much larger wher would rip the flaws from her body, tooth and claw.

She screamed and fled down the left side of the nest, tried to clear the short barricade marking the outskirts of the nest, didn’t make it - her back legs caught and sent her spilling, and this gave the dark wher plenty of time to catch up. Pure nightmare terror let her get up and bound just a few more feet before the reddish-brown (brownish-red?) wher brought her down, a large paw slamming into the back of her neck and pinning her to the sand. Her shrieks were strangled when the breath was driven from her small lungs, and the dark wher snarled down at her.

Perhaps if she had fought, she would have lived. But she made the fatal mistake of begging for her life, pleading mentally while she choked on her sobs. No. She was bad. She was broken. There was only one way to repair her, and that was to erase her.

The dark wher brought its paw down on her head, once, twice, three times; on the third blow, there was a sickening crunch as her skull caved in. The light immediately dimmed in her faceted eyes, and her fragile body went limp, ichor gently oozing from her back where those terrible claws had dug in.

Kalesk roared.

Compared to the cries and snarls of her children, Kalesk’s anguished declaration of war was loud. Her voice reverberated through the cavern. The dark wher’s head snapped around to stare back at its mother, but there was no fear in its stance, only a terrible calculation.

It ran, Kalesk ran; it nipped through the space between Garna and Dardranel, and Kalesk skidded to a stop, unwilling to bowl through candidates in hot pursuit. After all, she needed them - Callistath did too, needed them so other babies could survive. Kalesk paced for a moment, then hunched over the broken corpse, her eyes as crimson as her volatile child’s. Just let that dark head pop up and it would be all over. This was one thing she would not, could not tolerate.

Once among the candidates, the dark wher slashed at Tamarine’s shins, lashed its thick tail into Joni’s ankles. Ksenna was next; the wher sprang at her legs, jaw unhinged, and clamped down around her knee, gnawing viciously. When it finally let go, teeth dripping blood, it turned on Mleynn and brutally slammed into his legs, again and again, bruising and battering until he was forced to stumble into Carissa. Hopefully they’d both fall; by then the wher had moved on.

Terrible, they were all terrible, they were all worthless and pitiful and weak! Unlike the tiny green, they were - sort of - a match for the dark wher, though; it only came up to their knees. But knees made such attractive targets. Davalla’s were next, the wher’s claws raking at her. The wher circled behind Otoatavatah and struck at his soft calves, at the thin backs of his knees. If he fell, he would be well-poised to have his throat torn out -

Niorun caught the dark wher’s attention. For a moment, its blood-soaked snout quavered up at her, and then it hissed and scrabbled up Szene’s back, claws driving deep into her skin. She was tall, very tall for a woman; from the tautness of her shoulders, the wher could turn and make a full-bodied leap directly at Niorun’s face.

It collided solidly with her and, raging, tore at her bushy hair, slamming its paw into her skull repeatedly, like it could beat her to death the way it had done to its sister. Her shoulders would rip and bleed, a back paw caught her directly across the face and came close to taking out her eye, and a single lucky strike could tear through her jugular in a heartbeat. It was not the most scientific attempt at murder, to be sure. But it was extremely…spirited.

The nondescript black had, by this time, strolled forward, eerily silent and gazing out at the scene with keen blankness. Cataloguing, but not about to interfere.

[Gray]

If Callistath's loud call had not made Matilda stop, then Kalesk's quiet one would have. And they had still failed to rouse Matilda from her work, then Asperath's booming demand would have.
Matilda! A'til and I have heard the call! The eggs hatch. Get yourself ready and then meet us outside your barracks. It is time to impress! Matilda paused in her packing to shake her head a bit. Asperath seemed rather certain she would impress. But Matilda was not so sure. She knew Fate had already decided that, it had told her partner when they would meet, and it was up to her to be patient. Musing on this, Matilda strode through the corridors, a chorus of chirping and squeaking behind her. Firelizard flocked to her, bombarding her with the news of the hatching. Smiling at them, Matilda all thanked them for their input, and shooed them to go with their bonded. Surely she would need eyes on every area of the sands. She added quickly they should be sure to inform their bonded that the hungering of dragons and whers might make them desire raw meat. That was not weird! It was just one lovely part of a hatching.

But Matilda did not have time to amuse the firelizards, so sending her trio to cut off further bombardments, she waltzed into her room and dropped her basket on her bunk. Smiling. Matilda looked to where her roommate might have been. She had not spoke much to the girl. Both were more interested in keeping to themselves, and Matilda was not quite sure how to open up the cavernous and fanged channels of communication. It at times like this, that Matilda was sad she had not. Furrowing her brow, she quickly shook her head and dressed in her robe. She wore no armor, having foregone such things. If she was meant to be hurt, she would hate to hinder such an occurrence. Surely if she was meant to, it was important. Plus, it gave her more time to tend to her hair.

Kidanyr was ready, she was as ready as ever. Quintin and Quinzel had stayed back, she didn't want them being eaten. But Quince, well Quince refused. The green had wrapped herself like a honking, angry scarf about Kidanyr's neck, and her eyes whirled red. There were biteyones hatching! And big ones too! She would not allow hers to be hurt. She would honk them away, like she honked Brown-lump away. Kidanyr had finally agreed, once Quince had latched herself down. Now, she had set herself on the bottom row near the healers. Waving at those gathered on the sands, she looked at those gathered.
“Hi everyone. I'm here if anything needs to be grabbed from the Infirmary. I hope we don't have to but. Well. Butter to be prepared, right?” Kida didn't want to mention the fact that with both dragons and whers there was a chance of many more injuries. But, well, she figured they already knew the odds.

At the entrance, A'til put a hand on Matilda's shoulder.
“Don't be stupid. Stay back and if you have to move, do it carefully. I know you're not scared, but I think maybe you should try to be cautious.” Matilda couldn't help but laugh.
“Ironic coming from you. But don't worry, I'll not get myself killed. You know I'm not ready for that yet. I want my death to be a fascinating and elegant affair, after all.” A'til just nodded, steely eyed and faintly pale with worry. Leaving her side, he walked to the stands, taking a seat nearest the sands.

Left on her own, Matilda entered the sands, looking around at the gathered spectators. She raised a hand to wave at Anablimyth, if it hadn't been for the blue, she wouldn't be here. Making her way up to the Queens, she bowed to them both and their rider and handler.
“Thank you both for allowing me to stand.”

[Kiran]

Four candidates held their breaths anxiously. Jafari shuddered slightly, having been in a prime spot to see the gore that happened between the hatchlings. Behind him he could tell that others were getting injured. Possibly not enough to get pulled from the sands, but if one were, well.... How would the healers be able to reach them in the crush of the candidates and the danger of getting smiled themselves? If anything happened, then they would be on their own. Rally and truly, they were on their own.

It made him feel right at home.

If this wasn't almost exactly like being Holdless, he didnt know what was. Jafari steeled his nerves and closed his eyes for a brief moment, then started thinking pleasant thoughts again. That was what he could do right now. That was what was needed. That and a few Impressions, safely made and safely taken off the Sands. The knife he had weighed on his belt.

Quellyn couldn't deny the relief he felt when the wher went the opposite direction. There was no denying that there was still a danger, but being in the outskirts had spared him... For now. He hoped the red (brown?) would Impress soon. And wondered, briefly, if he would be the lucky Candidate. It was an intimidating thought, but Quellyn simply kept watch as candidates near him were felled and the wher disappeared in the crush.

Kira's stomach turned. It was coming her way. Oh, goodness, it was coming her way. Not really, but the wher was moving toward the dragon side with alarming quickness. She couldn't see what happened, couldn't see the felled candidates, but she could certainly hear things happening. Bad things. Kira started hoping desperately that the wher would be taken care of with a quick impression and then taken away so the rest of the hatching could happen happily. Yes, that was what they needed! Her hands felt clammy, the knife feeling like fire against her robes. Just. In. Case.

---------
Dardra's eyes were wide as the brutal events unfolded in front of her. One wher killed, another dud destroyed, and with a threat from the gold wher it disappeared into the candidates, nipping past her and leaving her eyes wide. This wasn't the hatching she had been hoping for, and she couldn't deny a bit of fear went through her.

Lanorun wasn't surprised. It was a wher, after all. He simply glanced at Nori, debating n whether to drag her off the Sands. It was too late now, though, and they were standing right in front of the Queens. Even he wasn't stubborn enough to think that they could leave the Sands unscathed if they dared leave now. Not that he didn't wish. Deeply, deeply wish....