Straddle the Line [CalKal Double Hatching!]

[Maggie]

Anablimyth considered this. He had not considered their red hair. It was very pretty, especially contrasted with the cyan of Enciath and Nesdeth's hides... Their hair is more flame-coloured, like the sun at sunrise and sunset, he told Enciath, obviously thinking about the pros of red again. It is the right shade of red. Red is such a tricky colour to get just right... The red over there is most definitely the wrong red. It's too... crimson. Too dark. No light to it. D'nari and Dawnova are the right colour of red, there's lots of light to it. And it contrasts so nicely with your hide and Nesdeth's, he added, pleased.

He considered Enciath's words, nodding. Yes, my G'lin very much likes long hair. He is very, very good at braiding and styling it perfectly to go with my fashions. You can see it on that new wherling over there with the black braids and the new little cyan wher. She impressed the very best female colour because she was so stylish. Cyan was obviously the best colour for girls. Ana knew this because his two very best friends were beautiful cyans who were very stylish and interesting. He did this very interesting thing with her hair once where he braided ribbons in. Do you think he should do that with your D'nari? He could make the ribbons match his outfit and make the resd of his hair pop even more! He was now distracted from the hatching, his eyes whirling with possibilities.

Nesdeth looked up as her sister arrived, her eyes turning a pleased, if still flat blue. She lifted her wings a bit to make room for the other cyan so that they could all huddle on the ledge.

G'lin turned to Iola, his eyes going a little distant for a second as Ana told him what was going on. "D'nari's coming with Mira," he told her. "Ana seems to think that they both need braids done. I thought that I'd escaped my cousins and their demands, but no." He grinned a bit. He did like braiding, he had to admit. "Speaking of, I'll have to go see my cousin later. Looks like her little cyan's going to be a handful." He looked around for D'nari, spotting the messy red hair and wincing as he waved him over. Snoozing on his shoulder, Doom gave an affronted chirp at the cyanrider's state. He himself was wearing a tiny bowler hat and miniature eye-protects. How ungroomed and undignified! This would have to be rectified at once!

[twitchie]

M'yn was very glad to sit down, and extra glad because he could lean on the black. The sand was hot but leaning against Michiath spared him from most of the heat.
Michiath had just layed his head on his paws when the pink, his sister Eveth, began to speak to him. For a moment his eyes went yellow, then melted to a green-y-blue when he realized how excited his sister was.
Cute? I guess this looks cute, we're resting up really because... Well all that running around was tiring and there will be lots of exciting things due to happen soon right? He raised his head politely, mouth gaping in a sort of dragonic goofy grin. YoursOwn looks nice, this is MineM'ynOwn. I think he's pretty cool, maybe not cute. But he is definitely my favorite! I'm Michiath... Michiath the humorous. Michiath the Jester! And you... You can be Eveth the cute! Michiath gave a boyish chortle and much to his amusement, he belched too.
M'yn had been watching the dragons until now, and after his dragon burped he decided to join in. "Nice to meet you both, and 'cuse Michiath. I guess...." M'yn had been talking rather easily for a moment and then suddenly he got tripped up. "H-he ate pretty... Fast...." M'yn smiled, eyes glowing as he touched the black. He felt like he had to touch the dragon, to assure himself he wasn't dreaming. "This means... We are.... In the same class right?" Maybe they could be friends too, it was always good to make friends.

(Tag: Eveth and Phaenna)

[Chimera]

Lirmox watched the hatching from up in the Stands worriedly. He sat down, and placed a clammy hand on Lisk's small, muscular head. The green wher was much more enthusiastic than her handler. She liked the blood, but the death was...maybe a bit overkill. No pun intended.

She turned around and licked the tiny, almost-healed scar of her own blood-bond to Lirmox on his finger - a reminder of only two seasons past. The hatching had taken place on these very same sands, but they seemed to have grown in size with the gigantic double, cross-species hatching. Ausk's had been so violent, they'd thought in the time. It earned a grim, silent chuckle from Lirmox.

Lisk peered at Saosk, Mouse, and finally Gennesk.

SEE? Ha. Lisk SO GOOD WHER, even agree truce with evil Saosk. Be good priderunner. In future. When harder, better, faster, stronger.

"Yeah, we can go up higher in the Stands." Lirmox said to Genner and Gennesk. "C'mon, Lisk." The pale green wher trotted to her place to the right of Mouse, flanking the girl like the FEARSOME BODYGUARD she totally was.

There had been two Stands Impressions already. At least this was almost over, so they could leave. Lirmox wondered if Mouse would really stand as a candidate (wher, of course!) when she was older, and if he wanted her to be in hatchings like these. But then again, it was also up to her. They couldn't force her. He looked at the sands again. Jafari'd only been bruised, but Ryiah had been clawed...Luckily neither his cousin nor his "frenemy" were in serious danger, especially next to some of the other injuries.

((Tags: Saowyn/Saosk, Genner/Gennesk, Mouse))

[RavenSong]

Seph watched Lili approach the feeding area, a smile on his face for her. So she had Impressed that Pink, that was amazing. While he wanted to ask her what her Dragon's name was and greet her, he stayed right where he was. He was still a Candidate, even though he'd been barred from officially Standing thanks to the injury he'd given his brother. He didn't want to chance breaking rules. So he opted to watch Lili and Peranzath, wondering how things would change.

And then, unbidden, a thought as clear as day in his young mind.

There's a dragon separating us until I Impress.

Instantly, he felt ashamed. Peranzath, though he didn't yet know her name, wasn't at all like his mother's Red. There'd been no indication that the Pink would make Lili abandon him too. Why was he so worried about being abandoned in the first place? It was common for rider parents to leave their children in the care of the creche permanently, barely interacting. His mother had just been doing what every other mother in the history of dragonriding had done. And while he liked his solitude from time to time, Seph didn't want to be alone.

Now, with all the people he cared about most Impressing, save for Seidon, he feared he truly would be alone.

----

"Her name is Refugiath," Davalla told Idra with a warm smile. She looked absolutely ecstatic as she briefly left Refugiath and hugged Idra tightly.

"I'm so glad you Impressed, Idra, so glad Copath found you. I was worried we wouldn't both solidify our places here and belong. I would've protected you, though... but you know that."

Refugiath eyed Copath and huffed a soft sigh.

Hello, Copath, the regal Cyan said to her Green sister. Please remember your manners. One does not -gulp- their food. It is unmannerly and beneath you. If you are going to associate with Davalla and me, you will behave in a mannerly fashion. Davalla settled down beside Refugiath again, petting her neck gently.

"Refugiath is quite regal," Davalla said. "She's a proper Lady Holder given dragon form."

I should think I'm above such a common title, Davalla, Refugiath scolded gently.

[Boo]

As Otto swayed, Hulair worked to steady the boy and then turned to listen to his words. It seemed there was no keeping him on the sands and perhaps leaving him there was as good as a death sentence. The now wherling nodded and looked around.
“I’ll help you to the healers.”
That was, after all, the best option. He would not just set Otto down where his throat would be more exposed to the whers and dragonets. As far as he was concerned, that was a death sentence when there were potentially two more whers ready to hatch.

Fortunately, a healer was walking back off the sands at that moment and when Hulair called, Tedaon rushed over to assist in moving Otto off the sands.
“I’ll be there next time to watch you Impress,” Hulair commented, a small smile passing over his rough features.
Although the guard usually smiled readily, there was not a lot to smile about at the moment.
HULSK HUNGRY!

The reminder caused him to stumble a little.
“Yeah all right, Hulsk.”
The wher was rather like a demanding child in a way and as they walked, the green ran along behind them, charging and pushing at Tedaon’s heels attempting to rid them of the intruder. The healer, to his credit, mostly ignored the shoving and fortunately managed to keep his balance.

He realised at that moment that he had never properly introduced himself to Otto as they helped him to the healer’s area.
“If you ever need me, come asking for Hulair.”
He patted the candidate on the shoulder as they set him down and Tedaon started working to clean the wounds. With a nod, the wherling turned away and walked towards the feeding area.

Head lowered, Hulsk ran to find a bucket. There were so many intruders here!! She had to get rid of all of them or else bad things would happen, very bad things. Hulsk turned to Peranzath but was stopped as Hulair reached down and picked up the wher before she could charge. Head still lowered, she flailed her legs.
HULSK’S NO! HULSK SMASH PUNY INTRUDER!
I doubt it.

Hulair sat himself down on the ground and holding his flailing wher picked up a piece of fish and held it out to the green. Grudgingly, the green snatched the food from his hand and then, seemingly forgot about the intruders.
Hulsk eat!
Joyously now she gobbled up the fish.
What is?
It’s fish.
Fish?
Yep.
Hulsk didn’t actually know what that was but she didn’t care. It was tasty. Oh but there were intruders around here! Forgetting about the food for the moment, she made to charge at one of the intruders again, not remembering that Hulair just so happened to have a very strong grip on her.
“Food, Hulsk… Remember?”
YES! PUNY FOOD!

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[Tigersilk]

Annuziata and Jasjitta watched the spring green dragonet march by towards the back, ignoring them on her way. Pretty as she was, and as pretty as the other dragonets and wherets that passed them were, Ziata was getting tired of standing. The bite on her arm from the first hatched wheret was aching more now than when it had happened. And though the bandage on the wound kept it from bleeding badly, she was going to have to get stitches on it soon.

"You ready to go to the back yet?" she asked her little sister.

Before Jas could answer, the green had come back to them, looking them over, before pouncing on the remaining girl on their right, Impressing. Jas looked at the scene longingly for a moment before answering. "It's almost done; there's only a few more eggs left. Can we stay till they're all gone? To make sure ours isn't stil out here? Please?" Jas was still unaware of the injured Candidates who'd Impressed their lifemates after going back to have their injuries treated.

Ziata sighed. "Okay, but only for a bit longer, or until things go bad again, okay?" Jas had only gotten a couple puncture wounds so far on her front torso, and probably not hurting as much as Ziata was. She also knew the other reason for Jas' insistence on staying: if they all had dragon - or Wher - partners, then they'd never have to go back to their home Hold ever again. Never be the butts of cruel pranks and assaults by their agemates, never be belittled and beaten by their parents while the rest of the Hold turned their heads away and told them they deserved it just for existing.... Kahnasunita was now free of that threat; they might be able to follow tonight, if theirs was still in the few remaining eggs.

And besides, Ziata wasn't going to leave her sister out here unprotected, even if the pain was starting to get to her. Something about the way that little grey wheret was 'talking' with the bully green dragonet back in front in the dragonnest was setting off her alarm bells something fierce, and she didn't want Jas to face it alone. Whatever 'it' was going to be. She hope it wasn't going to be too bad, but Ziata still had this feeling that that hope wasn't going to be answered in the affirmative.

[Dragonwher]

Like all boys seem to act, hearing a girl say he was pretty hurt made him almost immediately put up a tough front "the cuts look worse than they feel really, Dardranel". Then the odd sort of approval he felt from Rask made him blink and look down at the brown he was feeding with a quirked brow. Since the connection was so new to him Randi hadn't a clue Rask approved only because Randi was acting like the perfect being Rask saw him as.

But Randi shrugged it off mentally as something he'd sort out later before reorienting on Dardranel "so I think near broke ankle is more important than a few flesh wounds". Then he looked around for a stool or something for Dardra to sit in as she mentioned the bloodloss incurring wooziness. Which made her getting help first all that much more important to his mind.

Though he did try to chuckle a bit as he watched Dardra and her new wher interact "looks like you got the prankster of the clutch regardless what you were standing for then". With those reddened eyes Dardrask looked almost as mean as Rask but Randi wasn't about to say so. Not being the inherently nasty type and all. Though he looked over at Tamarine as she spoke up and nodded as he kept feeding Rask "thanks fer the suggestion; I won't tell her you spoke your mind on her Wher though when I meet your aunt".

Then he winced feeling a wordless wave of anger from Rask as the brown had looked away from the meat in Randi's hands and bristled at Imperiuth. Then, before Randi could still him he had growled out mentally Rask not be listen to new-hatch Iron. Normally for a wher, the quelling touch of their bonded got them rather quieted down it would seem. But even through touch Randiel could feel Rask bristle like an affronted canine. Looking to Tamarine showed him his wher wasn't the only one not having any of the fuss from the Iron. He prudently avoided pointing out to Rask that he was acting like his cyan sister however. The faint sting of the wound cleaner in every cut was an excellent distraction in that sense as well.

Up till Rask heard him slightly hiss and spun to glare at Makkoi; eyes red rimmed. Before he could do anything or say anything though Randi shoved more meat into his maw. Then nodded to Makkoi "thank you sir, I'll stay put now" then he felt a wave of sleepiness hit. Which proved to be coming from Rask as his eyes whirled slowly blue, but he silently shook his head on being done eating just yet. As Randi fed his new bonded he felt twin bursts of thought image before hearing the flapping of Aela and Farkas. Who had burst free of the tunnel from the candidate's barracks in quietly fussing mania. Least on Aela's part; Farkas just followed her as the pair shot past Naras' torso only to pull a squawking backwing seeing the now resumed to fully awake brown wheret near Randi. Rask's eyes whirled a lil more food be flying now?.

Randi glowered at Rask "flits en't food Rask!, these are my pets Aela and Farkas; so you are NOT allowed to harm them". Then, in a flash of inspiration he focused his thought since they're my pets and part of my mind they are perfect and not requiring the destruction you tried to give the bucket. Rask wasn't so sure at first, but Randi's quick thinking and revealing memories of bonding with the flits as well as Majere made Rask rumble in acquiescence. Though he still sort of wanted to test their 'perfectness; not that he'd admit it to Randi. Once Rask went back to eating, the flits landed on the floor. Not near Rask but on Randi's other side. Which was probably too close by a half foot to Naras if the pair had just scared the bejeebies outta him in their passing.

(Randi tags **geez that sounds wrong** : Dardranel/Dardrask, Tamarine/Tamarisk, Imperiuth, Makkoi, Naras)

~~~~

Luckily for D'nari; since Mira had the head's up from Malinoth he didn't get yiped at. Though she politely ignored his ah...flitnest as best she could. As Mali carefully spread his wings without smacking D'nari his eyes whirled happily knowing His saw D'nari as a good friend and was happier yet hearing her giggle. Which was caused by D'nari's comments as Mira spoke, moving carefully to avoid slipping "I'm fine with sitting near G'lin he probably needs some cheering up just as much as I still kind of need". Then she winced as she was helped down to the same level as D'nari was standing on "and now I fully get your worry about your sis; even though Randiel is my older bro...I thought a brown wher had..." then she choked off her words before voicing them.

But gave silent permission to Mali to share what he had seen with Enciath as he softly explained She thought she had lost her clutchbrother but the wheret was just being spectacularly violent in its Impressing. Feel free to share that with Yours if you like Enciath then he comically meeped not unlike the displaced flit trio of Mira's had when D'nari tried to shake em loose earlier as Enci nudged him Ok Enciath, I trust Yours and your self; Ana is having the same issue Mira did isn't he?. As Mali watched D'nari help His move along he waited for Enci to begin moving to where Ana was so he could follow, eyes a slow concerned whirl this hatching...its almost as dark as my own had been at points....

Not realizing she confused D'nari Nymeria chattered playfully at him from her person's shoulder after he'd displaced her. Asher for his part just facewinged then peeped an apology for the pinks 'help' as Meridia perched astride her Mira's noggin as a living...razzing hat. That occasionally giggled and meeped. Among the normal noises for a flitter.

Meanwhile her parents were still solidly determined to watch the whole hatching. Both of them slowly getting over the blood; even if the fear of nearly losing Randiel had yet to fully dissipate.

[RhiaBlack]

N'tharon shifted in his seat, Sintharith's attention settling on the Sands along with His'. Well, it was starting to wind down, at least. N'tharon had been pleasantly surprised by the new colors; while unclear as to what rank they held, as well as what their role would be in the Weyr, he nevertheless found a marginal amount of surprise in their presence.

New colors were always a good sign. Good things to come, more available variety for those who didn't seem to mesh well with specific colors, perhaps. He of course hadn't had that issue with Sintharith. His Black was perfect for him, and he liked it that way.

He hadn't been paying attention to the other end of the Stands. For all he knew, the girl who had been pointedly looking at him was amused elsewhere.

His attention lingered on Avalle.

Lili moved towards the feeding area, and part of her wanted to go over to Seph. Introduce her Pink, sit with him while she fed Peranzath, but she wasn't sure if she'd get in trouble in the process. The last thing she wanted was for him to be banned from the Sands, and then there would be no chance for him to find a Bonded, too. No chance for them to be Weyrmates, no chance for them at all.

Sensing the momentary panic, Peranzath wound her larger frame around Hers.

Seashells are pretty, LiliMine.
....Random. Sensing the brow-raise from Hers, Peranzath grinned a draconic grin as she settled on her haunches and let Hers feed her.

Some are big, some are small, some are pretty and some are not, but when the time is right and the world allows them, they make the prettiest harmonies together.
If you say so.

Peranzath tilted her head, peered at Seph curiously. There was an odd one, yes, yes, indeed. She tilted her head the other way, and then simply picked herself up from where she sat with Lili, and tread her way delicately towards where the Beastcrafter lingered. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that there were numerous people trying to be helped by the healers. Lili sighed, and went to retrieve her Pink.

Tail curled around herself, she settled in front of him, and simply peered towards him with curiously blue-green eyes. Lili was trying to reason with her, but Peranzath would not be moved.

You are only one, but you are two. Why?

Her words were half-solid, ghostly and dream-like within Seph's thoughts. Her head tilted the other way, almost as if to look through him.
Her dragon was strange. Great. Lili frowned, and rubbed her face.

Pera, come back here. They're healing, come back here before you get us in trouble.
There is no trouble, DearestMine. I am curious. To be in trouble, I would have to be doing something wrong, and we Dragons, we are never wrong, no, we're never, ever wrong.
You're wrong more than you think you are, come on. I wasn't done feeding you, and you're bothering people.
I am of harmony, even if and when they are not aware of this, LiliMine. Nonsense.

Peranzath turned her ever-curious gaze back to Seph.

You are two, yours and Mine, but you are one with only you, and this will not do. Do you have one that makes you two yet?
He hasn't Impressed yet, Pera. Leave him alone.
You do not want me to leave him alone, MineDearestOwn. Why should I?
Because it doesn't matter what I want, there are rules to follow.
But these Rules, they are not of harmony, Mine, they--
They are there for a reason. Come on. Don't make me pick you up and carry you off, there are people trying to be healed. You are in the way, shard it.

It frustrated her. Peranzath didn't understand, but then again, nobody else did.
I understand all things, even when I don't understand, MineMine.
I don't care. Get out of there before someone gets angry and I get in trouble for not controlling my Dragon.

Peranzath looked around her, seemingly disinterested, or oblivious to what was happening. With a heavy sigh, she slithered her way delicately out of the healer's area.....

.....And simply went around to the other side, still close to Seph. Where she sat back down on her haunches, and waited.

You are angry, MineMine. And this will not do, no, it will not do at all. There must be balance, there must be harmony, and until you come here to me there will not be. Come.

Shard it. Shard it to crackdust, this Pink was going to drive her crazy. Growling inwardly, she carted her bucket of fish over towards where Peranzath had sat down and refused to move. Planting herself on the floor, Peranzath peered towards Seph.

I am Peranzath. You are Seph? Mine has you many times in her mind. Sometimes in ways I do not understand, but I understand. I like that you are two.

Lili hissed through her teeth, and Peranzath peered back at Hers in curiosity. Lili held up fish, and Peranzath seemed to only then realize she was still hungry.

Pardon me, MyLiliMine says that I must eat.

[Nia]

The Iron came over, and the Green tensed at him, glaring and staring him down. His words began to speak to her, however, and over time the Green's demeanor became a lot less tense. She almost seemed to relax with him, letting her walls down and speaking openly at him. He was genuinely curious about why she was so upset, and so she shared with him. Not the best idea, but he showed her kindness and perhaps that was really all she wanted. Ulterior motives or not, but the Green wasn't really able to decipher this aspect of it. Her tenseness was back, but not directed towards the Iron this time. She was shooting dirty looks towards the group of assembled Candidates, or the red-and-white robes as the Iron had informed her they were called.

As the Green began to slink over towards the Candidates with the Iron in tow, Callistath and Avalle were preoccupied with a sudden comment, though all it really did was make Avalle roll her eyes. She understood the meaning behind the slight towards her, of course, but it was entirely misdirected. It was not the hatchlings that were the issue,

[/i] Callistath clarified back to Unath and Q'sis by extension, It was the behavior of the Candidates, brought on by a sense of entitlement from touching the eggs.[/i] That was all the Gold really had to say on the matter. The "stalwart and true" Candidates proved her point without her having to say anything.

Meanwhile, Avalle was mildly stunned by the Pink reaching up to poke her necklace, and she gave a flustered look back at the Pink, unsure of how to go about reacting. Callistath's hatchlings had never decided to come over to her before, and she didn't want to seem like a hypocrite by pushing the Pink away. She is asking if she may have your necklace, or perhaps something else in your pocket. She is proposing a trade.[/i] Callistath reported, and Avalle felt a sliver of a smile crawl across her face. She touched the silver necklace with one hand and gently shook her head. It was a sentimental piece, and she'd had it for far too long to part with it.

Instead, she reached into her pocket and dug around, eventually discovering a piece of metal in the shape of a heart that she'd been working on forming in her spare time. She figured she'd replace the old charm on her necklace with it when the old charm inevitably became brittle and broke, but the Pink was rather cute and she didn't want to have her go away empty handed. She placed the half-formed heart charm next to the shard of rock, and then proceeded to pick up the rock and give it a bit of a look over. She smiled and nodded at the Pink as she ran off to grab her still rather whole eggshell and gather up her things in it, handing it off to Callistath. The Gold adjusted her paw to curl protectively around the eggshell.

The Black watched the entire event go down without moving from his mother's tail. He'd messsed up. He'd messed up so badly. She was so cute and he was so dumb and he'd completely messed it all up! He couldn't even reply when she'd come over to try and talk to her, he'd just shrunk back behind the golden tail and tried not to make her think he was weird. But she'd left him all the same, and the Black was just kicking himself for it.

He fidgeted a bit behind his mother's tail before sneaking out around it, sticking close to Callistath and accidently grazing Avalle's legs as he walked by her, on his way towards the Pink. But he stopped, fidgeting next to Avalle as he looked like he really, really wanted to go talk to her. The Pink wasn't even looking in his direction, but still he couldn't say anything to her. For a moment, the Black sat there, looking dejected, until suddenly he puffed up in what appeared to be anger. Who cared, anyway!? He didn't want to talk to any stupid girls!

Leaving Avalle, Callistath and the sweet little Pink behind, he darted towards the Candidates, weaving through Kahrie and Aleksandr, to the right of Tamren, around Kiaja, and coming to a complete stop in front of Imber. We don't need anyone else, ImberMine. Just you and your Hikkikoth. Forever.[/i] He meant for it to come out sweet and kind towards his new rider, but instead he just ended up sounding kind of creepy.

[/blockquote]

SPOILER: Click to show

Black Hikkikoth - 111011
Personality:
Hikkikoth hates everyone. Well, except Imber, he guesses. He's a loner by choice, and would much prefer to stay in his weyr and never, ever leave. Only to eat. Even then, rarely! Hikkikoth just doesn't like people at all, and will go out of his way to avoid interaction with anyone. He tries to convince himself that he doesn't even want to talk to Imber, but she's his only friend, really. Deep down inside he does feel a bit lonely, and he knows he only avoids everyone because of his crippling shyness.

Speaking of, Hikkikoth is utterly incompetent at talking to anyone but Imber. Even in the beginning he had a very difficult time working up the courage to Impress and talk to his rider. He has a very prominent mental stutter and it makes him angry. He has a lot of pride and doesn't like the idea of not being able to talk to the very people he claims he despises. It frustrates him that he can't get over his shyness, and it just makes him withdraw even more into himself. It's a massive pain to get Hikkikoth to leave Imber's weyr at all.

On a weaker day, Hikkikoth is quite clingy. Imber is the only one he can talk to, and he secretly doesn't want to be left alone. He craves attention and interaction, even if he doesn't want to admit it, and can't stand the idea of being left by himself. He needs distractions so he isn't left alone with his thoughts. The easiest way to get him to leave the weyr is just to leave, and Hikkikoth will reluctantly follow. He doesn't like it when anyone else talks to Imber, either. He's possessive, and Imber is his! He doesn't like to share.

Appearance:
Hikkikoth is very obviously a Black dragon. His hide is dark around his head, legs, edge of his tail and the edge of his wings, though it gradually gets a bit lighter around his middle. The middle of him is a bit fuzzy, as though someone was shining a very dull light on him at all times. His hide doesn't look smooth or one color, but it's fuzzy like the static of a TV screen.

He's a very short, tiny little Black. He does have rather long legs, but his upper body is very thin. He isn't very muscular at all, except for his rather thick, strong tail. His wings are also of average size, making him small but well-proportioned. His snout is a bit small and feminine, and his headknobs are positioned a bit farther back on his head than usual. He is quite a small dragon, and will hit about 18 feet when he grows up.

The last egg in Callistath's clutch, the purple egg began to shake at a lazy pace, rocking back and forth with a sort of relaxed, easy-going manner. It eventually toppled over and spilled out a Blue dragonet on to the sands. He was quite plump, and his hide was a mismatched mix of dark periwinkle colors over a navy blue base. He rolled around in the sand a bit, seeming to paw playfully at his somewhat dejected Blue brother. The lighter Blue was a bit disappointed that Copath had gone off to Impress, he was quite enjoying their chat and particularly her receptiveness to her flirting. He wasn't one to let such small matters keep him down, however, and sat down next to the pudgy Blue, who was still rolling around in the Sand. He LOVED sand. He was getting a little bit too energetic with his love of sand, and the lighter colored Blue sidestepped a bit to get out of the way, giving his brother a bemused look.

The Green ignored the Black as he scuttled past her and into the Candidates to seek out His. She also ignored the Pink and her newly-hatched Blue brother as well. This Green wasn't interested in her siblings. The Iron gave them a glance, but he was far more interested in joining the Green on her soon-to-be rampage through the Candidates. He could already feel the chaos in her mind, as well as the fear of the Candidates as they approached. Hah. How silly. They all thought they knew what was coming....

Growling, the Green slashed at Ryiah, thoughs he wasn't attempting to hit the girl's flesh. The robes were what made them offensive, so the Green claws and ripped up Ryiah's robe, slashing it up, particularly the areas splashed with blood. The Iron watched her, slightly amused that this was her way of "removing the white-and-red robes", but he could go with it. He nudged in the direction of Jafari, ever so subtly, and the Green whirled on him. She slammed him into the Sand, growling as she tore up his robes as well, hissing in his face and slashing at his belly with her soft claws. She didn't like him. The Green left Jafari on the ground, but the Iron paused to give Jafari one last, almost smirk, before he followed the Green off to continue their rampage.

She moved on to Joni, leaning her body against the girl in a way that made Joni almost think she was going to Impress, until she was hit from the other side by the Iron, who had slammed himself into her and sent her toppling over the Green, effectively tripping her face-first into the hot sand. Joni rolled over immediately on her back, breathing heavily and thinking it was some kind of miracle that she hadn't broken her neck in that fall. The Green and Iron moved on, not concerned with Joni's form laying still in the sand.

Szene and Ahburn were next on their list, but all the Green did was knock them into each other, attempting to play bowling with their heads the say way she had with her sibling's eggs. She shoved Szene in such a way that when she knocked into Ahburn, their heads would smack together. The Green hissed at the results, kicking sand on them as well, as though she were somehow displeased. Their heads did not make nearly as satisfying a sound as her sibling's eggs had.

Seidon and Eithne were both ignored as the Green simply walked past them, charging up to a run and unfurling her wings to give her better leverage as she pounced, her front claws barreling straight into Embla and causing the two of them to skid back a bit towards the healers. She dug her claws into Embla's stomach and made it a point to rip up the girl's robes as well, leaving a big gaping hole in the middle of them, though thankfully not in the girl's body as well. The Green slashed at Embla's scalp as well, hopping off the girl and kicking sand on her as well. The Iron found this quite amusing, and moved forward to dust the sand off of Embla as soon as the Green had her back turned. Why did he do it? Well, perhaps he wanted to see the blood in all its glory, rather than have it be covered in sand. Or perhaps he had some other, more mysterious reason locked up in his crazy brain.

The lighter colored Blue watched all of this happen as his darker brother was rolling around in the sand, and it made him rather nervous to see. He needed to go track down His before His was no longer capable of even Impressing. Nervously, the Blue bid his brother farewell and headed out in the Candidates, trying to make himself look confident and not like some giant pansy dragon. He was tough, eh ladies? You thought so too? Wink.

Finding His didn't take all that long at all, and he brushed past Kahrie with an almost loving sort of gesture, but she wasn't his target. Instead, he locked eyes with Aleksandr next to him, staring at the boy with a light twitch of his tail, the only thing that signified to outsiders that perhaps he was not quite as confident as he let on. How about you take your Fortath over to the feeding buckets, Al'drLove. I'm afraid I've kept my lovely Green sister waiting.

[/i] He was, of course, refering to Copath rather than the scary, more aggressive Green still lurking around the Sands.

[/blockquote]

SPOILER: Click to show

Blue Fortath - 0F6785
Personality:
Fortath is a bit of a flirt. He loves to talk to the lady dragons and interact with them, showing off his moves and trying to check off as many names as he can. He sees flirting almost like a collection, "how many of these lady dragons can I make fall for me?" He wants every girl he sees, though it's really nothing serious. It's the only way that Fortath knows how to interact with girls, which perhaps Al'dr could try and tone down. He's very receptive to Al'dr's input, though he will also try and get Al'dr to flirt with him. He needs a wingman! That's why he went and Impressed, right?

However, his flirtation really only goes skin-deep. In reality, Fortath is a very sweet, very perceptive dragon. He feels empathy very strongly and the emotions of others often get to him very strongly. He's also a very deep thinker, and enjoys contemplating on fate and what comes of it. He can spend candlemarks just sitting and thinking, as well as tossing ideas back and forth with Al'dr. There's nothing he loves more than a good, thought-provoking conversation, and perhaps all his flirting is just an excuse to find that.

As much as he pretends not to be with all his jokes and light-hearted attempts at humor, Fortath is actually fairly sad most of the time. He's searching for a connection with someone and has yet to find anything like that, beyond Al'dr, of course. He is very picky about who he forms real friendships with, and rarely ever lets anyone see him for who he really is. Only Al'dr will ever really know just how sweet and sensitive Fortath is, as he certainly is not very good at projecting it outward.

Apperance:
Fortath is just around average in body type, perhaps a bit thinner than average, but not by much. His wings are well-proportioned to his body, though his tail is a bit longer than usual. He likes to keep his tail wrapped around him rather than flail about in the wind, and he enjoys making circles with it. He's definitely more suited for the air than the ground, and is quite a good flier with his control over his tail. His head is a bit thicker shaped, with a square jaw and pointy headknobs.

Fortath is a good medium blue color, although he has lighter fades from his neck to his leg, and then from his tail to his backleg. His middle is the darkest part of him. The tips of his wings are also faded in from the lighter blue color. In the lighter blue there's a faint hint of a sort of flower-shaped mark, though one would have to be looking very closely to see it. He's of average size, and will grow to be about 31 feet.

The Iron wher and the Green dragon were continuing to double back towards all the empty eggshells that remained of Callistath's nest, as well as the pudgy Blue still rolling around. He spotted his sister through the dark, however, and sat up, running towards the pair of them and inquiring about the Green's new friend. The Iron remained quiet, preferring to allow his new "friend" to answer, as she had such fun responses. True to his expectations (which the Iron was mildly disappointed about; he'd been hoping she would surprise him) she growled and hissed in response. They weren't FRIENDS. How dare he imply that she LIKED this... this... Iron thing! But she did, she very much did, and the Iron could recognize it even if the Blue backed off that certain realm of questioning.

However, his next question seemed to ignite the Green even further. She flared up and slashed at him, but the Blue merely ducked her paw and seemed to inquire something again. The Green looked even angrier, but before she could do anything, the Iron interjected. The Blue noticed the Iron's interferance, and asked the same thing. Without waiting for a response this time, the Blue lifted up on his hind legs and wrapped his chubby front legs around the Iron wher, in a very happy, very loving hug.

[/size]

[Boo]

Although Lili had spoken to him as she had left, all he could manage was an awkward, forced smile and a curt nod of his head. It was all the encouragement she needed to get off the sands anyway.

Many of the dragonets were passing by him and totally ignoring his presence, as though he was only present in his own dreams. This was almost worse in his mind than being mauled by said dragonets. At least if he were mauled, there would be acknowledgement there. Seidon had been pushed over by one dragonet, forcing his weight onto his bad leg. Was that a hint to the other dragons that he was broken physically? Although he had taken to the sands earlier than he perhaps should have he had refused to sit idle again in the stands.

That said, perhaps the dragons could sense that he had not been working as hard as he should have been. They could see inside his heart and mind after all and because of his leg, he’d been unable to perform the duties and chores he was supposed to perform. Aerie had said to think happy thoughts but as each dragonet barely acknowledged his existence beyond walking around where he was standing, he could feel his heart sinking.

Seidon dropped his head and looked down at the sands, kicking it with his bad leg as he thought about Lili, probably so happy with her little pink dragonet. When he was younger he’d wanted to impress a bronze or iron but now he would just be pleased to impress… It didn’t matter what that was… Although he didn’t want a wher, that much was certain.

He continued to stand like that with his head down as he listened to the shuffling movements of the dragonets and the fact that, every now and again, he heard the thump of a candidate being pushed to the ground.

[/blockquote]

[princesal]

D'nari covered his mouth with his shoulder as he yawned, his internal clock was telling him that he should have already been asleep. Taking Mira's hand. "Great, because I need to caught up on everything that has happened."

Letorin hasn't Impressed. Enciath had settled in and started observing the Sands. Her gaze lingered at her candidate, and huffed in annoyance when dragons passed her up. Obviously those foolish bloodmouths knew nothing. She took note of her, but sought out one of hers' favorite persons. Letorin. He had a spot right at the front, which meant from the look of him, the color of his robes, the placement of his feet... Her eyes darted to the shells.

Mine?
Yes?
Not one.
What?
Letorin is untouched.
That's a good thing Enciath.
Ignored him completely.

They were all ignoring him. Bloody sands, she could smell the rank odor of it. White robes with stains that would dry brown. Maiming... death... A bloody hatching, and Enciath saw Letorin at the front of it all. Completely untouched.

Maybe it means nothing mine... but nature has a balance to it.

D'nari felt shiver run up his spine, and swallowed. A nervous smile on his face.

Y-you've been hanging out with Nesdeth too much I think. It's a good thing he's untouched. Aren't you always trying to make sure everyone is healthy?
Yes, oh yes, of course mine. Of course! I just found it a bit strange, that's all, just a bit strange. I mean, he is at the front of it all, all the dragons and whers right there. And he's so smart D'nariMine, we know he's smart. It just seemed strange.
Well, maybe a little bit strange.
Oh, do you think so? I mean, I had thought about it, but if you think it's strange too. I don't want Letorin hurt, but there's just so much going on around him.

Enciath mentally shrugged, but she knew now that hers would be watching a lot more carefully, and that he was definitely awake now. Perhaps she had gotten hers a little bit worried, but sometimes he needed to be worried.

Maybe he's spoken for... and they know.
Yeah, and you hatched declaring that meat was murder and a bunch of -... things happened.

Enciath didn't say anything about that, but did share Malinoth's words, which made D'nari hold Mira's hand tighter, bringing her to G'lin. "I'm sure everything is fine, Mira. Everything probably looks worse then it actually is..." But he was still staring at Letorin. Sleepiness was doing a good job of extrapolation, and by the time he reached G'lin, he looked a bit jostled too, and exhausted. "Hey. Brought you a pretty lady with long hair. Ana, do you think that G'lin should put his magic fingers to work? I might need some help myself. I was asleep by the time Enciath told me... and the flight over."

Wrinkling his nose at his hair, he turned it into a grin towards Iola. "Why hello there, Iola of Copper Jainath."

Letorin will be fine, D'nariMine.
Yeah... I hope so... who was he holding hands with?
You'll find out later.
Yes, I will.

tag: Mira (DW), G'lin (Maggie), Iola (Maru)

[Raining]

That green... he did not like, it was as simple as that. The 'look' she gave them as she sat with that Iron wher, made him a little nervous. If his body was more relaxed he would have shifted in his spot, maybe a little backwards. But he was so focused in keeping himself rooted, and to stop the irritating fear induced trembling. He turned his attention to a newly hatched blue that tumbled onto the sands... and then started to roll in it. Amusement flickered life into his eyes... but that quickly disappeared as soon as the green started to move.

If it was possible to tense up anymore than he was he totally would have. But she didn't veer his way and instead moved towards the candidates on the wher side... as if they didn't have enough carnage that way. His eyes followed her until she raised a paw to slash at whoever was over there. He tried to remove any fear/ill thoughts from his mind incase she looked his way. Any screams had him shutting his eyes, willing himself deaf and blind. Wasn't there enough bloodshed?

He tried focusing his hearing, instead on closer noises. Like Kahrie's breathing or his own unsteady breaths. The slight shuffle of sand ahead of him had his eyes snapping open to see the lighter blue dragonet... looking quite sure of himself. The blue wandered closer to him and Kahrie, and he almost looked away when he brushed against the girl next to him. But he was suddenly locking eyes with the pale blue, his doubting heart suddenly skipping several hundred beats it felt like.

Wide blue eyes were suddenly staring into rainbows. He... what... was this actually happening? His mind scrambled for something that made sense as a voice entered his thoughts, and feelings that weren't quite his own mingling with his. How about you take your Fortath over to the feeding buckets, Al'drLove. I'm afraid I've kept my lovely Green sister waiting.

He was stunned, but Fortath insisted with a gentle nudge, Its rude to keep a lady waiting, Al'drLove the blue mused in his attempt for humor to break through his new rider's thoughts. Sandr... or Al'dr rather blinked a hesitant grin crawling to his face, crackling the dried blood. His voice sort of didn't want to work, but the green's rampage sort of woke him up. The grin dropped, "...food, uh yes." he muttered and lead his new blue off the sands. Al'dr was... exploring the bond, eagerly so. He found... felt the blue's personality, almost as well as he knew it own.

The blue dragonet mused at Al'dr's utter bewilderment and underlining excitement that bubbled over their bond and then some. At the feeding area Fortath took the lead, Chin up Love, you need to look... oh. You, Al'dr, are in no shape to be a wingman. Fortath hesitated twisting his head around, peering at the dried blood on his face.

Al'dr canted his head furrowing his brows, "you don't need a wingman. Lets just... get you fed. If you were anymore hungry i'd feel like i'd need all this fish."

Before they hit the feeding area, his eyes flickered to the stands... K'ius was too far away to make out. His steps faltered, he sho- Al'drLove, can't tell me to eat and then decide you want to walk off. the blue's voice was light and teasing. The newly dubbed weyrling shook his head, later then... "Sorry," he apologized continuing behind his dragon.

His dragon. Even as he walked behind Fortath, it was still so surreal.

Fortath veered towards the buckets closest to Idra and Copath, he whistled at the green, a soft cooing sound. Hello again, lovely Copath, he greeted, his voice light and affectionate, dipping his head towards his... regal cyan sister. Al'dr had no real choice but to follow, he tried a charming smile "Heyy, I hope you don't mind if I join?" he greeted both Idra and Davalla, pulling a bucket of fish closer. That wasn't very charming Love, especially with all that blood on your face..

'Shh, eat' he silently told the blue holding a piece of fish out. The trembling in his hands stilled finally... well slightly. His muscles hurt, and nausea replaced the fear and nervousness. The smell of fish wasn't helping, but he'll be okay.

[[TAG MAGGIE; IDRA/COPATH & RAVEN: DAVALLA/REFUGIATH ZEPZEP: KAI]]

[mopsy93]

Carissa had finished feeding Junonth not entirely sure what to do next when Janvia sent her another image of an Iron wheret and a Green Dragonet causing trouble for those who were still standing. That caused Carissa to frown at the revelation, rousing the sleepy Junonth causing Carissa to send reassuring thoughts to her. Just to make sure Carissa also said, It’s just your sister and one of the wherets causing trouble for the Candidates, it’s nothing for you to worry about.

Not until they Impress, said Junonth still a little worried but eventually calmed down with some more reassurance from Carissa. Carissa smiled a little when she found out through Janvia that Imber had Impressed to a black. With Imber Impressed at least Carissa would know one person in the Weyrling class whatever it would be called which among many other things were still unknown. It would be interesting to see if there would be any other Burgundies hatch from other clutches or if it was exclusively due to D’lios and Perbiath’s interference. With five Burgundy Dragonets Impressed, Carissa could hazard a guess that judging by their size that Burgundies could be a new male Fighter though only time will tell if that was actually true.

[Zephyr]

((Tags

Kai; Sandr/Ghols))

Kai was mostly just paying attention to the remaining dragons. As the numbers of hatchlings dwindled rapidly, he was losing hope that Sandr would impress. He wanted him to, really, he did, but he was starting to come to terms with the fact that his best friend might not impress. And that would be fine, nice, even…the more he thought about it. Even if things couldn’t be the way he might have wanted them to be, at least maybe there would be options.

But then a blue stopped and stared Sandr in the face, and it was like the time before, when a blue seemed to be choosing between his friend and the boy beside him, this time though, the dragon wasn’t even looking at the girl next to it. Maybe it was Shobhaith, but Kai thought he knew what was going to happen before realization dawned on Sandr’s face.

He’d finally impressed.

In an instant, he’d forgotten his reservations, and the biggest smile spread out over his face. I told you. Sho drawled lazily from his spot at the tans’ feet. Kai barely paid attention to the smug purple, he was almost out of his seat on his way to congratulating the other boy…until he remembered their fight and stopped dead.

Pride can be a pesky thing at the best of times, and Kai’s pride was borne out of making himself look like an ass before; humiliating himself in front of one of the only people who mattered to him. Would Sandr even want to see him? Stupid. Because the dragon had told his boy time and time again that Sandr didn’t hate him…but Kai was insecure and he shrank back. The purple knew what he was about to do before he moved away. Leaving? Yeah, stay with your tans, I can find my way back fine.

Unsettled, but not really in a position to leave, Shobhaith rumbled his acquiescence and settled back down. Kai was distracted, but quirks a smile at Ghols. “I’m gonna get out of here, good talkin’ to you.” He nudged her companionably and then slipped from the stands and out of the hatching grounds. Hiding might be beneath some people, but it’s definitely not beneath K’ius.

[Kiran]

Jafari grit his teeth as he was knocked into once more. He was going to leave with some nasty bruises, that was for sure. But he was also going to leave with a wher, he was sure of it! But he was waiting for the iron to make a move. Or, heck, even that last wher egg! Jafari wanted to turn and look at the stands, to see if Saowyn and. Lirmox were watching, but he was scared to. Because in his mind, he was still afraid... What if a wher didn't pick him? His stomach twisted as more Impressions were made. It had to! he had to!
-----------

Imber had watched the destruction and chaos around her. Things were... Happening. It was busy. Busy with injuries and pain, and then a lul for Impressions. And finally, more chaos started. Her stomach twisted slightly. She hoped that it wouldn't be too had. She didn't like watching the dragonets and wheret's getting hurt. They didn't do anything for that pain. She had to keep reminding herself that death was a part of things as the ranks of candidates thinned. She finally figured that she wouldn't be Impressing this round. That was okay with her, truthfully. She would Stand again most likely.

But as the green spoke with the iron, a black dragonet that had stood off by itself made its way to the candidates, weaving through them... And Over to her. Her eyes widened as his voice rang in her head, a creepy tone to it instead of comforting. That was... Unexpected. But his eyes were glowing and her heart went out to him for being there, and there it was.

She had a dragon.

Imber reached out to hug him close. "Yes. You'll be mine. Forever." A tear escaped. He wouldn't leave her. He couldn't, not like her family had left one by one. Their deaths faded in her mind as she brought him over to the buckets of meat, picking one out to feed him. He eyed it before taking it from her hand. When can w- we go to our-r-r room and leave everyone else? W-We've h-hatched. I'm-m tired. The black was grumpy and ready to call it quits, especially after failing so miserably with his sister. His tail curled around Imber's waist possessive lay. Yes, he had failed with his sister, but Imber would love him.

[RavenSong]

Seph's breath caught in his throat as Peranzath wandered over his way. What was that pink doing? Oh no, had she caught his thoughts? His brow furrowed in confusion when she spoke to him.

Only one, but two? What? he thought.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I don't understand what you mean," he said apologetically, stepping away from Peranzath. He cast a glance over to Lili, who seemed agitated. "The one... who makes me two? If you mean a dragon, no, I... I don't. Not yet... they're not here yet."

And they won't be here this time, he thought to himself. He shook his head to clear it of negativity. He nodded to Lili when she approached to take care of her stubborn pink, forcing a smile.

"Congratulations," he said quietly. "Now Seidon needs to Impress, hm?"

Peranzath startled him again with her speech. He raised a brow at her.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Peranzath," he said softly, bowing to her before turning his focus to the healers. He answered the rest of her statement absently. "I don't understand you," he said to the pink. "But Lili has me in her mind because we're really good friends. And I have to pay attention in case I have to help the Healers carry someone... so you eat your food and talk to Lili, and I'll be right here... and Lili... we should talk sometime soon. Please." His tone was soft and pleading. He then went silent, waiting for orders.

[Cathaline]

The green dragon was becoming boring, in the iron's mind. She was delightfully dangerous, but her answers were so predictable - everyone was predictable, in their own way. In times to come, he hoped that he and this green would remain friends, for her buttons were easy to press and she was undeniably drawn to the twisted way his mind worked...but for now, yes, bored. Time to move on. Time to try something different.

The blue gave him a hug, and the iron could feel the ripples of anxiety and stress that cascaded through the cavern. People feared for the one who would glomp the iron, feared that he would do to the pudgy blue what Rask had done to the poor little green, her limp form still lying on the sands. With a little inner laugh, the iron lifted his paw, his claws gleaming in the dim glowlight...

And gave the blue a friendly pat on the shoulder, hugging back. Hey, man, what's happening?

There was only a single egg left on the sands, the round green one in Kalesk's nest. At long last, it broke open, and a brown stepped onto the sands. He was nothing special, a friendly cinnamon shade speckled with lighter dots, neither demonically muscular like Rask nor slim like Ksesk and Jossk. He was just a wher. A wher who looked around, rather happily.

The pink dragon, oblivious to Hikkikoth's interest in her, started for the candidates, but when the green and the iron set out on their rampage, she changed gears and slipped into Kalesk's nest instead, where by the time the unexpected embrace was taking place, she was meeting the brown wheret. They touched noses, and he focused on the blush-colored decoration on her chest, and promptly went into raptures. How beautiful she was! She was a natural work of art, a masterpiece! Flattered and delighted, she complimented him on his speckles, and asked if she could keep a bit of his eggshell. He agreed, and she bent down so he could place a rounded bit on her head, like a little green hat.

Whistling appreciatively, the pink asked what he might like to do next, nodding toward the candidates. The brown shrugged, and suggested perhaps she might like to construct something beautiful with him? She agreed, and they settled down to begin building a sandcastle.

The iron let go of the blue and turned to survey the crowd. The candidates, some of them, were barely still on their feet. They wanted to go and lick their wounds...but they couldn't, not until he and his brother and the dragons Impressed. It was incredible, what power a baby could wield over a candidate. But they had no such power over anybody else, did they?

He strolled right past the red-and-white robes, uncaring of what the green might be doing in his wake, and headed for the stands. Two of his siblings had done the same, of course, quite nonviolently, so there was no one to stop him when he hopped up the stairs and set off on his own journey - a journey with no destination and with one goal: to cause as much of a panic as possible.

Jazz was chewing her thumbnail, watching anxiously. It was almost over, so close to being over - the dud in Kalesk's clutch having been destroyed, the countdown began as soon as the brown hatched. Blue, green, pink; iron and brown. Five more might Impress. Or a dragonet might between or a wher might go wild, or one of them might head into the stands as the iron appeared to be doing. She blinked in confusion when he headed right for her and hopped into her lap, and opened her mouth to suggest that he might go elsewhere -

She was in charge of the red-and-white robes. The iron wher snickered, and bit her arm.

Jazz was not the type to scream, but she did go pale, and tried to shake him off without hurting him - if she would not allow her candidates to hurt a baby, even a vicious one like this, she would not be hypocritical enough to fight him properly. That was no fun, so the wheret next jumped to L'xon, and reached up to slash his claws down the bluerider's cheek, stinging and burning.

There was one thought in L'xon's mind that the wheret liked, and he turned to look back at the Candidates, zeroing in on one in particular. The bluerider liked that one - the one with the broke-open mind. The iron snorted and bent to grip L'xon's wrist in his teeth, just tight enough to hold him there while the iron dragged a claw along his palm in a mimicry of the wound Newt had inflicted on himself, six months ago. This one wasn't deep enough to scar; it was not intended to.

It was a warning of what was coming next.

Suddenly Kalesk was there, large and glowing. She leapt into the stands and took the iron by the scruff of his neck, and carried him forcibly back over to the candidates, dropping him. No,[/i] she said.

The iron scowled. She was not the boss of him! How dare she think that she could exercise authority over him! Kalesk ordered him to sit and stay, and she started to move.

The candidates were all out of order, spread out, alarmed. Kalesk began to shift them forward with more-or-less gentle nudges to their shoulders, and an occasional, Move,[/i] to one particularly shellshocked or obtuse. The ones having trouble walking were allowed to lean on her side, but she was going to make some order of them no matter what. Where there was order, there would be Impression; where there was Impression, there would be an end to the madness.

As the candidates were herded into a few straight lines, the iron, sulking a little (not that he would ever admit it), stomped up to the front of the nest where a beautiful sandcastle was taking place. Annoyed by Kalesk's words and activities and her generally being a really obnoxious mom, he deliberately trampled it. The brown gasped in horror, and the pink huffed and told him off. That didn't belong to him! How could he just wreck things that didn't belong to him? That wasn't right!

The iron indicated that he did not care what did or did not belong to her or anyone else. In fact, although he would never be as brutally or indiscriminately destructive as Rask, he discovered that he liked to break things that belonged to other people - if only because her shocked reaction made her far more interesting. The brown was just pitiful, and the iron ignored him and focused on the pink.

Whatever he said to her, she didn't like it. She had to go and find a candidate and a home, right away. She begged the brown to come with her, but he had started reconstruction on the castle project again, in no rush to Impress. She felt rushed, though. She felt like - like if she didn't hurry, the one she wanted might not be there, and then what would she do? She hurried into the newly-straightened lines and leaned up to kiss Rohseidon on the face.

R'seidon! No...S'idon. You have two names![/i] This surprised and delighted her. You should always have two names...it is good to have things, don't you think? I only have one name, Silvianith. We're going to have so many things together. All of the things, I think. Come on! We have to go get the things I left with Mama, and then we can eat, and then we can find a home. Don't you want to have a home? We already have a family.[/i]

PINK SILVIANITH, Impressed to ROHSEIDON

SPOILER: Click to show

Silvianith is, first of all, a hoarder. She loves things - it doesn’t matter if they’re worthless junk, if they’re broken, if they’re ugly, or even if they’re technically her own, she just wants to be surrounded by stuff. If she had her way, her weyr would amount to a museum, a gallery of items that remind her of aspects of her life. Although the human concept of wealth is somewhat foreign to her, she has an innate understanding of what “financial security” means: it means self-reliance, proving you’re the best, never wanting for anything! And that’s what she wants. Financial security. And loads and loads of stuff.

Apart from this, Silvianith is an extremely encouraging lady. Everyone must achieve their true potential, master their craft, find perfection in whatever aspect of life they deem worthy, and she will always be there to kindly guide them toward their goal. Though her own skills are...limited...she is especially fond of creative folk and artistry, and will particularly seek out anything she can call “art” to shove in her weyr. She is a well-balanced sort of pink in many ways. She can come across as quite dignified, noble, and savvy, and then she can dip into territory that can only be called egotistical. She can come across as selfish or demanding, and then she can overwhelm with generosity, both of possessions and spirit. At all times, however, she is sincere to a fault.

Silvianith is small for a pink, her hide a pale, comforting shade almost all over. She bears a blush-colored, near-white sunburst on her chest. She is built along slender lines, a precious wisp of a dragon. (F6A8B6)

The iron had followed her, of course. He saw the direction her mind took when she mentioned S'idon's family, and his tail swished in the sand. And then he moved, strode easily back toward the feeding area and the healers, and found a mind that had been all but screaming at his since his last visit here. Did Seph even care, at this point, if what he got was his perfect other half? Did he even care if it made him happy? It was fascinating the way his mind ticked. Someone had gotten to him too - it was something the iron had felt before, on the sands. Somebody had been in these little minds, relentlessly twisting. He liked it.

He curled into Seph's legs, dragging one talon down the side of the boy's leg, splitting the skin as evenly as he could, a wash of pain. Well, hello,[/i] he purred, his voice silky-silvery-smooth. Hello, Seph. Sephsk know you want this, need this, now-right-now. Want girl, want brother. Seph do anything to have this. Wouldn't he? Desperate, pleady, needy. Get what want.[/i]

The iron paused, and then said, Seph get what he keep.[/i]

In a flash he was moving, scrambling up Seph's body, tearing and ripping at clothes and skin; from the boy's shoulder, he launched himself into the stands and directly into A'bar's body, slashing deep and ruthless, carving into his belly. He left the Weyrlingmaster half-eviscerated and ran, leaping back to the sands and hitting the candidates like a bullet, vanishing into their ranks.

Come![/i] he taunted, his jaw closing around Caszli's ankle. Stop Sephsk - if Seph can![/i]

[Kiran]

Jafari could see the last egg hatch perfectly where he was. A brown. A lovely, lovely brown. Two whers out there, and one of the might be for him-

he hoped he prayed! oh please let it be for him...

-and he watched the iron start its rampage to the stands. Jafari had to admit, his heart went into his throat. What if it went after Lirmox? What if it went after Saowyn?! It was all he could do not to break formation to go after the wher, to find Saowyn in the stands and make a feeble attempt to protect her. But then Kalesk was going after the iron and nudging the candidates into line, and Jafari could breath a sigh of relief.

After all, the gold wasn't going to let the iron go on a rampage. Not with non-candidates. Not... Period. He relaxed ever so slightly and looked over his shoulder into the dim light. What was happening back there? The iron... Had gone and clamped his jaws around the ankle of another candidate. Was it Impressing? It didn't seem so! At least, not to the one it was bitingl but something in the way it was behaving looked like it was taunting something... Or someone... Out in the stands. Had it Impressed to someone out there?

Jafari's shoulders slumped. Not his. Of course. His attention moved back forwards to the industrious, friendly brown. His brown. At least.... He hoped it was his....

[Zephyr]

((Tags

Mouse; Whers/Saowyn/Jafari/Ryiah))

Little hands held tight onto Gennesk’s wings as they ascended into the stands. The child was pleased to see not only her whers, but their handlers getting along and coming with. The idea that a child as small as she could inspire the kind of camaraderie that she was at this very moment was lost on her. It was more than she was capable of comprehending, so she just let herself be thrilled with the fact that everyone was getting along, no matter the reason. Once settled, she used Gennesk’s wing as leverage, and slid off onto the floor of the stands, settling in between the whers and Saowyn’s feet.

She yawned. Normally, she’d be sleeping with Gennesk right about now, so having to be awake was taking its tol on her, but she wasn’t ready to sleep…not yet when so much was still happening. She leaned on Saowyn’s leg, pressing against the whers.

It was a little harder to see from up here, but she shifted forward to see the little pink dragon. Mouse wasn’t as fond of dragons as she was whers, but she still loved them, and that little pink was adorable. She was so adorable, wasn’t she? Bray, look how adorable! The little firelizard, who’d disappeared as soon as the whers had started converging on Mouse, popped back and settled on the girl’s head with an alarmed chirp. The brown flit wasn’t as enraptured with the pink dragon as Mouse was. Instead, he eyed the iron wher rocketing into the stands with an alarmed whirling of his eyes.

Grabbing the back of Mouse’s shirt, he half pulled her back from where she was leaning so far over and flew over to Gennesk, settling on the wher’s shoulder and chittering something to him and the other whers about his concern for Mouse and that iron wher, which was currently ripping into spectators. The child was far, far too close to the edge for his liking, and he needed their help keeping her in line. Selene gave an angry screech as she came back and settled herself firmly around Mouse’s neck, little green hide rippling with her agitation.

The flits weren’t pleased by Mouse’s proximity to the dangerous Wher, not at all.

They settled down slightly when the wher retreated back to the candidates, but they didn’t let down their guard. Of course, Mouse was oblivious to their concerns, so in love with that adorable little pink was she.

Then she noticed the blood in the stands below her and she paled considerably. That wasn’t good, that mean wher! She just wanted Jafari and Ryiah to impress, was that too much to ask?

[Azhdarchid]

[ Tags: (GHOLS) K'ius, Sandr, N'tharon if he overhears? xD //// (HALVENTH) Callistath, Kalesk, Ablath, Ledge Dragons in General, People with Ears //// (L'XON) Jasmine ]

Ghols leaned forward as Aleksandr and the scrawny baby blue united: one being, two names. Pulling her lower lip into her mouth, she slowly cooked up the best possible summary of the happy occasion.

"Well I guess," she started at full volume. "This means your dragon and his dragon will not be able to- hey, where are you going?" She blinked after the purplerider as he scooted out from supporting her. He smiled at her. She pouted, then finished quick before he could turn his back: "Instant love through dragon sex!"

Oh Ghols, you are uncomfortably incorrigible, and you are...my Ghols...ah~ Arcuth sighed, content no matter what flew out of her Weyrling's mouth. Ghols plunked down in K'ius' abandoned seat. There was a trace of heat trapped in the stone. She wiggled her bottom against it, then settled back with a satisfied grin.

***

Halventh's voice turned into a ripple, a briefly commanding echo across the ledges, a notice to all the dragons gathered as a metallic gray wher no larger than a puppy flung itself off the Sands and into a dragonrider's lap. The sound sustained, spiking into a querulous whistle as the iron bit and L'xon- sluggish the way humans were -finally turned toward the Candidatemaster. Inexplicably extended his arms toward her, if rules were your game.

It was not so much that the wher was biting her as it was that it was this wher, at this moment. But L'xon could see a way through the red tape:

"He's not more valuable-" he began in reprimand, almost closing his hands on that knobby back before the iron leapfrogged over, caught halfway fallen in the bluerider's stretched limbs. The scuffle after that might not have been clear to higher observers, but L'xon's shoulders hunched up sharply and Halventh screamed. The blue went from sitting to rearing all at once, dropped down to his front paws with his neck arched stiff, and threw his head back with a second rattling shriek. Unable to sit still, he stamped the ledge foot-to-foot, still tossing his head as if whips of Thread lashed him, and bawling where his rider was nearly silent.

Kalesk bore over the barrier in a single leap, the reason for her presence tucked into her jaw before she bounded away again. The iron was little more than the impression of a shadow, probably even to those sitting closest. The creature's two rider-victims might have to give their own accounts of what happened in the dark of the Sands.

L'xon was holding his opened palm to his opened face, not from any logical standpoint but mere right-handedness. He had bent forward in his seat, face dripping blood between the part of his knees onto the ground. The hand stopped first. The face did not stop, so he kept his palm to it, fingers over an eye clogged with red excess. As soon as the rider came alert, Halventh's screeches died into mewls, the blue occasionally pulling his lips all the way back from his gums in a toothy growl.

Halventh took off. Not to reach L'xon, or to drop on the wher, though his shadow swelled across the Sands. The blue headed across the cavern, high above even Callistath's head, to Ablath. To make contact with Ablath and throw his quivering neck against hers like a balm. A leg over her shoulders to keep her still. He almost reached her even before the iron had gutted A'bar.

You saw it. You have to protect him, too! L'xon demanded, which made Halventh cry out to a pain more ache than injury.

It would be as bad... the blue warned, eyes flashing like hellish candles.

It couldn't be. You aren't cruel, Halventh! The blond was fumbling a clean strip of bandaging from his belt pouch, secured it, then started it over Jasmine's arm before he let go, unwilling to take the pressure off his face to twist it over the erratic gash of holes.

I'm not, the dragon agreed, breathing deeper now, fishing across the Sands- then balking at the edge of the void called Newtollen. L'xon sensed it immediately: sometimes he was sharpest when in pain.

At least warn him!

Halventh's inner lids fluxed over his facets and held the creamy membranes closed like shrouds of cobwebs.

He's lying, he groaned, not to the Candidate but to Callistath, and through brute engagement, with Kalesk. When Halventh said he, it was a name, identity, image and concept all in one. Dragon communication need not rely on the word alone. Stop... The blue faltered, unwilling to suggest a course of action. He will hurt somebody... Not by drawing blood or intestines, as the iron already had, but in the way it could really hurt. Dragons had alien perspectives. And just as specific as the he had been, the somebody was bluntly vague, just a trickle of care bleeding through.

The more he thought about it, or the more L'xon thought about it, there was nothing a baby wher could do against the faculties of a grown dragon. All he had to do was spread his wings around the boy. The iron could stand as close as he wanted, carve as much body as he wanted, but the wall would keep him from spoiling what mattered. A wall, an engagement, a prior reservation - the queens might not even notice.

But Zuccheroth would. The other blues might. Any dragon whose brain naturally probed their hive might.

Halventh hesitated. Or maybe, Faranth forgive him, it was L'xon that stayed his dragon. He said to Jasmine, "That thing is going to use your Candidate." And he held out his hand, showing her the ruddy streak so like the shallow cut of a knife, while his face poured free for the loss of a barrier. "Tell me you accept that."

[RavenSong]

Naras finished feeding Narask, who promptly curled up and slept. The blue wheret hadn't been kidding, he was exhausted. Naras took that time to inspect the little blue in his arms, at least until flits zoomed past. He swore and ducked his head, narrowing his eyes at them before he realized they weren't his daughter's fair. With a sigh, he shook his head and went back to inspecting Narask. He was fascinated by the little creature, and since he had a wher in his arms he figured he may as well become more acquainted with Narask's anatomy. The jostling and movements awoke Narask, who just dealt with the perceived problem by biting Naras' arm. It was a simple, blunt, emotionless solution.

Narask sleeping, the wheret said flatly, going back to sleep once the bite was delivered.

"Shards. Ow," Naras muttered. He went back to inspecting the wheret with his hands, not getting the clue the first time. Narask bit him again, holding on this time with a firm grip.

Narask touch, Narask bite. Sleeping. No touch. Simple. He gave the Master Harper's arm a firm shake before letting go, making it clear he wasn't budging on that.

Okay, okay. I'll refrain until you're awake. You're just so beautiful.

Narask sighed and went back to sleep. He was far too tired for that stuff.

---

Davalla gave Al'dr a faint smile as he approached, uncertain of him. His request to join was met with a blank stare from the cyanweyrling. She shrugged a bit.

"It's a free Weyr, mostly," she said simply. "I am Davalla, my Cyan is Refugiath. This is my sister Idra and her Green, Copeth. What name do you carry now?" she asked, glancing to Idra.

Refugiath dipped her head elegantly to Fortath, blinking slowly as she regarded him.

Though you are late to the feast like a most unmannerly individual, you are forgiven this time, she said to him. She had finished her meal and was both sated and tired. If you will excuse me, I find that I am in need of a nap. Please forgive me. She curled up next to Davalla in an elegant circle, tucking her head under a wing in a swan-like manner. Davalla smiled warmly at her dragon and gently pet her neck.

"She's such a lady," she said softly.

---

Seph watched as a Pink approached Seidon and kissed him, smirking. Had he just Impressed? It seemed as though he had. Excellent. Now that left him. All his friends had Impressed, his brother had Impressed... and he was alone. He watched the Iron wheret approach, eyeing the little male dubiously. He'd defend Lili if the wheret got too close.

But that wasn't going to happen. The iron came up and dragged his talon down his leg, an action which caused Seph to cry out in pain.

Well hello. Hello, Seph. Sephsk know you want this, need this, now-right-now. Want girl, want brother. Seph do anything to have this. Wouldn't he? Desperate, pleady, needy. Get what want. Seph get what he keep.

And then the wheret ran off. Seph stood there for a moment, eyes wide, staring after the wheret. Had he heard correctly?

I... I Impressed.... a wheret? This... I... NO! In truth, he was still at the point where he wanted a dragon. A wheret would separate him, Lili, and Seidon even further.

But he was certain he'd Impressed. And he wouldn't be responsible for the death of any creature if he could help it, not as an Apprentice Beastcrafter. He gave Lili a stricken, panicked look as the wheret who was ostensibly called Sephsk taunted him, closing his jaws around Caszli's ankle. Come! Stop Sephsk - if Seph can!

"He's... he said... He's Sephsk," the boy said. "I have... Lili, I'm sorry," he said, taking off after the wheret, leaping over Davalla and Refugiath as he made haste to capture the little beast.

You get back here! he demanded mentally. Surely that would work. But it didn't, alas. It seemed to have the opposite effect. Sephsk let go of Caszli and ran off, beelining for Alastrin.

"I'm so sorry, he's... I can't.... I'm sorry," Seph said to Caszli. The little iron looked up at Alastrin, then back at Seph. Deliberately, Sephsk slashed Alastrin's leg, then ran off when Seph got too close.

"I'm sorry," Seph said to Alastrin as he chased after Sephsk, looking panicked. Why wasn't the wheret listening? Sephsk ran through the candidates, choosing his next victim carefully. Ah! Here was the perfect one, a girl Seph had seen several times atop the stables. The iron lunged, biting Sora's hand. Then he was off once more.

"NO! You STOP THAT!" Seph demanded, stumbling in the sand as he changed direction to try and keep up with the iron wheret.

So slow. Seph forget how run on sand? Sephsk asked. Seph swallowed hard and stood, giving chase once more.

"You little misbegotten pile of dung," Seph whispered. That jab had gone straight to the heart. Sephsk ran straight at Garund and locked his jaws around the boy's shin, shaking vigorously to break the leg. Seph caught up at that point. "Garund, I'm so sorry," he said. With Seph right there, Sephsk seemed contrite. He nuzzled Seph's leg.

Seph win. Seph carry Sephsk's prey off sands now? The tone in the wheret's voice chilled Seph to the core. His face went white as he stared at Sephsk, offering Garund his strength to lean on.

"Call a healer, Sephsk," he said, struggling to keep the pain out of his voice. He wasn't making that mistake twice. "We'll finish the bond once your victim is cared for." Seph felt cold inside. The only creature that wanted him was an evil wher. What did that say about him? What would everyone think? How would Seidon or Lili take it? He couldn't let Sephsk near their Pinks, he knew that. He supposed he wasn't alone anymore, but he'd certainly be isolated.

[Kestrel]

With all the eggs hatched, and the number of dragons and whers left unimpressed down to a scant handful, Artolan could tell his chances of impressing now were grim. It wasn’t the first time—nor the second, even—but it was, perhaps, the first where his feelings about the hatching’s end were so mixed that he felt almost as glad for it to be over as he was disappointed at being left behind again. But even still, despite all the violence of the hatching, he wished he was leaving the blood-stained sands behind with a dragon by his side, instead of trudging with those other poor, rejected souls back to the candidate barracks.

But in the meantime, he had to push aside such worries and bitter feelings, just as he’d had to set aside his fear each time one of the more dangerous dragonets came his way. As long as there was even one dragon on the sands, he had to clear his thoughts, or he would be sure to push them away anyway, and fulfill his own pessimistic prophesy. He sighed. It was hard. They made it sound so simple, controlling your own emotions, projecting only good feelings, and all that—the hatching basics. But he had never found it to be easy in the slightest, and wasn’t sure he was doing it right even now—he couldn’t help but wonder if that might be part of the reason why he hadn’t yet been chosen.

He’d been trying all his life to keep his feelings locked down. Most of the time they were more of a hindrance than a help, interfering with logical thought and, during his gloomy spells, making it hard to stay engaged in his work. But they were unruly things, and either they were very adept at escaping the cages he attempted to trap them in, or he was simply hopeless at the endeavor. Useless. He frowned, and tried shifting his attention back to the dragons as if that would help.

The pink was gone—a fact he had observed with a sinking heart—but the rather pudgy blue and his green sister were still there. But the green was violent—how could he hope to control such a dragon when he couldn’t properly control his own feelings? He was leery of the whers for much the same reason—some whers were friendly, sure, but in general, they seemed much more dangerous to the general populace than most dragons. Still, he was not about to turn away from any whirling pair of eyes that fixed on him—his time was running out, and any previous whims of being picky had been firmly stamped out.

-----

With Caszli’s injuries impossible for her to observe herself, she couldn’t tell whether or not she was still bleeding, or how much—her hands were too sticky and caked with blood to notice any differences. Nor was she about to ask anyone standing nearby—talking was forbidden during the hatching, after all, and she was not about to violate it unless it was an absolute emergency. She had to be a model candidate—she wasn’t about to let anyone start talking about all holdless being ill-behaved on the sands on her account.

Still, it was getting harder to focus on the hatching with the dizziness that filmed over her vision every now and then, ever threatening to end her time on the sands prematurely. The sands stretched and blurred—were there two pink dragons, or one? She thought she saw the last of Kalesk’s eggs hatch at last, revealing a brown—but when? How long had it been? It seemed simultaneously to be just moments ago and ages ago. She blinked her eyes hard, screwing them shut until angry gray haze and the pale ghosts of soft glowlights erupted behind her eyelids, and she opened them again. Only three dragons left, and two whers. She could make it. It was almost over.

She watched as the iron wher climbed up into the stands—but not for impression. Nothing he did was for impression. She felt a bit of perverse satisfaction in seeing him target a few riders, among them a candidatemaster—let them be reminded of how sharp a hatchling’s claws could be, they who would forbid the candidates to harm one of their precious babies even in the direst of moments. But as she looked on in silence, she saw that the candidatemaster did no more to fend off the little beast than any of the candidates could do.

Caszli’s eyes narrowed. She was surprised, and she wasn’t often surprised—part and parcel of being a devoted pessimist. Sure, the candidates were all but instructed to lay down and die for a hatchling if they demanded it—but what were candidates? Bondless garbage, useless they were lucky enough to be blessed with a wher or dragon’s companionship. Disposable—there would never be a shortage of bright-eyed children lining up to offer their flesh to a hatchling’s teeth. Caszli knew that; she had no delusions of self-importance, to the weyr or anyone else. Not yet, at least. But a dragonrider? Surely they must fancy themselves as worth defending, seeing as their lives were already tied to a dragon—a proven, adult dragon at that, surely more valuable than any hatchling except, perhaps, a queen. And yet she did nothing more to fend off the attack than was in the rights of the candidates?

Sure, the dragon would probably intervene if things went too far, if the whermother didn’t get there first. Yet still, the candidatemaster had displayed a surprising lack of hypocrisy, and in doing so had won herself one bloody, semi-delirious, holdless girl’s respect.

She was dimly aware of the gold wher suddenly being very close, and the order, though unspoken, was clear—she numbly trudged forward through the sand, compacting in with the other ragged remains of the once hopeful candidates. Not a hint of excitement stirred in her chest as the pink approached, and her precaution was rewarded—the boy now standing beside her was chosen instead. Two dragons left, still two whers. Right? Where had that little terror gone off to? He was a good one to keep an eye on, even if there was little she could do if he did decide to come for her again.

For a moment it almost looked as though he was impressing, but she knew better than to think so—no, he was mauling yet again, attacking another rider before wrecking new havoc through the candidate lines. And then, of course—leave it to her perpetually terrible luck—he was back, his stinking, bloody jowls clamping on her ankle. Compared to his prior attack, it was almost nothing—in her current state, his digging teeth were little more than pinpricks. It was almost more of a taunt than an attack, as he made no move to bite again and dig in deeper, or shake his head to shred flesh and crack bone. She wasn’t even afraid of him, this time—she simply stared down at him, a harsh glare, and waited in silence for him to either do his worst, or back off. Luckily, he chose the latter.

Not that it had anything to do with her. One of the candidates came running over, which could only mean one thing, and she stared mutely into the poor, poor soul’s eyes as he stammered out an apology. She merely shrugged her bloody shoulders, not in a state to muster up the effort of words unless it was really necessary, and watched him run off again, in pursuit of his demonic lifemate. The iron, at least, was not her problem anymore—just two dragons now, and one wher. Patient as always, Caszli waited.

[Boo]

Things seemed silent and although he could hear a stillness descend over the sands, he numbly shifted when Kalesk came to push him towards the eggs, feeling lost and confused. They were nearing the end and as he heard the cracking of the last egg it was as though a nail was being hammered into the proverbial coffin for Seidon. Another hatching come and gone in a long, long line of them. For turns he had stood and been passed over by dragonet after dragonet… Here he stood though, again.

Seidon glanced up at that moment to see a pink and a brown wheret building a sandcastle together. He mustered a half smile and then drooped his head again, looking at the ground even though he knew that this would hardly draw a dragonet to him. A moment passed and he heard something moving towards him. A touch on his face caused him to recoil in shock but it was a dragonet. A pink. The pink. The pink wearing a green eggshell hat.

A pink?

Long ago Seidon had given up any prejudices of colour and as this pink, his pink touched his face, he felt as though he was dreaming. How could this be real after all?
R'seidon! No...S'idon. You have two names!
The use of R’seidon shocked him but the correction was even more surprising. She knew him. His Silvianith knew him inside and out, knew everything about him straight away.
You should always have two names...it is good to have things, don't you think? I only have one name, Silvianith. We're going to have so many things together. All of the things, I think. Come on! We have to go get the things I left with Mama, and then we can eat, and then we can find a home. Don't you want to have a home? We already have a family.

His legs, weak from exhaustion, finally gave way as he fell in the sand, hot tears falling from his eyes.
“Is this real?”
Oh S’idon, why are you crying?
She pressed her cheek to his cheek, and then wrapped her neck further around his. With shaking hands, Seidon, now S’idon forever, lifted his arms to place them around her neck.
“You were always here.”
Your brother was right! You should have come here because this was where I waited for you and you waited for me. You travelled all across the world to find me. You are Mine. This is your new home but we need to find one together. There won’t be enough room in your current home.

A voice and a scream filled his ears now and, with tear streaked face, he turned to see something to ruin his moment of utter joy. Seph, bleeding and running through the sands.
“Broseph!”
Ooooh! That is another name! You have three names for one another that is amazing!
He got to his feet and placed himself between the iron and Silvianith but couldn’t get to his brother. What had happened?
We should keep my pretty things away from him. Perhaps mama will look after my things a little while longer.
S’idon looked at the pink and bit his lip before making a decision. He ran towards Seph, desperate to do anything to help him.
“We need a healer! Someone help!”
He grabbed Garund’s other side and held him, “I’m here for you.”

Silvianith came bounding over and stood behind the trio as she watched on, a little annoyed. She felt as though there was something wrong but she couldn’t quite figure it out… Still, the pink was hungry and something terrible had happened to one of the riders in the stands. Sephsk shouldn’t have been acting like this at all. This was very wrong. The pink then poked her head around the legs of her bonded and looked at the iron wheret, eyes whirring with frustration.

[/blockquote]

[RhiaBlack]

N'tharon's brow raised. Instant love through dragon sex? My, my. Someone was misguided...

He shook his head slightly, but the statement from Ghols obviously amused Sintharith, the Black's chuffed chortle of laughter cracking briefly from the ledge before N'tharon shushed him wordlessly.

::If only it were so easy, MineLove.::
::If only.::

He peered towards the rampaging Iron, shuffling if necessary to not get trampled when Kalesk came to retrieve the little beast. Only for him to...Impress a boy in the healer's area? St-- what was this? N'tharon's brows knit in what appeared to be concern, but was truthfully thought and focus. Mauling what appeared to be strategic persons. Perhaps ones that the boy had known? He had never known any Whers to be so absolutely malicious.

It would have been frightening, were N'tharon not so busy -watching-.

Lili's first reaction when the Wher approached was to grab Peranzath and pull her Pink to safety. A shove, hard, at the Iron missed completely, as it set off on it's rampage for a second time. No. No, this couldn't be happening, didn't he say he wanted a Dragon?

She was confused. She was so confused, and she could feel that confusion filter down through Peranzath. Lili pulled her Pink over to her, and buried her face in her Dragonet's shoulder. It was wrong. It was so wrong, all of it, and she felt her stomach knot in guilt and stress over the whole thing. Peranzath quivered, and Lili quickly shoved the unease away. She had to be careful. Jazz had told them that sudden, confusing emotions could make their Dragonets between, and the last thing she wanted was to lose her Pink. It had taken her what felt like forever to get her in the first place.

MineLiliLove, what is the matter? You are upset, and this will not do! This is most upsetting! Now that you are upset, I am upset too, and this is not harmonious at all, no it isn't!
I'm all right, Pera, it's okay. Don't you worry. It's all right.
You are sad that your one has become two?
No, no. It's all right.
You do not feel all right, MineLove.

Peranzath keened at Hers, as the pair of them watched in horror at the onslaught from the Iron Wher. Sephsk. He had called him Sephsk. Which meant he had Impressed a Wher.

Which meant Lili would probably never see him again, unless she got up early enough to catch him before he went to bed, and likewise with her before she went to bed.

They would be confined to living a twilight sort of life, it would appear, but with a heavy heart, Lili consigned herself to it.

Tell him it will not break us.

Peranzath crooned at Hers, and rubbed her head against Lili's shoulder, as the pale-haired Harper's Apprentice, now Pinkweyrling, peered from under Pera's neck.

LiliMineLove says that your Iron will not break Us, Seph of Sephsk. She says that you will make things work as two, and I will see that things find harmony, yes I will, indeed. MineLove also says that maybe Yours is like a Runnerbeast. You should tame it with a bridle, yes, yes? Find something to guide Sephsk's mouth?

Lili was doing her best not to bawl her eyes out.

[Gray]

Matilda had been watching it all with a small measure of apprehension. What if her bonded could not find her? It was silly, seeing as dragons had impressed here, and wherets from the stands. But still. There was a tendril of worry that slid through her stomach and up to curl around her heart. At the same time, it was so nice. With her leg elevated, the throbbing had stopped, the bandage was helping, and her burns were tended to. It did not hurt, and that was rather nice. Pain was nice, for a while. It reminded her she was still alive, that she could feel things. But it did get to be quite bothersome.

Her eyes slid over whers and dragonets as the impressed. Whirling rainbows and crimson teeth. They were almost obscene next to each other. Though both brought joy, in their own weird way. Those still standing in the sands looked ragged though. Worn, as if the sand beneath their feet had slowly chipped away at them, eroding what safeguards they had and leaving them raw. There was something fascinating about people in the raw, Matilda thought.

Someone else was just as fascinated. Hasith rumbled as the little Iron wheret stepped on a castle. He had not harmed his when in the stands. Yet now he destroyed the work of others. Not good! Not good at all. The candidates were all scattered to the four winds and he just could not stand that. Thankfully, Kalesk seemed to think the same thing.
She is good. She understands how important organization is for a momentous occasion such as this.

Aerie nodded a bit, not quite paying attention. The pink, the cute, collect-y pink was moving. If she had a tail, it would be wagging because she made a beeline for Seidon! Oh! She was sure of it. One of her boys had impressed.
What a fortuitous moment! We should congratulate them at once!
Shh, shh, no wait. Aerie held up a hand, though Hasith was many feet above her. The iron was following. Her heart felt like it was going to break through her ribs and land on the seats below hers. If that iron hurt Seidon's new bonded, Aerie did not know what she would do. He did not. He left. She let out her held breath and Hasith sent a curl of relief down their line. He too had been worried. But now the iron was heading for Seph.

Aerie bit her lip a bit, watching as it curled. No. No it wouldn't hurt him too, right? A claw was dragged down and Aerie winced, at least it was minor? But from the boy's face, it was not minor. It was not good at all. At first, she didn't understand. Then the iron was on the move again. He nearly eviscerated their Weyrling master than started after the candidates again, and Seph was after him.

Did he? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer, a worried glance was sent up to her black. Hasith shuffled a bit uneasily. Bad news was never good. That's why it was bad.
He has. This does not mean it is an end. I'll find a way, we'll have that wher in tip-top shape in now time. I promise. Aerie shook her head a bit. She did not like this one bit. Seph, well, he did not deserve that nightmare.
Tell Seidon and Seph that we will meet them once the rest of the hatching is over. I want to... Congratulate them both. Aerie was not sure how to feel. On one hand, they impressed! And she was so happy for them. She knew how scared Seidon had been that he would not. She knew how it ate him up inside. But Seph, well. She was not sure if this was what he wanted.
Affirmative. S'idon, Seph, Mine wishes to inform you that we will be meeting you once the hatching is over! The first word was sent to Aerie, while the other two were gently spoken to the two boys.