Straddle the Line [CalKal Double Hatching!]

[Maggie]

Shells that hurt! Tamarine fell to the ground. The claws weren't big, but they dug deep and her already weak leg couldn't take the extra pain. She cursed under her breath, but Joni, next to her, was also injured and she couldn't lean on her to get up. She struggled back to her feet, taking a few deep breaths. She would live. the scratches could be dealt with later by the healers. She could still stand, she was still whole. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself simply feel the cave around her. She had grown up going under ground often and she felt the strength of the earth around her soothing, even after having been trapped in a cave in. She kept most of her weight on her good leg, letting the other relax as she concentrated on positive thoughts to ward away the pain.

Idra's eyes went wide as she saw the new lilttle wheret attack her sister. She calmed only slightly when she saw that Davalla was alright. She had known that standing for those awful creatures was a terrible idea. If they both survived this... When they survived this, she reminded herself. Possibly they would both have dragons, by then.

Kaydian Nearly screamed. He took a few steps back. This was awful. This was terrifying. This was why he didn't want to stand for whers. She had been so pretty and tiny and delicate and she had looked sweet like Yusk... He looked back at where the Candidate masters were standing, looking to Yusk for guidance. He calmed as he looked to Yusk. He could be strong for her. She saw potential in him. He should live up to that. He straightened, trying to muster good, soothing thoughts, hoping that the murderous little wheret would just stop.


Gennesk is be bring Mini-Mouse Feast. See babies at Feast. Best see, he assured her. As the whers started hatching, he coiled his tail around her discreetly, ready to whip her out of harms way under his body as soon as possible. He had seen Task do this before with their Mini-mine when there had been tunnel-snakes around and G'lin had been a toddler. He would make sure Mouse was safe.

[Lan]

F'ton smiled at Joni, but he did not wave. Waving wasn't really the way he operated most of the time... it was far too conspicuous. He was sure she knew he was proud of her, though... just as he knew of his distant mother's kind feelings for him. Poseith rumbled fondly upon Joni's entrance, but otherwise did not make more noise than the low hum the rumbled in every dragon's belly in the room.

For a moment, everything seemed perfect... and then that moment ended.

The dark wher was hardly visible on the sands from the stands, but the chaos in its wake brought devastation that was obvious. As the green screeched its last and Kalesk's mourning wails filled the room, Tesla grew nervous. Her back seemed to have phantom pains, reminding her of the hatching at which she got her scars. Tessk stood inbetween her handler and the sands, eyes already swirling angrily as she prepared herself for battle. Bad egg, she commented with a snarl.

Yentil heard the cries and she looked up from her work, as well. Her smile dropped for the briefest of moments. Already it had begun... blood had been drawn and lives taken. Well, whether or not the second part was true she hardly knew, but it certainly didn't sound good. Her eyes scanned the candidates to find Kaydian, then she turned back to her work with feigned apathy. As long as that one kid was okay, the rest hardly mattered. It was sad to lose wher candidates, she supposed, but losing dragon candidates could hardly affect her emotions.

Matthaus frowned at the blood, but otherwise seemed unmoveable. It wasn't like he was unused to seeing pain and death. Out in the Ring Islands with the other Holdless he had seen people lost to threadscore and wild wherries and illness. So he steeled himself, accessing that hardened part of him that lurked beneath the surface of his eccentricities and generally upbeat nature. He felt the dull weight of the knife on his leg, just in case a wher came his way, and it reminded him of his training as a candidate. Stay positive, they were told. Well, he certainly wasn't feeling negative... but he tried to consider what good could come of this. Perhaps the murderwher would make an excellent edition to Dalibor's wher program? Yes, he was sure of it.

F'ton felt a ping of pain in his chest as Joni was attacked, but he made no move other than to grasp Fahra's hand a bit more firmly. It will be okay, he sent to Poseith, more of a plea than a statement. She is strong, the iron sent back. Echelon snuggled up closer to his sister, Ohm.

|| tag : Fahra.

---

K'oa frowned, or at least as much more as he could frown with his face set at a naturally disapproving angle. He didn't like that Willow was still feeling bad, and he didn't like that she was lying to him. He could tell a lie when he heard one--he had one wherry-brained younger brother, after all. "I'm well enough," he replied honestly... well, mostly honestly. After weyrlinghood and now sharing a wing K'oa had grown to consider Willow part of his friends, his family. Although he still didn't know her story, he treated her like she was his to care for... even as he treated the Lady Irohvyne or Sian (even if Sian didn't really need his help).

If it had been someone causing problems for Willow, K'oa would have given them a black eye... but how did you give guilt a beating? How could you protect someone from themselves?

"Just wanted to look in on ya... haven't seen you outside of the wing and I guess I've been worried." The brownrider tried to play it off as nonchalant, but there was something there when he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He shrugged afterward, turning his attention back to the hatching.

We're happy to assist, Geth responded to Niddath, cooly. If Geth was cool, though, he hardly knew it. All he knew was what made him grumpy and what didn't make him grumpy.

It wasn't until the hatching started getting bloody that K'oa looked over at Willow once again. He watched her for a moment, judging her reaction and her state, then he took a moment to judge what should be done about it. A couple minutes had probably passed before he finally made contact. "Do you want to go?" The brownrider wasn't sure whether it would be better or worse for Willow to stay. On the one hand, if she saw it's conclusion maybe things would get better... on the other, if it was only going to get worse it might make her feel worse. "We can leave Niddath or Geth here to get updates." Although, as Geth had described, Niddath wanted Willow to be around people, K'oa wouldn't want to put her in a position where she was uncomfortable. So he sat on the edge of his seat, ready to stand as soon as she stood or settle back in to a comfortable position should she express a want to stay.

|| tag : Willow.

[Ondine]

Maal was dashing back to his room in the candidate barracks like a shot the moment that Callistath's mental command whipped across the Candidates that would stand for her children. A hatching, a hatching! It might even be a double hatching, which would be exciting...and dangerous, but exciting! He couldn't help but think that this one was the one for him, and why wouldn't it be? Two golden Queens upon the sand, either of whose children he would be happy to find his bonded partner with. In sheer minutes, he had changed into his candidate robes and was flinging himself out the door so that he could screech to a halt outside of the hatching sands.

Walking inside significantly more calmly than he had arrived, the boy stared around with bright eyes as he took his place somewhat on the Wher side of the sands. Oh, he wouldn't mind impressing a Wher, but they usually only impressed older humans. Leave it to him though to impress young! Like that girl had, although she had never been a Candidate. He smiled and bowed deeply, respectfully, for what was not to respect about either Queen? “Thank you, Kalesk and Callistath, for this honor.”

Just like every other hatching he had been in, things got off to a roaring start. Well...maybe a bloody start was the best way to do it. He had learned from his Candidatemasters how to keep his mind clear, but it was always hard, even for someone as awesome as he was, to do so when the blood began to fly. And the swift crushing of what looked like a dud egg, and then the horrible murder of a green by a (what was that, a red or a brown?) was certainly a bloody start. He winced and faltered when Kalesk roared challenge, and in that moment it was obvious that this mother would not take her a wild child like that lying down. Only the swift dash into the candidates saved the wher, but there was a lot more going on than just that. People were getting mauled, and the Queen couldn't get to her rampaging son. Which meant that human blood was flying now instead of ichor, and Maal winced in sympathetic pain as Niorun was savaged just a few people down from him. Where he could hear every slash and...

He shuddered. They weren't allowed to do anything, but it was obvious that Kalesk wanted that child dead. Would that affect how people would react? He couldn't do anything from over here, nor was he built for it, but...would anyone else?

Garund could not have been more opposite from Maal. The announcement of the double clutching sent skitters of nervous apprehension down his spine, and he arrived just barely on time, slinking in behind other candidates so that he wouldn't be noticed, at least as much as possible. He was all the way in the very back, and even if he gave both of the Queens the greeting they deserved, there was a sick knot of tension in his gut. Should he even be here? He didn't know the answer to that question, or if he could even take care of a dragonet. He knew that he shouldn't even be out here with his heart in such turmoil, but if he walked off of the sands, or sat this one out, would he ever get up the nerve to come back out?

So he stayed, even as the blood started to fly. Now, he felt that he should do something. He should save Niorun if he could, somehow, but it might get him kicked out of the program. And then...then where would he go? What was he doing? He didn't know the answer to that, didn't know the answer to anything at all, and simply stood and tried to clear his mind. Benal had shown him a lot of things, but confidence had never been one of them.

Maihri had run to the sands with her hand slipped in tightly with her sister's. Not too surprisingly, her own thanking of the two Queens was said at the same time as her sister's, a second voice separated by only the slightest of moments. “Thank you both for the honor, I'm super happy to be here! She grinned at her sister, squeezing her hand a little in her excitement. There was so much here that could just go perfectly! Of course, what she really wanted was to impress here before Rhikail and her mother, alongside of her twin. That would just be so perfect, and everything that she ever wanted. Wouldn't that just be beautiful?

Of course, the other side of hatchings was the horror and bloodshed, and it started nearly instantly. Her grip on her twin's hand tightened as the giant wher came out. She didn't like it, didn't like the redness of its eyes and the violence that seemed to lurk in it. It simply looked evil, and she reflexively moved to protect her sister by sliding half a step in front of her. That caution was well rewarded when the red (or was it a brown?) attacked Niorun. Two sets of training warred in herself, to step forward and defend Niorun now, taking the attack to a wher that had slaughtered a sister and was now being hunted by his mother, or taking the defensive. After watching for a moment more, her eyes burned, and she settled back to defend. Trying to rip the little thing off of Niorun might kill her, and attacking such a volatile thing would give it the advantage, not her. It filled her with shame, but she knew her place on the sands and as a guard. This was what she had to do, even if all of her heart wanted to punt the beast over to its mother so that it would die. If nothing else, both she and her sister had armor on, and wouldn't die so easily.

Ondine had slipped in soon before Loki had, having been at the infirmary for a shift that she had hoped would take her to her weyr in short order. Instead...she was here, and time and experience had told her that this would probably be another bloody hatching. Tell Sian and Shalith that there's a hatching please darling? They'll know what it means. Dilath whooped and started to hum, at least as much as she could (not much) and winged her way to the hatching sands to take her place on high, looking down with bright blue eyes.

The healer just smiled as the older man threatened anyone stupid enough to try to be a hero. She was well used to his tirades and how he worked, and truth be told, she was glad that he was here and had come a little farther out of his shell. He had lost his dragon, and just like any dragonrider, it had hit him hard. He hadn't broken, though, and she was damn glad to have him here. Especially once the blood began to fly, and the smile wavered slightly on her face as she moved to stand at the edge of the healer's corner. She wouldn't go out, she wasn't stupid, and the sharding wheret was still tearing up candidates. That, right there, was why they would need Loki, and she gave him a glance before looking over at the nearest Master. Supposed prodigy or not, she wasn't moving yet.

Shino and Shinsk were huddled up in the darkened part of the stands, a blindfold on the brown's eyes to shield him from the light. They were watching for the class that would be joining them next, and although she had high hopes for that adorable green that was so strangely shaped (but lovely because of it), she was already dead on the sands. Shinsk was on his claws, eyes blood red and gleaming behind the cloth, his teeth bared and growling. The wher was bad. If he escaped the candidates, Kalesk would put him down, but if he made it to the stands, Shinsk would have no mercy for any who made Shino unhappy. And right now Shino was not happy. Beloved sister Shino was trying not to cry, trying to be grown up. She hurt, and anything that hurt his sister deserved the kiss of cold Between.

Lyrnn watched with burning eyes as his next challenge tore into the candidates. Either that wher would impress and escape the sands, or it would die here and now. His own hope was that it would die, for as much as the wher needed fighters like that, such an indiscriminate killer had little place unless it bonded to someone who could restrain it. He was up to the challenge if it did impress, he only hoped that the wherling, if there ever was a wherling for the murderous creature, would be up for the challenge as well. If anything, he was going to be happy that Shino was there, simply because she had already been through the training once before, and her wher was violently protective. Then again, maybe he was just asking for trouble there. Better, in all, to hope that the bloodied wheret only bonded to death.

Ciali sat in the stands next to her sister, a blindfold around her wher's eyes, and provided him the visual he needed to watch the next generation. Her eyes were cold as she watched the proceedings, although she greatly approved of how Kalesk was reacting. Unlike another wher, she wouldn't take murderous children lying down. Now if only the terror poked his head out just for a moment, and the nightmarish creature would be dead. She looked over at her sister, and with no humor in her voice at all, spoke. “Someone ought to throw that thing to its mother.” Or, looking at the father, maybe he'd like to do the deed. That wasn't something she was going to say though, Cilisk did not need to charge the sands. She couldn't even rib that the Bronze had thrown some terrible children. Not with an innocent bleeding out there.

[kireon]

Hatching, AylinaPretty, it is time to go, yes... it is... Mith is here, she is ready to go too, yes... she is...[/i] Wenth's eyes finished whirling in their slow, languid manner at the blonde currently pouring over... something, she wasn't sure what and turned at the distracted sign of "okay" to greet her fellow tan. You are a wonderful cloud, yes... you are, perfect for today... She informed her senior tan, stretching her neck out to rub the corner of her jaw against the other dragoness' neck, blue tongue peeping out to groom a stripe down the ridges.. Yes, good cloud. Perfect.

Aylina studied the two, smiled and shook her head with a chuckle. Tans were quite possibly, and totally without bias, her favorites. She'd decided this shortly after Wenth's hatching. Others had their merits, she liked 'em all of course, but there was that special somethin' 'bout her tans that she couldn't resist. "Aight ladies, let's get 'er goin' and say hi to e'erybody else. We got babies to see hatchin'." She loaded up on Wenth, as expected, ignoring the drizzle for the time being. Little rain didn't hurt nobody, after all.

Touched down and with Aylina off to plop herself down in a decent watching spot, Wenth lead Mith over to the rest of the tans, delighted to see them all in one place. Others like her! I have brought Mith, she is a cloud today. She informed Naireth, Unath and Weslieth cheerfully. Though very small and very bright, she supposed Weslieth could be a cloud for the day, some of them turned golden-ish, after all.

Temporarily, her attention was diverted to Halventh in all his starry belly'd glory. You are the best at fish, Halventh, yes... you are...[/i] The tan informed her favorite blue proudly.

A pause, and she peeked at Naireth again, oggling the older tan. Hello, she offered, suddenly shy before her clutchmother and tapping into Aylina's memories of the still form who'd watched over them so many turns ago. thank you for giving me MyPretty. I really like her, yes, I do...

Of course, chaos on the sands exploded Aylina's attention from her tan's attempt at making friends. The blonde cringed. Whers hatching first, she'd normally take that as a good sign, what with needin' more patrols and the like just in case somethin' crazy happened with the assassinations on the dragons with that damn smokeweed.

But shards, this was gonna be a bloody one.

**

Mesreath flew in silently, landing on a proud ledge beside the bronze he considered an acceptable dragon of company. He didn't like most, especially male dragons. Rivals were meant to be torn from the sky, not befriended. He supposed, however, Drieth was an exception to the rule, and he would begrudgingly keep it that way for Durian's sake. She needed more good people to be around, after all.

...not that he liked it, but it was true.

He rarely, if ever, sang for hatchings like many of his brethren did. Durian usually had to cajole him into doing so before half the hatching was done. This time, however, was different. Callistath's, and Callistath herself, would need all the encouragement they could get. So, this one time, he would raise his voice and add it. Sending a gust of air out his nostrils, the dragon's chest suddenly swelled, deep breath taken as an extraordinarily deep, bone throbbing hum came out his throat.

He was there for Callistath, his Queen and friend.

"Yo." Durian dropped into place beside her fellow wingsecond, eyes on the sands as the wherets began to hatch and wreck their usual havoc. Poor kids, she remembered being on the sands like that. H'mod probably did too. She gave a sidelong glance to the bronzerider. "Too bad the Candidatemasters're telling people not to establish dominance the old fashioned way these days. Might discourage that guy."

**

Jaed's eyes widened, watching with great wariness and confusion as the massive dark... wher? bouldered his way in without the slightest care in the world and began tearing into people left and right. Somebody needed to smack 'im, if it were allowed. ...probably wasn't allowed, but he'd heard that Audren, a redhandler, had thwarted a mauling herself by snapping the baby back to the sands. Was that allowed? Or was that an Alphahandler's privilege?

Thinking about it rationally, probably the Alphahandler's thing, she likely could do it in a way that caused no harm to the wheret while still getting the message of "No." across in no uncertain terms.

Wish they'da thought to teach us that.

**

Kairhi was instantly a half step in front of her sister's own half step trying to be in front of her, whistling softly to try and distract the wher assaulting one of their own. He needed to leave her alone and come chew on someone else- like her, for example. Lucky for her, Mairhi had totally offered a spare set of her own armor, and the two of them could probably put up a bit more resistence as a result. Or at least not get chewed on quite as badly. They could take 'im together, like always. Or, they'd be enough of a scary, though positive and optimistically thinking duo to drive away the mean and have him go Impress so his handler could probably give him a smack on the snout for being so naughty.

She'd totally smack him for being naughty, and she didn't even know if he were a boy yet!

**

With the way things had gone the last hatching, Cilisk was on edge and ready to be snarly, angry and all in all, more of a prideful bronze than he had a tendency to be most days. Even with Cilia's palm against the thick, gnarled muscle on his front shoulder, the boulder-like bronze loathed the tension, the sharp scent of copper in the air as Kalesk's mourning wails were answered with a disapproving roar from the king himself. No child of his was a mindless murderer, that one would need to be put down.

"Cilisk agrees with that," Cilia's voice was oddly soft, and only the white knuckles of the hand not pressed flat against her wher's flesh and the burn of her silver gaze told that not all was well with the bronzepair who'd helped get this clutch into existence. "or would take up the punishment himself if she needs to devote her attention elsewhere."

The distraction was, in short, the silent war between the two of them as to who would remain in control; Cilia, who would keep him there, or Cilisk, who would risk them both to deliver swift justice upon the little abomination who would dare disrespect Kalesk and himself.[/size]

((OOC: @_@_@_@_@_@ all these ninja posts. I WILL REPLY TO ALL NEXT ONE.))

[Tigersilk]

15-year-old Kahnasunita was in her room at the Candidate Barraks when the Queens' mental summons came. Her younger sister, 12-year-old Annunziata, had just finished changing the dressing on her back, covering the injuries from the last beating their father had given her that last night before all three girls ran away from their small Hold, deciding that being eaten by wild animals was a far preferable fate to being beaten to death by him and their stepmother, while the rest of the Hold just watched, uncaring. They had known all along, the lot of them, how her father and his wife treated her and her sisters, and they acted like it wasn't their business to interfer, they had better things to do than protect the children of the hold slut, they weren't going to dirty themselves with the matter.....

Sunita shook herself from those thoughts, though with some difficulty. That was the past, she told herself. She and her siblings were half a world away now, where her parents could never find them again. At least not without a good chunk of marks, or something of great value to barter with. The bluerider that rescued them from the forests around Fort Hold had told them that, even showing the girls a world map showing where their home Hold was in relation to Dalibor, and how hard it would be to get here from there. Safe, at least for a while, she had said.

Sunita's head understood what the rider was telling them, but....it had been less than a week since they'd left home for the last time. Only a few days ago did they arrive here at Dalibor, with little more than the clothes on their backs, just in time for a rare double Hatching of both a wher's and a dragon's clutches, and told they were to Stand for them. Not enough time to get to know anybody, really. Barely enough time to get a whirlwind tour of the Sands, the grounds, and a condensed lesson on what to wear and do and say, and when....

Speaking of which....

"Jas! Where's the armor at?" Sunita asked her youngest sister, 10-year-old Jasjittia. They had all gotten some from the leatherworker they'd taken Jas' ruined wher-teddy to, to see if the red doll could be fixed by someone far better at working leather than she was. Sunita had insisted that they all get leather pants and some stiff leather shirts for their torsos, to decrease the chance of injuries like the Candidatemasters advised. Jas especially didn't like the hot leather under the Candidate robes, but if it increased their chances of survival, Sunita insisted on wearing them, and their boots, to keep from burning their feet off on the hot Sands.

After dressing, Sunita, Ziata, and Jas made their way to the Hatching Grounds, Ziata quiet for once, none of her stories easily coming to her mind right then. She was trying to be brave like her big sister, and not fall to pieces in fear of the possible slaughters Dalibor Hatchings were known for. Jas was quiet as well, hoping brave Sunita would protect her from angry mother dragons and whers, in case one got angry at her for some infraction she didn't know she did, and attack her like her parents always did.... And Sunita put on a brave face for her sisters, hoping they would all survive the night.

The three girls bowed to the Queens, and thanked them for letting them stand. Sunita then tried to move to where the dual Candidates were to stand, in the middle of the line, but Jas held on tightly to her waist, afraid to let go, so Sunita moved her sisters to the left of the group, towards the dragon side of the clutches, where Ziata and Jas were supposed to stand as dragon-only Candidates. She chose a spot towards the back of the group, where they'd get plenty of warning if a rogue hatchling came their way, and could move to avoid it.

Or so they hoped.

[RavenSong]

"No, no clutch like this has ever happened before. Yet again, we're pioneers," P'ryt said to Hanei, relaxing a bit in the Stands. He wasn't quite sure how things would go, and he was ready to protect those around him from errant babies if they came into the Stands. He certainly hoped they wouldn't. Hemetath leaned down to nose Noveth, humming. He didn't say anything to her, choosing to refrain from actual words, but the impression the Green got from the Iron's mind indicated that while there was potential for amazing things, he felt there was also potential for great danger.

Nearby, Os'um smiled to himself as he saw his daughter in the crowd of Candidates. He knew she'd be safe and that she'd Impress well. He was nice and relaxed, until the red? Brown? Whatever color it was decided to kill its sibling and start shredding Candidates.

Next thing he knew, the sharding thing was on his daughter.

And he was on his feet, about to leap toward the Sands to rescue her, only to find himself grabbed by the Junior Weyrleader, the only remaining Kingrider in that echelon of rank, and firmly planted on a bench with the backs of his knees stinging like mad. The Ironrider had kicked his knees right out from under him. Up on his ledge, Rhodth roared in fury and fear, echoing his rider's emotions.

"Calm your dragon, Brownrider," P'ryt said gently, one hand still on Os'um's shoulder. Understanding was written on P'ryt's face as Os'um looked at him. The Brownrider closed his eyes a moment and calmed the dragon before he could do anything besides roar.

"What do you know of this, Weyrleader? That's my daughter!" Os'um snarled, trying to shove P'ryt off him. P'ryt did not move.

"More than you'd think," P'ryt responded, gesturing to Hanei. "A dragonet went after my own child, and I'm holdbred. Rushing out there to save your daughter could get her killed. Let the ones on the Sands handle it."

"She's the only child I have!"

"Trust me, I understand."

---

Cambyses smiled warmly at Valdis at her question, his kind face wrinkled and worn.

"They're unable to do that," he said, nodding a bit. "One is either a dragonrider or a wherhandler, though I think that a dragonrider whose dragon dies has the potential to Impress to a wher. Samara, didn't that happen here recently? I seem to remember news of that nature."

Then the egg cracked, and the carnage started. Cambyses frowned, his eyes darkening as he regarded the progress of the rampaging wheret. He didn't voice his opinion on what should happen, fully aware that Audren, Ausk, Kalenna, and Kalesk would have everything well in hand. This was not an auspicious beginning.

---

As the carnage began, Naras leaned forward.

"Naraevhyn!" he said sharply. "If a wheret comes up here, you take Z'dyn and you get out of here." Naraevhyn frowned, then looked at Z'dyn and nodded. She knew Naras wasn't aware of her weyrmate's terror, but she was. She'd learned about it when she'd first met him and asked about his scars. She knew a wher had done it, a wild one. Of course he'd be frightened of the little devils. She wouldn't be fleeing to save herself, she'd be fleeing to protect Z'dyn.

"Master Jyderin, you should come with us if that happens," she said to the Master Tanner. No word was spoken to the Master Harper, who had several of Letorin's flits on him. He was ignoring them. They weren't being pesky, thankfully, but he still didn't like them.

NaraevhynMine says she'll take Z'dynYours away from here if a baby goes near them, Simhath said to Baihujinth. She was perched on the same ledge as him, nestled up close.

--

In the healer's area, N'yn grinned at Vyna as she punched him lightly in his arm.

"I'm always ready!" he said. Seph chuckled at the twins, shaking his head. Loki's statement had the tall, muscled Apprentice Herder wishing he wasn't in there. He knew Loki thought he was an idiot. Half the healers did, he was sure of it.

Then the shrieking started. Seph tensed up and went pale. N'yn's training kicked in and he looked to senior healers expectantly, waiting for their direction. Seph shrank back somewhat, not wanting to see what was going on, not wanting to see if it was Lili shrieking. He didn't think so, that didn't quite sound like her voice, but as he hadn't heard the white-haired woman scream before, he couldn't be sure. He knew it wasn't Seidon, though, and that was a relief.

---

On the Sands, Davalla was nervous. For a wher to hatch first, she thought, was bad news. While she felt whers were also a chance to solidify her position in the Weyr and ensure she couldn't be evicted without some difficulty, she was unsure of them.

Then another hatched and killed the first one. Well. That was great news, wasn't it. Davalla tracked the dark wheret with a pale, well, paler face, swearing loudly when it raked its claws across her knees. She resisted the urge to kick it as hard as she could in retaliation. That would get her kicked out, and even though it'd be satisfying to hurt it, she simply couldn't do that to a... okay, it wasn't a defenseless baby, but it was still a baby and perhaps it didn't quite know better. How often had Mavven nipped her in his puppyhood, after all? Struggling not to shriek and cry as she shifted her weight onto her less-damaged leg, Davalla inspected her other leg. Wonderful. She could see her kneecap through the clawmark, and was pretty sure the stupid beast had carved a groove into it. That wasn't possible, but she was sure it had happened anyways. She glanced toward Idra, doing her best to pretend she was okay. It hurt so, so badly. She wanted her sister beside her.

[Boo]

The call. It was as though a bugle had sounded in his mind as Seidon paused in his chores. He’d had a lot to catch up on considering his injury. The candidate had been serving in the kitchens, sitting on a stool and peeling tubers when he heard the voice in his mind. Both of them, one the voice of a dragon and the other, the slightly less intelligent sound of a wher called out to him in his mind. He didn’t care what the candidatemasters said, he refused to impress a wher. What would his family think if they found out. He would be a failure.

Some candidates would thing, with so many eggs on the sand, that there was more of a chance. Seidon was not so deluded. Even if there were more eggs his chances of impression were either one hundred percent or zero. There was no in-between as far as he was concerned. His partner would either be in this clutch or it would not but at least he was able to stand. After a long wait, he got to his feet and walked uneasily on his feet to the barracks, favouring his leg. Although he was not limping, he still walked carefully given the fact that he had gained a compound fracture at the last hatching.

Once in his room, he readjusted the bandage and dressed in his white robes. The bandage was for stability as much as anything else and although there was slight pain, he had been determined to take to the stands. Days of lying to the healers had assured that by the time the clutches had been laid, he’d been cleared to take to the sands.

Wincing a little as he put weight on his leg, he eased into a comfortable standing position and then stepped out of his room. The boy held his head high as he walked towards the sands knowing that he might just arrive late but it was better to be careful. He slipped in the back and stood as far away as he was able from the whers yet not quite at the front with the dragons, the memory of the iron’s claws still fresh in his mind.

The long-standing candidate did not approach the mothers but bowed all the same from his position aware that walking through the hot sands on his leg might not be the best course of action.



On the other side of matters, Hulair was sitting with his family, having secured a day off. He held, in his arms, their newborn child Tanair whilst his other five children told him about their day.
“And then this HUGE dragon came flying by-“
“But you should have seen the runners dad,”
“It was HUGE!! Ginormous!”
“I liked the wagons.”
“Then I hit the thing with a sword!”

The former guard tensed up when he heard the voice in his mind both of the voices. After the disaster of Ausk’s hatching he’d almost been hoping that he would be sent home before the next one. Now that D’lios had won the Flight… Things were going to change around this place and Hulair was sure it was for the better. He could attest to the Lord Holder’s kindness and affection for his people and all those who dared speak out against D’lios would soon earn themselves an enemy in Hulair. Tareniss had been concerned about the development but ultimately had accepted her husband’s comments.

Weighing on their minds, of course, was the last hatching. Ultimately, Tareniss had taken the children further away so they would not see the slaughter that had occurred on the sands. In fact, she had gone so far as to cover their eyes as best she could or at least the younger children. The woman had then returned home but only shortly after given birth to their daughter. Now she had returned again for the hatching, hoping to support her husband in his venture.

Hulair kissed each of his children, smiling at them and then got to his feet, kissing his wife, “See you after,” he murmured and then walked from the Dining Hall, heading to the barracks. Dressing in the robes that were by far to small for the hulking man, the fabric cutting into his large arms, he walked to the sands. Although he was among the first there, he bowed and then took a place at the back, intending to be as close to the stands and his children as was physically possible. If any creature dared attack them, he would not hesitate to give his life to defend them. The knife used to make the blood bond was at the ready as he watched the sands carefully.

In no time at all, blood christened the sands. Although both men were standing towards the back, they could hear the cries. Seidon shivered, mind faltering as he closed his eyes unable to continue thinking pleasant thoughts with such horrifying screams cutting through the humming of the dragons. The candidate continued to force the thoughts from his mind… That black could have been his… If he’d stayed. Was this all futile?

Hulair glared daggers at the whers as they charged through the young boys and girls who were offering themselves up to the creatures. Although he had since warmed to the idea of impression, that did not stop him from recognising the danger of the whers. He almost dared them to approach him as he watched the red-brown terror rip through a whole group of candidates.

[/blockquote]

[Tigersilk]

Rushera was in her weyr resting when the humming began. Mine! Come! Hatching begins. her pale cyan partner, Vayuth, proclaimed from her couch. Shall we see, what is to be? Can we see, what shouldn't be? the dragon giving Hers a rhyming riddle this time.

"Alright, give me a moment," Rushera responded to her love while stretching herself awake. She was not eager to be around people right then, but a double Hatching involving both a wher clutch and a dragon clutch was not something she wanted to miss, either. So she went.

They flew into the Hatching grounds, Vayuth choosing a spot on a lower shelf, right by a darker cyan, with a flower-like pattern on her hide....[iOh great, HER!][/i] Rushera growled inwardly to herself. Vayuth, meanwhile, rubbed her head against Scikath's head in greeting, and got a rub in return, while Rushera glared at the other cyan's rider, Frankie, who glared back.

"Either sit in the Stands, or sit here. Your choice", Frankie growled at Rushera. The usual greeting between them during a Hatching. Frankie normally enjoyed watching them while seated next to her partner, while their dragons greatly enjoyed each other's company and sat next to each other whenever they could. And while Rushera couldn't stand her former roommate (the feeling was mutual), she did find the woman more interesting to talk to than any other woman in the Weyr. So usually she stayed on the ledge too, watching a Hatching with the dragons, and seeing how long it took before the two young women wound each other up enough to start fighting. And if they could keep it from turning into a brawl afterwards (well away from prying eyes, of course; neither wanted to be punished for it), like they sometimes did. Neither would admit to it, but they did enjoy the fighting, perhaps more than they should.

Their dragons knew, of course, and enjoyed their weyrnates' sqabblings for their own reasons, reasons that they didn't wish to share with their riders. Yet.

For now, though, the four sat on the ledge, watching what transpired below, and taking bets on the outcomes.

[Gray]

Matilda rocked on her heels a bit as she stood on the hot sands, feeling the warmth through the soles of her shoes. Even in the light robes, she could feel the first prickling of sweat at the nape of her neck. She slightly envied those with shorter hair. No matter how dark it was outside, it was still summer. Matilda wondered if the sands were a welcome reprieve during the winter. But this was no time for random thoughts. She had to focus. Being at the very back, she couldn't really see what was happening too well. That didn't mean she didn't try though. Standing on her tiptoes, she watched and listened. For a moment, she thought about tapping up one of her girls to be her second eyes, but she didn't want to risk that scaring off a dragonet or wheret. So Matilda did the best she could from her position.

Sensitive as she was to others, she did catch the buzz of excitement as the first egg spilled. Dragon? Wher? It was hard to tell, but eventually, from the tilt of people's heads, Matilda figured it out. Wher it was then. Must be something small, for even with her height, Matilda couldn't tell what it was just yet. But then she figured out why. The babe had been hiding a bit. Through the throng of others, she could make out a shade of green, pale enough to not be too muddled by the low light.

Of course, with Whers, blood hit the sands soon. The hatching of the... Brown? Red? Reddish Brownish Redbrown? Was eventful, to say the least. After smashing it's under developed kin, it turned on the pale one. The sounds. Oh the sounds. They were horrible, yet strangel entrancing at the same time. They were what she had the most to go on. The sick think of claws against a skull, soon followed by a stomach churning crunch.

In the stands, A'til watched with disgust. Whers. He didn't understand their brutality. How could they just let that happen? But then again, he had heard many tales of mother dragons just watching their children rip each other apart. Picking through the crowd, he let his gaze focus on his sister. There wouldn't be much he could do if one of the whers turned on her, Asperath was big, yes, but he was still a baby.
I am not a baby. I could take on ten of those things!
A'til just shook his head, this was no time for levity, though he knew the viridian only meant well.

Back on the sands, Matilda tensed. Kalesk's roar and her child's defiant stance, well, they almost scared her. She knew she should be scared. The child just killed it's kin with out a care. But still, she was too fascinated to be scared. The fact that Kalesk got up and chased her spawn amazed her. Kalesk did what she had heard many dragons would not. Kalesk was just so amazing. She was, Matilda was sure, the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.

But beauty had no place here. The dark one cut a bloody path through the sea of candidates, the true color still unknown. Seemly intent on not impressing, it climbed up a girl only to leap from her onto another candidate. Matilda's breath caught in her throat as the Wher bore it's prey down, tearing and thumping at the girl's skull. For the first time, she felt the first shivers of fear, a bitter taste filling her mouth as bile surged forth. There was no fear of vomit, just the harsh, acrid taste of bile lingering on her tongue.

[mopsy93]

The hatching was getting off to a great start, of course when she meant that Carissa was being sarcastic if anything else. It started out innocently enough with a pale green wher hatching, but then things soon got out of hand with a dark redish-brown wher hatching. Whether this wheret was a large brown, a small red, or some kind of new colour was yet to be seen, definitely seemed to be just as aggressive as a typical red from what Carissa had seen so far. The dark wheret had smashed one of the dud eggs and killed its Green sister, much to the displeasure of Kalesk. Carissa was soon thanking her decision on wearing armor when the dark brute attacked three Candidates and knocked Mleynn into her. Thankfully both managed to stay upright though Janvia was not all too happy with the dark wheret’s unprovoked attack on her owner even if it was indirect. Janvia was not brave enough to get anywhere near the action even if she was allowed to, staying near where Issencar was seated pacing nervously every now and then flapping her wings. There was also a Black wheret on the sands but unlike either of his siblings this one seemed to be content with taking his time in getting out of his egg let alone getting into the main action.

[birdi]

Inanna had to admit, this was more exciting than anything she'd encountered in seacraft--loathe as she was to. After all, boats didn't hatch from eggs full-made and with personalities that only seawater and old age creaking along their boards could ever fully express. This image amused her briefly, before she focused on the task at hand.

Snapping on the leather armor to go under her robes, she pulled the white cloth over her head. The boots, she slipped into easily, hide pleasantly cool against her bare toes. Grabbing her hair up with one hand, she placed her hairtie in her mouth, and then resumed brushing the mess of curls back with both her hands until they were decently pulled out of her face. Then she tied it.

Even with all that done, Inanna felt uncomfortably ill-protected. She frowned. Hopefully, her first Standing wasn't going to be a disaster. If only the candidatemasters had allowed more bending of tradition... she wasn't sure white robes were all that important, if they were just going to be stained with blood. Why not go all-out armor for the candidates?

Not your place to question why, Inanna reminded herself, stringing her boots on more tightly.

She made her way without much to note of over to the sands, did what was expected and polite of her--greeted both golden mothers, for she couldn't remember if they were supposed to do that with golden whers but it couldn't hurt... and took her place somewhere near-middle in the crowd, closer to the dragon eggs.

She didn't realize anything had hatched until there was already ichor upon the sands--she peered over to watch as some kind of... something, whatever color that was... maimed its green sister to death. Was that what whers did? Was it expected of them? No. The golden mother was upset--she challenged her destruction-bent child, which apparently was enough to send it skittering into the candidates.

'Plowing', perhaps, would be a better term.

Inanna stepped back as the thing tore into a few candidates only some feet away from her, her first thought being gratitude for having chosen a spot nearer to the dragon eggs. Perhaps in the face of others getting mauled this was callous, but then again, whomever came into this without self-preservation instincts was a little nutty in the head.

She wondered if anyone would stop the evil little beast, then briefly considered trying to, before wiping that thought away as well-intentioned but foolhardy. Likely, she'd just get herself killed and add to the bloodshed.

~
Hirman kept his eyes fixated on the wher eggs, feeling with almost certainty that if he moved his gaze he'd turn back just to see they'd hatched. He wasn't fond of whers as a rule, they were dangerous and wild in ways that most dragons couldn't compare to, and he'd never been present at a hatching where they had not caused some fashion of blood and distress. Then again, this would be his first hatching at Dalibor, so perhaps his cynicism would be proven false. Then again he rather did not think so, what with the sixty-plus candidates and a clutch of near-by dragon eggs and the rather large amount of whers just waiting to hatch. Bet on his words, this would be a dangerous bout--not that it took any special kind of brain to figure that out.

His fears were proven and compounded as some kind of murder-beast hatched from one of the large black eggs--what color, it was difficult to tell, no matter how hard Hirman squinted at it--and immediately it crushed one of the smaller eggs, maliciously tore down a green sibling, then headed off for the candidates to avoid its furious golden mother. Hirman winced as the thing tore through a line of destruction, never more displeased to be right in his entire life... save for the last time something like this had happened.

And then the creature latched on to some poor girls face in a movement that was wrenchingly terrifying even from a good distance away and blocked by the forms of other candidates, let alone how horrifying it must have been for the girl. Was she alive? Was she breathing? Hirman couldn't tell, but he could feel the emotional swell overcome him.

Leaning heavily against the side of the pen, Hirman looked down. His hands were trembling. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. He was upset, but there was a job to do.

"Could we have permission to walk out, discreetly, and remove her?" He asked, without directly addressing anyone. It'd probably be best to wait until the murder-wher was focused on something else. And he wasn't going to move unless it was a generally agreed-upon decision. He was not one to turn caution to the wind and just dart out like a fool.

edited to
tag: any healer

[lee]

What had Candidatemaster Jasmine said? Our priority is making sure that as many hatchlings as possible survive.

Survive.

Braele had noted at the time it was a fairly ominous purpose. Or if not ominous, at least not overly optimistic. But this was her third hatching, and Braele had come to appreciate that ‘optimism’ had no place at Dalibor. And in case like this, with no precedent, no record to refer to, of a wher and a dragon--and both golds at that--sharing the Sands...no, Braele was not optimistic. So when Callistath’s call roused her from an uneasy sleep, the lanky girl felt more grim than gleeful. It was a dampened sort of emotion, like all the rest, and if, as she sat up and began pulling on the leather armor for beneath her white robes, she felt a low uneasiness in her chest, it was vague and undefinable, and Braele didn’t acknowledge anything she felt that she could not put logic and reason to, and so it was forgotten.

Her beltknife, this time, was strapped to her shoulder rather than her waist. True, her waist would be higher than most dragonets or wherets could get to, but it seemed, in this case, safest to keep it as far from their reach as possible, though accessible to her still. Her expression was cool, because that was how she felt, her excitement tempered considerably by three failed hatchings prior and an expectation that the Sands wouldn’t remain unstained for this one. Still, she’d volunteered for it, and she wasn’t afraid, though she suspected she should be.

Her hair was twisted into a tight, severe bun, and she strode with purpose to the center of the candidates, straddling the area between dragon candidates and wher candidates, with only time for a silent bow of thanks to the gold wher and gold dragon who stood watch before it began in earnest. She managed a flash of a smile at Joni, who stood to her side, before fixing her attention resolutely on the massive clutches head of her. Positive thoughts--despite what they had been instructed--did not come easily to Braele (something she had been forced to consider as a contribution to her remaining a Candidate) but she could manage calm ones. Practical ones. Utterly bland ones, and she resisted the urge to mentally apologize for them, for the hatchlings deserved excited ones, brilliant ones that matched the explosive energy with which they burst into life and the world. She held onto that, in the end. Welcome to the world. And she held back, though it took great effort, from thinking, for now.

--

They were all going to die.

Joshu’s hands spasmed on his cane and he wasn’t ashamed to use it to bat someone out of the way so he could snag a seat in the front of the stands. He still wore the smock he’d tossed over his tunic in the kitchens, where he’d been set to making a succulent stew for the coming Hatching Feast. He had worked like a man with a fever, frenzied and too much, to distract himself from what the humming had meant, from what was coming, and the minute he could he had slipped away. He was too uptight to abandon his duty outright, so he had finished the stew and tossed fresh loaves to be baked, slow and even until flaky and sweet, and he had bolted his way, unsteady gait and all, to the Hatching Caverns.

And he had no positive thoughts.

White as a sheet, his hands clenched and unclenched continuously on the knob of his cane, waves of quiet fury warring with white hot fear. Nori wasn’t even old enough to stand for whers, she shouldn’t have been allowed to stand at this Hatching--oh, but how could he deny her? Every time he got past the very valid terror for his siblings’ life, Joshu was reminded why their lives were at risk. They had in them, somehow, the potential to be dragonriders. Dragonriders. Even Lanorun, who was too old to stand for them, but had potential enough to stand for the whers. Pride, broken but warm, entered the fight with fury and fear, and Joshu didn’t care about the eggs, the wonder of life and all that. No, his eyes were locked on three figures, almost blocked from view by the throngs of candidates behind them--they were in the front row because of course they bloody were, and the realization caused a cracked laugh to escape a raspy throat.

They were in the front row.

His brave, foolhardy brothers. His courageous, headstrong sister.

So see them, he thought, seized at once by a ferocity that was somehow a blend of all the rest, and directed at the Hatchlings both spilling forth and yet to be seen, see them, claim them as your own. You won’t find better on the Sands.

--

T’yer, notably, was absent. He sat in the Infirmary--stood, actually, because he had too many nerves to sit--ready for any overflow of injuries to reach him, or to run supplies when summoned. Wenth’s hatching had been blessedly peaceful, for all the fear for littler Mulonimath. But this one...T’yer began to pace again, then forced himself to stop, lunging for herbs and working to mix up a poultice, just in case, and wished he had Lenticuth’s cool, soft hide to bury his face in, to not think about…Be calm, mine. T’yer had to almost laugh at the smooth interjection of Lenticuth, timely as always, though he was in a place to watch, though T’yer was not. The viridian continued, quiet and even. This is life.

--

It was so hard to see!

Eithne, who stood far to the back on the side of the dragons--she was too young to stand for whers, though she had a former holdless’s appreciation for their danger--and she was short, to boot. She kept her hands linked calmly behind her back, but she leaned, ever so slightly, and was able to see a tiny green nose bump against a large gold one. She was surprised by the sweetness of the gesture, and it seemed like such a kind, pretty thing in the midst of all the uneasiness that had surrounded anticipation of this hatching.

But it didn’t last.

Eithne didn’t see the strange, dark wher murder his or her green sister, but she could tell, from the reaction of the crowd, what had happened. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment in heartbreak. Poor baby. That was more like the whers she knew. Her eyes opened, narrowed slightly.

But what of the dragonets?

[Minute]

It was not one of those frilly little dragon eggs that hatched first but one of Kalesk's eggs, which caused a small smirk to cross Garna's face. However, that tiny hint of a smirk was about as much as would be there for the moment. Not only did she still feel like her stomach was an angry knot of nerves, a feeling she wasn't exactly fond of, but the wher that hatched wasn't exactly anything to be excited over. It was a tiny green that actually looked a little deformed. No, definitely not for her, in fact looking at the creature part of her doubted that it would survive.

The green moved over to another egg after chirping at the crowd for a while, placing her paws against it. Garna frowned and felt herself begin to worry about that egg a little despite herself. But before it could get too far another egg hatched to reveal a brown-red-thing. Not this one definitely caught her interest. No, there was no way that she would get it if it was a brown, but a red? She could roll with that.

Whatever it was it moved over to the little green and the egg she was moving against. Garna tensed for a moment, preparing herself for the worst. And the work did indeed come. The egg was practically beaten by a pulp by the large red/brown wher only to reveal that it had been a dud in the first place. She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the sight, not exactly encouraging. Perhaps she wasn't as surprised or upset as she should have been when it rounded on the green and began to chase her down before finally catching her and killing her. But survival of the fittest, right? If you asked her there was no way that the deformed little green could have survived, the wher was showing her a mercy.

Apparently Kalesk didn't see it the same way though. The gold began to chase her hatchling right into the crowd of candidates. No, right to her. She wanted to remain silent and composed but when the wher darted between her and Dardranel she couldn't help but lurch to the side, a small yelp leaving her. It was as the wherlet made a trail of blood through the crowd that she forced herself back together. She had to be in control, had to show these beasts who was in charge.

Somewhere along the way a black had hatched, but Garna barely even glanced at it. Instead she turned into the crowd, looking directly at the newly hatched wherlet, "Oi!" she bellowed. "That's all fine and impressive, very scary, I'm trembling in my sandals, but are ya gonna bond? Because if not they're gonna have to put you down, just like you did to that green." She showed no remorse toward those that had been mauled, she couldn't allow herself to show remorse. No, instead she went and taunted a wher that could quite possibly whirl around and attack her. Maybe not the best choice but she felt the urge to say something. Standing there like a scared little wherry just wouldn't work.

Meanwhile Kahrie was a little more effected by the blood, although it was quite a ways away from her. She winced, the smirk beginning to fade from her face, and slowly shuffled away from the general direction of the chaos. There were healers on the sands, right? Surely they would take care of them, no need to be a hero. With that thought in mind she turned her gaze back to the dragon eggs. Keep calm, don't taunt to infuriated wher like that idiot across the sands, and don't get too close to the line of fire. If she just did that she would be safe. Right?

[RhiaBlack]

No. No, no, no, no....

Lili's eyes slid closed. Happy thoughts. Happpyy thoughts, Lili, and it won't hurt you. It won't hurt Seidon. Her hands were shaking, and already she felt sick. So much blood. Already a death, two if one counted the dud egg, and she swallowed hard. Already two deaths, and that Wher was looking for another. Kalesk had tried to stop it. So there was that, at least.

Lili's hands locked into one another behind her. She couldn't run. She couldn't run, couldn't cry, -wouldn't- cry. Her parents and sisters hadn't come, she hadn't let them, but all the same there was a very large crate in her room. A crate that belonged to someone else, that was waiting on Impression. She had told her roomie not to touch it, and their door had been closed so that it didn't magically 'disappear'.

Think about the reaction you'll get, Lili. Be happy. Happy thoughts.
Shhhhh, little one. Go find Yours. Not much time, go find Yours, and make your bond. Find your lifemate.

Up in the stands, Z'dyn squeezed the bridge of his nose, and in the first bit of sternness he had ever commanded of Nara, he put his foot down with a no-nonsense stomp.

"No. Y'stop that right now. This ain't the place, Nara. This whole hate's unfounded. He's your father. Don't have t'like 'im, but I'm done toleratin' this mean-ness every time he comes 'round. It's neg-a-tive, an' look't that. Those babies don't need negative. Not right now, not here. An' we'll be hashin' this out b'fore I go out for patrols. I'm done dealin' with it all th'time."

Z'dyn frowned at the dud egg as well as the now-dead Wher, and Jyderin patted his younger mirror's knee, before craning over to see what Naras was working on.

At the mention from the Master Harper, Jyderin settled his gaze on his only remaining progeny. Z'dyn's face had long since steeled. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. Shaking hands were stuffed into his vest pockets to hide it. Q'sis wasn't far down the line, and he didn't want to give the Tanrider any reason to continue to doubt his abilities.

"I'm not goin' anywhere. Kalenna an' Audren's got this handled. Those things won't make it anywheres near here. Least we gotta worry 'bout's them hurtin' those kids."

N'tharon shook his head from his perch at the end of the stands with a small sigh.

::Such a sad waste, MineOwn, I agree. Very sad. Such is life, though, yes?::

N'tharon craned his head up to peer towards Sintharith, who was looking pointedly across the Candidates to find Matilda. The girl that His had spoken to in the caverns. With any luck, she would find her Dragon here. Sintharith was hoping for her!

[maruset]

Iola grimaced, and she felt Jainath shifting. This was already off to a rocky start, she saw.

Those poor babies the copper murmured at hers. One dud and one murdered hatchling so far, and now the one who had killed once was mauling candidates. She shifted again, wanting to do something, though the dragon knew that she could not do anything to help here.

Shifting again, Jainath felt Iola sending her calm feelings. Well, the second that any of those whers made their way into the stands, Iola had better move away so Jainath could collect her to safety. Nothing was allowed to hurt her rider.


***


Letorin smiled as the first egg hatched. That was a rather adorable little green, and he wondered who she might pick.It was rather cute watching her move around.

Then there was a second, though he was much quieter about it. At least, Letorin thought it was a black. With the shadowing of the Sands, he didn't want to say for sure.

Then things went a bit crazy. A third egg hatching, with a baby of one of those in between shades. Letorin knew how he would use that color if he painted, but on a wher, it made it hard to figure out what sort it was. Though, given what happened next, he'd say red, though that could be wrong. It was a wher, and he had been learning a lot about them.

It broke an egg, then killed it's sister. And hid in the candidates. Though from the noises he could here, and what little he could see, Letorin saw blood. Unfortunately, it was behind him somewhere, and he didn't want to look away from the other eggs. So he did his best to keep track of the baby by sound.


***

A little further on the dragon side, Orkia didn't have much of a view. Especially when she was surrounded by such tall people. But she knew how to listen, and she heard those in the stands reacting, as much as she heard her fellow candidates doing the same. And the sounds of people in distress. She glanced around, following the noises that told her where the wher baby was. Had got a few glimpses of it tearing into some of the others, and she was ready to tug Kiaja to the side if need be.

***


Joining the other healer, Makkoi nodded to them, and Makkosk settled to the side. She'd stay out of the way, but was there if Makkoi needed her for something.

The hatching was good for all of a few minutes, then it started to go messy. Makkosk stood up, eyes whirling a bit. She would watch her Bones and the other ones like her Bones. If a bad baby came near them, she'd make sure that it didn't touch them. No bad baby was going to bite her Bones. He was Makkosk's, and she was not let some newborn hurt him.

Makkoi was careful, watching the hatching, and letting himself listen in to things around him. Just in case. He didn't expect much a newborn, but better to use anything that he could to keep the healers and their patients safe. And there were going to be patients.

[Digitalis]

Phaenna could actually hear eggs cracking open now, and she craned her neck to try to see them. Apparently it was the wher eggs that hatched first, not the dragons. She wondered, did that mean good luck if a large one hatched first, or did that just apply to dragons? She tried to watch, but between all the people in front of her and the darkness of the sands in deference to the whers, it was difficult for her to make anything out.

That was just as well, as it turned out. Things seemed to be going well at first, but then a large, red-brown monster of a wher hatched, and it started to attack its siblings. For the first time that day, Phaenna was glad she was having difficulty seeing things; she didn't want to see the death of whers. And then the creature was finished with its hatched and unhatched siblings, and it turned on the candidates. Feeling like a coward, Phaenna winced and placed her hands over her ears, to block the sounds, though it didn't help much. How badly were people getting hurt? What was the brown-red wherling doing? She didn't know that she wanted to know. She just wanted it to be over.

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

Tamren watched excitedly, but also a little disappointed, as the first eggs to hatch came from the wher clutch. He spared little attention for the creatures, instead watching the rocking dragon eggs that were sure to hatch soon and reveal his dragon. His attention was really only drawn to the whers when the big wher hatched and started attacking its siblings and then the candidates.

...And that was why he didn't want a wher. He knew that dragon hatchlings could be violent as well, but he always thought that the behavior was a lot more common among whers. They couldn't even bond without drinking blood, for Faranth's sake. He did wince in sympathy as the strangely-colored wher attacked his fellow candidates; he wasn't heartless, after all. There were healers standing by, though, and they would do the best they could to keep the casualties to a minimum. He couldn't help feeling glad that he had chosen a spot well away from the wher clutch--less likely to get a mauling, that way.

[Dragonwher]

Positioned where he was Randiel didn't see the entirety of what just happened but he certainly heard enough to give him an idea. He did feel bad for the Gold Wher losing a baby to one of its siblings if the squalling cut short and the manic movement of some folks indicated the baby who must have killed a smaller one was in their midst. Which left Randiel focusing on happy thoughts to keep the thing from honing in on fear from him. Or so he hoped as he tried to take calming breaths quietly to settle himself. He did hope the others who were displaced by the baby weren't terribly wounded though or whoever might have nearly been run into when Kalesk must have rushed after her errant child.

He wouldn't call it more than that in the back of his mind; after all it really was just a baby. Even if a violent one; though focusing on this being the way of things kept him from panicking. In close quarters such as these he'd surely be a herdbeast in the Glasscrafter's hall after all. But there was no sense in panicking if it got more people hurt. There were a sharding lot more people on the sands than he'd seen at even the hatching his sister became a weyrling in too, which might work to confuse the newborns. Confused or no however, he truly hoped the baby among the people would Choose theirs and be off the sands before more damage was wrought.

Especially if any of Callistath's happened to hatch before it Impressed, if it was so willing to end its own clutch sister then what would it do to one of the Dragon's children?. He would close his eyes to center himself but that would be asking to get tore into without much chance to sidestep the baby. So he kept his ears open and his eyes locked on the eggs instead as he decided to calm down by counting the unhatched shells of Kalesk's then Callistath's nest that he could see. All while trying to emanate peaceful happy thoughts.

Even though the chaos already occurring made it harder than before. But now he was resigned to the thought his sister was likely up somewhere in the spectator area with her dragon. He even mentally thumped himself as he realised something Mira's right...I am a sharding wherryhead she's an older Weyrling now; Malinoth en't gonna between at his current age surely. Then his eyebrow twitched as he erased the thoughts and focused on the eggs again hoping he didn't confuse the babies yet to hatch. Or the ones on the sands now for that matter. Even if he didn't see the calm black hatch he was sure there had been more than just the attacking wheret and its victim that had hatched.

~~~

In the stands somewhere between Mira and her partner and Randiel. Mir had to clap her hand to her mouth to stop even a squeak of a scream as one baby murdered another after cracking a dud egg. Andel whispered quietly to his wife "I know its violent; but that wheret clearly felt something was off about that small one, its life Mir". In spite of his words Andel coughed faintly "sure it is saddening at times but the baby hasn't killed any of the candidates; and from the looks of it theres some space between it and Randi, he's still ok". Andel wasn't about to lie and say his son was safe, not with how Life liked to turn such a white lie on its end in often painful ways.

Mir did eventually nod and settle, though she hoped her adopted son would Impress and get off the sands before something happened to him. Andel was hoping this as well without realizing it, though he whispered "you do realize by the time I offer myself as a potential Candidate for a Wherclutch Randi is likely to be a full handler? perhaps even in a decent position besides". That thought made Mir smile and whisper back "I assumed as much about the full handler aspect. But there's no telling if he'd be seen as a good fit for their ranking positions, though I could see him trying to become a Wherlingmaster or suchlike".

Mira meanwhile was doing a fair imitation of her mother's previous expression, down to the hands clapped to her mouth. But Malinoth curved his neck around her middle when she leaned forward to see where the larger baby went Mine...be still, you'll slip if you aren't careful. And worry for your, as you put it 'mother wherry' of a sibling may make you careless of where you move. Mira looked at the swirl-eyed shadow that was her bonded and opened her mouth to argue; only to reconsider his words and shut her mouth with a minute 'pop' before responding with her mind ok Mali, I'll scoot back, but please be my eyes; was Randi hurt when that big wheret managed to slip into the candidates before its mother could take it to task for killing its sibling?.

As Mali repositioned enough to let Mira rest against him whilst he craned his neck over the side of the ledge he scanned the wherclutch side of this hatching. When he spotted the treetrunk-like boy however he almost heaved a mental sigh before sending to Mira Brother not hurt for the moment. I think I see the one who ran into the candidates off to the side; with at the most four others filling the space separating himself and the wheret. 'Hearing' and feeling the relief from Malinoth hit her mind like a warm blanket made Mira imitate the sigh though physically instead of mentally. Then she responded thank you Malinoth, and so you won't worry more I won't move from here till the hatching's done. This knowledge made Mali enact a mental smile of a sort, then he somewhat scanned about for others he and his recognized, like the Cyanrider D'nari but the low light of the hatching ground made that harder by a small margin. though red was an easy color to pick out generally. If whers like Ausk were any indication. Mira's flits meanwhile, he hardly had to nudge them mentally before Asher Meridia and Nymeria tried their best to snuggle-therapy their person. Sure she'd calmed now but Mali figured triggering a cuddlefest from her flits would help her stay that way since the trio were exuding playful happy thoughts in greater quantity. Likely they wouldn't leave till Mira wasn't going to spike in worry again.

[Reky]

Kalesk's roar was taken up by Ausk. It was a deep, rumbling growl when it came from the red, catching the tail end of the reverb from the gold. She raised her head and bared her teeth, snarling next to Audren's head. She was backing up her Beta. Encouraging her; approving of her. Already the children were unruly and Ausk wanted nothing but to eat them all herself, but Kalesk had the sands. Audren was rigid but attentive - she feared for the wher candidates at the rate the hatching was going.

On the Sands, Inrahim instinctively reached out to Quellyn, who stood beside him. The dark wher tore through the candidates, slashing and biting and drawing blood. Inrahim grabbed the collar of Quellyn's robes and tugged him towards him, away from the path of destruction, and he and the young boy were left unscathed. He swallowed heavily. He was right there - he could leap in, try to fend the wher off, try to save some of the other candidates, but so many were hurt already. Inrahim was stuck in place, with Quellyn still held near him. He'd rather something hurt him than the boy. He was much older; he could take it. Quellyn was still a child.

Risny, from where she was, could not see much between the other candidates. Frantically, at the shrieks and roars that came from the dark shadows of the whers' side, she tried to look around Orkia and the rest of the rows, but she could barely see anything but people. There was commotion - people moving, reacting - and then she caught side of blood and a dark form, and she gasped and snapped her head forward. Her breath caught in her lungs and her heart began to race, but she made herself focus on the dragon eggs. That's what she was there for. She didn't have to worry about the whers. Right?

[/blockquote]

[twitchie]

The queens contacted him and it took him awhile to get his robes. He kept thinking of all the eggs, the dangers that would come from a double hatching...
He ducked under his bed, retrieved a sandle that matched the one on his foot.

He clumsily rolled up his robe sleeves, and stumbled into the sands. He froze. There was blood and inchor everywhere already, candidates were down,wherets were dead already. The red head gasped, and made his way to where he was to stand. He shivered, doing his best to hide the fear that held him. Mleynn stole a glance to the stands, and he spotted Emeliynn. Just seeing her grinning face and flailing arms have him a sense of determination. She was here for him, and that was good. Whatever happened was going to be ok, whether he impressed or left injured...

There were still unhatched eggs, many in fact. Perhaps one was his? Now he has to wait and be safe while time passed.
Safe was a weak word, useless really. A shadow flicked out of the corner of Mleynn's eye, and pain flared in his side. With a cry, the boy looked down to see a red-brown wheret, but the beast disappeared. It left him with a bloodied leg. It hasn't really hurt until he looked at the damage and his stomach churned. There was a good bit a flesh torn, not deep, but it looked like raw herdbeast. Mleynn did not want to leave. He wanted to stand, so he hastily pressed his robe into the bloody mess, ruining the clean white fabric but slowing the flow of his own blood by atleast half. He wiped his forehead, smearing blood on his face without realizing. He looked for his sister to show her he was ok, but all he saw was a scared little red head, who looked worried for him.

He was the protector, he did not get hurt. He was ok, see? He desperately thought this while he watched several more eggs split. The purple and brown were handsome and healthy, but the cyan seemed too eager to punish! Mleynn had to look away as the cyan ripped the other boy cruelly, feeling sick by the action..

[Serah]

When the first of the eggs hatched, Szene paid them little attention. They were wher eggs, and she was standing for dragons. She was sure that a wher would never Impress to her, absolutely sure of that. Though she did feel kind of sad when the little Green wheret was killed. The dud egg she didn't feel anything for, duds happened.

She saw the path of the wheret, and where it was headed. She tried to step out of the way, but wasn't fast enough. She could feel the claws dig into her legs. She knew they would leave a scar. Szene all but froze as the wheret got up to her shoulder. To her relief, it jumped off of her instead of biting her face.

She hoped it calmed down soon. Even Kalesk didn't seem to like what it had done much. Though Szene couldn't be sure what the Gold wher was upset about. Probably the little baby that was killed, not the damage to the Candidates. She thought she could still stand, but knew in the back of her mind that if she got caught up again in something like that, she would have to find a way off the Sands somehow.

[Kiran]

Quellyn had started to feel shaky and clammy when he felt his collar being tugged on, pulling him towards the older man next to him and away from the danger. He glanced up at Inrahim, for a second wanting to protest and say that he was a Candidate, he could handle it, if he couldn't then he didn't have a right to be on the sands. But the noises from his other side stilled his tongue. Instead, he grasped Inrahim's hand tightly. Quellyn couldn't deny that now he was regretting having been Searched, having come to Stand. But it was too late now.

He just hoped the story would be worth it.

Quellyn kept his eyes moving between the nests and where the wher had disappeared into. But he felt safer, knowing that beside him was the older man, who was prepared to get him out of the way. He hoped that the wher would Impress, and quickly, or be gotten rid of. He didnt want anyone else hurt. The first hatching he had ever been in, the last one, had been so wonderful with everyone surviving. Why couldn't this one be as well?

Jafari couldn't help but glance behind him for a moment, taking in the carnage. So far it wasn't all that bad... All things considered. He looked forward once more, knowing that if the wher came back their way he would hear it coming. Simply by virtue of the humans it would take down during that time. His stomach twisted. Whers. Dangerous things. But he still wanted one.

[princesal]

He did fall. But that really wasn't that surprising, considering he fell all the time.

The eggs had started hatching so quickly after the candidates arrived, Otto looked on with excitement, standing on his tiptoes, even if he was tall and could see over the heads of some others. He couldn't help it, trying really hard to remember the rules and stay still like he was suppose to, but everything was still so new to him. At times he was still trying to absorb the thrill of being Searched, that he was given a chance to finally get away from - well, that was the past now, hopefully bright future to look forward to.

Otoatavatah took a calmly breath and tried (yet again) to remain as still as possible, but when the first of the eggs cracked open, he still craned around other candidates. Maybe that had been his mistake.

Whers. It was whers hatching. The shadows on the sands protected the wher babies sensitive eyes, but made it more difficult for everyone else to see the small shapes. As the eggs split open, he had difficulty trying to make out exactly what was going on. It was the sudden sickening crunch of an egg being caved in that made Otto's smile flicker for a moment, before vanishing. Having never heard that noise, it was nauseatingly unmistakable. It didn't sound good. Dud.

It was the odds though. Not every hatchling hatched.

But that was only one dud. He was optimistic, and knew that it was only the beginning of the hatching. His eyes flickered to the dragon eggs, while he was curious about the whers, he wasn't standing for them. He traced the outlines the glowstone made, looking for any wiggling. Any cracks, any whirling eyes and egg gooped wings.

He was so busy looking at the dragon eggs, smile returning to his face, that the roar startled him right to his bones. Dark eyes snapped to Gold Kalesk as she stood up, chasing after... chasing after wha-what was going on? There was a baby wher in the candidates, dashing around. It was so quick! Look at it go!

His eyes lost track for a second, and then he felt something like... like when he had accidentally landed on an ember that one time when he tripped. He had upset the pot that had been boiling a soup, and he had cried. It had hurt. It felt like that, like something digging into his calves. Otto didn't know if it was just the pain itself, or if needle sharp claws had ripped into his skin and torn something that shouldn't have been torn. But he fell, his knees hitting the sands hard, so hot against the skin.

He tried not to cry out, and when his vision cleared after a moment of a tilting landscape, he didn't know if he had succeeded or not. He did reach back though, feeling for where there should have been feeling. It was a stomach lurching sensation when his fingertips slipped and slid against what felt like fabric, his candidate robes, but was really his skin. Oh shards... oh shards... that didn't feel good at all. It didn't feel like anything at all except, except like he wasn't touching a part of him. His fingers came away dark and slick with red.

He would have tried to stand, prove that he still could because a little bit of torn flesh wasn't going to stop him, until he heard a solid thunk of hide meeting flesh, and lifted his eyes to see what he assumed was the same wher trying to rip the face off a girl. It was just a frightened baby, it didn't understand! What could he do to help? He knew that he wasn't suppose to touch, but he struggled to his feet all the same, reacting before he could stop himself, knees digging into the sand as he shifted towards the tiny girl he had almost crashed into. Maybe if he had been a little further away, but she was right next to him, and only an arms length away, so close. He felt obligated.

He thought positive thoughts, tried to mentally call the wher over, as blood ran down the backs of his legs.

[Nia]

Emiya and Noctulith arrived in the Stands, with Emiya hopping off her dragon and giving him a pat on the neck. She made her way through the Stands to take her seat, somewhere around the middle. Going to watch some Candidates Impress, eh? Anyone in particular?

[/i] The redhead blushed slightly at her dragon's accusation, but Emiya merely huffed where she sat and crossed her arms. Nope. Now shut up, it's startin', she shot back to her dragon, who merely giggled at her in their mind. They watched as the carnage began, with a somber expression on Emiya's face. She was mildly worried about a few of the Candidates, particularly the ones she'd been friends with before Impressing. It hadn't been long, but... she spotted Pyrus out there. That wher was pretty close to him....

"Oof!" Joni's knees buckled as she was hit, but she struggled to keep on her feet as the wher shoved past her and into the line of Candidates behind her. She watched Tamarine next to her get hit as well, and once she'd righted herself again she reached out to support the other girl, who looked like she might be struggling. "It's ok! I got you," she whispered, not wanting to accidently draw attention to herself or the girl next to her. The wher was long past them and from a few gasps and screams she could already tell he'd hit someone hard. Joni glanced around her shoulder and felt sick at the sight. She turned back, trying to keep her eyes off of the lifeless body of the Green wher.

Meanwhile, Avalle was of a similar sentiment, and Callistath had joined her roar to Kalesk and Ausk's in anger. Babies dead on her Sands. It was wrong. The Senior Gold felt pain for Kalesk, they'd both shared the Sands for so long that it felt as though Kalesk's children were her's as well. Avalle glanced sympathetically at Kalenna, but tried to keep her eyes forward on the Candidates. One girl looked like she was going to be killed by that wher, and the worst part of it being that it was still on top of her. The Healer's knew they couldn't interfere with the wherets or the dragonets, and especially since it seemed like this wher didn't care who it attacked. They'd be putting themselves in danger.

Callistath's eggs shook and rocked some more, responding to Kalesk's eggs hatching. The larger egg on its side cracked and began to split, though it wasn't exactly noticeable since the egg was hidden behind the smaller eggs in front. It split open regardless, spilling a darkly colored hatchling out into the sands. He was large and distinctly a darkly colored Brown. He shook the eggshells from himself, with one of them getting stuck on his partner egg, the other large one. The Brown sat down quietly in the sand with very little fanfare, not looking as though he particularly desired attention at the moment. He took in the world around him, scanning the Hatching Sands and the destruction that he'd been born into.

A gold wher was on the Sands, mourning her child, and the Brown felt bad. He didn't make a move towards her, though. He wasn't stupid. In fact, he was quite intelligent. The Brown merely sat where he was, clearing eggshells and goop from his damp hide. There was a demon on the sands. He should... do something. He knew he should. But the Brown didn't move. Perhaps it just wasn't his business, or perhaps he'd just been distracted by the egg next to him starting to break. The second-largest egg was starting to shake a lot more energetically than the Brown's had, and eventually the top of the egg burst open to reveal a tiny snout trying to force its way out of the egg. The snout pushed through the hole it'd made, and eventually an entire dragon head was revealed. This dragon's coloring was quite a bit more obvious than the Brown's was. He was a dark, very saturated Purple.

The Purple shoved the rest of his body through the hole at the top of his egg, flailing as he got stuck and managed to topple the egg over. The Brown quietly side-stepped before the egg could hit him, not looking shocked or surprised in the slightest. He simply stared at his clutchbrother, with a small flick of his tail that could possibly indicate amusement. The Purple struggled to get out of his egg, pushing and kicking against it, before flopping over and looking helplessly up at the Brown. The Brown merely stared back, his tail flicking some more as he most likely gave his brother some words of encouragement to get out of the egg. The Purple flopped harder in the sand, rolling and tossing until finally the shell of his egg split completely, fully revealing him. He was a decently sized Purple, all things considered. He straightened up and leaned into his brother, and seemed to, in a draconic sense, wrap his arm around his brother cheerfully. The wher on the Sands was ignored by the Purple, but the Brown still kept a watchful eye on it.

While the Brown and the Purple were engaged in brotherly antics, the bright green egg to the very left of the clutch began to shake and crack more than it had been before. Something was wrong out there. The dragonet inside could sense it. Something was wrong! The egg burst open in such a way that the Brown and the Purple both turned to look as a proud little Cyan emerged from her egg. Her hide looked split between dark and light, with her front half much darker than her back half. She shook herself and immediately scanned the sands, resting on Kalesk and her dead child. Dead. She was dead. She'd been killed. And her murderer had been allowed to escape.

The Cyan would not stand for this. She was the cold hand of justice, and she was going to right what had been wronged. She let out what she intended to sound like a menacing roar, but sounded a bit more like a squeak, and charged into the Candidates.

The Candidates were not her target, and thus escaped her notice. She barreled into Aleksandr, knocking him to the ground and using his belly as a springboard to jump over his head and into the sand behind him. She wasn't out to maim or kill them. They were just getting in her way. The Cyan continued without looking back, running through the space between Aelynn and Tamren, managing to hit both of them in the side as she ran past. She gave another roar as she crashed into Inanna, knocking the other girl straight into Kira and toppling them both over. There, the Cyan found her target. The wher was still on top of Niorun, hurting another girl, but for no longer. That wher was charged with the murder of a child, and she was sentencing him to death!

The Cyan lunged towards the wher, crashing into the dark wheret and shoving it off of Niorun, trampling the girl further as she did. She'd tackled it to the ground and the wher struggled, growling and clawing at her, slashing at her and managing to knock her off. The wher turned and ran further into the Candidates, with the Cyan hot on its trail. Enraged, a feeling she didn't understand, the Cyan roared again and continued her hunt.

The anger and the pain were confusing her and hurting her. She were here to dispense justice. The wher should have complied, but instead it had run from her, like a coward. She let out another enraged roar and lunged into the Candidates that the wher was hiding behind, crashing straight into Pyrus. Unfortunately for Pyrus, the Cyan was still a clumsy child, resulting in the two of them becoming entangled together in a mess of limbs, blood and ichor. The Cyan fought to free herself, clawing him up and slashing at him in her own rage. This human had wronged her. He was charged with the obstruction of justice. In her attempt to untangle from him, and in a way that almost seemed as though it were on purpose, the Cyan sat up and crushed Pyrus into the ground beneath her.

His arm broke with a sickening snap, and his leg was bent at a very odd angle, but that wasn't enough of a punishment. He'd obstructed her. He'd gotten in the way. He'd let the murderer go free, and that was just as bad as the murder itself. She was fully untangled from him now, but Pyrus was still on the ground. Breaks could be fixed. That wasn't enough. She needed to give him a lasting reminder so he would never get in the way of justice ever again. Up in the Stands, Emiya screamed.

The Cyan sliced into Pyrus's arm with her claws, digging at it and ripping at it until his hand was almost severed from his already broken arm. There would be no fixing that. It was a permanent reminder. Satisfied with her punishment, the Cyan sat up, still sitting on Pyrus' stomach. Not for long, however. She abandoned Pyrus and lunged into the Candidates in her hunt of the wher that had escaped her. It'd been watching her rip up Pyrus from behind Lavi, tail lashing angrily, but there was a hint of satisfaction in its eyes as well. But the Cyan was on its trail again, so the lumbering hulk of a wheret was off, hiding itself within the back rows of Candidates as the Cyan hunted.

With the Healers, Vyna looked nervously as well, looking towards Ondine for help. "Can we go drag them off the Sands now?" she asked quietly as the Cyan and the wher left the two horrifically injured Candidates laying in their own blood.[/blockquote][/size]

[Boo]

”No.”
Tedaon stood with the other healers, frowning out onto the sands and then turned his gaze away to look at Hirman. The answer was said roughly but perhaps less because of the question and more because of the hatching itself. The journeyman was new as far as Tedaon was concerned, he had only seen him in the infirmary a few times over the past short while. The older healer folded his arms, the stump of his left arm resting on the other, and then continued with a little more warmth in his tone.
“We cannot remove them unless they wish it or if they are unable to continue standing. It would confuse the hatchlings. What is more, if her bonded happens to be amongst these eggs we will have doomed a dragon or wher to death.”

The words seemed to catch him in his chest as Tedaon took a moment to calm his mind before turning again to look out at the sands. Already a wheret had been killed by a brown wher. Tedaon was certain of the colour at the moment and even though red whers were violent as they saw at the last gold hatching, Tedaon was sure this was not a red. Perhaps he would be proven wrong though. Neras peeped quietly from his shoulder and then wrapped his tail around his bonded’s shoulder.
“If they cannot stand, we will intervene.”

He would sacrifice himself before he saw any other newly bonded or even non bonded child fall victim to a rampaging hatchling. He tensed as he watched a cyan dragonet destroy the hand of a young man. There would be no standing after that even if the breaks could be fixed.
"He cannot be allowed to stand for dragons anymore," he commented a little sadly to the other healer, "He would only endanger a dragonet and their wing."

Yes, this boy they might have to get off the sands but after... They could not go until at least this dragonet and the wher impressed. Tedaon prepared himself to bring the bandages for the young man who had been attacked by the dragonet. At least he was near the back of the candidates so it would be an easier matter to extricate him from the sands.

TAG: Hirman

Predictably, even though there was both interest and concern, Couineth started complaining. Not nearly as much as she had when Wenth’s clutch had hatched but just enough.
I don’t want to go and see his stiiiiinky babies.
The he that Couineth referred to, of course, just so happened to be the dragon half of the man Rayna didn’t want to speak with. The junior Weyrwoman was certain that the gold was only saying so because she thought it would make Rayna happy but on the contrary, it made her more stressed. She had already been caught by a handler in a very annoyed state and had no intention of it happening again. D’lios now outranked her and she wondered what that ultimately meant.

Still, Couineth took to the skies and flew towards the hatching caverns, depositing her rider and then taking off to the heights. She was too large by far to remain close to Rayna as the Weyrwoman walked up to stand beside P’ryt, her junior Weyrleader. In times like this, she was pleased to be working with someone who seemed to have such a strong head on his shoulders. Unaware of her body language at that moment, she folded her arms and frowned down at the sands, wondering where the orchestrator of their doom was hiding. At the very least, hopefully she would not have to stand with him.

“Hello P’ryt, and Hanei?”
She knew enough to know that Hanei was P’ryt’s daughter and was fairly certain she recognised the young woman but she thought it safe to ask. After the greetings had been exchanged, she turned her attention back to the sands and the maulings that then occurred. A brownrider seemed to take offence and Rayna watched as P’ryt handled the situation.

In front of them sat a holder woman and her six children, including an infant child. The older children and mother appeared tense whilst the two younger boys and a younger girl appeared to be playing ‘candidates’ with the younger girl pretending to be a dragon, crawling around the stands on all fours.

“How is everything?”
Underneath the casual question was a more direct question. How was it working with Lord D’lios? Honestly, the likelihood that they would be overheard was slim but it would be best to err on the side of caution with generalised comments.

[/blockquote]

[Kiran]

The dragon eggs were hatching! Kira's breath caught as two of the three largest eggs cracked and split open, revealing a brown and a purple. There's was a mixture of excitement and nervousness because the wher was still there, trying to kill the candidate. If they came out on the sands while it was there...

But there didn't seem to be much worry about that. A third egg split open revealing a cyan. That was more exciting, since she sn't likely to Impress a subking. Or Lili, for that matter. But the dragonet had little interest in Impressing, just like the two males were more interested in each other rather than going out. But instead of sticking back to be with them, the cyan decided that it was going to bring justice to the wher. She charged into the candidates, uncaring of them. Kira's breath whooshed from her as the cyan knocked over Innana, who then crashed into her.

"You okay?" She asked in the quietest whisper as she tried to get Inanna off of her and to get the both of them standing again. A sickening sound made her pause. Kira glanced back at the row behind her. There, next to Lili, was the cyan. On top of a Candidate. Trying to remove his hand... And practically succeeding. She went white and had to hold herself there, fighting the need to go over and help. If she did she would be in just as much danger, and if she didn't Impress could be barred from Standing again. All Kira could do was get herself and Inanna back up as the wher and the cyan darted to the edge of the candidates.

She wondered which one would come out the victor.