Straddle the Line [CalKal Double Hatching!]

[kireon]

One of the healers who'd flooded in to provide support and back up for those who were needed back in the Infirmary was there to meet Yuri. Their form was swallowed, temporarily, by the shadows in the cavern as the hand-off was made. A series of gently spoken words were exchanged between the two, and before the body of one of their own was taken, the Healer gave the broad shouldered man a tight squeeze and a lingering pat against one arm.

Numb, Yuri watched the fading form of the healer and white shrouded body in their arms disappear into the shadows, and even Yusk's great vision couldn't even make them out anymore after a spell. The two of them stood together there, just for a moment, and Yusk's nose went up to nuzzle the bloody, sand covered hand hanging at her man's side. YuriLove did good. Yusk love best still.[/i] She could still smell the acrid, salty tinge to his skin- not the sweaty salt, the sad kind. Her bulk leaned heavily against his leg and hip with a gusty sigh. We do later? Like when, hmm, sire-of-sire go?[/i]

He blinked, looking down at the green in surprise. He hadn't thought she'd remembered such an event, or that she'd have thought to look into his mind. The idea... was a good one though. He knew those who had known the girl would want a way to bid their goodbyes in some form. Good girl, Yusk. I didn't even think of that. He praised her, making a bit of a face as the wher's tongue wrapped around his hand, slimey as she cleaned the remnants of the ordeal off his hands without complaint.

Callistath's voice broke the moment, causing them both to jerk and bolt back towards the sands. Burgundy? A new color had come to Dalibor? He gawked, pausing as one Impressed. Oh. Oh dear.

And then the unmistakeable voice of one of his Candidates rose into the air. Garna. His thoughts and Yusk's own merged in that instant, the green wher exasperated by the yet again misbehaving child. Perhaps... she was not suited for Candidacy. He looked to Nimara and Jazz, giving them both a nod of his head. The only remnant of the tears were a suspicious redness to the eyes and the occasional spot against his stubbled cheek that hadn't dried completely yet.

It was the burgundy, the new color, that caught his eye as Garna went down a second time, the dragonet was... helping? Pushing her up? He frowned, hesitating a moment to see if the girl was being pushed by a dragon she'd Impressed despite the sour face and attitude. The bleeding wounds were worrisome, and the answer to his other question came in seconds after a blue approached- and dismissed her after the breaking of her leg.

Neither of them, then.

Yelling bad, not listen to Leaders. Bad egg, maybe spoiled forever.[/i] Yusk informed Yuri with a grumble, whisking off to help Delilah support her patient in standing. Her eyes lit a busy, temporary green. Not stay for long, help get on feet and go. She informed the healer and patient, nuzzling Ksenna's hand and shoving it under her as if demanding a pet. Ksbaby, pull on Yusk to stand, Yusk not move, big helper like PinkLady! She was proud of herself for her very obvious solution to the problem she believed the slight Healer would have with Ksenna.

Yuri's outer shirt was off, as was the belt he wore out of habit more than anything else. One didn't get to be a wher handler without learning the kind of survival skills necessary to save a life- even if they were just temporary. Garna's leg was certainly broken, the dragonet had done more than his fair share of damage in response to an insult. "I would suggest keeping silent until we remove you from the sands. You have caused enough damage, I have no desire to see you injured further due to carelessness." His voice was unusually firm, the man's soft spoken nature now tempered with more than a touch of steel behind it.

Though incredible, Yuri's patience wasn't limited, and with one candidate dead, and several others very seriously injuried, potentially dead themselves with more eggs still in the process of hatching, there was no room for error.

There was no more room for coddling.

Garna's leg was stabilized using the shirt and his belt, secured in place as he lifted the girl's arm and draped it over his shoulder, other arm looping under her upper leg to take the weight and pressure off the injured limb. "Lean and hop with me, we're getting you to the Healers."

No arguments, his tone implied and met the healers half way to the destination to perform the hand off.

They would have to do some intensive crackdowns once again on the candidates. He touched Yusk's mind briefly, asking her to do one thing for him. Yuri request meeting with BrightOne and QueenRed if okay, after-after.[/i] She pitched the request to Waroth and Weslieth both, though the former's was a little more tentatively poised. Garna's face flashed in there for an instant, implying it had to do with her and others who might follow in her opinionated example.

--

Atenath growled, delicately judging each piece of meat before devouring what she claimed was the most offensive bits in punishment first. Good things must be saved, after all. Kairhi highfived her twin, and shooed the hands away that tried to sterilize her injuries. They weren't that bad! She and Mairhi'd take care of themselves after their dragonets were sleeping.

Garna's shrieks caused Atenath's head to whip up, eyes bleeding red as she bared gory fangs in the girl's direction. Villain! How dare she say such things? She is no judge of character! Such a slight cannot be overlooked, I will have to-[/i]

Finish your food first. Kairhi easily slipped from beneath a stubborn apprentice's hand and in front of her dragon. She cast a glance back, wincing as one of the burgundy dragons, how pretty their coloring was and how amazing that they'd come into the world, exacted revenge in response. "Can't say she didn't ask for that one," the chestnut haired girl sighed, making a face as redword stung her wounds. "oi! Feedin' a dragon here! I'm fine!"

Hmph, I'd have sentenced her to a much more severe punishment for her crimes. But I suppose she can get a warning, just this once. My brother took care of things nicely.[/i] The cyan paused in her pursuit of filling her belly to look in her retreating brother's direction and sent him a powerful surge of approval for his savaging of Garna.

--

Jaed blinked from his sudden position on the sands, rump first. Welp. There went any kind of dignity he thought he might have had. Everything was happening entirely too fast, his head spun and he felt, again, like the only sane man in a chaotic world. His hand quested to the back of his head, checking his skull for lumps or damage.

Nope, all there. No concussion, just first hatching confusion and ill-suited preparations to see exactly what was going on.

The removal of Orkia was devestating, and he frowned in the Candidatemaster's direction. How did he do it? How did someone just pick up and carry someone off like that as if... as if it were nothing? Tears and grieving signs aside, was this something they always braced themselves for?

Was this the life people really looked forward to for turns and turns as they grew up?

A new color, Burgundy, joined the ranks in a set. He blinked, twice, and a third to make sure he was seeing things right. One did its business and Impressed, the other...

Well, can't say he didn't see that one coming from the instant the girl shot her mouth off. Wasn't there some rule about not flipping out on the sands? Man, she's lucky she wasn't killed. I thought it was gonna tear her throat right out on the spot.

They were all just... so big. He couldn't even believe the size of all of the dragonets. Just... incredible. I feel stupid. He thought awkwardly to himself, tucking his legs under him to rise, slowly, back up to his feet and brushed the sand off. He hadn't had the time to get armor, so he felt kind of... naked, exposed in this silly white robe.

That the dragonets were massive, almost laughably so in comparison to the wherets, was something he wouldn't have believed unless he'd seen it, as he had now, with his own eyes. [/size]

[princesal]

When the burgundy dragons had hatched, Harri hadn't really thought much of them. His eyes were still on the Holdless... at least, until the burgundy Impressed to the child he had known as Matthus. Harri knew he'd have a new name now, a new life, new future. Maybe afterwards, if Sol wasn't in a hurry to get rid of the crazy man, he'd be able to find and congratulate him. Find some of the ex-Holdless and congratulate them as well. Then again, maybe he wouldn't. What a difficult reminder of their past station in life, unwanted... discarded... turned away. Harri didn't want them upset, and while he would never have a dragon of his own, nor (he assumed) a wher, he understood that the new bonds were fragile. He didn't want to be responsible for surprising a child, or making them uncomfortable, and splintering that new fragile bond.

Harri really didn't know what to do, but as he thought about it more, thought about the things Hand might say, he knew that it really would be that much wiser to stay out of future rider affairs. Future Handler affairs. Weyr affairs. Hold affairs.

He was still holding Sol's hand, and suddenly felt nervous about that. No one knew he was Holdless probably, no one around them probably knew. Would it be alright if they did? Had he already made them uncomfortable? All these constant thoughts about what others felt and thought because of him being near them, was par for the course. Because of that, it was easy for him to hide these emotions and these feelings. There wouldn't be anymore slip ups, just like he hoped there wouldn't be anymore deaths. Looking at Sol, the smile was firmly in place, not fading a bit, not anymore.

"I'm sorry for earlier. It was a bit jarring. There are so many colors I've never even heard about. What are those ones? [Blood.]" Frowning at Hand, Harri instead pointed at the burgundy dragons roaming about. The answer was given though, causing him to flinch like he had just been goosed (he had no idea that was the Gold Queen's voice!). "Burgundy?

I'm not-..."

Then it clicked.

The suddenly commotion about it, the sudden chatter about it, a new color. This was a new color?! A new color had just hatched as he had gotten to see it?! Eyes wide, mouth making like a fish for a few blubs. Then he was on his feet, catching his balance so he didn't topple over onto the people in front of him. He tried to see better. This was! It was a new color! He had gotten to see a new color! "Can we move closer? This is so exciting! [Any more excitement and his head is going to start spinning!] Is that really a new color? I didn't know! Matthus Impressed one! [Breathe, man!] I am breathing." He just looked really excited at the same time, and wanted to get closer. This was some excitement in an old man's life!

Tag: Sol (Kila)
----

warning: hemoglobin fun time

It was like a hot knife through butter. One moment Otto was smiling and looking around at everything was happening. New dragons roaming the Sands, a new color! Burgundy! And while none really seemed keen to come and Impress to him, he got the chance to see one up close! Any closer and he could have touched, but he didn't. That was an honour in itself, and knew he was grinning from ear to ear about it.

When the Wher had stopped by before, he had unconsciously tensed his arm around Hulair, hoping that it was coming for the man who was holding him up. Otto pretty much knew now that once Hulair had Impressed, and was off the sands, that Otto was going to have to follow. He wouldn't be able to stand without some kind of support, but that would be alright. His legs would heal, and he'd be able to stand again. This was great practice, and got nerves that had been floating around, out. The black had moved on though, and his fingers gave a reassuring squeeze. Maybe the next wher.

Still musing about the burgundy and the black, when Otto heard the solid noise of body hitting ground, he got pulled from his happy place thoughts in time to hear the cracking and snapping noise of bone. He knew that noise! He had broken some of the bones in his lovely collection before, and the noise was easily recognizable. Eyes widened as he looked at the girl who had just had her leg broken. Okay... yes... she had spouted off a lot of words, but Otto didn't mind them. They were just words, and didn't hold them against her during a time of high stress.

Looking at Hulair, he looked back at her, and would have tried to kneel by her. Broken bones hurt! But they were close to the Healers, and Otto turned to wave at them, trying to bring them out. When he looked back at Garna, he saw that she was being investigated by a light blue wher. Maybe she would Impress to it, like with that boy who had gotten his arm hurt. But it seemed the wher moved off and was now... investigating him?

Oh! Maybe Hulair! Yes! That would be great!

Then it came. The hot knife through butter sensation. One moment Otto was smiling, looking at the wher, hoping that it would choose Hulair, and then it was off. And the pain came only scant seconds later.

It was pain first, the slash was done so... so perfectly. It was a thin cut, done by sharp thin claws, over the left side on his face. It missed his eye, and not by chance. For a second it was just a thin line, almost like it was a minute scratch over his face, a curious touch. Then the line darkened, and grew wider, until the weight of the blood dragged it down, and it ran down, curling around his jaw to drip off. Hitting his robes, hitting the sand. It so narrowly missed his eye that when he squeezed them shut because of the surprise pain, the blood ran into his left eye, filling the bottom lid, and making the wound look a million times worse.

Reaching up, he touched, and then pressed his hand to his face, looking gobstopped for a moment, before he couldn't help but let out a chuckle of relief. "he missed my eye." Otto whispered, and then was smiling. How could he not?! The wher had purposefully missed his eye! Just a hair's width the other way and he'd have been blinded in his left eye. But that hadn't happened, how could he not be exuberant?! The wher had moved on, into the stands, if the sound was anything to go by. Feeling as if he had to console Hulair that another wher had walked by him in such a short time, he patted the man's collar, leaving almost a hand print of red against white.

Feeling... actually, he felt pretty good! Sure, his face was bound to have more character now, but he was already missing a tooth, so he wasn't bothered by a new scar. He didn't pick up on the warning at all, and he was fine. The more important person right now was Garna, and he whipped his head back to her, "Don't worry, Healers will get you off the sand, just take deep breaths." That time it wasn't a whisper, but the adrenaline from his injuries was starting to make him feel giddy and invincible. He couldn't stop smiling. "Broken legs heal."

Already someone (he assumed Healer, if only because he couldn't make out the proper knots with his blurring vision) was taking her away, not even casting a glance at him. But the fact that he was standing and not holding his eye rolling around in pain was probably enough for a Healer to be comfortable with ignoring someone with a tiny scratch compared to someone with a broken leg. He didn't wave goodbye to her, but that was because he was swiping at his cheek.

Tag: Hulair (Boo), Garna (Minute), and mentions of Yuri (Kireon)

[Reky]

An iron, a gray that she could barely see from where she was, and... red, pink ones? Dark pinks, or small reds, or... Risny wasn't quite sure. She knew that mutations happened but she had never seen the dawn of one and, quite frankly, she wasn't that interested in thinking it over. She didn't want to think anymore. Everything that was left in her head was shallow, petty, tired, frightened, and young. Nothing was wise or intellectual. At least she had maintained the will to stay, and to stay still, but beyond that, she had devolved into her worst self.

One by one, the new red dragons passed her by. They ignored her. They didn't even look at her. She had a huge empty ring around her where Ranthian and Norilana had left, Aelynn had Impressed, and Orkia had died, and they acted like the middle was empty, too. She felt deeply disappointed and resentful. I don't want you anyway, she thought, but she did want them. She wanted anything she could get. She wanted everything, everyone, and she wanted it selfishly. Burgundies, supplied Callistath, and Risny was only vaguely interested.

She heard Garna's outburst and cringed. The shadow of Callistath over them was big enough to stifle even mouthy Risny; she felt second-hand fear for the traditionalist brat. Then, somehow, through the sounds of the crowd and snarls and snapping bones, she was dimly aware of Garna getting savaged, but she didn't look over. Peripherally, there was movement, and lots of red, but Risny's bleary eyes were on the dragon eggs. Ten, eleven left? Nine? Something. She shivered.

---

Inrahim looked down at the black wher as he went on his slow journey, breathing slow and steady. Then the wher passed on and he sighed, but perhaps more out of relief than disappointment. Disappointment was selfish and petty; he was bigger than that. Maybe he wasn't bigger than the hatching, like he wished he was, but he was bigger than disappointment. He couldn't stop people from being hurt, not in this cave under the mothers' watch, but he could accept it. Garna's punishment was difficult to stomach, though, because he had never believe in an eye for an eye, and this was more than that. She had spoken out of turn and now she was being broken for everyone to see, and Inrahim's heart, though it caught for her insolence, ached for her. He felt mildly ill now, the nausea having gradually set in. But he was bigger than nausea, he thought, and he made himself breathe through it.

[/blockquote]

[maruset]

Makkoi decided to go help with the candidates. More than a few were injured, and trying to take care of their new bonded. Silent, for once, Makkosk followed behind him. She was agitated, he could feel that, but she was being good. Her attention was all focused on the babies around them, just waiting to sit on one if she needed to.

The first one that Makkoi spotted was the boy who had bonded to the dark colored wher. Settling down next to him, he gave the new wheret a long look, Makkosk sitting next to him. "Keep feeding him," the healer told the boy. "I'm going to look you over first."

Then he set about giving the injuries a once over, working on the marks that he could reach without interfering with taking care of the new infant.

Though he did pause as a girl apparently lost her sharding -mind- out on the sands. Makkoi paused, looking at the other adults in the area, and then shook his head. Someone would deal with her, he was going to work on here.

***

"Of course he is," Iola said with a small smile. "A brand new color to dress? He must be ecstatic over that. Whole knew ranges of color he can play with.

Iola, that girl is.... Whatever warning Jainath was going to give was cut off as, apparently, one girl just tried to explode. Maybe it was her coloring that was what gave the copper some warning, but both rider and dragon stared as the candidate apparently went mad. Though there was some grimaces from Iola as the girl insulted about half the weyr in just a few sentences.

And she had done this outburst in the middle of a hatching. Which was even worse.

Though it seemed as if one of the new burgundies she had insulted decided to take matters into his own hands. Grimacing, Iola settled back, though there was a bit of smug pleasure from Jainath. She deserved it, said the queen. There was no reason to be impolite. If she really had issues with unusual colors, she should not be here, and she should not stand.

"I don't think that her standing is going to be an issue, anymore," Iola murmured, both mentally and out loud.

The the pale wher climbed his way into the stands and made the second stands impression.

"This hatching is definitely going to be remembered well," she sighed, since it looked like the wher had Impressed to Naras, who was a harper. She knew that Letorin took lessons with the man.


***


Letorin's main reaction to Garna's rant was to tug Newt the other direction some. They both had good views of the amazing interaction between the iron and gray, so that was no interrupted. However, Letorin had heard -stories- of how Callistath dealt with people who interrupted her hatchings.

The burgundy moved, and he glanced, trying to follow it...his reactions as he pushed and dragged Garna off the sands. The snap of bone made Letorin wince. A shiver ran up his spine, and he glanced at Newt, making sure he was still holding up all right.

Then the burgundy came back, and Letorin had to take a moment to really actually admire the picture the three made. The iron, gray, and burgundy were quite striking against each other, and his overactive artist brain was already mixing paint ideas on how to get those particular shades down properly.

Hopefully, Garna would be all right, but Letorin wondered just what was wrong with her head that made her think that snapping like that was a good idea. Especially when she was on the sands within easy reach of the dragons, and would soon be off the sands, in easy reach of the people she had insulted. Though most riders would dismiss her, he was pretty sure.

(tag: Randi, G'lin, Newt)

[Kiran]

Up in the stands, Kira's father and sister were waiting, watching both anxiously and impatiently. Kida curled into her father's side, cradling her swollen stomach. "Is it always like this? It wasn't like this the last time. Is it because of the whers?" She whispered to her father. Radagast shrugged, unable to answer in the affirmative. Dragon hatchings could also be terribly violent. The last one they had attended had been amazingly peaceful. This time it seemed that there would be no sparing the violence. He curled his arm protectively around his pregnant daughter. "Why doesn't Kira get off the sands? It's too dangerous!" Kids didn't want her sister down there with all that, but Radagast knew the answer. His daughter had been taken away and given a chance at something that she had never dreamed of - a dragon. He wouldn't have walked off the sands, either. So he sat there, holding Kida as the second burgundy dragon took a mouthy, disrespectful candidate away from the group.

He hoped Kira wouldn't be injured and join her.
--------
Quellyn's eyes widened when the girl in front mouthed off about the new dragons. They were new dragons! New ones! And in front of their mothers besides? He flinched when the mother eyed her, wondering if the girl was going to survive. But it wasn't the gold who decided that Garna was to be taken out - it was one of he he burgundies themselves. Quellyn looked away before the dragonet could pounce, but that didn't stop him from knowing that she would get hurt somehow. He didn't open his eyes again until he was certain she was well past. The distance didn't stop him from hearing the crunch of the bone when it broke, though.

Quellyn peeked open an eye to look forward once more. The new dragon was standing in front with the two grays. He shuddered slightly. Then the black who had been injured before came back over towards them, which the boy looked at with interest. This one didn't seem so bad, he was peaceful, and-

The yng candidate was bowled over, knockng into Inrahim. His breath left in a soft whumph. Quellyn had to admit, he was feeling incredibly sore at this point, and didn't really feel like getting back up. But it was dangerous on the ground and he had to. He had to finish Standing and see if there was a dragon here for him.
------
Jafari could hardly believe it when the girl next to him mouthed off. Was he crazy?! It didn't matter too much, since she as given no quarter for her idiocy. She was dragged off the sands, and Jafari got an up-close look at the new color. He had to admit, he was rather taken with it and briefly wished he was a dragon candidate. But then again... A thought of his friends banished that from his mind. There was no guarantee he would have Impressed that color. His wher, though, his wher was out here.

He puffed his chest with confidence, staying that way as he heard the bone break, and the black wher came back around and passed him over. That was okay. His wher was still there. Unhatched. Yes. It was.
-----------
Imber's eyes watched the events in a thoughtful manner, distancing herself from the dangers like when she had seen her family's deaths. People died. It was a fact of life. And the girl shouldn't have been so stupid as to say anything like that, but she was being appropriately punished. Such was the way of things, wasn't it?

So far she remained unhurt. Studied, but unhurt. She probably wouldn't impress this time! and that was fine. Or maybe she would, and that was fine, too. Or perhaps she would die. And that was also okay. Because death happened. She breathed deeply, then watched as the black injured wher came by and passed her over. She was pleased it was surviving its wounds. It wouldn't go wild, it wouldn't have to die. That was.... Good.

[Rii]

Sora was more than a little baffled at the announcement that there was another new color. Huh. Burgundy. Seemed this hatching was an eye-opener in more than one respect. It had been quite a while, if she remembered her Weyr-history lessons correctly, since there had been a new one. Interesting, but still something she tucked away to think about later as she so often did. There were slightly more pressing matters to occupy her attention. She folded her arms in front of her, her mouth set in a grim line. It seemed even without the murderous brown rampaging the sands, the bloodshed and violence wasn’t over. One of the new-colored dragons prowled up and simply rammed Adelaide in the stomach for no apparent reason. It was a little baffling, and she shook her head. Was this what all hatchings were like?

When the girl in the front line somewhere off to the right - even with the thinned ranks, it was hard to see her from the opposite side of the candidate cluster - started to rant, Sora unlaced one arm from across her chest enough to cover her face with her palm. Really? I mean… -Really-? How does it ever seem like a good idea to start screaming obscenities about a mother’s babies when she’s big enough to squash you under her foot? Or insult an entire Weyr while everyone’s watching? Some people, she decided not for the first time or the last, were stupid.

It seemed someone else agreed, as there was some ruckus when one of the new-colored dragons marched forward and forced the candidate to vacate her spot and leave the other candidates. Well, she’d kind of asked for it, even if it was unfortunate to give the healers even more work. Sora shook her head again softly, folding her arms once more. He folds his arms when he feels threatened, Jyderin’s voice echoed in her thoughts. A slight, bitter smirk touched her lips. Gee, thanks, head-Jyderin, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not threatened at all. Candidates are only getting attacked and killed on the sands, why would I feel threatened?

That line of thought wasn’t helping. She crammed it into the mental box with all the other hatching thoughts, returning to the dull, expressionless facade that she’d crafted specifically to protect herself. Safer.

***

G’dan wrapped an arm around his weyrmate’s back, resting his forehead against Day’ar’s head. He didn’t want to watch. Didn’t want to watch. But Callistath’s announcement had him looking anyway. Burgundy? They’d done it again, he realized. Had another new color pop up at Dalibor. What do you think, Prith?

It is how the world works, his green replied serenely. It has happened, so it was meant to happen. We shall welcome them.

Apparently not everyone would welcome them, though. A candidate at the front broke into a vituperous rant that was audible even up in the stands, and his jaw dropped. “Idiot,” he whispered. “Weren’t we taught in her place never to talk on the Sands? Let alone talk like that?”

[Tags: semi-Adelaide, Day'ar.]

[Dragonwher]

Randi's eyes flicked to his side as Rask went from happily mowing the fish in his person's hand to eyeing Makkoi. Much like Makkoi and Makkosk was eyeing him. But his eyes only whirled slightly before Randi managed to arrest his attention with the fish finally "yessir, just let me know if you want me to try and turn so you can get at my other side". Then something happened on the sands; well two somethings. One was happier; a new color that Callistath declared was male and called Burgundy. Then the very much not so happy, a candidate virtually exploded and was shot down several pegs by one of the very dragons she had so blatantly insulted.

Plus side, between shock at Impressing as well as startlement at Garna; and the numbing agents Makkoi had at his disposal. All meant Rask wasn't so intent on debating taking Makkoi's fingers off. But as Randi kept slowly feeding his wher that ahr ahr ahr noise emanated through his settling connection. Which left Randi staring levelly at Rask "Rask...are you laughing at something?". To which Rask responded Bigmouth fool got thrashed, make Rask be laugh. This admission should have gotten him glowered into stopping being so nasty and hateful. But even Rask felt Randi's agreement since Garna not only insulted those Burgundy dragons; but also insulted Mira and Malinoth in her rant on the different colors in the Weyr. Among others, though Randi was distracted by Rask asking who Girl in head with big black?.

Finally something safe to respond out loud to that wasn't meanspirited from his new partner "you probably saw a memory of my sister and her black dragon, the girl is Mirandel and the dragon is Malinoth". Rask didn't respond as yet, eyes a still oddly relaxed whirl almost to spite those who thought him a murderous monster as he continued accepting food. Though inside Rask was deciding whether he hated this 'Mirandel' and her Malinoth. without any sign to his bonded yet he decided he wasn't going to hate some girl and her dragon if it put him on the same ground as that worthless girl none of his siblings would want. Though he did inwardly smirk like a complete jerk as he wondered if that malformed weakling would have been the mouthy girl's partner if not for his ending the little green. While Rask was off in his own thoughts Randi was careful to move slowly as he waited for Makkoi to start work again.

~~~~

Thanks mostly to the candidate Garna's outburst Malinoth was so shocked he not only stopped thrumming for a moment. But his wings lowered enough for Mira to see a new color dragon ejecting the entitled snot off the sands. Though Mali and by extension Mira were also thoroughly surprised by the Burgundies as Callistath announced them as such. So as to try and resume positive thought however; Mira chose to pretty much blow off Garna's rant aside from a "well she certainly got what was coming to her" even as she twitched hearing the snap of bone that was likely to negate the now probably Excandidate's chances to continue standing for Dragons. Though she was probably going to get punted before she could join the wher program too, but that was ultimately up to whoever led the Weyr's Wher population that Randi would now be training to join.

Though Mali did give her the mental equivalent of a swat to the back of the head when he felt his rider thinking Randi's Wher could have waylaid this by hurting the loudmouth like he did to poor Niorun. Which made her look at him sideways "what was that for? not like I said something nasty out loud Malinoth". The black looked at his Rider, merely responding but if you don't stop thinking things like that you might upset Callistath or even Kalesk more than they already are if they happen to catch your thoughts. Malinoth's words made his rider wince. Sure he knew she thought the way she had due to himself but he didn't want her in trouble with the Weyrwoman later.

Mir and Andel; once Mir calmed down, had been sitting normally up till the new Burgundy dragons hatched and the gold queen who clutched them announced what they were. Which incurred cheers as one of them Impressed. Though a Candidate's verbal explosion killed the merriment for Mir and Andel; who were likely not the only ones Garna's shout had rattled. Out of the two however; aside from a twitch as the Burgundy went from herding Garna to snapping her leg. Andel couldn't help think it was some sort of poetic justice that one of the hatchlings the girl just openly reviled was the one to not only evict Garna but end her chances at Imressing a dragon next hatching if they even let the girl stay on here. Neither of Randi and Mira's parents were willing to sppeak now. Not too surprising considering what they just watched and heard.

(Tag Makkoi)

[Chimera]

((Warning for blood, gore, death references))
The hatching was going along terribly so far. It was only going downhill from that poor little green's death, and Dardranel shuddered when the red or brown wher ran through the gap between her and Garna, entering the sea of Candidates to cause a storm. There was a lot of mauling from the noises she heard. She didn't turn around, fearing to attract the murderous thing's attention. She noticed another wheret had hatched, a black tinted with blue and red. He looked almost like one of the nasty leeches that lived in the lake. Seriously. It was creepy.

There was action from the wherets and dragonets. Dardranel clung to Garna as close as she could without hanging onto the taller girl like she was a skybroom tree. She squeezed her eyes shut, before opening them again and standing up straight. She hadn't been raised as a weakling. Dardra was a tough girl! She wouldn't be scared of some hatchlings. Neldar watched his daughter from the Stands, worried but supportive for her daughter. Being a dragonrider – or even a wherhandler – was quite the important job, though he was rather unsure of her being the latter.

The tinted black made his way through the Candidates, blood included. Dardranel was the first to be mauled. She winced, involuntarily kneeled from the pain, and gritted her teeth as the wheret bore his jaws deeper into her ankle, nearly touching the bone. Kalesk to the rescue! The gold wher growled at her evil son, who went off in search of other victims – among them, Kairhi and Mairhi. Dardra watched them with dread as the tinted black mauled one and wrought fear into the other. The twins were awesome! It sucked that so many nice people were getting mauled! Even the not-so-nice ones.

Enjoy my blood, ya jerk! Dardranel thought at the wheret, who probably would not receive the mental message. The dark wher had caused more trouble, and she decided to look away at the dragonets for now.

Until a bulky cyan wheret ran over and knocked the tall, wiry girl face-first in the hot Sands. Not just knocked – bulldozed Dardranel down. She stayed on the Sands for a bit, pushing her weight on her arms to at least kneel before she'd be all burnt. Already, grains of sand painfully stuck to her face. Her entire body ached, and now the wound in her ankle was not only bleeding, but sand had gotten in it too. Shards.

Her father Neldar watched, terrified, in the stands. What had she gotten into? The first hatching Dardranel had told him about had had a surprise wheret too – but there were no deaths, and minimal injuries.

Be strong. Neldar fretfully thought.

The cyan wheret had Impressed from the faint things Dardranel saw. She kneeled, trying to put weight on her good leg to get up – but all of a sudden she was tired, the overcast sky and blood loss having a strong effect on the girl. She wanted to just curl up and sleep, but no. She would be strong. The throbbing pain in her ankle and ache all over her body kept her awake, kept her from giving up.

Dardranel went back to watching the dragonets' antics, shakily standing and leaning on Garna. It was nice to watch.

Then there were noises from the wher clutch, which was closer to her than the dragon clutch. Dardra watched the tinted black – again – he was such a troublemaker! This time he was fighting with a blue, and the clever, vicious thing outsmarted his bigger brother and mauled the other black wheret. She lurched back when Garna was bitten by the tinted black wheret, who got closer to the redheaded girl. Closer, closer...

”We're gonna be dwagonridewrs one day! Gonn'be! Shoom! Fwoosh!” A little toddler girl ran circles around her twin, imitating one of the great defenders of Pern. “I'm fast dwagon!” Her long red hair sailed behind her like a flag.

-

“I don'-don't know.” Melnel muttered weakly to her sister. “I'll b-be gone, soon.” The sickness, the plague, had given the girl a death slower and much more painful than even being caught under Threadfall.

“No ya won't! You'll get better! And we'll be a pair o' dragonriders!” Dardranel's words weren't cheerful as the meaning suggested. She spoke them between tears. Mum was gone. Da was a wreck. The other kids were sick and those that weren't stayed away from everyone else.

-

“Sis...”

Dardranel was sobbing at her sister's bedside. She was beyond the point of no return. She could hear Melnel's each breath getting weaker, and weaker.

“Will...y-you go s-see the...world? F-for me an' you?”

“Yeah! And we'll be dragonriders and fly and race around Pern, and...and...”

Melnel closed her eyes.

She lost her sister, her closest friend and companion that cold, windy day. A part of her...

She'd been so lonely, so lost, even when Wenth Searched her and took her off to Dalibor. Always tried to make remarks to Mel, but there was no Mel anymore. Garna, angry and antisocial as she was, was a friend for Dardra, an older sister in some ways.

She envied Kairhi and Mairhi. They still had each other. But she hoped the best for them, that they'd never be separated like she and Mel.

Closer, closer... A darkness made its way into her mind, and the warm colors of the cavern faded away for several moments, replaced by inky black shadows, terrors of the night, terrors hiding under the dark side of the moon further from Pern. Shadows and silhouettes of monsters made of metal, stone, blood. Monsters from tales as tall as Dardranel would be one day. And most of all, the simple feeling of fear, and that no matter where she was, a pair of keen eyes watched her. But those eyes weren't watching her to harm her. They protected her, and they belonged to the nightmarish, tinted black wheret curled around her leg.

Dardrask here.

She'd never see Mel again, but here was an amazing creature to be a different second half to her. Her very own, beautifully terrifying Dardrask. He was a cold soul, one who plotted and lurked and loathed happiness. She was a fiery individual, built on devilish dares and warm energy.

But they were united in speed. For Dardranel's joy in life became an obsession when Melnel was gone. She needed to run and she did, run from the skeleton of what was once her life, always run to another place.

She forgot she had been a dragon Candidate, and who cared? Here was another side to life in the Weyr, and Dardrask was her new bonded partner, evil as he was.

All that showed on the outside was a dopey grin on Dardranel's face, one full of the emotion her black wheret despised.

“What'd you bite me for?” He didn't answer with words. They both knew the emotion, and Dardra understood he wanted to cause fear, to intimidate. She'd go to the Healers. She could deal.

Neldar buried his face in his hands. Out of all the whers, a violent one chose his daughter. He was not sure what to think. Though he still feared for how Dardranel would do as a handler, he was happy she had found a lifemate. She was happy.

Blood. Dardrask reminded his chosen human.

Yeah, I-I...gimme a sec... The overjoyed girl fumbled for her knife. She was going to do this right. She made a cut in her left index finger, as carefully as she could. Dardrask latched onto her finger, sucking out the blood until he was sated.

So she was a wherling now...

“T-thanks, Garna! Good luck.” She grinned and waved a good-bye to her former roommate as she limped to the feeding area.

She heard Lyrnn explain the rules as they came in one by one. Dardrask nibbled, chewed on, then devoured a surprisingly large amount of fish. Eventually he was full and sleepy, and curled up in Dardranel's hand.

Will show power of fear in sleep. In the realm of dreams, he could continue his reign of terror. There was no escape for those sleeping...or so the newly-hatched black wheret thought. He laughed darkly to himself, an ugly little squeak, before yawning as loudly as he could to display his frightening rows of teeth, and falling asleep.

Dardranel chuckled, running a finger down Dardrask's slender form.

She turned to Randiel and Rask.

“Oh...uh...you're the. Congratulations on Impressing.” She looked at them with wide eyes, before turning to Lyrnn.

“Uh, thanks for agreeing to be Wherlingmaster for this chaos.” Now that Dardrask was sleeping, more of the pain came back, and Dardranel looked at the Healers. “Uh, I need some healing...”

A bit of time had gone by, and Orkia had been killed. Murdered, and Dardranel watched the whole event in terror. She was still in shock when there was a new dragon color. Dardranel was fascinated as they were announced to be burgundies. At least there was some good news, and...

...why was Garna yelling? Oh shards!

"Gar!" Dardranel called out as her angry former roommate was dragged away after being mauled. Oh no, oh no...poor Garna! She was hurt terribly, and Dar refused to believe it was the other girl's fault. Dardrask woke up, and laughed at the event.

It's not funny. He didn't listen to her.

Fool, good riddance.

"Garna..." Dardranel frowned. The older girl had anger issues, but to this level? She still wished the best to her, even if pretty much everyone else hated the candidate now for her foolish outburst.
***
Lisk watched the maulings with interest, an experience she could no longer have without punishment, and so she enjoyed it indirectly.

Okay, will be for scary-little meet, then.

Then Gennesk told Saosk and Lisk to make a truce. The green hissed, her beady red eyes glaring at Saosk.

WHAT?! Why for truce with tiny evilstupid, why -

“Lisk, we talked about this already.” Lirmox stated.

I- UGH! ARGH! Fiine! Only for truce for good MouseTiny. Also. SAOSK! Blue-green-cyan-whatever it called wher role model for you. Also round, loud, but strong, big, smarter, get job done. Watch, learn. Ugh. She grumbled.

Later...The hatching had gotten more and more bloody, and Lirmox even pitied Jafari as the boy got mauled. He didn't want him to die or be left to live the rest of life in the infirmary...Jafari was a familiar face, even if not exactly a friendly one. He didn't want to see Jafari's throat ripped out, or lifeless. Not anyone's.

((Tags for Wherlings, Lyrnn/Lyrsk, Healers, Garna, anyone else I might be missing//Mouse, Gennesk, Saowyn/Saosk, kinda Tamarine/Tamarisk?))

[Raining]

ooc; TAG LISK SORTA/GENNESK/MOUSE

He was doing so well.
As long as the little bile face hugger didn't speak, or move.... he could keep his temper in check. Of course that really doesn't last very long, since she never shuts up. Saosk has at least been trying to keep his angry ranting to a minimum around Gennesk and Mouse (Saowyn isn't spared anything). His eyes flickered red, he wanted to be near his to see if Jafari impressed, but Mouse was more important right now. So far though, none of these whers were good enough (surprise surprise).

Saowyn sent calming thoughts his way, her eyes shut so she could focus on her wher. She was everything but calm right now, but having those worries filter through to Saosk won't keep him calm. 'Don't worry about her, Mouse is your priority... she doesn't need to see you angry, she needs to stay calm and distracted.' SHARDIT, SAOSK KNOWS. LISKBILE SO ANNOYING. SAOSK HATE HER, MORE THAN ANYTHING, MORE THAN RYSK! FHSJKASL he babbled in Saowyn's mind, SAOSK SHOULD BI--. 'You will do no such thing!.

The wher forced himself calm, and brushed Mouse's mind with that calm he stole from his handler. TINYMOUSE WISH TO LEAVE LIKE GENNESK SAY? SEE WORTH.... SEE BABIES AFTER, IN PLACE WITH NO SCARIES..

His wings her still sort of blocking her view, flaring them and unflaring them. SAOSK HAVE BIG WINGS, WILL GLIDE WITH TINYMOUSE LATER? he asked her, his mindvoice touching Gennesk as well as if he was asking for approval, begrudgingly though.

He was trying. He didn't want to be banned from Mouse.

[Nia]

A girl screamed, and Avalle felt her blood start to boil. Didn't this idiot know that there was only one thing that was known to set Callistath off, and that was disturbing her Hatchings? Not to mention the dunce of a Candidate was insulting the very hatchlings she probably hoped to Impress. Avalle bristled, as did Callistath, and the large Gold moved her front foot, about to lift it and crush the mouthy Candidate into dust. She stopped, however, as one of her new, Burgundy sons moved to defend her instead. Even the Gray wher appeared to be against the girl. Callistath watched the Burgundy shove her off the sands with a feeling of pride. Very well done,

[/i] she spoke to him, gratitude strong in her tone. Well, wasn't he about to become the favorite....

By the time the girl spoke, the Brown had also had enough. He watched everything going down with a somber expression still on his face, and as the Burgundy went to rejoin the Iron and the Gray wher, the Brown did as well. He approached them carefully, head dipped in respect, for he knew that was what they wanted. He seemed to inquire something of the Iron and the Gray, both who appeared to nod at him. He gave them a quick nod back and turned towards the Candidates, beginning to gently push them back into a neater line. He brushed past Letorin and Newt, gently nudging them back towards the empty spaces to fill them out. Ryiah, Jafari and Tius received the same treatment as he attempted to make the front row more orderly, before moving to the back.

The back row was better, and he purposely avoided the area where Orkia had died, not attempting to force any Candidate to stand there. He nudged Risny to try and help her stand, feeling the emotions of distraught coming off of her in waves. But he had a job to do, and he could not comfort her for very long. He moved back to the next row, to where Szene was standing, and nudged her softly to the right, still trying to fill out the emptiness and disorder that his Iron brother and his tiny, adopted brother were so upset about.

Idra was pushed a bit to her left, but he left Seidon and Lili together, allowing them to find comfort in each other. Maal, Draolor and Jaed were also nudged a bit their left, and he urge Valasco to move to his left as well, closer to Naim. Caszli and Eithne were pushed to their right to help fill out the space there, and as he moved towards Lavi he pushed her mildly to her right. There. The Candidates were a bit neater now, and he hoped his brothers would appreciate his efforts.

As it happened, he found the back of the Sands was quite to his tastes, and he edged closer to where the Healers were helping Norilana. Ranthian got a stare, but he wasn't why the Brown was really here. He kept his distance from the Healers and Norilana, not wanting to disturb them, and locked eyes with Lanorun when he finally looked in the direction of the Brown.

L'norOwn. He was a dragon of simple words, preferring to communicate more in emotions and pictures. He sent Lanorun, now L'nor, images of himself, of the two of them, of his sister and then he sent a wave of sympathy. Try not to worry. Your Mattoth is here.[/i] He wasn't saying it out of arrogance, merely out of the knowledge that L'nor would be very happy to see him.

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SPOILER: Click to show

Brown Mattoth - The Fool - 462200
Personality:
Mattoth is a stoic. He has very little words, and it's very difficult to make him have strong reactions. He almost always has the same sort of stoic expression on his face, his eyes usually just swirling the green-blues of calm. His personality can almost seem non-existant at times, but it's definitely there. Beneath the stoic exterior is a very clever, somewhat deadpan sarcastic interior. He usually keeps his comments to either a blunt sentence or a few words to L'nor, rather than keep up a long conversation. He communicates a lot with pictures and emotions rather than words, though his emotions tend to be very mellow. He's just a very chill dragon, and not a lot of things get to him.

To his friends and L'nor, Mattoth talks a bit more than he would with some random stranger. He is capable of holding a conversation and is quite good with words. He's not a shy dragon or even introverted, he just simply likes to stay quiet and let others listen. Mattoth is a brilliant listener and has a very good memory. It's just as easy for him to remember something said Turns ago as it is to remember something said the day before. Mattoth is also quite good at comforting others, and he cares very deeply about the problems his friends are having.

Mattoth is a blank slate ready to be written upon, and with experience and interaction with others he will also grow and change. Mattoth is very receptive to change and he knows very well that he needs to grow up and develop more as a dragon. L'nor is a sort of guide for Mattoth, and he will very much follow the boy and perhaps even copy some of his mannerisms. However, no matter how much Mattoth grows and changes, he will never really become a talkative dragon. He's searching for spiritual growth, and the life experiences that will make him and L'nor become who they were meant to be.

Appearance:
Mattoth is an averagely built Brown, with decent bulk to him. His wings are very large, and it will be a while before he is fully used to walking with them. He enjoys wrapping his wings around himself, however, so perhaps his large wings are good for him. Mattoth's tail is quite thin and short, making it mildly difficult for him to steer while flying. His snout is very handsomely shaped, as his the rest of his head. His headknobs are prominent and his brow has a bit of a sharp slope to it, giving him an almost angry look most of the time.

Mattoth is a bit of a reddish-brown, but definitely edging more on the brown side. His neck is covered in dark stripes that mesh together, giving him a somewhat hatched look, but only around his neck. There are little specks of lighter color around the base of his neck near his head. He has a slightly triangle shaped marking around his eyes, adding to his "angry" expression. His wings are hatched in the same way his neck is, but minus the lighter specks. Other than those two areas, his hide is a very uniform red-tinted brown color. He will grow to be 38 feet.

Earlier, when the Burgundy was busy shoving his sister, he caught sight of his brother on the way back. Said brother was, indeed, being a huge jerk, though he certainly didn't seem to think so. His clutchbrother was wrong. He was saving these Candidates! Without him, they would never see the errors of their ways. But the meaner Burgundy scoffed. His brother was not worth saving. He was flawed to the point of no return, and he was past redemption! The larger Burgundy scorned his brother and left in the other direction, not intending on going to talk to his self-rightious, pompous, know-it-all Iron sibling and his Gray wher clone. Disgusting, that they thought they were better than him....

Back with the Iron, he stepped forward just a bit so that the Gray wher could survey his surroundings. It seemed, in a matter of things, that the Iron had taken his place as deputy, and that the tiny wher was the sheriff. He even lifted himself up on his hind legs for a moment so the Gray could really look over the Candidates, and all the progress that the Brown had been making with them. It wasn't perfect order, for Mattoth didn't quite understand that, but it was a start. The Burgundy was given a quick acknowledgment for his assistance in ordering the Candidates as well, particularly the rude one. The Iron himself was a bit skeptical about the Burgundies, but this one had proven himself, and so the Iron accepted him.

The larger Burgundy was still prowling around, disrupting the order that Mattoth had tried so hard to create. He shoved Naim to the ground and promptly ignored him. There was too much wrong with him. Too happy, too carefree, too... boring. There weren't a lot of things he'd done wrong. That was so, so, dull. Where were all the sinners?

A scan of the area brought him towards Maal and Draolor. Ah... the innocence of childhood. Except Draolor felt awful to him, for some reason. This child was not innocent at all! He needed to be taught a lesson as well... but... the Burgundy merely slashed at his legs and hit the boy with his side, sending him crashing into Maal.

Quellyn and Inrahim were next, and while Quellyn was ignored... Inrahim was so full of his favorite emotion in the entire world: Guilt. So many bad things had happened to him already, and he had yet to atone for them, or at least that was how it appeared to the extremely judgement dragonet. In the Burgundy's eyes, he had clearly not suffered enough. The Burgundy scraped the sand with his claws as though testing them, and then pounced, slamming Inrahim into the ground and digging his teeth into the man's arm. He felt the bones start to splinter under his teeth, but he didn't intend on ripping the arm off. He wasn't like his sister, and he wasn't out to dismember or cause a permanent scar, he just wanted to cause pain. Inrahim deserved the pain for all his guilt. He needed to atone. And the Burgundy was just being so nice, helping him.

The Burgundy licked the wound as though that would make it better, and gave the man a rather light slash across the face as well. He was marking them. Those who had sinned. He wasn't cruel, oh no. In fact, he was a saint, helping save their souls like this.

He stepped off Inrahim and continued on, sniffing the air and leaning through to hunt for his next victim. Joni was shoved over rather violently, but he didn't draw blood. He weaved through Braele and Imber, taking no interest in him. Kiaja was his next target, and he knocked him to the ground as well. He slashed up his legs, raking his still somewhat soft baby claws through his skin. His blood dripped to the sand and he licked those wounds too.

Now, here was the girl he ignored, and he oh so liked her reaction to that. The guilt of being ignored, huh. She must feel so guilty, like it was her fault. But truth was, he'd liked her mind since he first passed by her. She was so... flawed. She needed him, more than anyone else on these Sands. She needed him to redeem her, to help show her the light and how wrong she'd been.

Her penchant for gossip was nice too.

Oh, RisnyLove,

[/i] his voice was full of adoration for her, though it was fake and mocking, and she'd be able to feel that through their link. Gabrith thinks you are just wonderful.[/i] he paused, and almost seemed to smirk at her as he whapped her with his tail, Wonderfully awful. But don't you worry. I can fix you, along with everyone else.[/i] His "don't worry" was tinged with a sinister tone to it, much more so than Mattoth's had been earlier to L'nor.

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SPOILER: Click to show

Burgundy Gabrith - 660D0D
Personality:
Gabrith is all about redemption. He doesn't want to redeem himself, exactly, but he's seeking to help others with theirs. He can be mildly nefarious on his search for those who have made mistakes, and can be a bit manipulative when it comes to forcing people to admit they've made some sort of mistake. His intentions aren't bad, persay, he just really, REALLY wants to help. He doesn't realize when he's actually making the situation worse than it was, although if Risny points this out to him he'll be somewhat ashamed. His main goal is helping, he wants to help, really, let him help, please? He just wants to help!

He can get rather annoying with his instances, and doesn't know how to take "no" for an answer. He's also quite a gossip, and loves to discuss with Risny all the evil acts that have been going on in the Weyr around them. He does take this one step further, however, and he tends to try and seek out these people so he can bring them "into the light". Risny will need to restrain him from going after people who clearly do not want to talk to him, as he doesn't understand just how annoying he is. He doesn't understand the idea of staying out of someone's business.

However, Gabrith does have a temper. Being refused or even having his advice scorned will set him off. When he's angry, Gabrith is very forceful and demanding, as well as insulting. He can throw insults with the best of them, and his intelligence comes out in the fact that he knows just what to say to hurt someone. As quickly as his temper flares up, however, it disappears. Contrary to his love of redemption, Gabrith sees his outbursts are necessary and brought on by others, not himself. He rarely ever feels the need to apologize, even if pushed by Risny to do so. He's always right! It's everyone else who's wrong.

Appearance:
Gabrith's base color is a dark red, though his hide is not one solid color. He has little bits of darker and lighter specks all over his hide, merging so that his hide looks rather fuzzy from far away. Even his markings are fuzzy. His head is a lighter red, fading down to his neck in stripes. The same lighter red is prominent on his wings and on his tail, where the same striped markings that are along his neck appear again.

He is a bit of a squat dragon, with short legs and very, very large wings. His wings are so huge that it makes him rather awkward on land, as folding up his wings is uncomfortable. He's about average in terms of muscle, and is not particularly large or thin. His snout is somewhat pointy and a bit effeminate, as are his headknobs. He's a somewhat short Burgundy, and will grow to be 23 feet.

The Blue looked bewildered as the Green wher barrled into him, but he settled back down into his spot as she left. He'd been quite surprised, but now that she was gone, she wasn't his problem. Really, she was just a wher, and she hadn't scratched him up all that badly. It was chill. He was chill. The Blue yawned and stretched in the sand but made no move to get up or do anything. Unlike the usual diligence that came with his color, this Blue was quite the lazy one. Though he would prefer to call it "taking things at his own pace".

Nearby, the sand colored egg near the middle of the clutch began to crack open, shaking violently as the dragonet inside exerted the effort to break out of its egg. The Blue watched the egg curiously as it shook and eventually split open, spilling out a Pink on to the Sands. The dark colored Pink sat up abruptly and bounded immediately over to her Blue clutchbrother, seeming to chat his ear off as she strut around him. She then appeared to collapse into giggles, rolling in the sand next to him. The Blue just watched her, his tail flicking back and forth curiously.

The Pink continued to hop around him, urging the Blue to get up and come with her! She was great, she was cute, didn't he want to say she was cute? They had to go Impress, and she loved him, and he had to Impress with her, because someone they love would be out there waiting for them! Wasn't the Blue interested in love? But he wasn't, not really, but he managed to slowly get to his feet, if only because it was please his Pink sister. The Blue wasn't one to whine or complain, and he could generally go with the flow if required of him. Besides, he was getting a little hungry.

The pair of them began to walk towards the Candidates, with the Pink walking far too fast for her brother and having to double back for him. They mostly stuck together as the Pink entered the Candidates through the large blank area that used to be Risny's spot, and tried to drag the Blue past Inanna, stumbling into her and squeaking as she tried. Meanwhile, the Blue simply turned to the girl standing next to Inanna, Kira.

Tauth knew where to find you, KiraMine. He was happy to find her, but really, he hadn't really wanted to do it so soon. Either way, it was fine. He gave another yawn. I'm tired. Let us eat, and then take a long nap.

[/i]

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SPOILER: Click to show

Blue Tauth - 0A2879
Personality:
Tauth is a very placid, patient dragon. He isn't one to rush forward and he never feels the need to be impatient. Why bother? Things will happen as they happen, and there's no sense in trying to rush anything. He's very keen on the idea of stopping and smelling the roses, and he likes to go at his own pace. Tauth doesn't let anyone boss him around or try to rush him, not even Kira. His pace is the way he's going to do something, and everyone else around him just needs to deal with that. He isn't arrogant or stubborn per say, as his opinions are quite flexible and he'll usually just conform to whatever Kira is thinking, but this is the one thing he'll never budge about. Everyone just needs to slow down, man.

This Blue is definitely not one for arguments either, as he tends to just let insults or aggression slide off him like he was made of water. Why should he care what someone else thinks of him? He has Kira, he has himself, that's all he really needs. Tauth is very compliant and obedient, he'll pretty much do anything asked of him (except any varation of "speed up"). He's understanding and will always try to rationalize the reasons others had for doing something, even if it was something against him or rude to him. He's very empathetic and is always trying to see into the viewpoints of others to try and understand them.

Despite his love of "slowness", Tauth is anything but unintelligent. He's quite smart for a Blue, and will sometimes drop some very intelligent insights on the world around him. He's a private thinker, however, and won't share his thought process with anyone but Kira. Even then, Kira might have a difficult time following the way his thoughts move. With his slower pace he tends to spot things that other people miss in their haste, and he uses this knowledge as reasoning for why everyone should just slow down and sniff the roses once in a while. There's a lot to be seen.

Apperance:
Tauth is a very dark, almost navy blue color. His hide is not evenly colored, and he has splotches of a slightly darker blue along his entire body, making him evenly uneven. The only off marking about Tauth is around his neck, he has a very light blue almost "scar" like marking, as if something were wrapped around his throat. It is just a marking, however, and it doesn't hurt him.

Tauth is a rather thin dragon, though his legs are the bulkiest part of him. He has very strong legs and a very long, somewhat sturdy tail that narrows out to quite thin near the end of it. He has quite a powerful control over his tail, and is able to almost wrap it around his neck if he ever wanted to. His wings are average sized, and his muzzle is a bit dainty. He doesn't have much of an equine look to him, looking sleeker than some of his siblings. He is a bit on the small side and will grow to be 29 feet.

The Pink finally managed to untangle herself from Inanna with only mild scrapes to both of them, stretching out her wings and running back to the front of the Candidate group, so that all eyes would be on her. She pranced in front of the group, flaring her wings and acting as cute was she was capable of. The group still seemed very sad, though. She continued to dance around in front, hoping that maybe her little cute dance would make some of them smile. They were all far too depressed! And it was making her depressed!

While the Pink pranced, the dark brown egg in the front-middle of the clutch broke open quietly, though the dragonet to emerge was anything but quiet. He was a mischevious little Black, his hide slightly tinted red, but not enough to classify him as a Burgundy. Well, that and the fact that he was rather small. He darted out from the egg nest, looking around for some sort of trouble he could cause. All the Candidates looked kind of upset and disoriented, but he didn't care about that! He liked chaos, and he wanted to go cause some destruction.

Inching towards the Candidates, almost seeming to skuttle, he noticed the Green wher attack Tamren, and got an idea. Well, she certainly seemed like fun. He inched forward again, ducking behind Aleksandr to hide him from the Green with the one-track mind. Right... now how to do this? Oh man, this was going to be hilarious! So hilarious. He was already laughing. But he knew he had to stay quiet so her attention didn't turn on him. The Black's tail flicked back and forth as he watched her anger turn to confusion as she stared at Tamren. This was his chance!

The Black darted forward, using his shadowy hide to blend in with the darkness as he crept around Kahrie, darting out from behind her to tap the Green on her hindquarters, hoping to send her in the direction of Sora and Adelaide. He seemed to giggle again as he ran back towards Kahrie, ducking behind her and hoping that the Green fell for his awesome, hilarious prank.

[/size]

[RavenSong]

Naras didn't even notice the icy blue until he was curled up on his shoe. He looked down, blinking, then carefully scooped up the wheret.

"You sure you belong up here?" he asked the icy blue.

No want sing? Why. Good hatching. Best hatching. Strange mind, Naras. Strange mind. Joy not needed for good song. Narask hungry. Tired and hungry.

For once the Master Harper had no words. He just stared, mouth slightly agape.

"Oh for Faranth's sake," Nara snapped. "Get that wheret out of here."

"He said his name is Narask," Naras responded quietly. Naraevhyn frowned.

"Well. Perhaps you will not mess up this time, with this infant. He is your wher. Surely with the amount of time you have spent with the Wherhandlers you picked up a thing or two, hm?" she demanded. At Naras' helpless shrug, she sighed. "Take your wheret down to where all the dragonets and wherets have gone. Ask the wherlingmaster what to do beyond feed him. Honestly." Naraevhyn sighed. "You should have sat in on your precious Letorin's Candidacy lessons, you may have learned a few things."

Narask fix part of problem, the wheret said, turning his head. He bit Naras on the forearm and just stayed there, teeth in Naras' flesh.

"OW!" Naras yelped, flinching. "Okay. Why do you have your teeth in my arm?" he demanded. Narask looked up at him, teeth still in Naras' arm.

Need blood for bond. All know this. Loud female useless, not say so.

"If you call my daughter useless again, Narask, we're going to have problems." He carefully descended the Stands, heading for the feeding area. Somewhere between the top and the bottom, Narask let go of Naras' arm and just licked his chops.

"He is going to ruin that wheret," Nara said quietly. "But at least Narask will keep him away from me now." She narrowed her eyes at Z'dyn. "And you be silent on the matter, please. Your father did not neglect you when you lost your mother. Mine did. I like him more when he is not in my business half the day."

Down in the feeding area, Naras approached Lyrnn.

"Aaah, pardon me, you're the Wherlingmaster yes? It would seem Narask here was particularly interested in me, and I admittedly have no idea what to do. He chose to bite me, mentioning something about a blood bond? I am henceforth your humble student."

---

K'var smiled warmly at Sunita and Ibith, handing over a bucket of fish.

"Hello, Sunita, Ibith. I'm K'var of Blue Argotath, I'll be your Weyrlingmaster. If you or Ibith have any injuries, I'd like you to see a healer either while you feed Ibith or afterwards. She'll probably go to sleep once she's fully sated, that's normal. She's had a very exciting day, just like you have. If either of you need anything, just let me know. I'll be right here until the last dragonet Impresses." He smiled again at Sunita and Ibith, letting them go to do their thing as he turned to the next Weyrling to approach. He soon had several. The Burgundies who Impressed drew K'var's eye when they came up.

"You boys are going to either love me or hate me," he said. "I seem to get the interesting ones, and you Burgundies are definitely interesting. I'm going to try to learn all I can about you for the sake of the Weyr. But don't worry. I won't be invasive or anything. Here you go, eat up." He smiled to the lucky people to Impress the Burgundies.

"Congratulations to you especially," he said. Looking over his new charges, he chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Oh this'll be an interesting first lesson," he said. "Lyrnn! Remind me to send you a gift later. I think we're going to need it."

((tags: Z'dyn, Burgundy riders, Sunita, Lyrnn))

[Azhdarchid]

Tusk sniffed at the tracts of dust accumulated beneath the kissing cliffs at the Weyr's entrypoint. She put her paw down next to a strange mark.

Billy.

The firelizard appeared with a flourish of foggy wings, flapping around the wher's head for a moment before landing on the flattest stretch of her skull, between her two lengthy knobs. What this? The flit walked down to the end of her nose and looked, then put the image of a trader wagon rolling up the roadway into Tusk's head. Oh, She stared at the wagonwheel tread for a moment longer, then tossed her snout, flicking Billy into the air. He vanished. She trotted on.

Master Tussbuul limped in her wake. It was easier for him to discern the track and its purpose, but he double-checked everything in the area, a unique job that applied a human context to each scuff and dent in the stone. Billy was still flickering in and out along the walls, but so far no murders had come crawling out of them. Tuss guessed that perhaps half of the hatchlings had pushed through and made their Impressions, though that would not protect them from arrows or disgusting intentions.

Tusk started bucking and leaping in short circles on the path ahead. She did not yell a tell-tale Find! or make any other impressions of discovery, and he hoped her training had not lapsed under the harsh light of day. But when he reached her, she paused and bobbed her head engagingly at him.

Sister, the green proclaimed, and charged the air in front of Tuss, stopping just off his leg with a hop so acute it turned her entire serpentine body all the way around.

Is your sister a rabbit? he wondered, and Tusk's wedge head folded upside-down to gape a huge hiss at him. Tussbuul's eyebrows rose. Can you feel if Tius snagged one? He would be a...wisely-aged addition. Tusk closed her jaws, twisting her head back over her shoulder to regard her handler in a more rightside-up way. She cocked her head, forked tongue swimming in and out of her mouth at regular, silent intervals. Tuss bent down and rubbed at his sore leg in the absence of a revelation. Tusk started to turn back around toward him, but he gave her a mental brush. Go on. This is not the place to forget your eyes and ears.

Ears, Tusk repeated softly, shaking her head as she resumed the patrol. Tuss had explained to her once that ears were not the same as headknobs, but any attempts to show her actual ear-gaps to her in a mirror had resulted in a lot of hissing and broken glass.

[Kiran]

Kira watched as the brown nudged various candidates into order, passing by her and going back to the end of the cavern. Not for her, of course, that would have been highly unlikely. The burgundy came close, but instead of her he went for the girl who lay there in the sand, crying over the blood that lay spilt there. She was glad those two Impressed. Two more off the sands.

Her eye was caught by a happy, cheerful pink that spilled out of its egg. A smile touched her lips. That was nice, and she urged on her blue brother to go along with her as well. They came forward towards the candidates. Straight forward. Kira didn't let herself get too excited. After all, a few had nudged or touched her before, but none had been hers. They went around Inanna beside her... Or, at least, the pink did.

Tauth knew where to find you, KiraMine. I'm tired. Let us eat, and then take a long nap. The voice was quiet in her head, a placid tone that was unfamiliar but so right at the same time. She looked at the blue and was caught by his beautiful eyes. A grin lit up her face.

"Yes, Tauth, let's get you something to eat." She whispered it quietly, leading him off and towards the feeding area for the dragonets. She cast a look over towards Lili, feeling happy but guilty at the same time.

Hers will come, Tauth supplied helpfully, but he would say no more on the matter. Kira sighed softly, feeding him as she waited for the rest of the hatching to finish. She had to admit, now that Tauth was here with her and she no longer had to wait for more eggs to hatch, she was feeling rather exhausted. It was into the evening and a girl was dead, and she had a dragon. At long last.

Kira glanced up at the stands and gave a wave at her father and sister, as looked for Z'dyn. However, the iron rider was nowhere to be found. Her expression fell, but Kira kept her spirits up. She would introduce Tauth to them soon, she hoped. As well as to Lili. And Lili's to hers. Soon enough.
------
Jafari moved into place with a bit of nudging. His eyes stayed pretty fixed on the wher eggs, though. Even if he was moved he didn't want to go too far away from them. After all, his wher was there. Right? Right?! He was determined that it was, so complied with whatever the dragon wanted, not wanting to tick off the gray wher or get sent off the sands like the idiot girl.
------
Imber moved, not particularly worried when the dragons and whers passed her by. She either would or wouldn't Impress. She was still quite young, after all, and had her whole life ahead of her. ... Or maybe she didn't. It would be fine either way.

[Zephyr]

((Tags
Ranthian; Norilana/Joshu/Lanorun/Ondine
Addy; NO ONE/DRAGONS
Kai; Ghols/Sandr
Mouse; Gennesk/Saosk/Lisk))

Now Nori had two healers tending to her, and Ranthian let out a little sigh of relief as he held the girl out far enough that they could take care of her, even though she had a death grip around his neck. It was lucky for him that letting her go wasn’t really even an option for him, and he didn’t understand where she’d gotten the idea that he was going to leave her, because if it were up to him, he’d be at her bedside all night long.

He paid attention to nothing else as they made their way to the healers. The trip seemed short and the longest walk of his life, but he was aware of nothing on their way as they moved, not even the hatchlings caught his attention, and before he knew it, they were there and Nori was joking again. He laughed, visibly relaxed when he kissed her temple this time. They were at the healers and she was being taken care of, and he could breathe again.

Funny. He hadn’t been aware of holding his breath in.

Ranthian jumped a bit when he felt someone touch his shoulder, and he looked around into Joshu’s eyes, a little surprised to see his older brother…and the thin green beast at his side. It took a second of staring, until comprehension set in and the biggest grin, giddy from hysterical relief spread over his face. It might not have been the one of their siblings he thought would impress, but at least someone had impressed, and even though Jossk was going to keep them at the weyr…he was so happy.

At Joshu’s words, Ranthian glanced over at Ondine a little sheepishly. He hadn’t even bothered asking permission to stay, not that he’d take no for an answer now, because he was here as long as Nori was…even if a part of him was tempted to hand her off to Joshu and sneak out, because his older brother was a hundred different things that Ranthian was not. Joshu was better than him in so many ways. Better for Nori, better at taking care of the family, better at everything, and she loved him, which was good. It was good that she was clinging to his neck so tightly.

Then she spoke and he smiled down at her, the quick of his lip and set of his eyes so, so weary from exhaustion and blood loss. “Yeah.” His voice was full of adoration and equal parts admiration at her spunk. “And guess what? He’s impressed.” He didn’t know if Nori could see Joshu’s little green other half, but he couldn’t help himself. Anything to give Nori something to hold on for. “A little green wher, and she’s gorgeous.”

Their family was complete when Lanorun made his way over and Ranthian stared at him for a while. He seemed distressed…which was different from the usual disgruntlement he had all the time. The youngest boy didn’t know what he could do to make things better, but he smiled tiredly at him, nudging Norilana lightly. “And Lanorun’s here too. We’re all here for you Nori.” He wanted to break down, wanted to just let the fear and pain and exhaustion topple him to the sands, but he stood tall and strong for the girl in his arms.

Then he blinked as the brown hatchling walked right up to them, locked eyes with Lanorun and…impressed? Wasn’t he too old? He wasn’t even a dragon candidate…he didn’t even care! There was a little part of Ranthian that was jealous and bitter, but it was overwhelmed with happiness for his brother and sleepy relief that it seemed Nori was going to be okay. “Lanorun impressed too, Nori…the big strong brown.” He kept his voice even for his sister, even if she had thought he’d impress a brown. It seemed he was destined to be the failure of the brothers…not that it mattered if he’d kept Nori safe. “What’s his name, Lanorun?"

And he shifted his attention to Ondine as he'd been holding Norilana out for care. "Tell me what you need me to do." He told her, his voice strong and even.

There'd be time for breaking down when he was alone.

---

She was trying to be strong, trying to pretend the pain from her broken hand wasn’t overwhelming as she faced the eggs, trying to pretend that she was okay with the pain and death around her when the slinking hatchling at the back of the nest made itself known and it was a…really, really small red? Then Callistath corrected her and she was left staring at the little burgundy, even as it went and impressed. She was concentrating on him so much, that she hadn’t noticed the other burgundy until it was ramming into her.

“Shards.” Addy hissed, doubling over as the burgundy backed away. She forgot about the pain in her hand and pressed it against her stomach, eyes clenched shut. She hadn’t heard any bones break, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she’d cracked a rib or five. The collision put her off balance and she fell, barely catching herself with her hands and giving a little yowl of pain.

This time she considered not getting up, but the sand was hot and she was sweating and bloody. So, doggedly, she grunted and got back to her feet, her hair having half fallen and framing her face. She stood in time to see more impressions occur. Good. Maybe now the hatchlings would hurry up so she could get her hand checked on and go to sleep for about forever.

---

K’ius just stared at Ghols, brow raised and an exaggerated sigh on his lips. He’d offended her. Of course he had. He gave a grumbly growl, attention snapping to the hatching eggs. Better than continuing to piss the girl off. “Sorry, then.” Faranth, she was sensitive. He snorted at her words. “That supposed to be a jab?” He follows the motion of her hand and blinks up at Sho lying beneath the sleeping tan, quite content with his position and rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t mean she’s any better than Sho. He happens to like it there, and…” He stopped mid sentence with a blush…because he was about to mention that Shobhaith had a giant ass crush on the prim pink…and he didn’t think Ghols needed to know such a thing.

Faranth, when the weyrlings started to rise, his life was going to go to hell.

Kai blinked stupidly at the man Ghols was talking about. What the hell was she getting at. “He’s okay, I guess…” Then it dawned on him and the purplerider groaned. “I am not going to gossip with you about how cute boys are, I’m not into…” Then he tapered off with another fierce blush and just sighed…deciding that he should stop there because he was just digging himself in deeper.

Then, his entire body went rigid, gaze coming to attention as Sandr was suddenly knocked over, and there was no way he could have heard the other kid’s nose break, but he swore he could. Brown eyes darkened, and his fingers flexed dangerously where they were wrapped around the bar. His entire being was taut as a rubber band as he saw blood…on the sands…Aleksandr’s blood.

Then Shobhaith was in his head, and Kai thought the dragon was too busy being a mattress to notice, but he had, his presence tight and clinging to their bond. Stay where you are. He’s not too badly injured. Don’t get yourself in trouble! K’ius wavered, his body rigid, hovering on the edge of indecision. He felt so helpless…and he didn’t like feeling this way.

The boy tightened his jaw and leaned forward as hatchlings played around Sandr…he was fine…he was fine.

---

Mouse was still clinging to Saosk when Gennesk spoke up. She blinked at the brown wher, her face scrunched in confusion. Remember? How would that help? The child was genuinely confused. Remembering the torn and broken candidates help them. The little girl frowned, settling back down against Gennesk while she clung to Saosk, like she was afraid he’d leave if she let go.

When Lisk spoke, Mouse looked over, giggling softly. Lisk was smaller than Saosk right now, but the girl didn’t mention that to the hatchling green, because she was sure that it would cause another fight. Instead, she reached out to pet the little wheret, kissing Lisk on the nose even as Saosk spoke. She shook her head. Don’t wanna. The black wher’s calming wave was making her feel marginally better. Wanna see the babiesss. Saosk can leave though, if you’re scared. Her words were only for Saosk, even if she didn’t have the mental restraint that the whers had.

The little girl kissed him between the eyes, thrilled at the prospect of gliding with Saosk.

[RhiaBlack]

Z'dyn had it. He had never tolerated aggression well, and to have it almost oozing out of someone he cared about was the last straw. Displacing Nara, he simply rose. Without so much as a word, Baihujinth caught the gesture from His, and the huge Iron shifted, dropping down briefly before he betweened and appeared outside to meet his bonded.

Jyderin tried to be stern with his son, but Z'dyn wouldn't hear it. The Ironrider's hands worked against themselves as he slid without a verbal response from the Stands, and from the hatching cavern. Bai was outside to meet him, and wordlessly, he climbed aboard.

::Where are we going, MineOwn?::
::Somewhere where I ain't gotta worry about wherry-squalkin'. Had 'bout 'nough'a that.::
::You should tell her she is far more personable when her mouth is clo--::
::Don't make me park yer metal ass't th'weyr an' go fer a walk by m'self. Not hearin' nothin' else. Shut it.::
::Yes, MineOwn.::
::Don't wanna hear nothin' from Simhath either.::

Bai exhaled, winging back up into the skies overhead and setting course for a reasonably lengthy flight. It was quite possibly the only thing that served to ease His' temper.

Sadly, Z'dyn had missed Kira's Impression.

Down on the Sands, Lili spotted Kira leaving - with her new Blue. There was a pang of sadness, but it was quickly drowned out by resolve and happiness. Well, at least one of her friends had Dragons now. Now it was time to see Sora and Seidon follow her.

The numbers of eggs, like the numbers of Candidates, were dwindling. Lili did a quick count, from what she'd seen. Eleven Dragonets or eggs left on one side, three - no, five? - on the Wher side. Once those three passed, there would be even less Candidates.

She was beginning to lose hope that there was anything there for her at all. Swallowing, she blinked away the tears from her eyes. No. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't lose any sort of hope, her father wouldn't have accepted that. She refused to believe that she'd spent so many Turns here for nothing.

Lili exhaled softly. Eleven, and three. She didn't really want a Wher - she was here for Dragons, and eleven was still a pretty good number, wasn't it? Her eyes shifted from the eggs to scan the Candidates still left on the sands. Some of them were Wher, she knew, but some of them had come not caring what they got. Some of them were young enough for both, and on that regard, she set her jaw and swallowed. There had to be something close to twenty still left. That meant that regardless of what happened, if all of them Impressed, then there would still be more than six going back to the Barracks empty-handed.

In the back of her mind, Lili was starting to try and make peace with the fact that she was probably going to be one of them.

[Raining]

Knocked over twice, and his nose broken. His luck, while embarrassing, was marginally better than others. Especially Garna's luck -- and he thought he had the obnoxious mouth. He knew he was okay, but his mind said so otherwise... hands and arms trembling stupidly but his heart beat slowed back down a bit. If it was racing still, it was because of his nerves.

The brown moved around the candidates, and then he never saw him again -- impressed probably? Another burgundy impressed behind him, confirmed with a glance over his shoulder.

Then... there was a pink. He was beginning to wonder when he'd see one of those, she was... interesting -- sort of adorable, but he won't say that out loud. After the blue moved to impressed, he watched as she strut around the front... and he among a couple of others couldn't keep a small amused smile from his face. It distracted him, which is all he wanted right now.

Then a black hatched.. blackish. He ducked around Sandr, and blue eyes watched curiously tinged with wariness. A quick glance was all he needed to confirm what the black was doing. Aleksandr didn't particularly want to see the green double back over here. She was crazy, and had a mean stomp. His eyes glanced from the black that doubled back to the pink still up front.

Everything was fine for now. The iron and the tiny wher looked as if they were trying to keep things... organized. Hopefully safe was on that list too. But he wouldn't bet any marks on that.

[Rii]

She had to make those jokes. She had to, because when she stopped all that she could think of was how much it hurt and that other voice, the girl voice that had made Ranthian so angry, what if that voice was right and she’d be like the other girl on the sands. That was too scary to think about for too long, and so she grabbed at the slender straws of humor that she had. Except that thinking of new jokes was getting too hard - everything was kind of fuzzy around the edges, even her thoughts - so Nori gave up after the second one to just listen to Ranthian.

“He did? A green?” Nori turned her head to look and gulped, her arms momentarily tightening in the slowly-easing death grip she had on her brother; when her head turned, she thought that the whole Hatching Grounds turned with her, and surely she’d fall. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed the spinny feeling to go away. The spinny feeling wasn’t listening at all. How unfair of it. “What’s her name? Want t’meet her later,” she whispered, returning her head to resting against Ran’s chest and upper arm at the price of the room doing another loop around her.

The announcement that not only was Lanorun also there, but had Impressed a dragon, the brown they’d watched together, made her giggle. “Oh, good,” she breathed. “Now he has t’stay.” That was important, wasn’t it? Lanorun was the least likely of any of them to want to stay, the most likely to just walk away from all of this. A dragon would keep him here at least for a couple… couple more… somethings. “Meet him… too. Next yours’ll be here askin’ what ye’re doing. Knew ye all was special.” Nori’s eyes closed. She was really kind of tired, but Ranthian had insisted she stay awake for some reason and if it would make him happy, she’d try. “What’s his name? An’ Lanor’n’s? Has t’be shortened, right?” Just keep talking. Just… keep talking.

***

Sora wouldn’t admit it to anyone else - she’d hardly admit it to herself - but she was starting to get worried.

Not for herself. No, she had another five Turns of this ahead of her, assuming she decided after this blood-drenched Hatching that she wanted to continue facing this… oh, who was she kidding, she’d never give up the opportunity until someone or something forced her. And her concept of her own value was still fairly low, even after Jyderin’s work to convince her she was at least worthy of living. She could resign herself to no dragons finding her worth bonding to, this time or any other time, even if she hoped for it as she hoped for nothing else for herself.

Sora was worried about Lilianai. She snuck a look over her shoulder at the older girl. This was her friend’s last hatching, she’d said so when she’d met her. And Lili - being the person she was - was perfect for a dragon, in Sora’s somewhat biased opinion, since Lili was one of the few people she actually liked rather than tolerated. Friendly without being irritatingly rambunctious, intelligent, and patient… well, she had to be patient, to put up with Sora’s prickly nature… and protective, she’d observed all of that in the girl that she’d hesitantly call a friend. She didn’t want Lili to walk off of the sands empty-handed. It wouldn’t be fair.

Of course, life isn’t fair, as a general sort of thing. She stifled a sigh, and turned her eyes back to the front. All they could do was wait.


[tags: Ranthian, Joshu, Lanorun, healers; semi-Lilianai.]

[Dragonwher]

(Tags: Makkoi/Makkosk again sort of, Dardranel and Lyrnn/Lyrsk plus small mention of Naras )

Randiel, while waiting for the healer to resume patching him up; looked over at Dardranel's words "The new Brown Wherling?" Randi supplied to Dardranel. Then his voice keeping calm, smiled at her congratulations "same to you...Dardranel right?, what'd your new bonded name himself? this one called himself Rask". As he spoke he continued passing fish pieces to Rask, the bucket nearing empty till there were only bones in the bucket. Then he had to lift the bucket away when Rask tried to destroy the receptacle for not having more food "Rask, Shard it don't break things". Rask made a sort of gruff growl noise as he responded Rask still hungry, empty bucket make angry.

Randiel glowered at Rask for a bit; boy was this wheret going to try his patience, then looked first at Makkoi "if you want you can help Dardranel before finishing up with me Sir. Meanwhile I'll deal with Rask fully before he decides he needs to smash anything else up, if I feed him till drowsy then you'll have an easier time patching me up after all". After speaking to Makkoi he looked at Lyrnn again "is there any spare buckets of meat or fish sir?, Rask is still hungry and he's eaten this bucket of fish to the bones". As he spoke in turn to Lyrnn; Randi tried to hold the empty bucket up higher than Rask could hopefully reach. Then again Randi had no idea if his bondmate could leap for it.

Rask wasn't trying to leap for it, but he did nearly make it into Randi's lap to try and climb for it once before Randi put him on the ground like he was some common pup. So until Randi got a new bucket of food the brown wheret was perched on the ground beneath the upheld empty trying to think of the best way to get at the imperfect thing. It failed to register that Rask irrationally thought a bucket with food in it was perfect; but a bucket without it was imperfect and in need of destruction. Randi did sort of doubletake once the Master Harper Naras approached with one of Rask's siblings however. But he simply quieted figuring Lyrnn would get to him and Rask when he got a breath in edgewise. Of course through Rask's fuss Randi failed to consider Makkosk or Lyrnn's own wher might try to take Rask down a peg for being a snot.

(Mira and Randi's folks will pop in next post same with Mira/Malinoth)

[Kestrel]

Artolan liked to think he was getting used to the various ups and downs of a hatching. He had been through two already, after all, and in his mind that was more than enough to justify feeling superior and worldly compared to the other candidates. But this hatching seemed determined to laugh at such an idea, pushing back at him with so much drama and bloodshed that he was left feeling dizzy, nauseous, and wondering if everyone else felt as scared and weak as he did.

And he hadn’t even been injured. Well, not compared to the bleeding masses all around him, at least. Sure, he had not appreciated it when the cyan barreled right past him, knocking him right over to strike his back against the sand, but the sand was soft enough, and mostly he had just been relieved that it wasn’t worse. He had seen what the cyan was capable of, and if she had nearly killed others for no apparent reason, he had little doubt that she would do the same to him without hesitation. Still, he had suppressed a few choice swear words as he got back to his feet, mostly because it helped calm his nerves from the combined terror at the cyan’s approach and the suddenness of being knocked to the ground.

And things had only gotten worse from there. He had not been ready to see another candidate die on the sands—not that he was sure he could ever be ready for such a thing—but though he didn’t know Orkia well, the sickening smell of blood, the screams, and the pall that swept through those remaining couldn’t help but remind him of D’ren’s death, as well. Compared to the carnage at this hatching and Couineth’s, Wenth’s hatching had given him some hope that maybe not all hatchings were so bad—maybe such violence was an anomaly. But if this hatching was any indication, it was the peaceful hatching that was the true anomaly.

Artolan wasn’t sure how much longer he could deal with it all. Part of him was surprised he was even still here, after the tragedies at Couineth’s hatching, but despite the danger, he just couldn’t bring himself to give up on standing for dragons. He couldn’t go back to the healerhall, not now, and nor could he go back to his home hold, a failure both at his craft and at dragon candidacy. Change was never something that came easy for him, and he couldn’t bring himself to start over yet again—one way or another, his future was at Dalibor now. And even if that meant he had to withstand so many horrors, somehow, he would find a way to deal with it. If he couldn’t, he would surely not be any good as a dragonrider anyway.

So he steeled himself, doing his best to remain in his spot, even when he was knocked down yet again by a passing green. All he had to do was just stay where he was, and wait for it to be over—either by impression or by all the dragons and whers making their decisions. The hatching was, at least, not without its good points—he had frowned at the dark, reddish dragons—too large to be off-color blacks, too small to be reds or browns—but still, he had not really believed they were truly a new mutation until gold Callistath confirmed it herself. Despite all the death and injuries, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited—as someone who studied mutations, albeit in vtols, there was little more exciting to him than witnessing the first appearance of an entirely new one. Especially in a creature so large and important as a dragon. That was, after all, part of what had intrigued him about Dalibor in the first place—whers, dragons, and firelizards lived side by side, surely related but so strangely and inexplicably different. And nowhere was the gradual change in all three species so apparent as in Dalibor, where mutations seemed to surface first. Still, he hadn’t thought he would be so lucky as to see the first dragons of a new color emerge from their eggs, so he let the excitement of the moment distract him from the fear for a while, a welcome reprieve.

[turkoizdog]

Just when they thought things were getting better, a girl had fainted, and more candidates has been mauled. Not that it was the same as the undeserved slashing of the candidates who hadn't even done anything -- all clumsiness, aside from Garna, who more or less deserved what she got, at least more than the other mauled candidates did. In fact, the burgundy's actions had saved her from the wrath of the gold, so in a way, she was lucky.

Zynn noted the brown, who had previously been sitting up at the front peacefully, approached the iron and gray, head bowed. It was like the two were gathering followers, a group that would organize everyone neatly. He wondered if the black wher, or either of the unhatched whers, would join, since the gray wher seemed to be the only one thus far.

As the brown weaved through the rows, helping candidates up and shoving them lightly into straighter, more organized rows, Zynn found himself glad that his row was satisfactory, and glad that the brown was taking the trouble to do this in the first place. The iron and gray didn't look entirely satisfied with the reorganization, but once the brown impressed, he figured they may just have the burgundy finish with the reorganization. There were still large gaps in the candidates, and places where they weren't quite straight.

Meanwhile, Zynn had noticed out of the corner of his eye, the pink. She was very cute, and her enthusiasm and insistence to bond with her blue brother reminded him of his relationship with his sister. He gave a sad smile. The pink, it seemed, was urging the blue to impress, while the blue just sort of wanted to take a nap. Eventually, though, the prodding got to him, and he walked over to the candidates, and quickly impressed. It seemed the blue knew all along which one was his. The satisfied pink rushed to the front, dancing around and showing off. She was rather cute, and she knew it. Zynn looked around at the other candidates' reactions. Well, at least she had brought smiles to a few faces.

[Digitalis]

Phaenna may have been in the back of the crowd, but even she could hear the outraged rant from one of the candidates. Her eyes widened. Who said something like that, and right in front of the clutchmother as well? She didn't like violence, but even she would have to admit she'd be surprised if the queen dragon didn't boot her right out of the sands, forcefully. In a move that was probably fortunate for everyone involved, particularly Garna, it wasn't Callistath that took care of the girl's punishment, but one of the dragons. Specifically, the dark dragonet that pulled itself out of the shadows and revealed itself to be a burgundy.

It was hard to miss the dragon and candidates, considering he was literally pushing her through the rows of people back to the stands. It was abundantly clear that for Garna, candidacy was over, and not because of an Impression. She only felt a little sad for the other girl; it had been some very foolish things she'd said. She watched the burgundy a little longer, wondering who he would Impress, and blinked as she locked eyes with the black wher. He'd been over by the healers earlier, but now perhaps he was ready to find his own bond. He didn't pause by Phaenna for long, but continued on down the line of candidates, inspecting them carefully. For all that he was ostensibly looking for his handler, he didn't seem to have found him or her, though; the black had made it back to the front of the crowd again.

There was still the burgundy dragon looking--both burgundies, actually, as there were two unbonded on the sands, as well as the pale blue wher who had yet to Impress. It was in fact the blue who Impressed first; he leaped up into the stands, only stopping at the feet of a man who was, presumably, his soon-to-be handler.

And there went the black wher again, searching through the candidates. Phaenna's attention was drawn away from him when the next eggs hatched into a huge green wheret, one who seemed easily confused. Once again, Phaenna counted herself lucky for having stayed in the back of the crowd, as the green went crashing into one of the candidates, before recovering and promptly staggering into the next one as well. She didn't seem malicious, though, only...clumsy.

The next event to draw Phaenna's gaze was the brown dragonet stepping forward. He approached the iron and gray wheret first, holding a private conversation with the two, and then it seemed he was ready to go to the candidates and find his rider. First he tried to nudge them into a proper order, though, and Phaenna watched him, perplexed. He didn't exactly approach her though; after the brown had gotten to the back row of candidates, he went straight past the ones standing there and Impressed one of the men with the injured candidates.

One of the burgundies was next, pushing the candidates around and ruining all of his brother's hard work. He was quite a bit rougher than the brown, though, and there were a few more injuries among the candidates as a result. Eventually, he Impressed as well as well, leaving just one burgundy unImpressed now, along with the iron, blue, and the whers.

Of course, as soon as she thought that, another egg cracked, and there was the first pink of the clutch. She was a dark one, and happy as well; or at least, she wanted others to be happy. She started with her blue brother, and accompanied him to the candidates, at least until they came to Kira. The blue stopped, and when it became clear that her roommate had Impressed, Phaenna smiled. Good for her!

The pink went on to dance in front of the candidates, and Phaenna was surprised to find she was actually grinning at the pink's antics. That was certainly a fun dragon, and she seemed nice as well. It was good to know some of the hatchlings weren't so cold and bloodthirsty.

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

When Garna started shouting, Tamren rolled his eyes. Now there was a candidate who deserved to get mauled. He wouldn't have blamed the hatchlings if they decided to go after her, insulting dragons and their riders like that. and indeed, one of the burgundies took it upon himself to "escort" the soon-to-be ex-candidate off the sands. He stared at the burgundy, still mildly interested in its color, but neither it nor the black wher searching the candidates came in his direction. There was the blue as well, and though he'd been on the sands a while, he finally seemed to get tired of fooling around and went to retrieve his handler from the stands.

The shattering of Kalesk's orange egg drew Tamren's attention, and he saw a massive green wher rushing away from the shards of her egg. Then she stopped suddenly, blinking and looking confused, as though she'd suddenly forgotten where she was. O...kay...

She rushed around for a bit, colliding with a blue dragonet in the process, and then the green changed directions, barreling toward the candidates. Tamren looked down in alarm as she smashed into the candidate in front of him, breaking the boy's nose with her paw, and before he could react, she was crashing into him as well. She had lost some of her speed, fortunately, and while she collided with his shins and nearly knocked Tamren over, he managed to retain his balance. The green stared up at him, and Tamren stared back in alarm. "Oh, no you don't. Don't go Impressing me, now--I'm strictly a dragon candidate, not for whers. Shoo." Likely, if she hadn't already started talking in his head, she wasn't planning to Impress him anyway, but Tamren didn't care. The iron was right there, and he wasn't taking any chances.

In fact, he was distracted enough by the green that he hadn't noticed what had been going on with the dragons. The brown had finally moved to look for his rider--and it figured that it was right when Tamren was distracted and he had already passed him--and while the brown was Impressing one of the people in the back, a black dragonet was escaping from an egg and stalking over to them, hiding behind the unfortunate Sandr. The green was apparently oblivious to the black as he reached over to tap her shoulder with his tail, before dashing back to his hiding spot.

[Reky]

Outwardly, Inrahim was calm and still. Inward, he was trying to be, but it was difficult for him. Sometimes, he though he could feel a hatchling's mind passing through his, but he wasn't sure if it was true or if he was imagining it. He couldn't remember what it had felt like when whers used to brush his mind when he was a boy - whether it was even perceptible at all. He was anxious, guilty, and felt out of place and useless. There was only so much his measured breathing could do.

He saw the Burgundy approach him; drag its claw in the sand. The dragon, who rose nearly to his hip, had more than force enough to bring him to the ground, and he wondered if he had seen it coming. On the ground, panicked, he thought to himself, I knew it, but if he had, he hadn't brace himself. His arms flew up to protect his face, but the dragonet latched onto the foremost one, the left, and bit hard. Inrahim's back arced. He felt the bones breaking and groaned between his clenched teeth. Pain lanced through him; it settled searing in his arm, and the dragon released him, and licked the wound.

Inrahim moaned pitifully. The dragon's tongue stung the new wounds. The act in itself was strange, like the dragon thought the injury was a good thing, and when it left, Inrahim laid in pain with his broken arm clutched to his chest. A good thing, he wondered, and the thought made him feel sick, like somehow he knew that the dragon thought he deserved it and agreed.

He looked at Quellyn. Inrahim's eyes were glossy with a film of tears from the hurt. He felt awful, low, and sad on the ground. Broken bones shouldn't have kept him from standing, and so, carefully, he rose. A few wrong move made him bite back small cries of pain, but he made it, and stood tall, but kept his arm clutched tight. He'd seek attention for it later.

---

Then, Gabrith passed by Joni, Braele, Imber, and Kiaja, and finally came to Risny. Oh, RisnyLove, Gabrith thinks you are just wonderful.

[/i] He hit her with his tail. Wonderfully awful. But don't you worry. I can fix you, along with everyone else.

Risny's throat, for a moment, closed up. All of sudden, she felt so many things. She was frustrated, at Gabrith having walked right by her first; for messing with her like that. She was mad that he took so long. She was mad that he hurt all those people, even though she hadn't been watching him do it. She was also mad that he was so rude already - he had insulted her! But somewhere below all that, and perhaps the most concerning of the emotions, she felt that she loved him very deeply. Like she had known him forever. Mostly, though, she almost felt like she had gotten the wrong dragon. She looked at him and pursed her lips.

"Excuse me?" she said, and then gasped a little and realized she didn't need to talk out loud anymore. I'm not awful. You're awful.

Oh, but you've just proven my point, RisnyLove. You're the worst. You're mad at me already. I'm your dragon! I know what you need.[/i] Self-righteously, he paused. I know what everyone needs.

Broken arms? she demanded.

Yes. Broken arms and bites and bruises. He needed it very much, you know. Repentence, he explained. I was helping them. I'm helping you. See, you're stupid too, but I'll fix that, like I said. Eventually you'll understand, Love. Oh, you're just awful, aren't you? Your face is red. Calm down, don't be angry. It's alright that you don't get it! That's why I'm here - because no one ever knows how bad they are. I can help them be good. He butted his nose against her leg, knocking a fresh cut and bruise from the wher battle she'd played placemat for. She winced and yelled at him.

Smug at her reaction, he walked by her, hooking her ankle with his tail and batting her with his wing. Come now, RisnyLove, he said, and with eyes twinged orange with newborn hunger, he took her with him to the feeding buckets.

Gabrith, as if he were high above K'var's comments, ate and ignored him. Risny listened, but she wasn't quite sure what to say back. Part of her felt like he was mocking Gabrith even if he wasn't, and she wanted to call him on that - but part of her thought Gabrith deserved it. He was weird even if he wasn't a new colour. She frowned a little and, dissatisfied with K'var's congratulation-condolence, was quiet for now, except for a little yelp when she moved odd and felt her bruises again.[/size][/blockquote]

[Ondine]

Seeing a new mutation, the first one across all of Pern, was shocking enough. Lyrnn reeled silently at the sight of the new color, and Callistath's announcement. Burgundy? Shaking his head, he was going to pack all of that wonder up for later when...one of the candidates made the worst possible mistake and exploded into a rant that had the Wherlingmaster turning to look at her with no small amount of horror. His eyes flicked to the dragon Queen uncurling from her nest, and knew that there was no way the girl, whoever she was, was getting out of here without injury.

He was right, just wrong about the source. One of the new Burgundies took exception to the insult and shattered her leg, but to be honest, Lyrnn couldn't find much sympathy in his heart about it. She'd brought that on herself, and she wasn't standing for any dragon anymore. Not with a broken leg like that. Plus, the Candidatemasters would have more than a few words with her, but he couldn't see her staying with the program with that sort of attitude and the injury. He shook his head and turned to the bonded of Rask. “Of course we do. If he ate all the fish, I'll get you a bucket of meat this time. Give me...a minute.” The pause came from the approaching Naras and Narask. Master Harper, if he wasn't mistaken. Well, it was hardly the first time he'd ever taught a Master craftsman how to be a Wherhandler. “Welcome then. Take a bucket of meat and feed him. After he falls asleep, almost guaranteed, just stay here until everyone's impressed. I'll speak then to the class as a whole, or as whole as we're gonna get anyway.”

Glancing over at K'var as the Weyrlingmaster spoke to him, he gave a smile halfway between grin and grimace. “Isn't that my line? Good luck with the new ones.” Fetching a bucket of meat for the destructive brown, he handed off the pail filled with herdbeast meat to the human. Poor guy would have a lot on his hands, but they'd get through this alright. They all would, because they had to, and because Lyrnn wouldn't give up on them until they gave up on themselves. But the guy had had questions earlier, and now he was finally able to handle them. He plopped down on his haunches and eyed the big brown before he looked his new student in the eyes, “I'll be honest, ask Audren. She's the Alphahandler, and Ausk is a handful even on the best of days. Damask killed when she hatched, but Damali has...rather changed her. You can ask her as well. If you want someone in your class, talk to Shino. Shinsk may not look it most of the time, but if you make Shino sad, or angry, he turns into a killing machine. Abranna's another one, she only just graduated after failing the first time around.” Then he grinned ever so slightly, “And if he's too stubborn, talk to Cilia.”

Then his grin faded back to a much more serious look, “Every wher is different, and how you need to keep him in line is different than how I keep mine. That's a good start, but if hitting him is the only way to get him to stop at first, I expect you to do so. It's not the best way, but it can work. Damali shoved her entire arm down Damask's throat after she impressed in order to...establish herself, shall we say. That's a red's throat. Violence is bad long term, but it can work up front.” He looked back out across the sands and then back. “Don't worry about bothering me either. It's what I'm here for. I'll be far more frustrated if you need help and don't ask than if you pester me several times a day. Trust me on that one.”

-------

Garund was scared and nervous in the back. He'd been shoved and bit in the back row, saw a person die, legs get broken, and the bloodies hatching of all happening around him. His eyes flicked around a little wildly, flinching away from meeting the gaze of the babies that swarmed the sands around him. A new color aroused momentary excitement, but it was crushed under an avalanche of nerves a moment later. Everyone knew that you had to keep a good mind that was free from anxiety to stand, or else the babies would go wild. Well, he couldn't do it, and the results were all around him. What if this was because of him? If they had been fine were he not torn apart on the inside and feeding off of his emotions?

He looked over at the stands for a moment and the freedom they represented. It was so tempting to go, to leave this madhouse. After this, he resolved, he'd speak to a candidatemaster about everything that was going through his head. He needed to speak to one, to find out if he could really stay here or not, especially given all of the doubts that swirled in his head. He didn't want to leave Dalibor. The people here were nice, he had met other candidates that might become friends one day...and there was so much that he could do here that he couldn't back on the isles. He wanted to sleep with rock over his head, safe from the nightmare of threadfall under the protective blanket of hundreds of dragons and whers. Was he putting all of that at risk? Garund twitched nervously and tried to clear his mind of the panic that had seized it, pushing at it as though he could control it. He had seen death before, but he had never thought that it might be his fault, and that difference was a horrible one to contemplate.

---------

Maal was horrified. Out and out, this was a deadly hatching, with people leaving the sands with injuries left and right. One was dead, and there were still plenty of hatchlings to impress to their bonded. Still...so far, he had come through remarkably unscathed, barring a few scratches here and there (or so he thought). Sure, it was painful, but this was nothing to him. He was more concerned about the people around him that he couldn't help. He didn't know how to be a healer, he couldn't assist them as they took others off the sands and stitched them up. Besides, they'd just look at him like he was only a child.

He stumbled when the brown nudged him to the side, making sure that the line was straightened up. Obsessed with an orderly line of candidates? Well that was a strange thing to do in the middle of all of this, but at least they could stay away from where the sands had been touched with death. But Burgundies! Oh yes, he could see himself impressing here and now to one of the new males, see how perfect their hides were? One approached and his eyes shone with hope. Surely this dragonet could see how perfectly they might match? Or was this one not the one for him? No matter how much Maal wanted after all, if it wasn't the other part of his soul, it wouldn't happen.

So of course the dragonet slammed Draolor into him, knocking the young boy to the ground. Stumbling back to his feet, he assisted the other candidate up as well, “Whoa! Careful. Oh no you're bleeding! Here, lean on me for a while, take the weight off the one most injured,” Maal offered instantly, trying to steady the boy as much as he could. If nothing else, he could ease the pain of his fellow candidates until Theirs or His arrived. Nothing would go wrong with that idea, nothing at all.

[Maggie]

Idra looked around the blood-soaked sands. Her sister and cousin had moved away to the feeding area with their dragons. She was surrounded, still, by the injured and murderous wherets and dragons who seemed to be examining everyone. Positive thoughts might keep her safe. She looked away from the dragon and towards her sister, soothing herself with the thought that whatever happened, Davavlla was safe. And being the sister of a dragonrider might have some advantages. Already she had started scheming. If she could not have a dragon of her own, she might use Davalla's position to become known to more dragonriders and to make herself important.

***

"Oh for Faranth's sake!" G'lin scowled down at the sands. "She'd had better not be allowed to stand again after an outburst like that. She'd have been well served if Kalesk hd eaten her."

He shook his head. "Looks like Letorin's one of the only ones who hasn't been mauled yet," he remarked. "That'll make Gennesk happy. He always says that Delicious is not for bite." He gave Iola another tentative smile. "Sorry. I'm just finding this... difficult."

***

Good. Baby Lisk is be for learn too, Gennesk praised. It was good to praise babies when they actually showed some improvement. He nuzzled Mouse gently. Remember is honour. Is be for make not-dead in hearts. he explained to her. He sent her vivid, living memories that he had of certain Candidates he did remember or that Genner did.

He gave Saosk a long, searching look. He didn't trust gliding. Of course, he had tiny, stubby little proto-wings that were slightly mangled, so he had never been all that good at gliding. Saosk might be better at it. Saosk is for bring Mini-Mouse glide with Mini-Ana, he decided. Saosk is not be for Saosk hurt. It was true. As big as Saosk's wings were, he was still a baby and Gennesk wasn't sure that Saosk could glide with Mouse on his back without hurting himself. He could try and bully Anablimyth or Chyurath into supervising, though.

Genner left his post in the stants, going to find his wher. With all the blood and stress, he could feel the brown's worry. "Hello, Mousey," he said softly. "Do you want to come up higher in the stands with me? Your wher-friends may come as well."


((CHARACTER MOVEMENT. GENNER -> A little lower in the stands to join Mouse))

[Cathaline]

Although it was impossible for anyone to tell, all was not completely well in the confluence of minds. The gray wher was pleased with Mattoth's actions, but uncomfortable with the violence he could still see on the sands. The burgundy who was following his orders wasn't so bad...mostly...but the others were acting up. There was still pain and blood on these sands, and the conclave was beginning to seem more like a social outing than a judge's table.

Not acceptable.

The gray wher indicated he was ready to be put down, and once the iron dragon had lowered him to the sands, he trotted over to the burgundy's paw and gave him a gentle nudge. Time to go, buddy. The burgundy gave a questioning chirp, and looked uneasily at his iron brother. If the meeting was breaking up, he did not know whose orders to follow. Not that he couldn't make decisions by himself - of course he could - but he had in a short time become fanatically devoted to the biggest dragon and littlest wher on these sands, apart from Callistath, of course. Mummy had been proud of him for what he did to the troublemaker, and he wanted to keep making her proud, keep doing good things...

The gray wher butted his little head into the burgundy's ankle, and escorted him toward the candidates. He explained, largely patient, The Law. The Law was, you had to Impress, because as the gray understood it, if you did not Impress, Mother Kalesk would come and rip you to bits. Also, the gray confided, humans were not entirely good at being people. They needed whers and dragons to teach them how to be people. They didn't always follow The Law, you see.

Wavering, the burgundy looked out across the sands at Gabrith, baring his teeth. That guy had become even more of a jerk since their last encounter, and this burgundy started after him. The gray wher, regrettably, lost his temper and bit the dragon on the tail with his wee sharp teeth. Wrong! Gabrith had Impressed. He had shared his name and his soul with another, and The Law said he was now untouchable.

The burgundy didn't entirely agree with this law, this law which supposedly said someone could act out and beat up the candidates, ruining them for everybody else, and then get away scot-free by taking one of the few who was worth anything. His eyes followed Risny and Gabrith as they moved away, and then - with unusual gentleness - he turned, stretched a paw back, and removed the little gray from his tail before striding purposefully after them to give his brother a piece of his mind.

Before he could reach them, however, he caught sight of a touching scene being played out near the healers. Family affairs. Well, the burgundy knew all about family affairs, right? Muscling Ondine aside - fortunately while she was not doing anything critical - he stared into Norilana's eyes. She would love him, the burgundy realised. Love him the way nobody else did, except maybe his proud mama. The gray and by proxy the iron certainly did not appreciate him as he'd hoped they would.

Jossk,[/i] he said, his voice rather clipped. And Mattoth. Wherhandlers do not shorten their names; it is, apparently, not The Law. Also, they're not that special. She wanted someone she could browbeat, he doesn't even know who he is, if you ask me. Do you even know who you are?[/i] he demanded of Mattoth. THE LAW says you should have Impressed ages ago, brother. I don't actually know any of these laws, Norilana, my Norilana. All I know is that I will not put up with these shenanigans any longer. If they want to put up with it, that's their problem. You are my problem, and I have a very large problem with all of these people crowding you, and also with you bleeding to death. I will not stand for it, do you hear? Stop it at once. What did you say to me?[/i]

He wheeled to face the gray wher, who had doggedly followed him the entire way across the sands, and accidentally lashed Ranthian's legs with his tail. You cannot possibly be serious. She is a Candidate! She is the only member of this family who has Impressed correctly. What do you mean, the Law says I shouldn't - go away! Go and Impress if you care that much! One of the ones who isn't dying, then, if you please! I do not care if she does. I would follow her anywhere, like I would have followed you if you had not turned out to be utterly insufferable.[/i]

The gray wher flounced off. The burgundy dragon turned back to Norilana and nuzzled her cheek. Noirath,[/i] he finally disclosed. I am Noirath. Tell another joke. I do not promise to laugh.[/i]

Burgundy NOIRATH, Impressed to NORILANA

SPOILER: Click to show

Noirath is a deeply-flawed character, make no mistake. Wrathful and mean, he has no qualms about telling people off, and very little subtlety or natural tact to soften the blow. He often feels trapped or oppressed, and lashes out due to his innate insecurity. The truth is that hardly anyone is persecuting him, but being a critical dragon himself, he naturally assumes that everybody is judging him at all times. Thus, he strives to be the best he can be, though given his military disposition, this often makes him appear tyrannical. He has no real ambition or desire to be a leader, but he is a powerful ally and lackey, fanatically devoted to those he trusts.

On the other side of the coin, however, Noirath is extremely well-suited to the position of wingrider. He is decisive in deed as well as in word; he won’t put up with nonsense or shenanigans, and he believes in order. He’s a good little soldier, disciplined and passionate. Though he will never be brilliant, he is capable of understanding and perhaps even formulating strategies, and he reacts quickly to change (though never without complaint). He is extremely fond of Norilana, although he takes some coaxing to openly share this affection.

Noirath is average-sized for his color, solidly between cyan and green. He is built more for stamina than speed, with strong, firm shoulders and a thick neck. His base color is a deep red, with darker maroon streaks on his legs, sharply delineated. (8B1A1A)

The gray wher was in a foul mood now. Impressing someone who could very well die - it was an utter waste of life. There must be someone else here who would have done for Noirath. Of course, he quickly realised, there was practically no one left who was not injured, some of them quite grotesquely, whether they'd left the sands or not. Most annoyingly, Noirath was right. The gray needed to Impress; it was long past time, and he already knew which of them was his choice. He had known from the moment of his hatching, and the growing hunger matched his growing unease with being alone in his own head. To have order, one must have balance. This was why Impression was The Law.

Meanwhile, the green wher felt a touch on her backside. Briefly, she was fooled into sprinting forward, cannoning into Adelaide's knees. Her teeth may have scratched the girl a little, and then she turned around, blinking dubiously back in the direction of the nests.

And Kahrie.

And the mischievous shadow lurking behind Kahrie.

DANGER!

The muscular green roared a warning to Kahrie to get out of the way, and charged into the black dragonet, colliding with him in a flail of limbs and claws and teeth. Any claw and teeth on her part was accidental, however; she did not seem to realise that she had deadly weapons in her mouth and on the end of each finger. She simply made an extremely enthusiastic attempt to trample him into the ground.

The gray, just about to set off on the long, long journey toward his destined partner, spotted the struggle and drew in a deep breath, puffing out his bitty chest. This would not do. He was just about fed up with everyone losing their minds. Furious, he set off in a loping run in the direction of the brawl.

The black wheret finally finished his perusal of Kiaja and moved on. Risny had just Impressed, and he had looked at Tamren on his way to Hirman for healing, so he moved to the third row. Adelaide, Inanna, Ahburn, Szene, Mleynn, Ksenna - he stopped longer for Ksenna, briefly, examining the flicker of her mind as she fought for consciousness. Then back to Lilianai, Seidon, Idra; Alastrin, Eithne, Caszli...

He stopped in the center of the vast space that Mattoth had not totally succeeded in covering up, and glanced around. Yes, he'd looked at the rest of them as he circled the nest before. He had thoroughly examined every available candidate, and was intimately acquainted with their minds, their hearts, their souls. He glanced up at the sands.

Oh, shards, he wasn't going to go look at every single spectator, was he?

But at last he turned and strolled, unerring, in a way that would have brought a tear of pride to his gray brother's eye if the gray had not been otherwise involved, directly to the candidate he had chosen.

You best, Inrahim,[/i] he said. Is fact. Isk make sure. No listen Gabrith. Is wrong.[/i] For a long while - at least, long in the scheme of things for a just-bonded and extremely hungry baby wher - he was silent, and then he offered, Can touch Isk mind. If want.[/i]

It was perhaps strange for a wher to offer Impression instead of demanding it. If Inrahim didn't want the blood bond, Isk would go away quietly. But it was quite clear, even from the incomplete way he settled into the cracks of Inrahim's grieving soul without the blood needed to seal their pact, that he wasn't going to go find a different person. This was it. Inrahim needed someone to tell him that it would all be okay, and Isk could promise that - if it was true. Always truth. Only truth, and nothing more than the truth.

We find Mister Hirman,[/i] Isk suggested after another pregnant pause. Good heart. Good mind. Good hands for broke bones.[/i]

Black ISK, Impressed to INRAHIM

SPOILER: Click to show

Isk is an extremely serious little wher. He doesn’t understand jokes, metaphors, or anything which is not logical and reality-based. At times this can cause him to seem stupid or dense, but the truth is that he sees things the way they are, without embellishment, without hyperbole, and (if he has his way) without error. He is highly empathetic, and it is often unnerving the way he stares into a person’s soul; he is more likely than most to attempt to have a rummage through somebody’s mind, and he watches carefully to see tics and tells. Locks and bars seem unable to hold Isk, who can often be found in unusual locations, staring. He likes to observe, and has no respect for privacy. He doesn’t really like to get involved in disputes or fights unless he absolutely has to, and may stand at a slight distance to an argument, taking it all in. Frankly, he’s a little spooky. Or a lot. A lot spooky. Isk does not beat around any bushes when it comes to his handler: he knows about Inrahisk and he bears no jealousy or ill will toward those memories, nor would he ever encourage Inrahim to forget about him. Isk is not an emotional creature himself, and may at times become unsettled by the depth of feeling his handler can muster up, but Isk believes in Inrahim and in the things that they can achieve together; he believes it in a silent but fierce way, because it is simple fact, and he loves simple facts as much as he loves Inrahim, poor as he is at expressing it.

Isk is black, and that is it. Not a single natural marking mars his hide, though he will bear three long scars down along his tail from an infanthood assault by his brother. He is small, even for a black. His tail is short and a bit thick; at certain angles and in bad lighting, it may be hard to tell which side of him is the front. (000000)

The cyan egg on the right side of the nest split open, and, accordingly, a cyan toppled out. A gentle, pale shade, markings swirled across her hide, and she lifted a long neck to sniff the air. There was a sharp, iron-y scent in the air, and for a second, she mistook it for the smell of - well, the iron who was still in her nest.

But when she took several careful, poised steps up to the edge of the nest, setting a delicate paw on the raised hill of sand, she realised what it was.

The stench of blood.

The green wher and the black dragonet were having a beastly fight, she could see right off. The gray wher charged up to the fray as she watched, shocked and appalled; he flung himself onto their sister (you're nicked, chum!), but she didn't seem to notice, intent on her attempt to bludgeon the mischievous black to death. The gray was barking orders to both parties, and the cyan promptly turned and walked the other way, away from the candidates, away from the nest -

Kalesk put out a large paw to stop her, and the cyan looked up at her dam and huffed a bit. She certainly was not going to spend any time in that poor excuse for a hatching, thankyouverymuch. That was a combat zone. With a sigh, Kalesk removed her paw, and the cyan retreated fully into shadow to lurk where she could not be seen or attacked at all.