Salvations (Shanza's Hatching!)

[4horseshowgirl4]

Shanza was wide awake, and for good reason. It was early afternoon, that awkward hour where peoples’ lunches were sitting heavy in their stomachs and made them sleepy, when no one really wanted to do anything besides sit by the fire and doze off. Shanza, however, did not need lunch, and, even if she had, her hardened clutch enraptured her attention far too much for her to take a nap. She’d been a demanding clutchmother on Phareon, and had sent him away so he could get some much-needed rest, and R’ori… well, she didn’t really know what he was doing anymore. Apparently he hadn't been quite as keen on the idea of sharing a bed with F'let as she had expected, but that was no matter. He was out of her hair, and away from her precious eggs. She felt a flicker of pity for him, but that was quickly extinguished. He should be proud, and, who knows, maybe he would bond to one of her babies before this was over!

She gave a soft croon of sadness, though. There was one person she would have wanted to be unhappy about her clutching here, far away from him and the spacious infirmary where she'd always clutched, but he was still decidedly indifferent. Why was Hers being so idiotic lately? Did he even know she'd clutched, that her eggs were hard and ready to hatch, even though she'd send him countless images describing the scene? She honestly wasn't sure. B'nyur hadn't been very receptive as of late. Hers was supposed to be ecstatic over such a big, fine clutch as this. He was supposed to be annoyed at her for letting R'ori have the honor of hosting the Hatching instead of him. But, instead, he didn't even seem to care either way. Shanza wasn't even sure why he had been so depressed as of lately, but he needed to snap out of it. It'd been sevendays-- since well before she had Flown!

She had been surveying her clutch from atop of R'ori's trunk, but she leapt into the air and hovered above them almost lazily. The Queen's body was taut and lean again, as it had been quite some time since she'd been eggheavy, but she had confined herself to this tiny weyr too much to have recovered her muscle tone. At least all of the eyes would be on her eggs when the time came, not on her. That was probably a good, as her toneless body was not her only physical problem. She, like Oveth, was not as shiny, clean, and well-oiled as she should have been, though hopefully most people would account those faults to R'ori, since, after all, she was in his weyr, not that she would have been very happy to allow him to oil her or anything. Done coasting in the air, she settled down on R'ori's bedposts, arranging her wings fussily for several moments before lying them along her back. She was getting a little restless: the weyr was a safe, warm place to raise eggs, but there was little activity here to keep her occupied while she guarded them. She rather missed chasing off the multitudes of people that tried to come too close in the infirmary or even the Hatching Sands, but now, there was only R'ori, and he'd learned to stay out of her way.

It was now mid-afternoon. Where was Phareon? He was due back soon... surely he wasn't still asleep? She jumped up again and flitted over to the entrance of the weyr, poking her head out and looking around. Activity was starting to pick up again, but there was no sign of Vediameth's telltale pale green hide, nor of Phareon's bronze. However, she heard something behind her. It was incredibly soft, inaudible to most, but Shanza was a mother, and had a mother's heightened instict. One could almost say she sensed the movement rather than heard it. Instantly, she whirled around was by her eggs again. It didn't take her long to spot the culprit: one of the larger eggs lined up at the pillow had fallen on its side. Shanza scanned the other eggs for signs of movement, but, as of yet, there was nothing. She'd overreacted; it looked like the egg had just fallen over; the massive weight of dragons taking off and landing all around them caused big enough vibrations in the rock walls that this had happened before. She tenderly pushed it back upright, tucking an edge of the furs around it to make it more stable. But, when she let go of the egg, watching it affectionately for a moment, it wriggled. It definitely wriggled. It wriggled again, nearly tipping over. Shanza's eyes immediately began to whirl rapidly, and, out of the corner of her eye, she could see one of the other eggs beginning to move as well. Hairline cracks began to appear at the top of a third. They were Hatching!

She immediately flashed that image to Oveth from habit. She trusted the gentle Blue. He was drowsing off, like he usually was, but, unlike many dragons, he was receptive to Shanza, and she could feel his mind perk up immediatley. She flashed the image again along with a sense of urgency. Immediately, Oveth responded to her wishes, softly calling out to everyone at the Weyr that would listen, People of Dalibor, a firelizard clutch is hatching in... he fumbled, forgetting where she had clutched, and Shanza flashed him the image of R'ori and the weyr, used to his unintelligent ways. the weyr of R'ori and Green Vediameth. There are many eggs, so please come get one! With that, the Blue turned to B'nyur and nosed him gently. He, too, had heard Oveth announce to the Weyr that a clutch was Hatching, but he had a firelizard! Mine, they are Shanza's eggs! Oveth implored. B'nyur started. Shanza? She'd clutched? Where? He sat up instantly, slowly getting up. He couldn't believe he'd missed this... his poor girl!

Shanza, however, was managing fine without him. Since there was no B'nyur in her mind to bring her meat, she sent the order to R'ori. It was a clear, unmistakable image of him bringing a big bowl of meat scraps to his weyr, added with a happy image of him walking off with a cute little blue baby firelizard of Hers. Bring the meat, you get one of the darlings.

It was time.

Let them come!

[/font]

[Nia]

R'ori had been sleeping rather soundly, curled up against Vediameth. The two were somewhere out in the Weyrbowl, far from the eyes of people who would stare at the black-haired boy and make fun of him for being kicked out of his own weyr by a sharding firelizard. A firelizard that wasn't even his, for Faranth's sake! It was probably well-known by now, as R'ori had been sleeping in various places all over the Weyr, though he did end up caving and spending more than a few nights in F'let's room. He'd been very reluctant about it, but it had been a warm place to sleep.

That wasn't to say that R'ori wasn't completely exhausted by now, though, which explained why he was sleeping outside next to his pale green Vediameth. She was fine keeping a watchful eye out for him though, and appeared rather amused by the situation, though she certainly wasn't going to voice those thoughts aloud. She liked spending time with F'let and Doppelith, if only Hers would stop denying himself and accept it already. Really, she liked Doppelith, R'ori liked F'let, why did he have to go and make it so complicated? Humans were strange creatures.

While R'ori didn't wake at Oveth's announcement, or even stir, Vediameth sure did. She didn't wan't to wake Hers, as he was finally sleeping peacefully, but she was sure he'd be elated at the thought of being able to sleep in his own bed again. After extensive cleaning to get rid of the eggshells, of course.... But the Green didn't even get a chance to wake Hers before Shanza sent him a strong image of himself bringing her meat... and then Impressing another firelizard. And then Phareon appeared out of between to chirp and chatter and hum rapidly in order to wake His up. R'ori woke up flailing around, patting Vediameth's hide to make sure she was still there. "What in Faranth's name is going on?!" he yelled, and would probably be glad that no one was around to hear.

Or, well, not exactly. A red-haired girl was reading some records behind a rock, hidden out of site. She was smiling for once, something that probably looked rather odd on a face that most people were so used to see scowling, and enjoying what she was reading. Dalibor had interesting history, and it was nice to just be able to sit and read. But her enjoyment was broken when someone, who happened to be very close to her chosen spot, screamed. Engrye stood up with a rather annoyed look, walking around the rock to see a black-haired boy looking even more annoyed than she did, a Bronze firelizard spinning in circles above his head and a Green dragon that appeared to be smiling.

"Why are you making so much noise?" she asked, frowning deeply, "Some of us actually enjoy silence." Engyre crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at the Greenrider.

"Oh shard it, come on Vediameth, let's go get that little beast some foo- ow! Ow! Phareon! I was getting her food, stop clawing at my hair!" R'ori was trying to collect his thoughts, and had accidently (or really on purpose) called Shanza a "beast" in front of Phareon, who took great offense to that and had started to grab at R'ori's hair. Even the serious Engrye couldn't hold back a small smile at the scene, which was so ridiculous she almost thought she was imagining it. "I don't want to Impress all those firelizards, there's like a million of them!" he frowned, ignoring the fact that Vediameth had said there was an announcement... but what if no one came? What if he ended up Impressing 24 sharding firelizards?!

That was when he finally noticed Engrye. "Hey, uh," he started with a somewhat charming smile, trying to regain back some of the flirtatious charm he had with girls back before... you know, before... F'let. "Do you want to Impress some firelizards? Come with me," he said, grabbing Engrye's hand when he saw her small nod and helping her up on to Vediameth. Perhaps you should apologize for your strange behavior, Mine, though she doesn't seem like the easily scared type,

[/i] Vediameth commented, taking off. R'ori just shrugged. She had come along willingly, and hey, he would have loved a chance to fly on a dragon as a Candidate, and he was sure this... um, random girl he found would too.

It didn't take long for R'ori to grab a huge thing of meat from the kitchens (thank Faranth they'd heard Oveth's announcement get passed around and already had a large bowl ready for him) and the Green took off into the air once again, this time taking the very familiar (well, not lately) route to her weyr. It was empty when they arrived, which R'ori felt was good, and he helped Engrye off before grabbing the meat and placing it near his cot for people to take as they pleased.

Engrye managed a quick dazed "Thanks," after standing on the ground again, but she quickly regained her composure and walked towards the eggs, careful not to get too close. That Copper Queen looked rather... fiesty? That was probably a good word to describe her. But Engrye wouldn't mind Impressing a firelizard, it would give her someone else to talk to and smile with when she was alone. The red-haired girl grabbed a few chunks of meat and moved a little off to the side, giving a small curtsy to Shanza. The quiet wasn't going to last for long, as people were already beginning to fill in to this unfortunate Greenrider's weyr. But that was okay, Engrye wasn't here to socialize. She was here to... er... she was here because she'd attempted to yell at a dragonrider and ended up being dragged to a firelizard Hatching instead.

R'ori had moved a little ways off, watching the people as they began to trickle into his weyr, sighing a little bit. Well, at least this meant he most likely wasn't going to Impress another firelizard. Phareon betweened next to Shanza, chirping happily. His children! His children! They were hatching! [/blockquote][/size]

[theknightwhosaysni]

Akal hadn't been very happy about the Hatching arriving, which he'd made quite clear by sulking silently, as far away from His as he could get, though eventually the Black had warmed to the idea of having a companion, and had eventually stopped avoiding His.

However, it being the afternoon, Tylar was curled peacefully in bed, snoozing off his latest adventures, and letting his recently eaten meal work its way through his body when Oveth's words were sent throughout the Weyr.

Still, Akal was there to receive them, and the Black padded over to His, leaping onto the pillow and poking His in the neck with a wingtip. Akal poked pretty hard, and his touch brought Tylar from sleep to awakeness, and the boy shot up in bed, clutching the spot where the flit had poked him melodramatically.

"Don't do that, Akal!" Tylar cried with a hint of annoyance, though when the flit let out a disapproving hiss, he added hastily, "What do you want?

Akal inclined his head in a kingly manner, relaying Oveth's words, though he used pictures. The images included that of a Dragon's egg Hatching, and that of Shanza, flashing continually between the two.

Eventually what the flit was trying to say dawned on Tylar, and he jumped out of bed, throwing on appropriate clothes, and jamming his feet into boots. "Shards, Akal, you could've warned me sooner!" Tylar growled as he jogged out of the room without waiting for the flit.

Akal gave a reproving chirp, sweeping after His and landing on a padded shoulder. The Black was ready for the eggs, for a new flit to entertain His as well as he did, even if Tylar was not.

Thus they arrived at R'ori's Weyr, Akal just the same as ever, and Tylar half panicked, panting slightly as they arrived. "We haven't missed it, have we?" even as he said it, however, he noted the large amounts of eggs - on R'ori's bed? - and couldn't hold back a chuckle. It appeared they hadn't....

Akal crooned to His, flashing an image of a Black flit, clearly under the impression that that was the color His would choose so that Akal had a brother of sorts...

"I can't pick which color we get!" Tylar hissed quietly before he turned to sweep his gaze across the room. The Green Rider in front of him looked almost familiar, as if he'd seen the 'Rider around... Had he?

Probably, Tylar decided, casting a wary glance at Shanza. It wasn't the first time he'd looked at the copper flit, but this time he looked more worried than he had before. Somehow he had a feeling that she wouldn't take too well to Tylar getting much closer - hadn't he heard somewhere that Queen Firelizards rarely ever let anyone near their clutches, instead they trusted their Hatchlings to go to Theirs? Or maybe that was just good old Weyr gossip...

Oh boy....

[kyrillion]

Lunchtime had faded into a lazy, quiet afternoon, and Kyrillion the almost-bluerider had found strange company in a gangly, eccentric young girl who'd introduced herself as 'Tesla'. They had been 'talking shop', in the former metalsmith's own words, for quite some time now - discussing various techniques of Kyril's trade, which Tesla had been absolutely delighted to learn about. Tesla had never given it much thought before, but of course it made sense that by heating metal to different temperatures and allowing it to cool, either rapidly by dousing it in water or gradually by leaving it out on a table, you could manipulate the tensile strength. Kyril, surprised at the younger weyrling's keen interest and perceptive questions, had relished the opportunity to discuss the finer details of forge-work - even if doing so reminded her constantly of the pain in her arm. Tight bandages concealed and protected the ugly red burns, but she didn't think there was enough numbweed on Pern to make the stinging go away completely. Ripariath, for his part, had been much amused by the abrasive and scathing Irath, and she had grown very irritated at him when he refused to address her any way but civilly. She had tried and tried to be confrontational, and yet he coolly treated her with nothing but courtesy! She could hardly stand it, and in no time her eyes where whirling an even brighter shade of crimson than usual.


Tesla had been just about to inquire further into the nature of tempering steel when both weyrlings were distracted by Oveth's summons. Cut off in mid-sentence, Tesla blinked and listened with ever-growing excitement. Firelizards! She'd always wanted a firelizard...
You can't be serious?[/color]
Quiet, you!

Imagine having a firelizard! How would it compare to the connection a rider shared with their dragon? Dragons often had characteristics consistent to their particular color; was the same true of 'lizards? These and many more questions spun like a whirlwind through her head. And imagine Tesla did, her emerald eyes taking on a dazed look, while Irath was beginning to look distinctly worried. She didn't want a firelizard! Tesla was hers! All hers!


Kyril, looking on with barely-disguised amusement, quickly broke into Tesla's reverie. "I know right where R'ori's weyr is; can Ripariath and I show you there?"
"Certainly!"
Tesla, delighted, allowed Kyril to help her onto Ripariath's back. Kyril followed, vaulting into place behind her and seizing the straps, though the process was made somewhat difficult, because Irath had launched herself at the blue and was trying to bite his feet. Ripariath, hopping deftly from foot to foot, was dodging her carefully-aimed attacks, and his mindvoice echoed with laughter. Tesla, leaning over the cornflower-blue neck to see what was the matter, looked shocked at her green's behavior.

Irath! Stop that at once!
But I don't want a firelizard!
Tough! And you'll have to walk to R'ori's weyr, I'm afraid. You will meet me there...? Though it sounded like a question, the attempted steely look from Tesla's (clearly unpracticed, and weaker than she might have hoped) nevertheless made it clear that it was, indeed, an order. The green roared her outrage as Ripariath gave a mighty flap of his wings and rose into the air, turning smartly and heading for R'ori's weyr.


Farewell, Irath! You may want to get a move on; it shall take you a while to catch up with us on foot![/color]
The blue's voice had sounded so cheerful that Irath's curses and threats followed them through the sky, even if it was only Tesla that could hear them. Soon enough, they arrived at a ledge that Ripariath identified as belonging to Vediameth, and he lit gracefully on the edge. Kyril dismounted quickly, so that she could help Tesla down - the younger girl looked so excited she might well have flown into the weyr to find the eggs. As he watched his human and their new friend hurry inside, Ripariath sought out Vediameth.


Good day, Vediameth! Do you mind if I take up some space on your ledge here, for a little while? I would very much like to see this little hatching.[/color] Polite as always, and the rather formal greeting made his rider smile, even as her eyes lit on the 21 - 21! - eggs crowded onto R'ori's bed. She had only intended to drop Tesla off and be on her way (it had been glaringly obvious that she'd wished to try her chance at impressing), but now that she saw how many there were... Well, she didn't protest when Tesla extended greetings for both of them.


"Hello! I am Tesla, and this is Kyril." She gestured vaguely behind her, where Kyril was looking as unflappable as ever; she had a hand absentmindedly on her arm, though, over the bandages, unable even in this to ignore the burn completely. "Well, I'm sure you know who she is, R'ori - you're R'ori, aren't you? - being weyrlings together, and all. But I don't think we've ever been formally introduced. And I don't know you two, which must mean you're Candidates..." Though it was a rather long greeting, Tesla said it all quite calmly; there wasn't any hyper-activeness to her at all. Merely optimism and cheerfulness. She spied Shanza, then - it was difficult to miss the copper queen - and offered the clutchmother her own greeting. "Hello there, pretty one. Do you mind if my friend and I here try to impress one of your lovely children?" For she was quite sure that they would be lovely, though none yet had hatched. She only hoped that the event would be more or less over with by the time Irath stormed R'ori's room lookin for her...


Rather more sedately, Kyril nodded at R'ori and offered him a "hello" and a smile, before transferring her attention again to the bunch of eggs gathered on the bed. She'd been quite new to weyr life, before being Searched and brought in for Kalith's Hatching. She'd never seen or participated in a firelizard hatching before, and was quite unsure how it was meant to play out. She only hoped R'ori and Vediameth didn't mind her storming their weyr - although, if the exhaustion the boy exhibited was any indication, getting the 'lizards out of his room was the top priority.[/size]

[cilnah]

It was a nice day out today. There was a meal settling in her stomach, and a nice breeze pushing through her hair. And to top it off, she was done with her chores for the day, including her extra volunteer work. Which meant that the rest of the day belonged to her. This was a rather rare occurrence for Cilnah, considering usually she was moving from one job to the next. For today though, the powers that be had demanded she take a break before she hurt herself. So here she was, settled at the edge of the lake, her eyes closed as she basked in the afternoon sun. The warmth on her skin was almost as relaxing as the sound of the water lapping at the shore. Settled on her stomach was the ever present Black flit, dozing lightly, his own stomach full to bursting with the meat rolls he had wrangled from His’ lunch.

The pair had been settled this way for about an hour, both dozing peacefully, when Mae’s head lifted curiously. He glanced back towards the Weyr proper, and then pushed himself up carefully made his way up the girl’s body until he was settled on her chest, giving a soft creel. The sound woke Cilnah instantly, as she’d learned from the past five turns to become attuned to the sound. “What is it Mae?” she asked sleepily, carefully sitting up and moving the flit so that he sat in her palms. He keened again, and an image of a small clutch entered her mind, most of the eggs cracked and empty, a Yellow clutchmother sitting protectively over the last two shaking shells. It wasn’t hard to recognize the scene, fuzzy as it was in the Black’s mind. It was his own hatching. Quickly followed was an image of a Copper Queen, who she recognized from somewhere within the Weyr, though she couldn’t quite place her finger on where. She’d heard there was a Copper clutch somewhere. “Ah, so they’re hatching.” Makamae nodded once.

The girl stopped to think. Why would Mae care about a firelizard hatching? She asked him as much. A second later, the image of someone with a few flits floating around them came into her mind, and Cilnah smiled. “Oh, you want company?” she asked curiously. This was the first he had ever seemed unhappy in their five turns together about being her lone flitter. But he gave a small, almost cautious creel, as if afraid she’d be upset by the admission. “Well, let’s go see if any of the Hatchlings want to come and live with us, shall we?” She gave the little one a reassuring smile, and he chirped flashing an image of R’ori and his weyr. So that’s where the eggs were.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they were traversing the tunnels through the weyrs, and she cautiously peeked into the weyr she was fairly certain belonged to the Greenrider. And so it was, there were people starting to gather, and there on the bed of furs was a good sized clutch. A chuckle escaped her. That must have been uncomfortable for the weyr occupant. But at least soon he would have his space back. On her shoulder, Makamae gave a soft greeting to the Copper mother, dipping his head in respect as His did the same to R’ori. Then both of them turned their eyes to the eggs, feeling anticipation bubble up.

[jack]

While R'ori may not have been...completely happy with the fact that he had been forced to spend more time with F'let, the cheerful dancer had been ecstatic. Curling up with the handsome Greenrider at night had made the young Purplerider smile for weeks, and even now--when R'ori was off sleeping somewhere--F'let was still happy.

He and Doppelith were out by the lake when Oveth's call sounded, and the blackette swung his legs, eyes gleaming happily. "So they're hatching?"
Doppelith dipped his heavy head, his own eyes whirling a pleased blue, and glanced at his, Should we go, Mine?
F'let shook his head, glancing at his feet as he absently dug his fingers into the purple's hide, staring at the water from his place on the dragon's back. "No...I doubt R'ori would appreciate it. I'm sure there are a lot of people in his weyr now--he's had to stay with us a lot. He probably...doesn't want us around."

The Purple tilted his head, confused as to where his Mine's gloomy mood had come from, but said nothing. He instead turned his stare to the sky, and then, deviously, kept his voice away from F'let's, speaking directly to Vediameth.

F'letMine is being strange, Vediameth! Mines are very foolish sometimes, aren't they?

[Admin]

I guess there's got to be a break,
In the monotony,
But Jesus, when it rains how it pours.
Throw on your clothes.

Two dragons sat on the rim of the bowl. One of them was purple. He wasn't hard to identify - far different in coloration from Altith and lacking the youth of Doppelith. One of them was yellow. She was even easier to guess. She was quite special, being the only one of her color at Dalibor. Hello Kerath; she greeted, voice quite polite as she easily began the conversation. Delicate wings extended, she pulled in the spring sun of Rukbat, glad to shake off the throws of winter. New life was springing in the craggy patches of land on the island where the Weyr lay. It was a wonderful time!

Hello Annith; the purple responded pleasantly. He stretched his own long wings up into the air, content for the moment not to be causing mischief that he shouldn't given his rider was a weyrlingmaster. Then he got quite distracted from the just blossoming conversation. His attention span wasn't always the best, though perfectly acceptable for a dragon such as himself. He tilted his head, looking down into the bowl to observe a flurry of growing activity. Something was happening. He wondered what.

Annith turned her head gently, though she quickly understood what was going on without actually looking, for there was Oveth in her mind, explaining it all as best he could. Oh, a flitter hatching! A Queen flitter hatching. I believe it's the first at Dalibor; she commented, so mannerly and proper. Deep in her throat, she thrummed, welcoming the little flittets even though there was no instinctual urge to do so within her. Hey, P'nayMine, Mine; she said, voice insistently, less than subtly suggesting what she wanted as she poked at the mind of her rider, gently and sweetly.

A little busy, Anni; he responded, pulling on his pants as quietly as he could. He wasn't in his weyr, and he needed to go. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. He felt her go quiet, but remain right there, invading the front of his mind with her presence. Without shoes, since he didn't mind the feeling of ground against his feet, he slipped out into the bowl. Finally, he sighed. Do you really think I need to get a firelizard? He felt a brush of affirmative, some pride, and then she withdrew. He sighed but smiled a lopsided grin, shaking his head. She knew when to use her words, and he was more than willing to obey.

Up on the rim, Kerath rose to his feet. His rider had already abandoned work in the interest of the flitter hatching, and he lunged into the air to sweep down into the bowl. A moment later, Annith followed him. She lacked his aerial coordination, and he landed first. She alighted beside him just a second later. Their two riders were converging on them. W'al raised a hand to wave at P'nay, smiling at him. "Gonna get yourself a pet, sir;" the yellowrider teased. He had two turns on the purplerider, though neither of them acted their age and looked roughly the same.

"Try, at least! Firelizards can be wily creature, I've heard. They don't have to bond if they don't want to;" W'al replied, laughing lightly. Kerath crouched and he scrambled up on the purple's high back. Gracelessly, he launched himself skyward, muscle rippling through his lanky body. After the first beat of his wings, he was all elegance. With pride, he recalled the weyr of the senior weyrling where the clutch lay, who wasn't even his charge, and struck out for it. He'd never seen a copper firelizard's clutch hatch before!

P'nay leaped up onto Annith's back with ease and she vaulted herself into the air. Still lacking the purple's grace, she was a wingbeat and a dragonlength behind him. In the end, she politely let him land on the tip of Vediameth's ledge and deposit his rider before doing the same. After that, they both hovered in front of the space. The blue and the green who sat on the ledge were far younger than the two of them, mostly grown but still not quite. They could abstain to carry themselves for a while there. Annith certainly wasn't going to think to just go and intrude upon them at that time!

The only real riders who'd yet to appear for the hatching, they ambled up to join the others around the bed where the eggs sat. Grinning, P'nay bowed to the little copper Queen. Kalith might be far scarier, but it seemed wise to show respect. That's what one did when they wanted to be a candidate for a hatching! Anyway, it was a tinge funny. Taking his lead, hiding his smile behind mocking seriousness at the joke, W'al choose to bow as well. He straightened and his easy smile returned. It was all so exciting!

The greenriding weyrling who the weyr belonged to, who P'nay had heard had gotten kicked out of his own weyr by the presence of Shanza, had brought food. With a smile, and a devilish wink, he took some of the meat from a bowl, not bothered by the feeling of it in his hands. The cool feeling of stone against his feet, with the faint reverberations of Annith, and Kerath, for he had joined her, humming coming to him, grounded him. He gazed over the eggs. He was partial to the idea of having a firelizard, but didn't care all that much. If Annith hadn't pressed him to do so, he probably wouldn't have come. However, F'let might be around, wouldn't he? F'let had three firelizards, and knew R'ori! Distracted from the actual beginning of the hatching, P'nay grinned and glanced around.

W'al didn't particularly care if he got one of the little flitters. Faranth knows how he already had enough work to do as it was making sure that his class of misbegotten weyrlings were in check. He did see that Teslana was in attendance. She was a good girl, dealing wonderfully with Irath. He nodded to her, with an equable smile. Despite his lack of feverish fervor for the firelizard, both he and Kerath were interested in the tiny creatures. A Queen's clutch was too good an opportunity to miss at least coming to watch - Shanza was the only Queen flitter at Dalibor. Of course, he was going to try his hand at getting one. He grabbed a handful of meat from the provided bowl after P'nay, though without the winking. He did smile quite kindly at R'ori, who he'd yet to actually meet. Perhaps later.

Just when you think that you're in control,
Just when you think that you've got a hold,
Just when you get on a roll,
Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.

[snowfire]

Belor was taking a break in the kitchens, sipping a cup of klah, when the Blue dragon's voice suddenly boomed in his mind. Flinching, he fumbled the mug and spilled some klah on his shoe. "Shards," he growled, setting the mug down and bending down to wipe the hot liquid off his shoe. "Sharding dragon..." he repeated, mumbling and shooting a glare at a kitchen worker who looked offended. What had the dragon been talking about, though? Flitt eggs?

Well, they probably wouldn't give them to a lowly candidate, but Belor wanted to try his luck anyway. Leaving the mug on the table, he went outside to find the greenrider's weyr. He had always fancied having a little gold or bronze on his shoulder. Belor didn't know much about flitts, and conceived of them more as accessories than pets.

A few minutes later he ascended the steps to the weyr, which wasn't hard to find since there were several people gathered around. Inside, he glanced around, looking for a familiar face. He noticed Tylar, another candidate. Belor went over to stand next to Tylar.

"Well this is rather odd, isn't it?" he remarked, indicating the bed turned nest. "You already have a flitt, so how do you get one? I want a good one," Belor asserted, looking over the eggs and wondering if there was a queen in there.

[purnip]

If odds were as they would have normally been for a sort in Lyam's position, he would have likely not made it to the hatching today. He made it his business to keep his ears open for it ever since he heard that a firelizard in the weyr was clutching. Aside from impressing a dragon, this was priority on his agenda. A chance to open doors and better understand the creatures of Pern. Lyam was never the sort to have a hand in raising animals; the felines in Fort were not too kind. Still, these dragons and dragon-esque creatures fascinated him so.

It would be strange, wandering into a private weyr belonging to a rider he had yet to meet, and attempting to impress a firelizard from a mother he had no even seen winking out of space in a blink. Lyam was not uncomfortable around strangers. In fact, he was quite giddy. He had managed to be present at a hatching that seemed a little more exclusive than that of a full blown dragon's. Amongst these people he kept his head up, as if he was 'part of the gang', and introduced himself quite readily. "I just managed to find the place, thanks to Tylar," he said, a bit of stress to his tone. He hoped that wouldn't spark any issues, but he couldn't take full credit. "I'm Lyam. I'm a bit of a Candidate. It's a pleasure to meet you all." He nodded once towards all those present in greeting. The painful part was as usual, painless.

The manner in which he learned of this moment is somewhat coincidental. Lyam had woken up before dawn after having a hard night's rest and decided to take a walk around the Candidate Barracks until sunrise. Once the sun was out, he was around the kitchens, talking to a few people until lunch. After eating, he was just about to return to his room to pick up a few things before he noticed Tylar rushing out. Now, he had only met the other Candidate once, but he was gifted at remembering faces. Lyam would have otherwise ignored this, since everyone rushes around for some reason or another, but something compelled him to follow. Why not? The worst that could happen was that he would be snapped at. No harm in that. Besides, whatever business Tylar must be rushing towards must be something indeed. Candidates are hardly ever seen like that unless it's Impression day.

And so, keeping a safe enough distance to not appear as if obviously following, Lyam eventually figured out their destination was indeed a significant one. They were only heading for the private weyrs after all.

So here he is, and on time too. The eggs appeared to be rocking away. He didn't shrink away at any glares or glances he must have been receiving. Eventually someone may ask just who the heck he might be. That was not what caused Lyam to go somewhat pale. He had just realized that he had forgotten, of all things, to bring meat! He didn't know right away that tailing the other Candidate would bring him to this hatching. Pale, but not showing his panic any other way, the boy glanced about with little suspicion and spotted a bowl of meat someone had provided. Was it...okay to use this meat for the impression? He'd watch the others and follow suit. This was bound to teach him a thing or to. Impressing a dragon can't be more than a hop and a skip away from this...can it?

[theknightwhosaysni]

He hadn't noticed when the other Candidate arrived, and nor, it appeared, had Akal, as the flit jumped between as soon as Belor began to speak.

Tylar shifted his shoulder around, trying to get used to the less weight that now rested on it before answering lazily, "If they at you, you feed 'em. They're a lot less picky then dragons, and tend to Impress those that feed 'em the most..." Well, that was what Tylar thought anyways, and if he was wrong, it wasn't his problem, was it? He already had Akal, and if he didn't pull off an Impression this time, he'd be just fine with Akal.

Wouldn't he?

Distracted momentarily from his thoughts, Tylar glanced around to take in how many people had arrived when he hadn't been paying attention...

One, two, three... Tylar counted them off rapidly, before deciding he didn't know any of them well enough to offer greetings, though he vaguely remembered P'nay from some place or another. Honestly, it didn't matter, though, so Tylar forced himself to pay attention to the eggs again, offering Shanza a rather belated incline of the head. It wasn't a bow, but it would have to do.

A few seconds later, Akal returned from between, giving Belor a rather sullen look, and he gave a reproving chitter as he settled back on Tylar's shoulder.

And that would've been that if Tylar hadn't heard his name - the Candidate turned around hurriedly, nearly displacing Akal, his eyes settling on Lyam. "Hello." he said, rather unenthusiastically about it all, before he turned back to Belor, tossing himself animatedly into a conversation so that Lyam would not attempt to talk to him. He didn't really like Lyam much, and with a choice between Lyam and Belor, he'd take Belor any day.

"Will you be glad to Impress a flit?" If the boy even got one, which Tylar wasn't too sure about... And it was the best question he could come up with, even if it was not the best... Tylar grinned slightly, in a self-mocking way, as if he was admitting that it hadn't been the smartest thing to ask, after all, what person wouldn't be happy about Impressing, even if it was a flit....

[Kila]

Sol sat bolt upright from where she was dozing when Oveth's gentle, familiar voice rang in her head. A firelizard hatching? Eccolath implored, intrigued. She very much liked playing with her little cousins and found them to be an endless source of amusement. Sol's own firelizard, Hally, was very shy and didn't like to play with anyone but His. This had dismayed the friendly Cyan at first, but she had grown to accept it. The opportunity of having a new playmate added to their group stirred her up, though. Mine, you should go, she decided.And come back with a whole flock of little ones. What fun it will be!

A flock? Faranth, no! Little Hally would be scared to death. The Black, who was curled up on the pillow beside her head, chirped to her in agreement sleepily. Besides, I would hardly know what to do with all of them, Ecco, love. I know you like firelizards, but you can play with someone else's flock.

....... Eccolath looked at Hers so pathetically that Sol had to make some concession. Well... what if I go and watch and flash you pictures of what happens? I would like to go see- wouldn't that be fun too? It would be awful if we missed out on it and didn't know what cute little ones hatched and left with our friends. Sol purposely played on Eccolath's insatiable curiosity, knowing the dragon would be so agitated not to know that she couldn't refuse.

Well... I guess. That's true, Mine. You have to hurry, though- you'll miss everything if you don't hurry.

Sol laughed to herself and complied, setting off at a trot towards R'ori's weyr. When she arrived a crowd was already gathering. Looks like everybody wants one. And it looked like everyone would get one! Her mouth dropped when she saw the size of the clutch. What a strong little flitter Shanza was to produce such a clutch. Your eggs are stunning, and I'm sure your babies will be just as so, she said to the Queen.

Show me! Eccolath cried, wriggling outside and waiting eagerly to see what Hers saw. She loathed having grown so large that she couldn't follow Sol around inside.

Sol complied and then looked over her shoulder curiously when the conversation in the room suddenly broke for a few moments. Standing a little straighter, she stepped to the side as D'lios entered the room. No one seemed thrilled to see him, but he didn't mind. He still had the iron composure she had seen him bear at Western, but an odd smile was fitted on his face. It seemed out of place with the rest of him. He had not given anyone at the Weyr the smallest reason to dislike him since arriving, though (which infuriated the people who didn't like him anyway).

Well... she'd just stay out of his way. Sol wanted to make friends with the Freedomfighter Weyrlings, but D'lios wasn't the one she wanted to tangle with.

[kia]

Nia was oiling Nikianeth today. The young woman, still getting use to her position and such, was starting to become slightly concerned. Nia was OCD, as the earth people might say; but when it came down to Nikianeth, she was very careful and observant with tha changes in the dragon. She remembered the first time she saw Niki`s hide starting crack as the Orange grew, which Nia quickly fixed by oiling the young, demanding, sub-Queen. Today, it was not cracking that the woman was worrying over. It was Niki`s hide that she was getting concerned about. If she did not know any better, the Orange had a slight shine to it. Not as much of a shine like Kalith did, but a tiny one. Great Faranth! Kalith was going to Rise soon! And so was Niki! She hoped the Orange could wait until the Queen Rose. They did not need a fight. And Faranth knew that a Copper could easily take down an Orange. Then again, an Orange could easily put up some resistance. Nia`s hands stopped rubbing the oil in, her nightmares being played out in her mind.

Niki turned her head and gently touched the woman`s shoulder with her muzzle. Mine, stop worrying. Kalith will Rise before I ever will. Her hide has been glowing longer than mine even started. Now, stop fretting. Stand up and stop hiding your face! You are Queen Rider!

I am not a Queen Rider. You are a sub-Queen, and I am a sub-Queen Rider. And I cannot help but worry over you, the woman replied to the large dragon.

If you are so worry, you should take Flare and attend the Fire Lizard Hatching.

Flare chirped from Nia`s shoulder. The little Fire Lizard had been hiding in the woman`s hair. Nia blinked. Hatching? Why would I want to attend that.

The Orange rumbled. It will help you to relax. Besides, it is Copper Shanza`s Clutch. B`nyur will be there. You can invite him up to the weyr to take a look at me to be sure I will be Rising soon. If I am to Rise, I must be in healthy and perfect fit if I am to give the males a Flight that will keep them coming for Turns to come, she said, exuding all of her majestic that she held. She knew she was a great Orange. And she would not let any Orange or Red topple her in abilities.

The woman smiled. Seeing B`nyur and getting the man`s approval would help her worry less. "All right then. I will be back shortly. Do not so anything that I am going to regret the next day." The dragon replied with a rumble, shooing her Mine off to go find B`nyur. Nia, with the help of Flare, managed to find the way to R`ori`s weyr where the eggs were at. Already there were many people here. She smiled and looked around, trying to find B`nyur.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mine...

"Go away! I am trying to sleep. I will feed you later!" N`tal yelled at the Blue, clutching his sword close to him and closing his eyes for the fifth time. The Blue was always waking him for food. N`tal hated doing his chores, hating going to Weyrling Lessons, and hated being in this Weyr. He was a dragonrider, and grateful for that, but couldn`t he have ended up somewhere else? And why couldn`t that Renegade Queen not clutch somewhere else? He growled, wishing that Gulath would soon be big enough to fly him out of here. He thought if he just kept sleeping, that day would be here soon.

But, Mine! came the voice again, this time with a whine.

"NO!"

Fine then. I wonder if Fire Lizards taste good, the Blue said, turning and walking out of the room toward where he heard the Fire Lizards were Hatching.

"Gulath! No! Stop! Wait!" But the Blue was not slowing down. Muttering several curses, N`tal stood up and pulled his pants up and his shirt over his head. The dragon was going to drive him up the wall. He tied his sword to his pants, tightly, so that it stayed with him at all times. Finally dressed, the young man ran out the room. He finally caught up to the dragon as the dragon reached the stairs. "Gulath!"

Come on, Mine! I bet Irath`s Mine will be there. You and her are friends, aren`t you?

N`tal`s face screwed in a disgusted look. Him? Friends with that annoyance. He could have spat. Why did she have to bother him at lessons. Why couldn`t she bother that other GreenRider? He snorted and climbed the stairs behind Gulath. "Don`t even think that, Gulath. Once you fly, we are out of here. No friends, no connections are keeping us here," he said.

You might regret that one day, the Blue said, saying something smart for once, though N`tal thought it was stupid. They kept in silence for a few moments longer until they arrived at R`ori`s weyr. N`tal told Gulath to stay back, and that if he caught the Blue trying to eat a Fire Lizard, the dragon would go without food for two days. Gulath crooned to his Mine, agreeing to behave. Food versus Fire Lizard, the decision was easy for him to make.

[4horseshowgirl4]

R'ori was the first to arrive on Vediameth, carrying a sizable bowl of meat and... a girl? Shanza chirped in curiosity, eyeing her. However, she took a bit of the meat and curtsied to her, so obviously she must be here to try and Impress some of Shanza's babies. Shanza nodded her head, accepting her. She seemed polite enough, and being the first one there was always a plus. She heard the flap of approaching wings and the thud of feet around the weyr that meant that people were approaching. She chirped again, happy because of this and because Phareon had finally arrived. She crooned to him from her position on one of R'ori's bedposts, beckoning with her wing for him to come join her.

She saw R'ori step off to the side, and gave him a grateful croon. She had been rather hard on him for the past few sevendays, and she really did appreciate him leaving his weyr for her eggs, not that she and Phareon had given him much choice, and for bringing the meat and the Candidate. She didn't know if he would accept her thank you, but she didn't fret over that. Her babies were Hatching! The eggs seemed to pause in their wriggling as people began to pour in, almost as if startled by the sudden noise. However, it wasn't long before the first egg near R'ori's pillow, the large one that had begun rocking first, starting moving in earnest once again.

Another youngster walked in with a Black flit, but he didn't get very close or take any meat. Shanza gestured again with her wing, making the beckoning motion, trying to tell him to get some meat and get up near the eggs or he'd walk off alone for sure! She was not an overprotective clutchmother compared to most, and now that her eggs were hatching, it didn't matter if someone accidentally broke one, anyway. She just wanted all of her babies to bond so they'd have a special person for the rest of their lives!

Another pair entered adragonback, and Shanza vaguely recognized the flash of blue hide. She was having trouble placing it, though, until Kyril walked in with a bandaged arm. Oh, she remembered now, she was that Weyrling that had burnt herself, and B'nyur had had to patch her up! She was the 'Rider of the Blue that had brought her and another girl that Shanza didn't recognize. The second girl walked up to Shanza and began to chatter. Shanza didn't quite know how to decipher her words without any accompanying images. However, she recognized the words 'pretty,' 'friend,' and 'Impress,' so she nodded her head before jerking a wing towards R'ori and his bowl of meat. She and Kyril needed to get meat or they wouldn't have much luck with a firelizard-- they weren't like dragons, successful though at least one of them had been at a dragon Hatching!

She had just dipped her head to see if that one egg had managed to go from wriggling to cracking, but just as she did, another youngster walked in on foot. She, too, had a firelizard already, but she wouldn't be here if she weren't trying for another, right? But, my, were all of these people forgetful! At least this one had a firelizard through which Shanza could communicate! She sent Makamae a sharp order to tell Hers to grab a handful of meat. She'd barely done that when two more people walked in, their mature stature and shoulder knots marking them as full 'Riders. They bowed politely and, for once, actually had the sense to take some of the available meat. Another young dragonless arrived on foot and helped himself to the meat after a few moments. It seemed like the people had gotten the hang of it, and Shanza turned down to her eggs again.

There was suddenly a large, crunching noise that came from the large, rocking egg, and one bright purple limb emerged from within, flailing about for a moment. Shanza was so enraptured that she barely noticed when a final four people walked in, and didn't even remind them to get meat. She was not going to miss this! The flitter within the egg struggled for a moment before the egg cracked cleanly in half, and there he sat, instantly scrambling up to peer curiously at everyone around him. Ooh, people! He crooned happily before awkwardly scrambling over the furs and through the eggs to get closer to them. He paused, however, when there was another crack behind him.

A dramatically colored Blue had hatched from one of the eggs in the middle of the bed, and he seemed terrified to find himself all along in a sea of furs and eggs, surrounded by dozens of people. He didn't want the spotlight! He wanted to hide! Shanza gave a concerned croon, but it was his Purple clutchbrother who got to him first. The Purple hatchling trotted over and chirped to the Blue encouragingly, placing his oddly lavender wing over the Blue. Shanza chirped, adding her own voice of encouragement to the shy little hatchling. How terrible it would be if one of her babies went wild because he was too scared to go find His!

The Blue crooned softly before following the Purple back over to where everyone was gathered. Now that the first two had hatched successfully, at least seven of the eggs were wriggling or in various stages of cracking. Just as the tiny entourage of the gregarious Purple and the Blue hiding under his wing reached the edge of the furs, an egg at the foot of the bed hatched, revealing a very lightly colored Green who was immediately captivated by a piece of the Blue's eggshell. She took two clumsy half-walking, half-running steps forward before launching herself forward and trying to pounce on the shell, landing far short of her target. She didn't seem to care much at her failure; she just picked herself up and darted forward to grab it triumphantly in her mouth, giving a happy squeak.

The Purple pulled away from the Blue to go sniff at Teslana's hand. The Blue squeaked in soft protest, but his stomach rumbled hungrily, and finding a person who would feed him would probably be a good idea. He knew instantly which person he wanted, but she was so far away, and he didn't want to leave the warm confines of the furs! He turned to Shanza and creeled plaintively, but she just rumbled, telling him to get a move on. He seemed to almost steel himself for what was coming for a moment before leaping off of the bed and sinking his little claws into the bottom of Kyril's tunic, being careful not to get her skin. He crooned to her in thanks and gently licked her hand before scrambling up to her shoulder. For a moment, it seemed like that would be the person to which he would Impress, but it was not to be: he was simply using her as a stepping stone, and, off of her, jumped, still-wet wings spreading open to help him make the distance to His.

He landed on Armania's arm, clinging to her sleeve and crooning happily. Look what he'd done! Wasn't he so brave? His eyes whirled a rainbow of colors at his Impression, and he scrambled up to Armania's shoulder, rubbing his head affectionately against her cheek. He sent her a polite image of the meat that many of the other people seemed to have; he didn't mind that she didn't have any, but he would appreciate it if she would get some for him, her new firelizard! Shanza rumbled happily as her first baby bonded, and the Purple added his own note, glad that his clutchbrother had found His and quite impressed that he'd managed to climb over people to get to her! He turned from Tesla to Lyam, who was also quite close to him, but couldn't seem to make up his mind. It was so hard to just choose one person, when all of them were so wonderful!

Blue (003EFF), bonded to Armania (courtesy of Jack)
Personality:
Despite his loud coloring, this guy is actually very shy. A bit of a hider, he likes to stay in physical contact with His, and can be difficult to move. When it comes down to it, however, he has a heart of gold and will stand up for himself and those he cares about. It might take him a bit to muster of the courage though!

A sweet heart, this cutey thinks that everything in the world can be solved by a lick to the hand or face and a warm flit body. He doesn't understand hardship all that well, and seems to be a bit slower in the head at times. He's not nearly as stupid as he seems, however, and can get up to mischief if comfortable and bored!

Appearance:
This fellow is brilliant. No, really! Fairly average for a Blue--with an average build, average length, average strength--he makes up for his blend-into-the-background looks with a striking color. Patterned dramatically with an almost zig-zag stripe that goes from the sides of its nose to the sides of the tip of its tail, his darker marking looks as though it wiggles around his chest with every breath.[/font]

[kyrillion]

In no time at all, the first eggs were beginning to hatch, and Tesla became far too distracted to heed Shanza's suggestion that she grab some of the meat R'ori had brought in. Kyril, however, had seen the gesture, and understood it well enough - drawing back from the side of the bed, she approached the mostly-full bowl and seized two handfuls, before returning quickly to her place. Passing one handful to a wide-eyed Tesla, who accepted it gratefully, she fixed her own eyes on the shy little blue and the lavender purple.

The two watched as the little 'lizards made their way towards the group of hopeful humans, the purple encouraging his shy blue brother. Another green hatched, but she seemed far less interested in Impression than did her siblings. Tesla, smiling down at the two boys crouched at the end of the bed, was simply delighted when the purple approached to sniff tentatively at her hand. Remembering the meat Kyril had grabbed for her, she offered it up, equally tentatively. He must be hungry! But more than that, he seemed unsure. Indeed, soon enough, he was backing away and going towards one of the Candidates. Ah, well. If it was meant to be, he would come back.

Kyril was startled when the blue threw himself at her, but not so much that she jumped or took a step back. Instead, she stood perfectly still, and watched, intrigued, as the little critter crawled up and onto her shoulder. She smiled when he licked her hand, almost like a thank you, and just when she thought she might Impress him, he was gone. Nodding a congratulations to Armania, when it was apparent he finally had chosen, she ignored the disappointment she could feel from her dragon.

Oh, lighten up, Rip. You know you're the only blue for me. She was amused, rather than disappointed, and she soon turned her attention back to the 18 unhatched eggs, and the purple and green that had yet to choose. Many more of the eggs looked set to hatch at any moment; she had a feeling that utter chaos was about to break out.

[kia]

No sooner had Nia arrived that Flare took to the air above her. He chirped to the Fire Lizards in the room, greeting each of them in turn as he stayed above Nia`s head. The Blue was glad to see his Mine getting out instead of being a recluse like the woman tended to be. He knew his Mine was smart. Why else had he chosen her. They were a good Fire Lizard and Owner team, or so he thought. He began to hum as the eggs began to Hatch. There was a Green, Purple, and a Blue! He thrilled when he saw the Blue, considering her was a Blue himself. Though the little Blue seemed awfully shy. Just like his Mine tended to be. If only the big dragon Queen`s Mine would talk to his Mine more often. Maybe the dragon Queen`s Mine would see how smart his Mine was if she took a moment to talk to Nia.

Nia did not have time to react. Nia was crossing the room, thinking she had spotted B`nyur. She heard Flare chirp happily and stopped for a moment to take a look. She gave a smile when she saw the three little Hatchlings and silently hoped that they would find their Mines. She turned her head and continued walking until she felt something grab onto her arm. She stopped and looked down, seeing the little Blue before her. She almost flinched when the little one climbed her arm and to her shoulder, rubbing his head against her cheek and crooning happily to her. She had Impressed the little guy. She was surprised. She suddenly felt the slight feelings of being hungry and realized that he was asking for food. "Of course, little one," she said, smiling again, happy, and walked over to the food that R`ori held to feed the little Blue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N`tal watched as the Blue found his Mine. The man sighed, content with watching at the moment as the other two Fire Lizards seemed content where they were at for the moment. Maybe you should consider getting one, Gulath chimed up happily.

Why should I? I thought you were going to go find Irath. Her Rider is here. I bet there will be some mischief I am going to have to save you from, N`tal responded.

Gulath rumbled and turned his head, sad that his Mine was still being mean to him. He could not help Hatching how he was. He stood and walked off, trying to find the army green colored Green that HE considered his friend, at least.

[theknightwhosaysni]

Was the Queen trying to tell him to get meat? Tylar glanced at Belor, "Hold that thought." he ordered, hoping the Candidate wouldn't take it the wrong way, and he hurried towards the meat, taking a handful of meat, and trying to squelch the disgust in the back of his mind.

He'd have to do it with a Hatchling, if he ever Impressed, and he'd had to do it with Akal before, so what was wrong with him this time?

The answer? Tylar wasn't so sure that Akal even wanted a companion, and to tell the truth, one flit was enough for him. Sure they were signs of status and wealth, and all that, but flits also Impressed like Dragons, and if he hadn't managed to persuade a Dragon his way, what were his chances with firelizards, even if they were far less picky...

Akal poked Tylar's neck with his tail, almost as if it were an order to 'snap out of it!' and the black flit gave a quiet creel, examining the blue and purple 'lizards. He was glad they hadn't come their way, he wanted a black brother, not a purple or blue one! Akal clearly hadn't been paying much attention when His had mentioned that they couldn't pick the color he Impressed. It didn't really matter, anyways, considering Akal wasn't all that sure himself that the firelizards would could their way. There were so many people who wanted to Impress....

Akal gave a startled creel, and burrowed his head into Tylar's neck, his earlier fierce personality buried under the crushing of bodies around him...

"What do you want now?" Tylar asked sharply, and as quietly as he could manage as well, "Have you changed your mind about having a companion?"

The flit shook his head, which was rather hard, considering its position, and sent a shy image of people surrounding him, all reaching out to touch him.

"The people are worrying you? Don't worry, we'll get out soon enough." Tylar promised quietly, eying the antics of the three currently hatched 'lizards. How interesting that they didn't go straight for the food the way wilds did... Maybe he'd told Belor the wrong thing? Still, anything that hurt that boy's chances of Impressing made his greater, if Akal was still sure about having a friend, this was it... No one would stand in their way - though it would've helped to have a dragon around to back him up...

[/size]

[purnip]

The first flitter had hatched, followed by a second, and suddenly Lyam found himself distracted. Absentmindedly he took a handful of meat out of the bowl, which isn't as much as one would think since his hands were somewhat dainty for a boy's. He didn't know how this worked exactly. Something about feeding one of them the most, so that eventually it would grow on you. That aspect was different be believed, to a dragon hatching. In dragon hatching, it's purely about choice first, then food. Or perhaps there was more to it than others understood.

Well here we'll find out, won't we? So far Lyam was disappearing in this small crowd. His words had slipped into obscurity. He wondered if all hatchings were like that. It was probably the consequence of not having made a steady friend just yet, and he was fairly certain that Tylar was beginning to hate him. Nothing Lyam could do to remedy that just yet. Until a Hatching came, there would be forever locked on a level of misunderstanding. Nothing to relate by. Candidates were naturally competitive. Little did Lyam know, dragonriders can be just as much so.

He held the meat at chest level, wondering how in the world as he was stuck within this crowd, his handful of food would be any more tempting than the person's beside him. Two firelizards had hatched and the blue one impressed. It happened rather quickly too, though the blue was reluctant to poke it's head out at first. Lyam remained silent amongst people as he never tended to do before. No one to talk to because they would not wish to respond. This was a moment that required little speech, which was in a sense dismal. Now Lyam was the lowest on the totem pole. He considered this a dangerous experiment. Either he'd attract a firelizard this way or turn up empty handed.

No. He mustn't. He stepped through a couple of the bystanders so that he was in the 'front' row. He wanted to get a closer look at the clutch, but he was careful not to get too close. When I say 'front' row, I mean that he's among those closest or behind one or another. He still held the meat close to his chest, speechless. His head lowered just a bit though. He wondered if what he was doing would be punished, like skipping in a lunch line. This may not be in the best manner, but he was quite desperate to impress and he simply did not understand the ritual. It was nearly frustrating. Honestly, it wouldn't kill me to read a few records on this.

[4horseshowgirl4]

The Purple was almost beside himself trying to choose a person. He wanted to be with all of them, not just one! Why did he have to choose? Shanza chirped impatiently at him, telling him to get a move on before he just decided not to bond and went wild. He couldn't choose! He was so happy that he had such a selection of people from which to select, but it made it so difficult for him! He was growing unbearably hungry, and he had to choose soon, but how could he decide?! They were all so nice-- he wanted to make all of them happy! He sniffed at Lyam before darting over to Kyril, then flapping his wings and hopping a few inches into the air to look at the people who were farther back. Who to choose?!

While the Purple was antagonizing over his decision, two other eggs broke open at the same time, revealing a dark, mossy-colored Green and a light, solidly built Blue. They instantly picked themselves up, the Blue creeling his hunger, the Green staying silent about hers, but the fierce hue of her eyes gave it away. The Blue took one look at the people before him and knew immediately who he wanted, and in his haste to get there and get fed, he accidentally pushed aside the Green and continued without even a look back. The Green snarled angrily and leapt in front of him, blocking his path and flaring her wings. The Blue stopped with his head raised, perfectly shocked at what she had done. He crooned uncertainly to her, as if asking her if he could pass. She only remained still as a stone in front of him, demanding an apology.

The Blue, however, had other ideas. He backed up, then took two running steps and leaped over her head. Before she could chase him down (she was already wheeling after him, he had launched himself at Lyam, scrambling up the front of his tunic. The Green scrambled after him, reaching the edge of the furs right as the Blue made eye contact with Lyam and Impressed to him. After doing so, the Blue squawked, demanding that Lyam use his significantly larger body mass to protect him from the Green. Oh, and it would be great if he could feed him, too!

The Green hesitated for a moment, looking on the verge of jumping on Lyam just to get the the Blue, but she was not that wrathful, and her hunger was getting the best of her. She flared her wings and hissed at Lyam before turning away, marching down the edge of the bed. When she reached the person she wanted, her whole expression changed from one of hunger and fury to one of wholehearted love and affection. She crooned unexpectedly sweetly before hopping over to Cilnah and cautiously touching noses with Makamae. She crooned again, nudging Cilnah's cheek, politely asking to be fed.

Meanwhile, another egg hatched, revealing a very pretty little Pink. While the Blue before her had been solidly built and the Green had been far from attractive, there was no denying that the Pink was a lovely little creature, a perfect model for a firelizard. However, she almost went berserk upon finding herself alone. She seemed incapable of thinking straight and making her way over to the people, and began running around in circles, shrieking. Her shrieks caught the attention of the Green who had been occupying herself with the eggshells, and she dashed over to her Pink sister, twining her tail gently with hers and trying to calm her. The Pink quieted, clinging to the Green. However, both of them were content to just sit there in silence, and neither made the slightest move towards the people. Shanza interjected, crooning at them, but both of them ignored her. They almost seemed to be waiting for someone.

The Purple had finally made his choice. He was so happy he'd finally decided! With no hesitation, he jumped immediately to Kyril, nuzzling her hand affectionately before scrambling up her arm to get to her shoulder. He had seen two firelizards before him make her a stepping stone, which meant she must be very popular with the people, as well! The Purple thought himself rather brilliant for his choice; now he could have one very special person but see lots of others, too! Oh, he was just so ecstatic that such a wonderful solution had presented itself to him! He nuzzled Kyril's cheek again, sending her gentle emotions of his hunger.

Blue (60AFFE), bonded to Lyam (courtesy of Jack)
Personality:
Bold for a Blue, this guy knows he looks good. Far from conceited, however, he is merely confident, and backs down to no one. He is extremely loyal and oddly insightful for a flit, and finds that the best medicine in the world is given by those that know best. And if he doesn't know best? Well he'll go find who knows best and demand they fix the problem!

This tiny fellow knows what he wants, and will do what it takes to get it. While he is an emotional rock for just about anyone, he tends to be partial to one person at a time, but doesn't really care who that is. Even if he is not bonded to a particular person, if he finds them interesting he will stick by their side...at least until his one and only needs him. Then he's off like a blue rocket, leaving nothing but the impression of his girth in his wake.

Appearance:
A very pretty, sky blue, this guy is all looks. He's built squarely, with a wider jaw than most blues and a solid look to him, but evenly as well. His legs are fairly long, as is his neck and tail, and his wings are nicely proportioned. His hide is mostly solid, although it is darker upon his spine and paler upon his belly, and there are a few dark blue splotches on the top of his muzzle leading all the way to the tip of his tail.

Green (46523C), bonded to Cilnah (courtesy of Jack)
Personality:
A rather rude individual, this Green is not exactly pleasant to be around. She's a one-person gal, and only has eyes for you. To her bonded she's a wonder, an easy to get along with sweet-heart who always seems to know what's going on. To everyone else, she's an absolute nightmare.

A bit spooked of males, she's a bit of a rarity, and will probably not Fly for a while. But watch out, she has a bit of an addictive personality and if she does it and likes it, she'll repeat it over and over and over again like a crazed gambler.

Appearance:
A rather musty looking chickadee, this flit isn't exactly the prettiest gal on the block. Her coloring is a fairly nasty shade, and she isn't exactly built like a model. But she makes up for her ugly looks with what will definitely be an incredible ability in flight. Faster and with more endurance than most Greens, she'll be a wonder to watch dance around.

Purple (551A8B), bonded to Kyrillion (courtesy of Jack)
Personality:
The world is all good and lovely for this happy little fellow. Convinced he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, you couldn't put a damper on his day if you tried! Although he is more than capable of telling when it is inappropriate to be cheerful and happy, he chooses to stay content most of the time, and his eyes never whirl an unhappy shade!

This guy is definitely a people person! He can't be pinned to one Mine, and thinks that everyone deserves a little him-time! He is partial to warm places and nooks, especially in hair and shirts! If you aren't careful, he'll curl up in your lap while you aren't paying attention, and beware! If he's napping, it'll be hell to pay if you try to move him.

Appearance:
My, oh my this guy is PURPLE. There's absolutely no mistaking his color, he is 100% a purpley color and is very proud of it! He has no darkening or lightening over the majority of his body, with an exception for the membranes of his wings, which is actually a soft, gorgeous lavender.
[/font]

[theknightwhosaysni]

Tylar watched as the Hatchlings tumbled from the eggs, Impressing rapidly to others, and in an attempt to not look so stupid as to have been wrong about an Impression - hey, how should he have known? That's how Akal had Impressed - he added "Well, ah, the lizards come to their Impressee or whatever you want to call it for food, I guess. Hatchings can be kinda confusing, though, and I can never tell which comes first, the food demandings or the Impression." Tylar gave a chuckle, glancing about as the two lizards on the bed clung to each other, not holding his attention at all. A Green and a Pink. If either of them came near him, he'd be moving behind Belor. Somehow, those two colors in firelizards displeased him as much as they did in Dragons...

Akal gave a fierce hiss, flaring his ebony wings, as if daring the Green or Pink to come nearer to him and His. He wanted another Black, not some lowly Green or Pink. They would not satisfy him, only another Black would. Another hiss escaped Akal, and this one was more menacing than the last.

Tylar twisted the non meat holding hand up to pat the black flit in a soothing motion, though it was less soothing than he thought it would be - and it hurt to reach up above his shoulder... - and Akal barely responded to it, folding his wings, but still glaring fiercely at the two flits on the bed, though they wouldn't be coming near him any time soon, it appeared.

The thought was relieving to both Tylar and Akal, and the flit calmed enough that Tylar could stop patting him. With an air of relief, Tylar dropped his arm to his side, feeling his firelizard shift about on his shoulder, digging claws into the well padded perch with a low croon. Earlier rapidly forgotten, the Black flit returned his attention to the eggs in unison with His, urging a new egg to Hatch, so that something would happen already.

Tylar wasn't unhappy, but wasn't exactly happy either, really, considering the fact that Lyam had Impressed before he did - he hadn't really paid attention to the other Impressions, and he'd hardly watched Lyam's, instead focusing mainly on the eggs, with an ear out for Belor's conversing, and some attention on Akal as well - if he wasn't careful, and if either flit on the bed came near them, the little Black would be quite angry.

Although, come to think of it, there weren't many colors that wouldn't set the Black off, tempermental critter that it was.

[purnip]

Lyam watched the spectacle with interest. Once the Green and the Blue were going at it, he completely forgot the Purple's rejections. His emotions had ridden on a little bit of a rollercoaster. He only watched the tension form as the Green shielded the Blue's path. She was a bold one, that was to be sure. The Blue took up a lot more space and appeared to be very aware of it. In a flash however, the situation escalated. The Blue took off over his little sister's head and darted for Lyam. The boy clung on to the meat, despite the unfavorable texture of it, and held his breath.

The flitter was using him...as a human shield. Intelligent. Lyam would have admired it more if the Green didn't dart on after. Afraid at first that the two were going to fight on him, he was relieved when he had turned to find the Blue out of concern at at a moment felt there was some sort of connection. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. A short staring into the young firelizard's eyes was all that was needed. Lyam felt the connection he had sought for weeks at last.

Then he turned to see what the Green was up to, hoping that after just impressing a flit he wasn't about to watch it get torn or tear another to pieces. The Green appeared to challenge him at first, then hissed, and finally went away. The relief was great, until the Blue reminded Lyam yet again with another chirp that he was still waiting for some eats.

"Right," he said, hunching his shoulders a bit and holding up the meat at shoulder level. The firelizard greedily inhaled part of what Lyam offered in just a few seconds. The boy was surprised that such a small creature could eat so much. "Now I have a better understanding of the hunger I might have to deal with when I Impress a dragon."

Why in the world would his mine need a dragon if he had a flitter like himself? The little Blue stopped eating for a moment with that thought on his mind. It didn't bother him so much though; hunger was on his mind again and he continued picking at Lyam's offerings. He did stop again and squawked about wanting some sort of name. He would like to know what he'd have to answer to for the rest of his life.

Well, Lyam didn't get that right away. He made himself busy by trying to pull himself out of the crowd. One firelizard was quite enough, and he wouldn't want to bear it being leered at if he impressed another by happy accident. It took a second squawk for him to get the idea.

"I don't know er...I'll call you Suede." Just for any justification if needed, he had no idea -coming from Pern- what the impact of naming a Blue firelizard Suede would have had, if it was our own world. He simply found the little one's hide to be a sort of tough and delicate thing, like leather. Plus, he wasn't exactly creative, yet Lyam didn't want to name his firelizard something common that has anything to do with flight, air, and all that other dragonesque stuff. Sort of failed at that though.

Suede? Whatever that means. If Lyam approved of it, he'd just have to trust him. He was the first human to offer him exactly what he was looking for the moment he realized he wanted it. The two must be of the same mind. Suede chirped in approval and finished picking at the meat in Lyam's hand, nearly emptying it. Meanwhile, Lyam was unsure as to what he should do next. He lightly tapped Kyril's shoulder. Since the boy had also just impressed, perhaps he would know.

"Is there anything I should know before I go? I'd bow for the Queen but...she's still a bit busy. Should I stay a while? In back?"

[kyrillion]

Kyril and Teslana watched attentively as another green hatched, followed by a second blue. After a brief scuffle and a bit of chasing, they were soon paired off, and Tesla was smiling her congratulations to the lucky humans. The purple that had been first to hatch, though, was still undecided, and looking rather distressed about the sheer number of choices that were before him. But just as Kyril thought he would go wild, he suddenly stilled and seemed to come to a decision... And then a firelizard was launching itself at her for the second time, and she couldn't help but be amused by her apparent status as 'stepping stone'. She wondered, idly, just who he was trying to get to - but then he settled contentedly on her shoulder, and his eyes took on that familiar rainbow of Impression.

A grin lit up her features, and she could suddenly feel the little purple's hunger, even as he affectionately nuzzled her cheek. She could sense Rip's excitement and happiness at her Impression, as well, and she reached up to pat affectionately at the purple even as she took a step back from the bed and the rest of the eggs. She caught sight of Tesla, very briefly, giving her a genuine and delighted congratulatory grin.

Breaking off a piece of the meat she'd grabbed earlier, she fed it to the ravenous firelizard, who promptly began wolfing it down. She admired the lavender shade of his wings as she patiently waited for him to eat his fill, though her attention was soon drawn to the boy who'd just Impressed a blue. He was unfamiliar to her; probably a Candidate, and it seemed he wasn't quite sure what to do now that he had a 'lizard of his own. She shrugged in response to his question.

"You can stick around, if you'd like, and watch the rest of the Hatching. But don't feel obligated to stick around, either; no one will think any less of you for leaving. I'm Kyrillion, by the way..."

She would have offered a hand for him to shake, except that at that precise moment the purple finished his meal, and slithered down into her arms to catch some sleep. Gingerly lifting his tail from her bandaged arm, where it had settled, she tucked it in next to him and smiled affectionately when he began to snore.

What should we call him?[/color]
Ripariath was eager to be introduced to their new firelizard, but he would nevertheless wait patiently until His was done being social. For now, he was content to peek his cornflower-blue head around the corner and into R'ori's weyr, trying to catch a glimpse of the still ongoing Hatching.
Hmm... Mim?
Too cutesy.[/color]
Fair point. How about Warren?
There was a moment's pause as her dragon mulled it over, but eventually he said:
Yes. I like that one.[/color]

"What about you?" She woke the purple from his slumber with a pat to the head, and be blinked sleepily at her. "How does Warren sound to you?" He crooned happily, and then snuggled closer to her. In a moment he was fast asleep again. "Well, I guess that's that."

Tesla, in the mean time, had turned her attention back to the clutch, and the remaining un-hatched eggs. This wasn't quite as exciting as a dragon Hatching, but it was certainly a lot of fun! Out of the corner of her eye, though, she spied a familiar face - N'tal was here. She waved briefly to the boy, thinking that he hadn't seemed much like the firelizard type at any of their lessons. But it was good that she wasn't the only Freedomfighter here, anyway.

Irath had finally reached R'ori's weyr, still fuming and quite out of breath from her mad charge after her human. Eyes positively glowing crimson, she was on the verge of storming the room and dragging Tesla bodily away, when she caught sight of Gulath hovering at the door.

Slowing to a halt, she snorted disdainfully at him, still irritable from her encounter with that other blue. Nevertheless, she sat down beside him and looked balefully into the room, hoping that by some miracle Hers would not get a firelizard, after all.

Gulath.[/color] She said by way of greeting, What is Yours doing here?[/color] She sounded quite contemptuous of N'tal; as short of memories as dragons were supposed to have, she still had not forgotten the way he'd treated Hers at their first lesson. As tolerant as she was of Gulath (Tesla had gone so far as to accuse the two of being friends, though Irath had stubbornly denied it), she still wasn't very fond of his human. Hopefully Gulath wouldn't take it personally, as he was the only one besides Tesla she had deigned to spend a lot of time with as of yet.

[purnip]

If Kyril's firelizard hadn't slunk down to her arm, Lyam would have offered a shake. "I'm Lyam," he started. He was about to introduce himself as a Candidate but Suede had given him a poke. Wondering what was the matter, Lyam was about to look over when he felt the firelizard curl his tail around the back of his neck and fall limp on his right shoulder. The little guy's breath was slower, so Lyam not only hoped but assumed that Suede was just sleeping.

"They're a bit clingy, are they?" he asked, mostly in a rhetorical manner. The Blue twitched a bit in his slumber but remained at ease. He had filled himself up well and wanted his rest. How was he to be on top of things as soon as possible if he was half asleep?

Lyam's shoulders and stayed tense to give his firelizard the courtesy of a firm place to rest, but it would put a strain on him rather soon. No, he'd much prefer to retreat to the Candidate Barracks and place Suede in a proper bed of...well, something. The boy hadn't set anything up yet. He was like a father with surprise!--child. Not that he was against that. He had been waiting for a firelizard for some time. He just wondered when the Blue would be ready to send some messages to Fort. Perhaps he should wait until the little guy grows into his wings a little better. These flitters appeared a lot more underdeveloped than their clutchmother, understandably so.

"I'll shuffle on out then," Lyam said, tipping his head slightly. "I'd hate to crowd." He wasn't interested in watching the others Impress anyways. He'd find out who belonged to who in a matter of days. So once there was a clear path that he could spot running through the group, Lyam dipped on out. His movement woke the Blue up a bit and he kept his eyes sleepily open until they reached the clear hall. Then Suede fell into a sleep again and Lyam hastily made his way back to the Barracks.

[Admin]

Oh-oo-oh, you think you're special,
Oh-oo-oh, you think you're something else,
Okay, so you're a rocket scientist,
That don't impress me much.

W'al and P'nay watched the affair with the look of seasoned veterans. Compared to the horde of candidates there, they felt no nerves over the event. Two longtime companions lurking about nearby, they felt no belief that it was necessary to have little pests of pets. They just both thought it might be fun, much alike in their sense of coming to the hatching, similarly encouraging dragons and all. They stood side by side, looking like they could be brothers.

The eggs yielded a purple, two blues, two greens, and a pink, none of which showed a wink of interest in either of the two riders. The purple, one of the greens, and both of the blues went on and bonded to others of the significant group that had gathered in the weyr for the hatching. The pink and the green sat, clinging to each other in some odd desperation. W'al tilted his head at them, wondering why they were waiting. They had to be hungry.

P'nay wasn't as curious. "Why is that all of the candidates get the flits;" he asked, whiny voice joking as he elbowed W'al lightly in the side. Considering he was unlikely to cry if he didn't get one, though he might end up a little sad, and there were still fifteen unhatched eggs, he wasn't really that upset. He wished them the best of luck with their new pets and their chores and their lessons and trying to make a life. Oh, boy, and after the hatching!

"We have impeccable searchdragons?" W'al suggested with a grin, laughing lightly at the other rider. He'd never done much searching himself, but Annith and P'nay had in the past. Some dragons searched, some did sometimes, and some didn't. "I believe the girl with the purple is a weyrling, and Nia is an orangerider;" he added, as if he couldn't identify the upper ranking rider. He could feel Kerath's mild interest outside to Niki.

"Well, orange supposedly trumps yellow and purple;" P'nay grumbled, pretending to be cross at being corrected and the idea he tried to argue. In truth, he was just having his fun, the flitter hatching not exciting enough to hold him on the edge of his seat for every moment. He meant no offense to Shanza, who he was sure could beat his butt in all truth. He just quite enjoyed having a loud fake argument in the middle of a fairly important event.

"Says the man with the dragon color that's rarer than any other sort in the Weyr except Queens;" W'al countered. Shooting him an amused glare, the yellowrider fell quiet, so they were no longer interjecting loudly over everyone's conversation. Shaking his head, he went back to watching the little eggs and two little dragonets that sat on the bed in front of him. P'nay smiled faintly at the cute pair. They were quite darling, acting so close and loving like that.

That don't impress me much,
Uh huh yeah-yeah,
I never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket,
And a comb up his sleeve, just in case.

[4horseshowgirl4]

So far, the Hatching was going swimmingly! There had been a few minor hiccups in the whole operation, like the second Blue and the Green fighting, but they'd all bonded. However, Shanza was a little concerned with the number of people there compared to the number of eggs. She couldn't count, but there were more eggs than people, it was plain to see. She twined her tail with Phareon's nervously, but she wasn't going to ask Oveth to make a second call for people. That would be just silly. If they wanted to come for her babies, they would have come the first time! People were probably just running behind, her eggs were hatching and bonding pretty quickly. Yes, that must be it.

The Pink was still huddled against the Green, who was stroking the Pink's head with a clumsy but maternal affection. The Pink's eyes were almost bulging with confusion and unhappiness, and she just snuggled deeper against the Green. Then, another egg hatched, and yet another Blue sauntered easily out of the remnants of his eggshell. He looked rather like the Blue who had Impressed to Lyam, but his hide was a darker and richer sky blue, like a late afternoon sky instead of an early morning one. He was built just as solidly, but without Lyam's Blue's well-proportioned body. He wasn't exactly pretty, but there was no denying that he was a mellow-looking fellow. However, when he turned to inspect his two clutchsisters, his curiosity piqued, he revealed a strange splotch of white on his rump, its edges irregular and quite distinct, almost like someone had painted it on him.

He moved quietly over to where the Green and Pink were sitting together, and the Green chattered seeming nonsense to him. However, the Blue seemed to understand, and he two sat down on his haunches and leaned his head against the Green comfortably. The Pink began to fall into a lethargic stupor. Shanza screeched at them, but the Blue was the only one that looked at her. He gave a soft, reassuring croon to her, eyes blinking lazily. Shanza huffed then chirped impatiently again, but she would not rush her children to their decision, even if they were being incredibly slow.

Two more eggs hatched at the same time, revealing two firelizards quite far away from each other in the size spectrum: a Bronze and a ribby, unhealthy-looking Black. The Bronze rumbled aggressively at the Black, his wings splayed, ready to defend his territory from the little invader, but the Black just ignored the Bronze's over-confident displays. He knew exactly who he wanted, that quiet person in the back that wouldn't bother him. And he had food. Or would. That was kind of important. The Bronze flapped his wet wings again and tossed his head, obviously thinking he was hot stuff for chasing off the Black.

However, something about the Black's arrival cued the Green to stir the Blue and the Pink from their half-dozing off state. She prodded them both gently, causing the Pink to jump in the air in surprise and begin twittering around like a deranged bird, flapping her wings ludicrously and trying to fly. The Blue only yawned and padded after his Green sister, who was leading the way after the Black. It didn't take the Black long to notice that he was being followed; one look over his shoulder was all it took to notice the Green, Blue, and Pink following in his wake. He hissed, but that did nothing to offset them. He shrieked, causing those nearby to clap their hands over their ears. The Green patiently trod towards him, followed by a more trepidatious Blue and a terrified-looking Pink. The Bronze continued to strut around and flare his wings, seeming completely oblivious to all of this.

The Black backed away from them, hissing and spitting like a feline, shrieking every few seconds, flapping his wings and throwing himself around almost like an angrier version of the now-hyperactive Pink. He clearly didn't want to be followed, he wanted to be alone. While the other two were offput by this, the Green wasn't-- she approached until she could twine his tail comfortingly with his. He gave an audible sigh and gave up. The Green crooned softly in happiness. She knew he would go with them eventually. The Black dropped onto the floor and scuttled between legs until he reached the pair of feet he was looking for-- N'tal's. The Green gave an encouraging chirp to the two before hopping off of the bed after him, and after a moment of hesitation, the Blue and the Pink followed. The Black climbed up to N'tal's shoulder a few moments before the other three did, but it still wasn't long before poor N'tal had four suddenly-ravenous firelizards all chirping loudly and begging for food.

Black (000000), bonded to N'tal
Personality:
Cold is the best way to describe this firelizard. He’s your typical irritable, unsociable Black. He’s aloof and generally uninterested in being with anyone, often sulking off by himself. The only ones able to draw him into a sunny mood are his bonded and his Green sister, and even then, he’s only half-hearted about being happy. He’s hardly a ray of sunshine, and even in his most cheerful moments, he’s a rather weak ray at that. However, when left alone, he’s very good at fending for himself, so he’s very low-maintenance and generally agreeable to go do something useful every now and then as long as he gets his peace.

When provoked, however, he has a stormy temper. It doesn’t take much to set him off; even something as small as someone that’s not his bonded trying to touch him will do it. His temper tantrums are more for show than anything, though; he’s quite clever, and he knows that if he throws a massive fit, the offender will most likely never repeat the offense! He knows how to get his way, and he’s equally as good about making himself scarce after these incidents so his bonded doesn’t have an opportunity to punish him for them.

Appearance:
There’s something almost haggard about this firelizard. He’s very thin, with his ribs and hipbones always jutting out no matter how much he eats. He’s also not around often enough to get his hide oiled as much as it needs to be, and while he tolerates the process often enough to prevent cracks, his hide doesn’t have the healthy sheen it should. He is a pure black color except for a smattering of tiny white speckles along his back and the upper sides of his wings. Other than his unhealthy-looking appearance, he is not a badly proportioned firelizard; he has a nice balance to his body, if he could only manage to get enough meat on his bones.

Green (8CDD81), bonded to N'tal
Personality:
This Green is always cheerful and optimistic. She always believes that the best is going to happen and is the first to reassure someone if they don’t agree with her. It’s hard to get her down: even if she is disappointed, she won’t show it. She’ll just remain hopeful and try to find the bright side of the situation, and usually, she does. Her happiness and love of life can get a little bit overbearing at times, and sometimes it’s easier to just send her away instead of dealing with her trying to constantly trying to cheer someone up (her bonded is her usual victim, but she won’t hesitate from attempting to help someone else, either), but, in bad times, she’s a very good friend to have.

She also has unnaturally strong maternal instincts for a Green. While she is a Green and, therefore, rarely clutches, she’ll be the first to notice if any of her brethren has a clutch and the first to offer to help raise the eggs. She also has a tendency to steal wild eggs and bring them back to the Weyr to care for herself. She loves all new life, though, whether it be firelizard, human, dragon, or even wher. Babies are her absolute favorite thing in the world—if there’s one around, she’ll try to help tend it, if the real mother will allow her. She’s gentle and kind as can be.

Appearance:
She’s a lovely, pale shade of pastel green. Her legs darken to a hunter green, and her feet are nearly black, they’re so dark. The tip of her tail also fades into this dark color. She’s fairly small for her color, and is quite lean and leggy, with a very youthful-looking body—she always seems like she should still be growing into her long limbs and large wings, and will even when she’s fully grown. She’s quite cute, and many would consider her pretty.

Blue (38B0DE), bonded to N'tal
Personality:
This firelizard is laid back, almost to a fault. He’s antagonizingly difficult to motivate to do anything but equally as hard to upset. This Blue always seems to be at peace with the world; he doesn’t get excited about his perpetual contentment, but it’s quite plain that he’s always feeling fine and dandy. Because of this, he’s a calming, soothing soul to be around, even for people other than His. He doesn’t actively try to cheer people up like his Green sister does, but he’s reassuring in his quiet, happy manner. He doesn’t have to be loud about it—in fact, he communicates with those around him very little, rarely sending perfectly distinct images, preferring to simply send his a hungry emotion when he wants to eat or a utilizing the gentle, relaxing touch to the mind.

However, that isn’t to say he doesn’t know how to have fun. When the situation calls for it, he can be quite playful, even though he might need some goading to join in any games or mischief. For a firelizard, strangely enough, he loves to swim, and will unhesitatingly dive into any pool of water he sees, as long as the weather is good (he’s far from a fan of winter dives). Most of the time, though, he’s found simply stretched out in a sunbeam, happily relaxing the day away.

Appearance:
He’s a pleasant shade of soft, sky blue, which does not change in its tint or richness over his body, except for a strange, large splotch of white on his haunches, which looks so out of place that it almost seems someone must have painted it onto him. He’s fairly large for a Blue, but not to the extent that he seems abnormal. He’s just comfortably big. He’s stocky and round, with a thick neck legs and a big, somewhat shapeless head that couldn’t be called attractive, but he always has a pleasant expression and his eyes never whirl an unhappy shade.

Pink (CC4E5C), bonded to N'tal
Personality:
It’s a little hard to put your finger on this Pink. She’s unpredictable, and sometimes, there seems to be little rhyme or reason to her mood swings. One moment, she’ll be tired and lethargic, the next, almost unable to contain her hyperactivity. She’ll be sulking or throwing a fit, and, not even a candlemark later, perfectly happy and peppy, eager to be with people and try to please Hers. For outsiders, her unpredictable nature can be quite unnerving, and even Hers and the rest of his fair are sometimes taken by surprise—they are fairly good at reading her and sensing an emotional breakdown before it happens, though.

Despite her stormy moods, though, she is a naturally sweet firelizard and tries to control herself, but just can’t manage to. She extends a great amount of effort to please Hers and be a good friend for the other three, but there’s no denying that they have to act as her emotional buffer more often than not. She spends a great deal of time lying quietly with the Blue, allowing him to keep her calm and relaxed. She also has a bad case of separation anxiety: she always has to be with one of her group or Hers, and her biggest fear is waking up one day alone. There’s no denying it: this is probably the craziest flitter in the bunch. She seems a little touched in the head.

Appearance:
While she’s easily the most mentally unstable firelizard, she’s also perhaps the loveliest. Everything about her is delicate and refined, on the verge of looking fragile. She’s perfectly proportioned, a model for ideal firelizard conformation. She’s small, even for a Pink, though, and is far from strong or fast, even for her size. She makes up for this in pure grace—she’s quite fun to watch in the air, and she’s freakishly well-coordinated for a firelizard even on the ground. Her hide is a deep, rich pink that’s closer to magenta than ‘pink,’ with soft patterns of a more orange color covering her belly and the undersides of her wings. [/font]

[kia]

Nia had finally finished feeding the little Blue that was now curling up on her shoulder. He was a surprise to her, considering she had only come to find B`nyur and not to Impress one of the little ones. But, apparently, as this guy was falling asleep on her shoulder, they had minds of their own and plans which had included her. Flare chirped from above Nia, curious about the new Blue that sat on his Mine`s shoulder. He was not jealous, which was a relief for Nia, but he did want to land on his Mine`s shoulder. "What should I name you?" she whispered to the slumbering Fire Lizard. She thought about it and then smiled. "Nix. That is what we will call you," she said, in which the little blue seemed to respond with a chirp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

N`tal was still standing in the back, watching the Hatching. So far, a lot of eggs had Hatched and none had betweened, which he guessed was a good thing. But he did not care in the least. He was not here to Impress, he was here to make sure Gulath did not try to eat them. He sighed, annoyed with the fact that he was always constantly having to stop his dragon from doing stupid things instead of doing things that he wanted to do, like sleeping. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he saw Tesla waving at him. He rolled his eyes and turned his head away, ignoring the girl. Why was she always like this. It seemed she was chasing him down, left and right. Whatever. Whenever Gulath`s interest changed, he would take the Blue out of here and back to the Barracks.

But, suddenly, there was a loud sound that made everyone cover their ears. He winced and saw the Black. Those things were crazy! Well, at least Fire Lizards did not talk. But, then again, them talking did help at times whenever he had to plan things.

Suddenly, he felt something crawling up his pant leg. It was that same Black. And following him was a Green, Blue, and Pink. Four of them were crawling up him. His eyes widened as they all climbed up him, crying out for food. He could hear Gulath snickering in the back of his mind. Wait, was Gulath laughing? At him! I did not even want the little squealers! he shouted at his dragon mentally.

Instead of backing down like usual, Gulath actually found some courage from this. See, I told you! the dragon replied back, his eyes turning an interesting green color.

N`tal glanced at his dragon. So, the Blue did have a spine. Good. He needed that. He would need that when he left Dalibor and joined the Renegades. He needed that so he could escape. He moved toward the food bucket and fed them all till they were quiet and curled up in places around him. "Your names, I guess." He gave them each very long and difficult names, but he gave them their nicknames too. "Ian, Ri, Onal, Asu. That will be your names," he replied.

Gulath then turned to Irath as the Green approached him. He now had some confidence in him now that he had managed to show his Mine up one. Maybe that was all he needed. He needed to show his Mine that he was capable of doing things too. Hello, Irath. The original intent was to prevent me from eating those creatures, but it turned out Mine Impressed about four of them. But it seems like they keep passing over your Mine. She will get one. I can tell she wants one, he replied.