Divine Beginnings (Risk`s Clutch Hatches!)

[Admin]

Took things too far,
But I missed you and your antics,
You were lonesome,
And blue-eyed and so special to us.

An iron had hatched. A King! Obelir grinned as the bulky creature struggled from his egg. A green had also hatched, but she was already off. Oblivious, he hardly noticed as she dodged her way amongst the other candidates. He only noticed when she bonded, and that was only to beam a congratulatory smile in the general direction of the boy she'd picked. Just a moment after that, his eyes were back on the iron. It wasn't that he particularly loved the idea of bonding to a King, but the wheret was a bit of an awe inspiring sight. One day, he was going to stand as tall as a runnerbeast at the shoulder, as tall as some people and taller than others. Smiling away, Obelir ran over the facts and figures. Despite the fact that the blue was right next to the iron, chattering away, the candidate didn't notice the smaller wheret's presence. He stared at the iron.

ObelirMine okay? Obelisk content with you. There was a calm, happy, content voice in his head. Something had headbutted the back of his legs. He almost fell, waving his arms awkwardly for a moment in surprise. Ever thinking, ever preoccupied, Obelir hadn't noticed that the blue had finally gotten up and moved towards the candidates. Blinking, he turned his head and looked down. The little blue stared back up at him. Obelisk. The emotions were faint, but they were there. Kneeling as he swallowed, Obelir shifted his grip on his knife. His thoughts slowed. He could barely believe that was happening. Carefully, Obelir cut a thin, shallow slice just below the side of his elbow. It hurt, but the sting was minute. Extending his arm, he offered it to Obelisk. The blue neatly clamped his teeth around the wound, tasting the blood with one lick of his tongue.

Obelisk's okay? Obelisk's know? Obelisk's think? Obelisk withdrew his head and licked off what blood he had gotten on his muzzle. The voice was louder, filling up the front of Obelir's mind. The emotions came rushing into his head, so much clearer than the words. Happiness. Contentment. Curiosity. They were all new feelings how he felt them. He'd bonded! He'd finally Impressed to a wher! A wonderful blue who was only his! It had taken him the majority of his life thus far to do it, but that didn't matter. He had the rest of his life to spend with Obelisk. He was a wherling! A wherling at Dalibor! One of the first five to ever bond at the western Weyr! His thoughts picked up again, trailing around through his mind full of facts upon facts. Obelisk blinked his outer lid and tilted his head to the side, ever curious in his own complacent, unhurried manner.

"I'm fine, Obelisk. Come on. We can talk about other things later. You need food;" Obelir told the blue, beaming widely with sheer joy. Content and happy, Obelisk responded with a subdued eagerness. He butted his handler lightly in the legs again, drawing a laugh out of the boy. Carefully pick his way over the blue, Obelir headed for where the food buckets were. The boy with the green, the boy with the brown, and the girl with the green were already over there. He hardly payed a wink of attention to them. Every other second, he would glance at Obelisk, checking on what the blue was doing. It took him twice as long as it should have to get a bloody bucket of squashy meat in front of the blue as it should have. Yes, he knew exactly the fastest way to do the task, but that didn't mean he did it that way. Thankfully, Obelisk was patient.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bri caught a wink. One of the other girls had winked at her. She faintly shook her head. It was nice to see that someone appreciated her gestures of insanity, though she certainly hadn't been looking for approval. Aside from the head shake, she ignored the wink. She focused on the eggs. More of them were hatching. An iron and a green joined the remaining blue on the sands. Not so surprisingly to Bri, it was the green who was out first. The little wheret, a bit bigger than the green who'd already bonded, seemed to have plenty of energy. Like a rocket, the green was off, before the iron was even properly free of his egg. Again, the naked candidate shook her head. A cheerful, faintly smug smile remained on her face, but it didn't do justice to the amusement that the hatching gave her. She was enjoying herself.

Bri giggled in a less than girlish fashion as a green ran between her legs in search of her bonded. The sensation of rough but slimy hide tickled. She didn't mind the feeling. In a way, it was soothing against her rashes. Soon enough, the green had bonded to one of the boys. She beamed. Even though the green hadn't picked her, she felt some connection to the cheerful little thing. First off, the wheret was adorable. Beyond that, the brief contact with the green had been fun, not at all bad. Elsewhere, the blue had also finally bonded to the boy she'd met several times. She'd never bothered to learn his name properly. The blue was a rather boring creature. Swaying slightly, she turned back to the eggs. The iron was still on the sands, but she didn't want an iron. While she knew better than to be particular, she didn't care. Kings were icky. Seven eggs left.

Instead of a long drop from a high place,
Ten years I never spoke your name,
Now it feels good to say it,
You're my friend again.

[fidelli]

Noyth was not sleeping. She didn't sleep often now, with Vherth on the Sands, and she was even more cranky than usual. Her's was trying his hardest, and she appreciated that. Gray's were funny in the fact that their Rider's meant more to them than other dragons. Of course, to every dragon it was important, but for Gray's it was double. She lived and breathed for him, nothing but. She loved him so much - it's why she was as abrasive as she was. It was her way of dealing with her love, and A'mor understood that. So, as Risk's call went out the little Gray snuggled more protectively in the middle of the sands over her lone, kelly green egg, and growled softly under her breath as the candidate's filed in. A'mor was awake with her, caught by the new rush of anger and fear that tainted her. He was half sleeping anyway, on the cot next to her, tangled in a simple sheet and half awake. When she had begun to flash on the people walking in, he sighed, gave up, and settled back on the cot to write his next report out - this was an excellent time to get ahead. Although, he hated writing reports, and it was always why he was behind.

So, a few meaningless minutes, hours, it didn't matter to him later, he was still staring at the same paper and Noyth was speaking. Mine. A Wher Candidate has been mauled, and Risk's ask you help. You may. Just. Be back. A'mor looked over at the Gray, eyes wide. "You sure, sweetheart?" She only scuffed at him, and shifted over to the egg a little more, tucking her head under her wing. Go. With a yawn, A'mor scooped up his bag and walked over to the cave, ducking inside. The Wher's made him nervous, but not too much - he reeked of dragon, and none of them would go near an already Impressed person. "Alpha Wherhandler Ridan?" He found the man, moving across the darkness easily - he hadn't left it for a few days now. "Noyth says you need a little help." He was slightly more civil than usual, but perhaps it was because he was running on no sleep - as it was, he was perhaps nicer right now. "Who's hurt?"

[hatori3070]

Talouse sprinted down hallways, nearly running into a few drudges in her mad dash back to the surface. Oh no, oh no, oh no! She was late! Very, very, very late! It was lucky for her that her route led her past the kitchens. She ducked in and grabbed a freshly cleaned knife, making absolutely sure that it was indeed free of any bits of food. Just to be doubly safe, she made a brief pause to wipe it across her breeches. Now, all she had to do was negotiate her way across the bowl and onto the sands where she dearly hoped that Risk would still allow her to go. Mother whers were unpredictable, even more so than whers were normally. It was a very real possibility that Risk would either chase her away, if she was feeling generous, or simply maul her. It would be completely at her discretion, and Talouse found that an uncomfortable place to be. Enough stalling, she told herself. She had reached a doorway that opened onto the bowl and now had to cross it and get to the sands. The idea of just not going did cross her mind for a moment, but she discarded the thought almost as soon as it came up. No one thought she would succeed, her fear of dragons considered a severe handicap. She had to prove them wrong, but more than that, she had to prove to herself that she could do this. She made a dash for the sands, straight across the middle of the bowl. Her palms were sweating before she was all the way across and a chill ran down her spine as she came what she considered to be dangerously close to a landing dragon, but she made it. After a brief moment to collect herself and wiping her sweaty palms on her breeches, she stepped carefully onto the sands. With a little more sweat breaking out on her forehead, she made a deep bow to Risk and shuffled to the rear of the candidates. So many had already hatched and made their choices. Talouse was sure that Risk would be very angry with her. She could only hope that she would get out of this with her skin.

[aikastarr]

Rethalt gave a small nod to his companion’s comments, not really paying attention to him as an Iron bored a hole into the shell. As the Blue chirruped a greeting (or was it a summary?) to the male, the pale green egg splintered away to reveal an adorable little Green wher, who promptly skittered about. The boisterous girl weaved between the Candidates, and slid between the nude girl’s legs. He let a shudder ripple down his spine; having a slimy little wheret worm its way between one’s legs sounds utterly strange. She snaked past him and promptly chirped at Frino. He watched as his friend slit his arm and allowed the Green remove the trickling blood, and turned to feed her.

Rethalt gave him a soft smile, but it was bittersweet; both of his friends had Impressed, and not even one wher had spared him a glance. He knew that the Iron was still on the Sands, and had subconsciously clapped quietly for the Candidate that Impressed to the pale blue. He knew that there was still a chance for Impression, what with all the eggs still rocking to and fro, but who knows: maybe some will run wild. It was just a way of life, and if he didn’t Impress at this Hatching, he’ll just stand at the next and the next, and keep standing until his Standing days were over. If the boy did happen to leave wherless, he would just continue living. Maybe settle down with Satonia and Runeth? No, that wouldn’t feel right, going back to Mother and Father as an adult, he corrected himself, and watched as the Iron peered at each and every one of them with a keen stare. Almost as if he was reading their soul….

Another shudder ran up and down his spine at the thought. Rubbing his palms together and through his thick crimson hair, Rethalt kept a keen eye on one particular egg that was still wiggling. Its shell was devoid of any color, with the exception of the swirling dark purple that snaked about the egg, almost unnoticed. He wondered how such an egg existed. Maybe it wasn’t an egg at all, but a round jewel; an amethyst that carried the breath of life! A fresh smile crept across his face, this time full of sweet, not a trace of bitterness to be seen. Maybe that egg held his lifemate and acceptance to be with the ranks of his friends.

His daydreaming was, once again, cut short as the slapping of foot against sand made way for the mad dash of a very late Candidate. She seemed out of breath, almost disheveled from the voyage, however long it was. A chuckle bubbled within him, but his lips stayed firmly shut as she shuffled behind the rest of the awaiting wherlings-to-be.

[kia]

Risk watched as her children were Impressing one after the other. When the little Iron Hatched from his egg, Risk felt a sense of pride in the little Iron. His egg had been among her pride and joys of the Clutch. Now that he was Hatched, he was ready to face the world. She gave a small, primal croon to the little one to remind him that he had an important decision ahead of him. Who would he Impressed to? He was going to need someone strong to handle him even though this little Iron seemed very calm at the moment. But, it could be he was still getting use to everything around him. Risk`s head turned when she saw Talouse enter the Sands, very late! She growled lowly and stood up, almost ready to proceed to walk over to her and push her out, roughly, off of her Sands. But Risk`s attention was turned once again by the appearance of A`mor. The man had arrived. He better be careful around her eggs. She was far enough from Noyth`s egg to not hurt it, so he better, in return, not bring harm to any of her children.

Ridan looked up as A`mor walked over to where he and the Wherlings were at the moment. He offered the GrayRider a gentle smile as the man asked about who was hurt. He pointed over to Durene and Wrynri as he asked. "Both of them had their legs attackes by a little Wher. Wrynri is also scratched up around his side, but he is doing ok. Probably just needs something to help keep infections away. Their legs are a bit more serious, though," he replied. Then he turned as he saw more eggs begin to shake with more violence. "You might want to stick around a bit more. With Whers, there could be more attacks. They are very unpredictable until they Impress, and even still they are unpredictable but just a bit less," he added, still concerned for his Candidates and Wherlings.

The little Iron sat there for a bit longer. The other eggs on the sands were nicer looking than his own egg. His egg was a liar, he thought to himself. His egg made others think he would have Hatched as a Bronze. Nope, he had been an Iron. And he was quite proud of himself. He stood up and looked around. Well, since he was the highest ranked Wher, at the moment, in his group, he should show them how a young, future leader should act. That and he was curious to see what had become of his siblings after they had been carried off the Sands by their Handlers. He could smell the nearby food and his stomach was beginning to rumble. He would go out there and find his Mine and make them feed him! He looked around at the Candidates, trying to pick the one that was the most worthy. His eyes landed on one person in particular and moved toward that person. This one would do! This one was strong! This one had the potential to be a great leader like him! All the person needed was some motivation. He would be that motivation. Come BaharlMine. Feed Bask! Much do, he said, staring up into her face with regality.


(( HEX is 79816F ))

Crack, crack, crack, CRACK! The little sunset egg was making loud cracking noises as the little Wher inside desperately was trying to escape from its prison. The egg was beautiful, but it held whatever little Wher inside. It wanted out... NOW! At the same time the little Wher in the sunset egg was trying to escaped, the bloody red egg wasmoving back and forth in rhythm. The bloody red egg tipped over a bit too much and fell on the shell shards of the bronze-ish red egg. The egg cracked opened and a second Brown was revealed. So two Brown had sat side by side of the Iron`s egg, almost like two soldiers guarding their king. The little Brown shook his head and chirped. He was so tired from trying to escape. His chirped was answered by another chirp. He looked over and saw a green head poking out of the sunset egg. The Green continued to push forward until the egg gave way and released the Green. The stisky residue that had held the Whers inside their egg kept a small egg shard of the sunset egg on the Green`s back.

The Green shirped with happiness. She was free! And she was a very bright and lovely shade of green. She thought her hide was pretty and so did Risk. She may not be the loveliest Green in Pern, but she was one of the loveliest. She chirped a couple of times and then started making her way toward the Candidates. She was not in a hurry like her earlier siblings. She was much more calmer than that. After all, she was a female, and females were ladies, and ladies acted with dignity. She began to move around the legs and feet of the female Candidates. She desired a female Candidate like her own gender. She needed someone to help keep her refined and beautiful. She stopped infront of a particular girl. She chirped a couple of time before jumping on the girl. The jumping was not mean or rude. It was more like a dog trying to jump into your arms. The Green looked down at her chosen female Candidate with bright, whirling green eyes. BriMine clothes! Ladies wear clothes! Brisk lady! BriMine lady! she said, trying to make her point clear that Bri had better wear clothes and get some on soon.


(( HEX is 0AD88A ))

The Brown yawned several times and almost desired to curl up to sleep. But, he knew what was needed and expected of him. He needed to find a Candidate, persuade that Candidate to feed him, and then grow up into a big, strong, brave Brown. He was brave and strong. He could easily do anything that anyone asked him to do, he just like to sleep. But, looking at Risk, he could see that she was waiting for him to make his move. Well, here he went. He stood up and, with another yawn, moved toward the Candidates. He looked up at each and every one of them with slightly curiousity. They were waiting for him to choose his Handler. The were waiting on HIM. Well, he better not disappoint any of them. He found his Handler and curled himself around the feet and ankles of the person. With another yawn, he glanced up at his Handler. RethalthMine, Resk hunger. Resk sleepy. But strong! Just tired. Food... he said, the words drifting off between food, tired, and strong.


(( HEX is 946846 ))

[hatori3070]

Talouse could have collapsed from relief when Risk's attention was taken by a man who walked up after she moved off. Of course, if she had, Risk would have mauled her for sure. Luckily she managed to stay on her feet and just saw a little Iron Impress to a candidate she didn't know. Which wasn't a surprise, really. She hadn't gone out of her way to meet any of the other candidates. Well, that would change when they were wherlings. The horrible word "if" floated to the top of her mind, but she quickly crushed it. Talouse knew that even if she didn't Impress today, she would have another chance in the future. Soon a Brown hatched, followed quickly by a pretty little Green. When the Green began making her way through the candidates, Talouse noticed Bri, her roommate. Naked. A blush rose on her face and she glanced away. She had known from the moment she met her that Bri was odd, but this? She glanced back up at her just in time to notice that the Green had Impressed to her. She applauded for her friend, truly happy that she had Impressed, and returned her attention to the eggs. The Brown was moving through the candidates and looked at her face for a moment, but moved on. Talouse held in a sigh. Wher Impressions were much less ruled by gender than dragon ones. It could have happened. There were still a few eggs left. Her chances were just as good as everyone else left standing so far. It wasn't over yet.

[zeis]

Baharl had kept her curious icy blue eyes on the Iron, and was amused by his seeming leisure. Of course this was an important decision, and not something to rush into head first. The little fellow couldn't undo this once he had chosen, or really... she didn't know if he could or not. The Iron could just as easily run off into the Wild as choose someone else, but once bonded were they obligated to remain with that person until one or the others death? It probably was a question that needed no answering, she figured. If a Dragon or Wher chose you, then really was there any way for the two of you to be unhappy with each other? She didn't know. The bond between a person and a draconic creature was still something only briefly experienced by her impression of Spiral. And how could she get tired of that little oddball? Or he of her? Well, actually she could picture him getting tired of her sometimes... She grinned at the thought.

Her idle philosophy was interrupted by the arrival of an extremely late girl, and Baharl glanced at her with a faint frown. She didn't begrudge the girl for being late much, though personally she couldn't imagine herself being late to a hatching she had waited so long for. Though really, sometimes accidents just happened, and sometimes people slept late. Hopefully the girl wouldn't miss her chance if there really was a Wher here for her. She turned her gaze back to the Iron on the sands, hearing Risk's growl, but not reacting otherwise to it. That growl wasn't meant for her, she knew, but for the late comer. Maybe it would just stay a growl and nothing more, for her sake.

Whatever thoughts of sympathy were pushed to a corner of her mind as the Iron started toward the Candidates, and she stood ready, with hands on her hips to undergo inspection. Their were curious colors mingling with the red in his eyes, and he was searching, looking for someone among them. He didn't look long. The shining little Wheret had locked his multi-faceted eyes with hers, and was approaching with a gait that spoke pride and strength as wobbly as it was. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and raised her eyebrows expectantly. Did she pass the test?

Come. Baharlmine. Feed Bask! Much do.

She blinked down at him, and her smiling face for a few seconds became a look of surprise. She had passed the test... Well, of course she had! There had never been any doubt in her mind, had there? A contagious giggle escaped her, and she balled her hands into fists at her sides, seeming to shake with barely controlled mirth. When the laugh-attack had passed, she knelt down before the Wher, reaching down to pull the shining dagger from the cuff of her boot. Without any hesitation, she slashed a gash across the top of her left arm, and with a look of swelling pride offered it to the young Iron. Bask, without any hesitation on his own part, darted his head forward and bit lightly down on his Handler's arm, lapping eagerly at the blood. He released her soon after, and licked blood from his muzzle with a look of calm satisfaction. Perhaps she was a little silly, but there was iron underneath all that laughter. He'd made the right choice.

"Sounds like a plan, Bask." She spoke jovially, and reached out to fondly scratch the Wher's eye ridges with a gentleness she didn't use on most people. The girl wiped the dagger carefully off on her pant leg, and slid it back into her boot with a wink. "I'm feeling pretty hungry myself." She rose to a stand, and led the young King leisurely back toward the buckets of meat. Briefly breaking away from him, she fetched one and hauled it easily back, plopping it in front of him with a grin. "Can't say this is doing much for my appetite though." Bask snorted, but eagerly accepted the meat she offered, eating with a voracity that rivaled her own.

[Nia]

Kio eyed the whers as they hatched, but really, he was far more interested in the reactions of the other Candidates around him. How could he not focus on them instead? They were so... interesting. Far more interesting than the umimpressed whers. He eyed the naked girl for a moment, dying to investigate just what had made her want to show up without clothes on. She didn't appear to like him, though, not like he was truly interested in her for reasons other than pure research. He turned his gaze to the boy next to him, the albino. He was hiding his albinoness. He'd hid it from Kio, too, but Kio knew how to get under someone's skin. Literally.

The others were all interesting in their own way, and as the whers Impressed Kio watched the people who were good enough for them. His confidence didn't waver at all, and he was still quite cocky about his own Impression. Or even if he didn't, he didn't need a wher to do what he wanted to do. He didn't need attention, afterall. He was fine staying in the shadows. In fact, that would probably be better for what he was going to accomplish. Not that he had any goals far into the future... but either way, he'd be fine no matter what he Impressed. He wasn't arrogant that way. A Green would do. He just wanted to prove that he could, because he could.

The Iron Impressed. Naturally, of course, not to Kio. He didn't want that Iron anyway. He was easily able to convince himself that. He didn't need an Iron. And it had Impressed to a... girl. One he didn't believe he recognized, though it was dark and Kio's writer is an oblivious idiot, so it's okay. Either way, his eyebrows raised in amusement at the Iron Impressing to a girl. That certainly wouldn't happen with dragons. Was it the equivalent of a Queen Impression? The girl should feel proud, then. Not that it mattered to Kio. He'd always be better than her, no matter what he Impressed. And no, he wasn't jealous. Not even a little.

The naked-girl-that-didn't-like-him also Impressed while Kio was inspecting Baharl. A Green. Figured. Oh, did he think that? Sorry. Rank doesn't matter, right, right? Kio smirked at his own thoughts, restraining the temptation to burst out laughing in general. Then a Brown... who Impressed to someone that looked strikingly familiar, but Kio couldn't place where he'd seen this boy before. Oh well. It wasn't like Kio had to remember the names of everyone, no, they just had to remember his name. He was more important, anyway. He eyed the rest of the eggs warily... it would be quite a blow to his reputation if he ended up not Impressing. He once again tried to puth is hands into the pockets of his "armor", only to get annoyed when he couldn't find any. He settled for slouching.

[/size]

[Birdy]

Asterin twiddles his thumb as another pair of eggs hatched. The cracks formed and he didn’t even flinch, he was quite proud of himself. Imagine that! He’d thought that he would never get over the breaking of the shells but he had! Instead, he jumped at the loud chirp of the green. There were two new wherets on the Sands. A handsome brown, he sure was big though not nearly as big as the Iron that was menacing the Sands.

The Iron went off and Impressed to a woman, which he didn’t question but if it had been a dragon. Well that would have been weird. Deep down he was glad that the Iron hadn’t Impressed to him, the thought of those claws everyday would drive him insane! He had more hope with the happy green, she really was quite pretty. But she went and Impressed to the naked girl. Maybe he would have had better luck if he were..no that was a stupid idea. He dismissed it.

The last wheret on the Sands, the brown, Impressed to a boy. Asterin sighed, there were a few eggs left, and several candidates. He dearly hoped he would Impress. Though he WAS getting used to the eggs breaking and all, but the blood was a bit too much. Still if he didn’t Impress…well he would just live in the barracks right?

[kia]

The Iron Impressed, the two Browns had Impressed, and all the others had Impressed. So far there had only been two maulings. Things seemed to have come to a peace, but it was not over yet. Not by a few more egg shells. Risk returned her position as guard and guadrian of the eggs now that her Handler was talking to A`mor. She watched the rest of the Candidates as the stood waiting and ready for the rest of the eggs to Hatch. If they think they could come in here and take her eggs without waiting for the rest of the Whers to Hatch, they were wrong. Risk was continuing to eye Talouse, the late Candidate, and wondering whether she should go back to the idea of chasing the girl off the Sands. Risk licked her maw. Yeah, she still liked the idea. She stood up and started creeping close to the girl, growling lowly and teeth baring slightly.

The grassy green egg was beginning to shake. At hearing the sounds of the blood egg Hatching, it seemed the little Hatchling wanted to come out to join its Brown brother. As it continued to struggle, it would seem that it would not happen. The little wher pushed against the egg shell and the shell gave way. Out step a bright, dark Blue Wher. He was surprise that the egg shell had been partly soft. His egg could have been destroyed! But the Blue would not remain on the Sands by itself for long. Another crack signal the introduction of another Wher on the Sands. While the Blue had struggle with his egg, the neautral, medium blue egg revealed a minty-colored Green Wher. She began to walk out onto the Sands and fell over, covering and burying herself with sand. A small snort echoed from inside the den. Another egg had also Hatched in secret. the deep, grassy green egg revealed a little Black who was climbing out of his shell prison. This Black was slightly larger than his previous Black brother, but he was still a definite Black.

The little Black, after laughing at the Green, stood up and walked out with almost perfect gait. He still wobbled to and fro from time to time, but it seemed that he was determined to show his Green sister how is was done. On his way to the Candidates, he nudged up against Kio roughly and knocked him over. For some reason, the boy Candidate seemed to strike him as quite odd. Well, he was better than that boy, and that boy better make it known that even if he wore protective armor, a Wher could still find a weak spot to go after. The boy was just lucky that he had not decided to attack him like his previous Black brother had done earlier. He suddenly looked up and saw Risk stalking Talouse. He squealed loudly, making Risk stop in her tracks from chasing the girl out of the Sands. He made his way to his new Handler and attempted to climb up her leg, causing scraches up and down the leg. TalouseMine, Task no like him. He lazy. Task like mine. Why Gold chase? Mine no lazy. Feed Task then sleep? the little Wher asked, looking up at Talouse while still trying to climb her leg. The Impressions made Risk turn her head and go back to her legs. The girl had been saved by her Wher. Risk did not have the heart to fight the decision of her children.


(( HEX is 323232 ))

The little Green cried out for help when she got burried in the Sands. She thought her Black brother was coming to her rescue, but he passed by her, walking like he was king of the place. She cried out some more, and her calls were answered by her Blue brother. Once she was free, she chirped and bounded in circles around her Blue brother, kicking up sand. Then she turned and bounded over to the Candidates, having already picked who was to be her Handler. Her Handler looked nice and looked like they need her desperately. Like with Brisk, she jumped and knocked over her Handler, landing beside her Handler after the initial hit. Oh no! Would her Handler still love her after knocking them over? AsterinMine no mad! Asterisk love! Please love! You dirty. I dirty, she spoke, chirping at him.


(( HEX is D3F9BC ))

The little Blue Wher ran over to help his Green sister as soon as he saw her trapped in the Sands. He quickly ran over and began to dig her out. There was not a lot of effort, but he still wanted to help her. Once she was free, he watched with happiness as she ran in circles around him. Now that she was off to her new Handler, asking for love, it was time that he found his Handler. He moved over to the remaining Candidates that were on the Sands and looked at each one careful. He needed someone who needed help and would help him. He wanted to make a difference in this world for good! He would do good. Together, he and his Mine would help the world! He walked over one of the Candidates and nuzzled his new Handler with his nose. His eyes whirled blue with love and slight orange with desire for food. KioMine okay? Kiosk help. Kiosk help all. Kiosk help world. KioMine help too, he said, hoping that Kio would join him in helping the world. Helping his Green sister was a start. The things they could do together!


(( HEX is 333982 ))

Risk looked back at the rest of her eggs. The only eggs that remained was the tan-ish white egg and the black-purple egg with speckles of lighter purple on it. She watched them with intensity, waiting for them to move and show signs of life. Nothing. She chirped to them, but there was no reply. Not a chirp, not a wiggle, not a crack. She walked over to them and nuzzled them, turning them over. The eggs were heavy, like they were solid. There were always duds in the group, and it seemed as if these two would be destined to be duds. Risk lamented their fates. Who knew what the eggs could have held if they had survive. Turning back to the Candidate, she no longer had any eggs to protect. But she was still in a sensitive mood. The sadness of her two dud eggs was making her slightly moody at the moment. She would be like this for a while. Ridan mentally picked up these feelings, but could do nothing. He had to care for the mauled Wherlings. Risk turned her attentions on the rest of the Candidates. No more. Go! Leave! Another time, she said, shouting at them. There would be another time that they would Impress, tonight had not been that chance.

Ridan looked at the current Wherlings and sighed. They would be fine. They would be tired tomorrow night, getting use to the new schedule. Whers were a lot of work at first, but the job becomes a little easier. But being a Handler was never easy. He looked at them as they held sleepy Whers in their arms. He was proud of them all. They would all make good Handlers. He and Risk would see to that. "All right, Wherlings," he addressed them, "Your group coloring will be known as Green. You are my Green class. And rightly so since most of the colors Hatched tonight were Greens. You are larger than my previous class which only had one Wherling. I expect you all to be sleepy and hungry in the nights ahead, but I also expect you at lessons when I call for you. Risk and I will also be you Wherling Master. We expect nothing less than respect from all of you. Our lessons are important even if there are few lessons. Now, go get some rest and get ready for lessons. Tomorrow night I will be assigning rooms. Have a nice evening, wherlings."

[zeis]

Baharl had amazingly lapsed into uncharacteristic silence as she fed the young Iron beside her. His love for food had proved enough to rival her own, and though he ate quickly and in large quantities she noted with great amusement that he seemed to have some form of... manners? The recently butchered meat was messy, and flecks of blood had come to stain his snout, and splash lightly on his hide. Every now and then Bask would pause in his meal to dutifully clean himself, the way a person might dab at their mouth or wipe their hands with a napkin. As his first meal neared its completion, the Iron's head began to nod slightly in weariness.

"I've seen that look before. In a mirror." She chuckled quietly but with a weary sort of enthusiasm, and beckoned him forward to hold him close. Bask deliberated a moment, but decided it was best to take support when it was offered sincerely. He slunk drowsily forward and leaned against her heavily, drawing an amused little noise from Baharl. She reached out and lightly slapped her hand down on Basks belly with an amusing thunking noise. "A nap on a full stomach is a wonderful thing. You'll sleep like a log."

Bask not sleep. Other eggs. Hatch? Bask queried dutifully, straining to keep his large eyes open long enough to peer back at the sands, where Impressions were still going on. Baharl was beginning to like this whole mental communication thing. It was a strange but welcome, and it had this... complete feeling to it. Such thoughts passed quickly as she craned her head to view the Hatching Sands. Three more Whers had hatched and Impressed it looked like, one to an armored boy, one to the naked girl, and one to the very lucky latecomer. Distracted by the other new Wherlings, it was Bask who noticed the change in his mother first.

He stiffened suddenly at her side, and forced himself to become more awake. The Iron rose to a crouch, and lifted his blunt muzzle high to observe his mother inspecting the remaining eggs. He made a small sorrowful noise deep in his throat which caught Baharl's attention. She turned to look at him with concern, "Hey there, something wrong?" The words were nearly choked out of her mouth by the force of Risk's mental scream telling them there would be no more eggs, and that they should leave. She lifted her hands to her head to futilely nurse some intangible sense of hearing, and turned to look gratefully to Ridan for his more cordial explanation of what was to come next. Beside her, Bask crooned only once for his stillborn clutch-mates, and his eyes spoke the mourning of a King for his subjects. Baharl looked down at him with a troubled expression, and draped an arm around him, pulling him close to her. She knew all too well the pain of losing someone. Other than that single note of mourning, both of them remained respectfully silent as Ridan spoke. They may have reason to mourn in the present, but both silently agreed that their future was bright, and what the Gold Handler was saying was important in making that future a reality.

She nodded to show her understanding of the instructions, and tiredly rose to a stand with her new life mate. It was funny. The girl hadn't felt tired at all when she'd arrived on the sands. Shards, she had just woken up in fact to come here. But a sense of accomplishment mingled with comfortable exhaustion filled her, and Bask seemed to be the source. The Iron was tired, but he strove his best not to let that tiredness show. Despite the loss that had been suffered tonight, and the weariness he felt from breaking out of his egg, it was important that he serve as a strong model for the others. He walked slowly with measured steps, vestigial wings tucked serenely at his sides, and with his head held high. Baharl tried to do the same, but as they strode off toward her quarters in the Candidates Barracks for their last nights stay, she couldn't help but yawn outrageously, which of course set Bask to yawning as well.

[fidelli]

A'mor had found Ridan pretty easily, and nodded to him as the Gold Handler smilied. He didn't do smiling, not this late at night. Though, the whole world had turned into a blur of nights and heat on these sands - he wanted cold, for once. Blue eyes followed the hand that was pointing to Durene and Wrynri, and he listened carefully. 'Both of them had their legs attacks by a little Wher. Wrynri is also scratched up around his side, but he is doing ok. Probably just needs something to help keep infections away. Their legs are a bit more serious, though.' The Healer snorted. He appreciated the diagnosis, but he was almost positive that he was a better Healer than the Gold Handler. However, he held his tongue and nodded, making to move over to them. 'You might want to stick around a bit more. With Whers, there could be more attacks. They are very unpredictable until they Impress, and even still they are unpredictable but just a bit less.'

A'mor nodded, gave a slight, "Mhm, alright," and moved over to the pair. "Wherlings. Congratulations. I'm A'mor - I need you both to show me where it hurts." He tried to smile at them, but was already kneeling down in the warm sands and looking over the wounds. "Can I cut away these pants? And you - Wyrinri? - take off that jacket, please. I need to see those cuts as well." He was watching the Hatching, as it went on as well, just in case, and... The male Impressed to the Black had just been scratched as well. With a sigh, he rose, and gestured over Talouse, ignoring Ridan's speech. These three wouldn't be moving until they had proper care done to them, that was for sure.

[purnip]

Wrynri was still sitting on the ground, Wrynsk sitting beside him with a full belly and a patient heart. Now that his handler was no longer in immediate danger and his appetite was soothed, the Brown was eagerly waiting for the kid to be ready to move on. He wanted to see what he could before he got sleepy again. This place was warm, cool, and hot altogether. It was a little overwhelming. The young wher gave his handler a nudge as another person approached. 'Nother man. See Mine. His bright eyes fell upon A'mor with interest. He believed or understood that the Healer was here to assist them. That's good, because his wasn't getting up. He was starting to worry again.

To the request, the kid squirmed, holding himself a little tighter in a defensive sort of way. "No, I'm fine. It's nothing I can't take care of," he grumbled, the dazed look in his eyes still present. It was quite an evening. He had been mauled, he thought he was going to die, he Impressed a wher, someone learned his secret, and now his leg was still bleeding and he didn't want to look at it. Maybe he could get Ridan...he didn't want anyone else to know and he knew. It wasn't as if anyone could tell by simply looking at his chest, but Wrynri's pants were ripped up as well. How much was showing? No. He wasn't getting up until everyone left. He meant it. "I just need some time alone. Help her." With a jerk of his head he motioned to Durene, the other Candidate who had gotten mauled by the same wher.

Wrynsk lowered his head, wondering if he was doing wrong to ask someone else to help his handler. He felt the kid's embarrassment, but it didn't make sense to him. Why worry about something like that? Wrynri's hurt! There are more important things to life, like taking care of Wrynsk. The Brown wher gave Wrynri a very tough nudge, this one nearly flipping the kid back. It was enough to reveal a long gash on his thigh that was still bleeding. The wher's eyes swirled with worrisome yellows as he reached to A'mor with a concerned call. Not fine! Mine hurt! Please help.

Scowling, Wrynri sat defensively once more with a sudden jerk, unwilling to give in. "No. I'm fine," he said with a growl. His eyes were starting to water slightly, but only because of how frustrated he was starting to get. He knew he should wrap the wound as soon as possible, but he couldn't. He simply couldn't. Wrynri was so upset, but in a lofty sort of way. He had Impressed. Today was to be a happy day. He could try to take care of the leg later.

But what if it gets infected? He'd see Ridan. Maybe the Goldhandler wasn't a Healer, but he might have some idea of how to handle it. No one else could know. It was bad enough already. "Help the girl," he said again, his voice a grumble.

Wrynsk felt he did the right thing, showing the wound to the man even though his did not wish for help. It was up to him to fetch assistance now. The Brown stared fixedly at A'mor, challenging him to stay. He didn't like to go against Wrynri's demands, but his handler needed to be fixed. A sick Wrynri was no exception to Wrynsk!

[Nia]

Kio watched the eggs with an almost bored gaze. This Hatching was getting dull. Most everyone had already Impressed in such a typical way, it bored him. There was nothing for him to want to stare at and drink in with his eyes... except, he supposed, the eggs. Were they all duds? That wouldn't be too bad, he supposed. Ooh, but Risk was going to attack someone! She was growling quite violently. Ah... Kio saw, it was the girl that had arrived late. A girl Kio had never seen before. He smirked, turning his attention to them instead of the eggs that were beginning to hatch.

And that was why he was caught ridiculously off-balance by the Black. He flailed his arms into the air in an attempt to grab something to keep himself steady, but ended up falling on to his rear painfully, wincing. A flash of genuine fear flashed on his face for a moment as he stared, eye-level with the wher... but then it left. Kio let out a visible sigh of relief and leaned forward, rubbing his temples in annoyance. He glared at the Black as it ran off to stop the stupid girl from being mauled by Risk. Should have let her get mauled. Well, Kio certainly wasn't going to take this humiliation in stride... he could find a way to get revenge. That Black was going to learn a lesson... you don't mess with Kio.

He was so focused on the Black and his new handler that he missed the Green hatch, though out of the corner of his eye he did notice the Blue's fret about it. He snorted, not even bothering to stand up. Moronic whers weren't worth his Impression. He didn't care. So he didn't Impress? It wasn't all that big of a deal. The Blue looked... well, if Kio was going to think one nice thing about it, it was a nice color, he supposed. Kio's eyes widdened slightly at the realization that the Blue was coming over to him, and fear flashed itself across his face again... but only for a moment. The Blue wasn't mauling him... it was Impressing to him. He stared, holding himself up with his hands, his expression filled with... confusion? Whatever it was, it was completely foreign on the black-haired boy's face.

"Help...? Help the world?" he repeated, a dark smirk stretching across his face. Kio gave a slight snicker that escalated into a full, highly amused laugh, but he cut himself off quickly. Help the world! Kiosk nuzzled him again, but Kio put his hand up to stop the affection, getting shakily to his feet. "Oh... we'll help everyone, alright," he muttered darkly, not sure why he was even behaving this way. Disappointment? Had he expected an Iron, a Bronze, even a Gold? No. He hadn't. He definitely hadn't. But perhaps he'd expected something a little more... well, helping the world was close enough to what Kio was trying to achieve. Pulling all the strings was sort of like helping, wasn't it...?

Kio move towards the food, not sparing a glance at Khemres. At least he hadn't been left Standing. He sat down, realizing that he was still shaking, though if it was with anger or... excitement, he didn't even know. He began to feed the Blue, staring at him as he ate. He shot a quick glance at Ridan, though he mostly ignored the Alpha Wherhandler. Even with a Blue... what Kio wanted was still reachable. His goals were still obtainable. And that's all that really mattered, wasn't it? KioMine help,

[/i] Kiosk responded to what Kio assumed must have been his thoughts. Well... if he could manipulate people into doing what he wanted them to do... how hard could it be to manipulate a wher?[/blockquote][/size]

[Sakoru]

Wheret after wheret Impressed, and now there were only five eggs left. Watching silently, Khemres began to feel the sick, heavy disappointment curl in his belly like a black snake, twisting there as his spirits sank. The iron had gone to someone he didn't know (he was so happy for her!), and a pair of green and brown wherets freed themselves from their eggs. Neither spared a glance for him, the silent boy in the hat, and he watched as they selected handlers. A little spark of elation for each successful candidate popped through his mind, briefly lighting his thoughts, but the nervous half-smile on his face was rapidly fading.

Suddenly a new candidate arrived, extremely late, and he turned to watch her entrance, observing as the coloured blob of her slipped into the back of the group of candidates. Risk growled, apparently meaning to drive out the latecomer - but, unknown to Khemres, another egg had hatched, a black. This one knocked over Kio on his way to Impress the new arrival, at which the albino candidate started slightly. Astounded by her luck, he watched them for a few moments, then looked to see if the dark-haired boy beside him was all right. Rude or no, he didn't want to see anyone hurt.

And he wasn't. Instead, the lucky candidate was being comforted and Impressed by a dark blue wher. Another he hadn't noticed, a bright minty green, had just reached yet another candidate and was Impressing him.

The two remaining eggs had stopped shaking. Biting his tongue, Khemres stared at their indistinct shapes desperately, only to realize, as Risk chirped to them, that they were duds. Sick with disappointment, he closed his eyes for a moment at the mother wher's command to leave, and then opened them again to look around. Taking in the numbers of candidates who had Impressed, he smiled a little, even for the black-haired boy who had been so rude to him in the kitchen...

And realized that he was the only one left Standing.

Horrified, the only candidate looked around again, just to make sure, and realized that every single person-blob was accompanied by a wher-blob. Biting his tongue viciously and cringing with the pain, he paused for just a moment, facing Risk, and a tiny smile crossed his white face. "Thank you for letting me Stand," he whispered with a low bow, and then pulled his hat down to hide the horrible flush of humiliation creeping up his cheeks. I'm the only one who didn't Impress...I'm the only one left, came the unbidden thought. Feeling the disappointing truth of that fact, he allowed the iron wherling and the rude blue wherling to leave the den, and then silently turned and left himself, walking slowly back across the Sands. He cast a discreet glance towards the lucky new wherlings, and made himself focus on being happy for them instead of sorry for himself. It wasn't easy.

Forcing himself to straighten up and walk normally, as though he wasn't disappointed at all, Khemres approached one of the entrances to the Sands. He paused for a moment, drew a deep breath, and was gone.

[/center]

[hatori3070]

Talouse took another glance at Risk, only to see the wher's eyes locked on her as she stalked her. No! She couldn't leave yet! There were still eggs left. What if one of them was meant for her? She edged over, trying to keep other candidates between herself and the angry wher. Probably not the most charitable move, but no one wants to face down an angry mother wher. Out the corner of her eye, Talouse noticed a boy in armor fall over. She had just enough time to think that he deserved it for wearing something so ridiculous to the hatching before she heard the squeal of the black whose hatching she had missed. He ran over to her and immediately started climbing up her leg, opening painful cuts. Talousemine, Task no like him. He lazy. Task like mine. Why Gold chase? Mine no lazy. Feed Task then sleep?[/i] To prevent further injury, Talouse gathered Task up in her arms. He was talking so fast! It would be nice to have him to talk to. "Between you and me, I don't like him much either. Your mother was mad at me for being late. And yes, I'll feed you and then we can go to sleep," She said with a smile for her new life partner. She had done it. Everyone back home would be eating their words when they found out about this. Talouse, wherhandler. Talousemine, man calls. You hurt. I sorry hurt Mine. Task looked down at her leg and jumped down to lick the wound, trying to help and sealing their bond at the same time.

"Come on Task." She said, leading him to A'mor with a final glance at Risk. It seemed that she had Impressed at just the right time. Risk had backed off, letting him make his choice, to Talouse's great relief. It would have been pretty ironic for her to have Impressed only to be mauled by the clutchmother. She stood off to one side, letting the others get cared for first. Their injuries looked more severe than hers.

[Birdy]

There were five eggs left, only five rocking on the Sands. Would one of them be for him? He hoped so. Oh, they were hatching! He watched nervously as the first egg cracked open to reveal a blue. Then the second egg revealed a green who promptly fell over and buried herself in the sand. Now normally one wouldn’t expect much sand to stick to a wher’s hide but this wherling had just hatched and was therefore covered in slimy egg goo. Egg goo that was perfect for sand to stick to. Asterin groaned at the sight. Now she was…dirty.

He had been so distracted by the green that he didn’t see the black hatch. In fact he only realized he was there when he began making fun of the dirty green in the sand. She was crying for help (though Asterin couldn’t see what she needed help from). Sighing, the boy turned his eyes back to the blue but was alarmed to see that the giant golden Risk was heading towards one of the candidates. Farmath she looked mad! He winced, waiting for a scream to pierce the air but heard none. Cautiously he looked back over and found that the Queen had returned to her spot on the Sands. The girl who she had been heading towards was now being pestered by a tiny black wher and he assumed that they had Impressed. Well lucky for her!

His heart still racing from watching the close encounter, he looked back for the blue but instead saw a sandy green shape charging at him. “Shards!” he said under his breath, closing his eyes and expecting the green’s claws to rake through his flesh. Instead, she knocked him to the ground. Alarmed at touching the horrid sand, Asterin scrambled to his feet looking down at the little wher warily.

AsterinMine no mad! Asterisk love! Please love! You dirty. I dirty,

The voice was in his head again, but it wasn’t the Queen. It was fainter and much nicer sounding. Asterinmine. That was him! Oh! “Asterisk…?” he said hesitantly, watching the wher tilt her head as she recognized her name. “Er…I’m not mad, but …dirty, yeah that” he added, kneeling down and feeling something bump against his leg in his pocket. The knife! He quickly drew it out and stared at it. It was going to hurt…but how long could Asterisk wait? He shut his eyes and carefully cut open his arm, a bit more than he’d expected to. He bit his lip, holding his arm out to the waiting wherling who eagerly clamped her maw over the wound and lapped it up. Asterisk happy! Mine happy? she asked, her voice loud and clear in his head. “Y-yes,” Asterin replied, faking a grin as his arm really was starting to hurt.

He turned at the Goldhandler’s words, listening carefully so he didn’t miss anything. All the time he was holding the dirty little wher in his arms where she was nestling into his shirt.

[Admin]

I'm sittin' on top of a mountain,
She's rockin' that valley down below,
Switch back to the peak with a blindfold,
Bombing down at the top of my low screaming.

The hatching continued. Bri kept her watch, unperturbed by the passage of time. The iron had bonded to the girl that had winked at her. Another brown had hatched. His actions hinted at a bit of laziness. She watched him sort of slid along forward. A lovely green had also hatched, but she ignored the beautiful wheret, though it was by no fault of the green's that she didn't pay the little wher any attention. One of the healers had arrived, and Bri turned her attention towards the man, though she didn't have any injuries. It was then that she noticed that Talouse had also finally appeared. Risk's anger seemed to be tempered, but she briefly worried for the other girl. Being late was dangerous. An unnecessary danger. For a moment, she frowned vaguely. However, then she turned away, and she smiled as she caught a glimmer of green amongst the girls.

BriMine clothes! Ladies wear clothes! Brisk lady! BriMine lady Instinctively, Bri extended her arms as something lunged towards her chest. She had a small canine for a pet. She was used to the sight. The little green that fell into her grasp and almost knocked her over wasn't any bigger than Soc, but she was certainly heavier and bulkier. Ignoring the prickle of sharp claws against her bare arms, Bri stared down at the photosensitive eyes gazing fixedly at her. A grin quirked her lips. Less than delicately, she leaned over and dropped Brisk back onto the ground. Hold; the green tried to primly demand, but Bri ignored her. She'd managed not to drop her knife when Brisk had leaped at her, and she switched her grip to cut a neat nick in her shin. She extended the leg towards Brisk, and the wheret immediately licked the blood away, manners aside.

"I, missy, will wear clothes when I wanna wear clothes;" Bri said as she watched as the little green cleaned up her leg, hardly squeamish. With that, Bri scooped Brisk properly up into her arms and ambled off to get food for the green. Many of the others were already finishing up, so she staked out a place near the iron and his wherling but set herself fairly well apart. She would bet that all but a couple of the others wouldn't be very comfortable with her lack of clothing. She'd forgotten to pay attention to all of their reactions. A minuscule oversight. It didn't matter. More gently than the time before, she set Brisk on the ground. Before the green could manage to coordinate anymore ladylike speech, she shoved a platter of bloody meat in front of Brisk. Utterly dignified, the green began picking her way with very intent daintiness through the food.

Though Brisk ate slowly for a ravenous hatchling wher, it wasn't long before it was time to go. The hatching was over, though Bri paid no mind to Ridan's words. They went into her head and floated about a bit, but she hardly needed to listen to know what was happening. Scooping up a sleepy Brisk, who offered no protests or even any words, she trundled towards Talouse and her new black. She hadn't seen the other girl Impress, but she wasn't surprised by the sight. Only two duds in the batch and only a few spare candidate besides. The odds had been good. Anyway, Bri liked Talouse, for all her annoying traits. "Congratulations;" the still very naked wherling said as she fell in step beside the other girl as she headed for A'mor. Bri made no comment towards her injuries, not knowing the source. Brisk offered a sleepy chirrup.

Elsewhere, Obelisk and Obelir were off in their own little world. The young blue might have been distracted by the need to search for Dusk, but he was too busy eating. Obelir was preoccupied with his thoughts, mind faraway from anything in particular, and stared lovingly down at the almost full Obelisk. Once he was done, the wheret looked up at his handler with his content, inquisitive, gnarled face. He had so many questions, but he had to focus! It wasn't just them. He turned his gaze and scanned the den. Loving stupor broken, Obelir blinked. See Dusk? It took the boy a moment and a picture from Obelisk to realize what the blue exactly meant. The dark green that had hatched with Obelisk. That was Dusk. Turning his body to glance over his shoulder, Obelir tried to look for her. He was surprised to find that the hatching was over.

Hearing Ridan speak was what properly brought Obelir, and Obelisk too, back to the real world. Both of them turned to stare at the goldhandler, equally curious and attentive. Dusk? Concern touched the tiny wheret's voice as he repeated the name once Ridan finished talking. Leaning down, Obelir gave the blue a pat, soothing him with his gentle touch and smooth, soft skin. The blue let out a husky, chesty croon, relaxing and letting himself subside to contentment. Though the muscled little blue was already heavy, Obelir picked him, stifling a slight grunt at the effort of levering his awkward form into his grasp. For a moment, the blue warbled a protest, but then he subsided into a sleepy state and rested his chin against his handler's shoulder. Filled with joy and musings, Obelir headed for the barrack with Obelisk in his arms.

I'm sipping on some sunshine,
I'm gonna leave it for the morning in the afterlife,
And she's drunk by the day time,
I bet she feels it just the same in the evening.

[aikastarr]

Before Rethalt knew it, more eggs were being chipped away. His eyes shifting away from the blackish purple egg, he watched as the blood red egg waved about to and fro before landing on bronze egg shards, revealing yet another Brown. His hide gleamed with goo, but the Candidate’s attention was grabbed by the sunset egg, which had a small neon green snout wedged in the small hole that was created. The Green pressed onward, until the front of the egg shattered and revealed a green. Rethalt had nearly missed the Impression of the Iron as the Green finished hatching, and clapped idly. The little wheret walked primly towards the nude girl, and proceeded to jump on her, Impressing. He turned away, slightly miffed that he had yet to Impress. I would have expected at least one to turn and look at me, at least, he thought before turning his gaze unto the Brown that remained. The little creature was cute in his own rights, yawning massively a few times before getting up to walk towards them. Holding his breath, he watched as the Brown sluggishly loped to him and curled around his feet.

RethaltMine, Resk hunger. Resk sleepy. But strong! Just tired. Food... It took many long minutes for it to click in his head that he had Impressed. Finally realizing the situation, he fumbled for his knife and finally grasped it in his hand. Rethalt crouched to his new lifemate’s level and winced as he sliced across the inside of his arm. Resk lifted his head up slowly, sniffing at the blood, before clamping his maw around the wound. As the bond was sealed, Resk’s stomach gave a loud grumble. He looked up to His expectantly and sleepily. Food? he requested, and Rethalt quietly obliged. He picked up the tired wheret, trying to get his grip on the tiny creature so that both were comfortable, and walked over to where the meat was held. He listened intently to Ridan’s words as he made his not-so-long journey to their destination.

Resk ate greedily (if slowly) all of the meat that was in the bucket and fell asleep near instantly, but not until he let loose a content rumble. Giving off a yawn himself, Rethalt stroked his wheret and trailed behind the rest of the retreating wherlings to speak with the lone Candidate. ”Hey, don’t be sad,” he said to the boy. ”There will always be your one, just waiting to hatch. Just be patient.” With his small words of wisdom out, he turned and hurried after the new squad of wher handlers.