Mosaic Tiles {Kalith's First Hatching}

[Nia]

Riori yawned, rubbing his eyes. Man, it really was kind of early for him. He'd never been a morning person at all, and trying to stay awake was like torture. But he could do it. Why was he suddenly tired anyway? There was a small lull in the Hatching with no dragons breaking free from their shells, so with nothing to look at and pay attention to his mind finally crashed. Come to think of it, he probably could have downed some klah really quickly before running over here. Afterall, he had been kind of early. But seeing how the people who had arrived even just a few minutes late were hissed at made him feel better about his choice to skip the klah.

Shards, was someone just arriving now? It'd been... oh, how long had it been? Riori had lost track of the time a while ago. His mind was just too preoccupied! But it seemed like... oh, Pratyba. Well, he figured he should have guessed that. But hey, at least she was here. He wasn't TOO close with her, but they were acquaintances if not friends. And now the dragons were starting to do stuff again! The Pink had left her Blue clutchbrother who just... slumped there. Was that normal...? No, Riori was pretty sure it wasn't. But hey, if he wanted to starve there instead of Impressing that was up to him.

Anyway, the Pink was bounding towards the Candidates now, and of course, she darted towards the girls. Naturally.... Not that he wanted to Impress a Pink, anyway! That was a girl dragon, and certainly not for him. He looked out at the Blue instead, watching him just sit there and stare at the Candidates. The dragon took laziness to the extreme. And another egg was starting to crack, so Riori turned his attention from the Blue to that egg. It was a blue-ish color. Not even having time to mentally predict what kind of dragon was inside, he watched as a Black broke his way out of the egg. Well, he was a large Black. Though, he seemed to be a little... slow.

But now the Black was moving towards the Candidates. Riori watched him carefully, wondering why the Black had such a strange expression. Reading dragon expressions was harder than humans, but it was still possible. Sort of. He had no idea what the dragon was thinking, though. Well duh of course he didn't, that was what Impression was for. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Pink Impress to... Pratyba! He clapped for her, then looked back at the Blue and the Black. Wasn't it time for one of them to Impress to, you know, a guy?

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

Huh? Was someone else arriving? Avalle blinked as she saw someone dart onto the Sands. It looked like... some girl she didn't know, but vaguely recognized. Poor her though, Kalith looked extremely angry. As she should be! These were her children hatching! She had every right to be angry. And Avalle had every right to be very greatful that she hadn't arrived late. Facing the Weyrwoman and her dragon's wrath? Yeah, it didn't seem very pleasant. Avalle hadn't really talked to Fajra before, but she could tell just based on how the Weyrwoman looked that these Candidates were in for some sort of punishment when the Hatching was over. Thank Faranth she wasn't one of them....

Anyway, she looked back at the eggs, noticing that the Pink was no longer interested in her Blue clutchbrother and was now... heading towards the girls! AValle felt her heart skip a beat in slight hope before she immediately righted herself. It might not Impress to her, and she couldn't get her hopes up. But she couldn't help it, every time a dragon wandered her way she felt kind of hopeful.

However, while the Pink was hopping around interestingly, there were other dragons that were hatching. Another egg was shaking and cracking and looked like it was going to break open soon. And it did almost as soon as Avalle thought that, revealing a Black. A male dragon, but she knew they would sometimes Impress to girls. It did seem more likely for female dragons to Impress to boys though, and Avalle pondered on how unfair that was. Boys just had a better chance, it was true. The old traditions were beaten into dragon-kind. Women weren't fit to ride dragons back then. Just the thought made Avalle rather angry... but she controlled herself and watched the Black wander towards the Candidates with an odd expression.

The Blue wasn't doing anything, and faint worry lingered in Avalle's mind before she dismissed it to watch the Pink. It went around staring at a bunch of girls but not Impressing. Her attention span seemed quite... well, small. But Avalle didn't have much time to think about that either, as soon the Pink Impressed. She didn't feel bitter about it, or at least she convinced herself that she didn't feel bitter about it and clapped for the girl. It's alright, there were more dragons. She was starting to feel a bit tired, though.

[/size]

[Birdy]

Chelo turned to see someone else arrive. She was surprised the Queen hadn't been so angry with her. Shrugging, she turned back to eggs, focusing back on the little blue egg in the front.

She was distracted by the playful pink as she made her way over to the candidates and Impressed. To the late girl...maybe the heat of the Sands was getting to her head, but she found that quite unfair. Most of the candidates here had been Standing the entire time, hot Sands burning their feet.

Calming herself, she looked back to the blue egg,only to find that it had hatched, a black in it's place. The poor creature seemed quite confused to be honest. Sighing, that her calming object was now gone, she locked her gaze on the grey egg in the middle row, it was so pretty with little speckles of teal and blue. It reminded her of...she stopped herself. She really needed to stop rambling.

[123notit]

Another late Candidate? That was three so far. Klaith was sure not to be happy. U'ar wondered how many more there were still to come. It wasn't good. For the people that were already there, the Impressions were going splendidly. There was a green, an iron, a pink, a purple, and now another pink. And a blue and black were still on the Sands.

"I promsie not to be late to my first Hatching," Mu commented to her father, holding Mi in her arms tenderly and scratching the small eyeridges lightly. The playful pink responded by lovingly pulling on the silver chain around her neck.

"I know you won't," U'ar said, laughing, "I won't let you. And if you were, you wouldn't just have the Mother mad at you, Odyth and I would be mad at you too." He bent down and playfully kissed her head, pulling Mi off of the chain as he did so. The Pink chirped, flapping gently out of both of their arms and landing on Odyth's head. The brown's eyes whirled gently with amusement.

Tazar was growing annoyed again. Even the latest late-comer had just Impressed. Why'd he get out of bed if Kalith was going to be lenient with them all. Of course, he couldn't foreshadow the talking-to these late Candidates would recieve. He didn't know the strict Weyrwoman enough to guess what was awaiting them. It was quite lucky that he did wake up. Especially since his arrogance would have probably angered Kalith more than the other late Candidate's humble apology.

Meta watched as the playful Pink came to them. She seemed to pause a moment in front of her. Was this it? Was she about to Impress? No, the Pink moved on. A small smile lit up her face and she clapped for the Candidate that did Impress it. The Pink would have been fun, but she was sure she would get a dragon even more perfect for her.

[Admin]

Oh, I'm fine, just let me lie here for a while,
'Cause I've been staying up, yeah, hanging up all night.,
Oh, I've spent the wrong intention of you
To a hopeless case, to a short headache, to a choice you made,
To the reason why I, to the reason why I say.

The large black, still the smallest of the dragonets so far except perhaps pink Oorth, approached the candidates at a very firm, marching sort of pace. There were a rather lot of them still and he wasn't quite sure exactly how he was supposed to pick one. As his reaction to the world suggested, he was naturally reserved, naturally set in one mindset like all of his siblings. Did you really expect for his clutchmother not to produce strong, well set dragonets like him? In truth, he would have very much liked it if the room had just been dark and he could have just picked someone randomly. But he wanted to do his mother proud, wanted to be strong in front of everyone else and not show any weakness. He wanted to beat the world, to win some small victory, to live, against everything around him. He wanted to figure it all out!

The cobalt colored blue was up again as his brother past by him towards the candidates. Rolling over again so he could get his feet underneath, he hauled himself up again. Setting at an almost forward pace, he ambled towards the candidates. Using a rather lot of the brain space he preferred to use, he decided to just wander, choosing not to choose the option to actually go on to think about a gender or section to look at first. He came to a dead stop at around the very center of the all the candidates, staring with boredom at the couple of candidates in front of him. That way, he screamed at himself and sort of waddled around to face that direction. At his favorite, laid-back, ambling pace, he set off along the line of girls, slowing and jerking at each one so he could give them a lazy sniff or a glance. So little motivation to keep going.

The dull, multiple colored mottled egg that was the third in the back row was cracking. It wiggled and snapped, twitched and fractured. CRACK! This one broke with a noise almost more thunderous than any of the larger eggs that had hatched before it. Eager to get out, the dragonet scrambled forward. It was the size of a large green of its age, built along firmer and stockier lines despite that but still quick enough looking and moving with its action. Its hide was shockingly blueish. Most of it was a brilliant, bright shade of blue, anyway, but there were vibrant touches of subtle green that was in turned touched with paler blue. Something about just how glossy, not metallic but shiny, its hide was blended all those subtle colors together into one vivid blue-green color that shone through as it moved. A fluke, an odd-sized, odd-colored singularity . . .

Farther down in the back row, almost at the end, the tawny colored egg there was cracking too. Once back and forth, small little minuscule cracks formed around its top. Twice back and forth, the cracks grew just a little bit. Three times back and forth, larger, deeper openings begin to forth. Four times back and forth, the top broke off and was dropped onto the ground. The dragonet that stepped forward from the bottom section of the egg looked far to similar to the one before her to be a coincidence. It was larger, more the size of a small blue to the size of a large green, but was green in coloration. The majority of its hide held a deep greenish look to it but all of it just looked a bit blue, making it appear more as a teal than anything else. Like the one before it, its hide was glossy, mixing colors together into one flawless shade. No fluke . . .

The first one could have been an oddity, an interesting but too small blue. But the second one was . . . blue-green, leaning ever so slightly towards green but too large for a green! Fajra stared at the two just-hatched dragonets that were now before everyone in attendance on the sands. She kept her surprise masked but her attention was fixed and her expression looked disapprovingly thoughtful. There were distinct features that were shared between them. Anyone with sense could piece them together - glossy hide, size in between average green and blue, blue-green coloration. It was hard to tell what gender they were. Not here, not now, not that, she thought to herself as she continued to look between the two latest dragonets. They could just be a green fluke and a blue fluke. She could handle them; there would be no uproar here.

Kalith peered down at her two new daughter, for they were girls and not boys, with utter surprise. Her adoration and connection to her children won out over any shock she'd might have thought at their differences from the others. Why was everyone so confused about them? She'd have to clear it up. They are female! They are cyan; she announced. When she spoke the last word, the color, she emphasized it, her voice thundering out loud and clear with what it meant. Beside her, the Weyrwoman didn't so much as flinch, just turning her head up to look up at the audience to gauge the reaction. She trusted her dragon to know the truth of what was happening, that there was a new color amongst her eggs, and would stand by what she'd just done, even if she would have preferred to handle it different way. She could handle this too.

The second of these two cyans to hatched moved through the eggs, out towards where she could be seen. She diligently kept her attention on the ground in front of her, so she did not fall or run into anything despite not having very good control over her limbs, and her goal, which was the candidates. She was going to fulfill her responsibility, do her clutchmother proud just like how her black brother was but she had no qualms nor felt any reason not to do what she did and go forth. It was only rational to go and Impress to one of the selection of candidates only a handful of dragon lengths in front of her. It was only rational to go and have whoever she choose take her to get food, which she needed in order to sustain herself and survive. She was going to live. She was going to bring something to the world. She wasn't going to back down ever.

That cyan's sister of her color, the very first of that color to have hatched, did not share her rationality or diligence. Perhaps she was a bit responsible, since she was more than eager to help do something but she was bit more excited. After the first few strides she had taken forward, showing off her glistening and smooth hide, she was off at a run as her mother announced what she and her sister were. She was a cyan! She was going to get to go find her rider! She was alive! It was all so exciting. That was the majority of what she felt, excitement, and it masked all her other bubbly, energetic, interesting emotions. Look, there was here darker colored cyan sister over there, heading the same direction as her! Look, there was her black brother approaching all those people! Look, all those people were standing in a curved line!

When she actually got up there and tried to start choosing one of the people, she was fickle, constantly moving towards one girl and then some boy and then perhaps some boy and then another girl. Oh, yes, that one . . . wait, no, that wasn't right . . . well, that one, definitely . . . no, no, definitely not . . . Finely, she thought 'yes' one more time and then there was no argument back against the decision. Almost surprised by that, she stopped very still in front of the girl and stared at her with big, swirling eyes. Look, MetaMine, your Topeth found you! The food is over there if you want to feed me; she said helpfully, practically vibrating with excitement at that point. It was an interesting mix, her helpful and eager nature mixed with a good jumble of excitement for everything, fickleness, and a dash of physical strength.



And I probably always will.
I can't afford to make another mistake like this.
'Cause this is more than I can take.
I don't mean to leave angry, this is by your own device.
I'm sure this comes as no surprise.

[kyrillion]

Time was flying by, now that the Hatching was gaining momentum - a purple hatched and successfully Impressed, followed closely by that second pink. Each time she offered polite applause, a small congratulatory smile to each new weyrling, and then her focus was back to the eggs. Impress, applause, repeat. Things were moving, now. Even the little blue seemed to be getting into the spirit, finding his feet and again approaching the ring of Candidates...

And then another egg hatched, relinquishing its oddly-colored charge, and everything stopped. Brows furrowing in puzzlement, Kyril regarded the new hatchling with a curiosity she did not bother to disguise. And she could tell by the murmurs of the crowd and the reactions of those around her that she was not the only one confused.

The little creature was too large to be a green, but had an absolutely gorgeous green-on-blue mottled hide. It seemed too... effeminate to be a blue, though, and the coloring was undeniably somewhere between the two. Perhaps it was merely some sort of fluke... and then a second hatched. This one was perfectly teal, greener than its sibling, but unmistakably of the same... color. Is that what this was, then, a new color?

Kalith intervened, then, and Kyril felt that same odd pressure in her mind that she had from Noyth, only this time... there was a distinctly different 'flavor', though that was not precisely the right term to describe it. The voices of the two dragons, she was unsurprised to learn, where decidedly different - and not just because Kalith's was backed by the full force of her authority.

She listened attentively as the queen informed all those gathered that the two hatchlings were, indeed, more than just some odd mutation. They were 'cyan', both female, and Kyril's eyes followed them with a keen interest as they moved across the sands. Though she kept an eye both on the reluctant black and the lazy blue, it was the cyans that held the majority of her attention, and she suspected it was the same for most of those watching, audience and Candidates alike.

She watched the first of the two Impress, and while she applauded she spared a glance at the Weyrwoman, Kalith's rider - she looked weary, and not too thrilled about this latest development. Would a new color really be such an inconvenience? She didn't claim to know much about weyr politics, but she supposed she'd be able to watch the fallout from a front-row seat - whether she Impressed or not. An interesting development, indeed.

Turning her gaze back on the remaining three hatchlings, she kept the eggs in her sights as well, determined to absorb and remember every detail of this Hatching and this day. Though her outward appearance remained calm and stoic, her eyes betrayed her excitement and intrigue. She was eager to see what would happen next.

[Birdy]

Chelo's eyes widened at the pair of dragons that emerged from the eggs. Now that was a color she hadn't seen before. They were so pretty too, she noticed, somewhat shiny, unlike the other dragonets. She flinched at the Queen's voice, she had not been expecting that, but Cyan? That had to be a new color for Kalith to announce it to, she looked around the Sands, everyone present.

She applauded lightly, as one of the pair Impressed, but the other was still on the Sands. She could Impress one of them right? The Queen had said they were female, so... She turned her attention to the others on the Sands. A Blue, a Black, and the Cyan remained, plus the fourteenish other unhatched eggs. Could she Impress a Blue of Black, or better yet, did she want to Impress a Blue or Black? She really know who or what she liked yet, but if she Impressed a Black or Blue...

She sighed, she had been doing so well! Only focusing on dragons for a while! But her mind had drifted off to...other things. Chelo closed her eyes for a moment, trying to clear her mind yet again.

[123notit]

Meta watched as the blue and black made their way slowly to wards the boys. But those two were not to be the center of attention for long. With a crack, a new dragonet was out. An odd one. Was it a blue? A green? Meta wasn't sure. This one was followed by another. The same strange color. As the second one ambled about, their mother announced what they were. Cyans. A new dragonet. Meta felt extremely swept up in the excitement.

A new color was exciting for sure. Would they be infertile or clutch? Would they Impress to more males or females? Would they like quiet people or loud people? So many questions. Meta was certain this was how the first people to see Coppers and Blacks and Reds and all the other mutations must have felt.

The first one didn't wast time like her sister. She ran to wards the Candidates. Such playful energy! She went to many of the Candidates, but, suddenly, she stopped in front of Meta. The tomboyish girl blinked for a second, suddenly hearing it.

Look, MetaMine, your Topeth found you! The food is over there if you want to feed me;

What? Her? The new color was talking to her? An overwhelming pride filled her body. She was the first cyan rider Pern had seen. Topeth, her own dragon! She was beautiful.

MetaMine! Your Topeth is hungry, remember? The dragonet reminded, not sure if her new lifemate had heard her the first time.

"Of course!" Meta said, grinning and playfully rubbing the cyan's head, "Let's go get you some food!" She laughed as she marched happily off the Sands, her dragonet jogging beside her.

"Lookit that one!" Mu called as the cyan hatched, staring at the strange-colored dragonet, "I've never seen one like that before! What is it, daddy?"

"I don't know, Mu. Look. Two?" U'ar said thoughtfully. They soon got their answer in the form of the proud mother's call. "Well..." U'ar said thoughtfully, "Whoever Impresses it will be the first. That's definitely exciting, right?"

Mu nodded and the two clapped extra loud for the first cyan rider as she walked off the sands.

Tazar was not interested in either the black or the blue that were on the Sands. However, the two new dragonets initially caught his eye. They were odd. Impressing them would be a first and bring some pride. Especially if they turned out to be Kings. But no, it was not to be so. Females. Instantly, Tazar was turned off to the idea. He would not have a girl dragon. That would make him... gay.

As the cyan went for the girls, he smirked in satisfaction. One of them could have it. And if it was a Queen, which he didn't think so, he could one day fly it with his King.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Pratyba was simply overwhelmed by the Hatching Sands. It was just… awe-inspiring, Standing amongst thirty or so other nervous, excited adolescents, waiting eagerly for that one moment when a dragonet would come toddling up, talking to that one special, lucky person’s mind. They had all dreamed of today, and Pratyba was no exception. Every time a dragonet moved, or an egg wriggled, Pratyba squealed softly, bouncing all the faster. She already knew that she was in trouble, so why bother staying still and silent like etiquette demanded? Being cheerful was way more fun!

And, suddenly, the Pink which Pratyba had joking called dibs was circling, well, everyone, inspecting everyone. She turned away from Sol, watching the dragon with bated breath. Pratyba kept an eye on the lazy Blue, but he didn’t exactly seem like he was capable of moving very fast, and who wanted to watch eggs? The Pink was way more exciting. ”How much fun would she be to Ride, eh?” Pratyba said, smiling. She had missed the dragon’s earlier shenanigans, but it wasn’t difficult to see that the dragonet clearly had a good sense of fun.

The Pink finished with the boys, obviously unable to find anyone suitable there. Pratyba snickered, imagining quiet Okeris or grumpy Alalbar coping with the flamboyant Pink. She came over to the girls, though it didn’t seem at first that she was considering Pratyba. Who would she pick? Who? Who? Who would be the next to Impress, Dalibor’s next Dragonrider? As the dragonet looked at each girl, she quickly dismissed them. She was about to choose Edwa… and then, she didn’t.

Suddenly, Pratyba found herself face to face with the Pink. She made eye contact, and she felt a huge, overwhelming emotion of pure love, undiluted happiness. In one instant, Pratyba was whole, her heart and head forever linked with that of another, of her best friend, of her lifemate! It was a incredible rush of feelings. All of a sudden, she was uplifted, happier than she’d ever been, and Pratyba became a Dragonrider.

PratybaMine! Wanna play with your Oorth? And she does not wanna be claimed. That doesn't sound like a fair game! Doppelith was playing tag with the others earlier. Wanna play tag? Or feed me? I bet I can eat faster than any of the others!

[/color] Pratyba’s face was overtaken by a vast smile. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out. ”Oorth!” she announced to everyone there, kneeling down and wrapping Oorth into a vicelike hug. ”Of course I will. I love you, my darling,” she said quietly, tipping the Pink’s head towards her and resting her nose against Oorth’s snout. The Pink batted at Pratyba’s head playfully with her wing. As Pratyba ducked, Oorth dashed off towards the food.

Haha! You’re it! Oorth quipped, burying her head in the food and gulping some down, flapping away again as Pratyba sprinted towards her, chasing Hers.
It was the beginning of a beautiful partnership.[/right][/font]

[jack]

Doppelith paused in his scarfing down food, cocking his pretty head to the side as he listened to Annith, and chirped outloud. Mine? The pretty Annith's says 'congratulations'.

F'let grinned, eyes lighting up and he leaned down, stroking the Purple's head, "Tell her I said thanks. And..." he glanced up to where Doppelith had looked, "That I hope to se Her's at the feast tonight?"

The Purple gave a whistle-like sound and nodded, transferring the message gleefully, F'letMine says "Thank You!" And he hopes to see Yours tonight at the feast! Now I'm hungry, Pretty-Annith, so I'll talk later. Message delivered he moved back to his meal, tail twitching pleasently as he cheerfully dug in, swallowing piece after piece, a bit more delicately each time. He slowed down quite a bit at Altith's urging, giving a rumbling chirp and taking each piece in turn--perhaps more because his stomach wasn't hurting quite so much--while F'let inclined his head to F'del, smiling.

"No worries, sir." He chirped, sounding much like his dragon, "I'm used to gobblers." Winking he gestured to Queen, who chirped at him, and Run and Ram, who glided in noisely. The pair perched on Doppelith's bowl, greeting the newcomer loudly and enthusiastically.

--

And the Purple had Impressed! Durian smiled, pleased for her friend. Flaet was a good dancer and his flits were happy and healthy. She had no doubt that he'd be a great rider. But there were more exciting things to tend to now and she turned, eyes gleaming. The Pink was heading this way! And the Blue was finally on the move.

But again she was distracted, eyes widening as another egg hatched...a Black! A grin spread onto her lips and she tilted her head, watching the pretty creature unsurely standing. He was so shy..but so pretty. And big for a Black! He'd no doubt make a mark in the world...as big as a Black could make, that was.

The Pink had come closer and she held her breath, watching with wide-eyes...only to have her hopes dashed as the pink danced on past, Impressing to the late arrival. A hesitant smile spread onto her lips and she clapped for Pratyba, knowing full-well that the hyperactive pair would...have havoc to cuase in the world. But hey! Excitement was always fun, right?

Speaking of excitement...Durian's eyes widened once more as the newest Hatchlings stepped onto the scene. Her jaw nearly dropped at their colors, the Queen's announcement actually making it loose. Gaping a bit like a fish she stared unabashed at the new colors, broken out of her stupor by Reggae's chirp.

Shaking her head she swallowed, biting her lip as she continued to stare. "Look at them, Reggae.." She whispered, "New colors! That's so incredible. I didn't know random colors like that coul just...pop up!" She glanced at Reggae, "Maybe you'll have a baby like that?"
The Pink chirped, tail twitching eagerly.
"Ah, who cares. Your babies will be pretty no matter what color they are!"

[Nia]

The Black seemed more steady than he did at first and he was walking towards the Candidates, seeming steady on his newly hatched feet. He wasn't stumbling as much as the more hyper dragons, but he wasn't as fast as they were either. Still, he would probably make a very good dragon in flight and especially fighting thread. That was the kind of dragon that was important. Not a King or anything, but the little guys! Not that Riori cared too much about rank anyway, but it was just a thought.

Anyway, Riori noticed that the Blue was moving again, though he only noticed this because the Black had walked right past him. That Blue had been on the Sands since the beginning, wasn't he starving by now? His need for food should have caused him to Impress already, rather than just lay there. But Riori did have to admit, the Sands felt rather nice (if not a bit hot) and if he'd had time and if there weren't dragons miling about the Sands he would have liked to curl up and nap there too. Riori had a sneaking suspicion that this would make Kalith extremely angry though, so he abandoned all thoughts of napping on the Hatching Sands. Besides... one the dragons might step on him and kill him or something. And that would just be... unpleasant....

Ignoring his tired thoughts, Riori looked back at the eggs. Another was hatching! Not a big surprise there. But what was a big surprise was what crawled out of the egg. What kind of color was that...? It looked sort of greenish, but more on the blue side. Did dragons come in that color? It could be a really awkwardly colored Blue... but Blues didn't look like that. Blues looked like that vibrantly colored one laying on the Sands there. Hm... a slight mutation? Interesting... sort of. It kind of weirded him out.

And yet another egg was hatching, so Riori looked away from the very shiny blue/green/thing to watch this one hatch. And... oh. Another one. He tilted his head to the side slightly, wondering if maybe the heat was making him see things. But no, judging by the way the others were reacting, this was not just something he was seeing. Kalith's voice in his mind only proved this. Cyan, huh? But they were female... and looked to be about the size of a Green, or maybe a small Blue. But... he was confused. Cyan... it was... a new dragon color. Right... Riori could accept this! They were kind of pretty. They were very shiny, at least!

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

Ah, the Black seemed steadier now. He must have just been overwhelmed at first, that's all. Avalle thought about this for a moment, and then wondered why all dragons didn't react like that when they first emerged from their eggs. It should be very overwhelming to hatch into a world they'd never seen before. But the little dragonets just waltzed out of their eggs and went to the Candidates to Impress. She figured it must be an instinct thing, but it was still amazing. O-okay, it wasn't that interesting! Life itself was... okay, she had to stop thinking about this. She could think about the meaning of life later, she was at a Hatching for Faranth's sake!

Anyway, the Black was now walking forward and the Blue had rolled back onto his feet and was also... slowly... making his way forward. Poor thing must be starving. Maybe the hunger would drive him to Impress. Eventually, at least. He couldn't just live his life there on the Sands, as much as he probably wanted to. But hey, who could blame him? Dragons liked sunning, and the Sands were probably the best place to sun. Nice and warm.... It'd been a bit too hot for her at first, but now that Avalle's feet were used to the burning sensation, it kind of felt nice. She was sure to hurt tomorrow, though....

Oh, her attention was quickly caught by another egg that seemed to be breaking. She watched it, trying to keep her anticipation to an even level as the dragonet inside revealed itself to be a... what? A... Blue, maybe? But it was kind of Green, too... and really, really shiny! Not metallic-shiny like the Iron had been earlier, but a nice sort of glossy shade. Even Avalle admitted without hesitation that it was a pretty dragon.

The brunette thought for a moment about what this dragon would be classified as. It was too Blue to be a Green, but what if it was female? Then... just an odd-colored Green? Kalith's announcement immediately righted Avalle's train of thought. Ahh... a Cyan. But there were no Cyan dragons on Pern! Well, obviously there were now, she corrected herself. That was kind of... cool. She smiled a little, watching one of the Cyans Impress. Well, they were healthy, so there wasn't anything wrong with them. Sometimes new colors popped up... it was normal! Though, she figured there was going to be controversy and other difficulties with the new dragons. The girl who Impressed looked happy. It must fill her with some sort of pride, Impressing the first of a new color. Avalle watched the second one, trying not to get her hopes up too high. Of course she didn't want to Impress a dragon just because it was new! She wanted to Impress a dragon to... Impress a dragon!

[/size]

[123notit]

Meta and Topeth soon came marching into the room with the other new Weyrlings. Meta had fallen slightly behind Topeth, who had insisted that she knew the way and that Meta should surely follow her.

As they entered, Topeth gave a small trumpet-like noise, greeting her brothers and sisters. Meta gave a wave to the others. "Hey everyone!" she called, looking around for some meat to feed her hungry dragonet. She soon found it and set out a bowl for Topeth.

The Cyan quickly dove in, thanking her new Mine. ~Hello everyone! Have you met Mine? I found her!~ she announced to those present, stating the last fact proudly. The two were quite a proud pair, no one could mistake that. Meta chuckled slightly at her dragon's message, scratching her eyeridges lightly while she ate. It was strange. She had never felt so much love for a creature before. She didn't think she could ever. Though she was curious to meet and know the others there, her mind was set on the beautiful creature before her.

[Kila]

Seeing Pratyba arrive at long last, Sol rose up on her toes to hone in on her friend and make sure it was really so and breathed a sigh of relief. These comforting feelings were short-lived, however, because in no time at all Pratyba was on the ground. Sol smacked her palm against her forehead. Yes. Pratyba would fall. But what was she doing? Laughing? From the way her sides shook and her face turned red as though she were choking it seemed so. What was so funny? Sol looked to the Sands where the Blue and Pink were still playing with one another and smiled despite herself. They really were cute.

”You really think you can hide behind me?” Sol whispered as Pratyba slid behind her. Sure Sol had the height to partially mask her, but Pratyba was chubby and Sol could not make up her width. There was no way she could disagree with Pratyba’s mock claim to the Pink- it was as if the two were meant to be. ”You bet I’m ready to impress!” Sol cheered, pumped up by her friend’s energy.

But was she really ready? Sol was caught completely off guard when the buoyant Pink came to the girls line and then stopped right in front of her. Sol’s breath caught in her throat as the little Pink reared up. But the dragonet wasn’t looking at her. Sol moved aside on impulse and watched as the Pink impressed to her best friend. The first feeling was one of sinking, let down maybe, followed by an erupting feeling of pride and excitement for Pratyba. She clapped uproariously and watched her leave the sands. ”Congratulations!!!” She called.

And as soon as Pratyba joined her she was gone and Sol was alone again. Great. Fortunately, the arrival of a new dragonet captured her attention. Another of the eggs had hatched and produced a Black, who stepped calmly out of the remains of his shell and surveyed his surroundings. He seemed somewhat overwhelmed by all of this and stood still, letting it all soak in. He took his time and then pressed onward, though. Sol admired him for it; despite his hide reflecting the lowest color, his soul reflected the highest.

With a thunderous crack there was another dragonett on the sands. If the immense noise it had made coming into the world had not captured everyones attention, its appearance did. How strange; Sol thought, studying it's size and color. Was it a Blue or Green? Another dragonett of a similar hue hatched out. Both were so staunchly in the middle that she could not decide. Her faced burned a little at this failure and she ducked her head down in the slightest was to hide th redness of her cheeks. This had to be another of those things that Weyrfolk knew and she did not.

But the sudden voice of Kalith spoke otherwise, as did the large reaction from the gathered crowd. Cyans? They were a new color! Sol lifted her chin up and chided herself for having so little faith in her own person. It was time to put doubt and her bashfulness about being late aside- no more of this. She clapped happily as one of the two new females impressed and left the sands.

[wirevix]

Alalbar was not paying a whole lot of attention to the Hatching, he would admit to himself, as time went on. Each dragon that hatched, he was fairly sure was someone else's dragon. He watched them all uncertainly. Playful ones--he couldn't see himself with a creature so playful. Shobie alone was a lot of trouble, so energetic. He tried to picture it, a Pink dragon that wanted everyone to chase her or a Green that was always flirting about, and it just sort of didn't fit. But could he argue it if one of them actually wanted him? No, he didn't think so. He just couldn't picture it in advance.

The Black that hatched had him looking. He looked nervous. Freezing like that right when he Hatched, and then his slow and overly careful, overly deliberate approach. He could sort of relate, he supposed. It was a big place full of people and noise and excitement. A creature that had up until then known only the silence of the shell and its mother's presence, that had to be overwhelming.

He let his gaze wander, and he saw the funny, new colored dragons as the first one emerged from her egg. His eyes went a little wide. Were those really...? And then came Kalith's firm announcement. They were Cyans. A new dragon entirely. And the two were already behaving so differently, it was hard to say what might be the defining characteristic of these new females. And were they all females, or were they like the rare Yellows, sometimes either? It was hard to say.

But he supposed it wouldn't ultimately matter to him. He watched the first one Impress and then went back to watching the eggs, quietly. The Queen egg seemed to be waiting. Knowing how Queens were, she probably wanted to make a dramatic entrance. It didn't make any difference to him.

--------

Grescan smiled faintly at the Hatchlings that he watched. Cute babies, each of the silly things, all showing off their personalities in every movement. He folded his hands in front of himself for a moment, squeezing them together, and looked up across the Stands. It made him feel a bit lonely, wishing his mother could have been alive to be there and watch, but he didn't linger on it, allowing the thought to pass through his mind and move on.

The new colors emerging really caught his attention, though. How could they not, with Kalith announcing to everyone that there were new ones about? Cyans. Girls. Pretty girls, small but then, most dragons were small, so that really didn't matter. He nodded once as if greeting them--the first of their kind.

------

Edwa hadn't been watching the rest of the Hatching for a bit. Since the Pink started to approach the candidates in earnest, she couldn't help but watch her, intently. She was such a sweet thing, and exciting, so playful and cheerful. Edwa knew they could get along, she was so sure of it.

And then the Pink was pondering about her, right there. It took all of her willpower not to reach out to the sweet Pink, not to stroke her fingers along the smooth, creamy hide of the beautiful dragon before her. She was so wonderful, so amazing, so--

Gone. The Pink went on by, and Edwa stood still, just staring at where she had been. The closest chance she'd ever had walked on by, and she let a large breath out of her chest that she realized only vaguely she'd been holding in. She shivered slightly and forced a big smile to congratulate the girl who'd Impressed the Pink, nodding brightly.

Then she folded her hands in front of herself and watched the eggs with a sort of distant look, biting her lower lip, chewing on it slowly. She blinked a bit when the new colors were announced, but she didn't otherwise react, looking faintly lost.

[kia]

Lynx smiled and nodded at K`ber. "Of course! All dragons know who they want. And he knew exactly that you were the one that he wanted," she said, still complimenting K`ber and his Iron. Gneith finally finished her food and gave a large yawn. The little Green was now tired from Hatching and eating. With a full belly, she was ready to sleep. But Lynx was not ready to sleep or rest. The Hatching had just started with her and K`ber both Impressing. Soon two Pinks, a Purple, and... a Cyan?! had emerged from off the Sands. It was an odd array of colors, but it was like a rainbow. Who told a rainbow what colors it had to be? It could be any colors that it wanted to be. Lynx smiled as she sat down next to Gneith. The Green placed her head in the girl`s lap and yawned. LynxMine, can we sleep after all my brothers and sisters Hatch? Gneith asked. "Of course," Lynx replied, smiling at her Green and then smiling back up at K`ber. It was not her flirty one this time, it was her true, genuine, "I am glad" smile that she wore when she was very happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Cyans. They were an interesting color. At first, the green color of the Cyans made Lira hiss with jealousy until she saw the blue mixture in the hides. And Lira was now curious too, but Okeris managed to keep her back. He watched the dragons and the late Candidates. And with each dragon Impressing, his chances were getting slimmer as well. He naturally knew that he would not Impress the Queen egg. Queens went to girls. But he really hoped that his dragon would be here. She shifted his weight and then looked around. He noticed Avella nearby. Well, he was glad she was here on the Sands. He wondered if her Yellow was being a little protective today just like his Lira was being protective of him. Well, he sent a mental thought of good luck toward her way even though she would never hear it.

[Admin]

Look at you baby,
The picture of a broken man,
Your confidence is shaken,
The world caved in on you again.

Daidoroth still stood guard. For a moment, Kalith took her eyes away from the hatchlings on the sands and the eggs to fix them on him. She liked the bronze; she liked her choice. For the time being, he was her only interest. Of course, all things changed and she got what she wanted, but he was nice. Our children are beautiful; she commented privately to the cavern's handsome guard. Easily forgetting late arrivals, she was once again in a very pleased mood, proud to have produced Pern's first new color in a long while. Her rider, on the other hand, was still busy organizing things in her head, which was starting to hurt even worse. She'd need to talk to the late arrivals, the Queen's weyrling, and the cyan . . . No, O'sho could talk to the cyanriders and the Kingriders. She'd need to mention some points to him though.

The big black, in all his well-proportioned and strong glory, marched his way over to the very end of the line where the boys stood and started along them. His paced slowed as he tried to carefully inspect every single one of the candidates that he passed with gentle sniff and polite movements. He wasn't sure who he should or wanted to pick. In the back of his mind, there was the feeling that there was someone here for him and the nagging prick of his instinct to find that person pushing at him to hurry. But he couldn't bring himself to go beyond what he was doing, wanting to give them all a chance. Then there was Okeris. Once he was within a foot of the boy, he shied, tossing his head back like a frightened runner. After backing up a step, he launched himself forward, fleeing Okeris. He was not picking that one, not ever, just because!

The second of the two cyans, the one that had not yet Impressed, strode forward without tarrying and approached the males to inspect them after her black brother had skittered off. She was even more thorough with her inspection of all them than he had been, pausing and addressing each in turn. Kanamar received a thorough look over and a couple of sniffs as she judged who he was with rational observations gathered from that. Deciding that he was, rationally and utterly, not for her, she moved on. Tazar received a very piercing, long stare from her, at a safe reserved distance in front of him. Then she gave him one good sniff. For a moment, she remained there, staring at her with an highly intelligent, knowing look about her. She left him at that and continued forward, not content with him either; he wasn't a rational or good choice either.

The blue, that was still out on the sands, realized after a time that His was not amongst the girls. He probably should have thought this over just a bit better; now he was going to end up wasting precious time and energy when he could eating or sleeping. Sighing mournfully, he turned around about halfway through all the girls and ambled back at along them. No, he didn't amble but walked, carrying his bulky body forward with a sudden ease and grace one wouldn't have thought possible for him. He was going to be large and strong, not agile and quick, but he was not awkward and he was not clumsy, as you would expect of a dragonet like him at in his newborn state. Once he got beyond the apathetic laziness, he wasn't so bad, and he was very careful not to bump into anyone. He was, in fact, rather sweet and utterly caring, in a laid back way.

There was his rider. He didn't change his ambling path in front of the candidates until he was right by his choice and then he finally closed the gap between himself and any of them. Up close, his hide looked more like deep sea water, dark and pure, than any gem; he was not cobalt, but ultramarine, vibrant but clear and deep in color. G'canMine, please help your Tecarracath and feed me; he told the boy. He waddled carefully closer, turning to the side and then leaning all of his weight upon the boy's knees and legs. Starving and tired, he fully believed that his new rider would be fully capable of holding him up and meant no harm. The way he spoke was fluent, not clipped and short as he could have made it to save time, as he tried to display to his new rider just how cool he was despite his laziness. All he wanted was a little bit of love.



A little bit of love,
Can go a long way sometimes,
A little bit of love,
Is really all you need.

[123notit]

Tazar watched as the second cyan came up and studied him, her eyes piercing through him, showing intense intelligence. What? Was she choosing him? No, that couldn't be. He took a small step back and, finally, she left. Good, he didn't want her. He wanted his King.

The lazy blue, Tazar noticed, finally Impressed. He was glad, as well, that he didn't impress him for two reasons. First, he was a blue. Blues were not Kings and did not, thus, fit Tazar's personality at all. Second, he was lazy. Tazar wouldn't allow that. He didn't know how easy it was to change a dragon, but he would if that was his. Thus, it was a good thing the blue had Impressed someone else.

The black was still there though, studying everyone. The black did not call to Tazar much though. It wasn't what he wanted. And he wasn't in the mood to accept anything less than what he wanted and deserved.

[Kila]

Daidoroth held and cherished Kalith's gaze as she spared it solely for him for a precious moment. Most of the guests had arrived by now, so he was could devote his time and eyes to the happenings on the Sands. He hummed happily, his heart full of pride. Yes, our children are perfect; he agreed, looking at them adoringly. He rose to his full, impressive height and rumbled with satisfaction. He would continue to guard.

O'sho stood with arms crossed, watching the hatching unfold. He was exceedingly proud of Daidoroth. The great waves of positive feelings from the Bronze put O'sho in a state of happy contentment. Nevertheless, he had an eye out for everything. One was specially devoted to the Lord Holder of Western Hold, while the other was mostly drawn the the hatching of the dragonetts.

When the two strange colors hatched, he merely reacted with the raise of an eyebrow. There was no need to panic- the two were only 'strange' because there had been none like them before. And after all, they were Kalith's and Daidoroth's children. He sensed no disapproval from his lifemate, nor saw any in Kalith, so he was not worried by their appearance. From Fajra's reaction, or more accurately lack thereof, he could tell that it was causing her added strain. The Weyrwoman, his not-really-Weyrmate, needed to stress less. Like always, he would take on as much as he could to relieve her. Making brief eye contact with Fajra, as Kalith had with Daidoroth, he gave her a comforting smile.

[4horseshowgirl4]

It was an okay Hatching, so far. It wasn't awful, and it wasn't splendid. The reason for its less-than-desirable status for Luven was obvious: he was still standing, alone, on the Sands, watching every dragonet with hungry eyes and trying to avoid looking at the new, happy pairs. He clapped politely, of course, and some part of him was happy for his peers, but that part wanted to stay buried, and it did. He would celebrate with them when he had a cause to join them. Few unImpressed Candidates went to the Hatching Feast: despite what everyone assured them about the not-everyone-Impresses-right-away-you-still-have-a-chance-maybe-your-dragon-hasn't-been-shelled speech they got, it was still a bit shameful not to Impress, and Luven, for one, didn't exactly want to face his more-successful friends at the moment. He didn't want their sympathy. Clearly, the misery of not Impressing in his past Hatchings still hung heavy over the Candidate.

Still, Luven hadn't been mauled yet, and there were plenty of eggs left, so Luven was still optimistic. He had no eyes for the Candidates around him: he'd completely ignored Kanamar when the other had tried to provoke him by elbowing him in the chest. It wasn't difficult. Though his anger had been slightly roused by the brief encounter, like a sleepy canine being poked with a stick, it had quickly settled down. Kanamar had already proven that he was the idiot of the two. If he wanted to get thrown out of the Hatching, fine, Luven didn't care. He wouldn't be so stupid. Besides, it wasn't difficult to ignore him. The dragonets and the wriggling eggs had completely captured Luven's attention. A thin network of scars could be traced around Luven's legs and lower body, evidence from past Hatchings where he'd been greener and inexperienced and got mauled. He wasn't planning on being mauled again because he wasn't paying attention. His eyes keenly watched the movements of all of the dragons.

Luven's logical mind had quickly dismissed the mystery that shrouded the first Cyan's hatching (though he didn't know to call it by that name at that point). Perhaps 'mystery' was too strong of a word. It was just a slight feeling that something wasn't right that rippled through the crowd. The colors of the dragons were often at the far ends of the register, and size varied widely as well. However, the second dragonet, close in size and color to its sibling, made the matter more worthy of thought. They could be a Blue and a Green, or a Green and a Blue, or whatever other combination of those two colors, but, somehow, that didn't seem quite right... Luven was bewildered. Finally, Kalith cleared it up for them. Luven had begun his Candidacy when some of the new colors were, well, new, but he'd never actually experienced this sense of excited confusion that came from actually being at the event.

As two more Impressed, Luven felt a note of anxiety creep back into him. Time was ticking down, now, though there were still many eggs and close to the same number of Candidates! He calmed again-- math was reassuring in its infallible, solid way. He obviously had a fairly good chance of Impressing with twenty-three eggs and about twenty-five Candidates than at Fort, where the number of Candidates was often double or more the number of eggs. Besides, the Black and the Cyan were still wandering around. Luven held his breath whenever they happened near him, but it didn't appear as if either was giving him any notice. He clapped a bit more enthusiastically for Meta and G'can, probably his oldest friends here from the day in early summer when they'd all swum together. He grinned wryly, his hand floating absentmindedly across his chest where Sweep had attacked him. He quickly shook himself out of it and turned back to the dragonets, the only ones that mattered at the moment. This was a Hatching, not a time for sentimental reminiscing.

[/font]

[Admin]

Free to go with the flow,
Anywhere that I wanted to,
But the moment you set foot on my shore,
That's when I knew.

K'ber was so confused by Lynx by that point, with her being so complimentary. Was she flirting with him, or just so happy as to say whatever nice thing came to mind because of Impression? He had no place in his head to think of it or worry about it anymore, so filled with Detritath as it was. The hatching no longer concerned him so much and he only truly noted the cyans when one of them, with her rider, came over to join them and announced herself. Raising his head slowly, the iron dragonet looked over his odd colored clutchsister with very mild interest. Hello Topeth; he greeted her, in order to be polite since she had said hello to all of them. Then he returned to eating. Even though Gneith was already done and had started before him, he just pressed on and was still hungry. His appetite was greater and fiercer and he ate slower than she. There was an empty hole that was his stomach and he was slowly filling it, determined not the choke even the slightest because of his lifemate and Altith. A King he was, but he did not pass judgment nor choose to go against orders with any ease.

Up in the stands, away from all the new weyrlings, a rider with a yellow dragon was peering at them very intently. Doppelith called His 'F'letMine', if that helps, and said that His says 'thank you' and that he hopes to see you later; Annith relayed to P'nay once the young purple had replied. She was pleased to see her young rider smile brilliantly at that and more pleased when they both turned their attention back to the hatching. As a very accepting, loving yellow and the rider of one of the rare dragon colors on Pern that could be both male and female, neither of them did more than be gleeful at the presence of cyans. For P'nay anyway, he was to distracted to think about it much anyway. You weren't supposed to have relationships with weyrlings and he didn't have any plan on breaking that taboo. However, there was no rule that said you couldn't plan ahead about having relationship with a weyrling once they graduated. Now he was looking forward to seeing F'let, the new rider of purple Doppelith, at the feast and worrying a bit about his appearance. Just fabulous wasn't close to fabulous enough.

Living and living well,
You can't have it all,
All by yourself,
Something's always missing.

[lysita]

Felicia watched all the hatching eggs with awe, seeing how the dragonets impressed was amazing to her. The blacks, irons, purples, blues, greens, pinks and the new Cyans. Yet for each new impression she felt her hope dimish slightly, more and more wondering whether she would even impress at this hatching. She hadn't even thought beyond the hatching, having thought that she'd have her own dragonet to look after and learn about being a rider. She glanced up at the stands, trying to see if her mother and half brother are there. However she does spot P'nay and her smile widens again, as if his presence gives her some hope.

[/center]

[Admin]

You know you can't complain,
You took your last chance,
Once again,
I landed, stranded,
Hardly even knew your name.

The gray-teal egg at the side of the middle row lazily rocked back and forth. There was no speed or insistence in it, each movement just done on a whim and hope, with pauses every so often to recollect upon it all. Still, a crack appeared along its center, the answer to a prayer to some higher cause, and it broke apart. The dragonet inside well matched her sisters, the third cyan to enter the world, eager to follow after the other two. She was larger than the other two, looking like she would grow to rival the average blue. There was the same glossiness to her hide but it held more green and was lighter than either of her two sisters' hides. Her eyes swirled a soft, gently blue-green to match her hide and she was the utmost symbol of light happiness. Nothing weighed her down and she looked almost a little bit ethereal.

Light on her feet and half dreaming still, she took a step forward and then stopped without even really looking like she did. She glided and, when she halted, she simply paused and wavered ever so delicately. Apart from the world, she moved away from her fellow siblings, trapped still in their eggs, and not towards the candidates. She picked a place towards the side of the sands, towards nowhere, and there she sat. Her thoughts were on dreams, were dreams, ones of flight and fire, of hope and love, of all that was good in the world, of all that was dark being conquered, of herself and her future and her rider, of food and sleep. Like she did while she'd thought them until she settled, they drifted and wavered. She had to think, just for a moment, before going towards those people. She would probably be glad that she did.

Snap, snap, snap, chunks of shell fell off the brown-gray egg beside the Queen egg in the back row, another of the largest ones in the clutch. With vicious determination to escape now, the dragonet inside tore at this prison with his young claws and fangs. Each time he tried to grab at jagged edge or scrapped a soft toe against the hard surface, his barbaric attack paused for a moment and was then redoubled. He emerged into the world with a chunk of the destroyed, cracked, abandoned wreckage of his egg clutched in his maw. With a youthful growl growing in his chest, he threw it to the side so that it skittered down the alley between the back and middle rows of eggs and became buried in the sand. The fierce dragonet was a brown, a large and strong just hatched brown, and his anger was not just at the egg that had held him as a prisoner.

Against his fine dark brown hide with its ever so slight gray hint to it, his eyes swirled a fierce scarlet red. One might wish that it was just that he was so hunger but anger also forced out any sign of happiness or contentment out of them. His growl grew more predominant and then he roared, an destructive display of his displeasure and aggression. From before he had even hatched, he had been this way; this was his nature, not some sort of temper tantrum. He was jealous of all of the other dragonets that had hatched before him and Impressed already. He wanted their riders; he wanted them all. He was defensive against everything that they, those puny humans and his weaker siblings, thought of him and the behavior that he had already displayed. All he wanted was a target and a reason; he did need some reason, some small one.

A poor, unfortunate soul choose that time to hatch. With some soft splintering and little rocks, the tan egg in the middle row broke apart enough for the little dragonet inside to scuttle out. He was a black, like his clutchbrother who had hatched earlier and was still on the sands, but was very tiny despite that, much smaller than the other black especially. The jet black, simple colored creature was destined to one of the smallest dragons in Pern from the looks of it, smaller than most blacks and several of the few whites at that. That fact wasn't helped at all by how he immediately huddled timidly away from all the people in front of him. He scrunched up his shoulders so that his wings hid his face a little bit and pulled his legs up close to his chest to hunch down. Unlike his brother of the same color, he was not brave, but timid and skittish against it all.

Crack . . . The egg beside the one that had hatched the latest cyan had hatched, producing a noise that was a fine attempt to compare to the booming noises with which some of the other dragonets that had already come into the world. Unfortunately for the black that appeared from within the dull colored small egg, somewhere in between the size of the other two blacks, he simply did not have the strength or enough of the necessary provided material to produce a sound to garner him attention. However, he certainly seemed to think that he was going to get it. He raised his head high and puffed his chest out, more than eager to greet the world and have it pay attention to him as he deserved. Trying to be noble and knightly, and living up to the typical description of his color, he remained sober as he strode forward, vain and full plenty of ego.

The brown had found himself a victim. Stalking forward, he advanced on the huddled up little black that was, sadly for the sake of his poor soul, positioned just in front of the great, nasty creature without even realizing it. He heard the growl and slowly turned around to face the other dragonet, who towered over him, with his eyes turning orange-yellow for fear and uncertainty. For the occasion, fear was probablyly sensible and he responded to it well, cowering with his eyes swirling faster and faster as they locked on the face of his tormentor. In the brown, the urge to attack was replaced with the urge to protect all of a sudden and he took a step back. Seizing the opportunity to keep the peace, the little black fled, whipping towards the candidates in search of protection and then stopping to balk as he suddenly felt timid of them too.

None of the candidates she had inspected had won over the cyan that was actually looking at them, not off daydreaming like the newest one on the sands. She had a singular objective for the moment - to Impress and be fed - but other objectives would, rationally, follow that one if she succeeded at the current one and she needed a rider who would not pose a problem for her. So her strict standards were completely rational to her and ever expanding as she found some fault with the qualifications of each of the parts of the boys that she, one after the other, inspected. However, her progress remained slow and some still remained. The others she had left in her wake had fallen into a variety of categories for their reasons for passing over them - physically incompatible, either for being too bulky or too weak, odorred, for smelling oddly, and mentally incapable, for being unintelligent.

Finally, she stopped in front of another boy to inspect him. Thin but muscled, clean if a little rough around the edges, she concluded after a cursory glance and smell. She gave him a more poignant look and another couple sniffs, her intelligent, rational mind process and examining what and who he was just from that. This one wasn't stupid, and, in fact, he had potential. O'risMine, do your responsibility to your Rhyolith and get food for me; she told her new lifemate in a strong, collected voice as she looked into his eyes and Impression was made. She certainly had potential herself. Unlike her same colored sisters, she was not simply going to be herself and do that. She was going to be a cyan and do her color proud. She was going to show the world exactly what they could do. They were not blue. They were not green. And all of Pern would know it.



Kalith could be an adoring, brooding mother all she liked, but that didn't change who she was. When she was joyful, she liked to have her fun and she enjoyed using the world and whoever was at hand to get to the end of having some of that fun. Today was her children's day, but every day here was still a bit hers and today was a day to be enjoyed by everyone too. That most definitely included her. No, I'm perfect. They're just very satisfactory and amazing; she teased Daidoroth, voice taking one that dangerous edge that she loved but was still playful. However, her attention quickly had to turn back to her children as a brown hatched and was growling about. She didn't interfere, as he seemed to be quite sensible in her own opinion. There was nothing long with a little aggression and a little bit of fang bearing; it helped toughen them all up for life.

The comforting smile from O'sho did little for Fajra, though she returned it with a more tight-lipped, pursed one. She felt strained and her dragon was being busy just overseeing her children, who she adored, was not being helpful, but she didn't dare wish to disturb the proud clutchmother. The latest group of just hatched dragonets was not helping her headache and was more important than O'sho's stupid, handsome, smiling face - a brown, two blacks, and another cyan. Just in himself, the brown was going to cause problems for sure. In her mind, she shifted around her plan. She would talk to the late candidates, the new weyrling of the Queen, and the cyanriders. O'sho would speak with those who Impressed a King or brown or purple, just to make sure that whoever got that brown was spoken to. This was getting complicated for her.

The first of all these blacks, who had been there before all of those others, had gotten past all of the boys, having skipped over most of the last ones, and was now passing along the girls, still trying to puzzle out exactly which one was his. Quiet, darkness, organization, soft words, soft touches, soft colors, everything that he liked in the world wasn't the world. A choice, a choice, he had to make a choice without a clue in his mind as to how to go about making it. The fact that he had been on the sands for as long as he had been wasn't from laziness, like the blue, or for fun, like the pink before that, but from a lack of any draw. Perhaps his wasn't here? The darkness, the quiet, beckoned him into his own mind, away from all of this. Such a temptation, such a draw beyond anything here. Perhaps the world just wasn't for him, despite it all . . .

There, a twitch, dispelling of those dark, ominous thoughts from his young mind in a flash. He slipped forward, past a few girls he didn't even notice, and came up to his lifemate. He wasted no time in stretching his head to sit just an inch of so in front of hers, to feel the joy himself as Impression was made. There was a light, a light inside of himself, the glimmer of his rider, that would never go out and suddenly the light of all the world, harsh against him, didn't look so bright and blinding anymore. So little, so far away, CheloMine, so hard to find. But your Seiseth did find you; he murmured, voice touched with love and triumph at his success. The dark could win out over the light sometimes and it wasn't always bad; the balance of the universe settled, at least for that one young soul that, for a moment, had been almost lost.



I wanna talk tonight,
Until the mornin' light,
'Bout how you saved my life,
You and me see how we are,
You and me see how we are.

[wirevix]

Alalbar watched all the hatchings with faint interest, keeping himself reserved and steady. The Brown unnerved him, though, all puffed-up and aggressive. It reminded him that people could get hurt, mauled, tackled bu scared or overexcited or aggressive dragons like that Brown. It was a nervewracking thing.

And he felt for sure the Brown was about to crush his little Black brother into the sands, and he jerked a little in alarm, but then the Brown stopped without explanation and the Black escaped. Alalbar let out a faint sigh of relief and shook his head at himself.

------

Grescan honestly hadn't been watching the soft, sleepy Blue as he made his way about the Candidates. He'd had his focus elsewhere, just taking in everything steadily, wanting to keep his eye on it all. He knew he wouldn't really be able to do anything even if he did see something happen, but he didn't want to be unaware of it.

But then there was a voice speaking to him, a voice that took great care to say all of its words with clarity; G'canMine, please help your Tecarracath and feed me. It startled him, but it warmed him too, and made him smile. He could feel how hungry Tecarracath really was.

And he fully intended to go get him some food, too--would be quite glad to, in fact--except the bulky Blue opted to lean up against him then, and that became slightly problematic. Because, as well-meaning as Tectec was about it, G'can--as he was now named--was not really built for holding up that much weight against him.

And so he went down, toppling awkwardly onto his rump on the hot Sands. He landed with a whumpf and an expulsion of breath, startled by suddenly sitting down. Tecarracath peered at him with head tilted, looking sleepily concerned that His was now sitting down.

Mine, he said, with some concern, leaning in to snuff at G'can to make sure he was quite all right, I would prefer to sit down too, but I really am hungry, could we eat first and then sit down? G'can put on a flustered smile at his dragon.

"Of course, of course, well, you knocked me down," he said. He was only amused, however, not angry, and used Tectec's bulky presence as a handhold to help get himself back up. Then he looked about and grinned, and announced to the Hatching at large, "His name is Tecarracath!" Because he was proud of his big sleepy Blue, and it had been too long since he could be proud of anything.

And then he led Tectec away, over to where the rest of the new Weyrlings stood with their bondmates, where all the meat was to be had, careful to announce his new name--"G'can," and his dragon's name again for the records, and to spell both just in case of utter confusion. Tecarracath's name was long, after all, and with all the similar sounds within it could get confusing to one who didn't know him with all their heart and soul.

And then he started to feed him. He only had to warn him once about not eating too fast, as Tectec didn't really want to do anything very fast, and was content to sit on his thick rump and leisurely chew on one piece of meat at a time.

------

Edwa was still watching. She recovered herself from her miserable disappointment over the Pink--there were still lots of eggs left! The cute little Blacks, although some of them were so timid, that was still okay.

Gradually, her smile became genuine again. Things would still turn out fine. They would. They had to.

[kyrillion]

The Hatching had been a fairly straight-forward and orderly one - up til now. Suddenly there were dragonets everywhere, and Kyrillion could hardly decide where to focus her attention. Loathe to miss anything, her gaze darted from that first cyan (who appeared to be Impressing), to the as-of-yet undecided black, and then to those new arrivals who were causing such a fuss...

Two more blacks stood on the sands, now, as well as a third cyan, but before any had a chance to do much of anything, a particularly agressive-looking brown was stalking belligerently towards one of his siblings, and his antics instantly seized Kyril's attention. His target was a startlingly small black that Kyril had nearly missed, at first - cowering near the remnants of his shell, he did not try to defend himself from his angry brown brother, and for a moment Kyril thought he might actually come to harm... But then the brown's eyes lost some if their crimson hue and he paused - long enough for the tiny black to make his escape.

Glancing briefly around to observe the reactions of those around her - she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, herself - she eventually turned and cast about for that third cyan, who had made off fairly quickly after her hatching but not, apparently, towards the Candidates. She found her off to the side of the cavern, sitting calmly and... thinking. The look on the little dragon's face was undeniably pensive and a little aloof. She looked like she was a million miles away. Kyril could relate to that sort of feeling, the urge to just kick back and let your mind wander, although she nevertheless thought it odd behavior for a dragon so soon after hatching. She wondered, idly, what it would take to draw her attention back down to everyone else's level - because if something didn't do so, and soon, how was the little creature ever going to Impress anyone?

Smiling faintly to herself, her attention was pulled, suddenly, to that first black as he barreled right past her on the way to Impress. Applauding, she threw his new rider a quick smile to congratulate her, before settling her gaze back on the unImpressed dragonets, and the unhatched eggs. And she had thought things were speeding up, before. This was chaos, and the apprentice smith was definitely enjoying it.

[Kila]

Another of the iridescent Cyans here, a temperamental Brown there, two more blacks in the mix- this was all getting very hard to keep track of. And yet Sol watched the events unfold on the sands with rapt attention. The whole thing was amazing to her- a flurry of colors and emotions.

The actions and sudden advance of the Brown on the uncannily small were frightening, despite the adolescent size of the attacker. His temper did not seem stable, however, and Sol had heard horror stories of Candidates mauled at Hatchings. Compared to his sharp baby claws and fangs, she was squishy and vulnerable. It took a great effort, but she was not scared; only glad that she was in a group of other girls and not singled out.

The next two impressions struck Sol as rather odd. Blacks were male dragons, she thought, and Kalith had just informed the entire audience to her Hatching that the Cyans were female. So... if the Black impressed to a girl candidate..... and the Cyan to Okeris..... What did that mean? Cross-gender impressions, though not impossible, were rare, and to she who had never been around a lot of dragons before, she had never seen it done. Regardless, she was happy for the newly impressed pairs and grinned as they left the Sands. She would have to go speak to Okeris when this was all over and see what his Cyan's name was. Wait, did that mean he was gay? Oh well, it didn't matter to her. The boy's shyness compelled her to interact with him, but she wasn't seeking anything more than friendship.

[123notit]

Finally, some action. Tazar watched as the third cyan, the brown, and two blacks hatched one after the other. He was interested in none. The cyan, even if it was not a girl, seemed foolish and too concerned with dreaming. That wasn't what he wanted in his dragon. The brown could have potential. It was aggressive and knew what it wants. And it held some status, being a sub-king. With the right rider, it would be a formidable force. Tazar admitted that if he were to have to Impress a dragon of less than King ranking, he would accept that one.

The blacks, however, were not acceptable. The first one was cowardly. It was weak. If the Brown did end up attacking it, the measly creature deserved it. Tazar found himself smirking at the thought. It wasn't that he desired violence; it was that he wished such a weak pathetic creature to be gone. It would just hinder his Weyr when he became Weyrleader. The other black wasn't as pathetic as his brother, but he was still a black. Unacceptable. The lowest of the male dragons. He would not accept it.

((We should keep a running count of how many times Tazar claims the Weyr as his own or his divine right to the Weyr, lol.))