Like Sands Through the Hourglass - Hatching

[stolenhart]

As always there were a few who were late, T'ran noticed two in particular but he couldn't remove them from the Sands. With the various chores the Candidates took part in it was easy for a few to be out and about when the call came to come to the Sands. Still both these boys had flitts, they should have known minutes before when the Hatching was starting. Aw well, they were here now. He glanced up into the Stands and catching sight of his brother next to the Weyr Harper and his Apprentice. The MasterHarper of Southern had declined the honor today, he was feeling his age but would certainly come for Lidal's Gather next month. The old man did love his racers, pity that. If the MasterHarper had liked dragons just as much maybe Hallek would just be a Holder.

He was paying so much attention to the Stands he missed the deep voice ring out, "His name is Cayerbith", that signalled an Impression. He turned looking to see which of the ones had Impressed. That ought to silence the doubters, he thought, watching the bronze Hatchling wrapping himself around one of the older lads. One of the tanners if T'ran remembered correctly. A good match, a good omen for the bronze to Impress first. And he did hear the murmurs of approval, apparently some of his fellow riders knew the young man and approved of the dragon's choice. The Weyrlingmaster finally got the pair's attention, directing them to the table covered with meat, quickly instructing the young man how to feed the voracious baby.

The brown and the blue were approaching down opposite sides of the boy's line, the blue was giving each boy a look over and a quick sniff while the brown was taking his time, checking each boy twice just in case. It wasn't until the blue came upon one boy, just a few feet away from the brown that the larger hatchling showed any sense of volatile emotion. With an enraged schreech the brown bore down on his brother, but the blue was quick and jumped back. Clumsy they wrestled on the Sands, no one knowning quite who the two were fighting over.

Mine. He's mine. I am his Seratanth, the brown's voice was slightly affronted in D'von's head. Go on, shoo. Go find your own person, the brown managed to free himself before turning back to his rider. Can you believe him?, the Hatchling asked, waiting for his rider to acknowledge their bond. Several cheers went up from this Stands this was even better, a brown with a willingness to fight following a bronze, just as willing, in Impression? A good omen indeed.

Just as the blue had been chased away from that particular boy, another came forward, "Maloth, I am here", it was a boy the blue had passed over but it seems the blue had merely wanted to make sure of his choice. T'ran's lips lifted in the corner, good the first three underway and not a one of them bad Impressions. All three boys would make good additions to the wings he was fairly certain. With no other eggs moving, he gave a nearly unseen signal to the Headwoman, who in turn waved to drudges, telling them to bring cool drinks to the guests. The candidates would just have to suffer unless they wanted water. None of the drudges would set foot on the Sands and none of the candidates seemed willing to leave it for a cool drink.

***
After the quick fire Impression of the the boys, it was hours, well maybe just one before another egg even cracked. The sun was just turning the horizon pink, several spectators had gone to sleep, when two eggs banged against each other and cracked with a wet mushy sound. The first came bouncing out of her shell, tripping and falling in the loose sand. She creeled sharply, struggling to untangle her limbs from the sticky sand. While her sister was content to chip away at her shell one little piece at a time. Then she calmly stepped out of the nearly unbuilt shell. With a ruffle of wings to free some egg goo, she immediatly marched over to the boys.

The green that was flailing on the sands bumped into another egg, causing it to fall on it's side. With a tiny squeak of protest a circular piece of shell popped free and an eye was clearly visible. With a snort of disgruntlement, the Hatchling worked to free himself and then with an explosion was finally free. The look of stunned amusement on this pudgy, also known as fat, blue Hatchling caused a few chuckles amongst the crowd. His sister knocked him in the head with her tail as she struggled and with a resigned, and sheepish air, he clumsily tried to help her. Within a few seconds she was free again. She gave him an impervious snort of attitude before setting off, towards the girls.
***
Alowiha's heart nearly stopped as the green came their way, she glanced to T'ran and noticed his face had taken on a pinched look. A rider was waved over and just as quickly sent running. "Shards they are sending for the boat", she whispered to Crescentia, face going white. If this green chose a girl, their first meal would be on that boat as they went North. The crowd had gotten silent now, looks of anger evident in a few faces. The thoughts were clear, how dare one of those girls try to Impress a fighting dragon. She knew they'd be looking to T'ran to solve the problem, Alowiha did not want to know what that solution would be.

[shouriko]

Daevon couldn't squeeze his fists any more. It was finally starting to hurt, his knuckles cramping under the pressure. The sweat that was there in his plams was sticky and uncomfortable, but it did give him another something to think of. This was particularly important because not only was the intelligent blue looking over each and every candidate one by one, but the bronze was approaching them and the brown was not far behind.

It was both a relief and a disappointment that the bronze was at the opposite line where he impressed. Daevon hardly glanced that way much, but he muttered quietly to himself in a shaky voice, "Congratulations." The blue dragon was much closer and he was therefore of more concern. He was relieved that the bronze was well off, but the twinge of disappointment was strange to him. He had hardly felt that way before. Still, there was that blue and he was diligent in his inspection, sniffing each boy and with him right next to the boy he was currently sniffing, he could not help but feel as if his heart was thundering in his ears.

Then the blue looked at him, eyes like the facets of a rare jewel. Daevon stared down at him, a drip of sweat rolled from his temple down his left cheek, making him desperately wanting to rub it away, but he remained as still as could be. Good thing too, because the moment the blue was about to sniff him the brown came barreling over and piled his large, stocky body towards the blue. From that point they wrestled and rolled over each other and Daevon, his concentration completely broken took a few steps back to give the pair ample room. He knew better than to get between two such creatures for whatever reason caused this.

And then...

Mine. He's mine. I am his Seratanth! Go on, shoo. Go find your own person! Can you believe him? The brown looked directly at him, the gaze piercing past his cerulean blue eyes, past the thoughts of nervousness, anxiety, uncertainess, all the way through and down to the deepest recesses of his heart.

Daevon stared, unblinking, at the brown dragon who so fiercly fought back the blue hatchling and declared himself Seratanth, claiming him. He was claimed. He belonged to this brown and no one else. Well, no one else except for maybe himself. Daevon was calmer now, not just because the blue had gone off some other way and the brown was still, but because there was a feeling of calm. It was not from him, but rather it seemed to come from outside of him, from the brown dragon before him. Trying to take it all in was ahrd and trying to understand it even more so. He almost felt the urge to deny the brown his words and his claim on him.

Seratanth. My name's Seratanth. The voice returned and was quite adamant. And yes, you are mine, I want you and no other can have you, because you are Mine.

Daevon's eyebrows were furrowed, but he managed to say at first softly, "Seratanth." And finally after the immeasurable amount of time in which it took Daevon to digest his thoughts and what had happened and how he felt, he knew that this was right. He had impressed and he still had his own mind, it was just sort of shared now and that wasn't bad at all. Loudly in a way that everyone could hear he said, "Seratanth!"

Now you've got it! Mine! Seratanth came bounding through the distance between him and his chosen. D'von, I'm hungry.

D'von just laughed and laughed, and beyond that he laughed some more. It was all okay and he wasn't scared at the feeling of hunger that he felt too. This came not only from Seratanth, but himself as well, and he laughed because he felt the same way and it was all all right. It was good and he looked to the stands to Aimry, blue eyes going past Hallek and he waved to his friend. He'd have to them him that he was right from when they first met, he did impress brown, just like Aimry had said.

Right. D'von tested out the thinking speech. "Food." There was somnething he felt that they had deeply in common, they surely both enjoyed eating.

[Femisis]

Everyone seemed rather pleased when the Bronze Impressed, though Cresce was just sour. It wasn’t FAIR. She should be able to Impress a Bronze, too… With a small sigh, the girl shook her head and looked back at the two remaining hatchlings. The Blue seemed to be rather close to finding his other half before the Brown bowled him over. She took an involuntary step forward, thinking that blood would be spilt, but the Brown Impressed to the boy the Blue was looking at, forcing the other hatchling to find another. It worked out in the end, however, as he Impressed moments later to another boy who sounded quite pleased.

With three Weyrlings gone, everyone turned their attention back to the eggs. Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed without so much as a crack. Her nerves began to settle as time passed, though she still shifted nervously from leg to leg. The heat was starting to get to her, but it made her back feel better, so she couldn’t complain. She quickly got tired of staring at the still gold egg and turned her attention to Vandiyth. Despite the clutchmother’s poor condition, she couldn’t help but admire the dragon. She really was magnificent, though it was a terrible shame about her rider. Couldn’t anything be done for Ginma?

Two more hatching eggs broke her from her staring and she turned again to watch the new hatchlings on the sands. The Green had her attention only for a few moments before the fat little Blue held all her attention. If any dragon was cute, it was him. He looked more like a teddy bear than a fighting dragon, though who knew? It was only Alowiha’s hissing in her ear that broke her concentration and tied a knot in her stomach. “Don’t panic.” She replied quietly despite her growing fear. “I think I’d rather get sent North than be mauled by a Green.” She added as she watched the hatchling cross the sands. If only that little dragon knew what the consequences of her potential Impression were…

[shouriko]

With all the candidates now assembled on the sands and eggs cracking and breaking, little war machines bursting from the egg shards, Hallek could observe the future. Or rather he could have a glimpse of the future. The blue was not a very promising first hatchling and it spent far too much time on its appearance, as if that matter much at all. He frowned as he watched it approach the candidates with the clear intent on taking his sweet time. Not a future fighter, that one, not at all.

Loud cracks broke through and echoed. It drew his gaze to the clutch once more and what had resulted was a bronze, a beautiful creature and he was not one to wait. Good. To make things better, he left behind a stout brown, not a bronze and certainly not as good as one, but he looked strong. A born fighter. Hallek grinned at the potential he saw there and as he waited for the impressions of both the blue and brown, he was assured as such. The brown was feisty and strong, tumbling with the blue and pushing him back to another candidate that the brown had wanted.

A tall, strong looking young man. He seemed to hesitate, but after a quarter of a candlemark the brown and his chosen seemed to find everything to their liking. On top of that, the young man waved in his direction looking almost directly at him. He liked that, he knew what he was meant to do.

"I will keep my eye on that one." Hallek said with a pleased grin. "Seratanth? I must find out the name of the Weyrling." That would be easily seen to, he could just ask the Harpers to introduce him to the new Weyrlings at the Hatching feast later when all this was over.

Yet after all of that excitement, the hatching seemed to come to an abrupt halt. No other eggs hatched for the remainder of the candlemark and Hallek was beginning to get impatient as he sat there, occasionally taking a handkerchief to his brow to dab the sweat away. He gazed at the clutch fervently and glanced once or twice at the gold egg which appeared oddly still thus far. He was about to make a comment about a failed clutch when eggs began to break apart once again. A green, strong and independent, she knew what she wanted and was already on her way to the group of boys. Good. Precisely how it should be. Her hatching had left a bit of a mess as another green attempted to free herself and in her efforts she disturbed an egg that hatched quickly without delay and emerged a second blue. A team worker, Hallek noticed, as he assisted a thankless green who was off and on her way... in the wrong direction.

His lips turned into a scowl and he saw how the haughty green approached the girls without any hesitation. Well, Hallek began to think angrily to himself, there goes another fighter and she was so spirited, too. He'd have to be sure that she was shipped off as soon as possible and gotten rid of. Women in the ranks only caused problems and though he did not run the Weyr yet, he'd not have them. Neither would the bulk of the riders in the Weyr and T'ran would have a hard time convincing everyone in order to keep the peace.

[knight]

People were yelling all around him. Tylar narrowed his eyes, burrowing deeper under his furs and blocking the noises out. Shouts of "THE HATCHING, THE HATCHING!" were pushed into the back of his mind, swirling together to join with his dreams.

When he woke up, he did so naturally, his dreams slowly fading away as the silence buzzed in his ears. Tylar sat up, yawning. Why was it so quiet? Generally, by the time he woke up, other Candidates were talking cheerfully amongst themselves, making a general nuisance of themselves, and waking him up long before he wanted to. Something, however, had happened that kept everyone quiet. In fact, he couldn’t even hear the muted thumpings and rustlings of people as they moved about in their chambers. How odd…

It was almost as if the entire Barracks were deserted, and they would not be deserted unless something big had happened. He would’ve heard something, though, wouldn’t he? Tylar struggled to remember anything from the time when he’d been rudely awakened, earlier that morning. Speaking of which, it really was early. He blinked, noting that Rukbat was just beginning to rise over the horizon. Still, normally by this time, one or two Candidates were awake, but the Barracks were strangely silent.

There were eggs hardening on the Sands, he knew that much, but he hadn’t really considered the one thing that would’ve cleared out the Barracks. A Hatching. Well, that would explain the eerie silence. Tylar slipped out of his room, robe clenched in his fist, "Hello?" he called out quietly. No one answered.

Well, that settled it. Tylar jogged back into his room, pulling the robe over his shoulders and wriggling his arms in more ways than should’ve been humanly possible, or so he thought to himself – well, it was very nearly impossible to twist his arm around and stagger around like an idiot while he worked the other one into the opposite sleeve.

He came out distinctly ruffled, with his hair more messed up than ever, and his dark blue eyes blinking rapidly and fiercely, clearing his sleep-blurred eyes. Tylar paused to examine the lookingmetal, taking in his appearance and wincing. If he was going to be late, he might as well show up looking good.

Yeah, he was excited, but since he was already late, why bother showing up like he’d slept through it all? Tylar moved over to the desk, his bare feet slapping against the ground, and he grabbed the hair brush, running it through his hair until it was as neat-looking as it ever would be.

Absently, Tylar reached up and messed up his hair with one hand, as he felt around under the bed, his hands seeking out anything that felt remotely like sandals. It took him several good minutes to find them, but at last he came out with a pair of sandals which he quickly jammed onto his feet.

They were small, and they weren’t exactly in the best condition, but they would do. It was time to get onto the Sands and hope he wasn’t too late for this Hatching. It wouldn’t be too bad if he missed it, but he would be rather disappointed. Hatchings were Hatchings, after all. It would be very annoying if he missed it, really. Then he’d never know if he could’ve Impressed then, and it would be a doubt that haunted him for the rest of his life.

Unless, of course, he Impressed at a later point. But that was beside the point. He couldn’t count on Impressing later on in life, which meant he had to be there, on the Sands.

And soon, preferably.

Tylar sprinted out of his room and down the halls, headed for the Hatching Sands. He was probably the latest Candidate there was, but that didn’t matter, as long as he got there.

Right?

Yeah, well, anyways. He’d finally made it onto the Sands. They were hot, though. Hissing in annoyance, and wincing every time he put his foot down, Tylar made his way towards the males, skulking in the back as soon as they got there and hoping that no one would notice him.

That probably wasn’t going to happen, but he was going to try very hard to be un-obvious. There were two greens on the Sands once he arrived, and one was headed for the females. Well, there went one good fighter. That was too bad, honestly. A waste of a dragon, really. No one would take a female Greenrider, other than those idiotic Northerners, but that wasn’t really his problem. Once they exited the Weyr, they weren’t his issue.

The other Green, though, was headed for the boys. There wasn’t much of a problem with that, plus there was a fat looking blue on the Sands.

Could dragons even be fat? Well, apparently they could. Tylar would’ve snorted to himself, but for then, his goal was to fade into the background.

[shouriko]

He couldn't help it, a part of him grew expectant with the approach of the dragons. All three of them. The blue who had been there since he arrived, the bronze who had burst forcefully forth, and the strong and steady brown who had approached his group of boys first. Fakir watched them each and the bronze was not one to set your hopes on anyway. He soon found his chosen without any delay, in fact it seemed as if he knew from before the beginning of the hatching and had not the need to seek him out, just go to him. There were grumbles, complaints, and plenty of eager voices all around him, but he kept to himself. The other boys knew better than to whisper to him. They had already learned that he kept to himself and many thought him stuck up or even arrogant. How could he expect them to understand? Fakir couldn't explain it to them if he had even wanted to.

The brown looked him over, but in the end he fought off a blue for his rider. Fakir wondered if he would impress such a dragon. To have a dragon who desired you so much that he would not allow any other to have you or even be near you. The older boy's brown must think very highly of him. Fakir didn't know if he even had anything like that in him, even if Knymawth found him worthy to stand here.

Ahiru chirped from his shoulder quietly, catching his gray-eyed gaze. Fakir smiled and pet her. She helped him pass the time it took for the greens and the blue to appear. The first was already upon them when the second had finally been assisted by a rather rotund looking blue. He was a bit funny looking and it earned a smile from the dark-haired boy. Though he did lose that smile quickly as he saw the direction that the second green was heading.

"The girls." He muttered to himself.

[fauxfox]

Bringing his hands together in curt but nonetheless courteous applause he watched the bronze and its young rider trail off into the waiting, food laden embrace of the Weyrlingmaster, inclined to snort at how easily the judgement of the watching guests could be swayed. Having been balanced on the brink of doubt and optimism the mood had since turned distinctly positive, gossiping mutters transforming into praise on the turn of a dragon’s tail - bronze Cayerbith’s, in fact. Aimry couldn’t even call them easily pleased, since they’d find something to criticise before very long… perhaps capricious was the word, or simply, sharding, ‘ignorant’. But it wasn’t his place to comment, and with the first weyrling out of sight his attention turned to the two dragonets that stilled remained. Blue and brown, they conducted their inspection of the boys from opposite ends of the semi-circle and where they met sparks flew.

Gasps rang out as the dragons squabbled, concern for the potential loss of a dragon overriding that for the perilously close candidates. Brown won out both in terms of the fight and fulfilling Aimry’s expectations. He smiled smugly as the creature considered the tall, familiar young man expectantly, and after a few shock-wrought moments Daevon called out a single name. Seratanth. The apprentice committed it to memory for later reference, with the additional note of collecting his winnings from the book-keeper; apparently this hatchling lottery wasn’t as indefinable as people claimed (or was it simply beginners luck?). The new weyrling turned and waved, either to him or Lord Lidal he wasn’t entirely sure, but whatever he’d intended a throwaway comment from Hallek supplied that at least their Overholder assumed the latter. A badly judged wave may have just promised Daevon more noble attention than the simple Herder wanted.

The firstborn blue Impressed soon after, Aimry added the name cried out to his mental list, leaving the Sands bare of activity or dragons save for the scraps of shell and those unhatched that the first spasm of births had left in their wake. For what felt like the longest time excitement gave way to monotony. Maybe there were people out there that managed to scrape interest from watching overgrown wherry eggs shake and shudder and tentatively crack, but the young Northerner wasn’t one of them. He cursed the tradition instructing that no Harper should play or sing until the last dragon Impressed, bored to the point of tapping a rhythm against his thigh. Aimry suspected that whoever made the decree had severely overestimated the human capacity for patience. Resigned to people watching, the apprentice nearly flinched when a sharp crash announced the salvation to their boredom, spilling not one but two little green’s out to sample the cavern’s delight.

When one of the sisters encountered difficulties her struggles brought about another (albeit pudgier) blue’s arrival, but it was not him that drew sounds of shock and dismay from the –reawakening audience. One of the green’s seemed to think her rider was among the females.

[stolenhart]

When one of the older, more experienced boys tried to stop the young green from moving towards the girls, she very gently shoved him out of the way. Finding him a bit bigger than was she had anticipated and with an added warning, "That would not be a good idea", she reacted aggressively, swiping at him with one foot while whipping her tail against his legs knocking him down. She stepped on his chest and those nearby heard the almost subtle crack of ribs giving out as she walked over and past him, continuing on her merry way to the girls.

The pudgy blue watched his sister go, shaking his head as if to say 'Women' before slowly making his way towards the boys. He was very timid in his movements, as if he wasn't sure he'd be well-recieved by the boys and indeed a few of them looked away from the pudgy blue headed their way. A few though gave him friendly smiles when he showed no teeth or offers of violence. He did not even search all the boys at once, between one step and the next he turned his head to a candidate he passed and said I am Hivilath and you are mine, his mind voice to M'tur was anything but timid, in fact it also pulled a deep thrum from the blue dragon as well.

The eyes of the green that had headed for the boys were slowly turning an angry red color at the fact she was not finding the one person she was looking for. She gave voice to a roar, little more than a deep squeak, in disappointment. None of these puny ones were good enough for her. Now that her hide had tried she was a bright, vivid, green the color of grass on a sunny day after the rain. Stamping a foot in impatience she headed for the Stands. If her's wasn't on the Sands then maybe her's was in the Stands and she intended to look there!

It was at this point in time two more eggs Hatched, both an equal distance apart. The first of the two was another good sized-brown, this one a pale tan in color that seemed to darken along his legs and underbelly. He was a better looker than his fellow brown brother, being of normal shape and size but he didn't look like he'd be near as big. The other dragon to hatch was another blue, popping out of his shell like the darling he was. He was so cute, jibbering in dragon gibberish to the assembled crowd that even a few women went awwwww. With big eyes, a little snubbed nose and very handsome turquoise color he was definitly an attractive little dragon.

[Femisis]

“Are you CRAZY?” Cresce muttered under her breath as one of the boy tried to stop the Green from continuing toward the girls, whether out of jealousy or kindness. Regardless of the reason, she didn’t seem to be taking any of that if her attempt to shove him out of the way was anything to go by. As if that wasn’t enough, she knocked him over and literally walked all over him before continuing toward the girls. It was a tense moment, really, waiting to see which of them, if any of them, would be chosen by the Green and sent North. If it was her, she had connections and was sure that Ravan would do anything he could to help her. She’d beg him to do the same if it was Alowiha. Despite the short amount of time she’d known the girl, she rather liked the harper even if their views were completely in touch.

It was hard to pay attention to the rest of the hatching with the Green coming ever nearer, but she did note that the Blue had Impressed to one of the boys, though she couldn’t see who. Another good pair for the Weyr’s benefit. How could they begrudge one Green to a woman? There was another Green on the sands for Faranth’s sake! One who seemed ready to throw a fit by the looks of it. She was pretty even if she didn’t seem all that happy and she could only hope that the creature wouldn’t between on them.

Two more eggs cracked, releasing another Brown and a Blue. The Brown was rather handsome looking even if he didn’t possess the strange proportions of his predecessor. He was a fine, handsome beast, and she found herself mentally willing him to come their way even though she knew he wouldn’t. The Blue, however, could stay with the boys. She’d take the Green over that cutesy Blue any day, even if it meant exile.

[shouriko]

An obvious wince came across Fakir's face and he flinched a little as the older boy attempted and failed to intercept the green. Her reaction was violent, but luckily not bloody nor fatal. It did not lessen the reaction he had, however, to the image of the green trodding without any remorse over the young man. Fakir had a hand rise to his chest as he imagined the pain that he must be feeling there from the applied weight of the hatchling. There was no stopping her and though it might be unfortunate for the girl, it was now unfortunate for the older candidate for the result of his well-meaning actions.

Fakir lowered his gray eyes back down to the warm, golden sand that he stood upon as the other green keened unhappily. Would she go between? If she did, he didn't want to watch. This was not her fate, though, she was adamant about finding her chosen and had turned away from the boys and avoided the small group of girls entirely. It appeared that this green had set her eyes upon the stands and was making a bee-line for that very place. Perhaps there was someone there just for her, all Fakir knew for certain was that it was not him.

The fresh new sound of cracking and creaking beckoned to Fakir and he tore his eyes from the sand at his feet to the clutch and the newly hatched baby dragons. On one side of the clutch a blue dragon was gibbering away in his own new found language. All the way on the other side was a brown and he was very nice to look at, though he was not as powerful looking as his previous color brother. Fakir pondered them both wondering if they would look his way and consider him.

[headwoman]

Arosia was furious! Her final chore was almost finished, but no, her task master wanted the sharding appointed task PERFECT! She growled in her throat. She sent the tall fat man a slashing glare. She stepped back when she'd finished tallying the inventory of the Infirmary. "I'm finished," she stated. She set the hide down and turned on her heel to leave.

"Not until I'm satisfied with your work your not!" The man nearly yelled at her back.

Arosia turned and glared at him. She knew she was late to the Hatching, and she knew he was late also. "So take it out of my hide tomorrow! I'm late for the hatching, and I wonder if you would like to explain to T'ran why if the hatchling Queen hatches only to die because her life partner wasn't present?"

"Your not good enough to ride a Queen," the man sneered. HE looked over her work, and then, "alright, your finished. Off with you before I make you redo this again."

Arosia growled once more before leaving to get her white robe and changed. She pulled her hair up and pinned it before setting foot onto the sands. She bowed to the Senior Queen and then bowed towards the Lord Holder. She walked by T'ran and gave a curt nod before joining the girls surrounding the Gold Egg. She made sure to keep her distance from the girl she'd tried to be friends with.

He'd missed a lot, she could see from the broken shells on the sands. She hoped to impress, just to show the pain in the arse task master of a few moments ago.

[fauxfox]

The tension was very nearly enough to sour the juice those in the stands had been given to vinegar, and if the bulging veins were any indication some of the older weyrfolk looked in danger of having an aneurism. Even the Weyrleader’s stone façade had developed cracks, wrinkles, that formed something like a troubled frown – or what might have been one in a more emotive man. After all the responsibility lay with him as to any female greenrider’s future, whether that be doomed to a distinctly more Northern existence or… something else. Aimry had heard rumours around the weyr that some doubted T’ran’s resolve when it came down to banishing such ‘undeserving’ weyrlings from their midst. In an era of paranoia and scepticism the pressure to conform to expectations, loyalties even, was greater and more vindictively advocated than ever.

Unfortunately the result of such disapproving conviction would inevitably be tragedy. Aimry’s eyes snapped towards the hapless candidate as he made to halt the green’s progress, suspicious and apprehensive, the spectators reaction a strange mix of encouragement and (from the rider’s that had previous experience in hatching woes) alarm. They knew what was coming, especially when the youth persisted a second time. They knew the consequences of getting between a hatchling and its search for His or Hers. He was too far away to hear the splintering ribs, but there was something about the stillness in his trampled form as the dragonet moved on that spoke of significant damage. Healers rushed to tend the fallen and Aimry’s caramel gaze moved dismissively away; whatever happened thereafter was no concern of his, though he would have to remind Josef to add a footnote of condolence to the Hatching Feast line-up.

While the dimglow (or was it deadglow?) was tended the robust blue had started slinking shyly between the males, hesitating before a boy he vaguely recalled from the egg-touching and one of a couple who had turned up late. He seemed to have made his choice, quite unlike the two greens that had preceded his round self. Where the one sister had continued blithely on to scout the women after the minor inconvenience, the other rather more dignified little hatchling seemed to have struck a problem of her own, in so far as no-one on offer apparently measured up. Aimry had been under the impression that choices outside of the Hatching Sands were rare, and quickly spared a glance around his fellow stand members for the sight of a gleeful looking sibling, or something. There was none immediately obvious after a cursory glance but he supposed the hatchling could still be considering her options. A flurry of activity back in the eggs drew his attention again in time to see the second brown enter the world, along with a decidedly… animated blue, chattering away to himself as though he was all the company he needed. Aimry rather worried for the sanity of whoever attracted that particular motormouth – no, he worried for the sanity of whoever had to share a barrack with him.

[Edward]

A good many of actions happened next... The first cause of surprise was the green that trampled the older male as he tried to halt her from her course toward the females. Next was the green that moved after his sister had taken care of the troublesome male. Murtur looked upon the first green with eyes wide open. He hadn't expected something like that to happen around here, and that made him want to not get in any dragons way; baby or not. He slowly looked away from the green as he watched the blue, who wasn't far from him and looked rather timid, check a male or two. As Murtur watched the blue, it would go ahead and turn to Murtur. He heard a voice, though he couldn't quite tell where it was coming from. I am Hivilath and you are mine. The voice didn't seem the least bit timid like the dragon had, but what made M'tur make the connection was the note that seemed to escape the dragon as he heard the voice.

A smile creeped up on M'tur's face as he was united with his. 'Now what do i do...' Murtur thought to himself for but one second before another voice, once again, seemed to speak with him. I'm hungry, M'tur mine. Murtur looked upon the dragon yet again. Did he now share a mind with the blue? It seemed that way to him, so he would have to make due with it. There was no reason to complain after all. He looked around as he tried to remember where he was to go. Managing to look through the group of males, M'tur would head over to where the others that impressed had been headed in order to feed his dragon. 'Soon you will eat. I promise.' The thoughts were spoken in M'tur's head yet again. He was testing if what he thought was true actually was. That is very good to know, mine.

The next couple of events seemed to pass M'tur's mind as he was overly focused on making Hivilath happy, at the moment.

---

Beyral was in shock to see that a male would try and get in the way of the green. She seemed determined to get where she wanted, and when the male tried a second time, she got aggressive. The male had dropped rather quickly as the green continued on her merry way. Whoever impressed her was going to have trouble. Women weren't to have any dragon other than the gold one. Who knew what kind of trouble this would brew.

Focusing his optics on the other two that currently traversed the sands, Beyral would see that the chubby blue had made it a point to quickly find a partner. It took him about two males before he found what he wanted. It was a male he had seen at the touching. He seemed quite happy to be with the blue, though Beyral couldn't quite understand it. Forgetting about the boy as he walked away with his blue, Beyral would focus on the second green that had littered the sands. She seemed like she would be quite a challenge and she looked rather upset when she couldn't find what she wanted from the males. It wouldn't take her long before she turned away from the males and started toward the stands. She was determined to find hers. That could be trouble as well.

As Beyral watched the green move away from the males and closer to the audience, he would turn to the eggs as he heard the sound of even more eggs hatching. Two more eggs proceeded to hatch. though one hatched before the other. The first to hatch was a second brown. It wasn't small, but it was smaller than his other brother who he shared color with. He seemed better looking, however, in comparison to his older brother. Not that it honestly mattered.. The other to hatch was yet another blue. This one was spitting words from his mouth as soon as it came out. Even females from the crowd could be heard "awing" as the dragon continued to speak. Both dragons being equal distance from the males came to no bother to Beyral. He wondered where the two would go..

[stolenhart]

It seemed the green Hatchling was hell-bent on Impressing a girl. She came to the line of girls and gave the entire group a look over. There was a sense of single-mindedness about her as she searched for her’s. On the sides T’ran looked distinctly unhappy as it seemed his worst fear was about to be confirmed. He’d had someone bring him a large bucket of meat and he held it, holding his breath as he waited for the axe to fall. He could not foist this duty off on another rider, he was Weyrleader it was his duty to do this distasteful task but what would his brother think if T’ran failed? His riders? So many opinions.

He was thinking so hard he almost missed Istel’s Impression, the boy stepped towards the blue with a giant smile on his face, “Alright Nistelath, that’ll be enough”. The blue warbled one more time and then fell quiet as I’tel lead him over to the table of fresh meat. T’ran wanted to clap for the boy, Istel no I’tel was a good boy, he’d grow into a fine rider. He had his vices of course but at least he knew when to indulge and when not too. That was a better habit than most had. In the wake of I’tel’s Impression the other brown found his own, “Shayth!”, the young man’s voice cracked as he shouted the name before tromping off the Sands.

The green that had headed for the Stands left the Stands, stepping on the wooden walkway with a click of talons on wood. Those in the front row hastily got out of her way as she placed a foot on the wooden bleacher intending to go up. Unfortunately the crack that ensued warned it would not hold her weight. She backed off and scowled at the offending bleacher before sitting down. She would just have to do her search from the bottom. It wouldn’t take long.

After a few moments of silence two things began to happen. One the gold egg began to rock and Vandyith’s voice joined in to welcome the new gold. Secondly two eggs burst open again, one revealed the ugliest Hatchling that had been seen in turns. Scrawny with bones showing and sagging skin. He was obviously a bronze but no one had any high hopes for him despite his medium sized frame. The second egg popped another green who immediately dashed around her larger brother and found her rider, “Toparth is her name”, a voice called out to scattered applause. Most eyes were on the gold egg now that it was moving.

[shouriko]

Again, after the clear candlemark of stillness, the hatching began to occur almost all at once. The green has already passed and left the injured candidate behind her and was looking at the girls. Each of them knew what fate awaited them if indeed she chose one of them. On the other hand, the other green had reached the stands and was trying and failing to make her way into the stands. It seemed that there was no way she could make it up there and she would have to find whomever was her chosen from there or not at all.

Not at all? Fakir didn't like that very much. The green would lost to the Weyr if she failed to impress, she could go mad with desperation and attack them all. It was not a good situation in the slightest.

Such a thought did not need to be applied to the warbling blue. He was finally silenced when Istel, now I'tel stepped forward to lead him away. Fakir watched the pair go quietly and as they left, the brown approached. He passed by and slowed, but not for Fakir, rather it was for the boy beside him. He looked back down at his feet as they left, the new Weyrling and his brown Shayth. He didn't want to watch them go so much as he wanted to look at the sand at his feet. Why was he here really? Sure, the hatching was not over, but should he really be here when he could be back home helping his father? No, he shouldn't think that at all. If he was still there, he'd not be free of his family to go his own way. He didn't belong there at all. That then led to the question of whether or not the Weyr was where he belonged or if it was elsewhere?

Eager gasps and finger pointing directed Fakir's attention to the gold egg. There had been the appearance of a crack on the smooth face of the queen egg that the girls so anxiously waited around. It was a good thing too, because a flash of green occurred then and Fakir saw her impress without any hesitation. When she left among the eggs was her bronze brother. Fakir's gray eys looked at the bronze and he could clearly see why there were some who looked away or frowned at him. He didn't look very healthy at all, in fact, he looked as if had been starving for quite a long time. Fakir could not help it, but he felt pity for the bronze. Would anyone want him at all?

Perhaps he too felt as if he did not belong much in the way he did.

[Femisis]

For the moment, all the girls really seemed to notice was the ever approaching Green. Crescentia was no exception though she managed to keep fairly calm despite the heightened emotions. She didn’t fear Impressing the Green at all, no. It was the consequences of that Impression that frightened her, frightened them all. Being exiled meant certain death unless you were lucky and had connections like she did or a Northern rider found you before you starved to death. It was a real shame, though. She seemed like a rather determined creature and would make a good wing dragon. Why would they want to give her up?

She sighed and shook her head, quickly glancing over to the sands. The Blue had Impressed to one of the boys she’d seen the day of the Touching, though she didn’t know what his name was. He seemed like a little flirt, though, but that wasn’t her problem. The Brown likewise Impressed to one of the boys, adding another strong dragon to the ranks. Her head turned again as a resounding crack caught her attention and she couldn’t help but giggle at the Green. Silly thing, the stands were made for sitting, not for dragons to walk up. She was rather determined as well, though not so much that she was going to climb up the bleachers despite the collapse.

When the Queen egg began to rock and Vandyith added her voice to the ruckus, Cresce took a quick glance at the hideous Bronze and the quickly Impressed Green before her full attention was on the rocking egg. She hadn’t forgotten about the Green, but she seemed less likely to maul any of them than the Gold. “This is it.” She murmured to Alowiha, nudging the other girl for luck as they waited for the egg to crack. Faranth, she’d better hurry up, it was about time they all got off these sharding hot sands…

[icefire]

Mirrium had been watching all the eggs hatch in silent approval. A bronze who impressed first that was a good sign even as a brown impressed after it. She was jumping for joy in her mind until a green came over to the girls. With wide eyes she backed away some hopeing to not be the one sent to the North. If anything she would rather go be a drudge then be choose by a green.

As if to wake her up from her fear the other green make a noise loud enough for all to hear. She was able to turn and see that the other green was trying to climb the stands. She giggled at the little green for being silly she then turned her eyes to see that a sickly bronze had hatched and that another green hatched right after to then run past her sick looking brother to impress to her rider.

When Vandyith added her voice to greet a new hatchling Mirrium's Forest hummed as loudly as she could to help incourage the gold to hatch. Mirrium looked to see what had gotten her firelizard all wound up when she noticed the egg that was suppose to be the gold wobble. She bit her lip as she silently encouraged the gold to hatch. Her thoughts of the green were pushed away as she stared at the egg wondering who it would impress to.

[stolenhart]

While the two greens and the lone bronze contemplated their choices from the assembled personages, another two eggs began to split, cracks racing from the top to the bottom of their shells. It was another brown that appeared from one shell and like a lazy cat he settled himself on the sands, nodding for his fellow, another green to go ahead and Impress. This green did so, choosing not one of the Candidates or the spectators, but rather one of the Weyrlingmasters younger helpers. He dropped the meat he had been cutting, causing the little green to sound a peel of laughter. "Al,al, alright now Yetranth", he said caustiously, accepting the bond from his new Hatchling.

It seemed that O'mal's Impression signaled some deep change in the green regarding the females. She suddenly took off like a shot for a knot of girls at the end of the line. She pushed one girl aside and, in vain, tried to make eye contact with one of the others. A collective groan escaped the crowd as they realized the green had Impressed. Conscious of his every step, T'ran began to cross the Sands, somehow none of the unImpressed dragonets paid him any attention, while the newly Impressed green sought out her rider. Mine, mine I am here! I have come for you! I am Mirrideth, she warbled joyfully, doing her best to catch Mirrium's attention. T'ran paused just out of reach of the dragonet and waited patiently for her choice to acknowledge her. He hated himself but Hallek, and the rest of the Weyr, was expecting him to do his duty.

[shouriko]

Hallek felt as if a headache was coming on. If it was not due to the green who was approaching the girls and needlessly impress one, it was due to the other green. She was not very far from him and she had aims to climb into the stands. Thank Faranth that she was intelligent enough to hear the yawning creaking of wood as she just barely began to apply her weight to them. If she did make the attempt, she'd ruin the stands, likely harm herself, and the watchers, perhaps even himself. Hallek would see her gone between if such an assault occurred whether she impressed or not.

His scowl was fully evident and he raised a hand to his temple. This hatching had been promising with the bronze impression, but just as the blue had hatched first, it was not turning out so well. At least that was his current thoughts at the moment. Hallek took a deep breath in order to compose himself and push the pain of the head ache from his notice as best he could. If he could forget about it, then he might not have it at all.

Good thing the gold egg was showing some life. The small crack that appeared meant that she was stirring within the shell. Vandyith was thrumming with delight and many of the other dragons had joined her, even some of the pesky firelizards did as well. Hallek's scowl waned and a grin snaked back into place upon his thin lie-producing lips. Let her hatch and impress so that he could meet the new goldrider of Southern and of course, the future leader. Meanwhile, an egg cracked open and a green emerged. She was energetic, eager, and impressed almost from the point of consciousness. Good, he wanted dragons like that in his skies. The bronze that followed, however, was a sad example and looked so unhealthy that it appeared as if it would not make it. It might not even impress. How sad, but perhaps a blessing.

[Femisis]

Cresce almost heard the silent groan from observers as the Green chose Mirrium. The rest of them let out a sigh of relief, though she couldn’t help but feel bad for the girl. She was being torn from her home and everything she knew because of some stupid men… She sighed, briefly looking back over to the sands. The lazy Brown reminded her of a cat as he settled onto the sands to let the Green Impress. The sight made he feel a little bit better for a moment, watching as the Green ran to her Own. If only everything could be like that…

Turning her attention back to the Queen egg, Cresce noticed T’ran bringing Mirrium meat for her Green personally. She stood there stupidly for a moment before taking a deep breath to harden her resolve. Hoping to Faranth that Vandiyth wouldn’t be offended by her moving momentarily, she strode over to T’ran and laid a hand on his arm. “You have to stop this.” She told him, eyes hard as she looked into his. “This… tradition,” She spat, “Is stupid and pointless. They’ll die if you send them away, or the North will take them. Don’t be stupid, T’ran. I know you’re better than that.” Or rather, she hoped he was better than that, though she didn’t have much to hope for. Maybe the new Goldrider could have some say in this, whoever that ended up being.