'From Small Beginnings...' [Hatching]

[Briarwind]

'...come great things,' D'skel mused, pondering Aeldanth's slumbering form out on the ledge. His chin in his palm, he reflected on just how far the bronze had come - and just how far he had come. It was altogether too early to be up, some half an hour before dawn, but he'd been restless, of late, and it had him waking far too early. Already he'd dressed for the day and begun cleaning his riding jacket. It didn't really need it, but, frankly, he was bored, and it was a quiet, time-consuming activity that would keep the day going until the predawn grey gave way to the sun.

Shrugging the thought off dismissively, D'skel turned back to his work. He'd barely begun, however, when his progress was once more interrupted by an intrusive thought, but this time, the source was external.

Aeldanth was awake. That was odd - it was too early for the bronze to rouse.

With a start, he realized Noxyn was awake, too. What in the world...? The hatchling was still young enough that he did little more than sleep. Why had he stirred himself?

A low hum rose from one of the lower Weyrs, and then from the fireheights, and a blue flew past the ledge, answering the question before D'skel could even ask it. "Shaffit!" D'skel cursed, abandoning the jacket even as the voices of half a dozen dragons rang out in a welcoming song over the Weyr, no doubt followed by demands upon their riders to avail themselves of the sands. Aeldanth swung his head toward D'skel, who had already darted out to the ledge, nearly tripping over the bronze's tail on his way. Smugly satisfied by his rider's response, the bronze lowered his head to allow the man to mount.

"The barracks!" D'skel demanded as he clamored onto the dragon's neck. Aeldanth threw himself from the ledge, spiraling quickly to the bowl and setting down just outside the barracks. The moment D'skel had dismounted, he threw himself back into the air, winging toward the sands.

This technically should have fallen to M'tak or J'tan to do, but it seemed unlikely to D'skel that they were up, dressed, and ready to go at this horrible hour, and it must be done quickly. A breech in propriety was not going to do anyone any harm, and he imagined J'tan would forgive him for the wellbeing of the hatchlings.

Beating on the doors to each barrack, he shouted into both of them, "THEY HATCH! ROBES, SANDALS, TO THE SANDS, NOW!" The candidates had all been instructed in this when they were searched, so it shouldn't take them long, but better there be someone here to direct them if they came out confused. Well, Aeldanth would forgive him for missing the first shaking eggs for this, he supposed.

And shaking, they were, several of them trembling vigorously and one or two looked quite amply ready to give way to the struggling creature within.

01: gold : IMPRESSED
02: gold : IMPRESSED
03: small : IMPRESSED(npc):Green
04: medium : IMPRESSED(npc): Green
05: medium : IMPRESSED : teal
06: medium-large : IMPRESSED: Bronze
07: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
08: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
09: medium-large : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
10: medium : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
11: medium-large : IMPRESSED : yellow
12: medium-small : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
13: large : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
14: medium : HATCHED : green
15: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
16: medium-small : IMPRESSED (npc) : blue
17: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
18: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
19: medium : IMPRESSED : bronze
20: medium : IMPRESSED(npc) :Brown
21: medium-large : unhatched
22: medium : IMPRESSED (npc) : blue
23: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : blue
24: large : IMPRESSED : brown
25: medium : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
26: large : IMPRESSED (npc) : brown
27: medium-small : IMPRESSED (npc) : blue
28: medium : IMPRESSED (npc) : brown
29: large : IMPRESSED(npc): Blue
30: small : IMPRESSED (npc) : Blue
31: medium : IMPRESSED (npc) : green
32: medium-small : IMPRESSED : blue
33: medium : IMPRESSED (npc) : blue
34: extra-small : IMPRESSED: Green

[Fireleaf]

Seldrimme had been wrestling with little Weft, trying to pry the bronze firelizard from her sleeve for a some time. She’d been awake for a while now with plans to work on the colour inspired by Zanylth. She’d moved to work on a simple pattern while she thought and that was when Weft started acting strange. Usually, despite his antics, he was well-behaved. Now he wouldn’t let her go.

As distracted as she was she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the booming voice declare the hatching. Her heart pounded in her chest and then she breathed out slowly. She let herself do more than look at Weft and finally she could almost feel his excitement. What a strange thing… but she didn’t have time to ponder that right now. She pulled him close, squeezing him gently, letting him know in soft words that he did well and she knew. Then she was out of her soft fabrics and into the rough white robe, the rope belt and the plain sandals with the speed of one who spends all day thinking of and dealing with such things.

With that she left her room and made haste to the sands, unsure at her own urgency, only knowing that it was time and that she had to be there, the feel of the eggs on her hands in her memory over and over as the sandals slapped along stone and ground, not running but rushing. Weft held on tight, his eyes whirling, chest puffed out. He was proud. His ‘Drimme was going to the eggs. For once her head was empty of thought and planning, knowing only that she had to do this, had to be there. She was going to the eggs.

[Lilacdew]

Mine! Mine, move fast!

M’tak was startled. He was taking the morning easily, knowing when he got up that he’d have to go around and once more help lead the Weyr. He had gotten dressed for the morning wearing a nice outfit of leather and a green tunic, but outside of that, he was lounging on the bed, his little hathclings completely sated from the feeding he’d just given them. Zanylth’s call had startled him, however, and he lunged out of bed, Zanylth?! Zany, what’s wrong!

That was when the two hatchlings lifted their heads, both green and bronze, crooning out a hum that could only be a hatching hum. With that, the two disappeared to what he was sure would be the hatching grounds when Zanylth responded, The eggs! They hatch. Hurry, Mickmine, hurry!

He knew then, that the bronze was probably already on the stands, and like lightning, M’tak was putting on his boots and down the hallway to make it to the candidate barracks to rouse the candidates. Around the corner, through the hall, the pounding was all for the rush of his feet for when he finally arrived there, only to find D”skel there. Ignoring the fact that the Bronzerider was from Eastern, M’tak gratefully nodded to the man, “Thank you, D’skel.”

M’tak moved to shout, “Move it, Candidates lest you miss your chance!”

Wouldn't that just be stupid of them?

Indeed.

The morning was indeed young, early in fact, and Syreaka had risen without really realizing why she had done so. It was hard to figure out why you rose so early without a reason to bolster you in any way, but she supposed she'd ignore it for the time being. Taking Ciri and Deltra, she had made her way to the baths in the back of the candidate barracks, having just finished washing herself and them and getting ready to get changed into her chosen clothing for the day when she heard a familiar shout.

"THEY HATCH! ROBES, SANDALS, TO THE SANDS, NOW!"

That was, D'skel. And when her firelizards started humming a familiar hum, she blinked and gasped, her own shock waving away to finally figure out what was going on. The eggs! Blast it all, sheer the skin and shards, this early in the morning?! Go figure, that was just typical wasn't it. The woman hadn't even the time to get ready outside of throwing the robes and sandals on, pulling her hair out of the cloth and beginning to rush for the exit. She had only a moment to run a quick brush through her wet hair while she was running about, a master of apparently multitasking for appearances. With that, she blazed through the door, efficient and ready as she made her way to the Stands as quickly as she could. It wasn't long before she found herself stepping through and entering.

Taliene was a naturally early riser. She was preparring for the morning lessons when she heard the firelizards over on her desk begin to croon. The woman blinked, not quite able to place the sound for a moment as she frowned at them and received only thoughts of contentment and excitement. That was when it struck her.

The eggs were about to hatch! More so, as the Harper, she had to be there to record events and keep track of everything occuring. Not to mention, tonight everyone would want a lot of singing. Silly eggs, making this so early. Regardless, the woman nodded and didn't quite rush while still moving quickly. Tossing on a fine harper blue gather dress that was loose about her arms and wide around the shoulders, the woman nodded, ready. With a smooth hand along the side of her head, she quickly plaited her hair, wrapping it about her head before slinging her guitar on her back and making her way down to the Sands.

Treble and Mezzo dipped about the woman continually, as though their antics could make her speed up. THe harper chuckled, "Worry not friends. I am going, I promise I am."

With that, Taliene walked into the Hatching Sands, making her way up into the stands before finding a spot that gave her a view of everything going on.

[Fireleaf]

Weft let out a crooning hum as Seldrimme went along, arriving at the Sands just as Syreaka did. Her head gave the slightest of nods. This wasn’t the time for niceties. Seldrimme entered and looked out at the eggs, her heart pounding. For once she was conflicted, torn between what she had been telling herself about coming up empty and going home and between her budding hope for something more. She was too strong in herself to feel shame for either. Shaking this off she stood tall, shoulders back, preparing herself for whatever would happen. She gently lifted Weft from her shoulder and urged him to join his brothers and sisters watching from the side, which he did with great reluctance. Weft was soon peeking around at the other firelizards, sizing up the males and peeking at the females, trying to scoot closer to them.

Seldrimme breathed in slowly, deeply, looking again at the eggs, wanting to be sure of what she was doing. She didn’t want to give offense to rider, dragon or hatchling. It felt warmer today than during the touching, and the sand was hot on her feet, but she didn’t mind. The feeling kept her from being pulled back into that memory of when she first touched that first egg…

Blinking she looked around at all the dragons, the riders, Syreaka, the eggs… she was a weaver. What was she doing here in the Sands?

[wildfire]

Ariya happened to be in the kitchens when suddenly Circa and Storm stopped their playful batting and started humming, tails twitching. Her eyes widened.

"Oh! The eggs!" she exclaimed jumping up and whistling for her flitters as she ran to the barracks. Storm and Circa followed landing on her shoulders briefly before going to her pillow as she yanked on her robe and jammed her feet into a pair of boots. It wouldn't do to get burned now would it? Her robe on she threw her hair back into a runners tail to keep it out of her face though a few strands escaped. Circa and Storm perched on her shoulders as she headed to the sands. She saw that some of the other candidates were there and gave a small wave to Syreaka. She wished the girl the best of luck for today.

I wonder what will happen today. she thought as she studied the eggs. There were two gold eggs and while she kept half an eye on them she wasn't sure either would find her acceptable. But it was up to the dragon wasn't it? All she had to do was wait.

~~~

Yukiro arrived at the sands shortly after Syreaka and the other girl. He had gotten dressed quickly after the bronze rider had pounded on his door. Now he was here, Sunfire curled around his neck possesively. No she was not happy about her pet being here and she was making it perfectly clear to the young man.

Hush, Sunny. It'll be worth it. the blonde thought soothingly to the ruffled queen. Sunfire sulked and hissed warningly at the other flitters. She wasn't in the mood to be messed with despite the fact that she was humming along with the rest. Oh well Yukiro would work on her manners later. Right now he had hatching eggs to worry about.

[agriasnesme]

Zagok was quietly sitting in the barracks, brushing out Maven's fur softly and delicately, humming under his breath as he kept a close eye on the small egg hardening in the sands on the small, natural table next to his sleeping furs. He'd just fed her, and was caring for her well, when the booming came from the door. He swiftly dressed, much like the Yukiro person he followed by mere seconds, dashing onto the sands mere moments after his fellow candidate arrived.

He arranged himself carefully, looking up and nodding quietly to himself, a feeling of tense excitement burning in his chest. A Hatching! He was standing at a Hatching, of all things. He'd always been content with his lot in life, never expecting or really desiring anything momentous or huge like this. This was beyond his wildest dreams; he'd only been Searched a scant two sevendays ago and still had trouble wrapping his head around it. It didn't matter, though. Whatever would be, would be. He was ready.

J'tan swept into the stands, his bronze Lecarth calling him, egging him on as he pulled on his coat and shoved as much of a half a loaf of bread into his mouth as he could, gulping it down with a hot cup of klah. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath before looking at the candidates he'd recruited. He nodded to himself, taking a calmer, more sedate bite of the breakfast that had been interrupted before finding a place to stand and watch quietly after the rush he'd had to dash about. It had been murder locating Akantral, even with Haldis' help and direction, and they'd barely managed to get her back here in time to get dressed in her robes and sandals.

He was quite certain she was more than a little angry at being roused at so ungodly an hour, and he knew that M'tak, who had likely woken the other candidates while he was gallivanting about to collect Akantral, would be giving him a stern lecture about Weyr unity or some such rot. He didn't need the lecture, he was interested in the overall health of the Weyr, not some hidebound traditions, and they needed as many candidates as could be found.

His breath steady, he heard and felt Lecarth beginning to hum over the clutch with the rest of the dragons, and could not help but grin brightly and broadly at the thought of renewed hope once more. He loved being a dragonrider, almost as much as he loved his damn-fool dragon.

Sorry, Jetmine. I'd prefer one of those golds.[/b]

J'tan sighed and took another bite of the bread he'd had Lecarth ask Akantral to steal from the kitchens of Delant Hold.[/color]

[Briarwind]

Akantral couldn't lie and say she enjoyed mornings. She never had and she never would. They were a horrible time, miserably cold and damp in any season, even these first days of summer. It was, however, hardly the first time she'd had to haul herself out of bed before Rukbat was in the sky, and she doubted it would be the last. Still, she couldn't help scowling balefully as she clamored up onto the dragon's back. It wasn't at him, or at J'tan, but it was there, all the same. Sleep was far preferable to pre-dawn scramblings.

Setting foot on the hot sands was more than enough to rouse her to full wakefulness, and she very nearly yelped in surprise, taking a moment to glance up toward J'tan before sighing and shuffling onto the sands with the other candidates. Was being a dragonrider always this uncomfortable?

Truth told, it didn't bother her as much as she pretended it did, but if she didn't complain, at least to herself, and this didn't end well, she was going to feel severely let-down, and she knew it. Best not to get her hopes up too high, even if Lecarth thought she was a good candidate. He was a sweet dragon, but he did seem a bit silly, to her.

At his first hatching, Rhiskyraenen had raced to sands as if his heels were on fire. By his fourth, he'd realized that that only meant cooling them once he got to the sands. The shells were tough to crack, and even once the hatching started, it took a few minutes for the dragons to work their way through the sturdy casings. A brisk, steady pace was more than sufficient to see him to the sands before the eggs broke, and he knew it, so that was what he used.

Sure enough, several others reached the sands before he did, but as he filed in, he noted with some trace of smug satisfaction that not one egg had cracked, yet. Honestly, everyone raced about as if they had mere heartbeats to get where they were going. It wasn't quite that fast.

It was best, however, to never speak too soon...

One of the eggs, a medium-small one, gave an almighty shudder, lodged as it was between a large egg and one of the precious queen eggs, and toppled over to the side, bumping against the golden shell firmly. Where it struck, a crack appeared, widening steadily. A loud rapping echoed from inside the shell as the smaller egg rolled away, a surprising amount of response from a gold egg so early in the hatching. The shell began to rock steadily, and a moment later-

A rain of shell shards poured over the egg and several others around it as the smaller shell gave way to the steady efforts of the hatchling within, spilling a rather large green onto the sands. The creature blinked, sand sticking to its wings, and cried piteously to the humming of the dragons around it. Shaking her wings to rid them of the goo and shell bits that clung to them, she staggered forward, an unsteady walk toward the candidates even as the crack she'd made in the egg behind her widened enough to give way to a wet golden paw, the tiny, sharp claws stark against the brilliant surface of the shell.

The gold hatchling worked at the hole, slowly widening it until it started to give way enough for her to peer out suspiciously. Worried red eyes stared out of the hole for a moment before disappearing once more within the shell as the hatchling shifted, giving an almighty heave against the weakened egg and forcing her way out to land unsteady and blinking on the sands.

As if her emergence were a signal, half a dozen eggs began to shake all the more violently, and out near the edge of the eggs, another egg no bigger than the one that had hatched the green gave way to the worrying of a handsome blue, leaving a third hatchling on the sands, his piteous creel echoing the cry of his sister from moments earlier before he stumbled forward, his neck craning out in a desperate plea for comfort.

[wildfire]

Ariya's eyes widened as the first eggs hatched. The first to emerge was a green followed shortly after by a golden sister. She smiled at the adorable babies as a slender hand reached up to stroke Storm. Her eyes never left the babies though and her smile widened as a blue hatched. Wasn't he a handsome fellow and his sisters were so pretty!

The girl's excitement was obvious though she did want to run up and comfort the babies. It must be more than a little scary coming into the big world after being in the shell for so long.

It'll be alright little ones. Find yours and they will comfort you. she thought to the hatchlings. Circa crooned sweetly to the babies before going back to humming. With these three little ones the hatching had officially started.

~~~

Yukiro watched the first eggs hatch. A green was revealed followed by her golden sister. He knew all the girl's would be eying those two but his eyes went to the blue as it hatched and creeled and an unexpected smile tugged at his lips. Poor little guy. The world was scary wasn't it?

Sunfire crooned a welcome to the new babies but she wasn't entirely pleased that her pet was staying here. Oh well she would endure it for now. Maybe she could convince him to go later. Little did she know that no force on Pern would move her pet from where he stood. he wouldn't leave a hatchling to the possibility of between.

He wasn't that cruel.

Now all that was left to do was wait and see if he impressed. Maybe he would maybe he wouldn't. Only time would tell. He would have to be patient and that wasn't one of his stronger suits. Oh well he would force himself to stay until the end even if he didn't impress. His eyes watched the eggs and babies and waited.

[Virenn]

As a light sleeper, Taejinn would stir at the lightest of sounds. The early-morning hours, although not always the quietest time of the night, was when Taejinn felt that he got the best sleep, despite needing to wake up soon. As it was, the candidate was currently snuggled against his pillow, and was obviously not about to force himself up to get ready for the day any time soon. At least, that was the plan. But plans are almost always ruined, as was evident when the dragonets decided that the best time to hatch was when most of the Weyr was likely to be half asleep.

When D’skel’s voice all but echoed through the barracks, Taejinn’s eyes snapped open immediately. “By Faranth!” He hissed in alarm, jolting upright. It took a moment for the sleep-deprived candidate to register just what exactly was going on. It was only once he noticed the humming and realized what it was that D’skel had ordered them to do that Taejinn rolled out of bed.

Robes, sandals, the sands! The eggs were hatching! Shard it, if he weren’t so sleepy, he would have been out of the barracks faster.

Taejinn grabbed his robe, kept nice and neat amongst the rest of his things and quickly pulled it on, adjusting it as needed so that it looked nice on him (as nice as it was going to get, at the very least), before he put on his sandals. No matter how many hatchings he stood at, he could never help but feel like it was his first time standing all over again. Every hatching was a chance to Impress.

Although he had been rejected time and time again, Taejinn had hope. He always had hope, because he knew that his father would not want him to give up. Like M’tak said, he was not about to miss his chance.

When he arrived, a rather large Green was already on the sands, preparing to walk towards the Candidates. He could see a golden paw forcing its way out of a golden egg, until the egg finally gave in. With the Golden Queen hatched, the other eggs were starting to vibrate furiously. A Blue, handsome little guy, was the next to make his entrance.

Three dragonets out on the Sands meant that there were already three possible Impressions… Who would Impress first? Would it be the young Queen? The Green? Or perhaps it would be the creeling Blue?

[Lilacdew]

It would be difficult to say that Syreaka was unaffected by the efforts of what was going on about her. In truth, she was breathless from the quick rush onto the sands. Once arrived, however, she walked more sedately amongst the candidates to the position she was supposed to take..and perhaps the position she would always take in hatchings. Tilting her head with a nod, her firelizards took flight and settled upon the banister as she looked back to the eggs witnessing the birth of the golden as well as green and blue.

It was at that first hatching that she felt that insidious little feeling within her. The one that was created due to having been passed up time and again at hatchings. She wanted to succeed, more than anything this one time. She hadn't in the past, but wouldn't it be wonderful if D'skel was right after all and that she was destined for great things? That thought alone became a bolster, and the woman heaved a deep breath, allowing herself a moment to regain her composure.

Suddenly she was aware of the state she was in. Her clothing was just tossed on, her hair a bit of a mess from the run. Attempting to smooth it, she grimaced at the feel of it still being wet and heavens alive, unbound and just hanging down her back in straight inky-black tresses. Perhaps it wasn't the most amazing way to look, but she'd stand here despite the sharding bad timing of the eggs.

Regardless of the irritation, however, Syreaka couldn't supress the excitement of newly born dragons upon the sands that seemed to surge up with every hatching she'd attended. There was something amazing about it, and she'd stand there enraptured.

[Lilacdew]

The excitement in the room seemed only to be building, and to anyone's guess, it would have been hard to directly pinpoint or keep the focus upon a single area. The little gold was creeling impatiently, a little creature made of the pure imperiousness that could only be found in her kind. As the green and handsome blue made their way past the eggs to search for their candidates, yet even more eggs began their urgent rocking in their efforts to rise in the world.

Other candidates began filtering in, pushed along by the urgencies of the other riders when one of the medium-large eggs began to rock violently, toppling over onto its side and knocking against another egg lightly. As if this were a sign, a nearby medium egg and small egg quickly began to rock. As if in time to some harper's beat, the three eggs shattered at once, revealing their contents to the world. The rolling medium-large egg revealed a teal dragon, eyes bright and voice loud as it creeled into the air, heralding the entrance of a wet but strong brown, and lithe little green.

As they made their way towards the candidates as well, the little teal dragon stopped, beginning to search about with an intensity that could only be expected.

It seemed as though the hums from the Dragons and firelizards gathered were only growing louder.

[agriasnesme]

Zagok's eyes widened as the gold erupted from her shell. The other eggs rocking, hatching, something about this woke something deep inside of him. A quiet voice, not quite there, whispered in the back of his mind, and he stepped forward. As though in a trance, he pushed a candidate out of his way, stalking forwards in that lithe, hunter way of his.

He wanted to get closer, nearer to the eggs. He hadn't wanted this, he hadn't wanted to avoid this, he'd just never cared. Now, now he cared, so much, he wanted this, he ached for this.

His heart whispered an apology to his parents as he moved towards that teal dragon, wondering if, perhaps, it might be his partner. The color seemed so....smooth, better, even, than the mottling on the brown, the blue, the green, even the gold. He closed his eyes and took a breath, and threw himself forward, abandoning himself to fate.

J'tan swore. The humming of the dragons, the thrumming deep in the core of his mind, was growing louder and finally erupted into a full-blown dragonsong. The first hatchling had arrived, and even his three little ones, Hunter, Spotter, and Ferret were sitting still and crooning. They'd wrapped themselves around his person sometime between his settling and the first hatchling, but now, the bronze rider swore.

Some damn fool was throwing himself forward, and was nearly halfway between the clutch and the nearest other candidate. He didn't recognize the young man, but he did know that the poor bastard was liable to die on the sands. He shook his head; he couldn't raise his voice, couldn't warn them, but he could pray.

Apart from that, he was swearing for another reason. That teal dragon threw one of his bets off; sure, it hinted at a successful larger bet, especially when it hatched like that this early on, but still. It was too late to change his bets anyway; at least he was damned sure every egg would hatch. He could feel it in his bones.

[wildfire]

Ariya's eyes flickered between the hatched babies, cracking shells and remaining eggs. She didn't know where to keep her attention. She should probably focus on the babies closest to the candidates but her eyes were drawn to the shaking eggs. She saw another green hatch along with a blue and brown. Oh the babies were so cute! Her eyes flickered back and forth.

She heard the creeling of the gold hatchling and couldn't help but smile at the baby. Barely out of the shell and it was already demanding. She was a gold though. Storm and Circa greeted the new arrivals with happy croons. The babies were adorable in their just hatched clumsiness. Ariya wondered which would impress first. The gold maybe? Or would one of her green sister or a blue brother beat her to the punch?

~~~

Yukiro watched with interest as the next eggs hatched. A blue hatched out creeling the arrival of his brown brother and green sister. My weren't they a good looking bunch? So far so good. All were healthy seeming and going to find theirs. A spark of hope lit in the smith's chest. Maybe he would impress this time. He allowed himself to cling to that hope.

Sunfire nibbled her pets ear gently. He needed to stop worrying. It would all work out in the end. Didn't he know? Well he would find out she was sure. She crooned a welcome to the new arrivals keeping a wary eye on the unimpressed gold hatchling. She didn't want another queen taking her pet. Little did she know that her golden cousin wouldn't even spare her pet a glance. She was far more interested in the girls.

The brown and the blues though they might choose Yukiro. Only time would tell though. He would just have to wait and see. His eyes flickered among the babies and the eggs wondering which would impress first. He was betting it would be a green or a blue. Maybe the gold but that was pushing it.

[Fireleaf]

Seldrimme heard and saw the other candidates enter. She noticed them, noting that some she recognized and some were new faces entirely. She recognized others as well, riders, that harper, but really her attention was on the eggs. Her lips parted in a small gasp as a medium-small one began to crack. When it toppled into one of the gold ones she held herself in place, knowing that if there was anything wrong that she would not be the one to fix it. All that happened now was what happened during a hatching, she supposed. Still, she wanted each of the little eggs to hatch, to be safe. The rush of feelings she found a bit unnerving but she couldn’t push it back down. Instead she focused on what she could do. She steadied her sandaled feet in the hot sands. She was prepared to move out of the way, if need be, or to welcome… wait wait wait… when had that hope become a reality? She looked over to Weft a moment and couldn’t help but smile as she saw he had made his way up to some green firelizard and was sitting awfully close. She blamed him a little. His little tail had wound around her more than she realized. She’d not let anyway know, especially not her family, or anyone at the Collegium. Oh Shards… if she impressed a Dragon… how would she explain? Breathe, ‘Drimme. Here, now. Be here, right now. You are here. You have done what made sense. What happens from here, you will do what makes sense.

The Sands were filling with Candidates and three more eggs cracked, the hum of the dragons and firelizards growing. She felt as though she were somewhere apart. The heat, the humming, the cracking eggs as three more dragons emerged. She watched the small, wet creatures crawling forward. She was in this, whether it was moving out of the way or into an embrace.

[Briarwind]

It was a damnfool move, the boy throwing himself toward a hatchling like that, and for a moment, the sands seemed to tense with a palpable air of danger, but quite abruptly, the first blue sent himself hurtling forward, literally shoving the smaller teal out of the way on his way past and sending the other hatchling tumbling end over end in his haste. The teal was left dazed, unsteady, and bleeding from a shallow gash across his foreleg, but the blue didn't bother to slow or stop for him, plowing snout-first directly past. He bolted past the boy, tumbled over his sister, fell into another egg, and staggered to an unsteady halt, whimpering piteously at what would no doubt be a nasty bruise by tomorrow.

The egg he'd hit gave a terrible shudder, but the excitement of its hatching was lost in the first impression of the clutch, given to that first hatchling, as well, as the green paired herself off with barely a ripple beyond the startled cry of her new rider.

As the pair made their way to the rear of the sands, the egg the blue had plowed into started to give way, a fragment of shell falling on the blue's nose, startling him into action once more. Whimpering, the frightened baby stumbled into the candidates, his talons raking the flesh of the poor boy who hadn't moved when he'd come crashing through. Even as the boy staggered back, bleeding, the blue looked up and froze, his panic disappearing in a single brilliant instant as he met his new rider's eyes, his mind pouring fear, hunger, and a desperate, voiceless need down the tenuous bond even as it formed.

Lost in the panic of the blue's impression, the gold continued her frightened searching, head swinging from side to side helplessly, and the cracked egg gave way to another small green.

Inysalth

Color: Blue (002441-0085ac)
Impressed to: Ariya
Appearance: Gawky and awkward, as most infants are, Inysalth is liable to trip over his own oversized paws or get his long, slender tail tangled in his legs when he tries to walk. If those paws are any indication, however, the hatchling will be a remarkably large blue when he reaches full growth, and that, coupled with his barrel-chested build, will lend him considerable stamina for a dragon of his rank. He is long-necked, with remarkably large, expressive eyes, and his wings are broad and full. A vibrant aqua blue colours his hide, darker at his extremities and paler near his greatest bulk, giving him a faintly luminous appearance. Along the backs of his wings, flecks of the paler, richer blue dot the darker, the colours brushing closely together and creating a distinctive dappled pattern, like the white-caps on a choppy lake at night.

Personality: diligent, active, doting, reliable
Sometimes, there are things that someone simply cannot do. It hurts, but that is, unfortunately, just how it is. Someone seems to have neglected to bring that particular fact to Inysalth's attention, however. Hatchling or not, this little dragon is ready and willing, but not quite able, to take on the whole world. It isn't that he wants to fight anyone, mind. He simply doesn't understand that sometimes, it really is necessary just to give up, and is liable to push himself a lot harder than he ought to to see things done as he desires.

Part of this likely stems from the fact that Inysalth doesn't seem to know how to be lazy. Point in fact, he is prone to restlessness if made to stay idle for too long. When there is nothing that needs to be done, he finds things he wishes to do, and when those fail him, he makes things up. He simply seems incapable of doing nothing.

Among his favourite activities is doting over those he cares for, those young enough for him to boss around, or any other hapless victim who indulges his careful nature. Inysalth seems to possess a sensitivity remarkable even for a blue, giving him the makings of an exceptional search-dragon, and, further, is very genuinely concerned about the overall welfare of others, giving him a very paternal nature, despite the general unlikelihood that he will ever actually be a parent.

A trait more commonly found in browns, Inysalth has the makings of one of the most stoic, reliable, and trustworthy dragons in the Weyr. For all that blues are often distractable, most especially in their youth, it can only be said of Inysalth that he can be counted upon, absolutely, under any circumstances. It would likely do him some good to temper that with good sense and caution, but for the moment, his stoicism and reliability are without peer - or concern for his own welfare.