Don't Forget The Seasonings (Pepper's Hatching)

[Lark]

It was getting closer and closer to Loraketh's hatching day. Though still not quite yet, Inali sighed. Her dragon had been antsy since the first egg had dropped. Still, the shells would soon harden enough for the candidates to touch them. That at least would give the troublemakers something to do. Shaking her head, the Weyrwoman moved in her wooden chair. The thing really was very uncomfortable. In fact, her whole body itched with...something. It wasn't like a mating flight, definitely not. Besides, no dragons were rising soon, though Greens did on occasion fly without warning.

So, what could it be then? Looking around, the Weyrwoman cast her light green eyes on the desk she had been using. It was piled high with scrolls of past clutches and mating flights. Nothing had ever mentioned a Queen acting like Loraketh had been though. The Gold simply refused to let anyone near her two precious eggs. Two, both without the normal luster of a Queen egg. So why the protectiveness? Shaking the thoughts from her head, Inali perked as she felt the same itchy feeling again.

What in Faranth's name....It's the eggs My Lady. Inali gasped as she heard Loraketh's voice in her head. THE eggs? Crooning with a half-laugh, the Gold shook her head as she raised it from the hot sands. No, her eggs. Her eggs? Inali bit her lip, but the only other....."Oh Shards!" Running into her weyr, the Weyrwoman watched as Pepper crooned at her eggs affectionately. They were perfect and they were hatching!

Laughing, Inali opened her weyr's door only to have the huntyre caw. She did not want anyone to take her babies! They were HER babies! Shaking her head, Inali scolded the huntyre. "Pepper, if no one can get in then they'll go wild. You'll never see them again." Chirping unhappily, the green, brown and gray bird rose up into the air revealing her eggs. Already one or two had large cracks along its side. Fine then, the huntyre seemed to caw. Let them come, but they have to get past me first.

Oh yes, Pepper would be above the doorway dive-bombing any who dared come in and impress her childern. Whoever left with one today would have to prove themselves worthy to the mother before the children!

The Eggs
1)Basil Leaf Egg- Rainbow impressed to Kevin
2)Rosemary and Thyme Egg- Lunar impressed to Aristide
3)Ginger and Spice Egg- Forest impressed to Iskra
4)Chili Powder Egg- Rainbow impressed to Tahoi
5)Sage Green Egg- Dud Egg
6)Sweet Nutmeg Egg- Forest impressed to A'thur
7)Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Egg- Lunar impressed to Aela
8)Dancing Chives Egg- Lunar impressed to Loba

[Akira]

T'rian had already been on his way to see the Weyrwoman when he heard her talking to her huntyre. His own rainbow colored huntyre was walking along side His' until he heard his mate start cawing. The two foot huntyre started cawing up a rocous that almost half Weyr would be able to hear. Alright you what's going on?! T'rian started running after the little bird like creature. Just as T'rian was starting to catch up to the noisy creature made a sharp turn into Inali's room. T'rian slid to a stop a little ways past the door way and walked back to it. He poked his head in, looking for Pepper. He didn't really trust the creature enough to just run willy-nilly into the room where her eggs were kept, not that he would be taking one of the little hatchlings.

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Lobask was back in their cavern sleeping. Loba herself should be asleep, but she just couldn't. She wasn't sure why she had wandered up to the dragon weyrs, but when she heard a pair of huntyres cawing like mad she started to jog towards the noise. She stopped beside the Weyrleader, wondering what was going on. Loba could barely feel Lobask stiring in her mind. The green wher handler stared at the doorway with an extremely confussed look on her face. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but since she was already there, she might as well stay around to find out.

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Kevin had heard that the Weyrwoman's huntyre had had a clutch, and when he heard from one of the drudges that it was about to hatch he left his bronze in their cavern, and ran up the entire way to the Weyrwoman's weyr. He slid to a stop when he saw two other people standing their. I wonder if their all here for an egg. The thought didn't really apply to both of the people there, once the man saw the Weyrleader, he knew the man wouldn't want another one. Well, I guess he might. He wasn't sure what either of the parents of the eggs were like, so he wasn't sure what the hatchlings would be like.

[kitsuneko]

Iskra was in her weyr, repairing a broken string on one of her old gitars from her days as a harper when the noise of a pair of raucous huntyres interrupted her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and tried to get back to her work. Annoying things. She had been planning to see if she could get one from the next clutch to hatch, but if they were all as badly behaved as these seemed to be, she might reconsider it after all. Whose were they, and why weren't their owners keeping them quiet? When she could bear it no longer, she stood up, intending to speak some harsh words to their owners about keeping their pets quiet while other people were trying to work.

Then she realized the worst of the noise was coming from Inali's weyr, where the clutch of Huntyre eggs were, and she began to reconsider. Not that she wouldn't still tell them to be quiet, but she could at least be a little nicer about it. She'd have to put her pride aside for a bit to ask for a chance at an egg, and it wouldn't do to upset the owner of the mother before then.

She left her weyr, slightly surprised that Maeleth was able to sleep right through it all, but at least the gold wasn't upset, so that was good. "Do try to keep them quiet, please," she said when she arrived at the open doorway to the Weyrwoman's weyr. She noticed the Weyrleader there as well, with his own Huntyre, apparently the mate of Inali's. He was the source of the worst of the noise. She was going to add a sarcastic comment, but seeing the aggressive way the female Huntyre was behaving, she decided to stay where she was and not draw anymore attention to herself. Her eyebrows raised in clear surprise when she saw the clutch of eggs, rocking and some already starting to crack. "The eggs are hatching?" That would explain the noise, at least.

[Lark]

Even though there weren't many here yet, Pepper still didn't care. It wasn't until Inali came to the doorway and scolded the huntyre that the mother backed off. Fine then! Fluffling up, Pepper went to her mate and nuzzled his neck. She would just distract herself with something else it seemed. Sighing, Inali bit her lip and ushered in her guests, making sure to hug T'rian first. Slyly glancing around, she turned to her weyrmate and stood on her tip-toes. It was quite obvious what she wanted really, just a quick little one, nothing more.

That over with, Inali turned back around, hopefully having the bronze rider's arms to lean into. Already, the Ginger and Spice egg was shaking rapidly. It wanted out! Shaking again and again, it bumped into the Dancing Chives egg. Together, the two shells cracked once more and out slipped the chicks. Chirping, they laid on the make-shift nest for a few minutes. They were so very tired, but at the same time they wanted to find Theirs.

Raising heavy heads which were big for their bodies as all baby birds were, the two chicks looked around at the world with spinning blue green eyes. Where most Pernese animals had this color when they were happy and calm, huntyres' eyes were backward. This meant they were hungry and alert. Inali watched the two carefully as the Ginger and Spice chick chirped again. It had a reddish fuzz on it, not feathers really. It was too young to have those yet, but the fuzz told the people what kind it was.

A gray, green fuzz dotted the reddish brown body. "She's a Forest." Oh yes! It was a she, the Ginger and Spice chick cawed in a high pitched voice as she looked around. Where was Hers! She demanded to find Hers right now, certainly before her brother did. Yes, that's right the Dancing Chives chick was a boy. A silvery fuzz covered his body with some spots where it turned to a light green. "Lunar." Inali pointed to the male. Pepper puffed up pleased with her first borns.

Back to the Ginger and Spice egg though, the female chirped again and wobbled to the edge of the desk. She wanted Hers now! Really, she was a spoiled and demanding thing. Cute, and no doubt beautiful when she grew up, but demanding nonetheless. Cocking her head, the female focused on Iskra's form. Ah yes, finally there was Hers! Reaching out to Hers' mind, the female's eyes whirled with the colors of impression. She seemed to be saying, you come pick me up like you should right now! Or at least she would say that if she had that sort of ability. Alas, no huntyres could talk though, perhaps that was the best in this one's case.

The Dancing Chives egg was quite a bit nicer than his sister. The silvery male actually was quite gentle really. Looking at his clutchmate impress, the Lunar found the same urge within himself. He wanted His too, however he would not be so picky or demanding about it. In fact, this male was anything but demanding. Instead, the Lunar closed his eyes and spun around in a little dance, which seemed quite amusing really with how wobbly his fuzzy body was, and stopped abruptly. Opening them, the male chirped. There! Reaching out for Loba's mind, he crooned happily.

(Ooc I'll pm you two the descriptions of these guys later.)

[derek]

Tahoi was exploring, though she knew just about every crevasse of the Weyr by now. Crawling through the tunnels, she was making her way up to the Dragonrider's Weyrs when she heard the calls of a Huntyre. Though she had been at Trelis for awhile, she hadn't really had the chance to examine them closely. Grinning broadly, the girl trotted toward the sound. When she knocked gently, she realized there were already people there. Oh! Eggs were hatching! Maybe the Weyrwoman would let her try to Impress one? For that was indeed whose Weyr she had ended up in. Creeping forward, she looked over the eggs. Smiling, she gently tugged Inali's sleeve. "Miss Weyrwoman Inali? Can I maybe try to Impress one?" The messy, unkempt tomboy could be polite when she wished.

[kitsuneko]

Several other people had joined the group outside the weyr, no doubt hoping for huntyres of their own, but Iskra ignored them for the moment. Her attention was locked on the two chicks breaking out of their shells. She knew enough about huntyres to know that the smaller and paler of the two was definitely a Lunar, but it wasn't until Inali pronounced the other as a Forest that she realized the other chick was a female.

The female chick's caw was more of a squeak, as tiny as she was, and she looked around her, as imperious as any queen. She stared at each of the people gathered around her in turn, but as soon as the Forest locked eyes on Iskra, she knew the huntyre had chosen. She also knew that the female wanted her to go pick her up, and Iskra took a step forward. "That one's mine," she said with a smirk, but she eyed the mother warily in case she objected to her children being handled.

[Akira]

Salty Blues nuzzled Pepper back when she came over to him, and started nuzzling his neck. His mate was upset, and even though he wasn't quite sure why, he was going to try his best to make her feel better. T'rian shook his head as he watched the two adult Huntyres. He smiled as Inali started to usher everyone into the weyr. He hugged the Weyrwoman back affectionately as he entered the room, and stood next to her. He gave her a broad smile and gave her what she wanted. He chuckled a little when he realized that she was trying to be sneaky about it. He wrapped his arm around Inali's back as he turned to watch the other's enter the room, and try to claim a huntyre hatchling of their own.

T'rian turned his head and watched as the Ginger And Spice egg started to shake rapidly in it's place within the make-shift nest. He gave a low chuckle when the Ginger And Spice egg rocked right into the Dancing Chives egg, and the two of them split open. He gave Inali a gentle squeeze when he saw that the first chick was a Forest like their mother, and the other one was a Lunar. Their going to be wonderful when their bigger. Though, I think that Forest is going to be a lot like her mother. He kept his voice hushed just in case the Forest Huntyre in question heard what he had said about her chick.

He watched as Iskra, the Junior Weyrwoman, stepped forward, and claimed the forest chick as her own. He turned his head, and watched as one of the Weyrs wher handlers stepped forward, and cautiously approached the make-shift nest where the hatchlings were. It was obvious the girl was scared of what Pepper might do if she became upset that a stranger was handling her chick. He glanced around, and watched as even more people showed up, and realized that one of the candidates had arrived as well. He turned to face Inali, wondering what she would say in answer to the candidates question.

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Loba watched wide eyed and mouth open as the first two eggs hatched. She watched as the first chick to hatch cawed a very squeaky caw, calling to someone in the crowd. When the Junior Weyrwoman stepped forward, and claimed the chick Loba realized that the smaller chick was spinning around, and actually looked as if he was dancing. She smiled as she watched the chick, wondering who he would impress. She gasped when she felt something strange tugging at her mind. It wasn't the same as when Lobask tugged at her. After looking around the room for a moment she turned her attention to the little male chick.

She slowly walked forward, keeping an eye on the adult forest. She wasn't sure how the female would react to a wher handler getting close to her hatchlings, and the unhatched eggs. She smiled and gently reached out for the little Lunar male, and was rewarded with him crawling into her hands. He was so small, and Loba was scared that she might hurt the little chick, but when he quietly chirped at her, it seemed as if he was trying to tell her that he would be just fine. Even though she could feel this little male inside her head, she couldn't help but worry about what his mother might do if she didn't think Loba was good enough for her son.

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Kevin watched everything that happened silently. He wasn't really sure that he would impress one of these little birds, but he believed it was worth a try. That and Kevinsk, his bronze wher, had wanted him to get one so that he would have something else to entertain himself with besides Kevin. He smiled when the bronze in question pulled at his mind a little before falling back asleep. He shook his head, and realized that two of the eggs had already hatched, and from the little bit he knew of the birds, the smallest one was a Lunar. He nodded his head when he heard the Weyrwoman say the larger one was a forest.

Kevin shook his head as he watched the demanding chick. I definitely hope I don't get one of them. The thought of having to deal with such a demanding creature gave the handler a headache. He shook his head a little, and turned to watch as the woman he knew as a green handler aproached the small Lunar hatchling. Obviously that meant that she had been claimed by the little male. Well, at least one of the handlers here will have a new pet. He held no ill will for the woman, but was really starting to wonder if he was going to get one himself.

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A'thur had heard that the Weyrwoman's huntyre's clutch was hatching. He wasn't exactly excited about the fact that there would soon be more of the noisy little critters running around the Weyr. Yet Merlinth thought that it would be good for his rider to have one of them. A'thur grumbled the entire way to the room where the little buggers were kept. He sighed and shook his head when he saw the amount of people that had already shown up to claim one of the strange little hatchlings.

I shouldn't be here you over-grown weyrling. It would be nice to have some young company while you are out working Mine. The sound of his large brown's voice inside his head had the man hanging his head in defeat. What the dragon wanted, he got. A'thur really did spoil the brown. Even if it meant a long, unhappy life, he was going to try to impress one of the noisy creatures that his Weyrwoman, and Weyrleader seemed to prefer.

[kitsuneko]

Aristide didn't often venture up to the riders' weyrs--not that he couldn't find his way around anywhere within Trelis Weyr, with Aleksi to help him, but he rarely had a reason to find himself among the dragonriders, aside from his father, and even then, they more often met in the Lower Caverns. So it was just luck that he happened to be delivering something to one of the bronzeriders when the huntyre hatching started. It was not like he could miss it, with the noise they were making, and he grimaced as the cawing began. He was curious, though, so as soon as he had finished his task, he directed his canine towards the source of the noise.

He didn't need to be able to see in order to know what was going on. The conversation among the group of people outside the Weyrwoman's weyr was all he needed to know the clutch was in the middle of hatching. He'd never been interested in bonding anything except a dragon, and his blindness made that impossible, so he was quite satisfied with just Aleksi. To be honest, he didn't really see the point in having a pet that didn't serve some other purpose. Considering that, he didn't plan to stay long and certainly didn't plan to Impress one. Unfortunately for Aristide, things never quite seemed to go how he planned.

[Lark]

Inali looked over as a candidate entered her weyr. Smiling, the Weyrwoman nodded her head. "Of course you can. In fact, it's probably great practice for the hatching. You got a wonderful idea." That done, the gold rider looked over at the eggs again. Pepper had honestly stopped caring about her young as soon as they impressed. Once they found Theirs, they were no longer any of her concern.

The next egg to start rocking was the Sweet Nutmeg egg. The shell was lined with cracks, but the chick inside was patient. It would take its sweet time with this. Finding the light, the egg stopped momentarily to look through the opening. At this time, the Chili Powder and Basil Leaf eggs started to shake as well. It was a race between the two, their smaller sibling completely forgotten.

The Chili Powder egg was the first to let go of its chick though, and the multi-colored Rainbow spilled onto the table. Soon, it was followed by the Basil Leaf's Rainbow as well. Two of them, not one, but two! Looking around, the Basil Leaf chirped at his brother. He didn't mind so much that he had not gotten out first. He lost, oh well, there was always next time. The Chili Powder egg however, gloated in his winning. He beat the other Rainbow, that was something to celebrate!

Shaking his head at his more exuberant brother, the Basil Leaf Rainbow turned his eyes to the crowd. Where was His? Chirping, the young huntyre flapped his fuzzy wings. He was going to be a handsome one really. With a mostly green body, one might mistake him for a Forest if it weren't for his larger porportions and mixes of purple and silver blue. His brother on the other hand was much darker in coloring. The Chili Pepper egg had a mostly black body strangely enough, of which was marked with various reds and greens. He was a Rainbow though, of that he was certain.

Joining his sibling to look at the "candidates", the Chili Pepper egg hissed at the nearest person. He wasn't pleased, there weren't enough to choose from here! How was he.....ah, nevermind that. Chirping, the Rainbow reached out mentally for Tahoi. He seemed to say you, yes you are Mine. The Sweet Nutmeg egg had finally cracked enough by now to open, and a lightly hued huntyre slipped out of her shell. Yes her, it was obvious in the prim way she held herself. However, unlike her previous sister, this Forest was much sweeter and more docile. Still not like the Dancing Chives Lunar, but closer than any of the others that had hatched.

Seeing his sister, the Basil Leaf Rainbow went over to greet her, wobbling on shaky legs. He was a protective one anyway, and it was only right that he made sure she was safe! Whistling, the Forest nuzzled her brother before going to find Hers. Where was he, for the Forest was certain it was a he. Oh, yes! Chirping at the newcomer, the lightly colored Forest tried to get the man's attention. Her tan fuzz ruffled as much as possible and the streaks of pale green and dark gray fluffed out as she called to Hers. A'thur!

[shinska]

Aela headed to the Rider Weyrs. She had heard about Huntyre Pepper's Clutch and wanted to see a Huntyre up close, maybe even try Impressing one. When she got there she saw that Huntyre Pepper was no where to be found. Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck rose. Something was hiding and watching her. Looking up she saw Pepper.

"Shards." However, Aela would not back down.

"I want to try and Impress one of your babies." The girl told the Huntyre. Aela stood there bravely, but maybe also stupidly. One egg stood out to Aela, but she didn't know how Huntyres Impressed so she just couldn't pick one. With a deep breath she waited for Pepper's reaction. The girl's dark hair hung over her shoudlers. She hoped that she would Impress a Huntyre. She had never had one before and was very excited to be seeing Pepper up close.

[Lark]

It was here that the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar egg decided to start rocking. It's spasms knocked the shell against that of the Rosemary and Thyme egg as well, and soon both split open to reviel Lunars. The first, the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Lunar was a small thing and was pure white. Not any other color was on him except white, and if one looked at his claws and beak, it seemed to be tinted pink almost as were his feathers. Though his eyes still had the normal swirling colors of a huntyre, the rest of him seemed to have some albino genes.

The second Lunar was a darker gray color, so much so that one might at first think him a Forest. In truth, the male probably thought himself a forest as well. Crooning, the bird ruffled his feathers and tried to look pretty for the crowd. He was a show off where the other Lunar was more reserved. Watching his larger sibling, the albino huntyre chirped and cocked his head. This was a strange one certainly to be attracting so much attention. The larger bird didn't care though, the more attention the better!

Looking at Astride, the Lunar chirped and ran toward the man. He wanted this one! Flinging himself off the desk, the chick was lucky that the man wasn't far away. Hitting His' chest, the Lunar squawked happily. The Basil Leaf Rainbow still left on the desk with the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Lunar shook their heads in response. Nudging his smaller sibling toward the humans, the Rainbow urged the Lunar to impress first. Chirping, the Lunar nodded and chose His, calling out to Aela.

[shinska]

Aela turned at the noise and saw a Lunar approaching her. It seemed to have come from the egg that had caught her eye! Aela stepped forward slowly and held out her hand with the food in it. "Here little on. Here is some food for you." The bird was a hunter bird, that much she knew. "How about I call you... Hunter. Does that name fit with you?" The meat's smell wafted towards the Lunar. Gently, ever so gently, Aela reached forward until she was within petting distance. "Here you go Hunter. Meat. You like meat don't you?"

Aela sharding hoped so. She didn't know what Huntyres liked and if she had chosen wrong then already she had gotten off to a bad start. The girl set the meat down in front of Hunter and waited. "Let me know right away if I need to do anything to help you eat the meat." Aela had heard stories that baby chicks ate the sick of their mothers after the mother ate the meat and shifted it around so it would be easier for the babies to swallow. Was Hunter like those birds? If so he would need to let her know.