The Darkest Hour (Loraketh's 2nd Hatching)

[Lark]

It had been a very long time since Loraketh had flown and had been caught by the Southern Brown. Yet, it had seemed even longer since he had left. Everything seemed to be finally right in the Weyr again. The gold still wasn't entirely sated by the apparent peace though. She sighed and scooted the eggs closer to her side, still upset and paranoid over the failed thieving of The Reckless Egg. Licking the bronze shell, she crooned gently. All will be okay my little ones...nothing will harm you with me around, and I will never leave you. She closed her eyes, tired and hungry. It had been a week and a half since she had eaten, not unnatural for a full grown dragon, but she wasn't about to eat again anytime soon. Not after what had happened last time.

The darkness of night had descended on Trelis when the first egg started to twitch. It was The Point of No Return egg, but it soon stopped. The Dreamer Egg took up its dance though, followed by The Innocent Egg and the others. Loraketh snapped her head up alarmed by the sudden movement between her legs and at her side. They were hatching! They were hatching! Trumpeting, she started to feel the beginning of her hatching song thrumming in her chest. The hum reverberated through the Hatching Sands and into Trelis Weyr, the dragons of the Weyr hearing it and mimicking it as well.

Before she knew it, Inali was running across the sands, her black hair flowing behind her. Picking up the garnet dress finally, the Weyrwoman skidded to a stop at Loraketh's feet. "You could have told me earlier dear." The Queen crooned around her string of humming, her head lowering to nuzzle Hers. Candidates report to the sands! My eggs are hatching, your future is waiting!

(I'm posting this now so that all the members with finals don't have to rush to get their candidates in. If we get everyone there before friday, we'll start hatching babies before friday. If not then we'll be hatching babies on friday after I get home from school around 3:00 my time. You have from now till Saturday to get them in on time, barely on time. Have fun everyone, and read the Stolen Light thread if you need updating on plot.)

---

Bronzed Fish - Blue Hyslehoeth to Yanoya
Dreamer - Ebony Virath to R'as
Dualities - Green Kohenkyoth to B'den
Glass Menagerie - Green Orath to K'gan
Hopeless Truth - Green Eyrieth to Daria
Innocent - White Moth to Xaemia
Lost Sun - Brown Guarximuth to Pandora
Point of No Return - Garnet Zekieth to A'rin
Poisoned Apple - Blue Hiarth to Zane
Reckless - Jade Aerinth to K'te
Unthinkable Happenstance - Amethyst to A'eal(Betweened), Blacklight Odilyth to Z'on
Warrior - Obsidian Mizukaith to Tieler
Wayward Friend - Blue Nystiarth to Therru
Witchdoctor - Opal Widelmath to T'ris

[phantomofthewolves]

Kite awoke to the sound of humming. He leaped from his bed and rushed to get on his candidate robes and sandals. It was time: the eggs were hatching! Nerugui awoke from his sleep and leapt onto Kite's shoulder. Kite pushed him off giving him a harsh "No, Nerugui! Bad!" Nerugui crooned sadly and leaped onto Kite's bed. Kite made a gesture, telling him to sit and stay. Nerugui crooned, but understood. Kite smiled and left for the Hatching Sands.

When he got there, no one was around except the Weyrwoman and her dragon. He had heard that one of the eggs was almost stolen, but was recovered. What a silly rumor. Kite thought to himself If someone had tried to steal one, Loraketh would be really angry! Kite chuckled at the thought of an upset Gold, making sure to cover his mouth. He then moved to the male side of the semi-circle, since he was the only one so far.

---------------------
G'daro awoke to the sound of humming. The eggs are hatching, Mine. Shall we watch Kite from the stands? Yes Banemith, we shall go see. With that, he got out of his bed and put on his clothes. Fizgig and Bellatrix awoke from their sleep and they both flew onto their master's shoulders. G'daro scratched Fizgig's chin and the four made their way to the stands.

When they arrived, they immediately sat so that they could see Kite try to Impress. Fizgig leaped from G'daro's shoulder onto the rail, chirping excitedly. Bellatrix crooned softly; all these new sights and sounds had scared her to death. G'daro reassured her by stroking her head softly. "Good luck out there Kite." G'daro whispered softly.

[Aarin]

He always had been one to go to bed early. When one’s days are filled with physical labor and introspection, there is very little need to dwell upon thoughts in the minutes before sleep claims you. However, that did not mean that Aarin did not dream. No, he dreamed, fantastically and fascinatingly, every night. Unfortunately, he only ever remembered the smallest snippets upon waking before dawn. Tonight was no different from any other night. The large young man was curled up on his side under the rough blanket that separated him from the chill of the stone surrounding him, the constant cavern temperature which was just fine when one was awake and moving around, but really settled into the bones once sleep fell upon you. His breathing was deep and even, and he did not so much as twitch. It was obvious that his mind was far away from the waking world, but that was nothing new. All snug in his cot, almost no amount of noise was going to wake Aarin up- once he was out, he was out until he was quite ready to be awake, thank you very much. Unless you came up and gave him a good shaking, he probably would be able to sleep through anything you decided to do, noise-wise. So, it was lucky for Aarin that, in addition to the thrumming of the Weyr from draconic throats, the clutchmother decided that she would tell all the Candidates herself that they should attend the hatching. The mental voice of Loraketh was like a sharp rap across the knuckles of the sleeping lad, and left Aarin shooting up in bed, with the last vestiges of his ruined dream falling about him like drifting cobwebs. Luckily, the mind has the faculty to remember what was said to it in the last eight seconds or so even if the listener did not really pay attention, because otherwise Aarin would have just laid there, entirely too confused. As it was, he reviewed the words that woke him out of a dead sleep, and started with surprise. Really, the Hatching, now? The eggs were doing it at this time just to be a nuisance.

Groggily, Aarin shuffled to the side of his bed, rubbing at his eyes. He probably should have been more excited. This was it, this was the Hatching, the only one that he would spend as a Candidate down on the sands. It was the rarest opportunity, to be able to experience the Hatching from such a perspective. However, it was really quite difficult to get excited about things when he was still so sleepy. Stretching lazily, he got up and shuffled over to his trunk, where he had neatly folded his much-stitched and definitely stained robe, with the aberrantly thin sandals resting on top. He struggled into some real clothes- Candidate chore browns- then threw the whitish robe over top of that and slipped on the almost too-small sandals. He was acutely aware of the dragons’ song now, vibrating everything. The small glass of water he kept on his nightstand was rippling. An idle observation as he shuffled out of the room and into the rapidly-filling halls. Some of the other Candidates were taking the trip to the Hatching Sands at a run. That hardly seemed necessary, especially to Aarin’s sleep-fogged mind. He remembered having ample time to get to the stands when he was attending as a guest. While he did not run, as he woke up more, his strides became longer and soon enough he was moving at a decent clip. He held the robe close to him against the night’s chill, and he did move a little quicker then, longing for the warmth of the sands.

When he took his first step onto the sands, he became acutely aware of how thin those sandals actually were. Aarin was a lad who was used to walking around barefoot, so the heat did not scorch his already much-abused soles, but it was uncomfortably warm. He would be sweating in no time, he was sure. Now he was really glad that they always washed the robes before handing them out to the Candidates, and not just for the attempted removal of bloodstains. Oh right, bloodstains. There could be Garnets in this clutch. Considering how foul-tempered some of the eggs were, he would not be surprised. He would have to keep his guard up if he did not want to get gored. He rubbed sleepily at an eye again. He just wished this could have happened during daylight hours. As he walked to take his place in the half-circle of Candidates before the eggs and their mother, he noticed out of the side of his eye that people were filtering into the stands already. Dragons were landing on the ledges cut specifically for them as their riders took their seats in their designated area, and regular Weyrfolk were taking their places as well. He remembered being there, and next time he was there, he could remember being here. He slowed to a stop next to a younger boy and looked out over the twitching clutch. Well, this was it. Time to get his experience on.

[Akira]

T’rian heard the humming, and thought it was just his dream. But when he heard his dragon yelling at him that the eggs were hatching, you might think someone lit a fire underneath him. He jumped out of bed, and his feet had barely touched the ground before he was trying to run out of the room with his pants only half on. In his haste though, he had forgotten to grab a shirt, but at that point in time, clothing was not on the for-front of his mind. I’M COMING I’M COMING!!!! He screamed at his dragon that was humming, and yelling at him at the same time. He skidded to a halt next to the sands. He wasn’t exactly sure if he would be welcome on them or not.

Stallorth hadn’t moved from the ledge he had picked out the night the Reckless Egg had been stolen and returned. He rumbled at his rider when he finally arrived. Then he crooned to his queen who was guarding her eggs. It is a very special day, and you couldn’t even dress nicely mine? He let the question drift through mind of his rider, and his rider’s mate. He wanted to go down and stand beside Loraketh just as he had during their first hatching. But he knew better than to just assume that she would let him on the sands. So he settled himself down where he was, and waited for the candidates to start arriving. Today was a special day after all, and so it should be treated as such.

T’rian on the other hand looked over at Inali and Loraketh apologetically. I’m sorry; I got here as quickly as I could. And as that over-grown wherry of mine has stated, I had forgotten a shirt. His voice wasn’t too much more than a whimper as he walked over to his mate. Well…tried to walk over to his mate is a better description of what transpired. He was about to take a third step, when everything went wrong. He tripped over his own untied boot lace, and fell face first onto the hot sands. He didn’t stay down long though. He quickly jumped up and started trying to wipe the hot sand off his chest and face. Needless to say, it wasn’t a comfortable procedure.

~~~

Tiris yawned loudly, and rolled over in his bed. It was too late for him to be up, and both of his firelizards were sound asleep as well. It was max that took up the hatching hum first. Slowly, very slowly, he was followed by Buster. The candidate slowly lifted his head to look at his firelizards curiously. Then, as if someone had turned on a switch inside his head. He was up and out of bed in a heartbeat. He was still trying to wiggle himself into his shirt as he ran out the door. His firelizards both flew out the window, and down to the hatching sands to wait at the top of the stands for Theirs. They wanted to be there to see if he impressed or not, and if so, what he would impress.

Tiris on the other hand was at an all-out sprint by the time he reached the hatching sands. He wasn’t the first one there of course, and he smiled and waved to the two other male candidates there. He took a couple minutes to catch his breath before approaching the golden queen, and bowing before her. Good evening Queen Loraketh, Weyrwoman Inali, and Weyrleader T’rian. Wow, that was more of a mouthful than he had thought it would be. He had gotten there a few moments too late to see the Weyrleader’s little “stumble” so he was safe from accidentally messing up in front of him, and getting in trouble. After greeting the others, he took his place among the other male candidates, and wondered which egg would be the first one to hatch.

[Zara]

---Yanoya---

Yanoya sprung form her bed as she most often did when she was startled from sleep, but as per usual... she prepared for a fight. She was prepared for battle... but not for the hatching which had apparently started. She stood there looking around her defensively for a moment before it sunk into her tired mind. It was the hatching! It was starting.

Shew turned to hte trunk where her candidate robes were located and quickly pulled them on and shortly thereafter pulling her hair back into a tight braid before pulling her boots on. She was calm. Almost too calm. Though, truly, her heart was racing and, though her mind was moving swiftly, was very systematic.

Each step and each movement she made took her closer to the waiting eggs under the cover of night. Tee route was easily memorized by now. In fact... She hadn't entered the sands themselves that often, but had committed each turn on those few times she had gone to memory.

She soon walked onto the sands and bowed to Loraketh. "Thank you for this chance and may all your hatchlings be blessed, Queen Loraketh." She was serious, almost military-like, which bordered on strange for the young renegade woman. She could feel her little Ebony somewhere in the stands, perhaps with his mother, watching with curiosity. He much rather be down there on the sands and, in fact, almost came to her... though she told him not to. He needed to respect the queen by reamaining in the stands... unfortunately. she would love to have him here with her.

Yanoya turned and took her place on the side of the sands where the female candidates would gather, being amongst the first to arrive, and studied the eggs which were closer and closer to hathcing with every given minute. Each and every one of these eggs held a dragon who would be of great importance in deciding the future of the Weyrs... Each and every one. And one of them... could be hers.

---Xaemia---

Xaemia was up again. It was hard to sleep sometimes when the voices of dragons invaded your dreams... Usually... Though, Solarith was a great help... but she hated to ask it of him, though... she would... if it was bad enough. But, in this case... there seemed to be no need as she heard the queen call the beginning of the hatching, which was soon picked up in the humming of the other dragons.

Xaemia climbed out of bed and dressed calmly and casually. Though... The queen had wanted her on the sands, she was certain she would not be standing... But she would take a seat right at the edge of the sands... of course... If Loraketh demanded it of her, she would stand on the sands... ut if that happened, she rather hoped that Keegan was as well. It would be hard to stand on her own.

She soon started on her way to the stands with her flitters ahead of her, feeding her information... but that did not mean that she wouldn't run into someone or that she wouldn't have problems getting there. She bit her lip almost to the point that it bled as she attempted to get as close to the sands as she could while still being in the sands. She couldn't be a Candidate because she was blind, but... That didn't kill the slightest hint of hope that.... maybe... she could Impress too which budded up in her heart. She didn't want to hope though. She was sure that there wouldn't be a chance she would Impress... But... She needed to ask a favor of a particular Bronze... Because she knew him pretty well, she felt. Solarith... Will you help me to "watch" the hatching...? she asked him meekly, shyly and very very faintly, just a tickling thought that she almost hoped he would pass by.

---Iirla---

IirlaMine! We must go! Quickly! Come come! The hathcing has started!

Iirla sighed. She had just gotten back from a late night bath to try to help her body relax and feel better. "Let me get dressed, Iz." That was all she said before quickly pulling a brush through her hair and assuring her teeth were cleaned... And doing what she normally would do if she were not in a great rush... Which only served to irritate Izanycorth further. "Be patient Iz!"

Iirla took the time to dress up and pull on a lovely rich red dress with gold trim that matched the light gold color of his dragon with the more bronze color in the ribbons which pulled together the corset (which she never made particularly tight) that was around her middle, having patterns of her dragon's more green gold and edging of the lighter gold. The sleeves billowed slight at the elbows where they were gathered with soft gold ribbon.

Her hair, though... that took her a little bit as she braided the front along the right side of her head into a waterfall braid and fastened it, letting the end be loose and leaving the rest of her hair to dry in the air. she didn't have much other choice at this point. She took a deep breath and adjusted the ribbon of the corset, which was really all for show... And looked at how the dress fell, the sleeves which were off her shoulders, though the red straps did come over the shoulders at a normal place... It was a dress she had been gifted with.... some time ago. She was glad it was not particularly low... because she already felt awkward enough.

All that were left were her sandals, which she pulled on and laced. "I'll meet you there, Iz."

Iz nodded. Be fast, Mine!

With that, Izanycorth took off and flew to the sands, landing close to Kelath.

It was not long after that Iirla approached the stands and started looking. Well... there was D'rian. She smiled and slipped in next to him. "Hi." She said softly.

((Dress style is like this, but colors and details are as described (and has visible ribbon in the front): faestock.deviantart.com/art/Medieval-pack8-63364563?q=boost%3Apopular%20medieval%20corset%20dress&qo=10))

[jillianna]

Alessandra snapped out of bed before her brain caught up with her. She just knew that there was shouting and excitement, along with a strange humming noise she'd never heard before. She rolled out of her bed stifling a yawn and nearly tripped on the small rug she had beside her bed, her dressing gown tangling around her knees.

"Oof!" the shock of being forced to catch herself on the shelf, woke her up, and she realized what was happening. "THE EGGS!" Her smile was radiant as she nearly fell two more times stripping out of the dressing gown and quickly pulling the candidate's white robes and sandles on, before taking off at a dead run for the sands.

Jillalene was waiting for her, as were Eulurth, D'rian, Kelath, and Keegan. Jillalene looked radiant, her hair was pulled half up and half down, braided around the back like half a circlet of burnished copper and falling around her shoulders in soft ringlets, dressed in a long flowing dress that wove in and out in almost the exact colors of the large blue standing behind her. Perfectly fitted, it left the smooth column of her neck and the skin at her collarbone barein a semi low square neckline. The trim was silver and ribboned, making up little accents along the edges. She was smiling encouragingly and Alessa waved nervously to the others as her friend hugged her.

"You'll do fine Alessa. Just be careful, they can be a bit tempramental when they first hatch."

D'rian grinned and tugged his friend back. He wasn't looking too shabby either, well as far as d'rian went. He was always so put together looking anyway... He wore the soft buckskin breeches with one of his crisp white shirts and dark brown slightly higher than knee-high boots.
"Come on Lene. We need to get our seats so we don't miss anything. Coming Keegan?"

Eulurth and Kelath both crooned at the young candidate before turning and following theirs up to the stands. Keegan stood there in a nice pair of dark breeches D'rian had given him after they'd lost everything, the white crisp shirt and the dark green vest made him look more like a lord's son than a Runnerbeast herder. He ran his fingers through his hair subconsciously.

"Hey sis..."

Her jaw was sagging as she took her brother in, he looked amazing. She smiled and hugged him tightly and it was a sign of how far he'd come that he only wobbled slightly.

"I love you kiddo, you know that right? No matter if you don't get chosen, or you do. Dragon or not. You're my sister and you always will be."

Her lower lip trembled as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

"Don't cry, just get out there and do your best."

She couldn't help the single tear that escaped. She knew how scared of Dragons he was, and how much it pained him to admit that for her he'd accept being near a dragon for the rest of their lives.
"Go on, or you'll have to stand instead of sit in the stands."

He grinned and hugged her one more time before hurrying up into the stands. She took a deep steadying breath and walked calmly out onto the sands. She bowed to Loraketh.

"Thank you, my queen, for allowing me the opportunity to stand before your children." If you looked close you could tell she was shaking, but just barely perceptibly. She walked over and took her place in the line of female candidates, standing close to Yanoya as she watched the egg's shaking.


Jillalene smiled and hugged Iirla as she came in, the girl coming past her first before she could make it to D'rian, who's jaw went slack as his dragon crooned in appreciative welcome to his golden love.

"You look amazing Iirla!" Eulurth chuckled softly as Keegan came in and made his way over to sit between Xaemia and Keegan. The boy looked like he was about to face a firing squad.

D'rian smiled dumbly at Iirla and took her hand raising her knuckles to his lips. "And I thought you could grow no more beautiful Iirla..."

[shinska]

Daria sauntered to the Hatching Sands. It was time for the Hatching and the girl wasn't too worried by it. She had already been bathing when the message came through. She finished the bath at her own pace and got out. She had dried, combed her hair, put on her robe, and left her room. She headed for the Sands and took her time. She was in no hurry to get there. If her Dragon was there it was there. If not she wouldn't push the issue. Once on the Sands she slowly passed the females and flashed them all cold smiles, but ignored the males completely. She took her place and watched the eggs on the Sands.

[Zirin]

Aridani wasn't entirely sure what had woken her at first. She blinked tired eyes open and waited for them to become accustomed to the darkness as she listened, trying to find the source of her sudden state of wake. The lithe form of her darling little friend vibrated lightly, and it was then she realized the sound that had woken her was a quiet humming. Oh! The dragon eggs!

You are such a darling, aren't you my sweetling, Aridani mentally praised the sapphire flitter, happiness flowing through her once again as she marvelled at the delicate beauty. She was perfect in every way, strong where Ari was soft, calm when she was angry. The sapphire was her support and her leader, her harmony in life. The hatchling gave a soft, loving chirp as she stretched and calmly stepped onto Her's offered hand and made her way to wrap her tail around the harper's neck. Her face quickly nuzzled against the girl's cheek.

The loving moment wasn't to last too long however. Harmony' s humming grew a bit stronger, urging Ari to move faster if they were to welcome hatchlings into the world. Aridani quickly pulled on a creamy coloured dress and fixed herself up as best she could. She moved over to the crib-like bed in which her tiny son slept. Lifting him gently, she hoped he wouldn't fuss too much about being woken at such an hour, but she knew she couldn't leave him behind. The three turn old had always been a heavy sleeper though, and didn't seem to notice he had been picked up. Settling him into her arms, she left the room and made her way to the sands.

Candidates were still entering the sands when Ari arrived, and after a polite bow to Loraketh, she scanned the stands looking for a good place to sit. D'tri was no where to be seen, but she thought she could see Xaemia. Would the other girl enjoy the company of a mute though? She doubted it, their first meeting had been difficult at best. She selected an empty seat not far away, and sat Danarvi next her her gently. He seemed to be starting to wake up though... she hoped he wouldn't make a scene.

---

There better not be another topaz-wannabe in this clutch Mine. That Chahawench is enough trouble. Kayath snorted as she watched J'dol traverse the stands. He wasn't going to sit up with her this time; he wanted a good seat to cheer on Alessa from. Glancing around for people he knew, he gave cheery smiles to U'wa and a few of his other classmates, and he recognised the faces of the Istan clutch and Maelath's group among the crowd.

Oh, was that Keegan over there? What better place to sit then beside the chicken! Jogging over as best he could, he greeted the gathered crowd. "Hey! Here to cheer on our little lady friend?" He turned to the sands and waved, hoping to catch Alessandra's attention so he could wish her luck properly.

"Nothing more exciting than a good hatching!" he chuckled, throwing himself haphazardly into his seat and relaxing as best he could as they waited for the first shell to crack.

[Zero]

S’val had been going over reports, for what seemed like the millionth time that night, when the announcement went out. Already Sol had taken up the hatching hum, adding his voice along with the rest of Trelis. Faranth knew what time it was. All the weary rider knew that it was late, very very late. Rising from his chair he stretched and began to make his way from his weyr down to the Sands.

By the time he reached his seat there was already a fair amount of people milling about the stands and even a few candidate had found there way to the twitching clutch. He looked at each young face garbed in the traditional white and then turned to the eggs themselves, sizing them up. Not a hatching had gone by so far without some sort of event or new discovery happening. Leaning back in his seat, the rider yawned and silently began to wonder what sort of show they were in for tonight.


_________________________________

You don’t even like hatchings. So why are we here? Vl’kan picked his way through the ever increasing crowd as he searched the stands for a seat and a familiar face. As I have stated before, I like to witness how un-glorified their hatching will be compared to mine. The garnet snorted from the ledge he had picked out to observe this little hatching.

There wasn’t even a crowd watching. It was all done in secret, remember? Yes but there was death and chaos and risk all about. No hatching could ever compare to my glorious day. Shaking his head Vl’kan scanned the faces once again and stopping briefly in his search when he spotted a familiar. Well of course our junior weyrwoman would be in attendance. He though briefly to himself. Oh but then his eyes caught sight of that little bronzer sitting nearby and drooling at her feet.

Vl’kan scowled and shook his head before moving further down the stands till he spotted his cousin and flopped down into the empty chair beside the thief. Thormyth merely chuckled through their link.

F’lon looked up as his Istan cousin dropped down in the chair and kicked a boot up on the railing in front of them. “What’s eating you?” Naturally there was no response from the foul mood man and F’lon simply chuckled and thumped the brooding weyrling on the shoulder. If the hatching wasn’t as exciting as he had hoped then at least he could spend his time harassing the younger man.

[derek]

Zion wasn't asleep, despite the late hour. He was in the records room, just reading, finding out more about Trelis and other Weyrs around the continent. It was a hobby he enjoyed, especially at night. There was no one around to bother him, and nothing to interrupt him.

...except the humming of dragons, and Loraketh's cry that her precious eggs were Hatching.

The sudden clamor of dragon voices in his head was startling, but Zion had been to enough Hatchings by now to shove most of the noise aside so he would be able to think. His rooms were quite a ways from the records room, which was a bit of a problem. If he showed up on the Sands without his robe and sandals, Loraketh would surely ban him from the Hatching... or worse.

And he could not be banned from this Hatching! His dragon could be there! All he wanted in the world was a dragon to Bond to him. He had been to Hatching after Hatching and had failed time and time again. As old as he was, this might possibly be the last clutch he would be able to Stand on the Sands for as a Candidate. That meant he had to go!

Leaving the records out on the table, he took off at a quick run back towards his room. Skidding into it, he paused momentarily, panting. Reaching for the worn and used Candidate's Robe, he pulled it on over what he was already wearing (nothing special, a gray tunic and some breeches) and shed his boots to pull on the overly-thin sandals.

Zion set off again, this time at a light trot, towards the Hatching Sands. As he arrived, he noted with relief that he was not the last to arrive. Loraketh was looking particularly fierce, so he walked slowly and sedately to her, and gave her a low bow. "My thanks, Loraketh, for allowing me this great chance. And my thanks also to you, Weyrwoman," he added with a nod to Inali.

Backing up, the heat rising all around him, he took his place in the half-circle of male Candidates. As an old hand at Standing, he thought he would be calm, but he was just as excited as the first time he had Stood before a Queen's clutch. Turning to the boy next to him-- Aarin, he thought --he grinned. This could be it: the day he Impressed a dragon!

[kitsuneko]

Bryden hadn't expected things to be quite so...chaotic at Trelis, but he supposed that wasn't entirely a bad thing. Still, all the chaos over the stolen egg seemed to be over now. One thing was sure; Trelis Weyr was very different from the last Weyr he'd been in.

The harper was jerked out of a sound sleep by the voice of a dragon in his mind, one which he quickly decided must have been the mother of the clutch. He could think of no other dragon that would have bothered speaking to him about hatching eggs. Heart pounding with excitement, he climbed out of bed and threw on the white candidate's robe he had been given and made his way to the Hatching Sands.

Fortunately, having been there once before for the Touching, he didn't get lost this time, though he was far from the first of the candidates to arrive. He bowed to the Queen and Weyrwoman. "Thank you very much for allowing me the chance to stand for your clutch," he said with a smile more confident than he really felt at the moment.

He pushed his way through the crowd and went to stand with the other candidates, and stared at the rocking eggs. None of the eggs he had touched had seemed to respond much to him during the hatching...was he going to be left standing again after all? Bryden shook his head to chase the thought away. No, he had to hope for the best.

[Lark]

Loraketh crooned as Stallorth took a seat next to her and the eggs, but she also watched him carefully. Back away Stallorth, even I must give them room. She did so reluctantly, having to be warned off a few times by Inali just to make sure that the Gold actually took her own advice. With a delicate nuzzle against The Reckless Egg, Loraketh sat on the sands a bit away with her wings folded against her sides. As one of the eggs twitched and started to gain a hairline crack on its shell, she hummed louder. So it begins.

The egg that had started to hatch first was The Dreamer Egg. It was ready to get out and see the world! It wanted to follow its dreams, it wanted...what did it actually want? Stopping its jerking movements, the egg stilled and the dragonet inside curled up briefly. Tilting its head to look at the slight opening, the baby crooned. Light. Beautiful, beautiful light. Poking its nose upward, it sniffed the air, breaking through the membrane surrounding it. Yes, it wanted more of this thing. This was what it had been so hopeful of! With a loud crack, the egg opened into large chunks and fell around the dragonet.

Inali raised an eye-brow at what she saw. "I really shouldn't be surprised anymore." She had tried hard not to laugh at T'rian's little fumble, but matched with the first baby it was almost too much. She laughed under her breath only to be cut off by Loraketh's hiss. There's nothing wrong with him! He's my little Ebony. The Queen moved to nuzzle The Dreamer Ebony, licking his still sticky, slate gray hide. Or perhaps it was more of a black color. It was certainly not metallic like the Obsidian's. No, it was more marbled and dull like any other chromatic.

Crooning at his mother, the dragonet touched his little nose to hers gently. Look there little one. Find Yours. He swiveled his head to look, but oh what things he saw. Colors, and light and shapes, and OH PINK THINGS! He sniffed in their direction, cautiously looking around. They felt like those things that had touched his egg! Flapping his sticky wings, the Ebony chirped happily. His dreams were there, His was somewhere there! However, there was a sea of orbs before him, and he nudged one tiny one. It was The Innocent Egg. Was there something like him inside?

Beating against the thing, he chirped. Come out, come out and play SiblingMine!

---

Dalia was running late, which she tried to never do. Grabbing onto a door on her way to the sands, she attempted to catch her breath. The humming was getting louder, and was that the sound of cheers? She had to get there, she just had to! Running off again, her white candidate's robe swishing around her ankles, she finally ran out onto the sands. The candidate skidded to an abrupt stop in front of the Queen, bowing low and saying her thanks before she shuffled over to the candidates.

Her eyes didn't miss the grayish black dragonet that had already hatched though. It was an odd sight most definitely. A boy nearby was watching too, and she thought she recognized him from the lessons. Azeal was his name? Yes, that's right. Forgetting it though, after all the weyrbrat had no reason to care much about him, she focused on the eggs again. She would not miss this opportunity! She would impress! ....she hoped.

---

Ara settled in the stands, Avirith landing behind her. The green had insisted on getting here sooner, but the rider had wanted to look good at least first. So, the rider had put on a cream colored dress that proved to go in just the right places, and finally had gotten on the dragoness. If you had come sooner we wouldn't have missed his hatching! He's cute though, definitely handsome in all that dark hide. The green crooned as she wrapped her tail around her front feet.

---

Ara wasn't the only one running late, Panille was too. However, it was more from getting paperwork done than trying to look good. Not that she hadn't spent some time on that though. The redheaded rider smirked at the though as she smoothed her hands down the tunic and pants she had put on. Oh no, she had a weyrling's eye to catch! Settling on the other side of the thief, Panille smiled at her weyrling as well. "Good day Vl'kan, Thormyth. Hello to you too F'lon." She shifted in her seat, placing her feet up on the benches in front of her. Iliath backwinged behind the group and crooned a hello to the garnet before nudging Hers playfully.