The Darkest Hour (Loraketh's 2nd Hatching)

[Aarin]

Aarin rubbed sleepily at an eye, watching with the other as more people and dragons filtered in. This heat certainly was not helping him be any less drowsy. He scanned the stands, but he knew that attempting to locate his parents was a futile effort. Too many faces, and really, he did not want to be caught gawking at the stands like this was his first time on the Sands, even if it was. Even if Aarin did not care overmuch what other people thought of him, there were still appearances to keep. He knew that, if they could make it here in time, the other people from his Crafthall would be here, and if he ended up looking like a fool in front of everyone, when he went back to them, he would never hear the end of it. Oh, it would all be in fun and jest, and would likely be entirely too entertaining, but he did not want to give them the satisfaction. Remembering the roughhousing of his fellow Journeymen and the Apprentices brought a fond smirk to his face which he smothered quickly. He turned his side-eye from the stands to the eggs, and the hulking mother dragon in front of him. The eggs trembled and shook, looking like a completely different clutch from the inert things he had seen during the Touching. Finally, they were belying their vivid and lively natures that had exposed themselves to him. Good on them. He hoped that even the surliest of dragonets would enjoy life on the outside of those monstrously thick shells.

A hush came upon the spectators as the first egg began to crack. Or maybe it was Aarin, as tired as he was, focusing his attention on the cracking egg to the exclusion of all else. He shook his head, trying to clear the webs of sleep from his consciousness. This was where the experience truly began. He would have to try to absorb all of it to store in the vast annals of his memory, to relive over and over in the years to come. After all, this was his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Every Hatching from here on out, he is going to be able to imagine from the Candidate’s point of view. Well, maybe somewhat removed. He stood, a picture of serenity, while he could practically feel the waves of excited anxiousness rolling off of the other Candidates in waves. That particular brand of nervousness was something he failed to ever feel. It could not even be entirely attributed to the fact that the others were expecting something while he was not. It was simply not how Aarin “did”. His focus paid off as he saw a small hole appear in the egg, one just large enough for a snout to poke out of. He would remember that snout for as long as he remembered things. That was not the snout of any dragon he had seen before. It was slimy with albumen, yes, but even that could not account for the strange color that it appeared to be as its nostrils flared to take its first breath. Fascinating stuff, right here. Absolutely amazing.

With renewed effort, the strangely grey-black dragon pushed its way out of its egg, the shards falling away around it. A-hah. So there it was. The first hatchling of Aarin’s last (also first) stand. Aarin supposed he should not have been surprised, but of course he was. He had no idea what color name to give the dragonet. It certainly was not metallic, so he could not call it, say… hematite. He guessed he would just learn after the Hatching was over. Surely someone had already solidified the color in their head. All he knew was that it was not one of those sub-queen Obsidians. It was far too small, and lacked that sheen. It seemed to want to not be the only hatchling on the sands as it batted at another one of the eggs. If he recalled, it was the one extremely friendly egg that had just hatched, so he supposed that he was not surprised in the least about that, either. However, he did idly wonder how many new colors would end up appearing from Trelis clutches. It was possible that there would be an endless array of new colors. Oh, how that would stick in the hidebounds’ craws. He almost wanted it to happen just like that to see their reactions.

[Akira]

T’rian glared at Inali when she laughed at him. Not funny…it hurt. You try falling on the sands without a shirt on! He practically hissed as he spoke to his mate. He sighed and finally turned his attention to what was going on around him. More and more candidates had appeared, and now he really did wish he had grabbed a shirt. He sighed and moved closer to Inali, and tried to warp an arm around her, if she would let him. Then he noticed the little black looking hatchling. You know…I’m not really surprised but I have a question. Loraketh, what is it? He hadn’t heard the comment about the little male being an Ebony, or a male for that matter.

Stallorth crooned to Loraketh, and happily did as she told him. He backed away, but stayed close to the golden queen. He looked down at this dark colored hatchling, and chirped softly at him. He really shouldn’t have been surprised that some of Lore’s eggs would hold mutations, but here he was, trying to figure out what on Pern had happened this time. Don’t get him wrong, he loved the little male as if it were his own son. But for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what he was exactly. You could say that he was like a kid in school, and was trying to study for a test that he hadn’t even known he was supposed to take.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiris smiled and waved as other candidates started to arrive at the hatching. Though most of his attention was centered on the hatching, and his attention was rewarded when the first egg decided it was time to hatch. He gasped when he saw what came out of the egg, and wondered what on Pern it was. He smiled softly at the little dragon though, and tried to send it happy thoughts, trying silently to convince it that he was the one for it. He could already picture himself riding him, for he hoped it was him, when he was an adult. Oh the fun they would have. This is a hint by the way…he will most likely have pictures like this for most of the hatchlings. Could you blame him though?

Tiris was so excited to be attending his first hatching, even though he was nineteen turns old, he felt like a child in a candy store. He was practically radiating excitement, and joy. It wouldn’t surprise him one bit if no one wanted to stand by him. As long as he wasn’t left standing at the end of the hatching, he didn’t care what the others did. He was so anxious about what was happening that he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot. His firelizards were humming as loud as their little bodies would let them. Hoping that theirs would impress something nice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rayas hadn’t realized the hatching had begun; after all, he didn’t have anything that could wake him up like most of the people in the Weyr. When he finally did wake up, he felt as though someone had shoved a knife through his chest. He jumped out of bed, quickly threw on his robes, and ran out the door. He was running as fast as he could to the hatching sands, but wasn’t surprised to see that he was too late to see the first dragonet hatch. He shook his head, and stood off to the side to catch his breath. When he could finally breath somewhat normally again, he walked over to the golden mother. I apologize for being late. Please forgive me, and I thank you for this chance at impressing one of your children. His words were soft, and cautious as he spoke to the golden queen.

Rayas quickly took his place among the other male candidates, and then turned his attention to the hatching eggs. One had already hatched, and he wasn’t exactly sure what it was. He didn’t know which egg the blackish dragonet had come from, but from what he could tell it seemed like a very sweet young dragon. He smiled softly at it, and wondered who the youngling would impress. He was almost certain that it wasn’t him, after all, what dragon would want him after what had happened not that long ago? He was positive that their mother definitely didn’t want him to impress, but then again, it wasn’t up to her was it? That was the thought that kept running through his mind, and filled him with small confidence.

[kitsuneko]

As Bryden watched, the first egg hatched, and a wet nose popped out of the shell of the Dreamer egg, followed by the rest of the hatchling. He raised a brow, stealing glances at the other candidates. Okay, so he hadn't been at Trelis long, but he'd seen the purple and red and orange dragons a few times since. Was this another of the newly-arrived colors he just hadn't met yet, or was this hatchling something different?

He (Bryden assumed it was a he, as he lacked the metallic tinge of the sub-queens, but he supposed it could just as easily have been a she) was a mottled grey and black from head to tail, and he seemed blissfully unaware of the stares he was receiving from the onlookers. His mother nuzzled him encouragingly, and finally, the hatchling turned his attention to the candidates.

Bryden tried to keep an eye on the hatchling as well as the rest of the eggs, but at the same time, he couldn't help wondering exactly where on the hierarchy that one would fall. The black seemed to be moving closer to him...but no, he was distracted by another egg and chirped at it while Bryden shifted on the sands uncomfortably.

[Zirin]

Danarvi had finally woken up, and it took a few moments of silent love from his mother before the young boy quieted enough to begin looking around curiously. Harmony cheeped nervously from Ari's shoulder, and sent both Ari and the child an image of a shell cracking, her humming growing louder every moment. Ari looked over the sands in confusion, then spotted the egg that was hatching. She pointed it out to her son before giving it her rapt attention.

To see a hatching from this close was simply amazing! It was so exciting, exhilarating! She could only imagine the emotions running through the candidates as she watched. Yes, she decided, this would make a lovely song. A nose popped through the shell as if taking a first observation of the world, and after a moment the rest of the hatchling emerged. It was... nothing Ari had ever seen before to be sure, at least not among dragons. It looked awfully familiar to some of the fire lizards that had hatched from Iona's clutch though. She wondered if this dragon colour would share its name with the small flitters.

Beside her, Danarvi coo'ed and giggled in excitement, clapping as the hatchling made its way to another egg. Was it looking for a friend?

[Zara]

---Iirla---

Iirla smiled at Jillalene. "You look great, Lene!" she said with a grin. Then it was D'rian she was standing in front of and she couldn't help the growing blush on her face. "Oh? Well... um..." she turned a deep red color as she blushed. "You look very handsome, D'rian," she said with a softly smile. Her warm blush only increased as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She held onto his hand gently even after the motion and gave it a soft tug as she pressed a bit closer to him and looked at him as if daring him to do something about it, though her smile was teasing and playful.

She smiled at Keegan. "You look nice. And hello J'dol," she said as she continued to stand close to D'rian, a very mischievous gleam in her eyes. She wasn't sure what he would do... but she was still feeling mischievous.

---Xaemia--

Xaemia smiled warmly even though she could not see the person who approached. She knew him immediately by the sound that he made. "Hi Keegan. I hope Allesandra has the best of luck at the hatching!" She smiled and looked at the two flitts who had taken up spots in her lap as they hummed happily. "Keegan, can you tell me what's happening? My flitts are only so good at it when it comes to things like this..." she turned a deeper shade of red as she asked. SHe didn't like to have to ask for such things.

---Yanoya---

Yanoya felt her breath caught as she caught site of the nearly black dragonet. He was beautiful. Not particularly metallic, but definitely something new. Definitely something special and beautiful. She frowned at herself. No no no! She would not get excited over what was most likely nothing. She nodded at Allesandra and looked back at the eggs. One of them was hers, but which one...?

[derek]

As Stallorth settled fairly close to Loraketh, Zion hid a smile. Loraketh was wise after almost losing an egg, which surprised Zion. She was calm, understanding that the Hatchlings must now be influenced by no one. Zion was Impressed in spite of itself.

As he was listening to Loraketh, he missed the Dreamer egg crack down it's shell, but at the Queen's next comment, he quickly looked around. He couldn't tell which egg was hatching until the Dreamer Egg started jerking. Obviously the Hatchling inside wanted out!

Zion blinked rapidly as the dark nose was shoved through. He was momentarily confused. It was... black? Was it an Obsidian? But no. The hatchling inside finally split the egg and became visible... and it was definitely not an Obsidian. The Sub-Queen had a metallic sheen, and this was... almost dull.

The little hatcling was nuzzled by its-- his --Mother, and dubbed an Ebony. Zion shook his head, still watching the gray-and-black mottled hatchling while also keeping one ear one Loraketh, who was now nudging the Ebony and telling him to go find his Bonded.

The Ebony noticed the Candidates, but seemed more interested in his siblings, as he nudged the Innocent Egg. Maybe he just didn't want to be alone on the sands, under so much new scrutiny for being a new "mutation?" Zion shook his head again; he agreed with Loraketh in that there was nothing wrong with new colors. Sure, maybe the DNA was mutated, but they were not mutations. They were dragons, plain and simple, no matter what colour their hide.

Zion did wonder, however, why Trelis had an upswing in new colours but not the other Weyrs. Or did they, and he just hadn't heard about it? He knew the first ever Garnet and Obsidian had been hatched here, and he assumed this was the first Ebony, but he also knew that a Garnet had been born from the Istan clutch-- two, in fact.

Slowly closing his eyes, he tried to calm his racing mind. He should be focusing on the hatching, not thinking about mutations and the rate they were appearing and where... though he did wonder if there would be any more new colors in this clutch, and what they would be! The Ebony was already exciting enough!

[jillianna]

D'rian grinned when Iirla moved closer, he slipped his hand out of hers hooking it around her waist and tugging her fully against him, his lips hovering dangerously close over hers. "Dont make me kiss you in front of all these people Iirla-love." His voice was a velvet whisper, and michief danced in his eyes before he dropped a kiss on her cheek and tugged her with him as he took a seat. He hadn't missed the glare or petulance that v'lkan had shot his way and rolled his eyes.

They had sat just in time to see the first dragonet make it's appearance.
Bring on the new mutations...

He leaned forward slightly to get a better look and whistled low. The Dark dragonet looked like an obsidian, but no... it wasn't shiny. The metallic sheen was missing.

"Well will you look at that?"


Kelath crooned in welcome to Izanycorth. (im aware it isnt much, but my brain's kinda waterlogged atm...)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jillalene smiled letting iirla go to d'rian and smiled as she spotted V'lkan sitting with F'lon. She walked over and took the seat beside him. Keeping her eyes on the goings on below, she offered V'lkan and F'lon a soft smile.

"And how are the two of you doing tonight?" Eulurth rumbled in his approval as the little gray or black dragonet hatched. New colors. The weyr would change again.

~~~~~~~~~

Keegan could have growled at J'dol. Did the man always have to be so chipper? His sister was about to be paired with a bloodthirsty beast for heavens sake! His inner self was locked down and burried deep but that didn't mean he couldn't still scream inside his own head.

"Hey J'dol. Yes. The only reason im here is for Alessa." i promised her i would be here... and here is where I am. "How are you and Kayath tonight?" He would have turned toward J'dol to continue his conversation, but the girl he had touched eggs with, Xaemia, asked him if he could describe what was happening to her. And she blushed as she asked it. He knew she was blind and felt a pang of sympathy for her. She had to ask for help, and it embarrassed her. He reached over and took one of her hands.

"Thanks, im sure she'll do just fine. You can count on me to be your eyes Xae." Looking back out at the candidates and the sands, he tilted his head slightly.

"It looks like the first egg's already hatched... the Dreamer is a little black dragonet. He looks kind of like an obsidian, but..... his hide is not metallic at all.It's like a blue or green's hide."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alessa grinned and waved to J'dol as he sat beside her brother and waved. Then it happened. There were cracks in the Dreamer egg. after a minute or two the little dragonet made it's way into the world. He was a lovely little thing. a muted black color, not an obsidian, but something else. She smiled at her fellow candidates as she watched the newborn with wonder.

This was what a hatching was, to welcome the baby dragons into this life.

[Zero]

Well it seemed like the hatching was in full swing now as one of the eggs split and out spilled an obsidi-no…an ebony dragonet? Really F’lon shouldn’t have been surprised at this point. Trelis seemed to be the hub of odd colors afterall. Well the Southerners did sire this clutch, guess the blame will be shifted their way no doubt. He did, however, manage to pull his attention away from the eggs as a certain Istan WeyrlingMaster came to sit beside him. He grinned at Panille after his eyes quickly gave her and her current attire the once over. “Look at you all dressed up, looking to catch someone’s eye? Should I be jealous?” There was clearly a teasing and playful tone to his voice as he spoke, his eyes even lighting up with a devilish spark.

“Hey there Jillalene.”

__________________

Vl’kan’s interest was peaked at first by the arrival of this new color but hints of his foul mood still remained. Thus when his own teacher appeared on the other side of his cousin, the garnet weyrling could only muster a low mutter of a greeting. He was about to comment on the newest odd color when someone took the spare seat to his left. Glancing over and seeing how it was Jillalene, the Istan mustered up a light smile after remembering their prior meetings, though he also remembered that blue of hers didn’t particularly like him very much.

“Never a dull moment at a Trelis hatching..”

__________

S’val was shocked however at this new color. Though it was a sight to behold he groaned inwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. The paperwork with the old new colors had been enough of a headache and now here was another mutation, happily milling about the sands. The bronzer didn’t have a good feeling about this. Perhaps it had to do with all the trouble they had gained from the other weyrs as a result from these new colors.

Well there was nothing he could do about it. The little male had hatched and now simply needed to find his own. S’val sighed and looked over the remaining eggs and silently wondered to himself what other surprises those hardened shells might be hiding.

[Zirin]

{Tag: Gl’wein, anyone}
Syphraelth yawned and stretched as the sound of his queen’s voice enetered his head. HIS queen, not Trelis’ queen. He and His had been accepted as members of the Weyr now, and for the first time Syphraelth felt at home here. Well, for the most part. His had the sinking suspicion that they still weren’t trusted and would be watched for quite some time, but that hardly bothered the brown. He mentally nudged his rider to wake, and after a few moments of getting ready, he and J’degar were airborne and on their way to the sands.

The brown remained on a ledge far from the sands, well aware that closer presence would only be a bother to the queen, but he could see just fine. J’degar, on the other hand, weaved his way through the stands to get a good look at the eggs, as well as trying to find Gl’wein; he wondered if the other man had even woken up on time for this. They had reached a decision of sorts on weyrlingmaster duties; they would both carry the title, though Gl’wein would be more involved with them than Gar would be, probably for good reason. Regardless, as an assistant weyrlingmaster, Gar figured it was his duty and responsibility to see the hatchlings that he could be dealing with right off the get go.

“First egg and already a messed up dragon. Shards,” he commented under his brath. GarMine! They are still dragons and you belong to Trelis now. It is high time you accept that their hides are different. Gar sighed. His dragon wanted to fit in and be accepted in his new home, not that Gar could blame him. So he shut his trap and watched the strangely coloured dragon prod at another egg.

[Akira]

The Innocent Egg rocked a little when its brother nudged it. Was it time to come out already? Then the hatchling got its conformation when its brother started beating against its shell. Spider-web cracks appeared on the side of the egg, and shortly the little hatchling tumbled out of its egg. The little white felt a little dizzy from its tumble, but it crooned sweetly at its brother who had helped it escape from its shell. The little hatchling looked around, and stood up. This really was a very bright world! She jumped around playfully, and accidentally tripped over it’s own tail. It stumbled forward, and bumped into the Bronzed Fish Egg.

The Innocent White squealed in surprise, and quickly backed away from its sibling. It crooned to its sibling, and did its best to apologize to the hatchling inside the egg. She turned and ran over to her mother, mewling sadly for what she had done. The little dragonet was definitely feminine, of that there could be no mistake. She looked up at her mother, and then over at her brother. She wanted to play, but she didn’t want to hurt anyone. She crooned sweetly to her brother, and it was almost as if she was asking him if it was ok to come and play. Then she looked up at her mother, and chirped curiously. Surely she would know the answer!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T’rian watched as yet another hatchling emerged from it’s shell. Only this time it was a white, and it reminded the young Weyrleader of Loraketh’s first clutch. There had been a white in that clutch as well, but this one seemed much more feminine than the first one. He didn’t know much about the small dragons, but from what he had observed, it seemed that they acted more like the gender of the person they impressed to him. He looked over at Inali, and wondered if she had thought the same thing. He shook his head and sighed. I guess what they say is right. There is never a dull moment at Trelis. He gently nudged his mate playfully as he spoke.

T’rian chuckled softly as he watched the little hatchling. It might have been small, but to him it seemed as though it had a very, VERY large personality. To him it didn’t seem as though the little white realized just how small it was, which amused the young man. So, I’ll bet you ten marks that little white impresses first. He playfully stuck his tongue out at Inali as he teased her. He wasn’t being serious about the bet, but if she wanted to take it, then it would be her loss. Well, he hoped it would be her loss. To tell the truth he had never been good at gambling, and he didn’t see that changing any time soon either. He watched his mate carefully, trying to figure out whether or not she would take him up on his offer.

[derek]

Zion's eyes were trained on the Ebony as he nudged the Innocent Egg. The Innocent Egg cracked into spider webbs and then spilled out of its shell onto the sands, crooning at his black brother. Zion smiled at the odd pair they made, a dark black male against pale white female. He wondered which would Impress first.

The Innocent white stumbled over its own tail, and Zion tensed. The white bumped into the Bronzed Fish Egg, but seemed to be okay as she squealed and backed away from its sibling. The poor white seemed to be apologizing to both sibling and mother, but then seemed to regain her confidence and crooned to her brother as if asking to play.

Zion smiled again. She was pretty adorable. He wondered about the personality differences between the white and the Ebony, and wondered what personality the new Ebonies would have. Would they be sweet, like whites, or cruel and mean like Garnets? The candidate shook his head and concentrated on the hatchlings again.

[kitsuneko]

First a black, now a white? Were there going to be any normal hatchlings in this clutch? Not that he'd mind, exactly, Impressing either of the hatchlings or any of the other new colors, but still...Bryden held back a grin at the way the white tripped on its own tail and stumbled into one of the other eggs. It looked as though no harm had been done to either, though the white looked plaintively from the Bronzed Fish egg to its mother. Unconsciously, Bryden straightened a bit at the first sign of the hatchlings paying attention to the candidates.