The Darkest Hour (Loraketh's 2nd Hatching)

[Rawla]

Sari

Sari's mouth parted slightly and with troubled eyes she tried to catch her breath. Her heart raced wildly.
The evil tragedy that had played out upon the sands by the dark dragonet burned her veins with righteous anger. If she only had a knife... no. She couldn't kill a dragon, even one as evil as that one appeared to be. She did not want to watch what might happen next but she also couldn't look away and she was too shocked to cry.

Oh how she begged anything that was good, for that dark one never to impress.

Standing straight with tense muscles, ready to move in any direction, Sari kept a portion of her attention upon the black and purple dragonet and looked around at all of the eggs wondering what might happen when the next one hatched.

[Zirin]

J'dol couldn't help but smile as Keegan put the girl's needs before anything else. It was sweet of him, for sure, and J'dol felt a bit bad about trying to be such a distraction. However, the moment Keegan had a moment to respond, he went right on ahead and threw everything he had at the topazrider. Of course, a kiss had been the last thing he expected the other guy to do, and it effectively shut him up for a moment. Well, until he started laughing anyways.

"Really? Of all people to use a kiss on I'm the last person you want to do that with," He chuckled, smirking at the boy, "Besides that, i think I've had better kisses from my dragon. Such a shame, I expected better of you." The smirk never left his face, but he was willing to back off a bit; but only for Xaemia's sake, she seemed to be reliant on Keegan to know what was going on. J'dol, Avirith's is coming to you. The topaz sent her rider, simply wanting to ensure J'dol was not caught unawares by her sudden appearance.

J'dol looked over to see Ara drop into the seat next to him. "It.. it might not be that bad." He replied, trying to remain confident. The actions of the vicious dragon had unnerved him quiet a bit and he had been trying to ignore it, trying to tell himself it was just like a garnet. "I mean, look at the garnets... the one from Maelath's clutch isn't all that vicious as far as I know... maybe this dragon will pick someone who can control it?"

Perhaps not YOUR place, but I don't care about places. Kayath snorted at Avirith before turning her gaze on the dark hatchling on the sands. Really? Is that really how you're going to get attention? That's just pathetic. Go pick a human and stop being such a wher-turd. She snorted condescendingly down at the vicious hatchling.

[Zara]

The Poisoned Apple Blue gave a little hiss at his sister that quickly turned into a croon. Oh... how lovely and powerful... His voice rumbled over those around him, his tail lashing as he kept a wary eye on the blacklight and moved around the Candidates, becoming frustrated. He turned towards one, a male, and bit into his hand, tasting his blood. Touch again, foolish one and lose it. That was all and then he was off, plowing through, biting scratching and generally speaking... causing chaos on his search for His. Oh his was here. His was here somewhere close by. He could feel it... But it was just too much fun to nip and bite and cause them to fear him. He was going to be a wonderful blue leader! He would show them. And his roll-poly brother and His! Oh yes! Now where was She. Yes. It was a She he was looking for of that he was now certain as he started to tear through the female candidates moving through the rows.

No! NO! Nips and bites and scratches but NO! Not the right ones. He just liked to watch them flee from him. Oh yes. But he would find His soon he knew he would. It was just a matter of sorting out the weaklings and yes, they were all weaklings. Not soft or strong or anything. Not what he wanted. He had a desire. What would His be like... Oh He already knew because He had found her. She would be perfect. The perfect little servant... When he decided to chose her.

[Aarin]

Aarin was still far from over the shock and horror that the black dragonet had left in her wake. Unfortunately, things did not seem to be getting any better. He noted that one pair had Impressed- the strange new black and one of the girls- but immediately after one of the larger eggs hatched and it was a Garnet, much to Aarin’s dismay. Garnets were noted for being very violent, and more bloodshed at this Hatching was unacceptable. He slowly lowered his hand from his face, and balled both of his hands into fists at his sides, ever muscle tense. He knew he was judging the newly-hatched dragonet, but it was hard not to! Emotions, even in the typically distant lad, were running high. The Amethyst might have been gone, but the body of the boy that had been killed was still laying on the sands, his eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. He knew dragons were bad news. He knew that they ate and killed people. He had every damn right to be nervous around them. Still, he was there, and he was in for the long haul. But if any dragon came up to him and so much as flashed a claw in his direction, he would punch the thing in the snout to establish superiority, without a second thought. He was not going to die like one of his Herdbeasts. He was not going to be so much meat roasting on the sands. He took a deep breath. Calm yourself, Aarin. You’re not used to all these emotions going on. You just need to stop, think, clear your head, and chill out. After this, you’ll need a looong night sleeping on a tree branch. Then you can go back to the Crafthall and ask forgiveness for ever accepting being a Candidate. Aarin clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, and let himself relax. Remember this. Remember it for the kid and dragon who died today… and anyone else who does. Because with three violent dragons on the sands, it was only a matter of time.

At least when the Dualities egg hatched, it left a Green who did not seem to desire for the flesh of her siblings or Candidates. At least there was some hope of salvaging this Hatching. She just had to be careful. The black dragonet might want her hide, too. She would have to be quick if the monster set her sights on her. She seemed to be handling things calmly enough, at least. This Hatching needed more like her, especially since the violent Blue was up to his antics again. After having come up and bitten the hand of one of the male Candidates, he wheeled away and was currently terrorizing the females. He leaned out a little to watch, his lip twitching with distaste. And this was allowed to go on? He had been to Hatchings before, but they never seemed this bad. They never churned his stomach like this. Was it some sort of soporific effect of being in the stands, unable to do anything and, quite frankly, not wanting to? Well, this experience was worth it because he knew he would never see a Hatching quite the same way again. He straightened again, blending back into the line, as much as a taller young man could in a line of Candidates that ranged from thirteen to twenty one. He fiddled with the edge of his robe, taking note of where the monsterous black dragonet was, before looking back over to the White with pity. The poor thing. She needed medical attention, and now. They could probably save her wings- she was still young! Aarin knew only half of the veterinary medicine he had been taught, but if he could partner up with a real Weyrhealer, then maybe they could reattach the webbing, or at least put it in a way that it would be able to heal. Even young dragons had to be able to heal quickly like young humans and livestock, right? The White needed to choose her Bonded now so that they could rush her off the sands and save her.

[Zirin]

I must say, this hatching is turning out to be quite exciting isn't it. That little Blacklight is quite the beauty, isn't she, Yufa? The bloodthirsty amusement was evident in the garnet's voice as he spoke to Yufa. He was having great fun with this, watching as his human partner blanched as the Blacklight hatched and went on a mauling spree.

"That poor boy and his dragon are dead before they could even begin, braymoth." She replied meekly, tears dripping down her face, "They didn't even have a chance to know eachother and you're Laughing!" That was it, she couldn't stand it anymore. Leaving her spot, she ran down the stands until she could find a place to exit on to the edge of the sands. She made her way to where the other healers were waiting for a chance to get on the sands to help the candidates. She knew the ones still standing would be fine as long as the vicious dragon didn't have another round with them, but the body on the sands... she needed to get him off. It just wasn't right for him to remain there like that.

You are silly. Run out there and her talons would rend you faster than you can breath. What would I do if someone else hurt my little lamb? Despite his words she could feel a hint of worry from the red dragon. It is my duty as a healer, Braymoth.

[Akira]

Rayas, no…R’as was his name now. Either way, he watched as his adopted sister, and his newest friend joined him and Virath at the feeding area. He wrapped his arms around both of them, and even lifted Xaemia off the ground in a giant hug. Virath took a few steps back when the two females came running at His. He hid his ebony body behind the legs of his rider, and poked his head out as he watched what was going on. It’s alright Virath, come and say hello. He set Xaemia back down, and knelt on the ground for his dragon.

Virath crooned softly to his rider, and did as he said. His ebony wings were tucked in close to his sides as he came around R’as’ legs. Do I have to talk Mine? His voice was quiet and shy as he spoke only to his rider; after all, he hadn’t realized he had been talking to a female before. It’s alright Virath, he says that you can touch him Xaemia, but it seems as though he’s a bit too shy to speak to you girls. R’as’ voice was light, gentle, and full of love for the little male as he spoke to the two girls.

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Tiris did his best to ignore all the bloodshed and hatred on the sands, and pay more attention to the un-hatched eggs. He prayed and prayed that nothing else would go wrong, but know that now that there was another bloodthirsty monster on the sands. He knew it was wrong for him to judge the young Garnet, but he couldn’t help himself. From what he has seen with the others, they really were monsters. He shook his head, and tried to get rid of all the negative thoughts inside of it. He needed to think positive.

Tiris hadn’t really been paying attention to the mean little blue that had hatched from the Poisoned Apple Egg. Well, that was until he felt something nip at his hand. He winced, but kept himself from crying out at the pain it had caused. The little blue had gotten him in the fleshy part of skin between his thumb and first finger. He wrapped his right hand over his left, and when he looked at it to see how bad it was, he noticed that it wasn’t bleeding as bad as he thought it would be. A small sigh escaped him when he realized his fingers were just fine.

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

T’rian’s face hardened as he watched the hatching, he had never seen a hatching so violent before. I know Inali, I know. He didn’t know what else to say to the woman he loved. He wrapped his arms tightly around her when she nuzzled against his shoulder. All he wanted to do was to protect her from what was going on around them. I know it isn’t much, but at least we have some very healthy looking weyrling pairs. His voice was a little lighter than it had been before. He was trying to find a way to make her feel even the tiniest bit better.

T’rian knew how Inali had felt about the young boy, and when that female killed him, a part of him just wanted to jump down into the sands and kill it himself. He could feel the same rage and hatred coming from his own dragon, but both of them knew that Loraketh would never let either of them kill her daughter. There has to be someone out there that can control her. He shook his head, and turned his eyes away from the hatching sands, he was too worried about what would happen if he kept watching.

[kitsuneko]

As if the murderous dark purple dragonet wasn't enough, now a garnet had hatched as well. At least they weren't known for killing candidates, just injuring them...still, it was small comfort to Bryden. The best he could hope for was that it would choose someone on the sands who could control it...perhaps the dark female would even go between rather than Impress.

There were other dragons hatching as well though, including what seemed like a perfectly normal green. Not exactly the sort of dragon he was interested in, but not all the eggs had hatched yet. Perhaps there was still hope for him to Impress a proper dragon.

He backed away after the irate blue nipped one of the other candidates and tried to stay away from the three troublemakers--the blue, the garnet, and the dark female. Instead, he kept his attention on the unhatched eggs, hoping the dragon for him would show itself soon.

[Zara]

Oh so all these wonderful people were running around trying to save the white? The Unthinkable Happenstance dragonet cocked her head and let put a devious little purr. Too many things were going well, much too many things. She cast a glance at her garnet brother and snorted in dissaproval. He was pathetic, weak. Her voice rose to his mind with such thoughts, taunting him repeatedly. Swiveling her head back to the candidates, she purred and started to move toward Daria first. Her head was down, her eyes bright.

Oh, so you think I am evil? Is evil not in us all Daria? The dragonet crooned and curled around her only to nip at her arm. No she wasnt the one. Smiling cruelly the black and purple dragonet sauntered off, slithering to her next victim. She went through them all one by one, taunting them, teasing them. She spoke of their greatest fears and their darkest secrets, then she kissed them goodbye with a flash of fangs. When she was through, the dragonet stepped back and looked at her work. What wonderful work of was too! And where do you think you're going? She lunged at Tiris. Oh he had touched her shell too! He got to taste her fangs next! She started with a simple nip... with the intent to intensify things quite a bit more.

Her mother growled at her, but the dragonet dismissed the Queen with a wave of her tail. She wouldn't dare hurt her daughter. However, something else might. The dragonet looked over toward where The Warrior and Reckless eggs were shaking. Come and get me little Sub-Queen. She watched as the shells started to break, her hide quivering in anticipation and dripping from the result of her "fun."

[shinska]

Daria yelped when the black and purple Hatchling nipped. "Evil little thing." She muttered as she placed a hand on her arm to stop the blood flowing. It hurt, but it also wasn't deep. Good thing the Hatchling didn't do more damage. That was the one thing Daria would have hated the most. She returned to her place with the other female Candidates and waited for the rest of the Hatching to continue. "Find your lifemate and be done with it." Her eyes landed on a Blue who seemed to be nipping and biting everyone and Daria raised an eyebrow, "Oh lovely. Another one." She shook her head and ignored him. He obviously wasn't meant for her. Daria wasn't THAT evil or sadistic. Her power lay in charming girls and seducing them, but she didn't do it by nipping and biting. Daria waited to see what happened next.

[kitsuneko]

And now the dark purple was on the move again. Bryden watched, along with the rest of the candidates, as she moved among them, biting and nipping at what seemed like random people. He rolled his eyes. If nobody was going to restrain that dragon, then people could at least keep themselves away from it until it found its rider.

The Unthinkable Happenstance egg was one Bryden had never gotten around to touching, but he still watched the dark hatchling warily from the back of the crowd of candidates. If that female came after him, he was going to defend himself. He also noticed that two of the larger eggs, the Warrior and the previously-stolen Reckless egg, were beginning to hatch as well, and he paid particularly close attention to them.

[jillianna]

Alessa winced and took two or three steps back with tears pouring down her face as she tried to keep herself silent. That poor boy. That wonderful, darling little amethyst she remembered the gentleness of the twin that had betweened. Then, She cried out. Not innocence. Not the little white!

She stepped back to her original place, looking at loraketh. " My queen someone has to stop this! She will destroy all your children and possibly all of Us If she's allowed to continue!!". Her voice was trembling with fear and anger toward the little monster. That one should not be allowed to live. Never even in her wildest nightmares had she ever imagined a hatchling would seek out and kill another dragon's mate

[Zara]

Iirla grinned and gave her brother a big hug. "He is a handsome little thing, though, R'as." She grinned again, just in time for Izanycorth to chime in.

Welcome young ebony to your family here at Trelis Weyr. I am Izanycorth of Iirla. Of course she should have introduced us both. The young queen resettled her wings against her sides as she looked down on the hathcing with disdain. No dragonet would be permitted to do such a thing amongst her children! No oh no! She didn't care what anyone said about it!

Xaemia couldn't help but laugh as R'as picked her up. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, her smile was huge. When he set her down, she held to his arm briefly to regain his balance before R'as spoke again and she knelt down carefully, feeling the ground where she knelt to make sure she wasn't going to hurt herself, then reached out gently to the dragon. "R'as...? can you help me find where he is...?" she asked him gently and meekly. "I'm sorry little one... I'm blind..." she said gently to the young dragon.