Ellamariseth x Kinseth Hatching

Ista Weyr - Hatching Sands
The gently convex floor is hardly visible thanks to its filling of deep black sand, nonetheless forming a bowl in which a clutch of eggs can harden in safety and warmth. Heated by the thermal energy of the dormant volcano, the sands are always opressively hot - even through boots, the sand seers and bakes, small rushes of air from above and through from the bowl making little difference. A large outcropping of stone becomes an island within this sea of sand, the resting place of a queen who guards her clutch; a smaller platform of wood is set aside for the queen's rider.

Centuries of eggshells scatter the dark sands, broken down to but pieces of colour amid the darkness. A staircase rises towards the far end of the sands, almost out of view, whilst a small passage leads in the general direction of the weyrling barracks.


The Space Between Egg gives a faint wiggle. Jiggle. And, then, goes still.

Ellamariseth hummmms loudly, her whirling eyes sending a glare over at the wobbling eggs every now and then before glancing towards the galleries. Almost as if she is counting the people there. Twenty, thirty… No, this won't do. She increases the pitch of her humming just a bit more, as if it might encourage people to come out faster. But the eggs can't be stopped, and she steps to the side to make sure that the hatchlings will have enough room to roam. That and Ysa is coming across the sands, waving her arms at her lifemate. "Move away already, they aren't yours any longer after this! Go on, Ella!" She runs a hand through her unruly hair, tossing a glare over at the gallerieies briefly before she makes her way to stand beside her lifemate, eyes on the eggs with a set frown.

On Thin Ice Egg faintly stirs, cascading some of the ashen sand built up against it's side to a small pile at it's base.

The Space Between Egg gives a little jump and a little turn, dislodging itself completely before rolling off towards the wall of the sands. Will it stop? Yes, now that it's actually hit the wall, the moving egg seems to come to a stand still.

The candidates move onto the sands as one; in spite of their nervousness and aspirations, they know what to do. This is their time, their moment, the culmination of each and every thing they have done together and been through in the past weeks. The bow itself is more of a wave, flooding from front to back as candidates take their cues from one another, but it is strong nonetheless in its respect for Ellamariseth, Kinseth, their riders, and the clutch at large… Yet, for however united the collective bow may be, it ends in the somewhat chaotic dispersal more fitting of the candidate class. Friends seek one another out and enemies drift apart, allowing others yet to seek their own solace while braving the sands and the impending hatching.

On Thin Ice Egg seems to be melting in the heat of the sands, as the sizzling hiss of water evaporating accompanies it as it wobbles slowly back and forth.

Kinseth finally unwinds from around the excessively glittery egg, an egg he's really only left thus far to hunt, or during touchings, and he backs away, giving the clutch room. A deep hum matches Ellamariseth's own, and the bronze's gaze switches nervously from the eggs to the entrance to the sands and back again. Where /is/ that rider of his? Aha! There! X'hil makes his way quickly onto the sands, half at a run, half at a hop, as he's still trying to tug his second boot on. "I, I'm here, keep your wings on Kinseth! Nothing's hatched yet, has it? Calm /down/."

The Space Between Egg appears to have suffered an injury of sorts from its impact with the wall. A large spot full of cracks is taking up one side of the egg. The creature inside starts to push on this spot and begins to rock again as it works itself out of its shell.

Sigam is certainly of the latter group of candidates. Thumbnails already digging in for invisible hangnails, the man wanders away from the group, eyes roving from gold and bronze up to the stands before sweeping over the eggs. The /moving/ eggs. Oh, shards. Finally a patch of sand seems to satisfy him, and he plants himself there, almost pleased that the hot sand gives him an excuse to fidget.

Ashiira does seem to rather naturally gravitate along with Valkin and Euri, although he can't help but start just a bit. Hey, those eggs are moving. And that one is /really/ moving. "That thing just hit the /wall/." Yes, master of the obvious at this point. There's a suspicious look given around. "They'd better not all start rolling around.." He doesn't want to get flattened by an egg.

Raevin arrives just in time to see the eggs already in full swing — literally. Swing and smash. "That one looks like it's ready to go, aye?" he asks of no one in particular, moving to a spot off by himself until he can fully wake up.

Enka moves away from the others once the bow is completed, her gaze flickering briefly, almost lingeringly towards that sugary confection of an egg, and then she sweeps her eyes cross the sands and the eggs upon them. "Here goes nothin'," the girl whispers sotto voce, and then moves forwards to a good spot on the sands, immediately seeking out Baileigh with her gaze, and holding her hand out towards the older girl. "We'll stay right here, and get ready t'dodge if we have to."

Erne assumes her position! Next to Raevin, on purpose or not, despite his efforts to be alone. The heat hasn't gotten to her yet, but she does mince lightly in her sandals.

Hasha seems somewhat disparate on who to group with, at first drifting in Sigham's direction, then halting to look for Jessamin, and then finally taking a moment to try and find Gobhan. Which is complicated because eggs are moving, and she really doesn't want to get rolled over.

Xhaine has his brother's arm in a deathgrip. Hope you aren't counting on using that arm in the near future, Khaine, because only a dragon wanting one of them will loosen his grip. Khaine can probably feel his brother trembling, whether it's from fear or just nerves. Most likely the latter.

On Thin Ice Egg starts to crackle in the heat, seemingly unchanging, as the cracks almost perfectly trace the crack lines already on the shell. Here and there, the lines deviate slightly, it's not perfect.

The Space Between Egg gives a mighty groan as it finally gives up the ghost and loses it's side in a thousand different shards on the sands. The part that remains resembles an oblong bowl and from that bowl, spills a gangly bundle of limbs, fresh and full of life.

Race to Silence Bronze Hatchling
Long and gangly, this bronze is mottled to the point of looking scaled. An undercurrent of new brass peaks out from beneath a red bronze that covers him from head to toe. Starting at his blunt, short nose, a deep oiled brown, like old bronze, creates a stripe that extends back along the length of his body, to the tip of his long tail. His squared cheeks pick up that darker bronze with circles for each side that climb back along his neck and back, looking almost like eyes in some places. His wing sails managed to escape the mess and reflect that bright yellow brass with its dark brown shadows. When seen in the proper light, he looks like he's covered in an iridescent paint, reflecting more colors than are actually on him and adding to the mess.

Jessamin smiles softly as she watches the emergence of the little bronze, clapping softly. "Oh, now that's a good sign. A bronze out first!"

Euripedea is trying to keep one hand on Ashiira and the other on Valkin once the whole business with bowing is done, reaching out for the boys' hands and picking her way across the sands. She makes sure to pick up her feet with special care, less she wind up walking on a nice patch of toasty sand for the rest of the Hatching. She is startled when one of the eggs already breaks out and puts out its occupant, twitching her nose and trying to see which egg it WAS.

Baileigh nods sagely at Enka, immediately snatching up her hand. Her gaze, almost instinctively, followed Enka's - and she's not the only girl who did, it can be assumed. The bronze bursts from his shell, and she gasps, already shifting her hot feet on the sands. Ow ow ow. "What a looker. That was one of my favorites, you know," she tells Enka sagely. She looks sharply from the hatchling, then turns to try to find Khaine, and looks back again, almost significantly. Perhaps.

Khaine not only latches onto his twin brother, but he casts a look towards Enka and Baileigh both. It's swept away after he feels his brother shaking. A smile for the older twin, and Khaine lifts a hand to lightly rest it on one of the other's hands. "Calm down," he says mildly. And then, a bronze! He chuckles and shakes his head slightly. "See, good luck when a bronze comes first," he instructs his neophyte Candidate brother. He seems oddly, strangely at ease on the sands.

Raevin glances to his side at Erne's approach, offering her a quiet "hey" in greeting. He leans over to speak to her, eyes fixed on the bronze hatchling to make sure it doesn't come charging over and catch him by surprised. "So the plan is still in action, right?"

Sigam exhales loudly as the first shell cracks open. This - this he is familiar with. Dragons, living, breathing dragons. Jessamin's clap earns a wide smile from the man, who visibly relaxes. "It is, isn't it?" His focus shifts back to the hatchling, giving it an appraising once-over. Beautiful. The crackling Thin Ice egg is given a curious glance, but only that.

Erne clasps her hands in front of her and lifts her chin, her posture perfect. The bronze that hatches earns an approving little smile, but she replies to Raevin instead of commenting. "Indeed it is my friend."

Hasha spots Jessamin, and promptly thereafter, lets out a soft gasp at the arrival of the bronze. "Oh!" she declares, enthralled, and grins for a moment, gazing over at the collective of male candidates. She skirts over next to Jessamin, eyes alight, senses aler, and remarks to her and Sigam, "He's gorgeous!" Everything about Hasha is tense, but in an excited, adrenaline filled way.

Ellamariseth leans over towards the approaching Kinseth when he finally leaves the glittery egg alone, giving him a nice gentle nose rubbing. What glittery egg? She didn't seem to care about it as much as the bronze did. But now that they galleries look full enough, she finally settles back down. Just a little. Her eyes whirl faster and her humming increases when that first egg finally hatches. Ysa shakes her head to the dragon pair before beaming over to X'hil, her arm jerking now towards the hatching. "Look! At this rate we can hope they all come out in one go and just Impress, then we'll have the rest of the day to relax and party." She laughs lightly, but finally is grinning a bit wider in excitement.

Race to Silence Bronze Hatchling rolls forth from his egg with a mighty flourish of wings and tail, and trips. His back leg catches on his egg and he has to shake it off. But once that is out of his way and not trying to take him down, he turns forward and spreads his wings, ready to greet the world! Only, there's a wall there. The youngling approaches the wall and bugles at it, flapping his wings at hit. Where are all the people? Behind this wall? Is the wall the people? He's so confused, and continues to beat at the wall with his wings and trumpet every now and again.

Valkin situates himself between Ashiira and Euripedea if he can get away with it, looking between them and the eggs. The young teen is rather speechless at the time, his eyes shifting down toward his feet then back up again at his friend's words. Still, when he notices Euri slipping to the otherside and grabbing both Ash's hand and his own, he settles there for a time, considering. Wetting his lips he scruffs up his hair with his free hand, "This is kind of… not what I expected." Said when the bronze breaks shell, "Uh. Ok. Now what?"

On Thin Ice Egg is really falling to pieces now, as the cracks have begun to extend beyond the markings on the shell. The upper half of the shell crumbles a bit now, and falls to the sand in many many pieces, leaving the opening free for the hatchling to emerge.

Imperfect Mimicry Blue Hatchling
Does this hatchling still have his egg attached to him? The same crisp icy-blue shade remains the dominant color over this small and delicate dragon. His body is long and thin, looking almost fragile with graceful limbs and a whip-thin tail that snakes out behind him, tip cracking. A rough band of cobalt blue colors the point where his narrow wings meet his body with thin lines of gray-blue radiating outwards from it, wavy like veins rather than the cracks that marred his shell previously. The lines continue to travel on his wings, never touching his body, and breaking off into thinner and more numerous sections as they proceed towards the outer edges of his wings.

Ashiira just grins a little bit at Euri. Hey, nothing at all wrong with having a girl hanging onto him. Hee. But he does send a look at Valkin, fairly worried for his friend, after the other boy's initial reaction to the eggs. "We just..uh.. Well I dunno. Stay calm?" And then there's all that bugling, and egg breaking, and the harper candidate just stares across the sands, a brow raised in confusion. "Uh.."

Jessamin 's eyes mist over for a moment as the blue emerges, and she wraps her arms around herself. "Handsome little one, aren't you…." Her voice quavers, trailing off, and she steps back from the tumbling, cracking eggs. Better to be able to make a quick exit if necessary. What were the odds, anyhow?

Xhaine stares at the bronze with wide eyes. "It's a bronze?" he asks his brother in an undertone, and his heart starts beating at a million miles an hour. "Well it never made sense to me. Bronze hatching first is good luck for /who/? Because no matter how you look at it, some will not be lucky and will be left standing at the end. From what I can tell, bronze hatching first is only good luck for the one who Impresses him." he's babbling now, all of the sudden a lot mor loquacious than he normally is. "…what's he doing?"

Enka's fingers close about Baileigh's hand, a quick reassuring squeeze given before the girl offers a cheerful grin. "Can't wait to see what's bee hatchin' out of that sugary egg," she nods towards that particular one — the colorful one that had offered tempting images of sweetsticks and gum drops. "s'my favorite for sure." the arrival of the bronze is noted with a little chortle of glee. "Bronze!" there's a sage nod from the girl, "that's always a good sign." And then there's blue too. "And a blue. They came awful fast." Lei gets a brief smile. "We'll just have to be ready to move if them eggs start rollin' around enough to try and mow us down."

Raevin grunts in acknowledge, leaning away from his co-conspirator. "Good, good. I want to see this taken care of, after all." Now, time to wake up! He cracks his knuckles. He cracks his neck. He rolls his shoulders and licks his lips. Then, he stands there awkwardly, gaze flicking between the bronze and the blue. "Okay, Erne. So would you think less of me as a man if I said I was more nervous than a herdbeast at a dragon flight?"

X'hil reaches the little platform on the sands, just as the first egg hatches. "A bronze first! Good omen!" he notes, with a grin. Kinseth too seems pleased, as his humming deepens, and he turns his head to watch the first hatchling, the bronze. And then the blue hatches, and gains an equal regard from the clutchsire. X'hil grins, and nods to Ysa. "At this rate, it won't take long at all. Two of them are already hatched, just like that!"

Khaine just… looks at the bronze for a long moment. Then at his brother. Then back. "I…" He isn't sure what to say. "I think he's…" You. Something you would do, Xhaine. Only, he doesn't say that. "Confused." That'll do. That'll do.

Sigam's head bobs in eager agreement with Hasha, though his hands resume their jittery dance over and over themselves. "Gorgeous doesn't begin to… describe…" Trailing off for the second time that day, the Dragonhealer cants his head towards that stumbling, tripping, and, uh, bugling bronze. "He's also a little… odd," he points out the obvious with a cough to hide his snickering, because that's just rude. "Hey, look, another!" Aw, a blue!

Euripedea was mostly grabbing out of instinct, but after a quick glance at Valkin, she surrepticiously pretends to have a rock stuck in her sandal and proceeds to prop a hand on his opposite shoulder, sticking him back between her and Ashiira. She hops a second to get the rock out, then puts her foot down and takes his hand again, tossing a strand of curly hair away from her eyes. She stares at the Sands, twitching her nose and tugging on him, "Uh, they look a lot… wetter than they did as eggs."

Imperfect Mimicry Blue Hatchling makes his way forth, leaving his eerily similar, and yet not quite identical, egg behind. He heads straight for a group of weyrbrats, one of whom steps aside. The hatchling matches this side-step, and the candidate shuffles backwards. The blue copies this, as well, which piques the candidate's curiosity, and he takes a cautious step forward. The dragon matches it. Another step, forward and to the side, and the dragon matches that, too! The candidate, Soltimor, eyes the blue, and the blue eyes back. They both blink. "Oh, Mimonseth, yes, I'm hungry too!" cries S'tim, leading the blue off to the waiting food.

Erne breathes a shaky breath and squares her shoulders. "I never really thought much of you as a man to begin with," she answers cheekily, a nervous smirk toying with her mouth. "But it's normal to be nervous. I know I am," she adds quietly.

Race to Silence Bronze Hatchling hears a noise behind him and turns to look. Oh my! There are all the people! Well, he feels just silly now and folds his wings to tromp of that way. He has an odd sort of hop as he walks like his leg that got caught on the shell is sore. Though, it doesn't seem to be deterring him any. He scans the line of candidates, pausing over the particularly pretty ones. But those will never do, they're all girls. He needs a man!

Hasha gazes at the blue, entranced, and then grinning sidelong, she holds her hands out for Jessamin's something to serve perhaps, as a moment's anchoring. "It's all happening at once, isn't it?" She then cries out in delight at the sight of the blue Impressing. The first of the hatching!

Haphazard Chaos Egg hasn't been entirely still. There is a tell-tale wobble here, a wobble there. Almost like a dance. A wobble-y dance! Shake, shake, shake to the right, shake, shake, shake to the left. No needless jumping around just yet. Need to conserve that energy for now.

Baileigh is glancing around. Eggs rocking, dragons exploding out, Candidates paring off. Craziness all about! She stares back at the bronze hatchling, curious about him, but glances over at Khaine again, giving his hand a squeeze. Then Enka's gets a squeeze.

Jessamin squeezes Hasha's hands, smiling at the other girl. "It always does seem to happen all at once. It'll be over soon enough, and you'll walk off the Sands with your lifemate. I know it!" A cheer escapes her… first Impression!

Gobhan 's eyes go wide at the dragons rushing to meet their lifemates. Was it like this for his brother? Is it always like this? He shifts his feet in the hot sands and looks nervously at the friends he's met. He swallows hard. And he backs off a little more.

Haphazard Chaos Egg stops wobbling for a spell, just calm, cool, collected. Entire there is a jerky, violent bounce! The egg hits the air, twirls around and crash lands back on the ground, now no longer right side up, but laying without movement on its side. And oh? What is that! A crack, quite large, starts to appear along the middle of the shell and grow.

Raevin rolls his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Erne," he says sarcastically, ripping his wide-eyed stare away from the hatchlings just long enough to shoot her a glare. He caught that last admission, though, and after a slight hesitation, he leans over and gives her an awkward one-armed shoulder-hug. He's definitely Rico Suave today. "Oh, shards, looks like I missed an Impression." He points over to the blue. "And what is going /on/ with that bronze?"

Xhaine jerks suddenly to stare at the blue that hatched, and watching it Impress. "So that's how it is…" he mutters, as if he's forgotten all the other hundreds of times he's watched a hatching. From the stands, though, this adds a whole new facet to the experience. He nods spastically at the one who Impressed, as if that's some sort of sign language for 'congratulations on Impressing!' and then he turns to stare at the bronze. Who is… HEADED THEIR WAY OMG. Well, not specifically /his/ way, but candidate-wards.

Ashiira swallows just a little, and then frowns, eyeing his friends as /shifting/ goes on. "Oh would you two just make up your mind already?" They can't play ring around the rosie with dragons running all about! There's a sigh though, and he makes a face as a bit of sand gets lodged in his sandal, picking the foot up to rub against the back of his leg absently. "Looks like he got himself righted, anyhow.."

Insatiable Four Egg starts to spin! Round and round and round it goes, where it'll stop, nobody knows!

Valkin considers the bronze going the wrong way, though it's the reshuffling of Euripedea that really gets his attention rather than the dragons. He sighs a bit, putting his hands on her hips and repositioning her between himself and Ash. "Stay put there," he murmurs, "that way we can just step in front of you.. if you. uh.. if one of those things come charging." Heroism impresses the girls, right? Either way, he takes her hand back and squeezes. Then his eyes are back on the dragons, "That one looks a bit confused." A notation to the bronze, "O.. hrm.. did .. well. Ok." Stumbling over his words, he chooses to snap his jaw close when he really doesn't have anything conversational to add. His eyes are just bug-eyed though, wide and uncertain.

Enka watches the bronze for a moment, but then the shout from the newly-chosen blue weyrling makes her glance away in time to see Soltimor leading the blue off. "Oh, that's nice for him," she remarks, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Don't think I know him that well, but then it was a big candidate group." Lei gets another brief squeeze, and the girl regards the bronze once more. "Wonder who he's going for?"

Erne receives that awkward hug like a champ, neither ruffled nor annoyed, she's much too focused for that. "The blue Impressed. The bronze might need… help." Right.

Haphazard Chaos Egg no longer moves about. There is truly no need. The being inside has done what was needed to be done… for the moment. The crack grows larger with each passing moment, the one turning into hundreds, no /thousands/ of smaller ones. Covering the entirety of the shell, they spread out! A lurch of motion, not from the egg, but from the dragonet inside. -CRASH-! Egg shell turns into splinters which rain down from the sky, plinking off of other eggs and dusting the sands below. In the wake, amidst the rain, stands a dragonet, her head held high, her eyes continuously whirling. Forcing The City Gates Green Hatchling has already broken through the wall and arrived.

Forcing The City Gates Green Hatchling
Triumphant energy casts narrow sails above and beyond the rest, a grand wingspan of dew-sprinkled sage. Lean and lithe, the lines of her frame follow those of her wings: her neck is slight, but long, making her svelt chest look almost boxy in comparison. The faintest outlines of graceful ribs carry back to celedon-cloaked hindquarters, blessed with a long tail of mojito-crushed mint and tipped with a tailspade of brilliant iced lime. Bright colors, to match the flight of fancy that is the deft arch of her eyeridges, the flashing glory of her eyes: a delicate wraith of a dragon, she is, of boundless recklessness tempered by the unseen wisdom of an ageless soul.

Sigam is apparently close enough to Jessamin and Hasha to overhear, judging from the interested glance their way. "What she said, Hash. It always seems to move fast, and yet slow all at once." Indeed, with the blue already impressed, the Dragonhealer was looking rather antsy around the edges, even though he claps aloud for Soltimor. With the icy blue gone, his eyes inevitably slip back to the bronze, who has finally seemed to realize the candidates were over /here/. Well, at least he had found it out instead of battling the wall like some kind of Quixote.

Insatiable Four Egg is starting to wobble from side to side in its relentless spinning, now and then wobbling so far as to actually fall against the sands, before righting itself. The shell manages to aquire a few cracks and dents from these falls.

Hasha says firmly, "Don't talk like you're not going to impress. You /will/." This to Jessamin, and then she's eying the newest arrival. "A green!" she declares, queen of the obvious. "Oh, she's lovely!"

Xhaine eyes the dragon that just hatched, and sighs in relief. "Well my favorite egg didn't have the gold in it." he turns and attempts a smirk at his brother. It's a bit… off, though, as he's currently mentally spazzing and screaming and stuff.

Forcing The City Gates Green Hatchling is the destroyer of worlds! It's true. She just totally destroyed one world. Which, of course, means this one is next. Her head zings back and forth, trying at once to look at everything and failing quite miserably. It doesn't stop her from trying though! The little green does finally move from her spot, but not without smashing down upon a few egg shell pieces that are still intact. The moment they are all destroyed to her liking, she marches across the sands.

Euripedea blushes at that, then sticks her tongue out at Ashiira, gratefully squeezing Valkin's hand in return and even going so far as to hook her arm a little around his, trying to give him some kind of support system. She doesn't let go of Ashiira, either, grasping his slim hand and watching as the blue finds a mate, then a green winds up on the Sands. She's never been to a Hatching before, especially not down here, and it's all a little dizzying. She's not sure where to look!

Race to Silence Bronze Hatchling takes to running the line now, hippity-hopping along his merry way, before he skids to a stop. That, one. That one right there. Could that be? Why yes, he does think it is! He trots on over to nose at this boy with blonde hair. Why couldn't he have been by the wall? He could have saved him all that embarrassment earlier.

Khaine lifts an arm to wave towards the new Impressee. He drops it to the side. And… has it squeezed by Lei. He smiles at her briefly, and then gives his brother an odd look. "You all right?" he asks curiously. "You're kind of…" He trails off. Looks up again to keep his eyes on the hatchlings. Spazzier than normal. He doesn't say that either, though. "You have to let 'em do their stuff," he cautions his twin, and perhaps the girls too if they're listening. "Jump in their way to help, and you could get hurt." And then he levels a LOOK at his brother. "I hope it's a bronze, just so I can finally shake off that whole "Khaine chooses the golds" thing." Growl. Huff. Pout.

Jessamin shakes her head, chuckling a little bit. "Never said I wasn't going to, did I? Ohh…." Her eyes are drawn inevitably to the little green who just seems to rule the Sands, grinning. "Well, are you sure your hide's not gold instead of green, missy?"

Keys To Your Nightmare Egg barely seems to quiver against the blackened sands. It's there, but silent. Waiting. But as it's fellows begin to arise, and the life forces within begin to teem, their humming, wanting, brings this creature to start it's slow ascent to the egg's surface. Bump. Ba dump. Bump bump. Like a heartbeat, it wiggles… Faster, and faster, as if running. Yes, yes… The nightmare is awakening.

Gobhan gives a little nervous laugh at the little green's attention to her eggg. "There…take /that/!" he says out loud to himself, but softly so.

Baileigh glances back at Enka as her hand is squeezed back, but she's startled by the newly arrived green. What an entrance! She shirks backwards, frightened, but she casts another pointed look at the bronze. He still hasn't Impressed yet, and she's obviously hopeful. She looks so excited, but then the bronze seems to know who he wants, and she folds inwards a bit. No, it's not Khaine's.

Insatiable Four Egg is spinning increasingly erratically, and the recently acquired cracks and dents in the shell are certainly not helping any. Holes are starting to appear in the side of the shell, more and more pieces are falling away. Eventually, the egg splits, the base remaining in place, the center section laying around the shell, in fragments, and the top section perched atop the hatchling's head.

Unimaginable Depths Blue Hatchling
Midnight blue covers this dragon from the tip of his snout to the very end of his tail, and while he is average in size it is difficult to judge without measuring by his constant movement, never able to keep perfectly still. Dark hide vaguely resembles a cloudy pattern, smothering his form from over his ridges down the sides of his body, and only notable when looked at from up close. Even with his somber color and sharp looking eyes, the rest of him is physically softer around the edges, with a gently rounded muzzle to the sweeping curve of his tail tip; even talons look blunt on the ends, worrisome for hunting larger and tougher prey.

Ashiira grumbles a little bit, glancing right /back/ over at Valkin and Euri. "Oh come /on/. Stop dancing." Really, if they do that again he might just..shake them. Although a sudden thud against his frame gets a bit of a start from the boy. Really, he should've been paying more attention. What if he'd been eviscerated by some angry..hungry.. "Oh." There's a bit of a dumbfounded look as he stares at the bronze nudging against him. "Kapalith..? I don't.. Well not /on/ me, no. Look like I have pockets? No, um..we'll get something. Yeah."

Ysa shifts uneasily on her feet, either from nerves or the heat. Her green eyes flicker towards the golden egg for a moment before she gives Ellamariseth a pat and moves over to stand closer to X'hil. "And the others are hatching faster and faster now. Once the first go, the others follow shortly." She smacks her parched lips and sighs. "I always think they should put drinks out here for us and always /forget/. Shells. First thing 'm going to do after this is drink a whole bottle of wine." Ellamariseth croons proudly along with each Impression, sadly watching as they are led off to the side.

Jessamin applauds for Ashiira, grinning at the newest Weyrling. "Way to go!"

Raevin is already starting to lose track of things. Bronze? Blue? Green? "Oh, oh oh oh. Erne, I can't tell what's going on anymore." He shifts uncomfortably on his feet, peering around the girl. "Oh, wait, Ashiira? Nice guy. Good choice." Pause. "Look. If I just stand here and close my eyes, will you punch me if I'm about to get mauled or the hatching's over?"

Unimaginable Depths Blue Hatchling seems a little dizzy after all that spinning, and is having a little bit of trouble with a stubborn bit of his shell, which rests on his head, obscuring his eyes. He staggers blindly towards the candidates, letting his other senses guide him. There, over there, is that boy /laughing/ at him? He takes a few unsteady steps in one direction, then stops, and turns. He hears something, there. A… a girl! Crying? He turns about and plods slowly in that direction, lifting his feet /very/ carefully on the sands, so as not to stumble and trip. The girl is headbutted, and she nervously removes the shell covering the blue's eyes, to find them staring up at her. "Oh!" she says, blinking back a fresh onslaught of tears. "Oh, Nabilth, no, these are /happy/ tears!" Nedami insists, as she leads him to food.

Everyone's a Jerk Inside Egg wriggles from side to side in the sand, the only sign that it is in fact moving being the side-to-side movement of the long thin triangular marking.

Valkin watches as the bronze approaches, his eyes widening. He suddenly finds himself pulling Euri with him as he tries to back away from the hatchling. Valkin inhales sharply at witnessing his friend impressing, "Ash…Euri," he cannot decide which one, but he's squeezing on Euri's hand if he still has hold of it by then. His mouth hangs a bit in astonishment, "I.. I.. " can't believe it, knew it all along? Something like that. He just stares. Openly. "Ash.. It is his day Euri… Look at him." He looks worriedly toward Euripedea, "So much for him showing me around Harper Hall…" Bitter sweet.

Xhaine lets out a breath when the bronze Impresses, and then he turns just as a blue hatches. He blinks at it. "That's a dark dragon." he points out, still spazzing out but a -tad- bit calmer. "Congratulations!" he blinks at Ashiira, and Nedami with the blue. "What… oh, right." stare at the green.

Sigam's eyebrows raise for the entrance of the green hatchling. Well, someone had a thing for making a loud entrance, didn't she? His smirk is sharp when it finally comes, watching the boxy green stomp the eggshells to death before marching along. "Spunky," he snickers before espying that blue with an eggshell hat. Cue sappy 'aww'. And poor, poor Ashiira - no aww for him! Instead the man /cheers/ quite loudly. How embarrassing. "Yeah /Ash!/"

Hasha lets out a cry of triumph, "Oh, congratulations, Ashiira!" And then there's yet another impression! The chaos of the hatching is nonetheless delightful to Hasha, and will likely stay that way, at least until someone gets mauled.

Forcing The City Gates Green Hatchling passes by a few eggs on her way towards the sea of white. Each one getting a wide berth, so long as they stay out of her way. But of course, there's always that /one egg/ that just won't move. Well. It's moving, but only in place. Arg! So the little green takes a few steps back, digs her talons into the ground… and LUNGES off towards the other egg. Just in the nick of time, her front legs go up and her back ones follow and she's leaping over the shell and landing completely ungracefully. Skinned maw aside, she's good! Those candidates are closer now… and interesting. She's off to look at them!

Enka can't help but laugh, her eyes on the green hatchling for a long moment. "She's … wow," the girl can't figinish her sentence, watching the dragonet as she shatters the shards of her egg. "She's almost enjoying doing that," the girl remarks, casting a wry grin at Baileigh before the movement of the bronze catches her eye. And … "HEY! Euri was RIGHT. Ashiira does look pretty as a bronzerider." The egg that had flung everyone into the whirling vortex is noted, the hatching watched and then a smile of relief. "Glad it weren't me. I got dizzy with that one."

Khaine claps for Ashiira. "Good going!" he calls over happily enough. And then, turning back towards Xhaine, he comments idly, "You realize that dragon is so much like you that you now have your vengeance on Ashiira forever?"

Gobhan smiles over at Ashiira. "Congratulations! Good luck!" he calls out.

Erne purses her lips, then grins widely when Ashiira Impresses. A hearty series of clapping ensues. "Congratulations!" she calls, then as an aside for Raevin she murmurs, "I won't make any promises, but you can close your eyes and try me."

Portia the possibly drunk but we're not really sure weyrlingmatster raises her arms and waves widely at the new impressees. "Ashiira! You, bluerider! Over here!" She waves her arms towards the edge of the sands, where grub awaits their lifemates.

Jessamin grins at the sassy green hatchling, taking a step backwards just to be on the safe side. "Easy there. You'll conquer Pern one step at a time, don't worry."

Keys To Your Nightmare Egg continues it's andreniline-ridden shaking, tossing the sand on which it's settled around in a rippled quakes. Faster, faster, it hips and it hops, angry that this shell will not let it pass. What gives, bro? I'll tell you what gives — a large, triangular piece flings off of the egg, but what lies within still remains a mystery. Dark, yes. Gooey, yes. But for a moment, it pauses, resting… It only gets one entrance, it must — must! — not be wasted.

Baileigh can't keep up with everything going on. She hears triumph, Ashiira's name called, but by the time she's looking over that way, a blue has Impressed as well, and now the green's moving about. She tries to grin back at Enka, but she looks just a bit dizzy. "I still think that glittery egg has a gold," she tells Enka firmly, a very belated after thought.

X'hil appears to be a tad concerned for the bronze hatchling out there, now. But at least he's pointed the right way? …and how! Kinseth adds a brief warble to his hum as first the blue, and then the bronze, manage to impress. Yes, yes, that's the way. Out you go, find your riders. And there's the second blue, over there, impressed! And a green wandering about. "It's… Shards, I can barely keep track." the bronze's rider notes, mopping sweat from his brow. It's so /hot/ out here. "I may join you for a drink afterwards. Have a bottle of juice I've been saving." Right. Because he doesn't drink.

Everyone's a Jerk Inside Egg keeps on wriggling, and, finally, the shell begins to crack, a slowly growing vertical seam, starting at the base of the shell, and gradually working its way upwards, to the tip.

Hasha's attention also turns to the green. "Aren't you a bold one?" she says in delight, keeping an eye on her in case she decides to take a lunge with those claws, or try to stomp with her mighty mighty feet.

Raevin hems and haws for a bit, scanning the hatching grounds to soak in the goings-on. "Actually, Erne, it looks like things are slowing down a bit. So." He crosses his arms over his chest and straightens his posture. "I've got this under control for now. Maybe later I'll take you up on the offer, though." Right.

Snake in the Grass Egg seems to be content to sit still until it gives a little shake, working out of the sand partly and tipping sideways. A little more shaking and it is rocking back and forth, appaerently trying to free itself from the hot sands.

Sigam chuckles under his breath when Portia demands Ashiira's attention and quickly shifts his attention to that flash of green over yonder. What was that hatchling /doing/? She was going to get herself hurt and then Sig would feel bad because he couldn't do anything about it and… Sigh. Realizing he was digging at his thumbs again, the Dragonhealer drops his hands and tries to focus more of his attention on the eggs wriggling and crackling over yonder. Focus. Focus! One was going to hatch any time now, he could just feel it! Or maybe that was just his nerves.

Erne shrugs and breaks her hands away to wipe her sweaty palms, then laces her fingers again. "Suit yourself. It's a limited time offer." She sounds very distracted. She /is/ very distracted.

Euripedea lets go of Ashiira the moment he's actually Impressed, squeezing Valkin's hand and smiling faintly as she watches him, "Congratulations…" She's not sure what to call him, really, so she just watches. Looking at Valkin, she tugs on his arm and flashes him a smile, "Hey. It's not like he's dead - and the Hatching isn't over yet. Cheer up." She'll bump him with her hip but ultimately try to draw him back to where they were standing before, a little distracted between her two friends to really focus on what craziness is going on.

Enka shuffles her feet for a moment, a sideways smile given to Baileigh's words. "That one had a party goin' on, only I wasn't invited," she nods towards the glittery egg for a moment. "Felt like I was just watchin'. Could be a gold in there, Faranth knows." the girl nibbles her lip for a second, looking somewhat concerned. "You look a bit dizzy, Lei. Feelin' all right?"

Keys To Your Nightmare Egg, having slumbered for one idle moment back into the dreamy state of it's conception, finally arrives back into the hot reality of the sands. Quiver. Shake. /Growl/. What first comes from this beast is not a body, but a /noise/. Deep within the shell, a noise seems to erupt. Loud, deep, angry — ROOOAARRR!! Don't dare patronize this presence for taking his time! And finally, the source of the triumphant exultation comes to bear when, from the triangular hole formed upon his shell, a darkened, scarred head appears. It swivels, looks around, with teeming crimson eyes, before: RAWR SMASH! The entire egg goes shattering, and left on the sands is nothing other than a bronze that looks to strike fear — or.. something.. — into his foes.

The Incredible Sock Finagler Bronze Hatchling
Dark, stark, yet blissfully alluring, he is a form distinct with a changing chroma that steals — entrances — the mind. Yet his edges be the scheme of daunting night, every curve delineates a shining antique bronze, every muscle the definition of a garish contender, and every shadow, an oil-like sheen that gleans to darkened evergreen. Where light touches him, a golden palette appears: though glossy it may be, a leathery texture is the varnish to his hide, giving a foil of increased strength to his hulking armor'd suit. His body is not large, but it is bulky, his smaller stature only serving to make more fearsome the indulging curl of each silver talon and the sharp, dangerous range of black ridges down his spine. He is unquestionably a heavy-weight champion bearing feisty disposition, and yet he would be nothing without a brawler's touch: like silvery ichor, marks of battle mar the planes of his angled face, his muscled haunches, his tail-tip. No doubt they are the first… but it is uncertain if they will be the last.

Jessamin cheers as the battle-scarred bronze hatchling emerges… no, fairly -bursts- free of his shell. "Another bronze! Good on Ellamariseth and Kinseth!"

The Incredible Sock Finagler Bronze Hatchling is freeeeee! MAN that was such a long slumber. Surging eyes turn down to observe the corpse of his shell… What's left of it, at least. The white shards don't leave much behind, a skeletal remain that leaves many to wonder how on Pern it didn't shatter long before this fated moment. The bronze wuffles. Like /he/ cares. With a jaunty tilt of his hip, he swipes a haunch back, sending white fragments and black sand splattering the eggs behind him. Magnificent blackened wings outstretch, and the slender maw of his mouth opens to give a long, resounding yawn — and show off those not-so-pearly-whites of his. Alright… now to remember what it was he was supposed to be doin'.

Baileigh beams at Enka. "Oh, but it was a *wonderful* party." Spoken by somebody who's used to just watching. "I'll be okay, I'll be okay," she reassures her friend. "It's the heat, and the nerves I think, really." She glances up as yet another bronze hatches from the egg of Terror, and she shakes her head ruefully. "Of course, it would be a bronze."

Forcing The City Gates Green Hatchling moves past candidate after candidate, snuffling in disdain as none quite feel right. None are what she wants at all. A little boy from Igen gets an even closer look, only to be disregarded completely. The little green dragonet huffs with annoyance, this is taking far, far too long! There are /things/ to be seen, stuff others may not want her to see, but who cares wha— oh? Wait. What's that? Her attention snagged, the dragonet moves forward once again. One step, two steps, three, four, five… now she's running like mad, head angled downward, ready to head-bash anything in between herself and hers. Then she's skidding to a stop, spraying sand on one and all… and looking up into the eyes of Hasha. Wanna break stuff with me?

Raevin is torn once more. To close his eyes and let Erne take over, freeing him from the stress of the hatching? Or would it be more like closing his eyes and letting Erne take over, ensuring that he will lose a leg to this newly hatched bronze with the giant fangs? "I think it might be in my best interest to keep an eye on things," he decides with an air of finality. And, just to be safe, he takes a step behind the girl. "Ahem."

Jessamin stumbles backwards just in time to avoid the little green hatchling's flying run at… Hasha. She grins over at the other girl, cheering and applauding. "Congratulations! I told you that you'd make it!"

Xhaine shakes his brother by the arm when one of /his/ favorite eggs hatches into a bronze. "He looks mean!" he declares almost tearfully. Then wait, what? "Green for Hasha! Whoo!"

Valkin regards Ashiira for a long time afterward, trying to follow his friend's direction with his gaze. Though it's Euripedea who pulls him back to what's going on around him. They might not be twins, but from the look on Valkin's face, he's pretty unsettled with what to do now that his best friend isn't around. "I know he's not dead…" there's a forelorn shrug, his mouth turned down as his eyes briefly consider what's going on. The hip bump has a flash of a smirk appearing, only for it to drop again as he can't help but sigh.

Snake in the Grass Egg begins to rock more violently, until suddenly, a crack appears on the side of the shell. Then more cracks begin to etch their way across the surface of the egg, splitting the bright colors until bits of shadow seem to appear.

Erne does indeed make a rather imposing shield for Raevin, being only an inch shorter than he is. She smiles smugly when he steps behind her, lifting her chin slightly as if assuming the whole guardian position.

Gobhan smiles as he sees Hasha is discovered by her lifemate. "Oh, wow! Excellent, Hasha! She's beautiful! Congratulations!"

Khaine lifts his brows in amusement at the terrible bronze. He nudges his brother slightly and replies idly, "Hey, have a go at that one. Mighty fine." He grins and calls to Hasha, "Congratulations!" There you go. "He's not mean. Okay, maybe a little," he tells Xhaine afterwards. "But only to those he's not supposed to be nice to, I'm sure."

Enka's smile is faint. "If you like watchin'," Whereas Enka doesn't, she's more of a doer. The girl frowns, fingers tightening around her friend's hand before she glances towards the remaining eggs. And then the green choosing Hasha is noted, gray eyes flickering towards them. "I hope they let her keep cookin' sometimes," Enka can't help but remark. "Way t'go, Hasha!"

Hasha just stops a moment, and can't seem to breathe, and for a moment looks like she's going to fall flat on her back. But then she drops to her knees and wraps her arms around the hatchling, laughing, yes, but also doing something the other candidates have never seen her do: crying. "Tavissath! Yes, yes! We've got so much to do!" She'll appreciate all the congratulations once she remembers, but right now…she can only see her life-mate.

Everyone's a Jerk Inside Egg has a very large crack in it now, running vertically from the base, to the tip, and then back around the rear to the base again. When the two ends of this crack finally meet, the egg splits in two, each half falling away, depositing an odd brown hatchling onto the sands.

Baileigh is listening to Khaine on her other side, but she starts when she hears Enka call someone's name. "Hasha?" And then she looks over, and starts once again, tugging at both Khaine and Enka's arms. "Oh. That's where the green went." She shifts, having stood in one place so long her feet were buried in the burning hot sands. Yeoow.

Unsightly and Skewed Brown Hatchling
Lumpy-bodied in an oddly formed way, this brown dragon did not get the pretty genes out of the pool from his clutchparents. It is almost as if his muscles are in the wrong places, just off a little bit here and there and essentially exaggerating his asymmetrical body. Left legs are slightly longer than the right set, making his gait on land more of a shamble than a walk with his odd muscles rippling as he moves. His deformed body overall is a rich boring brown from top to bottom, with barely a trace of a different shade marring any of his features except for a deeper darker tone that runs over 'knobs and down each ridge to the very tip of his tail, appearing again in a splatter across his ungraceful-looking sails.

Distracted from the green's antics, Sigam is half-tempted to leap out of his skin at the sound of that roar. Shards, didn't they know his nerves were already fraying like an old piece of twine? "Shards, yeah, another bronze, but he's acting more like a… like a… thing," Sig finishes lamely towards Jessamin before giving up with a shrug. "He's gonna scare poor Temmy out of his wits I bet." Suddenly concerned, the Dragonhealer tears his eyes away only to realize the bold green seems to have chosen Hasha. His face lights up in a huge grin. "Excellent!" He tries not to linger and impugne upon her moment, but the man can't help but be proud of his fellow candidate for that moment… Oh hey, a brown! A very lumpy brown. Faranth bless the man's apparent ADHD.

Portia is busy. /Way/ busy. But there's only so many eggs, and so many Impressees! After helping another recent one, she notices the newly formed pair of Hasha and Tavissath, and — naturally — waves her arms widely. In case they forgot she was there! "Over here, lassy! Come get that pretty green o' yers some food! Congratulations!" She beams, and points to where the new weyrlings need to go. She's so helpful, yes!

Ellamariseth is more concerned over the fact that the eggs are breaking so fast than those oddly-shaped hatchlings that she and Kinseth made. She actually leans her nose down to nudge at some shards that came off of one of the closer eggs, crooning sadly. Then it's back to watch all those dragons that are coming out. "Faranth," breaths out Ysa as she looks at the brown that came out of the brown egg. "Why does she always make /ugly/ ones? There's one in every sharding clutch." She passes X'hil a look— apologetic maybe? "That's not a drink, my dear Weyrleader. But it's good 'nough if I get to enjoy your company as well." she winks and turns back to the show.

The Incredible Sock Finagler Bronze Hatchling closes that gaping mouth of his, licks his lips, and gives the rows of white clad peeps a good look over. Oh, right. /Thems/ gotta make some sort of /impression/ sorto thang. As if a proverbial eyeroll, the sheeny bronze tosses his snout, butts up some sand with his nose, and starts to make a loose, slow swagger towards them funny lookin' folk. A bounce is in his step, and as if choreographed, every movement tosses his over-muscled structure with a shoulder bobbin' hop. His head angles towards some nearby oggling girls, which, naturally, produces a reaction of a lip-tug, teeth bearing 'grin', and a showy tail whip to show 'em what he's made of. Sorry, ladies. Hands off… But you wish you could have it, don'tcha?

With her friend ushered off of the Sands just like that, Jessamin turns to quietly watch the other Candidates, slightly tense and at the ready should any one of them look to be in danger from young, clumsy claws. A small smile is spared for the latest bronze hatchling, and she shakes her head. "Mmhmm. Just going to be the little charmer, aren't you?"

X'hil grins widely at the appearance of the second bronze, and glances to Kinseth. "He'll be insufferable after this, he /told/ me there'd be several metallics." As the green impresses, X'hil looks a bit weary. /Greens/. But he smiles, and scans the sands, trying to pull some sort of order from the chaos. As he catches sight of the brown, he instinctively takes a step backwards, and then grimaces at his own reaction. "It's … I'm sure his /rider/ will love him, and that's what matters, right?" But really, he's not even sure of /that/. Love /him/, yes. Love his appearance? Possibly not.

Dead Boddy Egg flops about on the sands, with a slowly building sense of urgency. If you haven't cracked the code yet, be quick!

Xhaine stares at the brown that just hatched. "…he looks like a turd." but then he returns his attention to the really DARK dragon. Who… is struttin' his stuff. Xhaine hides a smirk, but at least he's not so spastic. "And I pity the poor candidate who gets /that/ one, he's just like /you/."

Raevin seems to be getting the hang of this. Maybe. "Okay, so, you stay right there, and then if any come our way, you dodge and… wait. That'll leave me standing here." He frowns, then slowly steps to the side. Just a little, so he can see better while still having the benefit of Erne-shield. "All right. We're good now."

Enka is tugged forward by Baileigh, the girl's feet dragged through the sand for a moment before she hops and shakes her feet to free them from the warmth underfoot. "Bronze," she notes, pointing at the wicked looking hatchling. "He's bound tobe a handful. Mean egg too, if I remember." Her eyes narrow, studying that brown. "He's …. interestin'." Well, that's all she could say about the egg too, when it had been laid. "Not much fer looks, didn't he make everyone yell High Reaches?"

Unsightly and Skewed Brown Hatchling shambles forward out of the shards of his egg, moving for the candidates. As he singles out a group, he picks up speed, dragging his tail along in the sand behind him. The brown seems intent on herding several candidates away from the rest, winding up with a batch of about half a dozen, most having stood before. These candidates, boys and girls, men and women, stand huddled together, eyeing the brown as he gallops around them, stopping beside each candidate on the way around, eyeing them intently. No, no, no, no, no, no… Wait, it has to be /one/ of them! So around he goes. No, no, no, no, wait! There, that one! Grokev blinks, and eyes the brown. "M-me?" he asks, gulping, and then bobbing his head. "Of, of course, Zedagoth, of course!" G'kev concedes, warily leading the brown off to be fed. The other candidates don't know whether to be relieved or jealous, Grokev — G'kev — was the only one of that singled-out group who hadn't been searched before.

Khaine squints and grimaces slightly. "That… is a brown," he says flatly. He looks over at his brother for that, and they're probably thinking the same thing. Which will not be stated aloud. Or… maybe it will be, courtesy of Xhaine. Cue the facepalm. He looks towards the bronze as he brother speaks, and chuckles softly. "Yes, well. At least he knows his worth," He points out mildly.

Hasha blinks, snapping out of her reverie. "Everything's on fire…" she mumbles, and then rising to her feet, begins herding her Tavissath in Portia's direction. "You're hungry, aren't you? Of course you are. You want food, you can tear it up and gobble it to bits…" laughing, she urges her beloved dragon toward the weyrling master.

Gobhan sidles his way over to Jessamin and Sigam. He's almost shaking. "You okay, guys?" he asks trying to speak softly amid the loud sounds that echo across the huge cavern. He's got one arm wrapped about his stomach and he's biting the fingernails of his left hand.

Snake in the Grass Egg decides to be done with the life it has been leading up till this point and start a new one. With a few limbs bursting free of the shell, a baby dragon fights its way free of its home and onto the hot sands.

Run and Whip It Green Hatchling
Two colors clash in an epic battle on this stocky little green. Lime on bottom, hunter on top, each try to seep into the other's territory. Along her elongated muzzle, the bright shock has managed to take over, save for at the end of her nose where an island of darkness sits and a mask of sorts, curving down towards her jaw and making an 'm' shape on her forehead and barely coving her eyes. Her head knobs have found a sort of balance, the front that bold lime and the back the darker side. This deep hunter slides down her broad back, stains her wing spars, and dives down the out side of her legs and top half of her long, oddly curled tail. Her tail seems to be more comfortable in a loop of sorts, curling half way up.

Sigam snickers suddenly. Charmer, yes, sure, that's what the battle-scarred dragon was. /Right/. He knew a real Charmer back at Xanadu, and that dragon out there was nothing like him. "Close but no cigar, buster," Sig mumbles good-naturedly before sliding his eyes over to Grokev and that decidedly funky looking brown. "Hmm?" Glancing over at Gobhan, Sig smiles his widest and most comforting for the lad. "Yeah, I'm well enough. How about you? You don't look so good." Captain Tact, this one.

Euripedea gives Valkin another small hip bump for that smirk, then tucks her arm around his middle since there's only the two of them left with Ash off making nice with his new bronze. She cocks her chin up rather defiantly at the eggs and hatchlings, remembering her own issue with them and, well, not exactly staring them down so much as looking as determined as she can. Sure, she's nervous and her knees feel a little watery, but she'll get through it.

Jessamin rests her hand on Gobhan's shoulder briefly but nods. "I'm fine. Just take a deep breath, everything will be fine." She does lean in to whisper to the younger lad, though.

Baileigh glances over at Enka to see her wince, and makes an apologetic face, quickly enough distracted by the green. "Oh, that 'snakey egg was a green!" She would clap her hands in excitement, but she satisfies herself with a little hop. And then hisses when that manuver costs her. Shifting her feet, she tries to get all the sand out of her sandles, but that's a useless endeavor. "Yeah, that was the mean one," she remarks, belatedly.

"Well, he definitely deserves to be proud. But there's only been two bronzes, and that's… normal." That's what Ysa tells X'hil, even if her eyes are focused entirely on the still glittery egg over in the center of the clutch. She doesn't hide her disgust at all at the ugly brown from the ugly egg. "Well, if his rider likes him that's just fine, but 'm never going to mention that that dragon ever came out of Ella at all. I wonder if I should talk to a dragonhealer about this small problem of hers. I think they come out a little more awkward each clutch."

The Incredible Sock Finagler Bronze Hatchling moves on from the lady folk, if begrudgingly. Hipjut, swagger, hipjut, pose, hipjut, bounce bounce — halt! Well now. What /are/ these marvelous things on everyone's feet? His tail and butt seem to stick up in the air when he lowers his front down to begin inspecting these marvelous contraptions along the line of candidate legs. All are sniffed, examined, and one by one, tossed aside. Too ugly. Too worn. Too old. Too new. Nope, nope, nope! But, his whuffling snout, almost like a canine sniffing for suspicious entities, finally gets a surprised flaring when he picks up the scent of a certain someone. Whoa. Totally suave, the darkened form begins to move on towards it, and finds — miraculously — the /perfect/ pair of feet, on the perfect match of Raevin. Ready to kick those up, boy?

Gobhan turns his head to look worridly over at Jessamin. Then he looks up to the Gallery to see if he can find his brother there. There are too many people. He can't see his brother anywhere.

Erne gets. out. of. the. way. Quickly, with a smooth sidestep to the right and her hands at her sides, just in case she needs to find that bronze off. But no, he's fine, and Raevin… might be okay. "Congratulations," she murmurs close by, grinning despite herself.

Jessamin lets out a cheer for Raevin, applauding. "Congratulations!" She chortles, and shakes her head. "Perfect match. How do the dragons always just -know-?"

Run and Whip It Green Hatchling takes a moment to shake herself off, almost as if she were trying to get water off her hide. All that comes off however are a few egg shards. Once that's taken care of she looks around, first noticing the crowd of people, then the larger dragons. Which way should she go?

Valkin hasn't said much since Ashiira's left, though he's still at Euri's side, watching in idle pause as the eggs hatch and dragons run up to their prospective lifemates. He seems relatively calm though, muttering to Euri after a long silence has carried between them, "If it wasn't for Ash, I would've ran off by now. If it wasn't for you now holding me, I would still run." He jests a little, skewed though because the sudden heavy sounding words coming from him, as if his throat was all choked up. His eyes flash up to see Hasha walk across the sands with a lifemate and then a brown pairing behind her. Something tells him to look over at his fellow candidates, in time to see Raevin impress. There's a little bit of a wry grin on his face before he wraps his arm loosely around Euri, "I guess you can't clobber him now that he's got a dragon…"

Dead Boddy Egg is moving faster now, and a steady tapping sound comes from within. Forget cracking the code, it's time to crack the shell! A hairline fracture appears on the side of the shell, quickly followed by another.

Gobhan turns his head quickly to see that his friend Raevin has Impressed. "Oh! Raeven! Congradulations! Good job!"

Xhaine stands on his toes to see where the bronze went, then his heels hit the sand with a thump. "Isn't it strange that there have been two bronzes who are just like us in personality on the sands? It's like we became dragons!" he comments to his brother, all of the sudden immensely cheerful at the thought. "congrats!" he tosses over towards Raevin. "We're winners regardless!" that's…. a, uh… unique way of thinking about it.

Khaine blinks and looks towards Raevin, then shrugs. "Right. Well. Congratulations to him." He glances towards Xhaine, and the first bit of worry seeps in. There aren't that many eggs left on the sands. He looks back towards them and fidgets in his sandals. "Don't think there'll be three or four bronzes in the clutch," he mutters mostly to himself. "Maybe a blue or a brown for him, then. Or a green."

Enka mouths a brief "It's ok," before she glances towards the eggs again. Bailiehg's words make her look towards the new-hatched green. "Oh, she's two tone." the girl notes this, and watches for a moment before stealing a glance towards the bronze, and his choice. "Hey, he's got that guy, the one that brought the booze down to the …" enka clamps her lips together than, not intending to speak, before she glances off towards the remaining eggs.

X'hil chuckles, and shakes his head at Ysa. "Kinseth'd find a way to be proud if the clutch were all greens." He then mimicks the bronze's tone, deepening his voice a little, "'All greens? That's got to be the first time /that's/ ever happened!'" and then he snorts. The brown is eyed some more, still warily. "Maybe he'll grow out of it?" he suggests, lamely. Well, he /might/?

Euripedea smirks at Valkin, cocking an eyebrow and resting her free hand on her hip, "Says who? I'll clobber him until his dragon's big enough to eat me… and stop being so mopey." It's teasing, but she's gentle enough about it. She is startled when another dragon seems to have found its mate, tilting her head forward to try and see only to make an irritated expression. She huffs her hair away from her eyes, considers being a brat, but ultimately calls, "Congratulations, you sot!" What? She was nice.

Raevin looks panicked. Oh no, that bronze his coming their way, huffling and whuffling and — oh my. What's that? He takes a slow step out from behind Erne—who had the sense to scoot away from the hatchling, anyway — and looks… perplexed. "Well, okay, Lazinzith. We can definitely get the food taken care of. The ladies will have to wait, though." With a parting boyish grin for Erne, he moves the bronze off for a meal.

Sigam flicks his eyes over Gobhan again in a concerned way before lifting his shoulders in a shrug. Ah well, the candidate would pull through in the end. They all would, one way or another. Biting his lip against a tirade of speculations about just /why/ dragons found people the way they did (Jessamin surely didn't want that), the Dragonhealer looks away, towards the super-suave bronze that seems to have found his place with Raevin…'s feet? Blink. "Er, congrats!," the man calls out as Raevin moves off, and then his head shakes slightly. He should've seen that one coming a mile away.

All That Glitters Eggs gives a little shiver, a barely-there shake, before becoming completely still. Did anyone see that? No? Well, there it is again, wiggling to and fro in quick jerks, those watching almost convinced they can see some of the jewels shifting and falling on the shell before it lies completely still again. Just kidding.

Jessamin glances over at the glittery egg, shaking her head and smiling. The barest whisper escapes her lips… "Time to dance."

Baileigh is rather much intranced by the green, and misses Raevin's Impression almost entirely, only looking up as an afterthought. She glances over to listen to Khaine's chattering to himself, and tugs on his arm. "Hey, you. There could be another bronze, don't worry so much," she chides him gently. And, suddenly, she glances up, tugging on Enka's arm urgently. "The glittery egg!" She hisses urgently. "I think it moved!"

Run and Whip It Green Hatchling decides to go trotting off towards the people in white. Look at them all. So silly and cute at the same time. She prances lightly in front of them all and then back behind them, circling once or twice to get a feel for them all.

Busy busy Portia hops back to the sands, patting her aged bun as she looks for new Impressees. And, aha! A bronze pair is spotted! "You! … Raevin!" She does remember that boy. Ha! And a bronze! She'll have to brag to Korvok, later. "You get that fine hair over here and get your boy some meat, huh?" She looks positively thrilled. She /so/ called that one, did she not?

Dead Boddy Egg has been patient enough, if the code is still a mystery, that's just tough, the egg is hatching, /now/. There are several fractures against the egg now, the structure of the shell is weakening. One final line appears, and then half the shell caves in, leaving a hatchling in its wake

Sharp Sighted Investigator Brown Hatchling
Anticlimactic in color, this dragon is covered in a very uniform tan brown throughout his entire build. And what a plain build it is: average in size, average in weight, or perhaps able to be called slender. However, average, average, average. There are two features in this plain brown that stands out: his wings and his eyes. Overly large wings, ridiculously exceeding what would naturally be proportional for his body, drape over his frame like a coat when at rest, looking like smooth darker tanned suade. And his eyes! Bright, whirling, and striking with a curious intellect as they constantly change in color with his varying moods. It does not matter whether this dragon displays anger or pleasure, they keep a constant whirl and brightness, only increasing as he drinks in his surroundings from the moment of hatching till the end of his days.

Erne finds herself alone, but that's actually probably better. At least now she can watch everything without having to babysit. She takes a deep breath and shifts her feet in her sandals, sweaty, and shakes her head. Just a little. Shaky.

Enka's arm is tugged, and she glances up sharply. "What?" Baileligh gets a glance, the girl's eyes flickering off towards that shiny egg. "It moved?" her eyes narrow a bit, and the girl shifts her feet to better bring herself into a line of sight with that egg. "It's not moving now." Well, it was! Just a moment ago!

Valkin laughs now at that, grinning at Euri, "Alright alright. I'm happy for everyone." Then he puts on an extra flashy pearly white smile for Euri, teeth and all. Eventually his gaze settles on the eggs remaining and the hatchlings still prowling. He watches the prancing green, "Two toned… didn't someone say that?" He must have heard it down the line of candidates, but he watches her, his arm coming away from Euri, grabbing for her hand instead, so that he can look around the crowd for what's happening. Abruptly, his attention is called toward the glittery egg as someone hollars about it, only to witness the brown spewing out of the one egg, "Arg.. Remind me to stay away from that dragon. Forever. He made me want to hurl."

Khaine blinks and looks over at Lei, but there's a hint of sobriety about the smile. And then he looks towards the Glittery egg. That's about when he says, "You know, it was my favorite too." But it's the gold egg, and he knows it. Something in him manages to finally sigh in remorse. This was his last hatching, he and his twin brother. They'd be too old afterwards. He nudges his brother and tells him, "Hope you get one of the last ones. Maybe that brown that just hatched there." Because Khaine knows his time has passed.

Xhaine turns towards his brother, shaking his head. "Nah, no dragon would want me, I knew this from the beginning." wow, and there's still eggs on the sands! The two are acting like it's over already. "Wouldn't it be funny if the gold did hatch out of there and wanted you?" Xhaine sniggers at his brother, then turns to look at the new brown. "Hmm."

Sharp Sighted Investigator Brown Hatchling lumbers forward from his shell with calm measured steps, or as calm and measured as a young dragon can be. He swings his head this way and that, eyes scanning the candidates curiously. What does he see? He settles his gaze on one section of the sands. Brown hair. He peers closer, his gaze intensifies. Brown hair. Green eyes. He moves towards that section of the sands. Brown hair. Green eyes. Name starts with… P! He tilts his head to match eyes with the candidate, the candidate Pelleran. The weyrling P'ler meets his gaze. "H-he, he says his name is Locarth!"

Euripedea rolls her eyes at that dazzling toothpaste-commercial-worthy smile and just tucks her hand back inside Valkin's, shaking her head and grinning, "Thanks. Much obliged." She looks to the dragons to take in what he's talking about, eyeing the green with a certain distinct interest and tossing her bangs out of her face for the thirteen hundredth time. She's really starting to hate this heat. She licks her lips and watches the brown so quickly find a match, laughing, "Wow, he really knew what he wanted…"

Run and Whip It Green Hatchling seems to have narrowed it down a bit. She keeps wandering back and forth between two of the robed creatures. One boy and one girl. Both seem quite lovely, and nice enough. She warbles a bit at the both of them, getting slightly frustrated before moving to the one who looks like her help is needed most.

Gobhan takes a deep breath….Wait, this isn't so hard after all. No one is getting clawed or eaten. He just has to take a few breaths. He tries to put his hands down at his sides for a little while an realizes that his muscles ache from holding then against his body so tightly. There's really nothing to worry about. He smiles as the little green finds her lifemate. See? It's easy.

Sigam, predictably, is distracted by the green hatchling prancing nearby. With Raevin gone, it's suddenly much more interesting to watch /her/ while everyone else gushes over the wobbling shiny egg. Interesting, yes… The quick hatching and impression of the average brown nearly goes unnoticed, but not entirely. Squint. Was that Pelleran? He couldn't /quite/ tell from this angle… but either way he claps, the sound only growing louder in volume when the brightly-colored green finally seems to find her match after a moment's debate.

Three Misses and a Hit Egg swings back and forth, in almost complete silence, the only sound the soft shuffling of the shell rubbing against the sand as it moves.

All That Glitters Egg is lying still in wait, as if looking for the perfect opportunity to show that it /is/ alive. Something shines across the shell as it shivers again, reflecting light. It gives up trying to be inconspicuous, jerking around without any real direction, letting flecks of gold shake off from the top, slowly cracking the mirror-like apex, slowly breaking into tiny shiny pieces.

Baileigh makes a face at Khaine. "You're such a fuddy-duddy," she tells him sharply, then glances at Enka. "It did so move, it did! … It just. Hasn't since." And two of the Hatchlings are Impressing - both the brown, who gets eyed with astonishment and a shudder, and the green to… *blink* Really? She giggles a little bit, but her peripheral is trained on that glittery egg. "Loook!" She hisses sharply. "There it went again! It moved!" Told ya so!

Valkin agrees, "And I'm glad it wasn't me. Though I sort of knew that from th-th-th-" he stammers off into oblivion as his eyes round down at something, something solid and something that's, "talking to me?" There's a confusion settling in his gaze, but a quick shake of his head draws his focus upon the Run and Whip it Green. "I… I was… I didn't. I couldn't…" The kid is clearly not sure how to cope with this whole experience, looking between Euri before he slips from her to approach the green, "Ok. I'll stay and… feed you?" Hungry, his hand rubs his own belly quite absently too, "Aurath. You've a nice name."

Xhaine nods when the green finds her lifemate. "It's all right, Khaine… what happened to our decision to become Masterharpers? That's important too." Xhaine thinks his brother needs soothing from disappointment. "Ah, congratulations, Valkin." Xhaine blinks a little. Personally, he thought Ashiira would get green and Valkin would get bronze. They just struck him as being like that. Oh well, surprises abound.

Enka's gaze flickers towards the egg, her gaze widening at the sound of Bailiehg's voice. "Oh!" she nods briskly. "It is moving. Bits of it are flakin' off too. Guess we'll find out what's in there soon enough."

Erne grins at newly Impressed Valkin, even if it doesn't matter because he has other things on his mind right now. Or in his mind. She reaches back for her long hair to pull the band loose and let it all fall around her shoulders, wincing a little at the pinch at the back of her skull. Ouch, too tight.

All That Glitters Egg has decided that this show was OVER. Those cracks continue their way down from the very top, running over the sides of the large egg as the hatchling inside pushes and attacks at its prison. It bulges once, twice, and takes a brief rest. Regaining its energy the shell suddenly contracts and then pushes outwards, shattering from the top down in a rain of shimmering shards and revealing its long-held prisoner.

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free Gold Hatchling
If beauty be a necessity for heart and mind, it is the only place where it will ever lie amid the befuddling features of this ungainly creature. Perhaps a mother's eye will take favor to her awkward grace, a reptilian nature given soul in smooshed body and cheek, coated with pale-speck'd mustard there to pudgy sides, cock-eyed limbs and plump, stumpy tail. A widened snout fixed to a quite non-existent neck gives birth to massive protuberant eyes, each set strangely distanced on the fore of her nearly shine-less, blunted nose. From jaw to thickened tail tip, ivory clashes dismally against all brighter hues, coating her flattened underside as well as splayed, crooked toes. Though, as if there was a reluctant charity to this astonishing abnormality, striking color gives some small relief to her needlessly large-stature'd wings. Her sails darken to an exotic gamboge that, with increasing quantity towards the prow of curvy ailerons, is spotted haphazardly with snowy white. However, though lacking refined allure or a lovely feminine grace, she will boast what mere beauty shall never achieve: she is truly, everlastingly, unique.

Gobhan watches Valkin bond to his lifemate. "Valkin…." he says softly, then more loudly "Congratulations! Well done!"

"Valkin!" And up comes Portia again, having just worn herself out leading the last brown pair off the sands. "Wanna get that green of yours some food? C'mere, laddy." Her eyes flicker lazily towards the newly hatched metallic female, but she merely scrunches her nose, and waves the newest greenrider forward. "Off you go, get that lass cleaned up and fed!"

Khaine shakes his head at Baileigh's words. He does, however, pat his brother. "Congratulations, Valkin," he says politely, if with a bit of happiness. To Xhaine, he offers simply, "It's what's left, and I accept it gladly." And then… the glittery egg hatches, spilling out a gold. He nods once. "Knew it," he says simply, if with frustration. "I somehow pick them." He releases Lei's hand at this point, casting her a soft, brief smile, and tells her and Enka softly, "Show's all yours, ladies. Congratulations to the winner."

Baileigh drops her companions' hands, and if they're not fast enough to return the favor, then bully on them. "Yippee!" She crows, dancing in a little circle, and blast the flaming hot sand in her shoes. "I told you it was a gold egg! I just won so many marks!" She gives a little shimmy, and a little shake - a victory dance for the Candidate's whose one vice is gambling.

Jessamin takes in a sharp, quick breath, eyes gone wide at the sight of the uniqueness of the gold hatchling. "Oh, there you are! Beautiful… and don't let anybody tell you different!" Valkin's Impression takes her attention for the moment, and she applauds for him. "Congratulations!"

Xhaine nods at his brother, patting his arm. "Think of all the marks we can make at hatchings. You pick your favorite egg, I put all our marks on it being gold. We'd double or triple our savings!"

Erne fixes widened eyes on that new hatchling. Oh no. She tenses up and tries to clamp her jaw down on her suddenly unstable composure.

Euripedea is startled when the green wanders on up to her and Valkin, turning quickly to look at the boy next to her as he begins to stare. She immediately steps to the side, grinning brilliantly at him and giving him only a squeeze to his hand before she lets go. She claps and just smiles at him again when he looks at her, "Congratulations, Val. You take care of her." She winks lightly, but scoots away a bit more, not wanting to get in the way of a hungry dragonet and her new rider. She looks like she could just burst, but she clears her throat and tries to keep it down. But it's so /awesome/.

Three Misses and a Hit Egg just keeps on swinging, /one/ of these is bound to hit the mark, sooner or later. A resounding CRACK echoes through the cavern, and a spiderweb latticework of cracks appears on the upper half of the egg's shell.

Enka's jaw drops. "Sweet Faranth," the girl remarks, her gray eyes fastened on the newly hatched gold. "You were right, Lei. There was a gold. Lemme guess that you were bettin' on it?" The moment of euphoria passes, and Enka regards the dragon. "She 'aint much to look at though. Guess beauty is as beauty does, but she's a bit ungainly. Got a fat little tail though."

Valkin lifts his head up at hearing so many words of congratulations, looking around and suddenly finding his face growing pale at all the eyes on him. "Right Aurath, lets get you fed." Although he does smile kindly to those who've offered him encouragement, trying to find some strength in his wobbly legs to get him and his out of the way. "But Val'in? You really think I should go by that?" There would be some conversation surrounding that name, but for now he goes with it and the green. He does pause to look back at Euri, nodding to her then slipping off.

Jessamin chuckles ever so softly as she turns her eyes back towards the ungainly-looking gold, eyes sparkling. "Looks a little like my first attempt at batik dyeing. But I bet she'll turn out well." She smiles at the others, inclining her head. "Good luck, ladies."

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free Gold Hatchling unravels herself out of her golden shell to come to an audible /flop/ onto the sands. And there she lays for a long moment, her eyes completely closed that it might just look worrisome. But then there's movement, and /what/ movement. Her large whirling eyes flick open and she darts forward away from the remains of her golden egg that had fallen around her. One shard, rolling its way down a small mound of sand, catches her attention, the gold bounding into a pounce. Hers! Oh wait, it was just a silly piece of egg. And then some nervous shuffling makes her head jerk around, and she licks her lips in anticipation. What. Are. /Those/? The candidates are eyed from where she stands completely still, as if she were studying them all as a whole.

Sigam has to laugh at that victory dance over yonder - who could miss Baileigh's cheer, honestly? "Doesn't really look like something to celebrate about," he jests, but it's plain the man doesn't mean it. Better an awkward dragon with personality than a pretty one with no mind. Then - crack! Wincing, the Dragonhealer searches for the source of that noise, eyes narrowing the closer and closer he gets to the target. Oh. /That/ egg. Wrinkling his nose, Sig watches it for a bare moment before shaking his head and looking in any other direction but that, remembering the egg's sensations only too well.

Erne swallows and looks down the line of candidates to either side, at the other girls. She obsessively twists her hair into a thick rope and twists and twists.

The Age Old Battle Egg shimmies in one direction. No! The other direction now! No, no! This way! No, wrong, the other! Back and forth the top of the egg wobbles, a constant stream of motion, the entity within obviously unsure of which way would be the right. Ah. But wait! There it goes, it seems jerky motions to the right it is. The force of the wobble causing the egg to fall over and lay on it's side. Still moving though, if only in place.

Baileigh recovers from her moment of victory to scoot behind Enka, nudging her forward a step. She stays in the background a step, grinning from ear to ear. She's got marks laid on this outcome, as well - and she has enough faith in her friend to know when to step back. She slips instead behind Khaine, watching around him - content to fade towards the background. She's happier this way.

Khaine rocks back on his sandaled heels and lets his gaze wander over the gold on the sands, regarding her as she regards them all. "Sure thing," he tells his brother, succinct and quiet. He's backed away from Enka and Lei knowing the gold will have to pass by them to make her judgment on who she ultimately wants. And then Lei moves around behind him, and he glances over at her with lifting dark brows. "You should be out there too," he admonishes her softly. "You can't tell what a dragon wants, especially a gold." He nudges her forward firmly. "At least stand in /front/ of me, Lei-lei."

Ellamariseth watches as that egg breaks apart, rumbling warmly in greeting to the new young queen, but doesn't make any more exciting welcome. Well, look how all the attention is on the young one now, right? Sad. Ysa's the one that makes a whooping cheer, reaching for X'hil's arm to shake. "We /knew/ it, right? Look at that! And…" And now she actually gets a good look at the gold, her giant grin fading. "Shells." Disappointed? Maybe a litlte bit. "Well, Ella, at least you've had good… colors." Cough. The Weyrwoman falls completely silent now, nervously looking towards the females in the candidacy group.

Enka let's out a loud protest as she's nudged forward by her friend. "Hey! Lei!" the girl lets out a yelp, shuffling forwards a step or two more, her gaze shifting between gold dragonet and the remaining eggs. "I can't be doin' this by me own, you know." the girl frowns, turning her head to try and latch onto the older girl's arm and tug her forward as well. "At least stay with me, not hidin' behind me."

Three Misses and a Hit Egg goes down swinging, with the occasional cracking noise as the hatchling hits the shell. Finally, it seems almost as though the top half of the shell has more cracks than not, though the bottom half is not without cracks. As a result of the weakening structure, the entire egg explodes outwards on the next hit, leaving a hatchling in its wake, just sitting there, with his back to the candidates.

Patience and Cunning Blue Hatchling
This blue dragon is all angles and sinew, skin and bone, not even the tiniest bit of fat exists on his frame. His legs are a tad shorter than perhaps they should be, making him appear to be crouching low to the ground more often than not. His midnight blue hide is wrinkled and greying, as if with age, adding to a deceptively frail appearance. Though his eyes are large, exceptionally so, they're seldom open all the way, eyelids drooping heavily, as though he lacks the energy to properly view the world. He also never quite closes his mouth all the way, making it seem as though his teeth are too large to fit inside.

Xhaine glances towards the Age-Old Battle egg as it starts to hatch, and he elbows his brother. "I wonder if that one will be gender-confused, it seemed to be like that when I touched its shell." he seems a bit more cheerful about things, even as his brother becomes more melancholic. Maybe Xhaine was hoping /not/ to Impress? At the very least, he hadn't set his hopes on it. Baileigh is glanced at. "Yeah, don't go near us, go near /them/." go away! Twins are commiserating!

X'hil has given up trying to keep track, though a glittery movement out of the corner of his eye /does/ pique his curiousity. It's hard /not/ to wonder, with Kinseth obsessing so much about that egg, right from the moment it was laid. As that egg begins to crack, he turns his full attention to it, grabbing blindly for Ysa's arm, in an instinctive attempt to draw her attention to it too, laughing sheepishly as she does the same to him. That egg just /hatched/! "It's… it's… It /is/!" Kinseth looks impossibly smug. He /told/ his rider that egg was something special! The rider pauses, and frowns. "She's a bit …different." Unique. Unique is definitely the word.

Baileigh fighting against the two, Lei can't fade into the background for long. "But she won't want me!" She protests loudly, digging her heels in. Useless on sand, y'know. Pulled back out to the forefront, she concedes to latch back on to Enka's hand, but she gives her friend a big, knowing grin. "You just wait and see, you just wait and see. I was right on her color, I ain't gonna be wrong in this, either!" At least, she'd better not be. There's already a fiendish smile on her face thinking of the marks she'll get to collect when this is all over - the sand is completely forgotten about, and her nerves are, too.

The Age Old Battle Egg does finally stop moving, but only for a moment. Instead of the silly wobbling, the egg now begins to spin. Spin and spin, like a top. A small hole starts to form, sand flinging out with each quick rotation the ovoid makes. The sound of cracking and crumbling can distinctly be heard. Small fissures appearing all over the shell, no one large line marring the outward appearance and instead a multitude of lines showing that there is indeed something else going on here.

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free Gold Hatchling has studied them enough. Alright, they were all a separate entity, which means that she had to go figure out what each individual one of them means. Hopefully they were food! Her tongue flicks out again in a hungry gesture, and she finally leans down close to the sands and scuttles her way across, quickly, towards one end of the line of white-clad candidates. She nearly runs right into Temmy, cowering at the very end, before stopping. She snorts out… no, that's not going to do at all. As she starts up this time, it is in slow cautious steps, tail leaving a thick track behind her. Little by little she looks at each person she comes across.

Sigam eyes the shuffle over girls over there, most pointedly Enka and Baileigh. If he didn't know them better, he'd call them silly, but as it is he just shakes his head and laughs. "Might as well just stand together," he calls through cupped hands, "She'll find who she wants no matter where you are." Comforting thought, or should the Jaws themesong be playing? The jerking and wobbling blue and pink egg is given a curious look for its indecisive shifts and crackling, but an exploding egg is certainly more demanding of his focus, isn't it? And it was… anticlimactic! After such a fearsome, thundering egg, the angular, ancient-looking blue within. Well. That's not what he'd expected at all. Good thing /he/ wasn't a betting man.

Erne freezes. Oh no. She's pacing the line. While this isn't abnormal, she's never really seen it happen up close, and being approached is not a very easy thing to deal with. It's so much better when they just run around and choose people, but this methodical looking over thing is something else. She drops her chin and stares down at the sand, unable to cope.

Lost in Delicious Adventure Egg wobbles back and forth in the sands, like a child's first baby tooth beginning to work its way free.

Jessamin holds off towards the end of the line, perhaps nearest the door of the lot of Candidates—man or woman. She can't help smiling as she watches the perambulations of the ungainly, mustard-splotched queen, but neither does she step forward. "Go on, then. Find your lifemate. Anybody would be proud of you."

Euripedea feels strange being out there by herself now, sighing and tucking her hands into her cloth belt while she looks out at the few remaining eggs and those hatchlings that have yet to find their pairs. She doesn't pay the gold more attention than the blue, sucking at her lip and shifting from one foot to the other nervously. She's not sure who she should be rooting for and she looks appropriately uncertain, a good deal less brave now that she doesn't have anyone to be brave for.

Enka tugs a bit harder at Baileigh's arm the girl glancing back over her shoulder at the moving gold. "But it's the dragons who choose, Lei." the girl remarks. "Oh, she just licked her lips. Wonder if that means she's hungry." Hungry for candidates perhaps? "Here she comes, Lei. Gotta be presented." She frowns. "Faranth, she's leaving a trail behind her with that tail of hers."

Patience and Cunning Blue Hatchling just sits there, in the ruins of his egg, with his back to the candidates. Several of the more bold candidates take a few steps towards him, cautiously, more worried about being told off than anything the hatchling might do. The hatchling … does nothing. So closer the candidates come, another three steps. And nothing… /Five/ steps this time, the candidates press on, neither wanting to look afraid in front of their friends, though they're becoming increasingly worried. With a snarl, the blue turns around, and charges for the candidates. Most run back to their places, but one remains, Boldrin, not the /brightest/ candidate of the bunch. The blue comes face to face with Boldrin, huffing and puffing at the boy. "Dinner time? …well, I s'pose it is, for you." B'ldri concedes, before leading Drewth to food.

Baileigh snorts, stumbling a little at the harder tug. "Oh, aye, the dragons choose all right," she responds amiably. "But that's a smart-un, if a bit… Odd." She peers at the gold pacing the line, shaking her head, but she's still grinning like a fool. "She could choose somebody else, but I haven't got a worn sixth mark on any of them."

The Age Old Battle Egg only breaks apart more and more. The fissures turning large, larger, largest. A piece of shell falls away, a flash of color. Was that brown? Perhaps green? Another and another break off, falling easily to the ground and embedding in the sand. More color, easily seen now that more shell litters the floor. Finally, the entire shell falls away, sprinkling about in a small circle radius around a rather haughty appearing bronze. Two steps forward with his head held high, Atop The Sovereign's Summit Bronze Hatchling now owns these sands.

Atop The Sovereign's Summit Bronze Hatchling
Gloom and glory vie for dominance over this arrogant, angular beast: his hide rolls forth with the darkness of antiqued copper, left to spot with dank feldspar and glints of mica gone pale and dark in turn. Striking glints of fresh-penny copper outline the rakish structure of patronizing face, vainglorious headknobs swept back and crowned with blood-orange brilliance. The same scintillating colors twist and twine over the intrepid danger of long neckridges and unfurled wings as sharply-angled as the rest of him, dark lichen-spotted monuments to the skies, spattered through with metallic shine in an unusual spiderweb of vivid conceit. Short-coupled, short-tempered, the languid contempt this dragon shows the world is only balanced by the confidence of the autocratic: a dragon to rule all within his purview.

Xhaine smiiirks at his brother, then makes a show of trying to push him towards the gold. "Go for it, Khaine. I'm sure she's perfect for you." but then his second favorite egg hatches, and into a bronze. "Er, what's that?" is it a bronze? He thinks it is, but…

Gobhan starts pacing around a bit. Now is stomach feels like it is tied in knots. And for once…for this /once/ in his life he reeeeally wishes he had shows on! He swallows hard against the knot pushing up into his throat and tries to take another deep breath and wanders back over near Jessamin and Sigam again. He smiles at them as if he's calmer now. But he gives a spasmodic jerk as he hears another egg crack. "ACH!" They're all amazing, these dragonets, but…now he has a little more sympathy for his brother and understands why he's so darned nuts!

Atop The Sovereign's Summit Bronze Hatchling takes a few steps away from the littered remains of his previous prison. The spilled pieces of egg shells get a disdainful glance, but nothing more. Now, the young bronzes attention is on the sands and altogether chaos around him. Very few of his siblings appear to remain, and those that do, do not even garner any attention from him. His initial impression of the situation is made and he stays in one place no longer. It's time to look to the future, not to the past.

Khaine sighs softly at the sight of the bronze. "Now that's one I could live with," he says dreamily. "Look how lovely he is." The nudge is ignored for now. "Fierce and proud and elegant." He shakes his head and tears his eyes away to rest on his brother. That's what settles him, ultimately. "I hope he's yours, though," he says softly, hopefully. "You deserve him more, for what it's worth." Though it pains him utterly to say it.

Sigam tenses at that charge, already backing up despite the fact that the so-called 'bold' candidates are well away from where he is. "Stupid wherryheads," the Dragonhealer growls under his breath, a deep frown knitting his features. "Gonna get yourselves killed. Or worse." Worse like impression, apparently. Still, the man shakes his head, all thoughts of the gold promptly abandoned. It's a good thing /he/ wasn't a weyrlingmaster. Seeking a distraction, the man rotates himself on one heel, spying the Age Old Battle egg as its shell finally peels away and reveals yet another bronze. Needless to say, his eyebrows raise. What was that Ysa had said about colors, again? Shards. "Whaddya make of that?," the man asks the returning Gobhan with a low chuckle.

Baileigh glances over her shoulder, having caught Khaine's statement. She makes a great big face at him, which could only be described in adult terms as something better seen on the face of a child. Quickly, she turns her attention back to the gold who is pacing, even if she does try to scoot backwards a little more to put Enka out in front of her. She's Hatchling-fishing! Finally, she shifts in just the wrong way, and the sand DOES remind her that it's hot, causing her to yelp and shift. Hoooot!

Ollie Ollie Oxen Free Gold Hatchling darts forward just a little quicker each time that a candidate shuffles their feet, or take a step back from her approaching. Oh… /Oh/, was that interesting! Do it again! But feet aren't food, at least her rumbling tummy is telling her, and she has to move on. She whuffles at the sands, her face kept low, as she marches. Finally the walking is too much, her search not really working out for what she wanted. No, she's going to /sit right here/ until she figures this out. Her head turns this way and that from one end to the other, until finally it SNAPS. There. She's got it now. Her legs power up, her body shuffling, and she's aiming to skid to a stop, low to the ground even as her eyes look up to meet those of Enka.

Gobhan turns around to look at the Bronze. "He's pretty…I mean, handsome," he answers Sigam.

Jessamin cheers for Enka, shifting back and forth as the heat of the Sands finally begins to catch up with her. "Congratulations!"

Lost in Delicious Adventure Egg is starting to come apart at the seams now, flakes of the egg's shell breaking off and floating to the sands, revealing for now another identical layer underneath.

Atop The Sovereign's Summit Bronze Hatchling continues on his leisurely pace, no need to rush about like some of the rogues that have come before him. No, no! He already knows exactly where he wants to go, he'll just take the scenic route getting there. A gaggle of girls, some crying, get passed and sent quite a disgruntled look, though he does not bother to stop and investigate. Instead, the bronze keeps going down the line, passing candidate after candidate with little more that a cursory glance.

Euripedea lifts a hand to ruffle the small, wispy hairs just above the back of her neck, looking as quickly as she can from an Impressing blue to a hatching bronze to an Impressing gold and ultimately just rubbing her eyes and shaking her head. This is nuts. She takes care to note who Impresses, though, so she catches sight of Enka's gold doing the electric slide in front of her. She smiles warmly, recognizing what a gold dragon is supposed to mean, and claps again, lifting her voice to call over, "Congratulations, Enka!" Sure, they've had their moments, but she's happy for her. She squeaks and dances away when the bronze passes by, of course, startled more than anything else, and gives him something of a surly look before she straightens up and tucks her hands back into her belt. Cough.

Lost in Delicious Adventure Egg has been steadily shedding bits of the shell, and, finally, enough has come loose to seriously damage the structural integrity of the egg. It's about then that a powerful leg kicks a hole in the side of the shell, and the egg crumples and deflates around the hatchling, leaving her to fight her way out.

Almost a Lady Green Hatchling
Though on the smaller side of green, this dragon doesn't quite have the most delicate of builds, she's not really likely to ever be called dainty. She's not plump, by any stretch of the word, but she definitely has a bit of bulk to her frame, in the form of muscles. Not just muscles though, well-developed muscles, giving her almost a body-builder sort of look. Her hide offsets this build a bit, being perfectly smooth, a nice soft pastel green in shade, and very responsive to a good oiling. The way she carries herself is different /again/, as she has a tendency to frolic, to jump around like an excited child.

Xhaine jumps up and cheers when Enka Impresses. "I called it, I called it!" he turns to his brother. "Didn't I call it?" he pokes his brother in the shoulder. "Didn't I?"

Sigam nods towards Gobhan, eyes finally tearing away from the dragon with a smirk. "Pretty, handsome. Both work, to be honest. I think the dragon would only mind if it had an ego." Which, judging by the look of the prowling beast, that bronze /would/. "So, handsome it is, I guess." He coughs to hide another snicker before low-slung movement over yonder prompts a swift glance back towards the girls. The gold was on the move, moving in a clear direction, and then- "ENKA!" Sigam veritably erupts with the cheer, fist lifting into the air. "Congratulations and just… YEAH!" A man of many words, our Sigam.

Baileigh watches sharply as the gold comes skittering up to them, grinning knowledgably. She knows where she's going now, Baileigh can see that much, and she darts right back to Khaine as the gold approaches Enka. Letting out another whoop right there where she stands, Baileigh lets her glee out for the whole world to see. "I TOLD YOU SO, ENKA!" She bellows out, astonishing herself. But she only blushes a moment, finishing her flee. She's dancing exuberantly, obviously ridiculously happy to see her friend come out on top.

Enka's feet slip on the sands, and suddenly she gulps, hands falling away from Baileigh's arm to whirl around, and stare gape-jawed at the ungainly little gold dragon. "Mir … Miraneith?" that word is a whisper, repeated again into a shout of "She says she name is Miraneith." And then, she steps forwards, hands going out, body crouching lower to brush across the young dragon's eyeridges. "Yes, show me thse new hidin' places. We shall find them, and have a wonderful time."

Almost a Lady Green Hatchling makes her way out onto the sands, moving this way and that, seemingly with neither rhyme nor reason. She noses her way in to the midst of a group of candidates, four males spanning the entire searchable age-span, and she just moves from one to the other, stopping the second time around to eye them up. The oldest is first, and he's eyed up and down, but he backs hastily away. Not him. Another bounce through the three remaining, and she stops at the second oldest, who just stands there, shaking his head. Not him. Just two left now… She eyes up the youngest, then turns to the other boy remaining, a boy of fifteen. He turns and flat out /runs/ to hide behind a pair of girls from Ista Hold. Not him. The hatchling turns back to the youngest of the four, Leonell, who meets the green's eyes calmly. He doesn't back away, he doesn't shake his head, he doesn't run and hide. It's him! He bursts into tears, tears of joy. "Oh! Oh, yes, Prisath, I'll be L'nel, just for you."

Gobhan looks around as he hears Enka's name being called with a cacophany of voices. Ah! So the Little Gold chose her.

Khaine nods just once to see Enka with the gold. "You did," he tells Xhaine. "And so did Lei." He idly rubs his shoulder as said Lei runs behind him and whoops loud enough for the two of them. He then turns his gaze to the remaining hatchling. Glancing over at the jubilant Lei, and then over at the jubilant Xhaine, he finally waits to see who the bronze means to take even as the new green hatches and chooses quickly.

Portia returns, her hands covered in what looks to be herdbeast blood. She's come seeking more weyrlings! "Well I'll be, finally chose herself a rider," she mutters under her breath. "Enka! If you be wantin' her to be finding anything to eat, better bring her over here." She does walk a little out on the sands towards her, waving her forward, preparing to lead her onwards to the barracks.

Euripedea isn't all that used to dragons, but she knows the rules, and she certainly knows how to count. The only dragonet left is a bronze, now that the green is gone, and bronzes don't like girls - which means Ashiira and Valkin both Impressed and she's not going to. She presses her lips firmly together, intent on not looking anywhere near as squished to the sand as she feels. She just shoves her hands harder against the belt around her middle and waits patiently for the bronze to pick someone.

Sigam's going to go hoarse at this rate. "Brilliant!," comes a final, all-encompassing shout before the socially unacceptable Dragonhealer finally settles down, a smug little smirk curling up the corners of his lips. "Shards, Gobhan, I just knew it would be Enka. I love our girls - all of 'em - but leave it to the TAZER gal to take home the gold!" The here-and-gone-again appearance and impression of the green hatchling registers, but Sig's riding too much of a high to really take notice. Poor Leonell, his limelight was so stolen. "Shards… And now just one left. Bet it's yours," Sig says with a wink, elbow dodging out to nudge Gobhan if the candidate will let him.

Atop The Sovereign's Summit Bronze Hatchling pauses just a moment, his head going high and neck arching in a completely regal way. His eyes closing… only to snap open while his head jerks towards a different direction. The tension in the dragonet mounts tenfold as his eyes whirl faster and faster with a sense of finality. Yes! That is it. That is who. His moment over, the bronze trots off, his attention locked into place. He stops once more, this time at his destination. With a gentlemanly bow, Atop The Sovereign's Summit Bronze Hatchling extends a paw toward Sigam. Shall we shake on it, then?

Khaine claps where he's standing, but sighs a little despite the smile. "Congratulations, Sigam!" He'd so hoped for Xhaine… "Things turn out however they will," he finally states, though he's not entirely sure who it was for: himself or the duo with him. Looking at his brother, and at Lei, he asks them quietly, "Anyone for a riot of drinking until we pass out to celebrate our freedom?"

X'hil blinks, and eyes the latest bronze, and then Kinseth. "Three bronzes. A gold and /three/ bronzes. Outdone yourself this time, Kinseth." he murmurs, with a proud, if surprised, expression. If he bet any marks on this hatching, it'd be a safe wager he didn't count on this outcome. "Might even be deserving of a /proper/ celebratory drink. Just a little one." He glances over at the apparently stopped gold, and smiles a little. Kinseth is far more enthusiastic, /bugling/ his congratulations, though there's a mournful note. His eggs are all hatched, and the hatchlings all impressed. He /liked/ having eggs. X'hil grimaces at the green's impression. "I'd hoped /he'd/ get the bronze…" he admits, quietly. "Ah well." Louder, he calls out "Congratulations!" to both L'nel and Sigam, grinning as the last impression is made.

Xhaine exhales when the last dragon Impresses, and smiles as he turns to Khaine. "Let's stick to Harpering, okay Khaine?" He pats his brother on the shoulder. "Who else can become Masterharper and take over Pern but you, and who else would be your sidekick but me?" he nods towards Sigam. "Congratulations." then he turns towards Ysa, still smiling. "I don't know about you, Khaine, but I'd like to get down to wenching after this to make up for all that abstinence."

Ysa studies the latest gold pair with a look that says she's not all that certain if the Weyr should be worried. But still she breaks out into a grin and sends out her own cheer. Even if the gold wasn't the prettiest thing on the sands, she was still Ellamariseth's, which makes the Weyrwoman proud enough. But it's the part where she needs to actually play an active roll, and she looks sadly towards those remaining before giving X'hil a glance. "Well… plenty of drinks in the caverns for this lot, huh?" And then she raises her voice to address the remaining candidates. "It's a sad time when you don't find your lifemate's on the sands. But there's a reason each one of you were Searched. You are all welcome to stay here at Ista Weyr, for future clutches or as a home. And if not we can find riders to take you back to your respective homes— after the hatching feast. I hope that everyone can enjoy the feast and the drinks in the caverns." And she makes a quick little dismissive gesture as she turns her back with a sad sigh to make her way to her mopey-looking lifemate.

Baileigh blinks as the bronze goes to Sigam - she'd hoped, but he does the color just as much justice. "Congratulations!" She calls his way, gives the Weyrwoman an exuberant grin, and jumps into Khaine's arms to give him a resounding kiss and whisper something in his ear.

Xhaine nods his head once when Ysa gives her anticipated speech, then turns smartly to his brother, only to see a wench attacking him. "Gotten started already, huh?" is stated dryly. "Sheesh, at least wait until you're off the sands to jump his bones."

The sudden quiet rocks Sigam to his core. Where had the revelry gone? The noise, the… the feeling? "Ittisieth," the man breathes, jaw working silently, trying to find other words, and failing before words, so many words, bolster him right back up again. "You had it right the first time, my friend," S'gam argues, stepping forwards to take that extended paw firmly in his. "We shall. I pity the poor souls that stand in our way." Finally managing to exhale, the Dragonhealer glances around and nods to those congratulations without /really/ hearing them. They'll sink it later… right?

Jessamin bows to Ysa, and smiles softly. "Thank you for the well wishes and offer, but I'll be returning to Western. However, there's something I've been saving for you, before I go. If you've a moment during the feast?"

Euripedea is polite enough to bow to the gold and goldrider before she jets off the Sands, trotting more than walking. She doesn't full out run - she's done that before, thanks - but she doesn't want to linger any longer than she has to. Especially not if Baileigh and Khaine are about to start making with the suckface. Cough.

The last of the last, Sigam is regarded with a broad smile from Portia. "Sigam! C'mon, fella, lets head into the barracks. Get that handsome fella some food." She looks to Ysa with a respectful bow, half-smiles, and waves Sigam forward as she pops back into the barracks herself.

Khaine flails a little as his reverie is broken by the sudden jumping of Baileigh. He catches her, more or less, and shifts her around with a startled look - just in time to get kissed resoundingly. He looks more or less stunned and distractedly tells his brother, "I… have never quite been the object of wenching." He grins, though, and shuffles the girl around with a mild. "Bow to them, at least," he tells her with amusement. And only afterwards will he do so himself, prodding Xhaine to follow suit with a nudge of his boot. Right, so… he's not as unhappy about never finding a dragon, now. A moment later, he asks Baileigh, "Are you sure? I don't want you to have to do without, you know…" If she remains in his arms, he's quite happy to carry her out that way, and talk to her while doing so.

Baileigh prods Khaine in the shoulder, happy to be carried, and laughs at Xhaine. She nods her head almost regally to Kinseth, Ellamariseth, and X'hil, giving Ysa a happy wink. "Of course I'm sure. Do it at the feast." She's definitely ordering him around about something.

Xhaine bows to the clutch dam and sire and their riders, then follows his brother and Baileigh off the sands. Xhaine looks a little disappointed, though. How come he's not getting any girls throwing themselves at him? So not fair.

S'gam's eyes flick over from Ittisieth at the sound of Portia's voice, his smile immediately reflecting hers. "Yeah, barracks, right." Shaking his head as though to clear some sort of fog, the Dragonhealer bows his respects to Ysa and X'hil and their dragons as well before shifting his gaze over to the Sovereign's Summit bronze. "Guess that'd be our cue," he says, hand pressing against his coppered side as if to assure himself of the permanence, the forever-ness of it all as he follows Portia to the barracks.

Jessamin , hearing no response, simply bows and makes her way off of the Sands, shuffling swiftly to gather her things from the barracks.

X'hil steps down off of the little platform, and goes to Kinseth's side, leaning against the bronze, with his palms flat on the dragon's hide. Calming him, though which 'him' is debatable. "They'll be fine, they chose well." …for the most part. The man isn't too sure about the new brownriders. "You did /well/, but your work here is done. Come on, let's go and get /you/ fed. Have a good proper hunt, you'll feel better." he's murmuring, trying to coax the bronze to leave the sands.

PC Weyrling Pairs
Ollie Ollie Oxen Free Gold Miraneith Impressed to Enka
The Incredible Sock Finagler Bronze Lazinzith Impressed to A'in (Raevin)
Race to Silence Bronze Kapalith Impressed to A'ra (Ashiira)
The Summit's Sovereign Bronze Ittisieth Impressed to S'gam (Sigam)
Forcing the City Gates Green Tavissath Impressed to Hasha
Run and Whip It Green Aurath Impressed to Val'in (Valkin)
And NPC Pairs
Sharp Sighted Investigator Brown Locarth Impressed to P'ler (Pelleran)
Unsightly and Skewed Brown Zedagoth Impressed to G'kev (Grokev)
Unimaginable Depths Blue Nabilth Impressed to Nedami
Patience and Cunning Blue Drewth Impressed to B'ldri (Boldrin)
Imperfect Mimicry Blue Mimonseth Impressed to S'tim (Soltimor)
Almost a Lady Green Prisath Impressed to L'nel (Leonell)

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