Interrupting a Lesson

[Spirithawk]

The milk chocolate brown passed Faine, uninterested in her as a chosen, just curious as to why she was on the ground. He went on to survey the boys and then came back. His didn't have the same smell as the others around here. He had a smell of otherness. If the dragon could put his impressions to words, he would have realized that the others smelled of the Weyr's mixture of scents and his chosen had a different scent because he was new. That didn't matter much to Makaeth, he just wanted his chosen to feed him.

K'var, your Makaeth is hungry. You smell strange but that's ok. We can work on that.

OOC: Color code = 8B4513

[Shekru]

Rodhaketh's stomach was nearly full, and his eating had slowed enough that he and his Dh'nen were watching the other hatchlings and the new riders. The joy that they knew was being spread around and shared by others, and despite how unmanly it may have been, the pair was giddy to the point of hooting and hollering. Rodhaketh's hooting, however, was more a loud creeling, part joy, part excitement.

Having spotted Relina, Dh'nen's eyes opened wide and he called her name, and cheered. "Relina!" His hand rose, red with the meat he had been feeding Rodhaketh. He waved her to come over, another bucket of meat was already there and ready, waiting.

[catilena1890]

Soranith's nose went to the air and she looked at Dh'nen and his blue. He offers food. Let's go. The green commanded as she waited for her rider to follow.

Relina followed her green to Dh'nen and stopped as Soranith plopped down. Hungry. She said in Relina's head. Relina nodded and looked at the bucket than back to Dh'nen. "Ok, so how do I do this?" Forgetting her usual cold and stoic self.

[Akki]

Faine hadn’t meant to pull down Relina. It was really a reflex to grab onto something to steady herself. A reflex that had apparently failed since Relina hit the ground also. Faine was going to apologize but found herself in an awkward staring match with a chocolate brown. She yanked her head away once more as Relina stood up and began to walk away. Oh no! Faine must have really ticked Relina off if the girl didn’t even want to stand near her anymore. She looked to the ground, a blush of guilt reaching her face.

She slowly stood, brushing the sand off of her with constant reminders not to count the sand. A green ran (Or stumbled) by Faine, intent on reaching Relina. Faine stared as the green and Relina both stopped, both silently conversing to one and another. Relina had Impressed! Oh good! Not only that but Relina had flashed a huge grin her way which Faine quickly returned with a loud cheer. So Relina wasn’t mad at her! And not only that but she had Impressed.

----

Word had quickly spread about the hatching in progress and riders, drudgers and other Weyrfolk quickly filled up the stands so they could also watch. Khael found himself comfortably wedged between Z’ayr and a drudge he had met this morning. They politely conversed, discussing what they thought would go to who.

It was clear to see that Khael was caught up in the hatching. This had really been his first hatching that he had seen. It was slightly disappointing that the eggs weren’t from Dark Moon. He had some knowledge in dragon healing and that part of him was looking forward to seeing a mutant dragon hatching. He hadn’t really seen any mutations yet except for a distant yellow that hummed along with the other dragons. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees with his hands tucked under his chin. A few people had been bowled down by now; a green had just taken down her Mine which caused a soft chuckle to slip from Khael’s mouth. And soon the chocolate brown had found his mine, causing cheers to erupt from the stands.

The energetic vibe was surrounding the caverns, infecting everyone as they clapped and cheered.

[Spirithawk]

Rhia looked up from the blue dragonet as another Candidate spoke. "Congratulations. She's a beauty. What are your names? " Rhia gestured to a drudge to bring her a bowl of meat. "Feed her small pieces one at a time. She will want to gorge. Don't let her." Rhia gave her the advice that she gave all the Candidates. She had told them this already but the WLM knew that Hatching panic and excitement drove that out of the new Weyrlings' minds.

[Shekru]

Dh'nen made room beside himself and Rodhaketh for Relina and her new green. The blue continued to chew strips of steaming meat, but did take a moment to warble softly, genuinely, to his clutchmate.

"Like Rhia says, feed her slowly, and make sure she chews." In example, Dh'nen fed another strip of meat to Rodhaketh, who honestly could not be happier but to eat the offered meat. The tousled fellow goes still a moment, but smiles a second later. "Rodhaketh says she chose well." This is said to Relina as he nudges a bowl of meat next to the one the drudges have set down for her and Soranith.

[catilena1890]

Relina looked at Riah, still drunk with the happiness of Impression. "I am Relina and she is my Soranith." She said, the words "My Soranith" rolling off her tongue and feeling right as they did so. She sat next to Dh'nen and began feeding her dragon small pieces of meat as she was told. She looked at Dh'nen, her usual coldness returning. "I see, well, I am glad to have been chosen." She said, turning her attention back to her dragon, who almost bit her hand.

More, More! Hungry! Soranith cried in Relina's head. Take it easy, I am feeding you as is appropriate, so just relax. Relina responded mentally. Zorn crouched nearby, hoping for a little meat. Relina tore off a small piece from the chunk she was giving Soranith and threw it to Zorn. "That's a thank you for helping me through this, but no more until tonight understood?" She said, doubting the fire-lizard understood.

[korenth]

As Kavar was standing there wondering the second brown that had hatched came to him saying, "K'var, your Makaeth is hungry. You smell strange but that's ok. We can work on that."
K'var answered "I smell strange because this is my first time here. I am from the northern mountains my friend. Now lets get you some food." He started towards where the food was at and motioned for Makaeth to follow.

[Spirithawk]

Rhia smiled at Dh'nen. "Whether he wants to wait or not, I need to work on his wing so that it won't heal improperly. He can still eat. I have the stuff I need here with me. I need to get it clean. There's no telling what got into the cut when he hit the sand. His hide will need to be cleaned off too to get the sand off. He'll probably be complaining of itching soon."

[catilena1890]

Relina continued feeding her green and noticed the blood from the meat was dripping on her dress. "Hn, my dress is getting Messy. Oh well, maybe Faine can help me with that." She said as Zorn came and started licking the parts of her dress where blood fell.

[Shekru]

When Rhia spoke to him, Dh'nen turned his attention to her and nodded sort of numbly. He looked to Rodhaketh and shared the information with the blue quietly. She's going to take care of your wing whether you like it now or not, so be still. This is best in the long run.

...but I am eating. And that will be a distraction. I have not yet eaten my fill, can she not wait? This is very inconvenient. Rodhaketh grumbled to his bonded, an almost visible draconian pout paused his chewing, and he turned his head a moment to look at Rhia. A short warble and a grunt and the blue stretched his wing out obediently, the muscles a bit shaky at first, but growing in confidence. I still think it would be fine as it is, but if this one wants to waste her time, I shall endure it.

Dh'nen snorted softly at the blue's attitude and brushes knuckles over the ridge of his eye. "He'll be still, Master Rhia. Thank you." He looked over to Relina briefly and chuckled. "You won't need dresses for what you're going to be, luckily."

[Spirithawk]

Rhia smiled, glad she didn't have to get Mneith to order the dragonet around, or worse, Kaith. The Queen would send a dragonet into hysterics if she commanded it.

"His wing needs stitches. It will hurt but otherwise the tear won't heal properly. She pulled out redwort and some numbweed. She carefully wiped her hands with the redwort, not caring that it would stain her hands. She couldn't use gloves for delicate work like wing membrane. She cleaned the drying ichor off the wound to get a better look at it and took a soft cloth dipped in redwort over it, carefully cleaning out each part. There were grains of sand in the cut, as she had feared but the redwort poured over it helped wash it out. Then she took some numbweed and slathered it generously over the wing membrane so that it would not hurt the dragonet more than she already had. Redwort stung but she needed to get it clean before she put the salve.

She threaded a needletorn after passing it and the thin, but strong white thread through the redwort. She gently pierced the membrane on either side of the cut and began sewing. If the tear had been larger, she would have gotten Christae to mend it. A while back, a green had been severely injured to the point where she was just now beginning to be able to fly, nearly a Turn after the accident where her wingsails were scorched during drills. Rhia had helped but Christae had to do the major work on the wing sails because she had a steadier hand and knew more about dragon healing. This was just a simple tear that would cause more annoyance than anything else but it needed to mend properly.

"Good job Rodhaketh. I'm all done now." She carefully disposed of the needletorn in a bag to be thrown and washed her hands with redwort again. "See, didn't take all that long. But I had to get to it before infection set in."

[Spirithawk]

While Rhia was working with Rodhaketh, another egg cracked open. A beautiful deep, emerald green dragon emerged from the sort of hatchway that opened in the egg. An opening just enough for her to step out of broke through. Her ridges and wings were lighter than her deep green body and legs. Her head was raised regally. She didn't seem to mind that she looked awkward and gangly because she was a hatchling. This girl would be about the second largest green in the Weyr. She would be steady and calm where her sisters were flighty and flirtatious. She had a confidence that would have almost suited a Queen rather than a green.

She stepped out of her egg and began walking purposefully to the stands. Her chosen was not on the sand. She was a little annoyed that she had to go after him but she was confident that he would accept her and come when she called.

K'ael, your Osaith doesn't want to have to climb all the way up there. Please come down and feed her. Her voice was an imperious command.

The people in the stands were shocked at the little dragonet determinedly climbing up the stairs. She climbed the first couple steps and then sat regally on her haunches to wait for her chosen to come down to her. The people of Dark Moon were used to this already.

[Akki]

Truthfully Khael was no longer watching the eggs crack and break like he should have been. He was too busy concentrating on Rhia, watching the woman easily repair the tear in the blue dragons wing. He had to admire the lady; her fingers looked quick and nimble from where he sat. He dabbled in dragonhealing, an old friend of his was a Master of it and shared some knowledge every now and then so it couldn’t be helped that he would watch this. Healing of any kind had the tendency to fascinate him. He had stopped watching the hatching when a bronze had tumbled out, his slight distaste for that certain color made him turn his head where he saw the woman healing.

Maybe if he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the gorgeous emerald green slip out of her container. The green didn’t even pause near the other candidates; she already knew hers was not there. Instead she walked straight towards the stands. This would have interested Khael, he had never seen a dragon Impress to someone in the Stands before but like previously said, his attention was simply elsewhere. Or at least, it was.

K’ael, your Osaith doesn’t want to have to climb all the way up there. Please come down and feed her. The voice echoed within his head, throwing himself off slightly. He was used to his thoughts and his thoughts alone being in his head, not some feminine tone. He jerked his attention away from Rhia, looking down at the green dragon that sat prettily on the stairs of the stands. Surely that dragon wasn’t talking to him. He was never interested in becoming a rider when growing up and he felt as if he was robbing someone of their chance to Impress her. Someone who had grown up with the dream of becoming a rider. This couldn’t be right.

Please K’ael, come down to Osaith. There are too many steps for me. The voice entered his head once again, the command softening to a more pleading tone. Khael, well now K’ael, slowly rose from his seat and excused himself as he walked in front of others. At least you now know your parents were wrong when they said you could have been a grand bronzerider. A slightly cynical, sarcastic voice said quietly in the back of his head. That was a true and for some reason if he was going to be a dragonrider, this emerald green just seemed to suit him to perfection. K’ael was never the vain, arrogant bronzerider material. He was to, well, motherly for such a thing. Yes, this green was perfect for a Journeyman Healer.

I’m sorry Osaith. I didn’t know any of the eggs were meant for me. The man replied after a few failed attempts at the silent speech. The dragon and man walked slowly down the stairs and towards the other candidates who had Impressed. What was K’ael supposed to do? He had never taken any candidate lessons or anything! And he felt so old compared to them! Even though he was only Twenty One Turns.

[Spirithawk]

Rhia looked up at the murmers of surprise. She saw one of the greens heading determinedly off into the stands and sighed. Why was it the dragons were never satisfied with the perfectly good Candidates already on the sands? She saw, as she watched the green trying to reach her bonded that Tanwen was leading a pretty jade green off the sands to be fed. She felt glad. The girl deserved a dragon and the green was a pretty creature.

She saw a young man leave the stands to reach the green. He looked older than the lads she had on the sands but he was still young enough to keep up with a dragon. There were Journeyman Healer knots on his shoulder. Ragul could probably finish training him.

Such were the thoughts of the WLM as she walked to meet them. Before she left she told Dh'nen, "Those cuts will have to be cleaned daily until they heal. I'll show you how tomorrow morning."

Rhia gestured for the young Healer to join her. "It seems we get some unexpected Impression in every clutch. Welcome to Dark Moon Weyr and congratulations. Your dragon is a beauty. I am Rhia, rider of brown Mneith, Weryling Master and standing Candidate Master. She'll want food, come feed her. Don't let her gorge but let her eat. You'll have to force her to chew otherwise she could bite her tongue and those teeth are sharp. They can cause some nasty wounds."

[Akki]

As soon as they had reached the other candidates, the woman he was watching moments before waved him over. He felt slightly awkward meeting her since moments before he had been somewhat creepishly staring at her as she worked. He bowed to the woman who clearly had a status of importance within Dark Moon. “I’m sorry for any trouble I have caused you or your Weyr.” He apologized humbly. Candidates that were prepared by the Weyr knew all the rules and such by now while he knew nothing.

“I’m Khael, a Journeyman Healer from Caspian Hold.” He introduced himself automatically before realizing that from now he would be introducing himself in another. “I’m sorry, that’s incorrect now isn’t it? I’m K’ael. She is Osaith.” He motioned to the rather large green that waited dutifully at his side. He followed the woman’s instruction, quickly getting a handful of the meat that was waiting for the newly Impressed Weyrlings. He handfed Osaith as Rhia had told him to, slowly and carefully. Osaith snapped up the meat but also heeded the words given; chewing slowly even though she didn’t want too. She wanted to eat quickly so the pangs of hunger would disappear.

K’ael frowned slightly, thoughts in his head already churning. What about Caspian Hold? There were unfortunately a lack of Healers there right now and he felt that he was needed. He supposed if there was an outbreak of any sort he could travel back quickly with Osaith if Dark Moon permitted. Was that allowed though? He had quickly became accustomed to the Hold and Dark Moon was so different from what he considered to be the normal. “I’m assuming that I stay at Dark Moon until I finish Weyrlinghood?” He asked, never expecting those words to come out of his mouth.

I know you are confused. However I am confident in my choice for you to be my rider. Osaith said calmly and rather wisely as she continued to tear at the meat that was offered to her.

[Spirithawk]

The first brown to hatch was wandering aimlessly about the sands, looking among the Candidates, trying to find the presence that he sensed was there. He just couldn't find him for some reason. He was beginning to wonder if he needed to follow his newly hatched sister into the sands when he turned back and spotted his chosen, not far from where his egg shards stood.

Ah hah! If the Candidate had been a tunnel snake, it would have bitten the brown. The same boy that had been hit by his flying shards was the one he was looking for.

Garisath is hungry Ez'ki mine. Won't you feed me? I almost couldn't find you. I walked right past you. You hurt! Alarm quickly replaced the rainbows of Impression and the relief the dragonet felt at finding his chosen. He didn't understand that it was the shards of his own egg that had cut his bonded but he could feel the pain from the cuts and see and smell the blood on his chosen's arms and cheeks.

[Shekru]

Despite having been told he was to remain still, Rodhaketh grumbled deeply in his throat at the addition of redwort. See, it -wasn't- hurting before, but now that that had happened, the blue became slightly irritable. However, he did maintain a careful, stony posture. Except for his mouth, which had been working on another piece of meat. He kept an eye on Rhia and her hands, eye-color switching from red to green in little pulses after the numbweed had been applied.

When the stitching was finished, he lifted the wing from her reach and tested the stitches ever so carefully. A deep croon issued from the blue, in what may have been a begrudged 'thank you'. Dh'nen's gratitude was less forced, and he offered Rhia an almost hero-worshipping grin.

"Thank you. He says it doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you, Master Rhia. I'll take good care of his wound, whenever you wish to teach me tomorrow morning, plese just say the word."

[Marnark’tranarprol]

Ragule glanced over as the Weyrwoman approached him. "Good, good. I'll be wanting to look at those stitches again, by the way. Just to make sure everything is good. Another week or so and we probably can take them out." He assured her. Stitches were something he wanted to keep an eye on, though he was pretty certain that she'd notice right away if there was anything amiss with them. Dragonhealing and plain old human healing had a lot in common. Not to mention she was an attentive mother.

"Sure, I'll meet her... but we do need to get that wing looked at as soon as possible. The cuts on the lad are less imperative, but I'll see to them, too." Ragule agreed, before following the weyrwoman over.

Torc thrummed happily, watching as little baby dragons ... okay, big baby dragons - everything to Torc was big, except smaller flitters! - popped out of shells all over the place and made thier ways ... if sometimes crookedly ... to thier new life mates. Fluttering his wings happily, the brown bounced once or twice on his perch, wanting to go scratch all thier knobs for them. Just to say hi.

[Minajerie]

Sleyer was surprised at how fast all the eggs were hatching. It seemed as if there were more dragons on the sands than happily impressed. Not that that was a bad thing. They would find their chosen one's, he was sure. After all, each one was magnificently beautiful. All the different shades of brown and green... a blue and then a bronze? All so wonderful. If he wasn't already a silent person he would be awed to silence.

Of course, as a metalsmith he couldn't help but admire the bronze's hide the most. It was just like raw bronze, if you had it in a cooling container to be molded- the different colors came out uneven. Wonderful.

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

Verdann made sure to clap and whistle enthusiastically for every impression, and even made sure to get closer and elbow Sleyer and point out the new weyrlings- whether or not Sleyer had already noticed them.

He was particularly happy when Relina impressed. That girl deserved a companion who could help her put her trust in people again. She was a nice girl- just stand offish. He honestly wanted to give her a big hug, but knew she wouldn't appreciate it and would probably stay away from him afterwords.

"YEAH!! GO RELINA!! WHOOOOOOOOO! CONGRATS!"

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

Rayn watched with great interest as each dragon hatched from it's shell. They each seemed to have a different way of going about it. She clapped politely for every impression, as did Andy she noticed, but her sword partner still seemed... distant. She wondered why? Rayn shook her head and tracked the browns and greens with her eyes. The bronze was a surprise. She didn't think that particular egg would hold one. Especially since some of the larger eggs had spouted browns.

Rayn glanced at the two blues that had already left the sands. She wondered why there weren't more. Well, the hatching wasn't over yet, but she enjoyed watching the pretty blue hided creatures break out of their shells and walk on the sands...