A Hurricane of a Hatching

[Kino]

It hadn't been a moment after Khris had come to a stop that the hatching went into full swing. Eggs began bursting all around, and the boy hardly knew which way to look. There a bronze hatched first, which he'd heard was a good sign. Then a brown and a green emerged. A smaller egg seemed to be doing it's best, and this egg caught his attention for a moment, but a blue tore itself out of an egg not a moment after. Then another egg broke open, an orange-looking brown. The variation on the colors of all the dragons was amazing. He looked back to the eggs and fixed his gaze on each in turn, wondering what other colors were hidden behind the shells.

Then the impressions started. Khris turned to look around at the sound of R'yo's dragon's voice, having been so caught up in the eggs breaking that he hadn't been keeping tabs on the other dragonets. Once he realized that it was simply the dragons beginning to choose, he turned his gaze back on the un-impressed dragonets. Two bronzes rocketed away from the eggs; he stepped back a few feet as they raced past and watched for a moment as they tackled their presumed bondeds. He didn't let his gaze linger though, turning it once to the eggs. So many dragons hatchings and bonds being formed. Would he be chosen today?

---

Tanwen watched as the candidates arrived, but as soon as the hatching picked up she found herself unable to do anything but watch the eggs and the young dragons. She didn't hope to be left standing, though she knew it was a real possibility. Tanwen hadn't been there for long, she hadn't had a chance to be near the eggs as much as most of the other candidates. In her mind, being left standing was a very real possibility, albeit one she didn't want to dwell on. And so to take her mind off of it as much as she could, the girl concentrated on the eggs and the dragons, watching each dragonet stumble around and search, and then turning her attention to a new one when it impressed.

---

Jilstherakiran wasn't sure where to look. The activity at least helped him to forget about the boy Xyrion standing nearby - for now. So many dragons hatching and running about, he couldn't figure out which one to keep his eye on! Of course he knew it didn't matter. If a dragon chose him, it would do so whether he was looking or not. Kiran looked over towards the orange-colored brown as it hatched, looking at the colors along it's hide in curiosity. Then a loud creel caught his attention and he looked immediately towards the two bronzes who were now hurtling themselves towards the boys.

It didn't take long for him to figure out where they were likely going. The other boys were getting out of the way as fast as they could, and the path was clear enough. Jilstherakiran looked over to where they seemed to be heading, towards Xyrion, it looked like. Were they really going to fight over him? He'd never heard of such happening, but--

Do not let him steal you! You are mine! Tell him he cannot have you. You are my J'kiran and I am your Kaenith!

His eyes flashed wide at the words and he stood immobilized for a moment - of course directly after he was tackled to the ground by the dragonet who'd just changed his name. J'kiran stared up at the bronze standing over him, too stunned to fully believe what had just occurred. He lifted a hand and ran it along the bronze's neck for a moment, using the sense to root him into reality once more. "I don't know how he could have me," he said. "I'm obviously with you for life." The bronze turned to look down at him.

Yes, Kaenith replied. I'm glad you agree, Mine! J'kiran nodded against the sand beneath him, realizing as he did that the heat was starting to burn his scalp, back, and everything else pressed against the ground.

"Maybe you could let me up now?" he asked. "You're bound to be hungry, but I can't feed you from down here." The dragon backed up to step off of the boy, and J'kiran got to his feet. He looked around to see where the other bronze had gone and caught sight of Xyrion with the bronze standing in front of him. He blinked, realizing the odd coincidence of them impressing at the same time considering recent discoveries, but then gave a nod to the boy. "Congratulations," he said. J'kiran would have added a name, but considering the impression he wasn't sure what the other's was.

Mine? the bronze at his side asked. You said you'd feed me. We can go do that now, yes? J'kiran looked down to Kaenith and smiled. He gave a nod.

"Of course," he said, letting his hand down to rest it along the top of the bronze's head. "Come on, my heart. There's bound to be meat ready." He turned as he spoke and looked towards the entrance, suddenly remembering the storm outside. "Better hurry," he added as an afterthought, leading the newly hatched Kaenith at a jog to wherever the weyrlings were being taken.

[Kee x3 He's awesome. Thanks, Hawk. Little things making me happy are a nice change from yesterday.]

[Spirithawk]

Druges rushed forward through the tunnels bearing buckets of meat scraps that were still steaming from being killed. Some of the drudges were drenched, testimony to the fact that they had been out in the rain killing herdbeasts for the Hatchlings to eat. Rhia called out to the newly Impressed.

"Come here so you can feed your dragonets. Don't let them gobble the food but keep a steady stream until they are full." She started handing out the bowls that the drudges were filling from the buckets. "Take advantage of having this done for you. Tomorrow you start cutting your own meat."

[Dragon]

Kira watched intently as others impressed, nearly completely drawn in by the events taken place. So much so that even the whereabouts of her family were taking a back seat. A blue, a brown, and two bronzes. She counted and watched as each impressed. So many of the guys getting to impress, how lucky they must feel. Regardless if they felt it, they were. Kira nearly wanted to purse her lips in jealousy but was much smarter than to let inward thoughts and feelings dominate her outside appearance. On the outside she remained quiet and curious, not exactly her personality type but this situation was a special one. For now, it would work.

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

Mine. The queen wishes us to aid in transporting those who are here to see the candidates impress. Gerenanth relayed orders to G'han and was all too happy to take to the skies as he bolted from his ledge to G'han below, who was seemingly trapped in his spot in the weyrbowl. The beast landed gracefully beside his bonded. Let us fly! G'han simply shook his head and mounted his dragon. Shortly before the winds had picked up, he was prepared to fly Gerenanth for some reason or another, but plans had changed quickly when the weather turned sour. Gerenanth was obviously very displeased about that. But now, that had changed.

When G'han steadied himself he looked over to his blue flitt. "Hey Azure. Pop in at our weyr and stay there for a bit, alright? You can return to my side shortly", G'han explained to the now downtrodden flitt. He didn't want to leave G'han, but could only comply and popped back to their weyr and rested on his bed. If nothing else he could use this as an excuse to lay down where he normally was not allowed.

Prepared again, G'han mentally motioned for Gerenanth to take to the skies. The pair flew cautiously, Gerenanth may have been anxious but he was no fool. Gerenanth landed towards a small group of people. "Hatching, right?", he asked with a casual smile. The three present only nodded their head in agreement. "It'll be a tight fit, but I think Gerenanth can handle it. Two older adults, male and female and one younger man not too much younger than G'han. The woman and younger man looked rather small. Well, not small, but lighter. Gerenanth should handle their weight easily enough. The tighter fit combined with them would be the older man. Not light, but not really overweight. The three climbed on with G'han. Gerenanth hadn't had so many people on him before. At his most, maybe three on rare occassion. Four was certainly never a number he encountered. However, it wasn't a long flight back to the weyr, the bronze just knew he could handle this. With mighty flaps of his wings, the bronze took to the skies yet again.

It was a short flight to the weyr, as expected, and Gerenanth made it through. The three climbed off and they gave their thanks as the trio made their way to the stands. G'han gave the traditional "You're welcome" and took off to find another group of people.

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

Had Kira been paying attention, she might have realized that the thoughts that bounced around in the back of her mind could be put at ease if she only looked towards the stands. One, two, three. All three of her family members made it. Clara, Hildon, and Rodan all shifted their way through the stands and took their places. Clara looked over the female candidates with narrowing eyes before Hildon whispered a bit excitedly to her, "There's our girl!" He pointed at a particular female candidate and both Clara and Rodan followed the path of the finger to the female candidate. It was her, Kira! Clara wanted to jump for joy, yet didn't. Perhaps that whole outward apearance was something Kira picked up from her mother. Rodan, however, simply looked indifferent. Inside, however, he was pleased to see his sister at such a crucial point in her life. From shy hold girl, she was now a candidate and only one step closer to be a dragonrider. She was truely becoming a woman. Rodan felt proud, despite the indifferent tone and expression he always gave.

[Sparrow]

Although the storm was quite scary for someone, like Marletta, who had never been through a hurricane before she was quite glad that the candidates were moved closer to the Weyr. She shivered as she imagined as trying to walk from the barracks to the Weyr in the middle of this. The girl sat on the floor leaning against her bed in the room that the candidates had been taken to stay, applying oil to Kaz’s brown hide. “All done,” she told the little brown firelizard as she scratched his eye ridges. Marletta was quite surprised with how well behaved he was today, the flit had been going berserk since the storm had started, she hoped he would stay calm.

Just as the thought crossed her mind the little critter tensed and began chattering excitedly. She groaned to herself until he showed her pictures of the eggs. “Hatching? The eggs are hatching?!” She watched as the other candidates ran to the door, pulling on their robes. “Kaz stay here.” She commanded placing the excited flitter on her bed trying to make sure the brown understood her. They had not had much training on how to train the little guys but she had managed well so far. Once that was done she grabbed one of the dusty old candidate’s robes provided and pulled it quickly over her head. She combed her hair with her fingers before racing out the door, after the other candidates.

Several eggs had already hatched when she arrived, including several bronzes who seemed to be racing each other. Marletta took a deep breath to try to calm herself as she stepped onto the sands. Would she impress, or would she be left standing? Only time would tell, she desperately hoped she would impress. She had not been at the Weyr all that long but she enjoyed it here, well, except for the hurricane.

---
Sh’rel sat in the stands taking up a couple of seats as he relaxed, it wasn’t like there were people cramming into the stands, not for a hatching in a hurricane. His riding helmet and jacket lay on the seat next to him, in case there was a time that he could go and get the people he had been assigned to bring. The Brownrider grinned as he watched the impressions remembering his own with Rolaranth 5 turns before.

His attention was turned from the eggs and impressions when Christae began to speak. Hear that Rol? We get to fly.

Finally, replied the brown It has been boring to be trapped up here. The great brown glided down from his ledge to where Sh’rel made his way to the cavern. The rider had already put on his jacket and helmet and easily made his way up onto the brown’s back. “Ready? Don’t strain yourself we haven’t flown in awhile.” I have just been grounded, I am not old. Rolaranth replied as he leapt up to the skies. Sh’rel pictured the Hold he had been told to go to and disappeared between to get his passengers.

[kestrel]

J'red was actually finding himself enjoying the hatching. Though it hadn't come at a particularily good time, it was still going really well. Healthy dragonets were all that came from the eggs so far, and two bronzes actually impressed to two boys at once, seeming to be almost trying to make sure the other didn't get to their bonded first.

*They were doing just that, mine.*

J'red smiled and nodded at this affirmation from his own bronze, noting the different colorations that were being hatched out. Really, they were lovely. He thought so far there were many good matches. How many were there so far? Two bronzes, two browns, a green and a blue? Well, they were all fine specimens. There was a brown still on the sands who hadn't made a move, as well as that lovely little green. J'red wondered if perhaps the Candidates whom they would impress to were not present, or they just didn't see them since some stood further back. He was particularily happy to see Rhiyo-no, now R'yo-impress. The boy had felt out of place since arriving, and he thought brown suited him well.

~~~~~~

Vyralth and K'tan both watched, leaning forwards in rapt attention when dragonets began to impress to Candidates. The bronze impression was their favorite so far. At first K'tan could have sworn that they were after the same person, but Vyralth had told him to simply 'watch'. Seemed the blue got what was going on, even if K'tan didn't. It was true, though-they'd just been after boys standing closer together, and had been worried that the other was eyeballing the same one! K'tan rested his hand on his chin, watching to see what would occur next, Vyralth bugling happily every single time a dragonet found its bonded.

~~~~~~

Rhiyo had been looking in entirely another direction when the second brown to hatch had made its move for him. He turned to look back at the second, but then saw it was headed straight for him! He began to do the only thing he could-he panicked. He began to slowly back up, just in case the brown dragonet came tearing his way. He didn't want to get mauled...he tried to keep a straight head on, but looked over to the left, and to the right, to see who the dragonet was after. However, as it drew closer and then closer, he could only stand very still and stare. That's when it happened.

No one could ever describe to him what it felt like to impress. They just said you knew, and it was the most amazing thing ever. Well, he had tried to think of what it must have felt like anyway. A thousand times over, he tried to imagine it. Well, now he knew. And all he could seem to do was stare stupidly at the large brown dragonet looking at him and sending him waves of...was that love? It wanted something from him...

*Aren't you going to feed me, R'yomine? Your Resith is hungry!*

R'yo tried to clear his foggy head, as the dragonet went behind him and butted him with it's wedge-shaped head, in the direction of where he'd been told the meat in the bowls would be for those who impress dragons. He allowed himself to be shoved along, until he finally accepted that he'd impressed. He looked over to see if R'xis and Wolf had been watching, to see if they knew. A feeling that he couldn't quite explain washed over him, and he could only smile and nod, as he awkwardly patted the dragonet on the head and then stuck his hands in the bowl, feeding it and still grinning like an idiot. He had a dragon, his very own dragon, and it was a perfect brown! He didn't know what the future held now, but he'd come here only knowing he was a Candidate, meant to try and impress, and he'd succeeded. With Resith by his side, he now felt he truly had a place here.

~~~~~~

Kaiya congratulated everyone who was close enough to hear. The dragonets had started to impress, but only to boys, it seemed. The girls on the sand were all looking at the pretty green dragonet with longing. Kaiya had liked the dragonet she'd come to think of as the 'minty' green. She liked it a lot, in fact. She'd never seen a dragonet so lovely, and could only imagine how beautiful she'd be when she was full grown. Her smile was slightly wistful, but unlike the girls staring with naked longing in their eyes, hoping that the green would just up and choose them, she forced herself to realize that it could only choose one. Wishing it would be her would be pointless-it would change nothing. Still, even though she tried to retain mutal feelings, because there were at least six girls there, including herself, something in her wished that the minty green would look her way. She'd always liked green dragons, for their outgoing natures and the way they were so lively without having to be all 'royal' about it. Yet they were lovely and they knew it. She found herself staring at the minty dragonet, and once she was, found tha she was focusing on her with a sort of dreamy feeling. It wasn't her fault, seeing as how that minty one was the only green there. But she secretly knew it was that she really did like the looks of that particular dragonet. She wondered what its personality would be like-would it match the lovely dragonet's looks? She smiled and wondered which egg would hatch next and what the mint hatchling would do. For a second, she felt a spike of fear at the thought of this dragonet going between. Why wasn't it choosing someone? Well, there were still a few coming in...she hoped the person would be there when the mint was ready to make up her mind!

~~~~~~

Kestrel watched every impression with a growing sense of pride in the clutch that came from the queen dragon of Dark Moon Weyr. She congratulated Jil when he'd impressed, but not by name because she wasn't sure what to call the boy now. He and that quiet boy who had tackled him at the first Candidate lesson? They'd both impressed bronzes, and at the same time, too! Coincidence? She didn't know what it was with those two, but something prickled her curiosity there. Maybe she'd ask Jil later. Xyrion didn't seem teh talkative type. She was watching the eggs, pretty sure that the only green on the sands wasn't for her. She was in pretty plain sight, while some of the other girls weren't. So, she tried to simply concentrate on the eggs that had more dragonets in them, she was sure. She could hear the howling winds and rains, and for a moment she had to remind herself that Roksha, her golden flitt, was safely waiting for her. The gold hadn't been happy to see her go into the sands, but had known she really wanted to, so had finally stopped chittering irratably. Now, as she stood here on the sands, watching people impress? She decided that she should prepare herself in case she wasn't one of those people, and what better time to remind herself that she had Roksha to ease the disappointment if she didn't? With that in mind, she could look at the green and the remaining dragon's eggs with a new attitude, one that still kept hope even though it was realistic about things.

~~~~~~

Raska narrowed her eyes as pretty much every egg to crack shell turned out to be none other than male. So far, not a single girl had even impressed. What a let-down. Where were all the female dragons? There was just one green there, whom all the girls were oogling-how annoying. It was one dragonet out of like, lots. Sure it was all pretty and they were probably going 'oooh shiny'. But big deal. Not like it was anything other than a dragonet, just like the rest of them...she sighed, glancing over to see if Tieler was eyeballing that green dragonet too. Her friend kind of had an odd look on her face, and Raska crinkled up her nose. Okay, hatchings were kind of cool and all, but getting a dragon-while she totally wanted one too!-was not the do all end all in life. They really needed to lighten up and stop staring at the poor things that way. They were probably boring holes in that green's pretty little hide by now the way they were going on. Really, like staring at it stupidly was going to make up its mind! She smirked and shook her head, looking at the other dragon eggs. A clap of thunder almost made her jump-it was getting pretty bad out there. The barracks were already flooded-at least the ones for the Candidates. Not that half of the people on the sands really would be going back there anyway. Even the half or more who didn't impress wouldn't be going back, they'd stay in spare rooms. She stifled a yawn, because she'd had a pretty lousy sleep due to the hurricane, and watched the remaining eggs, wondering when the rest of the female dragonets would make their appearances. Maybe some girls would get males, though? Akki had had a blue right? Well, that meant someone else could get a male too, probably. That would be pretty neat, indeed.

~~~~~~

Tikal wore a half-smile, congratulating each person he could upon their impressions. He'd trained with these people for this day, in Candidate Lessons to prepare everyone for this. He was happy to see that dragonets were choosing these Candidates-many of them had worked really hard, and even those who hadn't worked as hard? Well, everyone deserved a chance, and it was really up to the dragonets. He watched the bronze impression with interest, for it wasn't common to see two dragonets racing as if they were headed for the same person. Logically, Tikal figured that they weren't. But maybe the other thought they were? That wasn't too far fetched. He watched the pretty green, wondering when she'd make up her mind, as well as the other brown dragonet. Well, there were still more eggs to go. He wondered if one of them this time would be for him...

~~~~~~

Xyrion was nearly trampled by a large oncoming bronze dragonet, and for the first time ever was actually pretty scared that he'd be mauled by one of the creatures. It ws headed straight for him-and it didn't help that so was another one, slightly behind it! What by the name of the first egg should he do? He couldn't possibly avoid both of them! His eyes were rather fearful and panicked, as he tried to make up his mind which way to dodge so that he wouldn't be clawed and mauled, or trampled by two oncoming bronzes, of all things! What on Pern were they doing?

He made up his mind to leap to the left as the first one tore right past him. He barely avoided being trampled, but looked up in horror to see the second was headed right for him, and he was on the ground, unable to move! He shut his eyes and put his hands over his head, hoping to protect himself from the worst of it. It never came.

A voice entered his mind, and he was overcome by a feeling of warmth and protectiveness, happiness and relief-and then there was hunger, too. So keen that he felt it in his own insides, and looked up to see that the smaller bronze was staring right into his eyes, with an adoration he wouldn't have believed possible.

"Azaranth? Y-you were trying to get to me?"

The dragonet sent back adamantly, *of course, X'ionmine! That other bronze could not have you! You are mine for life, not his.*

Xyrion, now X'ion, could hardly believe it. Where had the other bronze been going to? He looked over, hardly able to believe it when he saw whom the other bronze had impressed to. Jilsthekiran? It was the one and same boy he suspected of being his brother, and had been avoiding in hopes he wouldn't have to accept that there was someone out there he needed to be interacting with. The boy's congratulations reached his ears, and he only managed to say at an audible tone, though still in shock, "yeah, you too..." before the other boy was headed off for the feeding bowls. The bowls he should be going to, as well. He stood up slowly, dusting the sand off of him, looking at the dragonet still. One moment he'd been afraid he might be trampled and even die. The next, he had impressed a bronze. His heart was still pounding in his chest, as the dragonet sent,
*I would not have let him hurt you, X'ionmine. Can we do like they do, however? I am hungry!* X'ion nodded, and with a hand on the dragonet's head, walked to the feeding bowls, standing near enough J'kiran that if the other boy wanted to say something, he could. However, he didn't know why he didn't just go to the other bowl.

The other bronze was bigger than his, and X'ion mutely noted that. Not that it mattered, but in a weird way it kind of irked him strangely. Sibling rivalry, maybe? He hid a wry smirk and took out a chunk of meat, warning Azaranth not to choke before glancing over at J'kiran. He couldn't help but be curious about the other boy's dragonet. He didn't really want to, but then it slipped out. "What's his name?" he asked, tone quiet though he was too elated aboujt impressing now that the shock had all but worn off to sound how he felt about asking the other boy a thing. Only yesterday he'd took another route just to avoid this same person...

[Kino]

J'kiran nodded when they were told not to get used to having the meat cut for them, reaching to take pieces as soon as he was close enough to. The bronze following behind him was practically ready to bowl him over to get at the bowls that were being held. If it wasn't for their bond, the boy probably wouldn't have been able to keep him in check. "Calm down!" he said, not shouting but simply speaking so that it was spoken strong. "You can't inhale the food, and if you're not careful you'll end up taking my hand with it."

Then maybe Mine should just hand the meat faster? the bronze said as he chewed down another piece.

"If you eat too quickly you'll give yourself a stomach ache," J'kiran explained, looking over briefly towards the other boy as he joined them, but trying not to dwell on his presence more than that. The other had been avoiding him rather well for the past few days; J'kiran didn't want to upset him any more than he obviously already had. It was barely a moment after that he heard Xyrion (he still wasn't sure what his name had been changed to) speak up. J'kiran looked over, holding a piece of meat and blinking at the boy. Of all the things he'd expected, having him start up conversation was not one of them.

Miine! Kaenith whined. J'kiran looked down and quickly handed the meat off, continueing with the feeding process as he replied to the other.

"His name is Kaenith," he replied. The boy was speaking cautiously, not wanting to make a mistake like he had on the day they'd met. He didn't, however, want to say nothing else - that would have been rude. "What about Yours?"

[kestrel]

X'ion was trying to feed a continuous hand after hand of meat to his dragonet, who was wolfing it down like it might disappear.

~You might want to slow down before you choke yourself, Azaranth...or at least you'll give yourself a really big stomach ache.~ he mentally chided the dragon, getting the hang of privately speaking with the creature. Much to his amazement, it wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be. He just had to 'think' instead of vocallizing. Not hard at all.

*How about if I do not want to slow down?* came the reply, as the dragonet began to actually do so, and then, *I am very hungry-I was in my shell a long time!*

X'ion's mouth twitched into a slight smrik, but it was then that Jil responded, and after a moment he also asked the name of X'ion's dragon. However, he never got a chance to reply.

*I am X'ion's Azaranth! You make him feel oddly. Who are you?*

X'ion looked wide eyed at the dragon as it gulped down the piece of meat it had been eating, and even as the bronze opened his mouth wide for another, it stared intently at J'kiran as though demanding an answer. X'ioin would have given an answer, but he would not have said that of all sharding things. He had to keep himself from saying anything untoward about it, but his cheeks were faintly touched with a darker palor, and he decided to just let the other boy answer, feeling even more 'odd', as his dragon had so aptly put it.

[Kino]

More, Mine! Please more? Kaenith looked eagerly up to the boy as he fed the dragonet more meat, though at this point the bronze had been eating nonstop for long enough that the boy was able to ease up the pace. Calm down, Kaenith, J'kiran thought, aiming to send it to the bronze on the ground. It was refreshingly easy to do. A moment later another voice entered his head, and it sounded drastically different from Kaenith's. He looked over to the other pair and blinked between the bronze and the other weyrling.

J'kiran wasn't sure how to respond. He simply looked at the dragon who was staring so intently at him. Was it...polite to reply to another's dragon? Or was it breaking some sort of boundary? He couldn't be sure - especially not with X'ion (as the dragonet thankfully provided the name). "I..." he started, looking down to his own bonded as the dragonet nudged his hand for more meat. He provided it, opening his mouth to reply once more when he was interrupted as well.

"Mine feels oddly about Your's too," he spoke to his brother, locking his faceted gaze for a moment on the black haired youth. "Why do X'ion and Mine feel so oddly about each other?" Much like his brother had, Kaenith sent the question to both boys. There was something about the two, in Kaenith's mind, that made them alike enough for him to not mind that he and Azaranth were speaking to each other's bondeds. Now that they'd each chosen seperate ones, after all, there was no danger of J'kiran being stolen away from him.

The red-head blinked down to Kaenith, feeding him another piece of meat, though he suspected that would be the last with the way the bronze's appetite seemed to be saited. "My name's J'kiran," he supplied after a moment. "I'm...a bit confused now, though." As far as he'd known up until this point, dragon's only spoke to their chosen bondeds. Why, then, were these two dragonets speaking to each of them in turn?

[Spirithawk]

Priath had been unable to reach the Hatching Cavern. She had been in her Weyr when the hurricane hit and her rider had not wanted her to brave the winds. As a green she was a smaller dragon than the bronzes and even they couldn't fly in this mess. She jumped on the chance to pick up a pair of Holders that were nearby and would be under the calm of the eye wall right now as well. She would be able to go to the Hatching Cavern afterwards. She waited for Anassa to come streaking into the weyr and leapt off the ledge as soon as her rider had put her straps on and settled aboard. The trip was quick though the rain was beginning to fall again when Priath flew into the Hatching Cavern to deposit her cargo. While the pair was gone, two of the bronzes had Impressed. Anassa had seen the navy and ice blue dragonet Impress right before she left and she was glad to see that the first bronze had found his lifemate.

Vyralth, how are you and your chosen? Priath dropped her rider off and flew to the dragon ledges and landed near the blue. Anassa waved to K'tan. He was the only one nearby that she could actually reach without having to climb over everyone so she headed his way. "How are you and your nice blue?"

[kestrel]

X'ion was also taken aback by the voice in his head, one that was not from his own dragonet. He narrowed his eyes and looked at J'kiran's bronze curiously. Obviously it was the one he could hear-but didn't dragons not make a habit of speaking to other people? Or...had he heard wrong? Whatever the case was, he could clearly hear the other bronze's mental voice in his mind, distinctly different from that of Azaranth's.

X'ion kept supplying his bronze with more meat, though the pace had slowed down notably and the dragonet was merely chewing and enjoying his food now, while metally speaking all the while. X'ion randomly thought of telling Azaranth 'not to talk with food in his mouth', smirking slightly at the thought. Might have applied, if the dragon actually spoke with his mouth rather than his mind.

J'kiran, was it? Well, what J'kiran's Kaenith asked next made X'ion even more uncomfortable than he'd been a moment before. The question, coming from the clutchmate of someone he only until now suspected to be his brother, was irony itself. If they were brothers, they'd just impressed dragons that were the same, and both bronze, at that. How did you even go about explaining something like that to a dragon to begin with? A dragonet, nonetheless? He certainly didn't want to. He wasn't even ready to come to terms with it himself. The way the boy had asked him so bluntly 'what his parents looked like' had really struck a wrong chord with X'ion.

X'ion glanced over at J'kiran, then looked at the bronze he'd impressed. Once again, his face was a solid mask, and Azaranth, though munching, looked at him curiously. *Why does that bother you, mine?* He had forgotten. You couldn't hide things from your own dragon, any more than you could hide them from your own self if you knew. The fact that Azaranth had said it for both he and J'kiran, as well as Kaenith to hear? X'ion sent back privately, ~we can talk about that later, Azaranth. Now is not a good time...~

The dragon didn't get it. He had many clutchmates. Were they not his brothers and sisters? Yet his X'ion didn't want J'kiran for his brother? Did he not like J'kiran? The dragonet was confused, and X'ion felt really uneasy, and waited to see if J'kiran had an answer while he didn't. Maybe it would shed some insight onto how J'kiran felt about having a moody, undersized guy for a younger brother. There was no mistaking that they were related. He had the portrait. J'kiran shared features with the same people he himself did. He'd just gotten his father's hair and his mother's eyes, while X'ion had his father's eyes and his mother's hair. But there was no mistaking it, no. Tall and lanky, just like X'ion's own father. The hair matched his mother's coloration perfectly. He cringed inwardly, wondering if J'kiran had met his parents. Wondering if one of them had raised him. Did he want to know? He wasn't sure...

[Kino]

I don't mind talking to him, Mine. Kaenith replied to his bonded's unspoken thoughts. J'kiran glanced over to the bronze who had settled himself by the boy's feet now, seemingly satisfied with the amount of meat he'd been given. The dragonet was staring intently at his bonded, and waiting patiently for the boy to answer the question that both he and Azaranth had asked.

"It's a...it's an odd situation," J'kiran replied finally to the two dragons. "We're both confused, as far as I'm aware, and when situations get this...odd...sometimes people react differently." The youth really hoped he was making sense.

Different how? The little bronze's eyes whirled in confused interest. J'kiran waited for a moment, taking in a breath and letting it out to give him time to think.

"When people go their whole lives wondering about something...they'll react in different ways. Some people go their whole lives hoping to find the answers to whatever they're wondering about, and others..." he glanced to X'ion, "...don't want any answers." The bronze tilted his head, J'kiran offered a weak smile to the dragonet and shrugged. "So we feel odd, I suppose, because it's an odd situation."

[Spirithawk]

Yet another egg cracked open to reveal a blue dragonet, larger than the last had been. He gave a yawn, and then blinked slowly, looking around at the Candidates as if he were considering whether or no to make his move. The sky is blue-grey before a storm, as was this particular blue's hide. A stormy blue-grey with wispy swirls that looked like lighter white-grey clouds adorned his hide, the undersides of his wings the same white-grey coloration. What was ironic was the markings on his legs, however. They didn't look wispy at all-they looked like miniature jags of lightning bolts, seperating in all directions like they came down from the 'skies' above. He was darker blue-grey at the top of his hide, from the neck and upper back and topside of his tail. Really, he looked nothing short of a cloudy, blue-grey lightning storm. He seemed to be thinking, taking his time to make sure he gave everyone at least a look. Question was, who would his eyes settle on last?

OOC: again special thanks go out to Akki, Wolf and Kat for helping me with some of these descriptions. I wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace of this hatching without their creative support!

[Spirithawk]

Two female dragons hatched out one right after the other. The first to emerge was a glistening, rosy pink copper dragonet who had been hiding in the speckled orangeish red and gold egg. Her hide was speckled with tiny gold flecks that were not very big, almost like her egg. She had been content to remain in the egg for the time being because she had felt safe but now the storm was beginning to rage once more. The riders had returned just in time with the guests although some of the missions had to be abandoned because the storm was ravaging some of the Holds that tithed to Dark Moon and the eye was not passing over them yet so it would be dangerous for a dragon to try to fly in. Now the little copper decided she couldn't wait. She needed to get out of that egg before the water rose to engulf her. She would be a small copper. She sat there regally looking around, almost like a little Queen as the Candidates filed in and so did the people in the stands. She was out now and for some reason she seemed in no hurry to find her chosen now that she was out of the egg.

Her sister emerged not long after her. Another green made a not so graceful appearance shortly after the blue. Her shell seemed to 'explode' somehow, sending shards flying every which way as it did so. However, as ungraceful as her appearance had been, she herself was a devine little creature. A rainforest has a multitude of shades of green, combining to make a beautiful scene. Like a rainforest, this green seemed to have different shaded colorations when she moved. The uppermost part was comprised of the lightest green, a paler sort of emerald-green which was like a stripe from the tip of her nose to the end of her pretty tail. Then, it seemed to meld into a darker-emerald, then to a dark forest green. Finally, the underside of her muzzle, neck, belly and tail were a green-black in coloration, giving her the appearance of colors melding smoothly from one to the next. Her four paws were also green-black, as if she's walked through the color, almost, which speckled up her legs a little. Her build was graceful, though more built than her mint clutchmate, with a long tail that seemed to wave of its own volition, and a lovely head set atop a graceful looking neck. She seemed to have her head craned forwards, as if she knew someone was there, and had only to spot whom it was to make a move. She rose slowly and began to walk carefully around the Candidates, dismissing the boys quickly and threading her way through the girls to find the one she wanted.

[Headwoman]

Calnia's eyes roved over the newly hatched dragonets and gasped at the beautiful copper. She had not seen one so beautifully colored. She couldn't help but hope that one would come her way. This was her first hatching. And she didn't want to be standing. She had heard rumors back in her home hold that if you didn't impress on the sands the first time, you were never going to impress. But that was from older boys and girls that had never been Searched. So, were they telling the truth or lying? Calnia sighed and just stood there. All she could do now was wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laerin stood close to the front of the group of Candidates. Her excitement boiling over in her eyes. They seemed to sparkle in the light cast by the glowbaskets and the stray lightning flashes. She had been looking forward to this moment ever since she had been Searched. Yes, she had stood a few times before now.... But it always seemed like it took forever for the eggs to Hatch! She passed the time flirting with a few boys that she liked. Among doing her Candidate chores of course! She took a few steps forward and spotted the beautiful copper hatchling. 'She is so beautiful,' Laerin thought to herself. She could just barely make out the tiny specks of gold on the copper's hide.

[Spirithawk]

OOC: Headwoman, please put something other than a paragraph break to break up the characters

IC:

Yet another egg was rocking on the sands. This one was a smallish, silver and green and blue streaked egg. The egg cracked around the top and a pale blue head emerged from the hole. The little dragonet had a robin's egg blue head, as pretty a blue color as you had ever seen. The knobs on the dragonet's head had a strip of white that widened as they ran down its head to its neck ridges, what could be seen of them anyway. The dragonet chirped as it tried to wiggle out, protesting the fact that its egg didn't seem to want to break open the rest of the way.

This little blue was not your ordinary blue. The frame of this dragonet was far more dainty and delicate than any blue that had hatched out so far. This blue was no male. This little dragonet was a female. Finally, her egg split open and she toppled forward onto the sands. Her wet hide picked up sand, hiding some of the color. She walked forward, trying to shake off the sand that had accumulated on her damp wings. As the sand fell away, the spectators could see more and more of her gleaming pale blue hide. Her body was the same robin's egg blue as her wedge-shaped head, but her wings were another story. Her wings were edged with white as were her neck ridges and a strip down to the tip of her tail. The rest of her wings shimmered, speckled with flecks of white and silver that sparkled, even in the dim light of the glows and the flashes of lightning from outside the cavern. This little girl was the sweetest of all sweet dragons. She had an intelligent look to her as she cocked her head from side to side, creeling her hunger for all to hear. She wanted her Chosen. She wanted her Chosen now but she wasn't going to be demanding about it. First, she had to find her lifemate. She instinctively knew that there would be food for her when she found the one she was looking for.

[Kino]

Khris felt his heartbeat quicken as the hatching went on. The adrenaline running through his veins was being fueled from all angles: the dragons hatching, the impressions going on around him, and the storm raging outside and adding an edge of threat to the whole situation. There we so many eggs, he could only hope that they all hatched inside. There was some flooding outside, would it get into the sands? If that was the case, all the dragonets hatching today were lucky. If the water rose into the sands, and they were still in their eggs...

Khris shook his head to get the image of humongous hard-boiled eggs out of his head. This was no time to be worrying over something like that! More dragons popped out of their shells. Another blue - the patterns on that one were stunning! - followed by a...a copper, it looked like? He wasn't sure if it was just a lighter bronze, but it certainly looked different. Then a little green who looked like a precious gem herself, followed by another gorgeous blue. The variation on the colors of each dragon was amazing. All his life he'd only heard them referred to as five colors, nobody had ever told him how different they could all be. For all he knew it was simply good breeding that brought the variations about, but he had a feeling that all dragons were this different. Like humans in that way, each with their own personality and appearances.

Once again Khris' eyes were glued on the eggs. Sure, there were male dragonets on the sands wandering about and looking for their bondeds, but he had the feeling that none were for him. The idea of being left to stand was at the farthest part of his mind right now; there was simply too much excitement to worry over such things. No, there were still plenty of eggs. There may be a dragon waiting to lay claim to him yet. But if so, which egg? And...would it hatch in time? The idea of having a dragon waiting to choose him somewhere in an egg, with the possibility of losing it before it even hatched...Khris swallowed and looked over the eggs once more, glancing fleetingly to the entrance where the storm could be heard raging on. He only hoped that all the dragons would make it out in time.

[Wolf]

R’xis watched, wondering who would be the first to impress. He kept his gaze on Rhiyo, imagining how nervous the boy must be right about now. “It’s okay, you’ll do just fine,” he said quietly. He knew that Rhiyo couldn’t hear him but even so, he still spoke his thoughts aloud. Rhiyo had been a good friend to him, some one that he could confide in and feel as if had his back. He had a good group of friends; that was most certain.
When the Brown came up to Rhiyo and it was clear that an impression had been made R’xis stood-up, clapping for his friend. Rhiyo had been the first to impress, and a fine impression it had been! “Go Rhiyo!” he shouted, making quite a raucous. He watched the two for a moment, recalling the time when he’d impressed Ersith. Then, as if remembering just now that Rhiyo wasn’t the only one on the sands, R’xis watched the others impress one by one. He clapped each time, proud that Dark Moon Weyr was gaining so many more Weyrlings.

~ ~ ~

Leander watched as the first impression was made to the boy now named R’yo. He eyed him, seeming to be admiring the look of his new Brown. It was going to be larger than most other Brown’s, no? Interesting. He turned back to the rest of the hatchlings, his eyes still transfixed on the Bronze. Then, when another Bronze hatched, his eyes just about popped out of his head at the size of it. “What a beast! Surely he’ll come running to-,” he said, cutting his sentence short when both Bronzes went racing off to two boys not him. He just grunted, muttering about how life was treating him unfairly. He glanced over at the girls, an immediate smirk spreading across his face as if he was saying: “All better.” Leander looked to the newly hatched, seeing another Blue added to the mix. Again he didn’t seem impressed, knowing that the Blue’s were the smallest of the dragons. He expected himself to get something large, something grand, and a Blue was definitely not considered grand. He didn’t let any of his feelings show, standing there quietly (for once). Are one of these dragonets on the sands Mine? Surely not the Green, its female. He could only imagine how irritated he’d be to impress a female Green, though he was betting he could find some way to overcome his anguish. He knew that it didn’t often happen unless the person was of a homosexual nature so he cleared his mind of that possibility. When the other eggs hatched, revealing females once again, Leander crossed his arms over his chest.

“Surely I’ll impress,” he said a little bit more loudly then perhaps he’d intended to. He was quite the confident young lad, always betting that things would go his way. Little did he know that things rarely went the way that a person expected them to. Some things did, others didn’t, not that the boy cared-he’d continue on believing that his word was law!

~ ~ ~

Tieler watched as people impressed, tugging at the sleeves of her shirt nervously. She inhaled, holding her breath for as long as she could before letting the air whoosh out of her lungs. She glared at a few people, unsure of why she’d done it, before her gaze returned to the remaining dragonets. Blues are rarely impressed by girls, she thought. She eyed the Green dragonet, wondering what else would come out of these eggs. Then a Copper hatched, along with another Green and a very different looking Blue... For some reason the Blue and Copper had her attention, though the Green's remained in her subconscious. Just because she’d attended didn’t mean she received one-right? Talk about complex, why can’t we just be assigned a shardin’ egg? She bit the inside of her cheek a bit too hard, the pinching pain making her release her hold.

[Kino]

[Posting as Tawnen, becaues I actually have something for her to do now xD]

Tanwen stood in her spot on the sands watching all the commotion going on. She'd been following the progress of each dragonet with intent curiosity, but her attention was diverted when she heard the sound of a familiar voice. That unrelenting flirt who seemed to have made it a habit to follow her around. Of course she knew he had to be there, but did fate really have to go and stand them near each other? She sighed and looked in the direction she'd heard it just in time to see his disappointed frown turn into a flashy grin.

The girl rolled her eyes, turning to look back towards the eggs until he said something else. Quirking an eyebrow, Tanwen looked back over to Leander. "Yeah," she said, her expression as unreadable as ever, "You just have to wait for the most obnoxious dragon in the history of Pern to hatch. Then you'll be all set." As she finished the comment she turned to look back to the eggs.

[Akki]

had put up with Ebbeth for the past bit, hearing the blue grumble about how the weather was so bad as if she had missed all of the storm that was going on. She and Ebbeth had been outside earlier, before the winds became this vicious, helping out the nearby Holds like dragonriders were expected too. It had been nerve wracking to tell the truth, she was afraid that the worst of the storm would hit when Ebbeth was up in the air. So she was glad to be on the ground back at Dark Moon, she could rest easy until the storm blew past. Or so she thought.

Akki swept down about the candidates with Rhia as soon as Christae came in, screaming. She grabbed a few of the older candidate robes and tossed them, quickly distributing them as fast as she could. The eggs were hatching now? It was bad timing, no one would deny that but there was nothing they could do now. A cheer rose to meet her ears, signaling that dragonets were already beginning to hatch and before everyone was out to the sands. She swore under her breath, rushing the rest of the candidates out to the sands with their relatively disheveled appearances. She left the tunnels, and reached the rest of the riders who watched the hatching. Ebbeth perched himself, silently humming along with the others as he watched the event going on below, eyes whirling a green.

---

Hasima, the eggs are hatching right now. Rimith informed her rider, her voice tinged with urgency. Hasima opened her mouth slightly, a silent gasp coming out of it. Wasn’t it far too dangerous to have them hatch right now? Wasn’t there a chance they would be hurt? She stood, blinking as it sank in before walking as quickly as she could towards the sands.

When she got there, some of the candidates were already starting to trickle in, and judging by what they looked like, it seemed they too weren’t prepared for the hatching. No one was. Rimith placed herself near Ebbeth, joining him as they both watched the hatching take place before their whirling eyes. She reached Akki, who was sitting nearby Wolf and R’xis, and grabbed their girls arms and looked at her with wide eyes. Akki flashed her a brief smile, and it seemed almost strained something that Hasima had never seen before. She turned to face the sands from where she sat, not letting go of Akki, as she silently prayed that no one would get hurt.

---

Zuhayr couldn’t help but make a face at the dusty robe someone had just thrown at him to put on. It was the blinding white he was hoping for, but instead almost a dull gray. Were these really the candidate robes? Did he have time to wash them a bit? Apparently the answer was no as he noticed people quickly donning them, and heading out to the sands. Don’t get him wrong, he wanted to be out there on the sands. But his parents and brother were out there, they had reached the Weyr only a few days before for the hatching as other families did, and he rather not have them see their flamboyant son in something so…old. He made a soft groaning sound as he put his arms through the cloth.

He made a face and looked down at himself, with a loud “It doesn’t exactly flatter my figure, does it?’. He was about to ask if he could try on another one, but the assistant candidates master hands found his back and he found himself being pushed towards the sands. No time to change then, gotcha. Zuhayr walked quickly towards the sands, again making a face as he stepped onto them and realized just how wet the sand was. This was going to be make rather large messes to clean up, he thought as he noted sand clinging to his robe as it blew towards him.

He was relatively behind the other candidates, and by the time he reached the males (With a thought of ‘I should be standing with the females instead’ popping into his head) he noticed that quite a few had already Impressed. He clapped, all though he missed most of the actual Impressings that had happened, and scanned the stands for anyone he knew. He spotted the usual riders of Dark Moon, and looked over the numerous families that were currently cheering on their son or daughter. He caught his brothers eye, who was mouthing the word ‘Fab’ to him and made a soft snorting noise. He watched with a crooked grin on his face as more dragonets seemed to pour out of the eggs. He wasn’t thinking about whether or not he would Impress at the moment, but instead wondering if his fellow candidates would and fervently wished they did.

He grinned at Leander, as the boys comment reached his ears but snorted loudly in amusement as Tanwen replied icily to him. He giggled quietly and winked at Tanwen and hoped the confident girl would Impress.

[Spirithawk]

The brown that had hatched out after the bronze and green was still looking for his lifemate. So was the mint-colored green and the icy blue rimmed dark blue fellow who was such a saucy little thing. He refused to stir from his egg shards, preferring to make his chosen come to him. His stormy blue brother was not quite so stubborn. He wove in and out of the remaining male Candidates, looking for the one he wanted. The green and her rainforest colored sister roamed around studying the Candidates to see which ones they wanted. The copper was also looking around, walking back and forth in front of her egg shards like a little general surveying her troops. The female blue was still trying to get the sand off her wings. There was a particularly stubborn patch on her wing that she couldn't quite reach.

In the mean time there were more eggs hatching and the wind outside was getting worse. The people sitting next to the entrance to the caven were getting sprayed with rain driven in by gusts of wind. With the excitement of the hatching, not many people realized that there was water splashing over the sandbags that were protecting the entrance of the cavern. Water was also seeping around the edges and through the cracks. At first the water steamed away but then it began to saturate the sand and boil up and soon there was too much water to steam away. If the water kept rising, the Hatching Cavern would turn into a boiling pool of water that would kill any dragonet on the sands, either in the egg or not. It was a race against time for them to find their chosen.