[Hatching] Six-Course Meal [Buffet Clutch]

[Inkwell]

R'en had been spending nearly all of his time in the kitchens for the past few days. This wouldn't have been odd for him normally, but now he was a weyrling, with weyrling lessons and duties. It had admittedly been hard to find time to get away, but these were extenuating circumstances: Honey's eggs were due to hatch at any moment.

He was glad now more than ever that he had Impressed Afilith. The Silver kept in contact with his broody Gold when they couldn't physically be with her, and in turn kept his Bonded informed of her state. It was thanks to Afilith that he was in the kitchens now, kneeling next to the shelf by one of the ovens where Honey's eggs were nestled in a shallow pan full of sand.

Most of them had started to rock. Honey craned her neck, tilting her head first at one and then the next and crooning in nervous encouragement. She couldn't get too close for fear of jostling or smothering them, but it was clear that she also wouldn't budge another inch further away. R'en, for his part, was fascinated. It was like the Hatching he'd attended not so long ago only in miniature.

Very miniature, Afilith agreed. He was still just young enough to fit into the kitchens, though those days would be over very soon. Little sister, do not be nervous.

The shell of the Small Fry Egg suddenly cracked in several places. Honey screeched in surprise, wings flaring. One of the kitchen drudges who had taken an interest in the little clutch ran out into the mess hall to loudly spread the word. R'en shot a wordless look at Afilith, who bugeled, his voice not yet the brassy blast it would be when he was an adult but no less joyous.

Come quickly to the kitchens![/b] Afilith's voice rang out to the rest of the dragons, the quickest way to communicate. Little Gold sister's eggs are hatching![/b]

From the Small Fry Egg, a single goop-covered foot poked out into the warm air of the kitchen. It flexed momentarily, as though the hatchling within was mulling over its next move. And then it suddenly punched sideways, into the wildly-rocking Acid Egg. Honey creeled in motherly concern as the bright yellow egg rolled a few inches, stilled, and then burst in a shower of shell fragments and gobbits of goop.

The hatching had officially begun!

Hatching Rules:

1. The Hatching is first-come, first-serve. That is, flits will be given in order of who posts in and requests them! All selection will be done by choosing a number (1 to 11); that number corresponds to the egg you'll receive. The numbers have been randomized so there's a certain level of suspense and excitement to see what you get! I did my level best to make sure that each baby is unique, so no matter which pairing you get, it should be a fun match.
2. I know many of you have multiple characters who could logically show up and request a flit. However, I ask that you wait to select a second number until everyone who is interested has had their turn, for the sake of fairness. I'll make it clear when/if you are allowed to come back for seconds.
3. Like 'normal' hatchings, I have a certain hatching order decided. This means that even if you choose first, you may have to wait a bit for your flit to hatch. I ask that you stick around and have fun with it -- flits may be around for a while before Impressing thanks to this, so there should be plenty for your character to react to, just like a normal Hatching.

Available Numbers:
6

Taken Numbers/Impressed Flits:
1. Green Lime Zest Hatchling to S'yal
2. ? to Inkwell
3. Blue Fresh Fish Hatchling to Snalf
4. Brown Steak and Poatoes Hatchling to Gift
5. Sugar and Spice Egg to Tiamat
7. Blue Ice Water Hatchling to S'yal
8. Brown Crème Brûlée Hatchling to Cansi
9. Green Kosher Dill Hatchling to Maggie
10. ? to Firebird
11. Green Delicate Garnish Hatchling to Tua

[S'yal]

(Egg 7!)

It was expected that F'ox would arrive to the hatching, considering that his firelizard was the father of this clutch. He was eager to see what would hatch from the eggs, and even more eager to claim a flit. Sure, they took a lot of time to take care of... but they were so cute! Useful, too. He didn't have anyone to really run messages to, but the firelizards were rather good bodyguards. Or at least, F'ox figured they'd be. Considering they were catsized dragons...

F'ox peeked into the kitchen, smiling bashfully at R'en. "Honey must be proud." He offered her a polite little nod... before revealing the bowl of meat in his hands. The firelizard that would have gotten most of that meat if not for the hatching, Rage, was looking very pouty and put off from her place on F'ox's shoulder. Crypt, who was clinging to F'ox's head and curling his tail around his neck, chirped a happy greeting to the gold. Oooh, his babies!

"I can have one, right?" F'ox asked R'en, a frown on his face. "I mean... I really like firelizards." Crazy old firelizard dragonhealer.

[tuathade]

(11, please!)

R’vyn didn’t have any particular reason to be near the flit eggs. He was in the kitchens entirely by chance. Dexeth woke from a nap, abruptly announced I’m hungry, and that was that. The two of them headed down to the kitchens in hope of snagging some spare meat scraps for Dexeth… and maybe a meatroll or something for R’vyn. He did tend to forget meals when he was distracted by lessons and baby dragon, and even if the insistent ache in his stomach belonged more to the hatchling than to himself, it wouldn’t hurt to grab a snack.

All he managed to do was feed Dexeth a few scraps of wherry, though, before Afilith’s call rang out. Firelizard eggs? Well. R’vyn wasn’t going to miss that for anything! He was terribly fond of firelizards – Yarrow and Hazel, his pair, were sweet and well-trained creatures who frequently helped him in his work. And Dexeth seemed to be fond of them as well; the three often slept curled up together in a pile of dragony and flitty cuteness. He wasn’t sure whether he would receive an egg or not, but even if he didn’t, it would be fun just to observe. Let someone else have the spoils.

“Hello,” he greeted F’ox and R’en pleasantly. R’vyn had taken the opportunity to bring over the meat scraps he had been feeding to Dexeth; they were a little big for firelizards, and would need to be cut down, but they would be convenient for anyone needing to feed their new bonded. “A lovely clutch – do you mind if I join you?”

[giftwrapped]

La had been watching the commotion in the kitchens with an expression of mild interest as she chewed on a sweetroll and sipped a glass of klah and cream. Plenty of fuss, and a gold reacting to her eggs like they were tunnelsnakes about to get her. Young little thing, probably. But interesting nonetheless. She smiled when the first egg hatched, noticing with wry amusement that as soon as the thought of a shell cracking entered her head, the pop! of a firelizard emerging from between and a blast of cold against her cheek heralded Trouble's arrival.

"Prrp," the bronze remarked mildly, cocking his head to one side and inspecting the object of La's interest. For a moment, there was an image of, Good firelizard watching eggs make more firelizards, in La's head, and she raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Trouble.

Silly firelizard not fathering this clutch, looking silly if he goes over. Silly firelizard getting bit, she answered in the same language of images and feelings, reaching up and rubbing Trouble's eyeridges with a forefinger. Silly firelizard staying with his person, she added rather emphatically when the bronze huffed and made as if to visit the eggs anyway. Reluctantly, Trouble folded his wings and huffed again, shifting his balance to rest his weight firmly on La's shoulder and making soft little grumbling noises as he wrapped his tail lightly around her neck.

"Good boy," the dragonhealer murmured, moving out of the way of a bustling kitchen drudge and leaning against a different stretch of empty counter, offering Trouble the last few bits of her sweetroll and draining the remainder of her klah. Doubtless it wouldn't be long until Ral showed up. When eggs were hatching, Ral was an inevitability - even if he never quite managed to get a flit. And now with the white? She had read about Ruth, had dredged up the records when Dexeth had hatched. Acquiring fairs of firelizards wherever he went. It would be interesting to see if Dexeth did the same.

Handsome bronze firelizard and his person and new squealing baby, Trouble suggested. Handsome bronze and squealing baby and white dragon with other babies.

Angry grumpy brown biting new squealing baby, La retorted, and in the back of her mind, Jackass stirred and opened a sleepy eye. Grumpy brown firelizard making baby's life miserable.

Big strong bronze biting grumpy brown, was the image she got back, and La sighed. He was going to be insufferable until she tried for an egg, wasn't he?

"Okay, okay, but if it's another bronze, I'm going to have words with you, bucko," she murmured, scratching Trouble's brassy chest and setting her glass down on the counter. "And so will Jackass, no doubt," she added thoughtfully, approaching the clutch and sidling up behind Ral, resting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "Mind sparing one for research?" she asked, a sigh in her voice. "Trouble's decided to live up to his name if I don't at least try."

(4 plox)

[Inkwell]

(I plan to focus on the flits, so interaction with R'en will likely be minimal, but I'll try to respond to errybody's greetings!)

R'en didn't even notice immediately when F'ox arrived. He was busy inspecting what had burst out of the Acid Egg. In the bright yellow fragments sat a bright green flit, just as blinding as her egg had been. The Lime Zest Hatchling stood, shook herself, and let out a creel that wasn't at all the confused, piteous noise of a baby thrust into a new and strange environment. It was instead the creel of a baby that was very pleased to be first hatched and wanted her siblings to know that she'd beat them so there nyah nyah nyah!

Clearly the hatchling within the Small Fry Egg wouldn't stand such mockery. The little foot flexed again, scrabbling and widening the already-numerous cracks in the salmon-pink shell. A snout emerged, then another foot, until suddenly an entire (very, very small) flit was glistening on the sands. The Fresh Fish Hatchling gave the now-preening Lime Zest a reproachful look before his head swiveled and his glittering blue eyes, the same color as his hide, focused on the people gathered. Apparently deciding none of them were quite interesting enough for him, he turned about and began nudging at the Finishing Touches Egg, which was rocking almost imperceptibly, as though not wanting to be noticed.

R'en finally tore his attention away long enough to take in the crowd already gathering. F'ox, the weyrling that had Impressed the white dragon, and the Master Dragonhealer. Interesting turnout thus-far.

"Hello, everyone. Don't be shy, there's plenty of eggs for everyone -- of course you can have one, F'ox, don't be silly." He stood, moving back from the now more-crowded sand tray and almost clapping the albino on the shoulder before he remembered that F'ox did not do touching.

On the sands, the Chilled Egg was shivering uncontrollably, covered in spider-thin cracks.

[giftwrapped]

One green and one blue. Interesting.

La fingered the strip of jerky she kept in her pocket for Trouble and wondered if the gold's owner had had the foresight to collect a bowl of meat scraps.

[tiamat]

CorvisMine! Honey's clutch is hatching; can you get a flit for me?

"Sure?" The sheer outpouring of glee He had been planning to drop by when the eggs hatched anyway, and knowing that Chereth would like a flit despite Pest’s distaste for her (which, admittedly, was a step up from the frothing hatred he had for most other things) made the decision to go easier for him. Pest mreeped sleepily from his perch on Corvis' shoulder and looked up briefly to look around before lying back down. Whatever Corvis was being excited over, it could wait until he'd had a nap.

Corvis hurried to the kitchens, and was somewhat disappointed to realize that he was late enough for the first few (very bright) flits to have already hatched—although not enough for them to have gotten hungry enough to start eating each other, thankfully.

[Ferret]

“Kreeeeee?”

It was a long and curious cry, the noise of a particular fat golden flit who had just now realized that something was going on. In this case, it was that Leevi had stopped walking several minutes ago. Curious as ever, the mindhealer ventured closer to what appeared to be a gathering of people. It was a natural law: wherever large numbers of people were gathering, someone ought to find out why. And possibly sell sausages, but that was for someone else. Leevi just wanted to find out what was so interesting.

So did Kay, for that matter. “Krooo?” she asked, tilting her head to one side as she peered at the eggs. Random brain cells banged off of each other as she tried to figure out what to do about them. Maybe they were edible? She could nom, please? “Reeee!”

With an excited squeak, she tried to launch herself from Leevi’s shoulder, only to find herself held captive by him once again. “Wh… shards, no, Kay! You do not get to eat right now!” in truth, the mindhealer wasn’t certain what she wanted to eat; he just recognized her endless hunger when he felt it. Or heard her hungry creels for that matter. He gave the other onlookers and anxious smile. “Sorry, she’s… yeah, she’s her. She’s hungry.”

Which was why he’d come down looking for the kitchens in the first place. “Is this a firelizard hatching? Ohh, I haven’t seen one before!”

[Inkwell]

Of course R'en had had the foresight to gather a bowl of meat! He'd heard that flits went cannibal very quickly after hatching unless they were fed, and had figured that the first to hatch may not necessarily be the first to Impress. The bowl of scraps was therefore set conspicuously a few inches away from the tray of sand, hopefully close enough that the flits would notice it on their own.

Lime Zest certainly had noticed. She was now perched on the edge of the bowl, alternately horking down small pieces of meat and licking goop from her wings. Fresh Fish, however, hadn't yet left the Finishing Touches Egg. He continued to nudge and creel at it, despite the fact that his voice was weak and his size was proportional to Dexeth's at birth. That didn't really seem to bother him, and furthermore, his efforts seemed to be paying off: Finishing Touches was rocking much more noticeably now, and soft chirps could be heard from inside.

Honey, meanwhile, had noticed Kay. Another gold? Huh! She hadn't seen one of those in a while. She blinked curiously at the other firelizard, momentarily forgetting her eggs in favor of trying to decide what she thought of the newcomer.

The Chilled Egg, meanwhile, had just disintegrated, all of the hairline cracks rendering it nothing but a pile of tiny egg bits. Out stepped a long-legged blue, delicately shaking each foot to dislodge any pieces of shell stuck on by the goop. The Ice Water Hatchling regarded the faces assembled with an imperious gaze, as though weighing his options. He didn't seem terribly impressed by what he saw, and it was with an air of resignation that he spread his wings, shook them free of goop and shells and soared flawlessly onto F'ox's shoulder. As if Ice Water would ever do anything less than perfect on the first try -- including finding His! But he was very hungry. If F'ox wanted to keep him, he'd have to feed him, and fast.

Blue Ice Water Hatchling from the Chilled Egg

Appearance: Ice Water is a sleek and regal firelizard, all angles. He always carries himself with dignity, head held high, back straight, feet placed perfectly one in front of the other -- feet that are on the end of abnormally long, slender legs. He is the epitome of not wasting an iota of energy and never makes a move that is not perfectly calculated. His colors are simple: a light, almost white blue at the tip of his tail melting to a darker blue on his wings and upper body, even darker on his head. He is not a flit that needs fancy markings to look beautiful; indeed, he embodies the stark beauty of the frozen landscape his name harkens to.

Personality: Ice Water is everything his name implies. He is emotionless and cold, unsympathetic even to the most stirring emotions in others. Everything he does is clinical, precise, and methodical. He has no time for imperfection, and to him, emotion is exactly that. Getting rid of emotion is to make oneself perfect, which is exactly what Ice Water has done. His bonded should expect no immediate love from him but rather a calm, silent scrutiny. If Ice Water deems a partnership logical, then and only then will he declare loyalty and love -- and that loyalty and love is very easy to lose and often a trial to regain. Everything for him is about what is practical, not what is right, and he will stick by that no matter what.

*****

Meanwhile, Fresh Fish had succeeded in his mission to coax the Finishing Touches Egg to hatch. A neat section of the shell fell away and out tumbled a little green. She immediately got to her feet, as though embarrassed by her stumble, and trilled a soft note that sounded quite like an 'excuse me'. Then she set to work cleaning her mossy green hide, paying special attention to her front right leg, which had a curling green pattern on it all the way up to her shoulder. It was so pretty, wasn't it? Wasn't it, R'vyn? The Delicate Garnish Hatchling certainly thought so, and she hoped he did too. She crooned softly in his direction, stretching her wings as though to fly to him -- but she wasn't quite so talented and efficient as her blue brother. R'vyn would have to scoop her up if he wanted her.

She could certainly make her way towards him, though. As she did, she passed the heavily-cracked Down Home Egg, out of which a brown snout already poked.

Green Delicate Garnish Hatchling from the Finishing Touches Egg

Appearance: As her name implies, Delicate Garnish is a delicate firelizard. Her limbs are slender, her tail, neck and head are long, and furthermore, she carries herself in a way that suggests she could break at any moment. Her hide is a beautiful misty moss green, almost silvery in patches. On her right front leg a twisting vine marking winds its way up to her shoulder in a much darker green: a single finishing touch on a beautiful flit.

Personality: If it was possible for a firelizard to be soft-spoken, that firelizard would be Delicate Garnish. She never raises her voice above a soft chirr: the lucky person to own this pretty girl will never be annoyed by the usual screeching or creeling they may expect from others of her kind. She is far too ladylike for that, after all: if she wants to express displeasure, she'll do it quietly and politely. Of all of the greens in Honey's clutch, Delicate Garnish is by far the most feminine, and boy, does she relish it. She spends quite a bit of time preening and admiring herself, especially her single vine marking. However, she is not vain -- she merely wants to make sure she makes a good impression.

[Cansi]

((#8 please? Sorry for the short post, but I have to go back to work.))

Tekaine was grateful to the healers' efforts. He was grateful, too, that Gravitath was asleep at the moment; the young blue was freshly oiled, tuckered out, and unlikely to wake anytime soon. The bond was still new and raw, but the Impressee was fairly certain he would know if the blue woke up. The blue had been quietly comforting and supportive when his stomach had bothered him, saying that he'd felt it too.

It was still a mystery to him why he had even gotten sick. Maybe after the illness at the sea-hold, he would now be prone to catching things? Whatever the cause, he hoped it was well and truly over. It seemed to be, for he was absolutely famished. He was almost to the mess hall when Gravitath bespoke him from out of the blue, sounding drowsy-and surprised. Afilith says to go to the kitchens. Something about eggs.

Breakfast!

No, not the eating kind of eggs. Speaking of which,[/color] and the hatchling blue yawned and rolled over. Bring me something too, please?[/color]

Tekaine started to make a reply, when he realized fondly that Gravitath had dropped abruptly back asleep. "Bottomless pit," he muttered, joining the growing crowd watching the flitter eggs. "Congratulations to the parents," he said, a little louder- but still softly. Already a few of the eggs were empty. He wanted to stand and watch, but the smell of meatrolls overwhelmed his stomach, and he hurried over to beg a pair from the lady pulling from the oven. Sometimes having been sick was a distinct advantage.

Ahh. That was better. He ate slowly, cautiously, to make sure his stomach wasn't going to have a tantrum, but rejoined the small crowd. He didn't yearn after the little things as he once would have- Gravitath had filled that gaping hole in his heart- but he smiled at their movements and the noises they made. So cute. Gravitath was most emphatically not cute; he seemed to have been hatched canny and mature, his play having an edge of almost desperation that shouldn't have been present in a young thing. Tekaine decided that if a firelizard happened to take a liking to him, his life would officially be complete. Maybe a flitter would make a good playmate for the blue...

[giftwrapped]

New stranger gold flitter!

Trouble whistled loudly, attention distracted entirely from babies by the croons of another firelizard and delightedly discovering that the noises were coming from a beautiful new gold. Puffing his chest out, he gave a long, excited croon to the gold, drawing La's attention away from the eggs and onto the young man and his....oh Faranth that was a very obese flit. La was well aware that Trouble, with his growing potbelly and embarrassing tendency to snap morsels off plates with the ease of long practice (or beg for it), was getting on in weight.

But this was....wow. Big firelizard. And her owner was wearing healer's knots? Mindhealer's knots, actually! Well, this was an interesting little buggin, and he was....whaaaat. "You've got a gold, big grown up girl, and you've never seen a clutch?" she asked curiously, fixing Leevi with a curious, disbelieving little smile. Trouble, meanwhile, was sidling to the edge of La's shoulder, stretching his neck out as far as he could in order to try and touch noses with Kay. "Prrrrrrrrp," he informed the gold, along with images of, Big strong handsome bronze that bombarded La as much as they probably did their intended recipient.

The dragonhealer sighed. "He's a bit of an idiot, sorry about that. You new here, Mindhealer?"

[Ferret]

“Reeee!” Kay greeted the large bronze firelizard with every sign of delight. Most of his messages went right over her little head, but she understood that she was being talked to by another firelizard and that was wonderful. Food good go do it yes! was more or less her constant stream of thought. Her wings beat powerfully against Leevi’s hands as she struggled to reach the bronze. New friend was new! She wanted to see New Friend up close!

“Kay, calm down!” Leevi said, scratching the gold flit’s eyeridges to distract her. It worked like a charm, since her mind was only big enough to contain one or two very basic ideas at one time. He smiled awkwardly at the woman----Master dragonhealer, by her knots he noticed-----and tried to explain. “She’s not grown up yet. She’s just… err… big…” extremely big, unlike the little firelizards crawling around. It was just amazing how they already had personalities at that age, fully developed.

Leevi chuckled at the ‘bit of an idiot’ comment, knowing all too well how such things could be. “It’s ok. Kay here can barely remember that she can fly most of the time. I actually think that her weight might be part of the problem there. She doesn’t so much as fly as she does fall. Um, maybe you can help with that, Master Dragonhealer. I’ve been trying to make her lose weight, but it just doesn’t stick. Or it does, just not the way I’d like it to, you know?” In other words, no matter what he did to encourage Kay to lose weight, she’d get it back somehow, like some sort of blackhole for blubber.

Hm. He had the feeling he was forgetting something important…

Food? he sensed from Kay.

No, he definitely wasn’t forgetting food, whatever the gold thought. OH RIGHT! “Yeah, I just arrived a few days ago. My name’s Leevi.” Finally, he tentatively released Kay and held out a hand for La. Kay immediately took advantage of this moment to break free of his other hand and barrel towards Trouble like the big beautiful disaster she was.

[S'yal]

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT. Rage was glaring at the firelizard that soared towards her owner, a low hiss pulling itself free from the bright green muzzle of the firelizard. What the hell was that. She sent a question towards her bonded, a mix of angry and curious emotions. In fact, the firelizard looked down right offended. It was bad enough she had to share with that big bronze idiot- Now this little snot? Psssh. Rage gave him five days before he had a break down!

F'ox smiled and immediately shoved the meat that would have belonged to Rage in the firelizards face, his smile faltering when he caught sight of the color of the firelizard. A familiar pain tightened in his chest, but F'ox forced the smile back. That, however, was enough to cement the poor blue in Rage's hatred. First he'd stolen her owner. Then her food. Now, he was making F'ox upset? Rage took to the air, screaming and scolding the blue... who just calmly ate and scoffed at her. Crypt for his part immediately took to the air and screeched at the green, nipping at her tail and wings and generally harrying her until she let out a mournful shriek and popped between to F'ox's hut.

Stay there. F'ox sent the order to the green, despite his smile and petting of the blue. That was very bad of you. No attacking the blue! Really, she should know better. F'ox glanced to Crypt, who was anxiously crooning to the blue and seemingly fretting about the little guy eating too fast.

F'ox would take extra care of the firelizard. He'd... had a bad track record with blues. A very bad one.

"I'll call him Ice. Thank you." F'ox told R'en. Crypt, meanwhile, had decided that the other people were THREATS to the hatching eggs. Crypt shrieked and flew in circles above the heads of the other watchers and hopeful firelizard owners. At least he was more polite then Rage about it, not attacking people. "... Sorry about him."

[giftwrapped]

For a moment La's entire life was a flurry of confusion, wings, and firelizard noises. La had just enough time to register the gold launching at the flit on her shoulder (which meant, by proxy, La's face) and then attempt to react, throwing her hands up and managing to grab at least a portion of Kay around the middle. "Oh no you don't," she muttered, doing her best to get wings folded and hold Kay in a position that would keep her wings folded but still give her access to Trouble, who had actually managed to startle off La's shoulder and was clinging partially to her knots and sleeve and partially to the back of her tunic, peering at Kay from around his owner's neck.

Food! he echoed, mostly because he wasn't entirely sure what new pretty gold was trying to say to him. Handsome strong bronze bringing pretty gold food! he acknowledged and asserted proudly, though he didn't actually move from La's back. For a moment, his mind was full of confused firelizard, which wasn't that unusual of a state from him, and La sighed, still doing what she could to get Kay's wings folded against her body so she could tuck the gold up under her arm.

"Leevi, hmm?" she asked with a grin, though she didn't bother to extend a hand, as they were both rather full of Kay. "You are a heavy girl," she remarked to the gold in a tone that was no different from any other observation she might have made, but she nodded her head after a moment and looked back to Leevi. "Lanakirene of blue Kith," she answered with the same cheer as she did almost anything. "This little idiot," and she inclined her chin to the little bronze head resting in the hollow of her throat, "is Trouble."

[Inkwell]

While the adult flits were busy getting to know each other (or throwing a temper tantrum, as was the case with Rage), the Down Home Egg had quietly cracked open. Out stepped a large brown, momentarily clumsy on equally large feet. He shook his head to get a rather large piece of eggshell off of one headknob , flicked another off his tail, and then noticed Fresh Fish. The silly blue still hadn't started eating, and it was beginning to show -- his newly-hatched brother was looking kind of tasty.

The Steak and Potatoes Hatchling flared his goopy wings and hissed even as the blue pounced. Honey screeched sharply but it had little effect -- the two babies rolled in the sands, Fresh Fish trying his hardest to best his much, much larger brother and Steak and Potatoes hissing in annoyance at this little annoying thing that was being such a nuisance. Eventually (and inevitably) Fresh Fish found himself pinned by the much larger brown, with nothing by a long scratch down his side to show for his trouble.

Now, here was a dilemma. Steak and Potatoes was also hungry. He was just about to sink his teeth into the much smaller Fresh Fish when he noticed a flash of bronze out of the corner of his eye. That's right, Trouble, he's looking at you! What are you doing, acting so silly and getting up in that Gold's biznass? That's terrible manners, young man!

La, whether she liked it or not, now had a stern-looking brown skittering in her direction, chirping admonitions up at his much larger bronze relative.

Brown Steak and Potatoes Hatchling from the Down Home Egg

Appearance: Steak and Potatoes is such a deep brown that he is almost red -- his color is that of a medium-rare piece of meat. All except for his wings, of course, which lighten to nearly white at the tips and are dotted with black and white speckles both above and below (the salt and pepper that would go on the potatoes were he actually the dish of food he is named for). He's also quite large for his color, about on par with a good-sized bronze, with a full chest, strong shoulders, and large feet for excellent grounding.

Personality: Steak and Potatoes can come across as a bit gruff sometimes, but don't hold it against him. He means well, and honestly does just want to comfort and give advice. He is, for lack of a better word, fatherly, in that way that some fathers truly love their children but bumble through showing it and can, in fact, be annoying hardasses a lot of the time. Given time and a bit of patience, he can become a rock for his bonded as well as a source of sincere comfort and warmth. Of course he also has a tendency to worry about his bonded and extended family needlessly and will try to stop them from doing things he deems 'dangerous', whether they are actually dangerous or not (and let's not get started on his ideas about manners).

*****

While the two young flits had scuffled, they'd made quite a mess off the pan of sand -- including bumping into the blackened Trinity Egg. The hatchling within was now stepping out onto the sand, snorting and looking quite cross about having to hatch before he was good and ready. He cast a red-filled glare at the bleeding Fresh Fish, who hissed defiantly back at him.

Hff. Silly creature. The Crème Brûlée Hatchling didn't have time for something clearly so weak and untalented. Why, it was even a runt! The buttery brown stuck his nose in the air and trotted by as gracefully as he could on new legs, making a beeline for Tekaine. Why? He was the closest person that didn't already have one of Crème Brûlée's inferior clutchsibs clinging to him. Ugh. The sooner the two of them were out of there, the better.

Brown Crème Brûlée Hatchling from the Trinity Egg

Appearance: Like the dessert he is named after, Crème Brûlée is crusty brown on top and a warm yellow-brown on the bottom. His wings are especially dark, looking almost charred from the fires of a good flambe. They are stout wings, a bit small -- but then, he is a small firelizard for his color (about the size of a large green). This doesn't pose a problem for him -- in fact, he's very well-put-together, a petite but svelte dragon from snout to tail fork.

Personality: Crème Brûlée is hardly ever seen without his snout in the air. Despite only being a brown, he believes he is higher class than many bronzes and was supposed to be one. No one and nothing is quite good enough for him. Food especially has to be exactly as he likes it, or he'll simply refuse to eat. However, beneath that 'crusty' exterior, there is a warm flit that honestly wants to be pleased and give praise. It isn't his fault that no one seems to be up to his standards. Even his bonded will find themselves the object of quite a bit of scrutiny, and some vocal criticism if they don't live up to expectations.