Eggs... Maybe

[lithle]

It was warm on the sands. It was always warm on the sands. That was the point, wasn't it? Warming things. And there were... things. Eggs. Some number of them. Even Leshta wasn't entirely sure what number that was, though. Semith had clutched through the night, and was being uncharacteristically secretive on the subject. She'd buried them too. They were treasures, now. To be preened over and guarded.

There were, however, at least fifteen lumps. Maybe as many as twenty. The thing was, the sand was always lumpy. So, counting lumps was only so enlightening. There were lumps though. A number of them. Egg lumps.

One lump rested between Semith's forelegs. She seemed particularly concerned with that one.

"Darling?" Leshta asked, her voice gentle as it only ever was with Semith, "Don't you think you should put that one with the others?"

No. This is the Shiny! I made it. My Shiny. With deliberate care, Semith pushed more sand over the lump.

Shiny? But, no. Best not to even think about it. Semith had clutched! Everyone, everyone had said it was impossible. Everyone had said she was ruined. Useless. But she had Run. She had grown heavy with eggs. And last night, she had clutched. That was enough. There'd be no gold egg. It was impossible.

Even Leshta had to admit that.

"May I see it?"

My Shiny, Mine. Not yours. You can see the baby. Semith's sweet, fluting mindvoice was gently plaintive. I'm tired, Mine. Hungry, too.

"Mordanth is getting your lunch, Sweetling," Leshta promised, reaching up to rub the dragon on her mangled stump of a wing. It was an affectionate gesture, but one the 'Weyrwoman' only used when no one else is around. "You don't mind him on the sands?"

He's my friend! I want him to visit! I want everyone to visit. Semith's tone was excited, she was proud of her accomplishment. Why, maybe she'd call some of her friends right now!

Leshta, knowing her dragon well, shook her head. "None of that, Sweetling. You don't want some clumsy dragon hurting your pretties. Like Yusuth. Very clumsy. Don't let him or his rider on the sands, understood?"

Yes, Mine. The gold lowered her head obediently, a little hurt.

"Oh, you'll get your chance to show off, Sweet. Patience. When the eggs are hard, you'll show everyone. I promise. We'll show them."

Yes, they would. They'd show them that Semith never should have been exiled to this place, that Benden had been wrong to value her so little. Leshta's expression darkened as she thought about it. Her expression was often dark, since they'd come to Warden's Weyr.

[nozomi]

There were eggs. Mordanth would hiss and snap at any dragon or human that said otherwise, color and race be damned and T'di would let him with a wide grin. Both dragon and rider woke up each morning prepared to punch someone for a slur against Lesh or her girl. No one seemed stupid enough to insult the gold or Leshta in their presence - yet - and shortly after, mounds were had.

Mordanth knew there were eggs the moment he woke up that morning and immediately began to pull and tug at T'di's mind and body. Nips of clothing, pulls from the delicate blue, and finally he managed to get His dressed and to the Sands. T'di stumbled out half asleep, shoes tugged on incorrectly and normally ruffled hair even more so, spiked around his head in a halo of red spines. Even the smudges under his eyes didn't worry his dragon. Oh, no. Mordanth waddled towards his large gold mate while keeping sure to not get too near to egg lumps and risk crushing or endangering the little things.

I will bring you food! Later. When I have said hello.[/color] Mere vocalization not enough for the dragon, Mordanth scooted in against Semith, leaned in to nose at the curve of her spine. Did you know we could do this? I didn't. Mine said we couldn't.[/color]

"Never said you couldn't do it, Mordanth. No putting words in my mouth." T'di waved a hand, eyes rolling with the action. He walked with more caution than his bondmate, with slow sashays around any bumps he found in the sand before meeting up with Leshta.

"Lesh. So. Am I right assuming Semi here is the only one clutching? While our children would be round and adorable, I'm not sure this is the best place for something small and screaming."

Besides the felines and flits.[/color]

"Yes. Besides them."

[lithle]

Semith liked Mordanth! And while this was not, in itself spectacular, it was true that Mordanth rated slightly higher on Semith's scale than most dragons. Mostly because where Mordanth was, his rider was. And if Semith tended to forget things, she did recognize patterns. Leshta was happier, when Mordanth's rider was about. Semith liked Leshta to be happy.

Hello Mordanth! Hello Mordanth's rider! Never one to neglect a greeting just because the person being greeted didn't have wings, not Semith.

I knew. It's what we do. Golds. It's what we're for. My mother was a gold, too. Semith certainly didn't mean this as a slight against any other color, and if they'd started clutching, she'd only have been happy for them. But she had known, as Leshta hadn't, that this would happen. Mine says there will be candidates soon. To see them. And again when they hatch! I want to meet them! I bet they're lovely. They'll like the eggs! We made a shiny one!

Exclamations were just how Semith communicated, her mindvoice a sweet, high piping; a piccolo rising merrily up the scale. She did not lean against Mordanth, that would have been unwise, given their size differences, but she nudged him enthusiastically with her tail as she spoke.

"Oh, come T'di. There's not even a proper creche here. And I've got better things to do than grow an infant. Any chance of it, and you'd be taking me between, quick like." She grinned at him, then turned back to the sands. Her gaze scanned the eggs, "Enough infants will be around as it is, soon enough."

Her expression darkened, ever so slightly. "Wish I knew how many there were. We'll want twice as many candidates, at least. And... there aren't. You've heard what L'vey's been suggesting?"

[nozomi]

Of course it is what you do, prettySemith. It is not what blues do, so it was curious! Curious, curious.[/color] Mordanth entertained himself with that nudging tail with his own sort of distraction - little quick nibbles along her sparkling metallic hide. He leaned against what parts of her he could, head against spine, clawed hands outstretched and flexing. A contented rumble left the blue dragon, bug eyes twisting contentment and then closing. We made a shiny one? What sort of shiny one?[/color]

For all his talk of no dragons being better than another, Mordanth rather did not believe a blue could father a metallic - especially not one to be hoarded by the mother of the clutch. It was true, no color made a dragon better than any other but even he could not argue with genetics; if a brown had never fathered a gold, how could a blue?

There were eggs. That was all anyone could ever ask of them. So, he nudged his mate again, flopped his tail along hers.

You are guarding them very well! They will be safe, buried. How are the candidates to Touch them, though? Will they be allowed to un-bury our eggs?[/color]

"I'm saying our kids would be cute, Lesh, not that I want them." T'di held up his hands to the Weyrwoman, fingers wriggling. He grinned. "They'd be round. Adorable. Pains in the ass but that's what kids are for - and Candidates. Weyrlings. And, er. With L'vey."

The bluerider buffed a breath up, his bangs fluttering. Mordanth took little interest in the plight of His, continued to preen at the gold as T'di decided on what to say in a manner that didn't make him look like a complete jerk. Mostly.

"Lesh, it's kind of hard not to hear what he's saying, y'know? I think he thinks that he's convinced me to think the way he thinks or- something. That made sense in my own head. Anyway, yeah, he's talked to me about it." The young man shivered, his lips pulled into a frown. He looked over to his blue and Leshta's gold and T'di hunched his round shoulders up near his ears. "I don't know, I just uh-huh'd him off to make him stop talking at me. He's cute, I guess, but that's not stuff I want to think about."

T'di kicked at the sands, his eyes on the shower of sand fllying through the air. "what do you think about it? Letting the people we guard Stand and maybe Impress? The babies can't choose psychos but... Prisoners. I don't know."

[lithle]

Semith liked being conspiratorial. It made things more exciting for everyone. Right? Of course it did. At Mordanth's question she hesitated, her placid gaze falling on where the riders were talking. Finally, apparently reaching a decision, she sat up, opening her one wing so that it created a shield, blocking the lump from the vision of the riders, but not from Mordanth.

Very carefully, with the tip of her nose, she pushed the sand away. There, beneath, was a flash of golden shell.

Shiny. It wasn't exactly pride in her mindvoice. More like... admiration. She liked shiny things. The candidates will unbury them. They are presents. They will be a surprise! She looked over her wing at the carefully hidden eggs. Do you think they'll bring me presents? She sounded hopeful, now. Things were something to play with. There were so many things she couldn't do, it was nice to have something to play with.

"Just so long as you don't get any funny ideas," Leshta replied, lightly, but with more firmness than absolutely necessary. Children.

Terrifying.

Best not to think about it. Best to think of the eggs spread out in front of them. That was trouble enough, frankly. Trouble enough and more than that.

And then, there was L'vey.

Who Leshta liked. If she hadn't liked him, she wouldn't even have considered it. She could be very firm with people she didn't like.

"I can't stand the idea of them going between, T'di. The last hatching, with those two greens, that was bad enough. If it was Semith's children--" she glanced at the dragon, who was apparently doing something mysterious behind a raised wing, "I don't know what it'd do to her," she admitted. "I'm willing to consider just about anything."

[rain]

A happy Jora waltzed in at that moment with a plate full of sweets and a jug of klah. She was extra happy today and her sweets were extra sweety, sweet, sweet. Today she wore her brightest yellow dress with lots of shiny buttons. There was no real reason for this overflowing happiness, it was just a really nice day.

She arrived with a little trouble as she tried to walk fast on the hot sands but her dress kept getting in the way. With a huff, she kicked out with a long stride that seemed to help but made her look like a strange walking butterfly.

Recovering her composure, she curtsied and presented Leshta and T'di with her offering. "Here ya go, milady. Sweets fresh from the oven and klah straight from the pot. If ya don't mind, I sweetened it myself so ya'll don't have to drink it black." She smiled cheerfully at them both, she had managed to hold two handled cups with the jug and gestured for them to take it.

"And my, look the proud queen with her egg lumps. Isn't it sweet? I bet there while be at least five bronzes under there and another queen, too!" Jora spoke as if everything was normal that a queen buried her eggs and queens could mate with blues. It was a weird quirk when she was happy. The world was full of happy, happy sunshine on these days.

[nozomi]

You are ever so secretive, Semithpretty, said Mordanth, mental voice mild, teasing. He nosed at her again, huffing warm air over the golds hide. I have never seen you so - oh. Shiny.[/color]

The blue found no immediate words for that new glinting development. All dragons were equal, unique beings, yes but - a metallic? Not only metallic but bright and very yellow looking, from him of all dragons; blues never caught golds (until that time). He blinked all sets of eyelids before looking towards his mate.

I did not think we could,[/color] he said, before correcting himself. That I could. You're Impressive, Semithpretty! Haha, get it? Impressive.

And I will tell them you would like gifts. Shiny, shiny gifts.[/color]

Mordanth really would have continued, laving praise onto the fine example of a female that Semith happened to be. Unfortunately to all those involved, an unknown beast - a human - invaded, loud and with talk of bronzes and how lovely they were (insinuated, at least, but even Mordanth would be sensitive to such talk. It was why they came to Warden's!). As such, the relaxed dragons muscles tightened and he swung out from behind Semith's wing, eyes swirling red and orange threats. He bristled, hissed just softly.

Were you born in a backwater Hold? You do not go to the Sands, you --[/color]

Mordanth stopped with T'di's upraised hand and the quiet murmur from His through their link. Only slightly put off by his dragons quieted rage, T'di smiled at Jora.

"Hey there, pretty lady," T'di focused in on Jora, scooted away from the Weyrwoman to intercept the cheerful baker. Chef. Whatever she was, she came with food. "You're being super candy sweet yourself and an awfully considerate young lady with all these provisions but, see, parents can get awfully protective of their eggs. Like Mordanth here! Usually he likes you-"

Not anymore.[/color] hissed his Mordanth, only to his T'di. T'di ignored it, continued right on.

"But the Sands are where the itty ones are at so he's getting hissy. It's dangerous for anyone not, well, the Weyrwoman and myself."

What is so important about bronze? Semith clutched. Is that not enough? They can be healthy eggs. We do not need more like Yusuth![/color] Again, only to T'di, the slowly dying anger turned to an almost-whine, long known to both blue and his rider.

I know, love, I know. But calm down, she's just an overly excited kid with some sweets and she's complimenting you. Don't be a brat.

Mordanth slunk back down and towards Semith, properly chastised. T'di glanced to Lesh, shrugged helplessly.

[lithle]

Semith had begun to rebury the lump, preening under Mordanth's compliments, when the situation shifted. It shifted like the sand under her feet, a sudden instability, a coming undone of the things she knew. As Mordanth hissed and scolded, the gold, in fact, creened, her eyes beginning to whirl with agitated yellow. Mordanth was being mean!

But Mordanth wasn't mean. He was her Mordanth, sweet and funny and attentive and now he was being mean! The sound she made wasn't entirely a whimper but it came close, and her wing snapped back against her body. It took her a moment to process this change, but process it she did.

Stop it! Semith's voice whipped through the minds of all present, proving that, if she wasn't a usual queen, queen she was. Then, to Mordanth alone, and now she was plaintive again, sad. You'll scare her. I don't want you to scare her. What if no one comes to see me?

Leshta, tell her we're sorry. She can stay. She won't hurt the eggs. The gold settled a bit, but the edge of yellow still played in her eyes.

Right. Well, that'd blown up in a hurry. Looking from Mordanth, to T'di, to Jora and back again, Leshta wasn't sure for a moment what to say to who. But then, it was Semith she was responsible for, and always would be.

"Sorry, girl. They're a little wound up. Semith doesn't mind you here, just stay near us, okay?" With that, she reached out and took one of the profferred mugs, doing her best to choke down the sickly sweet mixture with a smile, "So, you're looking forward to the hatching?"

Nice to know someone in the Weyr wasn't expecting a whole clutch full of duds, even if expecting golds and bronzes was a bit optimistic.

A glance to T'di said they'd finish the discussion of prisoners standing at some later date, when others weren't listening.