[Hatching] Happily Ever After

[lithle]

The rain fell from the late afternoon sky in a miserable, constant drizzle which did nothing to soften the oppressive summer heat. Breathing the thick, wet air was a struggle in itself, walking in it was almost suicide. In view of this, and (more pressingly) the nearness of the hatching, the prisoners had not been asked to do any field work, instead staying confined within the walls of the prison. The guards, however, were still expected to be about their duties.

Such was life at Warden's.

Leshta's duties were comprised largely of sitting with Semith on the hatching sands, sheltered from the rain by the great glass overhang, which only intensified the heat. Semith had been restless since sunrise and now, as the rain picked up in intensity, she lifted her head and began to hum.

Almost immediately, in the skies above and across the Weyr, the other dragons picked up the sound, filling the air with a resonate thrum. Leshta looked at the eggs, swallowed, and squared her shoulders.

"Tell Mordanth and Faeth," she told the Queen, her hand resting on the dragon's shining hide. Especially shining, as Semith was decked out in ever gift she'd been given, including those not intended for wear. They'd been hung on her, or attached to riding straps that had no technical use.

Don't be silly, mine. Semith replied, tone gently chiding. They know. Everyone knows.

And, indeed, Leshta could see the patched blue hide of Mordanth, approaching from above.

-

L'vey himself went to collect the prisoner candidates, who were gathered by the prison guards, men and women who had been warned of what to do when the dragons began to hum. The prisoners had been provided with hatching robes days earlier, white, with red at the cuffs, collar, and hem. They were given time to change, then searched for weapons before being permitted to gather before L'vey.

Meanwhile, Faeth's mindvoice reached out to the more traditional candidates, who had also been provided with robes, but of simple white. The eggs hatch. Change into your robes, gather before the sands. My L'vey will meet you there. Be quick!

L'vey waited just outside the overhang of the hatching sands with his group of candidates until the others had gathered. He counted carefully, to assure himself they were all present. When the count was correct, he smiled, though only just.

"We're all here. The eggs are already rocking, so I will be brief. Remember, do not approach the hatchlings. Do not touch them. Get out of their way if they come toward you. They can be quite dangerous. Firelizards are not permitted to accompany you. Please, pay your respects to Semith as you enter the sands and to Mordanth as well. You need not separate yourself according to-- status. Simply line yourself up along the edge of the sands."

Mordanth and Semith watched together, their riders with them, as L'vey stepped aside, allowing the candidates entry. A group of seven guards, ringing the edges of the sands, watched as well. The eggs were moving obviously, the Poison Apple Egg showing particular enthusiasm. Any minute, the first hatchling would be seeking its lifemate.

OOC

-Please post no more than twice per admin post, so that we don't get overwhelmed.

-As ever, IC actions will lead to IC consequences. If your character is particularly stupid, they may be mauled.

-When the first egg hatches, the egg guessing thread will be closed.

The Eggs:
1. Dwarf's Beard Egg - White As Snow Green - Snowth to Farrox
2. Spun Gold Egg - Miller's Daughter Opal - Iiateth to Sheraz
3. True Love Egg - Prince Charming Pink - Knighth to Romethia
4. Old Blood Egg - Sea Witch Yellow - Djith to Kuriel
5. Hazel Switch Egg - Bear Prince Green - Roseth to Tiael
6. Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum Egg - Beanstalk Gray - Golith to Jarethir
7. Grandmother's House Egg -Big Bad Wolf Brown - Caninth to Milune
8. Flickering Flame Egg -Matchstick Blue - Betweened
9. Skinny Dipping Egg - Marquis Gray - Cabarath to Tanyrion
10. Poison Apple Egg- Evil Queen Green - Invidith to Reeva
11. Sweet Music Egg - Ratcatcher Gray - Willoth to Gwynell
12. Jam Sandwich Egg - Seven In One Blow Blue - Bravadoth to Kretyn

[S'yal]

Farrox was buzzing with excitement. He could even ignore that he was being gathered and put into a group of people and he was surrounded by scary, scary people that had weapons and stuff! He pulled his robe over his head, over the bright jumpsuit he always wore. His eyes widened with excitement, and he hardly even cared that this was his life at stake. He didn't mind not Impress, all he cared about was seeing all of these babies healthy and happy, going to their bondeds.

He loved dragons! He almost didn't hear L'vey's words, his eyes filled with excitement as he shifted from one foot to another. He nearly fell all over himself when he was allowed onto the sands, and he was aware of the fact another prisoner had pushed him while growling something like 'Will you MOVE?'. He suffered momentary terror at being touched, but he rushed forward anyway. He dropped into a clumsy bow to Semith and Mordanth, one that resulted in him nearly falling forward into the sand. He gathered himself quickly and took his place in line, jumping up and down like an excited child. Someones happy!

Would he Impress? Would he stop being alone? Farrox was suddenly aware of the fact he wasn't sure if a dragon would want him. He was dirty, after all. So many hands had touched him and soiled whatever innocence the former prostitute might have had. Despite his behavior and appearance, he was not stupid. He knew that he would be the last choice for a dragon, with his trauma over what had happened to him. The second he was away from dragons and surrounded by other humans, it showed. He stuttered and tried to hide, sometimes even reacted with something akin to violence when touched. No, he was not a good candidate for a dragon.

His shoulders sagged for a moment, before he brightened. Even if he didn't Impress, he just wanted to see all the babies go to their riders happy and healthy.
~~~~

Julian was less eager then most. He was wearing his robes, of course, but he moved slowly and sluggishly. He dragged his feet all the way at the back of the line, his head drooping and a bored yawn taking up his features. He didn't care much about this Hatching, but he quickly stifled this and made his way onto the Sands. He was sad about leaving Bell and the newly acquired Lord Flufferbutt behind, but he knew that the Blue would keep a close eye on the orange kitten. He was a good baby that way.

He bowed slowly to Semith and Mordanth, with proper respect. "Your babies will be lovely." He didn't feel any resentment to either dragon, despite how he personally felt about this hatching. The excitement of the albino boy near him made him grit his teeth. How would that poor prisoner feel when he was left walking off the sands? This was horrible, beyond cruel. But Julian held his tongue.

[Velcro]

Romethia had been ushered here and there, mechanically donning the candidate's robe she'd been given with red on the sleeves. It was a way to single the prisoners out, in case someone was stupid, and decided to screw things up for the rest of them. However, with at least two of the candidates hoping to impress, herself included in that, she really hoped it wouldn't happen. Sedately, Ro marched herself over to listen to L'vey, listening to his words, taking them to heart. Romethia was sure that if a hatchling wanted her, they would find her.

She repeated L'vey's words in her head as she followed the others out to the sands. Do not approach the hatchlings. She bowed to Semith, then Mordanth. Get out of the way if a dragonet comes towards you. Ro had a pretty good sense of self preservation, she liked to think, so she wasn't really too worried on that one. She stood by another girl candidate, and peeked around for a familiar face, hoping to see Tiael. She wanted to wish the other woman good luck, if she could. Do not touch the hatchlings That seemed to be very in line with the last one, get out of the way. How could she find time to touch them if she was getting out of the way? Romethia smiled, knowing that her order of review wasn't quite correct, but she was sure to remember L'vey's advice.

One of the pretty, vibrant colored eggs had started to wobble with fever. drawing Romethia's eyes. It would surely be the first egg to hatch, she thought. Then again, one could never be completely sure of anything in life. She did know that she hadn't touched this one, and she quickly glanced at the three that she had touched, the golden egg, and the other two. She smiled at the brown and purple egg, she had liked that one dearly. The other egg, the green-ish one, had also been very nice. She hoped to see what came out of those two, most of all. But, she thought with a smile, if she impressed a different dragon, she would be able to know what came out of those two since she would be having classes with them. With a happy smile, she turned her attention back to the most active of the eggs.

[Mikki]

Of all the days to be outside, this was not one of them. A person had to be crazy to go out in such weather. It was muggy, it was wet, and it was just gross. The rain was coming down so hard it almost hurt for shells sake. But nobody ever said that one particular woman was sane. True, she wasn't a prisoner but perhaps she didn't have all her marbles? Why else would someone be outside in such horrible weather, willingly?

Well, it may have to do with the fact that during rain storms the fishing was good. And with how horrible the food at warden was Milune was going to get while the getting was good. So she had trundled out to the beach, a fishing rod over one shoulder. She had a satchel slung over the other and she wore little, just a pair of basic shorts and a shirt. Footwear wasn't something she bothered with. It would only end up getting sucked into the wet sand. The lass had found herself a spot close to the water and plopped down, hooking a worm from a can in her satchel.

For about an hour or so she'd just sat there, zoning out as her line lay sagged. Her mind wandered and paused on a few choice thoughts. One was whether or not she would impress or not. There weren't a lot of eggs on the sands, but there were more than enough candidates. Chances were she was going to get passed over, though she sincerely hoped not. She was Weyr bred and had basically grown up with the beasts until she'd been sent to the hall. Wasn't the dream of every Weyrbrat to one day ride a dragon of their own? Milune was no exception to that rule and wanted nothing more than to impress.

It may just be her lucky day.

Glint popped out of between near her head and started scolding her. Startled, the woman jumped and looked at the gravid 'lizard in bewilderment. What did she do now? Trying to placate the 'lizard she lifted her hands as if to snatch her out of the air and nearly got bitten for her efforts. It was then that she heard the humming. For a heart stopping second she froze. Though not a traditional Weyr and not nearly as large as her home Weyr, Warden did an impressive job vibrating with the throats of all its dragons. She was almost lost to nostalgia, but that niggling sense of urgency spurned her on. Getting snapped at by a frustrated 'lizard helped things too.

Quickly reeling in her line the candidate flicked off the dead worm and hooked the hook through one of the eyes. It was placed on the ground and she began rummaging through her satchel. For days she had been carrying it around with her, waiting for this moment. Inside was her white robe, pristine, pressed, and now completely soaked. But she didn't care. In fact she didn't care to the point that she stripped right there on the beach. Being a healer and of Weyr stock left her with almost no modesty. If someone passed by and looked, they'd get an eye full. Though it would be short lived as she shrugged on the robe. Ringing out her clothing as best she could she stuffed them back into the satchel and gathered her things up. "Off with you," she shooed the hissing 'lizard away. Said lizard snarled and popped between to go find someplace dry to rest.

Seeing the flighty critter off, Milune quickly pivoted and started dashing for the hatching grounds. It took her a good five minutes since she'd walked down the coast a ways. When she finally got there she was water logged, panting, and a bit out of breath. Dripping rivulets of water onto the hissing sands she stashed her stuff near the impromptu stands and headed towards the others while puffing. As she trotted over, she took everything in. Well...Semith was certainly dressed for the occasion. She was pretty sure that the Gold was wearing every gift that she had been given at the touching. It made the girl smile a bit. She really was a unique one, wasn't she?

Still, unique or not she was still a Queen and deserved respect. Bedraggled and looking almost like a drowned cat the Healer finally bowed to her, leaving tiny puddles in the sand where water dripped off her. "Greetings Semith. You look especially pretty today. Thank you for letting me stand at your clutch." Blatantly, she admired the one winged wonder, lingering a little longer than she should of. She really was a good dragon. It was a shame so many others thought differently. Still, she quickly bowed to Leshta and backed off towards the ring of candidates.

As L'vey requested she mingled with the others. Today was not a day for segregation. A hatching should bring people together, like they brought life mates together. Most humans were capable of redeeming themselves. She was tentatively hopeful that those present around here were part of that population. Maybe the touch of a dragon was all they needed? As sympathetic towards some of these folk as she was, she was also reverently praying that the dragons wouldn't solely be set on those who needed mending. There were others, like her (she hoped), who were just as worthy. One did not have to commit a crime to be considered worthy by the dragons of Warden...did they..?

Wait, why was she thinking such depressing thoughts? For Faranths sake a Hatching was supposed to be a happy time, full of good thoughts and well wishes. She banished those negative thoughts quickly and fiercly. They had no place with her at that exact moment. Closing her eyes the woman took a deep breath to calm herself down. To lighten her spirits she focused on the good times she'd had with her family. Brief flashes of events passed eased away her doubts and lifted away her tension.

When she opened her eyes again they focused intently and solely on the eggs. Above all, they were her main priority now. Her future was in those eggs and she was now quite determined to prove that notion. So when the Poison Apple Egg looked like it was going to explode, she gave it her undivided attention. What was inside it, she wondered.

Certainly it had been an interesting egg at the touching. Unlike some others it had not bitten her, but it had very little patience for her. It still reminded her of a child grasping for attention, any type of attention, because it didn't get any type of positive reinforcement. She genuinely pitied whoever ended up impressing what was inside. Yet a very small part of her hoped that maybe the dragonet inside was for her? Note...this was a very, very small part. A dragon was a dragon, but one with attitude problems was bound to be a headache.

Still, as daunting of a prospect impressing to such a creature was she cast out her 'net'. The net pretty much being an interlocking wave of tantalizing emotions. Love overlapped with acceptance and intertwined with desire. Need and the promise of a future filled with ever lasting companionship were thrust to the fore. If she was lucky, very lucky, a hatchling might take notice of her. Surly impressing to her was better than potentially going between? Only time would tell..time that for Milune was crawling at a snails pace and making her further anxious to see what would hatch.

[twisting]

Kuriel was mending the leather thongs that braided around her herding switch when the humming started. It was an odd sound, and the way it made her ribcage vibrate was intriguing. Kuriel knew it was the single for eggs hatching, she knew that the others would be dashing to their barracks to change. They would be all in a tizzy at the chance to impress a dragon. Kuriel felt none of that excitement. This was a business transaction for her. A dragon was her shot at freedom; she was going into this knowing it was a long shot that a dragon would even want her. Kuriel knew she was broken inside, and everyone knew dragons didn’t choose the broken. It wouldn’t hurt to stand however. Kruiel had no high hopes, and so had no fear of disappointment. Should this plan fail she would just have to find another one.

Rising from dirt floor of the barn that housed the goats in inclement weather she put aside her work and jogged easily to the barracks. The red trimmed white robe felt awkward. It had been so long since she’d worn anything but pure red. The trimming didn’t seem to be enough. Kuriel took a moment to watch the others, the air alive with their hopes and dreams. A tinge of envy, pale and weak, colored her perception of them. The twinge of emotion was followed by a heart crushing wave of need. She needed to be like them, she needed to feel something. Kuriel struggled to catch her breath against the power of her addiction. Her hands trembled with the ache of her desire for dust. She fought down the feeling, swallowing it as tears filled her eyes. The others would probably think she was just worried about the dragons.

Kuriel let the herd sweep her along to the sands. She used the time to even her breathing and regain her perpetual calm. The monster had almost escaped, almost sent her screamingly over the edge of sanity. She wouldn’t let that happen. Her calm restored Kuriel bowed curtly to the golden dragon. She didn’t really care for the beast, and hadn’t brought her a gift. It didn’t seem to have negatively affected her at the hatching, the demented gold probably didn’t even remember her. Kuriel would rather have no dragon then have one as dim as the gold was. She certainly hoped these eggs came out better than their mother.

[Zen]

L’vey rounded up those others, and Ever was, unfortunately, one of them. She was not sure what the shards she was doing as she followed the rest of the prisoners deep into the bunkrooms and snatched up the white candidate robes. She stripped off her dirty red jumpsuit, which left her standing in only her breast-garb and her underwear. Each was standard-issue prison-wear. Bailey looked up sleepily from her bunk pillow. Jayne was being stupid as he zipped from one end of the bunk to the other on all fours, lumbering about as if he actually owned the place. Ever could just imagine him hissing under his breath from all the excitement. He didn’t understand any of it, but Bailey did. With a trill, Bailey questioned Ever.

“No, don’t follow, Bail.” Ever said, leaning down and kissing the Bronze on the head. Jayne, ever the gruff one, chuffed at the show of affection and dodged the blonde’s attempt to kiss him. “Keep Jayne with you, Bailey. Don’t let him out of your site.” She continued, and Bailey probably had no idea what she was asking him to do, but he felt the need from her to stay put. Even Jayne settled down on the pillow. While his brown and red-brown wings were flared with the beginnings of a reproach, Jayne himself settled down far away from Bailey. Pulling away from the two firelizards—truly, Ever was a blessed woman to have been able to keep Jayne despite the ‘one firelizard per prisoner’ rule—Ever decided that she did not want to put on those ugly bright red jumpsuits ever again if she could help it.

That being said, Ever picked up the white robe and her mind flashed with a beleaguered ‘of course the material would feel exactly like the jumpsuits’ thought before shrugging the robe onto her feminine frame. The robe was outlined in red, something she’d noticed all prisoner robes had. Great, even when hatchings were supposed to be unanimous affairs, she’d still feel as if the iron eye of the law was upon her back. Sure, it wasn’t her father’s iron eye of the law… but it was close enough. People would be staring at her, staring at them (collectively, the prisoners), and she had no doubt in her mind that over half of those watching the hatching would be wishing that the dragons didn’t even look the prisoners in the eye.

Strangely, as Ever pulled the robe’s drawstring tight, she felt naked without the red jumpsuit. To be perfectly honest, the jumpsuit had become a part of her person. She had grown with the ‘suit, even if it wasn’t only one suit (it would have been a very dirty suit), and she felt a twinge of regret when she saw it lying, disregarded, on the ground. She bent over, picked it up, and folded it as best as she could before setting it on the foot of her bed. Jayne quickly took that opportunity to rummage into its folds and create a sort of den for himself. It almost brought tears to the woman’s eyes.

Ever didn’t know what sort of footwear she should wear to the Sands, so she just pulled on her old boots and went with it. The robe fell to below her knees, so Ever didn’t feel like she was fully naked. Either way, she rarely travelled anywhere with a robe that could be considered a bath robe and just her underclothes on. It felt off. So did the guard who, when Ever lined up to go to the actual Sands, checked her for weapons. No, his searching her didn’t feel weird, it felt like he was trying to grope her or something. She nearly kneed him when he reached a little too far up, but his hands, which had stayed there for a little longer than she would have liked, quickly moved away and he wasn’t looking at her provocatively or anything like that.

The walk to the Sands felt like she where walking to a new life. But, with furrowed brows, Ever wondered which side of a ‘new life’ she was actually walking to. Was she walking into a trap that might as well get her killed? Was she stepping into more Turns of prison life when she didn’t Impress—and probably would never get another chance to Impress? Or was this the beginning of a new life where she shared her mind with another who was probably as smart as her (definitely smarter than her two firelizards)? Ever had a sinking feeling that she wasn’t walking into her bright future but into her doom.

L’vey stopped the candidates before they reached the eggs and seemed to count heads. When he was sure everyone was there, he sent them to the Queen. Ever swallowed, and her naturally sad-looking face transformed, for one second, into a look of fear. This was not a time to be taken lightly, oh shards no it wasn’t. This was a time where riders were chosen, and given the amount of candidates to eggs ratio, some candidates would be left standing. She shuffled forward, her feet feeling as if they were shackled again like they had been when she’d first arrived at Warden’s Weyr, but her head was held high. She’d accept whatever came to her.

“Queen Semith,” Ever said after she’d bowed to the Queen (curtsying, while it might have been better for a lady to do, was out of the question with these robes), “Thank you for allowing me to stand for the hatching. It is truly a gift, and I’m afraid I’ve nothing to give you this time but my thanks.”

She continued with the line of candidates, not wanting to separate from them now lest she be singled out (those red hems really were making her slightly paranoid). It wasn’t that one could really see the red in all the hubbub, it was the fact that she would know she did something wrong. Obedient Ever rarely did things wrong. Which was a lie, since Ever was human and did things wrong all the time. She found herself standing next to Milune, the girl who’d touched the Gold first on Touching Day (Ever didn’t forget), and offered her a sad-looking smile. Her eyes flashed worriedly as she turned back to the eggs. She wished she had Bailey with her right now—having Bailey made everything better.

“Good luck,” Ever said under her breath as she felt the heat of the beach’s sand begin to sink into her feet.

---

Rorschach scared him sometimes. With the way she carried on trying to get Bit to notice her, he seriously thought he might have a heart attack one of these times. The tiny green loved nothing more than to randomly pop in from between at the most random times of the day just to see if she could scare the dark blue firelizard. There was never any luck with the ‘scaring’ part, as Bitmap knew that these ‘attacks’ would happen and so literally waited for her to pop in before looking her in the eye and haughtily turning away. Seriously, that was about the only interaction he ever gave her, but her antics were taking a toll on Tany. Though she slept soundly at night, anywhere from 7 am to 9 pm (relative time) was fair game for the green female. Once she’d even dug her claws into Tany one morning just to see if scaring the blue-eyed man would scare her ‘love.’

Now was just too much, and Tanyrion slammed his hand down on the table he was sitting at, his blue eyes scathing as they glared at the green. Rory had just appeared from between with her latest attempt to scare Bit. ‘With’ was the key word—she had a struggling tunnelsnake pup in her claws. Rory was so scared from Tany’s outburst that she dropped the tunnelsnake youth into the man’s gruel. For once, Bitmap was also frightened… at least he’d jumped when he heard the sudden noise. His wings popped open to stabilize himself as Tanyrion pushed himself away from the tunnelsnake-infested food.

“Rorschach!” Tanyrion glowered, and the green fell to the table a complete mess, blubbering about something in firelizard language. Bitmap, for his part, darted down off of Tany’s shoulder and gobbled up the tunnelsnake and what was left of the food before slinking back onto the man’s shoulder and glaring at Rorschach in his own right.

“Get to the bunks, Rorschach.” Tanyrion said, placing a hand on his temple and massaging it. A puff of cold air told him that Rorschach had done what he’d told her; a second puff of cold hair and a sudden lightening of his shoulder told him that Bit had done the same.

With a resigned sigh, Tany picked up the mess of his plate and returned it to the cooks before trudging off. He couldn’t do very much for as soon as he started down the guard’s corridor, the hum of dragons alerted him to the imminent hatching. Tanyrion supposed he should have felt elated. All he felt now was dirty—the gruel had splashed all over him, and that gruel was sticky—and he wanted a bath like it was nobody’s business. He turned back the way he came and meandered to his bunk while mumbling about Rory under his breath.

Needless to say, Tanyrion was not exactly the most enthused person rushing to get his or her robes. He arrived at his bunk to find a calm Bit sitting directly on a huddling mass underneath the covers—that, undeniably, was Rory. Tanyrion pulled his shirt over his head and tore his pants off of his legs before stepping into new pants and a new shirt. The robe went on over it; its white contours did not seem to fit his body very well. In fact, instead of slimming him as the robe (when tied) was supposed to do, it made him look like he was at least a hundred pounds heavier.

He sat on the bed, pushed Bit off of the mound-that-was-Rory, and petted her. Even though she herself was under the covers and he was above them, he could feel her shaking wear off. She had probably already forgotten the incident and was just now wondering why in shards name she was under the covers. He told both Bit and Rory to stay, enforcing it upon their minds. Bit looked at Tany with as calm a look as he’d ever given the blue-eyed man… and for once Tanyrion felt as if the blue actually understood him. Rory, as she was under the covers, would have to fend for herself.

Slipping on his boots, Tanyrion found himself not the last candidate-guard out of the barracks. He followed L’vey to stand outside the Sands. When it was his turn to bow to Semith, he bowed low and smiled up at the great Queen. “Your clutch is outstanding, and I am glad to be able to Stand,” He said. When he turned away, though, his smile fell and he felt the icy clutches of uncertainty settle into his heart. More candidates than eggs—some would be left standing. Like every hatching, it seemed… but this one was special. He settled in beside Milune, the girl he’d met first at the touching and second at the beach, and turned his eyes to view the hatching.

[Spiffy]

Jareth's mood was, to say the least, not the best. He'd been taking advantage of the lack of field chores by taking a day or so off of chores - sod the extras for a while, he'd manage - and relaxing in his bunk, twiddling his thumbs and chatting with the other prisoners whom he share barracks with. And then he, and another prisoner, had be called out of bed, bundled into their candidate robes with their obnoxious red strips - though far less obnoxious than the jumpsuits, and it was actually good to wear something else for a change - and dragged outside into the rain. Jarethir, standing arms crossed in their small group and glowering at the sky as it drenched his robed with its sodden heat. He sighed, picking at the red hem of his robe. Hopefully, if the say went well, he'd never have to wear the thrice-Threaded jumpsuit again. He wondered where they'd find clothes for the prisoner Weyrlings; most of them had been there long enough to not have anything else to wear, having worn nothing since the 'suits since they arrived as detainees.

He turned his attention from the sky as L'vey started talking, running through a few last words of caution and advice that they'd all heard before: on't approach the hatchlings, get out of their way, say hi to Semith and Mordanth, yadda yadda yadda. Mind, hadn't Ith said that he'd be surprised if no-one got mauled this hatching? What else had the brown said that L'vey hadn't... don't overfeed the baby, and make sure a prisoner Impresses to a metallic. Well, that last hadn't been phrased quite like that, but Jareth had every mind to try if it meant wiping a smile off of the face of a few dragon riders, particularly Warden.

He wondered what L'vey meant by 'status.' Did he mean male/female, like he'd heard somewhere the candidates were usually separated, or prisoner/non-prisoner? He assumed it more likely the latter, seeing as this was Wardens and they seemed intent on doing everything differently.

As L'vey finished and sent them off toward the Sands Jareth sighed again, determining to be in a better mood by the time the first egg hatched. No dragon would want a grump for a rider... well again, Warden bucked the trend, Faranth only knew why any dragon wanted him, but if Jareth had the option he'd rather go dragonless than Impress to a slob like Warden's Bronze, who's name he couldn't even remember.

Cheer up, he told himself. His mind wandered back, as it often did, to his daughter, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. She'd be over the moons if I came back with a dragon, he thought, then snorted lightly at the thought. If you ever get back. No chance of that for at least another two turns yet...

"No presents this time, I'm afraid, Semith," he said quietly as he bowed to the mother gold, noticing his previous shiny rock on a plaited string present hanging off of her right headknob, "I just hope that I can please one of your children." That said, he stepped away, allowing others the chance to get in after him, and headed to where some of the other prisoners were gathering around the edge of the egg, now uncovered since the touching a sevenday or so earlier. His eyes invariable fell on the large blue egg jittering at the edge of the sands. It was definitely one of the larger ones. He was plagued with curiosity. What would it hatch? Would it be one of the oh-so-elusve metallics that Ith had wanted? If so, would it go to one of the prisoners? Judging by its reaction to him, and to some extent Tiael, that was more than likely. But who would it go to, him, or Tiael, or some other person they'd not factored into their thoughts on the egg - for he had little doubt that Tiael had been wondering the same about the egg that he had, though he had little way of knowing. The girl was as difficult to read as he was.

But it appeared he would have to wait for the answer to that particular egg, for it was not the Fee-fi-fo-fum egg that was showing the most signs of hatching soon, but the Poison Apple egg. Anytime now...

[ramba]

Reeva changed quickly, glad that she wasn't overwhelmingly busy. She thought the robes looked a little odd against her skin, indeed, white didn't suit her, but the red hemming helped her look a bit more colourful. Reeva did wonder why tradition stated White robes be worn. Reeva followed the rest of her prisoner candidates, absently picking at the cuffs of her sleeve at the loose thread.

Reeva was a little tenative about this hatching. What if she got mauled by a dragonet? It didn't bother her so much, it just worried her. She had very little faith in Healers. What if someone else got mauled and she was the only one around able to help? Reeva shivered. That wouldn't be pleasant, blood wasn't one of her strong points.

The prisoner candidate paid no real attention to what L'vey was saying. The humming was far too loud in her mind, and she felt sick. She'd been feeling ill ever since she'd recieved the robes. Nerves perhaps? Or perhaps the young woman was coming down with a disease? Reeva didn't know.

She walked onto the Sands after other candidates, nervously bowing at the Gold and Blue. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Reeva noted that Semith was wearing all of the gifts she had been given. She did look like a walking jewelry stand, if a rather cute one.

Reeva stood rather nervously at the edge of the Sands as instructed. The eggs were close to hatching, and Reeva couldn't help but wonder what was in them.

[Wren]

Faranth above, life at Warden’s was dull. Maybe it was the weather more than anything else; that grey rain which blanketed everything in its oppressive and relentless shadow, or maybe it was the heat, the heat that seeped into Sheraz’s every waking moment, and most of his sleeping ones two. He lay now on his cot, staring listlessly up to the ceiling, half-listening to the lazy, unenthusiastic conversation of the other inmates that lay nearby. Oh, if only something would happen. If only this grey mire that was his life would change just a little bit.

He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, laying one protective arm over the little dog that was curled beside him.

And then the humming started. At first he didn’t know what it was, and he looked around in alarm. It was only when several of the other prisoners, ones that he knew to be candidates, jumped up and began nattering excitedly. In a rush of comprehension he rolled out of bed and rummaged through his things until he found the suitable robes (really, he was surprised they were allowed anything other than the usual red jumpsuits) and pulled it on, not refraining from joining in his own excited chatter.

Then the quick walk to the Sands, accompanied by L’vey, and everyone crowding up at the entrance. He paid more attention to the weyrlingmaster’s instructions than he normally would have, but even so, in his excitement, he barely remembered what the man had said. His whole body was trembling with adrenaline, his eyes wide with anticipation. He was fully aware that this was a day which could change his life, and he was treating it with all the pomp and importance it deserved.

When L’vey gave word for the candidates to proceed, Sheraz almost tripped over in his haste to get out. At the last minute he recalled L’vey’s words and turned to the dragons. They didn’t look so big and imposing this time, perhaps because he knew something of their personality, but he was nevertheless grateful to them. He approached and dipped his head (he couldn’t quite bring himself to bow), and said, “Nice to see ya’ again, Semith and Mordanth. Thanks for lettin’ me Stand. I promise if I get one of your babies I’ll look after it.”

He nodded again and retreated, looking behind him to find the other candidates. Some of the non-prisoners looked anxious when he stood with them, but they needn’t have been; he was so focused on what was to come that he barely noticed them. The time was now, and he was making the most of it. He could see the eggs rocking, the eggs that he had helped to dig from the sand, and he knew that, at any moment, one of them could yield his ticket to a new life.

[nozomi]

The vivid red and green of the Poison Apple Egg continued to rock as the candidates found their places on the sand and the sands filled with observers. It rocked in a steady, careful rhythm, not rushing, for rushing was unseemly. Every rock was slightly harder than the last, slightly more forceful. But never, ever, out of control. Finally the egg cracked into a neighbor, and broke in two, red falling to one side, green to the other.

The Evil Queen Hatchling was a very dark green, with a much more vivid version of the color providing brilliant highlights to her nearly black hide. She sat quite still, and then, very deliberately, stood and opening her two perfect wings, turned in a small, slow circle. She had her head raised, her eyes on the stands, and she was clearly making a point. The Evil Queen Hatchling was perfect, no sign whatsoever of her mother's flaws.

Point made, she stepped out her egg, gave the white robed candidates a long, but not particularly interested look, and sat back down. Without another glance at the watchers, she set to grooming, spreading her wings out to dry and licking the egg goo from her forelegs. It wasn't that she wasn't aware that she was being waiting for. But that's what the watchers were for, waiting. She, however, had to approach this properly, and she was hardly going to go looking for hers while she was a mess.

As the Evil Queen Hatchling tidied up, another egg began to rock with increasing force. The Dwarf's Beard Egg once again near Mordanth, would no doubt hatch soon.

[nemix]

One of these walls was not like the other...... because it was the only one with a door, and any kind of view. Tiael circled her room what she was sure, was the twentieth time. She'd been wrong, completely wrong, chores were wonderful. Chores, came with views, tasks to do and more recently, people to talk to. Their conversations had been fairly brief, there's only so much time during a task to speak before someone whisked you off for yet another mundane, scratch that, compared to this wonderfully interesting, job. Still, it had given her hope that this place wasn't full of useless dimglows. There was a spark in some still, a determination in others that Tiael could at least respect. She was still unsure where she placed some of her new acquaintances, useful? dangerous? just plain bizarre? Well, either way it had made her past few sevendays all the more interesting.

At least until now. No chores, just time inside the walls. It was going to create problems if it carried on much longer. Tempers frayed when everyone was cooped up, it was one of the reasons she tended to stick to her room. She'd debated going to find some of the others but had decided against it in the end; she'd cope with the quiet stint and they'd be outside when nature had decided to stop making lief difficult.

Approaching the door, she peered through the barred window out into the corridor and watched Guards slink past and a small group of red jumpsuits shuffle past. Thrilling. It was as she turned away that she heard a more hurried pair of boots in the hall. Curious, she peered out again until a Guard stopped outside her door and watched her for a moment. Carefully, she stepped back and held her hands at her sides while the door was swung inwards. Now what had she done?

A robe was pushed her way though, one with a red collar, cuffs and hem. It was almost pretty, if it wasn't also screaming that she was a prisoner. Still, it was better than a while suit if red. "Hatching time?" She queried, receiving a mute nod in return. Wonderful company. Taking the robe, she ushered the Guard out and changed quickly, stepping out into the hall as another small group of Candidates were ushered along. So off she went, carried among the general flow to L'vey. The man was waiting outside the sands and in silence they received their instructions. Wow so, they were allowed to mix? That was a bold move. Still, she took to heart the advice that would keep her hopefully in one piece, and with a dragon to boot if she was lucky. The Touching had been interesting, not every egg had disliked her, nor had they been unresponsive. So who knew? Perhaps her ticket to a better life lay just on the sands.

Moving out carefully, she realised that even the beat of the rain was drowned out by the hum of the dragons. For the small numbers Wardens had, they still made a lot of noise. Carefully she bowed to Semith, an amused smile curling her lips. "I see we are not the only ones dressed up." She said, noting the bright decoration of the Gold. "Quite an eye catching outfit." Tiael said as she straightened up, flashing the Gold an enthusiastic smile before she shuffled along to try and find a space on the sands.

She spotted the familiar face of Jareth, he was already positioned and watching the enthusiastic rocking of the poison apple egg. He was as determined as she was to make the most out of this it seemed. Again she was struck with wondering whether that blue egg they'd both stopped at, would go to him? or perhaps herself? Maybe someone else? Well at least the internal torture would be over soon, one way or the other. Still, she'd be watching closely, to see which dragons went where. A lot could be told about a person by their dragon, so it would be revealing indeed today.

Continuing past him though, she shuffled along and spotted Romethia. She appeared to be looking around at the Candidates and Tiael had to suppress a chuckle. It seemed, that despite only a brief conversation, that the other woman hadn't forgotten Tiael. Then again, they had both been looking forward to this hadn't they? The peering about soon stopped as she began to focus on the eggs which made Tiael grin. As she passed, she touched Romethia lightly on the arm, whispering a quiet "Good luck" Before slotting in to the line a little further down.

Her features were curious, watching the eggs in anticipation. Occasionally she glanced along, wondering if Romethia had caught her comment, and flicking her eyes to Jareth for a moment. Of all the other candidates, these two were of most interest to her. She had time for both of them, for different reasons and she mused if they'd all be stepping off the sands as Weyrlings today.

Before she could wonder much more, an egg split and Tiael recognised it as one of the most opinionated in the bunch. The green and red shell had contained a mind that had all but shoved her away, such hatred it had seemed to contain, for Tiael at least. Well, she'd be following L'vey's advice with that one, a wiiiiide berth would be needed there. Hands clasped behind her back, she settled her feet into the sands and waited in the sticky heat, watching the dark green hatchling clean herself, and the black and white coloured Dwarf's Beard egg shake with a lot more gusto.

[Mikki]

When the Poison Apple Egg hatched, Milune arched a brow. It certainly was making a show of itself wasn't it? The dragonet inside really was an attention grabber. Though she was actually pretty surprised with how neatly the egg hatched. Splitting right down the middle so both sides ended up being two solid colors? Now that took skill, or luck. In either case the healer lass was mildly impressed.

The green that came forth was a stately thing. She was vain too, if how she was posturing was anything to go by. But she was quite pretty, even if she was too showy. "I wonder who that one will impress to. Who do you think?", she inquired of the two standing on either side of her. Tanyrion she knew and was comfortable with. The girl next to her she only knew in passing, knowing that her name was Ever. Yet she seemed the respectable sort. The Healer made it a point not to eye the red cuffs of her robe. She didn't want to be rude. Besides, violent sorts weren't allowed on the grounds so she had nothing to worry about.

Distracted, her attention shifted to the movement she'd caught out of the corner of her eye. Oh, was that the Dwarf's Beard Egg? Why yes it was and it looked like it was getting close to hatching. As lovely as the new green was, she didn't seem like she was going to impress any time soon. So the woman was anxious to see what would hatch next, and perhaps this dragonet would choose its rider instead of fussing. Nibbling her bottom lip, the drying candidate pushed herself up on her tip toes and lifted her chin as if to get a better look at the eggs. Was that a crack or a trick of the light? She couldn't quite tell, but couldn't wait to see what came out next. Come on babies, rock them eggies!

[S'yal]

Yari was just a tiny bit late to the Hatching. She had retired to her personal quarters mere seconds after the call had came out, having just finished oiling Trusith's hide so he shimmered just as much as that pathetic runt H'und dared to call a Bronze. Her fists clenched at the thought of that horrid runt of a dragon. It should have died. She sniffed with obvious contempt, and Trusith stirred in the back of her mind. She quickly shut off the hateful thoughts from her Brown. She did not want him to be like her, strange as it seemed. His innocence and trust provided a light for her in her dark and cynical world, and she was loath to allow that be tainted by anyone. Even herself.

This did not stop Trusith from feeling the hate, dark and ugly, seeping through Yari's not yet perfected mental wall. A wordless question was sent to her, and it took feelings of love and adoration to sooth the Browns worry. No, she did not hate Trusith. Trusith was better then any Bronze, with their obnoxious metallic hide. After all, with Browns and Blues the only purpose of Bronzes were to create clutches. But now a Blue proved that it was possible, even produced a gleaming egg, for the chromatics to catch a Queen. Browns had strength, Blues had speed. Bronzes were useless, shiny rocks. If a Blue could make a gleaming daughter, so could Trusith. He'd make hundreds! Yari smirked as she brushed her hair, pulling it back into a braid before she finished her make up.

Now she left the hut, Trusith stretching a fawn wing over her head to protect her from the drizzle of rain. They reached the beach quickly, and Trusith crooned lovingly to her as they settled in a place the Weyrling dragon could reach. She regarded the twitching eggs, the hatching of the Green, with unusual enthusiasm. Soon, Trusith, it will be your children on the sands!

Trusith crooned with excitement. If his rider thought he could do it, he could do it!

~~~~

(R'VIS ISN'T HERE YET HE'S DOING HIS MAKE UP)

[ramba]

Reeva watched intently as the Poison Apple Egg hatched into a rather beautiful green. There were no deformities on the little beauty, and it seemed that she wanted to prove than before she Impressed. Reeva felt herself relax a little. At least the dragon eggs weren't duds. Not all of them. And the first hatchling seemed healthy enough, even as she ignored the candidates to groom herself.

Reeva settled herself fully into her little spot on the Sands. She would not move unless her life was in danger, all the dragonets Impressed, or a dragonet called out her name. The prisoner candidate watched the green for a few moments more before taking in more of her surroundings.

There were still people arriving, but now all the attention seemed drawn to the dragonet and the eggs. There was another egg rocking violently. The Dwarf's Beard egg it was, and Reeva felt anticipation. The candidate longed to see what was inside each of the eggs, but could already feel the regret that would be stronger after the Hatching was over. Perhaps at that point she would be 'free'?

[lithle]

While the Evil Queen Hatchling continued to preen, the Dwarf's Beard Egg had changed from a slow and steady rock to something a bit faster and leaning more towards full-egg shivers rather than actual thrusts of the egg as if someone were kicking at the sides of the egg instead of pushing against it. A few more shudders, then the egg itself began to crumble, top first.

A pair of lime green head knobs and pale yellow eyes peered from the edges of the falling egg. The White as Snow Hatchling's head disappeared for a brief moment until a second hole was made in the side of the egg - the hole that had the entire thing falling apart, held together only by thick strands of goo and an escaping dragonet.

The thick-limbed green stumbled, just once, her wings flared out in an instinctive reaction to being off balance. While her base color consisted of 'grass green', the White as Snow Hatchling covered herself in various other greens from the pale pea soup spots covering her back, tail, across her shoulders and parts of her wings to the smaller, darker spots on her chest, the bright near-yellows of her claw tips and head knobs. She sneezed once before looking at the Candidates, eyes going from the soft butter color to a brighter yellow, and she sunk back a bit from the gaze of them - and from her sister.