[Hatching] Happily Ever After

[Velcro]

Romethia kept her eyes glued on the little red and green egg, and she was soon rewarded. It tipped over, clunking into another egg and split to reveal a lovely dark green. However, the green didn't seem very intent on impressing right away, instead choosing to clean herself before moving far. Not too long after that, another egg hatched, another egg that Romethia hadn't touched. It was another green, this one lighter in color. They were both well formed dragons, showing none of the problems their mother had.

Suddenly, the darker green went over to the second hatched green, circling her with menace. At the quick slash from the first hatched, Ro gasped, taking a short step forward before remembering that she wasn't to approach them. But that green was hurt! Maybe she could help her! Suddenly, a boy prisoner ran from his place in line, stumbling a few times, to the side of the poor attacked green. Romethia clapped delightedly, only then noticing Tiael coming beside her. She had also wished her luck in passing, but now she turned to her with a smile, only having paid slight attention to what the other green was doing. "Indeed! He's impressed, and I bet more of us will!"

The sight of the boy prisoner, one of many Ro didn't know, impressing made her spirits lift even higher. It was clear that the prisoners were capable of impressing now. This meant her own chances were better! Simultaneously, three things caught Romethia's eye. The rips in Tiael's robes were first. The second was a flurry of motion from the angry green now chasing a new victim. The final, somehow, she noticed a slight bit of movement from the gold egg, but she was more worried about the woman beside her now. Concern obvious in her voice, Ro asked, "Tiael, are you alright? Your robes are torn, that green got you a bit, didn't she? Did she get some of your skin?"

[lithle]

Now then, wasn't Ever brave. Wasn't she bold and strong, standing up to the little green like that. Surely, the Evil Queen Hatchling was happy with this show of strength. Right?

Well, perhaps.

Certainly, when the green reached Ever, she didn't attack, but sat down in the sand, her tail lashing like a cat's as she stared up at the woman. Was this the moment? Was this impression? It looked so very much like it. But no voice resonated in Ever's mind, and the hatchlings eyes remained red. She stood in a slow, languid movement and circled Ever, much as she had her sister. Then, crooning in that delightful, friendly way of hers she raised her head, pushing gently against Ever's hand, like a friendly feline.

One sudden, jerking movement later and the forsaken holder's daughter was two fingers shy of a full set. With that particular bit of business taken care of the green was off again, strutting across the sand, her tail moving fitfully, her head held high. Her target was less clear this time, but she stopped, after a bit of exploration, in front of another prisoner. Spitting the fingers at the woman's feet, like a feline with a dead bird, she looked up and the red finally faded from her gaze.

They were not innocents, Reeva. They were threats. But I have dealt with them. It is not cruelty to defend ones interests. Now, my sweet, come along. We have much to do.

Name: Invidith

Fairytale: Snow White

Desc:

Delicate and petite, Invidith will always be one of the smallest of her color. Her build speaks of fragility; she has a slim, fine boned look that implies she might fall over in a strong wind. Yet, Invidith's wide wingspan and slight build allow her to remain in flight for long after other dragons of her size are exhausted. Just don't ask her to carry more than one passenger, or she'll quickly wear herself out.

Personality:

There are some who might say that Invidith is jealous. Those same people might call her possessive, controlling, and vain. Those people are fools. Which isn't to say they're wrong. Oh, Invidith certainly is vain, controlling, and possessive. But to focus on these traits is to miss the point. Invidith is an aristocrat and whatever flaws she has are in service to that one simple fact.

Elegant, charming, and extremely smart, Invidith sees her clutchmates less as peers and more as vassals. None are her equals, but some might rise as far as 'favored pet' through flattery and cunning. Yet, for all that she's arrogant, Invidith is hard not to like. She's a natural leader, recognizing the strengths of those around her and praising them for their successes. She's good at sensing weaknesses as well, and wise enough to know when to correct and when to step in and help. When Invidith decides something needs doing, it gets done and rarely by her. This green is a master delegater, with a natural ability to judge who can be motivated by flattery and who needs to be bribed.

Jealousy runs deep in Invidith. Perhaps its being born a green that does it. So little is expected of her and yet she's capable of so much. Extremely vain, Invidith's rider will have a difficult time rousing her before she considers herself 'properly groomed'. The idea of appearing in public messy is similar, for her, to the idea of appearing naked. It's horrifying and indecent. Those dragons that Invidith judges as more attractive than herself (golds, generally) will gain her immediate hatred. Those she hates can expect to endure her at her most arrogant. They can also expect to have other dragons giving them odd looks, as Invidith spreads malicious rumors and sows discord. Those who are unfortunate in the looks department (every last irregular female, for example) will earn a sort of doting pity. After all, they make her look good. And those dragons who flatter her? Well, they'll get on her good side but it comes with a price. Once a male's made eyes at Invidith, he'd be wise to keep them there. She doesn't share well.

Invidith's rider needs to be prepared for life with a very possessive dragon. Friends and lovers will earn Invidith's instant dislike. She'll not hiss or threaten though, Invidith's too clever for that. She'll gently mention to her rider that another dragon saw said rider's lover in the arms of another, or overheard a friend saying something nasty. If that doesn't work, Invidith is a masterful actress, capable of playing sick and injured so that she might have the whole of her rider's attention.

Yet, if she's possessive of her rider, it's out of necessity. Invidith's rider is the only person she views as an equal, the only human she'll ever deign to speak to. She's royalty after all, as is her rider. The other humans and dragons? They're just details, there to make Invidith and her rider's life more comfortable.

Why Me?

Invidith belongs at the top and she needed a rider unafraid to get her hands dirty in that pursuit. Reeva, who balances cheer with ruthlessness, was exactly the sort of rider she sought. Someone who was capable of smiling and making friends, but didn't value those friendships too highly. After all, they aren't to be real friendships. Reeva's only real friend is to be Invidith. And, the two of them, working together, will go far.

As her second daughter impressed, Semith, quite suddenly, lifted her one good wing and curled it around the Spun Gold Egg shielding it from view. It had continued to shudder gently through the carnage and now, with no eyes on it, something happened. Anyway, there was a sound, a sharp, frantic creeling, from whatever was behind that wing.

[nemix]

Tiael was filled with something of a morbid curiosity as the dark coloured green continued to pursue her newest target. Her gaze flicked from the clutch, to the petite and scarily collected form. The other girl was simply standing her ground, was she crazy? In Tiael's mind, yes, but then she'd never really been one for heroics. Keep yourself safe, keep yourself in one piece and don't forget to keep yourself in profit. Thus it seemed strange to her, that someone would put themselves in the way of what she considered a menace. Each to their own though she mused.

Romethia jogged her from her thoughts, her tones as cheerful as ever. Honestly, the woman seemed impervious to just about anything. Still her thoughts were still enthusiastic, looking forward to more prisoners Impressing. She would have commented, would have said something, except what she saw happen now killed pretty much any thought she had. With an almost feline like grace, the Green had curled herself about the brave Candidate and then....bitten off her fingers. Tiael suppressed a shudder. It wasn't that the sight was terribly ghastly, though there was something horribly macabre about the proud way the dragon slunk over to her apparent bonded and deposited the torn off digits as if they were some prize. What was more worrying was just how ruthless it had been. Cold, calculating, and almost entirely unpredictable. Well, Tiael knew one dragon she would never be trusting. Ever. Short and simple, she was best avoided. Tiael almost pitied her new rider, though it also begged heavily the question of whether she too was like her dragon. She too, might be one best avoided. People who were unpredictable and dangerous, would be a fast ticket to never getting out of here at all.

Romethia's concern pulled her almost blank stare back, and she registered what she was being asked. "Oh, um, I'm fine. Well....fine if you consider, what happened to her." Tiael said, staring back at the poor Candidate who was now a little lighter in the hand department. Ripping her eyes away, Tiael glanced down at her robes and almost welcomed the sting that was beginning to throb; it meant her limb was still attached. "It's a graze, nothing major." She finally managed, about to ask if losing fingers was normal at a hatching.

All thought of that was thrown out the window as a creeling began. It sounded rather desperate, and Tiael looked up to try and see what was going on. Semith was standing awkwardly, wing extended. The creeling was coming from behind there, but what was she so keen to keep from prying eyes? Glancing over the clutch, Tiael realised the Spun Gold Egg had been shielded and she wondered just what colour had hatched from the Gold's most favoured shell.

[Lesa]

Really Gwynell should know better than to spend her free time wandering around Wardens. Certainly she didn't go into the forest by herself, that would just be foolhardy, but going off into the ocean for a swim, that wasn't quite so foolhardy. Cold, yes. Foolhardy, not so much. It was summer, so the air was ripe with heat and moisture, the sand dry and hot against her feet. Her hair was bundled into a tucked-under braid, still falling down to the top of her shoulderblades, thanks to its length. The blond color was dark thanks to to the water she had just popped her head out of, grateful for a breath of air.

She'd swum out beyond the breakers, being cautious to stay within a set stretch of beach, or at least a rough guess, as much as she could make out without her spectacles. The two spare prisoner-jumpsuits she'd tied to poles gave her an easier idea of where the end of her 'line' was, bright red blobs on tan mush. She'd had a good long swim, legs and arms happily tired, not brutally exhausted, just the tired of good work. The call from Faeth caught her mid-stroke and she pulled up sharply, coughing out a lungful of saltwater.

There was only so fast one could get out of the water, even using the waves to push one closer to the shore. Everything ground to a halt as Gwynell began walking, stepping into foot-stealing sand, thin shift plastered tight to her body as her form marched out of the waves. The hot sand had her biting back a curse, cold feet against hot sand particularly uncomfortable and scratchy. Still the Harper walked quickly, pulling her towel out from under Halbert, uncaring as he yowled at her irritably, free hand shoving spectacles onto her dripping face, feet shoved into thong-sandals, towel wrapping tight around her body as she walked quick towards her wooden hut, sandals slapping against her bare feet. She didn't run - hot sand would be kicked up even higher on her body should she do that, and there were certain places she didn't want sand, not if she had saltwater drying on her as it was.

Wet shift slapped the wooden floor as she tore through her small "home", reaching in her trunk for dry nude bra and braies, pulling her Candidate robes out after, pulling them over her head, hands pulling her healer pouch off its hook and walking towards the Hatching Sands while yanking the barest bit of her braid trapped under the collar out, white robe becoming transparently damp here and there as it stuck to her still-wet legs, healer pouch tied tight around her waist. Better to have it and not need it, than be wishing for it. Once on the sand, the belated Harper bowed deeply to Semith before taking a place in the line, smiling in joy at Farrox - it was clear he'd Impressed. Good for him, her poor student needed it.[/size]

[Velcro]

Romethia turned just in time to see that nasty mean green bite off another girl's fingers. Oh Faranth, it seemed that she would be lucky to get off these sands intact. Still, after Tial's reassurance, Romethia turned to the other candidate who had suffered, heading her way. While Ro may not be a fully trained Healer, she certainly knew enough to help the girl until more qualified healers got to her. She approached the girl, unsure what her reaction was going to be to getting fingers taken away.

Suddenly, a creeling drew her attention back to the eggs for a split second, all she saw was Semith's wing covering what must be creeling. Romethia made sure to keep an ear out for more things to happen, thinking that someone would say something when Semith moved her wing. She turned back to the other girl, Ever, might have been her name if Ro thought about it long enough. She called out as she got closer, "Let me help you until a real Healer gets here! Hold your hand up so you don't lose as much blood!" Ro didn't want to look, so she watched Ever's face closely for signs of shock as she got closer, moving to help support the girl's hand. It would be a terrible tragedy if anyone, even a prisoner, died on the sands, she thought, determined to all she could to help the girl now. Romethia needed to do something, she just couldn't sit there while she could be helping, even if it meant missing a few eggs hatching.

[Mikki]

Aaaaand the Hatching just went to hell in a hand basket. First there was a dragonet mauling and now this?! Milune was bordering on having flash backs of her own mauling as she watched the wicked Green rip off two of the other girls fingers. Brown eyes widened with shock and her focus zeroed in on the mangled hand. It was a clean bite, but it was going to bleed badly. Judging from the spurts already jettisoning onto the sand she was accurate in that assumption. But it also didn't take a Master Crafter to see that.

With thoughts of impression and eggs pushed to the back of her mind, the lass's training kicked in. She stepped out of line and in front of the other girl, reaching for the belt that kept her robe closed. Without a care and with almost zero modesty she took it off. As her robe gradually began to slide open she had enough decency to angle herself away from the prying eyes of the crowd. But she didn't stop in her actions. "Hold still. I'm going to tourniquet it so it doesn't bleed so bad." Now in 'command' mode, Milune reached for the other girl.

Gripping on to the prisoners wrist she kept a firm hold, cutting off the major circulation as she fumbled with her belt. Briefly letting go, she looped it over the same spot she had just been holding then tied it tight, yet not tight enough to pinch. "Stay calm. It's all right," she hushed softly, trying to steady the mauled lass who was probably less than thrilled at the moment. When she was satisfied that most of the major blood flow had stopped she then reached for the right side of her robe.

With the aid of her teeth Milune tore a small tear into it, then used her fingers to rip off a good long strip. Honeyed eyes locked on to the blonde's, her expression serious. "This is going to hurt. I'm going to need you to grit your teeth and bare with me." No pain, no gain. If this woman wanted to stay on the sands she was going to have to deal with the lack of numb weed. Unlike popular belief, the healer wanted the prisoners to impress. She wasn't about to let something like a few lost fingers stop the chances of one girl.

Focusing back on the task at hand she nimbly yet as gently as she could started wrapping the stubs. But all the gentility in the world wasn't going to help. Not even giving Ever a chance to brace herself she jerked the last loop tight around the stubs, then quickly undid the belt around her wrist. Again, she used her teeth to pull another strip off the siding of her robe. This time the bandages were wound in the opposite direction of first set, looser, but there for padding to soak up the blood.

"Field dressing. After the hatching is over, come see me at the infirmary or find another healer. You'll need stitches and disinfectant. But I'm going to assume you want to stay for the hatching, so this will have to do for now. Okay?" Propriety was kicking in now and the lass belted her tattered robe back together. She was bespeckled with blood and was showing more cleavage than was probably proper. But she'd done her best to help the girl. In fact she gave her a firm pat on the shoulder and tried to give her a reassuring smile before going back to her place in line, winking at Tanyrion as she did.

Yeah..well, that had been interesting. Lets see what's going on next shall way? Maybe something good would happen and her jangled nerves would be start to steady. Good things came to those who waited..right?

[S'yal]

Shards and shells, this was the best Hatching he'd ever been to! Z smiled with blood lust he didn't bother to hide as not one but two girls were injured, cheering from his part of the stands. Eh, it was cruel, but the little prisoners would be better for it. Except that girl that was missing two fingers. Hehe, she'd deal with it. Besides, he thought she should be happy. You had to earn what you wanted, in his mind. It was why he liked Wher hatchings. At least at Mama's clutches, no one left without scars. The babies blooded their handlers, and Z thought it meant the most when there were some permanent scars left over. Zalmask agreed, and Z suspected that she fed her unborn babies images of her own attack on Z when she Hatched. Maybe that was why they were all so violent...

He watched the injured girl with amusement, ignoring the Impression until... until...

Faranth's egg she took off her robe! Z was so shocked he fell off the stands and into the sand, earning a shocked question from Zalmask. "Shit, this is my favorite hatching ever..." He murmured in a dazed voice, before climbing back to his seat and standing on the stands. "You go girl!" He called, cheering and generally trying to encourage Milune to do a dance or something. Z YOU ARE A DIRTY PERSON.

Shards, he hoped this happened at Zalmask's hatching!

[twisting]

Kuriel watched the proceedings with her typical clinical curiosity. She enjoyed the site of dragonet’s pulling themselves out of the shells, if the quiet contentment she felt could be classified as enjoyment. She watched passively as the dark green laid open the flesh of it’s sister. A tiny smirk twitching at the corner of her mouth as the crowd gasped. The dark one had spirit. But if Kuriel remembered correctly that egg also had ambition. The young duster kept her eye on the vicious young dragon as it stalked closer to the candidates. She had no intention of letting it get anywhere near her, nor of letting it out of her site. Kuriel didn’t want any more scars, impressing a dragon wasn’t worth spending the rest of your life limping. When she saw what the snarky green did to the prisoner know as Ever she was glad the thing hadn’t taken an interest in her. At least it had impressed and wasn’t likely to be any more trouble.

Kuriel hadn’t noticed the other green impressing to the little shy boy. A meek pair they would make. Hardly the guarding type. With a few more future guards like him getting out of this pit shouldn’t be difficult. She faked an excited smile and gave a little clap for the new pair. The façade dropped quickly though. More eggs were hatching and any one of them might be her ride to freedom. The little psychopath frowned when the clutchmother hid her shining gold egg. Kuriel had no interest in anything shiny, it would bring too much attention to her, but she did want to see what the egg held.

[nozomi]

"Well, shit." Warden stared towards the sands with no lack of interest, a rare look of stunned shock quite firmly in place. Hells bells, his mouth even fell open a tad bit, chin tucked down for the genuine thing. In the back of his mind, even Yusuth chortled as both human and bondmate watched the ongoings, Yusuth through Warden.

Maulings were all well and good, happened all the time. What Warden never expected just happened to be the purposeful and vicious singular attack on a human while pretending to be a kind creature.

So you will speak to them during first lesson after all, Mine? Warden closed his mouth once Yusuth spoke, forced his head back up to hide the momentary faltering. He threw irritation at his dragon, gaze back on to Invidith and her new rider and then the half naked girl.

Right, right, the one with the gold flit. He'd hate to throw her off the sands for stripping down, started to cross his arms just as Milune knotted herself back up. Zalman opened his mouth, sharding moron.

I'll add him to your list, murmured Yusuth, dryly amused. Warden rolled his eyes. Both silenced with the creel of the Spun Gold Egg - perhaps a non-bleeding hatchling would be a good thing.

[Zen]

Even when the Green stopped in front of her to literally stare her down, Ever felt that the worst was over. The worst was over, Ever had to tell herself. But the Green didn’t Impress her. The Green just sat there, her red eyes glaring at her the best a dragon’s eyes could glare. Then, then, then the Green started circling her. Like a predator. Like a sharding predator stalking her prey. Almost sweetly, the dragon pushed her head into Ever’s left hand—her dominant hand—and Ever tensed. Perhaps it was the tensing that created killing pain the exact moment the Green snapped, viper-quick, at the blonde’s hand.

Ever heard them crunch. Ever heard her fingers crunch between the Green’s newborn jaws. Then, suddenly, pain erupted all around her. It didn’t inch, it blasted. Ever felt as if she’d been hit by a speeding dragon, only it was her hand that had been hit. Oh, wait, she had been hit by a speeding dragon… a speeding dragon’s jaws. Before anything could have registered in Ever’s mind, the Green was away prancing toward her target. Her fingers were in the Green’s mouth. In. The. Green’s. Mouth.

As if a switch had been turned on, Ever’s mouth dropped open and a soundless wail of terror and pain swept from her body. She didn’t move, she just stared at her fingers. Her pinkie finger on her left hand was stripped from her hand entirely; there wasn’t even a nub where the finger had once been… it was as if the finger had just popped free from the joint. Her ring finger had been chipped away at, though; lucky for her she’d only lost the tip of her finger. And if she would have ever thought of it, she would have associated a fountain with flowing water with the way her fingers bled.

She didn’t know how long it had been since she’d stared at her fingers. Faintly, she could feel Bailey’s distress. Even more faintly she could feel Jayne’s distress, but his link wasn’t as strong as Bailey’s. With a feeble mind, she forced Bailey and Jayne not to come. She could just imagine her faithful Bronze about to leap up in the air to come to her aid. She could also imagine Jayne sitting there, acting macho, and ignoring her pain just to try to sleep again.

Suddenly, Milune was there, wrapping a belt around her hand. She didn’t comply, she didn’t even really comprehend that Milune was helping her, not at first. When Milune said that this would hurt, “I—it won’t hurt…” Ever said dazedly, and indeed felt no pain when Milune started wrapping her hand up. She recognized that she was in shock. She couldn’t understand, but at the same time she did understand exactly what had happened. Let’s rephrase it… again.

The. Green. Took. A. Chunk. Out. Of. Her. Hand.

“Yeah, after the hatching, yeah, go see you.” Ever said, and brushed her hair behind her ears with her uninjured hand. Consequently, that hand had blood on it and a huge stripe of blood spread itself across her face in some sort of war-paint-like pattern which spread to her now-clumped red hair. She kept staring at her hand. Milune had done a good job. She couldn’t feel her hand. Oh, wait… she couldn’t feel it before, either. She breathed three big breaths, three huge breaths that she knew her body had been deprived of, and felt the need to keep her injured hand in place.

She tried to shake off the stupor, the shock. It was just some lost blood. She wasn’t afraid of the blood. She wasn’t afraid of that—to be honest she’d been more afraid of her father. But she was less afraid of her father than that sickly sweet Green who had, Ever knew, turned out to be a killing machine. She continued her deep breathing exercises as she tore her eyes off of the now blood-red stained…. Whatever it was that Milune had put on her stubs. There were no other eggs hatched yet….

Ever’s head felt light.

Great.

[lithle]

The Jam Sandwich Egg was growing obviously restless now, seeming to be trying to hop up and down in place, all urgency and eager impatience. The egg wasn't quite managing to lift itself off the sands, but it was doing its level best. If the egg had its way, it'd be flying before it was even out of the shell.

Meanwhile, the activity behind Semith's wing was increasing. Whatever she was shielding was very unhappy indeed, making sounds like a wounded thing, while Semith made frantic, reassuring little croons, trying to convince it to settle. But the sounds continued, growing more and more urgent and then dying off into a hopeless little cry.

At that hopeless sound, Semith lifted her wing, revealing the hatchling hidden beneath. The Miller's Daughter Hatchling did not strut as Invidith had done. It slunk like a whipped dog, tail and wings low, eyes on the ground. It continued to make a high, helpless noise, the cry frantic and penetrating. Its hide was a wash of soft pastels, and it shimmered even in the low light of the cloudy day. Blues, whites, pinks, and greens, all were visible in that strange hide.



Nearing the line of candidates, the Miller's Daughter Hatchling stopped, seeming unwilling to approach any further. It nosed at the sand, then began to retreat backward. Reaching the rest of the clutch, it did its best to hide behind the large True Love Egg. Its eyes whirled frantic yellow, but there was a touch of gray beginning to show as well. Not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.

[Lesa]

Bujare shook her head, dark hair flying as her lover (and partner) made a complete fool out of himself. Only Z. With decorum the Traderclanwoman reached up and yanked the goldhandler back down by his arm, leaning herself over his lap to whisper, "I'll strip for you later, Z. For now let the poor thing enjoy this Hatching, yes?"

She settled herself against him, molding her body to his side, head resting on his shoulder, arm that had gone across his body running lazy circles across his chest. She wished for at least a slight bit of behavior from her squad leader. Perhaps it was too much to ask, as it was Z, but she could try. Would save her from getting yelled at by Warden, at the very least.

[Velcro]

Romethia was nearly to the ther girl, Ever, she still thought her name was when one of the other healers, a real one with more complete training, swept over to her. Milune, Ro knew from seeing her in the infirmary. Well, things were already out of her hands, but at least she tried to help. With a strangely sad sigh, Ro moved back beside Tiael. Muttering to herself, she looked up in time to see the very lightly colored dragon emerge from behind Semith's wing. Oh, the poor thing! It sounded so distressed in real life as it had in it's shell! Romethia took notice that it was hardly gold colored, even though she did seem to shimmer. Was it even a she? Ro wondered, since they really didn't know, even if they thought the egg was a queen. Wait. There had never been a strange colored dragon like her before, right? Unless you counted a white dragon, like Ruth was told to have been. How interesting.

Romethia's heart certainly went out to the shy looking hatchling, who was now hiding behind the egg. Poor thing! She though again, wanting very dearly to take a step forward to go comfort the dragon and urge her to choose a lifemate. Someone should encourage her! It would help, Romethia though firmly. Softly, under her breath, she started to murmur encouragements to the little dragonet, urging it to find the one it wanted. Romethia harbored no thoughts of trying to urge it her own way, no, she just wanted the little dragon to choose it's partner so it would be happier. Then again, Ro was going on a lot more instinct than expertise that it was a unhappy dragonet, but she thought that no creature could make such upset noises and be happy! Romethia kept up the encouraging thoughts while looking at the shy little one, hoping it would find the one it wanted easily enough.

[Wren]

It seemed that things were happening, exciting things. The green and red egg hatched first, and Sheraz watched with baited egg as a dark green hatchling poured from it. He watched it carefully, head tipped to the side. The hatchling was gooey with the remnants of her shell and, on newborn legs, not nearly as graceful and steady as the adults. She also didn’t seem interested in doing very much as she didn’t head straight for the candidates as Sheraz had expected. In fact she seemed more interested in cleaning herself up.

Whilst the other hatchling preened, the black and white egg, the one that Sheraz considered his as it had been him who had dug it up, also broke open, revealing a brighter coloured green. Sheraz grinned; she was a much prettier thing than her darker sister, even if she was even less graceful, stumbling a little on thick, unpractised limbs.

Now it was a waiting game, Sheraz assumed, a wait to see if he would Impress one of these two ladies or if he’d have to hold out for one of the other eggs. He rather wished he knew which, if any, of the eggs would yield his hatchling, that at least would ease some of the uncertainty. On the other hand, he was quite enjoying being here, surrounded by candidates, watching new babies come to life. Yes, he was impatient, but he was prepared to wait.

The dark green hatchling went on the move, and with a flare of excitement, Sheraz followed her progress. She was not approaching him though, nor any of the other candidates, rather she moved with deliberate slowness towards the other green and laid her shoulder open as if this were a perfectly ordinary thing to do. Sheraz stared, baffled, and looked around; apparently this was a strange even because everyone else was reacting with shock too. He felt a protective and angry flare as he looked at the smaller, cowering creature, but it was no use apparently, because the hatchling had trundled towards Farrox, a prisoner-candidate, and Impressed.

Sheraz clapped along with everyone else, pleased for the boy but slightly mourning that once chance of him Impressing. He seemed to have lost the dark green to, because she put herself in front of one of the female candidates. He wasn’t quite as disappointed about that one; he wasn’t sure he wanted a dragon with such violent and cruel tendencies.

Now, something seemed to be stirring behind Semith, and Sheraz could only assume it was that gold coloured egg she seemed so fond of. Whatever it was it seemed to be in some distress because it moaned and whimpered as if in fear and pain, and then Semith lifted her wing and Sheraz, like everyone else, drew his breath in in shock. The thing was not green, nor blue nor brown, nor even bronze or gold. He wanted to say that it was white, but it was not that either; it shone every colour of the rainbow. He glared at it with longing, watching its shifting hide. He barely noticed the way it moved.

[ramba]

Reeva watched the dark green dragonet lash out at the girl, before changing direction to head towards Ever, with some speed. Perhaps Ever was going to Impress the violent dragon then? Deciding this was the case, Reeva turned her head away from the dragonet to watch the eggs once more, just as Semith hid the Spun Gold egg from View. Why had she done that? Perhaps there was something wrong with the hatchling?

Reeva's attention was drawn to the first hatchling again as it neared her feet and spat out two fingers. Somewhat horrified, Reeva stumbled back, before glancing over at Ever who was recieving help for her hand. Why had the hatchling done that? It wasn't right!

They were not innocents, Reeva. They were threats. But I have dealt with them. It is not cruelty to defend ones interests. Now, my sweet, come along. We have much to do.

Reeva blinked as she looked down. Invidith was defending her interests? Wait, how had the green known her name? More importantly, how did Reeva know the dragons name? Reeva watched the red fade from the dragonet's eyes, to be replaced with the rainbowed eyes of Impression. All at once Reeva felt as if all the joy she had experienced and all the pain she had felt had come back to haunt her.

As quickly as it came, the pain went, leaving only a slight tingling feeling in her scar. Reeva couldn't help but love Invidith, even though the green had been vicious to begin with. The sight of the fingers on the Sand made Reeva's head reel, and she shuddered. She wasn't sure whether to give them back or not, she doubted Ever would want them. But then, maybe she would?

Reeva shuddered again, and Invidith gave an impatient sigh. Reeva, unless you plan to starve me, I really would like to eat. Not too much mind, I don't want to be fat. Invidith said. Reeva blinked.

That's right, dragons needed to eat when they hatched. Reeva felt somewhat glad that Ever's fingers hadn't been eated as a first meal.