Hatch Or Die [Outlaw Flower and Art Clutches]

[puppetmaster]

The To the Rescue Hatchling knew the men and women surrounding it. Many had come before, had touched his shell. They had thrust their filthy, disgusting minds against his own, allowing him the knowledge of where he was, of what they'd done.

He'd been taken.

His clutchmates had been taken. They had killed his sister!

Still growling, he circled the eggs, his eyes never leaving the gathered outlaws. At the Widow's Veil Egg he stopped, nudging it, interrupting his growl to croon softly at the creature within. His tail lashed constantly, as if his fury needed to be expressed. If he stopped moving, he'd explode.

He began to circle closer to the outlaws, not attacking, but hissing, growling, occasionally snapping. He hadn't gotten close enough to hurt anyone yet. He stopped near Jadore and Myr, pausing about five feet away. His red gaze was briefly touched with blue and it was Roni he was watching. His croon was sweet, clear, affectionate.

Had he impressed a little girl? Were the Outlaws safe?

No. He lunged forward again and this time he did come in contact with someone, knocking over a petty thief near Arkady and Jessan. He climbed on top of the man, hissing, his claws gouging flesh. Blood spilled. Another movement caught his eye and he left the man laying there. The man wasn't dead, yet. But given the damage, he was unlikely to survive.

Snarling, the To The Rescue Hatchling tore across the small area, barreling into a small time dust dealer. He was near Jiru this time and even as he bit into the woman's shoulder his eyes found the healer's and his rumble was not a growl so much as a it was a rather fierce churr of greeting.

Two were down, one likely dying. The pink released his current victim and began circling again his hiss cutting the air. He hadn't only hatched for vengeance, he remembered. He was supposed to find someone. Even here, he had to find someone.

[nozomi]

Jessans first thought when Ark got in front of her was "Aw. So sweet". The second? "He's going to die" and that was just unpleasent. Jessan clutched at Arkady's shirt - top - whatever one would call it. Perhaps her whisper of "Thank you" could not be heard over the screams and the growling, but she said it.

She released him when the Pink began his mauling, eyes slightly wide on the creature. It would not do to be scared; criminal masterminds leading breakouts did not show fear or hesitation. They had to be strong, always, and Jessan told herself that when fear kept her stock-still when the thief near to them received a death sentence.

It was bravery, not fear.

She shuddered when he turned attentions elsewhere, her lips pursed against the screams. Jessan looked away about the time Jiru was greeted, looking instead to the Widow's Veil? Was it dead? ... Probably. He showed it such concern, and it felt so... fragile.

"Machi had the right idea." Jessan wrinkled her nose and moved, again, closer to her slasher-smile Something.

[Cansi]

Alezri winced at the screams and draconic racket. It was still just the sound of one hatchling, he was sure, though it was hard to believe that one baby dragon could make so much noise. Squatting as he was now, he couldn't really see what was going on, but the way one of the screamers sort of faded out had to mean somebody was dying in there.

Shards.

The knife wouldn't be much of a defense if a dragonling managed to find him and decide to take a bite. But maybe if he could shove a chunk of wherry into one's mouth instead, it would eat it instead?

The person nearest to him was a woman he hadn't spoken with much, but he thought he knew her name. Carlon? Caroline, there it was. She seemed to be staring ahead of her like someone watching a caravan wreck. Hard to watch, but impossible to look away. Alezri reached out (stretching really) with a bloody fingertip and poked her on the back of the leg. "So, you didn't bring any offerings?" he asked smoothly. Needlessly, really. "IF you need to... you can borrow my meat."

Borrow. Meaning he'd want a return on the investment.

[Spiffy]

Poor old Kailin almost dell off of the padded ledge that she had claimed as her bunk when the paniced thief came bolting down the corridor, screaming something about eggs. Eggs? What the shells was he carping on about?

Oh! Shaffit dragon eggs!

On that bombshell she scrambled into some kind of action, grabbing the smallish sack of fish that she had gathered the day before and not yet had the chance to eat or trade away, and on second thoughs chucking in the pair of tunnelsnakes that shed beheaded last night, and dashed out to the hot springs.

She shouldered her way toward the egg ledge, past the few observers lingering by the door, flashing a smile of ''good luck!'' to any of the other candidates she knew, or any who caught her eye that she didn't.

Then she noticed the two hatchlings, heard the dying scream as the deformed green disappeared, and her smiles faded as the pink began to stalk toward them, all the accusation of a witness to murder in his eyes. She took a step back, bumping into someone before realising she was dangerously close to the edge of the pool. SHe could go no further, but it would serve as an escape route if it had to.

THen the pink went for someone, two people, not even too menacing a pair, and the ex-fisher apprentice blanched.




Bellatrix scowled at the thief asthe sound of hid voice echoed down the caves to the wher cave. She sighed, grabbing her knives and buckling them into their various places. "I think we had better go down Princess, make sure nobody does anything too stupid. And Sweetling, you'd better go catch something for the idiots who can't feed their own babies. Bring it to the baths, please" She added to Bellask.

That done, Bella and her gold made their leisurely way to the springs, Bellatrisk growling at anyone who got in their way, the wher taking a place at the back of the cavern, Bella settling just inside the door, hopefully out of harms way. She loosened the knife in its sheath by her side just in case.


(Apologies for any stupid typo mistakes, my phone is being a pain atm and doesn't like online text boxes, not to mention I'm still getting used to predictive text >.< )

[lithle]

Myr had tensed, ready to push Roni into the water as the dragon approached. But the hatchling only crooned, seeming almost friendly? Maybe it wasn't nearly as dangerous as it seemed. She relaxed, offering one of her kind, motherly smiles to Jadore.

A smile that faded as the hatchling launched itself at one of the outlaws and the screaming started.

She winced, wanting to back away but having no where to retreat to but the water. Roni, terrified by what her new friend was doing, burst into silent tears. That, more than anything, kept her from going for a swim. The woman picked up the little girl, letting her wrap her arms around Myr's neck and hide her face against her shoulder.

She made gentle shushing sounds, assuring her pet that the man would be fine. He wouldn't of course, but she didn't want such nasty memories tainting her little joy's mind. Such things were not for one of hers. Roni would, with time, be raised on beauty and elegance. There was little enough of it in the outlaw caves but Myr would find what she could, and give it to the little girl like decoration. She wanted a child with a pretty mind as well as a pretty face.

And oh, the dragon was onto his second victim. She winced, but kept her voice soothing. Don't look, little one. Everything's just fine.

[tuathade]

Oh fuck, it was coming for him. Oh Faranth fuck he was going to die - wait, what? Even as he was bracing himself for impact, readying to fend off the inevitable teeth and claws, the huge pink hatchling... turned aside. It turned away and mauled the petty thief standing right sharding next to him. Arkady watched it until it let go and moved away, then let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A narrow escape.

From the awful noises the shredded thief was making, he probably wouldn't leave the springs alive. Arkady didn't bother taking his eyes off the hatchling to look. No use mourning when you lost something of no value.

The pink, though... That one was a puzzler. The big guy took out another outlaw, a dust dealer, with a sudden lunge and a snap of teeth. Arkady was no experienced judge of dragon sizes, but it was a lot bigger than the deformed green had been. And it was clearly both strong and aggressive. If it could be tamed - or broken - to their side, it would be a useful asset. (Could a dragon be broken like a wild runnerbeast? No one had ever tried before, as far as he knew. Then again, no one had ever tried to Impress a pink dragon to a bunch of murderers before either.) On the other hand... If it couldn't be controlled, it would have to be put down, if it didn't go between of its own accord first.

He didn't dare turn back to look again, but he reached his free hand back behind him until he found one of Jessan's hands, and gave it a quick squeeze. A moment later he let go. For once, the gregarious Harper didn't have any words - this was a moment for focus, not for quipping.

[puppetmaster]

Back there on the dirt-covered 'Sands', the Lurking Stare Egg began to rock even harder then some of it's siblings. It's clutchsibling had already hatched, started wrecking havoc, and the egg completely had to join in. It'd be rude not to. It'd be utterly disappointed to miss out on the fun.

One more vicious rock and the glaring, gold-colored egg all but exploded open. Shards of shells scattered every which way, splashing into the hot springs, showering onto random people too near to flee. The dragonet sneezed, shaking it's head to clear the goop from it's eyes. Even the glowing light did not give way to the color of the dragonet's hide, so far back was the slender thing, but it lacked the tell-tale shimmer and shine of an opal, bronze, or gold. It slunk low to the dirt, a rumble in the depths of it's throat.

Let the pink go on his rampage. The Fading Hope Dragonet stared at the masses from behind the other eyes, the only knowledge of what color it was consisted of irritated.

[nozomi]

Arkady squeezed, and Jessan squeezed right back. Things just got real and - a second one!

A healthy one!

Right?

Behind them all, outside of the hotsprings, Machi glared at the enterance. He remained at the ready to stab things if need be, Wardens knife still in hand. The screaming did not bother him. They weren't Jessans... and he knew enough about Arkady to believe when the outlaw wanted her dead, he'd do it himself.

"Their own fault for not moving." Machi said, to no one in particular. Would dragons eat the dead humans?

[firebird]

Yekemi peeked his head around the corner of the entrance to the hot springs. It looked like the pink was still on a rampage, which was annoying. Hopefully attacking those two people had calmed it down somewhat, but he wasn't going to count on it. Nope, he was not lowering the pointy stick. Not at all.

And it looked like one of the other eggs had hatched, too. Not the Holland's Pride egg, which was unfortunate. Yekemi wanted to know whether the egg he had stolen was going to give him any status. Heh. The one who brought the pink in was probably going to be spending some time carefully not bringing up that fact.

But really, hurry up little dragon and move into the light! Yekemi wants to see whether you are worth the effort! Will the outlaws have any good dragons, instead of just crazy or weak ones? Or are you going to start mauling too?

[giftwrapped]

For a moment, the healer looked at the downed criminals, assessing their wounds in his head. A petty thief and a Dust dealer. The thief....well, he wouldn't have survived anyway. Jiru didn't move from where he stood, turning his attention to the dealer downed beside him. For a moment, he ran minor triage, assessing her wounds...and then deliberately lifted his gaze to the dragonet's. The churr of greeting brought a raised eyebrow, and Jiru gave a slow, bright, dangerous grin to the creature. "Good," he said softly. "You do well."

And then his mind was away from the pink and his victims and back on the filthy, crippled thing that had betweened. Oh that it had been stillborn, or collapsed before it could muster the energy to flicker away forever. He would have paid good marks for a corpse like that. To dissect it, inspect the mutations. Not that he knew much - he was no dragonhealer - but one animal corpse was like another. The effects of such poor keeping, well...ahh, he would have liked to have known more about it. A pity, really.

The third dragonet, the one of ambiguous colour, barely registered in his mind. Jiru was too busy considering that first mutant.

[S'yal]

Oh, there was a pink baby. Iris gave the rescue hatchling a disinterested stare... that grew sharp as it approached widow's veil. It wouldn't hurt it would it? A memory flashed through her mind, the fleeting concern- No. Hero's call wouldn't hurt her baby.

Iris would rip it apart if it did, dragon or not.

She watched the pink dragons path of rampage, keeping mind to watch it. It needed to find a person, even if it did maul petty thieves and dust dealers. If it found a person, it'd be useful. It was too big to go Between.

Iris glanced towards the creature in the shadows, not quite sure whether or not it would attack her.

She just wanted Widow's Veil to hatch and be safe. She wanted this bloody hatching to end already. She didn't want to see anymore babies die. It reminded her too much of a warm body in her own arms, of it being ripped away from her.

How did Semith feel, when Iris and the outlaws took her babies? Did she feel the same emptiness, the same hole in her heart?

Don't think of it. You never did before. Don't start now. Iris sighed. She was good at not thinking about the things she did. It made things easier.

[Evadne]

Jadore drew herself up when the To the Rescue Hatchling came spitting and snarling towards the trio of females. Her chin went up and her eyes hooded until she was projecting every iota of personal dignity she possessed. There was a part of her that rather doubted a hatchling would care but if she was going to be mauled, she would do so with keen and polished elegance.

Of course, projecting a sense of pride didn't mean she wasn't also tense. Her own heartbeat thudded in her ears, galloping away from her, and she remained ready to begin shoving at Myr and Roni both.

Fortunately, it wasn't necessary. She caught sight of that glimmer of blue in its eyes and forced herself to relax, a slow breath escaping as the hatchling moved on. No matter, that screams and horrible wet sounds began almost immediately afterwards. If Jadore didn't look, it wasn't happening. It wasn't happening and she still had her clean, silver line of fish.

More screams. More blood spilled; she could smell the stink of it in the air and crinkled her nose in light distaste. It was all Jadore could allow herself to express.

"She has it right, dearest," she said to the girl in Myr's arms. "A lady learns that sometimes it's best to stop up her ears, mm? It's such a useful...skill...oh hello." Jadore trailed off and tilted her head as another egg crumbled. This one, at least, didn't appear to be either crippled or raging. But why did it cling to the shadows?

It's too dark in here, she thought to herself. Too dark by far.

But at least the screaming had faded to a dull roar.

[puppetmaster]

Displeasure seeped from every pore of the dragonet's body. Right, right, well, let them stare, the Fading Hope Hatchling would stare right back at them. And it did, a hiss leaving those clenched little lips, at least until the realization it didn't have it's rider yet hit. The hatchling jumped to it's feet with a glower.

It stepped delicately past it's clutchsiblings in their eggs, until the shadows from them fell away to reveal a dragon - probably a yellow dragon? Bronze-brown meshed with a brighter sort of yellow, swirling together in quasi-camouflage. But the lighter of the colors won out, and the Fading Hope Hatchling eyed the 'Candidates' with utter disdain. She moved through the group of humans with a single minded purpose, slender frame heavy when she decided to hip-check some random, stupid putz right into the hot water.

Then a second. A third.

Maybe they should get out of her sharding way.

Jiruynomine. Pay attention to me. She spoke his brand new name is a low, murmuring tone, head cocked to one side in order to stare at the Healer. Hers. Rainbow colored her eyes as the yellow sat near to him, thick tail twitching. Your Moneth is tired of these people. They fall much too easily, and should learn how to stand better, or get out of the way.

Name: Moneth
Color: Yellow
Hex Code: FFCC00
Flower: Anemone

Appearance: Moneth is only missing a shiny hide to be a hybrid of bronze and gold. Her colors tend to blur together into something usable when it comes to the shadows - the lack of shine to her hide gives away to burnished light browns and brighter yellows, fading into a sleek figure.

As quick in the air as a seal in the water, Moneth is a long, slender girl. She caries vast amounts of stamina in an impressive wingspan. Her neck is long, as are her legs, all in contrast to her thick, muscular tail. When a weyrling, Moneth may be all legs and neck, but she'll grow into herself.

Personality: She sees you. Oh, shiny egg of Ramoth, she sees you.

As one may imagine, this is not a good thing. While Moneth does not snap, does not raise her voice, and Moneth certainly does not pout: she glowers. It'd be surprisingly how pointed and dispairing silence from this dragon can be, and she uses every bit of it to her advantage. Many people find it less then pleasant to be subjected to nothing but cold shoulders – why not harass them into submission, eh? It generally works for those who are less inclined to verbally argue (and if they are, she’s bright enough to at least hold her own).

When not ignoring someone, Moneth is a social girl, poking her nose into anything and everything she can get her claws into. One cannot be a successful administrator when left out of the gossip! She isn’t a chatty Cathy herself, she is an expert at listening, and is unafraid of finding those that she and Hers find interesting. Moneth is a charmer, as well one who needs to know people should be! It doesn’t mean she is all warmth and snuggles, merely cordial.

With the social aspect of her, Month can also veer into the ‘silently social’ sort when she wants to know something without other’s knowing. In short? Moneth is a creeper. She may not go spying on naked folks (all the time), but she is that prickling feeling you get on the back of your neck when A. one is being spied on, B. bad things are going to happen, or C. all of the above. With her almost bronzed coloring, hiding in the jungle shadows comes quite easily to her, and the only thing that can keep her from gleaning even more then she can would be her size.

She disapproves of everything unless 110% effort is given, and if it is not perfect she still dislikes you. Moneth expects more, and not just of her rider - everyone. She is the dragon least likely to concede, but more than happy to let someone else mess up. They aren't her problem, after all, and she probably knew they weren't worth the time to begin with.

Right and wrong, good and evil – rules? Those are guidelines, set into place by people who wanted to make sure that things weren’t erupting into anarchy. Once a dragon has recognized the rules for what they are, a dragon is then allowed to alter them accordingly. ‘Manipulation’ is such a harsh word. Moneth so dislikes harsh words. It’s true, but still.

Random, but true, little factoid: Moneth is gay. Flights are a biological force, and any males following her better be in for a world of hurt. She dislikes her own Flights, but Moneth will give Chase to any female she fancies. It's up to her rider to keep the number of these under control.

Why me? Seriously?
Oh, there are the superficial things - high standards, somewhat 'creepy' outward appearance, being beautiful and frightening at the same time. Those are only skin deep! Moneth sees Jiruyno for what he is, and in that she sees potential. If he gave his all to things all the time, he could be in such a good place, with his Moneth by his side. She will have a rider that appreciates her random little stalkings and what bits and pieces she can toss them. Jiru will have a force to be reckoned with, a huge yellow dragon who doesn't do well when someone gets in her way. She'll understand his obsessions, his distaste for those Dusters (they just gave up on life), and won't judge him for his ... darker sides.

[S'yal]

That yellow was pushing people into the water.

It was probably the funniest thing Iris had seen in a while, despite the serious look on her face as she tracked it's progress. Big. She'd stay on the good side of that ones rider.

Which was Jiru.

"Congratulations." She spoke!

[Cansi]

Time was running away from them all, but Alezri stopped cutting the wherry into chunks. He was missing things, and he wanted to watch, shardit. What is going on in there? The woman he'd poked hadn't made any response yet, and he shrugged it away. Standing over the irregular shapes of the meat in his pile, with the head and neck of the wherry dangling bloody from one hand and the knife in the grip of the other, he looked over heads and shoulders. Better than trying to see through legs.

Ah, there was a yellow baby near Jiruyno now. He hadn't realized any more had hatched. Drat, drat, double drat! Well, he wouldn't miss seeing the next egg split. Maybe the pink making a bloody mess of things would calm down now? As angry as it seemed, the pink might not stop until they were all dead...