Hatch Or Die [Outlaw Flower and Art Clutches]

[lithle]

For a moment, Myr's eyes hardened, her warm smile tightening into something dangerous. Roni was hers. Hers! No sweet voiced elegant woman would steal things from her. No one would take something of hers. Not ever again.

But then Roni murmured against her neck still crying, "Don't let the bad thing get me, Auntie Myr."

And there was such trust in her voice. Such love. And why shouldn't there be? Myr'd been teaching the girl to love her, only her, since she'd taken her.

Jadore couldn't take her. She had her to well trained. The fear ease. The eyes gentled. The woman actually seemed rather pleasant, capable of understanding the importance of sheltering Roni.

"She shouldn't be here," she said, because talking was better than listening to the moans of the injured, "But I couldn't leave her--"

She didn't finish the sentence. The new dragon, now visibly a yellow, passed in front of them, pushing people into the water. And Myr, well, she couldn't help it. She giggled.

Perhaps a little hysteria there.

And then the yellow stopped. Had it impressed? How to tell? Myr'd been to hatchings before, but those were long in the past.

[Evadne]

"Of course you couldn't, darling. A babe alone in a camp like this? Why, you may as well drop her into a nest of tunnelsnakes." Jadore, distracted as she was, still sounded as if she couldn't even fathom thinking another way. Such things were reflex for her; the sympathy; the understanding.

But however reassuring she might sound for Myr's sake, her attention was oh so obviously on the yellow slinking by. Good, clean lines on that one, she thought, and nearly made herself laugh by doing so. Perhaps the hysteria was catching but to evaluate a dragon hatchling as one would a runner...

Well. One could hardly fault her for reacting to the tension throbbing in the air. And this humidity. Her hair felt plastered to her skull already, a wet and heavy cap. At least she could breathe without feeling as if her heart was trying to leap up into her throat.

[tuathade]

Arkady was pleased to see the Lurking Stare egg hatch. It was, after all, 'his' egg in a sense. His in the sense that he'd stolen it, not in the sense that he wanted whatever sharding awful creature was inside of it. He had no interest in the kind of dragon who heckled someone who'd just taken a crossbow bolt for them, thanks. That kind of ingratitude could find itself a partner elsewhere.

Still, it was with mingled pride and irritation that he watched it shove some people into the water. Not as violent as the Hero's Call, thank Faranth (and he was still watching that terrible beastie out of the corner of his eye) but still a cranky hatchling, all around.

And then... and then it stopped next to Jiruyno. And this should have been a good sign, a sign that they could Impress at all, that they hadn't just killed a bunch of baby dragons by dragging them out into the jungle. Maybe this would be a real Hatching after all. And yet Arkady couldn't help but think (privately, and he wasn't stupid enough to say it aloud) that maybe he shouldn't have stolen that egg after all. Giving a large ill-tempered yellow hatchling to Jiruyno of all people was not the outcome he would have hoped for.

[tiamat]

Ragniel flinched at the ferocity of the pink’s attack on the thief. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that any hatchling who was growling and snarling at anyone not named Roni would be a peaceful little lamb, and she was well aware of how those eggs had felt about the outlaws, but she wasn’t entirely prepared for seeing someone get torn apart by a newborn dragon.

At least they’d have a source of meat for some of the hatchlings.

She dismissed the dust dealer entirely; she had seen what had happened to the thief and should have gotten out of the way when she saw the hatchling coming.

Then Ragniel got shoved into the water by the yellow. She flailed a bit and got a mouthful of hot, sulfuric water before managing to surface and getting to the edge. Well, that would teach her to disregard her own advice. She looked around for the yellow (and her wherries; she was certain that at least one went into the water with her), but gave up after seeing nothing that indicated that the yellow had gone on a little rampage of her own (and finding both of the wherries at the very edge of the spring).

At least she was just wet. Even if it was unpleasant.

[puppetmaster]

"Are you serious?" Jessan hissed the words, edging closer to Arkady. She knotted her fingers once more in her clothing, sharp eyes peering over the mans head to a large, yellow Dragon that sat just in front of Jiru and Impressed.

Seriously?

"He's going to kill us all." Spoken softly, yes, but in amused tones. They were going to die. At least he'd stop chasing Machi... not that the pale man knew that. He stayed too far back to see anything.

[puppetmaster]

The sight of a healthy clutchmate (step-clutchmate?) visibly calmed the To the Rescue Hatchling. He stopped circling as she made her own rounds, allowing the yellow to choose before he made his own considerations. When she selected Jiruyno, he stopped growling entirely. Crossing the short distance to her side, he headbutted her gently, eyes touched with blue.

And then something else drew him. The Golden Starburst Egg was rocking with increased urgency, the egg was clearly soon to hatch. He stalked over to it, pushing at it with a forepaw and crooning a question. Perhaps he even got a response. He took a few steps backward, tossing his head like a startled horse, and returned to the outlaws.

His eyes were still red, his growl still continuous. Near the water, he caught a small man by the leg, shook him hard and let him fall back into the water. The To the Rescue Hatchling stood there, looking into the water, watching as the the man thrashed and bled.

No. No that wasn't what he was looking at after all. He was looking at something else in the water.

Do you think the man will drown, Ragniel? Perhaps if you hold him under. But do it quickly. I hunger. I can not sate myself merely on the blood of the unworthy.

Name: Juarth

Art type: Comic Books

Hex Code:CC1177

Appearance:

Juarth is built like a brick wall. Brick dragon. Whatever. Point is, he's pure power, broad, short legged, thick necked. His wings, oddly, break this pattern, they're extremely wide. He may not be fast, but he fly for sharding days. And then keep flying. He's far from graceful in the sky, but despite his short legs, he moves with amazing speed when he's on the ground.

Color-wise, well, he's pink. Not a pale, pastel pink, though. No, his color is richer, and surprisingly uniform. there's no subtle patterning or fancy marks. The only thing of note is the dark 'mask' that surrounds his eyes, making the (often angry) colors that whirl within them all the more striking.

Personality:

The world is a dark, disgusting, hateful place and no one knows that better than Juarth. He sees every killer, every thief, every liar, every foolish layabout. And each evil rests heavily between his wingblades, one more horror for him to combat. And Juarth is a combantant. Not for him, merely sitting back and complaining about the way the world is going. No, Juarth aims to fix it, one person at a time.

Unfortunately for the world, the list of those who don't make his 'naughty' list is pathetically short and the rest he despises with almost equal enimity. Yes, he despises the murderers and thieves that surround him. But the cowardly hypocritics of Wardens are equally disgusting in his eyes. All sins are nearly equal in this dragon's eyes, any dust dealer who fancies themselves somehow better than a serial killer has another thought coming. The important point, in his mind, is the doing wrong. The type of wrong is rather immaterial. Bad is bad.

He's an old school gent, with a rather direct way of approaching problems. Piss him off once? He'll likely only growl a warning. Anger him a second time? He'll snap and it won't be a threat. He'll be aiming for a hand. A third time? Well, lets just say that Juarth is of the opinion that Pern is better off without the continuing heartbeat of a number of its members. Unfortunately, it's easy to piss Juarth off. One only need to stray to close to him.

If Juarth hates most humans (he does), he adores his dragonkin. Oh, he's not very good at making friends, stern and humorless as he is. But he likes them, he approves of them, seeks the comfort of their company. Dragonriders are spared the danger of his moods because Juarth would never attack the lifemate of another dragon. And even more than their partners, dragons are to be defended. Friend or foe, it doesn't matter, Juarth will protect any of his winged kin with tooth and claw if necessary. Whers are offered this protection as well, he seems to admire their feral simplicity. Children are also on Juarth's 'not-so-naughty' list. Indeed, he loves young things of all species, perhaps because he sees them as innocent or perhaps because he knows they can yet be influenced and therefore, saved.

Juarth's views on his rider are complex. He certainly doesn't see his lifemate as free of the foibles of humankind. He doesn't even forgive them, not exactly. He simply understand that humans are flawed, and that it is his nature as a dragon to love His regardless. He's not the henpecking sort, either. His can sin in peace and Juarth will only snort in disgust but not try and stop them. After all, the only way to really stop a human is a good swift bite and that's out of the question. Instead, he'll focus on those things they have in common, the needs they share, and only growl at the rest.

Why Me?

Short of being able to impress to a child there was no hope of Juarth finding someone he saw as an innocent. Being far to stubborn a dragon to between, he sought instead someone who might share his drive for justice. And so, Ragniel. A killer, yes. But a killer whose thirst was for the blood of the evil, just as Juarth's is (though Juarth's definition is broader than her own). And yet, in some ways, Juarth is the softer of the pair. Perhaps his ideas about kinship might lead her to find allies of her own. If not, she'll still have him. He may disapprove of her, but she's his, and he'll love her with the same intensity that he hates all else.

[whiteangel28]

She found herself pitiless in those few moments, even if the two were hardly criminals worth the energy to kill, they were just a responsible as that others for the deformity of the green. That did not stop her from flinching at the sight of the blood however, a brief intact of breath as the violence unfolded, so ravage and yet she could not turn her eyes away.

The poke went unnoticed, the words in one ear and out of the other as she was too inraptured by the hatching to care, gaze snapping onto the yellow as shecame into the light, so carelessly pushing people into the water and out of her way. Well, wasn't she the impolite one? Her choice of rider sent a shiver down the young woman's spine, wondering what on Pern that said for the dragon. After all, she may be irritated enough to have her... backbone side so to speak make an appearance, that doesn't mean she still can't feel fear and unease, innerly cringing. Only when she was done taking in the yellow's Impression did she realize someone had spoken ot her.

"O-oh." turning to look behind her, she spied Alezri finished with his cutting of his wherry, head still in his bloody hands, peering over the heads of the others. He had just offered her meat didn't he?

"T-thank you, b-but I don't think I'll need it." she replied, her wavering voice groing stronger toward the end. Once again proof, that though she may seem rather eccentric and bipolar, she was in fact not... well perhaps eccentric, but bipolar not really. She just condraticts herself, something Sharohi found interesting when she was still at Telgar Weyr. Thought of her elder sister brought a pang to her heart, even as she peered ahead to see the pink finally cease his rampage and pick one he deemed worthy. She did not envy the chosen in the least, even if she had been secretly cheering him on.

[Spiffy]

Kailin didn't immediately notice the appearance of the third hatchling, so occupied was she in keeping a wary eye on the pink. So it was that she didn't know it was there until Ragniel had been tipped into the water, and she didn't get enough time to get out of the way (there were people blocking her escape anyway) before the yellow nudged her in the knees. Balance compromised, her arms art up windmilling in the air, teetering on the edge of the pool.

Needless to say that proved futile.

With a splash, she landed in the water not far from Ragniel, spluttering, but her swimming instinct kicked in, as did her learned response to falling overboard, and she came up waving. She soon realised that this was rather unnecessary, and quit the action rather than look the fool.

Suddenly there was another splash. When she looked in the direction of the sound, SHe saw blood, and looking up saw the pink. SAw the rainbow in his eyes. But the dragonet was not looking at her.

Relieved (and not just because shed been spared that terror) she pulled herself up out of the pool, quite a few paces further along the edge, and set to squeezing some of the water out of her clothes, keeping a closer eye than before on the eggs so she did not miss another hatching.


Bellatrisk hummed a greeting to each new dragonet as it emerged from its shell, churring whenever the pink set upon another hapless human. STupid people. Of course it was their fault for not getting out of the way. THey should really have more sense. SHe wasn't at all bothered by the carnage, her own hatching had been just as not violent if not more so afterall. She wasn't too pleased with the appearance of the cripple, however, the failure of which reflected badly on her cqee for them. SHed grumbled a bit at that.

Bella for her part was fairly emotionless throughout. THe yellow impressing to Jiruyno brought a creepy smile to her face though. That pairing looked like it could be... Interesting.

A movement beside her caught her eye, among the other observers. Yekemi, the older bloke. She eyed the stuck he was brandishing in the direction of the dragonets.

"You may as well be wielding a toothpick at them for all the good that will do you" she said to him, indicating the pointy stick.

[Inkwell]

Astor had spent hours down at the river. He was hungry, and the jerky he'd snitched during the egg stealing was long gone. A woodcrafter by trade, it wasn't all that difficult for him to fashion a workable spear out of a long branch and a sharp rock he'd taken to carrying as a knife (why he hadn't stolen the knife from the man who'd attacked him during the theft, he didn't know).

Of course, holding perfectly still and trying to spear fish took a very long time and didn't work very well, so he abandoned that after about fifteen minutes and instead took to the water (flint, spear and knife discarded on the shore), pretending to be a large river-dwelling predator. It was warm enough in this jungle that being in the water wasn't a danger, and so he submerged himself almost completely, just the top of his head poking out so he could see and breathe, and waited.

It took him another two hours, but he managed to capture two decently-sized fish in this manner, which he killed by smashing against the rocks naturally submerged in the stream. And so it was that, dripping wet as he arrived back at camp, Astor heard the screaming coming from the hot springs. Shards, was he missing it? Tucking the flint pouch and the stone knife into his jumpsuit, the fish over his shoulder in the sack he had used to carry his stolen egg, he loped over just in time to see the yellow Impress. Worried, he pushed his way through until he was just behind Jadore, standing on tiptoes and craning to try and see the eggs. Two dragons out, one Impressed -- no, two, now -- but were either of them his?

He'd have hell to rain down on their riders if they were. But no, it looked as though his egg was still unbroken, and he visibly relaxed. Good. He hoped whatever was inside the hearts-and-fireworks-covered egg liked slightly-crushed fish, because that would be its first meal.

Come on. Hatch. If you love me like you say you do, you'll hatch for me.

[firebird]

Huh. It was apparently safe to step back into the hot springs chamber, since the rampaging pink had settled down somewhat. Had he Impressed? Yekemi couldn't tell due to how far back he was, especially since the dragonet seem to be peering into the water. It had been amusing to watch the yellow shove people in. That would teach them to get in the way of a dragon, now wouldn't it? And if any of the idiots drowned, they'd have more food for the whers.

Well, whoever got that pink had better be prepared to handle it. Yekemi turned to face Bella and gave her a not-quite-right smile. "This is just for deterrent. Anything will get out of the way if you push a stick up its nostrils. I'm not quite ready to risk getting close enough to actually kill one, not unless I have to. That yellow is a piece of work, don't you think?"

[Evadne]

One, two, three bodies in the pool! Jadore tried not to be obvious about shifting to place Myr between herself and the resulting splashes. The pink was so close again! And she'd thought she was safe! She tensed, gripping the string of fish more tightly...

Only to realize that he was staring with rainbow brightness at one of the women who'd been so unceremoniously toppled into the water. What was her name? Raziel? Ragniel?

With a brute like that on her hands, Jadore could only hope the woman had the strength of will to control him. Or at least to properly aim him, preferably away from the outlaws. Or Jadore. She'd settle for the last.

But at least the pink was contained and she could return her attention to the remaining eggs. One hatchling dead and gone, two claimed and it seemed they were being given opportunity for a breather.

Jadore immediately spent that breath in a sigh when she realized Astor had sprung up at her elbow, like some crazy and poisonous little mushroom. Out of apparent consideration but mostly just to give herself some room, she inched a little to the right, closer to Myr, and glanced backwards to be certain she wasn't in danger of tumbling into the pool. Especially as it may soon have a dead body floating in it; dead bodies did horribly nasty things as everything began to relax.

As if it didn't smell terrible enough in here...

[Cansi]

"If you do end up needing it," he said coolly, "you can borrow some, like I said. Shards, I probably won't be needing any either." Alezri's blue eyes watched avidly as the pink finally made a choice; the rainbow across the faceted eyes was one thing every Hatching story had in common. There were always rainbows in the eyes. That didn't necessarily mean any of them were safe.

Someone moved a little further in from the doorway, freeing up a place for Alezri to stand. Not that he was positive he wanted to be closer. What if one of the hatchlings who had hated him from the egg decided to take exception to his presence? What a dark mood he was in, to be thinking those things. Grimacing slightly, he started licking the tangy wherry blood from the raw end where the neck had connected to the body. No point letting it dribble all over the ground and go to waste.

[puppetmaster]

Even as the Golden Starburst egg continued to rock, furious in it's attempts to free itself from the shell, another egg, dangerously small, started to shake in the back of the clutch. Back and forth, back and forth, the golden Holland's Pride egg moved. For such a small egg, it certainly made a large racket, knocking into a few of it's siblings before that diminutive egg rolled out into the spotlight.

Well - glowlight. Either way, the Holland's Pride was fabulous, and it was with a pleased chirp that the deep purple head poked itself out of the shell with perhaps more force then required of an egg. It dripped goop and the insides of the shell, a few bits and pies of shell itself sticking to that impossibly tiny head. Even under all of that, the dragon was an unmistakable royal purple, from the neck up - all that was visible as it nestled in that egg.

The egg continued to rock, and the dragon trilled, squirming in its shell before it's tail, and then all four legs thrust out. They, too, were purple, save for brilliant lighter slashes on the insides of it's legs. The Single Early hatchling had arrived! In style. It's tail lashed and the dragon stood, unsteady on it's legs. Even on all fours, the new color looked to be even smaller then infant Ruth.

It crooned towards the candidates, eyes all blue and green, waited. Who would tell it how pretty it was first? Come on then, Candidates! Single Early was waiting!

[firebird]

There you go, egg. Yekemi's hatchling seemed to be in perfect condition! Albeit small, but after the problem with that green earlier Yekemi was pleased by it merely being not horribly deformed. Maybe they could use it to corral firelizards. Or maybe it would be good for hunting tunnelsnakes. Something that small could certainly fit in the caverns where they seemed to be taking over, and anything that would clear their caves of the pests would be welcome.

"How lovely you are," the man muttered to himself. "Go now, and find someone who will make you strong." The tiny purple dragon had better not between, or Yekemi would go find someone to blame. Someone expendable and easy to isolate from the other outlaws. It had been far too long since he had last taken part in his hobby, after all.

[Inkwell]

Wow. A purple baby. The first of its kind, most likely! The momentousness of the new color was not lost on Astor, who used the space Jadore left him to push forward a little more, the better to see. Single Early was indeed absolutely gorgeous. He wondered if his dragon -- the egg still hadn't hatched, which worried him greatly -- would be so beautiful. But of course it would. It would be ten times more regal and probably ten times as large. The Single Early hatchling was tiny!

"Jadore," he hissed in a not-very-quiet whisper, leaning towards her. "Jadore. Look at that. Look at how pretty it is, Jadore. Mine's going to be way prettier than that. I caught fish for it. Two fish. Want to see them?"