[Hatching] Wounds Healing

[Cansi]

The young man looked woodenly ahead, wishing mightily that he'd at least gotten a good night's rest. A yawn was threatening to split his face in half; resisting it made his jaws ache. (He feared that if he yawned as widely as he wanted, it would set off another spasm of dry heaving.) Himself a healer, he could understand and appreciate the woman's actions regarding him. Tekaine didn't know the thoughts going through her head, of course, but she was mostly right in the stereotype. See, this guy didn't think he needed a dragon. Dragons were for important people, or at least interesting people. Firelizards were far more accessible - the whole reason he'd set his sights on behaving well enough to earn the chance at one here, though he'd netted himself the chance to Stand instead.

Of course he would acknowledge that he was sick, but he was just as glad she didn't actually order him off the Sands, because then he would have listened. And missed seeing.... well, whatever would happen next. He wanted to see about as much as he wanted his angry stomach to stop roiling. Which was a lot.

"If you think I can get away with it," he said meekly, "I'd like to stay and watch, I'll sit out of the way. I've never seen a hatching before..." And if this one was missing a considerable number of eggs, well, he wasn't about to remind anyone.

At least from where they ended up sitting him down, he had a good vantage point. The Silent Philosopher blue and the Primitive hatchling had him briefly on edge, wondering if battle would ensue, but he almost threw up again from the sheer 'awww' factor when it came down to aggressive cuddling instead. Not that he didn't like to watch. If he'd been the baby blue, he'd have rushed off and found an excuse to stay gone too. By means of Impression.

Cuddling was messy. Cuddling implied feelings. In Tekaine's habitual line of (secondary) work, feelings meant discounts, and that was never good for the mark making, now was it? Love was a euphemism. Nothing more.

[giftwrapped]

"Ask the guards what they'll allow you to do," La answered with a shrug. "And get some water. I'm sure someone will be able to share a waterskin or fetch some for you." And with that, she gave Tekaine a rough clap on the shoulder, not quite as affectionate as the typical 'tough love' La gave her regular patients. But she wasn't surprised that the boy was doing what he did; Hatchings brought out the worst in even sensible people, and La didn't begrudge them their excitement-addled foolishness. She just...had more important things to do now. Like get her ass over to Ralvyn.

...I wonder what he's calling himself now? R'vyn? R'yn?

I don't think he'll mind if you keep calling him Ralvyn. I plan to.

Until you forget his original name forever.

You underestimate me.

I doubt it.

And La cast a wry look at her dragon over the Sands (ah, the little blue had made friends with his grey clutchbrother before Impressing) before heading to where her apprentice sat, trying his damnedest to hold and feed his dragon simultaneously. "Need a hand with that?" she asked quietly, crouching down and resting her hands on her knees as she smiled at Ralvyn. "Congratulations, Ral. You've done it. What's his name?" Was it a him? She didn't know - whites were supposedly sexless, which meant that it might well identify as either male or female. She wouldn't know until Ral told her.

---

Kas glanced over at Lostris when she spoke to him, and actually quirked another smile. "I'd hate to know what a serious situation would be like, then," he remarked, and realized that his attempt at humour fell flat. Idly, he reached down, rubbing the scars on his leg unconsciously before realizing what he was doing and straightening up again. "If it's all the same to you, Lostris, I think I'll keep on standing at attention on the off-chance something terrible happens."

Although a glance over his shoulder resulted in...not-terrible. There were dragons on the Sands and they were cuddling. That was like...the opposite of terrible. The exact opposite of terrible. Did that make it wonderful? "...Well isn't that cute," he remarked in a voice that was somewhere between confused and amused. "Least nobody's been chewed on yet," he said cheerfully, not quite a chirp, but at least an attempt at a light-hearted tone. "And if it all goes pear-shaped, we probably won't be in the running!"

Unless pear-shaped exploded from the forest. Which was possible, though Kas still thought it was improbable. Even if the outlaws did know that the eggs were cracking, if they hadn't been caught yet, there was no way they'd be stupid enough to attack during a Hatching. He knew the reputations of some of those prisoners. Some of them were intelligent. Dangerously so.

But even geniuses could make mistakes. Kas squared his shoulders and returned his attention to the jungle in the distance.

[Zen]

Ever wasn't going to talk anyone this time around. Maybe because she was afraid if that she talked to someone she would be mauled by a dragon. Besides, this time around, she hadn't really gotten used to the people here who were candidates. She liked to think she knew the previous Weyrlings more than the candidates. She'd spent more time with them... and she liked the Touching before better, too. She thought. She got to interact with all of the candidates during that Touching. And things had been different. Happier. Much happier than it had been at her Touching.

The green stopped wailing. That made her happy, made her uncover her ears. They still smarted... her ears still echoed with the aftereffects of the screeching. She didn't even know what to think about that dragon... but as soon as she had chosen, the green looked better. And then a blue hatched. Not too soon afterward, the blue did something with an egg and a gray hatched.

Ever's breath caught in her throat as she wondered what the gray would do. When it seemed as if the gray would attack, tear the throat out of the blue, the gray instead went and cuddled the blue. Ever let her breath out in a long, low sigh. But the blue moved on to Impress, and while Ever clapped happily at him, she couldn't help but wonder what was happening with the gray and why it was nudging in the eggs.

[Evadne]

"If you say it you'll make it happen," Lostris warned Kaskirk, in spite of his good cheer. It put a disturbing amount of pressure on her ankle but she briefly lifted her hand from the cane to cross her fingers at him, warding off bad luck. So great was her impulse to keep the worst at bay that she didn't even look to the sands to see what was so adorable, and therefore she missed the blue and grey cuddling.

Fortunately, one also never misses what isn't realized. Grasping her cane again, Lostris returned to playing sentinel. She was so sharding good at it.

But fear not, Kaskirk. All was not lost in the lady-charming arena. After a moment of forest-gazing, she remarked, "I heard a rumor, awhile back."

The pause that followed was not just her natural inclination towards laconic. It was intended to hook him. To get him listening while joke number two was loaded and aimed.

Wait for it.

Wait for it...

Waaaaait....

"Someone told me the smell of alcohol causes frenzy in hatchlings." Another pause. "No wonder they didn't let you on the sands."

And no wonder this prime specimen of guard flesh was single.

[giftwrapped]

Oh, Lostris was still talking to him! Excellent! Getting a lady’s attention was always a good thing, and Kas enjoyed it. Clearly he should have devoted more time to getting to know Lostris, because she was a good time – although he was mildly concerned at the fact that she crossed her fingers and didn’t even look back at the Sands. She was taking this more seriously than he was, really. …Not that that was hard, he realized belatedly. Most people took things more seriously than Kas. Which was why Lostris was on the Sands with a broken ankle or whatever was going on with her leg.

And then Lostris glanced over at him and made a sly comment.

….For a minute, Kas stared at Lostris. He stared at her in incredulity. And then, very quietly, he began to laugh. It hurt his head, but shardit, she was funny and Kas had honestly never spent enough time with Lostris to realize that she had this kind of a sense of humour. Had it been a different time and Kas less full of the consequences of too much alcohol, the laughter would have been singularly raucous. But as it stood, it was just hearty.

“I like you, Lostris,” he remarked, grinning over at Lostris and scrubbing tears of laughter from his eyes. “I like you a lot.”

[Inkwell]

"Oh, okay, so the blue wasn't sleeping, he was just resting, I guess? And now there's a gray and oh shards that is adorable." Orren almost made as though to grab Senar's shoulder and then realized you really shouldn't grab people you didn't know, so his hand just sort of flailed awkwardly in the air before he ran the hand through his curly black hair to try and disguise the gesture. "See, the gray just sort of made to attack the blue only he's sort of cuddling him instead."

This Hatching really was just one wave of cute after another. Orren was glad he was here for it. Especially when the blue got close and gave him a churr! He laughed, just overjoyed to be noticed, and attempted a churr back. He used to talk to the livestock at the inn, so imitating animal noises wasn't terribly new to him. He churred at Honey all the time, after all.

It was nice to see the friendly little blue Impress. No betweens at all this hatching! He hoped that would stay true. He couldn't bear to think of any of the babies not winding up safe and happy with Theirs.

[puppetmaster]

The Primitive Hatchling went about his business, poking and prodding along the eggs - and that is when the Tribal Beauty Egg began to rock with a cheerful sort of glee. It didn't just move at it's companion's touch, but near did circles as it swung back and forth - back and forth - back and--

Well, y'all got the idea.

At least, that what the Tribal Beauty Egg seemed to guesstimate! It squirmed, it shook, it started to roll in the sand before wings thrust and the shell around the shining hatchling fell to the ground. A round, rather squishy looking dragonet sat there for a moment, confused, and cocked his head.

After a long moment the hatchling grunted, shaking out it's wings. The Love Flower Hatchling did a dragon version of the Hokie Pokie, using three legs to stand as the fourth shook itself free of egg goo, going in careful order until each one had been cleaned as well as a leg could be.

The dragonet looked to the Candidates, the guards, and even turned to look at his parents in something like confusion. Cleaned off, it's hide gleamed, a bright shine of a metallic, the silver body streaked with both darker and lighter shades along his wings and legs. Even a few lines decorated his headknobs!

Love Flower Hatchling bleated to his granddam and father before turning his - rather plump - bum to them. His tail flicking with obvious glee, the silver frolicked out towards the guards. They looked fun! Poor Kaskirk, he got accidentally bumped by the large hatchling, though he received a trill of apology. Lostris? Nuzzled.

No rainbows, not a single hint of them, but the Love Flower Hatchling had started to work his way through the crowds, pushing through the guards, rubbing up against some, bumping into others - all got themselves a croon, a chirp, swirls of greens and blues, before he began making his way back to the Candidates.

More people!

Hurrah!

[giftwrapped]

.....Oh my. Hello little....

"Lostris, that dragon was silver."

Kas watched the pudgy little thing as it wandered off, and then looked back at Lostris.

"I'm not seeing things, right? That dragon was silver?"

[Evadne]

Declarations of eternal broship were not what Lostris had expected of her teasing but she was pleased, all the same. Could it be? Someone other than Siata and Sh'lon appreciates her humor?

That was worth a rare and full smile.

But before the guard could respond to her comrade, he was being jolted by...silver? Lostris' eyes lowered to the little silver head that was...nuzzling. That was nuzzling. It was nuzzling her. There was trilling. She was speechless and stood without moving, hands tightening their grip on the canes as if she were worried about toppling right over onto the creature.

When it finally went, she watched it's pudgy rump waddling off and forget that there were other things she should be watching. Outlaws? What outlaws? Her eyes blinked once. "That was silver," she confirmed, sounding as stunned as she looked. "And fat."

She needed to work on those diplomacy skills too.

[Inkwell]

Oh my shards that dragon is pudgy THAT DRAGON IS PUDGY. Orren would have made an undignified sort of squealing noise if he weren't sure it would aggravate some sort of headache in poor Senar's already unhappy head. Also, he was fairly certain that one didn't squeal at a hatching.

It was just. Very, very very difficult when faced with a gray that adorable. But was it a gray? It had the gleam of a gold or bronze, but its color was nowhere near either.

"So there's some sort of shiny gray on the sands now. I mean I guess he's more of a silver. So is that another new color or a semi-new color with a new twist? Guess we have to leave that up to the dragonhealers."

[tuathade]

Ral’s hand was caked in blood and meat juice up to the wrist, but Dexeth didn’t seem to mind. The little white took each piece of meat with enthusiasm, but not excessive, and after each bite he groomed his jaws and forepaws like a cat so the brilliant white hide stayed spotless. (Couldn’t have anyone mistaking him for a pink!) Exhaustion was beginning to balance out hunger; the new weyrling was tired out by the arduous hatching process, and R’vyn could feel it through the bond between them. Still, for now he was content tone cuddle in his rider’s lap and gulp down raw wherry bite by bite.

A blue and a green had Impressed, and a gray was now wandering the sands. More importantly, Lanakirene was coming to join him. Dexeth trilled to her, eyes whirling blue and green in jewel tones, and R’vyn smiled up at her with – for once –no trace of worry underneath. The fact that this was Warden’s was entirely forgotten. He had a dragon. “His name is Dexeth. And any moment now I’m going to wake up and this is going to be a very odd dream,” he laughed. A white. Second in the history of Pern.

Still, something else had caught his attention, frolicking around on the sands as it was. “Is that… is that another gray? It looks almost metallic…”

[firebird]

Cuddling dragons! This was one of the many things that made Senar wish his little onset of eye problems had come on another day. Even if the bout lasted a week instead of the day they normally did, he would have rather it come at any time other than the hatching. If Senar Impressed, he would have to convince his to recreate the cuddling with another hatchling.

"So they're all okay? None are hurt at all?" He hadn't heard any of the keening associated with dragons betweening forever, so that meant there were probably enough candidates for all of the hatchlings to have a variety of choices. He really didn't want any hatchlings to between. "And wait, a silver? There are two new odd colors now?" The white didn't really count, since that color had appeared before historically.

[Zen]

The dragon was silver. It was metallic. And it was silver. And metallic.

Ever had thought there would only be purples. But then again, Ever had never thought there'd be opals, grays, purples, yellows, and pinks in the first place. And now here was a silver. And it was metallic. Did that mean it would become like a bronze? Her brain was going to explode.

At least the white coloring had happened before in history. This... this was total chaos. Extreme chaos. Somehow it seemed as if it were okay, though. Everything was different since Warden died. Even then it was different. And Ever liked it. Ever liked the chaos. And she smiled.

[puppetmaster]

They liked him! Love Flower preferred to think they loved him, anyway. The girl had frozen up (that was good, right?), and the boy had done... well, he talked. But that was okay!

Eventually though, the silver stopped dead in his tracks, feet digging into the ground and hard. He had to Impress! He had to stop making new friends because he had to Impress where was his.

Wrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

So many people to greet, not enough time in the world. In the Pern. In the place. The Love Flower Hatchling nuzzled up on as many as he could, mind you, winding this way and that, the size of a typical green hatchling. His hide shimmered whenever he moved like a smooth criminal, steps even for a boy of his size that just hopped from the shell. Love Flower wriggled and crooned before he picked up those feet and pranced - yes, pranced - over to Senar and Orren. More people!

Look! One was pale like him! Ish. Love Flower thrust his head against Senar's side, churring with just as much affection as his brother-cousin-whatever before him, and even nibbled at the white robes. It was not him the rainbows sparkled for, though, not when the hatchling flopped down at another's feet, all round shiny silverness, one leg wriggling in a greeting.

I like your stories, Orrenmine! But I am not gray. Your Afilith is much too shiny to be a gray. The silver squirmed again on the sands, small teeth revealing themselves for a draconic smile. This one must open his eyes, though! How else will one see the world?

Image to Come[/img]

Name: Afilith
Color: Silver
Flower: African Lily
Hex: BBBBBB

Appearance: Silvers, as a rule, are not very large. For his part, Afilith follows this, growing to the size of a small blue. Unlike some of the smaller dragons in these two clutches, Afilith is not built like a brick anything, let alone a shithouse, nor will he grow to be a lean, mean, fighting machine. Nope. Afilith is fat. Any muscle he had is overlaid with a thick layer of adorable chubbyness, something he may resent once older and intent on impressing the lay-deez.

Being rounder then most dragons doesn't mean that he doesn't cut a dashing figure; Afilith carries his weight quite well, his legs thick and neck long, elegant, his wings large. If nothing else, his shoulders and wings are horribly well developed, a requirement for a dragon trying to fly so much. His hide is a shiny silver, a metallic sheen that is a bit dark, bordering on gray. Darker stripes cover his wings, lighter streaks over his legs and headknobs. He is a very stripy dragon - and stripes are good! He is a fan of them.

Personality: Afilith likes you. You, personally, much like his granddam. Maybe he won't remember you, but for the duration of your stay, you are the apple of his near-constant blue-green eyes. Because African Lilies are considered 'love flowers', and this big boy is no exception. He loves the ocean, the jungle, his rider, that angry flit on his food... Well, not so much the flit, really. The ability to forgive almost instantly helps with that. He sees little point in being angry and huffy all of the time, when there is no point! Let the world roll off your back.

Afilith likes to think of himself as a subtle dragon, one with good diolog skills that do not encroach on others. He is, in fact, horribly wrong. This silver has an opinion more forceful then he thinks, and a voice louder then realized. But when people are doing something that could harm themselves, why not speak up? He HAS to. It protects them - and being safe means people don't get hurt. Not getting hurt means that everyone is happy. Perhaps Afilith will not always remember the reason behind his opinions, or why they are such strong ones, but he knows he has them! He knows they should be said! (And he knows he's bossy, maybe just a little bit, but that's okay, right?)

Maybe it comes to no surprise that Afilith loves to chase. He prefers yellows and greens, but if a purple, opal, or gold wanted him - well, who is he to deny the love? If Afilith ever does manage to sire a clutch, he will not hesitate to be Awesome Daddy. His mate would never lack food, oil, or a baby-sitter. This does not mean he wouldn't protect his eggs and snarl at the Candidates, if the situation required; Afilith can be just as protective as any other male.

And when it comes to his rider, watch out. He is generally a peaceful dragon, wanting to be nice, but... Yeah, no. No. Afilith chose his for a reason, shard it. They are not to be harmed and, yes, he is fully prepared to defend them. It won't be easy to push him into violence, thankfully, but it is more then possible. It is up to his rider to draw clear lines for Afilith on what is acceptable protective behavior and what is not. Moral lines can be blurred when it comes to whether or not a person is hurting His. Afilith won't mind.

Unintentionally loud, cheerful, large and in charge with no head for leadership outside what his rider provides, Afilith is a generally nice dragon, prone to sticking close to people, and delights in things he hasn't experienced before. The world is large and beautiful, and so is he!

Why Me? At first, Afilith figured "Too obvious?" but then - nope. Nope, not really. The silver finds the man's ability to weave a good story to be an utter hoot, his good natured way of looking at things being icing on the cake. And with that - duh. A chef! Afilith may not be able to eat human food, but he likes food, and a rider that can appreciate the deliciousness of life is just what he wants. Orren... well, he gets someone who shares much of his values, including a love of love, and won't try to get him to be quiet or stop talking.

Not going to lie, another thing that attracted the silver to Orren was how large he is. Afilith is a pudgy dragon, but he carries it off with style, and he needs a rider who will understand it, feed him, and be just as big and "grrr!" next to him when the time comes to defend those lovely ladies (or themselves.)

[S'yal]

The second that baby was over to Orren, the second Snowth had announced the Impression in his head... F'ox had jumped up and cheered his pale little head off.

"Go Orren!" F'ox shouted a bit louder then he meant to, and immediately after yelling that he realized how loud he'd been. The greenrider blushed... but then decided to cheer again, just for good measure.

After all, Orren was the nicest guy F'ox had ever met!

We will congratulate him after the hatching.