[Hatching] Six-Course Meal [Buffet Clutch]

[Ferret]

“Oh…” Leevi started to say just as Kay managed to launch herself directly at La’s face.

Kay was even more confused than the usual chaos of her mind dictated. One moment she was moving towards the big bronze and then she was suddenly stopped in mid-air. “Chirrip?” she chirped in utter surprise, twisting her neck around so she could look at the fingers clenched around her. The gold’s eyes swirled with green and blue, showing that she wasn’t overly concerned about her situation yet. Just very, very curious. Her wings beat a few times against La’s hands, but she calmed down quickly enough.

“Skrp!” she squealed in surprise, remembering that she was supposed to be chasing a big bronze friend. But he was gone now! Friend vanish bad no! she sent back to Leevi with a sad little, “Krroooo…” of disappointment. Trouble’s promise to bring food surprised her back into cheeriness. “Krp!” she said curiously, still looking around to see where her new friend had vanished too.

Then she forgot and started to lick La’s fingers instead with every sign of enjoyment. Once tucked under La’s arm, Kay found a new target: namely, the masterhealer’s shirt. It tasted like soap! But maybe if she chewed it long enough, it would be better? Kay was an optimistic flit.

“…shards,” Leevi finished. Since both of La’s hands were full----extremely full----of a very large and fat firelizard, he put his hand down. “I’m so sorry about her. Here, let me tak… did you say Lanakirene?” Now there was name that hit a few neurons in his brain. “Sorry, I spent a little time at Ista Weyr about three turns back.”

Oh, wow, this was just so cool! The resident Masterhealer had spoken very fondly of La. Well, sort of fondly. Well, he didn’t curse her too much, which was pretty much the same thing with the very cantankerous man. Remembering that he was supposed to take Kay, Leevi held out his hands to accept the fat gold back, still looking almost starstruck. “I actually met the masterhealer there a few times. Well, a lot of times. Well, I was there to study a bit of dragon mindhealing, or at least try it. I don’t think it was very helpful…” he paused for a little while, his natural curiosity battling with the healer-patient confidentiality.

Oh, shards. You only live once. “Was he always twitchy around brooms or is that a new development?”

[tuathade]

Oh, good! La was here! Ral gave his teacher a warm smile and a nod of greeting. “The more the merrier, I’m sure; it looks like a large clutch…” And, oh, there was a sudden burst of excitement as several eggs hatched all at once. Baby flits! So cute! Greens and blues and – well, R’vyn wasn’t paying attention to all that much past the first couple, to be honest. Because the little black and white egg had split open, and inside was a positively charming green. What a sweet little thing! She crooned softly in his direction, eyes whirling, and spread her wings as if she were about to fly to him.

She needn’t have bothered. As soon as the tiny green made her choice clear, the white weyrling was carefully sidling forward to extend a hand in her direction. He scooped her up, cupping the delicate creature in his palms as she trilled sweetly to him. Love at first sight, for sure.

There were two little pops and a rush of cold, as Yarrow and Hazel darted in. R’vyn moved back, out of the way of those still clustered around the clutch; it was as much to give himself room as to let others take his spot. The blue landed on one shoulder, the brown on the other, and together they churred encouraging greetings to their tiny new sister. R’vyn would be first to admit that his firelizard names were a little silly – the two male flits were clutchsiblings, and they’d hatched and Impressed to him while he was busily cramming for a Healer exam. Healing herbs had been the only thing in his head when he thought up names on the spot then. But the soft color of this little green, and the coiling vinelike marking around her foreleg, suggested a name to him. No reason to break a perfectly good pattern when it fit so nicely. “Cress,” he said softly. “I’ll call you Cress.”

Dexeth was practically flailing with delight as R’vyn tore off tiny shreds of meat to feed to Cress – flits! So many flits! Flits everywhere! We definitely got the best one. Or the best-behaved, at least – oh look, who’s that La’s talking to? With the big round gold. Do you know him, Mine?[/color]

No, R’vyn didn’t know Leevi… not directly. But he looked up just in time to see the silly shenanigans as Kay flailed around and Trouble tried to catch her attention. See, this was why R’vyn was glad that he had yet to Impress a metallic; half the time they seemed to be more trouble than they were worth. Ha, Trouble. No pun intended. No, really.

[firebird]

S'nar still wasn't used to not eating in the prisoner's mess hall. It was strange, seeing all the people not in red. It was unnerving, but it was also comforting. He liked knowing that whoever he ended up sitting next to wasn't a murderer or an arsonist. He liked not having to worry about someone taking his food. But change was still something to worry about, so it was taking him a while to not peer about nervously whenever he went to get lunch.

Obeth's presence was good at helping him stay calm. When he hesitated too long before approaching the rows of plates, the brown would say something about needing to eat to be strong, or that it was the duty of the rider to sustain himself, or he would just lightly give S'nar a mental push.

This was the first time Obeth hadn't insisted on quickly grabbing a plate of food. Firelizards are hatching in the kitchen! I hear them! Lad, you must claim one for yourself and train it as a messenger. Communication is a key part in any mission, S'nar was informed the moment they drew close to the entrance to the kitchen.

"But I already have-"

Desert is no messenger. Come now, we must be off! Without waiting for him, the young dragon darted off to the kitchen. When he arrived, the brown nuzzled R'en's leg in greeting before sitting down and wrapping his tail around his legs in as formal a posture as he could. S'nar followed him in and strived to look as nonthreatening as possible.

((10, please.))

[giftwrapped]

Lucky that the gold was so placid, La thought idly as Kay settled down under her arm. Otherwise, she might have been a mess. But as it were, she seemed mostly to just be stupid. But stupid was oftentimes better than clever. Like Trouble, a mite too clever for his own good, even if he did tend to get oblivious. "Yes, you're a good girl," she informed Kay as the gold attempted to befriend what she could see of Trouble. "Oh, please, don't do that," she added as Kay moved from chirping at Trouble to licking her fingers to nibbling her shirt. "I'm rather fond of this tunic."

And Leevi was Istan, by proxy if not directly? Fantastic! "Another Istan!" she said brightly, grinning at Leevi and biting back a raucous laugh as he mentioned the old Masterhealer there. Or rather...well. He had always seemed old to La, but he couldn't have been more than five turns her senior. "What, Cordel?" she asked with a grin. "You were probably helpful. He just likes to pretend they're not." She ran a hand through her hair, the smile of nostalgia creeping onto her face. "And as for brooms, I can take credit for that one." And she'd have told the whole story if it wasn't for the sudden creeping feeling that there was something else in her head.

La recognized that one, and looked down to find a brown apparently making nasty noises at...Trouble? Oh Faranth, there was no way this little brown was - yep. Yeah he was. "Oh for the love of -" La muttered, and would have gone to grab at Trouble if her hands weren't full of Kay.

For a long, tense moment, Trouble stared at the little brown. The little creature chittered at him from its place on the end of the tray, and Trouble forgot about Kay for a long moment. There was another flit. There was another flit. New squealing baby-flitter making noise, he remarked sharply to La, Kay forgotten as he straightened up and clambered over the healer's shoulder to launch down to the tray. The brown chittered more, sitting up on his hindfeet to flare his wings and continue his scolding admonition at the bronze for his manners.

Trouble opened his mouth to chirp, then closed it with a soft 'snip'. Then, very deliberately, he lifted a single forefoot and very, very carefully squashed the squalling baby to the sand. Noisy disobedient baby flitter, he broadcast to the wider firelizard ambient, shifting so he was laying atop the still-noisy baby. La watched, openmouthed, as Trouble rearranged so he was sitting on the new baby, and then deliberately reached down and offered a scrap of jerky.

Trouble snapped it out of her fingers, biting it in half before dropping the other one in front of the brown, who gulped it and chittered more, but stopped when Trouble pressed a firm forepaw on his muzzle. La reached down and grabbed the paw, stuffing another piece of jerky down that brown muzzle before the new 'lizard could protest more. "Them's the breaks, little guy," She informed the brown, who glanced balefully at Trouble with his mouth full of jerky. But every time he tried to snitter, La stuffed more meat down his gullet. "Two older brothers. Faranth help you."

Then she looked at Ral and Leevi and grinned, slightly sheepishly. "So, now then. What were we talking about?"

[lithle]

A'tsu wanted bread.

This was a fairly reasonable desire, he thought. Bread, and maybe some butter to spread on it. But what was currently out in the dining hall was already going cold. A'tsu had just gotten off a round of patrols. He wanted fresh, hot bread. He felt perhaps, he deserved fresh, hot bread.

The sort of bread they kept in the kitchens.

And that, indeed, was why the man walked in. Not searching for firelizard eggs. Meursinth did not pass on any such message, and it was not in his nature to go hunting about for lizard eggs as it was.

Indeed, when he entered the kitchens and saw the little crowd, he started to back away.

Fine. He'd starve. He'd have hot bread some other time.

But. No. He hesitated. There were a few of the new Weyrlings here, the ones with the odd dragons. Why not 'socialize' or at least loom silently? And for that matter, why not take an egg? Maybe K'yne's flit would enjoy the company.

And he had a few hours to kill.

So he stepped forward, nodding politely to La, the only one he recognized, and then, mostly by reputation. But they'd been at Warden's for just about the same amount of time. "Master Dragonhealer."

He said no more than that. She seemed to have her hands full and he wasn't one to waste words.

He turned his gaze to the clutch then, not actually asking for an egg, just being there. Maybe there'd be a spare when they were all done hatching. Maybe not.

(Number 9, please).

[Cansi]

Tekaine's surprise that the little Crème Brûlée brown was turning to him was almost comical. The sounds he was making were nothing short of a clear demand. The prisoner-weyrling squatted where he was, hurriedly ripping a piece of his meatroll off to offer the tawny flitter. (Did firelizards even eat meatrolls? He had no idea.) The brown made a chirr of complaint, but hatchling hunger must have been enough to overcome his distaste. For a few bites, anyway. When the brown started to turn his nose up at the meatroll, and eye other foodsources sideways, Tekaine scooped him up unceremoniously and quick-stepped over to one of the bowls of meat scraps, claiming a handful and retreating to sit on the floor, feeding the little thing.

Now this food was more to the brown's liking. Soon enough he was whuffing his contentment and marching up Tekaine's arm, claws digging into the fabric, to explore the man's shoulders and neck. "You've got goo all over you! Hey, watch out!" Protesting, half-laughing as he tried to extract the flit from his head, Tekaine winced as one of the claws caught at his ear. The brown set off a string of chittering reproach as it returned the blue gaze with a swirl of myriad greens. "You need a name." But what? Maybe he'd better ask Gravitath for inspiration.

Oh, Gravitath. What would His think about the little brown? If he didn't like him, he'd name him something horrible like Feces. Better not leave it to chance. "You look like a type of candy my mother used to make," he realized aloud. "I think she called it Tophi. So that's what I'm going to call you. Tophi!"

The brown shook, sending fine drips of goo flying, and snorted. Well, he might have a person now, but he was definitely unimpressed with the methodology used to name him- and, likely, unimpressed with Tekaine as a whole. The prisoner-weyrling finished his meatroll quickly, stroking a finger lightly along Tophi's head. A little nuzzle in return, and he was smiling down at the little guy, quite oblivious to the goings-on around him.

At least he hadn't spontaneously vomited.

[Ferret]

“Yeah! Well…” Leevi’s more honest nature rolled over his natural excitement. “Well, I was born in High Reaches Hold, raised in the Weyr, but I spent a turn and a half in Ista.” There. He was practically going through his whole life history. Hey, La had expressed interest! That made it ok, yes? What wasn’t ok was that Kay was trying to eat La’s shirt. “Kay, no, that’s not edible… sorry, she always does that. I’ve lost more shirts that way…” that was the thing about the gold; she learned very, very slowly but when she got a hold of a concept-----like eating----she tried to apply it to everything.

The mindhealer couldn’t resist a flare of pride at the idea that he had been helpful to the Istan masterhealer. He didn’t like to brag, but… oh shards, what was going on now? Both Leevi and Kay did a headtilt as a little brown firelizard wandered up and appeared to scold Trouble. There was definitely atmosphere in the atmosphere at that moment. “Krooo?” Kay asked, tilting her head the other way once more.

Her curious croon quickly turned into a sharp squeal of surprise. Hurriedly, she flooded Leevi’s mind with feelings of new baby flitter is a wizard! more or less, thanks to his amazing vanishing skills. Er. His amazing skill of being sat on by Trouble, anyway. Leevi tried to ignore Kay’s excitement, mostly because, one, the brown flitter baby was right there and, two, firelizards could between anyway. The fat gold just tended to not remember things like that. Again, Kay was a flurry of excitement and struggles as she tried to get free to investigate this phenomenon of vanishing baby flitters.

“Poor little guy,” he commented, leaning closer to take a better look at the large bronze and tiny brown’s interactions. “Do they have any concept of that? I mean, the whole sibling dynamics?” Ohh, now there was an interesting study! Family dynamics tended to fall into Leevi’s interest for personal reasons anyway, but could they be applied to firelizards and dragons? Judging from Kay, who had trouble understanding anything more complicated than ‘food’, probably not, but she wasn’t exactly the best example of the species.

“Oh right! Here, let me just take Kay and you could have your hands free…” he gratefully took the large struggling queen back and covered her eyes.

“Squee!” Kay squealed as the world vanished. Immediately, she calmed down, partly because, hey, it was dark and therefore it was time to sleep and partly because everyone was gone. They were all wizards!

[snalf]

( I'll take three pweese! )

Firelizards came before fear. Lexine was dead set on her little ideals. With a deep breath, she non-chelantly came onto the happenin' scene. She scanned the area around here, taking note of the people. She cleared her throat nervously and squirmed.

"U-Um. I'd l-like to claim an e-egg please! I w-want another little f-friend," she said, just loud enough to be heard. Aaw. The eggs were so cuuute! But she was betting the little flits inside them were WAAY cuter. Whee! She could squeal out loud! But, alas, she refrained. That would be embarassing, and people are mean when you're embarassed!

Worry wart.

[maggie]

(Maggie wants egg 9)

Log was excited. It was very rare that Log was excited, so K'dan humoured him and followed the flitt as he pulled him along to the kitchens. Empirith had followed him, taking advantage of the fact that he was still of relatively small size to dog his rider's footsteps as much as he could. This way, of course, he could meet new people as well.

K'dan smiled as he saw what Log was so excited about. He hadn't realised that the sounds the flitt had been making was actually humming to welcome new baby hatchlings in the world. He loved hatchings, they always led to good things, he thought. He reached out to scratch Empirith's eyeridges as they both remembered the recent hatching that had brought them to each other. Log chirped loudly as he wrapped a possessive tail around K'dan's throat. "You want a little brother or sister?" the weyrling asked his flitt. Log was staring at the clutch, his eyes whirring a happy green. K'dan smiled at his fellow weyrling, recognising R'en. "Hi," he greeted. "Are there any left?"

Hello, Afilith! Congratulations on Honey having such a nice clutch. Firelizards are truly delightful, are they not? How is your R'en, with all the activity of the hatching?[/color]

[S'yal]

R'vis did not often go to firelizard hatchings. The gold he had was a demanding creature, and between patrols and Rikath there was little time to care for another firelizard. But he had a break right now, and he was already going to the kitchens in search of a snack. Not that R'vis was a big eater, the timid boy vastly preferring to only eat as much as he needed and then spend the rest of his time with Rikath. But the blue had insisted.

While you're there, get me a firelizard! Empress is a pain in the tail, and maybe we can get something to distract her. Rikath scoffed in the back of his mind, and R'vis nodded despite the fact Rikath wouldn't see. He still wasn't used to this whole thing, despite the fact that Rikath had been in his mind for turns now. R'vis glanced over his shoulder as he went, afraid that an outlaw was going to leap out and stab him twenty times.

He stepped into the kitchen, his gold riding on his shoulder. The man smiled timidly at R'en, still looking around in random paranoia. Oh man, there were so many people here. What if someone pushed him and he landed on a knife? That'd be terrible! "May I have one?" He asked, his voice coming out a bit more confidently then it would have a few turns ago. These were people of Wardens. They were safe.

(1)

[Inkwell]

Oh, Lexine wanted an egg? Fresh Fish had other plans. The runty blue, still bleeding ichor from the wound his larger brown brother had made on his side, scuttled towards her, his wings flapping slightly but of course unable to lift him just yet. Why was she so shy? That was no way to go about doing things!

He fell from the shelf, landing with a small 'whud' about a foot down on the floor. A fresh wave of ichor splattered on the ground, but the blue seemed largely undaunted. He stood, shaking himself to get his bearings (was he a little dizzy? Of course not, shh!) and continued towards Lexine, chirping encouragingly as he went. His eyes swirled a friendly blue-green, even tinged with gray as they were. His wound wasn't deep but left unattended, it was sapping him of strength. Luckily, there were two apprentice dragonhealers and a master dragonhealer in the room. Would Lexine be able to get over her shyness and ask for help?

Blue Fresh Fish Hatchling from the Small Fry Egg

Appearance: Fresh Fish is the very smallest of the clutch -- he isn't even the size of a small green, oh no; he's around the proportions of a white. His wings are perhaps the best part of him: they're very well shaped and allow him a manouverability that many larger firelizards lack even despite their generally small size. His blue is fairly uniform and drab save for on his neck, where three dark blue lines are splashed onto his skin on each side -- the gills he should have but wasn't born with in a cruel twist of fate.

Personality: Though he is built for grace and speed in the air, Fresh Fish adores the water. He can often be found playing in any available hot springs and mineral baths -- hell, if you leave your cup of water unattended long enough, he'll be in it before you can say 'shards, not again'. He has a lust for life that borders on the dangerous and has a habit of believing he can do things he clearly can't -- and then somehow managing to accomplish them. Like the iconic salmon swimming upriver against all odds, Fresh Fish will stop at nothing to prove that despite his small size, he is a force to be reckoned with and life better get ready for him.

*****

The Lime Zest Hatchling, first to hatch and still unimpressed, had watched this whole display with apparent disinterest. She had long ago tired of feeding herself her own meat scraps and had been eyeing the blue as a new source of perhaps more interesting meat. How dare he have the bad manners to get up and walk away? Food wasn't supposed to do that.

She swiveled her head around, looking for other available food sources. The eggs were out -- she didn't want to have to break a shell to get to her meal. Her mother was far too large to savage. Were any of the humans holding meat?

Her eyes focused on R'vis as he entered and her wings flared. What was that? Another gold? All high and mighty on that man's shoulder like she owned the place? Ridiculous! Lime Zest was in charge here, and she was gong to let that gold know it! She launched herself at R'vis, creeling and flaring her wings to make herself appear more impressive. GET OUT DA WAY, GOLD, GET OUT DA WAY!

Green Lime Zest Hatchling from the Acid Egg

Appearance: Oh Faranth, that is one brightly colored hatchling! The first thing anyone notices about Lime Zest is her absolutely blinding hide. Luckily she is slightly darker on her underside than she is up top, providing a bit of relief from the otherwise overwhelming yellow-green of her skin. The edges of her wings, too, are a different color: this time lighter, an almost-white fringe effect reminiscent perhaps of Thread... or maybe the lime peel shavings that give this bright girl her name. She tends to strut, too -- she has, for lack of a better word, curves, and her body is full and every line of it perfect.

Personality: Lime Zest is not a gold, and she wants you to know it! As if she'd have to be some stuck-up queen to be worth your time. Lime Zest is a green and sharding proud of it. She's brash, loud, and has a self-confidence that would make anyone jealous. The party doesn't start until she walks in, and she knows it, and furthermore, she owns it. Though she may not be a gold, she's as bossy as one, and has a tendency to trow tantrums if she doesn't get what she wants -- and Lime Zest wants it all: go big or go home, as the saying goes. She won't resort to trickery or violence to get what she wants, but she's insistent and will hound her owner for her latest obsession until she finds a new one. Don't be surprised if your trinkets go missing: you'll find Lime Zest sitting atop a pile of them, head held high, the most regal green you ever laid your eyes on. Who said golds were the only dragons that could be large and in charge?

*****

Back on the sand, more eggs were hatching! The Brine Egg especially was rocking hard, the Extra Virgin Egg was shaking gently, and the Flaky Egg had a single crack in its side.

It was hard for R'en to tear his eyes away. This had been amazing so far -- a full hatching, all in miniature. But people kept arriving (the kitchen was getting a little crowded!) and he felt it was probably his duty, as the clutch's grandfather of sorts, to greet everyone. Lexine was probably already busy with her new blue, but K'dan was as-of-yet devoid of any baby flits.

"Plenty left! Five eggs still."

He is enjoying himself, Afilith told Empirith with obvious warmth. We love our little gold. This is good for her.

As if on cue, Honey let out a chirp of encouragement, nudging at the Brine Egg, which seemed to be having a little trouble cracking all the way. The egg burst (Honey jerked her shout back with a surprised squawk) and out tumbled a green. She righted herself, shook some of the goop from her wings, and immediately zeroed in on the other two eggs.

With a single-minded determination, the Kosher Dill Hatchling visited first the Extra Virgin Egg. She nudged it insistently until it cracked and out came a mottled green. The green took two steps and fell flat on her face, letting out a piteous whine. It was apparently good enough for Kosher Dill, because she abandoned her green clutchsib for the Flaky Egg and repeated the process. However, no matter how much she nudged, the egg simply didn't seem to want to crack.

Kosher Dill eventually gave up, turning up her snout in exasperation and casting her eyes around the room. She was hungry -- being helpful was so exhausting. Who was that, there?

Well. If K'dan had a firelizard already, he likely knew how to care for one. She wasn't going to waste her time trying to teach someone who had no idea what they were doing. Not that she wouldn't if she had to, but... well. K'dan was right there and she had made up her mind.

Green Kosher Dill Hatchling from the Brine Egg

Appearance: Kosher Dill's snout is slightly bent, as though being cramped inside her egg somehow caused it to grow strangely. It curves downwards into a bit of a hook, giving her a somewhat 'old crone'-like appearance. Her color is, for lack of a better word, pickle green, with a glossy sheen to it that while not the shine of a gold or a bronze certainly makes her stand out amongst drabber greens. She looks as though she's just stepped out of an oil bath at all times, which makes up for the odd bumpy quality her hide has.

Personality: If Steak and Potatoes is the 'father' of the clutch, then Kosher Dill is the mother. The overbearing mother that will never leave you alone. Kosher Dill has opinions and boy, will she make them known: you're not eating enough, your hair looks too scruffy, your clothes are a disgrace, and oh, her poor little baby, what would you do without her there to guide you? She's a snappy girl by nature and tends to switch emotions quickly, generally between periods of overcritical disappointment and unconditional but despairing love. You're not quite up to snuff, but you're hers -- what's a girl to do?

[snalf]

Lexine was vaguely new to hatchings, and it was all fairly strange to her. But the little Flitts...Oh boy. They were so cuuute! Tart was hangin' around, staring at the fellow blue. Oh, and said blue was coming at Lexi? Such a curiosity. There would be no room for jealousy between the boys, just perhaps a cycle of everlasting trouble-causing, wall walking into, possession breaking fun.

There was some sort of magic that always left Lexine getting the more...social little fellows. Perhaps it was an omen? Boo. Screw omens! She gazed at the little man adoringly, cobalt eyes actually similar to the colors of her new little friend. She moved to lift him carefully in her hands, and she inspected the little fellow. The chirping! Such a sweet, admirable little sound. He was clearly more outgoing than herself. Oh dear.

Oh! But, all was not particularly well with him! So tiny, though! Without a doubt what her opinion of cute was. Then, the ideal name hit her! Plum! Which was rather odd, because he defiantly wasn't a plum color. But alas, do not question the mind of Lex. But, first, the wound was her first plan of action. But wait, that meant she had to talk to people. Oh bother.

Lex straightened her back and tried to look as confident as possible, and maybe the straightness would make her look taller. Nope. That wasn't working. She raised her voice, only for the sake of the rather convincing Flitt, "U-Um," she tried to attract attention, "T-This one, P-Plum is h-hurt. C-Can someone g-give me a hand?" she cleared her throat, scanning the faces of those around her.

Hopefully someone would pay some attention, because Flits were not exactly the kind of things she specialized in healing. Tart looked a little worried, perched on Lex's shoulder like he was some sort of scarf.

[Inkwell]

"F'ox is in training to be a dragonhealer," R'en offered to Lexine helpfully, smiling past her to his friend. If he could help both of the overly shy people in the room actually talk to someone for a change, his day would definitely be a success! Besides, he liked the little blue's spunk. He didn't want it to die.

On the sands, the mottled green that Kosher Dill had nudged into hatching was making a second attempt at walking. She seemed to be having trouble orienting herself, though, and couldn't seem to walk in a straight line. Eventually she plopped down with a disgruntled huff, tilting her head first to one side and then the other as she regarded the assembled humans. Ooh! They were all so interesting-looking. Maybe they would be her friends! Apparently bolstered by the idea, she stood once again and barreled enthusiastically towards the onlookers, only to imitate Plum and fall from the edge of the shelf.

She tumbled head over tailfork for far longer than was even logical, eventually coming to stop against the toe of R'en boot. This was new and interesting! She peered at it, nudged her snout against it, and then licked it. Dismayed to find that it wasn't food, she looked imploringly up at R'en and creeled hopefully.

And who could resist that? R'en scooped up the little green, absently reaching over and securing some meat scraps with which to sate her appetite. He kept a close hold on her, though -- if his observations were to be believed, letting her sit unaided on his shoulder would only result in her falling off and injuring herself. One injured flit at this hatching was quite enough for him!

Green Tossed Salad Hatchling from the Extra Virgin Egg

Appearance: Tossed Salad looks, frankly, like a mess. Her hide is made up of random patches of every green imaginable, as though she couldn't make up her mind on what color to be and so chose all of them. To make up for this, she's a perfectly-proportioned firelizard... except for her feet, which are huge, all the better for tripping over. Tossed Salad has terrible balance and seems to be permanently in a state of disorientation. A caring owner would be advised to keep her from flying very often and certainly not anywhere she could fall a great distance from.

Personality: As her appearance implies, Tossed Salad is a tad... disorganized. She always seems to have a million things to do, and not only that, she can only half-remember a couple of them at any given time. She means well, but she has a nasty habit of taking on every possible task, forgetting she ever had to do any of them, finding out she failed someone, and immediately rushing to fix it... and then forgetting again. And thus, the cycle repeats. Something must have happened to her egg, despite Honey's careful monitoring, because it was definitely scrambled. However, Tossed Salad has an unwavering dedication and a thirst to please that makes her many, many fumbles forgivable. She works very hard to do her best at everything she tries and while she may sometimes fall short, she always has confidence that she'll do better next time. She won't let you down.

*****

The Flaky Egg, which hadn't been at all moved by Kosher Dill's insistent nudging, seemed to finally have decided to get on with it. More cracks appeared around the first until finally it slowly broke apart and out rolled a pudgy, dappled blue.

The Blueberry Pie Hatchling looked sleepily around at the assembled onlookers. Had they been waiting for him? He couldn't really be bothered to care. He was here now, wasn't he, and nobody seemed particularly annoyed at his tardiness, so no harm done! He was just sad that he had had to wake up. It had been so nice and comfortable in his egg, even if he had been getting a little cramped at the end there.

Hm. He was hungry, though. That big brown over there looked like he knew what was what! Maybe he'd be able to point the little Blueberry Pie Hatchling towards some food? Or maybe his bonded would, at any rate? The blue chirped towards S'nar and Obeth, inquiring in the picture-feeling language of flits as to whether there was meat available and where it might be obtained.

Blue Blueberry Pie Hatchling from the Flaky Egg

Appearance: Blueberry Pie is a pudgy little firelizard. His legs are short, as are his tail and neck. He's a roly poly ball of blue, a blue so deep that it's got a smidge of purple hue, in fact, like a bruised blueberry. Along his sides, down his legs and up his neck and tail are deeper blue splotches, all perfectly round and varying in size from as big as his eyes to as tiny as the tip of a stylus.

Personality: Blueberry Pie is as sweet as his namesake dish. He unconditionally loves everyone he comes into contact with and will try to spread that love as much as he can. Of course to do that he has to have energy. The one problem with this little flit is that he's quite lazy, and while he wants to love you he also wants to love that spot of sunshine on the windowsill. He can sleep for ridiculously long amounts of time, wake up, and immediately be ready to go back to sleep. The upshot of this: he isn't a terribly bothersome flit and is content with whatever life throws at him. This is one blue who will not be making waves any time soon.

[S'yal]

F'ox had taken notice of the injured blue, a look of distress on his face even as he finished feeding Ice. Did he dare intrude to try and help the poor thing? But as the girl asked for help and R'en mentioned him, F'ox stepped forward and looked at R'en. "Do you have any bandages in here?" He didn't know what the hell he was doing. He cast desperate glances to both La and Ral, asking for help silently. F'ox reached his hands out for the little Blue, wanting to see how badly it was injured. "I'm not very good, but... um, I can stop the bleeding?"

He had to resist the urge to burst into apologies for not being a master dragonhealer who could heal wounds with a flick of the wrist.

[firebird]

S'nar had been hovering near the back of the cluster of people, certain that all of the eggs would be taken before he got the opportunity to claim one. He therefore squeaked in surprise when the Blueberry Pie Hatchling nudged his mind with images of meat and a general feeling of hunger. "Um, wait a moment and I'll get you something," he told it before looking around frantically for the bowl of meat.

Obeth, on the other hand, went right up to the blue firelizard and lightly nudged it in an attempt to coax it to climb up onto the his muzzle. This gesture went entirely ignored as the hatchling instead opted to chirp at S'nar again. Why wasn't the food coming faster, it wanted to know. Eventually Obeth mentally nudged his rider in the right direction and the flit was soon happily eating.