It's Now The Monster Mash: The Spooky Clutch Hatching!

[Meepfur]

Dezerac raised a brow when an egg unearthed itself and split to reveal another bronze. How many High Reaches boys would regret having stayed behind when they heard about that? As for him, he watched it with the same interest he did the greens and the blue, and the rocking egg behind it. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and waited. There was nothing else to do but wait, and not let impatience gain a foothold. Waiting was growing old and beginning to grate, after all this time.  

[Revel1984]

Serfie jumped when she heard a voice in her head, that wasn't Nasath, it took her couple of hearbeats to realise it was the candidatemaster's green dragon. She silently thanked the green, not knowing if she could be heard or not but she tried to THINK her thanks in that direction, she was relieved that Zinath said they wouldn't KILL each other, hurting seemed to be ok though.

At Shahera's comment she gave a snort "Don't count your wherries yet" she said, having Shahera there, making her calm down a little. She followed the other girl's gaze and shook her head "no ... i can take care of myself if i need to, i don't need them to protect me" she said, getting defensive without being mean in her tone, she wasn't used to going to anyone when she was scared, she'd learned long ago, she only had herself to rely on. Things were changing but... not that fast for this stubborn girl "not that i blame them, i didn't realise it would be like this" she said quieter, eyeing as a Bronze hatched from a hidden egg and another egg rocking.

Mx Cherie

faesinger

 

[Teiha]

Vimiath

The golden dragon was unused to humbling herself. It was embarrassing, beneath one of her station and lofty nature. Rejection? The very word was not even in her vocabulary. Yet… here she was, terrified of being rebuffed by a human child, as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Perhaps, in this moment, it was.

A tentative yellow-green drizzled into the facets of her eyes as Akaris deigned to offer her own apology. Over the girl’s head, Vimiath saw the looks of R’mor and A’ral. Felt their wary and mistrustful thoughts. She could have tried to explain to them, but she had no desire to speak to them. They were irrelevant. It was the girl’s understanding she wanted. And she knew it was silly to think that Akaris would just forget their previous encounter and run to her outstretched wing, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to fix her mistake.

If you fear me and wish it so, I will keep my distance. But if you fear my children more, come to me. My wings are broader, my limbs longer, and my back higher than they can reach. You will be safe.

Meepfur

Masterharper

Mx Cherie

 

[ChaosTheories]

Jagmund

Jagmund felt a mixture of relief and annoyance when the Demon ignored him and went to find more trouble. This dragonet thought he was so great, but he was naive! Turning everyone against yourself was not the answer to getting what you wanted! And now the Hunter and the Angel were on the attack. What if they wound you so that you cannot function like a normal dragon? Or worse...

Jagmund shook his head and spotted a third bronze in the distance. Huh? Where did he come from? The Candidate stared at him, hoping he had more sense than his brothers... and would perhaps choose Jagmund, as he desired.  

[Masterharper]

smolderingskies

Rasthell
The red-head didn't mind staying far back with his love. He kept the others hand tight, though he would let it go if Dharzol tugged it away. He was glad they were near the back. "We'll get through this together, love. Look, those two aren't doing too much harm, though I think they're more excited than dangerous." He pointed at the Werewolf and Goblin greens, though both had seemingly been put in their place by another.

Peculiar, really.

When the bronzes started to fight, though, he did frown. Squabbling wasn't necessarily unheard of, but he'd feel much better when they Impressed. "There are still an awful lot of eggs left to Hatch though. "

Sinders Path

SilverLutz

Kiri
Well, there was nothing more to do with Iathe gone on ahead. "While not doing anything seems cold and cruel, I don't know if antagonizing or threatening the babies is a wise idea, either." Some might get spooked, or worse, only more angry and aggravated. Still, she did not remove her hold from the other girl -- this Hatching was wild, and while part of Kiri was thrilled by it, another part of her was worried. Two boys had been savaged, and there was Yevalee with a sore arm. "I'm glad she seems okay though. Tough read, that one," she added with a small smile.

"This is madness, really. I didn't expect it to be like this, honestly." She confessed to the girl, especially as it was her first Hatching, too.

"You okay over there?" She asked Vennodren, whom she'd caught with his eyes closed.

DruidTigeress

Mx Cherie

Revel1984

R'mor & Juneneth
The man glanced over to where A'ral was now talking to the smaller girl, Nebbi. He was glad that the green rider had a good bedside manner when it came to these sorts of things. While he knew that reality was harsh, and future riders would need to handle things far worse thanks to Thread, this wasn't exactly a quiet Hatching. "You're doing just fine, Nebbi," R'mor encouraged. "We're glad to have you here." New to a Hatching and from High Reaches. Poor thing would be hardened sooner or later the longer she stayed over there. Hmph. But maybe he didn't always agree with the Weyr's handling of delicate things...or delicate people, for that matter.

Glancing back at the Sands, he did notice the young girl sobbing. Ah-ha. That was the one, the troublesome little whisp of a girl that had caused her own form of trouble. Though he had not been pleased with her antics after the full story had come out, or the antics of A'iel, he wasn't heartless. She looked distressed.

Let her know she's safe to retreat to the sidelines, Junenth.

Reaching out to the girl, as he had both Nebbi and Akaris, the bronze sent waves of comfort and assurance. You wil be safe with Mine and the Candidatemaster, small one. The dragonets can find you over there, if necessary, and you can take time to breathe. They weren't taking them off the Sands, simply moving them back to the sidelines. It wasn't usually a coveted position among Candidates, but there wasn't necessarily a rule against it, ether. At least not at Western.

DruidTigeress

Jalarus
Like Rok, he butchered quietly, pensive. He was glad to be here, but Hatchings weren't exactly fun. While many looked upon them with awe and excitement, Jalarus only was reminded of his many failures. He had not been good enough, smart enough, talented enough to Impress and...well...That was just the way it went. Any feelings he had about the matter were buried, and alcohol helped seal them away for good.

Maybe not the best coping mechanism, but it worked.

He wasn't some glorious man -- he had no talent, no craft, no skill. Sometimes he thought about returning to the mercenary life, but with Thread out there, and his reputation as a deserter likely known among many camps, he doubted he'd be welcome. So, for now, he focused only on the task at hand. Butchering.

"You two," came the call of one of Western's many assistants. "Take these two bins of meat out to the weyrling tables. This should hopefully be enough to satisfy the lot for now. Keep an eye out for the little ones, keep inventory of the meat, and let us know if the tables start to run low." She smiled at the two men, "And if you don't hurry back, I doubt anyone will notice. We're probably all set with the butchering, so take your time. We'll see you back here once the Hatching wraps." It was an order, really. Honestly, Western tried to let much of its help try to watch from the sidelines, even for a few minutes. There would be a lot more work to do once the Hatching wrapped -- that's when Jal an Rok's job would truly begin.

Wiping his hands on a towel, he glanced over at his friend. "Guess we get a bit of fresh air." He picked up one of the tub, an waited for Rok to pick up his own before he headed out. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to be closer to the action or not.... But. Well. As long as he stayed in a Weyr, he'd have to learn to get over it. Now was as good as practice as anything.  

[faesinger]

Shahera nodded to Serfie, not unsurprised at her choice. As she had said before, Serfie was strong. “I’m not counting wherries,” she teased, “I’m counting on you.”

Shahera eyed the sad hatchling. She had not forgotten her promise to the egg to play with it. Shahera wanted to go to the green so badly and cheer it up. This was supposed to be a good day. WHO WAS MAKING HER SAD? Who did Shahera have to hunt?

Revel1984

 

[smolderingskies]

Saimwen's breath left his body as Marinel crushed against him, burying a face in his shoulder. So much of him wanted to protect Mari, and the fact that the bronze attacker was still on the loose angered him. He'd had a good time speaking with that egg, but the dragon himself? What was he hoping to accomplish with all this bloodshed? It even ignored its siblings that were trying to keep it from continuing, and although there was a brief squabble (during which Saimwen couldn't help but whoop a little in support of the defender), the bronze was on the prowl for its next victim, once again. He hadn't even really had a chance to think about the other hatchlings on the loose.

Saimwen gave Marinel a little kiss on the forehead, before untangling himself from the hug and angling his body in between Mari and the bronze. He wanted to shout at it, to scream, but he hesitated at drawing it near. There was an ounce of trust that went into these hatchings, and the Demon had betrayed it. "Just find yours," he said in frustration, although not necessarily loud enough to turn any heads, but loud enough that the dragonet could hear. "Stop attacking people and just get it overwith!"


Thaliawen
a lil smooch


---

"There are so many eggs we didn't even see during the Touching," he remarked in surprise, particularly impressed at the presence of a new bronze on the sands. This was a powerful clutch - and the dragons were not afraid to show it as they locked claws and teeth with each other, and had battles of the mind, like those greens with their brother.

"Do you want to... go over there?" he asked Rasthell softly, nodding to the two greens, his voice barely a breath, squeezing his hand tight, maybe too tight. He was scared, but everyone else had to get through this, too.


Masterharper

 

[demon_pachabel]

Martirae

As Goblin and Werewolf ran to each other to play, Martirae pointedly took a few steps back to stay out of their way. She'd seen too many dragonets at play in such a way to be dumb enough to simply stand and think she was out the blast zone. She had a scar on her hip that deigned enough of a lesson in such things. Such energy.

Another egg emerged from the sands where Vimiath had lay and her attention drifted to it briefly until a third bronze emerged from it. Three bronzes. One more and they'd be at the record number she'd seen in one hatching her whole time standing. It was nothing to sneeze at. Though that clutch had also had a gold. Marty somehow wasn't expecting there to be one in this case. Still, her attention was pulled between the Vampire pulling all of his siblings to order (a creature of sense, she could appreciate that) and the battle between the demon, the hunter, and the angel.

How disappointing. Maybe all of the candidates would just leave if Demon kept acting this way, and then the bronze would have absolutely nobody to want it. Nobody would be his because all he could do was bring shame and disappointment down upon himself. Unlike the specimen that was the Angel - a bold creature willing to do battle with another bigger than himself. Though she could already feel the judgement from High Reaches down upon him for his hide.

Just because she understood didn't mean she necessarily agreed.  

[Ryala]

Ladellan

As the white Angel hatchling jumped into the fray to help quell the Demon bronze, who was still tangling with the Hunter, Del finally moved again. That one Hatchling was... well, spirited would be an understatement. And Ladellan refused to let anyone else be hurt by him.

Therefore, seeing the bronze and white attempting to stop their brother, Del went towards the other candidates once more. Stopping halfway between his fellow candidates and the fight, he kept the thrashing bronze and white knot in sight at all times. He was now closer than anyone else... the vicious first bronze shouldn't be able to find another victim so easily now.

Del refused to let him.

Masterharper

Ladellan just won't quit... damned hero.

 

[Revel1984]

Were these dragons determined to drive Serfie mad? She heard a more masculine one in her head this time, realising that it was the Weyrleader's dragon didn't make Serfie any less grumpy about another dragon talking to her. "ill be fine over here, but thank you" she thought politely at the dragon, glancing once at the cowering girls by R'mor and A'ral ... no, she might have had a wobbly moment, she might have more, but she wasn't going to huddle in fear over there.

She smiled at Shahera "Well that's up to them" she sighed, gesturing to the dragons and the eggs left to hatch, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted one now ... she definitely was glad that the Bronze was not for her, that Bronzes only Impressed to Men ... she did NOT want that one... She admired the spirit of the White, as well as the Bronze that hatched from the egg she'd liked, she was somewhat sad that wasn't one she could Impress, she'd liked his protective feeling.

Mx Cherie

faesinger

 

[Masterharper]

The Demon
The bronze continued to battle his brothers, though it was clear as it carried on that he was simply humoring them. He was not putting his all into the fight -- they weren't worth it -- but he did enjoy the tussle.

He whipped his tail away from the Angel's claws and teeth, and smacked a large wing out push the tiny beast away. As for the Hunter, he snapped at the others neck and shoulder, but did not go in for the kill. Are you two quite through with this nonsense? I'd much rather find fun elsewhere. If he was not busy chewing on his bronze brothers leg, wing-sail, he would have yawned.

The Hunter
How dare he make a mockery of this! Have you no remorse!? Have you no regret!? You vile creature! You are not fit to live! He tore his wing back from his brother's mouth, and this time did reach out to snap his jaws. He grabbed his brother's neck in his jaws, and bit down HARD.

This caught the Demon off guard, and he did yank back, now missing a chunk out of his neck. He shrieked with indignation, and found the Hunter ramming him into a group of Candidates too slow to move away. His wings shot out, likely catching those nearby with his claws, but the Hunter was insistent.

The Hunter's own wings spread. So intent on teaching his bronze brother a lesson, he did not care who he trampled in the process. He slashed, bit, and tore. And if he caught the robes, or flesh of those scrambling to get out of the way, he didn't care.

The Demon had to be put down now.  

[Meepfur]

In spite of everything, including her deep-seated fear, Akaris was tempted to take the gold up on her offer.  A Queen was offering her shelter, protection, not just under her wings but on her back, where no angry hatchling could reach her.  And, unaware that the one she most dreaded encountering was already hatched and Impressed, the offer held no small amount of appeal.  And it made her feel special, much as having the concern of A'ral and R'mor did.  How many Candidates could say that a clutchmother had offered them such a thing?  Yes, if a dragonet wanted her, it could find her here...but would it want to?  And when had she started to maybe want one to?

If Vimiath had looked as she had at the Touching, healthy and shining, the gold she had spent the past few sevendays remembering and living in fear of, perhaps she wouldn't have let go of A'ral at long last and taken a few wavering steps forward.  But this looked like a different dragon entirely, and she had felt the remorse, the grief.  Akaris was afraid, but not heartless, and even the thought of rejecting Vimiath felt cruel.  All these things, buoyed by the constant support from Junenth, helped make up her mind.

The fear was still there, and maybe it would be for some time, but her pride had finally made a comeback.

Teiha

Mx Cherie

Masterharper