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Post by Kitari on Jun 30, 2009 16:12:47 GMT -5
Dusk had fallen on another steamy day, and Kitari lounged on a cushioned chair just off the Sands, watching the last of the red streaks fade from the sky over the Bowl. Shadows had already begun to stretch their long fingers into the cavern leading into the Hatching Ground, and a pair of drudges moved around the sand, uncovering glows for the dragonriders residing there. The goldrider glanced back over her shoulder at Lefayeth, who was lying unusually still beside her Clutch, only her whirling eyes evidence of her lingering wakefulness.
Both of them would be very glad to be free of this place when the time finally came.
Her lovely golden dragon finally seemed to have settled down and accepted Gwynevith and the Windy Desert Clutch's presence so near her own Clutch, but she was beginning to itch with boredom and long for the skies again. Without the threat of the other gold to occupy her mind, Lefayeth had slowly grown more disinterested in the entire affair, though she still hissed warningly at any drudge who passed too close. It was somewhat of a relief for her rider, for it seemed Lefayeth wasn't at risk of carrying her mothering duties too far and interfering with her dragonets once they had Hatched. One never knew with a fiery gold.
Smiling to herself, Kitari turned back to gaze out into the Bowl once more, when a flash of movement caught her eye. Quickly, she returned her attention to the Clutch, illuminated now mostly by flickering glowlight, and squinted in an effort to pick out the movement again. A bubbling excitement began to grow in the goldrider, but she warned herself against jumping to conclusions. This was probably the fourth time in a sevenday that she had imagined movement amongst the Eggs, no doubt inspired by her desire for the Hatching to happen already and free her from this imprisonment.
However, this time, she had not been mistaken. There it was again! Lefayeth had also raised her head by now, whirling eyes regarding her beautiful Clutch with excitement and love. Yes, the Tidal Pool Egg had definitely twitched, and now the Foaming Shores Egg was beginning to wiggle slightly.
"They're Hatching!" Kitari cried, jumping to her feet so quickly the chair fell over and the drudges both shrieked in surprise. Quickly, the goldrider moved closer to the Eggs, Lefayeth's hum of confirmation beginning to reach her ears. She beamed up at her gold dragon, the thrill of the pending Hatching flooding her veins, and looked over to Alana and Gwynevith to share in this moment. That was when she realized that, much as they had all feared, a number of Eggs in Gwynevith's Clutch had also begun to shake. Although it was difficult to see across the sands in the glowlight, the Desert Sunset Egg and Prickly Guardian Egg were both vibrating quite definitively, the former even thrashing from side to side occasionally.
With a sigh of exasperation, Kitari looked up at her golden Lefayeth, slightly wary. The twin Queens had felt the urge to rise simultaneously, had laid their Eggs on the same night, and now, it seemed, their Clutches would be Hatching together as well. They had all suspected this final synchronization would follow through, but Kitari had hoped the twins might differ on this one occasion at least. A Hatching was emotion-packed and terrifying enough for candidates without dragonets of two different Clutches spilling onto the Sands.
There was nothing they could do about it, though, so Kitari asked Lefayeth to contact Candidatemaster Q'tris's green, Minth, to relay the announcement to all of the candidates. The Eggs Hatch, and the candidates are to form a line between the two Clutches, rather than the usual semi-circle. Then, the gold eagerly broadcasted the event to the entire Weyr, beckoning every dragon out to welcome the new arrivals. Even little Falcon, Kitari's blue flitter, had zoomed in promptly to perch on his's shoulder and begin to hum. Despite the dangers of two Clutches Hatching at once, all three of them were caught up in the excitement of a Hatching.
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Post by B'kay on Jun 30, 2009 16:54:16 GMT -5
Frozen sweet cream with sweetberry sauce! What a find!
B'kay rushed down the hallway toward the Hatching Grounds, balancing a heaping bowl of the sweet dessert in his hands. Poor Kitari ... she had been trapped on the hot sands for so long. She would love this treat!
He was moving swiftly, to get the cream to her before it melted. How to get it across the sands to her? Well, even if it partially thawed, some of it would still be--
They are HATCHING!
The bronzerider stopped short as the voice of Syth shouted into his mind, then broke into a run. He arrived, panting, in front of the Goldrider with a dish full of mostly still frozen cream -- aside from that which was spattered lightly about the front of his tunic.
"I got this for-- Oh, Shards!" He shrugged and stared at the dessert as he came to a predominantly dignified halt in front of his mate. "I suppose it doesn't matter now," he said with a half-smile. Somehow frozen cream dessert wasn't quite so exciting when one was about to face a Hatching!
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Post by **Auria (etc)** on Jun 30, 2009 17:16:16 GMT -5
Auria spun so fast when the kitchen worker called out that the eggs were hatching, that she nearly fell over the drudge who was helping her with supper dishes!
"Sorry, got to run!" she called behind her after stuffing the wet dish cloth into the girl's hands.
Her candidate robes had been clean and pressed, hanging over the end of her cot, for days. It took her only a second to toss them on, stuff her feet into the hard-soled boots, and race for the Hatching Grounds.
Once at the entrance, she realized she was the first there ... and hadn't a clue what to do! Should she wait for the others? Where was CandidateMaster Q'tris?
Oh, dear, she'd never been so excited! She wondered where Ranny was. She knew the healers must attend, so Gaylen and C'lyn would be there ... but would they be able to bring him? Would her little nephew see her Impress?
A sound behind her caused her to jump---
========
Silatar knew what to do, and was a bit surprised to find no one else in the Barracks when he arrived. He pulled off his garments and slipped the robe over his head, cinching it neatly about his waist. Pulling back his long pale blonde hair, he tied it back with a strip of hide, and surveyed his image in the glass. His ship's boots were what he normally wore, and would do for the hot sands as they had for the Touching.
He knew what to do ... he just wasn't quite sure why he was doing it.
There were a few people waiting outside the grounds when he arrived. He stepped up behind the girl with the long brown hair who startled when he approached.
Someone said something about forming a line between the clutches ... this was different than they'd learned from Q'tris, but if that was what the Queens wished....
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Post by Skye on Jun 30, 2009 18:57:30 GMT -5
Riley was wiping down tables in the Dining cavern, cleaning up from the evening meal. She sighed and glanced toward the entrance of the cavern, noting the sun sinking in the sky. She would much rather be outside watching the sunset, but no, here she was stuck cleaning up after everyone that had eaten. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the task at hand.
She jumped as one of the other drudges tapped her shoulder.
"The eggs be a hatchin! You best get your robe on and get to the cavern miss," the older woman informed her with a grin. Riley started to argue that she didn't want to go to the hatching, that she wanted to go back home, but at least standing on the sands would get her out of chores. And if she didn't impress then she could go home. She smiled brightly to the woman and hurried out of the cavern, holding her skirts up as she ran to the girl's barracks. She didn't see anyone else in the room and feared that she might be too late. She shrugged out of her outer clothing, leaving on just her shift. She pulled her crisp, clean white robe one, making a face at the itch material. She cinched it about her waist and smoothed it out. She brushed her hair out and left it hanging loose.
She hurried to the Hatching cavern and took a deep breath before walking calmly into the Cavern. She felt anything but calm though, her heart was racing with many emotions that she felt right now. Anticipation even though that she didn't want to really impress, she secretly wished that she would. Fear of what would happen if she did impress. Joy at the chance of seeing new dragons born into the world.
She shook her head and moved across the sands, wincing at the heat seeping through the thin soles of her sandals. She had first been taught that candidates were to stand in a semi circle around the clutch, but just before coming in she had been told something different, that the candidates were to stand in a line between the two clutches. She shrugged to herself and took her place, standing so that she could see both clutches.
~~~~
Kyrian was watching the sun set, smiling to himself as he watched the sun sink below the horizon, throwing up a myriad rainbow of reds and purples. To bad he had not been gifted in the art of painting, it would be such a lovely picture to capture. He shook his head and turned to head back toward the barracks, his chores done for the day.
He arched a brow as he heard some hustle and bustle inside the barracks and hurried his steps to see what was going on. He noticed shirts tossed on cots and trunks thrown open. He frowned and tilted his head. Then he heard it, the slight sound of humming. He grinned at the sound, knowing what that must mean.
He hurriedly pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside, quickly changing into his robe. He sat on the edge of the bed to change from his boots to the sandals he needed to wear. He smoothed his robe as he stood and hurried to the Hatching Cavern. He smiled as he walked into the cavern, looking around as he moved to stand in the line between the two clutches.
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Post by Tealah on Jun 30, 2009 22:17:01 GMT -5
Her chores having been completed earlier, Niera was spending her free hour playing with Tipri. Chores! Free hour! Niera had never had any real sort of structure about her day, so this was a novel experience, and she'd yet to grow disenchanted with it, since such a short time had passed since she'd been Searched. That boy with his green firelizard must have been her lucky charm, because he she was, a Candidate!
Granted, that meant that she'd had to have Tipri boarded with one of the Beastcrafters. The canine was *not* pleased with this; she'd spent much of her time so far just soothing his injured pride. Just as she'd finally convinced him into a game of Chase, though, one of the apprentices came running up from the Weyr. "Niera! Niera!" he called out to her as soon as he was near enough to hear. "You're needed at the Weyr! The eggs are hatching!"
Niera didn't waste any time; she didn't want to miss this for anything. "Stay!" she commanded the canine. He put his ears back and grumbled, but didn't move even when she bounded off for the barracks and her robe. It was a little grubby, she noticed as she pulled on the garment, but that wasn't unusual. Anything in Niera's possession for long usually acquired a bit of grime somewhere or another. And who cared, really? She didn't, anyway, as she bounced into a line with the other Candidates between the two clutches. Seeing the eggs, she barely suppressed an excited squeak, though her eyes did sparkle in anticipation.
****
Tarin was on pot-scrubbing duty when the call came in. Pot-scrubbing - or finding a firelizard clutch? Yes, it was a clutch! He was just in time to see them hatching, and he just so happened to have a bag full of meatrolls with him. So far he'd Impressed five, and a little gold was inching towards him -
But it was not to be, for a kitchen worker had called out that the hatching had begun. Another Candidate had already left the kitchen, and Tarin was pushed along in her wake. "Get your robe, boy!" one of the women urged him laughingly. "Get down to that hatching and Impress yourself a dragon!" Gales of laughter followed that encouragement, for none of the kitchen workers really believed he could be a dragonrider, regardless of what that bluerider had said.
But Tarin didn't notice the laughter. Instead he drifted obediently to the barracks, where he stood blinking around at all the chaos until another boy shoved his robes into his hands. Then he dressed automatically and followed the boy to the hatching sands and into the line of Candidates, mind still too caught up in far-away adventures to really realize what was going on. He was living a dream, and he didn't even notice.
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Post by M'kel on Jun 30, 2009 23:43:45 GMT -5
It had been a long day, and Retivor was exhausted. First, he'd had to assist in the Beast Stables, doing what he could to brush down some of the runnerbeasts and polish saddles with only one hand available. Next, he'd been shuffled off to a lesson, followed by chores in the Kitchens. After wiping tables, again, one-handed, Retivor had been allowed to eat lunch, and then began wiping the tables again, for the lunch diners had finished and left a new mess.
The chores had continued like that thoughout the day until he was released after supper. Having started early that day, he was allowed the evening to himself. After spending some time with Sprite, he'd decided on an early night and had clambered into bed.
Thus, Retivor was quite displeased at the sudden chaos that erupted in the Boys' Barracks, as candidates started flooding in, opening trunks quite loudly and generally banging around. He groaned in displeasure and opened an eye irritably, watching his fellows pull on white robes and then disappear through the door. Well, what in Faranth's name was going on?
WHITE ROBES?!
Retivor was instantly out of bed, nearly tripping over his own trunk in the rush, and pulled out his own white robes, pulling them hastily over his head and throwing on the traditional pair of sandles. The Hatching! He couldn't believe it, he just couldn't believe it! The time was finally here. It seemed like he had been Searched Turns ago, now, for life had changed so much since arriving at the Weyr. And now the culmination of all the labours of candidacy was drawing near. He would have a chance to Impress a dragon.
It was only a chance, though, the lad reminded himself as he trotted down the corridors and out into the Bowl. He had to be careful not to get his hopes up too high, or he'd only be more crushed by disappointment. No, he had learned his lesson long ago not to hope for too much.
But he couldn't help it; as soon as Retivor stepped into the shadowy Hatching Grounds and caught sight of the shining eggs, their radiant colours catching the light of the glows, his excitement took hold. A few candidates were waiting in the entranceway while others went to form a line between the Clutches, so the boy decided to join the latter. After all, if he was going to Impress, he would have to be on the sands!
His fast pace increased as he set foot on the sands; they were much hotter than he'd remembered from the Touching, if that was possible. Quickly, Retivor joined the others in the line, suddenly feeling quite exposed out in the middle of the sands like this. Two golds crouched on either side, two Clutches of eggs were twitching with nervous energy, and he couldn't possibly keep his eyes on both. Thus, the lad was left turning back and forth at a dizzying rate, desperately trying to catch sight of the first egg to Hatch.
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Post by **Auria (etc)** on Jul 1, 2009 7:16:45 GMT -5
Terrasel had just gathered a few of the younger drudges, with their meager marks, into a stores closet. Shards, though, it was slim pickings here. The lower cavern workers had practically nothing to swindle from them, and the candidates and riders were all far too busy to pay him much mind when he tried to cajole them into playing. He'd made up his mind to leave this place ... but first, he wanted to see those shiny eggs hatch.
Thus, when he heard the commotion out in the corridor, and the word "Hatching" was being shouted about, he flung open the door, shoved the three youngsters out of the closet, and said, "Hatching, dimwits! We got work to do!"
The three trotted off for the kitchens, for there would be meat, and water, to haul into the grounds.
Terrasel, however, went in the other direction, after pulling Dodger back into the closet, telling him to stay, and closing him in. With all those dragons present, the hound would be sure to give him away. He chose a servant's entrance to the Sands, and snuck in through the shadows, seating himself quietly under a tier of wooden bleachers that had been set up to augment the cut stone ones. There wasn't as large a crowd in the stands as he'd expected -- so hoped that these extra seats would remain empty, and he'd be able to maintain a fairly clear view of the proceedings.
===
When several of the other candidates moved onto the sands, Auria followed -- just glad that she hadn't had to be first. The two Queens seemed even larger today than at the egg touching, and her eyes grew round as she bowed to them and took up a place at the end of the line near one of the other girls.
She was trembling with excitement and fear, all the dark-time stories of candidates being trampled and mauled fighting her efforts to shut them out of her head.
Then, glancing toward the stands, she spotted him. Ranny sat there, his hand gripped tightly by a young drudge ... the same one who'd lost him from the nursery that day, in fact. Gaylen must have hired a tot-watcher. She smiled and wiggled her fingers at her nephew, and he waved back wildly and shouted:
"Auntie Aury! You gonna gets a dragon!"
At that, Wizzerd popped from Between and settled, singing, in his lap. She was followed shortly by a little gold ... Gaylen's aging queen ... and her own blue Safari. So that's where he'd disappeared to when she'd run for her robes.
The sight of Ranny encouraged her, and she relaxed ever so slightly, turning her full attention back to the rocking of the nearby eggs.
====
Silatar still couldn't believe he was once again feeling the hot sands of the Hatching Grounds through the soles of his boots. He glanced down at the sandals on the feet of most of his cohorts, and wondered when that lesson had been ... should he have changed? He hadn't been issued sandals, only the white robe. He'd arrived so late, though.
He bowed deeply to the Queens and their riders as he stopped at the boy's end of the line.
The line of his handsome mouth tightened with worry, would such an oversight as footgear mean he'd be ignored by the dragons? And why did he suddenly care about that? The memory of the emotions which had washed over him during the Touching flooded him, confused him.
Yes, maybe he really did want that. Maybe that was his purpose after all.
Be that true or not, his primary goal at the moment would be to survive these next few hours....
He accidentally caught the eye of the lad standing in line next to him, and felt obligated to speak. "Good luck," he whispered, and turned his gaze firmly on the eggs.
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Post by B'kay on Jul 1, 2009 7:30:42 GMT -5
As soon as Alabanth had sent her word, Gaylen went to work. She knew that C'lyn, too, would be busily gathering needs to the Hatching Grounds. Gaylen's first task, however, was to snag a young drudge as she rushed by, press three shiny marks into her hands, and threaten her with death by dragonfire if she let the toddler she handed off to the girl out of her sight.
She called Memory to her. "You, dear, keep an eye on them. If anything ... unusual ... happens, you come get me. Yes?"
"Chee!" the little gold responded and flew to hover over Rannell, eyes whirling with pride over having been given such an important job to do.
The drudge was thrilled ... not only to have earned herself a few marks, but to have been given an excuse not to have to haul meat up and down the servant's corridors all night!
====
C'train and Rhobith were ferrying guests -- where were they all coming from? Before all the candidates had arrived, they'd already made several trips from the port village across the strait into the Hatching Grounds. Rhobith's practices at skimming the hills and valleys was coming in handy, for he was able to dive through the opening, touch down at the very top of the landing, deposit passengers, and leave the grounds for the next run in almost as little time as it took to go between back to the village.
C'train couldn't wait, however, till their chores were done. He wanted to see this Hatching in the worst way! The first since his own precious life-friend came to him! What excitements would this day hold?
===
Ravyna volunteered to help the healers -- and she and Igrainth were moving the larger collection of supplies -- fellis, bandages, numbweed, redwort -- to the grounds. She was nearly done, and then would find T'ryis and see if he'd like some company in the stands.
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Post by Mariya on Jul 1, 2009 8:46:20 GMT -5
Mariya heard the humming and knew what was going on. Hatching! And today was more exciting because there was two clutches on the sands, laid by twins. She had heard the story of the twin queens rising on the same day and then laying their eggs at the same time. Of course, their eggs would hatch at the same time. She reached for her bags hanging off the end of her bed and then headed for the healing caves, mentally calculating what supplies she'll need. Numbweed especially and bandages. Dragonets had the sharpest claws and didn't know how to control them fully yet. Many a rider sported a scar here and there from those claws, some quite nasty looking. Mindful of the hot sands, she kicked on her thickest boots. She'd rather be sweating from confinement than have burning feet.
Satisfied she headed to the supplies and filled her bag. On inpulse she headed by the kitchen and grabbed some meat rolls. An extra hand or two was always helpful, especially in the confusion that always accompanied hatchings.
*** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Xiarl froze. Hatching! Already! He definately wasn't ready for this. He carefully wiped his pen tip off and replaced it in the container. He hid his fright by calmly walking to his dorm, grabbing the white robe which looked silly on him in comparision to the one on Xiana. He looked around for Xian and saw that his robe was still there. Tapping his foot in vexation, he waited. The three of them would approach the sands together. That was the deal, the agreement he had extracted from his siblings. No matter if Xiana had to go in the girls' line for the gold, the three were approaching this as a family unit. Either they would impress or not. Secretly he hoped they would. Weyr living was so much nicer than their farm. And he was actually learning some stuff that showed him his mistakes that he had made, so he could not do them again, if they have to go back to the farm.
Finally, Xian's footsteps could be heard from the hall. Xiarl preemptively picked up his brother's robe to help him into it. They would meet Xiana down by the girls' dorm before they walked to the sands, not run. Xiarl had already seen several collisions between candidates and older residents that were embarrassing. He wasn't going to be an embarrassment, neither were Xian or Xiana.
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Post by Spiffy .th ! on Jul 1, 2009 13:00:05 GMT -5
Katalyn wouldn't have expected the hatching on such a droll and routine day such as this. A day that had previously been full of chores, and a quick visit to the stables during her break hour and a hello to Remmekk who was to usually be found there too. She had formed quite an attachment to the reserved but charming young man, viewing his hesitations as a challenge for her to overcome, as was so much in the life of the thrill inspired 18 turner.
As it was she was, somewhat mindlessly, wiping tables in the dining hall and readying the tables for the approaching supper when she got the news. She wasn't the first to receive the good fortune however, something that irked her terribly, as it was Riley who got it first, the somewhat moody candidate she had met during the flights oh-so long ago in the storage rooms. She hadn't liked her too much then and her opinions hadn't noticeably improved. After seeing her run off in the general direction of the barracks she gad almost grabbed the situation as simultaneously she was told the news and the humming began to increase audibly as she recognised it for what it was.
She didn't remember much of the dash to the barracks, the grabbing of her slightly crumpled but otherwise clean white robe and the return dash to the sands. Remembering her manners just in time she again bowed to the two now quite calmer queens on the sands and almost skipped over to her place between the eggs - in a line, not a semicircle she briefly noted.
Larikev was similarly surprised by the events which were shouted around the kitchens. Unfortunately he was slower to grasp its meaning that the three or so other candidates also pot scrubbing. Eggs? Hatching? ... Hatching! Dropping his sponge suddenly he spun in time to see Auria running from the room, and without so much as a glance at the kitchen worker supervising them pelted out the door after her, soon overtaking the sound of laughter that followed the dreamy kid who was also a candidate, albeit an unlikely one in his opinion. But it took all sorts.
Almost falling in the door to the boys barracks he grabbed his clean and crease free robes and in one motion pulled off his shirt, dashed out the door and pulled on his robe while running down the corridor, almost running into another candidate in his momentary blindness, later realising it to be Remmekk by the slightly horsey whiff that followed in his wake. Remmekk was soon pounding along a few steps behind him, not far off being equally excited as Kev, though less likely to show it. Any who knew him well would know that he did not usually rush like this, but after all, it was a hatching, and one he was entitled as a candidate to stand for, and that he would not miss for the world.
As the two reached the sands and, bowing to the two queens, lining up beside the other candidates. It wasn't long before Larikev was pounced upon by a happily bouncing Katalyn who almost bowled him over in her excitement, though unlike her she said nothing, words not being enough to describe.
The smug grin that Remmekk afforded to Kev's predicament was soon lost as he too suffered the indignity of the girls embrace, but which he soon took up again, winking to Kev who was watching the two of them, still looking a little stunned. Releasing him Kat looked up at Remmekks face from her lower vantage point, smiling broadly. Nudging his elbow with hers, she wished him good luck, which he returned, still grinning, as they both turned towards Gwyneviths clutch in anticipation of what was to come.
Whatever was to come it would surely mean Impression for at least one if not two of the trio.
The questions remaining was who, and what would they Impress.
This would be the test, that which they both eagerly awaited to prove their worth.
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