Libertas Weyr

[Deryn]

Narue had not allowed a touching to occur. She didn't trust the candidates here. Frankly, she didn't trust anyone here except a few people. And those few people had no control over her, so she had decreed that there would be no touching. She had not bothered with it for fourteen turns, and she wasn't about to start with it now. She had actually stood in the hatching sands entrance for candlemarks with her sword out just waiting for someone to try and get past her. That was the problem with the candidates here. They were way to soft. If they had had more of a backbone, they could have made it past her, but her glaring and slightly twitching fingers on her sword hilt apparently been enough to dissuade them.

Today, however, she was not on the sands. Being back at the Weyr meant that she had work to do. Not that she hadn't had a lot of work to do when she was away from the Weyr, but it was a different type of work. Outside the Weyr she was responsible for lives, here she was just responsible for herself. It was a strange shift and not one she was entirely comfortable with. There was still power behind her words and actions, but now she had that authority because of Kyzrayeth and not because she was herself. Outside, the information you had and your ability to survive dictated your rank. Here, the color of your dragons hide did that for you.

It wasn't entirely the case, of course, but for the most part that's how things ran, and that annoyed Narue. Of course, either way, she would be the one in power, but there was just something incredibly annoying about being in power because her dragon just happened to be large and have the right sort of coloring on it.

Rubbing her forehead with a ink stained hand, Narue set down the wherry feather quill she'd been using and glared at the sheets on her table. That was another thing she never had had to deal with away from the Weyr. Paperwork. Why the shards was there so much of it? It was pointless and annoying an-

Oh, Mine. You might want to come and sssssee thissssss. The eggssss are hatching now, Mine. It'ssss rather important that you come. But even if you don't, the candidatesssss musssst come. I'm about to call them, but I figured you should be the firsssst to know, Mine.

The words took only moments to process through Narue's head before she had pushed her chair back violently from the table she had been working at and got to her feet before heading for the door. That was another thing she preferred, being the first one on the sands to make sure no one did anything... stupid. As no touching had occurred, she had the sneaking suspicion that at least some of the candidates would be dimglows and do something rash.

ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS!

As the call rang through her head, Narue stomped into the hatching sands, turning to look up at Kezzy, who was already fast asleep once again. Running a hand along her brow once again, for even with the days growing colder so quickly, the mid-day sun could still be a killer, Narue took up station by Kezzy's head just in time to see several of the eggs shake and shiver, the dragonets inside obviously restless and ready to hatch.

[Alrekair]

Saerin had been on a sort of high ever since he had had that lovely conversation with the black dragon in the Weyrbowl. Alearaith, that was her name. The dragon with the lyrical voice that belied the darkness of her color's name. As far as he was concerned, Alearaith should have hatched with a much brighter hide, to match that beautiful voice. In fact, Saerin had been sitting in the Weyrbowl, staring up at the sky just as he had been that day. He had spent his life bound to the ground beneath him, and longed to be able to soar in the sky as he had the day he was Searched and taken from his father's mining camp. A Hatching had come and gone since then, and he had been left standing, which simply meant his dragon hadn't been shelled yet. At least, that's what the riders told him. But that still didn't stop him from growing a bit discouraged.

I should stop this nonsense, the young man told himself as he slowly sat up, his eyes not leaving the sky once. Alearaith said that she was sure I'd Impress, and while she's not a Searchdragon to my knowledge, I trust her words. A slight ache from his left arm brought his attention back to the bandages still wrapping it from the wrist to the elbow. An accident because he had started daydreaming, he remembered with a faint chuckle. And the vigorous work of a candidate only proved to cause the injury to re-open several times since then. Luckily for him, the searing pain that used to travel up his arm and into his mind had lessened to nothing more than a slight discomfort every so often.

That was when a slight humming noise brought the young man's attention back to the Weyr around him. The only time he had heard humming like that was right before...the last Hatching! Did that mean that the long-awaited Hatching of obsidian Kyzrayeth was hatching? As if to answer his own question, Saerin heard a voice enter his mind, almost squeezing its way into his subconscious as he listened carefully to the words spoken.

ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS!

Hatching time! The words sang in Saerin's mind as he leaped to his feet and darted towards the opening to the Candidate Barracks. Finally the time had come again for him to stand for dragon eggs. He barely made it to his room without tripping on his own feet, and wasted no time in throwing open his trunk. As he carefully pulled his candidate robe out of the trunk, he used the same motion to slip his tunic over his head, thus creating a little more time for him to stand in the Hatching Sands. He left his shorts, which were barely knee-length, on underneath the white robe, glad that he had managed to get a hold of one that went just below his knees. Now to get going, he muttered to himself as he darted from the room, eager to get everything going.

When he entered the large cavern, his grey-green eyes rested on the beauty of the mother dragon, Kyzrayeth. So many different colors swirled beneath that deep black-blue hide, and Saerin couldn't help but marvel at the dragon's grace. With a gulp to still his nerves, the miner-turned-candidate stepped up to Kyzrayeth and gave a deep bow of respect. "Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, regal mother," he stated as he remained bowed, raising his eyes just slightly to stare into the dragon's as he stepped back, giving a respectful distance between himself and the eggs. He knew from the last Hatching that if one of those eggs held his dragon, they would come to him when the time came. For now, all he needed to do was keep scanning over the twelve rocking eggs, watching and wondering which would hatch first.

[Onwingsofsilver]

In the Bowl Vikail was poised, sword drawn and extended toward an invisible opponent. The sun beat down on his brow, sweat beading his face and body. The young man had been practicing his swordsmanship for quite a while. Two hours to be exact. His routine was always different, depending on who he felt like creating in his imagination, and executed with precision. Few who lived at his family's hold could match his expertise and he'd won many a competition. He slowly eased from the lunge that had finished his adversary and sheathed his sword. Taking a soft piece of absorbent leather from a nearby chair, he wiped down his face and bare chest, breathing heavily. Something about today had him on edge and he'd made several almost minute mistakes in his otherwise flawless practice. Mistakes were unacceptable. Mistakes could get you killed.

Throwing the leather across his shoulder, he headed toward the barracks to shower and change. The shade of the inner Bowl cooled him as soon as he walked into it and he allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. Sword fighting was his passion and he loved doing it, no matter that he had no real opponent. The shower he took was cool and soothing after the long practice and with a quick change he sat down to rub his sword clean of dust and grime. Long strokes across the blade with a clean cloth had it gleaming in no time, but he continued to wipe it down. His sword, folded steel with a slight curve to the blade, was his most prized possession. He would have cleaned it even if it weren't dirty. It was a daily ritual, like his practice, that he enjoyed.

As he was stroking the blade in an almost intimate caress, he head a voice echo through the barracks and suddenly realized that there was the growing sound of humming throughout the Weyr.

ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS!

Shards! Vikail carefully placed the sword in its scabbard and rushed to change from his evening clothes into his white robe. He certainly wasn't going to be late and when he arrived at the Sands, found he was the second to arrive. Perfect, he thought, taking his place next to the other boy. He gave him a slight nod in greeting, folded his hands behind his back, and waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiernaen was outside, waiting by the main entrance to the Weyr, facing the road. He'd been there since early that morning, eyes fixed on the horizon. What was he waiting for? He'd sent word to his family that the Hatching would be soon and his mother, Tiana, had returned his letter saying that she would attend. He knew that she would be arriving some time that day by cart and had made time to be there when she came. The young man didn't notice the heat much, or the wind that tugged at his clothes and hair, or the grasshopper crawling on his boot. His piercing grey eyes watched the road without moving. Akilah, however, noticed the grasshopper and was on it in a flash. The sound of the crawler crunching away made the man smile. She really was a blessing.

He could feel the change in the air almost as soon as he spotted the cart turn around the bend and head toward the weyr. It was a simple contraption, like a modern day horse and buggy, but made only of a harness strapped to a runnerbeast and a wooden cart with a padded seat. The sight of the familiar cart had him jumping from his seat on a large rock to meet the older woman who skillfully drove the vehicle with long practice. "Mother!" The grey-haired Tiana pulled the cart to a stop as Tiernaen rushed up to the woman and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I'm glad you made it." Tiana chuckled, returning the hug with an equally heartfelt embrace. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Tiernaen was about to climb into the cart to ride with her to the stables when a voice rose above the Weyr and had his heart racing at the call.

ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS!

"Go dear! I'll get inside on my own!" Tiana pushed Tier's shoulder and the young man hopped out, Akilah humming in his pocket. He ran a few steps, turned, and looked back. "Go!" The older woman shooshed him away and he bolted for the barracks. With his heart pounding in his chest, he felt the vibration of the dragons in the weyr, humming all around. Would this be his day? Would this be the Hatching where he made Impression? Pulling on his robe, he scooped up Akilah and rushed to the Sands. He'd wanted to keep her in the barracks but she had refused to leave her pocket. She would be there whether he wanted it or not.

Once at the Sands he hurried to join the other boys and stood there nervously. He greeted the others with a quick hello, too anxious to do any talking. Maybe the third time is the charm, he thought. He looked toward the stands and easily spotted his mother, her kind face and grey hair standing out to him so well. And Revia, was she there yet? He waved at Tiana and hoped that Revia made it in time.

Here goes.

[Dramatics]

Sylvaine was blissfully asleep, curled up in a little ball as she hugged a blanket around her body. Everyone probably thought she was faking sick to get out of chores, but her entire body was racked with chills, and she definitely had a fever, and she had spent the day drifting in and out of dreams that were full of incoherent nonsense, as dreams often get when one is sick. But the barracks were so noisy, and she forced her eyes open, blinking a few times as they adjusted to being open. What was going on? She was about to holler at everyone to shut up already when she noticed how the girls were wrestling their clothing off in favor of the white robes. White robes... white robes... "SHARDS!" she screeched, leaping out of bed, sending Discordia flying onto the floor. A few girls cast her disapproving glares, but their attention was elsewhere. White robes meant it was hatching day! And the frantic barracks meant she'd slept through the announcement from the Obsidian. Or maybe she'd just thought it was part of her dream... no matter. What mattered was getting dressed.

She struggled into her own set of white robes, tying her long dark hair up save her for long bangs which were perpetually in her face. She hurried out of the candidate barracks with the rest of them, rushing towards the sands. But she knew better than to run out onto the sands, and she paused at the entrance, catching her breath and regaining her composure. After a moment (which felt painfully long, though it wasn't more than a few seconds) she walked into the hatching cavern, hoping to Faranth she hadn't missed any of the eggs. She didn't think she was late... the warmth that hit her was blessed relief right now, though she still didn't feel warm enough. Sharding fever! She walked onto the sands as calmly as she could, hoping she looked like a proud, confident future dragon rider, rather than like a scared, anxious girl with a head full of dreams. She bowed gracefully to the Obsidian Mother, minding her manners as always... she certainly didn't want to be the person stupid enough to be mauled because of disrespect, and besides, the mother was allowing them a chance at impressing her babies, which was definitely worth at least a bow.

Sylvaine took her place on the sands near some other candidates, giving them a small, encouraging smile. She was not the most approachable person on Pern, but she certainly knew how everyone was feeling today. Her stomach was already twisted in a knot of nerves as she peered anxiously at the beautiful eggs. They each held such promise, but Sylvaine didn't know if it they contained her bright future, or the candidate next to her. Shards, maybe she would never impress, everyone had been pretty surprised when she'd been searched, including herself. She was a drudge, and dragons didn't pick drudges, now did they? She sighed, feeling suddenly extremely disheartened. She had to think positively! She chewed her nails apprehensively as she waited, wondering if this time was the right time. It wasn't like she minded the waiting... she would stand at a million hatchings if it saved a dragon from betweening. She just wasn't sure if there was a reason for her to be waiting... but then, no candidate was ever sure if they would impress or not. It probably made it more wonderful in the end, but if you asked Sylvaine, it was simply a sharding pain.

She trembled slightly on the sands, feeling the chills descend upon her once more. A small smile crossed her lips... if a dragon was looking for her, she'd certainly be noticeable, she was probably the only one shivering like a wherry upon the sands. Everyone else looked so... composed. Anxious, yes, but they all looked anxious, so it was okay. Sy looked anxious, hopeful, and probably a bit frightened. Because the idea of being a candidate again was gnawing at the back of her mind, and she was afraid of being told she had all this potential and then never amounting to anything. Life had been so much simpler back at the Hold... but it was so much better here. She sighed once more, wondering if everyone was really as confident as they appeared, or if they were secretly nagging themselves in the corners of their minds as well. If only she'd been one of those people who lived a perfect life and never had to doubt them self. Well, it probably wasn't possible, but it sounded pretty boring to her anyway...

[Twilight]

When is the Hatching?
Hatching should be soon.
Oh, Mine. You might want to come and sssssee thissssss. The eggssss are hatching now, Mine. It'ssss rather important that you come. But even if you don't, the candidatesssss musssst come. I'm about to call them, but I figured you should be the firsssst to know, Mine.
I hear she had a sword to stop candidates when they went to see eggs; is it wise to bother her?
ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS!

Of course Tyzana had been listening to anything that had to do with the Hatching or the canceled Touching for weeks now, but every now and then a stray dragon thoughts slipped into her mind that was unwanted. Who wants to hear a dragon talk about their most recent Flight? Not Tyzana. But when you are a long way away from the Sands, on top of a tree, you do tend to care more about your balance then a few stray thoughts that would forever ring into your mind without permission. Tyzana liked being so high up, it made her feel free, like Freedom who was twirling around her head like an annoying bug. Freedom seemed to enjoy the fact that she could fly and Tyzana could not, but that didn’t bother the candidate for long. The call for the Hatching had been sounded and now she was expected to attend. After all, what if her dragon hatched first? Surely it would know better than to choose another, but better safe than sorry. Tyzana jumped down the tree branches, gripped the last one with both hands and slid down to the ground. It felt odd to be on solid ground after sitting in a tall tree for hours, but Tyzana was still able to run to the Sands, Freedom fluttering right behind her.

How can the young dragon’s know Their’s if there was no Touching?
Mine!! Wait for MEEEEE!!

Tyzana pushed most of the common weyrfolk out of her way while she was running; others saw her coming and jumped out of the way, whispering as she bolted by them. While she was running, Tyzana was not thinking of how she planned to stop, so when she got to the Sands the candidate nearly tripped over her own feet. Luckily, though not traditionally, Tyzana was wearing white clothing, just not the usual white hatching robe most wore at such events. Tyzana took a moment to dust off particles of dust and sand that has stuck to her clothes, then she walked into the Sands thinking she would best just stand away from the mother dragon. Wait, was she supposed to bow to the dragon and rider? It was a polite move, but the rider seemed a bit threatening to Tyzana. What the shards! Why did Tyzana suddenly care about whether someone looked mean or not? The candidate sighed, and then bowed low to the obsidianrider and her obsidian. Ooo, shiny eggs, shiny mother; very pretty! Tyzana shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts; ‘borrowing’ an egg would not be a very smart idea at the time. Tyzana quickly stood beside the other candidates, pushing one little kid out of her line of view so she could see the eggs clearly.

Look Mine, the white runnerbeast has a baby! Isn’t it cute?
Love love, my Rider is in love! – but you ARE!!

[Nai-ru]

The Weyr, Lou had long since decided, was the most bizarre place on the planet. She was sure that everywhere outside of home couldn't be like this. Surely the world would fall apart. In the scant sevenday or so since her arrival, Lou had seen innumerable indecencies which would have shocked even the most open-minded of her family members. Even her husband, who had been so kind to her despite the charges against her, would have been horrified. Lou felt a consistent tingling shame in the back of her mind just for associating with these people, as though simply by coming in contact with them she herself had committed some sort of terrible sin.

And yet, she had to admit that the people here seemed... happier. At home it was deemed inappropriate to laugh in public; here, it was perfectly acceptable. No one seemed as nervous here. Everyone just seemed... happy. Despite all the shocking things she'd been witness to, Lou found herself rather enjoying her stay. She had no idea how long she would be at the Weyr - after all, it seemed extremely doubtful that someone like her would ever Impress, and since she didn't know anything, what good was she? - but everything was just so... beautiful and new.

Especially the dragons.

After only a scant sevenday at the Weyr, Lou found herself almost hopelessly addicted to the presence of dragons. She could hardly believe how frightening she'd thought them at first. It was, she supposed, understandable, considering everything she'd heard of their barbarism, but she felt rather silly for being so nervous. And extremely stupid for all her misconceptions.

She'd thought that dragons were rather like... rather like... runnerbeasts, or the like. Beasts of burden, animals kept to serve a purpose. It had never occurred to her that they were like... like people. They thought and felt and wanted and even loved. It was incredible. And they were just so shockingly lovely. Every single one of them was beautiful, and all of them had been ever so kind to her. It was a very strange experience, but certainly one that Lou enjoyed deeply.

However, she felt horrifyingly useless.

She knew absolutely nothing about the world outside of her home. She'd never heard the word "Harper," she didn't know what a wher was and concepts as simple as shoulderknots were entirely foreign to her. Not only was she useless, she was a hindrance. She constantly had to ask people for help with the simplest things, the easiest concepts. It was as though everything she had ever learned suddenly didn't apply, and she had to learn to understand an entirely new world.

There was, in fact, only one thing that hadn't changed significantly for her, and that was the concept of Healing. She'd never known it was called that particularly, of course, or that it was actually a profession. By and large such things had been the realm of old women and women without children in her home. As such, Lou more or less knew her way around Healing in general, and accordingly she had absolutely insisted upon dedicating her time to helping in the Infirmary... or whatever it was called.

There wasn't much that she could do, since she didn't have the official training for it, but she did what she was allowed to and the Healers were so overworked that they hadn't even argued for long. Then again, arguing with Lou when she had her mind made up was like arguing with a charging rhinoceros. It's just generally a bad idea, and you're going to end up squished anyway.

Of course, Lou was a lot more nice about it than a charging rhinoceros, and mostly she just kept repeating herself til you gave in.... anyway.

What all of this basically means is that the Infirmary is where Lou was when her brain was suddenly assaulted by the absolute loudest dragon voice she had ever heard.

ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS!

At this point, Lou nearly had a heart attack. And then a stroke.

And then fainted.

However, because Lou was Lou, she did not do any of these things. Her face did, of course, turn white, then red, then blue in a very alarming fashion, but that was because she was completely incapable of controlling such things and was possibly the most open of books on the face of the planet. Or any other planet in existence. Or something.

Of course, this got several Healers looking at her in concern. They were all waved off as Lou attempted to collect herself and figure out what she was supposed to do now. Okay, okay, she'd been told about this before... um... Hatching. That meant baby dragons. She, as a Candidate, was expected to return to her room, change into the white Hatching robe she had been provided with, and make her way in an orderly yet timely fashion to the Hatching Caverns, where the sand would be hot and she would bow politely to the Queen and her rider at all costs lest she be horribly mauled and then stand by with the other girls to await the appearance of dragon babies.

Okay. That didn't sound so bad.

Of course, things were always worse than they sounded.

By the time she reached the Candidates' Barracks, Lou had realized that "orderly yet timely" was not going to happen. All of the other girls (and the boys, for that matter, though she only saw them at a distance) were running and screaming and throwing things and smacking each other like wild animals. Eventually Lou was forced to give up on moving through politely and ended up simply barreling through.

Fortunately for her, her "charging rhinoceros" simile applies not only to arguments but also to physical movements. Through her experience as what amounted to more or less a social outcast for most of her life, Lou learned that the best way to avoid being trampled was to simply go about life as though the possibly of being trampled was so ridiculous that it hadn't even occurred to you.

And, in a significant enough fashion that Little Lou could get through, the screaming crowd parted. It was a good plan.

The robe was, again, a problem. It was slightly too small for Lou, as the woman handing the robes out had made the typical mistake of underestimating her size, and was short enough that it actually showed her ankles.

Her ankles! It was so inappropriate! How could she possibly go out dressed so indecently? When she'd brought the problem up, the woman had only giggled at her and flapped her hand and said that it was adorable and she shouldn't worry. Adorable? That much exposure... It was completely inappropriate! The robes couldn't do - they were just too revealing. There were going to be men there. Men. She couldn't very well go out there showing so much skin - everyone would think her some sort of common tramp!

Precious time was wasted as Lou tried to figure out a way around the exposure. In the end, though, there was no way, and she couldn't be late. So she swallowed what was left of her shame and went, and prayed that in the excitement no one would notice. Apparently her prayers worked, because no one looked shocked by her appearance.

Upon arrival, Lou did exactly as she had been told and bowed to the huge Obsidian - that, she had learned, was a "Queen" color uniquely of Libertas, and a very special female shade - before going to stand, yes, in an orderly fashion, with the other girls.

She had no idea what was going on, and yet she seemed to be the calmest one there.

[Bookworm]

Lewin was in the infirmary, helping out. On this hot day, a few people had shown up with heat stroke, so they needed the extra help. He was carrying a glass of water to a patient when that strange, almost serpentine voice announced itself in his head. He gave a small yelp of surprise and almost dropped the glass, but managed to propel himself across the room and hand the patient her water. "Got to go," he said apologetically, and then turned and ran for the barracks.

He quickly changed into his robe, then hurried to the sands. Lewin was nervous about this Hatching for several reasons. If he didn't Impress this time, he might be a lost cause, but because there had been no touching, there was no telling what could happen.

It was his first glimpse of the eggs as he stepped onto the sand and approached the clutch. Lewin bowed to the Queen first, but then saw that she was sleeping. Was that normal? Lewin didn't think so, but who knew with dragons. He took his place with the other candidates, looking over the eggs and wondering if one of them held his dragon.

[Deryn]

Eggs. Eggs. Eggs. Eggs. Shaking and stirring all around them. Kyzrayeth's largest clutch to date was hatching, and despite her normally angry and pissy mood, Narue was proud of her sleeping dragon. Proud as any parent when their children grow up and marry, or become a grandparent. The first egg to begin rocking was the Angel of Death Egg, which was already showing signs of cracks on it. No other egg had progressed quite so far in their hatching as of yet and most of the crowds' eyes were trained on the vibrating and rocking egg. Many of the other eggs were shaking much more violently than the Angel of Death Egg, but none had the same soft of spiderweb cracks running all across its shell.

The people were not to be disappointed. Even as they watched, patches of shell began to cascade to the ground as limbs began to emerge from the gooey insides of the eggs. For a moment, the color of the dragonet inside was unclear, as the limbs that were visible in the glow and candlelight of the sands were obscured by the membrane that had kept them alive since they had been formed. But as more and more of the dragonet became visible, and the membrane was stripped off by the dragonet's movement, the color of the dragonet became incredibly clear.

A black. The black dragonet was quick to escape from its shell and after a moment it stood on the sands, shaking out its wings before growling at the candidates, wings flaring in an angry display of authority. He made no moves toward the candidates but stood his ground, turning toward his cracked and now empty shell before nosing at it with a huff, tail and wings both shaking with annoyance. Pacing between his rocking and unhatched siblings, the black made his slow way around the sands, keeping away from the candidates as he did so. So far it seemed as though he had no interest in any of them, all of his curiosity focused on his frantically hatching siblings.

[Onwingsofsilver]

Vikial watched with the crowd as the Angel of Death Egg began crack before the others. At first, looking at the shell of swirling white and grey and black, he couldn't pretend to know what it was. Spiderwebs of fissures on its surface spread more until finally, limbs began to poke themselves from the prison of its birth. When the dragonet emerged, covered in slimy membrane, he couldn't tell what the creature was, only that it was dark. The dragon paid no attention to him or the other candidates and he frowned. There was nothing wrong with him. It turned out to be a black as he further observed the baby who paid more attention to his siblings' eggs than to any of the humans standing on the Sands. Why didn't he choose someone?

Tiernaen observed the hatching of the first egg with more worry than any thought for himself. The Hatchings of the two clutches before this one had been beautiful, the eggs turning into dragons in a great display of nature. He could tell this one would be no different and no less entrancing. The black dragonet wandered around the Sands, seemingly with no care about the Candidates. Are you waiting? he thought to himself. After a few moments of the black no even coming close, he began to look around. Surely your rider must be here somewhere? If not here, they either haven't arrived yet...or they are in the Stands... He glanced up into the stands but there were so many people and dragons it would be like a needlethorn in a haystack to try and pick one out.

Don't let him go between, he thought. Let him find His. It would be a shame to lose such a creature.

Vikail was of similar mind, but thinking more along the lines that it would be a shame that the creature chose no one, instead of him. Who else but him deserved to have such a black? That would show his father that he was worthy of something.

[GoldRiderKeistra]

Hatching time, hatching time, oh happy day it's hatching time! Alearaith's bright singsong voice floated through the mind of her lifemate as the black fought to get the young woman to hurry up.

Melina sighed and finally made it to her dragon's side. "Alright Ali, lets head to the Hatchings Sands and watch that candidate of yours Impress, shall we?"

The black warbled happily and physically lifted Melina off the ground and onto her back. Barely waiting for the young woman to get settled, Alearaith was quick to jump off the ledge of their weyr and blink between to appear over the sands. Quickly she found a suitable place and landed gracefully to watch the proceedings. Spotting her favorite candidate, she warbled a warm greeting and wished him luck. Saerin! Look, I've come to watch you today and I bring Mine with me! We both wish you much luck, Dear One. I'm sure you'll do well today! The young black dragoness then took up the warm, welcoming hum that had begun to fill the Hatching Sands.

Melina sighed but offered the young man a reasurring smile and a nod of encouragement. Now all that remained was the waiting.

[Wyrmling]

Aylexi staggered as she dismounted from the green Yyvith and hurried over to where the other candidates were waiting, leaving her bag where it had dropped. She would come back for it later, but now it was important that she be ready for the dragon hatching. Any one of the violently shaking eggs might be hers. Of course, it was also entirely possible that she wouldn't bond with any of the newly hatched dragons today, but the small girl was hopeful. She had been Searched just earlier that day, and rushed to the sands so she could attend the hatching. Aylexi didn't believe in fate, but in her nervous excitement she nevertheless imagined her rushed arrival to be prophetic. That wasn't too much to ask for, right?

Actually it was. She estimated that there were about twice as many candidates as there were eggs, so she was by no means guaranteed a dragon. Well I'll just have to try my best to earn one then, she thought determinedly as she moved forward to stand with the other candidates. The thrumming of dragons followed her as she walked, pressing on her eardrums and vibrating through her body. Aylexi's breathing quickened with excitement as she realized just what she was taking part of. Suddenly the ordinary hold girl was standing on the hatching sands of the Weyr, preparing to bond with one of the most magnificent creatures on the planet.

Now that she was closer to the eggs, Aylexi could see that one of them was going to hatch before all the others. In the midst of all the unmarked eggs that were shaking with undisguised urgency, there was one egg that already had a fine network of cracks running along its surface. As the candidates watched, the creature inside broke apart the egg in a shower of fragmented shards and struggled its way out of the thick membrane. The newly hatched dragon was a black.

Aylexi held her breath as she waited to see which candidate the first-hatched dragon would move towards, but the little dragonet didn't show any interest in the humans gathered near the quaking eggs. Instead it wandered around the sands, its attention fixed on the eggs that had not yet hatched. Is this usually how hatchings go? Aylexi wondered while scrutinizing the hatchling closely. I thought that dragons were supposed to find their partner once they hatched, not wander away from the candidates. But the situation could yet be remedied. All the little dragon had to do was find its way towards them, and surely it would find its own human. It was up to the dragon now.

[Ricci]

Emberodan had, as usual, been bathing. He had taken quite the liking to the bathing pools in the Weyr. They were hot, and he got to be naked. Which was always good. Rodan did like to be naked. He stretched as he put on his Candidate's Robe at a rather relaxed pace. Meanwhile, everyone around him was running about like mad.

"Calm down!" Rodan tried to offer... to no avail. No one cared to calm down. So instead, Rodan leisurely strolled to the Sands, arriving in the middle of the pack as opposed to the end, where the people who were doing the most scrambling were still... scrambling. Ah well, so much for them. Rodan had made sure that Broadwill was tethered properly to her post and that her perch was well out of the way of the scrambling. Now, he hoped he would have a different sort of avian friend. Well, if you could call a dragon avian. He wanted to be able to fly as Broadwill always had, and if he could... Well. That would be just darn amazing. The Trader-child grinned at the Hatching of the black.

Would he fly one day on that particular dragon's back? They certainly seemed to share the same sorts of curiosity. Soon, Rodan failed to pay much attention to the black as his eyes fell on the other various eggs on the Sands. They were all so beautiful. He'd been rather miffed when Kyzrayeth's rider, Narue, hadn't let them onto the Sands for a Touching. He would have loved to feel those eggs beneath his finger tips. They all looked so warm, and smooth, or well. They had. Now they looked just darn epileptic.

Come on, guys, you don't look so great when you're in the shell shivering... You can do it... You'll look fantastic when you come out of the shell, especially if you're for me... Emberodan thought. He had worked so hard throughout his Candidacy. He figured that working hard meant guaranteed success in whatever it was being worked towards. Surely that applied to dragons as well?

--

Liera was a scrambler. Mostly because T'ere was excellent at upping her anxiety to no end.

"LIERA! THE EGGS ARE HATCHING!"

"AGAIN!?"

T'ere had practically undressed her and thrown her Candidate's Robe on by himself except that she managed to gain control of her own body and hide behind a curtain before he'd gotten any further than her shirt. Being totally immodest, T'ere hadn't even realized that there might be a problem with taking off her shirt. Liera grumbled incessantly as she pulled the overly-large dress-like robe over her head and tied it around the waist with a strip of cloth. If she hadn't done that, then she would have definitely slipped right out of it. She had tried to fix it, but they wouldn't let her alter it too much or else the next batch of Candidates would be SoL. After all, hardly anybody was 4'11" and built like a twig.

"GO GO GO!"

"Shut up!" Liera kicked T'ere out of her way, as in his excitement he was much more like a poorly contained puppy than a Blackrider. She had a feeling that Deruvianth did not approve -- she was right, but she didn't know that. It was fortunate that Liera was quick on her feet. She arrived towards the back of the pack, just as the first egg Hatched and spilled out a black. Oh, he was lovely wasn't he? She jumped up to see him over the taller shoulders of the Candidates once before she realized what she had done and blushed furiously. She had jumped? What an excellent way to gain the attention of everyone else and get mocked for her height, eh?

Liera tried to push the self-esteem thing out of her mind and quickly found a place where she could see the hatchlings, and the hatchlings would be able to see her.

Which egg was next? Was that black for her? Who would he choose? He seemed as interested in the eggs as many of the Candidates were interested in him. Perhaps he thought he was a Candidate? In her own thrill of excitement -- mostly influenced by T'ere -- she couldn't help but giggle nervously. She covered her smile, and soon quieted down. It would do no good to break out of her usual reserved self just to be disappointed again.

"You won't be disappointed, Liera," she remembered T'ere saying. "Your dragon just hasn't been shelled yet." Oh, optimism. If only she had such a thing... Though, at that moment, she really thought she might Impress... Hopefully, maybe... Someone to join her in life, forever?

[Dramatics]

Once Sylvaine was on the sands, the waiting game began. The eggs were stirring, and the life they contained was becoming apparent, but none had hatched yet. Silently she counted the candidates that appeared, holding her breath nervously. It wasn't about all of the candidates being there, right? Didn't dragons have a mind of their own when it came to hatching? Finally she expelled her breath, it wouldn't do to have her fainting on the sands. Because what dragon would want someone so stupid they held their breath until they fainted to be their rider? If Sylvaine were a dragon, she'd be looking for someone a bit more intelligent. But she wasn't exactly sure just how impressions worked, didn't the dragons know who they wanted before they hatched? Maybe that was only if their was a touching. She'd been to plenty of touchings, and still hadn't impressed. And this time, there hadn't been a touching! She frowned, wondering if the mother's over-protectiveness might have cost some of their babies their lives.

The hope in the air was almost tangible as the candidates continued to arrive, looking anxious and nervous. Sylvaine probably looked a bit distant because she was sick right now, but she was just as excited as they were, she was just better at keeping her composure than some of them. She was always poised, always had been, perhaps she'd learned it from that silly Lady Holder. But it didn't matter, she had never been the type of person to wear her emotions upon her face, instead she hid behind her carefully maintained mask. Everyday was a masquerade for Sylvaine. And then! Her breath caught in her throat, and she moved to the front of the girls, trying to weave between them, and gently shoving her way through places if she had to. Sick or not, she wanted to see this hatching! It wasn't like it was any different than any other hatching she'd been to, except that there would be different babies, different personalities, and another chance for Sylvaine to impress.

Whenever she wondered if she wanted to impress for selfish or altruistic reasons, she could never decide. She wanted to be a dragonrider so badly, and she would love to save a dragon from betweening. Perhaps it would be a little bit of both. Little cracks spread across one of the eggs, and she watched the dragon break free of it's shell. Her face broke out into a huge smile, like a child who's parents just bought them the toy they wanted so desperately, for once the emotion was uncalculated, it was real. The black was beautiful! He flared his wings, showing off how perfectly he was formed, how perfect he was. She sighed wistfully. She'd never understood how hatchlings formed so perfectly, tiny versions of their full-grown relatives. They were so beautiful! The black looked especially feral, slinking about the sands. But he was not interested in her- or any of the candidates. Sylvaine took a deep breath, trying to force herself to calm the shards down. She hadn't impressed so far, who was to say she would impress this time? It was just so hard not to let her hopes go wild when she saw them hatch.

[Amore]

The stiff bristled brush moved in regular long strokes across the giant runnerbeast's deep chestnut hide. A soft snort of contentment caught the girl's ear as her friend let her know that he was enjoying his daily brushing. She finished up Eachann's brushing, patting his flank with a soft laugh, "there you go old friend, now you can impress all the lovely mares around here." Eachann answered with a low snort, shaking his dark mane from side to side. Enolia smiled, watching the magnificient animal that had been her longest kept friend. With him she was more relaxed than with the other candidates. For now, she told herself, she had to get around the Weyr and meet her fellow Candidates one of these days.

As if in answer, a dull whisper seemed to be building up in her mind, erupting suddenly into words ALL CANDIDATESSSS TO THE SSSSANDSSSSSSSS NOW! HATCHING TIME, MY DARLINGSSSSS! Enolia froze for a second... hatching.... the eggs were hatching right now!? She was suddenly aware of a distant humming. Her eyes widen and she swooped quickly to pick up her riding gear, bidding a very quick good bye to Eachann and rushing back into the Weyr proper. After numerous almost collisions with other Weyr citizens she finally arrived in her own room. Flinging her stuff into a heap on the floor, she searched for white Candidate robes. Once these were found and thrown on, she relaxed. Taking a deep breath, Enolia strode calmly from her room and into the halls toward the Hatching Sands. She was nonetheless a little confused at why there had not been a touching, but soon shrugged the thought away.

She arrived soon enough, to realize that many other Candidates had also come together in the sands. She walked calmly, excitement bubbling up inside of her, toward the mother and her colorful assortment of eggs. "Good day proud mother, thank you for allowing me a chance to impress on your children" Enolia greeted in her characteristically soft voice, and bowed slightly. She stood next to her fellow candidates, eyes wide with the exictement of witnessing her first hatching, in time to see the first egg hatch into a little black dragonet. It seemed to wander around the rest of its unhatched siblings, a fact at which Enolia wondered. Was that normal for a hatching? Well, she prayed that the tiny dragon did not go between so soon after its hatching. Her soft dark eyes moved from egg to egg, wondering if her dragon was waiting somewhere within one of them, she could only wait and hope.

[Rogue]

((An unimportant, non-candidate post will be here momentarily. In the mean time please return to your business.))