Dragonhope Hatching 5-6

Dragonhope Hatching of Double Trouble - 12/?/09

Coppery-Gold Reginath/Bronze Torsyth and Gold Sayaith/Bronze Jiioth

Hardly anyone had any idea how two clutches from two very large and surly golds could survive on the same sands. Thankfully, plenty of the Weyr's crafter inhabitants put in their two-marks worth when it came to figuring it out! They had plenty of strong dragons for lifting and moving things - they were often used for helping in construction in the Holds around the Weyr, and now they were asked to bring up heavy stones from the quarry nearby, to be placed as a semi-temporary wall roughly down the middle of the sands.

Not completely to the ceiling, that would ruin things! Nor all the way to the seating, it started toward the back, and was at least as high as Reginath's elegant neck. It dwindled downward toward the seating, to perhaps a man's waist height, but also they added two slight curls to help contain the females as well as make absolutely certain their eggs didn't somehow drift into the other's sight.

All that done, while the queens were still broody and heavy with their eggs. It was obvious that they had both done well in their flights, if their bloated sizes were to be trusted. To hear them speak of it, it was as though every one of those rocks from the quarry were resting in their nethers.

But that also brought up the problem, when both of them began actually laying their eggs at almost the same time on the same day... these eggs were bound to hatch at essentially the same time as well.

In fact, some riders and Weyrfolk started betting on it. The going odds were that Reginath's would hatch first by perhaps a day or so, she was smaller and less calm about it all, while Sayaith was a bit more experienced.

Aniz didn't bet. But she would have said they were about right, if her own memory served (and it did) she could easily calculate that almost every hatching occurred upon specific days. Doing a little math, relying on comments by prior recordskeepers, the size definitely mattered. If they were very lucky, the two clutches would hatch about two days apart.

***

Could they possibly have been lucky like that? Oh, no. Perhaps it was that Reginath's exotic lineage gave her a slightly different method. It was certain to most of the experienced riders, however, that her eggs were later than they expected, and Sayaith's weren't early in any way.

But yes, it meant that they had pulled together enough candidates to stuff onto the divided sands, made a little more complex by the curved divisions but actually that still served quite well. Some of the more adventurous candidates wound up standing on the temporarily-cemented rocks, which were slightly cooler (though not by much after being surrounded by the hot stands for weeks) and offered them a good vantage of both queens' broods.

They had paraded past both nests, met approval (or disapproval) from both queens. They had been allowed to mingle and touch both sets of eggs several times, though Reginath was a bit testy about that. Since Sayaith was more calm about it all, they sent the candidates to her first, and she instructed her odd elder in the finer points of evaluating candidates.

It was nearly evening when the queens started singing. They didn't hum, they were quite loud about it. The rest of the Weyr rang with their intense song, from flitters and the rare watchwher, on up to the biggest of the dragons. Thread was not an issue this sevenday, it was time to celebrate. One of the carcasses from the flights was brought out of its frozen storage state to be thawed and used for the feast - it only seemed right after all.

The eggs were trembling, some on both sides of their wall were rocking quite firmly back and forth. Tapping and scratching could be heard from some, while others mimicked their parents song in a strange way.

Ilina stood by her friend Aniz and kept feeding her names - the candidates were on their way in, and Aniz had been a little preoccupied with her queen to concentrate hard on learning them.

The dragons continued their song as the eggs finally began to break open. One by one, a sort of ripple effect across both sands drew all eyes toward them. A few of the riders in the stands lost bets, when it was a blue and a green from Sayaith's clutch that hatched all but simultaneously, putting their forepaws on the warm sands and abruptly pulling them back off again. The green seemed unwilling to exit her shell, but the blue tromped right out of his and in the process knocked her sideways. They spat and hissed at one another for a moment, and then drifted over to their side of the candidates.

The blue swaggered over to the boys, gave up on them and moved toward the girls instead, eyes angry and unfocused until he saw Fairra whereupon he gave a gurgling trumpet of joy. He flopped into the young girl's arms and began flapping his wings as though it was only just now occurring to him he even had them. This sprayed everyone beyond with fine yellow sand, and made plenty of people laugh. As they were led from the sands, the girl announced the dragon's name was Kardnith.

As other shells started disgorging their contents, the little green furrowed her nose into the sand and traced a long wobbly line toward the girls. She sneezed a plume of her own sand at Mirene who giggled and shook her hair out. "Okay that was disgusting and funny," she said, "Donnanth, let's not do that trick again any time soon, right?"

From the other side of the sands, one of the larger eggs had cracked into big chunks and showed an oddly shining dark shaded dragon. It was clear that he was his mother's son, at least in coloration - for he could not possibly be described as 'bronze' or 'brown', instead he had a reddish mottling over a brilliantly shining copperish base. (The single copper-colored dragon in the wings drew himself up and gave a little trumpet in the babe's honor!) This dragon unfolded himself one limb at a time, stretched like a feline, and then shook himself free of the shells that clung to his sticky hide. He scanned the attending faces, and found one he liked from surprisingly, among the girls.

Tiktokith at your service, he bespoke to Sailay, who announced him only after being prodded by Ilina and the other recordkeepers. She all but ignored them on their way out, in order to better understand this lovely living machine. Her brothers, the twins, were astounded - but somehow it fit, she'd never been normal, and what was more perfect than a copper colored male for her?

More activity now showed from opened shells on Reginath's side, following in the footsteps of their bold brother were a bronze and a green, both of a smallish size. They both also seemed fairly normal in their color scheme, though the bronze was quite well-speckled. The green trotted over to the girls and fell end over end when she tripped over one of the stones of the barrier, hidden by the sand that had been repeatedly pushed up to the wall.

"Be careful, Sedith!" Mykan said, helping her up and realizing that he'd known the dragon's name as well as her embarrassment at falling in front of everyone. "Don't worry, the meat's on its way, let's go get it!" He asserted his new name was M'kan, as he passed the recordskeeper.

The bronze however took his sweet time looking over the boys. He didn't seem overly interested in any of them, until he saw one who was watching the other sands. He scrambled over the wall, able to do so only when the candidates got out of his way. He headbutted Naxen on the leg, causing him to fall over the ledge and into Sayaith's area. The bronze put his chin on the rocks and looked at his new choice in rider, commenting mentally you're not very nimble. Maybe I should choose again.

"No, no Wrailth, you chose right!" Now known as N'xen they proudly strutted past the other candidates and hatchlings.

One of those hatchlings blinked his eyes clear, but he was still well-covered with the fine sands he'd rolled into on his way out of his shell. As bits of it crusted and fell away, almost like another shell, he could be detected as a rich brown color. This time there was no cross-sands action, he went right up to Taret and gazed hungrily at his new bond.

T'ret, I am starving. Very, very hungry. That's what starving means.

T'ret laughed, "You're absolutely right Lanmanath, it means we get to find you some food!"

Two more snippy hatchlings made their way through the now-busy sands on Reginath's side of things, another pair of blue and green, quarreling noisily as they tripped over each other in their haste to reach the white-robed candidates.

The blue snarled at his sister, and snarled at the other boys nearby, circling around Girish until they locked eyes. "You don't have to be so angry, Therioth, I'm here for you, G'rish, that's me!"

Meanwhile the green was crowded by several other candidates, all vying for her attention. They weren't supposed to, but no one ever stopped candidates from being themselves. The successful Trissa gave a squeal of delight and announced loudly, "I've impressed Baatrith! Me!"

They left the sands together with the blue and his new bond, though at a good distance because neither girl nor dragoness were sure whether Therioth would snarl or snap at them.

"This is going too well," S'xon said quietly, but with a smirk on his dark lips. His wife Kira rolled her eyes and nudged him to bring his attention back to Sayaith's side of things. There, two blues, of vastly different sizes, were struggling to free themselves from each other's claws. One's hooked wing wrist had caught the other's tail fork, and they spun around a bit before the smaller one yelped and sat down hard on his bigger companion's tail.

Tyrel and Wilrain glanced at each other quickly, and both bolted over to the pair, while J'vana the dragonhealer watched with interest. He'd seen enough injuries on the sand to know that it was the dragon's pride injured far worse than his little blue tail. He'd check it out when they were approaching the meat bowls.

Tyrel pulled the hook of the bigger blue's wing off of the little one's tail, and in a scolding voice said, "Ohnaith, you need to be careful. After all when you're in a wing flying, you're going to be close enough to catch - and that might be very bad!"

You are right, T'rel my one, but it was an accident!

"I know they didn't mean it, but don't worry, Gadjath. There's the healer, he'll know what to do." Wilrain looked up and found the green-riding healer, "you will, right?"

"Of course," J'vana said, offering to show the new rider what to look for, himself.

No lull in the action broke up the hatching, and Aniz found herself giddily cheering along with everyone else, as Sayaith's bigger golden egg had opened to reveal a gorgeous, large shining queen. She looked composed, even freshly out of the egg, though she did shake her hind leg off every other step as she tried to move toward the girls. Actually, it looked as though she was trying to head into the middle of the sands, between the two curving wall bits, to peer over at the other nest of eggs. She boldly pushed aside several candidates, no one was hurt but everyone soon learned that she ruled the roost - get out of her way or else.

It wasn't anger, however, that came from her mind and into Lorena's, it was curiosity and a tiny bit of disdain.

Who are they? They are not my nestmates, they are someone else's.

"I know, Plinsath, it's another queen... But no one is more beautiful than you!" Lorena beamed, there were tears standing in her eyes, but she continued her ever-watchful practiced boredom - not so much that it angered anyone. She was a Lady after all. And a Lady needed to be calm. Just wait until she reacted to Plinsath's gobbling of food...

As the new young gold and her proud and stately rider left the sands, they were watched by all eyes, including those of a sturdy brown peering over the sand and stone divider.

Who's she? She's pretty! Oh I know what she is, she's a gold! I bet I could catch her, I mean... When I'm grown up.

Cilerian laughed loudly, so opposite his twin Wilrain, as he approached the brown. "Yup, I bet you could, Arkerith!" Now L'erian, he strutted past the Weyrleaders and saluted, now he'd be able to show off even more to his friends!

The sands on both sides of the wall were busy, now, as hungry dragons demanded more attention from those people standing around them.

You are not doing anything! I need you to feed me! I am Vendlamoth and you are mine, Asdrin!

The perky little green that bounded up to Asdrin from Sayaith's side of the pit didn't slow down or stop, she bowled the girl right over. Laughing, Asdrin asserted to the healers that she was fine, and that Vendlamoth was hungry as anything.

As they rounded the corner to the feeding area, another impression was going on behind them, a grand looking brown from Reginath's clutch - one rivaling the bronze hatched earlier in size - swayed and swung his head to look over the boys. He closed his eyes when they fell upon Jathack, and a sweet croon came from his throat. J'ack announced him as Yeeduth.

Not to be outdone, however, there was another fairly large egg on that side of the sands which had broken earlier, though no one could recall seeing what exactly came from it. The dark nose that came from it had a reasonably queenly bearing, though it was in no color they'd ever seen before.

"She's definitely her mother's daughter," Kira commented, and Milonna nodded with a grin. For the dragonet was coppery shaded, and by her mind-announcement to Iryn, female. The pair of queen riders looked to Ilina the recordskeeper, who shrugged.

"Well... Reginath's copper-gold, so... um... Copper-red? She's pretty big." Ilina said, wracking her brain to remember if any other dragon on their sands had hatched with that color scheme. There was one red, they often referred to him as brown though, and he was quite male.

"Well whatever color you write down," Iryn stated with a flippant smile, "Her name is Gleth."

The surprises kept coming, from Reginath's nesting area. The shells were scattered and now some of the attendants were trying to get the broken and sharp pieces away from both the hatchlings and the candidates. One of them had to scamper out of the way, as a brightly mottled blue came charging out of the dunes.

Muttering turned to gasping, there were two very distinct colors on that dragon: blue and the same vibrant copper seen on others in the clutch. But it was dotted across his hide as well as being on the wet wings. He was going right for Utineta, who wasn't really paying any attention - because there were several local flitters staring at him from the stands.

I won't let them get you, my one!

"Fweth, ... I can't even believe it, Fweth, you're mine!"

With one odd blue able to calm his new rider down, another made its appearance on Sayaith's side. He was clearly blue, but remarkably dark, and went straight to Fellaus. What was said between them was enough to make F'ell crack a smile, but all he said to the recordskeeper was, "his name is Kowladth."

By this time, all the eggs had hatched. Ilina noted with a smile that all of them had hatched, there were no dead eggs among them. Not bad for a first timer and crowded sands. There was a pair of fine looking bronzes on Sayaith's side, one trying to creep under his mother's wing, the other loudly complaining that he was hungry to whoever would hear him.

On the other side, three females, two of them exotic and one pure gold... Who would claim these? A pair of browns and a green rounded out the group of hatchlings still bondless, but that would change very shortly. Before they had the chance to find their riders, however, an oddity that everyone wondered about came from Sayaith's side of the sands. Had she rolled away from Reginath's clutch? No, her features were clearly not the copper-gold's. But she had greyish, almost storm-cloud colored wings, over her normally green body.

The youngest candidate on the sands (and perhaps in their record books, Ilina had to look that one up later) reached out to the two-toned green, and glanced over her shoulder to glare at all the other candidates.

"Freztith is mine, don't get too close." Dhamae said, and guardedly brought her newfound bond off the sands to look for those meat bowls.

When the bigger of the two exotic-colored females from Reginath's clutch decided it was time to look over the candidates, her color was noted the same as her dam: Coppery-Gold. Speckled markings all across her body in the richer, redder shading, and then on her wings more fully, the copper on her was a lighter hue than those of the blue-copper earlier. She carefully sniffed over everyone, even the boys, but she came back to the girls soon enough. It almost looked like she focused on each and every one of them before choosing Cubra.

Zarzirath is my name, Cubra. You are my one. I like how you think about everyone. I think the same thing.

Cubra announced her new bond, forcing a smile onto her face for the duration - she was excited, but wasn't sure what to do about it. Getting the new dragonet some food seemed like the most important thing.

The other girls still present were a bit put off - this was a very odd pairing indeed. Some of them even expected Cubra to be chosen by one of the browns over on the other side, let alone at all. The phrase 'the dragons choose' certainly was apt there though. Who else could have taken on the fierce stare of that coppery-gold?

But the hatching and impressions weren't over, certainly there was still the lovely burnished gold that Reginath nuzzled, those disparate bronzes over with Sayaith, and ... well!

Edwina had been standing between the two curved walls, looking a bit down. What queen would come to her? It wasn't a queen, but a petite green, who snuck around the rocky ledge and found her. Edwina laughed when she discovered the glistening - hungry - eyes of the dragon watching her intently. "Well you're right, Lukuleth, they're too big and bossy anyway!"

Kenneth had gotten used to the raised eyebrows for his name, are you a dragon, boy? was something common he heard. But what he heard in his mind was, K'neth is a good name for you. I can remember it. Can you remember my name?

"You haven't told me yet, Eresath! Wait - what?!" He laughed, and helped the lovely brown off the sands.

Neither bronze from Sayaith's clutch had even started sniffing at the boys yet, so to get them off their royal sandy butts, Sayaith pushed her nose underneath one, flinging him along with a good chunk of sand toward the boys. With a hurt glance back at his mother, and to the laughter of those watching, the sleek bronze made his way. He nipped at his brother, and they passed by their smaller much darker brown sibling as he examined those same boys. Two or three girls were also left milling about, wondering what exactly they'd do if they didn't impress.

Some minor antics on the edge of the sands proved to be a bit of a distraction, if only to the Weyrleaders and their associates. "What's she up to?" Aniz leaned over to Milonna, who gently shook her head. They were watching the dark-skinned Vue as she 'casually' moved to the cooler edge of the sands. This was not notable, really, because anyone that had been standing on the hatching sands for long wanted to do the same.

It was essentially at the same time that more flitters swept through the cavern - and that newly impressed blue-rider yelling at them to keep away from he and his precious blue-copper Fweth - that Vue was being congratulated by her sister Meong from the stands. The sick girl was all better now, thanks to bed rest and the warm air in the hatching sands did her good.

Vue walked back to the rock wall, and... Well, Aniz noted that there was another girl on the sands now - how they'd gotten Meong a robe she never knew. Aniz slipped a half-grin onto her face, and didn't mention it to anyone. There would be time to alter records if she impressed.

The bronze boys in the meantime, didn't stop their grumbling and grumpy stalking around the boys. Whenever one of them would start to rest or veer off around the sands, Sayaith would give a stern noise and glare down at them. There was never any question that she was in charge here...

The more slender of the two bronzes slipped around the back of the boys group, out of sight of his mother. There, he singled out one young man who obviously didn't feel comfortable under the eyes of everyone here. A'danan, you are mine now. Forget everything else, but ...you will have to tell me about those markings! For now, feed me!

With a start, the tattooed man pulled his white sleeves tighter, glanced around, and saw the glistening, hungry eyes of his new bond. "Tuyuth, I can arrange that for sure."

Reginath's side of the sands suddenly was active, with Vue clapping gleefully when the bicolored green-copper hatchling finally rolled around on the sand to look her in the eye. The other dragons above, adults, chuffed with approval at this.

"Chaiasith is her name," Vue squealed, and there was still that guilty glance behind her - where her foster-sister was still standing on the sands.

Now that the sands were becoming less busy, and the shells had been picked up by busy keepers who avoided any kind of contact with the queens or the hatchlings lest they themselves risk Impression, there was finally a lull. Not much of one, for very shortly the platinum-haired Quintill apparently impressed the darkest of the browns on Sayaith's side of things, announcing that the dragon's name was Nooficth, and to call him Qui'll.

The last bronze, slightly wider in build than the first, chose the burly bodyguard, Xatil, who was cheered on by his former employer the younger Lordling in the stands. What exactly would happen now for the Lord? Well, if his friend now named X'l had anything to do with it, arrive anywhere he wanted to go in style on Shouzhuuth!

"Why didn't she show up earlier?" Milonna asked Aniz, of the new girl - she'd finally noticed, and asked her Reginath to explain the girl's presence on the sands near her.

"Just wait and see," Aniz said. "After all, if she wasn't meant to be on the sands, wouldn't Reginath or Sayaith have chased her away by now?"

"Good point," Milonna nodded slowly, and watched with growing tears in her eyes, as the lovely 'proper' gold from Reginath's clutch finally appeared from under her mother's wing. Soft and dry now, but hungry as every hatchling was. Several girls couldn't restrain themselves, they were ready to give up but now there was a chance... a golden chance!

But it was to Meong that the gold walked carefully up to, quietly and without snarling or pushing the other girls out of the way. They just knew - this was not for them. Vue who had barely gotten Chaiasith off the sands and into the feeding area excitedly chittered again, clamping her hands over her mouth when she realized it could give them away... but then like everyone else in the hatching sands, cheered for her foster-sister when Xozith was announced.

*** Congratulations to the new riders!***

Reginath's Clutch

Sayaith's Clutch