Hatching’s Eve
Hatching’s Eve is 1-3 times a year, but as the population grows, it may happen more often in the future. Most Clutches of eggs fall on the same night of hatching due to breeding season. Both holidays happen in the previous resting places of the pearls. Outsiders may not attend said events…considering they are underwater anyhow.
Shore Cetawings & The Cave of Beginning
The week before eggs hatch, parents/guardians/family decorate and paint the egg. It can be jewelry, accessories, family heirlooms, paintings/patterns- Some usually paint a symbol or something meaningful to them. Some dragons even like to paint colors that they think the hatchling would look like! The egg rests in each couple’s home, and has a small bed/nest made of soft resources, sometimes accompanied by crib-like bars. The nest design & resources varies per home, and if the family is REALLY into Hatching’s Eve, they make an individually customized nest for each egg they have.
The night before Hatching’s Eve, the egg is taken to The Cave of Beginning, and in the morning, all Shore Cetawings watch the eggs hatch! It’s very communal, and many attend even if they don’t have any eggs, just to watch the small dragonets hatch out of their shells. If by chance there is an egg that hatches off-holiday, it’s still celebrated by family, (or even communally, if the family is popular/related to an important figure.) It is a well-beloved Holiday to celebrate the Beginning of new life, and to pay homage to The Cave of Beginning.
Deepsea Cetawings & The Hatching Pools
Deepsea Cetawings decorate their eggs with heirlooms, accessories, and jewlery, but they don’t paint them, as that’s a Shore tradition. The night before the eggs hatch, parents/guardians/family bring their egg(s) to the Hatching Pools, an animus-enchanted, pond-shaped geyser. It warms the eggs and glows brightly, & makes soft small bubbles. The closer the eggs are to hatching, the dimmer the Pools get. In the morning, all Deepsea Cetas go to the Hatching Pool to watch the clusters of eggs hatch! The Hatching Pool is barely lit, and all the eggs are hatching in the dim, bubbling Hatching Pools.
(Deepsea Cetawings are strict, so usually no eggs are left out of Hatchings Eve; all of them typically hatch on the holiday.) Once all the eggs are hatched and each dragonet‘s been picked up from the Hatching Pools- the Geyser is fully glowing again. Deepsea Cetawings hold these holidays close to their heart, as they celebrate their love for the deep-down, and to pay homage to The Hatching Pools.