[Hatching] Proof of a Hero

[Ezra]

Usagi of Blue Talinth - V'geta ; Hatching reactions

Usagi has started to get the impression that her company was no longer desired and felt her expression fall. She was trying so hard, why did nobody want to talk to her? What was so wrong with her, was this why her child's father abandoned them? Tore from her thoughts by the next eggs hatching, the maulings and such, she looked terrified and tears welled up in her eyes and she covered them, not wanting to see or thing about all the blood down there. " Why are they so.. mean?" She whined, as the tears fell from her eyes and she dropped her hands and looked for her daughter and was shocked to see Usaru watching with clear fascination. Lovely.. out braved by her own six year old.

[nineofswords]

King - Sylvia

Most of the hatchlings thus far were ignoring him, which was great cause these were all the stinky ones. He was still yammering away at Sylvia, not really caring if she responded much or not, when another one hatched. It came right for King, too, and he let out a little shriek, but couldn't scramble out of the way fast enough. The dragon was strong enough that he was knocked a few feet away before crashing into the sand. Again. Only this time, it took his body a few moments to remember what breathing was supposed to feel like.

Ow. Ow. Oh Faranth, he was going to have an enormous bruise in the middle of his chest, wasn't he? But he quickly forgot about that when Sylvia was also knocked over, and he quickly scrabbled to his feet and made his way over to her. "Hey, are you okay? That was really scary, but are you okay? I don't think you're bleeding, but do you wanna go get checked out by the healers? Shards, this is a really angry clutch, huh?" Big old stupid jerkfaces, he hoped they all got a really bad case of the runs soon...

[Dragon]

V'geta of Bronze Saiyath - Usagi

As the bluerider started crying and whining, V'geta sneered sideways at her. Sharding weakling. It was no wonder that she only rode blue.

"They're dragons, not puppies, and even puppies sometimes bite." Mean? These dragonets - most of them at least - were strong. There'd been that one green who'd acted practically like a kitten, and the bouncing blue, but mostly they were good, strong hatchlings who would grow into good, strong dragons. He gave a twisted smile at their strength. "They are what we need them to be."

[Ezra]

Usagi of Blue Talinth - V'geta ; Open

Usagi sighed, wiping her eyes. " Talinth was never like that. I know sometimes there can be fiesty dragons from watching a few hatchings but so much angry this clutch. Did the candidates do something that offended these dragons or something.." She replied quietly, and might have said something else until her daughter approached and she did her best to snap off the faucet of tears from her eyes and smiled as the child bolted over to her and hopped up on her lap. " Hi mama.. hi mama's friend." Usaru replied, gazing at V'geta for a moment, thinking anyone that was sitting with and talking to her mother was a friend.

" Mama.. I wanna be a rider too. Look at the pretty dragons! They fierce and strong and I want to be like that too." The child said, her hands balled into determinated fists. Usagi coughed, clearly trying to figure out a way to not discourage her daughter but the idea of her child down on the sands and possibly getting hurt scared her like nothing else ever would, aside from Talinth's loss.

[nineofswords]

Weyrleader B'ram of Blue Sininulth - Open

When the call had gone out that the eggs were hatching, B'ram had put on his best clothes and made himself look as presentable as possible before heading out to the stands to watch. He always tried to make a point to get a seat close to the front, but not right in the front row so as to rob someone else of that seat. He might be the Weyrleader, but he tried not to let that go to his head, or to use it as a free pass to just take whatever he wanted. He needed to set good examples, after all.

Part of him wanted Sunny here so he could send messages back and forth to the kitchens to be sure everything was progressing smoothly there, but he needed to trust his people. Molly would keep them in line, he was sure. And as for the sands, the healers were there - they'd be needed if the touching rumors were true - and the candidate and weyrlingmasters were all accounted for. He took a deep breath. Everyone knew their places. To try and coordinate or micromanage now would do no good, and make everything think he doubted their capabilities, which he didn't.

He clapped and shouted a congratulations into the sands every time a dragon found its human. Yes, this was a violent hatching, but it was a hatching nonetheless, a cause for celebration. He didn't want people to be tense or anxious just because blood was spilled. They hadn't lost any candidates, after all, and none had had to be carted off the sands. Things were going as smoothly as could be expected from a clutch with this much personality. "Well, this hatching certainly isn't lacking in excitement, is it?" he asked with a booming laugh to the person sitting next to him. He had a big, jovial smile, but despite that, he was running through his head what further safety precautions he could institute on further hatchings that had angry and violent dragonets. "Glad my Sininulth's hatching wasn't as eventful, but Semaca needs all the dragons full of spitfire it can get with everything going on, don't you think?" He was determined to stay positive, and hopefully keep the crowd's mood positive all well in the process.

[Ezra]

Raha of Blue Exarchth - B'ram ; Hatching chaos ; Open

Raha had been watching the hatching and while some of the dragonets had been spicy, aggressive and boistrous, at least they seemed to be impressing relatively smoothly, which was the best you could honestly hope for. Hearing the man beside him speak and recognizing him as Weyrleader, he offered a smile. " It definately has lived up to that. At least this lot has been impressing and we have not seen any real rejections or extremely serious injuries. It would be fantastic if it could keep that pace, but we shall see. I heard some of the eggs were.. spicy?" He replied, shifting his position slightly. " I don't recall Exarchth's hatching being this.. eventful either but hey, as you said, we definitely could use the tougher dragons and numbers always. Semaca's future down there is looking bright. But golly, some of those dragons are rather unique looking eh?" He added, looking at the fact there was two eggs moving at the same time but only one seemed to be hatching, the one with what looked like a face on it.

[emil]

Candidate Levysc - congratulating K'rin, open

"Hoh, indeed! Poor little Joff." Levysc laughed heartily in response to Kirin's fair jab, enjoying the lighthearted and generally noncommittal atmosphere of his easy company. Sure, this was sort of deadly serious, only an event that would determine the course of their lives! But she felt happy and free. Right. This was the center of Weyr activity right now, and she was determined to see it through. The Hollow was the place to be, absolutely popping with activity! And it was quite safe now post-tunnelsnake, other than the slight terror of dodging these huge, angry dragonets as they snapped, bit, and broke anyone within reach.

And then, one of those raging beasts finally noticed them. Oh, no... . She stared bug-eyed as the great blue turned sharply and trotted with purpose toward the pair of Candidates. But... his gait was free and easy compared to many of his siblings, who charged about like race-runners. And when he fell upon Kirin, it was with happiness rather than rage!

"Oh -- K'rin! Welcome, Lantrath!" She exclaimed in pure shock, having never stood quite so near to someone else mid-Impression before. It looked... wonderful, she hated to admit. Positively enviable! Oh, now she was jealous, watching him lead that gorgeous blue to the buckets. And so once again she stood alone, appraising the Sands from her domain [Everything. It was all hers, really.].

"Cor!" Was all she could manage to exclaim as a burning Brown erupted, volcanic, from the blackened shell! She afforded a long, loud guffaw as it body-slammed Petraxen, forcibly Impressing them. Oh, Levysc was just howling at this point. She tried not to think about how half the shells were empty. Sure, it was normal to be left Standing a whole lot, and she wasn't some crusty old fart -- she had lots of time to keep doing this fuddy-duddy traditional stuff if she really, REALLY wanted!!! Why did she care, now? She hadn't so much back then, when it was all about harassing Nesca!

She glanced at the yet-unmarred Venom Queen, the perfect Thunder Prince, the mixed-up shards of Black King and Glorious Gold... . And the Roar of Rage cried for its master, soon to be. Would she simply get her head bitten off like some of these poor sops? Levysc could smack a dragonet in the nose to defend herself, but she didn't relish the thought the way she would gleefully fantasize of tussling with her peers. And wasn't so sure she'd beat even the smallest baby dragon on the draw, when it came to fangs versus hands, after seeing how many of her classmates had been mauled... . Gulp.

[Fel]

Candidate Malady Tag: Joffrey

"Yes, because throwing a temper tantrum is definitely the way to show you're worthy of a dragon at all, let alone bronze," Malady said coolly, crossing his arms. Honestly, it was like some people didn't even realize that nobody liked someone who lost his composure. Nobody told stories about people who flipped their lids. It was important to remain calm.

It was even important to remain calm when facing an apparent impending fight. Honestly, this kid. Malady uncrossed his arms, letting his hands form fists. He may have been unworthy, he may have been someone that nobody could ever really care about... but he could fight. He'd had plenty of practice. (Alone. In his room. Against a pillow.) "I warn you, I'm a master of hand-to-hand combat. While you whiled away your hours, I studied the—oh, gross!"

Malady took a quick step back as Joffrey blew chunks, some of it getting on the hem of his robe. "How out of control of your own body can you be?!"

[nineofswords]

B'ram of Blue Sininulth - Raha

B'ram nodded when Raha said that they hadn't lost any dragonets. "Yeah, I'm quite glad of that. Loss of life is never pleasant, but it's always somehow sadder at a birth I find." He smiled fondly. "But Semaca has an excellent track record of keeping our dragonets alive, despite it all, so I'm not terribly worried. Everyone born here tends to be very scrappy." He let out another bellowing laugh. "Heck, most of the people who find themselves down here tend to be scrappy. It's that or they don't stick around long. You need to be a bit stubborn down here, I think, more willing to take what life'll throw at you than most." Everything was so unpredictable in the southern continent's jungles, people had to in order to make it down there.

Another laugh. "Spicy is certainly the right word for it! Or, as my mother used to say, full of piss and vinegar." He nodded at the mention of some of the oddities. "I think it's something in the water that makes our dragons more unique somehow. I swear, all of our clutches come out more unusual than most." He beamed. "But hey, I'm not complaining! Uniqueness is a wonderful quality. Makes things interesting!"

[Dragon]

V'geta of Bronze Saiyath - Usagi

"Tch." V'geta wasn't surprised a blue who bonded this woman wasn't like that. Certainly, dragons came in as many personality types as humans, but he had no doubt that this woman's blue was as weak as she was.

Then a child came up and climbed up on Usagi's lap, and V'geta's eyebrows climbed. Mama's ... friend? He peered down at the little girl - he had no idea what age she might be; he didn't spend time around children and if he had any children of his own back in Benden he didn't know about them. At least the child had proper ambition. "One day, if you work hard," he told her absently.

[DinoInADress]

Candidate Erina - @Friendship group | open

When the hatchling attacked Xena, Erina followed quickly behind. She undid the straps that connected the bag of first aid supplies from her belt for easier access by all (and easier opening to be honest) and said

”Here Adella, I’ve got yarrow powder for stopping the bleeding and then some numbweed and bandages. turning to Petraxen she said jokingly I think your lifemate may be rather insistent on being bonded to you. Even if you don’t like them.

A large CRACK drew her attention from Xena to the next egg that was hatching, Tempest Shadow! Such a lovely colored egg, the shiny bronze against the grey was very aesthetically nice. The little one joyously rammed the two other candidates. Only a rumble from Nebulaeth stopped her. Erina’s eyes widened as the little chaos child headed towards her. The little one pressed her weight against Erina, albeit much more gently than she had the others. Erina wheeled her arms and let out a ”Woaaa ooah” barely catching herself from planting her bum into the hot sands.

Then the little one spoke to her! In a surprisingly loud and abrasive voice. Her heart about beat out of her chest and a warmth settled in her mind. This felt right. She responded to the little one, trying for the first time to speak mentally

”Is this how I do it? Can you hear me little chaos friend? What’s your name?”

The little one beamed and butted her again

”I’m Shaladoth and of course I can hear you silly. Let’s go. I’m hungry. And dirty. Don’t want any chaos.” and sniffed the air, trotting towards the smell of meat.

”I think you’ve forgotten that you caused a good bit of chaos dearest. Let me grab some egg shell pieces and I’ll feed you.”

Out loud she said to everyone in the little group

”If you get a chance grab some shell pieces you like, I’ll put them in my bag if you want.”

And darted off towards the piles of shards, in the pile from Tempest Shadow she quickly picked out a couple of medium sized bits, wiping off as much of the egg goo and ichor as possible with her sleeve, including one that had the shiny bronze, the grey and the lighter color that made up the ribs of the wing. Then caught up to Shaladoth. Once they reached the table of meat she began feeding her new lifemate, giving one piece at a time to make sure the little one didn’t choke.

[Jabberwoky]

The Roar of Rage won out, a hard head bursting out of an intimidating shell. The rest of him followed, and he roared loudly, flaring his wings as he charged. Head down, moving fast, and it was soon very clear why.



A blue!

A very strange, unusual blue. He was primarily a pale blue in color, fading to a darker color at the end of his tail, his feet, his nose and along his wingsails. He had scale-like markings near the top of the back of his wings. What was notable were the short horns on his head, and he was charging like a wher.

He rammed his head, horns and all, right into Malady's legs, knocking him down. And to add insult to injury, he clambered over the fallen candidate, stomping on him before he turned towards the next victim. With another piercing roar, he charged at Levysc, slamming into her and outright standing on her. He roared at everyone around them again, territorial and letting everyone know what was up.

This is MY person! No one else may touch her! She is MINE! He bellowed, flaring his wings again.

Still shaking, the Lord of Fallen Snow was starting to break.

---

Currently hatching: Lord of Fallen Snows Egg
Eggs hatched: 8/12

[Calingaladha]

Candidate Joffrey - Malady

Joffrey was still furious with Malady, despite his weak stomach. He felt some satisfaction at the fact the chunks hit the other's robe, but he had to swallow several times to be able to speak again, spitting some of the taste of the bile out. He aimed it at Malady, of course.

He just opened his mouth to protest when the territorial blue ran their way, and a scream escaped instead. He managed to not be targeted by the dragon but, to his delight, Malady was.

Instead of arguing, he pointed at the bowled-over candidate. "Ha ha!" he teased. "Look who's in control of their body now! Hope you enjoy the taste of that sand!"

[Ignys]

Galo of Garnet Quadratoth - Tag Lio Tw: Mentioned Maulings

"I dunno... he still seems pretty confident and shouty despite being bit once. If there's another bronze, think he'll try again?" The bronze wasn't the only one who was hellbent on making a scene. The majority of the hatchlings caused some kind of harm; some bit, while others just shoved or whacked their tails into the candidates present. And they were only a little over halfway through the eggs!

"A handful." He joked, laughing softly. "I guess it'll be up to the new weyrlings to learn how to curb their dragons' violent sides. Hopefully they can, with a little help from the weyrlingmaster." And if not, well... Galo didn't want to think about that possibility. A bunch of young, dangerous dragons without intervention could be a real problem for Semaca.

---

Sundew of Green Bertruth - Tag Crowe, mention injured candidates Tw: Mentioned Maulings

Sundew was immensely amused by the antics of the hatchlings. They dragons were feisty, and some of the injured candidates deserved a little nip. So far there was nothing more serious than lightly bleeding bites and bruised egos. And, despite the injuries, no one seemed particularly distraught because of them. Even the boy who was humiliated by the first hatching was still loud mouthed, oscillating wildly between dramatics and haughty self-importance.

"Mm?" Sundew glanced Crowe's way, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Maybe it's safer to assume they'll be both. Some of them seem outright violent, while others just seem overly protective..." The most recent blue was the latter, if his shout echoing through her mind was any indication. "They'll certainly be good fighters if their riders can redirect their aggression to appropriate outlets."

[Windra]

Candidate Weyrling P'axen of Brown Settalyth - @ Friendship Squad, Impression!

Petraxen's brain was buzzing with a thousand bees and then some. Somewhere in the whirling image of their sister's bleeding wound was a brimming rage and choking heat that didn't quite feel their's. They swallowed hard; blinked several times. Deep breaths, deep breaths ... "Of course you're fine," they uttered, still needling at the wounded appendage until Adella and Erina made their way over. "Of course you are. You're my sister, you'd better be fine - but that brute - "

Yeah.

They were gonna kick a dragon.

But what was all this jargon about 'lifemate' and 'bonded'? Petraxen hadn't Impressed. Clearly Xena hit her head when she'd gotten swung. And the others must be talking about somebody else. Somewhere mixed into the rage was Honeysuckle's anxiety, pressing into their thoughts. They could hear her screaming from the Sands entrance and could practically see her reddened orbs whirling like a tempest from where she hopped on her hindquarters, desperately signaling Petraxen's attention.

"That asshole - that royal son OF A - " Another sucking breath. No! Don't say that. It wasn't Nebulaeth's fault! Still, Petraxen wheeled around ready to give the brown what-for and was met immediately with rainbow orbs that whirled threateningly at them. The hot breath from the brown was upon them. This wretched creature had heard every word! "Good! You're here!"

ROYAL! You've gotten one thing right, at least! the brown snapped. His voice was BOOMING in Petraxen's brain. The candidate leered at its lordy, haughty voice. You threatened to KICK me, P'axen? Make well of your threat - I'd HATE to see you miss!

P'axen? Petraxen rolled up their sleeves. "Maybe punch instead!" Faranth, they was about to get booted from the Sands, but it would be worth it! They rolled their shoulder, prepping for a hit. "You hurt my sister - "

She should not have been in my way! Not many can bare the force of a KING. But you got up. Now FEED YOUR MIGHTY DRAGON!

Wait.

Xena was unperturbed. No screams of pain or fear or horror. Adella, Erina ... they were not sounding the alarm. Nobody was freaking out. Why was that? Honeysuckle's shrill cries broke through the fog of their brain and the rainbows whirling in Settalyth's eyes became suddenly ... very ... important.

P'axen swallowed hard. "Forsk me. YOU?!"

ME.

"Nah. Nah ... " P'axen backed up, holding up their hands. "You've got to be joking!" But even then, a green rolled up to them and P'axen could feel the irritation welling up in Settalyth like a hurricane ramping up.

Keep your distance from MY human, lowly -

"STOP!" P'axen slapped the sides of their own head. The brown gave pause, regarding them with a baleful eye that whirled from prismatic to crimson. Eyes slammed shut, registering what was happening - what had happened. "Shit shit. You!" No, they had an agenda! P'axen stood toe to toe with the dragon. Settalyth was a hatchling and thus smaller than the former candidate, yet his presence towered several miles above the ground. "You owe Xena an apology!"

Nose to nose. P'axen was undeterred, glaring into the equally intimidating gaze of their partner. That simmering anger in the beast was growing. But Settalyth ... snorted and turned tail. Lumbering footsteps dragged him closer to the buckets of food awaiting weyrlings. Blood meat calls. You WILL feed me so that I may gain strength.

P'axen glanced up, looking for Naxen in the crowd. What in the Red Star had they gotten themselves into?? "Xena," they whined, pitiful and sorrowful in the face of her injuries. Settalyth deserved an ass-whooping but they couldn't very well wail on his own dragon. "I'm so sorry - I'll sort this out - "

NOW, P'AXEN.

"I am not your SERVANT, brown!" P'axen did follow but they were gonna take their sweet sweet time just to piss the dragon off. Absently taking note of Erina's reminder, they stopped to scoop a sizeable chunk of the Black King egg's shell on the way over.

Honeysuckle was about to have a very rough adjustment to her life. Probably a heart attack, too.