[Hatching] I'll Make a Handler Out of You

[Ezra]

Benedict of Garnet Benesk - Open

Benedict arrived when the call went out and found a place where he could comfortably squeeze in. He could hear Benesk in his head, yammering about this could be the day she would get to show another wher all about whos who of Fort because clearly she knew all there was to know and everyone always invited her.

Her jabbering was a slight headache for him, but it was one he was very much used to at this point. She eventually calmed herself and he was glad for the moment of brief reprieve as he looked at the eggs. A nice looking set of eggs for sure and he was quite curious if he would actually be lucky enough to have one rolled his way. He had not had such luck yet but would keep trying while he could, hoping a second wher might mellow Benesk out a bit. He offered the proper greeting to the Wher mother and her handler, as was proper before he folded his hands over his stomach, the picture of calm... at least for now.

-----------------------------

Cassandra of Brown Cassask - Open

Oh gosh how exciting! New baby whers to be born soon and maybe even she and Cassask could welcome one of the little ones into their tiny family. She had often thought about a second wher but for this reason or that, she never stood for another hatching. But this time it was different, she and Cassask both thought the time was right, so here she was. She could feel the quiet hum of Cassask in her mind, as steady a comfort as it was a welcome one. They were a solid handler and wher pair and she was hoping maybe... just maybe... one of those eggs would be rolled her way. It happened once before , who could say it would not again?

She tried to keep the bouncing contained, offering the proper greetings and finding herself a spot as close to the " action" as she could, not wanting to miss anything, even if she was not picked.

[nineofswords]

Garrett - tag Lapi, Hunter

Garrett gave a nod of acknowledgement to Lapi for his well wishes. After a long moment, he managed to get out "You too." Kid was nice. Which meant he'd need protection, someone to keep him safe, keep him from getting hurt by the world. Hurt like Garrett had been.

"Whers aren't dog breeds," Garrett said to the would-be egg buyer. "They can do their job regardless of who their dam is. There's no difference between Weyr eggs and trader eggs except what training you get once the egg hatches." Garrett knew there were probably more differences than that, but whers that had come from holds seemed to do just fine at the Weyr, and Weyr trained whers seemed to fit in more or less fine at Holds from what he could tell. Anyway, the rules at the Weyr around wher eggs were different from elsewhere. If Garrett could manage to follow the rules, blind and disillusioned with the world's promises, this person should be able to as well. It really wasn't that hard.

He turned towards the voice of another speaker, a woman. She raised some good points that he hadn't considered. He scowled, crossing his arms. "And people wonder why I don't like spending time with people," he muttered to himself. Mera's comments sounded like experience, or else anger on someone else's behalf. It didn't exactly surprise him that men would pressure women by asking publicly, even if he'd never really considered that before. People were awful, after all. He wouldn't put anything past them.

[Jabberwoky]

Hopefuls gathered and assembled, and comments ignored for now, Riask got up. She rolled the Apex Predator to Mera, grunting wordlessly as she did so. The tan egg rocked and struggled before cracks formed, and then came claws, a tail, and a wild wherlet.



A green!

A green as bright as fresh glows and the noon sun. There was no missing her, she nearly lit up the entire weyr with how bright she was.

And then she bit Mera's sleeve and started to wrestle and fight with it.

She was going to be a problem.

[Dragon]

Briolette of Brown Briosk

Briolette had been doing her best to keep Briosk calm as the wher snarled silently at the handler who had suggested buying one of the eggs. It was certainly done in other circles, but not with a Weyr clutch where the mother had the honor of passing out her eggs.

He was thouroguly distracted, however, when Riask rolled the first egg to of all people, one of the loudest defenders of Riask and the eggs. He relaxed then, mollified. Chose good. Will love babe.

Then the egg hatched, and Briosk radiated joyful pride at the sight of his first daughter. Very good babe.

Wysril of Green Wysrisk - tag Mera

When the first egg was passed to its new handler, Wysril watched with earnest interest. And - oh, wow, what a lovely little lady. Of all one color, she was nearly yellow, only barely green enough to be called green. "Beautiful," he breathed. "Congratulations, Mera. And - uh, what's the baby's name?"

[Lucifo]

Lapi - tag Briolette & Garrett

Nodding vigorously with Garrett's defense of whers, Lapi added, "You can't buy a wher's loyalty like that. They're better than that, and you should be too. Don't be a bad example of men."

Lapi smiled broadly when Riask chose Mera and from that brilliant egg burst the brightest creature he'd ever seen. She was full of life and rambunctious. Healthy, he figured, and Riask chose well.

He bowed his head to Mera. "What a babe she is! Congratulations!"

He made sure to flash a smile to Briolette, hoping she and Briosk were happy the smith made it to the hatching early. The mighty brown looked very proud, and rightly so! What a great start to the hatching with a green like that.

[Dragon]

Briolette of Brown Briosk - tag Lapi

Briosk heard Lapi's words with approval. Passing out the eggs was the honor of the clutchmother, and he would not see it taken from her. He very much approved of Lapi; he had the proper ideas about whers. He'd be good for one of his babies.

Briolette, less distracted than her wher by the hatching itself, smiled back at Lapi and winked at the kid. Surely, he'd be chosen for one of the eggs! He was polite, eager, and would definitely be a good handler!

[Ezra]

Benedict of Garnet Benesk - Reaction, open

Benedict watched as the wiggling egg was pushed towards someone else and hatched into a very bright wher and was suddenly very very glad it had not been rolled to him, judging by the mouthing she did right after coming out. He really did not fancy having to deal with mending clothing and potential bites. While he knew it was a very real reality of having a wher, he was glad it was not a habit Benesk often had. At least.. not since she grew a bit. He made a mental note of the color and look of the wher however, as she was quite pretty and bright in her own right.

--------------------
Cassandra of Brown Cassask - Reaction, Open

Cassie was a bit sad when the egg was not rolled to her but she was not the first one to be rolled an egg in her previous hatching she stood for either and was perfectly okay with waiting for the right partner and mama Whers often knew best. She certainly knew that the last mum wher she stood at a hatching for did. Cassask was the absolute best wher ever and she could not have asked for a more solid bond than him.

However, she had room in her heart to welcome another into their lil family and was hoping one of those pretty eggs might be for her. " Congrats, and what a beautiful wherlet." She called out softly but not too loud, not wanting to cause a disturbance or upset anyone with loud noise. She folded her hands behind her back and patiently waited, looking at the pretty eggs again. Which one was next and who would be lucky?

[nineofswords]

Garrett - tag Lapi

In Garrett's opinion, people didn't need bad examples to be horrible, and Hunter was being a dimglow rather than an actively miserable person, but he didn't care to say as much. He just decided he was done laying into the guy, and that he'd let the clutchmom deal with it however she wanted to. If she even wanted to.

Garrett heard sounds, realizing belatedly that it must be the sound of an egg being rolled across the ground and splitting apart. So it was starting in earnest now.

When Lapi referred to the wher as a she, he gave a small smile. Good. He didn't want a girl, didn't want to have to deal with the eggs. Better that those went to someone else, someone who wouldn't actively hate having crowds of people crammed into their quarters. "Green, garnet, or gold?" he asked Lapi quietly, a little curious despite himself what color she was, and deciding that this kid didn't have the guile to lie to him. Or if he did...well, then he was a very good liar, and Garrett couldn't be blamed for falling for such an act, now could he?

[Jabberwoky]

Success. Comfort. A menace to society. Riask surveyed the group, thoughtfully, assessingly, then nodded at Lapithstis, in something like approval. To him went the largest egg - The Trained Jeweler Egg - grand and gleaming. The egg shook furiously, like it was about to explode, from the timeless struggle between wher and shell.



A brown! A short, stout brown, unapologetically round, with a pronounced potbelly. He had a bulbous nose, expressive eyes and a narrow mouth . His nose, spines and legs were a deep, rich brown, with dappled, pale markings fading into a light brown around his back. His mouth twisted in irritation and his eyes whirled an irritated orange, as he shook himself off as he shook himself off and skeptically looked up at the world- and his new handler, right in front of him, apparently less convinced than his mother this person was right. He didn't run, but he didn't approach either- just watching Lapi, waiting to see what he would do.

But then something moved from the eggshells.



A twin!

A fat, round little brown! His face was as round as his belly. He was a rich brown all over, with sandy colored markings on his lower jaw and over his eye ridges like an old man's beard. His points faded from that same sandy brown to a richer, amber-orange.

The twin brown tumbled to his feet, and waddled his round little body and crashed right into Hunter, looking up at him with an indignant HUFF!

[Dragon]

Briolette of Brown Briosk - tag Lapi, Hunter

Twins! Brown twins at that. Briosk held himself up, proud as could be, and glad that the egg holding two babes had been passed to Lapi. Certainly, he would not bond both - that was a silly thing to do, wherlets were a lot of work - but he growled slightly as the second babe went over to Hunter.

Lapi make good handler, he told Briolette. Other, need watch.

Brio shook her head slightly. "Congratulations, Lapi, Hunter," she said warmly.

Wysril of Green Wysrisk - tag Lapi, Hunter

"Twins! Amazing!" Wysril grinned; there were six babies in this clutch! "Congratulations!" That meant all of them had a bit more of a chance to Impress, too. There were still three eggs left for Riask to pass out, and while none of them were as impressive as the one that had just been passed to the eager candidate, they were still lovely, healthy-looking eggs. Besides, Wysril would be happy with absolutely any new partner. So long as they weren't as hard to deal with as Wysrisk.

Heard that, Twinkletoes.

[Lucifo]

Lapithstis - tag Garrett, omfg brown!?

Surprised that Garrett would want anything else to do with him after their previous interaction, Lapi was taken aback for a few moments. Then, he leaned in and quietly confirmed, "Green, brightest thing I've ever seen. Almost hurts my eyes to look at her, she's so bright. Real energetic too." he murmured.

It was then that he was chosen, the huge egg rolling over to him and practically exploded right in his face. Standing there was a rotund brown - endearing, Lapi thought - though the wher seemed less impressed with him than he was with the brown.

Sputtering, Lapi remembered his knife and sliced his hand, smearing it on the brown's nose and face like he'd been taught. The blood would seal their bond and Lapithstis hoped his wher would grow to like him. Scooping the brown up in his arms (so hefty!), he bowed his head to Briolette, Briosk and Riask.

"Thank you! I'll cherish him, I promise!"

Then, realizing Garrett might want to know the details, he explained, "Browns! Twin browns!"

[Ezra]

Cassandra of Brown Cassask - Reaction, Lapi/Hunter ( mention and slightly addressed)

As the larger egg was rolled to someone Cassie did not know, she smiled and was preparing to offer them congratulations, however, TWINS?! And they were lovely browns too! She may have had a slight bias towards the color, as Cassask was such a wonderful partner and she wondered what sort of personalities these two whers might have. Unfortunately, neither even spared her a glance and nor had the clutch mom. Perhaps if not here.. maybe she could buy an egg in the future.

But such thoughts were very premature, as there were still eggs left and she had as far a chance as anyone. " Congrats to you both!" She offered to both Lapithstis and Hunter. She didn't really know either of them persay but she was never a rude sort and they could be people she may interact with in the future, connections were never a bad thing to have.

[nineofswords]

Garrett - tag Lapi

Garrett nodded when Lapi described the green, but didn't really have much more to say about it. He hoped whatever he got wasn't vibrant or visually noteworthy. That kind of thing would be wasted on him, and everyone would want to congratulate him or compliment him on his wher, like he'd had anything to do with the matter.

And then the sound of an egg rolling his way made him catch his breath slightly. No one said anything or prompted him, so he wasn't sure if he should kneel down and feel for anything. He was still weighing how willing he was to make a fool of himself when people started calling out congratulations to Lapi. Garrett let out a sigh. Well, so far his strategy of smelling like the stables wasn't working, but there were still three eggs. Maybe he still had a chance.

Or he'd be disappointed again. Wouldn't be the first time, probably not the last.

"Congratulations," Garrett said, and it sounded like it took physical effort for him to force the word out. Lapi was a good kid, and he couldn't be mad at him that Lapi had been chosen first, but he also couldn't hide his disappointment. Especially since browns - solid, sensible, unremarkable, male - were ideal for his purposes.

His heart fluttered slightly at the word twins, but no, someone called out congratulations to someone else. Passed over again, despite standing right there. If only he weren't blind...well, if he weren't blind, he wouldn't be here at all, would he?

"You should go get him fed," Garrett growled out, good advice that also gave him the excuse of telling Lapi to get away from him without making a scene.

[Arcane]

Hunter of Bronze Yndesk and Brown Brysk - Mera, Garrett,

"And if I asked her in private you'd accuse me of skulking around or scheming some conspiracy. Or the wherleader could take my marks and then claim I stole the egg," Hunter pointed out. He knew how these things went. And the fact that for as long as he'd spent at Fort, he was more of a stranger to this weyr than the forsking wherleader, "Seems to me all the pressure is on her to say no- not yes."

And he definitely wasn't getting an egg today- not with all the would-be-handlers in this room turned against him.

Maybe a smaller audience- one not made up of competitors for the same eggs- would have been a better choice after all. He'd keep that in mind, for next time.

"The rules of life are the same for all species- human, runner, canine," Hunter told Garrett, "Why do you think whers are so special as to be different?"

Hunter's memories of his own parents were faded- but he was every bit their son, as much as Yndesk was the product of the strong, unfriendly, fierce queen who'd laid him (no matter how many times he cared to pretend to be tame- Hunter knew his head too well to be fooled).

"We all buy our whers' loyalty," Hunter reminded Lapi, "They're not dragons. They only stay with you because you feed them, when they're too small to hunt for themselves, and prove yourself useful enough to keep around, when they're grown. The whers don't care how you got their egg."

This boy was just a candidate, while Hunter was a handler already. Whose first egg had been bought with marks and who didn't seem any more or less loyal, for having been bought with coin instead of favors and flattery.

The first egg went to the woman, who had been the first to start arguing. Despite their disagreement, Hunter offered her a congratulations. They would likely work together again and it wasn't her fault she probably really believed the principles she espoused. Her new wherlet looked like a handful- just as well he hadn't set his eye on that one. He did not think Playne would appreciate a wher putting holes in all his tunics.

The next, the largest of the eggs, went to another of the would-be heroes, who answered with all the earnest enthusiasm a mother could wish, at the sight of his new little brown.

Really, the lot of them should have thanked Hunter, for giving them the chance to show themselves as all the principled, over-idealistic, mettlesome things weyr handlers liked to think they had.

Because Hunter watched everything- always- every twitch and shadow, he was one of the first to see a stir of movement in the egg.

Before he had a chance to fully think, he was moving forward, on the long-honed instincts of a guard, ready to stop any parasite or predator come to feed on the gathering.

Which was probably why it was his legs the plump brown wherlet- who hadn't yet learned to watch where he was going- bumped into with a huff.

Hunter huffed back, and then grabbed the wherlet before he could wander off and get himself in any more trouble. He said firmly to it, "Stay.".

He looked skeptically at Brio and Cassandra, sure there was an edge of accusation in their congratulations- that he'd come to get a wher, by hook or by crook, and one had wandered, right into his arms.

"I'm not trying to steal him. He just walked into me," Hunter said, firmly and clearly, before the situation could be misconstrued and held the wher out, back towards the waiting parents, to give to whoever they chose. He had never been a thief and had no wish for the weyr to think him a thief.

[Arcane]

The next egg to reach its mother's paws was an egg dark and blue, with the shadows of a mysterious creature of the deep swimming across its shell. Riask didn't seem to take as long to consider for this one, before pushing it firmly towards Rhaadys.

The egg didn't seem in any hurry to hatch, at first, rocking almost reluctantly. But once the shell was cracked, the hatchling didn't linger.



A blue! A very large blue, easily the biggest of the clutch so far. He was is solidly built, with bulky muscles even fresh from the egg, and lumbered a bit as he walked towards his assigned person. In color he was a dull, turquoise blue with understated markings- a pale, nearly white underbelly and splatches of pale blue around each eye.

He stood before Rhaadys, like a soldier at attention, gaze serious and willing- if not especially affectionate.