Emergence

[Kayla]

There were 20 eggs on the sands, and they had been watched over by a very protective Sheluth. That morning, Sheluth had begun humming, a sound that was taken up by dragons all over the weyr, a universal signal that now was the time for those beautiful nestled eggs to begin to hatch and for the newest batch of weyrlings to announce themselves to the world, and more importantly, their new partners.

Neory had been waiting for the signal, and had been taking a bath when she heard from Sheluth. She quickly got out of the bath, got dressed hastily and grinned over to R'net, "It's time!"

She stopped a moment and moved to him, "I know that J'var has to be there beside me for this... but I want you beside me too. Please?"

She knew she could not wait long for his answer, before heading down to the hatching sands to be with her beloved Gold as they watched the little dragonets hatch and impress, but a moment, she would take a moment.

[franny]

Falia heard the call go out, the humming that said the hatching was starting. Falia slipped into her candidate garb and went down the hall, always in the shadows. She had to keep up her fake of being shy an innocent for just a little longer. When she immpressed gold, she would not have to fake as much, she could be a little bit more herself, but nobody could ever kno that she had greater ambitions than that, or they might try and stop her from becoming great. She would become great, and nobody would ever stop her.

Heverth's humming was K'mets signal. Quickly he slipped on Heverth, not needing words for Heverth to understand. Heverth and him were to be the weyrling masters for the new hatchlings. K'met knew that he should watch to see who his charges would become.

[sarah15554]

Roscay heard the humming outside and jumped up out of his bed and put on his candidate robes and sandals. Once he was dressed he slowly made his way to the hatching sands. he counted at least 20 eggs and smiled. he knew there were at least 14 candidates but that didn't mean they all would impress, but it still meant the odds were somewhat good. Roscay looked around for the rest of his fellow candidate's and only saw one, it was a girl named Falia. She seemed like a sweetheart but he still didn't trust her.

[Zenniel]

Live had just finished a bath when the alarm sounded. Normally an alarm would have been a bad thing, but this alarm was a good thing. Live squealed when she hard it. She had laid her white robe out on her chair the day before, knowing the hatching out be soon. Live was excited; today she would see if she was good enough to Impress to a dragon.

Live hadn’t been to the Hatching grounds since the fateful day that she had seen Sheluth clutch. She had been sick when the other candidates touched the eggs. It was something Live had wanted to do, but she’d been worried about passing on the sickness. Gratefully, Live was better now. She pulled on her soft woolen undergarments and then some trousers and a shirt before delicately putting on the white robe that all candidates wore to Hatchings. She knew she wouldn’t be the first because of her neatness, but this was a special day, and despite her personality, she didn’t want to ruin her chances of Impressing.

Besides, she’d probably already ruined them. First she had seen Sheluth clutch, which was an awesome spectacle but one that probably turned Sheluth away from her. Then she had missed the touching, which came as an even worse price. The only reason why she probably would Impress today would be her love of dragons, and even then Liv didn’t think it would suffice.

‘Don’t get down on yourself, Liv!’ Liv thought to herself as she strapped on her shoes. ‘You came here to start over, make a new life. I’m sure any dragon will accept you even if you didn’t happen to come see it when it was in its egg.’

With that self-motivation, Live got up and followed the alarm. The alarm, now, was not really an alarm. Liv just called the humming an alarm because the humming of dragons marked the arrival of the dragonets. The slower the humming, the farther off the eggs were to hatching. The louder it was the closer to the hatching. And Live knew she had enough time because the humming was not yet at its crescendo. She made her way to the hatching grounds and found, to her surprise, only a few other candidates there. So she wasn’t so late after all.

---

Zenniel was off with Nomad when the humming started. She couldn’t hear the low tune, but Nomad could, and he instantly started to shriek at her to get a move on. Of course, she did. She raced toward the candidate barracks and threw on her robe. She could not have had enough time to smooth out her hair or anything. She didn’t know about dragons and their humming; she just knew that she needed to get to the Hatching grounds.

She wasn’t that far behind another girl who had just arrived. She smiled almost shyly at the other girl before taking her place next to a boy. She had not met the boy yet, which wouldn’t be surprising, because she was like a hermit when she wasn’t with Nomad.

Speaking of Nomad, the small fire-lizard was fluttering over her excitedly, flapping this way and that, humming as loud as a fire-lizard could. He couldn’t match the dragon’s tune, no matter how hard he tried.

---

B’oone smiled as Brennanth raised his head, swishing his tail excitedly. Manna had been playing on his back, pretending she was riding him. Mine, Sheluth’s clutch hatches. Brennanth said. I think Manna would like to see the eggs hatch.[/b]

B’oone nodded, and said to Manna, “Dear, would you like to ride to the hatching grounds to watch a hatching?”

The five-year-old squealed, “Daddy-Daddy-Daddy! I wanna see a hatching! All the little eggies hatching~” She sang as she slapped Brennanth’s hide good-naturedly. B’oone leapt up next to her and held onto her stomach while Brennanth jumped into the air. “Daddy~ Brennanth’s humming! He never hums, s’it ‘cause of the hatching?”

B’oone leaned down to kiss Manna on the head, “Of course, dear. He’s humming because he’s happy.” Manna squealed again, and slid off of Brennanth when he landed. “Oooh, look at all the small little eggies and people!” Manna cried, pointing at the eggs and candidates. “I wanna be like them one day!”

[sarah15554]

Jinet slowly walked up behind B'oone and put her hand on his shoulder "Boo you two care to join me to the hatching sands" She walked in front of him and kissed his cheek. She waited for him to replay and knelled down to talk to Manna "How are you today? So how many many of each color do you think there are gonna be?" Jinet smiled at her as she tickled her sides.

-----------------------------------------------------
Roscay looked at the girl that just stopped next to him and smiled. he looked her over and right away noticed her blondie silky hair it may have been a mess but so was his and he could do nothing to fix it no matter how hard he tryed.he then noticed her eyes which he could tell if they were blue or silver either way he liked them. Roscay turned to her "hi I'm Roscay I don't believe we have met?"

[E]

Chedest paused, the pitch fork held steady in his hands despite the large pile of hay upon it, when he heard and felt the vibrations coming from the Hatching grounds. Conflicted he frowned, tossing the hay from the pitch fork into the stall and looking at the rest of the pile he had not finished with yet. Since becoming a candidate at the Weyr, he had made sure to get all of his work done as quickly and efficiently as possible – not that it made the routine any different than that at the hold.

A chirp from Tain made him look up at the little bronze who had been dozing on the stall wall. The bronze was excited, hopping back and forth. How long had it been since Chedest last seen the little bronze so excited about something other than food?

“I can’t leave now Tain, I am not done yet.” he replied to the fire lizard as he received a mental image of the hatching sands where the eggs had been warming.

“Oh I think you had better go Chedest. You’ll work yourself right out of a future if you don’t.” The dark hand of the stable master firmly took the pitch fork away, a smile on his face. “I swear boy, you’d miss your own dragon’s hatching to get a job done, now GO!”

The farmer boy felt his cheeks warm, but it was a command given to him. Nodding his thanks, he whistled to Tain and took off at a sprint toward the hatching sands, skidding to a stop just in time to turn back to the candidate barracks. Can’t forget the robe! he thought to the bronze who had instantly sent up a storm of chirps at the sudden change of directions.

Making it into the barracks, he pulled off his shirt not worried about anyone looking, and pulled on the white, clean robe fitted to him for the occasion. Tying the sash, he finished making his way to the sands. Walking on without too much of his breath lost, he stood quietly next to the other candidates – he had meet them over the past few days, but remembered none of them. That, however, was the last thing on his mind as he watched the eggs in the middle of the sands, already shivering under the strain of the hatchlings inside…



_{(((sorry so long!))}

[TheDreamerLady]

R'net followed his Weyrmate out and down into the Hatching Sands. Torenth, displaying tact most likely learned from his Rider, perched above the sands, and peered down into them, humming joyously.

R'net, for his part, stood close to Neory, away from Sheluth's head, and waited for the Hatching to begin. He wasn't one for speaking overly much during Hatchings. He liked to enjoy the bonding of Hatchlings to Stripling boys and girls. He was also intrigued by the lack of argument about girls entering the Hatching Sands with no Gold laid. But if any girls did Impress, he would be interested to see the reaction then. And he was sure he would, in his own Wing most likely. The red and white haired man sighed once, closed his eyes, and then refocused on the Hatching, determined to enjoy this moment.

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

Filipek had known exactly what to do when the Dragons had started to hum. It had happened countless times before(fine, maybe they were countable, but that didn't mean they needed to be counted), and it took him a mere second to don white robes(though these felt different than the Igen robes. Newer, perhaps), and then he was off, racing to the Hatching sands, and finding a place in the huge semi circle that always formed around the Eggs. He was astonished to see women in the circle, but reminded himself of the perverse nature of Telgarians, and shrugged it off. He was standing right at the crux of his dream. It had to go right this time. He had to Impress. Green, Blue, Brown, Bronze or -Shards, why no, Gold. All he wanted was a dragon.

Messily finger combing his brown blond hair, and straightening his robe, he waited, with bated breath, for the hatching to begin, and pleaded silently with all of the eggs that one would find him acceptable. He didn't even spare a though for the other candidates he'd met- This time, it was for him to Impress, and no one else deserved it as badly as he did.

[saidaltam]

Kellain had arrived at the Weyr hastily, having received a swift and pointed explanation of what was expected of him when he was searched, along with a set of white robes which, given his slender stature, hung loosely on him, and his appearance in the midst of Sheluth's announcement did little to ease the transition for him. However, that announcement also meant that this was not the time to be worrying over a transition, and so he shrugged into the robes and hastened to the sands, only faintly disgruntled.

'Kellain!' he admonished himself as he stepped onto the sands. 'A hatchling is still a child, just as much as Valana. Calm down. Children always know when adults are upset, and that isn't going to help you impress. Bad enough you're late. Stop making it worse.'

Suitably chastised, he took a slow, deep breath, willed himself calm, and walked carefully over to the other candidates already assembled there. He took the time to give the rest of them a quick, cursory assessment, but it was very brief, indeed, as there were slightly more important things going on on the sands in front of him than an analysis of his potential fellows.

'And,' he reminded himself, 'this is too important to be neglectful of the event. If I can impress, I won't have to be a farmer. If I can impress well enough, it might not matter that I'm here and not there--I might be able to help Keare, anyhow. Focus, Killain. You need this.' Mindful of just how true that last statement was, Killain brushed a stray bit of hair out of his face and turned his attention to the eggs.

[TheDreamerLady]

Filipek's choice to ignore the candidates surrounding him fell apart after he glanced back at the sound of unfamiliar steps. Obviously, he didn't know all of the candidates(there were a least a dozen more than he was used too), but he'd been with all of them to an egg touching before. The boy who'd he'd seen out of the corner of his eye was new, completely new. And he looked nervous. It might have been that he had yet to adjust to the heat, or the idea that a dragon was going to pop out of one of those eggs, but the boy looked pale, like he was going to pass out. So with purposeful stride, Filipek made his way to the boy's side.

"Name's Filipek. What to do you need to know about the Hatching?" The older candidate questioned without preamble. He wanted to get the kid informed, and try and keep him from getting mauled, or whatnot, and impart him with some of Filipek's hard earned knowledge. Focusing on the eggs was out of the question, at least for now. Blue eyes stared carefully at the new candidate, and were pleased to note no obvious problems. Though, his being dropped in on the Hatching generally wasn't a good start.

[saidaltam]

Kellain looked over at the older candidate and smiled impishly. "Kellain. Thank you," he replied quietly. "Any advice you have would be welcome. I wasn't given much of a briefing on my way in." He looked back out at the eggs and found himself thanking his parentage for his pale coloration, as he was much more nervous than he wanted to admit, despite his enforced calm. 'Remember, Kellain. Stay calm.' Reminding himself kept his nerves still. That was important with children, even exceptional children like dragonettes.

[katgod]

Destre had only come to the Weyr a few days prior and was already beginning to feel that he was at a disadvantage. The Weyr’s many cavernous hallways were filled with people, all hurrying to the Hatching. Maybe his fears were a little unfounded. From what he had heard people impressed to dragons when they had only just arrived. Destre found himself following other Candidates and putting on the customary white robes. He knew enough to stick with the people who seemed to have a lot of confidence. They probably had a good idea of what was expected.

The sailor looked around him at the other Candidates. Some of them looked even younger than his brother, Seratol. He seemed to be one of the older boys on the sands. He was slightly surprised to see girls on the Sands. He didn’t recall hearing anything about a Gold dragon. It wasn’t that he thought girls couldn’t ride dragons, it was more a surprise that it was allowed. He had seen a few females on greens since coming here and there was a rumor of a blue rider who was a female as well. Who knew what would happen at this Hatching. He had never been to one before but he learned quickly and saw that the other boys were making a semicircle around the clutch.

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of anything that could be negative. He had to be confident (as if confidence was ever a problem for him) and give out happy, warm feelings. Destre was not exactly the warm and fuzzy sort. Being sold as a child had its effects on him. He liked people but he wasn’t about to let them in far enough to understand him. A dragon might make him feel whole but he didn’t necessarily think his happiness depended on this moment.

-----

Laszreen entered the Hatching Caverns, no sooner or later than she aught to. It was not her Gold who was Queen of the clutch that was Hatching. She appreciated the lovely eggs as she did all new dragons but she felt a twinge of bitterness and jealousy upon looking at them. Elfreth was an insanely jealous Gold, much like her rider and had opted to stay on her ledge, which was probably for the better.

Taking her place near Neory, R’net and J’var, she sat gracefully without greeting anyone. She would of course congratulate them after the Hatching but for now she wanted to be left alone. Her bitterness would wear off once she talked herself into being reasonable and not ruled by trivial emotions

[headwoman]

Lady Alsea took careful steps onto the Hatching Grounds. She had been brought as soon as word had spread that the eggs would hatch today. She was excited, if a bit nervous. She had heard rumors that maulings were possible. She shivered at the thought of seeing a one of the Candidate mauled by a baby dragon. Her gold firelizard, Marty, flew in and landed on her right padded shoulder. Marty chirruped something at her and sent her an image of Torant dressed in his finest Gather clothing. She was dressed just as well in her favorite crimson Gather dress. She had opted to let her hair flow free down her back.

*****

Joylie took a seat as close to the front of the stands as she possibly could, seeing as the stands closest to the sands were getting taken rather quickly. She found a spot and quickly took it before anyone could say anything about it. She looked up just in time to see her lifemate's green hide settle on a ledge to watch the Hatching.

*****

Tarilayn stood near the back of the Candidates. She could feel the heat radiating up her legs from her feet. She had been on here once before, shortly after she'd arrived to the Weyr once she'd been Searched. She had made sure to attend her Lessons. She couldn't wait for the eggs to Hatch. She wanted to see the hatchlings and hopefully impress to one. She would have to say this was the most scariest moment of her life. Standing for a Clutch. Was she crazy? Yes. She was definitely crazy, or would that be brazen, enough to Stand. Mostly she was determined to stand and bring her parents honor. It was the chance of a lifetime. One she simply could not pass up.

[iradial]

Nerilan did not hear the humming at first, but as it grew louder and louder as more dragons joined, it eventually reached her ears. She looked up from her chore and froze at the sound. Tensely, she peered at the closest kitchen worker, who had also stopped. That woman was staring at her, grinning.

"Go!" said the woman, and she gestured towards the door. It was then Nerilan realized that she was not imagining things, that the day had come. The hatching had started. Hastily she set down the dish she had been washing and strode towards the exit, shaking the excess water off her hands as she walked. Once she was out of the kitchens, she quickened her pace and headed for the candidate barracks, where her robe was. Reaching her room, she snatched up the white garment and donned it, then hurried to the sands.

Breathlessly, she took her place among the gaggle of candidates that had spread around the eggs. Her eyes scanned each one quickly. Would she impress?

[Adobe]

My children hatch. The noble Ionuth declared, and J'var knew that it was his cue to get down to the hatching stands. The man made himself as presentable as possible. For every hatching his bronze fathered he dressed in his absolute best. Most of them, well actually all but two of them, he got the privledge to escort Laszreen. It was strange to think that this time would be different. For now he would have to worry about getting the sleep out of his eyes.

J'var never slept well when he quarreled with Laszreen. Now it had been some time since his bronze caught Sheluth and now that the eggs were rocking. It's not that he didn't want to beg for her forgivness, but he was too proud to. He had done nothing wrong. The only thing he did was allow Io to fly after Sheluth, and the bronze was proven worthy. J'var did his duty as a bronzerider, and it was not his fault that Ionuth caught the gold!

But, why then, did he feel so guilty? Why was his thoughts consummed with her? Why did he obsess over jealous passions about what men Laszreen flirted with? Why did he say one thing and think another on the matter? He did his best to act professional, he did his best to pretend like there was nothing wrong, almost to the point as if they never loved at all.

As she approached, he let his eyes flicker over her. Beautiful. Graceful. Elegant. Perfect. Immediatly any rationalizations dissapated, and he felt that she had every right to be angry. He should have grounded Ionuth! He never should have flown Sheluth, even though his position gave him power, it was only guarenteed until Sheluth next flew! Neory would never love him, and even if they were becoming friends, he was not blind! She was as devoted to R'net as he was devoted to Laszreen.

She stood near himself, R'net, and Neory, and he offered her a small smile and a nod, for he found himself speechless in her presence. That was much how he found himself in her presence-unable to utter a word. May it be pride or guilt, he could not bring himself to say a single word.

Hello would suffice. Ionuth prompted smugly.

I can handle myself. J'var shot back, but still his lips did not move.
----
Seratol was extremely pleased to be shoved into formation with the other boys. His robes were a bit too big, for he tripped once or twice on the hems of his robes, and the sleeves fell past his finger tips, but he was joyous. Seratol was 15 turns old and at the perfect age to Impress. He figured if he Impressed this time around that his lessons would be finished when he was 17. That meant that the would-be playboy would be at the right age and status to woo all the candidate girls he wanted. Not to mention, fly any of the girls who Impressed this time around.

Sera winked at one of the girls standing down the line. When she snorted and looked away, he smirked to himself. She was sooo into him it wasn't even funny. She just didn't want to admit it yet! Then glancing around he saw his brother Destre standing there, and Sera waved in encouragment. He mouthed to the older boy, "Good luck."

[TheDreamerLady]

"Two important things." Filipek offered with a smile. "One, you'll know when a dragon wants you, just pay attention. Two: if they don't want you, get out of their way. Don't freeze up. They're new born, awkward and clumsy. They can take a chunk out of a person real quick."

Filipek slid an experienced eye over the hatching sands, and judged them to have a little while longer before the eggs started to explode with baby dragons.

"From the Hold, then?" Filipek asked with interest. The boy was tanned in a Star Hold sort of way, despite being paler than most of the people who'd lived on Southern for the last twelve turns.

"I'm Holdbred myself." Maybe it was idle chatter, but it was keeping Filipek from dwelling too much on the fact that this was likely his last hatching. That wasn't something he wanted to consider.