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Ooh, look at that one! Nachith's eyes whirled blue-green at the display of the newest green to hatch. I like that one, she has fire. She will be something when she is older. The slender brown crooned approvingly.

B'ram rolled his eyes at his partner. ...if you were human, Nach, you would be creepy.

But I am not, he replied, unbothered.

The gentle entrance of the Blue caused a murmur to go through the crowd as the watchers tried to determine its color, or so Orothor assumed. He was wondering the same thing, but there were a few factors that suggested to him it was a Blue. The color of his eyes concerned Orothor for just a moment, a reminder of the Bronze's eyes when the dragon had begun to realize his lifepartner wasn't there, but it was gone with the explosion of Green from the Deceptively Delicate egg.

This one was in command of the Sands. More than any dragon on the Sands this Clutch, other than perhaps the Bronze, this Green demanded attention. And the first thing her entrance did was startle her uncertain brother into dashing straight to the boys.

Orothor watched the dark green-blue Blue barrel toward them and wondered for a split second if the hatchling was heading for him, despite his being not in the front of the pack. He'd found that the superstition that if your dragon couldn't see you it couldn't find you was probably just that: a superstition. It didn't matter if he pushed to the front, because if his dragon was there it would find him whether it could see him right away or not. It was that bond that enabled the dragon to find their partner, not their sight.

As the green continued to snarl and started to stalk towards the female candidates the blue barrelled on towards the boys. He knocked through the ranks wherever the males were too slow to move out of his way (though he thankfully did no worse than bruise) and looked set to charge right the way through and up into the Stands. Abruptly however he skidded to a halt, and gave a shrill cry that somehow managed to combine relief and lingering panic. Turning around he hurried forward again, but slowly enough this time for everyone to get out of his way. As he drew closer to his target he gave a happy warble, finally catching up to Azylrin and giving the boy a gentle nuzzle.

Oh Azylrin! Your Qizixth thought she was going to eat him! Let's go together now Mine, I've been missing you!

"Lots of greens!" Acerath seemed quite happy about that. Erelus snickered and caressed the dragon's hide, still bubbly and pleased as punch.

"Lots of other colors, too. Browns, and another blue!" Erelus scratched his eye ridge. The dragon crooned in pleasure, his eyes happily swirling.

Greens are the best. And queens. And crimsons." His voice sounded smug. Erelus groaned a bit, grinning as he facepalmed.

--

"Of course you can meet her, I'm sure she'll be delighted." M'cel was still sounding pleased as could be. He watched the hatching, of course, but now seemed to be looking towards those who had already hatched. R'ne just rolled her eyes.

"You can go pester her later. How about you give some honor to the ones on the sands by watching them?"

"Oh, I don't think they care if we pay attention to them. They're probably not even paying attention to us." The kids on the Sands had other things to worry about, like that little green...

"That blue really does look like he could be a big green," Adi noted with a giggle. "I hope no one tries to catch him one day." Not that dragons were actually likely to make such a mistake, but the image it provided was amusing. Poor greenish-blue!

That would not be fun at all, Mazamath interjected. He had yet to so much as try to chase anything so far himself, and it was unlikely he would without a strong reason from his rider...which she would probably not give him anytime soon. She'd have to really, really like the other dragon's rider to have any hope of stirring him to action.

He quickly stepped out of the way of the blue who was definitely on a mission to get away from his green sibling. Azylrin felt terrible for the poor guy. He hadn't done anything and his green sister had come bursting out of her shell shrieking like a feline that had been caged too long. Or something like that. Azylrin wasn't sure that was right at all. But the point was, the green was so far the only one that had hatched in such a feisty mood! The chunky candidate hoped she found hers quickly. And the blue-

A shrill cry rose up from behind him in the direction the blue had scampered off. It startled him and he turned to see what had happened...and felt something nuzzling against him, a quiet yet sweet voice entering his mind.

Oh Azylrin! Your Qizixth thought she was going to eat him! Let's go together now Mine, I've been missing you!

Azylrin blinked, heart pounding as he stared down at the blue. No, not just 'blue'. Qizixth!

"H-Hello, Qizixth!" He spoke shyly, hand reaching out to stroke the blue head that pressed against his stomach.

Forgive me, Mine! I...I did not mean to startle you! But she...I am sorry. May we go now? The blue pressed himself against His, though he stood partially in front of him too. A small effort to keep himself between his person and his sister. I am a little hungry. There was slight hesitation in admitting this. But he was hungry!

The boy smiled, no he beamed, nodding to his - oh shards his dragon! - new lifemate. "Yes! Of course we can go. And you didn't mean to startle me." Azlyrin assured Qizixth, offering small smiles of apology to the boys around them as the pair moved off towards the feeding tables. "And we'll get you something to eat." He added.

I...would like that very much, Mine. Qizixth replied sheepishly, still very much glued to his bonded's side as they made their way towards the tables with food. And his other clutchmates.

Orothor sidestepped as the Blue pelted past him and, with a lack of hatching eggs on the Sands, he was able to watch as the shy, chubby boy reached out a hand to stroke the Blue now leaning on him for comfort. He watched them begin to walk away before he looked to see what the Green had decided. Yes, she was definitely heading for the girls.

Again, Orothor's thoughts began to drift back to problems of earlier. Had he become so desensitized to Hatchings that when he saw the end coming he was able to immediately turn his mind to other thoughts and accept that his chances were slim?

Salin grew more excited each time a new dragon hatched, and slightly more disappointed each time one Impressed someone else. Maybe there wouldn't be a dragon for her this time? When the nervous-looking green approached, she stepped aside to let the little one by. The green still seemed rather tense as she started to walk through the collection of girls, and she smiled reassuringly when the dragonet neared her. The green paused near her, looking as uncertain as ever. When her eyes brightened, Salin wondered wistfully who the green had...

SalinMine! Your Dranith was looking for you! Please take me away from all these people now, I don't like being so close!

Salin blinked incredulously for a moment or two. Then a look of surprise and wonder slowly filled her face, though it was swiftly replaced by delight and affection. She took the few steps forward that brought her to her dragon and knelt to the hatchling's level. "Yes, of course we can go now, Dranith. We'll get you fed and cared for, and you can have as much space as you need." She rubbed the dragon tenderly on the head before standing up and lading her dragon to the food tables.

Dranith stayed as close as possible to Salin while they walked, putting all the space she could between herself and any other. She nearly tripped her rider up a couple times, causing the young woman to gently chide her dragon about giving her enough space to move. But it wasn't until they were several paces away from the last of the Candidates that Dranith moved aside. A little. At the tables she chose a spot well out of reach of any of her siblings before sitting down and allowing Salin to feed her. Then she proved to be as voracious as any hatchling, eating almost as quickly as Salin could hand her chunks of meat, though she grew somewhat tense and started to eat slower once the edge was taken off her hunger. She started to eye each piece a little before accepting it.

"I something wrong?" Salin finally asked.

Maybe? I don't know... was the initial reply. But she hunched her shoulders and looked away as she said it, making Salin think she had at least some idea.

"Come on, you can tell me," she prompted gently as she held out another bit of food enticingly.

Dranith wriggled a little uncomfortably, but after a moment she took the piece. Am I eating right? Eating too much or too fast? I don't want to get fat, she admitted anxiously.

Salin chuckled, "Don't worry, silly. I'll make sure you get the right amount. You've barely started eating, you had no time to overeat. And for now, you need to eat as much as you can manage, so you have the strength to grow." She patted her dragon reassuringly, then scratched the green's eye ridges as she added, "And it's good of you to think about eating too fast. Most gobble so quickly they're in danger of choking. Stay at your pace and you'll be just fine."

Dranith relaxed some, though not entirely, and resumed eating. Though she kept glancing around at her clutchmates, noting if any got too close and trying not to eat as fast as the others.