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Why was Berath calling he--Not Berath. Cai trembled where she stood as she was overwhelmed by a feeling she couldn't describe and the knowledge that it was not the maternal green she was so familiar with. Cai's hair fanned out behind her as her head whipped around with alarming speed, eyes wide with near panic. No! She was not a candidate! She was not supposed to... Miath!

Staggering and stumbling like a drunk Cai crossed the distance of the hot sands without feeling or seeing anything other than those rainbow eyes that held hers. She collapsed to her knees in front of the crimson, the little hatchling giving a sigh of relief as she too laid in the sand, dropping her head into Cai's waiting hands.

"Why? Miath..." She breathed, her hands cradling that beautiful head and stroking every inch of it's surface in disbelief. "I'm not supposed to Impress." Tears. There were tears coming out of her eyes? When did she ever cry?!

~ Why not? You are mine. The only problem here is I am hungry and so very tired...~ Miath crooned with little concern, her second eyelids fluttering over beautiful green eyes. Cai still had no sense of the world around her, but she could feel Miath's exhaustion. Even the crimson's mental voice was breathy and tired.

With the last egg hatched and none lost between - that they knew of at least - Mercy was going to count this as a successful hatching and made her way onto the sands with a smile on her face. It had been an interesting hatching, made so both by the hatchlings natures and the candidates they had chosen..more stands impressions! Who knew what was happening out in the wilds..but she chose to believe that those hatchlings had found thier's as well and had participated in the very first wilderness hatching to boot.

"Congratulations Everyone!" She told the candidates as she came up to the tables. "Some of you know me, some don't, my name is Mercy, Aerith and I will be responsible for your lessons while you are Weyrlings. For today however just let them eat their fill and get to know one another. Normally there is a hatching feast where Abigail sets out the rules but I'm thinking that might be postponed until the search groups come back so...just stay away from Alcohol and intimate situations. The rest of the rules will be explained at the feast and you'll all be invited to lessons shortly!"

Darsha fought back her disappointment at not impressing. There was always next time, she reminded herself gloomily. As if sensing her sorrow, her two black flits Thunder and Scourge swooped in on her, popping out from between. They roundly scolded her back into a better mood, eventually settling on either shoulder as Darsha trudged off the sands and back to her dorm.

[Wen]
Wen moved shifting and winced slightly. It was time to move before he managed to possibly burn his legs. He gathered Rynsemth in his arms, scattering his flits and limped slightly to the entrance and off the hot sand. He sat down, shifted and probed his feet ignoring the tenderness. Slightly blistered and hot to touch but nothing overly damaged.

Rynsemth shifted, not completely full but contently drowsy. He twisted slightly, feeling the slight wash of pain and tipped his head, incredulous. He questioned blunt, probing and settled, saving his energy. Wen had wrote it off as a minor inconvenience and Rynsemth trusted his opinion.

'Being a bit too stubborn.' Wen shrugged and took the moment to done his sandal's. The added pressure would hurt but he wanted Rynsemth to be full before seeking treatment. The worse he could do was pop the blisters. He stood back up and started to the table to find more meat.

We will need assistance. Kibeth said with a heavy sigh for her riders lack. Rochelle grumbled at her upcoming lack of tact, hands wedging under her new crimson, still shiny with goop. Together, Kibeth stood, wobbling even with Rochelles assitance. Her upper body strength allows her to lift heavy glass but not me. Shame, rochelle.

"Eat a tailfork," the girl retorted. She tried to scoop the crimson up and managed to get to her feet, kibeth slung at her shoulder like an infant. They wobbled together, the 'little' dragon still rather heavy and quite cumbersome. "No one likes a tit."

Rich, coming from you. Kibeth nibbled at her long hair anyway, gray still tinting the sides of her eyes. Being dead weight was so last hatching but it was a very big area and she a very small dragon.

One look at Rochelle had Cai actually glad for a moment that Miath was so small. She wouldn't be able to carry her around everywhere, or even far for that matter, but at least she'd managed to get her to the feeding tables.

There wasn't much talk between rider and dragon as Cai went through the methodical motions of feeding her. Cai could feel her own panic welling just beneath the surface and was determined not to give in to it. She loved Miath, adored Miath and nothing in the world could ever compare to the beautiful crimson that now took over her entire lap and them some, but this wasn't right! For one she'd never felt emotion this strong for anyone and that alone terrified her. For another, Miath was a dragon! What was Cai doing with a dragon?! No, no. Best for the moment to feed Miath and not think about it. She'd figure it out later.

Despite her inner turmoil, or perhaps because of it, Cai saw something that bothered her and focused on it. To the young man nearby who'd been the last to Impress, No, I was the last to Impress, she cleared her throat and in maybe a harsher tone than she'd intended. "What did you do to your feet?" She could see the redness of the skin but his sandals blocked sight of anything else.

Miath followed her riders stare with interest. What was wrong with the young man's feet? Sifting through Cai's thoughts didn't make much sense so she shrugged it off and nudged Cai's chest, waiting for the next piece of meat.

Phiroth snorted as she ate her food, causing her to choke up for a moment before she went back to eating. She had no interest at the moment in her hatchsibs though some of them had the most interesting hides. She would have to remember that for later.

Ahmenna shrugged, not minding the nickname her dragon had given her. "Not right now. I am a little worried about Kharmeen. He went hunting to find the stolen eggs and there has been no word of them yet."

Her eyes flickered with red.

"Khar is our cousin. He is family like these others are your family. And he will be your find and our helper as well. Loyal to us." Ahmenna replied firmly. She would make sure that Phiroth and her cousin would get along fine. And it would be nice to have someone help with her dragon as well.

Phiroth nodded. Her belly full, she settled at Ahmenna's feet and sighed with content.

"I've heard that before from the healer at Atlini." Wen smiled slightly, not offended at being called a dimglow. The healers had called him worse. "It probably too late to keep from popping them, considering their positions," he mused and shrugged, pulling a piece of meat from the table and offering it to his flit, the brown eagerly snatching it. "You should try centering yourself."

Rynsemth shifted, wings held against his flanks as he preened slightly at the words. He glanced at his rider. The black gave a soft sigh, deflating slightly.