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Arolon would probably get hurt for this. The two dragonets protecting the queen egg screamed, then an adult roared, distracting the boys from their little spat. He had made his way around the crowd and was now in the front. He was saddened and angry to see green blood. Dragons blood. This was getting too serious. The candidates had just shouted and the few brave enough to do something had been hurt.

'Won't anyone do something before they between or are we all a bunch of scared wherries? Afraid of blood? Huh, no wonder their not impressing. I'm not impressed either.' He thought to himself. He looked up at the mother queen. Would she do something? Who roared?

Kallista and Astarteth had arrived late to the Hatching. After chatting with T'ka and K'lan earlier in the day, they had gone on to do a quick sweep of the holds south of High Reaches. They had known when the eggs had started hatching but duty was duty. And knowing where her loyalities and duty lay, she was not going to abadoned the task given to her. Especially being so new to the weyr.

They came in from the south and managed to catch a ledge near another dragon -Havocath- Astarteth had supplied. Settling down, she turned her eyes to the sands just as the little bronze headbutted the brown. She gasped outloud. "Astar, what is going on out there?"

The bronze and brown are arguing over..theirs? They are lost and scared. Astarteth replied. Suddenly a roar and the dragon next to them joined in.

Startled, the green rider looked over at the other rider. Suddenly, everyone stopped and two strangers in Healer green rushed out to a boy who was fallen and bloodied badly. "What have I missed?"

When the echo of the roar faded away, so did the caution that it had prompted. The bronze and brown were at it again, but this time, not for long. From over the Weyrbowl appeared a dragon of brown color. D'astel squinted his eyes, then broke into a fit of laughter. It sounded so inappropriate and made those around him stare, but only because they didn't know what he did.

Halteth! Of all dragons!

Not alone, either, he noted, and laughed harder. Talis was on her bonded's back, observing the hatching from up above with disapproving eyes. The crowd made all sorts of sounds, all at once. Whispers, shouts, cheers of approval, screams of the exact opposite.

"WHAT IS THAT GIRL DOING?!" K'ban shouted over all of them. It was bad enough there was a female brownrider at all, but who was she to invade on a hatching like this?!

Halteth was not to be detered by any of them. GO! shouted the brown, staring down at the two who had been fighting as if he'd swoop down and eat them alive if they disobeyed. He need not repeat himself.

The bronze gave a final snarl at the brown then looked to what was left of the boys.



BASHIR! COME! I WILL NOT WAIT ANY LONGER FOR YOU! STEP UP AND CLAIM YOUR SAKNETH! NOW!

The brown was intimidated by the adult, but not his clutchmate, and growled right back at him.



Kerebessar! Step forward, but do not look upon this horrid creature or His! Teharth has chosen you!

Good, the two raging dragonets had Impressed, finally selecting Theirs. Yvath hid her head under a fold of Gylren's robes with a despairing trill, honestly wishing that she hadn't come to the Hatching now. Gyl glanced down at his cowering flit, a small comforting smile on his face as he stroked her neck in an attempt to calm her down.

Which one of the already-hatched dragons would Impress next? Would it be the Bronze, or the Green, either one of those two who stood guarding the eggs?

Giving her hands one last futile wipe on her simply destroyed robe, she went back to the crushing mass of female candidates and waited. The two brawling males Impressed and all seemed to be moving along again. Healers were on the sands and she herself wasn't hurt. Thank the First Egg for that.

The Dragons waited until the roar had diminished before they continued their squabbling. Unexpectedly, a great brown dragon leapt over the bowl and onto the scene, hovering over them on its magnificent wings while its lifemate glared down at the happenings below with disdain.

The two hatchlings stopped their bickering and turned away toward the men, seeming to call forth Theirs. It seemed that, amid their fighting, they had chosen Theirs with little hassle at all. Perhaps that had been the purpose of their battle?

The artist looked out from behind her eyes, marveling at the awe-inspiring magnificence of it all--the brown above, putting order to the brown and bronze below while the milder-mannered bronze and the green continued to stand guard over their Queen-to-be. Slowly, the Candidates began to file back in their proper order, and the sands settled again on the ground of the bowl, an eerie sense of calm covering the area as the healers tended to Panata.

It was over. Rieta sagged in relief, her broad shoulders momentarily slumping before she assumed a more appropriate candidate posture. That is, one of discomfort and anxiety instead of fear or relief.

She stared at the young dragons a moment longer, memorizing the lines of the two fierce creatures. It was important to remember. Whatever else happened, she'd know which two dragons were best avoided in the future. She didn't know that she'd have any reason to encounter them, but she'd rather not become such casual collateral damage in their little war.

Reassured that she'd remember them if she saw them in the skies, Rieta let her attention return, however reluctantly, to the greater clutch of still waiting eggs. Not to mention the two dragons that had so valiantly guarded the queen egg when the situation had asked it of them.

Now there were some young dragons she could get behind. Best memorize them too, if only to compliment their riders when they found them.

Trista nodded up at the brown flying overhead now there was a dragon with a bit of common sense. "Well done," she thought silently up the adult dragon and his rider.

Finally the to arguing dragons had theirs and would soon be headed off the sands. They weren't likely to between now and that was a wonderful thing. Though she did spare a moment for those who had been hurt so badly tonight weather by accident or their own poor choices. Hopefully things would calm down a bit more now.