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It was funny that Ofelia had been sitting quietly this whole time, seeing as she was practically jumping out of her skin to get back to whatever she was doing before the hatching had started. Around her head chirped her two flitters, having come back from whatever they'd been doing, though Ofelia waved them away with her hand as she focused on the events on the sands.

To summarize, in an Ofelia kind of way:

GIRL NEXT TO ME GOT GREEN. WHAT THE HELL. Okay, approach possibly.

LOUD BROWN. IT TOOK A WHILE. Not interested.

ANGRY KINDA NOT ANGRY MAULING BLUE. Avoid.

With that she tried to count the eggs on the sands, seeing that there were nine (or so) of them left out there. Hopefully they'd hurry and hatch so everyone could do what they wanted to do - even though she wasn't on the sands Ofelia was getting hot.

And, as everyone knows, a hot tanner positively reeks.

...Wait, what? That was. What?

La's expression changed from curious to concerned to plain confused as the dragon clawed and then knocked over and walked on the boy he was simultaneously regarding with rainbow eyes. "...Wait, what?" she said aloud, frowning slightly and then, when there were no other dragons on the Sands, turning her gaze back to see what everyone up in the Stands was doing. Ofelia was looking impatient, and oh! There was a black she recognized. Mood shifting from confusion to pleasure, she waved to Taikoth and tried to make eye contact with T'vek before jerking her thumb at the blue and mouthing 'Weird, huh?'

If that failed, she'd just yell it at Ofie. And then get eaten by O'rer probably, but hey, whatever worked!

As the Weyrwoman moved forward, Akaya leaned in with interest--but no, there was one more at least! A pretty brown thrust into the Sands by the toppling of its clutchmate--would that one hatch on its own as well, or would it require help? The brown seemed well in hand, if a bit the quiet sort. There was nothing wrong with that, though it was rather funny that it had taken another to push him on his way.

Having been watching earnestly, Auren rocked back on his heels, observing dragonets going this way and that. He'd been just about to be a little disappointed -- to start preparing himself for inevitably walking away alone. There was no shame in that, not in walking away without a dragonet in one's first Hatching, yes? But when the egg toppled into the other, his eyes widened a little bit. A lovely little brown, handsome and rather... striking, poked out. Hello, he thought with a wide smile, shifting on his feet with amazement. What a lovely creature! And so... calm! It was unlike the other brown that had hatched earlier... and Auren found himself smiling.

Watched like many other people on the sands as the blue impressed, but not before he lightly mauled his new life partner and then had the gal to seem slightly annoyed by the fact that the poor boy had blood on him when he was meant to be perfect for him. It was a strange thing and Zal honestly didn't envy the other male the work he would have to put in with that one. Yet he could see the happiness and light that came into the boys eyes as the connection became complete and the two became one mind. And that he could never pity anyone for.

As the grounds fell quite it seemed everyone was ready for the next stage of the hatching, but no, seemed one last brown was just a late comer to the party. No harm in that really. There was no terrible rush just the anticipation and excitment of the candidates to hurry him along.

The others are coming. You will like Suvith. Daroth replied mentally between swallows. He was starting to slow down as his belly became full with bloody chunks of meat. The blue had settled quite nicely on the ground with Camm sleeping between his shoulders. It was a touching sight.

"Suvith, huh? If you say so. Like you teh best, o'course. Wha' you thin' o' teh name N'ymi?" Nasuymi asked. She had the right to shorten her name, especially since she impressed Daroth. Rubbing a hand on his head, she looked in the direction of the stands as the last couple of people to Impress started straggling through the doors.

I like Nasuymi. It is your name. Daroth burped. Nosing her, he went on. I like you the way you are.

The hatching had been going on as normally as he was used to, with a few hiccup here and there that certainly earned Nithan's own disapproval. A bronze had gone and decided to follow the new queen's footsteps and impress from not the rows of candidates waiting for him, but the stands. No, he certainly didn't want to associate with whoever he had picked out if it wasn't even someone who had been chosen as a possible match.

The greens got little of his attention, but he did spare glances whenever a hatchling had headed for the girls to see who would be chosen of their group. The green taking herself between had gotten no more than a wince. He had been in the Weyr long enough to sadly see that sight enough, but it wasn't really anything he could grow numb to. Hers should have been there.

The hatching of a dark blue had earned his attention for only a moment after the last Brown had been on the sands for quite a while, and he'd nearly scoffed when the blue seemed to think it could boss the Brown around. But once the brown had seemed to Impress, he'd not looked towards the blue again. It wasn't the right color for him, so why would he?

At least he'd thought a Blue would never suit him. Finding himself among three candidates the blue decided to have a closer look at, he nearly yelled at the sudden claw reaching out, and then a foot planted on top of him.

Your Suvith doesn't approve. You need to be fixed, Nithanmine.

Oh no, no no no. He couldn't have impressed to a Blue! It wasn't right, it didn't make any sense, and yet the feeling of right had settled itself in the back of his head. There was no denying the facts now. A blue had spoken to him, the bond was right there for him to grasp, and yet it was NOT the color he'd always dreamed of impressing to. This.. this was going to take a lot of adjusting to.

"Get that foot off of me Suvith. I am not a perch for you to stand on." As much as he'd wanted to fill that little request with venom, it just wouldn't come out as anything above a sulky grumbling. This was really going to take some time to get used to. And you didn't have to claw me either! Funny how the color-shock had let him forget that little part of his own Impression.

As he made his way slowly over to the tables with Suvith beside him - once the blue had gotten off - he started absently going over what his new name would be.

The brown waddled away from the nest proper and crooned at the boys, stretching his neck out as he tried to locate His. Padding forward, all awkward motion and quiet need, he stumbled into the boys' ranks and paused.

Lifting his head high, the young male's gaze played over those nearby but did not settle on any one. Moving forward again, he circled through the crowd, nudging and shifting through the press of bodies if they did not yield to his movements.

And while the brown was out among the Candidates, the Withering Leaf egg rocked violently and then cracked quite neatly down the center but the dragonet refused to leave.

That is, until the brown spotted someone he liked and he moved forward, quickly settling on one Candidate in particular. He stopped a few paces away from Auren and waited, patient but also leading in his body language. Clearly he already had something in mind!



Once the brown had impressed and eyes turned again to the eggs, one dark foot poked out, followed by another and a bronze emerged, standing on his hind legs as he shook the goo from his body. Settling back down, the subtly but strikingly marked male spread his wings and fluttered them, allowing them to dry as he looked over at the boys.

Now, it seemed, was the time.