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Hatching! The eggs are hatching! Someone was shouting that near his bed and Deldynwar blinked once, then twice trying to drag his still very much asleep brain to full wakefulness.

Bouncing off his bed as most of the other candidates still tried to pull themselves awake, he tried his best to squirm out of the clothes he'd somehow fallen asleep in and into the white robes and sandals that he'd have to wear on the Sands. Slipping out the door ahead of most of the mob this time around the young man made his way down to the sands glad that he was one of the early ones.

Bowing to the Queen as he paused before slowly moving to choose a spot that would allow him to see the proceedings. Standing at barely five feet five was one of the banes of his life which was why he found himself near the front but not immediately so.

Even if he failed to impress once again, he still wanted to be able to see those who did. After all he still had time, a brief glance around at the other candidates told him all he needed to know and then some from the anxious looks all around, for some of those standing here...this was their last chance.

Jaidev had settled into his tangled mass of blankets and cushioning that served as his bed and he had only been sleeping for a short period of time before he was awoken rather unceremoniously. No matter how deep the sleep, you tended to wake up when you almost got stepped on. He pushed himself up suddenly, blinking sleepily.

Then he heard the humming.

He pushed himself up ungainfully, nearly crashing into one of his other roommates on their way out. He apologized hastily and began collecting his Hatching gear. Sandals? Check. Robe? Check. Robe on frontwards and not inside out? Check. Presentable appearance? Well, the best that could do with what he had. He took a deep breath and booked it out to the sands, sandals slapping audibly against the stone floors.

He tried to run at a light job so he wouldn't look red-faced and ridiculous by the time he got to the sands. His hair was starting to grow back to a more even length...with a little more time, it would be long enough to try evening out again. He was glad the lice epidemic was slowly abating- he was ready to put the bad haircut and nightmares of creepy-crawlies all over his skin behind him.

He reached the sands and bowed deep to the queen before moving to join the other male Candidates. Four times now he had been here. Three times he had failed. Once he had to be carried off after a mauling. He looked at the clutch, feeling the thrum of the dragons beat fill his ears, beat against his body. He felt his heart work its way up into his throat and he had to swallow it back down before he felt as though he could breathe properly again. At least he wasn't as nervous anymore...though he still had to fight the urge to hide behind some of the taller Candidates. More experienced or not, he was still a shy boy. He compromised by standing near to the front but still behind some of the others. This way he could see the eggs and not feel like he was going to faint away like last time... Safe from the eyes, but still able to see. This worked for him.

he mused as he watched other Candidates file in and fill the sands. Some people took years to find their bonded. Some people never did. He gazed back out at the eggs rocking and waiting on the sand and at the proud queen leading the hum. He hoped dearly his luck would change this time. He also wished he could put more heart into his hope...but after so much rejection, it was starting to get hard to be optimistic. But what have you lost, Jaidev? You have only gained through your experiences here, whether you Impress or not. But even his thoughts felt hollow! He felt so bland but maybe- no, surely- that would change once the eggs started hatching. it was just so hard to stay dejected and dour when new life was moving about the sand, after all.

Why S'van had chosen now to be nervous, he did not know. At the last Hatching, he had been calm, almost as though he had known what would come of it. Now, though... now when it was his friends-- his closer than brother-- out on the Sands, he was anxious. Faranth, he thought he was going to explode with the anticipation. Hurriedly, he explained to Galliath that this time he had to be there alone. "Gall, the weyrlingmaster said you couldn't come. Sorry. Keep Kia company for me, all right?"

But S'van, I want to see! came the wistful rejoinder. "I'm sorry, Galliath, I really am. You can eavesdrop, all right?"

That was apparently enough for the little Brown, and the weyrling managed to extricate himself smoothly, putting on his Gather best. His lip was going to be chewed through by the time that they were done with this, and he wasn't sure that he cared. He had to see. He had to know. Heading down to the Hatching Grounds at record speed, he made his way toward the stands. Okassis, whose family would surely never come to watch him Impress (or fail to Impress as had happened the last time), needed someone in the stands for him.

Not just Okassis, though. Little 'Naari was going to be there, and surely Jiriar as well. He hoped for the best for them. Kiriwar, too... was there anyone else he was forgetting? He didn't know, couldn't remember. Raking his fingers through his hair, he stared out over the Sands, searching for a face among the crowd, fixing a smile firmly in place. Is the nice girl there? Galliath inquired, and S'van straightened his back at the reminder of that familiar, beloved presence. Maybe Gall couldn't actually be there, but he was still ... there.

I don't see Nan yet, he thought, trying to give shape to the words so that they would be sensible. He wouldn't have to interact much, would he? He could just sit and watch, and worry--

--But no, as it happened S'van was not alone, and he cringed at an all too familiar voice. Shards and Shells. So it was true. His cousin was at the Weyr. He'd secretly been hoping that she really hadn't been, that he'd get off easy and he wouldn't have to see her and endure the inevitable teasing. He felt like such a fardling child when she was around. She had this habit of turning everything he said against him, or just plain on its side. Sharding Harpers.

"Okassis!" he called, and hoped that his friend heard him. If only S'van had gotten the chance to knock Kas' wherry-brained kin around at the Gather. Ah well, no use in brooding over that now.

Westren had just fallen asleep, visions of bubbly pies dancing in his head, when the summons came. Startled, he attempted to jump up, but his legs were tangled in his blankets, resulting in him crashing to the floor. Groaning, he pushed himself up, rubbing his poor, abused nose; that hurt.

Looking around and seeing other boys throwing on their robes, Westren realized why had had been so rudely awoken. Pulling on his robes and sandals, he hurried out to the Hatching grounds, glad that he wasn’t late.

Joining the growing throng of boys, he eyed the eggs excitedly. Quinnel had Impressed in the last Hatching, and in this Hatching their were some eggs in whose fate Westren was particularly interested. Even if he didn't Impress them - better to be pessimistic then to get one's hopes dashed - he was curious to see what would happen with the Milk and Coral eggs.

Kiriwar wasn't sure what he thought of being dragged out of bed so late, especially since he felt like he had just fallen asleep. But he eagerly woke up completely when he heard it was for the Hatching, scrambling out of bed with his roommates and rushing to prepare to stand on the sands. He wiggled into his robes and hurried off, mumbling something of a prayer out of hope -- he could only hope this would turn out in the favor of him, or the favor of someone he knew.

With the other Candidates, he hurried towards the Sands, waving at those he knew. Once they got onto the Sands, though, he quieted down, smiling faintly as he joined the other boys in the group and waited.

It was going to be a late night. Again. Vera had not crawled into her cot until very, very late the night before, and it had been a rough night besides. She was fairly sure that the climate had something to do with it. For all that she had been born and raised on Ista Island, she had not set foot there in nearly a decade. Blearily, she drew herself out of bed now and dressed, hurrying through the ritual of washing her face and combing her hair. She didn't bother to braid it. There was not enough time, never enough time! If she didn't wish to miss the Impressions, she needed to hurry it up.

"Xeran! Hatching!" Her mind was far too scattered to process the fact that Xeran was already dressed and ready, and grabbing her arm. Dazedly, the Journeyman Harper tried to keep up with her mentor. It was not easy. Not in the least. He was tall, and burly, and she was tiny and just... not. "Xer, you're going to pull my arm off," she complained as they reached the Hatching Ground. One would think that he was marching off to fight Thread or something with the way he was acting.

Ridiculous man. She gazed down at the Candidates, and surprised herself by falling into a coughing fit, suddenly glad of the supporting arm. Oh. That... that was unexpected. Surely it was only the stress, the excitement. After a time, she was able to breathe without breaking out into a cough once more, but she still felt dizzy. She really needed to sleep longer. The handful of candlemarks she'd been subsisting on simply did not suffice. "What was it that you wanted me to see?"

Somehow she couldn't manage to come up with innuendo this time, and she felt sure that that would somehow disappoint her old teacher. Then again, perhaps he was serious enough that he wouldn't notice. Scanning the Sands, she made out a familiar face or two. Several of the Harper Apprentices (ex-Harpers, now) were among the crowd, and she thought she saw her cousin's old friend with them.

Hmm. Was that Xeran in the crows? Oh, yes. It definitely was. It was hard to mistake the Harper for anyone else, really. The only thing that would have made him stand out more than he usually did was if he whipped off his shirt and, while completely in character, was completely inappropriate. And Vera was with him, too. And where Xeran and Vera were, Marko couldn't be far...yes! There he was!

Eyes lighting up, Hayara balanced on her toes and waved to the trio. Not entirely sure if they'd seen her, she bounced and waved again, hoping her second and third attempt would get their attention. She didn't want to risk yelling; as silly as she happened to think all of Marko's fears were, she didn't want to invite trouble when she wasn't ready for it. Hatchings were very serious business! As a Harper, it was her duty to respect those sorts of things. Sing about them too. (And what wonderful songs she could sing, with first-hand experience!)

Ah, well. She should pay attention. As long as she was on the sands, she should really be doing her duty as a candidate. The babies deserved her full attention and, quite honestly, if Marko was indeed correct, she didn't happen to want to be the one that got mauled. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. She had a point to prove, damnit.

The worst part of the Hatching was that C’ren wouldn’t even get to stay with F’sey! The Weyrlingmaster had his duties. One of them included kids from doing stupid things, a task that C’ren personally thought was impossible. But, at the very least, F’sey was supposed to stop them from being complete and utter dimglows. Perhaps he could upgrade the fools into being merely idiots. Anyway, the Weyrlingmaster was supposed to keep new Weyrlings from overfeeding their dragons.

C’ren’s job was to sit in the Stands and look pretty. He didn’t like this job much, but he rather fancied he was good at it. He eyed F’sey for a moment before clearing his throat. Something was required, wasn’t it? Like a… a kiss or something? But in front of everyone, that would just be weird… in the end, C’ren settled for grabbing F’sey’s hand and giving it a light squeeze.

Then he looked into his …roommate’s eyes and said, completely heartfeltly, “If you get yourself mauled out there today, I’ll skin you alive.” Then he was off to the Stands to try and look pretty.