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The paler green had reached the boys now and was moving among them, nosing a few then turning away. She was neither large nor small for a hatchling green but she seemed rather reserved in the way she picked through him, working her way to the back of the ranks before mewling. Her was here, she could sense him! She just had to find him...

There! Wait....

She turned then, something having caught her attention. With patience she started towards that flicker of hope. And there, again, admist the boys!

Aha! She spotted him and then the crowds shifted and obscured the boy that was Hers once more. Huffing, she sat down stared in his general direction, Oh Talisanmine, won't you tell your Danath where you are? She keeps losing you.



Meanwhile, the green who had been digging finally seemed satisfied with her efforts and plunked her dragon butt into the whole with a proud expression, lounging in the Sand as if that was all she needed in the world.

Behind, the other eggs began stirring.

"Huh?" Winderick glanced up, surprised to see Kadayon standing beside him. Normally he wouldn't take kindly to unwanted criticism. However, he was too distracted by the green to think about it. After he straightened his posture he furrowed his brow. Realizing what happened he opened his mouth, about to tell Kadayon to keep his smart comments to himself, but he thought better of it. Getting angry probably wouldn't attract a dragon either. He only couldn't stop himself from giving Kadayon a dirty look.

Fortunately for Kadayon the green distracted Winderick before he could lose his temper. She nosed him once and pushed past him to the back of the group. When she started to move again he felt some flicker of hope. Finally she settled in front of some other boy and Winderick's hopes fell. Unable to hide his disappointment, he sighed lightly and glanced back onto the Sands. No new eggs had hatched yet. That other green seemed quite content in her hole. Curious, Winderick turned back and studied the boy who had just become a rider. He wondered how he would react.

B'tar edged his way into the stands a little behind the late K'la, ducking, nodding, and making polite comments to excuse himself as he worked his way toward a place, hoping to be somewhere close to his fellow green rider, if only for pleasant conversation from someone who also could appreciate the value of a green. S'raid was all very well and good, but he had barely any appreciation for greens.

That's because he and his are a pair of bronzes with their heads in the...

Don't finish that thought, Pri... please... B'tar cajoled, a forced smile fixing itself on his face as though he were concerned that everyone could hear Primath being opinionated... again. Not that her attitude was a massive secret in the Weyr, but it wasn't something he cared to deal with when late to watch the Hatching. Primath had all but dragged him physically away from what he was doing, but he'd really only needed a couple more minutes...

It wasn't like -he- was going to impress today, the candidates didn't really need him in the audience it was just a formality...

I'm so lucky you weren't late to my hatching, my distracted-one Primath sighed, finding her own perch and hunching her shoulders, as though ready to fend off anyone who might challenge her space, humming brightly for all her grumbles.

She'd spotted Hers nearly as soon as she'd walked out to greet the female Candidates so she was taking her time now. But... really, after a moment or two... she whuffed and arched her head high, even if she stayed well settled in her neatly dug hole.




Thumping her tail against the ground, the green bugled her greeting as her gaze came to settle on Hers. Was she going to come?

That curious look, however, was disrupted as the Green Eel egg burst open and a pretty green tumbled out, shaking her head clear of goo as she mantled her wings and rose up on her hind legs, surveying the scene as if she owned the whole thing. Her eyes whirled orange when she caught sight of her sister and she snapped at the spotty dragonet before rumbling her irritation and moving to circle the eggs, apparently ignoring the candidates all together.

Those should be your eggs on the Sands, Galvanth, S'raid informed his Bronze, staring out with an almost bored expression over the paltry offerings of Benden's latest clutch. He was entirely unimpressed... though it was possible that some good would come of this new batch. Possible, but not probable. At the very least, it gave him a standard to beat. If they were mine, there would not be so few of them, Galvanth shot back, his attention firmly on the eggs themselves. Inside were good, Benden dragonets, just waiting to be hatched. If S'raid could not see that, that was his problem.

The Bronzerider's mind wandered back to Trine, and the triumphant Hatching he had witnessed there, a double hatching. Such things were unheard of at Benden. He had been quite interested to see what would come of it, and, after the tragic loss of the Crimson, it had been rather intriguing to note the proprietary behavior of the Queen toward eggs that were not her own. Was that... usual? Perhaps her mothering instincts had been kicked up into high gear because of her own clutch. Hmmn. It was worth pondering.

They hatch! Galvanth bugled, wrenching S'raid's attention with immediacy to the Sands. Two little Greens. Well, that was not as good as the Bronze that Trine had rated. How entirely... disappointing. He quirked an eyebrow as the tiny dragonets. How pitiful. And yet, they were good, Benden Greens. Perhaps there was some worth to be found in them-- after all, they were certainly useful enough, in their way. Hatchlings are hatchlings his dragon told him stubbornly, and he suppressed an amused snort.

Galvanth would think that. And that is where you would be wrong, old friend. Dragonets were not all created equal. The course of their existences was determined the moment they stepped out onto the sand, in the glimmering hue of their very hides. Heedless of S'raid's scorn, Galvanth hummed at the newly hatched Greens, encouraging them as they made their baby way into the world, and went to find their riders. You are feeling very cynical, S'raid, the hulking Bronze tossed in S'raid's direction, and the rider had to work to forestall a bark of laughter.

Cynical. As though being concerned with the color of the dragonets were cynical! Ah, but no. Having a laugh at my expense? he inquired, but did as he was bade, and observed the hatchlings. If he was not mistaken-- and he very likely was not, the very first Impression had been made. ... No, he was right. Those were Yvoth's tones that he heard, and if it was Yvoth, it was very likely indeed. If only S'raid had been aware of B'tar's thoughts, he would have agreed that he did have very little use for Greens. Certainly not in their babyhood.

When the second Green Impressed, Galvanth rumbled, delighted that all was as it should be. No dragonets between, so far. All to the good. And then, to S'raid's disgust, yet another Green had hatched! Bah! This was almost not worth his time. But he would not look away, not yet. How unfortunately predictable. The glance that he cast in the Weyrleader's direction was anything but supportive. Was this all Benden had to show for the change in leadership? It should have been your clutch, S'raid insisted, and this time the Bronze made no protest, but sent back faint amusement at his rather disgruntled rider.

Well. Sileny wasn't sure whether she was annoyed that the other vintner girl had gotten the first dragon to hatch or if she should jut be pleased for the hall for producing her. She had been studying both of the hatchlings critically and come to the conclusion that the one which dug, the one from the oddly giddy egg, probably had something wrong with her. Digging like that just didn't seem to indicate mental health. And both eggs seemed to have produced lazy dragons who wanted their humans to do all the work. Oh, she understood that baby dragons needed a great deal of caring for, but she remembered that they weren't always so unwilling to do a bit of legwork to find their rider. The clutch seemed unimpressive, Sileny thought. Small in size, lots of greens, and nothing spectacular. Though the spots were quite attractive, in all fairness.

Already two dragons down and only seven left with another green on the sands. Canoake was not so stupid as to reject the possibility of Impressing a lesser color, it just meant changing her plans so that they reflected her new position. Either way, she stood with her arms crossed watching the joy and excitement on the faces of the two who had Impressed.

For a fleeting second, she felt truly sad and alone.

But insecurities got you nowhere and nothing. SO instead, Canoake looked around and saw K'la settling into a seat. She would come out to see if her son Impressed. A truly fine green rider, if Canoake did manage to find her dragon on the Sands, she planned on modeling herself in manners and actions to the green rider.