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(choosing number #2)

Jeral sighed, that was four now, he hoped none of them had already annoyed the Gold. He passed them carefully, nodding just the slightest congratulations before turning his eyes away from them all. Moving into the den he made all the appropriate noises, his stomach turning as he remembered getting Jeralsk's egg. He swallowed hard, knowing he shouldn't have the Green in the forefront of his mind right now.

Closer he crept to the eggs, such a small number and the smell from the duds made him want to cough a little, he closed his eyes and let his hands make their own way over the eggs, letting some instinct guide him. He heard no noises of anger or rejection from the Queen so it seemed that she was allowing him to take one. His hands rested over an egg and he carefully pulled it to him, backing out of the den thanking the Gold with noises of happiness, ones that Jeralsk had taught him when she made those happy noises.

"At least we got ours" she replied just as lowly, it was part of the reason she'd wanted to go first, sure it was one of the more dangerous positions to take but honestly she'd rather fail because she screwed up herself then because some dimglow before her angered the Queen and ruined it for everyone else.

Two more people looked to have been successful while they were talking and Lynd nodded to each of them in turn, each of them clutching their chosen egg carefully and no doubt wondering what the baby inside would hatch out to be like. Whers weren't like dragons, you didn't always get a perfect match but to Lynd that seemed more natural anyways - and made for stronger pairs. When you had to overcome adversity to reach a goal it was much more character building then just instantly agreeing with one another. "I don't think there's many eggs left now" she added doing a quick count of the people already in the room.

((Egg #1))

Tsubari watched as some of others got to pick an egg. Now it looked like his turn. He made his way slowly towards the remaining two eggs, remembering to bow to the Gold as she watched his approach. He made a small amount of sound directed towards her. It was only right as these were her eggs.

The duds that the gold had smashed had a smell that made one want to gag, but Tsubari held it in. His eyes settling on the eggs, his hands moving back and forth as he knew that this would be his life partner and he would have to train even more to keep them all safe, since it was likely they would be a watch wher team. Placing his hands on the darker swirling egg, he picked it up.

A small rumble from the Gold made his heart skip a beat. He turned to look at her, but it seemed like it was for her own amusement. As he backed away with the egg in his arms, Tsubari wondered if he had ever played near her or Hers.

As the wherhandlers approached, one by one, and walked away relatively unharmed, the next apprentice nervously stepped up and was regarded by the queen, only to be swiped at and sent spinning as they moved to take an egg. Such a quiet event couldn't have lasted, ran the agreement, as the youth was dragged away with a slashed and bloodied arm.

A second apprentice stepped up, more boldly then the last, and was whipped by the gold's tail and very narrowly avoided being bitten in two as the queen surged forward before anyone could stop her. The apprentice, admist some barked orders and rapid fire clicks, had to run from the room lest he forfeit his life. The last egg, it seemed, would not be so easily obtained.

And in the tussle of that second rejection, the lone egg had been knocked over. Now resting on it's side, oblong and ugly as the whers they became, a third apprentice approached, nervous, unsure, but wanting very much to soothe the irate queen. It was her last egg, her last precious egg, and the young woman understood that. Tried to communicate her strength and capability without further offending the queen.

It took some time and was, perhaps, the longest of all the apprentice approaches as she stood there, waiting, watching. Eventually the Queen settled and while she continued to rumble and snarl, she did not move as the last of the eggs was brushed off and drawn into the arms of the lucky apprentice. Seven eggs had found their homes, the rest would have to wait for another Run.

For the next week and a half the Apprentices could not be separated from their wher eggs. They were carefully watched and advised in the days leading up the expected hatchings. These eggs always hatched at different times, depending on how the Apprentices cared for them, and it was always a source of high spirits when the eggs cracked and yowling, temperamental wher babies rumbled along.

When the eggs began to hatch nearly a fortnight after the Apprentices presented themselves, each of the new pairs were presented to the Master Wherhandler and given the choice: to blood their wher or to trust their bond alone. Blooded whers would be allowed to work in more flexible positions due to the calming nature of a Blood Bond, those who did not would find a life in labour and the mines.