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 Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:41 pm
Pahlen was on his knees again, though he hadn't yet the presence of mind to be embarrassed. There were tears on his face and he felt, looking back at the place where Yirath had been, as if he'd lost someone important. But that wasn't right; his mother was back at Ista, likely long since asleep. She wasn't...wasn't a vast rich-smelling entity, as large as the world and as protective as the stone wall so Benden Weyr.
More, please! Demanth sang at him and without conscious will on his part, Pahlen's hands moved to pass another hank of red meat into her waiting maw. She had muscled in on the large cuts, where the Bronzes had been and was shamelessly eating pieces nearly the size of her head.
When she'd keened the Queen's death-honor, made that sound, Pahlen had startled like a deer. It was so utterly shrill coming from a smaller throat that he'd equated it to a scream before the chorus of sorrow had penetrated the lingering Impression-haze.
But Demanth had the right of it; Yirath was gone, and right now there was nothing he could do but stuff his beautiful, beloved green full of bloody red offal and continue to live. Keep going.
I itch, Demanth added to his internal monologue, greasing the slide back to a place where teeth weren't set on edge and his mind could — maybe — stop scrabbling in circles for a little while. Automatically he reached out to scratch at the exact spot, even as she tilted her head back and let a chunk of meat slide noisily down her throat, You're doing marvelously, my P'len. Don't stop.
Somehow, that made him feel much better.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:30 pm
As the queen lifted her head, eyes white with pain unfathomable, K’la dropped her gaze. She didn’t want to watch it. She couldn’t. With a pop as a rush of air filled the space once occupied by the enormous gold – Yirath was gone. K’la continued to stare at her hands, listening to her Yvoth join the other dragons in their keening song. Though she hardly stirred for the next several minutes, her dragon’s vocal mourning felt like an extension of her own. Finally her green subsided with the others, and after a pause she heard her dragon launch from her perch and wing her way to the rider’s stands. Sighing, K’la lifted herself out of the mood mentally and physically, rising with her usual dignity, crossed the sands and climbed onto Yvoth’s dragon. She wanted a few minutes alone in her weyr to change outfits and ready herself for the festivities of the hatching feast. It would be a more somber hatching than usual of course, but it would be a chance to accept the renewal of the hatchlings and-
Where are you going, dear? K’la asked, almost startled. Rather than returning her to their quarters, the green was spiraling gently towards the hatching sands, somewhat away from the remains of the shells and the empty void that Yirath had occupied.
To that pretty blue over there, Yvoth answered in a tone that, despite the recent death, was softly and perhaps determinedly cheerful. I cannot fit in the feasting hall, and I want to meet this clutch. The green rumbled greeting as she landed, rather than giving her usually boisterous roar of welcome. Hello, little one.
K’la, somewhat embarrassed by the sudden introduction, recovered quickly and offered a smile to Pectolath and Winderick as she slid easily from her dragon’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Yvoth just wanted to meet you both.” She stopped short, and her smile brightened considerably as she recognized Winderick on top of the nondescript white robe. Fingers curling in girlish delight, she came a closer and friendly distance and beamed down at them. “Oh it’s you! Let me be the first to congratulate you on Impressing. You were both wonderful!”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:39 pm
Winderick had only just wiped the tears from his eyes when a familiar green shape drifted down from the sky. Standing next to him, Pectolath watched Yvoth descent a bit warily for he was still feeling enormously protective of His. When Yvoth spoke his eyes turned a friendlier color. ”Hello, my name is Pectolath. Who are you?”
Winderick smiled weakly at K’la. The ordeal left him emotionally exhausted and then some. “Hi K’la, it’s good to see you again. And Yvoth, too. Thank you.” He seemed a little confused about what she meant by wonderful. Honestly, now that he thought about it, he didn’t think he’d done anything special.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:39 pm
She was gone. Rufet stared at the sands where the queen formerly laid, not moving even as Torsheth keened. The brown dragonet’s heart-wrenching note softened, swelling as his voice joined in song.
The dragonet stood up as Bruinth roared, nudging His. Rufet sobbed, nodding. One hand remained on Torsheth’s back, the other furiously using his damp sleeve to scrub at his eyes as they walked towards the Weyrling Barracks.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:56 pm
A'in watched as the Gold egg hatched and gasped in surprise. And here I thought you were the jokester. He rubbed Troiseth's shoudler as they both watched the new golds bonded even more with each other.
Mine, they are exactly what they are suppose to be. Our leaders. He bulged a greeting to the Golds. As soon as you find Yours, hurry over, the meat might be gone.
Tears streamed down A'in's face when Yirath sand her last song and left them. Troiseth leaned against him, giving him the support and love that seemed to be needed at the time. Even the little blue let out a cry as he felt the change in the sands.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:05 pm
Jordan's eyebrows shot straight to his hairline as the Green who had been patrolling the boys Impressed to Pahlan. Pahlan. Jordan had been right. Faranth, if only he'd put money down on that! He watched Pahlan's expression change, and then watched his almost-friend turn with his new Green and head to the food tables. Jordan's expression eased into something less open and he cast his gaze on the girls, ignoring the discomforted feeling in his gut. Yes. Done there too. Another Hatching gone by without a life partner for him.
Jordan sighed, very quietly, then looked back at Yirath. He would find a place to reflect on his own lot in life later, after the Queen had given her last farewells. After all, he wasn't really a people person anyway, was he? Pahlan moving on to better things wasn't... Shards. Jordan clenched a fist, irritated with himself. He really didn't give two mucking pails about it. Impression was never a bad thing, other than the fact that you tended to leave behind those you knew who had not Impressed. Why did that bother Jordan so much?
Yirath's death song distracted him from that.
It was beautiful, in a completely depressing sort of way, and Jordan felt his irritation and self-pity flag beneath the weight of the sound. She vanished between silently, but for the last notes of her voice ringing in the Hatching Grounds. She couldn't have planned a more haunting, memorable ending for herself if she had tried. He closed his eyes as the dragons began to hum, and then turned away, face severe as he walked off of the Hatching Sands under the ushering of the Candidate Master.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:11 pm
The green was momentarily distracted by her rider’s sudden unfeigned exuberance. What happened?
This is the boy we Searched before the last hatching, silly.
Oh. Yvoth didn’t recall any such thing, but it sounded exciting and she rustled her wings eagerly as she refocused her attention on Pectolath. I am Yvoth, she answered in a stronger voice, more excited than proud. And this is K’lamine. We brought Yours to the weyr a long time ago so he could Impress you. I liked him. She sounded approving.
K’la’s expression turned endeared and sympathetic. “You two are going to be tired by the end of the night. You’ll hear a lot more congratulations during the hatching feast, but when you get back to your new barracks again you two should have a few days to spend more time together, get to know one another. Don’t feel like you have to stay at the feast for its whole duration either. People will be up all night talking about your dragon and his clutchmates and you two will both need your rest.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:29 pm
Pectolath crooned happily. She sounded a little strange, as if she did not quite know what she was talking about, but she seemed nice anyway and he immediately took a liking to her. ”Then it is thanks to you I am alive today. No one else would do but Mine.”
“I know…” Winderick sighed. He felt even more fatigued just from thinking about it. Most of the candidates who Impressed today were people he didn’t even know by name. He supposed he would have to get to know them now. Pectolath sent him warm feelings of encouragement. He seemed excited to reunite with his clutch mates and meet their bonded. ”I am tired too, but I think you will enjoy meeting them. There will be plenty of time to get to know them better later.”
Winderick nodded in agreement. That must have looked odd. He almost scoffed at himself. Suddenly remembering something, he blinked and looked up to K’la sadly. “I wish Gale was here. She was really supportive after I failed my first Stand. I hope Squall and Fade are okay, too… my flits.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:50 pm
Eventually, Demanth's hunger lessened and she stopped nosing after him for more. He was exhausted— it had been, if nothing else, an extremely trying day, and nearly everything about his dragon's state of being echoed that, from the satisfied burps and chop-licking to the distended stomach and the drowsy, half-limp set of her wings.
Still, he looked over and saw the blue and His speaking to a green and felt a flash of envy. Pahlan— or was it P'lan now, as Demanth had called him? Everything was changing. He looked for Jordan, thought he caught a glance, but it was too busy with milling candidates and dragons both young and old. He glanced back at the greenrider and wondered how he could even begin to find a friend, now.
Why, just go and talk to them, silly! Ah, Demanth. How had he ever lived without her? Barely half an hour into their bond and already he was as besotted as a moony thirteen year old.
Maybe later, lady-love mine. I don't know about the rest of them, but I need a nap.
Another time, she'd have pried him out of his withdrawl, but for now she had shed egg and lost mother all in one minute's time and between that and the solid lump of warm weariness incarnate she was carrying in her gut, Demanth wanted to sleep just as badly as P'lan did. He let himself be ushered out, and Demanth followed at his side, crooning sweetly and never moving more than a hand's breadth away.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:54 pm
Ecstatic at the thanks, Yvoth’s eyes whirled a happy green the shade of her hide and she tossed her head. That is very good. We have to return aged-out Candidates to their holds sometimes, and Mine is always sorry for them. I’m very pleased that you found Yours. Oh! The green went slightly rigid as a thought came to her. I can show you games later, when there is more time. One of her favorite things about hatchlings was that they were usually more playful, and as such didn’t seem to grow disinterested in her company as fast as their adult counterparts. Not that she held any animosity towards her older brethren for this, but she did enjoy games, even if the little ones were too small for flying yet.
“Your flits will be fine, dear,” K’la assured knowingly. “The weyrleader’s bronze scared them all off so there wouldn’t be anymore bloodshed, so they probably went to some place they think of as safe, but he can’t keep them away from you forever. They don’t bond as strongly as dragons, but they can’t abandon those they Impress too…” K’la’s eyes fluttered as she blinked, a light manifestation to the hard tax on her brain to remember the boy’s friend. She had never been very good about remembering facts and figures without intense study, but she was very good at social situations and keeping tabs on people. “As for Gale, was that the girl from the last hatching that went to help you when you when a dragon knocked you down?” Her expression welled once more with sincere empathy. “Did she have to go home after the last hatching?” She’d seen friends return home after aging out, and it was always rather sad.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:13 pm
Games? He thought of the way his gold sisters pounced on one another when they should have been finding Their’s. That was a game, wasn’t it? Pectoleth never played a game before – how could he? – and Yvoth made it sound very appealing. He would give it a try, though it might be a little strange playing with a dragon so much bigger than him. ”That does sound like fun. Can my brothers and sisters come, too?” He wiggled a little in excitement.
“They probably went to Gale. We’ve been exchanging letters.” He smiled faintly, imagining the look on her face when Squall and Fade popped in unexpectedly. They must have caused a commotion. He wondered if her flits picked up on what frightened them. “She went to harper hall to finish her training. I hope she comes back soon. She won’t believe me when I tell her everything that’s happened.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:35 pm
Yvoth trilled with excitement. Of course! The more there are, the better the games.
K’la nodded in confirmation about the firelizards, but grinned and have a high, rich laugh when Winderick said where the girl had gone. “A harper, is it? With the firelizards sent off that hall is probably at a standstill waiting to hear what happened with the clutch. If she’s half as headstrong as any harper I’ve met, she’ll tie so many questions to your fire lizards that when they come back they’ll look like flying balls of parchment, and once she hears you’ve Impressed it’ll be even worse. Tell you what, if she walks the tables before your dragon is grown I’ll fetch her myself. Just track me down, alright?” It wasn’t a favor she would have offered to anyone, but she liked the lad – and besides, she wouldn’t mind taking a trip to the Harper Hall for herself. There was fashion, wine, and more gossip in a day than Benden could produce in a week.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:49 pm
”Your friends are very generous, Winderickmine!” Pectoleth trilled.
Winderick almost asked if K’la could take him in person, but it didn’t take him long to remember Pectoleth. He glanced at his new bonded, who looked up at him with swirling blue eyes. Pectoleth sat down with his tail curled around his legs and spread his wings. ”Do not look sad. When I am grown we can go where ever we want.”
That gave Winderick an idea. He looked to K’la. “I will, thank you. There's something else I want to ask. How would I go about becoming a Searchrider?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:23 pm
Her lips curled into a smile as the first of the twins found hers. Some part of the weyrbrat was glad to see the Gold Impress. It would have been beyond terrible if one didn't Impress while the other did. Still, the other Gold hadn't seemed to find Hers yet. Patience. She scolded herself. And, after cheering to her sister in congratulations, the second Gold found Hers as well. Dezima gave a small - and silent - whoop that the two Queens had found Theirs. Twin Golds! This one would probably go down in the history ballads that Harpers would sing of for turns to come!
Twins now Impressed, Dezima let her gaze drift back to the two greens that were the last ones of the clutch left. One was moving among the ranks of boys while the other maneuvered through the girls. It was rather amusing to watch, she had to admit. Where the green on the boys' side seemed to calmly find Hers, the green on their side was...searching. Or exploring. One of the two. Dezima wasn't quite sure which. But the green was just having a grand time, that was for sure!
And before she realized it, there was a dragonet stopped at her feet. Dezima went to move to step out of the way, but the green looked up at her and...smiled! A lovely thing that the weyrbrat would melt for. And those whirling, excited eyes were so gorgeous!
Right. Dezimamine, join your Microth in exploring! There is much to see!
Dezima laughed. There was no better reaction but to laugh as the green - Microth, lowered her head back to the sands like a canine on to something exciting. Ohshards! Had...she...Of course! I am your Microth. You are my Dezima. A draconic sound that could be nothing other than a giggle escaped the green, tail swishing as she glanced around a paw at Hers. Laughing again, Dezima didn't hesitate in following her new bondmate. Friend. Hers. Her dragon! She felt giddy, something that was almost mirrored by the cheerful green beside her. "Yes. I am yours. And you are mine. We will be an awesome pair!"
Let's follow this trail towards the food! I am hungry, but this is so much fun! Said 'trail' was footprints from one of her siblings. Dezima giggled and happily followed along towards the table with pieces of meat. Microth had chosen her! And they were totally going to have many fun adventures together, Dezima just knew it!
As they reached the food tables, a new sound drew both greend dragon and weyrbrat's attention. Something within Dezima squeezed hearing that sound. With the last of the hatchlings Impressed, Yirath could finally ease her suffering. Her hand fell to the green head that nuzzled against her side, liquid threatening to fall down her cheeks. Do not be sad, Dezimamine! Mother made sure we all found Ours so she could leave with pride. Microth continued to nuzzle Hers, nudging her towards the food. Come! Let us honor Mother by becoming an awesome pair for her to feel proud of!
Grinning and feeling a little better, but still holding the grief that would haunt the Weyr for a while, Dezima nodded. "You are right. Come! We should feed that tummy of yours up." Together, the newly bonded pair joined the other pairs of bonded riders and dragons.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:31 pm
K’la blinked, now taken aback rather than just thinking. “Well… Searchriders usually show sensitivity about identifying good candidates. Yvoth did a good job of picking you, so don’t take this the wrong way, but we normally don’t do so well. Usually she doesn’t find anyone, or if she does we have to return them to their Holds after the next hatching, or a few turns later when they age out or give up. Candidates have a low chance to Impress, so we don’t have bad odds compared to others, but Yvoth isn’t a proper Search dragon. Those of us in normal wings will ride Search before hatchings to bolster numbers if they’re needed and it doesn’t interfere with our regular duties, but there’s not real training for a dragon to become better at Searching. Some pairings are just better suited for it. Why do you ask?”
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