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 Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:07 pm
Prisoner Candidate Blyte Wasn't he lovely. Blyte watched the grey, frowning a bit as he mauled the candidates, but they had been warned, and he suspected that some of the audience was probably enjoying watching the candidates get mauled. He was, even if he shouldn't be, and he grinned. That one was dangerous, but really, who wasn't. The green still hadn't chosen, and the fact that the Socialite egg appeared to be a gold didn't really phase him. All that meant was that she was rather unlikely to pick him. Might be amusing if she did. Still, he'd rather have the new little beast than even a gold, and it would be interesting to see just who he impressed to.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:12 pm
Marue's heart leapt as the Noisy Sociolite began to hatch, oh she hoped, she hoped! And then she caught glimpse of the dragon's hide..Gold? Marue's face broke into a smile. She might have gone into a tirade about how she knew quality when she saw it, how she knew that egg had been something special, but her elation was cut short. The girl hadn't even seen the little hunter hatch. Hadn't even noticed the gray dragon barreling toward her, but shards did she hear the scream. The only thing that might have drowned out that sound was another blood curdling scream. It took Marue a moment to realize that it had been her own. The claws sliced through her flesh and robe as if they were made of warm butter, and her vision went white with pain. She flopped like a rag doll as the dragon twisted to free itself, her screams settling into a gutwrenching sound that had no real name. In a flash it was over, the dragon had moved on, and Marue laid limp in the sands. She rolled onto her chest, arms shaking as he lifted herself. Oh shards, she didn't want to look. Oh shards. So much boiled through her mind that she could hardly piece together what had happened. She desperately clawed at the sands, away from the terrible beast. She moved with a desperate drunkenness, green eyes wide with fear as she bled into the sands.
Rokana could only watch as the gray dragon tore through the candidates. First a healer. Then that girl Marue, and another face he didn't know. The guard gritted his teeth and held his ground. That egg had been a snarky, mean little creautre, and his pride would not let him run from it. Then again, it helped that he wasn't directly in its path, either.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:13 pm
Shards and s**t!! Canoake watched as not one but two eggs were working hard to crack. The green was still on the Sands glaring when suddenly one dragon completely hatched out while another peeked out. Canoake definitely saw a gold glisten... Or she thought she did. But was that...
A gray dragon?
Mauling candidates?
While it didn't claw anyone she knew, Canoake winced at how angry and vicious the dragon was acting. Then again, if she hadn't been expected to hatch and came out an interesting color, she might be pissed as well. So gold plus blue equaled gray. Now more fascinated than anything, Canoake could only watch the chaos as it happened.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:29 pm
No. Oh no. No!
Bereck had started to register that the dragon was a strange colour but all thoughts about it were swept away by what it had done. As the beast charged onward he rushed over to Ralvyn and dropped to his knees beside the young healer.
From there instinct and many many turns of practice took over, pushed his panic at seeing somebody he worked with and cared about wounded. His hands worked more or less on auto pilot, grabbing what he needed from his bag and setting to work at stopping the initial bleeding so that he could be moved to the edge off the sands, or off them altogether.
There was another candidate wounded already - two? - but he had his hands full here, and there were other healers. For now he needed to focus on the patient he had and trust that others would go to the other victims.
--------------
Halith was gulping down a fourth chunk of meat when the commotion started. The solid green wheeled about, eyes blazing red and bellowed... or tried to bellow; what came out was the same 'eep eeep eeep!' as before albeit with a different edge to it.
Hiemal took in a sharp breath as her rage rolled over him. It was a cold feeling, much like his own anger but far more potent and coupled with a sense of wrong. Justice. His dragon believed in justice more than he had believed in anything his entire life. Science didn't count, you couldn't believe in science because it could not be disputed... and so his bondmate seemed to feel about what was right and what was wrong.
With another strange cry the green bolted away from the feeding tables, heading back towards the candidates and the furious grey. She did not plan to attack her sibling but she would get between it and innocent candidates if it was necessary, if she could.
For a few moments Hiemal stood reeling from the surge of feeling that rushed through his mind like a storm swollen torrent, but as Haliath took off he regained his own senses. For the first time in a long time he found himself afraid, but not for himself. "Haliath come back!"
She could feel her rider's mind turning to what could happen if the grey got its claws into her but Haliath had other priorities right now. right! I cannot let any others be harmed!>
Well if she wouldn't listen to sense-
Hiemal charged after his dragon, sprung at her, and tackled her to the ground.
right is more important than any of us!> the hatchling exclaimed, struggling to break free but newly hatched and only partially fed she didn't have the strength to shake off her determined bondmate.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:36 pm
Stella and Stelask
She might not know much about dragons, but gray was not a color she ever heard of. Stella wasn't foolish enough to believe the small hatching was a very dirty white either. Whites were rare but from what she had heard they were sickly things. This hatching was anything but ill... she frowned as it mauled the candidates, hitting three in quick succession but it wasn't her place to interfere. Sometimes hatchings either dragon or wher's came out of the shell angry.
Stelask gave a rumbling noise, watching the gray ball of fury in interested. She rumbled, sending her bond partner glee as the scent of blood hit her nostrils. Hunt, tackle, maul... hunter. The green wher could appreciate a little hunter.
---------------------------------
Saain
Gold? Saain remembered that egg and she had never consider a gold. She looked over the golden melody egg and then back to the noisy socialite. Well, that was curious, it seemed the gold had pulled a fast one on all of them. She smiled faintly, wishing to urge the little one into hatching and then that egg broke.
The one that wanted to maul her face. Saain paused, lifting a brow as she realized that yes, that hatching was indeed gray. Healthy considering the rampage it was going on, which didn't speak much of it mental stability but then it had been an belligerent egg. Shards and shells.
She winced and pressed her lips before slowly and steady approaching Marue as the girl shrieked about as if she was dying. As much as she could tell, the hatching hadn't hit anything vital but with the way she was carrying on.
Saain sighed and frowning as she knelt by the girl. "Shut your mouth girl and stay still before you attract it back." Predatory, the girl was bleeding and flailing like a wounded calf. "You are not dying." At least not at the moment. Saain reach to undo Marue's sash, planning to use the red free fabric to make a pressure bandage.
------------------------------------------
Joscelin
A gold? He remembered the noisy socialite and the screaming noise and need coming from the egg. Well, that explained a bit. Joscelin glanced at the golden melody egg and wondered what was within it's shell. He never heard of two queens in a clutch, specially one not this small.
Voids and shells... what was that little monster? He had been warn hatchings could be vicious but the gray?- tiny and ferocious had mauled three candidates in perhaps two minutes. Joscelin kept still, lips pressed tight and eyes on the gray as it skittered about screaming. Find your and leave mr. gray.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:45 pm
Lin
When the first of the bird's egg coloured eggs (the angry one) began to move, Lin stood up on her toes in anticipation. She'd already missed both the first green's impression and the brief flash of gold (although she was not aware of that yet), she did not want to miss this. Even if it was the egg that felt like it slapped her in the face, she was still drawn to its small size and muted colors. She wanted to know what was within.
The shell was breaking. She strained her neck to see. It was dim, it wasn't colorful, it was.. grey. Lin tapped her finger on her chin. Was that a color dragons normally were? She tried to remember. It certainly wasn't a color she had ever seen before. But then again, between her not knowing something, and something not existing that was standing right there before her, she usually bet on her own ignorance. Okay.. grey. Now.. what gender was that again? She didn't know. She only knew that green and golds were female, so maybe male?
At first when she saw it move towards someone, she thought it had already impressed. Not so! It sunk its teeth into the boy. Then again. And again. "Oh my-" Lin clapped her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming. What the- Why would it do that?! She knew people got mauled in hatching, but she thought those were mostly accidental.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:55 pm
Despite what anyone thought, M'onk approved. What could anyone expect from a Gold and a Blue save for some greens, perhaps a blue, some duds? He had all of his expectations met in those two first hatchings and the green Impressing to a prisoner?
It just meant one day he could order V'tyai to cripple them. For a man that had no issue against ordering children to watch a broken woman mourn her soul mate, he found that thought quite comforting.
Though Noisy Socialite... His smile did not dim, though his hand on the cane tightened. M'onk watched that patch of yellow appear with the same cheerful expression he did at the earlier greens, ugly and screaming as they were. At the gray... He twitched. M'onk's chin rose a notch, small dark eyes widening before narrowing into slis. His mouth smiled. His eyes did not.
It began to maul, even putting a perfectly normal green in danger. His smile showed teeth.
The old man raised his hand slightly to catch a brownriders attention. When he had it, he kept the stoic mans gaze, allowed his smile to fade, and nodded once.
Burrowing Owl owl green shrieked and hopped further away from her mauling gray sibling. She snapped and clawed when he came too near to her, teeth bared and spitting. The ugly little hatchling leaped in front of her bonded, screaming a challenge outloud to the smaller mauling hatching.
It's then she spoke to her bonded.
Jaykkial! Stand behind your Atheth before I rip his throat out!
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:03 pm
So far, the Hatching proceeded exactly as it should have. Two little Greens hatched, one looking a bit wilder than the other.
Was that a glint of Gold? At the top of the Stands, Taavi squinted and tried to get a better look at the socialite egg, swearing that he just saw a little golden sparkle. But, come on. Everyone knew that gold eggs were exactly what it said on the shell: they were gold an... then again... Everyone also knows that Blues can't catch Golds, he reminded himself. This was no ordinary clutch. Again, he looked towards Stella and her green wher. Even with Gus sleepily curling in the back of his mind, Taavi found he missed the gargantuan Brown.
Juuuust when Taavi was beginning to wish that he'd brought Gus along, he was reminded why he hadn't. Reminded very violently, in fact, as an egg split open to reveal a rather odd-looking Brown. If he didn't know better, he would've... would've...
The color didn't matter. What did matter was the sudden sharp splatter of blood across the Sands as the little creature brought down three Candidates in quick succession. By all signs, it wasn't even finished.
~.~
Another egg cracked open, another Green crawled onto the Sands. Unlike her sister, she wasn't a dappled beauty. Nope, she was a rather mottled looking thing, like she'd been pieced together from bits of her victims. The fact that her eyes were flecked with red and orange certainly didn't help. Shards... Meera really wished that they had some sort of a weapon here, especially when the Green hissed like a kettle with far too much steam.
She was aware of another egg starting to crack. She was even aware of the murmurs of 'Gold?' and 'How is that a Gold?' and 'If that's a Gold, what's in that other egg...?'. They simply didn't register as important because, unlike the rumored Gold, this little Green was right there and still hissing indignantly.
But even the Green quickly become unimportant quickly. The Little Hunter egg hatched.
It apparently hatched into fury and screamed at a few Candidates. In the space of a blink, the grey-----it was definitely grey, right? Not just white that had gotten a bit grubby----took down three Candidates. Ralvyn. He was just a kid...
And the Grey didn't seem over yet.
~.~
The Hatching couldn't stay peaceful forever. Leevi frowned as a Green hatched, eyes swirling red and orange with only the occasional spot of blue. That, and the darkling hiss, didn't bode well for those on the Sands. The hiss was the audible equivalent of a shortening fuse. Hopefully, she'd find hers quickly...
The socialite egg cracked again, temporarily revealing a golden claw for just a second. Gold? But surely that wasn't...
…
Leevi barely stopped himself before he thought of the word 'possible'. After all, this was a clutch sired by a Blue and laid by a crippled Gold.
Who was to say what was possible or not?
One of the tiniest eggs in the clutch hatched next. Or maybe 'hatch' wasn't an appropriate word. 'Exploded' was more like it. It continued to explode for a little while afterwards, rampaging at the Candidates and taking down three.
Grey. It was very definitely a color not seen before.
Normally, that would have delighted the mindhealer.
Normally, he would have been very excited.
But, normally, there weren't three people on the Sands bleeding.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:11 pm
It was lucky for Ralvyn – very lucky – that he’d thought to curl up into a ball and shield his face with one arm when the grey hatchling had bowled him to the ground with violent intent. He was torn up from claws, a nasty deep bite wound on his shoulder, and another that tore across the arm thrown in front of his face. A few jagged cuts on his forehead and temple were bleeding profusely, as head wounds tend to, but were overall shallow.
He lay quite still, only daring to open his eyes again (lest he see claws heading towards them) when he felt a familiar steady hand. “Masterhealer…?”
------
C’ross saw the grey hatch, but he did not move at first. He stood as he had since the beginning: crossbow held securely with his finger off the trigger, the weapon angled downwards. (None could fault C’ross for his trigger discipline, at the very least. There would be no accidental shootings on the sands, thank you.) And even when it lunged at the healer apprentice who’d tried to approach it – damn fool – C’ross hesitated.
He looked to M’onk. M’onk lifted a hand and nodded. It was a subtle gesture, but an unmistakable one. C’ross broke the Warden’s gaze, closed his eyes for a moment, drew in a deep breath, and leveled on the hatchling with steady hands.
He felt the weight of the weapon in his hands and the weight of Merceth behind him, the brown fully aware of what would be done. What must be done.
The brownrider spoke a silent thank you to Hiemal for having the good sense to pin his dragon down and keep her out of melee range. At least he would have a clean shot.
Merceth roared, a sound that blazed like thunder across the chaotic sands. The Kestrel turned, screaming, and pulled away from its prey to face its new challenger – as C’ross knew it would. It turned a murderous whirling-red eye on him, and C’ross put a bolt through it. Fast and clean.
Blink. The grey was gone into the dark of between.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:44 pm
Thank shards Ralvyn was still conscious, and that the dragon hadn't sunk its teeth into his neck as he had feared. The rest of the drama whirling around him was completely tuned out, even the death of the grey dragon and Berath's wail of distress didn't resister. Bereck had gone into his own little world where only thing that mattered was his patient.
"Stay still boy," Bereck instructed, keeping his voice firm and calm for the apprentice despite the fear still rolling in the pit of his stomach. "You'll be fine; deep breaths for me and stay calm," he continued as he worked on binding the lacerations. The sooner he could get him out of here and then properly cleaned up then sewn up the better.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:45 pm
Prisoner Candidate Blyte who is very angry at the moment. XD Blyte shot a glare at M'onk, but restrained himself from doing anything more. What had been the point of letting them stand if they were only going to shot them! All hatchlings were dangerous until they found theirs, even if the greens had been rather docile, and he didn't see the point. Well, he did, but that didn't make him any less angry. He could pummel the man, and his tame brownrider who had actually done the deed. He wouldn't, but he could certainly want to. He clenched his hands into fists, taking deep breaths. Angry would not help him at the moment, and he had no intentions on getting himself kicked off of the sands. He. was. not. going to give M'onk that pleasure. Afterwards though, if he hadn't impressed, well, that'd be different.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:46 pm
Revrend and Resk
Revrend shifted, catching sight of metal glinting and turned. No.. they, he did. She pressed her lips tight as the hatching screamed one last time and blinked between. She didn't move from her spot, instead she tipped her head to look out over the candidates, hand resting on her wher as the bronze became restless from the blood smells. It was not her place to interfere unless one of the candidates tried something stupid.
She glanced over to her life partner and gave a soft sound, leaning against the smaller woman for comfort as Stella took the few steps towards her. She was not going to blame M'onk for something she would have done, culling was painful but at times it needed to be done among the newly hatch wher's. Mainly for the sick, deformed, weak, but occasionally because they to aggressive to let live. Revrend sighed, taking comfort in her lover.
Not their place.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:56 pm
Canaoke watched as the mottled green hopped towards another candidate, a girl this time. Hissing angrily and screaming a challenge. Personally, Canoake was cheering the little gray on. She had remembered touching its egg and had remembered it being angry at being counted out.
The journeyman weaver almost wanted to go to the gray, to try to calm it or perhaps egg it on. Maybe it could shred M'onk for her or at least, scare him a little. Then something happened. Something dreadful that almost made Canoake snap. But she managed to bite her tongue for now. The brown of that stupid puppet rider roared a challenge to the little gray. Why would it do that? Canoake took a step forward, wanting to challenge back. But instead, she watched, helplessly as the gray was shot down.
She had told Leevi that maybe it would be better if the little ones died before finding theirs and then dying. That perhaps the suffering would be less. Canoake had to bite her cheek to bring herself out of shock. She had been wrong. Very very wrong. And there was something very wrong with M'onk. She was positive now. Clenching her fists, she stared at the Warden, promising mental retribution for later. She would find a way, she always did.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 4:58 pm
Marue pushed herself to a seated position in the sands. Dry sobs worked their way out of her as she tried to catch her breath. The girl looked up just in time to see the grey shot, and then gone. Little Heathen. The girl looked down at her bleeding legs, head swimming. She bunched her robes, and pressed them to the bleeding wounds as they stung with sand. She couldn't leave yet, besides, she was just a prisoner. None of the healers seemed to be rushing to her aid any how. The sobs subsided into ragged breaths, and the girl's eyes squeezed shut. Stupid, stupid little heathen.
Rokana watched in shock as the gray was put down. He hadn't liked the little dragon from the moment he'd touched its egg, but the guard still felt a pang of pity for the creature. So unique, and snuffed out so quickly. Too dangerous to live, but certainly uniqueness wasn't enough to keep it alive. Certainly not under M'onk's rule, at least. He didn't know much about dragons, but to kill a hatchling? He'd heard of numerous maulings at hatchings. It wasn't commonplace, but it certainly happened. Couldn't it have been allowed to live, and find its bonded? While he understood the actions, something about them struck wrong to him. That shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened, not like that.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 5:07 pm
It happened so quickly. One moment there was this snarling hatchling on the Sands and then it was gone. Just vanished between, leaving only the smallest bits of ichor.
C'ross was a very good shot.
Gus roiled in the back of Taavi's mind, briefly awoken by the ichor on the air. But, if there was no body, the wher wasn't interested. The hatchling was dead. The wher went back to sleep in his quarters, content or at least the closest he could get to 'content'.
Taavi was not content. He was... shards, he wasn't sure. Sure, it... look, it happened with whers, sometimes. Sometimes a wher was just too wild to bond. Soo... did that happen to dragons too? He looked around until he saw V'tyai once more.
~.~
Meera tried not to get attached to the newborn sheep. Sometimes, they just didn't make it. Sometimes, one was just born wrong, with lungs that weren't fully developed or were just plain sickly.
Sometimes, it was safer to just let them die in peace, by the warmth of their mother and a soothing hand.
Or dogs. Sometimes, a dog was just born rabid. Not actually diseased, but simply frothing at the brain and mind. Couldn't be trained, couldn't be handled, and was a threat to everything around it. They had to die.
She just... hadn't thought dragons could be like that too...
~.~
Leevi stared numbly at the spot where the little Grey had once stood. No. That... that wasn't right. Hatchlings mauled. It was what they did. Of course, not all of them did, but some did. And they always calmed down once they found their person and were never a threat again.
In fact, the Grey wasn't even the most dangerous hatchling Leevi had ever witnessed. There had been deaths on the Sands and they were allowed to live and bond.
The hatchling had been fierce and proud, a true individual. His----or possibly her----parents had defied the odds and the little egg strove to survive only to be shot down and for what? For... well... doing what hatchlings did.
If Leevi could hear Canoake's thoughts, he wouldn't have been pleased. It was a purely Pyrrhic victory that left only ashes in Leevi's mind and heart.
Warden's was not a place for soft souls.
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