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Ren yawned along with the sleepy blue, it really was catching, that lazy need for a nap really was so infectious and after working down in the storeroom he could sympathise, wouldn’t it be nice to stretch out on the hot sands and sleep. Hmmmm. Well maybe not at the centre, that was a little too hot for human comfort, but around the edges where it was cooler, and the golden soft sands would make the pefect. But soon that little guy also impressed, constantly calling in his mind, even lowering himself to begging wasn’t working and he sighed, but there was still hope, with eggs left on the sands still ripe with such promise he still had a change if only he could have seen what was to come.

First the brown, another small cheer for another bigger dragon, so many males in this one, and a gold and a lot of browns and blues, it was a very impressive clutch in that respect,. Well apart from the unfortunate mauling but those candidates would heal and things would return to normal.

Only then another egg hatched, an egg that he would have bet on being another brown or even a bronze, but no. It was too small, a blue. And its first cry rent the air. He left out a muffled cry of his own entwining with the next exclamation of pain from the small dragon who careened towards the girls in desperate panic.

Oh shells please let him find his bonded.

But that was not to be, at least not with the girls, only more pain and loss from the blue as he turned his mad run to the boys, stumbling, screaming. And then in a flash, gone.

At First Nehren couldn’t believe it, how, how could this happen? Why surly he would have been better than the coldness of between, surly Vesyes, or anyone. There was a lump rising in his throat and a small “nooo.” of whispered denial passed his lips. The sands where in shock, that much was clear, him included. And then he felt another small pulse in the air and something small and green fled to his breast.

Glee! He should have chased her off, he knew the rules well enough but he couldn’t he didn’t have the heart right now. And He just tucked her down inside his robe so that she couldn’t be seen and was so grateful to feel the small head nuzzling under his chin and the chirps in his ear. He really held no hope at all for himself after that. He knew it wasn’t personal but his mind couldn’t help but think three failed hatchings and now a dragon would rather go between than bond with him.

He felt his eyes liquid with tears, to some extend the dragons joint sorrow must resonate within the enclosed cave, the great sorrow of the other and even Glee was projecting the feeling of weeping.

"Daddy? Daddy, where did the Blue go?" At first, Kagiya was only curious. She had never seen a dragon go between and not come back. But... as the moments passed, as time drew on, the little girl heard the keening and the wailing. "Daddy?" There was a note in the seven Turn old child's voice that was frightened, and desperate all at once. "Daddy, he'll... he'll come back. H-He... He gots to come back!" The dragons were crying. The Blue did not return. "... D-Daddy... Daddy, where'd he go!?" Kagiya wailed, sitting up in her daddy's lap, eyes bright with tears. "He will COME BACK, he... he will come back?" Her lower lip quivered. The baby wasn't coming back. She burst into frantic sobs, not fully comprehending why the baby had died. She looked around, desperate, hoping to see a light Blue dragonet somewhere on the Sands. "Di-Did he... go play?" There was a tense, shattered note to her voice, and she heard the whispers. "He's DEAD?" She cried, and cried, and cried, and he wouldn't come back ever and she cried.

The Blue was gone forever.

--

"Oh that poor baby!" Vera moaned, pressing her face into the comfort of Xeran's chest, tears streaking down her cheeks with abandon, for she could not bring herself not to mourn, not to grieve. She could hear the keening of the dragons, the wails of the little dragonets, and the piercing cry of a child. ... Who had brought a child to the Hatching? But she could not think of that, could not wonder. "I... didn't think it would happen," she confessed, before silence and sobbing took her again. She hadn't believed it could happen, despite having been warned. Oh, if only there had been a way to comfort that confused little beast. If only His had been there, if only he had not needed to quench his distress between. She was aware of Marko, and she welcomed his nearness right now. She needed both her mentors, when there was such grief, such profound grief in the Weyr.

"Balin what the hell are you doing!" Bachi shouted as he got a mouthful of cloth and the ends of his words were muffled. He'd heard the blue scream, and next thing he really knew he was being suffocated by his own brother!

Hissing under his breath, he jerked and writhed in an attempt to get away. When he was let go, his eyes went scanning. Where was the blue? Faranth, why were all the dragons screaming?

He couldn't hear himself think, but he heard a barking noise. Some older woman that made the chills go down his spine was yelling at Balin.

"What's going on!?" he asked with a loud voice at no one in particular. He certainly wasn't going to ask his brother as Balin had gone to aid his dragon.

His eyes went from person to person looking for the answer in them all. All he got was tears and anger. What had happened? Why had Balin grabbed him, and where was the blue?

It very slowly dawned on him. Little bits he'd picked up and things he'd known from the Holds. Silence fell over his lips and he choked on his next few words. "Why?" His eyes turned to the stands where others probably were.

And yes, like so many others, the anger began to burn and boil.

"No!" Santhea's strangled exclamation came out in a whisper, and her eyes swam. A sob hitched in her throat, and she clenched her fists, her wrist spiking in pain. But that did not matter compared to this pain.

The little blue had gone between. He had no friend here - how could that be, with such a large number of candidates this time round? she thought frantcially. But.. something had happened. And it would also explain the mismatched shell. A girl, someone she had seen in passing, had meddled with the eggs. She might have harmed the lovely little blue..
Kyllae was her name. Santhea wiped her eyes and looked around at the angry and sobbing faces of the other candidates.

Santhea heard the screams of the dragons and dragonets - so young to have such sorrow! - and the angry yells. "Where is she? She tampered with the eggs! She hurt them! The blue is gone, and she hurt him, so he couldn't get his friend! Where is she?!" Santhea added her own angry, passionate words to the mess, her eyes still swimming, and her teeth gritted. The two small eggs were the only thing anchoring her to the sands - anger was pulling her to find the blonde girl - the blue was gone, and it was Kyllae's fault!

Amidst all the chaos and mourning, there were still two eggs left on the sands. The Freisian Egg was rocking diligently and before long, a sturdy green broke the shell and stepped out, her hide bright and colored a very calming shade of green. She looked very focused, despite everything going on around her. Or she did, for a moment or too. Pausing in mid-step, the green glanced around and rumbled her confusion. This was very strange.

Concern growing, the green turned and headed straight for the girls. She was all business as she marched on down, crooning her slight distress as she started to look around for Hers. Something seemed wrong, here, but she couldn't figure out what.

The sounds of fear, outrage, and sorrow finally blurred into white noise that Firyal didn't really even hear. Tears filmed her eyes as she looked toward the remaining eggs, wishing as fervently as she could that nothing so horrible would befall their dragons. She would almost rather that they didn't hatch at all than see another dragonet go between. It was a blasphemous thought, of course, but the heart-rending tragedy of the blue's death was something she would not soon forget, just as she didn't think she would ever be able to forget the sound the dragons made in their grief, from the frightened keening of the newly-hatched to the eerie sounds of the adult dragons.

In the back of her mind she felt Numenor and Chance wake and reach for her, clearly as terrified as everyone else but still under their compulsion to stay put. She bit her bottom lip and clenched her fists to force herself to concentrate so that she could send the pair reassuring thoughts. This would end soon, one way or another, and then she could go back to them and they could console each other. What a nightmare this Hatching was turning out to be, she thought as the black egg began to rock. Finally a sturdy green broke forth from the shell and Firyal felt hot tears spill down her cheeks. She didn't think she could bear it if this young dragon went between, too.

Suddenly, Astarteth sat back on her haunches and keened. The little blue was gone. Not all the Candidates or the spectators in the Stands could meet it's needs in this world. Kallista sobbed, her heart heavy as the dragonet chose death. Her arms were squeezing Astarteth's neck tightly as they both mourned the loss of one of the greatest creatures on Pern.

He didn't have a chance. Something was not right from the beginning. Astarteth interjected softly. Her wings were close to her body and drooped down in sorrow.