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Aww, there was a little flit! A scared little fl-

AND A HUGE TUNNELSNAKE. Iafri shrieked, unable to stifle the horror and fear, and for a moment let go of Kalania. It was a mistake. In all the chaos, she was jostled around and lost track of Kala completely. Oh no. Oh no! Now not only was there a giant tunnelsnake on the loose, she was alone. Iafri tried to look for her friend, but it was nearly impossible, and she was forced to run or be trampled.

Hoping they might provide some protection, she fled towards the dragons.

That hadn't worked. With the actual appearance of the huge tunnelsnake, pandemonium broke out, and even as big as he could, Adetsu knew he couldn't hold his ground. Part of him said to run for it, just run from the hatching grounds completely, forget about the whole thing.

Another part, the stubborn part, the part that made decisions and never, never, never let them go (witness his continuing love for Exrin), was not quite so willing to flee. He had come here to impress. He wasn't leaving until one of those sharding dragons picked him. Or picked Kaeyne. That'd work too. That first, actually.

Fine. They'd come for eggs. That's where they'd go! And anyway, that's where the gold was, right? Seemed like being close to her would be a safe bet.

Stepping forward so his back was no longer against Kaeyne, he clutched his basket (not so bright now, but at least Kaeyne hadn't had a chance to follow his example), and with his free hand, grabbed Kaeyne and pulled. Using his size to push through the crowd as necessary, he ran toward the eggs, preferring the dangers of young dragons to the dangers of possibly poisonous, firelizard eating tunnelsnakes.

And, queen. Nearby.

It'd be okay.

As short as Kellon was, she completely missed the view of the green firelizard as it scrambled atop one of the eggs, and instead saw only the backs of those in front of her. She did hear their murmurs, however, and did her best to peek above the shoulders of the other Candidates pressed around her to catch a peek at the firelizard. Why the shards was a flit on the hatching grounds? Whomever she belonged to would get a tongue lashing later, no doubt. But that's what they deserved for being such an idiot and allowing their stupid little pet to come near the eg-

Her thought stream was interrupted by the cry of the flit, and the screams of the girls around her very shortly after. She had no idea what was happening until the unmistakable silhouette of a tunnelsnake, as large as the ones at the Touching, passed to her side and relatively close to the group. Panic erupted around her, and Kellon felt fear grip her own heart. The tunnelsnakes had killed a guard! They could very well kill her too! Bodies bumped into her as the Candidates fled every which way, and the girl also began to move before she was trampled by those rushing around here.

She turned a heel and headed towards the healers and feeding tables, and away from the eggs. It seemed the majority of the Candidates were going towards the clutch, and why? Hadn't the tunnelsnake come from that way? Then it made sense to go the opposite shardin' direction! Not to mention the healers would be very close by in case she did get injured. Would a freakin' hatchling dragon be able to heal her if she was bitten by a poisonous tunnelsnake? Hell no. For the moment, she was quite content to be as far away from the eggs as possible, Impression be damned.

Mairin had rocked back on her heels at the appearance of the tunnel snake. This was worse than the attack during the touching, it had been day then and even with people panicked it had been easier and safer to maneuver through the crowd. This was pretty much just a ********. There were too many bodies, too many voices and no clear directives for anyone to follow.

Common sense told the girl to move, staying still would get her trampled or attacked by the tunnelsnake that had of course come right towards the girls. Fighting the crowd to get across the hatching grounds and near the regular rider's dragons and Whers was going to be too much of a hassle and tall and solid as she was Mairin risked being knocked down in the mob. Going to the right was not an option right now.

Instead she darted forwards towards the mass of eggs the tunnelsnake had lurked by. It was sort of her responsibility to try and protect them or at least that's what she told herself. There was also the fact that Mairin was positive the queen would start moving soon and there was no way even a huge tunnelsnake would risk attacking that right? It wasn't like the gold had known the tunnelsnake had been there right?

Though what she'd do if the eggs began to hatch and the dragonets tried to search for Theirs Mairin didn't know. Restraining them could send them between but they faced likely death if they went too far out in the open as well.

For all that this was a scene of panic and potential tragedy Mairin's blood thrummed with excitement, her body not able to differentiate between manufactured adrenaline and that which was genuine. Her hands were clenched into tight firsts though as she pulled herself up in front on the center of the clutch. She wanted to be near the eggs but not actually within the group of them.

If there was one thing Vessali knew, even while parts of his brain were full of terrified white noise, it was that dragons didn't let people get hurt. When the other candidates broke and ran, he spotted Sammis again and charged for the smaller boy.

He caught up, got a hand fisted in the back of his robe, and pulled and propelled him toward the wingleaders and the space around the gold. Yes, that meant that they had to veer by the eggs, but better there than fumbling around and tripping over others in the dark.

A good Whitemaster had some key traits: they were knowledgeable with their dragon and had the ability to pass on that knowledge in a way that would serve the students well later.

A great Whitemaster, however, had more than that; a great one could remain rock solid at all times.

It was almost silly to say what was and wasn't part of the puzzle that pieced together the spitting image of a "perfect" Whitemaster when, so far, J'aro had been the only Whitemaster; there was no one else to compare to him because there was no one else to compare him against.

He felt, given he was the one and only, it was also part of his job to decide how well he did said job. Normally, he deserved a lot of credit, but he should have known better than to rush into the crowd of reckless candidates.

"ROXYN?!"

An unmistakable wail among many. By some miracle, he would find him damaged, but not dead. Thank Farnath he wasn't dead. J'aro paled at the thought of it as he fast approached the lad, embracing him by the shoulders. (Which was stupid, really, to do in the midst of a riot. He noted this a second later and stopped.)

"Shh, it's all right." No sooner had he lifted the boy up like a bloodied bride than his father shoved his way through mess and against the odds. Not far behind was Arisa, the boy's beloved, lifelong friend. J'aro knew the value of this friendship; he had one he treasured just like it.

To that very friend he handed Roxyn; to that friend he handed him his son.

After that, he was gone, vanishing into the sea of people.

Shards and shells! R'xen swore under his breath as he pulled himself to his feet, the arrival of the tunnel snake only serving to agitate the man further. The candidates out there were in danger! And all because they couldn't hunt some damned tunnel snakes! Panic in the Sands was no good for anybody and the whiterider could only watch as even more glowbaskets were dropped, glows scattering everywhere as the candidates fled for their lives. There was going to be deaths; oh the guards would have to come out here come the end of the hatchlings and try to find the mangled bodies of those poor candidates not quick enough on their feet. R'xen's fingers dug almost painfully into the railing. Roxyn was out there somewhere. Screw tradition rules, there were no dragons out to interfere with and he needed to save his boy!

Before he could call his son's name, however, a loud and very familiar wail echoed into the night. It made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle and he could feel Noladenth's presence stirring against his mind. He pushed her away instantly as he vaulted over the railing, Arisa only seconds behind him. Idly he knew he should have told the girl to stay back but he was more worried about his son. J'aro's voice only spurred the man into motion, R'xen putting on his Game Face and shoving his way through the panicked crowd. A man of the whiterider's girth was not going to be easy to ignore, though that didn't stop several candidates from running into him in their terror. He did his best to ignore them, pushing his way towards the sound of J'aro's voice.

By the time he got there, the Whitemaster had already lifted Roxyn up off of the ground, holding his son in a manner that made R'xen pale. "J'aro..." The whiterider started, his friend's name leaving his lips almost like a prayer. J'aro, however, simply handed Roxyn to him wordlessly and disappeared back into the crowd. Making a mental note to thank him generously later, R'xen shifted his son in his arms and started back the way he'd came, careful to guide Arisa with him.