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With the bronze and brown hatchlings Impressed, the Sands were left empty, and the humans were all left waiting to see what egg hatched next, and what color dragon spilled out of it. Mal rocked back on his heels, taking a moment to glance at the other Candidates, and at the crowd in the Stands. Were there going to be many pauses like this? Granted, it would have been beyond chaotic for more than a couple of dragonets to share the Sands - could you imagine if they all popped out at once? - so he supposed it was for the best. Still, like most of those around him, he was anxious to see what came next...everything up until the very end, at least. The inevitable ending to this event loomed over the whole affair.

The weyrbrat smiled hugely as not only did the bronze bumble over to Impress to His, but the brown that had hatched at the same time as him cheerfully followed after to Impress as well. Dezima was happy that things were doing well with this hatching! It was hard not to feel joyful as new dragon and rider pairs were determined here today. And the sizes of the dragonets! Dezima was still in awe at how large they all were. Still not surprised, seeing as they had all known judging by the egg sizes. But actually seeing the dragons was a different story. I hope Brynja and her new lifemate are getting along great! She still couldn't wait to see her friend after the hatching! Until then, she waited anxiously to see what the next egg would reveal.

The brown's arrival at the ranks of the candidates, complete with skidding stop and halt, was nothing less than Bannen expected of him, though it was curious he'd rushed ahead all the way simply to wait for his brother. The bronze seemed to have more serious tasks in mind, paying his respects to their dying mother. Perhaps that was Bannen's first clue...

Of course, who needed clues when Impression was such an obvious thing? He'd glanced towards his brother once more to see if he could read how Kanen was taking all of this, and the look on his face--he had a moment to spare a thought on the irony of the situation, as well as a brief worry for what would happen if he was left alone on the Sands, and Kanen went on to be a rider without him, mixed with true goodwill towards his twin for whom the support of a dragon (even an old-soul, stodgy, serious one) would be much appreciated--

And then Gneisth had his say in things, with a cry of joy and another forward rush that had Bannen wondering if perhaps there might be something more than sand to worry about this time the way the brown was hurtling forward.



"Instant pick-me-up" was something of an understatement. He could feel Gneisth's cheer and eagerness, his impatience to meet the others properly out-of-shell, his strong desire to say hello to Stromath and Tyeth and Larth and all the others who'd come after...as well as a very strong desire to be fed. "We'll make sure they're grinning later," Bannen--now B'nen--promised, with a wide smile of his own. He'd make sure of it. After all, what had happened was awful, but brooding on it wasn't going to change anything! They had to live life as it came at them, and for B'nen, it seemed he'd be living life as the rider of brown Gneisth. He couldn't be more pleased.

Gneisth trilled an agreement to K'en's suggestion, nudging B'nen towards the waiting meat before stepping over towards Stromath, eyes whirling a pleased green. the brown thought towards his bronze brother, amused. He had slightly forgotten about the food himself, it was true, but it was only because he was so excited to see B'nen and got carried away a bit. He was right though; food first, humor later.

"Of course, bronzerider~" B'nen teased. Of course his twin would Impress one of the few dragons he'd gotten the idea at the Touching was absolutely not going to be interested in him. And, if he thought about it, a dragon looking for Kanen's traits like dutifulness, kindness, a certain penchant for working hard...well, yes, the dragons they'd Impressed showed their differences quite clearly in more than simply color of their hide.

Jordan glanced over at the shrug and smiled slightly at Pahlan, lightly tapping the boy with his hand without moving his arm, so that no one would notice. He'd made it, even if it had taken him a bit to get up front with Jordan. They were pretty far down one end though, so maybe he'd just had to go around the edge of the group to reach him. It was all right, though. As long as they were on the Sands, their dragons could find them. Now that he was in Jordan's line of sight, the boy realized that Pahlan's money, actually, might be made back as well. If Jordan's guessing panned out, that was. Jordan wasn't about to contradict Pahlan's generous offer of only making back double his money and leaving the rest for Jordan if they won, not with how much was riding in the pot this time.

The excitement of that had been somewhat dimmed by the death of the Weyrwoman, but Jordan hadn't known her well and it had been several days since the horrible murder. It was the murder that intrigued Jordan now, after he'd had his share of cups in which he drowned the knowledge that the woman had died and her bereft dragon was forced to stay on the Sands. That was the horrible part of all of this. The dragon that longed to die and couldn't leave yet. He looked sharply at the eggs. Why were the hatchlings waiting so long to arrive? They'd been succinct in their picks so far, but they were taking an awfully long time to hatch in the first place. The sooner they were all out, the sooner Yirath could... Jordan shook his head slightly and glanced seriously at Pahlan. Was the boy thinking of the same things, or was he distracted by the rocking eggs? They hadn't had much time to get to know one another, so Jordan was still figuring out Pahlan's personality, though he had already ascertained that, yes, Pahlan might be an option somewhere down the line if they didn't become too chummy (which was where it was looking like they were going).

Another pair of perfect Impressions, and it was all Halifanth could do to keep herself still. Her tail twitched harder, more of it moving, and she made little encouraging chirrups of noise, herself.

You can be very silly, Hali, Eliaza told her, folding her arms to lean more solidly against the green's hide. Very silly indeed.

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Cormeric nodded his approval, not that anyone was looking for it, as the brothers Impressed their dragons and led them from the sands. A good, strong clutch indeed. More good news for the Weyr in dark times. Though there might be more trouble coming, they'd handle it well, he thought, gaze turning back toward the still unhatched eggs.

Canoake was dressed as conservatively and as sensually as possible. Which meant long trailing sleeves with a tight shirt, long and layered split skirts and knee high boots. Her hair was pulled back and tamed rather than held by one of her colorful scarves. She did her best to look calm and not betray how badly Kestril's murder had shocked her system. After all, if the Weyrwoman wasn't invulnerable then who was? And with that old man missing, she didn't like the pieces of this puzzle one bit.

Spotting several riders that she knew, Canoake waved to A'nos, F'itz, K'la and Ja'syn, hoping to catch anyone's attention. She did not want to be be alone, could not be alone to let her thoughts sweep her.

You are never alone. We are together. This will pass and we will learn who did this wrong. Tatath spoke up. She was up in the heights with her clutch mates and other dragons that she was familiar with... Several browns she recognized seemed to be giving off an air of gloom and doom. Openly she spoke. This clutch will be our strength. Those wrongs will be punished and show that Benden is made of sterner material. This insult will not pass. But for now, dragons hatch and find their mates as we once did. Rejoice in that bond.

Her clever, clever Tatath, Canoake mused as she made her way to an open seat, any open seat.
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Ja'syn had settled just as the Hatching was getting underway. The dragons seemed eager to burst forth and find their mates. Looking over at Yirath, he knew how it would all end and said nothing. This was bad. This was why he believed that Benden should have stayed with the Old Ways as much as possible. Look at all the trouble caused. Missing people and a murdered woman. Shaking his head, he watched as a bronze broke out, followed by a blue. Both Impressed and then another pair. Bronze and brown. At least, in this last duty, Kestril and Yirath gave Benden strength and hope.

And looking down, he spotted his youngest sibling standing. If ever anyone was dragon material, Ja'syn believed she was... Even moreso than he had been all those Turns ago. Pride kept her back straight and a smile that he could see from here. He wished that he could shout his encouragement but all he could do was hope on Brynth's shell that she Impressed.

Of course you are for dragons, I chose you. Did I not? Brynth huffed. The brown had been moody ever since the events after the Touching. No amount of teasing or encouraging him to chase proddy greens had pulled him from this dark cloud. Things will work out for her.

Bry, do you know something? Ja'syn asked curiously, even as he spotted Canoake waving and making her way towards the riders. He moved over just in case she wanted a seat. Waiting for a response from his dragon, he got nothing.
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Analyssa stood on the Sands, the cool of the evening mixing with the heat of the Hatching. In her simple Candidate's shift, she had goosebumps from both the air and the events. Poor Yirath. This was her first and last chance to see her offspring before joining Kestril. She kept a pleasant smile on her face, trying not to let the torrent of emotions show and crack her.

She wanted to Impress, wanted to have a dragon like Ja'syn did and be one with someone who would know her so well. But looking at Yirath, it scared her to know if anything happened to her or her dragon, the other would suffer. Her stomach churned as she tried to push away those thoughts. No. Lyssa would Impress and would char Thread. She did not fool herself into thinking that she would get the gold (though she could dream!) but a dragon was a dragon not matter what the color.

Scratch that. Thanks to those ridiculous New Weyrs, Kestril was gone and those off colors were allowed to survive. After this Hatching, Benden would show its teeth. And Lyssa would do whatever she could to help with the meting out of justice but first to get through the Hatching. Taking a deep breath, she clapped lightly as two bronzes, a brown and blue Impressed almost easily to four different boys. Except the twins. She had only seen them on occasion. But for now, she had to focus on this Hatching. Shaking her head, she turned back to the other eggs and waited with bated breath.

Even with the sun beginning to set, it was a bit early for wherhandlers, or at least it was for Zhac. Even if it had been a proper late-night hatching, the handler still would have arrived with a somewhat disheveled appearance (he was clean out of respect to the event, but his hair was an awry mess the color of a brown’s rump and his working leathers were hardly flattering attire) on account of the week’s events. Ever since the weyrwoman’s death and Yirath’s ensuing bellows of grief and rage, his wher had been something of a terror. Zhask was usually a good natured wher (even too good natured, since it had taken extra training to make her of any use for guard and patrol duty), but with the chilling cries echoing deep in the stone hallways, the gold wher was as temperamental as she was with eggs. She had woken often during the day, and Zhac had gotten up several times to calm her.

It had taken several minutes, once the humming had began, to calm the gold into bedding down once more in her lair. Zhac arrived late, just as the egotistical bronze Impressed, and settled on one of the benches near the stairs – just in case. He didn’t expect there to be further trouble during the hatching, but the security breech had made talk among the wherhandlers tense, and suspicion had infected him as well. Despite the promising progress of the hatching so far, his eyes frequently strayed from the hatchlings for the queen made monstrous with hunger and grief, as well as those in the stands. Trouble could come from anywhere.