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The keen had cleared the cavern, leaving behind an uneasy silence. Joscelin swallowed down a noise of unease. Lament seemed ... okayish, he wasn't sure the stress was good for such a worried hatching.

There was movement among the clutch and a small cowed figure slunk around the eggs. Dark, very dark and very uneasy and well it was a dragon hatchling so the eggs were still hatching even though the stillness was making the hair on the back of his arms stand on end.

And impression and that was reassuring and still just a count down. Three eggs were left, one was on the sands and Lament was high strung.

Malsalth's grey gaze watched as her newest daughter was led away. In her distress she had missed her daughter's entry into the world. The gold closed her eyes, pulling herself upright, her head slipping out of the comforting touch of Lamenting and K'rin. Looking down she rumbled at the young brown. Lamenting was still a moment, before he began to aggressively swing his head back and letting forth a high squawk. Rumbling gently, Malsalth lowered her head once again, nosing the brown towards the candidates, even as he pushed back and shrieked his refusal. The leggy brown had been pushed several feet before Malsalth pulled away again. Lamenting continued to voice his protests, but did not attempt to approach his mother again. Malsalth looked down at her son, her forelegs curling even tighter around the egg that seemed tiny in her grasp, her eyes shifting slowly to a dull, pale, blue. Finally she turned her head away from the young dragon, stretching out her neck and taking up the welcoming hum once again. Among the eggs the opalescent shell of Iridescent began to shuffle as other dragons took up humming.

Lamenting stood alone in the sands. Pushed away by his mother who still help the greys of grief in her eyes even as she sang of welcome to his siblings. The rangy hatchling called out to her, but he was ignored. The brown swung his head as he searched for an answer. He turned fully to the candidates and called out to them, shrieking and squawking over and over as he pleaded for someone to do something. Rainbows, dominated by blue, grey and yellow whirling in his eyes.

Iskosian had watched as the green was led off the sands by her rider. That had seemed to knock Malsalth out of her doldrums and into action. She had gently removed herself from the dark brown who seemed to not want to do anything more than cling to his mother. He understood, in a way, the need for and want of comfort of familiar things. Familiar people. It was scary to be away from everything that was home. He watched with eyes, almost as dark as the dragon's hide, as the dragon was pushed away from his mother and into the sands. The humming started up again, shaking him to the core. He felt, for the brown. He was pitching a temper tantrum and Isko really hoped that he would settle himself out before he got hurt.

Suddenly, a voice slammed into his head like a squall. He dropped to one knee, his mind battered as -Deldowth- crowded in with his wails. Iskosian was going to drown, to suffocate under so much pressure and pain. Huffing, he looked over to Deldowth who hadn't moved from his wailing and growled, like he was talking to his younger sibling. "Enough. You will hurt my mind before we have a chance to bond." Slowly, he got up and excused himself past others. He hadn't meant to be gruff with the young dragon but his mind was ringing from all the sorrow.

I'm sorry, Iskosian! I didn't mean to hurt you. And now you won't want me like Mother doesn't want my help. Deldowth laid down and covered himself with his long wings. The misery was practically radiating from the little brown. I have started things off all wrong! It felt to Iskosian as if the dragon was sobbing.

Iskosian sat down, uncomfortably aware that he was now in the spotlight. It was his time to shine, whether he wanted to be there or not. And this poor creature who would some day be bigger than the house he grew up in, needed him right now. He thought of his younger siblings again, called up his big brother attitude and sank down to his knees. Isko tried to pretend that there was no one else there but the two of them. Carefully, he moved one of the brown's wings and used his fingertip to push the dragon's head up so that they stared at each other. Carefully, he spoke. "Hey, hey. I'm not mad at you. This is all new to the both of us. I don't think I could be mad at you if I tried. But you have to understand, there is sadness in the world. And that's okay. But to let it hold onto you so that you can't function. That is not okay. I know everyone is hurting. It is a sad time right now; however, there is also joy. Look at us. We have each other now, right? I think, I think we can handle it."

Deldowth allowed the rainbows to dominate his eyes for a moment before burying his head into Iskosian's knees. He moved so quickly and with such force that he knocked Iskosian back onto his butt. The teen gave a laugh and rubbed the brown's head. Things would be alright, for now. For that moment. May I go eat now? Please make sure I can see everyone.

"That sounds good to me," Iskosian stood up and waited for Deldowth to stand. Nodding once, the teen and brown walked off the Sands, even as the brown continued to look at his gold mother and unhatched clutch mates.

Wow. Ok. Scratch that. The Impression of the dark green and her bonded wasn't awkward... this was awkward. Cai cringed watching the theatrics of the little brown as he threw a massive tantrum right in front of his bonded and the entire weyr. Cai... well it was lucky for the little brown that he hadn't chosen Cai. Hopefully Iskosian had the patience to handle such a creature. Cai sure as between didn't.

The humming had begun again, vibrating it's way deep into Cai's bones and with it the tension of the weyr. A brown and a handful of greens... the largest egg had yet to hatch and Cai knew many were banking on it being the gold they desperately needed... but they needed more than just a gold hatchling. They needed a gold dragon to preserve the life of the northern weyrs. That meant they needed a gold that survived, and not just to her maiden clutch as Malsalth had. They couldn't limp along one queen to the next. What the weyr needed more than a gold dragon (for the south could provide those if the plague were eradicated) what they needed was a cure!

It seemed that Iridescent would be next to hatch. The pale egg had been one of the first to begin moving and yet hadn't managed to hatch. Off to the left Enfolding and Lightning both lay still, both having remained still throughout the hatching so far. Iridescent kept up their wriggling, the egg shifting and turning in the sand, as the movements became more persistent and the hatchling struggled for freedom. Slowly cracks began to form over the surface, jagged dark lines splintering across the shell.

Given how animated Iridescent had become, nobody would be blamed for missing their sibling enter the world. Enfolding didn't move. They didn't shake, rock or even quiver. The shell seemed to bend outwards near the top for a fraction of a second, before a thick, dark, shining, tail exploded out of the egg. The motion caused the egg to split right down the middle, leaving the somewhat surprised, mammoth of a hatchling lying on their back in the shards of their egg. Emerald orbs blinked slowly up at the ceiling, before they swivelled to take in the stands, the dragons, the clutch and finally the candidates. Feet, stuck unceremoniously up in the air, flexed, the hatchling feeling the large amount of space suddenly available to them, a relief for a dragon that was as large as they were. The dragon stared at the group of youths for a long moment, damp, metallic, hide glistening. Finally the bronze gave a long, slow, stretch. Then promptly tilted sideways, thudding heavily down on his side. The newborn gave a deep sigh, sending sand shooting away from him, his gaze lazily drifting around the cavern.

That wasn't oooh. Well then. Joscelin had touched the enfolding egg, had not had time to touch the largest of them but then he hadn't expected a bronze to tumble out. Which was good, wasn't it? He was calm and rather pretty in a way.

Iridescent was still working their way into hatching, so the eggs were finding and more dragons would hatch even after all the pause in the song. It was fine. Things were alright, and still a change of a queen not matter what anyone thought and if not, well, they might have to take a chance raiding the south with ships and people to smuggle one out.







Barring the possibility that there really was nothing to be figured out - that this was all a long slow and sad dwindling, V’ko thought bitterly, and that the only thing they could cling to was the righteousness of their isolation.
She curled her hands into fists for just a moment, then forcibly relaxed them, pushing the smile back onto her face. Look good, smile, don’t spook the runners and don't let anyone know you're bitter or scared, because then they'll be both. Felaroth was right. They would figure something out, they would make this work, whatever was necessary would be done.