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 Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 12:09 pm
Zarike chewed on his lip. Peth seemed content for the moment, but Zarike could feel the brown's desire to reach his clutchmates. The weyrling glanced towards the feeding tables and regretted not thinking of waiting over there but it was too late now. That was on the other side of the Sands from them and he wasn't about to cross the entrance just to get to it in the middle of everything.
He could be glad he and Peth weren't out there though, even after the violent green finished her fight and Impressed. He couldn't imagine what might have happened should Peth have hatched with the rest of them and been attacked. What if he'd gone into a fit and couldn't defend himself? That... was a forboding thought for the future. Zarike pushed it quickly out of his mind. Peth was fine. He was healthy and just fine.
The newest blue though... The way he stumbled and fell reminded Zarike painfully of the way Peth had had to be helped to his feet initially. Would Hiraeth step in again this time if the little blue couldn't do it himself... Zarike refused to think of the chance that the blue, or any of the small clutch, might between.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 12:34 pm
Shylla turned her head back to Venk, listening with an empathetic tilt to her brow. It was disheartening to see the Weyrmaster without his usual warmth, to see the years beginning to wear him down. She'd known of the other goldriders when she was young, but it had been Hiraeth who clutched her Evmeth, and Venk to tutor her while the rest of the world crumbled. The pair had been her only true example to model being a goldrider from, and Shylla had learned most everything from following Venk's steady lead.
"Jess is clever, and she's got a better head for politics than I do," Shylla nodded, considering their options. "I don't know if she'll want it anymore than you did, though, with her career in healercraft on the line." She laughed weakly, glancing to the throng of riders in the stands. "Furthermore, I don't know if they'll even want me stepping in, all things considered, but..."
Shylla sighed, leaning in on Venk's shoulder. "If you'll show me the ropes, I'll do whatever I can for High Reaches." A pause. "For you, too."
-----------------------------------
Alcine had been kneeling down to reach for Yevalee, poised to bear part of his weight the way Seytev and Bakarn had carried the master healer out of the Touching. She'd been thinking on the cleanest path to the healer's cots, on whether it would be better to keep the boy still, on vaguely how deep his gashes looked. They would have herbs at the cots, and bandages, and if they had any wits about them the salves would already be prepared--
Of course, all of her mental listing vanished when she buckled again, pulled away by an unseen force. She hit the sands hard, something tugging at her tunic, and she did her best to tumble away before something turned her into mush like Yevalee. However, her tether held her strong despite her thrashing, and with it can a deep rumble of a voice.
When Alcine uncurled from her defensive ball, her wide eyes met the rainbow hue of the large green, the one who'd been making all the fuss.
"Your Leoth..." she stammered slowly under her breath, taking in the new sensation of her bond. With one shaking hand, she reached up and touched the tip of the pale green's muzzle, watching as her vibrant eyes settled on a bright blue.
The green nudged Alcine, rolling her to her feet, and began to lead her away from the discarded scratch mat that had been Yevalee. For once in her life, the events surrounding Alcine didn't seem to have much importance, and she let the other hatchings move about unnoticed as she began to move the green towards the feeding stalls.Flapping my mouth...? Alcine asked, still mostly in a daze.
Leoth tapped Alcine forward at the small of her back, then let out a series of squawks as she gnashed her jaws open and closed.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 12:37 pm
“I hope so” Aeglentine said, her mouth curved unhappily. Babies died so easily, even ones that looked healthy when they were born: was the same thing true for dragons? And a dead dragon didn’t just mean a dead dragon, it meant… well, everything that went with it, and she knew she was working herself up a little but… but those were people she’d ate with and slept with and… and she didn’t want to see them hurt like that, not that she’d seen it but they’d all been told so bluntly coming in what it might mean and… “At least no-one’s dead, I guess?”
She resisted the urge to sniffle. She wasn’t hurt.
—
“I can’t tell” L'ris shook her head, peering down at the sands. “He’s a cutie, though. Looks like he could be your Mal’s get, with those spots! Sure he didn’t sneak into the flight?” She elbowed C’tis gently in the ribs, trying to lighten the mood.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 1:06 pm
Venk's response was a tight smile and a small nod. "Thank you," he murmured softly, giving Shylla's hand a small squeeze, "for everything... and it's not their decision. As tradition dictates I can arrange it however I see fit." Weyrmaster, or Mistress, might be mainly a title and a set of fancy quarters but it made you a figurehead to the outside world too - got you invited to all sorts of gatherings - and... well, over the coming months he would just have to decide who to inflect that fate upon.
“Preep!” Ettiquette said happily, rubbing her nose enthusiastically against his fingers, paws scuffing the sand. She turned to take stock of the rest of the scene, tail brushing Keralder’s ankles as she looked around.
off. They are perfect, and your Ellioth will be very disappointed in you if you are cruel to them. Well, if anyone at all is cruel to them, for it shows rather poor moral character, and they do not deserve to have their feelings hurt. It is all so disagreeable! Come, though: there can be no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison as with we two. I am rather hungry, darling, and I wish to eat before there’s a crowd, even if there are so few of us> The green watched him from a distance, eyes sparkling rainbow.
The eye-dotted Private Eye egg began to rock and then rolled right over, the end coming off after a good deal of pushing. The dragon inside emerged arse-first, which got people a good look at a dark green backside first, with a jagged paler mark that looked like a lightning bolt on one flank.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 1:23 pm
Ok... He was OFFICIALY going to start charging for his services as a good luck charm because everyone around him was seeing rainbows but him. If Yevalee, current object of Kidders ire, was next to partner to a dragon, he was going to...
To... Yeah he had no idea. Salting the boys klah wouldn't quite deliver the satisfaction he was currently seeking. At least it was someone Alcine liked... And there was. Commander and his stumbling brother, and private eye backing out of her shell. Huh. Her shell. He would have guessed blue. Apparently he was really off his game today, and his scratches still hurt and ...humph.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 1:43 pm
Zarike had completely forgotten about the bet's he'd placed before the Touching. He was reminded though as the dark green backside wiggled out of the spotted egg. He'd not touched the Private Eye Egg, but just from appearances, he'd expected it to be blue. Zarike did a quick mental count and realized he'd only had two right so far. Two out of eight... wasn't that great. Even if this had been a normal sized clutch that was a poor percentage. There was still a chance his last guess, Fashion Crime, might be a blue but even then that only brought him up to not quite a third of his guesses correct.
Though, he managed to crack a smile as he thought about it, seeing as the 'bronze' egg had popped a green, maybe they'd shock the whole planet and the little Fashion Crime egg would be a bronze. He'd not touched the egg himself and had no idea of the personality within though, so he could only hazard a guess based off of the fact that very little was going normally in this clutch so far. He had little reason to expect it to change now.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:05 pm
"Well, that lad there seems to have gotten the worst of it and he's getting up, so it can't be that bad." They couldn't have two hatchlings cause such a ruckus in the same hatching right? Not one this small after all. Maybe. She certainly hoped not. Vanavia wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more, the girl beside her or herself. From the looks of things both needed a good dose of convincing. Still at least most of them seemed to be finding their riders now.
Wait, apparently she had been wrong about the two and their decisions, or at least one of them. The green had sought that boy's attention, but now was looking at another one with the rainbow eyes of impression. "Is that normal?" the candidate asked quietly. She thought dragons were supposed to be dangerous to everyone before they impressed, but this one wasn't. It was very strange indeed.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:07 pm
Private Eye backed out of the egg none too gracefully, though it seemed she had injured one of her forelegs in doing so - was it curled up tight to her body, or was there something wrong with it? Certainly, there was no ichor evident…
As she turned, the truth became clear: one of her forelegs was shrunken and twisted, barely larger then a normal dragon’s foot. Still, she seemed to be getting along perfectly well without it, bouncing her way over towards the Commander, whom she seemed to be attracted towards like an arrow is attracted to the target. When she reached her blue sibling, she paused to inspect the candidates he was looking at, and then snorted. Really? Really?
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:16 pm
ANOTHER one with a problem? She was a tough little thing to be sure, and if her personality was half what she had demonstrated at the hatching... But shaffing hell. He ran his fingers over his cropped hair and raised his eyebrows. Their mother had been struggling, and she'd looked so bad at the touching... What had they done to her to cause all this?
They were certainly going to have to live with it staring them in the face at any rate. People or dragons... You couldn't just flog them until they dropped... You couldn't.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:22 pm
He thought he heard a voice, felt a tug, but he dismissed it. Deruvene kept watching the dragonets with interest, wondering what all was happening. They had such unique personalities, it was really wonderful to see, but he worried again about their conditions. Large wings, club feet - seizures even. They would have problems and he -
< Deruvene. I was speaking to you. > The voice came back into his head, the one from before. It sounded a bit more impatient this time and he swung his head int he direction he thought the sound was coming from. His eyes met with those of the small green dragon from before, and he watched as they seemed to sparkle. < Good, I seem to have your attention now. As I stated before, do not worry yourself over my siblings. We shall love them as always, you and I, and that is all you need to think. >
"Uhhhh....." The usually chatter Deruvene was at a loss for words. So much was flooding into him. Hunger, love, laughter, happiness - feelings that were so raw and rare he had to bite his lip from either laughing or sobbing. Glad he was already on his feet, and maybe glad that he could wipe at his face with his sleeve, he managed a faint chuckle before shaking his head and starting over towards where his dragon waited.
His dragon. Oh Faranth it felt too weird, sounded too weird. Ellioth, Ellioth, Ellioth. A name so beautiful it hurt and a voice so gentle it stung. "I'm coming, relax. I'll be there in a moment, so keep him company?" Deruvene made the walk over to Ellioth and Keralder, still rubbing at his eyes. He...he wasn't crying, no way. It was sweat and relief, honest! Once he reached them he looked at the young man, softly smiling. "Thanks for being with Ellioth. I hope you'll play again with her in the future."
< That would please me. > The dragonet nudged Keralder's hand one more time before turning to Deruvene, her eyes a blue full of love and adoration. < Come. > She moved to his side and pressed against him before starting forward, taking steps slow and delicate. There was no need to rush, let all see her grace and wonder.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:25 pm
“I don’t - oh, no, look at that poor green!” Aeglentine pointed with her free hand, squeezing Vanavia’s tightly. Perhaps her imagination was a little too vivid, because it was easy to imagine all the problems a creature like that would have. At least they weren't like whers - she'd heard that they might attack one of their kind who was weak or ill. They’d had a cook at home with a club foot, who’d needed crutches to get about anywhere - Father had kept her on because of how excellent a cook she was, and because of how much Mama had loved her, enough to have brought her with her when she married. It didn't look quite like what the dragon had, and perhaps it would be easier for someone with three legs to balance on instead of two, but… “Look at its leg, the poor thing”
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:35 pm
"Congratulations..." Keralder noted to the delicate, lovely green as she nudged his hand again and proceeded off the sands. She was one of the most healthy looking of the clutch so far, and he was... Grudgingly glad she had found her partner. This clutch though ... These poor dragons...
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:36 pm
Well s**t. C'tis sucked his teeth slightly and shook his head. "Well I'm not sure about the blue but that green's got problems." Three legs? She was moving okay now but that was still going to be a hindrance to her. There was definitely something wrong with this clutch but he wouldn't say it out loud around L'ris of course, not given her daughter's issues. It couldn't be denied though; fits, missing limbs, misshapen feet.... It really was time Hiraeth stopped clutching.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:39 pm
Sometimes you find perspective on your own. Sometimes it's shoved down your throat. This is one of the latter times for Zarike. As he watched the Private Eye green finally reveal herself he winced. He still couldn't see the Listening blue all too well. He couldn't tell if it was deformed, or if it was just clumsy like some hatchlings were.
It was a selfish thought, and one he wasn't proud of, but Zarike found himself feeling a little bit relieved. Maybe he hadn't been the cause of Peth's fits. He probably wasn't alone in thinking that he'd harmed Peth when he struck the brown's shell. He was sure that others probably blamed him. Maybe though... maybe he wasn't at fault. It was possible, and growing more likely in his mind as the clutch wore on, that something had happened to Peth in the shell and there was nothing anyone could have done about it.
Maybe he and Peth didn't have it so bad after all.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:47 pm
As another Impression was made The Commander halted and turned to Private Eye. At her snort he shifted his outsized wings in an apparent shrug and gave his injuries another lick; if he thought anything of his sibling's part formed limb he showed no sign of it. Letting out a sigh he jerked his head towards Yevalee - duty called - and set off again. When he arrived beside the bleeding candidate he sniffed him carefully, huffed, and then looked over at the healers he'd noticed when he first left his shell, letting out another squeaky bugle into the bargain; why were they staying over there?
The Listening blue meanwhile seemed to decide that now was the time to give walking another try. Picking his feet up rather high he bumbled forward in a rather comical fashion. As he started to draw closer to the candidates it would become clear to them, though not yet to those in the stands, that his feet looked... well... big.
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