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More eggs began to crack and fall and roll but only one dragonet saw fit to actually emerge (from the Mellow Daisy) at that point and it was a pretty green, large and healthy, and she wobbled about, confused.

As her sister tried to find her way, the other green continued to creep among the boys, rearing up before several boys, her height enough to make her intimidating if she suddenly broke into action for there was a sense of tight control about this one, and the potential for incredible bursts of activity.

Optheli watched intently. Making private guesses with herself about which one would hatch next. She had no experience with dragon eggs and so usually guessed wrong. It still was no less exciting. Seemed there were a couple of greens wandering the sands now.

"Oh I wonder who'll they pick?" She really didn't expect an answer, but couldn't help but talking either.

S'kor continued to ply Scarath with meat pieces. How was he ever going to fill this bottomless pit? It seemed completely.... well bottomless.

Scarath ducks his head. 'I'm sorry Mine, but I can't help how hungry I am.' Between bites he turns his head and croons at the new dragons as they come over with their new riders.

S'kor laughs and pats his dragon softly on the muzzle. "That's alright lad. You'll get plenty."

As the green appraised the boys, she felt one in particular and swung her gaze round, body following, as she searched for that echoed emotion. There... somewhere.

There! Her gaze caught Kyros' and the coiled tension was released as she bounded across the Sands, tearing through Candidates foolish enough to get in her way, and reared up tall, forelimbs extended, wings spread wide. She'd found Hers!


Beyond her, the other green began to fuss as it wandered the divide between the male and female Candidates, crooning loudly.

And as the lost green tried to sort itself out, another egg rolled and cracked and yet another green burst forth, this time from the Grassy Plain Egg.

Oh shi-

....Oh.

Wow.

As the green he had considered a threat a heartbeat ago made her final approach, Kyros opened his arms and embraced her as she placed her forefeet on his chest.

"Viridith... We'd better get you some food then."

"Yes," Viridith responded, wrapping her wings around Hers and giving him an nudge, "we had." So saying, she dropped back to the ground and set off beside her rider towards the meat tables.

...Had this actually just happened? Had he actually Impressed? Well, obviously he had, but the reality of it hadn't sunk in just yet. He was going to fly. He was going to fly with Viridith. Viridith. He felt... he felt as though the name had been somewhere inside him his whole life. "You know, I didn't think you'd be mine with how you came out of that egg," he told his lifemate, wondering how you did that whole mindspeaking thing anyway.

"Just think it, I'll hear you. As for the other part... I did not want to be hurried, that's all." As they reached the tables Viridith sat down, and raised her head to regard Hers steadily. "Take your time," she told him, "pick the best meat, not the first bit you see."

"Mmh," Kyros looked down at his partner and smiled softly. "I will."

When the green nearest the lines wouldn't stop fussing, Brakiath rumbled and crooned, trying to nudge her daughter into finding Hers. The gentle prod, however, didn't help things as the green spun around ran towards the gold and away from the Candidates. Its eyes were a whirling maelstorm of red and orange and grey. The grey, most of wall, was frightening as it drowned out all the other colours quickly enough.

She bowled past her newly hatched sibling, jumped when Brakiath ordered her back to the Candidates, and made a beeline for the female candidates. Hers! Where was Hers!

The green stopped dead in her tracks only a few feet before the first would-be victim of a mauling, so still and tense that those attending the Hatching seemed to hold their breath. A hatchling that panicked like that was not a good thing...

Then she keened loudly and ducked her head with a terrified, lost wail and blinked Between, gone.

Abigail sighed, shaking her head. The green was lost... a soul without a better half, and it made the Weyrwoman lean against her dragon. It was a gesture most who witnessed a lost dragon did without thinking... a life was lost and it was no one's fault.

The other green had shrunk away from the pankicking green, certain that it wasn't the cause for concern, and slowly, surely she padded out of the goo towards the candidates. When the other disappeared, she keened a mourning farewell but was not distracted overlong. Her was here... she could feel it.

"...Sister." Viridith paused in the action of taking another piece of meat from Hers and gave a soft keen. "I am sorry that Hers was not here," she said after a moment, returning to her food, "but we cannot change that, and I cannot distract myself from feeding."

Kyros - or whatever his name was now, he would need to think of an honorific - nodded slightly, passing his lifemate another nice chunk of meat and laying one hand on the top of her head. "I'm glad I was here for you."

"As am I."

*****

In a hatching, joy and sorrow were never all that far apart. Leaning closer to Xan, Tor swallowed a lump in his throat. He wished he could cry. Without crying all the pain just seemed to stay inside like an infection. Screaming and smashing things and beating soft furnishings to death helped, but he couldn't do that right now. "Goodbye little green," he murmured shakily, "I'll remember you."

It was difficult for Moira to watch, but watch she did. Her joyous high was first fueled by the successful Impressions, and then suddenly dashed as the little green wailed and blinked between. Her mind echoed with S'raid's words, words she had not believed when he had first spoken them: There is only one rider for every dragon. There is only one dragon for every rider.

Moira suddenly understood.

Serlaith had paused in her eating long enough to watch her sibling go, and the young queen gave on long, mournful keen. It was loud and forceful, as though Serlaith would not be outdone even in her grief. Moira rested a hand upon Serlaith's side and, like Abigail, leaned slightly against her.

She did not suffer, Serlaith noted, trying to comfort her bondmate. She pressed her snout to Moira's side and pushed gently. Moira stumbled back, trying to move with Serlaith, but the little queen just kept pushing, knocking the young girl flat on her rump. Once her rider was down, Serlaith lay beside her, resting her large head gently on top of Moira and chewing another piece of meat.

“I can't get up with your head on me,” Moira laughed, feigning a struggle. There was not much effort in the action, as there was little chance that she was going to overpower even a dragonet.

You don't need to get up. You can still reach the meat, Serlaith noted, her eyes returning to a pleased shade of blue.

Thankfully, the predator-like Green found Hers, and the little Blue had found his. The hatching was looking very good, until the panicking green went Between.

It hurt Jalarant more than he'd care to admit, reviving memories of the poor Crimson who'd flashed between. At least this one didn't have a rider to watch wither away. But, still.... If he'd been better, brighter, if someone had just been a little different, that poor little one...

He forced himself to look up at the remaining green who was pacing and looking for Hers. There was no point in dwelling on the past, on what could've beens and what might've beens.