Welcome to Gaia! ::

Green… Yevalee flinched slightly, it was hard to be composed when blood was running over his ankle. The spots were slowly disappearing and if he went slow he might be able to get off the sand on his own will power. He breathed slowly, keeping from shaking his head. It.. this, shards he hurt, but she hadn’t been the one that mauled him.

Ooh, look, she had come back to finish the job. Yevalee watched her tiredly knowing that the pain all down his back hadn’t really been her fault but really not finding it to forgive and forget the green… who was stealing his help. Mmhm.

He lifted his head slowly, tired and pained and look, commander was coming over. What could he possibly want? And they were just attracting all sorts of attention weren’t they? He looked over Private eye, then Commander and gave a soft sound, and tried not to wince as the hatchling sniffed him. Ooh… Yevalee swallowed a shaky laugh. That… that was sort of cute.

“Thank you.” He said softly. He really could use a healer.

L’ris was about to say that maybe someone should make the decision to call the candidates off the sands - that maybe it would be kinder - when she caught herself, and her mouth twisted. It was a terrible thing to think, even if perhaps some of those dragons had deformities that couldn’t yet be seen - a heart that didn’t pump blood right, or a twist in their head that might let them attack humans. It was a dreadful thing to think, even if it might save those children’s lives, and she was ashamed of herself. You couldn’t live life on what ifs, and they had all chosen this path for themselves.

“The plague just keeps giving and giving, doesn’t it?” she said instead, folding her arms and looking - well, unhappy. “Better hope this doesn’t start showing up in the other gold’s clutches” She didn't have to mention that they were both Hiraeth's descendants - and both younger then a decade... as were most of the dragons in the Weyr.

...Well double s**t. Was it possible? Could that happen? If so they were all shaffed, well except for Ista and maybe the Weyrs it had sent golds to. Who knew if whether or not the plague had touched a clutch's sire had anything to do with it, who knew anything come to that. "The others weren't directly exposed though," C'tis muttered back, "maybe it's that... or the fact that she gets sick every time now. Maybe she was just too weak for them to form right." That was the least terrible explanation because it meant that if Hiraeth was removed from the breeding pool the problem would go away.

"Could do that, or we could just plan a lunch date" Brishen replied, tone mild and watched the hatching approach the wounded candidate who looked very familiar and he couldn't place him. "And a bit..." Hazmath was excitable and forgot things but this.

"Hiraeth and Venk must be feeling horrible."

Jessan did not make the hatching in the beginning as the Candidates an gawkers did. She needed to change from her work clothing to something more befitting a person not wrist-deep in a fluid she'd rather not think about and took the time to borrow a firelizard, scratch out a note, and send it to a certain Goldhandler to come and join her at the hatching. Jessan attended each one, even those not belonging to her girl, but this clutch likely would need more assistance then then the others.

The old Gold had one defective pup already. Jessan - and Cinnamath - wanted to see if she continued on the unfortunate trend that spelled the end of her useless 'ruling'. It'd be a shame if it became a common occurence and should it pass to the younger golds, at least they would know who to blame. Shylla could have the title for all she cared. Watching this golds downfall only gave her the briefest glimmer of amusement and the professional concern for her dragonets. Two of them fought, nothing unusual for the unbonded sorts, and not a single creature faced death.

Yet.

Oh, but--

Jessan edged around a few people to look at the Big Shaffing Hero with arched brows. He, hopefully, would Impress. They needed more like him - all the better to boss around the riders in need of such direction. (Jessan never claimed to be unbiased.)

Venk and Shylla stood together but they were the only ones Jessan paid attention to; Nat may be there already for all that Jessan had time to look around. Jessan really ought to have stood with the others of 'her color' but, eh. A blue toddled and fell, and another egg cracked and--

"Oh," she said once this new green ambled out, the first word of her bit of time at the hatching. Jessan fingered the knots of her Craft she wore everywhere, her eyes narrowed in contemplation at this new... situation.

(All of them, in fact, seemed to be A New Situation.)

(How fun.)

Yevalee gave a soft squeak of pain and Seytev was trying to help but the pressure on his back made him waver, pain blooming. He shuddered, eyes closing tightly and gave a deep breath, finding his voice and power to not fall on his face.

He looked up and blink. KIDDER? Great... He shifted slightly, leaning into Seytev because even in pain, tired, and bleeding, he wasn't going to trust Kidder not to make it worse. Small movements. He can do that.

Yevalee shifted, a bit closer to a shuffle then an actual walk, but they were slowly heading towards the stands.

“Some sicknesses you get make a baby sick in the womb” L’ris said darkly, then shook her head. “They look a little… screwed up, but they seem mostly healthy enough” She wanted to - needed to - believe that, and hope that they did well, that they would thrive.

“Oh, shaff it. I can’t watch this anymore” she said abruptly, getting to her feet and starting for one of the exits from the stands.

—

“Sorry!” Egg realised what she was doing all of a sudden, and released Vanavia’s hand guiltily. She hadn’t meant to hurt the other candidate (in fact, she didn’t really like the idea of hurting anyone at all), and now she put her own hands firmly in her lap, knotting them together. “I… sorry. This whole thing is…"