Siena, the eggs are beginning to hatch! The call came from Siena's queen dragon even as the mother took up the humming, soon joined by her bronze mate. Siena smiled, if a bit tiredly. Normally, she would have been asleep right now, as was most of the rest of the Weyr, considering it was just before dawn. However, realities of being six months pregnant had been keeping her from getting a good night's sleep since Mirheth's clutching, and last night the baby had apparently discovered it could kick.
That was why the junior weyrwoman was already awake and on her way to the Hatching Sands. It was bitterly cold outside, as well as foggy, so she tried to rush as quickly as she could to the heated sands, and she was soon joined by R'shan and a still sleepy five-turn-old who insisted on seeing the clutch hatch. Her daughter, Shienne, tried to cover a yawn, but even then she was noticing the first of the eggs beginning to crack.
It was one of the smaller eggs, and no one was surprised to see it hatch into a green dragoness. Fortunately, all of the candidates had made it onto the sands by this point, and the green had plenty of potential riders to choose from. It took her a while, sifting through the female candidates one by one, but eventually she picked out one of the older (and quieter) candidates, Celenny. I like you. Now come on, why don't you get your Tusith some food, please?
The green's Impression seemed to spur on the other eggs, because three more were all cracking at once, and soon there were two browns and a green crawling to their feet. The browns were both walking towards the candidates by the time the green was still struggling with her shell, so they were the first to choose. The larger brown was a bit more aggressive and a bit more eager to bond than his brother, so the smaller one hung back, despite being the first to hatch.
Once the squabble was over, however, it didn't take the big brown very long at all to choose his rider. Volruran, there you are! Excellant. I'm Doruth, and we're going to be great together.
Now that his brother was out of the way, the other brown decided to step forward as well. He paused at Kallorend, chirped thoughtfully, went on till he came to Ysantoc, and stopped nonplussed. He glanced over some of the other candidates, but it looked like the brown was deep in thought. Finally, however, he made his choice, and he sat down in front of Kallorend. My name is Ayegoth, he said, rather shyly.
Finally, the green that had hatched earlier managed to disentangle herself from the remains of her shell. However, she had scarcely taken a step before another egg beside her exploded apart, and she gave a startled creel as the blue inside rolled to his feet. Annoyed with herself and her brother, the green turned a cold shoulder to him and made her way to the candidates. She was quick to pick out Cerelin from the crowd of candidates, and introduced herself as Tegath before urging her rider to the food.
The blue seemed not at all surprised or bothered by the green's snub, and he got to his feet cheerfully and started inspecting the candidates. He passed over many of the boys, especially the ambitious ones, it seemed, until he came to Breneldis. Ah...I think you'll do. My name's Anuith.
A sturdy blue hatched next, quickly followed by another, slightly smaller blue. They both approached the candidates together, going to meet their riders as a pair. The first blue picked out Pirtan rather easily, and Afayith began to push him towards the kitchen while his brother continued to look.
This blue was having much less luck picking out a rider, and finally turned to the female candidates. After a somewhat shorter search, he settled on Elothain, and the startled but pleased girl went to get Uruyeth some food.
The gold egg gave a sudden, rocking jolt, and Siena eyed it carefully, eager to see who the young gold would choose. However, it didn't crack just yet, and instead, one of the larger eggs beside it began to hatch instead. The egg revealed a well-formed bronze, however, so the disappointment didn't last for long. The bronze walked to the candidates, stumbling slightly, and he spent a long time searching through the boys. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision, though, and he went back to Ysantoc, one of the boys he'd passed over before. I am Edneth, the dragon said simply.
The gold egg was now cracking in earnest, and it was clear it would not be much longer before the queen emerged. Sure enough, the golden head poked through just moments later, and the gold soon emerged from her shell. She lashed her tail impatiently and focused her attention on the female candidates, several of whom rushed toward her hopefully. The gold pushed past the most eager ones, however, and it soon became clear she was headed towards one candidate in particular. The gold stopped in front of Jaseed and looked up at her imperiously. Well? It's time for you to get your Rocorith some food.
Siena and R'shan clapped happily at the Impression of the newest gold, but the hatching was far from over, and there were plenty more dragons ready to hatch. A particularly small egg revealed an equally-small green, though she seemed as eager as any other dragon to find her rider. She passed by several of the girls until she came to Otyneen, and she gave a gentle croon. "Sideth! You're hungry, I can tell..." She took the green away to join her siblings, and attention was turned back to the eggs as two more cracked open at once.
The smaller egg revealed a green, unsurprisingly, but many were startled when the larger of the two revealed a second bronze, though Siena, for one, was pleased to see him. He was quicker to reach the candidates than the green, who seemed to be something of a loner anyway, and not in any hurry to bond. The bronze strode forward, greeting the candidates warmly, but really, he only had eyes for Saderg, who announced to the rest of the Weyr that his dragon was Macuth.
With a little urging from Mirheth, the green decided to get it over with as well, and she looked over several of the female candidates. She didn't show much interest in them until she came to Rinia, but at last she gave a croon. I am Nitith. Let's get some food, now, okay?
With the Impression of Nitith came the hatching of another green, this one just as hesitant to bond as her sister, though perhaps for different reasons. She glanced shyly at the crowd of candidates and ran straight into Fiandra's arms. Let's get out of here! the green pleaded, and Fiandra smiled. "Okay, Emuth."
The hatching was winding down now, but there were still more greens looking for bonds. Two of them had hatched, one right after the other, and they were stumbling among the female candidates, looking for their riders. The first to hatch was also the first to bond, and Jomith picked out Aegda from the remaining candidates.
The second green took longer to decide, but eventually Ceranna was selected to lead Imeth to the kitchens.
That left just one egg unhatched, and it didn't take long for the dragon to appear. He was a blue, rather pale in color but a good size, and he wasted no time in making his way to the candidates. Argon did not expect to be picked by a blue at this point, but Adusoth was not one to take no for answer, and the hatching came to an end.