Hatching time!

Writers: AL, Suzee
Date Posted: 15th February 2012

Characters: Meledei, R'enh
Description: Elleth's clutch hatches!
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 11 of Turn 6

R'enh

The nice thing about rest days is that one can rest. The night before,
one can stay up late and just chill out. Usually. Most of the time,
though, Meledei is sure to get to bed on time the night _of_ a rest
day. After all, there's work to do the following day and no point in
making herself miserable. Normally, she gets a good night sleep.

Evidently, that was not the plan for that night.

The humming that caressed her ear in the wee hours of the morning wasn't
from any lizard she owned - she didn't have one. Her eyes opened and
she found a brown crouched on the small table beside the bed and she
blinked, then shot up. "The hatching!" She squeaked in excitement,
then threw off the covers.

Meledei had set out a change of clothes in preparation. She'd been
doing that for a good sevenday and she thanked Faranth she hadn't
skipped. She rushed into those clothes and then out to the cavern
where Elleth already lifted her voice to join some firelizards who had
just arrived to start the song that announced the imminent birth of
thirty two dragonets.

"What," R'enh startled awake. It felt like he'd just gone to sleep.

}:It is beginning:{

Then he heard it the beginnings of the humming. **Tell her I'm on my
way.** He scrambled out of bed. **Tell the watchers and messengers to
get the word out and retrieve the guests we're supposed to
transport.**

All of that had been set up in advance and was a well oiled machine.
Riders could take the message as quick as a thought.

His clothes for today were freshly laundered and ready. He knew he'd
have a short time later to change for the feast but he had a nice
tunic and trousers for the hatching. He trotted down the stairs to
the hatching cavern.

Meledei waved when R'enh entered and did her best not to jump up and
down in excitement. She was successful - for the most part. Instead of
jumping she was merely bouncing on the tips of her feet. "It's
starting!" She squealed happily and pointed to one of the eggs that
had already begun to rock. "It's starting!"

"Yes I know. Mnoranth woke me up to tell me. I've gotten everything
started so the Candidates and guests should be arriving soon."

"You didn't have to do that." The Weyr was so used to hatchings and
everything that everyone knew what to do and when. Meledei chuckled -
she supposed he just wanted to be sure nothing went wrong. "Oh look!
There's another one!" People began to trickle in and she tugged at
R'enh's sleeve. "We should go get our seats." The seats of honour,
best seats in the house next to the candidates!

She was so darn cute about the whole thing. He just chuckled and held
out his arm to escort her while dragons and people piled into the
cavern.

Meledei slipped her arm into is, but there was a tremble of excitement
that ran through her entire being. People were coming faster now and
she couldn't smile bigger even if someone pulled her cheeks further
apart. "I wonder which will hatch first...there are two more rocking!"

And sure enough almost all the eggs were rocking as they took their
seats. The rest of the cavern was filling up fast when finally the
candidates began to file in to line up around the eggs.

"I'm hoping for bronze of course!"

Meledei nodded. Bronzes were considered lucky if they hatched first,
though ever colour was traditionally said to 'represent' what a clutch
would be. Still, it _would_ be nice to have a bronze hatch first.
There was an audible sound as a crack appeared in one of the eggs.
"There!" Meledei pointed, her excitement rising. Most people had
arrived, a few late comers were trickling in and the candidates were
ready upon the sands, waiting to see who Impressed and who didn't.

Mnoranth was every bit as intent on the eggs as anyone in the cavern.
His bellow of welcome greeted the first head to poke out of its egg.

R'enh came to his feet along with the rest of the crowd trying to see
what color the first hatchling was. "Bronze!" He turned to Meledei
with a grin, "Very good luck for Elleth for her first ever hatchling!"

"Oh, and he went for that smaller boy." Meledei motioned as the bronze
made a decision - and quite quickly too. "I bet no one expected
that." Which was good. Sometimes, people underestimated others when
they shouldn't. Another egg began to crack. "This is moving
quickly!" There was a pause but it didn't open. Instead, another egg
in the furthest row - for Elleth had managed to keep them in a row of
arches, the one closest to the candidates the longest by two eggs -
split open without any warning and out tumbled a brown. "That's two!"
Thirty more to go!

The hatchlings almost seemed to pop one after another a beautiful brown
and then a pair of blues followed. "Oh they look very healthy," he
said to Meledei as the pairings were made.

"There's another brown! Where are all the greens?" Meledei couldn't
help but laugh. Usually at least one green had hatched by then. "What
does this mean?" The brown took a step, fell, then pushed himself
back up again, wobbling straight toward a candidate without any
hesitation. She shook her head, then pointed as the brown made another
swift choice. "I know that candidate, that's Kadall...oh, his dragon's
name is Tallandrath."

Finally a green broke forth with a loud trumpet - for a dragonet - and
shook her herself. Unlike the others, she didn't make a quick
decision, stumbling directly to someone. She sat down and blinked at
the world, head swinging back and forth. Her eyes whirled brightly as
she regarded first the stands and then the candidate. Finally someone
caught her eye and she stood, then slowly, carefully, made her way past
some of the other candidates - not running them down like dragonets
were sometimes wont to do - and nudged against one of the older boys.
"Oh that's Faylenthe." Meledei leaned over to get a better look.

"Good for him," R'enh clapped. He'd taken some time to get to know
the candidates for this clutch. He was a good kid and he approved the
choice.

"There's another blue." Meledei pointed out and this one took a little
longer as well, though he was not quite so patient as his sister who
had preceeded him. He finally tumble-bumbled pell mell over to a boy
and gazed up in his eyes. "That's Darale." Meledei stated, though
really she didn't have too. "Excellent. His name is Samith!"

And finally another green popped out, then another, then another, three
at once. They all began heading straight for a cluster of candidates
who wisely moved out of the way as one bowled through for a specific
person. "Danna!" Meledei hadn't really gotten to know the girl, but
Elleth had passed along her name. "Her dragons' name is
Zayth, and the one before her was Naevyn with Eslith" Meledei probably
didn't need to give the names, Mnoranth was more than capable, but she
was enjoying it.

A fourth green came and started for the opposite end. More greens and
more blues, another bronze. "That makes _two_ bronzes!" Meledei
couldn't help swelling up with pride.

He couldn't help himself in a reflection of Mnoranth's pride he put
his arm around Meledei's shoulders for a moment and kissed the
top of her head. He didn't want to say anything yet because there were
still a few eggs on the sands but they were down to a mere handful. It
didn't look like they had any duds in the bunch. The ones that
remained were rocking just as vigorously as their clutchmates had
before.

Another green and blue came out. The colours began to swirl together
as the dragons turned about and began to make their way toward their
chosen lifemates. Meledei put her own arm around R'enh and hugged him
close, though her eyes were glued to the sands. Another brown emerged
and made a beeline for a boy. "Zahren!" She stated. "Elleth says the
brown's name is Garreth!"

"Just a couple more," he grinned.

There was a longer pause until the last ones finally hatched and when
they did, they came right after the other. The last rocked and finally
split, then cracked out and out tumbled a bronze. "_Three_ bronzes."
Meledei stated triumphantly, her grin getting brighter. "Three!" Not
bad for a small gold!

}:Well done beautiful queen:{ congratulated the proud bronze as he
watched their hatchlings parade out of the grounds with their new
lifemates. }:I knew I flew you well:{

"Come on," R'enh grabbed Meledei's hand to lead her down to
congratulate the new riders.

Last updated on the February 18th 2012

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Hatching time!