Even in the darkness there can be some specks of Hope [Delan

IC Time: Month 1; Mid Summer
IC Setting: After the evening meal has ended; in the dark of night. The night's air is becoming uncomfortably warm and a thick smoke is appearing towards the horizon with a dark orange glow that spreads across it menacingly.


The fire had started some time in the afternoon the day before; the day had been dry and hot and no one could explain why the bushfire roared up. One thing was for sure; the strong hot wind wasn't helping any as is whipped across the landscape blustering everyone around. It had spread so quickly and set upon them before anyone had any real ability to react. Tonight there were many homeless; ranch and farm owners alike covered by the soot and smoke; black streaks across their faces. Some were even burnt and Jase was doing his best in the infirmary; Lerato assisting. Even Cy'shen was tending to those dragons suffering wing and inhalation burns from rescuing those in the threat line. As the fire raged through the day and now into the night it was nearing Caldera; coming closer and closer. Not even the dragons dumping large quantities of dirt and water could seem to slow the bush fire down.

Then after a hectic evening meal of people coming and going came Delanth's bugle. Her call of those chosen to the sands; there didn't seem to be any rest for anyone. M'kael wiped the sweat from his brow; smudging the black soot further across his face as he rounded up the candidates and herded them to the sands. Wishing them the best of luck he dropped in on the infirmary to see how Adrienne was doing. Everything seemed to be happening at once and that afternoon he had become a father again. A quick kiss for his weyrmate and one for his little daughter Mikenne and he was off again with Zharath to help defend the Weyr and it's smaller settlements from the bushfire that was threatening them all.

Most if not all the riders were out; bar Delanth on the sands and the other golds who had been grounded to assisted with those injured dragons coming in. It did not help that the morning before had been their first threadfall; today it had fallen again in the afternoon. How they had kept it and the fire at bay the future riders were surprised at; with so few to fly they did tremendously. None of the riders had slept for almost two days; especially M'kael. Their leader; and what a leader he had been, living up to the stories the future riders had heard of him. No in fact now that they knew him he was the stories didn't give him near enough the amount of credit he deserved.

M'kael now left the candidates on their sands; alone but for each other and Delanth. Almost everyone else was too busy to go; there would be a few spectators Mik gathered; but no riders. Gala's babies may have the chance to watch they were only 3 months old; however Sean had grounded them to help around the Weyr rather than dilly-dally whilst he was away with the other riders. More and more were returning with burns; smoke inhalation and some even on the verges of shock.

However in the sands it was still and quiet; the events outside a faint roar against the silence of the Cavern the eggs lay in. It was quite empty; bar the eggs and Delanth; as if everyone has abandoned them in their with the best of their luck. The only thing breaking the silence was the rocking of one of the eggs..

Donal ran to the Hatching Cavern, hearing the sound of screaming animals and the fire raging outside the weyr. Or he believed he could. The young man was intensely worried for his family's herds, especially the pregnant mares. Who knew whether or not a brushfire would scare some of them into early labor on the move to the ranches behind the weyr. Mrs. Remington, he'd heard, had offered to take horses for the ranchers that had lost their farms and homes. And now the eggs were hatching!

Not even minding the hot sand through his boots, the young man stepped closer to the writhing eggs, ignoring the other candidates but trusting Chatan to be at his side. Donal's eyes swerved to the golden queen, Delanth if he remembered correctly, and immediately bowed low in obeisance. Then the eggs began to rock harder in the silence, all except for their mother's humming.

Don turned to Chatan and grabbed the other boy's arm fiercely. "Swatch at them, Chatan! they're positively fightin' tae come it!" He could feel his heart nearly in his throat at the thought of Impressing with his best friend, of the two of them joining the other riders in the skies to fight the Thread and the fire. Maybe even save his father's herds from decimation.

~

Morganath paused a moment as he dropped more water over the fires, a hum starting low in his throat at the sense that his eggs were Hatching now. M'urn knew exactly what was going through his dragon's mind and regretfully patted his neck. I know you want to go back, my Mor, but we can't. We have this fire to stop and people to save. Reluctantly but with purpose, the bronze pair turned back to their work fighting the fire.

Everything was happening so quickly that Rowan simply couldn't believe it. Thread falling had been horrifying enough, and she'd been so incredibly worried for all the dragonriders who had gone out to fight it. They were so lucky that the 2nd Pass Riders were there to help - where would they be without them? Riders who really knew what they were doing, and could lead! She hoped they were all all right; it would be terrible if anyone had been killed by Thread...for the millionth time M'urn and Morganath flickered through her mind. She had no idea if he was okay. He'd become her good friend in the past several months, and she'd be mortified if he got hurt. If they got scored...she'd never even gotten to draw Morganath. They had to make it, they had to. And if - WHEN they get back, I'll draw him right away. Why that was so important to her she couldn't say, but it was.

Threadfall was bad enough, but the fire! This was the worst time for a fire! It was approaching so quickly that the horizon was nearly black with smoke - black smoke, silver clouds of Thread, they all mingled terrifyingly. Ranchers and farmers had already lost their homes, she'd heard...hopefully none of them were dead...The dragonriders were most all out trying to dump dirt and water on the massive wall of flames, but it didn't seem to be doing any good. Shells to all! The riders who weren't burned of Threadscored...Why did this all have to happen at once? Rowan admitted it freely: she was terrified. Penned it with the rest of the candidates and not allowed to help! She knew she wouldn't be able to do much good, but there had to be a better alternative to sitting here doing nothing!

And then the hatching. Gods, she'd been wishing for it to come for a long time, but why did it have to arrive now? With a fire on the horizon and the chance of more Threadfall hovering, it was the worst possible time...And yet here they all were, on the Sands, because Delanth's hatchlings coudl not be left behind under any circumstances. Nothing to show anything was unusual about today, besides the empty stands and subdued candidates - and terse Mikhael - no, M'kael! They'd started eliding their names now, like M'urn's riders -as she unconsciously thought of them now - because it was easier to call out in Thread. No girls shortening their names, though - she supposed the girls' names were usually shorter anyway. She would still be Rowan if she Impressed, not R'wan. That made her feel oddly relieved.

The redhead tried hard to focus her gaze on the rocking eggs, but couldn't help glancing at the dark sky where the thick masses of smoke rolled. By shells, it was getting hot, and with a fire hovering that was not a good sign. It was so sad that the hatchings had to come into a world like this! She could only hope it happened quickly and without incident. Even Impressing seemed less important than merely having al lthe babies be okay...The Calde - the Weyr seemed safe for now, but anything could happen, so nature had reminded them.



Wild. Wild and scary this place was now, the world of Thread and fire and death that Pern had become. Keith couldn't help it; he was scared and couldn't help remembering his first Threadfall, the fall that had taken his love's life away from him. Last night he'd sat curled up in a ball, stroking Static and staring at the anguished ghostlike face in the darkness that only his eyes could see, the auburn-haired lad Thread had stolen from him come back to haunt him. He couldn't sleep for fear of nightmares.

Thread and fire the same day was too much to take in. People were dead now, or homeless, or injured, and everyone was in danger. All the able dragonriders were out fighting, and everyone else kept inside the Weyr. Not that anyone would go out if they had the choice, or at least he wouldn't. He wasn't about to run towards destruction. Keith was scared. He was 19. he was supposed to be brave, but he wasn't and he didn't mindadmitting it. He was scared.

And the hatching came now, of course, after it got dark, and the air was thick and hot...what a hell the babies were going to hatch into! Poor poor them. He was huddled with the other candidates, staring at the eggs, Static on his shoulder with his tail curled chokingly tight around Keith's neck. He was frightened too, and hadn't dared to leave his owner's side since Threadfall started. For once the bronze was holding his own, but Keith had no time to enjoy it.

Oh, how he hoped one of the hatchlings would pick him to he could care for it and keep it from harm. And how he hoped it could take care of him and love him, too. Right now he needed it, childish or not, he needed it.

Fire and chaos reigned supreme in the place Reivyn called home. Bush fires had started earlier in the day after their dragonriders had spent the day before fighting Thread. Then Thread had come again along with the fires and it was all too much for the young woman. Dragonriders were everywhere, some in the air still fighting the growing blaze as it neared the Weyr that they all called home. To top all of this off, Reivyn along with others she assumed were candidates - she only knew a few of them - had been herded by one of the bronzeriders onto the hatching sands. She knew it was safer for them there but there had to be things they could do to help the weyr too! As they were all brought onto the sands, Reivyns realized the real reason they'd been brought - Delanth's clutch was hatching! It was time once again for them to try and bond to a dragon. Even though fires raged outside the weyr and danger lurked all around them, Reivyn still found herself excited at the prospect that a dragon might choose her this day. This excitement didn't deter her fear for those closest to her whose fates she didn't yet know. So many lived beyond the boundaries of the Weyr; so many had lost their homes and people they loved. Reivyn said a silent prayer that her family wouldn't be among those dead by the end of this.

The young entertainer knew she should be focusing on the hatching, but her mind was filled with worry for those out this night and the dragonriders still in the air. People had been injured, people had been killed; yet here they were on these sands in a small pocket of calm. Reivyn shut her eyes to block out everying going on around her, unknowingly coming to a stop next to Rowan as she stilled herself. For a long moment, all she could hear were the faint sounds beyond the sands. Then finally she heard the shifted of feet on the sands and the sounds of baby dragons fighting their way out of their shells. She could hear the breathing of the golden mother, and the calm beating of her own heart. Finally honey eyes opened and Reivyn took the moment to offer a polite greeting to Delanth before turning to be closer to her fellow candidates. To maintain her calm, she allowed the music she often heard to softly fill her mind. It wasn't so much that she wasn't paying attention, just enough to keep her calm and allow her to focus.

This wild night would chance some of their lives forever, and for good or bad, Reivyn hoped one of those lives was hers. She hoped to see a pair of rainbow swirling eyes looking up at her, she hoped to one day fly through the air on the back of a being that would be the other half of her soul. Mostly she hoped for all to end well this night, and for these young lives to all come through this chaos unscathed.

Everything seemed to be going to hell in a hand basket. At least that's what his mother would say. Fires, thread, more fire, and more thread. It was as if Pern itself was turning on them. Their own home for twelve years and now it seemed out to get them. Chatan couldn't believe the irony of it. They all left a planet to get away from turmoil and blood shed only to find more turmoil and blood shed. It was just disguised differently.

Some how though in the midst of the chaos and uproar, a small spark appeared. Hearing the bugle of the queen Delanth, Chatan was quickly on the heels of Donal running to the hatching sands. He couldn't believe this was happening now, of all times. Too bad there would be no big celebration for them as there was for past hatchings, but that was okay.

At the sands the eggs were rocking violently. He felt his hand being grabbed by Donal. His heart jumped into his throat for some reason unknown to him. "You right as rain there. Won't be long till the crack themselves open I'm sure." He replied wondering which would be the first to hatch.

Disater everywhere! it was almost like she had been right about the elements. Or at least fire. Ayana had written a poem about lots of things going wrong. She was worried about Malcolm, he was helping put out the fire and she hoped he did not get hurt, even though she would not mind taking care of him herself. But she had no support at all and she was actually still a bit scared of the sands. Mhat if it happened again?

"No it won't!" Ayana said to herself but she still went to sit on the stands anyhow.

Ouray; Raziel and Matthias had all been herded onto the sands by M'kael with the others. Barely having finished their late dinner; out of the three Ouray was the Vet; Raziel the doctor; and Matthias, well as arrogant as he was he was a nurse and a damn good one. All had been run ragged in the infirmary; being chosen to become candidates had been no walk in the park for any of them either. They had just been catching a late dinner when M'kael had rounded them up and thrust them onto the sands with the others; a rather empty and soundless set of sands.

M'kael had left them all then; to retrieve whoever was left and then leave himself to go fight the fires again. There they were; alone with the others and no real clue of what to do if anything. Buckets of meat hastily prepared were being dumped by the entrance of the sands behind them. Beyond that they would have no help or support from anyone. Two eggs began to crack, but it was the Halibut Egg that cracked open first. An aqua blue tail sliced through the shell and thumped into the ground. He manoeuvred himself out of his egg with precision to stand free of it he was quite slender and quite pretty in his colouring too.

He took a long moment to survey the limited selection of candidates before him; it seemed however that his limited choice of potential riders did not bother him much if at all. Moving finally he looked up to Ouray; gazing deeply into his eyes; transfixed on the young man as he came closer.

'Hello O'ray; there is quite a commotion out there isn't there? That's why no one is here isn't it?'

He was a perceptive one; as he finally came to stop in front of Ouray who had now been named O'ray. It seemed since becoming a candidate; Ouray had given thought of shortening his name like the future riders. With the other riders doing it now to he made a decision and it seemed that Ivonth had picked up on that; just like how he knew Ivonth's name even without him saying it.

He knew he shouldn't have been there. He'd been assigned the mundane, so-called "important" task of herding refugees deeper into the Weyr while others were either fighting the bushfire coming dangerously close to home or flying dragon back above them fighting Thread. Rallying the support of those that saw them in the skies, the dragonriders were a beacon of hope for Caldera and colony alike. Damien wanted to be like that someday, though he knew his mother would never allow him to try for Candidate status. Of course, if one of the searchriders "discovered" him then there would be nothing she could do. That hadn't happened yet, but one could dream.

Then it came, that sound that he could feel in his bones. The golden queen's eggs were hatching. He wanted to be there for it, especially since Donal was standing.

He ran, his long legs eating up the distance as he weaved through the ever growing crowd of terrified refugees escaping the fires outside. "Excuse me, pardon me, coming through!" He announced loudly as he made his way closer and closer. The sounds of the animals outside were pushed aside, thoughts of his mother were pushed away as well. For once in his life, he didn't want to worry about anything but encouraging his friend.

Damien found himself in the stands watching, leaning over as far as he could to see his friend. "Donal! Good luck!" He waved his arms to get the candidate's attention, as he was covered in grime from helping and handling people all day.

Ayana watched as the first dragon hatched. It was a blue, just like all the other hatchings she noticed. Ayana though was zoned out. She shouldn't be here. She should be helping Malcolm and the others but she thought Jase had said that she shouldn't. Maybe he had? Maybe he hadn't? Whatever it was the riders could handle it. But if Malcolm came back burned Ayana would not be happy. She sat there in silence, her eye seemed to cloud over as she returned to her own world deep in thought. Otania and Verreth were out there too. Ayana actually hoped her adopted sister got burned. Maybe she would.

Donal grinned at his friend and then looked back at the eggs. Suddenly an egg cracked open, revealing an azure dragon. The male bee lined for one of the older lads on the Sands, but the sixteen year old wasn't too disappointed about losing out on a blue. He may be an open minded child, but Don still wanted one of those massive shinies. Especially since this clutch had been sired by a Second Passer. Dragging Chatan with him, the semi-swarthy lad scooted closer to the rocking eggs, hoping to find a lifemate among them.

The hatching had started! And just like the three before it a blue was the first to emerage and Impress. And what a lovely color he was! Reivyn couldn't help but smile happily at what seemed to her to be a good sign for the rest of this hatching. Reivyn bounced up and down once on her feet to try and ease the almost overwhelming heat that was burning the bottoms of her poor feet. A blue really wasn't a bad start after all, and he was only the first of many that would come. Now that one had successfully Impressed Reivyn felt a weight she hadn't known was there life from her chest. This day would turn out alright, she just knew it. It had too.

Curiousity brushed against Reivyn's mind and she turned to quickly give a mental 'No!' to Blondie before the green could come out of her hiding place where she was safe to watch the hatching instead. Reivyn didn't want her firelizard upsetting either the golden mother or any of the hatchlings after all. So the green would stay where Reivyn told her too, no matter how many times she had to be retold to do so.

Right around the time he'd called out to his friend Damien noticed the first of the eggs hatch upon the sands. He immediately ducked out of sight for a moment as he had one of those 'oops' moments. Here he was, watching the birth of these amazing creatures, and he was hollering at his friend about it? How stupid was that? Silently he apologized to the world then peeked back over to watch the rest of the hatching with rapt fascination.

The blue that found his partner on the sands he sent a silent congratulation to. He'd seek out the new rider later and tell him personally, but for now he would watch and wait. While he waited he played the 'guess who Impresses what' game.

The Orca Egg was the second egg moving; rocking almost lazily as if it were in no hurry what so every to break free from it's confinements. The contents were dumped out sideways as the shell finally broke. Flopping out onto the sand lay a dragon with a rather russet red hide; at first glance there were some whispers of it being a crimson. Until the form decided to roll over and the brown taint of the russet hide could be seen in it's movements.. No it appeared he was just a brown and a rather lazy one at that as he decided to just stay where he lay in the sands. The most he moved was to get to his belly and settle himself comfortably in the sands and close his eyes. One eye briefly opening to flicker over the candidates before closing again.

'Are you just going to stand there and stare at me D'nal. Go and bring me some food; I'm hungry.'

There was no signs of him moving from his spot either as his eyes stayed closed and the only thing that seemed to move about him was the slightest twitch of his tail.

Donal was watching the rocking eggs intently, paying closer attention to the ones that seemed to be eager to escape rather than the slowly wiggling ones. The black and white egg was the next to hatch, revealing a reddish brown dragon. He was slightly concerned when it did not seem to be eager to get up and find its lifemate; perhaps there was something wrong with this one? The mother had been severely injured during her Flight.

Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, D'nal? Go and bring me some food; I'm hungry.

And then he rolled over and glanced almost dismissively at the candidates. Then D'nal knew the right of it. He stood in shock, at first, and then indignation that this strong young brown would try and have him do something that Vorineth was clearly capable of doing himself. The young man crossed his arms and held his ground, bracing his legs shoulder-width apart in just the manner he would face down his stubborn little sister or a particularly contrary mount.

I will just stand here and stare if ye don't find it in yourself to get up on those perfectly good feet of your'n and walk over here. Ye will move about for yerself and come to the food, or ye won't get food until ye do.

It sounded a bit harsh and D'nal was feeling a bit remorseful, able to feel the brown's hunger through their newly formed bond. However, like any good MacAualy, he was no man's - or dragon's - servant, not even his own.

Vorineth did not open his eyes while he sulked, pushing his mind against that of his lifemate. It seemed that D'nal really wouldn't be getting him anything to eat any time soon. Still, the brown didn't think the hunger was so bad yet and the Sands were so warm and pleasant to lie in. Not at all like that cramped egg. Squishing himself even further into the sand around his slowly drying body, Vorineth did not move.

I am hungry, Mine. Do you want me to starve? It's so pleasant here that only food right now would make this warm bed better.

D'nal could understand where his brown was coming from. However, laziness would get him nowhere and the scots lad intended to impart this upon Vorineth.

Lad, ye can lay there all ye like. That's perfectly fine. After all, getting out of an egg is hard work. But I won't go and get ye good juicy meat because yer too lazy t'do it yerself. When ye want food, ye'll get up fir it.

The new brownrider didn't move a muscle at all, though he could see his siblings in the Stands moving about to try and figure out just what was going on. Trina, his youngest and most stubborn sister, seemed the most concerned, poking Rhona to make D'nal do something for the poor little brown who simply must be starving.

First Blue then Brown had safely made it onto the sands and successfully Impressed. Reivyn was happy to see things going so well and she noticed others of the eggs still shaking. This night was far from over and Reivyn's heart was pounding now in excitement over what the night would really bring. Chaos still reigned outside these walls, but that problem was for another day. Now it was the day of these young dragons and their chosen and nothing was going to take away from that.

Blondie had finally agreed to stay put but she kept insisting on images of what was happening from her Pet. She'd stay where she was told, but not without a price.

"We are going to be lucky." Ayana muttered. She was looking at the egg count and how many candidate were here. There were seven cadidates in total even though some were not her right now and only six eggs remained. Who even knew if they all hatched? No one so one or two just may not hatch at all. They had just enough but what if she was not good enough to impress at all and a dragon never wanted her? That was something Ayana would ahve to deal with.

Chatan watched in wonder as finally an egg hatched. A blue was the first to hatch, a nice teal like colored blue. He took a long time to look over the candidates before finally choosing a boy Chatan didn't really know that well.

After that a brown hatched from the largest egg of the clutch. He broke out and then just laid there. At first Chatan thought that the poor thing was dead, but there was no keening of the dragons. Finally there was some life in the little thing, though it still just laid there. Chatan wasn't even sure what was going on with it. If it impressed or if it was just going to lay there and sleep.

He looked over to Donal who was standing there with a defiant look on his face. Curious Chatan moved a bit closer to him. "What do you think is going on?" He asked his best friend.

It seemed that despite where they had all started three eggs; the Tube Worm Egg, the Seaweed Egg and the Clown Fish Egg had all rolled together in some sort of cahoots. Leaning against each other the trio seemed to shudder and shake almost like they were apart of an eerie ritual. It was truly a rather creepy image for one to watch and though they never did anything but rock against each other some would swear they saw them dancing around each other rocking. In the emptiness of the cavern it only seemed even more frightening to watch happen as in unison the same leg burst from each shell.

The tail followed each mimicking the other perfectly as they cracked from their shells; finally they were all free after what appeared to be a rather creepy hatching. In unison they turned their piercing eyes towards the candidates. Each as different as the last in appearance but is seemed they were all almost identical in terms of the personality they were displaying. They watched the candidates for some long time; staring at them all intently almost like a hawk would watch it's prey. Finally one stepped forwards; the one who stood amongst the middle of them. She was of a teal shade and looked rather skeletal though one would say that was to be expected from hatching from the smallest egg of a wounded queen. She was the first to reach out towards the minds of the candidates with a chilling touch before finally she settled on one.

'No!..No no no.. oh why must the shiney thing watch; choking flames; blinding smoke.. Why Why why... pain; much pain; no relief.. Need Rowan.. Rowan is such a good girl.. such a pretty girl.. No NO... they mustn't go.. they must stay; must watch.. watch sisters.. must stay..'




The next sister to step forwards was the one flanking right; her hide the shade of olives with slight taint of yellow to it. She was not as skeletal looking as her sister and certainly bigger than her as she moved; though how she moved well now. Before anyone knew it she was behind the candidates; weaving in and out loudly voicing their judgement on them all without holding back. She was harsh and without restraint as she picked on their every little flaw; her mind even reaching out to those in the stands; picking them apart as she searched. Finally her piercing gaze settled upon one of the young men towards the back of the Candidates and before he knew it she was at his side.

'R'ziel it appears you are the least flawed out of these imbeciles; for that I will claim you as my own. However we will wait till my sister has chosen before we will feed together.'




The last stood still; she watched and she waited. She brooded and contemplated and when some poor curious child had run on to the sands to tug at her tail she turned and struck the child with her claw. At the scream of the child she hit the child again; and once again till the mother finally managed to rush onto the sands and in horror gather her child and flee. Turning back to the candidates with poise she sat there and innocently cleaned her talons free of the child's blood. It was not her fault after all; that mother should have kept better hands on her child; it was the child's fault for provoking her like that too. See she was still good. Finally clean; the elegant one of the sisters and the last to be standing there of them delicately stood and weaved her way towards the young man she had chosen as her own and looked up at him with innocent and adoring eyes.

'Wasn't that child mean Ch'tan; he pulled on my tail. He provoked me; it's not my fault. Really it isn't'

[For Reivyn...eventually *points accusingly at her muse, Rai* blame her for this super-long post!]

Rowan looked around, wanting to be someone she knew during this time. The first one she saw was the boy she had stood next to for the last hatching - that Taylor boy. What was his first name? The artist found herself moving over to him; the younger man looked as scared as she felt, and they could probably both do with some company. "Hi, um..."

The boy looked around, seeming surprised to have been approached. "Keith."

"Right. Hi, Keith. I'm Rowan...we were next to each other last hatching. You looked like you could use a bit of company."

Keith hesitated, then nodded rapidly. Company might be exactly what he needed. "I remember. Um, thanks." His eyes flickered from her face to the eggs. "Good luck with Impressing."

She offered a smile. "Thanks. And you. And here's to all of us making it out of this mess." Her tone was understandably grim as she stared out at the rocking eggs. Keith only nodded, thoughts once again haunted by death; Static clung tighter to him, crooning. Rowan glanced over at his pale face. "You okay? If you don't mind me saying so, you look like someone who's seen death."

Startled, Keith glanced up at her again. "Y-yes, I have," he admitted, meeting her eyes for just an instant before casting his downwards again. "My b-boyfriend," he admitted, tears suddenly springing to his eyes. "With Thread falling again, and this awful fire, I can't stop thinking about him."

Rowan tried not to react at the word 'boyfriend'; whom he like did not make a difference, and was hardly important. It was a magnificent loss for him. "I'm very sorry," she offered. "My Uncle Rick died during Threadfall as well, and not long afterward my Aunt Melody died of sickness. I lived with them until they were gone; I ran away from my parents when I was 11 to go to Pern...." Her eyes looked off into nothing as she remembered. Always needing to be different, always hating the dullness of her adopted parents' views...Until she'd left them behind with no way to get back to them. It was foolish thing, and she couldn't quite forgive herself for doing it...but she couldn't quite regret it either, because it meant she was here.

"I left my parents, too," Keith murmured, staring again at the eggs. "Or...they left me. When Timothy died. When they found me over his body after they'd insisted I never get involved with another boy again...they disowned me. I went away and came here, and I haven't seen them since." Sobs threatened to escape from him, but the boy tried to keep them in. Why he was bringing these old wounds up to a stranger he couldn't have said, but now, during the fire and storm...it was the only weight he could manage to lift.

Rowa nstared at him for a long moment, then leaned over to hug the youger candidate. "I'm sorry," she whispered to him, and she was; parents like that must have been a thousand times as horrible as hers. And her parents hadn't been bad, either, just so different from her...that's what made them difficult to live with.

For a moment they hugged, then broke apart, feeling awkward. The newly acquainted pair was saved from having to vocalize after that by the cracking of an egg. A beautiful blue hatched and Impressed to a boy neither of them knew, and then a russet-colored brown hatched and....lay down. And didn't move. What? They glanced at each other, thinking the same thing, but the dragonet's hide did not pale, and there was no creeling. He was alive and....had he already picked his Lifemate? If he wasn't disappearing, he had to have....but who was it?

Rowan looked through the meager crowd, searching for someone's elated gaze ,but found none....and her gaze fell on Reivyn, on the other side, and they lit up. Why hadn't she gone to her friend before? The redhead started to move away, then looked back at Keith. "I'm going to go see my friend Reivyn, but you can come with me if you want, okay?" The candidate looked around, then nodded, and found himself trailing after this girl he'd met. It was better than remaining alone, after all....

"Reivyn! Hi!" Rowan called, weaving through the crowd to stand next to her friend. She suddenly wiped her brow, and looked up at the sky, worried. It was definitely getting hotter. "Hey...good luck," she added, her previously bouncy tone more subdued by the remembrance of their predicament. "Oh, this is Keith." She gestured to the boy who had caught up with them, and he offered a small smile Reivyn's way.

The candidates around them suddenly stilled, and began murmuring to each other. Keith and Rowan immediately looked towards the eggs again, and saw three eggs next to each other, all shaking and shuddering apparently in unison....It reminded the artist of a bizarre sort of war dance, or ritual. That was rather creepy. Then they all broke shell....at once! Keith looked closer and saw hat all three pushed a leg through at the same time...and the same leg, too! That was rather disturbing....As if this day needed to get any creepier.

Three greens all eventualy pushed their way out, each of entirely different shade and sizes....And yet, they all seemed so alike somehow. All turning to stare at the candidates with piercing gazes that made Keith nervous and Rowan concerned. This certainly didn't seem to be normal behavior for hatchlings, did it?

It seemed a long time before any of them moved, but eventually one took a step forward. She was so skinny, skeletal, and the teal hide seemed stretched tightly over small bones. Keith shuddered, feeling something like a cold wave wash over them, over all of them probably, and knew the dragonet was searching for the right one.

Rowan felt the same, and then....


'No!..No no no.. oh why must the shiney thing watch; choking flames; blinding smoke.. Why Why why... pain; much pain; no relief.. Need Rowan.. Rowan is such a good girl.. such a pretty girl.. No NO... they mustn't go.. they must stay; must watch.. watch sisters.. must stay..'

"Oh, my-" What a voice. Echoing and chilling, and yet...and yet...

And it had said her name. Rowan - Need Rowan, it had said. Such a good girl. Such a pretty girl. Her, Rowan, talked about by this voice in her head, the voice that was so wrong and yet so right....

"Loriliqueth?"

Where the name came from, Rowan had no idea, but she opened her motuh and it was there, waiting for her. Always had been waiting for. Loriliqueth's piercing gaze fixed on her, and she stepped forward slowly, purposefully, towards her. The name poured out again; she coudl not stop it. "Loriliqueth. Loriliqueth!" The girl moved forward, stumbling, and fell to her knees, reaching out to hug the green, until Loriliqueth held up her tail to stop her. The green had turned her eyes away, to the horizon, and was murmuring, It comes...So hot, choking, burning. They go; they must not go, they must come back! They must see me, my sisters, must greet us....except him. He stays, he gets eaten, burned...Loriliqueth wants him burned.

Rowan stared at her green, bewildered. "Loriliqueth?" Already she loved the green; how could she not? This was her green, her wonder, and a wonderful creature she was, but her mind was so...so...Rowan couldn't describe it. Different. Off. Bad? No. No, she wasn't bad...or at least, Rowan could not bring herself to believe her beloved green could be bad. But so...different. She switched to mind-speech, testing out. Loriliqueth? Are you all right?

The dragonet turned calculating orbs on her. Is anyone? I am as I am meant to be, my Rowan, and...it hurts, she interrupted herself suddenly. "What hurts?" the new greenrider asked hurriedly, worried. I need... And then Rowan felt it too, a streak of hunger that wasn't her own. Food, Loril, you need food.

Loriliqueth had taken a step away when food was mentioned, but stopped dead and looked back. Loril? No. I am Loriliqueth. "But it's a nickname, to make it easier-" No, Rowan. My name is Loriliqueth, the hatchling repeated firmly. She was Loriliqueth and that was all; there would be nothing else for her.

"Well...let's get food," Rowan murmured, dazed. Loriliqueth was going to be very interesting to live with, that was for sure - but Rowan was intrigued by her, very intrigued. Suddenly the artist realized she'd just run off from Keith and Reivyn, and turned, beckoning Loriliqueth bac. "Guys!" she called happily. "Look! This is Loriliqueth!" Actually, they'd probably figured that out from her cries of Loriliqueth!, but...And speak of the devil, the green was growing impatient. Leave them, she instructed. They do not matter. Come. Give me food, and then we shall meet my sisters. Eveskineth and Eskaneth, I must meet...We are needed...Together, we are needed... her thoughts drifted off again, and Rowan was left staring at the dragonet, who ignored her now. "She'll...take some getting used to," she admitted to Reivyn. "A lot, actually, but....sin't she amazing, still? I'd better get her food though..." The green had suddenly turned to fix her rider with a stern glare. That you must.

"Whoa." Ayana blinked and it seemed like she missed quite a bit. At once three eggs hatched. None of the three greens were for her but for once Ayana did not mind that dragons did not deem her fit for them. Maybe she was just not meant to impress. She shook her head, no matter what she was not going to give up. She would probably not even mind if she got mauled again. So what she would be in pain but she would get used to it, even though the pain was worse than a very purple bruise.

Reivyn turned as Rowan finally spotted her and came over; dragging a young man she didn't know along with her. She waved at her friend's greeting then smiled at her well wishes. "Good luck to you too Rowan." She was happy to be standing with someone she knew for this; despite the circumstances. It was really getting hot on the sands. When Rowan introduced her to the young man she'd come with, named Keith, Reivyn nodded a greeting to him as well. "Nice to meet you Keith, and good luck." Then no more words could be said because things started happening all at once. As if the lazy brown just laying on the sands wasn't odd enough, three green dragons hatching in an odd procession and the stared intensely at those that had gathered. The greens were all different shapes and sizes but they were obviously all unique while still being alike in some manner. Reivyn didn't understand it, but that's how she felt.

Then the inevitable happened. One of the greens Impressed, and it was Rowan she wanted. Reivyn smiled and offered congratulations to her friend as she told the entire world the name of her lovely life partner. Loriliqueth was a beauty but she seemed....off somehow in a way Reivyn couldn't quite describe. Still, her friend looked happy to have her and that was all that mattered to her. Then Reivyn's happy smile grew wider when Rowan moved to introduce them to her wonder of a dragon. "She's beautiful Rowan and congratulations. Now you get over there and feed that darling green of yours. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Then her friend was being demanded to by her green in words Reivyn couldn't hear but were obvious from the way the green looked at Rown.

The two other greens followed their sister in quick succession, each finding the one they wanted and bonding. Things were happening so quickly and now only a few of the eggs were left. Reivyn wondered if she'd Impress from this small clutch since there had only been eight eggs to begin with, then shook her head to clear the negative thoughts and let her mind drift to her music for a long moment to calm herself before focusing on the remaining three eggs.

Chatan watched in almost horror at the scene that was unfolding before their eyes. Three of the eggs began rocking at the same time, then they came together in a close circle. It looked as if they were almost dancing around each other. It was really quite creepy how they seemed to be in unison with each other. If that wasn't weird enough as they hatched, they all hatched exactly the same at exactly the same time.

From the creepy trio of eggs, came three kind of creepy greens. They all seemed to stare at the candidates like predators watching their prey. Very weird, very creepy. The first one, the creepiest one, impressed to the girl he knew as Rowan. The second one seemed to prowl around everyone whilst insulting and ridiculing them.

Finally the third, and the prettiest, of the three did something simply awful. A small child came up behind her and pulled on her tail since she had been sitting there for so long. The green quickly turned on the child and started attacking it. Then kept attacking it until finally the mother came and rescued it.

Before he realized what was happening the green was before him. ''Wasn't that child mean Ch'tan; he pulled on my tail. He provoked me; it's not my fault. Really it isn't' The pretty green cooed over Ch'tan, giving him big puppy dog eyes and looking just about as hurt as possible.

Chatan, er..well Ch'tan now, was still a bit stunned by the scene that had just unfolded in front of him. Now one of them was standing in front of him, speaking to him, telling him how mean it was of that child to pull on her tail. A part of him knew that it was this manipulative green that was the mean one, however he couldn't bring himself to be angry at her. 'Oh, you poor thing, I know it isn't. Well doesn't seem as if you'll die from it.' Ch'tan said to his green as he bent over to rub her slender head and neck.

'I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful rider. Isn't it wonderful to have your Eskaneth as well Ch'tan? That child is lucky his mother stopped him from hurting anymore. Otherwise I would have had to protect myself. Wouldn't I have? Yes, yes I would. Look at me. I'm just a little hatchling. Now, my dear Ch'tan. Take you Eskaneth to get some food with her sisters.' Eskaneth said. Ch'tan was still in a bit of shock and something about his dragon made him almost...scared. She acted so defenseless and helpless, but clearly it was the child that had almost died by her hands. He still could not bring himself to be angry at her.

D'nal maintained his half of the mental staring contest with Vorineth despite the brown's disaffected physical attitude. An interruption occurred in the form of Chatan drawing the young man's attention. "Huh?" D'nal said, turning his head to look at his friend though his mind still made it clear to his dragon that he did not accept laziness. It took a second for Chatan's question to sink and then he answered in a jiffy, correcting his friend's mistake. "Wi' fa? Vorineth? Weel, he's bein' tay lazy tae gie up an' come haur sae we can gie food. Insteid, he's tryin' tae order me tae gie it fur heem." And I won't get it fir ye, neither.

Meanie, Vorineth said, eyes still triple lidded as he affected a yawn. He remained where he was, flicking his tail over his nose comfortably. I am hungry. I want food. You will starve me. If I had known this would happen I would not have chosen you. It wasn't a real threat, as both Vorineth and D'nal that there was no other rider or dragon for either of them.

Three greens hatched at once and found their riders, though there was something insanely eerie about the trio. D'nal spared them a glance and felt the urge to swear to his ancestors for protection, but didn't. Vorineth opened one eye and nearly squawked when Eskaneth gored a small child. Though he agreed that getting one's tail pulled would not be a pleasant experience, there were better, lazier ways to deal with it than nearly killing a human. D'nal felt his brown's resistance to moving weaken some at the sight of the strange trio of greens and gave a final push for Vorineth to come and seek comfort from him. In all honesty, the young lad could use comfort too.

Slowly, Vorineth slunk to D'nal, leaning against his leg while still eying his three sisters. They are...strange. D'nal reached down and caressed his ruddy dragon's headknobs, looking on in quite a bit amazement as Chatan Impressed one of the greens. The one that had gored the kid. I know, my Vori, but don't worry 'bout them. If ye're ready, we'll go git some food with Chatan and his dragon. There was some discontentment from Vorineth at the thought of eating with Eskaneth, but knew His would make sure he was safe.

"Nice job, Chatan," D'nal said coolly and offhandedly observed the green who seemed to be patronizing his best friend. In the Stands, nineteen year old Rhona was comforting Trina who was upset over the poor child, while Gia and Keith cheered D'nal on apparently getting the brown to break. They were horse people, and that's how they thought of will power, though they were still a bit young to understand the relationship between riders and their dragons.

Of eight eggs; five had already hatched by the time the Coral Reef Egg had decided to begin making it's entrance into the world. Spider cracks formed across the shell and grew larger and larger as they went. Finally the shell seemed to dissapate and in it's place; standing proud and tall, was a brown. Well at first with the egg goop still clinging to hide hide and the odd eggshell still stuck to it he looked brown. Indignantly he began to clean himself; rid himself of the filth clinging to his body. After some time he gave up; this would take more than his tongue to clean up; perhaps one of those could help. Everyone else was getting one; so perhaps he should too. Proudly standing up; one could see from the drying patches of egg goop that he wasn't brown at all. No he was a bronze; he just happened to have a dusty brown overlay that seemed to dim his shine somewhat.

Reaching out for a mind; the bronze touched them all, even the females got a look in. Though most of them were met with a snort of disgust. Finally something captured his mind; something so like him; someone who thought like him; someone who would treat him the way he was meant to be treated. Reaching out he made a firm connection with the young man who was so much his own; more than either side of the pair could realise.

'M'thias; you and I will be great. We will lead and all will bow before us. No one else is worthy of us; they will have to earn it.'

The ideal struck right to the very heart of Matthias; who had now been coined M'thias by the.. no not the, his.. his bronze. Ausralith was his and his alone for the rest of his life. Moving towards the bronze he knelth before him and rested a hand on his head; rubbing at his eye ridges with affection and pride.

"Of course Ausralith; no one can better us."

Rowan felt bad for just forgetting about Reivyn and Keith, especially when she realized she'd never really answered Reivyn's 'good luck'. Thankfully, her friend seemed to understand, and eagerly congratulated her. "Thanks," the greenrider replied, face flushed with excitement. Already her misgivings about her skeletal dragon were fading; Loriliqueth was absolutely perfect, and how could she do anything but love her? There was nothing wrong with her, nothing, and already Rowan was smitten - not that she had a choice in the matter, but she didn't think about that. So what if Loril's mind felt a bit...different? Rowan loved different, and always had.

"Okay!" she agreed hurriedly, already moving away to get her dragon food. She waved to both of them as she half-ran, and tossed a "Good luck!" over her shoulder. And then it was all about Loriliqueth, who was loping ahead of her, looking beautiful to her rider's mind despite her thinness. The redhead caught up to the green, and quickly began feeding her. Loriliqueth hardly even seemed to pay attention to what she was eating; instead, she looked to the sky again, and began murmuring lowly to herself. Coming too quickly; everything is too fast. Can't stop, can't see, only darkness and flames...only chaos; chaos and terror, the terror eats, the terror kills...Must stop, must fight...

Rowan wondered if Loriliqueth even really knew or understood what she was saying; it sounded nearly incoherent, and was certainly nothing a baby not a day old should be thinking. "Loriliqueth, stop that," she begged. The green simply stared at her. Why do you question me? I will not stop, I will not change...the world does not stop turning because you ask it to and neither shall I...Oh, and when I am full, we are going to see my sisters. The last bit was added matter-of-factly; obviously there was going to be no question in the matter.

Another egg fell apart; Loriliqueth's head whipped around to watch, and her eyes narrowed dangerously when she saw what came out of that egg. A bronze! A nasty, bloated bronze, thinking he was worth the world. Worth nothing, he was, nothing at all. The skeletal hatchling hissed menacingly. Stupid bronze, arrogant bronze! Loriliqueth hopes he gets burned. Rowan stared at her dragon in horror. "B-burned? Loriliqueth, that's terrible!" What did her dragon have against that bronze? So violent; it scared Rowan. It was starting to bewilder her and, yes, scare her, how this green was so obviously disturbed...and how she loved her with all her heart anyway. Why?


[insert Keith moping about not being picked here...sorry, just don't have time or muse atm x/ ]