M'noq just set the @party! Type @party to check it out!

It's high noon, 115 degrees, and the dragons have just started to hum! Eggs start to hatch on Southern Weyr's sands at 2pm MOO time (PST)! @goroom #11612 and join the fun!
— entered by M'noq on 2017-09-23 13:50 MOO Time. (37 seconds)

<Southern Weyr> Caelisth senses that: Into the pregnant silence comes the most lovely breaking: Dhiammarath's maternal thrum rises in volume, met in counterpart and melody by Dhioth's deeper, nasal version of the same. The queen's scintillant starfire goes supernova in a moment of blessed release, heralding that the time has come: her newest children will soon grace the Sands of Southern. (Dhioth)

Vani stalks out onto the sands, with a line of white-robed chick-a-dees (and chicka-dudes) behind her. "Play nicely." She instructs before taking her proper place with the other weyrlingmaster staff. Her work has yet to really begin.

The candidates wander out onto the sands, garbed in their white robes, sans one, the lovely Xanthee, who was sent home. These ducklings have graduated to varying degrees of awkward / brooding swans as they form a line and bow as one to Dhiammarath and Dhioth. One or two are a bit belated in their dipping.

R'zel ushers in the tail end of the line of candidates - a wingsecond roped in to play sheepdog today. "That's it, line up behind the others," he hisses. "Pawla, don't run! You know better than that!" Two minutes of Pawla and her ginger-haired chum and he's tearing his hair already.

Play? Frostana gives the greenrider a dubious look before bowing with her cohort and turning said dubious look onto the eggs. The humming of dragons is a thrum in the bones and she clenches her jaw to keep her teeth from rattling with it. Because that's totally why her teeth are chattering…

K'ane stops pacing when candidates hit the Sands. He salutes the bowing candidates with his glass of whiskey — his ice is MELTING SO FAST — and his booted feet take him away from Hannah and Dhiammarath, the junior weyrwoman easing her queen's emotions. He ends up more or less next to Vani, offers her his whiskey with a broad grin. "Fuckin' finally," he says, gesturing at the candidates. Someone's ready to be off the Sands.

Amania files out and bows with the rest, having to squint subtly in the stifling heat. What rises from the Sands just makes it worse, and she is really appreciating the tradition of the robes now. Thin and white as they are, it makes the odds of survival in this oven-cave a little higher! She's also grateful for the lack of sleeves. As it stands, her robe is clinging to her body in ways she didn't anticipate…but that is of no concern as they stand upon the Sands, the humming of the dragons throbbing around and seemingly through them. She stares up at Dhiammarath and Dhioth for a good moment, swallowing hard, before yanking her gaze to the galleries. So many people! But there are specific faces she hopes to spot nevertheless.

M'noq stands off to the side, not really a weyrlingmaster here, but he can at least watch out for stragglers. "Shells, has it always been this hot out here?" A sympathetic look is sent to K'ane, who has had to spend the last few sevendays out here. "Deep breaths, eyes on the eggs," he reminds a couple more nervous-looking candidates.

More of those eggs are rocking every moment - it won't be long now until the first hatchlings appear!

Vani eyes the free offer of booze, but really… she's not going to say no, because he didn't even let her touch it last time. "Thanks! You'll be glad I'm sure." Is that what you say? She's pretty novice at this AWLM business (can anyone tell?). After a long sip and a quick wink she hands it back. "This bit is the worst. It felt like forever" You know, when she was a candidate a couple of turns ago.

Therst isn't looking at anyone or anywhere else but the eggs, mainly because he is short and doesn't want to crane his neck up to look for people. He has settled somewhere in the middle of the group taking solace inbeing surrounded by fellow candidates.

Nox walks a bit oddly - he already has a rock in his sandals - his eyes sweeping the galleries for familiar faces. A smile alights his face when he thinks he spots one, and he waves. "Shells, it's hot," he says to no one in particular. He brushes some sweat back from his face and turns to face those rocking eggs. "Oh boy." Here we go.

Rhuysarr is, for once, too focused upon what's happening on the sands to make eyes at K'ane. Sorry, man. Maybe later. The wildling takes his place near the familiar faces of Amania, Nox, and Kelati, settling himself somewhat behind the larger portion of the group.

"Aye," K'ane says to Vani, smirking at her before taking his whiskey back. "Make yourself big if any of th' hatchings come at you. They typically flail off if they realize you ain't food." That's the ex-WLM's brief snippet of advice for the newly-minted AWLM before he's trodding back toward Dhiammarath, exchanging a look with Dhioth as he goes. It's a fond look. These occasions always merit nostalgia.

Kelati is here. Is overheated. Is at least looking okay in this robe, even if she feels naked without her jewelry. "It isn't always quite THIS warm out here, is it?" she murmurs to her cohort, wrinkling her nose even as she seems to be considering hiding behind Rhuysarr as that egg does things. He's much larger, after all. They won't see her. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't this bad the last time?"

Johnny Deathseed Egg splits into neat slices to reveal an apple-green hatchling, shiny from the egg-fluid - and its begun!. She wastes no time in starting her search, but she rejects half a dozen girls before planting herself at the feet of Farmcraft apprentice, her glowing eyes turned up to his.

Frostana tugs the hem of her robe down, rubbing damp palms on the white fabric. This thing is a bit on the short side. Too late to go grab a longer one? She darts a glance to the entrance and back, mapping the steps. No way they'd let her. Right? She catches the eyes of one of their minders — the drippy one who oversaw egg touchings and he squints at her, giving a firm headshake. Hnnngh.

The Night King's Emergence Egg rests quietly on the warm sand, as if slumbering still on a quiet summer's evening. Or, wait! Was that a twitch? It's some time until a second, more distinct movement occurs, but shortly afterwards, there's a definite wobble, and another, and another.

Vani looks down at her slender average frame, then looks up at the older bronze rider, looks down again and back before muttering something like "Easy for you to say!" And then her attention is caught and she's siddling up to one of the female candidates to hiss something that involves gestures to the chesticle area. THE HEAT IS IMMENSE and there are already a couple of…interesting developments.

Long pointed headknobs and a mottled brown hide distinguish the brown that bursts out of the Vibrant Ignorance Egg. He tosses aside the fragments of his shell, then tries his long legs. There are some initial wobbles, but then he prances across the Sands to fall at the feet of a hunter from one of the Wildling clans that's still talking to the Weyr. Both of them know: they belong together now.

"Boob sweat happens, Vani!" K'ane calls over his shoulder.

Amania's palms are sweating, but it's hard to say if it's the heat or her nerves causing it right now. Honestly, she's sweating all over. It's just unavoidable. Still, seeing the eggs rocking manages to send a shiver through her. Then…there goes one! She gasps, watching wide eyed as a baby green dragon winds her way through broken eggshell and unhatched siblings to find her lifemate. "Ohhhh…" comes out it a whispered breath, though whether it's awe or the ever-present nervousness spiking that causes it isn't clear.

Some Day You'll Be a Real Boy Egg has encountered some turbulence. This is going to be a bumpy ride, but it's gonna get out of here! Some day.

Two eggs on opposite sides of the clutch hatch almost together, though Catholic Catharsis Egg explodes in a flurry of shards to reveal a green the colour of peppermint, while Clashes for Stashes Egg yields to the slow pressure within over a much longer period before releasing the sage green dragon within. They both set off in search of their riders, the sage green making steady progress, while the other darts here and there them pauses to listen for the voice she seeks. They converge on a girl who's standing half-way between them. In this case, slow and steady doesn't win the race: the peppermint-green darts in ahead of her sister to claim the prize, leaving the sage green to wander on, creeling miserably. Her grief is assuaged when she finds a fair-haired lad with blue eyes and a kind smile, who asks, "Why so sad, little one?" And then she's not sad any more.

Therst watches as that green comes out of there and chooses the Farmcraft fellow, he will grin, but when the egg he likes gives a twitch he will go back to spectating. Having found himself shifted when people move away from the dragonets. He will some how end up next to Frostana, the heat is getting to him as his red hair has dried and now stuck back to his head with sweat. When the twins hatch and choose even he gives a little smile about.

M'noq really didn't dress for the heat of the sands. He's almost envious of the candidates and their airy, white robes. Well envious except for the sweat stains that are already starting to appear on a couple of burly smith boys near him. "If we're lucky, we'll all be out of here before anyone collapses from heat exhaustion," he comments, happy to see the eggs begin to pop, and the newly-hatched find their life partners.

Rhuysarr doesn't have much in the way of height to hide behind, so hopefully no one is relying on him as a quick escape. Despite the fact that he's somewhat behind his fellow candidates, he has made a point to place himself where he can still see much of what's happening on the sands. There's a brief, approving nod as dragons go tumbling from the eggs and make their way to form new bonds. At least they seem to be moving quickly — perhaps the candidates aren't the only ones who don't enjoy the sweltering heat.

---

Some Day You'll Be a Real Boy Egg shimmies and shakes as it dances along to the invisible strings pulled by an unseen puppet master. There's one more violent shake as Ain't No Thing Like Me, 'Cept Me Bronze Dragonet has had quite enough of that confinement and bursts out of his prison in style. There's a quick shake of his head and body to try and get those last shards of shell off and then he's barreling off in search of? in search of? He'll know it when he sees it. He's got a plan!

Ain't No Thing Like Me 'Cept Me Bronze Dragonet
The diametric extremes of harsh and soft have merged together in this bronze form with unforgiving edges that still look temptingly pettable. Sharply triangular cupreous muzzle slips straight into an angular jaw that sweeps back into broad cheeks and rounded headknobs, both edged with golden bronze. Wide planes soften at the edges to make his face look baby-like at the right angles, inviting brushing and petting. Suspicious eyes peer from behind their mask of black, expressive champagne-hued eyebrows heavy above the brightness of the facets. The broadness of the base of his skull makes his well-proportioned neck look slender, though there is no doubt that his body was put together by an artisan. Strength is evident across broad shoulders and in muscular legs, all wrought from vibrant brass, worked into the detail of every muscle and sinew that lingers beneath skin's surface. Power flows effortlessly through every limb, down to active paws where wickedly sharp talons reside, stark onyx and gleaming viciously with every movement. Restlessness is in his form, in every twitch of the broad tail; in every curl of lips that reveals glistening ivory teeth. Burnished bronze chases across his hide in intricate patterns; ancient marks pressed to unwilling hide, circling and enchaining the compact form of barely-contained energy.

---

"Oh ho," K'ane says as he hops up on Dhiammarath's nearest forepaw to squint out at the bronze shelled from Some Day — "A bronze. See there, Dhioth!" he calls across the field; his chiaroscuro lifemate attends obligingly, though his attention was more focused on the sage-green miserable creeler. There's some internal comment given, and K'ane leans back, grinning to himself.

Now lookee here! Was your regular life getting you down? Tired of neverending candidate chores? Life's a Pitch Egg has just the cure for you! Well, not you as the egg decisively cracks so cleanly that one moment could have been before and the next is clearly an after shot as the chocolate brown hatchling stumbles out of his shell, loudly announcing his presence to all around. He needs his sales partner and where will he find him? Why, in that dark haired trader boy standing right over there. He's a once in a lifetime deal and he's taking it.

Amania quickly enters a state of hyperfocus, klah-dark eyes flicking this way and that as more shells break and living, breathing baby dragons take their first steps into the world. The galleries are just a blur of color off to the side, the imperative to keep track of as much movement as possible thinning her lips in a press of concentration. Then there's a bronze on the loose, and she can't help but watch where he goes next.

Kelati is a couple inches shorter and that definitely made Rhu significant enough to maybe use as a shield, though not for an entire escape — escaping would defeat the purpose of this torture, right? The greens finding their matches has her holding a hand to her heart for a second, tinged with a combination of 'awwwww' and a little bit of envy. That bronze, though. That guy has some fervor. "Hm," she says. "Pretty."

Rhuysarr could maybe fight off a dragon for Kelati. He's small but powerful, right? But all the same, the man isn't all that keen to be used as protection, mostly because that puts him in the line of fire first. And there's a certain amount of self-preservation that goes into these things. Every man for himself.

Frostana edges away from the pairs making Impression, first one, then another. Another. Another! This is uncomfortably like the self-defense classes they had… and maybe that was the purpose. Tracking multiple entities, moving, avoiding. She edges left to avoid the hatchling brown on its way to claim his and finds Therst suddenly there. She gives him a weak smile and quickly turns attention back to the chaos quite literally erupting before them.

The Night King's Emergence Egg is trying hard here, folks! The only place for whoever's inside to be is out of there, and that means it's wobbling, and wobbling some more, and its occupant is pounding at the shell so hard that onlookers may see sudden sharp distortions as the leathery exterior is jabbed from within.

K'ane can see where Rhuysarr's affections are at, then. Kelati, homewrecker. </3

Rhuysarr only has eyes for you, K'ane.

Ain't No Thing Like Me 'Cept Me Bronze Dragonet's barreling comes to a sudden stop as just hatched dragon legs get tangled up he tumbles into the sand. As he rises, he gives a disgusted snort at both the fall and the shards still clinging to him. Did that egg really think it could contain him?

Ocean of Truth Egg bides its time, but if you look closely, you might see a bit of stealthy movement. Duuun dun duuun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun…

Therst watches them and then sees that bronze hatch, he does not move like the others but he keeps an eye on it. No point in runing if we don't have to you will just end up flat and tired, the miner offers Frostana his hand in support if she needs it. When the Night King's egg shows more movement he will look again but still where did that bronze go…

Kelati is definitely not as handsome as K'ane, come on. And in seriousness (not that that wasn't serious): she did see that stealth and she is watching it. That one moved even if it doesn't want anyone to know it moved. She saw you, egg. She's not taking her eyes off you again until she absolutely has to. Just to be sure …

The brown that smashes his way out of the Foiled by Foil Egg is a BIG boy even this young. Burly and broad, he stomps his way across the sands, wrecking quite a few pieces of egg shell beneath his massive feet as he goes. A small, tomboyish girl candidate steps forward and his course changes, the whirl of rainbows in his eyes indicating a sweet Impression.

Boobsweat situation in hand (not literally) Vani gets to her duty, ushering the newly impressed and shell-shocked pairs towards the barracks entrance where water and buckets and BUCKETS of meat await. Poor Llew, all his cows are ded.

Rhuysarr doesn't actually laugh at the bronze, because that seems like the sort of thing that comes back to bite you in the ass later. And he sees those talons — he's not fool enough to make himself a target. Still, there's a quietly strangled cough a the bronze hits the ground, and the man has to turn his attention away from that quarter lest he call karma down upon his head. Also, ALL THOSE COWS DESERVED IT.
Ain't No Thing Like Me 'Cept Me Bronze Dragonet has a plan, guys. And none of these are quite cutting it as the hatchling stumbles from one cluster of candidates to the next, growing increasingly more frustrated as the one he needs is not there yet. It looks like he's going to be the one that has to do everything today, being born and hunting down that lifemate he knows is somewhere on these sands.

---

The Night King's Emergence Egg seems to pulsate. It's sides heaving in a mockery of breath. In. Out. IN! OUT! The shadows writhe and squirm against that gleaming blue sliver of hope. SOMETHING is coming? All at once the night-frosted shell shivers, and crunches like footsteps in the snow? SOMETHING is here! From out of the darkness shines something so blue, something so special it could only be **Some Assembly Required Blue Dragonet. ** And just as soon as he figures out how these feet things work he's coming for you! … or someone. Everyone is just so awesome it's really going to be hard to choose!

Some Assembly Required Blue Dragonet
Click-clack-click! Pixelated variants of generic blue interlock to create a homogenised canvas for this undistinguished dragon. He appears to have come straight from a child's imagination with his blocky angles and bright colours, Creativity abounds with his slightly protuberant eyes and wide nostrils, harnessed into normality again with the regimented progression of precise neck ridges. From a distance he appears uniform, every inch of him a marvel of manufactured perfection. Average is his frame, and average is his hue, however closer inspection reveals where innovation paints subtle patterns with regular irregularity, the memories of happy days rendered in the mingled shades of bluebell, cornflower and gentian. His hide shines with the plastic glimmer of a well loved toy, from talon-tip to wing-sail there is something special about this ordinary looking blue.

---

K'ane would be mollified by a Kelati/Rhuysarr threesome but they are candidates and this is all meta. He drinks his whiskey and sprawls back on his current golden throne, keeping a wary eye on the gold egg and that weird bronze.

Frostana's brows furrow at Therst's offer of a hand and she presses lips flat, shaking her head. No, if things go down, she wants a free… hand.

The Moral of the Story Egg comes to a sudden end, hacked from within by a bright blue hatchling with steel-bright claws. With head held high, he goes to find his destiny, and finds it in the proud gaze of a boy from the orchards of Island River Seahold.

Nox stands calmly, even as his heart is thudding in his chest, trying to keep watch on all of the dragonets, and absently giving his foot a good shake now and again, trying to lodge loose that stone. He keeps his eye on that bronze, distracted momentarily by the blocky blue that just hatched. So many impressions happening all around. So much to see!

Eclipsed Blinding Brilliance Egg gleams from its spot on the Sands, giving no evidence that its time has come. Even as other eggs crack and shatter around it, it betrays no perceptible movement, simply a dark vacancy. But perhaps, if one watches, there is some slow movement between shadow and shine?

don't make k'ane poke you, egg, you are close and he is willing to risk Dhiammarath's wrath … maybe.

do it.

Amania isn't going to laugh at that bronze either, though she's pleasantly surprised that the urge wells up for a moment. She's going to be okay! Racing heart and all. Along comes that rather intriguing looking blue and her gaze is drawn that way for just a moment, following briefly… Did the coloring in the gold egg shift? She eyes it curiously, but with all that's going on, she passes is off as something having to do with the light and just keeps watching.

The clouds ripple and roll on the surface of An Inconvenient Egg as the storm to end all storms brews within. Once the high pressure system breaks, out crashes a rather surly bronze who seems to be struggling with an unseen wind, or maybe just clumsy hatchling feet, until he finds his way to an equally surly looking man from Southern Barrier.

Therst will shrug we all cope with things differently Frostana no worries. He sees that blue now out on the sands, hard to keep track of so many dragons as pairs are getting moved left and right from the sands the group dwindles more. Where did that bronze go again…

Kelati is still watching Ocean of Truth, because it's being so sneaky-like. She won't even LOOK toward that gold egg. It's bad enough that she is female and standing also near other females, because the gold dragonet might look at her for a second. Which she oh so emphatically does not want. Nor does she want to be bait for the bronze, which is why she's trying to consciously breathe evenly instead of giggling. (Are dragons even offended by giggles?)

Rhuysarr loses track of the bronze as the creature searches, his attention instead drawn the newly-hatched blue. There's a brief, considering tilt of his head, before he scans the rest of the field for any potential incoming threats. Did that shiny egg just move? He may not fit the profile of what its occupant is looking for, but he's still aware that it's important.

Ain't anyone here good enough to take part in his plan? Ain't No Thing Like Me 'Cept Me Bronze Dragonet has inspected enough people and found them wanting, a dismissive curl of his lip given to one final young, nervous-looking boy. Pathetic! It's as he turns away that he sees the one, and he trots as casual as you like over to the wildling with the mane of curly black hair. He stands defiantly at the man's feet, staring up at him expectantly.

Ain't No Thing Like Me 'Cept Me Bronze Dragonet turns his jewel faceted eyes toward Rhuysarr, and steps forward.

Ocean of Truth Egg is storm-tossed now, rocking from side to side in ever more violent spurts as though dashed by crashing waves. Surely it can't resist the power of nature for long?

Frostana swallows, mouth dry, closing her eyes to shut out the barrage, brow furrowed. She takes a deep steadying breath (it's supposed to be steadying, anyway) and fills her lungs with searing air smelling of sweat and musky amniote. Bronze and brown and blue. They're all ambling and tumbling and there! Impression of someone she knows, the brooding wildling. Her belly twists and knots.

There are some concessions for being old frenemies clutchmates with clutchsires. Dhioth navigates the difficulties of Zeyta making the battlefield of impressions all but for her. K'ane's over there, sitting on Dhiammarath's paw not far from the gold, talking quietly with Hannah and drinking whiskey. Looks like a party. But then there's this long moment where K'ane's just eyeballing THAT WILDLING as he impresses.

Eclipsed Blinding Brilliance Egg simply cannot be rushed. Balanced between the irresistible forces of momentum and gravity, it waits. The blot of darkness against gleaming golden shell seems to waver and distort, growing to devour the light… or is that simply an illusion of shimmering in the sands' unbearable heat?

Like an overgrown game of marbles, Dental Dreams of Dollars Egg manages to tumble itself right into Return to Innocence Egg. The two identical greens seem to be having a brief conversation for a moment before they dart off, crooning happily. The pair circle back together in front of a pair of blonde haired, blue eyed sisters from Keroon who both start giggling as impressions are made.

Some Assembly Required Blue Dragonet has a new plan, and he's putting it into action right now. Step One: get rid of bits of shell, using paws and muzzle. Check. Apart from the bit that's still clinging to his chin, but that's soon wiped off on the sand. Step two: stand up. Check. Step Three: Stretch Wings. Check. Step Four: try walking. Ooof! That one ends up with him flat on his face in the sand, but hey, practice is good, right? He struggles to his feet again, and this time takes a few steps. Walking? Check! Step five: find someone Special.

Amania manages to glimpse that bronze just as he makes his way…to Rhuysarr. Brows arch high and her mouth rounds open for a moment before she's letting out another, "Oh!" and jostling Nox's shoulder a little without really thinking about it. "He got Rhuysarr!" Or Rhuysarr got him. Perhaps…it works both ways?

The Fate's Paradox Egg is so still among its siblings it's almost alarming. Is it alive or is it dead? The question is answered when the shell splits right down the middle, the two halves falling to each side as a small blue emerges. At the same time, the Felines Have Nine Lives Egg bursts open, and the tiny green within pounces out. Her blue brother, startled by the movement, scurries to a young male candidate and Impresses him; the green, meanwhile, chases a shard of shell across the sands until she butts into the legs of an older girl, and another Impression is made.

Kelati, getting OUT OF THE WAY a bit because the bronze is here now and Impressing one of her … are they friends? They are at least kind of friends. Scooch scooch closer to Nox who is also taller than she is by the same little bit.

Zeyta thrives off the political perks of her association, especially those long-lived and hearkening back to the days of her pigtailed youth. Her outfit, of course, showcases her signature Oldtime-accrued wealth and opulence where she installs herself at the elbow of clutchmate and clutchfather K'ane, her nose wrinkled at the scent of whiskey on her nostrils, pungent even with the heat. Proper respects are paid Hannah too, with that smile flattening her mouth into a pristine image of modicum in such situations. Her critical gaze, however, foists itself on those assembled ofr futures uncertain, only occasional whispering opinions passed from her mouth to the ears of those closest.

Therst doesn't laugh when the blue falls, no one gets right all the time. He looks up to see Rhu finaly get a dragon but really, will that stop the man from brooding? Therst looks back to the sands ok no so scary but WOW, oh look there is Nox he didn't fall asleep in the kitchen good.

Some Assembly Required Blue Dragonet has finally got his feet in order, and sets off quite friskily across the Sands, eager to find the Special one he seeks. A ginger-haired girl from the lower caverns is appraised, then rejected. Not a match. That boy over there… doesn't fit. And neither does the lad with the sailor's pigtail, or the one who's humming a bright tune under his breath - though the little blue stops for a moment to listen to that before he presses on, wobbling dangerously on occasion on legs that arent used to taking his weight, but never actually falling.

K'ane greets his clutchmate with blowing whiskey-breath right in her face, 'cause he's a fucking asshole. "C'mere," he pats Dhiammarath's paw next to him. Best seat in the house. Because the gold egg is right there, they are promised a good show! "You're late," he tells her sternly, "Though y'haven't missed much."

Rhuysarr has spent too many years in the jungle to miss the bronze's approach — not even the heat of the sands can dull that sense of impending doom. (Or maybe it's the promise of an everlasting bond, both feel pretty applicable in this case.) Dark eyes meet those of the defiant dragon before him, and the wildling man finally finds himself tied to the Weyr forevermore. NOTHING is going to stop Rhu from brooding, Therst, but at the moment he's too shell-shocked to do much more than stare. "I am Rh'ysar?" Considering he's not much for words in the first place, it should be no surprise that these are the only ones he can summon.

Vani is here, and waiting to scoop up the impressees. "This way, this way! Apparently we're not big enough not to look like food." Is that a comment on the newly impressed bronzeriders size? "But there is food for him and water for you over here." Is she doing this right? She'll attempt to break through that shock of bonding to get them over to the side away from all the hustle and bustle of the sands.

Muted and unimposing in form, it shouldn't be surprising that Time for Tea Egg knows there's a time for everything and isn't rushing the whole hatching thing. Unfortunately for it, Life, Liberty and Happiness Egg has different ideas and the fireworks green explodes onto the scene and careens into the modest egg right as the olive green was emerging. She can only give a huff at her queue jumping sister. Both head for former harpers, but the quieter hatchling heads straight for the archivist while the louder dragon claims the performer with a bugle of her own.

"Ugh." Both scoffing and scorning, Zeyta pivots her head to the side, producing an oriental fan she flicks open and begins maneuvering RIGHT in K'ane's face. Despite her disgusted antics, she has no qualm assuming her proffered draconic perch, alighting gingerly on golden hide. Now she focuses entirely on that prized shell kept under tightest surveillance, as the once gold-hopeful herself recalls the ambitions now decades dead and gone. "I rather think I have not missed anything at all. Besides, I had to make a pitstop for customary gifts of congratulation." THAT'S RIGHT, she extracts a flask of vintage booze from her cleavage, far from prudish today (but she will still abstain). "I think this makes up for it. Here. I promise it's not poison."

Nox watches Rhuysarr impress that bronze, since he's nearby, and the young dolphineer grins ear to ear. "Well done, man." He says, turning that grin to Amania as she nudges his shoulder. "I know, right?" He'll nod to Kelati, and Therst, squinting around. "Nobody's been eaten yet either."

---

Ocean of Truth Egg gains a jagged line along it's edge, the points almost to sharp to even look at without drawing blood. Then it pauses as if in deep contemplation about what it needs to do next. Then, with a powerful shudder it all comes to pieces. Sprawled among the sharp edged bits of egg Giant Jaws of the Silver Seas Bronze Dragonet sprawls. Like a fish out of water it takes the bronze a moment to reorient himself to this new ocean of life. Picking himself up and taking to legs only growing sturdier by the moment he catches a whiff of the prey that will be his forever. Some weaving happens as other scents get in the way but soon enough he zeros in on the boy who will soon become a man - with a little help from him, right Nox?

Giant Jaws of the Silver Seas Bronze Dragonet
Sleek and slippery as a shark, he is a megalodon of munchkin proportions, a dragon risen from the fathoms of the adorable deep. Dark copper is his hide, with undertones of sparkling blue-green, worn by sea and salt, dazzle dusted and foiled by the faded teal of verdigris at elbow and knee, from wide diamond of large head with baby bright eyes and a grump of a snout, across rounded pale-iridescent belly, to caudal fin tail. Ginormous jaws house impolitely pointed teeth that snap and trap on a dangerous whim. Faded markings of coral and elusive starfish curl and cling in peculiar patterns to wide ankles, winding around squat legs, along round sides, and across the tops and pale unders of stubby feet with curved baby claws. Beware the sharpness of fin-like dorsal ridge, down the smooth stretch of streamlined back, between ghostly sails of tiny weathered wings which end in sharp spars draped with silvery seaweed.

Giant Jaws of the Silver Seas Bronze Dragonet turns his jewel faceted eyes toward Nox, and steps forward.

---

Frostana looks from the knot of folks, they seem to have clumped together, the group she got to know. Some kind of magnetism, maybe. That feels better somehow. The proximity of familiar faces is good. She ventures a tight smile, first at Therst. Nox and Amania. Kelati. Others. Even Everan. She squints… maybe not Everan.

The Light Behind You Egg seems to swell, billowing as the winds of change start working their magic on that dull and dreary shell. But the storm is not over yet, but there is a promise on the horizon, that soon, SOON! There will be light over the horizon.

Kelati is going to develop a complex about this whole bronzes appearing out of nowhere and stealing people … thing. Nox and his new friend are also eyed warily, although at least she was assuredly right about how that egg was moving! And when it decided to move, it moved fast. Frostana can have a wary smile back, though the wariness is not really toward Frostana — it's wary because of all these people stealing bronzes.

Amania watches with a slow bit of a smile forming as Rhuysarr - Rh'ysar now - makes his bond, the expression becoming a grin to return to Nox. But then, looking past his shoulder, she gasps again, giving a little hop back as another bronze comes up and claims Nox as well! "Faranth!" is all she can manage as the Istan boy is snapped up, a bewildered gaze flicked to Kelati beside her. WELL THEN.

It sways, it bows, it splits! It's a very fine gentleman who hatches from True Lies Egg: a bronze, no less, with a coppery hide and not a hint of verdigris. He picks the shards of shell from his hide, then tests his legs and stretches his wings before promenading across the Sands. Not a care in the world here, except that nagging insistence from within that he needs something, and he'd better go and find it. He parades past a line of candidates, but then sidles up to a young man who's standing all alone. This one? Yes, he'll take this one.

M'noq tries to be helpful with all the new pairs, ushering the ones loitering on the sands over to the side and towards Vani, to trying to clear as many as he can from the Sands. The crowd of white-robes is beginning to thin at little, at least, though there are still eggs and dragonets stumbling around.

"Whatever," K'ane says to Zeyta, grinning. "Gifts? Oh." He eyeballs the cleavage-flask for a minute (boob sweat is a thing) before kinda shrugging it off and taking it. He knows better than to refuse. Zeyta's got better taste than he does. "If you were gonna poison me, you'd've done it a fair bit before now," he wryly comments. "Good lookin' bronze," he says approvingly of Nox's impression.

Frostana, having just dealt enough with the chaos of the Hatching to relish the knot of togetherness, jerks from the surprise of Nox's Impression. !!!! No words to her thoughts. Just alarm. Eyes skinned wide and nerves even more sharply on edge. So much for settling in…

All that's left of Whatever Remains Egg are some torn shards, and the long, thin brown dragonet that is examining them. He seems rather puzzled. His mystery won't be solved until he searches further afield, though, and the solution is found as he gazes into the kind eyes of an apprentice smithcrafter with an upright bearing.

Therst grins and watches Nox get claimed by the second bronze, he actually cheers for Nox giving him the thumbs up which has been seemed to be there own signal. He goes back to moving with the group, again but still watching the dragons move about. Better to not get stepped on or worse..

The Badonka-DON'T Egg sways lazily, then slowly tears to unveil a sinuous green with a lime-green hide. She stretches wings and limbs, showing her body to the world, then strikes a pose, head turned, while she starts to weigh up her options. With a dismissive toss of the head, she ignores a fresh-faced girl from Southern Barrier hold, and a stocky lad from the north coast, before crooning invitingly at a candidate from Black Rock, a woman at the upper end of the age range who used to work in…. let's call it a tavern.

---

Eclipsed Blinding Brilliance Egg has no perceptible movement, not a stretch, not a shiver. It is only if one watches the slow movement of its shadow that one realizes that something is happening. Hardly a crack is seen, then suddenly with a burst of illumination the golden shell crumbles, and Bound to Midnight Flames Gold Dragonet arrives without warning.

Bound to Midnight Flames Gold Dragonet
Dualism is her form, even as balance is her nature. In equal turns, bright bonfire light kisses her hide and faded umber streaks her in shadow, an illustrious illusion blending playful work in a serious game. Polished brass gleams on rounded headknobs and neckridges, circles set like byzantine clockwork, a seamless ombre over her wings and shoulders to a rosy gold. Shimmering iridescence marks near every inch of her form, lights appearing like stars, rippling and shifting with the viewer's perspective. Powerful muscles give her the immense strength and stability of a living, rooted tree reaching up towards the curtain of the sky. Her long, sinuous tail gives her perfect, highwire balance. Elongated muzzle and eyes like lucid pools suggest she understands the world's deeper truth and greater mystery, just beyond your reach.

---

Some Assembly Required Blue Dragonet comes to a complete and sudden stop, his little baby butt dropping to the sands with a tiny puff of sand. Despite the challenges of moving his bits and pieces body across the sands in that age old imperative to find the right kind of bond, he has always moved with exuberance. But now? Now he is stopped completely, his buggy little eyes staring. The Special is THERE! RIGHT THERE! Suddenly the pieces fall into place with a feeling of rightness.CLICK! And everything is awesome. Time starts once more, as does Some Assembly Required Blue dragonet. Outta the way people! Hes on a mission or is it a collision course as he barrels down towards someone probably more at home underground than on the sands. With a clatter of excitement he stops just short, gazing up into sea blue eyes under cropped sunset hair. HAI! Who says red and blue don’t go together?

Some Assembly Required Blue Dragonet turns his jewel faceted eyes toward Therst, and steps forward.

Amania presently gets to concentrating on the eggs and dragonets again, letting out a little laugh as a green emerges from that purple-shelled egg. "I knew it!" she notes aloud…and then a glint draw her eyes to the gold egg, just in time to see the queen emerge from within. "Ohhh…" That seems to be her catchphrase today.

Nox is taken aback as there is suddenly a very adorable bluish bronze hatchling in front of him. He stumbles a bit, crouching down to touch his muzzle, missing, and accidentally cuts himself on something sharp on his back. "Ow! Tozkoth, you say?" He's completely enamoured, oblivious to the people around him, and the small cut on his finger, and he can't seem to stop smiling. "Alright, alright, I feel it too. Let's go get you some grub."

Kelati's nosewrinkling is just further wrinkled at this point, as now there IS a gold on the sands and she cannot escape easily. All of her potential human shields, size-wise, are gone. That dragon actually might eat her. She's just going to scoot the teeniest bit away from the others into a slightly separate air bubble, though her bemused-bewildered look Amania-ways doesn't completely vanish; her actions are explained as, "One of you might be the next goldrider, so I'll just … be … not in the way, yeah? I like having feet."

Bound to Midnight Flames Gold Dragonet seems to shimmer, her egg-slick hide seeming to glow like it is its own source of heat. She takes a solid stance, flicking off bits of shadow-dark eggshell that still cling and mar the perfection of her form. Only then does she take note of those around her clad in white, and it is with certainty that she embarks on her own journey of discovery.

"Each new day presents itself with the opportunity for dea—" HELLO GOLD. Zeyta finds herself floored for words, ill-tidings cut mid sentence with the meeting of her jaws in silence. She recovers quick. "You know. I abhor gambling and condemn those dens of debauchery in Bitra, but, I'll bet you 5 marks on a mauling." Because betting on violence is not passive aggressive ill-coping mechanisms survived into adulthood at all, nope. "You in?" She tears her bright attention away to side-glance at K'ane, including a suggestive eyebrow waggle of enticement.

And Nothing But Egg lies next to Master Debater Egg. When they start rocking, it seems almost synchronised, one swaying towards the other as the other rolls back. All that activity within can have only one end, and soon both green hatchlings are side-by-side on the hot sand. One, pine-dark, chooses a brown-haired lad almost immediately. The other, pale as celery, wanders in large circles, becoming more and more agitated, until a very young boy candidate gets in her way, and she rubs her head against his legs, crooning in joy.

Dhiammarath turns her head down to her golden daughter, blowing a warm breath of greeting to her latest scion. It's a welcome to the world, to the finery and failure alike that will greet her throughout all of her days: this is life, young one. Live it well.

And finally that egg which as been sitting so still, the one all eyes return to — Eclipsed Blinding Brilliance — hatches all at once. Whoa. Frostana's mouth falls open, "She's beautiful." Wow. She gives herself a shake in time to see the angular playful thing claim Therst. She smiles now. Dark eyes drift to the clutchparents and back. Frostana scrubs at her mouth and looks at her hand. It's trembling. She balls it into a fist and with a deep breath, straightens.

Kelati is going to ever so slightly disagree, "I'm actually pretty sure she's just terrifying."

"Kelati, it's okay, you know…" Amania says, momentarily puzzled by the other girl's trepidation. But she can't help watching that shimmer newborn gold, Therst's Impression registering in her periphery and earning a flickered smile before she's back to watching, breathless and still but intent.
The Disguised Egg trembles one last time, and the shell is chipped away by the efforts of the dragonet inside. A delicate seafoam-coloured green emerges from the hole, scrambling free of her former confinement. She knows what she wants - or more precisely, who she wants - and her wobbly path takes her to meet a quiet healer girl, who kneels to embrace her lifemate gently.

Vani continues her spiel. "This way, this way…come come!" Etc etc, the dull tone barely disguising the emotion that clearly shimmers in her eyes. Look there's a lot of sand. And it's hot, she's not crying YOU ARE! "Oh please, thats not a mauling." She snaps at one of the candidates the celery-pale green clipped in her wandering. "'Tis but a scratch!"

The Light Behind You Egg billows once more, the grey shell growing like a thundercloud, the rapid expansion making the marbled somber hues of the shell seem to roil. But hark! What light through yonder? shell breaks? Is that the cheeky peek of the rainbow after the storm?

Bound to Midnight Flames Gold Dragonet lifts her head to acknowledge the breath of greeting of her golden mother, then looks over this white-clad form and then that one, circling once this girl, her delicate nose turned up at that boy. In her heart, plans are beginning to form, and it is clear that she cannot undertake them alone. She weaves in and out of the crowds, investigating those auditioning. No lovely assistant will do today. She needs a partner… but who?

"I love gambling an' I will take your bet for five marks on no mauling," K'ane says, extending his pinky finger towards Zeyta because if she's high-class and erudite, he's the drunk bastard of an Istan cotholder who likes to pick fights in bars and fuck barmaids silly. Oh, wait… "She's a pretty one." Dhioth has his own heraldry for this latest gilded progeny of his, but it is a quiet moment shared to the little dragonet directly, before he leans down to nose the weyrlings back into Vani's line. Pay attention to the little novice.

Therst was standing there, thoughts almost wondering away, until the blue dragonet seems to have rushed at him. He doesn't flinch but is when the impression is made there is a conversation, pieces and gears seem to click in both of them and the young Miner smiles and bends down to hug the dragon by the neck saying out loud "And you are the Perfect Piece for me Jedameth, I could eat too lets see where the food is at?" He will fall inline with the young blue as they make their way off the sands.

This Side of the House is White Egg splits in two, leaving a creeling green hatchling sprawled between the two halves. She's a feisty little creature, and lashes out at a couple of girls who get between her and her target, leaving one of them bleeding. The other's quicker to jump aside - and her presence of mind changes her fate, because the green turns back, ignoring the boy she was aiming for, and falls at her feet, gazing up with rainbow eyes.

---

The Light Behind You Egg gives one last, definite shake, and the shell falls away, scattering blobs of grey on the sands as the dragonet inside bursts into the world, a ray of sunshine from a drab egg. The rain has come to an end, and the rainbow finally reveals itself - or reveals a dragon, as it may be! Love Is the Original Miracle Blue Dragonet steps out into this fresh new world, bright eyes awhirl as he looks about him and considers his possibilities. There's so much to explore - where should he begin?

Love Is the Original Miracle Blue Dragonet
The neon glow of fly boy blue slicks marbled twilight across his shoulders, beckoning like a beacon in a clouded city. Artificial starlight glistens like rain's gentle sheen in alleys of midnight, cradled in the arms of the ancient boughs of expansive spars. Mystery shrouds the hexagonal cobbles forming the endless retelling of light and dark, a labyrinthine puzzle of hazy blues and grays twisting down his neck and and back, each knobbly knoll worthy of its own investigation. Silver-stitched eyes illuminate the way forward, through the nocturnal secrets revealed in the classic lines of his sculpted face. Downwards the night continues, across a form smaller than his story, towards dark pool talons steeped in the mists of history. Vast he is, and tiny, a study in contrast and challenge. Large through heritage but small in expression; a dragon of oldtime dimensions and the eclectic electric energy of nowtime expectations.

---

Amania can't help the little flutter of laughter as she watches the gold dragonet turn her nose up at one of the boys. What else would she do? "She's damned deliberate, isn't she?" is asked mostly of the air, dark eyes still following and her heart still beating a bright tempo against her ribcage, a cadence carrying a veiled, careful wonder.

Heart's Purest Love Egg rocks and jerks as an heroic struggle takes place within. Finally, the occupant wins her freedom, and casts the segments of shell aside to reveal a deep emerald hide, shadowed by even darker ridges and headknobs. Time to choose her comrade in arms! She weighs them carefully, those white-clad candidates, before she finds a heart to match her own and offers herself with a gentle nudge of her muzzle.

Zeyta extends the daintiest of teeny-tiny pinkies to be dwarfed when it locks in her polar-opposite in manners and physicality clutchmate. "She favors her father's distinct coloration." Dressed as close to a compliment as she ever approximates, there is nonetheless the barest glimmer of grins she slivers and shines, eyes darting to chiaroscuro bronze Dhioth, no doubt righteous and proud of his latest golden progeny.

Okay. Kelati can relax a bit now because the gold did something that brought the giggle impulse out rather than just being the spectre of important Weyr Power that makes her want to hide under a pile of rocks. Even if it's squashed. "She definitely knows what she doesn't want, which is a good place to start. Oh, lookit him," the blue meets her approval as well.

Frostana trips back, more dragonets shedding their eggs. She puts a hand to her mouth again and glances at the dwindling store of familiar faces. She nods at Amania and Kelati's assessment, watching the young gold pick her weay across the sands. The blue… who said only greens could glow? It almost seems to amplify the light. "Yeah." Frostana. Eloquent.

"Damn right she does," K'ane says satisfactorily of the gold and Zeyta's opinion on her coloration, his voice thick and rich with cat-in-the-cream machismo. He curves his crooked pinky around Zeyta's dainty one and then leans back, patting Dhiammarath companionably. Dhioth, across the way, is as austere and watchful as any could want a sire's opinion to be.

Love Is the Original Miracle Blue Dragonet sits in the shards of his former confinement. Sure he could jump about and zip this way and that, movement without purpose. But a few moments longer will see the itinerary planned to perfection. And there is perfection hidden somewhere on these sands…and the best way to find it is on foot!

The world is full of mystery and wonder, but yet… Bound to Midnight Flames Gold Dragonet is still seeking the one with that special spark. She flows through the crowd of candidates with unnerving grace, her delicate head twisting this way and that, tail tip swaying behind her. Amid all these spectators, where is the one who join her in this performance? Wait, there… she circles once, twice, three times, and at last she is pulled towards the dark-haired Zingari girl. Utterly enchanted, she curls around the one she will call her own.

Bound to Midnight Flames Gold Dragonet turns her jewel faceted eyes toward Amania, and steps forward.

Vani continues bravely despite the tugged heart strings. "This way Therst… It is Therst right?" No Vani, boys get apostraphes.

In Vino Veritas Egg rolls drunkenly into Upside Down egg, setting it turning head over heels as well. Then it pours a brown hatchling onto the Sands. He sways as he makes his way across the Hatching Ground in search of his true destiny, then flops at the feet of a blue-eyed lad. Eyes wide, the boy gasps. When Upside Down Egg finally stops moving, there's a tangle of wings and limbs as the green hatchling within struggles to right herself and break free. She's entirely the right way up as she charges across the Sands, though, and only ends up on her back again when she crashes into a well-upholstered lad from the Weyr kitchens.

R'zel is still herding ovines - uh, candidates. Not that there's anything sheepish about this candidate class, but some of them do tend to wander. He skirts the edges of the Sands, encouraging the hesitant to converge on the remaining eggs.

Therst will nod to Vani and Join the weyrlings, he is moves like he is listening to a new set of music, or instructions maybe.

"Huh," K'ane says, scratching at his jaw as he squints after Amania's impression: "Didn't see that one comin'." He doesn't seem too distraught over not seeing it coming, at least, his grin tender for the newly-impressed. "Gettin' close to the end." Anticipatory: he's not seen a real mauling NOT ONCE are you ready to pay up Yza?

Amania forgets to breathe as the gold comes closer…and closer…and meets her eyes. The melding of consciousness brings makes her waver, nearly to her knees before her hand reaches out to the golden head before her, steadying her…steadying them. "I…" she breathes, her breath hitching as her eyes fill. Such a shift in her head, such change, her world turned on its head for good. "Zymuraith…yes, I…over here?" Is her sense of direction still intact? Amania - Amani now - shakes her head while never losing contact with that of her new lifemate, blinking as she tries to focus on where the meat is. "This way…" Where everyone else has gone, yes.

M'noq squints into the hazy heat as the gold picks a familiar girl for her own. "Huh," he says quietly. "Good thing I didn't have any marks on gold this time. Guess she won't be joining us in Lynx after all."

Forever and Always Egg seems to have been rocking for eternity, but at last a hole is made from within, and a young green with an emerald hide struggles out. It's worth taking her time to find her partner for life, but at last the choice is made, and a girl from Black Rock with a heart-shaped face is hers, forever and always.

Love Is the Original Miracle Blue Dragonet intends on seeing all the sights! And there are so many sights to see! Each attraction is studied minutely before he moves on. So far, he has found each candidate he has inspected lacking. But there is still there are a few more wonders to see! Onwards he goes…but wait! What is over there?

Tozkoth certain eats like an ovine as N'ox tosses in pieces of meat, still in a bit of a daze, like he's been underwater for too long, mesmerized by rainbow-coloured fish. Although that's oddly specific. The bronze gobbles them down without swallowing, his sharp teeth glistening in the heat of the hatching sands, doing a bit of a butt-wiggle of attack before devouring. The young man glances over just in time to see Amania impress, and grins again, widely, ear to ear. "Guess seeing spots is a good thing," he notes to his new mate, who makes a kitten-like quack in response. N'ox just shakes his head, waving to Therst as he appears, his look turning a bit proud yet bashful as Amani comes over with her new gold.

Vani continues to gather in all her little ducklings. The hatching is nearing it's end, there are less and less eggs, and less and less dragonets trying to find home.

"Nor did I." Zeyta always sounds displeased, so the gold's Impression comes as nothing unusual. Her fate is sealed, in that department. Where she still might fail, she wagers, assessing those uncracked shells and scanning for signs of bloodlust in dragonets eagerly. "Faranth. I was hoping clutchuncle Kczyslawborth might yet show himself in a nephew of ours." All the frowns for her loss (and Pern's win).

The Tangled Web Egg unravels into a pile of shards. Sitting amongst the debris, an azure hatchling sits motionless until he senses some vibration that attracts his attention. He stretches his long legs, starts moving slowly, then pounces on a boy from a cothold along the river. His prey is flattened, to say nothing of scratched, but manages to get to his feet with eyes for nothing but his new blue lifemate. "Of course you can eat, Aragoth. Just, not me, right?"

Frostana borrows Amania's word, when the gold claims the girl of Igen, the newest weyrwoman of Southern! "Ohhh." Mouth rounded she takes a deep breath and blows it out, freckled cheeks puffing out. Dragonets are out and about, that bright blue, curious and questing, back and forth. It's hard not to look at him, electric, energetic. Frostana looks around, oh. Alone. Her belly twists again.
.
With reverence, "Thank fuckin' Faranth that we don't have a goddamned little clone of Coleslaw," K'ane utters like a prayer. Dhioth's snort is valid from all the way across the way, because no, Zeyta, just no.

He's explored his possibilities, pondered them at length, and even lingered by a few candidates long enough to give them hope. No, none of them have been right so far. He needs to find the one: his travel companion and partner in all things. Love Is the Original Miracle Blue Dragonet strolls through the activity of the hatching, seeking out the indescribable something that calls to him. And then, there she is: freckled and curly-haired, the beauty he wants to claim as his own. It's in her direction that he heads, sidling up to his chosen one.

Love Is the Original Miracle Blue Dragonet turns his jewel faceted eyes toward Frostana, and steps forward.

Ginger and Pawla have been as inseparable on the Sands as they normally are in the Lower Caverns, where the irrepressible pair have caused such mayhem that the Headwoman's hoping they both Impress and won't be her responsibility after today. A rounded jewel-bright green hatched from the Never Have I Ever Egg making a beeline for the two girls. Ginger steps forward, convinced that this little beauty is coming for her - but she has to step aside as the little green barges past her to nudge at Pawla's knees. Sorry, Headwoman, you're getting one of them back.

Just like a bag of microwave popcorn the activity slows to a few flurries Pop! Pop! Pop! And then nothing, another flurry and then nothing. But eventually all the eggs pop, dragonets find lifemates and there is only the fluffy white robes of those not chosen… and the painful shards that get stuck in your teeth. Don't eat the shells folks, it's a metaphor.

Frostana can't take her eyes from the bright blue moving to and fro and then he's there. Looking right into her. That shiver she'd felt on touching the egg he'd hatched from. The buoying promise of light beyond the darkness, sun beyond the rain, it's … more than she'd imagined it could be. The young woman stoops to brush the jaw and neck, trail along wings, a tingle arcing through at the touch of electric hide. She smiles, a genuine smile, eyes moist. Dangit. Definitely a flake in her eye. "Hello, Lochanth." She gives a little laugh-by-way-of-choke, "Let's." Wondrous. He looks to and fro as they amble towards food. The wrong way. Yhe young woman, touches her brow briefly, then the dragonet. "We can look at that later." She's not sure what 'that' is, but later. Food now. Seems she's the hungry one.

Is that all of them? K'ane waits for Frostana, smiling at the freckled girl and her blue. That — yes, that is all. He's familiar to this speech, so he settles his whiskey well aside and steps forward to the candidates left, raising his arms to get their attention. "I'm sorry," he says, and his deep voice is compassionate. "Your lifemates were not here today. Go vent some steam, get at th' feast, cry if you need to. Tomorrow's another day." His hands shift and he gestures as if to push them together and out the way toward the bowl, away from the newly-impressed. Then he himself is off to collect Zeyta (and his five marks) and go gorge in a Coleslaw-worthy pursuit of food and drunkenness at the post-hatching feast.

No, K'ane! :(

FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM