With the abrupt arrival of one particularly bewildered candidate (Etamane by name, and weirder entrances had been had by others at this Weyr, so no one made that much of a fuss about him), the eggs on the sands seemed to begin quivering rapidly. They almost looked as though they were ready to hatch any moment, so when Daekith bugled for attention she felt as though her loud crooning might break the eggs open!

Everyone was handed a white robe, no time to explain to the poor kid who'd come last. It was barely after lunch time, just past deepest winter... When the snow drifts outside on the cliffs were melting a little quicker than they had the week before, and the fishing was truly great down in the Holds below.

The fish that they'd be serving the hatchlings was already being cut up, it was the freshest they had - the iced and salted fish would be headed to the banquet later on, after the hatching, along with some cases of wine that had been delivered from Ablan in another dimension.

Such was the day, when Daekith's newborn children chose to enter the world.

First to hatch, though all the eggs showed many fine lines and webs where the dragonet's legs pushed and prodded, was a bold, large brown. He shook his head free of the remnants of his egg, and his red-whirling eyes began to focus on a strange world. He turned to his mother, then sire, who both nodded a little at him. There were still people arriving to the sands, when the fine brown headed toward the male candidates.

He looked over one, Keniam, but then passed him by. Then he found his prey - the hockey player Waynesleron was his choice. W'sler! I am Deanoth, and I want you to show me this girl... See if she's all that. Even though my mother is a fine queen, I do not think any mere girl is worth all the frustration you've had...

"... Thanks Deanoth, I'll remember that!"

Two blues burst open their fragile shells, and immediately began arguing and snapping at one another.

"Hey, hey! Come on, break it up Taukoth!" Said Kuirani, pulling at the wings of the first.

"That's hardly a nice way to behave, Sininenth!" Called Spartren, "stop it, he's your brother!"

The blues grudgingly accepted the words of their riders, and then had to be herded away from one another on the way out to the feeding area!

It was no surprise that the green who hatched next swiftly shook herself free and slithered around to Limeda. Whatever she told the reptile-gang member, Limeda didn't share. In fact when she was asked what the dragon's name was, the girl almost puffed up and could have spit acid with her glare.

My child's name is Vihreath, Daekith told the recordskeeper Ilina, she's a bit testy right now...

"Thank you," the green rider said. They watched as even the two blues gave her some room.

A smallish blue dragon was struggling with his shell, and finally succeeded in tossing himself onto his side - still with the shell clinging onto his hind legs, tail and wing tips. He sprang free suddenly, tumbling down a small incline toward the candidates. He landed quite dizzily, at the feet of the newest arrival, Etamane.

Hi!

"Hi!" Said the boy.

I wonder how you got here. I'm not sure how I got here...

"It's okay Toimiath, we'll figure it out when the time comes."

Thanks E'ane, I'm glad you're here. They proudly strutted off the sands, the blue occasionally flicking bits of sand and shard off his feet.

Two more eggs fought for the attention of the rapt audience, both of them decently large. One though, some folks had put marks down on it as a gold - surely that other one with the faintly yellowish tint could be one too. But the two shaking were as opposite as night and day when they opened.

A brown, just as big as the other who'd hatched first, only with perhaps slightly smaller wings, sat looking around carefully. He noticed his pale sister, and lowered his head to her.

The egg had indeed hatched with a gold - but what a gold! It was obvious that Daekith's heritage shifted the genes a bit, because this gold had white wing sails! It seemed though that she was not going to move away from her mother's warm side just yet, so the brown stood and moved among the remaining candidates. With a snorting noise, he sat beside Wede, the local tunnel-snake hunter.

"Thanks Takatwarth," Wede said upon hearing what her newly impressed dragonet had to say. "I guess we will make a good team, as long as you're small enough to fit into the tunnels..." She said with a grin broadening on her normally stern face.

By now, another small egg had hatched, showing off a bright green. She flitted past her elegant golden white sister almost without acknowledging her presence at all. She approached the happy weaver's son, Jenral, and began babbling in a most bemusing way to him.

"That's a good one," he said, "yes I do think she's pretty but she's really not my type. No, that's not what I meant, Ruohath," he explained on their way out, "no, I don't think you should do that because he's much too old for you..." Who she was looking at, might have been any of the dozens of blues, browns or bronzes of the weyr's riders, and they laughed as the pair exited.

Just when the whitewinged gold was about to judge the last girls left, the very last egg - the tiny gold-tinted one - began to crack in earnest. She hastened a little bit, obviously looking around her to see where her bonded one might be. But not to be outdone, the gold who sprang from her own egg whisked by and started pacing in front of the candidates herself. It was odd seeing such a different pair of golds. Rare, and in the case of the pure colored one, tiny! She was perhaps half the size of her larger two-toned sister!

"Do you think you could hurry it up, Hoshiarth," said Le Fey to the small gold, "I don't know if I can hold this shape for long, when I'm this happy!" She glanced purposefully toward S'xon and Kira, winked, and danced herself away from the sands with the small gold. Her wings sprang out from her shoulders as they left, causing a bit of a ruckus among the watchers near the kitchens.

While people talked about them, the white-winged gold turned to the candidates again. If you wish to return to your home world, bespoke the other gold to Darus, I will take you there.

"I do not know if that would be appropriate, Dengeth," she replied, making some of the folks on the stands a bit uncomfortable with the fact that she had wings and was farther from human than even Le Fey. "I was meant to die to save them, it would be bad if I broke that promise."

Promises should be honored, yes, the stately and fairly large sized gold said. They too left the sands, leaving a few candidates to wonder when they'd impress.

Those left were consoled with kind words from Kira and R'vfen or other riders, reminded that though they had no bond yet, they'd still be expected to work in the classes to maintain their knowledge of dragons or tactics. The better to prepare for that day...

*** Congratulations to the new riders!***