Who We Are [Eceph's First Hatching]

[Kilnarak]

Still early morning, A're and Muraaph sat upon their watch post, lazily surveying the slowly brightening landscape. There had been no koxi sightings near the Eyrie since the last attack - a fact A're was grateful for, but which he was not sure his bonded shared. Muraaph's leg had mostly healed from it's injury, and while the green still favored it, walking with a noticeable limp, it did not seem to pain her anymore. Now that she was mostly healed, however, Muraaph wanted more and more to be moving about, apparently having tired of lazing about during the healing process.

When Alianph's call went out, Muraaph was sitting on her haunches, absently batting a leather ball A're had procured back and forth between her forelimbs. It was incredibly small compared to the green, and the merest flick of her claws could send it flying, but it entertained her for the moment and it kept her from deciding it was time to fly a circuit about the Eyrie. A're sat near the green's hindquarters, absently tuning his lute. They weren't the best guards, not at the moment, rather they were simply waiting for reprieve - a different shift should have been taking over soon. However, as the black simourv's booming call went out, announcing the hatching, they realized no replacements would come. A're started, nearly dropping his instrument, and Muraaph sat up straight, her ears pricking forward.

They are hatching? They are hatching, Mine! And Eceph wants us to watch! Muraaph's burst of excitement nearly overwhelmed A're, and it was all he could do to sling his lute over his back and climb up to his usual perch upon the simourv's - the green threatened to pick him up and carry him if he did not move quickly enough. I... Yes, Mura. But that was Alianph... A're was still a touch surprised by the sudden call, and Muraaph's excitement - it was infectious and he was grinning near broad enough to split his face in two.

Yes, but! But if he says so, then Eceph must agree! You can hang on? You won't fall? Muraaph didn't wait for her rider to answer, but instead made her awkward, hopping leap into the air, trusting A're to hold on tight. Let's see how these kids take it, huh? A're laughed, deftly clicking his harness into place and then holding tight to Muraaph's back as she spiralled down, toward the sands. She had not even seen the eggs since their hatching, wary of the Queen - she was excited by the prospect of seeing them, and the newborn simourv within them.

---

Niraan scowled faintly as K'huna arrived, edging his way between and behind a clump of other chatting candidates - Elan and Ripley in their number - and using their combined presence as a sort of shield. He wasn't exactly afraid of the redrider, it wasn't that at all - all things considered, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the rider who had found he and his brother. At the moment, part of him wanted to smack the man upside the head with his basket of sweets. He resisted the temptation, however, and remained where he was, glaring daggers even after K'huna had vanished into the hallway.

When Kenii finally appeared, trudging shell-shocked out of the hallway, Niraan shoved his way out from behind his 'shield' to his brother's side. He grabbed the boy by the arm and near bodily dragged him back toward the other candidates, before placing the basket of sweets in his brother's arms. "Y' arright, 'nii? Tha's breakfast. Eat 's much 's y' wan'," while he meant well, his voice came out a growl, and he near radiated a sense of alarm and anger. He kept his hold on his brother's arm, glancing up from the boy to watch the hallway again, and then to Canph. His gaze shifted between the red simourv and the hallway, and he continued to growl softly under his breath.

[Bre]

Through the rise and falling apart . . .

Sleep was a welcome change. Long days bled into long nights for the Phoenix and expectant mother. Those few hours of sleep were the first they had gotten in two days. One could definitely call the pair of them stubborn. One could even probably call them insane, but they did their duty and they did it without questions and with little sleep. Neither of them liked the presence of others on the sands, the touching being the one opportunity where more than the stray rider or serving woman from the ground caverns had been allowed into the nesting ground. Still, in sleep, they were a more peaceful pair. Eceph lay curved around her clutch, protecting them with her body. Ro'za didn't lie that far off, sprawled across a patch of stone, far less graceful in sleep than her simourv though also more youthful. Some of her black hair had fallen into her face.

Eceph finally shifted under Alianph's touch, the breath in her chest quickening. Then she surged to her feet and tipped her head back, a raucous cry slipping the air as she screamed to the heavens. Her eggs were hatching but she saw no need to grace them with her true mental voice. It was not needed. She regarded her eggs, some silent, some rocking gently in their places, with one great, amber eye. They were hatching! Two of them were rocking, just two, the blue Scholarly Core and the lighter Wind Dwarf. There was still time. She had awoke to the most wonderful sight that she could think to see. Tipping her head back once more, looking away from the eggs for just one second, she roared her earsplitting cry to the cavern's ceiling again. It was still early yet, just past the dawn watch. Some would still be sleeping, but they would come.

Ro'za sniffed at the air, face wrinkled up, when G'len disturbed her, but she was on her feet about as quick as her simourv once what was happening registered in her mind. A blanket had been thrown over her shoulders, but it fell back as she stood to reveal that she was fully dressed, somehow sleeping with a sword at her hip. The Phoenix was a woman of many talents. Sprinting across the sands, dodging eggs in a fashion that only she would ever be allowed to do, she was beside Eceph within an instant, adjusting the blade at her hip as if she might have to do it. She didn't even bother to glance at the eggs. Instead, she checked the ledges and sands around them. There was Alianph and Muraaph, but where the others? Where were the candidates? Ro'za cursed under her breath, because she could hear it. One of the eggs was cracking.

It was not one of the rocking eggs that broke first. They seemed to still have the patience to wait for the candidates that were being hurriedly divided and guided by the masters. With one tremendous shake, the Fire Giant split in half. Already lying on its side, the pieces of red and orange shell easily fell away. With somber resolve, a red emerged from the cracked egg. He was a wide beast, but only average in size for his color. Still, that hardly made him small and he moved with purpose and strength, barely at all awkward from his age. He was four foot at the shoulder, as tall as any child, and he was seven feet from his black beak to his orange speckled rump. Most of his body was just red, but black decorated his wings and a brilliant, fiery orange dotted his chest and tail. Clicking his beak, he strode fearlessly forward across the sands.

The only thing that caused his brave march to halt was the lack of anyone on the sands. The red knew his mother and her rider were behind him, but that wasn't what he wanted. There was a hole inside of him. Eventually, it would fill itself, but, in the meantime, there was something that he was seeking. The sky, what he could see of it through the cavern's entrance, beckoned him but he could not go to it. His black and red wings were pressed uselessly to his sides, covered in the same downy feathers as his body. Though he looked like a miniature version of what he would one day be, it would be months until he mottled and months more before he fledged properly. Where was everyone? He was born a sensible beast and he knew that there was supposed to be someone there, but he felt an anger growing inside of him. It was wrong! All wrong!

Another egg broke. The Day Dwarf had been twitching minutely before but that was the point at which it finally tipped forward, leaving its dark companion to stand on its own as it slipped free on its grasp. Pieces of pink and yellow shell went everywhere and out popped a rainbow. She was tiny in comparison to her brother, as long as he was tall from nose to rump and half his height. Still, she was as large as a dog, shaking egg innards off of the downy feathers on her back. She wasn't as bright as her brother either, but she had far more colors than he did. Red and purple mixed together on her head to produce a deep wine color, blue and green covered her tail and hind legs, and yellow and orange made up the feathers on her chest. All of those colors came together on her wings, which spread themselves like tiny rainbows from her back.

Blinking her burgundy brown eyes, the rainbow surveyed the empty sands in front of her. She looked quite sunny, exuding a cheer from her every pore, but she remained stationary, all of her energy internal. Wasn't there supposed to be people here? Ones like the woman standing beside her mother and the man beside her father? Perhaps there were no people! At that thought, the rainbow gave a sort of coughing chuckle. Hey, there were worse things that could happen in the world. What do you do with no humans? Have some fun! Cackling to herself, she glanced about again, noting the red who was well in front of her. It was then that she noticed a slight pain on her foot. There was a small cut on her toe. She regarded it with interest. Perhaps she would die. After all, why did the baby fall out of the coconut tree? Because it was dead!

The red held back from his sister. He did not want or need her company. In fact, he rather despised having to share the sands with her when there wasn't even enough people for him. If she stole his rider, he would tear her to shreds. No, no, wait, he wouldn't. That situation would be too serious for that. Everything was too serious for that. He would slowly plot her demise. He would kill her slowly. Kill her with beauty. Not proud of his thoughts but content with them, the red kept to himself, waiting with a patience that only came from his somber demeanor. His violence was a slow one. His anger was the kind that could wait. Heaven help the candidates when they arrived. He was ready to have the injustice in front of him paid for with blood and he could hear them coming. He only needed one of them. He was too solitary for more.

The rainbow wished her brother the best of luck and then took one shaky step forward. Ro'za watched the hatchlings with cold eyes. They were adorable, but she was seething inside. She clicked her tongue in her agitation and then started chewing on her lip, both worried and pissed off. The candidates really couldn't have shown up on time? She didn't care if they showed up naked (Eceph did, she would like that to be clear) so long as they showed up on time. Despite her anger, all she did was lean back against her gray's massive leg. She was going to take sick pleasure in every single candidate that didn't bond. Eceph was more cheerful about the manner, though still coolly logical. She was simply happy to see two of her children already healthily born in the world. The candidates were at their mercy down. The rainbow took another shaky step.

. . . we discover who we are.

[maiwolf]

[/i] talking. She quieted herself down, her face solemn now, and fell back into the gaggle of candidates. The girl did not notice as K’huna pushed his way through the same gaggled to wake any unfortunate candidates still comfortably asleep or lagging behind. Whatever the consequence, the candidates would not like whatever he was going to do—he was a redrider, and Olivia knew B’oone (another redrider) and knew that simourv feelings could totally catch on to the rider’s feelings.

Suddenly, Alianph’s cry rang through her mind, with Eceph’s warbling screech arriving not to soon after. Olivia’s eyes stretched wide and she gasped, “We should go!” She declared, and terror rose in her throat like bile, searing the sides and constricting her airways. What happened if the eggs hatched and there were no candidates to bond to the hatchlings? Would the hatchlings leave? Would they try to bond to the people not meant to be hatchlings?

Suddenly, Ts’kal gave the order to go to the sands, and Olivia felt herself stuck in the middle of the gaggle. She tried to push herself to the outside, but realized rather quickly that no amount of pushing could get her to where she wanted to go. She was punched in the ribs by someone, and the wind was knocked out of her. She stopped walking, feeling dazed, and felt the people push past her like fish might push past or goats might push past or horses might push past a slower moving animal. Olivia felt the people stop slowly, well, stop bumping into her, and finally she was at the back. This was where Olivia should be, she thought miserably, but hurried to catch up to the retreating children. Yes, right now she was being pessimistic because she was having doubts again. These were the same doubts that kept her up at night, fearful that she’d fall asleep into a nightmare and have the doubts come true.

Olivia entered the nesting sands behind most (if not all) of the candidates, and, while she was close enough to hear the ones in front of her gasp with surprise, she was not ready to see the red and rainbow already on the sands. That made her stop, for half a step, and blink in surprise. The candidates were late! She had known it, she had seriously known that they were late for the most important day in some of their lives. Most of their lives. She shuffled slowly behind the candidate in front of her, her eyes wide with excitement, all pessimism gone, no traces left of it in her mind. “Wooooooow” She sighed out; and she was amazed.[/ul][/blockquote][/size]

[pannypanpops]

Farah had been in deep sleep when suddenly the bright but urgent voice of Aburoqaph entered her mind, snapping her awake. "They're Hatching!" Echoed through her mind, these two words being the only thing in his sentance that registered in her brain. Urgency took hold of Farah, adrenaline pumping through her toned body. Then came the yells of Ts'kal running through the caverns to wake up the candidates. Farah didn't bother to bath, to dress or to do anything. All she did was stand in her night gown and get her hair tie, run out tieing up her hair. As she ran, her excitement bubbled through her body, making her legs move faster. Faster, faster, faster her body urged. Her legs burned and her lungs ached but she pushed on as hard and as fast as she could. It was meer seconds it seemed before she was right infront of Ts'kal. Her excitment over took her. She screamed happily at her teacher "THEY'RE HATCHING!!!" And launched her self at him, grabbing his shoulders and landing a fat wet closed mouthed kiss on the corner on Ts'kals mouth. Just as quickly as she kissed him, she let him go and twirled off to where the other candidates where standing not too far away.

She stood hardly still, her cheeks flushed with excitment, every toned muscle in her body quivvering with excitement. She grabbed Ripley's giant hands and shook them, the grin on her face huge showing almost every tooth in her mouth, her eyes gleaming and glittering. "We're about to be bonded!!" She cheered happily and threw her hands up. It didn't occur to her that she might not bond. That wasn't an option. Of course she would bond in her mind. She beamed at every single candidate, her excitment over flowing.

[winged]

Ichidou's mood had only worsened the longer the bloated, nebulous body of Candidates lingered outside the perimeter of the Sands. Eceph's cry fanned the flames lapping hungrily underneath her restless, pacing feet. "We're going to miss the entire bloody thing!" Her anxiety had twisted and gnarled itself into a solid, heavy mass in the pit of her stomach. Tendrils had begun sprouting, tingling along her extremeties and dragging minutes into hours. They were just standing there whilst riders drifted in and out of sight, some - such as the Wingletmaster, arrogant in their carriage and downright irritating to the young woman.

She viewed the red rider with barely veiled contempt, muttering unpleasant things under her breath as he passed on his way to drum sleepier heads than her's from their pleasant dreams. At least he wasn't an immediate threat to her frame of mind, and Ichidou quickly pushed any lingering thoughts on him aside. Her scowl grew sharper the longer their wait became, until it was fit to rival any simourv's talon. It was that acidic look she turned on her fellow Candidates as she overheard their broadcast thoughts and feelings on the upcoming event. It was wholly unintentional that she stare them down with such venom, but her face couldn't seem to arrange itself into something less fierce.

She was wound tight as a spring by the time a harried Ts'kal finally began herding them towards the Sands. And like any good herd of livestock, the Candidates bolted in one tangled mess of limbs and bodies for their apportioned positions before the hatching eggs. Some lowed in pain as recklessness led to collisions, others simply bolted in the wrong direction, panicked and separated from any semblance of normality. Ichidou plowed directly forward, managing to roughly part the tides and shoulder and elbow her way into center stage.

Well, distant stage right was more like it. Center stage was currently occupied by a grousing red and the feathery incarnation of a rainbow. The rush of adrenaline grew all the more intense as her stormy eyes locked onto the hatched simourv, Ichidou gone stiff and rigid as she appraised them from a cautious distance, callused hands flexing reflexively to either side. Even at birth these creatures were goodly sized, and no amount of instruction could un-do evolutionary instincts. Best to give them a wide berth, than to lose a limb for an inch.

The sands were warm, even through the thick soles of her boots, and a good sweat was already beading on any inch of exposed skin. Ichidou's heart hammered against her ribcage, the thunderous noise of her pulse rushing in her ears and drowning out her now shallow breaths. It was impossible to put into words this feeling - the isolation in the middle of a crowd, the fog that shadowed the other tense bodies around her into an almost non-existance. She could almost absurdly assert that that sour scent lingering in her nostrils was her own fear...

There was no turning back now, though. She'd have herself gored by a koxi first.

[Cy]

[/i]. With no time to paint her face in any regard, she moved down the corridor at a quick stride, hands brushing through the curls of her hair and fingers wiping the sleep from her eyes.

The front hall was packed, filled with the anxious excitement of candidates and riders alike. Amira beamed at all the people that surrounded her, greeting each politely, but she clung close to her roommate. She chose Elan as her anchor, though the older girl's seeming enthusiasm for a potential mauling proved less than comforting. Zekiel felt a sense of panick in his gut at the closeness of the crowd and found a place at the very edge of the hall, crushed inside of his own body and tightly aware of those around him. Talia thrived, squeezing herself into the mesh of bodies, coy smirk pulling at her lips finally and her dark gaze sliding from face to face in sensual observation. They were all made to wait, held there while the late were found and dragged along.

And then it happened. The tone of the air shifted to a new kind of intensity and the crowd was directed to move, the candidates hurried along to the nesting sands at a new speed. It was an exciting rush. Amira barely managed to stifle a giggle as she moved along, reaching out to grab Elan's to insure she wasn't separated from her roommate. Zekiel soon sprung from his frame to shove those who pushed against him aside, moving as quickly as he could at the pace set. There wasn't time to waste on his pathetic insecurities. Talia found a new sort of gratitude in the boots she'd chosen to wear as someone accidentally stepped on her toes.

Finally, the nesting sands were greeted with the hurried strides of candidates. And two of the eggs were already shattered, two of the simourv already born! Amira's eyes grew wide upon sight of them, her face the image of childish delight and wonder. They were newborn, but they were so big! One could only guess that they would have been, from the size of the eggs, but it still felt like such a surprise. Her breath felt rushed from her lungs, her guts finally feeling the apprehension of what was to come. A creature like one of them, hopefully, would be hers. Zeke's eyes, however, narrowed in wary concentration as he took in the chicks, his jaw tense and uncertain. He noticed the claws and the muscle before he noticed the fascination of the simourv as a whole. He inched to the side, taking a place at the far end of the line. Talia studied each creature with her own wide-eyed wonderment, lips still poised in that familiar smirk. Her dark gaze lifted suddenly to look upon the great gray clutchmother, offering a nod of gratitude and respect. With her head still bowed down, her eyes flicked from the simourv to the rider at her side, hoping to catch the stare of the Senior Pheonix for a brief moment before returning her attentions to the newborn, the weight of expectancy in her chest.[/ul][/size]

[Kat]

Just as soon as Farah shook his hand enthusiastically—which only did not bother him because of his own excitement, Ripley realized that they were moving—moving towards the sands in a large heap of bodies. Ripley’s height provided him an advantage over the rest of the mob, as his head and neck were not caught in the tangle of bodies and limbs, and he could also see over the top of the heads of the other candidates. He rarely thought of his size as an advantage, but it was giving him an advantage now at the most pivotal time in his life. He was not sure when he had started thinking of the hatching as such a major transition. At first, it was an interesting change, but now it was the most magnificent and powerful and life-changing event in his life. But sight—sight did not provide him any necessary help with movement. His body was victim to the tide of candidates which washed him away with the rest of his contemporaries. Ripley gasped as they reached the sands, all in a blob of movement, as he could already see that two of the eggs had hatched.


And then the candidates burst onto the sands in a crash of forms. He hoped that no one had fallen and been crushed. Falls were bad, and could be dangerous, but in mobs, people could easily be crushed to death. Feet were so, so dangerous. One aptly and inappropriately placed foot could accidently snap almost any bone in the body. Arms would break as easily as twigs when positioned under a hurried stride, but more dangerously was the threat of broken ribs. If a foot broke through a ribcage, there was the possibility of a shard of bone puncturing a lung, and a punctured lung—well, his silk thread would not help that problem. He might have to watch someone die before the simourvs were even bonded. The thought was enough to make him pale, a transition to a sallow state intensified by his already flamboyant nerves which made him so anxious about which hatching, if any, would be his. In fact, the more he thought about the mob, the more worried he became, his anxiety caused, probably, or at least intensified, by the stress and excitement of the hatching. The surgeon had to bring himself to abandon his worry so that he could be a candidate, and focus on the two hatchlings he currently watched.

They were beautiful. Ripley stared in amazement as he forced himself to forget the threat of the human stampede. His eyes widened the more he focused his attention on their bodies. Wasn’t he supposed to ask Eceph for permission to approach? To gain approval from the Pheonix? How could he do that in this situation? There were too many bodies surrounding him, too much chaos. He would not approach the sands, and instead he remained on the periphery, his toes standing on the hot sands, but his body remaining in a safe place. He would not do anything wrong. He had to bond. He could not ruin his chances for bonding, not now that he had seen the creatures with which he might connect.

The red was so much bigger and brighter than he imagined possible. It was like a large dog, not some little, hardly formed puppy. The creature was the most beautiful and spectacular creature he had ever seen, and his feathers looked so—soft, which was a strange juxtaposition for a creature which otherwise looked extremely severe and intense—majestic. The rainbow was equally spectacular in her own way. She was the size he had imagined the largest of the hatchlings would be, but she did not look pathetic or unimportant. The colors which ran up and down her body were beautiful, like a little prism of color and light. She looked much less intimidating than her brother, much less determined, perhaps, or at least less severe. Ripley lifted his head higher, so that he could at least attempt to make eye contact with Ro’za, as he took another step forward so that his feet were entirely on the sand. He knew he needed to wait, but it was so difficult. He just wanted to be near the hatchlings. His arm twitched, as he turned his gaze to Eceph, and bowed, hoping that the simourv saw his action. He needed to be safe, at least to attempt to do everything right. He remained on the edge of the sands, just waiting for something to happen which revealed to him the correct course of action.

[pannypanpops]

Farah bustled with the rest of the candidates, her heart pumping hard, her body seeming to hum and thrum with the excitement . Hatchlings. This would be her first time seeing this, and hopefully not her last. Her face stayed flushed, her skin begining to sweat not only from the closeness of the other candidates, bumping bodies with them, their heat being centralized but from the sands as well. She started to mentally curse herself for not atleast changing her clothing. Her nightgown wasn't protecting her in the slightest from the heat of the sands. Her body began to sweat making her nightgown cling to her body very uncomfortable as she walked. She forced the thought aside. No time for it now. No time to worry about her bare feet either. Then they stopped at the edge of the sands. Farah fanned out so that she could get a better view. She knew better then to step out on the sands, it just didn't feel right to enter that sanctity without permission. All of her uncomfortabilities were quickly forgotten as she viewed the bright and majestic red and the colorful beautiful sweet looking rainbow. Her heart trilled. Farah unconsciously drew herself straight and proud, though her chin kept level with her neck. She had many rushes of emotions going from proud, awed, amazed and completely wistful. She looked to Eceph, to Ro'za to Ts'kal to the eggs to the baby simourvs. So many places to look. She waited for instructions not wanting to ruin her chance at bonding and hopefully not to be disembowled by an unimpressed simourv.

[sakurayasha]

Serenity made her way straight to the sands, carrying a heavy tray laden with hot liquid and cups. She didn't really think the hatching would go very quickly, considering how long it took chickens to hatch, and expected that not a few people would be grateful to have breakfast brought to them, instead of starving or missing something when they went to get their own.

Because she came from the kitchens, she managed to bypass the riders that were holding the candidates back at the hall, and so showed up first to the sands. It was just starting to register as odd that none of the other candidates were milling around, taking up space near the eggs, when she saw them. Two of the eggs had already hatched! Where were the other candidates?!

The shock of the situation made her suddenly numb, the heavy tray dropped from nerveless hands. She was the first one, and the two hatchlings had noticed her already. Regardless of the heat of the sand, Serenity felt cold, her skin became ashy, her eyes and lips a colorless gray.They're so big she thought to herself and they don't look very friendly.

[Bre]

Cause at the end of the day . . .

Some guests had arrived to observe the hatching. Skittering up after the hoard of candidates, Emi had positioned herself under one of the ledges near the entrance, a little out of breath but neatly pressed in a cute little blazer. She should have been getting to work, but she'd come as soon as she'd heard the yells. No one would be working that morning. She had seen others coming, looks of awe on their faces while the were still hundreds of yards from the nesting cavern. This was their hope. That hatching was their hope. The hatching wasn't just for the candidates. It was hope for everyone and Emi felt the heat wash over her as she settled against the back wall, straining her neck to try to look over the candidates who were still picking their way out onto the hot sands. One of them had been first, a girl, but the others were coming fast.

Two of the eggs had already broken. Emi grinned from ear to ear when she saw them. A red and a rainbow! The red did not look pleased by the apparent lack of candidates that had been there and did not look like he would improve greatly in mood with their arrival. Brooding. That was what he looked like to her. Like a brooding mother duck. The rainbow looked far more cheerful. She greatly preferred the smaller hatchling to her brother, preferring cheer to gloom. Two of the others eggs were rocking. Oh, how many colors they were! She'd never gotten to see the eggs before, a lowly herder. The giant, oblong orbs didn't much resemble the fowl eggs that she was used to seeing. The silvery one off to the side was rumored to contain a gray in the ground caverns. Another gray! What a thought, especially with the hulking Eceph right there!

One, two, three, four, each stride came with ease. Marion was running, always running. She carried no messages with her for once. Instead, she was going to receive messages, the sort of ones that could be easily past by word of mouth. News. The eggs were close to hatching and she had to hurry. There were cries in the air and the eyrie was in her sights. She'd had only a few days to make the run, all the way up from Sayaie. Her body was exhausted, but on she forged. It was with prayer and luck that her timing was good. She wasn't used to having to wait and she didn't want to be late. The shouts and the sounds she could hear drove her onward with a greater fury. She was faster than the wind and the ground blurred beneath her feet. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breath went heavily, though evenly, through her.

Finally, the messenger reached the nesting cavern. She hadn't bothered to stop in the canyon. She had heard the yells and singing cries of the simourvs that had filled the air. The hatching was happening and she was going to get to see it. Grinning crookedly to herself, she picked her way through the assembling crowd. It had become more than the candidates. Everyone was coming, the dozens and dozens of people that served and sought refuge in the eyrie's caverns. While she registered somewhere in her mind that two of the eggs had hatched, Marion scanned the crowd fervently. Where was Gabrael? They had only met once, but he was a friend and she didn't want to be left in the crushing company of a billion different people that she didn't know. She knew he would be there. She just had to find him. Manhunt time.

. . . all we have is who we are.

[Kat]

Ros’n wrapped herself in her sheets. Her body tossed into a frantic, kinetic twisting as she attempted to cool herself down. She was sleeping naked, but she was still hot in her cot, and there was no way she could find to cool her Eyling down to a decent temperature. The temperature made Ros’n sleep poorly, and her consciousness remained close to wakefulness, so when Wegmeph suddenly called, a loud screech, Ros’n woke up immediately.
”The hatching is occurring. Wake up, I want to see.”

[/i]
Wegmeph demanded, and Ros’n rolled out of bed, dragging her sheets off of her cot, and throwing them on the floor as she stood up. She was not wearing any clothing, so she stood in the morning light completely nude, her skin illuminated by dawny light. Ros’n ran her fingers through her hair, her golden-brown locks arranging around her face, still tangled and messy, but at least not sticking up in all directions. Ros’n raced around her room, grabbing a shirt from a pile on the floor, and throwing it on her torso with gusto. The shirt was dirty, and smelled mildly of her own odor, but the smell was not terrible or too strong. She then wandered around her small space until she located a pair of pants sticking from under her cot. She pulled them on, before she began to move outside her Eyling, slipping on a set of bangles as she stepped into a pair of light sandals.

It was early for Ros’n to be awake, but she moved quickly regardless. Wegmeph’s excitement was making Ros’n excited. The only other hatching she had attended was her own hatching, and Ros’n liked the idea of watching a hatching she could truly enjoy from an observers perspective. Soon, she had reached the sands, and she stepped inside, Wegmeph following behind her, his body shelled around his rider protectively. Ros’n watched the candidates literally tumble onto the sands in a pile, and she cringed, her mouth twitching into a small, sympathetic smile. The poor children! They were already a mess and nothing had yet happened.
”Oh, the red one looks angry--maybe this will get exciting!”[/i]
Wegmeph grunted as he projected a wave of alarm at her tone, and how excited she was to imply the possibility of mauling, but Ros’n ignored him.

Ros’n looked through the mound of candidates for someone she knew, btu she had introduced herself to few of the candidates. Only a few of them she knew from reputation, and she would not be bale to pick those candidates out of the crowd. Right now, she was having trouble distinguishing between any of them—as the mob looked more like a strange entity with hundreds of arms and legs than a group of individuals. This hatching was going to be wonderful entertainment.
[/blockquote][/size]

[Bre]

These dreams that are mine . . .

Ro'za actually smiled a bit when the candidates finally came rushing into the cavern. Others were coming too. Her eyrie. There was hushed buzz. Energy. Excitement. It infected even the Phoenix, who smiled out over all the people in front of her. In that moment, it didn't matter that they all trusted her. Expected her to keep them safe. She was just happy to do them proud. Eceph squawked at the candidates, suddenly more furious than her rider, who had calmed. The candidates were so slow! Move! She would have words for Aburoqaph later. The red or the rainbow could flee to the wilds in the time it was taking them to get on the sands! Sensing her simourv's agitation, Ro'za immediately prickled, smile becoming more wicked. "Move your lazy asses!" Her voice carried throughout the cavern, a dead roar over the thrum of the crowd.

The red really wasn't pleased when the candidates finally showed up and it was Serenity that his eyes fixed on first. Still, he moved slowly, picking his way forward with seriousness and fearlessness in every motion. His vengeance came slowly until the end. When he was two strides from the girl, he lunged. His claws sank into her shoulders as she tackled her to the ground. Just as quickly, he was gone, stalking several paces across the sands. Then he lunged at Farah. He didn't want a girl. He wanted blood. His claws sliced against her abdomen as he pushed her onto the hot ground. Blood staining his claws, still soft from the egg but already hard enough to do damage, he turned away. His grudge somewhat abated, he eyed the remaining candidates. One was his rider. Just one. He let out a low, squawking growl at Ripley. He liked to have his space.

The rainbow was watching, having taken a break from her limping walk. Her foot didn't hurt in the slightest anymore, but walking was just awkward to begin with. The sight of the bloodied candidates did little to sway her cheer. What could you do with two injured humans? Not much. Still, she did feel some compassion for the hurt children. Gingerly, she began to pick her way forward. Things would work out. Maybe not perfectly, but they would work themselves out. She was sure of that. Following well behind her brother, she finally reached Serenity. She'd been the most on time, but that did little to sway the blunt little rainbow. Still, she gave the girl a tiny nudge, checking to see if she was alright. While she didn't mind the blood in the slightest, she didn't like to see people hurt. She was just too sunny to be saddened. She found humor through the dark.

The hatchling within the Prissy Dwarf apparently wanted to make an entrance right at that moment. A proper entrance. It began to rock smoothly back and forth and a loud thumping noise began to come from within its confines. The crack that formed in the egg's side was neat and slowly expanded, as was only right. Finally, there was a fissure in the shell and the motion and thumping stopped. Out stepped a green with perfect ease. Well, except for the slight stumbling. She stopped dead as soon as her feet faltered underneath her body. Then, with a sigh, she turned around and disappeared back into her egg. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she started like that and she definitely wanted to go places. She came out again after a moment, striding forward with elegant ease in her steps. There. That was right. She'd done it properly that time.

The green didn't look at either of her siblings. If she looked at them, she just knew she was going to see something wrong with them. Anyway, she was better than them. She did not look at the injured candidates either, who were making the sands of her birth such a mess. Larger than the rainbow but smaller than the red, she was about average in size for her color, just like them, only a little smaller than most, not that it was easy to tell with nothing to which she could be compared. Her body had two shades of green on it. A light, brighter green decorated most of her feathers. However, a darker, more forest-like green made up her wings and the top of her back and tail. Her head was hooded in an orangish yellow with a collar of bright, golden feathers at its base. In comparison to her brightly plumed body, her eyes were a dull, bland shade of brown.

With infinite care to move like a lady, the green picked her way forward, carefully avoiding any egg shards that had fallen in the sand in front of her. Accidentally, she glanced at the rainbow. Ugh, the filthy creature had a bit of blood on her beak and was even looking at her! Trying to stifle the obsessive urge in front of her to straighten up the little things around her, the green continued to glide her way forward, ignoring the majority of the candidates in front of her. The big messes didn't bother her. She liked the crowd and their fawning gazes. They proved to her that she could one day be great. It was the little things that bothered her. The nonsensical thing. Blood. Slimy things. Coconuts and similar fruits and nuts. The way some people stood. Those weren't just things that irked her. Those were the sort of thing that drove her insane.

Finally, the green found her rider. The perfect one. The proper one. Everything had to be perfect. Everything had to be proper. Just so. T'ia, it is lovely to meet you, but we must go. There is much to do; the green began, speaking to her rider in a proper, mannerly fashion, beak held high. However, her patience only held out so long and something was bothering her. Oh, do stand up straighter and don't set your legs like that! Like a lady! You and your Shovaph must go far. We can be queens one day too; she hissed at the newly renamed T'ia, though no one but her rider could even hear her. She wasn't exactly paranoid, but she didn't wish anyone to hear her angry or even displeased. She had to keep up pretenses if she wanted to become something wondrous. She would stand by that too, because, if she was anything but ambitious and crazy, she was stubborn.


4D7D26 - ambitious, stubborn, proper, obsessive over strange things

. . . though the days are long.

[sakurayasha]

Serenity saw the bloodlust in the reds eyes as it came towards her,it's planning to kill me, it's a wild thing, not tame at all. Why did I ever think that they'd just naturally love whatever human came near them? and was prepared for the lunge. Even as the claws were digging into her shoulders she was going limp, falling back, avoiding the worse damage that would have happened if the hatchling had really had to claw its way through her. She was already in a state of shock before the attack and didn't feel any pain, but didn't feel any desire to get back up either.

She saw the rainbow limping towards her, How on earth did it hurt itself already? she wondered. It nudged her and she reassured it "I'm alright, but what's wrong with your foot?" she said softly. Then she saw the blood on it's beak and started to wonder Am I really alright? Is someone going to come help me? I'm bleeding!

[pannypanpops]

Farah watched with wide eyes as Serenity was injured by the red. Her face paled, and inwardly thanked what ever god was out there that that was not her. She watched as the rainbow then went to her and comforted her. Where they bonded? Just that quickly? Wonder began to take over her again. Bad move. She didn't watch the angry, infuriated bloodlusting vengeful red until it was right infront of her, glaring at her meer presence. Farah nearly jumped out of her skin, her first instinct to cover her face. Bad move once again, reacting before thinking. A sharp pain raked across her abdomen, then a numbness save for a faint trickling warmth going down her hips and thighs. she was knocked to the ground with the red Simourv ontop of her. Letting out a high pitched terrified scream as she was knocked down, fear overriding her. Farah curled and rolled away out of the clutches of the furious hatchling. Farah stood then and ran from the red hatchling as quickly as possible. She hid behind some of the other candidates, her arms over her stomache. Her knees began to feel weak, jello'ed her eyes looking from face to face franticly. She was very scared. The confidence that she had felt had bled right out of her just as her blood was just now. As she haunched, favoring her stomache, her knees shaking her face paling, her mind racing. Was she going to be taken out now? Could she no longer bond now because of an angry Red Hatchling? She mentally berrated herself as fat tears began to stream down her pain filled face. Was she alright? She couldn't tell. It seemed like her whole body was numb, her adrenaline high fearing to move her arms incase her guts spilled all over the sands. She hadn't felt this kind of fear in a long time. Perhaps she was over reacting? Her breathe came out in fast pants, her eyes wide with fear. She couldn't feel anything and thats what scared her the most, making her breathe faster, more shallowed until her body wavered and fell in the hot sands, her nightgown soaked and dripping, her arms locked around her abdomen.

[winged]

She'd known the moment she saw the red lumbering towards a leery Serenity that the simourv had violent intentions. It came therefore as no surprise when the male lunged for the Candidate, claws rending flesh as his impressive weight sent the girl flying backwards into the sands. Still, Ichidou couldn't help a flinch as he struck again in short order - another female, likely judged to be in his way and therefore an unwelcome intruder. Blood flowered quickly against the two humans' clothes, staining the otherwise pristine sands and coloring them in likeness to the brutal hatchling that was now squawking intimidatingly at Ripley.

...well. Not such an auspicious start to the event, was it? She briefly felt pity for the two victims, gaze lingering for just a moment on their shivering bodies before snapping right back to the monster at large. And what a monster he was, impressive as he was intimidating. Respect was as far as it stretched, however. There was no tug, no desire to pursue the violent red. The rainbow, too, failed to impress her. At least she had the decency not to finish off what her clutch-mate had started. Instead she nosed briefly at Serenity, vaguely interested in her outcome but apparently no more than that.

One of the smaller eggs chose that moment to bequeath its prissy occupant, however, and Ichidou was occupied in scrutinizing the colorful green for a brief period of time. She had no qualms about Bonding, and quickly chose hers to the sound of a ragged round of cheers. Eagerness had been stemmed in favor of self-preservation, apparently. Snorting in rueful amusement, the Candidate glanced next towards the untouched eggs. There was still plenty lurking just beneath those glossy surfaces... Better to be aware than to be caught off-guard, and mayhaps without a limb in short order. Focusing on her continued well-being quelled any notions of dread, too. There was no telling what might set a hatchling off, it might be something as small as a personal, negative whim.