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Mandarin Dragonet Egg
The Mandarin Dragonet egg is a smaller sized egg that sits near the center of the clutch, leaning delicately against several other of its siblings. The base color of the egg appears to be orange towards the center, though with all the vivid, electric blue that forms both swirls and dots, it’s hard to tell. The bottom of the egg does manifest itself in a more pure form of orange, shot through with darker stripes of the same color, and edged with a darker blue than that of the center. Towards the top of the egg, the electric blue becomes speckled with yellow, almost in a reverse pattern from that in the center. Gradually, the blue takes over the top of the egg and fades to almost white. The egg is attention grabbing, and holds appeal for both female and male Candidates. The size is ambiguous, and many hold hopes for the egg.
Green Winath to Quinnel

Javanese Damsel Egg
This mid-sized egg seems to have a recurring theme of… well, blue. There are no other colors on the egg, though some parts of the blue are so dark to appear almost black. The whole egg is an even, midnight blue with just a touch of iridescence about it; that is, when the light hits the egg in the right way, there is a brilliant flash and the blue appears a shade or two lighter. Though minimally marked, the egg is shot through with the same vivid, electric blue that the Mandarin Dragonet Egg contains. Indeed, the smaller Mandarin Dragonet Egg leans against the Javanese Damsel Egg. Besides a few more random speckles of the electric blue, the Javanese Damsel Egg is deceptively plain- just let the light hit it, if you want to see its true colors.

Lunare Wrasse Egg
While not a very big egg, the Lunare Wrasse Egg is probably the largest in the clutch. It’s big enough that it could potentially hold a small bronze or a brown, but not so big that there isn’t a possibility that it could hold an extra large blue. While minimally patterned, the larger egg is brilliantly colored. It's a lighter form of jade green. Towards the top, brilliant pink stripes break up the green. A single stripe of pink runs along each 'side' of the egg, continuing towards the bottom, where it gradually fades into purple surrounding a bright burst of yellow. Occasional further dashes of pink go across the green in the center of the egg, but that remains primarily that one color.
Brown Galliath to Sovann

Picasso Triggerfish Egg
A medium sized egg that would blend in unnoticably with the others were it not for the dizzy, slap-dash pattern of it. A lightly tanned egg, skimmed with black down it's middle and sides, interupted by pale brush-like lines from the right side of the shell (Or the left, if one were to walk around to its opposite side). A rich brown crowning the top, the color looking to almost dribble down the eggs shell to a pale gold. It borders on a near ugly look, despite the undertones of vibrant blue along the stripes. (Description by Golanth)

Leopard Shark Egg
The egg's size is nothing out of the ordinary, it is neither large nor particularly small. The egg actually seems to be hiding, it's grey overtones helping it camouflage into its shadow. Upon closer inspection, the egg is actually quite beautiful, a light grey with dark, charcoal ovals with small spots winding their way through the ovals like jewelry draped over the egg. (Description by soutou)
Blue Fuxith to Zara

Plus customs:
Green Miith to E'si
Brown Lurenith to C'miel
Bronze Kanath to S'en

[OOC: Totes hoping on the mule for the rest of my posts. >.> Sorry gais!]

Lost in the shuffle and bustle of the crowd, Astri was buffeted along like a leaf in the wind. She would have resented it, were she not so excited. The next clutch was happening, and within those smooth shells lay her chance to Impress. That it was her second time did not make her more nervous- the dragons had seen something in her, and she was confident in her own abilities. Confident, but not cocky. Well, maybe not so confident, as she pulled the white robes over her head again, strapping the sandals on her feet.

At least she was prepared for the heat this time. It was like a physical wall that made her stagger back. Bowing to the Queen dragon, Astri took her place with the other girls. She supposed it didn't matter so much this round, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Or mauled. Thinking about that made her hesitate, maybe not press herself forward as she had done the previous time. No, she could not be a coward about this. But that was easier to say than it was to do.

Shards, his hands were trembling.

The tall, gangly male stood silently on the scorching sands, his normally cheerful face now long and serious. There was a strange buzzing in his ears--might have been the humming of the dragons, but why did the rest of his body feel so numb? Feeling very much like he was currently made of wood, the man bowed low and respectfully to the Queen while his stomach rolled and churned. This was it. He was here, about to witness his very first Hatching. Would he Impress? His arms trembled a little harder at his sides, perhaps not with fear so much as it was anxiety. Everything until this point had been fun and games, all laughter and new, friendly faces. Jiriar only felt hollow inside now.

With a slow, deep breath, he shifted awkwardly as though realizing the grains of sand that had skittered into his sandals were now burning his feet. He had to twitch a little, trying to shake them out without falling on his face. Shards, one of the eggs was moving--large, splotches of pink. Had he touched that one? He wanted to say yes, but thoughts kept flitting out of his head like panicked wherries, and he wasn't nearly fast enough to catch them.

Another deep breath. So what if he didn't Impress, hm? Oh, his insides might wither a bit, but like he really expected to be picked by a dragonet on his very first Hatching. His father didn't even think he was worthy of the title... Trying to shove back the wave of bitterness, he slowly rolled his shoulders. Hazel eyes flickered to their corners, picking out a familiar face. His mouth was dry, and he was certain he'd croak if he tried to speak, so he only stepped closer to Kiriwar, nudging him a little harder than he meant to with his shoulder.

It was nice, at least, to see a familiar face. If he wasn't feeling so jittery, he might have cracked a joke about how at least he could use the other boy as a meat shield. Hadn't a girl gotten mauled at the last Hatching? Oh Shards, oh Shards...

Conomor swore he had never run so fast in his life. Dinner, then the low humming, sprinting, dashing, desperate to the dorms. Stripping, sending Gilden to his mother, the white robes, running again. His blood mother and father had played dice many sevendays ago, and his mother had won, so it was a blue dragon waiting for him at the appointed placed. He was pulled up onto the strong neck - his heart pounded - and flown out onto the sands. There he stepped down, and was left. There he stared, transfixed. He looked up to the Queen dragon, and he remembered to bow respectfully.

This was it. Here he was. His first hatching, and there; a shell cracked! Oh it was too much! Too amazing and yet... And yet... His heart raced, yet his head was clear. His emotions swirled, yet he could think. The sands burned his feet, toughened though they were, and he relished it. Here he was on the sands, people looking down upon him. This was all he could ever have imagined. If a dragon chose him today, he felt he might burst with happiness! Here he stood. At last, at long last, his run of bad luck was over.

*****

As soon as the humming had started, he had run to get a good spot. V'kain beside him, flitts clinging to him, L'thor stared down at the sands. Where were his candidate? Was that a shell cracked already? Shards! He hadn't been so thrilled in turns! Turning to V'kain, L'thor grinned and didn't have to speak. His friend knew his hopes, his fears, his dreams for those white robed figures that were special to him. He knew V'kain hoped along with him too. Let one of the find their dragon today, let at least one of them have that joy.

Jessmet had barely had time to eat after stuffing Trundlebug full of fresh meat when the call came. The eggs were hatching! She wove her way through the crowd of girls going down the corridor to their quarters; the little brown fire lizard squeaked in protest at such jostling.

Throwing the white robe on over her tunic, Jessmet made a brief attempt at calming her hair. She gave it up as a bad job with the rest of the hustle and bustle. Trundlebug chittered overhead, picking up on everyone's excitement. Abruptly he winked between, presumably to join his fellows in the Hatching Grounds. Jessmet hardly noticed as she became part of a wave of movement in the direction of the hot sands.

She had great hopes for this Hatching, knowing that it was one of the last for which she'd be eligible.

It was juuuuust Mal’s luck, now wasn’t it? He was just about to take a nice big bite out of a piping hot meat pie and then suddenly everyone was running everywhere else. No matter how tightly he attempted to hold onto the pie----and that wasn’t very tight, mind you; it was, after all, a very hot pastry---it was eventually jarred free from his hold and landed in his water. Mal stared at it mournfully for several seconds, as if hoping that his big puppy dog eyes might coerce it into coming back out of the water and drying itself off. Of course, this didn’t work. Finally, he clued into the clamor long enough to overhear the frantic voices: the eggs are hatching!

“Shafit!” he cursed and then practically hurled himself out of the seat before becoming lost in the sea of Candidates. In the barracks, there was a whole series of other problems as various Candidates struggled to get into their robes or, in some cases, struggled to get the robes at all. (“They don’t fit!” was the most frequent complaint). Mal himself felt a bit like he was wearing a large tent as he pulled the white robe on. And the sandals were just awkward. If there was one thing he liked about Ista----aside from the fact that attractive men went around naked on a regular basis, or at least topless----it was the fact that he could go barefoot whenever he wanted. Pulling up the hem of his robe, he desperately tried to pretend that it wasn’t a dress.

Because, you know, the last thing you want to do at a Hatching is start to laugh because you’re wearing a dress several sizes too big for you. As before, Mal purposefully came a few moments later than the other eager Candidates; then he had a perfect excuse for lurking around near the back of the crowd. Sure it meant he couldn’t really see what was going on, but, hey; that was a price worth paying if it meant he didn’t get his butt mauled.

After all, he was rather fond of his behind.

~.~

“And then, you’ll never guess what she did!” As if imparting state secrets, Elae leaned across the table towards a friend of hers. “She totally did it!”

“No way!”

“Yeah really! So I says to Mabel, I say…” Elae’s normal chattiness was curbed as everyone suddenly started moving at once. It was rather like watching a group of dragons; the entire group moved as one, obeying some unseen impulse. Actually, the comparison didn’t fully hold true in this instance. The reason for the impulse was fully seen as several dragonriders moved around, spreading the news that their dragons had already told them: the eggs were hatching. With an excited squeal, Elae hurried off with the others towards the barracks.

Once she was suitable----that is, she had her robe on and, yes, it was on straight, and, yes, she had her sandals on the right feet----the girl hurried off to the Hatching Grounds, happily making her way to the front of the lines. After all, if Nan was here----and she surely would be---she’d be near the front too, right in the thick of the action. No doubt, both girls would be completely ready to pounce on whoever Impressed.

She eyed the eggs warily, remembering the mauling that had occurred in the last Hatching. But such things were very rare, weren't they? There had only been one last time, after all. No reason to be nervous. None. At. All.

The moment word came- the alarm was sounded- Aderyn went still. Her face was a mask, except for the slight pursing of her lips. She rose silently, the other Candidates swirling around her in a blur. There was no need to hurry; she simply followed the line of bubbling youths to the Barracks, and changed into her spotless white robe. The colour seemed poetic; she was so nervous, her every fiber of being so taught and tight with excitement that the felt very much like a lamb going to the slaughter. The foreboding feeling was entirely new, and entirely frightening. Her stomach felt coiled like a tight spring as she entered the Hatching Grounds- this time being mindful to bring her shoes, but still the heat of the sand permeated upwards, infusing her legs with the dry warmth, calming her to a certain degree.

The air was electric- it was so different from the Touching, it was hushed, but not in reverence like before. This was awe mixed with terror and hope. It made Aderyn feel nauseous. She shuffled to the back of the pack of girls, with light feet and a heavy stone in her gut.

Sovann, who had been enjoying the meal that had been contributed to in part by yours truly, made for the barracks at a mad dash. Excitement beat through his veins like a drum, and he knew that he was ready this time. He had been dead asleep when the Touching had started, but not now. No, now he was more than prepared to stand on the Hatching Sands, and to see for himself if his dragon was among the clutch. He hurried through the process of undressing and then pulling the white Candidate robes on, straightening them as swiftly as he could manage. He slipped on the sandals and then it was back to the crush of bodies.

Where was Okassis? One shaved head among the crowd... he couldn't make him out. No matter. He felt sure that his trader friend could handle himself. The nervousness and excitement built in his belly until he was ready to explode with it, but he dragged calm from reserves that he had not known that he had. Taking long striding steps, he moved out of the mad rush, and onto the sands, bowing adroitly to the Queen who stood careful watch over her Hatchlings. No doubt she did not approve of those gathered here, but it didn't matter, not truly. This was between the lads and lasses, and the dragonets they dared to hope they might Impress.

From where he stood he could see tall Jiriar, and he made his way over to him, standing at his side. Better to be with a friend, eh? And then when he came to his side, he noticed Kiriwar. Two friends. So much the better. He could be brave for his friends, for himself. This was a challenge like any other, and he could not back down from a challenge. Shards and Shells but he was still so full of nervous energy. He clasped his hands and unclasped them, watching the egg rock on the sands. Then quite suddenly, it cracked. A dragonet spilled out of the egg, and he could see that it was brown. A brown! Oh, where was Okassis?