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'What a strange day it has been,' thought Warren. 'Hot, still, and muggy this morning, and now it is raining as if the sky were trying to fall down on us. Weird.' It was still pouring outside the caverns when the candidates were called to the sands. It was with relief and a little embarrassment that Warren heard Weyrleader D'ten annouce that they could remove the clothes they had on under the white candidate robes. 'Good, I thought I would melt,' thought Warren as he slipped out of his clothing within the protective folds of his robe. Warren listened to the thrumming of the dragons. It got into his bones and made his head buzz like the sound that good wood made when he and his Mother and Father were shaping it into something new. An all encompassing sound that made him want to do something, anything, and yet reassured him as well. An excited sound, one of anticipation. As a loud crack sounded out and brings a semblance of silence to the weyrbowl, a bronze pokes its head out of its shell. 'A bronze first, that's a good sign,' thought Warren just as a blue struggles from its shell. They both get free of their shells at nearly the same time and Warren could not tell which had actually been first. He doesn't worry about that for long as the hatchlings look over at the candidates. Holding his breath, Warren watches as first the blue then the bronze pick their partners. Warren sighs with regret but soon gets absorbed by the rapidly hatching eggs. Five greens, oddly flecked in different colors, hatch next, then a bronze, two browns and two blues. After that came a tiny white, while her siblings included another blue, three browns and a green. From between Naomith's hands one of the visible queen's eggs hatches and with her, hatches a bronze and brown. Four blues, next, followed by three greens, each, again, a different shade. Then a buried egg shakes the sands and a second golden queen hatchling kicks her way out of her shell. A squeaking from behind Naomith annouces the arrival of a second white hatchling. Two bronzes, two browns, two blues, and two greens explode from their eggs in pairs and impress nearly simultaneously, but Warren has stopped watching. A glistening bright blue head turns toward him and looks deep into his eyes. (('You. I choose YOU,') a jubilant voice says in Warren's head. Warren can't breath and falls to his knees before the bright creature. Reaching out tentatively he gently reaches out and rubs the blue's eye ridges. (('My name is Paojith,')) 'Paojith,' Warren whispers as he continues to rub his blue's eye ridges. 'HIS blue's eye ridges!' realizes Warren, happier than he can believe. Warren does not even notice the hatching of the final four eggs, three greens and another white. He is too absorbed by the beauty, and the wonderful softness, of HIS blue Paojith. (('Warren, I am hungry,')) says Paojith, apologetically rubbing his head agains Warren's hand. 'Oh, yes, of course you are. I'm sorry Paojith,' Warren stammered contritely. (('Let us go eat,')) Paojith said suggestively. 'I do not know if I can eat,' the new weyrling said to his life-mate. 'I feel like there are tunnel snakes in my belly.' (('That is silly,')) said Paojith. 'Yeah, I guess it is. Come on Paojith. Let us go and get you something to eat,' encourages Warren, leading HIS blue dragon hatchling out of the Weyrbowl. (('Yes, let us EAT!')) Warren stood as a candidate at Talor Cliff Weyr Hear the full official hatching story Warren and Paojith
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