The midmorning sky over the Weyrbowl was a clear, brilliant blue, with nary a cloud in sight. The air was pleasantly warm and smelled of blooming flowers. A perfect day, in short.
A soft spring breeze ruffled Tilleniva’s dark hair as she sat down on her weyr ledge. Sevith wasn’t as broody and demanding as a queen, so she didn’t care if her rider wasn’t constantly in attendance. Tilleniva was sure her dragon’s eggs were going to hatch any day now, but so far Sevith hadn’t sounded the warning. The last candidate had arrived the day before, so now all they had to was wait.
My children are coming! came the voice, tinged with excitement. The statement was accompanied by an image of eggs rocking and the sound of a dragon’s bugle. Tilleniva bolted out of her weyr and down to the Hatching Grounds. Quick love, tell the candidates! she told her dragon almost frantically. Sevith was already beginning the dragonsong, her throat swelling with music. Jarnith and H’dar are already summoning them. the green-white informed her rider serenely, referring to the temporary Weyrlingmaster and his brown. The pair had come to Andromeda to retire from a life of Thread-fighting and to teach the new young dragonriders.
Tilleniva took a deep breath, let it out, then walked quite calmly over to her seat and sat down next to K’sahn. Her brownriding weyrmate grinned comfortably before turning back to the small clutch of eggs now shaking furiously. The dragons’ voices had risen to an almost unbearable pitch and intensity, peaking as the first egg cracked, then receding slowly to a low humming.
A small brown hatchling raised his head unsteadily. He stumbled several times in his progress and finally came to a stop at the feet of one young man. With a clear, fluting note, the dragonet looked up into Sokas’s face and Impression was made. “Of course you can sing with me, Tallarth!” the young man said after a moment, bending down to embrace his lifemate.
As the cheering died down, two more eggs shattered with loud cracking sounds, spilling forth another blue and his green sibling. They both veered off in separate directions, the green heading for the girls and the blue making his way towards the boys.
“Locuazth! Silly dragon, of course I want you!” Mizkuri exclaimed laughingly, leading her green off the hot sand. Just then, Merinon announced his blue’s name as Kimeaith, amid the applause echoing through the cavern. Tilleniva smiled broadly.
One of the bigger eggs in the clutch broke open then, and all attention was drawn to it. Accompanied by a gasp from the amazed audience, a little bronze dragon shook the shell fragments off his glistening hide and marched forward confidently. But his newHatched legs were still shaky, and the dragon tripped over his tail, knocking into one of the young men with a squeak.
The dragonet was first to get up, crooning worriedly down at the boy. He whirled and hissed as the other candidates crowded close to help. “Don’t worry, Protegerth, I’m all right!” Anderoyo reassured his dragon, climbing to his feet and brushing the sand off his robe. Protegerth made a little whistling sound and nudged his rider towards the door.
While everyone else was watching the new bronzerider and his dragon, Tilleniva was staring intently at the smallest egg, which was rocking back and forth fit to fall. A web of thin cracks appeared at the top, spreading quickly out and down as a small, gleaming beak emerged.
The beak was soon followed by the rest of the dragonet’s delicate white body. Tilleniva squinted. The tiny white’s hide wasn’t truly white, but seemed to ripple with various colors—green, blue, gold, even shades of lavender, red and silver! A truly remarkable hatchling. And the little one seemed to be female, for she was heading unerringly for the girls.
As the dragonet stumbled, Dalez ran forward. “Are you all right Alhajath?” she asked anxiously, helping the hatchling to her feet. Alhajath crooned lovingly as the young woman realized what had happened. With a cry of joy, the gemsmith threw her arms around her dragon’s neck. Tilleniva had to blink back tears of emotion from her own eyes at the sight.
The last three of Sevith’s clutch hatched then, one after the other to reveal an average-sized brown, a small blue, and a large green. They all flopped towards the group of hopeful candidates.
The brown made his choice first, stumbling forward to nudge Talen’s knee peremptorily. The young man laughed and knelt down. “Yes, yes Loioth, I can hear you!” he told the little brown, then led his lifemate towards the Weyrling Barracks, where food awaited.
The blue hatchling had meanwhile been looking over the boys curiously. He sniffed at each candidate, as if undecided. “Oh come on, Pekenyoth, make up your mind already!” Koelinion exclaimed in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the hair. He seemed not to know what he had just said for several seconds. When he did figure it out, it was Pekenyoth’s turn to trumpet impatiently, much to the onlookers’ amusement.
The last green seemed to be taking her sweet time, walking around each girl slowly and looking back at her dam periodically. “Look, Eenraith, do you want to eat or not? You’ll starve if you don’t hurry up and decide!” Chelsea scolded, hands on her hips as she glared at the dragonet.
Eenraith seemed to chuckle draconically as she wrapped her long tail around the young woman’s leg and tugged in the direction of the exit. Chelsea unwound the rope-like green tail and led her dragon out of the Sands.
“Well, that’s that, I guess. A marvelous clutch! Imagine that, a bronze!” K’sahn remarked presently, as the last observer filed out of the huge cavern. Tilleniva nodded absently. “Sure was.” She responded after a moment, watching Sevith nose at each of the shell fragments.
“You two! Aren’t you coming? There’s a feast being laid out!” came the Headwoman’s amused voice. The two young riders leapt up and hurried out, grinning. What a day, what a Hatching!
