You Could Be Mine Pt 2
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Avery, Paula
Date Posted: 16th December 2015
Characters: Lenala, Alfginna, A'kades, F'dal
Description: Vilarth's eggs hatch
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 3, day 21 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Carin, Ciera, V'kellyn, D'lorn; Pt 2 of 2
Then the first egg cracked, a tip of a wing peered out. It had a metallic sheen. A bronze. The egg wobbled few more times and then split. Velaith crawled out, straightened his body and looked around. }: I'm hungry! :{
Vilarth turned to look and sniff her bronze son.
}: Where's mine? Where's everybody? :{ Velaith wondered. He could feel him, somewhere near. He started to walk towards that feeling, tripping over his limbs and wings, weak after hatching and starving.
"Velaith!" The young man's cry from outside was desperate.
That seemed to give Velaith more push, but his path was blocked by Vilarth.
}: I want mine! :{ the demand was directed to his dam. }: Move out of my way! :{
Such audaciousness shocked Vilarth. Then another egg cracked and split open, rather large blue hatchling tumbling out. His desperate cries for his rider joined Velaith's.
**Please, don't let them die, don't let your hatchlings die like mine did." There were tears in Lenala's eyes and desperation in her mind voice.
That desperation cut to Vilarth like nothing ever had. Or maybe it was the hungry cries of the dragonets. Or both together. She moved aside, backing down and letting people in. Velaith resumed his stumbling trek towards the entrance of the Hatching Cavern.
"Get in quickly, hurry!" Lenala called and gestured the candidates.
A black haired young man with birthmark on his cheek ran to meet Velaith.
"Oh, Velaith," he embraced the dragonet.
}:I'm so hungry, F'dal,:{ Velaith whined.
Once Vilarth moved aside, he gestured at the candidates to go inside, reinforcing Lenala's command. "Go to the eggs, find your lifemates."
A'kades touched Lenala's shoulder gently to get her attention. He was worried about her, as pale and sweating as she was. "Can we move to a seat or do you need to be standing this close to control her?"
Normally he would want to be out there with the newly-Impressed weyrlings, but today he would trust V'kellyn and D'lorn to do so. If something happened to Lenala mid-Hatching, Vilarth's recalcitrance might re-emerge.
"I have to sit down," Lenala whispered. Only think that kept her on her feet was A'kades' arm around her.
More eggs cracked open and just like that, the situation turned from drama to normal Hatching. Well, except for the lack of spectators.
He walked her towards the Stands as fast as she could manage, aiming for a shorter path. Then he helped settle her onto a lower step, figuring the climb to the special seating area was a bad idea right now. He kept an arm around her while he spoke.
"The dragonets look strong and healthy, and a bronze first was a good sign."
"Yes," Lenala replied. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She had to force herself to pay attention to the Hatching. A brown dragonet was dragging a piece of a shell that has gotten stuck to his tail until red haired boy rushed to help him and pulled the piece off. "Isn't that Ciara's son?" She asked.
}: Dasveth and C'rin, :{ Vilarth told her, crooning and humming at the Hatchlings.
"It is. That's a good pairing," the bronzerider said. He'd have to watch them carefully, that was for sure.
A light colored brown stumbled across the sands, clumsy on his feet. He sprawled and knocked over a blue hatchling. The blue picked himself up and kept going, looking for a rider, but the brown stayed on the sand, squalling until his rider came over. "That's Lahdran. Wonder what they'll do with that name."
Lenala couldn't care less right now. She fervently hoped the bindings between her legs held, because she was sure she was bleeding again. She also hoped that the Hatching would keep Vilarth noticing. She didn't have the strength to deal with another tantrum.
Pair of greens headed for the same girl. Amerys was soon walking away with the other one, while the other picked a boy who had stood next to her. Another bronze hatched out, followed by brown and several greens and
blues.
This should have been a day of great joy for them both, one where he rejoiced in seeing weyrlings born from his dragon. But his fear for Lenala's safety was overriding that. He cared for her, and she was weak and pale and seemed too fragile to be here. While Vilarth was calm now and allowing the Candidates to stand on the hot Sands and find their partners, if something happened, would she continue to be so permissive?
A'kades let Volaith watch as the baby dragons found their partners, letting his bronze fill him in with the names of the new weyrlings. His attention remained on the goldrider as the Hatching began to wind down.
"It looks like most of them have hatched and found partners. Do you want to go back to the Infirmary after this?"
"Yes," Lenala whispered back. The healers had been right, it was too early for her to get up and be on her feet. Most important now was to peg through the Hatching. There was no way she could attend the Feast.
A third bronze Hatched. Such a good clutch and she couldn't rejoice of it. All she cared about was that all the Hatchlings found their mates, who Impressed who was secondary.
He squeezed her hand gently. The bronze found his partner, a recently-Searched lad. Two greens found theirs. He was glad for one of the new green weyrlings - a boy who'd been standing for six whole Turns. A blue partly emerged from his egg and tried crawling across the sands to his rider with shell still on his back; his new lifemate had to peel it off.
And then they were suddenly down to last three eggs. They split open at the same time, revealing a blue, a green and a brown. The blue's and brown's eggs had been side by side and now they bumbed in to each other, limbs and wings getting tangled up. Two boys ran to sort them out and Impressions were made. Then there was just the green left. She was walking around in a circle, looking for her rider frantically.
"Oh, please, don't let her die," Lenala had tears in her eyes, when time passed and she didn't seem to find her lifemate.
Then she noticed a young boy, creeping hesitantly along the sides of the Sands. He was not wearing candidate robes, but Lenala did recognize him as one of the weyrbrats anyway, barely old enough to Stand. He had not applied for the candidate-status, while he did have that right. The green had stopped moving.
"Hurry," Lenala whispered, mentally urging to boy move faster. He gave Vilarth a frightened glance and then dashed across the sand and knelt next to green.
"Sisirath! Hang on!" he called her and the green weakly lifter her head and placed it in to his lap. Someone from the Weyrlingstaff brought him a bowl of meat, she was too weak to reach the entrance. But not to weak to wolf down the meat.
Lenala let out a deep sigh and slumped. It was over, no one had died and Vilarth hadn't eaten anybody. "I think you have to carry me back to the infirmary," she murmured to A'kades. 37 eggs, all safely Hatched and Impressed, with three of them bronzes.
That last moment had been very dramatic. He'd been afraid the last one would die, and remind them both of what had happened to their child. But the eggs were safe. As rider-dragon pair, Lenala and Vilarth had triumphed.
He kissed her forehead and stood up, ready to support her back. "Volaith will let them know you're coming right back."
Last updated on the December 27th 2015