Angels Fall Without You There
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: Halyonix
Date Posted: 15th November 2024
Characters: S'yen
Description: The final Hatching
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 22 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Zorenh, Nosarre, Ceauren
Notes:
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Someone shut him up,” Syerin muttered, glaring at the annoyingly positive Ceauren, who was eagerly going from Candidate to Candidate, rousing up everyone’s excitement. Or just being a pain in the ass. The guy wasn’t being snobby or haughty about it but it just grated on Syerin’s nerves.
He looked down at his Candidate robe. Worn. A little dirty at the bottom. Just like him. He tried not to think about this probably being the last time he would wear it. Maybe he’d burn it after today. Give it a proper funeral, just like his life was going to be.
Well, wasn’t he just a bundle of sunshine today? The hatchlings were going to love him.
He was the last to line up when the Weyrlingmaster called. He let the eager, the innocent, the naive go first. He hung back. The hum of the dragons could be felt through his feet. **Come on,** he thought, stupidly hoping that maybe his dragon was able to hear him. **Don’t leave me out here, okay?**
There was a popping sound as the first egg hatched. A bronze that went straight for Zorenh. Of course a Wingleader’s son was going to get a bronze. And then green went to one of the girls who had probably been hoping for the gold. Syerin almost let out a sharp, ironic laugh as he saw that prick M’kayre’s daughter get a green. Everyone knew she had been expecting the gold. She’d even been stupid enough to piss off Chioneth during the touching.
The eggs started hatching in rapid succession now. It seemed like hatchlings were spilling out everywhere. He didn’t remember when he started a running count in his head but once he noticed it, he couldn’t stop noticing it. They were at twenty-eight. He watched as one of the girls Impressed a blue dragon and couldn’t help but feel envy. And then that insufferable ray of sunshine Ceauren got a brown.
Thirty.
He ignored the roar of the crowd as the gold egg hatched and chose her rider. He wasn’t here for a gold. He didn’t care what _she_ looked like. He was here for his dragon. Come on! There weren’t that many eggs left! And far too many Candidates. Syerin began looking around to see which eggs were still unhatched.
Thirty-three. Thirty-four.
Syerin’s breath came in shallow gasps. He watched someone else Impress. No. No, it was going to happen. He wasn’t going to Impress. This was it. The final time. He’d be left Standing. Dragonless.
Thirty-five.
His heart was going to break. He could feel it. He was dying. He could feel the despair welling up. This was it. This was it. This was it.
Thirty-six.
}: Oh now, what’s this? :{
Syerin heard someone say that. For a moment, he thought it was all over and a dragonrider had come to taunt him. It would be his whershite luck that someone would do that. Hold it over his head. He clenched his fists, hyperventilating, ready to fight. Anyone, anything. This couldn’t be the end! He whirled, intending to throw a punch at the smartass who had said it so jovially, so merrily.
Instead, there was a vibrant ocean-blue dragon looking up at him.
}: Did I worry you? :{ that same voice said. The hatchling tilted his head to the side quizzically. }: Oh my, this won’t do. Chin up, chin up. I know you were here, that you were waiting, and I wouldn’t have missed _you_ for anything, S’yen. :{
S’yen.
Not Syerin.
S’yen.
He fell to his knees. “It’s you. It’s you. You’re here. You’re here. You’re here,” he repeated over and over and over, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. Perfect. He was perfect. Beautiful. Every draconic inch of him. “You’re here.”
}: Of course, I am. And so are you. I’m Jenith. No more tears, S’yen. I’m here now. :{ Jenith nuzzled his head into S’yen’s chest, inviting a hug. S’yen clung to him like a buoy in a storm. He had waited five Turns for Jenith -- five long, despair-filled, dark Turns with only a hopeless future ahead of him.
He would have waited a thousand more.
Last updated on the November 19th 2024