The Sungazer's Newest Resident (1)

Writers: Ainsley1, Jane, Kaysea, Vix
Date Posted: 7th July 2007

Characters: Rahona, Lineal, Fog, Barli
Description: Rahona's firelizard egg hatches in the middle of the night.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 5, day 1 of Turn 4

Vaheri rose stiffly from her seat on the crew deck. Her contemplation of the river had taken her well past the time that all of the others had gone to their quarters. Finally she felt that she would be able to sleep, the gentle slapping of the water against the wooden sides of the boat having almost lulled her into slumber alright. She carried her mug into the kitchen, glancing around to assure that all was in place so that she would not awake to even the slightest disorder.

However ... she squinted toward the pot set next to the stove, now banked for the night. Was it moving? She shook her head and moved closer ... "Lineal! Rahona! Anyone!"

"Somebody's shouting," Lineal said from the depths of his bed where he was snuggled up (very nicely) against his wife. He listened hard, then struggled to un-snuggle and get out of the bed. "They're shouting for us."

"Your father?"

"Could be." He pulled on his boots and headed out of the room without waiting for Rahona to catch up with him.

"Come on Fog, will you _please_ drink this." Neke held out the sleeping draft Fog had been given by the healer. "If you can't sleep, you need to take this now, otherwise you'll be even more tired in the morn..."
she stopped her tirade for a moment, "What the ..?" she could hear a commotion further forward on the deck. "Something's wrong, come on.."
she took her brothers hand and dragged him up off his cot and towards the door. The sound of running feet could be heard out on deck.

Lineal got halfway to his father's room then realised the shouting was coming from the dining room. Was his father there?

"My egg!" Rahona called, turning the other way out of their room and running aft toward the paddlewheel.

As she waited, Vaheri rummaged through the stores, grabbing a knife and sawing a generous portion of meat from that set aside for the next day's stew. As she chopped it into manageable pieces, she shot quick glances toward the egg pot, muttering a litany in frantic tones. "Not yet ...
not yet ... not yet ..."

The girls stirred in their cots, aware of a ruckus outside, and the thudding of footsteps along the walkway outside. Tahna slipped from her upper cot, and tried to slip into her jerkin without waking Linli, but the younger girl sat up, and slipped from her cot as well. "Don't think you're going without me." she said determinedly. "If there's something happening, I wanna see what tis as well."

Fog and Neke could hear Rahona and Lineal's voices as they neared the kitchen, as well as Vaheri. "The egg!" Neke's voice echoed across the quiet waters, as the thought suddenly occurred to her. "Knew it would happen soon, just didn't realise _how_ soon." she said a little more quietly as she opened the door and the pair made their way inside.

"Shhh! We can't wake the passengers." Tahna admonished her sister who clung tightly to her arm as they made their way down to the kitchen where a light glowed out from the open doorway. "It's Rahona's egg -
must be," Tahna deduced from the hushed noise coming from within.

"Reckon Lihona and Nalin'll know?" Linli asked as they peeped around the doorway. She couldn't see either of the two new cousins inside, it seemed all the grown-ups were there though. "I'm gonna go get'em." she said, and before Tahna could grab her sister, Linli had taken off back down the deck to the cabin the small family shared.

"Li! Nal! C'mon! Your ma's flit's about to hatch!" she burst into the room trying to keep her voice down, but not succeeding much in her excitement.

Barli emerged with a yawn, rubbing one eye. The one word she had heard amidst the commotion was "egg" and it only took a moment for her to awaken enough to know exactly what was going on. With a sigh she turned around and headed back into her room to get Jezz. The girl was a heavy sleeper and would simply never forgive her if she missed this. Carrying her still dozing daughter, Barli headed for the dining room, with a rather girlish grin on her face. As anxious to see the hatching as any of the children.

Lihona bounced out of bed. "Not our grandfather?" she asked, having worried that that was the reason for her parents' sudden departure.

"No, no not grandda, your mam's egg, its hatching!" she raced tot he bed and dragged on Lihona's arm, and shook the edge of Nalin's cot to waken him more,"C'mon, c'mon!"

Rahona arrived in the galley area to find the space crowded to bursting.
"Is it my egg?" she asked, bouncing up and down on the spot trying to see past the people. "Has it hatched already?" She knew if the hatchlings made their own way in the world in the first few moments of life they just disappeared into the wild and she didn't want that to happen to the egg R'harne had undoubtedly paid good marks for.

"Get over here - now!" demanded Vaheri as she heard Rahona's voice.

Fog shifted to the edge of the commotion, allowing Neke to move closer once Rahona had passed through with Lineal. He walked back into the dining room and took a seat, prepared to wait until everyone else had gotten an eye full of the newly hatched mini dragon, before he did.

"It hasn't!" Rahona picked up the pot and upended it with scant regard for the clean surface of the workbench. As the sand slid past her fingers she caught the warm egg and gasped as it seemed intent on rocking out of her grasp. "He's very active."

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it on time." Vaheri's voice now had a tinge of relief as she set a platter of meat in front of Lineal's wife.
"This should see you through - I hope."

"'Scuse us ... Please, let us through ..." Linli pushed her way forward, through the adult legs, loudly proclaiming their presence as she did. "C'mon Lihona, you should be with your mam, to see her Impress." Even though she had protested her interest in dragons, the smaller version had her intrigued, and secretly envious - one of the reasons she was pushing her cousin through the throng to the stove.

Seeing the other girls push forward Jezz, now fully alert, wiggled to get down and go with them. She had been waiting for something like this her _whole_ life. Someday she would have her chance and she wanted to know just what to do.

"How do you know it's a 'he'?" Denna asked, peering through the crowd and catching sight of the rocking egg.

"It's a big egg," Lineal answered, airing one of the few snippets of knowledge he had. "Could be a very big green, but more likely to be brown or bronze."

Last updated on the July 8th 2007

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The Sungazer's Newest Resident (1)