Cav was getting anxious; Ploath's eggs were just a little long in hatching. True, it was the gold's first clutch, but she had expected the eggs to hatch by now. The gold had demanded at least 20 candidates, plus a couple suitable for a gold. Not that she admitted having a gold - she just said she wanted the absolute best for her daughters. If that meant gold quality for greens, then that was what Cav would have the Searchriders look for.
The Searchriders went out, and in short order, they returned with candidates, or word of candidates who would arrive closer to the time the eggs would hatch. Surprisingly, there were quite a few from the Weyr and the surrounding holds, though about half the list was from other areas. There were even a few from other worlds. Cav kept this fairly quiet; not everyone in the weyr was ready to know the truth about where they were. Luckily, most of the younger crowd would be present for the hatching, and the older, more hidebound riders would be out on patrols for the next few weeks.
Once the candidates reached a sufficient number to satisfy the broody queen, all they had to do was wait. And that was when Cav began to get antsy. She'd never been good at waiting. Even Ploath, normally a fairly even-tempered gold, even while broody, got annoyed with her rider's impatience and chased her from the hatching sands on more than one occasion.
Finally, as Cav was speaking with the head cook about meals for the coming week, she heard a smug call, My eggs begin to hatch, rider-mine., just before the dragons began their humming. Making a quick apology to the cook, she dashed to the sands, noting a couple candidates already making their way in. Several were from the weyr, and she'd known them for quite a while; they would make good riders. She'd gotten to know a few of the off-world candidates, as they'd arrived fairly early. Fortunately, the hidebound members of the weyr hadn't noticed the various anthromorphic beings who'd been running around the last few weeks!
Cav took her place in the stands and nodded to the recordskeeper. Hefkor was also in charge of the candidate barracks, and sent his firelizard to hurry along any of the candidates who might be running behind. The eggs were shaking quite heartily, and no one wanted the hatchlings to have to hunt far for their bonds.
As the last of the candidates rushed onto the sands, Cav recounted the candidates standing in a semicircle around her dragon's clutch. Twenty-one total, six of them non-human. There were a few more male candidates than female, but that wasn't unusual. She just hoped nothing went wrong with the hatching - if something did, and the older members found out about it and the unorthodox candidates, they would blame the lack of tradition, and forbid any future "unusual" candidates.
The recordskeeper had spent some time with each of the candidates and had his own opinions about what color each candidate was likely to attract. His guesses would be put to the test in just a moment. As he double-checked his parchment, making sure each candidate was listed, he heard the sharp "Crack!" of shell, as the first of the hatchlings made his way into the world.
Cav, the recordskeeper, and the entire assembled audience were relieved by the tiny bronze that emerged from the broken egg. He staggered away from the shell, shaking goo and sand from his feet with each step. One of the anthros, a male saber-toothed cat, stepped forward and met the small bronze. He looked towards Hefkor, and announced "His name is Zhuitorath!" Then he led his new bond to the room set up to feed the hatchlings.
This seemed to spark the other eggs into action. Abruptly, nearly half the remaining eggs began rocking and cracking vigorously, while the others continued to shake, but not quite to the degree of the first. Several shattered within seconds of each other, and their contents tangled together on the sands. A brown, a pair of blues, and a trio of greens sorted out their limbs and darted, unsteadily, towards the assembled candidates.
Bojan, pounced on by the brown, exclaimed "Alright, Yorth! You can help me build! But we have to find a suitable place first."
Two of the greens bounded towards the male candidates, stopping at the feet of two of the anthros. Braxitas declared his to be Sereth, and Jax's was Yzilth.
The blues, one an odd, nearly purple shade, split up and headed in opposite directions; the purplish blue heading for the female candidates, and the other to the males. This startled several of the audience members, as well as some of the candidates, but Jalija had no problem recognizing her bond. "He is Eysoth," she said calmly as she led him past Hefkor. The other blue found his bond with less attention, but not less joy. One of the local boys, now to be called X'dar, introduced his blue as Deleth.
As the third green from the initial group headed towards the females, the rest of the eggs began to shatter. The dark green scurried to her chosen, Shiana, for protection from the flying shards. "It's okay, Snenth. You'll be fine now."
The remaining hatchlings, a crazy mix of color as they sorted themselves out, came to a slight pause, before heading to their bonds. As they cleared the nest, a couple eggs were noted to be still unbroken. The three were shaking, and Cav noted with surprise that one did have a golden hue. The scattering hatchlings were hard to keep track of; Hefkor was glad these hatchings did not occur everyday!
A green, Rakdeloth, found her bond in Ahina, then a blue, Vorath, claimed G'ves. Another green launched herself at the anthro-wolf, Chlorophine, who announced her name to be Rynazth. A pair of browns headed towards the male candidates at a calmer pace, and latched onto their new bonds. Shason, now called S'hon, led his Ocilth from the sands as R'say greeted his Tymth.
A dark blue paced to Wiran, who seemed quite pleased with his Kindanenth, and another blue surprised the onlookers by heading to the females, this time to one of the anthros. Shinya didn't seem overly surprised. Quayth already matched her personality!
Only four hatchlings remained, plus the three eggs, and the anxious little ones were quick to put a stop to the wait. A second bronze found his way to another local, W'elm, who had big plans for his Ghaundocth. A single brown looked lost for a moment, but quickly noticed his bond, N'eng, who reassured the little Cywarunth. As the pair of greens who were still unbonded headed towards the female candidates, the last two non-golden eggs split open, revealing a pale blue, and a blindingly yellow green. While her blinding color caught the audience's attention, her paler brother slipped off to the male candidates, and one of the other greens found her bond. Sesha hadn't even noticed the blinding hatchling, so intent was she on her Nalvesath, and the blue slipped over to J'kol, and he led his Awenath past Hefkor, before leaving the sands.
Her entrance complete, the bright female pranced over to the final anthro still standing. Orera smiled and congratulated Denloroth on a grand entrance. The final green, finally stepped up to her bond, a bit shy after the show of her sister. But Edana told Nalrodoth was just as special as her more flamboyant sister.
Finally, all attention turned to the golden egg, but to everyone's surprise, it had vanished. A number of candidates were still standing, among them a lovely girl from the Hold, Anilara, and Effie, the mute girl brought in by a foreign Searchrider. She was strong, physically and emotionally, if what the dragons were saying could be believed. There was no movement on the sands, no sign of the egg or its occupant. The remaining candidates looked disappointed, and began filing out of the sands. Cav wondered if the egg had been a dud after all, and began to question Ploath, perhaps she had removed the egg in the commotion of the yellow green's hatching. Suddenly, there was a squeal of dismay from behind the queen, and the candidates turned back. But it was Effie the little gold bolted to, crooning what seemed to be apologies.
Ploath commented to her rider, and eagerly left the sands, off to do some hunting. Cav looked down to Hefkor. "The little gold's name is Tiaghailth. She was playing a bit of a trick on us apparently. That is until her bond began to leave without her!" Turning to the other onlookers, she continued. "Please, join us for the hatching dinner, we have plenty for all. It is a good day, and has been a pleasant hatching!" To say the least, she thought to herself. The others will have nothing to complain about. She headed to the feast.