A Serpent's Clutch {Hatching!}

[Neeq Machine]

It had been such a lovely surprise to find someone selling fire-lizard eggs in the Orroan market. They were a green's clutch, he'd been told, and thus not worth as much as a gold's -- but fire-lizards were rare to the coalition riders, and it had been quite exciting to buy them for only a few marks. The Weyrleader had even paid him back some of the price so that there could be an open hatching for the Weyr to enjoy, and Crae'an had agreed quite cheerfully.

And now, it was time.

Mind telling the Weyr that there are fire-lizard eggs hatching on the western balustrade, my darling? the young greenrider asked his temperamental dragon. It would be a great favor. Donerath was in a good mood, for her response was a clear bugle from the central caldera, where she was sunning. It echoed brazenly through the caldera, as her strident mind-voice rang out mentally.

To all who are interested, there is a fire-lizard clutch about to hatch, on the heights of the western balustrade, she called out. Any Candidates desiring a lift, I would be happy to oblige, she added cheerfully, stretching languorously before padding away from her sunning spot into much easier view (and access) into the central 'bowl. Crae'an smiled. It was always nice when Donerath was happy, the fey creature.

He turned his mind back towards the eggs, which were nestled in a patch of sand heated by the sun. The sand was common up here, filling in little dips and pocks in the basalt balustrade, and Crae'an had been careful to find one that was in a boulder, so that it was around chest-height, rather than foot-height. As he watched, he saw another of the eggs shiver, and a hairline crack run down its side. The greenrider grinned. This was kind of exciting!

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The Serpent's Clutch
Salamandyr: out of gold Daeluunya by bronze Showoff
Fire-lizard: out of green Charm by brown Huntsman

Leviathan Egg:
Of moderate size, this egg is a rich ocean's blue, with the swirls of grey-green, deep blue, and pale sea-green mixing together in beautiful ways. A few of the dark blue streaks are almost sinuous, and if you try hard enough, maybe you can imagine them to be the terrifying leviathans of the deep. Maybe.

Snakeskin Egg:
Pale brownish-grey, the surface of the shell is smooth to the touch. Narrow streaks of white and near-white jumble across the surface, giving the illusion of texture from afar. It has no discernible pattern, but perhaps it looks a little like the wrinkled skin of a 'snake.

Tunnelsnake Egg:
Dark, mottled gray, this egg is certainly unlovely. It doesn't look at all like a snake (or have any strange blotches that might make it look like a snake is painted on it), but feck it all clutches are supposed to have themes and this is the best Crae'an could come up with! Dark ugly gray = tunnelsnake, okay?

Snakebite Egg:
Pale alabaster with some faint taupe mottling, this egg is lovely but nondescript. That is, lovely and nondescript save for the dark blue-and-black bruise-like mark on one side, spattered with a series of brilliantly crimson dots in nearly parallel lines. It does look eerily like a bite from a poisonous tunnelsnake, however morbid that may be.

River-snake Egg:
Another blueish egg, the River-snake Egg is a muddier egg, with browns and ochre mixed in with the blue to make a mucky-looking color. Here and there, streaks of very dark brown ripple across the shell, seeming to emanate from (or converge on) a brown blob that (Crae'an insists) looks rather like a steer trying to swim.

Serpentine Egg:
This egg is really quite pretty: clear and bright cerulean, with pale gray swirls and streaks crossing it in delicate lattice-like patterns. What's that? The theme is serpents, as decided by one not-very-good-at-names greenrider? Clearly these markings are serpentine, snaking their way across the brilliant beauty of the shell.

Sidewinder Egg:
Perhaps paling along side of its more vibrant siblings, this egg is a sandy brown in color, with darker speckles in a random pattern across its surface. All very standard, really, for an egg. The interesting part is near the base, where by simple chance, the speckles are arrayed in several arcing curves, similar enough to the tracks of a sidewinder to earn it a name.

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Leviathan Egg: immobile

Snakeskin Egg: immobile

Tunnelsnake Egg: immobile

Snakebite Egg: rocking gently, few shivers

River-snake Egg: immobile

Serpentine Egg: shaking in earnest, hairline crack down the side

Sidewinder Egg: immobile

[Tiddler]

A pause and a glance was really all it took; once the message had gone out, a certain green and her rider had quickly decided to at least go see about these eggs that were hatching. Relyssa had hastily thrown her jacket on, and without even pausing to fasten it closed, hopped astride her green and off they went. Firelizards were uncommon, and a clutch of them even more so, and it was little wonder the redhead was hurrying to get there; while it was true that the creatures had become slightly less uncommon of late, they were still enough of a novelty to warrant haste at the announcement of a hatching.

Ktarith swept down the balustrade, the wind carrying her lithe form easily as the sun glinted off her hide. It was a lovely day for flying, but she too was curious to see these firelizards hatch. She spotted the clutch and its guardian with ease and flared her wings, slowing her forward speed and dropping gracefully to the ground nearby. Turning her head to regard Donerath’s rider with whirling eyes, she crouched almost gracefully to allow her rider to slide to the ground. Relyssa cast a smile at the other greenrider before greeting him politely.

The greenpair wasn’t the only one springing to action at the announcement. Aryna, for whatever reason, took it upon herself to be present for any firelizard hatchings that might occur at the Weyr. Maybe because she’d been the only one to have one for the longest time, the only one to even know the truth about them: the creatures were alive and well, not the myth that so many apparently believed them to be.

Whatever it was, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Aryna and Ejjarth arrived, the blue crooning an uncharacteristically sweet greeting to the green as he landed nearby. Ktarith gave him little more than a look and a quiet snort in return. Her seemingly cold reception of the blue was really just standard for Ktarith, which was why Ejjarth took no offense, sprawling out on a particularly warm rock to soak up the sun. Aryna on the other hand walked over to the clutch and wasted no time giving the eggs a skeptical eye. “Those don’t look like firelizard eggs to me. I bet they’re tunnelsnake eggs.”

Of course not everyone was on the move; in spite of having settled into life at the Weyr with minimal fuss, there was a particular candidate who nearly jumped out of his skin when an unfamiliar voice resounded in his mind. Blinking, Calerin set down the bucket of dirty washwater he was carrying and made his way to the Bowl to peer out. He was just in time to see the green dragon drift down into the Bowl to… carry candidates to the eggs? Tilting his head somewhat, he glanced up toward the balustrade where the clutch was said to be, noting the presence of a couple of dragons already.

His indecision didn’t last long.

Within moments, Calerin was ferried up to the clutch by a generous Donerath, who was silently thanked before he turned to regard the people already gathered around the clutch. Surprisingly there weren't many. He looked around as if to make sure he wasn’t actually missing anyone somehow. Didn’t firelizard clutches usually garner more interest than this…?

[Zeneka]

In the midst of observing his two young firelizards chase each other about, Seek with a particularly shiny stone that Fetch seemed to want to take from his little brother, Donerath’s announcement came. Syrus flinched away from the mental contact. It felt like such a complete and utter betrayal to him to ever touch the mind of another dragon, or allow one to touch his own consciousness, it actually made him feel a little sick to his stomach. It took him a moment to register what the voice had actually been telling him.

He stood from where he had been sitting against the cave wall, causing his firelizards to take note of his changed position. Fetch seemed to lose interest in chasing his brother and with a curious trill flew over to land on Syrus’s shoulder. Seek flew over cautiously, still keeping an eye on his larger brother in case this was some ruse to get his shiny rock. Syrus opened his palm and the Blue dropped the stone into his hand with a proud chirp.

The little things were growing on him, despite his efforts, and he gave a little smile at the Blue’s antics. He’d learned already that Seek quite enjoyed bringing him back random trinkets, not always the most pleasant things either, but it was… shards, it was rather endearing. He hadn’t planned on growing attached to them. And Fetch could be rather helpful, in all honestly. The slightest thought of wanting something and the Brown soon picked up on it and, if it was within his ability, promptly brought it over. This was going to make continuing with his plans to study the creatures rather difficult. Well, maybe he would just wait until they got older… much older. In the mean time there was plenty to study about them, after all, and they could be useful at times….

He set the stone aside, alongside the majority of the other things Seek had brought him and gave the Blue a scratch between the headnobs, finally recalling what that dragon had been announcing. He blinked a couple times, “More…?” He looked over Seek, and then Fetch, and wondered if he would be allowed another. He had been lucky as it was to receive two from that first found clutch. He would like to compare other colors… perhaps he could get a Green this time. Well, the worst that could happen was that they would already be taken, or he’d be told to allow others a chance to get one first….

“Shall we go be witness to the hatching?” he asked his flits, who both looked at him with curiously tilted heads. He impressed upon them the memory of their own hatching day before setting off at a brisk pace. Seek let out a little screech that he was being left behind and took to the air, landing on Syrus’s unoccupied shoulder.

As the trio neared the place the Green’s announcement had mentioned, he saw a young man standing near a boulder and approached hesitantly. Why did it always have to be so sunny during these things? He sidled his way closer and saw that the eggs were atop the boulder in a little pit of sand. Fetch trilled and took off landing dangerously near the eggs and grabbing for one, “Fetch, no! Leave them alone!”

The Brown paused with one paw on the Leviathan Egg and chirped curiously. His clearly wanted an egg, one of these very eggs right here, and he wanted to bring him one! He glanced at the young man standing before the eggs and blinked up at him, sending him first an image of His, and then the egg beneath his paw, and the vague feeling of curiousness.

“Come here, Fetch… they’re hatching, don’t move them…,” he gave the Brown a strong mental image of him perching on his shoulder and Fetch reluctantly let go of the egg and backed away, taking to air and settling onto Syrus’s shoulder again, looking a little lost. His had always been happy when he brought him things before. Syrus gave him a scratch under the chin and turned back to the eggs, watching one quite visibly shaking and beginning to crack open.