But of course, the eggs were about to hatch. And who could scold eggs for hatching at the wrong time?

So blearily thr candidates filed out onto the Sands, Meaki hanging back slightly as he rubbed his eyes, glancing darkly towards his sister who had taken such delight in rolling him out of bed when he wouldn't get up. Kurana returned his glance with a sweet smile, smoothing down her candidate robe with hands that shook nervously. Meaki laughed at her quietly, pointing, at which she scowled, and turned away.

But even Meaki looked concerned when he could only see eight eggs on the Sands; surely there had to be more? With twelve candidates...

Kurana and Meaki exchanged glances, and slid towards each other. "Is there only eight eggs?" Kurana whispered harshly, eyeing them nervously. "There has to be more!"

Meaki shrugged, though he felt the same way. "Doesn't look like it. Doesn't matter though; we can always stand next time if we don't Impress. Not that we won't," He amended immediately, seeing Kurana's crestfallen look.

While the eggs continued to rock, Kurana pointed out their parents, beaming proudly at their children from a couple of rows back from the Sands, and Janak, who was on the very bottom tier cheering very loudly for them. Meaki laughed, waving at their younger brother and their parents as he whispered in an aside to Kurana, "If Janak's this excited for us, how much more is he going to be if he stands?"

Kurana grinned, and then the smile disappeared as the first egg started to crack. Her eyes widened, and she clung so hard to Meaki's arm that he had to pry her fingers off.

A brown burst from the first egg, creeling loudly as he stepped slightly away from his shell. Putting his snout down, he nudged a piece of his eggshell, glancing towards the candidates waiting for the brown to make his decision. Meaki was about to start forward, with Kurana's eyes following all the way, when Frinaith, the mother of the clutch, put her wing protectively around the brown dragonet, growling.

Meaki paused, glancing towards the Weyrwoman, and unsure of quite what to do. The gold then started to move back, and Meaki ran forward, no sure that this brown was meant for him. Waiting? Phaw! He got to Impress the first of the clutch!

He was beaming proudly as he strode forward to the unfazed brown. "C'mon Parth!" He experienced an amazing sensation as the name came unbidden to his lips, and his grin increased. Parth crooned expectantly, and Meaki turned to lead him off the Sands, vaguely hearing his parents and little brother cheering him on. Kurana just stared at him with wide eyes, until he flashed his grin at her, and then she beamed back.

And then Kurana was alone, watching with a sinking heart as Meaki - M'ki, she corrected herself, exited the Grounds.

And then a blue hatched, then a green. She eyed the green eagerly, trying to feel as if there was a connection between her and the hatchling. Is that how you knew it was your lifemate? You felt a connection - an affinity?

After trying for a while to feel a 'connection', Kurana finally decided that there was none, and contented herself to watching two blue dragonets Impress.

How surprised she was, then, when a muzzle was thrust into her face forcefully, and a clear voice stated in her head that she was Jriath, and she was hungry, and she and her would make a much better pair than her brother!

Taking a moment to recover from the onslaught of statements, Kurana finally broke into a grin, leaning down to hug the green around her neck. "Jriath! Don't worry - we make a much better pair than Meaki and Parth do! I can't believe you doubted!"

With another joyous laugh, Kurana led her new-found lifemate off the Hatching Sands, amid cheering from her parents and fist-pumping from her little brother Janak. After all, he now had two dragonriders for siblings!

Jriath - Stats Colour green Lifemate Kurana Age Hatchling Personality As competitive as her rider, Jriath is a bit more aggressive, and wants to get her own way. There's often a battle of wills between Jriath & Kurana, and it's usually Jriath who wins. Physical An average size green, Jriath is looking to going rather darker than most; but you can't really tell at such a young age.

Parth - Stats Colour brown Lifemate M'ki Age Hatchling Personality Like a gentle giant, Parth loves playing with firelizards, children and animals. He's easy-going, and the first to agree on anything. Physical Parth is set to becoming absolutely huge, though an average shade of brown. He's slightly clumsy, as he's not accustomed to his bigger mass and size quite yet.