"You're up first, Langa," said the voice, and Langa darted out, eyes fixed the entire time on a rainbow dragoness with green wingsails.

"Now I know you're mine, Kaivith," she whispered.

"Go, Latif! Lazal! Leeta! Lelindi! Leonti! Leridel! Leusa! Liviana! Lyehdyn! And who are we missing? Who else but Lelonna and Luigan?" Okkiho and Calliste stared in disbelief as two more of the Archiver team got up and left. Bickering together, Lelonna and Luigan seperated immediately. Lelonna paused at the left-over Candidates - Lannavia, Letzlia, Lingarb - before going to find her bond.

Latif hesitated on the border of circle one and circle two. Kalionth and Akyoth were hurling insults at each other, and he didn't want to get in the middle of this. Alaodeth, on the other hand.. He went towards the gold, and was attacked by a night bronze blur.

"I get the idea!" he spluttered, scowling as Lazal and blue-green Luyuth broke into laughter.

"Shush! Need help, Latif? Dhath and I can help!" Leeta called from the fourth circle, around Kyalana. "Leusa, help him!" Leusa, however, was busy with her own dragon.

"A cranberry? What's that?" she asked as the dark red dragoness appeared. "You'll have to explain." Leusa walked slowly with her dragon towards Leeta, who sighed and turned to her own red Dhath.

"Typical." Lelindi hid a smile as her gold Ronloneyth tripped over eggshell.

"I'll help," she assured the gold. "I'll always be here to help."

"Of course!" called Lyehdyn, smirking as he held apart two bickering dragonets. "A desert sand and a rainbow brown. Can't get much more variety then that, eh?"

"Whatever," Lelindi said with a shrug. Leonti - Leontith, really - nosed a blue cautiously.

Mine? MINE! the dragon shrieked in surprise as the blue lump moved, attacking his bond mate. That's enough now, right?

Leridel laughed with yellow Iuth a few clutches down at the dragon's plight. "We should help," he mused to the yellow, "but you're starving. We'll help later."

"I'll help now," Lelonna grumbled, glaring at Luigan, who was busy tusseling with a blue-sized bronze underneath Akyoth's forepaws. "Here, Leontith, I'll help," she repeated, grabbing onto the blue hatchling and pulling him off. "And I know, Quaynna, I'm still here," she assured the gold-turquoise who was following her around 'in search of a bond' from the fourth circle.

"Lelonna, are you that stupid? She's yours!" Luigan called from the middle of a circle of Akyoth's dragonets with his bronze. The bronze shook his head, dislodging a piece of eggshell that fell to strike Luigan on the head. Lelonna cheered as Logan snorted from his position in Flynnth's clutch with a brown.

"Smart, Luigan," he muttered. Liviana was the last L to Impress, finally deciding on marble green-gold Vaerelnth from the fourth circle.

"Sorry it took so long, love," Liviana apologized, breathless.

"Majnun! Maka! Maraaye! Margaux! Marin! Marion! Masarthim! Masuan! Mata! Mattan! Medece! Meissa! Mekhani! Melcis! Meli! Mendo! MennO! Mertind! Mesuni! Mional! Morren!" As the M's flooded out, leaving Morelea, Missil, Minvalia, Miann, Marre, and Manyini behind, Ma'inx turned to Alianora.

"What are you doing with the extras?"

"Shipping them off-planet to colonize a new home for a few years before having them time it back to go Impress," Nedawen replied with a wolfish grin. "That's what _I_ think should be done. We need a new home."

"Eriol's new," protested Maalya mildly.

"But Pern isn't. We'll have to find a new home." Nedawen quieted down when cheers filtered up to them. It may have been cries to the vendors that were patrolling the stands, selling snacks and drinks to the guests. Or for Majnun, having successfully pulled apart his brown-scarlet fox-marked Dewnavth from Margaux's black-red Taobeth.

"Luck," Maka muttered to her black with white Vreeieth. "You and your clutchmates are much prettier; you'll get attention soon enough." Vree' responded with an "i-don't-care-i-want-food" type of shrug as Maraaye bounced past, dragging Mekhani with her to the first circle.

"I can move on my own," Mekhani protested, wriggling out of Maraaye's grip to go over to Akyoth when she saw Maraaye heading to Kalionth. A gold, splashed with silver, was waiting for her there, just as a light gold, honey, according to Maraaye, was sitting underneath Kally's wings for the red-haired Maraaye.

"Play?" Marion asked Ibhtth, the black-violet watching a banana-shaded Srefth chase Masarthim around, trying to get at a bit of food Masarthim had stuck in a pocket.

"Weird," was Marin and his white's opinion and Masarthim wound through circle two and past Reith's clutch. Srefth latched onto Masarthim, the pair tumbling to the ground in front of Mata, her gold-sized rainbow-white Dayjoroyth staring at them in disbelief.

"Laugh, Mata!" ordered Masuan with a laugh, leaning on his siamese blue-white Adulsinath to keep himself standing.

"Yeah, Mata, laugh!" Mattan helped bronze Adoljerilaeth, from Yijhath's clutch, stand up. "Food? I understand; don't worry. Twelve hours? Ages."

"Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight.." Medece was chanting for the benefit of her starlight Mysmaoth and Meissa and Meissa's silver. "Wish I may.."

Melcis Impressed rainbow blue Neiheuth, the pair wandering together aimlessly.

"Wish I might.."

Meli asked Mendo and Menno's opinions on his blue from the second circle while Mionel compared his fourth circle blue. ("Exactly the same!")

"Have the wish.."

Menno's black and Mendo's siamese red-white-pink were dutifully paraded around as well.

"I wish tonight!" Morren and brown Murzojoth crashed into the little group by accident, causing the girls and dragonesses to squeal and dash towards the exit.

"If you'd please exit?" said the voice in one that the Terrans recognized as a stewardess', "then the following N's can enter in through the right-side entrance. Naitik. Nami. Napiel. Nashira. Navi. Nesoriel. Nevona. Niamh. Nishan." Most of the N's stayed behind. Nxing led the band, consisting of Nusur, Nolir, Noisin, Nenengar, Nelfa and Negnus out to meet the Headwoman. Maraaye had waited for Neso' to leave, Nesoriel slowly climbing through the dragonets to meet Maraaye and the dragon she had picked for him.

"This is yours," she said bluntly, shoving the silver-aquamarine-green towards him before spinning on her heel to get food for her honey.

"Thank you?" Nesoriel murmured, carressing the silver's head. "Thank you _very_ much."

"You're small. Good. Make my job easy," Naitik teased a white from Avianth's clutch, pretending to look over a red that was guarding Avianth to the white's distress.

"That's mean, Naitik," protested Nashira and Navi, where they stood with two golds from Skerath. Gold-blue Dvpoth creeled with gold-copper-black Sheabth, loud enough for Napiel's blue Arnooth and Nami's black-indigo Thykhsth to protest from the fourth circle.

"Will you just be quiet?" snarled Nevona, trying to coax a pale-pink-purple.

"Kainleith's frightened. An' none of you are higher ranked than a spirit."

"Shhh.. Concentrate, Nevona, think good thoughts," advised Niamh, her chosen pink-black Thuth softly crooning to Kainleith as well.

"I think we'll match well," Nishan said seriously to a dragonet in Ciarth's clutch. "Do you, Ciarth?" To his surprise, Ciarth pushed forward a dragonet of much rarer stance towards him. "Or.. he's lovely too!" Nishan cried, staring in awe at the moonlight.

"Ojule, Okkiho, Olih, Orenda and Ovecess are required on the Sands, please." Calliste gave a cry of outrage as her last helper left, drawn by a power she didn't understand.

"ALIANORA!" She charged up to the Stands. "I need more help. They've all gone and gotten themselves Impressed!" The recordskeeper from Brynmor immediately stood up and introduced himself to Calliste with the offer for help. Mollified, Calliste smiled 'round.

"Rhiia will help too," she said firmly and strode down to her station, calling Karneuth to call Rhiiade to the station.

"You are?" Okkiho was asking a dark brown dragonet.

"CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM!" (can you guess who suggested this?)

"Ice cream?" Okkiho said doubtfully but shrugged. "You're still Faeqmith."

Ojule snorted. "Lantessamafolk. Quite odd, right, Visjiriath?" she asked the gold with sunset. Visjiriath gave a nod.

"I am concerned about them slightly," Orenda admitted to a little green with pink. "You?" The green gave a shrug. "Yeah.. that's right Hyhrvyth." Omer, Ongal, Oskente and Ottuss filed out, and Ovecess gave a little yelp.

"So sorry! So sorry!" he muttered to a white with black he nearly stepped on. "Forgive, yes, yes?"

the last wave