Aaron//
Soleil//
Jesse//
Dylan//
Brendan//
Tasha//
Bianca
candidates//hatching//weyrlings//adults//Ryslen Weyr
"What? You think every weyrling keeps his pants on for two turns?" S'rei chuckled. "Tieath was ok with it as soon as I explained a few things."
"Yeah, I just..." Brendan shrugged. "I just want to make sure I don't make any mistakes. I've never had a relationship that didn't revolve around sex, what else keeps two people together?"
S'rei shrugged. "Who knows? But anyway, what's wrong with sex?"
"Nothing, but whatever it is between a dragon and rider... it's not sex, and I don't know if I can handle whatever that is and a relationship at the same time," Brendan worried.
"Well, if that's the way you want it, let's make the best of what time we have left," S'rei suggested with a "come hither" look.
Brendan was in the process of obeying when there was a knock on the door. Before either man had time to do anything more than yank the covers up, it burst open, revealing a distraught looking Aaron.
"Brendan what the hell are you doing up here?" Aaron, still very much the director, demanded.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Brendan replied.
"I know exactly what you're doing, but what you should be doing is getting your ass down to the Sands!" he snapped. "The eggs are going to Hatch any moment now!"
Brendan was out of the bed and into his clothes in a flurry of sheets and clothing. Moments later he was clothed, robe, and had "I've been fooling around" written all over him. He didn't have time to change this, however, taking the stairs down to ground level two at a time, one step behind Aaron, who took them three at a time.
The candidates hadn't bothered to arrange themselves into boys and girls and so Aaron and Brendan joined the rest of the actors.
Soleil looked Brendan up and down and then smirked. "How'd S'rei take the news?"
"Oh like you've been an angel," Brendan snarled, raking a hand through his hair in an effort to tame it. "I'm suprised you have nothing to show for it."
Soleil didn't bother to answer, just smiled sweetly and turned her eyes to the rocking eggs.
The first egg cracked and the Hatching had begun. A parade of dragons in every color began, each seeming to have decided before on their rider. There was a moment of fear and exitement as a dragon with six heads hatched and Impressed.
And then he Hatched. Aaron caught sight of him at once. A smallish dragon, but he had an air about him that was anything but small. Aaron caught and held the gaze of rainbow eyes, waiting for his dragon to come to him.
Which way to the food? he asked.
"Eritoth," he said with a light chuckle, "stage left."
"Do you think he'll ever stop talking in stage directions?" Dylan grumbled.
"A director?" Jesse asked. "Never."
A silver-hided dragon with a rainbow crest found his rider and then two very interesting dragons broke their shells. A bright, silvery pink and a white dappled with dalmation-like rust covered spots and snowflakes. The pink headed for Brendan and he stepped forward to meet her. But the pink dragon did not get far, the spotted white charged her.
Get away from him, you hussy! Brendan and everyone else on the Sands and in the stands heard a bold voice roar.
Brendan smiled in approval and stepped away from the rest of the actors. Finally, a dragon with some balls. Dylan said something about them being perfect for eachother as he retrieved Adaleth from where he had slammed into a brown foreleg.
Females, Adaleth snorted as they strutted off the Sands, always pushy.
Always, Brendan agreed.
The Hatching went on, but none of the hatchlings looked the way of the five remaining actors. "You don't suppose Amitath was wrong?" Jesse wondered.
"Nonsense," Tasha scoffed as optimistically as she could manage. "Our dragons will Hatch when they are ready."
"How can you be so optimistic?" Dylan asked in amazement. Personally, she was getting bored.
A flash of dark purple hide caught Dylan's eye and she turned to see a horned dragoness striding purposefully towards her. Dylan watched in amazement and wonder as the dragoness neared and then nuzzled Dylan's leg with her head.
Dylan smiled, a pure, honest smile, not the sarcastic, mocking smirk she usually wore. "Ayazith..." she murmured.
Ayazith gazed up at her lovingly. Food? she asked, and the pair left the Sands.
"I don't buy it," Soleil said, watching them leave. "No way anything attached to Dylan is that sweet."
Tasha grinned and shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she's really sweet under it all."
"And maybe Diva's straight," Soleil scoffed.
Neva' surprised everyone with her Impression and then an icy purple dragoness, clearly a star, made her entrance. Soleil watched with approval and interest as she opened white wings and showed off silvery snowflakes. She noticed a few of the much older males looking and went forward to collect her dragoness.
"Come on Sunayith, we can have some fun with them later," Soleil told her.
Sunayith distributed an adorable draconic smile to her "audience" and followed her rider off the Sands. I guess I ought to eat first, she agreed.
Bianca, who had been amazingly quiet during the Hatching, amazed by all the dragons, looked up suddenly as she heard a dragon calling to her.
Ow! These sharp things hurt! Bianca, HELP! the dragonet squealed, and Bianca rushed forward to scoop up her dragon.
"Zalinith...aren't you the cutest thing," Bianca giggled, amazed to find herself holding a dragon in her arms.
Zalinith found nothing amazing about the situation. If I'm so cute, how about getting me some food?
Zalinith and Bianca's departure left Jesse and Tasha the last two of their group on the Sands. Jesse was looking worried again. Tasha found his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry!" she chided.
After a very festive dragon bonded with a jolly man who Jesse had given up believing in ages ago, a sleepy looking hatcling staggered from Xarinaroth's third egg. Jesse watched her in wonder, eyes drawn to the silver socks on her light purple feet but not seriously considering he might Impress her. Only gay men Impressed female dragons.
The girls all looked at her hopefully, but the dragoness was not interested in any of them. She turned adoring rainbow eyes on Jesse, who almost fell over from surprise. Diva chirped and nipped his ear and Tasha gave him a shove towads his dragon.
Jesse... she said, stopping at his feet.
Stunned but urged on by Diva, he wrapped his arms around her damp neck. "Tebriniath, my darling..."
There were murmurs from among the candidates who had gotten to know Jesse. All except for Tasha, who crossed her arms and smiled smugly. She'd known it all along.
Despite her optimism, Tasha's spirits began to drop as dragon after dragon Hatched and found riders without a glance her way. This wasn't her largest worry, however. She wouldn't put it past Soleil to go after a man on a female dragon, consequences to Sunayith or not. That lovely little thing Tebriniath would protect him, but...
You worry too much, a loud, strong voice chided in Tasha's mind as something butted at her legs. His dragon will take good care of him!
"I suppose you're right, Nevioth," Tasha said, not able to help a grin as she looked down at the beautiful gold and white horned queen.
Nevioth gazed back up with much the same expression. Good! Now leave that boy in the care of his dragon and pay more attention to me!
Old habits die hard, Tasha apologized and led her dragon off the Sands in search of food.
None of the actresses or actors, or any of the other candidates for that matter, noticed that anything existed outside of their new lifemates until the dragons were asleep and they were seated with the rest of new weyrlings at the Hatching feast.
S'rei was noticibly absent, and Brendan's expression was alternating between the silly grin of joy all the weyrlings now wore and a frown of annoyance.
"S'rei break things off?" Bianca asked sympathetically.
"Yeah, said he didn't want a relationship without physical contact," the actor grumbled.
"I'm sorry," Bianca said.
"Eh, don't be," Brendan told her. "Jerk can screw himself until it's healthy for Adaleth for me to do the job."
"Harsh," Soleil commented.
Brendan shook his head in disbeleif. "I never thought I'd find anything that meant more to me than sex."
"Amazing," Dylan said, her old sarcasm back. Sweet tones and soft words she reserved for her dragon.
"So do you think you'll be able to make it?" Aaron asked.
"I say we all try to do it, for the dragons' sake," Jesse suggested.
"Soleil?" Aaron prompted.
"Why does everyone look at me?" Soleil demanded and then gave up. "I'll try, for Sunayith."
Tasha grinned. "If Soleil can do it, so can the rest of us."
Aaron's White-Brown Eritoth
Brendan's Rust-Spotted White Adaleth
Dylan's Purple Horned Cloudy Ayazith
Soleil's White Winged Ice Purple
Bianca's cloudy green Zalinith
Jesse's Silver Siamese Light Purple Tebriniath
Tasha's Horned Gold Nevioth