Adelia went to sleep that night lightly. The current green on the sands, Sophenth had a clutch of eggs and she was sure they would hatch soon. Her golden Sr. Queen, Elieth, could sense it. And Adelia knew something about this clutch that many of the weyr did not.
    It came as so surprise to Adelia when in the middle of the night the young Searchrider Katri, rider of the mothering dragon, burst into her room.
    "They're hatching!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "It may be night, but Sopenth can feel the eggs stirring! We shall soon see what shall happen!" Katri also knew what Adelia did about the clutch.  Her shouts caused the Weyrleader R'san to awaken, and the three of them hurried down to the sands in the pitch black dark.
    As the sky began to lighten, a loud dragon bugle sounded throughout both Dragon Fang and Valley Weyr , the anouncement that the hatching was to begin.
    The candidates were aroused swiwflty from their beds and got dressed and ready sleepily. When everyone was assembled on the sands and all of the weyrfolk gathered to watch, Adelia greeting the candidates warmly. "Don't be afraid." She told them, smiling. "Hmm, there may be a few surprises this clutch." As the Weyrwoman climbed into the stands to watch, the hatching began.

    The first egg cracked open, and a small eye peered out into the world for the first time. Its head appeared and its body followed, and soon a blue dragonet had stumbled onto the sands. He moved forward towards the line of candidates. He peered carefully at each one, and finally nudged at the leg of Joswan  gently.  I am Yorenth, and I am yours.He told J'wan, who stroked Yorenth's eye ridges, utterly amased at the bond that had formed between himself and his dragon.

        A green crawled out shortly after, but she was quickly overshadowed by a great bronze who crawled out of his shattered egg  and marched towards a boy hanging in the back. The croud gasped. A bronze, in a green's clutch? Why do you hide? He asked Jaran, butting agaist the startled boy's leg.  Are you afraid?
  "No, I am not afraid. Not now Meneranth." The newly dubbed J'ran said, patting the bronze's head fondly. His dream really had come true, and it was better then he could have imagined.

   The green meanwhile had been stumbling around, scaning each of the candidates before her, but none seemed right at all. She stumbled again, and felt human arms helping her up. She looked up into the eyes of Leiyagh..Thank you Leiyagh, Will you be my rider now and forever?
  "I would like nothing else Loseth." The newly impressed girl said happily.
 

    The three eggs that had hatched revealed for the first time an egg that was different from the rest.  A larger egg, with a golden hue that only a queen egg would have. A hush fell as it split open and the queen waddled out. But it was impossible! A gold in a green's clutch! She gleamed gold as she wandered around awkwardly, searching the line of the remaing girl candidates who had crept up closer in hopes of impressing. The queen locked eyes with one girl in particular, a tall girl with brown hair and eyes, and approached her, strecking out her neck to get a look at the stunned Klira.
  Why are you surprised? Would you not have me as your dragon? Klara petted gold Merieth fondly, even if her hand still shook. "Yes, of coarse I would , Merieth what ever made you think that I wouldn't?"
 

    Xena watched the baby Queen in awe as she was lead off of the hatching grounds by her stunned an jubilant new rider with dissapointment. She wasn't going to pretend she hadn't wanted to impress that golden beauty. She slowly averted her eyes back to the remaining eggs, where a green and a blue had hatched and were crawling towards the remaining candidates. The blue, his scales glinting a color the same hue as the sky, scanned the line of candidates. His eyes swept right past the eager boys and fell right onto Xena. Xena.His voice entered her thoughts. I have found you. I am Halynth.
 

  The green watched her brother impress before turning to make her own choice.  Strangely, as her brother had not found any of the boys worthy, she did not see any girls that seemed worthy. Her eyes fell on the eyes of a scraggly boy, who smiled at her and seemed to visibly push away fear. The green wanted to laugh at the sight. What reason have you to be afriad, silly V'ran? She teased, walking towards him.
    "I don't know what you are talking about." V'ran replied stiffly to the green, then it dawned on him that he had impressed her! "Purnath." He began. Well, this certainly was different from what he had expected!
  Yes? Purnath replied.

  A brown tore through its shell vengefully and stepped out onto the sands with a prescence that was noted by all. He started forward, slowly at first, then more surely towards the line of candidates. He looked at each one in turn, but did a double take at one of the candidates.
B'iff,I am Talenath, are you worthy of me? Smiling at the little brown, B'iff bent down to pet his dragon.

    Son-ni, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, watched each egg impress. The gold and bronze had amased her, and she stood watching each mottled egg eagerly, wondering what surprises would hatch next. She watched an egg rock back and fourth, split open, watched the elegant green form spill out, stand, and approach her. Son-ni, I'm hungry. She complained.
    "Well come on the Kelanseth, we'll get you something. But don't eat too much!" Joy swept over Son-ni as she lead her hungry green off the sands.

    The last egg split into shards and a green dragonet stood, alone. She looked up at her mother, confused, but turned slowly to look at Glare. Suddenly, Ralimith was not alone anymore, and neither was Glare Forgetting everything else, she rushed forth to greet her new lifemate.
   Green! Thought Glare as she opened her arms to embrace the dragonet. "Well Ralimith, you'll look very nice at the gather, much nicer than that dress."
 

  The hatching is over. Sopenth told her rider Katri.  I think my children made good choices of riders. I have laid the best clutch on the sands!
  "Well of coarse they did, look at how happy they all are." Katri was happy too, it was a good feeling, having your dragon be a mother to a clutch of fine dragonets. With the gold and bronze egg, she had laid one a clutch full of surprises, thoguh unlike the others, she was not surprised.  She caught Adelia's eyes up on the ledge, and the Weyrwoman winked.
 

    Up on the  ledge, Adelia, R'san and their dragons watched the happy new pairs. "It makes me think of me when I first impressed." R'san said. "And wow, a gold in a green's clutch! I wonder how that came about?" Seeing the smile on his weyrmates face, R'san paused. "You didn't know about this, did you?" The Dragon Fang Weyrwoman smiled bigger.
    "Adelia, you little sneak!"
    "You never asked, R'san. Yes, the young rider of the mother and I knew there would be some odd occurances in this clutch. You see, we had a stranger visit the weyr one day dear weyrleader, while you were away. He came on the back of our Searchdragon Ineth. K'tay claims that while he was on Search this old man had wanted to come to the Weyr. He was much too old to be a candidate of coarse, and had no interest in that anyway. R'san, you know who that old man was? Why, it was Rymor, from the Smith Hall, my father's close friend and an innovator. I was happy to see him again, and we talked for awhile, but he acted rather mysterious. Said he had some great invention that could help dragonkind, or something. Well, the man's always been a bit of a quack, so I humored him, but when he asked to see the eggs alone...I began to wonder. I let him, after getting Katri and Sophenth's consent.  He did something to the eggs, R'san, he always was a great scientist, which resulted and a gold and bronze egg! We knew it would be something special, so you can see why we were so excited about the hatching!"
    R'san stared in wonder at her.
    "Adelia! What you have had done is amasing!" He said, kissing her.
    "Oh but it was not me, it was Rymor, who dissappeared soon after." Adelia looked thoughtful. "I wish he had stayed on, his innovation could be very useful for future clutches."
    "Perhaps he will show up again. Well my Werywoman, we'd best help get the impression banquet going."
    "Yes deaest, we had. I'll go tell Yasina to work on a fine impression banquent for a fine clutch, though it would be more like breakfast, wouldn't it?" She laughed and climed down from the ledge to get the preparation underway. Beneath her, the sands were busting with activity as the proud new riders and their dragons made their way off the sands.