Vithire carefully placed the last egg in the lined basket filled with warm sand. The bright side to starlizard eggs is that they seemed to be able to survive cold more than firelizard eggs. However, keeping them warm was still a good safe practice, and Krizia said it would probably make the hatchlings comfortable.

Kyna glided around the area of the kitchens, eyeing the moving drudges and making sure no one tried to get near her eggs. The gold starlet had only allowed one living creature near her eggs, and it was Vithire. Only because it seemed the girl didn't care about getting scratched or bit, so Kyna had just given up a long time ago.

Krizia, meanwhile, was standing over to the side near the entrance, watching young Vithire set up the eggs. Krizia wanted the girl to do this on her own, but she wanted to make sure things would remain good and it was always a good idea to supervise the younger members of the tunnels during these times. Krizisk sat next to her handler, staying out of the drudges' way as they moved. Visk was a bit of a different story though.

The young brown wher was wandering around, keeping an eye on Kyna to see where she was. Dyre was with him, the starlizard hanging on the wher's neck ridges. The brown wher had been attacked by Kyna already, and he didn't want to deal with the brooding little Queen now.

Vithire, snatching up the Queen starlet once she landed, looked towards the entrance. Word about the clutch had been sent around the tunnels, and probably even to the Weyr, so people should begin to arrive soon, she thought. Last thing she needed was Kyna to attack someone over the eggs.

Danmor and Dask had heard about the news of the clutching. Dask had been much more interested in going to see the eggs than Danmor had been. Danmor did love animals, but she also had heard that the little queen wasn't happy with anyone near the eggs so Danmor had kept her dear beloved Dask away from the clutch until they had been allowed near it and it would seem that today was the day to allow people to come and perhaps receive an egg.

Dask's get egg?

Danmor chuckled and shook her head from side to side. "Maybe, dunno though Dask. We can at least say hi to your brother." Dask crooned, seeming pleased by the thought of seeing her brown brother while they were there. So off the two adventured, going towards the kitchens to see how things were going. It wasn't an extremely large clutch but for Danmor and Dask, it was quite alright. The young woman gave Krizia a polite nod in greeting as they came in.

Dask on the other hand went straight for her brother and bumped her head against his neck in greeting. Her tongue darting out to lick his cheek while she crooned a greeting. Dask and Dask's come to see eggs. Visk's and Visk well yes? Dask's good. The green sat down happily, her lumpy tail thudded happily against the ground. She wanted to see the eggs, but she was content with being with her brother.

Danmor moved to Vithre. "Hey, Visk is looking in good shape." Danmor really didn't know what to say to the girl so she glanced at the eggs. "Looks like the clutch is healthy too." And that was about the extent to what she had to say at the moment so the young woman fell silent.

The leanly built healer looked around himself curiously as he stepped into the kitchens of the Tunnel Hold. The rumor mill was a funny thing, and as cosely linked as Atricis Weyr and Isil Tunnel Hold were, it was not exactly surprising that tales from one often filtered swiftly to the other. Which was how Tailon had heard that there was a clutch of eggs looking for a home at the Tunnel Hold. Or to be more precise, how his room mate had heard. Casian seemed to think that it would be a great idea for Tailon to try and get one. The boy was insanely persistent when he wanted to be, and it hadn't exactly been difficult for the lad to convince Tailon to go. The healer couldn't deny, his life had brightened considerably since his brother had given him the egg which had produced Quil. The little brown flitter was a spark of light on even the worst of days. The thought of having another bright spark in his life was one Tailon couldn't resist.

His hand reached up, gently rubbing the head of the sleeping brown. He was still small, though growing rapidly, still little more than a baby and Tailon hadn't wanted to leave him behind. His presence, sleeping or awake, was always a comfort.

Of course, Tailon had another reason for wanting to come to the Tunnel hold. He had never actually met a wher before. Certainly he had heard a great deal about them, and he'd seen a few sketches, not to mention that wooden carving of one which had shown up in rooms a few months ago, but he'd never actually seen one face to face before. It had occurred to him that perhaps it was something he should do. After all, though he currently had no plans to carry out his plan to move to the tunnel hold and try his luck at a wher hatching, he might one day change his mind. It would surely be a good idea then to have some clue what he might potentially be getting himself into if he ever did such a thing.

"Hi" He greeted the small girl sitting with the golden queen starlet and the clutch in front of her. The man cast a curious glance at the other two females, the ones with the green whers next to them. He assumed that those greens must belong to them, which meant that the brown which was wandering about belonged to the small girl. See, he was learning things already, he hadn't known that women could impress to brown whers, though of course, there was also that woman who'd impressed a brown dragon just recently, which made him wonder all kinds of things about what he'd thought he'd known. What was next? Women on bronze and men on gold? Though he'd heard that did happen with the whers.

"I'm Tailon" He offered his hand to the small girl. It never hurt to be polite, especially when you were looking to get something from someone. "Your queen's a pretty little thing" He smiled as he complimented the female who had to be the clutch mother. She was a pretty creature, all pale golden hide and long spines with their glowing tips. She looked rather grumpy but Tailon wasn't surprised. He couldn't imagine any female being happy at having her clutch taken away, and especially not a gold, no matter what species they were.

It was merely academic curiosity that brought Garlisu to the Tunnelhold. Really. He eyed the Golden mother warily, golden eyes taking in the busy kitchen scene. He had only heard stories of this place, so seeing it for the first time was a bit overwhelming. One would think that less people would live here, but it was just as busy as the Weyr.

Interesting. Not as interesting as that beast though.

The Gold flitting about the room was gorgeous. Firelizards along were beautiful, but the bio-luminescent tassels just enhanced that natural grace. Truly awe inspiring how much a creature could change to match its environment.

The creatures were much more pleasing to the eye than the lumpy creatures lumbering after their Handlers. Garlisu's lip curled up in distaste. No one could give him enough marks to bond such creatures. Sadly, he'd have to move closer in order to observe the clutch more closely. Cautiously, Gar shuffled, careful not to touch any person if he could help it. His hazel eyes locked on the Brown and Green whers that the Handlers so causally let wander. What if one of those things decided to maul him? Shouldn't they be chained up?

Naturally, S'rel was among the first that knew of any sort of firelizard or starlet clutch that happened to be hatching, since he made sure that Zaurith kept a figurative ear open for anything of the sort. The brown was ever prompt about informing him about Kyna's clutch at the TunnelHold, and quickly threw on a decent set of clothing before mounting the waiting dragon. I wonder if there will be many others from the Weyr there? he wondered briefly before pushing the thought to the back of his mind. With how many at the TunnelHold that knew about the clutch prior to this, he would have enough competition; he didn't want any more added to that. He knew he would soon get berated by Zaurith for even thinking like that, but it was merely the truth; he had gone this long without a pet, and had sincerely wanted one. This would perhaps be his only chance in a while to obtain one, and he wanted as few people as possible to show up, since more people meant less of a chance for himself.

As many could have guessed, 'kindness' wasn't often in the man's own thoughts, but that had been brought about by many Turns being nothing more than a drudge's son. No one had been kind to him then, so why did he have to bother back then? Not that it affected his brown's desire for his rider to have friends, and therefore change that former side of him. After all, S'rel wasn't in the Holds anymore, so why still hold resentment for those who hadn't seen his potential? So what if there might be a lot of people? Zaurith asked curiously as they appeared out of between above the maze of tunnels that comprised Isil. I do recall the fact that you haven't really been all that social lately. This could be a good chance for you to do just that. It bothered him that his rider really didn't have much in the way of conversation, and now that he had more than enough opportunity without the excuse of being stuck in weyrling lessons holding him back, he really didn't understand why the young man didn't reach out to people more.

"I suppose you're right, Zaurith," S'rel muttered under his breath as he slid off of the golden-brown shoulder, hitting the ground a bit more forcefully than he had intended, but shrugging it off as he always did. Giving his dragon a sound thump on the shoulder to send him on his way, the brownrider ventured into the TunnelHold, glancing around before deciding that the most likely place for Kyna's clutch to be held would have to be the kitchens. It wasn't often that starlets laid their eggs within the warm sands of the hatching cavern, and using the past starlizard hatchings as experience, they had been mostly held in that area of the TunnelHold.

He wasn't surprised to see others already there, nodding in greeting to those handlers, crafters, and even candidates present before settling his gaze on one in particular. The young man was one he had seen around the Weyr, one of the few dragon candidates left after Shyamath's second most successful clutch hatched. Zaurith had been proud of his half-siblings, and had cheered the arrival of each healthy dragon to the world of Pern with a croon of encouragement. It irked him that his own dragon had come from a hatching where one of the young blues had seen fit to tear into him, but thankfully he had come out of that with very little lasting signs of that unfortunate occurrence. However, that was scarcely something to dwell on at the moment, and S'rel decided to adhere to his dragon's wishes and walked up to the candidate, giving a brief smile before realizing that he seemed nervous about the two whers in the room.

Was he worried that one of them would decide to attack him? Why in Faranth's name would he think something so absurd? Once again, 'nice' wasn't in S'rel's thoughts as he shook his head slightly before fixating his blue eyes on the young man in question. "You needn't worry about these two," he commented lightly, glancing between the green and brown whers before looking back to Garlisu. "They look to be wherlings still, and bonded ones at that. Couldn't do more than cause a couple of lacerations. No worse than if a freshly hatched dragonet tore into you," he added with a shrug, crossing his arms as he took the two young whers into consideration. "Besides that, it's really the unbonded that you have to worry about. Their handlers will be able to keep them from attacking. But that's hardly the proper discussion topic. What's your name?" he asked, glancing the young man up and down for a moment before unraveling one arm and holding a hand out towards the candidate. "My name's S'rel."

Feray couldn't help but smile as she walked into the room in the Tunnel Hold that the little starlizard eggs were in. This smile wavered when she saw Garlisu, and she sent him a glare before ignoring him completely. Now was not the time to start another fight. Plus, someone was talking to him. Now as long as he didn't say anything to her everything would be fine.

Forcing herself to block the thoughts from her head, the girl instead murmured a small "Hello," to the girl holding the gold starlet. Always best to be nice to people. Unless they were cruel to you first, that is.

Looking around, the girl felt her eyes fall on the whers. They were so different from dragons, yet still amazing in their own right. Of course, having never been down in the tunnels, she had no experience with whers. But they couldn't be any more dangerous then dragons, right? Nothing to worry about.

The girl stretched slightly, rolling her shoulders. She couldn't wait to see what happened. She could almost feel suspense, although it might have only been her. Either way, she was exited. After all, there were so many firsts for her. The first time in the Tunnels, the first time seeing starlizard eggs. The first time seeing whers up close. As long as nothing bad happened, it would be a very good day.

"You needn't worry about these two."

A rather masculine voice said. Garlisu was proud that he merely flinched instead of full out leaping in surprise. The Scribe was met with a flash of teeth, the friendly kind, so he relaxed a tiny bit. This young Rider seemed of the normal sort, not like that freak that had laid into him the other day. He probably still had scratches and bruises.

"They look to be wherlings still, and bonded ones at that. Couldn't do more than cause a couple of lacerations. No worse than if a freshly hatched dragonet tore into you."

Flashes of the gruesome hatching he had just attended flitted through the brunette's head. He grimaced, scowling a bit at this- his amber eyes glanced at the Rider's knots- Brown Rider with the pretty blue eyes.

"That is completely reassuring Lord Rider."

Gar drawled, the sarcasm thick in his voice. One would think a newly hatched dragon would have soft claws, but those suckers were sharp! Besides, why was this man talking to him? Didn't a Brown Rider have better things to do? Or was he here like all the rest in hopes of obtaining an egg?

"Besides that, it's really the unbonded that you have to worry about. Their handlers will be able to keep them from attacking. But that's hardly the proper discussion topic. What's your name?"

Weren't wher Handlers rejected dragon Candidates? Anyone could become a wher Handler. How was Garlisu expected to let his guard down? Who knew how strong the bond was between those wretched creatures and their humans truly was? Then Mr. Brown Rider was changing the topic. Garlisu bit his lip, a bit uncertain about handing out his information. Would the man laugh at him? Hopefully his name hadn't gotten out around the weyr. Shards! To be known not for his stunning intellect and penmanship, but for being beat up by a woman! Of all the shames...

"Honor to meet you S'rel. I am Garlisu of the Scribe Craft."

He eyed the hand presented to him before gingerly taking it, soft hand wrapped awkwardly in the Rider's calloused palm. The Candidate didn't like to touch people if he could help it. He meant no personal offense, but people generally took it that way, especially if he refused a handshake. As the awkward greeting was given, his eyes fell upon a familair and unwelcome face. Feray. What the Shards was that uncivilized beast doing here? Shouldn't she be punished or something? Her eyes squinted into glare that Garlisu sent back full force. The Scribe would never take back what he said. All the words he had uttered were true and this girl needed to accept that.

The first person that Vithire noticed was Danmor, as the other female wherling addressed her pleasantly. Vithire knew Danmor, not on a very close, personal level, but about how she knew everyone else in the Tunnelhold. In fact, as the people piled in, it was obvious that the only ones present for eggs from the Tunnelhold was Danmor. Vithire didn't count herself. Yes, she kind of wanted to keep one of the eggs, but she only would if there were any left after giving one out to each person present.

"Visk is well. So is Kyna's clutch as well." Vithire nodded a bit in reply to Danmor. Vithire wasn't quite used to holding conversations with people. Most didn't seem to think she was capable of them, assuming they wanted to in the first place.

"I'll try to give an egg to everyone. Oh, I'll explain in a bit..." She trailed off a bit as someone else addressed her. At this moment, Visk had knocked over some empty pots, only to be chased by one of the braver kitchen workers. The young wher fled, crying out a bit before hiding behind Vithire like this small girl was going to protect him.

"Thank you," she answered the man's, Tailon's, compliments, being sure to keep her hold on Kyna, who grew more and more antsy and upset as more people arrived. She gave them all glares, and when she wiggled, Vithire was sure to hold onto her. After this, she noticed two males conversing a bit, and a female from the Weyr arrive. After this, it seemed everyone who was interested was now here. It was time to speak up, it seemed.

"Ok," Vithrie started, trying to speak up but her frail voice making it hard to speak very loudly. Luckily, it seemed that no one was being exceptionally loud.

"Since I don't know all your names, here is a pouch," she held out the soft leather pouch, and inside the soft sounds of rocks hitting each other could be heard before she continued, "They are different colors. I'll hand them out at random. What color you get will decide the order you go in." She paused a moment to clear her throat, and instead of continuing the explanation, she began to walk around, handing the stones out to everyone. First Tailon, then Feray. She then gave one to Danmor before giving on to S'rel and then Garlisu. After this, she returned to before the clutch, glancing at it to be sure all seven eggs were still there.

"Look at the stones." The stones she had handed out were small and smooth polished and round, and were actually thick glass stone drops that were somehow colored. Perhaps trinkets meant to amuse small children.

"The order is Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and then White. Give them back to me when you come to get your egg."

With that, the handing out of the eggs began. Each person would step forward for their egg in order based on the stone colors.



(This is the order each character's post should go when choosing their egg. When it is your turn, have your character choose their egg, and be sure to state [i]in bold which egg they choose by the egg's name.)[/i]

Feray clutched her stone, carefully rubbing it. It was red, which made it match her hair. She couldn't help but smile slightly at that. Maybe it was a symbol of good luck. You never know what might be good luck or just plain coincidence.

When the order was called, however, the grin widened. She was first! Maybe it really was good luck. And it meant that she was before Garlisu, which ever number he got, was behind her. That should wound his pride which, in her eyes at least, needed some serious wounding. Seriously, calling her Renceth a freak. She clenched her fists slightly, then relaxed. She had to behave herself while she was there. After all, she was probably lucky to even be there considering what had happened. She had almost sworn she would be prevented from coming here because of that fight.

With those final thoughts she stepped forward. Peering at the eggs, she focused on one specific one. Gingerly she picked up the egg she had chosen, Silver Glacier. It just seemed to be the first egg to actually catch her eye, so being the rash young girl she was, it was the one she picked up. Looking at Vithire, she smiled and said simply, "Thank you. Both of you." She added the last part with a glance at the golden starlizard who's egg she was holding. It couldn't hurt to thank the mother of the clutch, now could it? She then gave back the red stone, before walking off to the side. She wanted to see what eggs the others picked after all.

Gar still moved a bit closer to S'rel as a Kitchen worker chased the Brown wher away. Was that guy crazy? The candidate was careful to put his new found conversational partner in the path of harm, sure the broader man would shield him from any claws. The slashes never came and Garlisu heaved a sigh of relief, peering around the Rider to see the young creature huddled behind his Handler. Lisu snorted, moving away now that there was no threat.

Garlisu was distracted from any response that S'reln had given, because the young lady with eggs spoke. Her voice was a bit pathetic, laughable really, but everyone of the lugheads in here wre so eager for an egg of their own that they were conspicuously quiet, even in the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. He was glad that this young woman was handing out the stones herself, he didn't know what he would say or do if he had to go near that little wench Feray. When it was his turn, his small palm closed around a glass droplet. The Scribe hummed, pleased with his color selection. Blue, like the color of his Craft Hall. Smiling, he ran his finger over the smooth surface as he awaited further instruction. His amber eyes glanced quickly around the room, seeing the other colors. Feray got red, which suited her temper and her hair. S'rel beside him had yellow. The others had green and white.

As Vithrie called out the order, the small man tensed. Of course the Sharding mutant Rider would get to go first, even after all that she had done. Gar grumbled soething along the lines of: There goes justice down the latrine or Trust a jungle animal to raise another wild thing. Oh well, he was still close to the front and would have a good variety to pick from the seven eggs. He had been eying the Silver Glacier egg, but of course Feray would pick it. Gar gritted his teeth, stepping briskly after the young woman and looking at the remaining eggs. The one he picked would be better than hers anyway. He curled his hands around the Copper Ocean Egg, lifting the warm shell out of the batch and muttering his thanks before scuttling back to S'rel.

"Heavier than I thought."

He murmured, absorbed in his observations and filing them away. This would make an interesting report for later writing. Idly he wondered what colors were within the eggs. Were Starlizards the same color wise as firelizards? He wished he had researched more before coming here to obtain one.

(( This will be an actual post in the morning, but for now, S'rel is taking the Pewter River egg ))

Garlisu held the warm egg close to his chest, stilling his fingers when he noticed they were unconsciously stroking the shell. He was no soft hearted woman. This animal would be a tool, not a pet. He would train it to eat critters that chewed his hides. He would not treat it like a child's plaything. No, his Starlizard would be useful, the best of any animal here. Not some lazy lug, like he was sure Feray's beast would be like. No, with her, it would be a wild, untamable creature that got into all sorts of mischief. Gar would see it now, the chaos her dumb creature would cause-

Wait. What was that? His amber eyes narrowed as he held the egg close to his ear. He nearly dropped the thing when he head a squeak. No, more of a peeping noise. Inadvertently, his nail scrapped the surface and the squeaking stopped. The Scribe frowned, staring down at the egg in his palm. A light tapping replaced the youngling's vocalizations. Intrigued, he tapped the shell of the Copper Ocean again. Again, the little 'lizard answered with a tap. Then, encouraged by this, the egg began to rock. Lisu yelped, clutching tightly so that his precious egg would not fall. Scrambling around, he cleared a counter with one arm and placed his egg upon the smooth surface. It rolled, the squeaks growing louder and more plaintive. Glancing around quickly to make sure no folk were watching too closely, he tapped hard on the shell. It cracked beneath his finger.

Surely I didn't hit it that hard?

He frowned, worry lines wrinkling his forehead. A puff of breath escaped his lips, ruffling a curl that had fallen astray. It was during this moment that a wet snout appeared, little nostrils flaring and its jaws gaping. Eagerly, he peered, trying to discern the color of his new companion. Amnion clinging to the soft hide made it dark, almost impossible to tell the color. Plus, the little quivering nostrils retreated.

Garlisu felt a noise of protest leave his throat and he covered it with a cough, glancing around the room again. Hopefully the others were too busy with their own babies to bother watching him. Oh! By the Egg! Food! His Starlizard would be hungry upon entering the world! The short teen scuttled over, a smiling drudge having already prepared meat in a bucket. He eyed the bloody mess distastefully, but the rocking he could see in his periphery vision drove the young Candidate on. He grabbed a handful, slick blood coating his fingers. Gar's face screwed up, as he shuffled back, dumping it on the counter in favor or stabilizing the egg. The entire head was now visible as well as the slender neck. Large eyes dully stared at him as the baby creeled, pathetic in its trapped state. Knowing it should hatch on its own, Garlisu made no move to help. He only crooned encouragement as finally, shoulders and wings broke through, followed by the rest of the youngling's body.

"Oh my! Look at you! A fine young Brown!"

The Starlet blinked, damp wings held close to its body as it chirped. Getting the message, Gar pinched a piece of meat between his fingers, holding it out. The blood bay head snaked out and tiny jaws closed around the morsel and swallowed in a flash. Gar blinked at the drying hatchling, which chirped plaintively. Well, that was fast.The high peeping grew louder and Gar fumbled with another piece, holding it out to red-brown baby. His eyes ran over the swiftly drying body, noting the little fringes that hung of its head and neck. The little green spots weren't glowing yet. Fascinating.

They established a rhythm with the feeding, so Gar could glance around and see how the others had fared. So far, both of the other eggs given out had hatched. S'rel had a little Green and Feray had a Brown as well. The Candidate scowled, but a sad chirp got his attention quickly. The fistful of meat was gone and the Starlet's belly distended. Yet, the creature still called for him. Confused, he hovered over the little animal, before scooping it up in his hands. The chirping changed into a soft thrumm and the Starlizard laid its head upon the exposed skin of Galisu's neck and collar bone, small nostrils sniffing ticklishly. Its wide eyes fluttered closed, both lids snicking shut and the creature's breathing evening out. Gar stood there, wide eyed, his clean hand stroking the soft skin of his Starlizard. His chest grew warn and the corner of his lips tugged upward.

"Atan. A fine name for a fine creature."

He whispered, hazel eyes soft. The Starlizard snuffled in his sleep. Chuckling lightly, he meandered over to S'rel, not really sure why he was interested, and asked.

"How is yours? What is her name?"

Feray watched two others pick their eggs. Garlisu had been right after her- A fact she almost laughed aloud at- and then another person whose name she wasn't aware of at the time. Clutching the egg, she looked around. Then, shrugging, she sat down on the ground to hold the egg in her lap. Her arms had been falling asleep.

Smiling softly at the egg, she traced various patterns on the shell, occasionally looking up to see if anyone else had chosen an egg, then going back to her egg. She was pleased that she had managed to get the one she had had her eye on; even if she did know which other one she would have picked.

Suddenly the egg in her hands jolted. Looking down at it, she frowned slightly. Were they already hatching? In that case, they had picked just in time. She heard a slightly annoyed twittering sound from the egg. Her frown being replaced by a grin, she watched the egg closely.

The egg jolted again, and this time a pale brown leg broke out. The little starlet wiggled a bit, before pulling his leg back in and then proceeding to kick the shell where the hole was. The egg began to crumple with the kicking, and soon the starlizard tumbled out. Feray gave a small laugh at the starlizard, before gently reaching over and petting him. The little animal twitched, and then gave a small squeak.

"You're hungry, huh?" The red head murmured softly, before standing and running over to the bucket. Scooping out a handful of meat, she darted back and crouched in front of her new brown starlet, holding her hand out. The little animal squeaked and his head darted forward and he began gulping the meat.

"Not to fast. . . Wait, you don't have a name yet. Don't eat to fast Urho!" She said, laughing as she dubbed the pale brown starlizard. It was to first name she could think of, and it seemed to fit the little one. Urho yawned then, and she gave a laugh as she scooped him up and began stroking down his back, between his wings.

"You're a cute little one. I can't wait until Renceth sees you." She stated as the starlet moved around in her arms to get more comfortable. As the baby starlizard got comfortable, she looked up and around to see hers hadn't been the only one to hatch. Garlisu had gotten a brown like her, and the other person had gotten a green. Turning to study the ones who hadn't yet picked, she smiled. Everything was going fine.

She just hoped she could control herself if Garlisu tried insulting her starlet.

((..cobalt creek...it'll be a post eventually...))

Tailon smiled as the girl as she pulled her gold starlet that little bit closer to herself. From the way the little female was glaring he suspected that she would probably bite him if he got any closer to her eggs. The man stepped back, letting everyone else have their chance to talk to the girl with the eggs if they so chose. Glancing around the room, he was surprised by the number of faces he recognized. He may not have names to put to all the faces, but he knew a large number of them. That tall man there was a brown rider, and that girl over there was the one who'd impressed the newest pewter dragon and he was fairly sure he'd seen that nervous looking lad around the candidate barracks a time or two, though not while he himself had been living there.

He listened closely as the girl explained the way the eggs were going to be handed out. Her voice was soft but it sounded strained and Tailon wondered if maybe there was something wrong with it. Being the closest to her, he wasn't surprised when he was the first one to be handed one of the odd little rounds which were in the small bag she carried. When she said to look at them, Tailon did so, opening his hand to reveal a small white tinted blob of glass. Looking at the others showed that they too all had lumps of glass, all tinted in different colours to his own. Tailon wondered where the girl had gotten the, and where he might get some. He though Tavil would love a toy like there.

Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and then White, huh? So he'd be the last to pick out his egg. Ahh well, at least he was getting one. Tailon watched closely as first the Pewter weyrling picked out an egg, and then the candidate boy and then the brown rider. The eggs were obviously closer to hatching than Tailon had thought, since they began to hatch shortly after each had made their choice. A pair of handsome browns, one each to the weyrling and the candidate, though Tailon thought that the candidate's one was handsomer with his red tinted hide, and a pretty pale green to the brown rider. Next up came a girl with what he thought were green wherling knots, who took and egg of her own and then finally it was his turn.

Tailon approached the eggs cautiously, his green eyes flicking over each of the remaining shells as he tried to decide which one he wanted. Yes, that one there. Soemthing about that shell called him, though what it called he wasn't sure. Carefully he picked it up. Having held Quil's egg before it hatched, he was a little surprised by how much this egg weighed. Starlizards seemed lighter than firelizards so he'd been expecting their eggs to weigh less as well. Apparently he'd been wrong about that. Oh well, live and learn as they say. Tailon backed away from the eggs, his choice held firmly but gently in his arms.

Devean originally had no intention of going to see the starlizards. Since Impressing Devsk, he had improved somewhat, but that didn't mean he would ever enjoy seeing Hatchings. Even with Devsk comforting him, memories of his dragon still haunted him at odd moments, and a Hatching would always bring those thoughts out. Unfortunately, the young brown wher seemed to have other ideas.

Go to kitchen? Devsk suggested, nudging his handler in the direction of the dining cavern. Devean sighed and gave the brown a scritch on the eye ridges. "I dunno, Devsk...I wasn't going to..." But the brown was giving him that puppy dog look again, and that just made him think back to the way Devsk had cried at his hatching. "Oh, all right," he grumbled, and allowed the brown to guide him to the dining cavern.

It seemed that most of the starlets had already hatched. He had seen plenty of starlizards around before, but they still looked strange to him. Their glowing bits made them seem different enough from dragons that he wasn't as bothered by them. Hi Visk, Devsk greeted his sibling cheerfully.

Devean looked around at the others, recognizing several unfamiliar faces, including a few with Weyr knots. Noticing the weyrling, he gave a little shudder before turning his attention to Vithire. "Devsk wanted to see the starlets," he told her, giving her a slight nod of greeting.

Visk noticed the arrival of Devsk and his handler. In fact, when the other wher greeted him, Visk craned his neck forward and gave a happy clicking sound to the other brown. Hi Devsk. Devsk, Devsk's good? Come see eggs? The brown asked, bobbing his head up and down a few times, to show his interest. Even he was still interested and excited over the eggs, despite having shared a room with them while they hardened.

Vithire nodded a silent greeting to Devean when he greeted her and spoke a bit. She listened to his words, looking down at the brown wher with another nod, as if in silent understanding. Vithire, as always, wasn't one for lots of words, and Devean didn't seem to be that way either, so the two never had spoken a lot, though they knew each other, since they both had brown whers from the same clutch.

"I see." She looked down at the remaining eggs, now that Tailong had taken his, there were a mere two left. "Do you want one?" She asked, after realizing everyone from before had already taken their egg.

"Everyone else has theirs. I was going to take one too... But I can't take two." She mentioned, looking at the eggs in the basket. It was true, Vithire wanted to keep on of these eggs that Kyna had produced, however, she didn't feel right taking two of them, and taking care of two youngsters at a time, on top of Visk, would probably be too difficult, even for her, who seemed to be able to care for her starlizards easily right now.

(Will randomize the last eggs once Devean has picked an egg)

((Going to pick Bronze Lake, will post tomorrow. ^^))

This being a kitchen it was not exactly difficult for Tailon to find a stool upon which to perch. A soft and sleepy chirp near his ear told the man that Quil had awoken and he carefully freed one hand from around his precious egg in order to stroke the young firelizard's head. Another sleepy chirp was cut off half way through as it finally registered in the brown's half awake mind what was going on and he started to hum. The egg in Tailon's hands began to rock and quickly the man placed his hand around the egg once more. The last thing he wanted was for it to rock its way off his lap and hit the floor.

Tailon watched the egg closely, facinated by the way the small stress marks on its surface grew and slowly cracked open as the hatchling within struggled to be free. So far it seemed to be doing alright, so he let the egg be. With a sharp snapping noise the top of the egg came clean off being lifted high into the air by a green head. The little female clambered out of her egg and then pushed it off Tailon's lap so that she could have room to sit. She settled herself, flicking her tail around her forelegs as her eyes whirled the blue-green of curiousity.

Looking up at Tailon the green chirped and the healer could feel how hungry she was. With a frown the man realized that he hadn't picked up anything to feed her from the bucket of meat. before he could slip off his stool to go and get some however, he felt Quil's weight leave his shoulder. The brown soared over to the bucket, took up a pawful of meat and flitted his way back, dropping the food in front of his new sister. The green chirped happily and pounced on the meat, devouring it swiftly. Quil, happy to be playing the big brother role continued to ferry meat from the bucket to his sister's growling stomach until the little female yawned and curled up to sleep.

Quil landed bakc on Tailon's shoulder, rubbing his head against the man's cheek. "You did brilliantly Quil" The healer praised the brown, taking the last piece of meat which the startlet had not eaten and giving it to the flitter. Gently Tailon ran a hand over the green "Moche" he said softly "Your name is Moche" The green just shifted and continued to sleep, even as Tailon carefully lifted her and draped her small body around his neck so that his hands would be free.