Dragonets After Dark (2/3)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Sia, Shawna
Date Posted: 8th December 2025
Characters: Aydhan, N'kevyn
Description: The eggs do hatch today.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 13, day 20 of Turn 12
Notes: Congrats to all the new hatchlings! The hatching happens late into the evening, so there's a small celebration with light fare for families to congratulate the new weyrlings and adults to get into their drama, but it's too late for a full Hatching Feast.
The next few candlemarks were a rush of activity-- riders ferrying in holders, the lower caverns bustling to prepare some semblance of late-night snacks in lieu of a hatching feast, candidates rushing to finish up their tasks and pull on their ridiculous white hatching robes. Aydhan was still not appreciative of the late hour, but she didn't mind an excuse to wear a sexy dress.
Tymborikath sat along the edge of the hatching grounds, watching the candidates in their white robes as they circled around the eggs. She wanted to go pick at them again-- nudge them around, push them around the eggs, and protested in the back of Aydhan's mind when the goldrider refused. They didn't need any further 'help' with the eggs starting to rock and crack.
}: Aydhara!:{ Tymborikath said brightly, thinking that she might get special treatment to nudge her rider's daughter.
**No ma'am.** Aydhan said. Tymborikath grumbled.
Aydhan leaned over to rest her head on N'kevyn's shoulder. "There she is." She pointed out the auburn hair and white robes among the crowd of dragonrider hopefuls.
N’kevyn was slightly distracted, **Don’t you _dare_ touch the eggs.**
}:But that one’s her favorite,:{ the bronze sulked, }:I was just going to nudge-:{
**No.** N’kevyn noticeably relaxed when he felt Avicath settle back into a sulk rather than continuing to argue, putting an arm loosely around Aydhan. “I have a good feeling about this.” He’d said that every time- eventually he would be right. “But Avicath wanted to push ‘her’ egg over to her. I’m not even sure he can tell them apart, though.”
"I was wondering why he was going for those eggs, when the big one he liked the other day is over there." Aydhan said with a laugh. "He does that at every hatching. This one's worse now that he isn't splitting his focus between the two of them."
“Oh, he’d have tried to push ‘junior’ over to Nik if he was still an option, I’m sure. He’s not attached to any of the boys this time.”
The first crack was soft-- more felt through the crowd’s hush than heard. Aydhan’s breath hitched. It came from one of the smaller eggs, an unassuming pale shell suddenly dividing along its face. A moment later, it's cracked widened enough for a bright, dripping green to spill out onto the Sands. She shook herself once, then lifted her head with sharp, regal confidence.
Tymborikath stepped between the eggs to sniff the little green. The green looked up at her mother, eyes whirling brightly and quickly, then shook herself hard enough that Tymborikath jerked her head back to avoid the flail of moist green wings.
}: Tiareth doesn't want any help.:{ Tymborikath said mournfully.
**Don't be so nosy, love.** Aydhan chided, **They don't need your help. That's why we brought all these candidates.**
}: I suppose.:{ Tymborikath acquiesced.
As the first egg cracked, N’kevyn sat up straighter, “Finally!” It came out a little louder than he’d intended, the tension of the day having gotten to him.
The green took a few awkward steps, quickly finding her feet and beginning to prowl the sands. She sniffed at a few of the boys, cocking her head at one or two of them, as if considering if this would be the right fit. Then she did a draconic wrinkle of her nose and turned away from them, beelining towards the girls instead.
Aydhan laughed. "Well, Tiareth knows what she wants."
“Clever girl,” N’kevyn agreed.
Other eggs started to hatch now: a blue and another two greens, but Aydhan's gaze followed that lovely green as she examined each girl until she rumbled and thrust her head into Felorin's stomach.
Across the hatching sands, another egg was beginning to hatch. The dragonet inside had been tap-tap-tapping against the shell for a while now, a spinner-web pattern growing across the face of the shell until the center finally crumbled. A small talon appeared first, and then slowly a little umber-brown dragon clambered out of his shell. Bits of it still clung to his wet body as he awkwardly stumbled out onto the sand. Tymborikath nudged him too, keeping him from falling.
}: You're welcome, little one.:{ Aydhan heard her tell the little dragon.
**Don't you try to lead them.**
}: I'm not! :{
The brown looked up at Tymborikath for a moment, thinking. Then she nudged him again, sending him stumbling and off towards a group of candidates nearby. He lost control of his new legs and stumbled, knocking into one of the other fiercely wobbling eggs, setting it wobbling even harder. As he started forward again, the egg began falling, and there was a gasp from the crowd as he made a mad dash forward, nearly knocking down a group of candidates before stumbling face first into the sands. He righted himself quickly, sand now stuck to his hide in patches, and hopped off again as if he'd meant to do that.
The egg that had fallen forward began shaking even harder, then suddenly went still. Before Tymborikath could move to interfere, however, a dark brown nose suddenly appeared, then two little claws that scrambled to pull himself free from the half shattered egg that covered him like an overturned bowl. As he freed himself, he gave the remains of the shell a kick for good measure.
“Two browns in a row,” N’kevyn muttered, “Not bad.”
"Should be at least three, if not four, with the clutch size this large." Aydhan mused. "If there's not four I owe Viseya a quarter mark."
The umber brown examined a couple of the boys nearby carefully, looking each one up and down as if he was judging the silly white candidate robes. He nudged Erashren's hands with his snout before turning and walking away to another cluster of boys.
Oblivious to the drama of his brothers' hatching, the next dragon to spill onto the sands was a little blue, though his drab coloring barely qualified for the color. Picking himself up, he started trotting across the Sands with an air of determination, only pausing when he approached Aydhara. He seemed to spend a moment considering her when-
The blue that hit him was significantly larger, nearly the size of his brown siblings and round, with bits of shell still stuck to him. He sent the littler blue tumbling with a cry. The smaller blue picked himself up, gave a brisk shake that did nothing to dislodge the sand on his still damp hide, and resumed his determined trot, though a line of ichor from a small scratch now trickled down one front leg.
}: He can't have you! :{ Rath exclaimed, loud and mad in Aydhara's mind. He bulled himself into her space, pushing his head hard enough into her stomach to leave her winded. }: I wanted you, and I told him that but he came over here anyway. He's lucky I just pushed him.:{
N’kevyn’s whoop of delight was deafening, any thought of maintaining an air of impartiality thrown out (if he’d ever had one at all). “Look at that, would you look at that!” He jostled Aydhan, as if there was any chance at all she hadn’t seen it and that she wasn't excitedly smacking his thigh as she watched the Impression happen. “I told you I had a good feeling about today!” Even Avicath gave an audible rumble of pleasure.
"That's my baby!" Aydhan was yelling at the unfortunate people nearby who had previously considered themselves lucky to be sitting next to the clutch dam and sire.
Last updated on the February 7th 2026