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It Is Time!

Writers: DL
Date Posted: 4th June 2011

Characters: S'ryad
Description: A Hatching story
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 18 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentor Approved


For sevendays, they had laid dormant, waiting. Coiled and curled, growing,
forming, hardening - all the while waiting for their moment, their
beginning. But now, it was time. The wait was over and further formation
could only occur with drastic change. The beginning was at hand.

And with that silent awakening came consciousness. After consciousness came
identity. He was Eldoranth, the only Eldoranth that would ever be. He could
heard the voices of those calling him to this new beginning through the
walls of his egg, a steady thrum echoing through the amniotic fluid,
beckoning him to come forth.

The egg, a perfect circle of life, formerly an embrace of warmth and
nurturing, now became restrictive. To no avail, he tried to stretch his
legs. His wings were trapped in a position that was causing a cramp in his
shoulder. He needed to move, needed to get _out_.

It was time!

The song reached a crescendo and changed with the first hatchling's
emergence. The pre-birth lullaby now became a rallying cry. Hatch! Hatch, it
cried. Join us!

Eldoranth could wait no longer.

Fighting, wrestling with both shell and tight limbs, he struggled to get
free. He would not be denied this chance, this life. He would not! He rammed
his snout against the shell. He pushed with his wingclaws. The shell gave,
minimally. He punched again and it gave more.

A crack appeared and with it, light. Energized, Eldoranth shoved his snout
towards the breach, widening it. Another punch and the crack split into a
second. Twisting, clawing, Eldoranth managed to find the exact leverage
needed and split the egg into three shards, delivering him from his prison.

}: Freedom! :{ he thought as he tumbled free.

Despite the roar of both crowd and dragon, the telepathic silence that
greeted him was astounding.

In that awful, silent moment, a new realization seeped into his
consciousness, overriding the hunger pangs that occupied such exertion. He
was not made to live in mental silence. He was not whole. He needed to find
his other half. And now! But where?

Eldoranth blinked his newly opened eyes. The two-legs. Yes, the dragons
before him and picked the two-legs for partners. But which one? The
hatchling made a mental sweep of the minds presented.

Which one?

Female would not work, so he disregarded all feminine thoughts. Nor would
the males who didn't like females. Stumbling, Eldoranth moved forward. Which
one? Where was the mind that was meant for him?

}: He must be here! He must! :{ the hatchling thought desperately. The
mental silence that greeted him was disturbing. Life without his other half
would be unlivable! He would die, perish before he even began! }: Where are
you?! :{ Eldoranth despaired.

He pushed an unacceptable boy out of the way. Still mentally searching, he
investigated every boy there until-

}: There you are! :{ he thundered. And indeed, there he was. His other half!
}: S'ryad! S'ryad! It's me! Eldoranth! :{

His chosen turned and _heard_ him. Eldoranth was delighted. }: You heard me!
:{ The hatchling, an awkward tangle of brown and dampness, stumbled towards
S'ryad, who was already meeting him halfway.

}: You hear me, :{ Eldoranth mewled happily once he had reached S'ryad. The
silence that had previously deafened him was replaced with a flurry of
emotion, thought and memory from S'ryad.

It was exactly what Eldoranth had been searching for.

"Eldoranth," S'ryad said, incredulous. Never had anything felt so good to
the dragon. The boy's hands on the dragon's skin, his voice, the steady
thrum of their hearts...Eldoranth was drowning in love and taking S'ryad
with him. Impression became a paltry word for the ocean of possibilities and
emotions sweeping them away.

}: Mine, :{ Eldoranth said, listening to it reverberate through S'ryad's
mind and hearing his new rider think the same words back. Never again would
silence greet either of them. It was the completion they had both been
searching for.

Last updated on the June 4th 2011


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