Healing the Soul [Holistic Hatching]

[Thorney]

It seemed as if the Valerian Brown had begun his escape in earnest now, for scrabbling and scratching of claws could quite clearly be heard from his egg. After a bit of work, the hatchling freed himself, shaking the egg goop off his handsome body. Perhaps not many would have used that term to describe a wher, but Dastan certainly would. He was enthralled with the creatures, despite the general apathy for them. Smiling slightly at the richly-colored brown, the candidate quickly flicked his eyes to the side as the Dandelion Green stood and began to make her way among the presented candidates. Watching silently, the boy wondered which the light hatchling would choose. As she found the food bowls, Das quirked a brow and felt a touch of amusement, wondering if the queen was going to allow that. Ah, it seemed not.

Now, both of the hatchlings seemed engrossed in studying the candidates that had been chosen to step forward, green and brown moving among them. Dastan observed quietly, his odd grey-blue eyes cutting to the eggs as a loud crack could be heard. For just a bare moment, his gaze danced among the remaining eggs before quickly settling upon the Aloe Vera Egg. It had broken without any ado, it seemed, and the wher inside rapidly rid himself of the shell. A blue it was, and a very uniquely-hued one at that. It was a rather attractive coloration, that was for sure, and the boy smiled again. These hatchlings were so handsome, or beautiful, that Rozsk and her mate were doubtlessly proud. Maybe...maybe she would still call him forward. He had to hope.

Suddenly, yet another egg began to crack, an olive tail seen before the shell rolled away from it's clutchmates, crumbling abruptly to reveal the green inside. She tried to stand, but was far too dizzy from the tumble her egg took, and announced her unhappiness quite clearly to those gathered. Dastan gave the little one a half-smile, though she would neither see it nor understand it even if she did. The green would be fine in a minute, of course, and off to find her partner.

It was then a loud call took the boy's attention, and he glanced over in time to see the bright, pretty green bond to a young girl. At last, one of the clutch had chosen Hers. The rest of the hatchlings seemed much calmer than their wild green sister, which was quite the relief. Smiling at the new pair, Dastan hoped the rest of the clutch would also find their mindmates here. It would be a shame to lose any more. Now, the Valerian Brown was switching his attention from the males to the females, appearing as if he was having a hard time deciding which gender he wanted. Choose he did, though, for the brown approached a girl and circled her before leaning against her legs. There was no mistaking that, the candidate thought, and smiled at this pair as well. The girl appeared very happy indeed, and it seemed they would be a well-matched pair. Eyes trailing after them for a moment, Dastan then focused his gaze back upon the other two unbonded hatchlings and the unhatched eggs.

[Rouxy]

Now that two of her children had successfully impressed to human-things, Rozsk was less inclined to be so very angry at the world in general. Her whirling orange-yellow gaze settled into something a bit cooler. With a slow look over the hatching cavern, the queen gruffly acknowledged a lack of twolegs compared to hatchlings yet to bond. With a begrudging growl, she mentally pushed forward three more candidates, two males and a female. The familiar twolegs could join the group, one of the three previously denied, and the one who was injured near the entrance.

The Willow Green finally was able to stand, her warbling chirp stronger as her legs successfully found the floor. Her tiny wings flapped wetly as she mewled, peering into the group of twolegs before promptly settling her small frame before an older woman and tilting her wide head to the side. The third bonding seemed to herald the hatching of another egg as the Feverfew Egg began rocking and scratching from within. The Hawthorne Egg had yet to stop moving and its actions picked up in pace for a moment before slowing again. At this point, the Comfrey Egg shifted and bumped into the Sage egg setting them both into motion as the pair tried to escape.

The Aloe Vera Blue happily watched his clutchsister find her twolegs before he too began searching. He threaded his way through the lot, sniffing here and there and pausing to see if this was indeed His before moving on when finding it was not. He passed entirely the first row of candidates, taking a look at each in turn. His pale coloration fairly glowed in the somewhat wane light as he moved further back. Where was… oh! The hatchling seemed to have found what he was looking for, and the watching gold gave a pleased snort as the pale blue came to a seat before the familiar male, leaning back on wobbly legs and reaching up with his forepaws to the lad’s waist. His shouldn’t be so very sad. Dassk was here, didn’t he know Dassk was coming?

The Feverfew Egg seemed just about ready to break open, but both the Comfrey Egg and the Sage Egg peeled apart at the same time with a loud series of cracks, revealing another lightly colored green and an oddly brilliantly colored brown, splashes of rich near-red color on his hide. The Comfry Brown gave himself a shake before peering around with wide eyes. He nuzzled his sister, and then promptly started out for the joined twolegs. He wound his way through the crowd, rubbing up against the first person he came to and seemingly bonding, but moving on and doing the same to the next several people in line. The Sage Green turned to her mother with a quiet, perplexed chirp after she’d taken a good look through the candidates from her spot near her broken egg. Rozsk rumbled back, and the hatchling made to move through the crowd, sniffing at a very few people before she too trotted right out of the hatching caverns, a very much milder leaving than her wild sister had taken.

The Comfry Brown had paused and brushed with the minds of everyone in the room before coming back to his mother and taking a seat next to her. She leaned down to nuzzle him and he chirped happily, clearly at ease with the whole proceeding. Rozen smiled knowingly at the hatchling. It seemed that Cerulean had its first Weyr named Wher. He’d even brushed against her mind, a teasingly familiar and yet wholly different experience to when she’d bonded with Rozsk, the brown taking from each mind information and feelings. Cerulesk had bonded very lightly with everyone in the room, and would likely find more to bond with when the hatching was over. Self-appointed, these whers were the friendliest, most companionable of creatures, and he would be comfortable around all humans, and protective of all.

As if taking its time, the Feverfew Egg began chipping pieces of its shell away little by little, revealing a jewel-like sapphire hide beneath the fairly plain shell. A bedazzling blue in both dark and light hues broke free from the egg, and righted himself after a moment’s brief trouble, his wings weighing him down as the egg-goop stuck them to the floor. The Yarrow Egg had increased its movements, and it seemed just on the edge of cracking as fractures appeared in the surface.

[Kira]

Mira smiled at the Valerian Brown and Dandelion Green as they finished hatching. They weren't the most beautiful of creatures, yes, but they were certainly adorable. The eye-blinding green - noticeable even in the dim light - seemed like a very curious sort, and when she finally bonded to a young girl Mira could imagine all the mischief they might get up to in the many years ahead of them. Her eyebrows raised quite a bit when she noticed what must be done to complete the bond. Feed it your own blood? How interesting. And then the mash offered to it seemed to also have a dark, bloody color. She shifted a little nervously - not at the thought of blood, but at the thought of how little she really knew about what to do here. Hopefully the goldhandler would explain things to her as she had for the younger girl.

The Valerian Brown had seemed very indecisive at first, stumbling back and forth between the assembled males and females. There were apparently more females than males, she noticed with mild interest. The brown finally seemed to make his choice as he walked between her and Meta and circled around Meta's legs. It was sweet, how he leaned against her like that. Realizing that meant that the other girl had impressed, Mira shot her a bright smile in congratulations! They didn't really know each other well, but Mira was still very happy for her acquaintance. Perhaps they would get to know each other better later? Only the whers could tell, and so Mira turned her attention back to the hatchlings.

The Aloe Vera Egg also hatched, with little ado, revealing a lovely blue hide that she just wanted to reach out and touch. But no, she had to wait for it to make its own way around, first...which he seemed not entirely rushed to do. A tiny little bark of laughter escaped her as the Willow Green stumbled around in dizziness. The Willow Green's bonding was much more straightforward than the last two, simply looking into the crowd and then walking up to Hers. The Aloe Vera Blue seemed to need to explore like his siblings had, and Mira giggled when he snuffled at her ankle before moving on. Perhaps the handler would let her pet him later? She wasn't generally the type of girl to coo over cute things, but she was all for cuddling up on anything she found adorable. Following his trail with a small turn of her head, Mira shot Dastan a grin he probably wouldn't see when the little blue pawed at him. Another one of her acquaintances had bonded, and she was feeling good about it. He wasn't too hard on the eyes either, and there was a fleeting thought of perhaps cuddling up to more than just the little blue if he allowed.

The Comfrey Brown was a darling little thing, and Mira barely restrained herself from reaching down to stroke him as he nuzzled up against her legs. She felt...something...but it wasn't a strong something. A regard, but not the melding kind of bond that she knew should occur. The Sage Green seemed a bit confused, briefly looking to her mother for guidance, but seemed to eventually decide that none here were Hers. With the way she sauntered calmly out of the cavern, Mira was left wondering if the Stinging Nettles Green had been a fluke, or at least uncommon. She would definitely ask later; the gold looked old enough for the handler to have seen a few hatchings already.

The Comfrey Brown finally completed his round, moving to sit by his mother. Did whers bond to their own like wild fire-lizards did? Or, no...she had felt him... Oh! Realization struck her as she figured it out. Watch-whers were those who would often be bonded to multiple people, right? Holders' families would bond them to everyone in their bloodline to keep them loyal to the family, and so Halls and Weyrs must have their own way. She wondered if she would have to give a little bit of her blood to the brown later on. ...If she stayed, of course. She definitely wouldn't mind doing so, but her continued presence depended only on the remaining three eggs...

The Feverfew Egg had hatched to reveal an absolutely gorgeous blue. His larger wings seemed weighed down a bit, but he righted himself quickly enough. Mira watched him intently, wondering just whom he would choose. The still-rocking Hawthorne and Yarrow Eggs were kept in the corner of her vision, but her focus was on the little blue.

[Kaemi]

Toven was more worried with the injuries caused by the wild green than with the hatching eggs- at least for the moment. However, all those that were slashed by the angry creature seemed to be alright. One girl, in between the boys and the girls, had a grin on her face. It didn't look entirely enthused, of course, but no one that was seriously injured would be grinning. At least, he didn't think. And Naoko- shardit, the woman was back to taking notes. Only she would be sitting here, at a wher hatching, injured, and continue to record as she felt that she should. He had to respect her for her dedication, but he still thought it absurd.

Oh well. Both of the injured seemed to be alright, neither seriously injured and requiring serious medical attention... so he could turn his focus back to the hatching. Another green Impressed, to a girl. A young girl. Toven would have to speak with someone about placing an age limit on the wher candidates, as was placed on dragon candidates. The last thing he would want would be to deal with an eight-turn-old Impressing a green wher, and then handling her Runs. It would be an utter mess, one that he would have to prevent. Hopefully Rozsk would help him out, now, by not allowing the youngest of the bunch to stand too close to the hatchlings. It was an interesting thought, at least.

The first girl, with the leg-slash, then Impressed one of the brown hatchlings. That was a good sign, for both the girl and the clutch. With the voracity that the wild green had raced through the cavern, he could admit to some worry that the rest of the clutch would follow her example. But she seemed to have been one of a kind, as the other hatchlings seemed much calmer, and some had Impressed quietly. It made him feel a bit better, at least. Now if only the rest of them would bond! Rozsk seemed to share his want, as she allowed a few of the others to come closer to the eggs and the whers, in an attempt to encourage Impression.

At that thought, Tov cursed inaudibly, and looked around for Rozen. His eyes lighting on her, he felt his shoulders relax a little. She had been taking care of the hatchlings being fed, and the Impression being solidified. He took the few steps to be nearer to her, still being sure to keep away from the eggs. Just because Rozsk was calming down, didn't mean that she would appreciate him approaching her hatchlings. “Is the bonding process going well?” he asked, just as the brown twined around his own legs. He resisted reaching down to stroke the hatchling's back, even as their minds briefly brushed, recognizing the process. “Weyr's wher?” he confirmed briefly with the gold handler, even as the brown moved on, and another blue began to hatch out of his shell.

[Thorney]

As his eyes followed the movement of the two unbonded hatchlings, Dastan glanced up as the queen growled and he felt her mental prod. Ah, so his wish had come true, had it? Rozsk had indeed changed her mind, and he was allowed to step forward. Thank Faranth! Doing so, the candidate could feel excitement well within him, his eyes now following every movement before him. Now…now he had a chance. The cute Willow Green was standing when his eyes cut to her, and she seemed to find her bonded quickly. Ah, that was good. Many eggs were now rocking, and it seemed the hatching would soon draw to a close. Breathing deeply to keep his emotions calm and his body still, the candidate gazed at the lovely Aloe Vera Blue, a very handsome wher by any standard.

The hatchling finally began to wander through those assembled, moving easily through the candidates and sniffing them each in turn. Smiling slightly at the young one, Dastan worked to keep himself calm and serene despite the excitement that coursed through his blood and roared in his ears. The blue shone brightly as he reached the dimmer areas of the cavern, his hide nearly shining like a glow. Feeling his breath catch as the hatchling came ever closer, the boy almost felt light-headed when the blue sat before him and placed his forepaws on his belt. This was…this was his wher? Wait, he didn’t need to be sad anymore, because he had his Dassk, didn’t he? Suddenly, Dastan blinked, and a huge grin split his face as he realized just what had occurred. Dassk…the pale blue was named Dassk, and he was his.

Reaching down, the boy hugged the blue as fiercely as he dared, careful not to harm his wonderful, perfect bonded. In following, Dastan scooped his wher up and made his way carefully across the cavern, nearing a bucket of blood and oats that was not taken. Setting Dassk down, the wherling promptly unsheathed one of his swords and cut a thin line down his palm, scowling lightly with the pain. It was a miniscule discomfort compared to how happy he was right now. Holding out his palm, the boy shuddered lightly as his wher ran his tongue down the cut, the sensation peculiar and rough. After the bond had been solidified, Das then grabbed the bucket and offered it to his blue. Rumbling low in his chest, Dassk happily began to eat, satisfied that he and his bonded were now together.

Indescribable was the feeling he had right now. Even if he wanted to, the boy couldn’t even begin to put his emotions into words. Dassk was wonderful and perfect in every way, and their minds melded together in an uncanny but amazing manner, and Dastan knew that he would never be alone again. It was breathtaking. As his blue ate, the wherling suddenly blinked, feeling an odd brush against his mind. That was not his wher, for the boy knew the touch of Dassk already as well as he knew his own. They were one, he and his magnificent blue, and this was not him. Glancing up, Das watched the brown seat himself beside the queen, and the boy grinned. He was familiar with this. Obviously, this one had chosen to bond to the weyr itself, and had left a very light, pleasant touch in their minds.

Turning his attention back to Dassk, watching him eat with awed, loving eyes, Dastan occasionally glanced over to see how the rest of the hatching would turn out.

[Rouxy]

Naoko was cheerfully taking down notes, her wounds all but forgotten as she watched. It was rather marvelous, the way each wher was slowly finding its bonded partner. Whoever said they weren’t as smart as dragons surely was mistaken, as she could tell rather easily that the hatchlings were bonding with equal depth it seemed.

She received a bit of a shock when the brown came right up to her and she actually felt a brush at her mind, light and tentative. He’d paused, tasting the sorrow that always lingered in the back of her mind, and had leaned against her for just the briefest of moments before moving on and taking the touch with him. The woman was left with a renewed feeling of the deep ache in her heart where a bright voice had once lived. Notes forgotten, the astronomer nudged a side-step closer to the clutch when prodded by the gold, and wrapped her arms around herself, a stricken look on her face. Why had she come? First she’d been attacked and now this? It felt like losing Lavith all over again.

The Yarrow Egg finally cracked open enough to see the lovely green-blue hide beneath the shell, though this shifted to a darker green and back to lighter when she moved, confusing the eyes until the green hatchling within broke apart her shell with a scattering of egg pieces and stripes were confirmed on the smallish green. Flapping small, wet wings, the Yarrow Green gave a chirp of curiosity, sniffing around the shell pile where her clutchsiblings had broken free. The Hawthorne Egg, moving since nearly the beginning of the hatching, gave a final lurch of terrific effort to the hatchling within, and then was still. The Yarrow Green and the Feverfew Blue both moved closer to the unhatched egg, the green moving to lick at the surface. The egg did not move again. Rozsk leaned in to whuff air over the hatchlings with a clipped growl, sending the pair scurrying towards the gathered twolegs, and the gold nudged the egg herself, clearly not at ease. A sort of whine escaped the gold’s chest as if asking the hatchling to try again, but the Hawthorne Egg seemed to have given up.

The two remaining hatchlings had both scampered towards the twolegs, hiding amongst them as they peered at the tragedy unfolding in the remains of the clutch, then the Yarrow Green suddenly turned tail and trotted through the crowd, her large eyes round as she peered at the gathered ensemble. Woooow, they all looked so… so weird! Didn’t they look weird? Ohey, she kinda liked that one. Turning a glance to the side, the green practically pranced over to Mira, too full of over-exuberance and good-natured joviality to really consider the implications of the unhatched egg. She reared up on her back legs, just reaching the girl’s thigh with her smaller stature. Misk wants to play, can Misk play? Oh, and Misk is hungry too, don’t forget that.

The Feverfew Blue watched his golden mother for a brief moment before turning away and looking over the humans around him. He began moving around the cavern with noticeably less prance to his step than his clutchsister had. He moved in a slow, serpentine way, like it was no effort at all to use the legs that had so recently been cramped within his shell. He passed by the first row of candidates, checking each in a brief, non-hurried way, and then moved for the back and the exit. He stopped before actually leaving, however, his large eyes peering up at his new bonded with a sense of sadness. Naosk would care for her. Naosk loved her. Naosk didn’t want to see her sad anymore.

Like a flower blossoming in the hole in her heart, the wher’s impression sealed much of the jagged pain Naoko had felt at the departure of the brown, leaving only the faintest trace of it behind like a whisper. Wonderment filled her face as she knelt by the calm blue asking for her acceptance, and the astronomer couldn’t say no. She gathered the creature into her arms, and he began thrumming, and the rest of the pain was washed away with the comforting sound and the completion of the new bond. The scientific part of her mind gave an amused thought to the fact that she’d never be able to carry him after he’d grown up.

Rozen directed the new wherlings in the slicing of palms and feeding of oats, keeping an eye on the proceedings and ushering the newly bonded towards the far side of the cavern away from the clutch to finish the first feeding. As Toven sidled over, the goldhandler gave him a brief smile and a nod. “Aye, things seem to be moving smoothly.” And she received another newly hatched, giving them a bowl and showing them where to go. The brown brushed up against the back of her legs and she felt the brief bond, so strange in conjunction with the one already in place, and she turned to watch the brown return to his mother’s side with a smile. She again nodded at Toven, this time in answer to the question. “It never gets old, seeing one of those kinds. They’re a marvel, even beyond normal impression.”

She felt a sudden hitch in her heart as Rozsk leaned into the unresponsive egg, and the gold’s sadness filled her before she lessened their connection lest it overwhelm her. Still, a small, sad frown colored her features as she watched. The woman who’d impressed to the most recent blue seemed in a daze, and Rozen motioned her over. She noted the way the woman clung to the blue like a life-line, but there was no fear of her hurting the creature with her grip. After handing over a bowl and slicing her palm so the bluepair could complete the bonding, she leaned in towards Toven. “You know her, the one with the blue who held in the back?”

The gold took a step back from the clutch and the so very still egg, and turned to Tovsk with another short whine. It wasn’t going to hatch. They’d lost one.

[Kaemi]

Toven nodded. It was, indeed, a marvel. He had heard of them before, but it was quite the experience to actually have one attached to the people of Cerulean. A small smile playing on his lips, he focused away from Cerulesk, and looked back to the Hatching. All of the eggs had hatched, sparing the Hawthorne Egg. It seemed to be still, as it had been since the beginning of the Hatching- Toven let his hope be rekindled when it lurched, but it died completely when the last two hatchlings licked the unmoving thing, and the gold nudged it herself. It seemed that that egg was having problems, and it probably wouldn't hatch. So he turned his attention away from it, instead focusing on the hatchlings who had survived, the ones without Impression.

The green Impressed quickly, without much fanfare. She wasn't violent, and she didn't take long to bond to a girl. The blue took a little longer, moving with a grace unknown to most hatchlings (of any species). It seemed that, like two of his green sisters, he was going to go wild. He was nearing the exit, obviously with a much more mellow attitude than the first one. However, unlike both of them, the blue stopped short and turned towards someone. Who was back there? He couldn't quite tell, from all the other people in the way. Whoever it was had bent down to pick up the blue, and so for a few moments he wasn't sure which candidate the hatchling had chosen.

It didn't take long for the new wherling to straighten up again, though- revealing probably the only person there who hadn't been planning on Impressing, besides Rozen and himself. “Naoko, yes. She was studying whers and wher development, but was adamant about not Impressing.” Toven responded, after the woman had walked up and been given the necessities, smiling wryly at the gold wherhandler. He would talk the newest wherling later, during the first lesson. Which was tomorrow! He would make sure to announce that as soon as it was confirmed by Rozsk that the Hatching was over... and, therefore, that the last egg wouldn't be hatching. It was a fact of nature, and he wouldn't help the little thing. It would be, obviously, too weak to survive, anyways. To hatch it would be cruel.

His eggs were hatched, and healthy! All but two had Impressed to people whom he could keep track of! Tovsk had encouraged his handler to become the Wherling Master for a reason, of course. Oh... but... there was one egg that had failed to hatch. The brown approached the egg, and Rozsk, and gave a quiet creel. He didn't want his wherling to not live! He wanted someone to go help the egg. Go! Go! But it would probably be of no use. Approaching the gold, he nudged her softly with his head, emitting a low, reassuring sound as he slowly pushed her from the egg. He didn't want to leave it... but there wasn't really anything he could do. And he had nine healthy children.

Still.

Noticing Tovsk's dilemma, Toven spent a moment feeding reassuring, euphoric thoughts to the brown, over how well the Hatching had gone. He didn't brighten any, but he was able to focus more on Rozsk. Making sure to keep his mood pleasant, the wherhandler stepped in front of the amassed, new wherlings. "Greetings, and congratulations. I am Wherhandler Toven of brown Tovsk, your Wherling Master. Now that all seven of you have blooded and solidified your bonds, I suggest you hurry up and feed your hatchlings... carefully. Make sure they don't gorge or get pieces stuck in their throats. It's a mixture, so they should be fine, but keep an eye out." He paused for a moment, making sure that, despite his forced-good mood, he kept his face solemn. He couldn't have these people thinking him friendly! "Your first lesson is at dusk. As soon as your hatchling is fed and content, you are responsible for getting him or her back and settled in the apartments. In the morning, your job is to wake him or her up and feed him or her. Then put your hatchling back to sleep, and get to the lesson. Alright? Alright. I will see you at dusk. I will be watching you tomorrow. Get a good day's rest."