"Traeus get your lazy butt out of bed!!" Whoever was at his door was being rather persistant.
The candidate groaned. "No! The sun isn't up and neither am I."
"The sun is up!" Traeus now placed the voice as that of one of the other candidates, Mi'k'hail to be precise.
Traeus pried open one of his eye. "I'll be damned."
"No, but you'll be alone unless you get yourself to the den right now! The eggs are hatching!" Mi'k'hail's voice, and presumably the rest of him, left to get ready for the hatching.
Traeus rolled out of the bed and onto the hard floor. "Ouch. Note to self: Bad idea." He put his head in his hands and began to snore.
Mays, his ferlion, chirped angrily and nipped at him. "Okay! Okay!" Traeus sat up and knocked the creature over. "I'm awake!"
He ran his hands through his short hair and yawned. He grabbed clothes, hopefully his since his eyes were still closed, and dressed quickly. In spite lack of attention to his appearence and temorary blindness, he moved rather quickly and as a result was one of the first to approach the rocking eggs.
He yawned, stretched again, wished he'd gone to bed earlier and finally bothered to open his eyes. He saw two magnificent silver dragons proudly over-looking a steadily rocking clutch. He also noticed a man waving to him from the balcony. He raised his hand and waved, wondering who on Pern that man could be. Hope he's not here to collect on a 'debt'... Traeus spent the next few moments praying that he hadn't cheated the man who was smiling down at him.
Mays chirped at him and nipped his ankle. He jumped slightly and swatted the creature. "Violent today aren't you?"
The ferilon purred and rubbed against him.
He smirked. "Ahh....jealous. Why don't you go visit Mystic or someone for a while?"
Mays didn't understand a word he said, but luckily about that time she got bored of the dragons hissing at her and wondered off to look for breakfast. She left just as the last candidates entered.
He turned back to the eggs to see the first two hatch. A blue and green. The green quickly bonded but the blue simply sat down and waited. Traeus smirked. Showing them who's boss huh? The next few eggs shattered and bonded, but that blue simply sat. Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!
Finally Traeus could stand it no longer. "No wonder you're hungry Triseth! You've been sitting here the whole time." Treaus bent down and collected the hatchling in his arms. He smiled to himself, happy to feel the mind of the tiny dragon touch his. He began to walk towards the feeding ground, after all Triseth was hungry, but the blue refused to allow Treaus to leave. He clamped his tail around his feet and planted himself firmly on the ground. For a moment, he was stunned and simply sat there.
He didn't have to wait long as three more eggs hatched at the same time. A green, a yellow and a white spilled onto the ground in a tangle of wings and tails. The white was the first to detangle himself and quickly tackled Treaus and Triseth. Treaus laughed happily and grinned up at Mystic as he took both squirming hatchlings under his arms and brought them over to the food. One of the record keepers asked for the name of the white before the boy was out of ear shot. "Narith!" He shouted back, letting the white squirm out of his arms and towards the food.
The hatchlings gorged themselves and began to wrestle playfully with each other. "Magika's not going to believe this..." Traeus smirked.
* * * "Hey!" R'nd approached a few minutes later, Mays in tow. "I think your whatever is hungry."
Traeus looked up. "Mays? Why?"
"Because it bit me." R'nd handed the ferlion back to Traeus. "Congrats."
Traeus grinned proud of himself. "Thanks. The blue is Triseth and the white is Narith."
The older dragonrider grinned back. "I know. I heard."
Traeus studied R'nd's face again, trying to place him. "Do I know you?" He finally had to ask the question.
"Not exactly. But you know my mother." R'nd grinned, a red bird landing on his shoulder.
"Who?"
"Hey kid!" Magika called from the shadows of the trees. Most of the other people had passed her by as the Weyrwoman made her dramatic appearence. Both Traeus and R'nd looked up and grinned at the familiar voice, than at each other. Traeus guessed who R'nd's mother was.
"Magika!" Treaus called. He waved her over, trying to hold onto an energetic Triseth at the same time. Narith creeled happily and escaped the boy's grasp, running circles around Magika's feet. While she was occupied, Hope made a gentle landing on Treaus' shoulder.
Now be very careful with this. Hope gently placed the small, spotted egg in Treaus' hand. And don't let your mother touch it. With a sly look towards Magika, Hope grinned and flitted quickly into the air. She was back on Mystic's shoulder by the time Magika noticed the egg in Treaus' hand.
What the...? Traeus looked at the draca than the egg.
"Triseth and Narith" R'nd was introducing his new lifemates as Magika sat down beside them. The ferilon rushed the Weyrwoman as well and Magika picked her up and stroked her belly.
"Congrats Traeus." She smiled at her sons, and noticed the egg. "What is that?"
"Umm...." Traeus remembered Hope's comment about letting his mother see it. "Nothing."
Karia and Karina, Magika's shadows appeared and chirped happily. Karia, the bronze draca chirped happily at the egg and jumped to Traeus' shoulder. Congrats!! You're getting one of my younger siblings!
"What?!?" Magika leapt to her feet, letting a disgruntled Mays fall to the floor. "A draca egg?!?"
"Well...umm..." Traeus edged backward slowly, never having seen Magika this upset.
R'nd grinned at him and squeezed his arm. "Don't worry. Mom's not mad at you." It sounded funny to hear someone refer to Magika as Mom, but Traeus nodded, wondering what Magika had against draca's.
"HOPE!!!!" The draca on Mystic's shoulder stuck her tongue out. Magika tackled her friend, but the draca betweened. As a result, Magika ended up shouting to the air. "You've poisoned my son!!!"
Mystic sighed and picked herself up. She looked around at all the people staring at the Weyrwoman. "This is why I never invite you around any more Magika."
* * *
Read Traeus' candidate story.
Traeus impressed Triseth and Narith from The Warren.
Traeus received the draca egg from The Warren
Mays is from The Ferilon Farm. (link up later...when I get on the other computer)
Background from Enchanted Backgrounds.
