Hatching Sands (Current Clutch: Gold Wreth/Bronze Voliath)

[Dragon_Lady_Selene]

A vast area filled with warm sand. Golden Wreth has laid her first clutch here and she stands protectively over it. Candidites wanting to see her eggs must be very careful to get approval from this overprotective gold.

Her rider Kes spends a lot of time here with Wreth and keeps the gold's temper in check. Also allowed on the sands are D'ran and his bronze Voliath.  

[Dragon_Lady_Selene]

Wreth griped indwardly as she once again moved her eggs around the sands so they'd be settled to her liking. She'd moved them several times and would move them several times more before they hatched. Her beautiful eggs, she was so proud of them. Twenty mottled eggs sat all around her on the sands as she finally finished settling the last two eggs. She kept them close to her protectively. These eggs were special, she knew. Maybe it was a gold, maybe it wasn't. She didn't know for sure.

Kes walked back onto the hatching sands with a bucket of meat for Wreth. Her dragon hadn't left the hatching grounds since the day she clutched her eggs. Kes worried about her a lot lately. Every since she'd become the Junior Weyrwoman, a lot had changed for her and Wreth. Now they had a multitude of new responsibilities as well as Wreth's eggs to worry about. On top of that, she hadn't gotten the chance to speak with F'lin since before Wreth's mating flight. Oh, they'd had an incident just before involving the storeroom but that had been it. She only hoped that they were close enough that he wouldn't hate her for everything that was happening. At least she hadn't gotten pregnant, that really would have scared the life out of her. Her only relief in all of this was that D'ran was very kind and he'd make a great Wingleader. His dragon Voliath was also very sweet though she hadn't yet revealed to either her ability to speak to the dragons. She could only hope that everything would work itself out in the end.

Things will turn out well, Mine, you'll see. Have faith in me, and in them. We will not let you down.

Kes smiled as she approached the gold and offered her the first scraps of meat. 'You are right, of course. I'm just worried about what is to come.'  

[Silverspun_lining]

((For anyone who happens upon this, Kes has left the Hatching Sands from her previous post already. She and D'ran were just at the Rim and are coming here. Just so no one gets confused.))

Voliath winged into the Hatching Grounds and landed quietly at the edge of the sand. Though he tried his best not to fling sand on the twenty smooth, mottled eggs that had been carefully arranged by Wreth, he failed. The wind from his backwinging blew a small flurry of warm sand over the clutch.

Oh, no! Voliath whipped his head toward the eggs, watching sand fall gently to the ground. I didn't hurt them, did I? D'ran? I didn't mean to!

D'ran cursed softly as he slid to the ground, a slight smile on his face. He thumped his dragon's shoulder good-naturedly.

"Don't worry, Voliath!" he said. "Dragon eggs are a lot stronger than sand, dear heart. It may surprise you, but they're very, very hard. They can withstand a lot, even if they do seem fragile."

Voliath crooned, apparently satisfied with his rider's explanation. Together, they stood transfixed by the sight of the twenty eggs, each one special, each one different, yet all so alike. The two agreed without words that this clutch was indeed perfect.  

[Dragon_Lady_Selene]

Wreth carefully winged her way around the Hatching Sands and landed much more carefully than her mate had. She checked on the eggs that had sand blown on them and nuzzled a few to be sure they weren't hurt. Once she'd assured herself that her eggs were indeed alright, she reached over to nuzzle Voliath gently. Don't worry so much, love, our little ones are just fine. You did not hurt them with your landing. Aren't they wonderful though?

Once her Queen had settled, Kes carefully dismounted and watched with a smile as the two dragons interacted. She smiled at the look on D'ran's face as he beheld the eggs for the first time. Moving and wrapping both her arms around one of his, Kes gave a gentle tug for attention before smiling. "Aren't they beautiful? I'm so proud of Wreth. So many for her first time."