At least, it had on the spectator side of things. Candidates--from the station and off of it--had been been arriving in droves, driving Siche and her assistants mad with trying to keep up with them. Sponsors, too (The Minister had decided that, since the first hatching and the many freely wandering, confused hatchlings that came of it, for each hatching, someone willing to care for the dragon children until they were old enough to go on their own must be present,) had flocked to the registration boards, eager to try their luck.

The candidates themselves were allowed inside of the bays before the hatching, to get a feel for the great rooms, and for the eggs as well. But because they were allowed within, didn't mean that Teset had to like it. She was just a little dragon, maybe five feet tall when in her natural size, but she was a big brooder, and had been protecting her eggs like they were jewels too precious to even be looked at.

And now they had been twitching and shivering for the past few hours, causing all of the humans and other creatures to come crawling out of the wood-works--well, metal-works as the case was, causing Teset no end of nervous anger. They're not ready just yet, she would shoot at any candidates who looked too eager, emphasizing her point by flaring her light-red wings and glaring harshly.

Finally, however, the little red dragoness had to admit that it was time. The four eggs were beginning to shake harder, one of them even had a few hair-line cracks down the side. Teset called out in one sharp, piercing note to those within the bay to announce the hatching, and then went back to crooning to her eggs.

The word went out to those who hadn't already assembled, and a good number of candidates assembled near one entrance of the bay. Spectators filtered into the stands just above them, curious about what unusual shaped dragons would come of this clutch. The hubbub of the bay grew louder as people conversed with one another.

A great big creature--female, probably, waved for the candidates to gather 'round her. She was one of Siche's assistants, and she spoke with a great, rolling voice that drowned out the conversation from above. "Now," she rumbled, gesturing for some of the shyer of the candidates to draw closer, "remember to bring your hatchling back to this table to feed once you've bonded." she tapped the metal table behind her, and when she did, the bowls of meat upon it bounced visibly. "Don't be upset if you don't manage to find your partner today," she continued, "there are, after all, a lot of you, and only four of them. Just remember," and here she paused to consult a clip-board in one of her heavily muscled arms, "Ignis' and Teg-wen-essa's clutches should be hatching within the next few months, so if you wish to stay within the candidate-housing and try your luck again, you can feel free to." With that, she gestured for them to filter onto the sands proper, and stepped back to the wall, out of the way. With so many candidates, and so few dragonets, there could only be more disappointment then happiness, but that was the way of things.

One of the eggs, the one that was rocking the hardest, tipped over. With a bit of a crash, the shell shattered, revealing a golden head with tiny black horns. Some of the spectators whistled as the creature managed to work her way free of her shell, for she was a striking yellow-gold, with crimson stripes up and down the length of her body. When she flared her wings for balance (for she walked on two legs like her mother), they held a definite starry pattern. The hatchling was a beauty, that was for sure.

The dragonet creeled loudly, hungry and upset and cold and tired, and as she weaved her way slowly towards the candidates, she tripped and fell into the soft, moss-like ground. As soon as she was down she was keening in fear and surprise, but one of the candidates, Leaena, stepped forward, and rested her human-formed hand on the dragonet's still-wet head-crest. The hatchling went quiet, gazing up at her new-found bond, and then slowly, shakily got to her feet as the cat-shifting woman led her back to the feeding table.

When the Master Archivist stopped them to record their names, the hatchling began shrieking again, afraid of the great, lupine monster that stopped them, perhaps, or perhaps surprised at the delay in her feeding. Amidst the heaving, squawking crying noises the hatchling made, Leaena announced that she had bonded Terea.

The next eggs to hatch looked as if those within were racing, seeing who'd be first to be freed. Both eggs cracked at the same time, though one hatched a little before, revealing a purple and green dragonet. The second hatched moments later, and a brown and red poked her nose out at the world. Both dragonets were shaped differently from the first hatchling, and from their mother. They were both quadrupeds, and both had wings extending from their fore-legs, instead of as separate limbs. Both looked around the hatching bay dazedly, before finally getting to their feet and shaking off the rest of the shell and fluid that still clung to them. The brown hatchling, a female, had fading red wings, and red-white stripes running from head to tail. The purple, a male, had similar wings, only green, and red-yellow/green stripes of a simpler fashion down the length of his body.

The brown playfully leapt at her brother, gnawing on him with surprisingly sharp teeth. He yelped and rolled awkwardly, his wings folded against his sides, and came back up again, kicking just as playfully with his hind feet. The crowd of people watching laughed and 'aww'ed at their mischevious behavior, but Teset growled at both of them. There were, after all, a dozen or so candidates waiting for them to hurry up and choose their bonds.

The brown female looked almost as if she were rolling her eyes at her dam, but before she could get another warning growl, she got back to her feet and headed for the eagerly waiting group of candidates. She passed several by without even a glance, paused at one or two more, eyeing them with a kind of confidence that belied her age. Finally, she stopped in front of Ranaki, and didn't move. She returned his amazed gaze with with her brown-eyed stare, waiting until it registered that she had chosen him. Finally, he reached down with one metal-plated arm and patted her spiny head, and the two of them moved away from the envious candidates surrounding them.

They stopped for a moment as the Archivist confronted them, and Ranaki announced, with a rather surprised but pleased flush colouring his features, "Her name is Taresun!" Which earned them both a round of applause. The hatchling ignored the spectators above, and all but dragged her new bond to the table in order to give her her first meal.

The last of the eggs had been shaking, but didn't look as though it was doing very well. In fact, the purple dragonet had perched himself before it, refusing to move, even before the warnings of his mother. The dragonet within the egg had been struggling, but now its efforts were beginning to lapse. The purple stood, worriedly, and tried to help, nudging the egg over on its side. With the attention, the dragonet within renewed its efforts, and soon real cracks were beginning to form up and down the length of the shell. Satisfied, the purple submitted to Teset's rather loud griping, and meandered over to the group of hopefuls. He paused in front of each, as if he were actually considering each potential bond. After some time at this (he'd gone through quite a few of them), he finally caught the teal eyes of Terramintin, who had been hiding in the middle of the pack. The dragonet cocked his head to one side, thoughtfully, and then gave a little draconic grin. The bond had been forged. The two of them backed away from the crowd just as the last egg cracked, both looking highly pleased with themselves. "He calls himself Sansu," the hybrid informed the Archivist, to much less attention then the last pair had gotten.

The last dragonet, very much like the first, she stood on two legs instead of four. Her body was a pale tan colour, striped with bright yellow and pink, with silvery white wings. She squirmed out of her shell, paused for a moment, and then worked her way unsteadily to her feet. She surveyed the entire bay one one slow, long glance, then blinked, and looked down at her feet. Teset crooned at her, but the dragonet didn't seem to be paying attention... the dragoness gave a little sharper a call, and the hatchling jumped, as if surprised, and looked again at the assembled candidates. Tilting her head, bird-like, she took a hesitant step forward, then another. Then stopped again, staring at the ceiling.

Teset gave her another piercing poke, but the hatchling was distracted, and couldn't be brought to approach the candidates... a few stepped closer, instead, trying to catch her attention. The dragonet looked up at one or two of them, her beady eyes falling over them, and then through them... and then managing to catch sight of the table of food and the feeding dragonets there. Suddenly she was moving again, but not paying any attention to those who attempted to capture her consideration.

When it became apparent that the little dragonet had no inclination to bond, the unbonded candidates were called off the sands, and the crowd began to disperse. While the hatching itself had been interesting enough, the last dragonet had left an unsettling sort of effect on the spectators.

A few of the hopeful caretakers that had signed up to sponsor eyed the single hatchling thoughtfully, as she ate with the others (or rather, ate, then glanced off dazedly, then ate again). But before anyone could speak up for her, a red-white-black voice filled their minds. Don't even think about it, Teset said, hopping over to the feeding tables and glaring at sponsors, there. In a much softer voice, she addressed the Archivist and the hatching assistant, I'll be taking this one back with me, I think. And her name is Shiki.

The officials nodded, surprised, but not seeing any reason to deny her. And with that, the second (official) outsider-hatching came to a close.

Templates created and coloured by Dracothrope, Coloured by Phoenix