::Better call in the candidates!::

::Finally something exciting to do!::

::Oh, I can't wait!::

::Mommy, look at me! Look! You're not looking!::

::How would you know, you can't even see her!::

::Daddy, look, we're hatching, we're hatching!::

It had been Aedelian who had done the summoning, since Vyly was rather focused on the eggs, which were slowly starting to show physical signs of the hatching that their occupants were so insistent was about to happen. He didn't even have to leave the now-familiar confines of the hatching bay. Rather, seated beyond the circle of eggs, he just touched the minds of all the candidates he'd approved of, letting them know what was happening and that they should probably head over, and sent the Minister of Hatchings a thought to come witness, as well. She could handle the official business of organizing scribes-- Archivists, weren't they called here?-- and breakfast meals for the hatchlings.

People started arriving quite promptly: candidates, sponsors, and audience alike. Apparently the Ministry was quick to announce such things. Aedelian let Vyly do the anxious brooding, teeth-baring, and hovering: he had to deal with a few emergencies. Such as, to his dismay, the arrival of raw meat for his children's first meal-- that would never do! A hurried request to a catering service for something that was at least cooked solved that problem, and he crossed wing-tines in the hopes that it would arrive quickly enough. Then he had to find where he'd left the basket of bonding scrolls, and set that out between the eggs and where the candidates were to stand. Then he had to make the acquaintance of the young lady-dragon named Jigsaw-- at least partially an Avengaean, like himself!-- who had arrived in the place of an apparently over-stressed Siche Four as the Minister's proxy with sponsors. He felt rather like he was running around like mad, instead of standing beside his mate, where he wanted to be.

::Daddyyyyy, aren't you going to watch us hatch?:: ::Of course, little one, I'm just making sure you won't starve upon hatching.::

::Oh. Okay!::

::I can't wait to try my first real food....::

::Soon enough, my children, soon enough.::

The candidates had all arrived, varied but expectant. They'd all been told what the bonding would entail prior to actually getting in place, so at least Aedelian didn't have to explain that now. He'd met nearly all of them-- though a couple he'd actually picked out from afar, whether because he liked what he saw, a hatchling liked what it "saw", or, in the case of a couple, needed more bodies to fill up the bay floor. Everything from dragons, to shifters, to child-gods, to phoenix-spirits in disguise stood there watching the eggs, and Aedelian beamed proudly at them all. He was fairly certain all his children had made their choices-- even the silent one seemed more... settled, as if, though its occupant did not deign to speak to anyone, it had still made a choice. So, all that was left was the actual hatching.

And that, Aedelian realized with a trill of excitement, was happening now. One of the eggs, the one bearing a particularly impatient individual bored with shell-bound life, gave a convulsive rock and split down the center. ::Finally free!:: the hatchling inside crowed to his parents, making Aedelian grin all the more and Vyly make a sound halfway between a croon and a whine-- encouragement and a mother's fears of losing her children.

Their first-born was a bit of a surprise: born with the furry form of an Air dragon, he was somehow a bright blue in color, with vibrant yellow stripes! Aedelian glanced between his own bronzed-yellow fur and his mate's pale green hide, and had to wonder just where bright blue had come from! Vyly glanced back at him and shrugged her wings: she didn't have any idea, either. Oblivious to the exchange, though, the little pup tumbled out of his shell with an undignified squeak, which turned into mental laughter. ::I'mfreeI'mfreeI'm-- where's Elise? Eliiiiiiise!::

The dragon-shifter-- she'd been an interesting case, indeed, as Aedelian had been the one to reveal her true nature to her!-- came tripping forward, trying not to stumble on the mossy insulation. Her bond came boucing towards her, shaking egg-goo from his wings and tail, beaming like an idiot. Aedelian had coached the hatchlings on how to make their bond, and he knew exactly what to do: he scooped up a scroll from the basket and closed the distance between himself and his chosen. ::I'm Tornu Landwerlen!:: he told her cheerfully as she touched it, sealing their bond. ::And we are going to have so much fun together!::

That seemed the signal for the rest of the eggs to all burst, and Aedelian found himself hard pressed to keep track of everyone. There was such a wide array of colors! A couple resembled his own bronze, there were a couple purples, a another blue-- though she was much lighter than her brother-- a few green, though none the same shade as Vyly, and even a pair of blacks! Asuka bless me, how could I have sired something black? he thought with some amusement.

At least he managed to keep track of who bonded who.

"Demeirsaatt! Where are you-- oh, there you are! My dad named me Etara Landwerlen. Will you accept my bond?"

"Boo! Heehee, I scared ya, didn't I? I'm Nakana-- and you're Kana! Doesn't that just fit perfect?"

::Oh, Tipper! I'm so glad you came! I picked you-- Mother says my name is Sari: Sari Landwerlen. I'd just love to stay with you-- do you want me, too?::

"Oh Laaaaaaani! Remember me? I was the one who remembered your name was longer! Guess what-- I have a name now, too! I'm Annifano Landwerlen, and I'd really love it bond you! --Yaaay, now you can tell me your whole story!"

::We've never actually met, Endralsath, but I've sensed you about. I'm Naino, and I would be honored if you would touch this scroll and bond with me.::

"Hello, Ting'Sii. My father named me Aetan, and I promise I'll stick around as long as I can. I don't want you to be sad."

::Don't be sad, Jyne. I'm here, and I like you. My name's Erintor.::

::Bijou, I've been waiting to meet you. You're going to meet all sorts of people, and I want to be with you when you do! I'm Jameya Landwerlen, and will you bond with me?::

"Diamanta, I'm chosing you! Me, Imdimida. Heard your thoughts when you met my father, and now I'm choosing you."

"I never did find a bond, but I do like you, Gin, and I like the idea of your Sanctuary-place-- Dad told me about it. You can call me Meke."

::Hurry up and take me out of here.... My father named me, but I don't want his name-- I'm Lha, and I don't care what they think. I don't ever want to see them again.::

That mind-voice was new and frighteningly bitter for one so young, and Aedelian jerked his gaze to the source: a little white hatchling, the one who had never spoken to him or Vyly. She had angled straight for Phoenix, the xeno-modified human who had spoken with him about "adopting" one of his children. He liked her, but his pale daughter's words had hurt. ::Child--::

::I don't want to talk to you, either. If you're going to just abandon me to strangers, well, fine, I'm abandoning you, first!::

Aedelian blinked, stung. ::But we weren't abandoning anyone... it was the hatchling's choice! You could have stayed--::

::Why would I stay with someone who doesn't want me?::

::But we do-- I'm sorry.::

::Sorry doesn't matter... I'm going, now.::

Both parents, now, stared after the retreating hatchling with dismay. Phoenix looked over her shoulder at them with as helpless an expression as her modified face could give them. I'll take good care of her, her thoughts promised, and maybe I can change her mind.

::Thank you...:: Aedelian's thought whispered back to her, echoed with his sorrow and hope. Vyly, her sharp exterior softened by unexpected rejection by her own offspring, turned her muzzle into her mate's shoulder, and he cupped a wing around her for mutual comfort. ::Phoenix is going to raise her well,:: he told her, ::she won't hate forever.:: I hope.

"At least you still have us!" chirped a voice from his feet. Aedelian blinked down: sitting at his and Vyly's paws was a little feathered, bronze-furred girl-pup, looking up at him with bright green eyes and a wide grin on her narrow muzzle.

::Some of us do want to stay with you,:: another voice added, mentally. Beside his sister was one of the black hatchlings, mostly Air in appearance but with tufts of white fur and feathers, like his mother. ::We're Audaxo--::

"--And Dyva!" his sister finished, beaming. "And we chose to stay with our parents."

Vyly smiled, and Aedelian gathered them up against him and his mate. "Thank you," he said simply.

The hatching over on a somewhat bittersweet note, Aedelian's last act as father of the clutch was to ask Jigsaw-- who had, had very little to do, since the sponsorlings chose their own sponsors-- for contact information for all the bonded pairs. ::To keep in touch with our children,:: he said. ::For the future.::

To his relief, she smiled and obliged.