No one was paying too much attention to the three mothers on the sands at the moment, busy elsewhere with duties or research or eating, for the lunch hour had just been called (and who wants to miss lunch? Besides best estimates put the eggs at 'ready, but likely to take another day or two').
And surely the other dragons can be forgiven for not noticing immediately, since the first egg to hatch was in shy little Nauji's clutch, and while she purred her welcome to the little kitling, it was a soft noise that barely reached the other two mothers, both of them napping after their midday meal.
It was only when an egg rocked too far, hitting Ohrazah right on the nose, that the entire Clan was alerted to the change in state of the eggs. Ohrazah, woken out of a light sleep, jerked her head up and back, letting out a startled trumpet at the stinging on her snout. A trumpet that broke off into excited ::They're hatching! They're hatching!!:: broadcast to the entire Clan at once.
By the time all the candidates were gathered and shooed onto the sands (though many had come running, wearing whatever they were currently in, as soon as they understood what was going on), many of the eggs were already hatched, the hatchlings scrambling about in the rainbow sands and playing with one another. The three mothers looked on in amusement as their children laughed and played - there were many in these clutches capable of verbal speech from birth, and the hatching sands were filled with their childish babble.
Fascinated by these new creatures on their playground, the hatchlings swarmed the candidates en masse, poking noses here, paws there, tripping the unwary, and laughing at the mayhem they left in their wake.
Chamomile found herself the intense focus of a pair of teal eyes, as a brown and green hatchling reared up on her hind legs (a paw on Chamomile's leg for support) and sniffed at her.
"You!" the hatchling finally proclaimed with a nod, as she let herself fall back to all... sixes? Two pairs of front limbs, one set used as both forelegs and wings, along with her generally slinky body, labeled her as a hatchling out of Ohrazah's clutch. "I'll go with you! I'm Kerolei!"
Meanwhile, next to her, Kid found himself circled by a silver dragon with star-studded wings, a sure sign the hatchling was from Raindraught's clutch. ::I'm Fienn!:: The hatchling giggled, after he had completely encircled Kid. ::No one'll mess with you with me around!::
Hilhuio was finding it difficult to move. Around the time the hatchlings had mobbed the group of incoming candidates and sponsors, a golden dragoness from Raindraught's clutch had wrapped herself around his legs and tripped him neatly onto the sands. She had then promptly sat on his chest and shoved her nose in his face A feline-esque face (from Nauji's clutch, surely), with a blood red muzzle that faded to fire red fur, peaked around the golden dragoness' shoulder and gave him a once over.
"Are we taking this one home, Saza?" The feline-dragon questioned the dragoness, his voice tiny but low.
The dragoness giggled, ::Of course we are!:: she shot back at the little burr on her back (for the kitten was perched on her back, riding her). Then, to Hilhuio, she said, ::I'm Sazador, and this is Ketell. You're ours now. Well, more mine than Ketell's, because you're my bond, but if you dare ignore Ketell...:: She let her threat drift off, as a tiny lick of flame escaped her jaws. A firebreather!
Thahaidy, on the other hand, was finding her introduction to her new dragons much more pleasant than Hilhuio was. A blue and a green, both from Raindraught's clutch, sauntered up to her, perfectly in step, only to split to either side of her and weave a pattern about her legs.
::I'm Siere.:: Proclaimed the green dragoness finally. ::And despite what those silly Myrsilkains will try to tell you, I'm a fire elemental:: She grinned up at the Dragon Breeder, fingers of flame spilling from her jaws. ::Earth is such a boring element.::
::And I,:: added the blue dragon, as he focused on the flames on Siere's jaw and extinguished them with a hiss of steam, ::am Zeronen. Water, just like I look. Though I can do little things with every element.:: He stated proudly.
Saeri had tried to separate herself, even if only slightly, from the crowd of candidates and hatchlings. She still wasn't quite sure where this would take her, but surely her luck would prove true yet again, leaving her on the sands...
A sharp prod at the small of her back jerked her out of her thoughts and, surprised, she spun to face whatever had poked her. Only to come face to face with Nauji herself, the shy little mother carrying a tiny kitling delicately in her mouth, waiting expectantly. Slowly, carefully, Saeri held out her cupped palms and watched as Nauji dropped the tiny bundle of green fluff in her hands then skittered away.
"Momma didn't want me walking alone," the hatchling spoke softly as Saeri raised her hands to her face. "She said I was too tiny to make it across these sands alone."
Curious, Saeri cast a glance over her shoulder, measuring the distance between Nauji's nest (nearly in the back of the sands) and herself, still near the entrance. Perhaps the distance wasn't inconceivable for a pureblood Myrsilkain hatchling (the largest of which could easily match Nauji herself for size), but for the little four inch tall kitten in her palm, a trek of epic proportions.
"Anyway," the kitten mewed, "I'm Aralet. And I promise I'll never leave you."
Meanwhile, a mottled blue dragon from Ohrazah clutch had staked his own claim, sauntering around Dalmanish and sniffing at the amphibious alien. "I think I like you. Mmm. Yes. You're perfect. I'm Tamalan." The dragon grinned mischievously up at Dalmanish, "Pleased to meet you, Dal-man."
"Hey, Eunoë!" Fante pointed behind her sister, "Looks like you've got a friend."
As Eunoë turned, the blue-gray hatchling sprung up from her crouch and leapt through the air, landing neatly in the girl's arms, a wriggling bundle of sleek hide, delicate wings, and an extra-ticklish mane (as Eunoë discovered as the dragoness shoved her face into Eunoë's to give the girl a good lick).
::I've licked, you're mine now.:: The dragoness giggled as her bond sneezed from her mane tickling the girl's nose. ::I'm Zalera, by the way, and you're my bond for ever and ever!::
On the other side of the sands, Iynavi was watching the resulting chaos with amusement, his tail twitching from side to side as he waited to see if any hatchling would come to him for sponsoring.
For one little bright yellow hatchling, Iynavi's swishing tail was too much of a fascination to pass up. With a shriek of glee, he pounced, all six paws poised to latch onto the white dragon's tail...
Only to land flat on his snout as Iynavi swept his tail out of danger with a soft chuckle.
::Hey! That's not fair!:: The yellow hatchling pouted for a moment, then scrambled up Iynavi's back to drape himself around the base of the white dragon's neck. ::You're supposed to let me play with you! After all, I, Jemahr, fire dragon extraordinaire, have decided to follow you home!::
Xhoreth felt a nudge on one of her front legs and glanced down, blinking at the mint green hatchling who'd curled himself about her left paw.
::I am yours and you are mine.:: The hatchling's soft voice murmured in her mind. ::Together we can do anything, yes? My name is Mianemat.::
Yinaleth suddenly found herself face to face with Nauji, as the tiny little mother slipped up, settled an equally tiny little kitten at Yinaleth's paws, gazed up at the green dragoness for a moment, then nodded and slipped off again. Curious, Yinaleth bent to examine the tiny kitten set at her paws, barely three inches in height.
Nearly the same purple as her mother, though paling to near white at the points instead of darkening to near black, the little kitten stared up at her shyly. "Momma said you'd be a good guardian, so... uhm... I'm Firaeria..."
Left with one daughter still clinging tightly to her fur, Nauji glanced around the sands, finding that the place had nearly emptied.
"It's okay, momma," her icy daughter, Teminarli squeaked, "I wanted to go home with you anyway."
And so ended the (rather strange) hatching of Briski's triple clutch.