It was a fine summer day at Clan Akelara - the sun hot and bright overhead, causing the library's primary tower to practically glow, its fine quartz facade catching and refracting the light and sending tiny rainbows all across the courtyard. Several hatchlings from a recent Myrsilk clutch tumbled and rough-housed about the courtyard, claws tearing soil and sending clods of dirt and grass soaring through the air, followed occasionally by bright ruby droplets of blood as their play turned a touch violent. Off to the side, their minder, Dendou, watched with amused acceptance - hatchlings would be hatchlings - and he could stop any violence before it turned crippling with his lightning spiders.
Atop the wall, guards stood, sat, or lay as their nature permitted. Myrsilk were interspersed with outlanders in about equal numbers - the years cut off from the Nexii communities had been kind to the Myrsilk, allowing their numbers to grow from a small collection of survivors to an almost full Clan's-worth. Isele, a young Blood only just out of her adolescence, was already rising to prominance in the Clan as the first - and currently only - of the ancient elements to be born in the Clan's memory since the Time of Fury over seven hundred Great Cycles ago. Though she had only recently been permitted into battle, she had acquitted herself well.
To one side of the courtyard, tucked away behind a low - to Myrsilk at least, which meant it rose nearly ten feet into the air - hedge, Archibald was practicing his archery, watched over by Haart of the mercenary company the Devyrs. The jewel-toned healer of the Devyrs had found the young man searching for a place to practice his archery not long after Archibald had arrived, and had brought him here. Occasionally he would offer a suggestion, but otherwise Haart would drift in and out of the nook whenever Archibald was there, sometimes staying for hours with his own gigantic longbow - a behemoth nearly six and a half feet from tip to tip - and practicing himself, other times only a few minutes at a time.
Closer to where the hatchlings were roughhousing, Fairuz and Zarilyna were sparring, the pale violet anthro-dragoness sporting a wicked, toothy grin as they traded blows. Zarilyna had enjoyed finding another woman not afraid to get into trouble with her, and had repeatedly dragged Fairuz off to explore lesser used areas of the Clan -- all in the name of protection for the Clan, of course!
Inside the Towers themselves, Nyrakina sat in a human-sized nook on the second floor of the third tower, book in hand. She had been directed here by the tiny - by Myrsilkain standards - dragoness Elyissa, as this floor contained many of the stories and legends that the Myrsilk had collected throughout their millenia of existance as a species.
Ashor and Tasu, however, were deep in the depths of the Clan, in a room where the only light was a single glowstone shining its gentle, silver light. Deep in conversation with Akelara's resident geneticist Tirvaltoraiel A'vredon, time had long lost its meaning for the two off-world geneticists. The gentle silver light neither wavered nor dimmed, and Tirval himself seemed tireless as he went into details and spun strands of light from his fingertips to illustrate his points and to see if he understood theirs. Though their approaches were different - Tirval used his magic and near perfect recall to access and alter genetics while Tasu and Ashor used technology - their focus was the same. Genetics. How things worked. The long term consequences of actions others saw as inconsequential.
Then...
Pleasure, hope, joy, excitement!
Throughout the Clan, everyone froze, gazes turning involuntarily towards the hatching grounds, before a sudden cacopheny of sound arose. Hatchlings ceased their play and began to dance around Dendou, chattering and clamouring with excitement. Several guards on the wall threw their head back and roared, while others - the few that were capable of projective empathy - took the emotions into themselves and cast them back out into the Clan, amplifying the previous feelings until a nearly manic atmosphere was present.
Jerked out of her quiet reading by the noise, Nyrakina looked up, only to see Elyissa's chocolate brown muzzle right in front of her. She yelped and shifted back, shocked by the sudden, nearly silent, arrival of such a large creature.
Elyissa rumbled her amusement, then fixed Nyrakina with her grass green eyes as she pulled her head back to a more reasonable distance. "Go on, dear. That's the cue that the Drakkari are hatching. They're an emotive race, especially at times like this - what you felt first was Aethet's initial announcement, and the general summons to anyone allowed to witness the hatching itself."
Nyrakina blinked in surprise as she took in Elyissa's words, then scrambled from the nook and down the stairs, leaving a chuckling Elyissa behind her.
In the center courtyard, Zarilyna sheathed her sword with a flourish, her grin turning manic as the emotions saturating the air reached her. Before Fairuz had a chance to protest - or even get free - the anthro-dragoness had grabbed her wrist and dragged her off.
"C'mon! Clutch's 'bout t'hatch! Oooh, I wish I could watch! Yer gunna tell me all 'bout it when y'bond, right? Right?" Zari asked with a pointed, 'do as I say or the next adventure will be your last' look.
Fairuz could do little but nod, as she was being dragged along almost too quickly for her to keep up.
In the archery nook, Haart loosed his arrow then lowered his bow and looked at his companion. Archibald's hands were trembling, the young man overwhelmed by the emotions echoing about, just as he had been trembling when he first came in contact with one of the giant Myrsilkains. But now, as then, he took a deep breath, firmed his hold on his bow, and began to search for answers.
"What is happening?"
Haart nodded towards the great doors and spoke calmly, even as his wings flared and flexed in reaction to the projected emotions that made it through his shielding, "The Drakkari clutch is about to hatch. Come along, it's time to meet the partner that will help you return to your world."
Archibald nodded in acceptance, then gestured for Haart to lead the way.
Deep in the Clan, Tirval broke off his description mid-word, trails of light flickering out of existance between one heartbeat and the next. The faintest of smiles showed on Tirval's face, and his eyes became a bit clouded. In the corner of the room, his two dragons, Veren and Eztha, rose and approached him, nuzzling their bond as memories of their own bonding were sparked by the emotions floating through the air.
Ashor cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the three. "May I ask what is occurring?"
"Hatching," Tirval spoke softly, almost reverantly. "The Drakkari are hatching. Zelkaen will guide you two back to the hatching grounds. You must excuse me, but..." he paused, and glanced back and up at his bonds, his smile growing a bit larger, "But if we cannot watch the hatching, my bonds and I prefer to be alone during it."
With a squeak, the blue Ceadra unwound himself from about Tirval's shoulders and flew to Ashor and Tasu, where he circled about them and chirped several times. As soon as they exited Tirval's darkened rooms, Zelkaen took off down the hallway, flying a twisting, serpentine path through the air as he led his master's guests back to the Great Hall.
All four candidates met at the entrance to the Great Hall. Zelkaen, upon seeing that there were other natives there to guide his charge, gave a final chirp and turned to fly back to his master, leaving Ashor and Tasu to make the final few yards by themselves.
Haart watched Zarilyna and Fairuz approach, and chuckled at his partner's exuberance. "Zari, please let your companion go. I don't think she appreciates being dragged about like a life-sized doll."
"Eh?" The violet dracomorph glanced over her shoulder, then blushed a deep violet as she released Fairuz's wrist. "Sorry 'bout that! Well? C'mon you lot! Down t'the sands we go!"
Without waiting for a reply, Zarilyna darted to the back of the Great Hall and led the way down the gigantic stairs and into the sands proper. Light from glowing crystals scattered about the room shed multicolored light, which caught on the fragments of gemstones that made up the actual 'sands' proper, making the room glitter like the treasure-trove it actually was. Gemstones of all colors made up the material that covered the floor, deep enough that even the largest of Myrsilk could dig a proper nest and feel comfortable.
To the far left, in a partially blocked off nook that was difficult to see from the entrance to the sands unless one knew to look for it, was their destination.
"Well? Go on!" Zarilyna encouraged as she settled herself on the stands that were part of the main Sands, where the Clan bipeds would sit to watch the hatching of a Myrsilk - or the occasionally off-worlder - clutch.
"Remember not to approach too closely," Haart chimed in as he settled next to his Warrior partner. "The Drakkari are fiercely protectively of their clutches, and don't tolerate anyone, sometimes even their bonds, being too close to the eggs. Let the hatchlings approach you."
"Tasu, come, sit up here," Haart spoke as he gestured to a spot near his own. "You can see into the nook from here, and this is as close as Aethet will allow those of us who are not intending to bond."
It was all review -- the candidates had been taught the protocol the moment they were accepted as a candidate -- but it was still a good reminder, when emotions were flooding the air and pushing at everyone's self control. The four candidates made their way carefully across the sands and into the nook.
Aethet stood proudly over her clutch, where three of the five eggs were rocking insistantly. One had cracks spider-webbing across the pale shell and, as Fairuz was taking her place along the low wall that separated nook from main Sands, it fell onto its side and split into fragments. A bright orange baby tumbled out, head over stubby tail, and landed sprawl-footed on all fours, shaken but upright.
"Maaaaa! Ma! MA! DIDJA SEEEE?!" The hatchling crowed, his voice high and squeaky.
Aethet gave a rumbling croon of both pride and amusement. "I did see, my little Acrobat. Now, settle down. There are two-feet here who wish to bond - if you see one you want, claim them."
Acrobat's tail began to wag as he turned his attention from his mother to the two-feet standing near the low wall. Who to choose, who to choose...
Meanwhile, a second egg had split open and spilled its inhabitant out onto the jeweled sands. Unsteadily, the deep blue hatchling rose to her feet and took a few stumbling, awkward steps, before tumbling forward and faceplanting into the crushed gemstones. She let out a piercing wail of pain, several sharp shards having cut into her muzzle and allowing blood to bead up to the surface and roll down her muzzle like morbid tears.
Gently, Fiksai lifted the Water hatchling from the sands and cleaned the cuts off, "Shh, you'll be fine, Tear."
Still whimpering softly, the newly named hatchling glanced up at her mother, then bolted across the sand where she barreled into Fairuz's legs, sending both slamming back into the wall. Luckily, though, Fairuz caught herself on the wall and didn't hit the sands hard.
Carefully, the hybrid knelt and ran a hand over the hatchlings head. Pain/fear/determination to be stronger hit her like a brick to the stomach, the emotions ripping through her mind and settling into place as if they'd always been there.
"We'll get stronger, Tear," Fairuz whispered to her new bond, "We'll get stronger together, and no one will keep us from our goals."
"Pwomis?" came the sad murmur.
"Promise."
Back with the rest of the clutch, two more of the eggs had hatched quietly while everyone was distracted with Tear. A pale yellow Light and a vivid Ice were circling about each other, growling softly and flairing their tiny, undeveloped crests as much as they could. Neither seemed particularly interested in anything but the other for the moment.
"YER MINE!" echoed through the small nook as the orange Sand finally made his choice, distracting everyone, even the Light and the Ice.
Acrobat darted across the sands, stubby wings flaring dramatically as he skidded to a stop at Ashor's feet.
"Minemineminemine!" the excitable hatchling chirped as he butted his head against Ashor's knee, flooding the geneticist's mind with confidence/determination/pleasure at finding a person.
Ashor chuckled softly and scratched behind Acrobat's tiny crest, which caused the hatchling to slump against him and hum in contentment. "Alright, alright, I'm yours."
Having been distracted by their brother's bonding, the Ice and Light finally turned back to one another, tiny crests flaring once more as their battle of wills resumed.
Finally, the Ice turned his nose up and stomped off to his mother's side, his paws sending up clouds of gemdust with every stomping step. "Fine, keep yer stoopid two-feets. They's all stoopid an ugly an'way!"
Fiksai snorted in amusement, "That's not nice, Frost."
"Dun care, yer ugly too," Frost snapped back, attempting to glare at his mother's bond, but ended up pouting instead.
The Light cast a smug look over her shoulder, and flowed across the sands to Archibald to twine about his legs like a cat. Pride at her victory/curiosity/unwillingness to lose settled into Archibald's mind like a blanket, as she continued to twine about his legs, making it impossible for the young man to move.
Archibald gave the Light - his new bond - a considering look, then glanced up at Aethet, who was currently focused on Frost. He had heard nothing to indicate what this little lady's name was to be, and neither Aethet nor Fiksai seemed interested in naming her. Aethet, apparently feeling his appraisal, turned her head to examine him, then sent regret/acceptance/passing of responsibility to the man, her emotional 'voice' feeling like a sharp lance of ice through his mind, very unlike his Light's gentle touch.
Fiksai, sensing his growing confusion, answered his unspoken question, "She bonded before either of us came up with a name. A Drakkari who bonds is no longer the sole responsibility of the mother or her bond. Go on, name her. She'll let you know if she likes the feel of it."
It took only a bare second of thought as he watched the little hatchling weave through his legs again and again, showing very little of the hatchling clumsiness that even Frost displayed. "Grace."
Happiness/acceptance/joy came, followed by, "I like!"
While Archibald had been distracted with his hatchling, the final egg had hatched. The egg tumbled onto the sand and rolled about, the hatchling inside clawing its way free. She was a delicate thing, a soft blue in color and with an even smaller crest than the other hatchlings that had emerged.
Carefully, she made her way across the jeweled sands, each step deliberate and calculated. When she stopped, it was at Nyrakina's feet. The young woman reached out and touched the Air's head gently, then froze as Curiosity/interest/restrained excitement rippled through her mind to settle in place.
Nyra glanced at Fiksai and got a nod and a small 'go on' motion, and turned to her bond. "Uh... how about... Zephyr?"
The Air thought about it for a moment before chirping happily and sending a rush of pleasure to her new bond.
Hatching now complete, the four slowly walked out, taking care to keep pace with their hatchlings and keep them from falling nose-first into the jewel fragments like Tear had just out of the egg. Once out, the three spectators descended the stands, Tasu immediately returned to her apprentice's side to admire the active, bright orange Sand who was still bouncing about.
Zari had a huge grin on her face as she knelt at Fairuz's side and alternately cooed over the 'adorable little lady' and threatened Fairuz with unspeakable horrors if she didn't start talking "Right bloody now!"
Haart just snorted at his pairling's antics and shot Archi an amused look as he took in the little Light who was still twining about the young man's legs, a mischeivious light in the hatchlings green eyes. "You've got a handful there," he remarked with a smirk, "Try not to fall too much."
"Thanks," Archibald responded drily. "You couldn't have been any greater of a help."
The chiming laughter of his bond definitely didn't help.