Adults
Falas Weyr
"What?" Ad'ren started in surprise, and his black hair
fell over his face, obscuring his eyes.
"Aspath wants to rise." Cerid said,
shrugging her shoulders. "I'm certainly not going to deny her the chance to have
children."
Ad'ren nodded. "So where's she gonna rise at?"
"Dragonwillow.
We'll stay there while the clutch hardens, and after it hatches we'll come back
here to Darkling Dawn." Cerid answered as she walked off to her weyr.
Ad'ren
crossed his arms and glanced up at his own dragon, black-ruby Thahaeth. "What
are you scheming, Thahaeth?" He asked.
The dragon feigned a look of
innocence. Scheming?
What makes you think I'm scheming something?
Ad'ren fixed his deep green eyes on the black-ruby.
"You're always scheming." He said drily. "So what is it?"
Thahaeth sighed,
giving in. Well,
Aspath is rising, so I want to chase.
"You want to chase Aspath!?" Ad'ren yelped in
alarm.
Thahaeth's eyes took on a shifty look, which his rider failed to
notice. No...There
are
other dragons rising at Dragonwillow...
"Oh, okay then." Ad'ren said, giving a sigh of
relief.
Thahaeth's eyes whirled nervously. He knew his rider would be upset
if he said he wanted to chase Aspath. He only hoped Ad'ren would not be too
angry with him when Aspath rose...
A small white dragoness with ruby-colored wings trotted
around the hatching sands. The white-ruby's rider, Cerid, watched her dragon
impatiently. "Aspath,
what are you doing?" She asked,
shifting her sandaled feet uncomfortably on the hot sands.
Aspath stopped her
searching to glance at her rider. I'm
looking
for the
right
place to lay my clutch. The dragoness
said as she continued her inspection of the sands.
Cerid sighed, rolling her
eyes. She could hear the white-ruby's mutterings as she continued to search for
the perfect place to lay her eggs.
Too hot...Too cold. Too lumpy. Here! Wait, no, there's a rock...
Cerid
pursed her lips. How long was this going to take? "Aspath, would you
please hurry up and clutch so I can get off these shaffing
sands?"
Aspath snorted. Patience,
ridermine. You don't want my children to be harmed by bad sand, would you?
Cerid
rolled her eyes again in response. Here! The
dragon finally exclaimed as she sank to the sands.
Cerid sighed. "Finally."
She said, leaving the white-ruby mother to tend to the task of laying her
eggs.
Aspath was now curled around her clutch of mottled eggs, crooning
happily as she called to her rider.
Cerid entered the sands again, this time
in thick boots, rather than the thin sandals she'd had earlier. She strode to
her dragon's head to stroke her eyeridges as she gazed at the partially-covered
eggs. "How many are there, Aspath?"
The white-ruby folded her wings back to
reveal all the eggs. There
are seven.
She nosed a particularly small egg
closer. Although I suppose
there's
always the chance that one of them won't hatch...
Cerid smiled reassuringly. "I don't think you laid a
dud, Aspath. I'm sure they'll all hatch, come hatching day."
Aspath crooned
as her mate, black-ruby Thahaeth, entered. His rider, Ad'ren was beside him.
"How many eggs are there?" He asked cheerfully.
Cerid scowled at her
weyrmate-in name only, she had avoided him ever since the flight. "Aspath's laid
seven." She said, turning away from him. With a final goodbye pat to Aspath, she
left the hatching sands, heading up to her weyr.
Ad'ren watched her leave,
arms folded across his chest. "What's her problem?" He asked, frowning. "It's
not like I wanted Thahaeth to win the flight." He glared at the black-ruby
dragon, who ignored his rider as he crooned and nuzzled his mate.
Aspath
curled her tail around her clutch and snaked her head around, all but hiding the
mottled eggs from view. Actually, I
don't think
it's
the
flight she's upset about.
She said. But I don't know why she'd be upset about having a hatchling.
"What?" Ad'ren blinked in confusion.
Thahaeth
rumbled and nuzzled his mate again. They call them babies when humans have them,
Aspath.
Oh, whatever. Aspath
said unconcernedly, still tending to her eggs. I still don't know why she's so upset about having a baby, anyway.
Ad'ren gaped in shocked silence. "Oh. That explains
a lot." He said weakly.