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Vosin and Killakeeth (W)

Now. Now the moment of truth! The last four hatchlings had found their riders. Only a single egg remained unhatched. The pair watched it closely. Was it? Would it? Their attention was quite riveted.

Ah ha! So there was life in there. Vos watched the stoic little blue pace gracefully across the sands.

The man made a wordless sound of assent, after a long pause born of trying to find what best to say, which was a rare problem for him indeed. Such sheer helpfulness was uncomfortably unfamiliar - what reason could the new brownrider possibly have for coming back out onto the Sands to help him? He'd gain nothing from it but a bloody robe. Perhaps if they'd been at High Reaches, Dezerac would have been able to see some shred of sense in it, an early move to find favor with the rider of a metallic dragon, but this was Western. Vedmath's color was meaningless. So why?

Because he is Hessianth's, and he is good. If you do not trust him, then trust me. His is my brother, he emphasized, giving the word all the importance it could carry and knowing what it would mean to his bonded. He would only choose well. Had he been in a position to do so, Vedmath would have bumped his head against his rider, but each was injured and being carefully supported, and such a move would have upset the balance neither one had in good supply. It would have to wait until they'd complete their short but precarious trek over to the Healers, this time without interruption. The required jostling to get there and then get settled, no matter how much care anyone took about what they were doing, exacerbated the pain, but at this point, what was more pain? It all just blurred together as his vision swam, though he remained stoic throughout. Weakness in the presence of so many others was unacceptable. I do not know that it is his stock that makes him so, Vedmath then mused to his clutchmate. His brother had been good, but his father? The mother who'd given him over to the man? Wretched. But my warrior-Mine is strong, and he can be good. We will be good. Together.

Long fingers curled to a white-knuckled grip on the edge of where he'd been placed, and - thank Faranth, while Hessianth's was away fetching meat for the dragons - his shoulder was set. That got a grunt and a hiss, and had Vedmath nuzzling at him. Dezerac would have reached out to him, and nearly did, but knew that it was better to keep his death grip on something inanimate. Bad enough that he'd already kicked his bondmate in the face, accident or no. By the time his fellow Weyrling returned, his actual wounds were being seen to, the poking and prodding of being examined and cleaned, stitched or bandaged where necessary. More pain to add to the haze. And if his eyes glazed or his hand shook a bit when he accepted the pieces of meat handed to him to pass to his dragon, well. Stubborn and seasoned or not, he didn't have quite enough left in him to tamp down every sign of the state he was in (as if the blood didn't give it away).

Vedmath stayed steadily beside him, mirroring that resilience as he, too, was seen to, with a break now and then to eat. Because while he might hurt, now that the danger had passed, he was starving. Thank you, and Yours, the bronze made sure to add, Mine will say so, too, when he is able.

Huarwar

Someone had joined him and it wasn't Aelyx...seeing another female drape a blanket over Huarwar he suddenly reacted, pulling it from his brothers body, his eyes lifting to stare at her, a snarl on his lips. "Don't touch him." His voice was deadly as he spoke. He was aware of Aelyx against his back, but he paid no mind to it now. He was hurt, he was angry and in pain. People were helping that green out, the green who had murdered his brother. Sure, it was just a baby and even if deep down he knew he shouldn't fault it, they knew they could die...he hated it. Hated it with all of his passion.

The feel of a muzzle against his hand caused Huarwar to turn his attention to a blue. He stared at it, feeling it trying to help ease his pain and he welcomed it but, it wasn't going to work. Perhaps if that blue had been his, but it was not. Once the blue left him and impressed, Huarwar stood up, he looked at Aelyx, his face stony before he bend down and picked up Huarwar's limp body. He wasn't going to allow anyone to carry out his twin except him. It was over. It was done and he was without his twin for the first time in his life.

"You might not want to stay around me...right now Aleyx." His voice was still soft, cold to the ears. It was all he said before he began to carry his brother off the sands, pausing at the entrance as he came to A'ral, the candidatemaster. He didn't know what protocol was on this, what they did when a candidate was killed on the sands.

"Sir..." He didn't want him to take Henwas away, he wanted to carry him to where ever they were going to put him. He wasn't going to leave him, not yet.

There, there. Rio hugged Alya close and rested his chin atop her head, and all of it as much to make himself feel better as for her. And then Isilje was hugging them, too, and a smile broke through the sadness again. "Congratulations," he told her, freeing an arm to return the gesture, and smiled at her dragon, too, in spite of the look she'd previously given him. "You'll be perfect together, I'm sure."

In what seemed forever and both no time at all, it was over. The violence had finished at last, and the remaining dragonets found Theirs, one by one, leaving Rio and Alya and no shortage of others without a bonded to call their own, and that was fine. There was no jealousy in Rio's heart, only happiness for them, and profound relief that it was over. He pulled back a little from his embrace of Alya to offer his arm and a tired smile. "I don't know about you, but I think I'd really like to be somewhere else now. My feet hurt."

His heart hurt, too.

Lennik and Brown Hessianth

When Isilje came to where they were at the healer's station, he offered her a smile. "Congratulations. I'm glad we could...settle that as best as we can," he glanced at the white, watching as Hessianth observed the white cooly, then looked up at his bonded. Tell her - "Hessianth says that if uh..." he motioned to Suwayenth, not knowing her name, "needs some care, we should see a second station set up so she and Vedmath aren't near each other." Hessianth huffed. That isn't what I said. It's nicer than what you said. For Brancath it doesn't have to be nice. She wouldn't say anything nice. he countered, pondering if that reflected on the pale woman now standing in front of his chosen.

He took another bite of food, making sure to chew it loudly with several snaps of his jaw with a low rumble before he passed on the gratitude offered up from the bronze to his bonded. L'nik nodded. It wasn't really necessary.

L'nik continued to cut the meat methodically - one for Vedmath, one for Hessianth, rinse, lather. "He's strong," he said, nodding at the bronze who was having the bites and savaging. He was a handsome specimen and was going to be a big one. Albeit, being bronze that was fairly standard, but... "I don't care what she said. He wasn't at fault for any of that." At his knee, Hessianth rumbled his agreeance.

Aelyx

Not be around him. He said that as if she had any other intention, "...Whether I should be or not...that's my choice. I'm going to be beside you. No matter what." Wherever life took him, Aelyx would follow, Even now. Now that she followed him over to A'ral, looking at Henwas in his brother's arms, then to the man. Her own copper and gold gaze was steely, her resolve the only thing keeping her from screaming and sobbing. That would be another time. In private. Right now, she would be Huarwar's quiet shadow, ever there to comfort him if he wanted it...just there for HIM as a whole.