Familiur and the new

[Jenth]

It was a fairly common routine all queens took. In the approach to clutching the mother would assess the Hatching grounds and prepare it to her liking. The Weyr was fortunate to have this safe area, free of tunnel snakes that would otherwise eat the precious hatchlings. Cleaned and cleared of shells and litter, it should have made Jorindath happy but it didn't. The ever growing weight of eggs did nothing but tire her patience. Something as simple as feeding herself grew into a chore as well as the urge to drag her egg-heavy belly.

For a month she kicked sand around, sifting through it for any dangers as well as venting her frustration. Piling it up and spreading it out, it was never perfect. Sometimes she even slept there despite the warmth of summer, it was more comfortable then hard stone.

Inolyn watched over her dragon every step of the way, it worried her a little how much Jorindath complained. A hand slid over her own belly, at the small swell that was her own child growing. Would she one day act like her dragon? Loathing the life that grew inside her, regret the whole thing? It frightened her, the situation new and foreign to her despite the reassuring and urges to relax. True, she could at least eat breakfast now without feeling nauseous...

The violet queen wasn't as secretive about her clutching to her rider this time round. Inolyn watching for as much as an hour before the first egg dropped onto the sands, the little sigh of relief her dragon gave with each egg lain. Their peace wouldn't last long, word would spread around any second to announce Jorindath's newest clutch.

[ShadowReine]

And, of course, the first dragon to be aware that Jorindath had finally taken to the Sands was her mate. The shadow that was Apolloth passed overhead, but the great tan touched down a good distance from the violet queen. As he did so, B'can slid down from his shoulders, apparently not having bothered with flying straps for such a short journey.

The stocky rider made his way over to his weyrmate. There was no arguing with it now - Inolyn was starting to show. This made him excited and nervous all at the same time. True, he had always wanted to be a father, and with a tan dragon attached to him, parenthood was likely to be somewhat hard to avoid. He was very glad, though, that the mother of his child was also the woman he loved.

"How many so far?" he asked as he offered to slip an arm around her, Apolloth regarding his violet mate with whirling eyes, settling at a safe distance from her and furling his wings.

B'can, of course, was hoping for a good clutch.

[Jenth]

"Only three, I'm surprised Apolloth didn't arrive earlier without you." Inolyn said with a gentle smile and leaning into his light embrace. It would be hours before the whole clutch was lain though, and she wouldn't be here to watch every single one. There were still duties to see to, meals to eat and she needed her rest. In her own condition the violetrider told herself there would be no camping out in the stands this time, Jorindath would forgive her.

The violet dragon was resting for the moment, barely moving on the entry of her mate other then to open her eyes. Jorindath was happy he was here, watching over her curled around the first few of many eggs to come. She still felt so heavy and her belly so tight but it would be over soon, Apolloth would make sure none bothered her leaving her to concentrate on their offspring.

[ShadowReine]

B'can laughed. "He won't leave until she's done now, I don't think."

He considered that for a moment. Inolyn had duties and so did he, even if prying his dragon from the sands would be tough until the tan had seen each and every one of this new clutch. "What about you...staying or leaving?"

He knew she had camped out in the stands before, but the heat might not be so easy on a pregnant woman...she was far more likely to pass out from it right now than normal, although she was a tough woman...B'can had definitely learned better than the holder lad he had once been about the capabilities of females.

[Jenth]

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be alright to stay for a little while. Word is only just being passed around, people will want to come and have a look, and then when all the excitement starts to settle down then we'll have to move." Besides, all her duties had been redirected to records and management. Hides could wait for now and if anyone needed her for anything right now they would know where to find her.

"Actually, I'll expect Karisna to be here any minute. she would want to know more about egg laying for Fioloth."

[ShadowReine]

"Good point." B'can considered that for a moment. "Apolloth isn't likely to show any interest in Fioloth."

The only dragon he had chased other than the violet lately had been the senior queen, and one could not expect any bronze or tan to ignore the call of the one in charge of the entire Weyr.

As if Inolyn's words had been a summons, the violet weyrling made her way into the hatching grounds. Her dragon was not in evidence, the immature queen instinctively well aware that she would not be welcome here at this particular juncture. Queens were often jealous, after all.

[Jenth]

"You saw that now, but you know how Apolloth is better then anyone else. Bronzes fly queens." It was inevitable. The union between their dragons were temporary, it was near impossible for two dragons to stay mates for life. As time goes on the tan will have more and more competition for his violet queen, not to mention if anything should happen to Apolloth and B'can...

Jori was on her feet again, laying the next egg while watching the entrance with one eye. Now the excited commotion was starting up her protective instincts were kicking in and growing for every egg. No queen would now dare enter, immature or grown, or risk being torn apart. These were her eggs, her offspring to protect till they hatched and no dragon, lizard or human would approach without her permission.

Inolyn beckoned Kari over to them, slipping out of B'can's arm. "As you can see, Kari, it's still early in the laying stage. They are lain close together so the mother can keep a closer eye on them all, before being spread out just before hatching. Would you like to touch them?"

[ShadowReine]

Karisna glanced at the riders. Apolloth had now flown Jorindath twice and pretty much the entire Weyr knew that Inolyn and B'can were an item. Even if their dragons parted, it seemed highly unlikely that they would, and the ease she saw between the two spoke to it.

As she came over, though, Inolyn extracted herself from her weyrmate's arm. Her pregnancy was beginning to show, and inwardly, Kari smiled, wondering if it would be a boy or a girl. At the older violetrider's question, however, her eyes widened a little. "Is that safe? I heard that they can be kind of fragile to start with."

Three eggs already lay on the sands, and judging by the violet queen's extra bulk, she had quite a few still in there. A dragon clutching could take hours...and then they would all hatch at once. Not for the first time, Kari wondered if the humming was really a signal to the hatchlings to come out *now*.

[Jenth]

"Its safe, as long as we're careful. We all know eggs harden, but you wouldn't know just how soft Fioloth's egg was before you touched it." The chance that a queen would be lain in this clutch was near impossible. Many had given up hope that Violet dragons could lay queens, at least while a gold was around who seemed more then up to the task.

The forth slid onto the sands as Inolyn descended the steps onto the sands. With gentle reassurance, Jorindath didn't attempt to curl around the eggs to allow the riders to approach. The latest addition was a little smaller then the others, possibly a green among browns. To show Kari that it was safe, the older woman gently caressed an egg with her fingertips. She had done this with the first clutch too, marveling in the warmth of the tiny life growing. Not too unlike the one growing within her now...

"I can say I don't envy our dragons. I'm still trying to come to terms with having one child, let alone twenty or so in one go."

[ShadowReine]

Karisna considered that. "But the eggs are a lot smaller relative to her than human babies are." That meant they had to come out more easily.

Of course... "But I don't envy them the brooding." She touched one of the eggs, gently. "She had what, sixteen last time, or am I mis-remembering?"

She remembered standing for that clutch...and being rejected. Now, of course, she knew why. A woman who was queenrider material was unlikely to be chosen by any lesser dragon. At the time, though, it had felt like a blow to the gut. An utter rejection of desolation. Putting it aside, she glanced at Inolyn again.

"Having kids is a good thing, though...although I admit I'm in no hurry to experience motherhood. Plenty of time." Besides, she couldn't do anything until Fioloth was ready to rise.

[Jenth]

"Eighteen, actually. Larger then Kelth's clutch, normally the first is smaller but with the Pass well on us now the clutches should be large." Inolyn had turned her back to the eggs, gently stroking he dragons great muzzle. The great violet queen will lay hundreds, maybe even a thousand eggs in her life time. The dragons knew when the need was great, a Pass brought bigger clutches and lay queens more frequently. Pern was not lost yet, but there was little hope for the north till the Red star had passed and the burrowed Thread had starved themselves to dust. Only then could they rebuild.

"Honestly, I'm a little scared. I'm not that fond of things that are unfamiliar, learning new things is always tough." Inolyn looked back up to where they had left B'can in the stands, giving a small smile and a wave. "But I'm also happy, because I'm surrounded by people who care for me and remind me that I don't have to do this alone. Besides, apart from being a little grouchy, Jorindath makes motherhood look easy."

[ShadowReine]

Kari considered that. "I'm in no hurry...but I think part of that is Fioloth. Sometimes she seems so mature and responsible and in charge...then she reminds me she's not much more than a hatchling."

Fioloth would lay many eggs too, she knew, with Pern's great need for dragons. And perhaps Nayarath would lay another gold, although given her jealousy, the gold might not be able to stay at the Weyr. They had already sent one away to found a second site.

What would she do if they asked her to leave like that? Do it, she supposed, although she hoped they wouldn't. She liked it here, and so did Fioloth. Of course, Fioloth had no other place to compare it to...they had not even really traveled to the hold yet.

In the Stands, B'can waved back, but he was leaving the queenriders to their girl talk for now.