*Eggs hatch now. Call people?* The sapphire's tone asked if it could go gather the candidates, along with anyone who wanted to watch the hatching.
"Alright, Savi. Go, gather the candidates." As the sulanu vanished, the cream dragoness began to hum, the interspecies sign of an imminent hatching. After a moment, Thrintar, Mylvara's mate, entered the cavern. He looked at his mate fondly, but walked to the edge of the currently used sands farthest from the entrance. He sat and waited; he didn't want to scare any of the candidates.
The next entry into the sands was a complete surprise to the Malnevian dragons. A small group of adult anjir, all humming in tune with the two dragons already present. They came in, the red female joining Mylvara on the sands, the two males, a blue and a black, joining her mate at the corner of the sands.
Next came the two male elves, Scalestep and Ebonbreeze; it seemed they were the fastest to get dressed. Following them, Savi returned, leading an unknown female sulanu and a small litter of sulanu kits. *Candidates come*, he told the dragoness on his way past.
Soon, nearly all the permanent residents, all two that hadn't already shown up, along with a handful of residents from the nearby village, were present in the stands. Interspersed among them, the rest of the candidates arrived; first, the sole human, a mage of sorts, Teul, followed by the two female elves, Bluff and Cinderhope. The horse, Fire-eyes, entered next to last, and stood as close to Mylvara as he could. He didn't want to be charged by a hungry hatchling. Trailing in at the end, came Storm, but with good reason. He had hunted and, in a nearby chamber, had quantities of meat sufficient for a group of hungry hatchlings, for the candidates to feed their new bonds.
As soon as he had entered the sands, the eggs began to rock, as opposed to the light shaking they had been doing before. One by one, they began to crack. The candidates stood in a loose semi-circle between the eggs and the spectators, waiting for the first egg to break.
And break it did. The egg in the center of the clutch shattered spectacularly, showering the candidates, and a number of spectators, with eggshards, revealing a faintly speckled blue. He paused, looking around at all the new sights, then stepped over one of the still rocking eggs to approach the candidates. He swaggered wobbily over to the female elves, coming to a halt in front of Cinderhope.
*I'm Senriv. I'll help you work on your sending. The more we talk this way, the better you'll get. Though, if we really need to, I can talk normally too.* Cinderhope led the blue out, following a sulanu who had chosen to be a guide to the food chamber.
While the blue had bonded, another two eggs split apart. The one in front revealed a cream female, who quickly, though unsteadily, made her way toward the candidates, while the one to the side, another blue, straightened out his wings and feet. When he got them straight, everyone could see the yellow wingsails that set him apart from his blue brother.
The cream seemed to be debating, but the second blue didn't hesitate. He walked confidently up to Ebonbreeze. *Hello,* he said politely. "I'm Temlar. Will the wolves be afraid of me? I've never seen a wolf." As they followed the sulanu out, the cream made her decision. She stopped in front of Bluff.
*Hi*, she sent shyly. *I'm Reavai. Can I get something to eat now?* She calmly followed her new bond off the sands, but paused at the entrance, looking back. Bluff turned to see one of the sulanu kits racing toward her. *Wait! I come, too!* The elf woman stooped and picked up the garnet female kit, then continued to the feeding room.
Now, there were only two eggs left. Both were rocking hard now. The first to hatch was the one in the back. It revealed a purple male, who shook bits of egg everywhere as he stumbled toward the remaining candidates. He tripped and landed at Scalestep's feet. He looked up at the elf.
"Could I get a little help? I don't think my legs work right yet. Oh, and I'm Quelam." As the elf bent to help, he felt little pinpricks on his leg. He straightened out the hatchling, then looked at his own leg. He laughed at the emerald sulanu he found clinging to his leg. He picked him up and helped his new anjir off the sands.
That left only the human, Teul, who was begining to wonder if he would bond at all. He had heard that these anjir didn't need to bond. But his fears were put to rest a moment later, when the last egg split apart to show a green hatchling. Everyone gasped when the green head turned to look at the green haired human, and a second head popped up beside it. As the first head lurched forward, the second stayed where it was, and the twin dragons went their seperate ways for the first time. The first green, a male, headed for Teul.
"I'm Corvan, and the past is not important. Only the future, and gaining strength, are important. Now let's get me some strength, I'm hungry." He led the startled human off the sands, seeming to know exactly where he was going.
The final hatchling, the green's twin, was a slightly darker shade and female. She looked up at the stands, noting who was there, and deciding that one of the villagers was right for her. She dashed, as well as possible, considering she had just hatched, to a female pan-thar in the front row.
"Can I go home with you, Falima? I'll be good. I promise. Oh, and my name is Milava." They followed the others out of the sands, and soon the rest of the spectators left as well. It had been a good first hatching, especially with a twin rare.