Halloween Clutch 2007

Lucas gently wiped the last of the sand dust off the eggs and then took a few steps back. The twelve off-white eggs lay neatly in the center of the festival hatching cavern. Since Halloween was approaching fast, the walls and vaulted ceiling of the cave were decorated with black and orange curtains. Plastic bats hung from the ceiling, joined by witches and a single yellow glass-in-lead light. It’s faint light was barely enough to make out the tables and seats.
Ten candidates had been found for this holiday clutch. They were all human. The majority of them had come from Earth, but there were also two runic warriors who looked oddly mismatched with the rest of the festively disguised people.
The soft crackling that had been the background noise for the last hour started to overtake the sound of the whispering voices. All eyes turned toward the eggs and a tense, dead quiet atmosphere grew in the cavern. The crackling sounded like thunder when finally the first egg cracked.
A rain of shards and dust exploded in the festival cave. As it settled it was at first unclear just what kind of dragon had hatched. Only when the ivory-coloured dragoness moved did she become visible. She was small for a hatchling but that was mostly because she lacked any sign of wings. In stead her shoulder blades sported two long bony spikes each.
Her coffee-coloured eyes quietly observed every candidate before she stood up and walked, shaking the last of the shards from her back, toward the candidate she’d chosen.
”Lana.” She said with her telepathic voice, “My name is Dauriantrelle.”
Three more eggs hatched. A lavender demon, winged with peculiar frizzy hair and lightning-shaped horns was joined on the sand by a bald silver winged demon who, despite the fact that he had wings lacked wing sails. The third hatchling was a pale unhealthy shade of grey-brown with a set of small leathery black wings and wavy beige hair.
It was the lavender male that made the first move. He walked regally toward the candidates and stopped in front of Mannaz, one of the Runic warriors, though to say Mannaz was a warrior was an overstatement.
“Why fight when you can use magic…” the dragon spoke.
“I think you and I will get along fabulously, Hookryll.” The man nodded.
The grey demon that resembled a skeleton rattled his way toward the candidates. There really was only one of them that he’d even consider.
“Wesley. My name is Occysov.”
As two more eggs hatched the last demon on the sands, the pale winged male, looked at the candidates. He seemed to take his time choosing before he finally lifted up one leg. Pointing he singled out Michael and said in a low vibrating growl:
”You shall be mine. My name is Pruishian, remember it well.”
A brown land dragon, his arms and tail seemingly armed enough to wage a small war on his own, or at least to feature in a Rambo movie. The other dragon was female, a vibrant leaf green demoness with twin horns and a vicious tail.
It was the brown dragon who moved first. Making his way through the candidates he finally stopped beside Gavin. The land demon looked up to the personal trainer and nodded. This was the person who would be right for him. Muscles and a brain.
”Markise.” Was all he said, but it was all that was needed.
The green dragoness was ready to make her move when a scream interrupted the hatching. The scream echoed and it’s origin took a while to reveal itself. It’d been Amber who’d screamed. The earthian woman who’d proven to be very hard to scare had fallen for the oldest trick in the book.
“Something grabbed my ankle…” she panted.
“Surprise!” her friend Nelly smiled.
Behind their backs a dark serpentine form slithered away. Though Evilness had wanted to disturb this year’s Halloween hatching more, he’d decided that having a dragonrider owe him would be better. He passed Cyan and felt her angry gaze pierce his back.
After the slithering nuisance had left, the green dragoness scraped her throat and then took the step she’d been about to take nearly 5 minutes ago.
“Amber… if you’d like to get her back,…” she smirked, with her cold blue eyes burning,
“I know a trick or two that might disturb her. Just call me Sap’rah.”
A lull in the hatching passed quietly and while the humans got into the spirit of things the atmosphere of the hatching became truly festive. Only a brightly orange-coloured dragoness could enhance the mood, and she did so with fervour. Blazing brightly she unfolded her wings, basking in the dimmed light of the fake moon. She looked around and then roared a short and high-toned roar.
“Miriam!” she called, “How did I sound?”
Wonderful Vibrancia.” The interior decorator/stylist smiled back.
Three eggs hatched next. A dark brown demoness with ram horns and a sharp curved blade on her tail was the first to hatch and the first to move. Lightning quick she dashed toward the candidates. Barely avoiding a few of the onlookers she made her way all around the cavern until she lashed her tail tenderly against Nelly’s legs.
“You are mine.” She hissed.
“I wouldn’t dare to argue, Shauntey.” She said as she patted the head of her dragon.
With Shauntey impressed two dragons and two eggs remained on the sand. A moss-coloured male land dragon with a triple ridge of spikes on his back and an icy blue winged male with bright feathery wings.
“Björn.” The moss-coloured dragon called to the plastic surgeon, “How do you like my spikes?”
“They seem very sharp.” Björn whispered mesmerised.
“They are. My name is Herkuyiss.”
The white demon then looked in the eyes of the remaining candidate, the runic warrior Hagalaz. A deep cold spread into the mind of the one time wannabe killer for hire when an icy presence entered it.
“My name is Geirkrass and I look forward to living with you.”
“Likewise.”
Two eggs remained and they did not seem intend on hatching. They neither moved nor sounded like they had life inside them. Worried, Lucas walked to the eggs and touched them. Besanth his dragon read the eggs through him and the news he gave them was disturbing.
“They’re aquatic!” Lucas called out, “We need to get them to water!”
The cavern that had been so festive before turned to an air of chaos. People followed as Lucas and Cyan carried the eggs outside. Dashing for the lake rather than the sea or the shadow cavern, Lucas hoped the aquatic demons would be able to survive in it.
“Gently…” Cyan urged when she saw Lucas thrust his hands in the water.
A feeble vibration perturbed the water. It took ten more minutes for the hatchlings to weaken their shell enough to fight their way outside. When they hatched a greenish blue female and a sapphire blue male serpent sank into the water. Though they did not come up not a single person or dragon did not hear them when they bonded.
”Rankore…”
”Lussandra….”
“They made it.” Lucas sighed relieved.
The elated atmosphere returned and the newly bonded and spectators returned to the festival cavern for the waiting food, drinks and socialising. In the chaos, Evilness who’d lingered outside got stepped on. Evilness sighed. Maybe he should have stayed in the first place…

Riders:
Lana and Ivory Demon Dauriantrelle (f)
Björn and Moss Demon Herkuyiss (m)
Wesley and Silver Demon Occysov (m)
Gavin and Leather Demon Markise (m)
Miriam and Fire Demon Vibrancia (f)
Nelly and Bark Demon Shauntey (f)
Amber and Leaf Demon Sap’rah (f)
Michael and Pallid Demon Pruishian (m)
Hagalaz and Ice Demon Geirkrass (m)
Mannaz and Lavender Demon Hookryll (m)
Ocean-Blue Demon Rankore (m) staying at Lantessama
Sea-Green Demon Lussandra (f) staying at Lantessama