Halloween 2004 Dragons

HATCHING
Grinning pumpkins lighted the small heart of the holiday cave. Their moving light made more shadow than it illuminated the grey walls, but a large gathering of eggs could be easily seen around the center fire. Outside the cave laughter sounded and more than once the small rapid patter of children's feet could be heard outside. 
A soft slither was barely noticeable, but two round yellow eyes  were all the more visible as a soft green plant dragon entered the special sands area. Wickedness had carefully made her way via the top of the regular hatching sands, avoiding the light of Purelith's mate Einzelth. 
Fading into the background, seemingly just another lantern hanging from the wall, Wickedness watched as Donriven and Lucas entered the caves. They couldn't see her, if she was thrown out now all would have been for naught.
"I don't like it one bit." Donriven said to Lucas, "Why do I have to give out weapons?"
"You aren't using these anymore." Lucas said absentmindedly, still putting up the last decorations - late as usual. "Trix told me they haven't been used in years.
"They're collector's items." Donriven said glowering.
"They'll probably be returned as the hatchlings grow. It's not my fault the 'Bring your own Weapon' part wasn't included on the invitations."
"Not mine either. I was busy with the shadows." Donriven said.
"Well I had to make half the female population happy by installing that espresso machine. Really, it could have ended up in riots if I hadn't."
"Just go call the candidates." Donriven shrugged as one of the eggs started to show signs of hatching. "It's too late to change now." looking at his collection of weapons, stalled aesthetically against the back wall, he sighed. He'd better get these back eventually.

***

The Candidates entered the cavern, The flames inside the pumpkin lanterns casting light and shadow on their faces, obscuring them until Wickedness could not make out their features. She did however see two equally interested eyes on the opposite wall of the cave. So daddy had made his way into the holiday cave as well. This could get interesting.
The eggs in the center of the cave started wobbling and silence descended onto the candidates. It seemed as if everyone was holding their breath. Wickedness herself arched forward. It was always uncertain what would hatch from these genetically altered eggs. That had been clear to her from the moment she had heard about this clutch. She could barely be called adult, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to bond.
The first of the eggs suddenly burst open, causing a rain of dust and ash to fly from the burning fire. Where the egg had been Wickedness now saw a small beige dragon on the sands. Getting to his knees and hands he looked oddly like a human toddler, crawling with equal grace - knocking over eggs wherever he passed them - toward Donriven's weapon stand.
"What are you going to take from me?" Donriven asked, being elbowed by Lucas to be nice.
The hatchling chose, bonded and the hatching continued. 
Before Lucas and Donriven could start arguing, 4 more eggs broke in the circle, some of them cracking even others. As dragonets spilled on the heated sands, the candidates arched forward, all of them trying to get a good look at the different babies. But the hatchlings ran through and over each other, making it hard to follow them. 
All of them eventually headed for the back wall. The first to reach the Mecca of all Halloween dragons was a dark brown female, with dark red wings that surprised even Lucas. With her bright orange-red hair the hatchling could be followed around the cave well. She went to the weapons stand and took one of several knives laying on the table. 
In stead of moving to the candidates after she had gotten her weapon, the baby female headed for the secret stairs out of the special sands. Trix was only barely quick enough to stop her and pointed her to play with her bondless sister saying they would find any home she wanted later.
"Your name?" Cyan asked as the hatchling passed her.
"Ykhamodred." the hatchling said.
Cyan turned to Trix and asked: "How do you think you spell that?"
"I don't think she cares." Trix smiled, "Just make it look cool."
One after the other five eggs hatched, stirring the sand up into clouds of dust by their force. The five hatchlings were obscured for a while, but Wickedness' eyes were used to bad conditions. The orange female shook her head at all the weapons Lucas presented her with. Finally she sighed, headed for the food tables, guarding the punch bowl like she was paranoid.
"Is she going to drink that?" Lucas asked, "I just put it there for drama's sake." and indeed no-one had gone near it, the bowl shuddered, hissed and fumed, looking not at all drinkable.
"I think she wants someone else to drink it." Cyan whispered.
"Good luck for whoever catches that one." Lucas sighed. 
"I shall not be caught." the female called back, "I'm Merix and I stand alone... after all, no-one could survive long in my presence."
"Nice." Lucas said, "Someone to poison our drinks while we're not watching. Just what we need around here."
Two more eggs broke shell. Two male dragons fell to the sands. One was dark grey, the other brown. Wickedness noted that all dragons hatching this Halloween were not very brightly coloured. As the pair made their way to the back, one of them -the brown one- tripped and could only stay erect by clinging to a dark blue table cloth. Staying panting for a while the hatchling suddenly threw the table cloth around him and grinned. Wickedness also noted these group of hatchling's fondness of capes. Apparently only the insane hatched on Halloween - what was so fun about a cape anyway?
The grey male had already chosen his mace, the point on the orb gleaming with malicious light before the brown one even got close, hindered by the cape he wore as a poncho.
The grey one waited for his brother to make a choice, some daggers and a stout metal axe left Donriven's table, before he tugged Trix' shirt.
"I'm Klahren." the grey one said, "I won't be going until I'm adult."
"Add me too," the grey one said, "I'm Jonjas."
Two eggs, wobbling since Evilness had passed them, broke open one shortly after the other. A slightly yellowish male and a brown female rolled out of the eggs, getting caught up in each other. In a large ball of tail and limbs they stopped when they hit the wall and where helped by Cyan and Lucas, and directed toward Donriven. The male looked up with wonder-filled eyes and finally tried to grab a double-bladed sword. The female looked over the weapons and sighed. She did not like any of them. Joining her sisters on the decoration tables she soon found another left over pole that she hugged close. Not much after she found the fake feathers and was in heaven when she found out they stuck to her stick. When asked her name she mumbled 'Heirast' barely slow enough to be understood.
The third last egg broke and a yellowish male wandered from the broken shell, his movements quick and minimalist. When he reached Donriven he just pointed to the Samurai sword hanging from the wall. After that he opened his mouth only to say, "Omoimori." then he bowed slightly and left for the feeding tables, not even bothering to look at the other unbonded, though he did glance over the blond female Zjavella once.
The second last egg broke when Omoimori had just left the hatching cave, a beige female stepping out. She stepped to Donriven, looking at the table, but finally turning to Trix.
"Are you going unbonded too?" the Laedrys asked, stopping the record for a second.
To her surprise the hatchling grabbed her pen and began furiously writing with it on the paper. 
"Can you speak?" Trix asked.
"Of course. Writing is just more fun."
"What's your name?"
"Pennae."
"Figures." Donriven said before Trix gave him an irritated look,
"Will you bond, Pennae?" she asked the dragoness.
"Can't I just stay here with you?" the dragoness asked, "I can record too." she smiled.
"Maybe you can give out a paper later." Cyan smiled, "I don't see why she couldn't stay."
"Maybe we can even get her to stalk Evilness and Wickedness for practice... writing up what they do can surely fill more than a few pages."

Knives Ykhamodred (f)