*Candidate Story*
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*Stats & Dragons*
Nathaniel
Daniel
Reggie
Ravenna

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The Hatching
The evening was falling when the Clutch at Darkling Dawn started hatching, merely hours after Nathaniel and Daniel had gotten there.
"Won't we be behind on the others candidates?" Daniel asked concerned.
"They wouldn't accept us if they thought it would be a problem."
"I guess."
"Stop worrying. We got here, right?"
"And what part of this did we plan?"
"Ehm..." Nathaniel shrugged and smiled."
"You're not getting away with that today! I'm no girl"
As they entered the hatching grounds the sky darkened even more and it startened to rain -pour is a better description. A cold wind followed them in and both boys hurriedly pushed forward to the warm sands.

The first eggs started to hatch. A green and a blue found their riders before the first odd thing happened. The move must have changed the way the dragons thought about bonding because a green and a brown impressed each other. Nathaniel heard whisper that this was highly unusual. Then two dragons -a green and a blue- bonded to the same person. Again whispers of amazement sounded through the cavern. Nathaniel didn't quite care who bonded who as long as he got a dragon to call his at the end.
The eggs of the two greens slowly started to run out when suddenly the eggs of the third green started to rock too! Nathaniel had heard those weren't expected to hatch just yet. But when the first egg hatched into a vlue that raced towards him, he could only be happy about the eggs' timing.
"Woah! Slow down Azeroth!" he said.
"Slow down? When there’s food so close by? Preposterous! Hurry up, or I’ll leave you behind."
Nathaniel shrugged and left the sands with a quick wave and wink toward his brother. At the food tables Nathaniel stopped to think. Would his brother get a dragon from the same clutch? Would their dragons be brothers too?
"We will not." Azeroth said.
"Too bad."
"My sister will take good care of him."
"Sister?" So not brothers, but still siblings.
"Yes, not all dragons impress the same gender, certainly not when their rider have a crush on an extraordinary woman."
"Which woman? I don't think Daniel is ready for girls yet."
"Oh but he is. She'll return. One day."
Azeroth stopped to gulp down more meat and then sat down, satiated. All Nathaniel... or Nat'iel could think about was this mystery woman his brother had fallen for. Who could it be.
"You're as blind as a bat, are you?" Azeroth asked.
"Huh?"
"Daniel nearly drooled over that dragon-girl that brought you.
"Draca? No." Nat'iel said surprised.
"Yes."

Blue Azeroth

Weyrlings
Azeroth dove from the highest platform reachable by foot. He unfolded his wings and hoped for the best. On the ground his rider, Nat'iel, waited for his dragon to land. Or so he hoped. There was always the chance of crashing. The two of them had practiced weeks, trying to lift themselves one feet, two feet, three feet from the ground. But the real first flight, they needed to attempt by jumping off a cliff.
"You're not helping here." Azeroth said.
"Ok ok, you won't crash." Nat'iel said, but inside he said a quick prayer.
Even if Azeroth had grown considerably and his wings should be able to support his body now, Nat'iel wasn't very certain about this. What would happen to him if his dragon got seriously hurt from this? What if Azeroth died?
"You'll die too." Azeroth said, "We'll be together until dead."
"How very comforting."
"Quite literally here. if I can't support myself I'll squash you like a bug. No harm intended. I'd really not want to do that, so please think uplifting thoughts."
"Uplifting? As in happy?"
"As in light."
Around him the shadow of Azeroth grew larger and larger. Then suddenly the wind picked up and the shadow reduced to half it's size. Azeroth soared high above darkling dawn.
"I did it!" he called smugly.

Adults
Azeroth snuggled close to his rider, who surprised by the sudden affection, called out:
"What's happening?"
"Can't I crawl on your lap anymore?"
"Azeroth, think of you size." Nat'iel laughed.
"But I want some affection."
"Ok ok, What do you say if I get on top of you and massage your shoulders and wingjoints?"
"Heaven!"
Nat'iel positioned himself on top of the bulky mass and started rubbing and squeezing. When his oil had ran out, Azeroth grasped some more and threw it too him. He didn't spot any cracks in Azeroth's hide, meaning his dragon had probably reached his full size.
"I want to be bigger though." Azeroth sighed.
"Why? You're a good size for a blue."
Azeroth remained quiet. It wasn't the contented I'm-being-massaged silence anymore, but a tenser, unhappy silence that Nat'iel was unaccustomed to. Gently he tried to persuade his dragon to let him in on the sudden changes. Until a week ago nothing had been amiss. So why now?
"You don't think I'm too small?" Azeroth asked, letting a bit of hurt out.
"No. You're great the way you are. I know that sounds like a cheep line, but you really are a perfectly normal blue dragon."
"Maybe I don't want to be normal." he sighed.
"Don't mind what others say."
"But I DO mind what she says."
"Ah. It's a love issue." Nat'iel realised, "Tell me."
"She's going to fly soon and she said I shouldn't try and chase her because I was small."
"There there." Nat'iel said, patting his dragon on his back before him, "Just who does she think she is to tell you that? You're not as big as a brown or a bronze, but you're pretty fast and you can keep up for a while. Besides, does she know for sure you won't win? Maybe she's just teasing you. You know, bully the one you love."
Nat'iel tried every cliché in the book.
"Really?" Azeroth seemed to be responding at least.
"She'll just have to prove it in the flight."
"We'll sign up?"
"We will."

Nathaniel and Daniel are candidates at Darkling Dawn
Reggie and Ravenna are Candidates at Ryslen