HATCHING

It was 5 hours before sunset when the eery sounds of hatching rose from the ring of fire. Not many were there to hear the calls of the proud mothers, but being nocturnal creatures, Maryon and Flunky - who really only lived during the night - should have been around to witness the start of the event. Alas, Flunky had gotten herself lost inside the Candidate quarters, who knew where exactly. If Maryon could have gotten his hands on her, he might have squatted her regardless of the fact that he knew a hatching was imminent. 
For once he wanted to be able to have a calm night. It seemed that Flunky, albeit suffering from amnesia did at least remember some things of the graveyard subconsciously. The rate at which she had started getting lost at Rof was something Maryon had gotten quite irritated over.
"Flunky, where are you, you little dimwit?"
"It's dark in here." the fly whined back, "and hot!"
"You better not be behind the fires again." Maryon cursed, remembering all too well the previous night when he had nearly burnt an ear off. 
"What is this fireplace you speak off?" Flunky asked, "Aren't we home?"
Maryon sighed, "No, Flunky, we're here to impress a dragon, remember?"
From behind him, two transparent, luminiscent wings beat cold air into his neck. The ghost flitter Maryon had aquired here had stirred. That wasn't unusual, the fact that the critter, Whatsit, seemed interested in Flunky on the other hand... 
"What is it?" Maryon asked.
Before he could make sense of the images it tried to send, stirring sounds sounded from the dorms. 
"HATCHING! GET OUT OF YOUR BEDS YOU LAZY BUMS!"
"Great, the hatching." Maryon said, instantly feeling guilty for having wanted to squash Flunky that night. if he had been able to find her she would have missed the event. Not that she would notice it. Come to think of it, he hadn't taken advantage of that fact often enough. Damn fly had screwed with his morals.
Taking advantage of Whatsit's presence, more exactly the thin paws of the critter, Maryon was able to get Flunky away from the fires, out of the dormatories and toward the archmage person with the list of names. Maryon had done a good job of staying at the sidelines, not talking and thus not offending, anyone important. Despite that, Maryon knew this person was called Darreon.
"There are a few rules," Darreon called loudly, making certain everyone could hear even as he looked at most of the candidates with obvious distaste. "There will be no threatening each other, no attempting to kill anyone in the stands, and you will control your bonds as best you can. Anyone who shows any signs of hostility will be transported home immediately after the hatching, if they are not disentigrated with magic first. After your dragonets are fed before any celebration of any sort, you will report to myself--Archmage Darreon Ay'Raiasha, head magic teacher--and Maekotek La'Saber, your basic training teacher. Some of you may be placed with Marie Yellot, but only if you get particularly out of hand!" 
The dragons seemed to stir angrily at the holdup and some of the candidates shifted uneasy, Maryon certainly one of them when someone much larger than him moved by, nearly taking off an arm. Angered, he trudged on, shielding Flunky from the noise and praying it would all be over soon.
After the first solitary impressions, the next few eggs either hatched in unison or in succession. Shards went flying as a silver and red xenohatchling burst from his shell, while a small duowinged wraith slipped out of Ainchisth's nest, and last but not least a platinum and cobalt hatchling with feathery wings, crest, and tail emerged from one of Serienth's eggs as though the act of hatching itself were a dance. 
However, the cobalt-striped hatchling took one look at the xenodragon and shrieked, scurrying across the sands wildly towards the candidates while the poor twilight red xeno just tilted his eyeless head in confusion. The duowinged blue-marked wraith looked up at the xenodragon and squeeked before going into stalker mode, after the xeno's tail. The latter snorted in response and started towards the candidates, ignoring the wraith who was still quite adamantly 'hunting' him. He paused near a rotten-looking undead dwarf, head lifted to the air. Of all things to land on his nose, a fly! Where many of his kind might have snapped at it, the red just let the little insect sit there as though he were talking to it. 
"Are you ok?" Naiqeyss asked looking worried.
"Who are you?" Flunky asked.
"I just told you! I am Naiqeyss, your xeno dragon!!" the xeno hissed angrily, "Why won't you remember?"
"I would remember that if you had told me." Flunky answered, "You look a lot like Maryon, he gets all worked up over nothing either. Speaking off, Where are we and Who are you?" 
Naiqeyss sighed and started continuously calling out his name to the little fly, hoping she would pick up the subtle clue before he too lost his mind and squashed her. Then he turned and made his way off the sands, fly still on his nose. 

The hatching continued on, Maryon waiting patiently now that Flunky was safe - well as safe as she could be in the claws of a beast such as she had attracted.
Another group of eggs burst open on the sands, revealing a crowned, fire-winged wyvern; yet another fluffy-maned child of Conquex and Pollux; a third skeletal, this one with purple wings; and one that hadn't been seen yet. 
One of Tassanadrath's, mostly normal-looking except for the fact that he was far too thin with the bones showing through the flesh of his tail and tattered wingsails. He was a light bronze color, almost the color of beer, with opal-toned wingsails. And he was moving towards the candidates--rather, he was waddling. "
Hey, mate," he said to one candidate in particularly, sounding rather goofy. "Spare some coin for a pint?" 
Maryon looked incredulously at the bronze, then suddenly burst out into a fit of chuckles that was garbled by his decayed throat. "Of course, Pinth!" 
"And some for Flunky and her bond, too, I think--drinks all around!"
"Should we even give Flunky alcohol?" Maryon asked.
"What harm could it do?"
Thinking about it, Maryon grinned, "We do need to celebrate."
"Now you're talking!" Pinth hit the dwarf on his back, nearly popping out his ribs before he pushed him - more gently - toward the exit to get some food, and more importantly, the booze.

***

FOLLOW THE FIREFLIES

It is said that the unlikely foursome that formed that night at Ring of Fire was never seen again. But that's not quite right. They were very much around, though not at the usual places new dragonriders went. Maryon and Naiqeyss decided it would be best for Flunky to return to their home graveyard site before she'd get lost there too. Hoping that what little memory she'd had of the place hadn't been lost in the months at the Ring of Fire. It didn't matter to Pinth where they went as long as there was alcohol to be found where they were going. Maryon assured him the nightly bacchanals would continue. And Flunky? Well she didn't really remember the Ring of Fire after a gruesome incident involving a pointy treebranch, a candle and some hot wax about an hour after they'd arrived.
And what about training, warding of evil annoyances and mating flights? If the universe had had a hand in bringing them to the Ring of Fire it surely would let them know when they were needed.

Maryon and Flunky impressed at the 
Flight of the Dead 2004-5 at The Ring Of Fire

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[Stats Maryon] [Stats Flunky]

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Image used for this background is an oilpainting named 'Landscape with a Graveyard by Night' and was painted by Mathias Withoos.
It's quite pretty for being old, neh?