The following is a log of roleplay on Star Stones MOO, logged by Dallaney.
All references to the world and characters of Pern™ based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© 1967 by Anne McCaffrey, all rights reserved. The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey and used here with permission.

Herder Hall
Various doors branch off from this spaceous nexus, leading to the areas both
private and public. A narrow staircase climbs upward against the wall to a
balcony leading to the always active doorms which are loud enough to rival
the noisy kennels. Woven mats of sturdy, dried grass cover the stone floor
amid a calamity of tables and chairs. A trio of worn, campy couches are set
neat the stairs, a favorite place to sit and speak about everything from the
latest gossip to how best to sheer an unruley ovine.
Perched somewhere up high, you see Laeon, Gully, and Tinkerbell.
You see Price Board, Trouble, Taas' Egg Container, Hatching Rules, Sanka,
Methodical Agent K Blue Hatchling, Twister Egg, Jurassic Park Egg, Matrix
Egg, and 5th Element Egg here.
Ane'y, Emma, Karli, Katha, D'vr, Oof, Bryn, and Raine are here.
From here you can go:
Records Room           Office            Stables
Kennels                 Stairs            Staff Lounge

Methodical Agent K Blue Hatchling rolls from his egg, a comic chaos, yet with
rhyme and reson -or at least a semblance thereof. He comes to a sudden halt
on the fringes of the clutch, head held high, wings set close to his body.
Whoa, look at this.

"Oiya, Sorry 'bout that, I didn' see - ye are a might-ay big one, ain'tcha?"
No, Bryn isn't speaking in tongues, it's just her version of passible English
- now we see why she's a herder isntead of harper. Spritely young woman
plunges into the crowd and away from disgruntled crafter, blithely ignorant
of sore toes she leaves behind.

Gully dozes off...

Twister Egg rocks once more, greyed-swirls about its shell seemig to come
alive with the tiny movement.

Raine stalks into the courtyard, on a quest for a pet, she was thinking of one
with fur, but scales are sutible aswell. Slim woman slips her way into the
crowd, comming up short of the front row by all means, but not to far back
either. "Anyone have any foodish things to spare?" she askes comeone about
her, eyeing the hungry looking blue with intent voilet eyes.

Katha shakes herself from momentary shock and deftly removes the kitten from
Ane'y's hands without a paw the wiser. Twisting the body in her hands and
manages to drag it into a more comfortable, proper, way to hold it with only
one scratch appearing in red puffy marks on her arm. Kitten is petted, talked
to, calmed; which is considerably hard with all these people. "Anything else?
Do you mean for the Hall to keep 'im?"

*waggle* *wagg-* "Shards and shells, get your bl-bl..." Oof all-but-whacks
the nosey gold straight off her shoulder - whom, upon the better judgement of
her pea-sized brain, resettles neatly on a rafter overhead. Girl surveys the
newest arrival; wagg'ing meatroll in one hand and fingering her own large
blue with the other.

"She wanted to come, not me." Dallan insists, hard on the heels of the girl,
who fortunately isn't anything like her. That's when the scents get to her:
not of beasts but of the bodies wedged in her particular portion of the
herderhall; interest accordingly gleams in the flashing eyes. "/Yes/, this
will do." And there she goes.

Bryn has a mission you see - get out of this crowd and to the rider waiting
outside. The rather focused herder had to make a trip to check on her pups,
after all - and give the weyrherder report to Triani. In any case, dramatic
eyebrows arch as she spies the rather -loud- greenrider in the corner, and
herder makes a new beeline, "Ey! You...uhm, D'over, right? Ye the one they
sent ta pick m'up?" she drawls impatiently.

"Her." Is the soft reply that Ane'y gives as she pulls her hand close to
examine it and all the scratches ranging from elbow length to all across her
knuckles. "I'm not sure what to do with her right now! Xweth is getting upset
and my little fair of firelizards are constantly getting pounced on and
frightened between." A soft airy sigh escapes the pale rider's lips as she
pushes back some ebon hair in frustration. "What would you suggest I do?"

Sitting down right smack next to the eggs, Emma settles the bowl in the folds
created by her skirts, and then reaches in with both hands. Instantly,
disgust is readable on her face, a wrinkling of nose and brows and a downward
tilt of lips. "Ew, ew, ew..." Still, she perserves, and holds up a large
handful. "Would anybody else like some? It's... fresh. I think." The hand
wavers, held up over her head, and a tendril of herdbeast dangles
percariously downwards. Emma looks up, just in time to catch a drip in the
eye. "Ohhh! Ickickick!"

Methodical Agent K Blue Hatchling watches all with a calculating eye. Yet, as
one to act and not to sit, he bounds to his feet, soft talons still managing
to *cilick* on the tough floor. Sure steps send him forth, but to battle with
evil aliens or to locate a partner...

To be offended or not? "The name is 'D'vr' -- Soft duh purred verrr. I'm
looking for Caermon and Sandeago, those two apprentices have a set of tack I
commissioned for my sister, and I want it. Now." Irritated glance is set upon
the firelizard hunters, and upon firelizards and eggs themselves. "It's of
the special leather that you get from one of the cot holds, and it's
specially tooled /just/ for Dana and her runner."

Twister Egg is the next to show signs of wear, as if its tumultuous covering
were wearing away from the force within.

Akzael has arrived.
Akzael arrives.

Raine wedges herself toward Emma, a nod of her platinum coated head if given.
"If you've got some to spare, i'd take a bit," she says, crouching near the
girl.

Karli slides closer to the side with oncoming crowd and somehow manages to
creep near the hatching eggs and drift a hand absently into her bag. But
that's /her/ lunch. Neverminding that trivial fact hand digs out a few
meatrolls, after one is popped into her own mouth eyes search out hatchling
questionately.

5th Element Egg remains to be the loafer of the bunch. Not doing much but
sitting there, enjoying the sights, just plain being an egg.

All flailing arms and disgusted shrieks, Emma momentarily /resembles/ an
alien, but resumes human guise long enough to smile perkily to Raine. "Sure!
Got plenty." With that, the dark-haired young woman plops her entire handful
into Raine's hands, or somewhere close to there, at least. "Here you go.
Have fun. Enjoy!" Then, seamstress begins once again busily rubbing at her
eyes with her sleeve, over a background of murmured 'yuck's.

Evil Oof may be (surely depending on who you ask), but she's certainly no
alien, at least not to her knowledge, limited as it is to musings and
ramblings and possibly a complaint or two. Another wayward claw pierces the
cloth of her tunic. And, frustration incuring it's might wrath, uttering a
word to make a sailor blush - girl thrusts the meatroll at her feet and sets
to work disentangling herself from her firelizard.

Akzael slips in innocently, a shadow with irritation's fair twitch in his
cheek. A muttered comment to someone--somewhere--is uttered. "Yeah, yeah.
Silly lap canine." Blue eyes blink around the area, and he starts calling
softly, aimlessly, to empty corners. "Fluffles. Come back Fluffles. We can
all go home then...please?"

Kaeos has arrived.
Kaeos arrives.

Methodical Agent K Blue Hatchling sheds his cloak of mystery as wings open,
dripping with the last vestiages of egg goo, slime, whatever. He broaches the
edge of the crowd, scampering steps and a bit of a wavery list from side to
side as he is nearly unbalanced. Ah, but that one has promise -spotting a bit
of a wiggle?

Raine grins, happily accepting the driping meat, tho it's viewed with disdane.
Not an alien herself, but the recently 'ploped' meat resembles something of a
blob. Bright eyes resume their vigil on the blue, tho perhaps they wander
abit toward some other egg.

Twister Egg sheds a bit of its shell, to allow theshard to drop noiselessly
upon the floor. And then another... and another... any time now.

Twister Egg explodes, leaving behind scattered shards...and Independant
Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling!
Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling
Torrential downpour of algae-rich rain streaks back from softly-lined and
leading muzzle, marring a hide od dusky-jade. Splatters and streaks stream
along dainty neck. Stray rivulets wiggle further along her body to eventually
wash over prehensile tail. Greened water pools 'tween the slender spars of
wings' wide canopy, roiling to flood rounded tummy with apple's fine gloss.
Denying the soaking its due, sheer independance limns her sedate angles;
sharp contrasts exploited with a leader's superior panache.

Speculative gaze blinks once...then twice, crystaline eyes crinkling at the
edges as Bryn peers at D'vr, "You sent *Caermon and Sandeago* to get yer
commission?" the young woman's elven-like build shakes as she lets out a
laugh, "The'm two are most likely stealin' drinks at th' tavern b'now!" she
notes, smirk growing across impish features - seemingly unaware of chaos
going on around her - chaos around Bryn is normal, you see.

Katha gives a innocent shrug, "I'm not sure.." she sighs, her teeth clenched
as she does so, sending a hissing sound outwards. Kitten is constantly
reassured with hands and soft voice though more puffy red marks appear on
arms of Sr. Apprentice; good thing she's used to this. "Perhaps we could
assign a herder to train her in better behavior?"

Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling snorts as she peels from her binding
egg, freeing nostrils of the cloying goo. Forepaws wipe across her head and
move clear to show off her wildly whirling gaze to prime effect.

Enter Kaeos, silent and calm. Contrast between pale skin and dark hair is
highly visible; large eyes blink, once, twice, fastening upon Ane'y,
whereupon smile blossoms. "T'ank'oo..." she murmurs, the words half lost in
the murmur of the crowd. Child's slight frame is occasionally eclipsed by a
larger person's, still, she remains a visible figure; so delicate, yet
resolute. Boss lady, no, but a character, yes.

Falling shards of egg are noted, and Raine is torn between which one to watch.
As the egg expoldes, sharp eyes fall on her, nolonger terribly intrested in
the alien battling blue.

A canine's soft whuffling--whining?--sounds from under a couch, and Akzael
gives something akin to a gleeful yip as he skids to his knees to peek under.
"Fluffles. Home. Now. Aunty wants us to go home." Home, to Telgar. He doesn't
sound enthusiastic, but a Turn under his matriarchal relative's thumb has
softened his will a bit. "Please? I have scraps..." He pulls a few squished
squiggles of meat from his pocket, but apparantly the canine does not relent.
"Awww...fine." Green is eyed appreciatively. No need to waste good leavings,
after all.

Karli watches silently and eyes drift towards prime green with laughing eyes,
"Independent? Not when it comes to food most likely." and meat rolls are once
again popped into her own mouth, others retrieved.

Ane'y thinks on this for several moments, blinking her lapis eyes several
times before rubbing a few slender fingers across the kitten scratches, "I
don't know. I guess if that'd be best, because I'd hate to leave this little
devil in your care! I'd feel too guilty to do it!" The blue rider explains
and casts a gaze at the hatching eggs. No, she's sure her fair wouldn't be
pleased if she brought back more 'friends'. Elspethe has no comment as she
cowers in her owner's hair. People! Help!

Oof's cursing eventually dies down to broken strings and occasional foot
stomping, the green but a blur of green out of the corner of her eye - hardly
to be noticed, compared to the sharp pains dulling the 'captured' arm. Even
her shoulderpads can't save her from her broody firelizard.

Dallaney snakes a snapping spiderclaw from an invisible pocket. Its hers
though, not that of the 'brat who now disappears between two adult bodies
with glad cries to its relation. "Good riddance," is the tanned Igenite's
remark as she knocks the 'claw disapprovingly on a time-hardened tableset,
just to hear the click. If the green's independent, the pert nose outdoes it
in every flick of the mahogany face; lips upturned in unhappy remonstrance.

With all this eye-rubbing, some attempt to get every vestige of meat-goop off
of her, Emma manages to miss the shell-breaking of the second Hatchling, and
looks up to see her just /there/, and blinks. "Er, hi." Quickly, she
glances between the blue and green, and decides not to decide at all...
picking up a piece of meat between two rather grossed-out fingers, and just
thrusting it out towards the eggs. "Why can't they eat /normal/ food?"

"Don't feel bad. Our job." Katha laughs it off, nodding approvingly to the
firelizard on Ane'y's shoulders, "Right mess, isn't it? Noisy! Its a sharded
annoyance when they pick this place to hatch in." herder shrugs her own
innocence of the matter.

"No, you see, I took my commission /frmo/ Caermon and Sahndeago. Aren't they
two of the more promising kids you have for making tack?" D'vr looks even
more irked, liable to break should she find out something.. not good. What is
up with her, any way? "CAERMON! Get over here!"

Methodical Agent K Blue Hatchling quirks his head to the side, spotting
wiggling, spotting thrusting? Soemething to invesitgate. Are you supposed to
be here? You are licensed, aren't you? Whirling gaze slips from meat to the
one who holds it, curiosity flodding his orbs.

Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling doesn't sit by and let the flurry of
the crowd pass her by. Excitement, adventure, to chase -storms? Food? Same
thing. With a creel and a bounce, she sets her sights on the tempest.

Slightly damp platimun blonde hair is tossed back, avoiding the fall into her
eyes. Drips of water are tossed off, perhaps hitting people and being
mistaken from somthign less liked. Gooy meat oozes beween the barmaids
fingers, other hand placed under the first to catch the drips, then the now
freed hand is placed under that in a continuous circle of gooy mess.{Raine}

Jurassic Park Egg continues to rest on the edges of the clutch, a shake
wracking its shell now and again, when it thinks nobody is looking.

Stormy frown; Akzael turns from canine to focus attention fully on the
hatchling. He's quite captivated, though perhaps more than is healthy for one
his age, but he flops forward on elbows to wiggle--wriggle!--meat about, as
he's heard his aunt bemoan before. 'Never wiggle food in front of a
firelizard, Zael,' she said. Well, here's his own subtle rebellion. And she
can't do a thing about it.

"Caermon and Sahndeago informed you of that?" Bryn questions with a raise of
the brow - icy blue eyes melting with the warmth of held back laughter - yes,
this herder is thoroughly enjoying herself. Finally the pert woman gives a
slight wiggle of boney fingers, "They are good students, yes. Just..." she
leaves the rest to imagination. Abruptly, Bryn bites her lip as she remembers
her original mission, "By the way, have you seen another rider around? -- or
even four....well, rambuncious pups? I kind of.....lost them both." she's not
the most sharp knife in the drawer, you see.

Karli has disconnected.

Ane'y blushes faintly and flashes a sweet grin, "Well if you guys wouldn't
mind helping me out doing /something/ or trying to figure out what to do with
her, I'd be happy to try them out!" Eyes once again flicker and fall upon the
rest upon the hatchlings. "Ug... I really know Xweth wants me to get more,
but I really don't know!" She confesses, pulling a few strips of wherry from
a little bag to give to the softly crooning Elspethe. "Shhh dear, it's
okay..."

Suh-mack. Two down, two more to go - another shrill scream and another flash
of hide settles high up in the rafters. Oof idly nudges the 'roll with the
tip of her foot, musing -most undoubtedly- over the meaning of life,
meatrolls, and firelizards.

Dallaney is the grumbler in black. No, brown. Brown-clad is her, down to the sandals tapping impatiently on the ground. The furor's all in the snap-and-rattle of claw on wood still, or at least she tries to thus collect it. Finger joins foot in the endless tattle, even as she nudges her usual stocky boy companion. "Go git the meat from that lady there, or my spiderclaw will get you." However effective a threat /that/ can be.

Kaeos flicks a strand of wayward ebon hair out of dark eyes, pupils widening
faintly as she spots green's flight. She can't exactly offer storms (aside
from occasional temper tantrums, that is), but she can offer adventure, wars
with older siblings, and trading. Speaking of such, a certain trade which
didn't seem that great at the time appears to be coming in handy; a solid
chunk of wherry jerky is fished out of a pocket and offered silently to
Boss-Lady. Hard weather rations, true, but it's a chase that might be well
worth the effort. Nutritious and... well, not quite delicious, but still
edible.

D'vr laughs and 'menacingly' fingers a rather well-crafted knife, obviously a
/very/ sharp one. "I'm sure if it is less then what I expect, I can remove
bits of their hide on my own, journeywoman. What color dragon would this
other rider have, you think? I saw an unfamiliar blue out in the courtyard by
the Hold.." She nearly trips as some child no higher then mid of her thigh --
Short, in other words -- runs by her. "They're only annoying /things/, child.
If you run before me again, I take no responsibility for tripping upon you!"

Methodical Agent K Blue Hatchling twists his head abruptly at the shrill
screech -one soudning most alien to him. He bounds forth, intent upon the
matter, nearly tripping over a nudged meatrooll to investigate.

Katha has disconnected.

Jurassic Park Egg shakes once more, and then shivers for good measure.

Hey! Short people got rights too! -- As Bryn attests. Gaze narrows as she
peers at D'vr, "I'd advise you not to *threaten* my apprentices, delinquents
as they may be." she warns, raising her chin to her full
almost-five-foot-but-not-really height. Bryn is usually what she seems -
peaceful and naive, but when her world is threatened, watchit.

Raine drops from crouching on her feet to kneeling on her worn trousers.
Tight cross her legs, girl shifts uncomfortably, meat dripping onto the
ground. She glances over at some nearby person, happening to be Oof. "She's
pretty huh?" barmaid askes, flicking blond hair round once again.

Alien? Perhaps the firelizard needs to take a peek in the mirror but..ah
hah..suddenly quite certain that everyone in the room is watching her - or
just hatching jitters? Oof pets nervously at her hair, slowly removing her
foot from the meatroll and shrinking back within herself. Eyes shift to the
firelizard, her laught absurdly giddy for someone with a running total of
'four'. "Who?" Twitch. Now someone's talking to her.

Peering /right/ into the face of Bryn, D'vr has a.. resigned expression upon
her face. If you insist upon proving that we're just as short as each other,
there are easier ways to do it. Tape measures, for instance. "Oh, I was only
in jest, Journeywoman. I would only call them to task should the work be not
up to what I asked, my standards as it were. Is this not allowed of any
person who commissions an item, and pays partially in advance?"

Finally, Emma gives up on this holding-onto-meat deal. "Who would have
thought hatchings could be so very... messy," she murmurs softly to nobody in
particular, dropping the piece in front of her and studiously wiping hand off
on what was, at least a minute ago, a clean handkerchief. "Maybe if I held
it on my belt knife... do you think that'd help?" she asks of a neighbor,
though not terribly picky about which one.

High-pitched creels turn to warbling croons as Methodical Agent K Blue
Hatchling wobbles towards Oof.

Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling braves the frothing front. She will
weather the storm and do what needs to be done, for the good of her rumbling
tummy. A spin about *oh yeah, she can do the twist* and she ius off again.

Jurassic Park Egg explodes, leaving behind scattered shards...and Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling!
Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling
Oily slick patina, a myriad of colors, a literal rainbow of intermixed hues set aswirl with an oddly sedate chaos. Carnation and sky, lavender and lemon, ever after and ever more, an abalone-likeness, an anoiting crescendo upon luminous bottle-green. Svelte, sinuous form is tickled with perfection's angles, lilted with intelligence, accented with a startling quick psyche. Tenacious spirit glimmers true with sturdy spars of apparent delicacy, splayed across sails of fine malachite leaf.

Ane'y nods her head slowly as Katha disappears with her 'kitten', and a soft sigh is given as she turns towards the group of people and hatchlings and she slowly leans against the wall, pushing back a few stray strands of raven. A few more strips are offered to the little green and a giggle is given as the little blue chooses a lifemate, "Congrats!" She calls out, but nothing more is said after that.

Bryn's face remains deathly-stern for a long moment, even a touch of regal air crosses her features -- until the herder bursts out with a chuckle, "That advance has most likely already been spent on whatever drink they can find but -- skinning their hides is *my* job." she adds with a slight grin - alright, easy going Bryn does enjoy *some* duties of rank.

Fluffles the lapdog picks this time to come scampering out of his couch-hole-hiding place, and yaps up at Akzael. "Oh, quiet," the boy mutters sourly, pushing the slobbery pet away. "You didn't come when I called, and now you'll have to live with it." Meanwhile, unidentifiable meat squiggles, now slippery with hand oils and who *knows* what, are wiggles vengefully at the Jo-Green. Take that, Aunty Em.

Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling peeks her head around a particularly large shard of mottled green shell, foreclaws gripping the jagged edge. She cheeps a bit of a 'hello'. Anybudy out there?

"Congratulations."  Emma takes a moment off to smile at Oof, and doesn't seem to notice either green, returning busily to her feat of ingenuity... just stick the meat on the end of the knife, and then she doesn't have to hold onto it, right?  It's easier said than done, though, and the first piece is just cut in half.  The second fares slightly better, but soon slides back into the bowl from whence it came.

Raine shifts voilet gaze from Oof to hatchling, then back again.  "The green," she hisses, the catches sight of the blue wobbling past her.   "Congratz," she says, returning gaze to the green....but wait, two?   She looks again and sure enough two greens are present.

Dallaney's 'boy' is long off on his chase; she gets the leisure to frown towards the rider's remark concerning children.  "Hmp."  Can't argue with authority, after all, and another "hmp" is then uttered.  Ire has writ itself deep in the wrinkling of nose, together with the romping spirals of her 'claw, currently murky by assistance of its broken shell from which goo spills.  She's paying scant attention to the first green, but that bit paid is a flag to wave.

Oh, woe, oh Dev's heart breaks. "Can I not even help with the curing? Or perhaps with whatever you will make of their hides once you've tanned them? I'm a fair hand at some things made of leather.." Riding straps, for instance, but she might have some other vague sense of skill hidden back there. Someplace. "Is this Hall always such a menagerie? It seems that half these people are not even herders or herder-dependents.."

Kaeos offers a rare giggle at the Boss-Lady's dance, own eyes dancing with mischief. Would the boss lady like to be treated as such? "What y'want?" she enquires in child-parlance, offering a choice: Shiny rocks from Kaeos's treasured collection, or the meat. After all, it's a Boss's job to make choices, and though this particular one wouldn't seem hard to an adult, it's certainly a hard choice for Kaeos. She loves her rocks, much like the green appears to enjoy storm-chasing. Indeed, Kaeos's dedication to her trading is near-slavish.

Make that five.  Oof quickly does her 'thang', stuffing the creeling face even as she scoops up the blue in a make-shift sling - the joint of her arm.  "Thanks." And "Oh."  And even a short sentence or two directed at Raine. "Look. There's two." And the harper-girlie is off, so entranced by the blue that she almost doesn't notice the wall is where her door should be.

Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling sniffs once more as she passes the crowds by, nearly sticking up her muzzle in assumed superiority -she found herself a storm to chase, you all are but a spring drizzle. A fury of fluffy? A storm of stickyness.

Oof calls Duckiest closer.

Menagerie? Bryn perks as she spins around in hope to see her lost 4 pups - only to smack her nose into a passing hatching-goer. Crowd belatedly acknowledged, Bryn blinks, crinkling her nose as she peers around rather perplexedly, "I....don' think so. - Usually only gath'red fer class n' promotions or there abouts. -- Ooo. Unless that Karol fin'lly went and kill a apprentice!" Bryn perks up with morbid rubber-neck glee at that.

Matrix Egg is the next to follow suit, rumbling softly in its little place behind the pack, beyond the clutch.

The eye of the hurricane centers over Akzael's angelic features; a smile. Fluffles has given up, gone, and it seems he'll actually get away with his venture into rebellion--Aunty's nowhere in sight, though it could be the bum knee that keeps her from seeing just what is keeping the scamp. Meat squirms in his sweaty palms, and is dropped for adventure's sake.

Finally, it stays, and Emma holds up her knife triumphantly, a fat chunk of raw herdbeast firmly impaled on the end.  One should know better than to hold up bits of raw meat by now, though; she only manages to get another splat, but this one at least sticks to her forehead, then runs in a red-pink trail down between her dark brows and over her nose, to drip onto /clean/ white blouse... to which all Emma can do is whimper.  "I'm never going to get that out," she mutters.

5th Element Egg is still regal in its silence -or maybe just lazy? Who can tell?

Raine is definately a storm of stickyness, at lest her hands currently fit such a description.  Meat slops onto the ground, and barmaid makes an effort at scooping it up.  Abit is caught in lithe fingers, but most of the dropped meat is simply further ground into the ground, spreding the scent further about herself purely accidentally.   Voilet gaze happens up just intime to catch the wobble of..what's that..the matrix egg, that lizzen is sure to be a trip.

High-pitched creels turn to warbling croons as Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling wobbles towards Akzael.

"Karol kills apprentices, now? Last /I/ heard, she only ate them for lunch, and only when she was feeling especially voracious.." D'vr meanders, thought and gaze, tsk-tsking at certain individuals. Just what do you think is going to happen if you cover yourself with raw meat, young lady? You can and shall be Eaten. These are not intelligent creatures for the first six months..

Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling unceremoniously pushes the shard aside, and then promptly steps on it as she moves forth but a pair of hops. Neck snakes askance once more, foretalons nervously flicking despite bold glare at those assembled about.

Squeak. Akzael stares down at this green, this creature that looks him in the eye and actually still wants him. Not scared away by that penchant for disaster he carries? "Oh, neat." He knows what to do now. Hand over the meat, pet her, pick her up, and run your legs off to get to Aunty before you forget what's next. And he does just that; Fluffles trails dejectedly behind, hoping for a stray scrap.

Raine glances toward D'vr, was that directed at her?  Having scarcelly any knowledge of firelizards, blonde-haired girl drops the glob from on hand, watching the lizzens with slightly a slightly fearful intent, eyes wandering toward the Matrix egg every now and then, then back toward the green.

Kaeos isn't sticky, that's for sure. Ane'y wouldn't've let her come if she'd been /messy/. Though, Kaeos /must/ admit, the messier one is, the more fun one can have. Green's Impression is noticed, and eyes light up slightly. Perhaps now she can try? Dr. Satler -- now, would she be succeptible to kidlets? And jerky? One rock is withdrawn from a deep pocket and set forth: a small impression in the shape of a plant is deeply imprinted upon the surface. A fossil, and one that Kaeos traded hard for, having been forced to give up a few of her other rocks to obtain the desired one.

Dallaney rains sparingly upon the congregation -- can't waste juices like that you know.   'Claw smacking against a tableleg, she kneels to an even lower vantage than before; from thence to sneer at the puddle that's forming, and up to the gathered bits wandering about the place.  Green, plus those uncertain lumps.  Violence, anyone?

Akzael calls Independant Boss-lady Jo Green Hatchling closer.
Akzael walks toward Stables.

Matrix Egg explodes, leaving behind scattered shards...and The /ONE/ Neo Bronze Hatchling!
The /ONE/ Neo Bronze Hatchling
power explodes as he has managed to break the mold. Sinuous, wiry, a literal wraith of his kind, perfectly sculpted in a svelte way. Pale muzzle is tickled with the fine lites of lilac, the faintest breath. Sallow taints etch across wings' spars, lick across narrow haunches, and slide over prehensile tail with a subtle touch. The sheer aristocracy of weathered bronze, reborn with ichor's greened gloss, shines with shallow fluidity over well-toned muscles. A cape of sullied metalics , gossimer sails are dark, bracing spars matrix --darker, split 'tween with stately ridges that crest magnificently along spine; sharp, unwielding, a crowning glory of reality's idealism.

Bryn's eyes widen with a squeak, "So *that's* what happened to Jeorge! Karol said 'e jus' got bit by a runner." the young woman clucks her tongue to herself as she pauses to rustle in her pouch and pull out a bit of...something. "Jerkey?" she offers, thrusting a pinch of the stuff in D'vr's face, evidentally deeming the greenrider worthy of *her* snacks.

"Is it herdbeast or wherry?" D'vr questions over a chuckle, availing herself to a bit of the tough meat. Just.. delicious, and nearly impossible to chew. "What happened to poor Jorge? Missing some important part of his anatomy? Half his calf, maybe a bit off the right side of his ribcage?.."

The /ONE/ Neo Bronze Hatchling throws off the last of his shell, emerging from the remains with head held high, regal, gorgeous. With an expression seemingly blank, sedate orbs take in the view, disecting reality from the dream, the tasty from the mundane.

Resting the knife in the bowl--careful not to lose the meat stuck on its end--Emma attempts to wipe up the juice, but still it remains, a pink mark... not quite a scarlet letter, but close.  Finally, she retrieves the knife, and spies the bronze.   Free hand pushes dark hair from her face, dark eyes study him.  "He's handsome."  She just studies, though--doesn't offer him food, or her heart.   Not yet.

Voilet eyes-shifting more to a cobalt tint are widdened as Raine catches the bronze explosion.  That's perhaps one worth risking getting bitten?  Girl edges a small amount of the redish goo into one hand, letting it ooz about in an almost unreal manner.   Ever shifting eyes are now fixed on the dream dragon, well, lizzen.

Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling throws all caution to the wide as she bounds forward and once more glances around, attracted to a bit of mysterious wiggle before her Friend foe... She would prefer to eat rather then alow whatever to eat her.

"Nah. Got his 'hole finger loped off - Karol must brush." Bryn replies matter-of-factly." Taking a rather hefty chomp from the jerkey as well, chewing thoughtfully on it as she answers, "Uhm..actually, I th'nk it's mystery meat. First I dropped th' meat in the dirt, then tried to wash the stuff off - got it soaked. N' then tried to cook it - dropped it in th' fire. Then laid it out to dry - bad idea in Igen's climate." She offers with a slight cringe - cross Baker off the list, as well.

Dallaney greets weathered bronze and beauteous green with a twist of mahogany lips.   Contemptuous she is, but the survey goes on under the hood of a protruding dark forehead.  Since caution was long lost in the wind of the swirling claw's passage, the sullen child prods the tip of the berg in the green's direction, then concentrates on splitting the crack some more.  Mutter.  "A knife would be nice."   Flick.

D'vr has eaten stranger things. Maybe. "Oh. I think that's standard practice up at Telgar.. You do that to some stuff, and then voila! You call it jerky and make poor riders take it to try and eat while off flying sweeps." The bit of jerky is stretched, grasped between a few finger of each hand and /pulled/ -- Only to come out of left hand and nearly send the rider over backwards. "Tough jerky, I'd say."

Ane'y seems to have fallen asleep, but she's really just being quiet and watching, just watching! Nothing more! Why? Well she's not quite sure herself, she just knows she doesn't want to try for any of the lizzen until she spots the 'one' for her in her mind, the one that Xweth likes best, and he hasn't given any sign that he likes any of them more then the other, so his dear rider lays low. "Congrats!" Is called lately to the one who impressed the green, and then silence once more dances over her form.

And what would eat such a creature? Kaeos certainly wouldn't, and she /does/ have something to eat. Emergency rations, yes, but definitely not bloody nor messy. Wouldn't want such a beauty to muss her green hide. Lucky talisman, the fossil-stone, is clutched first, then offered, albeit tentatively, to the green. "Luck," the kidlet explains, stretching forward slightly, bony frame able to avoid such hazards as adults and animals.

Laeon dozes off...

Out of the corrner of her eye, Raine catches the racing green.  Gaze faulters from 'the one' but returns just as fast.  Meat is oozed from hand to hand as she watches.   Girl takes up a kind of cooing song-tho it's not the best, and it's quite obivous why she's not a harper.  Soft voice is pleasent however.

The /ONE/ Neo Bronze Hatchling casually sweeps his tail to the side, sundering the remains of his clouded egg to but tiny shards. Slow, smooth, seemingly distant, movements are gradual but with an ulterior purpose -the freeing of meat from /them/.

Bryn almost preens, "Course. T'tell ya the truth, most often it's used fer pack tre...." her confession is trailed off as her gaze follows flung meat to where a *canine* snarfs it up, and not just any canine, no. A *pack* canine, "Denver!" And no, sghe's not just flubbing D'vr's name again...right?

Meat slithers from hadn to hand, but is caught each time by It's captor.  Raine is getting better at the meat juggling thing.  Bronze is watched with intrest, tho caution still reflects in her eyes.  Was that rider serious?

Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling startles at the sight of a flick, but attention is captured. Head turns from side to side as she visably considers the path before her, the mystery at the end, her chances... ah, life is to be lived. And she leaps forth,  contempt twisting her own features.

"Denver? Isn't that one of the harper apprentices from way back when?.." Probably a journeyman or gone, by now, but D'vr asks. "Probably around the time /I/ was a miner apprentice.. Turns and turns and ages ago, in other words. Back before Thread started." Duh-duh-dun.

5th Element Egg has been silent for /so/ long. Its time to make some noise -and it does so with a quick tremble and a hard rattling from within.

A moment more of studying Neo, but Emma's eyes track over to that last remaining egg... that mergeance of elements, the glimpse of the future.  So, without any real explanation--thankfully, she seems to have given up talking to herself--she edges in that direction, leaving the green and bronze be, waiting for the last egg, the promise of the unknown.  In the meantime, she picks through her meat, attempting to find a better piece, perhaps.

"Hmm? Oh..yah." Bryn listens with divided attention, turning without further comment to plunge into the crowd and after errant pup. "G'round ta the left and herd 'em over here, would ya?" she calls back to the rider.

The /ONE/ Neo Bronze Hatchling continues on, his every movement etched with grace and precision, immeasureable power lurking beneath. Boysih gaze slips across the crowd, the twinkle of dry humor alite orbs, and he moves to action.

Kaeos sighs. Contempt is not her field; she tends to be more the silent type. One last try... the fossil charm is set carefully upon the cool floor, and jerky alongside it. Settling back upon her heels, she awaits the Doctor's next move; will she be lured by the specimen, or will she remain contemptuous? Child's heart is beating rapidly... adrenaline is racing through her body.

Katriana walks in from Herder Apprentice  Room.

Ane'y is hoping the last egg is a brown, since that is one of the only colors Ane doesn't have, and one of the few the other flits would fight with. Oh no, she's not worried with Elspethe here, she's really worried about the 'lets sell everything' Eryk, and the 'Must be the leader of all' Command she picked up along the way. Just let the little one be a brown? Lapis eyes glitter as she slowly slides closer to the group, looking about and making sure she doesn't step on anyone or move in on anyone's space.

Dallaney squeezes the gum-caked meat onto a single greasy palm, faint crimson mingling with klah-toned mud.  Features compressed down to the half-shut eyelids, she empties out part of the bounty, thoughts fuzzing into a phrase.  "Git."   Probably to the scampering boy who's craning to hear the adult's conversation, though she raps at the stubborn thing some more.  "Uick--"

Shifting through the crowd like she wasn't about five feet tall, D'vr snags one pup by the scruff of its neck and pulls it in front of her, guiding it towards Bryn. "Is this one of them?" A few more people are stepped over, and a handwave apology is given to a herder who'll have half a bruised foot for a few days, but she continues to sweep. "Git, g'wan, you  silly animal. Up there."

Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling wishes to have you as her lifemate.  Do you accept?
Please enter 'yes' or 'no'.  Please type the whole word.

High-pitched creels turn to warbling croons as Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green Hatchling wobbles towards you.

Perhaps lost in some consideration of the validility of Neo's title, Raine soon returns the sharpness of her gaze to the bronze.  Meat is dropped again, and a grumble is heard from the girl.  Dirt coated glop is scooped up again, eyes still on the lizzen.

5th Element Egg shifts some more. The last to hatch... Yeah, it waited long enough and is slowly getting around to it. the sounds withing growing louder and more hurried.

"*Don't* hurt 'em!" Bryn cautions urgently - rather protective of her quartet of pups, isn't she? While D'vr steps over, Bryn opts for the duck and contort method, twisting into insanely complex angles as she chases after another pup. "Hey! Smith, you *drop* that pup!" herder fairly hollers.

Oxylya has arrived.
Oxylya arrives.

Kaeos shakes her head, reclaiming her fossil-stone and slipping it in her pocket. Well, she can wait. She's waited four Turns, hasn't she? That's a lifetime to the girl (literally), and one that keeps growing by the minute. There's a real peril in her life at the moment: the terrors of siblings that have only just awakened to the fact that there's a /little/ one. Danger indeed for the kidlet and all she is.

"I didn't hurt your pup! Just an apprentice. But the apprentice got in my way." D'vr shoos at the canine, nudging it below its hocks to hurry towards the waiting herder. "Go on, she's waiting for you, silly pup. Go get her."

Listening: Emma effects an observant pose, leaning forward with an elbow on her knee, chin in her hand, just /watching/ that last egg, ever patient.  She can wait hours.   Millenia, maybe not, but at least hours.  A suitable piece of meat--the /perfect/ one, if the Telgari seamstress has anything to say about it--has been placed on the serving knife, all preparations have been made... now all the egg has to do it hatch.

"--ckk!"  Dallan finishes, startled at the 'lizard's vigour.  Damp meat dislodged from her guarded cache dribbles itself; into the creeler's tummy this time.   "Looks like you'll be quite a singer."  Kidling herself grunts to the empty air -- or maybe not-so empty -- for the pretty implant's in her lap, and from thence she scurries, hands more full than before.

Ane'y listens to the soft noises the last egg is making, chuckling faintly as it wiggles about, looking as if it is about to reveal it's secret to the world. But Ane just watches quietly, looking to the others from time to time, but the majority of her attention is spent on the last egg, like her lovely dragon, the last one to hatch. It has to be the best! The one with the greatest secret that very few are worthy of receiving or even /knowing/!

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Message 16 of 16 on *Firelizard Topics (#2058):
Date:     Thu Dec 16 23:24:32 1999 MST
From:     Triani (#3108)
To:       *Firelizard Topics (#2058), *Herders (#1815), and Triani (#3108)
Subject:  And the Top Box Office Draws Were...

Ah, it was a fine night to see a movie, or five. And the big draws down at the Herder Hall were:

Men In Black Egg hatched Methodical Agent K Blue who found a partner as Oof's Duckiest.
Twister Egg hatched Independant Boss-lady Jo Green who chased her storm as Akzael's ?
Jurassic Park Egg hatched Beauty and Brains Dr.Satler Green which found her
sollace as Dallaney's Satler.
Matrix Egg hatched The /ONE/ Neo Bronze who found his /ONE/ and became Raine's Matrix.
5th Element Egg hatched Perfection Incarnate LeeLoo Gold who joined with some puppies to become the final element as Bryn's Valhalla.

--Many thanx to all who attended, no matter if you Impressed or not. I had a ball, like usual. Lets do this again: same time, same place, next turn!

--Triani, along with the help of Gold Tinkerbell.
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