[Event] - Chalarath Clutches (Please read Intro!)

[Maram and Chalarath]

OOC - This EVENT thread means that a character can be in two places as once. In the main RP AND in the Event, as they are needed.

For this EVENT, realize that a FULL Month will have passed since we first settled at Dragon Weyr. Make sure if you post any replies in this story that your post reflects that a month has gone by.

ANY posting at all related to the Clutching or this 'time' MUST be placed in this thread for the time being as the main RP is still on Day 3. Once the story seems 'ready' to move forward then we will move the whole site to the Clutching/Hatching timeline.

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Maram, who had been busy checking on the stores and supplies, looked up quickly from her task as she sensed something from Chalarath.

For the past week, the Gold had been too egg-heavy to really fly, so she and Maram had moved to one of the special Weyrs on the ground level. In a flash, Maram got the sensation from Chalarath that the time had come.

With a huge smile on her face, Maram replaced the items she'd been checking and turned to move out of the tunnels. In a few moments, she stood on the hot, burning sands of the hatching grounds.

The whirling eyes of Chalarath swirled onto Maram. Maram could feel a mixture of anger and excitement swirling through the dragon.

It's alright love. I'm just here to offer support.

With a heave and a puff, Chalarath responded, I know mine. My babies are coming. Chalarath unfurled her wings and seemed to almost raise up from the ground a big as her body muscles quivered.

As she settled her wings back around her, one beautiful egg lay on the sands.

Mnoranth, they come. She told her mate only moments before she let out a snort and seemed to crouch down onto the sands as her body prepared for the next egg that would emerge.

Maram watched with love and awe as her lifemate gave life to her children. It was not the first clutch she had watched Chalarath lay, but Maram found herself fascinated none-the-less. She, herself, had never experienced parenthood except vicariously through Chalarath. She suddenly found herself wondering what it would be like.

She was distracted from her musings as she watched Chalarath rise from her crouch again. This time the egg seemed to take a bit more effort, but finally it emerged and the great golden dragon seemed to breath a sigh of relief.

Maram could not see clearly either egg from her position, and when she moved, Chalarath whirled her eyes in her direction. Maram knew that look and opted to remain where she stood. Chalarath was caught up in the process of Clutching and Maram did not want to disrupt that.

She send messages of love and encouragement to her mate as she watched her.

Finally, Chalarath seemed to relax some from her tense position.

The next will not come yet. She told Maram. Will you please scratch just above my right eye. I itch.

Maram rushed forward to do as Chalarath wished. For the next few days she would do anything the golden queen needed for the work was hard and tiring, but oh-so-rewarding.

Tag R'enh

[R'enh and Mnoranth]

Mnoranth, they come. The big bronze who kept normally close to the weyr since his mate had become heavy with their eggs, had just plucked a buck from the herds to slake his hunger when he heard the queens call.

He dropped his meal and dove from the heights to the entrance of the hatching sands summoning R’enh at the same time. Immediately he stationed himself in front of the entrance to prevent any one or thing from reaching his mate.

“I guard you my dear, none shall approach until you allow it.” he announced.

R’enh came running down from the council chamber and saw his lifemate already taking up his stance at the entrance. He ducked inside he wanted with his entire being to put his arms around Maram at this moment but didn’t try to approach either the queen or his Weyrmate.

He heard a little squawk from Zoom who perched on Mnorath's shoulder scanning the Weyr and sending pictures to the big Bronze and R'enh. He was helping them guard the clutching queen.

There was a single egg already on the sand. He grinned at Maram and leaned against the leg of his soon to be father.

Tag Maram

[Maram and Chalarath]

Maram heard the rustling of wings and turned quickly to look as she rubbed Chalarath's itch. At the sight of Mnoranth, she calmed. He would keep any untoward visitors away during this almost intimate, special time.

Chalarath shifted and Maram stopped her ministrations as the queen seemed to quiver, lifting her head up and letting out a snorting breath.

More Came the almost grunting single word from Chalarath, meant for both her weyrmate and her lifemate.

Maram, who knew Chalarath during this time, quickly backed away. The dragon was in the midst of clutching and could not be held accountable for her actions as she heaved to lay her eggs on the sands.

With a few more sounds from Chalarath, another egg rolled onto the sands, quickly followed by a second. Chalarath's movements had allowed Maram to see the four eggs that now lay on the sands. One seemed to almost glow with a strange silvery light. It was different than the others, yet Maram could not place it.

Chalarath, too, sensed Maram's thoughts and turned her head to gaze at the egg. Turning a bit awkwardly, the golden queen rolled the egg away from the others, placing it in the corner nearest to where she would likely perch to guard her Clutch over the next sevendays.

Maram, blinked, surprised by Chalarath's actions with this egg, but she didn't have much time to reflect on it as the dragon's body quivered again and she prepared to lay more eggs.

That was when Maram, now standing further from her lifemate, caught sight of R'enh. Her look of excitement and hope seemed to catch his eye. She beckoned him to her. Maram wanted nothing more than to share this magical moment with someone...with this certain someone in particular.

Tag R'enh/Any

[R'enh and Mnoranth]

R'enh's thoughts swirled in endless circles. The pictures from outside the hatching grounds continued to come from Zoom who was 'guarding' the hatching grounds with his much larger cousin.

I am not related to that little silly sniffed the might dragon and R'enh chucked. "Well he seems to think it's his duty to help you guard Chalarath." He could just imagine someone getting just a little too close and getting a screaming red flit in the face. He couldn't help laughing at the picture.

You are doing well beautiful Chalarath the bronze sent to his mate. She was grumbly but that didn't lessen his admiration in the least.

R'enh saw Maram back away as Chalarath began straining to produce another egg. Then he leaned as he didn't miss the subtle silver glow and the special attention it was given. He was surprised by that and looked at Maram.

He moved toward the Weyrwoman as she beckoned, but kept an eye on Chalarath. He didn't want to displease her with his presence. He bowed to her before he arrived to pull Maram toward the stands nearby.

"Sit my dear," he said "It's going to be a long wait."

He sat and held out his arm. "Come" he said with a smile.

Tag Maram

[Echo and Anayeth]

Echo knew the clutching would be any day now. Shards, the whole Weyr knew the clutching would be any day now. Chalarath had been clutch-heavy for a while now, and everyone had been waiting with baited breath for her inevitable clutch. But no one, besides maybe Maram, Chalarath’s chosen, was as fearful for the clutch as Echo. Sure, some had doubts that the great dragon would die before laying her clutch—Echo had heard stifled conversations about that—or that the eggs would be affected by the meteors and never hatch. But this clutch was just one clutch, Echo knew, and there could always be others laid by Chalarath.

No, what had Echo scared was that Chalarath would not die, but would be injured or something during her egg-laying. In fact, Echo dreamed about it for days, and sometimes woke up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat. Being a Dragonhealer, one had to worry about the dragons one was working on healing. Then why worry about Chalarath, who had not been in to the infirmary for anything other than to check up on the dragons? Because, though Echo had never heard reports of dragons being broken when clutching, the meteor changed everything Echo thought about what should and shouldn’t happen with dragons and, now, firelizards (though she preferred to call them mini-dragons in her mind).

Maybe something would tear inside Chalarath. Maybe she’d inhaled too much ash, like G’len, the poor Bronzerider, and something happened with her physical stature or something. Maybe the aftershocks of the meteor had caused a change in clutching females. Shards, there was even a sort of red mini-dragon that R’enh, the Weyrleader, had been lucky enough to Impress to that surely hadn’t been an original color, if mini-dragons and dragons were so closely related. Then there was the radiation of sorts that might affect…

And the list went on and on, and each night, it seemed, new ideas popped into her mind. None of them were good ideas, and all of them had her writhing in her bed, or waking up in a cold sweat.

Echo stopped by the clutching sands every day to appease her inner fears. She tried not to blame herself, or her overworked mind, because she just had to go, but rather saw it as another learning experience. She learned about herbal remedies and of eggshells being swallowed making the ash come out of stomachs and, sometimes, lungs better. She learned about the Crimson firelizard. She learned of death, more death than anyone should rightly ever care to learn about. There were all different kinds of death, betweening with the rider, betweening without the rider, asphyxiation, blood loss, silent death, noisy death, messy death, death.

Today, however, her prayers, or fears, she couldn’t tell which, were answered. The girl had planned on just passing the Hatching Sands, not even glancing toward it, but something made her do it. Something… and Echo looked and saw, lo and behold, her dreams, good and bad, about to come true. Her eyes widened and she stopped, gathering in a sharp breath before starting toward the Sands.

When she got there, she noticed Mnoranth guarding the entrance with an expert eye. So she did not fully approach the grounds, but maneuvered so that she could just see the Gold, and her eyes expertly watched Chalarath as she labored. The Gold looked to be going about this right. It also helped that she had done this sort of thing before and was not a maiden at clutching. Still, until all of the eggs were finished laying, Echo’s fears would not be quelled. She just hoped to the high skies that neither Queen nor Bronze mate took badly to her watching the process. She was trying not to intrude while still being there just in case something went wrong.

Tag Any

[R'enh and Mnoranth]

He got the distinct picture of someone lurking outside the hatching grounds. Zoom was chattering warning of another person outside trying to peek into the hatching grounds.

Maram had yet to respond to his invitation and though he still extended his hand toward her the pictures from Zoom were colored by the little crimson's outrage.

Suddenly he had taken off from Mnoranth's shoulder and screaming and chittering he flew directly at the young woman. He fluttered and darted around her face trying to drive her away.

Mnoranth's head turned in her direction and he peered at the young woman.

Then his head dipped to block her view and stare as the tiny fire lizard's ire made itself known.

This young one did not have it's own dragon yet so Mnoranth did something he would not have otherwise.

"Go Away" he said into the woman's mind. "you are too close" he didn't threaten only warn.

Tag any

[Echo and Anayeth]

Echo hadn’t thought she was doing anything wrong. She had been watching, and it would have only been for a second. She had to know. She had to know what was happening. But then, then she supposed she didn’t have to know what was happening. No one else was walking up and trying to traipse right back past a Bronze dragon who was guarding the Sands where his Queen was laying her eggs. She might have been seen as dumb, stupid, even. Or people might have thought she was brave to sneak a peak at the dragon’s eggs.

Either way, Echo hadn’t really been expecting a quite large Crimson firelizard to fly straight at her face. Aloenna was instantly there, having come from between at nearly the right timing. She flared her wings as large as she could and hissed at the Crimson, obviously telling him that if he so much as laid a claw on Hers, then he would get it. She kept hissing, and flaring even as she landed, quite painfully, on Echo’s head. She made herself known that he was not to touch her.

Then, to make matters as worse as they might get, bar the Bronze killing her or frightening her off, Mnoranth bespoke her. Echo’s eyes widened as she grabbed Aloe off her head. Just the fact that Mnoranth had bespoken her was enough to send her skittering away, yet it didn’t. He had maneuvered himself to place his head in front of where she had been looking, and she now met his eyes. They showed no attempt to kill her, or even to do anything other than warn her off.

The brunette blinked and bowed to the Bronze. “Of course, Bronze Mnoranth. I promise I had no intention to harm the eggs; I was just watching Chalarath, actually,” she admitted, sheepishly. Wouldn’t any other person be looking at the eggs? “I was just…” ‘worried.’ She didn’t want to say that out loud, especially to the Gold’s mate, but her face told it all. Another bow, less this time since she’d already bowed once. “Please let Maram and Yours know that if anything happens, even to the firelizard, uhm, they can call on me, Echo, Dragonhealer.” She supposed they already knew who she was, and maybe Mnoranth did, too, but Echo didn’t trust dragon memory.

Then without another word, and still holding the hissing Aloenna close, Echo left. She headed toward the Weyr’s lake to cool off… and to watch from a distance.

Tag Mnoranth/Any/Semi-leaving Echo

[Maram and Chalarath]

Maram had accepted R'enh's offer and joined him, sitting beside him in the sands as they both watched the golden queen work on laying her eggs. Maram reached for and held R'enh's hand, entwining her fingers with his. It just felt so...right, to be here with him.

After some time, Maram realized her eyes were dropping and she was hungry. Chalarath herself seemed to be resting after having laid quite a few of her eggs. Maram knew that clutching could take anywhere from a day to a whole sevenday.

"Why don't we go grab a bite to eat?" She suggested, turning and gazing at R'enh.

----

As the early morning sun seemed to settle in the sky on the second morning after Chalarath had started Clutching, Maram found herself sitting in the stands with R'enh once more. She had sat here each day, watching and encouraging her life-mate.

After having laid quite a few eggs, Maram watched as Chalarath seemed to heave her body up once more. As she strained, Maram began to grow worried. It seemed that this time, something wasn't right. It was taking so much longer. Chalarath seemed to be agonizing over this particular egg.

Maram leaned forward from where she sat, clutching R'enh's hand in the process.

"Something seems wrong," she whispered, worried. Just then, Chalarath seemed to give a large heave and expelled her mighty breath at the same moment that a giant, golden egg emerged on the sands.

"Ah!" Maram drew in a sharp breath and turned excited eyes to R'enh.

"A queen! A golden queen!" She murmured excitedly.

It is finished. Chalarath told Maram and Mnoranth.

Tag R'enh/Any

[R'enh and Mnoranth]

The days seemed to fly by even as they seemed to crawl. Chalarath labored and had already produced more than twenty eggs. All but one were scooped together on the sands and the other to the side was a bit different than the others. It seemed to glow silver and had tiny black tracings on the shell. The big Gold seemed to give it preferential treatment over the others where she’d rolled it to the side. She was forever nuzzling and crooning to the eggs.

Mnoranth was constantly on guard and encouraging his mate as she produced egg after egg. Zoom seemed almost as possessive as the bronze was although he wouldn’t venture any nearer than the top of Mnoranth’s head.

R’enh watched Maram and took care of her, making certain she could stay with her beautiful queen. He did however, carry her off at night to sleep for a few hours at least. She never failed to sneak out of bed during the night and he laughed at her each morning when he brought her breakfast.

He was immensely pleased by the size of the clutch considering the height of the mating flight had started so low.

The golden beauty seemed to heave again and Maram’s hand squeezed his.

”Something seems wrong… A queen! A golden queen!”

Shall I bring you a fat buck that you may eat my sweet Chalarath? You have not eaten for a sevenday.

“She done?” he asked as she turned her excited eyes to him. He stretched to see the gold egg as she nosed it over next to the silvery one.

Tag Maram/any

[Maram and Chalarath]

Shall I bring you a fat buck that you may eat my sweet Chalarath? You have not eaten for a sevenday.

Yes, My love. I am hungry. As if to emphasize that, Chalarath's stomach growled. I do not wish to leave my babies. Chalarath nosed the golden egg up near the shining silvery one, then laying down on a special perch for her, she seemed to almost cradle the two special eggs.

“She done?”

"Yes!" Maram turned and hugged R'enh. "She did wonderfully. 22 eggs, R'enh! 22!! I didn't know what to expect." Maram glanced back at her beautiful Chalarath. "I don't understand the shining silvery looking one, but I guess we will see what happens. Chalarath clearly feels something special about that egg."

Maram was antsy in her seat, she couldn't stand it anymore. Jumping up to her feet, she grabbed his hand. "Let's go see them closer." Just then her own stomach seemed to rumble as Chalarath's had. Maram blushed a bit and smiled. "Perhaps we should dine first, then examine the eggs more closely."

Tag R'enh/Echo
OOC - Ending thread soon!! Just an FYI!

[Echo and Anayeth]

Echo was back. It was hard for her not to be back, seeing as she'd done little more than paced these last few days. She'd seen the eggs when Chalarath first started, but had been too afraid, or perhaps it was not fear but courtesy, to approach the Sands again while the Gold clutched. However, Echo had been looking for the telltale signs of the clutch having been finished, and one of those signs was, of course, a general melting in the posture of the ever-guarding Bronze dragon.

The brown-haired Dragonhealer had just come from the kitchen, having eaten a quick meal not suited enough to even eat in the dining areas. She wondered if the two Weyrleaders would be hungry, and decided not to try her chances of catching the leaders at the wrong time. Thus, quickly, she headed back to the kitchens and requested a meal for the two leaders that she herself would bring to the Sands. The cooks thought that a grand idea and fixed the leaders up a splendid lunch that, frankly, Echo didn't think she would be able to carry by herself. But she manage, even managing not to fall as she maneuvered her way to the Sands.

Upon reaching the Sands, she found that her fears had not been realized and that Chalarath was done clutching. Her anxiety melted away with little problem as she let out a breath of ease. Then she nodded her head to Mnoranth, who seemed about ready to fly off, possibly to go catch some food. He needed it, as did Chalarath, Echo saw, as the Gold's hide wasn't a lustrous as ones normally was, though food and sleep would clear that right up. "Mnoranth," Echo said, breaking stride and stopping before the Bronze, "Congratulations! I have brought food for your rider and Chalarath's rider. May I go in, or do you want your riders to come out and get the food?"

Tag Any!

[R'enh and Mnoranth]

"She did wonderfully. 22 eggs, R'enh! 22!! I didn't know what to expect. I don't understand the shining silvery looking one, but I guess we will see what happens. Chalarath clearly feels something special about that egg."

The way the gold was guarding that other egg it had to be special. He completely agreed with her subsequent suggestion of a meal. “Yes, a meal would be good” he said as his own stomach made it’s wishes known.

They had turned and were starting across the sands toward the kitchen when he spotted the young woman who’d been lurking since Chalarath had begun to clutch. It looked like she had something with her.

"Mnoranth, Congratulations! I have brought food for your rider and Chalarath's rider. May I go in, or do you want your riders to come out and get the food?"

The bronze pushed up from his laying position across the mouth of the hatching grounds and raised his head out of her way. After she had passed him he leaped into the air and with a mighty down sweep of his wings was airborne and on his way to the feeding grounds.

Small one brings you food mine. I will bring your food Chalarath my sweet.

R’enh looked up to see the young woman with a tray almost bigger than she was coming toward them.

He jumped forward and trotted toward her to take the tray from her and bring it to Maram. “Thank you very much” he said with a smile. He set the tray between them and began sorting through the offerings.

Mnoranth came flying back and trotted in with a bawling buck that he tossed with a flick of his head toward Chalarath. For you my dear; nice and fresh. He aimed away from the eggs where she could snatch it from the air. Then he took off again for his own dinner.

Zoom fluttered in to land on R’enh’s shoulder and peer at the food on the tray. He chuckled and fed the little guy a piece of cooked meat. Zoom spit it out and fluttered off to follow Mnoranth to pick at the bone the big one always seemed to drop for him.

“Well, I guess he didn’t want that!” he said to Maram. Then he got a look at her eyes. “Maram, you are exhausted. When we’re done here, I believe you need a full nights rest instead of sneaking out of bed.”

His voice was a bit stern but the twinkle in his eyes belied his tone as did the quirk in his lips. He looked at the lovely mother. “She did beautifully.”

Tag any/End R’enh if appropriate

[Maram and Chalarath]

Maram was famished and with hardly a word, she set to eating the food placed before her. Morsel after sweet, delicious morsel made its way to her mouth.

After gobbling up quite a bit of food, Maram suddenly recalled she was not alone. Looking up a bit sheepishly at R'enh and Echo, the healer girl, she not so daintly wiped her mouth with her arm, having nothing better to do.

Maram's insatiable hunger was due in large part to Chalarath's need, which seemed to grow with each passing moment. As Mnoranth tossed the buck to her, Chalarath devoured it, licking every ounce of juiciness from the beast.

"It seems Chalarath and I are both a bit less civilized at the moment," Maram told the others.

Trying to curtail her ravenous appetite a bit, Maram ate more slowly this time, until she had to blink herself back to a seated position. The leg of meat she'd been eating had nearly rested on her lap. Quickly picking it back up she took another bite.

“Maram, you are exhausted. When we’re done here, I believe you need a full nights rest instead of sneaking out of bed.” “She did beautifully.”

"Mmm," Maram replied to R'enh's first comment. She knew she was ready to fall over, but she didn't want to leave the newly laid eggs. Maram wanted to sit and gaze at them all night.

You need rest mine. Especially because I will want a good scrubbing in the morning. Go. Mnoranth and I will be here.

Yes, Chalarath, my love. You did amazingly well.

Maram repeated a similar comment to the other two. "She did wonderfully." Then, unable to suppress a yawn, Maram found herself ready to lay down and sleep.

"I think you are right. I best get a good night's rest. I've got a queen to see to in the morning. Echo, thank you for the meal. You may stay and watch, but I would stay far to the back of the sands if I were you. R'enh, shall we?" Maram waited for R'enh to join her, then arm in arm the pair left the hatching grounds.

End Maram

[Echo and Anayeth]

Echo watched R'enh take the food platter out of her hand, and nodded toward him and Maram with a weak nod. Her eyes found Chalarath, now eating, and the eggs. Wow, how beautiful they were--and she was the third person to see them! Echo's heart soared with that knowledge. But she was also reverent toward the Queen and her new clutch, not daring to come any closer than where she'd stopped when R'enh took the meal.

Echo felt perfectly fine waiting for the two leaders to eat. They had worked just as hard as Chalarath, what with their worrying and lending mental support. But they also demanded the respect they deserved, and Echo therefore did not speak or tell them to rush no more than she would have even thought of declaring herself here. It was when Echo was in the midst of deciding whether or not she should leave when Maram noticed her by name. Echo perked up then, and nodded her welcome to Maram's thanks. It was the least Echo could have done, considering she'd been stalking the Sands like a tunnelsnake stalks firelizard eggs for the past couple days.

Then Maram said she could stay and watch, and Echo's brown eyes widened with surprise. But the girl swiveled her head toward Chalarath and the eggs and decided, just as Maram and R'enh left the Sands, that she should not overstay her welcome. She bowed generously toward the Queen, voicing a thanks ("Thank you for letting me view your wonderful eggs") and then quickly followed R'enh and Maram out. What an honor!

End Echo