A Solid Number

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 16th December 2014

Characters: Kapera, J'nus
Description: Riyanth lays the long-awaited eggs.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 18 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Panitath

Kapera

Some golds were more discreet about their clutching. Perhaps once upon a
time, Riyanth had been. But for her first clutch in over two Turns, the
gold did not want to be discreet. So as the dawn began to spread its rays
over Dolphin Cove, the gold could be found making her way across the bowl
into the cavern, while grumping at her rider mentally the entire way.

}:Wake up. Come see me. My eggs will be grand and you have to see them
_right now_.:{ she told her rider.

}:You should bring me a herdbeast now,;{ she told Kopth, looking up at his
ledge.

The bronze immediately spread his dark wings and leaped from his ledge. He
bugled
his pride loudly as he approached the feeding pens, scattering herdbeasts
into a
frenzied stampede.

Back in his weyr, J'nus groaned and rolled over. Dawn... was it dawn
already? And
what was all that ruckus? **Kopth?**

}:Riyanth will Clutch! There will be many eggs, and I am bringing her a
herdbeast!:{

The bronzerider rubbed his face, feeling the snag of stubble against his
palm. Then
he smiled. A Clutch - his Clutch! Well, his and Kopth's. And Riyanth's and
Kapera's
too, of course. **Why are you bringing her a herdbeast? She'll be busy
laying eggs
and I doubt that she'll want to eat.**

The dragon's thoughts were tinged with hunger and blood as he circled the
pens,
searching for the finest, fattest creature to bring to his mate. }:Riyanth
wants a
herd beast.:{

J'nus shook his head at the whims of queens and rolled out of bed. With Kopth
occupied, he'd be walking to the Hatching Caverns. He pulled on a pair of
pants and
the first shirt that came to hand, then left his weyr to see if Kapera was
up yet.

Her response to her gold's prodding had been to roll of out bed with a
startled noise, then to have to shake her head several times as she
processed the news. Riyanth was clutching? Suddenly the realization became
overwhelming and she gasped like a landed fish. Clutching. Eggs. This was
happening. She buried her face in her hands and tried to compose herself
before she went down there.

}:You're not coming fast enough,:{ the gold scolded.

Laughing slightly, Kapera wrapped her robe around herself and perused her
wardrobe. She'd be in the warm caverns for candlemarks where no one could
see her, so her normal desire to present perfectly could be relaxed
somewhat. She settled on pulling on a tan tunic with short sleeves and a
long flowing skirt, and was just fussing with her hair when there was a
noise at the door.

"Coming," she called. She walked to the door, pulling her hair into a
simple ponytail with no embellishments and then opening it.

"I see you've heard."

"Couldn't miss Riyanth if I wanted to." J'nus couldn't quite contain his
grin. "She's sent Kopth off to find a herdbeast, Faranth knows why."

Kapera considered the feel of her life mate as she finished securing her
hair. "She hasn't eaten in a couple days because she's not used to being
so ungainly. Maybe she wants the boost before the eggs lay. But if it's
going to be a few candle marks, I don't know why she's demanding attention
now."

What she meant was, why couldn't they have slept in?

The bronzerider shrugged. "Who knows? But when a queen asks, the rest
of us obey. Will she allow me in the Hatching Cavern? I could meet you
there, and stop and pick up some breakfast for us..."

"She will let you in or I will leave the Cavern and not come watch her,"
Kapera said. "I don't need to starve while she takes forever. I bet you
get a bunch of questions about this. Better make sure the weyrbrats know
not to snoop.

"Will do." J'nus turned to go, then hesitated, and before she could do
anything, wrapped his arms around her and planted a very enthusiastic
kiss on her lips.
"Congratulations, Kapera."

She kissed him back, just as excited as he was. "I'll see you down there."

By the time she got to the Sands, Riyanth was pushing sand about and
grumbling audibly as she did so. She'd chosen to be on one of the opposite
sides from where Panitath had laid hers, not that it mattered with the
truly giant scale of the Cove's grounds.

**Anything yet?** she asked as she crossed the Sands.

}:No,:{ the gold said grumpily. }:I am hungry and the sand is not yet right.:{

She folded her arms and eyed her dragon. **Why couldn't I have packed up
my own weyr before coming down here?**

}:You will complain if you missed the first.:{

The draconic logic was accurate.

A shadow crossed the entrance, then Kopth flew in with a fat herdbeast
dangling from
his talons. He landed a little ways away from Riyanth, careful not to
disturb the
sand, and lay it out in front of himself with a bow. The herbeast's neck was
neatly snapped and aside from a few small punctures where his claws had
pierced its
brown and white hide, it was unblemished. }:This is the fattest
herdbeast,:{ he told her. }:It will be succulent and juicy. I will bring
you many
herdbeasts.:{

The gold stopped arranging the sands and then waddled over to the herd
beast. Her gait was extremely ungainly, her belly swollen with the eggs
she was soon to lay. }:Juicy is good. Laying eggs will be very
difficult,:{ she grumped as she tore into it. The blood would give her
energy to finish the lay.

Wile Riyanth ate her meal, Kapera walked over to the weyr entrences. One
thing she'd miss about being a Senior Weyrwoman - her own weyr onto the
sands and not having to move. She'd have to have time to pack what she
needed, bring it in here - probably after Riyanth slept, she thought with
a sigh.

Small but serviceable, was what she discovered with a quick assessment. A
bed, table and two chairs, and a small wardrobe. Good enough.

She walked back out to the sands to see that the gold was nearly done
devouring the animal, then paced up to the stands and sat on the first
row, waiting.

Kopth shifted from side to side as he watched. }:My rider wishes to enter.:{

**Let him in, I'm hungry.** Kapera added a sense of you got yours, I get
mine, to the order.

}:Yes,:{ the gold said to the bronze. She paced away from the beast and
laid in the sand that she had cleared. Then she pushed it around with her
tail and legs. More space. Good.

}:Soon,:{ she added to the bronze and her life mate.

J'nus entered a moment later with a tray balanced on one hand and a carafe
of klah
and a pair of mugs in the other. He made his slow way across the sand,
taking the
long route to avoid getting too close to Riyanth and the torn-up carcass
she'd left
behind. "Sorry I took so long," he said, handing Kapera the tray and
sliding into
the seat beside her. "Kopth says she's not started yet."

"She hasn't. She doesn't normally take this long. Or want to eat first."
Kapera's expression was glum and she wondered if the gold was having
difficulties.

"It has been a while since she last clutched. Maybe she's being fussy."
J'nus handed Kapera a mug, then filled it with klah. She still looked
worried. "Trust her."

She took the mug and took a swallow. It was hot and warmed the belly, and
she focused on the flavor to try to compensate for nerves. "It could be
that. I'm sure she remembers how."

}:Of course I remember how. Be quiet.:{

Time passed and the klah disappeared, but finally the gold pushed up
again, dug a little furrow, and the started straining. Kapera elbowed
J'nus gently. "Look," she hissed.

It seemed to take forever as far as the goldrider was concerned, but it
was fine for the dragon. }:There.:{ she finally said.

"There's one!"

"That's..." J'nus reached across the space between them to take Kapera's
hand. That mottled egg, that was Kopth's. He felt a surge of pride
that was echoed and amplified by his dragon, who continued to sing
encouragement to his queen. "That's an egg!"

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Look at that. So they did."

}:I did. And I will do another.:{ Riyanth began digging out a second
little piece of sand, moving her tail to assist in balance. As she did,
Kapera could see the new egg - small in size, but well-colored and formed.
Without getting down there, she couldn't tell for sure, but it seemed fine
from here.

"This is really happening."

"It really is. Congratulations, Kapera." J'nus turned to beam at the
goldrider. "Can't keep you down."

"Look, two," she breathed as Riyanth began to settle and push.

}:They make it sound like they're doing work. I do all the work,:{ the
gold huffed to her mate.

}:They are silly,:{ the bronze said reassuringly. }:Mine is also very
impressed.:{

}:Well, at least they understand that we're marvelous.:{

Time passed. Kapera devoured the food and rested against J'nus' shoulder
afterwards, reassured by the context. Eggs kept slipping free - four, six,
a dozen. All seemed well.

"That makes it twenty-nine," J'nus said a while later, looking over
the mounds of glistening eggs with obvious pride. Riyanth didn't look
finished yet, which meant that this would be a clutch of thirty or
more. A good sized clutch from a healthy queen in her prime,
reflecting the long flight that brought them to the Sands today.

"She's got a few more. It's looking really good," she said with a
satisfied smile. "Couple small ones..." There was a little one off to
the edge.

"There's always a few small ones. See that one?" J'nus nodded to the
egg that was a little off by itself. "I bet it's a bronze in there."

"How many do you think she'll have?"

}:Many,:{ the gold said to her rider and the bronze, with slight
crossness in her tone.

"Fifty!" J'nus grinned as Kapera gave him a black look. "All right...
maybe not that many. Thirty-five, maybe? She must be getting close to
done." Although the experience was wonderful, it was _long_. The
bronzerider was ready to stretch his legs... and brag about the
clutch, if he wanted to be honest with himself.

"Thirty-five sounds right," Kapera agreed.

They were close. In the end, it was 34 eggs on the ground. Honestly,
Kapera was so happy to see any clutch at all that she wasn't even
disappointed by that.

}:I knew I would clutch well,:{ the gold commented as she nestled into
the sand, tired from her labors.

**Oh, you did, you did!**

Kapera beamed at J'nus. "Ready to go tell everyone?"

"You couldn't shut me up if you tried," he said.

Last updated on the January 4th 2015

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A Solid Number