Demire stood on the Sands, her arms huddled inside of her Candidate robe. Her feet were burning up as she stood in the hot sand barefoot, but the rest of her was freezing and even the warmth radiating from the sand didn't seem to be able to warm her. It never got this sharding cold at Asura Hold!

Her teeth chattered, but she managed to look around the crowded Hatching Cavern with her dark eyes. Green Cardath and Brown Oketh were standing near the center, their riders not far off. The other dragons were huddled inside as well, soaking up the warmth from the Hatching Grounds that Demire seemed to be missing. Maybe she just wasn't used to such winters, or maybe it was the chill of knowing that there were so many eyes on her.

Well, her and the other Candidates out there. Four other girls, which Demire had met during their time as Candidates. One of the girls Demire recognized as Shara, an Apprentice Tanner turned Candidate. Another, Arianne, is a Harper Apprentice. She had never met the other girl, but she knew her name was Rhoswen. She was rather pretty, with long blonde hair well past her shoulders. Demire once again remembered her first day at the Weyr after the search of Asura Hold, and she realized once again how out of place a poor drudge must have looked on the Sands. Her eyes look over the galleries, and she saw Casibi leaning forward in them. Her fellow friend, and former drudge, had not been up for this clutch, but she was on her seat in anticipation.

Demire gave her as brave a smile as she could muster, then turned back to the eggs, which were now rocking back and forth. Liora and N'mrix were whispering something back and forth, and the Weyrleaders of Jerdan sat behind them and watched. The first pop of an egg pulled Demire back to her current situation as she looked at the egg and the small brown snout popping out of it.

Brown Etatoth to D'zren, a Journeyman Harper at that. The next dragon to Hatch was a small green, who at first started towards the male Candidates. Then she began sprinting towards the females. Demire watched as two of the other girls began to wail, and she stumbled backwards, not knowing what on Pern they could be making such a riot about. Then she heard Liora cry out, and she still didn't quite understand. She saw Shara step forward, and it came to her. They were running from the dragon! That soggy little creature?

She saw the dragonet rush past Shara and right up to Arianne, the young Harper girl. She muttered an oath at herself for being so ignorant. Her first Hatching and she had no idea what was going on! Furthurmore, she didn't understand what had just happened. Hadn't Shara stepped forward for the little green, only to be turned down?

Two eggs looked to Hatch at once, and the larger of the two cracked to reveal a bronze. He ran over to two boys, and debated between a young man Demire had never seen and the Apprentice Dolphineer she'd seen at classes. He picked the young man she'd never seen, and Sartal had his bronze Naboth. A green had Hatched, meanwhile, and seemed much less hesitant than her sister had moments before. She was tugging on Rhoswen's robe before Demire was able to even see her after watching Sartal's Impression. She watched as green Lavith was led away, an almost indignant look on her face.

What was she doing wrong? What were the others doing that she wasn't? She looked over at Shara, mustering a brave smile for the girl. Just because she was a drudge didn't mean she was going to run off the Sands, or be turned down. The Apprentice tanner looked alright, and Demire decided that in order to Impress a dragon, you must have to look like you meant to. She straightened her shoulders, pulling her arms out of her robe and setting them at her side and staring at the remaining eggs. Everything was quiet...

Then a bronze Hatchling broke shell, and seemed to be zagging back and forth, first heading towards the girls and then the boys. Ardon, the Apprentice Dolphineer, rushed out towards him. Olinath had found his match. A blue broke shell next, and marched straight towards them. Demire drew her self up, pushing her black hair back and trying to catch the blue's eyes. She looked indignant once more as she was passed up, Kimath marching straight towards Shara and making his Impression to the young Tanner.

What was she doing wrong?! She had come to the Weyr to start a new life, and all she was getting was rejection from dragons? This wasn't how it was supposed to be! Her dark eyes stayed focused on the last three eggs, as if willing them to Hatch. She stood apart from the two boys, trying her best to keep her head held high and a determined look on her face. Her body was shaking, but she dismissed it. It was the heat finally getting to her, had to be. A brown made his choice, and then there were two of them left.

Gasps were heard as the next shell broke. The egg was so small, yet a claw with a goldish tinge was seen through the crack. The dragonet broke free, and exclamations of shock and surprise were heard. Demire felt as if she could not move, as if she could not breath...

The dragonet was so tiny, the size of a white if not smaller. Yet there was a definite golden color to her, making her seem almost more cream than anything else. And she was hungry... so very hungry! Demire could feel the pangs in her stomach as she started into the myriad swirl of the rainbow eyes focused on hers...

She rushed forward, the crowd forgotten. She bent down as she reached the tiny dragonet, and before she realized what she was doing she'd bent down and picked the tiny dragon up. A dragonet small enough to carry? It was unheard of! Yet Demire did just that, and made tracks towards the Weyrlingmaster and a bowl of meet held out to them. She paused just before her feet left the Sands, and she faced the crowd.

"Her name is Likenath!" She shouted as loud as she could, her voice filled with pride despite the fact that it was shaking. She collapsed against a wall when free of the booming cheers of the Sands, setting Likenath in front of her and feeding her meat as furiously as possible. "Likenath..." She murmured the name to herself, for the first time realizing that she hadn't been told, but she'd simply known it was her name.

{{Of course you know my name, Demire. If we're going to be together forever, we have to start somewhere.}} The voice was so like her own, only softer and with a willowy tint to it that Demire's stronger voice couldn't manage no matter how she tried.

[[Of course,]] a smile came to Demire's face as she projected her thoughts to the small golden white. The smile grew amazed as she received a feeling of acceptance and agreement from Likenath, though the dragonet continued to eat. Pan came to land on her shoulder, and he started at the small gold with a curious gaze. A roommate?

At the time, Demire had no idea how precious of a gift she had been so lucky to receive. She, a common drudge from Asura Hold, had Impressed an entirely different kind of dragon. A white gold, the first of its kind at Jerdan Weyr. Likenath was a very special dragon, though Demire knew that already. She was her dragon, and that made her special enough.