[Log] Bets
Who: Acadia, Jenna, Reighley
When: Day 26, Month 7, Turn 8
Where: Bowl, Fort Weyr
What: Reighley, Acadia, and Jenna discuss betting and the color spread of the upcoming clutch.
Center of the Fort Weyr Bowl
The Bowl of Fort Weyr, a large, featureless plain surrounded by steep mountain cliffs, stretches out around you. It is approximately oval in shape, about 2700 meters along the long axis running southwest to northeast, and about half that distance across the short axis. You stand in its approximate center. The soil of the bowl is somewhat sandy.
To the northwest is the large cavern used for the Weyrling barracks. To the west is the fenced off area where the Weyr's herds are kept, and the lake shore is to the southwest. To the northeast can be seen the ledges for the junior queens and the weyrleaders. The large entrance to the Hatching Grounds can also be seen to the northeast and to the east are the Lower Caverns.
Contents:
Acadia
Inneth
Obvious exits:
Flight Cave Tunnel Infirmary Living Cavern Weyrling Barracks Northeastern Area Lake Shore Feeding Grounds
Acadia and Inneth are both sitting on the ground. Acadia is working on some straps, checking them for tears and oiling each piece as she goes. Inneth is busy watching some insects flutter around the summer sky, as well as something else only she can see.
"Don't drop it!" Reighley scolds a couple of older boys as they struggle to carry a big chest out of the living cavern and toward a waiting rider. The boys give her an indulgent look, mostly ignoring her well-meaning directions. While the boys help the rider load the chest on his blue, Reighley gets distracted, glancing around the bowl and then sighting Acadia. At once, she eyes the loaders, judging their ability to get on without her; then, she's off for Acadia, calling out a 'hi' as she nears.
Acadia looks up and waves to the Candidate. "Hi, Reighley! I hear you'll be standing for Niyath's eggs. Are you excited about it?"
"Oh, yeah!" Reighley says at once, breaking into a broad grin as she comes to settle carefully on the ground alongside Acadia. "My brother is, too, and lots of other people. Jenna took us out on the sands and let us touch the eggs. They're really big, did you see them?"
Acadia fingers a rough stretch of strap, and dips her fingers in a tiny oil pot before massaging it. "Yes, I finally got a chance a few days ago. I've got a couple of bets going with people at Benden on which egg will hatch first, and if we have a gold dragon out there. The headwoman is holding our marks until the hatching to ensure there's no cheating." She moves to a new section of strap and keeps oiling. "Do you have a favorite egg? And did Niyath scare anyone into needing new skivvies during the touching?"
Reighley wrinkles her nose. "You shouldn't bet," she remarks, though she doesn't sound overly concerned. Instead, preoccupied with her own experiences, she explains woefully, "Well, no, I don't /think/ so. But I thought she was mad at me for a minute, 'cause I kind of stumbled--not on an egg or anything! I didn't even fall! But Jenna made us get off the sands then."
Jenna comes from the northeastern area.
Jenna has arrived.
Acadia shakes her head. "No, /you/ shouldn't bet. Riders are allowed, as long as we don't bet marks we don't have. One of the nicer things about not being a Candidate. Although missing out on egg touchings is a lack." She winks at Reighly and waves an oily hand to Jenna. "Hey there! We're talking about Niyath and her eggs."
Jenna is apparently just coming from that direction, for she's sweating, tunic sticking to her, and it really isn't that hot out. "Heya Acadia, Reighley," A grin for the green, "Getting a good oiling, Inneth?"
"Nobody should bet," Reighley says primly. "The eggs, though, they were really soft. Jenna said they'd get harder after they sat on the sands for a while." Then, turning to glance at the goldrider herself as she approaches, the girl waves. "Hi, Jenna. Have you been out on the sands? Does it /really/ get hotter there when it gets closer to the hatching? You should sit down and cool off with us," she suggests.
Inneth croons as she her name and recognizes the human. Then she returns her attention to the insect while Acadia laughs. "Not her Jenna, not today. I'm checking and oiling her straps to keep them supple. And please, sit down to enjoy the breeze. WE can send Reighley for some cold ale if you'd like a drink?"
Jenna waves a hand. "No, no drink, I'm fine. And it doesn't get that much hotter on the sands, no. Honestly, the sands aren't as blistering as they were twenty turns ago when I stood on them." She settles down to a seat. "What's the current bet on?"
"How come I'm always the one that gets sent after stuff?" wonders Reighley, grinning good-naturedly. "You sure you don't want something? I don't mind, not /really/," she adds to the goldrider. Then, mildly disapproving: "You're betting, too?"
Jenna shakes her head at Reighley, "I never bet on Niyath's clutches. Get accused of insider information."
Acadia answers the question literally. "Because you're the Candidate, Reighley. You're temporarily lowest of the low, so it's your job to fetch things. At least until the Hatching." To Jenna she says, "I've got a couple of friendly bets going with Benden about which egg will hatch first and if there is a gold dragonet in the clutch."
Jenna mms. "For or against gold?"
Reighley grins at Jenna. "/Do/ you know stuff? Does Niyath know?" she wonders curiously. She just sticks her tongue out at Acadia, grinning.
Jenna adds in an aside to Reighley, "It's just because your legs are younger and stronger."
Acadia says, "I'm betting for gold. The Bendenites aren't so sure, because they're not familiar with My'r and his bronze."
Reighley ponders that, tapping a finger to her temple idly. "I think there'll be one," she says, "because Niyath's a good queen. And that bronze seems nice, too. Bet there'll be, like, four bronzes, too. Is that a good number? I dunno, I think the blues and greens are really pretty, so it'd be nice to have more of them, so... Hrm." She trails off thoughtfully. "Do you know anything?" she repeats her question to Jenna.
Jenna mms. "You'd better pay up now. Honestly, Acadia, you know Niyath - both golds she's laid have been very obvious ones. Isanth's egg fairly glittered, and Faldaverth's was /huge/. No gold in this clutch." She considers, "Bet at least two of them are bronzes though. Was a good flight." A hint of a smirk touches her lips on that last, before she turns to Reighley again, "No, Niyath and I don't know for /sure/, but you get to know every now and then. Size of the egg. And Niyath tends to guard the bronzes and golds a bit more closely. She swears she doesn't know for sure what's in what egg, but I think she senses it on some level. Of course, she's been wrong before."
Acadia shakes her head, wiping her fingers on a dry part of the straps. "Nope, I'll wait and see. Just because Niyath's eggs were always obvious in the past doesn't mean that will be the case for her entire lifespan. I'll take my chances. And keep my bet that the pink egg will hatch first."
Reighley wrinkles her nose. "Guess we'll just wait and see, then," she decides. "But--oh, no. I forgot--I was supposed to be--I gotta go," the girl says, eyes widening as she catches sight of one of the other candidates waving for her at the entrance to the living cavern. Quickly hopping up, she offers the two women a wave and runs off.