LOG: Kinda Dumb
Date: Night of Day 4, Month 12, Turn 17
Location: Hatching Galleries/Sands of High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: Candidates touch eggs with X'lar and Milani available for answering questions.
You head up a short flight of stairs to the hatching galleries.
Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr(#290RJs)
Ringing the southwestern side of the hatching sands are ample tiers of carved stone benches, the lowest of which is some six feet off the ground -- just high enough to separate wayward hatchlings from unwary viewers, and vice versa. A metal railing on the outside helps prevent anyone from falling off; it also extends up the stairs that lead the way higher into the galleries. While most of the area is open seating, ropes section off some of the closer tiers when dignitaries are expected; those areas even feature cushions in the Weyr's blue and black.
The higher one climbs, the more apparent the immense scale of the entire cavern becomes. The dragon-sized entrance on the ground is dwarfed by the expansive golden sands that glitter in the light. Everything on them is easily visible from the galleries, whether that's a clutch of eggs and a broody queen, or simply its emptiness and the handful of darker tunnels that lead to more private areas than the bowl. Wherever one sits or looks, however, one thing is constant: the overwhelming, suffocating heat.
"A few ground rules," X'lar calls out to the grouping of candidates. "/Touch/ the eggs. Only one candidate can touch an egg at a time. I don't want to see two or three candidates crowding over one egg together." X'lar actually seems rather strict as he calls out the rules. "You can move around all you like, touch as many as you want." He lifts a finger and points it toward the clutch sire, "But the moment Malsaeth says he's had enough is the moment we leave. Because honestly? He's restless." Malsaeth rumbles some, flashing teeth again at the candidates above. "But don't mind his teeth. They're for show." A brief chuckle from the rider follows and he unlatches the gate. "Oh, and Millie, he says hi."
An appreciative glance goes toward Milani before Luttrell turns his attention back to X'lar, nodding with each rule as they are laid out for the group that has gathered around for the spur of the moment touching. "Isn't this exciting?" He asks leaning toward Sunniva his question intended for her, though he's glancing around to the other candidates and finally resting his gaze on Malsaeth again as they wait to head onto the sand.
Hali shrugs at X'lar, smiling briefly, "I was just wondering where everyone was when I got finished bathing. But I didn't realize everyone was /here/ until I got here." Her eyebrows raise at the event, "Egg touching?" She turns towards Milani, "I expect they feel like any other egg," she replies. She perks up as X'lar lists off rules, then gives a sidelong glance to Malsaeth.
Rules. Each is heard and then committed to memory, with a dutiful, "Understood," being given once X'lar's done. To Luttrell: "Oh, it is! I do hope we do not upset Malsaeth too much." For that reason, Sunniva will not be among the first to go out onto the sands; oh no, she'll leave that to the others and be among the last instead. Just in case.
Kasadel is one of the latecomers, trailing in with a few others now that the word has gone out. With hands slung in his pockets, loose, and a lazy smile on his face, he looks quite the opposite of excited, but his lanky stride carries him quickly towards the assembling group, just in time to listen, and nod to, X'lar's instructions.
"Alright everyone, follow me, and please don't trip," Xie offers, grinning back over his shoulder. With the gate unlatched, he begins walking toward the sands, moving toward Malsaeth who rumbles darkly, staring at the candidates as they trickle onto the sands. "Trust me when I say that these eggs are different. Every egg has a dragon growing inside it, after all." He gives Kasadel a brief nod as he's spotted in the group, the enthusiasm of the other candidates is given a brief smile.
You head down a short set of stairs to the hatching sands.
Hatching Sands, High Reaches Weyr
Whether one enters from the main bowl entrance or one of the smaller tunnels at the back of the cavern, golden-brown sand glitters and swelters in every direction. Close inspection reveals that while the large egg pieces have been gathered up, small fragments remain mixed into the hot sand, record of a thousand hatchings. The main source of light is a huge window of sky high in the wall that also serves as an aerial entrance, its overhang just deep enough to admit light and cooler air but fend off harsher weather.
The sands' setting designs them to be the focus of the vast amphitheater, with tiers upon tiers of galleries rising up its southwestern side near the tunnel to the bowl, and rings of dragon ledges higher yet: heat and architecture combining into what can be a palpable sense of pressure.
From the galleries, Milani blows Malsaeth a kiss and winks at X'lar as the Candidates get taken down on the Sands. She gets up then and comes to lean on the railing itself, one foot hooked around around the back of the ankle of her other leg as she watches.
Even once on the sands, mingling among the eggs, Kasadel manages to maintain his well-cultivated apathy, following the other candidates despite the superior length of his stride, and hanging off towards the edges rather than pushing to get closer. He removes his coat, rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, then dumps the coat on the side of the sands. "So... We're just supposed to /touch/ them?"
Luttrell hangs back inspite of his excitement, he too didn't want to be the one to upset the bronze right off. Taking a cue from Sunniva perhaps? Either way, once on the sands he carefully mingles among the eggs until he comes to his own personal favorite egg, the crimson caricature egg. He kneels next to it, not getting so close that he would cause harm if he were to say fall over, but close enough to get a really good look at the color and lines.
Hali is one of those in the front, not ashamed to admit that she's curious about the experience. "Different?" She scans the eggs with the blank slate of an individual that has not grown up at a Weyr. "Different like as in texture? Or hardness?" Watching the others, she sidles up next to the Hear Me Roar egg, brushing her palm against the surface.
Malsaeth is keen watch every single candidate he can while he remains on the sands. Anyone can likely hear the sound of the medium sized bronze's muscles bunching, the tension in his angled, muscular body. There's the grating of teeth too. X'lar gives Malsaeth a warning glance before showing the candidates what to do, looking to touch it with his hand. But it's only inches away, rather than actually touching the egg. "Just like that," Xie explains to Kasadel and a few other candidates near him. "Feel the texture if you want," the rider of the clutch sire indicates. "... or just close your eyes and just stand there next to it."
Also at the back is Sunni, who isn't pressing particularly hard to get to the fore; this is less out of patience and more out of apprehension, with her lower lip being chewed upon quite thoroughly while she looks at the eggs from a safe -- though not as safe as the galleries -- distance. Even with the demonstration given, she's slow to actually approach an egg, let alone touch it.
"Huh," says Kasadel, though exactly what he means by this he doesn't specify, and nor does his expression give anything away. "Coming?" he asks Sunniva, since she's one of the closest still to him. "It's a little weird, this, but-- could be interesting, right? An experience." But still he hesitates, admitting, in a lower voice, "Feels dumb, actually. But..."
Luttrell glances toward Malsaeth with a sense of uncertanty, he glances toward X'lar who is directing others to what to do and follows, or perhaps takes the lead as he reaches out to touch the egg, just for a moment as he pulls his hand back to look at his fingers. "Hmm." He hums touching the red surface again, grinning as he does so.
Her lip is spared further chewing when Kasadel addresses her. She ducks her head in a nod that's spared from utter sheepishness by the resolved line her mouth sets itself into. "I suppose," Sunni responds, though she only moves when he does. That egg? It's worthy of a dubious look that's soon extended to the everpresent figure of Malsaeth. It softens when she spies Luttrell, but her attention's quickly back on Kasadel. "I would not say /that/," the word 'dumb' will not be repeated, no no, "but it is traditional and so it must be important."
Kasadel fastens an amused look on Sunniva, head shaking. "Traditional. Shells, what an awful word. Reckon things become traditional and stop meaning anything proper, eventually. Coming?" He doesn't wait for an answer, finally moving swiftly towards the nearest egg, the Vicarious Vaudevillian Egg, and stopping before it. He pauses, looking awkward and embarrassed, then leans down to press both hands atop it. He frowns, giving it a look. "Feels like a chicken egg. Bigger. That's all."
>---< Vicarious Vaudevillian Egg >-------------------------------------------<
The pale, near-white flesh tone of this egg is smooth and flawless, and if
not for its darker markings would be unremarkable at best. A curtain of
ebony falls over one side of the shell from top to bottom, while on the
reverse, the same black appears in sharp unmistakable lines: two arches
side by side near the top over narrow eye slits, watching. Where lips
would be found, the inky thickness of a crookedly hooked smile curls
upward into blushed cheeks while an ebony smear juts downward below the
lower lip. Smiling cheerfully, though hardly innocently, those narrowed
eyes perhaps guard deep inner workings of mischief and anarchy.
Inspiration: A Guy Fawkes mask, specifically the one worn by the character
V in /V for Vendetta/, playful and mysterious.
>------------------------------------------------------< Credits: Lujayn >---<
Hali does touch the surface of the egg she chooses, the forwardness and directness in most of her actions relayed here as well. "Okay," she softly replies as she takes in X'lar's directions. "What're the reasons for doing this?" she asks X'lar, "Aside from tradition?" She is also apparently listening in to the other conversations.
"Sunniva," X'lar offers quietly after making his rounds with a few candidates. "You should touch one. Just one. I can honestly tell you that it's like nothing you've ever really experienced. Literally." He motions to the nearby eggs. That sound of gnashing teeth persists. Malsaeth's talons slowly dig into the sand where he's located. Like he is readying to hunt for a meal. He moves to Malsaeth where the bronze is given another warning glance. And there he stands, watching the candidates begin touching the eggs. Contrary to Malsaeth's cruel visage, X'lar couldn't look more delighted. At Hali's question, X'lar blinks in surprise, replying back, "Interesting question. With an easy answer: I loved it when A'son had us come down to touch the eggs for the clutch I stood for. I just want to give the candidates here the same kind of experience. Because, honestly... I loved being a candidate." He motions toward the egg she's chosen. "Why that one?" he asks of the egg Hali's touching.
She's coming, she just has to hitch her skirts up a little with a hand to make sure that nefarious sand won't get on them. Sunniva cants a look at Kasadel at his words but, having nothing to counter it with, she concedes the point with a rise and fall of narrow shoulders. The latter? "Oh?" Disappointment. Her nose wrinkles. X'lar is then looked to and she nods, trekking a short distance away to lay her free hand on the Height of Indulgence Egg. "Oh." Breathless, this time.
From the galleries, "It's so you know what to expect too," Milani pipes up from the galleries. "How they sit in the sand so when they hatch you're not all disoriented. And some people say that it helps with the whole bonding thing even before the dragons hatch, but that's like, old wives tales or something," she says from her spot by the railing.
It's Kasadel's turn to cant his head at Sunniva, as she lets out that little breathless exhalation, his brows raising, as his gaze shifts from her to his own egg, then back again; is his egg defective or something? He draws his hands away from it, taking a step back to consider it from another angle, all the while listening to the conversations around him. Milani's words draw his attention first: "You mean... Some people think that touching them might help your chances of Impression?" The eggs, perhaps, have been seen in a new light.
Luttrell gently brushes the eggs surface. Malsaeth drawing his attention. "You've got a good sire there." He whispers to the egg, running his hand around the egg, smiling as he rises and moves to another egg, the black-draped one that caught his eye, more recognized as the one that gives Sunniva shivvers. He'll glance up to the galleries at Milani. "I think your right there, the view up there is much different from down here. It should make things easier, perhaps?" He notes kneeling down to the egg.
"This one?" Hali looks down to the egg, considering its coloring for an extended moment. "It's wild, but calm. The part that isn't colored-- it's familiar. Like other kinds of eggs. Not like the others, so crazy with colors and textures." She turns twoards Milani in the galleries, "That makes sense," she replies, nodding. Then, withdrawing her hand from the surface of the egg, she stands near it. "I couldn't really imagine this until I was here."
X'lar motions toward Milani's comments from the peanut gallery. "Yeah. What she said too. It's so you're as prepared as you can be when the eggs start hatching. You'll be in your robes and sandals, too, so expect it to be a lot hotter, too." He grins briefly before admitting, "Hey, no mentioning old wives' tales with Malsaeth around. You know how superstitious he gets." He glances toward Kasadel, Sunniva and Luttrell curiously, smiling briefly at all three of them. "Plus, when you're on the sands when they hatch, time has a habit of going too fast and too slow at the same time. It's utter /chaos/. By allowing you the chance to touch them, you get an idea of what it's like standing here without the chaos." He looks to Hali again, nodding to her explanation of the egg she touches.
Fingers traipse, featherlight, down the shell before her hand is withdrawn. Sunniva's thumb drags across her fingertips in a curiously thoughtful gesture before she cranes her head around to look back at Milani. "Truly? How fascinating," she remarks, brows lifting as she surveys the other eggs. "I suppose that might make sense, though." With another gentle, if quick, pat being given to the egg, she glances about for the next that draws her eye. To no one in particular, "I can scarcely imagine how it will be when the eggs are hatching."
From the galleries, "Yep, some people think it," Milani echoes, grinning down at X'lar. "Couldn't tell you if it's right or not, but I hear it every time there's a clutch," she says with a loose shrug and swaps feet, pushes up on tip-toes as she leans over the railing. "It's okay, Mal," she calls over to the bronze. "Want me to give you a scratch?"
"Never seen a hatching before," admits Kasadel, shifting to the next egg - this time, Desperado's Disguise Egg - upon which he places his hands more keenly. "Don't really know what to expect. Aside from chaos, of course." He divides his gaze between Milani, X'lar and the egg, as if to ensure he doesn't miss any more vital gems of information, his hands playing lightly upon the egg's curved side. He pauses, then leans down to press his ear, just lightly, to the egg, frowning as he does so.
>---< Desperado's Disguise Egg >---------------------------------------------<
One of the larger eggs in the clutch, it might once have been red. Maybe.
Now it's only a unevenly faded, vaguely pinkish shade, and in a few spots
the color looks like it's been nearly scuffed off, revealing the bare
cream egg beneath. Still, overlying the reddish hue are swirls and spots
of black -- really, more gray than anything else -- and white, forming an
abstract pattern.
Inspiration: A cowboy's bandana, or rather the bandanas I pretended to be
a cowboy with while growing up.
>-------------------------------------------------------< Credits: S'fox >---<
"I've never seen one, either," Hali says as she leaves the egg she's at to try out the others. "Hadn't been to a Weyr until a few months ago." The woman considers this sentence and then amends, "More than a few months. Time has gone so quickly." She navigates through the sand to the Dual Demeanor Egg, hand hovering over its surface for a brief uncertain moment before it makes contact. "This one's so colorless," she remarks. "Not sure why I like that."
"All these people who haven't seen hatchings or clutchings and whatnot," X'lar finally says. "Makes me realize just how much I take them for granted being weyrbred and all." Malsaeth rumbles, watching Sunniva very, very carefully. "Mal says he'll do one better, Milani," Xie tells his friend. "He'll let you fly with us tomorrow. /Fast/." He looks from Kas to Hali, smiling briefly before moving to Malsaeth's side, leaning against him despite the bronze being in such a cruel-looking mood. The Istan watches, grinning to himself.
"Nor have I," would be Sunniva, echoing Kasadel and Hali's inexperience with hatchings. Dual Demeanor Egg is the next to earn her attentions, but as Hali reaches it first, she diverts her path to another -- Beauty's Price. Both hands are laid flat on it, head cocked to a side while she studies it up close. "Perhaps," this being to Hali, "it is simply because it is different than the others that makes it appealing. I rather like it for its simplicity."
Luttrell slips his hand onto the new egg, somehow expecting it to be different then the first. "Don't care much for chaos, maybe the fast pace of a hatching would be a good thing." He offers in X'lar's direction though the statement is not specifically intended for anyone in paticular. He tilts his head to the side, contemplating the egg. "Well, that would be several of us who haven't seen a hatching. Least we can all experiance it together." He grins toward the others.
Hali looks up from the egg and scans across the candidates in the same situation as her. "Lots of holdbred in this candidate group, I guess." She nods at Sunniva, "It is simple. Gray and white. Yours is ... not quite round, is it? I noticed that one from the galleries." She continues to caress the Dual Demeanor egg. She's quiet for a moment before muttering her observation, "They are so big."
From the galleries, "Oh you betcha, Xie. Just before supper if that works," Milani puts in. "Thanks, Mal!" she says sunnily and goes back to leaning and watching instead of talking.
Kasadel seems surprised at the number of voices agreeing with him, but grins all the same. "Lots of non-weyrbred candidates. Is that normal?" There are, of course, plenty who have seen hatchings, and have just now said as much, but still. "Can't wait, to be honest. Should be fascinating. Mum wrote, too, to promise that they'd try to come, cheer me on." He moves on, yet again, pressing both hands down upon the Child's Whimsy Egg, though he affixes a curious glance at it, first, and finally traces out the pink spot thoughtfully.
>---< Child's Whimsy Egg >---------------------------------------------------<
A whimsical egg, big and mostly white, this egg has a certain flimsy look
to it. Precariously placed, it appears as if it might crumple at any
moment. Its pale surface is wrinkled-looking with shadows, darker folds,
and crinkles like wadded up fabric. The most riveting feature of the
shell, though, is a series of big black spots, inexpertly made, as if some
child got a hold of the egg and colored it up in fanciful patterns.
Irregularly shaped, sized, and placed, the playful spots cover the surface
in capricious fashion, only one of them different: a big pink spot right
on top.
Inspiration: When I was about twelve or so, my family bought a cow suit,
complete with udder, for Halloween. And every year since
then, somebody in the family has ended up wearing it--usually
me.
>------------------------------------------------------< Credits: I'daur >---<
"What, you don't think being a rider's chaotic?" X'lar replies. "I mean, hatchings are likely the most chaotic thing /ever/, but being a rider, the responsibilities... It can get overwhelming." Typical Xie tonight, apparently. He seems in top talking form, not to mention that heart on his sleeve again. "When I was a weyrling I was scared of them. The responsibilities," X'lar continues to explain to Luttrell. "It took me a long time to channel that fear into something more productive." Malsaeth remains at the ready, his entire body still very much taut. He looks toward Kas and answers: "Depends on who the Search dragons find fit for the clutch, I suppose. My candidate group was pretty much half and half. Most of my friends were weyrbred at that point."
"Oh. No, it is not; it has a rather fascinating shape to it, doesn't it?" That's tossed over a shoulder to Hali, though she looks the other way at Kasadel when he speaks. "That must be nice, to have family coming to watch." Sunniva squints at something or another on the egg under her hands before she starts to drift aimlessly among them. This one? Sweet Dreams is given a slow drag of fingertips that turns into a game of touching the dots as if to count them.
"Still haven't heard from my Da about it." Luttrell notes moving on to the Don Juan Triumphant egg. He glances to X'lar. "I doubt it would be as chaotic as the hatching itself. You really only half to deal with the caring of your own dragon instead of worrying about all of them right?" He asks returning his gaze to the egg, brushing it's surface gently admiring the feminine figure.
Hali finishes taking in the smooth texture of the gray Dual Demeanor egg, motioning that Sunniva can take over if she'd like. She then chooses a third egg, facing her fear of the complex by approaching Wooden Watcher egg. She kneels down beside it, remarking, "This one's sort of frightening, really. Strange that an egg's markings would make me feel that way." She deliberately places her entire palm on the egg, pushing against it instead of lightly touching.
Kasadel purses his lips thoughtfully, nodding solemnly in response to X'lar. "Suppose a balance is good. Though - new blood, also good." He draws his hands away from the egg in front of him, shifting a couple of steps to give himself another angle to look at it from. "Yours won't?" he asks Sunniva, sympathy in his tone. "Sorry to hear that. Just have to look after you ourselves, won't we? Not," he adds, hastily, "that I need my family to look after me, either! But it's nice, to have them."
From the galleries, "It seems to go halfsies yeah," Milani agrees. "It was a mix here last cycle too," she backs X'lar up. "I do tend to get a lot more questions from the hold-bred candidates, but overall, anyone can make a good /rider/, that's not dependent on being hold or weyr or craftbred."
"Well," Sunniva's frown is mild; restrained, even. "My youngest sister might. And I do hope D'kai and Paige will be there, but-" she has her doubts. So the earnestly grateful "Thank you," is for Kasadel. A nod is given to Hali as she moves on, a warm smile turned her way. To the Dual Demeanor, then, with fingers tracing along the surface aimlessly.
X'lar chuckles softly and looks up to the galleries, not forgetting Millie in the least, as he tells her: "He says sure thing. He thought of something new to do with you, apparently. Something fast." The Istan rider listens to the conversations of the candidates, watching as they touch the eggs with faint fondness. Malsaeth rumbles, and that look of fondness increases. To Luttrell, X'lar chuckles, "I have no doubt I'll be checking in on the dragons that hatch from these eggs," X'lar remarks. "But whether Malsaeth will? /That/ is up for discussion." He gives his bronze another warning glance and leans against the bronze more. He smiles briefly to Kasadel, nodding simply to him in response. And then, at Milani's comments, X'lar nods once more, saying, "Yeah. What she said." He glances to Sunniva curiously, asking the Fortian woman, "Oh, you know Paige? Think you might barf on the sands like her?" Sunniva's given a wide grin.
"Someone puked on the sands? That's amazingly horrible," Hali remarks as she stands up again. She's still focused on the egg in front of her, though. "I don't think anyone's coming from my family. Knowing my sister, she's told everyone that I'm a candidate here, but none of them have the time or desire to visit a Weyr. Or the nerve to come by themselves."
From the galleries, Milani presses her lips tightly closed as X'lar calls those words across the sands and looks down at her loosely entwined fingers. Could be she's trying not to laugh. When she looks up again it's with an easy smile. "I love my family, even when they drive me nuts."
Luttrell says, "I just mean, after it's all said and done, there has to be some sort of organization in the caring for the dragons when they hatch?" It's not so much a question as it is a wanted observation. Luttrell just doesn't do chaos very well, and thus frowns at the mention of puking on the sands. "Not having time is one thing, I don't think my Da is happy with my choosing to be a candidate, otherwise I would have heard from him by now. But hey, it could be worse right?" He flashes Hali a grin as he moves onto another egg."
"Oh dear. That sounds awful," Sunniva blurts, her hand coming to rest on the shell for now as she glances over at X'lar. "Yes, I know her; I did not know she did that." Her lips press together and she looks to the egg again, "I do not think I will get sick." If only because she'd be too afraid of doing so in the first place. And to Hali and Luttrell? A sympathetic look.
Kasadel lowers his head gravely in Sunniva's question, a gentleman in his expression. Moving again, this time towards the Don Juan Triumphant Egg Luttrell has just vacated, his own hands curving around that womanly silhouette almost admiringly. "Sounds like we'll have to be each other's family for lots of people," he says, sounding as though he's disappointed in people's families on their behalf. "Can't imagine why they wouldn't want to see, though. Important, isn't it? Whatever their feelings on it."
>---< Don Juan Triumphant Egg >----------------------------------------------<
Red is the color for anger and passion, and crimson is how deep it runs
over this egg's shell. Deeper swathes dip down to its base, shadows
swirling like the dramatic swish of a cape or flare of fire. A backlit,
white silhouette combines with grey and black to create a vague womanly
shape off to one side, trapped past the point of no return by swirls of
cherry and twists of blackened rage. That brightness, a beacon of hope
amidst the darkness, reemerges where a few gentle curves come together to
form a a white mask, cracked by a splinter of black that obscures the
shadows of a face too gruesome to comprehend.
Inspiration: So I'm way into Phantom of the Opera, and mask = Phantom in
my head. Past the Point of No Return is my favorite song from
that particular play, and I used the rendition from the PotO
movie to desc this egg.
>------------------------------------------------------< Credits: Virgil >---<
"Oh it was /awesome/," X'lar tells Hali. "She was all green around the gills and then /boom/, she just threw up. Right there on the sands. /Coolest/ thing I've /ever/ seen." The rider beams once before nodding to Sunniva, saying, "Yeah, it was pretty spectacular." He grins briefly in Milani's direction, saying, "My family drives me nuts too. But I love them no matter what." To Luttrel, he replies: "That's part of the beginning of weyrlinghood. The care and feeding. It's important to get the basics down, you know. Your sole focus becomes that dragon." Then X'lar growls and mutters in Malsaeth's direction: "No matter /how/ annoying he is."
Luttrell grins at X'lar's telling of hatching incident. "Can't say I'd want to see that, but it almost sounds amusing." He pauses at the bound with spinnerwebs egg and brushes the surface over the white eyes of the egg. "It would be good to have something to focus on." He adds glancing at Malsaeth.
Kasadel lifts his head, just slightly, his expression dubious as he listens to X'lar, his gaze almost sizing the bronzerider up - as if to say 'he's supposed to be an /adult/?' He says nothing. He doesn't move on from this egg, moving into an almost crouch, his knees kept up from the hot sands, to inspect it more closely, fingertips tracing over that woman-shape again. Go figure. "They're pretty hard, aren't they, the eggs? Got to be ready to hatch before too much longer."
A one-shouldered shrug is given at Kasadel's earlier words and Sunniva finally drifts along to seek another egg to touch. "It is complicated," is all she chooses to say on that matter. Of course, when X'lar explains, she slows to a stop, just ... blinking at him. She pales, if only slightly. "That is awful," she reiterates.
Malsaeth suddenly gnashes his teeth, like scissors, or a bunch of them in this case. He flicks his tail against the ground, impatient. X'lar looks in alarm at the bronze before looking toward Millie, giving her the signal that the egg touching's about to end. "Alright folks, I hope you've had enough time to touch the eggs," X'lar calls out to the candidates. "Malsaeth's had enough. Please begin walking back to the galleries." He motions toward Milani and the galleries. "Besides, it's getting late and you don't want to find yourself asleep cleaning latrines." He speaks of it like he might have experience having done such a thing. Toward Kas, he nods and replies: "They're getting harder, yeah. You never know when it'll happen though. They get hard and all of a sudden the dragons are humming and you're dashing around trying to find that sandal you lost days ago." Again, it sounds like Xie himself had experience with that one.
From the galleries, "There's time before curfew," MIlani says with a grin. "And I won't be giving anyone punishment detail for being at a /touching/," she waves taht off. "But it's best to not piss off Mal." She leans back away from the railing then and drops down to fish her shoes onto her feet and sort of skips down to meet the Candidates. "C'mon guys, I'll filch us some cookies and milk from the kitchen."
Despite his initial reluctance to touch the eggs, Kasadel seems loath to leave the eggs - or perhaps just the one in front of him, that mysterious looking Don Juan Triumphant Egg. But he nods, letting his fingers patter across the egg's shell once more, before relinquishing his hold, and stepping back, around the other eggs, towards the galleries and his abandoned coat. "So we should keep our sandals in order," he laughs, turning back to respond to X'lar. "Noted." Milani's offer draws a sort of dubious laugh - something else he's really kind of sort of too grown up for? - but a bob of the head, as he moves to pick up his jacket.
Luttrell jumps startled by Malsaeth. Rather then losing his balance, he brushes his fingers across that egg once more for a last touch, then rises quickly backing away a step or two before he turns to head out of the sands as instructed. "Thanks for allowing us out on the sand, Malsaeth." He says as he reaches the gallery steps. "And X'lar, thank you. It was fun." To Milani he smiles and shakes his head. "I think i'm gonna turn in, the heat out there can wear you down." He collects his meatroll and klah mug giving another glances out to the sands, this time with more of a fondness then anxiety.
"Oh. Well, thank you, for letting us touch them. It was lovely." She flashes a wary look Malsaeth's way and then she dips into a quick kind of curtsey before heading to join the others as they make their way back to the galleries. A glance to Milani, then, and Sunniva offers a wan -- though appreciative -- smile. Too old for cookies and milk? Never.
From the galleries, "Anyone wanting a snack before turning in, come with me!" Milani calls as she waits near the entrance to the grounds. "ANd going to bed is just fine too. Whatever you're up for."
You head up a short set of stairs to the hatching galleries.
Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr(#290RJs)
Ringing the southwestern side of the hatching sands are ample tiers of carved stone benches, the lowest of which is some six feet off the ground -- just high enough to separate wayward hatchlings from unwary viewers, and vice versa. A metal railing on the outside helps prevent anyone from falling off; it also extends up the stairs that lead the way higher into the galleries. While most of the area is open seating, ropes section off some of the closer tiers when dignitaries are expected; those areas even feature cushions in the Weyr's blue and black.
The higher one climbs, the more apparent the immense scale of the entire cavern becomes. The dragon-sized entrance on the ground is dwarfed by the expansive golden sands that glitter in the light. Everything on them is easily visible from the galleries, whether that's a clutch of eggs and a broody queen, or simply its emptiness and the handful of darker tunnels that lead to more private areas than the bowl. Wherever one sits or looks, however, one thing is constant: the overwhelming, suffocating heat.
From the sands, "/Move/," X'lar tells Kas. "Unless you really want to get sliced and diced by the clutch sire." Malsaeth won't have thanks from anyone at this point, he's too busy lashing his tail about. X'lar, on the other hand, resumes his general Istan warmth and tells the candidates, "You're welcome, everyone. I'm glad you enjoyed it." He grins suddenly at Milani, asking her: "Cookies and milk? What about /pudding/?" X'lar continues to usher the candidates into the galleries before Malsaeth gets more angry. And with that, he too goes back to the galleries, the last one to arrive. As less and less candidates are on the sands, Malsaeth stops becoming a little twitchy. In fact, he almost looks like he enjoyed scaring the candidates like that.
Luttrell pauses before heading out, and turns to Milani, grinning. "I almost forgot, you don't happen to have any bookmarks on you do you?" He asks, a more hopeful expression on his face. "For the scavenger hunt?"
Kasadel moves! He may be one of the last to leave the sands, but he makes his way off safe and sound all the same, more amused by Malsaeth than concerned. Jacket in arm, he just laughs. "It was-- interesting. Different than I expected. Thanks." He hesitates, overhearing Luttrell's request for the bookmark, and turns his head away, rolling his eyes - but good naturedly, then busies himself with putting his coat back on.
Bright laughter from Millie at Luttrell's request and she digs in her pocket. "Yeeeees, I do. I usually have them stuck in a history book, by the by, since this was supposed to be about getting to know us," she tells him.
As for Sunniva, she's getting her cider from earlier and testing it to make sure it's still warm enough to be drunk. A sidelong look to Kasadel yields a small smile. "Yes, it was rather different, wasn't it? But, to be fair, the entire experience of being a candidate is rather different." She looks to the exit and then to her cider with, "I shall get a refresher on this. See you all at the barracks?"
Luttrell smiles brightly. "I'll have to make up for that then, with that dinner we didn't get to have, Perhaps on my next free day, if your available at the time?" He asks tilting his head and sipping his cooled klah. "You know I wouldn't have remembered if X'lar hadn't offered me a meatroll earlier. This scavenger hunt seems to keep slipping my mind." He gestures with a wave of his hand above his head.
X'lar nods once more to Kasadel, grinning back at him easily. "Glad you enjoyed it too," X'lar remarks to Kas. He moves to the front row, sitting back down easily. There's a flask taken out and a quick drink from it. Looking vaguely more relaxed, Xie scratches at his left brow, listening to the conversation.
There's just a grin for Luttrell from Milani. "Sure," she agrees readily as some of the younger Candidates who were touching eggs cluster around her eager for treats. "Okay, come on you lot, and Xie, you're welcome to come along. I don't think there's pudding though, but maybe some custard?"
"Thanks for the offer," X'lar tells Milani, grinning. "But I think I'm just going to relax here for a bit longer before I head to bed. I've got a few more pages to write." The teenaged bronzerider looks to the candidates with another smile before glancing back to Milani, but tossing out his next remark to everyone leaving: "Have a good night everyone."
"Sure," says Kas, tone even and easy. His jacket is on, now, buttoned up to the chin against the cold outside, and he grins at Milani. "S'long as we can eat it warm, I'd definitely be up for some custard." He turns back, just once, to glance out over the sands, at those eggs - that egg in particular - then his features return to their more controlled expression, he bobs his head at X'lar, then begins to move for the bowl. "Night, X'lar," he says, as he goes.
You head down a short set of stairs to the bowl.
Location: Hatching Galleries/Sands of High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: Candidates touch eggs with X'lar and Milani available for answering questions.
You head up a short flight of stairs to the hatching galleries.
Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr(#290RJs)
Ringing the southwestern side of the hatching sands are ample tiers of carved stone benches, the lowest of which is some six feet off the ground -- just high enough to separate wayward hatchlings from unwary viewers, and vice versa. A metal railing on the outside helps prevent anyone from falling off; it also extends up the stairs that lead the way higher into the galleries. While most of the area is open seating, ropes section off some of the closer tiers when dignitaries are expected; those areas even feature cushions in the Weyr's blue and black.
The higher one climbs, the more apparent the immense scale of the entire cavern becomes. The dragon-sized entrance on the ground is dwarfed by the expansive golden sands that glitter in the light. Everything on them is easily visible from the galleries, whether that's a clutch of eggs and a broody queen, or simply its emptiness and the handful of darker tunnels that lead to more private areas than the bowl. Wherever one sits or looks, however, one thing is constant: the overwhelming, suffocating heat.
"A few ground rules," X'lar calls out to the grouping of candidates. "/Touch/ the eggs. Only one candidate can touch an egg at a time. I don't want to see two or three candidates crowding over one egg together." X'lar actually seems rather strict as he calls out the rules. "You can move around all you like, touch as many as you want." He lifts a finger and points it toward the clutch sire, "But the moment Malsaeth says he's had enough is the moment we leave. Because honestly? He's restless." Malsaeth rumbles some, flashing teeth again at the candidates above. "But don't mind his teeth. They're for show." A brief chuckle from the rider follows and he unlatches the gate. "Oh, and Millie, he says hi."
An appreciative glance goes toward Milani before Luttrell turns his attention back to X'lar, nodding with each rule as they are laid out for the group that has gathered around for the spur of the moment touching. "Isn't this exciting?" He asks leaning toward Sunniva his question intended for her, though he's glancing around to the other candidates and finally resting his gaze on Malsaeth again as they wait to head onto the sand.
Hali shrugs at X'lar, smiling briefly, "I was just wondering where everyone was when I got finished bathing. But I didn't realize everyone was /here/ until I got here." Her eyebrows raise at the event, "Egg touching?" She turns towards Milani, "I expect they feel like any other egg," she replies. She perks up as X'lar lists off rules, then gives a sidelong glance to Malsaeth.
Rules. Each is heard and then committed to memory, with a dutiful, "Understood," being given once X'lar's done. To Luttrell: "Oh, it is! I do hope we do not upset Malsaeth too much." For that reason, Sunniva will not be among the first to go out onto the sands; oh no, she'll leave that to the others and be among the last instead. Just in case.
Kasadel is one of the latecomers, trailing in with a few others now that the word has gone out. With hands slung in his pockets, loose, and a lazy smile on his face, he looks quite the opposite of excited, but his lanky stride carries him quickly towards the assembling group, just in time to listen, and nod to, X'lar's instructions.
"Alright everyone, follow me, and please don't trip," Xie offers, grinning back over his shoulder. With the gate unlatched, he begins walking toward the sands, moving toward Malsaeth who rumbles darkly, staring at the candidates as they trickle onto the sands. "Trust me when I say that these eggs are different. Every egg has a dragon growing inside it, after all." He gives Kasadel a brief nod as he's spotted in the group, the enthusiasm of the other candidates is given a brief smile.
You head down a short set of stairs to the hatching sands.
Hatching Sands, High Reaches Weyr
Whether one enters from the main bowl entrance or one of the smaller tunnels at the back of the cavern, golden-brown sand glitters and swelters in every direction. Close inspection reveals that while the large egg pieces have been gathered up, small fragments remain mixed into the hot sand, record of a thousand hatchings. The main source of light is a huge window of sky high in the wall that also serves as an aerial entrance, its overhang just deep enough to admit light and cooler air but fend off harsher weather.
The sands' setting designs them to be the focus of the vast amphitheater, with tiers upon tiers of galleries rising up its southwestern side near the tunnel to the bowl, and rings of dragon ledges higher yet: heat and architecture combining into what can be a palpable sense of pressure.
From the galleries, Milani blows Malsaeth a kiss and winks at X'lar as the Candidates get taken down on the Sands. She gets up then and comes to lean on the railing itself, one foot hooked around around the back of the ankle of her other leg as she watches.
Even once on the sands, mingling among the eggs, Kasadel manages to maintain his well-cultivated apathy, following the other candidates despite the superior length of his stride, and hanging off towards the edges rather than pushing to get closer. He removes his coat, rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, then dumps the coat on the side of the sands. "So... We're just supposed to /touch/ them?"
Luttrell hangs back inspite of his excitement, he too didn't want to be the one to upset the bronze right off. Taking a cue from Sunniva perhaps? Either way, once on the sands he carefully mingles among the eggs until he comes to his own personal favorite egg, the crimson caricature egg. He kneels next to it, not getting so close that he would cause harm if he were to say fall over, but close enough to get a really good look at the color and lines.
Hali is one of those in the front, not ashamed to admit that she's curious about the experience. "Different?" She scans the eggs with the blank slate of an individual that has not grown up at a Weyr. "Different like as in texture? Or hardness?" Watching the others, she sidles up next to the Hear Me Roar egg, brushing her palm against the surface.
Malsaeth is keen watch every single candidate he can while he remains on the sands. Anyone can likely hear the sound of the medium sized bronze's muscles bunching, the tension in his angled, muscular body. There's the grating of teeth too. X'lar gives Malsaeth a warning glance before showing the candidates what to do, looking to touch it with his hand. But it's only inches away, rather than actually touching the egg. "Just like that," Xie explains to Kasadel and a few other candidates near him. "Feel the texture if you want," the rider of the clutch sire indicates. "... or just close your eyes and just stand there next to it."
Also at the back is Sunni, who isn't pressing particularly hard to get to the fore; this is less out of patience and more out of apprehension, with her lower lip being chewed upon quite thoroughly while she looks at the eggs from a safe -- though not as safe as the galleries -- distance. Even with the demonstration given, she's slow to actually approach an egg, let alone touch it.
"Huh," says Kasadel, though exactly what he means by this he doesn't specify, and nor does his expression give anything away. "Coming?" he asks Sunniva, since she's one of the closest still to him. "It's a little weird, this, but-- could be interesting, right? An experience." But still he hesitates, admitting, in a lower voice, "Feels dumb, actually. But..."
Luttrell glances toward Malsaeth with a sense of uncertanty, he glances toward X'lar who is directing others to what to do and follows, or perhaps takes the lead as he reaches out to touch the egg, just for a moment as he pulls his hand back to look at his fingers. "Hmm." He hums touching the red surface again, grinning as he does so.
Her lip is spared further chewing when Kasadel addresses her. She ducks her head in a nod that's spared from utter sheepishness by the resolved line her mouth sets itself into. "I suppose," Sunni responds, though she only moves when he does. That egg? It's worthy of a dubious look that's soon extended to the everpresent figure of Malsaeth. It softens when she spies Luttrell, but her attention's quickly back on Kasadel. "I would not say /that/," the word 'dumb' will not be repeated, no no, "but it is traditional and so it must be important."
Kasadel fastens an amused look on Sunniva, head shaking. "Traditional. Shells, what an awful word. Reckon things become traditional and stop meaning anything proper, eventually. Coming?" He doesn't wait for an answer, finally moving swiftly towards the nearest egg, the Vicarious Vaudevillian Egg, and stopping before it. He pauses, looking awkward and embarrassed, then leans down to press both hands atop it. He frowns, giving it a look. "Feels like a chicken egg. Bigger. That's all."
>---< Vicarious Vaudevillian Egg >-------------------------------------------<
The pale, near-white flesh tone of this egg is smooth and flawless, and if
not for its darker markings would be unremarkable at best. A curtain of
ebony falls over one side of the shell from top to bottom, while on the
reverse, the same black appears in sharp unmistakable lines: two arches
side by side near the top over narrow eye slits, watching. Where lips
would be found, the inky thickness of a crookedly hooked smile curls
upward into blushed cheeks while an ebony smear juts downward below the
lower lip. Smiling cheerfully, though hardly innocently, those narrowed
eyes perhaps guard deep inner workings of mischief and anarchy.
Inspiration: A Guy Fawkes mask, specifically the one worn by the character
V in /V for Vendetta/, playful and mysterious.
>------------------------------------------------------< Credits: Lujayn >---<
Hali does touch the surface of the egg she chooses, the forwardness and directness in most of her actions relayed here as well. "Okay," she softly replies as she takes in X'lar's directions. "What're the reasons for doing this?" she asks X'lar, "Aside from tradition?" She is also apparently listening in to the other conversations.
"Sunniva," X'lar offers quietly after making his rounds with a few candidates. "You should touch one. Just one. I can honestly tell you that it's like nothing you've ever really experienced. Literally." He motions to the nearby eggs. That sound of gnashing teeth persists. Malsaeth's talons slowly dig into the sand where he's located. Like he is readying to hunt for a meal. He moves to Malsaeth where the bronze is given another warning glance. And there he stands, watching the candidates begin touching the eggs. Contrary to Malsaeth's cruel visage, X'lar couldn't look more delighted. At Hali's question, X'lar blinks in surprise, replying back, "Interesting question. With an easy answer: I loved it when A'son had us come down to touch the eggs for the clutch I stood for. I just want to give the candidates here the same kind of experience. Because, honestly... I loved being a candidate." He motions toward the egg she's chosen. "Why that one?" he asks of the egg Hali's touching.
She's coming, she just has to hitch her skirts up a little with a hand to make sure that nefarious sand won't get on them. Sunniva cants a look at Kasadel at his words but, having nothing to counter it with, she concedes the point with a rise and fall of narrow shoulders. The latter? "Oh?" Disappointment. Her nose wrinkles. X'lar is then looked to and she nods, trekking a short distance away to lay her free hand on the Height of Indulgence Egg. "Oh." Breathless, this time.
From the galleries, "It's so you know what to expect too," Milani pipes up from the galleries. "How they sit in the sand so when they hatch you're not all disoriented. And some people say that it helps with the whole bonding thing even before the dragons hatch, but that's like, old wives tales or something," she says from her spot by the railing.
It's Kasadel's turn to cant his head at Sunniva, as she lets out that little breathless exhalation, his brows raising, as his gaze shifts from her to his own egg, then back again; is his egg defective or something? He draws his hands away from it, taking a step back to consider it from another angle, all the while listening to the conversations around him. Milani's words draw his attention first: "You mean... Some people think that touching them might help your chances of Impression?" The eggs, perhaps, have been seen in a new light.
Luttrell gently brushes the eggs surface. Malsaeth drawing his attention. "You've got a good sire there." He whispers to the egg, running his hand around the egg, smiling as he rises and moves to another egg, the black-draped one that caught his eye, more recognized as the one that gives Sunniva shivvers. He'll glance up to the galleries at Milani. "I think your right there, the view up there is much different from down here. It should make things easier, perhaps?" He notes kneeling down to the egg.
"This one?" Hali looks down to the egg, considering its coloring for an extended moment. "It's wild, but calm. The part that isn't colored-- it's familiar. Like other kinds of eggs. Not like the others, so crazy with colors and textures." She turns twoards Milani in the galleries, "That makes sense," she replies, nodding. Then, withdrawing her hand from the surface of the egg, she stands near it. "I couldn't really imagine this until I was here."
X'lar motions toward Milani's comments from the peanut gallery. "Yeah. What she said too. It's so you're as prepared as you can be when the eggs start hatching. You'll be in your robes and sandals, too, so expect it to be a lot hotter, too." He grins briefly before admitting, "Hey, no mentioning old wives' tales with Malsaeth around. You know how superstitious he gets." He glances toward Kasadel, Sunniva and Luttrell curiously, smiling briefly at all three of them. "Plus, when you're on the sands when they hatch, time has a habit of going too fast and too slow at the same time. It's utter /chaos/. By allowing you the chance to touch them, you get an idea of what it's like standing here without the chaos." He looks to Hali again, nodding to her explanation of the egg she touches.
Fingers traipse, featherlight, down the shell before her hand is withdrawn. Sunniva's thumb drags across her fingertips in a curiously thoughtful gesture before she cranes her head around to look back at Milani. "Truly? How fascinating," she remarks, brows lifting as she surveys the other eggs. "I suppose that might make sense, though." With another gentle, if quick, pat being given to the egg, she glances about for the next that draws her eye. To no one in particular, "I can scarcely imagine how it will be when the eggs are hatching."
From the galleries, "Yep, some people think it," Milani echoes, grinning down at X'lar. "Couldn't tell you if it's right or not, but I hear it every time there's a clutch," she says with a loose shrug and swaps feet, pushes up on tip-toes as she leans over the railing. "It's okay, Mal," she calls over to the bronze. "Want me to give you a scratch?"
"Never seen a hatching before," admits Kasadel, shifting to the next egg - this time, Desperado's Disguise Egg - upon which he places his hands more keenly. "Don't really know what to expect. Aside from chaos, of course." He divides his gaze between Milani, X'lar and the egg, as if to ensure he doesn't miss any more vital gems of information, his hands playing lightly upon the egg's curved side. He pauses, then leans down to press his ear, just lightly, to the egg, frowning as he does so.
>---< Desperado's Disguise Egg >---------------------------------------------<
One of the larger eggs in the clutch, it might once have been red. Maybe.
Now it's only a unevenly faded, vaguely pinkish shade, and in a few spots
the color looks like it's been nearly scuffed off, revealing the bare
cream egg beneath. Still, overlying the reddish hue are swirls and spots
of black -- really, more gray than anything else -- and white, forming an
abstract pattern.
Inspiration: A cowboy's bandana, or rather the bandanas I pretended to be
a cowboy with while growing up.
>-------------------------------------------------------< Credits: S'fox >---<
"I've never seen one, either," Hali says as she leaves the egg she's at to try out the others. "Hadn't been to a Weyr until a few months ago." The woman considers this sentence and then amends, "More than a few months. Time has gone so quickly." She navigates through the sand to the Dual Demeanor Egg, hand hovering over its surface for a brief uncertain moment before it makes contact. "This one's so colorless," she remarks. "Not sure why I like that."
"All these people who haven't seen hatchings or clutchings and whatnot," X'lar finally says. "Makes me realize just how much I take them for granted being weyrbred and all." Malsaeth rumbles, watching Sunniva very, very carefully. "Mal says he'll do one better, Milani," Xie tells his friend. "He'll let you fly with us tomorrow. /Fast/." He looks from Kas to Hali, smiling briefly before moving to Malsaeth's side, leaning against him despite the bronze being in such a cruel-looking mood. The Istan watches, grinning to himself.
"Nor have I," would be Sunniva, echoing Kasadel and Hali's inexperience with hatchings. Dual Demeanor Egg is the next to earn her attentions, but as Hali reaches it first, she diverts her path to another -- Beauty's Price. Both hands are laid flat on it, head cocked to a side while she studies it up close. "Perhaps," this being to Hali, "it is simply because it is different than the others that makes it appealing. I rather like it for its simplicity."
Luttrell slips his hand onto the new egg, somehow expecting it to be different then the first. "Don't care much for chaos, maybe the fast pace of a hatching would be a good thing." He offers in X'lar's direction though the statement is not specifically intended for anyone in paticular. He tilts his head to the side, contemplating the egg. "Well, that would be several of us who haven't seen a hatching. Least we can all experiance it together." He grins toward the others.
Hali looks up from the egg and scans across the candidates in the same situation as her. "Lots of holdbred in this candidate group, I guess." She nods at Sunniva, "It is simple. Gray and white. Yours is ... not quite round, is it? I noticed that one from the galleries." She continues to caress the Dual Demeanor egg. She's quiet for a moment before muttering her observation, "They are so big."
From the galleries, "Oh you betcha, Xie. Just before supper if that works," Milani puts in. "Thanks, Mal!" she says sunnily and goes back to leaning and watching instead of talking.
Kasadel seems surprised at the number of voices agreeing with him, but grins all the same. "Lots of non-weyrbred candidates. Is that normal?" There are, of course, plenty who have seen hatchings, and have just now said as much, but still. "Can't wait, to be honest. Should be fascinating. Mum wrote, too, to promise that they'd try to come, cheer me on." He moves on, yet again, pressing both hands down upon the Child's Whimsy Egg, though he affixes a curious glance at it, first, and finally traces out the pink spot thoughtfully.
>---< Child's Whimsy Egg >---------------------------------------------------<
A whimsical egg, big and mostly white, this egg has a certain flimsy look
to it. Precariously placed, it appears as if it might crumple at any
moment. Its pale surface is wrinkled-looking with shadows, darker folds,
and crinkles like wadded up fabric. The most riveting feature of the
shell, though, is a series of big black spots, inexpertly made, as if some
child got a hold of the egg and colored it up in fanciful patterns.
Irregularly shaped, sized, and placed, the playful spots cover the surface
in capricious fashion, only one of them different: a big pink spot right
on top.
Inspiration: When I was about twelve or so, my family bought a cow suit,
complete with udder, for Halloween. And every year since
then, somebody in the family has ended up wearing it--usually
me.
>------------------------------------------------------< Credits: I'daur >---<
"What, you don't think being a rider's chaotic?" X'lar replies. "I mean, hatchings are likely the most chaotic thing /ever/, but being a rider, the responsibilities... It can get overwhelming." Typical Xie tonight, apparently. He seems in top talking form, not to mention that heart on his sleeve again. "When I was a weyrling I was scared of them. The responsibilities," X'lar continues to explain to Luttrell. "It took me a long time to channel that fear into something more productive." Malsaeth remains at the ready, his entire body still very much taut. He looks toward Kas and answers: "Depends on who the Search dragons find fit for the clutch, I suppose. My candidate group was pretty much half and half. Most of my friends were weyrbred at that point."
"Oh. No, it is not; it has a rather fascinating shape to it, doesn't it?" That's tossed over a shoulder to Hali, though she looks the other way at Kasadel when he speaks. "That must be nice, to have family coming to watch." Sunniva squints at something or another on the egg under her hands before she starts to drift aimlessly among them. This one? Sweet Dreams is given a slow drag of fingertips that turns into a game of touching the dots as if to count them.
"Still haven't heard from my Da about it." Luttrell notes moving on to the Don Juan Triumphant egg. He glances to X'lar. "I doubt it would be as chaotic as the hatching itself. You really only half to deal with the caring of your own dragon instead of worrying about all of them right?" He asks returning his gaze to the egg, brushing it's surface gently admiring the feminine figure.
Hali finishes taking in the smooth texture of the gray Dual Demeanor egg, motioning that Sunniva can take over if she'd like. She then chooses a third egg, facing her fear of the complex by approaching Wooden Watcher egg. She kneels down beside it, remarking, "This one's sort of frightening, really. Strange that an egg's markings would make me feel that way." She deliberately places her entire palm on the egg, pushing against it instead of lightly touching.
Kasadel purses his lips thoughtfully, nodding solemnly in response to X'lar. "Suppose a balance is good. Though - new blood, also good." He draws his hands away from the egg in front of him, shifting a couple of steps to give himself another angle to look at it from. "Yours won't?" he asks Sunniva, sympathy in his tone. "Sorry to hear that. Just have to look after you ourselves, won't we? Not," he adds, hastily, "that I need my family to look after me, either! But it's nice, to have them."
From the galleries, "It seems to go halfsies yeah," Milani agrees. "It was a mix here last cycle too," she backs X'lar up. "I do tend to get a lot more questions from the hold-bred candidates, but overall, anyone can make a good /rider/, that's not dependent on being hold or weyr or craftbred."
"Well," Sunniva's frown is mild; restrained, even. "My youngest sister might. And I do hope D'kai and Paige will be there, but-" she has her doubts. So the earnestly grateful "Thank you," is for Kasadel. A nod is given to Hali as she moves on, a warm smile turned her way. To the Dual Demeanor, then, with fingers tracing along the surface aimlessly.
X'lar chuckles softly and looks up to the galleries, not forgetting Millie in the least, as he tells her: "He says sure thing. He thought of something new to do with you, apparently. Something fast." The Istan rider listens to the conversations of the candidates, watching as they touch the eggs with faint fondness. Malsaeth rumbles, and that look of fondness increases. To Luttrell, X'lar chuckles, "I have no doubt I'll be checking in on the dragons that hatch from these eggs," X'lar remarks. "But whether Malsaeth will? /That/ is up for discussion." He gives his bronze another warning glance and leans against the bronze more. He smiles briefly to Kasadel, nodding simply to him in response. And then, at Milani's comments, X'lar nods once more, saying, "Yeah. What she said." He glances to Sunniva curiously, asking the Fortian woman, "Oh, you know Paige? Think you might barf on the sands like her?" Sunniva's given a wide grin.
"Someone puked on the sands? That's amazingly horrible," Hali remarks as she stands up again. She's still focused on the egg in front of her, though. "I don't think anyone's coming from my family. Knowing my sister, she's told everyone that I'm a candidate here, but none of them have the time or desire to visit a Weyr. Or the nerve to come by themselves."
From the galleries, Milani presses her lips tightly closed as X'lar calls those words across the sands and looks down at her loosely entwined fingers. Could be she's trying not to laugh. When she looks up again it's with an easy smile. "I love my family, even when they drive me nuts."
Luttrell says, "I just mean, after it's all said and done, there has to be some sort of organization in the caring for the dragons when they hatch?" It's not so much a question as it is a wanted observation. Luttrell just doesn't do chaos very well, and thus frowns at the mention of puking on the sands. "Not having time is one thing, I don't think my Da is happy with my choosing to be a candidate, otherwise I would have heard from him by now. But hey, it could be worse right?" He flashes Hali a grin as he moves onto another egg."
"Oh dear. That sounds awful," Sunniva blurts, her hand coming to rest on the shell for now as she glances over at X'lar. "Yes, I know her; I did not know she did that." Her lips press together and she looks to the egg again, "I do not think I will get sick." If only because she'd be too afraid of doing so in the first place. And to Hali and Luttrell? A sympathetic look.
Kasadel lowers his head gravely in Sunniva's question, a gentleman in his expression. Moving again, this time towards the Don Juan Triumphant Egg Luttrell has just vacated, his own hands curving around that womanly silhouette almost admiringly. "Sounds like we'll have to be each other's family for lots of people," he says, sounding as though he's disappointed in people's families on their behalf. "Can't imagine why they wouldn't want to see, though. Important, isn't it? Whatever their feelings on it."
>---< Don Juan Triumphant Egg >----------------------------------------------<
Red is the color for anger and passion, and crimson is how deep it runs
over this egg's shell. Deeper swathes dip down to its base, shadows
swirling like the dramatic swish of a cape or flare of fire. A backlit,
white silhouette combines with grey and black to create a vague womanly
shape off to one side, trapped past the point of no return by swirls of
cherry and twists of blackened rage. That brightness, a beacon of hope
amidst the darkness, reemerges where a few gentle curves come together to
form a a white mask, cracked by a splinter of black that obscures the
shadows of a face too gruesome to comprehend.
Inspiration: So I'm way into Phantom of the Opera, and mask = Phantom in
my head. Past the Point of No Return is my favorite song from
that particular play, and I used the rendition from the PotO
movie to desc this egg.
>------------------------------------------------------< Credits: Virgil >---<
"Oh it was /awesome/," X'lar tells Hali. "She was all green around the gills and then /boom/, she just threw up. Right there on the sands. /Coolest/ thing I've /ever/ seen." The rider beams once before nodding to Sunniva, saying, "Yeah, it was pretty spectacular." He grins briefly in Milani's direction, saying, "My family drives me nuts too. But I love them no matter what." To Luttrel, he replies: "That's part of the beginning of weyrlinghood. The care and feeding. It's important to get the basics down, you know. Your sole focus becomes that dragon." Then X'lar growls and mutters in Malsaeth's direction: "No matter /how/ annoying he is."
Luttrell grins at X'lar's telling of hatching incident. "Can't say I'd want to see that, but it almost sounds amusing." He pauses at the bound with spinnerwebs egg and brushes the surface over the white eyes of the egg. "It would be good to have something to focus on." He adds glancing at Malsaeth.
Kasadel lifts his head, just slightly, his expression dubious as he listens to X'lar, his gaze almost sizing the bronzerider up - as if to say 'he's supposed to be an /adult/?' He says nothing. He doesn't move on from this egg, moving into an almost crouch, his knees kept up from the hot sands, to inspect it more closely, fingertips tracing over that woman-shape again. Go figure. "They're pretty hard, aren't they, the eggs? Got to be ready to hatch before too much longer."
A one-shouldered shrug is given at Kasadel's earlier words and Sunniva finally drifts along to seek another egg to touch. "It is complicated," is all she chooses to say on that matter. Of course, when X'lar explains, she slows to a stop, just ... blinking at him. She pales, if only slightly. "That is awful," she reiterates.
Malsaeth suddenly gnashes his teeth, like scissors, or a bunch of them in this case. He flicks his tail against the ground, impatient. X'lar looks in alarm at the bronze before looking toward Millie, giving her the signal that the egg touching's about to end. "Alright folks, I hope you've had enough time to touch the eggs," X'lar calls out to the candidates. "Malsaeth's had enough. Please begin walking back to the galleries." He motions toward Milani and the galleries. "Besides, it's getting late and you don't want to find yourself asleep cleaning latrines." He speaks of it like he might have experience having done such a thing. Toward Kas, he nods and replies: "They're getting harder, yeah. You never know when it'll happen though. They get hard and all of a sudden the dragons are humming and you're dashing around trying to find that sandal you lost days ago." Again, it sounds like Xie himself had experience with that one.
From the galleries, "There's time before curfew," MIlani says with a grin. "And I won't be giving anyone punishment detail for being at a /touching/," she waves taht off. "But it's best to not piss off Mal." She leans back away from the railing then and drops down to fish her shoes onto her feet and sort of skips down to meet the Candidates. "C'mon guys, I'll filch us some cookies and milk from the kitchen."
Despite his initial reluctance to touch the eggs, Kasadel seems loath to leave the eggs - or perhaps just the one in front of him, that mysterious looking Don Juan Triumphant Egg. But he nods, letting his fingers patter across the egg's shell once more, before relinquishing his hold, and stepping back, around the other eggs, towards the galleries and his abandoned coat. "So we should keep our sandals in order," he laughs, turning back to respond to X'lar. "Noted." Milani's offer draws a sort of dubious laugh - something else he's really kind of sort of too grown up for? - but a bob of the head, as he moves to pick up his jacket.
Luttrell jumps startled by Malsaeth. Rather then losing his balance, he brushes his fingers across that egg once more for a last touch, then rises quickly backing away a step or two before he turns to head out of the sands as instructed. "Thanks for allowing us out on the sand, Malsaeth." He says as he reaches the gallery steps. "And X'lar, thank you. It was fun." To Milani he smiles and shakes his head. "I think i'm gonna turn in, the heat out there can wear you down." He collects his meatroll and klah mug giving another glances out to the sands, this time with more of a fondness then anxiety.
"Oh. Well, thank you, for letting us touch them. It was lovely." She flashes a wary look Malsaeth's way and then she dips into a quick kind of curtsey before heading to join the others as they make their way back to the galleries. A glance to Milani, then, and Sunniva offers a wan -- though appreciative -- smile. Too old for cookies and milk? Never.
From the galleries, "Anyone wanting a snack before turning in, come with me!" Milani calls as she waits near the entrance to the grounds. "ANd going to bed is just fine too. Whatever you're up for."
You head up a short set of stairs to the hatching galleries.
Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr(#290RJs)
Ringing the southwestern side of the hatching sands are ample tiers of carved stone benches, the lowest of which is some six feet off the ground -- just high enough to separate wayward hatchlings from unwary viewers, and vice versa. A metal railing on the outside helps prevent anyone from falling off; it also extends up the stairs that lead the way higher into the galleries. While most of the area is open seating, ropes section off some of the closer tiers when dignitaries are expected; those areas even feature cushions in the Weyr's blue and black.
The higher one climbs, the more apparent the immense scale of the entire cavern becomes. The dragon-sized entrance on the ground is dwarfed by the expansive golden sands that glitter in the light. Everything on them is easily visible from the galleries, whether that's a clutch of eggs and a broody queen, or simply its emptiness and the handful of darker tunnels that lead to more private areas than the bowl. Wherever one sits or looks, however, one thing is constant: the overwhelming, suffocating heat.
From the sands, "/Move/," X'lar tells Kas. "Unless you really want to get sliced and diced by the clutch sire." Malsaeth won't have thanks from anyone at this point, he's too busy lashing his tail about. X'lar, on the other hand, resumes his general Istan warmth and tells the candidates, "You're welcome, everyone. I'm glad you enjoyed it." He grins suddenly at Milani, asking her: "Cookies and milk? What about /pudding/?" X'lar continues to usher the candidates into the galleries before Malsaeth gets more angry. And with that, he too goes back to the galleries, the last one to arrive. As less and less candidates are on the sands, Malsaeth stops becoming a little twitchy. In fact, he almost looks like he enjoyed scaring the candidates like that.
Luttrell pauses before heading out, and turns to Milani, grinning. "I almost forgot, you don't happen to have any bookmarks on you do you?" He asks, a more hopeful expression on his face. "For the scavenger hunt?"
Kasadel moves! He may be one of the last to leave the sands, but he makes his way off safe and sound all the same, more amused by Malsaeth than concerned. Jacket in arm, he just laughs. "It was-- interesting. Different than I expected. Thanks." He hesitates, overhearing Luttrell's request for the bookmark, and turns his head away, rolling his eyes - but good naturedly, then busies himself with putting his coat back on.
Bright laughter from Millie at Luttrell's request and she digs in her pocket. "Yeeeees, I do. I usually have them stuck in a history book, by the by, since this was supposed to be about getting to know us," she tells him.
As for Sunniva, she's getting her cider from earlier and testing it to make sure it's still warm enough to be drunk. A sidelong look to Kasadel yields a small smile. "Yes, it was rather different, wasn't it? But, to be fair, the entire experience of being a candidate is rather different." She looks to the exit and then to her cider with, "I shall get a refresher on this. See you all at the barracks?"
Luttrell smiles brightly. "I'll have to make up for that then, with that dinner we didn't get to have, Perhaps on my next free day, if your available at the time?" He asks tilting his head and sipping his cooled klah. "You know I wouldn't have remembered if X'lar hadn't offered me a meatroll earlier. This scavenger hunt seems to keep slipping my mind." He gestures with a wave of his hand above his head.
X'lar nods once more to Kasadel, grinning back at him easily. "Glad you enjoyed it too," X'lar remarks to Kas. He moves to the front row, sitting back down easily. There's a flask taken out and a quick drink from it. Looking vaguely more relaxed, Xie scratches at his left brow, listening to the conversation.
There's just a grin for Luttrell from Milani. "Sure," she agrees readily as some of the younger Candidates who were touching eggs cluster around her eager for treats. "Okay, come on you lot, and Xie, you're welcome to come along. I don't think there's pudding though, but maybe some custard?"
"Thanks for the offer," X'lar tells Milani, grinning. "But I think I'm just going to relax here for a bit longer before I head to bed. I've got a few more pages to write." The teenaged bronzerider looks to the candidates with another smile before glancing back to Milani, but tossing out his next remark to everyone leaving: "Have a good night everyone."
"Sure," says Kas, tone even and easy. His jacket is on, now, buttoned up to the chin against the cold outside, and he grins at Milani. "S'long as we can eat it warm, I'd definitely be up for some custard." He turns back, just once, to glance out over the sands, at those eggs - that egg in particular - then his features return to their more controlled expression, he bobs his head at X'lar, then begins to move for the bowl. "Night, X'lar," he says, as he goes.
You head down a short set of stairs to the bowl.