Clutching of Aerianth and Volath, Winter 2007, Part I
Hatching Galleries -- Ista Weyr(#1300RJQqs)
The galleries provide more than adequate seating for guests who have been invited to watch a hatching. There are ten tiers, that arch in a semi-circle from the southwest to west side of the black stone cavern. Stairs lead down to the entrances, which are visible beyond the large gaping opening leading to the Senior Queen's Weyr. You have a view of the Hatching Sands as well as a clear view of the ledges up above you.
The people here are Niklo, Tzivya, and R'tran.
Stairs to the southwest lead out of the hatching grounds. Please type '+viewhelp' to see information on checking out the clutch.
Nolee, Tzivya, R'tran, Kaelana, V'lano, Griere, Aerianth, Volath, M'yr, Jenna, Tannim, G'tive, Potikanda, Caitlyn, Jozell, N'sales, Jascela, Toril
R'tran gives a little wave and grin before turning his attention to the sands.
Amongst the excited members of the Weyr's population filing into the galleries for the forthcoming show is two young women - Tzivya and Niklo. Excitable at the best of times, the older of the two girls is bouncing along next to her young friend, her expression a wide smile and her posture tense with excitement. "See? SSaid it would be soon! And now they are coming, and there'll be candidates and weyrlings and it will all be very exciting, a good distraction! And this is your first one here, isn't it, Nik? So it's extra special! Where do you wanna sit? I say up front if we can find places, so we can see as best we can!"
From the sands, Aerianth, gravid queen that she is, chooses to make her entrance in a leisurely fashion, though already the tremors of delivery shudder along her pale sides. As the weyr is quick to gather for such momentous events as a new clutch, the galleries are already dotted with people and the gold turns to whirl an irritated eye at them.
Meandering steps mark Nolee's ascent of the cavern's steps, as though she might be lost and just happening in at this particular moment. A bowl is in her arms, soon revealed to be filled with rather hot and fresh cookies, judging by the audible 'ow!' as her too-eager fingers are singed. "Stupid cookies. Ooo." It occurs to her to look around, and does a great job of blocking the stairs as she blinks, wide-eyed, at the goings-on.
R'tran waves to Jenna and M'yr as they arrive.
Another mating flight, another clutching -- and before long another hatching. Same ol', same ol'. Niklo just grins as her best friend pretty much bounces up the stairs of the gallery, shaking her head a little. "I know, I know, Tziv!" she laughs, "An' yeah, first one here, but... can't be all that different from High Reaches, right?" A small shrug.
Caitlyn scrambles in and up the steps, knuckle-rubbing at tired eyes still shadowed by sleep as she peers about to find a place to seat herself. Overhearing Nolee, the bluerider gives her a short wave, diverting steps to head in the junior goldrider's direction.
V'lano climbs to the seating tiers from the sands.
Griere climbs to the seating tiers from the sands.
From the sands, Volath emerges from the tunnel leading to the Weyrwoman's Weyr.
M'yr literally trots up the steps, thoroughly familiar with the steps under his feet and it shows. Beaming, he tugs Jenna along with him, waving widely to those he knows. "Greetings from Fort Weyr, Istans!" he calls out with that bright smile. "Heya!" A wave to R'tran is added also.
Jozell comes walking in slowly, his hands behind his back. He sighs slightly as he moves twords a place to sit.
Tzivya rolls her eye and gives Niklo a poke in the side, then grabs her hand to drag her towards the front of the galleries. "This the same girl who spent how much time and energy looking for firelizard eggs? These are much grander! Besides, I love all the new people we get cause of them, new friends to be made!" She finds a place for them and settles into a seat, though she is not remotely sitting still.
"I don't know why she waited so long," Griere grumbles, half to herself and half to V'lano as the pair make their way along the galleries. "We're probably lucky that she didn't start dropping eggs on the ledge." Despite her tone, there is a tease of a smile in the corner of her mouth, proof that she's excited about the clutch no matter how Aerianth might be going about it.
Jenna tags along after M'yr, absently adjusting her hair as she's tugged along, and letting M'yr do the formal greeting for the two of them. She's not really watching where she'd going, and M'yr's enthusiastic greetings insure he's not watching her steps either. As a result, she all but plows into Nolee, where the junior weyrwoman's stopped on the stairs with her bowl of cookies. "Shells and shards! I'm /so/ sorry..."
Niklo laughs all the more at her friend, "Leave it to you to think of it that way," she comments dryly, but her grin keeps it from being serious. Letting herself be dragged onward, she wrinkles her nose and adds, "Besides! Firelizards are a lot easier to take care of, an' they don't make you go crazy like dragons do. They're worth the time and energy..."
"She beat me." That's V'lano, speaking to the weyrwoman who accompanies him by one arm; the other arm carries a basket with yarn in it, or with something in it at any rate, little colorful lumps. And he nods to something on the other side of the crowd, something it's possible only he can see, something no doubt insignificant. And then, only then, does he start to get a sense for the number of -people- here, and really turn his attention to the matter at hand, and to Griere's remark. "Maybe she's... shy." Around that he twists a merry grin.
Kaelana ambles up the steps, quick on her feet, making sure to keep out of the way from swarming residents of the weyr. The glance given the stands by the queen elicit a faint squeak from the girl, a stumble imminant causing a small furrow in the flow of ascendants and a silent cursing from the man behind. A brusque apology is ofered before she scampers of towards a few familiar faces, twisting amoungst the earlier guests towards the front.
Nolee hails Caitlyn's sleepy wave with a wave of her own, tipping the full bowl in an offering to share. "Careful, they're very fresh. I swiped them," she proudly announces, then oofs as the Fortian Weyrwoman near-collides with her, managing for once to retain her balance and to smile cordially to their Fortian visitors. "Jays, you almost sat right on my lap!" She squints, then ooos, recognizing her. "Did you bring the little one? I've got cookies!"
Tannim settles himself into a seat off to the side of everyone else. He is watching the Queen with wide eyes evidently unaware of the gathering crowd about the stands.
Tzivya's head is darting hither and fro, bouncing lightly in her seat as she watches all the people streaming in to watch the clutching, and for the all-too-imminent eggs. When she spots Kaelana, she offers an energetic wave, "Kae! Over here! Room for you with Nik and I!" She looks back to Niklo, "Do you mind if she sits with us? And they don't make you go insane! People just get insane as they grow up!"
Caitlyn manages to notice a few others, though her height puts her at a certain disadvantage in the growing throng, hopping up and down a couple of times to wave at Jenna and M'yr. Luckily, the woman manages to avoid the pileup of weyrwomen as Nolee and Jenna crash together, giving a rueful little smirk of wry humor to both of them as she pulls near. The duet of V'lano and Griere are given a jaunty, tossed mockery of a salute.
Potikanda watches the throng of people around her with wide eyes as she takes a seat close to the edge of the ledge. She wonders if anyone she knows will appear for the clutching.
From the sands, Aerianth wastes little time. She rumbles to Volath, a vocalization that starts out tender but turns strained as her body reminds her of the task at hand. She goes about looking for the area of the sands that seems right, pawing here and smoothing there, but the trembling grows stronger and it soon seems like just right where she is will just have to suffice.
Niklo plops down heavily beside Tzivya, amused at the older girl's excitement and energy. At the question she just shakes her head that she doesn't mind, though it's doubtful it would matter even if she objected. "'Sides," the girl points out, "Dragons make people *more* crazy than jus' old crazy!" Sage nod.
Caitlyn peers down into the bowl Nolee offers, blinking thickly as she examines the contents. "Huh? Wha?" is her none-too-lucid reply - fingertip rubbing the sleep away from one eye's coner.
M'yr's hand is jerked from Jenna's, surprise registering as the grin fades to a distant smile. Trying a clearing of his throat, he is just about to reach out to steady Jenna, realizes she's still on her feet, then quickly avoids eye contact with either one. "Cait! Where's Gus?? How have you been? It's been... Hey. Griere! V'lano! How good to see you both! And... eggs!"
Makeup Spill Egg
From the sands, A collage of color washes over this glowing orangey-tinted egg, leaving stripes of ocean's depths blue, wilting foliage brown and rouge-kissed red amid scribbles of feature-defining black curlicues. Smears and smudges mar any particular shape from standing out, instead resembling a spill across the egg by a rather limited artist's palette. The wider end of the egg even appears to have been stippled with a sponge, leaving a menagerie of hue and value to create the illusion of an artificial beard's waves and depths.
Jenna recovers from the pileup relatively well, muttering apologies as she does. "No, it's past his bedtime, I'm afraid, Nolee." She gives a belated wave and nod to R'tran, now that she's not in danger of falling on anyone. "And Fort's duties," she offers around generally, with a rueful smile. She moves to a seat, glancing out at the sands. "Looks like we made it in time," and with an amused smile at M'yr as she settles next to R'tran. "He'll be like that until he settles down. He really should visit more. Then he'd babble less," she confides to her clutchmate.
Tannim finally tears his eyes from the sands for a moment to look around the stands and is somewhat surprised to see all the people assembled. He looks about for any familiar faces. He spots Niklo and Tzivya further up front and thinks twice about going to join them as the older one seems way to energetic for him at the moment. He looks about some more and not seeing anyone else he immediately recognizes goes back to raptly watching the now emerging eggs.
Nolee is all cheer and smiles, perhaps because it won't be her turn to sit out the next sevendays and beyond sitting the eggs on the hot hot sands. Unphased by Jenna's proximity or her presence, she shrugs sadly at the absent little she could've gotten sugared up, then smiles beyond to M'yr the shifty-eyed, then shrugs haplessly. "It's cookies, Kintryth's. Hot ones. I swiiiped 'em. Oh! And Ista's duties, all around."
From the sands, Volath's barely down onto the sands by the time that telling rumble speaks to him, by the time he realizes what his task here is meant to be. He pauses, one paw lifted like a hunting hound, muzzle pointed toward his queen. The telling ripples of her sides delay him further, but in a few moments he slinks out onto the sands, wings sleeked back, and begins -his- work: moving around with tail slowly swinging across the sand beneath him, laying fresh sand up for Aerianth's consideration.
Tzivya squeals as an egg makes an appearance, and her friends are utterly forgotten as her focus locks onto the ovoid object. "Ohh! interesting colorings on that one! Nice and birght and cheerful, though those dark marks are worrisome, I guess?" A shrug and a grin, and she squirms in her seat. "See? Better'n any lizard egg!"
Kaelana seems all too pleased when one of her 'familiar faces' turns about and hails her over. Jumping over a few people, it seems she's more jumping over people then around, whether this happens to be the case or not. Arriving at the destination, she gives an effusie grin and sits down beside Tzivya with a small wave, seeing uncaring about the possible consternation her entrance may have caused for those behind. She,for once at least, makes no remark and gazes raptly over the sands at the newest arrival, eyes glimmering.
Caitlyn takes peripheral note of M'yr's vocalized welcome, giving the tall Fortian a wide, though still slightly bleary grin, calling back to him in a voice more fit for a larger person, "Gus is in hiding, probably! And i've been swamped with my duties!"
"I can't imagine that anyone really wants an audience when something is being expelled from their body," Griere sniffs to V'lano. Thankfully that discussion is cut short by M'yr's greetings. The Istan Weyrwoman puts on a smile. "M'yr, Jenna," she offers dutifully. "Speaking of eggs, there's one now..." The short woman presses to her toes, reaching out to use V'lano for balance as she tries to get a better view of the egg.
Jascela climbs into the stands well after the majority of the audience arrives. She carries a small blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. She finds a seat well back from the sands and settles down to watch quietly.
Niklo grins, waving a bit at Kaelana heads over, but is quickly drawn back to the sands at Tzivya's squeal. "Wha-- oh!" She turns around fully and squints at the egg, trying to make out details. Then she shrugs. "Colors are jus' colors. Don't mean nothin'." A half smile. "Pretty, but I still say no better than a firelizard's eggs!"
In the Spotlight Egg
From the sands, Dark enough to nearly be missed against the black Istan sands, this egg is only distinguishable by it's glossy sheen, and the bright white splotch at it's top. Like a beacon in the night, the white fades down across the shell, disappearing into the darkness at the egg's base. It's rather unremarkable besides the path of white, it's only other features being the rough texture and ovoid shape that define it as an egg.
M'yr takes note of where Jenna is, sends her a handsome smile, then turns to walk closer to Caitlyn. And Nolee. As he approaches them, handsome turns beaming, back to his initial expression when he arrived. "Heya, Nolee. Good to see you." is genuinely offered. "You've been well? Oh, look! Another egg!"
Tzivya gapes at her friend. "See? You're perfect for being a rider, you're already crazy! And you'll get scolded if the riders hear you saying that!" But then the darker orb is there, and she is ohhhing again and looking with wide eyes. "Lookit that one, Kae! Almost can't see it!"
R'tran sees Jascela arrive and quietly makes his way toward her, seating himself at her side with a rakish grin and a moment's coo at his new son.
"Weyrwoman." That's V'lano, to Jenna, with a deep nod and deeper grin, dark eyes twinkling; let M'yr go on by and greet Nolee, and the Istan Weyrleader will somehow manage to overlook any better greeting for -him- than a glance and a grin before going back to fixing Jenna with that merry, too-pleased smirk. "Such a pleasure." Aside to Griere, just a waggle of brows: "She's had a little practice at it by now. But this is more crowd than we've usually got, isn't it? And more - " Back to Jenna, that smile. "Varied."
Nolee steps aside at last so the flow of visitors can progress more smoothly up the stairs to the tiers beyond, and she leans against the rail, relaxed for the moment. "I have been! No stuffing in my nose or anything." She looks him up and down appraisingly, then nods approvingly. "Nice leathers! That's a very becoming color. Would you, ah, like a cookie?" Caitlyn's given a re of the bowl as well, then she squints sandsward. "Oh, really? I missed it -- where's it at? Jays, it's so ...white. Is it healthy?"
Niklo laughs at her friend, grinning wildly. "Naw, s'exactly why I shouldn't be a rider! Jus' think how I'd be if I was crazier! Not good." A wink at Tzivya, and then she blinks as another egg is suddenly on the sands. "Shards, is that really an egg? You can barely see half of it!"
Jenna inclines her head to Griere and V'lano. "I'd heard it was a good flight. And a clutching's always a welcome diversion." She gives V'lano's feline-that-ate-the-wherry-chick look a warm grin of her own. "I only wish I had more time to indulge in a longer visit. Niyath loves the heat."
Stage Fright Egg
From the sands, Swirls and eddies of dusky brown and beige drift swiftly along and around the contours of this egg. The flowing whirlwind of shifting patterns accented even further by barren valleys and hills following the violent lines of motion. Buried partway in the black sands, this egg gives the illusion of a shimmering orb, its focus centered on whatever gaze wonders at it.
Jascela smiles over at R'tran as he joins her then carefully passes the bundle over to him. "Want to hold him while he naps?"
Kaelana can't help but look across Tzivya at Niklo with a raised brow, the girls comment enough to assume what warrented it. She gives a small cough of disbelief before turning back to the sands, the sights and sounds of the cavern seeming a bit overwhelming. "They're so pretty." Is all she whispers back to Tzivya.
Late as usual, Zyllia hurries up to the gallery and takes a seat quickly, not wanting to interrupt anybody, and not wanting to miss more of the clutching than she has to. She finds a seat near the railing and smiles to those she knows, bobbing her head to those she doesn't.
M'yr accepts the offered cookie, tasting it approvingly after a glance down at his clothing. "Thanks! Nice of you to say so. You're looking great! I miss the warm weather. It's too bad you were sick and couldn't join us when we came to visit." Dark eyes flicker about the area, noticing R'tran and Jascela. "Is that his child? I didn't realize.."
R'tran returns Jascela's smile, his eye meeting hers for a moment as he takes Celaran into his arms. He fumbles with the infant's receiving blanket, settling the child in his embrace.
Caitlyn gives a sudden, hard yawn as she regards Nolee and the arriving M'yr, shaking her head once to try and wake up more, her grin still plastered to her face. "You speak the obvious, good Weyrleader," is her good-natured jibe just as he turn to speak to Jascela, her dark head then turning to Nolee to nod enthusiastically, fingers plucking out a couple of those cookies. "Ah, thanks Nolee! I could use some sugar to wake me up..." *munchmunchmunch* Cait, too, moves aside to allow more people by, taking a seat just next to the small, gathered group on the nearest stone seat.
Griere's slim brow is quick to cock at V'lano and Jenna and all those curious grins, a sidelong view catching the pair of them. Her fingers, still resting on Vel's arm, give him a quick squeeze and the she steps away to move a bit further down the aisle where she might be able to see Aerianth's newest accomplishments better.
Tzivya grins to Kaelana, "Yes, they are! Always love seeing them, every one unique and beautiful. Never seen two that looked the same!" She turns her gaze on Niklo with a laugh, "You'd make a good greenrider, they're the craziest anyway!"
Jascela looks down toward M'yr and laughs quietly, nodding. "I'm afraid he's the only one I can think of who could be the father." She glances over at R'tran and grins as he takes the nearly newborn infant from her.
"Aerianth's flights have all been good." And V'lano would be the expert, then, or lifemate to the expert, and feel no apparent need to be any kind of humble about it. He turns a nod toward Griere, focusing -her- in his too-pleased regard for a moment to add, "It's my theory the weather here does something for our queens. Makes them spirited, among other things." But the Istan Weyrwoman's off toward the rail, and he just nods after her to let her know he's marked her destination and might join her there soon, then looks back at Jenna. "Small wonder, if I might be right, that Niyath would like the heat, then."
G'tive makes his way up the steps, two full skins of wine hang over his shoulder while a large basket rests in the crook of one elbow. Nods and smiles are given as he makes his way through the crowd, acknowledging people but not stopping to chat. When he's finally in front of his Weyrleaders he stops, grins slightly, and slips open the lid to the basket to reveal quite the assortment of wine glasses. "Either of you care for a glass? I've got a fruity red and a semi-sweet white."
From the sands, Aerianth shifts about, turning to inspect the last egg and to nudge it a bit closer to the previous one. She mounds the dark, sparkling sand up around them, protective and cozy. With her wings low like shields, she finds the right spot to deposit the next one.
From the sands,
Overstuffed Wardrobe Egg
From the sands, A number of colors swath this lumpen shell, though it's dominated by antique creams, olives and drab burgundies. More noteworthy is the appearance of texture, as if this patch here - a sandy brown in hue - were shaped from rough canvas, while the patch beside it, dark blood-red, might have been fashioned from fine crushed velvet. Misshapen as it is, there's a sense of having been dashed together in a hurry about this poor egg, almost like a heap of clothes and fabrics were dumped in a pile, and the pile - inspired - took on the form of life.
R'tran casts a grin M'yr-ward, cupping the baby's head gently and raising it so that the Fort weyrleader can see his boy's face. "M'yr, meet Celaran. Celaran, M'yr," he whispers, his voice heavily tinged with paternal pride.
Niklo just grins at Kaelana's look, giving a small shrug. But to Tzivya she replies, "Yeah, right. An' maybe I'll Impress the dragon in that egg," a nod at the recent arrival on the sands, "An' it'll be green, an' when she rises I'll drive everbody in the weyr crazy with my own craziness!" Gesturing wildly, she suddenly remembers how many people are here and bites her lip, shutting up and putting her hands on her lap. "Ahem."
Nolee smiles warmly and nods, her large brown eyes earnest. "I was mad at you then, too, but I'm more happy for you now," she states in her simple, oblivious manner. Her gaze follows his and she oohs. "Good idea, sweetening's just the thing to clear the sleep. Oh, that's right. She had a little one, Caity, did you know? Is that one of your riders, M'yr?" Yay, gossip! She looks over R'tran, then at the baby, then at other unfamiliar-ish faces, fascinated more by the crowd than by the eggs.
Another egg, another squeal - Tzivya is slowly creating a cleared space around her and her friends as people try not to be at ground zero of her excitement. "Ohh, I like that one! Very colorful! I like the ones with lots of different colors on them more than the ones that are all one or two colors. Which do you like best so far, Nik?"
Jenna smirks faintly at V'lano. "Well, you'd have to go all the way back to Kyriath to find Istan blood in Niyath, she's more Igen and Fort stock. Spirited... well, that's more her rider, I'm afraid. She's my calming influence," she trails off and nods towards the sands and the next egg.
Moving past, Griere overhears Niklo's proposals and turns to eye the young girl. The weyrwoman's cool eyes flick over her with a displeased expression, but as the eggs keep coming Griere doesn't linger for long.
From the sands,
Tulle on the Twirl Egg
From the sands, This egg is covered entirely with a fine web-work of tulle. Pale, whisper pinks layer over soft ivories in a decidedly airy and feminine arrangement. The delicate laces gather densely here and ruffle into each other there and seem, in general, to be twisting upward towards a white apex as if the whole egg were frozen in the midst of spinning.
M'yr reaches in to grasp a glass from Gus, klinking it against another on the way out of the basket. "Drink with you, Gus? Absolutely!" To celebrate that, he lifts the empty glass high and nods emphatically. "So how's V'lano treating you as his Second?" In a lower voice, he leans toward G'tive and whispers with a grin, "He was my best teacher, you know. Or at least the only one who'd put up with me!" Straightening, he catches Nolee's smile, returning it. "I'm glad, Noles. And yes, that's R'tran. Heya, Celaran! Well met! R'tran, he's a fine lad. Congratulations!"
Kaelana gives a little shake, her eyes losing the glazed expression she had so recently adopted, her lips curving up at the corners to form a excited little grin. Turning to Tzivya, an eye still trained on the sands, "I wouldn't know, don't get to see many clutchings. But I'll believe you this time." She lets out a little laugh and says across to Niklo teasingly, "But who'd notice the difference?"
Caitlyn overhears Tzivya's comment about greenies as she chomps those cookies, abruptly spitting a small spray of crumbs as she chokes and sniggers at it. A slightly askew look is momentarily given to Niklo, golden-brown eyes once more settling on her companions. A small, rather surprised shake of head to Nolee, then to Jascela - followed by a smaller grin. "No, i've been so busy, i've not kept up with much of anything! Congratulations, Jas."
Niklo doesn't notice the negative looks she gets from her little outburst of sarcasm, just wrinkling her nose at Tzivya and shrugging. "I dunno, I like the ones with jus' a few colors. Seem more organized. But none really caught my attention so far..." The very pink egg that appears next gets a mock-gag from her, "'Specially not that one."
Jascela smiles down at Caitlyn and nods to her, swinging her always-present huge earrings against her neck. "Thank you, Caitlyn." She glances over at R'tran, watching protectively.
"Then bring her for a nice long visit some time," murmurs V'lano, voice deep and rich just now, just for this. He turns, following Jenna's nod, to (supposedly) look out over the sands. But still he speaks to the Fortian Weyrwoman in that rumbly tone: "I'm sure the distance from your duties could provide calm if she chose to take a break from it. - Oh - " As if he's just realized something. The Weyrleader lifts his head, sending a gaze out across the crowd. "I need to go round up a runaway." Timing is everything. "You'll excuse me?"
From the sands,
Dramatic Mask Egg
From the sands, A dark and foreboding egg lies separated from the rest. It rests deep in the sands, as if it wishes to escape from view. The base color of the egg is an intense black, darker even than the sands it hides in. However, on the side facing up is a bright white oval with eye-shaped 'holes' in it, making it seem like a large mask has been forgotten out on the sands.
Tzivya, in contrast to Niklo's gag at the bright pink egg, gives a much louder - and more piercing - squeal. "Ohh! Pink! I love pink! Not as nice as purple, mind you, but definately mmy second favourite color!" And another egg hot on it's heals. "Ohh, and that one just looks menacing! That's /gotta/ be your green, Nik!"
Jenna nods politely to V'lano, lips curving in an understanding smile. "Of course, Weyrleader. In case we don't speak later - it looks like it's shaping up to be a lovely clutch."
Nolee nods to M'yr's introduction and she scoots into a row, leaning back to admire the baby from a pretty good distance, smiling politely, supressing an 'ugh' face then getting hollered at for blocking the view, Nolee finally squishes her ample backend between a few other people to make a spot for herself in the rows of people. "I wrote about the baby being born in my records. Hope I spelt his name right." Her gaze follows the squeal as she winces, then she supresses a retort by stuffing a warm melty cookie in her own mouth.
Niklo just laughs, shaking her head at Tzivya's new squeal. "I should've guessed..." she sighs, still grinning. But her expression visibly brightens as she spots the newst egg, a look of consideration crossing her face. "Well," the girl admits after a moment or two, "That one ain't bad at all. I like the dark ones."
Griere seems to have found herself a good spot to view the new eggs, though she does look towards V'lano in regular, idle glances. But she's still within earshot of Niklo and Tzivya and whoever may be sitting near them. It makes her let out a big sigh.
G'tive laughs as M'yr grabs one of the glasses out, mock threatening to snap the lid closed on his fingers. "Hey, no breaking those, I had to wrestle them out of the kitchen." Another glass is removed and set on a seat nearby so that Gus can fill it p easily, then offering to fill the glass in the Fortian 'Leader's hand. "White or red? And Vel, he treats me well, if you don't count him constantly trying to give me a heartattack. How's Fort treating you? Finding any extra grey hairs yet?"
"They always do," purrs V'lano. "I'm so glad you've come to see." And then he's off, around and up the aisle, behind most of the crowd, across toward the very end rail, where there's a small golden firelizard playing balance-on-toes on the wood.
Currently she's got her tail up and wings windmilling, like she might fall. She squeaks a peep when the Weyrleader scoops her so unceremoniously up and deposits her in the basket he's carrying, but that ends his 'round-up' and afterward he wanders down to a spot with a better view, nodding at newly entered spectators along the way.
From the Rafters Egg
From the sands, A band of latticed darkness wraps around this egg, the glows of the cavern shining on it giving the illusion of bright lights hanging below it. Staring too long at the surface may give one a sense of vertigo; shadows and shapes meld together and take form, giving a sense of depth as though yards lay beneath the dark band. A sea of dots that could be faces stretch out and disappear under the sands that nestle the egg and a stage takes the center, it's glossy wood floor waiting for the cast emerge.
M'yr's other hand reaches into the basket to pull out another glass, laughing at the Istan Second's attempt to catch his hand. "Red for me!" he replies quickly then glances over his shoulder toward Jenna. "How about you, Jen? Red? White?" A rakish smile comes. "Both? If you get white, you can have some of mine to taste both." Temporarily snared by the newest egg, he grins broadly. "I do like the darkness of /that/ egg!"
Tzivya laughs and nods, "Well, good you like it then!" Still, as the eggs pile up, some of her enthusiasm does wane; the approaching finish is already weighing on her. "But still, they are /all/ nice. Just some are nicer than others!" She glances at Nik sidelong, "You know I like pink! How could I not? Babies are pink! Well, some of them, but still!"
From the sands, Aerianth swings around to greet her new children with a wuffle of breath that blows grains of sand onto the wet eggs, glittering the shells and pools of goo with little black fleck. She looks to Volath, lifting her head proudly, but she barely has time for more before another wave of muscle ripples along her flanks.
Jenna considers M'yr for a long moment, and then rises to prowl to him. "White. I always prefer the white. But yes, I'll claim a bit of your red." Distractedly, she glances out at the sands. "How many eggs so far?" The question is put to all available ears.
G'tive obediently pours a glass of red and one of white for M'yr. He switches the wine on the chair for the basket and repositions the skins to the other shoulder, seemingly for comforts sake. A sip, a grin, and a sigh; must be good stuff. Looking over the rafter gets pursed lips. "I dunno, maybe a little blotchy or something..."
Kaelana probably isn't the only one wincing at the girl beside hers squeal. No comment is forthcoming however a pained smile in Tzivya's direction is her tactful way of sending on a hint. While the even -does- stretch on, she props up her elbows on her kness and leans on her knuckles, eyes glazing over yet again.
From the sands, With so much of the sands lain bare and fresh-turned for his queen to peruse, Volath has a moment to return his queen's look with one considerably less arch. It might be considered affectionate, even, and that impression's doubled by his approach and gentle whuffle at her foreshoulder, careful to keep clear of the eggs freshly placed before her.
As her lifemate keeps moving around the sands, Griere is forced to move, too. She turns to offer a smile to the girls she's been eavesdropping on, perhaps a slightly warmer smile for the compliments she's overhead. But then she's slipping back towards Jenna. "It seems to be progressing quickly," she says offhand, eyes mostly on the sands.
(log continued in next entry)