A Bit Belated- Egg touching

[Sparrow]

It had taken a lot of time and effort on Kora's part to get Nayarath to agree to her most hated part of nurturing a clutch of eggs, but finally the Gold had relented. Today the Candidates would be allowed onto the sands to visit the near ready-to-hatch eggs. All the terror of having them running around amid her clutch would bring a brief change to all the monotony she had been sitting through for the past weeks.

Alongside the usual anxiety and complaining attitude that Kora expected of her dragon, she was relieved to feel a little excitement too. Putting this off had at least built a little curiosity about just who the smaller dragons had found to Impress Nayarath's young. The queen didn't get many chances to see the Candidates, and thus had built a massive dislike for the general occupation over the Turns she had been dealing with them.

Those feelings would have to be reined in for a little while. Kora stood by Nayarath's shoulder, awaiting the Candidates that would soon be sent over by Meagen. Nayarath grumbled to herself and licked the rough tip of her queen egg, making sure it was clear of even the slightest debris. The queen egg, the pride of her clutch, sat between her forepaws, and had to look good.

Kora was more worried about Nayarath looking good (rather than grumpy and ready to eat someone) than the egg, but the queen wouldn't listen to that. She was a Gold. She always looked good.



OOC: Sorry about the wait on this. It just seemed really lame to do a touching with only two PC Candidates, and writing up egg descriptions is really boring... but I like to have them to keep track of who's bothering what. Here's the list:

Pyrite egg: Like all queen eggs, it is predominantly golden, but it is also flecked with bronzes and metallic browns. It has a very rough surface.
Fortress egg: A large, thick-shelled, pale gray egg with splotches of creamy yellow at the tip.
Scaled egg: A dark teal egg, medium sized, and covered small rings of near black giving it a vaguely scaly appearance.
Meadow egg: Yellow-green, with light brown at its base. It is a small egg.
Cobalt egg: Cobalt blue with a smooth, glassy surface. This egg is on the small side.
Ember egg: A large, gray-black egg with small splotches of deep red and orange.
Banded egg: A middle sized egg with red and yellow stripes.
Pearl egg: A small, smooth-shelled egg. It is more or less white, but has a pearly sheen that reflects other colors.
Turquoise egg: A small, vibrant turquoise egg.
Island egg: A large, blue egg with a spot of green at the tip.
Oasis egg: A large tan egg with a spot of blue at its tip.
Cocoon egg: A medium-small white-gray egg with threadlike bands of dark gray, giving it a woven appearance.
Hide egg: A larger egg with the shade of leather.
Banded egg: A middle sized egg with red and yellow stripes.
Fog egg: A dark steel-gray egg with cloudy patches of lighter gray. It is on the small side.
Warning egg: A vibrant yellow egg with a stripe of black around its middle. It is a small egg.
Maroon egg: A middle sized egg that has a deep maroon shade.
Clay egg: A small mottled brown egg.
Citrus egg: A small egg with mixes of bright green and yellow.
Rhubarb egg: A smaller egg that is red at the base, but quickly turns a dark, leafy green. A couple thin stripes of light red make it up the sides.
Gloss egg: A medium-small, silver-green, and very glassy egg.


Total: 21 Eggs

[wolflover1458]

It seemed quite absurd how much time they spent doing work. And now they were taking a break (sort of), but it was still work in itself. After all, it wasn't like they got to lounge around. No, they had to face the wrath of a golden dragon to touch her eggs. It seemed very dangerous. And yet, at the same time, oddly thrilling. Yes, Tessarah had to admit that, even though this didn't really count as free time or chore time, it was something she was looking forward too. There was something oddly pleasing about the idea of there being a dragon in that clutch that would choose her; a dragon that would bond to her and mean that they would forever be together. It was something she didn't spend to much time brooding on, because that brought insecurities, and she didn't like insecurities.

But this chance to meet those hatchlings for the first time? She wouldn't miss it for anything. So, with some excitement, Tessarah started to head leisurely down to the hatching sands. She wasn't in any kind of a hurry. As much fun as it sounded like it might be, she wasn't going to start running over like a maniac. Even a jog would be to much trouble. No, she preferred the slow, careful way of getting there. And if she was the last one there, so what? It didn't matter in the long run. Those eggs would still be there, and it wasn't like this was seriously going to affect who Impressed to what. Someone could stand by an egg all the time and coo over it, but that didn't guarantee their Impression to the dragon inside.

And with that thought, Tessarah got her first real glimpse of Nayarath. She felt a little concerned. After all, she was facing down a large Gold dragon, and that was always dangerous to do. Nevertheless, Meagen wasn't going to let them come down here if Nayarath were going to hurt them in any way. So with that thinking, Tessarah walked up to the golden Queen quite fearlessly and bowed to her. "Hello Nayarath. I hope you are well," she said to the Queen before indicating the Weyrwoman as well. Tessarah took a glimpse at the eggs and remembered what she thought they'd been told before. They weren't allowed to be rough (obviously) or hang around one egg (also obvious) or basically do anything that would upset Nayarath (had they been told anything that wasnt obvious?). The lack of common sense that meant some people actually had to be told these kinds of things worried Tessarah.

[Sparrow]

Of course Jackie wasn't the first one to arrive, but she was very pleased to find that she was hardly the last person either. Second, in fact. That was good. That was a record. She stepped lightly over the Sands- they were hot, which she had been warned about, but she didn't think they would be this hot. Well, it gave her a good reason to make sure she didn't trip. Jackie would not only anger Nayarath, come out with some burns for sure if she stumbled.

Jackie hovered behind the first girl to arrive, waiting anxiously for Nayarath to let her by. Who was this girl anyways? She was big. Nevertheless, Jackie had to get to know her. She knew most of the Candidates by now, and didn't like the idea of someone slipping through her fingers. That would come later. Now it was her turn.

Jackie bowed to Nayarath, and made the usual compliment and request. "You and your eggs are looking gorgeous; would it be alright if I visited them?" Nayarath already knew Jackie- the Candidate had certainly snuck into the stands often enough to spy on the eggs. Nayarath didn't miss her either. It never took long to feel one of those great faceted eyes on her. The Gold hadn't taken offense at it thus far, possibly because Jackie always ran as soon as she was found out.

Nayarath was watching her with laughter in her eyes now, but Kora gave Jackie the okay and she scurried forward towards the eggs.

---

She's fat. Nayarath eyed the first Candidate to appear with dismay.

She'll lose it as soon as she gets a dragon, Kora chided the Gold. This wasn't the first time they had gotten Candidates that were overweight, and wouldn't be the last. Nayarath just had to deal with it.
Kora smiled at the girl after she spoke. "Nayarath is very well, thank you. You're free to go visit the eggs."

A second girl wasn't far behind. Oh, her again. Nayarath rumbled softly. Tell her to make sure she's good to my eggs.

I'm sure she's been told. Not that Kora was going to turn down Nayarath's desire for a reminder. "Nayarath wanted me to remind you to be careful with the eggs," she said to Jackie, a slight quirk to her own smile. "But you're free to go on."

Two down, plenty to go. Nayarath seemed to be in a growing good humor though, and that was a good sign.

[Sketchy]

Dacien was late. Which was amazing, considering that this was perhaps the one thing that he was always punctual for. Touchings were like standing in the eye of the storm: all was calm until the eggs began to hatch, then chaos broke loose. He loved it.

Running a hand through his hair, hoping it wasn't too messy, and straightening his clothes, Dacien descended to the sands. He knew he should be used to it by now- he had done it before. But he couldn't help the feeling of apprehension in his stomach. No matter what dragon he Impressed - if he ever did - it would be significantly smaller than the gold who sat before him. Resisting the urge to brush his face, he faced the queen. Bringing attention to the scar on his face would do him no good at this point. He may be damaged goods, but he wouldn't let it get in the way.

Giving a small, accurate bow, that only looked a little awkward on his height, Dacien faced the queen and the weyrwoman. "Nayarath, you are as lovely as ever. "Weyrwoman Kora," he murmured, with a quick flick of his eyes to the woman. He couldn't help it- the golden queen was far more radiant in his eyes. Then again, he was a love-struck puppy when it came to dragons. He would admit this. "If it would be permissible, I'd like to visit your clutch." His eye had already caught sight of the teal turquoise egg, the vibrant blue standing out almost as much as the golden egg sitting in the queen's grasp.

OOC; If you'd like, I could apply with another candie, so we'd have another. It'd be kind of sad to see all these dragons barely Impress to any player characters. D:

[Sparrow]

They like me more, Nayarath taunted, her tone singsong. Kora ignored the Gold. Every Candidate preferred the dragon over its rider. She was plenty used to that. Well, get him moving! He's not here to visit my daughter.

The rest of the eggs were just eggs; the queen egg was her daughter, far more important (plus it came with the bonus of knowing what was inside, which probably also helped the habit). That this Candidate wasn't here to see the gold egg was given. "Go ahead," Kora said. Not that the young man's attention was very much on her.

Jackie, meanwhile, was getting her fill of eggs, but her favorite by far was the Warning egg. A name like that, a color like that, a size like that... it obviously held the perfect dragon for her.

OOC: I sure wouldn't mind. xD

[Sketchy]

Dacien's eye was immediately drawn to the Turquoise egg. With a steady hand, he felt the side and let his finger tips grace the banded egg, the stripes reflecting in the light. He loved the sands. No matter what came to pass for his life, he'd always remember them fondly. Fingering the scar for a second, he focused on the fog egg. The dark gray was small, wedged up beside a larger egg. Bending to look at it levelly, Dacien pressed his hand against it firmly. It was warm. Standing, with a silly grin on his face, he took a moment to look at the other candies.

Naturally, being older than most of the others, he distanced himself. He didn't like getting cozy with children who looked at him like he was a disease for not Impressing the last time. It wasn't his fault his dragon wasn't there.

[Sparrow]

Jackie had expected that getting to be around the eggs would be really exciting... but they weren't doing anything. She had found a favorite and now things were kind of boring. Well, except the giant dragon keeping an eye on them, that was neat, albeit a bit scary, but Nayarath wasn't about to talk to her, Jackie was quite sure.

Maybe she would visit the queen egg, just to say she had. She would wait for Kari to show up to do that though; Jackie didn't dare try it alone.

Until then... there was someone interesting. Jackie wasn't one to miss boys, particularly not tall, dark, and handsome ones with silly grins that were also possibly looking a little bored. He looked vaguely familiar too; up until this point, she had spent more time giggling with other girls over boys rather than bothering them, but it was high time she got to that. She trotted over to him.

"Hey! These eggs sure are neat, huh?" Sort of. "That one is pretty," she added, noting the misty one next to his egg. This boy looked like he ought to be visiting the big eggs, but of course there was nothing wrong with getting a taste of all of them. "I'm Jackie, by the way." Busily getting her feet burnt standing here. "You are...?"

[Sketchy]

Flocks of silly giggling girls were his forte, of course, but he hadn't had the time recently to explore that area of expertise. He grinned at her and caressed his egg just a little protectively. He knew the shells could be deceiving as to what was inside them- he wasn't about to judge them by their cover. "Dacien. Nice to meet you, Jackie."

Of course, he'd seen her around, in those little groups that always looked like they were clinging to each other for safety. In retrospect, though, perhaps they were. "Is this your first touching?" Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't help but put a little bit of flirt into it. Leaning in to talk to her, making eye contact. He wouldn't overtly start anything, of course, but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun. Dacien glanced at the other girl at the touching, wondering idly where his brother was. It wasn't like him to be late.

Gesturing to the fog egg, he grinned. "Just never know what's inside of these. It'll surprise you."

[ShadowReine]

Karisna did not rush onto the Sands, even though she was slightly behind the other Candidates and with damp hair that likely indicated some accident had occurred.

Last time she had done this the queen had been the smaller Jorindath. Nayarath had a rather more intimidating air to her, not just size but...goldness.

Kari stepped out onto the Sands, walked about half the distance to the eggs and then dipped a curtsey. "Nayarath," she greeted. "If I may..."

Her eyes drifted over the clutch. She knew she should. She knew she needed to ask first. Yet she was not sure she was worthy even to approach the egg Nayarath no doubt guarded most closely of all. But it was her duty...all of the female candidates should introduce themselves to the queen within her shell.

Give her the best chance to truly choose which of them might be worthy of her. She took a single step forward, reaching within herself for the kind of inner strength she knew in her heart she needed to have a chance of Impressing.

"May I touch the queen egg?"

There. She had asked. And, of course, she would touch the other eggs too...especially the small ones that would contain the greens and barreds. But it felt to her that to not give the queen priority would be...disrespectful, even if she did currently lie within her golden shell.

[wolflover1458]

Tessarah moved off after greeting Nayarath. The Queen was curled most protectively around some of the larger eggs, and she didn't think she wanted to go there just yet. Certainly they were larger and would have larger dragons, but there would be time for that later. She did make a mental note to visit the queen egg before leaving though. There wasn't much of another point to being here. There would be more female Candidates this time around simply because of Nayarath's golden egg. Yes, she was going to go there, but it could certainly wait. Besides, all the other female candidates were bound to want to coo over it for a while. No point in getting muddled up in that. Wait until they found something better to do.

She noticed a small yellow-and-green egg next to her. It was quite pretty. She smiled and bent down to stroke the Citrus egg. It had an odd texture, but then she couldn't really know what to expect the eggs to feel like. Apparently this was how they felt. The idea of there being a dragon in there, one that was going to emerge and find a partner to spend its life with, made Tessarah wonder. Inside one of these eggs, there might be a new partner for her, one that would be hers for her whole life. And if there wasn't, she would get another chance, or maybe she wouldn't. And if she didn't, she could stay here if she wanted to, or leave sometime as well. Glancing at the shell of the Citrus egg, she smiled again and then shifted to the Rhubarb egg. Probably a Green in there, but you couldn't really tell just by the shell, and if she didn't meet the Greens and Barreds of the clutch she might not Impress to one. Did she want too? Tessarah had no idea. There was an odd allure to the idea of the Queen egg, but only was candidate was going to get the Queen dragon. No reason to spend the whole egg touching around one large egg. The smaller ones might start to feel left out.

[Sparrow]

Nayarath watch Kari coolly, waiting for a complete request. People that couldn't finish a question the first time were not her favorite, but she knew Kora knew this girl a little, and her rider wouldn't appreciate Nayarath speaking the comments that came to mind.

Finally came a request to touch the queen egg- a bit surprising, but maybe that's what had made her more nervous. I suppose, Nayarath told Kora, raising her head to a regal height and eying Karisna with an expression she imagined made her look very protective and dangerous.

"Nayarath says you may," Kora replied, with a slightly exasperated look at the dragon. We need the girls to visit this, you know.

OOC: Blah, I'll post with Jackie after school.

[wolflover1458]

Hunolsik had waited a while to go down and see the eggs. He didn't feel like following behind a group of candidates that were all babbling loudly. Luckily, he didn't run into any such thing on his way down, but he probably would have if he hadn't waited. Now he was walking leisurely down to the hatching sands, his mind wandering in a lot of different directions as he headed that way. It was nice outside, if a bit chilly, but it didn't bother him. The Sands would be hot anyway. He could feel the heat emanating from the hatching grounds even as he approached it. The scorching burn under his feet would probably be the only downside though. Besides, they would get to see Nayarath's eggs, even feel them. That was quite worth it.

Coming up to the giant Gold dragon, Hunolsik looked at her and realized that she was as large as dragons got. Certainly, other Golds could be larger, but Nayarath was of a larger size than any dragon he could hope to attain. That was most likely a good thing though. Hunolsik didn't feel that he could keep it with a large dragon very well. Most of them were to free-spirited anyway. He approached the golden dragon, trying to keep himself from getting to nervous, and bowed to her, not saying anything, and not inclined to either.

[ShadowReine]

Kari dipped another curtsey, pulled herself together and then approached the gold shelled egg with much more confidence. She suspected Kora liked her. She suspected Nayarath...didn't. Then again, she wasn't entirely sure the red-marked gold liked anyone other than her rider.

The egg was a bit larger than the others, although not, Kari noted, as much as it at first seemed. She wondered how much size meant in terms of the color of the dragonet inside. There was some size difference at hatching, but it wasn't that much.

She reached out to rest her hand on the shell, feeling the queen egg's heat...heat absorbed from the sands, warming the unhatched dragonet within. Would it be a brilliant gold like its dam or, as most suspected from the tan sire, a soft violet?

Either way, there was a queen dragon within, and she was daring to approach it, almost surprised at her own courage. She wondered...could the dragon hear through her shell. They did believe the hatchlings knew the Candidates were there, began their assessment. Thus, she lingered, as if to let the queenling judge her fairly.

"Choose well for the Weyr," she murmured to the egg. A green or barred chose only for herself. So to an extent did the smaller males. But the bronzes and tans, the golds and violets...they had more of a duty. This queen had to choose the best girl possible, one capable of being Weyrwoman. For a moment, she imagined herself astride a violet neck, knowing it could happen. Unsure whether it really *should*. Only after a moment more of lingering did she step back so that one of the other young women could approach the most precious of Nayarath's eggs.

[Sparrow]

Jackie grinned. She should have gotten to Dacien earlier. "Yes, it is." But it sounded like it wasn't his first touching. Jackie doubted any first-timer would go around asking others if it was their first time. She could already see the people she knew were new, very busy visiting eggs, not chatting. "You have some wisdom to share with me?"

The following comment on eggs wasn't exactly what she had in mind. "Do you not like guessing what's in there? I think that one looks like it could be a... Blue." Because it was mostly blue. And it was smallish. A large dragon wouldn't reside in a smaller egg would it? Not that there was a huge size difference... but Nayarath seemed to have a preference. All the bigger eggs were nearer her. It took more courage to go to them, and that would be what the big males looked for.

"But I don't mind a surprise," Jackie added. Surprises were always fun. It was simply even better to be right.

---

Nayarath was busy watching Karisna, but Kora didn't miss the approach of another male Candidate. He came, bowed, and... waited. Nayarath noted her rider's change in attention and looked at the Candidate.

Is he here to visit eggs or to gawk at me? She asked, irritation now tinging her voice. This was two laggers now, one far worse than the other. He hadn't even started speaking.

Kora frowned. "Nayarath would prefer you asked permission to see her eggs," she advised the young man quietly. It wasn't entirely necessary; Kora could say he was free to go on and most likely Nayarath wouldn't argue, but listening, obedience, and, the end result, manners, were vital here. And not just at the Senior Queen's feet.

[wolflover1458]

Hunolsik glanced at Kora and then back at Nayarath. It figured they would expect him to say something. "Of course. I came to see your eggs Nayarath. I'm sure they are doing well with you as their mother." The last part wasn't really necessary, but the Gold dragon seemed rather annoyed at the moment, and Hunolsik didn't want to seem like he was holding out against her. He'd just hoped to get through all of this without having to speak to anyone. When that wasn't possible he decided he might as well try to get a little more on the Gold's good side. Besides, it was true that, under Nayarath's expert care, her eggs were probably faring extremely well.

His glance sidled over to them for a moment. All of the larger eggs were curled up next to Nayarath, and he didn't feel trying to get close to them would be a good idea. Besides, riders with bigger dragons had more expected of them, especially if they ended up as Weyrleader. He would be happy to just stick with a smaller dragon. The smaller eggs on the edge of the clutch were best for that. He looked back at Nayarath. Were gold dragons always this grumpy?

~~~~~

Tessarah had continued to look at all of the smaller eggs. A lot of them had vibrant colors, and that was something about them that she could appreciate. Even the gold egg didn't have quite the vibrancy that some of these smaller eggs contained. They were unique in their own way, and that was quite deserving. Tessarah had to wonder what dragon, if any, would want to chose her out of this clutch. Would be a Green? A Barred? A Blue? Her eyes looked in the direction of the queen egg. A Queen? Tessarah knew she had a chance at that, but she let it go. That idea had some allure to it, certainly, but every other girl here had a shot at Impressing to the Gold or Violet that was inside as well. And stressing over it was naturally impossible for Tessarah. Still, she'd made sure to give some attention to most of the smaller eggs. It was time she gave the grandest one a bit of attention.

It was quite impossible to walk up there without having to face down Nayarath though, and there was no way she could just walk up and start looking over the Gold's most valued egg. More talking was clearly in order. Another girl had already been to the Queen egg. Tessarah might as well try it out now. She stepped carefully around the smaller eggs and approached the golden dragon again. "If it doesn't bother you to much, I'd like to see the Queen egg too." There was nothing wrong with asking, after all, and Nayarath wasn't going to attack them for talking to her. Probably.

[Sketchy]

"No, it's not my first," he replied good naturedly. "My dragon just wasn't here yet, that's all." Again the confident smile. Looking thoughtfully at the eggs, Dacien shrugged. "I find it hard to believe that dragons would lay eggs with colour coordinated shells. I think we just like to think they are." A flash of teeth in his grin, as if even he understood how foolish he sounded. "But it doesn't matter to me either way. Dragons are amazing, no matter the colour."

"As far as advice goes... don't be afraid." He tapped the scar on his face. "I think fear scares the dragonets."

Before Dacien could get any further in his chatting though, there was a loud ruckus from the entrance to the sands. All he could hear were garbled sounds, the rock walls distorting the words. But he recognized the voice. It sounded just like his. "Oh dear," he murmured, eyes on the entrance.

~

Tacien couldn't help that he was late. If that silly dragonrider had just put him down where he asked to be put down, things would've gone according to plan. Scouring the sands with his eyes intent, he stopped on Dacien. With a girl, of course. Giving an exasperated sigh towards his twin, he trotted up to the queen and the weyrwoman. He cut a deep bow before straightening.

"Weyrwoman Kora, Gold Nayarath. Candidate Tacien, reporting for the touching." His lips turned up just a little, "Well, that is, if Nayarath agrees." Standing straight and tall, shoulders pulled back, Tacien eyed the weyrwoman more than the dragon. He always thought to look behind the dragon, who to him, was like a figurehead. The dragon gave them the status, but it was always a question of whether the person was worthy of that status or not. He'd heard good things about this weyrwoman, and he hoped to see them proven true. Hazel eyes flicked to his twin (who was explaining to Jackie in amused tones about his brother) before back to the pair.

[Sparrow]

Nayarath rumbled. Yes, compliments made up for making her wait. Why thank you. Of course she spoke only to Kora, but that the queen was cheered again would be visible to the others.

"Nayarath says thank you," Kora said with a small smile, although honestly she was already tiring of being her dragon's medium. "You can go see the eggs."

She was through with the boy, but they were hardly getting a break... there was a girl back to see the queen egg. Nayarath looked her over and mumbled something to Kora that she wasn't about to repeat, but didn't say that the girl couldn't come forward. Kora took that as a yes, and would have passed on the message, except for Nayarath.

The Gold lowered her great head, easily as long as her tall rider, and snorted a breath of hot air over the queen egg, blowing off any debris that may have gathered since Kari's visit. That act of motherly intimidation finished, she raised her head again. Okay, ready.

"She's ready for you now," Kora said, with a slight roll of the eyes at her dragon. Hopefully she wouldn't put every girl through this.

[Sparrow]

"I have a friend who this is her second time." Jackie looked around, and there was Kari, leaving the queen egg. Shoot. She would have to go alone then, if she did at all. "Maybe you know her? Karisna?" Kari hadn't ever mentioned him, so probably not, but maybe he at least knew who she was.

Jackie wasn't sure how pertinent that was to the conversation, however. More interesting subjects ahoy. "You got that from a dragon?" She peered at the scar. "That must have hurt."

She was pretty sure she had heard the fear advice before. Scars and past injurious adventures trumped listening to that advice over again, even if they were related. But it appeared that with all the ruckus was going to come an even more interesting subject. Of course Jackie didn't miss the newest Candidate, and she blinked. "He looks just like you!"

---

Nayarath's gaze immediately swung towards the noise as well, and she watched with unsettled eyes as another young man appeared, one that looked rather familiar. She looked back at the first boy to appear, and down at Kora, a bit confused.

Twins, dear heart. Sometimes they look alike. They had had twin Candidates once before, but they hadn't been identical. Nayarath had no experience with that.

Nayarath peered at Tacien curiously as he spoke, then rumbled. Yes, I agree. She liked him already, despite the fact that he seemed to be paying far more attention to her rider.

Kora appreciated that more than her dragon did, considering that thus far she had been almost entirely ignored. "Nayarath agrees," Kora repeated, with a smile and half a laugh. "You might want to bring your twin over so she can see you're different people though."

I'm quite aware that they're different people, Nayarath huffed.

[wolflover1458]

Hunolsik, pleased that he could get through this now without any further conversation, moved off to see the eggs. The Scaled egg was the first one he stopped by. It had a rather interesting shell and he couldn't help but stop to admire it. Every dragon had such a unique shell. It was interesting to look at all of them. This one medium sized egg was just very interesting looking. Dark and scaly, he wondered what would hatch out of it. Maybe a Brown, or a Blue. Probably not anything bigger though, and that was what suited Hunolsik.

He glanced at the Pearl egg next. It was small and white. Most likely a Green dragon, or maybe a Barred. There were excellent dragons to place in Wings though, and there was no reason to have any sort of complaint about there being to many smaller dragons. Their riders didn't get as much glory because there more of them than Bronze, Tan, or Queen riders, but they were still important. Pern wouldn't have survived thread this long without the smaller dragons. He stroked the Pearl egg again before diverting his attention to the Cobalt egg. It also had some interesting colors.

~~~~~

Nayarath didn't seem particularly happy, but then Tessarah could hardly think of a reason why the dragon would be. Gold dragons apparently never enjoyed having Candidates around their eggs. No clutching dragon did, it was maternal instinct. Still, she was allowed to visit the Pyrite egg now, and Tessarah was glad to get to do so. It had a nice metallic shine, predominantly gold but with some flecks of bronze and brown as well. That didn't make it any less majestic. It was an egg with reckoning. Tessarah had never realized the driving force of such an egg until that moment. She moved her hand down its glossy surface, wondering what was inside. It could be a Violet or a Gold. Everyone said it was more likely a Violet, and Tessarah had to agree. A Tan dragon was more likely to sire a Violet than a Gold, right? They were smaller than Bronzes.

But no matter what, the dragon inside was going to be very important. She would break through her egg shell someday in only a few weeks, and find a girl that was worthy of her. Tessarah didn't know who that would be. It didn't matter much either way. The point was that the Weyr would soon have another clutching dragon, and their rider would suddenly become much more important. Quite a silly thing, but oh so very true. From the moment a Queen chose a rider, that person's life was set apart as different. They would learn from the Weyrwoman instead of learning to fly in ranks and chew firestone.

Tessarah tore her mind away from it. This wasn't even the hatching, and she was getting to involved in this to be enjoying it anymore. She headed off from the Queen egg. Now that she'd seen it, others should get a chance. Besides, some of these smaller eggs still needed attention.

[Sketchy]

"I was pretty terrified the first time, and a blue sliced me up to get to his bonded." He gave a faint smile. "It's hard to be afraid of them now, though. At least for me. I already know what they do." He shrugged off her comments about pain- "Of course it hurt, but I hardly think about it now."

Focusing now on Tacien, he watched him approach the queen and her rider. "Yes, he's my twin. A bit older than me, though he acts like it's the biggest difference in the world." He paused. "I suppose I should go over there," he murmured. So quiet for a second, he paused to smile at Jackie. "Come if you'd like. He doesn't bite."

With that he turned and made his way carefully around the eggs, taking his time as his brother still seemed to be talking to the weyrwoman.

~

A small lift of his lips was all that Tacien gave in reply about being twins. He knew his brother would come over- it was just something he did. Hands clasped behind his back, he took another glance over the weyrwoman again. He instinctively liked her; she was of his mind, he thought. But then again, anyone who had to take responsibility for anything was someone he liked. Dacien stood a polite distance from his brother, and bowed again to the dragon and her rider. "I see you've met my brother," Tacien commented dryly, gesturing as Dacien bowed. "We're identical," Tacien started, "but not hard to tell apart," Dacien finished, grinning at his brother.

Again with the barely a smile as Tacien shrugged. He wasn't sure why he thought his brother would have changed in all the years he'd been gone. "Tacien is all responsible and such." Dacien's tone was playful as he took a dig at his brother. It'd always been a point of contention for the two that Dacien never took anything seriously and Tacien took everything seriously.

Ignoring Dacien's comments, Tacien continued, meeting the weyrwoman's eyes as he spoke. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time later to get to know each other. For now, I should probably let my excitable brother show me off to the eggs and his pretty friend."

Dacien rolled his eyes and dragged Tacien away, an arm around his brother's shoulders. "I didn't think you'd show," he commented lowly, turning towards Jackie.

"Of course. I had to," Tacien replied stiffly.