Pre-Hatching Jitters (Open)

[Rei]

Raylin walked along the sandy beach Vega perched haphazardly on her shoulder. Her pace was brisk and the little flitter had to unfurl his wings to keep his balance. Finally the bumpy ride proved to be too much and he launched himself into the air with a comforting croon. His was worried about something, what he wasn’t sure, but her worry distressed him. The dark haired candidate smiled at her flitter and sent him loving reassurances. There was no need for him to be upset.

The pale flitter gave an answering chirp and glided down the beach. He landed at one of the many tide pools that littered the beach and cocking his head as he regarded the wonders swimming within the little pool. Raylin kept walking her head full of thoughts. She had decided to take this walk to help her perhaps unravel some of these thoughts and calm herself before the quickly approaching hatching. Would she prove suitable to a dragon? Was it really up to fate? Had she prepared enough? All these questions and untold others lurked in her mind and each fought for position.

The answers would only come after the hatching but still she had to do something to keep from going crazy. Every one of the candidates she had met thus far, save Cloar, were jumpy, nervous, and impatient as of late. Aslath’s clutch was calling to them all and yet no one knew who would be chosen. It was inevitable that some would not impress. The question on everyone’s mind was will it be me? Raylin stopped and sat on the warm sand watching the waves roll back and forth. The ocean was much calmer than the storm raging in her head.

[topaz]

Venus ambled down the coastline back towards the Weyr. Her gray tunic hung loosely around her frame and swished around her waist as the salty ocean breeze blew against it. Her bare feet sunk into the sand as she walked gradually back up the slope of the beach, the grains sticking to her skin all the way up to her ankles.

Her boots were slung over her shoulder by their strings, leaving her fingers free to run over the pretty trinkets she had found on her walk; some rippled shells with opalescent insides, black marbled stones, even a piece of eggshell from an unidentified creature. She fancied it from a firelizard clutch. Venus smiled as she looked over her collection, and almost didn't realize there was another person in her path. The chirp of a firelizard alerted her first, and she looked up and stopped, only a few yards away from the black haired girl sitting in the sand. She let out a little startled gasp, and then smiled sheepishly, her eyes darting elsewhere.

Venus giggled softly and looked back to the girl and her flitter. "Sorry, I didn't see you there." She smiled. About to take a step to the side, and leave the girl in peace, she stopped herself. "You were at the Clutching, weren't you? From Selenitas Hold?"

[Rei]

Raylin was so absorbed in the ocean and her thoughts that she didn’t hear the girl’s approach until she gasped. The candidate turned around to examine the girl. She had dark brown hair and was a lot taller than her. She had seen this girl before. After all she resided in the same barracks although they had never spoken past a mumbled good day. Vega turned his head and gave a croon as he winged back to his. He perched on her shoulder, his pale hide striking against the dark brown of Raylin’s shirt. The little flitter regarded the girl with a curious look tilting his head to the left as if that gave him a better view.

Raylin couldn’t help smiling back at the girl as she spoke even though right now she preferred to be left to think. “No you didn’t really scare me. Living here I am getting used to being startled. Seems like it happens on almost a daily basis.” Her voice held a friendly if not welcoming tone no sense in being rude it wasn’t this girl’s fault that she stumbled upon her. Having decided that the girl wasn’t all that interesting, Vega yawned and curled his tail around Raylin’s throat and the girl raised a hand to stroke her flitter brushing at the of the grains of sand that had clung onto his pale hide. She kept her eyes however focused on the girl’s face.

She seemed friendly at least. “Yeah I was at the clutching. If I am correct you are from Selenitas Hold to?” She asked it as a question even though she was sure she was correct. “I’m Raylin by the way and if I remember correctly your name is Venus. Right?” Vega cooed in happiness the scratching of the sand against his hide felt so good! His should sand him more often!

[antinanco]

Pasine was nervous.

It was an entirely new feeling to the girl, who was used to the monotony of the Weaving workshop. Now she had no clue how to contain this new, tense energy . She had tried weaving, but couldn’t even get the simplest patterns done with her jittery hands. She had tried klah, but, well, that had only had it worse. And she couldn’t seem to find anyone that she was acquainted with! It was like she was losing her mind, and it was unbearable!

Remembering what good luck had come to her last time she had ventured outside for no good reason, the desperate Candidate donned her work boots and set out for the coast. The coastline had been familiar sight at Southern that she hadn’t seen in a while and she hoped it would bring her some sort of comfort.

It didn’t.

The only thing the magnificent sight of the ocean grinding away at the earth gave Pasine were feelings of homesickness that only compounded her case of the Pre-Hatching jitters. And the salty breeze gave her a horrendous taste in her mouth. Hmpfh. She chewed on her upper lip (which now tasted faintly of salt) and scanned for something of interest, something to distract her, if only for a few seconds.

There! Down by the tidal pools, a tall, brunette girl and a girl hunched over with a blue flitt! That certainly seemed interesting! Pasine keenly made her way down to the sandy beach, suddenly glad she had worn her work boots. The idea of chaotic sand grinding up into every crevice with no rhyme or reason did not appeal to her. Nature had no order, she sighed.

As she got closed to the two figures, Pasine recognized them as Candidates. Oh, they were part of the Selenitas Hold crowd, weren’t they? Suddenly she wasn’t so eager to go down and say hello. Her pace dawdled to a halt a few feet away from the two. What now? She didn’t want to go back to being nervous, but on the other hand she didn’t want to disturb the Selenitas Hold girls. Pasine stood in the one spot, watching the two with curious but guarded eyes.

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[topaz]

Venus nodded. "Yes, that's right." She looked fondly at the little blue flit around Raylin's neck. Having a flitter would be nice in the days leading up to the Hatching. Venus had been alone with her thoughts a lot lately, and the anticipation of seeing the eggs hatch was almost too much for her. Never had she ever been so nervous and excited at the same time! But the day was fast approaching, so she wouldn't have to wait much longer. In the meantime, why not make some friends? Venus usually wouldn't just go up and start a conversation with a stranger, but she figured if they both Impressed, they'd be together fairly often anyway. At least she hoped she'd Impress. "It's nice to meet you, Raylin." She said her name aloud in an attempt to commit it to memory.

Just then she noticed another girl approaching. Venus remembered her from the Clutching, if not for her rememberable appearance, because she was the only one there from Southern Hold. She smiled as she took a seat on a rock protruding from the sand to her right. "Hello there. You're a Candidate as well.. She half stated, half asked. "Pasine right?" A soft, friendly smile on her lips.

[Rei]

Vega’s head pushed at Raylin’s hand and he gave a startled cheep at the appearance of yet another girl. His eyes quickly lost the tinges of yellow however. His girl was quiet he appreciated quiet. In fact he went as far as to leap of Raylin’s shoulder and loop around the new girl. The candidate was aware of her flitter’s exit but didn’t turn to see what had attracted him. It would have been rude not to respond to Venus. “Nice to meet you too Venus” Suddenly she blinked; Vega had sent her an image of a girl standing off to the side.

Raylin turned around and smiled at the newcomer. “Hi Pasine.” The candidate said in a friendly tone. Her eyes drifted to her little flitter who was gliding in circles around the southern girl. “He seems to like you. He normally doesn’t warm up to people that fast. I imagine if you stuck out an arm he may feel inclined to land.” Her voice was friendly and welcoming. By now she had adopted hostess mode. The two had really never done anything to tick her off so why not be welcoming? Sure she wanted to be alone but they were both candidates perhaps they were feeling the same trepidation she was. The dark haired girl turned to regard the ocean again leaving the other two to continue a conversation if they wished.

[antinanco]

Pasine was amazed that so many people remembered her name! She hadn't even directly spoken to them yet, but somehow they must've remembered from the Clutching? A smile broke out on her face and she approached the group fully.

"Good afternoon!" she replied in return, taking just one more moment to sort out faces with names, "How has the day been treating you, Raylin, Venus?" Hopefully better than it was treating her. But she didn't mention anything aloud just yet. She didn't want to sour the friendly atmosphere.

Leaning over the pool, Pasine gazed into the bite-sized ecosystem contained in the left-overs of the last tide. Besides looking positively murky, the chaos and disorder deterred her curiosity. How had she thought this was going to calm her again? In fact, why did anyone think this was going to be calming? Phrasing her question in a bit less offending way, she questioned, "So what brings you two out to the Coast today?"

As the little blue flitter spun circles around her head, Pasine debated sticking an arm out. She had chosen a deep violet sleeved tunic for the outing, already knowing that the breeze off an ocean was always cooler than a breeze by land. Would the fire lizard's claws rip the fabric? She didn't have the money to replace it, even if she bought the materials and wove it herself. But the hesitation only lasted a moment. She could always sew the hole back up again anyway. Her arm raised and she beckoned the little lizard with a little gesture of the hand.

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[topaz]

Venus grinned at Pasine's cheerful greeting. "I am very good today, thank you." She watched the blue flit swirl around Pasine's blonde head and giggled softly. Firelizards certainly were entertaining. Venus had only seen a few glimpses of them at Selenitas Hold, but now in the Weyr, she saw a dozen of them a day at least! Maybe she would try and Impress one the next time a clutch was found; a mental nod affirmed her decision. Returning her attention to the blonde, Venus kept her smile. "Well I was only trying to clear my head and get away from the Weyr for a bit. You know? It's still a little overwhelming..the change from Hold to Weyr life." She paused for a moment and looked instinctively in the direction of the Weyr. She shook her head as if done with the topic. "And I found some shells and things along the shore.." She held out the hand they were in and smiled childishly. I was thinking of trying to make something with the smaller shells. A necklace maybe.." She shrugged.

[Rei]

Raylin gave a shrug and turned to answer Pasine in a level tone. “Oh I suppose the day hasn’t been too bad.” She watched with interest as Vega circled once more and then carefully alighted on the girl’s proffered arm. He gave a small chirp and carefully made his way to her shoulder where he sat and preened his wings before folding them carefully. His eyes whirled a contented Blue green as his head tilted first one way and then the other. This girl would pet him yes?

Raylin giggled at his antics. “He sure seems to have taken to you. It took him almost a month to decide that he would land on Saeo but then again she is kind of intimidating at times.” The candidate smiled at Pasine before turning to include Venus. “As for what brings me here today I just had to get out of the barracks the waiting is becoming almost unbearable. I wonder every evening if I will impress or be left standing.” She paused and clamped her mouth shut. She must be nervous because here she was rambling on to two girls she barely knew!

Venus’s comment was a welcome distracting from her slip up and she pounced upon it. “Oh shells can I see them?” She queried politely trying to sound interested. A change of subject would most defiantly be welcome.

[antinanco]

Pasine watched with amazement as the blue landed on her extended arm (not cutting the cloth, she noted) and crept his way up her body. As his head tilted that and this way, she copied him in curiosity. What was he doing? Examining her?

Saeo? Hm… wasn’t that the emotional girl? Or was she thinking of someone else? Pasine had to suppress a shrug for Vega’s sake. She didn’t want him to fall off of her shoulder now that she had gained his apparently hard-to-earn-trust. The Candidate began to compliment the pale blue, seeing something of herself in him, but realized she didn’t even know his name. Glancing at Raylin out of the corner of her eye, she asked, “What’s his name?”

Pasine’s curiosity was currently being occupied by the fire lizard, and thus she didn’t find much the shells. Perhaps for Selenitas Fold they were a rarity, but since Southern was a coastal port Hold it was common to see the like adorned on all sorts of jewelery and cloths. It had been a common request to have her sew fragments of sea-glass and shells into weaves. Still, she couldn’t help but peak at the open palm. “Those are very nice,” she commented truthfully, but with a dull, flat tone, “Do you know anyone who would make a necklace for you like that?” It could be very expensive, but if the girl knew a cheap source then she was all ears.

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[topaz]

Venus smiled. "Sure." She reached into a pocket and pulled out a few more shells she had and added them to the collection in her hand. Offering the girls a closer look, she extended her arm. Among the dozen or so shells there were many different kinds; some were smooth, others bumpy and laden with barnacles, and while some were plain and white, there were a few with shiny blue insides or red spots across them. Venus pointed to a long, spiraling, white shell with dainty tan spots. "I was thinking that one would be in the center of the necklace."

Turning to Pasine she smiled. "Thanks. But no, unfortunately I don't know anyone to do it for me. I figured I'd try it out myself first." She chuckled, imagining the mess she would probably make when trying to make holes in the shells. "Even if I ruin them, I'm sure I could find more here anyway." She smiled.

[Rei]

Vega gave chirp as Pasine copied him. He was amused. He gave another chirp and fluttered his wings his eyes whirling in tranquil blue and green. Why wasn’t she stroking him? He sent his bonded a picture of a hand and a yearning feeling. Raylin looked towards her flitter just barely catching Pasine’s question in the process. “Oh his name is Vega, and he wants to know if you will pet him. He especially likes his eye ridges scratched.” She added helpfully before turning towards Venus to appraise the offered shells.

“Those are nice. Especially the ones with the shiny blue insides. Vega loves anything shiny.” At the mention of the word shiny Vega gave a happy croon. The candidate smiled at the other girl. “Good luck with the necklace making I am not artistically gifted at all.” Raylin returned her attention to the crashing waves searching her mind for another topic. “Anyone else getting worried about all the hot weather? I don’t think we have had any rain in months. The weather patterns are horribly off.” She turned her attention to the cloudless sky. Not a cloud in sight.

“If things keep up this way we might be in for some hard times. The felines are already getting bolder. I overheard someone say there have been a lot more sightings of them recently.” Her voice held a worried edge. Raylin remembered all too well their trip into the jungle and its disastrous results.

[antinanco]

“Greetings Vega,” Pasine crooned back in a quieter tone than he had a moment before, “I am very glad that you chose me for a perch and I do believe I would love to pet you.” Thus, slowly, she rose one hand and gently ran it along his eye ridge. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt how soft his suede skin was. Plus, the contrastingly coarse grains of sand that speckled him only made him feel softer.

His hide was much smoother than she had expected. Though she had felt dragon hide before, for some reason she had been expecting flitter skin to be harder and much more taunt, almost as if someone had shrunken a dragon in an oven. She almost laughed at the idea now: how stupid! A dragon would never be able to fit, never mind survive, being baked, in an oven anyway.

Over her shoulder, Pasine offered to Venus, “I have some spare thread if you want it.” True, it wasn’t anything near jewelry-grade, in fact it was hardly clothing-grade, but both girls well understood the poverty of Candidacy. If it was free, then it was a goldmine. The question was is Venus wanted it.

At the sound of more worrisome news, Pasine turned fully towards the two. Anything to get her mind off of the Hatching, even if it was as grim as Raylin was suggesting. “Usually I don’t pay attention to weather patterns,” she admitted with a frown, “But I do think that those felines were dragged in with that Wilding boy who got kicked out of Candidacy. “ Now her voice had fallen to a hush, even though they were on a stranded beach, and she leaned in confidentially as she threw knowing glances to the two girls. They knew who she was talking about.

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[topaz]

Venus grinned at Pasine's offer. "Yeah, that would be great Pasine. Thank you." The brunette was slowly becoming bored with the conversation as her eyes wandered and her smile faded into a more placid expression. The brown orbs once again fell on the flitter for a few moments. It seemed extremely interested in the blonde it was perched on and it's playful nature tugged at the corner of Venus' mouth. But the girl's attention was pulled away as the conversation took an interesting turn.

At the mention of the recent changes in weather, Venus' eyes reflexively turned to the sky, as if the cause of the phenomenon would be hanging just over the horizon. She nodded along with Pasine's comments, and smiled bemusedly at her secretive manner about the former Candidate. That wildling certainly had caused much trouble around the Weyr lately. The fact that he had lived most of his life in the jungles of the south was strange enough to Venus, but how he became considered a Candidate at all was just baffling. Even so, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the boy. The thought of living alone in such a dangerous environment for so long was terrifying to the Hold-bred girl, and she suddenly became very impressed by the wildlings apparent survival skills. He also wasn't what one would expect a wild child to look like either; she would almost think him attractive if it wasn't for his complete lack of social grace. This thought elicited a subtle smirk from Venus, as she returned her attention to the girls.

"You can't say he hasn't brought some life to the Weyr though. Especially with his antics at the Clutching." She chuckled as she recalled the event. "It takes a lot of guts to try and knock out the Weyrleader, even if he only thought it was play." A lot of guts or...stupidity really. Well, that's not really fair. Ignorance, more like it. Venus thought, and nodded slightly. Poor boy.

[Rei]

Vega listened to the girl speak and hummed happily as she rubbed his eye ridge. Oh yes that was good. He pressed his head against her hand to increase the pressure. This one was nice. He gave a startled chirp as Pasine suddenly turned around gripping her shirt tighter and opening his wings to maintain balance. After settling again he folded his wings and looked around the beach, he was becoming bored.

Raylin stiffened at the mention of Pepsi and her voice adopted an icy tone. “That wilding Boy in question has a name. Pepsi was not kicked out of candidacy just not allowed to stand until he is familiar with the weyr. Furthermore he was attacked by said felines saving my life and I doubt he loves the creatures anymore than we do. He has probably had a harder life than you both could ever imagine. The fact that he has learned so much in such a short time proves he is not unintelligent.”

The dark haired girl favored Venus with a dark look. “Yes he is bold but don’t go confusing bravery with a misunderstanding. He merely thought T’rid wanted to be clubbed since he recognized the word, Hence the punch.” She shrugged "I heard Neikolai mention it afterwards.” She dropped the topic at that and Vega looked at her and gave a questioning chirp his eyes whirling a light yellow. The candidate sent him reassuring feelings and he settled down again although the yellow tinge did not completely leave his eyes.

How dare they sit here and act like Pepsi was a menace. They hadn’t even bothered to speak to him probably. They knew next to nothing about him. Perhaps she was being a bit harsh but the boy in question did save her and Saeo not to mention Cloar so the girl had to feel at least some kindness towards him. He was little more than an animal and that made him both interesting and in a strange way loveable.