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Post by marge on Mar 10, 2010 17:35:34 GMT -5
“Thank you so much for the ride!” Tobby called over his shoulder to the rider that had been gracious enough to bring him to the Gather. He hadn’t been to a Gather in Turns, and he soon raced off into the growing crowds. Already the scents and sounds of the festive were making him giddy. There was so much to do and so much to see, Tobby didn’t know where to begin. Plus, for the first time, his pockets jingled with the sound of coin against coin. The candidate felt absolutely rich with his life’s savings in his pocket. It was fifteen marks, and although he promised himself he wouldn’t spend it all, even the candidate knew that such a promise wasn’t likely to be kept.
Where go, MineLove? Melly questioned with a yawn. The tiny salamandyr clutched tightly to the cloth on Tobby’s shirt as the boy darted around the many people. His eyes whirled curiously as he gazed around the many that surrounded him. He had never seen such a diversity of people in one place. “We’re looking for the eggs.” Tobby exclaimed happily, his eyes glancing to and fro for the stall he sought. Eggs? Flyer eggs? ‘Mandyr eggs? Why LoveMine? No want. Melly whined as he nuzzled his face against Tobby’s neck. He didn’t want to share his bonded with one of those irritating creatures. The candidate giggled as he came to a pause. “But you are a ‘mandyr. Besides, it will be good if you have a friend.” Have you. Need none. “You’re sweet, Melly. But I want an egg.”
He had finally spotted the stall he had been searching for. If you could even call it that. It was so plain compared to the rest of the gather. Tobby smiled as he raised a hand to stroke Melly’s head. “I promise I won’t get one of the big eggs, Mel.” No, he had his eyes on the basket full of mystery eggs. Just the idea of not knowing what he would get was intriguing. What was in them? His curiosity was peeked. Waste marks. Melly grumbled as he crawled under Tobby’s shirt. He lay on the boy’s shoulder, causing the candidate’s shoulder to appear to have a misshapen lump on it. Tobby chuckled and shook his head, looking around for a the person running the stall.
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Post by glamourie on Mar 10, 2010 22:53:54 GMT -5
Three firelizards perched around the egg stall. One was a small green, and the other two were identical twin blues; all three were noteworthy for being exceptionally pale. The arrival of someone at the stall heralded a series of pleasant chirps and chattering – no doubt the firelizard equivalent of greeting. The green flew down to perch on the counter top before chattering away at the ‘customer’ – obviously trying to tell him about the merchandise, complete with looks from side to side. Lookie, lookie, lookie. Surely he wanted to buy one of the many pretties that Hers was selling, surely, surely? Exuberantly bouncing in place, the green squealed and then fell awkwardly over the back of the counter, disappearing from sight while the two blues fluted after her anxiously. Obviously, she was the most outgoing of the group… even if she was currently splatted awkwardly on the ground.
Her chattering heralded the arrival of a young woman, no older than thirteen if looks were to be believed, coming out from underneath one of the tables – literally. Eyes still half-closed and sleepy did she look, the lady – a mere girl, really – rubbed her eyes and hopped onto the stool behind the counter. Her bobbly black curls signified that she was likely from Selenitas Hold and her eyes were a shade of blue that reeked of Blossom: she was definitely southern. Her hands rubbed over her Gather dress before she leaned forward and smiled pleasantly in greeting; her hands waved toward the different baskets. Obviously the stall wasn’t hers, but she’d been entrusted to run it, and run it she would with the best of her skill.
“Hi there,” said the stallkeep with a pleasant nod. “Are you looking to buy something? We’ve got a wide assortment of goods, and I can promise you these,” she indicated the larger firelizard eggs, “Are gold flitter eggs. She looks to my mama, and she’s not here at the moment, but they’re the best quality. Bronze sire too. Do you have an idea of what you’re looking for? I’m happy to help!”
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Post by marge on Mar 10, 2010 23:12:36 GMT -5
Tobby couldn't help but giggle at the tiny green's exuberant welcome. He glanced up to the twin blues, smiling greatly at such a sight. They were all three beautiful, but so pale. Melly grunted and peeked out from under Tobby's shirt. The flyers were so silly. They stupid. Why want? The salamandyr mumbled, staring after the green as she tumbled from the table. Tobby's mouth opened in an 'o' of surprise as the green flitter fell. He jumped forward and tried to peek over the table to see if the little green was okay, but was distracted by the arrival of the stallkeeper.
Why, she couldn't be much older than himself! The boy stepped back but soon nodded. "Yes, I was just looking at buying one of those." He said cheerfully as he gestured toward the mystery eggs. "I'm interested in seeing what's inside." Silly LoveMine. Melly again grumbled as he pulled himself from under Tobby's shirt and scuttled up and on to the candidate's head. "They are five marks, right?" Even as he asked the question, he was reaching into his pocket to gather the correct amount. "Are those three firelizards your's?" The boy added as he held out the five marks to the girl.
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Post by glamourie on Mar 11, 2010 0:02:18 GMT -5
“They’re mine, yupyup. My mama owns a gold, so I get to go to her clutches, and well, those three hatched from the first one and decided they loved me. The green is Precious, and the blues are Babble and Box. They’re usually more talkative but they’re kinda shy, I think you scared ‘em a bit. Never worry, they’ll get over it,” the stallkeeper explained, and indeed, a moment later the green firelizard swept up to perch on her shoulder daintily. The blues both chattered in greeting again, this time to their mindmate, and she shot them both a pleasant, dashing smile. To the boy, she shrugged. “They’re about two turns old now. Do you have any pets?” She was oblivious to the presence of the salamandyr – perhaps fortunately, since even the holders knew the habits of the little frilled menaces thanks to Daeluunya and Showoff’s offspring.
As the boy indicated the basket of mystery eggs, the girl (still groggy) turned to it and tugged it over to the center of the counter before drumming her fingers against the basket. “Are you sure? ‘Cause see, these came from a caravan and they’re nice enough folks, don’t get me wrong, but they didn’t label any of it and they didn’t know what egg types they are. We’re not even sure they’ll all hatch. I mean, I’m happy to sell you one, but it’d be really disappointing if yours didn’t, wouldn’t it? You could get a nice firelizard egg – these ones are guaranteed – for the same price n’ those we can guarantee will hatch for you.” She lifted one hand and indicated the small basket before looking back at Tobby anxiously. “I just don’t want you to get a dud and um… not be happy with your merchandise. ‘Cause we can’t do refunds or anything, yanno…”
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Post by marge on Mar 11, 2010 0:14:26 GMT -5
"They're gorgeous. I've never seen twin firelizards before." Tobby said happily as the trio returned. "I've got Melly here, but he's a 'mandyr. He's still a hatchling." The boy added as he gestured to the little blue on his head. "But he doesn't talk much to people besides me." Melly raised his head to stare at the group before he and His. The little blue snorted and soon dropped his face again, hiding it in Tobby's hair.
The boy's eyes returned to the eggs as the girl tugged the basket over, scanning the many eggs inside. "Nah, I'll get one of these. See, Melly here doesn't really want to share me, but I want to get him a friend. So this way there's an equal chance that we'll both get what we want. Melly keeps telling me that I'm wasting my marks though. Silly thing. I could buy a queen flit egg, and he'd call it a waste." Tobby shrugged lightly before grinning up at the girl. His eyes lit up in excitement, "So can I just pick one?"
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Post by glamourie on Mar 11, 2010 0:30:08 GMT -5
At the mention of a salamandyr, the young stallkeeper Eselda paled noticeably. She immediately jerked the basket back, suspiciously looking over the customer, and her grip was decidedly protective. “You brought a salamandyr here? They eat firelizard eggs. He better not eat our eggs! My mama would be so upset with me.” The idea of salamandyrs eating her charges made Eselda want to cry and it took all of her effort not to burst into hysterical sobbing. While she knew it would be rude to shoo the boy off, she wanted to do just that – who would bring a salamandyr near eggs? She decided to instead stop trying to be social and just sell him an egg so that he took the little egg-eating monster away. Although, could she in good conscience give him any eggs, knowing that the salamandyr might try to eat it? The thought made her face just blanch even further, and her skin was akin to pure white as a result. She didn’t want to sentence any of her babies to death. And they were her babies.
He said he wanted to get the salamandyr a friend, and that made sense, but… but… She swallowed thickly and nodded, still pale. Awkwardly fumbling, Eselda offered softly, “You can pick one, yeah, but um… um… Well… you promise you’re not going to feed it to him? I don’t like the idea of one of my babies getting eaten. I’ve been looking after these eggs for a long time and it’d be really upsetting…” She fidgeted and bowed her head. If this lost her a customer, her mother would be so angry with her, but she couldn’t do it, she just couldn’t. Baby creatures didn’t deserve to be the meal of anything. They just didn’t.
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Post by marge on Mar 11, 2010 0:44:54 GMT -5
Tobby was so surprised by the girl's reaction to Melly, that he took a few steps back and pulled his little creature down into his arms, shielding him from view. "What? No he wouldn't!" He exclaimed, staring at the girl in wide eyed horror. "He's just a baby. It's the adults you've got to watch out for. Besides, Melly isn't like most 'mandyrs. He doesn't even talk a lot." The candidate insisted, looking down to his tiny blue. Melly's eyes whirled yellow as he glared at the girl that had upset His. The salamandyr's frill momentarily uncurled before he grumbled and disappeared down Tobby's sleeve.
The candidate clearly wasn't sure what to do, whether it was calm Melly or continue to defend his friend to the girl. He could see where her fears were coming from, but the idea of his wonderful little Melly eating a flit egg was stupid, even if there was a good possibility of truth in it. "I promise it's not food for him. I wouldn't pay 5 marks for an egg just to use it as food." He insisted finally, hesitantly stepping closer. "That'd be like, like murder anyway." Tobby muttered as he scanned the eggs. "I want that one." He added as he gestured toward one of the many, unsure if he should just grab it or not.
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Post by glamourie on Mar 11, 2010 2:44:14 GMT -5
Eselda fidgeted awkwardly. She wanted to believe him, but she hadn’t met any salamandyrs that could be trusted. Just the same, she didn’t want to be rude and say that, so the girl slowly relinquished her tight grip on the basket and pushed it back toward the boy on the other end of the stall. One hand came up and she bowed her head shyly, curls falling over her face and shading her blue eyes from view. A faint pink tinge worked over her face; yes, she was embarrassed, she felt as though he was mad at her and she hated to make people mad. She was just concerned, didn’t he understand why? These eggs were like her children (sort of – okay not really; she was just sentimental and attached). The idea of them being hurt was terrifying beyond words and Eselda just wanted to make sure that the babies within – even the ones in the unidentified eggs – went to good homes. He sounded sure enough and his logic was sound, though…
So the young girl picked out the egg that the boy indicated and held it carefully in one hand before retrieving a hand-sized basket. Gingerly, she placed the egg into the folds of warm cloth within and wrapped it up, as if it were a most precious package. “I don’t know when these are due to hatch but you should probably keep it warm – near a fireplace or with sands from Selenitas Weyr’s hatching grounds would be best. It looks like it’ll hatch soon, the shell is pretty hard, and this cloth is heated so it should last you today for the Gather. Um, mystery eggs are five marks each. I hope it hatches something nice for you,” she said, holding out her hands for him to place the marks in while nodding to the basket. It had a handle to be carried and everything; the stall really took business seriously.
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Post by marge on Mar 11, 2010 16:39:15 GMT -5
The boy dumped the five marks in the girl's hand, determined to get out of there as quickly as possible. He felt awkward, as if he had done something wrong, even though Melly hadn't left his human perch the entire time. "Thank you." Tobby muttered before he reached to grab the handbasket. Only.... It moved. The candidate froze, staring at the slightly rocking thing. "It's hatching now." He exclaimed after a short moment. What was he supposed to do?
Well, for a start, he knew he could take the egg out. He gently pulled out the blanket wrapped egg, staring down at awe as it rocked lightly in his hands. Before he could even get the blanket completely out of the way, the egg seemed to disintegrate. Shards fell and shattered on the ground below. The hatchling itself stared up at Tobby with yellow eyes, glaring at the boy. He was starving and covered with this goo and His was just standing there staring at him. The little brown hissed but never the less stood and stalked up Tobby's arm and on to the boy's shoulder. Food would be nice, the brown thought as he growled angrily in Tobby's ear.
Melly hissed at the newly hatched brown, glaring out from underneath Tobby's shirt. Bad flyer! No like. The 'mandyr grumbled, again retreating out of sight. Tobby just stood there in total confusion of what to do. The brown had bonded, but he seemed to hate him. And he was just so hungry! He let out a soft whine, looking around frantically for some food. The candidate didn't think the egg was going to hatch that soon. He looked to the girl. "You don't have any food do you?" If not, he was going to have to run and buy some from a nearby stall.
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Post by glamourie on Mar 11, 2010 17:07:59 GMT -5
“It is. Eek!”
Immediately, Eselda dove down under the counter, flinging numerous colored fabrics out behind her. She likely looked quite bizarre fidgeting around as she was, but when she rose back from behind the counter, the girl had a wrapped cylinder-shaped object in her hand. Carefully, she unwrapped it to reveal salted meat, doubtlessly meant as a snack for her own flitters, and she pushed it over toward Tobby with her belt knife – so that he could feed whatever hatched from the egg. It would be most unfortunate if it came out hungry and he didn’t have any food. Her hands clasped in front of her face and she cocked her head to the side, a curious look on her face, as her firelizards all took to humming loudly. Baby time!
As the brown hatched, she bounced twice in her slot, excited. “It’s a firelizard!” It looked like a brown too. That was useful; she’d remember that the Mystery Eggs could sometimes hatch firelizards. His question about food made her nudge the meat roll and knife toward him before smiling brightly. “Congratulations! What will you name him? He’s very pretty. Prettiest firelizard I’ve ever seen actually – well, after mine, but I’m biased. Are you happy with him? I sure hope you are. He looks like he’s a very – well, he’s very handsome.” He didn’t look like the most friendly firelizard, but well, who was she to judge? It wasn’t like she knew anything about him yet…
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Post by marge on Mar 11, 2010 17:33:04 GMT -5
Tobby practically dove for the knife and meat. He began slicing off pieces as quickly as he could. Obviously, he wasn't quick enough though, and he yelped as his new bonded latched on to his ear with tiny hatchling teeth. "I'm hurrying! I'm hurrying!" The candidate exclaimed before he offered a small piece to the brown. The piece was quickly consumed and the flit snorted. That was it? Tobby quickly offered another piece as he nodded the stall-keep. "He is rather pretty." He agreed before wincing as the hatchling growled and gave his ear a light nip. Pretty? No. Not pretty.
The flitter huffed and made the short glide from Tobby's shoulder to the table so that he could gobble down the meat as soon as it was sliced into smaller pieces. His stupid Mine. So slow. Tobby wasn't really sure what to make of this little monster. Melly had been so sweet when he'd hatched and this flit was just... But no matter how he acted, the brown was his.
"Yeah, I'm happy. Just wish he was a bit more patient." He said once the brown's appetite seemed mostly sated. "As for a name, I'm really not sure..." He shrugged and cut off a very small piece of the meat before slipping it to Melly who had emerged from Tobby's sleeve and now sat on the table across from the brown. The candidate was surprised to see that even with the age difference, his new brown was easily bigger than little Melly. His flit let out an angry hiss that some of his meat was being fed to a crawler, but he calmed down a bit once Tobby again began feeding the meat to him. "Thanks for the food, by the way." Tobby suddenly said as he looked up to the girl. "I would have hated to see what he did if I'd of had to go buy the food." The little brown finally seemed full though, so with only one more hiss to everyone at the table, he stood and marched up to nest on Tobby's shoulder. Melly just grumbled. Pick bully, LoveMineLove. The little blue grumbled for both Tobby and Eselda to hear.
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Post by glamourie on Mar 12, 2010 1:53:13 GMT -5
Wince. Bitey. Eselda weakly smiled but edged away from the firelizard latched onto Tobby’s ear, as if it were a very terrifying creature. She didn’t want to get bitten. Her eyes moved from the hatchling to the salamandyr and back again, silent. The expression of gratitude earned a polite nod from the young girl before she looked at the small salamandyr. His comment made her mouth a quiet ‘yes’ in agreement but she didn’t give it voice – instead she turned back to look at the boy as he spoke. Well, he’d gotten a flitter – she just hoped he came to love the little menace at some point. She was glad her three were all nice and didn’t bite her. He really ought to have that ear looked at…
“Um. You’re welcome. You might want to go to the Healer’s Stall, they can fix up your ear for you I’m sure.” Fidgeting, she felt like she owed him an apology, but she had warned him that the eggs were unpredictable. So it really wasn’t her fault. “Will there be anything else for you?”
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Post by marge on Mar 12, 2010 7:16:14 GMT -5
He nodded, wincing lightly as he touched a finger to his ear. It was bleeding. Tobby sighed softly and held his hand to the bite, hoping that the blood would just stop on its own. "Yeah, I think I'll do that." The candidate agreed with a tiny smile. Melly huffed once more before he crawled on to Tobby's arm, his tail whipping around behind him. No like hurt. Stupid flyer bully. The 'mandyr grumbled before he gave a tiny yawn. Melly was still only a hatchling and he slept an awful lot. Tobby glanced sideways, watching Melly climb up his arm, before looking back to the girl as his blue climbed on to his head. "No, that's all I need. Thank you for your help again." He grinned at her, before he turned to head back into the crowd as Melly began trying to make a nest in his hair.
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