{It's Hot} -Open-

[midnight]

Meagen had just gotten away from the egg stall. She had walked off towards the shaded benches, which was hard to find. There was only one that was empty, which she promptly collapsed on. Eat egg! The blue chirped as he came from his hiding place in her shirt. Slumping on the table and looking up at her almost demanding. She glared at the mandyr and pressed her hand over him in an arch. Trapping the mandyr under her palm.

He proceeded to try and whip around under her hand, scratching her a little and making her life her hand up. "Stop it! You will not eat these eggs!" She snapped at him, glaring hard. The blue looked, and felt scolded, so slumped lower and hung off the edge of table. Is hot! he exclaimed. Causing the young woman to groan and slump in her seat. She sighed and got up, leaving the mandyr slumped where he was. When she returned she had a cup of water.

"Here you go you little terror" She stated as she set the cup down. The mandyr promptly leaped into the cup and began lavishing in the feeling of cool water. Which distracted him enough that the young woman could look up at the sky. Her eyes were overshadowed by her hand, as she relaxed a little. Not too much to do, no one she really knew. She had come here to buy things. She needed to go to the Jewelry stall, see if she could find any presents she liked. Possibly pick up a necklace. Something nice. To treat herself.

There was a few stands she could visit, she knew that. She had seen some interesting things. she had the chance of winning a pearl from a shell. As well as rolling a pair of dice and winning something. Clingy was dead set on glass balls, but she had deterred him from that distraction that wasn't needed. Golden brown eyes looked at the sky, as the young woman played with the end of her braid.

This was blasphemy, boredom at a gather. But it wasn't like she had the thought of just walking up to a random stranger and talking to them. She wasn't a candidate anymore, nor did she have a craft. She felt pretty much like a nobody. Will eat!

"Sweet Faranth!"

[Requiem]

No Eveyth felt weird. But she'd insisted he go, and just as firmly insisted that he keep up a running description of what he saw. Which had quickly turned into her borrowing his eyes entirely when he simply wasn't detailed enough. Right at this moment she was curled up, half in and half out of the river at Selenitas, delighting in all the sights and smells and sounds filtering over their bond and making X'rx feel more than just a little awkward. Like there were two of him that didn't clearly separate and he was all wet on the one side. Oh look, look at the shiny things! Smiling wryly, he itched at his neck, touching briefly on Minnie's mind to make sure his green was still comfortable. She'd curled up on top of Eveyth's leg while the dragon made sure to keep her shaded and the water streamed over her back.

Normally X'rx hated being alone, especially in a crowd. It wasn't due to fear or nervousness, either. He was naturally social and before it would have seemed lonely to not have a friend or family around him. But his mindmates kept that from happening quite well, they did. He found it strange, really. He'd been worried about not being able to talk mind-to-mind with Eveyth when he'd first Impressed, but now it seemed that it was less a matter of inability - he'd mastered the skill several months ago as it was - and more a matter of there really being no need for it. Eveyth bonded closely with him. Frighteningly closely, in some senses, because he was already having difficulty separating her emotions and thoughts from his, something that seemed to be growing worse as she matured.

The young man, dressed in the same quarter sleeve white shirt and lightweight tan pants that he wore almost all the time now - and meticulously cleaned each evening - got himself a glass of juice from a stall and sipped on it lingeringly. He wondered if Eveyth wanted him to get anything for her, but she assured him that she didn't, at least not yet; these were people things, intriguing though they were. It was as he was glancing back toward the crowd milling buy that he saw a familiar face. (His memory was quite sharp, if nothing else, especially when it came to faces. And this girl stuck in it because she was going to teach them to read - though he didn't blame her for wanting nothing to do with weyrlings when she was left Standing.)

"Meagen!" he called, dancing around several people to work his way over to her. The slight teenager smiled easily at her, a genuine expression. "Where did you get off to? Haven't seen you in..." Ages. He broke off upon seeing her blue companion, however. His coloring was absolutely fascinating. "Oh, hi there. Haven't seen you before...what's your name?" he asked the salamandyr directly. The boy's eyes flicked briefly to Meagen before he offered, "I've a few extra marks if you're thirsty; the juice is excellent." His attention returned to the salamandyr. "You've a nice pool all your own. My Minnie is doing the same thing, just in the river. Get's pretty hot around here, though this is the hottest in a few turns."

He flashed a smile at Meagen. "So then, did you come with anyone? I could use a pretty girl at my side to help charm the vendors...they don't tend to be as - willing to bargain - with a lone guy," he added playfully.

[midnight]

Meagen looked up at the familiar voice. It was one she remembered from just a little near a turn ago. A small smile spread across her features, a blush leaping to her lips at the compliments that X'rx dealt her. Then she realized her broken promise she had made to him. Back when he was a candidate she had promised to teach him to read and write. She had abandoned that as soon as he had impressed his little green. She slumped her shoulders a little and smiled at the male.

"Thank you for your compliments, but I don't have dellusions of beauty." She said in a firm voice. Stupidmine. Pretty! You tell. Pretty! the Mandyr exclaimed to the male that had commented about him. Yes he indeed had a pool all to himself! It was all his. But the thought of a female drew his attention. Who? Pretty? Where? he asked. He wanted to know where the girl was!

Meagen chuckled at the mandyr and gave a shocked exclamation as something moved between her legs. That was where she had rested the egg bag! A gasp left her lips as she heard the squeaking from within the bag. She opened the top of the satchle to look at the sand and eggs. From within her Medium Firelizard egg, something was coming out! "Oh X'rx look!" She exclaimed. Food, she had no food for him!

"It's hatching, what do I do!" The usually composed woman exclaimed. She was slightly confused, yes she knew what to do. But the problem was executing it. "Food.... Food!" She exclaimed. I get! I get! the Mandyr exclaimed as he slipped from his cup and skittered off. "Clingy!" She cried after him, hoping the Mandyr wouldn't get hurt. "Oh shards and shells."

From the egg sounds of squeaking came. A dark glistening head burst out, a flare of lavender on it's forehead. Meagen gasped at the gorgeous coloration, and gave an exclamation of size as the firelizard broke itself from it's shell. It sat there in the remnants of the shell, looking up at her stupidly. Creeling dully up at the young woman. It was at that time that Clingy returned, dragging a sausage behind him. His little legs working hard.

Meagen reached forward and snatched it up, and broke it up in pieces for the firelizard. "What should we name him?" She asked all around. Drop. Cause Stupid. Drop head. Born dumb. the mandyr exclaimed as he huffed up. Meagen sighed as the firelizard reacted to the voice. "Shards, that'll have to be his name. Clingy, don't be mean. Shards, X'rx... Look at how big he is!" She exclaimed. The hatchling being fed was easily as large as a brown hatchling!

[Requiem]

X'rx blinked at Meagen openly, a bit confused at her response. (For one, he was pretty sure he'd said 'pretty,' not beautiful. Beautiful was most definitely flirting, while pretty could go either way, and he was always rather careful about how he came off. Didn't want people to get the wrong idea.) Even so, why was she arguing about it at all? Her response wasn't a polite demur little 'oh, stop kidding silly,' or, 'you're flattering me, what are you after?' sort of thing. Not humility. It was actual genuine disbelief and he furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? I'm not hitting on you, I promise. Eveyth's still pretty young for that, though otherwise..." He might. Flirt a little, anyway, because she was nice enough, and no matter what she thought - was it the scars that had her all self-conscious? they were hardly noticeable! - she really was rather pretty. Glancing down at the blue, he kinda rubbed his hand against the back of his head, looking a bit awkward. "Yours...Yours is pretty. But she doesn't like being told that for some rea-"

Breaking off, he found himself blinking at Meagen again. What? His eyes went to the weird demon-possessed bag making squeaking sounds, even as Eveyth exclaimed, It's a little, Mine! in his mind. Clearly she was still paying avid attention to everything he was doing.

"Uh, don't worry, I'll make sure Clingy's okay," he offered, scampering after the salamandyr, but quickly losing the small creature because he just couldn't make use of the holes in the crowd like a salamandyr could. The thought of someone stepping on a creature so small frightened him - they said salamandyrs could even bond as closely as dragons, and losing Eveyth was frankly terrifying - and he caught sight of Clingy again as the blue was dragging his prize back toward Meagen. He pulled up, pushing a loose strand of hair out of his face and looking at the small hatchling that she'd apparently been keeping in her...bag. Oh, right, he'd forgotten about the mystery egg stall, hadn't he? She must have gotten one of those.

"It could be worse," X'rx commented, an amused smile tugging at his lips. His Eveyth had named Minnie, calling her a 'mini me'. It seemed this must be common with mindmates? (Honestly, Clingy wasn't exactly the most positive of names, either, so the pattern held.) "Yeah, he's pretty large for a hatchling," the greenweyrling agreed. That answered his question about whether or not girls really did put a lot of emphasis on size. First response? Look at how big he is. Filing that away in his mental bank of interesting trivia, X'rx smiled down at Clingy. "Looks like you've got a new pal there."

[marge]

Tobby was looking for a dragonrider that would be willing to take him back to they weyr when Creeper, as he had decided to name his brown, sprang from his shoulder. The hatchling went after what appeared to be a moving sausage with surprising speed. But then the sausage was gone and he let out a hiss, glaring at Meagen and her 'mandyr as if they had done something wrong. He quieted as he noticed the hatchling, peering at it for a moment before snorting. Giant ugly stupid, wasn't it? Creeper flew up to sit on the table, hissing and chatting scoldingly at everyone around. They were all so stupid and he was hungry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Tobby muttered as he hurried up and grabbed Creeper off of the table. He received a slight pinch of pain as the brown latched his jaws around his hand, but this time fangs didn't break the skin. The candidate frowned down at his little brown for a moment before he realized that X'rx was one of the two at the table. "Oh, hello, X'rx." He said with a blush, as he looked back down to his monster. "Creeper's just a creep." Melly snorted in agreement before he sped down Tobby's form then up X'rx's leg. Flyer so stupid. The 'mandyr groaned as he glared down at Creeper.

Finally Tobby noticed the hatchling before Meagen. "Oh he's cute. Did you get him from the egg stall?" Hopefully this hatchling wouldn't be as evil as his own. Creeper glared up at him, continuing to hiss and spit angrily. They were all just so stupid!

[midnight]

Meagen sighed as she continued to feed the firelizard, who was creeling and doing his best to show off. She sighed as she stroked the little critter and looked up at the now slightly larger then usual group of people around her. Clingy was going nuts at the presence of another Mandyr, and she herself was feeling a little overwhelmed. She took it a moment at a time. "Thanks X'rx, and I'll be fine. He is rather large for a blue, honestly. He looks almost as big as a brown." She said as she stroked the wet hatchlings wing.

Is stupid. Drop. Head dumb. the mandyr exclaimed as he hissed at the blue. Then stopped dead as he looked at the others around him, hissing at them too. Puffing himself up. He stopped again then as something slithered out of Meagen's bag. A screeching cry filled the air, fear instantly filled teh girl as her manydr hid in her shirt. Scratching and clawing, leaving gouges of blood across her arms and her chest. Finally he was safe.

Meagen hissed in pain, looking at Tobby and then X'rx. "Yeah, got it at the egg stall." She said tears clinging in her eyes as she looked down to see what the fuss was about. It was a tunnelsnake, curled up in her lap, weakly nuzzling at her thigh. She blinked, as a flash of compassion rushed through her. It was a creature, that had done her no harm yet. She couldn't hurt it. She took a little of what was left of the sausage and offered it to the tunnelsnake, who gulped it down in one bite. "Well looks like I got more then I bargained for."

She said this as she picked up the firelizard and tucked him in her top with Clingy, who happened to CLING unto the blue firelizard and started shaking up a storm. "Shards and shells. Either of you got any cloth to help me get these gouges cleaned up?"

[Requiem]

It was a Tobby! X'rx flashed him a smile unabashedly, before frowning slightly at all the pets running around in this heat. It was even hotter here than back at Selenitas. Electing not to fuss at the two candidates (he'd heard nothing of Meagen's disenrollment), X'rx settled for just worrying about it and sneaking water into a shallow bowl for the little ones to paddle around in or drink out of. Nodding almost absently at the comment that the flit was large for a blue - again with the size thing! - the greenweyrling snorted lightly at Clingy. "Yeah, it's not good to get dropped on your head," he agreed, even though he wasn't entirely sure that was what had happened.

"When did you Impress...?" he asked Tobby, genuine delight in the boy's good fortune behind his eyes. "I've never met Creeper or...who are you then, little guy?" he questioned his small visitor directly. Crouching, he offered his hand to the salamandyr. "I'm sure he's not that bad. He's just a baby still."

X'rx was distracted, however, by the commotion going on...shards. Why did the pets have to pick her chest and her thigh to scramble all over? He turned his gaze politely away, mentally grumbling at the forced abstinence weyrlings were put through; he was far more prone to thoughts like that these days. Why do you think she looks yummy? People aren't supposed to eat people, Eveyth commented, reminding him that she was paying far too much attention right now for him to be thinking that way. Nevermind, Ev. Just haven't had breakfast yet. That seemed to satisfy her. Thankfully.

Now the pets were going in her top. X'rx swallowed, catching himself watching. Honestly! Shaking himself, he blinked at her, a rather awkward smile touching his lips. He fished out a small, clean square of oft-washed cloth from his pants pocket, offering it to her. "Are you sure that's um...wise? It's hot enough out, and your body heat will only make it hotter." Normally he wouldn't have said anything, but he'd seen how hard it was hitting people, losing their pets to the heat, and he didn't want that to happen to Meagen.

[marge]

The boy couldn't help but grin up at his friend. That's right! X'rx didn't know he had Impressed to either of his pets. Name Melly, MineFriend. Said Melly as the blue as he climbed on to X'rx's hand. "I Impressed Melly at a hatching just the other day. The one in the baths. Creeper I bought at the egg stand. He hatched right after I paid for the egg." Flyer bite LoveMineLove. No like. Is stupid flyer. Melly grumbled irritably, curling his tail around X'rx's thumb.

Tobby giggled softly at Melly's tone before he looked back over to Meagen. He opened his mouth to say something about her luck when her pets erupted. What the- Then his eyes happened to catch sight of what was in her lap and they widened. "That's a tunnelsnake! Isn't it? They'll bite you!" He said in a rush, taking several large steps back and ending up behind X'rx. Tunnelsnakes were nasty creatures. The candidate didn't want to risk getting bitten by the hatchling tunnelsnake that she was .... feeding? "Are you actually going to keep it?" There was clear disbelief in Tobby's words as he peeked out at Meagen around X'rx.

Creeper hissed at the tunnelsnake. Or maybe he was just hissing at the two blues. Or maybe he was just hissing. No. He was hissing at Meagen. He screeched, glowering at her. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl! She brought bad things. And stupid. He leapt from the table and swooped around her head, all the time dangerously close. How stupid she was! And how slow! The little brown probably wouldn't have stopped but Tobby took a few steps forward again, grabbed the flit out of midair, and then retreated behind X'rx again. The candidate was blushing slightly, mumbling several apologies about Creeper. He really needed to train this one.

[midnight]

Meagen sighed as she took the cloth from X'rx and started to clean out her gouges. Only to have an annoyed flitter buzzing aruond her head. "EH! Knock it off!" She snapped as she hissed at the firelizard. She reached into her top and pulled out her firelizard, sitting him on the table next to her. His belly bulging and eyes closed in slumber. "Good idea X'rx, I can't do much about Clingy, he enjoys the darkness there too much. Makes me all sweaty though..." She mumbled.

She put the snake into the bag of warm sand, trying to figure out exactly what she would do with it. For one the warm climate would help it, from the look s of it it was some sort of desert serpent. She chuckled beneath her breath as she fished out Clingy and put him back in her hair. "Stay" She stated in a firm tone. Stupidmine, stupid! Bad thing. Stupid! Eat it, eat it! the manyr screamed into her mind.

Meagen bit her lip gripping her shirts edge, and taking calming breaths. "Clingy, SHUT UP!" She snapped at the Mandyr watching as he suddenly calmed down and looked mollified. "You picked it, it was in the egg that YOU wanted. Now shut up and deal with it. Has it hurt any of us yet? The moment it hurts one of us, you can eat it. Got that? Not before, not after." She stated in a firm voice.

Ok... the manyr muttered in a disgruntled voice. Meagen took a long breath then and then turned her attention back to the males. "So, how have things been for you X'rx, and Tobby I take it your name is... You are a candidate? I was one myself. I'm not any longer. Is the Candidate master still playing hard ball?" She asked conversationally.

[Requiem]

"That's a good, nice name Yours gave you, Melly. Eveyth says hi. She couldn't come because it's too far to walk and she's a baby dragon, but she'd love to meet you sometime," he told the salamandyr directly, stroking a finger down the line of the blue's spine. He smiled down at Tobby. "She likes using me as her messenger boy...so you bought Creeper from the stalls, did you? He seems awfully tempramental." That was...something of an understatement. Then Meagen was yelling at the firelizard, and Tobby had grabbed him and ducked behind X'rx, leaving the greenweyrling kind of in the middle. He blinked at the two of them, turning his eyes away when she reached down her shirt again. Was she just supremely oblivious?

The young man nodded a mute your welcome to her, still trying hard to avoid looking where he shouldn't and thinking about her sweating. Tch. "Tunnelsnakes actually make a pretty good stew...if, you know, he bothers Clingy that much." They weren't meant to be pets, and it was very likely that the adult tunnelsnake would attempt to eat one of her mindmates. X'rx would think that should be enough to kill any compassion she might have for the reptilian baby, but...eh, her decision.

X'rx attempted to concentrate on small talk rather than the issue of a tunnelsnake and sweatdrops rolling down breasts...but found his attention captured by something else she'd said. The small man blinked openly at her. "Why aren't you a candidate anymore? Did you decide you didn't want to?" It never occurred to him to think that she might have been pulled from candidacy, though if it had he probably would have thought she was pregnant. That happened, from time to time. (X'rx, being weyrbred, didn't have any great reverence for sex. It was recreational, he preferred to do it with people he liked, but all in all not so much different from any other thing you might do with someone else for fun. Aside from the odd time when a baby came of it.)

"Uh, since last I saw you...not much has happened. We've just been busy doing weyrling stuff and chores." He would have offered to let her meet Eveyth, but he wasn't sure if that as appropriate given her situation...whatever it was. "Evvie's doing well. Growing like a weed, and still not aware of how strong she is compared to me now. Impressed a firelizard by accident, Minnie. Eveyth named her. They're both cooling by the river right now." Yeah, that was pretty much all the news he had. Not terribly interesting, was it?