Never a Replacement (Egg Stall)

[kysseh]

The scent of Southern Hold touched on something very deep in Savitri's consciousness, and it brought up a host of memories and thoughts long-buried. Old friends, old flames.... family. So much family she had here, and the young woman had been carefully keeping her eyes open for familiar faces, both the welcome and unwelcome. The man she should have Joined to had caught sight of her and approached earlier. The conversation had been awkward, forced, and a completely unwelcome way to spend part of her Gather experience. He had left disappointed by her lack of renewed interest in him. Between that and not having seen her mother, Savitri's day was going quite well.

Of course, thoughts of her mother brought up thoughts of her mother's namesake, and Savitri's heart began to ache again with unrelieved and unexpressed pain. Ras had died in defense of those in the infirmary. A noble end for an obnoxious but beloved creature, it was, but somehow, that made the goldrider feel no less pain on the green firelizard's passing. She ached for her little pestilence, and it was this that had her straying past the egg stall more than once. People seemed to be buying up the eggs at a surprising rate, and no one seemed dissatisfied by the results.

After browsing past a few other stalls and jotting down a quick list of items to pick up later, the goldrider found herself back at the egg stall for an honest-to-goodness closer look at the offerings. She flicked a brief smile at the stallkeeper, grateful for her lack of knots. So what if she had forgotten them on purpose? It wasn't as if Hepaticath was with her, the gold trapped back at the weyr with a huge bellyful of eggs and an even larger appetite. The goldrider let her gaze drift over the eggs, one finger gently stroking the white salamandyr that groomed himself as he sat perched on his shoulder.

"Don't worry; he won't eat the eggs. He needs a new friend," the young woman reassured the stallkeeper with a friendly, if slightly sad, smile. Oh, but she missed Ras. Even Shadow missed having someone to hate. "I'm looking for... firelizard eggs. What would you recommend?" Better to let them talk while she decided. Maybe they could feel they talked her into what she already had decided on.

[glamourie]

Saaaalamandyr. Why was it white..? As Savitri approached, Eselda honestly sat on her stool and stared at Shadow as if he was the most interesting thing in the world. The creature was pure white. White. White. He looked like he was bleached out and he was tiny. Part of her wanted to lean forward across the counter and poke the little puffed up male in the stomach. So weird… He kinda looked like a maggot. Except not really but there was a resemblance; did the creature wiggle? She could just imagine it wiggling around in the sun awkwardly. That was strange. She’d never seen a white one of the egg-eating menaces before. It was kind of cute though, if you liked salamandyrs – but then, she hadn’t had many good run-ins with them before…

“Why do you have a winged maggot on your shoulder? That’s odd. I’ve never seen a maggot with wings before.”

Trust Eris to give voice to her thoughts. Eselda turned to look at her brother and her eyes widened before she flailed and turned to the potential customer, half-panicked. Her brother was busily putting together a puzzle on one of the other counters and spared the woman an eyebrow raise an odd look while his sister frantically moved to apologize for his behavior. “He doesn’t mean that! I’m sorry about him!” Had she said something about the maggot-thing not eating eggs? Good, good. “Um – you said you want firelizard eggs? We’ve got all types – small, medium, big – and they’re some of the best quality ones, I promise they don’t have a temperament like Eris. ERIS. Apologize to the nice lady’s salamandyr!”

“That’s supposed to be a salamandyr?”

“ERIS!”

The male twin rolled his eyes, very obviously far from impressed. He offered Savitri a light shrug, but no apology. He spoke his mind. The critter looked like a maggot. He’d never said there was anything wrong with maggots and anyway she had eyes, surely she could see that he looked like a maggot.

The lack of apology made Eselda hiss and the thirteen-turn-old girl removed the pillow from the top of her stool before hurling it straight at her brother’s head. She was temporarily distracted from trying to make a sale by grabbing the flyswatter from beneath the counter and running at Eris, who, quite wisely, leapt off his own stool and darted around the counter. The girl followed and Eris darted back into the sale space before he got thwacked with the flyswatter in the hand and yelped loudly in response. His hand turned red immediately in response to the pain and he crinkled his nose at her in disdain.

“FINE! I’m sorry that I called her maggot a maggot. Sheesh.” He didn’t wait for the next slap to come, instead zooming away from Eselda, “I’m going to get more meat! I’ll be back soon!”

“YOU BETTER BRING ME BACK PIES ERIS!” Eselda shook the flyswatter after her brother before whirling back on the counter to speak to the woman again, a faint pink blush coming over her face. “He’s really not that bad and I am sorry that he called your salamandyr a maggot. I didn’t know they came in white?”

[kysseh]

Savitri would have been mildly insulted at the boy's comment had she not had younger brothers of her own who spoke their minds in a similar fashion. The goldrider had to bite at her lip to keep from laughing at the boy's comments and the girl's response, her green eyes dancing with barely-contained amusement A maggot, hmm? One hand went to her shoulder to allow the salamandyr to crawl onto it, tickling him with the other finger to negate the offense that she could sense emanating off him in response to the description. Apparently, Shadow didn't like being called a maggot, though she had to admit that a stranger could mistake him for one... from a distance.

Choosing to let the discussion of firelizard eggs slide for the moment, the young woman watched the girl chase the boy around, finally unable to restrain her chuckles as the boy took a blow to the hand. Ahh, they were siblings, weren't they? When the boy finally darted off with the excuse of meat, peace was restored. It was a momentary thing, she assumed. The two stallkeeps were unbelievably adorable. "No apology necessary. I have several little brothers," she commented wryly at the girl's blush and apology. "And they're not very tactful about their thoughts at all. Salamandyrs do come in white, yes, but they're not very common. I only know of... two, I think. They don't talk, but they manage to be annoying," the young woman added, extending her hand a bit towards the girl so she could get a better look at the salamandyr. "Shadow, say hello."

The salamandyr looked offended at His but flared open his wings and bobbed his head once Eselda before settling back on his teeny haunches and resuming his grooming activities. Maggot... how dare they insult him that way! He refused to even look at His until she brought the hand back to her shoulder and let him climb back up beside her neck. Humans were just so offensive at times. Shame on them all. He wanted those shiny balls he had seen earlier and sent an image to His to emphasize that.

Poking the little white 'mandyr in the belly, Savitri sighed quietly in frustration. Difficult creature. "He'll be fine. I promised him to buy something from the glasscrafter stall to keep him busy. But... yes, I was interested in firelizard eggs. I don't know if Shadow would much like a bronze one, but... hmm. I think a small or medium egg would do well..."

[glamourie]

“There’s only two white ones? Why’re they white and so small?” Eselda leaned forward against the counter to get a better look at the offered salamandyr. She didn’t dare touch him though. He might bite. He looked like a bitey creature, anyway. She didn’t trust anything that ate eggs, and though the woman said that her little pet wouldn’t, his species was very fond of doing so, and that meant she was reluctant to trust him. Still, she offered the little guy a wry smile before retrieving the cushion that she’d hurled at Eris’s head. At least she didn’t seem mad. That was good. Eselda put the cushion back on top of her stool and then sat down neatly, her hands folded in her lap like a perfect little lady, as if she hadn’t just chased her twin around with a flyswatter. Nothing so undignified would she do~ “And yeah, boys are… well, Eris is regularly obnoxious. He’s mad that he has to help watch the stall and isn’t allowed to participate in the Talk Like A Sailor contest. He insists he’d win it, he probably would – mama has no idea how he really talks. None.”

While Eselda spoke, a small, pale green firelizard darted out from under the counter before daintily landing on Savitri’s shoulder right next to the white salamandyr. If it dawned on her that she was behaving inappropriately, Loli gave no sign, even going so far as to start licking the salamandyr adoringly. So cute, so white, so small. Lovelovelove!

Blushing, Eselda fidgeted. “That’s Loli. She’s harmless, she probably just likes him ‘cause he’s paler than her – um, I can call her back…” As she spoke, Eselda grabbed the firelizard egg baskets, one at a time, and put them on the counter for Savitri to look at. First medium, then second was small eggs. “The small eggs are five marks, and the medium ones, they’re seven. Mystery eggs are also five marks ‘cause we don’t know what’s in ‘em, but between us, one hatched a particularly mean brown flitter and I wouldn’t recommend getting one of them unless you like mean things, um – but don’t tell anyone I said that, please, ‘cause I don’t want to get into trouble…”

[kysseh]

At the girl’s question, Savitri could only manage a sheepish one-shouldered shrug in response. Who knew why white salamandyrs were so rare? Certainly not her. “I’m not really an expert in salamandyrs. They just hatch this way. They’re not male or female. Just… white. He’s very intelligent, though, and he can fit into tiny places very well.” Excellent for spying, really, but she wasn’t going to tell the girl just how useful the little white beast was. However common knowledge it was at the weyr, she would prefer the entirety of Pern not know what her little Shadow was capable of.

Containing her amusement at the girl’s suddenly proper behavior, Savitri merely raised an eyebrow as the green flit came to alight on her shoulder, watching the little female commence with licking Shadow. Oh dear. Hopefully the white salamandyr was in a good sort of mood. “She’s fine. He’ll tell her if he’s getting annoyed,” the goldrider said honestly, watching her white pet sprawl himself out flat on her shoulder. Sullen but… well-behaved, for the moment. Obviously, the salamandyr was feeling tolerant or was too interested in Savitri’s actions to go hide. It was difficult to tell. “I’m sure he’s gotten very good at hiding that from your mother.” Her own siblings had certainly been skilled enough in that. Hopefully, Keravi and Samera would not be that way, but idle hopes, those were.

The offering of the basket of eggs claimed the goldrider’s attention quite effectively, for her green eyes widened in appreciation at the sight of them. It brought a pang to her heart, but she did so mess the comforting presence of an affectionate firelizard. Her eyes betrayed her smile, though, at the girl’s confession, and she had to fight to keep from outwardly grinning. “Don’t worry; it’ll stay between us,” she told the girl, strongly reminded of her own siblings. Viasta would be about this girl’s age now, wouldn’t she? And Sivanar would be just a little older too. Strange how the time just flew away. “I think we’ll avoid the mystery eggs, then. I have a-“ Not weyrmate. Ka’rys wasn’t a weyrmate anymore. What to call him? “-friend that has the ‘mean’ thing all covered, so I’d rather not have a mean firelizard to go with him.” Then again, sneaking a firelizard egg into his furs would be quite the splendid way to one-up the bronzerider, which made the young woman grin.

“I think… I’ll go with a small egg. Which one would you pick?” The query was directed at both the girl and the molested salamandyr on her shoulder. The entirety of Shadow’s response was a cessation of mental images, which made asking him anything completely useless. Apparently, being licked did not put the creature in a talkative sort of mood.

[Shiny]

His trademark happy-go-lucky grin plastered on his face, J'ash's head twisted like it was on a swivel as he tried to take in everything. This was the first Gather he'd ever been to, having just come to the Weyr when the Gather at Blossom Hold happened.

Craivaruth had wasted no time heading over to the shore. Sprawled on a large rock belly-first with wings spread wide, the blue-eyed dragon lazily sunned his back. The contented flick of the tip of his tail every now and then was the only sign that he was actually still alive as he baked like a lizard.

J'ash walked with the crowd, peering around people to see the stalls. His six and a quarter marks jingled poorly in his pocket. Realizing he could not afford many of the items, J'ash tried to ignore the price tags as he visited the stalls. Each one was very creative and held all sorts of tempting merchandise.

Hissing at anyone within J'ash's personal bubble (and some who weren't even very close at all), Vomit was tacked onto his human's shoulder. The clay lump had created a routine; fly quite hysterically around J'ash's head (whilst hissing), then perch on his shoulder and hiss some more.

The icy-eyed man sighed, a hand reaching towards his firelizard, which the mudball dodged by scurrying across his back to the other joint. "Nobody's going to come near me with a devil screeching at them! How am I ever going to get laid?" Snorting, Vomit looked sharply around, giving everyone the cut-eye, before diving down the front of J'ash's shirt.

A slight grin still on his face, J'ash sighed again as claws raked his stomach. Ignoring the fact that he now appeared to have a tumor growing from his abdomen, J'ash turned his attention to the next weather-beaten stall.

Eggs of varying sizes and colours decorated the hot sands that kept them warm. Squeezing into the place of someone who had shuffled out of the way next to the eggs, J'ash bent to get a closer look. How beautiful they were! Vomit shifted like an external fetus, getting restless. He began the one-sided painful process of climbing back up. Poking his head out of the collar of J'ash's shirt, the earthy flit began to chatter.

"What do you think of Mystery Eggs?" He asked Vomit, stroking his little head with a couple fingers. Seeing that the stall runner was busy with a woman, he took his time looking over the eggs. He'd made up his mind - even if it might not be a good choice - to buy a Mystery Egg. Inspecting them again with a new determination, he carefully plucked an egg labeled 'No Clue' and held it gently. Fishing around in his pocket, he managed to pick out the five marks the price tag requested. He would feel awfully poor handing over almost all of his money, but it was worth it. J'ash waited patiently for the teenager to take his money while Vomit clutched the collar of his shirt, squawking at the unborn creatures in front of him.

[glamourie]

Eselda bobbed her head in response to Savitri, rather than speaking. Her blue eyes had snared on the salamandyr and firelizard pair, watching her green quite dedicatedly lick Shadow – as if he was the most lovely creature ever. She did wonder why anyone would name a white creature ‘Shadow’ but decided it was probably one of those ironic names, like calling something huge ‘Tiny.’ Made more sense than trying to figure out why else he could be called that. She was really tempted to call Loli back, but since he didn’t seem to be protesting, Eselda stopped herself. The salamandyr would surely make his discontent known if he needed her removed. Though, if he wasn’t a boy or a girl, why’d the girl call him a him? Shouldn’t he have been an it? Weird.

“Um. Which would I pick? I like… this one.” Lifting one hand, Eselda indicated one of the smaller eggs in the basket; it was speckled, with dozens of blue blobs all over the white shell, making it stand out prominently. “It’s cute. But you should pick one that speaks to you, not one that I like, ‘cause you never know, I might have bad taste or somethin’.” Eselda nodded emphatically before placing the egg down and then she ducked behind the counter – effectively missing the arrival of a boy at the stall. When she popped back up, it was with a small basket that she immediately filled with warm cloths to keep the eggs comfortable. “Here – so, when you pick one out, you just put it in this basket to keep it warm, and then put it in a jar filled with sand over a mantle once you get home so it stays warm. Though in this heat, um –HEY!”

Whirling onto the other boy, Eselda immediately slammed her hands onto the counter. “It’s rude to just walk up and grab, you know! What kind of egg was that! I have to keep inventory or my mama will get so maaaad. And you don’t have a basket for it! It’ll die if you don’t keep it warm!” Frantically flailing, the girl dropped below the counter again to fish out another basket, muttering about uncivilized folk all the while.

[kysseh]

Shadow was just barely tolerating the loving molestation-by-tongue, and the salamandyr twitched his long, whippy tail, itching to scurry back down His’ shirt for a hiding. While SavitriHis was busy studying the eggs, the white salamandyr did a very slow bellycrawl across the back of her collar, coming to rest on the goldrider’s other shoulder as if that alone would spare him from the licking. Probably not. The green flit seemed as persistent as she was licky. Disgusting. He was so going to harass his other humanpet after this.

Ignoring the waves of disgust emanating off the teeny creature on her shoulder, Savitri lightly ran a hand over the top of the firelizard eggs, her fingers just a few hairsbreadth above the surface of the shells. Which one, which one? None of them was calling to her, so she was grateful when the stallkeep offered her own opinion. The goldrider was only dimly aware of the other person that came up to the stall, more focused on the egg that the girl gestured to. Yes… yes, that one was cute. A small little cute egg would do Savitri just fine.

She was about to agree that she would take it when the girl suddenly reappeared with the basket. Caring for firelizard eggs was a new lesson for Savitri, who had Impressed both of hers after they hatched, so she listened very closely, nodding in understanding. One hand dug in her belt pouch for the necessary five marks, but she was… slightly too late. One of her eyebrows raised at the sight of the previously-cheerful little shopkeep gone crazy again, observing in silence as the other stall visitor got a dressing down.

The goldrider very calmly pushed the basket that had been offered to her down towards the other. Her brain told her that he was familiar, and she racked her brains, helped by her gravid mindmate from afar. “Craivaruth’s… go ahead and put the egg in before it gets too cool. I’ll wait until she gets another one out. Do you have a name?” she asked pleasantly, not bothered by having to wait. She set her five marks on the counter beside the firelizard basket. Patience, patience. “I think I’ll take the egg you suggested. It looks beautiful, and none of the rest… are really calling,” she added towards the girl. Yes, that egg would suit her nicely.