do you believe in magic? [faerie touching]

[Avu]

Have you –
I have /not/ reconsidered, Jingth, Meira replied firmly, not even waiting for the gold to finish the question. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t just as nervous about Jingth when it came to the whole Touching business. She didn’t know any of the Candidates either, after all – well, a few, yes. But not extremely well. The goldrider blinked, rubbing the back of her hand across her forehead. It was so hot in the Hatching Sands, and even though Jingth positively adored it, she definitely did not.

Surely the Touching is not necessary, Jingth objected for what had to be the tenth time that hour. I do not recall you Touching /my/ egg. In fact, you didn’t, and neither did any of the others that Impressed my siblings, am I correct? There is no /need/ to let them… The dragon’s tail twitched and she subsided into silence at the look on her rider’s face, a disappointed sigh huffing through her nostrils.

“Sorry, love,” Meira said, sympathetically, and reached out; Jingth met her outstretched hand halfway, tongue swiping across the flat of her palm. The gold was almost literally on top of the eggs, Meira in front of her. She’d already been allowed to inspect the eggs thoroughly, and, much to her surprise, Jingth had been okay with Riaren and T’san cozying up to the eggs at will, too. But others had been repelled with much less finesse than was Jingth’s typical – and absolutely no patience at all.

She gave Jingth a minute to fuss at the clutch, the gold nudging a little more sand around the ever-determined Elf Egg and nosing around the Faun Egg sulkily. Her tail coiled like a snake around the Leprechaun Egg and she huffed her breath across the surface of the Pixie Egg like just that would make sure it was immune to all grabby grubby Candidate paws, and then finally settled onto her stomach, a giant golden mass.

“Could you go ahead and call them?” Meira asked, wondering if it was too much to ask of Jingth to actually bespeak people she didn’t know. The gold didn’t like to even with people she did know, come to that, but at least there was a little more control, if she made the call, right…?

Very well, Jingth said, petulantly, and then, much more politely: Candidatemaster; Candidates. If you would please proceed to the Hatching Sands for the Touching immediately. Pets are to be left in the Stands, and there will be no need for robes.

[rii]

"Ow, ow, ow.."

Jenna stood in front of one of the little mirrors belonging to one of the other girls living in the barracks, a brush in her hand as she slowly pulled it through her hair. Slow because the snarls in it would not be tamed by a violent stroke. Jingth's call had been mere moments earlier, and Jenna had rushed back to the barracks to clean up and change into something more, well, clean. Her dirt-ridden clothing had been shed and piled at by her trunk, leaving her stark naked, wincing with each noisey rake of brush.

If she had the time, she would of bathe.

Instead, once her hair was in a semblance of order, Jenna dressed in pants and boots to hide her dirty feet. A long white sleeve shirt to mask her arms, a stiff vest over that to flattern her chest. Her short hair was pulled back into a stunted runner tail. All that left was to wash her face and hands in the nearby water basin.. which she left a murky gray before sprinting out of the barracks and toward the hatching sands.

She'd change water later.

By the time she had ran her way to where Emoyan and a few of the other candidates gathered, the hair tie binding her hair has lost it's purpose. The wild brown strands loosing around the sides of her face to leave behind the barest wisp of a hog's tail in the tie. Whatever. She tried. Jenna pulled the tie loose and peered inside the large cavern. She'd admit – not to the gold or the handler – but she had tried to get a view of the eggs. With no success mind you. Even enlisting the help of the weyrbrats and their knowledge of all the nooks and crannies didn't earn results. The gold and her chosen brown kept too good of a watch. Hmph.

Let's see, what was she suppose to do? Jenna glanced half-hearted at Emoyan – if the Candidate master was talking, she hadn't heard a thing. Probably something about pay respects and touch the eggs; this all was about touching the eggs, right? Well, what was everyone waiting for – they already had the invitation. Bunch of pussy cats.

Striding out, Jenna could feel the sweat beginning to tickled down the back of her neck from the heat radiating off the golden sands. She bowed before curtly before Meira, the action more masculine than a woman's curtsy. Next was Jingth, and afterward Jenna remained slightly bowed with fingers steepling in front of her face. "Uhm.." Good start. "Your clutch looks beautiful – may I touch them?"

[dragon]

Emoyan was on hand before any of the Candidates managed to make it to the sands, knowing that some of them were going to race there as fast as they could go to charge right in there. He was getting good at this being faster than the kids when it came to touchings. So many of them had tried to get a look at the clutch ahead of time ... some getting caught and punished, others being frustrated in their attempt. He knew the minds of candidates: he'd been one once himself!

So it was that he stopped the youths before they could all go racing in onto the sands in entirely a too fast and incoherent mob ... liable to stress out the already stressed Queen. Definitely not a good thing.

"Alright, listen up!" Emoyan called, as most of them assembled. Some were missing, still, but that was probably because they had farther to run to get here. Or had slept through the call. He'd not had time to sweep through the barracks before getting here, so that was their loss. "This is a touching, so that is what you are going to do. Touch the eggs. But that is all. There will be no licking, rapping, tapping, kicking, or other such shenanigans among the eggs. Do not run on the sands, do not yell, and for Faranth's sake do not take longer than you absolutely have to. Do not sit down on the sands. Jingth is already twitchy and it has taken a bit of convincing to get her to let you in there at all. Do not abuse this privileged. You do not want to see her angry, trust me." He warned.

"Jingth has asked for expedience in this. Do not forget to pay your respects, but do not loiter around for individual acceptance from her. You will only annoy her. If she did not want you to come see, then she would not have bespoken you. Now, remember - no running." With that, Emoyan stepped aside from the entrance, and allowed the Candidates to filter past him onto the sands, making sure that they went in at a steady rate. A mob just would not do at all. Or them standing back in timid fear, either - that would also exacerbate the tense condition. Looking past them over at where Meira was standing, he gave her a respectful nod, all while staying off the sands himself.

Rowdy youths.

---

"Did you know there were eggs out there?" Orena asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in wound up excitement.

It had taken a little while for the two girls to figure out why they had been brought to the Weyr, they had been that clueless to affairs outside the Hold. Their parents, being from Lighttower before moving to Blossom, had never spoken of the ways and affairs of the Weyr. But after attending a few lessons and talking to some of the other people around, they had caught on pretty quick why they were here.

To get a dragon!

How cool was that?!

"No. I didn't." Isori answered, far more calmly. "Stop bouncing, people will notice!"

"So?!" Orena asked. "We're going to get to go see the eggs!"

"Shhh!"

For a little while, Orena managed to be quiet, as the Candidate Master spoke, bright chocolate eyes on the man as he spoke, standing next to her sister. Though they were identical twins, it would be hard to notice that, the way they were dressed.

Orena's hair was all a fly away mass of curls tumbling down over her shoulders in a shimmering curtain of reddish chocolate brown. She was wearing shoes for once, and her clothes were both tight and frilly at the same time, flaunting all of the curves that young womanhood had graced her with thus far.

By contrast, Isori's identical hair was pulled tight across her head to a single point in the back where it was tightly bunned up. Not a single hair escaped the wad, which completely concealed the fact that her hair had curls in it. Her face was far more somber and serious, instead of grinning like a fool, and her clothes were also much, much more modest, and in more somber colors. The two still looked related, but not really identical.

As they were gradually allowed onto the sands, Orena did manage to calm herself to the respectful pace that was expected of her. If only because that was what it was going to take to be allowed in to see. Her face lit up at the sight of the Queen mother sitting there, all shiny and golden. "Oh, beautiful!" She breathed, under her breath. She paused long enough to drop a respectfully delicate curtsey to both the dragon and rider, before moving on to see the eggs. At first she only looked at them, completely wowed into silence. Finally she stretched her hands forth to gently carress the shells, awed.

"They're so big!" She said, not having known that eggs could be so very big.

Following behind her twin, Isori had also paid her respects with a curtsey before walking to the eggs. She only nodded, though, before glancing up at the mother again. "Have to be. To hold something that'll be that big some day." She remarked, before her milkchocolate eyes traveled back to the eggs before her. She leaned forward and placed both palms on a singe shell, not sure what to expect.

Why were they supposed to touch them? What did it do?

They sure were warm though! Almost qualifying to be hot.

[Kisha-Ra]

Mort was humming to himself as he tugged on a shirt, the colour was rather restrained for him, being a dark teal green shade, but he always thought the softness of the fabric made up for it’s lack of eye burning brightness. Besides he’d always meant to add a little something to it, maybe those little silver beads, but he was always getting sidetracked. Speaking of sidetracked, he’d probably better put on some trousers before anyone came in.

Mort had just decided on a pair of black trousers (he wasn’t sure being in the same Weyr as his aunt wasn’t effecting his fashion sense, but he’d decided to only worry if he decided to wear nothing but black), when a message seemed to get through without any apparent intervention of his ears. Touching? Oh how exciting! He might be able to tell if there was a queen in any of the eggs. Queen eggs were supposed to be gold weren’t they? In his excitement Mort rushed to the door, then stopped and thought. Firstly, the all important trousers were still in his hand, and secondly he had no pretties! He needed lots of pretties, all his best ones! He had to make a good impression on the clutchmother!

After several frantic minutes Mort still had the same basic outfit on but with the addition of several strings of beads and a lump of copper tied onto a piece of leather around his neck, and some ribbons tied around his wrists. After debating what to do with his hair for a few moments he decided to just leave it loose, there wasn’t any real time to do the kind of complex braiding and threading in of bits and pieces he so loved. If only he’d had a bit more warning… He’d have to wear everyday boots too; it was supposed to be very hot out on the sands and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself by burning his feet. There! As near to his perceived perfection as he could get in a limited time Mort headed for the hatching sands at a brisk trot.

At least he wasn’t late. Mort joined the group of candidates gathering outside the entrace with a cheerful wave to Emoyan. Oh right, he was supposed to be listening. Licking? Mort gave the candidate a confused look, didn’t he realise the eggs would be covered in sand? No one would want to lick them! Maybe that was why it was so sandy out there, no one liked a mouthful of sand. As for sitting down, if the sand were as hot as everyone said (which they might not be ‘everyone’ had been wrong before now) sitting down on them would be extremely uncomfortable.

For a moment upon entering the hatching grounds Mort stared at Jingth. She was bigger then he thought she’d be. Oh right, eggs. Which of them would be gold now? The biggest? Mort remembered his manners enough to bow respectfully to the adult gold before moving off to wander among the eggs. None of them even looked big enough to contain a green dragon let alone something Jingth’s size, still it must work, they were Jingth’s eggs and new dragons had to come from somewhere.

He couldn’t instantly locate a huge, or purely gold egg among the clutch, nor even one that was set aside as records said queens liked to do with their golden daughters, oh well, several of the eggs had enough gold on them that they might be a queen, and the others, well Mort clearly wasn’t as well informed as he’d thought, so he’d better touch them all for luck. There might even be no queen among the eggs at all, but it would be a shame to waste a chance.

[heisokufire9]

Ashlyn had scurried to the sands once Gold Jingeth had called the candidates. She wasn't going to irritate either Gold nor the candidate master by being late. Thank faranth she wasn't. She listened respectfully as the candidate master gave them some instructions. Then the candidates lined up and started in. When it came her turn she bowed respectfully to the gold and her rider.
"A lovely clutch, Lady Jingeth. It is an honor to be allowed at the touching." she said. It may have been a little much but the blue eyed teen meant it. It was a lovely clutch and she was happy to be here. She moved to the eggs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do we have to?" Yukiro hissed as the candidate master gave them some brief instructions. The blonde teen wasn't sure he wanted to be here. They were after all from a hold that had attacked Selenitas before. His older brother shot him a glare.
"Yes we do. Now be polite." Connor hissed back. Yukiro rolled his eyes and huffed as the candidates lined up to touch the eggs. Both boys gave Jingth and her rider polite bows when it was their turn to before turning to the eggs.

[Tashe]

"Uuuwaah?!" Startled out of her seat, Ithanna lost her balance and pitched forward over the Runner's withers. She twisted and hit the ground, rolling as she was taught to absorb the shock of impact. As she turned slowly onto her back a large velvety nose snuck itself into her peripheral vision, the white whiskers tickling her arm as the owner lipped her shirt. It had been three Turns since her last fall and now she'd have to start her good record all over again thanks to that voice. Ithanna had been told Dragons could talk to people but she hadn't been prepared for what it actually felt and sounded like. With a groan the girl began to move her limbs and body checking to see if she had sprained, strained, or torn anything. She sat up as the muzzle poked in closer. "I guess we'll have to cut your warm up short today." Ithanna rubbed the Runner's muzzle before getting up onto her feet. "I gotta keep my promise to the Master, see?" Reins traveled up and over the mare's head as the candidate began to lead her charge out of the training arena.

"What? Does it matter? I'll just get sandy anyway... the Hatching place is covered with it." She merely blinked at the Stablemaster. Why was he fussing so much about the fact she was covered in damp sand? She'd fallen, it was only natural that she was. But apparently he cared about how she looked in front of the Queen Dragon, she was representing the stables when she went before the Gold so she had to look respectable. Or so he said. She sighed as the Master sent her off to get changed, obviously he wasn't going to listen to her reasoning. Didn't matter anyway, the Candidate would do whatever the Master told her to do. For her, he was the ultimate authority. Plus, becoming a Candidate had been part of her contract and his idea. Damn. Picking at her perfectly fine but sandy clothing, Ithanna massaged her calves before running down the path that would take her under the waterfall and on her way to the Barracks.

A change of clothes and a wash of the hands later, the dirty blond found her way to the Hatching Arena with the help of some kindly drudges. Ithanna had never been near the sands before and didn't know what to expect. She had managed to miss the first part of Emoyan's speech but was able to hear the very last portion. Tucking her hands into her sleeves she waited her turn to walk through the doors. In truth, what she saw was rather overwhelming. The Apprentice faltered in speed but continued on, drawing ever nearer to the impressive figure of the Junior Queen. Stopping where the others had, she gathered herself. Placing a foot in front of her, Ithanna rocked forward with an arm across her chest and then back, bowing at the waist. She straightened. "I thank you for the chance." The Candidate was, of course, addressing the both of them.

She bowed again (albeit much less grandly) before removing herself so that the next candidate could great the Queen. Moving silently closer to the Eggs she scanned them, trying to decide which one to attend to first...

[Rowana]

Touching, that was the key, Nabrik was sure of it. Kale had explained the process to him at one point. Candidates got to touch the eggs before they hatched. It wasn't a guarantee of Impression, but Nabrik had got it into his head that all he needed to to to get a dragon to come to him was to touch and egg. After all, why else would a dragon not choose him? Wasn't he just as good as those other boys? Here presented a problem, however. Since he wasn't a candidate, how was he to know when this Touching was? So began operation stalk Candidates! It wasn't hard to figure out who they were, and they all lived in the same place. All he had to do was watch until one of them went to the Hatching Sands and follow them, nothing to it!

Today he's found one of the girls, a black haired one he thought was named Ashy or something. It was starting to look like all these candidates did was talk, do chores, and go to class. Older kids were so boring. Finally, the Ashy girl had started for the Sands, so fast she must be going for something important. Either the eggs were hatching already, or it was time for the Touching! Grinning at his success, Nabrik sneaked after the girl towards the Grounds. Path had been more than willing to stay outside where she wouldn't have to be close to a large, shiny dragon, but Alph was tucked under his boy's neck. After all, neither of them had heard the "no pets" message.

The first obstacle was the Candidate Master. Nabrik had met Emoyan on a few occasions, so the man wasn't going to believe he was one of his Candidates so easily. For once it was good that he was short. All he had to do was stay behind the taller boys and girls and slip right under Emoyan's nose, literally. Is wise? Alph questioned worriedly. He didn't have a problem with dragons as a rule, but he wasn't sure a queen would take so kindly to such sneakiness. "Did I ask your opinion?" Nabrik hissed. No, the salamandyr admitted, sulkily. Should have. Nabrik rolled his eyes and concentrated on getting inside unnoticed.

[Ember]

Aephon started as a truly alien voice entered his mind and interrupted his reading. Given the proper sentence structure and the content of what was said the healer boy concluded that it was a dragon invading the privacy of his mind. He let out a huge sigh and returned the book to its spot in the records room. Why was he even bothering to go? He was angry but he could hardly yell at a dragon and expect anything. He didn't actually care to Impress. He honestly didn't even like the idea of being near hatching eggs. First and foremost he was a Healer.

He kept forgetting to resign from candidacy. It had been a convenient way to get to the weyr but the weyrfolk quarters were better than the candidate barracks (which smelled really bad, in his opinion). Who cared if some random dragon thought another of its kind would like him? They were creepy creatures, all them draconids. What sane person would want to offer their mind to any of them? Tch. Despite his thoughts he found himself wandering towards the Hatching Grounds anyways.

Aephon found himself standing before the Candidate Master in front of the Sands in what seemed like no time. He listened to the lecture with a distinctly grumpy expression. Yes, yes he got it. Could he go in and satisfy his curiosity already? He peered in and was surprised to notice Meira there. Oh. Right, she did ride a gold. Well, that made things a little simpler...sort of...not really. They shared a shift in the infirmary but he hadn't talked to her much. He never talked to people much. There wasn't much point when there was work to do instead.

The boy, clad in a bright orange top and brown pants, wandered over to Meira. He didn't offer her a bow - she hadn't earned one, had she? - but he nodded at her. "Good day Meira," he offered before turning and bowing to the gold. He did it simply because all the other candidates were and not out of any genuine desire to do so. He lingered near Meira for a moment or two but she hardly needed his company. So he moved towards the eggs, crossing his arms as he did so.

-----

We're late. "No we aren't." Yes we are. There are people on the Sands. "We never agreed to be there. We weren't even sure when it would happen." We didn't tell them we wouldn't be there. "If you're so worried about it why didn't you just go already? The conversation between T'san and Dsoleth was quickly brought to a close as the rider felt a clawed paw curl around him and pull him closer to the brown. Dsoleth huffed right in his face and he wrinkled his nose and batted the huge head away. "If you don't let me go I can't get dressed and we'll be even more late," he pointed out. Like you really care.

The brown scooped His up unceremoniously and flew down to the Hatching Sands. The brownrider wasn't pleased to say the least. It was a freaking cold flight down without a shirt on, ya know? He practically dashed into the hot sands and towards Meira once he was put down, though he noted the candidates already present. He nodded at Emoyan and smiled at both him and Meira. "Hello, hello. It's cold out," he half-whined, smile quickly morphing into a small frown. He shivered exageratedly even though he wasn't really cold anymore. Was T'san bothered by the fact that he was shirtless? Not at all. He was absolutely shameless.

Dsoleth snorted at His' reaction to the cold. It wasn't that bad. The brown moved into the cavern, carefully avoiding all the little people. He crooned at Jingth but didn't bespeak her right away since some candidate or another was bowing to her at that moment. The little people would hopefully behave themselves. He didn't want to have to hurt any of them but he wouldn't let them hurt his and Jingth's eggs. That just wasn't tolerable.

[Shiny]

A powerful, foreign voice dragged Syrene from the fog of sleep. Black-brown eyes opened to stare blankly at the ceiling, vegetating without focus for a moment. No, that voice hadn't been a dream, she was sure of it. A long time had passed since she'd been talked to by a dragon; her mother's Green used to contact her sometimes, when she was a child. But those were days (and parents and dragon) long passed. Time to get up now.

She sat up fluidly with her head hanging, looking like she had just risen from the dead. She hadn't gotten much sleep, but there was nothing new about that. And this was the Touching; she had to go. Impression had to be a must this time. She did not want to waste more time than necessary residing in Selenitas than she had to. The others in the Candidates Barracks were starting to rouse as well. Quickly, she reached beside her pillow to retrieve her kohl (she kept it in bed with her so no one would see her without it on) and expertly dragged it around her eyes, hiding the ever-present bags.

Slithering from her pile of furs, the black-haired girl ignored the ladder and all but threw herself from the top bunk, landing steadily on her feet with a light thump. She glided to the trunk, pulled on an extra top (she slept in her regular pants sometimes, and luckily this was one of those times), and swung a cloak around her shoulders, buttoning the torso up as she headed out the door with the other Candidates.

The pale girl tried to keep her distance from the others, uncomfortable with them surrounding her. Loosely, Syrene walked beside the clump of Candidates to the Hatching Sands, eyes fixating on their blockade, Emoyan. She listened to what he had to say, and hoped some of the others hadn't been listening. It would be funny to see one of these young fools get eaten by Jingth (she was not a part of this list, as she was not a fool).

Boots met sand as Syrene stomped through the gate, glaring eyes darting all over the place to inspect the situation. Selenitas' clutching Gold and eggs were there. The black-clad girl followed behind her fellow Candidates as they bowed and curtsied (feh, curtsies were for girly losers, she sneered mentally), slowly approaching the Gold. Ah, there was the Goldrider - some dark-haired woman her height. Oh, and there was that guy she'd met a few nights ago. What was his name? T'san, wasn't it? An eyebrow quirked slightly as she inspected him. Why was he shirtless? She blinked, noting the Brown dragon on the sands. She had a feeling he was Bonded to T'san. He must've sired the clutch.

Her turn came, and she lowered her upper half in an elegant, low bow, even more raven hair falling into her face as her intense gaze shifted from Meira to T'san to Jingth. Syrene said nothing, preferring to let her smooth movements speak for her. Slowly, she lowered her head, bearing her full respect to the Gold and Hers (and T'san, too, since he was there anyway). Unfolding fluidly into a standing position, her rigidly straight form rotated, and she marched stoically over to the eggs.

Now, which one was ready for Syrene?

[Avu]

They came, and Jingth eyed them all suspiciously until the first approached, a girl. The gold stared at Jenna intently, head tilting at the words spoken, before she made a grudgingly approving sound, bowing her own head in return – she was welcome to touch; at least she was polite and asked. The others were allowed to pass by silently with only bows, Jingth blinking in acknowledgement at them. If they wanted more, they’d have to work for it, and anyway, it wasn’t like the Touching was for them. It was for her babies.

Ashlyn received a dip of the head in response to the Candidate’s words, Jingth eyeing the next set of boys suspiciously. Curious things, boys were (she had one of them; she’d know), and less trusted than females. She’d be watching all of them, of course, but the males especially. Ithanna was awarded an approving nod as well – good that the girl knew it was a chance, that it was ultimately her decision as to whether or not she would be allowed to Stand. See? Girls were smarter, too.

Well, maybe except for Dsoleth, Jingth amended mentally, blinking down at Aephon before her gaze rose to the brown. She waited until Syrene had passed before she flicked her tail in Dsoleth’s direction, indicating he should come nearer. Anything that might keep the Candidates in line a little more. And speaking of which – Jingth tilted her head towards Emoyan, offered a low croon, and bowed her head politely at the Candidatemaster. Then: I wish they didn’t have to, she confided petulantly to Dsoleth, scanning the Candidates near her clutch carefully.

For her part, Meira was mostly stunned into silence. The Candidates were actually bowing to…her. Not just to Jingth (which she’d expected; gold dragons were fairly impressive in sheer size alone and fussy clutchmothers had to be just that intimidating) but to her, and she didn’t have the first idea how she was supposed to answer to that. She nodded in response to most of them, although Aephon, who at least she was familiar with, received a murmured, “Hey.” Not articulate, but at least it proved she wasn’t mute or anything.

All things considered, Meira was extremely grateful when the flash of brown hide announced Dsoleth’s arrival…and that of a shirtless T’san. Err. Well, she wasn’t complaining.

She blinked at him, and then smiled at the exuberance of his greeting, and – was he pouting? “That’s why normal people wear clothes,” she responded playfully, eyes innocent, before she added, “’m glad you came anyway, though.” A slightly bewildered glance at Syrene’s retreat – she’d bowed, too – before Meira said, voice low, nervous, “I didn’t expect them to be bowing to – me, are they supposed to do that…?”

[Tashe]

Had that been approval in the Queen's nod? Unexpected, but not unwelcome. She was happy that she had chosen the right words. Her line of thinking was - if we're invited to touch the eggs by the Queen, it meant that she was allowing us to. Therefore, giving us the chance to see the eggs. Everyone knew mama's were real protective of their babies, so even getting to be so close was really a special thing. And look at these little ones! With so many different colors and sizes, Ithanna was distracted completely from the fact that she was doing this because she had to. The first egg she approached was the Leprechaun Egg, with its many shades and ribbon of gold it made the girl circle it several times before crouching beside it. The colors were so unique, she had never heard much about how Dragon eggs looked. If anything she had thought they shared the appearance of a farm fowl... but bigger. Placing her hand on the egg, Ithanna blinked in surprise as she felt something. "Interesting! So even through a shell emotions can be transferred." The Candidate let her hand linger for a moment, the emotions that came through were so pleasant, before standing up.

The next egg she approached was the Faun Egg, but with its proximity so close to Jingth she tread carefully. Obviously this one meant something to be so protected by the Queen's mass. Like a human mother who, although she shouldn't with so many children, had a favorite son or daughter. As she crouched next to the egg the girl put a little distance between her and it, just in case. Such an interesting pattern. "It looks so much like hair." Would it feel like it too? Touching her fingers to the shell, she smiled happily. Oh wasn't this a nice baby. She wasn't an expert on reading these feelings, but it sure did feel like the little one inside was quite warm indeed. "Marvelous." She removed her hand and sat on her heels for a moment. Maybe Dragons weren't so bad after all. These Dragons might not be like the ones who kept destroying her old home. She touched the shell again in thanks and stood, making sure to bob her head at Jingth (even if she wasn't paying attention to her). See, her Faun Egg was safe.

The next egg was one startlingly similar to the Faun Egg in appearance. "Well aren't I seeing a bit of double?" Ithanna spoke to the Brownie Egg as if it was capable of hearing her. She did that to unborn babies and she was sure they could hear her, they sometimes kicked in response. Not that she was expecting the Dragon inside to move, but wasn't it nice to talk to them anyways? As she placed her hand on the Egg she blinked. It felt like she was being... being sized up or something. The baby inside was, what? Inspecting her? It didn't seem as though she was allowed to take her hand away, then the baby inside did something she didn't expect. It seemed to just, turn away. Like a child who had looked at something it didn't really have any interest in. The Candidate's eye twitched in annoyance. "Well excuse me, Mister or Miss Intrusivepants, if I'm so boring." Taking her hand away, she stood, planted a fist on her hip and... stuck out her tongue slightly. It was a friendly gesture, as if she was teasing it. Realizing what she had done, Ithanna couldn't help but laugh at herself.

It took her a while to locate the next Egg that called to her pleasures, nevertheless she was by its side soon as she could be. "Oh my, don't you just look like a Runner's winter pelt." It took her a moment to realize that all but one of the eggs she had visited so far reminded her much of the same thing. She giggled into her knees as she reached out to touch the Selkie Egg. Once again she was greeted with cheer, an emotion she preferred even though the other egg was appealing as well. Ithanna was about to take her hand away when she caught something else. That should have been a warning, for in the next moments she was flooded with things she had not expected so young of a creature to offer. None of the others had gone into such, whats the word she was looking for, complex? Gasping, she removed her hand. "Fascinating! Oh my, aren't you going to be a smart one when you hatch." I hope its Person has enough energy to keep up. She knew she'd probably be exhausted if what she felt was anything like what the dragon was going to be on a daily basis.

Wiggling her fingers in farewell, another gesture which the little one could not see, Ithanna stood and looked around once more. The other eggs were pretty and all deserved a visit, but as she did so no others were touched. Such a lovely clutch, it would have been nice if she could have stayed longer but it was better not to try the patience of the Gold. Stepping out and away from the clutch, the Candidate turned to leave. She didn't though, instead she took a moment to offer the Queen a wave before starting her outbound trek once more. She had... things to think about. Clear her head a little... maybe go back and continue training the mare that she had been tossed from earlier.

"Hmm."

[heisokufire9]

At the dip of the queen's head Ashlyn moved toward the eggs mindful to be careful around the ones closest to the gold. She didn't want to irritate the clutch mother after all.

She approached the Elf Egg first. It was a pretty egg with its eye catching color pattern. But the way it was leaning, it seemed to not like its clutch mates. That pricked Ashlyn's interest. 'Why do you not like your siblings little one?' she thought as she gently brushed the egg with the palm of her hand. Instantly she was hit with a sense of irritation. The egg did /not/ want to be touched. "Well aren't you a loner." Ashlyn murmured to the egg before moving on. The egg wanted to be left alone? Well then Ashlyn could oblige it. She went over to the Leprechaun Egg next. With its ribbon of gold that seemed to tie all the patches of shades of green this egg was very interesting. Green wasn't Ashlyn's favorite color but she didn't hate it. She gently brushed the egg with her hand and was rewarded with a cheerful happiness. With it there seemed to be a slight sense of flirtation that made Ashlyn smile. "Aren't you the social butterfly." she chuckled. She spent a few more moments with the egg before moving on.

The dark Will O' the Wisp Egg was her next choice though she wasn't so sure she liked this egg. As she brushed the palm of her hand across its surface she was hit with a brilliant storm of emotions that startled her. She jerked her hand away and...they stopped. "Curious. I wonder why it doesn't like me." she murmured though she had no idea that the egg didn't like anyone. She went to the Nymph Egg next. It’s coloration reminded her of a leaf. She was rewarded with distaste at her touch. She frowned. "What did I do?" she muttered to the egg even though it wouldn't answer her. She shook her head and moved on.

The Pixie Egg was next. It was nearly eye blinding to look at but really pretty. It had to be the brightest in the clutch Ashlyn was sure. She brushed her palm across the egg and was rewarded with a sense of warmth as if the egg was telling her it wasn’t as explosive as its other siblings. For that Ashlyn was very much grateful. This egg was a nice reprieve from some of the other ones. Next was the Brownie Egg. At first there was…. nothing…then a curious sense that she was being sized up by the hatchling inside. Then came a wave of indiference as the presence inside seemed to turn away from her. ‘That’s a bit rude.’ Ashlyn thought shaking her head. These eggs were characters that was for sure.

The Faun Egg was like the Selkie egg in appearance and was situated near the mother. Ashlyn tread carefully as she went to the egg. Gently brushing a hand across its surface she was rewarded with a cheerful acceptance as if the egg approved. Ashlyn smiled at the egg. “Well I like you too.” She told the egg. She lingered a few moments and then moved on to the last egg. The Selkie Egg made Ash think she was seeing double for a moment. But then she recognized the difference in coloration between it and the Faun egg. The Selkie egg was lighter than its sibling. She brushed her hand across the egg. It seemed to like her too…or so she thought. Suddenly she was bombarded with things too complicated for a mere hatchling…or so one would think. She shook her head at the egg as she drew her hand away.

She turned and gave Jingth a polite bow before leaving the sands. The candidate master had said not to loiter plus…that last egg had given her some thoughts to chew on.

‘These eggs are going to be characters.’ Ash thought as she went back to the barracks.

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Connor moved among the eggs, Yukiro trailing along behind him. The blonde wasn't bored he just didn't exactly want to be here. Dragons made him nervous. Connor gave his brother a smirk.
"See its not so bad." he teased Yukiro. The younger boy scowled and started to say something when his older brother grabbed his hand and put it against the leafy Nymph Egg. Yukiro's eyes widened at the sense of cheerful acceptance. A slow smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Wow." he said softly as he took his hand away. He glanced at his brother a bit sheepishly. "I guess that wasn't so bad." he admitted. Connor smirked.
"I told you so." the raven haired boy said as they moved on to the other eggs. They didn't touch all of them but they didn't want to bother Jingth who was already touchy with the touching as it was. They went to the Faun egg next. It was seemingly happy to have the attention.
The final egg they both went to was the Pixie egg. It had a calming effect on both boys. The Leprechaun egg caught Yukiro's attention though.
"I'll be right back." he told Connor and went over. Gently brushing his palm across the egg he was greeted with a cheerful flirtiness. But he caught a hint of something else...caution maybe? He wondered why the egg was nervous when no one there would dream of hurting it. He studied the egg for a moment then went back to his brother.
"Ready?" Connor asked and Yukiro nodded. They both gave Jingth a parting bow and left to return to the barracks.

[dragon]

Emoyan was pretty sharp when it came to policing his Candidates. When a young lad tried to sneak in past him ... with a flitter no less ... he was quick to snag a hand out there, catching the youth by his collar and dragging him stumbling back out of the door way, out of the lineup of Candidates headed onto the sands. "Not so fast, kid." He intoned, stepping away from the door way as he brought the youth stumbling along after him.

Even as an ex-rider, Emoyan still harbored a considerable, mature strength to him that was hard to be denied by a kid. But he wasn't unkind or harsh with the lad. Most of the Candidates were already in on the sands by now, so he did not feel the need to keep making sure they minded their speed on entry. This one, however ... was most definitely not a Candidate.

But, contrary to anything that Nabrik might have expected, Emoyan released his collar to work on extracting the flitter from the same location. "I suppose you didn't get the message, circumstances considered. Pets aren't allowed on the sands." With an understanding grin and wink, once he had the creature pulled free, he nodded toward the doorway again. "Be careful, and after this is over, you and I are going to have a little chat."

Jingth probably wouldn't know the difference, between an official candidate and one that wasn't. Meira also probably wouldn't know. T'san ... Emoyan doubted the brownrider would know, either. So it was merely between Emoyan and Nabrik, this deal. But he did allow the lad onto the sands to have his shot at touching the eggs. If he had the balls to actually do so now that he'd been caught, and didn't just stand there in the doorway a-flycatching.

[Rowana]

"Yipe!" Nabrik was so sure he'd gotten past unnoticed that he yelped when a strong hand caught him by the collar. "Shards," the boy spat a curse and glared at Emoyan. It had been such a good plan too. Stupid Candidate Master was quicker than he thought. He was pretty sure he was bound for the kitchens now. Boring chores were usually what they came him as punishments, a far cry from his Father's belt. No wonder he'd called these riders soft.

To Nabrik's amazement, Emoyan let him go. Only to take a wriggling Alph from his perch behind his neck. No touchy! Alph squirmed in the man's grasp. It wasn't that he was all that frightened, but no one except Nabrik had touched him sense he'd hatched. He wasn't sure he liked the feeling. "Hey!" Nabrik reached for his salamandyr. "Give him back!" He crossed his shoulders and grudgingly listened to what Emoyan had to say. So, pets weren't allowed? Nabrik didn't really think of Alph as a pet, but he supposed he must count. Alph quieted in Emoyan's hand. Well, he would hate to bother the Queen. If Nabrik was determined to go, than Alph was alright with staying with Emoyan, for a short while. Is Alph, he told Emoyan brightly. Nice to meet.

Nabrik eyed Emoyan with great suspicious. Why was he letting him go? What could this "talk" possibly be about? It couldn't be good. Adults generally only wanted to talk to him to punish him or try to explain why he couldn't have what he wanted. Still, the Candidate Master didn't seem angry, even about Alph. Emoyan couldn't possibly have mistaken him for a Candidate. He must be up to something. Still, Nabrik wasn't about to pass up this chance! "Alright," he agreed, as if it had been his choice all along. "But be nice to Alph, or else!" He wagged a finger at Emoyan, turned and stalked onto the sands.

Any confidence or bravado Nabrik had been feeling was immediately lost when he was faced with Jingth. True, he'd seen a queen before, and a bigger one, but this one was still humongous to him. The other Candidates were already busy Touching eggs. Should he start too? What had Emoyan said? Nabrik wished he'd been paying more attention. Would Jingth eat him if he got close without asking? Excitement was replaced by nerves as he inched forward. This was a lot harder than it had looked in his head.

Drawing up his courage, Nabrik took the last steps so that Jingth and Meira could see him. He stood as tall as his short little stature would have him and gave a very stiff bow. Some part of him remembered the manners his mother had tried to teach him. "Can I touch the eggs, please, Miss Queen?" he asked slowly. He wasn't scared, no sir. At least, he did his very best not to show it.

[rii]

Upon earning permission – Jenna wouldn't admit that she had stood there nervously like Jingth was going to eat her for doing something wrong, something silly like bowing poorly – the candidate moved toward the eggs to let the other candidates follow suit. If not for the heat coming off the sand, she would of plopped right down next to the first egg she crossed; the Selkie Egg.

Her eyes wandered over all the rest, taking in the different hues and patterns. She couldn't help but think it strange. A chicken only laid one color of eggs. Maybe dragons were more like felines, or canines, that give birth to all sorts of different breeds. Wait, wasn't that because they had multiple sires? Jenna was fairly sure that the brown lounging near the queen was the only sire to this clutch. In the end, Dragons were simply just dragons. They came out green, blue, brown, bronze, and gold – so in turn the eggs were likely to be just as different.

Touching, right – Jenna watched the other candidates before stretch out her hand and smoothing it along the top of the egg. Surprised by the cheerful emotion flooding into her. Caught off guard, Jenna jerked her hand away. She rubbed her fingers together, letting the sensation fade before moving on to the next egg. Each one served to be interesting in their own ways – except the brownie egg, which she touched at a couple of times in worry that it was dead inside.

By the time Jenna was done, her head was filled with wonderment about what would hatch from each egg. Maybe she could make a few bets with people about what would hatch. She would be looking forward to the day they started cracking. She sidled up in front of Emoyan, jabbing the candidate master in the gut with a firm poke. "Oi, When are they going to hatch?"