Touching of the Tidal Seas Clutch

[Tashe]

/Do I have to? Do I really have to let some snot nosed, flea infested, dirt encrusted pack of savage younglings touch my Eggs?/ Yes, you have to let the Candidates touch your Children. I doubt that the Candidatemaster will let the Candidates in if they aren't perfectly presentable. Blown noses, bathed, groomed and on their best behaviors. Looking up at her Gold as she sat herself on the very edge of the couch, a feeble attempt on her part to put something in between the Queen and the Candidates, Kaegan crossed her legs fully aware of the side splits in her knee length dress. Normally, the Goldrider wouldn't have chosen such a dress for an occasion such as this, but it was the only one she had that matched the over all color theme of the Clutch, she had decided to match on a whim. The teal dress was comfortable and form fitting, it's sleeves are long and flowing, all the better to withstand the heat of the Hatching Arena. In fact, she'd rather wear this, than those long robes the Candidates had to adorn themselves with. Those things were hot.

Leaning back and supporting herself with her hands, Kaegan started to bounce her sandaled foot before speaking to her Queen once again. You know. Its better to get this over with, than delay it and worry even more about it later. /But.../ I know you don't want to, but we have to. /...Okay. Okay fine. But I reserve the right to throw out anyone I don't like./ Thats perfectly fine with me. You are the High Lady and the Mother of the Clutch. Hearing the scraping of hide against stone as Millieth moved her head, Kaegan yawned and closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the heat until the small amount of Candidates trickled in.

/Mellith, tell Your's to let the Brats in... if any of them are rowdy right now, do not let them in./ Shuffling her wings as she called to the Candidatemaster's Green, Millieth flicked her head over to the entrance through which the Humanchildren would be coming in, intent on watching their every move, especially around the High Tide Egg. Protective as ever, the Queen wouldn't hesitate to kick someone off the sands if they proved to be a danger or a nuisance to the clutch and her nerves. Narrowing her multifaceted eyes as she heard the door being opened by the first of the Candidates, Millieth barred her teeth slightly. /They had better be respectful! If they aren't, automatic I-get-to-eat ticket./

[reqqy]

So...they were waiting. All of the ones who had gathered, which was a fair amount, though not nearly as large as some of the crowds he'd Stood with in the past. Mutasim was passing time tossing a knife end over end and snagging the hilt, bored out of his mind. He hated standing around doing nothing. The short young man glanced over the assembled candidates one more time, adjusting his robe and wishing he'd been able to find shoes that fit. That sand was going to be hot.

Well, what can you do?

The gold was watching the entrance now. Mutasim brought the knife to his mouth, gently tapping the point against his teeth, before he let out a disgusted snort and thrust the blade back into a hidden sheath. Obviously, Kemma was late. For what reason, he couldn't be sure, but Millieth seemed to be waiting for them. What was the worst that could happen, anyway? He'd already been thrown off the Sands at one of Aslath's touchings. It was...frightening, but, in the end, just that.

He squared his shoulders and strode through the entrance, skirting the edge of the sands in what was clearly an odd, mincing sort of step. Hotter than he remembered. Mutasim wrinkled his nose. At least his feet were pretty well-callused. It was bearable...not as it would be during the Hatching. He really needed to locate sandals by then. The boy didn't feel bowing to be necessary - mostly because he didn't believe in taking your eyes off a potential threat, and there were few things more dangerous than a queen with a clutch. He nodded to the gold and her rider, resisting the urge to throw something over Kaegan's bared legs.

"The Candidatemaster's...late or something," he informed the older girl softly. He looked to Millieth, then. "But she should be along shortly. Is it all right if we touch your clutch, Millieth?" He felt it only right that he take the risk...he was, after all, one of the two here who had seen the most Hatchings from the Sands.

[Tashe]

Narrowing partially closing her lids over her eyes, Millieth carefully tracked the boy as he skirted the edge, a wide birth separated him and her eggs. The Queen looked like a statue, her golden body was rooted to the spot, her head angled somewhere between the door and the middle of her clutch. She wasn't going to take any chances when it came to her eggs, and this first Candidate looks weren't exactly up to her high standards. Breaking her trance like posture to cock her head as the boy cut a way through to them, Millieth snorted when he didn't bow before speaking to Her's.

"Oh dear... but everyone is there, yes?"

Glancing down at her Rider, the Gold studied her as she uncrossed her legs, so that more of her dress covered her skin... no doubt she had been hoping the first wave of Candidates were women. Her attention shifted as soon as the male fledgling began to speak to her, watching his every movement, calculating whether she should spite or agree to this one. /Tell him I shall allow the Candidates on the sands, despite the lack of Rider to watch them. But! He and another older candidate /must/ supervise the other younger ones./

"Millieth says the Candidates may enter the sands, but... on a condition. She says, that you and another older Candidate have to keep track of the younger ones. At least until Kemma turns up, just to make sure they don't do something wrong."

Flaring her wings as Her's told the boy what she had said, Millieth transfixed her focus upon the boy, puffing slightly. He would agree to the condition, otherwise he would have to wait to touch last or for the next clutch to come. He didn't bow, and he didn't compliment her clutch, so that was the absolute least he could do to make up for his blunder.

(crappy post... couldn't think of much to say.)

[glamourie]

"Am I old enough?" came Rawign's curious response, as he edged toward the entrance of the hatching grounds. The last time he'd attended a touching, Aslath raged at him. Not much incentive to trust, but... this was Millieth. He was slightly less frightened of her, for the simple fact that her rider seemed so kind, and Millieth did always make the effort to leap over him rather than crush him beneath her claws. He'd meant it when he said she was his favorite queen, though much of that stemmed from not knowing Hepaticath at all. Stumpy adored her, though, and Rawign tended to trust his firelizards. Not, however, enough to let them anywhere near the Sands during a touching or hatching. Both Roxie and Stumpy were told off and left at Marra's apartment, where they would be safe from a queen's anger - and where he would be safe from being thrown off the Sands again. Hopefully.

Bowing slightly, Rawign's lips twitched into a slight smile before he cast a half-glance at Kaegan. "I guess my timing is good. I wasn't sure when the touching would be - but Stumpy was most insistent that his favorite dragon and her rider be given a present." Lifting his head, he held out the basket he'd brought with him, but he didn't dare to enter the Sands. Instead, he waited for Kaegan to come and take the offering. Inside of the basket, visible even from afar, were red flowers with yellowy lining. "I'd have gotten here this morning but do you realize how fickle a blue firelizard can be when picking out gifts for a lady? He was quite firm that he wanted something lovely. I tried to tell him, 'Gold goes well with anything' but he insisted on the red. Can't imagine why."

Slightly against his better judgment, the dark-haired boy glanced over at Mutasim. The last time he'd seen him, they were in the kitchens, making pies. The fact that he was barefoot sent a hint of healer-based temper through him and he narrowed his dark green eyes, fully intending on giving him a tongue lashing later. The hatching sands were always hot enough to scald, that was why queens laid their clutches there. What was wrong with him that he'd deigned to go without? Clearly he'd lost his mind. Clearly. He'd have to tie him up and, by the end of the touching, probably bandage those feet, too. Shuffling about did nothing against sand designed to warm eggs and breathe life into little dragons. Rage, rage.. so much rage. He settled for a disapproving sniff. He liked Mutasim well enough (he was so tiny, it was comical!) but there were some occasions where he felt a nice pillow would suit for smacking him upside the head. There were other occasions, too...

Rawign twitched slightly, then turned his attention back to Kaegan, his free hand smoothing over his white robe. Hot, irritating and ugly. White was not his color. Though, he rather liked her dress... "You both look magnificent. It's good to see Millieth up close and not from beneath for once," he teased, unable to keep the amusement from his tone. Perhaps it was understandable, all things considered. He was, after all, only used to seeing her take flying leaps over him... "Are we supposed to be waiting for Kemma? I'd just as soon assume she's not going to come." The slight edge in the name of the candidate master implied he didn't like her. Which, of course, was true. Rawign was never big on authority, particularly not authority he thought had no right to call rank on him. He'd been a candidate longer than Kemma had been candidate master. Shard it, but he shouldn't have had to listen to her at all.

[reqqy]

Mutasim's eyes flicked from Kaegan to Millieth, and the boy pushed the hair from his face. Hard to know who to address anything to. Up until that moment, it would have seemed that he hadn't been tense at all, but when he relaxed into an easier stance the truth was clear enough. After all, Mutasim had been on the other end of a raging gold before - not Millieth, mind you, but that didn't make it any less nerve-racking. He backed up a pace, and this time he actually did bow, though it was a quick motion. That was all the trust he could dredge up. Oh well. Better than nothing, right?

"Of course." To the goldpair. He moved perhaps a little too fast away from them, though he didn't turn his back. That might have been considered disrespectful, and he was uncomfortable with the idea anyway. Mutasim slipped back through the entrance as Rawign began to speak, letting the older boy deal with things with Millieth. Rawign was always better with stuff like this. Mutasim directed his own attention to the other candidates. "She's allowing you on the Sands. Be careful, though. Be respectful and don't fight or anything, or I'll have to do something nasty so Millieth doesn't eat me." Kind of lame attempt at a joke, but oh well. For all his apparent poise, he was just as nervous - if not more so - as most of the rest of the candidates here.

Yeah, he was just fine with dealing with the candidates, most of which he'd seen around. They weren't capable of crushing him on a whim. Mutasim shooed the stragglers forward as best he could, allowing Rawign to deal with Kaegan and Millieth. His dark eyes flicked toward the gold again, and he skirted past one side of Rawign, a little reluctant to go back onto the sands when the stone felt cool on his feet, but how was he supposed to keep an eye on the rest of them, otherwise? So, he offered her another shallow bow, just in case she was paying him any attention (which she probably wasn't) and slid lithely around to watch the other candidates.

Surrepitously, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, to alleviate the heat.

[shadowreine]

Keloran knew this drill, and wished he didn't. He'd stood before, and failed. The core of doubt in his stomach grew as he stepped out onto the Sands. Unlike some, he had come prepared with suitable, lightweight sandals...he'd kept them from last time.

Yes, that was the drill. First, the deep bow to the gold. The acknowledgment, as she was the queen, the mother. "Millieth," he greeted clearly, politely, "I would like to visit with your eggs." He smiled at her. "Nice clutch..."

For some reason, the eggs were dominated by blue. Lots of blue. There seemed little point to choosing a favorite. He really did not believe he would Impress, but he hoped, he could not help but hope. Where was his dragon? Did he have one? Would it ever Hatch?

He also had not forgotten Millieth's last clutch. Especially that poor, blind dragon. Deaf, mute, those could be worked around, but a blind dragon could not fly, surely. Dragons were born for the sky, meant to fly, and that thought made him want his even more, a painful longing that could not be chased away, and only grew, intensified, as he waited for permission to touch the eggs.

The reddish brown one first, he decided. Unless somebody else got to it before he did. The sands were hot, he shifted his weight a little, his eyes still on the great queen.

[wirevix]

Kariel did not like this. Not in the least, not the tiniest little smidgen did he like this. Plenty of candidates were nervous but he just felt plain sick, terror roiling in his belly. He had to remind himself over and over why he was here, that this was the only place he could be, that he really needed to be here if he was to have any future at all. But it didn't make his insides feel any more settled. The other candidates being all around him made it worse, the heat rolling off the Hatching Sands was enough to be stifling even when he wasn't on them, and the robes they had to wear were just torturous. At least he had sandals, they were too big on his tiny feet and flopped around when he walked, but he was better off than those barefoot. He couldn't and didn't want to imagine walking on that sand without any protection.

And then they were being ushered in, not by the absent Candidatemaster, but rather by one of the candidates themselves. An older one for sure, but it still seemed all wrong to Kariel--what was going on? What had changed the plans? Was it that much later than they were supposed to start, or was there something unpleasant afoot and they all had to be rushed in?

He didn't know what but he knew he couldn't stand out there all by himself when everyone else was being shuffled on in to see the clutch at last. Hopefully they weren't being escorted into to be little candi-snacks for an irate Queen, maybe something had happened? But what could have happened? He tried to figure out what was going on without knowing anything of what really was, speculating wildly and looking a few shades too pale, swallowing weakly as he stepped into the overheated room.

The heat made him feel faint and lightheaded, fluttery and woozy, mingling with his discomfort and fear. That was, of course, all before he actually saw the dragon.

Kariel had been trying his best to get around the Weyr without running into people. He'd been busy trying to learn any route he could, even if it was longer than normal, to get where he needed to go with minimum social contact. It was just so much better for his nerves when he was alone, he only had to watch behind himself to make sure no one snuck up on him, he didn't have to try and keep an eye on everyone around him at all times in case they did something. As a result, he had not really seen any dragons up close other than Llath, and she was not big for a green by any means. He had nothing but distant views caught of dragons in the sky above to prepare him for the size of a Gold.

It wasn't nearly enough preparation. When he saw Millieth he just... stopped. Eyes wide, body totally frozen in place right where he was, he hardly even actually saw her. Just the impression of something huge... huge... bigger than he could imagine a creature could be and there was absolutely nothing he could do. Most physical sensation was simply gone at that point as his panicked mind tried desperately to process what he was seeing. And he had just walked in here? No resistance?

It didn't really occur to Kariel that just standing there staring would probably be considered highly rude. There wasn't a whole lot he could do about it as he was trapped, completely stunned.

[archenstone]

Kalina was in the back of the group as she saw Mutasim direct them in. She paused a moment, tugging on the robe as it was tight on her shoulders. Why couldn't she fit into a normal sized garment for her height? It's not like she had constantly worked silver or metal in her father's forge. With a mild sigh of aggravation she gave up on the offending fabric and followed everyone in. It was quickly apparent that clothes weren't an important issue.

She gazed across the sands for the first time. A beautiful clutch spread out before an immense golden dragon. Thankfully she had heard enough chatter to know who this dragon was; Millieth. Her lips tremor as she was overcome by an unexpected awe. How could dragons be so big? She seemed radiant... She noticed others go up to her and bow. Faintly she heard pleasantry's exchanged. I have to walk up before....her? With a swallow she forced her lips to stop trembling. She began to walk up to Millieth.

As she made her way her eyes were drawn to the eggs. I never knew dragon eggs looked like this. She thought as she gazed over them. Each one had its own pattern and size. It was unlike what she imagined. Sooner than she expected, she found herself before Millieth. Somewhat unsure of her self she curtsies to the Queen before her.

"Hello Millieth, I am Kalina. May I meet your lovely clutch.?" She said as she looked up at the dragon. It stunned her that what could be her companion she was meeting already. She wasn't sure which egg drew her more.

[Tashe]

Tapping the back of her heels against the warm stones of the Queen's couch, Kaegan gave Mutasim a small smile as he bowed out of the conversation, before her attention was redirected toward a familiar voice. Rawign had come to the touching like he had said he would, and fortunately, Millieth didn't have to jump over him to remind him to come. "Oh! Of course... If you wouldn't mind helping your fellow Candidate." Nodding her head in response to his bow, the Goldrider tilted her head to the side, making her curls fall to one side of her neck. "A present...?" The basket he produced was filled with pretty red flowers, ones close to or exactly like the flower that spouted up in Millieth's memory which she had decided to share. Glancing up to Rawign's face from the basket, Kaegan flashed him a smile, a little bigger than the one she had awarded Mutasim with. "Why thank you. And since Kemma is strangely absent, Millieth has given the Candidates leave to enter the sands, as long as you and Mutasim watch the younger ones until she arrives." /I like him. He at least bows the first time./ You like anyone who flatters you.

Momentarily taking her attention away from the older boy, Kaegan nodded to the unknown candidate in return for his bow, listening to what he had to say. Looking to Millieth for her answer to his request, the Goldrider crossed her ankles before replying. "The Queen has granted you permission to touch her Eggs. Be gentle and slow around them please, we don't want any accidents resulting in people getting thrown out." The next Candidate to appear seemed to freeze over, like a pond in the middle of a Northern winter storm, and it didn't take much to guess why he had stopped. His eyes were glued to Millieth. Normally, Kaegan didn't give a genuine smile to people she didn't know (men especially), but she made an exception in this case. The Candidate reminded her of herself during some of her Benden stay, to frightened to move, let alone really think about anything. Clearing her throat slightly, Kaegan began to tap her crossed legs against the couch once more. "Candidate, she won't hurt you, I promise. Just ask if you can touch her eggs, then you wont have to worry about her watching you." Inclining her head a little. Next, a young woman appeared, causing the Weyrwoman to shift her attention once again. It always surprised her how some candidates looked upon meeting a Queen, let alone Dragons themselves, she didn't doubt she had once acted that way also. /She may./ "Millieth grants you permission to proceed. Be gentle and slow, my dear. Enjoy your experience."

Returning her attention to Rawign after watching Mutasim for a moment, the Queenrider motioned with her hand. "You better get in here and touch the eggs... Before Millieth changes her mind. Plus, she wants the flowers. Better not to make her mad, she might jump you again." Throwing his teasing right back at him, Kaegan placed a hand on her Dragon's snout as she settled her head on the floor next to her.

[glamourie]

Glancing at the new arrivals, Rawign cast a curt nod. It was meant to be friendly, but truthfully, he knew very few of them - except the petrified one, who was technically his bunkmate. (Not that they'd ever spoken, since Rawign slept with his girlfriend Marra most of the time; it was considerably more comfortable to have a warm, female body curled against his than try to shove himself on a bottom bunk. It could be argued he'd consider staying in the candidate barracks more if he'd had a top bunk, but it was unlikely.) He was clearly frightened, too, from how obviously he stiffened, but Rawign offered him no words of comfort. When he came to Selenitas, dragons scared him half-to-death. Millieth hadn't thrown the boy from the Sands or tried to hit him with her tail. He was doing good, as far as Rawign was concerned. He ought to have counted himself lucky, instead of so blatantly showing his fear. What dragon would want someone so clearly scared? ... Had he ever looked that bad? It was an interesting thought to ponder, but Rawign felt certain he hadn't. He was better at hiding his emotions than that.

Kaegan's words caught his attention, however, and he stepped away from the edge of the Sands to cast a cautious look to the other candidates. He was walking carefully, but his gaze was flicking amidst the eggs, Kaegan and Millieth, and the other candidates. If Millieth wanted him and Mutasim to watch the other candidates, he would do so to the absolute best of his ability, and he was a healer. He could make their lives very uncomfortable if they so much as offended her. Half of him was tempted to tell horror stories about Aslath just to reinforce how necessary it was to be respectful, but - first, he had flowers he'd promised to the clutchmother and her rider. Best to address that before anything else.

"I'd hate to offend her," he replied, gaze flicking up to Millieth as he approached the pair. "I thought these were a touch prettier than the one that Stumpy brought you before." The basket was held out to Kaegan. It was topless, and wicker, so the flowers inside, vivid crimson with their gold internals, were impossible to miss. Flower arrangements were hardly Rawign's specialty, however, so he'd simply filled the basket rather than try to make it look decorative. Let the lady decide how she wanted to arrange it, would have been his excuse, had he bothered to offer one. "Stumpy liked red. What can I say? I'm certain he'd have liked to deliver a flower to Millieth himself, but..." And he looked back up at the gold as he spoke. "I wouldn't disrespect you by bringing a firelizard to your Sands that way. He will simply have to wait. These come from him, however; I dare say you've won my blue's heart~"

Not expecting a response (why would she deign to acknowledge him at all?), he turned to look at Kaegan again before picking one of the flowers out of the basket to hold out for her. It was one of the larger blossoms. "The ones with the stems are from me, though; I confess I thought you could use a congratulatory present. As expected, Millieth's clutch is spectacular..." Though he thought it slightly rude (and in a way it was, but not intentionally), he cast a glance back at the other candidates. When Rawign gave his word on something, he usually went out of his way to keep it. That meant being willing to make miserable anyone who so much as looked at the eggs wrong. Kemma wasn't there to feed any of the errant candidates to Mellith, so he would have to do. Enemas for all misbehavior! "The color scheme is extraordinary. I do so love blue." He paused, then leaned over to whisper to Kaegan, "If any of them misbehave, I'm not above tying them to infirmary cots and insisting they have some highly contagious internal rash that may or may not actually exist. Say the word and my creativity is at both yours and Millieth's disposal, mm?"

[felina]

Where was that Candidatemaster? She'd made enough of a point showing up early to the first lesson, and yet now it seemed she hadn't deigned the Touching of the eggs themselves important enough to come to on time. Niera was getting restless, and the growing crowd of younger children around her chattering excitedly didn't help matters any; she felt as though she were in the middle of flock of wherries, being pelted by aberrant screeching. The only good thing was that, with her height, she was able to see over just about all of the other candidates into the Grounds, where the clutch almost shimmered with their seemingly delicate beauty. Rather like herself, though, she knew that they were anything but delicate, if they were hard enough to be touched. Niera was pretty, she even went so far as to say beautiful, but she could throw a punch if it came to that. The dragonets would, as well, but their punches had penetrating claws and an unstoppable hunger behind them.

She shifted her weight slightly, getting rather tired of all this standing around. However, when she stopped staring longingly at the Clutch long enough to check to see how many of the candidates would get out onto the Sands before her, she realized that a lot of the mass had shifted to behind her. Silly children, probably frightened of eggs. Perhaps of the Clutchmother, but that was a risk one just had to take. Well then, time to do what needed doing, then. Niera stepped around the ones still milling about in her way, and finally found herself before the massive shining wall of gold.

Millieth absolutely dwarfed the only other dragons she'd seen up close, both of which had been greens. And neither Corenne's Tinith nor the Searchrider's Llath shone in the way the gold did, as though she didn't even need the light to be an immense beacon. It was hard to imagine that her gold, too, would grow to this size. The others had bowed, but even that didn't seem sufficient for how much higher above them this Queen was in all her glory. Niera went down on one knee, looking up at her. "There ain't words to say how beautiful you and your clutch is, Millieth," she said carefully. "You and them are the prettiest things I've ever seen. Is it all right if I take a closer look?"

She sincerely hoped that it would be. This was everything that she had dreamed of. This was why she'd turned what little order she had ever had in her life upside-down and left what she'd always known, to come here and Impress. True, this was not the Hatching itself, but it was a step on the way and a sign of its imminence. The day would come though, and then she and her queen would be on the top of the world.

[llew]

Why had he not been there for her Clutching, when she was in most pain? Hadn't he promised himself to be a good mate for his queen? Hadn't he been chosen, and thus held to some standard of responsibility? Kirayuth berated himself silently as he winged toward the Hatching Grounds, mulling over the shoulds and shouldn'ts of dragon-fathering that instinct seemed to have forgotten to program in absolutes.

And N'tia had seemed distracted as of late. The man was given to running more than usual, eating his meals quickly, immersing himself in his duties. A purposeful ploy in avoiding his female counterpart, it seemed to Kirayuth. But that was strange; the bronzeman certainly harbored no ill will toward her, so why did he fear her so? Humans were a complicated sort, the dragon concluded, even when you could read their minds.

The bronze dragon landed softly in the rafters, mustering all the subtlety and inconspicuousness a bronze of his size was capable of -- which was not an impressive amount. But this was Millieth's clutch more than it was his, and he was determined not to disturb her. However, he could not help but send a gentle, warm touch to Millieth's mind, just to let her know he was here should she need him. He quickly withdrew to leave her to her task, and peered curiously at the candidates. They had better be the best of the best; that was what his children deserved.

[wirevix]

It took Kariel several minutes to realize he'd been spoken to. He worked his jaw a little but couldn't make any sound at first, trembling fitfully and looking like he couldn't decide whether or not to just bolt and give up on the whole idea of touching any eggs at all.

Finally, however, that determination that was buried somewhere very deep inside, the will that had kept him alive so far despite everything, took hold just enough for him to bow down to the Gold dragon as he was supposed to.

"M-may I... m-may..." he couldn't get the entire question out, his voice just going off into a breathless squeak when he tried. He stayed bowed as he talked, now too afraid to stand back upright again. Oh what a mess this was all turning into.

At least he hadn't just been immediately knocked away. He didn't know what he would have done in that case, though he probably would have fainted or something equally embarrassing. He tried not to think about that, it just made him feel more panicked.

"I p-promise to be... careful..." At least he could get that out.

[archenstone]

The queen rider's words warmed her in a way that was comforting. Kalina smiled a little nervously and said, "Thank you, " Before walking among the eggs. Some of them she felt drawn to, as if being beckoned. Yet with others, she felt almost repelled, as if she knew their personalities would clash. She almost shook her head as she looked at them all. Then, she spotted an egg with bright squiggly lines and circles. That almost looks like a cat face... she thought as she moved closer to the egg, curious. To her the random shapes on this egg could be imagined into things as she admired the uniqueness of this egg. She squatted down to get a better look. It seemed rather large to her. Curiosity overcoming nervousness she reaches out with her hand and gently brushes her fingers against the egg.

[neeuqtar]

Vashti was irked at being late, but there was nothing for it. She hated being late, but drum messages could come at any hour, and of course one had decided to come just as she was preparing to leave the tower. And so she had been forced to remain, note the message down, and then drum that she had gotten it and pass it on until the lazy tunnelsnake in the next drumtower of the message line signaled that he had gotten it. But here she was, in her ridiculous white Candidate's garb, with heavy boots on to keep her feet from scorching on the hot sand.

She entered the cavern, then bowed deeply, as to a Master. "Forgive my lateness, queen Millieth," Vashti said solemnly, keeping all irritation at her delay from her voice, lest the dragon think that Vashti was irritated with her. "An urgent drum message came in, and there was none but me to drum it out." She stood again, having made her apology to the dragon, then flicked her eyes across the Clutch. Pretty, though not as beautiful as she had been led to believe. They were only eggs. "May I have your permission to Touch?"