Touching of the Tropical Island Clutch

[mangotango]

Alviar winced as the dragon's roar seemed to break his eardrums. It did snap him out of his dazed stupor, though, and he blushed a deep crimson as he hurriedly bowed. He'd not meant to be disrespectful- he was just awestruck. He looked at Kaegan when she spoke to him. Something 'him'? Right now all he could think of was 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry' but he knew that wasn't what neither the woman nor the dragon wished to hear.

"Please allow me to touch your eggs" It wasn't as fancy as the other speeches, but at least he'd mastered his voice. Dragonriders were brave! He could never be one if he was afraid of the (clearly angry) Queen! He had to master himself, had to fight his fear, had to be brave and calm. Yes. That's what he needed. It was a lot easier to think about then to do.

[Kisha-Ra]

Jarathon shook the echoes of Millieth’s roar from his skull and slipped cautiously past her, very glad indeed that he’d sent Wraith away. He looked at the eggs for a moment and decided it would be best to circle the clutch and touch all the eggs once.

Beachsand egg might have been small but it seemed happy to be touched. It seemed to Jarathon that the dragonet in that shell had big dreams, however small the egg was. He moved on because there were others waiting for a chance to touch this egg and a whole clutch waiting to be touched.

Valley egg seemed rather…odd, it was cold and so self contained that he didn’t run his fingers over the shell more than once. The brightly coloured mango egg gave him a great idea for a prank, which he forgot the second he removed his hand from the shell. A second touch didn’t reveal the idea, or anything else.

Tribal egg seemed pleased to see him, in a dignified way. Small wonder, he thought, that it was though to contain a bronze if it was going to be like that. He shook off vague feelings of righteous good intention and moved on.

Palmtree egg made him smile with its burst of happiness and he found it quite relaxing to run his fingers over that bright shell. Sea egg’s shell fascinated him, as did the happy acceptance of his touch.

Shipwreck egg wasn’t the prettiest colour but it was friendly, though the submission he sensed was almost disturbing. Lagoon egg was another that attracted him with a fascinating shell, yet as soon as he laid a hand to the blue-green shell a wave of lethargy overcame him.

North star egg was pleasantly hot after the languid feel of Lagoon egg and though the dragon within was quiet, Jarathon fancied he could feel its deep thoughts below the shell. Lulled by the North star egg the despite of the brassy coloured Sexton egg came as a shock. Jarathon jerked his hand away quickly and retreated hurriedly from that egg.

The last eggs comforted him somewhat after that. The beautiful and loving Compass egg was so soothing and gentle that he didn’t really want to leave it. Tropical egg was also soothing but in an entirely different way. The pleasant warmth of the shell and the serene attitude of the egg buoyed Jarathon up.

Since he’d touched every egg on the sands now he backed off and left the sands to wait outside for Odian and Janisi.

XxXxX

Janisi didn’t outwardly react to Millieth roaring, she’d had enough practice at enduring loud sounds without batting an eyelid, besides unlike Janisi’s father, Millieth was trying to protect her children.

There was no particular order to Janisi’s wanderings around the eggs, she went first to those that attracted her, walking several times around the clutch.

Bright Palmtree egg called for her touch like an attention starved child, and she laid a hand atop the bright blue dot at the apex of its shell to try and calm it a little. That didn’t work too well, intense feelings spilled over from this egg at her touch, feelings that made her think of… Janisi pulled her hand back from the Palmtree egg sharply, she couldn’t think about Erria now. The shell bound dragons wouldn’t understand.

The small Sea egg drew her next, bringing her to run a fingertip along that abnormal dent in the teal green shell with its joyous spirit. Beachsand egg, too, drew Janisi to it with promises of happiness and love. She spent some time talking quietly to the occupants of those cheerful eggs.

She found the loving natures of both Compass egg and Shipwreck egg attractive, though she found the submissive side of Shipwreck egg irritating for some reason, it made her want to slap some spine into the poor dragon inside.

Tranquil Tropical egg was interesting, both in appearance and personality. her fingers traced their way along the black patterns of the shell while she muttered a few things to the egg.

North star egg was large but didn’t seem opposed to her touching it, though it didn’t radiate emotion in the way some of its clutchmates did Janisi at least found North star egg welcoming and restful company.

Valley egg didn’t exactly welcome her, but it didn’t drive her away either. There was something fascinating about the mildly flawed shell, and the stoic patience from within was something that Janisi could admire if not desire.

Lagoon, Mango, and Tribal eggs were all brilliantly coloured but only tolerated her touch out of politeness, and the pretty Sexton egg had such a repugnant nature that Janisi only brushed a finger over the shell.

Remembering her manners, she bowed to Millieth a second time as she left. ‘Thank you.’ She said simply to the great, and intimidating, gold. There was no need to say what for.

XxXxX

Odian leaped almost a clear foot in the air when the queen roared. Okay, so maybe it was something of a bad idea to address a queen like she was a Lady but he didn’t have much experience with asking dragons for things, especially not important things.

With his pseudo-confidence knocked out of him, Odian slunk past the queen and rider like a whipped canine, head bowed and shoulders stooped as if trying to hide behind someone, however there was no one close enough to hide behind.

He decided he’d better be quick about this before Millieth changed her mind about this whole business and chased them all off. North star egg was nearest to him and he approached it doubtfully. Surely it was a bronze or brown within that dirty hued shell, or a big blue at the very least, what if it didn’t like him?

Odian firmly reminded himself that no one knew how much Touching effected Impression, so he wouldn’t be damaging his chances, and might increase them, if it was neither then at least he would have the honour of having touched dragon eggs, that would be something his siblings never dreamed of. He reached out with a trembling hand to the shell, there was no explosion, no flash of light, nothing but a hot, slightly rough, eggshell beneath his hand, and the vague idea that the egg was somehow thinking. It was an odd sensation but calming enough for Odian to pull himself together in the egg’s presence.

The small, calm, Valley egg didn’t seem to care who touched its dull green and grey shell. It was a comforting kind of indifference, and a familiar feeling. The eagerly attention seeking Beachsand egg may as well have been completely alien to Odian, though it seemed the cheerful attention seeking egg and the gaudy attention seeking boy would have been two of a kind.

The bright colours of the Palmtree egg, and the Sea egg were what drew Odian to touch those shells. Both tempted him with happiness he could only dream about, though Palmtree was innocent and childlike in its joy while Sea egg offered him vital strength with its happiness.

The leaning Shipwreck egg and its supporter the Tropical egg were the next he visited. Though the Shipwreck egg was not as lovely in appearance as some of its fellows Odian found its shell delightfully cool to the touch, and its loving submissive nature pleasant, if somewhat in need of building its confidence. Tropical egg, by contrast, was a wonderful shade of pink which was enhanced by black markings, Odian could easily admire that shell. It seemed there was a introspective dragon in that shell, certainly that was the idea Odian got as composed feelings emanated from inside, truly this was a good companion for Shipwreck egg. He smiled at the two eggs and left them for another to consider.

In the heart of the clutch, the finely coloured Lagoon egg gave him the wisdom of acceptance, and on the edge the bright Sexton egg showed him the gifts of hatred and spite. The sky hued Compass egg let him glimpse love for a brief moment as he stroked its shell.

At last he came to the larger than average Mango egg and the equally large Tribal egg. He wasn’t certain what to make of them; they must contain the largest of dragonets inside those shells, was he worthy to touch them? Perhaps it was the way Janisi passed, trailing her fingers along both eggs on her way around the clutch that decided him. If she could brush those fine shells so could Odian.

Well, Mango egg seemed to be very…changeable, there was warmth there, and spite too, though neither in such great measure as some other eggs possessed. Odian pulled back his hand with a frown and placed it on the Tribal egg. That reminded him of all the things he had promised and never fulfilled. He really should write to his mother…

Odian gave the brown and white egg a suspicious look. Was it trying to make a better person of him? That thought made Odian’s mouth twitch, it wouldn’t be hard to make him a better person.

Turning away he slipped back past Millieth and out of the door. The Touching had been very interesting even if no one knew how useful it was.

[midnight]

Sikowy

Sikowy smiled her thanks at the Goldrider and gave another little bow before moving towards the eggs. They were all so different, it was hard to pick which ones she wanted to touch. She decided to go with the obvious one, the first egg she had laid eyes on. The Beachsand Egg was the tiniest egg in the clutch, but size didn't matter to her.

"Hello, little egg," she whispered, brushing her fingers over the yellow shell. If it wasn't so small, it might almost have passed for a Gold egg with that color. But up close, she saw that there were small specks of brown in it, too. It was obvious how that egg had got it's name, it really did look just like sand. As she lingered by the egg, she became aware of a sense of warmth and of something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. Even with its small size, she could tell that there was a brave dragon inside this egg. Good, that was what this Weyr needed!

Just a few steps away, there was another interesting egg, the North Star egg. It was large, and probably a brown or bronze, but she decided to touch it anyway. It was rare to see a pure white egg like that, and she wasn't surprised to see that it looked a little dirty from being on the sand. The shell felt a little rough, which surprised her. She hadn't realized that eggs could differ in texture as well as color. This egg felt rather intelligent, and she was sure it knew she was there. "Hello, there, it's nice to meet you," she said politely, smiling before moving on.

Next she went to the sky blue Compass Egg. She liked its color, and when she touched it, she was greatly moved by the feelings of love she felt from it. She was taken by surprise, and she was concentrating hard on the egg's emotions when the Queen's bellow echoed through the cavern. She gasped and jerked back, tripping in the process and falling right on her bum. "Ooow."

Maybe it would be best to leave. She had touched a few eggs, and she didn't want the Queen to feel crowded. She gave a final bow to the Gold and her rider, and then hurried off the sands.

Natian

Natian had been about to enter the sands when the Gold roared. Suddenly, the Touching didn't seem like such a happy occasion. He was actually scared to step onto the sands. He lingered by the doorway, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Well, if this was the difference between Impressing and not, he would have to brave Millieth's wrath.

He strode onto the sands with what he hoped came across as a sort of subdued confidence. Stopping a good distance from the clutch, so as not to offend anyone, he bowed to Millieth. "Please, ma'am, may I have the honor of touching your eggs?" he asked politely, hoping that would be acceptable.