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 Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:53 pm
The sun looked tired. It drooped low over the horizon, giving off feeble rays of light. It wasn't even that warm out anymore. The temperature had dropped enough so that anyone outside would require some sort of light jacket to keep the chills away. The Weyr, on a whole, seemed subdued as nighttime crept closer. Not many people remained out and about in the Bowl; most had retreated to their quarters, or the lower caverns for a warm meal. Tonight, it was a thick, hearty stew with big chunks of well-seasoned meat, tubers, and an assortment of vegetables.
Kella was one of those people busy eating. She had completed her chores for the day (well, for the most part), and all that hard work had made her hungry! The young girl had a ravenous appetite for one so small; she was already on her second bowl of stew! She gripped her spoon with a such a fierceness, anyone walking by might think the girl was half-starved, or half-crazed. But her eyes seemed distant, as though she were mentally between. In truth, Kella was thinking about eggs. With two clutches on the sands, and having just turned fourteen, this would be the first time the girl had been allowed to stand.
She was excited! To keep her thoughts occupied until the hatching, she made notes about what color dragon she thought would hatch from each egg. It was a silly thing that a lot of people in the Weyr did, though some put money on it. Kella didn't have any marks to her name, so the guessing was all for fun. She'd seen the eggs a handful of times, once at the touching, and a couple other times without permission. It was a rite of passage, of sorts, to sneak away and steal a glance at the hardening eggs while the queens were off feeding. But the two brooding golds left the sands, and their clutches, as little as possible. But still, the girl though she had come up with some pretty accurate guesses- but she wouldn't know the truth of what was in the eggs until the hatching! Until then, she could only guess, and wait anxiously.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:30 pm
Flexing sore fingers, she rolled her wrists whilst looking for a place to sit for the evening meal. It was so weird not to be serving said meal, even after almost whole turn without those duties; she still tried to walk right into the kitchen. Oh those old werries made such a fuss when she tried to just take what she wanted. Those that didn't know her let her by, she seemed to belong there and she walked with assurance. The air got her nowhere with the staff that recognized her. Within moment she was shooed out, she knew better then to deify those that make her food.
Grumbling a little to herself, she walked careful through the throngs of people looking for a set. Finding a place to sit down by a young girl already scarfing down stew as if she hadn't eaten in a sevenday she calmly reached for the food left in the middle of the tables and looked to call over a drudge. With a brief smile, she settled herself, not bothering to ask if the seat was being saved or not. One thing she did ask was a matter of observation, "Aren't you a Candidate?" Since she had been forced into the candidate barracks, leaving early to do chores and work with the healers left no time to socialize, but she was fairly good with faces. With a Queen egg hardening, any female could be a Candidate so it was almost too obvious of a guess.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:32 pm
Greloren was seated at quite a distance from Kella... quite on purpose. The weyrbrat knew of the girl and wasn't exactly fond of her bossy manner. His thoughts, too, were on the clutches on the Hatching Grounds sands and to the Hatchings and Impressions that were to come.
He swirled his spoon about the stew, his mind thinking back to some of the eggs he'd touched and of the others he'd seen. Of course, he'd seen them more than just at the Touching. Why else was there that passageway with the peephole? It was OBVIOUSLY there for the Candidates. Or... any one else... He'd been there before, even if he wasn't old enough to stand at the Hatchings.
"Hmm... Bronze, probably." The boy muttered as he thought on the eggs. "That one would be a green, definitely..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:47 pm
Regarding said peepholes. Laflan had finally managed to tear himself from them long enough to scrounge up some food. Nogard had taken to residing in one of the holes while he watched, and feeling neglected of late had wrapped himself around the boy's neck, refusing to budge until he was petted and pampered, and mostly, fed. No doubt feeling ashamed for ignoring the blue so long, Laf hadn't minded hauling him along. No sooner was a bowl of stew in his hands than the blue was down his arm and onto the rim of the dish, tail up and head down, snapping at floating chunks of meat. Laflan had sighed and set the bowl and its occupant on the table beside Greloren, a boy he'd met before but still didn't know well, prior to getting a second helping for himself.
'That one would be a green, definitely...' He leaned over as he sat, trying to see which the fellow was talking about. He, like the rest, was planning on testing his luck with a guess or two about the eggs. Of course, he'd missed the touching and with it a certain degree of information...who knew though, what the feel of the eggs had to do with their contents? Laf was reasonably skeptical of those know-it-alls who claimed they were certain on what was what.
"I'd say brown, if you asked me. A big fat one, but a brown. And I agree about the green," He commented before tipping his bowl up, sipping at the stew happily.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:00 pm
Kallista sat down near Kella and another girl she remembered from the touching. With her various candidate duties plus the occasional side job as messenger, the runner had not had a lot of chance to mix with the others. She did realize that this group was various in not only age but station and location.
The smell of stew and fresh baked bread shook her out of her thoughts. Yum! Considering she had the task of keeping the spits clear of soot and ash, why shouldn't she look forward to the fruits of her labors? Brown, grainy breads were her favorite; best for dipping and holding broth-also for keeping the belly full late at night.
The Hatching was said to be towards the end of this sevenday, if not sooner. During the completion of her chores, she had heard dragon riders and weyr folk alike placing bets on which egg would be what color and what shell would be broke first. And it seemed that there were a few favorites among the candidates as well as to who would Impress and who would be left standing. Grabbing a bowl and a hunk of bed from the center of the table, Kallista gave a friendly wave to Kella, the other girl and a few others she recognized before digging into her evening meal.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:31 pm
Maranan grabbed his food and looked about. "Hmm." He decided to try sitting next to one of the girls. Hen sat down next to Kallista. "You don't mind if I sit here do ya?" He smiled at her.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:58 pm
Kallista shook her head as her mouth was full. She wasn't a small framed girl or a large framed one but she was an active girl. Active girls needed food. Her hazel eyes took in the boy next to him as she had not seen him around before. He wasn't that much taller than and by the look of him, he was a hard worker.
Finally, her mouth was clear of substance and she gave a quick smile. "Not at all. You are a new face to me. Name's Kallista."
Jessan looked around and noticed an open place down near the end of one of the two candidate tables. The group seemed to be a mixed one and he felt sure he wouldn't be turned away. The meal was stew and bread which didn't bother him. After all, how many times going from Spring grounds to Winter did they eat stew on the road?
His blue eyes danced merrily as he grabbed his fair share. Nodding to the other boys, Jessan addressed them all. "Hello there! Good meal tonight?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:40 pm
Florian hadn't intended to socialize this evening, but he had mistakenly allowed himself to be dragged to the Lower Caverns for a late meal with Ghilani. Roco was spared, not that the brown really needed to be spared, since he was baby sitting Ghilani's young green in the barracks, which also left Ghilani free from watching Tada out of the corner of his eye.
Naturally, that meant the younger candidate would be on a mission to 'get Florian out more.'
As it stood, Florian wasn't particularly sure what appealed so much to the smith about exposing him to the social aspects of the Weyr. Florian was quite content to do his shift with the rest of the candidates, practice and drill with the Weyrhealers a bit, (he had just attained Journeyman rank after all) and go to bed. Roco had settled into their new place easily enough, and given Florian's regular correspondences with one of his old master's at the Healer Hall, even if he didn't manage to Impress here at Ista, he now knew that his future as a Healer was confirmed.
At this point though, he felt a bit of the uneasiness that had plagued him his first few weeks at Ista as he gazed around the rooms. Glancing to his left, the taller smith obviously didn't know anyone here, but that had never stopped him before. And, true to form, as soon as he did finally manage to catch a bit of conversation amongst a group of young men and women, he tugged on Florian's sleeve and started towards them. Another lad had just recently sat himself down, so Ghilani smoothly slid in just afterwards, picking up on the thread of the conversation easily. "Hey, hope you guys don't mind if we join as well!" he said, smiling brightly at Jessan, who had also just sat. "We're you discussing the Eggs by chance?"
Watching with some awe, Florian just followed the smith's lead, nodding at those already seated politely, wondering vaguely if he recognized one of the girls at a distant table from the group of Healers here at Ista.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:24 pm
Tseka came strutting into the eating hall, a bounce in her step, walking around like she owned to place. Chin held high, familiar smirk in place, green Xythe and bronze Daeok perched on her shoulders, the female smith was hardly the same girl she'd been when she first came here. That quiet, reserved, skeptical girl. She'd blossomed, and maybe grown some thorns as well. Her confidence was evident in her movements, her surefootedness, her stride, the way she held herself. Her eyes burned with the same passion, but this time it was directed, wielded. Oh, this was the life!
She picked up a bowl of the soup, requesting a little bit extra be added, for Xythe and Daeok, before she stole away to one of the tables, which was abuzz with chatter, mostly about the eggs, she gleaned. She took a seat, noticing Kallista a few seats away, but otherwise, most of these people were unknown to her. She tapped her foot a little against the floor, to some inner tempo. Xythe and Daeok scampered down to the table, and sipped delicately from the bowl, as if trying to display a degree of manners in front of the other candidates.
There were a lot of candidates here, Tseka noted. Opportunities. Alliances to form. If these children impressed dragons, they might end up on a wing with her! Assuming she herself was able to impress. It would be good to make friends now. Social strength was the best kind of strength. The strongest man alive couldn't take down an army. But how to inject herself into the conversation? Oh! That was it. Her smirk grew wider, if that was possible. She leaned forward a little, glancing between a few of the talking people. "I'll tell you what, that big gold egg...that's a queen." Tseka's eyes danced with teasing happiness, daring someone to challenge her. Well, it wasn't like she was lying. And she'd never been one to gamble. There was too much to be lost, and the worst thing would be to make yourself a fool. Tseka had no time for fools.
Despite her overconfidence, her haughty demeanor, she did respect the queens, and their clutch. In fact, it seemed she was one of the only candidates at this point that hadn't stolen to the peep hole. The only look she'd had of the eggs was at the touching. And what an event! But now was not the time for dwelling. She was here to stir things up. It was what she was best at.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:53 pm
Sitting near the gaggle of candidates, and listening in on their conversation. Lynna kept her mouth shut. Not due to any great feeling on the matter, but mostly due to being uncertain if it was polite to join in. Perhaps it was a private conversation. But one girl with two firelizards joined in with her comment about the gold egg - said in such a serious manner took Lynna quite off guard and she burst into loud laughter.
Blushing at her outburst, she moved over to the group, figuring it was best to join in, rather than seem like she was mocking them - which she most certainly was not. Just Tseka's comment had tickled her.
Taking the initiative, she raised her eyebrows, and asked "What about the pink egg? Do you think it will be a green because it's so small?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:43 am
Greloren looked up, startled from his musings at the sound of another voice. "Brown?" He scowled and thought for a moment. "Perhaps..." Personally, he was hoping for bronze... well, he was hoping a lot of the eggs contained bronzes. Mainly because that would give him more chances at Impressing one, of course.
He glanced about as more and more Candidates flooded in for the evening meal. The weyrbrat's eyes danced with excitement a bit as the talk turned to the eggs. "Who isn't talking or at least thinking about the eggs?" He grinned at the others around him. "Hope they hatch soon..."
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:25 pm
Watching her fellow Candidates arrive, she took silent stock of them before trying to speak out. With few exceptions she knew no one at the table, even those she 'knew' it was more recognized then anything. There was no suspect that they might recognize her.
Florian was the only one she could recognize, and she was decently sure she knew his name. He was a journeyman healer and she just a new apprentice learning here at the weyr rather then a proper Hall. Any new Healers got her attention right away because they usually brought with them more for her to study and learn from besides what was available in the weyr. She was also female, of the same age if she guessed right, and he did not have black hair. The rider spooked her but did not anything to turn her bitter to men. Still, she had been so busy with apprentice, then Candidate work to be able to speak to him personally. It was a shame.
Taking stock of the others, she instantly disliked Tseka. Her attitude and way of moving irritated her instantly, a rare occurrence outside of runnerbeasts she used to help apprise..That little comment could have caused a dozen smart-mouthed ones back. Those with too much pride ought to be slapped down before they become too insufferable. Acting like a daughter of the high holder, Lady holder or what most hold-folk considered junior queen riders to act like, it reminded her too much of all the bad things she had heard in her life in the holds. She restrained herself, turning an eye from Tseka. You don't have to like everyone but so long as there is no harm or bulling done tolerating had to be done. She had a bit of a skill with tolerating.
Lynna's laughter brought a smile to her mouth as she ate her soup to stay quite.
Instead of introducing herself, she gave her own little nod as the new people joined and listened to the comments made round. "I don't know about the pink egg, but that big tawny egg, you know the one that was bright amber in the middle leaning against the large white one? It would be lovely if it was a green but I'd put more marks on it being brown, the biggest brown of the clutch." It was the one that captivated her the most, thats the only reason she wished it green. Wishes don't make numbweed smell any better, as she had been admonished once; she was wise enough to know better.
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:10 pm
With all the talk of betting and guesses growing in the air around, Laflan turned to his bag which he'd been resting against his chair. A moment of rummaging found him pulling a role of parchment from it, carefully rolled. He slipped the thin band keeping it closed off and let it fall open on the table. A list of eggs, each briefly described by size and color, and beside them each a dot of colored dye. His predictions.
He scanned down the list, pausing once to shove Nogard (who had become interested and clambered onto the sheet with his nose still dripping stew) away. "Pink egg, pink egg...ah, here!" He tapped it on the list. "The all pink one, yeah, that's green. I'm not sure about the one that looks like the sunset though. Maybe a blue."
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:32 pm
Kallista blinked as one of the boys pulled out a piece of parchment and read off his predictions. Personally, she thought the pink egg would end up a blue and said as such.
"You have a list? No way, the pink is going to be a blue just to be contradictory. And I agree, the tawny egg is going to be a brown, the white egg a green." She interjected into the conversation.
Waving to Tseka, she motioned for the girl to sit on the other side of her. Good friends were far and few between. Even with a double clutch on the sands, not everyone at the tables would Impress. All you could do was try to be on best terms with every one. No matter if you liked them or not. After all, when it came to wings and mating flights, often times the rider didn't have a say in the matter.
"Of course the biggest is the queen, silly girl! That is why it was off by itself. How have you been, I haven't seen you since the day at the lake washing dragons."
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:31 pm
Tseka raised herself, snatching up her bowl to move, sliding into a seat next to Kallista. Oh, what a change it was to see a familiar face! She was beginning to recognize a few people, but that was about it. She was so busy all of the time, it didn't seem she often had time for socializing and friend making.
"Kallista, it's good to see you," both her smile and her words were quite sincere. However, her voice was also lowered. It was one thing to comment on a conversation, but another to bother everyone with her own social matters. Despite that overconfident, headstrong attitude, she wasn't purposely abbrasive. She wouldn't go out of her way to do anything obnoxious. So she would be quiet enough to keep this conversation between Kallista and herself. "Hrm...how have I been? Busy. Weyrlife is good, but...there is never a shortage of work to be done," she chuckled, remembering all that she'd done today, how busy she was! It was a good feeling. To be counted on, respected. At least, by some people. She was genuinely happy here. Even if it was quite time consuming. "How have you been, though? Well, I hope? Wasn't that touching something! I don't think I've ever seen something so amazing in all my life."
Tseka took a few bites of her meal, eating before she would be called on to respond again. Xythe and Daeok were at her bowl again, nibbling and picking out the best bits for themselves. They were quite content. Tseka didn't mean to pry, but when a boy pulled out a chart...a list, was it? Of all the dragon eggs...what a good idea! Why hadn't she thought of something like that! She reached out a hand, pointing to it, before looking at him briefly. "That's quite a good idea. I commend you." And that was also sincere, and said in all seriousness. Perhaps such an awe inspiring topic as hatching and dragonets deserved a bit more seriousness than she usually presented? She gathered herself up a little more, as if feeling a little more of the weight behind the conversation. Despite the jest and light-heartedness of it, this really was an important matter, and these could very well become important people. Who was to say one of the girls here wouldn't impress the queen, or bronzes?
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