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 Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:50 am
Daeluin had an egg. A firelizard egg. It sat, nestled in a clay pot, surrounded on all sides by heaps of warmed sand.
Now what did she do with it?
Daeluin. The young woman who could handle a rowdy classroom of six- to twelve-turn-old children. The young woman who had carried her own weight within her parents' trading caravan for her entire life. The strong, independent, responsible, caring young woman... didn't have a SHARDING CLUE what to do with this pot of warm sand and firelizard egg.
"I certainly don't want to leave it alone," she had told herself while slipping her feet into a pair of boots. "What if it hatches while I'm gone?" Lulu worried, carrying to pot gingerly, held out in front of her with both hands, as she crossed the Weyrbowl to get to the lower caverns. she was ravenous!. The wafting smell of fresh bread was more than enough to set Daeluin's stomach grumbling with urgency.
The warmth of the dining area enveloped the female candidate in a friendly hug as she entered; Daeluin paused a moment in the doorway to enjoy it. Quickly regaining herself, she scanned the area, looking for some prime table real estate. Aha! There! An empty table, with several chairs, relatively close to a hearth. Perfect!
Dilemma.
Put the firelizard pot down THEN go get food? Or, bring the clay pot while getting food? Latter. Definitely. Daeluin was never normally the paranoid or worrying type, but having this egg, along with all its unknowns and ever-changing variables, she felt off-center. It wasn't a good feeling. Pursing her lips, she cradled the pot in the crook of her arm while balancing a deep bowl and ladling out some thick, hot, hearty stew and grabbing a fresh-from-the-oven roll. "Perfect," she nodded approvingly upon returning to her table. With the bowl set in front of her, as well as the clay pot, Daeluin felt slightly more at ease.
Proceed to stuffing your face, girl.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:33 am
Raysan wandered into the dining hall after doing the first chores he had been assigned. It definitely was a change of pace from the first couple days of doing nothing and walking around the Weyr. He didn't mind the work so much but washing laundry was not his thing. It was far worse than washing grain for beer and even if he smelled cleaner for it, his hands felt dry and wrinkled.
So first thing as he walked into the dining hall was to get a plate and see what was on the menu. Everything here was ten times better than what his meals had been like at home. He filled his bowl full of the savory stew then took a deep inhale of the aroma before topping it with a warm roll of fresh bread making his future date with lunch perfect.
As he grabbed a cup of Klah before finding a seat, he noticed a girl caught up with...indecision about....an egg? So someone else had one too. His had been acquired most recently from a...friendly hand of cards. The rider was rather put out by the loss but he did give him clues on how to care for the bundle until it hatched. Raysan smirked just a little as he walked by the girl to find his own seat, "I just got an egg too. What color did you get?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:48 am
Between mouthfuls of stew and bread, Daeluin found herself lost in thought. About her egg, obviously. It had been a parting gift from her parents, acquired by the traders in a VERY favorable deal with a minor holder. Luckily for Daeluin, she had a very loving and appreciative family; if it were any other family, any other group of traders, the caravan leader most likely would have kept it for him or herself. Daeluin had reduced to tears by their generosity.
But she was certainly not crying now. Well, she might soon be, and from frustration rather than delight and gratitude. Lulu hadn't the slightest clue how long the egg took to hatch- and the mere thought of it hatching had her scared shitless. She had no idea what the hatching procedure was with a firelizard. Did it just hatch and impress to whoever was close and suitable, like a dragon? How often did it need to be fed? Did it come with a name, or would she have to think something up? Would its hide have to be oiled? If so, how regularly?
See what I mean? Daeluin was woefully ignorant of firelizard care.
Thankfully, Lulu was distracted from her worrying just before she had a mental breakdown. a roguishly handsome boy, roughly close to her in age if she had to guess, smirked at her. Why was he smirking? Right off the bat, Lulu was puzzled- and she couldn't help but let it flicker across her face. Oh! He wanted to talk about firelizards? Daeluin's heart leapt. maybe he knew something she didn't!
"What color is it? The egg? Its this weird bronze-yellow," she said matter-of-factly, brushing enough sand off the top to display the egg to her table-mate. "What color is yours?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:08 am
"Mm...Weird bronze-yellow eh? Mine's a blue striped little egg. It's got a lot of character I think. I guess that they are kind of like dragon eggs; packaged sort of like a naming day gift. Right now mine's hanging out in a small hearth pot while I'm going through chores today." he said as he sat down and set the roll upon his napkin so he could take a bite of the stew. "Oh...I'm Raysan. Nice ta meet ya." he added quickly before returning to the thick stew.
He didn't worry as much as this girl did about the egg because he just couldn't afford the stress not with all the other things he had to learn about the Weyr including the hatching to come. However, last night he had been sure the egg had wiggled some in it pot and that did give him and expectant thrill. It wasn't quite sitting the way he had left it. It was fairly ease to give it reasonable amounts of attention for the short time he had it so far although, he hadn't received any impression of it like the eggs during the Touching event.
"Does your egg give you any feelings?" he asked curiously wondering if his might be just the silent type or maybe firelizards didn't do anything like dragons. It was a piece of the puzzle Raysan wasn't quite sure about.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:22 am
A blue-striped, little egg. With lots of character. Daeluin idly wondered if the egg's shell color had anything to do with the firelizard inside. Dragons eggs certainly didn't- except for queen eggs, of course. One had to assume the same was true for the smaller cousins. "Yep. Bronze-yellow. Weird. Do you think that means it'll be a bronze?" Lulu dared to ask this strange boy. Raysan, as he introduced himself. The dark-skinned young woman gave up a warm, cheery smile for her new friend- the first she'd made since arriving at the Weyr such a short time ago. "I'm Daeluin, pleased to meet you! But, please, call me Lulu! All my friends and family do," she assured Raysan without letting her smile falter.
Daeluin was by no means a worry-wort, but she certainly was a fan of order and control. So this firelizard egg, with all its unknowns, had her unsettled. She couldn't help but worry! Daeluin pulled the pot back towards her and recovered the top of the egg; it wouldn't do for the egg to get chilled! She didn't want to risk any harm coming to the helpless firelizard, stuck inside the shell.
"Does it... give me any feelings?" Daeluin's eyebrows furrowed in concern, looking pointedly at the egg in her pot. "Should it be?" Worry crept into her voice, giving her question a pressing sense of urgency. Was there something wrong with her egg? "It never has.. Oh, no! I hope its not hurt, or something! Does yours? Oh, shards!" The young woman cursed with a fierce scowl, her dark eyes glinting dangerously.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:50 am
Lulu....he thought to himself as he took the name in and noted it into his ever growing mental list of Weyr people. He smiled a more genuine smile but it didn't last as long as he thought about the question, "Maybe...its a bronze...but I think that its no sure thing. After walking around the eggs on the sands, you never know. I mean that red egg...well its sure to have a green one but did you see that other that looked gold? It wasn't a queen inside or they wouldn't have been sending boys to touch it."
He paused for a moment letting more thoughts form before speaking, "So I'm thinking that the colors aren't as important as much as size. Like...we mostly can guess that a very small egg might have a green or blue...and a larger egg is more than likely going to lean towards a bigger dragon. I would think that might be the same with firelizards because bronze and golds are bigger."
Then he answered her next question with a wry smile as she stressed out, "Heck if I know, that's why I was asking you. I'm guessing their just not like dragons exactly in that regard. But I was hopeful for more insight. It's ok. I'm sure your egg's fine." Her fussing over the egg made him wonder if he was the one not being fussy enough but then again...wait...the eggs were hatched sometimes alone in the sands to make their way to life. So, yeah...his attitude about it all probably was pretty reasonable.
He pushed his fingers through his dark hair and then reset the band that tugged his lock into a neater ponytail down his back. "Well the person I got this from said they don't take too long to hatch so its not like we won't find out soon enough."
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Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:18 am
Lulu nodded in agreement. What Raysan had just said had been what she had thought! "That's what I was thinking!" She admitted, gesturing with an open-palmed hand emphatically. "Dragon's eggs are colored everything within the rainbow, but only the golds' eggs are colored according to what is inside. So... maybe firelizard eggs work the same way? I mean, its a decent sized egg," Daeuin remarked, speculating about what she could compare its size to. She didn't want to completely remove it from its warm sand bath just to show Raysan how big it was.
Daeluin breathed a sigh of relief when the young man rushed to reassure her that his egg lacked any sort of presence or mental feeling. "Okay, good," she said with a nervous laugh. "I was worried that mine was messed up, or something," she told him quietly, glancing at the pot that held her egg so carefully. She snorted with amusement when he admitted that he had asked hoping for some insight about the eggs. "Yeah, right. You can probably tell me more about the sharding things than I know," Daeluin insisted, grinning over the table at her companion. "My parents gave it to me before I came here, and that's the first time I'd ever seen or touched a firelizard egg. No one in our caravan had any firelizards, either," the young woman informed Raysan. "So, I don't know anything."
Daeluin's eyes grew large and bright, looking up at the young man across from her hopefully. "You think they'll hatch soon, then? Oh! I hope so!" As much as she wanted them to hatch soon, Lulu was also nervous for the event to actually happen. What if she messed something up?
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Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:37 am
"Mmm...well I'm thinking so. My egg is hard and warm. I'm sure it wriggled around in the sand I have it in once. So I'm guessing it might be soon. But ours aren't from the same clutch so they probably won't hatch at the same time. " he took a bit of his stew and picked up the roll to deciding that the fresh roll would taste even better dipped in!
"The rider I got mine from told me to feed it small scraps of meat and monitor its size. Kind of like a dragon and keep it from getting fat. The oiling it also so it skin stays health. Actually, he told me to consider it a dragon primer. If I could take care of this little one, I'd be able to understand a dragon better if I impress someday. Seems like common sense if you ask me." he stopped speaking for a moment and took in a few more bites not wanting his stew to get cold.
"Mmm...so you're from a caravan? That means you've probably traveled some. Seen any really neat places?" Being in a hold all his life he hadn't really gotten many opportunities to see the outside world and well he had been too busy to really take much of it in consideration even if his dreams were filled with doing more with his life than trying to survive.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:14 am
As Raysan steered the conversation, Lulu took a moment to eat. So far, she hadn't had more than a bite of two of her stew! The curling tendrils of steam declaring its heat had long since ceased; it was still warm, but Daeluin regretted letting it sit untouched for such a long time. Her roll had also grown cold, but still tasted fantastic. Fresh bread was one of Lulu's favorites; it was simple, and nothing could rival it! She tore off a chunk of bread and scooped up some stew, catching a few diced pieces of vegetable, and ate it with a grin. She was still pretty hungry.
"Well, I've had mine since the day I came to the Weyr," Daeluin informed her companion after finishing her mouthful. "My parents bartered for it, so I don't know exactly when it was clutched. For all I know, the thing could hatch now!" As is her words could will it to do so, Lulu cast a suspicious glance at the potted egg. Please, not now. Not yet. She turned her attention back to Raysan, and forced herself to eat a few more bites before responding. "Oh. Well, that doesn't sound all too difficult," she admitted with a rueful grin. "As long as you stay attuned with it, the firelizard should be able to let you know what it wants, right? I mean, I know they don't talk like dragons do, but can't they make you feel how they do?"
Ah. There was the question everyone asked her when they learned she was a trader. Unfortunately, she didn't have a very good answer. She shrugged. "Nah, most places on Pern are all very similar. All of the Weyrs and Holds are built alike, save for the specifics. The Lord's Quarters are on the west side of this Hold, but the east in that Hold- you know? Honest to Faranth, being here is the most excitement I've had in a while. Being away from my family, in a new place with new people.. Its a little overwhelming," Daeluin admitted with a wry smile, looking down at her bowl as she made her confession.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 1:32 pm
He chuckled just a little, "Well if it does start to hatch right now, I'll run out of the room so it doesn't get ideas about coming to me first." Glancing sideways at the egg, he didn't really see any fine lines or cracks so more than likely he'd be fortunate enough to get to finish his stew. "Mmm...I've heard they do like pictures in your mind. So I'm guessing that's pretty easy to figure out for the most part. But I can't say from experience so I think that we'll have to wait and see."
Setting his spoon down he reach for his own bread and ran it around the last juices of the bowl, "Mm...Well, yeah...holds aren't that exciting its what's between them that's unknown. I mean dragonriders go everywhere but holders like me rarely see anything beyond the hold grounds. I'm kinda glad ta be here in that regard. I'd have never seen any more than the brew vats and booth if that blue rider hadn't fallen over drunk in my stall." He shook his head still not able to come to terms with that loss of decent beer. It actually had been an ok batch; must have been done while his father was closer to sober.
"I could see where you might feel overwhelmed but I think of the Weyr kinda like a big Market so it doesn't seem to bother me much. Filled with faces you see in passing; eventually they become familiar as time goes by...then soon you know what beer they like and who their family is." he said as he finished off the last of his bread then leaned back in his chair letting the food settle.
Of course, also for him the change offered new challenges...risks that he had yet to discover. It really was a whole new world and his eye glittered with the expectation of opportunities to come. What if he impressed? What would he do? Well if he did great...if he didn't...oh well. A dragon did mean another big responsibility and for once in his life...at the moment he had none. "Hey, if our firelizards come out to be a boy and a girl, we should see if they like each other once they come to age. If we're lucky, we could make a few marks on the batch." It might be a great idea considering how many folks were interested in them.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:45 pm
"Pictures? In my mind?" A trickle of confusion ran through Daeluin's question, emphasized with the expression on her face. What sort of pictures? Daeluin could think of all sorts of things; she'd traveled just about everywhere on Pern, for Faranth's sake! But she didn't think that pictures of Holds, Hall,s or Weyrs would entice a hatchling firelizard. "Maybe if I think about all the food I've eaten!" She exclaimed with excitement, grinning at Raysan like he'd solved the problem. "I've been to lots of gathers, had lots of fine-cooked meals," she added matter-of-factly.
Daeluin thought for a moment on what Raysan said next and found herself agreeing easily with him. It was true! The wilderness between Holds and Weyrs was MUCH more exciting than the monotonous day-to-day life within them. Carving a path through the woods, observing the wildlife, discovering crashing waterfalls, or deep, dark caves were some of the things Daeluin had done, as part of growing up in a trading caravan. The young woman had never really realized that her lifestyle and upbringing were so much different then Hold- or Weyr-bred children.
"I mean, this is a bit of a culture shock for me. At least coming to the Weyr isn't SUCH a great change, for you. A Hold is sort of like a Weyr. Both of them have lots of people, and are run with a hierarchy and ranking system. See, my caravan wasn't like that. There weren't even.. a fifth of your Hold's population. Other than the caravan leader, we were all really equals. Everyone had to pull their own weight. Literally!" Daeluin made her point by pushing up the sleeve of her shirt and flexing her upper arm, not showing off but adding emphasis. "Coming to the Weyr.. I feel like I have to learn an entirely new style of living, within a day. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to act around a Wingleader versus the Weyrleader himself," Daeluin confessed, frowning slightly. She sighed. Belatedly, Daeluin realized she was finished with her dinner when her spoon met the bottom of the bowl and came back empty. Daeluin popped the last chunk of bread into her mouth dry and pushed her empty bowl towards the middle of the table.
She brightened considerably when Raysan deftly steered the conversation elsewhere. That would be quite profitable, for them both, and with trading and bartering in her blood, Daeluin could not turn down such an offer! Her dark eyes glittered with the thought of prosperity to come. "Oh! That's a very good idea," she agreed with an easy grin. "Let's just hope one of us has a boy, and the other a girl."
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:29 pm
"Yeah, well the Weyr from what I've been told over bits and pieces of conversations in the market do things different from Holders in lots of things but I've not been here long enough to figure all that out yet. But it is structured sort of like a hold I think, however, if you've got a dragon, your free to come and go as you please. I kind of like that option. I guess that there's going to be a bit of culture shock for all of us in different ways like you said." he answered while pondering thoughts of the caravans, holds, and Weyrs.
"Mmm...well, the Weyrleader I guess is kind of like a Lord Holder maybe? And a Wingleader probably stacks in with uummm...umm...Guard leader? I think its mostly like that but I can't be sure. I never thought much about it." Raysan scratched his head and then said, "Yeah...it must be nice when everyone seems pretty equal." He glanced at her muscle and grinned. Well, at least she knew how to work. Thank goodness. He couldn't really stand people who wouldn't do their fair share. "Yeah, that's a quite a flex." He pushed up his own sleeve and popped an arm flex then chuckled. "Way too many beer kegs."
Raysan nodded just a little, "Well, lets hope! I'll let you know as soon as I know." He could imagine that at a Gather someone might spend a pretty mark or two although he wasn't sure how they'd sell at the Weyr. "Maybe if were are fortunate we will be able to fly eggs to gathers on our own dragons in time."
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:11 am
Daeluin found herself easily agreeing with this holder boy. They Weyr was totally different than where she had come from. But, then again, a Hold was extremely different from a trading caravan as well. Don't get her wrong. There were rules and they were strongly enforced; by no means was anyone able to come and go as they pleased. But things were a little more relaxed and easy-going than in the Weyr. From what she'd noticed so far, at least.
"So a Weyrleader is like the top of the ranks, and a Wingleader is under him- but still due some heavy respect from a little candidate like myself," she surmised. Daeluin shrugged, the short end of her ponytail bouncing behind her head. "That help,s a little. Thanks," she said with a warm smile. Relating the leaders within the Weyr to people in leadership positions in a Hold didn't really put it into perspective much, but she gathered a lot from the way Raysan spoke about Lord Holders and Guard Leaders. They were a bit different, but both due some serious respect.
Daeluin grinned across the table at her dinner companion. He had some pretty nice ideas! "Oh, I hope that things pan out like you're hoping, it sounds like we could make a hefty sum of marks! I wouldn't mind that," she admitted with a gleam in her eye. Daeluin reached down to grab a piece fo bread, only to remember that she had long since finished her dinner. A yawn erupted suddenly, unexpectedly. Daeluin laughed while stretching. "Well, I didn't realize just how tired I had gotten!" The young woman bashfully confessed. "I should probably get this back to my room, anyway," she said, pointing a finger at the pot of sand holding her firelizard egg. "But, we should meet up again after they hatch! Introduce them, see if they get along, and catch up. Okay?" Rising from her chair, Daeluin thanked Raysan for the enjoyable dinner and his company. She was glad to have made a friend within the Weyr, someone to help her feel more comfortable and at home. Gathering her dirty dishes and the potted egg, Daeluin cleaned up after herself and retreated back to her rooms for the night- but hoped she would see the holder boy again!
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