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"Mmmrrraagghhh," Kella grumbled, turning her face into her pillow. Her fist fumbled blindly for the edge of her sleeping furs. The young girl pulled them up over her head in an attempt to block out both the streaming sunlight, and the noise beginning to rouse her. "I just want to sleep, a few more minutes," the girl complained to her pillow, pushing herself up so that she was leaning on her elbows. With everyone rising around her, Kella knew she should get up to. The thought of touching the eggs encouraged her.

Some girl whose bunk was next to Kella's prattled and rambled away as the girls got themselves dressed. "Are you excited?" The other girl asked as Kella shoved her feet into her boots. "Shells, obviously!" Kella said with an exasperated sigh. That was the dumbest question, Kella thought to herself. Dimglow, she mentally insulted the girl, rolling her eyes as she walked past the girl on her way to the door. Who wouldn't be excited?!

The sands were hot, ridiculously so. Kella would tell people later that she was sweating even before she entered the cavern that housed the two queen's and their clutches. But, Kella was prone to making things a tad dramatic~ all for attention. She did begin to sweat, though it was not until a few moments after she entered the grounds. Perspiration beaded on her forehead and Kella wiped it away with her forearm before bowing to both of the Queens. Were girls supposed to curtsy, instead? Kella scowled at the idea. She'd look stupid curtsying. She was not very girly, and she'd do anything to prove it.

Moving off away from everyone else, Kella meandered at he own pace throughout the enormous clutch. The queens did not seem to be separating their eggs from one another. Rather, they both seemed to be brooding over the entire clutch, as a whole. Kella avoided looking at the golden mothers, lounging languidly with their hawk-like eyes following the candidates around. It made her uncomfortable! But she wouldn't let those big momma's scare her out of here! Not just yet, anyway.

Kella stopped at one of the eggs, it's mottled brown splotches catching her eye. The Masai Giraffe egg looked kind of silly, as though it were protecting the smaller eggs clustered around it. Kella like that; that the egg seemed ready to protect its siblings. The young girl made her way towards that egg, her fingers outstretched to just brush the shell. She tingled with excitement, goosebumps jumping up into her skin along her arms and neck. "Whoa," she said, eyes gleaming brightly with excitement and awe. The presence of the other candidates was pushed to the back of her mind as she spent a bit of time with this egg.

When the candidate masters call came, Reyalt was already wide awake. He was, in fact, already halfway out of bed before the rough voice had even finished echoing off the stone walls of the candidate’s barracks. It wasn’t from excitement, no, but from a queasy sort of apprehension, a tightening in his chest that had been growing ever since the Touching was announced some days previous. He wasn’t scared, Reyalt thought grimly for the umpteenth time in days. But, groping for a better word to describe the nerves that were now jangling throughout his body, he drew a blank.

Still curled up in a neat ball on the bed, Miri murmured slightly as his movements began to disrupt her sleep. Reyalt grinned as he watched his little green tuck her tail more securely around her body. Several weeks out of the shell now, the young flit still spent most of her time eating and sleeping - and growing. Wrinkling his nose in amusement as a dream caused her to twitch, Reyalt left her there on the bed. He was confident that the meal she had gorged on last night would be enough to keep her asleep until he returned.

Although sleep and disheveled, most of the candidates were on tenterhooks by the time they made it to the hatching grounds - and Reyalt was no exception. The hot sands under his feet were an added shock, no matter how much he had known to expect them. His attention did not stay long on his scorched soles, however, as the candidates spread themselves out in the widening space, and the two Queens became visible.

‘Becoming visible’ wasn’t quite the right phrase - the two dragons fair overwhelmed Reyalt’s view. His throat suddenly parched, Reyalt gave a nervous half-bow, and then checked himself and performed a more full and proper one. A bow of acknowledgement he had been instructed to give, the deepness unspecified, but a full leg seemed easily the most appropriate reaction.

His duty performed, Reyalt was left on the edge of the sands with the curious feeling of being lost. Like his first time at an Ista gather - there had been so much around him, and yet he had been so overwhelmed by the new situation that he had barely done anything at all. This was going to be different, Reyalt told himself uncertainly.

Think of it as a runner race! You have a goal, a purpose… keep that in mind, and just have fun on the ride there. Rolling his shoulders a little, Reyalt could feel himself already slipping into the demeanor he carried as a jockey, a little swagger in his steps, a little confidence in his lazy smile. The attitude was out of place here on the hatching sands, and he suppressed all but the smile quickly. Nonetheless, he felt much more confident as he walked slowly across the sands, eyes jumping from one clump of eggs to the next as he looked for one yet unclaimed.

A red splash in the corner of his eye caused Reyalt to turn, a bit sharply, on his way towards a violently pink egg that had caught his attention almost from the start. Off to the side, sitting with what seemed almost a dignified air amongst the jumble of its brothers and sisters. It’s colors were bold and smooth, changing from red to brown to green along it’s length. Overall it was muted yet noticeable, its simplicity and small size perhaps keeping it from attracting more candidates.

It took Reyalt only a few strides to reach the egg, and he knelt down by it quickly, abruptly feeling the need to stake his claim. At a loss over what to actually do, he settled for quietly placing his hands on the shell and letting it’s heat seep into his palms. There was no momentous change in heart, no sudden self-realization of his own abilities, and yet after a moment of this silent meditation, Reyalt felt a grin begin to split his face. He was actually touching a dragon egg! If anything could make this real to him, it was the slightly rough texture of the shell beneath his fingers, and the internally created warmth now spreading up his arms. He had never imagined himself in this situation - the very thought had been too much to even dream of. But now, gently running is fingers across the red top and down over the brown and green stripes, Reyalt couldn’t think of a single place he’d rather be.

As she scooted away from the Queen, it was only a matter of time before Lanakirene finally caught sight of the most blazingly pink thing she had ever seen. Blinking at it for a moment and then grinning hugely, she slipped among the eggs and around other Candidates, taking as wide a berth of them as possible to avoid collisions among the eggs. Closer to the pink egg, she crouched to look at it, raising an eyebrow and reaching out to trace its single black stripe. She had to bite back a giggle at the queer little thing...she had never thought she'd be able to use the word fun in describing an egg. "Can't wait to see what comes from you," she whispered, putting two fingers to her lips and placing them gently on the egg's tip before standing and rising on tiptoe, looking over heads in an attempt to find the other two she had wanted to see.

Catching sight of them, she turned back the way she had come and threaded her way out of the clutch to walk the perimeter, at the moment avoiding eye contact with other Candidates. She was on a mission, and neither of the eggs seemed to be at the moment occupied...

Was she allowed to touch them both at once? She wondered that as she stopped in front of the near-identical spotted eggs, tilting her head and putting her hands on her hips as she regarded them. The one with the rounder spots (what a shape difference the rosettes had up close! She hadn't noticed from a distance) seemed more forthright, if an egg could be that, but the way they were together was...affectionate. Either way, they were both lovely. Smiling and crouching down so she was on eye-level with the eggs, she reached out and touched them both, simultaneously, inclining her head to gently touch her forehead to each.

Then she stood up again and fluffed her hair, wiping beads of perspiration from her forehead at the same time. It was hot on the sands. The sooner she got out of the crowd, the better, she decided, and began to pick her way out. Turning to the Queens once more at the edge of the clutch, she gave them each a deep bow in turn before wandering to stand near the Candidatemaster once again. She caught sight of another girl finished and gave her a brief nod, turning her gaze, like Astri, back to the sands.

On the morning of the touching, Sef found herself being dragged out of bed by a friend, having successfully muffled out the shouts of the candidate master by pulling her pillow over her head while she slept. The barracks were nearly empty, and she dressed in a rush, throwing on clothing and not even bothering with a belt. Proper dressing could be dealt with later - right now she had eggs to see!

Not that she had never seen eggs before, mind you, thought Sef as she filtered onto the hatching grounds with the other candidates. These eggs in particular she knew well, having snuck peeks with the other warrants when they were first laid, before she was sent from the lower caverns to the candidate’s quarters. Now her days were filled with hard work and lessons, with little time for sneaking in when Helirra and Favan were taking their golds out to eat.

No matter how nonchalant she acted about the ways of Ista weyr, however, the two queens could never fail to impress her. They seemed to only grow bigger each time she saw them, rather than becoming less impressive as she herself grew taller. Bowing nervously, Sef found herself almost wishing that she hadn’t ever snuck around behind their backs in order to see the eggs. Could queens sense guilt?

If they could, they didn’t care to accuse her of anything. Sef straightened out of her bow with no little relief and scuttled off across the hot sands. Most of the girls seemed to be making a beeline for the gold egg - Sef eyed them for a moment, and then shook her head. No, she was much too conscious of the way other girls made her feel. She would never make a gold rider, not even if things had been the opposite way and she were much more interested in men than women.

She didn’t find herself minding this ‘lost’ opportunity much though, as she wandered among the eggs. As always, a majority of the boys were clustered around the largest eggs in the hopes of finding a bronze. In turn, this left the littlest eggs - the ones likely to contain greens and blues - completely unmolested. Casting her eye around, Sef saw one of the few girls not at the gold egg get up and move away from a small spotted egg and over to the biggest egg of them all. Honing in on the now-lonely egg, Sef found herself squatting down on the hot sands to bring herself more to it’s level.

It was a squat little egg, with a commanding yet almost jaunty air about it, mostly gold and brown but sprinkled with black dots. She touched its warm sides hesitantly at first and then more firmly, running a thumb across the uneven surface. Although she was skeptical about bonding with dragons yet un-hatched, Sef found herself smiling nonetheless. The confidence embodied by this little egg amused her. Something about it made her think this little dragon would definitely be one to watch out for, once hatched. Humming tunelessly to herself in contentment, Sef sat back on her haunches and gave the egg one last fond rub on its crown, before getting up to find yet more eggs to improve her mood.

Pendra woke with a start at the bellow of the Candidatemaster. She sighed, Why must they always yell so? she thought, We're never allowed to be lazy, especially those of us born to Weyr life. With those thoughts she rolled to a sitting position and stretched. A quick look through the clothes chest and she brought out the outfit she'd reserved for the occassion. It was a typical of her everyday work clothes but Pendra ensured that she had one fully clean and unstained set for this first day in front of the Queen. Her hand brushed the soft fabric of the white candidate robe beside it and she smiled. It would be soon now; if the eggs were hard enough for the Touching, Hatching was not far.

Looking around at the others rushing so, there were a lot of firsttimers among the group, Pendra picked up her pace and was soon dressed. She was tying her hair back in the usual ribbon even as she followed the main group. She was nervous but it didn't show. Anyone observing her would see the proud aloof beauty that she herself didn't know existed. The aloof was her innate shyness keeping her apart from others, and the beauty something she'd never be able to see for herself.

As they entered the Grounds Pendra felt her nerves flare at the sight of the Queens and the eggs. She had to fight to keep from huntching over and making herself small and unnoticed. A brief shake and she pulled herself up straight and proud and thus she thanked the golden mother of the clutch for allowing her there and made her bow. That curtesy completed the candidate felt somewhat freer to look about at the amazingly colorful and many intricately patterned eggs. Even as she heading in the general direction of the Queen egg she took note of several of the smaller eggs. She was never quite certain when it came to the queen egg, she was rather openminded when it came to relationships. Still so far her attractions had been for men so she felt required to make the gesture, the little Queen within had a right to know all who were out there.

Such a beautiful clutch, she thought as she made another bow to the Queen before taking her turn to brush her hand accross the golden egg. There was something so comforting about the warmth of the eggs, the content lives nestled within them not quite ready to enter the wide world... Someday the sky will be yours, her thoughts whispered toward goldenchild within. Another bow to the Queen and Pendra moved away from the crowd of female candidates. She wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to speak so... but there couldn't be any harm in positive thoughts, could there?

Pendra looked about her, growing more and more nervous, picking up on the tension the mother of the clutch was begining to feel. Not much time then... she thought and made her way over to one of the clusters of eggs. She blinked at the chaotic patterning of the Zebra egg, and found comfort in the tawny, brown and amber of the egg resting against it. Weaving her way past the boys drawn to the large egg, she managed to get close enough to give the Lion egg a gentle caress.

Moving in the direction of the Queen again Pendra stiffles a giggle at the bright colors of the smallest of the clutch. Still the cheerful tones of the Flamingo egg are irresistable and she gives it a pat as she passes. Even more irrisistable however is the African Sunrise egg, the restful colors help ease the tension and Pendra finds herself lingering there for a time before noting others want a chance at a Touch themselves. With an apologetic smile and a blush she stepped away. Close again to the girls lingering around the golden egg she notices the smaller egg nestled close to the Queen. She looked up trying to judge the time and edged in for a quick fingertip brushing of the Bongo egg before backing away from the clutch to observe her fellow candidates...

Kallista was up at the first call from the Candidate Master's voice. Her eyes popped open and she waited a moment while she adjusted to the little bit of light coming into the rooms. Since the Gather, her father had given her permission to stay at the Weyr and not worry about being petitioned. Dressing quickly, the runner girl pulled her copperish locks back with a piece of wherhide, she moved with fluid efficiency.

The girls were grouped together as were the boys. She gave a quick smile to Tseka, the smith girl she had become tentative friends with over the past sevendays. The groups made their way to the Sands. Kallista had been past the Hatching Grounds while tending to errands and duties while in the Weyr. However, this was the first time that she had seen either Gold dragon. Up and up, her head tilted back. Both queens sat back, watching all the Candidates with very intense gazes. All of the others around her seemed to be bowing or making some sort of gesture of respect. If she were a Gold, Kallista thought in a mused voice, she would want all her children's future life mates to meet her gaze. Prove their worthiness. Of course, the bowing could not hurt either.

So Kallista bowed, more amused and in awe, than in fear or nerves like many of the others around her. The Golds reminded her of Holder Ladies dressed up at their finest and demanding everyone's attentions. Slowly, the males and females began to scatter, each being drawn from egg to egg. The Runner moved past both queens and towards what was obviously the gold egg of the clutch. Growing inside was a little queen who would someday tower over another group of Candidates. And such was the cycle of life. Kallista stopped in front of the large egg just as another girl did... With a sideways glance, Kallista watched the as she gently stroked the egg. Would the little one inside be demure and sweet or bold and spicy?

Carefully, she placed both her hands on the queen egg and gasped at how hard but how warm the shell was beneath her fingertips. Simply amazing! She allowed her hands to slide down the shell before removing them and placing them back at her side. Did the little queen inside feel everyone's touches? Was she already responding to one of the girls who walked these Sands? Shaking her head, Kallista gave a small salute to both queens before wandering to check out the other eggs.

Dusen caressed the egg on last time before stepping back. There was no reason to monopolize one egg, it wasn't like it was a proven fact that touching an egg made you anymore likely to impress. He moved away from it, and glanced over the rest of the clutch, looking to see if there were any others that caught his eye.

The little twin of the egg he had just touched was pretty, although he still thought that the Cheetah egg was nicer, and he ran his hand over it before moving off.