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 Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:55 pm
Yulu snatched Hinalle out of the air as they started to move, ignoring the nips to her hands and fingers, and she tucked the hissing Green in her arms next to the dozing in and out Rinel. She found it would just be easier to carry the Green without worry of her getting lost, her concern not even pressing to Song as the Gold never even left her side. The hissing continued even after they'd gone a few steps, long enough for Layla to start talking about her history of getting lost in the tunnels, and Yulu oddly enough found herself listening to the girl talk.
Normally she wouldn't care about others or their history, they weren't that interesting to her nor would it provide her with any real benefit other than perhaps future blackmail, but considering this younger girl was leading her towards the eggs it was in her favor to be kind and pay some form of attention.
"I didn't play much with others when I was growing up, I spent a good deal of time with my father. We weren't really into social groups other than working with the injured worker, rider, or dragon, so I didn't have any friends my age."
She decided to offer up a bit of her own past as fair payment as well, Yulu have decided long before she came to the Weyr that slowly tossing away her past would probably be a good thing to do if she wanted to be successful. When the girl announced the eggs were getting closer she was surprised to feel her heart thump a little in her chest.
Nerves? Excitement, perhaps?
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:07 pm
"I suppose that's one of the things about being a weyrbrat," Layla said with a thoughtful nod, "most of us don't know who are parents are, or at least don't have much to do with them... Still, I don't feel like I missed out really; the creche workers were kind or firm as we needed and like I say, I've always had friends to hang around with... We're here." She hadn't noticed her heart speeding up as they approached the crack, but it was hammering now. She was about to see the clutch she would stand for, that she might Impress from. She might be about to get her first glimpse of her lifemate.
Licking her suddenly dry lips, Layla moved up to the opening - making sure there was space for Yulu to look as well - and peered out onto the sands. The queen wasn't there, persumably she was out feeding, and so the view was just about perfect. At first glance she counted eight eggs, but a moment later she spotted a ninth, a mottled grey egg by itself slightly to one side.
"They're amazing," she murmured softly, almost reverantly, "and all so different... It looks as though there's a good mix of colours out there going by the sizes."
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:38 pm
Her breath caught itself in her throat the moment the eggs came into sight, Yulu's arms tightening slightly on the objects she carried. It had been almost a full Turn since the last hatching perhaps, enough that her memory of the eggs themselves was a blur (not that the eggs had been impressive anyway), and Yulu found herself staring in wonder at the sight before her.
"If I had to guess what was coming out of each shell I'm sure I'd be at a loss."
Yulu was doing the best she could to try and hide the excitement in her voice, though her feels echoed well into the three flits about her. Song chirped with an odd happiness and moved herself to Yulu's other shoulder, an odd trill escaping her lips, while the normally hissing Green had settled herself to a low thrum of discontent. It wasn't exactly the happiness Song was feeling, but it worked well enough.
"Except for the Gold, of course. Perhaps we should play a little game while the Queen is out? A guessing game as to what we think could be in each shell. There's really no harm or foul in it, and in the end we can get a good laugh or feeling of success when the time comes for all of us to stand on the sands."
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 4:34 am
That sounded like a lot of fun actually. Layla turned to grin at Yulu briefly; she was really starting to like this girl. "Alright, that sounds fun! Umm... Okay, I'll start with that one with the orange stripe. I think... I think that's a brown one, and the yellow and green one up against the queen... a blue maybe? That grey egg off by itself looks like it might be blue as well to me, and I think... I think the blue and green one might either be another blue, or another brown."
She should probably stop there for now and let Yulu get a word in edgeways. Besides, it gave her a chance to study the rest of them more carefully before she made any more guesses! She could hardly get ehr head around the notion that, before long, she would get to touch all of those eggs, and not so long after that they would all be hatching... Hatching into potentially deadly angry dragonets. Oh shards. Don't think about that. Think about the game, think about the lovely eggs. There was plenty of time for panicking later, for now she might as well just try to relax and have a bit of fun.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:35 pm
"You're doing a lot better at this then I am. I'm only able to really guess well at one, and we both know which one that is."
Yulu kept her eyes scanning over each and every shell, their sizes registering in her mind. Her Father had told her many times about how to judge certain things, with a bit of accuracy, so Yulu decided to give it all a good guess anyway. She was with a complete stranger as it was, and she doubted that this Layla would make any remarks about her odd guesses.
"I think that Orange Stripe could maybe hold a large blue? From there we obviously know the Golden Egg is a Gold, and the one in front of it . . . .I think a blue or Green. That red egg has to be a bronze, the one sitting opposite the Orange one, or else a large Brown."
Yulu was doing her best to keep track, having named four of the nine eggs. Five guesses left, and Layla had already named hers, leaving Yulu to once again try to catch up.
"I'm thinking a Green for the one off to the side, and the one on it's side in purple is a Green as well."
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:24 am
"I agree about the red egg and the purple one," Layla agreed with a nod. "I suppose the red one could be a big brown, but if there is a bronze in this clutch at all my marks would be on that one... I think the blue one with the green strip in front of the queen might be a brown? I don't know, it could be a blue I guess, but I'll say brown for now." They all looked so bright and brilliant, even the grey egg. She couldn't wait to touch them to see if she felt anything from them, to get a closer look at them!
"We can always change our guesses after the Touching," Layla said, turning to Yulu with a grin. "It'll be easier to really see their size up close, and we might get some kind of impression of what they're like when we touch the shells. I know personality and colour don't really go together at all, but still, you can't help giving into stereotypes a little... well I can't anyway. If somebody says noble bronze comes to mind, steady goes with brown and... Yes, things like that." It was silly, she knew, but despite living here at the Weyr she didn't have all that much first hand experience with dragons. She saw them relaxing, flying around, but obviously she didn't know what they said to one another and to their riders. Without that personal experience, all she had to go on was what 'they' said, and 'they' weren't really all that reliable; 'they' would have you think that the bigger dragons were smarter, and she knew that at least that wasn't true.
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:17 am
"I'll have to admit that this will be my first chance at a Touching, when the time comes for these eggs. For that last clutch I arrived mere days before the actual hatching so I'd missed most of the traditional events. . . not that it seemed to matter. I'll not forget what happened then."
Should there even be the slightest chance for bloodshed on the sands, Yulu would come prepared. This time she would have more wrappings to bandages up people, even if her treating them without a Journeyman around would surely find her at the wrong end of a lot of yelling. If someone's life could be saved, if a limb could be preserved and a person able to use it again in the future, then what was a little yelling to Yulu? Nothing new that's for sure.
"And you're right about changing them, though I'll have to be stubborn and stick with what I think is the right way to go. It'll be more fun to be surprised out on the sands by what comes lumbering out of each egg, even if that surprise meant I was right or wrong. Everyone loves that smug feeling of satisfaction, I know I do, but there's also something funny about not getting anything right either."
She listened on as Layla explain her feels in relations with a color, nodding every now and then. When the girl stopped for some reason, Yulu tried to pick up the void.
"I don't care for the color of hides - it really is just the dragon that you're wanting. Sure they say color can affect most of what a dragon could do, but in the end isn't it really just their size? And Faranth knows there have been records of history of large dragons of wrong color too, though nothing over the top astounding."
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:58 am
She'd never forget either, and she hadn't even been on the sands. Red blood flowing, spurting. Screams, followed by silence that was worse, and though it all four greens - then three - snarling at the world. Why? What had happened to make them so very angry? Was there something truly wrong with them due to the nature of the flight that had created them, or were they just nasty pieces of work? Layla shuddered and tried not to think about that day any more; she'd get end up to scared to go to this hatching if he dwelt on it.
"It'll be my first time too," she said with a slight nod to Yulu. "I could have stood before, I mean I wouldn't have been stopped but..." She paused and shrugged helplessly. "You know what it's like here," she went on eventually, "if there's no gold on the sands, girls aren't welcome... Yes though, colour only decides physical things, other than a queen's ability to command others. I can't say I really care about colour either. I mean, I know it would be easier on us if we Impressed the queen, but we can't both do that, even if she did happen to choose one of the two of us and I... I just want to Impress really. Gold, green, blue... I just want to find my dragon."
She did, truly, that was all she wanted... Well, actually she also wanted to be able to have friends, and she wanted to avoid being sneered at wherever she went, but in the end she'd trade her place in society for a dragon that loved her in a heartbeat. Besides, she couldn't see herself being a very good weyrwoman... She couldn't see herself being a very good wingrider either. Oh Shards, she hoped that if a dragon did choose her she didn't ruin its life with her stupid fears and insecurities.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 7:47 am
Why was it that this little girl sounded so...uncertain? Shouldn't she be professing her undying zeal about getting a dragon, they way almost all the wherries in the Weyr had been doing the moment they heard eggs were on the sands? Anyone else she had met up to this point, save for that rather irritating Mindhealer, had been head over heals for eggs and more than happy to share whatever their tastes and wants were. They actually would even wager to say what color they wanted most. . . but this girl said she just wanted to Impress period.
Yulu knew that feeling.
She reached out with a free hand, her arms having shifted on her bundle, and she patted Layla atop the head. It wasn't a pity pat, or a pat of reassurance, but a simple pat to indicate that Yulu was standing there and was listening to her. Sometimes all it took was a little acknowledgment, as Yulu had come to find out over the years.
"I can understand that, the feeling of just wanting a dragon. Sometimes I wonder why I even came to the Weyr, knowing what I am. My Father laughed at my dream when I told him about it, the message I got back clearly stating his beliefs on all of it. I was told someone damaged like me wouldn't even get glanced at while on the Sands."
Yulu said the word damaged lightly like she didn't even want to repeat it herself. Atop her shoulder Song thrummed with a worried tone at how the conversation was going, not liking that her person was suddenly saddened, and she sent a small chirp down to the other two that perhaps they had better make light of this situation. Rinel stayed sleeping, her eyes too heavy to answer, and Hinalle hissed an agreeing response.
There was no need to worry however, as the conversation slowly plodded on.
"I think you'd do well with a large Green, to be honest. One that would love and protect you in ways a human partner could only dream of."
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 8:09 am
Damaged? She looked up at Yulu, not knowing what to say. When she had mentioned her father earlier, she had assumed the two were close. Not so, apparently. Damaged. Who would say that to their daughter? Poor Yulu... but she didn't seem like the sort of girl who apprecaited pity. Fine then, she wouldn't pity her, she'd just be a friend; sounded like she could use one.
"Well, clearly he knows nothing, and I certainly hope you get the chance to laugh back at him," Layla smiled slightly. "Imagine yourself swooping down on him, mounted on your big fierce dragon. It couldn't touch in of course, but it could have a good snarl at him!... You know I like the idea of that," she had offered her assurances, probably best to move on now, "a big kind green, but tough! For you... Oh, what about a great big blue?" Layla peered out at the eggs again, wondering if one of them could be such a dragon. "Yes, a big powerful blue that could keep up with most browns," she continued with a grin to Yulu. "Everyone would disapprove hugely of you Impressing him, and they'd be even angrier when you two turned out to be amazing wingriders, and you could make rude gestures at all of them."
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 8:48 am
"A Blue, hmm? They're considered the most flexible out of all the dragons, what with them being able to take so many roles. Weyrlingmaster, Candidatemaster, the possibilities there are endless for them. And yes, it would be fun to be able to keep up with all the big boys. I'd have to make sure that my dragon and I taunted them at every corner, all except for you and your dragon. I'm pretty sure you'll be flying at my side with yours and we will show them all what we're capable of."
Yulu always did fancy the idea of a powerful dragon calling her theirs one day, one that would make others turn their heads twice and get a good luck. The color didn't matter so long as the dragon had a good precence, as Yulu felt a personality was really what would matter. Hadn't that nasty Kannaroth and that boy who rode her said the same thing, felt the same way? That Green had aspired to do great things, but Yulu wondered how far that pair would actually go now that a healthy clutch had taken over and everyone slowly let them fade away.
"If we become riders together we need to make sure that we scare others every now and then. Dragonriders should be mysterious beings who have an air about them that makes others curious while at the same time intimidated. We can't have you going about looking so vulnerable, no one would believe you have a fighting beast."
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:31 am
Layla grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Right! Everyone will assume I'm lying, and I just have a pet flitt that I pretend is a dragon... I'll try to work on it, being less of a wimp I mean. Maybe having a dragon will help? Maybe I'll Impressed a really tough dragon that teaches me to be a bit tougher too, while I teach it to be a bit softer at times..." That was a balance she could see working, so long as it was not activly unkind at any rate. She couldn't imagine an unkind dragon wanting anything to do with her.
"Maybe I'll just stand behind you and try to look the strong silent type," Layla went on with a grin, attempting to set her jaw firmly and place a dark, mysterious scowl on her face. Somehow she doubted it was very convincing... Still, whether she ever managed to tougehn up or not, she liked the idea of being a rider with Yulu. Perhaps she just liked the idea of having a friend she could hide behind if the weyrling master was unkind, or if the other weyrlings were, or whatever else... Well, that was certainly part of it, she had to admit that, but she also just liked the idea of learning to be a rider beside a friend in general, even when she didn't feel the need to hide.
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 9:05 am
"It might actually be a little interesting to see a dragon who thinks themselves an overgrown flitt. I've never quite understood the range and depth of dragon personalities, but then again I've never had a reason to really think so hard on it. I wonder why it's all starting now, my wonders and worries?"
Yulu looked at the mess of flitts in her arms and on her shoulder, wondering what anyone would do with a dragon that needy and clingy. While such a beast would obviously suit their personality, all dragons seemed to do that anyway, she couldn't think of anyone from the top of her head who'd deserve things like that.
Wait, she actually could, but she wasn't going to push on that. Wishing ill on others made her a petty kinda guy, and Yulu wanted to be above that. At least for now.
"Haha, stand behind me? Why not at my side? We'd make people run in fear at the sight of the two of us, them knowing good and well we could take them all on."
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:02 am
"Well, maybe I could work up to standing beside you," Layla grinned and shrugged. "Unless I suddenly become a lot tougher on Impression - if I do Impress - I'll be doing plenty of hiding I expect. If a blue or a green picks me, most of the Weyr will hate me, and if the queen happens to choose me everyone will expect things of me... I'd hate to disappoint everyone but I don't know if I could do all the things a weyrling goldrider is supposed to do... Whatever those things are." She wasn't really too clear on that, she realised with a slight frown. She wasn't too clear on what any weyrling did... just care for their dragon she supposed; lessons had mentioned again and again how much care a dragonet needed.
"Or maybe I'll Impress a really tough dragon," she went on, peering back out at the eggs. "A tough dragon might shove me forward to stand next to you, and promise to scare anyone who tried to be nasty." She quite liked that idea. Yes. A massive protector... but not unkind to others, she'd feel awful if her dragon was unkind to people.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:13 pm
"I don't think we should be counting our eggs before they hatch...is what I want to say, but I can agree with you over thinking how I'll be treated come Impression's end. I've already gotten in the wrong way with several people because of just being how I am, and I don't think anything will improve with me Impressing a fighting dragon. I'm pretty sure people will spit shards from their eyes and mouth if I were to even get a chance at the Gold, but that's a silly dream anyway."
Yulu smiled over at Layla as the girl talked on and on about what she wanted, wondering if things had turned out differently...would she have been that way? There wasn't much Yulu feared in this world, be it pain or anything else, so having something protect her seemed out of place.
"And you're already standing at my side now, aren't you? Why would you need to work to get there again?"
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