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Cass all but ran into the hatching grounds, though she brought herself to a stop by the time she came to the entrance, her impressive chest heaving with the exercise. She took a moment to calm her racing heart, which didn't beat so fast only from her sprint from the kitchens, but also from excitement. It was time to touch the eggs! Her heart still hammering in her chest like an over eager miner, she stepped onto the sands, suddenly happy she had remembered to put on her boots this morning, and not one of her lighter pairs of shoes that she often wore around the Weyr. As it was, the heat radiated through the thick soles of her shoes, but kept it from being too uncomfortable, luckily.
She looked around curiously, having never been on the sands themselves before, an excited smile lighting her face, though it was directed at no one in particular, at least until she turned towards the queen and the Weyrleaders. Of course! She had to say something to them, didn't she?
"My congratulations on such a lovely clutch." She said with a steadiness of voice that pleased her. At least she didn't sound too nervous. She bowed neatly to the golden queen, Kaveth, and then to her rider, and the Weyrleader. She smiled brightly at them, dark eyes alight with excitement, and then turned towards the clutch itself, eager to get a closer look. In looking, though, she also spotted Layla, whom she had just met yesterday. Knowing she must be at least as nervous as Cass herself was (though she was doing quite a good job of hiding it if she did say so herself, thank you) then no doubt she wouldn't object to a little company.
Cass moved across the sands now, and joined the girl by the three spotted egg, and crouched down next to her, neatly tucking her full skirt around her so as not to afford anyone any improper glimpses of her under things.
"Layla, I'm so glad you're here!" Cass said with a bright grin "it's good to see someone I recognize, I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest with all this excitement!" she said in a quiet voice as she turned her eyes from the other girl, and to the eggs before them. The dark egg directly before her had three little spots on it, and lay on its side in the sand. Perhaps it was tired, she thought, amused. Cass reached out one of her small hands and lay it on the surface of the egg, enjoying the odd texture of it. She got a sense of...amusement, when she touched it, and this made her smile. What could amuse a dragonet that had yet to hatch? Curious indeed, but she quite liked it.
"Layla, feel this egg!" she said, turning back to the girl and taking her hand from it herself and motioning for the other girl to touch it. "What do you feel?" she asked, wondering if Layla would have the same sensation.

Cass rolled her eyes slightly at the other girl's reluctance to talk, but gave her a smile to show she wasn't offended. She was pretty sure talking wasn't disallowed while touching eggs, then again, she wasn't really here to gossip either. Layla obviously just wasn't as forward as Cass was. That could be a good thing though.
The petite young woman gave the spotted egg one last fond pat and then moved along to another egg, the spicy red one. She placed one of her small hands on this larger egg and was overcome by a sense of uncertainty that made her blink. How very odd. It seemed unsure about the other eggs. Maybe it was a particularly snobby bronze? Wouldn't be that surprising she supposed with a small, bemused smile as she stroked the egg slightly. Then again, it could be a very insecure dragon too.
Whatever the case, we're all eagerly awaiting you, little one. She thought mentally in her usually cheerful tone. She turned towards the largest egg then, obviously the gold. Even before she laid a hand on it, she was overcome by a sense of calm, which was amplified when she placed both hands on it. This queen would be very level headed, if this aura it was giving off was anything to go by. No doubt it would be a little queen that Kaveth and all the dragons could be proud of! Her attention was soon captured by the next egg, though, with a stripe running down it, and when she laid hands on it, this one, she could tell, was quite unhappy, making her raise both of her eyebrows as she crouched beside it. She wondered what made it so unhappy? Did it not like the queen egg? Or the other eggs? Maybe it was just grumpy because it had got stuck in an uncomfortable position inside of its egg...being in such a tight, enclosed place was sure to make anyone annoyed.

Oh good! Yulu had caught up! Layla flashed her a smile, and moved along beside her to the blue earth egg. She let Yulu go first, she was in no huge hurry, but when her friend moved back she reached out eagerly to see what this one was like... It seemed happy to see her - see being figuritive - and as she touched it she thought it moved slightly... This one she had guessed at brown for from the crack in the wall, but now she wasn't so sure. Blue, she thought, she would guess at blue for this one.

Almost reluctanly, Layla removed her hand from the shell; she had liked the feeling of acceptance it had given out. Still, there were more eggs to touch yet, and she couldn't hold things up. Glancing back, she gave Cass another smile before looking back at Yulu: time to move on! Hoping her epxression had communicated this, she moved on towards the spicy red egg.

Well. She hadn't been eaten or assaulted, which was a good thing, so Jadamirei moved forward. She would start at the Streaked Sky Egg. She politely waited until the Candidate in front of her had removed his hands before reaching out to gently stroke the blue shell. And recoiled, alarmed by the wave of hostility. Apparently this one didn't like people much. Or contact, one of the two. She reached out, patted it one more time just to be sure, sheaking her head at the distaste dripping from the shell.

So instead Jada moved to the Pink Charcoal Egg, reaching out and laying a firmer hand on it. Pleasant enough. A tinge of... longing? Perhaps, but who was she to think she could understand the emotions of a baby dragon. They were said to be almost as intelligent from Hatching as a human child. But it wasn't until after Impression that they were safe. Still, she kept her hands on the pink egg and tried to send the baby within gentle encouragement.

Finally she lifted her hands back up and glanced over the sands. Candidates were everywhere, and Jadamirei planned to save the gold egg for the last. So where should she go? There was one egg left off by itself... she should go there first. So the Grey Speckled Egg it would be! Moving over to the small egg, she slowly reached her hands out. Nothing. Cold Apathy. Nothing hostile about it, just a level of indifference that was imposing. Pulling herself up, she moved towards the main clutch.

Tofir looked around and decided he had better pick up the pace. If he wanted to be able to observe others' reactions, he'd have to finish up himself. That way he could find a nice bit of wall to hold up and take notes. He finished reading and memorizing his notes on the mottled egg and moved on to another egg with a mottled shell, though this one in bright shades of blue and green. He liked the colors, but they still didn't strike him as being as clean as the blue and white egg he'd touched earlier. He noted which egg he was touching, and then lay one hand on the side of the Blue Earth Egg, leaving it to trail along the side of the egg as he made his way around it to the other half of the clutch. For a moment he could have sworn he felt the egg move, but that was quite impossible: the only way that could happen would be if the eggshell hadn't hardened, and if that were the case he wouldn't be allowed to touch it. Moving around it brought him close to the blue and white egg once more, but he didn't touch it again. That would create inconsistencies and force him to touch all the eggs over again.

The next egg he came to was the Grey Speckled Egg. Another egg on its side, he noted after reading and erasing his notes on the last egg he'd touched. Maybe that meant the dragon inside was fat, and gravity weighed so heavily on it, even in the egg, that it couldn't stay upright. Or maybe it wasn't fat, but depressed, and its sheer misery was weighing it down, he thought, smirking at the idea. When he finally touched it his touch was brief and dismissive. He had to cover a yawn with the back of the hand holding his slate. He wrote down that the egg seemed lackluster and a few other notes, and then continued on his merry way.

Zhierd had tried to hurry when he had heard about the touching, but his chores had kept him just a little longer than he had expected. Well, he was here now and there were eggs to be touched. Slowly he looked around trying to see if he recognized anyone. Oh! Wasn't that Folen? He was about to run over and say hi but caught himself. Right now wasn't the time for socializing, it was a time for touching. There would be plenty of time for him to catch up with Folen later.

Carefully Zhierd made his way towards the eggs where everyone else was. Slowly Zhierd approached the Golden Stag Egg first. As he layed his hand upon the egg he started to feel a bit more calm. See? He could do this. After all, it was just the touching, the eggs hadn't started hatching yet. He gave the golden egg a smile and then moved on to the Orange Stripe Egg that sat next to it. This egg was smaller then the golden egg and was leaning away from the larger egg. He wondered if it was perhaps jealous of the size difference? Then again who really knew. Zhierd slowly placed his hand on the egg and some of the calm he had been feeling left him. Hmm, this egg didn't seem very happy.

The boy quickly moved onto the New Grass Egg before he upset the Orange Stripe Egg even more. As he reached the egg he was once again close to the golden egg and felt calmer once more. Once more Zhierd placed his hand upon the new grass egg. The egg seemed to be rather happy being near the Queen egg. Was it sharing the spotlight? Or looking for a friend? He supposed time would tell.

The boy removed his hand from the egg's surface and made his way over to the Spicy Red Egg As he placed his hand upon the egg, he felt a feeling of impatience. Zhierd was still surprised at the feelings you could get from the eggs at a touching, though this definitely wasn't his first. Before the egg grew even more impatient, he quickly moved on.

Upon reaching the middle, he came to stand next to the Blue Earth Egg. Zhierd studied the egg for a few moments before placing his hand upon it. What was inside, he wondered. Perhaps a blue? Or maybe a green? As his hand made contact with the shell the egg seemed to wiggle a little. He wondered if that was good or bad, oh he hoped it was good. Had he upset the egg? Once more he removed his hand and stepped away from the egg.

Zhierd was halfway through the eggs now and had four more to go. Looking over he spotted the Three Spots Egg. The boy made his way over to the purple egg and placed his hand down once more. He wondered why it had toppled over? Well, it definitely looked to large to move and he was sure he wouldn't have been the first to try. As he gently moved his fingers over the egg he felt a sense of amusement. Was the egg laughing at him? The thought brought a smile to his face. A little reluctantly the boy removed his hand, there were still three more eggs to touch.

The boy quickly made his way over to the Pink Charcoal Egg and the Streaked Sky Egg. Was the sky egg trying to avoid the pink egg? Zhierd let out a little chuckle at the thought. As soon as Zhierd placed his hand upon the pink charcoal egg he immediately felt a pleasant sensation, a nice warming feeling. He really didn't want to let go, but alas, there were two more eggs left to touch. He gently patted the pink egg then placed his hand on the sky egg and immediately took his hand off again. It was quite obvious that the egg did NOT want to be touched and so he respected that wish.

The last egg for him to touch lay by itself. The boy laid his hand gently upon the Grey Speckled egg and yawned a little. How long had he been touching the eggs? It hadn't seemed that long, but maybe it was just the heat. The boy gave the egg a little pat and made his way to the edge of the sands to watch the rest of the touching.

Verianne was slow, somber as she bowed to the Queen dragon and slipped towards the eggs.

The Grey Speckled Egg was first for her, and she smiled as she relaxed slightly. So tired, it almost struck her as laid back. Hopefully, the dragonet within was not just lazy. That would be no good, considering whatever lay within was a fighting dragon.

She moved over to the Streaked Sky Egg next, running her hands over the rough outer shell. It was pretty enough, and the color was gorgeous. Even though it sent forth a feeling of distaste, it didn't deter her. And the feeling of avoidance of the other egg made her smile, lean in closer to it.

Next, naturally, the Pink Charcoal Egg was approached. This one was too friendly. Too involved. If the dragonet within chose her, what if it made her be sociable? She wrinkled up her nose. Well, she guessed she wouldn't mind too much. The dragonet could be the social one, and she could sit back and sketch. Or do what all weyrlings supposedly did and oil the heck out of it.

Letting go of the egg, she moved for the main group. Hello, Three Spots Egg. Nice to meet you. Small, rough hands stroked the deeply colored shell. And her face broke into a smile. It was a feeling of amusement, that seemed to transfer to her. But what was it amused by? And why was it laying on its side like that? She tsk'd, very lightly tapping the egg with her fingertips. Would this one be a jokester, or was it just unlucky enough to keep falling onto its side? Hopefully it would have a better sense of balance when hatched!

Next was the Spicy Red Egg. And certainly, spicy it seemed to be! Nothing vicious in the sensation she got as she touched it, just impatience. still, it didn't feel right for her, so she removed her hand quickly. She wouldn't touch the Queen egg yet; save the best for last, wasn't it?

Blue Earth Egg it would be. She reached out, fingers stroking along the area where the blue met the green. Earth and Water. As she touched it, she thought she felt a kicking inside, but nothing more. Like a thumping, a pulse or a heartbeat. And what might this one be? It took her a moment to let go of it, reluctantly.

On to the New Grass Egg. Again, she didn't get too much of a sensation from it. It was almost eager, too eager. It startled her a bit. Spotlight... was nice enough, she supposed. Or maybe (and this thought perked her up) it was an informer for its future Queen, whispering in her ear the things it knew. The thought almost made her giggle, but she caught herself in time. This was her second day at the Weyr, and she didn't want to get kicked out for screwing up already.

And then the Orange Stripe Egg. It felt unhappy, an impression that other Candidates around her seemed to catch as well. Not that it was something bad... still, she left its side quickly to stare at the goal of her journey here.

And she continued to watch it, gnawing uncertainly on her lower lip.