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Nothing was wrong with circles, right? Jaylin took a step towards the next group of eggs before stopping, his gaze caught by a... dark spot? Curious, Jaylin turned his gaze before kneeling down next to the brown swirl egg. He reached out and traced the swirl lightly with his fingertip, sliding his hand down until his palm rested within its center. This--! Would he Impress? Would be make it? Would the other boys taunt and tease him, just because he went to the sands? Would he be mocked for thinking he could become a dragonrider? What if--

He shook his head and clenched his fist on the egg, taking a deep breath between clenched teeth. "You're lucky," he grumbled, unclenching his fist as he whispered to the egg. "At least you have wings. You could fly away if you wanted to. Me? I'm stuck here." He stood up and turned his back to the egg, halfheartedly walking to the next group. He couldn't help the nibbles of jealousy he felt towards the egg. What was there to be afraid of? That egg was a dragon! The dragon could go where he or she pleased. Him? Completely different story.

He reached out towards the next egg and paused, running a hand through his hair. Should he go on like this? Would the other dragons sense it? He sighed, shook his head and squared his shoulders. Sometimes, ya just gotta stand firm and refuse to budge.

Jaylin placed his hand upon the green paradise egg, letting out the breath of air he didn't realize he was holding. "It'll be okay, hm?" He whispered, rubbing his hand on the egg before sliding his hand over to the pink raptor. This... Yeah, he could agree -- everything be okay. These two eggs seemed to think so -- what's to worry?

With a grateful pat to both of them, he continued in his circle, stopping at the cinnamon egg. Now starting to get used to this, he rested his hand upon the egg and gently rubbed it, savoring its texture before moving on to the last group.

There were four eggs, but one he couldn't touch. Jaylin looked at the gold egg and sighed. Would it feel the same way as one of the others? Should he ask someone who touched it? Nevermind that the Queen roared at someone who did... "I'm sorry," he whispered to it, pretending as if it were only he in the room full of eggs. "You will make a beautiful queen, and I don't wish to leave my handprint on your beautiful surface. Please accept my compliments, for I cannot touch you." With that, he rested his hand upon the noisy rainforest egg.

He snatched his hand back as if burned, then carefully placed it onto it. He couldn't help but to grin -- there was a soft hum that made him want to laugh. There was a feeling of expectation, and as curious as Jaylin was to investigate it, he didn't want to stay too close to the queen egg for too long.

The tye dye egg received his attention next. He admired the pattern before placing his hand on it, his grin widening. This egg too had something about it that made him want to stay and loiter, but he needed to move. Who knew when the next female Candidate would arrive to pay her respects to the queen egg?

Before him was the sunrise egg. Jaylin couldn't help but to look at the queen egg and back at the sunrise, his eyes widening when their similar sizes clicked. Gently, carefully he rested his hand on it and took a deep breath, tracing the dark markings with his fingers. He sighed before carefully patting the egg and carefully walking around the eggs, giving the other Candidates more space. It... wouldn't hurt to stick around and watch, would it? He made his way towards the edge of the sands and turned, watching the other candidates and rubbing his hand thoughtfully.

Bashir shook his head and dismissed the interaction between the Weyrwoman and the Weyrleader. It didn't affect him yet, though if he was fortunate enough to Impress their decisions would have more significant impacts on his life. He looked forward to that day, as he was confident he would Impress at some point. He had to. He couldn't bear the thought of reaching his twenty first turn, standing at his last hatching and failing to Impress, and then seeing the disappointment on his grandfather's face. But he was turns away from that day.

Turning away from the pair of eggs he'd touched before Dorath put on her display of temper, Bashir found himself looking at the Cinnamon Egg. He'd learned turns ago not to get attached to any particular eggs on the sands, but there was something about this speckled egg that appealed to him. It seemed unassuming, which was an oddity in this clutch of screamingly bright eggs. Not that an egg's shell had much to do with the dragonet inside, he'd observed. It was more the feeling a person from the eggs that tended to be accurate. He ran the backs of his knuckles over the brown egg in a fond caress before moving on.

Now he was drawing near the queen egg, but that one wasn't for him, and he wasn't about to risk Dorath's ire by touching it. He was curious, since it was the only egg on the sand with a known dragonet color, but he was male, and really didn't want to Impress a gold. That would be so many kinds of difficult he couldn't count them all. But that didn't mean he couldn't touch the nearby Noisy Rainforest Egg. As he drew near he thought he might have heard it hum, but that was ridiculous. He'd never heard of an egg humming before. Of course, at hatchings the humming of older dragons probably made it impossible to know whether there were eggs humming or not. He braved the odd egg and touched it lightly just before it stopped humming. He hoped it wasn't a commentary on his presence.

The Sunrise Egg was eye-catching and the next one Bashir touched. Its bright colors made him think of Igen, though he had never seen the hot hold. It just reminded him of the stories his grandfather told about the place, when he was in one of his rare storytelling moods. Touching this one's warm surface was a pleasant feeling. It was nice to be warm. He didn't linger, but moved on to the Seaside Egg rather than try to squeeze between eggs to touch the egg it leaned against. The light bluish-green egg was large and the color made it seem like its occupant should be blue, but Bashir dismissed the thought as he touched it. If egg color determined dragon color, there would be some very interesting dragons indeed born at this hatching.

Walking around the trio of eggs, Bashir went to the Blinding Red Egg. Its small size indicated it was probably a green, but Bashir kept to his resolve not to guess at what was contained within the eggs until he had touched them all. Touching it, however, he got the sense that this egg was no more for him than the Pot of Gold egg would be. Well, fine. He didn't think women should be put at risk fighting Thread, but Thread wasn't falling yet, and the dragons knew best. He even knew of some highly competent greenriders who were female, and even a shocking female brownrider who was good at her job. He didn't like that they weren't being properly defended against the dangers of the world, but they seemed equipped to handle it.

Trista stepped lightly towards the eggs laid out upon the sands feeling more than a little out of her depth. The warm soft sand moved strangely beneath her feet as she followed the others to the eggs, not being used to walking on a shifting surface Trista was forced to concentrate on each step. That was fine, it helped to distract her from what she was about to do.

She had been fine waiting with her fellow candidates while everyone was gathered together. Making small talk was a skill she had learned early on in life as a brewer's daughter, after all. But now that she was here standing beneath the towering presence of the Queen everything seemed so much more real.

Oh she wasn't afraid as such. She knew enough about dragons to know one would never intentionally hurt anyone. All the same just standing in Dorath's shadow it was difficult not to feel at least a little bit in awe of the power the dragon possessed.

Still Trista was never one to let her insecurities overcome her. Squaring her shoulders she stood proudly before the towering mother of the clutch she was about to meet. Dipping in a curtsy worthy of a lady holder she smiled up at the gold and her rider eyes full of admiration and respect.

Sure of herself now she crossed the remaining distance to the eggs without a thought to anything but the waiting clutch.

Reverently she touched an egg. Trista smiled softly noting the different feelings coming from each tiny dragon. The Noisy Rainforest Egg left her feeling light hearted and smiling while the
Brown Swirl Egg brought her protective nurturing feelings to the fore. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find your perfect match." She told it reassuringly before moving on to the next egg.

The small but Blinding Red Egg caused Trista to pull her hand away and take a step back for a better look. "Bold as a raging weyrbeast you are. We may or may not be meant for each other but either way, I already like you." The brewer apprentice grinned as she felt a warm fuzziness in return when she put her hands back on the bright shell.

Trista moved quickly away from the negative sending of the Arctic Waters Egg and had little patience for the smugness of the Seaside egg.

To the Sunset egg Trista offered a soothing caress as she wondered about the focused intensity of the egg.

She stayed a while near the Tye dye egg liking the the color of it. The Sweetheart egg seem almost a little bit frustrated at it's inability to move and Trista gave it an understanding pat.

The calmness of the Pink Raptor Egg was refreshing after the emotions some of the other eggs were sending. And Trista found herself soaking it in like a sponge.

Still smiling from her encounter with the raptor egg Trisa found herself before the quiet Green Paradise egg and the equally silent Cinnamon. Still they deserved a hello just as any of the other eggs did and gently sent them both all her warm thoughts. Not knowing if they would hear them or not but having decided it didn't really matter if she ever knew one way or the other, so long as she tried.

Finally she approached the three eggs she had not yet touched. The impostor gold left her with a sense of curiosity as if it wanted to know more about her. But she didn't have much time. The others were finishing their rounds and there were two eggs left she hadn't touched. So reluctantly she left the egg behind.

Trisha let her hands fall gently against the Sunrise egg pleased with the feel of the smooth shell against her fingertips. She wondered at the dragon that might be inside. Stepping back she shook her head. No this one was probably not for her. Even so she wished it well.

One last egg and the most daunting of all. Taking a deep breath Trista stepped boldly toward the gold egg. Ever so gently she ran her hand over the gleaming shell. It was even less likely for the dragon within this shell to chose her as her partner, she was only a brewer's apprentice after all. She wasn't even weyrfolk.

But even so, it was a glorious dream. She couldn't even imagine what her father's regular customers would think to hear that she of all people had become a gold rider. Shifting her hand on the bright surface Trista laughed softly, no it wasn't likely. But then stranger things had happened. Giving the egg one last affectionate rub Trisha stepped away from the eggs giving remaining candidates more room.

Noisy Rainforest Egg was touched quickly and quietly in hopes that the queen wouldn't see him and get agitated. The humming sound coming from the dragonet inside at first made him think it was hatching. Slowly though, he realized it was a playful sound. How did it know it was behind the queen egg? Were they psychically all linked? Could they see or sense anything through the shell? Was it planning on scaring the queen sister when it hatched? He decided to be honest with the little one. "I'm probably no good for you, a bad influence. We'd get in too much trouble together." He whispered close to the shell. "Good luck finding yours!"

Tye Dye Egg was touched under the scrutiny of the queen so she knew he was there. A feeling came over him that this egg had more to it than meets the eye. "You planning to outdo your sibling over there? The humming gives it away." He asked, gazing at the beautiful blend of purple and blue. "Good luck finding yours."

Sweetheart Egg lay on it's side like Brown Swirl Egg except it was closer to it's siblings. Particularly close to Spring Flowers Egg. Did it want to get away or was it just ready to get out of the egg and explore the world? "You won't be disappointed, there's so much to explore and see out here!" He encouraged the egg. He gave Spring Flowers Egg his attention now. The hot sands started making him uncomfortable, he hopped from one foot to another. He didn't say anything to this egg, he didn't know what to say. It seemed observant somehow, he just mentally offered his mind for inspection then moved on.

If an egg could project feelings at all Arctic Waters Egg was grumpy. What was it angry about? He looked at Sweetheart Egg. Was that egg trying to get away from this one? Then he looked at Imposter Gold Egg. He couldn't tell which was the front or back of the egg, was the dragonet inside turned away from Arctic Waters Egg? Was that pissing him off? "What dude? Don't like people ignoring you? My family does that to me all the time. What's the big deal? Your going to have a whole crowd of candidates paying attention to you at the hatching. Actually their paying attention to you now. Once you come out you can show us all and not give a shards and shells what anybody thinks."

He approached Imposter Gold Egg and touched the shell where it was golden. He noticed the egg leaned a little, just slightly in the direction of Blinding Red Egg. "Worried about your sister? Don't be. She's brave, I think she could handle herself against those two." He reassured it. "Hers wouldn't let her get hurt."

He circled around the clutch, touched Pink Raptor Egg and Green Paradise Egg both at the same time. Both had colorful shells yet didn't seem to attract much attention. Not trying to be flashy or fancy, content with the other's company. They seemed to lean on each other and had a soothing effect on him. It neutralized all of his excited inner energy down. "Thanks guys, I needed that. At least you two get along." He pushed black bangs out of his face with one hand. "Wish the starsmiths could come meet you, maybe they'd worry less about thread." He didn't know what to believe. Again the two had a calming balm on his mind. He relaxed and closed his eyes, clearing his mind. "Good luck you two."

Cinnamon Egg was duller than Brown Swirl Egg. It didn't even have a pattern, just brown. It didn't project any sort of feelings either. The egg wasn't tilted in anyway, didn't seem intent on anyone. He had a feeling though, that weather he liked it or not he'd gain lots of attention soon. First ignored then admired by all! Judging by the size he'd wager this was a bronze or a brown. Every boy in the crowd would turn hopeful eyes upon him. Arolon sighed, stepping back. "I ran out of words." He offered as a way of explanation. He hoped someone would treat these dragons properly, don't love them based on their colors, love them for being themselves. He offered his mind up for the dragon to search, if he wanted but otherwise their meeting was quiet.

Raysan had considered following the strategic path he had planned through the rest of the eggs however, sometimes boyish curiousity got the better of him and well now he wanted to know the unsaid conversatoin between the three eggs. So he moved from the fool's gold that had started his questions and turned towards the richly colored blue egg.

He really wanted to answers even if it meant intruding on some private conversation. With confident fingertips, he placed each pad on to the blue egg surface and focused solely on the egg. He could almost feel a grumbling presense that might even be called grouchy but overall the egg didn't seem to dislike him. At least from what he could tell. His fingers circled around in a soothing pattern although he doubted these small actions would calm the tension within. Was it jealous of the Fool's gold? Or did it just despise the red egg further down? He could very well sympathize with the creature within this egg as his days in the market sometimes were filled with those that 'Had' and those that 'Had Not'. It was easy not to like people when one was struggling to get by.

On most days, he had a very skeptic eye of others but at least he had his sisters and that made up for it. Moments with them gave him purpose to set off again to face the bullshit in society. He smiled a little, "You're rider will make up for all the things you dislike in others...I'm sure of it." He gave the egg a light pat and felt like he had at least one more part of the puzzle even if he still wasn't sure how it all fit together.

Now on to the last piece of the puzzle, the red egg. He took a few mental notes about the blue egg and couldn't wait to compare them with the egg before him. Ok. This one was small and obviously had a green within it. The other two...mmm...males? Maybe. Well, he wasn't quite and expert in relationships so the thought of a odd love triangle might have been out of his league if he were to start analyzing the attached emotions. Oh now wouldn't that be a mess!

He cracked his knuckles, thinking soon he'd have a clear understanding but when his hands took to the surface of this egg, he stopped moving for just a moment. She didn't particularly care for him. Almost as if she didn't like men. Well, she wasn't intimidated by them; he could tell that. She preferred women. He didn't pull his hands away, he was as brave as this one; not shrinking back even in opposition. Her focus seemed to be upon conflicts...something about the eggs close by, however, not really focused on the other two that he had felt who seemed to have intense feelings about her. It was almost like she wasn't a part of the others' conversation. Odd.

Shards, the girl that got this one better be of strong mind or she might be pulled down under the current. He smirked at the thought, although, the puzzle still left him with a multitude of questions even after he with drew his hands. He disliked unsolved mysteries; especially ones that were right in front of him. Maybe he could figure it out if he wrote it all down - diagrammed a chart like one would do market inventory.

Considering the two eggs the red one had been so focused on were right beside it, he just scooted over to them and randomly picked one then the other. It was like feeling the conflict between two siblings that were totally self absorbed with each other or two combatants ready to duke it out. He understood that intensity but how long would these two be caught in that moment he couldn't say. However, it was easy to see neither dragonet would back down and in a sense they were a lot like him and probably too much alike for their own good!

As he glanced around it was almost like these two were in the center of an egg ring with all the spectators around them watching the fight. No wondered the little red was so intently interested. Both wanted...demanded attention in their own rights. Neither seemed to give him much indication of a victor so it was impossible to place even a small wager on the end result. He wondered how much their future riders would be affected by the conflict between the two.

Pulling his hand away from each egg, he moved on to the next and last egg that stood before the gold one. It was more difficult to reach because so many other eggs surrounded it but he finally maneuvered in when an opening came available. Being it was the last egg for him to reach, he took his time; gently guiding his warm hands over the surface and feeling the protective nature within. The feeling emanating from this one reminded him of a sentinel against attacks. The best offense is a good defense. Maybe this was one of the smartest in the center of the room. A defensive outlook meant it had to be at least evaluating the situation before it. It was quite impressive to say the least.

As he stood up and glanced around, he took count to make sure he had not messed up and miss anything important. Every detail he tried to remember about the eggs - One triad of a puzzle, two warring siblings plus a silent sentinel....two relaxed happy ones, a fearful sub, an insightful informant, be prepared for a surprise egg, the loud mouth, the dull one that needed spice....and.....The gold. Well the gold one he wouldn't touch but still that left out one!

Scanning the group of eggs he spotted his remaining target; one which was laying on its side and was easy to miss with the way he took his route through the latter half of his adventure. This egg was small and probably a green but very pretty. It seemed maybe a slight bit more interested in reaching out beyond its siblings' ring of eggs rather than watching the drama within. Now that was almost a perfect closing to this trek today. This egg seemed to offer the way out and a bit of closure to all the questions that wouldn't be answered today. "Thank you." he said quietly as he rose from the last one then headed on his path off of the sands.

It looked like the hatching was winding down. Doremy paused by the Tye Dye egg, letting his hand trail over its surface, admiring the darker color. The deep blues and purples appealed to him more than the striking neon colors of some of the rest of the clutch, promising something a little more... subtle. Still, this egg seemed layered, somehow, like it was holding something back. Even though it probably wasn't meant for him, Doremy found himself wanting to know what was inside.

From the small egg, he moved to one of the largest ones, the Sunrise egg. He hadn't been paying much attention to size, to be honest, apart from casually noting it. It seemed like a useless endeavor to guess what color would come from each... after all, blues and greens could Impress to anyone, so it hardly mattered whether a given dragon was blue or green, and if it was brown or bronze, half the candidates or so would be disqualified right off the bat whether you guessed right or not. Only the gold was a sure thing. Still, he liked the steadfast feel of the Sunrise egg. Its guarding reminded him a little of the watchwhers back home... and that was a memory half of pleasure, half of pain. He moved swiftly away from the egg, hoping to brush it from his mind.

There was one he paused by on the way out: the Imposter Gold. What a strange looking egg. He thought the only ones in that color were the actual gold eggs? But this one looked like... well, like half the color had been leached out. Like it was trying to imitate the grand queen -- and indeed, this egg had a feeling of resentment to it. Like it had a hostility towards the dark blue egg behind it. A rivalry there... or perhaps unfairness, on the part of one or both. A dark note on which to end, but Doremy had to hurry to catch up to those already leaving the sands.

///

Kamihan, on the other hand, would not be rushed. He'd found the Sunset and Seaside eggs, and was fascinated. Such competition! What would it be like to ride a dragon with such an intensity? He found himself, not dreading the possibility of having an established rival, but excited by it. It would be... well, almost fun! Dragons weren't vicious, after all, it wasn't as if he'd have to be stopping them from being at each other's throats. And between the riders, it could be all in good spirits, even if the butting heads felt like a little more than friendly competition. But to have someone constantly on your tail, driving you to be just a little faster, a little stronger, a little cleverer to outdo them... Imagine how fantastic you'd both be, at the end.

He rested a hand on each shell simultaneously, feeling the connection and the energy between them, like the sharp prickle in the air before a thunderstorm. Oh, yes. These would be two to watch. Remember me, guys, he thought silently, not quite wanting to speak the words aloud. This would be just between the three of them.

And the Blinding Red egg would not be left out. Though Kamihan felt that, most likely, this egg would not be for him... Probably a green looking for a girl, to talk about girl things with. Still, he could appreciate the obvious fighting spirit. Definitely, whoever this egg Impressed to would be someone he ought to try to make friends with. He mentally thanked the egg in advance, for it would surely point out such a spirit to him.

Leaving the Sands, he turned to watch the eggs even as he continued away from them, walking half-sideways and avoiding other candidates only by virtue of luck and peripheral vision. It seemed... Well, it seemed like a stupid thing to do, but when had that ever stopped Kamihan? He waved goodbye to Dorath, to the eggs, to the sands, which he would see again on hatching day. Goodbye, and good luck.