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“Well, of course. If you broke your fingers, you wouldn’t be able to play guitar and that, Ennrik, would be a loss for the world. Clearly, it was better for everyone involved---nay, the entire world of Pern!---that you refrain from punching me as often as possible.” He was getting the voice back now, the one he always used when trying to attract attention. It was the same voice he had used earlier when relating his improbable story of explosive orphans and Holdless curses. Perhaps he was working up to something, and perhaps not. The only way to know for sure was to keep listening.

“Actually, I’m thinking of inventing a new story, possibly one involving firebreathing shipfish. Things are always better with shipfish. And fire. And explosions of the orphan kind.”

He made a slight face at the mention of his mother. With her profession and all, she was always an awkward point with the young man. Although, right now, Mal couldn’t recall whether or not he had ever discussed it with Ennrik. Not that it really mattered now. “Ha. Yeah. I hope she’d be proud.”

The subject was dropped quickly in favor of dragons, which were infinitely more interesting than mothers. After all, they breathed fire! How much better could a creature get?! His gray eyes followed Ennrik’s gaze back to the Hatching Grounds, wondering just what was on his friend’s mind. Had he even gone into the Touching at all? Or had he succumbed to his stage-fright out here? While his mind was bursting with these questions, Mal almost didn’t hear Ennrik’s inquiry.

“Uh. Yeah. Just one of them. Well… more than one, actually, but it felt weird being in there too long, what with the Queens glaring at everyone and all. I liked the little gray one. One of the smaller eggs? Think it had some red in it too. You know me and colors. Probably a Green, I guess.” His shrug showed that he didn’t particularly mind the idea of Impressing a Green. “What about you? Did you see anything that interested you in particular?”

Loraket was waiting outside the weyrling dorms when the candidate master announced the early morning to the hatching candidates. He’d gotten up a little extra early to take care of a few chores before joining the candidates in the Touching today. He’d been given leave to do his usual morning chores after the Touching, but Loraket felt it his duty to check on a few herdbeasts before joining the group. He chuckled at the candidates as they stumbled from the barracks, some barely dressed. He followed the group as the candidate master herded them towards the hatching grounds.

Entering the huge maw of the Hatching Grounds entrance, he remembered his past visits, wondering if an unhatched dragonet would connect with him this time. The humid heat surrounded him as the entered the cavern with the candidates. Walking up beside a new candidate, Loraket gently nudged the boy in the ribs. The boy stopped staring at the queens and bowed respectfully to them. Having grown up in the Weyr, Loreket was as comfortable being around the great dragons as he was with the herdbeasts that he tended. Facing the queens himself, he bowed deeply to one, then other. As an added touch, he winked at the younger queen.

Turning his focus to the eggs, Loraket’s gaze flowed over the collection of eggs. Having been to Touchings for several previous clutches, he’d already lived through different scenarios of picking an egg. In his first Touching, he’d picked an egg, touched it and was sure that it would choose him on hatching day. He was disappointed. Another time, he touched each and every egg, knowing for sure that at least one hatchling would pick him. He was again disappointed.

Loraket looked back to the boy he’d nudged. He didn’t seem to be showing any indication of moving closer to the eggs. Stepping closer, Loraket took the boy’s arm and led him in among the eggs. Dropping the boy’s arm, Loraket motioned him to follow. Walking among the eggs, Loraket took note of the actions of the candidates. He’d seen similar actions many times before. For all his chances in trying to impress a dragon, he still had not figured out what actions by the candidates swayed the waiting dragonets inside the eggs.

In the midst of his thoughts, Loraket found himself beside a medium-small egg (Nile Crocodile). It’s plain brown color made it less noticeable than the other eggs. Being this close, Loraket could see that its texture was different from the other eggs. A texture that asked to be touched. Loraket placed a hand on the egg, sliding his palm over the surface much the same as he would run his hand over the hide of herdbeast to gauge how it was feeling. Self-consciously he brought his hand back to his side. Loraket glanced around to see if anyone had seen him acting too proprietary towards the egg. He stepped away, letting his fingertips brush the brown egg.

Loraket walked among the other eggs, touching one, caressing another, until the candidate master called them back out from the sands. He left the clutch, wondering if this time, there would be a dragonet that would be looking for him on Hatching Day.

A week after Tada's hatching and subsequent naming, Ghilani found that he not only found himself striving to satisfy the little green's every whim, but that his entire perspective when dealing with other people had... well, widened. Even if Tada was merely perched on his shoulder, his innate sense of self seemed thicker, and the feelings he picked up around him from other people also took on more solid feels. Florian had mentioned once or twice that the little green was 'very loud' and given the Tada was actually very soft and delicate with her vocalizations, Ghilani figured that the Journeyman was talking about something other then audible volume. He hadn't taken it into serious account though, as Ghilani always had had a knack for anticipating the moods of others,and he had heard more then once that the lizards and their greater draconic kin amplified human emotions.

This morning had dawned early for him, accustomed as he was to taking the night shift in the kitchen, and he almost went back to sleep after the Candidatemaster's bellow. Almost, since his mind kicked into high gear when he realized why the woman was waking them all up this early.

Florian was, naturally, wide awake instantly; and Ghilani shot the older boy a dirty look when he startled to chuckle. He didn't have to be told how absurd his sleeping arrangements or garments were, and shard the Healer for reminding his back that it hurt from being curled up. Tada had taken to sleeping on Ghilani's pillow, and while he had managed to convince her to use the bed instead, that meant he had to be mindful while he slept not to crush her small body with his larger one. Sitting up with a groan, he rubbed the back of his neck and peered around, looking for his clothes.

By that time Florian was nearly completely dressed, and with a sardonic grin, he scooped up a pile of discarded clothing and threw it at his roommate. "Yours is in the laundry remember? Use these." The Healer said, quirking a brow. Realization dawned at about that time for the other youth, and he cursed his inefficiency. He knew he should have picked his stuff up last night when he got off shift in the kitchens! Mumbling a thanks, Ghilani pulled himself to his feet and quickly changed, ignoring Tada's questioning trills for the moment.

"You'll have to stay here and keep Roco company." Ghilani told his lizard, his voice muffled by the fabric of Florian's tunic as he pulled it across his wide shoulders. Roco looked put out by the statement, and Florian laughed, but Ghilani wasn't paying attention to them at the moment. Tada was still fairly young, and he was seriously worried about her unexpectedly following him into the Hatching Sands. "I'll be back soon, you stay here." He repeated, emphasizing his words with all the force he could muster with his voice and mental imaging. Tada shivered her light wings daintily, but finally chirped her assent, peering back to look at Roco. The brown responded well enough by flying down to join her on Ghilani's bed, so without another word, both Florian and Ghilani hurried out the door. Vaguely he thought he heard Florian say something along the lines of reassurance that his brown would mind Tada, but the healer's voice was quickly drowned out by the buzz of anticipation in Ghilani's head.

The Eggs, he'd finally be able to touch them.

He'd been dying too ever since he'd first caught a glimpse of them, and being as untutored as he was in regards to dragonlore, he had been pleasantly surprised to hear that candidates were allowed to touch them at a specified time. Florian hadn't seemed particularly shocked, but then again the journeyman had already Stood for two Hatchings, and privately Ghilani hoped that his roommate and friend would find his soulbond this time around.

Naturally, as his thoughts wandered, his feet managed to carry him with the current of nervous youngsters to the Hatching Sands, where he was suddenly drawn out of his revelry by Florian taking a hand to the back of his head forcing him into a bow.

Eyes wide, Ghilani did as he was bade, deepening the bow respectfully when he realized who he was bowing too. Of course, the Queens! He'd only seen them in passing, and the one time he had snuck a peek at the eggs through the peephole. He'd almost forgotten how big they were, and without realizing what he was doing, he sketched a second, respectful bow to their rider's as well. The Senior Weyrwoman was obviously deserving of the regards, and he could only marvel at the deceptive calm of the great females as they watched intruders on their Sands.

"I see why we need to be supervised." Ghilani whispered to Florian, who had stuck by his side. The Healer looked back over at him in surprise, the unspoken question evident in his eyes. "The Queens, they are worried for their children, just as any mother the world over would be." Ghilani supplied, earning a thoughtful nod from his companion before Florian's attention was abruptly diverted by the Eggs themselves.

Recognizing that this was not a social time, Ghilani left him to his thoughts, and took reverent strides across the sands, coming to a stop not too far from the outer ring of eggs. The Queens certainly had their work cut out for them, but he found that he wasn't as intimidated by them as some of the others were. Florian had expressed fear fo the large golden dragons once, and at the time Ghilani had agreed that they were fearsome, but watching them now, he just couldn't shake the image of two worried mother hens minding their broods. Other Candidates had already taken themselves to the first that caught their eye, but Ghilani allowed himself to just stand there and take it all in. Certainly some of the eggs felt stronger then others, and he noted with some surprise that the phenomenon was not indicative of the egg's size. A few of the smaller eggs appeared to be just as forceful as their larger counterparts, though he couldn't help but notice how very royal the Queen egg itself was, even if he caught an air of mischievous humor about it.

However, he did not dwell long on the Queen, as he knew that only the girls would even be allowed near it. Some of the eggs closest to him were definitely interesting enough, so he let his feet wander amongst them, mindful not to interrupt other candidates, though as he felt his fingers brush across the smooth shell of a deceptively fragile looking large egg, he paused. The Elephant egg was certainly hard to ignore, and he found the soft palate both soothing and mysterious. He caught himself gently stroking it for a moment, and with a push, forced himself to move on. Towards the center, the riot of color that was the Flamingo Egg startled him, and he unconsciously shied away from it, though the Grevy's Zebra egg displaced his feeling of vertigo despite it's own eye blinding pattern. Stripes, to him at least, seemed a bit more 'normal' then bright pink after all!

Moving on, he noticed a group of boys and young men paying particular attention to the African Wild Dog Egg, and being as curious as any other, he drew close and took his turn to pat the surface. He nearly drew back in surprise by the heat and vibrancy that emanated from this egg, and took a moment longer then he probably should have trying to puzzle out if he really was feeling the dragonet inside or if it was just his imagination. Others were likely waiting for their turn though, so Ghilani finally stepped back, admiring the wild dark brown, silver, and gold pattern of the egg before turning his attention away. Like the Elephant egg, another softer toned egg had caught his eye, and with deliberate steps across the steaming sands, he made his way towards the Gorilla Egg.

That egg, however, wasn't very close to the mother dragon, but unless his eyes were deceiving him, her tail tip was resting on it protectively. Swallowing, he pressed on towards it, inexplicably drawn to it as he had been to some of the others. He certainly hoped the great queen wouldn't mistake him for something other then a candidate and swallow him, but at the same time he couldn't just ignore what his intuition was telling him. Thus far it had served him well, steering him about the riot of color that was this clutch, pausing only when he needed too. As it was, the Gorilla egg held a mysterious sort of dignity to it, and the soft colors of it's shell certainly invited him to reach out and touch it much the same way the Elephant egg had.

Hesitantly, he extended a hand, and when he wasn't readily gobbled, lay his fingers lightly on the misty shell. He didn't move his hand across it, just let the warmth of it seep up through the skin on his palms the same way he had with the African Wild Dog egg. The act suited him fine, and it reminded him of how he had tended Tada's egg before she hatched.

At length, he withdrew, picking his way back across the sands towards the entrance where he resolved himself to wait for Florian.

Lehpas was still not used to the candidate routine. He certainly wasn’t used to sleeping with in a room full of boys. He felt more self-conscious here than he ever did around his sisters. Hastily stuffing his feet through his pant-legs and then into his boots, Lehpas grabbed a tunic to throw over his head as he followed the rest of the candidates to answer the call of the candidate master.

Looking around the group at familiar faces, Lehpas still felt as if he was amongst strangers. He vaguely noticed a dark-haired lad following the group. Probably someone to help the candidate master keep the candidates together in a group, he thought.

Lehpas followed the other boys into the cavern. It was his first time seeing how huge the Hatching Cavern really was. When many of the boys and girls had snuck in to take a peek at the eggs, he’d been too afraid to go. Lehpas had been afraid to go much of anywhere that he hadn’t been instructed to go to. Being dropped into the home of hundreds of dragons had been entirely too overwhelming. He’d woken up in the weyrling dorm with his last memory being of leaving home on a great dragon. Now he was here because someone thought he could impress a dragon.

The cloying warmth rising from the cavern sands broke through his reverie. Before Lehpas lay a myriad of eggs. He was astonished at how big they were. He’d seen firelizard eggs before, but he had no idea dragon eggs could be this big. His steps slowed as his eyes moved over the eggs. When his eyes rose towards the back of the cavern, he stopped in his tracks, his mouth hanging open. The golden vision before him was almost more than he could handle. Lehpas had barely gotten used to seeing so many dragons on a daily basis since he’d arrived at the Weyr. He was sure he was going to faint as his eyes rose to take in the enormity of the queen before him. A passing elbow to his ribs reminded him of where he was and why he was here. He bowed to the queen with great reverence, then turned and bowed to the other queen with as much respect.

Lehpas gained a new respect for Weyrwomen. He’d always thought it must take the bravest of men to ride the huge bronzes. He’d heard stories of how big the golds were, but he’d assumed there was exaggeration in the tales. For a woman to ride such a formidable creature, she must be truly a fearless woman.

Watching the other candidates move about the eggs, Lehpas tried to follow, but his knees felt a little weak. His legs felt like they might buckle if he tried to move forward. Lehpas worried that he might get into trouble if he didn’t touch at least one egg, but what if he did something wrong and made the queen mad. Before he had time to protest, the dark-haired lad that he’d seen before grabbed him by the arm and dragged him in amongst the eggs. Once the lad let go of him, and he remembered to breathe, he realized he was still alive and the queen wasn’t even looking at him. Indeed, she was very much interested in the young girls touching her queen egg. Lehpas was happy to let them have that task.

Looking for the lad that had pulled him into the clutch, Lehpas found him touching a brown egg that looked a little different from the other eggs. A small egg (African Sunrise) near the brown egg was so colorful that it seemed to not belong to the same clutch as the drab brown egg. Forgetting his fear of doing something wrong, Lehpas walked over to the egg to admire the swirls of rainbow colors. The smaller egg didn’t seem quite so intimidating as the others. Tracing the swirls with his fingertips, Lehpas was sure something so pretty could never hurt him.

The candidate master finally called the group to follow him back to the weyrling dorm. The day was young, there were lessons to be done. Lehpas was reluctant to leave the pretty egg. Glancing up at the queen, he decided he was even more reluctant to be left alone in her presence and quickly followed the others.

Parting from Ghilani hadn't really been intentional, but Florian hadn't been Stood up twice to let this opportunity go wasted. He knew that the patience of the queen dragons would be stretched to the maximum with all of these strangers wandering about the Sands, so he left nothing to chance. Unlike his roommate, Florian was not letting his subconscious intuition dictate his movements, his eyes went first to the brightly patterned eggs. He did hesitate, however, when he noticed how easily some of the younger candidates were flowing around the sands. Even Ghilani appeared to have found some measure of serenity and was finally moving towards the eggs.

Florian, however, couldn't shake the twisting of his gut, even as he forced himself to stop near of the the eggs closet to him and touch it hesitantly. It was the Masai Giraffe egg, and after his initial trepidation faded, he found that the egg's colors had mellowed his internal nerves admirably. Drawing a deep breath, he took a moment to pay attention to the smaller eggs around it, touching each smaller one in turn, before turning his attention towards the Zebra egg and in particular the independent Hyena Egg that steadfastly nestled itself between the two. He spent a few moments with the Hyena egg, though he by no means monopolized it solely. Twice other candidates approached and he stepped aside, finally leaving when a third came by muttering about the Nile Crocodile Egg.

Curious, Florian picked his way towards the unusually textured egg, wary at first of touching it, but finally drawing courage enough to press his hand to the surface. It was odd, and the Healer in him wondered if their was some credibility in the rumor that the dragonet inside would be stillborn. Privately, as he stood there with his hands on it, he hoped not. Every life was precious to the young healer, and being here in the presence of the egg itself, he thought that he might actually feel the life within it.

Finally he withdrew his hands, blinking back a torrent of unwanted emotions as he watched the nondescript brown egg. Yes, he would fervently hope that this one in particular would hatch, if only to spite the rumors against it.


Ending that thought with a shake of his head, Florian decided that he had had enough just as the Candidatemaster summoned them all back to the entrance to be escorted back to the barracks. Ghilani was waiting for him at the entrance (and somehow he wasn't surprised,) so together they walked back with the group to the barracks in silence. Neither spoke of what they saw or felt, though Florian suspected Ghilani had a lot to say.

The short time in which he would actually be a candidate helped make Rayale a bit more nervous for the hatching, but more because of the probably need to return to his family and two of his more... enthusiastic, prank happy siblings than an sense of potential crushing disappointment. That might come later, if he never managed to impress, but it wasn't on his mind at the moment. He stared, wide eyed at the array of eggs, never having imagined that they would be so colorful, and feeling foolish for not drawing the connection between flit eggs and dragon eggs. His younger blue flit, Skyborn, who he had been trying to prevent from getting Rikk's atrocious habits, had come from an egg his polar opposite in color.
Watching the others crowd around the eggs, stealing furtive, amazed glances at the towering, irritable queen, he almost didn't step forward, but did so anyway.
He shot an look at the large elephant egg, fascinated buy it's curious air of delicacy for something so large. Would the dragon inside be as strange a mix of power and grace? That would be amazing, and he hoped it was, whoever it bonded to, but he didn't go much closer, curiously brushing his fingers against Leopard egg. Both it and it's mate were complexly pattered.
Even the brief touch was enough to remind him of the vibrant life inside each of the painted looking shells, and he didn't let his hand linger long enough for much further of an impression to form, self consciously backing up before someone tripped on him, wiping his forehead with his arm as the heat of the sands and the nerves of being so close to the queen made him sweat slightly.
It was definitely worth coming here, just to see this.

"Don't forget, Lahar: Praise the Queen, don't linger, and don't go touching every egg like a wide-eyed just searched." Every hatching those words whirled about the young man's head like a frenzied flit. A father's advice is hardly if ever forgotten, especially in regards to such serious matters. He was called to the grounds, like the others in attendance, to familiarize himself with the most recent clutch. He could only assume what lay beneath the next shell might one soon sevenday be his own -- or that he should belong to it.

Lahar had woken that morning with a terrible aching in his stomach and a cold sweat spanning from temple to temple. Eager dreams had left him restless and disappointed when he woke to find herds of sleep-eyed candidates pulling on their day clothes. This was not the breaking of shells that played so vividly across delighted eyes. Save for the thickness of anticipation, this was every early morning in Ista. He joined the candidates in dressing, splashing his face with water, pulling his dark hair back into a short tail. "You must look your best for the Golden dragon, boy." And he planned on it, taking time to clean his fingernails and pick even the tiniest of specks from his tunic. He was a man now. He was an example to his clan.

As one of the older boys, much rode on Lahar's shoulders. Should he not impress this turn he would have only three more... and, oh, the humiliation. The shame of not impressing 6 turns in was almost too much - his father was sure to tell him after every failed attempt. This was a grand opportunity, forming a life bond with a Dragon, fighting side by side, risking your life for one another. And it was eternal. Should Lahar impress, he would never stand alone again. The youth could never imagine himself betrothed, nor could he stand the company of others for more than a few hours. Could he go on beside a Dragon for the rest of his life? Would he turn cold and abandon? This was the hesitation which left Lahar straggling in the back of the flanks as shell after shell gave way to a hatchling, never once calling for him. Arms crossed and expression even crosser, Lahar looked to be an unmanageable fellow.

He couldn't understand the importance nor the joy of a Dragon's bond, not now. "But when that day comes, my child, you will know - a rider never doubts his Dragon." His mother knew how to instill hope. Her words were never cross or demeaning. She knew better than Lahar his chances, and she saw much promise in her child. If only her teachings came to mind on days like this one...

Following the pack of eager boys and anxious men, Lahar kept his hands folded neatly behind his back. Today he walked with a posture unmatched, complementing his confident stride. Though in his mind there was a seed of insecurity, he felt sure enough in his heart to walk with his head held high. "Shake away those shivers, son, only ready men impress." And so he did. But as the group came nearer to the hatching grounds and the heat of that sand warmed his toes, Lahar felt a familiar rhythm skip two beats in his chest. Before his eyes could even wander toward the clutch, Lahar slowly approached the Queens. His walk was far more humble in their presence, and never had he bowed lower. He could have kissed the ground. Two separate bows were made, one for each Queen, and the lad was out of there way.

As the girls gathered round to lay hands upon the Gold egg, Lahar took cautious steps toward the surrounding shells. They were breathtaking. The wildest range of hues, some large and gray, some petite and pink - this was an interesting group. He came first to rest his hand upon a massive egg beside one Queen, it's aura demanding and bold. The shell was warm and tough, and he felt he may be bitten through the shell just by gracing it. A firm hand smoothed the surface, the very mood surrounding this egg slanting Lahar's brows into a stern V. Whatever color this egg held, it was sure to be prized. Despite the voracity and blinding aggressiveness of what might have been a massive bronze, Lahar found his hazel eyes gravitating next toward the Hyena egg. With an eager step across the sands, Lahar placed his hand upon it's shell, stomach fluttering as warmth entwined with the rapid beat of a creature's heart and the gentle shifting of the very same beast. He was overwhelmed with the urge to place his cheek against the shell, as if holding to a pregnant woman's stomach...but he couldn't possibly be that soft. These creatures could turn anyone's mood.