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Eventually, Hanya couldn’t wait any longer. Slipping inside with the last few stragglers, she took a deep breath, moved around the side of the group to somewhere she could better get a look at the eggs, and bobbed a nervous, slightly clumsy curtsey to the Queen. At the sight of the enormous dragon, her stomach did flip-flops, but she dispelled the worst of the fear with a few deep breaths and a reminder that she hadn’t been hurt at the Hatching, and eggs certainly weren’t able to cause more harm than dragonets. Shaking her head slowly, she hummed very softly to herself and moved toward the wildly patterned blue egg. She skirted a few other Candidates and waited quietly for an opening in which she’d be able to touch its shell, and while she waited, she looked. On closer inspection, there were flashes of what looked to be orange between the dots. Interesting enough. With a smile, she took advantage of a momentary lull and leaned in, just barely brushing the egg with her fingertips.

She recoiled slightly; it was so much warmer than she had expected, and the egg had energy that she wouldn’t have considered an egg capable of putting out. She frowned slightly at it, wiping her fingers on her skirt almost nervously, and stepped away when another Candidate came close. Reaching up to toy with a braid that had come loose from the rest of them, she looked at the remainder of the clutch.

Oddly enough, one of the largest eggs caught her eye, and she couldn’t dissuade herself from moving toward it. True, large eggs generally contained browns and bronzes, but hadn’t one of the eggs in the last clutch hatched a green when everyone thought it would produce a brown? There was always a chance. Stepping daintily through the sand, she slipped between two other Candidates and leaned in just long enough to brush her fingers along one of the pink stripes. Then she leaned back and admired the colours for a moment. Green, pink, purple, and yellow. Not something she’d have considered for embroidery, but pretty nonetheless.

A light bump from someone else was all Hanya needed to start moving toward the outskirts of the clutch, but not before she nearly tripped over an egg she hadn’t noticed at first. Leaning down and muttering an apology to it like she would have another person, she marveled that something done up all in shades of grey could be so striking. Touching a few of the spots lightly, she grinned and stood, glancing around sheepishly before making her way back to stand nearer the exit than most of the rest, readying herself to leave as soon as it was plausible.

Ah, forced smiles. Those weren't very common after Touchings. Most Candidates were too smitten with visions of straddling a dragon and soaring through the skies to be weighed down with considerations of real life. It always occurred to them eventually what the odds of Impression were. Usually while they were eating breakfast and discussing the affair with their fellow Candidates. They would be struck by the realization that four other people had all felt drawn to the same egg, and that was only out of the six or so who sat around them, and there were tens of Candidates for this clutch. Surely the dragonets would all find their bondmate with so many choices.

Firyal's answering half-smile was a little wry. She was slipping back into the darker person she'd been when she came to the Weyr at thirteen. Really, she had to make more of an effort to be sociable and pleasant. She had no good reason to be dismal and depressing. And this was clearly the girl's first Touching. If for no other reason, she ought to try to be more upbeat. With that in mind, she took her offered hand and gripped it firmly while also firming up her smile.

"I'm Firyal, and whyever are you apologizing? What's wrong with your hands?" She glanced quickly down to see if she'd somehow missed noticing horrific scarring or an extra finger or something. Seeing neither, she looked back up at Aderyn with her eyebrows raised in query.

With weeks closing the time since his most recent failure, Lahar had little pain residing within his chest. It was a new day which was quickly nearing a new chance - perhaps this clutch would offer him better luck and, despite it's small size, he was adamant in his quest. Rising with the boys and men, he ran both large hands over his wavy charcoal hair, quickly disrupting any tangles and tucking the fallout into a neat tail. The morning ritual of washing his face and dressing neatly was completed timely and his boots were pulled on shortly after. Resisting the urge to run ahead of the younger boys, Lahar maintained a confident stride, his long legs pulling him ahead of the eager group. Just as, if not more eager, the young man was mere steps behind the elder candidates, rolling his hands over one another as their destination grew nearer.

He hadn't the time to doubt, nor did he have the time to act foolish. His stride ceased as a line began to form before the Queen, gentle bows and cooes and all sorts of nervous sounds the only break in heavy dragon's breathing and hissing hot sands. Lahar tensed, quickly bowing to the Gold, his nose nearly touching his knee, the sands burning hot through the cloth of his trousers. It was like any other bow he had ever offered the high-standing dragons, and as per usual, the Female gave him little attention. She wanted only to observe the girls.

Lahar inched toward the cluster of eggs, folding his arms over his chest as he surveyed the thin clutch. His eyes immediately burned into the Gray egg, and he pushed forward to touch it's shell, fingers smoothing off fragments of sand as it traced a firm circle along the surface. Those same eyes surveyed the grounds, ensuring no one else pursue the egg while he had his hand planted upon it.

Veyes ran his fingers through his long chestnut hair trying to keep track of which eggs he needed to touch and which he had already touched; but it was difficult to do with the throngs of people gathering around like flies waiting for their turn. The relaxed feeling of moments before washed away with the ocean of his dreams and he shuddered a little feeling a slight bit claustrophobic about the current situation. He imagined if he were a youngster inside one of those eggs, he probably wouldn't be too happy about all the eyes staring. He frowned just a little because he too was one of those "flies" but there was nothing he could do about that if he wanted a chance in the hatching. So he hoped privately that the possible discomfort wasn't an issue for the youngsters in the eggs as it sometimes was for him. It had only been a few weeks since he had gotten to the Weyr but still the crowds of people, especially with groups of peers had a way of making him uneasy.

Catching his breath, he sought out his next egg and spied one with a young candidate he had briefly met tucked up against it. The young boy was named...umm.....Nehren, who had also been searched by L'thor. As Nehren scooted away from the egg, he had to wonder how the boy was getting along. He had been so shy and a tad nervous when they met but Veyes had to agree he had felt the same way at the time. Even as he thought about that brief encounter, he realized that the 3rd egg he approached had a similar veiled quality. It could easily have hide itself away with out a second notice from anyone. However, with the number of people moving here and there, hiding within a mask of invisibility was an impossibility. His faint smile was a sympathetic offering to the egg as he crouched beside it. What he wouldn't give for a few moments of solitude in a quiet shell away from the throngs around him.

As his hands slipped over the light gray, he circled his fingers over the charcoal ovals. Then, peeking just over the top of the egg, he got an egg's eye view of the world around it. While the waking eye saw shell and sands...plus the array of onlookers, his inner eye watched the the grey mountains fall away beneath him soaring way above the desert below and ruins in the distance of some unknown place he'd gladly explore - a landscape he had never seen in life....only in dreams. It would be quite an adventure. His mind mentioned as afterthought to his greater purpose. Would you be the one to explore the world with me? Help me find a path when I cannot light the way? Could we walk hand and hand from birth to death sharing our triumphs and failings? Helping each other strive to be better? Could that be....you and me?

All these questions hidden within his heart were offered in silence to the youngster in the egg but no answer would be heard here. Maybe he'd discover the answer upon the sands? He leaned away from the egg and pushed himself up out of his crouch just in time to let another squat in his place. The reflective moment with that egg left him contemplative about the months to come. He had so much to learn if he was to be a good partner for a dragon - more than just how to ride but how to live a life completely with another sharing what used to be a very isolated place in one's soul. He wondered how many of the kids around him actually thought about that sort of responsibility or was it something that came after the impression had been made? Maybe it was actually a little of both. Either way, it only made him more determined to study hard as he could so when the possibility became reality; he'd be ready.

Turning around, he surveyed the clusters of people here and there trying to determine where to go now. The curious smiling faces locked upon the eggs offered that feeling of invisibility - a remnant from the personal deliberation about the last egg that flowed through upon spying the next. This one too had a certain appearance that might have offered anonymity except for the stripes of black that were stark upon the light tan base. A lavish brown crowned the top of the egg which streaked down the sides rapidly fading to gold creating a warm earthy tone to the egg. As he closed in waiting for a chance to touch it, he could see the the faint undertones of blue like veins across the clay-like body of the egg. It seemed less blue than the others even with the undertones upon it which in a way made it stand out more from the rest. It seemed to him the egg itself had two sides to its personality. However, there was no way to tell if the young one within the egg even remotely reflected the exterior.

Finally, a young girl moved on and he immediately took her place before any other could step forward. Upon closer inspection this egg, it drew his mind back to the farm and the feeling of dirt between his toes as he trudged through he mud to get to a herd beast stuck after a long rain. His fingers absentmindedly squeezed lightly upon the surface of the shell as he could feel that dirt with his hands. Reminiscing about his home was often painful considering how his brutal father had treated him and his family before Raith killed him in the barn several sevendays back. Veyes had so many scars to proved his suffering but the farm itself had always leant him time with the animals and those moments had mostly been happier ones. Some times he missed the animals and his family more than he thought he would; especially the draftbeast that helped in his attempted escape. His mother would be so proud if he actually succeeded in this dream to become a rider after so many setback in other things. He had a feeling his little brother, Hally would squeal with excitement and want one of his own.

In revealing his difficult past to this egg, it was like baring the root of many problems that affected his daily world - the reason for his insecurities and his aloofness with others. Some things still raw like open wounds, other things scarred over from years of mentally bandaging himself; the reason why he dreamed of other places. All these answers could be found in this dark portion of his heart and soul. He knew he needed help working through it but was this the right place to ask? In the depths of his mind, all he could express in words unspoken was......If you are the one, please help me recover and improve myself. I haven't figured out how to help myself with this... I wish I knew what to offer in return for this except my love and care and a promise to help you with whatever ails.

He dragged himself to his feet feeling almost drained by the experience; while his hands slowly disengaged from the egg. It wasn't any thing that the egg had done but it felt like he had picked at a few scabs that threatened to bleed. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed softly glad that no one was too watchful or they might have seen the few tears that dotted his lashes.

Kiriwar was amazed at how many Candidates there were, watching more and more come into the Hatching Grounds and smiling at some that he recognized. When it was open, he made his way over to the eggs again, reaching out to place a hand lightly on the largest of the lot, shivering lightly at the egg's feeling. This was so strange, so new, and Kiriwar was getting nervous again -- he didn't want to be nervous at his first Touching. Would that affect the chance of Impressing negatively? He sighed softly, trying to clear his mind and just feel positive, skimming his fingers over the soft, jade-green and strange pink shell. Then he slowly stepped back, giving up the egg for someone else to touch and heading for another.

Vaythel was a bit late for the Touching, that much was true. He was never one to get up in the morning, but at this point, that should have been near beaten out of him by the Candidatemaster. Slipping in quietly behind the rest of the other Candidates, Vaythel caught sight of the Lunar Wrasse Egg, and something about it sort of drew him in. With a respectful bow to the Queen, Vaythel strode through a small sea of Candidates towards the egg that had caught him, soon stroking it gently with his hands. It was a beautiful egg, bright, but not horribly so, and it was a decent size. Idly, Vaythel wondered what would emerge from it, his ice blue eyes glinting with all the possibilities as they came to him. Maybe a Bronze? Or a Brown? Honestly, he would be happy with anything, but he silently hoped that this one would find Theirs among the Candidates, instead of going off between like some did. Vaythel gave the egg a delicate pat and a wistful glance before moving on to another egg, this one the Picasso Triggerfish Egg. That one was abounding with wild patterns, with just the slightest tinges of blue streaking boldly across its creamy brown shell. It was beautiful, in a way, but yet at the same time also a bit garish. The dragonet from this one would be interesting, to say the least, if its shell were to count for anything!

Scorch it! It was early in the morning, far too early for Sovann to have considered stirring of his own volition if not for the bark of the Candidatemaster's voice splitting the air. He grumbled to himself under his breath, gingerly leveraging himself out of the cot he had been enjoying so well only moments prior and dressing himself as speedily as he could manage. It seemed to him that the man took a particular pleasure in waking them up obscenely early, and he groused and fussed internally up until the point that it actually registered that there had to be a reason they were getting up now.

Not a Hatching, surely... but wait, he remembered being told that they would be touching the eggs before they hatched. Touching... Touching. ... He needed to be dressed, he needed to be dressed right now! Shards and shells he was taking too long, and then he was putting on his boots and ambling out of his room to join the assembled candidates. He tried for order, he really did. There was so much excitement wheeling about through all of them that it was difficult to achieve the results that the Candidatemaster might have preferred, but at least Sovann didn't bump into anyone. Not yet, anyway.

He was brimming with eager anticipation now. Not anticipation for Impressing his very own dragon, because while he was certainly cocky he was not nearly arrogant enough to believe that he had any more of a shot with the eggs than any of the other candidates (all of whom had presumably been found in the Search just as he had), but anticipation for that moment where he would first see the eggs. It sang in his bones, all the encouragement he needed to draw himself out of the bleary half-aware state that rising so early and so suddenly usually left him in.

Filing out onto the Hatching grounds with the other candidates, Sovann directed his attention first to the golden Queen who stood as a silent guardian over the eggs, a sentinel to warn the boldest among them to mind themselves while they moved among and touched her latest clutch. He bowed deeply, as gracefully as he could manage. If he could have thanked her for the opportunity without feeling more the fool than he already did (the encroaching fool in point of fact) he would have, but he did not, could not.

With that thought, he turned and then... then, he stared. Wow. The mottled shells with their myriad of colors instantly drew his gaze, and he admired them from a distance. It was just as well, too, for there were a number of candidates approaching them now. He didn't mind waiting, not really. It would just give him more of an opportunity to sort himself out. When he felt that he had waited long enough, he moved forward, allowing himself to caress the shell of the largest egg first. It was not quite as eyecatching as some of the other eggs, but it was definitely worthy of notice.

They all were, of course. He had to remind himself that he was taking up the Queen's valuable time and taxing her patience. He wondered if there was any correlation between the color of the eggs and the color the dragonet within would be. It didn't much matter, though. The idea of even so much as Impressing a dragon at all was almost fanciful. Speculating on colors, well, it seemed a bit presumptuous. Deciding that it wasn't worthwhile to continue along that train of thought, he moved from the jade egg to examine a pair of eggs that seemed to be leaning against each other.

One of them exhibited the most violent range of colors that Sovann had ever laid eyes on, and he was instantly intrigued. It was flamboyant, really... and in a way that made him grin. Astonishing what nature could manage, wasn't it? He put a hand on that egg, marveling at how sturdy the shell actually was. A girl before him had remarked upon that very thing, and he couldn't help but share her sentiments. Somehow, whatever he had expected of dragon eggs, it was not this.

He waited for the candidate who was admiring the blue egg to move on before he put his own hand to it. He wasn't in a hurry, after all. Not yet. When it was his turn, he took the opportunity to take in the lovely midnight blue of the egg. He had rarely seen such pure colors outside of a Gather, and those from the Weaver and Harper craft stalls. The color seemed to shimmer slightly, picking up a lighter hue here and there, with bright swatches of another shade of blue.

A Harper would enjoy this egg, he decided, giving it a pat before he glanced about, trying to decide if there were any more eggs that he wanted to touch. ... There were, of course. He wanted as fair a chance as he could get, didn't he? His eye caught on another egg, but he noticed that there was a candidate already standing by it. Hmm. He could wait. Actually, he probably ought to wait for a bit anyway. He had already touched three eggs, had lingered and loitered like a brooding wherry. Sovann moved apart slightly, and admired the eggs from a distance. He didn't want to crowd the eggs or be crowded himself. He had time. He still had time.

Jisken had a horrible habit when it came to anticipating things: at every Touching he'd stood for, regardless of how late he stayed up the night before, he always awoke from slumber about half a candle-mark before the Candidatemaster gave his summons. And so it was for this Hatching at Ista, the youth staring out into the darkness of the dim Barracks, just tall enough for his feet to hang out from his bunk. It was a small clutch, to be sure, and more candidates than ever, but Jisken had no perilous need to Impress this time around, unlike several of the boys who slept around him and the females in the other hall. Some of them were standing for the last time, but Jisken was content with the knowledge that, should he not be chosen, there would be a next time, and a time after that.

So why was he so restless?

He ultimately decided that it was the general excitement that he picked up from the others, the hushed murmurs from the night before and the bright-eyed glances they'd all exchanged eachother, many with high hopes for the future despite overwhelming odds. Some people thought of a Hatching as a rite of passage, but not Jisken: he considered it more of an experimental tangent, and never forgot the fact that he had other options. Granted, living one's life in the Tanner's Hall meant that there would never be a harper singing your praises, but all in all Jisken was okay with that. If he Impressed, great. If he didn't, there was next time, another round of chores and white robes and nervous jitters that made no sense.

He heard the Candidatemaster enter the room before he started shouting for the others to get up, and as such was half out of bed by the time the others began moving, strapping his sandals in the half-dark as if he'd done it a thousand times. It felt like it'd been at least half that much, though the Ista routine was a slight change in plans that made the process fresh for Jisken, and as he traversed the halls towards the Sands, he found in himself a renewed vigor for the Hatching.

The clutch itself was small, but it made up for it in the number of Candidates that began pouring onto the sands, and continued to do so, their numbers increasing like ants to a forgotten tuber. The air was strung tight with the excited tension of the group, if somewhat quiet, and Jisken thought as he bowed to the mother dragon that all this energy couldn't possibly be good for the queen. Then again, thoughts like these were even less favorable for Jisken, who at the moment was in prime position to be clawed aside with a powerful swipe, and so he made his formalities short and punctual before continuing on towards the sands.

It was then that Jisken looked out towards the eggs, catching a glint of light in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, looking for the source, but it seemed that none of the eggs had the same particular sheen. He hesitated, somewhat unsure of himself, and to experiment, began to turn his head towards its original position. Again, light bounded towards him, and this time he zeroed in on its direction, finding himself staring on the rather plain blue egg of the clutch. That one had the sheen? Jisken found himself curious, and walked slowly towards the object of his curiosity, quietly waiting for his turn. As he moved closer, he saw indeed that the light cut across the surface from different angles, creating a simple but naturally pretty effect, at least to Jisken's limited artistic vocabulary. It looked almost like one of the river stones that were so coveted in Igen (living in a desert offered you little commodities in the way of water-formed rocks).

Once his turn had come, he lightly touched an open palm against the warm shell, idly wondering if he should offer the unborn dragonet a mental hello. He'd heard of other Candidates in the past attempting to project a certain thought through the shell, but Jisken thought it all to be some sort of voodoo magic he would never understand. No, Jisken was not the type to try and project an image: he decided that if the dragon could see within, then he would see what he was, and nothing more. Unlike the shell, Jisken had no hidden sheen.