Welcome to Gaia! ::

...Durp?

That was more or less the thought that ran through Antigonos' usually rather eloquent mind as he inspected the newest arrival. He hardly even noticed the blue going off with its new rider. A... green? But... She was huge, and from such a big egg! That was one he'd though had to be at least blue, he'd had vague hopes for a brown from it but... Durp? The harper blinked a few times. The dragonet before his eyes remained stubbornly, undeniably green. Wow. Well, if any green had to have him, might as well be this one. Her size would make her notable at least, nobody would be able to miss the pair of them together. She'd seemed dominant too, she could overcome he colour... There had been that flash of gentleness, but perhaps that had been especially for him? Maybe. Worth hoping for, but not worth taking his eyes off the brown who now stood still on the sands.

Struggling to divide his attention between the two dragonets, and trying to get his head around a green coming out of an egg that everyone had been sure would be blue or brown, Antigonos shifted his feet on the hot sand. Just choose him. He could make any dragon that chose him great, far greater than any of the idiots around him, he was sure.

The green found hers. That was a relief on Tsubari's mind as he continued to watch. The blue seemed pleased as he bumped and talked to all of them. He was looking at the blue, when he took in the brown that did not want to move towards any of them. It seemed to wait for the right time or maybe it wanted them to move towards him. As he looked at the brown, he felt that another Impression was made. He turned to watch them head to the table and almost dropped his jaw at the sight of a green coming from the other egg. He was at a loss for thoughts at a green coming from the second largest egg.

When the Reef Triggerfish egg started to stir the boy couldn't help but stand up taller. He remembered that egg, remembered especially that it had been as uncomfortable as he'd been about the Touching. Perhaps there would be something in there for him. As soon as the thought arrived Kadayon quickly shooed it away. He wasn't going to stand here and cross his fingers, hoping that maybe one of these creatures would pick him and make a dragonrider. It wouldn't change the fact that he had no control over anything here, that at any minute one of the dragonets could come barreling down the sands with the intent to get rid of any candidate in its way. The brown that hatched from the Reef Triggerfish egg certainly seemed the type to do something like that and Kadayon took a careful step backwards. It was not for him – it had better not be for him – and he wanted to keep as much space as he could between himself and the brown.

Kadayon didn't have much time to dwell on the angry brown, however. The blue from before was getting closer and closer, touching practically every boy in the group. For some reason, despite all the physical contact, he had yet to find the boy he was looking for. Perhaps he was looking in the wrong place. The candidate had heard tales of dragonets wandering around a group of one gender only to realize that Theirs was on the other side of the hatching sands. No doubt this blue would eventually get tired of poking and prodding. Then, once he found His, Kadayon could return his concentration to the other eggs.

Of course the blue decided that just because he was hiding out near Winderick didn't mean he was going to get off without a poke. Kadayon tried to fold his arms over his chest and deter the little dragon but it did him no good. The blue purposefully poked him with his snout and then rolled onto his back, looking every bit like a silly canine. Kadayon huffed softly, unable to help a small grin at his antics before he took his eyes off the dragon and looked back at the brown. Or at least, he would have looked back at the brown if he hadn't heard a voice in his head that was definitely not his own.

It's time to join Ninaeth's friends, Kadayonmine~ I think you'll like them!

At first all the boy could do was stare wide-eyed at the blue. It wasn't possible. The heat of the Sands must have been making him hallucinate or something because he had definitely heard somebody talk to him. Kadayon turned to scowl at Winderick, thinking this was some kind of sick joke, but the other boy only looked, well... disappointed. Confused, the candidate turned to look for the blue, only to find the dragonet was trotting over towards the feeding tables. He paused, though, and looked over his shoulder straight at Kadayon.

Mine come on! You are lagging behind! Why are you still standing over there? Ninaeth made a soft, encouraging sound before he went back to gazing longingly at the gathered greens. So close! And yet, so far.

There was no getting around that. Kadayon swallowed the lump in his throat and staggered after the blue dragon, looking every bit as though he had just hatched out of the egg too. Ninaeth graciously allowed the boy to lean on him as they walked, keeping his pace steady despite his desire to get closer to the greens. He was distracted from his trek, however, by the arrival of yet another green, though this one was positively massive. The blue couldn't help but croon his approval, stretching his neck higher to get a better look at her.

Mine look at her! She is so big!

"Bigger doesn't mean better," Kadayon felt obligated to point out as he grabbed the nearest meat bucket.

Oh I beg to differ. Just you wait and see.

Sileny shifted on the sands. They were hot, and she felt she might be overheating. It was, she thought, idiotic for them to wear the outfits they did. The white kept them cooler on the sands, she guessed, but the rest just seemed impractical and uncomfortable. She was beginning to sweat - not with nerves, thank you very much - and she hated that. Sweat was one of those things she could have happily lived without. She didn't think about its necessary cooling function. She just found it disgusting.

Equally disgusting was the fact she hadn't Impressed yet. She'd watched several Impressions occur and while it was all very touching, she hadn't exactly planned to be a spectator here. Not for this long. She'd planned to Impress. Not that she could force a dragon to choose her, but why shouldn't a dragon choose her? She was better than the choices they'd been making so far. Exasperated, she glanced toward the stands, wondering if Lukah was there, watching.

Aislin watched with held breath, tearing her gaze from the bronzerider and his ridiculous, but incredibly charming, bronze. She couldn't be distracted right then, there was simply no room for it. Another green had hatched, and Aislin found herself admiring the striking color of the dragonet's wings, the proud way she stood before her chosen candidate before the pair went off together. Her heart felt as though it were vice-gripped, held hostage by anticipation. There had been a time when she would have thought less of greens, knowing that in Benden her choices were limited to either the flighty greens or the regal golds. The first would have once been a disappointment while the second had been, for years, considered an impossibility. In Benden, however, those were the only acceptable colors for a woman to ride. Blues and browns Impressing to women was nearly unheard of, and downright scandalous on the rare occasions when it had occurred.

Now, she held on with fingernails to only a sliver of hope that she might Impress at all. Gone were the arrogant ideas that she was too good for any dragon, dissolved by years of disappointment and a growing terror that she might soon be resigned to a life of craftsmanship. A life of servitude. A life of...well, nothing.

Shoulders back, chin up, Aislin straightened her slumping posture and stood proudly, as though displaying herself for whatever dragonet might hatch next. A blue had Impressed and a brown had hatched, neither of which held any hope for her. Not in Benden. The large green, however, was a symbol that there was still some chance. Aislin focused her gaze on the dragonet, and her lips moved in a silent plea. She would turn twenty-two in a matter of months, and there was no hope for a second clutch in so short a time. Certainly no hope for one to mature and hatch while she was still eligible to stand. It had to be now. It had to be this clutch.

Only three eggs remained, one of which seemed far too large to hold a green, which left only two real chances if the impressive green did not choose her. Standing shoulder to shoulder with dozens of other candidates, well... it was difficult to remain hopeful. Still, Aislin had little choice. With her robes clutched in her fists, the girl stood on her tip toes and watched. Waited. Hoped.

Aislin glanced to girl nearest her, who just happened to be Sileny, and whispered, "Good luck."

Erie grumbled, Tsubari HAD seen her, she glared at his back, enough to burn holes in it if she was able. Her stomach flipped a little when he waved and blew her a kiss, but she covered her first look of surprise to one of annoyance, glaring once again, however she was unable to resist the tiny smile that crept onto her face.

...Another green. Yippie. That left only two eggs to hatch, the pair of Angelfish actually. One that could be brown or bronze (after that huge green he was making no assumptions), and one that by the look of it was green again. Greens were supposed to make up about half the population, right? Nine eggs, so that should be four or five green, a couple of blues, maybe a brown and a bronze. Right now they were at five greens already, more than half the clutch, but with nine eggs it had to swing one way or the other. Maybe the amount of greens just seemed larger because of the size of the clutch; it wasn't horribly disproportional, it was just too tiny to have many of the less common colours...

Surely though the Emperor Angelfish had to be brown or bronze, it had been at least the size of the Triggerfish... But who knew, maybe they were in for a giant of a blue to go along with the green who now seemed to have paused in her hunt for a rider... Humm, she was looking over at the newly hatched, far smaller green. Interesting.