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The Glowing Lifestone Egg - This egg is unmistakeably a gold. Easily the largest of the clutch, dwarfing most of the eggs, the Glowing Lifestone is difficult to get a read on. Flashes of thoughts, by turns bold and demure, seem to be interrupted when a Candidate touches the egg and motion almost always accompanies the touch, as if the youth has caught the attention of the dragonet within. All are paid attention, be they male or female, and all are sized up - not judged, precisely, but certainly appraised.

The Bold Crystal Egg - While this eggs shell might not be the brightest or prettiest to look at when compared to some of the others in the clutch - and its certainly not the largest resting comfortably somewhere in the middle - placing a hand on this shell will give one a sense of inner self assurance. This egg also doesn't want you to leave, you get the impression that it might actually follow you off the sands if it could get away with it! This egg can generally be found clustered up as close as it can get to one of its siblings.

The Ancient Strength Egg - This egg is old, which really dosen't make much sense since its well..still an egg. None the less when one lays a hand on this egg's shell they get the impression of age, good ole reliable wisdom and a steady spirit - well as long as your following the proper way things should be done anyways, woe behold the candidate who might touch this egg the wrong way or worse think the wrong things towards it, a flash of irritation might then show itself and the candidte might get the impression that the hatchling inside wants to have a good talking to with them later on. It is a large egg and likely contains a bronze or large brown.

The Quick Sparkle Egg - Why are you even bothering to look at all those other eggs? Clearly theres only one here worth looking at and it's not those ones over there! What? You don't believe me..I'll show you, I'll hatch right now! It'll be the quickest hatching you've ever seen too. Oh..you think my shell is pretty? How nice of you to say so! Why didn't you say that at the beging then? I suppose I'll stay in here a bit longer so you can admire it for a while. If anything this egg demands attention, though it's hard to find any sort of ill will in its attentiong seeking ways. It's a largish egg perhaps a brown.

The Expanding Mind Egg - It's hard to get a real feel for this egg. On the surface, it seems as if the dragon inside is mute or sleeping. Oh, you can tell there's something in there, as under the surface it feels like someone is watching and listening to you intently, wanting to learn about you, but it is giving you nothing about itself in return. The egg rests on the edges of the Clutch, its only near-by companion the Balancing Earth Egg. The size of the egg suggests that this is either a Green or a Blue.

The Inner Glow Egg - One of the big eggs in the Clutch (relatively speaking), this egg contains either a Brown or a Bronze. Touching this egg immediately gives you a feeling of goodwill and amusement. If you're upset, you won't be for long with the Inner Glow egg pushing you into a state where you have to laugh or let go. This egg seems interested in getting to know you and hearing whatever you need to tell it. Mixed in with all that good humor, though, is the sense that this dragon is more than ready to come into the world and it intends to make the most of it when it does.

The Sensuous Essence Egg
This medium sized egg - either a blue or a small brown by size - is amongst the main group, and when touched it gives out a warm confident welcome. It reaches out to males and females, confident and shy candidates alike but if a candidate tries to close out its welcome they will definitely get the impression that the egg is sulking. Finally there is something undeniably sensual about this egg, and a kind of magnetism that makes it hard to forget.

The Jovial Eclipse Egg
HELLO, HELLO! This egg practically blasts you with its personality before you even get your hands on its half-dark, half-bright brown-and-tan shell. It's so pleased to meet you that you aren't sure its even registering you as anything other than an outlet for its excitement. Easily the largest egg in the Clutch next to the Gold egg-- with maybe one other exception-- this egg's size suggests that it is probably a Bronze. Its personality, however, makes it seem like the largest egg in the whole Clutch.

The Questionable Magnet Egg - What are you up to? Is everything okay out there?...you're not leaving already are you? Where are you going? Are just examples of the sorts of prodding questions candidates might sense when they lay a hand on this egg. It seems that this dragon wants to know all about you, your friends, the type of day you had and anything else that might come to mind. It also doesn't really want you to leave..or at least it wants to know where you're going next and when or if you'll be back. Candidates get the sense that this is a social beast, but perhaps a bit of a clingy one.

The Balancing Earth Egg
Snuggled up to the Expanding Mind egg, this pale green and tan egg exudes a calm, unruffled sense of attention at you. The creature inside doesn't appear to be bothered by you wanting to know what it's about, and is happy to engage you in personality pushing. If you approach it with an unsettled or upset mind, however, you get the sense that this egg wants to do nothing more than help you put that aside so you can finish the Touching with a clear and easy mind. This egg is likely a Green or a Blue.

The Unquestionable Love Egg - Every candidate who places their hands on this egg will walk away knowing that the dragon inside loves them, loves them and everyone around them. This egg is a bit on the small side when compared to all of its siblings exudes an aura of love. This egg will let you know that everything will turn out alright...eventually. Though you might want to watch your step when you leave! The sands can be treacherous you know!

The honorable champion egg - This egg is definitely judging every hand that comes to rest upon it, and candidates with a selfish or cruel streak will feel almost burned by the contact once it has the measure of them. Those it finds worthy, however, it welcomes warmly and seems happy to have them stay as long as they please. This is a mid sized egg - probably a blue but possibly a very small brown - and while it is placed fairly centrally it seems to lean away from any large eggs near by.

The considered investigator egg - At first when hands touch this egg they will feel... Well, nothing really; this egg takes quite a while to do anything. Even when candidates do feel a reaction from it they won't get an opinion from it, only a sense that they are being studied thoughtfully by a bright and curious mind. Set close to the edge of the clutch, this small egg most likely contains a green.

Gilded Verdant Egg - Cocked at a jaunty angle, this large egg is situated within the main cluster of eggs on a low rise of sand, and its lustrous shell is a rich shade of green. When touched, the first feeling this egg gives of is an overwhelming sense of pride and confidence. If it were possible for a solid egg to preen, it would do so. To those who touch it, this egg takes a superior but friendly attitude. Cunning and entertaining, the dragonet inside is happy to mingle with everyone who comes to it, though it will eventually remind a lingering Candidate that they have other eggs to visit.

Unpolished Azure Egg - The Unpolished Azure Egg is one of the larger of the clutch, and judging by its size is probably a brown or small bronze. This rich blue egg has a rough surface, but the feeling it gives off is much smoother. A mellow and welcoming sensation is given off from being touched, and the dragonet inside seems to appreciate and trust any who visit it. Should a candidate touch the egg with negative emotion, however, the egg will give off a feeling of slow confusion and try and give some comfort.

Resilient Warped Egg - This egg is normal in respects of size, color, and texture, but its shape is a bit… lumpy, almost as if it were kicked a few times while hardening. The moment this egg is touched, the Candidate will be overwhelmed by the frustration contained within. This dragonet wants OUT, and will completely ignore any advice or consolation offered. If the candidate lingers long enough, whatever is inside may settle long enough to inspect the visitor, but it won’t be long before the candidate feels the dragonet inside wriggling about under the shell again, stubbornly seeking freedom. Size indicates a green.

Bursting Shard Egg - When a candidate first touches this green-to-blue sized egg, they will feel… nothing. Perhaps the warmth of the egg is lent from the hot sands; perhaps this one is an unfortunate dud? Before it can be abandoned, however, a sudden surge of amusement will rupture from within, as if the dragonet inside just can’t contain its laughter. Amused at its trick, the egg will roll in is own mirth and try to cajole its visitor into cheering up and relaxing.

It was a big day for sure. While he had been around for the previous clutches, this would be Kahar's first time standing as a Candidate. Excitement coursed through him as he stepped out onto the sands in line to see the eggs, as well as their gold mother a little more closely. There was no stopping his smile from showing as he looked around at the clutch before him. It was a pretty marvelous sight indeed.

His gaze shifted over towards the other Candidates for the moment as they began to move out to touch the eggs, fidgeting a little in place as he waited. Once it was his turn, he took in a deep breath and ventured forth to give a rather low bow to Gold Yirath, thanking her as well. In the back of his mind... he had to wonder if it was taxing at all on her to have such a large clutch! With a really big gold egg too!

From there, he looked around at the numerous eggs around, making his way to the furthest egg first. He tried not to move too quickly as he stepped up to the Honorable Champion egg and placed his hand onto it. Kahar couldn't help but feel as if he was being judged here. However, after a moment or so, it seemed that the young dragon residing inside didn't mind to have him nearby.

He lingered there for a little while, then stepped back to make his way towards one of the larger eggs, the Quick Sparkle. As he touched it, he could practically feel it surging with energy as it soaked up his attention, which widened his grin. Hopefully whoever this one impressed to would be able to keep up with it!

Moving back, Kahar went on to the next egg. He placed his hand onto the Ancient Strength egg and paused as there was a fairly big contrast between this one and the one before. In fact, he felt a spurt of irritation as he set his hand down. Somehow, he felt like he was about to be yelled at to get off of the dragon's yard or something to that effect, which didn't make too much sense. How such a young creature came to seem so... old was a bit of a curiosity.

In any case, he didn't linger for too long there.

A part of him wanted to see if he could touch the really big gold egg, just to see what it was like, but with the way its mother wrapped around it, that didn't seem all too possible. Maybe he could ask the one she impressed to later on how it felt. Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

The sands were hot.

Well, the sands were always hot. Benden's hatching sands, like any other, drew heat from the volcanic heart of the weyr, still living, still asleep after all these passes. He'd worn thick boots today because in the choice between sweating down his ankles and scorching up through his soles, he'd chosen the former.

They never really used to do this in Ista, that was the rumor. When his however-many-greats grandfather had been Lord Holder, Ista had been a place for Benden dragonriders to go to be old and wounded in. It was still that, to a lesser extent— but even Ista had to worry about Thread, once upon a pass. He really didn't know what to expect. A sense of ceremony, perhaps? But no, it was just a gaggle of boys scattering among the hardened ovules, patting them like they were cats or small children or...

Maybe it was the size of the chamber. The Hatching chamber was truly enormous and the echoing hisses of displeasure from the Queen mixed with the reflected sound from the Candidate's low chatter combined to make for a singularly informal air to the event. Pahlan hung back, drying his palms on his tunic and trying to get a feel for the size of the room. He wasn't agoraphobic, but still...

It was... a truly enormous place.

...and now he was truly among the last to get to the important business of Touching, which he'd been told again and again was absolutely crucial to the process of Impression. Inside one of these eggs was a beast— a dragon who might spend the rest of Pahlan's life as his partner and burden. It was intimidating to have the actions of a moment dictate his entire existance like that and as he had in all other instances, Pahlam reacted now; he drug his feet and stayed the the outskirts.

Well, he couldn't hang back forever, so he moved around the back of the clutch, frowning faintly. So you just...touch it? He stepped up and held his hand over the shell of an egg, not quite touching it, biting his lip. He'd never touched a baby anything before, let alone something this important. The Queen rumbled her ire at one candidate or another, and Pahlan snatched his hand away, but she wasn't even looking in his direction so much as at all of them in general, so he put it back.

This is stupid. It's just and egg and it's not going to bite so just do it!

Determined, Pahlan put his hand on the Resilient Warped Egg, and for a moment felt kind of stupid. What had he expected, really?



And then he felt it. The movement inside, the driving need. Out! Outoutout! Let me out! In a moment Pahlan had taken a knee in the sand and had both hands on the egg.

Shards, you're alive in there!

Alright, as thoughts went, it wasn't the brightest.

...you're awake. In there.


Trapped in there. Poor guy. Every other egg on the sand was at least the right shape. Hell, he— she? How did one tell, anyways? Could you tell, just by looking? It didn't matter and after casting a nervous glance at the Queen, and another to see if anyone had caught his moment of surprise, Pahlan stood up again, patted the egg encouragingly and moved off.

Yeah, I don't fit either, little guy. Good on you, don't give up. You'll be free soon.

Bannen couldn't bring himself to care overmuch about the whispers and rumors floating about Benden as to the whereabouts of the Ancientcrafter, or the gossip about Weyrwoman Kestril's rivalry with Malvren's Weyrwoman. No, his attention was entirely set upon the beautiful, wonderful, large clutch the Candidates were finally allowed to wade out among. Of course a few of them had gone the age old route of peeking before they were “officially” to see anything, but that didn't make this event any less exciting. Surely this would be the clutch he and his brother would both Impress at—and Impress well! Even a green out of this clutch might be worthy of bragging about, though personally Bannen was hoping for brown or bronze. Still, a dragon was a dragon, and how many of them there would be at this Hatching... He too offered Yirath her respect—well she deserved it!

He followed his twin across the Sands, independently deciding on a somewhat similar strategy: avoid the somewhat irate gold on the initial approach. Thus, he found himself placing a hand on the Quick Sparkle just as his brother had left for the next egg. And wow—what a personality! In need of rather a lot of attention, apparently, but if the size of the egg indicated true, attention it might well get. After all, browns could still make quite a show in a wing. Probably the dragon himself'd be a bit of a handful, but there were lots of people who'd say the same about Bannen. You give us a show at the Hatching, and I guarantee all eyes'll be on you.

The Considered Investigator was his next visited egg, though compared to the first Bannen found it a bit boring. Curious, yes, but it took rather awhile to make an impression, didn't it? Maybe it was just conserving energy. Bannen could agree with that course of action wholeheartedly. And at least with all the studying, the dragon inside ought to be able to know who Theirs was pretty readily, one would hope.

Bannen found the Ancient Strength egg not much to his liking—age and wisdom had its place, yes, but he figured someone like himself was hardly a potential match for one so...serious. In fact, it felt a bit irritated at him, and put him in mind of an irate Candidate-master. Yup, definitely taking that egg off the watching-carefully list...pity, since it looked like it might be sized brown or bronze. Still, somebody amongst the other candidates was probably stodgy enough to prove its mental match...

The next egg that Kanen approached was the Bursting Shard egg. As with the Considered Investigator egg, the brunette at first felt nothing inside. Even as he lingered, there was still nothing. Just as he was seriously beginning to worry that this one was a dud he felt a spike of amusement come from the dragonet inside, and he let out a small sigh of relief. Tricks have their place, but don’t make people fear your mortality, ok? he remarked to the egg, lightly reprimanding in his thoughts. It was good to know that the dragonet was actually alright though.

The poor Resilient Warped egg looked as if it had taken a good beating, didn’t it. Rather felt like it too. Are you alright in there? Kanen asked, very concerned by the amount of frustration coming off of the dragonet. That couldn’t be good for it… He really wished that he could help it somehow. I’m sorry. I hope you can hang in there until the hatching. At the feeling of some wriggling beneath his fingers, he added, Try not to exhaust yourself before then.

Worried though he was for the egg, Kanen needed to move on, and the next one that he came to was the Unpolished Azure egg. As if responding to his worry, the dragonet inside tried to give him a bit of comfort, even if seeming rather confused. He couldn’t help a small smile at this. Sorry, just worried about your sibling. You’re a rather nice one though. I do hope you can find Yours quickly once you hatch.

The Balancing Earth egg was about as equally nice, even if the dragonet seemed a bit more on the alert side. It seemed to be feeling him in a similar manner that he was feeling it—that was, vaguely curious to see what the other was like without worrying overmuch about their own personality being explored. Hm, very interesting. I look forward to seeing you when you Hatch.

In contrast, the Expanding Mind egg seemed to only be interested in watching him without giving anything in return. Was this just a clutch of studious dragonets here? Not that it was a bad thing, but it was certainly an interesting trend to take note of. I hope that you might be a touch more open once you find Yours. He’d love to see what sort of personality this dragon really had.

Bannen made for the central group of eggs next, keeping a wary eye on the brooding gold mother's tail. Much as he might like to pay his respects to the Glowing Lifestone egg, he was pretty sure he might just wait to pay them to her outside of the egg...plus, then there'd be the excuse to meet whomever she Impressed.

So he beelined for the Unquestionable Love egg, a little surprised, yet pleased, by the pure goodwill and outpouring of emotion. It was a sweet little egg—and little it was, compared to some of the others clustered here in the middle—and Ben's personal feeling was that it seemed the type to Impress to a woman. Or someone perhaps in need of that unconditional love? Either way, he was fairly sure it wasn't going to be giving him much of a glance. Good luck finding Yours then.

The Bold Crystal egg seemed to be pretty sure of itself, which Ben approved of. When he moved to leave, though, he got a sense of its longing to follow, which amused him. Once it found its match, he got the idea this dragon would be trailing Theirs everywhere—understandable enough as a weyrling, potentially problematic as a larger dragon. Or maybe it just really wanted to get out...that was a distinct possibility as well. Hang in there! he advised, giving the egg a small pat before heading onto the next.

Bannen found the Inner Glow egg quite companionable and couldn't help but smile as he laid a hand on the surface of the larger egg. This one, he felt, would be quite an interesting dragon to know, and it was even a ready enough 'listener'. He felt something else...ambition maybe?...mixed in with all the rest, which of course only made sense given the likely color of the dragon within. I look forward to meeting you, he thought to the egg, grinning.

The Sensuous Essence egg was another friendly one, and confident too. Bannen found himself lingering around the egg purely because there was just something terribly captivating about it, and he couldn't figure out just what that was. Still, he did have other eggs to visit, so he bid it a reluctant goodbye as the puzzle of its presence lingered in the back of his mind.

Bannen stepped over to the Jovial Eclipse egg next—and it was even more friendly than the other eggs he'd touched so far. “Well hello to you too,” he murmured with a chuckle, eyeing the egg carefully. So large, it must be bronze—and a very exciteable one, at that. “Handful” was probably not quite the word for it... But it would most certainly be making an impression (as well as an Impression) when it broke shell. He'd be watching this one on the Sands too, he thought, though perhaps be a bit wary. Exciteable young dragons could lead to unfortunate consequences, if it were particularly clumsy or unaware of the humans around it.

The Questionable Magnet egg rather reminded Bannen of his twin, when Kanen got in a particularly curious mood. Question after question...and how much of it was the dragon even comprehending at this point? Amused, he tried to answer as best he could, and assure the egg they'd all be waiting for when it hatched. In the meantime, it wasn't like it didn't have plenty of siblings for company.

Bannen moved to the edge of the main cluster of eggs to touch the Honorable Champion egg next, finding it...somewhat confusing. It didn't entirely seem to approve of him. He didn't linger overlong on it, figuring it something of a lost cause, much as he had the inexplicably old feeling egg.

He edged back towards the main group to touch one last egg he'd nearly forgotten, the Gilded Verdent egg. Proud, confident, a bit cocky...he had to say he was amused by this egg as well, and chose to take his time in hanging around. He had the impression of a rather lot of wit and a good sense of humor as well. Whomever this dragon Impressed, they'd likely be worth knowing. Another one to the list of dragons to pay particular attention to where they went on the Sands...

Kindra smiled to herself as they were ushered out to the sands, she let several of the girls go ahead before her, she noticed that they decided to go around lther eggs first. Not the proper respect in Kindra's mind. She straightened out her skirts and ran a hand through her hair quickly before striding confidently out towards the centre of the clutch. Once there she bowed low to the great Golden queen who had curled her tail protectively around the largest egg there.

Great Queen Yirath, i thank you for this honor and i apologise that those others did not pay their due respects to your magnificent daughter, you should truly be proud of such an amazing achievment, these are the greatest eggs ever laid, and you will be known for having borne the Pride of Benden, no ... the pride of the whole of Pern!

She thought towards the great queen, she could feel the rumblings though the soles of her sandals but she held her head straight and proud as she tried to pick her way around the gold's tail to be able to touch the The Glowing Lifestone Egg, somehow she managed not to trip or make a fool of herself but it had been too close for her comfort, she did not want to risk being maimed by Yirath and be unable to attend the hatching.

She frowned a little at the feeling she got from the egg, she definitely wasn't impressed with the slight demure feeling but then a flash of boldness and she grinned "that's better" she thought. The feeling like she was being examined... appraised ... wasn't pleasant but she was used to the feeling from her father so she brushed it aside. Her hand lingered, not wanting to move onto the other eggs, but the feeling of motion beneath her hand was making her slightly uncomfortable, she wasn't sure if the egg seemed pleased or not with her hand being laid on it so reluctantly she moved on, bowing once more to Yirath "great Yirath, i thank you for the honor of being near and touching your great and wonderful daughter" she sent, having no clue if the Gold heard her or not. Reluctantly turning her back on the golden egg, she moved into the mass of other eggs, laying her hands on them in turn.

Her hand rested on the nearest egg, the The Bold Crystal Egg and she was rather pleased with the feeling from it, self assurance was a good thing, this egg would go far, but it seemed it might have to control its impulses as when she moved to go towards another egg, she got the distinct feeling it wanted to go with her. She shook her head and chuckled very quietly to herself. Moving on she put her fingertips to the next egg the The Inner Glow Egg and she had a genuinely happy smile on her face, memories of her and her older brother played across her mind and she giggled despite her need to compose herself properly. "oh you are just a darling" she smiled, pulling her hand away and moving quickly onto the next egg, she really didn't want to lose her composure of respect and awe.