Trip to the Sands [All Candidates]

[Rose of Pern]

I8 T450
Late Winter

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See Here for a description of the eggs.

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N'ven was the current Candidate Master and was busy ushering the Candidates into line. He clucked his tongue to himself as he regarded each and every one of them with a careful eye. He looked as old as he felt, salt and pepper hair and more then a couple extra lines on his weathered face. He had picked today to bring the candidates onto the sand for the first time, letting them get a good look at the eggs that they'd all be surrounding later.

"Alright, listen up." One of the more talkative boys continued to yap on and on which prompted a rather angry stare in his direction. "I said listen up!" He bellowed across the group, drawing silence from each and every one of them. He drew in a breath before he spoke up again. "Now this is the first trip onto the sands for everyone although I'm sure a few of you have stood before."

There were a few knowing glances about but he hardly paused. "It's taken this long to convince Gelwinth that we mean the eggs no harm." Everyone knew that Gelwinth was ready to between at any moment, the gold closer to death with each passing day. "So we're going to be quick and polite today. Everyone stay close and no one approach Gelwinth."

He would march the crowd upon the sands, keeping in time to some internal rhythm. Once on the sands, he'd motion towards the eggs. "Now you can all look but do not touch the eggs. And for Shards and Shells, boys, stay away from the gold!" He'd motion towards the candidates, allowing them to go look at the eggs.

[Deleted]

The eggs.
For all her Turns living within the Weyrhold, Talera had never actually watched a hatching. She had never imagined the sheer size of the eggs. Oh, it made enough sense in retrospect, she knew, for the shells would have to be large enough to cater to the growing dragonets within. Still, she thought with a private laugh, there were children in the creche not as tall as what was laid out for them to see.

The chatter from the younger lads had reminded Talera so distinctly of the boys she'd raised that she wondered if some had slipped in from the caverns, just for a peek. But no, all had the knots of candidates on their shoulders, and for that, Talera was glad; it wouldn't do at all should a former charge held a spectacle, when she was striving to disconnect from that life.

Talera returned her gaze to the eggs. The walk into the sands had hardly been a difficult one, but she saw on the faces of some of the younger boys that looking wasn't at all what they'd wanted in return for the effort of entering the grounds. She shook her head, grinning at a rather sand-colored egg. Vaguely, she wondered how hard the shell was, but dared not touch it. Best not to bother a dying dragon with fussing about her eggs more than need be. Talera took a step back, toward the master.
“Sir,” she asked quietly, hoping for her words to go unheard by her peers, “What will happen when she dies? Do you think she'll even have enough strength to leave the grounds on her own?”

[Rose of Pern]

N'ven was standing nearby and keeping a watchful eye on everyone. In the typical area for dragons during the Hatching, his dragon was also keeping an eye on every one to make sure that no one bothered Gelwinth. Not that he was young enough to actually stop them, he'd just bring it to N'ven's attention.

He was off to the side when Talera came over and asked the question. He did make sure that none of the younger kids were within hearing distance when he answered her question. "She'll go between here if she can." He said as he glanced over to where the gold dragon was eyeing them all. Her eyes were slowly twirling a red color, but even that seemed muted for the dragon. "If she can't make it, the other dragons will take her between."

He didn't say 'die' as he didn't like to talk about the death of a Gold even if it was a necessity. As long as she understood what he was talking about, that was good enough.

[Deleted]

Talera followed the man's gaze toward the lethargic queen, and gave a grieved sigh. It had been four Turns since the last gold's death, and there were some within the Weyr that had not yet recovered from the loss. To lose another queen so soon was heartbreaking, even for those without that draconic life-bond.
She gave the man a small nod in understanding. No, no one would want to speak of a dragon's death, inevitable though this one was. She was suddenly sorry for bringing it up. However, rather than apologize to the old master, she stepped away to get a better look at the eggs. There was no sense dwelling on what would happen until the queen passed on – it would be a morose enough time, then, she knew.

The eggs were a symphony of colors, ranging in decadence from the shells that reminded her of soil, to one that resembled a flame caught in a swirl of – it was a rather pinkish shade that ensnared it, at least as well as Talera could see from her position.
They were a sight to behold, she thought. Talera supposed she'd assumed that the eggs would be more like a chicken or wherry's, with plain, bland coloring at best. Mark up for dragon-kind, she thought, her eyes glancing over the golden egg.

Now that one would catch a look, no matter what the patterning. Talera hadn't noticed many other girls about. Worrying, she thought with a frown.
Well, at least there was some time left. It wasn't as if the eggs were going to hatch under their collective watch today.

[Rose of Pern]

One of the younger candidates was a little closer to the eggs then the rest. A young boy by the name of Melarl, with sea green eyes and sandy blonde hair; he looked just like a former Wing Leader. Of course, he hardly stood out amongst the rest of the candidates save for the fact that he was getting so close to the eggs. Maybe a little too close to them. The Candidate Master seemed to be preoccupied with dealing with another one of the boys who had been kicking sand at a younger candidate.

Melarl inched ever closer, one hand outstretched. He clearly had the intention of touching one of the eggs but no one seemed to have noticed. Everyone else was preoccupied but he was within eyesight of Talera if she just glanced in that direction.

[Deleted]

Just one touch, she thought, fingers drumming at her sides. One touch, and it she could die a caverner. Once touch, and she would gladly return to swaddling babes and chasing toddlers. One touch, and...
She sighed, her hands limp.

Talera had grown tired of the looking-but-never-touching. She wanted to feel the shell under her fingertips, find if it was pebbled or smooth, and caress the slopes of every single egg if only for the experience of it all.
She didn't, however, and restrained herself by stepping back to look on at the other candidates. She was reminded of the creche, of how the multitudes of children could run and laugh and play – and how they were just as quickly reprimanded when they ran and laughed and played exactly where they shouldn't.

Melarl was closing the distance between himself and an egg. Without hestitating, Telara stomped through the sands to where the boy was, and smacked the top of his hand. She caught Melarl's wrist, plucking it away from the egg.
“Melarl!” She barked, yanking the boy closer to her and further away from his intended target, forcing the young candidate to walk along with her. When she stopped, some good distance from the clutch, she turned on her heels to meet his gaze.
“Precisely what were you told when we came into the grounds? What, do you want to aggravate Gelwinth when it's so close to her time? I ought to throw you to her!”

((Hope that was all right; I figured I could powerplay a little, as he was an NPC.
If I need to change anything, just let me know. <3))

[Rose of Pern]

[[Thats fine =] ]]

Melarl gave a squeak when he realized he got caught. Those big eyes of his staring up at Telara with the clear surprise that he'd been found out. The young weyrbrat was easily yanked along, following beside the woman as she pulled him to the other area of the Sands. "B... b..." He tried to stammer out something but was kind of out of sorts with the much older woman who was easily much more like one of the staff then another candidate, or at least to him anyway.
He gave another squeak when she started to berate him. He stared up at her before he started to do what was probably unexpected. Those green eyes filled up with tears and he looked up at her with all the panic in his voice. "You wouldn't throw me to Gelwinth, would you?" There was a bit of a sniffle in his voice. "I just wanted to see if it really was covered in sand. I wasn't going to push it or anything, honest!"

[Deleted]

Talera set her hands against the shoulders of the young boy, scowl warming to a soft smile. The action of yanking him away did more to unsettle him than any on-site berating could have managed, it seemed. When the child – for he didn't look much off in age from some of the lads she'd fostered recently – began sniffling, she crouched lower to his height.

“Melarl, I think N'ven'd have my hide if I threw you to the old girl. But you must know that touching her eggs would mean trouble, if not from her than from N'ven himself.” Her tone softened as she spoke, hoping to quell the young lad's fears. “Tell you what, after the hatching, we can help clear away the shells from the grounds, and if you'd like, I'll help you find the pieces of the sandy egg, hmm? We can see then if it's really covered or not.”
Likely, after the hatching, there would be sand over most of the broken shells. Talera didn't add this, however, as she'd hoped the promise of a keepsake would be enough for now.

“N'ven!” She called out to the man from across the sands. “Would it be all right if Melarl and I helped clear the grounds, after the hatching?” It would need to be done before another clutch could be laid regardless, and having the candidate master sign off on the idea would surely cement the notion of goodwill.
She just hoped the man would agree to it.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey, Green Kiko

Kiko and Trey perched on either of Fala’s shoulders as she listened to the Candidate Master. They were about to go see the eggs. She wondered what they would look like…. Like overgrown firelizard eggs is what she guessed, but she’d never seen so much as a shard of a dragon’s egg and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Just how much bigger would they be? The hatchlings within were still babies… they couldn’t be THAT big, could they?

Trey eyed those around them suspiciously while Kiko sat chittering softly to herself and attempting to divine which of the candidates might be most likely to give her a treat. Fala reached up to tap the Green and impressed quiet upon her quite firmly. She didn’t feel the need to be yelled at like that boy had been because her firelizard wouldn’t shut up. After the brief explanation of what they were to do, and not do, they were off.

When they reached the sands the heat in the air changed dramatically. It was almost stifling after the much cooler air of the majority of the Weyrhold’s tunnels and caves. Just before she entered Kiko took to the air and disappeared Between with a startled chirp. She wondered what on Pern that had been about before realizing that Trey seemed a little tense, his claws digging lightly into her shoulder as he looked about with eyes whirling orange and yellow and… was that a hint of violet? What was he afraid of, and more confusingly, what did he have to be sad about?

She looked around slowly as the Candidate Master gave them their final instructions, trying to figure out what her firelizards seemed so fightened about. She barely registered what the Candidate master said; no touching the eggs, boys stay away from the Gold. The Gold… her gaze fell upon the huge Gold dragon, the mother of the clutch. Was she what they feared? They’d never seen a Gold dragon before, for sure, or at least she didn’t think so because SHE had never seen one before, but…. There was something very off about the Gold dragon and she remembered how her rider was dead and the stories that she would suicide by going Between forever as soon as her eggs hatched. There was a depth of despair about the Gold that was highly depressing.

Trey let out a soft creel and shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder, seeming incredibly restless and like he would rather be anywhere but here. “Go on…,” she murmured, afraid that talking too loud would further upset the poor Gold. “It’s all right… I’ll be fine, you go on,” she released the little Blue from his protective vigil and he promptly disappeared Between. She sighed and turned away from the Gold dragon to overlook her eggs. They were so huge! She didn’t think they would be THAT big. She almost forgot the somber mood her thoughts about the Gold had brought on in her surprise. Of course, when comparing dragon eggs to firelizard eggs what more could one expect? A firelizard hardly made up for the size of one dragon eye so why shouldn’t the eggs be so vastly different in size as well?

Her gaze was drawn first, not to the Golden egg, but to the Tropical Shore egg. A soft and rather elated cry escaped her lips as she made her way toward it. It did so remind her of the sea…. She was just reaching out to touch it when she remember those final instructions and abruptly pulled her hand back. But she so wanted to touch it… to know what it felt like…. She sighed and looked around at the other eggs… they were so colorful. She reluctantly walked around the others, lingering at most of the blue-ish colored ones that reminded her in some way or another of the sea she loved so much. She ended with Golden egg. It was so much bigger than the others. Once again she felt compelled to reach out and touch, but managed to keep her hands at her side, only the slightest twitching of fingers giving away her forbidden desire.

With a last wistful glance at the Golden egg, she walked back over to where the Candidate Master waited and watched before the temptation to touch came upon her again. A dark-haired boy that looked about her age, maybe a little younger though he was taller by far, was waiting there as well, staring out at the eggs with a rather unreadable expression. “Don’t you wish we could touch them?”

Roruzon

Roruzon listened quietly to all the Candidate Master said. He flinched in the slightest as he had to yell at some dimglow to be quiet. He heard some other soft noise afterward and glanced behind him to see a girl with two firelizards, one of which was the source of the noise. His gaze narrowed slightly but she promptly made the little thing be quiet and almost as soon they were on their way to the sands. Once they reached them he listened to the final instructions before heading off to have a closer look at the eggs. He gave the Golden egg the slightest glance but knew the Candidate Master had warned the boys off about it for good reason. The dragon within that egg had no interest in male candidates.

As he walked among the others, he was most drawn to the Frozen Fire egg. It seemed to be one of the most unique in the clutch and like many of the other candidates were probably feeling, he had a great longing to reach out and touch it. Just a little touch, a soft stroke over the shell…. He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully instead, anything to keep his hands occupied and away from the eggs. The last clutch, the one his cousin Talaria had Impressed from… he’d been left standing. It had been his first standing and he still had quite a few turns ahead of him to Impress… but he hoped his dragon would be within one of these eggs.

He walked around to the Speckled Forest egg, finding the pattern appealing, and back to the Strips of Sand egg for a closer look. He got a closer look at the Lines of Brownstone egg as well, the more natural coloration pleasing in its own way. While he was looking at it he vague registered the commotion of an older female candidate and a younger male, but didn’t pay too much attention to it because frankly he didn’t care. With that he made his way back to the Candidate Master and looked out over the eggs, hoping one of the hatchlings within would find him on hatching day.

He started at a soft voice beside him and looked over at the girl it had come from. It was the one who had the firelizards from before, but now the firelizards were nowhere in sight. He gave a small shrug at her question even though he wished he could touch them as much as she did, “I suppose.” His noncommittal tone and actions would hopefully cause her to leave him alone. He didn’t really feel like talking. It seemed to have the desired affect because she sighed and remained quiet, though when he looked over she just seemed to in deep thought, staring around at the eggs before them.

[Rose of Pern]

Melarl looked rather sheepishly up at her. He sniffled again. "I just... I just wanted to touch one." He definitely did not look like he was even remotely ready to be standing if he got so upset over her telling him about the eggs. He shuffled nervously on the sand as he looked up at her. "Oh we can?" There was a bit of hopeful surprise in his voice. He would probably be a little too distracted to worry about finding the shells afterword but he wasn't thinking about that right now.

N'ven glanced from where he was holding one boy by the ear to look over at Talera. There was a bit of a blink before he shrugged. "Thats fine with me." N'ven said even as he moved to tug the candidate with him toward the doorway into the sands. Looks like someone was getting booted out before their trip onto the sands was over. N'ven would briefly look at the firelizards before wrinkling his nose. He didn't like anything other then his dragon. Firelizards were about as useful as Whers and that was very little. At least according to him anyway.

"Listen up folks, we've got another few minutes. Make sure you get a chance to look at the eggs because we'll be returning to the class room shortly." And then he returned to scolding the kid he had with him, letting the others look at the eggs.