Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me

Writers: Aaron, Avery, Devin, Duskdog, Halyonix, Iluva, Shawna, Sia, Steel, Suzee
Date Posted: 23rd June 2024

Characters: R'lor, Saedyna, Oriene, V'tian, Tirraze, R'vkal, C'rand, B'lyse, O'rosin, Cyradis, Zelah, Cirina, R'fayne
Description: The Candidates are allowed to touch Panitath's eggs.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 20 of Turn 11

R'lor

R'lor waited for the group to gather at the entrance to the Hatching Grounds. "I know this is exciting, but you must be calm and quiet. Don't upset the Queen and be careful around the eggs. They're safe to touch but be _gentle_. When your group is called, bow to Panitath and wait for her permission to approach the eggs." He glared at a pair of boys who were pushing at each other until they stopped. Hide quoted text

"All right, follow me." R'lor led the way inside.

With familiar practice, Oriene headed to the front of the group, emanating confidence and grinning encouragingly at the newcomers who were scared. "Just do as the Weyrlingmaster says and everything will be alright," she assured them brightly.

"Why _wouldn't_ we do as Weyrlingmaster R'lor says?" Vytian countered, and wove his way to stand at the front of the group as well. He refused to be shown up. "Be respectful to Panitath, and no trying to mess around near the eggs." He added. "We're there because she's _letting_ us in."

Tirraze had done this a million times by now, and while she would have liked to say it was every bit as wondrous and exciting as the first, it was not. It was just another thing she did once or twice a Turn.

Obrosin tentatively made his way forward, though he frowned in Vytian's general direction. There were a lot of reasons why anxiety roiled in the pit of his stomach, and that Panitath was _letting_ them near their eggs was no small part of that. He waited until many of the more confident moved forward and mimicked them as best he could, bowing towards the gold dragon like he would to any girl at a gather dance.

**Typical candidate antics** Cyradis thought from where she sat watching with Cyranik in her arms. Panitath did care that her son was so small at only a few months old but her own eggs were going to be touched and though she appeared calm her eyes whirled blue with a hint of yellow.

When she saw the Weyrlingmaster look in her direction she nodded that they could begin.

R'lor bowed to the huge golden dragon. "Thank you, Panitath, for allowing the Candidates to touch your eggs." He turned back to the group. "Alright, group one, step forward."

Cirina gave Tirraze a nudge with her elbow, "Here we go again. Good luck!"

On the hatching grounds, she gave Cyradis a cheery wave before bowing towards Panitath like any good experienced candidate.

Zelah stepped lightly behind the others, grace in her path even as her feet hit the hot sands and she masked her discomfort. She didn't know the protocols for being down her, so she hid behind the others and decided to imitate the calmer, more mature, more serious girls.

Cyradis smiled at Cirina and lifted her chin in acknowledgement.

Panitath acknowledged the bows with a dip of her head. The tip of her tail twitched slightly as they got closer.

Ryvankal hung in the back of the first group, taking deep breaths as he took in the enormity of the situation. This was the first real step in him realizing what he had signed up -- possibly being _chosen_ by a dragon from one of these eggs. He flexed his fingers at his sides nervously, watched to see what the other Candidates did, before mimicking them.

Oriene walked forward, bowed to Panitath politely, and then picked the nearest egg to lay her hands on. She was practically emanating positivity as she said, "Hello little one! We're all eager to meet you soon."

Corland hung close to Blue as they waited. They had both done this before, but he liked to be on hand to be able to give Blue a little heads-up if there were any new instructions or some sort of situation that might be difficult to pick up on just from watching others or reading lips. And, well, it was just nice to be close.

He stepped forward and gave Panitath a bow. He was no gentleman, and couldn't think of a single time that he'd needed to bow outside of the Hatching Caverns, but he liked to think he'd gotten the hang of it pretty well. As for the eggs... he let his eyes roam over them, and moved carefully to touch the first one that caught his attention more than the others, placing his palm carefully against the warm shell. Could the dragon inside feel him? He hoped so.

Blue was more than glad to have Corland to rely on. The last thing he needed was to get himself eaten because he did not hear some admonition or another. He bowed alongside Corland and then touched the egg to the left of the one he had chosen.

It would be so wonderful to be able to communicate so freely and easily with someone, the way he would be able to do with a dragon. He would not have to teach them how. They would just know.

Saedyna bowed to the Senior Queen and went to the prettiest of the smaller eggs, faintly blue with darker speckles in a swirl pattern. She set one hand on the smooth shell. **I wish you could be mine.**

Zelah wandered along the outer rim of the clutch, afraid to get too close. She'd naively thought her experience watching from VIP seats would make her confident - she'd seen the dragonets hatch from eggs and walk up to their Candidates. It hadn't looked complicated or scary from up above. But being on the Sands and seeing how the stands rose up around you... imagining all the folks looking down at you, seeing your fate decided by the eggs... Looking up at Panitath and her massive size, and seeing the eggs from this side and how they were actually big, well...

She chose a smaller one and rested a hand against it. It felt just like Glimmer's little flit egg had, only much larger. She remembered the way their bond had formed, projected that love and affection and desperate desire of what a dragon meant towards the egg. **Freedom from marriage. From men's control. To only be obligated to the needs of the Weyr, not the Hold. To her dragon. To her freedom. To love her dragon beyond all else.** Yes, she'd fight Thread, yes, she'd risk her life. But she'd be free. Anything would be worth that.

She stepped back from that egg, and touched another one, and another one, and another one, until they were told to come back.

Bowing to Panitath, Rilfayne gave a long, sweeping glance across the clutch before heading for the far edge with fewer bodies clustered together. Some eggs (and, less obviously, some people) received half-curious looks as he passed, but there was only one thing in his sights as long-fingers fanned across a warm shell. **This one is beautiful,** he thought with surprise, thumb following a whirl of blue. He'd done this so many times before. It was a little strange to feel sentimental about it.

Ryvankal stuck near Corland and Blue out of familiarity. He waited until most of his group had started touching the eggs before daring to place his hands on the nearest one. It was surprisingly hard! He resisted the smithcraft urge to rap his knuckles against it to test its strength. He looked around, tried to figure out what the other Candidates were doing, felt silly talking aloud but also just felt silly talking in his head. What did one say to an egg?

Obrosin stayed back and watched, mostly. This was all so foreign to him, so wildly outside the range of any kind of experience he could have ever had that he could hardly think about what to do, now that he was here. He skirted around the edges of the sands, taking in the general familiarity of all the others, before finally reaching out to a large speckled egg and brushing his fingertips across the hardening shell.

It wasn't until someone approached the egg next to him that Rilfayne realized he'd only touched the one so far. He glanced over at Obrosin having _his first time ever_ and eventually said in a low, even voice, "It's alright to touch-" tapping the blue-spun shell, both palms flush, "all over. They don't bite yet." Their gleaming mother was another story, but holdborn or not who could possibly be stupid enough to provoke Panitath?

Saedyna focused mostly on the smaller eggs, though she'd seen for herself that egg size wasn't a guarantee of the hatchling's color. She brushed her fingers over a few of the larger ones, just in case. Why was she even bothering? This was futile. Well . . . on the other hand, touching dragon eggs was special even if she had no chance of Impression.

R'lor kept an eye on the group. Some were bold, some were hesitant, but all were respectful. He wondered which of these youngsters would Impress, who would be in his first class as Weyrlingmaster.

Obrosin pulled his hand back at Rilfayne's voice, frowning at the other man. "Ain't worried about them biting." He said back. "How much good is this supposed to do? They're _eggs_. How much can half-made dragons understand what's going on?"

}: They hear you.:{ Panitath's voice filled Obrosin's head. Her eyes whirled with a stronger glint of yellow.

**Don't scare him dear one** Cyradis said and signaled R'lor. It was probably time for them to leave, the gold was getting a bit impatient with the Candidates.

"Alright, time's up, Candidates." R'lor called loudly enough to be heard, but hopefully not so loud he disturbed the Queen. "Please come back."

"Dunno. They-" Rilfayne arched a brow and nodded to the ever-vigilant queen, "make a lot of the decisions around here and know more than we do, sometimes. They _say_ it helps." Considering how many eggs he'd touched in his life, he didn't dwell on that too much, but it was doubtful Panitath only allowed them in to call her children stupid. If he wanted to frown as well, it took R'lor's voice to draw it out, though it was gone by the time he rose. "Panitath's like most mothers - she has to judge anyone who wants to be with her kids." Rilfayne said offhandedly to Obrosin as he passed, running fingertips along the shell one last time.

Obrosin didn't hear _most_ of what Rilfayne had to say. His eyes cast around the eggs nearby, looking for the source of the voice he'd heard so plainly. None of the girls were close enough, and it certainly didn't _sound_ like any of them. He considered, briefly, and panicked, that somehow Panitath herself had overheard and manifested a voice, but surely that couldn't be the case. Still, he could feel her eyes on him and he'd rather they were anywhere else. He straightened, backed up a few steps without breaking eye contact, and took off towards the R'lor and the gathering candidates as fast as he could without making it look like he was running.

"Way to go, Obrosin. I hadn't finished making my rounds," the shoulder bump Cirina gave him as she joined the other Candidates was friendly, though. "I had a good feeling about third one from the left." Or at least it had been the prettiest.

It felt like they hadn't had nearly enough time -- Corland had only been able to touch his favorite egg and a couple of others as he contemplated the dragons inside, before it was time to go. He gave Blue a gentle shoulder bump to alert him, jerking his head towards R'lor, before rejoining the rest of the Candidates.

Blue was fairly sure, too, that it had not been very long and that they had longer the last time, but he was not very well about to argue. He turned and followed Corland to rejoin the others.

Saedyna brushed her fingers against a few more eggs as she made her way back, for all the good it would do.

Last updated on the June 23rd 2024

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Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me