Participants:
| Date: | 25th August 2010 |
|---|---|
| Location: | Eastern Weyr: Lower Hatching Sands |
| Synopsis: | Alara oversees a group of candidates, Ciara among them, touching Rauzath's eggs. |
| Rating: | PG-13 |
| Logger: | Ciara |
The Lower Hatching Sands are laid open for all the Weyr to see, in stark contrast to the closed caverns at the north. A large, circular area, naturally heated by geothermic energy, these sands are kept perpetually warm. Because of the southern continent's mild climate, this bowl is the warmer of the two, though it is much more public.
The sky is drizzling, as it has been for most of this cluctch's time on the sands. However, the eggs still harden. Due to the nature of the protections around the two sets of hatching sands, the queens and their riders have been allowing small groups of people in to touch the eggs at a time. More chance of watching each one. Alara and Rauzath have allowed this small group in, and she moves toward the guarding bronzes, smiling. "Alright. If you haven't been here before, please remember. Be respectful to the queens, be extremely careful around the eggs, and be polite to one another. Don't jangle each other's elbows, et cetera." She nods, and then gestures grandly for the group to come in.
Ciara is in the middle of this little group, looking excited and…somewhat nervous. She keeps glancing at the bronzes stood around for the clutch's protection, wary of their presence. When Alara starts to speak, Ci focuses on the Weyrwoman, giving a tiny nod of acknowledgement for each point she makes. And then the woman's gesturing them in, and Ci's stepping across the hot ground with the rest, feeling the sand shift beneath her feet. A question occurs to her, and she edges through the crowd to get closer to Alara. "Do you tell us which eggs to touch, or do we choose?" It's asked with almost childish naivety.
Alara shakes her head. "No, you may choose whichever ones call to you. You may not get the time to touch all of them, because we're dependent on Rauzath's grace here. But if she'll allow, you may get the opportunity to touch most of them. Just be orderly about it, and don't touch one that someone else is already touching. That may confuse the little one inside." She isn't certain of that, but it is prevailing theory.
Rauzath leans forward just slightly, and sniffs at the candidates, seeming to check them over. Having done that once, she pulls back and whuffs a happy, contented whuff, and merely watches them from her place.
Ciara nods her head, more deeply and slowly this time. Her head moves just enough that she can give the motionless clutch a long look as she listens to Alara's explanation. "Okay." The candidate says finally, now with a hint of worry in her expression at the comment about confusing the dragons inside the eggs. She squares her shoulders, but then Rauzath's sniffing at the group and she stays still at the gold's inspection. "She's…okay with this, right?" Ci looks to Alara for confirmation.
With a wry snort, Alara turns to the gold. "Rauzath. Stop it." She rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. "She's fine with it. She just likes to make a point that she is here, and that she really wants to make sure you remember it." She shrugs. "Does any particular one catch your fancy, Ciara?"
Rather relieved that she's not about to get eaten by a dragon, Ci gives the clutch another look. "I don't think I can forget she's right there," the candidate says, now with a smile as she lets herself relax. "Umm…that blue one looks interesting. Shall I-?" She sort of moves her hands, nodding in the direction of the Sugared Sapphire egg.
Alara nods eagerly. "Oh, for certain. It's a definitely interesting experience." She snorts at the woman's earlier comment. "I tell her that all the time, but she doesn't exactly listen." She moves over closer to lean up against the gold, watching the others finding an egg to touch, and moving very gingerly.
Ciara smiles, before Alara moves to lean against Rauzath. Okay, now she really does have to go do what the other candidates are doing. With a final glance at the bronzes - not Rauzath, she knows the gold's no immediate danger - Ci steps carefully towards the Sugared Sapphire egg. She stops next to it, looking it up and down. What does she do with it? Pet it? Poke it? No, probably not that. She settles for just putting a very gentle hand on the nearest side, towards the top, feeling the warm hard shell beneath her palm. "How're you going to hatch with such a tough shell," she murmurs, thoughtful.
There is the smell of the bakery at dawn: warm bread, fresh meat- and sweetrolls and the scents of a mother's hugs. The presence of this mind is up close, and nearly smothering in its affections.
Alara just watches the candidates, moving to speak softly to a young one who is nervous about something. She smiles brightly at him, pulling a small hard candy from somewhere, and giving it to him, in a very familiar fashion.
Ciara's hand jerks back, the egg getting a wide-eyed look. "What the…huh?" Woah. That was…overwhelming. Ci makes as if to put her hand back on the shell, but hesitates. Her mind changed, she moves carefully away from that egg, her gaze constantly moving about so she doesn't hit any other eggs or candidates. The Juicy Fruit egg is bright and inviting and, most importantly, free, so she goes towards that one. Now that she knows roughly what to expect, she takes a deep breath before she rests a hand on this egg, moving it down to feel the texture of the shell.
A party is in full swing. Sounds of laughter, clinking glasses and raucous voices collect. Come join the — Oh, no. All falls silent except for a loud, piercing sound like a Threadfall siren. Instead, this little mind turns inward, focusing deeply, making sure everything is just so. Exacting. Whether in work or play, this one goes completely all out.
Now this one is more appealing. Ci keeps her hand on the egg this time, feeling the focus of the little being inside. "Wonder what you'll be like when you hatch?" She says quietly, again running her hand over the smooth shell. "An interesting one, if this is what you…feel? like now." Looking perplexed by how exactly to describe what's going on in her head, the ex-fishergirl moves on. Three white eggs catch her attention, but it's the Confetti by the Handful egg, with its myriad other colours, is her aim. She looks almost eager for the experience with this one, hand seeking out a spot on the egg's side.
There is also a party here, but it seems to be thrown in someone's honor. Everything is completely and utterly fantabulous, don't you think? The spotlight swings toward this little mind, giving it room to grow and prove exactly what it will be in the wide, wild world.
Alara continues to watch with her smile still present, gaging reactions and counting as each one touches another egg. She chuckles at something Rauzath says, and shakes her head, keeping the reply purely mental. It's their turn to find out about the little ones, at least as much as the little ones can say.
Ciara's mouth curves into a pleased smile. "Oh, I like you." She glances about, embarrassment on her face at the fact she's talking to eggs. But everyone else is engaged in a similar pursuit - save Alara, who seems to be chuckling at something. Is it them? Ci turns back to the egg, clearing her throat and letting her hand remain there for a bit longer. When she's had her fill of that one, she draws back from it, looking about for the next. A candidate leaves the Love is Red egg, and Ci is drawn like a VTOL to the bold colour. "What about you?" She says in barely a whisper, not wanting to be heard. Again, her palm rests on the shell, testing the pressure she can exert on it.
The encounter is with a nascent mind on the hunt. Searching for something, most likely something esoteric, this little mind gives off the scents of a well-laid table and the sounds of the wild hunting canines in the background. Wild wind whips outside the warm, fire-heated room.
Ciara draws her hand back almost immediately from this egg. Judging by the expression on her face, she isn't keen on that feeling at all. "Hmm." She gives the egg a second appraisal, but then she turns away, glancing over at Rauzath and Alara. Everything still seems to be okay so she'll continue. It's the Convex Geode Surprise egg that Ci heads to next, stepping around a candidate who's deeply involved in the Gold Rush egg. That one gets a glance for its slashes of amber, which Ci's only now noticed. But, it's the grey and blueish egg that she lays both hands on, looking expectant for what she'll experience with this one.
This one also is searching, but it's more for knowlege. Not so much experiential knowledge, but a wish for theory, for knowing the hows, the whys the wherefores. However, just as something gets close enough to be understood, it is pulled away by some cruel twist of fate or time.
An involuntary shudder runs down Ciara's back, and the girl draws her hands back, absently resting them on her thighs. She stares at the egg, seeming to be thinking hard. Then she shrugs, and looks over at the Gold Rush egg instead. She can't resist the shininess! The candidate currently at it moves away, and Ci's right in there - though she tries not to move too fast, shooting an anxious look at Rauzath and the bronze guards. Safely beside the egg, no injuries or damage caused, Ci puts just the one hand on its white and gold shell.
Running. That's the overall sense of this egg. Running away. Dry and dusty, externally bright and internally dark, deviousness brought out to the light of day and kept close while running from whatever is behind them with a wild, childish abandon and glee.
Ciara frowns at this one, letting her hands rest longer on the shell. "What're you running from?" She murmurs to no-one - or to the dragon inside? Can they hear her? Then she shakes her head, breaking the spell, and steps back to have a look about. Which ones hasn't she been to?
Alara continues to smile at the candidates, but the smile tightens as Rauzath bugles softly. "Alright, I think it's time to start wrapping this thing up. Rauzath is getting restless." She gives a mild snort and gazes around at the group again. "If you are currently at an egg, finish touching it, otherwise, please follow me, carefully, to the exit. Thank you very much for your participation and good behavior." That last normally wouldn't need to be added, but recent events have heightened security so much that it does now.
Ciara hears that soft bugle, and her attention is immediately on the Weyrwoman for what she has to say. And then she's looking at Rauzath, her legs more than willing to take her towards the exit. Carefully, of course, because causing an accident now probably isn't the best idea. She does catch her toes in the sand though, jolting forward, but fortunately she's near enough out of the clutch that it's not too bad. Hopefully. Glancing over her shoulder at all the dragons protecting the clutch, Ci heads off the hatching sands, into the relative cold and the drizzle outside.
IC Date: 25th day, 9th month, 1st Turn, First Long Pass