Winter is Coming! (Touching)

[Lark]

That one is twitching. They're not close to hatching though, I think.

Majoriith looked down at her eggs, nuzzling one that kept ranging out and rolling away from the group. That little egg, always going on adventures. Spreading a wing over the group, the dragoness purred a happy sigh, turning her golden head back to Rikula who was going over lists. The survivors of the Apolla fire had started to make their home in Trelis, and it had been a good three months since. Repairs were slow, and healing sometimes even slower. However, it was the mental injury in the Weyr and Holds that were the worst.

There were only some pieces of evidence to be had, and some made sense while others did not. Some people had said they had found things or seen things before the fire, but who could really be trusted with their minds like that all confused and hurting? Closing her eyes and rolling up what she had been working on, Rikula looked at her dragoness who was still waiting for her answer. "No, but the touching would be good to have. Call in anyone who is a candidate or weyrborn...in fact, just call in any non-rider. Holdsfolk too that are here, even the younger weyrbrats as long as they are careful. We all need the boost and nothing better than dragon eggs to do it."

Candidates, Weyrborn folk that are not bonded, Holdsfolk that have come to rest with us, and Weyrbrats we are ready for you to meet the eggs. Candidates and Weyrborn have precedence, Holdsfolk come as well use this opportunity to visit with my children. Curious weyrbrats come but please behave yourselves, I will send you back if you are fooling around instead of being serious.

Twisting around so that she was partially sitting nearby her eggs instead of just curled around and over them, Majoriith crooned delicately and waited for people to start arriving with the Candidatemaster.

(Ooc: Alright, still post in the main plot, we're almost done with it though so I thought it would be a good time to throw this up. As said in the post, basically any unbonded person in the Weyr right now can come and participate, including weyrbrats. If you're throwing in a weyrbrat though, know that they won't impress, they're too young. However, you will get responses nonetheless which is fun.

Post with one touch at a time and PLEASE separate out your characters. Make a new post with each one!)

EGGS

• The Imp
  
  - Fairly small egg, has a slight dent to its side. It's fairly plain in looks, but looks should not be deceiving!
  
  
• The Flower
  
  - Fairly large egg, smooth and delicate. It's decorated with sweeping lines and smudges of almost petal-like markings.
  
  
• The Forgotten Knight
  
  - A medium to smaller egg, the markings look almost like chain-mail, or are those dragon scales? Then there is a streak of reddish brown almost like rust as well.
  
  
• The Rider
  
  - This egg is a larger egg, and the markings have more texture than it would originally seem. There's a sort of rough tension in the design, and the streaks of aged red look almost like blood wiped on cloth.
  
  
• The Dragon
  
  - The egg is a small egg despite its dynamic coloring. By no means does it first seem delicate, but then you see the raised edges and the intricate markings...what is it then; a thing of beauty or something to be feared?
  
  
• The White Knight
  
  - A medium sized egg, the off white egg has pale scale or armor like markings along it as well as high lights. It is clean and smooth despite the details though, and there is a sense of pride as well.
  
  
• The Wolf
  
  - This large egg definitely is plain, and yet there is something eerie and beautiful in its simplicity. There is more to meet here than what you would think, and the creature inside is happy to keep coming with more surprises.
  
  
• The Priestess
  
  - Fire and blood and passion, that is what this medium sized egg holds. There is a calm sense of pride and purpose within it as well, and a mysterious pull is there in the almost "flickering" markings.
  
  
• The Queen
  
  - This small egg is the one that at a distance or in the right lighting can be mistaken for a Gold Egg. However, closer up you will realize that not only is it far too small, but it also has other colors as well.
  
  
• The Warrior
  
  - Dark and green as the forest, this small egg blends into the shadows. It's perfectly fine with that, let it blend. It is far easier and better to do that then stand out among its shiny and colorful siblings.
  
  
• The Lady
  
  - Demure and pale, this egg is basically white with colorful markings swerving in delicate lines around it. There is something to be said about it though, and despite being sweet and little, there is a cold aloofness to it as well.
  
  
• The Boy-King
  
  - This medium egg is not just blue, it's a blue, and it has gold shardit! Pay attention, because if you look away too long this egg will have your mind reeling.
  
  
• The Jester
  
  - Colorful and joyful, this small egg is loud and quiet all at once. There are cool colors next to warm colors, and brights next to darks. It's more than just joyful though, it has a sense of ego and maybe even a type of vanity as well.
  
  
• The Stoic
  
  - This large egg is quiet plain, but in not the same way as some of its more drab siblings. It has nothing to be excited about, and why should it? It is what it is, deal with it. No matter what, this egg just seems to be disapproving of anything.
  
  
• The Thorn
  
  - Dark and beautiful and dangerous, that's what this small egg can be described as. You should not underestimate a pretty red that looks like a rose, because a rose has thorns and even the smallest prick spills blood. Go ahead though, don't worry, it wouldn't hurt you...it's just a silly little egg, right?
  

MOTH's EGG

• The Little Princeling
  - This is a fairly small egg of white and green coloring with swirls of a light green over the top of the egg. The egg gives off feelings of dreaming... but the moment it is approached it gets scared and seems to retreat. It almost seems to peek out at you nervously, but tries to keep itself from being seen.

[Kitsuneko]

Laila was grinning as she entered the Hatching Sands. She had been in the candidate barracks when the announcement from Majorith had reached her, and she went to the sands immediately. She had been looking forward to actually getting to see and touch the eggs up close for a while now. There was no way she was going to miss this chance.

After she stepped inside, she hurried over to where the golden queen was sitting with her clutch. She gave the dragon a deep bow of respect. "Thank you for letting us meet your eggs today, Majorith," she said, and then Laila moved a bit closer to the clutch. So many eggs; which to approach first? She was sure one or two of the largest eggs held a bronze, but then again, she also wondered if there might be an obsidian or a topaz among the clutch. That would be interesting.

A small, white-colored egg with pale markings caught her eye, and Laila knelt beside The Lady. Gingerly, she stroked its shell with one hand, admiring the delicate purple and teal lines that flowed across its shell.

[taylor]

((Splitting Rineska and Kariss into two posts didn't make sense but I'll have Ko in his own.))

Kariss was still in the infirmary; it hadn't been that long since the fire, and the healers were concerned about her. She'd arrived at their doorstep largely unable to see - just shadows and vague shapes - so sensitive to sound that her own voice hurt. Now, she was mostly recovered. Still disliked loud sounds more than was normal, but she could see, though her vision was less sharp than it had been before the fire. Every now and then, though, that sensitivity to sound would shoot up to a painful level and normal light levels would be far too bright for her. Soon after, she would get...well, "muddleheaded" is what Rineska had started calling it, and that made sense to her. Talking would be hard, her words often slurring together, and she'd feel confused and forgetful, like she couldn't remember how to do simple tasks that she'd done many times before. She always recovered, anxiety and muddleheadedness fading after a few hours, but it was concerning. The healers said it wasn't too uncommon following head injuries and it usually went away, but they were keeping a close eye on her anyway.

Rineska stuck close to her side at all times, and so she was right there with her mother when the call came out to come touch eggs. Normally, this would have her utterly delighted, but...not this time. Now she was just watching her mother with the same worried look on her face that she'd had far too often, in Kariss' opinion.

"C'mon Ness. We're gonna go touch some eggs." Kariss nearly picked her daughter up as she set aside the book she'd been reading. She thought better of it, though, and just held out her hand.

"Is it okay? You should rest, mom. Be careful." Rineska resisted as her mother tugged her forward. Kariss just nodded and continued dragging her worried offspring along.

By the time they reached the sands, Rineska was less worried. She wasn't bouncing along as she might have before the fire at the Hold, but she wasn't a dead weight being dragged behind Kariss, either.

Kariss looked first to Majoriith, smiling at the queen. "Thank you for this chance." She waited, then gave Rineska a little nudge.

The girl blinked rapidly and then looked up at the gold, dragging her gaze away from the eggs. "Your eggs are pretty, ma'am. Thanks for letting me touch 'em." She had a look of wonder on her face; she'd not thought she would get to touch any of these eggs.

Kariss knew which one the girl wanted to touch, even before Rineska started towards it. The imp. She'd liked that one from the moment she saw it being laid. She tried to run off towards it but Kariss kept a firm hold on her hand; Majoriith may be willing to let children onto the sands, but that probably didn't mean she wanted them running around.

Kariss was pleased to see that Rineska's enthusiasm was coming back, and the girl even smiled as she reached the egg. "Can I hug it, mom?" Kariss shrugged, amused. "Kay! I'm gonna!" Rineska apparently took her mother's shrug as strong approval, and she leaned over and wrapped her arms around the egg (or at least as far as she could) and pressed her cheek to the smooth shell. "Hi little egg! Mooom. Touch it so you can get this one!"

Kariss laughed a little and laid a hand on the warm egg, running her fingers across the dent in its shell.

[taylor]

Koroniket wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to touch the eggs. His bronze would find him either way, after all. Eventually, though, he decided to go. He'd not gone when they were laid, after all, and he didn't really know what they looked like, even. Might as well figure out which one had his bronze, right? Start bonding a little? At the thought of his dragon, he actually got a bit excited. Soon enough his dragon would hatch! And then they would rule together. What if he Impressed through the shell today? Could that happen?

Intrigued by the thought, Ko headed to the sands. He looked around at the eggs, sizing them up. His dragon would be in a large one, of course. Which was biggest? The rider egg looked fairly large, but so did the wolf... Hmm. The rider was darker, though: Closer to a bronze's color than the white one. Koroniket headed across the sands towards that one, laying a hand on it with a confident, somewhat assumptive air.

[pulp]

Bahari was elbow deep in leaflets of paper and ink, surrounded in his usual organized chaos when the call from the gold came. The starcrafter paused briefly in his notations, his stylus pressed down against the surface of his parchment and creating quite the unsettling blot in the middle of his stretch of mathematical scribblings and shorthand notes. When the dragon finished invading his brain (how ghastly and invasive that was to individuals who haven't had that experience before) he looked down at said blot with a wrinkle of his nose and a small frown of disgust. Oh that wouldn't do, he'd have to do the whole page over again. Never mind, that could wait for later, the last thing he wanted was to give C'lior, or anyone else for that matter, a reason to write him up for not responding right away to the summons.

Granted that didn't mean Bahari was going to jump up and hurry to said summons.

Oh no, the Starcrafter took his time arranging the things so that everything was in their rightful place. When Hatsya popped in him between, warbling with a little thrill of excitement, Baha did his best to stifle that and send the blue firelizard out to his brother--where ever he was--with a small message that he'd see him on the Sands. After things were straightened Bahari grinned to himself and finally took his leave to go to the sands.

My, my, didn't those eggs look lovely. Bahari paused at the entrance, smoothing out his shirt and tucking a wayward strand of hair behind his ear. The brunet took a moment to take in the neat bunch of eggs, and of course the gold that was there overseeing them. The starcrafter inclined his head a bit before dipping into a small bow--just the appropriate amount and not a fraction lower--before righting himself once more. "It's a pleasure ma'am, thank you for the opportunity." Really those were the safest words, somehow his initial thought of 'thank you for letting is feel up your spawn' didn't seem all that appropriate to say.

Bahari stepped lightly out onto the sands, sucking on his teeth and clasping his hands together behind his back as he took the time to look at the collection of eggs that were gathered. Well, they were certainly a bright and dynamic looking bunch, weren't they? He had thoughts as to which ones to touch, but like all things he was holding back and brewing up a plan to go about doing it instead of rushing forth and trying to feel all the things at once. Even a few of the ones he made a note to visit at some point already had individuals near them, and Bahari shuffled the order again through his mind to accommodate that factor into everything. He'd hate to overwhelm the things by crowding them. Ugh, where was his brother?

Ah, fine, in the meantime he'd go with one that was trying it's damnedest to blend in. Bahari approached the Warrior Egg, idly dragging his fingertips over the surface before pressing his palm against the shell.

[phantomofthewolves]

Kite awoke to the voice of the golden queen. The eggs were ready to be touched! He leaped from his bed and hastily put on his clothes. Nerugui jumped on his shoulder and they headed for the Hatching Sands. When they arrived, he approached the queen and gave a respectful bow. "Thank you gold Majoriith for letting me touch your offspring." he said and went on to touch whatever egg he wished. The first egg that caught his eye was the Rider Egg. He approached it and gently placed a hand onto its shell. It seemed like there was a brown inside this one based on Kite's thoughts on the color of the shell.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Priestess Egg. He quickly approached it and touched its shell. He could feel a calm sense of pride and purpose within it and he calculated that this one held a Topaz. He rubbed it for a few minutes and then moved on to the Stoic Egg. He touched the shell and felt a sense of disapproval. He frowned and left to touch the Imp Egg.

Kite felt a bit saddened by the appearence of the Imp Egg. it had a dent in one side and he thought it was a dud. But when he touched it, he felt something alive inside. He smiled, gave a light pat and left to go touch more eggs.

[Zero]

Gaius stretched loudly, his arms reaching for the sky and hanging for a moment before dropping ungracefully back to his sides. He was bored, to put it bluntly. The mornings lesson was long over and he had just finished up the last of his chores for the afternoon and so, the blue-eyed candidate had found himself wandering down towards the infirmary hoping for some salves to sooth his aching muscles. In hindsight, volunteering to help chop and restock the kitchens wood supply had not been his best moment. Ah well, a chore was a chore and at least it managed to keep him busy for a little while and now he had time, and an excuse, to flirt with that pretty, young healer girl he ran into the other day.

Or he would have if a loud voice hadn’t chosen to rattle his mind at that very moment. Gaius groaned but reluctantly came to a stop as one dragons voice after the other reached into his mind and spoke to him. The second the voices were gone he shook his head to clear it. It was an odd sensation after all, having another’s presence in your head, but he supposed he’d have to start getting used to it if he was to Impress his own dragon. So with a heavy sigh, and a last look of longing at the infirmary door, the dark haired boy turned on his heel and jogged off towards the Hatching Sands.

It took him a few minutes and by the time he arrived Gaius was out of breath and had to pause for a moment near the entrance to the Sands to catch his breath before proceeding. So, after clearing his throat he took a breath and started towards the multihued mass and their gigantic mother. Already he was wanting to touch each and every one of them but he still held some ounce of composure and besides, didn’t that teacher of theirs mention something about addressing the Queen when the time came to touch the eggs? Gaius shrugged, honestly he couldn’t remember but it couldn’t hurt. With a broad smile he bowed before the gold and after quickly straightening he slipped his hands inside his pockets. “Thank you for allowing us this chance.” There, that should do it. Now on to the eggs!

Turning from the large dragonness, Gaius eyed those already gathered and the eggs they were currently hovering around before one caught his eye, demanding to be touched first. He weaved his way through the others till he came to a stop before the one that had called out to him. Dragging a hand from his pocket, Gaius let his fingers run across the smooth, pale, shell of The Wolf egg, anxious to see how the yet unhatched creature would react to his presence.

[/font]

[kite]

Yet again, Malta was warned of the impending interruption to her day a bare second before it happened. Shale burst in from between in a breath of cold air, circling the room with a lazy tilt of his wings, his chirrup conversational. The girl looked up from her perusal of a few plant samples she'd taken, one of which had rooted nicely in the small pot she'd appropriated from the kitchens. She was prepared to dismiss the Ebony's arrival as inconsequential when a female voice disturbed her thoughts, throwing her meticulous mental observations to the wind. She closed her eyes, pressing the heels of her hands against them; the mental interruptions here were draining. For whatever reason, she found the voices of male dragons more tolerable, perhaps because they were so easy to differentiate from her own thoughts.

Well, Majoriith wasn't likely to care much for her opinions on her announcement, and she had a new task before her. The plants would keep, and she'd never gotten to participate in a Touching, though she'd watched a few at Southern. If she were honest with herself, she was a little excited, but it was easy enough to push that emotion into a small box with any others. Squelched, too, were any anxieties surrounding the day. No decisions would be made today; the course of her life wasn't going to lurch abruptly in a new direction just because she'd touched a shell or two. No, save the worry for Hatching's careless sea-changes. For now, she had simply to change into a clean tunic, and run her fingers through her abbreviated hair. It was getting rather longer than she typically wore it, but she didn't find it objectionable yet.

Satisfied that she was as presentable as a few moments could reasonably make her, she settled Shale with the remnants of her last meal, and strode to the Sands. The building heat was something she relished, if anything, Southern-born and -bred as she was, and with the cool fall weather, it was more welcome than otherwise. She didn't see the Candidatemaster, but didn't doubt he was here somewhere; with the Weyr and Holdfolk invited, there were more people on the Sands than was usual, or so she assumed. She easily matched names with the faces of the Candidates around her, but was startled to see a little girl with one of them; were mothers usually allowed to Stand? With a slight twist of her lips, she assumed the woman couldn't get enough of responsibility; the idea of taking on a new-hatched dragon on top of a child was daunting.

Malta waited impatiently for a bit of a lull, denying the flickers of nervousness that kept stirring in her belly. An appropriate moment presented itself, and she acted in kind, stepping slightly out of the glut of people to attract Majoriith's notice. "Thank you, Majoriith," she said, her tone polite, "I appreciate the opportunity to meet your children." The words were plain enough, but there was rather more respect than was typical in her voice and bearing. The Candidate was more interested in being correct than being some sort of show-stopper, and she'd noticed that everyone around her seemed to have the same general idea.

Satisfied she hadn't embarrassed herself, she turned her attention to the shells, lying quiescent against the tawny backdrop of sand. Well, almost; she could have sworn a small dark one moved, just slightly, before a Candidate stepped up to touch it. One drew her attention immediately, but another Candidate was clearly headed for her first choice, and she was forced to choose again.

Malta selected the shell most like the Egg she liked best, and moved purposefully towards the White Knight. As she walked, she resisted the urge to surreptitiously study what the others were doing. It would be better to go in without preconceived ideas, and do what came naturally. She couldn't help but watch the quicker Candidate step close to her pale-shelled favorite, flicking her dark eyes away from the White Knight to watch his reaction.

No sense in wasting time, though, and she pressed her right hand unhesitatingly to the faintly-dappled shell before her, dragging her focus back to the Egg. It was appealing enough, this one, with a faint dappling like armor catching the light. She moved her hand steadily across it, finding the texture clean, smooth. With an effort, she narrowed her focus, bringing it to bear on the Knight; would whatever was in there respond to her?



***

[Thorn]

Jisene smiled as she joined her fellow Candidates on the Sands. Her eyes went to Majoriith, and her smile widened happily as she walked over to the golden dragoness and Rikula. Covered in sawdust she may be, and her hair cut to a comfortable length after the fire consumed most of what she'd had, the young girl looked more like a boy than the woman she was quickly becoming.

"Rikula, Majoriith, it's good to see you. It's a perfect day for the Touching, isn't it?" With her greeting made, she made her way to the eggs, and the one that had always drawn her the most-The Priestess. She knelt next to it, her hands running over the shell in reverence for the creature inside.

She almost thought she felt something brush her mind, something that made her smile, but then it was gone again. She sighed, and stood, knowing that she had to touch other eggs as well.

[kite]

Malta waited a moment, unsure that she should expect anything at all. When it happened, she started, withdrawing her hand from the shell. It felt as though someone were combing through all she was, taking a keen-eyed look at her, but the sensation ended abruptly when her fingers lost their contact with the egg. A tight knot of nerves sat heavily in her belly; this was what she feared most. Being known, down to her core, with every insecurity laid bare and every inadequacy brought to light. She was physically uncomfortable with the very idea, and to have it happen so thoroughly and so quickly was an unpleasant shock, to say the least.

She swallowed hard, and brought her hand back up. There was no other option, not today. She could hardly leave after touching a single shell, and letting the developing dragons get to know her was the entire point. Somehow, she hadn't thought it would be this vivid. Would every shell she touched look at all she was? Tense with dread, she pressed her fingertips back to the egg, as if hoping this lesser contact would let her hold some part of herself back.

No such luck. There was the sense of being looked through, and then, and worse, a sense of almost impatient disappointment. As clearly as if the words had been spoken, Malta knew the dragon within thought she was mechanical, a machine worshiping the rules of logic. This accusation was nothing new to her; some deep part of her was devastated by this out-of-hand rejection by a creature who hadn't even seen the world yet. This was worse than the knowing. This was a denial that she was good enough, and as it turned out, that was her worst fear.

She pulled her hand from the shell quickly, almost missing the addition that was, perhaps, meant to be reassuring. The egg claimed it could take care of everything, and she could simply be calm and happy; that she rejected out of hand. No one could be trusted to take care of much, and certainly couldn't be trusted to take care of everything. She couldn't relax. It simply wasn't safe. Backing away, she unconsciously rubbed her hands together, as if she could remove the feeling in her mind with a physical action. Almost blindly, she turned back to the rest of the Clutch. As much as she didn't want to undergo that searching feeling again, as badly as she wanted to leave, she had not done enough. To leave now would be to give up, and she would not, not so easily. Even if she were rejected again, judged, found wanting. Her nerves tightened up another notch, and she walked almost reflexively towards the Wolf, the Egg she'd initially wanted to approach. A part of her dared to hope she'd have more luck there, but the majority of her was filled with dread. She waited as Gaius finished with the shell, slowing her pace to give him a little extra time.

Malta studied the Egg as she carefully approached, buying herself some time. Plain was not a word she would use to describe it, but its clean elegance appealed to her. The overall impression was of a white shell, but it was marked with very pale grey; something about it reminded her of ice. As she neared, an eerie sensation tickled its way up her spine, but it was not necessarily an unpleasant feeling. It was rather like the hushed loveliness of winter, of life held in thrall; she liked the comparison, and dared to let a little more of herself hope for a better reaction.

She stepped confidentially close, reaching out to touch her fingertips lightly to the shell. A heartbeat, and then she pressed the whole of her palm to it, unconsciously closing her eyes as she reached for any sense of the dragon inside.

[Kitsuneko]

She had heard something about this before, but Laila had never experienced an actual Touching before,and she grinned in wonderment when she felt something from the egg. It was a gentle pressure from the other side of the shell, as if the creature inside was pushing back against her hand. It was a friendly feeling, though, and she almost thought she felt a sense of purring from the egg. She'd already decided she liked this egg.

While she may have liked to stick around longer, there were other people waiting to touch it, and there were fourteen more eggs for her to meet, so Laila reluctantly moved on. There had been another candidate standing beside the Stoic Egg, but he was already moving on, and Laila knelt down beside the rather larger egg, placing a hand firmly on its surface. Idly, she pondered what could be within the shell. It was large enough to be a brown, or a bronze, perhaps, so she figured it was unwise to get her hopes up about Impressing this egg. Still, despite the drab-looking shell, she found herself liking this egg on first glance. She waited to see if it would respond to her.

[Zero]

Gaius frowned for a fraction of a second as his hand lingered on The Wolf’s shell before allowing it to fall back to his side. Well, that had been…different. He replaced his frown with a mild look of curiosity as he allowed his eyes to examine the smooth shell once more. His first egg, the first dragon egg he ever touched, and that’s the feeling it pressed upon him? He supposed it could have been worse. At least the developing hatchling hadn’t tried to shred his mind to pieces. No, this was…nice, comforting. As he reached that conclusion, a smile toyed with his features, and he gave a final, gentle pat to the large egg. Mildly pleased with himself for having picked such an interesting egg to be his first, Gaius turned and headed off to see what else this clutch had in store for him.

Walking around the clutch and eager candidates, Gaius took note of the next egg to catch his eye. The Dragon was smaller than The Wolf had been, but Gaius paid that minor detail no mind. It’s not like size mattered anyways, not in the long run at least. What was the saying? Big things come in small packages? Striding up to the intricately decorated egg, the candidate took a moment to study the colors and the unique pattern they formed. Finally, after a few moments of consideration, he moved to rest his palm against The Dragons shell, curious as to what feelings the developing personality would have.

[/font]

[Zero]

From somewhere in the back of the stands, practically going unnoticed, sat a young, dark haired boy. Glee and unbridled excitement danced freely in his eyes as he eagerly watched the large gold dragon on the sands below and, more importantly, her eggs. Could you blame him? For nearing on five turns now, the boy had been present at every Trelis hatching but the touching of the eggs was his personal favorite. Why? Because for nearly every clutch that had been laid he had been given the chance to touch the eggs along with the Candidates. Which is why ever since Majoriith had clutched he had visited the Sands almost every day, just waiting for the right moment.

So you can imagine his excitement when the golds voice called out to the Weyr, inviting them down to meet her eggs. With a joyful shout, Traylor, the son of the Thief, quickly scurried down the stairs to the warm sands below. His uncle wasn’t here to keep an eye on him this time around, as the Apolla refugees were keeping most of the riders busy. So young Traylor was on his own to explore the clutch today. With a grin much like his fathers, Traylor smiled up at the golden Queen. “Thank you!” With that being said he quickly wandered away, making a direct beeline for the egg that truly grabbed his attention. The Jester was small, but still huge when compared to him, but more importantly it was so colorful! He just had to touch this one first. Reaching out an eager hand, the dark haired boy let his palm press firmly, but gently, against the shell. He was practically shaking with excitement at meeting this egg.

[/font]

[taylor]

As waves of disapproval swept into his mind, Koroniket frowned down at the Rider, very nearly scowling. It wanted blood, did it? Must be a garnet, then. Leadership wasn't won through violence; it was something inherent in a person, and Koroniket deserved it. He shook his head and dropped his hand from the egg, crossing it off his mental list. Definitely not for him; he was going to get a bronze, not an irrational, overemotional garnet.

What next, then? He looked around, surveying the eggs. At this point, there were a lot more people on the sands, and he didn't exactly want to be lining up behind others to touch an egg. His gaze eventually settled on the Boy-King egg. It wasn't exactly massive, and that nearly made him ignore it, but it wasn't entirely surrounded by people, either. It was something to do while he waited for others to disperse. He crossed to the colorful egg, laying a hand on it, though his gaze remained fixed on the wolf, waiting for the sands around it to be nice and empty.

[taylor]

Rineska's eyes began to fill with tears as she felt a response from the dragon inside the Imp egg. It hated her! It hated her because she was a kid! She pulled away from it and cast a horrified look at her mother, who was frowning. "Mom, that one hates me!"

Kariss had felt something a bit more positive towards the end, but...it had felt forced, and there was no denying that that first reaction had been negative. She scooped Rineska up into her arms, settling the child on her hip and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Well then I just won't get that one, huh? Can't have my dragon hating you." She pet Rineska's hair lightly and then looked around.

Moth's egg - the Little Princeling - was so far untouched, and Kariss headed towards that one. It was small and didn't look overly threatening. "Here, Ness. Let's try this one." She set her daughter down and pressed a hand to the egg. Rineska hesitated a moment and then lightly touched the egg, just the tips of her fingers grazing it; she was far more nervous now.