[Touching] Once Upon A Time

[Spiffy]

Gently touching the eggs surface, Jareth got the immediate impression of the dragonet inside shrinking away from him, very little feeling coming from the egg, as if it were hiding from him, except the fear that accompanied this action. Hmm, strange, none of the others had seemed afraid.In fact, for most of the time it had seemed the candidates were more scared of the eggs than the eggs were of the candidates, especially that pale kid that was wandering about and flinching at every egg he touched. He'd hate to think what would happen if this egg chose that one - the two together wold never survive Weyrlinghood, not here at least. Not with the likes of him around.

He stood, leaving the paranoid little egg to it's fears, looking around at the eggs and candidates. There weren't many he hadn't touched now. Maybe two, possibly three left. The black egg at the back somehow caught his eye, and he headed toward that, thinking that he hadn't see that one before, only seeing the flash of colour at its base when he knelt down beside it.

(( Flickering Flame Egg Please! ))

[Mikki]

As exciting as the touching was, one woman had unfortunately had to step out for a moment. She had gotten light headed. The combination of heat, excitement, and lack of fluids had gotten to her. So she had taken a brief respite out in the cooler air by the beach. The lass had drank two glasses of water to fortify herself too, kindly provided by one of the Weyrlings that had shown up. Once she felt comfortable with her own stability the Healer ventured back into the sands.

Taking a deep breath Milune shifted, twisting as she took in the sight of the grounds. All of the eggs had been unearthed now. A few of them had her arching a brow. They were quite colorful. But generally she was just pleased to see that they at least looked healthy. Nobody could fault Semith for her ability to clutch good looking eggs. In her book, that was a plus. The gold was getting enough flack as it was. "Hello again Semith," she greeted the Queen once more, even waving to the large happy clutch mother as she strode towards one of the eggs.

Having picked one at random the Healer turned to find herself face to shell with the Grandmother House egg. For a brief moment she just studied the egg, looking it over. For this clutch it was certainly big. Its coloring was earthy and pleasant. Some of the tension she hadn't even known she'd been suffering gradually began to melt away in front of this egg. The corners of her mouth twitched as she continued to peruse it. But she was at a 'touching' not a 'looking'. So she lifted one of her hands and carefully placed it on the shell, letting her digits smooth over it. Hopefully it wouldn't 'bite'.

[nozomi]

For Jareth:

While the FLickering Flame Egg felt just as delicate as it's clutchsib, there was hope in there as well. Fragile hope, a curiousity at Jareth and little more than a serene sort of hope.


For Milune:

Milune just touched the single egg in the whole clutch that deserved everything! At least, the Grandmothers House egg certainly seemed to think so, something boastful and determined, loud personality tossed at the girl. This egg did not seem to 'strut' like a few of its clutchsibs seemed to - it knew how amazing it was and Milune should know it too.

[Velcro]

Romethia smiled as she felt the cheerful egg. It made her a little sad inside though, since it seemed a very desperate cheeriness. Ro was cheerful, but she didn't force it. It was just her nature, for the most part. Maybe this egg just needed something to be truly cheerful about? She really just wanted to reassure the dragon inside, and whispered to it "Don't worry. You'll find the one you want out here when the time comes. And you'll be happy with that person, I know it." She put as much certainty in her voice as she could, hoping that what she was saying would be true. Then she left off the gold egg, not wanting to cause it any more stress.

Moving among the eggs once more, a bit of blue caught Ro's eye next. To be precise, it was blue and tan. Two different tones of blue, too. How interesting, Romethia thought as her fingertips brushed the egg.

((The Skinny dipping Egg, please ))

[lithle]

Romethia:

Sweet girl, nice girl, clever girl. The Skinny Dipping Egg would project praise and reassurance the moment the prisoner's hands brushed it's shell. She was doing such a good job! And she'd touched so nicely. Keep it up. You're doing just fine.

[Zen]

Well this was unexpected. Was the egg… was the egg taunting him? It was pushing through to his brain, pushing and making sure he knew it was pushing his mind. Confused at first, Tanyrion was unable to figure out what the egg was doing. And then he realized—and then he realized it wanted him to push back. A smile lit his face. So the egg wanted it like this, huh? Tanyrion could push—he didn’t normally, preferring to fade into the background, but he could push his mind nonetheless.

Tanyrion fought, though this was a mind battle, not a physical battle. Tany probably would not have won a physical battle anyway. So he pushed his mind, not aggressively, just a little curious push at first. When the mind did not yield, Tanyrion, keeping his hand on the egg, pushed harder, his mind now unyielding. The egg had nothing on him. It had no memories to work with, and Tanyrion threw himself at the egg with the memories of failure he had. He did not want to fail this time—he would not fail this time.

Such a simple thing as proving to an egg that he was ready, that he was good enough, had turned into something he must prove to himself. It might not have been fair for an egg to receive such startling pushes to its defenses, but it had tested him first, and by the shards, Tany would test it back. And so he did.

Jam Sandwich eggggggy

[Wren]

Sheraz frowned at the great splotchy egg beneath his fingers. This one did not seem to like him; it projected a feeling of dislike and disdain. Sheraz scowled; how could a hatchling show disdain for anything before it was even born? He decided that he didn’t much like this one; there was no hint of kindness about it, nor was there anything friendly or remotely inviting. Even so, there was something wonderful in an unborn creature having such a strong personality, and slowly his frown turned into a cheeky smile. “You’re a bright little thing, aren’t you?” He whispered to it, “Alright, I’ll leave you alone”.

He stood and wiped sand of his knees; it had been collecting there from all the times he’d knelt beside the eggs. Right, where to next? A mottled green and blue egg caught his attention, but at that time it was surrounded by candidates all vying for its attention, and Sheraz thought he’d rather wait until he could have it a bit more to himself. In the meantime he selected a different egg, a squat brown one that was, for the moment at least, not being fawned over. Sheraz grinned and meandered over to it. He hoped that this one would be a little nicer, so far only two of the eggs had reacted in a positive manner to his presence, and neither had seemed particularly enthralled by him. Perhaps this object, dull and mud-coloured though it was, would be kinder.

---

Grandmother’s House, please

[Spiffy]

At first touch this little egg felt much the same as the previous egg had. But it didn't take Jareth long to realise he subtle difference. Yes, this egg was as wary as the last had been, but the fear was different, not as acute, and it didn't shrink away from him. And he could feel a hope, so delicate that a stray thought could disperse it forever. Something inside him stirred in response to this egg. Such young innocence... he frowned, his mind taking him to places that he'd rather not dwell, then he smiled hesitantly, stroking the shel almost affectionately. "Hold on, little egg. Don't loose hope. There'll be someone here for you," he whispered. He felt kind of silly, talking to an egg, and soon broke contact with the egg, looking to see if he'd missed any.

Had he seen that one before? He hadn't seen many people in that area, and had assumed that that was one of the mounds which didn't contain an egg. But there, only visible now that he was standing here, was a small green and blue egg. Not being able to thing of any others that he'd missed, Jareth headed over to that one.

(( Sweet Music Egg Please! ))

[S'yal]

Julian was back! He'd situated the kitten so it was well hydrated and comfortable on his cot, leaving Bell with stern orders to keep an eye on him. The orange kittens temporary name was Fluffers, until Julian could think of a better, more fitting one. He'd had Bell for days before he'd named him, as was his way. Julian bowed once again to Semith, paying no mind to those talking to her. They didn't really matter to him.

Stifling a yawn, he shuffled over to one of the eggs he for some odd reason found worthy of his precious energy and time. Even as he laid his hand on the Poison Apple egg, he was thinking of how he'd rather be napping. The egg could take all the offense to this it wanted, he didn't care. What did the opinion of a young dragon matter to him? He didn't even want to Impress- He was perfectly happy spending his days in the prison.

"What's up, little dragon?" He asked the egg, stifling another yawn that threatened to interrupt his sentence.
~~~~

Farrox beamed as the egg became more relaxed, pleased with how he'd seemed to make it more comfortable. Yay! His talking had worked! He was practically jittering with happy energy now, smiling up at the gold even as he blinked in shock as she spoke to him. So far a Blue, a Bronze and a Gold had all spoken to Farrox. He felt like the luckiest prisoner ever! He was taken back for a moment, not sure what to say to the lovely Queen.

"They'll be the prettiest, bestest dragons ever!" He told her, completely oblivious to the fact -someone- could take offense to those words. He'd be horribly upset if someone did, but that was neither here nor there. "One for me?" He gasped, his eyes wide. "That... that sounds like the best thing ever!" He's so happy it hurts. "I promise I won't forget, Semith! I'll bring you another present the day of the Hatching, okay?" He nodded as he promised her, before pausing. "I gotta go touch the other eggs. Maybe I can talk to you again?" He asked, the note of hope in his voice nearly pathetic. He trusted dragons, loved them. He'd happily spend all his time with just dragons if he could.

After Semith answered him, he'd flounce off. He was moving towards Mordanth, and greeted the Blue with a wide smile and a wave. "Can I touch one of your eggs?" He requested in the most serious manner he could with a huge smile on his face. Even as he spoke he was inching towards the Dwarf's beard egg, though he didn't kneel to touch it until given permission.

He figured that the eggs liked it when you talked to them, judging by the Spun Gold's reaction. "Oh, you're a very pretty egg! Just like your sister! Er, I don't know if you're a girl or a boy... maybe you're handsome..." The albino paused, considering this. "Um... well, do you wanna be friends when you hatch? I like friends. Especially dragon friends." People were scary, but dragons were nice!

[Mikki]

Someone was awfully sure of themselves, at least that's the impression Milune got from the Grandmother House egg. The dragonet inside wasn't even out of its shell yet and already it was so proud. Whoever impressed the creature inside was going to have their hands full. It made her smile a little to feel such confidence though. The Weyr would need such a dragon in the future. Gently, the woman rubbed the shell a few more times, but it was time for her to leave it. There were others who wanted to show the egg some love. She nodded politely to the other candidate who approached it, then moved off to meander through the eggs again.

So many of them were currently occupied, she noted as she gazed around. Not wanting to be rude, the lass picked her way through the eggs until she found one that had nobody by it. Honestly, Milune was hesitant to touch the egg. The shell reminded her of injuries gone wrong. Sticky splatters of blood, crimson tears of life that those whom she could not save had lost. It was a depressing thought and it made her frown. But even if the egg looked like it had been caught in the midst of a horrible accident it didn't deserve to be ignored. Perhaps the dragonet inside just needed some love?

Swallowing thickly and pressing bad memories to the back of her mind, the woman approached the Old Blood Egg. Kneeling down in the hot sand the candidate scooted close to the egg to the point that her thighs braced around it. She molded her body against the shell, belly curving against it. And in a very bold move her arms wrapped around it carefully, hugging the poor thing. How many others had been reminded of death when they looked at it? Remorseful of her earlier thoughts Milune pressed heavy thoughts of apology towards the egg. Nuzzling her cheek softly against the shell she closed her eyes and did her utmost best to shower it with loving affection. She was tender with it, almost mothering it as she strove to assure whatever was inside that it didn't matter what it was. It would be loved, even if she was the only one to show it such devotion at the time.

[lithle]

((Noz and I are dividing these up, since there's so many. If you don't see your character, there're being handled by her.))

Tanyrion:
The Jam Sandwich Egg did not back down. Well, not exactly. Tanyrion would feel a returning push, harder than before, a flash of irritation and, suddenly, nothing. Maybe he'd killed it.

Jarethir:

Someone was singing somewhere far or away. Or perhaps, inside the egg. Or in Jarethir's head. It seemed the voice was in all those places and none of them, all at the same time. There was a playfulness, somewhere inside that song, an invitation to merriment.

Julian:
Irritation flared toward disgust as Julian touched the Poison Apple Egg. Too tired for this? Better things to do? Then do them. This egg had better things to do than be touched by common riff-raff!

[nozomi]

For Sheraz:

Kinder? Kind? Something inside the shell bristled but oh, well, find, let the child think whatever it was he wanted. The Grandmothers House egg puffed up a bit but allowed Sheraz the touch. Condescending, a bit put out, but at least it tolerated the young man. If nothing else, it liked to pretend it was better than the Poison Apple egg.


For Farrox:

Mordanth blinked towards the little albino boy, his slim head cocking to the side in amusement. Cute little thing, not even His could stifle a quiet snort or crooked little grin. The blue leaned in and nosed Farrox. Of course! I told you to go touch others and now it is this ones turn. Go on, now.

The Dwarf's Beard egg lay quiet under Farrox's fingers and voice for a short moment before a gentle awareness stirred. Quiet, shy, as if it were a small child waving hello from around it's mothers skirts. Hello, happy person.


For Milune:

Perhaps the egg may remind people of death but, honestly, the Old Blood egg did not mind overmuch. At Milune's mothering love, merriment rose up within the egg, nurturing in its own way. Don't you worry none about this egg, my dear. Let me take care of you. Tell eggie what you are in need of.

[nemix]

Tiael almost sighed as she felt yet another, sharp, personality beneath the shell. More dislike, well weren't these shells picky. It wasn't her fault that the dragons were either scared of her or didn't spot a good find when they met one. They were probably sticklers for rules and would be here, flying patrols and keeping prisoner's secured for turns on end while she, she would be out doing something, anything, more fulfilling. Shrugging, she withdrew her hand, there was little point in sitting with an egg that wasn't interested in doing anything except be moody at her.

Standing up, she dusted down her jumpsuit, grimacing at the sharp red colouring. Did it have to be red? Then again she mused, it was easy to spot and as she'd realised a long time ago, you could hide a fair amount of blood stains if people didn't bleed like a torn wherry. Right then, where to next? Finding eggs with potential was proving hard, there'd only been a couple really that had responded in anything like a helpful fashion. Clicking her tongue quietly against the roof of her mouth, she surveyed the eggs and calculated her next move. Egg colour seemed to tell her almost nothing about the personalities inside the eggs so it really was pot luck. Size didn't seem to matter either, really.

Still, it was best to push on and spend time with all the eggs. She didn't need an army of dragons, just one, and there'd been plenty of potential in one or two. There was always that niggling thought though, of what if she'd missed another. If on hatching day, she'd not spent time with all the eggs, maybe one would miss she was there and she'd have missed out on an even more comfortable pairing. It was tempting, to return to that blue egg, the one that had delved into her mind with glee and eagerness, enjoying what it seemed to find there. It would be, comforting, but Tiael was far too proud to go running for comfort just because a few eggs hadn't liked her. There were only a handful left to try, she'd visit them all if she could, and then perhaps go back to the more lively ones.

Her feet trod carefully as always, settling eventually beside the rounded, rather muddy coloured Grandmothers House Egg. Its shape was curious, the colours interesting even for shades of brown. She placed her hand curiously on the egg, waiting for a mind to reach back at her own, looking for clues about what sort of dragon might be hidden inside.

[nozomi]

For Tiael:

Exactly! She didn't need no sharding army, most of the Grandmother's House egg's clutchsibs were completely useless. So what if they didn't like her? They didn't have to like her. Neither did it, for that matter. It reached out to her regardless, with no snapping teeth or sharp dislike (unlike some sour little eggs that will remain unnamed, thank you very much) but something akin to curiosity; where the Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum egg probed and stared as well as an egg could, the murky egg Tiael had her little hands on would leave the impression of being watched as well, as if she were a tasty mouse to a hungry cat.

Here kitty kitty kitty.

[Spiffy]

Jareth's ears almost seemed to twitch, feline like, as he laid his hand on the Sweet Music egg, hi head moving from side to side trying to catch the origin of the sound. Was someone... singing?But no matter which way he turned his head, he could not locate it. It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, from around him and even from the inside of his own head.

Wait, inside his head? No, not even that. Maybe it came from the egg. But again, it seemed to be both coming from the egg and at the same time not coming from the egg, just as it did his head and the surroundings. Curious. But the happy little ditty didn't let up, carrying on regardless in its own merriment, seemingly unbothered by everything that was going on around it. He wondered if it was glad to see him, or be ouched by him. It seemed happy, sure, but that happiness had no direction, no apparent cause. This egg was just... happy. Quietly so.

He lifted his hand gently from the shell as he stood, looking down at it curiously before shrugging and looking up. If he remembered rightly, that was the last of them. He surveyed the hatching sands silently, noting that several of the other candidates had moved away to the sidelines, apparently satisfied that they had done all they wanted to. Was he done or did he want to go back to any of them? Immediately his mind went back to the bright blue egg that had so captured his thoughts, and that of one of the other candidates, presumably. Any others? Maybe the reddish one that had left him with such a feeling of desire. Shrugging, he made his way back through the sands to the blue egg.

(( Fee-fi-fo-fum again please! ))