Egg Hunt!

[giftwrapped]

....Huh. There was a hat in the bush.

"Hat," I'saac remarked thoughtfully, removing it from the bush and turning it over in his hands. In the darkness, he couldn't be certain about the colour, but his best guess was a dark shade of either blue or possibly violet. The rooster feathers, as far as he could see, were just rooster feathers. ...That was a very strange thing to find in a bush, and I'saac frowned thoughtfully at it. Why was there a hat in the bush? And more importantly, what the shards was everyone over there up to? Ignoring the commotion of the grey dragon faceplanting somewhere behind him, he headed over to where the group of people were milling.

As he drew closer, the shadowy lump of people dissolved into concrete silhouettes, and I'saac absently put the hat on his head as he approached. One of those silhouettes was very familiar, and the other seemed to be Leshta. Few enough women at Warden's to begin with, and Leshta was the only one shaped like herself. Sliding up beside C'ross, he leaned gently against the other man, glancing over his shoulder at - oh!

"Firelizard, C'ross?" he asked, a combination of excitement and wariness tinging his voice. C'ross didn't much like firelizards, and the last one he had Impressed was still obnoxiously bitey. But this one looked....white? No, oh shards! No, she was gold.

"A gold firelizard?"

[tuathade]

"Oh, I don't know," C'ross said absently, fishing meat scraps out of the bucket and feeding them to the hungry gold. "She's kind of cute."

C'ross. Enjoying the presence of a firelizard. Between this and happy Warden, it was a sign of the sharding apocalypse. Everyone run, Thread's coming back.

Still, she was cute. Sufficiently cute that C'ross forgave her for the tree incident. Now that she was warm and secure in the shelter of C'ross' collar, and her stomach was in the process of being filled with meat, the pathetic shivering had stopped. And she had good manners. The little queen hadn't bitten him at all, not even once! The complete opposite of Useless, really. C'ross didn't even know where Useless' egg had come from - she'd just showed up from nowhere one day, stolen half of his lunch, then bit him and vanished for a full week before showing up again.

And then, delightfully, there was an I'saac leaning up against him. Less delightfully, C'ross' peripheral vision on that side was filled with purple. I'saac had acquired a new hat.

C'ross aimed a frown at the hat. It was not the disapproving frown he reserved for disappointing wingmates. It was the concerned frown. The I am deeply worried about your mental state frown. He hooked one arm around I'saac's waist, giving his weyrmate an affectionate squeeze, and with the other hand he attempted to discreetly remove the offending article of headgear.

"There's an egg hunt going on, apparently," he told I'saac. "I got lucky. Or rather, Merceth did. Guess I should decide on a name for her..." C'ross could guess what was bothering I'saac (where the shards had Useless gone, anyway, the green had snuck off somewhere when he wasn't paying attention) but he had a good feeling about this. The hatchling flit, perhaps sensing C'ross' affection for this new stranger, radiated cautious hopefulness as she warbled a little trill at I'saac.

[fellis]

((8, under an old shoe))

Periz was on his very best behavior tonight, as much as that pained him. He hated the shackles around his legs. How was he supposed to dance with these things on? And if he couldn't dance, flirting was going to be a lot harder. Of course, other things would be difficult with the shackles, too, but...he could get creative. If he met someone. Which he probably wouldn't because they had made it so sharding hard. It was impossible to flirt when being well behaved.

Despite his annoyance, the newbie prisoner seemed cheerful enough on the outside. There was a guileless smile on his face and he was polite to everyone who happened to chat with him. Faust, perched on his shoulder, was being considerably less accommodating. The blue hissed at everyone who got too close, which was basically within a ten foot radius.

"Shut up...you're ruining my image," Periz muttered. When the Weyrwoman announced that an egg hunt was beginning, he perked up a little. He wasn't sure if he needed another flitt, especially if it turned out like Faust, but a hunt sounded fun. He started combing the beach, moving frustratingly slowly because of the shackles.

He nearly tripped on someone's old leather shoe, half buried in the sand. "Gross." Periz poked at it with his foot, trying to turn it over. Might be something interesting in there.

[giftwrapped]

"No, I agree with you, C'ross, she's adorable."

I'saac's expression was cheerful as he continued peering at the little gold that his weyrmate was stuffing meat scraps into. Half-stuffed and quiet, she was certainly the opposite of the way Useless tended to behave. And I'saac couldn't say he was at all upset or disappointed by this. Useless was a terrible creature that nobody should have to deal with on a regular basis. But you got used to it. I'saac had been used to terrible greens long before he met Useless. For a moment, he winced, concerned that the stray thought might have woken his own demon, but it seemed that NIcoth had either shut him out or was so deep asleep that she simply wasn't going to wake for anyone at any time. Either way, he didn't mind.

He blithely ignored the frown that C'ross was aiming at the hat, acting as if he had missed the expression entirely. Cheerfully, when one of C'ross's arms went around his waist and the other went for the hat, he reached up and took C'ross's hand, twining their fingers together and kissing him lightly on the cheek. C'ross wasn't one for public displays of affection, but this was a party, between take it all, and even if they were surrounded by prisoners, it wasn't like I'saac didn't have a reputation for punching first and asking questions later when people got uppity. Plus, these were nonviolent prisoners.

"Egg hunt? Just eggs, or other things, too?" he asked curiously. That could explain the hat, he supposed. The hat that C'ross already hated, he could tell. But I'saac was a very persistent man when he wanted to be. And shardit, C'ross was not getting the hat. The hat was currently non-negotiable. Just like the gold firelizard. "You could call her Beautiful," he suggested. "Or Princess. Or Darling." All....well, there was just no other word for it, was there, fruity names. But I'saac was in a Mood. He hadn't been imbibing like the Weyrlings (at least, as far as anyone else knew); but something about the evening was infectious.

Even if you hadn't drunk all that much. Although in hindsight maybe I'saac ought to have had klah, rather than wine, with his late meal. The vintage that had been poured for him had been a bit heady.

[lithle]

Leshta watched the display between the two men with a certain amount of discomfort. Her own experience in relationships was so non-existent that witnessing affection in others always left her feeling equal parts jealous and confused. None-the-less, this was C'ross, who she liked, with his Weyrmate, who she was willing to like for his sake, at least on a trial bases.

"I'll be sure to tell Semith you like her present, Squadleader. Now, why don't you two gentlemen go enjoy yourself? There's food, and I hear music. I've got to stay and look after the rest of Semith's little game but there's nothing holding you here." She made little shooing motions with her hands and managed one of her humorless smiles. "Though I do think Princess is a lovely name. Why not combine them? You could call her Princess Beautiful."

Her eyes caught a bit of red, and she glanced to see another criminal hunting about for eggs. Well, that had been the idea, hadn't it. She'd just keep half her attention there, in case the hatchling was female. She'd likely have to impress the beast herself, if that was the case. Well, it'd make Semith happy.

Periz:

It was quite clearly an egg that had been tucked beneath the old shoe. But perhaps, an egg that had sat in the cool evening sand too long. It wasn't moving. It just lay there in the moonlight, it's creamy shell utterly motionless.

And then it exploded.

The blue firelizard who emerged had clearly intended to make such an entrance, he flung himself out of the egg, wings spread and flapping. Too fresh from the egg to fly, he fell into the sand, throwing up a spray of the stuff like confetti. This seemed to amuse him briefly, and he tossed more sand in the air, celebrating beneath it in what could only be called a dance.

Satisfied that he'd made his presence known, he began to examine his surroundings. What he needed was-- ah yes. There was one. He strutted and danced across the tiny distance between himself and Periz and gave a little bow, wings spread. A bite to eat for the lovely performance, perhaps?

Razzle Dazzle Blue

Appearance

There is nothing particularly exciting about this blue, especially when his wings are closed. He's a uniform color, a dark navy blue from nose-tip to tail-tip. He's neither remarkably large nor remarkably small. His tail is of average length. However, he does have noticible feature. His wingsails are beautiful, a brilliant mosaic of blues of all colors and shades, bright flashes of sapphire nestling next to sky which in turn is tucked beside cobalt. He's also extremely graceful, able to dance on ground or in sky with ease.

Personality

Showman. There's no other word to describe this blue's personality. All he does, he does for the benefit of an audience. He loves attention and will happily learn all sorts of tricks for the admiration and treats such antics gain him. He has little interest in learning useful things. Sending messages bores him. But playing dead, doing flips? He'll perform such things happily.

This blue loves all things that glitter but he's no thief. He won't take them outright. No, he'll try to charm their owner out of them. Anytime a bit of glitter catches his eyes, he'll start flipping and twirling, showing off with the expectation of a return on his investment. Those who don't have anything to offer, he's likely to ignore. Yes, he loves an audience. But he much prefers a paying one.

[Zen]

Wenny spy the ghost first. Wenny chase ghost all over. Wenny scare ghost out of Weyr! Grr!
You wish! Rysk spy first. Rysk chase!
But Wenny did, Rynn-mine, tell Rysk! Tell Rysk!
No, Rynn-ine, no, Rysk spy!
Lie. Rysk lies!
Fine, Rysk find better ghost.

Rynn rubbed her temples and groaned, “There was no ghost this time, my whers.”

See, told Rysk there no ghosts. Wenrynsk scoffed, picking up his nose. The greedy wher wanted to be on top, wanted something positive. He wanted feedback from Rynn and his photophobic eyes glared at her with wanting. But whatever Wenny wanted, Rysk wanted, too.

Rysk know that. Rysk play. Rysk said decisively, picking her nose up, also. But quickly she perked up. Oh, they find eggs.

Wenrysk perked right up, his eyes whirling. Shinies where? Ryyyyyyyynn-mine, Wenny wants shiny.

Rynn looked at her blue, who was already larger than the green who stood on the tips of her toes, craning her neck around. “You’ve already got Ghost,” she said, her green eyes twinkling. Ghostflight, the white, looked up from her perch on Wenny’s back, and chirped questioningly; her quiet chirp seemed to echo.

But Rysk was already prancing outside, not caring that the sun was up and that she would be blinded within two minutes. Wenny has Ghost, Rysk want baby! Go get, Rynn, go get!

Rynn sighed; “Wenny, stay here with Ghost. Ghost, stay.” Ghost trilled and laid her head on the blue. Wenny just stared at the sun, Fine; Wenny didn’t want the sun anyway.

Rynn stood and followed her wher, amused at Rysk’s sudden happiness. Of course; why not? She wanted anything Wenny did. “Where do you think—”

Follow, follow, LOOK A BASKET! It has lump! Rynn-ine, go, look, lump! Rysk quickly nose aside the blankets in the basket, and Rynn hoped that she found an egg.

(( >D IMPRESS IT TO RYSK! ))

[tuathade]

Shards. Foiled for now.

C’ross recognized the blithely cheerful look. I’saac was in a Mood. And to judge from his current behavior, it was I’saac with hat or no I’saac at all. Hat was currently non-negotiable. And as flamboyant as the hat was… Well, C’ross loved his weyrmate more than he hated the bright purple feathered hat.

He made a face at the name suggestions, though. Had to draw a line. “Thanks, but I’d rather pick a name I can say in public without feeling silly.” Scooping the hatchling off his shoulder and holding her in his cupped hands, he gave the pale gold a thoughtful look. “Hmm. Well… Found her at a party, so – maybe Harper?”

C’ross: reliable squadleader, devoted weyrmate, terrible flit namer.

But… oh. They were making Leshta uncomfortable. And as much as C’ross liked Leshta as a person, you didn’t hang around and pester the Weyrwoman when she was dropping obvious hints for you to take your darling sexy weyrmate elsewhere. “Have a good evening, Weyrwoman. Come on, I’saac – “ he punctuated the words with a gentle pull – “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. And unlike the little one here, not a fan of raw meat."

[lithle]

For Rynn:

As soon as the first bit of blanket was pushed aside, a sweet smell could be sensed coming from the basket. A little more nosing around by the wher would reveal the basket's secret. A baker's dozen of delicious, fresh baked fruit tarts. Probably not the most delicious of wher foods but they certainly smelled good to the human nose. Indeed, Leshta turned and glanced in that direction, momentarily jealous that she couldn't participate in her own dragon's little game.

[Nikkel]

Nikkel was largely illiterate. Whatever Leshta's list said, he couldn't read much of it. But a scavenger hunt? For flit eggs? Sure, why not. A firelizard could be useful. Sure, he was in shackles and had no idea where to start looking, but he wouldn't let that stop him.

He spent quite some time meandering around, inspecting trees, rocks, logs, anywhere he thought something might be hidden. It was all to no avail, and finally he shrugged in defeat, beginning to make his way back to Leshta. On his beeline back to the Weyrwoman, he tripped over a lump in the sand.

"Shard it!" he cursed, heaving himself back to his feet. Then he realized... that lump... it looked like something was buried there! He dropped prone again and frantically began to dig, wondering what he'd discovered.

[2, please]

[fellis]

Thank Faranth his foot only pushed the shoe aside, and didn't damage what lay beneath. A grin spread across Periz's round face when he saw a little egg. He had actually found one! Faust grumbled, displeased at the idea of having a sibling. "Shush, you." He bent down, touching the egg lightly. Shards, was it dead?

Then, it exploded. Periz gave a squeal of surprise and Faust jumped between. Just as well, because otherwise coaxing the baby blue into his hands might have been impossible. Ignoring a few little papercuts (egg cuts?) from the flying shards, Periz bent down again, his eyes lit up with wonder. The little blue was positively darling, strutting around like he was the star of a show. "A flitt after my own heart, aren't you?"

He carefully picked up the blue and hurried back to the Weyrwoman to get some food. "Look, I found one," he said proudly. He obediently handed the blue some meat. Somehow, even the way he ate was theatrical. "I'm going to call you Bosie," he declared, stroking his new pet's dark blue hide.

[Zen]

As she nosed her way into the basket, Rysk let out the most pleased sound Rynn had ever heard. At first the girl had thought that the wher had found a firelizard egg and it had consequently Impressed itself to her. But instead the sweet smell of tarts made its way to Rynn’s nose. Rynn grinned. “Sorry, Rysk.”

Why so sorry? Rysks’s mind-voice was deadly serious. The green looked at him, her eyes whirling even in the light. Better than firelizard. Better. Is food. Wenny has Ghost. Rysk has food.

The bright green wher was quick to stick her nose back into the basket. Rynn could almost hear her purring she was so happy. “Hey, let me have some, you greedy wher!” She said and she quickly dipped into the basket, cupping her hands as she brought out a tasty tart for herself. “Don’t eat—hey, don’t eat them all yourself! There’s ten times more than you could eat.”

She pushed Rysk out of the way as the wher tried greedily to eat everything. Rysk sat back on her haunches, allowing Rynn to reach inside the basket. But none for Wenny. Yes? None for Wenny?

“Of course; this is your treat, yours and mine. But we need to keep it between you and I, Rysk. Don’t go bragging to Wenny!” Of course she would, but Rynn couldn’t stop that. As she took the bundle, she grinned at her wher, “It’ll be our little secret.”

Our secret. Yesss. Better than firelizard. Way better.

[lithle]

For Nikkel:

At first, the digging seemed to reveal only further sand. But it soon became clear that sand was shivering, and then, that the sand was digging back. The poor creature had started to hatch under the sand and now it was trying to make it to the surface. Nikkel's digging had helped free him and probably saved his life.

Free, and covered with dirt, the little blue firelizard rested, trying out the whole 'breathing air' experiment with hesitance. But it seemed to be working out well enough. Promising, yes?

Maybe.

He took a step toward Nikkel. Stopped. Stepped back. Started again. Finally, he collapsed just in front of the prisoner's hands. And he would go no further until he was carried and food offered.

I Should Tell You Blue

Appearance
This blue will always be lean, almost too much so. He looks fragile, even sickly. No amount of feeding seems to add much weight, he will always be frail. His eyes seem unusually large and while they whirl in the same colors as others of their kind, they seem a darker hue. In color, he's pale, a chilling icy blue. His wingsails are near white, with dark spars adding a touch of drama.

Personality
Decision is for other firelizards. While they jet off on chosen missions, this blue hesitates. Considers. Changes his mind. He appears haunted by something, some sense that it'll all go bad if he does the wrong thing. He'll rush off on some errand, then hurry back, begging reassurance from his owner. He's affectionate and taciturn by turns, either desperately seeking pets or hissing when they're offered. And what sets off those moods? No one knows.

He'll learn to do tricks and errands and he'll learn quickly. But sometimes he'll simply not do them. Or not complete them. With other firelizards, he's friendly but again, only when he's in the mood. When he's not, it's best they keep their distance. He's not above attacking when he loses his temper.

[Nikkel]

Nikkel had expected to find an egg. What he found instead was an already-hatched firelizard, trying to dig its way to freedom. With his help, the little scrawny-looking creature climbed to its feet and took a few breaths, gave him an apprehensive look, then flopped down beside his hands.

"Erm..." The prisoner scratched his head. He'd never seen a firelizard act like this before. And he'd never seen one this skinny, either. Obviously the little thing was in need of food. He scooped it up with both hands and ran - or rather, walked as fast as he could, with feet shackled and firelizard in hand - back to Leshta. "I found one," he said, and took some of the scraps to feed it.

The little flit seemed hesitant to do anything, even eat. He looked at the food, then sniffed it, then took a tentative bite. Then, finally, he devoured it. "What a little flake," Nikkel smirked. "Well, that's your name then. Flake."

Flake peeped in response. Did he like that name? He wasn't sure. It seemed good enough ... but no, no. It could be so much better ... He tried to squawk his protest at Nikkel, but the human didn't listen. He nipped at Nikkel's finger and all he got for it was a dirty look.

Nikkel considered the impulsive thing for a moment, then chuckled. "Come on now. Let's go back to my cell." Flake curiously tilted his head. "That'll be your new home," the human explained.

Flake, of course, wasn't sure what he thought about being owned by a prisoner... but maybe this one wasn't bad, and maybe he'd provide some much-needed solidarity. Maybe.