Hitting two birds with one stone [Egg Hunt]

[ambigious]

As it so happens, Ophelia had been enjoying a nice quiet meal to herself when a rather large man with the knots of a mastersmith decided to leap onto a table and draw everyone's attention to him. At first Ophelia kept her narrow face angled to the table as she munched quietly on her food, but her attention shifted as she caught his comment about eggs. Dragon eggs? Lifting her head curiously, Ophelia blinked hazel eyes up at him, squinting to hear him more clearly. No, firelizard eggs. Apparently this mastersmith, for all of his smithing abilities, still could not train a queen firelizard and needed help finding the eggs. Well, if that was the case then he was out of luck. Ophelia would rather let him learn from his mistakes so that he'd actually put forth the effort to train that firelizard.

But then she heard the comment about keeping the eggs, and paused, one hand held in mid-air with a ripe piece of fruit clutched in her delicate fingers. She arched a single brow and pondered. To be able to get a firelizard egg...it would certainly be useful to have a firelizard. She could send messages easily, could send it on reconnaissance missions. Yes, Ophelia decided abruptly and tossed the piece of fruit into her mouth, it would suit her quite well to have a firelizard. Besides, a part of her, despite her best efforts to squelch it, felt for the poor baby firelizards who would be born, alone and abandoned, without any food source.

As the image of a poor firelizard creeling in distress flashed through her head, Ophelia made up her mind. She picked up her plate, threw away the rest of its contents, then took the empty plate back to the lower caverns. As she passed the large smith, she couldn't help but display her disdain. "Perhaps if you learned to train your queen properly, innocent lives wouldn't be at risk." Ophelia didn't care if he heard her, nor did she care if he responded. Having delivered her message, Ophelia stared at him with unwavering hazel eyes then turned and strode out of the dining cavern, her black hair spiking out from her head.

Abruptly a thought occurred to her, and she changed her path from the Weyrbowl to the Hatching Sands. It was lucky that she'd told Shade to stay in their Weyr today, for he wouldn't be allowed to see the clutch. For that matter, Candidates technically weren't allowed to view the clutch yet, but if Ophelia said she was searching for the firelizard eggs, who would blame her? It only made sense that a queen firelizard would search somewhere warm to lay her clutch. Grinning to herself at the pure cunning of it all, Ophelia quickened her pace towards the Hatching Sands, grateful that she'd decided to wear wher-hide boots that day.

As she entered the 'Sands, Ophelia glanced quickly towards Rusith, who was currently guarding the brood. Despite herself, her Weyrblood prompted her to drop into a deep bow, and she lowered her head respectfully. "Pardon the intrustion, Queen Rusith," Ophelia said loudly for the dragon's benefit, her head still lowered, "but it seems a queen firelizard has hidden her clutch from her handler. I thought it would be a good idea to search here for it. Of course, I won't touch the dragon eggs." Having explained herself, Ophelia righted her posture and began wandering around the viewing area, her gaze divided between the viewing area itself and the hatching sands, in case that devilish little firelizard actually managed to lay one there. It also didn't hurt that she had quite a good view of the clutch from here.

[Sher]

As it happened, Primbel did hear her remark. His only response, however, was a loud guffaw that turned into half-strangled coughing. Poor girl; he'd pity her if she ever had children, for certain; they'd disabuse her notions of 'training' creatures. If a firelizard didn't show her sooner! He was in such a condition that he didn't recover until the young woman had already stepped off, out of range of any rebuttal he might've made.

--------On the Sands-----

Rusith lifted her head from the clutch the moment Ophelia spoke. Her eyes spun with equal wariness and amusement, the yellow-green swirl bright in the gloom of the shadow she curled in. You'd best behave,[/color] was all she said. She could have told the candidate exactly what she wanted to know, but she wasn't asked. It was good to see that at least one of the candidates had a spine; the girl's gut had carried it this far, it would probably see her to her goal as well.

Ophelia passed the halfway marker between the ground entrance to the Hatching Caverns and the end of the viewing tiers, and aside from the drippy places where snow had melted on its way into the hole in the cavern roof, there had been nothing to see. Would she continue?

[ambigious]

[ooc: haha! that's probably the best way to respond to Ophelia ;P ]

Unfortunately Primbel had completely passed from Ophelia's mind, since he no longer served her purposes, so the guffawing was lost on the young woman. However, the moment she felt the queen's voice in her mind Ophelia stiffened slightly. She hadn't been expecting a response and for a moment paused in her searching, one leg poised as if to step. Despite her preconceptions about dragonriders, this bias did not extend to the dragons themselves. In her mind, they were merely bystanders and spectators to the utter moral deficit of mankind. Thus, Ophelia glanced over at Rusith and for a split second let her guard down. A warm, mischievous smile crossed her face, her hazel eyes twinkling.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she responded in good humor, then returned to her Searching, heartened by the fact that the Queen had spoken to her. Once she reached the halfway point, however, Ophelia frowned and twisted around to track her path. Had she missed something? Her gaze skimmed quickly over the viewing area once more, but nothing showed itself. The frown deepened as she turned back, pondering her next move. With a shrug of her shoulders she continued walking forward, then abruptly paused once more, her brain kicking into gear. Duh, the sands...

With graceful movements, Ophelia whirled towards Rusith and rested her forearms against the ledge of the viewing tier. She seemed relaxed, which was uncharacteristic to say the least, and tilted her head up towards the large gold. "Not that I'd dare lay a foot on the precious sands of hatching," Ophelia began sarcastically, "but if there was a firelizard egg on the Sands, would you happen to search on the sands themselves...?"

[Sher]

Rusith had watched the girl's progress, using a half-outstretched wing to make up for the space her head and neck would've warmed. A human might have had trouble picking Ophelia's words individual words out from the general hum of her voice at this distance. Dragon ears were keen, though, and the gold was now more amused than worried at the girl's spunk. Otherwise she might not have bothered with a reply. If there were a firelizard egg on the Sands, she said, a touch sharply, it would hardly be anywhere near Brinleth's eggs. Sulee doesn't like me.[/color][/i] There. Encouragement of a general sense, but no admission of whether there was a firelizard egg.

Humans were so interesting. Thirty-seven Turns of life, and their actions were still hard to fathom for the tawny gold. Supreme unconcern brimmed in the motion as Rusith curled her head away to nibble at a bit of sand sticking to a still-damp oil spot on her hide. One eye was still trained on Ophelia, however. Candidates by their very nature were a naughty bunch. Just because this one was a bit older than most didn't mean she seemed any more mature in Rusith's mind. She had a long enough memory to recall that sneaking touches while the clutchmother was away or asleep had been a favorite pastime at Telgar Weyr; it might not be much different here.

[ambigious]

[ooc: bahaha totally asking for it XD]

Although she'd been aware of the queen dragon following her movements, Ophelia gave no outward notion of it. After all, she wasn't doing anything wrong, was she? Not yet, at least. As she continued to lean against the railing, Ophelia studied Rusith for a moment, pondering. If all of the rumors were true, and the bond between a dragon and its rider was one of the strongest on Pern, then why did dragons choose so poorly? Or perhaps, having been chosen, the new dragonriders gave up any pretenses of trying, and merely dissolved into the spineless individuals she'd had the pleasure of knowing. Either way, it was hard to believe that dragons could be capable of the things that humans did.

When the queen's sharp tone entered her mind, Ophelia arched a brow in what could only be described as impudent. "Really? Why not? Is the little cousin jealous," Ophelia added as she pushed away from the railing and continued walking the rest of the way down the viewing area. "I guess I'll have to check up here before I get down there."

[Sher]

The idea of Sulee being jealous was so absurd, Rusith snorted gustily as though the thought had tickled her nose as well as her fancy. She got to her feet, careful to avoid accidental roughness with the eggs, and folded her wing with a flick. Silently- or, at least, without additional commentary- she quick-stepped across the Sands toward Ophelia, rumbling in her chest. Her eyes were more green than yellow, but that thin thread of wariness was still present in them.

Rather than slowing when she came near, the gold leaped into a sudden glide for the final few lengths, the rumble turning into a fierce, brassy bugle. Her maw gaped open in threat, seeming to aim right for the candidate's head!

[ambigious]

As she continued to slide along, Ophelia dragged her feet lightly against the stone of the viewing area, her head tilted down towards the ground. Although most of her attention was focused on her surroundings, as she tried to spot the glint of a mottled shell or even a distended lump on the ground, another part of her mind wandered. Despite herself, she wondered what it would be like to ride a dragon. She certainly wouldn't be like the rest of the dragonriding, bumbling fools who she'd previously encountered. In fact, she'd set a new example; she'd show all of Pern, as well as all of the dragonriders, what it truly meant to ride a dragon of Pern and defend it from Thread. It wasn't enough to just sit on its neck, you had to live it, breathe it, feel it.

As these thoughts ruminated in Ophelia's mind, her gaze still jumping around the stands, Rusith's approach went unnoticed. She didn't even hear the gusty sigh of the queen, although a slight shuffling did alert her to something. However, she assumed that it was merely Rusith shifting into a more comfortable stance around the eggs. So when an ear-splitting bugle abruptly assaulted her, Ophelia's heart leapt into her throat and she jumped and whirled, eyes wide with fear. After a split second, however, her expression changed and her eyes flashed angrily. It wasn't in her nature to be easily surprised, and it irked her that she'd been caught off guard.

For a moment her blood froze as she saw the gaping maw of the queen, but then she forced herself to remain where she was, despite the fact her heart was still hammering wildly in her ribs. She decided to blame that on a basic human instinct that told her a dragon easily 40 feet taller than herself was a danger to her weak, soft-skinned body. However, the adrenaline flowing through her veins merely added fuel to the fire and she glared at Rusith, standing her ground and staring down the queen. "Was that really necessary?" she bellowed irritably, hands curling into fists at her side. "If you wanted to scare me, you could've done it in a much more creative way. Besides, you'd never harm a human," Ophelia added with a scoff, her face still contorted into an angry grimace.

[Sher]

The alteration of Ophelia's features, from fear to outrage, was not lost on the dragon, in the moments before impact would have been made. Savage satisfaction seethed through the gold. Good; the human was still capable of feeling fear. Many thought fear was a weakness, but Rusith believed fear led to caution. If there was even a seed of it in the girl, perhaps her reckless attitude (as the dragon saw her rebuttal to the fright) could be tempered with time.

Rusith put her feet down to skid to a halt in the sand, hopping oddly over a humped-up spot; she almost mis-timed the stop, which probably would have bowled the girl over- something the dragon didn't want. The gold pulled her head down until her eye was level with Ophelia's head, watching her face closely and staring her down in return. Creativity isn't my strong point, except in a reproductive sense,[/color] she answered in a dangerously quiet tone. She wouldn't harm a human, would she? Is that... a dare? Her claws clenched into the sand, wings half-mantling. Never is an awfully absolute word.[/color]

Kadia would not approve of Hers teaching this young whelp a harsh lesson about what a dragon would or would not do.

But Kadia was nowhere nearby.

[ambigious]

Despite her attempts to stand up to the queen dragon, when Rusith came dangerously close to knocking her over Ophelia did become mildly alarmed. Reacting instinctively, the girl turned and leaped up onto a higher step of the viewing tier, her movements swift and graceful. Once she was settled she whirled back around, her slight figure completely dwarfed by the large dragon. However, something odd about Rusith's movements caught her attention and drew her gaze towards the Sands just in time to see a small hump. Immediately her mind went towards the firelizard clutch and she leaned forward as if to take a step, but was abruptly cut short by Rusith's muzzle being thrust mere inches from her face.

Ophelia stiffened as she stared into a pair of huge, whirling eyes that seemed to regard her as one would a child. That only caused Ophelia's irritation to grow. It was difficult, being this close to Rusith, not to avert her gaze, but somehow she managed it. "Reproductive sense?" Ophelia repeated and arched a brow. "Interesting. I look forward to seeing it." Was that a challenge in her voice? Oh dear Faranth, it was. At the dragon's comment, for a split second Ophelia began to worry. Then the absolute lunacy of the situation crashed over her like a wave. The fact that she had come to the Hatching Sands to search for a firelizard egg and had gotten into an argument with a queen dragon? What in Faranth's name? Quite abruptly, Ophelia doubled over with laughter, holding her stomach to keep it from aching. The heightened emotions in the heat of the moment probably also fueled this fit of mirth, but she'd never admit to that aloud.

"How old are you?" she managed to bark out sardonically between fits of laughter, which sounded surprisingly rich and warm, despite Ophelia's cold demeanor.

[Sher]

Rusith didn't allow herself the satisfaction of giving Ophelia's impertinent arse a good thwack of the tail, though assuredly it had been earned and then some. Rather than being impressed with the girl's courage in the face of a threat, however, she was angered. This face-off reminded the gold of Kadia's interaction with her daughter. Except the girl wasn't screaming at her about parental authority.

The dragon watched the girl use up some energy bawling with laughter. Her wings stretched fully, then folded. When Ophelia came up for air, Rusith's face was pulled back a few inches, but she was still the subject of intense scrutiny. I meant clutching, not mating,[/color] she clarified in the same even tone as before, tail tips twitching in an almost feline fashion. I'm old enough to know better, and too young to care. Something we apparently have in common.[/color] The gold shook her head slowly, a very human gesture, and spun neatly to stalk back toward Brinleth's eggs.

Soon, very soon, the candidates would all be invited here to make physical and - if possible - deeper connections to the eggs. It would be... telling... to see which of the dragon fetuses resonated with Ophelia; which might reject her. With her strong personality, Rusith expected the latter possibility with a good half of the eggs.

When she'd circled herself around the eggs once more, the gold half-shut her inner eyelids and put herself into a dozing state of mind at once.

[ambigious]

Despite the fact that the gold contained herself, the hair on the back of Ophelia's neck still stood on edge. It was an instinctive response to sensing a threat, and even as it happened Ophelia's hands curled into fists. Would the gold really attack her? The Candidate allowed herself a calm moment to study the queen, then abruptly relaxed. As the Sr. Queen of the Weyr, it would prove fatal for both Kadia and herself to attack a simple Candidate. Therefore, Ophelia felt that she was safe, if for the moment.

"Ah," she said in response, a wicked grin still on her face. "I see. Clutching. Well, I definitely look forward to that, my queen." However, there was a genuine ring to Ophelia's words. She scoffed in response to the next comment, then merely watched as Rusith trundled back to guard the clutch. Once she was sure the Queen was asleep, Ophelia quickly and lithely vaulted over the railing, landing in a crouch to absorb the impact of her fall. She paused for a moment, holding her breath, then rose to her feet and stepped quickly and quietly towards that mound she'd seen in the sand.

Thanks to her athletic figure and dancer's grace her movements were nearly silent as she walked, her eyes roaming the sands. Finally, only a few steps away, she spotted that blue mound, and knelt down for a closer inspection.

[Sher]

The vibration from Ophelia's last few footfalls disturbed just enough sand to spill away from the curve of something oblong, round and colorful. Something warm and all too easy to damage...

((PM incoming!))

[ambigious]

Once the distorted lump became more visible, Ophelia dropped to her knees in the Sand despite the immense heat that instantly seared her knees. Instead, her attention was focused on the little egg as she gently cleared sand away from it. The color was gorgeous, with soft blue mottles in its still vragile shell. Thinking quickly, Ophelia took off her vest -- it was so sharding hot in the hatching cavern anyhow -- and very tenderly wrapped it around the egg, making sure to keep a layer of the scaling sand around the egg. Once she was sure it was secure, she rose to her feet with the bundle and cradled it against her chest as she walked briskly from the 'Sands. Her next stop would be the craft room where she would get a basket to fill with sand to keep the little egg warm.