[Touching] How Does it Feel?

[Rust]

It was hectic in N'rak's living space. Keth was sleeping peacefully while his rider was looking over lessons for those who would impress at the next hatching. It really never changed, but N'rak didn't exactly have a great memory. Skins and papers were all spread out across a table and his cot, with a few others littering the floor. He was reading an old lesson plan when he heard the announcement.

Keth awoke as well, and glanced over the mess. "Again? Those will get all messed up when we head to the sands, you know."

N'rak sighed. "I know. Let's go."

There was a pause as Keth watched N'rak walk over, and in silence they headed to the sands.

Meanwhile, Kogran was standing outside, watching the herdbeasts, wondering what he should do. Candidate stuff always came first, right? He had to go! Hopefully he wouldn't be late. It was pretty far. Should he tell someone, so another person could come watch the herdbeasts? Meh. They should know. He headed toward the sands.

Then again, should he change his clothes or something? All this manners stuff was hard. It was easier then someone would just smack him for disrespect and he could go on with his life, but if he was actually going to make an effort, everything got harder. Kogran was nearly to the sands when he changed his mind and ran back to put on nicer clothes.

By this time, N'rak and Keth were already on the sands. The pair first gave a quick, polite greeting to Rusith. Keth flew up to perch higher, and N'rak walked over and greeted Kadia, although he didn't have much to say and as far as he could tell, she seemed a little edgy anyway. He took a seat not far from her, so they could talk if either felt like it.

After a quick splash of water to the face and a change of clothing,m Kogran ran back to the sands. There were already a bunch of people there, touching the eggs and wandering around. Seeing Eavan, Kogran thought of respect, and then turned to the gold dragon. Respect! Right! He walked to Rusith and bowed. "I uhh.... My thanks to you, Ru- Rusith, for this."

He straightened up, hoping he was respectful enough, before turning to the eggs. They were so colorful and interesting, spread out over the sands with no patterns that he could see. He walked through them with his fellow candidates, but didn't touch them at first. He just looked at the neat patterns and colors. He smiled at some of his fellow candidates, but didn't greet anyone.

The Dancing Square was the one he had to touch first. He could feel its need for attention just passing by it, so it got his first attention. He touched the shell, and was happy to see that it satisfied the egg, but that didn't last long, of course. Kogran frowned, removed his hand, and then touched it again. "Where'd you go?" He asked it, tracing his fingers along the lines on the shell. He paused for a while, hoping for something, but there was nothing. He sighed, removed his hand, and looked around.

He moved to Fuddy Dud next, and admired the colors before touching it. He felt a small, familiar frustration about life and obligations. "You too?" he said out loud, but then he couldn't help but notice that it didn't seem like the feelings came from the egg. Weird. "I want to know more about you, egg. I already know about me." he said quietly. When he didn't get anything back, he let his hand fall back to his side.

As cool as this was, he couldn't help but feel disappointed so far.

[ambigious]

As the other Candidate continued to meander among the eggs, Ophelia glanced among them. There were a few new people that she'd never met before. However, it seemed that word of her had already gotten around; that amused her thoroughly and to no end. Thus, when Patala didn't respond Ophelia smirked to herself. If the girl was too shy to speak up, that was her problem. But then that goody-two-shoes Eavan marched up to her, which irked Ophelia. Why did the girl constantly have to act like she owned the place? What's worse was that the other girl responded. Ophelia snorted and walked towards the two girls, her anger rising.

"Pardon me, Eavan," she said with a smile, "but it is positively so sweet of you to introduce yourself to our new friend here. Perhaps you should start with manners? It's rude to ignore someone when they've spoken to you." Ophelia stared hard at Patala, her hazel eyes snapping, before she waggled her fingers at Eavan. "Have fun, ladies!" Whirling away from the pair, Ophelia stalked away. From that point on, the rest of the Touching was tainted for her. The anger that pulsed within her burned her eyes and twisted her thin lips into a grimace. Thus, unfortunately when the young man approached her about the egg, she merely glared at him.

"Don't presume to know me," she snapped, and continued towards the Fuddy Duddy Egg. However, unfortunately for him, the boy had landed himself on Ophelia's list. He apparently knew of her, though she didn't know anything of him, and thus she would have to do some investigating of herself. As she approached the egg, all thoughts of the other candidates vanished, replaced by the sight of that oddly swirled shell. The way the colors all meshed together on the shell, seeming to fight each other for space, intrigued her. With wordless awe, she extended a single finger and traced it down the length of the egg. After an instant, however, she pulled her finger away as if she'd been burned, her expression startled. The way that her thoughts echoed back to her...was unnerving. With a quick shake of her head, Ophelia turned and strode quickly back to the Drum Solo Egg. Without even pausing, Ophelia knelt down and rested her cheek against the pitch black shell, her skin coming into contact with that dark spot. She closed her eyes silently as that directionless rage rolled through her, including her in its path. In that moment, everything else vanished, save for her and that egg. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, letting her thoughts vanish beneath the intense emotions rolling through her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coreanth seemed almost startled by the high trill of greeting, but quickly and calmly collected herself. She nodded her wedged shape head in response, her whirling eyes swinging around to focus once more on Rusith. It seemed the older gold was having trouble with her wing sails, but Coreanth dutifully refrained from saying anything. After all, she was only the Jr. Queen, and didn't feel it was her place to point out the ache. Still, if it persisted, perhaps she could help? At that gold's comment, Coreanth snorted in amusement and glanced back to the Candidate.

I understand. It's in all of us, I think. I know whenever I see a fledgling, even if it's not mine, I feel protective over it.[/i] A tender rumble vibrated through Coreanth's chest as she recalled these feelings, shifting slightly on her ledge. It means you are doing what you should,[/i] she added approvingly. Help supervise? Of course, it would be my pleasure. Do you know if your rider has already set things up for the hatching feast?[/i] If there was one thing Coreanth loved almost as much as a hatching, it was the hatching feast, when all of the riders, new weyrlings, and their families got together for a meal. It was truly interesting to see what happened.

[Sher]

N'rak's presence was something of a comfort to Kadia. He was polite, and a touch restrained, seeming to realize that maybe she didn't want to talk just now. She overheard Hers greeting Keth with similar brevity: Fair skies.

In spite of the weyrfolk mingling with the candidates on the sands now, there weren't so many people that the eggs were hidden from view. Not that Kadia would have been bothered; people knew to be on their best behavior around a broody gold. With Coreanth there too, it was doubly unlikely that anyone would try anything unfortunate. Rusith's vigil didn't ease, though now she was watching the eggs more narrowly than the entrance to the Hatching Cavern. So, Kadia finally began, are you going to speak to me now?

No.[/color] The word was loaded with humor and honesty, and the goldrider understood. Of course. It wasn't that she was upset any more, just that she didn't care to comment. Kadia knew better than to expect any insights into the earlier confusion, at least- and knew not to mention the little catch in the wing Hers conveniently forgot to mention (but unknowingly shared anyway).

The gold actually mimicked a bow back at Kogran, startling her rider considerably and making the woman take another glance at the herdsman. What was that about? Kadia couldn't help asking. That tan-gold head turned to snort at her, and the woman resigned herself to yet another mystery.

The goldrider should have been disturbed by Ophelia's return to the Drum Solo egg. It was almost like she was... communing with it. That IS the point, Rusith told her briskly. To Coreanth, she thoughtfully replied, To my knowledge, she has not, aside from ordering one beast to be slaughtered each day until it is time. To the gold, it didn't make sense, but she wouldn't criticize Hers for it. As Kadia saw it, with one beast already butchered and cut into chunks, the meat was ready for consumption by hatchlings or being cooked in a stew or what-have-you, a sort of head start on the rest of the work that would be required.

Rusith just didn't understand why an adult dragon couldn't go fetch a herdbeast or two, snap their necks, and then shred the meat right there in the Hatching Cavern. Kadia had tried to explain that some people would probably get ill and vomit, which was even more unfathomable. Imagine, getting sick from a little blood and gore!

[weetia]

Patala had tensed, awkwardly when Ophelia approached her and Eavan. The girl's earlier comment had seemed condescending to start with, and Patala had just moved ahead, touching eggs. She hadn't thought much of it, assuming since the girl had called across the sands that she wouldn't really want her own experience to be interrupted.

She still kept her mouth shut, though. She had no idea what the other candidate's background or even name was, and didn't want to risk further offending someone who might have influence in the Weyr. If she had said anything to the girl at that moment, she would probably have eventually regretted it.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kolaris wasn't very worried about Ophelia's response. Of course he didn't know her, exactly, but the way she spoke to him only confirmed in his mind that she was as full of herself as that glittering egg. At least, he wasn't worried until her saw her return to that disturbing black and orange egg. She almost seemed to hug it, and anyone who enjoyed that anger really seemed odd to him. Still, if she did Impress that angry egg, she would probably be too busy to remember being annoyed with him. He shrugged, and forgot about her, moving on to another egg.

The fuddy dud egg seemed interesting to him for a few moments, vaguely hinting at excitement and energy, and he was confused about its name, until he realized that it was almost an echo. Was the egg teasing people, reflecting feelings back at them? That was strange. It seemed like the egg should be boring, but instead he wondered if he was supposed to be getting some great joke, but it was above his head. Or maybe that was still an echo of his own good humor about the whole Touching. He walked away a little reluctantly, but it wasn't much fun to stand around listening to himself think.

A few eggs later, he found himself at the sneaking hand, and shook his head a little sadly at how large the egg was. He touched the lumps, trying to spread his fingers across the vague hand shape, though that was impossible of course. He almost missed the reaction from the egg, the reaching he felt, but he wasn't upset when he detected it. It was kind of flattering, wasn't it, that the egg wanted a little bit of him? He didn't even mind that it was sneaking around to do it. It didn't feel harmful and wasn't that always his own rule when planning a little mischief? He was grinning a little, stroking the egg for a few minutes longer than the others. "I guess a larger dragonet wouldn't be a bad thing," he murmured. "We could have fun, couldn't we?"

[Snow]

Eavan stared hard after Ophelia, knowing better than to say something. However, what she would have liked to say would have made her feel ten times better than keeping it all bundled inside. There was no way though that Eavan was going to cause a scene at the Touching. Let Ophelia pout and mope like the child she apparently was, it wasn’t causing Eavan or anyone else any harm.

”Please, don’t worry about her. Her tongue is sharper than any fine made blade. Just ignore her. Eventually that bitter attitude of hers will get her into some serious trouble. She’ll learn or she won’t.” Eavan said with a shrug. ”Later tonight, find me in the barracks. I’ve a few extra clothes you can borrow until yours arrives. They’re nothing great, but they’ll be better than having to wash one outfit every day.”

Her eyes caught Ophelia pretty much clinging to the Drum Solo Egg. Eavan didn’t think anything of the girl’s display and went on to continue touching the eggs. She preferred to spend as much time with each of the eggs equally, but with the Drum Solo egg being monopolized she avoided it. She had noticed that another candidate arrived and had also unfortunately received the lashing of Ophelia’s tongue. Eavan wondered how many more candidates would enter shortly.

[Rust]

Thankfully, Kogran was able to ignore whatever was happening with Ophelia and the newcomers. Well, he glanced over and he did see her hugging an egg, but he didn't see anything weird about that. Of course, he hadn't touched the egg, so he had no idea why it should be disconcerting at all.

He turned back around and looked at the Fuddy Dud once more. He supposed it was time to move on, and he headed toward the Lady's Embrace. He didn't get close before he began debating whether or not he even wanted to touch it at all. It was a weird shape and a weird color... and a weird smell? Once he was close, he decided it could wait and turned to Motion of the Ocean instead.

It was such a lovely pattern, like a lot of the eggs. Kogran keeled and set a hand on it carefully. The feeling of patience was a little uncomfortable for him, being a state of mind that he had never experienced before. It wasn't exactly bad, the feeling, but he couldn't help but feel like he wanted to get up and move and stop waiting around, despite what the egg projected. He tried to stay longer, and understand the feeling, but he figured that he hadn't had a chance to visit all the eggs yet. He may as well keep moving, right?

He moved to the Sneaking Hand, since he was close to it. He liked the plain black shell, although the weird marking seemed... creepy. Kogran set his hand on this egg, and for a moment, it was fine. The feeling of having the egg reaching into his mind was disconcerting, and he removed his hand. After a quick look around at the others, he set a hand back on the egg. The same thing happened, but he let it. It was a slightly uncomfortable feeling, but Kogran was also curious. What was it looking for? Maybe he should ask?

"If you're trying to find something, I'm probably not the one to be looking in," He said with a little bit of laughter. "I've been told I'm not the smartest guy."

After another pause and no real response, Kogran removed his hand and looked at the egg, feeling better without the egg in his brain. He paused for a few moments, and then looked over at Rusith.

Wait.

Had Rusith bowed to him earlier?

[azure]

He had touched every egg, each one a distinct entity in his mind. Had it been so long since the last hatching or were these eggs really stornger in mind then the ones he was used to? Julim wasn't sure.


He took a minute to look over the area again, seeing the other candidates and a few brave weyrfolk. Sometimes, dragons chose people too old or those who had never been spotted by the search dragons. Who could blame the weyr folk and those visiting for wanting to touch and dream?

He trailed his hands over Lady's Embrace, how could he help it? So unexpected and so funny to get such a feeling from an egg.

Drum Solo was next, with a worried look at Ophelia. What was she doing? She would have the sense to behave in here, wouldn't she? The egg was still as striking, pulling him in to touch it again. Yes, it was still mad. He hadn't expected Ophelia to make it happy, that was for sure.

[Snow]

Neiram just about jumped out of her own skin to have a dragon speak to her. For a split second after that summons she thought she might have been hearing things. Her worries were abated, however, when candidates entered the barracks where she was sweeping and started fixing themselves up. Without another moment’s hesitation, Neiram checked herself in the mirror as well. Her hair was done in one long braid with smaller braids interspersed here in there in a symmetrical pattern. Her dress was a lovely emerald green and she thought it most appropriate for the occasion happening.

With an almost skip in her step, Neiram made her way to the hatching sands. She’d only been here around a sevenday and was finally learning where places and things were. The Hatching Grounds were fairly easy since it was one of the largest places in the entire weyr. Neiram was struck with amazement as she walked into the hatching ground and saw the clutch of eggs and the large gold watching over them. The queen was more magnificent than she had imagined, though she had seen golds at a distance before.

Neiram noticed the other candidates go up to the gold and bow, so she figured she should probably do the same thing. With a spring in her step she strode up to Rusith and gave a flourished bow. ”Hi, I’m Neiram. Thank you for…well for everything I guess. I’m going to go touch your babies now. Gently of course.” She had heard the fact that the eggs real mother had died, or went between as dragon’s do, but in her mind the eggs were as much Rusith’s since she was the one watching out for them.

With that out of the way she was free to touch the eggs she wanted. The first egg she went to was the one that was demanding attention from everyone. The Dancing Square Egg was glorious and magnificent with its green angles and squares. ”Well, aren’t you a spunky thing.” She said as the egg showed some interest in her and then left abruptly. She went around touching each of the eggs, talking to each of them, giggling a little when she touched the Lady’s Embrace Egg. Those sorts of feelings wasn’t anything Neiram had thought about yet, though she was getting to that age.

The Pompous Speech Egg she couldn’t help but find some common ground with. Neiram would also love to do nothing but lay around all day, but she was at least smart enough to know that that wasn’t possible. ”For what it’s worth, baby, I would admire you all day if I could.” She said giving it an extra tender caress.

At last she came to the Drum Solo Egg. However, she found she really couldn’t touch this egg and have some time with it by herself because someone was sitting clinging to it. Neiram cocked a hip and crossed her arms over her chest as she gave the girl a hard, quizzical look. She recognized the girl as Ophelia. Despite the older girl’s reputation of being hard-headed, rude, and a trouble maker, Neiram wasn’t intimidated by her. ”What are you doing?” She asked the girl incredulously.

[weetia]

Kolaris watched as one of the other younger candidates approached Ophelia. The girl was wearing a pretty dress, and had her hair all done up, and he was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to handle it if the other candidate made trouble. Surely, even after practically cuddling that angry egg, Ophelia wouldn't start anything on the Hatching Sands? But that dress seemed so impractical, and if the girl was startled, she might trip or something.

Really, Kolaris just couldn't understand why anyone would wear pretty things like that if it wasn't a gather. It was much easier to explore and have adventures in more sensible clothing. He reluctantly left the Sneaking Hand egg that he had not quite been monopolizing. Really, he had moved away if other people seemed to want to touch it. Maybe the egg would be a brown, and grow slowly enough that it wouldn't be so large full-grown. Those bronzes were just so huge and he would never have time for fun and adventures if he had to oil one of them all the time.

Some of the other eggs were interesting enough, too, though not the Drum Solo, and he winced as he walked away from the Sneaking Hand. That egg just made him nervous, but someone should help that girl in the frilly dress if (or when) Ophelia raised a fuss at someone intruding on her egg. Frankly, as far as Kolaris was concerned, they could have each other, but if the girl (was her name Nerra, or something like that?) hadn't touched it yet, she might not realize it probably wasn't her type.

"A lot of people already have favorite eggs," he told the girl, when she questioned Ophelia. "I'm sure she'll let you touch it, though, since you haven't yet. I mean, we're all supposed to touch all the eggs, right?" He didn't really want to make Ophelia angry, especially since she apparently really liked feeling that way. But Nerra needed backup, whether she knew it or not.

[ambigious]

[ooc: XD I love you guys haha <3]

As the feelings from the egg continued to wash over Ophelia, she slowly began to clam down. It was easy for her to dispel her own emotions when she had another to administer to. However, this meant that she was rather oblivious to the commotion she had caused on the Sands. Or at least, outwardly she seemed totally engrossed in the egg. But a small part of her mind was still engaged with the outside world, so that she could hear the shuffling of feet across sand, and felt as people approached or passed her by.

Thus, when Julim stopped near her, Ophelia's hazel eyes flashed open and she glanced up at him. The look on his face, however, surprised her. He actually looked worried, though she couldn't honestly tell if it was for her or for the egg. Assuming the later, Ophelia couldn't help but smirk and gave the egg a fond caress of her cheek, as if to show that she meant no harm. But then, another presence loomed over her, which Ophelia chose to ignore. It seemed as if the person were just standing there, in which case the tall spitfire didn't need to address her personally.

When a young, impudent voice reached her ears, however, Ophelia froze in the act of caressing the egg. Although another boy's voice answered her, Ophelia ignored him, and after a moment rose and twirled towards the pair, her movements somehow graceful in an almost feline way. Her eyes immediately went to Neiram's face, which she studied intently and thoughtfully. The girl looked so young, with her hair all done up, and she had gone to so much length to put on a nice dress for the Touching. It was as if she hadn't yet been tainted by life's experiences, that she held a fragile sort of innocence that, oddly enough, sparked a protective edge in Ophelia.

Still ignoring Kolaris, Ophelia stepped forward until she stood in front of the girl, and then, in an oddly uncharacteristic moment, put her hand gently on the girl's head. She was careful, of course, not to mess up her hair. "I'm saying hello to my friend," she murmured. "Do you want to say hi, too? I have to warn you though, that little dragon has a bit of a temper." Ophelia then removed her hand quickly and turned a questioning gaze on Kolaris, arching a slim brow at him. "Come to the aid of your lady friend, boy?" she asked sarcastically, but upon noticing his age couldn't help but grin, almost impishly. "I told you not to presume to know me." There was a mysterious note in her voice, but then Ophelia was a hard person to read most of the time.

[Sher]

Neiram's respects were not lost on the aging gold. She bowed her head slightly in response, the tacit approval unnecessary since she'd declared the Sands open. Her babies. It made a queer little thrill run through her hearts. But they would be just as much the foster dragonets of the greens that'd watched the clutch before her arrival, and often since... wouldn't they?

It occurred to her to wonder if, just maybe, that was what the Drum Solo was so upset about. She wasn't its real mother. That opened up a whole new realm of musing that she hadn't gotten to yet, and she stood there unblinking, sort of staring off in surprise.

In a vague sort of way, she noticed Kolaris leaving the Sneaking Hand egg. He'd been spending a good deal of time with that one. Had she even greeted him specifically? Well, no matter, there were enough people on the Sands by the time he'd arrived that he surely wouldn't feel slighted.

Kadia let out a little sigh, eyes drifting toward shutting. With Coreanth watching also, she really doubted her vigilance was actually necessary. Shards, it wouldn't have been needed anyway, who was she kidding? Can I take a nap? she asked, only half joking.

No! Rusith growled sharply. This is too important. Watch them. That's entertaining enough to keep you awake.[/color]

I'm not young anymore, love.

The gold turned her head to meet the human's eyes briefly, but didn't deign to reply to that beyond the glance. Aside from the aches and whatnot, she felt fine. She didn't want to rub it in Kadia's face, though. Once upon a time they had both been in excellent physical condition... best not to think about how long ago that was now.

[Snow]

Neiram didn’t move in her stance of looking down at the girl clinging to the egg. It was quite the peculiar sight she thought. After all, the eggs weren’t going to be here much longer. Soon they would be baby dragons and those babies would chose who they wanted no matter what egg a candidate liked the best. At least, that’s how Neiram thought it worked anyways. Not being weyrbred, she was learning a whole new way of life. It was difficult at times, yes, but she was enjoying every moment of it. Even the chores which sometimes allowed her to do things not even her parents would have allowed her to do. Like feeding the herdbeast.

”Well, I know that, silly. All of us have favorites. Mine is that beautiful green egg that looks like a bunch of dancing squares are smothered over it. I love green. But just because it’s my favorite doesn’t mean I’m going to lie down and cuddle with it.” She said in her own spitfire sort of way. ”And what do you mean, she’ll let me touch it? We’re all candidates here so we can touch which ever eggs we want. None of us can stop the others from touching the eggs. Silly boy.” She said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. Sometimes boys were just the utter limit.

Ophelia then stood up in front of them. Neiram didn’t move as she placed a hand on her head and told her she was just saying hi to a friend. ”Well, you sure have a funny way of saying hi.” She shrugged then, finally uncrossing her arms. ”Nothing wrong with a temper every now and then, as long as it accomplishes something.” She said as she reached her hand out and touched the top of the Drum Solo egg. It really was an angry thing, but with no direction to the anger.

”Hmph. No need to be that angry though. Maybe he’s just upset to be stuck in such a small shell. I can’t blame him, really. I’d hate to be closed up in something like that as well.” Neiram said missing the exchange between Ophelia and Kolaris. ”Well, come on silly boy. I want some company touching the other eggs. Let’s let Ophelia and her egg friend have more time together.” She said taking a hold of the boys arm. ”I’ll see you later Ophelia.” Neiram didn’t know why more people didn’t like the girl, she didn’t seem all that bad to her.

[weetia]

The girl in the pretty dress apparently didn't realize she needed backup, since she called Kolaris silly, and he bristled at that. And, her favorite egg was because of the color? That...just went so well with the pretty dress, and the pretty braided hair, didn't it? Why did girls always seem to care about how things look? "I mean...she'll probably make space for you..." he stammered, "of course we all get to touch the eggs." I'm not silly, he thought, frustrated, I was trying to help you.

Kolaris stiffened as Ophelia stood and turned to look at them. She acted sort of friendly to the other girl, but in a way that made it seem like she was so much bigger and more important than her. That wasn't fair! The girl in the pretty dress was just as important as Ophelia, they were all candidates; Ophelia shouldn't talk down to anyone.

He stuck his chin out when Ophelia addressed him. His lady-friend? She was just another candidate whom he had expected would get a tongue-lashing from Ophelia, though the condescending attitude might be just as bad. And Ophelia said not to presume to know her, but she was really acting just like he had been told she would. He was still glaring at her when suddenly the other arm grabbed his arm like he was a large doll.

"I'm not a silly boy," he finally told her. That was the third time she had called him that! "My name is Kolaris," he muttered, confused. She didn't really need company to touch eggs, did she?

[ambigious]

The more that Ophelia studied Neiram, the more her anger abated. The little girl could handle herself, that was for sure. Although she'd been dealing with J'ain when Neiram walked in to the Candidate Barracks, she'd still remembered her name and knew that the girl was Holdbred. That probably meant she didn't know much about the Weyr, but the fact that she wasn't hiding meekly in the corner awarded her some respect in Ophelia's eyes. A slight chuckle parted her lips as the girl reprimanded Kolaris. Oh yes, she could handle herself.


"So I've been told," she said simply in response to Neiram's comment, allowing most of her weight to rest on one leg so that she could rest her arms on her hips. "Either way, I bet he or she appreciates you trying to figure out why he or she is so angry." The girl was definitely growing on her. Maybe, if she could...But then Neiram latched onto Kolaris, and Ophelia couldn't help the wicked grin from spreading across her face as she stared down at the boy. For some reason the way the boy jutted out his chin amused her. He was still so young, and it was apparent by the way he handled the situation and responded to her. As it was, Ophelia merely gave a slight shake of her head as the two trundled off.

"Remember the candidate rules, Kolaris," Ophelia called out after them in a sarcastic tone, referring to the rules for boys and girls. Once the two had passed out of earshot, Ophelia placed one hand back on the Drum Solo egg in farewell, then finally allowed herself to move off and visit a few of the other eggs, now that her anger had abided for the moment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Rusith continued to converse with her rider, Coreanth waited patiently. It pleased her to be able to watch the Candidates as they moved about the eggs, noticing which egg the Candidates seemed to favor, as well as which Candidates seemed to talk to others around them and such. However, as her many colored eyes swung from egg to egg, taking in the scene, she relayed most of this information back to her rider. Eyrlaina was still in her Weyr, and although she had found the wing sheets and had studied them vigorously, she'd now pulled forth the roster of Candidates that Kadia had supplied her. As Coreanth supplied her with information, she jotted down some notes, her lips puckered as she mused over what Coreanth had said.

You really should make an appearance, you know,[/i] Coreanth added abruptly, startling Eyrlaina out of her reverie. With a blink the Jr. Weyrwoman lifted her head, brows furrowed. I know, I just want to look over this sheet first... You mean you want to look over it four times,[/i] Coreanth corrected, which produced a tart reply from Eyrlaina. After another moment, however, the tall blonde sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "The best way to take notes would be to see them, wouldn't it?" the woman said aloud, to which she received a mental rumble in response. "Alright, I'm on my way." With that, Eyrlaina threw on a cloak, gathered her papers into a neat orderly pile that was -- of course -- alphabeitcally ordered, then departed from the Weyr. Pleased with herself for forcing her rider away from reading, Coreanth glanced over at Rusith once more.

Oh. Well the beasts are definitely a good start. Would she like my rider to organize the feast? I know you and yours have been busy,[/i] she added helpfully. A few moments later and Eyrlaina appeared, instantly regretting the cloak she'd thrown over her shoulders upon walking through the still cold Weyrbowl. With a soft sigh, the Jr. Weyrwoman removed her cloak, gaze skimming over the crowd. She recognized most of the Candidates by their records, and murmured mental notes to herself as she moved. Then her gaze fell on Kadia, and she walked over a tad hesitantly. "Hello, Kadia," she said, adding the formal salute. "Congratulations on the touching. Even though it's not Rusith's," she added in a polite tone, "I know you both treat it as such, and no one has any right to complain. You've done a wonderful job."

[Sher]

Rusith considered Coreanth's offer thoughtfully. How would Kadia take it? Probably with relief, but it would be safer simply to ask. Mine, Coreanth would like to know if Hers should help organizing the hatching feast. Though it lacked the inflection to make it into a question, the aging gold was certain that it would be heard as one.

Kadia touched the wood of the seat beside her, fingertips noting the irregularities in the grain in spite of the intense sanding and Turns of use. She knew what it meant. Others were aware of her incompetence, but now it was out in the open. Well, she'd never pretended to be exactly what this Weyr needed. It was shaming, in a way, that she couldn't do what needed to be done.

It is a strength that you know your weaknesses, Rusith asserted, looking at Hers and lifting her upper lip in a slight grimace. She never regretted choosing a human without real leadership skills, even now when it was apparent how she herself had failed to improve on those skills much.

If you say so. Kadia saw Eyrlaina herself approaching, and stood to return the salute, wrapping her disgruntlement in a cover of dignity. "Greetings, and thank you," she replied, meeting the younger goldrider's eyes and letting the lopsided grin that was her trademark form and fade. "It's about all I'm good for. Rusith informed me that you've offered to organize the hatching feast- if you could, I would be much obliged. I'm better with the military aspects, but even then, not much." The words were a touch apologetic; her expression, a touch bitter.

Do you think they'll last another week? Rusith abruptly asked Coreanth, eying the eggs again critically. She believed that they didn't have even that long, but she honestly wanted a second opinion. It occurred to her to wonder where that dratted candidatemaster had gone, or the bluerider that was supposedly his assistant. J'ain had been acting as the candidatemaster- something that had caused trouble, as the gold now remembered. She liked Ansith; he was a sensible-enough blue, if a bit slow. He couldn't keep tabs on His all the time though. When she'd asked him earlier where his rider had gotten off to, he'd been unable to explain, and was bothered about it. Very mysterious.