welcome

R'ley. Touching.

It's like four in the morning, Nostromoth. I'm not waking up so you can bellow at Candidates for the next two hours.

Sunup, then. The eggs are ready and I will not wait.

I thought you hated Candidates.

Best evaluate them now.

At that point, there was no sleeping. Not with Nostromoth squatting in R'ley's mind insistently, ticking minute after minute until the sun finally crested the Weyrbowl. The Weyrwoman only lasted fifteen minutes before she slipped out of bed, grumbling to herself as she pulled on her clothes and strolled barefoot down to the Hatching Sands. It was a terrible idea, but R'ley was determined to strike fear into the hearts of the Candidates. Blazing hot Sands? That's nice, your Weyrwoman is barefoot. Don't bother complaining, it won't work.

Is there nothing you do that is not calculated to upset somebody?

You wanted me awake; that's as good as you're going to get. R'ley stifled a yawn as she padded across the Sands to where her dragon lay, reaching down to stroke the shells of a few of the eggs as she passed them. "Shove over," she added aloud to the gold, who rumbled and lifted her head to give her a look that was equal parts annoyance and, inexplicably, fondness. Eggs brought out the best in Nostromoth, though they also had a tendency to inspire the worst in the gold, who once R'ley had settled on her foreleg returned her muzzle to the entrance of the little tunnel that candidates had been using to sneak.

"Mother, Faranth, nobody's going to sneak onto the Sands at this hour of the morning. It's not even morning. It's still dark out."

I do not like you telling them about this.

"Get over it, pretty girl. Wake me when the sun comes up."

Nostromoth didn't bother. As soon as the first glimmer of the sun appeared over the rim of the Weyrbowl, she lifted her head and bellowed, the noise echoing through the Hatching Caverns and startling R'ley straight onto her ass on the Sands. Ignoring her rider's sputtering fury, the gold followed the bellow up with a mental shout.

CANDIDATES, FORMAL AND INFORMAL. THE EGGS ARE READY TO MEET YOU. NOW. YOU WILL ATTEND OR I WILL BAR YOU FROM STANDING FOR THE HATCHING.

"You wouldn't do that."

Would you hang your hat on that assumption?

Touching Guidelines

• Protip: to kill the cyberdemon, shoot it until it dies.
• No, Candidate. You are the dragons.
• Shooting the weak points for massive damage is frowned upon when there are dragonets on the line.
• The Touching is open to all who wish to Stand as Candidates - this includes offworlders and weyrfolk of appropriate age, even if they haven't been formally Searched.
• Candidates should please wear clothes. It doesn't matter what kind, but you really should wear some.
• Candidates should bow to Nostromoth as they enter the sands, to show respect. To speed things up, feel free to assume her response - she will let all Candidates onto the hatching grounds unless they show disrespect or similar behavior. Just bear in mind that communicating with Mother is pretty much the same as speaking to a car - she will probably not be responding at all unless you're being a douche. She doesn't like any of you.
• How you want to write your touching posts is up to you. You can do one egg per post, several eggs, or all in one huge post! You can touch all the eggs, or just a few of them - anything goes.
• There is one cool extra feature here - egg responses. At the end of your touching posts, please indicate in bold which egg you would like to get a response from. An admin will PM you a reply. However, admins do not have time or energy to send out fifteen PMs to every Candidate. So to facilitate the process, no matter how many eggs your Candidate touches IC, you can only receive up to THREE responses in PM. That's right, three. Choose carefully! (This is three guesses per Candidate, not per person. <3)
• Neither R'ley nor Sh'ard particularly subscribes to the "ALL FEMALES MUST TOUCH THE GOLD EGG" tradition. All Candidates are encouraged to touch whatever eggs they feel drawn to - boys can pet Gemini and Perseus and girls can ignore them, we don't care!
• Touching an egg does not indicate in any way the egg that will hatch a character's bondmate. Even a positive response from an egg simply means that - and a negative response doesn't necessarily mean anything either. It might be helpful for egg-guessing, though.
• Attendance at the Touching is not mandatory to Impress, but it does help us get a feel for your character.

Andromeda Egg – The smallest of the eggs, appearing even smaller because it seems to be cowering behind the Perseus egg, it isn't the brightest in colour of the clutch. The shell is swathed in peaches and brick reds, with a wide stripe of dark turquoise wrapped across it like drapery. Scattered across the shell are shining pale, seafoam green flecks that take the form of a woman bound hand and foot.

Aquila Egg – This egg is almost the exact opposite of the Cygnus egg. One of the smallest in the clutch - rivalled only by the Andromeda egg - its base colour is charcoal grey, so dark it's almost black, patterned with the same faint feather-imprints of its enormous sister. The shining flecks across its surface, turquoise as opposed to orange, form the shape of a bird of prey diving to earth.

Cassiopeia Egg – This middling-small egg is nonetheless beautifully eye-catching. Sitting proudly on the outskirts of the clutch (notably, as far away as possible from the Pisces egg), its shell is swirled in the pastel colours of springtime. The shining white specks across its shell form the image of a woman bound to a throne - and suspended upside-down.

Cetus Egg – Standing next to the Pisces egg, this egg is of middling size and patterned in greys and blues, the colour of a stormy ocean. There is a distinct uneasiness to the appearance of it, and the sickly green flecks across its shell form the shape of a bizarre creature, a serpentine fish with jaws ready to strike.

Cygnus Egg – The largest in the clutch - larger even than the Perseus and Gemini eggs - this egg lacks the distinctively metallic colours of its siblings. Instead, it is pure white with a pearly sheen, patterned with what seems almost to be the faint imprint of feathers. The sparkling flecks on the shell are orange and seem to take the form of a waterbird in flight.

Gemini Egg – Easily matching the massive Perseus egg for size, the Gemini egg is gold, gold, gold. The rich metallic hue is unmistakable, albeit... strangely dull, not quite as shiny as it seems like it ought to be. The egg is curiously round, almost spherical, and occasionally twitches erratically - as if the dragonet inside is struggling with itself already. The front is decorated with the pattern of two twins holding hands, one twin in all black spots, the other twin in all white.

Leo Egg – Nearly as large as its sibling the Perseus egg, this one could be mistaken for gold. A base colour somewhere between bronze and brass, it's certainly flashy, but a tawny fringe across the back of it and the scattering of shimmering yellow specks that form the shape of a crouching lion give an impression of maleness. Though it is close to the Perseus egg, it leans slightly away from it, haughtily ignoring it.

Ophiuchus Egg – Leaning against the Serpens egg as if to give it comfort, this mid-sized egg seems surprisingly serious. Though the base of the shell is a cheerfully bright sky blue, it's clouded with sober greys and blacks. Oddly enough, the sparkly flecks in the shell - which form the shape of a man grappling with an enormous snake - are purple, a colour that could only be described as Healer violet.

Orion Egg – This egg is unmistakably the color of bronze: not bright polished bronze, but weathered and battered antique bronze, like armor well-worn. If it weren't for the perfect smoothness of the shell, one could almost swear it was dented in places. A single shock of brilliant red streaks across the top of the shell like a banner. The points on this shell are blood red, and form the shape of a hunter, with shield and sword upraised in challenge.

Perseus Egg – There is no mistaking what this egg can be. Standing firmly between the Andromeda egg and the paired Cetus and Pisces eggs, it is the second-largest in the clutch, and its shell is pure, shining silver. The only markings on it, in darker, steel blue, are sparkling flecks that form the shape of a man holding a sword in one hand and what seems to be a head in the other. Though it is next to the Leo egg, it seems not even to notice it.

Pisces Egg – All blues and greens, the patterning splashed across this egg is calming, like waves on some tropical beach. Standing not far from the Cetus egg, it's slightly smaller than its sibling, but a fair size nonetheless. Yet as large as it is, there seems to be very little to it, except for the flecks of shining silver that form the pattern of two leaping fish across the shell.

Sagittarius Egg – An egg in the mid-to-large spectrum, this shell is all fiery reds and oranges, with a sheen that from some angles makes the colours seem to dance like live flame. The specks across the shell are silvery-black, very similar to mica, and form the shape of a creature - half-man, half-horse - angling a nocked bow at the sky.

Serpens Egg – This small egg is a wild pattern of overlapping tans, greys, and golds, a peculiar black diamond pattern spread over a shell that seems to be impressed with the pattern of scales, the way the Aquila and Cygnus eggs are impressed with feathers. The bright flecks in the shell, a vibrant, staring yellow, form the shape of a coiled snake, ready to strike. Leaning against the Ophiuchus egg, it is tilted toward the Perseus egg as if straining at it.

Ursa Minor Egg – This medium-large egg, like the Aquila Egg, is primarily near-black. However, unlike its sibling, it is not grey-black but actually a dark seal brown, the color brightening to a richer dark chocolate when the sun strikes it. It is highlighted with irregular patches of tan towards the base of the egg. Creamy blond flecks are scattered across the shell, forming the curious shape of a bear-like creature with a long tail.

Virgo Egg – This small egg is a curious contradiction. Most of the shell is covered in patches of rich green: some lighter spring green, others a deeper forest green, but all overlapping like leaves forming the bud of some massive plant. Yet the very base of the egg looks like it is rimed with frost. Fingers of blue-white creep up from the bottom, withering the pure green around them. Pale blue dots, the color of a clear sky, form the shape of a woman holding two sheaves of wheat.

Waking up at the asscrack of dawn was not an elegant process, especially for Elae. She didn't awake daintily with refined stretching. No, she woke up with a snort and a half a snore. "Whzzah?" she asked, still more than half asleep.

The Gold's words echoed in her head, bouncing around her skull like a hyperactive puppy who only just learned that running was fun. "Hatching is now?" she said muzzily, trying to work things through. The mental puppy chased its own tail for a while. Nooo, it was far too early for the Hatching, surely the egg shells have only just finished firming up for the to...

The Touching! Those two words did the work of a cold shower and several cups of hot klah. They also made her squeak excitedly, although most things did. "This is the day, Derpeth," she said to her sewed up dragon. "This is the day that I get to totally touch some eggs! And I'll touch them all over an... ok, that just sounded gross. Ew. Shaking her head, she hurriedly pulled on some clothes, only vaguely recognizing that her shirt felt a little itchy in the back. (This was, in fact, because she put it on inside out and backwards; the buttons were definitely scraping over her back). As a final touch, she looped her 'Fighting Spoon' through her belt, like a samurai preparing for battle.

Right! She was totally ready to meet those eggs! She struck a pose for a few seconds before ruining it by running out.

When she finally arrived at the Sands, she skidded on the ground. At least it was just barely sunrise; that meant the Sands weren't that warm yet. She flashed a smile at the Weyrwoman and bowed to the great Gold. "Th... th... ok... justlemmecatchmybreath," she said, holding up one hand, taking a few gulps of air. Finally, when she recovered from her little run, she said, "Thank you for allowing us to touch your eggs, Gold Nostromoth. It's an honor to be here."

Meanwhile, her mind went Eeeeeeeeeeggggggggsssssss! more or less constantly, squeaking like those little mouse things that the offworlder scientists kept.

A moment too late, she cursed. Oh, shards! I still forgot to bring something to write on and with! Well... Nostromoth probably wouldn't appreciate us taking notes on her babies anyway... the girl approached the eggs reverentially, her eyes wide. It was so different from just sneaking into the place, she realized. It was far more real. She wasn't even certain where to start. Should she go for the smaller eggs first? After all, she didn't want them to feel unloved and, no doubt, the large Gold and Silver eggs would garnish the most attention.

Best wait until some of the action died down around those metallic eggs. Elae gently dragged her fingertips along the Aquila Egg, marveling at its strange design.

What time was it? Who knew really. It was getting light out, so it was at least daytime. But did that matter much to Skylar? Nope, not at all. As soon as the call went out...

EGGS! Practically leaping out of her fur-covered cot and into appropriate clothing, Skylar was among the first up and off. That it was the ass crack of the morning didn't faze her at all, it seemed.

She was well aware Nostromoth would likely not take kindly to any of the candidates that would so enter the hot, dark sands of their Weyr, but that didn't prevent the young woman from going at her call. If she got eaten, at least she would get eaten after touching something. Dark locks were tied up behind her head in a tight ponytail while she fiddled with her slowly filling sandals upon entering the sands, not really bothered by the lack of footwear her superior was displaying. She bowed with a slight flourish to the clutchmother, saying something in terms of thanks. The dragoness probably wouldn't answer unless she said something insulting, so Sky was quick to head off onto the sands.

She began with the Pisces Egg, her curiosity getting the best of her with its strange likeness to her birth sign. Slender hands settled upon it for a moment or two, her gaze dancing over the tiny egg's calming outside and imagining the beaches of her off-P.E.R.N home. After a moment, she patted the egg affectionately and moved onto her next egg of interest.

The Cetus egg was next, it's strange, uneasy appearance warranting a light, careful touch, as if the shell might burst open to allow whatever was within to bite her. That and, its close proximity to the Pisces egg made her wonder if the thing was interested in trying to gobble up the pretty oceanic egg next door. Sky blinked in slight confusion as she made out its unusual reaction before she slipped off to another, careful not to make it feel unloved in her somewhat hasty retreat.

The next egg she settled on was the Cygnus Egg, large and strangely nondescript considering its size. For some reason, she expected the large thing to be more... well, presential. That is, to have more of a presence than it did, the almost blank, yet pearly shell somewhat boring. But, in other ways, it was like a canvas- ready to be painted with whatever interesting thing someone might come up with.

Her hands drifted to the large, silvery Perseus Egg, the outward appearance expectantly befitting the inward reaction. A strong, level-headed demeanor for certain. Skylar's interest, however, was not on the Perseus egg- it was on the smallest egg that so hid behind the large, protective egg she touched now. Her fingers danced off of the Perseus egg and settled onto the Andromeda Egg, her curiosity piqued by the peachy shades and turquoise marks, the cowering, hiding position it held. Whatever was in there, it might not be the happiest little thing, it seemed, hiding as it was, and Sky had a will to help it feel happy, should it need it. Poor dear.

Her fingers lingered on the tiny egg for a moment longer, before she moved on, touching the other eggs in tandem. The other eggs, she thought, were much more obvious in their coloration than the first she touched, and so her guesses for them were... a little more biased, assuming color had an affect on what was inside in the manner she so thought. Who knew, really, what would come out of these eggs other than the eggs themselves? Sky shrugged before settling her hand onto the golden Gemini egg, taking a moment to commit to what she had heard was tradition, even if it wasn't required by the golden queen and her rider.

Yup, definitely a queen. She chuckled at her obvious assessment before continuing, less inclined to hone in on anything for the moment.

Some people needed a moment after waking up. It was a process for them. They opened their eyes, stretched, did whatever they had to do in order to feel appropriately human. For Vartan, on the other hand, waking up was an instant process, from zero worries to six hundred in less than a second.

In fact, there were six hundred and one whirling around in Vartan's head now. OhFaranth, the Touching, what do you wear to a Touching, is that robes, I hope not, mine still doesn't fit right, it's like a foot too short and people will see my scrawny legs and everything... all of these worries flashed by in a millisecond before he remembered, Oh right. Candidatemaster S'ass said that robes weren't mandatory, only that we wear something. Which was a good thing, and a bad thing at the same time, because it just set off a new series of anxieties as Vartan sorted through his clothes.

In the end, he went for something practical and short-sleeved. Hey, it would be warm alter in the day. And probably hot on the Sands, he reflected, even at this early hour. And that meant wearing some sandals, because he wasn't the sort of guy who felt that proving his masculinity or toughness were worth burnt feet. With a stomach-full of VTOLs and a head full of worries, he entered the Hatching Sands.

His bow was decidedly awkward and his mind scrambled for something appropriately graceful to say to the Golden queen. Thank you for letting us touch your children, just had the wrong sound to it. He cleared his throat and hazarded a, "Wstfl... I mean... ahh... thank you, Golden Nostromoth, for the opportunity to Stand here."

There. It sounded right. It was respectful at least. In case it wasn't, the Candidate quickly backed away from the giant Gold and focused on the eggs. Well, she hadn't mauled him, so he assumed he was doing something right or at least wasn't doing something too wrong yet. That second one seemed more likely. Everyone else here seemed to know exactly what they were doing, with graceful words and practiced movements... Vartan wished he had their confidence.

He gravitated towards the Andromeda egg. Yeah, I get why you'd want to hide from all this too, he thought to himself. One moment, it's just you, your siblings, mommy and daddy, and suddenly there are all these strange people poking you. He touched the shell lightly before moving onwards, skittering away from the large Perseus egg, which would surely be crowded any moment now.

There were a lot of eggs in the clutch. Was that normal? He knew that there was a lot of fuss over a Gold and Silver on the Sands at the same time... hopefully that was healthy, but he didn't know. Vartan knew bits and pieces about whers, but dragons were a whole 'nother critter.

The Candidate sidled towards the Serpens egg, as though worried that it might get away if he didn't move slowly. Very carefully, with the same care he'd approach a young herdbeast, he stroked the shell.

Adriaetta was not accustomed to waking up early. At home she was always permitted to sleep to whatever hour she liked. At home, she was never woken to the sound of people yelling in her head! Well, that was enough to rouse the usual heavy sleeper and she sat up, blinking in confusion as action began to rush around her.

She was not a hurrier. She certainly wasn't going to meet the queen all messy and wrinkled in her sleep clothes. Luckily, she'd already chosen an outfit for the event. It was one of her least colorful dresses, a very soft pink that leaned very near to white. She'd chosen it for, believe it or not, it's relative simplicity. The color called back to a candidate's robe and the long, loose, but not very ruffly skirt would allow for ease of movement. As to her hair, well, there was nothing to be done without bathing first. She applied the bare minimum of paints to her face and called that enough.

She rushed, almost late, to the sands, following someone. On her own, she still got lost.

She curtsied when she reached the sands, the move as graceful as if she'd practiced for hours. She had.

Then, she approached the eggs.

Never let it be said that Adria didn't know what she wanted. It was straight to the Gemini for her. She was awed, yes, but awe was a game for Adriaetta. This was all still fantasy to her, even finally touching the dragon eggs was only fufilling a role on her personal ballad checklist. Still, as she lightly touched that shining golden shell, her eyes shown with excitement.

From there, she went straight to the Perseus egg, her fingers lightly exploring the silver shell. Somewhere, on the other side, was life. Perhaps life for her? This, even she hadn't decided. While she knew, heart and soul, that she would impress (of course she would, what sort of story would it be otherwise?) she hadn't quite decided what egg was for her. There was something to be said for shiny, though.

The Leo egg was near, and almost gold. She touched it next, her fingers pulling back rather quickly. It was pretty, but such a boy! Silly things, boys. From there, she touched the Ophiuchus egg, mostly because the odd design on the shell drew her attention. Was that a man fighting a tunnelsnake? How odd! Well. She did like the violet but she was relatively certain this wasn't the egg for her.

Now, where to? The big one of course! She headed to the Cygnus Egg her steps careful and confident. Adriaetta was many things, but luckily, clumsy wasn't one of them. She worked hard to look like she was floating on air. Which she didn't. But that was the goal! Pausing when she reached the egg, she took a moment to admire the shell. This one was pretty! Then, with an excited little smile, she laid her hand on the egg.

Rhaetia did not so much awaken at Nostromoth's call - no, it was more startle. She tumbled out of bed, crashed her elbow into the nightstand on the way down, and groaned rather piteously. She felt awful! And how early was it? Some thoroughly ungodly hour, eeeegh.

Of course, no one could really pity her for feeling terrible. It was no one's fault but her own that she'd been at the bar until two in the morning the night previous - and no one's fault but hers that she'd downed almost half a bottle of whiskey over the course of five hours.

Wait, what had caused her to be sprawled down here, anyways?

...The touching? Oh, well, then!

She struggled to her feet, rummaged in her closet for something clean and not-too-wrinkled but yet uncomplex to put on (finally found a tasteful skirt and blouse pair in varigated reds, thankfully - she did not want to bother with attempting to lace or zip up a dress right now), and made faces at herself in her mirror. Her hair was horrid. It was to be expected, of course, but... Well, no time to worry about it. She pulled most of it back into a messy tail, not even bothering trying to brush it. It would be dealt with later.

Stumbling her way through the hallways, taking copious draughts out of a bottle of water on the way to the sands, she cursed her previous gluttony - she should've known better, honestly, but... But. Well, whatever. It wasn't terrible to indulge once in a while. Once a week. Foo.

She tipped back a last sip of her water just as she reached the mouth of the official sands entrance, slapped herself as hard as she could bear to across the face, and splashed the remainder of the liquid over her head. A couple of motions smoothed her unruly curls down, and the rest got rubbed into the slight sting across her cheeks. Brain started yet? Good enough. Bottle got stowed, and she marched into the cavern proper, head high, and smile turned on as per usual.

"Goooooood morning, Pern!" she sang cheerfully as she made her entrance, dropping into a low, sweeping bow before the great golden dragon. "Nostromoth, R'ley, looking lovely. It's an honour, dearies." Ugh, her tongue was fuzzy, maudit crisse!

Still. She had to do this. She wasn't going to get another chance at touching these eggs, knowing Nostromoth. She approached the circle of eggs, letting her eyes sweep over them from left to right. Welp, she was certainly going to touch every single one she could get her hands on. Where to start, though?

She made the motions of rolling up her sleeves, although she wasn't actually wearing any, and waded in. The Ophiuchus and Serpens eggs seemed as good a place to start, serpentine brothers - or sisters? They'd sort it out. Then, over to the Cassiopeia egg, it was, resting her palm near to where the image of the vain queen hung. Following the myth - might as well - she strode to the Andromeda egg and laid her fingertips on it gently; the daughter punished in her mother's stead, something that led her to believe the old gods had all been largely crazy. Cetus would've been next, but it was all the way across at the edge; instead, she turned to the Perseus egg, appraising its silver sheen with a thoughtful stare. Hero? But yet he'd slain a woman who had again not been at any fault, had only been punished for the failings of the divine.

Yep. Thoroughly nuts.

There was no stopping Vartan's electric reaction to the feeling he got from the egg. With a sudden intake of breath, he pulled his hand back as though it had been burned, looking even paler than before, like a man who had hanglided over Hell. His mouth was dry and he backed away quickly, clearly uneasy by what it was he sensed from the egg. A downright stygian nightmare, that's what it was. And more than that, he sensed it in himself too and that freaked him out more than anything else did.

The beastcrafter scurried away, occasionally sending a worried glance back at the Serpens egg. Noo, he didn't like that one one bit. And he honestly worried about what unlucky rider would end up with such a dragonet. I'm worrying about the wrong one, he realized. I should be more concerned about the world that has to live with such a pair... It wasn't often that the softhearted man hoped for the death of another, but he found himself almost hoping that the dragonet would simply between.

The Ophiuchus egg caught his eye next, mostly because of the almost tender way it was leaning against the Serpens egg. How could anything stand to touch that egg for very long? Vartan eyed the strange egg carefully, just daring it to do something suspicious at any moment. Just what did it depict anyway? It looked like a man wrestling a legless tunnelsnake, but...

Hmm... actually, now that he looked closer, the Serpens egg had a similar design, the same legless tunnelsnake. How odd. Curiosity overrode his fear and he couldn't help but gently touch the Ophiuchus egg. What strange things dragons were, sending out feelings through the shell.

Elae's mouth made a little 'oh' shape as she touched the shell of the egg. A giggle escaped her, no matter how she struggled to keep it quiet. "Shh, you silly thing!" she whispered to the Aquila egg. "You're such a sweetheart, aren't you? Yes, you are! Who's the sweetest little egg?" And then, a moment later, she hurriedly added, "Who is sitting here at this time on this spot right here and now? You are! Yes, you are just so sweet!"

But, alas! She knew she'd have to tear herself away from the dear little thing. There were still so many other eggs to touch and it was definitely rude to hover around one egg, getting all attached ti its gentle demeanor and delight. "There are lots more people waiting to meet you," she promised the egg, giving it one more final pat. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware of one male Candidate backing away from an egg as though it suddenly spat acid at him, but the poor dear was an outsider. They always had the most amusing reactions to eggs.

Hmm... the large gold egg seemed clear. A woman----Elae recognized the baker from the sneak-peek who spoke of a place where everything was made of beans-----was touching the silver egg, but the gold seemed clear. Ah well. It was, after all, traditional, regardless of whether or not the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman enforced it. It had always struck Elae as a little bit silly.

Regardless of the odds, there was no denying her own delight at touching the large Gemini egg. The strange markings on the shell were so beautiful and maybe a little suggestive. Could dragons have twins? Elae wasn't certain; she'd have to bother a dragonhealer about it later, although most of them were busy with monitoring the clutchmother's condition. "I wonder if you're just fooling us all," she murmured to the egg. "Well, that's alright with me. I love a good joke and, for all I know, you might be pulling the biggest joke this Weyr has seen in turns."

Touching, touching, touching! Kejuli pulled on sandals...boots made her feet sweat too much...and rushed to the Sands.

Once there, of course, she slowed to a walk. She bowed to the queen, as was entirely appropriate. There seemed to be so many eggs, although she knew the number. The sands were hot, and the eggs were hard. It would only be a couple of sevendays before she found out if one of these eggs contained her lifemate or not.

She had many turns of time to wait, so she wasn't too worried.

Gold and silver, but both were occupied when she arrived and besides, she did not want to appear forward. So, while she waited for the other women to move, she selected an egg, reaching to brush her hand against the shell of the Cassiopeia egg. Then, the gorgeous blue-violet egg.

There. An opening for the silver, and she went over to it. She could aspire to silver, she knew, but it felt unlikely. Or maybe...

"Eh. You'll choose the best one." Then the gold...but it didn't seem quite right, not like other gold eggs she had seen. Still. It was...had to be...a gold egg.

Right? She touched it, regardless, moving away once she had. Hogging either of the shiny eggs would have been rude, especially for a girl who knew her realistic chances were...well...no higher than anyone else's, but also no lower. Except for the boys.

Some boys bonded silver, mind. It was unusual, but it happened.

Okay: I want a response from the Cassiopeia egg because it's the one I like the best .

One of Vityai's fondest wishes in life was to be able to sleep past dawn. There'd be nothing lovlier then the covers tucked up next to his ears when others rose from their beds and the sun rose high up into the sky. Heat, and midday, and the thick stickiness of humidity not of his kitchen. A full eight hours of rest.

Alas. People had to eat, and some woke up quite early in the morning to do so. Vityai disliked not being one of the morning people, despite how much he longed for sleep at times; he woke up long before any human should with Messenger on his chest and that sharp little muzzle in the curve of his throat. A quick dress, stumbling to the kitchens for a quick mug of klah, and then - work. Lots of work. Sleeves rolled up, hair bound back and covered, Vityai baked. Sleeping in was all well and good, but baking meant he always went about his Candidate duties in a mood much better then anything he could have garnered with a few extra hours of sleep.

It was then at dawn that the gold bellowed out the order. Lucky for Vityai, he'd just taken out a sheet of pastries and put them onto the counter so when the female shrieked, his jumping didn't knock down an entire sheet of work. Messenger squeaked from his position near the ceiling, small claws enabling him to cling as well as he wanted to. Vityai shook his head, wiping his palms onto a spare bit of cloth. He scrubbed his arms clean as well but that was it, and hurried off to the Hatching Caverns. No chore would keep him from being a proper Candidate, and no one else in the kitchens would think less of him for acting the way one should. It was why he ended up at Peregrine at all, all of that good stuff - Vityai really just wanted to see the eggs.

They were, after all, the most interesting part of a Hatching until you Impressed one. Then, a changed life! Or back to the kitchens. Or something. (A good thing, perhaps, that Vityai loved his craft, and would not be crushed to a thousand bits of he did not Impress.)

And, despite his bravado and posing that Oh, this was no big deal, just a touching, Vityai froze when he came to the sands and the huge Gold, and her clutch. He swallowed the hard knot in his throat and firmed his jaw before dipping into that bow because being eaten was not the best fates one would like to think of when it came to a Touching.

"Thank you for this privilege." He didn't mumble! A good start, he thought, a very good one, considering how his mouth felt gummy and then suddenly dry. "It is an honor."

Then the eggs.

Vityai picked through them with all the care one would give when literally walking in eggshells. He brushed his fingers over Serpens as the man walked past, the Cygnus next. Vityai wavered then, between two of the larger eggs, and rubbed his thumb against his other fingers before he stepped closer to one in particular. Touchings and Hatchings and eggs weren't something one saw much at the Hall, unless you were making an omlet.

The Gold and her rider would probably not appreciate an omlet made out of dragonet.

Vityai doubted the infants would like it either.

He stepped closer and laid his right hand flat on the Leo Egg. His lip hurt, where he bit it.

Oh, it liked her! Adriaetta was only too thrilled to linger at the eggs side. Her initial touch had been merely cursory, a sort of 'I am touching an egg because that is what one does at touchings' touch. Now, with the egg giving her a welcoming reaction, she slowed.

She removed her hand, carefully, straightening her skirt. She gave the egg a little curtsy, and settled carefully into a crouching position, her expression touched by mild discomfort from the heat of the sands.

"I'm Adriaetta," she whispered to the egg. "I'm a candidate now and someday, everyone's going to sing about me. If you like, you could pick me. Then they'll sing about both of us. I think you're just lovely."

She stroked that pearly shell one more time, exploring the swan shape with thoughtful fingertips. Then she stood, carefully rearranging her clothes (again).

Time to move on, right? She approached the Serpens egg, giving it a quick, darting touch. Something about that one seemed threatening to her. Next, the Aquila, which she allowed a slightly longer touch.

She took a moment, then, to consider her next move. The sands were so very hot! She twined her fingers into her curls, pouting slightly. "Don't quite see why they can't do this somewhere cooler, " she complained. It appeared she was speaking to the Cetus egg, which she touched next. From there, the Orion got a light fingers brush.

Finally she approached the Virgo Egg. There was something fresh and cooling about it's appearance and Adriaetta was only too eager to share in that sensation. She gave the egg a long, gentle stroke, starting at the top and letting her fingers brush gently down.

Elae laughed and abruptly clapped her free hand over her mouth to keep the sound quiet. It just wouldn't do to burst out like that, not even when the egg was being so silly! Not at all the dignified sort of queen she expected. If it was a queen, she reflected. "Come on, you could tell me," she whispered to the egg. "I won't tell anyone, I promise..."

But, of course, the egg kept its secrets to itself. After all, it was only a good joke if you didn't reveal it until the very last second? With a rueful grin, the Candidate shook her head and brushed off her hands. Well, that was one to keep an eye on come Hatching day! ... Ha! As if anyone would be able to keep their eyes off of the supposed golden egg.

Speaking of jokes, there was Adria! Elae gave the girl a friendly wave and a wink. Ahh, the girl was going over to the little Aquila egg Elae made friends with earlier. That would be a good fit for the girl, the Candidate thought to herself. Nice and friendly, a welcoming presence among the excitement of the Touching. Too bad Elae never got a chance to cover Touchings during her 'lessons'. Time just seemed to go by so fast sometimes...

Gently brushing her fingers over the Perseus egg, Elae moved on, seeking out other eggs that seemed neglected for the time being. The Sagittarius egg caught her eye next as she studied the strange design on its shell. How curious! What sort of creature was that anyway? She squinted and tilted her head to one side, trying to make it out. It looked like it had four legs, rather like a runnerbeast, but then it had a torso like a human. Very strange indeed. She gave it a pat anyway, whispering, "Don't worry; you'll be beautiful anyway."

Eventually, she found herself at the outskirts of the clutch, looking down at the little Cassiopeia egg. With a smile to the other girl petting it, she waited her turn before placing her hand on the shell as well. It felt only fair to wait. No need to confuse the poor little dragonet by having two people touch it at once.

It had taken Zelnick some time to finally rouse himself from his bed - the offworlder slept like a log more often than not, and it was only the sudden whirlwind of activity around him as other candidates stirred and began to bustle about the room in preparation for the coming touching that he finally seemed to notice something was going on. Once he'd realised that Nostromoth's call had gone out, though, he was dressed and jogging for the hatching sands in what had to be record time. The guard peeked into the hatching cavern, hesitating at the doorway for a second or two before acting padding out onto the sands... boy, they weren't kidding when they said it was going to be hot in here. It wasn't unbearable, though, and he set off across to where the other candidates and the golden clutchmother waited with the eggs.

He made a short bow to the queen and spouted off a few rather colloquial and perhaps overly familiar words of thanks - probably not quite as respectful as Nozzy might have preferred, but at least he was trying - before turning over to the fifteen eggs clustered together in the sand.

As it would turn out, Zel had very little practice with thouchings and the like. Actually, you could say he had... no practice at all, really. He'd attended one hatching in person, but there wasn't much you could actually do in a hatching besides stand around hoping to Impress without finding another dragon-baby's teeth in your arm at some point. He knew what he was supposed to be doing here - the clue was in the name of the event, after all - but he wasn't entirely sure what purpose it would serve. He didn't think it'd make much difference as to what dragon he'd Impress to, if he even did Impress this time around... still, he couldn't deny that getting to touch the eggs was kind of exciting, as a new experience and all the rest of that.

The Ursa Minor Egg was the first to catch his attention, and Zel picked his way over to the egg done up in earthy colours, examing the dots on the side with more than a touch of curiosity. All of the eggs bore similiar markings from the looks of it, in the shape of... well, constellations. He couldn't help but wonder if that was just a really quirky coincidence or perhaps if someone had painted the dots on the shells, either to help tell them apart or just for the fun of it. He wouldn't put either option past the Weyrleaders, really. His fingers stroked along the crown of the shell, down over the flecks that made up the weird bear-thing with the long tail... and hey, maybe it wasn't paint after all - the dots weren't raised or anything of the sort.

Unsure of how long he was meant to spend with each egg or if he was even supposed to do anything in particular other than just put his hands all over the shells, he glanced about at the other candidates, lightly resting the palm of his hand on the surface of the egg for now.

Vartan forced himself not to groan. It was just his luck; he kept picking the worst eggs to pet! Or maybe just none of them are a good fit, the slightly nastier side of him added. But then he sensed the kinder part of the egg; it was like a grumpy wher, actually, sort of like Zelmask a little. He smiled at the memory and gave the serious egg a final pat. "Sorry for bothering you," he said apologetically, only half meaning it and feeling guilty about it.

Sure, the mystery wasn't solved at all, but he felt better about it. With a bit of confidence restored, the man felt comfortable enough to explore the other eggs, even daring to pet the surface of the large silver Perseus egg. Not for long, though; female riders were far more common, and he didn't want to give the egg the wrong idea. For all he knew, it might very well confuse the poor thing.

He stroked the Aquila egg, pleased at the friendly feelings wafting off of the shell. It was a wretch to leave such a friendly little thing behind, but Vartan was determined to do this whole Touching thing correctly. (When he tried to ask Candidatemaster S'ass about 'Touching', the man just laughed at him and said he'd tell him when he was older. Vartan still worried about that, in a vague sort of way; perhaps the Candidatemaster had simply gotten the wrong idea somewhere along the line...) Anyway, the point was, there were rules to this sort of thing and he was determined to follow them.

One of them was to touch every egg, even if they still sort of scared him. His fingers just barely brushed the aggressive-looking Orion egg, trying not to look at the sword too closely. Even depictions of weapons made Vartan uncomfortable. He passed the gold egg without touching it; again, he didn't want to risk confusing the dragonet. He found himself by the proud silver egg once more, looking awkwardly out of place.

Strange. he thought to himself, looking at the Leo egg and the Perseus egg. The former didn't seem to like the latter much. Then again, that was probably just the way the mother positioned the eggs, right? Yeah, right.

But there, behind the large Perseus egg, was the Andromeda Egg. "Hey," he said quietly, kneeling down to pat its shell. "Yeah, I think I know how you feel. Weird, huh, having all these people around? Well, don't worry. No one here wants to hurt you at all."