When The Dark Meets The Dawn [EGG TOUCHING]

[Zen]

BT Month 6
Hatching Cavern

Novarel || D'rew

Novarel could have burst from the anticipation as he waited for the eggs on the sands to harden enough for the candidates to go safely among them. His first, and hopefully his last, Egg Touching! He had pestered Joia a considerable amount thus far about her experience at the last Touching, the one he had missed, being brought in only a few days before the Hatching itself. That clutch had really not been meant for him, missing the Touching and then having to leave early because that green had trampled him. At least he hoped that’s what it meant, and none of the three hatchlings that had gone between had been his hatchling. Nope. There just hadn’t been a dragon there for him that day. But this time, with two clutches? He was sure he’d find his dragon this time. Or rather, that his dragon would find him. So long as he didn’t get trampled again.

Finally, at long last, D’rew called them together to announce that they would be ferried up to the hatching cavern for the long awaited Touching. Back in time, there was no path up to be taken on foot. Only dragonriders had caught any glimpse of the eggs thus far, and even then, apparently Sularenth was incredibly protective of them so no one had really stayed for long or gotten too close. Novarel didn’t particularly stop to think just what that would mean for them today until D’rew brought it up.

“Sularenth is very protective of the eggs, but don’t worry too much about her mood. Between her rider and Danovelith, they’ll be able to keep her calm enough so long as none of you are doing anything stupid on the sands,” the temporary candidate master said plainly, “No rough housing, no running around, and you treat those eggs with respect. These are not difficult rules to follow, but if you break them, you will be removed from the sands immediately.” They couldn’t exactly bar anyone from standing come hatching day, and he was sure for the most part they all knew that, but he wasn’t going to say it and let it encourage inappropriate behaviour on the sands due to a lack of the most obvious and severe consequence. Anyone that accepted candidacy as well as the risk of traveling back in time for the chance at it surely had to be pretty determined to Impress, or too caught up in the novelty of the adventure, he supposed.

“Now, when you arrive, you take your cues from Srunae and Melana. If either of them tells you to do something, or not do something, listen. I know there are two eggs that are duds. Sularenth has them removed from the rest of the clutch and she doesn’t like anyone approaching them, so leave them alone. The rest of the eggs should be open to you, however. Go among them, touch them, talk to them. There are strong minds in those eggs, and they often reach out and communicate, so be prepared for that. Also be prepared to be ignored. Not all of them will be as open to you,” he paused to let that information sink in for first-timers and then gestured toward the waiting dragons and their riders, sending each of them to one of the waiting pairs for their rides up to the hatching cavern. Upon arrival, D’rew conversed briefly with both goldriders before allowing the candidates out onto the sands, keeping a close eye on them all.

Novarel grabbed at Joia’s hand, as usual, tugging her along in his excitement, though he actually managed to stop himself and let go of her before they reached the sands, recalling D’rew’s warning. He supposed tugging Joia around the sands probably wouldn’t go over very well, and he certainly didn’t want to get kicked out. Especially not before he’d had a chance to talk to any of the eggs. Talking to eggs! He could just imagine the look on his father’s face when he told him he’d talked to eggs. He was sure the man wouldn’t believe him at all. He glanced back at Joia, “Where should we start do you think? Or do you think we should split up? We should split up. Then we can cover the clutch faster. You’ll have to tell me if you find any interesting eggs, okay?” He grinned at her before heading off among the eggs, not at all sure just where to start. The far side maybe? It was closer to the queens….

He eyed Sularenth for a moment before crouching down beside the Watching Egg and the Faces Egg, glancing between the two as he considered which one to touch first. The way the Watching Egg looked like a giant eyeball was weird. Glancing around to see just what everyone else was doing, he reached for the Faces Egg, pressing his palm to the shell as he’d seen a few others had done.

The mind that reached out to him did not hesitate to respond, pushing into the boy’s mind without a care. “Woah… so weird....,” he breathed as the creature in the egg seemed to explore his mind. It brought forth one of his own memories, sneaking off from his lessons with the harper back home to go exploring instead. It seemed amused by this, or intrigued? Maybe both. It liked it, either way. He grinned, “Yeah, you like to explore? Well I mean, I guess you wouldn’t really know yet, would you? Since you’re an egg….” He really was talking to an egg. Well, really he was talking to the occupant of the egg, but for now that was basically the same thing, right? “Once you get outta there, you’ll be able to explore a lot, though. I bet we’d have fun together if you picked me.”

The hatchling in the egg seemed to agree, pushing the memory at him again. He laughed, “Yeah, it is fun. Uh… lemme see…. How about this one?” He thought of another memory, exploring with Copper after he’d arrived at Mavros, unsure if the hatchling would be able to see the memory, feel it? Whatever this was. “There’s lots of stuff to see and do.” He then shared all the eggs on the sands right now, “Like all your siblings! I thought I had a lot….” He chuckled and patted the egg, “I wanna visit more of them, but I’ll come back if they aren’t as fun as you, all right?”

The hatchling seemed to huff indignantly at that, and Novarel got the impression that it was certain he would indeed be back. He laughed again and stood, glancing at the Watching Egg once more before moving off. He still wasn’t sure about that one.

OOC: Okay, so the way this Touching is going to work is that you can choose up to FOUR eggs to interact with in detail if you only have ONE candidate, or if you have multiple candidates you may choose to interact with up to TWO per candidate (you cannot transfer between candidates, like only interacting with 1 for one candidate and then 3 for another). You can see somewhat how the interactions worked in our last Touching HERE. And here are the egg descriptions for Sularenth's Clutch and Danovelith's Clutch.

Choose one to start with and have your candidate approach and do whatever you’d like them to do, then I will PM you a response from the egg. It will be ‘secret’ (through PM) to simulate the fact that you only know what’s going on with the eggs your own characters are interacting with. Through this, you’ll get a glimpse of the personality of each dragonet within the eggs you choose to interact with, but remember, you can only interact with a limited number in this manner, so choose wisely! Please BOLD and UNDERLINE the egg you are interacting with to make it a little easier for me, and everyone else, to keep track.

After I’ve PM’d you an egg response, you can reply to the THREAD with how your character responded to what they experienced with the egg (double posting is allowed for this thread). Depending on the dragonet’s personality, it might respond again, or it could ignore you, which is your queue to move on to another egg. In this way, your candidate can have quasi conversations with a couple eggs and the Touching becomes a much more interactive thread.

Above I’ve posted an egg response for Novarel to allow people who don’t have candidates to get in on the action a little and also to sort of show you how it will work. Do not post the egg's responses in your reply. I will also keep track of which eggs are currently occupied so you don’t have to hunt through the entire thread to figure out what eggs are free. Green eggs are free, while red eggs are taken. I obviously cannot be around CONSTANTLY to update the list immediately, so you should still at least check the post or two before you make a new one to see if I've gotten to them yet or not.

Jagged Egg -
Scratched Egg - Tselari
Tall Egg - Kalzen
Capped Egg - Vitra, Siorreya
Crested Egg -
Speckled Egg - Novarel, Joia
Ringed Egg -
Dappled Egg - Muze
Bright Egg - Vitra
Plain Egg -
Tiny Egg - Joia, Novarel
Lonely Egg -
Cloudy Egg - Vavithan
Split Egg - Muze
Faces Egg - Novarel, Caryssin
Watching Egg - Caryssin
Snake Egg - Mazarakru
Charmer Egg - Eissan
Guard Egg - Vavithan
String Egg - Mazarakru
Wave Egg - Siorreya
Shiny Egg - Siorreya, Shintagoi
Fat Egg - Shintagoi
Winged Egg - Kalzen
Splash Egg - Eissan

[Alyx]

Melana and Gold Sularenth

Mine… the voice was like a hiss in her thoughts, and Melana gave a heavy sigh. ‘Yes, love, We know. But you still have to let them touch them.’ No I don’t. Oh this was going to be fun. As the candidates became to arrive, every one that touched down onto the Sands seemed to annoy Sularenth all the more. The massive Gold laid curled partly around her half of the Clutch, her tail tip lashing back and forth like an angry feline. She could hear the low, warning rumble from the Dragon, the faceted eyes spinning orange and hints of red. ‘Oh stop it. They aren’t going to hurt them.’ How can you be sure? She clearly didn’t like the idea of these people around her unhatched young.

Melana moved from her seat on her blanket to run her fingers over her Dragon’s neck. She watched up along the elegant, perfect curve of the Gold’s throat, feeling another warning rumble vibrate the hide under her touch. ‘Because I did the same thing they are doing now. It has to be, Sularenth. If you want the best for your babies, you need to let them do this.’ She could feel how much the Gold didn’t like this idea; nothing she was going to say was going to make the anger do more than temper. ‘Please? I promise, if they hurt any of them, you can eat them.’ Sularenth tilted her head as Melana reached up, eyes closing partway as her rider rubbed against the heavy ridges over her eyes. You promise? ‘I promise.’

The Gold rumbled again but seemed to relax a bit, lowering her head to rest completely on the Sand. Fine. They may touch. ‘Thank you.’ She kept one eye turned to focus on the candidates as they began to move through the scattered eggs, her nose almost brushing her pair of Dud eggs as she watched the ordeal play out.

Eissan

He hadn’t actually realized they would be flown up to the eggs for this. He held onto Haella’s waist, watching as the little Green he was on wheeled around over the Sands, and then dropped low enough to let her passengers off. He waited his turn and dropped to the hot, soft Sand without ending up on his butt. Two points! Once on the ground though, he realized just how exposed he felt. The Golds were massive, and somehow he got the feeling they didn’t want the candidates there. Maybe that was in his head?

He looked at the larger of the two. No… not all in his head. That one, at least, was not happy they were here at all. Eissan swallowed gently, looking away from the angry mother, and followed the others into the scattered clutch. He wasn’t even sure where to start, and suddenly he wasn’t sure he should even be near the fragile shells. His luck wasn’t the greatest, and screwing up here might get him in more trouble than even he could worm his way out of.

Just... Treat them like lamp flutes. Yes, that was it… like one of his glass chimneys. He tossed the smaller of the two Golds a cautious look, then gathered his nerve and threaded carefully around the eggs. He didn’t think he’d been this nervous when he Walked the Tables for his Journeymenship! Finally, if nothing else to just…do something, he reached out and placed his hand gently against the shell of the Splash Egg. Now what was he supposed to do?

Joia

Oh shard, what had she been thinking?! Joia regretted coming as soon as her feet touched the sand. So many bad memories… what had possessed her to think that she should be here? Even as Nova caught her arm and pulled her a few steps toward the clutches, Joia wanted nothing more than to beg the nearest Rider to get her out of here. She should have sat this part out! She still wasn’t sure why she hadn’t stayed back in the present time! Nova would have been just fine without her in this, the whole trip and the Touching; why was she doing this to herself again?

She managed a smile, nodding to Nova for no other reason than to ease his worry about her; she didn’t want to dampen his chances. “O.. okay. I’ll let you know if I meet anything interesting.” She wanted him go. Maybe they would just let her hang out off to the side? She really didn’t want to Touch any of them and instead wandering uncomfortably threw the Sands as the others did so. Joia was careful not to step wrong, tossing glances at the others as they braved the heartbreak that the Touching could bring.

(Joia is being a butt for the first post, I’ll make her touch in the second)

[kevna]

Siorreya - Candidate

She shifted from foot to foot, like a prancing herdbeast, her elation driving the movement in her feet. She found Maz in the fray; she had gotten quite good at spotting the freckled boy with the genuine smile. She liked his smile almost as much as she liked his freckles, and she appreciated the many adventures she had dragged him along on. He was one of the few able to keep up with her energy, and she hadn't bored herself with him yet. In fact this was the first time she had kept a friend for as long as she had kept Maz. 

Now you are sounding possessive.  

She danced quickly over to Maz while D'rew called them together, slipping between candidates with brief smiles of greeting to any that greeted her eyes. She grabbed her younger friend's arm and slipped her hand down to hold his hand, squeezing it in excitement, her feet continuing to shift her weight. 

"Wow Maz, we get to finally touch the eggs. I can't believe it." Her voice was filled with awe, and her heart fluttered with trepidation. 

What did D'rew mean by powerful minds? They couldn't delve into her memories right? They couldn't see anything she didn't want them to see... Could they? She tried to focus on the rules and pushed those fears away, leaving them to get lost in her ever changing brain.

"Come on Maz, let's do this." She squealed dragging him over to the closest green dragon, and climbed up. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed a few times, her excitement getting the better of her. "Let's split up when we get there okay? I'll tell you all about my eggs after!" 

The dragon landed and she slipped off, landing nimbly on her feet, her knees bending as the sand shifted to help keep her balanced. Even through the soft leathers covering her feet she could feel the warm sand. She scoured the sands, and the lonely egg instantly caught her attention first. It too had been left by it's family, abandoned. Like herself. She looked away, not liking the feelings that came along with the vision of the lonely egg. She continued to scan, and that's when she saw it. The shiny egg. It had the shine of heated glass during the delicate task of blowing. She began making her way to the shiny egg, and saw the unhappy looking Sularenth. Her elation turned to solemnity. She paused before the queen, and did something without thinking. 

Siorreya bowed before the queen. "Thank you Sularenth, for this honor." She eyed out Danovelith and did the same, repeating her thanks, and promising silently she would be careful with their children. She then continued toward the Shiny Egg, nested comfortably between it's siblings, the Wave egg, and the Fat egg. She crouched before it, splaying both hands out toward the egg shell. She paused briefly before her hands touched the shell. Then with a breath of courage, she laid her hands softly along the thin membranous shell, and sent out a greeting.

"Hello pretty one," she whispered, sending warmth and awe towards the little being within. Remembering D'rew's words, she sent a memory of the the glass blowing she had done for the silvery-white dragonet she made, and the finished product. "Your shiny shell kind of reminds me of this." She whispered.

[kevna]

Siorreya - Candidate

She gasped at the contact, it was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Not just the contact with the highly intelligent creature, caressing her brain with raw emotion and otherness, but the emotion itself emanating from the small being inside was foreign as well. A sudden possessive, grasping, needing feeling, like an intense hunger which swept over her and became a need of her own. Instead at pulling back from the shell and the obsessive, strong emotions spilling out, she leaned closer, laying her forehead on the shell. 

"Wow." She whispered, "You like that?" But silently she wondered if the dragonet's emotion was truly directed toward what she had shown her, or if the little being felt possessive of her... No, probably not. She had never had anyone feel that way about her, and she was just fine the way she was. But it felt nice to rest her head on the membranous shell, and bathe in the feeling, just this once. In return, she showered the dragonet with another memory, this time of the bright green glass dragonet she had made, it's wings half-out stretched, it's crouched position relaying a mischievous desire to pounce. On accident, she let the memory go too far, relaying the big bully who had taken the glass creature away from her upon completion of the project, holding it above his head, taunting her, and laughing at her as she tried to get it back. Her small build had been no match for the taller older boy.

"Oh, I am sorry..." She whispered, afraid of how the developing dragonet might react. Can you traumatize a dragon in embryo? She sincerely hoped not. 

Zen

[Taxx]

Kalzen

There was a mix of emotions within Kalzen as he stood among the Candidates, only half-listening to D'rew as he went over the rules for their behavior while they walked among the eggs, his eyes roaming over the separate clutches. He couldn't deny a quiet sense of excitement, because this was new and he'd never even dreamed of doing something like this. A touch of apprehension followed close because- what would it be like? He only had the one experience of a dragon talking to him to rely on, and this was completely different; this was talking to an egg. An object that, while it held a dragon inside, was still just... talking to an egg. The thought of doing so made him just a bit self-conscious. At least he wasn't going to be the only one.

And then guilt: he was taking another step on a path that differed from what he'd been told by Kalahan. Just coming here was taking a step to the point of no return. What if he did as he was told here, and somehow managed to encourage a dragonet to pick him, and completely disobeyed his father's order? There was no point in trying to hide it- the old captain would know, sooner or later- one way or the other.

Arms crossed, Kalzen held back as the bluerider gave the okay to begin and others stepped forward immediately. Should he? Or shouldn't he? Undecided, and warring with himself, he continued to stand back, eyes narrowed and wondering if D'rew would resort to ordering him to walk among the eggs. Instead of that, however, he was startled by two hands planting themselves in his back and pushing him forward; a glance over his shoulder was all he needed to recognize Vitra, her head turned up and a grin plastered over her face.

--
Vitra

Oh, definitely she was excited! Everything had turned out better than she could have hoped for, really- T'vil would never find her here, and once she had a dragon, he wouldn't be able to tell her to leave Mavros. She just had to find some little hatchling who needed her in this double clutch- just one out of twenty-five. Surely one of them would find her suitable?

Before she started forward, though, she noticed Kalzen holding firm where he'd been standing, practically glowering at the clutches, and she made a slight detour to give him a literal push in the right direction. "What are you doing?" he asked, arms falling to his sides for balance, turning his attention to the eggs to keep from accidentally kicking in a shell.

"Helping!" Vitra replied, taking a moment to peer around the older Candidate's body and then steering him toward the Tall Egg and the Capped Egg. "See, we can both sit here and talk to these two. You're nervous, right? It's your first one. But they're just babies, I bet they're nice. You just gotta say 'hi' and they'll do the rest. My sister Aleni told me all about it- she talked to her gold while she was in the egg and look what happened!"

A moment later, the girl was on her knees next to the Capped Egg, both hands on the shell, eyes closed as she pushed a cheery greeting to whatever was inside, while Kalzen, somewhat more hesitantly, simply touched the first two fingers of his right hand to the Tall Egg- and wondered what would happen.

[tovaana]

Mazarakru;

He had not felt nervous until today. Everything else had seemed hypothetical until this point. His foot tapped from the energy that exuded off of him and he folded his arms as if to contain it. Then, Siorreya was there. He didn’t flinch away from her touch, feeling his nerves be reigned in by her excitement. Maz grinned, turning his head toward her, squeezing her arm with his other hand momentarily.

“Yes, finally!” He agreed in a soft voice, his eyes turning to D’rew when he started to speak. It sounded straight forward, except for the unpredictable golds and their eggs. After D’rew was done speaking he was quickly dragged to the closest green dragon to be ferried to the greens. He was glad to have Sio there to tell him where his feet should go, since his usual sure-ness seemed to be having troubles waking up. Each time she squeezed him, she reigned in the butterflies in his stomach.

“Deal.” He said, watching her with fondness as she went off to the eggs with her energy trailing behind her. With a wide smile he stepped toward Sulerenth’s clutch and spotted a smaller egg that hovered under a larger egg. The egg resembled the strings of an instrument and he had the sudden urge to know what sound was within the egg. Deep and certain? High and trilling with energy like Sio’s?

He watched as a larger burly man with his hair in a bun approach the Guard Egg. Maz paused just long enough to make sure he wasn’t going toward the same egg, but didn’t feel uncomfortable sharing the space as he bent down opposite over the String Egg. “Hey there sweet thing.” He spoke aloud but under his breath. He looked up at the other candidate and realized he should probably try thinking toward the egg, instead of speaking, in case the other thought for some reason he was talking to him. He grinned at that thought, but turned his full attention to the String Egg. ‘Your egg reminds me instruments I’ve worked with before.’ He thought of the times he had become more comfortable with the gitar and harp. He had never really mastered the harp, but the sounds had always put him in a trance.

Muze;

‘The eggs can’t chase me. The eggs can’t chase me. The eggs can’t chase me.’ She let out a long breath, reassuring herself. Her brother had shot her a smile, also bolstering her mood. Right, no pressure… Except both the golds, two full sized gold dragons, they could chase her. D’rew’s words erased all of the self-talk that she had done to rid her of her fears. Now she just imagined one of the gold’s roaring at her because she had done something wrong. ‘Great’. She moaned inwardly and glanced around at the others. She noticed Joia, wondering if she shouldn’t go and try and make conversation, but she had Nova there keeping her company. The thought was distracted as D’rew went on to explain that they should pay attention to the gold dragon’s riders and their instructions. This, in part, eased her fears. She didn’t understand the connection completely, except for what she had seen and what she had with Coyli, but part of her felt that the dragon’s wouldn’t do anything too irrational with their riders on the sands…right?

Once they reached the sands she watched the others spread and find eggs to touch. For a moment she just watched and she noticed Joia again, wandering as well, but not settling on any one egg. She slowly moved about the eggs, keeping her hands tightly entwined in front of her. She eyed the tense Sulerenth and wandered toward Danovelith’s clutch.

She passed the Crested, Speckled, and Ringed Eggs, her eyes settling on a smaller egg that had dappled markings along it shell. At first she just stood there, hovering above it and then glanced up at it’s golden mother, hovering protectively. She also glanced at the other candidates and then at the gold dragon riders… People were touching eggs with ease. With a long drawn out breath she crouched almost protectively over the Dappled Egg and placed her hands hovering close over it. Her hands withdrew a little and she replaced them with one hand, tracing the dappled surface of the egg with a couple of fingers.

‘Hey there in there.’ She opened her mind, thinking of how she talked to Coyli, or how she had let in Aslith and other’s in to talk when they had… ‘I’m a candidate…I’m here getting to know you and your siblings, preparing for the day when you come out and find your person.’ She closed her eyes momentarily to focus, but opened them back up to look at the dappled pattern.

Vavithan;

Vavithan followed Muze almost unconsciously over to Danovelith’s clutch and stopped himself consciously when he realized he had. He watched Muze go between all of the eggs and then pause finally. When she lowered herself to touch an egg he let out a breath of air he hadn’t known he had been holding and turned away. He moved cautiously toward Sulerenth’s clutch and quickly spotted the larger Guard Egg that hovered over the smaller String Egg. He smiled, seeing it fitting and crouched near the Guard Egg and placed his hands over the surprisingly warm membrane.

He looked up for a second when he heard a boy with strawberry tawny hair unabashedly crouch down next to the egg that the Guard Egg was hovering over. His brows pulled together at the soft tone he heard the boy using, his eyes darting quickly to the Guard Egg, focusing on the creamy shell.

The warmth on his hands matched the heat seeping past his leather shoes. It reminded him of the sun’s warmth. He decided on trying to greet the egg with a memory of warmth. A memory came to mind, one of the hottest days of the years at the hold; he was on the beach with his shoes in his hands so he could feel the sand under his toes. His face was tilted toward the sun and he closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth.

[Taxx]

Kalzen

Had the response been anything other than the tentative approach he got, Kalzen might have rethought this; but the gentle brush of another mind against his was... polite. It was the best way he could think of to describe it. No real words, just a sense of waiting- for something. To be allowed further contact, maybe? Vitra, crouched nearby, began to speak, and he remembered what she'd said before settling at her egg. Talk to it. And say... what? This was so awkward.

A quizzical chirp sounded just above him, the beat of wings pulling Kalzen's attention from the egg, but just as the firelizard made to land on his shoulder, a deep, low rumble came from one of the golds, and when he looked up both of them were looking in his direction. Longsword, however, was far quicker on the uptake that he was absolutely not welcome, and with a more frightened squeak he blinked out of sight once more. Flushing with embarrassment, Kalzen ducked his head again, his hand settling flat on the egg as he returned his attention to the continued sense of expectation. Talk to it.

"I've never done this before," he started, mumbling the words under his breath and trying to dispel the sense that he looked absolutely ridiculous. It was like talking to another person, that was all. Just pretend that it was another person- behind glass, or a door. "Um. You can go ahead. I'm not sure what you want though..."

--
Vitra

"Ohh," Vitra breathed, guilt pricking at her. "I didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful, promise." Using her inside voice- for a moment it reminded her of Arvia. There was an Arvia-dragon in the egg she was talking to; amusement swept away everything else, along with the hope that it didn't take after her mother in other, less desirable ways. She could be quieter, of course, and she made herself take a moment to calm before reaching out again. "I'm Vitra. It's lovely to meet you. Do you want to talk? I can answer any questions you have, or tell you anything you want to know about- anything."

[kevna]

Siorreya - Candidate

The bond had become stronger before it tapered off, as if the little creature pondered the vision. She held her breath. A moment later the breath escaped in a shaky laugh, half in amusement, half in relief, as the first vision she received was of a little dragonet biting the boy. Then came the next visions, more violent, with snarls and then with eggs being smashed. She pulled her forehead away, a little shocked, and pride prickled for just a moment as she considered. The little one was right though, you have to defend yourself or others would walk all over you. 

You are very right, but you have to pick your moment when you are as little as me.

She had been caught off guard, and helpless in the moment standing next to the giant. She sent one last memory, this one was in the bully's room. She had smashed multiple glass nick-knacks he had created, stood on a chair beside the door, holding a sharp edge of glass from an old stem of a goblet, sharpened by the break. Then she had shown as much patience she had ever had as she waited. When the boy walked in she had hopped on his back, pressing the sharp edge to his neck. "Don't you ever touch me or my glass again." She had been vicious, and she had pricked his his cheek with the shard of glass before hoping down and leaving the room. He never touched me or mine again. Turns out bullies are just as scared as they make you feel. She spoke to the dragonet, pride leeching into the words and feelings sent it's way. 

  Zen

ooc: last shiny egg response for Sio

[Alyx]

Eissan

In spite of that D’rew had told them, he really had had no idea what he was getting into. His hand pressed against the shell, he’d felt a bit silly, even if the others around him were doing the exact same thing. It was an egg, how was touching and talking to it going to help? And then, there it was… Eissan managed not to end up on his butt in the sand as the clear sarcasm slapped against his thoughts. He blinked, leaning a little away and looking at the egg like he expected it to lunge at him. No way….

What followed had to be one of the single weirdest sensations he had ever felt in his life. It felt like someone was distractedly browsing the pages of a book – but that book was literally his thoughts and memories and he had no idea what they were looking for. He shivered, the chill running up his spine as the present drifted casually threw his very being. When it stopped, Eissan remembered he needed to breathe.

“That was… so weird.” It was all he could think to say? The felt like the little… dragon, he guessed.. in the egg wanted something, but didn’t have the faintest idea what that was. “Is it always like that? I mean, I’ve never done this before, so I’m a little lost here.” His moved his hand, his fingers shifting against the shell. “Did you find what you were looking for? Or were you just looking around?” He felt it had wanted something… and still did. “Alright, you have something on your mind, what is it? Ask away, I suppose.”

Joia

Standing on the Sands, Joia watched at the others. You could read it on their faces, the moment the little dragons in the shells spoke back. It brought back memories, making Joia more and more wish she could leave. Maybe if she asked D’rew nicely he wouldn’t make her go through with this? Any moment she expected Nova to appear next to her and tug her into the Clutch; Muze gave her a quick look and Joia flashed a shaky smile to the other girl. All fine, see? Nothing to worry about. Yea, right.

The little weaver continued to move, hoping that if she kept walking, no one would notice she wasn’t actually touching any of them. Joia sidestepped slightly around Muze and the Dappled Egg, giving the girl a quick look to make sure she was okay before moving on. She couldn’t see Nova, but knowing the young man, he’d be trying to meet every one of the eggs before their time was up. And with Nova? She wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled it off. He had so much energy; it made Joia tried sometimes just trying to keep up!

Perhaps she could… just pretend? Joia’s eyes were drawn to the impossibly tiny egg in the center of the clutch. There was no way there could be a dragon in it, right? She let her steps shift, moving around the others to stand near it, looking down at it. Too tiny… but then, if she sat down and pretended to talk to it, maybe the others would stop looking at her? Turning a foot, Joia dropped gently to sit on the warm sand, giving the egg another doubting look. What if it was something though? Could she handle this again? Or what if it was empty, and it was nothing by silent?

Enough. With a rough, unhappy sigh, she leaned a little and brushed shaking fingers against the Tiny Egg, trying to brace herself. ‘Are you in there?’ Deep down, Joia wasn’t sure if she wanted an answer or not…

[Hiko]

Caryssin had been wary upon dismount. The trek to the hatching cavern had once again been on Doriath’s back, though the bronze seemed far too distracted with pride to speak much with her. He had fathered a clutch, and never mind if there wasn’t a golden egg on the sands, he knew most of the eggs would be bronze, or at the very least, brown. She could feel the nagging pressure of the bronze’s mind, as if he wanted to will her toward the eggs he’d sired, in some vain hope that she’d be drawn to them for their brilliance.

She was hardly one to be willed to do anything, however, and personally wondered if such a bronze could father anything less vain than himself. No, she planned to avoid Danovelith's clutch, if she could manage to get away with it. There were enough candidates to please the gold, she thought, and enough eggs on the sands that it wouldn't surprise anyone if a candidate didn't manage to see to both clutches during the touching. Well, that was her private hope, at least.

With careful steps, she headed toward Sularenth’s clutch. She watched with a vague curiosity as the massive gold nosed near two eggs that had been pushed further away from the rest. Was she guarding those? From what? Surely, her rider had made it clear that the candidates had to touch all of the eggs? Some hidden golds, she wondered, then immediately scoffed at her own ignorance. They weren’t large enough for all of that, were they? And golds were supposed to have a sheen to them, as far as she understood. Failed layings, then? Ah, D’rew had mentioned that, she reminded herself with a slight distaste at her own preoccupation with the scene before her to have remembered from the beginning. Today was not a day to be so distracted, she told herself with a mental kick. Today, she might find a like-minded dragonet, eager to come find her on hatching day. The chance was too great to pass up, and she had to remain focused. If the touching went well, the hatching might go better. If that worked to her benefit, she might actually prove her worth; or, at the very least, prove that Betrol's cracked jaw hadn't been in vain.

As they all filed out across the sands, Caryssin couldn’t help but be drawn to the two unsettling eggs Sularenth had laid. There was something about the Faces Egg that she approved of, something about its ever-haunting pointillism that had attracted her. She ventured closer to it, fully aware of the golden vigil of Sularenth and the spotted vigil of the shell before her. But a shell was just a shell, regardless of its appearance, and she was confident when she placed her palm on the smooth surface.
“You’re an ugly little bugger, aren’t you?” she laughed, “Oh, you're going to be amazing when you hatch!”

[Taxx]

Kalzen
"I don't think you're being rude. Just curious," Kalzen replied. "It's like- I mean, people do this all the time, right? But for me... I've never really even been around a dragon until I came here. So it's odd." Not bad, but different. Dragons weren't like herdbeasts or runnerbeasts, after all, nor did they call into the category of 'pet' like firelizards did. They were meant to be partners, intelligent in their own right and not just an extension of the person they were bound to. Even in the egg, once past a certain period of development, their intelligence was obvious.

The sudden memory of the order from Kalahan surprised him; it came with a questioning thought and Kalzen was, momentarily, unsure what to say. How to respond. "I don't know," he answered in the end, hunching his shoulders a bit. "Sorry if you were looking for a yes... I suppose if one picked me, I'd have to be okay with it? But as for wanting one... I shouldn't. I- I hope that doesn't upset you-" He wasn't trying to upset the dragon, at least. Just being honest. Maybe he could have sugarcoated it a bit, but he was still a bit out of his depth with all of this. "I like you," he added on. "I think you're great."

--
Vitra

The sense of acceptance and wellness appeased Vitra, and she all too happily turned to getting to know the dragonet within the shell. She felt the searching, staying quiet for the moment as the young dragon did its thing; the picture of Arvia and the wonderment over their similarities made her grin. "Not really similar- it was just what you said: you sounded like a mother. Mine is always telling me to not be so loud too. She's not that[/b] bad, really. Just kinda set in her ways, you know? She doesn't know I'm here," she continued, a flicker of guilt at what the woman must be feeling now distracting her momentarily. Was Arvia worried for her, or just annoyed that Vitra had managed to elude her? She must know by now that something had changed; Vitra had never stayed out all night before. "But I was Searched, and I wanted so much to Impress, and here i am!"

[tovaana]

Mazarakru;

The rush of happiness came over him, similar to Siorreya’s energy, welcoming his presence. “Wow.” He breathed out loud, unsure of where the dragon’s elation ended and his own consciousness began. He was so enthralled by the feeling of the presence that he almost hadn’t realized that the dragon inside the egg was ‘tugging’ at him for attention.

“Oh, sorry.” He was grinning, wide eyes on the egg. It was such a strange concept that the dragon in the egg was communicating with him. ‘Music is endless.’ He thought up the drum, pipes, and finally the flute. ‘You can even make it with one’s voice.’ He added with a grin, bringing up a memory of when he was young and his voice could reach high soprano. In the memory there were boys who were performing with many of the different instruments, then there were those singing - including himself as he sang the contrasting high voice among the low tones of the chorus. He sighed longingly at the memory, shaking his head a little. ‘What do you think?’

Muze;

Muze stayed crouched there, waiting anxiously a reply. Coyli sometimes took a moment, but never this long. Her brown eyes glanced up from the markings on the egg around at others to see if they were faring any better. Had she said something wrong? Had she offended the egg somehow? Her eyes flitted up to the great gold, her nerves climbing to her eyes in the form of tears. Or, what if this was one of the duds D’rew had spoken of? –a dragon that had not formed or not formed properly in the egg, a dud. She stayed there, leaning into the egg a little, not giving up right away.

After what seemed like forever, something brushed against her mind. It was so quiet. It reminded her of Coyli, but what would happen if someone tried to talk to her shy dragon lizard.

‘Well… we get to know each other, I guess.’ She offered in response to the feeling of confusion. ‘Let me see…’ She tried to think of a memory that the hatchling could relate to, but also things the egg could learn from. Muze briefly thought about her days by the beach, fishing with nets, cutting and treating the fish they caught, and then finally preparing them to eat. She did not go in depth, but rather spent a few seconds on each process to give the hatchling an idea of how she grew up. Then she couldn’t help but think about Coyli, when she found the clutch and sang the song as the eggs were hatching. ‘Kinda like when you come out in the future.’

Vavithan;

“Oh, woah there.” Vav was baffled by the bold presence that showed up abruptedly when his hands fell on the shell. His hands lifted in reaction to the sudden ‘voice’ in his head, but he placed them back down to accept the heat of the reply. It reminded him of Muze when he told a story more than once.

‘Of course, of course.’ He thought, a wry grin spreading on his face.

With a hum he tried to remember a different day, which was it? What had happened? A storm, that was different. A voice that was not his echoed from the memory, “Bring down the masts!” It had been his first storm at sea as a young boy. His father was there, taking charge on the deep-sea journey. In the memory he messed with the knotted ropes that tied him to the boat, he was also holding tightly onto a poll as the boat tipped and sailors went tripping in the direction that the waves pushed the boat. It was loud. It was numbingly cold. It was scary, but he had the sort of faith that son’s had in their fathers, that everything was going to be okay.

‘It’s a storm,’ he told the hatchling. ‘They happen in certain seasons, but aren’t too frequent.’ He paused to see what the hatchling thought about the most recent memory. He liked the challenge, but it was distracting to have a voice that was not his own so present in his mind.

[Hiko]

Caryssin had not quite been aware of what to really expect when she had laid her hand along the Faces Egg. Surely, it was one thing to be told and another to experience such a sensation first-hand. The sudden presence of another mind within her own almost caused the girl to take a step back from the egg entirely out of knee-jerk response to the unexpected. Such a developed personality, so early in the life cycle of the little dragonet, that it could be felt to such an extent even from the egg? Caryssin marveled at the reality before her and almost laughed in pleased surprise. It was obvious she’d annoyed the little creature, however, and while she had no plans on alienating the not-quite newborn, she couldn’t help but be amused at the less-than-humble response.

Caryssin’s eyes glittered with dark mirth as the dragonet inside the Faces Egg seemed to rebuke her statement. Vanity was a trait of dragonkind, it seemed, as the inhabitant was all too keen to inform her that it was already amazing. She laughed once more, tracing the little spots along the shell, wondering if it could feel the sensation of her touch. She’d only seen one excitable boy come up to the Egg so far, despite how much more intriguing it and the Watching Egg were in comparison.

“I’m well aware you’ll be out of that little prison of yours in no time,” she began, continuing to trace her fingertips along the most apparent of the “faces”, “But you haven’t had many stop by just yet, have you? You’re unappealing at first glance, you can’t deny that.” The girl returned the snort, then, eyes dancing.
“Think of that shell of yours as a filter for the ones worth paying attention to,” she added with a sly grin, “Because you are amazing, but you’re still stuck in that shell. I can only see these little facial features you’ve decided to keep on the outside. And yet, I still wanted to get to know you. Surely, that should count for something?”

Resolute in her decision to continue the conversation, Caryssin sat down, her hand never quite leaving the smooth texture of the egg. She offered it the mental image of the clutch as a whole, as well as its cousins in Danovelith’s own. She looked to each of the candidates, offering the dragonet a better idea of the activity going on around it. And then, after a brief pause, she envisioned herself touching the pointillistic appearance of the Faces Egg. Determined then, she imagined the mother golds in attendance, the bronze form of prideful Doriath, the blue hide of friendly Daltilith. She extended the effort further, offering the caverns she’d lived in for so many Turns, the great expanse of Igen Hold, and, of course, the coasts and cliffs of Mavros.
“Whole wide world out here,” she commented, her grin growing feral in anticipation, “And I’m not too dumb to know you’ll do wonders in it.”

[kevna]

Siorreya - Candidate

She felt the approval, and then the removal of the psychic presence. She smiled wider, glad that she had been able to redeem herself to the bold and possessive creature. She removed her hands, breathing in deeply, feeling enlivened by what she had just experienced. She felt a wave of sadness try to brush her. Everyone has to leave at some point. Even with that thought, she knew it wasn't really what had caused the wave. It was the fact that the little creature wouldn't remember her, or the glass dragonets that it had felt so possessive over. She let the excitement sweep the sadness aside as she moved backwards, away from the shiny egg, relishing instead on the intense feelings she had while she scanned for another egg. 

She turned in a slow circle, her gaze lingering on the elation of Maz, and she smiled indulgently. He hoped his experience was as amazing as hers. She ended her circle right back where she had started, facing the three eggs wherein the Shiny egg lay nestled. Her gaze fell to the Wave egg, much smaller, but pretty in its own way. Like waves. She moved back to the three, her focus on the Wave Egg. She placed her hands on the small egg, and gently sent the memory. 

Waves crashing just fifteen feet from her, a warm breeze blowing her wispy blonde hair, her skin relishing in the warm sand of her Ista coastline. Is this what you feel in these warm sands? She asked, remembering the feeling of it covering her hands and feet, the warmth radiating up her arms and legs as she watched the waves crash. This, these waves, are kind of like what's on your shell. They relay strength, persistence, and... Siorreya cocked her head, searching for this last word. Assurance. Just as you know the ocean will always lap at the land, and the sun will always rise. 

She closed her eyes, waiting for a response...   

Zen

[Alyx]

Eissan

Eissan gave the egg a dark frown. It was very much starting to remind him of his father, and that wasn’t always a good thing. He wished it wasn’t so dodgy about answering his questions, and yet it expected him to answer the ones it asked? He sighed softly. “So we are doing the blind leading the blind here, then? That’s encouraging.” Hey, if it could be snarky, he could snark right back. It was a rule… someplace. He might have tried to ask more, but the question session very quickly flipped back on him. Images flipped through his mind; not enough to make him nauseous, but it was still a very odd and uncomfortable sensation.

The question was awfully vague. “I like to do things I’m good at, so yea. I want to make more of my lamps. And I want to make people laugh; I like people happy. It’s better than being sad or angry, right?” He smiled. “You want me to make you one when you get out of there? Not sure if you’d need it, but the offer is there.”

Joia

Really, she had expected silence in return, not the rush of mind surfacing into her. Her face paled instantly, her fingers flexing down on the Tiny Egg’s shell in reflex. ‘But how? You’re so small…’ the thought escaped before she could tell herself she shouldn’t answer, instantly concerned and worried for the little entity that dove into her thoughts. It rushed through her mind as if determined to see all the things, know all there was to know. Joia’s lips parted, and she found herself breathing as if she’d been running laps around the Sands rather than just sitting by the too small to be real egg. She could feel herself shaking a little; the presence pulled back.

When it finally settled, the question that came was one both Joia expected and dreaded. Why was she here if she did not want to be? ‘I don’t know.’ The thought was only partly formed, again out of reflex. ‘I don’t want to be here. But my friends want me to be here. I don’t want them sad.’ It sounded so of stupid, even to Joia. ‘I don’t want to go through it all again. The last time was…’ For a moment, the last hatching filled her memory, then the feelings after it like she was losing her mind and going mad. Joia quickly crushed it down; No, she wasn’t going through that again.

Topic change. Joia shifted her seat, bringing her other hand up to run fingers against the shell. ‘What about you? Are you okay in there? I mean..’ It had to know how small it was, right?