To Touch, Perchance to Dream (candidates esp.)

[Selvagem]

Thordis
Thordis ambled softly down the gallery stairs, having trailed behind the rest of the candidates from Barracks to Sands, with the easy gait of one used to taking his time. The boy with the dark chesnut hair and simple brown tunic paused as he drew up beside J'fel and S'gur, and hazy gray eyes softened as he nodded his greeting.

"My duty to you Weyrleader, and to you, greenrider."

A Creche child, he knew the general greetings around the weyr; knew too, some of the riders, having seen them all his life. With a final nod he ambled on towards the eggs, a quick glance telling him where Jordeth and Pelegaoth were, and a small scattering of candidates amongst the eggs. This was not his first clutch, he had seen numerous clutches and Hatchings from the stands in his turns. But never had he came so close before to an egg. He halted as the heat from the Sands flung itself at him, drawing sweat along his neck and arms. He flinched on the hot ground, resisting the impulse to step and keep stepping. He reached out to brush fingers softly across the surface of the nearest egg, murmering softly in wonder.

Gray eyes flicked upwards as another candidate passed close by. Thordis recognized Konamar and bowed his head again, having recognized as well the look in the older man's eyes. He knew him, of course, and knew too the bets being laid against this candidate in the Creche and the Lower Caverns. Inwardly, he pitied the older man - but here and now, those were not good thoughts to entertain. He did not want to start a fight on the Hatching Sands.

[dragonmage]

Nocia slowly walked closer to the group of girls. She didn't feel right about going up to the queen egg. The gold would probably be too much pressure for her, but she had to go to the Touching. Her posture changed as she caught sight of the Caminar girl. Bad enough that they were at the weyr, worse that their stupid gather thing had to happen at the weyr, but for the love of Faranth's golden shell and the love of little green dragons, why did some of them have to end up being Candidates?

Stalking over to Genet, Nocia forced her face into a slight smile. The sands were not comfortable and she didn't want to get into trouble just because the sharding Caminar were here and not out on the road like they should be in her opinion. Her eyes subtly drifted over to the mottled eggs that the boys were touching. The golds were beautiful, true, but the responsibility and the kind of pressure that went along with that hide would probably be far to much for her peace of mind.

[Omnia Munda]

The roll of J'fel's eyes was exaggerated in the extreme; his grin stuck its ground, making the expression more bemused than exasperated. "Meant your candidate class, S'gur. You did have one - or did you spring fully-formed from the shell alongside Glosolith?"

It was more joshing than chastisement, and the young weyrleader hung an elbow up over the rail and leaned into one leg, kicking the other foot out to rest on a boot-heel dug into the sand. Konamar still held some large portion of his attention and one of those ever-arched, too-aristocratic brows twitched as the candidate - the one of these that was his elder - moved from a first touched egg to another.

"Boys're lazy," J'fel asided to S'gur, a little less quietly than the greenrider had spoken to him. "There's more of them, but not here. Some of 'em probably figure they have it in the bag." A shrug moved the weyrleader's shoulders; the gesture did little, but not nothing, to hide the fact that he slid a little on the rail, leaning close to the other rider.

"Too many girls, though, you ask me. Searchriders haven't seen a gold egg in turns." This was much more softly spoken, and J'fel let out a whispery laugh and a shake of his head in bemusement. "They're overexcited."

More candidates arrived from the galleries above, and the weyrleader twisted to watch them down onto the sands. Their bows and the greeting from the very young boy Thordis, discomfited him somewhat; he replied them with a little salute slung off with two fingers from his temple. "Duties," he murmured, and glanced back at S'gur until the candidates had turned their backs on the riders and gone out closer to the eggs. Only then did J'fel begin to watch them again; this time, it was the gathering of girls around the barely-visible crest of golden egg peeking from the sand that kept his gaze.

He'd seen that Caminar girl before.

To S'gur, J'fel uttered a wordless, unhappy grumble, then looked over at the greenrider to see if they both saw the same thing.

[ignisfatuus]

The healers in the infirmary looked at Jansen with mild despair when ever they pasted him. None of them were too pleased about having a Caminar in their midst, let alone one who insisted on making such an awful mess. Wood carving were scattered everywhere since he had used his new found rank of 'candidate' he had persuaded one of the drudges to fetching a lump of wood and since he had been resolutely carving. It's not like he had much else to do here and it was starting to turn out quite nicely. It had been a while since he had decided to carve a dragon but it seemed apt at present.

It turned out that Jansen had sprained his ankle really quite badly and his walking on it so much had not helped in the slightest. If he hadn't fallen out with G'tet the way he had, maybe less damage would have been sustained but alas, what was done was done now. But he was starting to go a little mad cooped up in here. Never before had Jansen spent so long indoors. Ever. Especially being limited to either sitting or laying down with his bad foot elevated. These last couple of days had been more than enough. Which was why he was so glad to get the news that the candidates were wanted to go the sands. Even though it wasn't outside, it was moving around and the healers couldn't argue with that. He had been briefed by the candidate master about certain do's and don't's earlier that morning and had been told to come when he was ready.

It was thus, with the aid of a pair of crutches begrudgingly lent to him by the healers, Jansen was on his way to lay his eyes for the first time on Dragon eggs. The soft thud of feet alternating with the harder clonks of the crutches sounds out of place as they reverberated around the quieter corridors than Jansen traversed through (Theres were the ones, alas, that he was usually lost in). As he hobbled hither and thither along the corridors, occasionally pausing to get his bearings or ask someone the way to hatching grounds, he mused over the events of the past few days. To think that he of all the Caminar was here at the Weyr. Jansen shook his head a little as he laughed quietly to himself about how ridiculous the whole thing was (Two young weyrbrates gave him odd looks as they distanced themselves from the Caminar).

Before he knew it, Jansen had finally stumbled upon the hatching grounds. He was surprised by the wall of hot air that struck him as he entered. Shards, it was warm in here. He could see the air shimmering above the sands, the source no doubt, for this unnatural heat. Jansen made a mental note to keep his injured foot up off the ground seeing how at present it was simply bandaged (tightly one might add) to stop him doing any further damage. Now that he was here though, Jansen wondered if it was really that great of an idea. Sand tended to shift quite easily and he was not at his most stable... G'tet's words still plagued him so onwards he went, taking extra care with each and every step.

Once he was positioned further inside he stopped to take a good look around at everything, and everyone. This was after all his first time in such a place. The next (and last) time that he was in here, he might be a little more preoccupied by the hatching to really take a good look.

First there was the Queen, Pelegaoth. She was the first thing to draw your eyes to it. She was larger than Jansen had expected, and far more beautiful. This was the first time that he had been in anything that resembled close proximity to a dragon that wasn’t a green (G’tet’s Kelpath to be precise.) Then there were the numerous eggs on the sands close to her. All reasonably large, but some more so than others. It was all but impossible to miss the candidates walking among the eggs, touching them freely. There was a gaggle of girls gathered around one in particular. Jansen took a guess that that was the infamous Queen’s egg that he had heard so much about. Two girls caught his attention for a fraction of a second more than the others. One of them was clearly Caminar. This realisation made the corners of his mouth twitch up in a smile. So he wasn’t the only one then. That was a relief. The other was the girl Genet, G’tet’s sister. He had met her briefly on that fateful day. He wondered if she would recognise him. The boys were of little interest at present.

Next his eyes wondered up to look at the great bronze that was perched on a ledge above him. Jansen had to admit, Bronzes, and all dragon kind in fact, were impressive creatures. Maybe impressing one really wouldn’t be all that bad. The natural progression of the way his eyes had travelled led him to look up at the empty galleries. Well, near empty. There were two men stood talking up there, both riders by the looks of things. One of them had to be the Weyrleader but Jansen was clueless as to which one of them.

So, right. The eggs. Precariously, Jansen made his way towards the eggs, giving the Queens one and the girls a wide birth. On closer inspection, the range of ages of the male candidates amused Jansen, as well as the small number that was gathered here. They were in trouble if this was all there were. But he doubted it. Not that he could know for certain. He had yet to step foot inside the Candidate barracks or really speak to any of them. Not that he could be blamed for that.

Jansen stopped a very short distance away from one of the eggs, not trusting himself to go nearer. He didn’t want to risk losing his balance and falling on one or something. He was certain the consequences would be dire if he did. No, he would be content with looking for the moment. His eyes did keep wandering every now and then, generally to look at one of the other candidates or another.

[ignisfatuus]

S’gur turned to give J’fel an astonished look “Did you never hear the stories about the magnificent Glosolith and her astounding rider? The miracle that happened during one fateful hatching, where dragon and rider burst from a single egg, as you said, fully formed. It was glorious, the stuff of legends. Only…” S’gur paused to sigh, a mock look of sadness on his face ‘… young people these days are not interested in legends nor in keeping them alive.’ The greenrider leant on the rail, trying to create an air of nostalgic sadness before giving up and standing up straight. “But aside from that, my class was interesting I guess. Not quite as diverse, but interesting in their own way.”

S’gur simply couldn’t bring himself to watch Konamar the way that J’fel did. There was something mildly unsettling about the boy, man. Watching him did nothing but to compound that feeling. But girls tended to be annoying, with all of their squeeling and general levels of excitement being excessive. This didn’t could all the girls, just most. He wished that there were more boys here. It was more interesting to watch them weave between the multiple eggs. Though S’gur was going to take the right to mock those who didn’t turn up and failed to impress, if it seemed fitting that was. After all while there was no definite proof that this helped, there was no evidence to the contrary either. But at least more were arriving now. Some of them were interesting. Thordis for one. S’gur also gave him a salute in return of his greetings, though his was a little slowing in coming than J’fel’s and a somewhat bemused.

There was an easy silence between the two as they watched the candidates now that those who had come down the gallery stairs had joined the others. It was hard not to let the eyes drift over to the cluster of girls. There he saw the Caminar girl, he found it irksome that they were staying in the Bowl but the fact that they were also ending up on the sands… S’gur preventing his displeasure manifesting in any visible means, not wanting the Weyrleader to see it. Though for all the dislike he had for the Caminar, when one of the girls pushed past her, seemingly trying to knock her off balance, he couldn’t hold back a quite groan.
“This is why I was glad that there was not a gold egg present at the hatching I impressed. No girls. Everyone was far more amiable then.”

[Invisible]

A few more girls had gathered and Genet made notice of them while she spoke to Keldara. She was willing to nod politely to them all while tapping one foot impatiently. Really, not caring about being first did not mean she had no desire to touch the egg herself.

But then she noticed how one of the newer girls to arrive, Caminar by the looks, was pushed rudely and that was quite enough. She may not have any desire to give up rebellious and wild tendencies, but rudeness she could never abide. Squaring her shoulders she looked at the small group of girls gathered by her, including the Caminar. “Well, I think we’ve waited enough,” she declared and headed towards the egg. The quartet would get their chance now and clearly Genet saw no reason not to be obeyed by the others with her. Wincing at the heat of the sand she converged on the egg and the ones still lingering over it.

“Come on then. You’ve had a turn. Let us and we still might have a chance for another feel each. “ Eyes narrowing she eyed Vera especially as she added in a softer tone not meant to carry past the egg, “Or you’ll all be sorry. Mark my words.” Genet’s natural cheerfulness made her a difficult to believe bully, but her fearlessness would at least let them think she would have revenge regardless of consequences to herself. With some reluctance the troupe of Vera's moved back with much mutterings between them. Revenge might be plotted, but the hazel-eyed woman gave it no thought. Let them try.

Looking now from Keldara to Selvagem to Nocia she nodded once. “Alright then. Kel and I first because we were here before you. Then you two…what’re your names again? I’m Genet and that’s Keldara.” She had no way of knowing what making Nocia stand by the Caminar while exploring the egg would do to the girl or maybe she would have switched things up. Again without waiting to see if she’d be obeyed she inched up to the egg all nervousness now. The first touch she gave it was so light she was quite sure neither her or the egg (or its inhabitant) might even be aware. Just don’t pick Vera she whispered to it in her mind. Really, please don’t. She’s horrid and rude and would be terrible. If you don’t pick me at least don’t pick her. Not that I would mind if you picked me at all. I bet you’re beautiful in there even all baby gross. I can’t wait to see you and I’m Genet and please pick me. Just don’t pick Vera.

Genet had no idea if talking made a difference or if, since she didn’t even speak out loud, it was even good enough. But, she knew mothers who had talked to their babies when still in the womb so it couldn’t hurt. Glancing around sheepishly as she ran fingertips and then palms over the shell she colored. Not that she’d tell anyone she had. What if it was silly?

[Invisible]

(OOC: Apologies for double posting, but the one got so long I thought breaking up would make an easier read.)

Konamar knew more candidates were arriving because he could hear them. It was annoying to have to worry about even more people in his way, but it’s not as if he could expect to be left alone. Dodging around a bunch of kids was not as thrilling as it sounded. With a last touch on an egg left off to the side by its lonesome he moved on. Sort of like me every time I come out here he thought.

The boys he recognized from around the Weyr he gave a wide berth. He’d been through this enough times to know what he would see if he looked at them. They pitied him and mocked him and, he just knew, were hoping he would fail again so they could feel superior. It was then that he spied one that turned his mood immediately dark.

Bad enough there was a Caminar girl standing for the gold egg, but a boy? And one who was on crutches? He was not even staying in the barracks with the others so what kind of a candidate was he? He learned nothing from anyone, but sat around all day and then expected to be allowed to come out here? It was all Konamar could do not to take one of those crutches and drag the Caminar from the sands. His eyes narrowed as he glared first at Genet since it was her brother who had the audacity to search the shiftless boy and then to the boy himself.

If looks could kill there’d be nothing but a smoking pair of crutches where Jansen stood. His body language made it abundantly clear what his mind was thinking. You’re not wanted here and certainly not needed here. Go back to your own kind. His thoughts bent towards a darker path, but he struggled to get them under control. It would do no good to be in that mood out here. He needed to calm himself. His boots thudded in the sand as he clomped over to an egg currently receiving no attention. Ignore the stupid boy he told himself. Focus on what was important. Pay attention to why you’re here.

[Omnia Munda]

S'gur's restraint was lost on the weyrleader; the younger man was displaying enough displeasure for them both, his brows drawn low and his pretty mouth ugly with a frown.

"No Caminar girls," murmured J'fel to the greenrider, pulling down his elbow from the rail so he could fold his arms. He'd all but forgotten about Konamar now, and all the other boys too; all he could see was the clatch of girls and among them, Selvagem.

Genet was touching the egg, now, and J'fel felt some relief to see it.

"They make good riders," admitted the weyrleader with a dark shake of his head. "But weyrwomen?"

To himself, J'fel made a note to find out who'd made the Caminar girl a candidate.

Outwardly, he forced onto his features a less sullen seeming and turned the tightest of smiles toward S'gur. A subject change was in order: "You have any bets riding on the eggs - or on the people?"

[flamewolf]

Keldara
Keldara turned to as Genet spoke to the other two girls. She allowed the other, much more talkative candidate to introduce them, smiling at both in her polite way of greeting. She glanced back to see Genet stalking over to the girls crowding the gold egg, and looked back to the other two. "Very talkative girl," she said with a smile, before following her, more slowly. She allowed Genet to touch the egg, watching idly, but glancing to the other girls instead who seemed to glower.

She can be quite convincing if she wants to, Kel mused silently, thinking of Genet's small little threat. Certainly not a bully, though. No, it took skill for a girl to be a bully, and actual bully, and not a jerk. She glanced to the queen egg, frowning. I wonder if she gets annoyed by all the attention. Or if they feel overcrowded. She smiled. Could a queen be claustrophobic? Could any dragonet be, in their egg? That thought was plain silly, and she hide to smother a laugh. She returned her attention to Genet, patiently (unlike the other girls) waiting for her turn, allowing the other candidate to get her time.

Sunyu
The young man watched as Keldara waited for her turn, thinking silently to herself. Something was amusing her, for she had to hide a laugh; he smiled slightly and glanced behind him as he saw two more boys show up. Only four. He rolled his eyes. Some boys could be so darn lazy. He finally approached the eggs, looking at the hardened shells, the different sizes, the variations of shape and color. It was very intriguing. But what was more so intriguing was the dragonet inside.

I wonder if they know when they're shells' are being touched, he wondered to himself as he crouched down by one. It was a normal egg, nestled in between one large one and one small one. He gently reached forward and brushed his palm against it before pulling it back and staring into the hard surface. Just think, generations of your kind have been going through this. It must feel...normal. He gazed at the egg for a moment longer before glancing to the side, where Konomar was not far away. He smiled slightly, then glanced back to the clutch. If any of what I've heard is true, one of you, pick that lad over there. He deserves it, really. He stood back up again and gently dusted himself off. He'd been kneeling without realizing it. Hm. Wonder how that happened.

[dragonmage]

Nocia listened to Genet as patiently as she could with her feet frying on the Sands. Moving off with the small group of girls who had not yet touched the gold egg, she almost winced when Genet told her that she and the Caminar girl would bee touchign the egg at the same time.

"I will not endanger my chances of Impressing," Nocia muttered under her breath, more to keep her temper down than for any other reason. One of her feet tapped one the sand noiselessly. The heat was getting to both her temper, coiled like a tunnelsnake ready to strike, and her normally large stock of patientence was dwindling by the moment due to the heat.

[ignisfatuus]

Jansen's mood in this...interesting place was largely a mild one. Pleasantly so. It was maybe a little on the warm side for his liking and the crutches were irritating but there was nothing untoward. He was quite pleasantly pottering around at his own pace, gazing at the mottled eggs in all their various sizes. The day these all hatched would be interesting. He still kept himself a short distance from them, just in case. Jansen also felt fairly detached from the whole thing still, not really feeling like he belonged nor that he was proper candidate really yet. Maybe he would hunt down the Candidate Master after this to find out more about dragons and candidacy in general...

Knowing the general feeling people had towards the Caminar, Jansen kept glancing over at the girls every now and then to make sure Selvagem was okay. If anything started, he was ready to leap, well hobble, to her defense. Knowing how the Caminar tended to work, she was probably a distant relative of some sort anyway. Though he had yet to notice anything happen among the girls, Jansen could not fail to notice the death glare he was getting from what appeared to be the oldest boy here. Should he just ignore the boy and carry on as he had been? Or should he innocently head over and strike up conversation with him? Ask him about the eggs or something at least, if not conversation. He was knew and thus wonderfully oblivious to all sorts of little things. Jansen was fully aware that this other boy would probably not appreciate his attention, or any other by his general demeanor.

"Hi there" Jansen said as he hobbled over towards Konamar. There was a small smile on his face which hid what would have otherwise been a smirk. "I'm-I'm new here, only been a couple of days here and then thats been in the infirmary. Do you think you could tell me about...all this?" He gestured with a small nod of his head in the direction of the eggs and all.

[Selvagem]

Horatio, Jhorna and Thordis
Horatio felt, looking back towards the stands from the midst of the baking Sands and the simmering eggs, that he would remember this scene for the rest of his life, whether he Impressed or not. Dark gray eyes travelled slowly the length of the room, his fingers lightly stroking the egg right before him. The great golden Queen dreaming in the languid heat, her watchful mate lounging overhead, the Weyrleader discussing matters with his subodinate, the eggs interlaced with eager boys weaving through them, the gaggle of girls around the golden egg...such scenes wove themselves into the Apprentice Healer's mind, and burned themselves into his consciouness. He would never forget, he told himself, feeling again the awe that had held him when he first set foot into the Candidate Barracks.

Not that Jhorna cared for such things, of course. A fast glance told Horatio that his friend was still happily moving in and out of the eggs at random, touching them quickly before moving on. He huffed once in soft laughter, and resumed his apparently aimless meandering through the clutch, working slowly but methodically towards the other end to ensure he saw all of them. Unlike Jhorna, he held no strong belief that touching all of them ensured you got a dragonet at the Hatching itself, but then...who knew? Maybe his friend was right, even though Horatio preferred to believe he was simply being overenthusiastic. Now that he was here though, the dark blond-haired was not going to take the chance that his Apprentic Smithcrafter friend might be wrong.

Jhorna, for his part, was thoroughly enjoying himself. Despite the heat and the tense murmers beneath the great bulk of the dozing Queen (Who knew if she might suddenly wake? What an adventure!), the curly-haired boy could not help but feel that he was making a very good chance of Impression for himself. He moved fast but smooth, movements rhythematical so as not to draw the attention of the watching bronze up above, and whispered to each egg as his fingers glanced it, muttering just loud enough for the egg to hear, if it could.

"Here, I'm Jhorna, just know me on the day you Hatch."

He knew what Horatio would say if he knew, but he did so badly want to Impress, unlike his more mellow friend. Some other candidate at the Barracks had said that doing what he now did with each egg would significantly increase his chances, and had then proceeded to list a series of testimonials to that effect. Granted, the candidate in question was down with a cold and would not be attending the Hatching, but Jhorna did not intend to let his advice to waste. He brushed his palm softly across yet another egg, murmering kindly word to it in passing.

Both Horatio and Jhorna raised their heads just as another candidate entered the Sands, crutches tapping the ground in echoes of sound that rang over the simmering heat. Horatio raised a brow at the sight of a Caminar boy, obviously a candidate too, and then turned away with a slight shake of the head. He would not question the decisions of the Weyr in allowing those wanderers to Stand, but he could not help wondering why it was allowed at a time when tensions were running so high between Caminar and holder.

Jhorna, for his part, glanced at Jansen curiously. He had never had much interaction with the holdless folk, and their manners of speech, dressing and even gaits were aspects of interest to him. He blinked as he turned back to start on again...and almost tripped over a boy who was just standing up again after crouching down to examine an egg. Jhorna stumbled sideways with a small exclaimation, then turned apologetically to Sunyu.

"Sorry, I didn't hurt you right?"

Thordis, for his part, let his feet take him where they would, stopping every so often to stroke an egg with gentle respect, or whisper a greeting to its inhabitant. The dark chestnut-haired boy might have amongst been the youngest of the candidates on the Sands just then, but he had lived with dragons all his life, and the excitement that carried off some of them did little to disturb his usual gray-eyed calmness. He halted as Horatio and Jhorna had at the approach of Jansen, but after a curious glance went back to his own business. A Weyr-born child, the concerns and fears of the Holder children did not touch him as deeply as it did them, though he remained aware of them. He drifted on, nonchalent, until a voice nearby caught his attention.

"Hi there. I'm-I'm new here, only been a couple of days here and then thats been in the infirmary. Do you think you could tell me about...all this?"

Thordis lifted his head, and saw with bemusement that he had wandered nearer to the Caminar. The thirteen-turn-old drew in a breath as he realized, abruptly, who Jansen had been addressing. The oldest candidate was, to Thordis's sharp and attentive eyes, already glaring fit to burst rock. Yet Jansen had dared to speak to him. Was he mad? Couldn't he already see that Konamar was not in any mood to be accosted just then, least of all by a Caminar?

Apprehensive, silent, Thordis hovered nearby, keeping an egg between himself and the two older boys as he watched pensively.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Selvagem
Selvagem ignored the stares she felt rather than saw, having known long before that she would draw attention simply by wearing what she wore and being what she was in candidacy. It was a daily affair to be stared at and whispered about by now, being among plantado as she was, and being different. She endured it all as she had endured the rough winds and sorching heat of the plains. The light taps of a crutch caught her attention, and she turned, placing feet carefully on the hot Sands, to see who was coming. A reddish-brown brow raised as she saw a Caminar boy approach the Sands, and begin his own weaving through the eggs with the other candidates. But she had no time to think about it, as one of the nearby girls spoke just then.

“Well, I think we’ve waited enough.”

She started off towards the egg with its gaggle of girls, and the two with her followed. Selvagem, for lack of anything better to do, came on behind them as the girl with the frosty blue eyes turned and smiled back at her and Nocia.

"Very talkative girl."

A smile teased the corners of her lips. Selvegem said nothing however, but allowed the girl who had declared their move begin the conversation.

“Come on then. You’ve had a turn. Let us and we still might have a chance for another feel each. Or you’ll all be sorry. Mark my words.”

The reddish-haired girl had to force herself not to raise her brow yet again. This girl was tough: she might have been a figure of authority amongst the Caminar, woman or not. With mutters of revenge, the group around the egg withdrew, and Genet turned to them again.

“Alright then. Kel and I first because we were here before you. Then you two…what’re your names again? I’m Genet and that’s Keldara.”

The early curl of her lips twitched into a full smile. These girls, Genet and Keldara, might be plantado, but they had an idea of themselves, at least. And they did not seem to think that talking to a Caminar would bring some terrible curse on their heads. She replied softly to Genet's query, in a voice to be heard only by those with her.

"Selvagem."

She waited patiently as Genet and Keldara took their turn, picking up each leg and standing on each foot in turns to keep her soles from being scalded too much. The girl beside her had not introduced herself, and Selvegem did not push her. She was uneasy, she sensed, or perhaps unhappy at having to stand beside a Caminar, if her foot-tapping and mouth movements of muttering were anything to go by. The reddish brown-haired girl had no wish to ignite anything, so she simply held her peace, and looked out over the Sands, watching the other Caminar boy curiously. She had seen him before, and could almost swear she might know his name. Perhaps, if she stared long enough, she might remember.

[Invisible]

“One would think it’d be your place to know about all this before stepping out here,” Konamar replied to the Caminar man with a less than friendly sounding chuckle. “But, I suppose we must make allowances for your kind. We can’t expect you to be anything but ignorant if you’re not smart enough to ask pertinent questions before doing something.” That others were observing was of little importance at this time. He was not doing anything wrong, technically, so there was no reason to fear being kicked from the sands. Konamar’s head twisted to one side for a look around before refocusing on Jansen. He looked somewhat surprised as if he’d expected the man to hobble off before his eyes got back to him.

“Well, if you haven’t figured it out yet…” The sentence lingered in the air for a minute as he considered and then he seemed to notice Thordis lingering nearby. “He can tell you what you need to know,” Jansen was told as he Konamar nodded towards Thordis. Let someone else play nursemaid as he had no interest in it. “I wouldn’t be too concerned however. If you’re still on those crutches come the hatching you won’t be allowed out of here.” The old candidate had nothing left to offer and turned away as if he would find a new place with different eggs to examine.

[Invisible]

The others were waiting Genet knew. There was no sense getting Vera to back off if she hogged the egg herself and so she stepped back and gestured for Keldara to go ahead. Any one of these girls might get the queen she told herself with a sigh. Well, so long as it’s not one of Vera’s cronies I should have at least made an impression here. Maybe they would let me work for them. It would be neat getting to go on errands for a weyrwoman and I could get G’tet to take me. Soothed by that thought Genet was able to smile more easily to the other girls in the group with her.

“Selvagem,” she repeated with only a slight stumble over the name. “Wow. You must be the girl that has the others letting my brother go easy. He searched one of you.” Looking around for Jansen she spied him near Konamar and winced. This is not going to go good she thought before just pointing to the Caminar on crutches. “G’tet, my brother, his Kalpeth picked him. I had to go fetch his things.” A mini-adventure all its own for her going amongst the traders on her own to find his family to fetch his things. Now that she was not busy examining the egg she could look more closely at the other girls.

With no idea exactly what a dragon might be looking for she had no idea what to look for in the others. Still, it didn’t hurt to try to get some information on them now. “You know, my mother says I talk way too much and I feel like I am here. There’s no reason we can’t all take a turn at talking too. Can you imagine how hot it will be when we’re all distracted by the egg too? At least we’re not one of the boys. I imagine it won’t take her too long to hatch and find someone and then we can get off the sands and watch the rest in comfort. My brother said he’d save me a good seat if we were done early and I can tell him to save one for everyone if you like.” She glanced over at Vera who was whispering to one of her group while giving rather malevolent looks towards Genet and the girls near her. “Well, for everyone who doesn’t have feet big enough to need their own seat,” she said a little louder.

Casting her attention wider now she made note of the boys that arrived and, along with that, those who had not bothered. Well, would serve them right if they walked off the sands alone. Farther out she saw the Weyrleader watching them and grinned. There were worse things than being watched by a good looking man even if he was probably just making sure none of them did something stupid like a handstand atop the egg. Emboldened by her success with cowing Vera she even went so far as to wave to the Weyrleader and the man he was with before turning back to pay attention to what was going on closer around her.

[flamewolf]

Sunyu
The candidate stumbled to the side a little as he was bumped into. He caught himself before he fell (especially in the wrong direction x.x) and looked over to whomever had bumped into him. His temper sparked, below the surface, deeply hidden; but the boy quickly apologized, and it was smothered. Sunyu smiled at Jhorna. He hadn't meant it, and at least he wasn't a jerk and blamed it on him or something.

"No, I'm fine," he assured easily. "Good thing I didn't fall, though," he added with a glance to the eggs, then to the sleeping queen, and lastly to the Weyrleader. He turned back to the boy. "Oh, I'm Sunyu," he introduced himself.

Keldara
The girl smiled at Genet and slipped past her to the egg. She slowly kneeled down next to it and frowned. She wondered idly if this really helped at all, or just made the girls less...scared...when the hatching day finally came. Her frosty blue eyes gazed at the shell, wondering if the Queen knew anything that they thought of; then lifted a hand and set it down on the shell.

It was surprisingly warm and very hard. She blinked slightly. Why should she be so surprised? Though it certainly didn't feel like anything she'd ever felt before. I give you credit, she thought silently. Great, she was thinking to an egg. You have a lot resting on your shoulders. Even know, much is expected of you. She glanced behind her, listening to Genet speak to- Selvagem, right?- and glanced back to the egg. You have to choose between all of us, and no matter what happens, you'll hurt somebody's feelings. Kel gave a small sigh. The heat was unbearable, down so close to the sand. Well...Good luck. She hadn't moved her hand at all, now she lifted it and herself. Short, sweet, to the point. Haven't even thought of her name. Though she doubted the dragon needed another one.

She turned back to them with a smile. "Go ahead, Selvagem," she said calmly. She had nothing against the traders. Though her time was short, she got in all that she wanted. She wasn't about to pull a Vera or anything. She turned to Genet with a smile. "Sure, I wouldn't mind taking a seat with you and your brother," she said. Then she followed her wave to the Weyrleader and laughed, but didn't remark. Oy, she must be feeling confident.