To Touch the Stars (Candidate Thread)

[HG]

Early morning though it was, this was the time that Aeriath had chosen for the Candidates to come and touch the eggs. The Candidate Master was waiting for the Candidates to arrive just outside the large Hatching Cavern. As the Candidates arrived he bid them to be silent. When it finally seemed that everyone who expressed an interest in coming had shown he began with a list of things they were to do.

“The sands will be hot and we are not permitted to stay more than a few minutes. First you must show your respect for Aeriath and if she then allows you to touch the eggs you may go ahead and do so. Always stay within her sight. I cannot stress enough how important it is for Aeriath to feel secure. Dragons with a clutch on the sands are prone to be over protective. Go on in now and do not forget what I’ve said.”

Aeriath lay on the sands, eyes half lidded as the Candidates were permitted on the Sands. Her tail was wrapped around the Gold Egg defensively. Whether she would allow anyone to touch her golden daughter’s shell was yet to be seen. While she usually allowed people to touch her eggs, today she was a little more on edge than usual. Haven Weyr being attacked had all the dragons a bit more protective than they normally were. Raelwyn stood near the Queen, making sure that the Gold dragon was still on her best behavior.

Laure having been at the Weyr for a few days now and making a fine recovery from being a starved wanderer had been told about the Candidate lesson. The dark haired girl had arrived as one of the first people there mostly because at the Weyr she easily got lost and so left with twice the time to spare in case she got lost. The Hatching Caverns had been easier to find than she had anticipated but not so much so htat she didn’t make a couple of wrong turns. Where were handsome, helpful dragonriders when she needed them?

She half heard what was being said to her because being at the front of the line of Candidate, she could see Aeriath and was in complete awe. After never seeing a dragon close enough to touch to being close enough to touch the Queen of Refuge, she was overwhelmed. Laure after missing most of what was being said looked to see what the other Candidates were going to do here. She would learn from them and their mistakes.

[freya]

Rinkin had followed the others out onto the sands and listened as they we're instructed on how to act infront of the queen. He looked at the golden queen with a careful eye and watched as no one else was going to try anything. When he had a great backbone and then took a big breath then deceided if no one else would try then he would go. The candidate straightened up his vest then bowed to the queen and kept his eyes lowered to her to show respect along with a subservant attitude towards her. It was for a few seconds that he thought it was okay then deceided that he would be okay to maybe try his luck at touching the eggs.

He went past her having no interest in the golden egg due to only girls actually being able to impress to a queen. When he was walking around the eggs one in particular caught his interest a egg that was colored like the sands. It was hard to tell the designs on the egg because of where it was and seemed that it didn't want anyone near it. Rinkin was very fascinated by this egg and went over to it tracing his hands down the specks though it was hard to tell a lot about the design. His hand rested on it for a moment then drew back afraid that he might harm it. While he looked around wondering where the other candidates we're and then just looked at the egg keeping a eye on it.

[wolflover1458]

Therion had been waiting for this day for quite a while. She'd never actually touched a dragon egg before, and she wasn't about to miss out on this fantastic opportunity. She waited with a bunch of other hopeful Candidates with the Candidate Master, who droned on for a while about what they weren't supposed to do. Therion was firstly annoyed that they could only stay for a few minutes. It wasn't like she didn't know exactly what she planned to do once she got there, so it wasn't like that was an issue, but she wouldn't get very much time to really appreciate anything. How were they supposed to enjoy this if they didn't get to stay that long? Annoyed as she was, she kept it to herself and just followed the others onto the Sands.

Aeriath was curled protectively around her golden egg. The Queen seemed willing to protect it with her life, and Therion knew that she would. It might seem intimidating to have a giant dragon staring you down, especially a giant mother dragon, but Therion had no real fear. She headed right up to Aeriath, being certain not to look directly at the Queen as that might annoy her, or make her nervous, or something. Upon reaching Aeriath, Therion bowed deeply and gracefully before getting back up and putting on her good attitude. "Hello my Queen, and thank you for allowing us onto the Sands to see your children," Therion said quite smoothly. She might have plenty of bad things to say about how this whole thing could go better, but she did know how to be polite even if she was rather upset. Besides, Aeriath, and all Gold dragons, demanded respect. Therion knew that, at least. Her eyes flitted briefly to the golden egg, not fully noticeable with Aeriath wrapped around it, then she looked back. "And if you would be so gracious as to allow me to pay my respects to your wonderful daughter as well, I would be very thankful."

[parallel]

Marlaey was more than excited to find herself standing among the other candidates on the sands, awaiting her chance to touch the eggs. Having grown up with stories of her friends Touching and Impressing, she pretty much knew the drill, but as the dragons were on edge today she made sure to be extra courteous.

Stepping forward, she approached the great gold slowly but steadily. This was her first time standing for a hatching and she was naturally very nervous, she'd never been around a Queen and her eggs before. The hot sands burned her feet and made a note to slip the sandals in her rucksack on her feet before moving over to the clutch. Bowing low to Aeriath first, she spoke, "Thank you great Queen, for allowing us to visit you children. I am honoured to approach both you and them. I will be gentle and kind as touch." Raising herself back up, she looked towards the large golden egg with Aeriath's tail coiled around it. She bowed to it too, acknowledging it's presence and significance.

~~~~~~

Kestrel stood impassively among the other candidates, only half listening to the instructions being given. She didn't care very much right now, or at all in fact. Though she'd come to the weyr hoping to start fresh, it unfortunately hadn't worked out as planned yet. Her past still haunted her and she felt only disdain for the riders who had soulmates with them always, to comfort them. She had no one to comfort her, no one to confide in. The only creature she'd ever felt close to was gone now, her dear runner. All so she could make it here. And what good had it been so far? None.

So when the candidates began moving forward, she too walked with them, mindlessly following procedure. She didn't so much as bow to Aeriath as jerk in her general direction. Only the knowledge that the dragons were feeling overly protective today kept her from being even less enthusiastic.

~~~~~~

Jared was terrified as he listened to the instructions. The Queen would be more protective than normal? Oh great. He shifted from side to side, bumping into another boy by accident as everyone started moving forwards to preent themselves. "Sorry!", he whispered to him as he tried to calm his nerves. Everything would be fine, he thought, the Queen will be more concerned about her golden daughter and since he was a boy he didn't have to worry about going near that particular egg!

When it was his turn to stand before the gold, he froze. She was so much bigger than he'd anticipated. Gaping slightly, he bowed hurriedly, stumbling over his words, "T-thank you, Queen A-aeriaith. I will b-be careful among your ch-children."

~~~~~~

Parallel had brought Kialio with him only as far as the entrance to the sands. Once the instructions were made clear he sent him off with an affection pat and promise of some good food later. He had no intentions of aggravating an already on edge gold. The candidates were definitely a good mix of people, he thought, watching them and how they approached the gold. Deciding to take his own turn, he moved gracefully forward, bowing deeply to the gold and speaking clearly, "I am honoured to be invited here to the sands to see your beautiful children. May I, among my peers, be allowed to touch them?"

[Ise]

Some how Zayten managed not to be overly energetic when he entered the sands with the rest of his fellow candidates and the Candidate Master. It was his first touching, and while he knew what to expect after question his older brother and half-sisters, it was still so new for him. He listened to the Candidate Master in between standing on his toes to try and see all the eggs. He had heard there were twelve eggs but he could only see ten of them. The gold egg was being hidden by Aeriath but he still couldn't figure out where that last egg was.

Finally they were allowed to pay their respects to Aeriath and be given the chance to touch the eggs. He made sure he was at the front, wanting to have more then a few seconds with an egg. He politely waited for those in front of him to speak to Aeriath before moving away. Once he was up, he paused for a moment, just needing to take a moment to look up at the dragon and fully realize how large she was before he remembered what he was suppose to be doing. He bowed, staying down for a moment before he stood up again.
"Good afternoon Aeriath. I hope you're doing well. Thank you for letting us see your babies. They look very pretty already."

Not waiting to take up too much of the queen's time, he gave her another quick bow before he got out of the way and started to wander between the eggs. He finally saw that last camouflaged egg when he saw another candidate at it, and while he was curious about it he left the other boy alone. His hand brushed across shells, making him grin at the different sensations he got off of them. The Social Butterfly egg caught his attention, it was such a strange looking egg and the different feelings it put off were odd, like the dragon inside just couldn't make up its mind on what it wanted. The next egg that caught his attention was the bright red egg named The Passionate Feeling. With how strong the colors were, he wasn't surprised by how strong the dragon inside seemed to be. The smallest The Sensitive Dreamer egg was the last one he went to. It was a calmer feeling then the last two, one that made him feel good and bright a smile to his face. It was such a nice feeling it, so calm and relaxing and not over powering like some of the others. Oh but he loved them all. Now he just had to hope that one of them would like him back.

[freya]

Trelia had been standing back with the others then watched observing what was proper custom and then went up after the others. She was followed suite to what the others we're doing by taking the hem of her skirt and curtised to the great queen. "Queen Aeriath I would be greatly honored if you allow me to touch the gold egg," said Trelia as she kept her eyes low for a moment then stood straight. She waited to see what the queen would do and didn't dare any closer as the risk of loosing limb was great. While out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of twelve eggs and hoped that she would impress not going away disappointed.

She looked around at the others and noticed there we're a few others girls present. It made her smile to think that she would have others girls to hand around with at this new weyr. When Trelia saw that only one other girl was really giving her attention to the gold and waited patiently beside her. Her skirt blow with the warm wind and tied around her was a apron because she had come from the lower caverns from baking brad. The young candidate hoped that she would impress what she wanted and yet had to admit that it is what every other girl in this group thought as well.

[wolflover1458]

Now, while Ajallvon may have seen every hatching at Refuge Weyr that he'd been alive to see, he had never once been to a Touching. Those were reserved for Candidates, and since he'd never been a Candidate, he'd never even seen a Touching take place. But that was different now. Because he was a Candidate this time. He'd woken up very early that morning. Seeing as the sun wasn't even up yet, he'd spent the time until it was polishing everything in his room that had dared to get dusty overnight. Being a Candidate and all, he'd decided to move into the Barracks. It seemed like the traditional thing to do, although he sort of regretted it. No one else was going to let him clean their stuff, and some of it didn't smell all that great. All he could do was surround himself with soap where all of his things were, and try to ignore the smells of other people's things. If they wanted to be messy, that was their prerogative.

But then it had been time to head out for the Touching. The Candidate Master had given them all explicit instructions. Ajallvon knew most of them just because his older brothers were dragon riders and explained these kinds of things to him. After all was said, they were allowed to head into the Sands. He waited for the others to go, getting himself used to the feel of the hot sand beneath his feet and the distinct smells that the hatching cavern held. It was quite pleasant, actually, when there weren't many people there. After some of the other Candidates had gone up to Aeriath, he decided to pay his respects as well. "Thank you for allowing us here, Aeriath," he said quite simply. Perhaps the Queen wanted something more formal, but it probably wasn't all that necessary.

[HG]

As the Candidates came onto the Sands, Aeritath's eyes whirled in agitation. She had agreed to allow them on the Sands but their presence was not as welcome as it usually was. The Queen listened to them but seemed hesitant to respond to any of them. The first to approach her was overly confident and put the Queen even more on edge. The girl received her answer quickly, That is well but no. No one may touch her. The others you may only touch briefly. If you linger, I will be angry. The Gold's tail flicked back and forth then in apparent irritation.

The next to come forward, another girl, seemed a bit more reverent however this would not change the Queens mind. Approach my children but do not linger and leave my Golden daughter be. She wanted them to let all of them be. Raelwyn had persuaded her to allow the younglings to touch the eggs. She was not at all thrilled by the idea of anyone on the Sands. Barely tolerating Neinoth and his.

More Candidates followed. Each had a different personality which Aeriath interpreted as they asked and although once or twice she thought the better of it, she allowed each Candidate to approach the eggs.

You may touch them. She said simply to the quiet older girl who followed Marlaey. Then to the shy youth who came behind her, she bowed her head slightly saying, Yes, you will. Go forth young one. The next boy was more confident than the last and seemed to know etiquette around the Weyr already. You may. Be quick about it. The second part was the agitation at having anyone on the Sands coming through her more complacent demeanor. She was trying very very hard to be calm.

The next young man was also confident and a bit more...colorful in personality.(Zayten) Go and touch the shells, but lingering is not permitted. She would not argue with the compliments she was recieving, however she wanted to get through this touching quickly and so was rushing through the Candidates at a much quicker pace than the last time.
To the young woman (Trelia) who followed him she grew almost snappy with, No. Touching my Golden daughter's shell is not allowed. Frankly she would they kept a further distance from the baby. She was the one of three Golds on Pern and as such, Aeriath felt a very strong and compelling need to keep her safe from harm. You may touch the others, snubbing them would be unwise.
As the Candidates kept coming it seemed to the Queen the touching would last forever and had to be consoled by her rider that it would not be very long once they had all taken a moment to pay their respects and select a couple of eggs to touch. Turning her attention back to the young people, the next to approach was a boy. (Ajallvon)The boy pleased her. You may be among my children, young one.
Laure approached now that she had seen the others do so. She felt her knees trembling beneath her as her feet began to feel the heat of the sands beneath them. The sight of the Queen would have been enough for her. She could have died happy right there on the sands. Every step she moved closer was a reminder of how far she had come, of why she was here. The other Candidates became a blurr in her single mindedness. What was she going to say to the most wonderful being she had ever seen? What could she say?

The clever young woman hardly had need for pleasantries out in the jungle. She rarely saw her superiors and respected them not at all. Listening to what the others said and then thinking up her own different remark was difficult. She wanted to sound like herself. When she was finally before the Queen, she felt herself growing speechless. She wanted to speak so badly but the words wouldn't come to her lips. She was holding up the peopled behind her. Finally the words met her lips and she went on, "Good day Queen Aeriath. It is an honor to be in your presence. " She wanted to touch one of the eggs, badly but not because she had to impress one. She'd never felt the shell of a dragon before. Not even of a Firelizard.

To Laure the Queen replied much like she did to the others, You may touch them but quickly young one. Shocked by hearing the dragon's mind voice it took a moment for the words to sink in. When they did Laure moved off towards the eggs and with no intention at all of going near the one so possessively wrapped up by her tail. She would pick an egg, touch and that would be that.

[wolflover1458]

Therion had never heard a dragon's voice before. They usually only talked to their riders, and although she had heard that they could talk to other people, she hadn't been entirely sure if she believed that. Apparently it was true. It might be Therion's first impression of Aeriath, but evidently the Queen did not seem happy. Even though this made sense, what with the attack on Haven and how they had lost their Queens, it still irked Therion. But there wasn't anything to do about it. She was only a mere Candidate right now. She could hardly stand up to Aeriath. Besides, the Touching probably didn't have much to do with it, and if no one else could touch the Golden egg, then it hardly left her behind them on Impressing the Gold, not that she was really concerned.

So, annoying as it might be, she simply nodded to Aeriath and her rider again and took one last look at the gold egg before moving towards the other eggs. She hadn't planned to come up to them at all, so she wasn't sure which one to go for, but there was no point in coming down here and not touching at least one dragon, even if it wasn't going to be the one she'd wanted to visit. The Social Butterfly Egg caught her attention, and she leaned next to it with curiosity. Gently, she placed her hand on it. The egg was warm, and gave off an odd feeling of sensitivity. This dragon was definitely not the type for her. She ran her hand down the shell gently before standing up and casting her eyes around. The Passionate Feeling Egg was the next one that she noticed. Going around the other eggs gently to head to it, she touched it gently. This egg was more to her liking. It made her feel more focused, and she felt as though the dragon inside was perceptive enough to see things as they were. She knew the dragon inside certainly wasn't for it, but it intrigued her at the same time. Standing back up, Therion looked around. She assumed Aeriath, in all of her nervousness, would probably want them to leave very soon. And she wasn't sure if she needed to see anymore of the eggs. Certainly the feel of dragon egg shells was very intriguing. She had to wonder if a gold shell felt different. Not that she was going to find out.

~~~~~

The Queen looked a bit nervous to Ajallvon, but she was kind enough to let him visit her clutch. He thanked her again and turned to look at the eggs. All of them were unique and seemed very different to him. Each one was a different color pattern from the ones next to it. They really were all unique. And when he looked, they all seemed to have odd patterns of dots on them. What were those, anyways? Perhaps it was just something that had happened to the eggs in this clutch. He kind of liked it. Looking around, his eyes almost missed The Camouflaged Defense Egg. It was colored like the sand and seemed to give off no emotion. He leaned next to it and carefully, delicately, placed his hand on it. The shell felt hard and warm, rather pleasing. The dragon inside did not seem the same. There was some kind of emotion coming off of it, but he wasn't sure what it was because the not-yet-born dragonet was doing an amazing job at keeping it hidden up. Smiling to himself, he moved away from the egg. If it wanted to shy away from him, he might as well leave it be.

The Opinionated Freedom Egg was an interesting color, a rather deep blue. The dragon inside almost felt as though it couldn't wait to come out. Ajallvon wasn't sure what to think about that. The shell felt much the same as the other had. That was the same, but the dragonet inside was quite different. This one definitely seemed ready to do something in the world. That was a nice feeling, although Ajallvon wasn't sure if that was the kind of dragon he would want around. Not that he knew what dragon was right for him. Well, if there was one here for him, the dragon would find him. Chances weren't too high that he would find it first. He left the egg alone and looked around at the others. He wasn't sure if Aeriath wanted them around too long. They'd been told that she would be nervous, and the last thing he wanted to do was get her upset.

[parallel]

Marlaey had no intentions of lingering. The Queen was clearly agitated and it wouldn't do to provoke her. As for the Golden egg, though she dearly wanted to run her hand across it's shell, she knew better than to ask. Besides, Marlaey had no predetermined expectations of this hatching. If she were destined to Impress, she would. If she were to be a GoldRider, she would. She was contented enough to have seen the golden egg, she didn't need to Touch it. Leaving the Queen with her daughter Marlaey moved away, eager to see the rest of the gold's children, any of whom might bond with her.

Remembering what Or'yn had said she made her up her mind to only touch a few eggs, but to make the experience meaningful. She slipped away to pull on her sandals quickly, her feet were glad of the relief. Looking out towards the clutch she hummed to herself and stepped over to The Sensitive Dreamer Egg. It was the smallest egg of the clutch and she felt immediately drawn to it. Beautiful swirling blues and greens were dancing across it's shell, and when she laid her hand gently on it she felt a warm dreamy like feeling emanate from within. She sensed caring and compassion from the hatchling inside, which made her smile. "Hatch soon, little one, and see the world as only you can," she whispered.

The Wise Adventurer Egg, though neither the largest, nor the smallest, caught her focus next and she stepped over to it eagerly. Resting her fingertips on it's midnight blue shell she laughed in delight well she felt the stirrings of adventure within. This would be a fine dragon, she thought, stroking the shell's surface.

~~~~

Kestrel stood awkwardly amongst the large eggs, unsure of what exactly she was meant to do. Picking one at random she went over to it and stuck out her hand, tipping the surface of a deep blue coloured egg. The The Opinionated Freedom Egg felt assertive, which for Kestrel was quite off putting when she considered that this being hadn't even hatched yet! She withdrew her hand, afraid the hatchling inside was mocking her with it's intellect. She scowled a little, before moving away. That experience had shaken her.

Finding herself in front of The Harmonious Justice Egg she tentatively stretched out her hand once more. Afraid of the feeling she might receive from the egg, she gingerly placed her fingers on it's lavender coloured shell. The hatchling inside felt undecided about her at first, making her feel just as low as before. Deciding that this sort of thing wasn't for her she began withdrawing her hand just as the egg sent out warm respect and kind feelings towards her. Taken aback by the sudden change, Kestrel couldn't help but reciprocate the feelings back towards the egg.

A very small smile crept into her face as she walked away.

~~~~

The gold's voice reverberated around Jared's mind as he nodded quickly as he stepped backwards, towards the eggs. Catching himself before he harmed one of them, he turned around quickly. Staring at the huge, beautiful shell of The Jungle King Egg. The deep green and royal gold were very striking together and Jared wasted a full minute just gazing at it before he remembered this wasn't a spectator sport. Nervously he extended his hand out to the egg, basking in it's warmth upon his touch. But he felt disappointed when he was rewarded with arrogance. The hatchling didn't seem to want anything to do with him. His face falling, Jared withdrew his hand, just before the egg sent out a feeling of generosity. He left the egg, feeling dejected.

Walking slowly and not paying very much attention to where he fell over The Camouflaged Defense Egg. Gasping and standing up quickly he apologised profusely to the hatchling inside, checking with a healer's attentiveness to see if the shell was intact. Fortunately for him it was. He sighed, relieved, his hands still holding the egg. It was only then that he noticed there was no feeling coming from this egg, like the other one. He'd been holding it steadily and.. nothing? What if he did do something to hurt it?? What if this feeling was his fault? Desperately he looked around for help. But it was just him over here, alone, with an egg that didn't want to speak to him. Feeling small and stupid, Jared apologised once more to the baby inside. He could discern no injury, just an unwillingness to open up. So he left it be.

~~~~

Parallel inclined his head once more to the great Queen, before stepping carefully over to the eggs on the sands. The other candidates were already milling about the eggs when he joined them. Looking around his eyes fell on The Wise Adventurer Egg and he walked swiftly over to it. Upon touching it's smooth shell he felt an instant desire to explore. This hatchling was restless, eager to escape it's shell and begin an adventure. He admired it's spirit, feeling that the baby inside would grow to be very wise if it did indeed pursue adventure throughout it's life. Smiling down at the egg he patted it encouragingly before moving on.

The Passionate Feeling Egg had no trouble getting Parallel's attention. The white centred golden speckles laying on a striking red shell couldn't help but bring him over to it. He reached out for the egg, feeling the egg's inhabitant acknowledge his presence. He felt passion and focus from this hatchling and was pleased when it locked onto him. The hatchling seemed very perceptive, and Parallel hoped he'd passed whatever test it was the baby had set in place.

[Ise]

Lyndel had decided to let many of the other candidates go before her. She had wanted to see how Aeriath reacted to everyone coming to the sands and she quickly realized the gold was not happy. Lyn was not as starstruck by the gold as many of the others were; her aunt had been senior Weyrwoman at Haven after all. When it finally came turn for Lyn to pay her respects to Aeriath, she didn’t even bother trying to ask about the golden egg.
“Thank you for allowing us to be here Aeriath, and for letting those of us from Haven have a chance to Impress your children.”
She gave the gold a bow before she went to see the other eggs that were on the sands, sparing the protected gold one last glance.

The first egg that drew her attention was the Courageous Pioneer Egg. It was not the prettiest egg on the sands but as her fingers grazed across its surface she had to stop and spend a little more time with it. She liked the dragon that was in there, something strong and ready to take action. Not a gold but it was a dragon she could get along with.

She wandered the sands a bit more, some eggs only getting a few seconds of her attention while others got a little more. The Disciplined Solo Egg made her stop for a moment, her fingers tracing out the blue dots on the shell. Here was an egg that wasn’t going to be fooled by pretty words or looks. It wasn’t the egg for her but she would have to take note of whoever bonded to it.

The last egg that caught her attention was the lovely blue Opinionated Freedom Egg. She had almost passed over it at a first gaze before she stopped and went back to it. She didn’t think she had ever felt such independence from an egg before. Here was a dragon that would be able to think for itself. Deciding that she had spent enough time on the sands, Lyndel took her leave before Aeriath could get any more agitated.

[HG]

The eggs were all beautiful to Laure so at first she was unsure of where to start. The Candidates began to spread out. Unfortunately the timid boy tripped over one of them and it seemed the Touching may be over but Aeriath kept her cool. The boy couldn’t help that the egg was so well hidden. No one would be able to steal that one. She thought with great relief that the eggs were all so healthy and cared for so well that there would be all healthy Hatchlings. From what little Laure knew about dragons she had to assume they were healthy. Their shells were a bit odd for a dragonet.

Finally leaving the spot she had been standing in for minutes, she walked down to the eggs, spotting one that many of the others had overlooked. The brown shell and size of the egg made it easy to pass by. The Beastly Stubborn Egg was much more interesting up close than it was afar. Timidly brining her outstretched hand toward the shell, she felt time slow and began to grow very worried that touching the egg might damage it. Still the others had done so without a problem. Her hand touching the hard, leather like feel of the warm shell she was accosted by feelings that were not her own.

Determination, and perseverance were qualities she herself possessed and coming strongly from within the egg she felt a kindred soul there. “You will do well little one. I know you will.” She had managed so far in this crazy world. Laure took her hand off the egg just in time to feel the self-indulgent nature of the egg as well. Sometimes people needed to indulge to feel better about life. Laure could not blame them but it was not like her to indulge in a mere whim or fancy.

[freya]

Trelia jumped back upon hearing the voice of the queen then said, "I'm sorry," then looked around. She was little taken back that she couldn't touch the gold egg yet was pleased that no one else would be allowed to either. The candidate even thought that the gold queen would keep her daughter forever if the egg never hatched. While she watched the others do what was instructed and go touch the others then with a lingering eye looked at the gold egg. Her eyes looked over the other eggs that she had not really looked at until it rested upon a small one that was near the outer line of eggs. While she noticed the swirling of light blues and greens with a sheen almost silvery.

She walked over to it as her hand went over the leathery exteriors and then feelings of calmness came over her. It seemed the egg was almost responding in a way then put both hands on it and a great feeling ofo compassion came over her. When she looked around then her eyes went to another egg that was orange with blue specks on it and smiled walking ove rto it. Trelia put both hands on it in a world of her own then power and intellect seemed to come over her. It was such a intense feeling that she had to pull back and looked at it in wonder.

[blue]

Eira was waiting her turn as other candidates walked up slowly to Queen Aeriath to pay their respects. While she couldn't exactly hear them, she watched each person to get an idea on what to do even with what the Candidate Master told them to do. It was more or less getting an idea on what to say to the agitated gold and the very slight nervousness that was building in her was caused by the idea of saying the wrong thing. Soon, it was her turn to walk up to the queen. Swallowing those nerves, she slowly walked up to the large and impressive queen. Once she was in front of her, Eira bowed slowly. “Thank you for letting all of us come and see your beautiful children Queen Aeriath.” Her words were soft and calm, hopefully not showing how nervous she was for her first touching. “If I may, can I touch those that are not your golden daughter?” It was an assumption that she could and the only one not to be touched or 'visited' was the gold egg judging by the other candidates that were going about to each egg.

Once permission was given, Eira smiled softly at the Queen. “Thank you once more.” She spoke before giving the dragon one last and short bow before moving to the eggs. Moving carefully, she paused at the some of the eggs but, didn't touch them. That of course included the 'courageous pioneer egg', 'the beastly stubborn egg', and the 'camouflaged defense egg'. In her own way she was paying some sort of respect to each of them. The shells may not be beautiful as some of the others, but, she was sure they would be great dragons one day. As she walked through the eggs, Eira was careful about running into someone else, making too much noise, or to not intrude on someone else touching an egg. When she was able to, the young woman walked up to the Social Butterfly Egg and looked over it before slowly reaching out and touching the odd shell. She wasn't sure what to think of this particular egg besides slowly moving away from it.

As she continued on through the eggs, she passed 'the king of the jungle egg', the 'opinionated freedom egg', 'the disciplined solo egg', and the 'wise adventurer egg' like she had the first three. Once more paying her respects but continuing on to the other eggs. There were a couple of eggs that caught her attention. The Harmonious Justice Egg was one of them, her hand gently laying on the shell and smiling softly at the egg. It was a good feeling, she felt it was anyways. Moving away from that particular egg, she moved on to the Sensitive Dreamer Egg and smiled a little from the dreamy happy feeling it was putting off. There was one more egg left for her to go near, and time was almost up. The Passionate Feeling Egg had a very beautiful shell and it had indeed drawn her in when she laid eyes on it. Putting her hand on it, she liked the strong feelings of focus, passion, and perceptiveness it was putting off.

While she felt that none of the young dragons would impress her, she had a good feeling about several of the eggs. Some she just liked in general and a part of her wonder if she could really be a dragon rider, she wasn't sure but, Eira was glad she was able to take part. Making her way to the exit, she left the cavern and breathed a sigh of relief feeling like she was nervous for no particular reason.

[freya]

Rinkin looked around some of the candidates we're already leaving the grounds and he looked around to see if there we're any other eggs that caught his attention. He went over to a golden hue egg and has white speckles on it then put a hand on it. The candidate felt strong feelings of passion from it and smiled it was definatley a connection there from it. His smile was on his face then he turned to the queen and said, "Thank you for giving us hope again," then with a bow got up then walked to leave. It was this marvelous creature that had given them hope after the other two queens that had died.

..................................

Trelia was through touching the eggs and looked longingly at the golden egg. She wanted it very badly yet knew that there was a lot of competition for it. While she joined the others to leave it was time to give the queen the space that she required. The eggs would hatch soon enough and leave them with more then ample time with their future lifemates. Her eyes counted more candidates then eggs and hoped she was not the one left standing that day.