Reach Out and Touch Fate (2/3)

Writers: Aaron, Avery, Devin, Duskdog, Francesca, Halyonix, Heather, Iluva, KC, Shawna, Steel
Date Posted: 19th July 2025

Characters: R'lor, T'ian, H'yazi, Vianne, Nidre, Th'reyos, Cirina, L'tos, Z'vallan, Lindora, Vikirin, Trystoller
Description: The Candidates get some face time with the eggs (and then some)
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 5 of Turn 12

R'lor

Nidre

Th'reyos

Z'vallan

R’lor smiled at Nijen for his kind offer to the young Candidate, then looked at Tindral and Hayazi. “Go on, it’s alright. Bow to the Queen, and then you can gently touch the eggs.” Tindral looked wide-eyed up at R’lor and Nijen but followed Nijen.

Viantico’s eyes struggled to see over the big crowd of Candidates and the weyrlingstaff. Most of them were older than him, almost all of them _taller_ than him, so it took time before he could actually see the inside of the Hatching Cavern. And once he did, well, he was blown away. The last time he’d been here, to see V’tian Impress his dragon, he’d been up in the seats looking down on the sands from above. The dragons had seemed massive, but the eggs hadn’t seemed so huge, and his brother had seemed so small down there.

But being down at ground level, well, everything seemed so much bigger. The stands above seemed high up and further away - no wonder people looked so small! The idea of people being up there and watching him down here was frightening…well, he just wouldn’t think about that! Meanwhile, the beautiful dragons and the eggs…well, he couldn’t quite see them yet, but he was being told what to do when he could see them, once they were on the Sands, once all this crowd kept moving along…

Finally he could follow the crowd of Candidates and step out onto the Sands. They were so hot under his feet! Viantico yelped softly and shifted from foot to foot as though that would help - maybe it did, maybe it only felt like it did in his head - and resolved that he would need to ask for the new boots he was told he could claim. Wait, but weren’t they told they needed sandals along with those robes they got? Why sandals when it was so hot? Shouldn’t their feet be sheltered so they weren’t burned? Or were the dragons looking for an endurance test? He didn’t want to mess up already…

As people braver and bigger moved ahead of him in line, finally there was space to see. He froze briefly, astounded - she was so _big_. So beautiful. So radiant. He wished he could Impress to a gold like her. V’tian was so lucky to have a gold firelizard! The reverence was in his tone as he slowly walked forward after someone nudged him in the back and reminded him to not stand there like a log, and he got as close as he dared get - not as close as he wished, but he was afraid to disturb the great queen lest he be thrown out the Weyr and sent home in disgrace - and bowed to the big gold dragon, as ordered.

“Thank you, Jossenth, for letting me see your beauty and that of your eggs,” he said very quietly. He didn’t know if she could hear him with how small his voice was.

As he finally walked over to the eggs, he forgot the pain in his feet from the heat. He couldn’t believe how beautiful the eggs were. He didn’t know what he’d expected. Maybe super brightly colored jewels, like bright blues and purples and reds like gemstones, or like shiny scales on bright-colored tropical fish. These were more dull than that, but beautifully mottled with patterns and swirls. Viantico held his breath as he reached out and touched one with two wondering fingertips, wondering if it would be hard like a rock, or more leathery. It was surprisingly warm, and stable to the touch. “Hello there, little one,” he whispered to it, wondering if his words would reach the precious living being inside. “Will you be mine?”

“Can they hear us?” asked Hayazi. Having bowed in, he heard the other boy speak to the egg and wondered if he had it wrong just touching them.

“I don’t know,” Viantico admitted. “But it can’t hurt to try.”

Vikirin settled on the outskirts and was doing his best not to feel bitter. Okay, it wasn’t exactly his best effort, but he wasn’t feeling quite as morose as when they first filed onto the Sands. They didn’t get to touch eggs every day, and there was a certain comfort that came from doing this so many times and still not getting eaten by Panitath, or some other queen (or that brown over there). If anything, it was a little perplexing - when had the shine dulled on his excitement for this?

Surely he was stronger than this.

“If they can,” He muttered to Hayazi and Viantico just a few paces away, “I doubt they’d say anything to you.”

Turns out, he wasn’t. Apparently rejection hadn’t made him better, it had just made Vikirin an asshole.

Trystoller couldn’t believe his eyes. How many timid little babies were they going to allow on the Sands? Just one was too many, as far as he was concerned, but there were a few who seemed like they couldn’t even manage to touch a perfectly harmless egg, let alone face a dragon.

He couldn’t help but shake his head in disgust for those candidates as he moved through the clutch, trailing his hand over every egg he passed -- though he paused longer at the three he had decided were his favorites, placing both hands against the shells, murmuring a few words to each of them. “Hey, I’m here. I’ll be a great rider for you -- I’m not afraid of you, or of Thread. We’ll be such good partners!”

Zavallan was studying the shell of an egg up close, marveling at the interesting texture as he hesitantly ran a finger along the slightly bumpy shell. He wondered what the shells were comprised of and if the dragons broke through like some avian creatures. Having never seen a dragonet or a Hatching before, Zavallan was having a hard time imagining what it would look like when the baby dragons burst forth.

Jelantos took a deep breath. This time. This time for _sure_. Never mind he said that _every time_, and so far nothing had happened. It would this time. It had_ to.

He stepped precisely onto the hot Sands, one pace, and then bowed, to the golden queen. “Thank you Jossenth.” He said, and then bowed to the brown, too, before approaching one of the further eggs steadily.

It looked like a gem that hadn't been polished quite yet, a little duller than the rest, but no less special.

He reached out a hand, carefully, and rested it on the smooth surface. “Hello.” Jelantos said quietly. “You know… this hasn't worked once yet. But… keep trying, right? I'll get it right eventually. I have to.”

He lingered, a moment more, shifting only a little bit at the heat radiating off the Sands.

That got the brown’s attention all right.

Zarkarth turned his head and observed that one - Jelantos - with a faint flicker of curiosity cutting through his ever-present distrust. There were so many of them - too many, really. Too many careless movements, too many voices. It was getting difficult to keep an eye on all corners, all shells, all touches around their clutch.

With a huff, he blew a snort of sand and approached. His stride was slow, deliberate, strength coiled in each step like a predator hunting wherries, not observing excited children. His shadow came slicing across the Sands. He didn’t need to rumble, not yet. And they’d hear him coming if they had anything at all between their ears.

One was being particularly enthusiastic with an egg - hands lingering too long, ignoring all the others. Selfish, possessive, unbalanced! Zarkarth closed in slowly, nostrils flaring as he stalked up to the girl in question just until he was close enough to huff behind Cirina, a sound that wasn’t a growl - not yet - but it didn’t have to be. He turned his head slowly to observe her, and by extension the girl, Vianne, next to her, the whirl of his eye unusually close. Then he gave her a stout nudge, as if to say “move along.”

Cirina hadn’t reacted to the presence of the dragon behind her until she felt the puff of breath on her back. She’d assumed someone else had caught one of the dragons’ attention, not her when she was doing absolutely nothing wrong. “Hey, I’m being careful, I just wanted to-” the nudge left no room for argument, however, and sent her stumbling into Vianne before slipping in the sand and winding up falling to a knee.

Zarkarth rumbled in alarm, watching this girl fall over from nothing more than a nudge. He craned his head around to ensure the eggs in her vicinity were untouched and then blew air at her and her clumsiness, not budging from where he stood.

“Sorry about that.” Vianne helped Cirina up as much as she could as she dragged herself to her feet off of the burning sands. “I thought he was going to eat us.”

Viantico had moved on from the first egg he’d touched to a second, then a third. Each time, his finger touch was delicate, and never the whole hand. He didn’t feel worthy of it - and he was afraid of damaging the egg - and he didn’t want to upset the large brown who was approaching a girl Candidate who fell over. Oh no. Were they all about to be kicked out? He considered hiding behind the large egg he was standing near, but that would be stupid, it would just anger the parent dragon more. He decided he would step away from the eggs instead, and from the gold, and from the brown. Surely after a display like this, the weyrlingstaff was going to make them leave. He was sorry he’d only gotten to touch three. Maybe it wasn’t good enough for his chances. But, better three than none. Better safe from the dragon’s wrath than kicked out.

Lindora stifled a yelp when the brown approached and expressed his clear displeasure. She admired Cirina for her fearlessness, but had no interest in catching his attention. She put some more distance between herself and the brown, but kept him in sight, also glancing at Jossenth periodically to make sure there were no more draconic surprises.

**Shard it, Zar. You almost scared the girl out of her skin.**

}:No, I didn't.:{ The brown replied, though he did hesitate, wondering whether he'd been too hasty. No, no, he'd done the right thing. But she maybe didn't quite realize his intentions.

**Look, that little one over there just left.**

Zarkarth's head swiveled one way, then the other, annoyed at the turn of events. Hmm, he would have to rethink this carefully. After a moment he calmed and unfurled one huge wing, using the very tip instead of his snout to nudge at the girls with the same gentleness he would the eggs. Perhaps they were delicate, like eggs. Perhaps they were weak, unlike his children. It didn’t matter. Then he very gently tried to usher them further into the heart of the clutch, herding them like a canine to try their hands at the other beauties waiting in the sand.

“He’s not going to eat us,” Cirina reassured Vianne. Now that she understood what the brown wanted, she let him herd them both towards other eggs, giving Vianne a reassuring smile.

“Sometimes browns are just pushier than they mean to be,” Cirina said, a little disparagingly. She clearly wasn’t afraid of the brown actually hurting her. “I guess we just need to pick eggs over here. I want the smallest one. It’ll definitely be a green. Don’t want to waste my time on anything else.”

Had… had _he_ done that? Stirred the brown? Jelantos took a slow step back from the egg, just in case, hands spread briefly. See? Not touching that one anymore.

He eyed the girls a moment longer, watching the stumble, the retreat. The way that Zarkarth tried to herd them deeper into the clutch, before stroking the shell he’d lingered at and moving on to the second one.

Viantico was nearby now, and he nodded to the other Candidate, a brief greeting. “Let’s… not do whatever they just did.” Jelantos offered, though he didn’t approach the egg Viantico was touching, and went to the one beside it instead.

}:Zarkarth,:{ Jossenth scolded lightly, sounding more amused than angry. }:Let them pick favorites, if they like. Our children will choose one favorite, too, after all!:{

She gave a soft croon, intended to calm the Candidates the same way that she would calm her hatchlings if needed, but the delicate nerve of some of them _was_ quite funny to her. Human-people were all very interesting creatures, and she liked watching how each of them chose to interact here.

A small pair of eggs off to one side hadn’t really been touched yet, and she shifted over to nudge them gently, hoping to draw attention to them.

“Jossenth wants them all to get attention,” Nidre told the Candidates. “She’s not mad. I can’t speak for Zarkarth, though.” She glanced back over her shoulder at Th’reyos with an expression that somehow mirrored the amused tone Jossenth had used with Zarkarth.

“He's not mad, either.” Th'reyos called, still reclined and utterly unbothered. “He's just taking his role way too seriously and throwing his weight around a little. Thinks he's helping. Touch away, Candidates!”

Zarkarth grumbled low in his throat and hunkered down on the hot sand, folding his wings back tightly enough to hint at his restrained displeasure. He didn't retreat, but he did ease off a fraction, giving them space again.

But he _loomed_.

}:They shouldn't pick favorites. They don't even know them.:{ He grumbled, sounding more sulky than furious, as if he, in fact, did know them.

For a moment, silence settled again. He continued to survey them and then naturally zeroed in on another, one who was committing the crime opposite of Cirina's. He was _barely_ touching the eggs at all. His head reached toward the clutch again. A few candidates froze as his shadow fell over them, so he went slower still, until he was staring Zavallan in the face, their eyes level. }:Touch it.:{ He said, in a rare instance to someone who wasn't Th'reyos.

Zavallan’s eyes were as round as saucers. “Y-yes, sir,” he said to the dragon. Startled that, one, the dragon had spoken to him, and, two, that the brown dragon had even noticed him at all. Zavallan wasn’t used to being noticed by anyone. Obeying the dragon, the harper put his hand in full contact with the egg, palm pressed against the warmth of the shell, kept toasty by the heated sands.

Kaedin, having taken notice of the commotion, have the eggs one final longing look before slowly making good away back to the Sands entrance. He was not fearful of the Brown, more fearful of getting too hopeful. The let down was being to be a bit too much to bare, but he could manage it he didn't let himself get to hopeful, and the longer he stayed with the eggs the more that hope built.

Glancing at his fellow Candidates he barely said a word as he passed them. Easier that way too, for when the Hatching eventually separated him from them anyway.

Last updated on the July 29th 2025

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Reach Out and Touch Fate (2/3)