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Down In the Underground
Date: January 27, 2005
Place: Ista Weyr's Hatching Galleries
Game: PernMUSH
Copyright Info: The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey
l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.
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Kassi's Note: Lovely clutching goodness. :) Kassima heads over to
Ista to see Ulfianth and Essieth's eggs be laid, and also, as it
happens, to feed her fire-lizards. Not that she was expecting FL-food
to be such a part of the clutching experience. ;) I've begun the log
with the +watch before Kassi arrived for the sake of the narrative.
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The Log:
Ista-Sands> Essieth walks onto the sands from the entrance to the Hatching
Grounds.
Ista-Sands> Essieth waddles out onto the black Istan sands, hissing
irritably at the swarming insects, crushing them beneath her feet as she
walks and whipping her tail back and forth to shoo them. At least it's not
raining.
Ista-Sands> Ulfianth walks onto the sands from the entrance to the Hatching
Grounds.
Ista-Sands> Essieth scratches idly at the black sands as if getting the
feel of them, dipping her muzzle to snatch the carcasses of SuSu bugs from
beneath her feet then flinging them out of her path. Ulfianth's presence,
usually a soothing one, only causes her to utter a low rumble.
Ista-Sands> Kylia walks onto the sands from the entrance to the Hatching
Grounds.
Ista-Sands> Ulfianth gives a thunderous rumble of greeting as he lands upon
the hatching sands. His rider may be disheveled but the bronze is all
gleaming hide and sharp gaze. A wary approach is made towards the golden
Essieth and yet he halts when she rumbles back to him and drops down to all
fours, tail lashing as he watches the queen with intense eyes.
Ista-Sands> Reye emerges from the tunnel leading to the Weyrwoman's Weyr.
Ista-Sands> Kylia dashes onto the sands, nearly out of breath. The swarming
insects have been mostly forgotten and she moves quickly past Ulfianth to
the side of her young gold. "Essieth, it's fine love, relax." Essieth lets
out a soft croon, but soon her attention is back on the sharding bugs that
have arrived to annoy her in the midst of this serious business.
Ista-Sands> Essieth paces, her eyes whirling with faint red tones of
agitation and discomfort. The SuSu bugs have invaded the place where her
eggs are to be laid, and there is no time to rid the caverns of them, as
even now her abdomen ripples. Tensing, huddled, she lets out a soft rumble
and the first of her clutch makes its appearance.
You climb some stairs into the galleries.
From the sands,
Members Only Egg
From the sands, Devious markings delineate a seeming doorway in the shell
of lurid dread-gray stone and watermarked metal, vending a slim outline of
light that entices only the deliberate witness to peek around to the far
side of the large, slim egg. Here, the indistinct colors brighten to
explicit flashes of color, detailing a hidden society of hues: sensational
red flashes in a suggestive pattern off a moody aquamarine, and specks of
gaudy silver and gold serve to accentuate its richness with a definite
bling. The salacious throng of color, reminiscent of revelry at the height
of its debauchery, is only accessible to the most tenacious of investigators.
From the sands, Reye hurries onto the sands, pale white-gold hair snatched
hurriedly back into a knot at the nape of her neck, feet shoved into
wherhide boots. "Ky?" Blue eyes quickly find the junior weyrwoman across
the sands, and Reye gives Essieth a scrutinizing, then approving look as
she makes her way over to the other queenrider. "Om told me. She's looking
good."
Pearl has a tray stacked with cocktails for the taking: The Dragon Blend.
The drink is settled into five layers, although it can be shaken for an
even, if discolored, mix. The top layer, the thinnest, is a kiwi liqueur, a
tribute to green dragons. The paean to bronzes comes next, a cinnamon
liqueur sprinkled with various spices. Klah mixed with harsh, biting quikal
is a salute to browns beneath that. The next layer, for the blues, is
clear, fresh water stirred with fermented blueberries. The final layer
would make any gold proud: a golden beer mixed with apple puree.
Zephyr flits up into the galleries from the entrance below.
Pearl trills for 'Baloo, then says softly, "Anyun like some refreshments? I
thought t' bring some along f' those watchin' the Clutchin'."
From the sands, Kylia is a bit of a wreck it seems, caught off guard by the
sudden shift in her mate as she didn't recognize the telltale signs. "She's
looking downright angry to me," Ky shoots back, stomping a SuSu into the
black sand in front of her. "At least these bugs can't actually hurt the
eggs but shells they're annoying." Scowling she swats at the air in front
of her, then pauses to blink wide-eyed at the first egg. "Oh, wow, it's
lovely Ess."
Cupcake flits up into the galleries from the entrance below.
It's less a Telgar Wingleader who enters than a large swarm of very happy,
gleeful, feeding fire-lizards, centered around a barely-seen human shape.
"Seeing aught through this lot ought t'be a joyous proposition," Kassi
comments to no one in particular, finding a seat for herself just enough
away from anyone else to give the swooping 'lizards their space. "On the
plus side, I can drink without fearing a bug in m'mouth, so it's probably
worth it. Duties t'Ista and her queens; have I missed--? Oh! There's one!"
Hullabaloo flits up into the galleries from the entrance below.
Hullabaloo bursts out of between with a merry chitter.
Lilias climbs up some stairs into the seats.
Jasia climbs up some stairs into the seats.
From the sands, M'rek walks onto the sands from the entrance to the
Hatching Grounds.
From the sands, The light catches Essieth's hide as she turns on the sands,
casting her in crimson for a moment. She's looking for the perfect place
for her next egg and with a snort she finds it. A small depression is made
in the sand and for a moment she is caught in tense silence as an addition
is made to the clutch.
From the sands,
Incomparable Coal Egg
From the sands, The tireless glory of the effulgent sun, held captive for
millions of turns in such a brittle prison that once was the finest gloss
of green. That such an ancient treasure of noble forest trees could drink
the light, could hold the sun and save the fight of flames until some
distant soul could free the spark, is quite a feat and it's all reflected
here in the shell of this dragon-laid egg. The egg itself is hued as just
matte black dust, such incomparable power and in so humble a looking
configuration,. Just fragile rock. Just coal.
M'tri ambles up the stairs with ease, if unaccustomed to Ista - either way,
he seems to have made it with the front end of the crowd, which he uses to
his advantage, hastily moving to find a seat before all the good ones are
snatched up, offering Telgar's duties at intervals to make sure he catches
at least most everyone. His seat search is cut short as he spots Pearl's
drinks, takes one and thanks Pearl with a grin. "Might need this," he says
easily, watching Kassi and her swarm of firelizards sidelong, and then,
with another nod to Pearl, he climbs the stairs and drops into an empty
seat in front of Kassi. "It's the revolt of the firelizards," he comments
wryly. "Hey, lookit, another!"
From the sands, "You would be too, if you had to spit those things out,"
Reye says in a low voice to Kylia, eloquent as ever. One hand swats at the
bugs swarming about her, and she wrinkles her nose against their onslaught.
"Not the best circumstances, to be sure. P'haps we can get the firelizards
to keep them away from her head."
Jasia saunters up from the bowl, one hand held absently to her ear, a
hopeful gesture to keep auburn hair trapped beneath fingers. As she nears
the seats, she turns to send a glance over her shoulder, and her look is
half-expectant as she watches the stairs and the doorway.
Pearl watches the eggs emerge, wide-eyed. She manages to command, "'Baloo,
eat up some of these buggers, willya?" He obliges, crunching and munching
SuSus happily, driving them away from the drinks. She looks nervously at
the bugs swarming Essieth. "I'd send 'Baloo to help get the bugs offa the
queen, but I fear she'd anger at him gettin' close to her brood."
Cupcake disappears in a blink of an eye.
Lilias heads up the stairs a moment or two behind Jasia, pausing long
enough to look down at the sands before heading over to join her. "Squirted
two out already."
Pearl has a tray stacked with cocktails for the taking: The Dragon Blend.
The drink is settled into five layers, although it can be shaken for an
even, if discolored, mix. The top layer, the thinnest, is a kiwi liqueur, a
tribute to green dragons. The paean to bronzes comes next, a cinnamon
liqueur sprinkled with various spices. Klah mixed with harsh, biting quikal
is a salute to browns beneath that. The next layer, for the blues, is
clear, fresh water stirred with fermented blueberries. The final layer
would make any gold proud: a golden beer mixed with apple puree.
Kassima waves aside fire-lizards long enough to likewise claim a drink from
the tray and flash a grateful smile to its maker, though that might be lost
beneath a blur of blue wings. "I brought a wineskin, but I have a hunch,"
she says, "that I'm going t'want all the liquor I can get. At least the
Horde is enjoying themselves. And I won't have t'feed them today, another
plus." Resettling, she sips at the drink she claimed and tugs her wagering
hide 'til it's spread out on her upper leg, charcoal stick poised above it.
"Bronze for the first," she decides without hesitation. "The second... uh.
Huh. Mmm. Brown?"
From the sands, M'rek lets his boots sink into the black sands and he
covers a yawn with the back of his hand before he steps over towards
Ulfianth. His usually casual gait is lost upon the shifting grains of ebony
and instead he picks his feet up more, stepping higher and looking almost
comical in the motion. A hand is waved in greeting to Reye and Kylia and
the rider moves to join his dragon, marvelling upon the newly arrived eggs.
Fadra rubs at her face as she enters the galleries and plops down into the
nearest seat, wide-eyed as anyone could be about the clutching. Her
selected seat is as close to the railing - and thus the sands - as she can
get. She leans forward on the edge of her seat, just gaping at the eggs,
her face split in a large smile.
Griere whacks another bug out of the air with her book, her own firelizard
flying in what looks like drunken circles around her head. "Ista's duties,"
she replies to the visitor as she takes a drink from Pearl and sniffs at
it. "This is good?" she asks dubiously, eyeing the stangely settled drink.
From the sands, Seemingly in response to Reye's suggestion, though that
can't really be the case, one gold firelizard and one brown appear. Kylia
dips a quick nod, then points them toward Essieth, cautioning. "Don't get
too close though. I don't want her to snap you instead of them..." The very
thought causes her to wince a bit, then she starts to pace back and forth,
smacking at a bug now and then, eyes all on the young gold. "That one's
sort of... plain, isn't it?" Essieth lets out a bit of a squawk at the very
notion, whipping around to nose sand protectively up around the matte black
egg. "Shell, sorry. I didn't mean any offense. They're both just perfect."
Kylia gives a bit of an eyeroll, then her face melts into clear relief at
the sight of M'rek. "Oh, you're here! I was worried Ulfianth might have
left you at 'Reaches or something."
Jasia pauses with a foot on a bench, hand extending to brush at a SuSus.
"Sharding things," she mutters beneath her breath, and then she flops down,
elbows falling to rest on knees and back slightly curved as she leans
forward. "They're popping out fast, aren't they?"
Pearl nods, quite distracted by the clutching gold. "Aye, came up with it
meself. Each layer's a different flavor, they've not mixed, each taste is
quite distinct, I assure ye," she murmurs, keeping the corner of one eye on
her tray lest it tip and spill the drinks, the corner of the other eye on
the happily munching Hullabaloo, and the rest of her vision on the sands.
M'tri grins at Kassima, saying, "I figured it'd be out quick. Brown for the
first, I'd say - but the second? Maybe brown too. Nothing blue would come
out of something that..." He trails off, frowning, then saying, "Daikoth
says so." Trii sips at the liquor tenderly, as he will the first taste,
pointing at one of the firelizards mid-swat at an insect. "Lemme borrow one
of those," he teases.
Lilias slips into the seat beside Jasia. "Starts off that way, then..."
**smack** her hands clap together and there's one less bug near them, "Then
they slow down. That's when it gets really dull."
From the sands, With a loud whirring that nearly drowns the sounds from the
galleries a new cloud of SuSu bugs descends from the opening above. So
thick and concentrated that they almost seem to be a solid sphere, the blot
out the sun for a brief moment, winging down in unison toward those on the
sands. As they near the hot ground they begin to break up a bit, spreading
out to add their metallic green-gold to the black of the sand.
Pearl shakes her head. "Nay, he's the only one I have, not sharing," she
tells M'tri. She then promptly gasps at the huge new mass of insects that
have descended from above. "'Baloo, you en't getting supper from me
tonight. You're hunting for your food."
From the sands, Essieth snaps at the air, trying to threaten off the swarm
of SuSus as if they were a single creature of one mind. Instead she just
gets a few of the relatively tiny bugs caught in her teeth. She's to busy
with all this snapping and chomping that she seems almost surprised when
another eggs comes.
From the sands,
Unearthed Gemstone Egg
From the sands, The egg that rests upon the sands appears to be dull and
dark on first glance: a mottled black, perhaps a dark brown coloured egg.
As light from any source hits it, however, it shows the colours of what
appear to be gemstones still hidden in the earth's embrace. Torches cause a
cascade of oranges and red to sparkle, pinpricks of warm colour contrasting
the brown, and if the sun shines from the cavern's opening, silver and
white, are the colours that are seen. In the brighter light, the hints are
of diamond instead of rubies sparkling from the dark mass of the egg's shell.
Lorany climbs down from Larileth's neck.
From the sands, "M'rek," Reye greets the bronzerider affably, blue eyes
studying him sidelong for a moment with that same scrutinizing look she
gave Essieth earlier. One might assume this is for different reason though;
this one is much like a parent might give their daughter's visiting date.
Their daughter's unruly date. "Mitts on a fish! This is getting redicu-
pfah!" Reye pauses in swatting bugs away long enough to spit one out, then
crosses the sands to send a few lower-caverns girls out on hurried tasks.
"Want t'put marks on that, Trii? The first one is *clearly* bronze." For
all her mutterings, Kassi seems fairly relaxed within her clear if small
space of air, protected well from the unholy number of bugs by her unholy
number of fire-lizards. Which is not to say she looks any less disturbed as
that fresh flock of insects descends, mind you. "That," she observes, "is
really quite gross. Are you kidding? This is the first time that putting up
with these creatures for all these Turns has proven useful! I'm going
t'enjoy it to the limit!" She sounds more affectionately teasing than
serious, however, and adds a moment later, "She does seem t'be going at a
clip. Wonder whether she'll outdo Lhiannonth, and whether Ulfianth will be
smug. Is that a--? Huh. I want t'say brown again. Mayhaps blue."
The air is strewn with the shimmers of SuSu wings; black, green and gold
twinkling like strange lights about the cavern walls.
From the sands, M'rek gives Ulfianth, not a pat, but a resoudning thump to
one forelimb and then he makes a wide arc around the gold's place of
clutching so that he ends up next to Kylia for at least one side of her
pacing. "Aye. It's a wonder he didn't just leave me somewhere. Sharding
bronze." A fond grin covers the bronzerider's features and then he watches
as another egg arrives, "Three so far, is it?" Hands are rubbed together,
"I hope she reaches sixteen." And then, "Weyrwoman Reye." He takes in that
stare directed at him and smiles as easy as pie.
Pearl smiles at the newly arrived greenrider. "Please tell me you've a
firelizard. We need all we can get to ward off the sharding buggers." To
accentuate that comment, she swats a bug against the wall of the cavern.
"And by the way, would ye be wanting a drink?" She gestures at her tray of
Dragon Blends, then turns her attention to the new egg. "Pretty..." she
says softly.
Jasia settles more comfortably forward, allowing herself, for a moment, to
admire the newest egg. Then, attention drawn to Pearl -- and her drinks --
she says mildly, "Y'might want to cover that up some. The SuSus're
everywhere, and I doubt they'd mind landing in one of 'em." She
contemplates said drinks with faint amusement, before she turns to better
face Lilias and grins, saying, "It's when it's dull that the betting begins."
From the sands, Kylia stops her pacing long enough to cast a scrutinizing
eye on that lastest egg. "All the ones in Essieth's clutch were so pretty,"
she says softly, but not softly enough to keep her comment out of Essieth's
earshot. The gold lets out an indignant sniff, then nugdes that last egg,
flicks a glance up to the sunlight filtering in, and nudges it again.
Positioned just so, the glints of gemstone brightness catch the light and
cast glimmers of color on the sand around it. So there. Kylia smirks, then
inclines her head. "Point taken, love." And then back to Reye, M'rek, and
the veritable cloud of insects. "For once I wish I had a whole fair of
'lizards. I shoulda' had a pair of greens come flame the cavern clear
before we started or something." With a squeak she smacks at the side of
her head where one has landed, then wrinkles her nose as it crunches
beneath her palm and leaves a smear of yellow-green goo. "Oh, that's
lovely. I'm glad you made it, M'rek, even if you probably would have been
happier somewhere /not/ infested with bugs."
Lilias waves a hand to Pearl, "I'll try one." To Jasia she grins, "Depends
on what you're betting though, sometimes it's best to get an early start."
"Nah uh," Trii says. "No marks on the first two, but if that's not a blue,
I'll eat the hat you like so much. No marks there, either. Just eating a
hat." M'tri smiles good-naturedly at Pearl again at her comment, but the
same response from Kassima makes the bluerider assume a lugubrious
expression. "No sharing of them. You have so many, though. Sigh."
Shrugging, he says, "Ah, you know what, a quarter on that newest one, being
blue." There's a large and deep frown for the SuSus, and, his patience
dwindling, he smacks at one that's boldly landed on his sleeve. "Disgusting."
Pearl frowns at that, and strips off her wherhide tunic, revealing the
white long-sleeved tunic of lighter material beneath. She carefully drapes
this over the cocktails. "If'n you want a drink, replace the cover
immediately, lest bugs drown in 'em." She lifts the cover and hands over a
Blend to Lilias, layered in the five colors of dragonkind.
Vorlin climbs up some stairs into the seats.
Fadra ughs foul-naturedly at the bugs, her nose wrinkling up as she rolls
down the thin sleeves of her shirt and tugging up the just as thin collar
around her neck. The swarm loses her attention at the dropping of the third
egg, though. With that she leans forward more, if at all possible, and
squints to get a good look at it. When Essieth shifts the egg, however, she
says, "That's nice," with a bit of a chuckle. "Not plain."
From the sands, "The eggs look different too Kylia, once they've dried a
bit," Reye points out, pacing back to the other two riders with a few
cloths grasped in one hand. One for M'rek, one for Ky, one for herself. "So
you don't inhale them," she explains, tying one loosely over her mouth and
nose. "I've never seen 'em this bad."
Kassima blinks twice from behind the curtain of fire-lizards surrounding
her. "Oh, I have a few," she manages to confirm without laughing, although
she does grin wryly. "They're having the time of their lives, keeping
m'space clean. I claimed one from the tray earlier, thankee--" She lifts
her glass as proof, and in salute. "You'll *eat* the *hat*. How can I
refuse a bet like that, M'tri? Only I'd really rather see you eat a
*different* hat, fond as I am of that one. One quarter, third egg, blue,
got it." As she scribbles, a pair of greens do detach themselves from her
protective net to snap up SuSus near her blue Wingmate. It may be coincidence.
Lorany slipped into the galleries relatively unnoticed, just one more
fluttering, skittering someone... though she is clearly *not* an insect!
The firelizard fair that constantly follow her are having a regular gather
day, chasing the annoying bugs as best they can while Lor watches silently
from a quieter row.
Griere settles herself down in one of the first rows and opens a sketchbook
on her knee. Her gaze flicks between the page and the sands, catching the
general positions of things in quick strokes. The strange layered drink is
besides her and she lifts to take a drink without thinking. The strength of
it catcher her off gaurd and she sputters and coughs in surpise.
From the sands, Kylia receives the cloth with blatant relief, tying it
around her mouth. "What we could really use is something to squish them
with, though I don't rightly know /what/. Can't Omfaleth call all the
firelizards around here or something? I think Essieth's too busy." A SuSu
lands lightly on the top of her head like a small iridescent, winged, nasty
hat. She doesn't notice it for a moment, and Latte comes winging over to
crunch the delicate morsel before flitting back to Essieth-guarding duty.
"Nasty things. Reye, I think this hatching cavern is cursed, and next time
an Istan gold rises we'll be needing to find a new one."
From the sands, Essieth's next egg to be laid will not be a chore for her,
it seems, in spite of her quickly growing agitation at the noisy bugs that
swarm around her. No expression of strain crosses her face as she begins to
push it out of her body, and nary a contraction ripples across her golden
belly. It slips out of her as easily as anything, as if it wanted to emerge
in the first place. With obvious relief, the clutchmother gently pushes it
into place among its siblings.
From the sands,
Bubbling Aquifer Egg
From the sands, This egg appears stuffed with moist, black soil- rich,
fertile, and perfect for farming. A cotholder could only dream of growing
crops in such fine earth. But the darkness is not pristine. A glistening
warm pool of clear water sits at the rounded end of the egg, and it is
clearly the source of the moisture which permeates the soil. A thick line
of blue runs up from this pool, up and up toward the top, thinning as it
goes. A flash of sky can be seen at the pointed end, and the water emerges
aboveground into what seems to be a well, although it cannot be clearly
made out.
From the sands, M'rek eyes the swarm of insects in the air and tucks his
head down a little as if that will help. "Aye. Well. Can't be helped, and
it's not like Lord Ulf would give me a choice anyway." He chuckles and then
nudges his head, shaking some bugs off. The bronze on the sands settles
down fully into the soft blackness and rumbles his encouragement to the
queen as the eggs slowly start to arrive. M'rek laughs, "Ulf thinks the
eggs more than make up for the bugs. He accepts the cloth from Reye and
ties it on over his face as well, looking perhaps uncomfortably, like the
sort of person who'd rob a weyr's payroll.
Vorlin steps into the hatching sands and moves into the nearest seat, a
rather large minion who's clearly with him taking the seat behind him. The
Bitran Lord frowns deeply, eyebrows lowered to form a v shape over his eyes
as the bugs fill the air and yet he just folds his arms over his chest and
watches the action upon the sands.
From the sands, Bandits on the Hatching Sands! Reye's voice is a little
muffled through the cloth, but at least she isn't choking on bug wings.
"New hatching grounds. Right. Check. We'll get right on that. Complete with
floodproof and bugproof entrances." Evidently she's not optimistic about
the idea! A moment later dozens more firelizards arrive, swarming and
diving amongst the bugs, some even flaming the darned things out of the sky
to leave an acrid bug-barbeque sort of a smell about the cavern. It might
be noted, however, that they're all very careful to stay outside of
Essieth-snapping range.
Pearl smiles at Griere, "Careful with th' drink, it'll bite ye." She
watches the new lizards come in and flame the bugs, but tells Hullabaloo,
"Don't you join them, you. I need you here to keep the bugs from /me./"
Lorany's fair of lizards are among those still snapping at, pouncing after
and otherwise taking care of the little annoying bug-creatures. Thankfully,
none of them have thought to flame. Lor is distracted from inspecting the
latest egg by one pesky insect landing on her forearm. Her silence is
interrupted by a rather loud and surprised squeak. "Eek!" *swat* that is
the sound of the bug in question getting squished. Eew.
Fadra turns in her seat again as Griere sits, looking at the goldrider's
book with interest. As the next egg lands on the sands, she smiles,
murmuring to herself, "Nice." Another bug is duly swatted away from her
collared mouth, and she inquires of Griere, amiably, "Are you going t'draw
all of 'em?"
Jasia's intent on watching the new -- not the eggs, though, no, but rather
the people who are climbing the stairs and finding their seats in the
gallery. Her gaze lingers on no one in particular, instead shifting lazily
from one face to the next, before finally she moves her attention back to
those in her vicinity. "Do you have anymore of those drinks?" she asks of
Pearl after swatting a bug, and then adds to Lilias, "It's times like these
I wish I had a 'lizard."
From the sands, Essieth ruffles her wings, sending the bugs that dared to
rest on her up in a minuature cloud. Since they're buzzing around above her
and not near her mouth, the fair of firelizards makes quick work of them,
snapping them out of the sky. Now to the sound of buzzing and whirring, the
unpleasant snap-crinkle-crunch of dozens of sets of firelizard teeth
against crispy carapices can be heard. Kylia's brows draw together over the
bandana that hides her mouth and she crosses her arms over her chest.
Grumpy dragon, grumpy rider. "This is just ridiculous." Reye's sarcasm just
gets a raised brow for a moment, but then Ky shrugs, her eyes crinkling as
she grins behind the makeshift bug-mask. "Alright, alright, maybe just
golds with a better sense of timing?"
Lilias gets her drink and settles back, idly flapping at bugs as they get
too close and keeping the glass not far from her lips at all times lest the
little pests slip in. "Tell me about it." Is her muttered reply to Jasia
over the glass rim, "Though they're little pests in their own rights at
times."
From the sands, The queen stretches out her pinions to their full width,
eyes shot with annoyed red at the chaos caused by the tiny winged invaders.
Other queens get a nice quiet night, allowed their privacy and dignity, but
poor Essieth is caught in a plague of insects! Seething, she heads to the
far corner, wings half extended and hiding her activities. A shudder
ripples through her pale wingsails and when she steps away another egg is
unveiled.
From the sands,
Hope Springs Eternal Egg
From the sands, Chalky ochre clogs the pocked and scored surface of this
egg with a rust-red dusting, fine layers of coloring giving a brick-like
and arid appearance to this stout, round ovoid. Here and there, sparse
clusters of drab sage dot the facade in dismally small bits of
encouragement for those searching for color. Near the round, squat base, a
wellspring of baltic blue splashes in refreshing vividness and life. An
oasis of color bubbles up in lifesaving hope from a hidden watershed of
blues. Encircling the irregularly shaped splatter are tendrils of leafy
greens, fingers of mossy color that breathe lush life into the baked brick
shell.
Griere's weird little brown continues to make tight circles around the
goldrider's head like some possessed halo. Indeed, the little creature
seems to be getting dizzy! Griere ignores him utterly and nods to Pearl.
"What is that second layer, exactly?" she asks, evidently still tasting it.
Then she answers Fadra. "I'm just catching bits of everything. No use
drawing the eggs, really. Their color is more interesting than there shape.
Eggs are better suited to a painter. I'm just trying to capture the general
scene." A SuSu lands on her page and gives it a sharp twack with her
finger, sending it flying.
Kassima looks back up in time to witness the arrival of this newest egg
before said egg can be covered in bugs. "Blue," she says, but slowly,
unsure. "It certes seems blue. Only there should have been a green by now.
A strong clutch should have several...." And never mind her own potential
bias; she shakes her head, makes a note, takes another gulp of her drink,
and glances with interest towards Griere's sketchbook. "You're drawing
the--?" A trill from one of her swarm turns her attention back to the
Grounds before she can finish that statement, and she says with some
relief, "*There's* a green." Pause. "Or a brown. Shardit. Somebody needs
t'have words with that man." Because the lack of greens is all M'rek's
fault, apparently.
Pearl quickly lifts her tunic and whips out a Dragon Blend, careful not to
allow a bug to drown in the layered drink. She admonishes to Jasia to be
/careful/ with it.
M'tri says "Ah, see. They have some common courtesy, these two ladies." He
points to the pair of greens, whether Kassi sent them or not, and then
points to the glittering one after Essieth's settling it. "Green," he
decides shortly, nodding resolutely. "A mark." Another almost dainty sip is
taken of his drink as he declares, "I'll eat whichever hat you want,
really. It'll be your choice, since you're such an excellent person." While
there's a sense of banter to his words, M'tri seems mostly genuine. This
newest addition to the clutch earns a curious examination, but not a whole
lot of opinion. "That one too, green.""
From the sands, "I'd settle for that." Reye grins behind her mask, casting
Kylia and M'rek a reassuring look before giving the former's arm a squeeze.
"She's doing great. I'm going to run up to the galleries and make the
'rounds, kay?" Not really a question, 'cause she walks off without waiting
for a response, taking wide berth around the eggs should the bugs obscure
her vision.
Reye climbs to the seating tiers from the sands.
From the sands, The black sands are slowly being covered by a thin layer of
bug bits as firelizards snap them in two but don't bother to clean up their
own mess. With such a veritable buffet of insect lunch, there's no point in
eating every bit after all. Then there are the squished carcasses left by
Essieth's slow plodding as she paces around looking for the right spot to
lay each egg, and the dazed and confused twitching where golden and bronze
wingspars and swatting hands have sent them.
From the sands, M'rek chuckles from behind his mask and suggests, "We can
just consider it a gourmet feast for all the visiting firelizards. Sort of
fun to watch them all swooping in." His own pair, the ugliest, scrawniest
brown imaginable and a fat little green buzz past his head and join in the
fracas like they've never been fed. They don't flame, they just eat. The
bronzerider flicks a charred insect off his shoulder and then reaches into
a pocket and pulls out a bandana for his head that he ties around. He eyes
the newest egg with approval, "Too many sharding greens already."
Pearl scowls at 'Baloo, who seems to have disappeared. Regardless... "Ahh,
the second. That's cinnamon liqueur with some spices I found 'round the
kitchen. Looks all bronzelike, see." Quickly her face colors when 'Baloo
still down't return. "Baloo!" she snaps, and he comes back flaming. "Ahh,
you clever boy!" she grins, watching him flame bugs, although creating a
revolting smell.
Hullabaloo flits up into the galleries from the entrance below.
Hullabaloo bursts out of between with a merry chitter.
Lekzanne climbs up some stairs into the seats.
Jasia shrugs easily, a feat in itself; her elbows are still propped on her
knees, attached arms positioned so her hands dangle in. "Wouldn't know. I'd
imagine they're like siblings, though, just smaller and easier to handle."
Her lips purse into a line, as if she might be considering the thought more
thoroughly, before abruptly she lifts a hand to accept the drink. "Thanks,"
and the word's somewhat muffled, spoken as it is into the tilted glass.
From the sands, Kylia wiggles her fingers after Reye, distracted a bit as
Essieth comes waddling over. There seems to be a brief pause, at least long
enough for a great golden snout to find its way into Kylia's arms. The girl
nibbles at her lower lip, then manages a smile. "You're doing a wonderful
job, lovey. And we'll get rid of all icky bugs soon as we can, I promise."
She's hidden from view for a moment as she buries her face against soft,
pale hide, then Essieth pulls gently away and goes back to pacing. Dashing
a tear away with an impatient flick of her fingers Ky shakes her head. "Not
true. We need them just as much as any color. They can't all be pretentious
bronze lumps, you know." Not that she's speaking of any particular bronze
of course. Ahem.
Griere tips her book for Kassi's perusal. There's a rough outline of
Essieth's form as the dragon looks over her clutch. Kylia and M'rek are
just gestures, as is Ulfianth. Griere shrugs a bare shoulder at the work
and then continues her sketching, listening idly to all the guesses and
betting. Meanwhile, a singed SuSu has fallen into the goldrider's drink.
From the sands, With a shiver of rapt concentration, Essieth attends to the
task at hand, forgetting the plague of insects to focus on adding to her
growing clutch.
From the sands,
Oil Slick Egg
From the sands, When viewed from the Galleries, the surface of this small
egg is rather difficult to look at. It is a deep, gauzy black color that
shimmers in the haze that rises from the hot Istan sand; as such, it is
nearly imperceptible. Only by noticing liquid splotches of green and deep
gold that seem to dance along the surface of the shell can a person notice
the hump of the half-buried egg poking forth from its nest in the ebony
sand, and where patches of shell meet grains of black the egg seems almost
to seep quietly into the earth. Light captured from above reflects off the
egg in hues of muted silver twilight.
Reye lets out a sigh as she looks behind her at the sands: it's easier to
see the reflective pattern of thousands of bug-wings from up here. "What a
mess," she murmurs, then pulls the bandana down around her neck to better
greet whatever visitors may be about. A squeeze of Griere's shoulder, a
welcoming nod to Kassima and M'tri, and her blue gaze stops at a certain
black-clad individual. Her eyes narrow speculatively for a moment, but just
a moment. "Good evening, Lord Vorlin."
"And annoying." Lilias adds to Jasia's list, "If you're going to compare
them to siblings that is, most siblings are annoying unless you're them. In
which case your siblings would stil be annoying but you wouldn't be because
you're you. Or something." She pauses a moment, cinfused, sipping her drink
and watching the sands only to mutter, "There she blows." as another egg is
laid.
From the sands, Essieth pauses, turning to flick a bit of protective sand
over the last egg, then she is distracted from her task once more by a
cloud of buzzing, flying SuSus that circle her head. She rumbles a
threatening basso note that disperses the insects a bit, her eyes whirling
a furious red. A ripple flickers over her abdomen and she ducks away from
the bugs, then the Rotten Tuber Egg falls to the sand gently, its own
weight deforming it into an oblong shape momentarily.
From the sands,
Left Too Long Egg
From the sands, Browns, greens and blacks battle in their most horrid hues
of putrescence, looking damp and dirty all at once, while invoking memories
of rotten food. The egg, being egg shaped, escapes the anvil of obvious
comparison to a tuber, though the colors seem to be a perfect match to one
of the rooty vegetables, left underground for far too long. Flakes of grey
and black look like they're ready to fall off and infect the sands. Swaths
of brown desperately try and overtake the decomposition, but the only
answer is that the egg is dark and black within.
Lekzanne walks up the stairs easily, pulling off gloves and hat as she does
so. Her blonde hair is shooken out before she takes a glance around, eyes
narrowed a bit in a criticual, studious look. As she reaches the top of the
stairs, she pauses, her grey eyes looking up and down the tiers for a
likely spot. Finding one, she quickly slips over, and gently seats herself
among other viewers.
Fadra grimaces at the bug in Griere's drink, though nevertheless says,
"It's going to turn out nicely, I'd say." A wide-eyed look is given as two
more eggs grace the Sands, and Fadra can do little more than murmur,
"Shards, she's going fast. Can't even *imagine*." A close look is given to
Kassi and M'tri, then, "Are you taking bets?"
Vorlin scowls from his seat and if any bugs are brazen enough to alight
upon him then it's the bruiser behind the lord who quickly removes them,
dropping them to the floor to grind beneath a boot heel. It's good to be
the evil Lord. When he's greeted, the Bitran stands and gives a slight bow
before he purrs, "Good evening, Weyrwoman. Bitra's duties to Ista and her
queens. The clutching is going well so far all insects aside?"
Lorany leans slightly forward, squinting at the latest egg with some
concentration. "Ooooh," is all she says at first, a noncommittal sound at
those eerie browns and greens. Unfortunately for her, a tiny gold
firelizardly blurr chooses that moment to swoop after a particularly pesky
bug and interrupt her line of vision. "Julie! Hey! I was looking at
that..." mumble, mutter.
Kassima says of the two wayward greens, "They have some common talent for
treason." She seems remarkably undistressed, however, by this crime.
"Fourth egg, one mark, green." Scribble, scribble. "You *do* flatter me,
darling wife. 'Twill be sure t'find just the perfect hat for you, and
because I am merciful a good, strong sauce t'be putting on it--oh, good
*shards*." That would be her reaction to the flamed bug-smell, yes. She
coughs and turns her face from the fumes as best she may, but only for a
moment; soon she's looking back, to see Griere's book, and she nods in
genuine approval. "'Tis fair work, weyrwoman... uh, but you might want
t'beware your drink, there." Then, "Green, finally, *M'rek*," for the first
egg, and, "Oh, ugh," for the second. "Blue." Weyrwoman Reye gets a
respectful nod. And at her overheard address, the Wingleader turns in
surprise to give Lord Vorlin a respectful nod also. "I am absolutely taking
bets," she answers Fadra.
Hullabaloo /nospace , happily oblivious to the smell and discomfort he is
causing, merrily flames SuSus down, letting them scatter where they will,
on stone or on laps. Pearl frowns a bit at his wanton behavior, but figures
he can't really help it, being a 'lizard.
Ellery climbs up some stairs into the seats.
From the sands, M'rek mutters something under his breath and then chuckles
and steps back a little bit to watch Kylia with her Essieth. There's a
prideful rumble from the bronzerider's own pride and joy that causes him to
glance towards the galleries and raise a hand in a wave. Then he grins,
under the cover of the cloth, and says, "You're right, I'm sure. Just seems
like you can never have enough pretentious bronze lumps." The wink can be
seen and then M'rek offers the goldrider his hand, palm up.
Jasia studies Lilias, bemusement slowly crossing her face, quirking her
lips from line to smirk and lending her voice a hint of her laughter. "I,"
she drawls, peering over the rim of her glass, "have no idea what you just
said. But I'm sure I agree." A moment later, she takes another sip from her
drink, then lifts it in a toast towards Pearl. "Did I hear earlier that
this is your own mix? If so, I congratulate you."
Arthan climbs up some stairs into the seats.
M'tri warns, "She'll beat the pants off you," for Fadra, looking genuinely
worried for anyone who is willing to take part in the betting with them.
Shards, he probably feels sorry for himself. A nod is given for Griere's
work, and a comment of, "Very nice, weyrwoman. Better than I'd do." Pause,
then his own nose wrinkles up and he covers it with his hand, remarking,
"This is *nothing* like Liabeth's. Matter of fact, I think between the
smell and the bugs, I could be sufficiently miserable, if there weren't
eggs to look at." A gasp is given for Kassi's assessment of the hideously
rotten looking egg, and he announces, "Blue?! The nerve. Only a green would
dare."
Pearl gives a happy cry at the sight of her namesake, Ellery's gold. "Oh
please, Ell, get little Pearl to munch up some bugs, they're killing us
all," she moans. Her mouth crooks into a smile at Jasia's compliment.
"Which reminds me, you might want a drink," she adds, lifting the corner of
the wherhide tunic draped over her Dragon Blends just bit.
From the sands, Kylia shuffles a bit to the side, picking her way over bugs
and hot sand, then slips her hand into M'rek's. Lacing her fingers through
his she offers him a warm smile. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Pride's
glistening damply in her eyes now, in spite of the vaguely disturbing
rotten shades of that last one. Essieth tosses her head, freeing a pair of
bugs from the top of it, then snaps them out of the air. Crunch, splat, she
spits them back onto the sand with a hiss of disgust.
"Very well, bugs aside," Reye agrees, taking a seat near Vorlin -- but not
too near -- to look back out toward the clutching queen. "The bugs are an
annoyance, but at least they aren't dangerous." She casts him another
sidelong look, a momentary glance. "And you? Things fare well at Bitra? We
didn't hear back after finding the 'Tart; I've been fixing her up, in my
spare time." In fact, the schooner has become Reye's 'office', but no need
to share that bit of gossip.
Kaimi climbs up some stairs into the seats.
From the sands, Essieth strains, the latest egg seeming to give her
problems. A long hiss of pain erupts and her wings flare, folding back to
her sides a moment later and revealing for a moment a fiery egg on the
sands. With a disgusted hiss at the cause of her pain she turns and sweeps
sand completely over the egg, obscuring it from view once more.
Griere peers down at her bugfilled drink and lets out a cold laugh. "Ha!
There's a sticky end for him." She lifts the glass to eye level, inspecting
the drowned big. "Foul pests." She seems quite triumphant. Then she lifts
the glass to Kassima with a wry smile of thanks. She looks over M'tri,
inspecting him shamesless before he, too, get a smile. "Thank you. It's
just a rough sketch," she adds.
From the sands,
Birthed From Fire Egg
From the sands, Violent splashes of scarlet and orange burn their way
across this blindingly bright egg, and wend a fiery trail through blackened
rocklike patches. Towards the base of the egg the colours tend toward the
pale of yellows, adding to the illusion of heat as it swallows up the
shell. The tip is duller, crusted in brown and cracked by the same fierce
heat that sears the base of the shell, but under control for the time being.
Lilias just grins, then adds another compliment to Jasia's -- saluting
Pearl with her glass for a moment before waving a hand frantically at a
pair of SuSu's that have decided circling her head is fun. "Stupid,
sharding, gah."
Lekzanne lifts a hand to flick away some annoying bugs. She ignores most of
them, besides the occasional flick of hand, or shake of head. She's much
more intent on the Clutching. She grins a little at the current
conversation, but remains silent for the moment.
From the sands, M'rek chuckles at Essieth's disgust and then tilts his head
to Kylia in a nod, "Aye. It's amazing all right. Only thing I've ever seen
quite as amazing would be Ulfianth cracking shell or maybe that time
that..oh! Look. There's another one." And his trail of thought is
completely lost as he watches, childlike, for the newest egg. "That ones
got a lot of color to it."
Nadia climbs up some stairs into the seats.
Fadra laughs at M'tri's warning, saying, "I don't have many marks, t'start
with," she assures. "Probably won't join in...but...how can you tell?"
Blinking in surprise at Essieth's hissing, the sailor turns in her seat
once more, brows furrowed, to check the newest egg. Just in time, before
it's covered by the angry gold. "Hmm...I thought that one looked good. In
comparison"
Vorlin takes in the nod from the Telgari Wingleader and he gives her a
polite looking nod in return before he settles elegantly back to his seat.
"It is good to now that the bugs, at least, will not be offering any danger
to this auspicious occasion." The Bitran Lord speaks in his cultured voice,
eyes to the sands once more, even as he gets that sideways look. "Things
are very well at Bitra. Yes. I had heard as much, and you are welcome to
her. I would have liked to have had the cargo, but, at times I must resign
myself to being vexed with loss. How do the repairs go? Satisfactory I
hope, Weyrwoman?"
Ellery's entrance is accompanied by much muttered cursing and swatting.
Very original take on this pestilence, that. Lilias gets a wave for her
exuberant greeting, and the greenrider is soon seated beside her. "Sorry,
Pearl's decided she doesn't want to eat these sharding SuSus." In a lowered
tone, she continues, "/I/ think she's just doing it to be perverse,
though." As her waving hand removes half a dozen of the insects from the
area immediately before her nose, the young woman complains, "Would've
never come back from Keroon if I'd known it was /this/ bad."
From the sands, Kylia dips a nod, the crinkling of her eyes showing she
must be grinning widely, though it's hidden by that strip of cloth. "A
/lot/ of color. That's a really lovely one." Then it's swept under sand and
she frowns. "Essieth, of all the eggs to bury that's not the one to
choose!" The gold snorts, then kicks another clawful of sand over it. "It's
not the /egg's/ fault it hurt you." Tsk.
Nadia comes santering up into the main seating and looks excited being
draged by a three turn old, "Eggies!" Her daughter exclaims and Nadia moves
with the little girl down to her seat.
Fidget flits up into the galleries from the entrance below.
Kassima salutes Griere with her own drink that remains as yet mercifully
SuSu-free, a similarly wry humor in the gesture. "Shhh, M'tri," she chides
her Wingmate then. "You'll give her the wrong idea. Too many people think I
never lose as-is. And... I have t'agree with you there, honestly, although
I also get a vague sense of vindication from it. Crazy t'have so many
fire-lizards, was I? Hah." A passing blue-green 'lizard wurbles agreement.
"*Green*! I do protest. You're lucky in fact that I don't cry insult. Blue!
This latest is the green. Mark me." To Fadra she admits, "I don't properly
know. All guess and hunch, really. That's what keeps it interesting. If'n
you feel the call of the gamble later, just say the word; 'tis direct bets
I'm taking."
From the sands, Essieth's shoulder twitches, each little motion sending a
crimson sheen over her pale hide. The crimson is matched by her eyes,
whirling quickly now in annoyance and distress. Her perusing of the sands
becomes almost frenzied, but just in time she finds the right bit of sand
and deposits her egg there. The Rainbow Cavern Egg seems to fold outward,
emerging from both sand and dragon at once, and capturing the light as it
does so.
Jasia's nose wrinkles briefly -- she's finally noticed the smell, or at
least finally deemed fit to acknowledge it -- but it's just for a moment,
and her attention fixes soon on Lekzanne. "I don't know much about bugs,
brownrider," the young woman informs the blonde, "but there're more
effective things than simply swatting." Wisdom imparted, she then turns to
nursing her drink and watching the newcomers, some of whom receive a nod
should she recognize them.
From the sands,
Rainbow Cavern Egg
From the sands, A light shining from within, or perhaps simply reflecting
off the glows in the cavern, gives this egg a prisim-esque luminescence.
Light, light, light, that's the catchword, as the dull browns and pale
ambers that make up the primary color of the egg seem to capture and
intensify the feeling of awe. Every color of dragon is reflected in the
shell, nothing hugely overt, but subtle highlights, racing with the spires
and pillars of brown that shoot back and forth across the egg's body.
Ripped from the bowels of the planet, this egg is a beauty seen by miners
and few else.
Fidget swoops into the Hatching Grounds and wings cicrcles around Ellery's
head, chittering excitedly!
From the sands, M'rek chuckles as Kylia speaks to her dragon and drops his
chin to his chest as if this will keep the gold, if not the goldrider, from
seeing how entertained he is. Once he's got some kind of control again he
gives Kylia's hand a gentle squeeze and says, "So. They'll look different
when they're dry? It's amazing how little I know about dragon's eggs to be
a dragon's rider. There now. That one is a work of art as well. She must be
warmed up now, gorgeous queen that she is."
Lekzanne raises an eyebrow towards Jasia as her hand raises to flick once
more. "Not much else I can do about them right now. Swatting seems easy
enough." The insects are generally ignored, until they touch her. Her nose
wrinkles slightly, perhapes at the smell, but it's not mentioned. "Is Ista
Weyr always full of these things?"
Most people would be looking at the sands or the eggs. Maybe who else is
present in the galleries, but Kaimi is too busy flicking one of the bugs
off her sleeve as she enters. A soft murmur goes along with it. "It's not
raining she says. Go outside she says. Hannet is mincing whiteroot for a
month." And there she pauses to remove another bug before a pair of
firelizards snatch it and fight over in. She rolls her eyes at the bronze
and brown. "Oh really. Not like there aren't plenty. Useless you two are!"
Lilias returns Ellery's waves, though it in turn turns into a beating of
insects. Over the rim of her glass she greets the greenrider. "Keroon
sounds good about now. She's squirting them out well though so far, and so
long as you..." She swats at a few more bugs, "...don't mind the company
it's not too dull yet." She glances to Jasia for a second, to check what
she's up to, then turns her attention once more to Ellery.
The swarm dies down a little, the noise fading as the view of the sky
clears. A momentary calm falls over the cavern and the sound of a breeze
can be heard like a sigh of relief. Then, with a clatter and a buzz,
another cloud on insects moves overhead, dripping down into the cavern once
more.
M'tri agrees with Kassi with a nod, at least on the matter of betting and
knowing. But as for the blue-vs-green in one egg, Kassi has crossed the
line. "Mark you? How many do you want, because I'll tell you, no
*self-respecting blue* would set himself in that egg. It's a *green*, and
I'll bet mark upon mark. A blue!" He scoffs loudly once more before this
new one earns the same judgement. "Green. Though, not such a gaudy one."
And this he says with an angelic smile for his Wingleader.
Lirit climbs up some stairs into the seats.
Reye nods absently to Vorlin's words, though likely that's a ruse; she's
not absent about much. "Yes, too bad much of the cargo was water-damaged.
And repairs go... slowly. I took it on, basically, as a way to get my mind
off hides and... other things going on 'round Ista. It's good to have a
distraction now and again, keep your skills sharp and all."
Poking her contradictory 'lizard as she speaks, Ellery addresses that green
newcomer above her head. "Oh, good. You've come to help me out when mine
has failed me, eh? Quick, get this lot right here." And indeed, there's a
particularly intense swarm just to the right. Back to Lilias, whom she
answers with, "Yes, Ayannath kept me updated moment by moment until we got
back. Otherwise, I'd still be up north, bug free." That note is ended on a
wistful sigh.
From the sands, Essieth's midsection ripples, and she hurriedly digs out an
imperfect hallow into the sand, tail swishing behind her as she works.
Then, maneuvering herself over the small nest, she deposits yet another egg
that in with the granules surrounding it
From the sands,
Guilty Burial Egg
From the sands, Description: Beige dominates the whole of this egg, faint
tones of brown marbling the surface. Throughout the ovoid, khaki runs
rampant - sandy tan mottling the sides, deepening near the bottom to
earthier shades, and ecru giving way to shadows. It is amidst these darker
colors that an odd shape reigns triumphant, a sienna form skewed to the
right and seeming quite like a shoe. Black speckles the figure, and threads
of obsidian stretch out from the heel, lending it the air of a boot
well-chewed and destroyed.
Pearl breathes freely of the breeze for a moment, thinking mistakenly that
the invasion is over, and then 'Baloo flames anew, protecting the tray of
drinks from the defamations of the swarm. The smell of burnt bug fills the
air. Pearl grimaces at the morbid image on the newest egg. "Eurgh!" she
says, needing no explanation.
Nadia and the little girl both seem intent on the eggs and the goings on
below as the older one leans forward on her legs and props her elbows up
with her head in her hands. her daughter mimics the greenrider perfectly,
"Thse bugs..." SNadia makes a grossed face as one lands on her arm.
Jasia's finished the foremost layer, and she's slowly making headway
through the second, glass resting against her lip even as her gaze draws
back to Lekzanne. "Mm..." She draws out the sound, almost splitting it into
seperate syllables, before adding more coherently, "I've never seen these
things before, so no. They started invading a day or so ago, but they've
never made an appearance before." She takes another sip of her drink, this
one more absent than the others, and turns to Lilias with both brows
quirked. "Found a favorite egg yet?"
Lirit arrives in the stands out of breath, skidding to a halt as she
squashing yet more of the accursed SuSu bugs under foot. "Fidget....what's
going....." her voice trails off as what's happening on the Sands finally
registers "....on?" she finishes, sotto voce, and slumps to the nearest
bench, attention fully on the Clutching now (though she does continue
shooing those stupid bugs away in an absent sort of fashion).
Lorany remains surrounded by fluttering firelizards, a certain midnight
blue and gold-touched bronze never far from their owner even as they
dispatch with annoying bug invaders. Lor's eyes are fully on the clutching,
and the latest egg draws a simple, "Yikes." from the tiny bluerider.
One of Vorlin's eyebrows raises slightly and then is lowered once more as
the sands are studied and Reye is spoken to. "Indeed, I can well imagine
that there would be much to keep you attendant with hides without respite
until you forced such a diversion upon yourself. These are interesting days
that we dwell within." A bug lands upon the Lord's shoulder and yet he
doesn't move a muscle, as if it's beneath his notice. The man he's traveled
with removes the creature and dispatches of it as the Bitran Lord speaks
again, "It is always unfortunate to lose something that is wanted. Even
cargo. Ah well. Sometimes there is little that can be done. Do you believe
the vessel will be sea-worthy again for you, Weyrwoman?"
Lekzanne lifts a hand to her chin as she considers this news. She notes the
next few eggs, but the bugs are starting to gain more attention.
"Interesting. Rather annoying," she says this softly, mostly to herself. A
small shudder runs through her body as one of the insects lands on her
hand. It's dismissed with a jerk, but Lekzanne looks a bit disgusted.
"Bug free." Lilias repeats, "Sometimes the north seems rather tempting.
Cold, but tempting." She down the rest of her drink in one and her eyes
widen before she coughs rather loudly, blinking a few times before she
finds her voice again. "Last couple of layers shouldn't be mixed." As Jasia
asks about eggs she shakes her head. "They're all kinda... eggy. I guess
the one she buried cause it had the most dramatic squirting so far." To
Ellery once more, "Did you see it?"
Kassima starts to answer M'tri, but is forestalled by the need to brush a
fallen, half-crunched insect part from her shoulder with a shudder. "This
is green," she agrees, addressing the last first. "*That* is *blue*. Will
you wager ten marks on green, dear wife? Or would you rather more?" She
drains the last of her cocktail quickly before more bug-bits can threaten
it and sets the glass aside, picking up her wineskin in exchange; she
points this towards the newest egg. "Blue. Methinks. Mayhaps. It could be
brown, theoretically."
Nadia grumbles as another bug lands near her and she just jumps up and
flails a little with the annoyance before scopping her daughter up
playfully and saying, "Let's go back inside love." She waves towards Ellery
and scoots off.
Nadia walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Griere's firelizard has given up his post, leaving the young weyrwoman to
wave off the encroaching bugs. Then she spots Ellery and the waving off
becomes a waving over. "Ellery!" she calls out, though with the
otherworldly buzz of the bugs and the noise of spectators, she could easily
go unheard.
Fidget obligingly snaps up a mouthful of bugs before wheeling to land on
Lirit's shoulder, where she snaps the occasionaly nuisance from the air and
croons contentedly. Lirit seems almost entirely unaware of anything but the
Sands right now, but by luck has placed herself not far from her aunt Ells.
From the sands, Kylia dips a nod to M'rek, shuffling a bit nearer to him.
"They do look a bit different, according to Reye. This is the first
clutching I've ever been to, actually, silly as that may be. I knot they
change textures and things, and they're sort of damp right now so I guess
that makes sense. Hopefully these'll brighten up a bit." Her nose wrinkles
a bit and she sighs." Maybe she just wants to be different and lay some
more... earth-toned eggs. She does have a rather subdued sense of style."
Or something.
M'tri declares, "Ten it is," with bright boldness. "Ten marks that that
disgusting looking thing yields a little green dragon creeling my victory."
At Kassi's newest announcement, he looks at the newest arrival. His head
cocks to the side before he points at the chewed shoe, saying, "Daikoth did
that," without any pride but plenty of fondness. "Thought I'd hidden a
statue in it. Brown. One mark, that's brown."
From the sands, Kylia continues to try to soothe her agitated lifemate, and
her cooing and clucking calms Essieth a bit. With a flick of her long tail
she sweeps a group of bugs off the sand, then ike a canine getting ready to
lie down, she makes a few circles before finding just the right spot for
her latest egg.
From the sands,
Masked Purity Egg
From the sands, Crystal in its most flawless form has been melted to
liquid, fluid shades of subtle blue and green bathing the surface of this
egg in seafoam and aqua. Transitions are effortless, blurred and at times
undetectable, allowing ocean blue to merge peacefully into brine and brine
into sea glass and tropical teal. Unidentifiable traces of lacey white and
abstract figures outlined in dull silver pepper the otherwise tranquil
shell, water-dwelling creatures keeping silent council amid the shadowed
depths.
Jasia tilts her glass, rolling it between fingers to catch the light, and
eyes Lilias askance. "...Most dramatic squirting?" and the echo is laced
with amusement, the first hints of laughter. "I suppose that's one way of
putting it. And I suppose it's also more or less true." She considers this
by canted head, then dismisses the thought and turns, instead, to face
Lirit, who eventually receives a flick of fingers in a wave. "Hey there.
Come to join the fun?"
Reye has no such muscle to keep the insects off her person, and she
occasionally waves them off, looking much less sedate than the Bitran Lord
beside her. "Well, I wouldn't try to sail her to Southern," she replies
honestly. "But locally? Sure, she will be. A good training vessel.
Perhaps," And here she turns to give Vorlin a smile, "Perhaps you'll come
aboard, when she's seaworthy, for a sail."
Fadra says, wisely, "You have t'lose every once in a while. Maybe you're
lucky, most of the time, but I bet you lose more than you say." She grins,
saying, "I'd bet, but I'm saving. Maybe if I get a strong hunch or
something." Thier quabble earns them both a laugh, which dissolves into
confusion as she murmurs, with a baffled look at M'tri, "Wife?" Hmm, to
each his own. Rather than betting, she decides, "I like that one." And then
this newest, "Oh, that one." Her hand in her pocket, the girl seems to be
debating on wagering with Kassima and M'tri, the sound of marks clicking in
her pocket.
From the sands, M'rek chuckles, in a bright mood and enjoying himself, it
would seem as his dragon rumbles his thunder-toned encouragement to his
mate. Boots are shifted in the sand and then M'rek raises the hand that's
joined to Kylia's and uses one finger to point, "Another nice one. I wonder
what color would she make them if she did have control over it? Ulfianth
would probably like to see a dark purple shell." He would. "It's like a
good thing it's not up to him. Can only look at so many purple eggs on one
sands, no matter how striking they were against black sand."
Ellery shoots Lilias' question back at her rather unnecessarily. "Did I see
it? What, with this swarm to contend with first? I haven't even been sure
the Sands were down there until," and here she pauses to glance below, "I
looked just now." A quirked smile, after which a slew of comings and goings
barrage the hapless rider. A wave to Nadia, one to Lirit, with a quick,
"Thank your 'lizard for me? Darling thing," and then a certain junior
goldrider commands her attention. Well, the weyrwoman actually gets Pearl's
attention first, who obliges her owner by digging a claw or two into a
shoulder. "Ech, what are you /doing/, Pear - ah." A nod to those she's
leaving, and the young woman takes a few steps up to Griere's area in the
seating. "Evening, there."
Lirit glances away from the spectacle below long enough to flash a smile at
Ellery and Jasia and all the other familiar faces. "How long's this been
goin' on?" she asks noone in particular.
Lorany turns, in the act of flicking yet *another* bug from her clothing,
in time to spot a certain greenriding clutchsibling of hers. "Ellery! Hi! I
wasn't sure you... well it's hard to see *anything* with all these bugs and
flying things flying in here, and... hi." Enough said apparently, because
Lor just as quickly shushes up.
From the sands, Kylia tips her head, considering, then nods. "Looks like a
blue's in there to me. Though I lost every single thirtysecond mark I put
on the eggs in Essieth's clutch. I'm not good at guessing." She blinks,
then tips her head, peering over at M'rek. "Dark purple? That's not
terribly manly of him, is it? Though... I suppose it's a regal sort of
color and that's fitting." She pauses to flick a glance up into the
galleries, peering through a thin cloud of bugs to see who might be up
there. "Hrm, is that who I think it is?" She gives M'rek's hand a little
jiggle to make sure she has his attention, then jerks her chin up in Lord
Vorlin's direction.
Lilias nods to Jasia. "Well they do kinda get squooshed out, squirted just
sounds a bit less rude." But not by much. To Ellery she grins, "It was
really kinda fun, she was all hissy and then took it out on the egg." As
Ellery heads off she turns back to Jasia. "I think I might wander off. Find
somewhere less squirty and buggy."
Kassima rolls a mouthful of wine about before swallowing. This may be less
to savor its quality than to give her time to think. "A mark's fairly high
when methinks you may be right," she mutters. "Would you stake a half-mark
instead of a whole? Ah. Add another green to the tally. They've finished
warming up and are getting down to business." Fadra earns a flash of rueful
grin. "I never claim t'win all the time. Other people do it for me, and
make it harder for me t'find partners. Probably on purpose. 'Twill leave
wife for Trii t'be explaining. What d'you think might be in them, then?
Aside from dragons. I'm nay getting into the chicken argument again."
Kaimi looks away as her 'lizards finish their battle over the bug, just in
time to view the latest eg, "How lovely. Has anyone kept count so far?" A
general question as she moves towards an open seat, shivering a little as
she fends off another winged pest. "Good evening everyone. Baker's duties
to Bitra." She notes as she spots the Lord, nodding politely to him, and
then her gaze moves on to others, pausing on Kassima and the young man with
her, "And to Telgar."
From the sands, Essieth seems to be getting into the swing of things now,
making a quick circuit of the eggs to make sure they're all ok and
positioned just right. She pauses as she comes near Ulfianth, offering him
a soft warble and a flick of her tail to his- almost an apology for her
earlier grumpy rumbling. Her good mood is likely due to the brief clear
space around her thanks to the firelizards, and it's short lived as she
paces back to lay her next egg and more SuSu's descend.
From the sands, Essieth flicks her tail as a ripple of agitation runs along
her body. But it's not just agitation. A moment later an egg is on the sand
and for silent second the young gold forgets her minute attackers to muse
over this new arrival.
From the sands,
Dance Your Cares Away Egg
From the sands, A crystalline armature of spires and bridges wraps around
the base of this egg like an otherworldly stage. Rising from this filament
landscape are fives great swathes of color, reaching towards the apex in a
joyous dance. There is a tall orange one with two bursts of red like
fireworks and a small yellow one that seems shiver in anxious excitement.
The largest one undulates in stripes of red and orange, topped with crown
of purple while a moss green patch seems to spin, a sweeping scarf of tan
twirling behind it. The last splash of color is also the palest; pinks and
blues are draped together in a graceful ballet. The five hues look as
though they were caught in a moment of music, mid-step in their dancing.
Vorlin turns to meet Reye's gaze full on with his own orgulous eyes and
then he nods his head in concordance, "I would be honored, Weyrwoman Reye,
to make such a voyage. You need only let me know when. Perhaps, in the mean
time, you would come and dine with me at Bitra some evening. It would be a
great pleasure to have you."
Lekzanne tilts her head and frowns in an annoyed manner. With a sigh, she
stands and walks towards the stairs without even a word as to why.
Muttering, she descends the stairs and disappears from sight
Lekzanne walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Jasia salutes Lilias with her drink, tilting the rim in the girl's
direction. "Go ahead, though I doubt you'll be much successful unless you
find a closed room to hide in. These're determined things." Then, as a
SuSus descends, she quickly withdraws her glass and moves one hand forward
to swipe the bug from the air, whereupon it meets its demise beneath a boot
heel. It doesn't take her long to be satisfied that it's dead, and her
attention shifts back to Lirit. "I'm not sure, wasn't really counting."
From the sands, If the look in M'rek's eyes is a good indicator, the
bronzerider is confused for a moment, "In Essieth's clutch. The one she
hatched from?" He solves the mystery himself and grins, "I keep thinking
this clutch is the only one ever, you know?" Laughter comes next, "We won't
tell him that. He thinks he's all about the masculine, that one does. Dark
purple's not so bad. I'm not saying I'd want to wear it myself, but I can
stand it." Then he's jiggled and he nods, he saw, or rather his dragon did.
"Aye. That's him. Likely came to gloat. He's taking some of the credit, you
know?" Eyes are rolled.
Lilias nods. "Well maybe I'll have that sleep you said I needed. If
anything intersting happens tell me tomorrow?" She barely gives time for a
reply before she's on her feet and heading for the stairs, pausing only to
waves briefly to Ellery before she vanishes from sight.
Lilias walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
From the sands, Kylia flips her free hand in an absently dismissive
gesture. "Yeah, the one she hatched from. /I/ keep forgetting that /this/
is the clutch that will be thought of as Essieth's, not the one she hatched
out of. It's all still a bit unreal, you know." She blinks then, frowning
in a bit of bafflement. "He's taking credit?" A soft, incredulous snort.
"That's absurd."
M'tri sighs at Fadra, clutching at his heart and then jerking a thumb at
Kassi. "This hunky greenrider made me her wife. Complete accident, but what
can I say? I'm completely faithful." A sigh accompanies the explanation,
but that's all Fadra's going to get in explanation. His brows furrow at
Kassi as he says, "You just don't want me to take everything from you. I'm
going to become the master better, but til then, sure, half mark instead."
Pause. "I like that one," he says, pointing to the crystal spires. "Yep."
Griere pats the seat besides her. "Come sit with me Ellery? I've been
meaning to talk to you but we seem to be missing each other right and
left." The 'left' is puctuated as a SuSu lands on her shoulder. It takes
Griere a moment to brush it off and then to stop squirming.
Lirit nods at Jasia's answer as she absently picks a SuSu out of her braid.
From the sands, The distressed rumbling of the young queen comes to a stop,
the current swarm forgotten, as Essieth welcomes a new egg.
From the sands,
Coal Seam Egg
From the sands, This egg is black as the Istan sand that warms it, almost
as if its occupant wishes nothing more than to hide away unnoticed until
Hatching day. If one should look more closely, though, the ebon shell shows
a subtle riot of rainbow hues slicked across its surface like oil on water,
a faint faceting of purples and reds and golds that seem to play just
beyond the edge of vision, gemstone glimmers that hint at the diamond that
might wait within.
Kassima peeks through her cloud of guardian fire-lizards towards Kaimi;
seeing who's there, she brightens. "Craftsecond! Duties to the Bakers and
their Masters, a'course. I'm glad t'be seeing you well. M'tri, have you had
the honor of meeting Craftsecond Kaimi a'fore?" This would evidently be the
name of the young man, since it's him she turns to address. "'Hunky,'" she
then repeats. Deadpan, "Ah, aye. I am the very model of Pern's modern
masculinity. Quite right, Trii, quite right--you've already robbed me of
m'dubious virtue; I must hold back *something*. Let's see, now... green.
And blue, this latest."
One last greeting finishes that aforementioned barrage on Ellery, and she
returns Lorany's stumbly hello with a grin and succinctness to match her
ramble. "And hi to you, Lor." Then it's a smile for Griere, as the rider
slips in beside her weyrwoman. "I'd love to. Though I seem to be attracting
most of this horrible creatures - you sure you want me this close?" An
exaggeration, of course, but she does seem to be having plenty of trouble
with the things.
From the sands, M'rek nods his head and shifts his feet in the sand, giving
each just enough kick to get the sand off the toes of his boots before he
settles down again and chuckles to the goldrider beside him, "I'm sure
we'll both get used to it in the months that come." Then he snorts, making
the cloth covering his face jump, "Oh. It's something between he and
Ulfianth. Plus, all that eating from some particular flock of beasts he
keeps at Bitra for him." Brown eyes are rolled, "It's sharding ridiculous
sometimes the things that go on. As if that moment from Ulfianth was
anything other than his own pure genius." Spoken like a truly besotted rider.
Jasia inclines her head in a nod, watching, for a moment, as Lilias
departs, and then she gives her attention to the clutching -- and,
inevitably, to the SuSus swarming near her, one of which alights on her
shoulder and is promptly shrugged off with no little irritation.
Lirit seems to be less troubled than most by the encrouching swarm. Maybe
because she's fresh off the boat and reeks of packtail oil.
Lorany's having her own share of trouble with the buzzing invading
SuSu-thingies. Swat, flick, flutter, "Ick, eew! Uh, hi Ellery... wait I
said that already and flame-blast it all! Oh, no don't do that, I don't
feel like going up in smoke tonight. Ick!" This as she's disentangling an
errant bug from the short chaos that is her hair.
M'tri shakes his head, smiling warmly at Kaimi and saying, "Nope, I don't
believe I have. Telgar's duties and well met." A nod is tipped off for the
Craftsecond, then, to Fadra, "If you're going to bet, you may want to try
guessing how many she's going to lay - it's a little easier. You're just
doing the same thing I was when I first bet." The bluerider offers a shrug,
crossing his arms and saying, "No bets there, I think you're right, Kassi.
You epitome of manliness, you."
Reye's gotten pretty good at the whole Weyrwoman-obligations thing over the
turns, but one thing she's never really got the hang of is schmoozing with
Vorlin. She actually blinks at the dinner invitation, smooths her
expression with a glance toward Essieth and the eggs, and inclines her head
formally. "A visit to Bitra is long overdue; I'd be pleased to come over
one evening. And I'm sure Omfaleth would appreciate the change in scenery
as well. Sometimes she asks to go to 'Reaches just for the snow." Reye's
tone is evident: crazy dragon.
Griere gets over her close encounter with a last shudder. "Ugh. Isn't this
miserable. At the least the firelizards are helping out a little. I never
would have imagined those creatures could be useful." She lets out a light
scoff at a darting blue before turning to Ellery. "So I have a proposition
for you, if you're interested."
From the sands, Kylia chuckles, a low husky sound muffled slightly by the
cloth over her mouth. "Is that how it is? Well you just tell him that even
you and I can scarcely take credit for this, eh? On the plus side though,
maybe this will give me something to point my da at when he bugs me to have
children. Essieth already had a dozen, and that's enough for now." She says
it with a wink and another soft chuckle, then she sighs. "She's getting
tired, poor love. I can't imagine a whole 30 eggs."
Kaimi glances at the others present again, but then makes her way more
directly towards the Telgarians before taking a nearby seat, "It's good to
see you again, Kassima. I should have known you'd be by, but I hadn't
thought so soon." She smiles to the greenrider, "Oh yes. Doing much better,
thank you. How are you? And M'tri is it?" The bluerider gains a smile as
well, "Good to meet you also."
Balinne climbs up some stairs into the seats.
From the sands, Some eggs cause a fuss when they arrive, drawing attention
to themselves even before they're visible to the world. This is not one of
those eggs. One minute there's a patch of empty sand, the next that black
expanse is occupied by an ominously dark egg that nearly blends in with its
home, trying to hide from the insatiable swarm buzzing around it.
From the sands,
Cavernous Sanctuary Egg
From the sands, Looming presences surround, dark earth bordered by the
equal darkness of roughly-broken granite, the passage of time and the
erosion of weather coloring this egg in ominous shades of twilight brown.
Palest at its apex, water-soaked soil peppered with sand gives way to smoky
cliffs that shadow the shell's sides, faint tracings of fluorescent lichen
green illuminating webwork pathways concluding at the ovoid's wide base,
ground away by the sand-blasted hues of rasped fallen rock.
Vorlin shifts as an insect darts before his eyes, an involuntary motion
before the creature is dead by another's hand and the Bitran Lord is
inclining his head to the tow-headed Istan Weyrwoman, "Select a date of
your choice and I will have something special prepared for your visit. Your
golden Omfaleth is also welcome, we have snow enough and if it will please
her, I am sure that it will please Bitra." Such a smooth voice, if Vorlin
notices that Reye is a little taken aback, and doubtless he does, he makes
no sign of it. "It is always interesting to me what intrigues dragons."
The small gold perched on Ellery's shoulder shifts a few 'lizard paces away
from Griere. Pearl may not be the most intelligent of Pern's creatures, but
she seems to know hostility when she meets it. Ellery, meanwhile, agrees
wholeheartedly. "I've rarely known them to be before." When a 'proposition'
is mentioned, however, the rider glances covertly to a certain Telgari
wagerer. "Ah, sorry, I've found gambling on eggs is a good way to lose
well-earned marks."
Kassima confides to M'tri, after a long, speculative, sidelong look at the
clutch--long by necessity, since it takes awhile for a fire-lizard-free
window to occur--"I'd nay be surprised if'n they outdo Volath and
Lhiannonth. I'd nay really say as much t'Vel, but. Twenty-and-one is
m'thought, or mayhaps nineteen--and that one there, that's brown." Having
established this, she's free to grin to Kaimi. "I've a daughter here, so I
drop by periodically--but usually only t'her weyr. Couldn't miss M'rek's
moment, though. It certes seems to be a well-attended clutching." Her eyes
might flick to a few parties in particular with that comment. "I'm nay
doing too badly; Kisai came home safe from Boll, too, and you can imagine
I'm thrilled." The magical G-word catches her ears through the insect buzz
and she throws a brief, inquisitive look Ellery's way.
From the sands, M'rek turns his head and rubs his forehead to his shoulder,
removing the sweat from his brow before he looks back and takes in the next
egg just before it vanishes from his sight. "That's right. They are like
children." The pride in his voice is clear, "I can't imagine either. I've
bet upon a nice sixteen, given the interval and all, but I guess even that
might be alot?"
Fadra blinks a bit, waving at Kaimi as well - not an "I know you" wave so
much as an "I recognize you vaguely" one. But still, it's offered with a,
"H'lo," of her own. "How many?" she inquires of M'tri. "Eighteen, maybe?"
Ellery's imput causes the lass to grin, unable to help it, before she says,
"And still I am torn." A glance at Kassi before she finally, finally says,
"Just this one bet - eighteen total, one mark. That's all I'm willing to
wager this time."
"I seem to remember you being intrigued by dragons at 'Reaches," Reye
agrees politely, a hint of a smile shadowing her lips as she glances
Vorlin's way. "Or, at least, some dragons. And-" She pauses, blue gaze
directed back toward the tunnel leading to her weyr. "Will you excuse me,
Lord Vorlin? Omfaleth tells me I'm needed elsewhere." Unfolding her lean
frame from her seat, she inclines her head toward the Bitran and makes her
way out.
From the sands, An impatient swipe of Essieth's claws clears a new resting
place in the Grounds, which is soon filled in again--but not with sand this
time. A dark yellow egg is left there to harden in brooding solitude.
From the sands,
Sleek Six-Fingered Sadist Egg
From the sands, This egg is unsettling, though it's hard to say just why.
Its overall color is a dark butter amber, with a dull sheen resembling
velvet and a streak of glossy brown capping its apex. However, thin
scratches of ink-black and spills of ominous, rusty red mar what might
otherwise be handsome. On one side, visible only when Essieth has turned
the egg just so, is a dark mark rather like the print of a most unusual
hand... a hand that possesses six fingers.
Griere waves off that thought away. "I don't gamble either. I don't mind
the guessing, but I have no desire to throw my marks away and I prefer
making more predictable sums. Anyway, that's not the proposition." The
goldrider's weird little brown comes careening down at breakneck speed and
with a mighty squawk manages to slow himself only enough to not break
anything when he hits the nearby bench. He pops up, perky as anything and
croons up at Ellery's Pearl. Griere watches the whole thing with a rather
bored expression and takes up her conversation again. "Candidates," she
says simply.
"That one....I think it'll be a brown" Lirit muses.
Vorlin inclines his head back to Reye, "Always a pleasure, Weyrwoman." Some
expression twitches over the Lord's mouth and yet doesn't dare to settle
there. "Always." The latest egg seems to earn a nod as well, and Vorlin
turns a bit, mutters something to the man behind him and then looks back to
watch the sands like the other goes to place a bet on his behalf.
Jasia lazes in her seat, watching the others through half-lidded eyes as
she idly swirls her glass between fingers. Then, to no one in particular,
she wonders, "How do you decide which egg holds what color?" Her gaze
narrows on M'tri and Kassima for a time, and then it shifts to Lirit with
some curiousity.
From the sands, Kylia drops her free hand to her hip, shifting her weight
from one foot to the other in deference to the heat and Essieth's growing
discomfort. Then she tips her head at M'rek and arches a brow. "You bet on
/this/ clutch? Isn't that a conflict of interest or something?" Mirth
lightens her tone, and she shrugs. "First clutches are sometimes small, and
as we get into the interval I think the clutches will get smaller and
smaller. Somewhere in the low teens is what I was told to expect." With a
vague scowl she stomps a bug into the ground, grinding it ruthlessly under
her heel. " 'Course, I wasn't told to expect the bugs, so you never know."
She nibbles her lower lip, eyes going into the middle distance as she
converses with her lifemate. The usually light colored gold is even paler
than usual, looking a bit wilted as she nudges a protective little mound
around the most recent egg.
Lirit answers Jasia's question absently, attention still on the Sands
despite the flying bugs. "Dunno. Gut feelin'?"
M'tri frowns at this newest amber egg, then frowns deeper, then says,
"Bronze. Or brown. And I don't want to bet on how many - lose every time,
numbers aren't my forte." He shrugs at that, adding, "I'm going to have to
eat a hat, but I'll at least get ten marks out of this one."
"I don't always manage to watch the clutchings myself." Kaimi allows. "Too
often I'm in the kitchens, helping fix a feast. But they seemed to think
they could do without me tonight." A wry grin crosses her features for
that, but then she's giving a little shiver, "I'm not sure I'll be ready to
go back to Boll for a while after that, and their storm chased us home.
Your daughter was there though? Not lost as well I hope?" She gives Fadra a
friendly nod coupled with a quiet, "Good eve," in return for the wave sent
her way.
Hiding the barest flush when the weyrwoman corrects her mistake, Ellery
hurries to reply to Griere's one-word overture. "Oh, yes. Ayannath's been
babbling about it since Essieth started her laying. We'll keep an eye out
on sweeps and watchriding for available candidates, of course. I didn't
know you took such a direct interest in Searchriding, though." A clear
question is there in her tone, just a touch of confusion. She's completely
ignoring Pearl in her haste to clear up the gambling snafu, and the small
gold in turn is completely ignoring the odd brown. A wedged head is facing
pointedly away from him.
Jillah climbs up some stairs into the seats.
From the sands, Essieth lets out a final soft rumble and a final egg drops
to the dark sands. She is almost too weary to snap at the hordes still
buzzing, though she does flap a wing in a vain attempt to shoo them from
her now complete brood.
Kassima inclines her head to Fadra. "'Tis a respectable wager; 'twill take
it and gladly. Eighteen eggs total, one mark... ah... forgive me; I don't
think I've caught your name?" Her charcoal stick hovers over the hide,
prepared to note it down. "--Brown," she agrees, unwittingly, with Lirit
upon seeing this latest addition. "Or bronze, I suppose. I have rather a
few eggs slated for brown already. It might be disproportionate. There's
some question of color ratios," she answers Jasia in turn, with a flickered
grin. "Should be a good number of greens, nay a horde of bronzes,
etceteras--but mostly, I just guess. M'tri, take that last guess back. We
aren't allowed t'be agreeing. It scares me." She shakes her head quickly to
Kaimi, looking back her way: "Oh, nay, Kiss was fine. She holed up in the
Great Hall and hung around your cousin, apparently. I did a bit of
searching, late that first night; I saw some of the damage done. Impressive."
From the sands,
Jump, Magic, Jump Egg
From the sands, Broad horizontal stripes of crimson and ivory alternate,
and coalesce into a chubby, soft shape at the center of this egg. A swath
of darkness looms around the bright cheerful center, threatening to swallow
it whole and turn it, too, to shadow. The apex of the egg falls into
pallor, streaks of silvery platinum sprouting almost like spikes of hair,
and just beneath that is a froth of dingy lace. The remainder of the egg is
nearly black, but the night is not absolute as shimmers here and there
strike the surface like the glint of light off leather.
From the sands, M'rek laughs warmly, "Shards. My whole life is a conflict
of interest." Is the quip before M'rek says more seriously, "It's not like
I could sweet talk Essieth into clutching just one more for me. Maybe the
bugs are a good omen. There should be a saying or something like 'Clutching
with bugs, hatch lots of big lugs." The sad thing is that M'rek actually
seems to think that's clever of him, for he laughs.
Reye walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Jasia considers this, hand still idly tilting her glass at various angles.
Then, after she's discouraged a beetle from landing, she says, "So it's
mostly guessing, hm? It's good to know I haven't been doing anything
wrong." She smirks, taking a small sip of her drink, and nods a moment
later to both Kassima and Lirit.
Griere nods at that, her curls jumping in a little bounce. "Very good. But
I was wondering if you'd also like to help me and Shim to tend the
candidates oncee they get her." She scowls over at the little brown, "Leave
her alone, Fuzz," but the firelizard continues a babbling of croons and
chirrups.
From the sands, Essieth lets out a draconic sigh and settles down on the
warm sand, heedless of the myriad SuSu bugs she smooshes beneath her
considerable (though not so considerable as a few hours ago) bulk. Kylia
lets out an echoing sigh, though hers is markedly more relieved, and she
leans up to plant a light kiss on M'rek's cheek. "She thinks that's it.
Looks like you win your bet." He gets a wink, then she untangles her
fingers from his and hurries over to Essieth, leaning lightly against the
gold's side and murmuring congratulations.
Lirit swats a bug down to the ground and squashes it with one bare foot --
disadvantage to being a sailor in bug season.
Fadra's mouth makes a little 'o' as she realizes she hasn't introduced
herself. "Right. I'm Fadra." And with a frown at the now-settling queen,
"And I've lost. No gambling on things like this anymore. Give me a game of
dragonpoker."
M'tri laughs, saying, "See, that's why there's no number betting for me."
He nods resolutely, once, before frowning towards the entrance. "Daikoth's
restless...as usual." He rises to his feet, squishing plenty of bugs as he
does, saying, "Pleasure meeting both of you," with a nod each for Kaimi,
and then for Fadra as well. "I warned you," he tells the younger of the
pair, nodding sagely before sticking his hand in his pocket, waving with
the other one, and heading out.
M'tri walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Ellery's little gold echoes Griere's sentiments, a very sharp chirp
reprimanding that brown for even deigning to look upon her. The rider gives
her pompous pet a light flick, then takes a moment to consider the other's
most recent words. "You, and Shim. Both candidate coordinators." She's
always been a bit slow about this sort of thing, but it takes longer than
strictly necessary to put the pieces together. "Ah, ah. I see." A glance to
those eggs and the tired queen dragon on the sands, and then a rueful smile
tugs at thin lips. "Well, sure. What harm can I do, if the two of you are
in charge, as well?"
Kassima points her charcoal stick straight at the final egg and announces,
"Bronze." She does not, however, seem very happy about it. "This color
spread can't be right. 'Twouldn't put the three bronzes past Ulfianth, but
too many browns, nay enough greens... shells." That hide of hers is now
covered with scrawled notes, but she flicks away a stray severed SuSu head
to jot down a few numbers more. "Fadra. Right. Pleasure t'meet you, Fadra.
And a pleasure," she grins, "doing business with you. 'Twill keep that in
mind and break out the deck next time. Kassima, green Lysseth's." That
would evidently be her name. She wiggles her fingers after M'tri as the
bluerider departs.
Jillah remains quiet, eyes flicking around, noting people, listening to the
ongoing conversation. Her mouth quirks into a slight grin when talk goes
around to betting and dragonpoker, but she doesn't push herself into the
discussion. Instead, she leans against a handy area, and counts up on her
fingers as she studies the eggs, "12 13..shards, I lost the count
there...not enough fingers."
Lorany walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Kaimi nods slowly, looking both nervous and relieved at the topic. "Well
I'm glad your daughter wasn't caught out in it all, Kassi. You say she was
with Cailin? I'd heard she was there after the fact, but Kat and I didn't
stay around after I was found, long enough for me to have seen her anyway."
She waves after M'tri as he leaves, calling after him, "It was good to meet
you too."
From the sands, Ulfianth rakes the sands with his talons, gathering up some
of the bugs until he gives up on the task and settles in beside the gold
and her clutch, his eyes vigilant and protective as he starts the first of
many watches. M'rek pulls down his mask to let Kylia see the broad grin,
"Lucky me. Lucky me and lucky Pern, all those future dragons." Then she's
moving to comfort her dragon and he's giving his own a thumbs up before he
wears a look of mock surprise, "What do you mean don't come near them? But
it's me! You can vouch for me..well. Okay. Yes. I did trip that once. Well.
And yes. There was that time with the greenrider and the pitcher of wherry
gravy. That was entirely different though." And then M'rek stops speaking
outloud, gives his dragon a /look/ and steps towards the edges of the sands.
The Clutching finished, Lirit turns her attention partially to the gathered
watchers. Spotting Ellery, she wanders over, scowling anooyance as she
tries to pinch a SuSu out of her long braid.
Jasia abruptly rises from her seat, murmuring something to a man as she
passes, and then she picks her way through the crowd to the doorway.
There's just a slight pause, and then she's striding down the stairs,
headed back to the bowl.
Jasia walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Griere nods again. "Exactly! We'll all share the work and be able to help
each other and when it comes to these sorts of things, I think Shim is
likely to be more responsible than he'd admit. And I think you'll do a fine
job of getting new searched candidates settled and comfortable." She lets
out a sigh. "Good. Now it looks like folks are migrating off for food, so I
should probably go make sure everything is running smoothly." She stands,
smoothing out her skirt. A sharp look at the little brown and he forget the
queen for his pet, diving into her bag like a child looking for a hidden
treat. "And thank you," Griere adds to Ellery with a smile.
Fadra grins, agreeing, "Nice to meet you." She grins brightly, nodding and
saying, "I'll play poker with you anyday. May even win." And with a grin,
she gets up, saying, "I think I'm going to go get something to eat - before
all the visitors do." This is said wryly over her shoulder as she heads out.
Fadra walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
From the sands, Kylia gives Essieth's shoulder an affectionate pat, then
she straightens, glancing around for M'rek. Seeing him inching toward the
entrance, her brows go up, then she gets a sense of the conversation from
Essieth and she smirks. "Oh come on, Ulfianth. He can't be /that/ clumsy."
She moves to perch lightly on Essieth's foreleg, dangling her feet. "Though
these eggs likely are really soft and we should all probably be careful."
She frowns, smacking her hands together and crunching a bug between them.
"Nasty. We're going to be busy cleaning all this up when they clear out I
think, M'rek."
"No, thank you," is Ellery's quick reply, once Griere's explanation seems
to have soothed any responsibility fears that may have been lingering.
"I'll be headed back to Keroon; we left from there once word of the
clutching reached Ayannath. Enjoy the meal, though." Lirit's approach does
not go unnoticed, and the rider waves her fosterniece on over. "Hey, have
you been able to glimpse those eggs through this...this fog?" A general
swat to the air around her accompanies that.
From the sands, M'rek stops and looks back, taking in dragons, eggs and
goldrider all at once. He raises his voice enough for it to carry. "He
knows I'm not clumsy, he's just teasing me about my bad habits." So many
bad habits, so little time. "Aye. I'll help clean the debris away. Maybe
they'll settle in a few days or something? Does Ista often get bugs like
this?"
Griere walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Lirit smiles brightly....and promptly clamps her lips shut as a SuSu
bounces off her teeth. "Ugh!" she manages, then nods. "When can we see 'em
closer?"
Jillah gives up on egg counting, having reached 12, 15, and 23 in various
quietly voiced trials. Might be the bugs, might indeed. She unfastens a
pannier dangling over her shoulder and pulls out a length of some light,
airy material that she drops over her head. "Might be a run up to Weaver
Hall would be good, get that stuff they use to strain the whey through for
the cheese pressins."
Ellery chuckles, a sound quickly cut short when another swarm heads her
way. Enough thought, though, and a pair of blues appears above her head to
help ward them off. "We? Well, you'll have to be Searched to do any egg
touching, m'dear. Otherwise it's just the view from here. Which,
admittedly, will get better once the bugs disperse." Her tone adds another
thought to that: /if/ they disperse.
Kassima nods affirmation to Kaimi. "Kiss ran out t'help in the stables the
first night and found her there, by her telling of it. And Cai was good
enough t'let her hang about. But I didn't see her either, nay then--'twas
as bad as Kat," which she says with another, quick grin, "and scooped up
m'lass and didn't linger. Needless t'say, I'm glad 'twere found safe. Did
the weyrwoman just say M'rek's going t'be on bug-cleaning duty?" Something
about this seems to amuse her. "Poor man. Such are the glories of virile
lifemates."
Vorlin gets to his feet and gives the clutch one more critical glance and
then he leaves, the large brute just two steps behind him.
From the sands, Kylia wrinkles her nose up and shakes her head. "Not
often," she calls back, then frowns and hops to the ground. Essieth
immediately perks her head up and croons almost plaintively. "Oh, for
Faranth's sake, you big baby. I'll be right back but I don't want to shout
across the fardling sand all evening. Besides, I'm parched. I'll be back."
So saying she makes quick work of the cavern, striding easily across the
sand and crunching bugs as she goes. "Not often," she repeats in a
reasonable tone as she reaches M'rek. "Once every 20 turns or something
they said, though I've never seen them. A lot of them used to get killed
what with the flaming dragons and all, but even without that they should
only last a few days, far as I know. Then they sort of disperse." Finally
she thinks to look back into the galleries at those that still remain. With
a grin she gives them a general little wave.
"Oh" Lirit murmurs, a touch disappointed. Then a thought occurs to her.
"But Essieth knows me....?"
Ellery's chuckle turns to an outright laugh. "Oh, don't you dare get near
her, unless you'd like to be lunch. There's no such thing as a friendly
gold, once she has eggs on the Sands. You should've seen Phy, back when we
were candidates together. I don't make wagers often, but one I would've
made was that Omfaleth was going to eat her before those eggs hatched. And
she was a candidate!" Eyes roll in memory. "Can't imagine what the dragons
ever saw in her, really."
Lirit's eyes widen, harking back to her old fear of dragons when she first
arrived at the Weyr. "She'd actually _hurt_ someone?"
From the sands, M'rek looks surprised, "20 turns, huh? That's pretty neat
then. Want me to get you something to drink?" A companionable offer from
the bronzerider as he turns his boots towards the galleries, "I might grab
something to eat before I come back to see what can be done about the bugs.
Maybe some fishing nets would help."
"Sounds like her. Take someone under her wing when no one is looking, as it
were." Kaimi replies with an amused smile, "Don't tell her I said so, of
course." But there she flushes, "Yes, well. I was more than ready to be out
of the mud and home as well. It's hardly all his fault. But it sounded like
they were having fair luck finding everyone that lost their way. At least
from what I heard." she glances again and chuckles, "Sounds like something
to keep him from mischief for a spell."
"Someone who was threatening her clutch, yes," Ellery confirms with a curt
nod, swinging one hand about idly to keep insects off. "Though I doubt it
ever comes to that. Have you ever been roared at by an angry queen? Enough
to send anyone running, I'd say." And speaking of running - all at once,
the greenrider's gaze goes distant, and she lets a low, happy sigh escape.
"We're wanted. Somewhere /other/ than Ista. Thank Faranth." The grin that
spreads in response to that news is turned to Lirit in farewell. "Enjoy the
egg gazing, missy. Perhaps it'll keep you out of trouble for a time?" Then
she's off through the Stands, down and out into the Bowl.
Jillah chuckles at M'rek's comment, shaking her head, and saying to no one
an anyone, "No seine's small enough to filter out those peskies..." and she
turns to head down the stairs, the cheesecloth over her head giving her a
comical look, but at least the bugs are in her eyes, mouth, and nose that way.
Ellery walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
From the sands, Kylia dips a quick nod. "Yes please. A bite to eat too,
maybe?" She casts a thoughtful look over the sands littered with big nasty
bugs. "Maybe a rake?"
Jillah walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
Balinne sits where she's been the entire time: hunched over on a seat
peering intently towards the Hatching Sands. The end of the Clutching marks
the beginning of Baline's movements. First a finger, then a foot, then her
whole body moves as she shifts and twists to loosen muscles and stretch
limbs once more. As if suddenly becoming aware of others around her, Baline
turns and faces the small group left in the viewing stands, and peers at
them intently for a moment.
Lirit nods at Ellery's words and turns her attention back to the Sands,
squinting through the cloud of bugs in hopes of one more good view.
Kassima bobs her head to this. "I'm just grateful she did," she admits,
"since the rider who gave her the lift over isn't so much a
take-under-the-wing sort. Your secret is safe with me." She lets one eye
close in a brief wink. "I can scarcely blame you. 'Twas a mess there; even
just seeing the aftermath, I saw that much. 'Twas glad that Craftmaster
Learan was fished out safely too." Her eyes then roll skyward, amused. "As
if'n there's a thing in this world that could? *Gah*. I never thought I'd
be so glad t'live in a frigid wasteland where I sometimes marvel that
*humans* can survive, much less bugs."
Balinne wrinkles her nose, as if just now noticing the bugs as well. She
bows her head, glaring at the insects with death in her eyes. "I hate
bugs," she mutters to no one in particular. She's still curious about those
other people, though, and so she shuffles her way on down towards them,and
finds herself a seat within earshot.
M'rek climbs to the seating tiers from the sands.
From the sands, Kylia stretches her arms above her and yawns. "Didn't think
that'd take so much out of me," she murmurs, then shuffles back to Essieth.
The firelizards are still busy as can be, and amazingly the air around the
pale gold is free of the large, irritating bugs. Kylia settles down on
Essieth's leg, keeping her up above the worst of the sands' heat, and she
curls up against her mate's broad chest. A few soft murmurs can just be
made out as she strips of the cloth around her neck. She lays her cheek
against Essieth's soft hide and within a few scarce moments she is asleep.
"Her sister was always the caretaker and Cai more the watch-canine. I
remember that from my visits as a little girl. Am's would see that we had
enough to eat, didn't get lost; but when the bully boy turned up, Cai'd be
there dumping a bucket of water over his head." Kaimi gives a little giggle
for that and then smiles more openly, "She'd probably not appreciate me
telling that either." Not that it stopped her. "Shimshon told us that he'd
been lost and found. I suppose Kat might have known the first part already.
He hadn't seemed surprised, just glad to hear the Craftmaster was found.
Cai must be happy about that too." M'rek is given a quick look as the baker
asks the greenrider, "Is he really do bad as all that? I was just teasing."
Her own nose wrinkles, "I'm not sure which is worse, the bugs or the storm
that proceeded them."
Lirit sighs, brushing a few more of the bugs away. Fidget, extremely sated,
is no longer any use -- she's dozing on Lirit's shoulder, digesting all the
SuSu's she's eaten thus far. "I give up", Lirit murmurs, then heads for the
stairs and more sheltered environs.
Lirit walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
M'rek stomps his feet at the last step to shake off any sand and then he
takes a look at the gallery, seeing who's here and who's not here any
longer. There's a nod from the reckless bronzerider that's quickly followed
by a broad grin and a wave to those gathered.
"If'n she didn't just put a fist in his eye, she was still better-mannered
than most of m'daughters," Kassima mutters, with a grin at the thought.
"Another secret that's safe. Although 'twill have t'hide a grin at the
thought of Cai dousing bullies when I see her next. Oh, aye, I do believe
Cailin's pleased that Learan's all right." After a moment's surprise, she
adds quietly, "So bad? M'rek? Shells, nay. He's fantastic. I tease him,
too. Don't I, M'rek-m'dear?" she asks, more audibly--and thus better
eavesdropped-upon--and with a grin for the bronzerider through her
net-of-'lizards. "Beautiful clutch out there. Nay that I figure you need me
t'tell you so."
Kaimi returns M'reks wave, "Yes. A lovely clutch, even if the timing..."
She flicks away another bug and looks back, "Well. They hopefully wont
last." For Kassi she grins again, "Oh, well. I'm not sure she didn't now
and then. Just not in front of me. The fist in the eye I mean. I never
asked." She nods slowly, "Last time I saw her here, she seems concerned
she'd upset him with her behavior. Not something we ever saw her worry
about too much, I can tell you."
M'rek strolls towards the people, and the smile plastered over his features
is a sight to see, "It is a beautiful clutch, I'm beside myself and would
even buy a round if I weren't still on the mend from this morning." And
some of the words in the general conversation seem to strike a chord with
him and yet he smiles in a clueless fashion and looks at all the smiling
faces, "So! How many blues do you think?"
Balinne reacts to M'rek's entrance with very little movement or emotion at
all. In fact, she might not have seen him to begin with. She huffs a little
bit, wrinkling up her nose and peering at the group with a mixture of
annoyance and boredum. Obviously, the topic of conversation wasn't to her
taste, and Balinne was beginning to get edgy. Shuffling her feet and
wiggling her leg, Balinne finally decides it's time to move on. Flicking a
bug off her knee, she stands and heads down the stairs.
Kassima gestures towards a place on the bench nearby in invitation, using a
gentle hand to shoo a fat and happy fire-lizard off of it first. "Really?"
she wonders of Kaimi in the meanwhile. "I wonder why... I'd nay imagine
that's the normal state of affairs. I sharding *hope* they won't last. This
is annoying." A stray bug gets a swat. Then, grinning up at the
bronzerider, "You certes look thrilled. As happy as I've ever seen you,
even hungover, and that's lovely t'see. Sit with us? I've got the tally at
four blues, but I don't think that can be right. Though mayhaps... and
would you believe, M'tri wagered ten marks on one egg?" She nods with
automatic politeness after the departing girl.
Balinne walks down the stairs towards the entrance.
"I've never seen them before anyway," Kaimi replies. "And I've lived here
since Fluria made Sr." Yeah, she'll let someone else do the math, "Yes, do
join us, M'rek."
M'rek is about to join them when he stops in mid motion and laughs.
"Ulfianth thinks I should get Kylia some juice. I'll catch up with you both
later." He looks as though it's half a question, half a promise and then he
trots off to get the item in question.
"A'course," Kassima agrees, addressing the question half and bobbing her
head to him with a smile. "Considerate of Ulfianth," she asides to Kaimi
once the bronzerider's departed. "I've nay seen them either. Truth be told,
though, between when Jh'rin died and Kaylira Impressed here, I didn't visit
all that often."
"Certainly." The baker replies to M'rek and then Kaimi's looking back to
Kassima after he's gone, "I can understand that. Not everyone has a reason
to get everywhere all the time. And even I have a reason or two to visit
Telgar, outside of Baker duties, and I rarely get there."
"Aye," says Kassima, picking a stray wing out of her hair. "Without Jhor,
there was little reason t'come here--especially without him, y'ken, since I
associated the place with him. Nay that 'twere so close, really. Still...."
The wing is flicked away and the greenrider gives a shudder. "Do you?
Friends there or something? I saw you at K'ran's dinner, a'course, but I
don't think I have since then."
"I can understand that. Most people seem to think me a little odd that I'm
happy the Training Center moved from Benden Hold. But I always see the
places Roul courted me, where he proposed." Kaimi breaks off and shrugs,
"Or I did. I've not been there in turns, I admit." She moves on with a
smile, "Journeywoman Shoshana and I have been friend since I joined the
craft. And of course, I'sai still keeps up some craft ties, even after all
these turns. But I haven't been back since the dinner, other than to pick
up Shosh for the trip to Boll."
Kassima may not know Kaimi's history--but it doesn't take much knowledge to
get the gist of what she says, nor to offer a moment's wry smile of
sympathy for it. "Aye, 'tis a bit like that. Place-memory is a powerful
thing. I can still visit Benden and almost expect t'see Salless running the
Cavern, or P'tran come down t'get a mug of klah with the Weyrleader's knot
still on his shoulder, or--y'know what I mean. With Benden Hold, I tend
t'be remembering the Celestial Ball." Nodding, she lets her smile broaden.
"I don't really know the Journeywoman. Odd, I know, since she's posted with
us, but our paths just don't intersect much. I'm certes nay surprised that
I'sai does--nay after he went t'Ofira's bachelorette party. *That* is
something 'twill also remember 'til the end of days."
"Celestial Ball? That sounds lovely. I see Ofira's wedding there. The last
one." Kaimi smiles for that, "Oh it was lovely. I still have my gown, not
that it fits anymore, I was just a girl. But oh how we danced that night."
She chuckles softly then, confiding, "I think she might be even more people
shy than I am. And yet you probably have seen her about more than you know.
She wears a lot of grey. Unlike most bakers. I think it makes her easier to
overlook." She glances at Kassima then and chuckles. "Shoshana and I were
both there that night."
"'Twas. Lara ran it, when she was Headwoman under Lord Rodin. They had a
Lord and Lady for a Day drawing; the Lady drawn didn't show up--so they
made me Lady." Kassima shakes her head in amusement, fond amusement for the
memory. "I didn't see Ofira's wedding. Wanted to, but I didn't. I hear
'twas the wedding of the Pass, though, or nearly; you make it sound as if'n
that's mayhaps nay such an exaggeration." She dips her chin to acknowledge
the point: "It could be so. The Caverns bustle so at mealtimes, I sometimes
don't talk t'anyone beyond the Wing's table. And I don't go there so much
for aught but meals anymore. Oh, for the party? She was there too? Then
you'd both know why 'twould be remembering it."
"Oh it was quite the affair. All the apprentices at the Hold, and then some
in tailored gowns to serve as her maids. We all made special dishes for the
occasion as well. All manners of delicacies." Kaimi reminisces and then
smiles, "She'd be happier being overlooked, I expect. But yes, we were both
there. And I most certainly remember Merry."
Kassima can only shake her head in commingled disbelief and wistfulness,
likely at having missed such an affair. "It must be good," she quips, "t'be
the Baker Craftmaster and due t'marry. Difficult i'truth t'think of a Craft
better suited t'making a great party of it--the Vintners, mayhaps, if'n
anyone. Merry." A grin crosses her face. "Ah, Merry. *Certes* the most
memorable thing about that evening. Nay that the dancing men weren't also
memorable. In their own vaguely traumatizing way."
"It used to be my own wish. But then, for who wouldn't want that sort of
handfasting for themselves?" At least when quite young and impressionable?
"Yes. They rather were, but I tend to remember Merry first myself." Kaimi
replies with a certain amused light in her eyes.
"If'n I'd married--and isn't *that* a vastly entertaining image--I'm sure
I'd have wanted something splendid, aye. At least moderately splendid.
Having an entire Craft be a part of it is nay little intimidating, really,"
Kassima decides, shaking her head. "I, too. *Such* a shame that he never
repeated the experiment. Truth be told, discussing the prospect of both he
and M'kon indulging Ofira in a last wild night of glory while he was there
and couldn't say a thing was mayhaps m'favorite part."
Kaimi nods slowly and then looks up again, "Well. It was an old dream. I'm
not that girl any more. And yes, I think I'd have been too intimidated to
have it be that grand." She shrugs a shoulder and smiles, "I'm happy with
what I have now." The last gains a giggle, "Oh that would have been fun to
do I imagine."
Kassima chuckles low in her throat. "Aye. And there was nay point in m'life
when 'twas really *old* enough t'marry, save by the more extreme standards,
when 'twas able t'marry. I barely had time t'dream that dream. You don't
need the regal, splendid wedding t'have a splendid life. How are things
with you and m'namesake these days?"
"Some where along the way, I think I realized that I had almost everything
I wanted then, but that dream handfasting and that commitment. But I have
the rest." Kaimi flushes again "They've been really good. He's been very
sweet, not that he wasn't before, but more so since..."
"Aye," says Kassima, rather slowly. "I know what you mean, methinks. I may
nay quite have everything... but precious close to. Except the commitment.
It used t'seem so important, but now that 'twould have t'lose something
else important t'have it--I don't even know that I want it anymore." This
last gets a warm grin, understanding and sympathetic for the flush. "Sounds
like Kat has the sense t'take the reminder of how precious life and all is
t'heart."
Kaimi nods slowly, "I don't want to loose what I have by wanting more, when
I'm already happy." She smiles then, even though she's flicking away yet
another bug, "He's been wonderful, really. He even was taking care of the
kids, what he could at least, while I was, you know." Lost?
"Exactly. The more might be wonderful, might be worth risking for. But,"
Kassima says, and it's almost more a sigh, "what could be lost... well."
Most of her fire-lizards have tired and filled themselves by now, and so
she sporadically flicks bugs away herself, with varying degrees of
irritation. "That's good of him. Did the children ever even know?"
"I've taken enough risks." Kaimi ventures, "I'm not ready to seek out more
these days." A slow nod then and she clarifies, "Not the younger two. They
just missed me. But Aira. She knew something was going on."
Kassima glances to the Baker and gives another near-silent laugh. "Aye, I
suppose you have. Even if'n 'twere just the Boll thing, I'd be slow t'seek
risks just now if'n 'twere you." She dares the bugs enough to stretch her
arms up above her head, a bone or two popping. "'Tis probably better for
them. I told Kazy where his sister was, but I made him promise nay t'tell
Kai. Nay the same as having your mother gone, but it still could've been
frightening. I imagine your Aira's glad you're home safe now?"
Kaimi gives an easy smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes at the
mention of Boll, "No. Not especially after that." She brushes at her hair
and represses a flinch and knocking free a bug, "She is. I told her part of
it, but not all to explain where I was. Left out the, um, camping out and
mud parts."
Kassima's mouth-corner is tugged up in a half-grin. "Aye, nay real reason
to as far as I can tell. You're all right now; it might be a story t'share
later... if'n you want to. If'n nay, nay shame in it. Some memories aren't
particularly pleasant t'relive." After swatting at yet another bug, she
makes a face. "Speaking of which. I don't know about you, but I feel a
definite need t'take a bath and get the bug-guts and bug-bits and
everything else off of me. Will you forgive me for running out? It's been a
pleasure seeing you again, and talking with you. Been a pleasure seeing the
eggs, too. I hope t'see 'em again at a less... infested time."
"A story to share when or where there are a few less bugs." Kaimi allows
with an understanding nod. "And I have to say I wouldn't mind heading to do
the same. I do hope we catch up again soon, and yes. With less bugs."
"Faranth, aye. The bugs make this a bad time for *any* story. Gah!" Kassi
flicks away a last SuSu and stands, folding up her gambling hide and
tucking it into her pocket along with the charcoal stick. The
mostly-drained wineskin, she stoppers. "Good luck in avoiding 'em,
Craftsecond. Staying indoors until they're gone is looking as if'n 'twould
be *very* tempting about now." A final wry grin and appreciative glance for
both eggs and clutchparents, and she makes her way through the buzzing
wings to the exit.
You walk down the stone stairs towards the entrance.