The Spooky Clutch Touching: Trick or Treat! Open!

[SilverLutz]

The comforting feelings the egg sent his way had Venn smiling once again, although the shifting of the great gold dragon drew his attention away for a moment. He watched from his place beside the Hunter as a few of the Candidates were scolded, one even shoved by Vimiath from one of the eggs. He held very still, not wanting to antagonize the irritated dragon, his thumb still brushing lightly over the spotted shell. Gr'del even came forward to speak, as did A'ral, reminding those on the Sands that this was a delicate time and to treat the eggs with respect.

He let out a slow breath as things settled down just a bit before giving the Hunter another soft stroke. "Not even out of the shell and you're already quite the protector, aren't you?" he murmured fondly. "Thank you for your support, it's more helpful than you realize." He waited just a moment to ensure no one was going to get thrown from the Sands before shifting a little, making ready to move on.

"I think things are settling down now. Nice visiting with you, little one. I do hope you find your One," he added with a smile, giving the egg a farewell pat. Hopefully whoever Impressed this little protector would appreciate its efforts.  

[ChaosTheories]

Jagmund

Oh, I am sure you'll succeed, whatever you do. But perhaps I am the one that could help that success come faster? Jagmund thought to the Hellhound egg, trying to put reassurance behind his words. He wouldn't want to upset the little egg he was trying to appeal to, especially with everything happening.

Speaking of.... the angry egg had reached a breaking point and Vimiath and Talela were quickly intervening. Jagmund stayed with the Hellhound a moment longer to watch the chaos with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. Didn't these people know to be careful? He was pretty convinced he wouldn't make mistakes like that, thank you very much. It looked like something else had happened with one of the other eggs, too. Enough that the Candidatemasters and green Zinath were intervening too.  

[~Kiana_Nala~]

Miach (HR)

Miach laughed at the response she received from the Hellhound Egg. "M-m-aybe we ca--n play a game together lllater." She said, giving it a rub. "I'm going t--t-to say hello to your o--other siblings, b--ut I will try to come back before we have to leave." She said giving it one last rub before standing up. Taking a chance, Miach moved over to the Angel Egg and gently placed her hand upon it's smooth surface. "H--hi there. I'm Miach."


Kambri (W)

"Oh, are you asleep little one?" Kambri asked the Wraith before rubbing his hand in a circular motion. Should he stay? Leave? Hm. Maybe it would like to hear a story while it slept? Kambri was admittedly a little more hesitant to share a story with the dragonet lest he cause it to wake up before it was ready or wanted to. He paused and shrugged his shoulders. "I will think of a good story to tell you while you sleep. Until then, I will see if there are others who are awake." He whispered to the egg. Kambri turned his attention to the Mummy. It seemed as though not many other candidates were staying long at the egg and he wondered why. Was it also angry or otherwise upset? Kambri contemplated his decision for a moment before deciding to approach the egg. "Hmmm." He said, placing his hand on the egg. "I'm Kambri, who might you be?" He asked as if it would be able to tell him. It seemed like a good way to find out what might be happening with the egg without causing further stress. After his last experience, he certainly didn't want to do it to another egg.
 

[magnadearel]

Although she was startled by so direct a reply, the Gargoyle had such a calming influence. Immediately she relaxed, never mind what was going on with the gold and other candidates. It didn't involve her. "Thank you," she murmured softly for the dragonet inside the large teal egg, grateful of its promised safety. She couldn't help but linger just a few moments more, soaking it in. With a reluctant sigh, she figured it was time to move on. She looked forward to this one hatching too.

Stepping around it's large bulk, the young woman turned her attention to the Siren Egg. She approached slowly to avoid disturbing the gold nearby. Once close enough, she stretched out her arm and brushed the tips of her fingers along the light pink shell.  

[Waiver]

The youth blinked as the Demon Egg posed a question that broke his reverie and drew his attention immediately back to the here and now. Accept himself? Well... yes, but he'd never been good with the whole being himself thing. He didn't really crave power, was much more interested in the achieving the best results through the most logical choices. There was power in rationale, and he had a reputation of being supremely rational. What would the Demon provide? An what would it demand as tribute then? The entire exchange was puzzling to Gavryl... he was beginning to wonder if the demon was trying to seduce him somehow, and what, exactly, the demon was trying to offer was unclear. There was no sense bargaining if the goods or services were unknown after all.  

[Ruhane Chiisai]

Farensil had hurried to her feet when Vimiath came, scuttling back with her direction in mind. "Y-yes, Vimiath... I apologize." she stuttered, and took another respectful step back to offer a soft bow. She gave a look to the Zombie egg after her, Faren felt, appropriate scolding seemed at its end. She held no blame for the youth, no hard feelings, and thought a thank you for harboring her company in its general direction. The pretty thing would have company again, soon, surely.

Teiha

 

[Avid_RPer18]

The utter force of the RAGE from within the Frankenstein Monster egg actually staggered Haizea, causing her to draw an involuntary gasp as she withdrew her hand quickly enough to almost seem as though she had been burned, clutching said hand to her chest as she backed away, to give plenty of room for Vimiath and Talela. "I'm sorry," The girl shakily muttered under her breath as she sidled away. Her hands trembled as she tried to steady herself. The girl needed a moment or several to calm back down. She had had an idea that the lightning marked egg had been upset but, by the stars, she had not been prepared for the raw fury that had met her! It had taken her a full few minutes before she felt okay enough, steady enough to press on. That had been something else, but she couldn't let one...event like that stop her. Haizea took her time moving through and around the eggs, skirting around the other hopefuls on the Sands. She found her way to the Hunter egg. With a deep breath, she reached out and tried again. "Hi, how goes in there? Doing...doing okay?"  

[demon_pachabel]

Lennik

As Talela and Vimiath made their moves, Lennik finally pried himself from the yellow egg with a deep sigh. He'd tried his best and that was all he could say at this point. He offered a final mental push of comfort to the yellow egg before finally moving on. He understood. This little one would need their own moment now.

And perhaps with too much excitement over here now, it was time to move on to other eggs....somewhere else.

The broad young man made his way over to The Hunter Egg, not so much out of refuge from the situation across the way, but perhaps because he needed something a bit more....calm while he repurposed the lingering anger of it's yellow shelled sibling. He placed a hand gently on the egg only once he was certain he'd (mostly) calmed himself.

Hello, friend. Your siblings seem to be having quite the time today. How are you feeling with all of the excitement? Lennik was starting to feel a little exhausted himself.

---

Martirae

She let her hand linger a little while longer on the shell of the black egg, even allowing herself to enjoy the infectious joy of an egg renewed with energy. Good. Good little one. Your best is only yourself and you deserve to be that.

Pulling her hand away from the little egg, she now took a moment to look over those gathered now. She'd at least briefly visited them all, but.....now what? It was simply improper to go and revisit any of the eggs, so instead Martirae took up a spot away from the eggs. Still close enough to linger in on the feelings of what was there, but....

She'd call it done and watch for now. No point in second guessing. Unless of course she'd missed something.  

[Smerdle]

Back away! Don't leave! Oer's hand lifted off and landed back on the Ghoul Egg's shell so quickly it looked like he was patting it on the back for a job well done. Well done for confusing the pants off of him and making his heart race like—

The candidate abruptly ceased all thought as he swallowed and slowed his breathing to a crawl. He had witnessed from afar what high emotion did to some of these eggs, and he wasn't about to be escorted from the sands for provoking a fit when he'd barely walked them. If this dragon didn't want him to go, he wouldn't go. He would remain calm and collected until it was his turn. He would be perfect. Hungry, but perfect.

Without his permission, his mind formed a single thought: a large, fat fish like his mother used to catch. Blue-grey scales glistening in the sun. Deep pink flesh sizzling over an open flame. His stomach growled again. Sorry. Berries didn't generally go very well with fish.  

[Hattaki]

"That's a fair assessment beautiful. I promise not to let that happen again. From now on I'll focus when I meet you." Amra let a soft chuckle pull from her as she moved on.

Or at least she was about to, when Vimiath and Talela joined the fray forming around the Frankenstein Egg. In reality most of them deserved it, but the boy coming towards her, the one that had hugged the little egg in attempts to calm it... maybe not him as much. He did seem a good sort. Amra had seen him around the Weyr of course, sat in classes with him even. She had marked him down as... her thoughts were all discombobulated right now. Her Room was torn apart a bit and the general clutter was making her want to itch a bit. Surely she'd remember him when she had more time to focus.

With a sight she drew her focus back to the eggs once more, there were entirely too many chaotic things happening at once but she was certain that fighting Thread was much more so. If she was unable to focus now she would never be able to do so later. Pulling her focus from her own inward thoughts and reached a gentle hand out to The Mummy. It had turned away many a Candidate and she was curious what she found lacking in them, if indeed it had.

"Bit hidden back here, aren't you? It's a pleasure to meet you." Her words held weight, somewhat hesitant even if she was unafraid. Gray eyes lifted slightly to take in the other Candidate who placed their hand to the same egg. Though she could not bring herself to lose her focus on it, Amra did dip her head in a respectful bow to the other in the interest of cooperation.

She refused to be part of another situation.

~Kiana_Nala~

 

[Ryala]

Ryala

Ah, so this one appreciated someone of strong moral character? She could certainly appreciate that. Although, that did rather make her wonder about some of the others, whom she had glimpsed hastening away from the Angel egg...

Her thoughts were interrupted as she became aware of Vimiath once more moving onto the hot Sands rather nearby. Only this time, she seemed to be heading towards the Frankenstein's Monster and Zombie eggs. And... was it just her, or had the waves of pain and anger from the Frankenstein's Monster egg finally stopped? Hmm... perhaps she should go back over there next, and check on It? Assuming that it was ok with Vimiath, of course... but she wanted to offer it comfort, so it would know that all was not lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Ladellan
Well, hello to you, too! Del cheerfully thought back to this enthusiastic greeting. So many happy, playful eggs... and this one seemed to enjoy a good howl. What's more, it seemed to be asking him to join it in it's merriment.

Well, why not? It certainly couldn't hurt to indulge in a harmless activity such as this. At first, his attempt was barely audible, but he knew that would never do. Leaning his head back, he have a more credible "Awoooo!" ... there, that was better! And it was rather fun! He patted the dark Werewolf egg and grinned.

Until he saw the gold dragon marching across the Sands.

Del's merriment melted like snow in midsummer. He could only stand and watch as she and her rider approached a pair of eggs that he'd not yet visited. And... he had actually taken two strides towards the person who had been knocked aside before he realized it. However, the girl also seemed to be ok, insofar as she'd already gotten back to her feet and seemed to be moving fine. His help was not needed.

With a sigh, he released the tension in his muscles as he reached down to the nearest egg, which seemed to be the Angel egg.  

[ShinosBee]

-----------------------------------------Dolmar-----------------------------------------

He? Ashamed of himself? No, no. If there was one thing Dolmar would never be, it was ashamed of himself. Certainly he was not the kindest, nor the cleanest of blood at the end of the day, but he'd had his reasons. All entirely good, if you asked him. Ashamed of himself. With the mental equivalent of a slowly arching brow, laden with pounds and pounds of judgement, he withdrew his hand. He really should have known. Small eggs like this usually contained greens, he'd been told, and they were ever the more emotionally-driven sorts. It was Angel's uncouth emotional diatribe that was worthy of disdain here. Overly bonded? Of course. They were all either of them had left, weren't they?

It was with his nose firmly in the air that Dolmar turned to depart the egg—and then all but danced out of the line of movement of a very large, very near gold. The mother, come to settle some issue. He eyed her with respect not shared with the eggs or his fellow candidates, and stood peacefully aside until the affair was sorted. Well. Clearly that egg had been a problem, or found one. Frankenstein had been the nearest of the larger eggs, but he'd dodge it, he decided. Come back at a better time. That left a small selection of medium eggs yet to be approached: Hellhound, Djinn, and Hunter. Hmm. Hunter first, and hopefully Marinel would be amenable to simply coming back down the line, to Djinn, then Hellhound, and then perhaps Frankenstein. It would be the most efficient path...and took him delightfully close to Demon again.

Hello there, He mentally approached as his hand found the side of the lonesome egg. Pardon our intrusion. I do hope this all isn't as upsetting to you as it seems to be for some other of your siblings. And our counterparts. He presented himself to the egg, all pride and promise. Come and see for yourself what he could offer, he expressed. Come see them both, and perhaps this egg would understand why his twin and he needed each other as they did, where other, less open-minded eggs hadn't.

Thaliawen

-----------------------------------------Jacquol-----------------------------------------

A ne'er-do-well, a troublemaker, a heathen! The thoughts of Hunter and Mummy almost stung, almost before they rolled like droplets of water off Jacquol's back. She was a ne'er-do-well, and a troublemaker, and probably a heathen, if you asked some folks. She wanted a life of adventure, and didn't do well with rules. That was who she was. The eggs didn't have to like it—clearly these eggs didn't like it, but it didn't mean she'd change, or that she wanted to. They wouldn't be someone else for her, and she wouldn't be someone else for them.

And Ambrin loved this her. Or at least, he liked this her.

So Mummy was a bust, so what? She didn't to impress all the eggs. Let some stuffy rule-minder have it. With a mental shrug and a Suit yourself then! she moved on. The candidatemaster's green's warning went more or less unheeded. She was as calm as the sea in early morning. So...a bit spunky, but not roaring. She was too nonchalant to bother getting irate with the eggs. Better to just move on! But where to? She'd been avoiding Vampire, as well as the other large eggs, but it was nearest. Alright then. Doing alright in there? All these hands got you in a tizzy too? She poked at the egg, a teasing, almost taunting, playful mental nudge. She half expected some snappy queenly type to send her scuttling with a chuckle and a grin, but who knew.

-----------------------------------------Falienn-----------------------------------------

Djinn was....wow. It was a rare thing indeed for Falienn to feel genuinely approved of. He was attractive, sure. Charming, sure. And he'd tell anyone any time that he was special. That didn't mean he really thought he was, though. That little silver egg seemed to think so though. Huh. Someone was bound to notice him...I think someone already has, perhaps. He found himself almost purring to the egg, as if he really would't mind impressing to whatever sat curled inside.

Rejuvenated, enthused as he'd not been the entire day by Djinn's compliments, he was nearly strutting along to the next egg. The candidatemaster's dragon's warning had him rolling his eyes. He'd been getting panned left right and center, but you didn't see him flying off the handle. Honestly, some people. That didn't mean he couldn't do better, but...

He'd pointedly ignored it before, but...well, what the hell. Demon was next to feel his feather-light caress, his uplifted buoyancy wavering only slightly as he tensed, gathering his impression of the egg. So big. It had to be a bronze, hadn't it? He almost pulled away...but riding bronze would come with some perks. Less here in Western than in High Reaches, maybe, but... Well. A bronze here was far better than one there. Or maybe it was just a very big brown. That'd be nice. Or a fetching gold! That was more tricky but...well, if she offered, he'd not say no!  

[Meepfur]

That initial aura of power around him had been alluring, the thought that it could be his tempting, but as it tightened, an icy claustrophobia came over him.  He felt for a moment as he never liked to feel, like he was less in the presence of someone with more power than he.  Someone who brought to bear their charisma rather than a fist, but still...No.

With some effort, Dezerac took a step back from the Demon, shaking his head to clear it.  Oh, there was much he would do to achieve his goals - likely far more than he would not - but he refused to put himself so at the mercy of another.  He was his own.

He stood where he was just long enough to compose himself before walking away, deliberately some distance across the Sands and around a gold dragon to rest his hand on the Gargoyle.  There was no inquiry with the contact, no direct words or feelings really...just a touch, and the wait for a response.

------

!!! Akaris stared at the Mummy in indignant outrage.  It had insulted her, and without any provocation at all!  Rather than remove her hand, she drew herself up taller and (ignoring the words of A'ral and Zinath entirely) sent back her best mental approximation of the physical slap she would have given a man for insulting her so. How dare you!  Hasn't your mother taught you any manners?  Speaking to a lady in such a way, why I- The thought was finished with a wordless sound of frustration.

------

Of course, appearance is nothing compared to the heart, Rio agreed.  He had, after all, just finished telling Hellhound such a thing. Being attractive isn't an accomplishment, and it certainly doesn't make up for a lack within, but it's not a fault, either.  No more important than the color of my hair!  But I've found that people like to be noticed, appreciated, in a world where so many so often fail to see the beauty in others.  One little comment can make or break someone's day, just knowing that someone saw them, and took the time to say.

He looked up for a moment as yet another Candidate left looking...less than delighted by their interaction with the Angel.  How odd.  He'd found it to be nothing but cordial, thus far.  Huh.  

[Revel1984]

Serfie was very VERY glad she wasn't anywhere near the egg that wass now causing issues with the candidates that touched it, with both the Golds rider AND the gold going over, she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to hold herself in if she'd been over there. She sighed in relief but it was only a moment before a voice, that wasn't Nasath's, spoke in her head. She let out a little squeak, she'd been dreading being caught out by the humans, she hadn't even THOUGHT about the candidatemasters dragons ... she wasn't ready, she couldnt, she promised she wouldn't hurt the eggs, but ... now she was torn, her instincts telling her she needed to run, to go back into hiding, but she wanted oh so very badly to touch the rest of the eggs, but her stomach was doing backflips, she silently promised the dragon who's voice was in her mind (whether or not it could hear her she wasn't sure) that she could, maybe, before the hatching ... A'iel had told her the same, to come forward, but she panicked at the thought of coming forward, of them learning she was Holdless, what her father had done... what SHE had done to survive among them, then alone.


Serfie sighed at Hunter and gave it a gentle caress, if only that was true, but basic human nature was all about lies and secrets, at least that's how she grew up. She'd learned that the Weyr was better in ways, even Drudges had fair treatment most of the time, but there were bullies and liars, honest people and those that weren't. No egg, honesty only got certain people so far. but it perhaps had somewhat of a point, however she wasn't going to argue with it, it was an egg, a baby after all. She smiled at it, then looked between the exit, the candidatemasters and the other eggs, She sighed, not wholly sure what to do. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and moved .... towards the Djinn Egg, laying a hand on it's shell. She knew she was pushing her luck but she was praying that the dragon wouldn't give her up until she'd finished touching the eggs at least.

Mx Cherie

for dragon noticing

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

Farellen nodded, grinning at Angel. He didn't have plans for after Impressing, keeping just that one goal in mind, so he didn't get muddled, but he and his dragon would figure it out..... after he Impressed, they'd do it together. He said a silent thank you to the egg before moving on, He tried not to pay much attention to the Gold near Zombie and Frankenstein, but he couldn't help it, he was very near, he was also worrying over her Rider now that she was so close, he thought she looked paler than she should and he frowned, but Vimiath didn't appear worried, so he figured.... he HOPED that she was actually alright.

He took a deep breath, the next egg in the order in his head was the one that Vimiath had moved others away from, now he was in internal difficulty .. he wanted to stay logical, but he didn't want to upset the Gold.... Talela seemed to still be nearby so he coughed "Uhm, Talela ma'am, is..is it alright to touch that yellow egg now?"

Teiha

for mention of Talela

 

[Teiha]

Vimiath and Talela
As the gathering of candidates around the yellow egg dissipated, Talela remained where she stood to keep an eye on things. At Farellen’s inquiry, she passed it on to Vimiath, then smiled at the boy as the dragon gave her response. “Vimiath says you may touch, but only if you stay very calm. I am not certain you will sense much from it now, though. Babies often drop off to sleep after a tantrum like that!”

Vimiath had decided that enough was enough. She was going to become the centerpiece of the clutch, though less for her own glory and more for making sure this Touching ended on a positive note. She went to the middle of the clutch and remained standing, one front paw delicately poised in front of the other and her golden neck arched like that of a graceful white waterwherry. Her eyes had returned to a soft green-blue, but she was watching the candidates even more closely now.

Revel1984