Xanadu Weyr - Hatching Sands
A domed ceiling stretches high above the sands, enough open air for a queen and her mate to be comfortable with their clutch. Thin slits of windows around the edges let in a little light, though more of the illumination comes from electric lamps diffused off the dome. The sands are ringed by the dark blue seats of the observation level, the first third exposed to the sweltering heat of the sands but those in the back glassed off for the comfort of those watching.
The circle itself is filled with a mix of red and white sands, deep enough to cover the largest of dragon eggs with ease. To one side, a small door is visible, hidden away behind a platform meant to provide a place for the clutch parent's lifemates to stand during the on goings.
It was a dark, and stormy night… That is a lie. It is not storming. But it IS midnight. And yet, despite the late hour, SOMEONE thought it would be a good idea to come out to the sands and touch eggs. And SOMEONE ELSE (namely, a weyrlingmaster with the ability to say yay or nay) freakin' Okayed it. Why? Because. Leirith was cool with it, so why not? And it's best to have those nocturnal types wandering around the sands while they are awake and alert, and not stumbling around half-asleep during the day. So with Weyrlingmaster G'thar at the head, a small group of candidates is brought to the edge of the sands. The standard speech is given (namely, "no rough-housing. No running. Bow to mom and dad over there. Be respectful. And if we say get out, you get outh.") and then they are turned loose to touch those eggies. GO FORTH AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR.
Well this was a rare treat now wasn't it? A special midnight showing of 'Finger Drifts Upon The Shell' in 3-D no less! How lucky that Valerian was able to get himself a ticket and a front row seat to boot. It was a limited run and because the day found him asleep, he had as of yet to partake. Now, here he was, bowing to dam and sire (though the dam also gets an eyebrow waggle and kiss blown her way). Then, he was off, moving among the eggs with the others until one catches his eye in particular. The Steadfast Satellite egg and his feet carry him across the heat of the sands so that he can reach out and brush his fingertips across its surface.
< Valerian touches egg 6 - Steadfast Satellite Egg >
Valerian instantly relaxes, releasing tension he wasn't even aware existed, breathing out a soft sound that's lost to the strong reactions of his fellow candidates as they receive the first tingling of the maturing minds within. A lick of stiffness though after a few seconds and then one brow arches upwards. Curious. And so, he lays his palm flat and persists, come what may.
Startled, Valerian very nearly removes his hands entirely, up on his toes and staring at the egg before him. There is no words, not sharp exclamation of surprise, just that visual. Grey eyes narrow slightly and he half turns his face away before his jaw sets in a determined fashion. No, whatever this was he was feeling, wasn't real. Not in the sense that he was in any danger. He's climbed higher and risked so much more than an embryonic dragonet could hope to top, so he adjusts his palm and leans into it fractionally greater.
Again, the starcrafter relaxes entirely even as he sets his feet firmly back upon the sand and lifts his hand up off the shell entirely. Interesting, says the look on his face, admiring the play of color again along the surface before he steps back and away so that someone else can take their turn. Already his eyes were moving on, having picked out another egg to lay his hand upon, setting his sights on Seldom What It Seems and he's moving that direction. He patiently waits for a dazed girl with tears in her eyes to wander past, before he's laying claim and bravely hovers both palms on the pink and blue ovid. What visions await, don't take too long to see, because Vale is placing his hands on the warm smooth shell.
< Valerian leaves egg 6 - Steadfast Satellite Egg >
< Valerian touches egg 1 - Seldom What It Seems Egg >
Okay, says the brows that furrow, and Valerian eyes the egg suspiciously. He'd heard the other candidates of the class, especially those that he was close to, and their reaction to this potent mix of what the actual heck. Sure, it was intense after a minute or two, but he hadn't really experienced anything that was worthy of screaming, nightmares or worst of all being all tearfully shaking. Still, he had been warned so when there wasn't anything trying to mentally chew his face off, he braces for the next wave of consciousness.
Valerian shivers, despite the heat of the sands beneath the thick soles of his boots and the sweat that was prickling along his forehead, lips drawn down into a frown. That was, kinda morbid, egg. While not brought to tears, he certainly wasn't feeling especially good either. This here deposit of calcium carbonate filled with only Faranth knows what was stirring up things best left where the starcrafter had parked them and he could now see why that girl looked so shaken. Evening out his breath, he remains, just lifting his fingers a bit and then letting them return to where the top of the egg shifts from blue to pink.
Yep, okay. You got it! Valerian's hands come right up off that shell faster than you could say Bob's your Uncle. Whoever Bob was. Nope eggie, you were on your own. Taking some sidesteps away from the blue and pink egg, the starcrafter looks the unassuming shape of it up and down and then glances over to Leirith and Garouth. Really? All of the expressions and none of the boisterousness as he just turns on his heel and marches himself straight off towards Beauty Lies Within, noting that one or two of the others in his group have already abandoned the sands in favor of either cooling off at the doorway or calming themselves down. Great. Grey eyes slide towards the egg before him and he takes a deep breath and lays his hands upon it.
< Valerian leaves egg 1 - Seldom What It Seems Egg >
< Valerian touches egg 4 - Beauty Lies Within Egg >
A sharp inhale through his nostrils and the starcrafter is reeling both mentally and physically, as it takes quite a bit of will power to keep his hands in place and not immediately extract them again. What was with this clutch? Was it normal for it be like this? Or was he a crazy person. Well, no, probably not that because then he wouldn't have been asked to stand, right? Or, maybe Risali was messing with him! Oh, that so and such and wait till he got his hands on her. This pause to let his mind wander onto the wanton destruction of his sibling and all the ways that he planned on doing it, means that Valerian's palms and fingertips remain on the egg rather than pulled away. Already another tingle at the back of his mind told him more was coming and he can't move fast enough before it washes over him.
Hmm, hmm. Okay. An ease of breathing, in and out, in and out. It was coming, he knew it was, something about this was just not right. Things were too calm, to collected, too…lovely garments he would rather die than wear. Silks and gold embroidery? No thank you egg. No thank you. Vale wanted to sit and explain just how impractical that sort of attire was when you were hefting yourself up the side of a sheer rock face at night no less. But then music fills his eyes and the starcrafter's expression evens out to deadpan. Really? Dancing. Growling, then dancing and then…feelings. All the feels and sure now those grey eyes get a little watery and he's being growled at again. This gets the heckles up on the back of his neck. You know what egg, no. Just, no. A chuff of air through his nostrils and Valerian decides he's just about had it being bullied by something squeezed out of Leirith's backside. A backside that had almost landed on him once, you know. Sure he was grinning and laughing at the time, but inside his head he was all 'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH'. Anyway, no. Staying. Vale's back straightens and maybe he wipes at his face because he was sweating because it was hot not because this silly egg was playing his emotions like a harpsichord.
Each BOOM is reflected in a jerk of Valerian's frame, eyes rapidly filling and spilling their contents. Man, this one got him. He was doing so well, but it was pulling at things it had no business yanking to the surface that were better forgotten. He hadn't thought about HIM at all in the last couple of turns and he didn't want to anymore now than he did then. So, he's taking his hands right up and off that egg as soon as the last whisper of thought brushes across his mind and he's walking away. Yep, weaving through the eggs on the shortest of paths and right over the crest that boarder it with the flooring on the other side, whatever that was made of. Was it inside or outside the doorway? Well, either way, he's going through it and turning and heading off back towards the corridors that lead to the outside. He doesn't stop there, nope, he keeps right on going. What once started at a leisurely pace, turns into fast walk, and then a full out run until he finds the cliffside and throws himself off it. No, okay, not really. What he does do is pant and drop himself down there to sit and not think about he who shall not be named. He wasn't going to think about him at all as he draws his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them. No, he doesn't deserve to be thought about as he rests his forehead on his knees and his shoulders gently shake.
< Valerian leaves egg 4 - Beauty Lies Within Egg >