Xanadu Weyr - Hatching Sands
The large circular "stage" is surrounded on one half by a towering wall, thin slit windows high overhead letting in some light without truly endangering the objects on the sands, though plenty of lights are spaced at human-level all the way around. The other half is ringed by the dark blue seats of the observation level, rising upwards towards the back wall. 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.
Cold wind blows outside, stirring pale grey clouds that hang low over Xanadu this afternoon. Late fall's chill may seep through clothing, but inside the Hatching Arena is the warmth of Igen at high noon. Hot isn't really the word for it. It's bakingly hot. The eggs lie exposed today, ready for visitors, the reluctant Seryth has been coaxed off to one side to allow the Candidates access. The Weyrwoman sits reclined on her crossed forearms as the AWLMs bring in the first group. It's a good seat, but this is not why she doesn't rise to greet them. The twitching tailtip of the gold is a clear indication of her purpose: to keep the dam from getting up.
M'nol moves in, pausing to bow to Seryth before turning back to the candidates he and the others hand managed to gather up, "All right, folks. This is the big leagues now. Take a moment and bow to sire and dam both. Show your respect. No running or roughhousing on the sands. No hitting the eggs and always be respectful, these are Seryth's babies. And she's a protective momma. If you've any questions, ask now."
Landers is amongst the group that has been lucky enough to be selected for the egg touching during the windy fall day. Of course he consented to the idea, only having spoken about such things with M'nol but a few days back. His approach isn't confident nor is it the opposite, he seems neither excited nor dreadful, too non-chalant about it as some would say. The cause could be simply that he didn't recognize the significance of it or approached the situation as one of educational than not. The one thing that Lan did respond to was the sudden change in temperature, from the gusty chill of the outdoors to the sweltering hot of the sands. It made a man goosebump. Shuddering against the change, he listens to M'nol outline the rules, eyes pivoting away from the man toward the Weyrwoman perched on her queen. Ok. Maybe there was a bit of hesitation off the get go, the sailor making a slight shift backwards, weary of the presence of the damn, asking to M'nol, "Ya sure she be fine with this?" A nod toward the gold, eyes darting between the others and mirroring the 'bow' when it comes time for it.
Karona was quick to volunteer when AWLMs came to the barracks looking for candidates for a touching, though it seems she was woken from a nap, as she hesitates at the sands entrance to stifle a yawn, before continuing in. "N-no questions, sir." she murmurs quietly, taking a long bow in front of Seryth, though her eyes are fixed on the dragon's tail. "…er. What he asked." she echoes, nodding at Landers. Her tone is still hushed, almost reverent. She's touched eggs before, but another Weyr, another dragon, another clutch.
Thea has seen it before: the wariness. Fear, nervousness, cocky bold acts to cover these, even. Thus though she can't hear what's being said over by the entrance from waaaay over by Seryth, she beckons the group forward with one hand and a smile of encouragement. Seryth makes a sound of anxiety low in her throat that could be almost a growl and is shushed by her rider. As the group nears, she nods to them, acknowledging the bows, gesturing to the eggs says quietly, "Please spread out and one Candidate per egg. Take you time. There's no rush." She's certainly not going anywhere.
M'nol smiles amicably, "You wouldn't be here if Thea wasn't sure." He motions towards Seryth with another bow, "Now show your respects and spread out. Some of the eggs may be… overwhelming, but stay calm."
Lan casts a dubious look toward M'nol, finding himself behind a few of the others soon enough. The bow is made with all the respect due the clutch parents. After a time, his attention slides toward the clutch of twelve, standing stationary as he allows the eager ones to decide where to go first. After a time, the sailor heads toward one that drew his interest, even from up in the galleries. It was toward the Ethereal Cairn Egg that he position himself, taking a time to look around to see if anyone was watching him, knowing that some would be. "This be it sir…" he murmurs to no one in particular, a hand seeking for some encouragement from a necklace of a brass ring just below his shirt. Tentatively, his hand slowly encroaches on the shell, finger pads grazing the hardening surface…
Karona tips her head slightly at M'nol, and shoots Thea a thin smile, attempting to cover her wariness, though she is some distance away still. "Right…" she murmurs, then falls silent, turning eyes from Seryth's tail to the eggs. She takes a step back when Seryth makes that sound, then shakes her head and steels herself, moving on, looking the eggs over. She stops at the Halls of Crumbling Stone Egg, pausing to brush the shell lightly with a palm. Yes, this one, to start.
For Landers, this was the first time to ever experience an egg touching. He had only once ever heard a dragon speak to him, but it results in the same outcome: it staggers the man. Hand is withdrawn from the egg as he weighs the outcome of what touching does, a brief connection held that barely gives the beholder time enough to grasp it. Panting, the sailor snaps his eyes toward M'nol, his bewildered look shared with the rider, as if to say 'now I know what you meant.' Heaving out a breath, the egg earns a more calculated approach this time, the sailor stepping all around it before both hands are bravely placed on the apex of the Ethereal Cairn Egg.
Karona gasps, and her eyes open wide at the touch of the mind within the Halls of Crumbling Stone Egg. "Isn't that inviting." she murmurs cryptically, eyes glazing over as she willingly soaks in the imagery, /eagerly/. Her breathing quickens slightly, almost as though she's jogging, excitement spilling over. "I'm not sure…" she murmurs, but her other palm soon makes gentle contact with the shell, hungry for more.
Unlike Seryth, Thea appears serene, leaning back against the queen's chest, her hands soothing the hide on either side of where she's planted her bottom to sit. She's watching the Candidates, of course. But seems confident none of them will abuse the privilege of being here. Seryth…isn't so sure, watching the goings-on closely with flecks of yellow tingeing her eyes.
M'nol keeps a weather eye on the candidates, but he moves around the sands to bow again to Seryth, then Thea, "You're both looking quite well." His eyes go back out to the candidates, "Interesting bunch, this. Very interesting."
Lan breaks the contact once again, looking forlorn all of a sudden as his gaze sweeps over the surface of the shell. "Naht all can be forgotten…" he whispers this to the shell, only to clench his jaw tight as the realization that he spoke to an -egg- comes over him. There is a side to side rattle of his head, needing to clarify something for himself as much as for the creature within the shell, growing, letting fingers smooth over the hardening shell.
"Oh." Karona murmurs in surprise, then exhales. "You're still there… goo— what's /that/?" she says, slightly louder than intended, hands pulling away until just fingertips touch the shell. "Th-that is very… very much… oh dear…" she murmurs, hands trembling. The contact with the mind might flicker slightly as the shaking pulls her hands away, but never for long. "No… father…" she murmurs, eyes closing, and then her brow furrows, and her jaw sets, hands going flat on the shell. "You /laugh/?" she asks, resolve apparently steeled, she won't turn and run!
Karona is not sniffling, no, not even slightly. She wipes at her eyes, but that's just because she just yawned, surely? Surely. "Th…thank you." she whispers to the egg. "Yes.. thank you." she repeats, unable to think of anything else to say. She sits there a moment longer after the touch withdraws, taking a few deep breaths, before eventually moving back, away from the Halls of Crumbling Stone Egg. Eyes are cast over the rest of the clutch, but it seems she needs a moment to digest the touches she'd just received, as she hangs back.
Lan closes his eyes as his hand finally lets go of the shell for the final time, taking in a deep rattling breath as some sort of emotion was tugged there. Pursing his lips together, his eyes open as the last feelings of the touch dwindle, "Aye… till ya hatch then…" He stands by the egg for what seems a long time, just absorbing the radiance it showed, a ghost of a smile finally creeping there on his features. Only after a time, his eyes drift toward Karona out of all those who were there, seeing how she is fairing. Still, there were other eggs to be touched, even if his eyes lingered on that one in particular. It was the Eternity at Attention which managed to garner his attention this time.
Karona takes another deep breath, looking back at the egg she'd just left. The /brave/ thing to do would be to keep going, so that's what she does. She shoots a brief smile at Landers, tipping her head slightly, silently. She's fine, really. The egg she touches next is the Islands of Strange Stone Egg, laying her palm flat against the surface, frowning slightly. She's reminded of how touching /feels/ now, and she steels herself against the egg's mental effects.
Thea peers down at M'nol, but it's clear her concentration is elsewhere for the look in her pale green eyes is a bit glazed, distant. All of her effort is keeping Seryth's belly to the sands even though there's not much she can do to stop the flicking tailtip She awards him a vague smile, teasing under her breath so the others can't hear, "Oh quit all that bowing Mole." One lid flickers in a wink. He's got to set the example for the Candidates and she knows it.
M'nol chuckles easily, even if his eyes stay on his charges, "I need to make a good example, don't I? Don't want 'em thinking just anyone can walk up to the senior easy peasy." His usual smirk, boyish and bright, makes an appearance and he nods again, "How's Seryth doing? I recall she's a bit protective?"
Physically, Landers can be seen standing more at attention, his shoulders squaring in a determined fashion, his lips tightening and jaw flexing, even his body language reads that he was ready for some sort of an attack. His lip curls a little, "I reckon I jus show ya that you needs it more…" his voice reaching a loud pitch, rumbling with a grit of will power along those waves of accented tones. His hand returns to the shell, resilient and focused.
Karona's careful mental barriers are for naught, as she lets out a giggle at the egg's first touch. A giggle which tapers off into silence, feet shuffling in the sands, and then a yawn. "Anything else?" she asks in a dull tone, brow furrowing. "Does anyone else hear that?" she asks, slightly louder, glancing about to nearby candidates, but soon she realises the source of the noise. "…oh. Wait, don't leave me here with— oh, that's gone too. Right." she murmurs, rocking back on her heels and contemplating the egg a long moment. "Well, that was fast." she says, moving back away from the shell. Her curiosity doesn't seem to match that of the egg, as she's already looking elsewhere, rather than prodding further at the withdrawn mind.
Briana was off doing her chores when the call came that the sands were open, when she did hear well she was quick to the sands. Though as she gets to the edge of sands there is hesitation as she looks out over the eggs. Fear? Uncertainty? Then she sees Landers out on the sands and she gives a little nod to herself and the pact they made. Finally one foot then another touch the sands and a few steps in she gives a sketchy bow to the dam before looking back to the eggs. Her gaze traveling over each egg as she gathers up the courage to touch them. Finally she steps toward Claimed by the Sea egg and sets a tentative hand upon it.
Lan takes a moment to part with the shell, huffing as he pivots almost violently away from it, sharp eyes hawkishly narrowed in on the shell as he stalks around it, arms held behind his back as if he held some sort of authority over the egg - or didn't know what to do with it. Pondering a solution didn't matter here. Grumbling a few 'args' under his breath, he stalks it around a few times, marking the color pattern on its shell, shaking out his head as the hair on the back of his neck settles down. "Ya think ya know best…" he murmurs, clearly set on edge and some how not satisfied with what he had felt. Unfortunately he doesn't notice anything else in the world right then, confounded by the shell that draws his hand towards it yet again.
Briana blinks and retracts her hand the moment she feels the sensations before taking a breath and setting her hand back on the shell once more. A look of focussed concentration comes over her features and she closes her eyes, taking in the images the creature inside the egg gives her. "Oh…your Ma, and siblings and sand…" She murmurs to the creature within the egg before casting a look around to see if anyone else noticed her 'talking to herself'.
This time, there is a hand that lifts to his mind, holding it to half cover an eye as he scrunches his face in anguish, as one would do when having a migraine. Landers swallows hard as he steps back, panting as if run through a series of drills of hard labor. As his hand drags away from his forehead, that squinting retains on his features, standing uneasy with sweat budding at his hairline. "Ya better see…" a whisper of some grating affection, his face trying to settle after that encounter, deciding it best now to stand back and take a second to appreciate the egg. This is when he looks around, noticing Briana now having joined them. He smirks at her for her 'talking to herself' … features relieved that he wasn't the only one to undergo this shock and need to speak to an egg!
The fine beads of perspiration that sparkle on Thea's brow are not from the heat but the effort she's expending to keep Seryth quiet. "She's good," she answers briefly with a slight nod of agreement for M’nol’s question. Beneath her the gold moves restlessly, half-rising. On her forearms, Thea's eyes close. The queen settles.
Briana suddenly places her other hand upon the egg with a gasp as if reaching for something to hold her steady. Her eyes squeeze tight against the sensations the egg is bringing to her. There are still such mixed emotions upon her features, uncertainty and confusion and a bit of wonder to. Her brows knit suddenly and she lowers her head, "I don't know…I..don't know where I belong." She says in a low voice to the egg, almost a plaintive note to her little voice.
Karona gnaws on her bottom lip, glancing over the eggs. "Be brave…" she murmurs, moving on to the Stele Translations Egg, furrowing her brow slightly at the shell. "If those ones were… like /those/…" she murmurs, shaking her head and steeling herself to touch the eerie black egg. "Let's see what mysteries you contain, then." she murmurs.
Lan isn't quite ready to leave the Eternity egg, as if finding some brotherhood within whatever lies beneath the shell. Yet, he doesn't feel like pushing himself too far with that which settled underneath the hardening crust, turning his attention to the nearest egg from it, randomly deciding upon the Halls of Crumbling Stone egg for a change in pace. Hopefully.
A rumbling 'har-har' confident laughter breaks the general milling noise of those in the sands. Landers even finds himself puffing his chest out, peacocking for a moment as his hand goes on his hip and he looks all around proud, eyes glazed over with some indication of the touches profound affect on the sailor. Grinning ear to ear, his hand brazenly returns as his voice smoothly answers, "Aye. I reckon I be. Been fer a while. Be it you that has ta be ready!"
Karona absently reaches a hand up to brush at her hair, quite vigorously, as if trying to shake something loose. "…sand… sand everywhere…" she murmurs, shuddering. "I think… I think I may leave /you/ til later, too much sand for me." she murmurs, giving the egg a pat, and moving away, brushing sand from her trousers as soon as she's well clear of the eggs, furiously brushing. Sand, sand, everywhere. "No…no." she mutters, shaking her head. "…need… a distraction…" she decides, setting eyes on an egg. The Ethereal Cairn Egg gets her attention, and she heads for it. "You look peaceful…" she murmurs, as her hand brushes the shell.
Briana lifts her head slightly as if basking in the warmth of the sun. Her fingers seem to relax upon the egg then as she feels the sensations from it. Her face seems to relax at first, almost calm before her brows knit again, her fingers tightening upon the surface of the egg once more. "I don't know…maybe I should go back…I don't know..
Karona tilts her head slightly, eyes staring straight ahead, unseeing, in the grips of an egg image. "…that's clever, did you figure that one out yourself?" she coos, amused and proud, and mostly amused. But the feeling changes, and the smith candidate gulps, and closes her eyes. "Don't." she protests softly, shaking her head. "Don't touch those." she pleads, exhaling heavily a moment later. "…better. That feels… better." she murmurs in thanks, hands remaining on the egg's shell.
What was is no longer. As if someone had flipped the page, Lander's jovial laughter fades into a wretched noise, something akin to holding back a sob. The man stands firm though, resolute and motionless. He's consumed by some ill thought by the downcast of his features, subjected to a much too recent memory of loss. "I tried…." his head starts to hang with the shame of failure, fists curling at his side, mist welling up in his eyes as his shadow plays along the curve of the egg he stands before: judged. It may be too much for him, it seems as if it was. He sinks to his knees before the egg, his hands held pressed against his ears as if to block the noise of whatever it was he heard. Sweating profusely now, with lines of it streaming down his face, he lets himself quietly give in to the desire to shed a few tears. "Be harsh… but I be free giving with me life iffin I could've saved but one more…" his voice hardens despite the fresh trails of emotion leaking from his eyes, his hand moving back upon the shell for the verdict of what was within…
Karona starts to smile, despite herself. "That does feel nice, mmm. You certainly seem… interested." she murmurs. "In my past. Why my past?" she wonders, more to herself than anything. But isn't candidacy all about the future? "Memory doesn't work that way, I'm afraid." she murmurs, tone slightly fond though. "I wish it did, keep the good, toss the bad.. but without bad, how can we learn?" she wonders, and again shakes her head. "What's got into me? That's something my /father/ would say. Ignore that." she murmurs hurriedly, face colouring slightly.
Briana seems to tense suddenly, with a gasp of breath her fingers splaying out on the egg. She almost seems to flinch at the sensations she feels from the creature. "I don't know, I don't know if I am ready…" She says in a plaintive cry as she suddenly stumbles back from the egg blinking her eyes open. She looks around for a moment at the others as she tries to catch her breath, uncertain now whether she wishes to touch another egg. She looks over to Landers as she hears the sob from the man and she looks over to the Weyrwoman with a look of confusion, held in place by uncertainty before swallowing and heading over to Islands of the Strange Stone egg.
Karona blinks slightly, and her face colours more. "Really? /Me/? You poor egg, you're so confused." she murmurs, giving the shell a patronising pat. "I.. I'm flattered though, I am." she murmurs, tone still fond. "I hope we meet again, I really do." she tells the shell, stepping back, and again taking a moment to adjust to the information received. It's a lot to take in.
Landers sits back on his calves, keeping his hand locked against the Hall's egg, his tears running dry shortly after they sprouted, blending in with trails of sweat. Glazed eyes see beyond what was merely held within the palm of his hand, more than just the connection of the egg itself. This was something profound. This was a revelation. And while his mind drifted off to deal with whatever caused the swelling of pride and then anguish, there was a glint of hope in his eyes, as there always had been. As his fingers finally glance off the shell of the egg, with hands rested in his lap, he stays there on his knees, murmuring something similar to a prayer, drawing the brass ring (that wasn't jewelry) up to his lips with a certain finality to it. Then, as if he hadn't sobbed like a baby, he rouses himself from the hot ground, where the heat of the sand had already begun to scald him. He seemed not certain if he could handle another. Until he spots the Claimed by the Sea egg. That is where he goes next.
Karona is picking eggs at random now, ones she has not touched, and no candidate sits at, though she does take a moment to inspect the Avenue of the Dead Egg before touching it, placing her palm on the large silver-bright mark on the shell. "What about you, what do you have to tell me?" she murmurs, apparently utterly unashamed to be talking to eggs, even before they 'talk' to her.
Briana stands before the egg for a time, hit with more uncertainty after the touching of the first eggs fed well upon already present doubts. Where does she belong? Should she even be here on these sands? Such feelings almost evident upon her features. Finally though she gets the courage again to reach out and lightly touch the egg. First there is a smile at what she feels, a look of amused curiosity upon her features. Her feet start to mince on the ground at the time she spends with the egg. Then suddenly her features change to worry, then fear, "No Please, that's not me…I am not that way…" She cries out but with doubt in her voice. There continues with the fear upon her features but she can't pull herself away, though she crouches beside it as if huddling next to it. "Please stop, I don't want to remember that.."
From an overwhelmingly emotional knee jerking reaction stirred by one egg to an egg that holds an affinity for a sailor like he, Landers is immediately contented, sighing as eyes close to the familiar sights and sounds, all comforting to have wash over him. "Aye… tis a wide world…" he smiles with a fondness the others did not see. This was something he could relate to. So his hand stayed upon it, washing over the shell in small brushed waves of finger pads.
Karona rocks back on her heels, eyeing the egg shell a long moment, finger tracing a line through the lush green on the shell. "…I… I don't know." she says, honestly, fingertips only maintaining tentative contact with the shell, as she awaits judgement.
Lan's eyes stay closed, so that the illusion remains firmly fixed to his mind. His chin lifts as if feeling the satisfaction of wind on his face. There is a happy look on his features even with his eyes closed. He was finally enjoying himself. The question provoked seems to be answered with an easy disposition, as if there was no other solution to be told but the one he whispers now: "The sea…" Strange thing to say upon the occasion of standing for eggs, but that is where the heart was. He rocks with a slight motion, using his limber sea-legs as if the world itself was the one in motion. His hand remains. How could it not with the familiarity of what he loved radiating from it.
Briana stands huddled next to the egg, her fingers clenching against its side as if trying to hold on and hide from it at the same time. The teen starts to shake her head, "I am sorry…I am sorry…" She starts to say before suddenly falling back from the egg, sitting on the sands a few moments before the heat starts to register and she quickly makes her way up and turns and races from the sands, tears tracing down her cheeks. Whatever happened there seems to have overwhelmed the young woman.
Karona looks terribly uncertain, eyes fearful and wide. "N-no, what are you doing? Let me go." she pleads, though it's only her own fingers that are keeping her 'prisoner'. "I don't… I…" she shakes her head slowly, and lowers herself closer to the egg, as though to divulge a great secret. "I am who I am. I'm… I'm not sure who that is yet, but that's who I am." she whispers, glancing around red-faced as she straightens up, hoping no-one overheard that. "Is someone calling my name?" she wonders aloud, glancing up to the galleries. "…I thought I heard a woman…" she shakes her head, obviously not. She returns her focus to the egg, furrowing her brow slightly. "I… I can't offer more than that."
Completely entranced by the Claimed by the Sea egg, Landers didn't appear to be going any where soon. While some eggs might have leveled him emotionally or built him up, this one just seems to offer some peace that the man has been searching for. There is nothing else to describe the look on his face as he holds his palm against the egg, refusing to let go, wanting to soak in all that it has to offer. This look faulters only once as eyebrows twitch to some dilemma unseen, jaws flexing once before he nods an affirmative, "Be a part of it… taking risks…" Like keeping his hand on the shell.
Karona hangs her head slightly. "I… understand…" she murmurs, sighing slightly, and tilting her head at the egg's shell. "…you probably aren't /for/ me, anyway…" she murmurs, as she steps away. She takes a deep breath, and moves to another, An Eternity At Attention Egg. "…I think… last one. Lucky last, perhaps." she murmurs, laying a hand on the brownish shell.
"I swear… ya be using my own mind against me…" he finally says at last, with a satisfied chuff of laughter, withdrawing his hand due to the fact that there was nothing left but a wisp of the memory. It seized him it did, his eyes looking toward the exit of the sands, then back. He appears exhausted though, as if having run a mile being out of shape, a hand going to rest on the side of his hip as if pains there just underneath. Lingering at the side of the egg, he looks weary, seeing the resolve in Karona to approach one more, he goes for one more as well, trying to keep all the different feelings gleaned from each seperate to be examined later. It was to Lost in Fathoms Below that he decided to be the last of the eve.
Karona's eyes light up at something, but then her posture slumps. "..I understand.." she murmurs, disappointment growing in her tone. "I, what, useless?" the woman splutters, brows knit in consternation. Useless?! She doesn't attempt to make excuses though, instead biding out the egg's touch, seeing where this leads. "I don't need defending." Karona states, as boldly as she can, though she tilts her head at the egg. "…defending against what?" she wonders quietly, worry gnawing at her now.
Landers doesn't seem to react to this egg as much as he had the others. The connection isn't as firmly rooted there, as if not fully compatiable with whatever was within the egg. His eyes shift away from it, distracted by the thoughts of the previous eggs he had touched. An Eternity commanded strength and the Claimed by the Sea was familiar…This, as his eyes draw back toward the shell, seemed wrong. He lifted his hand away from it and at the same time he was overcome by a sneeze, loud and stifled only by the edge of a sleeve. Shaking his head he moves back from the shell, "Ya too pretty… Nah sure I be handling sneezing all the time. Betters ta find ya and seek ya out than me, I reckon." Despite his rejection of the egg, his head bows to it, pleased with the experience and gratiful for it; as if he didn't want to insult the creature within.
Karona rubs absently at the back of her neck with her free hand, then frowns at the shell. "You aren't getting away that easily." she decides, rounding on the egg now. She'll ask the questions for a bit! Whether she'll get answers is a different matter entirely - probably not. "…" She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. The woman sighs, and shakes her head, simply placing her palms back flat on the shell. What now?
Landers at least notices he still has time to proceed. That means he simply walks over to the next egg that isn't occupied, one that didn't really strike him as interesting from the galleries but he gives it a chance anyway. With no tado, he puts his hands on the Islands of Strange Stone egg.
"Ow!" Karona exclaims, hand flying to her temple, though the apparent pain fades, and she exhales in relief, then sighs. "No, no… it's okay… I'm okay… Oh, please don't…" she's murmuring at the egg, trying to calm it, cheer it up perhaps. "I know you didn't mean it, really." she murmurs. Something from the egg elicits a shaky smile from the older candidate, and she tips her head slightly. "See, all better now." she murmurs, before stepping away. She takes a deep breath, shoots a few reassuring smiles at the candidates still touching eggs, and bows to Seryth, and Thea. "Thank you." she says simply. She nods to the AWLMs as she passes, walking off at a normal pace, expression thoughtful.
Landers seems amused at first, upon the fast few seconds that his fingers brush along this shell. It was something he could tolerate and wasn't immediately disinterested in. Though it was nothing that rivetted him to the spot, until the very last, when he stiffens and tenses up, eyes growing wide and fresh prickling once again. His heart must've skipped a beat, because his hand thunks up against where it would be, swallowing down whatever foreboding it was that told him to move on. Curiosity always kills the cat. Lan is not one to run away. His hand goes right back on the shell, wanting to know exactly the meaning of his brief experiences with the presence inside the egg.
And so Lan does - go. A haunted look appears on his face as he staggers back from this egg, pivoting quickly and hastily making his way out. Forget the respect owed to those who allowed him on the sands, something was chasing him and he wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between it and himself as possible. Even M'nol doesn't even get a look in passing, this candidate merely has his head down and is fast-walking until a point that running would not get him in trouble. First time misfortunte, no doubt.