Xanadu Weyr - Observation Level
Dark blue seats form a semi-circle around the sands below, the lowest row separated from the multicolored red and white sands by merely a railing. The seats climb upwards, each row a bit higher than the previous, and they are broken up into sections by three sets of staircases.
Between the first and second section, a glass wall descends to separate the observers from the heat of the sands. Air is kept in motion through a set of fans, and so these seats are quieter and cooler than the rest… though the noise and heat of the sands is still present.
Lights are evenly spaced along the outer wall, lighting the seats and the sands easily, though they tend to be dimmed unless a major event is taking place. A large balcony overhead connects to the glass wall. Vents for cooling run along the bottom of it, and the ledge provides a place for observers of the draconic kind to watch without obstructing the view for others.
The sand below is variegated in hue, individual grains of red and white that have a pinkish hue when seen from across the circle of the hatching grounds but - up close over that railing - are clearly two varieties mingled.
It's a little after most people have dealt with their lunch, and regardless of whatever Izobet is supposed to be doing, she's here in the hatching caverns now. During the part of the day when most people are really trying to avoid the combination of midday and hot sands heat sources, honestly, despite the ventilation. But the girl sitting as close to the front of the observation level as possible seems comfortable enough to be here looking out at the eggs doing a whole lot of nothing. Maybe if she watches hard enough, she'll see something twitch?
Andalise looks like someone who most probably spent a good portion of the lunch hour working in the kitchens, hair messily pulled out of the way to leave more room for the almost-scowl that threatens to overtake her features. There's a peek over her shoulder on her way in while she works on unfastening a flour-dusted apron that's quickly rolled up and tucked under an arm to prevent any residue from flying free. Wending her way through the rows of seating, she awkwardly plants elbows on the railing not terribly far from where Izobet-the-statue sits, blowing out a breath that ends in a similarly long gaze toward the sandy mounds below. It takes a few minutes for her to first notice that someone else is nearby, then a bit longer for something like vague recognition to dawn over her expression. Absently, "If they start moving any minute now, we might be the firs — tuh, make that third and fourth people to know, I guess."
Izobet might startle just slightly when Andalise speaks, being so very focused on the out there rather than the right here, but she's glancing over at the other young woman in the same moment and beams a smile at her. "Probably! But only for a few seconds, I bet. Leirith seems like she'd let everyone know almost the moment it happened." Izobet, of course, sounds delighted by this idea more than terrified of what that will eventually mean. She probably hasn't thought far enough ahead to the point that they'll all actually be standing out there with hatching eggs and flailing baby dragons, honestly. "Have you done this before?"
"Don't worry, " Andy laughs, "she will. They'll probably hear something from her all the way in High Reaches." Despite clearly having at least a little familiarity with the broadcast-tendencies of some of Xanadu's highest profile dragons, the older candidate shakes her head in the negative for prior experience. "Me? Nope, first time. I mean I've wanted to for a long time, but didn't get the opportunity until recently. Is it also your first stand?" There's a genuine kindness attached to the inquiry; it undoubtedly hasn't escaped even her notice that Izobet is one of the younger hopefuls among their number.
Izobet laughs, too, at the idea of so much of Pern getting the message of imminently hatching eggs directly from Leirith at the same time. "It is my first! Maybe my only time if I find a dolphin friend, I guess." She doesn't sound upset by that idea at all, though, because it would mean a dolphin friend. "But not everyone does." It's possible that Izobet is used to tempering her own enthusiasm. Or at least repeating what someone else has instilled in her, whether she's really taken it to heart or not. "I'm glad we get to share our first together!" Never mind that she barely knows Andalise from any other girl. That's not important.
Andalise smiles back at her, turning a little so she's angled more toward Izobet and their conversation than the view out there. "A dolphin friend, huh? Maybe I should transfer to that hall afterward and try to find a friend that way, too." It might be said half-jokingly, but it's possible the baker is filing this information away for the future. "Not everyone finds a dragon friend, either, but — " But it doesn't stop people like them from hoping, does it? A breath later: "Me too, now that we've spoken. I've seen the top of your head in the barracks here and there, " there's the hint of a tease, "but it's nice to actually meet you. What do you think of them so far?" The eggs, presumably, and not the barracks, given the little tilt of her head aimed toward the objects that could hold their futures.
It might be safe to say that nothing stops Izobet from hoping, and she'll probably just assume that Andalise is exactly the same way. "Ooh, you would be great with dolphins!" No jokes here, Izobet is one hundred percent invested in assimilating people into dolphincraft. "As long as you don't get sea sick because sometimes you have to go out on boats, but I think you get used to it eventually even if it's bad at first." Clearly she's never been too bad off herself or she might have other ideas on that subject. As for the eggs? "I can't wait to meet them. Even if none of them want me," she doesn't mean it in a sad way! "We can all still be friends!"
And perhaps she would be great with dolphins, where a propensity toward clumsiness may be less of an issue in the water — and with fewer sharp objects involved, to boot. "I haven't been on a boat recently, but I don't think I get sea sick, " Andy muses. "I didn't on that class trip when I was little, " or so her memory claims. "I can't wait to meet them, either, " confesses her fellow, hopeful dreamer about the eggs. "I'm sure they'll all be really wonderful little guys and gals. A friend of mine Impressed the sweetest green and they're just so close to each other in the best ways. I suppose it must be awfully nice to have that kind of harmony between you and your forever dragon friend, " especially if every day is filled with the fun of a never-ending sleepover with your favorite being in the entire world~
"Oh, good!" Izobet's probably already thinking of all the different things they can do as dolphineers together, though they probably mostly involve giving dolphins fish. And still she's able to admit, "I don't think even dolphins would come close to whatever it is between a dragon and their person. From what I hear, anyway." Maybe she's not SUPER convinced yet. "I can totally see you with the nicest dragon. I bet it'll be that one," Izobet says as she gestures toward the egg she thinks would suit Andalise the most. Probably the one that gave her the second best feelings because she's almost certainly hoping to find her dragon friend in the one that felt the best.
"I think you're right, " Andalise replies after a moment, "but a friend is a friend, dolphin or dragon, and surely both of them must be worth having." Dark eyes follow the other girl's gesture toward the sands; there, a grin surfaces. "Maybe one of the nicest dragons. You'll need one, too." Pushing off of the railing, she tucks a wayward strand of hair behind her right ear. "I'm Andy, by the way — short for Andalise, but no one really calls me that other than the, " grimace, "healers. I don't know about you, but I should probably shake a leg and get on to my afternoon assignment before they wonder where I'm at. I just — wanted to look at them again. You know."
Izobet lights up a little bit when Andalise mentions that she needs a nice dragon, too. Like someone else acknowledging it could happen isn't something she was emotionally prepared for. "Izobet," she returns with a brief touch of her hand against her chest. It probably seems even more necessary to offer her name when she's been mostly introducing herself as Tunnelsnake McGee until recently. "Good luck with your chores, Andy!" Maybe she'll consider going back to hers, too, even!