Ellamariseth's Clutching
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Xanadu Weyr - Observation Level

Dark blue seats form a semi-circle around the sands below, the lowest row separating from the sands themselves by merely a railing. The seats climb upwards, each row a bit higher then the previous, and they are broken up into sections by 3 sets of staircases. 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 looms overhead, darkening some of the seats, providing a place for observers of the draconic kind to watch without obstructing the view for others.

// When one looks over the railing, the oddly hued sand below can be seen easily, the circle-shaped area of the sands spread out to the far walls, the sand itself a unique mixture of red and white grains.//


From the sands, Ellamariseth pushes forth onto the sands, taking a moment to allow her black talons to sink into them as she swings her head around towards the galleries with an welcoming bugle. But then there's a ripple that trails down her neck and she lowers it down, stalking forward towards the center, digging at a spot here and there as she sets up and waits for the first egg. Ysa's right behind her, pulled from whereever she was as her lifemate didn't care to hide anything of this magnitude. "Did ya have to invite half of Pern, though?" She grumbles, peeking at the stands for just a brief moment. At least it wasn't a crowd like hatchings. The small gold swings her head around, rumbling uncomfortably now but waiting, nonetheless, for clutchdaddy to come. He's not missing this!

S'ya walks hurriedly up the stairs, her long hair waving behind her as she scans for a spot. "I know, I know!" She says, having a conversation with her lifemate as she searches for a seat. Finally catching sight of one near the railing she settles in quickly, smiling broadly. "Wow, I cannot believe I am going to see Ella clutch. Feels like ages since I last went to one of these."

From the sands, Arinith follows right behind the gold, warbling to everyone in the stands as well. His slender frame slides over the sands, inspecting every hold that Ella has dug. He slinks up and paces back and forth near the gold, stopping to give her a gentle neckrub with his snout. He was here! R'miel follows behind everyone else, giving an amused wave to the observers. "What's the fun if there's no audience?" He chuckles a bit and wraps an arm around Ysa.

Michael wanders up to the stands above the sands. He looks a little lost, and finally settles on his own spot near the railings. His brother was down below, with his weyrmate and their lifemates… which meant he knew no one here. Mike does look to S'ya though. It takes him a bit to realize she's not talking to herself. "This is my first clutching… do you know the gold, then?"

Aoriya hurries to take a spot near S'ya near the railing. "Okay Omasuth, by all means, I have a good view, you have a good view, lets settle down and watch." She tells her firey brown partner above. "Be glad that I've gotten the view I did." She reminds her lifemate.

From the sands, Ellamariseth accepts the rubs when she can. She's more focused on the sands all of a sudden, even though she had been down there plenty of times before. Ysa's running a hand through her damp locks now, quickly drying in the sands' heat as she lifts one foot and then the next. "Ya think people like an audience when ya give birth? Well, everyone but Ella, apparently." And with a glance towards the sands, the queen turns to a hollow she had first made and lifts her tail, a ripple running down her spine as the first egg is deposited.

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Mind-Numbing Agony Egg
Cold, that's the feeling this egg gives off. None of the colors coating its shell are vibrant in anyway. Blackish brown has pooled at the bottom evenly, rising up vertically out of it are two dull red pillars, both parallel to one another. The muted crimson red has frosty white lines etched all over it, making it seem as if a thin layer of ice has formed on it. In between the two pillars, nearer the peak of the egg, lies a window covered in misty white and blue. The two colors mesh together nicely and cover the window entirely. The rest of the egg is covered in a black so thick that it seems to choke out what little color the egg has, creeping in on all sides. Wispy gray wraps around the entire shell, distorting the dull colors and shapes even more, as if it is swallowing the whole scene up.

"Oh, she does look like she is getting ready, So." S'ya comments to her dragon, filling her in on the details as she watches the gold start digging. But her attention leaves the sands when she is joined by two new faces. She flashes Michael a bright smile, nodding her head. "Sure do! That is Ysa's gold. I know her through my brother. Ah, and greetings from Xanadu Weyr." She offers to Aoriya, giving her a nod of the head. Her hazel eyes catch sight of the first egg as it is deposited on the sands however and she stares. "Oh, that one is awfully dark, is it not, love?" She asks Michael, smiling down at the first egg.

From the sands, Arinith can't tell one bit of sand from another bit of sand at this point. He's just focused on the gold getting through this. It was his first clutch afterall. He gives a croon of encouragement to Ellamariseth as she moves to deposit the first egg, then warbles excitedly as it drops. He moves over to it to inspect it, leaving the tending to the clutchmother. R'miel grins at Ysa. He looks a bit distracted, as his lifemate was chittering excitedly to him. "It's an exciting time! Just because you didn't want anyone to know doesn't meant Ella doesn't."

Michael stares out at the sands. "Oh? She's getting ready already?" And then the first egg is dropped. "Huh…. That's exciting! But yeah, that egg is pretty dark…" He grins lopsidedly to S'ya. "You know Ysa? She's my brother's weyrmate. That's him and his bronze down there looking dumb. See him? I thought I'd come to show my support. Er, I'm Michael, by the way."

From the sands, "The /hatching/ is exciting," Ysa corrects with a wrinkled nose as she looks to the first egg. "And the eggs are nicer when they've hardened." She sighs and leans into R'miel, though she's still shifting her feet when she can. "Here we go 'gain." Ellamariseth croons to her egg, as if the hatchling could already hear her. And why can't it? She nudges some sand to keep it in place, ruffling her wings as her attention is demanded elsewhere. Leaving the first egg open for inspection, she claws a bit here and there in the sand before she stretches out her wings and neck. When she folds them again after a moment, two eggs are left with a short distance from each other. Already with a tired sigh, she lays her stretched neck out near the railing of the galleries, whirling eyes looking at the audience.

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Electric Experiment Egg
Snuggly settled into the sands, this egg is a tangle of steel and sinister sharp points laying about its surface in a semblance of order. A long silvery-gray slab extends around the center of the egg, laying horizontal along half of its circumference. Thick black cables coil around the centerpiece, covered on occasion by colored sections of irregular shapes, ranging in a variety of bubbling green to a putrid yellow among other metallic beams rising from the bottom of the egg. Dark clouds of black and blue coalesce on the top, covering every inch as it creeps towards the center, only to be pierced through by bright streaks of yellows bolting down towards the metallic surface.
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Out of Balance Egg
This egg sits off-kilter in the sands, leaning to one side. No matter how many times the clutchmother tries to get it to sit upright, it just refuses to cooperate. The bottom of this egg almost looks like it would be bumpy when touched. There are areas of consistent gray color distinguished by dark brown lines, like a gathered pile of boulders at the edge of a cliff. Further up the egg the areas become longer, pulled into smoothed globs that wriggle and climb towards the top. These globs become thinner towards the peak, stretching into lighter tanned tentacles which fade into a more pleasant yellow and then a sky blue at the very top.

"Is it not? I love clutchings! Oh, you are R'miel's brother?" S'ya eyes the man warily, taking a few moments it seems to decide on how to view him. But her face breaks into a smile just the same, nodding her head. "He does look a bit off. Though, I tend to think he is not the brightest of the bunch. Oh wow!" She says, catching sight of the eggs, but then there's a huge gold egg staring over at her. "Ella, love! You are not through yet, go back and finish." She says to the gold, giggling at her antics. "Oh, I am S'ya by the way. Lifemate to the prettiest little green in all of Pern, Sophyrinth."

From the sands, R'miel nods and grins. "Ah, what's wrong with the eggs now? They look nice to me." Say Mr I-wear-black-all-the-time. He moves behind Ysa and rubs at her shoulders. "Your feet hot? You beter get used to it." Arinith meanwhile sticks to the first egg, obsessively rearranging the sand around it until it's just right. But then there are more eggs! Which means more sand needs to be shifted around, so he moves over that way. After an insepction, he starts to push the sand up around them.

Aoriya turns, hearing S'ya's introduction Aoriya introduces herself. "Aoriya, rider of brown Omasuth. I'm from Igen, but my family lives here at Xanadu." Aoriya tells S'ya. "So I come to visit frequently." Aoriya says with a wink. "I brought my brother Kaian with me as well." She points upwards to the back of the galleries. "He's up there with some friends of his that live here. He works part time in the stables, but he's continuing his apprenticeship in the smithcraft."

Michael nods to her. "Heh, not by choice, but yeah he's my older brother." He tilts his head at her and flashes her a dimpley smile. "He's always been a bit off." There's a laugh from him, but then his attention is distracted back to the sands. "Whoa…" Is all he can manage when he makes eye contact with the whirling eyes of the gold. "Ah, you're both riders? Nice to meet you, S'ya and Aoriya. I'm living at Ista right now, I just moved from Telgar a couple days ago."

From the sands, Ysa rolls her neck back towards the bronzer with a smile. "Oh, they're… nice eggs." Looking back down at the sands, the next two eggs are studied… and there's just that. There is no comment from the gold's lifemate. Instead, she arches a brow back towards R'miel. "I think the sands get hotter everytime I have to get out here.. Hurry /up/ Ella!" The gold continues to stare at the gallery's people, even when she is shooed off by one, before a low whine pulls her away to do her business. Can't a lady have a break? It wasn't easy pushing these things out. She moves past her previous eggs, glancing down to them to see the bronze's work. Within two more steps, she stops as she gets ready for the next one, making sure to prepare a spot before it joins the rest of its clutchsibs.

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Your Worst Nightmare Egg
Imagine a place that is like a child's playroom, only deadly. It appears to be steel, laid out and manufactured into a perfect room. In the middle there appears to be a round area cleared in the floor. Vicious spikes surround those inside, guns aimed point blank at them. Imagine… Glowing red eyes from the figures that hold the guns, figures with swords that act as spikes. If one can imagine anything worse, it is likely there. This image is etched into the egg, visibly in full detail. It almost appears as if the room was really this little egg and that one can almost see people clawing their way to life. But this egg remains still and there are no little people running and no guns firing. All a figment of the imagination, or perhaps a nightmare that lurks within the shell.

S'ya scans the three eggs, shaking her head a bit. "They certainly are a lot darker than the ones I have seen in the past." But when Aoriya introduces herself she nods. "Igen? That is a far way from here. Rather toasty too from what I have heard. Oh? I come from Ista originally. How do you like it? The beaches are great, are they not?" Her hazel eyes linger on Michaels face, her own dimplely smile beaming back at him. But out of the corner of her eyes she catches the gold moving off and catches sight of the Your Worst Nightmare Egg. "Wow, now that looks," She struggles for words, obviously confused by the rather morbid patterns on the shell. "So, Ista and Igen?"

From the sands, R'miel smiles at Ysa. "You need to spend more time on the beach clearly. All the eggs look great." He laughs at her. "Give her a break! Just imagine if I had told you to hurry up while you were pushing out Lyram." He peers at her. "You would have decked me and probably given me brain damage." Arinith meanwhile is fighting with the Out of Balance egg, trying desperately to get it to stand upright. Finally, once the next egg is out, he moves over to fix that one. There's a low rumble of encouragement given to the golden queen.

Michael blinks a bit down at the eggs, then to S'ya. "Really? I guess I never really noticed the eggs so much before. Only the hatchlings that popped out of them." He chuckles and shrugs. "Seems okay. I haven't had a chance to get to the beach yet. I heard the beaches here are pretty nice, too." There's more blinking from Mike as he looks at the next egg to emerge. "Huh… these eggs are kind of dark…"

Aoriya chuckles at Michael. "At least you have beaches, but the canyon is a wonderful place to sit and watch the sunrise. Its only half an hour's flight straight from the Weyr." She says with a smile. "And the dunes are actually a lot of fun. I bury myself in sand after a hard day's work, Omasuth extends a wing to protect me from the sun, and all my cares just melt away from the heat in the sand. But I agree with S'ya. Some cluthes are just odd this way. Some are as bright as jewels, some are as dark as the night sky."

From the sands, Ysa rolls her eyes. "The hatching sands and the beach are completely different." The forth egg gets a longer stare than the last ones received, and she turns to her lifemate and the bronze with furrowed brows. "Sure they look great…" she trails off, obviously sarcastic. The goldrider nudges R'miel playfully with an elbow before she goes back to doing the sands-shifting dance. "That's absolutely true. Eggs and babies though… I bet it's not /as/ difficult for Ella." But the gold is putting on her tired look. She'd much rather go lay near the galleries and listen to the visitors instead. On her way there again, pacing the sands back and forth, Ellamariseth pauses, body tensing again as she holds still a moment and then she's back to digging more holes as she waits for the next eggs to arrive. It's only moments after she scoops out the second hole that she shifts, tail lifting, and deposits another pair.

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Stalactites and Spinnerwebs Egg
Aged before its time, a personal darkness shrouds this egg shading it a dull, unadventurous, stony brown. Or at least it appears so from a distance. Up close a jagged pattern of black lines can be seen around the tip creating great tooth-like breaks in the uniformity. Dotted here and there, though only visible when the light hits at just the right angle, thin specks of silver form up into random patterns resembling the spinnerwebs found in the darkest corners of the stores. At the base of the shell, barely visible above the sands, a pale patch reminiscent of bleached bone can just be made out.
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Bridge of Doom Egg
Near darkness fills this large egg, forming a void as it is nestled into the lighter-colored sands. Deep brown stalactite-like cones hang around the rounded top with pebbly flecks drifting in random spots down to a spanning tan structure that stretches across the egg, forming a break in the black abyss. The thin bridge connects two sides of the egg together, poised precariously over a large chasm that extends continuously for the rest of the bottom-half of the egg and into the sands. The inky depth allows no other colors to pierce through, its bottom a hidden mystery among the red and white sands of the hatching ground.

"Oh, Sophyrinth's clutch was lovely! Her egg was the best of all, of course, but there were some really good ones besides hers." S'ya says proudly, nodding her head as she agrees with herself. "Say, Riya, you got family here? Anyone I might know?" She asks Aoriya, assigning the rider a nickname. "Two more! Oh, and just as dark as the others." She smirks over at the sands, her eyes falling on R'miel. "I blame the clutchfather for the weird colors." She moves her eyes over to Michael, wanting him to share the joke with her, obviously not bothered that she's making fun of his brother.

From the sands, R'miel grins. "Nah. Not that different." As if Ella's clutching was just a ploy for R'miel to get his weyrmate at the beach more often. Then suddenly the bronzer has his hands around Ysa's midsection, and lifts her up onto his shoulders. No more sand-shift dance for her! Of course, now that means his own feet were pressed against the hot sands even harder, so he has to do twice as much. "No, but she has to do more of them." Arinith moves over to give the gold an affectionate nudge after the next couple eggs are out. Then he tends to them, as the gold is clearly getting tuckered out.

Michael laughs. "Well, without a dragon it's harder for me to get around. I'll try to get to Ista's beaches soon, though. I haven't been to the beach in a long while." He grins at S'ya. "Yeah? I wish I could have seen it. When did you impress?" There's a bit of a pause as the next two eggs spring free, then a laught. "Ha! Yeah, it's probably his fault. Look at what he's wearing. He could suck the light out of a room." Clearly R'miel's brother had no qualms about picking on him.

From the sands, Ellamariseth sticks closer to the majority of the clutch now instead of moving back and forth from the galleries to the eggs. She croons softly towards the bronze, taking one step back to allow him to tend, if that makes him happy. She instead turns her neck towards a previous egg, the lop-sided one, to try to right it for a moment. Ysa grabs at R'miel's hands in surprise as her feet suddenly leaves the sands. She chuckles down at him instead, settling into her new position. "Your feet are going to burn off instead, now." But she at least looks comfortable. "Really… Ella's last eggs were a bit more colorful than these, at least." Even as she says this, the gold is moving back towards an empty spot, rumbling as her hide twitches in discomfort as her tail swings out of the way for the latest eggs.

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A City in Ruin Egg
This egg is rather large compared to the rest of its clutchmates, seeming to tower over them. The dominant color is blackish blue, enveloping the shell completely. Over this dark mantel steely gray spikes rise up in various heights, each reaching towards the apex but falling short. A few of the rectangular shapes do not stand vertical, however, slanting against their upright neighbors. Starting at the base of the egg a vibrant orange red races up, swallowing up some of the gray shapes. Speckled throughout the egg are white flecks, none reaching past the gray.
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Roiling Boiling Egg
The first thing one might notice about this egg is that blue is the predominant color of it. That said, it's not the only color of it, nor is it even a uniform blue. In fact, the depths seem to hold greenish tints in their darkened depths, where they're visible, as if it were less the fathoms of an ocean and far more a shallow body. Broken throughout the depths are what appears to be dark blue lines - broken indeed, because the pattern of the greens and blues over the surface make it look like turbulent water. Bright slits and spots of blue-white and yellow are reminiscent of light caught on the edges of those waves. Towards the entirety of one side, however, is the reason for those waves: white and green and blue and grey all mixed and speckled outwards as if something were boiling up from the depths. Only the occasional glimpse through the froth speaks of a darkened object beneath.

Aoriya watches the eggs hit the sands one by one. "Aaah, well, its always the father's fault. They're smiths, Sairen is my father's name." Aoriya adds, "He's a chemical smith, he makes fireworks believe it or not. He taught me how to make colored flares shortly before I was Searched. K'vin caught me laying them out to test on the beach. They were very pretty, even bright."

When Michael laughs along with her comment she smiles even more brightly. "Oh, that is a shame love. Maybe when So and I are done with Weyrlinghood I can give you the grand tour of them." S'ya winks at the older boy before getting distracted by Ellamariseth again. "Oh, I like that one." She says, pointing to Roiling Boiling Egg. "Much more colorful. Chemical Smiths? Sounds tough. I was a Harper apprentice before I was searched. Wow, feels like ages since I last saw the Hall."

From the sands, Arinith doesn't seem to mind the egg colors. It's what he was used to from his lifemate anyways. Once the last two are out he tends to each of them carefully, then moves over to inspect each egg in turn. He tries after the gold to get the lopsided egg to stand, but gives up again. R'miel chuckles and looks up at Ysa. "Ah, my feet are fine. What's wrong with these colors? Nice greys and browns.. Better than pretty pinks and yellows, if you ask me."

Michael blinks a bit. "A chemical smith? Heh, making fireworks sounds like fun, but I think I'd be tempted to blow stuff up all the time. I'd burn down the hall and they'd have to chase me out." He laughs. Then he grins to S'ya and nods. "Yeah, that sounds good. I need a grandtour, and I'd like to meet your lovely green." He turns his attention back to the sands as she points, however. "Oh… A harper? What was your speciality?"

From the sands, Ysa sets her elbows down on R'miel's head so that she can prop up her own head, glancing towards the clutch. "Well, they're not /awful/. But they're all mostly dark…" She shrugs her shoulders, sitting up a bit more now as she turns her green eyes towards her lifemate. Ellamariseth doesn't look to be finished immediately, standing there with her tail twitching as if debating if she could pull out one or two more eggs. After a moment, she tucks her wings back and heaves a great sigh in the cavern, turning to follow the bronze's example in tending before stopping at the same egg and staring down at it. It was just stubborn. But she moves on again, turning to settle down near the galleries so that she can have the best view of those coming in and out. "Eight. That's not bad at all," Ysa says, smiling out over the small clutch.

From the sands, R'miel shrugs a bit up at Ysa. "Ah, so what. They're fine." Arinith turns to the gold as she looks like she might lay a few more. He tilts his head this way, then that. When she breathes a sigh of relief, he lets out a loud bugle of excitement. Yay all the eggs were out. After looking curiously down at the stubborn egg, he moves over to give Ella congradulatory headrubs. R'miel frowns a bit. "Eight? I was hoping for at least ten… Ah well. I guess ten might not fit in Ella. Heh, hopefully they'll all be healthy though!"

S'ya can't help but laugh at Michael's comment. "Blow stuff up? You sound like my two other brothers, they were rather into that kind of stuff." She keeps her eyes on the sands, however, waiting to see what the queen does next. But when he mentions her lifemate /and/ music she just has to turn away. "Oh, So loves meeting new people! I am sure she would like you. And I am a singer. I still keep up with song writing and practicing my scales but it is kind of tough when you gotta cut up meat and oil." The queens sigh is heard and it certainly draws her attention away from her companions. "Oh, guess she is done. Eight, that is not as much as Kilaueth." She seems about to say something else but then she gets a far away look to her eyes and rises quickly, nodding to Aoriya and Michael. "I gotta go, So wants her dinner and a bath. I cannot wait till she learns to hunt!" And with a wink and wave she heads out of the galleries.

Michael watches the last eggs push free and stands up. "Well, I'm going to go say hello to my brother before I hitch a ride back to Ista." He gives a wave to the ladies sitting with him. "Nice meeting you both. S'ya, I expect to see you at Ista after you graduate. I'll want to know all about the beaches. We'll make it a date. I'll want to hear some singing sometime, too." He winks to her, then also makes his way out of the galleries.

From the sands, Ellamariseth warbles after the bronze from her spot, lifting her nose up to rub his own snout happily. All done. Now comes the fun part of watching people come in and out. Candidates, hatchings, bloody maulin— well, fun times. Ysa looks a bit uncertain about the eggs. "Yah, they are fine," she decides wit a smirk. "Good job, both of ya," she calls over to the two dragons. "An' Ella is a /small/ gal. She can't have that big of a clutch. This is pretty much her average." She pats his shoulder. "Let's leave 'em here and go have ourselves a celebratory drink."

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