[G] [O] [EVENT] 740.07.25 | Just A Little Touch

The amount of time, argument, and plain threats Casa had been required to use to beat down Thallyath had been exhausting! Casa knew some dragons got really possessive about their clutches, and hadn’t been particularly eager for the Touching, but Thallyath was just being utterly ridiculous! The little dragon had stood over the eggs, her body arched like a cat and her wings flared as she snapped and snarled at Casa like a bloody damned wherry. That comparison, had, of course, just fired the little gold up more until Casa had threatened to get Ameris to bring in Mizeath to shut Thallyath up, since even if the itty-bitty gold were gutsy enough to take on the senior gold, she would like be eaten up quickly. Or Mizeath might even kick her out of the Weyr and finish the process of nesting the clutch until they were ready to Hatch and Impress.

Thallyath had finally began to see sense after she had a major tantrum at the idea of the other gold stealing her babies. Casa was thoroughly exhausted, had an awful headache, and had warned the Weyrlingmaster that if anyone went too close to Thallyath (whom she’d banished to the other side of the Grounds) they were liable to be eaten. The expression on both goldrider and dragon’s faces clearly indicated that Casa wasn’t joking. It was quite scary, and Casa wondered what would happen to her if her dragon actually did eat or maim someone. Dragonets got away with it, but a fully grown albeit tiny adult gold wasn’t likely to be handwaved off…

Sighing, Casa pinched the bridge of her nose as she stood beside the eggs, listening to the Weyrlingmaster lecture the candidates on what was expected of them. The class consisted of about forty or fifty candidates, and no more than ten or so women. Casa was pleased by the turn out, considering there were only six eggs; some of them were personal friends of hers, some of Nerreh’s, and some a mixed bunch. The rest were confused looking Searchees who had somehow managed to wrangle their way in. Casa suspected they were likely Searched for one of the other Weyrs, but were offered the chance to drop by Ista to roll their dice. Good luck to them.

It was going to be such a small class!

Casa waved to Nerreh and moved over to join the bluerider as the class was broken up into groups of six, and each group was given a timeframe they’d be able to touch each of the eggs — if they wanted — or one or two before leaving the Sands or joining their companions in the Stands.

It quickly became apparent that things were not going smoothly...

---

Eggs — Touched by (Personal response from egg); Touched by (Personal response from egg); etc.
Egg #1:
Egg #2:
Egg #3:
Egg #4:
Egg #5:
Egg #6:

---

Candidates are divided into groups of six (6) who each visit the egg for 30 minutes, with a 15 minute gap between sessions. There are currently about fifty (50) candidates Standing for this clutch. For the purpose of RP, all PC Candidates are in the same group, which is being threaded below.

This Touching commenced at ~3 PM and these guys are the first group, meaning that no one else has yet Touched the eggs yet! Because the group comprises of six candidates, and there are 6 eggs, each will be given the opportunity to touch each egg, but is not required to do so if they don’t want to. A minimum of one is required, and going back to a favoured egg is only allowed in the event that everyone is finished within time, and they won’t be causing any holdups.

Candidates are expected to be polite and demure; the egg safety is paramount and anyone found to be goofing around will be removed. Firelizards are not allowed on the Sands during the Touching, as Thallyath is extremely emotional and grumpy about the whole ordeal, and will no doubt cause flitter deaths if she spies them.has promised to eat any who show themselves.

Eggs are approximately 4 to 5 feet in length, and approximately half to two-thirds that in width. They’re rather squat and roundish. Eggs are laid in a leathery state, much like an earthen snake egg. They slowly expand as they harden with the youngster growing within. When a candidate Touches an egg, they will find the shell to be hard, but kind of lumpy and bumpy in some spots, and smooth in others, depending on how the dragonet shifted during the hardening phase. All the eggs are roughly the same mottled greenish-tan, except for the gold egg, which has a bit of the metallic gold color in the shell, in addition to being larger than all the others.

Additionally, when the candidate’s hand connects with the shell, the dragonet within will reach out mentally and touch their mind. The response the dragonet has to each individual candidate is extremely varied and often considered private by the individuals. A negative response from a dragonet does not denote the inability to Impress the hatchling within! There have been several cases in the past – PC and NPC – when characters Impressed to a hatchling from an egg that they thought hated them.