Glimmer in the Dark [Egg Touching]

[lucidmaus]

Savitr's hand lingered a moment on egg 13 and he nodded, as if he understood just what the resident within was getting at. "I daresay that you are like also," he reasoned, though the word was paired with an echoing of the egg's own feeling. "All the same, there are expectations placed upon us." This last was uttered low and close to the shell, the tone conspiratorial in some sense.

The movement of eggs is worthy of note, one of the lad's eyebrows lifting sharply as he observed that shifting. To the egg: "Your candor is appreciated beyond measure." A final touch and then he pulled away, only to be stalled up somewhat as someone else had ventured to the egg in question.

He would wait until egg 12 was free, however, as if he felt some need to keep things in order. Until that egg was available to touch, however, he remained near 13, with fingers twitching from time to time out of a desire to continue conversing with it - while being torn with the equally strong desire to make sure he performed all the appropriate introductions.

As soon as egg 12 was free, he approached with a nod to the Queen, and touched it with the same murmured phrase as before: "You are a marvel."

~~~

I do, Shakti thought as she departed egg 6. I get it. But who knows if her thoughts carried to that egg when her hand was no longer on it. With egg 4, she fell silent and listened, head briefly bowed. There was a nod and a respectful stroke of shell, before she added in a low murmur, "You will be a great Queen. Thank you."

Her next egg choice was a matter of convenience: egg 5 was right there, after all, and had been apparently quite neglected in the course of her boucing between 4 and 6. She pressed both hands firmly on the shell of 5, head tipped a little to a side as she made a wordless introduction - inviting the egg's occupant into her mental space.

~~~

"Thank you, Queen Temperanth." Ulyana bobbed her head once in a stiff, singular nod - up, down, center - before she continued her calculated approach. The largest egg, egg 1, was her initial and most focused goal, though she appeared to hesitate for just a moment before touching her fingertips to the surface of the shell. Her expression was a mask of neutrality, her gaze glossing over just a little as she sank back into a slightly different space in her mind. Never relaxed, not truly, but she was present and she was listening.

[Shoki]

Mestarian

Egg 21
Hello! The egg beamed bright joy from its egg to the candidate touching it. Are you going to be mine? We could have a lot of fun! We’d do all sorts of things. There was a touch of mischief in the egg’s mind, though it’s overwhelming brightness cooled bit by bit as it was touched by the candidate.

Egg 10
The mind reached out, uncertainly at the candidate’s touch. It seemed to prepare itself and then pressed a question forward, as though it needed all of its strength to do so. What do you love most? The egg quietly waited, hope and uncertainty balanced in its mind.

Savitr

Egg 13
At the word expectations, the egg seemed dismissive. Not at the idea there were expectations, it seemed to understand that, but of something else surrounding the word. Of course. The egg was pleased as Savitr finally removed his hand, apparently glad his candor was appreciated.

Egg 12
A warm haze touched Savitr’s mind and the egg turned its attention to the candidate. Oh, I am happy to hear you say so. There was quick flashes of insight and the egg, curiously enough, became both happy and sorrowful. Oh, I like you gambler. I will never see you free though. Too bad. The sorrow intensified somewhat but the egg proceeded, apparently pleased for something else. I’m sure you will be pleased to hear that chance is in play for you. They will like you too, and that’s to be the trouble. There was a flash of intensity and of assurance in the single word. Do take care, song day will be dangerous, keep your wits about you. The haze turned affectionate in the last sentence and the wistfulness was in the background rather than in the forefront.

Shakti

Egg 4
At the words there was a curious sense of the words fitting very nicely into the egg’s mind. It pressed forward gratitude, and then there was an impression of movement. Then the egg’s attention went elsewhere and so did the candidate’s.

Egg 5
The mind inside had apparently been waiting. It had a sort of intensity to it, and there was quite focused on Shakti. It remained silent, so to speak, as the candidate introduced herself, but the moment it was over a thought was immediately pushed forward. Tell me your dream. It was not a question. It wasn’t quite a demand either, but it got close.

Ulyana

Egg 1
A flurry of attention was on the candidate and the egg flashed interest within curiosity in the initial barrage. Hello! Oh, what do you wish? Would you be a seeker? Maybe a defender? What will you be? The egg settled some, though there was an eager curiosity, it remained more quiet to hear what the candidate might say.

[Cait]

Not really knowing what to expect, Briselle was startled that the little egg seemed to respond to her greeting. She started to snatch her hand away but before her fingertips left she paused and the egg spoke again. Slowly the young cook laid her hand flat against the egg again and was surprised when it seemed to pluck the very thoughts from her mind. The nervousness began to ease when the egg didn’t seem to be offended by her indifference to impressing. In truth so long as she was with Lena and allowed to cook, she’d be perfectly content. She still questioned the trio that had searched her but kept that opinion to herself.

“You aren’t upset.” It was a little odd, she would have thought that a baby dragon might be offended by someone not being particularly keen on bonding with them, but then what did she know about the minds of dragons? She was just a silly little cook with a pair of cats. “I guess I’m still not convinced I belong here. Dragonriders are supposed to be brave and daring and fit, that’s more Lena than me. I’m quiet and shy and squishy.”

Giving a little shrug, Briselle glanced down the line to where Lena was happily bouncing from egg to egg and shifted a little closer to the small egg. Her gaze lingered on the golden egg and the young woman frowned. She’d stay far away from that egg. “I suppose I shouldn’t keep others from saying hello, is it alright if I leave?” She lingered, waiting to be dismissed and not really sure that she wanted to leave. It looked like not all of the eggs were nearly as quiet and accomodating.

[Shoki]

Briselle

Egg 22
No. I understand. I’m unsure if I should bond as well. The egg listened and was thoughtful for a moment. I do not know what dragonriders should be. But I like you. I’m sure one of my siblings will too. But only if it is what you want. The quiet egg listened again before speaking. Of course you may. Thank you for keeping me company. I wish you well. There was a brief sense of fondness from the egg, the first sort of feeling that interrupted the quiet the egg had.

[Cait]

Giving the egg a gentle pat and feeling slightly better about the whole touching ordeal, Briselle moved away from the smallest of the eggs and looked around at the others, a bit startled to find that three of the eggs had been moved while she'd been occupied. A bit curious as to why those eggs had been pulled away from the others, Briselle moved toward them, gracing the Ice queen with a polite smile and a little bobbed curtsy. Hopefully there was nothing wrong with the eggs. Had someone been a little too rough with them?

Looking over the eggs, her head slightly tilted, the cook turned candidate moved closer and reached toward the middle egg (6). Her touch was light and her heart was as well, still comforted by the interaction with the smallest egg. She found that she looked forward to seeing that one hatch and perhaps the rest as well. "Hello." She greeted softly, dark eyes roving over the egg shell as she pressed her palm against it.

[lucidmaus]

Savitr tipped his head back a bit while he listened to egg 12, lips pursed in a thoughtful sort of way. "Well, if I did not know better, I would say that sounds terribly ominous," he replied slowly. "Every last bit of it, save for that small bit of fortune in the middle." He sucked his teeth for a moment and asked, "I have questions of course, but the most pressing, I reckon, is: How do you know?"

His hands remained firmly on that shell, his thoughts open, but focused. He was clearly trying to pick apart the nuances, trying to suss out all the angles of what the egg had relayed - as if that might actually help in some manner. It probably didn't, but it made him feel a little more steady and certain of things.

~~~

Shakti smiled a small, serene sort of smile at that initial silence - intense though it was. But once the introductions were over and that singular, pressing thought made its way in, she laughed softly to herself. "Which one?" And it wasn't a joke, not really. Thoughts unspooled rapidly for egg 5's sake, fluttering through that mental gap in a rapid-fire fashion: becoming rich, being famous, being married and having children, Impressing a dragon...

But there was a shared thread in all of those dreams, buried deep in some and not so deeply in others: the dream of being loved wholly and unconditionally.

~~~

Ulyana's mind was a peculiar thing, indeed. Less a place of fluid thought and more a series of gears, a living machine in which all things had their place and all thoughts were processed accordingly. The egg's was summarily fed into that machine, with a slow shift of cogs and a turn of some hidden wheel. Her response was not thought-immediate as some others might be, either: rather, it took her a few seconds to finally come to a reply that was easily accessible.

"I would be what I am," she stated in her strange, flat way. "Useful." Not seeker, not defender, but merely useful. The word was significant, though; weighty. The question was repurposed and redirected to egg 1: "What are you?"

[shirokage]

Mestarian feeling the intense joy from the egg made him smile. After he had felt the other egg ask him such a serious question he was unsure how to respond and kept quiet moving on to look around the other candidates to see which egg he would visit next.

Mestarian walked over to egg one and gently placed his hand against the shell of the egg curious to see what each egg would feel like. After he touched the egg he moved further down the line making his way back to the medium sized eggs and pressed his hand to egg 9.

[Shoki]

Briselle

Egg 6
An intense annoyance radiated from the egg as Briselle touched it. There was a sudden attention and she could feel the egg’s metaphorical gaze upon her. It appeared to be fighting… something while it focused on her. Nope. You’re not right. Go. It turned its gaze away, annoyed, and fighting… tiredness? It was as though the egg was trying very hard not to fall asleep.

Savitr

Egg 12
Mirth was felt from the egg and suddenly the haze cleared and its thoughts were presented perfectly clear. It showed Savitr a dot, a little ball of no color, which was conveyed to be the egg. A line, went from to the egg’s dot to another dot which appeared to be a reflection of Savitr’s own feelings. The line, in feelings, conveyed that the egg was happy because Savitr was talking to it. Then, more dots appeared, and more lines, which appeared to be either eggs or candidates. Lines appeared which seemed to be feelings but were being created so quickly as to be hard to decipher. So many lines creating a large web, then more and more until it was no longer even that, but just a cloud of information. The visualization melted away, leaving only the familiar haze that the egg radiated previously. Which was now, more obviously, not just a haze. I have thought about it. The egg, finally verbally answered the question rather succinctly.

Shakti

Egg 5
As the dreams were displayed, the egg seemed to examine each one critically. Some it seemed to like, the one about fame gained the most approval. Others it seemed dismissive of, the rider one, oddly enough was almost immediately ignored. The egg then seemed to eye the candidate again, with a trace of smugness. Good material. Very good. A brush from the egg’s mind came, mischief and approval mixed.

Ulyana

Egg 1
The Egg appeared to both approve and disapprove of the answer given. However, once the question was directed at them, the egg was enthusiastic about responding. I am the defender of the weak. I am the seeker of the truth, the whole truth. I am a friend to all, a light in the dark. The series of statements had a strange quality to it, but mostly it was so confidently accurate to the egg. Like it was the one thing it was completely sure about.

Mestarian

Egg 1
A flurry of attention was given to the candidate as he touched the egg. Oh, are you a defender? I think so. Nice to meet you! A delighted rush of feelings whirled around Mestarian, and the egg seemed genuinely disappointed when he went off to touch other eggs.

Egg 9
There was a slow move from calm rest to attention for the egg. Hmmmm? It’s thoughts were moderately paced, and didn’t have as much the upbeat energy of the others. It touched the candidate’s mind, very carefully. Then it appeared to wait. For what, it was hard to tell.

[Cait]

The warm contentment seemed to drain a bit as she touched the sixth egg and it immediately dismissed her. Frowning, Briselle pulled her hand back and looked around. "Sorry." She whispered as she clasped her hands in front of her, not quite sure why she felt so disappointed. Maybe because the egg seemed so discontented? Sighing, she moved to the egg beside it (8) and eyed it speculatively. Maybe she should just go back to the smallest egg. She didn't want to annoy any of the baby dragons.

Glancing up at the clutch mother and the strange iron that lurked beyond her, just within sight of the candidates, she picked at the cuticle of her right thumb then shuffled a little closer, cutting a glance toward the previous egg before looking back at (8). Tentatively she placed her hand there and held her breath, hoping that she wasn't just going around annoying eggs.

[lucidmaus]

Savitr did his best to follow those dots and lines and feelings, lips parted just a touch as he did so. It was, to his mind, similar to running odds - odds of dice coming up as he needed them, odds of drawing the card he wanted, and so on. A different process, but similar in some ways. But as the information transitioned into a vast cloud and then faded away, the gambler blew out a low whistle of appreciation.

"Well, that is certainly something," he replied, his tone impressed. "Such a brilliant mind in such a small shell, as it were." He chuckled and rubbed the egg once. "For now, I reckon I should leave you to your thoughts and webs. But I thank you for your time." Appreciative.

He moved on after that, venturing to egg 11 to press his hands to it, to tell it - quite honestly - that it's a marvel.

~~~

Shakti furrowed her brow while the egg considered her thoughts and dreams. There was a moment when the stream of dreams weakened, as she thought about shutting the flow off- but she let it continue until egg 5 had made its review. The knitting of her brow remained even at that brush of mischief and approval, her lips parting for just a moment before pursing. She thought about it for a moment, tumbling the ideas around before she replied, "I'm glad you approve. If you approve. I think." She laughed softly, though more at herself than anything. "Thank you."

She pulled away and flexed her fingers. Her path took her further up the line, to egg 3. Both hands to the shell, as with the others, bold and fearless and open - despite her better judgment. Some part of her wanted to put the walls up - but what good would that do?

~~~

Ulyana listened in silence, the cogs of her mind practically seeming to cease completely while the egg explained. "I see," said she, three heartbeats after the egg finished its description. "Thank you for your time. I am certain you will find the one that will complete you and provide further purpose to your life." Matter-of-fact and flat, but honest - and just as confident as the egg's assessment of itself.

She stepped away and moved all the way down the line to touch egg 22 instead, fingertips touched to the surface. Once more, she was open - not relaxed, no, but present and receptive. Available.

[Shoki]

Briselle

Egg 8
The moment a hand was on its shell, an overwhelming calm could be felt. It seemed purposeful, but not directed at Briselle. The mind inside reached out to the candidate and with a fondness it made its thoughts clear. I’m sorry, you are too good for me. It seemed to draw back slightly from the candidate before saying Thank you for visiting me, though.

Savitr

Egg 12
Delight spread through the hazy egg’s mind. Thank you. Good luck Gambler. Remember to take care on song day. There was just a whisper of regret and longing from the egg as the audience ended.

Egg 11
Distraction was felt before the egg shifted to Savitr. A reflection of his statement of it being a marvel was played back, this time with a feeling of joy. Then the egg carefully touched his mind and drew out little memories. The feeling of shuffling cards. Laughter with others. A whisper shared with a woman. The egg played those memories, shuffling them around and playing them quickly. It was interested, but it seemed unsatisfied somehow.

Shakti

Egg 5
The egg was pleased and stated, Indeed I do. You are welcome. There was a little trailing interest as Shakti removed her hand. If was possible to feel it a few steps away, but then dissipated.

Egg 3
Shakti could feel the egg, it was as pleasant to the touch as others had been. No mind reached out of the shell, no thoughts were on display.

Ulyana

Egg 1
The egg beamed optimism as the candidate wished it well. Thank you! Visit again if you have time. It was excited in its farewell, like a young child might be.

Egg 22
It was singularly quiet as Ulyana touched the egg. Hello. Thank you for coming to visit. No feelings were betrayed with the words, so it were as though they were all the more present for the quiet that surrounded them.

[shapeshifter]

Lena chatted on with the eighteenth egg, "I think friendship would be nice. My bestfriend is here too. Briselle. She is sweet like you!" she said, bubbling over with excitement to be touching minds with the little egg. Her head snapped to nineteen, "You are very much welcome. Oh the places you'll go!" she said with a confident tone to the egg, "I must see your other siblings, I cannot wait to see you both impress. She did one last fleeting touch to them both before scampering down to eggs one and two at the other end of the line, only to see others touching the egg the girl had been bothered by. Should she touch it too? She moved alone, resting her fingertips on the first egg and closing her eyes in preparation for possible actions to come.

Taissa nodded in agreement to Hedara's terms, "Yes Weyrwoman. It was a knee-jerk reaction." she said, pulling herself together slowly and wiping away tears. The voices of uncertainty echoed in her mind, Taissa pushed them away, fighting to ignore them as she walked across the sands with her arms across her chest until she approached egg sixteen.

[lucidmaus]

Savitr reassured egg 12 before he fully departed, "I shall be most aware, thank you." Then it was on to egg 11, with its most peculiar means of communicating. The gambler's head tipped to one side, then the other, as his memories were flipped through and replayed in snippets. The lack of satisfaction, though; that much he picked up on. It was a familiar emotion, one he'd experienced plenty - and bore the brunt of from others, too. Burdensome.

"What are you looking for, if I might be so bold as to ask?" The words were low-pitched, meant for the egg alone, with the young man leaning in just a little to pass the words along. A bit more of his mind was opened up, just in case, though there were - as there always are - places that were not so easily explored.

~~~

Shakti mused over egg 5 for a time longer, casting a look back when its interest seemed to linger. But then she was on to egg 3 and a new sort of mystery unfolded. Her brows knitted together as she touched it and her mouth pulled to a side. "Hey, hey," she murmured. "Is someone in there?  I won't bite, you know." She would wait some moments longer - until either some sign of life manifested... or not. She wasn't entirely sure quite how to respond and a twinge of anxiety and concern manifested in her mind and on her face

Regardless, she would move on to egg 2 after a reasonable amount of time, worry lingering for a few moments before she banished it to leave a comfortable, welcoming space in her mind. Both hands on egg 2, of course, boldly placed with fingers spread.

~~~

Ulyana accepted egg 1's offer, if in a wordless fashion. Egg 22, on the other hand, fascinated her for reasons that were oblique at best. The silence of it, the lack of emotion laced into the words; it was a strange mirror of her own mind. "Thank you for permitting me to visit you," she responded. Her fingertips were secure in in their placement, though she did not press further.

She did not offer more words but, instead, opened the machinery of her mind just a bit, creating an open space for further inquiries if the egg had them. Open, but not insistent. Comfortable, but not warm in the traditional sense. Yet, there was a strange sense of ease with that silence; she understood it, perhaps more deeply than some of the other Candidates.

[shirokage]

After he had left egg 1 he felt a little bad, feeling as though the egg wanted him to stay, but he continued and after he had came up to egg 9 he felt the much calmer feeling from it and removed his hand after to step aside for any of the other candidates.

He stood back for a moment as he looked up to the other candidates seeing them still touching the eggs and decided to go to egg 3 and see what it was feeling. The thought of each egg becoming a strong and beautifully unique dragon made him curious as to what each would look like as random images popped into his head and he chuckled a bit at himself thinking of such silly things at this important time.

[Shoki]

Lena

Egg 18
Oh, she sounds lovely! Bye for now, have fun with the others! The egg was even happy in its farewell.

Egg 19
Of course! There was a quick thought of…something, as it was bid farewell, but the thoughts it pressed to Lena were nothing but true. Have fun! You’ll be great!

Egg 1
A flurry of attention greeted Lena as she touched the largest egg. Oh! Hello! What do you see yourself as? Who are you? Curiosity mixed with enthusiasm spread through the egg and it waited to see what the candidate would say.

Savitr

Egg 11
The replayed memories faded as an air of thought spread through the egg. It carefully pulled forward a memory for an answer. It was of dancing, but poorly. Learning to dance, and not always getting it, but having fun anyway. The egg pressed the impression its answer was similar to this, but either would not or could not explain more.

Shakti

Egg 3
There was no response while the candidate touched the egg.

Egg 2
Hello! The egg’s full attention was on the candidate and it seemed delighted after a moment. Oh! Yes yes! Say, if you could DO anything, what would it be? The egg listened attentively.

Ulyana

Egg 22
It is no trouble. It helps me decide what to do. The sense of quiet remained consistent. It appeared to do nothing else, perhaps it was only a touch more ‘at ease’ since it was possible to examine the egg’s mood closely.

Mestarian

Egg 3
The egg felt as much as the others had, but no mind reached out of the shell, no thoughts were on display.