Gritorth's Christmas Clutch (Touching)

[Batman]

Gritorth's Christmas Clutch



1. Northern Star - A Bright, almost completeley white shell encases this dragonet. A starburst is the most prominent thing on the shell, large enough to cover one whole side of the egg. The Northern Star has a dark outline around the starburst, and the back side of the egg shell is dotted with light blue and some pitch black spots. The Northern Star egg is located out of the way, away from the other nine eggs.


2. First Wise Man - A dark brown egg, lightly sprinkled with golden color. The First Wise Man egg has a small light blue marking on top of it in the shape of a bow. This egg is located closest out of all the other eggs to the Northern Star egg, but still a Meter or so away from it.


3. Second Wise Man - Another dark brown egg, this one assaulted with large white misshapen globs. Just like the First Wise Man egg, the Second Wise Man egg has a small light blue marking on top in the shape of a bow. This egg is located just behind the First Wise Man egg.


4. Third Wise Man - The last dark brown egg in the Clutch. This dark brown egg is spotted with medium sized, lighter brown spots, all misshapen, like on the Second Wise Man egg. Like the other two, the Third Wise Man egg has a small light blue, bow shaped mark on top. The Third Wise Man egg is located just behind the Second Wise Man egg.


5. Christmas Angel - A soft green and red colored egg, the Christmas Angel egg is adorned with a halo of pure white around its top. This halo is accompanied by grey-white wing shaped markings on the back of the shell. The Christmas Angel egg is located on the other side of the clutch from the Northern Star, near the edge of the clutch.


6. Snowy Landscape - Slightly dull white, this egg is sprinkled with what would appear to be small trees poking out of its white landscape. The Snowy Landscape egg is located right beside the Christmas Tree egg.


7. Christmas Tree - A forest green egg dotted with dots and stripes of all colors. A golden star shape adorns the top of the egg. The Christmas Tree egg is sitting straight up next to the Snowy Landscape egg, in the middle of the entire clutch.


8. Drummer Boy - This odd little egg looks just like a worn out, warped drum. The sides of this egg are striped, light brown, thin white stripes cutting each brown stripe from its neighbor. The top portion of the Drummer Boy egg is an off-white color with a brown splash mixed in. This egg is the only egg that seems to resonate with a soft pound every half minute, like the little dragonet is knocking on its shell. The Drummer Boy egg sits to the side of the Second and Third Wise Man eggs.


9. Red Garland - This light green egg is spiraled sideways down its whole surface with red that seems to shimmer in the dim light of the Hatching Cavern. The spiral terminates on the top and bottom of the egg which can be seen as the Red Garland egg is the only egg that lays on its side. The Red Garland egg lays beside the Christmas Tree egg, opposite the Snowy Landscape egg.


10. Silver Bell - The only pure colored egg in the clutch, the Silver Bell egg is pure silver. From bottom to top, the silver of the shell gets lighter as it goes up, terminating on top with a shimmering light silver. No other colors can be seen on the egg. The Silver Bell egg rests against the Christmas Tree egg and sometimes disappears from view, being behind the Christmas Tree egg from the entrance of the Caverns.




All eggs in this clutch seem to exude a light sense of happiness and joy.

October 17, 2595 ; around 2 pm

There sat a large set of dragons at the entrance to the Hatching Caverns. It was time, time for the parade. The Touching.

The eggs were hard, and some were gently rocking. All ten of the eggs were both well guarded, and looked after. The Candidates and clutch-parents' riders were the only ones allowed inside the Cavern during the Touching.

There was no need for anyone to slip and end up burning themselves on the hot sands, trying to get a look at the eggs. This was one of the rules that was strictly enforced here at New Shura. And Hilorth and Gritorth made sure of that.

The Candidates had been told beforehand, single file into the Cavern past the two dragons. Bow, be respectful, and careful around the eggs. This wasn't going to take too long, and everyone would get their chance to be close to the eggs that would very soon hatch out new dragons!



Hilorth and Gritorth sent out mental calls, as well as a loud bugle. Time for the Candidates to drop what they were doing and come Touch these eggs!!!

[Ramba-Cat]

Touching?

The word reverberated around Ruteakyra's mind as she finished drying her hands. What luck that she had finished feeding the herdbeast early then! Still, while her hands were clean, she wasn't quite as clean as she would have liked. But she was definitely not missing out on touching the eggs that were the very reason she was at the Weyr.

So, she made her way to the hatching Sands, and bowed to the two large dragons, her small stature making them seem even bigger. It was the first time she had seen either of the pair up close. She then approached the Silver Bell egg, only really noticing it as she circled around the eggs.

She felt foolish, touching egg shells. What was she supposed to feel other than the slightly rough egg-like texture of the egg?

---

Tarust literally dropped what he was doing, the broom clattering to the ground as he made his way to the hatching cavern. This seemed ridiculous to him. Letting candidates mill around the dragons as if they could pre-Impress, when all the candidates were really doing was disturbing the dragons inside the shells.

Secretly, Tarust was hoping for some kind of hint that his dragon was in the clutch or that the Weyr had more than the few, strong dragons to offer. If Tarust could sense anything, then maybe he would have a little more respect for some of the other residents.

He bowed to the parent dragons, but didn't touch any eggs right away. No, he would wait. All the joy and happiness was making him feel even more grumpy than normal.

[Batman]

Kilkin was one of the first to arrive. He gave the parent dragons a bow, each, and walked inside, behind a little girl.

This was probably most of their first times seeing the eggs, and Kilkin was speechless. He never imagined such colorful egg shells. What the shard was he supposed to do? Touch them.

It felt strange to do so. The man let his hand rest on the Northern Star egg, feeling a soft happy pulse. It was the same when he touched each of the Wise Man Eggs. The one that caught his attention the most was the Christmas Angel. He laid his hand upon it for a good couple of minutes before rushing back out of the Cavern. Kilk had to get back to the Infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draym had somehow eluded his sister, bowing to the two large dragons out front of the Cavern and entering slowly. He saw Kyra there, in the midst of the eggs. She was looking a bit confused.

He chuckled and strolled over, laying a hand over her own small one on one of the eggs. "Hey cutie." He whispered in her ear before taking off to touch a couple of the other eggs. None in particular though. He pretended as though he wasn't keeping Kyra in sight at all times though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cercy almost forgot to bow at the entrance. She curtsied at each of the attentive parents and slowed her pace as she walked inside. She instantly spotted Draym. And he had just been standing by some little girl. This puzzled Cercy.

She was the only girl in Draym's life. Walking over toward her brother, the girl almost stumbled over the Northern Star Egg. She caught herself, and pressed both hands to the warm shell.

"Oooooohh." She was caught up now in the Touching. Forgetting all about her brother. Cercy went to every single egg, touching and caressing them. They felt so strange on her hands!

[Tahki]

"You'll get eaten if you try to pet these things" Azariah stressed on the eaten part, directing her daughter back towards her chores in the kitchen.

Asta gave her the greatest of pouts before stomping her little feet back to the watchful eyes of the kitchen workers. At least there was someone in this Weyr either than Az that could keep track of her adventurous daughter. Shaking her head in frustration, she picked her way back to the group of candidates before they were caroled into the hatching sands.

Azariah had never seen dragon eggs before and was quite a bit taken back now that they were fright in front of her; much less allowed to touch them. She blinked in surprise and regained her composure once they began receiving instructions on the proper egg touching etiquette. The older candidate was quick to pick on the instructions; they were basic manners for anything. Who'd be stupid enough not to acknowledge the parents or the honor of getting to touch what could be their potential dragon's eggs. Her blue eyes narrowed as she counted the heads of the younger candidates around her. A scant few were in their twenties and the rest all teenagers. Azariah also noted that there were now more candidates than eggs. Some in their group would not be graduating to the weyrling barracks after the hatching. The though of herself not being in that group didn't even cross her mind.

The girl gave a polite bow to the gold and bronze who were watching their eggs. She could understand the protective nature of parents. Asta would be under that same gaze for much of her life. She picked her way through the group of candidates who were already beginning to touch certain eggs. One egg, the Second Wise Man, caught her attention with the odd white blotches on the shell. She knelt down beside the egg and drew a gentle hand across it's surface. It was indeed hard and had a rough leather texture. So this is what an egg felt like.

She made her way around to the Snow Landscape and Silver Bell. The lighter colored eggs seemed to intrigue her the most. She waited until the younger candidates passed before she laid a a few fingers across the metallic looking Silver Bell. What she wouldn't give to know ahead of time which one contained her dragon. Azariah took a step back to the side to watch the rest of the clutch and give the other candidates their chance. With her arms cross and fingers drumming against her wrist, she sized up her competition.

[Momo]

When the call came, Muir had been at her work, fiddling with a few weaving designs she would like to try out. The patterns were neatly set aside and color swatches put where they belonged. She may have been giddy with excitement, but Muir never left her workplace a mess even to attend something as important as the Weyr's first Touching in five turns. Her hair was left tied back, but as the young woman hurried hastily, she did try to tuck the strands of hair that had come loose.

Thank Faranth that her workplace was in the Lower Caverns. The trip would have probably taken longer if she had been at the candidate barracks. If there were any candidates unfortunate enough to find themselves in that predicament, Muir did not envy them. Having reached the group of candidates outside the Sands, she waited patiently near the end of the line. As she stepped foot into the cavern, the candidate was awestruck by the size of it and what lay on its sands.

Ten eggs. Good for a first clutch and a Gold that had waited longer than usual to Rise for her maiden Flight. The bright colors and various patterns were a work of art in the eyes of a Weaver. Muir paused in her appraisal of the clutch to bow to Gritorth and Hilorth, murmuring words of thanks. While the candidates dispersed to meet the eggs, Muir held back, not knowing which one she should approach first.

The Silver Bell egg caught her attention and once there was room beside it, she crouched down to touch its shell, but it was not the bright and simple egg that caught her attention. For one reason or another, Muir felt drawn to the Drummer Boy egg with its misshapen shell and worn coloring. She crouched down beside it, her hand resting gently against the warm shell.

"You remind me of a well-loved instrument my uncle had." Muir whispered as though the egg could hear her.