Reaching for the Sun [Touching/Open]Freshwater

[Mello]

Ranen always felt a sense of calm at Touchings, underneath the emotions rolling about in the air. There was such an air of hope, he supposed. Despite that, he had experienced what felt like pretty much every reaction from eggs in the past.

The Colisa Egg was warm, but he didn’t get anything too strong from it. Perhaps he moved away too soon? He thought about going back to it, but he had already stepped away. Maybe he could come back later on, if there was time. He never could guess how long these lasted before the candidates were sent away.

The Poecildae Egg, on the other hand, sent out a clear feeling. A desire… no, a need for Ranen to stay there. Unable to resist the pull of the egg, he lingered there for a few moments longer than he normally would have, trying to reassure the creature within as best as he could. He moved his hand over the shell lightly, most of the time barely touching it but close enough to feel the warmth. He spent a few moments trying to find some kind of pattern to the mix of colors splashed underneath his hand, but quickly gave up. It was a smaller egg, but still seemed to just draw attention, as if it wanted everyone to notice it, in spite of its size. Ranen wondered what type of creature would be inside of it. What would it look like; what would it act like? He suddenly couldn’t wait for the Hatching, feeling a renewed sense of excitement to watch these marvelous creatures be born. “It’s ok,” he whispered to the egg, so softly the sound barely carried to his own ears. “You’ll find Yours soon.” He realized he had been standing there longer than he had meant to, the heat creeping through his boots, and with a last light brush and reassuring thought he stepped away from the egg.

Ranen next moved to a nearby egg, the Axelrodi Egg. It was small but shimmery and he simply admired it for a few moments before carefully laying his hand on it.

[Mango]

Valee had slipped in with the first batch of Candidates, trickling in towards the end. She had bowed low, like the others, though their example was not needed, really. She had been through a Hatching before, after all. After they had been given permission to Touch the eggs, she stepped forward. She was going to go about this more thoroughly this time around.

Her plan was to touch every egg and let her hand linger, not dismissing any egg. You never knew, after all, what lay inside. She looked about and decided which one to go to first. She decided to go to the end first and work her way back since most would settle on the front eggs first. She approached the Frenatum Egg. She set her hand on it and closed her eyes. The egg gave a dull warmth. It seemed content with its station. Perhaps it would be one of the last to hatch?

She left that one and headed to the Puntius Egg. It had a lovely greenish sheen to it and seemed to flash in the light of Rukbat. The egg almost seemed striped upon closer examination. She allowed her hand to rest on it as well and then moved on to the Corydora Egg because of the proximity. It was a smaller egg and as she placed her hand on it, she felt a wonderful warmth. The egg seemed to welcome her openly. She enjoyed the feeling greatly. It was the strongest she had gotten so far. But after seeing the smiles spread to the others who touched the egg, she just assumed the dragonet inside was already welcoming all to his or her world. Next, was the Splendens Egg. Of course, the most natural egg to follow was the Xiphophorus. The eggs seemed so codependent. It made her curious how the dragons inside would Impress. Would they Impress to siblings? Friends? Lovers-current or future? Curious, she placed a hand on each of the eggs at the same time, feeling the energy they shared.

Next, the colorful Poecilidae Egg caught her eye. It seemed to seek the attention of all those around it and pull them in. But it certainly was something to behold. Valee wondered how she wasn’t drawn to it first. She was sure many were. Next, she moved to the smallest egg, the Axelrodi. It was very pretty, shimmery even. It seemed to be fine with competing with its more vibrant sibling. It was simply there and would be seen eventually.

The last egg was, in Valee’s mind, the easiest to choose last. The Colisa Egg was indeed still pretty, but seemed to lack sparkle. Valee kind of liked that though and let her hand rest there the longest, feeling the warmth that seemed to rise from the reds and yellows of the egg shell.

---

Cheko had arrived with the first group, but had not gone in. Instead, he stood, toeing the Sands. Another had run past him and apologized to the Queen. He still hadn’t gone in. Polo was clutched tightly in his arms. The firelizard and boy had continued their talks up until the point. Cheko was almost certain Polo would stay with him, at least for this time. It was odd how much a boy could understand his imaginary firelizard, really.

He wanted to Touch the eggs. Badly. But fear still kept him off the Sands. What if something fell like last time? What if an angry brown soared in to take his revenge? Cheko shuddered. Suddenly, a wrinkled hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up to see an older rider.

“What’s the matter, honey?” M’ma asked sweetly, concerned that the Candidate still hadn’t entered the Sands. Trith wouldn’t be happy, he was sure. Neither would the Weyrwoman. “You should really go Touch the eggs now. And apologize for your lateness.”

“But…” the boy said, staring at the space of air he awkwardly held his arms around.

“What is it?” M’ma questioned, a concerned look on his face to hide his utter confusion, “Talk to M’ma. I’m here to help.” The boy quickly explained the situation the best he could. It was odd how the whole thing returned him to a child-like state that wasn’t very devilish at all. M’ma stared in wonder at the boy. Apparently, the awkward air in the boy’s arms was supposed to be a firelizard named Polo.

“Umm….well, let’s see,” M’ma said, a small frown on his face, “Let’s try taking one step onto the Sands and see what happens. You can tell Polo to stay if you want.” Cheko nodded and the “three” of them too a step onto the Sands. A grin spread on his face. “Now another.”

Soon, the two had approached the Queen and Weyrwoman. Cheko had his normal grin back. M’ma gently pushed on the back of the boy’s head, and the boy bowed. He was willing to play nice for the moment. Partly to avoid the troubles of last time. And partly because M’ma had helped him keep Polo.

“Weyrwoman, lovely Trith,” M’ma said, bowing low, “I would like to explain what kept this little one here. Turns out his firelizard, Polo….is…uh…a little afraid of the Sands. He tried to leave the boy last time. So, Cheko here was scared it would happen again. He would very much like the opportunity to Touch if it’s alright with you, though. We seemed to have been able to convince the…err…firelizard…to stay.” He didn’t know what the pair would say. It could easily be no. But if that’s the case, the boy was young. He could Stand again, surely.