Morning on the Stands *open to all*

[Candidate Lenore]

It was early morning, and steam rose from the thick layer of black ash that lay over the hatching sands. The air was chilly. A bronze dragon was near, guarding his eggs.

Perched high on the rows of stone seating, Lenore gnawed on a piece of stale cheese that had been rationed out for breakfast. She picked off the moldy bits idly in between bites.

Swinging her legs idly back and forth over the edge of the curved stone bench, she looked down at the sands intently.

Green, she thought was a pretty color. They came in all shades. And maybe they tended to be thoughtless, but Lenore had a good head on her shoulders, and she thought she could rein one in well enough.

She didn't want to Impress so badly it hurt in her gut, but she had as many fantasies about the hatching as the next candidate. She told herself that she didn't really care that much, though. If she didn't make the cut, there was always apprenticeship. Or drudge work, like Reva's. She just had her ambitions, that was all.

Thinking of her sister Reva put an unfamiliar kind of knot in the girl's belly, and she repositioned herself on the stands. Were any of the other candidates up yet, she wondered, and glanced around. Watching them might be more interesting than staring at the bronze dragon indefinitely. Eventually he was going to notice her, and Lenore didn't particularly enjoy being stared back at.

[ashkavel]

It came as a realization, not much of a shock at all. Jacina knew there was eggs, amazingly enough. The girl just never went over and looked at them, maybe because she seemed to have forgotten most of the time that she was a Candidate and not still a Crafter. Either way, she had nothing to do and as such the whispering words of the clutch caught her alert ear.

I completely forgot about that! Amazed she wondered if anyone would keep her from looking. She was after all a Candidate, and there was no Queen. Shards, there was the chance the eggs were dead! So what harm would one who had been chosen to try and Impress one of the eggs, cause when she just wanted to look? Flicking back a stray lock of hair the dark toned woman went to the caverns. There as all who entered would see was a large form. Until her eyes could adjust Jacina could only tell it was a Dragon.

Frowning as she forced her eyes to focus to the dark cavern she saw it was a Bronze. Not at all surprising. Those males were as protective of their Queens as they would the clutch. Probably the Sire. Hands on her hips she was amazed on how many eggs survived, now what was known about Greens? Again, she had only heard about the clutch, not what was in it. Ah, yes. They could not clutch, but flame, and that they were reckless creatures.

Jacina was sure that she couldn't handle a creature who had the reputation of diving (literally) at Thread the moment they saw a clump. Besides....the blood. It didn't matter that it was a different color, it was still blood. Sighing she knew that her possibilities were as high as everyone else. Just because she had been Searched, didn't mean she would Impress. Because she was looking ahead, Jacina didn't notice the other person within the cavern. All she would have to do is turn her head just a bit and she would see the other girl.

[Candidate Lenore]

Lenore recognized Jacina from the barracks. They had never spoken, but she had watched the young woman like she'd watched the others, and not been particularly interested nor displeased. Until now, when she saw that they had been of the same mind this morning, at least when it came to sneaking a look at the eggs.

Lenore was always interested when someone seemed to be of her mind. It happened so seldom.

Swallowing her last mouthful of cheese, she hopped up and began to descend the stands, in little leaps down the rows of seating rather than by the staired aisles carved into the stone. She resembled some kind of grotesque grasshopper, with her spindly legs and long arms.

"Hello, Jacina," she said, when she reached the cavern floor. Her voice was rather flat and dispassionate, but it was always like that: any trace of expression was seldom found there. Her face, though, bore some trace of interest, and she eyed the other candidate speculatively, wondering whether Jacina would react positively or negatively to the interrupution. Most people tended to react in the latter way, when faced with Lenore. Especially early in the morning.

[ashkavel]

Obviously Jacina had not thought anyone else would have had thought the exact same thing to come see the eggs. Arching a brow she tilted her head to see who was about, Jacina saw the girl and recognized her as easily as Lenore had recognized her. Many of the Candidates were now becoming familiar with each other, especially as the numbers grew.

"Hello, Lenore. Helping watch the eggs?" Jacina smirked, she had a very good idea why the girl was here. But it was never a bad thing to try and just have a playful conversation.

[Candidate Lenore]

"Eating breakfast." said Lenore, breaking into a smile that was not entirely unfriendly. She liked Jacina's straightforwardness. "And looking at the eggs, of course. Don't think the bronze over there needs much help."

It was good to talk to someone who didn't dance around talking about the eggs, as if that would somehow make inter-candidate relations more relaxed. Some of the girls lately had taken to not even using the word, just raising their eyebrows significantly and giggling. Everyone knew when they said "eggs" they were only talking about the shiny ones.

But Impressing that kind of egg meant everyone would be looking at you for the rest of your life, and Lenore hated being watched just as much as she loved doing the watching.

"So," she said bluntly to Jacina, jerked her chin over towards the eggs, "Which camp are you in? Green or gold?"

[ashkavel]

"Gold?" The words clearly came out as a "what in the jays are you talking about?!" type of tone. Frowning as if she clearly heard Lenore wrong, Jacina turned to look at the massive Bronze curled around the clutch. There was a gold egg?! How come she didn't notice this before? Searching with eyes that new an imperfection in any weaving to cut of stone, the young woman finally was able to see a glimpse of something gold.

"Well I be a wherry!" She exclaimed, shocked at seeing that the clutch held a Queen. A smile one that any ambitious person could recognize. Now that was a color she could relate to, Greens were just as wonderful and great...but again reckless. A Gold wouldn't dare be such...okay maybe since what happen with the late Queen. But still! That was for a logical reason...thought Thread was too....STILL! Blood..she didn't want to be around it even a Dragons. Golds wouldn't fly thread, there was no need, and Jacina liked that.

"Hmmm, I didn't know there was a Gold egg. I would have been happy with any color even a Green. That is-" She turned to give Lenore her attention once more. "If one would have me. I wouldn't mind a gold though."

The twinkle in her eyes told a lot more then "I wouldn't mind." Jacina was an ambitious person, but not a fool. She knew her chances and the more females that were Searched the more her chances for that one Queen (not three, once more our beloved Jacina is only noticed one).

[Candidate Lenore]

"Heh." Lenore's smile widened. It was certainly nice to meet someone who was honest about the whole business. "I'd wouldn't mind a green." she said in response. "I don't really fancy being tied to a brood-hen for rest of my life, if you know what I mean. No offense meant. Flamethrowers are all well and good, but dragonfire - " She kicked a little stone out towards the sands with her foot, shifting her weight between one leg and another as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her tunic - "That's amazing."

Sure, fighting Thread would be dangerous - but there was something about being in the thick of chaos that appealed to her. She was drawn to it.

"Do you have family left?" she asked Jacina suddenly, looking up. "I've a sister."

She didn't intend to elaborate on that last phrase, but she was intrigued by the other girl, and she knew the rules of conversation as well as anyone: you had to give a little information to build a confidence.