Difference between revisions of "Logs:Turn Around Three Times and Spit"

You stride through the tunnel, emerging in an enormous cavern. You walk up a short flight of steps into the galleries.

Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr (#510RIJQas$)

Tiers of stone carved benches rise uniformly above the hatching sands, set against both the southern and western walls of the enormous hatching grounds. The warmth radiating from the sands make the cool stone benches a welcome change, especially for sand baked feet. One section of the galleries has been roped off for special spectators, and the seats within have cushions done in the dark blue and black of the Weyr. To the east, the cavern narrows and short flights of steps lead down to the cavern entrance or to the sands themselves. From the galleries, the many dragon ledges are visible, scattered all along the hatching cavern walls.

Down on the sands, a generous clutch of eggs is guarded by the broody queen, lovingly turning them as they harden. Curious visitors and weyrfolk finished with the day's tasks come here to view the eggs, and make their own guesses to what lies within them. Firelizards perch on the benches, watching for any excitement on the sands.

It's break time for the candidates! Where else would they be but stealing peeks at the eggs from the galleries? Fraya storms quietly into the galleries, her voice just above a whisper, she seems to be dragging someone behind her as well. "I've been here for /days/ and Aleudre and I were supposed to look and Carisandra but /no/ we haven't gone." She grumbles. "We're going now though, need two people around you know.. Just incase the queen gets mad and all." A glance back towards Leova and she winks playfully before giggling. "She won't get mad if we stay in the galleries, I think. Anyway.. I heard good things about the eggs. I hope they're as lovely as everyone says.. I can't wait!" Releasing the other candidate, she skips to go and get a closer look but not /too/ close.

Leova's slow, stalling footsteps switch to something swifter when Fraya lets go, keeping just a step behind the other candidate. Her voice is low. "Two people? Is that so you only have to run faster than one of them?"

Lujayn perches on the edge of one of the stone tiers, a few pieces of wherhide scrap in hand that she's knotting together. She looks up as Fraya's grumbling whispers reach her ears, watching the pair distantly. "That's the gist of it," Lu grins wickedly to Leova, moving to sit nearer to the other two. "There are so many." She breathes, eyes flicking back to the eggs under shifting sands.

Fraya giggles softly, nodding her head. "Or so the queen has a better choice of which to eat." She winks once more then returns to looking at the eggs. "Not that dragons eat people, but it's still fun to scare!" She chimes, glancing at Lujayn curiously. "There are.. I heard there were nineteen. That's.. Rather small but, I think it's to be expected." With that, she drops herself onto one of the seats and watches the eggs curiously. "They're /lovely/ absolutely. Can you imagine that a dragon may be there for us?"

"Choices, right... but is that small for Pass or Interval?" But then Leova turns, and as suddenly smiles. "Lu. What you working on?" She reaches towards the scraps, happy to take any distraction from the sands.

"Maybe," Lujayn nods thoughtfully. "And maybe not. I still think it's very exciting." She turns back to her knotting, tilting her head a bit when Leova inquires about her work. "Just trying out some patterns with these, maybe I can make some hair bands." She looks down at the slowly growing strip, rows of knots moving slantwise across its width. "So many of the candidates have long hair."

Fraya hms softly, frowning. "I.. Forget." Another giggle slips and she seems more distracted with the eggs, leaning forward to better examine. "Ooh. They're so lovely." Her cheeks flush happily. Slowly her head turns to better look at the work Lujayn is doing, smiling pleasantly. "It is exciting, there's too many of us for the eggs.. But, oh well. It'll be fun nonetheless!" She exclaims giggling more, then tilting her head. "Oh.. My hair won't be tied easily.. I guess I'll need it cut." A soft sigh and a frown works onto her face.

"Looks good," Leova says once she's had her fill of eyeing the knots and moved on to the top of Lujayn's head. "Want to trade them or something?" When Fraya speaks her gaze shifts, glancing off the sands, rebounding back to the curly-haired girl. "You don't much look like you want to. Cut it, I mean. Do you want it long? Or did someone do a bad job, last time. Suppose I should do something with mine."

Lujayn runs her fingers across the pattern of knots, silent agreement with the praise. "I thought of trading them at first," Lu concedes, "But I figured it would be easier to make them for people. Seeing as these little scraps of hide are so easy to come by." A glance to Fraya's wild mane. "Maybe," She smiles to the other girl, "and then again, maybe not. Does it do okay short?"

Fraya frowns a bit, giggling. "I like my hair.. I don't really got to do much with it." She muses then glances towards Lujayn, grinning. "It did okay when I was younger. Maybe I should get most of it cut off and start over. Hair tends to change the more you've cut it, or so I've heard." Her fingers move to play with the wild hair of hers and she giggles softly. "It'd be best, I think. I can't tie it back for the Hatching like I was told we need to. It'd get in my face. And besides.. I heard Weyrlings have to chop of their hair, anyway."

Viviana walks up into the stands from the entrance to the bowl.

"One way to make friends," Leova says to Lujayn with a sideways smile. The other two girls are sitting, Lujayn knotting some scraps of leather, Leova leaning one knee on a nearby seat. "And it's Fraya, right? Or Freya? Never heard that before, about hair changing. Did you hear how it changes?" She adds with one of those not-quite-glances at the sands, "You're pretty confident, seems like."

Part of Lujayn's attention is for the clutch, another part for her knotting, and finally what's left for Fraya and Leova, giving her conversation a distracted tone. "Yeah, that's true. Some girls make a real fuss about it, but you seem reasonable." She pauses to watch the eggs, picking out the shapes of colorful ovoids from a distance. "I'd rather be confident than go in thinking I'm going to fail." Lu muses, tying another knot into the pattern.

Fraya grins playfully. "Fraya. And.. Nope. I don't think I was entirely paying attention when they mentioned it. Hair is a silly thing." She muses, glancing towards the eggs and she laughs. "Confident? Not at all. I just like mentioning things I've heard. Besides, it's always best to know what you are going to get yourself into!" She exclaims, turning her head slightly. "I don't mind. I like doing new things. Besides, chopping it all off could be fun." Giggling, she looks again to the eggs.

Viviana climbs up the gallery steps to meet with the throng of candidates. Gracefully seating herself with without asking permission, offering an introduction of herself or any other such nicety, she peers over at the others. "I'm confident that what ever is supposed to happen will happen, I just hope our robes don't fall off and we are all naked on the sands." At the mention of hair, she protectively strokes her own long braid.

Leova takes the reasonable comment in good stride, looking again at Lujayn's knotting when the younger girl looks out at the sands. Unusually voluble for her, "What's failing? Or maybe I heard wrong. That there's nothing you can do except not be there. Your dragon's in its shell or it's not... 'Course someone else said, if you turn around three times and spit right before you go onto the sands, that's a sure-fire guarantee. And I suppose if you're going to chop your hair off, now's the season to do it." About to fall silent, instead she tacks on to Viviana. "My robe's going to stay on." Whether it likes it or not.

Lujayn smiles in greeting to Viviana, but her brow turns quizzical. "That'd be strange. I've never heard about someone's robe falling off...maybe spitting stops that, too?" Intrigued, she leans forward. "You're right," She concedes to Leova after a moment. "I just think about other things like that, so it's hard not to think about being a candidate that way, too. Y'know, doing well or failing."

Viviana shrugs at Lujayn before taking out her own sewing kit and a fancy embroidery patch she has half finished. "I'm just saying ... it's better to be prepared than not. I'm going to be going over all the seams in my robe just to be sure. And I'm surely not going to get my hair cut on the slim chance I impress, why, it'd be ... a crime to do that!"

Fraya raises a hand in greeting, grinning. "That'd be funny if they did, if you ask me... I wonder if it'll happen." A grin forms on her lips and she glances at Leova. "Well, hm. I suppose not Impressing may fall under failing? But, it's note entirely failing if you are still old enough to Stand." Running a finger along her bottom lip, stretching her legs out. "I think.. That's not true. I've never heard that kind of thing! How silly." She giggles then, blinks. "Why would spitting help? That's just silly. It'd have to be something involving a dragon to work, wouldn't it? Like touch three dragons as fast as you can before going on the Sands or something because spinning and spitting will only make you dizzy..."

Leova admits, "Haven't heard anything about spitting and robes. I'd bet strong stitches are what stops them falling off. Going over seams... Shells." Now she does look down at the sands, though not exactly at the eggs. "Everyone could see.... Maybe if it happens to you, Fraya. Then it could be funny," this with a humorous spark in her hazel eyes. "But other things, Lu? Like what?"

Lujayn's quizzical expression is slowly turning to amusement at Viviana. "Did someone threaten to sabotage your robe or something?" She asks with a small chuckle. "Not that I'd want to end up naked, but anyone would be hard-put not to laugh at whoever it happened to." Looking over at Leova, the runner shrugs. "Laundry, making a stew, anything. You either do it right or you do it wrong, and I'd rather do things right."

Viviana shakes her head. "No, not yet, Lujayn but you never know. You can't be too careful but the whole idea of spitting and turning in circles, it sounds like some brain-addled harper's attempt at out tossing the toss dance." She quietly continues stitching, moving slightly so the light is better for her. "I surely wouldn't go near a dragon to touch him or her just for luck... not even I'd go that far!"

Fraya grins, "Then, if you're so worried, add extra stitches, right?" She giggles softly, and shrugs. "/If/ it happened to me, I wouldn't care.. I would laugh myself. I wouldn't be able to /do/ anything really but stand there and wait. Not that I mind. I heard the Sands were hot, so, that'd be some relief." A giggle escapes and she nods to Lujayn. "I'd laugh of someone lost their robe and I saw it. I can't help it. It's silly, hopefully if someone did, they could laugh that it happened to them." A grin towards Viviana and she giggles. "Well, that's the trick of it. You got to try and do it with no one noticing..."

"Same here," Leova says to Lujayn. "Wish people didn't like their stew spiced different, cooked different. Would be easier." She sighs out a long, gusty breath, and glances at Viviana for just a moment. "All of you, remind me not to let Fraya near my robe? Better get back. Get some sleep. Don't wake me if they hatch."

Viviana sniffs dirisively at Fraya's fancy. "As if a dragon wouldn't know he's been touched. He'd probably roar at you and send you scurrying back to Ista." Pausing to look up enough to give Leova a nod, she promises. "I'll bide the seam rippers too. I don't know..." She teases. "She was talking to herself out on the beach earlier today, I think we should keep an eye on her." Again she glances up and catches a wave from just inside the gallery area. "Oops, I've got a little comission to take care of, if you all will excuse me?" Stuffing her materials back into the sewing bag, she heads down the stairs and out.

Viviana walks down a short flight of steps and heads out through the entrance to the bowl.

"But you'd go pretty far?" Lujayn asks after Viviana, "Touching a dragon isn't bad, if you have permission." She peers at the girl's stitching, commenting to Fraya. "They're hot, you can almost feel it from here. I always wondered if it would be nicer in Reaches, with the cold weather..."

Fraya laughs shaking her head. "I can't do much mending or destroying.. Well, destroying would be easy, wouldn't it?" She muses softly, tapping her chin. "Just go... RIP! And it's done, right?" Giggling, she smiles at Leova. "You gotta wake up if the eggs come, you know.. Or someone may drag you out of bed..." She narrows her eyes at Viviana for a moment, shrugging idly. "I don't think I'd run back to Ista. 'sides.. If you got permission.." She trails off, shaking her head then looking to Lujayn. "Nope.. All the Sands are hot, apparently." She smiles, looking towards the sands curiously.

As she finally steps away from the seats, having waited to let Viviana hurry past, Leova chuckles. "Maybe if it were a really long robe. Then you could step on it. And Lu, now you're making me wish I'd really touched Neiveth, not just sat on him. But if someone tries to drag me out of bed, they'll get a surprise... Night, you two. Don't be too loud coming in."

You walk down a short flight of steps and head out through the entrance to the bowl.