Difference between revisions of "Logs:Living Mountains"

>---< Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr(#290RJs) >-----------------------<



  Ringing the southwestern side of the hatching sands are ample tiers of    

  carved stone benches, the lowest of which is some six feet off the ground 

  -- just high enough to separate wayward hatchlings from unwary viewers,   

  and vice versa. A metal railing on the outside helps prevent anyone from  

  falling off; it also extends up the stairs that lead the way higher into  

  the galleries. While most of the area is open seating, ropes section off  

  some of the closer tiers when dignitaries are expected; those areas even  

  feature cushions in the Weyr's blue and black.                            

                                                                            

  The higher one climbs, the more apparent the immense scale of the entire  

  cavern becomes. The dragon-sized entrance on the ground is dwarfed by the 

  expansive golden sands that glitter in the light. Everything on them is   

  easily visible from the galleries, whether that's a clutch of eggs and a  

  broody queen, or simply its emptiness and the handful of darker tunnels   

  that lead to more private areas than the bowl. Wherever one sits or looks,

  however, one thing is constant: the overwhelming, suffocating heat.       

	Commands: +list/eggs

Alone, off-duty time is not a thing that Tomic has a lot of, mostly by choice. But tonight he's found a little circle of solitude in amongst the gallery benches. Sure, there are others around, but not around him. It leaves him to enjoy the warm shelter from the humidity outside, and to contemplate. Not deep philosophical questions or anything. Just the mounds of eggs, upon which his eyes are fixed as he leans forward, elbows on his knees, chin in his hands.

Dark curls tumble loose about her shoulders, as Edyis hefts the satchel a little higher on her shoulder, tugging the flight jacket more tightly about her small frame. Near silent footfalls have her settling into a seat next to the large youth, studying first him, and then the sands. "Tomic, is it not?" Her voice is soft as she settles the bag across her lap. "Pretty aren't they?" She says, her own dark eyes focusing then on the sands.

Tomic looks up promptly at his name, the first sign that, yes, it is. The quick and emphatic nods of his head afterwards are just icing on the cake, really. "They are," comes with the same enthusiasm, mouth drawing out into a grin as he turns back toward those sands. "I like how they just let you come and... just look at them."

Settling an elbow against the patchwork fabric of her skirt she smiles at his answer, glancing over as she props her chin against her palm. "Imagine what they look like on the inside, tiny dragons growing and growing until they burst the shells."

Tomic sets upon the task with incredible seriousness, focusing in on one egg in particular, rocking forward a bit more, so that he's on tip-toes (while still sitting), instead of flat-footed, raising his chin, making him look down over his cheekbones. "So," comes after a relatively long time, for being a mid-conversational pause, "are they just like big dragons, only shrunk down?"

She laughs, brightly and airily at the question, no trace of mockery in it. "Are babies just shrunk down adults?" She returns dark eyes glittering as they shift from the youth to the sands. "Each one is different, but when they hatch, they can't fly, or go-between or hunt for themselves."

Tomic considers this with the same seriousness, his tip-toes slowly and steadily falling back down into regular flat feet on the ground. "So do they have big heads and little arms and legs? And wings, I guess. And probably big eyes, too..." Now, his focus on the eggs isn't so intense. Now, he's really imagining, though he still looks incredibly thoughtful.

Edyis smiles, "I have some sketches stashed somewhere I think, the hatchlings from the clutches I stood for. I could show you them sometime." She shifts her weight then, tipping her head sideways looking at the eggs, curious. "You thinking about standing?"

"Yeah, sure," agrees Tomic, the words coming out eagerly, with another bob of his head. He refocuses on the eggs before him, that imaginary world forgotten in favour of the real one... or maybe just laid over. His head tilts, quizzically. And the answer to Edyis' question is quite late in coming, and arrives just with a shake of his head and, "I don't have to leave just yet." He slides a bit toward the edge of the bench, making room. "Expecting someone?"

Edyis waves both hands at him frantic as he makes room, suddenly apologetic. "No, no. I mean standing for the eggs, out there on the sands. See if one of them wants you for their own." She shakes her head then too, "Not really, at least not for a few hours." She answers on waiting on someone.

"Oh." And that one syllable seems to bring the young mister nanny to a full halt, but for the slow twist of one side of his mouth. "Um," doesn't make that much more progress. His chin, freed of his hands in that move, dips toward his chest. Those hands grip the edge of the bench. His brain starts to speed up. But slowly. "I don't... really... I mean, I haven't hardly even lived here." Blink. Still speeding up, "Why, are you?"

Edyis lifts her shoulders in a shrug, in answer, propping both elbows on her knees then. "I was thinking about it. I just wondered what was in your head, you were watching the eggs so intently." She smiles warmly. "Maybe you just like babies of any species."

"Oh. No, I just- I just never seen dragon eggs before." He shrugs. "It's like... like mountains, except they're alive. Or they're gonna be..." Now Tomic finds his hand again, and re-props his chin, almost in his initial position. "Well I guess they are already, right? In the eggs."

"Yes, they are." Edyis agrees with the notion of the dragons already being alive. "Living mountains." She chuckles, enjoying the roll of the words off her tongue. "You sir, have a poet's soul I think. Where are you from then, to have never seen dragon eggs?"

It's a description that makes Tomic blush a little, and wave one of those big hands as if to shake that sort of admiration (at least, that which he reads) out of the air. "No, I just mean... it's like... that." He shakes his head, and drops his hand - in fact, both hands - to his knees, leaning back. "Benden. The hold, though."

Edyis grins at the blush, but she is letting her hands fall to her lap, as a sharp whistle comes from the steps, and the rider waiting there. "Oh. I guess it is time to head back..." She murmurs, "It's a nice place, Benden Hold. It was good talking to you again. See you around." Then, she is off, trotting after the waiting rider and out into the bowl.

"Oh. ... 'Kay." And Tomic... is left to consider the eggs. He won't stay too much longer. But he'll probably be back some other day, too.