Micromanaging the Candidates

Writers: Aaron, Corrin, Duskdog, Halyonix, Shawna, Sia
Date Posted: 7th February 2026

Characters: Viseya, N'kevyn, L'leb, Aydhara, M'kadja, T'thalin, E'shren
Description: The candidates get to touch Tymborikath’s eggs
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 13, day 10 of Turn 12

N'kevyn

Aydhara

M'kadja

“Alright candidates,” Viseya gestured them all close to the entrance of the hatching caverns, out of the warm rain falling outside, “I have it on good authority that Tymborikath has never once eaten a candidate. I expect you all to be on your best behavior. J’nic and I don’t want to end that streak on our watch.”

They’d all had the lecture already of course, but that didn’t stop her from saying, “Remember, no sudden movements or rough housing. Head in, line up, wait for weyrwoman Aydhan to give you the all clear, and then go pet some eggs. There’s thirty-nine of them, so spread yourselves out. There’s no need to all lump around the biggest,” she gave a pointed look towards some of the male candidates.

The eggs were arranged in threes, each group separated by a little space. A massive shadow lurked in the back of the cavern, though Avicath did no more than turn his head slightly to watch the candidates file in. N’kveyn leaned against his neck, watching with more curiosity than suspicion.

Leoleb grinned as he wended his way among the groups of eggs. This was so much better, so much more fun when he had absolutely no pressure, no expectation that he actually needed to Impress. He could simply enjoy the beauty of each egg, each moment with each egg on its own merit. He did not have to wonder whether the dragon inside was his. He could simply… be with them. How lovely it was.

Leoleb was very lucky that Tymborikath was among the least protective of the southern queens. She had shuffled back to her feet the moment she caught sight of the gaggle of candidates, leaving Aydhan alone in her repurposed beach chair. She watched the boy with one excitedly whirling green eye before turning to the rest of the group, a low rumble reminiscent of a purr. }: Yes. Come see these things I made. Tell them to move faster.:{

**No, thank you.** Aydhan replied.

}: Ugh.:{

"Tym!" Aydhara called. She didn't bother to bow, but raised her hands up towards the gold. Tymborikath recognized the gesture and lowered her big head, letting the girl wrap her arms around her snout and tightly squeezed. Once Aydhara let go, Tymborikath nudged her hard enough to almost send her off her feet, roughly guiding her over to a trio of eggs deeper into the cavern.

}: That one. :{ She instructed, though her only direction to Aydhara was another firm nudge towards the center egg.

"Okay, okay!" Aydhara said with a laugh. "But I want to touch all the other ones, too!"

Tymborikath snorted. }: Fine. :{ She turned her big head around and went back to eyeing any candidates that hadn't dispersed around her. }: You. Not those ones! You should touch the ones over there.:{ She instructed and nudged the offending candidate.

Akadja was ignoring Viseya’s pointed look and her size advice for the nonsense that it was and headed immediately towards the largest egg he saw. Greens were small, bronze were large. Sure there may be some surprises here and there, but he wasn’t going to be looking for _his_ lifemate among the smaller-- The shove between his shoulder blades took him by surprise and he staggered, only just managing to keep his feet.

"She's harmless." Aydhan said loudly, though she didn't rise from her chair. "Bossy, and utterly confident she knows the best match. That hasn't been proven yet, but if you listen to her she might let you sneak back in later."

She didn’t _look_ harmless, but Akadja swiftly buried that flash of concern, doing his best to present the casual comfort he saw on Aydhara and the other weyrborn. He looked up at the glittering eye and then at the trio of eggs the gold was nodding towards, her intent clear. They were all smaller than the egg that had caught his eye, but if appeasing the dam meant he could sneak back later… “Alright, alright. No need to push. I’ll go there first.” And because all girls liked compliments, he added: “They’re really nice, your eggs. I’ve never seen such a large clutch.”

Tymborikath rumbled happily and nudged Akadja hard in the back with her nose, pushing him over to the 'right' cluster of eggs.

Erashren made a face. “Obvious tail-kisser much? Come on, have a _little_ shame…” Though… he had to admit that there were more eggs than he had expected. It was also the first clutch he had ever actually seen, though, so it would be disingenuous of him to say so as if he was comparing it favorably to other clutches. “Tymborikath, ma’am, so long as you’re directing: is there one I should touch first?”

It didn’t seem there was any harm in asking, so long as it seemed the queen had preferences and he didn’t really have one about where to start.

“Who’s the tail-kisser now?” called Akadja as he strode off. Calling a dragon ma’am? Ridiculous. Did that guy even listen to himself? His little speech was more overblown than anything Akadja had done.

**Be gentle. You nearly knocked that boy off his feet.** Aydhan said.

}: He's sturdy.:{ The gold protested, but she did nudge Erashren a little gentler and a little further, depositing him at a cluster of eggs at the far side of the cavern.

“There’s a difference between basic respect and laying it on thick,” Erashren clarified haughtily. But Tymborikath was directing him, and he wasn’t about to ignore the eggs that she wanted him to see. He moved among the small cluster, gently running his hands over the shells.

“It’s a thin line sometimes,” Daltero said with a wink at Erashren as he moved towards an egg. He laid his tanned hands flat against the shell. “Hey there, little one. How are you doing today?” he asked, totally ready to have a one-sided conversation with a seemingly inanimate object because why not?

Tymborikath gave Daltero a once over and a nudge for good measure, before moving onto the next boy. }: You-- you've spent long enough there, you need to come see these ones.:{ Tymborikath directed another candidate, pushing them away from the eggs they had been touching and over to another set.

It had taken a few moments for Tathalin to rally from staying to the outermost eggs to work his way inward. At the nudge, he didn’t stumble, but it was a near thing. He did, however, let out a startled squawk as the gold nudged him.

“These… these ones?” He blurted. “All… all right. Thank you, golden one.” A pause, and then he added, “They… they do say the dragons know…”

“Don’t worry so much about all that,” said Leoleb as he followed Tathalin to the set of eggs Tymborikath meant for him. “Just enjoy the moment! How often do you get to be this close to dragon eggs?” Only a few times a Turn, only for a few Turns. This would be Leoleb’s last chance, but it did not feel like it. With the pressure off, he was just a young man enjoying a rare and beautiful sight.

“It never gets old,” Sareya said with all of the bravado of a youth that had done this a few times before and who had yet to be jaded by the rejection that seemed to come with each Hatching. No, she wouldn’t give in to doubt. Her dragon was out there! And until she found her dragon, Sareya was going to project an air of confidence for the other Candidates.

}: Oh. This one is Piketh's.:{ Tymborikath warbled and rubbed an eyeridge against Sareya's arm.

Felorin gracefully drifted from egg to egg as if none of them were suitable for her. Turns of doing this, Turns of walking away without a dragon. She wasn’t jaded but she kept up an air of indifference because what was the point of hope? The _dragons_ chose. There was nothing she could do to influence that and it was quietly infuriating. Her blue-gold gaze flickered to Akadja, the Holdless arrival from Dragonsfall. He looked like he was trying to figure out his chances with so many eggs. “You know it’s just a roll of the dice, right?” she informed him haughtily.

“Aren't you supposed to tell me it's Destiny or some shit like that?” Akadja laughed, a sharp, cynical thing.

Erashren snorted. “You’re both wrong. It’s _worth_. Plain and simple. If you’re good enough to be a dragonrider, a dragon will choose you to be their rider.”

Felorin made a dainty, disparaging sound. “Worth,” she repeated. Her eyes were fixed on Akadja. “Like some of you know the meaning of that word.” She drifted off before it could escalate. She would not have a black mark of an altercation attached to her name.

Avicath did not herd the candidates the way Tymborikath did, though from the way his eyes snapped open when one candidate finally approached the trio of eggs closest to him, his disinterest was clearly feigned. He had a favorite egg, a massive, round one near where his nose rested.

}:That one looks like me,:{ the voice that intruded rudely in the candidate’s mind was deep, and clearly oblivious to the fact that his rider had said that as a jab at his weight. }:It’s my favorite.:{ The massive bronze had twisted his head around so he was looming over the candidate who had decided to put their hands on the large egg.

Akadja jumped, head snapping around to find the source of the booming voice. He was _certain_ no one was that close. No one except-- his eyes fell on the hulking bronze and widened. For all his jaded cynicism, he was not immune to the wonder of hearing speech-without-voice. A beast, a dragon, speaking as well as any man. Until that very moment he had been sure the weyrfolk were exaggerating the intelligence of their steeds, but now… he swallowed. “It’s my favorite too,” he said, one hand still on the shell. It was the largest. “Do you think it’ll be a bronze like you? Can you tell?”

}:Oh, definitely,:{ Avicath said with absolute certainty. It wasn’t a lie, exactly, since he believed it, but it also wasn’t true.

That was the strongest answer Akadja had ever gotten about eggs and color. He felt the certainty as much as he heard it, and even though he was now reassessing his newfound respect for draconic intelligence, he couldn’t help but turn back to the egg and--just for a moment--will Avicath to be right.

Last updated on the February 28th 2026

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Micromanaging the Candidates