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24-08-02: Egg watching
Lydiere doesn't often go to look at the eggs, though on this occasion, she meets up with Invariel and Ezemial.

You climb up the staircase into the Hatching Galleries.
With her hands slung in her pockets, Lydiere ascends the staircase, pausing - hovering - by the edge of the railings, to look down upon the sand, and the eggs, before she turns to ascend the tiered steps of the seating. Llysah is safe within her sling, wide eyed and well grown - she's nearly six months old now, far more alert and aware of her surroundings.

Ezemial is settled on the riser closest to the railings a little way away from the stairs. He smiles when he sees Lydiere and her daughter and gives a wave from his seat, "Hello Lydiere! Long time no see.. how have you and your lovely daughter been" His tone is bright and cheerful as he speaks.

Lydiere turns her step, apparently having missed Ezemial in her preoccupation, a smile blossoming upon her lips as she readjusts her motions so as to move towards the candidate instead. "Busy, but well, thank you Ezemial. And how are you? Not getting too sick of candidacy? I promise - it won't be more than another week or so, before it's all over." Having approached, she settles herself into a seat beside Ezemial, stretching out her legs in front of her.

"Sick of candidacy?" Ezemial laughs, "oh no.. I mean at first I missed my room, nice quiet room.. but you know I've made so many good friends. And everything has been so wonderful..." He smiles and shakes his head, "regardless of what happens with the eggs, I'm so glad I was searched" He looks back up at Lydiere and grins, "oh.. and I became an apprentice! Remember when we talked about dragonhealing.. I'm an apprentice now!"

"Impressive," comments Lydiere, chuckling lightly, as she jiggles Llysah within the sling. "Me, I was sick of it within a sevenday or two - and you've had three or four already. I'm glad to hear it, though. Far better that you enjoy it, than that you hate it." Smiling, the woman adds, "Oh! Yes, I had heard about that - I had to process the change, for the records. Congratulations."

Invariel wanders in to the Galleries, a nice smile on his face. He's practically glowing, he's sending off so many happy vibes. He practically skips up the steps, and then waves to Ezemial. "You said you'd be here." He pauses, and sees Lyssah and her mother. "Oh. Hello, Lydiere."

"Yeah I can see where being sick, may make you tired of it" He chuckles a little and gives a wave to Invariel, "Hey, yeah.. been contemplating the eggs" He looks back over to Lyderie suddenly realizing what she's said, "Really? that soon? How can you tell??!"

Lydiere's head is lifted, Invariel awarded a bright bob of it in greeting, followed on by a lazy comment, "Invariel. That wasn't a particularly enthusiastic greeting." Asking no questions, however, she turns her attention back to Ezemial, jiggling Llysah lightly - which makes the baby giggle in pure delight. "That soon," she agrees. "Eggs are on the sand for about four to six sevendays. It's been-- four or five, I believe, which means that they'll hatch soon. I don't know for sure, but I'd wager in about a sevenday."

Invariel chuckles at Lydiere. "I'm sorry, Lydiere. I didn't mean to be rude. Eze, Lydiere, are any of you hungry? I think I need some food." He smiles. "When I return, I'll greet you right, but until I return, I bid you good night." The tone he uses is a joking one, and he skips down the stairs. "I'll bring you both something delightful to eat. A snack and some klah, a delightful treat."

Ezemial sits back on the bleachers, "wow" He grins over to Invariel as he takes off and then all he can say again, "wow..." Does repeating the same word twice count as a rhyme?

"I know you didn't," promises Lydiere, lifting her head once more. "Food? Oh - I'd love something. Whatever you want to bring back will be more than fine with me." Again, she jiggles Llysah, who reaches out to try and grasp at Lydiere's breast - which ensures that the Junior Weyrwoman pulls the child away from her, somewhat amused. "Does that make you nervous, excited, or just unsure, Ez?" she queries.

Invariel runs off.

Invariel descends the staircase that leads to the Hatching Grounds Foyer.

Ezemial grins over at Llysah, "she's getting bigger and certainly sounding chipper" Then he shrugs again with shake of his head, "Yes.. I don't know.. I've just been waiting for this so long, it doesn't seem real that it might finally happen"

Llysah, apparently having been put off at grabbing certain places by Lydiere's swift movement, shifts to waving her arms about, and peering at Ezemial. Lydiere laughs, admitting, "She is. She's far more active than her half-brother ever was; he was just a quiet one, watching, but not particularly fussed about finding out about everything." Nodding, she smiles quietly, "I can understand that feeling, absolutely. It's a difficult thing to think about, because it very well /could/ change your life forever."

Invariel emerges from the staircase that leads up from the Hatching Grounds Foyer.

Ezemial grins watching the active child, "I guess that the hatching so near, you have more than enough to keep your hands full, specially that little dear" He chuckles, "Yeah it could change my life, seems that a lot of things lately lately can change my life"

"Shall I try and think of a topic of conversation that will be almost impossible for you to rhyme?" comments Lydiere, out of the blue, with a wink. Nodding, she smiles. "Things are always busy, but before a hatching especially - Lymera's busy with Ysmalath, so I end up doing a lot of things. It'll be good, to have a third Weyrwoman around, in a turn and a half or so."

Ezemial looks pretty sheepish right away, "Yeah... ok, I give up for right now.. I can't help it.. wow.. that soon.." He looks apologetically to Invariel as he arrives again, "what were you sick with when you were a candidate?"

Invariel returns, once again carting a marvelous array of treats, snacks and other goodies. "Ezemial, look at what we have here. Sweet meats, tasty treats, lovely things to eat. Ah, Lydiere, and Llysha dear! My, but you two bring such cheer!" He looks at Ezemial, and nods approvingly. Probably to say, 'You've rhymed enough, and I'm having trouble with it too. Take a day off.'

Lydiere shakes her head. "Not physically sick - at least, not as such. Somewhat isolated, lonely, and a little frustrated. I missed the sea so much that it ached, and I wasn't really happy. I was sick /of it/, more than anything." Her lips crack into a mirthful smile at Invariel's comments, twitching cheerfully. "Well said. Come, sit down. If you don't rhyme, I won't tell - or perhaps I should do it, as well?"

"Oh god please no.. I think after the hatching it will be a long time before I can be near the nursery again without the urge to run in fear!" Ezemial grins at Invariel then Lydiere, "did you guys do goofy things like this when you were candidates?"

Invariel chuckles. "All right. No rhyming for me. But, it's so sharding addictive, you see." He stops, blinks, and then, "Gah! I can't stop!"

Lydiere reflects, somewhat thoughtfully. "I didn't," she admits. "Then again, I was close to twenty-two turns old, and perhaps felt a little old for it. G'wain, though-- have you heard that story? How he went around kissing everyone, and then kissed me on the sands, during the hatching? I could've killed him." Invariel's inadvertant rhyme draws a giggle. "Oh dear!"

"On the sands?!" Ezemial exclaims and bursts out laughing,"oh that must have been a riot.. were you really mad or just surprised?" He snickers and shakes his head, "I could never do that personally.." He grins over at Invariel, "see now you've warped yourself for life"

Invariel chuckles a bit. "G'wain's ... just G'wain. One gets used to him." He grins, and eats a sweetmeat roll. "Has he changed much, Lydiere?"

Wryly, "Just surprised, I think, more than anything. I was trying so hard to be-- respectable, I suppose. But with Llysereth and Zymanth trying to collect egg-shells, and then G'wain... And then Br'ce, Impressing when he wasn't even a candidate. /That/ idea went crumbling down." Grinning at Invariel, Lydiere adds, "Some. The very first time he met me, he started tickling me - just out of the blue, until he remembered who I was. He wouldn't do that, now. He's grown up a lot, become more responsible, more sure of himself. He still makes plenty of mistakes, though. Don't we all."

Ezemial grins and shakes his head, "I think I'm probably the most conservative candidate in our group.. every one else seems so.. ok.. with.. /everything/" He chuckles again and looks over at Lydiere, "It's cool to hear you remember so much of it... I hope I do too, no matter what happens.." He sighs again and turns sideways in his seat putting a foot up on the riser and leaning his chin on his knee, "it's so odd to think that it's happening so soon.." He grins over at Invariel, "how bout you Inve? Are you nervous?"

Invariel shakes his head. "Not nervous, exactly. Just ... preparing myself to explain myself to anyone who shows up to watch me end up not impressing." He chuckles. "There won't be that many people, fortunately."

"You're also one of the youngest, Ez," points out Lydiere, reflectively, carefully pulling Llysah's arms away from her breasts - again. Someone isn't used to solid foods yet, evidently. "Oh, I think you will remember most of it, though. It's such a-- different experience. Very special. Perhaps you'll write some things down, though, if you're concerned about forgetting." Smiling, Lydiere adds, "You've got a fifty-percent chance of Impressing, Invariel. You never know what will happen."

Ezemial nods to Invariel, "yeah, my family can't make it.. it's a long way from home and they can't leave things that long, but they sent their luck.." He shrugs, the disappointment obvious, but he let's it go quickly. He smiles to Lydiera, "yeah I think I will write it down.. I've never seen a hatching" He pauses and chews his lip for a moment then looks over at Lydiere again, "that's why I'm also preparing myself to not impress.. everyone else is older.. I think maybe they have a better shot"

Invariel chuckles at Lydiere. "I suppose." To Ezemial, "My family isn't invited. And even if they were, they wouldn't come. And if they did, I wouldn't speak to them." Apparently, he hates his parents. "I think I'll just remember the hatching day, and tell tales of it to the people who ask." He smiles.

Lydiere shifts Llysah again, noting, "We /can/ send dragons to pick your family up, if you'd like, Ezemial. It hardly takes any time to get to and from, and it isn't as though the hatching is particularly long. Think on it." Shaking her head, she adds, "Age has nothing to do with it, honest. W'yn, for example, was little older than you, and he got a bronze. Same with Ly'ette, who got a green." To Invariel, she notes, "That's sad, that you dislike your family so much. I'm certainly not close to mine, but..." A shrug.

"Yeah.. but they said they can't, so I'm not going to push the issue" Ezemial shrugs a little then smiles at Invariel, "hey, your family is here and a lot of them will be on the sands, they just don't happen to be blood kin, ya know?" He sighs a little, "wow, I'm not really ready for this to be over.. I just can't help but think once it's all over things won't be so close with all the candidates, our little impromptu beach picnics, the goofy stuff in the barracks.. seems to be happening so fast.." Ezemial has to laugh then, "and just a week or so ago I was thinking that it was all taking so /long/"

Invariel shrugs at Lydiere. "I don't exist, to them. I'm a runaway. Hardly more than an outcast." But then, he smiles at Ezemial. "Yes, my family is Ista now. I guess that would make you my little brother, right Eze?" He grins. "And Lydiere would be like an aunt or something."

Lydiere nods slowly, lips curving into a somewhat rueful, and mostly sad, smile. "I suppose. It seems sad, though, that you won't have blood family to support you - even though the rest of us will be doing so!" More cheerfully, she nods, adding, "You'd be even closer to your fellow weyrlings, because you go through so much together. Plus, there's only going to be eleven of you. You'll bond." Invariel's response draws a very slow nod, before she adds, "An Aunt! That makes me feel old. Of course, I /am/, but that's beside the point."

"You're not /old/, Lydiere!" Ezemial laughs, "look at it this way, you get to get used to being an Aunt AGES before you actually become a real aunt.. your kids are still little guys. You are not /that/ old" He chuckles, "I'm just that young" He grins over to Invariel as well, "yeah I guess I would be everyone's little brother.. and that's ok with me"

Invariel just shrugs. "It was a choice that I made over five Turns ago, Lydiere. And, three Turns ago, when you and G'wain met me, crawling, and starving, in the Bowl, fed me, and pointed me to Rayne for work, I decided to call Ista my home." Ack! Storytime with Inve! Run!

Lydiere notes, dipping her head forward, "Rather surprising, that none of my siblings /have/ made me an Aunt, already. I'm rather more worried about being a grandmother - if Keid's anything like I was, it could happen within five or six turns, and /that/ is frightening." Her smile turns wry, and then she pauses. "I remember that, Inve. I guess... Well. As long as we /can/ be your family, instead."

Ezemial grins at Lydiere with a nod, "but that's not so bad either.. just means you have more people to love you" He blinks over at Inve, "wow.. I'm glad you came here Inve, I guess it's true.. some things are just fate. And eventually you find where you belong even if it's rough getting there" A master at understatement, but he's sincere.

Invariel chuckles at Ezemial. "Perhaps. It's the wind's fault that I'm here. I didn't think to make a paddle." Heh... Back then, he was surprised to see so much water. It can't be that far across... The ocean...

"Yeah, and that's a wonderful thing," murmurs Lydiere, resettling Llysah comfortably. "All of it. Having people to love you, finding your place, the whole bit."

"Yeah, I sort of wandered here myself.. but not with quite as much chance as you did, Inve, but still glad to have met you and become friends" Ezemial grins over at Lydiere, "she's grown so much, it won't be long before you'll be chasing here everywhere"

Invariel shakes his head at Ezemial. "With my luck, it'll be me chasing her everywhere, while G'wain and Lyd let me 'babysit'." He chuckles. "Not that I'm not looking forward to it or anything."

Lydiere groans good naturedly, "I don't look forward to the day - though Invariel's right: we probably will have him doing that. In fact," a glint comes to her eye, somewhat teasingly, "perhaps I'll make sure it becomes one of the weyrling chores, too. Which may or may not get you two out of it, but we'll see. The whole weyr may have to be on the look out for running Llysah's - especially since our weyr is on the ground, and easy to get out of."

Ezemial laughs at the idea, "and I'm sure there'll be a couple of really /big/ nannies chasing here and keeping track of where she is as well.." He shakes his head, but still smiles at the idea, "You know, that's part of why I really think I've found home. People who live here come from all over, but once they are here, they just become family. I mean, everything isn't all sweetness and light, nothing is.. but, a lot of different kinds of people come here and learn to get past those differences. It's really cool to hear"

Invariel chuckles. "Don't go giving me special priviledges, Lydiere. I won't have it." Grinning at Ezemial, he nods. "Christiana tried to leave too, you know... But Ahreluth Searched her right before she could go." Then, he smiles. "I don't know anyone else who's gotten stuck here. Kyoninya seemed like she wanted to stay, but she's out now."

"What I mean," explains Lydiere, cheerful, "Is that if you don't Impress, you might not be obligated under /that/ particular scheme - though I'd probably recruit you anyway. She's going to be trouble, this one." Already is; Llysah is quite happy grabbing at her mother's nose now, giggling in delight. "I like to hear, that people want to stay," she adds. "Ista is my place - I work too hard to want to see people unhappy."

Ezemial makes a little bit of a face, "you'll pardon me if I'm not upset about Kyoninya not staying.. I mean no offense Inve, I know she's your friend.. but I just can't get along with that woman.. she's.. grating" He shakes his head and looks over at Lydiere smiling at a much better subject and grins, "Yeah but in a good way.. she's certainly full of life"

Invariel chuckles at Ezemial. "She's had a hard life. One which I am not at liberty to discuss, at the moment." He shrugs. "She's needed to be tough and cold her entire life. She's not likely to change overnight." He blinks. "And, she's not my /friend/. More of an acquaintance with whom I have not broken off contact."

Lydiere wrinkles her nose, admitting, "I'm not much of a fan either. I /know/, from what little I know about her, that it is just the way things have been for her, but her attitude doesn't please me, nonetheless. I'm rather relieved she's gone." More cheerful, she grins at Ezemial. "This is true."

"Well folks.. I think all this excitement is wearing me out" To prove it, a yawn comes unbidden to Ezemial and he covers it with his hand. He chuckles and gets up, "I think it's the warmth of this place that makes me so sleepy.. I can't believe I won't be hanging out here chatting for much longer.. thanks for the conversation folks.." Sidestepping the subject of /that/ woman altogether now.