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Had he actually made a diagram of all of the eggs he could see out on the sands? Dehka was obscenely diligent about details, but would he be thinking about anything else for the next few sevendays?

Faranth. Would he be?

"Which ones are you liking from afar?" he asked, voice gruff, but entertaining a certain looseness his normal speech didn't have. It was a topic of relative interest....and they spent so little time together lately.


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The boy gave a noticeable start when he was addressed, glancing quickly at his brother to make sure that yes, Kahbrohm was indeed addressing him. "I-I don't know." Dehka admitted, turning back towards the diagram. "I know the eggshell color doesn't mean anything, but I still didn't realize how colorful they'd all be."

That didn't exactly answer the question, and he knew it. Quickly, he pointed to two of the larger eggs near the front of his sketch of Fianth's clutch. "These ones so far." He frowned thoughtfully. Nearly thirty eggs... and Rhianth had laid thirty. It was incredible. "What about you?" He ventured, knowing it might be too bold.


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It wasn't the first Hatching either boy would witness, but Kahbrohm had to agree that the last few clutches of eggs hadn't been so....marked. Did the markings mean anything at all?

Oh, now it was show and tell, but mostly tell time. Did he tell? Kahbrohm easily pointed out the largest and most central of the eggs in both clutches. "These ones. I'll touch them all, but I'm interested to see what these ones have to say. At least right now," some people said that as you got closer, you got more of a feel for each egg. Maybe the ones he was liking right then wouldn't be as appealing up close.


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Dehka nodded thoughtfully at Kahbrohm's choices, unsurprised. He knew that size never guaranteed color, but he could easily see his brother upon a bronze dragon. Kahbrohm was confident and smart--he wouldn't panic during Thread, and people would listen if he were to lead.... so long as he kept his more honest comments about people's character to himself.

"I wonder if anyone's ever just... known who their dragon will be, during a Touching." He sounded wistful, caught up in the thought of it. "Obviously it's the dragons who make the choice... but maybe you touch the shell and it just feels right."


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For Kahbrohm, it was less about size. It was more that they were in the middle and there had to be a reason for that decision, right? Did their golden mothers know to put them there for that reason? Was there something about being in the middle that simply shelled a stronger, more confident dragon? Was he imagining that pattern?

If he'd asked, he was sure Dehka would have rattled off the trivia in a heartbeat.

But the boy had gone and gotten distracted by a new thought, so Kahbrohm left his notions to be private instead. "Depends on the match. Some dragons may just be agreeable inside of their shells and give false hope," which wasn't the answer he was sure Dehka wanted to hear, but he didn't have any better ones.


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"That's... that's true." He admitted, feeling a rush of heat accompany his embarrassment. Dragons were just as complex as people. It stood to reason that some would be nice just for the sake of being nice. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he could see where candidates would take it too far.

"Is there any color you're hoping for, Kah?" He asked after a moment, but the smile had slipped from his face, and his eyes had a faraway look to them. "I don't care what color I get... but someone made it sound like wanting a green was really," He struggled for the word, "...stupid."


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Of course the obvious just made the boy act like he'd just been told off. It had been simply facts. Would that make a dragon like him more? Or less? Even Meigth couldn't tell the brothers what it was he'd looked for in his choice, and while the pairing seemed simply obvious in their father, there were other pairs that seemed less ideal - less obvious.

"Is there a color I should be hoping for?" he answered stiffly, a familiar edge of snarl in his voice. It was almost common now, and usually meant more along the lines of annoyance, rather than anger or rage. Not that it was entirely the case. "I want the best dragon - and the best dragon won't allow me to limit them based on their hide," if that meant he'd have to ursurp the rules of High Reaches? Absolutely.

"Sounds like somebody has never met a greenrider in their life. Introduce them to Eriath and A'zota and see if that man doesn't change their mind."


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He was snapped out of his own uncertainty when a sudden strain entered Kahbrohm's voice. Oh. Dehka blinked at once, thread of anxiety spiking in his belly in an extremely unpleasant fashion. "N-No, of course not!" He shook his head empathetically. "I was just surprised by how many Candidates do..."

Kah was right. Though Dehka's thoughts weren't slanted towards anarchy, he firmly believed in pushing himself to his limits. Hopefully his dragon would feel the same. Color didn't matter, so long as they could protect the people of Pern together.

The boy's lips quirked awkwardly at the mention of the Weyrlingmaster Assistant. No... There was absolutely no doubt that A'zota was no less of a man for riding a green. No one was, man, woman, or otherwise. "You're right." He murmured almost to himself, smiling down at the diagram he'd been working on so diligently. "Their color doesn't matter at all."


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"And how many of them aren't from a Weyr?" Kahbrohm knew plenty of candidates who wanted a glittering metallic dragon solely because of the status it would hand them. Frankly, if he was going to want a bronze, it was going to be because of Meigth - he expected similarly of Dehka as well. Mostly, because that was the sort of person he was. He swallowed up that creeping feeling that a dragon would want his brother more than himself, crushing it under a pile of ego that refused to believe he'd be left standing long. "They want something for nothing and they want a dragon to hand that to them," didn't they have enough Bronzeriders that made their dad look bad?

Still, it seemed his words had chipped away at some worry Dehka had been having. Which was good - he didn't want to be outshined by someone so ready to frown at such a small worry. "If the rider isn't useless, the dragon will shine just fine. So next time you hear someone say a green is useless, see if they have to be skulldragged into being useful."


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That was a point that Dehka didn't consider. Normally, it didn't matter if someone came from a Weyr or not... but if these opinions were stemming from people that didn't realize just how important the role was that every color played, well. It put things into a bit more perspective. If someone wanted a bronze simply to boast and say they were better than others... Dehka shook his head at the thought. His father and Meigth's only concern were to help support their fellows, not about so-called status.

Though his brother had a blunt way of putting things, Dehka... found himself agreeing with the sentiment. If both dragon and rider worked hard, that was the important thing. What did it matter if they never had a chance to become a wingleader? Supporting their fellows and becoming the best they could be--that was the most important. "I'll remember that." He murmured--and offered a hesitant, but well-meaning smile towards Kahbrohm.


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He honestly (lies) didn't care (yes he did) if Dehka agreed with the sentiment behind his statement or not (he did). It was simple - there was a shining example of the results of his beliefs and with evidence so concrete in what made a good rider, he wasn't worried about if it was done on a white or a bronze.

Kahbrohm just wanted a strong one.

The offered smile was met with a very typical sneer in return. It wasn't that a soft look was particularly aggravating on it's own - but rather that Dehka was simply prone to be soft all around and the look just compounded with it. "Don't," he didn't want to see it - even if he inevitably would.


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Kahbrohm's confidence... It enabled him to look boldly upon any situation and know he could handle it, and anyone who thought otherwise was a fool. Though he could be harsh and definitely intimidating, Dehka always found himself admiring his brother's strength. The sneer and curt command was enough to wipe to smile from his face though, glancing briefly at his feet. Things had gotten better now that they were in the barracks... but that didn't mean that things had changed. Kahbrohm still didn't like him. Maybe he never would. But that wouldn't stop Dehka from trying.

He didn't apologize, but he wasn't going to push it, either.


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It was perhaps as civil as he would be with the situation at least. If Dehka came sniffling after him later over blues instead of greens, Kahbrohm wouldn't be able to handle the numbness of it all. But it was simply what made them two sides of a similar coin.

Still, with the smile as well as his interest in the diagram gone, there was really little reason for him to stick around longer.

So he didn’t.