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The deed was done. It hadn't been easy - particularly on his own, it hadn't been easy - but Okassis had done it. He brushed the last few clinging strands of hair off his shoulders and swept the small mess with one foot under his bunk. Someone would have to clean it up eventually, but it probably wouldn't be him - and so far as he figured, that was fine enough. He'd sacrificed enough for the Weyr for one day.

Okassis let out a held breath and ran a palm over his newly-cropped head. Nothing but a thin fuzz was left of the tousled blond strands that had framed his face, leaving the features of his jawline to dominate his whole appearance. Just as bad, the scars on his head were abundantly clear- the four stripes of scarring left, he claimed, by a Watchweyr he'd scraped with once, the most prominent visible above his right eyebrow, and the rest normally hidden beneath his hair.

As a matter of principle, hair didn't bother him that much, honestly. But he'd cut his hair short once before, and been teased by his sister for weeks until it had grown out. Now, with less than half an inch on his head, Okassis knew he must look even more awkward. Still, it would be a small price to pay for the satisfaction of a lice-free head - especially since he'd now have clear license to laugh at all the menfolk in the Weyr that chose to suffer instead of cut their hair. The womenfolk he could understand - but shards, he couldn't wait to start hassling all those pretty boys about their vanity!

Okassis turned at the voice, his face as plain and casual as could be. is eyes picked up that gleam they did whenever he found an opportunity for mischief, and he effaced sudden shock. "My hair's gone?" he gasped, putting his hands to his scalp and groping about in a panicked (but plainly joking) manner. "Shards, I knew I shouldn't have trusted the tonic those damn Healers gave me!"

Oh. Oh. Was that - a comeback? Had Sovann actually scored a point off of him? He couldn't take this lying down!

"Ohhhoh, is that right?" Okassis chuckled, returning a push to Sovann's shoulder. "Good thing I keep you around, then, to keep me lookin' handsome by comparison!" Looking his friend over, he grinned. "How about you, huh? You aren't shaping up to be one of those stubborn dimglows that's too used to having a mop on their head to do the practical thing, are you?"

If Sovann had told Okassis the exact sentiments behind his braid, it seemed that the trader had forgotten - either that, or he was remarkably callous today. "What, seaholder? You holding onto it in case you need an extra fishing line someday?" Smirking, Okassis produced the cheap blade that he'd used to cut his own hair just moments before, offering it out pointedly to Sovaan. "C'mon, we're Weyrfolk now. And we're Weyrfolk in a Weyr of idiots that don't know how to keep lice off their heads. Better to not be silly about it, right?"

The shaved-headed trader did his friend the courtesy of listening, and even nodded slowly once that word, sentimental, came out. Retracting his offer of the knife, it seemed like Okassis understood that the matter was important to Sovann, and wouldn't press the issue.

Which didn't mean that he wasn't going to tease his friend relentlessly, of course.

"I guess that if you want to throw the lice a nice rope to get up to your head, that's your business," Okassis grumbled, "but if my hair grows out and you give them back to me, I'm going to be fardling mad at you."

And as Sovann uttered that magical word, market, Okassis grew immediately thoughtful. Rubbing his hand against his chin, the blonde grew introspect, muttering - "We could, couldn't we? Hm.... we certainly could...." There was a spark of a smile, an impish grin. He eyed his friend in an overtly appraising manner. "You know," he assumed a more normal tone of voice, "you could be onto something. We've got quite the market waiting for us, don't we?"

Powered by sheer enthusiasm, Okassis grabbed his friend by the shoulder. Gesturing wildly with his free hand (and the knife in it), he declared, "Sovann, you're a genius! Let's get some, then, and start trying it out! If we find something that works, you can keep that pretty hair of yours, all right?"

"Numbweed to stop the itching," Okassis put in, following Sovann's train of thought effortlessly. "Something to thin it out, too, and hide the color. Trundlebug legs, maybe," he snickered quietly as he started for the stores. They didn't like him around the kitchen much, but it wasn't like they'd mind him filching a few supplies for the greater good, he figured - just so long as it was only enough for a test batch, and he let the kitchen girls in on the secret if it were a success. "See what we can do to hide the smell. If we can get this to work, Sovann... shards, do you know the sort of business we'd make?"

"It's perfect!" Okassis was walking more quickly now, a sure sign that he was anticipating success. For Traders, getting marks was a matter of being at the right place at the right time; it was hard to know when a demand would suddenly spring up. Now, here he was, right in the middle of one and with a product that he might sell - and Thread take anyone that got in his way!

The stores weren't far from the barracks, and Okassis had spent enough time moving supplies for the kitchen ladies that he knew where to find what he needed. Excitedly, he found his way to where they kept a good barrel of honey, and glanced around to make sure they were alone. "Here, grab some and let's test it out!" he urged his friend, keeping lookout.