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E'si groaned softly as he felt Galliath's weight shift off of him, and gently nudging Miith to the side as well he sat up and recollected his breath. His ribs ached dully from the pressure the playful dragonets had placed on him, but he considered himself fortunate that it was the only thing that was wrong. Yes, he was in one piece, that was for sure... though he was positive that he wouldn't be for long if Galliath and Miith continued to play together like that. He glanced over the people gathered, trying to pick out the boy who he believed to be Galliath's rider. It was a hopeless attempt, though, and with a sigh he lied back down on the grass, one hand caressing Miith's cheek while the other itched away underneath Galliath's eye. Maybe he could at least manage to keep them calm.

Miith's eyes swirled with pleasure at the touch, and happily she crooned, nudging her face further into her bonded's hand. Hah! But I am faster than you, so you can't be all that fast if there's someone out there who's faster. She declared this with all the haughtiness of a queen.

"This is Fuxith, and he's acting very rude," Zara responded in kind, a half-smile on her face even though the glance she shot at the blue said she wasn't entirely joking. "Fuxith, this is your clutch-sibling Amalenth. Don't you want to say hi?" The scritching on his eyeridge slowed, as if to say she'd stop entirely if he didn't show manners.

Not that the implied threat was needed--at the slightest hint that he might be thought rude, Fuxith's head whipped back around to focus on his green clutchsib. Hello, Amalenth. Yes, it is very loud. Too loud. He kept sneaking glances at Yansanth, though, despite his best attempts to act not-rude. He couldn't help it. She was...she was big, and that meant she was smart and mature. Right? Big meant you were grown-up.

“It’s okay not to like him,” H’dra assured F’sey soothingly. He had no idea what had occurred between the pair of them but he was not going to take sides. Respect must be afforded to bronzeriders no matter how many greenriders disliked them, and he was not going to get himself in trouble because his mentor disliked his teacher. The bluerider didn’t much like the idea of being between a rock and a hard place, but he decided that it was better than being nowhere at all. Like his sister would say, there was always someone worse off than he was. C’ren’s words surprised him, and he took a moment to consider them. “Well sir, if you don’t mind me saying, bronzeriders are supposed to show exceptional leadership qualities, not to mention an ability to inspire others. Though I would be interested to hear what kind of qualifications you would think necessary of a Weyrlingmaster, sir?” He stared up at C’ren, curious.

The young bluerider didn’t have time to answer F’sey’s question, his mentor having been swept away by C’ren for some private business. That left him standing there, very much alone in a crowd of people, without the slightest clue what to do with himself. For several long moments he simply stood there, straight-backed and patient, before he was rejoined by C’ren. Curiously he tilted his head to peer past the greenrider, but was unable to see where F’sey had gone. Alas, he was parted from his mentor again! Well, he should probably try to make friends with this C’ren. If F’sey liked him, then he would give it his best shot.

“Did the um… business go well sir?”

Dievath seemed incredibly surprised by the prod, and even more so when the voice that spoke to him was female. An older women! ’It’s very nice to meet you Ialluth! I am Dievath… the blue! Yes, blue!’ Unable to think of anything intelligent to say, he was forced to keep quiet until Ialluth was finished with what she had to say. 'I promise! I promise to tell him!’ Um, what had she said? Oh! That Coriath’s was nice. And not mean. Right. He would… tell H’dra. Sometime.

When it came to drink, sadly, Okassis was not picky. Sure, he knew what was "good" - or at least, what cost more - but his palate generally didn't distinguish further than what seared his throat, and what was inferior. All he knew was that he didn't want to get the spiked klah, and anything else was kosher.

And so he took the first opportunity he saw for two glasses unattended - the cheap wine that they had begun breaking out, now that it seemed a number of the partiers were too tipsy to complain - and quickly started searching out his dance partner. On the way, he caught a glimpse of Zara, now with a young blue at her side - he grinned and nodded his head, unable to complete the gesture of a thumbs-up thanks to his full hands - and continued on toward where a familiar arm was waving for his attention.

"Here we are!" Reaching out to set one glass in front of Kyllae, Okassis slipped into place beside her. "Now, you had a story to tell me, didn't you?"

Oh geez, it would have to be tunnel snakes! For a split second, something akin to guilt flashed on the trader's face. It didn't help that Okassis was pretty sure he'd caught a glimpse of Yansanth somewhere in the room, either. Swallowing past the unfortunate reminder, he smiled and nodded.

"Nasty little buggers, sure. Didn't know that they could swim much, though!" Now there was a nightmare to think about....

Okassis listened with interest throughout the story, reacting with grimaces and sympathy and the odd chuckle where appropriate. It reminded him of Harper tales, peppered with description and imagery as it was - not the campfire stories he was used to, but appreciable just the same.

Naturally, whatever follow-up questions he might have been storing disappeared from his mind in an instant when she mentioned her other scar. He managed nothing more polite than a casual, "Well, lucky for the both of us you made it out!", but his mind and eyes were clearly, ah... wandering. Naturally, if called on it, he'd blame his now-empty glass of wine for his drifting attention.

Whoops - they were still talking. Reluctantly, Okassis pulled his attention upwards again, and battle the urge for his eyes to wander again. But his mind just kept going back to that scar now - really, she wouldn't have mentioned it unless she was inviting him to wonder, so why did he have to--

"Oh, dozens," he replied amiably, suddenly thirsty again but without a drop left in his glass. "All sorts. The places that are between Holds especially - you'd be amazed by the sorts of things you can see. Trees that sprouted at the end of the last Fall grown massive and tall, caves that no one's ever seen. There's a pretty spectacular place up north, I remember; a scar in the earth, like a small valley, almost completely hidden from sight. The bowl's overgrown with tangles on tangles of treetops, so that you can't even tell its there until you've reached it, but once you're upon it, there's an entire pool hidden under the branches. My sister thought it must be magical somehow-" Okassis smiled, a reminiscing look in his eyes, "and decided that the First Egg must've hatched there. She made us spend the whole day looking for shards."

Discouraged or not, it didn't seem like Okassis was much deterred from his thoughts. To his credit, though, he didn't try and act on them - though after the luckless Hatching, it might have been really nice, if only....

"... First of us to get a dragon." A sideways grin tugged on Okassis's face, fake and regretful. It was masked under an immediate cheer, however, which was far more genuine - "Sure! Whichever of us Impresses first. It'll be like a date!" he declared enthusiastically, with no regard as to whether that was an appropriate word for the moment or not. And if neither of them Impressed, well....

No, that just wasn't worth thinking about. Grinning, he stuck out his hand. "Is it a deal?"