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Kaila turned towards the girl as Ashlyn hurried after her, "It's quite all right. I don't mind the company. What type of bubble pie do you like best? I like ones made with berries." Maith followed the pair, trying to cheer on Kaila.

"He and Maith might have that in common." Kaila was very sure Maith would insist on her getting a bubble pie for Ashlyn anyway.

Food is a good way to make friends with. Maith reminded her in the same tone that the dragon usually reminded her to try a new hair style. Mine, good job. Kaila laughed softly.

"Hi Tiry!" Ionan greeted the toddler again. Far from being disappointed that the toddler could only say part of his name, the almost eight turn old boy was thrilled. He was important enough that she knew his name! "Want to dance with me, Tiry?" He bent down slightly and wrapped his arms around her, beaming. "T'nus is selling bubblypies," he said, smiling as his friend took the pie. "I bet we could get a good price out of him if you came with me!" He had learned at a younger age that T'nus was a softy. Especially for the youngest ones.

"You're welcome!" He beamed, then crouched to whisper in the toddler's ear, "I have some marks, Tiry. And it's your birthingday. I want to buy you something. I bet J'nes has a stall set up! And we can eat as many pies as we want!" He looked up to Cesa, smiling. "Great!" He exclaimed. "We can have all sorts of fun!" Until he spotted Ticene, that was. He wanted to ask about Calith. Maybe he could convince the Weyrwoman to let him wash her! "We can dance, and we can play, and buy things!"

Anri noticed Navi, and gave a sigh. Surrounded by weyrbrats! That's what she was. At least this one was younger. Possibly less horrible. She bent to smile at him. "Want to haggle with me?" She asked. "This is my first gather here. Maybe you can show me how Istans haggle?" She glanced at J'nes. She hoped the dragonrider would go easy on this boy. He was awfully small to be alone.

J'nes

When a blue flit landed at his stall and chirped as one of his stuffed flits, J'nes grinned. He considered puppeting the toy and making it chirp back at Foen, but some human customers stopped by and drove the thought from his head.

He returned Anri's smile and thanked her for the complement. Her offer was less then he tended to sell them for, though. "Hmm, well, since they are good quality I tend to start my prices at 2 marks. But of course I'm always willing to haggle," he admitted cheerfully. "I've been making them for years and they're very sturdy, I can assure you they'll hold together for a long time."

And someone else was at his stall already? He looked up to see who was behind Anri and found it was Joleen, the Jr. weyrwoman. Hadn't she come by his stall last time he sold at a Gather, too? "I'm glad you like them," he told her. "They're just like the ones my foster siblings had as children to, because that's who I first made them for," he told her with a grin.

"I hope you realize it's your fault we're late."

"Don't blame me! Blame Iacauth. She's the one who had to be oiled last minute."

My hide was flaky. I couldn't possibly show my face looking less than perfect.

"And you had to go change afterwards."

"Well I'm not going to a gather looking like crap! There will be girls there! You didn't have to stick around for me either. I thought you didn't like me?"

"I don't like you."

"I don't know about that. Why would you wait for someone you don't like? Could it be you actually have a crush on me?"

"Z'fer you're a piece of whershit! Why would I have a crush on you?!" Jasiline gagged and stormed off ahead of him, leaving the laughing greenrider trailing behind.

Really though Iacauth, why did she stay to wait for us? Iacauth shrugged from the sunny perch where she posed Just So.

I don't know. Ask Voracath.

You realize I can't do that. Could you?

I'd rather not. He's so unpleasant to talk to...

Jasiline huffed as she left the greenrider behind. She had no reason for waiting for him. She couldn't stand him. Voracath had developed a slight interest in his green though and had wanted to wait till she was oiled. Well, they were at that age. She would probably rise soon and Jasiline would have to deal with a randy brown when the time came. In the mean time she could only hope to turn his attentions towards a more pleasant rider pair. Or just hoped he lost despite how cruel that sounded.

((T'nus and F'nbar to come))

Mine, you have had two turns to practise. I demand that you play something at this gather.
Like rag doll, P'lias was slumped over Helioth's back as the blue took him down to the gather. And, like a child being force to take a bath, he complained. Do I have to?
Yes. Helioth said bluntly. I will not tolerate your excuses this time. Because he was such a sucker for his rider, he'd let the boy worm his way out before due to nerves. This time, he would not be swayed. It was time for some tough love. You will play. I have decided it. he said, like that was the end of the discussion. Because, it was. When Helioth decided something, there could be no argument.

Knowing this, P'lias turned his cheek dejectedly on his dragon's neck and resigned himself to his fate. Do I have to play alone? he asked.
Helioth snorted. Could you find anyone to accompany with you?
"Well.." P'lias started, wanting to come to his own defense, but Helioth was as astute as always. P'lias hadn't really made a lot of friends in the last two turns. In fact, from his original list of five dragonriders that he could stand, he was pretty sure he had added... one. Now that they were finally graduated, he knew he'd have to make a better effort to get to know the people in his wing, but the idea didn't thrill him.
Maybe Iona would play with me. he suggested. She plays something, right? It certainly seemed to run in her family.
Maybe you could ask T'rel. Helioth suggested, although he was only joking, trying to bait his rider, knowing his feelings towards their weyrling master.
"No way!" P'lias, sticking out his tongue. Anyway, why don't you see if Iona's around. he said, really just stalling for time in the hopes that Helioth would forget all about this.
Helioth rumbled something like a sigh. Very well. he said, and reached out to his green sister. Hisith, is yours attending the gather now?

~~~

Navi twisted his hands behind his back nervously. Oh no! He'd been hoping she'd do all the haggling for him! When Anri asked him how they haggled in Ista, he tried to remember what Ionan had taught him last time they were buying things together.

"That's easy!" he said, trying to cover uncertainty with false confidence. "One person goes high, the other goes low, and then they meet in the middle." Only, he couldn't remember which one was supposed to start low and which started high. It didn't help that he was getting muddled up from when he was haggling prices for his dad's store.

Fortunately, J'nes started. And since two marks seemed high to the child, he must be the one who had to go low. He looked at J'nes cautiously. Okay, he could do this. Ionan said the lower you start the better price you get. He waited until J'nes was finished speaking, and then made his counter offer. "I'll give you one one jillionth of a mark for it." he said, not knowing there was no such currency, nor even such number.

Anri was surprised by the price the weaver was expecting for the plushes. Two marks? Surely they weren't worth that! He had to be an apprentice! Did they even search journeymen? She studied the plush closely. "I can give you a mark and a half for it," she said, offering the marks and hoping he'd take her second offer. "They are of good quality," she admitted, "I was raised by weavers, until I was apprenticed out. They feel sturdy. Probably good for the Weyrbrats. They seem like a rowdy bunch." She glanced back, pointedly, at Ionan.

She smiled at Navi, nodding her thanks. He was so cute! "Thank you," she said. "I see now. I give a low price, and he gives a high price. Maybe we can meet in the middle now." She giggled at Navi's offer, shaking her head at him. She bent down next to him. "Start at one mark," she suggested. "You're cute, maybe you can wind him around your finger."

"They're very nice," Joleen admired them. "I'll pay three marks for two of them." She'd heard J'nes tell Anri that he usually sold them for two marks appiece. She hoped to get a bargain. "Sturdy, and soft," she said, squeezing the one she'd taken into her arms. They were wonderfully made! As was their creator, she mused, admiring the brownrider. "Maybe later, we could get something to eat and dance?" She asked hopefully. "I'm sure someone would watch the stall for you."

Kaila listened to the offer and knew she had more than enough for the bubble pies. She didn't often spend her marks, so she nodded, " All right. Sounds fair." She reached into a pocket in the side of her dress and took out the proper amount of marks.

Lein started walking through the gather with a grumbling Otygiath at his side. The blue dragon was not happy to be around so many others, but Lein had insisted on attending the gather. The blue weyrling looked around, trying to see if Kaila had showed up to the gather.

Elsilia

Even sitting under the shade, there was little reprieve from the heat; the stalls were dampening the cool breeze that usually came off the beach, and Elsi was compelled to move. Her empty glass left upon the table, she meandered with no true aim, taking a quiet mental note that she was a touch underdressed for the occasion. If she'd actually been able to choose her wardrobe, she would have thought perhaps it was a subconscious attempt to go unnoticed. However, that wasn't the case; this had been practically the only thing that could fit her in the creches, clean but the finery of someone… rather low on the hypothetical totem pole. Her candidate's knots had been left forgotten, having not officially assimilated it into her routine considering this was only her second day at the Weyr.

A plushie stall caught her eye, and she sidled forward, finding a corner to stand in that wasn't occupied. There was an impressive array of stuffed animals. Her expression was a touch bored-- no.. sad. The kind of sad of a person who had just been uprooted from their life and plopped into a Weyr.

She picked up a feline plush, but gave pause when she'd brought it only an inch from its original perch. Not below average as she'd so pessimistically thought. With careful hands, she turned it over in her hands, tracing a finger along where the stitching was, but it was expertly as discreet as humanly possible. Good choice in fabric type and tension, all laid in the right direction so as to all properly align when sewn. Good work, definitely upper Journeyman.

She set it down though, as a light blue dragon plush caught her attention. Carefully setting down the prior plush, she held up the plush and ran her fingers over the slightly shimmery fabric. Like ice, she mused. "If you don't mind, which hall is the supplier of the fabric of this plush?" The question was directed to J'nes, looking up at the man with an expectant look.