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 Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 9:20 am
Veyes smile began a bit brighter once more as they got further away from the fouler part of the Gather, "Then I will cross my fingers for a green! Or maybe a gold?" Having an egg from one of L'thor's kids would be so nice in Veyes mind - a small connection to his friend for the life time of the flit he could imagine. "I'm sure Nehren would love it. You know I think I caught sight of him going into the Poker tent. Maybe he will get lucky?"
But soon his mind was distracted away from the possibility by the leather in the shop. He immediately dismissed the belts, bags and other wares immediately focusing in on what he really wanted the large pieces of leather. Crouching down he lifted a few looking through the pile. He had a feeling the nicest stuff was on top and probably the most expensive too. For those buyers who were quick with their marks. He had that tidbit of knowledge from his mother who had attended many gathers.
Finally his hands stopped on a large piece that might work and looked at the trader to ask a price, "What's this piece going for?"
The Trader smiled broadly, "Ah that's a fine piece you've got there. Came from a good Ruathan beast. You look like your from that area my boy."
"I am.' Veyes returned politely.
"Well, then I am sure that you know the quality of these leathers then..." The Trader rambled on about the animal and finally offered a price.
Veyes knew plenty well about the quality of leather around his hold but still the price was too high. However, he really wanted to be able to practice his straps. Maybe he could live without the marble or the bubbly pie....He glanced over to L'thor for his assessment because he wasn't exactly sure what to say. "Umm..."
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 9:32 am
L'thor laughed for a few moments and then snarled and lent over the stall. If he'd had both hands free, he would have placed them down to really invade the man's personal space. As it was, he settled for putting his pointy nose about three inches away from the Trader's for long enough to hiss. "Wher-s**t. Halve the price and I'll consider not telling every single person I meet today to avoid this stall like the plague itself." Half was pushing it quite a lot, but the original price had been too much... at least in L'thor's opinion. Honestly leather wasn't his area of expertise, but from the uncomfortable look the Trader was giving him, he could afford to come down on his price by a fair margin. Well, either that or he was just rather frightened of the sharp-faced, sharper-tempered man he found himself faced with. Probably not that; Traders got shouted at all the time.
"I can come down by a quarter of the price," the Trader said eventually, leaning back slightly to distance himself from that dagger-sharp nose. "No more than that though, this is good leather and I can't let it go for less. If you don't like that, then just try to find the same quality for less, I guarantee you'll be disappointed sir."
L'thor gave a sunny smile and stood up straight again. "That's a bit more like it." There was no guarantee that Veyes could afford that price either, but he wouldn't get the man to go down any more than he already had. Even Traders who loved to haggle more than they loved to breath knew when to cut to the chase. It was usually just about when they spotted that they were dealing with somebody who knew the game and had a limitless supply of vitriol to spout at anyone who spoke a price they disliked. Still smiling cheerfully, L'thor turned back to Veyes and tilted his head questioningly.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:01 am
Veyes looked at his small bag of marks and peered in side quickly counting and then dumping it into his hand. He barely had enough leaving him less than a mark. That meant no marble or no bubbly pie unless they were really cheap. He wouldn't be able to get L'thor something this time then... But the sacrifice for the leather was more important even if his boyish nature would have liked the other things as well.
"Ummm...Ok..." he said hesitantly but then gave the Trader the marks quickly and took a breath. He wouldn't allow himself to have buyers grief later. No...this was a good purchase for his future. How would he learn to make straps without proper leather. Once he had convinced himself that everything was ok, he smiled again and waited for the Trader to roll it up and tie it off for transport.
"You drive a hard bargain, boy." said the Trader with a nod to L'thor as he handed the leather over to Veyes.
Veyes turned as he tucked the last mark back into the bag and smiled up at L'thor, "Umm...well I guess. I have everything. I don't think I can really afford the marbles but..maybe the bubbly pie is cheap?"
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:11 am
River perked up at the mention of bubbly pies, and informed L'thor with a vivid mental image that he preferred meat rolls, and that roasted herdbeast was the best! L'thor gave the Trader another smile, and a gracious bow, before turning away with Veyes. "Bubbly pies are cheap," he said with a grin, "I shall buy you one; save the rest of your marks for another day." Yes, yes, yes! He would buy roast heardbeast too River! He fancied some himself in any case, breakfast had been quite some time ago by now.
"Come on," L'thor grinned, shifting the basket to his other arm, "most of the food stalls are over this way. They clustered ones are cheaper than the isolated ones, as they have to compete with one another. The food tends to be even better though, as they have so much trade everything is much fresher from the central stalls." He did love gathers: the crowds, the bargains, the unexpected and delightful thing he just had to buy, the food, the wine, and of course the gambling! ...Oooh, wine. He'd get himself a skin along with the food; he didn't have enough hands to hold everything but no harm would come to the egg if he put his wineskin in with it while he ate.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 11:40 am
From Fort? Aaaaw shards. Nandeli had been hoping it was one of Ista’s blues who had found him. It would have told her so much about him. But, alas, it seemed that fate wasn’t going to be kind to her today. Not that she had any right to complain, since Okassis had told her the most amazing bit of scandal ever. “Yup! I’ve been a Candidate forever.” Well that was an obvious lie, but it felt like forever to Nandeli. “But I’m glad you’re a Candidate. If you ever need anything you can always come ask. Don’t want any new Candidates feeling unwelcome or anything.” She grinned impishly.
The Nose was brought back to original topic by Nimwae, and chided herself inwardly for forgetting to tell her friend such vital information. “Oh yes! S’kagi! He’s a wingleader here,” she said for Ceanandin’s benefit, “And apparently he has a kid! A friend of mine found this little seven turn old girl wandering around the Gather looking for her father, and low and behold, who does she look just like?” Nandeli looked positively thrilled. “She’s just old enough to be his too!”
The sound of music caught her attention, pulling it away from the gossip once again. A small group of Harpers had started up a tune near the central square and Nan was in the mood for a dance. Flashing Nimwae a bright grin, she beckoned for the girl and her male friend to follow her through the crowd. “But we can’t just sit around and talk all Gather! Not when there’s music playing! Nimwae, you can dance Ceanandin here and I will dance wiiiith…. Kiriwar!’ She spotted her friend not too far away and all but bounced over. Nan composed herself just as she arrived, before performing a mock curtsy. “Would you do me the honour of this dance, my good sir?”
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:46 pm
Veyes nodded and smiled taking up L'thor's offer for the bubbly pie. He couldn't help himself because boyish needs were exactly that. So he followed L'thor and listened to everything he said about the stalls. Eventually, he wanted to be as confident as L'thor was in this setting but really he only felt like he was following in his coattails for now Oneday, it would be different.
Veyes watched the man's face floating from stall to stall with that glimmer of excitement. He spied the bubbly pies right away just by the smell. "Oh over there L'thor! It's the pies! They smell so sweet!!" Practically bouncing he moved closer to the stall and stared at the pies that had been freshly baked. If he had one, he definitely would be bouncing off the walls because he hadn't eaten anything else yet but he didn't care! His stomach was growling with anticipation of the treat!
"Oh and look over there...that one has meat rolls and jerky!" His finger pointed off to the side and then he smelled roasted nuts with cinnamon. At this point he was practically drooling as the aroma assaulted his nose. Oh shards! There were too many things to choose from!
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 5:11 pm
The sound of music caught Kiriwar's attention and he searched for the source for a moment, wondering whether or not dancing would begin. But he was caught off guard by the sudden arrival of Nan, smiling brilliantly at her. He stepped back and bowed with a flourish, offering a hand to her. "I would be more than honored, milady," he replied, glancing up to grin charmingly up Nan. "I don't remember the last time I danced, so you'll have to forgive me if I step on your toes."
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 7:56 pm
His brilliant smile nearly made Nan squeal at the cuteness of it all. She just loved adorable gay boys like Kiriwar! Especially when they had little dimples. Oh she really hoped he Impressed this time around! It would be dreadfully boring if he decided to return home or go back to his crafthall. Not to mention she would miss him.
She giggled at his bow and took the offered hand. "Why thank you, my good Kiriwar. You are most kind." The formalities were so old-fashioned they were silly, but that didn't stop Nandeli from making a small mockery of them. Some traditions could be up kept, even if they were a little goofy. "I can't say I remember the last time we danced either, though I confess your toes might suffer more than mine." Admittedly, Nandeli was not the best of dancers, but hopefully their combined decency would result in something that was reminiscent of the original dance. "Shall we?"
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 8:44 pm
Kiriwar was so delighted to be around Nan -- she was as goofy as he liked to me, and they got along so well. He curled his fingers around her hand, lifting it and bowing his head to press a playful kiss to the back of it. With that, he whisked her off towards the dancing square with a merry, "We shall! Hopefully, we can figure this out."
When they reached the square, he turned to face her, smiling still and wrinkling his nose playfully. His dimple stood out against his cheek. He shifted to position them both into a dancing position, before leaning in with a boyish grin. "Now what?" he whispered.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 9:42 pm
Shards! They were throwing things! Trying to haphazardly shove Inaari ahead of him so she wouldn't get struck by anything, the boy resisted the urge to grin cheekily over his shoulder. He already had one wounded eye, thanks, and it was still throbbing to make sure he didn't forget. When the sound of the music swelled all around them, he finally slowed and attempted to seat himself open spot he could find. "You all right, 'Naari?" The herder questioned, wiping his brow while squinting at her with his good eye. She hadn't gotten hit, had she? Damn those traders, what had they been thinking? And Kas? Had he made it out okay, fardling wherry that he was?
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:09 pm
Okassis wasn't stupid, at least - or at least, he wasn't going to prove his stupidity any further that day. When the first branch clattered off his back, he booked it as fast as he could out of the open, taking what precious little dignity he could with him as he shoved into the crowd and forced his way free from the scene, hopefully before he could get his name any more tied to the mess than it already would be.
He didn't exactly blend will in the crowd now, though. His ear ached and throbbed and was reddened, slightly swollen, and sure to sport an unfortunate bruise later. The collar of his shirt had gotten stretched, and he had a light cut on his collarbone, but it hadn't bled much. The red didn't make much a difference on his shirt, at least. A few other bruises here and there, and his elbow hurt like the dickens - from getting smashed on the ground or in Jiriar's face, who could say?
All things considered though, Okassis could have gotten off a lot worse. The Healers wouldn't be happy with him, but they'd labeled him trouble since the moment he'd come to the Weyr anyway. It would hardly hurt his reputation any more if he came up a bit bruised from Gather. But he didn't want for word of the fight to get back to the Weyr, if at all possible - he'd heard of Candidates getting kicked out for losing their cool. Mentally, he began to rehearse his lines - Things got a bit out of hand while I was dancing.... There was a diving contest, you see, and I had one too many wineskins.... You wouldn't believe it, there was this little girl and a runaway runnerbeast, and I had to leap into danger to save her!
... Shards, nobody was going to buy any of that....
With Okassis and the poor fools of the Weyr who had arrived to assist him in fast retreat, the Traders were jubilant and rowdy, but seemed mostly harmless. They cackled, clapped each other on the shoulder, congratulated one another; only one or two were still calling out insults, using language just as foul as before to see the Candidates off.
"Did your caravan proud today," one of them told Jaenel, clasping his hand with a wrinkled smile. "Defended the honor of the caravanmaster right good, boy."
With Okassis gone, however, the youth seemed less triumphant than before, and more drained. "Yeah. The old man'll be happy for about two seconds, before he starts screaming all over again," Jaenel muttered. "Better not let this get back to him...."
The older trader seemed grave, then nodded. His eyes slipped over, catching sight of S'kagi, and they narrowed. "Disturb their eggs, and the tunnelsnakes slither out," the man observed loudly, turning to face the approaching bronzerider. He, Jaenel, and the three other Traders of the caravan watched him warily. Candidates were one thing; riders, with their dragons on call, were another breed altogether. They might have chosen to avoid this confrontation, if they could have.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:37 pm
It was undoubtedly one of the more scary moments of Inaari's life. She'd never had things thrown at her before! It'd been all she could do to not drop her precious bolt of cloth, and her hat was lost forever to the trampling feet of the crowd. Thankfully, it had been only a simple one, tied with white ribbon. It would be easy to replace. But that wasn't the point! She should go up to those traders and demand they replace her hat. "I'm okay, except for my hat!" She patted her bare head irritatedly. "And I think these scratches," she lifted her pale arm to show the red lines running vertically, "are from Ryka. Poor thing was terrified, and went between. I hope she's nearby, or at least is at the Weyr!"
The blond wasn't too worried, at least, not drastically. She was at the moment more concerned with the puffy swelling around her friend's eye. Brushing her dusty hands on her skirts, she lightly touched it, examining to make sure his eye was in fact where it belonged. "Shards and shells, this is going to be very hard to explain! I know it was noble and all, but did you think you needed a souvenir?" Her voice was light and teasing, not entirely disapproving. For all her love of the rules, Inaari's friends were quite rubbing off on her. She was still vaguely upset that Okassis, when released, had not pounded those fardling idiots for their comment.
"And what was with those dimglow traders? Don't they know better, to pick on dragonriders? I mean none of us are riders, but there coulda been some in the crowd!" She'd kept her voice subdued, but the irritation and chagrin won through clearly. It was bad enough to get it from her mother. The insults and tearing down of her new home. But from perfect strangers? It was unacceptable!
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:58 pm
Ryugen "That's a very rude insult, that's what." S'kagi bristled at once, looking for the source of the argument, enjoying a brief, angry thought of finding Coriath and flying low enough to scatter whatever rabble-rousers had started to launch the term, but first he needed to find out who they were directing it at.... except for this little tag along. "Stay close, but if it looks like trouble, go find your caretaker -immediately.-. told her crisply, indicating that in this instance, he didn't care what she thought was fair or unfair about it, he expected her to do it. Here he did start to show some of the iron backbone Kagiya demonstrated, moving to shoulder his way through the crowd, his shoulders and back stiffening. His expression had gone blank and stiff, but it didn't matter much, since his darkening mood and determination were almost pouring off him like heat from a forge as he headed toward the sound of thrown insults. This was a damn gather, how dare some low brow cousin breeding son of a herd-beast turn it into a brawl, when everyone so desperately needed this to -ease- tensions, not raise them! Don't get hurt!Coriath added, prickling with alarm, though his own metaphorical hackles were raised, partially in response to S'kagi's own mood. Daddy was so brave! Kagiya tagged along, staying near S'kagi as he approached the traders, only darting off for a moment to grab a discarded straw hat. The hat had caught her eye, seeming too fine a thing to be simply left lying on the ground. Especially as it seemed that there were sticks and things nearby it. Suppose if someone tripped over them and stepped on it! Picking it up, she dusted it off and scampered back to her father's side. "Daddy, lookit!" She held the hat up for him, oblivious to the importance of the exchange between the bronzerider and the traders... and the potential threat that they presented. Blinking, the weyrbrat realized that her daddy's face had gone all funny-- kind of like mama's did when she was real mad! Those men were being very silly. There were no tunnelsnakes anywhere around. Too many firelizards. Didn't they know anything?
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Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 2:12 am
"I would really...hate." he spoke in measured tones, trying to hide the small skip in his pulse at Kagya's enormously unfortunate timing. "To find out something was spoiling such a pleasant gather for the large amount of people, riders and not, who are here enjoying themselves."
Damn the girl, strapping a target onto herself like that. That's all he needed to worry about, as he pressed on, delivering the politest ultimatum he could think of. He did wish he'd come n the scene slightly sooner, it would have been helpful to know who'd gotten hurt, but he could wager a few guesses. The man's phrasing was a clue. "So if you have nothing better to do than to prove your honor by attacking children who only came to enjoy the day, then perhaps you'd better depart.
Coriath, if they do anything to start a fight, I need you to tell the other riders dragons. In a pinch, he could have the dragons do an air show overhead, so to speak, mostly to break up the gathering, though he of course had no plans to actually hurt any of them, though it was tempting to put his foot in the face of the older one, though instead he made a slight gesture hoping to wave Kagiya back slightly behind him, hoping she'd pick up on the idea it wasn't really that safe.
Of course. Coriath promise, though he was clearly more itching to take to the air now, to make sure nothing could hurt his rider.
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Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:57 am
Nodding at Ceanandin, Nimwae flung her arms open to accentuate the mass of people swirling around them. "Ista Weyr is huge! At least it is to me. There's many Candidates, almost too many some say, but I think the number of us adds a feeling of companionship. There's always someone to talk to, at least. It does make rooming a bit of a hassle, though," she said, scrunching her face up at the thought of living in that tiny room with the three other girls. Oh well, maybe one (or more!) of them would Impress at the next Hatching and widen up the room for a while before another Candidate took their place.
When Nandeli delivered her news, Nimwae couldn't help but to let laughter escape. "You mean S'kagi is a father? Does he know? Has he seen her? Where are they, where are they?" She stood on the tips of her toes, turning her head every which way to try and catch the sight of the Wingleader. But the combination of her shortness and the sheer amount of people around proved the search to be futile. "Ooh, I hope I can see them soon!"
And then the music started playing. Her face lighting up as the people began to dance, Nimwae turned towards her male friend. "Come on, Ceanandin, let's dance!" And without waiting for a chance for the boy to say either yay or nay, she grabbed his hand and tried to drag him into the throng of dancers.
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