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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 1:29 am
Gather, gather! It's a gather day! No work for us, and Thread's away Stalls are building, squares swept clear Gather all from far and near.
It was a hot day at Ista Weyr when the gather flag had been risen. A rest day, a good day. Most had taken sancuary from the Istan sun in the stalls. The scent of freshly baked goodies filled the air. It had not even reached midday and yet the heat was sweltering. Riders, weyrfolk and traders alike sought shade within stalls until the evening and its cooler weather arrived. Then the harpers would play and much more energetic pursuits would begin. For now browsing and the various wares and lounging in shadows seemed the more preferred past-time.
Even those accustom to the heat would have difficulty. A gather for the most part was outdoors; and this had been positioned in the Weyr's bowl. With Ista Hold still recovering from recent falls, the Weyrleaders had made the suggestion (or had had it suggested to them by the Lord Holder, Sevrick, who'd found blame; they hadn't protected the Hold as they should!) to host it at the Weyr.
Out in the open as it was, stalls had been set up quickly. Tanners, harpers, bakers, fishers, smiths--they had all come to share their wares. For a price. Much of a gather's fun was based on haggling.
Short start, but it's almost two am and this is only the main thread. Here is where dancing and stalls will be done. Games and such will be in seperate threads. Have fun!
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 3:14 pm
They had certainly chosen a good day for this gather. The sun felt wonderful, though there had been a time when the heat would have sent Ticene running. She hadn't been used to Ista's warmer climate when she had arrived and still held up the hold's views of covering her skin regardless of how warm it may be. Thankfully, the Weyr gave no such disapproving looks at the choice to wear less when the temperature rose.
She was free to enjoy the day from here on in, after checking and double-checking everything. Tic had slipped out of bed early to make sure everything was in order. She had dressed as quickly and quietly as possible, trying not to wake R'yn as she left. It wasn't like he would be flying drills today, so she wanted to let him enjoy a few extra hours of sleep. However as she had been leaving their weyr a sleeping dragon had called her back. She should have known that Calith wouldn't have let her leave without an inspection. She did little save sleep currently, but she took so much pride in both of their appearances it was worth rising early.
And so her look had been criticised by her bonded. She had made Ticene switch out her more practical trousers for a skirt that flowed to just below her knee. Proclaiming that she wasn't working and this was a gather, she must look appropriately feminine. She had allowed Tic to keep her light green vest, deeming it to be suitable, but insisted that she do something with her hair. Tic had tied it up in a messy bun, leaving a few strands free. Finally Calith had been satisfied and allowed her rider to leave, deciding that she would go back to sleep.
As it was Tic was thankful for the dragon's intervention. With it being as warm as it had turned out to be, she was grateful not to be confined in trousers and with her hair up away from her neck. She made her way through the stalls, seeking out her weyrmate. She had returned to their weyr only to find R'yn not there. She assumed he had gone to the gather. In search of bubbly-pies no doubt.
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The_Muffin_Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:30 pm
Although Jennes was a Candidate, he was still an Apprentice Weavercrafter and spent a good deal of his free time making things. As a result, he'd secured himself a stall at the Gather at which to sell his wares.
His table was covered with a fine white cloth, on which his items lay. Half the table was covered with clothing, mostly shirts, pants and skirts. There were some in sturdy, practical fabrics, while others were of a nicer cloth and finer cut, suitable for a slightly nicer occasion. There was nothing particularly fancy, nothing that would count as a person's Gather best. Aside from the clothing Jennes himself wore, of course. He had naturally made his own clothing; his shirt was a bright sky blue with a design of dancing fire lizards in all colors embroidered around the hem and cuffs, with a gold, almost life size, appearing to curl around his neck. His pants were the blue-green of the ocean, with swirly, wave-like designs on the cuffs.
The other half of Jennes's wares were something a bit more novel: cloth toys in the shape of various animals, stuffed with soft wool. The stuffed toys had been very popular among his many foster siblings, so he'd gotten rather good at them. There was a number of different animals, including canines, felines, runnerbeasts, bovines, shipfish, and fire lizards. They were in every color of the rainbow, and most had button eyes, although some had eyes embroidered on.
Jennes stood behind the table at his stall, smiling pleasantly at the crowd and greeting anyone who looked at his wares. It was hot, certainly, but his stall did have an awning to keep the worst of the sun off, and he had a waterskin handy. He figured staying bright and personable instead of sprawling in a chair fanning himself would make him seem much more approachable.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:21 pm
It was not R'yn that first awoke to discover Ticene had left their weyr, but Gereth. The bronze was almost as fond of Calith's as he was his own, and so generally greeted her in the mornings. When he opened one great green eye to do so, expecting to find the woman covered in bedfurs and laying next to his as she always was before duties, Gereth quickly went from comfortable sleepy dragon to upset bronze.
Mine! Though intended to be private, Gereth's distress may have been conveyed to others nearby as well. Mine! Calith's is missing! Missing! MINE! It took some time to wake his rider. It always had. Ever since they had been Weyrlings. R'yn had a tendency to keep the glows lit until the sun rose in the morning with worries; and then sleep. The bronze eventually had to take the bedfurs covering his rider with his teeth and carefully pull them off. Mine! Calith's is missing!
For a moment, Gereth's attempts were ignored. Then the formerly curled up rider slowly sat up, groggily glancing around. "Gereth, shards. It's a Gather! Tic's not missing... Go back to bed. We're sleeping. " He moved to lay back down, then seemed to notice that Gereth had been correct. He sat up immediately, staring around the weyr. "Tic? Tic!" He quickly pulled on a tunic and trousers, allowing his emerald vest to remain open. Green might not have been the best color for a gather; but it suited him well enough. He was too much in a hurry to find his weyrmate to care about old harpers' supersitions.
He wandered through stalls; tried to avoid persistant sellers--greeted those he couldn't. And for once, did not stop to buy as many bubblypies as he could carry. Finding Ticene was more important.
While R'yn was frantically searching, someone else was doing searching of another kind. Ionan was looking for a friend of his. Jennes had mentioned something about having a stall at the Gather; and Ionan had two whole marks to himself! Two whole marks! He could buy the entire Gather if he wanted! He'd been given bubblypies from a friendly journeyman; the young man had noticed Ionan's "rather hungry" expression and offered the six turn old two of them. Inspired, Ionan had decided to share one of them with a friend--and who better than Jennes?
"Jennes! I brought you a pie!" Ionan called, hurrying to the candidate's stall. "Here! See? It's not even a little squished. I was careful!" Jennes had helped with Ionan a time or two before; the boy rather saw him as a playmate. He lowered his voice, and beamed at the older boy. "I got two whole marks! I can buy anything!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:43 pm
Jennes had been pleasantly greeting a passerby when he heard a young voice calling his name. By the time he turned to look for the source, the speaker way already at his table. Jennes smiled down at young Ionan, who he'd ended up watching more than once. He'd played babysitter to other weyrbrats too, of course, but he was fond of the boy.
"A bubbly pie for me? How thoughtful of you! How'd you you I hadn't got a chance to get one yet?" He pulled out a cloth napkin he'd tucked in a belt pouch, on the off chance that he found a moment to find some food, and carefully gathered the offered pie onto the clean cloth. He had to make sure his hands and his wares stayed clean, after all; it would not do to get stains on anything. He could feel the pie was still hot, so he just held it for now in favor of talking to Ionan.
He leaned closer and lowered his voice as well. "Two whole marks? You could buy a lot of bubbly pies with that! Any idea what you're gonna look at first?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:54 pm
Why was it every time that she went in search of R'yn she could never find him? He always managed to distract her when she had work to do, yet when she didn't he was nowhere to be found. She had already visited one place that sold bubbly-pies, but according to them the Weyrleader hadn't been there. Tic was slightly worried and for a moment considered waking Calith to ask if she could locate him, but the dragon was sleeping so soundly that the woman decided to locate him on her own. It would take a lot to wake Calith from her sleep and she may not be in the most cooperative mood when Ticene did finally reach her.
As she walked Ticene would occasionally glance at a stall, it wasn't for any particular reason, she wasn't looking for anything in particular. It was during one of this glances that caused Tic to come slowly to a stop, a slight frown on her face. Changing direction the rider slowly approached the stall and looked down at its wares. The boy in charge of the stall seemed very elaborately dressed. In fact, had her mind not been preoccupied Tic may have thought herself under-dressed in comparison. She knew that he was a candidate; Ticene could remember seeing him before as she had observed candidate lessons. She usually tried to get a decent impression of the candidates when a clutch was approaching; it seemed to calm Calith when her rider recognised them. Perhaps she was reassured that they weren't strangers to the Weyr. Though she would probably assume they were thieves after her clutch.
After offering a smile to Jennes, Tic picked up the item that had caught her attention. A thoughtful expression took control of her face as she looked down at the cloth toy in her hands. The canine looked back at her with its embroided eyes as her thumb ran over the blue material. A small sigh escaped her lips, before she heard someone call out. Looking away from the toy she spotted Ionan hurry to the stall and offer the candidate a pie with a grin on his face. Ticene's smile was fond as she looked at the pair. She knew Ionan and didn't find it at all surprising that he would be friends with the candidates. Especially as his sister was among them. The young boy often enlightened her to how he would someday become a dragonrider. Although the colour he was going to impress seemed to change almost daily.
Something seemed to cross her mind as her smile faded into a slightly worried expression as she looked once again at the canine in her hands. It continued to look back at her. Although she half expected some kind of expression of condemnation from the toy, she didn't find one. What was she going to do? What was there she could do? The canine did not seem to want to answer her questions either. Another sigh escaped her as she shut her eyes for a moment. She hadn't planned this.
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The_Muffin_Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:13 pm
R'yn nearly passed Ticene in his hurry to find her; so determined was he that he seemed to be relying on the paths the stalls created. Following them would surely lead him to his wayward weyrmate! He paused upon hearing Ionan's voice, and turned. "Ticene!" he beamed, wrapping an arm around her waist. That she was holding a stuffed canine didn't seem to bother him. "I was looking for you. Gereth's all in a tizzy," he wrinkled his nose, and then grinned. "Apparently you forgot to greet him this morning, and when he woke up, he decided you'd been missing."
He hesitated, noticing his weyrmate's expression. "Are you alright?" he asked, stroking her cheek gently with a thumb. "No serious faces, remember? It's a gather."
"I didn't," Ionan beamed, shaking his head. "I guessed! And I like sharing with you, Jennes!" Probably one of the few people, besides his older sister Iona, that he would admit he liked sharing things with. The six turn old noticed Ticene, and, with another spark of inspiration, said, "I know what I'm going to buy first. Toys!" Everyone needed toys. They were important.
"I'll buy that one for Tic," he said, pointing to the blue canine in the Weyrwoman's arms. "And one for me, Iona, and Dugan. Okay? That's four! ...How many marks is that, Jennes?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:27 pm
Jennes turned to see where Ionan was pointing and belatedly Jennes realized that the Weyrwoman was standing at his booth, and the Weyrleader had just joined her. He smiled brightly at the pair and said, "Good morning, Weyrwoman and Weyrleader! A lovely day for a Gather, isn't it?"
Turning back to Ionan, he considered the boy's question. For the toys he was asking a starting price of 2 marks each, and expecting to be haggled down to as low as 1 mark. But for a boy so young, and his friend at that, he immediately knocked half the price off and expected to be haggled down to a ridiculously low sum. He didn't want to boy to spend all his marks in one place, after all, especially when most of his purchases were gifts.
"Weeeell, I'm asking one mark each. But it's a Gather! everyone haggles down prices at a Gather. It's part of the fun. Let's see how low you can convince me to make them," he told Ionan cheerfully. "Do you know how to haggle?"
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The_Muffin_Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 9:23 pm
Suddenly ripped from her thoughts Tic looked up and turned her head looking for R'yn. She knew his voice well enough to recognise it immediately. The sight of her weyrmate made her smile, his grin certainly helped. Ticene seemed incapable of feeling sad when he looked at her like that. She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment when R'yn held onto her. "Mm, that certainly sounds like him." A soft laugh escaped at the idea of Gereth getting all worked up and deciding that she was missing. Perhaps she should have left him a note. "I'll have to apologise when I see him." Once again her smile faded when she looked back down at the toy, she really needed to stop thinking.
R'yn asking if she was alright made Tic smile, but when she looked at him there was a sad feel to it. The kind of smile people get when they're glad someone is there trying to make them feel better, but they know the thing that made them sad in the first place is inescapable. The look made sense, since that was really exactly how Ticene felt at the time. "Yeah, I'm alright." She said quietly, really trying for her smile to convince R'yn there was nothing wrong. Unfortunately he was being so sweet with her that Tic was trying very hard not to allow herself to get caught up in it. She had a bad feeling that if he kept it up then tears may be on their way. Which was slightly funny as Ticene rarely every cried. She wasn't the type to take insults to heart or to cry when things got stressful. "I remember. No serious faces." Again she tried to make her smile convincing.
It was then that she heard her name again. Turning her head she looked over at Ionan pointing at the canine she was holding and saying how he planned on buying four. "Good morning." She said to Jennes as he realised they were there. Her attention shifted back to Ionan again, given that he only stated who three of the toys were for, she assumed the other one was the canine she was holding and, knowing Ionan; he was probably planning to get it for her. "Oh, no, Ionan. You don't have to do that for me." She wasn't sure how much the boy would have to spend, but she didn't want him spending it on her. It seemed though that the pair of them were planning on haggling it out anyway.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 9:47 pm
Ionan blinked for a long moment. "I don't have four marks," he complained, frowning slightly. Four marks was really expensive! How was he supposed to be able to buy anything? "I'll give you a half mark for all of them," he offered, hopefully. He wasn't sure how this haggling thing worked, still learning the currency as well as what each coin was worth. "Jennes, what's lower than a half mark?" he asked in a whisper. "How do I haggle? Can I just ask please and then you'll lower it?"
"I'll give you a half mark for all of them and lots of hugs, okay? Is that fair?" He frowned and turned to look at Tic. "I'm buying you it!" he informed her, crossing his arms. "I'm haggling, okay? And I'm buying it for you, and you'll be happy." Toys and hugs made everyone happy! "Weyrleader, you're making her all sad! You have to hug her to fix it or she'll be sad the entire Gather." He returned his gaze to Jennes and shook his head. "He's doing it all wrong," he informed the apprentice, looking quite serious for six turns. "That's not how you make people happy when they're sad."
"Good morning, Jennes," R'yn greeted the candidate with a smile. "Lovely day, yes. Bit too hot for a gather, but I'm surviving!" He made a show of studying Jennes' wares. "Lovely work," he admired the candidate's tunic. "Very realistic. You're very talented, Jennes. I'll have to buy my next gather attire from you!" His smile became concerned, however, as he studied his weyrmate.
"It's a gather, remember? No serious thoughts." He gently teased her, pulling her close to his chest. Not that he had needed reminding from a six turn old; no, admitting that would have been humiliating. "Cheer up, love? We'll have dragons to tell about our adventure at the gather when we return to our weyr."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:22 pm
Jennes couldn't help smiling at Ionan's youthful comments, but he answered the Weyrleader first. "Thank you!" he said, beaming at the complement. "It took me quite a while to make this," he admitted, stroking the little head of the embroidered queen with two fingers. "Which is why I don't have anything nearly this fine for sale. Being a Candidate keeps me pretty busy! In the time It would take me to make one set of clothing like this, I could make a lot more common clothes and toys." He gestured to the wares he had on display. Then he hastened to add, "But of course if you did want to commission some fine Gather clothes, I would certainly find the time!" He smiled at the Weyrleader again before turning back to Ionan.
"OK. haggling and coins," he said in a quiet tone of voice, as he fished around in his belt pouch and pulled out a few wooden disks. "A half mark is obviously worth half a mark. Lower than that, there's a quarter mark, which is worth half a half mark." She showed the boy a disc stamped with the number 4, which had a line above the number to show it was a fraction. "Half a quarter mark is an 8th mark." He showed the younger boy a disc with an 8. "Half an 8th is a 16th, and smallest of all is a 32nd, which is half a 16th." He showed Ionan one of each of those, as well. Then he tucked the coins back in his belt pouch so they wouldn't get lost.
"Now, haggling. That's where someone selling something offers a price, and someone who wants to buy tries to talk down the price, convincing the seller to sell it for less. So, I'm asking 1 mark for the toy. Say you want to buy it for half a mark. You'd start by offering a lower price, like an eight mark. You might give a reason why you don't think it's worth as much as I want for it, like saying the stitching on this toy looks sloppy, clearly Apprentice work. I'll offer a new price, lower than my first but higher than yours, like three quarter-marks. I'd offer an explanation why my toys are worth so much, like how the toys are soft and huggable, sure to bring delight to children for many years. Then you'd offer a new price, higher than your first, like one quarter mark. We go back and forth until we get a price we both agree on. It's kind of like a game, except we're trying to make it so that both of us win. OK? So, if that makes sense: You want four toys. I want 1 mark for each, which is 4 marks. What's your offer on them." He leaned towards the boy, interested to see how well the boy caught on to his quick lesson.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:28 pm
Ticene's brow rose at Ionan's decree. She had a feeling that there was to be no arguing with him, with an expression like that and the folded arms it didn't seem like she would win. Maybe she could make it up to him later without him noticing. She'd just wait and see how much the toy ended up costing him and then find a way to get him something of equal value. Given the worth of the toy though, she seriously doubted buying him bubblypies would do it. Unless he wanted supplying for several weeks.
Concern grew at the idea it was obvious to a six turn old that she wasn't happy. She liked to think she was better at hiding things than that. It wasn't like she was new to hiding her emotions. Tic had learned how to put on a face several turns ago. It turned out however that R'yn was going to be the target of Ionan's advice on being happy, or rather making others happy. As the boy looked at Jennes, Tic turned to look at R'yn. She couldn't seem that sad, surely. Ticene wasn't even certain that sad was what she was. Worried, yes. Scared, also yes. Sad however wasn't what she immediately thought of. Emotionally she was feeling quite numb at the moment.
"They do have a habit of finding me." Serious thoughts were intent on tracking Tic down regardless of what she did. When R'yn pulled her close Tic allowed herself a moment to not pretend. Wrapping her arms around his waist the rider buried her face into her weyrmate's shoulder. She held on tighter than she normally would have and seemed reluctant to let go. Ticene didn't care whether the hug was because Ionan had told him too or he had thought of it himself. It was what she needed and that was enough. "Ah yes, our adventures. That is if Calith can bring herself to be awake long enough for us to tell her." Tic straightened up and smiled again. She did feel better, so the smile wasn't forced, it just required slightly more effort than normal. Leaning into R'yn she looked over at Jennes and Ionan as haggling and coins were explained. She wondered how Ionan's first haggling was going to go.
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The_Muffin_Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:02 pm
Feronell was dressed up for the gather, in a bright orange sleeveless tunic, and a pair of dark brown trousers. They were brand new clothes, a gift from his family for becoming a candidate, and this was the first time to wear them. His boots, on the other hand, had seen better days, and even though he had cleaned them, they were still rather scrufffy. Oh well. No one was really going to be paying attention to his shoes anyways.
He glanced around, checking out the stalls that were open. There were a couple weavercraft stalls, including one with a small crowd around it. That one appeared to be run by one of the candidates, and the boy made a note to check it out later, if just to say hello. It was a pretty good idea for the weavercraft boy to have gotten his own stall, and probably the easiest way for him to earn some extra marks.
Feronell grinned. Good for him. He found it to be a little too crowed, and so he continued on, checking out the stalls. He saw several with interesting things, but right now, all he wanted was something cool, and he moved up to one of the stands that was selling some, and paid a sixteenth for a long tube of juice. He didn't have much money, just a couple of marks and a handful of sixteenth mark pieces, but it was enough for him. He wasn't planning on making any big purchases anyways.
He sat down in one of the rest areas, and just watched, keeping an eye out for people he knew. He would go wandering again once he was done with his juice, but who knew? Maybe people would end up here, to take a quick break where it was at least shaded.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:14 pm
"Is fifty marks good for a set of that quality?" R'yn inquired. "Do you make dresses, too?" He glanced pointedly at Ticene. "I'll comission twice. I might make a mention to the candidate master about giving you more free time." He winked at the apprentice. "It wasn't so long ago that I was peeling tubers. Maybe Lavi remembers what that's like too."
He placed a kiss on Ticene's cheek. "Cheer up, my love. It's a gather day. No time for serious thoughts."
Ionan listened to the lesson on haggling attentively, but soon was frowning. "Too expensive!" He complained again. "I don't have four marks, Jennes! You know I've only got two!" He gave a stomp of his foot. He didn't have four marks; it was absolutelyunfair of Jennes to try charging that much when he knew he didn't have it. "I'll pay a sixteenth mark for each of them, okay?" That was a fair price, wasn't it? Then he would be able to buy all of them without any trouble.
"You should sell it to me for less because we're friends!" That was as good of a reason as any, right? It was better than talking about stitching and softness and other stuff he didn't quite understand. "And I want it and I only have two marks and one of 'em's for supper so I gotta buy them for one mark or Iona'll be sad." He frowned and shook his head at the apprentice candidate. "I'll add hugs, too! So you'll can have a sixteenth mark and two hugs per toy. Okay? That's fair!"
After all, hugs were worth an infinate amount of marks. They couldn't be sold, but surely they could be traded? Especially when he was trading for toys for other people? He wasn't sure about this haggling game, but it certainly didn't seem like much fun.
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The_Muffin_Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:17 am
The talk of commissions up to this point had gone largely unnoticed by Tic. She didn't mind where R'yn got his clothes from. Tic wasn't the kind to critique her partners clothing choice. Calith may feel the need to mention it, but she wasn't likely to say anything directly to R'yn. The dragon understood the concept of being rude. Most of the time. Ticene's attention however was caught when she heard the word 'dress'. Turning her head she looked at R'yn and raised an eyebrow. He better not be planning what she thought he was. However Tic was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to stop R'yn if that was it. If she outright said no he'd just look at her with the big sad eyes and she would just end up giving in anyway.
"Alright. I'll keep the serious thoughts at bay for today." It shouldn't be too hard afterall. All she had to do was think about something else. If she focused on the gather and made sure not to let her mind wander then surely it would be fine. Turning her attention to Ionan's haggling Tic watched as the child stamped his foot and seemed to be quickly losing patience. As well apparently as not completely getting the idea of haggling. A smile crossed her face at the boy’s attempts. Of course he would think he could barter with hugs. Turning to R'yn she gave him a quick kiss. "Wait here, I'm going to go help him. There's something I need to talk to you about later." There she'd started it now; she had to go through it. Otherwise she would probably just chicken out.
Leaving R'yn's side she walked the small distance to Ionan's side and knelt down beside the boy. "Hey there, Ionan. Let's do this haggling together, okay?" She didn't want him taking her trying to help badly. He'd already made his offer of a sixteenth mark, so that seemed a good enough place to start. Tic for the most part wanted to let Ionan do this himself, but she could still help by suggesting reasons that Jennes should bring down the price or tell Ionan when to stand his ground.
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