Faerie Hatching Feast

[Tashe]

The smile he wore was conjured up soley for Nephele, he wanted to save her the trouble of actually ordering him to smile. It would have been an inevitable request therefore he gave up early knowing there would be no other outcome. "Alright then, no wine it is." Not that she had needed to worry anyway, E'rro never drank more than a glass and only then when he was trying to relax. No one, not even he, wanted to deal with a drunk E'rro. It was... frightening, to say the least. A complete one-eighty from the person he normally was. The Wingsecond was amused that she was so eager to show off her new set of skills. "It is good that we worked on the Tango then. The entire dance is for the man to show off the beauty of his partner, he is merely there to accent her. Like a piece of jewelry." Tucking his free hand behind his back, he lead his 'date' toward the tables with the cutlery and plates.

He took a moment as they walked to really look over Nephele's appearence. Honestly, she knew his opinions on corsets but tonight he didn't so much mind it. Whether it was because of the atmosphere, the fact she actually did look very nice, or both he couldn't discern. It had not escaped E'rro's notice that they almost matched and completely by accident too, he tugged an earlobe in interest. The Brownrider would have suggested they wore something vaguely matching but had decided against it because it was not a competition, no, it was supposed to be a fun and entertaining. Funny how things turned out like that. "I must say Neph," he began not normally one to dish out compliments, "you look very nice tonight." His free hand left its place and hung in the air as if swaring an oath. "Honest. I feel sorry for all the men who probably wanted to take you." E'rro flashed a bit of teeth as he teased the Greenrider. She'd been on his wing long enough now that he felt comfortable teasing her occasionally as he did with the rest of the members on his wing. They arrived at the tables only moment later.

"Well," Brown eyes swept across the spread to their side as he picked up a plate for Nephele and one for himself, "Shall we have a main course? Or jump right for the deserts?" E'rro was about to hand his temporary 'owner' a plate but remembered something about being polite. "I can get you something, if you would like to sit at a table?" If she didn't want to the Rider was more than prepared to offer her a plate. He didn't know what she'd choose to do.

---

Nibbling on a chocolate covered tart, Ithanna sat down with a small wiggle. She'd never been to a feast this grand before, only ever having been able to attend ones at small cotholds when her family passed through. There were so many people. Part of her wanted to sit back against the wall while the other half cheered her on, not knowing which one to listen to she sat and munched. Ithmine. Look at it like this... the decision is like a piece'a jelly bread. You don't know what flavor is on tha inside until ya take a bite of it. The Weyrling pondered that for a few moments before smiling. Iwryth, you are just too smart for a young kit like yourself. But absolutely right. Just like a jelly roll. Hopping back onto her feet and polishing off the small desert, she brushed the crumbs off of her hands.

She passed by a familiar face and nearly continued going but decided to stop and comment on what she heard instead. "Ae'on, you and your dashing self should relax! You are lucky enough to have such a handsome date." The girl stepped near X'rx and whispered conspiratorially, "Compliment him outragously, maybe you can fluster him up enough to dance." She pulled back with a smile. "I'm Ithanna by the way. I'd stop and talk more but I saw someone I wanted to dance with and I shant let him get away. Maybe I will find you both later on tonight." And with a wave she threaded through the crowd again. Brushing by Jenna with a squeeze on the shoulder and a smile, Ithanna followed the bobbing head of rather blond hair.

Finally catching up with the boy, she gave his shirtsleeve a tug. "Hey, you're Y'kiro aren't you? We're going to be in class together, I'm Ithanna of Green Iwyrth. I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me?" Tucking some unruley locks behind her left ear she smiled happily. If he didn't want to that was fine, she'd just keep finding someone else until /somebody/ wanted to. It was a Feast after all!

[heisokufire9]

Y'kiro looked over at the tug on his sleeve to see one of the other girls that had impressed at the hatching standing there. A blush crept up his cheeks as she asked him if he wanted to dance.

"Well I'm not very good but sure...if you want." he answered rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled a bit. Auwanath butted him in the leg.

Go have fun. She seems to be a sweet girl. he said and Y'kiro nodded a bit as he held out a hand to Ithanna.

"Shall we then?" he asked tilting his head a bit.

[Ruby]

As he wound through the crowd, Piden caught sight of A'emi and Jenna, the girl looking flustered and practically diving into the crowd when her eyes came his direction. The Handler smirked a little, adding her to his list - surely A'emi wouldn't mind giving her up for a dance or two, to apologize. No hard feelings, of course, certainly not for such an adorable Greenweyrling. If it endeared him to Jenna's slave, so much the better.

But Jenna wasn't the one before him at the moment, so for now, he put her out of his mind. His Candidate - Ashlyn - had agreed to dance, and he matched her curtsy with an elegant bow without thinking. "Ashlyn? Lovely to meet you," he said, offering her an arm and leading her on to the floor, matching the pair already there but perhaps pulling Ashlyn a little closer, toeing the line of propriety given that this was someone he'd just met. At least his lead was confident and straightforward - Piden could manage the basic steps of pretty much any dance, but he always avoided the trickier things, worried that he'd step on his partner. Still, he managed the basic steps with such confidence and flair that he always out shined even the most practiced couple. Or so he thought, anyway.

Turning his attention to his partner, Piden smiled down at Ashlyn, spinning her out into a simple turn before pulling her back. Once they were securely on the beat again, he asked, "So, how did you come to be at the Weyr, Ashlyn?" He figured asking about her Candidacy wasn't a good plan, but maybe asking where she came from would start that story up. If not, he had plenty more questions for her.

---

G'tor wasn't a bad dancer at all! He wasn't exactly good, so to speak, but at least he didn't step on her, or stumble. Ten could tell this wasn't usually his style, but he knew how to keep track of a beat. As soon as another couple or two made it on to the floor, Ten relaxed, moving into simpler patterns and paying more attention to not hitting people than to making her and G'tor look particularly fancy. Her question seemed to have caught him off guard, but in just a moment or two, he'd started talking.

She laughed along with G'tor at his description of his Search - imagine a dragon snatching you right off a ship! "Your poor father," she commiserated, creating a little mental image of what her uncle would have thought of her being Searched, before his son was born, anyway. He probably would have managed to send the dragon away with his tail between his legs. It certainly wasn't that much of a stretch to imagine. Good thing it had been her own decision. The description of Ruskeath's hatching made her smile, too, remembering Rajnith's. Dragonriders of any shape and size truly had a bond to one another, Ten realized - every single one could remember their dragon's hatching, and think about it fondly.

"Oh, me?" G'tor had managed to catch her off guard too, but not a step was missed. "The Glasscraft, actually. I asked to be assigned here for my Journeyman posting, because I did always love Dragons. The Fort attack did change my mind, and I marched up to the Candidatemaster and demanded Candidacy," she explained, amused at her own boldness. "No Search for me! Then I nearly missed my first Hatching, and Rajnith did sit on the sands like a queen forever, before she did inform me that I was to be her slave, my goggles were ugly, and she wanted something to eat," she continued, finishing just as the song came to a close.

Spinning herself away from G'tor for a flourishing finish, Ten laughed along with some of the other couples, then led G'tor off the floor. "Do you want something to eat?" she asked, heading in the direction of the food.

[heisokufire9]

Ashlyn blushed a bit as Piden led her to the dance floor. She hadn't really been expecting anyone to ask her to dance. Of course it was a feast. She followed his lead surprisingly well but it probably helped that he knew the basic steps. Not that she didn't she just didn't practice all that often. As he pulled her back from the turn a smile was on her face. Dancing wasn't so bad even if it was with a complete stranger. She blinked as he asked her about coming to the weyr.

"Oh I was born and raised here." she replied and added, "What about you? What's it like working with a wher?" She was curious about the nocturnal cousins of dragons. Not that she wanted to bond to one but it could hurt to learn about them.

She had a feeling they were a lot like dragons in some ways. Ash was sure though they had their unique qualities. The teen might enjoy meeting one but that would wait until later.

[Kisha-Ra]

J’on drifted through the doors, leaving his latest purchase, one cross dressing bluerider, to drift through after him. If anyone was expecting to see the apparently lovely young woman J’on had bought at the auction, well they’d be very disappointed indeed because the first thing J’on had done was tell J’ash to get rid of the dress and make up. They’d creeped him out more than slightly and given him horrible flashbacks to bedding greenrider Ciara under the influence of salamandyr lust. J’on was convinced his dislike for women as bedmates stemmed directly from his first experiences in that area.

However the bluerider was left to drift through the doors by himself, and why? Because J’on was feeling rather awkward about being around J’ash at the moment, and in fact had been since Rinagth’s Flight, in which Craivaruth had unwisely tried to participate, and since the blue had been hurt during that Flight, and of course J’on had slept with Sel’n (not to mention Rina was very happy to snuggle with Kaaoloth at any time at the moment), it just put another whole layer of awkward on the whole thing, and reminded J’on why he hadn’t warned J’ash in the first place.

With a firm shake of his head J’on dismissed all those thoughts from his mind. For once in his life this evening wasn’t all about sex, although he did intent to spend some of it making up to J’ash. They should probably get all the fighting they had to do out of the way first though. But before all that he’d really like to enjoy the feast somewhat, so the greenrider did what anyone his age would do and made a beeline for the heaped tables.

[Shiny]

The swaying of the banner as J'ash passed under it made him look up, pause, and blink. Who made that piece of crap? He thought, lightly snorting at it. Some nice congratulations that was - scrawled as if the writer didn't have enough time to cross the t's and dot the i. He could have done a better job in his sleep. It was a simple sign, innocent, if anything - it just so happened to be the first thing J'ash saw that could be criticized.The target of his foul mood it thus became. He moved on from the sign only because he realized he was blocking the entrance.

Surely others would recognize him as the one who was on stage in a dress, despite the lack of his get-up. Indeed, after J'on had bought him, the only order he'd received was to change and get rid of the make-up (which had taken him a couple hours to do). J'ash was kind of glad about that - at least now he could breathe (corsets are evil).

Although he was fitted in an outfit that was nothing special, he still looked pretty. A very loose, white cotton shirt hung from his small frame, the neckline of it resting on his clavicles. The sleeves were long and terminated near his knuckles. Indeed, the shirt looked a little bit too big for him, emphasizing his thinness and making him look frail. But it did look comfy. To match in comfortness, he wore darker pants. The necklace he was never seen without was tucked into his shirt, while the necklace that had been kindly crafted for him for graduation - the one that displayed a piece of Craivaruth's egg shell - gently rested against the soft fabric of the shirt over his chest. His hair still looked good, although it was obviously a style he'd chosen for laziness. The blond-ish locks were tied in a small loose bun that rested low against the nape of his neck. He hadn't even bothered to made sure that all of the strands were tied; some hung freely, while others stuck out from the loop defiantly. Not a speck of makeup was on his face.

The first impression the sign bestowed on him was slightly alleviated by the feast's set-up. At least it looked like effort was put into it, and he was sure the Drudges worked extra hard to make it all happen. He sighed and grabbed a lose hold of his elbow watching J'on's retreating back, unsure of what to do. It was extremely awkward to be here with him, considering what had happened during Rinagth's Flight. To be honest, J'ash didn't even want to be here at all, but Craivaruth had forced him to participate in the auction despite how much he really only wanted to be with the injured dragon. And since he'd been bid on, he'd had to come.

J'ash absently followed J'on with a great distance between them, worry for his dragon at the forefront of his mind. Craivaruth had gotten pretty scratched up, but what worried him the most were the tears in his wings. The Dragonhealer and her apprentice, Kalierre and Serissa, had done the best they could for his wings, but they told him nothing was guaranteed. If he couldn't fly again...

The heavy ball of guilt that hit his stomach brought him back to reality, and he realized he had been standing awkwardly in front of the table full of food for quite some time. He blushed and tucked some of his bangs behind his ear when he noticed people staring at him and randomly grabbed something - anything - before taking off. He made a beeline for one of the empty, smaller satellite tables and plopped down, sighing heavily with relief at being alone once more. He put down what he had taken from the table and glanced at it, then did a double-take. Alcohol? Well, he wasn't really in the mood for eating...

He opened the small bottle and glared at it warily before taking a long swig. His face twitched a little in disgust as he removed it from his lips. Not a taste he was used to, but he could drink it.

Craivaruth was injured and grounded for a long time (if not for the rest of his life), J'on was ignoring him, he couldn't spot any of his immediate friends (but he didn't entirely feel like socializing so that was okay), and he'd just made a fool of himself. Not to mention the stars were already coming out. How was he going to get home without a dragon and with a strong fear of darkness? J'ash sighed and rubbed his forehead under his silky bangs. Tonight was going to be a long, long night...

~~~

You must take a break. Humans cannot function properly if they do not reserve time for fun, socialization, and mating. Mating? What are you on?[/i] Syrene scoffed, limping into the feasting hall. I am on the ground, Wridelth replied simply. Syrene huffed, remembering that all figures of speech shot straight over the Blue's head.

Why was she even there? Because of Wridelth. Oh, and also for a certain redhead. She stalked forward, looking around for him. Cr'oph should have been her's tonight, but she'd been out-bidded by some fool. Whoever it was was going to get a snarl from her, but her main purpose was to make sure Cr'oph was miserable. Unfortunately, the redhead was not entirely visible.

For now, she would sit and wait for her prey to appear. Syrene limped her way over to an empty table and sat, secretly relieved to have the weight off of her foot. Her hunting accident hadn't been too long ago, and she was still recovering from it; the stab wound in her side was still very sore, and her foot was wrapped. It was obviously no longer twisted, but it still hurt to walk on. In fact, she probably shouldn't have even been walking at all, but seeing Cr'oph suffer was worth it.

[Requiem]

Tch, huffy weyrling was huffy. (It was probably the hair. X'rx was convinced that those hardened little flips were a health hazard to anyone of about 5'9/5'10 height. Wouldn't it be a shame if someone slashed their throat on hair?) At any rate, he looked less girly this way, even with the ribbon. Though X'rx would have liked Ae'on to be a little more gracious about the dancing. It wasn't like the greenrider was asking him to kiss him or something. Or even dance close. One of the fast songs couldn't hurt, right? Those were practically group dances, anyway, and didn't involve that much touching. Hold-born. He had to be. So uptight.

Oh, sarcasm. The rider smiled sweetly and offered helpfully, "I think you meant to say 'fatten' you up, not feed you up." He patted Ae'on's arm. It was okay; he'd get those zingers right one of these days.

A faint blush colored his cheeks, but then he shook it off and chuckled lightly. "Something to that effect. Sadly, you're not very easy to crawl into. I think I'll have to figure out another way to hide." He took the plate from Ae'on, strongly suspecting that it had been shoved at him so X'rx couldn't touch him for awhile. Not that he minded. The greenrider could partially hide behind what he was eating. Sort of. He held it in front of his mouth and nibbled, eyes flicking back up to Ae'on and blinking. Then a small smile blossomed. "So now you do want to dance with me after all? That's sweet of you." He shoved more food in his mouth and turned away to glance over the gathered people to cut off whatever stammered protest might come from the blueweyrling next.

His eyes locked on a certain girl - and how couldn't they, when she stood out so much in her black and white and ridiculously heavy kohl? - X'rx prodding an elbow into Ae'on's side. "Isn't she one of your classmates? Does she always hide behind so much make-up? She could be really pretty and no one would know." He tsked softly. "Shame. Come on. You should get to know your classmates." Not waiting for a response, he grabbed Ae'on's elbow, exchanging his nearly empty plate for another one well-laden, and then a glass of punch as an afterthought, balancing them easily on one arm. X'rx tugged his slave companion toward her table and set the food and drink down in front of her.

"Couldn't help but notice your foot. This is Ae'on, one of your classmates - if you haven't met before - and I'm X'rx." He peered closer at her. "Do you get in a lot of fights or something?" Maybe that was why she painted big black circles around her eyes.

---

Ximera blinked as Kostya tugged Tekivix from his bed, the girl backing out into the hall to let them out. Confusion flickered over her face. "Late? It's early, not late. Late for what?" Nevertheless, she turned and pattered back into her room, because if they truly were late for something she'd forgotten about, Ximera didn't want to make them any more late. "Wait, I'll be quick," she called back over her shoulder. Of course, not knowing what she was late for made it something of a problem in terms of dress. She usually dressed for work much differently than leisure, but since Kostya was wearing that sparkly shirt, the girl decided to mix and match. She squirmed into a pair of black leggings, slipped a blue skirt on over, then laced up her boots and threw on a loose peasant blouse, belting it around her small waist. A quick brush through her hair and she trotted back out into the hall, still looking quite sleepy and not altogether sure of what they were doing.

"I think he can walk, Kostya," Ximera commented, having grown tired of watching Tekivix stumbling after the blonde. She plucked at his fingers. "Unless you can't walk and talk at the same time, what are we late for?" It had finally occurred to her that Kostya was doing a very good job of not answering them at all. While not naturally suspicious, Xi had three older siblings and she knew that often when things were left out it was because they thought you didn't want to hear them. She wrinkled her nose at Kostya.

[rii]

She couldn't let him out of her sight. Jenna bit down on the inside of her lips, staring directly at A'emi as he spoke. He was a good looking guy, and she'd kick herself if someone came in and sniped him while she was sitting away at some table. Yeah, just like that one girl had taken Cris behind the stables back at the Healer Hall. Poachers all of them – especially the pale man. She had seen that smile of his. Jenna paid good marks for A'emi's company and damn it all she wasn't going to let someone else steal the purchase out from under her.

She reached forward, taking one of the plates form A'emi (assuming he wasn't planning to eat two platefuls of food) and bumped in next to him to start down the buffet line. Only tucking her chin when he whispered so close to her ear. Didn't he realize that made it difficult to listen to his actual words. "It's impossible." You cannot weigh me down. Versaith interjected, rising up on back legs to survey the contents of the table. Why is it all human food? Her paw touched the edge of one table, jostling it.

"Sai, cut it out." Jenna toned under her breath, swatting at her green. Nervously she smiled up at A'emi, one hand reaching to tug at a loose strand of hair that reached past her chin. "I've tried tying her wings closed. I'm not.. uhm, you know, I'm from Lighttower. Are baby dragons also so.. crazy?" Versaith huffed, bumping between rider and weyrling to skirt off and find better company. This turned out to be a Sfelyth. She plopped down in front of him, tail thumping impatiently against the floor. This is dumb. Want to play? – race?

"Sorry about her," Jenna murmured as they found a table. Sitting was good. It meant she wouldn't stumble over herself trying to dance. "I don't really know what to do. I've tried doing things with her all day to tire her out, she just never stops. Er – but I'm not complaining! So ah, where are you from A'emi?"

_____

"Xi, you're always late." Kostya quietly teased as the girl bounding back down the hall. He watched her disappear into her room, more than a little tempted to drag Vix away while she was busy. An urge he couldn't act on, not when he was certain Vix might get bent out of shape over it. No, the guy probably didn't claim to care, but Ximera was an expressively difficult person to be mean to, anyone was bound to pipe up in her defense no matter what the situation. Tch.

"We'll wait at the door," He spoke to Vix, smoothing the shirt buttons out before reaching up to straighten the other's collar. A bit much, perhaps, but at least he refrained from tucking the shirt in running fingers through Vix's hair to get rid of the amusing tousle of bed-head. Again he privately cursed Konstask for making him this way. Appearance were always important, but never this much. "I have a gift for you."

A sly smile at Vix, before Kostya's expression shifted with Ximera's return. Might as well snare Vix's suspicion – politely thought of as curiosity – before he realized exactly where they were going and fleeing to burrow back under warm blankets. Kostya kept a pleasant smile in place, despite the rather protective wedging Ximera was trying to execute made him snarl on the inside. "You both really forgot?"

He chuckled, fingers checking the top button of his vest before he nudged Ximera forward out the door, followed by a touch at the back of Vix's shoulder to make him go along as well. Kostya traveling a step behind – in case a certain someone tried to turn back. "I guess both of you will just have to be surprised. It's at the main hall."

[kat]

Maya was far too nervous and therefore was fashionably later than Rayne would have liked her to be. The greenrider fussed over the new Weyrling, looking smug when she stepped back to observe her work. Maya was wearing a black dress with bare back that tied with criss crossing threads, and one shoulder strap. It was quite attractive, if she did say so herself. The greenrider had applied a bit of kohl and lip balm, and done up the blueweyrling's hair. Knee high boots and a pretty choker finished the ensemble. Maya looked stunning. Rayne herself was wearing tight black pants and a sleeveless shirt that also laced up in the back, also in black. Didn't they make quite the pair, if she did say so herself?

"Nothing to be nervous about, you look great," Rayne commented, having to literally pull Maya out of the seat she was rooted into.

Umaheth snorted and picked up the two collars Rayne had set aside in his mouth. He was going to fetch their man servants! There was a devious look in his eye as he sent to his, You had better get to the feast, girl. I'll bring along our man-slaves.[/color]

Maya's cheeks darkened a little. Slaves? Is that what Umaheth thought C'roph and M'kai were? It was nothing like that--was it? She watched the bright blue saunter to fetch the pair as his tail end finally went out the door. Why was she so nervous? She stood up and didn't bother to look in the mirror again but took a deep breath and headed with Raine to the feast. It had taken a combination of a few people's marks to do this. Rayne had promised to pay the people back, and Maya would of course not let her do so but would pay Rayne back the marks those people had lent. Rayne insisted on having some fun, after all, so didn't want her own marks back...

xXx

Umaheth wandered about looking for the twins before he finally found them. The smugness he was feeling did not vanish in the least, the collars dangling from his mouth were accompanied by pretty leads draped over his neck. He was going to lead these man-slaves to the feast in high style! It had been his idea, too. Wasn't he clever? His had been surprised, to say the least. The greenrider woman had been pleased. He could maybe like her. Maybe.

Hello, man-slaves,[/color] he sent to them both with a tone full of satisfaction, You get the honor of being led to the feast by none other than me, myself and I![/color] His chest puffed up a little more. It was an important thing, because they had to get there, didn't they? Rayne had instructed the two young men to be in this place, and so they were. It made it easy for the blue dragonet to find and lead them. Clever girl.

He put the collars on the floor in front of him and instructed, Put these on, and attach the straps to them. When you've done that I'll be taking you to mine. He was going to help his and the greenwoman to think of all sorts of things for these two to do!

[Rei]

Cr’oph was sitting on a nearby fence next to M’kai. “Stupid ass auction. I don’t know why we put up with this shit. Now I’m stuck with a weyrling with an immature dragon. No fun at all. At least with the dragon lady we might have gotten some action.” Cripple or not she couldn’t be that bad. Mavenath rumbled from where he was sprawled close by. All you do is complain. One of these days you will understand that no matter how you complain unless you get off your lazy ass and do something it cannot be fixed. “Screw you Mave. I didn’t ask for your input.” The red head shot back at the bronze. This caused the large male to rumble in laughter. Since when do I care if you ask or not? Craning his neck the bronze companionably nudged Futh's shoulder. Apologies for my idiot as always dear brother. Yours will have to play damage control I dare say. Movement caught Mavenath’s eyes then and he crooned his eyes whirling in amusement. Oh look it seems they sent a tiny one to play fetch. How completely adorable.

Cr’oph raised an eyebrow at the little waddling hatching and groaned when he saw what it was carrying. He had decided to go to the gathering in black dress pants paired with his boots and a scarlet colored button up shirt. Around his neck was the necklace that he had been given at the graduation by Erilena and R’ven. It was a surprise that little miss sunshine had given him anything at all but still she had, and somewhere deep down perhaps he was a bit grateful. That didn’t mean he liked her though. Nope the dislike was still mutual. She thought him an asshole and he thought her a stuck up little bitch. R’ven was an okay sort though. At least he could stand the other man. All in all Cr’oph looked nice. He certainly wasn’t wearing fur so obviously he wasn’t a dog. Hell if he was going to let anyone collar him. Especially not some member of the opposite sex. Fuck that.

Crinkling his nose at Umaheth Cr’oph outright laughed. “Whoa hang on a sec here. Man slave? For one chubs I rank you. For two I’m no ones slave and hell if I’m wearing a collar.” The bronzer shot a glance at his brother. “Please tell me you’re not going to go along with this? Then again I wouldn’t be surprised.” Sighing the man crossed his feet at the ankle from his sitting position on the fence. “See here runty. I’ll go with you to your bonded. But not a snowballs chance in hell am I wearing something meant for a dog.” Mavenath gave a loud rumbling laugh. A bit grumpy aren’t you? Poor girl.

[Rowana]

Glasscrafting, G'tor thought with interest. That required quite a bit of skill not to mention being able to stand the hot forges. He was impressed. It couldn't be an easy craft to learn. He grinned at Tenlie's story. She seemed like a determined young woman. "We're lucky to have you," he replied amiably. He chuckled at her description of Rajnith. "She sounds like a handful, but looks like you're managing that well." He bowed low to his partner as the song finished. Offering his arm to her again, he nodded willingly. "Nothing works up an appetite like fine dancing," he agreed with a grin.

~

They were late! Farryl was all in a fluster as she made her way the Main Hall. She was dressed in a rich, green dress; lighter green ribbons in her hair. Peppeth said she looked lovely, but Peppeth always said that. Still, it was nice to get a chance to wear pretty things now and again. She actually rather enjoyed it. Hobbs finished out her look by perching happily on her shoulder. Is he still alright? she sent anxiously. He is, Peppeth snorted in her mind. Isshun was sulking on Farryl's bed, clearly upset that he wasn't allowed to come. He is just stubborn. I wish I could come. She sighed wistfully. You know you're too big, silly, Farryl chided kindly. Yes, but I think I could fit, if I tried, Peppeth returned hopefully. And where would the rest of us be then? Don't worry love, you'll have plenty of other chances to see the new weyrlings. Besides, someone has to keep Isshun company. I suppose, but it's not fair!

Farryl smiled to herself. Peppeth's childlike nature was still there, even at this age. They'd been through a lot together, and it was always good to know that Peppeth was just as perky and bouncy as ever. Turning her attention back to the feast, Farryl made her way over to the food table. She felt a little lonely, having no date when most of the others seemed to be with someone or other. Still, it was her fault for being so late. Maybe someone would like a dance later.

[Ruby]

"Born and raised here?" Piden asked, sighing. "Lucky. I had to escape my evil stepmother, and it was only Pidesk that saved me from a life of pursuit," he claimed, then smiled conspiratorily. "Actually, it was just my natural mother, and I didn't so much escape as run away. I was a pretty rebellious kid," he added, turning Ashlyn under his arm and pulling her close again. "And Whers are the best. Pidesk is such a sweetheart; we work very well together. Not all of them are so nice, but they all get the job done. Very different from dragons, or so I hear - I wouldn't know, I don't spend a lot of time with dragons. You get to see heat signatures, though, which is pretty awesome. But if you'd ever like to meet a Wher, just stop by the apartments. Pidesk loves new people," he added. Piden of Pidesk, Wher PR. Too bad all the kids he convinced to come meet his bonded ended up impressing dragons right afterward. Maybe he and Pidesk should go on Search instead?

The song came to a close and Piden dipped Ashlyn backwards, resisting kissing her neck only because he didn't want to get thrown out of the feast by an angry Emoyan. Lifting her back upright again, he bowed over the hand he still held. Such a gentleman. "Thank you for the dance, Ashlyn," he said, meeting her eyes before scanning the crowd behind her. "I'd love to dance again, if you aren't claimed by the end of the night. I've just got something to attend to first..." Yes, there she was. Jenna, new Weyrling, stealer of his auction winnings. With a final kiss for Ashlyn's hand, he swept off, approaching the table at an angle so neither A'emi nor Jenna would see him until he was right there.

So, suddenly, there he was, offering a tiny wink to the greenrider before turning all his attention to the new Weyrling. "Jenna, isn't it?" he asked, smiling down at her with his customary smolder. "As soon as I saw who I was bidding against, I had to let you win. May I have a dance sometime this evening?" he asked, only seduction in his voice. He wasn't teasing or getting revenge - at least it didn't seem like it. Who knew what really went on in the Bronzehandler's mind.

---

Once Ten had gathered a plate - mostly salad and delicate vegetables, with a surprisingly huge hunk of meat she grabbed at the end - she lead G'tor to a nearby table, sliding in across from him with a conspiratorial (and potentially dangerous) smile. More couples had started up on the dance floor now, but the song was faster, and a group of girls from the kitchens joined in, effectively turning it in to a group song. Watching a beautiful young woman all in green enter the feast, Ten leaned across the table slightly, keeping her voice down. "So who would you have wanted to come with, had I no bought you?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

Realizing how that might sound, she added, "It do be no trick, or jealous question. I do genuinely want to know." It was true, too - Ten wasn't usually meddlesome, but if there was someone, G'tor was going to be ordered to dance with her. Just because she'd shelled out the marks didn't mean she had to have all the fun.

---

"Because the Handlers need marks, and obviously because no one else would bring a higher price, brother mine. And I'm pretty sure Kalierre would have kept us in the infirmary all night, working our fingers to the bone. Probably literally. All in all, a Weyrling's not that bad," M'kai explained again, kicking his legs forward and back while he straddled the fence. M'kai had stayed in pretty much exactly what he'd worn to the auction, minus the coat and one of two bracelets - now, he reached up to button the top two buttons of his shirt and tie his tie, then thought better of it. They matched better this way. Cr'oph's snap at his bronze earned a chuckle from M'kai, who was back to swinging his legs.

Futh rumbled right along with Mavenath and his rider, tilting his head when the Bronze's voice entered his mind. Not bothering to keep his voice from anyone, he eyed Cr'oph with one whirling green eye and stage whispered, No offense to you or yours, of course, but I think I got the better one, Mavenath-twin. This made M'kai laugh so hard he nearly fell off the fence, gasping, "Damage control is... exactly... why I'm here, Mave. No worries."

Umaheth's arrival smothered M'kai's laughter, only a chuckle escaping here and there. Swinging a leg over the fence so he was facing the baby blue like Cr'oph was, the other twin cocked his head at the dragonet. "Looks like you're going to have to put the collar on for him, Umaheth. When Cr'oph gets testy there's nothing to be done..." M'kai hopped off the fence and retrieved a collar, putting it on without hesitation, but leaving it quite loose. "I don't know, brother dear, I think they're rather dashing. Plus, we are slaves. Didn't you listen at all when Elysia came by to sign us up for the auction?" The leash, though, M'kai eyed with a little more trepidation. "Look, little blue, why don't we cut you a deal. Collars, but no leashes. Isn't it more impressive if you can control us without them?"

[Avu]

Okay…he still didn’t know what was going on. That was nice.

Vix’s eyelids fluttered with the effort it took to keep them open, and he made a soft noise that was somewhere between approval and a grumble at the attention to his shirt, tugging at the hem awkwardly. He didn’t see what was wrong with it anyway, but the contact felt nice, thanks to Tekivisk very contentedly broadcasting how lovely it was to be able to curl up with Konstask like she was, didn’t Vix agree? She didn’t mind his being away as long as she had Konstask with her. It was safe with her greensister. Vix blinked, offering the wher a mental shrug as he leaned against the wall, wondering vaguely if it was possible to fall asleep standing up.

But–“gift?” he echoed, momentarily distracted from the thoughts of his bed where it was warm and he did not have to deal with trying to figure out what time it was, “why…” The beginnings of the question faded at Ximera’s approach, probably for the better—Vix had been about to inform Kostya, very intelligently, that it was not, indeed, his Turnday, and gifts were, therefore, unnecessary. Vix had never claimed that his logic worked, especially when he was still sleepy.

“I can walk,” he murmured at Ximera’s interjection, though he made no real effort to detach Kostya from himself, because—yes, that was a good question (and one he was sure had come out fairly coherently from his own mouth). “Forgot what…?” His nose crinkled suspiciously, though he did stumble into a walk, fingertips gliding across the wall just in case he was more disoriented than he thought he was—entirely a possibility—and accidentally ran into a wall or a door or something equally embarrassing, but, “There’s nothing in the Main Hall but food and people…how can we be late for food? ‘M not hungry, anyway…”

Because the people just did not register as important, obviously.

~*~*~

A’emi let Jenna take one of the plates from him, following her contentedly through the swarm of people trying to get at the food and picking out his own dinner, making sure he didn’t get too much. He didn’t need Jenna to think he usually went through five platefuls of food or anything (which he totally didn’t, he’d be much fatter if he did). “Lighttower,” he repeated dutifully, committing the fact to memory as she spoke it, and grinned as he stepped back to allow Versaith through before he moved back to Jenna’s side. “You should try bribery. And yeah, Kyrahth and I had contests to see who could hold our breath the longest, but don’t let Versaith do that to you, dragons can hold their breaths like ten minutes, only she didn’t tell me that.”

He slid the plate down onto the table, pulling Jenna’s chair out for her carefully before he sat down himself, commenting, “You shouldn’t apologize for her, she’s adorable.” Kind of wished Kyrahth were still that adorable. Although ‘still’ probably wasn’t true. A’emi was pretty sure Kyrahth had only ever been adorable in the kitten-trying-to-bite-your-face-off kind of way. Which Versaith was not. That was a good thing, though. Definitely. “Anyway, Fort Weyr’s where I Impressed Kyr, but I was born at Nabol Hold before that. Wasn’t exactly the best place to be but—hi.”

Blinking at Piden curiously—this was the other one who’d bid on him, wasn’t it—A’emi offered a bemused smile at the wink, wondering if he was going to have to protect Jenna from…er, jealousy?

Don’t flatter yourself, Kyrahth told him coolly, Also why would you /protect/ her. If she cries and leaves that means you’re not her slave any longer and you can come back to /me/, doesn’t it?

Don’t flatter yourself, he echoed her indignantly, and managed an encouraging grin at Jenna, gaze flicking at Piden curiously, “I get the first dance, though, don’t I?” Kept his voice light, a deliberate contrast to the bronzehandler’s seductive tone. Jenna was just a kid, “And the last.” Maybe two dances was being a bit optimistic—it wasn’t like he knew how good a dancer Jenna was and it wasn’t like he danced frequently either, so if he sucked, he totally wouldn’t blame Jenna for not wanting to dance with him twice—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t claim them anyway.

[dragon]

There were lots of things to be done. Some of them took time. And then to be presentable afterward ... that took more time. One of the things that had needed being done was cleaning out the flue in the smithy. Nasty job that it was, it had to be done. Mostly because if it wasn't, the whole place could catch fire and that'd be the end of the place. And possibly half the forest around it, too.

It also had the interesting perk of making sure he was either very hard to find, or much way to nasty for anyone to think of trying to get him to participate in that auction thing. Nope ... C'oar had absolutely no intention of having anything to do with being sold like a steer. None.

So ... between finishing the job and then cleaning up afterward, he was quite late to the feast itself. But that was okay ... there was always plenty of food and being late was better than being the first one there and being an awkward wall ornament. C'oar didn't have anything wrong with feasts ... but after spotting a few fellows either quite unhappy or worse yet ... wearing strange bits of attire quite unusual, he was quite glad he'd managed to bypass that whole shindig. He himself was in his usual presentable attire. A simple, loose, off white shirt that was graced with the sleeves he normally never wore, cuffed about his wrists. The sleeves were loose enough that he wouldn't rip them out by doing anything other than standing perfectly still, but that also lent a nice effect to the cut of the shirt. The shirt was big and loose, but it didn't look big and loose on him, simply because the yoke, collar, and cuffs were a perfect fit. To go along with the offwhite shirt was black trousers and boots, his black hair tied back into a loose runnertail with a simple, narrow white ribbon. Normally it was tied with a black one, but today was a day to be nice... that and he'd worn the black one during that job, and was rather ... not clean.

He spotted Farryl in her green dress and ribbons, apparently lacking any tagalongs. He made his way over in her direction to say hello. She hadn't exactly been a friend of his, but she was a friend of Saeo's as well as a classmate, and as a result he knew her. That was as good a reason as any to go say hi. That, and he wouldn't be intruding on anything at the same time. Making his way through a crowd was not exactly difficult, but it wasn't as easy as it would have been for a small, wiry person. When a fellow got as big as he was, people tended to get out of the way, even if only subconsciously.

From her range of expressions, C'oar guessed she was holding a conversation elsewhere with her dragon, not paying a whole lot of attention to what she was doing as a result. "Look out." He warned, catching her by an elbow to steady and steer her around a weyrling dragon that was wiggling backward of all things.

Allowing soft, freshly hatched dragonets into a very crowded room with lots of feet and tables where they couldn't be clearly seen ... C'oar couldn't help but think this was a bad idea and possibly a traumatic one if something went horribly wrong. Like getting landed on by an adult human.

Turning Farryl loose again just as quickly, he offered her a very slight smile. "Hi, by the way."

---

"I don't know if you're supposed to come or not." Orena said, uncertainly.

I don't see why I can't. Everyone else is going! See? Riavorth answered, pointing at some of her siblings that were happily scampering toward the hall where all the excitement was going on.

"Wellllll.... I don't know." Orena answered, for once having a bit of trepidation regarding trouble and mischief. "OW!!!!!" She shrieked suddenly, leading with the back of her head in a lurch backwards.

"Stop being a ninny." Isori answered, shoving her twin forward again by a hand to her shoulder before going back to doing Orena's hair. "It's not my fault your hair is so cantankerous. You know if you kept it tied more often it would be easier to handle in times like this."

"But I like it loose! Why would I want to keep it all in a tight knot the way you do??" Orena protested.

"Because it's sensible." That aside, Isori was not trying to tame the loosely curly mass of chocolate hair into a bun. Instead she was doing a real do ... one that matched the do that Orena had already put into Isori's hair.

As opposite as they appeared to be in personailty, the twins were actually quite similar. Especially in playfulness. So today they were going to go to the Feast, and they were going to do it in nice attire. But they were also doing as the identical twins they were. Just to see how many people they could confuse. Twice already they had almost managed to confuse Riavorth. The only way the dragonet could tell them apart was through her bond ... if she operated just on her eyesight, the dragonet got confused just as quickly as the next person. Which was in part why the dragonet had already started leaning as hard on her bond to Orena as she had ... it was the only way she could keep track of who was hers!

"There! All done. See, that wasn't so bad." Isori said, freeing her fingers from the fountain of curls that was done up on the back of Orena's head. It really was a pretty thing, all the chocolaty curls falling from the knot on all sides to drape around the top of Orena's shoulders ... the same as they were doing on Isori's own.

Of course, being from a weaving and tailoring home, they had no shortage of clothes. And because Riavorth was Green, they had opted to pick out their green dresses to wear to the feast. The garments were both covering and revealing at the same time. One could argue they were modest ... and not. Simply because while they covered the girls from throat to toes to wrists, they were a cut that followed their shape so closely that there was no doubt at all that these two were indeed shamelessly shapely young women. Isori tied a curling green ribbon to a hair pin, and then stuck the pin down into the heart of the fountain of curls that adorned her sister's head, adding that last touch of green to her outfit, completing it. "We're ready to go now."

"Alright, alright. I guess you can come. But you have to promise to not spoil anything!" Orena told Riavorth, shaking a finger at the young dragon. Riavorth scowled at her, but grumpily agreed. "Good. Now ... I am going to run off for a bit. You go with Isori, she'll keep an eye on you. I'll meet up with you there at the Feast. Alright?"

Mine does not like my company?

"No! It's not that. It's just I don't need you asking awkward questions while I use the latrine. Now shoo." Orena answered, before trotting away.

"Well ... I hope she doesn't ruin her hair." Isori remarked, before looking at her sister's dragon. "Come along then. We'll be late otherwise." She patted Riavorth's head and headed off toward the hall.

Heaving a sigh, the green turned and followed after hers' twin lookalike. Somehow, she just knew this was going to turn out badly. She should be with hers! Not with not-hers! But the two made it to the hall without any major mishaps, and through sheer effort of willpower Riavorth asked a few questions of Isori and got answers out of her while they waited for Orena to turn back up again.

When Riavorth tried to go under a table to chase a dropped roll, Isori chastised her for it. But it was too late ... the dragonet got stuck in the legs of the chair and as she backed out, the chair went with her, straight into the path of someone else who was walking by. It could have gone very badly and Isori was sweating bricks for a moment. But it turned out okay. "What did you do that for??" She hissed, yanking the chair upward and off of the dragonet to set it aside.

[Rowana]

G'tor heaped his plate with greens, rolls, and a healthy quantity of fish. You'd think he'd be tired of fish by now, but with so many different kinds, that was harder than it seemed. The dancing was in full swing now and the crowd growing larger. G'tor was just thinking about how nice it was to see everyone having so much fun when Tenlie led him to one of the tables. He was just starting on one of his rolls when Tenlie spoke. He nearly choked at the question and had to take a drink to keep it down.

He looked at her curiously for a moment, wondering what could possibly have brought this up. She didn't seem to be being mean, though, just interested. "Well," G'tor admitted. His cheeks turned slightly pink at having to admit this. "There isn't really anyone. I mean, Rusk chases and all, but that's more for him than me." He shrugged, trying not to sound embarrassed. At home, he'd be married with kids by now, but here he was solidly single. Most of his relationships were passing at best.

He leaned back thoughtfully. "Though, I'll admit, there are some ladies I might be tempted to ask." Most were spoken for, however, or at least as close as that got around here. Riders weren't known for tying the note, but that didn't mean they couldn't be close to someone. Still, one or two had caught his eye in the past. One in particular lately, especially with Ruskeath's insistence on chasing her dragon. He'd hardly spoken to her more than once or twice in passing. She was kind though, and he thought he'd like to see her more. "Kaegan is nice," he mused, than shook his head. He was getting above himself, and probably hurting Tenlie's feelings.

"What about you?" He went on quickly, trying to change the subject. "You must have had plenty of offers without putting down good marks for little, old me." She was quite pretty, in his opinion. It didn't seem right to think of her not having any offers.

~

Farryl felt a hand steady her as one of the weyrling dragons stumbled towards her. Shards, but she hadn't even seen it. She needed to pay more attention when she spoke to Peppeth. She glanced behind her, surprised to find a face she knew well. "Why hello, C'oar," she returned with a smile of her own. She hadn't seen him in quite a while, but he looked good. It was nice to see one of her old classmates, especially now that there were only three of them. The thought stung, but she pushed it aside. Tonight was for celebration, not moaning about the past.

"I guess it's good I didn't let Peppeth come," she joked. The though of her, albeit small, dragon trying to avoid stepping on everyone was amusing, even if it would be chaos in reality. "You look well. Keeping busy?" He worked with the smiths, as she recalled. They always had a lot to do. Most of what she did were wing drills and Searches.