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Oh her "informants" had let her in on Kaskel's arrival. He was almost always seen with a couple of children hanging off his arms, and their presence usually alerted her to his whenever they came close. Still, not everyone could have their own personal children alarms, and Gawyn was one of the unfortunate ones who could arrive unannounced. It was only when he spoke did Nan realize that their audience had grown even bigger. "Well if you wanna know, you're going to have to sit down with the rest of us, Gawyn. Look, there's even a pretty girl here for you to talk to you, so you should feel right at home!" She grinned cheekily as she gestured with her head towards Raena. The other girl was pretty enough, and she could never resist taking a shot at Gawyn's reputation.

Nandeli nodded at Kaskel's assessment of S'kagi, expression thoughtfully. "I'd always thought he was a fairly non-memorable fellow. I can't say I've heard much about him, besides his recent interest in Emori." Raena, however, seemed of a different opinion of the man. Quarrelsome? Really? She raised her eyebrows. "I can't imagine why anyone would be picking fights with a bronzerider, especially for the classic reason. I heard some people got into a fight about that at the Gather but I didn't expect that kind of rubbish to make its way up here. Are you sure that's why you were fighting? Seems a bit of a petty thing to get into a shouting match in the Lower Caverns about. You sure he didn't see you doing something… I don't know…" She waved her hand in a vague gesture. Could she say scandalous and get away with it? She didn't know.

"Anyways, he can't be that much like F'sey or C'ren if he's hanging out with Emori. I always heard she was a pretty decent girl. Nice enough. Nice clothes though. I can't imagine anyone would put up with the affections of a nasty bronzerider if they already had a dragon." Everyone knew that sleeping with a bronzerider made it easier to Impress. Well, that's what they told the Holdfolk.

Maranan was just finishing up chores and ran to get a bit to eat before classes. He knew all about them better now. He was still a bit upset about not impressing at the last Hatching, but the daily grind helped.

He looked about for other Candidates, but didn't mind sitting alone. He ran up and grabbed some bread and sausage and sat at a table in the corner. He watched everyone from where he was. He enjoyed hearing everything from hear. He sat back and took a bite of bread. He wondered who would impress the next clutch. "I hope I do." He whispered to himself. He took a bite of sausage and thought he might stay here until he either impressed or was kicked out. He chuckled at his thoughts.

That comment didn't exactly sound in line with the the description he'd just heard from two other individuals of S'kagi, so he kept the slight frown, which hung on his expressive features like the threat of a storm.
"Well some Holder's are fairly against the riders. It has been a long time since thread fell. Longer than any of us has been alive! So it's still a silly thing to get in an argument about. It's like arguing that the sky is blue. It just is... " He shook his head, deciding it was probably better not to get baited into discussing with this woman something he hadn't been party too.
He hated hearing about arguments second hand, it was almost inevitable someone changed some of the details to fit their version of events, though someone in the lower halls might have heard the discussion by the sound of it. He just hadn't been within ear shot at the time.

"Well... he is a bronzerider," Nandeli said finally, in manner that suggested that was reason enough for anything. "And he's got a point you know." She nodded her head towards Rayale. "If you want to stay here and Stand for the next Hatching you'd best not be starting fights about silly things with the higher ups. That's just asking for you to be sent away, especially if you're from a Hold." Even as she said that, the wheels in her head were beginning to turn faster. An argument in the Lower Caverns was bound to be heard by somebody, and the Nose had a sneaking suspicion that something was going on between S'kagi and Raena. Maybe he had brought her here for his own personal reasons. Bronzeriders had done it before with pretty girls. Perhaps now that Raena was seeing C'ren and Kallista, and not coming as eagerly to S'kagi's bed, they were starting to fight. She wished Elae were here. Elae would have been able to find the real truth.

She looked back at Kaskel when he spoke to her, eagerly returning to the topic of Emori. "She did! Pretty little green thing! I couldn’t make it to the Touching, but I heard there was this adorable little pink egg that everyone adored! And her little green came out of it! She sounds adorable, doesn't she?" Nandeli grinned widely. "You're going to Stand for this Impression, right? I expect to see you this time! No escaping! And you're a candidate too, aren't you?" She turned her attention to Rayale. "It's... Rayale? Isn't it?" It was getting so hard to remember all the names of the candidates, especially those she couldn't get to quickly.

“Oh, the impossibly small hatchling? I’ve seen her here and there. She’s such a novelty that I guess I never really noticed the rider.” Kaskel gave a self-deprecating chuckle for his ignorance. “Of course I’m Standing, Nan. Wouldn’t miss it, even for a Gather.” It was probably better that way, he mused. He wouldn’t be tempted to spend all of his marks on a whim. There was a golden flit egg warming in his quarters that would testify to his inclination to buy on impulse. He hadn’t told anyone about it yet—not even Nandeli. He couldn’t wait until it hatched so he could show it off to her.

A slight smirk touched his lips at both that and Rayale’s bashful behavior. “Why so nervous?” he inquired. “It’s not as if Nan’s a girl or anything.” The smirk widened and he winked roguishly at the girl. Oooooh, he’d probably get a slap or a kick underneath the table for that one, but he so loved to tease!

"Rayale? Excellent." She seemed quite pleased with herself, and rightfully so. She had remembered the name of this apparently shy boy who had so far evaded her clutches. Well, now that she had him here and all to herself (mostly, at least) it was the time to strike! "So you are a candidate? That's what I thought. I though I remembered seeing you around. You said you were from a Hold? Nerat, right?" She had been paying attention when Rayale was talking. Nandeli was good at multilistening. She was also good at totally dominating a conversation. "So what colour do you hope to Impress? You look kind of like a blue guy... or a brown. Brown would be good for you, I think."

Gawyn received a raspberry in his direction for his comment, and so did Kaskel, though since the crèche worker was closer he got an elbow in the ribs as well. "Honestly, you two. I'm trying to be friendly, and all you're doing is causing trouble. See if I save you any sweet rolls the next time you're late for dinner, Kaskel." Oh ho ho ho. Take that, crèche worker! The Nose hath spoken!

Veyes pushed the last cart of meat out of the meat locker and started his way towards the kitchen. It had a been another long day; skinning, gutting, cutting. So much for a change of pace from his life on the herd farm. However, the women in the kitchen told him that having these skills would make him a better rider in the future if he ever impressed so that in itself made utilizing his farm bred skills worth every long day in the meat locker.

As he shoved the heavy cart of raw meat into the kitchen, the women smiled at him and he waved with blood covered gloves. "Ma'am, I'm done with the last cuts. Ground up the meat for sausages and took the other cart to the weyrling class."

"Good job, Veyes." said one of the women as she helped him untie the rope he used to keep the blood from getting under the gloves. "You're a mess today. "

"Umm...Yeah...the grinder here is not the same as the one at the farm..But I'll get a bath before my lessons today." he smiled a little and started dragging off the blood covered protective coveralls. Afterwards, he dropped them into the wicker basket for washing. Fortunately, the women would have them nice and clean for him tomorrow. Laundry was one chore that he had been lucky enough to not been assigned. He guessed it was because his work in the meat locker was far more important.

The cook handed him a plate of blood pudding (black sausage pancakes), eggs and fresh toast with butter. "There you go...for all your hard work." She spread a bit of fresh jam on that toast and he smiled a bit more. That was the treat for today! At home Jam was a luxury so he appreciated the fruity treat each time it was offered.

Usually, he'd eat in the kitchen but today that little table that he could quietly eat at was covered with fresh beans that another candidate was trimming off ends. He sighed and wandered out into the lower caverns dining hall and looked around carefully to find an open spot to eat. Eventually, he found one and sat down carefully; smelling a bit gamy from the blood and gore.

Glancing around he knew that there were several other candidates in the room but none he had ever met for more than the lessons themselves. However, he couldn't help but listen to what others said even as he quietly ate.

Kiriwar seemed to always find himself drawn into the dining hall -- it was a comfortable place for a newcomer, especially for one to find out about the goings-on in the Weyr without having to be there for every little thing. The lanky man made his way carefully into the hall, peering around, before spotting a group that was talking together. He paused briefly to look at the one who walked in, smelling of blood and bringing a tang to the air, before smiling crookedly at him and lifting a hand to salute in greeting. "Hullo."