K'swaren passed the table, nodding to the four men sitting there. Two were fairly old, but the two young men seemed not much older than the bluerider himself was. They all seemed to be watching him, though only one was making it blatantly obvious. He gave them a smile, eyes lingering on the man watching him back with an intent gaze, then he continued on to the table he'd picked at the back of the Dining Hall.

The staring man turned back to the other three. "You want us to play _him_? He doesn't look any older than Illotte!" the youth said with a grimace, jerking a thumb at his best friend, the other young man. "And he's a rider on top of that," and his grimace seemed to deepen.

"Then you'll be sure to win," one of the older two men said. He then turned to his son, Illotte. "And whichever of you wins gets to come with us to the next Asura Hold Gather," and he turned his eyes from one young man to the other with a pointful stare.

Anajou remained grimacing, sitting back in his seat with his feet up on the table. "You're risking our passage to going Gather-running on some silly blueriding mark?" he said irritably.

The passage of a gambler from an 'apprentice' to a 'runner' was important for the young men at Avella Hold who chose to go into the informal, but highly popular, craft of gambling. Anajou saw it as quite an insult for their passage game to be played with some dragonrider in from the Weyr.

"Come on, Jou," Illotte reached across the table and pushed his friend's feet off of it. "Let's go. Sooner we get this over with the sooner one of us has a sure ticket to that Gather," he said with a grin. "And I intend it to be me."

This got Anajou on his feet. The young man straightened his shirt, casting a glance over at the bluerider, who was sitting alone. "Yeah, whatever," he said, then let a grin come to his face. "But don't get your hopes up to high," he said with a snicker.

Then, with a jerk of his head in the direction of the rider, the two started over at a long, steady gait. They walked up to the table side-by-side, probably looking quite the intimidating pair. If both hadn't been smiling pleasantly, K'swaren probably would've been out of his chair and racing for the doors.

"Need something?" the bluerider asked with a smile, leaning back in his chair and watching the both of them with an alert eye.

"We need a third for a game of dragonpoker," Illotte spoke up, pulling out a chair for himself and sitting across from the bluerider.

Anajou pulled up one between the two of them, settling down into it and leaning forward. He put his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together as he watched the rider with the same intent gaze he himself was being watched with.

"Dragonpoker?" the bluerider chimed, leaning forward. A grin fell onto his face. "I'm not sure, boys. You know, we hear some pretty scary things about you fellahs at Asura," he said in a playful tone.

Jou leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to one side, an amused glint in the depths of his black eyes. "We don't bite... promise." He moved his glance to Illotte for a moment, then back to the bluerider. "I'm Anajou, and this is Illotte."

The bluerider seemed to pause for a moment, eyes watching Jou... but somehow not looking at him. It was an odd enough gaze to make the young gambler fidget for a moment until the rider's eyes once again focused on him. "K'swaren," he said, a smile coming back to his face.

"Let's play."

~*~*~ A candlemark later ~*~*~

"Would you look at that? Full Hold!" Illotte let out a cackle as he set down his cards, proudly displaying the three, four, and eight of Sheaves, as well as the holder and Lady Holder.

K'swaren, having been out of the game for about three hands now, sat back with a grin on his face. He would be broke for a few months to say the least, but he was enjoying the expression that came over Anajou's face at that moment.

"You son of a _snake_," Jou said once he was done gaping. "How in the na... I mean..." He took one more moment of glaring at his best friend before falling back in his chair, sending his cards flying across the table with a flick of his wrist. And he'd been so proud of his Gather cards in his hand.

"Aww... now don't be sore, m'boy," Illotte said with a wink, gathering the cards and sitting back with a contented smile, sorting them back into a decent deck. "Maybe next Gather," he said with a wink to Anajou.

Jou gave him a sour look. "Keep grinning like that and you won't make it to the next Gather," he said dryly, clenching his fist on the table. It was an empty threat, both of the young men knew that, but it made Jou feel better.

Regardless, Illotte took the cue. "Well, I'll be off then. Have something to chat about with those two ol' farts," he said to Anajou, trying his best to keep a grin from his face, though failing miserably. He turned to K'swaren, smiling pleasantly. "Nice to meet you, dragonrider. Have a g'night." He then nodded his head, and turned to go make good on his deal with the two old gamblers.

"What was that about a Gather?" K'swaren inquired after a moment, studying Anajou from where he sat.

Anajou lifted his head from his hands, where he'd placed it after Illotte had left. He'd just lost a chance to go to Asura's annual Gather. Sharding Illotte... "Passage game," he said simply, leaning back in his chair with a groan.

K'swaren seemed to wait for a moment, then took on a look of confusion when Anajou didn't continue. "Passage game?" he echoed quizically.

"Whoever won gets to start going to the Gathers they have in other Weyr territories," Anajou said in explanation. He frowned when the look of confusion didn't leave the rider's face. "To gamble," he added.

K'swaren finally nodded, then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, maybe next time," he said in a helpful tone.

Anajou looked over at the rider, who was watching him with a light but intent gaze. The rider seemed to be waiting for something... maybe a specific moment, or maybe for Jou to say something.

The young gambler shrugged, then hefted himself out of the chair and to his feet. "I don't know about you, bluerider, but I need a drink. You just lost everything you have, would you like one? It's the least I can do to go beat something out of Illotte so we can get a good drink after he's taken our money."

K'swaren paused for a moment, once again taking in that spaced-out looking. He was staring at Anajou, but he wasn't seeing him. Anajou cleared his throat, and K'swaren abruptly focused on him with a startled gaze.

"Well?" the young gambler asked.

"Oh... yeah, that sounds good," K'swaren said a bit sheepisly, climbing to his feet.

Anajou nodded gruffly, then turned around. "Wait here for a moment," then he stalked across the room towards Illotte with a sullen expression and a determined stride.