The Grey Tower

Casten watched the exchange with mild interest. He knew that pretty faces often hid ill-intent as he himself was guilty of such things. Once he did learn of her station and the hulky man that sat just behind her seemingly in an effort to make sure that the young men act in a manner befitting her rank. With diligent effort Casten removed his awestruck expression from his face and beating down the lustful urges that often plagued men when dealing with beautiful women. The sway and bounce of her movements were a sight he had to remain vigilant against for the time being. Blasted fool. Pay attention. Although his curiosity was peaked when she mentioned Dax’s bondmate. Perhaps that Novice he spoke of?[/]

Casten returned her smile with practice grace bowing his head deeply. She herself seemed to want to keep this interaction less than formal. The his lips parted while his flesh began to crawl while his eyes focused directly at her. Bashagar spoke of this. He couldn’t see what she had done but from the look that still graced her beautiful face he could at least assume that there were no ill-intentions. I think…

However he managed to recover and smooth out his face once more to well-trained pleasant expression that didn’t quite reach his eyes this time. Casten was greatly disadvantaged and Dax’s warning took on a deeper meaning now. “Hello, Taylin Sedai and to you as well Maroue Gaidin, I am Casten of House Murow.” His lilting accent practically danced over his lips and into the air, light and friendly. He was eternally grateful that none at the table could see his curled toes inside his boots, a trick he used to help him contain himself long enough for his mind to calm and take control once again.

Dax chewed on the inside of his cheek, the pain of his teeth grinding into flesh a physical reminder of the consequences if he were to speak his mind to an Aes Sedai in the presence of one of the Gaidin. Taylin's remark grated at him. First, that she knew him at all, and second, because he had only been raised a few weeks before. He fumed silently while she and Casten did the ritual greeting dance, contemplating how he might best make his point.

"You mistake my intentions in studying here, Aes Seda," he commented in an off hand voice. "I have about as much desire to be bonded as I do to cut off my own-" he glanced at her, and changed what he had been about to say, "-foot." He curled his fingers and examined them with studied disinterest in the abrupt and very still silence. "That said, I am surprised that even a new Green would lose track of a potential bondmate's advancements. I thought you people kept a little black book or something, the way you all chatter when you watch us in the Yards." He tugged his belt knife free with one hand and began to clean his fingernails, glancing over at Casten.

"I think it's about time we headed to the Tower, don't you?" He asked conversationally.

Muroe's stony face was pulled into an outright scowl, his eyes drilling a hole into Dakson's head. Unless The Ji' pushed it further, the Warderwould not break propriety to say anything in public, but the Tairen knew his backside would sting the next day for his impudence. It was worth it. The Aes Sedai can take their bloody bonds and stick them where the sun don't shine, he thought, irrationally irritated by the entire thing.

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OOC: He doesn't actually have anything particular against Taylin, by the way, she just happened to poke at one of his few openly sore spots. That said, he WAS an openly insubordinate asshole, and there are consequences for that kind of behavior, so I'll play along with whatever you decide to do.