Thayva gave a knowing nod and followed him toward the hidden passages and stairwells that led back to the kitchen. “I know. Perhaps we should add a lecture to the plans again about wasting food.”
	Though she had lived in a bit more prosperous part of the region during the famine Serapis had spoke about on a couple occasions, rations had still been well watched. The sheer amount of wasted food splattered over the dining hall was a sickening thought indeed, in more ways than one.
	When they reached the kitchen, she began pulling out a few items from the cabinets in preparation. She looked to him at his offer, and smiled warmly.
	“Thanks, hon.” She went to him and gave him a loving nuzzle. “But, like you said, training is almost half over. We can get it made quicker together, and maybe have enough time to actually sit down and eat.”

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	Tor laughed at Laura’s taunt. “It’s not [i]me[/i] I’m worried about, my little dwarf friend!” She gave Laura’s back a good-mannered bat with her thick tail.  She rolled her eyes at the dwarf’s challenge. “Alright, you cocky mountain-dweller. I see a free mat.” She nodded toward one of the mats as a couple other girls started brawling on one near it. “Or are you too chicken?” She put her hands under her armpits and made a sound somewhere between a reptilian hiss and a clucking chicken.
	Kai had eagerly stepped away from Laura and Tor, instead finding a group more of her build beneath the watchful eye of a martial arts instructor, and waited her turn on the mat. The teacher called out instructions every now and again, even stopping the fight a couple times to correct the girl’s forms, before Kia finally got her chance.

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	“Better than last time.” Nick grabbed a waterskin he had brought with him and tossed the remaining bit to Aurelian. Bare-chested like many of the other boys, he leaned back, his chest still a bit glossy from the exercise routine he had done before observing Aurelian’s fight.
	He glanced over at Jorn. “Still aching?”
	Nick’s attention shifted to the dueling reptiles, a grin on his face at the other boy’s words.

	To the mute halfling’s dismay, one of the instructors caught him lurking and ushered him onto a mat with a human a bit younger than him--five, maybe six years old--so their height and build matched up better. His opponent still had a small amount of baby fat around his face, making his cheeks pudgy, and his dark hair was a flyaway mess.
	The halfling suppressed a groan, and raised his fists in a defensive stance as the other child did the same.
	“Keep those fists up, and attentions on your opponent!” the instructor, a halfling himself, reminded.
	With that, the human lunged forward awkwardly, trying out the newest attack the halfling boy had seen one of the teachers demonstrate. 
	The halfling nimbly ducked beneath the boy’s fists and slid behind him. With both hands, the halfling shoved the human’s back, making him stumble toward the edge of the mat.