Getting a meal is without event, although Larrikan has no idea what most of the food is, and choses somewhat blindly. He wends his way carefully through the tables, until he finds where Yda is sitting. Haoys and two other women Larrikan doesn’t know are already at the table, and part way through their meals. When he arrives, Yda says, “Here he is!” and points him to the last chair at their table.
Larrikan smiles, and sets his tray down, and then sits, having to stop and adjust how he was sitting so he is not sitting on his own tail. He smiles and thanks Yda for the invitation, and introduces himself to the two he does not know.
They turn out to be Adelin and Eloise, two of his roommates. They both seem surprised to see him, and Eloise says, “Well, you’re not what I expected!” She doesn’t seem upset, just surprised.
All Adelin says is, “I hope you don’t snore.”
“Not that I know of,” replies Larrikan, lightly. “Have any of you met Emblem yet? I have not.”
Eloise says, “Who?”
Adelin says, “Our other roomie, goofball.” She tells Larrikan she hasn’t.
The rest of the meal is uneventful, although the girls are amused by Larrikan’s asking questions about common things, such as the food (“That’s chicken soup, Larrikan.”) the dorms, and people around them. At one point, he explains, “I’ve never slept inside before. It just seems like an odd idea to me.”
Back at the dorms, the other all busy themselves with unpacking. Larrikan watches for a few minutes, then unpacks his fiddle, a dark wooden one, goes into the common room, and begins to play.
Within a few minutes, he has an audience, which does not seem to bother him. Adelin, ELose, Rafe, Saer, and a gangly red-haired boy Larrikan does not know have come in and are listening. Saer asks Eloise, “Dance?” and they do. Larrikan cheerfully segues into a perky dancy tune, smiling.
Rafe grumbles loudly, “Better not do this often! Some of us will have to study!” and stomps off.
Yda makes a rude nose and calls after him, “Study in the library!”
Eventually, everyone calls it a night. Larrikan is quite impressed at the different kinds of bedding and clothes the girls have. He had planned to wrap himself up in his cloak, as normal. As the night progresses, he realizes the dorm is warmer than it is outside, and gives up on the cloak. Later that night, he takes off his tunic as well.
In the dead of the night, in the deep quiet, the door to the room opens, and someone comes creeping in. Having heard, and seen the door open, Larrikan sits up and looks over that the person coming in.
They suddenly scream in terror, drop their packages with a clatter, and flee.