On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

The World outside the Grey Tower is a vast place.
Alianora
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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Alianora » October 6th, 2019, 7:54 pm

Stefana Sedai
While the Gaidin was looking for food, Stefana stood and walked slowly across the room, sitting back down in a spot that allowed her to see how the injured woman fared. While she did seem better than she had, the woman hadn't moved from where she lay, and it was clear to Stefana that she was still struggling with the effects of Healing. The Aes Sedai watched her until the door opened and the Gaidin reentered the room, carrying two cups and a package. Having asked about food only out of concern for the injured woman, it surprised when Natlya stopped to offer her some first. She had not wanted to display how tired the Healing had made her, and tried to sit up straighter, quietly thanking the Gaidin before she moved to assist the other woman.

Once they were all settled, Stefana set her cup on the floor and looked back up at the sound of Natlya speaking to her. She blinked, then nodded. "I'll be fine," she said. "I'm just a little tired." The Gaidin's eyes seemed to pierce right through her, noticing far more than Stefana had expected from someone who was not bonded to her. Stefana took a bite from the meat, knowing from experience that she needed to eat now even if she wasn't feeling that hungry. After swallowing, she explained, "This is normal for someone who's been channeling for a long time or concentrating hard on the weaving. Healing is....not something I do often, so it is usually tiring for me. I only need a little rest."

She kept eating, eyes going back to the woman who sat propped up, leaning against Natlya. As often happened with those who had been through a Healing, the woman was eating as fast as she could get the food to her mouth. Stefana wasn't going to speak to her now, while she was still recovering, but the Red sister observed to herself that eventually, she wanted some answers about what had happened here. They ate in silence, and Stefana was just finishing her water when she heard the woman speak.

"Thank you...for helping me," she said, brown eyes darting between Stefana and Natlya. "Who are you? Where am I?" She yawned and looked down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry....I don't understand why I'm so tired."

"It's all right," Stefana told her. "Being Healed will make anyone tired. You should get some rest now." The Aes Sedai put a hand on the wooden floor, pushing against it to help herself stand, then walked slowly towards the bed in the corner of the room. She rummaged through the covers of the already rumpled bed, eventually pulling out a sheet that was clean enough for use. She handed it to the woman, then sat back down.

To answer the woman's earlier questions, Stefana explained, "My name is Stefana Sedai, and this is Natlya Gaidin. We're in Arafel, near the town of North Bridge." She shoved down her instinct to ask the woman questions in return, knowing this wasn't the time. The woman's eyes were already half closed as she reached down to take off her shoes. Stefana stood and moved closer, kneeling down to help, but when the shoes and socks were off, her eyes were immediately drawn to a very familiar marking on the woman's foot. It was the same tiny sword, or blade of some kind, that they'd both seen on the severed foot back in Blackstone. It wasn't quite as fuzzy and faded, and the lines looked neater, but Stefana didn't doubt it was the same. She said nothing, and didn't allow herself any visible reaction, but she did turn around to catch Natlya's eye. The woman might need to sleep now, but when she woke, Stefana would expect some explanation from her.

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Bella
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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Bella » October 10th, 2019, 1:42 pm

Natlya watched, and she listened. She said little. Although she could be quite the talker and often even quite the smooth talker, she also knew that there were many moments when quiet and observation was more valuable. She had known this as a thief and when running her games, but it had become ingrained in her since becoming Gaidin.

So when Stefana looked up to catch her eye, she noticed and met the gaze. She did not allow herself any reaction either, although was intensely curiously. Was it the shoe? The foot?

The woman was already laying back on the floor, curling up with the sheet that the Aes Sedai had found for her. Natlya stayed kneeling where she was for a time until she was assured that the victim was asleep, then she got to her feet and stretched slightly. She nodded to the hallway with a questioning expression, wondering if the Aes Sedai would like to speak in private in the hall, now that the woman was asleep.

Alianora
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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Alianora » October 13th, 2019, 9:17 pm

Stefana Sedai
As far as Stefana could tell, the woman was sleeping peacefully by the time the Warder got to her feet and caught her eye with an expression that suggested they should go elsewhere in the house so they could talk. She nodded in silent affirmation, standing up slowly and heading towards the door. Not wishing to wake the woman, she didn't stop right outside the door, instead walking down the hall until they were closer to the main room than the bedroom they'd just been in. Once Stefana judged that they were far enough away to avoid any disturbance, she moved closer to Natlya to speak of what she'd just seen.

She inclined her head towards the other woman, keeping her voice low. "I'm not sure if you noticed from where you were, but when I was helping take off her shoes, I saw a tiny tattoo of a sword on her foot, just like the one we saw earlier. It wasn't quite as faded, and I think it may have been more recently done than the other, but I'm sure it was the same."

She raised her head, looking up to see the Gaidin's face, wondering how the woman would react. For herself, Stefana didn't know what to think. The facts were few, and though she'd tried, she hadn't been able to think of anything that might connect the mysterious woman here to the severed foot they'd found in Blackstone. She shifted from foot to foot, annoyed that she knew so little, and could not learn anything else that was certain until the woman woke up. With the demands of Healing on her, that wouldn't happen soon, and the Aes Sedai stopped herself from giving a sigh of annoyance. She wanted answers now, and was not pleased that there would be a long wait before she could have them.

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Bella
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QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Bella » October 16th, 2019, 4:46 pm

The redheaded Gaidin was quiet for several moments as she rolled this piece of information around in her mind. She had not noticed the tattoo, but she had not been in a position to do so. Gaidin, after all, could only make it seem like they had eyes and ears focused on everything at the same time.

"This clearly connects the foot to this woman, without it being hers of course," Nat said slowly, thinking aloud as she did so. "We don't know who the foot belonged to or what it's connection was to our injured woman back there, but there was a fair bit of distance between them, so it seems...unlikely to be too direct a connection?

"The foot looked male...but with the distance, I think not husband or brother." Her pale brows knit in thoughtful frustration. "Perhaps they are both of some group? But to what end? Something for good? For ill? Neutral? To mark your foot as such, it doesn't suggest wanting the world to know of it... Or someone doesn't want others too.

"Are they participants or victims of something, I wonder," Nat went on, a stray thought latching on. "Like branding cattle..."

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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Alianora » October 20th, 2019, 1:07 am

Stefana Sedai
It was clear to Stefana that the Gaidin was not a stupid woman. She made several good points, and while she was listening, Stefana gave everything Natlya said careful consideration. She leaned against the wall, still thinking even after Natlya stopped talking. The possibilities seemed endless, and it irritated Stefana that they could do nothing except stand in the hallway, making intelligent guesses about the situation. She thought through what she'd learned before leaving the Tower, everything they'd both seen here in Arafel, and with time, managed to come up with some suggestions of her own.

She stood up straight to speak to Natlya. "I'm not sure they're related at all, " Stefana started. "That there's some sort of connection is clear, but there's no reason to think they're related by blood or marriage, especially with the distance between them as you said. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that I don't think it's likely. I do think you're right that they belong to some sort of group, but we don't have any way to even try to guess the group's motives right now."

A silence followed during which the Red sister gathered her nerves to speak of the other thought that had occurred to her, one that made her feel as if a frozen block of ice had suddenly formed inside her stomach. Unwilling to keep it to herself, Stefana said, "I think we also have to consider the possibility that the woman might not be a victim. I know that with her injuries, it appears as if she can't be anything else, but with the connection between this woman and the missing men from Blackstone....I don't doubt that the Shadow is involved here somehow. I fought the Shadow directly for many years, and there's very little, maybe nothing, that the followers of the Shadow would not do to accomplish a goal. This isn't something I want to believe, but since it could be true, it would be unwise to ignore it." The Aes Sedai swallowed, reaching up to push back a strand of her hair that had somehow escaped from her braid.

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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Bella » October 21st, 2019, 9:28 pm

Natlya was not one to disbelieve, since she'd been all but queen of the con-women for a time. She knew all about things not truly being as they looked...

"I think it's just as possible she's a true victim as a...less victim," Nat agreed soberly. "My theory would be, however, that if she was a part of the Shadow but ended up like that... Well, she was being punished for something." The Gaidin paused. "I think this is a punishment or message of some sort."

She frowned thoughtfully, hazel eyes drifting down the hall while her ears almost burned with their attention to the silence. "You don't put a body like this unless you know someone is going to find it...do you?"

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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Alianora » October 23rd, 2019, 10:19 pm

Stefana Sedai
Stefana nodded. "No, someone wanted her to be found, though I do have to wonder whether she was meant to be found still living or already dead." It seemed to her as if everything they discussed only brought up yet another question, most of which had no answer yet. The Aes Sedai looked at the Gaidin as she continued," I do think you're right that this is some sort of message or punishment...or it could be both. If it's a message, I'm not sure it could be from anyone other than whatever group that sword tattoo represents, but who would it be for?"

She tilted her head, considering what she'd just asked. "It could be for other group members, but I'm not sure about that. This house clearly hasn't been lived in for a long time, so it's just as likely, if not more likely, that any message implied by finding her was meant for whoever happened upon her first." If that was true, Stefana was glad that had fallen to herself and to Natlya, who were as used to this as one could be, and not to some random passerby. She thought about how frightening the sight of the pinned woman would have been for most people and asked, "Do you think she might have been left here to scare whoever found her? It obviously would, and if that was the intent, she could have been left here to frighten other people into going along with whatever it is that this group wants."

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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Bella » October 29th, 2019, 6:21 pm

"It's very possible..." Nat agreed slowly, thoughtfully. She tilted her head, looking back toward the room as something tickled at the corner of her mind. She frowned, trying to grasp onto it. There was something almost...familiar. At least, something that could be familiar, and that something brought with it a shadow.

What was it, though?

She spoke softly, almost to herself. "A warning..." Her blood ran cold. "Or bait."

Natlya's head snapped back to meet the Red's eyes, her own widening and then going hard. "Wait here," she said, slinking away down the hall. She kept close to the wall as she saw a window ahead. She edged just close enough to see through it, and she saw...

"Aw, bloody..." A near-silent stream of invectives slipped from her mouth as she hurried back from the window and to the Aes Sedai.

"We have a problem," she declared, grinding her teeth in her own anger at herself. How could you miss that?! "It looks like this woman was put here to draw someone's attention. Someone...or something...must have been watching this house and knew we were here, and now I see rather shady looking characters moving around outside. They don't look like innocent farmers or bystanders. Not with those blades."

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Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Alianora » November 2nd, 2019, 1:20 am

Stefana Sedai
Even as the Gaidin spoke of the threat outside, something crashed loudly against the wooden door. "A group of armed people out here probably does mean trouble," Stefana said in agreement. "And it sounds as if they don't plan to stay outside much longer. The door's locked, but locks can be broken." She reached for saidar and the One Power flowed sluggishly through her. She held far less of it than she normally could, but it was all she could handle after the effort of the earlier Healing. It will just have to be enough, she told herself. She reached for the handle of the small knife she wore at her belt, but as she looked down at it, Stefana shook her head. She didn't know much about weapons, having been explicitly discouraged from learning to fight with anything other than the One Power, but she could tell that the knife she wore, more of a tool than a weapon, was not going to be of much use.

The Aes Sedai let the handle go and strode away from the Gaidin to dig through the kitchen drawers in search of something that might be a little more useful. With the mess the kitchen was in, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Stefana made more of a mess as she discarded spoons, small cups, and a few other items she couldn't identify on top of the counter. She tried to hurry as the pounding on the door continued, and eventually located a knife as long as her hand. Almost as soon as she'd picked it up, Stefana heard something shatter, followed by a shriek from further down the hallway.

Expecting the worst, she gathered her skirt in her free hand and rushed towards the room where they'd left the sleeping woman they'd found. She slowed down only once she'd reached the door at the end of the hall, cracking it open just enough to peer in. From what she could see, the room looked much like it had when they'd left it, so the Aes Sedai decided it was safe enough to enter. Shards of a broken vase lay under the only window, and in a corner was the woman, huddled beneath a sheet and sobbing.

Stefana turned towards her, but didn't get more than a couple steps closer to her before the woman noticed her and stood, walking towards the Aes Sedai as quickly as she could manage. Her brown eyes were huge in her thin face, and Stefana hadn't noticed earlier how skinny the woman was. If she hadn't just Healed her, the Aes Sedai might have thought she was ill, but she knew that couldn't be. She moved towards the woman, and when the woman was close enough, she reached out to grasp Stefana's empty hand tightly between her own.

While it startled the Aes Sedai, she wasn't afraid, and a look into the tear-filled eyes told her that if the woman was acting, she was doing quite a good job of it. The woman sniffled, looked up at her and spoke, the words hard for Stefana to understand through the woman's tears.

"Oh Light they're here, they've come for me, don't let them take me, please!" she mumbled. "I can't go back....I won't, I'd rather die...." her voice broke off in a high-pitched sob, and Stefana pulled her hand out of the woman's grasp.

"Nobody is taking you anywhere," Stefana said firmly, and she meant it. If the woman was a true victim, they had to help her, and if not...well, then there were answers Stefana would want from her. Speaking sternly in an attempt to get the woman to calm down, she added, "Natlya Gaidin and I will deal with the people outside, but you need to stop crying and stay in this room. Can you do that?" The woman sniffled, tears trailing down her cheeks, but she nodded.

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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: On the Hunt (attn: Natlya)

Post by Bella » November 10th, 2019, 8:59 pm

It was a Gaidin's duty to protect their Aes Sedai, so nothing the Red did was done without Natlya nearby.

As she spoke to the woman, Nat was in the open doorway and listening to the directions of the noises. Her mind was quickly assessing the situation and she moved just as far from the doorway to find a cupboard that had been in the hall. It was empty now so it wasn't hard for her to move it in front of the window at the end of the hall.

"Aes Sedai," she said hurriedly, hearing the footsteps without. "This hall end is defensible. They'll bottle coming through here and cannot get in the window. If we guard here and watch that door, we should be able to take them in smaller numbers."

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