Under the Stars (Bella)

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

While Liaran continued to study Haeden's movements, she did so in almost total silence. She did not want to distract him or startle him. Instead, she focused on enjoying this moment with him, occasionally looking away to gaze at the tiny balls of fire suspended above or at the lake surrounding them. It was quite a beautiful sight, but the vast majority of Liaran's attention remained on the man she loved.

She smiled at Haeden as he corrected the few, very minor mistakes he made, ones so small that she barely noticed the rocking of the boat where they sat. As far as Liaran could tell, he was picking up the ability easily, just as she had thought he would. She wanted to offer him some praise, but even the bond couldn't tell her if Haeden felt capable of listening and rowing at the same time. Not daring to say anything just yet, Liaran hoped that he would sense what she was feeling now: encouragement, appreciation, and pride in him.

[Bella]

And he did, of course. He probably could've handled the talking and the rowing together since after he got the initial hang of it, it proved a rather simple task. He was used to doing far more complicated physical activity in the yards. Even so, he didn't feel a pressing need to force conversation either since they were a pair with an appreciation for companionable silences.

Eventually, though, he knew it had to be growing late.

"Although I'm loathe to even bring it up," he said with a smile, still rowing their lazy course while he began, "we have been out here for a while. Are you going to soon be required back to the festivities? I'm hoping there won't be any Blue search parties looking for you. Worse yet if they're led by my sister." His smile became a crooked one in his jesting.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

As the boat moved across the lake, Liaran closed her eyes to take in the peace and quiet surrounding them. It was not entirely silent, of course; if she paid attention, she could easily overhear the nearby party. The Aes Sedai simply chose not to, preferring to spend a few short moments focused on nothing but herself, her Warder, and the boat where they sat. Liaran knew that time would not last long, and opened her eyes without hesitation as soon as Haeden spoke to her.

She smiled at him, even giving a short laugh before responding, "No, there will be no search parties coming after me, with or without Sadira. Since I helped set up earlier, I'm not required to also help with cleaning up and putting everything away." With a tilt of her head, the Aes Sedai gazed up at the tiny fireballs she'd woven earlier, still suspended over the water. She shrugged and said, "I will need to extinguish the lights I made, though, and it would be polite to help the others even if it's not expected of me." It was with more than a little regret that Liaran concluded, "If you can, we should probably start heading back to the shore."