A Possible Friendship (Attn: Becks)

[Lex]

Lexalon wandered idly through the plain corridors of the Grey Tower keeping a sharp eye out for any Aes Sedai or Asha'man. If they caught him slacking off there would be trouble, and extra chores. The light knew he had enough of them already. As he walked he thought about his time since arriving at the Tower. It had certainly been an interesting time what with the channelling and lessons. It was even fun in a way. Without a doubt channelling was the best thing that ever happened to him. It had got him out the army. He reckoned he would probably die much sooner in the army that he would here. After all, here didn’t have Trollocs trying to split your skull once or twice a month. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t enjoyed his time in the army but channelling was far more fun that the army have ever been and ever would be.

It had its risks, true, but it also had its benefits. A part of him was always thinking of new tricks and pranks he could play on people with the Power. They would certainly be entertaining but he felt that there was too much risky with the Power. He might like playing pranks and tricks but he didn’t want to actually hurt anyone with the Power because he couldn’t control it or one of his weaves correctly. Maybe he would use the Power for tricks once he had more experience in use and control of it but until then he was keeping it well away from using it for anything in which its use could easily go terrible wrong.

As he walked he noted that he was nearing the Novice's quarters. He wasn’t supposed to enter their unless directly given an errand which required him to enter. He might not always follow the rules but he at least tried to break them discreetly when he didn’t follow them. After all there was no point in getting caught easily when a little effort might get you away with it. Usually he didn’t get away with it and he was still working of the extra chores from the last time one of his pranks had gotten him in trouble. It had been worth it though.

He kept walking down the corridor despite knowing the he would soon need to turn back less he entered the Novice quarter’s themselves.

[Stasia]

Rhiale

The things I do for you, Lorraine... Rhiale looked down at her white dress with distaste. Her First-Sister had joined the Wise Ones, become one of them, and respected their customs. It only seemed appropriate that Rhiale extend Lorraine the same honor, even if it was posthumously. She did not wear the whites of a gai'shain, but the whites of a novice. Lorraine had been a novice too, and she had worn the same scratchy white wool, and lived the same boring and pointless existence. Rhiale was still convinced that the Tower coddled its girls - they were not allowed to channel without supervision, even if they had proven that they were competent and not going to endanger anyone. But on her honor, she had not touched the Source without permission and a watchful eye, even though it sang to her.

Wetlander logic was as soggy as all of their food was. Rhiale poked at her congealed porridge with her spoon. It would not have killed the cooks to put some sort of spice or fruit in it, but the novices were not allowed any luxury. That was fine - she knew it was just another test concocted by the Mistress of Novices, another hoop to jump through before she could prove that she was worthy. She ate slowly, tucked away in a corner away from the cacophony of the dining hall. The chatter there was so loud that she could not hear her own thoughts, much less keep track of her instincts, and that was paramount: a familiar weight had settled in her gut. Violence was coming. By her judgement, it would not be a terrible battle, but there would be a handful casualties. Thunder rolled in the distance, as if to punctuate her concern.

But there was no point in going to the Mistress of Novices - Rhiale assumed that Mirin Sedai would discard it as a savage's instinct and she was not interested in earning a penance for attempting to forewarn a woman that would not want to listen. There was no honor in repaying toh that was not owed, and she could only rectify it to herself by sweeping it beneath the rug, saying that she did it because she owed Lorraine the greatest toh of all. Regardless of that debt, it made her skin crawl to think of repaying debt to those who did not deserve it, to try and earn honor back from those who were not interested in returning it to her. Lorriane had said that it had taken her twenty years to become Aes Sedai. Rhiale would not wish away her obligation, but she was not sure how she would manage to repay it without going insane. She missed the Three-fold Land dearly - life made so much more sense there - she was treated as an adult there, not like someone that still played with dolls. She ate the rest of her porridge bitterly, thinking of the debt she had racked up by believing that she was not a child, like the Tower wanted her to be. In all likelihood, she would stop by Mirin Sedai's office later today and ask for a penance.

A young man swept past her with an air of confidence, but Rhiale had learned within a few days of being here that the little jewels that the men hung on their collars were rank markers. This young man did not have the sword or the dragon - and he had no business being here. Is it my place to say so? Rhiale considered the situation, scraping the last flakes of oat out of her bowl. The novices were her sisters now, she supposed. Perhaps his presence is the source of the bloodshed that is coming - her eyes widened at the revelation. Resolved, she stood immediately - if Mirin Sedai wanted to punish her for herding a man out of the women's quarters, so be it. She did not have to mention that it had anything to do with premonition.

"What are you doing here?" her voice was sharp and accusatory, echoing in the otherwise empty halls. "You have no business here, soldier."

[Lex]

Lexalon saw an Aiel walking down the corridor. They were a peculiar bunch from what he had seen and heard during his time at the Tower. He hadn't spoken to many of the but he had too a few. They had their weird system of Honor which confused him greatly. So much so that he didn't even bother trying to learn any more that that it existed.

Then the women snapped his head of. He got such a fright at the sudden out burst the he stopped dead for a moment staring. What was he doing here? Well taking a walk of course. What else did it look like. Maybe to an Aiel it was like an invasion or something? He didn't know nor did he particularly want to find out.

"I'm going for a walk, what does it look like." He said to the women carefully. He knew that he was nearing the Novice quarters but he also knew that he hadn't yet actually entered them. While it was true that this hallway only lead to them they officially didn't start until you passed through the doorway at the other end of the hallway.

"As for business of course I don't have any. This is a random corridor, it not like anyone owns it" He said growing slightly more confident as he spoke. The women wasn't that scary. Even if she was taller than him, and looked like she might stab him in a heartbeat. Okay maybe she was that scary but he could channel if it was truly necessary and then get a punishment to end all days for going against the rules. No thank you.

At this point he was seriously regretting speaking to her like that and beginning to debate if he could escape her by running for it. But weren’t Aiel meant to be fast runners. Light help him what had he gotten himself into this time. Atleast she wasn't wearing a veil over his face. He had heard of black veiled Aiel and he didn’t want to meet one. Not any time soon at least.

[Stasia]

Rhiale

The boy seemed to freeze beneath her steely gaze, but his words did not match his posture - I have yet to meet a Wetlander that says what they mean! - "I'm going for a walk. What does it look like? As for business of course I don't have any. This is a random corridor, it not like anyone owns it." Rhiale scowled. It looked like he was an insolent child that had no business making decisions. Or worse, he was a spineless liar, looking to cover his tracks. The hair on her skin rose, and the sensation of impending bloodshed built, pressing in on her temples, thudding to the beat of a drum. Her heart fluttered frantically; it had not felt this close in years, not since she was a Maiden, not since she was fighting. Rhiale would not ignore her intuition.

"There are plenty of places to walk in the Grey Tower that aren't this close to a place that is forbidden to you," Rhiale said softly, walking towards him - and not even her terrible, scratchy, and shapeless dress could not hide her deadly grace. "Perhaps I could escort you to one of them?" She gained on him, nearly close enough to touch the boy now. Wise Ones were forbidden to fight, and novices were as well, but the danger felt so tangible - she would wash every single dirty dish in this Light-blasted Tower for the next decade if the Mistress of Novices demanded it, and the toh would not be hers; if this boy forced her to hold her ground, forced her to break from her way of life, the blame would lay at his feet.

She stared down at him, her peridot gaze cold as ice, and assumed a defensive stance out of second nature. If he required convincing - so be it. As Rhiale stared him down in silence, waiting for him to make his move, it occurred to her that she could still feel the threat from earlier; they were separate entities, rather than the first come to a head. What...? This... This makes no sense. Her eyes narrowed, and doubt pricked at her heart. But if he is not the threat, why does he feel so dangerous? Her premonitions were becoming stronger, more startling all the time, but this was the first time in years that she had feel so personally involved with it. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Something had to be wrong.

Her intuition had never been this tangled or indecipherable before coming to this Light-accursed Tower.