What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (attn: Craig)

[Jenn]

Aikaterine Torellion

The very tip of her tongue peeked out from the corner of her mouth as Katrie very carefully tried to pry her fingers apart. She was sitting beneath the shade of a giant tree, a pot of glue perched precariously next to her. Scattered around her was an odd collection of small wooden pieces, tiny metal cogs and levers... small square weights... and what looked to be the beginnings of a triangular frame. Her notes were spread out in a half circle near her foot, precisely drawn and labeled diagrams of what looked like... siege weapons decorating the crisp sheets.

She hummed softly, endlessly amused at the fact that her fingertips were stuck together. Well. That was unfortunate. Who knew trying to build a miniature trebuchet would be so difficult? Her mouth skewed to the side, her nose wrinkling as she began chipping away at the dried glue with a small flow of Air, attempting to soften it with a thread of Fire. Maybe Dax had been right to be worried when she had asked for an Illuminator’s firework...

A shadow fell over her and she glanced up distractedly, a smile lighting up her face when she realized who it was. “Muscles!” She hadn’t seen Rav in years, not since she had been an Accepted and he a Ji. Oh. He was looking at her strangely. She had greeted him too informally perhaps... been untoward. Katrie tilted her head to the side ever-so-slightly, noting the dried flecks of glue that adhered to sheer beige silk and lace. Well, that was awkward. She gave her fingers another tug but to no avail.

“What can I do for you, Ravak Gaidin?” she asked formally, that stubborn curl of brown hair falling over her forehead into her eyes. She huffed and blew a breath upwards to dislodge it.

Rav looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Aikaterine Sedai,” he began. As he continued, her brows climbed towards her hairline.

----

Katrie eyed the Master of Training, her expression dubious. Her index finger and thumb were sore. She was pretty sure that she had taken off several layers of skin along with the glue. Her hair had been plaited into a braid and then coiled into a knot at the back of her head. She had changed into a pair of soft boots, breeches, and a fitted shirt, still not really fully comprehending why she was the one here when Dax was the Blademaster.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this. I think it's a bad idea,” the tall Aes Sedai repeated, frowning at the Shienaran. She felt out of place in the Yards, not at all comfortable with the role reversal.

“I just want to know the basics,” Rav insisted for the third time.

“Dax could teach you the basics better than I can...” she trailed off at that familiar glower and she held up her hands. “Fine! I’ll do it. I said I would. I just... might actually hit you. I’ve never had to worry about it before.”

And that was the truth. She practiced nearly every morning with Dax and the only time she actually landed her blows was when he directed her at the training dummy. She shrugged inwardly. Rav had literally asked for it.

“It will be fine,” the Gaidin said in an odd echo of her thoughts.

If you say so. She left that unsaid. Instead, she clasped her hands behind her back, bouncing up a little onto her toes. “You already know how to hold your body when you fight with your swords. It’s kind of the same with Unarmed. Watch.”

She demonstrated, legs shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Her left foot slid forward, toe pointed straight ahead. Right foot turned to the side. “You want to drop your chin down close to your chest. It’ll make it easier to protect your head. I’m right handed... so...” Right fist up to cheek level, elbow tucked in close to her body. Left fist stayed at chest level, and her shoulder pushed up to cover her ear. It was odd, having to think about it in order to explain it.

“Dax says that you’re solidly centered like this. Your head is protected by your fist,” she wagged it, “and by your shoulder,” she gave it a little shrug. “When you move, you have to make sure your legs both move equally. So if you move forward with your front leg then your back leg has to follow suit. And vice versa.”

Katrie studied Rav for a moment, before taking a few steps back and forth to show him what she meant. She let her arms fall to her sides and tilted her head at him. “Your turn.”

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow

Rav snapped shut the straight razor and inspected his reflection in the mirror. He looked clean, well-groomed and well rested. Lifting a towel, he dabbed at his face, removing the last of the stubble and stray hairs caught in the moisture. Should make for a suitable enough re-introduction. Not that there was anything wrong about his appearance on most days, although the extra twenty minutes had certainly helped.

Donning a fresh white shirt that he buttoned three-quarters of the way up, Rav left his rooms without cloak or swords. It wouldn't have been too much of a stretch to say he looked causal, just some man out for a peaceful stroll. That is, if it wasn't for the face. That brooding thunderstorm parted crowds of students who did not wish to fall into the Master of Training's bad books: his punishments had got very inventive since his return from the Aiel Waste. The reason for his glower was quite simple, but it slowly faded as he walked to the Tower proper. He made his inquiries brief, asking any of the Browns he recognised for the current whereabouts of one of their own. When they mentioned the gardens, he put his hands into his pockets (ignoring the chain and keys inside), and set off towards his quarry.

She was sat underneath one of the stouter trees, surrounded by a scattering of wood and metal trinkets. It looked like she was making something, although the Light knew what it was. For a short moment Rav just observed her from a distance, as old memories and feelings started to stir beneath his placid exterior. I'm bloody hopeless, he thought. It should have been long enough ago that any feelings he had for Katrie should have dissipated. Yet this moment reminded him of another many years ago, when he first caught a sight of a beautiful Cairhienin in the library.

Conversations with Katrie had never been easy, and apparently some things never changed. "I just want to know the basics," he repeated. It may just have been easier to go to Dax after all, but then Rav had sent Katrie's husband out on the latest survival test precisely for this reason. If Katrie could keep a secret, and it was a big if, then Dakson Torellion need not know that the Master of Training needed help with basic unarmed skills.

"You want to drop your chin down close to your chest." He followed suit, feeling a bit foolish. Tucked in, he was staring more at Katrie's legs than at her face, which seemed like the wrong focus. He mirrored her stance, with his right foot pointed at her, and his left directed away at nearly a right angle, much as he would with his swords in hand. The position of her hands met the odd techniques he'd been taught before by a Seanchan. He held his left fist by his chest, keeping his elbow in so it wasn't exposed. His right fist sat just above his pelvis. He raised his shoulder uncertainly - this hadn't been a part of his previous training - but he trusted Katrie.

"Dax says that you're solidly centred like this." He nodded along in good grace, but this was the basics of footwork. No need to rude and tell her this was child's play. Many bouts of combat in the streets of Fal Dara against Eka, Haruki and Shiro had long taught him how to stand, well before he ever got his hands on a real weapon.

"Your turn." She was quite adept herself, could fit in with some of the new Ji if she liked. Not that Katrie was likely to test the unarmed course when she could just grab the teacher at any time. His lips curled, finding slight distaste at the thought. His body acted whilst his mind thought, moving first with his right foot, then his left. The key to stepping was to do it a foot at a time, and quickly. Rear foot moved, then front as he stepped backwards. He danced back and forth with practiced ease, although his upper body and arms were quite rigidly adhering to the Aes Sedai's directions.

He was careful not to spend too long looking at her face, in case anything showed. Muscles? When had he acquired that nickname? And of potentially more importance, was this just her nickname for him, or did all of the Aes Sedai think of him as 'Muscles'. If so, why have none of them come to me about... No, he already had a stack of reasons for that. It was better not to dwell on it.

Although they had barely started, Rav knew this was going to build up to a sweat. Self-conscious over that nickname he left his shirt on, but he undid the string at his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves above his elbows. Light reflected off the golden tattoo on his right forearm, but he paid it no heed. "So that's the footwork? What next?"

[Jenn]

Katrie

The out of place flash of something very gold and very bright drew her immediate attention, Rav’s question falling on deaf ears. His arm! Katrie made a soft little drawn out noise, stepping right up to him. “That’s new!” she exclaimed, a fingertip going to prod at the large tattoo curiously. It was of no animal or shape or thing that she recognized, but the sinuous lines tickled at her memory. She had seen it before, she was sure of it, she just couldn’t remember where.

“It’s beautiful! I didn’t realize you were into tattoos, Muscles.” Her words were soft, her tone playful and teasing. “Where’d you get it? When did you get it? There’s some lady in Baelron that does tattoos, did you know? How did they get the ink to look all metallic and shiny? They didn’t use actual metal, did they? That’s dangerous... like deadly dangerous, isn’t it?” A slight frown pulled down at her brows at the corners of her mouth. She was going to have to ask Dax. He would know. Though... Rav was clearly not sick or in any danger of dying. And well, if he was, there was Healing for that.

Katrie lifted her face, warm brown eyes intent on the Shienaran. “Did it hurt?”

Gaidin and Aes Sedai stared at one another for a long moment before the pretty Cairhienin abruptly remembered what they were doing. Unarmed basics. Steely blue eyes were glaring at her. “Oh. Right! I’ll ask again later,” she announced cheerfully with a wave of her hands, smiling at him. Rav’s face was still stone. I warned him that his face would freeze like that... and wrinkle... She shrugged inwardly and took several steps back to give herself room to work.

Her finger tapped against her lips. “Show me how you’d make a fist.” He did, extending it out for her to see and she nodded. He had his fingers folded down over his palms, thumb pressed against knuckles. “Not bad, Muscles. Remember to keep your wrists straight when you start punching.”

Her head tilted to the side as she studied Rav again. “I won’t bore you with where to hit people to do the most damage, seeing as I’m fairly certain that you know more about that than I do.” And if he didn’t, he could ask. Or not, as he saw fit. “Try and aim a few inches beyond what you’re wanting to hit. That’ll help add force along with throwing your body into your punches. I’m going to show you three types of basic attacks that make up the foundation of everything else.”

Katrie dropped into the proper stance and demonstrated. “This is the basic punch. Hit straight out with your forward hand. Aim at the head, or you can pivot and drop to aim lower.” Her fist shot out at what would be shoulder level on an average person and then to what would be someone's abdomen. “You can do the same with your offhand.”

She couldn’t help but grin a little. She remembered Dax explaining this to her in almost the exact same words. “This is the hook. Lift your elbow until it’s level with your shoulder and turn your entire torso into the blow.” She showed Rav as she spoke, a quick surge of motion from her shoulder and her fist would have connected right about at jaw level. She didn’t quite flow between the movements like Dax did, but they felt... comfortable. “Again, you can do this with your offhand. And yes, you can drop lower to hit along the body as well.”

Her gaze swept over to Rav before going back to focus on the area in front of her. “This is the upper cut. Drop low, keep your elbow close to your side, and drive upwards with your fist. You're aiming at jaw or belly. Once more, you can use either hand, depending on how you move your body.” Katrie dropped her arms to her sides and relaxed. “Keep your footwork in mind. Start just out of reach of your opponent. Take a step in, punch, then step back out. Don't stand still. Keep moving because your attacker won't be still either. And this is going to sound strange, but remember to breathe.”

[Craig]

Ravak

He'd forgotten that Katrie was like her mother, always poking at things. Me, chiefly. Rav expected this curiosity about his tattoo, even if he hoped she would just move on without noticing it. As well wish I hadn't been exiled from the Waste. The brand marked him, keeping him from the woman he loved. Had loved? No, Sinead was the past, as was anything that may have been with Katrie.

The Cairhienin had been speaking, but he missed most of it. "I'll ask again later," she mentioned with a waving of her hands. He stared back stoically, trying not to let anything crack through to show on the surface. "Show me how you'd make a fist."

That was an easy instruction to obey. He curled his four fingers into his palm, then bent his thumb into the slight nook they made. Everyone who'd been in an actual fist fight quickly learned not to wrap their fingers around their thumb. The Brown moved onto basic attacks. These were not the same moves as he'd previously learned, but if they came from Dax, he trusted them. She stepped out of the way, giving Rav room to move without endangering anything.

He moved back into the practiced stance easily, leading with his left foot. Ambidexterity was a blessing and a curse, because you had to learn two sets of muscle memories. He shielded his face with a fist, and dropped the other to his waist. The first move was the basic punch. Rav stepped forward, front foot leading, and shot his left arm out at head height. As soon as the arm was fully extended he skipped back, out of the reach of a potential counterattack. It felt like a weak attack compared to what he was used to. She mentioned pivoting, right?

Rav reset his footing. This time when he moved forward, his back foot led. His left foot twisted to point sideways as he punched with his right fist in step with his foot touching the ground. He snapped his left hand down to his waist like Daelar had taught him, but it added nothing to the strength of the attack. Rav jumped back again afterwards, once more dodging any reactionary blow.

The upper cut could benefit from the same pivot motion he'd just used. He stepped forward, rotating from right foot leading to left. Using his off-hand, his left arm rose up, locked into a right angle at the elbow. Just before he would have made contact, Rav started to straighten his arm, adding extra range in exchange for power. If things ever got bad enough that he had to fight unarmed against a Trolloc, he'd need all the extra reach he could muster. May the Creator shelter me from that eventuality.

Last was the hook. He moved forward as his elbow came up in line with his shoulders. He felt the skin on his back stretch, the fabric of his shirt moving against the ragged scar that lay underneath. Fist and elbow moved in an arc, striking beyond the opponent's face.

Rav continued to work through the moves, dancing back and forth. He was more accustomed to moving forward through a fight, but a punch didn't have the lethal quality as being run through by a sword. At least, not yet.

After a few minutes, he stopped, turning towards Katrie. His breathing was a little laboured, but no sweat glistened on his brow. "It did not hurt," he said, picking up on her earlier question. "I got it in the Waste, and not from any tattoo... applier. It simply appeared when I crossed through some columns." He thought about pulling his shirt sleeve down to cover it, but it was a little late for that. "I don't know what is it, but that's my flesh underneath, all gold and scarlet."

[Jenn]

Katrie

Her head tilted to the side inquisitively as she listened to Rav’s brief explanation, warm sable eyes dropping to the the shiny tattoo that curled around his exposed forearm. “What would do that?” she murmured softly to herself. Columns that marked someone... ter’angreal possibly? But for what purpose? “I wonder why that would happen...” If she passed through them, would she also get a tattoo like that on her arm??

Katrie glanced up into the Shienaran’s blue-grey gaze, question poised on the tip of her tongue. The tall Cairhienin took in his expression and promptly thought better of it. Light, but Rav was certainly grumpy. Maybe he needed a plant that was prickly and difficult to kill as well. It had certainly helped Limpy. And then maybe Rav would answer her questions about the Waste. Her expression fell a little; she’d have better luck traipsing through the Blight blindfolded on a donkey than with the Aiel. They wouldn’t like her very much even though she really was quite charming and likeable. Dax thought she was perfect. Leave it to a Damodred to go messing things up for everybody else.

She let out a dispirited little huff before turning her focus back on the task at hand. Unarmed basics for Muscles. “I’m glad it didn’t hurt,” she said quietly with a little smile. She let that hang between them for a fraction of a second before straightening. “I’m going to show you how to defend now,” she continued without preamble, the slight smile transforming into an impish grin. “So you’re going to have to hit me.”

The look Rav gave her was too much and it was all she could do not to giggle out loud. Her expression was soft, however, and her amusement was not unkind. “It’s alright, I promise. You have to swing at me, Rav. I... don’t know how to show you without demonstrating. If it makes you feel any better, you’re probably not going to be able to hit me unless I let you?”

“Katrie...” his voice was pained. A little giggle escaped her.

“We’ll go slow. You asked me for this, remember?” she reminded him cheerfully.

The Gaidin finally acquiesced, and it was only when he finally put some force behind his blows that she showed him how to parry, how to cover from a hook, and how to catch. Then she showed him how backwards movement or side to side movements could make the parry even more effective.

“Catching a punch works better for you than for me.” For obvious reasons. She was as tall as Rav, but he was easily twice her size. “Keep your arm pressed against your cheek for the cover, or it’ll bounce off your head from the impact of the blow and you’ll do your opponent the favour of knocking yourself silly for them.” There was also the likely possibility of doing significant damage to your own face, neck, and arm, but Rav didn’t need her to point out the obvious.

After a few minutes, she grinned as he was able to perform the moves with familiarity. “The most important thing is to maintain balance. If you make a move with the left side, your next offensive move should be with the right, like a set of scales.” Katrie bounced up again onto her toes for a brief moment. “Dax says there are exceptions, but we’re not going to get into those today.” She stretched, languid and boneless, before squaring off opposite of the Master of Training. “So Muscles, let’s dance. And you better be trying to hit me because I’ll be able to tell if you’re not. And I will most definitely hit you back.”

[Craig]

Ravak

His reluctance was foolish. No-one, not even Katrie, stepped into a sparring ring without understanding that there was a chance to get hurt. He fully expected to walk away with a few bruises, so why should he think differently when it came to Katrie? No, she was right, but there was still something holding him back.

"Before we spar, I just need to ask a question." He sounded defensive. "It's simply a precautionary question, I don't mean anything by it, I just need to know where I can and can't hit you." He paused briefly. "You aren't pregnant at all, are you?"

She gave him such a considered look. "No, I'm not pregnant" she replied after a long pause of her own. He gave an accepting nod, and proceeded to take his place at one side of the arena.

They faced one another across the small space, mirror images in defensive poses. Feelings of reluctance swelled again, so he forced himself into action. Two steps forward and he threw out a punch towards Katrie's face. She sidestepped away from the blow, then everything went wrong. Rav tried stepping back, but something hooked onto the back of his foot. Katrie disappeared from sight as the Warder Yards was replaced by sky and the sickening sensation of falling.

He hit the ground hard.

"Oi!" Rav growled. There was sand in his hair from where it had bounced against the ground, and likely his entire back was dirty. The shirt could have done until nightfall. "That's unfair!"

"Life's unfair, Muscles," Katrie preened. "Not everyone fights by the same rules. That's something Dax taught me." The Gaidin nodded, mostly to himself. Dakson Torellion would know about playing around convention. Rav had always considered himself a man of honour - or at least he had until Rhuidean - but Dax...

"That comes as no surprise." He lifted himself up, scrambling a bit uncomfortably to his feet. "Dax just swoops in whilst others play by the rules." Despite his better judgement, Ravak gave the Cairhienin a significant look. He shoved his hands in his pockets. He felt the chain in one of them, and wrapped a pinky around it.

Katrie gave him the oddest look. She stared at him with her head tilted, dark brown eyes studying his face for... something. The stare went on for such a while, Ravak wondered if there was something on his face. He reached up to check. Nothing.

"Wha- what is this?" he asked uncertainly. "You know what I'm talking about." Still her stare was confused. He was beginning to lose patience. "Say something!"

She blinked. “What is what? I have no idea what you’re talking about! What am I supposed to say? Why are you getting upset with me?” It came out as more of a demand than a question.

"What do you mean 'why am I getting upset with you?' I kissed you." When that didn't penetrate, he gestured with a hand between them. "You kissed me. That had to've meant something to you."

Her reply was pure shock. "You kept telling me we were friends! Even when we got drunk!"

He met shock with outrage. "Well of course I bloody did! I wasn't just going to come out and say it, I had to know you felt the same way! But I at least assumed you had an inkling of an idea."

That assumption was clearly a mistake on the Shienaran's part. "Well I didn't!" Colour started to stain her cheeks. "So you can't be mad at me!"

"Of course I can," Ravak bit back. "Or do you just go around kissing all the boys? Is that what they do back in Cairhien, 'free kisses for all?'" He emphasised the last with air quotes. "Light..."

[Jenn]

Katrie

Katrie flushed, brows drawing together as she stepped right up to Rav. She had no idea what had sparked this but she wasn’t going to just stand here and let herself be scolded for... she didn’t even know what! She felt her husband’s interest sharpen across the bond. She had no answers and responded with confusion.

Her finger hovered just above the point of contact with the Shienaran’s chin as she jabbed it into the air at him. “I kissed you and Dax. That's hardly all of them!”

“So what, he was the better kisser and that was it? You go bond him, have a breakdown, and decide that's what you want in life?” The glower was familiar; the words were not.

What was Rav going on about? Her voice was loud and shrill. “No, but HE didn't make me swear on a stupid sword!!”

“An oath you broke.” That was said flatly, so very flatly.

“I didn't know I loved him then,” she shot back, hands balled into fists at her side.

“Well, you made your bed and lay in it. Quite literally. Just don't expect me to be fine because you found your own love story.”

She shook her head, wanting to reach out and throttle him. It didn’t even matter that he was the Master of Training. “But he listened to me! And he doesn't think my questions are dumb. And he pays attention to me instead of reading books when I'm around!”

“You're a Brown. You read books as a living!” Rav’s voice was almost as loud as hers.

“Don’t you tell me how to be a Brown! And how am I supposed to know what you are, if you just glare at me all the time and don't talk?” she challenged, barely managing to keep from throwing her hands up into the air.

He was glaring at her again. “I talk.”

Her chin lifted. “Not about what you’re feeling.”

Silence.

“See?” she managed to say with no trace of smugness at all. Rav was silent for so long that Katrie was beginning to think that he was ignoring her. Well. She wasn’t going to budge until he said something. Anything really. She didn’t care so long as he knew he couldn’t just dismiss her whenever he felt like it and -

“I feel... alone.”

Oh. That was not quite the answer she had been expecting. The words were barely audible and for a brief moment, he was once again the solemn awkward youth that she had encountered all those years ago in the Library. She stretched out tentatively and touched his shoulder, most of her anger fading.

“What?” He was watching her warily. “What’s this for?”

“I'm sorry...” she spoke softly. “I didn't mean to hurt you. And I'm sorry that you feel alone.”

“Well, you did.” The hand in his pocket had not shifted at all during the span of their conversation. “And I am. I barely know what's happening with anyone any more.”

Katrie yanked her hand back, scowling at him. She plucked at the front of her shirt irritably. “Blunt as always. You make it difficult, you know that?”

“How do I make it difficult?” Rav was incredulous. “I gave you my time and my heart. I did the same bloody thing for your mother. And where did either of that leave me?!”

“And you say I'm difficult to talk to.” She rolled her eyes before wrinkling her nose at him. “You don't make it easy either, you know. And how many times do I need to say that I had no idea?” She shook her head. “I suppose if you're going to keep blaming me then I can't actually stop you...”

“You need to say it once more. You need to say it once more that you had no idea. How could you have had no idea?” That incredulity was back.

“I thought in the beginning, that maybe... possibly...” she made a helpless little gesture. “But then you kept insisting that you wanted to be friends. And then nothing happened after the kiss, so... I figured you were set on being friends.”

“You can't just tell someone you wish to be more than friends with them from the beginning,” Rav finally said, quietly. “That forces them into a premature decision. I didn't want to risk our friendship for...” his sigh ended the sentence for him.

The tall Cairhienin gave him a quizzical frown. “You can't?” Why? “Oh.” Was that one of those... too forward things? What was the point in not saying what you meant?

The Shienaran was staring at her oddly. “Of course... you... Oh. Ah. Peace...”

Her frown deepened. “I truly did not mean to hurt you. I didn't know about that... rule. Is it a rule? I've never heard of that rule before. But it makes so much sense now...”

Rav just sighed again. “It is a common enough thing, for most of us.” He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, Katrie watching in fascination. Was that something he had picked up from Mama? “Light, I'm an expert at screwing things up.”

She sighed this time, echoing him, some of the tension draining out of her shoulders. “We're still friends, Muscles. Even if you're prickly. But you're also difficult to kill. Do you want a plant like the one I got Limpy?? It might make you feel better...” she trailed off hopefully.

The Shienaran’s face was blank for a moment. “Who's Limpy? And why am I 'Muscles'? Is that what they call me in the Tower, Muscles?”

“Oh!” Katrie beamed. “Limpy is Mudrock. Murdock. Asha'man Murdock,” she corrected herself hastily. “And you're Muscles because you're muscley. I told you that before, when we were out drinking in Hama Valon. Remember? And I... I don't know if that's what they call you in the Tower. It could be, if you want it to be. I could get it to happen.”

[Craig]

Ravak

"I'd really rather they didn't," Ravak sighed, "although it may be better than whatever they are calling me now. Everyone just looks at me oddly nowadays." Isolated and cut-off is how he truly felt.

"It's because you do that thing with your face," Katrie said teasingly.

He frowned. "What thing?" There's a thing I do with my face? "It's the same face I've always had."

The pretty Cairhienin shook her head slightly. "You do this thing, where you glower. And your brows are pulled all the way down. And you look like you're about to punt the first nublet you come across. That or chew stones and spit out bricks. Or chew the poor nublet into a hundred little pieces. Let me see if I can show you." She stepped back in anticipation. "It probably doesn't have the same effect, but..."

The look Katrie attempted to put on (at least he hoped it was just an attempt) had her entire face scrunched up. She scowled and sort of glared at the same time, with her forehead drawn down as if in thought. She held it for a few seconds, then continued. "That's why I told you that if you make that expression too much, it might freeze that way."

Rav puzzled it out after a moment. "That's just the expression I put on to keep the trainees in check. That's not what I look like all the time."

"I know that," she replied. "They don't know that. Also there is the thing with..." She was tapping her forearm whilst pointing at his right one. "It is rather difficult to miss."

He ignored the reference to his golden and scarlet tattoo. "I shouldn't be friends with the trainees. That has not worked out well in the past." He gave her a significant look, with a quizzical quirk to his mouth, half smile and half concern. "Furthermore, I think Ria would chew me out if I did."

"You don't have to be friends with them." She sighed in exasperation, but then Katrie's face brightened. "I understand what you're doing. I don't think it would hurt for them to know that you understand them too." She poked him on the chest softly. "Maybe that you're not nearly as stony as your exterior suggests."

Rav got the creeping sensation of being bullied, but Katrie's tone was just light enough to make him uncertain. "Maybe," he grimaced. "Perhaps. I just can't... mess up again." He'd almost not survived returning to the Tower, in an emotional sense. There was no chance of a second disappearance for another year, but there were plenty of other pitfalls that would end his time as Master of Training and as a Gaidin.

"You won't." Katrie's dark eyes burned with a confidence that Rav himself lacked. He looked back at her, far from certain, but under that intense stare he began to believe it. If I can mend my relationship with Katrie... then maybe there's a hope for me yet. She started to smile, and it was only realising that did he recognise that he was smiling too. For a brief moment, it was as if the years hadn't passed. Accepted Aikaterine Riatin and Drin'far'ji Ravak Darrow.

Fingers tightening around the chain broke Rav from his reminiscence. "I got you something."

Katrie's face flashed in surprise. “Wait, what? You did? Why?” She leaned forward hesitantly. “What is it?” Then with her head tilted she considered him.

He didn't reply with words. Instead he pulled his right hand free. A long golden chain emerged, with a dazzling diamond fixed in a silver setting dangling from one end. He caught the end with his other hand, proffering it towards Katrie to examine. "I bought you a kesiera, in thanks for this lesson." The reflection from the diamond seemed to light up the Brown's dark eyes. "I always thought, being Cairhienin, that you should have one. Plus, I sense that I owe you an apology for being... well, me I guess."

[Jenn]

Katrie

She went completely still.

Katrie stared and stared and stared, the air issuing softly from her body in one long breath. She groped for something - anything - to say, but found that she seemed incapable of speech. Her mind flittered to and fro, curiously blank and utterly devoid of thought. She glanced back and forth, back and forth between Rav and the proffered gift strung out so casually between his hands, sable orbs growing wider and wider each time they looked at the exquisite emerald cut diamond until the whites were visible all around.

A kesiera... Muscles had gotten her a kesiera... “The right to wear one is reserved for proper highborn ladies.” Her grandmother’s pause had been significant. “Women that come from good stock. Proper Cairhienin stock.” Which evidently excluded Katrie herself in her grandmother’s eyes, seeing as she had been neither proper enough nor Cairhienin enough. And here Rav was... simply handing her one... Abruptly, the jumble of confusing emotions dissolved and the Aes Sedai started to cry. Once again, she felt her Warder’s focus sharpen, their shared awareness spiking with concern.

“Katrie, what -” The smile on the Shienaran’s face was replaced by growing alarm. His hands lowered.

“No!” she exclaimed sharply, her arm swinging out. “You can’t take it back!” The sound of her palm cracking against the side of his shoulder was loud, the fingers of her other hand stretching out and grasping around the fine golden chain.

“Oi!” the Gaidin growled, eyeing her warily. “If you hit me again I will!”

She tugged firmly, the very corner of the diamond digging into her palm as she hastily lifted the hand that had drilled him to her face, wiping at her cheeks sheepishly. “I’m sorry. It’s beautiful! It’s just...” her voice trialed off and she made a helpless gesture, not entirely sure she wanted to explain the lingering feelings of inadequacy from something that had happened long ago.

“There's no need to cry over it," Rav said defensively. “I mean, it didn't cost me that much. It's not even the first kesiera I tried buying for someone today.”

I - what? The pretty Cairhienin blinked at him uncertainly, her expression quickly changing from confusion to scandalized outrage. Didn’t cost him that much... Wasn’t the first one he tried buying for someone today... Rav... he... she was... Oh!

“What, so I’m just an AFTERTHOUGHT NOW?!” Her words ended in a shout that echoed the entire length and breadth of the sparring area. She would show the Shienaran an afterthought!

Her hand balled into a fist and she drew back with a hiss and then punched Rav’s face as hard as she could. The delightful crunch as her knuckles collided with the bridge of the Master of Training’s nose and part of his cheekbone was oh so very satisfying... The sudden jolt of pain and the way the bones in her hand... wiggled a little response... not so much.

Katrie let out a loud yelp, hopping back as she shook her fingers out in the vain attempt to lessen the pain. The kesiera was still neatly tucked away, safe and snug in her other palm. Her look was baleful as she glared at Rav, detachedly noting that his hands had gone to cover the upper half of his face. Well good! “Why does your stupid face have to be so bloody hard?! That hurt!”

[Craig]

Ravak

Ravak sat on the side of a bed, carefully holding up the scrunched up sleeve of his shirt to his nose. It had gone very, very red - who knew a nose had so much blood in it? He was going to make Katrie pay for a new shirt, he realised, one way or another. And it doesn't need to be in coin.

"What happened?" Fists on hips, one of the attending Aes Sedai came up beside him. He grimaced as he realised it was his sister Elia. If Katrie thought he did a good impression of grumpiness, she should have seen the look of the Indigo's just now.

But she did. Rav gestured with his other hand at the bed beside his, where Katrie sat, her legs swinging merrily beneath her. "She punched me," he complained, his voice a touch nasally thanks to the Brown sister's administrations.

El glanced at Katrie, then turned back to Rav. "It was probably merited then."

"He hit me back," Katrie said cheerfully, as if that absolved her of all crimes.

Rav gestured again. "See, she admitted to starting it!" His 'hit back' had been his face absorbing the blow that broke his nose. That last thing that the Yards needed were two bloody faces walking away from a spar.

"YOU were being difficult!" Katrie shouted.

"See," Rav said appealing to his sister. "She's at it again. Like I'm the one who's difficult." Katrie shared a look of consternation with Elia, and Rav shifted closer to the edge of the bed. "Oh don't take her side, you know what she's like!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Katrie replied indignantly. "She knows what YOU'RE like too!"

"I'm not the one who's flighty!" he grumbled. "You should have a pair of wooden wings strapped to your back!" Katrie blinked in surprise. Good, Rav thought angrily. But then the Brown's face lit up and Rav knew something bad was coming.

"I bet I could make a pair..." she said with a childlike glee, "with real feathers attached."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, with immediate regret. "Oh Light!" He winced until the pain subsided. "See! Can't even focus on the fact she put us in the Infirmary!"

"Oh buck up Muscles, it's just a bruise!"

"And you could've Healed it for me," he cried.

"But you can't Heal MY bruise," she called back.

The Shienaran took up a sarcastic tone. "Well, I'm sorry I wasn't born with the ability to channel! I'll get right on it."

"You don't even like male channellers."

"I'm beginning to dislike female ones as well. Or maybe it's just Domani."

Katrie grinned. "You're doing that thing with your face again."

Rav sighed. "I don't think it's me who makes me adopt this 'thing with my face'. People need to make less things for me to frown at."

"You're the one that came to find me, remember?" She was still swinging her bloody legs like this was one grand adventure.

"I wanted training, not a broken nose and an education in dirty fighting."

"Then you should've found someone else to teach you unarmed based." She reached over the gap between the beds.

"Oi, stop poking me, I'm not your bloody Warder. And I came to you to give you that." " He pointed sharply at the object held in her hand.

That shut her up. Katrie bit down on her bottom lip. "I..." Light, is she flushing? It didn't seem possible, but then Katrie was mercurial. "Thank you."

"This is what I get for being nice," Rav grumbled, making a motion at his nose.

"You surprised me!"

"Good. I mean, not good. Not if your surprise reaction is to punch a man."

"The slap was because I was surprised. The punch was for what you said about buying a second kesiera. Next time, leave that part out. And it's better than crying!"

"Why under the Light would you cry? It's a gift, not a family heirloom from some dead relative. It cost me coin, not blood."

"I don't KNOW why," she cried. "It just happens sometimes!" She sounded defensive.

"I'll mind to stand back next time," he muttered. "That bloody hurt. It still hurts, peace..."

"I'm sorry Muscles." Finally, he received a rueful look from the Brown.

"Apology accepted," he added after a pause

Rav looked around the room. Elia was gone, but a number of patients and healers were looking at them as if they... had just... been... shouting. He closed his eyes in shame, but that triggered another shot of pain in his face. Well, if I've already been shouting... He opened his eyes, and called out. "Now is someone going to Heal me, or am I sporting a broken nose now?"

Katrie jumped off the edge of the bed. "I can Heal you..." she said, face focusing in concentration. "Um, hold still..."