Warders bearing gifts (Attn: Riahana Gaidar/Roan)

[Jack]

Sojin considered the other Gaidin’s words carefully. He wanted what was best for Cassandrya, perhaps more than a uncle might show for a niece. She was perhaps the closest family he had here other than his father and his younger brother Cade. Perhaps closer.

Granted the Novice could experience from Riahana’s tutelage in the bow, but he found wisdom in her offer. It was the wisdom of a parent, something he had not experienced himself in a very long time.

He sipped his drink and then swirled the glass as if contemplating, but his eyes betrayed his answer as he looked at his general. It was an intentional slip.

“I agree with you, perhaps in this more than anything else in the past,” he said simply, almost apologetically. Sojin knew he hadn’t made his interactions with Riahana the easiest, and he would freely admit he chafed under her authority from time to time. But ultimately he respected the woman, both for the bloodline she came from and as a superior soldier.

He did frown however slightly as he noted Tia’s lax approach to archery. It was both his soldier’s instinct and something his father had instilled in him when he was a newly raised Gaidin.

“You’re right about weapons being more useful than weaves,” he muttered. “Miahala and Jerid are both proof of that, simply because of the way they handle knives.” If shielded and unable to channel, he would pit his Aes Sedai and his father up against any soldier for sheer terms of survival. He’d even seen his father fight in the field, whilst channeling, with knife in hand.

His lips curved in a devious grin. “Perhaps forcing them is the exact thing they need, albeit not in a conventional method,” Sojin murmured. “Jerid Walker Asha’man does not play favorites among the learning ranks, and if he hears that Tia Ferria is overworking herself in his Channeling Yards, he would boot her out so fast and assign her to the Warder Yards as punishment.”

He raised a hand to forestall any questions. Both Gaidin knew that punishment of Novices lay with the Mistress of Novices, but the First Seeker had amassed enough favors and could ask of one or two to make this occur. As an Indigo, he had say in what occurred in the Channeling Yards, and the man was known for unorthodox and harsh punishments.

“Cassie …” it was perhaps the first time he used her preferred name, “is proud of her skills, and should I mention she is slipping in her skills with the bow, she’ll seek out the first available person to teach her. Make sure it’s your daughter who is the only qualified person at that time.”

[Roan]

Riahana laughed softly, "To be honest, it was a welcome site to see her spend such time in the Channeling Yards. So set was she to join the ranks of the Warder Yards, when her Great Great Grandmother told her she had the spark, she apparently looked absolutely crestfallen. That she dedicated herself to learn her gift has been a good thing. Her father and I were initially worried she would put aside her studies of the One Power and focus on weapons studies alone. You have more than an inkling of how stubborn us Sha'hals can be." The Mistress of Arms flashed a wry smile.

"I will see about a word to the Master of Training to ensure Cassie and Tia are forced to the range together. The rest shall be up to them. It sounds as if the two may be closely matched in skill, which could prove interesting if Tia is tasked with teaching Cassie. I know of the Sha'hal stubbornness, and if it is met with equal stubbornness, it could prove a rather. . .chilly day at the range," Ria replied with a soft laugh. She paused to take a slow sip of her drink before setting the glass down, "It might do well to have eyes on the pair in case things get. . .out of hand." There was amusement in Ria's eyes as she thought to her daughter, though in truth she was quite concerned for the young woman.

[Jack]

Sojin tilted his head slightly, smiling slightly at the information that Riahana revealed about her daughter.

He recalled the same stories of a different daughter of an Aes Sedai he was bonded to, and the apparent horror that daughter felt when she was found to be able to channel. But then again, she grew to become one of the most powerful channelers in Tower’s history, and a leading expert in the Indigo Ajah.

“It’s not too unfamiliar a story,” he said with some humor. “I couldn’t imagine being forced into that situation. Even now, if an Asha’man were to tell he I had the ability to channel, to be a powerful one even, and that I was to be put in black, I’d hand him my sword and tell him to sit on it.”

There was some worry in his voice that that scenario might still occur, but he’d never felt pressure from his father in all the years he had been here or abroad. In the end, after all things, Sojin Majere was a Gaidin sworn in service to the Grey Tower, and the bonded Warder to Miahala Sha’hal, or whatever name she took.

He smiled slightly when Riahana seemed to approve of his plan. He would make great use of it, even if it meant asking a favor of the First Seeker.

“Aye, a silent chaperone might be in order,” Sojin murmured. “I’d recommend Sebrina. She is very fond of Cassandrya, I think in love with her, but she won’t tolerate any shenanigans from occurring among the learning ranks. I know her well enough for her to be stern in judgment, and she’d send one or both girls to the Mistress of Novices.”

Sojin almost considered the end result of such an arrangement. Cassie wasn’t exactly known for making friends easily. She’d spent her entire life around her family, her brother, and the servants and friends of House Majere. Adjusting to a new reality was going to be … interesting at best.

“Both are stubborn enough that they may either become fast friends, or kill one another,” Sojin murmured. “Cassie takes after her blood, stubborn and fierce, just like a Sha’hal woman does her family. I hope she makes a better impression than her father did with his general not so many years ago.”

Sojin knew he had perhaps been more a pain in Riahana’s backside than a help, but the world they lived in was built upon friendships, not rivalries. At best, perhaps they could be good comrades in arms, but that did not mean their children should bear the same fate. In the end, Cassandrya's future in this place would be determined by not how quickly she rose to the shawl, but the relationships she forged and ability to cope with her new home.

[Roan]

Ria recalled the Gaidin known as Sebrina, and remembered vividly the woman telling Ria not to let the Void dull her anger while they were in the heat of battle. It had been more than gutsy for anyone to speak to Riahana that way on that night, as she'd been beyond spring tight with word of her daughter's capture. More than a handful of Seanchan and mercenaries fell to her blade that night, and if she had to, she would have fought through all of their forces to get to her daughter.

The irony was not lost on her that it was her daughter that tossed her aside like a rag doll when they did meet. It was an act Tia begged forgiveness for when she was recovering in their family quarters, and one that Riahana gently, but firmly reminded the girl that it hadn't been her, but that bitch of a Sul'dam who had the audacity to collar a Sha'hal. The words were easy to say, but harder for Tia to absorb, and Ria feared her daughter still hung on to guilt from things she'd been forced to do in the short time she'd been in that Light blasted collar.

"Sebrina would be a good choice," the Mistress of Arms replied, but then quirked a brow at something else Sojin said.

“Both are stubborn enough that they may either become fast friends, or kill one another. Cassie takes after her blood, stubborn and fierce, just like a Sha’hal woman does her family. I hope she makes a better impression than her father did with his general not so many years ago.”

Tilting her head slightly and arching a brow, "I would not hazard a guess as to which direction their meeting will take." She paused, "Her father? I have not met your brother, I'm afraid."

[Jack]

Sojin winced almost immediately at Riahana’s question. He would have cursed the fact that he was drinking, but the brandy was perhaps mild at best compared to what he had been acquainted with while bonded to Saphire en’Damier.

Miahala already knew the truth because as his Warder it was not wise to keep secrets. They’d built their relationship around trust and he would not ruin it.

His father knew by virtue of knowing the right words to use, the right tone … and he had been blunt.

”If you are to trust your general and she is to trust you, and bridge whatever gulf you alone dug with your mouth, you need to be honest with her,” the Indigo told his son.

He reached for his drink, taking a small pull, leaving the glass half-empty.

“I told Cassie that the reason she was brought here was because House Walker keeps counsel with Hama Valon, not the White Tower,” he murmured. “I think she would benefit more here, yes, but that wasn’t the only reason I brought her here instead of escorting her home to Tar Valon.”

He paused and took a sip of his brandy before speaking again.

“Cassie and her twin Coren are my children,” he murmured. “The short story is that they are born of the same woman who is wed to my brother, but chance meeting threw us together and passions flared. I just hope our two children don’t come to a … colorful relationship as we have.”

He raised a hand briefly to stave off any questions. “Yes, I did tell Miahala, the day I landed in the infirmary, and just moments before I proposed to her.”

[Roan]

Riahana

Riahana rewarded Sojin with a warm smile as she held up her glass, "News of your engagement has reached me. I have informed Memma that I'm happy for her, and I'll tell you the same since I am happy for her, and for you both." The Gaidin offered the man a wry smile, "I shall not call you Pappa, though, as I don't think I even rewarded Lord Ives that title."

Taking a sip after her informal toast, she looked back to him, "So young Cassie is your daughter. She will not learn of her true lineage from me, as I doubt our paths will have much reason to cross. I know she's gone this long without knowing the truth, but with her so close at hand, Sojin, I suggest caution in keeping the truth from her for too long. Ultimately, it is no business of mine, but if she were to learn the truth, her resentment might run deep and create a schism you might not be able to repair.

"I do not speak from experience, though, and would understand if you let my advice go through one ear and out the other," Ria continued. "As for how our two daughters interact," Ria couldn't help a wry smile, "Time will tell. Dearest Tia seems singly focused on her studies. She has a handful of friends, though I've not yet seen her involved with anyone in any romantic sense. I hope the two find something of a kinship. I hinted early of my concern for my daughter, but I do worry for her, as I do not think she's fully dealt with what she lived through.

"Tia would not speak to either me or Gareth about what she was forced to do, but she confided in her brother to some degree. The woman who controlled her forced her to try and kill me, and, as you are aware, her Memma. There were others. . .many others Tia was forced to kill, including a child she was forced to execute prior to their assault of the Tower," Ria explained. "She confides in her brother to a point, but I think a neutral friend would do her well. From the sounds of it, your Cassie could use the same, though all we can do is arrange for them to meet. . .the rest is up to them.