Mornings (Attn: Avyra)

[Cat]

Tristram Baryn

It was too early to be awake, but here Tristram was. He’d had a routine since he was young, and just because he was at the Tower didn’t mean that he was going to abandon it. He always rose before dawn, always went through a set of sword drills, and then went for a run. It was the best way to keep fit, to keep in peak condition, and before the Tower it had always given him a chance to just be by himself and just think and relax before he had to throw himself back into the chaos of trying to manage countless estates.

He had been at the Tower for less than a month, but he’d found a route that he rather liked. It took him around the edges of the buildings, past the Tower, through the Gardens, past the Warder Yards, and then back to the Gardens. It was a decent enough run, and by the time he came to the end he was freely sweating. Thankfully, though, he wasn’t wearing his uniform, but an old pair trousers he’d managed to keep, probably because they were the same colour as the Soldier uniform. Black. He’d very rarely worn black at home. It was such a dark and forbidding colour, and it didn’t help that it seemed to drain all his skin of colour. Grey would’ve been better, but he couldn’t really see himself as a Drin or eventually a Warder. He wasn’t a follower. He was going to make his own path, and at a powerful one at that.

The run over, he slumped down on one the Garden’s benches, not caring that it was already occupied. He had an hour until he had to go for breakfast.

“You don’t mind if I sit-?” He waved vaguely, his eyes already closing. He didn’t care if she said ‘no’, because he wasn’t moving. There was no question of that.

[Avyra]

Avyra

Avyra sat on a bench, enjoying the misty, slightly cold, morning. Theta sat on her left hand, holding a mouse in one talon as he gleefully tore it apart. It had been a very good hunt for him, and Avyra was glad to give him the reward. Maybe being alone wasn't so bad. She seemed to have nothing anymore. Sure, some small relationships, but nothing she felt was true, well, friendship. But she had her birds, and that was enough. She used to have friends. But they all seemed to have better friends than her. Just as she felt herself starting to space completely out from reality, she heard someone shuffle by, plopping down on the bench beside her. “You don’t mind if I sit-?” You're already sitting, but- "Go ahead," she replied absentmindedly, shuffling a bit further away. Theta didn't seem to care for the sudden intrusion; he began to chitter in his angry, shrill way, puffing up and spreading his wings over his food. "Ah hush. He's not gonna take it." Theta wasn't convinced.

[Cat]

Tristram

Tristram would have been quite happy to keep his eyes closed, letting the tranquil calm help relax him, but the sudden shrill chittering had him glancing towards whoever it was he shared the bench with. The girl was normal enough looking, but the bird perched on her hand mostly certainly wasn’t, and he raised an eyebrow at it. Apparently, somewhere along the line, the Tower had become a… zoo? He certainly couldn’t explain why else there was a bird sitting there. The Aes Sedai and Asha’man seemed determined to make their students as uncomfortable as possible, so the idea of them letting one of them – and she was an Accepted, if he had to guess from her clothes - have a pet was rather hard to believe.

He pushed himself up so that he could see the bird better.

“She’s right, you know. As much as I like trying all kinds of new, exotic delicacies,” he said, as if speaking to it, “I can’t really say that mouse is on the list. Roasted Kestral, however...” and he just grinned.

[Avyra]

Avyra made a face at him, narrowing her eyes and scrunching her nose. "Why would you want to eat this? There's no meat on it." The kestrel trilled a few more times, then returned to his meal, pulling out the guts of the mouse, devouring them as he did so, following that with the back legs and eventually the tail. Once the mouse was gone he began to clean his beak on her glove, then puffed himself up again before shaking all his feathers out. "Now, was that good? You're a fat bird now." She rubbed his side gently with a finger. "Look at that crop!" She smiled. "This was his first kill in a while. Its been too cold to hunt him, and I can't bring him inside the Tower. I think he misses it." She paused. "But I can't complain. He's a sweetheart. I'll be sad to release him when summer starts, but that's how life works." Avyra sighed. "I am talking your face off aren't I? What have you done to get yourself all beaten down this morning, Soldier?"

[Cat]

Tristram

Why did people eat snails? Because they could and they would, and the moment someone said something was against the norm they jumped at the chance to do it. It was human nature to want to be different, to something other people did not, but Tristram only shrugged, leaning back against the bench once more and leaving her to ponder why.

He couldn’t say that he particularly cared that it was the bird’s first kill in a while either, because he just didn’t. The only reason he was talking about it was because it was, well, there, and he’d always prided himself on being polite, because letting everyone think you were their friend got you places. The bird, however, wasn’t going to help him channel and it wasn’t going to get him raised to Asha’man any sooner, and so he tuned out the words, only looking back when the subject changed. He grinned, arching an eyebrow.

“Beaten?” and he laughed. “Do I really look that bad, Accepted?”

[Avyra]

She could hear the sarcasm, or what she thought was sarcasm, in his voice, and she huffed, narrowing her green eyes sharply. Don't let him get to you. Don't let him see that he gets to you. That only seemed to fuel more taunting. "Yes, you do, child. I don't think you should be running before your classes. If they work you like they worked me as a Novice, you'll tire yourself out quicker than you realize. Save your strength." She almost kicked herself. She sounded like an Aes Sedai, now. Always meddling in student's lives and trying to control them... breaking them of old habits. That in it of itself owed an apology. She sighed, softening her tone. "What's your name?"

[Cat]

Tristram

He really did laugh, then, amused, though there was no sarcasm in it, just genuine amusement. He pushed a hand through his hair, still grinning, only managing to mess his hair up more.

“I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be able to take you calling me ‘child’ seriously, so please don’t. For one, I think I’m actually older than you.” Given that he was twenty-eight, he seemed to already be older than a lot of Dedicated and Accepted. Most Soldiers, it seemed, came to the Tower when they were a lot younger, but at that age he’d been too busy having a life. “And, two, I have a child of my own, and I think that alone grants me an exemption from that title, although I’m sure it’d amuse him to hear his father being called it.

“And,” he drew the word out, tempted to tick off all the points with his fingers, but managing to restrain himself. “I’ve been in the army, so I’m fairly certain I’ve been pushed a lot harder before. Given I’m still alive, I’m sure I’ll safe, but,” he smiled more, “thank you for your concern. I’m Tristram. You? And your Kestrel?”

[Avyra]

The tiny Accepted narrowed her eyes even more, glaring him down. So had the Aes Sedai stopped the silly practice of calling the lower ranks "child?" Or did they only do that with her? She'll show them all eventually. She was actually worth something. "My name is Avyra, and this is Theta." And if I still have to endure the embarrassment of being called "child," you do too. She really didn't want to continue a conversation with this kid. He was too overbearing for her taste. Too much like herself when she first arrived. She hoped the training here didn't break him like they did her. Maybe he'd walk out of here happy. "So what brings you to the Tower?" She asked after a moment of thought.

[Cat]

Tristram

Tristram thought the reason he was here was fairly obvious, because it was the same reason as most other students’. He had the ability to channel and therefore wanted to learn how to. It was simple as that

He glanced back her, noticing how she glared at him. Touchy, wasn’t she? But that only amused him more. All he’d done was explain why calling him ‘child’ was a silly thing to do.

“Oh,” he said casually, in a tone that should have been accompanied by him picking at his nails. “I decided that being the High Seat of my House was frightfully boring, and I wanted to go somewhere where all the women would call me ‘child’.” He shook his head with another amused grin. “I wanted to learn how to channel, so here I am. I suppose you came here to boss people around?”

He was only teasing.

[Avyra]

She huffed. He was quite a little sass master, wasn't he? She could, if she wanted, send him to the Master of Soldiers, but that honestly didn't feel like a proper way to go about this, especially with someone who technically hadn't done anything wrong. "I'm only here because I would be dead if I hadn't come," she replied sharply. "And the only reason why I've stayed is because I finish what I start." Perhaps she enjoyed it a little. However, if there was one thing she didn't like, it was being teased. So Avyra sat there and elaborated none, debating if she should slip another "child" in there somewhere. She then smirked. "However, I didn't realize I was speaking to a man of such high rank. How should I address you? Your Lordship?" That was better.