Motherly Instincts (Attn: Bella)

[Craig]

Elia Darrow, First Seeker

Warmth and daylight shone through the windows of the First Seeker's apartments, filling the main room with a sense of wonder. Elia sat by the window at her usual seat, watching her daughter running around the two central columns in figures-of-eight. The three-year-old had her arms outstretched as if she was a soaring eagle, and the occasional squeal of delight burst forth from the tiny brunette. Her ringlets bounced around her shoulders, and she laughed in pure pleasure whenever she came about to face her mother.

"Be careful my love," Elia warned in a motherly tone. "Don't get too dizzy or you'll fall."

"I won't mama!" the girl cried out, not pausing in her play for even a moment.
---- Elia woke up. Her eyes opened a touch, just enough to confirm that it was sometime late at night. The dream was still here in her thoughts; a dream of a daughter yet to be born. There was nothing to say that she would have a daughter, but apparently she dreamt of it. Refusing to allow the dream to end, she closed her eyes and settled down to rest again.
---- Elia stood in a tight circle with four of her fellow sisters, around a table with three chalices placed upon it. She didn't have to turn to know that the Three Arches stood behind her.

"Your daughter is remarkably strong willed," Kaia stated. The Red sister wore a slim smile that broadened as she took in her own daughter beside her. Katrie rolled her eyes before Kaia even got out her next words. "It reminds me of someone else I know."

Elia's gaze drifted from the Red and Indigo to the next sister in the group, the tallest by far. Like Elia, Sinead had lovely red hair, but the First Reasoner was a far more beautiful woman overall. Logic had not replaced her heart, like it did with other Whites. The Shienaran's former roommate crossed around the outside of the circle to lay a hand on her first-sister's shoulder. "Elia, you need to save her." The Mistress of Novices blinked in surprise. Save who? What was Sinead talking--

Something of the waking Elia appeared in the dream. She remembered being in this chamber with these women in the past, but Sinead had never become Aes Sedai, and Katrie had been Brown, not Indigo. Elia frowned, moving her gaze from the women that should not be to the Three Arches. They seemed larger-than-life and shone with an inner silver fire that was not present in the real world. Yet despite these impossibilities, this was all familiar.
---- Elia woke again, this time with a sensation of urgency. She rose up in bed, feeling a multitude of aches as she did so. Her shift was clinging to her thanks to the cold sweat that enveloped her body. She placed those things aside as she thought about her dream. Elia could remember the chamber from her own Arches. She had been meaning to save her daughter, but instead she abandoned her child for the Grey Tower's Acceptance.

Elia could still hear her daughter's voice; her laughter and her cries of joy. The Indigo smiled softly in the darkness. Soon enough she wouldn't have to experience these feelings only in her dreams. Soon there would be two more children in the world -- her children -- and she would feel the joy of another's love again.

A coldness settled into her stomach that had nothing to do with the hour of morning nor the sweat that stuck to her skin. Maybe her Arches had been a warning. Other events from her Arches had occurred, if not precisely as envisioned. In her first arch she had been bonded to Ravak, and for a time in the real world, she had her brother's bond. In her second arch she had lost Sinead to the Aiel. That was true to real life as well, if not the specifics.

I won't lose my daughter. She had no daughter yet, but a day would come when her daughter would be in danger, and it would be down to Elia to save her. She hadn't saved Ravak in her arch, nor Sinead, but she could save her daughter.

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow, Master of Arms

There were two times during a day that Ravak felt at peace: the early mornings and the late evenings. The two times shared a two common factors: he was in his apartments, and he was with Miahala. The Shienaran looked across the table at his bondmate and lover with a warm smile plastered on his face. The feelings of affection bounced across the bond from Shienaran to Saldaean and back again.

"Now, I expect some responsible Greening from you today," Ravak said with a lightness in his heart. "In return, I shall do some responsible Wardering. I'll see if I can't hasten along some meetings so that I can see you in the middle of the day."

Before Miahala got an opportunity to answer, there was a light knocking at the door. Ravak rose up from his chair and walked to the door. He was already regaled in his brocaded shirt and fur-lined cloak, looking every inch the Master of Arms that he was trying to be.

He took hold of the door handle with one hand, and his sword-breaker hilt with the other. There was no need when a novice emerged from the other side of the Captain-General's apartments.

"Gaidin!" The novice gave Rav a deep bow, then straightened and handed him a letter. "For the Captain-General."

"Thank you," Rav replied, and seeing there was nothing else, he closed the door with a smile.

He looked at the back of the letter first, seeing a familiar wax seal on the back. Flipping it around confirmed his suspicions. He easily recognised the hand that had written 'Miahala Sedai' on the front of the missive. Ravak walked back to the table and handed the letter to Miahala. "It seems my sister wants to chat."

[Bella]

The phrase "responsible Greening" brought an amusement to the warmth of her smile. She had always been a responsible Green...with the idea that the very nature of being a Green was to create one's own sort of responsibility, which was what she had always done. Mia had ever been a woman of her own making.

It was equally not lost on her the shifting Ravak's moods between the times around her and not. Being Master of Arms did not seem to be a comfortable mantle upon her shoulders, and she was privately evaluating becoming a more permanent attachment...

Anything she might have said towards this end, or any other, was interrupted by the delivery of a message. Her Gaidin naturally answered the door and looked over the missive, then delivered it into her hand and mentioned his sister. That made Mia's brow arch slightly with surprise as she pulled the paper close and looked it over.

"She isn't planning to ask me what my intentions towards you are?" Mia said with a teasing glint in her eyes and curving her lips. "I might just have to tell her."

Leaving him to think of just what she would be saying, Mia broke the seal and opened the letter. She read it over and her curiosity deepened further and further. What in the Light could the woman want to talk to Mia about the Arches for? They were both far removed from their raisings, after all. Mia more than Elia, of course, but still far enough.

What endeavor could this be?

She would afford the Indigo all due discretion, but Mia's discretion would never include leaving Ravak out and so she handed the letter to him for his opinion with a curious look in her eyes. "Not a minor chat, it would seem," she commented.

[Craig]

Ravak

Rav felt a little dumbstruck by Mia's comment as he passed her the letter. Intentions? Intentions towards what? Quietly, Ravak wondered if Mia was talking about the M-word. Nothing had really pointed towards it before, but maybe this was a sign? She already has my heart and my bond. Why not my name too?

Well, whatever her 'intentions', they would need to wait. The Shienaran took back the now-opened letter and read through it.

[font=Kaushan+Script name=Kaushan Script]Miahala, If you have any spare time in your day, I would like to discuss a proposition with you. It relates to the Three Arches, and your time as a former Amyrlin and Mistress of Novices, along with your discretion, would make you an ideal partner in this endeavour. I hope you can find time for me in the near future, Yours, -- Elia Darrow, First Seeker [/font]

"Intriguing." Rav sat down and re-read his sister's note. Elia had become quite a private individual since earning the shawl, and she never seemed too open to working across the Ajahs. Or is it specifically Mia she wants aid from? That did seem to be the point Elia was making, but why? Elia and Mia were not that much alike, and their talents didn't seem to have any overlap.

Ravak placed the letter on the table between the two of them. "I haven't a clue," he conceded. "Unless she plans on making a new ter'angreal for testing novices and soldiers. We made one for the Drin." He shrugged at that, however. Maybe Feroce and Ninya knew something he didn't. That simultaneously seemed unlikely and plausible. "I can accompany you if you like?" He didn't really have the time for that, but if he couldn't make an exception for his bondmate and his sister, then there really couldn't be any exceptions made at all.

[Bella]

Mia smiled and shook her head slightly. "I appreciate the offer, but I am fairly certain I can handle the meeting on my own," she said with a hint of amusement. "Although I am highly intrigued as to what she would wish to speak to me about." Her mind could touch on several possibilities, but none of them seemed especially likely.

"Perhaps this will qualify as my responsible Greening for the day," she teased as she rose from her seat, leaning forward to kiss him lightly before moving to her desk to pen a reply and set up a time and place...
* * * Given that even though Miahala didn't really know Elia at all, she was immediately raised above an "average" meeting with a fellow Sister by virtue of being Ravak's kin. Thus, the Green invited the Indigo to meet with her in her own chambers' sitting room rather than something more formal in her office or some other middle ground territory.

With Ravak off to do his day's responsible Wardering, Mia sat on the green brocade sofa and read while she waited for the Indigo's arrival.

[Craig]

Elia

Elia dropped the letter onto the table and then attempted to embrace the source. She felt saidar, strained for it, but it was just out of reach. She contented herself to scrunch the letter up instead of the more dramatic statement of engulfing it in flames. The green wax cracked between her fingers.

"The Captain-General thinks she's more important than me, does she?" Her nails clicked against the tabletop as she drummed her fingers thoughtfully. Would she really abandon this scheme just because Miahala wanted to meet within her quarters rather than Elia's? With a resentful sigh, she concluded that no, no she was not so petty. Maybe most of her energies when it came to playing the Great Game was used on governing the Black Ajah; she was getting lax when it came to public matters.

Rising up, the Shienaran was now as used to her condition as one got. She waddled from her window-side seat towards her bedroom door, passing by a full-length mirror as she did so. The Indigo did not think she counted as curvaceous anymore. She was fat, and she was ready to be a mother now and not in another four months.
---- Elia took in the differences between the corridors of the Green and Indigo Ajah Halls with quiet interest. They do like their battles, she thought as she passed by yet another tapestry. She wouldn't have minded a couple of those heroic-appearing Gaidin to have as Warders, but it was all a bit too much as a piece.

Donned in a plain dress of brown wool (in a design from the Two Rivers' region), and with a sling keeping her damaged arm protected, Elia stopped before the Captain-General's door. She knocked firmly, having little interest to wait in the corridor for any longer than was needed.

[Bella]

When she heard the knock on the door, Miahala rose to answer it. She herself was dressed in her usual attire of a high-necked dark green dress, with its straight skirt and split sleeves. Her silver-threaded auburn hair was braided and hanging over her shoulder. The one thing that was different than had always been was the lack of the familiar weight between her breasts.

Since bonding Ravak, she had chosen to let the past be in the past...at least as far as a box on her night table. It was something, though.

Her full lips curved faintly and she inclined her head respectfully, immediately stepping back and gesturing for Elia to enter. Mia flashed back several decades to when she was carrying Tianna and Tarvin, although then she had not known she was carrying twins. The second had "surprised" her during delivery.

"It is good to see you, Sister," she said, gesturing to the sofa and over-sized armchairs in the sitting room for the Indigo to have a seat. "Can I offer you some tea?"

[Craig]

Elia

Elia inclined her head just as respectfully to Miahala. They were equals, and Elia had no intention of letting the Green claim any victory against her that proved otherwise. "Tea would be welcomely appreciated, thank you." She could do due diplomacy when it was called upon. She hadn't survived this long without learning how to manipulate people.

The Indigo took one of the larger armchairs. She wondered whether she had taken her brother's seat, for he would certainly have picked out one as his own. Elia didn't know how far the Ravak card may take her in this, but she was ready to use it if need be. Maybe she should have paid more attention to her wayward brother over the last few months, what with his new station and relationship with one of her peers. The Indigo Ajah didn't need the Green Ajah as allies, but Elia did need the Saldaean who commanded them, as loathe as she was to admit it.

As Elia watched Miahala make the tea, she wondered what it was that Ravak found in the older woman. Maybe someone with experience of being a mother? It was a little too late to provide Zarayne and Kaira with such things. Chances were someone of Miahala's considerable age was less picky about her Warders then other Greens were. Ravak was hardly the Gaidin of the Century.

Those thoughts faded as Mia returned with tea. Elia took the tea in her one good hand, then rested the cup and saucer on her lap. "Thank you." Now here, Elia pondered how to start. Well don't skip straight to the end and you'll be fine. She smiled, and then began.

"During my brief tenure as the Mistress of Novices, I found myself having to test a number of novices for the right to wear the ring. Sometime later, I found myself working with Illyria Sedai and my brother on a facsimile of the Three Arches, which the Drin now use on their way towards becoming Ji'val." She touched the side of the cup; too hot. "We were able to make it so that Drin never were trapped inside. I've often wondered if we can't do the same thing with the Three Arches."

[Bella]

Finally, the Indigo came around to the point--or at least the start of it--which would begin to sate the raging curiosity Miahala had been dealing with in her mind. Not that it showed, of course, she was as stoic as ever, but inwardly... Well, that was always another matter. She was always as curious as the next person, and the request for a meeting from Elia of all people had caught her off-guard.

The topic was something of a surprise too. The Green tilted her head slightly in thought. She too had been Mistress of Novices, as they both well know, and twice in her case. She'd seen girls enter and never emerge, which had always been of great sadness to her.

However, the Arches they used had been there for centuries now. They were the ones that Mia herself had gone through. It was a big change to consider changing such an integral part of the Towers history and makeup...but then again, the idea of never having to lose a child withing those gleaming pits of hell was sorely tempting.

"It is a most intriguing idea," Mia concurred. "To never see another child lost to them is something I would be happy with, were it something that could be done. That is not a Talent or skill that I have, however, and I am no longer the Mistress of Novices so why bring this to me?" Straightforward as ever, this one.

[Craig]

Elia

"It's not a Talent or skill anyone has," Elia replied quietly. That wasn't an admission of failure on her part, even if she was Little Miss Ter'angreal in a lot of peoples' eyes. "Whilst we mimicked the Three Arches, most of our work came from original research. From a practical standpoint, the two archways are the same, but their origins are likely as far removed as saidar and saidin." Glad to be able to bring enlightenment to one of the older sisters in the Tower, Elia sipped on her tea.

"As for why you, there are reasons." Reasons that, grudgingly, Elia had to give voice.

"You have earned my brother's confidence, which goes a long way to earning my own confidence. I have some concerns that other people would be dismayed to see this oh so sacred tradition of throwing boys and girls into that ter'angreal being tampered with. Having your support would quieten a number of voices. Moreover, you know the... pain that comes with losing someone to the Arches. As we are delving into the unknown when it comes to the One Power, we may need to pull on these emotions to elicit a response." Elia shrugged; it was one of her poorer justifications, but people did intuit weaves using raw emotions. That's how I got started on Compulsion, after all.

"We also need access to the Three Arches." Elia pursed her lips. "Maybe you can arrange that. I cannot, but then I've never held the position of Amyrlin, nor have I been in the Tower for as long as you have. Maybe you have a history with the Amyrlin Seat that would be of benefit in this endeavour?"

There were other reasons, but she would only come out with those if required. Buttering up Miahala with false praise was unlikely to work, so she held off on anything that could be considered a lie. Not that I can lie, she mused for the umpteenth time in another person's company. Walking that tightrope without the Oaths being engraved on her soul was trickier than simply being bound by them.