Motherly Instincts (Attn: Bella)

[Bella]

Miahala listened to the reasons as they were told to her, and there was a logical thread that she could see to some of it, although there were also some presumptions that may or may not be the case. Mia's time in the Grey Tower seemed to have as much benefit as it did detriment, and she did not imagine one like Ninya Evoneigh to grant my credence to Mia.

In truth, this Green had not gotten along with any Amyrlin since her near-sisters had held the job. Even when she was the one wearing the stole herself...

"You are correct," Mia said simply, her face the same impassive mask it always was when she was around anyone not Ravak. Even though Elia was his sister, she did not really know the woman and familial relation was not enough for her. It got one in the door, but neither entrusted nor endeared. That would take time. "I have experienced the pain of losing children to the Arches."

And simply your children.

"I cannot make any promises," she went on, "however, I think we would be better suited to not lose any more Novices or Soldiers within those depths. I will aid you how I am able, though I have no illusions this will be either simple or easy to even so much as set in motion."

[Craig]

Elia

"I think so too," Elia agreed. Her desire to keep novices and soldiers safe from death had nothing to do with her impending motherhood. The Indigo had always held a softness for children, even if that affection seldom manifested itself in any tangible way.

When Miahala spoke of difficulties, Elia was already prepared. Or at least, she had a reply readied. She just had little hope that it would succeed, but she had to try.

"If we cannot secure the permission or agreement of the Triumvirate, we could go about this ourselves," Elia ventured. Her face was placid, although not as masterfully schooled as the Green's. "The Three Arches is a ter'angreal. In theory, that falls under the interests of the Indigo Ajah."

Theory was very much the word. Yes, the Indigo Ajah was, in part, focused on ter'angreal but the Three Arches belonged to the Grey Tower as a whole. It's not like she would claim the glass windows of the Tower nor the waterfall in the Gardens was actually hers. But it was a loophole. A poor loophole, but at least this time she was on the right side of the moral compass.

Elia sipped on some more of her tea. There was no need to further expose her neck. Miahala would understand what she was implying, and either cut her down or agree with the plan. That was another reason Elia wanted Miahala. The Captain-General would not be expected to be ignorant of Tower law, whereas Elia had never been Amyrlin. The blame for any fallout could land more squarely on Mia's shoulders than her own.

[Bella]

Well now, that suggestion was clearly read but not anything she appreciated.

All that showed outwardly was a slight arch of Mia's brow, but within her mind, pieces on the board had suddenly started to move. To save lives was always a powerful motivation, that was true, and the lives of children even more so, but the suggestion of moving not just without the permission of the triumvirate but against them?

No, that was an implication she didn't appreciate. Suddenly, more than a century of paranoia rose within her.

"I wouldn't know," she said evenly. "I am not an Indigo, so such matters do not fall beneath my purview. However, I do not imagine that there are many who would agree that the Three Arches ter'angreal specifically would fall solely under the works of the Indigo."

[Craig]

Elia

Well burn the witch! Why couldn't she be as docile and compliant as one of her Darkfriend lackeys? Clearly an appeal to the Green sister's heart had failed, but she should have suspected as much. Who would give their love to Ravak of all people? He was sweet, but more in a lost puppy sense than a romantic partner sense.

Elia didn't quite keep dissatisfaction from her expression, even if it was absent from her tone. "It was a theory," she repeated. Her gaze sharpened as she considered the other woman. "Maybe my brother can be of assistance. He's not the Amyrlin, but I'm sure they talk."

If Miahala was anything like she imagined then the thought of needing Ravak for aid would be distasteful. Yet in the same breath, if Miahala couldn't give them access to the Three Arches, she had no other burning need for the Green. Any other channeller with less scruples would be of greater benefit than a staid, by-the-book Green.

[Bella]

This meeting had taken a quickly distasteful edge, and Miahala wasn't entirely sure what the best course was. In any other case, she might have been inclined to open the door and send a big boot of Air right up the Indigo's... Well. That wasn't an option. This was Ravak's sister, and she was pregnant. The children were innocent from Mia's ire, after all.

"I have little doubt they speak, yes," she said blandly. If it was possible, her blue-green eyes had gone even chillier. She lifted a hand. "He may be open to assisting if you were to ask him."

Something had just set her on edge. Maybe she was over-reading the situation and the other Aes Sedai, since it had happened before, but she wasn't going to dance for the woman. Elia had come to her with an interesting idea, but even as unorthodox as she could be, Mia had certain ideas about the best ways to do things. She now had the feeling that those ideas did not coincide with Elia's.

Ravak was the woman's brother, so if she wanted his help, she could bloody well ask him herself.

[Craig]

Elia

Elia's face tightened. Despite her frustrations, she didn't actually want to bend the Saldaean's nose out of shape. She needed to backtrack, which meant...

"I... apologise." Her tongue practically curdled at the words. She did not apologise. It left a sourness in her mouth. Sadly it wasn't the sort of bad taste that tea could fix. Resting her cup on the saucer, she touched her temple. Maybe feigning a headache would curry her some clemency. Even Aes Sedai got too wrapped up in things to see straight. Sometimes.

The Shienaran's eyes avoided looking at the Green sister, instead staring inwards. She chose her tone carefully. A touch of passion, a touch of exasperation, a modicum of weariness, and a liberal dose of contrition. "It is just that this means a lot to me. Maybe you recall when I did my test of Acceptance? I remember saying that the Three Arches were a wicked thing. Well, I've been having a dream about my third Arch, about the reasons I said that." She touched her lips, as if struggling with herself about whether to speak or not. Not that there was any struggle.

"I lost my daughter in the third arch," he stated flatly. "I know the arches aren't real in a traditional sense, but..." She finally turned those eyes of hers onto Miahala. Tears were forming in them. "It's becoming too close to reality now."

[Bella]

Miahala observed the other woman carefully from behind her carefully crafted stony expression. After over a hundred years, she was exceedingly skilled at it, and well she should be. If you couldn't be good at something after decades of practice, then there was something terribly wrong with you.

The apology was a surprise, and she watched the emotional shift. The touch to the temple. Perhaps the pregnancy was to blame for some of this conversation? Mia didn't know Elia enough from before that to know for sure, and Mia was very aware of how carrying a child (or two) could affect one's mental and emotional state as well as physical.

However, she wasn't going to put all the eggs in that basket either.

"I can understand how difficult that image must be," Mia said, still speaking in her measured voice. Her expression had not changed, not unkind but not sympathetic either. "Losing a child, whether real or perceived, is very painful." She'd three of her own to the ground already, as well as numerous family besides. "My offer of aid, for what I am able to do, remains open."

The unspoken words being that she had already laid out the boundaries of what she would not do, but she was still willing to do what she said she would.

[Craig]

Elia

Elia merely nodded. A minimal reaction was better; too much theatrics would turn the scene into a parody of itself.

She had got what she wanted out of the Green, assuming Miahala could deliver access to the Three Arches. Elia wasn't sure why she had waited so long before perusing this line of inquiry, but hopefully things would gather some momentum now. Making the Three Arches nonlethal would put her name amongst the greatest Aes Sedai in history. That wasn't a part of the motivation, but the acclaim would be a delightful perk.

Wiping the tears away from her eyes, Elia took a moment to visibly settle. She smoothed out her skirts around the cup and saucer resting on her lap before taking an unsteady sip of the tea. Whatever conversation came next had to veer away from the contentious.

"You make my brother happy." She smiled into her tea even as a hollow feeling danced around her heart. "I long hope that continues."

[Bella]

Inwardly, Miahala was caught by surprise that Elia had not left. A growing feeling through this meeting had suggested it was but for one purpose and that purpose seen to, so it would end. Instead, the woman gathered herself back together and then continued their conversation in a new direction. One that she not have been unexpected, but slightly was.

She was not sure how personal she wanted to get, however. Only a few people that existed had the ability to bring her to open up easily, and this woman's brother had been one of the few. Much to both their surprises. However, Mia's defenses were already up in this conversation and she wasn't quick to lower them...

...however, she wasn't keen to spurn it either.

"I am glad that I am able to do so, and have every intention of it being for a long time," she said earnestly, if simply. "Being as I am, I am able to afford that time." Aes Sedai. Free of the Oaths... Apparently unable to stay dead. Yes, a long time indeed. "Your brother makes me happy as well. And let me say that in my considerably long life, I've learned that that's something to hold to when found."

[Craig]

Elia

Mia's words hurt. That emptiness in the Shienaran's chest seemed to clutch a hold of her heart, firing off shooting pains throughout her body. She drew a sharp breath in accompaniment.

Elia knew it wasn't intentional, but that did nothing to numb the pain. And she felt more tears were on their way. Ravak and Miahala may have found their happiness, but that didn't even put a dint in her life of self-pity and sorrow.

She took hold of the saucer and lifted it from her lap, moving it onto the table between them. The cup rattled loudly against the plate; Elia's nerves were already getting the better of her. A hasty retreat was in order.

"Thank you for the tea." At least she could deliver that without any shakiness. She didn't wait for any sign of assent before rising to her feet, although she did wait at that stage. Ready to leave as she was, Elia wasn't about to see herself out Miahala's rooms.