Bringing the Rain, attn: Bella

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

At first, Liaran was sure she hadn't heard correctly. Her confusion caused the look of calm to leave her features, replaced by a puzzled look as she tried to comprehend what Haeden had just said. Her fingers gripped the glass of water she held tightly until she put it back in its place on the table. Leaving the glass alone, Liaran looked at Haeden again, and when her eyes connected with his, she knew she had not misheard him. Light, I am an idiot. In all the time she'd spent lately thinking about the bond, and whether she wished it for herself, it had never once occurred to her that Haeden could be doing the same, or that he might want to be bonded to her. The hurt and envy she'd been feeling earlier disappeared, allowing Liaran to relax and the sense of comfort she often felt when she and Haeden were together to return.

Liaran scooted her chair closer to the table, bending her head towards his. She couldn't waste energy setting a Ward, nor would she have done it here, but she did her best to be sure that the words she spoke would be heard by Haeden and nobody else. Her awkwardness was gone, but she was still a little nervous. She supposed that was reasonable of her, since what they were speaking of would last the rest of their lives. Liaran reached for her glass again, drinking more water, and then she was able to speak.

"I would like you to be my Warder, Haeden," she said. It was a relief to finally admit it, not just to him but to be honest with herself as well. Liaran began to smile as she continued. "I think.....I've wanted that for some time now, but I'd been so sure I'd never want to bond that I didn't understand. I didn't know until last night that it wasn't ...that I might want a Warder at some time, but that I wanted you." Her eyes left his then, just for a couple of minutes as they scanned the room, then settled back on Haeden. I know what I want now...but I don't think this is the time or the place for it. It seemed to her that it was something that should be shared between him and her alone, not in the common room of this inn.

She shared those thoughts with Haeden. "I don't think it would be....appropriate, here. I think....would you mind, if we waited until we're back home?"

[Bella]

Although he'd been assured of it being the right time to tell her, the Gaidin hadn't ever realized how tense he'd been in that moment until she gave him her answer. The ease that was suddenly visible around her became part of him as well, even without the bond, and her answer brought such relief.

Haeden leaned closer to her when she leaned closer to him. Perhaps any watchers might think they were lovers sharing a moment, but he rarely worried what others thought.

It had been nearly two decades since he had attained the fancloak, and he'd yet to find an Aes Sedai that both wanted his oath and that he wanted to give his oath to. Even just one of those had been particularly rare. To find it now... It was something else, and something he could not possibly describe.

...but that I wanted you.

The words resonated in his mind like a bell. Relief, and happiness.

When she spoke of the timing however, he completely understood. No. This was neither the time nor the place, but the fact that the agreement was spoken and understood meant the world to him. "I agree with you, Liaran," he said with a crooked smile. "I am happy to wait until we've returned to the Tower."

Placing his fist over his chest, he bowed his head--and lowered his eyes. The highest sign of trust from a Gaidin. "My sword is yours, Liaran Sedai."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran was still smiling, but she didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure words even existed to express her happiness in this moment, an emotion that had been rare for her over the past months. She surprised herself by lifting her right hand towards her mouth to seal their agreement in the way of her own people. It was a gesture she hadn't made in years, but it felt right to her to do so now. The smile left her face as Liaran kissed her fingertips, her expression turning solemn. Reaching across the table, she pressed them lightly against Haeden's lips, just for a second before withdrawing her hand. She wished he'd been looking up, hoped she hadn't startled him. "It is agreed, under the Light, Haeden Gaidin," she told him. Her smile had returned as she spoke.

Out of the corner of her eye, Liaran saw the serving girl heading their way again, this time to see if they wanted food. Liaran raised her head to order her breakfast, and hoped it would arrive quickly. She was feeling eager to continue with the work she'd begun here, and when it was finished, to return home with Haeden and act on the decision they had made.

[Bella]

His eyes lifted the moment he felt her fingers against his lips, however brief. He wasn't startled, precisely, but it did surprise him. He wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Sea Folk customs...but he was going to learn, he realized. There was still much to learn, and he intended to do so. He imagined that the gesture was some sort of pact, like his oath.

His oath to swear an oath... There was something funny about that.

The girl came by and he looked up to order food for himself, though he felt a hint of his own impatience now. He forced it away, however, because he knew that she was here to work, important work. And it had been his duty before to make sure she could do it, and was his duty more than ever.

Haeden made himself remain the Gaidin, but even he couldn't miss the lighter atmosphere around them.

He wanted to talk, but he didn't know what to say. Should he continued to speak about this, or would he just start repeating himself and over-talking it. But it didn't seem to right to speak about anything else either...

What was it about this, her, that made him so tongue-tied? He had been tumultuous as a child, grieving, and later angry, but once he'd grown up, he'd become solid...stable... Maybe too much so. Then he met Liaran. And his life, had quite literally, not been the same since...and he didn't want to go back.

"Thank you, Liaran," he said softly, looking between his hands now folded on the table to around the room and back down again.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran smiled and nodded. To her, no further words seemed necessary, so she remained quiet. While they waited for their food, Liaran thought about what lay ahead of them, and the changes it would bring to her life. When they bonded, she would never really be alone again. Not long ago, she'd felt that would be terrible, far too intrusive, but with Haeden, she welcomed it. It was almost hard for her to believe that she trusted him enough to want that, but Liaran had no doubts in her mind.

Their food arrived, and Liaran began to eat. She wasn't in a hurry, exactly, but she didn't want to sit there and dawdle over her food either. Putting her spoon down, she smiled at Haeden again, wondering if he felt the same sort of anticipation and contentedness as she did. Liaran continued to eat after that, her eyes on her bowl, and only looked up once she'd finished. It appeared to her as if Haeden was also done, or would be shortly. "Are you almost ready to leave?" she asked him.

[Bella]

Haeden didn't rush eating, but he didn't waste any time either once the food was in front of him. Every time he glanced up, it seemed that she felt the same. For him, it was generally a way of life. Something trained into Gaidin, as it was trained into soldiers--eat when the food was in front of you and all that.

Just as she finished hers, he finished his. "Are you almost ready to leave?"

"I'm ready now," he said, pushing his dish away. He rose from the table with her and once the payment was sorted, they headed back out into the street.

After they made their way for a few minutes, he glanced at her. "Do you think you have much more to do to help this town?" he asked. "I can already tell there's some change."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran looked at Haeden when he spoke to her. "Honestly, I don't know," she answered. "It's not an easy thing to judge. I don't believe I'll need to do much more, but working with the weather can be tricky. All I'm doing is making the sort of small changes that will make it more likely for rain clouds to form here. While I could force it to rain right now if I chose to..it just isn't a good idea, so I have to work slowly." She turned away from him then as they continued to walk, looking up into a sky that was far cloudier than it had been yesterday. Looking back at Haeden, she told him, "It could begin to rain as early as tonight. I just can't be sure until it starts."

They continued on their way and soon arrived at the familiar hill. Liaran climbed it, tilting her head back to survey what remained of the work she'd done yesterday. Much of her weaving had gone already, disappearing to influence the larger weather patterns, but the net she'd woven of Air and Water remained. It too was beginning to fade, but Liaran did not want to allow that yet. The Aes Sedai reached for saidar, winding thick threads of Air into the net to strengthen it. These stretched as far as Liaran could see, causing the net to grow larger. After placing these threads, Liaran added more Air threads woven above and below them. When she'd finished with that, she switched to pulling threads of Water, much thinner, twisted around only a few of the threads of Air. She could feel the wind speed picking up as she worked.

The wind played with Liaran's hair as she switched her focus to the use of Water to increase the moisture in the air. Much as she'd done the previous day, the Aes Sedai wove small nets like the one she'd made of Air, but using primarily Water threads instead. She created more of these than she had yesterday. Now that clouds had formed, the addition of Water should assist in the formation of rain clouds. The grey clouds that already hung in the sky above suggested that it would not be long before that change took place.

Since her goal was to cause the rain, Liaran did not want to wait for all of the clouds to form. She was capable of weaving them herself, and she did. She pulled threads of Air first, followed by far smaller amounts of Water and Earth. Her dark eyes blinked, studying the white cloud she had made, before adding more of each of the last two. It turned darker as she watched, filling with water. Satisfied, the Aes Sedai kept weaving, creating several more similar clouds before she stopped. When she looked around her, more grey clouds were moving in. The ones she had added herself were darker than the rest, but Liaran did not think it would take long before that changed and all of the clouds opened up. She gave the morning's work one last look before letting saidar go and turning to Haeden. "It should be raining by tomorrow morning at the latest, I think," she said, since he'd asked about it earlier.

[Bella]

Although he wasn't able to see what she was doing, now Haeden was able to feel what she was doing. And he could see the clouds changing, even if he couldn't see the weaves that were doing it. There were changes that were subtle that he could still feel against his skin, like impending rain. It was a feeling he'd always enjoyed.

Haeden kept his eyes on their surroundings, doing what warders did, but there was no trouble coming.

When she was done and returned to where he had stationed himself, he smiled. "I'm sure the citizens of this city will be most grateful. I can already feel a difference in the air, and it's a considerable improvement over how it all felt when we first arrived in town." He gestured to the path they had taken to get there, and they began the walk back.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

The rest of the day passed peacefully. To Liaran, it seemed to go quickly, and almost before she knew it, dinner time was over and the sun was setting. In her room, the Aes Sedai opened her shutters to check on the weather outside. The clouds remained, but she hadn't seen one drop of rain yet, and it worried her. She stared out the window until it became too dark to see outside, then closed the shutters again with a sigh. Though she knew the weaves she'd set this morning would be effective, Liaran had expected to see more changes in the weather by now. You can adjust your weaves tomorrow, if you need to, she reminded herself. The reminder did nothing to help her disappointment. She dressed for bed, closed her eyes, and soon, the Aes Sedai was asleep.

Liaran awoke in the morning to a soft tapping sound on the roof over her head. Her head popped up, then her feet were out of bed and scurrying over to the window. She opened the shutters to see a sky filled with grey and white puffy clouds and rain falling, quickly forming puddles in the streets. She smiled, pleased and proud to see the effects of her work. This was the sort of work she'd returned to the Tower to do, work that would benefit far more people than she ever could have as a Windfinder. Liaran closed the window to get ready for the day, and when she finished, left her room to knock on Haeden's door. When he answered, she smiled up at him. "It's raining, Haeden!" she told him, not bothering to conceal her pride in the work she'd done. "Let's go home."