Shock In Novice White (Attn: Caddoc)

[Lou]

Ember was starting to hate the Tower once again. She was still on slave duty for running away as they called it. She had tried to argue that she had not exactly run away, she had not intended to stay away, but she had to talk to her Father. Which she had done, well shouted really, and then been scooped up by another wandering Aes Sedai and her travelling goon she had called a Warder. She had tried to plead her case, needing closure and all that, but it had not gone down. They were supposed to put all former ties behind them, but that was easier said than done.

Today she was carrying towels and blankets to the Infirmary. Oh fun. At least it was better than kneeling on the floor and scrubbing, her hands were ruined she was sure. So, in her freshly clean Novice Whites, her hair in two braids either side, tied with white ribbons, she made her way into the Infirmary, trying to see who she could dump these blankets onto. Her arms were aching like hell.

[Eve]

Caddoc stood in the middle of the Infirmary, quietly observing. Of course, he wasn’t in control of the place (not yet) but that did not seem to stop him from ordering whomever he wished to go wherever he wanted them to. With his lack of a uniform, and unruffled expression, most assumed he was a new raised Asha’man, and did what he said. He sighed as he watched them bustle about. In his time gone, this place (in his opinion) had deteriorated. His lips gave the smallest downward quirk, a frown, and he turned to a soldier as the man delved a nearby servant to see what was wrong with him. The boy (he was easily Caddoc’s age) seemed far too nervous to even attempt at doing a good job at it. Caddoc gave in inward sigh and started towards the lad, who nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the tall Tairen towering over him. With a few words, he sorted out the man’s wielding, pointing out in quick, to the point words exactly what the other was doing wrong...as well as why.

Turning from the boy he noticed a pile of blankets lumbering across the floor. From the bottom of the pile grew a skirt, and two small, white shoes. A Novice running errands, he supposed. And running them right in the middle of his Infirmary. He moved towards her, not bothering to look behind the pile to see the woman’s face. “This way, child.” he said, and the way the word came from his lips sounded as if he honestly considered the other a little kid, instead of using it as an honorific, like most the Tower. “Linens are placed in a sterile environment, lest they be contaminated.”

[Lou]

Ember heard someone address he, at least she guessed they were, as no one else was crying the linen's like she was. And while she did not pay attention to the words, there was something very familiar about the voice. The accent was Tairen, though it has lost much of the twang that most Tairens spoke with, but it was the tone that niggled at her, the command there, the way it was delivered. As she moved in the direction (she hoped) that she was being told to go.

And as she peeked over the pile of white cloth she noticed a froth of yellow lace that she could hardly forget. Blood and body ashes. It was Caddoc. The not a Dedicated but not quite an Asha-man. She had no idea how he would take the sight of her in her Novice White, if he reacted at all. "Yes, sir." There, no letting the game away with get answer.

[Eve]

The voice of the Novice was familiar, though at the moment he couldn't place it. However, the fact that she hadn't stumbled over what to call him caused him to pause more than her voice did. So far, no one had really grown used to his position (which wasn't surprising), and they seemed confused more often than not. Her simple 'sir' had been precise and without hesitation, and he stopped in his brisk step. His surprised was shown only in the tweak of his right brow, jumping ever so slightly and holding, and for a moment he was quiet.

"Well, well, Drin..." He said, his head tilting softly to the side, causing his straight black hair to shift. "Is this a punishment, or were you causing more mischief than I had thought upon first meeting you?"

[Lou]

As Ember peeked up and over the stack of Linens, she could see that she had been rumbled. She met his green eyed stare with one of her own, and she noted the rise of his eyebrow, which cause her to smile just a little. It was almost good to know he had some emotions in there, other than anger. When he spoke, she lowered the stack to the place they were meant to be, and looked back to him with a sheepish smile.

"The punishment is more to do with actions before I met you, though the White dress is mine." She looked down to it, once again feeling naked without her sai at her sides. "The Drin outfit...well, I think it suits me more, but they keep putting me in white." She rolled her eyes, and grinned to Caddoc. "Still favouring the yellow fluff at your neck I see." Yeah, she could not help being cheeky, it was just who she was.

[Eve]

Caddoc moved to the set of lines and began to lift them, one by one. Unfolding them, and then refolding them into smaller bundles, he seemed to take his time with the act. Caddoc was a man that made sure each action was performed correctly, no matter how small or ‘beneath’ him it might appear. Had the floor been cleaned wrong, he would likely have taken a mop to it himself...in the Infirmary at least. When each cloth was refolded, he placed it away so that it made a neat pile with no hint of falling over, but at the same time easy to get to quickly.

“I can understand your distaste for white.” He said, nodding. “I was likely more fortunate. I assume the reason you used a Drin’s outfit was because you wished to practice your skill, and they dissuade Novices from doing such things. A Soldier’s training is more...lenient, when it come to weapons. Something I personally find distasteful.” He looked down at Ember as his hands moved with practiced patients. “Have you an eye on a future Ajash, yet?”

[Lou]

Ember watched as caddoc began to unfold and then refold the pile of linens she had brought in. She frowned for a moment, but soon helped. Maybe he was one of those people who liked things a very specific way, and could not leave it alone until they had it that way. Or maybe it was a direct insult to her. Either way, she knew she had better help him, if an Aes Sedai or Asha'man came passed and saw her watching Caddoc (with whatever level he was at) doing all the work, she would be in for some floor scrubbing at the very least. When it was all done, she looked up to him as he spoke. She hated being the shortest most the times.

Ember smiled as he guessed her reasons for dressing up as a Drin and heading to the training yards. "It feels like they like us in white, like we are fragile little dolls and goodness forbid we may actually hurt ourselves or something." She scowled a little, "Like life will be that simple when we are Aes Sedai." She sighed, "If I ever make it that far anyway." She rolled her eyes a little and then frowned a little. "What do you find distasteful?" She licked her lips as he asked her if she had an Ajah in mind, and she sighed a little. "Not really. I am pretty sure I am not a White, and I not sure I have the patience for a Grey." She shrugged, "And not feeling the Red either." She knew that was the opposit of what he had asked, but Ember never liked to do things the easy way.

[Eve]

He didn’t stop her when she began to fold the linens, and though he didn’t instruct her how, his hands slowed and he became more precise, as if showering her just how he liked it, if she was going to assist him. He listened, reverting to his normally quiet self, green eyes focused upon her. He didn’t seem to notice that she craned her head to look at him. At over six feet tall, he was used to people having to gaze up to meet his eyes. “Mmm..” he mused. “I find the fact that Aes Sedai are pressured into leaving weapons behind distasteful. Unless they are Green Ajah, they seem to believe a woman shouldn’t wield something to protect herself. That she should leave it to her Warder. And yet, the Asha’man are encouraged to have a weapon, and taking a Warder is more rare for them… I’ve met a number of women more than proficient enough with a weapon to make that belief ridiculous…”

Caddoc nodded when she spoke, not seeming to mind the way she spoke around her answer. He was one to take a moment to get to his point, as well. “That only leaves the Blue, the Brown, and I don’t see you as a librarian either, little Drin. Of course the Green, in which case they may allow you to practice. There is the Indigo if you have any skill with Objects of power…” He gave a thin smile, barely there as he finished. “And of course, there is always the Yellow…”

[Lou]

Ember listened as he explained what he found distasteful, and she nodded her head. She was no warrior, not like Lyrelle Goldendawn, but she liked to be able to defend herself if she needed to be. Her green eyes were watching his hands, how he was folding them, and she copied his movements, trying to get it just right. Well, at least she tried, yeah? "I'm not saying I will never have a Warder, or plan to rush into a fist of Trollocs on my own, but Warders and One Power are not infallible. I just...want to make sure I can protect myself if the worst comes to the worst." She of course had no idea what was going to happen in the future, if she even made it through the Tests. She could be fifty before they let her out of Novice White after what she pulled.

When Caddoc started to list the Ajah's that she had not discounted, she nodded her head. "Did you always know hat you wanted? Where you belonged?" She looked to him, and shifted her stance a little so her neck was quite at right angels looking up. "I do not think Brown is my fit, and I dont think I have any call to the items of power." She shrugged, "And I dont think I am made for Healing, I am not sure." Urgh, she hated sounding so soft, so confused. She just had no idea about what she should do, or where she belonged.

[Eve]

“Not always.” He told her, turning to face her as the folding was finished. “When I left for the Tower I had no idea of what I would choose. Part of me thought the Green Ajah, or even the Blue would have been right for me. Such ideals that they represented seemed to call to me. However…” He spread his hands in a gesture of ‘what can you do’. “It took me a very long time to reach the Tower, and by the time I arrived I had discovered me….Talent with Healing.” He gazed down into her eyes, telling her. “Sometimes choosing an Ajah is not about enjoying what you do, but being good at what you do. I have no great desire to Heal the world, or even individuals.” He turned to look at the Infirmary, knowing his voice was low enough that only she heard, but not caring even had someone happened across them right now. “If each of the patients were to leave now and get themselves killed, be it idiotic or heroic, it makes no difference to me. The only thing that would irritate me was that they undid my good work. I have no interest in the wellbeing of others. However, I am good at it, and so this is what I chose to do. Because I do it better than others, and if it need be done, it should be done correctly.”