Family Matters (Attn: Lysira Gaidar)

[Jack]

Sojin Majere Gaidin “That flaming milk-brained jackdaw has no bloody right!”

Sojin’s voice carried down the corridors as the silver-haired Gaidin stalked them like a hunter closing for the kill. The broad-shouldered man next to him had to struggle to keep up and yet stay calm.

“Sojin, please calm yourself,” Balen Asham’man said, trying to catch his breath. As tall as Sojin at nearly six feet, Balen struck most people as more of a blacksmith than as a diplomat because of his more muscular frame. If not for the grey cord that now adorned his shoulder, they might have been right.

At the moment, most people would have probably been more apt to talk to the Asha’man than the infuriated Warder. Sojin might have been dressed in refined clothes, from the blue wool coat to the white silk shirt underneath, the fine pants and well crafted black boots, but he had all the tell-tale signs of seasoned solider.

The way he his hand held the hilt of the saber at his side spoke volumes as loud as his voice. He was about ready to maim someone.

“Blood and flaming ashes, Balen, five flaming weeks of diplomacy down the privy chute, all because he didn’t approve,” Sojin said. “I will have his hide for my saddle and his skull to empty my pipe ashes in.”

The comments drew a few looks from a group of Dedicated and Accepted passing them. One stern look from Balen sent the learning ranks on their way, though a pair of Accepted’s eyes lingered briefly on the pair.

Balen Ashe had been an Asha’man for more than two decades, and had known Sojin nearly as long. He had trained under both Jerid Asha’man and Trae Elien, a respected but long-dead diplomat.

One had taught him certainty, leadership, and a few things with the One Power best left undiscussed. The other had taught him patience, respect and the difference between necessary action and heedless blundering.

Right now, the latter was needed when dealing with the former’s son.

For Sojin, who had recently returned to the Grey Tower only to be pulled away at his nephew’s request for counsel had been a sheer waste of time. It had been a delicate matter of negotiation and the Warder had to call in more than a few favors to have Balen released from his role as part of entourage to Tar Valon to help mediate.

Light, but he had to forfeit a golden opportunity that he may never see again to help family.

His nephew had been offered a marriage proposal by a potentially powerful if somewhat controversial ally. For all Sojin’s doubts and experience, it was a proper match, and a positive step.

House Walker needed that much. Sojin knew because he had served as High Seat for a decade, trying to keep a once-powerful Andoran House from succumbing to infighting and a fall from grace.

Sojin’s nephew Morgan now held that position and did a better job than he could ever do. The Gaidin was accustomed to leading men into battle, planning assaults and a life on horseback, not trying to counter attacks from family members he never knew or from stronger Andoran Houses.

This marriage was a logical step, even in the minds of the most skeptical channelers the White Ajah had. And one man had said no because of whom was involved and the conditions made.

Balen spoke when he sensed Sojin was about to swear again. The Asha’man was no stranger to such language and frequently swore himself, but the silver haired Gaidin’s mouth was legendary. And encouraged by a legend itself.

“You have to understand his position …”

Sojin cut him off as they rounded the corner toward the Indigo Ajah Hall.

“I don’t flaming care,” Sojin said sharply. “The second I find Jerid flaming Walker Asha’man, I will make sure he’s sitting down hard on the tip of my sword and then I’ll prepare his goat-kissing hide for my saddle.”

No sooner than the words left his mouth did Sojin’s sapphire blue eyes land on the person not five feet away from them.

Balen swore colorfully in the Old Tongue the second his eyes landed on the small woman in front of Sojin and himself. He might have been gone in Tar Valon for some time, but news still reached him. More so than it did Sojin, who had ignored the subject of Jerid Walker for as long as possible.

Sojin also swore, albeit internally. Not a good choice of words to utter when around this woman. While small, the diminutive woman with wide black eyes in front of them defied the image.

Before the Gaidin could speak, Balen stepped forward and smiled slightly.

“My Lady Gaidar, it’s wonderful to see you,” the Asha’man said. “I’d love to stay and chat, but duties call me elsewhere, namely trying to debrief someone on something and warning him of the storm to come.”

He gave a brief nod to Sojin and briskly walked past the Gaidar with a muttered “don’t kill him” comment.

Sojin couldn’t decide whether Balen was the wisest man he knew or a coward. He decided on both as he met gazes with Lysira Gaidar, Jerid Walker’s Warder.

“Gaidar,” he murmured respectfully after a moment. “I trust you’re well, but I have a few … words to discuss with my father.”

Light, but he was going to strangle the man.

Sojin had never, ever had a chance to talk with Lysira Gaidar before today, other than a spare word when he was storming out of Jerid Walker's offices as a freshly minted Gaidin. It was a mistake on his part, especially since they shared a common mentor in Caden Ives, the legendary former Master of Arms, but he still had held high respect for the small Gaidar. Light alone knew he had exchanged sharp words with his father on certain occasions when it involved her.

"Please excuse me, but I need to make a new saddle for my horse," he said.

[Bella]

Lysira had never truly met her husband's other children, particularly this son, but to know just how discordant and acrimonious their relationship truly was. On one hand, she could understand. Jerid Walker was...a hard man to love, or perhaps a man who made it hard to love him, in many ways. She knew this from painful personal experience, but to her, that didn't mean he wasn't worth the loving.

A truth that had made itself quite evident since her return.

She knew that she could do nothing about Jerid and Sojin as father and child. It was entirely down to them to figure it out or leave it to die, all on their own terms. In that mess, she would not step into the emotional chaos. However, it was impossible to not have heard what the Gaidin was saying and she didn't necessarily think he wouldn't do it... Perhaps he couldn't achieve it, but Lysira did not trust that he wouldn't try.

That was how acrimonious she knew this genetic pairing to be. She didn't know all the parts behind the "why," and the "why" was not that important to her. She lived her life as much in the moment as possible, so only the "what" mattered to her. The now of it. Which is why the small woman stood before him. She certainly had no issue with him herself, but respect for a Brother of Battle, and a former student of her psuedo-father Caden Ives.

Her lips curved into a faint, somewhat mirthless smile as the light played in her obsidian eyes. She lifted her hands, hoping he--like his father--would be able to understand her. 'I'm afraid I'd rather you not turn your father into a saddle,' she declared easily. 'I have no desire to have made it this long in life only to go insane from a severed bond.'

[Jack]

Sojin cocked his head as Lysira's hands moved, forming words and phrases. He was thankful for the lessons he received from an Aiel Maiden long ago to have taken an interest in the silent language.

So the rumors that filtered back to the estate in the Mountains of Mists were true. The pair were bonded once more.

At any other time he would have welcomed the news. When Jerid Walker lost a Warder, it took years, if not decades before he bonded again. It was understandable given the Indigo's history and the life he led.

Right this moment, however, the tiny Gaidar was a barrier to his agenda: Strangling the man who had ruined so much solid work.

"I assure you, Gaidar, I won't kill him," Sojin muttered. "All I want is his hide. I'm sure the Yellows can help him grow a new one."

He judged the distance between Lysira and the office and considered all of his options. Tying her up or lifting her aside were out of the question. She was likely too fast and could sink an elbow or knew in a very undesirable place.

"A compromise then: Let me just take an ear. Or maybe a pinky. He has others."

Light, but Sojin had not been this furious with the man since the day Jerid Walker told him that he was his father. He had been a trainee then, raised to believe another man had been his father. And then out of the blue it had come.

Since then his relationship with the man had been ... strained to say the least.

His sapphire eyes danced with determination.

"The man ruined what could have been a very promising alliance for House Walker, one that could see it return to the Caralain," Sojin said. "He said no to the High Seat, his own grandson, and sent a rather ... explicit letter to the other party."

Maybe the nose. That way he couldn't stick it in someone else's business again.

"He ruled House Walker for decades and then walked away from the responsibility," Sojin said simply. "He left it at a time when it needed his presence the most and let the world think him dead for a decade. He has not the right."

Sojin gave a brief bow of his head to the Gaidar before preparing to move past her.

"And I'll be burned if he passes up the chance to be a father to a son instead of bogging himself down unnecessary work," Sojin muttered.

[Bella]

Yes, that sounded like something her dear husband and bond-mate would do, she reflected with no amount of rueful consideration. This was not something that had been thoroughly discussed with her, as even as his wife she didn't much interfere with the business of political side of things, but even if he had, it would've been between the two of them and not for her to debate with his son.

Her eyes glittered with her inner thoughts as she smirked again. 'A compromise would be the use of words alone without resorting to rough hands or sharp blades,' she stated. 'I am not going to debate or defend, but simply say that it's my place to keep all of his body parts in one piece. But if you'd like to make his ears bleed with words alone, I could be persuaded to step aside.'

[Jack]

Sojin's eyes narrowed as he considered the Warder still in his way. Most would have likely let him pass, knowing that nearly all bouts between him and Jerid Walker would end in stalemate.

Only, this time there was a very real chance that violence would ensue. Well, one that would end up with him pinned to the wall until he calmed down.

Light, but when did Warders become so nuaced in trying to strike a middle ground? Most would knock him on his arse and keep him there until he settled down. No, that would be you when confronted with a threat to your Ward..

"Your time in Cairhien surely gave you more insight into politics, I'm afraid," Sojin said after a moment. "It's a bad habit for a Warder. I should know because I sat on that flaminng seat for ten years."

He threw up his hands in frustration and muttered, "You always were the flaming proper match for him. Even Aden Cole thought so when he was alive."

"I swear I won't lay a hand on him or toss him into the lake," Sojin murmured. "But your presence is greatly requested. I fear a moderator will be needed."

[Bella]

The smaller woman couldn't decided if she felt complimented or insulted that he felt she had grown better at politics, but twenty years in Cairhein society--even if not actively a "lady"--undoubtedly had effected her.

She stood before him in that unnerving cocoon of silence she had often been told she could achieve better than most. (She had not spent the first ten years of her life creating the name "Mouse" for nothing, after all... Well, at least it hadn't had no effect, one would say.) It gave himself the opportunity to talk himself around in circles and down off the mountain of her anger without mortal combat ensuing in the hallway.

The servants in charge of cleaning tended to frown on that.

But, needs must...

Still, Sojin calmed down before her intent onyx gaze and the corners of her mouth remained lifted with her hands "silent" and held clasped before her as she waited. He finally did calm himself and she inclined her head.

'No offense, but I would not likely have let you in there without me as you came up,' she admitted without embarrassment. There was nothing a warder took more seriously than the safety of their bond-mate. And, quite frankly, as Jerid's wife and bond, if anyone was going to caught him physical harm, it was going to be her...

Taking a breath, Lysira signed, 'I will be glad to go in and assist however I can.'

[Jack]

Sojin smirked at Lysira's comments. He wouldn't have expected the tiny Gaidar to let him pass unescorted. At least not without a challenge.

And in a dual, it came down to two things: both were trained by Caden Ives, albeit in different techniques, and both had adamant concerns over Jerid Walker.

Unfortunately, despite his training and the fact he could probably land a mortal blow, he'd end up skewered on an arrow or knife in the process and die.

As if you could ever draw on another Warder unless your charge was in danger, he thought. It was true. And despite his animosity to his father, Sojin couldn't harm him. The second steel scratched against leather, he'd be wrapped up tighter than a prisoner in irons.

With a silent nod of consent, Sojin moved forward, expecting Lysira to keep up. Thankfully the way toward Jerid's office was rather short.

The man had moved up quite rapidly. First Seeker of the Indigo Ajah, a task the Warder thought must chafe. As Master of Soldiers, the man had been a force to be reckoned with, respected and feared. Anything else, other than an Asha'man or even High Seat, and his hands seemed tied.

Sojin was silent for a few moments, considering how to delicately explain to the Asha'man that he was an arse. His hand rested on his saber hilt lightly, caressing the green manta ray hide almost intimately. There had been similar situations with Saphire over the years, when her tempered flared and he had to calm her down.

The only difference was Sojin had been her Warder and had shared her bed. And knew her mood swings. The Indigo was unpredictable and as cold as ice.

"You should know what awaits us on the other side of the door," Sojim murmured. "I'm not sure if he informed you of how Walker Manor fell, but the Seanchan marched on it without mercy. They drove people in the outlying villages of House Walker's lands to the manor and surrounded it. Aden Asha'man died in an ambush and good soldiers were lost. He made the ultimate decision to send everyone to the estates in the Mountains of Mists ... and he used the Portal Stone within the manor ... there were no survivors. I even thought him and his Warder Sienna dead, their un..." He paused. He wasn't sure how much Jerid had told his estranged wife. Best to leave it to those two.

"When I assumed High Seat, House Walker was diminished, a strong bulwark against the Shadow and Andor gone," Sojin murmured. "I was left with one decision: soldier on and maintain what resources we had left."

The grip on his hilt tightened slightly. Morgan had returned, resumed his rightful seat at High Seat and Sojin had gratefully left to return to the Tower. He was a Warder. And yet he still had ties to past lives. That was something he shared in common with his father.

"He ruined a perfectly good marriage proposal and alliance between his grandson and someone who could restore balance and help rebuild Walker Manor in the Caralain," Sojin muttered.

They arrived at the door. As he laid his hand on the knob, Sojin murmured, "The marriage proposal came from member of the Seanchan High Blood. That house, that blood, wants peace and it's sincere. Your Asha'man does think so, and we wants no peace."

He hesitated on opening. He doubted the Indigo was eavesdropping. The man already knew who to expect, what to expect, only that we wouldn't be alone.

"I want this feud to stop and he needs to let it go," Sojin murmured. "He has to for his own good."

[Bella]

Despite her stature, Lysira had no trouble keeping up with the man's brisk pace. She had been used to keeping up with people far larger than she had for her whole life, so it wasn't even something that required thought. She had always been a quick little thing, after all, even before earning the fancloak and that had only made her more so.

When they reached the door and he turned to her, she listened with all obvious attention but no hint as to what she had known or hadn't known about any of it. Truth was, she knew the jist of all and the details of some. She took in the other details he offered that she didn't have and kept a mental record of them. She did not step into the business of House Walker, but she understood well enough to follow.

'Know that I am not here to try to persuade him or you of anything on this matter,' Lysira signed. 'I will keep the peace, but the business of House Walker is between you two.' Of course, depending on what was said that didn't mean she wouldn't offer her thoughts to Jerid in private, but she would not do it in the presence of anyone but the two of them.

For this moment, she intended to just listen and make sure neither tried to kill the other. That alone, she figured, would keep her hands full.

[Jack]

Sojin raised an eyebrow at Lysira's comment for the second time that day.

Then he smiled wryly. He knew what a Warder was capable of, especially one who shared a bed their charge. Or was married to that person for that matter.

Sojin had shared a bed with three Aes Sedai who had bonded him. Once had he been married to someone who had bonded him.

"You're a flaming liar," the Gaidin said, tapping his nose slightly. "You only influence his opinion in private."

Before he opened the door, Sojin cocked his head, considering the small Warder carefully.

It took but a second.

"Don't change, and don't let him leave your sight when he's away from the Tower," he murmured. "He needs someone to keep him alive so he can still some flaming good."

It was a rare, honest appraisal of his father.

He opened the door, and his demeanor changed.

"You have no flaming right to interfere in such a bloody flaming sheep shallow move, Jerid Walker," Sojin blared the moment he set eyes on his father.

The Asha'man stood over a massive wooden desk in a room furnished by bookshelves, a few chairs and small tables. Daylight streamed in from the window overlooking the Indigo Courtyard, revealing the numerous artifacts scattered about the room.

He had certainly made himself home, with the exception of the artwork. None decorated the walls.

Sojin knew his father. Jerid wasn't planning to stay long, not in this office.

The Indigo Asha'man looked up from a ledger, his gold-green eyes darting from his son to his Warder. Then they latched back on to the silver-haired Gaidin even as his wife moved into a tactical position where she could watch both and take out a threat.

Sojin noticed as well. And he kept his hands free of his sabre.

"When it comes to the safety of this Tower comes ... " Jerid said calmly.

Sojin slammed the door hard and took three steps forward.

"This is not about the Tower's safety," he said. "I gave my blessing to Morgan to go forward with the marriage and you sent that flaming letter telling the other party that you'd never allow it. You aren't in command anymore."

Jerid raised an eyebrow. Underneath, there was a cold anger and a tinge of disappointment.
Before the Indigo could say a word however, the Gaidin raised a hand.

"'They can't change. They will not stop. This is all a plot,'" he said in a very Altaran accent similar to Jerid's. It was refined, deep and reserved, with a hint of steel.

"They say the same about you, Asha'man, and frankly they are tired of war, tired of the legend that haunts their children on this side of the Aryth," Sojin said bluntly. "Your name here, in this Tower and among friends, embodies heroism and great deeds. For them, it's synonymous with death."

Jerid raised a hand, his eyes as hard as steel. It was a gaze powerful enough to stop most from speaking.

Sojin didn't stop. A decade ago, he would've stopped. Not now.

"You both started the war, Jerid Walker," Sojin said. "The night their agent killed Erin and the three months after in which you raised havoc among their camps between Altara and here."

Jerid's eyes were cold now, enough from preventing Sojin from speaking.

"They killed my son," he said coldly. His voice was event, but it may as well have been a shout. "They attacked this Tower, killed friends and people who were close to my friends. They came after my own children in their own homes, marched on the Caralain ..."

Jerid paused to let the words sink in.

"They want peace, with you. At least this family does, and it is a powerful one," Sojin said. "The Ever Victorious Army is waving the white flag and wants to help rebuild."

Sojin didn't stop.

"Rumor has it the Dragon's general has ties. If this is true, how can one who claims to be so loyal to the Dragon's clause be against ..."

Jerid interrupted, fury overwhelming everything else, even his own senses.

"They tried to kill you. They tried to kill those who I love. No matter what deal or how sweet their words might be, the Seanchan will send Seekers. I will not let them strike at ..."'

Sojin's eyes shifted toward Lysira even as his hand went to the sabre hilt. He knew the Gaidar was paying attention, and at this moment he prayed that she caught the silent request of trust.

"One did. A hidden Seeker tried to attack and kill Morgan and Balen Asha'man bound him with the Power," Sojin said. "He almost lived but he made threats against Cade, against the demon's spawn. "


Steel flashed and then the bloodied sabre clattered to the desk. The blood ran through the Old Tongue phrase inscribed on the blade: Peace favor your sword.
"No one threatens my brother, or my nephew," Sojin murmured. "He died, defenseless. The Seanchan lady had thirty seconds to order her people to respond."

Jerid blinked. Thirty seconds was more than enough for a Warder to dispatch a threat to an Asha'man. The Indigo had trained Balen himself, and while the latter was a Grey, he was a proficient battleweaver.

"There will be peace. There will be a marriage between Morgan and his proposal and I will be burned if you try to deny it," Sojin said.

[Bella]

"You're a flaming liar... You only influence his opinion in private."

Lysira said nothing to that, but her lips curved up again in that faint, knowing smile. He was a warder, and had those emotional entanglements to dance along the bond, so he would know. It was not her place to agree or disagree with such matters in public, even just one person, and so she would not. She knew the proper lines, and she would remain along them.

Staying silent was something she was exceedingly good at.

His next words had surprised her a little, but she didn't let that show either. Instead, she just fell in line with him and they walked into Jerid's office. Fluidly, without even having to survey the room or the situation to consider it, she moved into the perfect strategic position to smack either of the men around should they need it. That, in fact, she would not hesitate to do and knew that father and son were equally likely to have such need.

Then, she let them speak. She listened, but more so she watched. Like the specter at the feast, perfectly silent and missing nothing.

When Sojin's hand moved to his sword, every cell in her body came alive. Every muscle tensed. Bits of electricity jolted through her nerves, but she caught his eye. There was a plea there, and she understood it. She accepted it...though not until the three seconds it took to calculate how fast she could put herself between them. It was enough time, she determined, so she gave him her trust. For a moment.

And she was not proven wrong, although his words forced her eyes to widen slightly with a flare of emotional fire that few people actually saw in her. That was the mother, which was a warder-like instinct even stronger than what she felt for her bond-mate and husband, rearing to fight the idea that someone had threatened her son.

Sojin's words brought her to like him a little more. No one threatens my brother, or my nephew...

Lysira forced herself to start breathing again and then let her eyes move to Jerid, wondering what he would say.