The Grey Tower

Rhiale

Nathaniel Carridus Life as a Soldier wasn't all that different from that of a Drin, but Nate was glad for the progression. He felt like he was actually getting somewhere with his life now, even if he had to answer to lots of people and he always ended up breaking rules he didn't even know existed until he was getting a penance for them. Alright some things were a little less subtle than others - spiking an Aes Sedai's tea to give her a poorly stomach, was rather naughty.

The only thing to do was carry on as he did, apologise when he was caught breaking a rule, and then get on with the rest of his day.

Today, Nate didn't plan on misbehaving. He was heading through the gardens to find somewhere to relax between lessons. It just so happened that he was missing a rather boring politics lesson at the same time... nobody would notice, would they? And if they did he would say he forgot. What did he need politics for anyway? He wasn't here to become a negotiator, he was here to become an awesome fighter and kick his brother's ass. Knowing the trade disputes between Tear and Illian wasn't going to make him any better at that.

Apparently Nate wasn't the only person who had this idea, but then they also decided that they were going to lounge around as naked as they day they were born. Nate was not used to coming across naked napping ladies, and he found himself drawing to a halt and staring with wide eyes, not even breathing in case the loud noise would startle her and scare her away. Oh Light, what have I done to deserve this? he thought, looking at the woman appreciatively. If she insisted on lying there unclothed, he wasn't going to stop her. Some Aes Sedai or Asha'man might, but he was just a Soldier, and he knew that telling a lovely lady to not do something she wanted to do was ill advised. He was doing the Tower a favour by letting her sunbathe unimpeded by the shackles of fabric.

Although Nate was pretty sure lounging around naked was one of those things he was not allowed to do, the cheeky young man couldn't help the question that escaped him. "So, is this naked party invite only or can anyone join in?" he asked, his tone light and friendly. The woman - a Novice, by the looks of the white clothing nearby - didn't seem to be put out by his presence, which was always a plus. A naked woman not running away from him, awesome. The Soldier barely waited for her reply, her dare, her challenge, before he started to remove his coat. Mayeners were known for being quite forthcoming, and Nate had never been ashamed of his body. Sure, wandering around unclothed wasn't something he was in the habit of, but hey, he liked his manhood, he was pretty sure other people did too right? He wasn't so presumptuous to think that his dick was a gift that anyone would want as a present, but he was comfortable in his own skin.

And so it was only a short amount of time before his clothes were in a heap and he was sitting cross legged on the floor facing the woman who introduced herself as one of those Aiel. Of course, they had all sorts of weird customs on that side of the wall, he should have known. He could always argue that he was doing this for some kind of cultural awareness project. It was culturally insensitive to deprive the Aiel of their right to sunbathe naked, and he was showing camaraderie in doing the same. Besides, the warm sun did feel good on his bare skin, and it was all rather liberating. The Soldier wore a lopsided smile as he regarded Rhiale. "The name's Nate," he said, offering nothing more fancy than that. "Hey now, the Grey Tower's not so wretched. Sure there's lots of rules and regulations and power hungry heels, but overall it's got some good stuff going for it. It's taken me in and is teaching me how to channel. Besides which, if it wasn't for the Grey Tower I wouldn't get to meet lovely new people such as yourself." With a modest shrug, Nate continued, "if this place is so wretched then why are you here? Is it one of those Aiel things you have to do?"

Rhiale

As far as Nate was concerned, this whole thing about not asking someone's dress size or age was rather silly. How was he supposed to buy someone a gift if he didn't know what their measurements were? And besides, you didn't need to read a precious number to know when someone was fat. If a woman was so particular about people knowing her size, she should probably reconsider her diet and get some exercise. People had eyes, they didn't need measurements to know whether someone ate one pie or three.

He wasn't put off by the toothy grin sent his way. Nothing wrong with a few teeth. The man pressed on stubbornly, "alright so I'm not interested in your life story and toe or whatever, but you're an Aiel at the Grey Tower. And you introduced yourself as an Aiel. People are going to ask, whether you like it or not." He wasn't being an ass when he pointed it out, it was just an observation. Nate was too amiable by nature to get snippy or sarcastic easily. "But hey, I'll respect your privacy." Odd to say that to someone when they were both sitting there naked but hey, there was more than one sort of privacy that could be ruined.

Rhiale expressed dissatisfaction with her current channelling classes, or lack thereof, and Nate couldn't help but grin a little. "If you're so worried about not getting enough channelling time in, just do what everyone does and practice in private. It's what everyone does, even if they don't admit it. I do. The more you do it the easier it gets, and waiting around sitting on my hands isn't going to make me any better with Saidin. I haven't learned as much as I would like, not yet, but other Soldiers have taught me a fair bit and it's come in handy. I can grab onto Saidin whenever I want, and it normally does as its told." He tilted his head at the Novice with a grin, "you can always ask some of your friends if they'll channel with you. I don't know how it works for women but for me, me and the guys tend to throw rocks at each other. Nothing too dangerous. It's pretty safe as long as you don't get caught." Not entirely true - handling the Power was always dangerous business. But Nate wasn't inclined to live his life in permanent fear of what could happen. Best to save that concern for when problems actually did arise, so he could deal with them then.

"It's against the rules to channel unsupervised," Nate said conversationally, "but then we're sat in the Gardens naked, so I don't think that's something to be all that worried about." He lay back with his hands behind his head, looking up and past his hairy chest at the lovely looking Aiel woman. He wasn't quite as relaxed as he made himself out to be but if he was going to lie here naked, he was going to bloody well make the most of it and get comfortable. No point investing if you were going to half-ass it.

He was going to get into all kinds of trouble if he was seen, so why not add channelling to it? As if to make a point, Nate seized Saidin and formed a simple weave of Fire and Air, mostly the former element, to make a light for them. It was unneeded in the sunshine so he only let it hang for a few seconds before he swiped his hand and let the weaves unravel harmlessly. He was immediately more aware of his surroundings. The warmth of the sun on his skin, the rustle of the wind over the hair on his arms and chest, the feel of each individual blade of grass on his bottom...

"Have you ever channelled outside of the lessons? Like, in the Waste?" Nate asked. The idea of never using Saidin apart from during the supervised lesson times seemed quite ridiculous to him.

Rhiale

Spoiler: show

I am so sorry for the delay. Thank you for your patience. <3

If the Aielwoman was hinting that Nate talked to much, he didn’t catch it. But if he did it wouldn’t have really bothered him overmuch, as he knew he had a bit of a loose tongue sometimes and that he was liable to talking too much. It came with being a friendly fellow and it wasn’t something he was going to apologise for.

“Oh ho!” he chortled at the woman, not laughing at her but being clearly amused by her words. She seemed genuinely surprised, outraged even, at what Nate had just told her. Seriously, had she never channelled unsupervised? Not even once? “I’m quite sure Mirin Sedai hasn’t told you that jumping off the top of the Tower is against the rules either, but that doesn’t mean you’re about to go and do it. It’s not always explicit. Maybe that’s why it’s the Grey Tower,” he added with a false sense of deepness, “because it’s more complex than simply black and white.”

So deep.

It sounded to Nate like the Aielwoman had been in the Waste for so long that where his brain might seem soggy, actually it was Rhiale’s that was rather dry. It wasn’t as malleable or open to change, and this was something Nate got from the moment they met. After all, it wasn’t every day one met a naked Novice who figured that they had the right of things. Besides, Aiel thought about things differently because they were all about spears and being tall and sand. It stood to reason that there were going to be differences but really, being at the Grey Tower should be about learning them and accepting them, not holding onto the ways of a people who, erm, weren’t anything to do with the Grey Tower.

Nate didn’t begrudge Rhiale this. It was just one of his observations, and he could well be wrong… but he rather enjoyed being correct and figured he was in this instance.

“I mean, maybe I’m missing something in my soggy brain, but…” Nate wasn’t bothered by the insult, he was too easygoing to let a comment based on xenophobia put him out at all, “if you’ve channelled lots already in the Waste, then maybe there’s some other reason you’re being held back? Or maybe you just see it as being held back, I don’t know. I don’t know you or the way the Aiel work and I wouldn’t want to label an entire culture with the same traits as one another.” Okay so perhaps that was a bit of a dig, but it wasn’t meant in a horrible way. Nate only spoke in light, conversational tones which reflected on his equally light attitude.

He didn’t move from his relaxed position, though his eyes did move alongside Rhiale as she sat up with her legs crossed. This is a most fun game, he thought to himself. It was a shame it was going to have to end when they got caught. “Sounds like there might be some things you can learn from our soggy brains, Rhiale. Just because we’re different doesn’t make it bad. It’s… it’s all illuminating and enlightening and… what other words ending with “ing”… awesomeing. I’d love to go see the Aiel in the Waste, with the sand and the sky and whatever else you have out there. More Aiel. And rocks. I don’t know. But that’s why I should go, so I can find these things out! I can see how you guys channel out there and learn different ways to do things.”

Rhiale

Nate watched the tufts of grass being pulled from the ground, then looked up at the woman responsible for maiming the earth. It seemed that the woman was a little prickly, and having a bit of an identity crisis of sorts. Nate didn't really know how he was supposed to help her, he wasn't sure if there were any answers he could give that were suitable for an Aiel, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try anyway.

"You're not quite right there," he said to her. "It's not that learning takes you further from yourself. It takes you further from your past self. Your new self has all this other stuff to take in - reading, writing, living at the Grey Tower, meeting cute Soldiers - and it does change you. It takes you away from that Aiel who lived in the Waste and never left. It's not learning that's the problem, it's how you handle the new information thrown your way.

"As far as coping mechanisms go, sunbathing naked isn't so bad when you have good company." Nate gave the Aiel a grin, though when he reached out to stop her from pulling any more grass, his tone was a little more gentle. "That poor grass doesn't deserve your ire. Unless it attacked you first? I know it's been attacking my-"

There should have been a tender moment there, but it was interrupted by a shuffling noise nearby. Nate jolted from where he was seated, looking around for his clothes. They had company. "You need to hide!" he hissed, thinking on his feet. He unceremoniously helped the woman stand and prodded her in the direction of some convenient shrubbery.

"Is someone there?" a male voice called.

This was not a scenario Nate wanted to play out, now the threat was real. He needed to be seen, so the explorer would find someone, but there wasn't any time to discuss this. Instead Nate improvised, tossing Rhiale's dress into the trees after her and hastily tugging on his trousers. His shirt and coat and shoes remained as they were, but there was no time to become presentable. Instead, Nate lay on the grass, chest down, and began to do some careful push-ups. "Seventy five, seventy six, seventy seven," he counted out slowly as he worked.

"Soldier!" There we are. Nate looked up from his push-up position to see a Gaidin, one he recognised by sight but not name, with a hawkish Saldaean nose and a temper to match. He was stocky and short, the latter aiding the illusion of the former being greater than it truly was. "What in the Light are you doing out here? There's a training yard for this sort of thing. And without your shirt? You know, the Aes Sedai won't approve of that."

Nate got to his feet with a sharp salute. "My apologies sir, I needed the space and the quiet to try and, er, assume the void. To help with my training." The lies came to Nate easily, he was simply used to taking the truth and snapping it over his knee. He was a little too smiley for his own good, but he was naturally a smiley person. "I can put my shirt back on now, no problem."

He went to do just that under the man's watchful gaze. He leaned down to lift his shirt from the grass... and his smallclothes fell out of the pile to land on his coat.

"... are you training without your smallclothes, Soldier?"

"Ahhh, yes, well, it's a rather hot day and, er," Nate didn't have to act to be a little embarrassed, though he rode along with it well enough, "the Tower's smallclothes aren't the most comfortable out there."

"Ain't that the bloody truth," the Gaidin muttered. He folded his arms, "get yourself dressed - smallclothes included - and continue your training in the Yards, as is proper. Being out here like this might send out the wrong message."

"Yes sir!" Nate said, with another salute.

Thankfully the Gaidin didn't stick around to ensure Nate dressed himself, and he headed off as the man was buttoning himself up. He pocketed his smallclothes though. Counting to thirty, Nate turned around to look into the shrubs and trees to see where the Novice had gotten herself to. "You still there?" he asked, grinning broadly. He was glad that had worked, very glad. It could have gone terribly wrong had the Gaidin been more suspicious, but it had paid off. "I think we're going to have to call our sunbathing short, which is a real shame, but if you wanted to carry this on later then I would be more than happy to. There might not be much sunbathing, we'd have to keep ourselves warm some other way..." Nate's laugh was light and pleasant.

Rhiale

Nate dressed and returned to the rest of his day with a bit of a spring in his step. He didn't skip any more lessons, and he knew he would be noted for missing his politics session and that he would have to pay for it later. But later was, well, later, and once his channelling lesson was done with the Soldier had other things on his mind - such as what food to get for an Aiel. What did they eat apart from rocks? The man had no idea.

In the end he went for a picnic basket and set it on his bed, atop a pleasant blanket. It wasn't anything fancy, just the sorts of things that he figured normal people and Aiel ate. Fruit, some cheese and bread, cold cuts of meat, a wrapped up bottle of juice (but nothing to drink it from, alas). It didn't take Nate all that long to throw Reece out of the room, telling him to make himself useful for the evening elsewhere and that he was going to lock the door. Reece no doubt knew what Nate had in mind but strangely, on this occasion he had no arguments. Maybe after how poorly it had gone for him last time, he simply got on with it and kept his complaints to himself. One could always hope.

So when Rhiale made her appearance, the scruffy haired Soldier was pretty much set. He was still in his uniform, though the shoes were off as was his coat, his shirtsleeves rolled back and the top buttons of the garment undone. Nate looked much more, well, Nate, when he wasn't stuck in a uniform, as if he was supposed to parade the place with the top of his chest hair on show to everyone.

The door opened in the tall Novice slipped in, clicking it shut behind her. Pleased that she had shown up - it wasn't a certainty - Nate was grinning as he hauled himself up from the bed and gave a bow. "Rhiale, you made it!" he said as if she had crossed the whole of the Waste to get there. "Welcome to Chateau de Nate. Have a seat, I got us some nibbles." He gestured to the bed and went to sit on it himself, crossing his legs beneath him as he lifted the blanket from the top of the basket. Rhiale did say she would find him and find him she had - he was glad she did. He couldn't eat all of this food, Light burn it all, and how else could he occupy his evening? The Soldier began to take out different food items and placed them on the blanket. "So we have cheese, and bread, and meat, and fruit, and a pastry, and a slice of fruit cake, and some juice, and some prunes, and... a carrot," he wrinkled his nose and set it down anyway. "Help yourself!"

Nate was one to follow his own instructions, taking a slice of meat pie and eating it up before helping himself to bread and meat, slapping the two together. "Did you go to any of your other lessons in the end?" he asked. "I did some channelling practice, nobody said anything about the politics lesson. I guess the Master of Soldiers will have something to say about it." The man shrugged his broad shoulders, "oh well. It was worth it to bathe in the sun naked. Can't say I've done that before, at least not outside."