The Grey Tower

Conor Palfrey & Cody Thorton A Fanfic in RP form They were in the wilderness that day, lurking about like boys did in the underbrush of the surrounding area of the Grey Tower and Hama Valon. They were not far from the busy city life but at least a day's walk away to get away from the light, sounds and smells. They had packed lightly, with swords, stave's and a pack with a bedroll and some tools for traps. Then there was a oilcloth that kept their breads and cheese. Game was not difficult to find, and where one excelled in fishing the other excelled in trap making. They would eat like kings in their little trove in the forest.

Cody Thorton fiddled with the fine silken thread for his trap as the much larger boy across from them was having an argument with his first wife. Not that he understood the relationship Conor Palfrey had with his squirrel, but then the entire Yard was stumped by their relationship. Cody didn't mind much, and Conor was good people. Coming from a large family of girls, Cody appreciated the companionship of the other boy, even if he was Ji'Alantin and Cody was not. Not yet.

Conor gave a shake of his head as Nava left his shoulder to scavenge the trees for nuts, other fruit or companionship. He gave a shrug to Cody and didn't bother with an explanation to him. They were in the wilderness now and there wasn't a show anymore. He did not need to impress or ward off bond potentials with his humor and it allowed him to relax for a change. They had already set up camp the day before and breakfast was hours ago, and lunch finished not long ago, and now they were just relaxing for the time being. They had time to spare and Conor already knew that his friend was able enough to survive in the wilderness even though he had offered to take him out and 'teach' him. It was an excuse and they were both certain that the Captain they had asked knew this but the permission was granted anyway.

So here they were, taking it easy, and just giving themselves a break from the chaos of the Yard. At least for another day or two.

"Hey Conor."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna spar?"

Conor only gave his friend a wide grin.

Conor Palfrey & Cody Thorton Locking Swords They took their time to warm up. Already the time spent in the Yard had served them well enough not to spar without stretching out a muscle or two. They limbered up and pulled out their weapons. In truth they could have pulled out sticks to knock together but as boys were boys they had proper swords in hand. To Conor his Bastard Sword and to Cody his Longsword. Cody kept his second sword with his pack as they were sparing one on one. He was skilled enough with two blades but he'd rather work with the one today.

"How about we make it interesting." Conor spoke up, as he leaned the sheath for his blade against his pack.

"What do you have in mind?"

Conor jerked a thumb back into the woods, ironically in the direction Nava had run off to, "I saw some fallen tree's that way. Think enough to support our weight easy enough. Instead of trying to catch each other's skin, why not knock the other off balance?"

"Brilliant!"

Of they tromped through the woods with their blades in hand. They didn't take with them their packs or anything, they were far enough from civilization and their fire was out for the time being that they weren't concerned about being snuck up on. It was Hama Valon, after all. The intruder that had come in was a rare case and even still they weren't thinking about being spied or stolen from. The first aid satchel might be handy but they were boys. What were a few scars among friends?

Finding the fallen tree that Conor had spoken of, they were delighted to find that there were a few that had fallen. Natural causes or possibly from when years ago had passed and wood was being harvested. They had been like this a long time to now have overgrowth and moss covering parts of them. It was it's own little gauntlet like Conor remembered from his White Tower days, and it pleased him. They climbed up one and each in their own preferred stance crossed their swords.

"The first to fall." Conor said, Cody's foot already starting to slip. They laughed at each other and adjusted to re-meet.

"The first to be knocked off."

"To fall!" Conor laughed. "If you can't stay up it's only fair if I win!"

Cody smirked back, "Oh.. You go to far Ji-boy. You will be the one eating bush."

Conor gasped in a rare delight of fake surprise. "If only!" With that remark he took a step in and started the match.

Conor Palfrey & Cody Thorton Balance and Blades It took a few false starts, a few falls, and a great many laughs before they both found their balance and rhythm. After a quick realization that they didn't want to actually kill the other, or force their free time to a quick end with an injury they couldn't fix with bandages. Although if they lost an ear Conor was convinced they could just put it in water or something and return back and it could be attached. Cody preferred his ear intact, thank you very much.

With rhythm came a certain settled silence. The clang of blades in the woods was its own music and it became therapeutic. With down arcs, parries and strikes, the boys worked their balance. It was one thing to spar in a yard, back and forth, and yet another to do so on a tree. It limited their movements in a way that forced them to be creative and concentrate on more strictly on the movements they could make. It was almost like fencing, only without masks and real weapons.

Without the usual audience, the two boys dedicated themselves to their work. If they were to show off it would be to the other and could potentially have them knocked off the trees. Even Conor kept to more simpler forms, like The Rose Unfolds or Ribbons in the Air. Well, perhaps not simple forms, but forms that were dedicated to breaking their opponent's defense. Cody kept more to the Rain in High Wind in hopes of breaking Conor's defense down. Wear each other out.

From one tree to the next, they would spar and as Cody found himself running of tree, he hoped to the one that lay at an angle not far. Conor never complained if he was cheating because he was still up and able to spar. Conor ran after him and jumped over with careful feet. Using the swing of his sword to help his balance as he landed. Conor brought up his sword in a Low Wind Rising form, which impressed Cody in his accuracy despite the parry to it. Cody had to admit that Conor was good, very good. Better than him at forms even though Cody knew a few more.

"How did you get so good?" He asked, as they had stepped back to both regain footing after a locked form that nearly toppled them both.

"My mentor, Cairma. She drilled me in the basics until I could do them while getting hit by a switch."

"Crazy!"

"Yeah, the switch hurt but was more of a distraction. It paid off, I think." Conor said, feeling out of breath. By now the sun started to fall and their light failing. "Food?"

Cody gave a nod and sheathed his blade, accepting the end of the dual. Neither won but it wasn't really the point either. "I'll check the traps and you start the fire?"

"Right-ee'Oh!"

Conor Palfrey & Cody Thorton Talk on the Fire's Side
It didn't take long for the fire to build to a good heat. Cody returned from his collection of traps with just a rabbit. Conor raised an eyebrow at his friend who then held up a leather sack. "Eggs." They grinned at each other as Conor moved to his bag and pulled out a well used cast iron pan large enough to cook eggs and rabbit meat with ease. It was practically a weapon in case he found himself without. The weight of it didn't even phase him.

A few mushrooms, some stalks of green that tasted like onion found its way into the rabbit omelettes, and the two of them were eating full meals but void of conversation. With all the banter of their day there was a certain serenity in the silence of the woods around them. Even Nava had returned with a full belly and simply curled up on Conor’s shoulder. Or, at least Conor hoped it was Nava and not some strange squirrel. This one was quiet and Nava really wasn’t. He was nipped in the ear for his poking at the tail. Cody cleaned up as Conor did the cooking, a balance in their chores. Pulling out his flask, Conor tossed it to Cody for a drink before taking some for himself, sharing a capful with Nava at his insistence.

They both stared at the fire as it burned away the kindling and moss and now warmed perfect for heating up sweets. Cody poked at it with a long stick to keep it to temperature. Conor closed his eyes, not from the weariness of the day, but of calm and happiness. It had been a long time since he felt this good. A very long time.

“Was the White Tower really that bad?” Cody asked, curious but calm. There wasn’t much malice or harm in his voice, almost a casual conversation topic like the weather or shoes.

“Some days.” Conor answered honestly. “Training was hard, they were very hard on all of us, but there seemed to be a little less structure in the mentors. More Disciplines and Paths. It is strange to be here and have the Void only mentioned on rarity as opposed to a comparison between it and The Spring. There seemed to be more duals than spars; which there is a difference. People sorted things through sword fights.” He paused a moment, “There were more sword there. There are more weapon types here, it seems. Archery was always a secondary weapon. You couldn’t be a Blademaster in Archery, which would only make sense since Blademaster has ‘blade’ in it.”

“Yeah, it is kinda silly. Maybe they should change it to, like, Bowmaster. Or Grandmaster. That fits all of them.”

“But it’s not ‘Blademaster’.”

“True.”

They grew back into silence.

“So, why did you leave?”

“Seriously, man.”

“Sorry! I’ll back off. I’m just.. Not many people abandon a Tower let alone come to a new one.”

Conor gave a slight shrug and stared at the flames. “Hard to stay where you weren’t wanted.”

Cody looked at his friend with unreadable eyes, but somehow this was a different Conor then he had grown to know well. So he sat in silence. Conor would talk about it or he wouldn’t.

Thing was, Conor kept a lot to his heart in a way that he avoided keeping his heart sleeve from being broken apart. She hurt him, but they all sort of did. “I didn’t really want to leave. I wanted to stay and earn my Tower Guard cloak. I don’t know if I want to be a Warder, bonded and all, but Gaidin. That means something. But my friends... They all had different lives. All of them had things they wanted to do, to become, and none of it really included me. I couldn’t fault them, not really.”

“If an Aes Sedai walks up and asks you, would you be her Warder?”

“Depends, is she pretty?” A rock directed at Conor’s head flew past his ear, and he chuckled. “I don’t know. I had my heart broken in Tar Valon, and a bond. That’s scary stuff. Did you know that you can feel their emotions? Not that I have been bonded before but the Warders talk.”

“Yeah, I knew that.”

“And what if you fall in love with her, and she doesn’t? Or even worse, she does and then she dies? You think break ups are bad…” Conor hid the shiver that tickled the edges of his shoulders. “perhaps, perhaps it could be amazing. Wonderful. But, she’d have to not only put up with me, I’d have to put up with her. And.. no matter what, I don’t want to be an Aes Sedai puppet. Because sometimes they do stupid things.” Conor couldn’t help the frown, “I do stupid things all the time, but something keeps me alive. Aes Sedai.. They do stupid things and they die. Not only that, if I were to get pulled into something and the balance shifts and I cause their death?”

“Then why didn’t you just go join a Royal Guard instead of the Towers? If you are so scared to be bonded to it.” The tone wasn’t accusatory, never from Cody. He was more fascinated by the depth of Conor. Something never shared within Tower Walls.

“The White Tower, the Gray Tower. They serve the world. Royalty just serves themselves.”