More News, Less Soup [Attn: Novice Amaranie Tice]

[Bella]

No, Isla was not eager to think of her past either. She knew, after several sessions with Gareth, that she had to allow herself to do so every so often...because if she just buried inside herself, it would come out in some other way. And those ways usually weren't very healthy ones. And she didn't want to go back to that.

"Yes, we do," she agreed softly. Then she leaned forward. "Do you know what the real truth of it all is? I'm glad I'm here." Her eyes widened slightly, the blue seeming bluer than ever in the light and with her fervent emotion. "I never could have imagined saying that, but I am. I don't yet really know what I want from the future, but I'm glad that my present is here."

After a moment, she asked, "How much more work do you have to do here?"

[Alianora]

Amaranie

"I'm glad you're here too, Isla," Amaranie said, though she did not feel the same for herself. At best, the Grey Tower was a place Amaranie merely tolerated for what she could learn here, and because she had no particular desire to be anywhere else. It seemed to have become a home to Isla, but the novice couldn't imagine that it would ever be so for her. She didn't enjoy thinking about that, and was grateful to be distracted from those thoughts by Isla's question about her work.

Amaranie studied the book that still laid in front of her, all but forgotten. She frowned at it, considering how much more she needed to read of it, and picked it up to thumb through the pages. "Not much," she answered. "I only have one more chapter left to read, and I can check it out and finish later." Amaranie closed the book and laid it back down, shifting her gaze from the book to her friend. "Why?" she asked. "Is there something you need to do outside the library?" It was a free hour for her, but she hadn't considered that the schedule might not be the same for the Accepted.

[Bella]

Isla shook her head before actually thinking through her response. She stopped and laughed sheepishly, realizing that her response needed words to make better sense. "Nothing that I need to do, no. But I thought it might be nice to just...get out of here for a bit and maybe do something other than chores or work.

"I know that's a strange thing to consider," she said with a rueful smile, "since that seems the life of a Novice, but I don't know that it has to be. We could go spend a little time to take in the air of the gardens. I've been out there a lot lately, it seems, but it is so beautiful and you can find areas that are very peaceful."

[Alianora]

Amaranie

Amaranie nodded."I haven't been out there very often," she said. "I think I have enough free time left for a short walk, though." It sounded like a nice change of scenery, but Amaranie couldn't help wondering what Isla meant about it being peaceful out there. That wasn't an emotion she associated with any place within the Grey Tower...or really, anywhere at all.

She stood up at the table and picked up the book she'd been reading. "I just have to check this out first," she told Isla. "Then maybe you could show me where you like to go?" She'd been in the gardens so seldom that Amaranie didn't quite trust herself to find her own way there.

[Bella]

"Certainly," Isla agreed easily.

The two young women rose from the table, and Isla walked with Amaranie to the front desk. The new Accepted stood a little off to the side, politely waiting outside of "hovering" range while her friend took care of checking out the book. Isla would be coming back here before too long, she knew, because she too had some studying to do. But, later.

With that done, Isla offered a small smile and gestured for Amaranie to follow. "Do you want to put the book in your room or walk with it?" she asked.

Once they had settled that matter, the Accepted led the way to the gardens. She knew the way very well, since she had spent many a time there since arriving in the Grey Tower. Once outside, they followed one small path to a larger one. It was seasonably warm and bright green at every turn, except for where the green was broken by vibrant-colored blossoms.

"There's also a lakefront, and benches everywhere. Clearing and greenery... So many places to just take a quiet moment to one's self."

[Alianora]

Amaranie

After a brief stop at the front desk to check out the book she held, Amaranie detoured to her room to drop it off instead of dragging it through the gardens with her. After doing that, she trailed behind Isla as the Accepted led the way to the gardens. The two of them burst through the door and into a world of green that even Amaranie had to admit was quite pretty. She'd been in the gardens before, but never when everything was blooming as it seemed to be now. Her eyes drifted from plant to plant as she walked beside Isla, trying to take in everything at once.

"You were right," she told the other girl. "It is pretty out here." She could see what attracted Isla to the place, though Amaranie herself didn't find it any more pleasant than the rest of the Tower grounds. For a while, she walked beside Isla quietly, not sure what to say. Isla's life might have changed, but Amaranie's had not, and her days were filled with the chores and classes required of every novice, leaving her with nothing of interest to share with Isla. Amaranie felt frustrated with this, not wanting to seem withdrawn from one of the few friends she had, and finally asked, "Do you have a favorite place to go when you come here, or do you spend all your time walking the paths?"

[Bella]

"Do you have a favorite place to go when you come here, or do you spend all your time walking the paths?"

Once they had stepped into the bright colors and fresh air, Isla had somewhat lost herself for a few moments. Her spirit grew quiet and her mind wandered. In truth, she had always liked the out of doors. As a soldier, she had spent much of her time there, although admittedly, as daughter of the commander, she spent less than the rest.

She did not let her feelings about her past cloud her enjoyment of being outside, however. She enjoyed it as much as ever, grateful for it after being trapped indoors so much as a Novice.

Glancing sidelong at Amaranie, she smiled slightly. "I do spend some time walking," she said. "But there is a clearing I like to sit in. It's somewhat off the beaten path, but that's rather what I like about it. Would you like to see it?"

[Alianora]

Amaranie

A group of bright orange flowers had caught Amaranie's attention, and the novice allowed herself to stop beside them, studying them for several seconds. She'd never seen them before, and couldn't have named them, but she liked looking at their intense color. She was startled away from them when Isla answered her, and Amaranie blinked, and wasn't sure what answer to give. She wanted to see Isla's favorite place, but if it was as out of the way as her friend said, she couldn't help but wonder if it was somewhere her friend went to be alone, which Amaranie didn't want to ruin for Isla.

"I'd like that, if you want to show me," she said with a nod after some consideration. "But it's fine if you'd prefer to keep it to yourself." She understood that need perfectly well, and would not object if that was the decision Isla made. Amaranie looked at Isla while she spoke, but when she finished, her eyes began to roam over the plants again.

[Bella]

Now noticing her friend's interest in the flowers, Isla moved a little closer to look at the bright orange blooms. "These grow in many places around the gardens," she commented. "I've seen others in red and yellow, though always...hot colors. They are like the sun, I think. Only in the bright, warm colors. I don't know what they are called." She smiled a little.

Flowers and plants had never interested her much before, what use to a soldier? But now, she had a feeling she would need to find more interest in them.

As for the other... "I'd be happy to show you," she said. "Now that I know what it's like to have a friend, it seems better to share things with them." Her smile suggested she didn't realize what her statement revealed, or how sad it could sound. "Follow me. There are some more of these blossoms around the clearing, too."

[Alianora]

Amaranie

Isla's comment about sharing with friends just made Amaranie feel guilty. Here they were, with Isla offering to show her her favorite place in the gardens, and she had nothing to share with Isla in return. There were, of course, numerous things that her friend did not know about her, but those weren't the sorts of things Amaranie wanted to talk about and risk ruining a perfectly good day. She was quiet as they walked, eventually studying the flowers around her in search of the red and yellow ones Isla had said grew here.

By the time they stopped, she'd seen many of them in all three colors, and somehow, just looking at them made Amaranie feel a bit better. It seemed that it was hard to feel down for very long in a place like this. The novice looked expectantly at the Accepted. "Is this the place you wanted to show me?"