The Grey Tower

She looked up at him, "If you want some of this go ahead; I certainly won't eat it all.” Apparently, she thought he wanted her food. He reached over and snagged her sweet bun. He wouldn’t let that go to waste at least. He had eaten everything on his tray but his own sweet bun which sat next to some forlorn looking bones.

“Aethan Dor means Red Shield in the Old Tongue. But that’s not what you meant is it?” He took a small bite of one of the sweet buns, intending to savor the one bright spot of an otherwise bland meal. “The Red Shields are my Warrior Society. They are my brothers.” He continued realizing she might need more information. “Aiel who decide to become full time warriors join Warrior Societies. Think of them like your Ajahs. Each Society has it’s on purpose and its own culture. Red Shields are similar to your Wetland thieftakers, but more than that.”

He took another bite and washed it down with tea. These sweet buns were rather good. With a sugary glaze on top and dried fruits inside he loved them even if they were cold. He couldn’t help himself, he popped the rest of the bun into his mouth. His eyes darted around guiltily as he chewed, cheeks bulging. He caught the little Chairienin starring at him. He made himself hold her gaze as he chewed. He wouldn’t let himself feel guilty for enjoying sweet buns.

"That makes sense. I guess that-" she trailed off. She elbowed him, not realizing she hit one of his bruises. "You look like a squirrel!" Her composure crumbled and she doubled over laughing. "I'm not even sure if I would be scared of you anymore, spear or not, after seeing this!"

He swallowed the sweet bun without breaking eye contact. He wiped his lips and sipped some tea. “As I was saying, Red Shields hunt down thieves and murderers and the like.” He kept talking, ignoring her laughter, “Usually that meant finding some Wetlander merchant who decided to steal or sell shoddy wears, but sometimes we had to put an end to some seriously vile people. When we weren’t hunting thieves and murderers, we were responding to border incursions and raids from other clans.” He picked up the second bun and began eating. Slowly this time Terric. You don’t have a third. Maybe I should ask for the recipe.

He watched Avyra take a few more dainty bites. "Are you sure you don't want this? I would hate for it to go to waste." She looked at her plate wistfully.

“I think I’m good, my Greatmother would have a fit over the wasted food though,” Terric stacked their trays and stood to take them to the back to the kitchen. On his way, he tried to convince another Drin to surrender his sweet bun. But alas, the Aielman would have to continent himself with two buns tonight.

“So,” he said as he returned, “We have about an hour till homework. What do you usually do about now?” He scanned the faces of the other Warders and their students. Thankfully nobody had made a comment about his Novice dinner companion… Yet. They had better move on before that changed.

She smilled up at him, “I quite like talking to you.”
He nodded and set off towards the exit, doing his best not to leave Avyra behind. If he was totally honest, he liked talking to the little Wetlaner as well.

They wandered aimlessly and he told her of his beautiful and deadly homeland. He decided to dive deeper into survival in the Three-fold Land.

“I told you earlier, some plants can be harvested for water. Be careful though, they tend to have spines that are extremely hard to pull out.” They passed a pair of Asha’man paid their respects but kept walking to avoid being given make work. “The Three-fold Land kills the unaware, there are countless poisonous creatures. For example the gara. It’s a brown and yellow lizard. They aren’t dangerous if you aren’t blind. If you somehow miss one, he’ll bite through your boot and his venom will kill you.”

They walked on climbing a set of stairs. Terric paused on the landing so Avyra could catch up. Talking to her made him home sick, memories of home drifted to mind. Quiet nights reading in the hold, chaotic battles on the burning sands. His mind wandered to a particularly memorable night of Oosquai filled exploits.

“My most important tip for surviving in the Three-fold Land is simple, if a Far Dareis Mai suggests playing Maiden’s kiss say no. It’s rarely—“ he trailed off as he realized where their walk had taken them. They were in the Gardens. So much green, the water. There was a, he believed the words were, pond with a bridge crossing it. He had seen more water in a single place as he crossed the Wetlands but never water just for looking at. These Wetlanders were spoiled.

Avyra took his arm, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Such displays were frowned upon by Aiel. Weren’t they frowned upon by Chairenin as well? He let her lead him along. "You Aiel seem to be in such a hurry. Stop for a moment and slow down. Look at what's around you, and not in a literal term. Enjoy it, savor it." How many Aiel could she know? Wetlanders were too quick to generalize.

"Have you ever seen flowers before, Terric? Or grass this green? I just want to roll in it, every time I see it." She paused. "And look, there's the tree I fell out of."

He noticed with a mix of uneasiness and wonder that she was leading him towards the water. Water just for looking at. Wetlander oddities. He had almost become used to the ground being to moist, and the strange green grass. The Wetlander irreverence towards water would never cease to astound him.

"And the water. It’s so clear."

“We do have flowers in the Three-fold Land. You just have to know where to look,” he looked down at her. “Women weave them into wreaths to give to potential hus—“ he cut off mid-sentence for the second time since they arrived at the garden. He must have miss heard her.

"Do you know how to swim?"

Terric stopped short, causing Avyra to stagger forward. He steadied her without thinking. “Do I know how to swim? Of course not. Why would I want to do something so,” he searched for the word, “foolish?” He couldn’t help but notice how close they were to the pond. The air was even wetter hear if that was possible. This much water should be guarded. It should be used for irrigation or cooking or watering animals or cleaning. These Wetlanders decorated with water. Such wealth where anybody could get to it. Even worse, Avyra wanted him to swim in it? He thought he was coming to understand these people. Submersing yourself in water to bath was bad enough, swimming, a word he’d only seen in books before today, for fun? That was lunacy.