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DRAGONMOUNT

A WHEEL OF TIME COMMUNITY

Conflict of Interests (Josh & Muzza)


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Sitting at the roots of an oak, his back settled in a comfortable niche against the trunk, Aran was watching as Jin worked through the forms. Aran had taken his time with the man to make sure things were done right the first time, which is to say, Aran had just been taking his time. His student didn't seem to mind a more relaxed pace though, and Aran preferred to treat his student as someone who could instruct themselves through careful attention to their own action rather than requiring him to watch all the time. Aran preferred this because he had terribly important duties, like walking the wall, gambling and drinking extensively. With such priorities, he had to juggle his many responsibilities, such was his burden.

 

Still, his student was ready to move on to the forms. The lad moved through the drills easily enough, and forms were merely another form of drill. Not that Aran completely agreed with forms. He'd mastered them, but he still disliked them, they trained a person to fight in only one way. He preferred a greater deal of unpredictability in his fighting, but Jin would be able to make that choice for himself when the time came.

 

"Well, thats enough for today." Getting to his feet, he walked over to his student as he dusted his pants off. "You know, there comes a time when a man realises they are ready to move on to the next stage of their training, you aren't there yet." Grinning at the man, Aran clapped the man on the shoulder "just kidding bellboy. Tomorrow we're going to start your form work, which you'll need to have under your belt before you can take on the crimson cloak. Take the rest of the day free, oh and I have graveyard shift tonight, so we'll be starting later than usual. About midday or so tomorrow I'll be able to crawl out of bed, so I'll expect to see you in the mess hall. Well? What are you waiting for? Take the day off."

 

Laughing, Aran turned about and went to attend to some other matters. Sleep was a high priority amongst them, even for an hour or two so he'd be more awake for the night, so help him he hated graveyard shift.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

OOC: Rightio, take it to the next day and be about in the yards, that way Muzza can pick you up.

 

 

Jinnah enjoyed the luxury few trainees had the opportunity to enjoy; an entire room to himself. This meant that he usually kept two of the rather cramped beds slid close together and could often be found sprawled at an angle across them. Another added benefit to this situation was that he could do all of the above without clothes on. He had only been “training†with the Warders and Tower Guard for a few weeks, but he was already enjoying himself. Just yesterday he had been told by his new teacher, Aran, who always made him think of lilacs and lavender scented soap whenever he talked, that he could sleep in until nearly midday. Really, the only downside was that he missed breaking his fast, but that would soon be remedied with the mid-day meal.

 

“And there’s the bell!†Jinnah grinned, shrugging into his freshly laundered training uniform. He had managed to convince one of the younger female trainees that he was really a Tower Guard and she was doing his washing for him every day. Sure he would be in a lot of trouble if he was caught, but the word if holds a lot of possibilities. After stamping his boots into place, Jinnah proceeded to nearly fall head first down the stairs and only just managed to catch himself with one hand and try to make it all look intentional for the benefit of his fellow Trainees.

 

Jinnah was making his way across the yards, trying to avoid any eye contact and clutching his stomach like he was about to show everyone what he’d eaten the night before. Really, he was just trying to mask the loud growling sounds his stomach was making. He paused a moment, looking a the sky and noticing it was a lot earlier than he had originally thought, the sun only half way between the horizon and directly above.

 

“So that wasn’t the mid-day bell, but the mid-morning bell. Damn!†Jinnah kicked at a clod of dirt, sending his multitude of bells jingling softly.

 

 

Jinnah

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  • 1 month later...

Muirenn was making her way to the Warder Yards this morning, generally not the usual place for a Red. However, today she had some errands in the city and she could use a trainee to fetch and carry for her. She could have used saidar, but that was quite taxing after a while. And besides, Muirenn was a firm believer that hard work built character. So when she heard one of the boys curse rather loudly, and seemingly Arafellin by the bells she also heard, she knew she had found her helper for the day.

 

"Watch your language, boy!" she snapped, the very picture of Aes Sedai serenity. Her voice was not loud, but it carried in the way that maiden aunts had. And an Aes Sedai whose hair had gone completely white never had to raise her voice. If a trainee knew what was best for him, he would keep a close watch on any Aes Sedai with white hair, no matter the Ajah. One was never truly safe from such a woman, but avoiding notice was generally best. Muirenn had certainly heard those sort of rumors. And this boy was unlucky enough to have gotten himself noticed. "You'll do well enough," she said, examining him in nearly the same manner as she would have a racehorse. "I need someone to attend me on some errands in the city. Follow."

 

With that, she strode away toward the gates without another word.

 

-Muirenn Lina Alianin

"There were few Domani Reds, but those few were meaner than snakes caught in a fence."

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The small clod of dirt went skidding across the ground, sending off small clumps earth that would lay unloved and unneeded until someone else was angry and took out their frustrations on the innocent little clod. Jinnah stared at it for a few moments and was snapped forcibly from his reverie by the rather sudden reprimand of an elderly woman. The strikingly handsome Arafellin man turned slowly to meet her, struggling to let the morning light catch his large blue eyes. He’d won over many grandmotherly inn keepers by doing just that. After a brief pause, he remembered to smile. That was part of the whole process of winning people over.

 

Making a mental note that it was probably the low-light conditions in a common room late at night and candle light, not sunlight, that really did the trick, Jinnah grumbled as the old lady looked him over and demanded he follow along and be her errand boy. He had even gone so far as to puff out his chest and open his mouth when he spotted her Great Serpent Ring. His face looked something like what you’d imagine a horse ice skating would look like. Very silly and kind’ve sad to look at it.

 

Trying to smile through his annoyance, Jinnah made a flourishing bow and agreed as if she had asked in a polite and formal manner.

 

“I suppose I’ll go along, granny.â€

 

Strutting along, there was a sudden sharp pain in the back of his thigh where an unseen hand had pinched him. Yelling out in pain and outrage, Jinnah screamed. “Ahh! My knee!†and clutched his left elbow as he fell dramatically to the ground. After a few moments of this, he was sure that the unnamed Aes Sedai had lost interest and prepared to sneak off and find something to eat. Sadly, the white haired woman was still staring at him, her left eyebrow twitching slightly, whether in anger or bemusement Jinnah wasn’t inclined to ask.

 

Instead, he trudged sadly behind the Aes Sedai as they exited the training yards.

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It was a rather long night, though not without reward. They'd managed to sneak up a small keg and they'd all had a few throughout the night. Not enough to be obvious, but enough to take an edge off the chill and to make time travel that little bit faster. It had helped admittedly to not get duty with anyone that was particularly uptight about rules. They'd even diced a little, with Aran's dice, so the results for the night had been good in terms of his pocket.

 

By the time he made his way out of the barracks and to the messhall, Aran had to admit that it was seeming like a good day. Wandering in, he pushed ahead of the trainees that were lined up to get straight to the stew, his favourite way to start midday. Not that the trainees were particularly impressed by him doing that, but there was little they could do.

 

Well, actually, there was alot they could do, but Aran was too alert for that sort of thing most of the time, and he usually had the Dark One's luck. Wandering over to a table, he was halfway through his stew when he decided to look about, he would have thought Jinnah would approach him sooner.

 

Strange. He wasn't around, and he knew that the lad wouldn't be so silly as to oversleep, apart from keeping Aran waiting and abusing the extra hours he already scored, Jinnah didn't miss meals. Taking his time as he continued eating to give Jinnah a chance to appear, his trainee proved to be a no show by the time Aran, as well as most of the residents of the barracks, were finished their lunch.

 

Where are you?

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

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The tall Arafellin man stomped through the streets of Tar Valon, ignoring the many visual architectural splendors and accompanied by the low chimes of the many bells threaded throughout his two braids. And perhaps one of the most foul women he had ever met in his life, Aes Sedai or not. She had already pinched him twice, hit him full across the back with what felt like a stick of wood, slapped him across the face, and tripped him into a street vendor. Jinnah had been on the verge of suggesting that maybe bonding herself a Warder would put a spring in her step and loosen her up a bit, but swallowed his words as the sunlight glinted in her eyes. He was pretty sure she would remove his skin right there in the middle of the street if he even breathed a word of what he had been thinking. Worse yet, her attitude got steadily worse, as if she had known all along what was on his mind.

 

It wasn’t long before he was stumbling along behind her, all of his normal fluid grace gone under the weight of so many bundles and packages and bags. Even his bells seemed to jingle morosely as he followed the nameless Aes Sedai around the city of Tar Valon.

 

“I’m her Light-forsaken workhorse!†Jinnah mumbled quietly to himself under his breath. He really didn’t want the woman to hear him, but was frustrated enough that he didn’t bother thinking his comment inside his head, where it was relatively safe. Instead, he had flirted with danger and came out seemingly ahead. This minor victory put a spring in his step up until the moment he went spilling head first into the middle of the street right in front of his favorite tavern. He lay face down on the paved road wondering if it had been the sudden feel of hands gripping his ankles or the thick sticks beating down on his shoulders that had left him where he was now. Whatever it was, Jinnah took a few moments to lay there and smother his rage before standing up and smiling at the gray old Aes Sedai.

 

“My apologies, Aes Sedai. I’m a bit clumsy today. It won’t happen again.â€

 

He bobbed a quick bow and knuckled his forehead a bit while fighting back a smirk. The smirk won, but was hidden by his bending to retrieve the fallen packages. Mere moments later and he was rubbing his sore bum and being told “not to be flippant or it would happen again.†His eyes roamed over to the tavern where he could just see Daisy, his favorite barmaid, laughing at his predicament. He would never be able to drink there again.

 

Finally, after several hours in the city, the two of them headed back towards the Tower grounds.

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Aran might have been lightheartedly bantering with Baine, at his expense of course, but to say Aran was a happy man would not have been entirely accurate. In fact, as Aran gestured for Baine to resume his practice, his mind was rapidly turning toward the issue which had him somewhat discomfitted.

 

One of his trainees had gone over the hill on him. Perhaps anyway, Aran always tried to make sure he didn't jump to conclusions, but Jinnah was a little too much like him. That was to say, he was to all appearances a lazy git whose uppence would come unless there was a particularly good reason why his student hadn't turned up.

 

It wasn't so much that his student had missed the class, though that would have been slightly annoying. It was more that Aran already gave alot of liberty to his students, so the times he did request their presence, he expected them to show up. Especially when he had let them sleep in that morning, even if it was mainly because he wanted to sleep in himself. He could have always organised someone else to take the morning with his trainees but he had been generous enough to forego that.

 

That was in fact what grieved him the most. That when he had given one of his trainees his hand, Jinnah seemed to have taken the arm. Of course, there was the chance something else that occured, though Jinnah wasn't to be found in the infirmary so that wasn't it. He wasn't in Ginae's office either, and the few he had asked had no idea where the erstwhile trainee was.

 

Still, he would turn up sooner or later, and then he'd been able to explain himself. Aran always liked to believe that if he was not a hard taskmaster, at least he was fair. Well, not fair, but that he listened and cared. Ok, maybe he just listened and then proceeded to make jokes at the expense of his trainees, but nevertheless the listening was the important part. If a master didn't listen, a student rarely did.

 

Well, that wasn't true either. Blinking, Aran allowed himself to doze against Faith as he watched Baine go through the forms. Such a keen trainee, in many ways the antithesis of Jinnah. Frowning at that thought, Aran pushed it aside. There would be time enough for answers.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

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The two on either side of the side gate flourished their red cloaks as they bowed to the Aes Sedai entering the Tower grounds. One was a man, and that was all well and good, but the other was a woman wearing the flag of Tower Guard. It was becoming more and more common to see members of the fairer sex defending the White Tower and following Aes Sedai like lost puppies. Jinnah realized that the two probably thought he the Warder of the foul woman in front of him and groaned out loud. Sharp eyes darted back to look at him and he shifted the many packages in his hands, hoping she would take his groan as a complaint to the weight of the items. No matter what she thought, it earned him a slap from an unseen hand on the backs of his thighs. Luckily enough for him, though she didn’t know it or at least didn’t care, his thighs had gone numb an hour ago.

 

They passed along the outskirts of the training yard on their way to the Tower itself. Jinnah tried not to look over at the pairs flailing at each other with practice swords. For once, he actually wished he was doing that instead. The Aes Sedai paused a moment at the entrance to the Tower, explained that her rooms were several flights up, and that he was to look ahead and speak to no one. Oh, and that he was to take the servant’s stairs while she went through the Tower proper. They would meet near the entrance to the Red Quarters.

 

Another ten minutes of huffing and cursing and muttering “the Dark One take the bloody servant’s stairs†and Jinnah appeared exactly where the Aes Sedai had said he would. Then he had to endure another disparaging comment on his lack of punctuality and a slap across the thighs before following her into her room, unloading her items, and being told to take the same way back down. Not even a thank you.

 

The sun was on the opposite side of the horizon from when he had started his day when Jinnah finally returned to the practice yards and set out to find Aran.

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The day was well and truly winding down when Aran finally pushed himself Faith and got to his feet. Dusting the back of his pants, he patted the tree almost fondly as he began to saunter away. The thought of chasing up his erstwhile mentee crossed his mind but he dismissed it, there were better ways for him to spend his time. Besides, his mentee would have to find him to explain himself sooner or later, and whenever the lad had the chance then he had the chance.

 

It was Jinnah's manner that made him take a certain interest, the man trudged as if he had been running all day. Not only that, but with a limp, perhaps he'd been in a bit of a fight. But he hadn't been in the infirmary so it couldn't have been that. Nor had he been reprimanded by the Ginae for letting the lad get hurt or for not keeping Jinnah well disciplined. A fight was definitely out.

 

Truth be told, Jinnah looked a little wary as he got closer. Probably because he was expecting an outburst, it wasn't wise to leave a person waiting. Jinnah would know how much Aran hated his time being wasted when he had better things to do, like sleep, in that the two shared a certain similarity. Stopping as the man got close, Aran's face was rather neutral as he raised an eyebrow at his student.

 

"Well?"

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

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To walk in a laborious, heavy-footed way; plod. Ask any educated person the meaning of the word trudge and that’s what they would tell you. Jinnah Nuriman was no educated person by any means, but he knew first hand exactly what it meant to trudge. That was exactly what he was doing as he plodded slowly towards his teacher, Aran.

 

“Well?†Aran queried, an eyebrow raised with seeming disinterest.

 

Jinnah could feel his body tense as he darted his eyes around nervously. It had been a long day, and the repeated physical reminders from his Aes Sedai taskmaster had left him feeling wary and highly uncomfortable. He struggled to wrap his mind around the task at hand. This situation called for lightning fast thinking, plenty of wit, and a healthy does of lying.

 

“I was.. Err.. Aes Sedai made me do it,†was all that came out when Jinnah opened his mouth. It was almost like getting sick after a night’s hard drinking, only instead of chunks of food and alcohol, it was words. Very stupid sounding words. He tried again.

 

“She was mean to me.†Oh much better. He saw Aran cough slightly and turn away. Was he covering up a laugh? It took a moment of thinking, but Jinnah was reasonably sure he was. After more thinking, during which Aran stared at Jinnah and wondered if his brains hadn’t been addled by the day’s experiences, he finally decided that, were their roles reversed, Jinnah would likely be fighting off a laugh himself. Still, Jinnah had been through a lot today. He had woken up early on accident, been forced to follow around an Aes Sedai who never once gave her name or asked his or even acknowledged he was there beyond spanking him with the One Power and making him carry packages, and to then, to top it all off, his teacher was laughing at him.

 

He snapped.

 

“The Light burn your eyes, Aran! I’ve been through a lot today! Fetching and carrying for that--†He stopped himself, the recent reflex of not speaking unkindly about the Aes Sedai still carrying over. “--that woman all day. I had to follow her through Tar Valon with no rest or anything. And she spanked me, man. I have a bruise to prove it!â€

 

Jinnah, breathing rather heavily and looking very red in the face, finally calmed himself and just stood there reflecting that his outburst probably hadn’t been the most intelligent thing he’d done since swearing his oath to the Tower. But then nothing had really gone his way since then.

 

- Jinnah Nuriman

Trainee

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Laughing as Jinnah's tantrum ended, Aran had to admit what had happened was certainly humourous. As much as it annoyed him to wait all day, it wasn't Jinnah's fault and he could laugh Jinnah for having a particularly harrowing day. Clapping the man on the shoulder, he almost looked contrite. "So, she spanked you. Got a handprint by any chance?"

 

Jinnah was looking miserable at that point, so Aran eased up a little, even if he was still chuckling. "Its alright Jinnah, let it go. Go get something to eat and get some rest. I think I might have a few words with this Aes Sedai, don't suppose you could give me her description could you?"

 

It only took white hair, red shawl and a copper skin to place her. He'd never spoken to her before, but he made a habit of knowing faces and putting names to them should he need them. "Heh, the wheel spins you out some great days Jinnah, that was Muirenn Sedai of the Red. She's about as old as they come, and rumour has it she's more imperious than the Amyrlin herself. You're lucky you got away with a few swats of your backside."

 

"Ah well. Go get some rest, I'm going to go have a word with her."

 

Sauntering off to the White Tower, it didn't take him long to reach the Red Ajah Quarters. Finding Muirenn Sedai's quarters took a bit of asking, and a few sisters looking down their nose at him, but Aran just beamed stupid grins at them which irritated them further while making him laugh inwardly.

 

The door before him, a few options were running in his mind as how to best announce his presence. Picking the lock was risky, it'd ruin his entrance if she heard him working at the door and opened it to find him on his knees. A polite knock didn't really do it either. There was something to announce his presence and annoy her at the same time though. Drawing his foot back, he kicked the bottom of the doo-

 

"Ow! Bi-" Aran cut himself off, rubbing his leg as he looked at the door, then the willow branch next to the door that hadn't really registered before. Taking it up, he proceeded to pummel the door with it multiple times until he struck with such force, not only did he leave a mark on the door, but he broke the willow on the door. Smiling to himself contentedly, he tossed the piece of willow in his hand aside as he waited for the door to be opened.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

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The sudden visions of grapes and plums as Aran spoke almost overpowered his outrage as the man asked if he had a handprint. Of all the nerve! Of course he did, but Jinnah wasn’t about to share that sort of information with the likes of his teacher. The grapes and plums faded into a small garden of iris as Aran suggested a meal and some rest, then asked for a description of the woman.

 

"Heh, the wheel spins you out some great days Jinnah, that was Muirenn Sedai of the Red. She's about as old as they come, and rumor has it she's more imperious than the Amyrlin herself. You're lucky you got away with a few swats of your backside."

 

His eyes glazed over stupidly as the knowledge that the Aes Sedai he had spent the entire day being tortured by was of the Red Ajah. He had heard somewhere from someone who knew about these sorts of things that Red Sedai were into all kinds of crazy “His and Him†stuff. Whatever that was. Jinnah hadn’t really been paying attention. Still, the someone had implied that it had a lot to do about causing pain. It really did all make sense, what with the near constant physical abuse. Thinking back on it later, he really should have picked up on her Ajah by the very obvious red shawl she wore draped around her shoulders.

 

Jinnah took Aran’s advice, limping to the mess hall and demanding a large potato and an even larger piece of meat and having to settle for soup. After lots of darting looks at the people around him and three bowls worth of nourishment, the skittish Arafellin snuck off to his room to stretch out on his stomach and think up ways of conning one of the cute female Tower Guards into massaging his aches and pains.

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Muirenn went through each bag meticulously, examining her purchases with care. That boy had been overdramatic to say the least. If he truly wanted to be a Warder some day, then she pitied the sister who took him. Even a Blue didn't deserve that sort of misery. But if he antics had damaged even one of the items purchased, she would make sure he had something to legitimately complain about.

 

As she was nearly halfway through, she heard a knock on the door, then a yelp, and then it sounded as though someone was trying to batter down the door. This would certainly be interesting. No novice or Accepted she knew had that sort of temper. And then knew better than to mess with the wardings on her door. Anyone could see that the fine net of Fire and Air would give a good, brisk shock to anyone who interfered.

 

She set down the porcelain teacup she had been examining, and embraced saidar, lowering the ward on the door. With a flick of her wrist, the door opened, and she saw what she only assumed was one of the Tower Guard with half her willow stick in his hands. Pity that. The servants would have to find another. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Is there something that you want?"

 

Grinning like an idiot at the Aes Sedai who had opened the door, there was no fear to be found in Aran's voice as he spoke. "You wouldn't happen to be Muirenn Sedai by any chance would you? You see, I've been trying to find a certain Aes Sedai who decided to turn one of my students into a porter for the day instead of doing her own carrying and" Aran leant to one side and looked down a bit "possibly working off some of her backside. You would be her wouldn't you?"

 

Muirenn sighed, "Come in, we obviously have some matters to discuss. And I would rather it not happen in the middle of the hallway. Some of my sisters get nervous around men. This isn't the Green Ajah, you know." She gestured to a pair of chairs by the fire. Taking one for herself. "Now, my white hair may mean nothing to you, I've no idea how long you've actually been around the Tower. Additionally, matters of age are, as a rule, not discussed among Aes Sedai. Silly rule, I think. In any case, I am well over three hundred years old, I think I've earned the right to have a porter for the day rather than to carry packages with my own arthritic fingers. And really, how will that child learn to serve Aes Sedai if he will not obey a simple command? You've much work ahead of you if he is your student."

 

A quirky smile coming over his face as she ignored his first insult, he went in but hesitated before deciding not to take a seat. He'd had a bad enough experience to the door, and he'd been around long enough to see Aes Sedai tie people to items with air. One of his own mentees had done it to him before, and someone who did whatever this Aes Sedai did to that door was certainly capable of something like that.

 

As her speech ended, Aran laughed openly at her. "Nice try. You don't move like an old woman, and a woman who spends the entire day shopping, or going up the tower stairs day in day out, isn't all that arthritic. The issue is that you wasted a perfectly good day of his training, and my time as well which is far more grievous. If you really need someone to carry packages, you have no shortage of coin to hire someone to do it for you. Other mentors may have been content to let you use their trainees as runner boys like the Warders are, but I am not one of those mentors."

 

"Really? I'd no idea I required the permission of a mere Tower Guard to approve of my choice in a porter. And I was under the impression that Trainees are in Tar Valon in order to learn how to serve Aes Sedai. He was being trained, if not in the way you would have wished. Now, I've had quite enough of your insults and insinuations. For you to be upset at my methods is one thing. For you to accuse an Aes Sedai of telling an outright lie is quite another. I've been polite; I've been patient. I do, and will continue to, use any trainee I wish to be my porter. And I've no need to justify my actions to you or anyone other than the Amyrlin Seat. I had thought it might be possible to hold a civil conversation with you about your protege's shortcomings. That is obviously not the case. Good day. Do be sure to shut the door firmly on your way out."

 

While the sister was becoming more serious, the grin on Aran's face was just growing wider. As far as he was concerned, it was a sign of weakness that she was trying to get him out the door so quickly. "Mere Tower Guard? Maybe a couple of centuries up here in your ivory tower have put you on the otherside of senility, but there is nothing mere about a guard who spends their everyday ensuring your safety."

 

Muirenn smiled sweetly, "Child, I am a Red, not a foolish Blue or Green. I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself. Now go before I have to prove it to you."

 

Aran grinned "I'm not threatening you, but I will tell you something. Despite the fact that you're a lazy, self-absorbed and deluded woman. I suggest you poach someone elses trainees in the future if you wish to be so miserly that you won't pay coin for the service. I'm a magnanimous fellow though, so I'll forgive you, this time." Turning away, Aran made for the door.

 

Petty insults from a petty man. Muirenn smiled, she would remember to be certain to chose this boy's trainees in the future. Both teacher and student had much to learn.

 

 

-Muirenn and Aran

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