An odd welcome for Tirzah Behen (ashara)

[Guest Celes]

The sun had hidden behind some clouds but it was a nice day, not too warm as a gentle breeze lifted the dust from the ground. Alwyn’s feet moved forward and backward as he practiced his forms and let his broadsword move. His left hand was pushing the weapon while his right hand balanced it and he smiled as he finally found more trust in this weapon. He had chosen it a good year ago, but had always struggled and fought with it. It had not been a challenge from his mentor, but one he had chosen himself. Taking a deep breath, Alwyn sheathed the sword and glanced up as a young man walked down the yards, seeming to search for something.

 

Alwyn decided to help the lad out, maybe point him to the Mistress of Trainees office and see about enrolling him. He could tell that he was not a trained guard returning home. Although the young man did have dust in his hair and on his breeches, he must have come from further away than just the city of Tar Valon. Walking up to the young man, Alwyn noticed something was odd about the fellow and his curiosity spiked with interest. It was as if the man quickened his stride a bit, maybe was running from something? He decided he would find out, be helpful and mindful of strangers in the Yards all at once.

 

“Hi there, you looking for someone maybe?” he asked the lad and then noticed what had seemed strange at first glance. As he walked closer to the stranger, he realized that upon a closer glance this young man was in fact a woman and he hid a blush by coughing and looking around awkwardly, as if someone could save him from his embarrassment. He felt awful and was painfully aware of how his gray eyes shone into her dark brown eyes that shone bright up at him.

 

He was sure she could tell that he’d thought of her as being a man, when their eyes met. “My name’s Alwyn,” he finally mentioned as he realized he had already offered his help, he could not run off now and try to forget he ever met her. That would be incredibly stupid and if she were to train along with him, he would see her every day probably. “You’re new here right?” he said, as long as he kept talking he would be alright, probably.

 

[ashara]

It had been two weeks since she had cultivated the habit, refining herself with new touches to it as she learnt more about the Warders Yard. As always, she had risen well before dawn, creeping about as Lucrecia murmured warnings, gathering the black and white garb and fitting it onto herself before slipping into the halls. One day, she’d be caught, but as long as she spaced her time out, she reckoned it would not be just yet. Ruffling her wind billowed hair to give it the semblance of neatness-she had began to see that trainees tried to keep themselves as neat as possible,  even under the gruelling demands of their mentors- she walked away from the grounds, bravely skimming past the office of the woman they called the Mistress of Trainees. If there was a woman who would catch her, she strongly suspected it would be her. No better irony than being caught by the woman who appointed all Trainees. Maybe when she was, she could appeal to her with her story, set some eggs in an otherwise empty…

 

“Hi there, you looking for someone maybe?”

 

Gah, who had come approaching now? Eyes shifting from the tempting doors, she studied the approaching Trainee. A lad, perhaps slightly older than her and by the looks of his well worn uniform and offer to help, one who’d been around the Yard for longer, much longer than she. This could be dangerous… came her sister’s voice, dripping with warning and excitement all at once, as was in her nature. Forcing a smile on her face, she was about to speak when the boy launched into the most wondrous coughing fit. His cheeks had adopted a pale pink hue, and his eyes-lovely grey ones, mind-were now fluttering across the space around them as if crying out for…for…rescue?

 

Tirzah boggled.

 

Realization came only seconds later, lucky for her. It was in the hurried glance he passed down at her, as if trying to check whether his eyes deceived him. She felt a lurch of disappointment; if every man and woman she met in the Tower excluding one most remarkable Blue Aes Sedai was going to see through her mask so easily, it qualified the Saldaean folk as rather stupid. They had been fooled, for one. She had always prided herself in her adaptable features, and on occasion amused herself by wondering what sort of mischief Cia and her could get up to together, identical as they were by face and figure. Still, his reluctant approach was an approach nonetheless, and where one man’s discomfort lay, Tirzah’s glee indulged. Her previously artificial greeting bloomed into a smirk, but her eyes remained kind. He had simply been trying to help, and if she had been new to the Yard, she would’ve welcomed his offer as much as she would’ve laughed at his distress.

 

“Firstly, I think I should inform you that you’re the second person to have completely looked through my disguise. Well done, and trust me, I don’t bite. Much.” Grinning, she began to walk and as she moved, so did he. Best not to have the blushing Trainee and strange looking woman standing beside each other, bang outside the Trainees study. “Secondly, good day. My name’s Tirzah and I’m newer than you are.” Pausing, she frowned over what to ask Alwyn next. What would make an already awkward man turn over to her side, instantly? Confession, a pitiful confession of confusion? Heh, as if her slightly unique dressing hadn’t seeded that doubt into his mind already. Speaking in a low voice as they wandered, she made her first effort to charm anyone in the Tower: “Truth is Alwyn, I’m in a sort of sorry, confused state. Oh no lad, I don’t mean my clothing, I mean this…” and she gestured around at the open space at this, “this place. Every dream I’ve had, revolves around a place like this. Somehow, teetering on the edge of a well placed dream is a little unnerving, don’t you think?” She gave him a small smile and then continued, “Could you maybe tell me a little about what it’s like?” Looking expectedly at him, she quelled the laughter from her eyes and lips. Perhaps Alwyn here could be her first real friend. On the other hand, perhaps he could join the ever growing list of Tirzah Behen’s victims. That made her grin wider. So many targets, such little time. Following that train of thought, the next idea that occurred wasn’t a predicted one, and made her eyes widen ever so slightly as she waited.

 

I should’ve been an assassin.

 

Stifling her laughter with every ounce of willpower she possessed, she nodded at his words. Not stupid, this Trainee. Awkward- yes just a little, but mostly just decent. If there was more to him, she was confident in her abilities to see through any masquerades. She was living with Aes Sedai, after all. “And what of you? What brings you the Tower Guard, Alwyn?” She spoke without any of the mischief and sparkle she had with Aeveryn, but somehow this youth with his boyish charm and honest eyes appealed to her.

 

~Tirzah

 

[Guest Celes]

Alwyn had not seen the woman standing there any time before, but he felt that this was not her first time in the Yards. She seemed to realize they were close to the barracks and the offices of the Mistress of Trainees and Master at Arms, she was moving him away from there and he wondered why that was. His mind worked over these questions as she told him these incredible things about disguises and being so forward to a stranger she’d only just met. Alwyn had no idea how to handle the situation, so he put on his stoic face and remained grounded and she seemed to want to move even further away. From what were they moving?

 

Finally she seemed to have given up on moving and instead decided to question him, this broke Alwyn’s train of thought as he had to focus on what she asked him. He was used to people asking where others were from, what their youth was like and how they got to studying for the tower guard. It was a sort of ritual that came with being new here and trying to find some common ground with the others around you. Alwyn’s story was quite short as he had lead a protected, yet happy life in his youth and finally broken free from that and come to the Yards to train. “Really, I want to train hard and learn how to protect the Aes Sedai who study and work in the Tower, as a Tower Guard,” her eyes seemed to shift and he added, “Maybe even as a Gaidin one day,” and smiled.

 

However, when he saw her staring at him his smile faded from his face and he said, “I think I belong here, so where do you belong? Are you a trainee here then?” He realized that he hoped the answer was ‘yes’ as he noticed she might not have a very curvy and feminine form, she was actually very much a woman. She had beautiful eyes and her lips curled a little as she questioned him, her ruffled hair made her look cute and Alwyn found himself blushing lightly, again, only this time it passed quickly and he could take a deep breath. “I’m actually grabbing some lunch, you’re hungry?”

 

Alwyn Fenrir

Tower Trainee

 

[ashara]

“It is mine too, your dream.” She confessed simply, but as she thought of her little shared room up inside the Tower, with its stark white dresses hanging out folded one on top of the other neatly, Tirzah felt the now familiar spark of revolt within her flare. And so  she promptly pushed it down; not trust, yet. Alwyn may well be pleasant, with his large curious eyes spilling out emotion with every earnest word, beside smooth contours of his face which remained steady and sombre, but he was still a stranger. Not even if instinct told her to play along with her mind’s desires-which, it did not-would she allow herself to falter for one moment, and give into the temptation of unveiling the truth. It was lure of the worst kind that by rule came hand in hand with any and every secret locked into a person’s being. And she would certainly not succumb here amongst people of the Yards, men and women just like her who might in their thoughts deem it appropriate to slip her name in to the Mistress of Trainees. Tirzah was aware she would be caught, but she was not a dull witted rebel. She would do everything in her capability to prolong the sighting and punishment for as long as possible, because once discovered, she sincerely doubted that the chance would present itself to her again. It was likely they’d make Saline watch her like a hawk, and that right there, was an unhappy thought.

 

 

“I belong here.” She said proudly, daring Alwyn to seek chance to differ in a small gap of silence. When no challenge came, she went on, pleased. “With a wooden lathe, and time to only to spend the way all others in this Yard do. To train with the legendary Warders, see past the myths and understand the realities…what is fact? What is fiction? Where can one find the thread of difference between the two? Indeed, when it comes to a folk such as the Warders, this latter task is hard, according to me at least. I’ve been watching some of them train, teaching others or learning themselves. Sometimes, I think the best kind of learning comes from observing.” Pausing, she flashed him an apologetic look. She was rambling, but then again he had asked all the right questions. Pity she wasn’t simple and smart all at once. “I feel like they are everything they’d been spun into being, except for one character trait every story teller tries to ignore: the humanity in all of them. The flaws that every human has, yes, but also the varied natures that are usually masked by warrior ruthlessness.” There, enough. She wasn’t embarrassed, but she could tell Alwyn had simply inquired to find out if she was an enrolled Trainee or not, and in an odd twist, she had not answered that particular question, only several different doubts that had haunted her during the journey. She had left Alwyn to assume, for she would prefer not to lie outright to the Trainee unless she was utterly cornered.

 

Opening her mouth to ask some thoughtless question or the other, she closed it again as she watched the faint reddening appear and disappear yet again. Now what? she asked silently, thoughts buzzing with mild exasperation. Nice boys always blushed too much, but now that they were clear she was a girl what could possibly be…

 

Ah. Now that they were clear she was a girl, there was the problem in a nutshell. Where she had once been a possible mate in Alwyn’s eyes, she was now the opposite gender, and dressed as strangely as she liked, she was identical in features to Cia, who most men considered a charmer. She supposed it was only natural if a little of the allure rubbed off on her, and while she wasn’t much enthralled by any face or figure, what she had spotted through keen brown eyes wasn’t something she minded, either. Rather than smirking, as was usually second nature to her at such occasions, she simply smiled, letting mirth glimmer and vibrate at its own whim. “I’m always hungry,” came her rapid reply upon receiving his offer for lunch. “What’s for lunch? Do you suppose we could eat out here, rather than uh...inside? I prefer to conquer one at a time.” She winked, but a sting of worry caught her mentally. She had no idea where Trainees had there lunch, and if Alwyn insisted that they eat inside, things could get tricky. Oh well, there was no such thing as a life without risks.

 

~Tirzah

[Guest Celes]

Strange how this woman before him seemed to dance around his questions with answers that made him think up many more questions. She seemed to enjoying being here and Alwyn thought that was enough, for now. She might tell him later what she was doing here and she might not, he was not someone who needed to know everything and he certainly was not going to pry when she clearly kept him out.

 

“Of course we can have lunch here,” he blurted out a little too happily, there was that smile again. That smile that made his heart skip a beat and that made his breath get caught in his throat. What was it about this girl? He did not think she looked a lot like Annika, the girl from Tar Valon he had been with the first few months in the Yards. She had made him choose, she had asked him to chose between her love and his duty. He had in the end chosen the Tower and had come to realize that it was for the best. She had married another and was barefoot and pregnant now, with a child that he would not have feel comfortable having right now. He was young, he wanted to go on adventures and for some reason, meeting Tirzah was an adventure.

 

He rushed towards the mess hall, then turned on his heels and called, “Now don’t go anywhere ok, I’ll be right back,” and then turned again to walk in a speeded pace towards the mess hall. He stood in queue with some of his friends and joked about the food that lay there, the training they were ducking out if they had a chance and then called to them he had to bring some food to Ralleigh Taj. The captain was well known and admired by the trainees who knew that Ralleigh was a captain of the guard who could teach them a lot and give them the basic training they needed to fit in the Tower Guard. The trainees knew all the men and women who worked in the yards and most of them easily earned respect by what they did and the status they had gotten from training and warfare abroad. They did not mind that Alwyn rather share his lunch with a captain than with them and told him they would see him later in the training grounds.

 

Alwyn hurried back towards where he had left Tirzah and found she was no longer there, no longer waiting for him and with the bundle of food under his arm, he kicked a pebble aside and shrugged. This was hurtful, he had really thought she wanted to spend some time with him, but she had sent him off to be gone herself without having to excuse herself. He took a deep breath and then started to head back towards the mess hall when he realized he could not, as his friends would think that odd of him. He then turned towards the training grounds to eat there when he heard a whisper, “I’m here,” and looked over his shoulder to find Tirzah hiding behind some trees. There she was, he laid out the food and sat next to her leaning against the tree. “I thought you’d ran off,” he said and bit down in a piece of bread.

 

[ashara]

“I’m going…going…going…gone!” She called teasingly, but on the inside she felt a tinge of affection. She had only spent a few minutes around the lad; flashed grins and shot him challenges, ranted and listened…a little. And here he went, fetching them lunch. With a pleasant smile playing on his lips as he sauntered off, now a distant silhouette. She was definitely friending him, willing or not. Oh yes. Not only was he as courteous as his first impression-before the flummoxed gape, that is- but there was something in his eyes, in the faint blush and the attempt to then concentrate by shifting the topic elsewhere. It charmed Tirzah, and as Cia would’ve said with a grin, that was about as easy as getting her into a dress, which Darienna Sedai and any other acquaintance knew was really, not so easy.

 

Now that she was alone, she let her eyes wander and her legs lead her as they pleased. Having manoeuvred them away successfully, they seemed to have placed themselves rather conveniently. Brown eyes found and caught interest in a small cluster of trees just paces ahead, invitingly shaded to her, the pretend Trainee standing in the sun. Now there’s a perfect place for some lunch, she thought as she moved further away to inspect it. Not too far though, in case Alwyn came back armed with food only to find her vanished. That would’ve been something she would’ve done without the slightest ruffle to her conscience in other cases, but this Trainee had her snagged. Tirzah Behen would have her first enjoyable lunch, since arriving in the White Tower.

 

She had only moved a few steps forward when she heard it. From a few yards away came a soft voice, humming something in melodic lilt that was oddly familiar to her. She didn’t pause to stop though, instead fleeing instantly for cover behind the already considered trees. It did not matter that she did not know who the hummer was- such details were irrelevant as long as one was in pretend land at the same time voices from reality came breezing by. Once she had successfully glued herself to the nearest tree without any limbs being broken, Tirzah took her chance and peered. And then instantly pulled back. Saline. Saline here, dressed in a long white shirt- not unlike her own- and odd breeches that mirrored the rainbow off her usual dress. Her mentor’s face was bathed in sweat, and her cheeks had turned a rosy pink under the sun. The odd garb combined with her wearied state could only mean one thing, Tirzah realized. Saline trained with the Warders.

 

Her jumbled thoughts paused, and amidst the discord only two things deemed themselves worthy of notice. The first was in slow motion; realization in pinches of the fact that it was possible to train with the Warders, because had it been otherwise, her Mentor would not be out in the yards so…openly. The second was a speedy thing; respect that slammed a big grin onto her face. Her Mentor trained with the Warders. She was now amongst the lesser evils of the Tower, and had boosted herself up in Tirzah’s eyes by rather a large space. She now shadowed only Janine. Then again, Tirzah had not met many in the Tower as yet, so Light bloody knew what monster lay waiting around the next corner. Hopefully though, it would not be the Mistress of Novices or Trainees.

 

Relieved as Saline faded out of sight, she turned back towards where she’d fled from. Alwyn was there, and exactly as she’d feared previously. His face wore heavy disappointment, which brought a pang of sorrow even to her, steely new initiate who had shunned away most others. He was about to turn away and go elsewhere, giving up on her just as she’d planned for him to do before she decided she liked him. Leaning forward, she stretched herself halfway past the little shelter, so that her face was crisscrossed with lines of sunlight and shadow as she called out. He was beside her quickly enough, and as she waited for the impending question, she rummaged through what he had brought and picked some bread.

 

When it came, accusing and curious all at once, she laughed. “Good to know what you think of me, Alwyn! Or rather, what sort of first impression I make. Am I that suspicious looking?” Nudging him playfully, she bit into her bread. She felt at home around the Trainee, comfortable enough to act and say as she pleased. In truth, he reminded her a bit of a lad she’d once known, a friend who had moved away too early for her liking, but would still always be her friend. Swallowing her bread, she continued. “Besides, I’d never give up good food. And this is good, thanks, Alwyn.” On impulse she continued. “Don’t you have friends in the Yards? Why’d you come and sit with me, clueless stranger of debatable origin? Or am I just that charming?” Tirzah grinned, again.

 

 

~Tirzah

[Guest Celes]

They ate their lunch in relative silence, but Alwyn’s thought were not silent at all. He thought about her eyes, he thought about her smell and how she sat there next to him, leaning against the tree and her knee sometimes leaning softly against his. Alwyn had stopped to wonder who she was exactly and instead enjoyed sitting here, next to her. She would soon have to leave again and then his routine would drive his mind to that clear and focused way again. But for now, he could enjoy her being here and yes, talk to her. She had asked him a question!

 

“Friends, yes I do have friends,” Alwyn said as if the thought that he would not shocked him. He frowned, “I do have friends, I have fellow trainees and teachers and we train together,” why was he so defensive? He realized he was trying to make a good impression on her and felt silly for it, she was here, she was eating lunch with him and she was nice. Alwyn looked at her face and felt an urge to stroke it softly, then decided to push his hand in his pocket – best not risk scaring her off.

 

“I am sitting next to you because I offered you a lunch,” he muttered softly, then added, “and I think you’re nice, that is why I am not sitting with my friends in the mess hall, you preferred sitting out here and out of sight a bit, from whom I’m not sure but I trust that we have lunch together without you trying to stab me,” he grinned. It was nice to laugh and he winked at her before biting down the last bit of his bread.

 

“Once I become Tower Guard, it is my duty to protect the women in the Tower, be they students or Aes Sedai, just let me practice a bit on you alright?” he grinned again but stopped when he saw the change in her face. He realized that she was probably a new trainee and not a novice at all. He might have hurt her feelings by dismissing her role in the Yards so easily. “I protect all who need it,” he finally said and looked her straight in the eyes, her dark eyes that hid so much behind them and said so much all at once.

 

Alwyn Fenrir

 

 

[ashara]

Tirzah smirked, widely. Who would’ve known that out of all the Trainees who could’ve approached her deceiving self, it would be Alwyn, Alwyn who was now beyond himself in a defensive response to her harmless teasing. She considered giving into to some traces of pity and place a hand on his shoulder- something reassuring, that would calm the shock out of him and bring back the earlier peace they had settled into. Tirzah would always be one for the outrageous and the unexpected, but there was something soothing about their collective silence. She did not feel the need to blabber-although she did-and was simply content to continue as they were-although they didn’t.

 

When his next answer came though, she found herself looking at him curiously. Even sharply, with the slightest ripple of suspicion grow within. So far, she had weaved her way around questions of her real life and place with honest, if somewhat irrelevant answers, and had thought that it had thrown Alwyn off, and ensured that he had forgotten to pick up on the minor details of where, who and what. She had underestimated him, and while this worried her some, it mostly just pleased her. Another point for the lad, who was now stocking up good things in him rather quickly. One day perhaps, when she didn’t feel the shivers of caution that she did now, Tirzah would tell him exactly what she thought- that he was everything she aspired to be…well, maybe just a little less of the good boy, honest eye thing and more of the nudging and winking. It was working on her after all. About to reply with thanks on his words-which were rather sweet, really-she found herself waiting again. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who felt comfortable.

 

However, the next turn his words took caught her. Eyes flashing, she paused and considered Alwyn carefully. “I don’t need protecting, not while I’m cooped up here anyway,” she declared, common sense only slapping her sensible seconds after her words slipped out. His words had been said in play, lovable banter that she would’ve subjected someone to herself, but it had touched a sensitive spot, that unchangeable fact of life that she was in fact, a female. Suddenly she noticed how close they were, close enough to hear his breathing, to enjoy the support of his broader shoulders as they spoke and reflected. Again she found herself studying him curiously. Tirzah understood and accepted attraction, but this was something that she could not figure out. She was enjoying the closeness, the warmth but was it as anything more than play? What puzzled her even more was the fact that she found herself questioning her thoughts- confusion over her confusion. It was …unsettling.

 

Trying to break the ice, she grinned again. “You can always try and protect me of course. Don’t be too surprised if you end up being the one needing the protection in the end though. You’re no Aes Sedai, but then, neither am I.” Pausing as another thought entered her mind, she frowned. “Does that mean you are close to being Raised to Tower Guard, Alwyn?”

 

~Tirzah

Boggle away. :D

[Guest Celes]

She seemed to take offense to his comment about protecting those who needed and again, Alwyn heard a voice in the back of his mind wonder who this woman was. Not that it mattered to him, he liked to sit here and talk with her, he did not need to know who she was, things might change when one knew more. He did not want this moment to go away, so he waited for her words to soften again, as if he had already known they would. As if he felt she was only defending a part of herself that did not yet trust him, but he trusted her, so soon after they met he knew he trusted her.

 

When her face brushed against his, he had to take a breath not blush bright red. He was about to slap his own face for acting so silly around the woman, he was not a little boy who had never met a woman before in his life. Kiana had kissed him, he had loved her, or he thought he did. She loved him back, but she wanted more than he had been able to give, he could not marry her and start a family and thus their love had ended as he had made the wrong choice and she did not want to wait for him. He was sad to find that her deep brown eyes had found another’s to stare into and they had broken off their relation. He had been sad to lose her, but had focused on his training to get over her and had found that he was when he saw her round bellied and happy with her husband in the city. She had found her husband and had started her family, he would find what he sought in time too.

 

“You are worth protecting, Aes Sedai or not Tirzah,” he said in a low whisper and quickly changed the subject as she asked him about his training and his promotion to Tower Guard. “Well, the Ceremony is not planned yet as far as I know,” he added with a grin, mirroring hers. He thought he saw a glimmer in her eyes and decided not to pay attention so much to every glance he got, she was playing around with him and he noticed, but liked it all the same. “I do hope to reach the Tower Guard promotion this year though, but it might be a little tough seeing as my last teacher just headed down south for half a year or so,”

 

Alwyn thought of Lyv Tylin who had taken him on two training trips and helped him learn about survival and the use of your surroundings in fighting. He owed a lot to the red-haired guard but had always known she was not going to stay around for all his training, too much energy in that red spark to stay anywhere long. “Thera might find me a new teacher soon, so I can start training again. Until then I practice what I know and try to learn from what I see around me, there is much to learn from watching two Blademasters practice in spar.” She would not be interested in his fascinations of watching the well-trained practice and better themselves. She would find him boring probably and dismiss his efforts in trying to learn from watching those who taught. “Do you watch those around you to learn from their effort?” he asked sideways, glancing at her brown stare once more. He knew she was looking at him now and his gaze wandered over the Yards as he waited for her reply.

 

Alwyn Fenrir

 

[ashara]

“Always.” She smiled at him- he had done much better with easing out the discomfort than she herself had. And he didn’t even seem aware of the fact that she had been fumbling. That was good. “It doesn’t need to always be on grounds, watching two spar or another train for practice. It could be the way to weave one’s way around the truth, to be able to spot out said method when another tries the same on you…” She shrugged, and went on. “The possibilities are endless if you ask me. Watching, in a slightly creepy fashion admittedly, gives me more sometimes than any conversation with the person. Take you, for example. I saw you amble your way to me, quite pleasant and such. You seemed like a nice lad from the distance, honesty prevailing in your eyes and curiousity.” Her teasing tone had brought around a glance, so she flashed him a grin.

 

“Other than that one moment of shocking pink all over your cheeks and some characteristics I’d not foreseen in you, you’re the perfect mate. And Tower Trainee apparently, if you’re only a year away from the…Ceremony, was it? You seem pretty young to me, and the Tower Guards I’ve met not quite as youthful. That’s brilliant- my first friend in the Warders’ Yard, just so happens to be a good one. I will have a sparkling reputation before there’s even anything to create a reputation for!”

 

Laughing for a little, she stopped quickly as considered his previous words. “As for your mentor. Will you be getting a new one then? How can one’s training stay consistent? Wouldn’t all Tower Guards want to travel off and on?” She knew she was flooding him with questions, but these were things that interested her. And he didn’t seem to truly mind talking about the subject either, so it was a win-win as far as she was concerned. Another bit of her food swallowed, she turned to look straight at Alwyn. She was growing fond of him rapidly, and that was fine. Caution hissed at her to stay distant, but youthful longing for company and pleasure held stronger sway. Two minds already. Suddenly distracted, she decided at some point she would have to bring Lucrecia to the Yards. Her sister would find Alwyn just the right kind of dashing, she suspected.

 

~Tirzah

 

[Guest Celes]

Youthful? Was she serious? Alwyn doubted he got the true meaning of her words as she seemed to use words for more than just to say what she thought. He shook his head as she kept talking but then he heard her use the term ‘friend’ and he smiled. “I am your friend, Tirzah and I am going to be a warder one day. I was trained to fight and protect those that work in the Light, I am here to learn how to protect Aes Sedai,” he was not sure if he ever would be a Warder, if someone would ever trust Alwyn Fenrir with her life but he hoped so. At least, he would always do his best and work hard and it seemed that Tirzah understood that. She watched him with that funny look on her face. “Your reputation will not be as bad you hope, I’m sure,” Alwyn said.

 

As she asked him about his training, Alwyn’s mind wandered over the meeting he had asked for with the Mistress of Trainees. He would want to ask for a new mentor and then finish the last of his training. Yet, Alwyn knew that he was not done training when the tower guard Ceremony showed him ready to be called proficient in weapons use. He would want to travel and study other cultures, where men and women trained very different from the way Alwyn was used to training in the Yards.

 

“I understand that people who train to be a fighter will travel and learn elsewhere,” he replied to her question about the consistency of training. “Of course, a trainee has to learn the basics and has to earn the right to travel and learn more. But my intention is to reach that and be able to learn about the way of the Shienarans, the Domani, the Cairhien City Guard. They are all different and all interesting to study, where I start here with the use and upkeep of weapons, travel on to short survival trips and the first of my sword forms, I can learn so much more and study what these men know about their enemy and their own strength.” At this she commented that he had earlier told her his intention was to become a Warder, how could he combine the two?

 

“That is a valid point, you are right.” He grinned as she eyed him warily, “What Aes Sedai would bond a warder who only learnt the basics, who has no experience in handling his weapon in a real fight in a real war, I believe that my work will improve with my skill, I need to train more even after I am raised to Tower Guard before I trust myself to protect anyone, let alone an Aes Sedai who can do good in this world,” his dreams spoke for him as Alwyn gazed towards a future that seemed both out of his reach and right around the corner. “But let’s just get through training first.”

 

He wanted to ask her about her training when a young man carrying two wooden lathes came running up towards them. “Alwyn, come on, you’re late for training and we’re sparring partners!” and Alwyn quickly rose to his feet. “Yes, you’re right Maika, I’ll be right there,” and he held his hand out to Tirzah, “I’m not sure how long you can stay, but if you want to come and watch us practice you are welcome to, I gotta run now though,” and he waited for her to rise before running after the other trainee. He was not sure she was going to watch his training, nor was he sure where she was from or where she belonged. He was sure that he would really like to see her again though, sooner rather than later.

 

OOC: I figured since you are moving into training with Big Mac and we're becoming roomies I would end this thread, seeing as Alwyn can't find out who Tirzah is yet. :)