The Scoundrel Who Taught Me Manners - or tried to (attn: Aran)

[Arette]

More experienced novices and all Accepted gave wide berth to the Keeper of the Chronicles when she made her way to the Warder's Yard. She appeared unruffled enough but the tempo of her striding and the heat in her stare were enough to convey an air of a woman huff. An unpleasent surprise had awaited her after she had finished her morning training and went to her rooms to change clothes. She had noticed immediately that something was wrong because nothing had been in it's proper place. Her furniture had been moved and the whole decoration had changed places. Quivering with fury she had opened cupboards and drawers and all the neatly folded things were mixed and rearranged. Someone had went through all her personal things and disarrayed them quite deliberately so she would know. She had more than a good guess of the culprit, she was absolutely convinced that Aran was the one to blame.

 

Likely the midget was expecting her to storm into the Yards but she didn't even care. This little demonstration was perhaps his way to show that he hadn't appreciated her snooping in his room but it was childish nonetheless. Maybe she shouldn't let herself be provocated like this but since Aran had made her to put the single thing she had moved back to its place yesterday, he would do the same in her room. She didn't like the idea of his hands touching her small clothes or anything that she owned but she would show him that he needed to indeed clean his messes.

 

The infuriating manling wasn't hard to find, the first Guard she asked pointed her to a tree and true enough, there Aran was snoozing while everyone else in the Yard sweated and went about their duties and training. Everything in him irked Arette and it gave her immense satisfaction to shove him down from the branch and catch his fall half the way. She lowered him to the ground on his feet and closed the distance between them her arms akimbo and her fingers tapping her sides. "You have been a naughty boy, Aran. I hope that you have a very good memory because you are going to put every single thing back the way it was."

 

Arette Nenatiar

Keeper of the Chronicles

[Arette]

It hadn't taken much to notice the approach of the Aes Sedai, in fact, Aran had been expecting it.  He'd had little doubt that the woman would end up coming to see him after the little prank that he had played on her.  Some would have said it was childish, others like himself would have regarded it as having immense instructional value.  Aes Sedai seemed to forget all too easily the basic manners that everyone was entitled to, and Arette Sedai hadn't been particularly remorseful over having gone through his room.  He had been certain that it was due to her being thoroughly ignorant and simply being in need of a touch of enlightenment.  Well, Aran was more than prepared to be a river unto his people, bringing forth wisdom and humility as easily as he brought chaos and disarray.

 

Being knocked out of the tree was amusing though, it wasn't quite like having his crotch set alight and it most certainly wasn't the first time he had been handled with the power.  Indeed, it had happened enough times that he was rather blase as he was caught by the power halfway in his descent, she was even nice to lower him onto his feet rather than simply drop him again.  He had his doubts that it was rooted in any true concern though, simply so she could try and rip into him as quickly as possible.  She looked a touch agitated in her manner as she spoke, though her face was otherwise serene.  He could fix that one soon enough given time he was sure.  In fact, he decided to do so immediately as he adopted her vocal inflection and tone.

 

"You, my dear, are being terribly inconsiderate.  Really, there I am meditating and pondering the greater questions when you just knock me off my branch all willy nilly.  I do believe that I am owed an apology, and I would have thought you would understand why by now." Smiling at the shift in her manner and expression, Aran reverted to his normal voice.  "It doesn't feel particularly nice to know that someone has let themself into your quarters and riffled through all your things, does it?  Perhaps it feels a little infuriating?  Or disquieting?  Personally, I felt rather offended at the cavalier manner that you adopted with my things.  And now that the same has been done to you, you are suddenly shocked?  Angry perhaps?  Thats not very consistent you know."

 

Turning to the tree, Aran sat down and laid his back against the trunk as he looked up at Arette with a bright smile on his face.  He was curious as to how she would answer.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

[Arette]

It was disconcerting and immensely annoying to hear your own voice speaking back to you and Arette's face darkened. Surely she didn't sound quite that high-pitched and pompous? It was a wise decision that he changed back to the normal way he spoke. She owed him nothing when he had done the very same thing in her room. Once he had cleaned up after him, they would be even and she wished from the bottom of her heart that she would never have to see him again. She had already come to the conclusion that lecturing to him about breaking into her quarters was useless, that lecturing in the first place would be wasted air so she was able to withstand his jibes patiently. "It is all very consistent. You were so persistent about me putting that dress to its place yesterday that I expect the same from you today. I left everything else just the way it was so you have been the ruder one of us. Come along then. I'd imagine that it took you some time to replace everything and I don't have all day. You must also be wanting to get back to your 'important duties' as soon as possible."

 

"You seem to be missing several very crucial points there."  Aran smiled lazily at her as he stretched his arms and legs, much like a cat who had just woken up.  In part because it would annoy her, in part because it felt rather nice.  He knew what he was going to say, he was fairly certain of what she would say in return, but he decided to just go ahead with it anyway.  "You know, you're not the least bit sorry about what you did last night.  Why is that?  Because you're the Keeper of Chronicles?  That somehow puts you above basic decency?  I had to insist several times before you finally 'deigned' to put the dress back, and I didn't hear a single apology from you about going through all my things.  Where's your sense of responsibility?  I'm just a rude Tower Guard who causes trouble, but you, you're the Keeper of Chronicles."

 

He seemed intent to not budge from the spot and his arrogant stretching was clearly meant to taunt. She really wasn't sorry for going through his things and it had nothing to do with her being the Keeper but rather his deeds before that. She had been annoyed with him when he 'asked' her to put the dress back but maybe she should have been above it. "I wasn't willing to regard you with basic decency because of your earlier performance. And you revoked any right to get an apology by touching my room. I will consider it if you offer me one. Once you have put my things to their place, we are done with each others. I have a very strong sense responsibility toward my duties and I am painfully aware that I am wasting my precious time with you. Clearly we are both as incorrigible, you have no intention of giving up troublemaking and I have no intention to stop being rude to troublemakers."

 

"Do you even listen to yourself?"  Aran smirked up at the woman, he doubted he was going to get through anytime soon, but he was fairly certain that he'd be annoying enough that it would stick in her mind for awhile after this.  She had the sort of personality that dwelled on it, even if it was shut aside.  "You determine the way you treat others by the way they act.  I thought Aes Sedai were above such petty behaviour, indeed you acted as was appropriate regardless of those who could be deemed as...  lesser, perhaps?  You'll only apologise if I apologise first?  Doesn't the inherent wrong in what you did call for you to apologise regardless of what I did?  Con would apologise regardless."  That much was true, and he knew full well that Arette would know it for truth as well.  If there was one thing about Con, it was that he was scrupulous in the way he treated others.  Of course, he was a bit too stiff backed as well, but at least he could never be called petty.

 

What was it in Aran that allowed him to crawl under her skin so easily? Even Iussi Dyfelle didn't annoy her this much. She did her best to ignore his words but there was more than a seed of truth to them. Usually she was unfailingly courteous and it was shameful that she was unable to control herself better and that he was able to affect her at all. Yes, she was behaving pettily but she'd be burned rather than apologize Aran. She shouldn't have touched anything in his flaming room and it was pitiful to be lectured about ethics by a scoundrel. She couldn't even quiet him because he was right. So all she could do was to pretend that she was't even listening. The jab about Con broke her smooth surface and she gave Aran a sharp look. Her willingness to sometimes bend from what was right when she deemed it necessary had been a cause of innumerable arguments. She tried her best to never do it again and act only in a way that would make him proud but reality always put her to test. The little man really did not want to go there. She resisted the temptation to retort. Instead she simply said mildly "If you moved your feet as much as your mouth, we would be in my quarters already."

 

"And if you didn't help yourself to my things as if they were yours, I would not have ventured into your quarters."  Smiling at her as she just stared him, he broke out in a chuckle as he added.  "But, even though you couldn't even say please, I shall be more than happy to rearrange everything in your room back the way it was."  Reaching behind him, it was easy to push off and jacknife onto his feet.  After all, he guessed it would annoy her that it wasn't nearly as much a problem for him to redress the wrong as it seemed to be for her.  That and there was something else he was more than happy to point out.  "I have to admit, I'm surprised that you are so comfortable with a scoundrel like me accompanying you to your quarters after last night's antics.  Well, that and having me handle everything in your room, but as it poses no problem for you, it poses no problem for me."

 

His comment about the causes and consequences earned him a steady look. For all his talk of being above things, he was no better than her in that regard. The only reason he had done this was so that he could taunt her if she would approach him. And of course she hadn't said please because if you displaced something, you put it back the way it had been. He hadn't seed please yesterday either. And she did it again, thought that she didn't have to behave when he didn't. "How magnanimous of you to restore my room", she murmured wryly. His last words earned him a phaw but she couldn't help her cheeks colouring slightly. She most certainly did not want to visualize him naked and thinking of Con unclad wasn't much help either. Summoning an image of Karana was suitably calming even if her mentor would likely also disapprove her reactions to Aran. She wasn't behaving at all like the Aes Sedai stature required. "You won't be trying anything and I can handle myself", she said with certainty. It was a sour thought that he would paw her things again but it couldn't be helped.

 

Looking at Arette wryly, Aran couldn't help but wonder if she had really thought this through or whether it had just been a knee jerk reaction.  Most likely the latter, but he doubted that she realised that if he wanted, he could simply refuse to do it and leave her stuck with it.  It would look ridiculous if she forced him into her quarters, and doubly ridiculous if she had him thrown out on the pretext he'd managed to get into her quarters and rearrange everything because it would require her to explain that a single Tower Guard had not only managed to let himself into her room, but went through her things and shifted her entire room without her noticing, further begging the explanation of where she had been if not in her room.  But, he was magnanimous as she said, much easier to make the easier point.  "I'm offering to restore your room to the way it was, and you call me a predator?  I didn't realise you felt so threatened."

 

She actually gaped at him before snapping her mouth shut. "You tried to make me uncomfortable by refering to last night and I called your bluff. That is all. Now stop procrastinating. I am going to head to my office to pick up some papers so you will have good time to get started before I get back." If he wanted to be truly insolent, he would have plenty of time to undress again but that thought she quickly banished. If he wouldn't show up, she was going to... yes, what? After the comments he had made, she couldn't exactly go to Con because if Aran told him everything - and she was quite certain that he would - Con would be disappointed with her. He might be as disappointed with Aran but he likely expected something like this from the man. But she would tackle the issue if it indeed became an issue. Or then just be glad to be rid of the man even if she would have to get someone else to sort her room.

 

"Uhuh, yes, you don't sound threatened at all."  Laughing as he deliberately reached over and poked her in the ribs, Aran couldn't help but wonder how much this was irritating her.  Her, the Keeper of Chronicles, thrown off balance by a single Tower Guard that was even shorter than her.  Well, maybe she needed a little humbling, everyone did sooner or later.  Well, except him, because he was the most humble person ever.  "I'll go fix up your room, try and keep your dress on.  You may even come by and check on my progress, but be sure to bring me something to eat, and to drink.  After all, you stripped me last night and you're meant to take me to dinner first.  I'll see you in your quarters."  At that, Aran strode away with a grin on his lips, knowing that it would also irk her that he had the last word.  And what a last word it was.

 

Even breathing, even gaze and composure. He had no effect what so ever on her but despite her decision she almost jumped when Aran touched her side. She almost sputtered at his recommendation that she kept her clothes on. It wasn't her who had been displaying herself like a shameless male hussy, oh no. If there had been some way to make sure that he would live on water and bread for the next few weeks, she would have jumped for it. And she had stripped him? That was just thick. He was making her head hurt and she would have to spend at least few hours in the same room with him. She must have done something particularly evil in her last incarnation to have deserved this. She should have quieted him somehow as he was getting even more out of hand. He thought that he was in control of the situation but she was the Aes Sedai. He would be brought to heel and after today she would never have to see him again.

 

Arette & Aran

[Arette]

Casting a last longing look at her office and the peace and quiet there, Arette renewed the Wards on her desk and headed to her private rooms. She really didn't want to spend any time with Aran but she was determined to see him return her room to its previous state. She wished that he couldn't have done any damage or anything but his assigned task in the short while she had been gone. The corridors were blissfully empty save for one adjacent to the one that lined her apartment. She could hear giggling around the corner and when a pair of novices came around the corner and saw her, they assumed the most flabbergasted slack-jawed looks she had ever seen.

 

"Close your mouths and move along, children", she snapped and it seemed to restore their wits and the gave her quick curtsies before darting off. If these two were the future of the Tower, it looked bleak indeed. Wool-headed initiates. As she got closer to her rooms, she got an inkling of what the girls had been laughing at. Someone was singing in her room in a very feminine voice that sounded just like hers except that she would never ever break into a song. And most definately not into anything that ribald. It was the travesty in the dining room all over again. As she stormed through the door, the little man was bent over the table and swayed slightly to the tune wiggling his ass in most rediculous way.

 

"Stop that. The singing", she specified remembering how he had played dumb previously and pretended that he didn't understand what she meant. "I am going to work and I don't want to hear lowsy music in the background or any kind of music at that."

 

Turning as he heard Arette's voice, Aran smiled as he she asked for him to cease his music.  It seemed that his choice of song and tone was most detestable for the woman, but he wasn't so sure.  It wasn't amongst the most striking voices he had at his disposal, but the results it got were certainly amusing.  On the otherhand, she hadn't said anything about his dancing that he continued to use to communicate the melody that was still playing at the back of his head as he responded in her tone.  "Excuse me, but I must object and decree that this is a most deplorable state of affairs.  I am here, restoring this not so humble abode to its former condition yet you have failed to supply and avail me to victuals that would be more than appropriate considering the carcophantase of this particular situation.  Perhaps you would remedy this apalling mistake with suitable recompense in the form of an early lunch?"

 

At least Aran ceased his singing but he started dancing instead. That she didn't mind as she wasn't going watch him. As long as he worked, she was going to ignore him. "You are restoring this room to its former condition because you were the cause of the change. You won't get any food until you are done. Now keep working." She seated herself to an arm chair and begun to browse through the topmost paper of her tall pile. It was boring book keeping but she occasionally chose to check random records just to make sure that the servants were not embezzling Tower funds. Even accounting was better than Aran's company.

 

"I do believe I do be truly unappreciated."  The switch of tone and accent caused Arette to look up before she even realised she was doing it, causing Aran to grin in turn as he turned back to his rearranging of the room and its contents.  Not that this stopped him from forestalling any comments Arette would make by speaking in his normal voice.  "You know you're simply quibbling.  Petty behaviour simply begets petty behaviour, fire does not quench fire, it simply increases it.  You would think that you would rise above such a thing in an Aes Sedai manner, or at least just rise above it and put a stop to it.  I don't suppose you have an answer as to why you're not, you know, beyond a simple 'he started it!'"  He doubted the ten year old voice at the end was anymore appreciated than Con's accent, but Aran was going to have to find another way to amuse himself since singing had been dispensed with.

 

Con's voice perked Arette up even though she knew he wasn't really there and she glowered darkly at Aran. He had no right to mime Con. And who was now blaming others and naming them the cause of their misbehaviour. Maybe Aran was trying to test her tolerance for his antics but what was he expecting from her? An apology, that she actually offered him lunch? In his dreams. She would ignore him and focus on what was really important, her work. Bending over her numbers again, she started her calculations from the beginning. There was nothing but the paper and the task.

 

Arette & Aran