So we meet again... (Miya)

[Siemba]

The White Tower looked beautiful today. Streams of sunlight poured through the windows, making stray dust mites glow with a strangely simple beauty. Pools of golden light gathered in puddles on the carpeted floors, catching some sea folk porcelain here, a golden rigged chest there. There was a general sense of peace over the Tower, as if no one was in the mood for trouble. Even the servants were few and far between; no one wanted to be inside who could be elsewhere.

So the Novice stamping along the corridor was more than slightly out of place.

Sial Daemoa had been at the tower a good deal of time now, though she rarely thought about it if she could help it. Long enough for her to have gained a measure of confidence, a certain self surety that allowed her to be testing the boundaries of what she could get away with. Short enough, however, for her not to have gained the serene finish that the Tower put on the majority of her residents. Short enough a time for her to still be the scruffy, suspicious young woman she had always been.

Scruffy was the operative word. Try as she might (though she rarely did) Sial seemed to manage to look like she hadn’t changed her dress or brushed her hair in a week (thought thankfully she didn’t smell like that). Her dress was crumpled and creased, the hem frayed at the front where she had fallen over not so many days ago and the sleeves rolled up as far as she could. A generally curvy figure betrayed that she was not as young as her youthful, faintly freckled face suggested, although her eyes were not those of the 16 year old she could pass for. Usually, the Novice had  at least the hint of a smile or a smirk but right now, Sials scowl could have withered the paintwork. The Cairheinin woman stomped along the corridor like a diminutive tempest. She was not best pleased.

Just the evening  before, Sial had been part of an impromteau gathering of Novices. It had been tame enough; ok, she had drunk quite a bit of wine but she wasn’t some teen kiddy, she could take her drink. At least, she had had the wits to scarper from the gathering before it could have been discovered, and she estimated that less than 10 people at the party, counting mights as well as do’s, knew her name or who she was.

It was that that had Sial in such a foul mood. From what she knew, there was no way that she should have been busted unless someone had squealed on her. She herself had been very careful. Yet that morning, the Mistress of Novices Darienna Sedai had swooped on her like a bat with a pipe and requested…no. Darienna didn’t need to request. She didn’t need to command either. She said and people did. And what she had said had ended up with Sial in her office. Again.

That was a problem too. For the most part, Sial was not the kind of Novice to get in trouble, or, at least, not the kind of Novice to get caught. However, just 7 and a half months ago, her mentor had discovered that she had been using the Power unsupervised. Lillian Sedai had not punished her directly but that did not mean Sial hadn’t spent a lot of time squirming guiltily. Whats more, Lillian had then disappeared, to the Borderlands apparently, leaving Sial feeling as guilty as ever for not actually ever apologising properly or thanking the White for not handing her over to the proper authorities. Since then, Sial had been perhaps more reckless than usual. A Yellow who had been studying the human mind might have suggested that, subcoinciously, she was setting herself some sort of penance to sooth her guilt. The trouble was, it was becoming a habit now. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she hadn’t had pnishments right into the evening. Yesterday, for example, it had been swearing that had meant she was out until sundown, although the party hadn’t exactly been her punishers fault. Strangely, today her day was free of chores despite visiting Darienna Sedai but Sial suspected that the woman was leaving her to stew.

Swearing under her breath, the Novice stalked toward her room in the Novice quarters. It was oddly quiet there too. Most were probably in lessons or doing chores. A few of the more lucky were probably enjoying the sun.

Unusually, Sial was lucky in her way too, at least as far as rooms went. She had been at the White Tower for over a year but for that entire time, she had had a Novice room to herself when many had to share with another girl, if not several. Her room was easily big enough for another to share it but for whatever reason, no one had ever been assigned to share with her. Maybe it was because she had joined the Tower later in life than most. Maybe it was because she was not easy to get on with.

No. more likely, it was because she was a bad influence. The Cairheinin woman had gotten off to a shaky start in terms of staying on the straight and narrow, and that was even before her more recent reckless phase. Pranks were not the half of it; the woman was a natural clutz and had caused chaos in some instances without even trying, such as the memorable ‘ink-on-an-Aes-Sedais-cup’ incident. She was quick enough in lessons, assuming they did not involve Earth, but no one would have given her to some innocent, leadable new Novice as a roomie. It was something that the cairheinin had grown used to to the extent that she didn’t even think about it any more.

Kicking open her bedroom door with perhaps more force than necessary, Sial stomped into her room..and stopped short.

Nothing was missing, of course. The desk by the window straight ahead was there and probably had been for the last hundred years by the look of the gouges in the dark wood. The fireplace on her left was, naturally, immaculate (as a steeplejacks daughter Sial dealt with that by habit) which was a contrast to the heap of unmade blankets that was her bed. To her right against the near wall was the wardrobe, to her left the washstand. Nothing was missing.

It was the newly appeared bed that was the problem.

Sial approached the bed gingerly. It was slightly narrower than her own, if longer, and of a lighter wood. In a better position too, with one end close to the fireplace. What in the Light is a trollocing bed doing in my room?! I dont need two! Not unless I move Coal up here and Im not sharing my room with my bloody horse…

A horrible thought came to the Novice. Surely not…they wouldn’t…not after all this time…

 

Sial Daemoa

Considerably disgruntled Novice:D

[Miya]

Counting the doors until she came to the appointed one, Miya shifted the objects in her hands uncomfortably.  Oh, they weren't heavy really, but the punishment for last nights misdeeds had left her less than comfortable.  How had the mistress of novices ever learned about the party?  Had someone been caught?  Burn those girls who ran off in a panic!

 

Reaching out, Miya opened the doorknob carefully and pushed the door inward with her bottom so not to drop anything as she entered.  Upon seeing someone else was in the room, expectedly, she gasped and nearly dropped her bedding and dresses.  Quickly she laughed and tried to pass of her startlement as she once again directed her attention, briefly, to the other person in the room.

 

The girl, she noted, was someone she'd met last night.  She couldn't recall much about her now, but she hadn't been totally unfriendly.  Setting her things down on the tidy bed (which she naturally assumed was her own) she turned back to her new roomate.

 

"Sial, right?"  Smiling she began the explaination of how the Mistress of Novices had intended to have them be roomates right from the get go, but somehow Rory Sedai... her mentor... had messed up the room number and had put her in a small cell-like space all by herself.

 

"It was terribly lonely."  Her story hadn't been a long one but she was concerned that the other girl wasn't entirely comfortable with her suddenly barging into her personal space.  After all, while Miya may have hated rooming alone... perhaps this girl liked it.

 

"Um... so... it occurs to me, I should probably ask if you'd rather take this bed?  I'm not partial to where I sleep really so it makes no never mind to me.  Whichever you don't want will work fine."

 

oc: sorry so short, I'm in a rush today and got a few posts to reply to, I promise more impressive things to come LOL.  *hugs*

 

[Siemba]

Sial stood and listened to the girls sudden explainations. She knew Miya, both from the party and the resulting incicent with Darienna, and she thought she had a measure of her. Though, in reality, the reason she was standing was to give herself what little command she had...that and the fact her own bed was a mess. It wasnt just Sials personal apperance that seemed to always manage to be untidy.

 

Miya sat down on the spare bed and continued talking, and smiling, and the Cairheinin tried not to wince. Now she remembered what she remembered most about the newer Novice. Miya talked. And talked. She chattered on like a braided canary, perfectly happy with life for no apparent reason and chirping to herself despite her confined quarters. Whats more, she seemed not to be talking out of an ulterior motive or in order to see the effect or even because she liked the sound of her own voice. It seemed Miya was attempting to make conversation just because that was who she was.

 

That was a novelty.

 

Sial stood silently, watching the girl. She was very much a girl, too; she couldnt be older than 16, surely. Her brother was probably older than Miya. Her younger brother. The Cairheinin woman tried not to wince. It was always a mistake comparing other Novices to people she knew from Maerone; once she had made the comparison it made it more difficult tenfold to manipulate or bully or hate them. Illogical, but that was the way things were.

 

"It was terribly lonely." Sial registered that Miya had finished telling her little story. Frankly, she was somewhat taken aback about how blunt the girl had been with some aspects. She herself would never, ever have admitted to being lonely even to her best ever friend, let alone someone she barely knew. Of course, not everyone in the world had the restraint of Cairhein in their upbringing but still...Miya was either innocent as a lamb or thick as two short planks glued together with stupid glue.

 

"Um... so... it occurs to me, I should probably ask if you'd rather take this bed?  I'm not partial to where I sleep really so it makes no never mind to me.  Whichever you don't want will work fine."

 

Perhaps it was a calculated offer to lure her into a safe sense of security or perhaps it was simply an attempt to make friends. No, she's not stupid. If she actually is as bloody friendly as she comes across, sooner or later someone with a chip on her shoulder is going to eat her alive.Sial realised that she had been silently standing arms folded, face blank. She had always been slightly territorial and not so many months ago, her response would probably have been one that would have lead to scathing words. However, she had learned something since joining the Tower, and that was to never turn down potential allies.

 

"You can sleep there if you want," the Cairheinin woman replied, then grinned. "Im rather partial to that one." She indicated her own decidedly untidy sleeping arrangements, then kicked off her shoes and stockings and sat down right there on the floor.

 

Taking the grin off her face, the woman looked at Miya thoughtfully. "I suppose we should get to know at least a little bit about eachother," she suggested. What she actually meant was that she wanted to know a bit about her unanticipated new roomie. Such as wether or not she was going to knife her in her sleep or burn down their room. Looking briefly at the floor, Sial plucked a very long wiry grey hair from her skirt. Coals tailhair, probably. Why was it that animals got hair absolutly everywhere?

 

Rather ridiculously she found herself hoping her new roommate was not going to shed as much as her horse did.

[Miya]

Miya began hanging up her dresses as soon as Sial finished.  "Well, I suppose that is a capital idea.  I'm Miya, as you know, Miya Kiyoshi.  I'm from a little farm town in Arafel... which if you don't know where that is, it's up the river and off to the west just before you reach the blight."

 

Putting her stuff away didn't take but a moment, after all, she didn't have much in the way of stuff anymore.  "I couldn't help but notice that you had some horse hairs here in the room... I assume that means you either spend a lot of time caring for the horses or you have one?"  Sitting on the edge of her bed she continued.

 

"I adore horses.  I couldn't bring mine with me though.  Most of my trip was by boat and it would have cost too much to bring my horse here that way." Miya sighed.

 

"Would have been nice though, I think I would have enjoyed riding on free days."  Shrugging sadly she looks up at her roomate, "So where are you from and... for the light's sake tell me there is something fun to do in this Tower when we do get free time!"

 

[Siemba]

Sial stayed sat on the floor with her knees together and her feet either side of her, skirt making a white puddle around. She let Miya walk around her, feeling a brief flash of irritation as the girl started putting things away. It took a great deal of self control to stop herself grabbing everything she owned and stuffing it under her bed. Of course, the braided girl hadnt actually touched any of her stuff, but that didnt mean she wouldnt...Light blind you, Sial Daemoa, what have you got that she could possibly want to steal? It was true enough. A steeplejacks daughter rarely had posessions of particular worth and Novices of the White Tower had even less. The womans current prize posessions were letters from home and they were very carefully hidden under her matress at almost all times anyway. Miyas indication that perhaps she did not know where Arafel was another irritation, partially because it wasnt too far from the truth. Sials knowledge of the world, excluding her homeland and, to an extent, Tear and Andor and the Aiel Waste too, was all gleaned from books and lessons. Arafel was a borderland; surely that was all anyone needed to know. It wasnt like she was ever going to go there!

 

The pale skinned woman gave a jerk as Miya mentioned horses. No, the other girl was not stupid. Sial did not know if she herself would have noticed the hair had their roles been reversed. It made her uneasy. She had never been entirely sure as to wether or not Novices were technically allowed horses and had always slunk around letting anyone know about hers in case they took him away from her. Not that she doubted some knew; Eqwina Sedai had been the one to give him to her and Lillian seemed to know everything and then some. Now she eyed Miya carefully. The other girl was new. She probably doesnt know anything yet. That was a relief. Unless Miya was particularly vicious or scheming, she might not have realised that she had unwittingly discovered one of the few levers Sial had. That meant the Cairheinin had a chance to manouver to cover her own back...

 

"I adore horses.  I couldn't bring mine with me though.  Most of my trip was by boat and it would have cost too much to bring my horse here that way. Would have been nice though, I think I would have enjoyed riding on free days. So where are you from and... for the light's sake tell me there is something fun to do in this Tower when we do get free time!"

 

That was either an opening for victory or a trap...there was only one way to find out which...

 

Shifting so she was sitting on her knees, Sial grinned. It was not a pretty grin. It made her look like an urchin stealing apples, despite her age and the fact she was somewhat cleaner than  an urchin would be. Her pose on the floor did not help her case either. It was almost surprising, therefore, how civilised her precise accent and low voice managed to sound. For a moment she just laughed. "Free time? Dont bet on it. You get a freeday once every twenty days but you wont have free time. You'll need it just to catch up on your sleep. And thats if you play by the Tower rules and dont get caught by Darienna." In her head, Sial added the 'Sedai'. She had a tendancy to do so but to voice the honourific might have spoilt the effect of her words. "Since you already have, you probably wont see any spare time until the Festival of Light. Theres fun stuff you can do in free time but it allmost all bloody ends up with the consequence of less free time, if you get my drift."

 

Fiddling absentmidedly with the end of her shaggy dark plait, Sial looked the girl perching on the bed by the fire in the face and wondered if she had scared her. No, that wasnt likely. Good. Scaring newbies was not her aim today. Now, a touch of confidence, perhaps. "Nice guess with the horse, by the way. You are right, I do have...frequent contact with a horse n the Tower stables." She wasnt about to say outright that Coal was hers, just in case. Claiming that degree of ownership would give the girl a chance to turn it against her. Not that Miya seemed that way, true, but you couldnt be too sure. People were not always as they seemed. A horrible thought occoured to Sial. She visited Coal whenever she could but, before, she hadnt had a roommate to tattle if she was slightly late to her rooms at night. There were several options. One, tell all about the horse and offer him to her roommate for visiting whenever she was bored and, by doing so, get the girl too involved to tattle without telling tales on herself. Two, just tell and hope. Or three, hope she didnt notice.

 

Standing up, Sial gave a rather over-the-top bow and put on a dramatic voice. "Miya Kiyoshi, as my new roommate, I hereby propose that, for the duration of us sharing this room on good terms, you may visit Coal the horse as often as you like until I say otherwise. Hes a lump, he wont mind extra poking." She grinned. If this wasnt a gesture of goodwill, if a calculated one, then she didnt know what was. Coal was the best thing she had ever owned, even more so than Sooty, the horse her family shared for the business. It was a gesture that could go wrong (everything in the world seemed to be able to go wrong if given the chance) but it potentially had bonuses. Miya would get a share in a horse to fuss over (as well as a share of the trouble should it turn out that an Aes Sedai suddenly decided that Novices and horses should not mix), she would have something in common with her roommate besides sharing a sleeping space and she might-might-have gained a bit of respect. Or trust. Or something. Maybe.

 

Sial straighened from the bow, her grin receeding to a wicked smile. "I also suggest that since we are stuck with eachother as roomies that we decide on room rules right now to stop us from killing eachother. What do you think?"

 

It occoured to the Cairheinin that, for once, she might be coming across as reasonably pleasent rather than how she usually came across. It also occoured to her that there was a lot of potential in the idea of corrupting a new Novice. Since they were in trouble from the party already, how much harm could an extra, tiny prank be? Not a big campaign on the scale of the notrios Operation Chicken. Just a minor joke. The kind that careful weasling should avoid them getting caught for. Such as leaving mice in someones bed. If she remembered rightly, some of the other Novices rooms were missing doors...

 

Sial grinned again. Potential indeed.

 

Sial

A Bad Influence

[Miya]

Miya could hardly stand it.  She wanted to hug the girl straight off when she said that she'd share her horse Coal.  Of course she hadn't said it belonged to her, perhaps she just loved the horse, but a horse was big enough for many young girls to love so it hardly mattered.  A chance to have something that resembled home, a horse to care for, would be welcome even if it meant having more of what she would have called chores back home.  Right now, however, a horse seemed more like a treasure than a torture.

 

"I'm regretful I don't have anything to give you in return as a room-warming gift."  Miya looked a touch embarassed.  "I'm sure Coal will be wonderful to spend some time with when I'm able, so long as the chores around here don't kill us first."  She managed a short wry chuckle.  Truly she didn't want to think about keeping up this pace with the chores for years to come.

 

"Sial, I promise you, just as soon as I'm able... I'll find you a gift equal to the joy you're sharing with me in Coal.  Fair is only fair."  She nodded firmly and in her mind that was the end of the matter.  She would find a gift for Sial if it was the last thing she did and she'd begin looking for a gift tomorrow, first thing.  Though where she'd get a gift in this place, she was unsure.  Even if she had coin, it wasn't like the Tower had a gift shop.  And the Light only knew when they'd lift that, "no going into the city" ban.  Of course... there was always Rory, maybe she'd help.

 

As she thought about the gift she'd give her new friend, Sial went on about the idea that room rules should be established and she nodded in agreement.  "A great idea.  Let's see... I think it should go without saying that if we do manage to get anything personal, we leave each other's things be unless invited to share.  Additionally, this is our space and other than Aes Sedai who we can't keep out... maybe we shouldn't ask over guests without the other's knowledge?" 

 

She bit her lip nervously.  "Or is that too much do you think?  I don't want to keep your friends out of the room but it is like a house, the best like one we're gonna get at least, and we always had to tell my mother when guests were coming so she wouldn't be embaressed by whatever she left laying out or whatever might not be as tidy as she liked.  She was always very picky about such things."

 

With those rules stated she waited to hear if Sial liked them and if she had other ideas that might work.

[Siemba]

Sial was more than a little surprised. Miya seemed...pleased. Very pleased. She hadnt expected to get a pledge of gratidute and a vow to return the favour. She had been expecting more to be sneered at or for the younger girl not to care less. Or for things to go horribly wrong. This was turning out...alright...The fact that Miya seemed bareable did not mean she was. She could have been a masterful actress or she could have been putting on a fake personality. Both were not unheard of throughout the world. It wasnt just Cairheinin that could be nice to your face and stab you in the back. The land was full of such people. For whatever reason, however, the dark plaited woman found her gut instinct was that with the Arafellin, that wasnt the case. She genuinely was pleased and she genuinly was trying to be friendly. Unfortunatly (or fortunatly, depending on your outlook) Sial Daemoa was a pessimist. The fact that her little stunt had worked out better than she had hoped only made her sure that sooner or later things were going to go horribly wrong.

 

She shifted a little all the same at the girls words. Gratitude wasnt something she knew how to deal with very well. Her family did not say thankyou. Her family smacked you on the shoulder and called you a name in thanks.

 

Sial listened to Miyas suggestion, twiddling the end of her plait and chewing her bottom lip. Seems reasonable enough. I dont want people pawing through my stuff. At the thought of inviting friends to her room, Sial almost laughed. It wasnt that she had no friends, not exactly. Tirzah was a friend, definatly, but in a cousin sort of way. Lillian Sedai might have been a friend but she was her mentor, it was her job to be her friend...That was it, Sial realised. Cutting out all casual aquaintances, like bloody Kirsa, and friends who had moved up in the world, like Salandrian, her entire friendship circle consisted of Tirzah, Lillian and Coal. There was something slightly stinging in that. Not that she cared, of course. She didnt want to be bloody friends with bloody teen Novices years her junior. And if Miya had thought the rule up, it would mean she wouldnt come back to find Kirsa and Melianna sitting on her bed or something.

 

"Those rules sound fair enough to me. Agreed. Perhaps we should have housekeeping rules too, but we can make those up as we go  along." She nodded briefly, half to herself. Yes, that would work. She still wasnt overkeen on sharing a room but strangely the idea of sharing with Miya was not entirely repulsive. Sial had never had anything like a little sister, or even female cousins that she knew of. Sharing a room could be an experience if nothing else. "Lets make it a rule that if we have a problem, we bloody fight it out and get it over with,rather than long term cattiness. " she suggested. She wasnt sure that she honestly thought Miya was the long-term-cattiness type but you could never know. Sial wandered over to the fireplace and examined it as she spoke, watchign mIya from the corner of her eye

 

[Miya]

Miya nodded to the comment about cleaning.  It was true enough that they'd have time to figure that out as they lived together longer and longer.

 

Sial was seeming like the type of woman she could definately feel good about staying with.  Though the idea of fighting with her, such a small woman, hardly seemed fair.  That and the fact that southlanders were most often soft and not really capable of putting up a good fight even to save their own skins.  Still, she'd asked for the 'kindness' and despite not seeing any reason TO fight with the girl, Miya could hardly object.

 

"Seems pretty logical to me.  Though I do feel the need to warn you, I have a mean right hook.  I've been in a fair number of scraps in my time."   That was the truth, though most of them not by her choice.  People could be quite silly sometimes, especially when they missed the point of a well thought out joke.

 

"Alright, important question, rule breaking... I don't do it often but, on occasion I have been known to seek fun outside the constrants of what's expected... like last night.  If I do go getting into something that you figure is trouble and want no part of, just let me know you want no part of it... and if you could, I'd really appreciate you denying any knowledge of my activities if someone should ask you.  I'd be glad to do the same for you." 

 

A wicked smile grew on her face slowly.  "Though I doubt I'll ever turn you down if you're looking for an extra set of hands in some fun thing or another.  Especially if things get as dull around here as you make it sound." 

 

 

[Siemba]

Sial laughed at her new roommates right hook joke. Joke was exactly what she assumed it was. Not that she didnt doubt that the girl could fight; the Borderlands was rough, apparently; but more because it did not occour to her that she ever might be on the recieving end of that right hook. In fact, being bested, especially by a girl several years her junior, was not something that even crossed Sials mind. She was not tall and not massively built, more medium, but in her mind she was bigger than she was in reality. That others could view her as little rarely crossed her mind, mainly because that she was relatively little never crossed her mind.

 

She grinned her urchin grin more at Miyas suggestion of rule breaking. "Indeed. Some rules need to be broken on occasion but it is an unspoken rule that snitches never prosper. I wont tell tales is you wont." The smile faded from her face. "Speaking of rule breaking, perhaps we should prepare for the worst for later. Darienna isnt exactly bloody merciful. We'll probably be hung from the top windows of the Tower for bird food or sent to..."

 

Sial stopped. It was no use dwelling. They would find out soon enough. Besides, if Miya was to be her roommate then it would be proper to look out for her to an extent, and scaring her with impending doom was not particularly nice. "Umm. Yes. Are you free for this afternoon? Ive got a lesson in a bit so if you are planning to catch up on sleep from yesterday, I wont be around to disturb you."