On the Road to Shienar [Christine and Aran]

[Christine]

James

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Joined: 31 Dec 1969

Posts: 638

Location: Oceania

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:33 pm Post subject: On the road to Shienar

 

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"Here should be about right I think."

 

Turning off the road to the left into the woods, Christine was soon cantering at his side. Light but she'd been a bit different since she'd taken on that silly shawl of hers. He'd had to reassert his position as her teacher, especially when she'd taken to channeling. He definitely was not comfortable with channeling when it could be directed at him. He'd had one run in with a channeler before and that was enough for him as far as he was concerned.

 

Still, she was happier at least. And she did have more time for training when it was needed, instead of having to run about and learn the vast and useless bulk of information that helped to produce Aes Sedai. He was more accomplished than some Aes Sedai before he reached his twentieth year, and they were still in their Novice whites at that time. Admittedly, it'd be nice to live for longer, but it was what you did with your time that was important. If he'd had to sit through such classes as the Novices and Accepted did, he would have defenestrated himself due to sheer mind numbing boredom.

 

And now they were on this trip for her to learn a bit about surviving alone. Out in the wilds and then in the city, though Shienaran cities didn't exactly qualify as the most dangerous places to live. While there were thieves and the like, their numbers were far fewer than in southern countries, too much of a call to survive to be able to indulge in that sort of thing. The last time he'd been this way, it hadn't been the most fun he'd had. Hopefully he'd been forgotten too, last thing he needed to do was see old faces.

 

"Alright, we'll go on foot from here. Time to show you a few things."

 

Slipping off his horse, and with Christine following, and so they began on foot, leading their horses behind them. "The basic things that anyone needs are food, water, clothing and shelter. Without those things out here, or anywhere else, you will die, plain and simple. Now, you should have clothing covered if you ever get lost, so I'll deal with that last. First we'll deal with shelter, because exposure is the greatest danger. There certain things to look out for, I'll point them out as we move along."

 

It was only a few minutes till Aran found the first site. "See that felled tree there? The bottom end is resting firmly on the stump, thats solid. Its got heavy foliage, so it won't be letting much water in, you wouldn't have to do much more with that. A tree with less foliage, you'd simply gather branches from other trees and add them ontop, interweave them with the other branches to make sure they aren't blown clear by a strong wind. Simply clear out some of the foliage on the bottom to make room, and you have a shelter right there. Better yet, its fairly inconspicuous, so if you don't want to advertise you're around its handy for that."

 

It was another half hour until Aran found what he was after next, two things in fact. "See that hollow in the ground where the earth dips? You might need to make a bit more room in it, but put a log next to it, and place branches and such over the top. The reason for the log is to put the branches on a slope, if it rains it'll run off to the side rather than working its way through your cover to soak you while you sleep."

 

Aran turned from that to a tree that was hollowed from the wear of years, with only a segment of the bottom missing allowing a person to step in. "Natural hollows like that are pretty handy, easy to keep warm in and unlike hollows where the cold sinks at night, the same can't be said of hollows. On the otherhand, its alot easier to get washed out of a hollow unless you've put up some cover to divert rain, so take a care to do that."

 

"There are other sorts of natural shelters you'll come across. Caves are particularly, good, but we won't be finding any out this way. In Haddon Mirk, the canopies formed by the vines going from tree to tree offer natural shelter in themselves, that and its alot warmer that far south as opposed to here. At anyrate, one of the reasons we have shelter is for warmth, so that leads on to what I'll show you next. But first."

 

Aran looked in his pack and finding his spade, tossed it to Christine. "Dig a hole, two feet deep and in diametre. Use the spade, and if I think you cheated you're getting a paddling. I'll be back in awhile."

 

By the time Aran returned, the pit had been made though Christine looked a triffle smug. He'd check the spade later to see whether it had been used or not. Dumping what he had found on the ground next to the pit, Aran sat down next to it and gestured for Christine to do so as well. Proping up the bits of wood in there, the smaller underneath the larger, he then took his belt knife out and proceeded to run it across the larger bits of wood to shave it.

 

"Larger pieces of wood are the heart of a fire because they burn alot slower. The smaller pieces are the tinder to give it that boost, as are these shavings that the fire can consume quickly to get a boost. Kindling are those smaller branches, they help create the heat that'll ignite the larger pieces that'll last throughout the night. There are other things you can use as tinder, dead grass and the like or even animal fats. Can also, if you need to, use animal dung thats dry for a slower burn, but thats more of a last resort for obvious reasons."

 

"As to why we use the pit, it helps shelter the fire from a strong wind that could put it out. It also makes it easy to cover the fact you were here because you can simply fill in the pit afterwards. Also, don't use green wood, it smokes too much because its damp, and it gives away where you are to everyone."

 

"But now for the trick, making the actual fire. You'd know how to use flint and steel, so we'll cover a way to do it assuming you don't have your belt knife on you." Looking through some of the wood left over, he found a smaller branch of hardwood. Breaking off the bits and pieces jutting out of it, he took the split piece of softwood he'd found earlier and put it on the ground infront of him. Placing the stick on the exposed side of the split wood, he began rubbing it back and forth on it, pushing down at the same time.

 

"You do this long enough, you'll create an ember, and you can use the ember to light some tinder like dry grass or such, from there to the kindling wood and then the larger pieces of wood." Stopping, Aran handed over the wood to Christine with a grin on his face. "Hope you're able to do it, or we're eating cold tonight, and I plan on eating meat."

 

 

Aran

Instructor!

_________________

Freelanders-Unity through Diversity

Shayol Ghul-Antagonists for hire

Warders-Toyboys & Tower Guards

Children of the Light-Enlightened

White Tower-Intrigued

 

 

 

 

Christine Sedai

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Joined: 25 Jul 2005

Posts: 243

Location: the BEACH!

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:42 pm Post subject:

 

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color=indigo]"Here should be about right I think."[/color]

 

Looking up from her own thoughts, Christine smiled, her Aes Sedai ring on her right hand. Twisting it, she followed him off of the roads. She loved her new found freedom, and the power she could now possess. This trip would be so much easier, now that she was an Aes Sedai. But of course, this pig-headed Tower Guard now assumed that just because she was an Aes Sedai, everything would change between them! Honestly, what type of girl did he think she was? Just because she had power changed nothing, but more than ever, he kept establishing he was the teacher, and she was the student. Aran couldn’t have been any stupider.

 

This feeling, having this power, and having this ability to do things at her will, was still all new to her. Only an Aes sedai for a few months, and she was still struggling to get control of it all. But of course, she was enjoying her control most of all over men. Didn’t matter who he was… if she wanted him, she got him. But there was one man she would never want… this asshole of a teacher. Granted, she had strutted around nude in front of him, and she had flirted with him many times, but never would she sleep with the same man that had made her life hell.

 

So, when he had mentioned going out into the wilderness, Christine had to smile. A trip to Shienar and back would be wonderful, from the numerous pranks she could pull on her teacher to all the men she would see in Sheinar. They were hard soldiers, and this would be a wonderful trip because of it. She had never been up north, so this would also be a chance to see new things and meet new people.

 

"Alright, we'll go on foot from here. Time to show you a few things."

 

 

Looking at the wet ground, Christine slid off of her horse, and stepped lightly. She was glad she was wearing breeches and a shirt, because a dress would have been the worst idea ever. Of course, now that she was an Aes Sedai, she made sure her clothes fit her the way she wanted… tight and showy. While she would not sleep with Aran, she wanted to make sure he never forgot her. She would leave an empression on this man yet. "The basic things that anyone needs are food, water, clothing and shelter. Without those things out here, or anywhere else, you will die, plain and simple. Now, you should have clothing covered if you ever get lost, so I'll deal with that last. First we'll deal with shelter, because exposure is the greatest danger. There certain things to look out for, I'll point them out as we move along."

 

Muttering to herself, she followed. Great, a lesson. After all of her years as an Accepted, she was excited to get away from the blasted things, but even still, she kept getting lessons. "See that felled tree there? The bottom end is resting firmly on the stump, thats solid. Its got heavy foliage, so it won't be letting much water in, you wouldn't have to do much more with that. A tree with less foliage, you'd simply gather branches from other trees and add them ontop, interweave them with the other branches to make sure they aren't blown clear by a strong wind. Simply clear out some of the foliage on the bottom to make room, and you have a shelter right there. Better yet, its fairly inconspicuous, so if you don't want to advertise you're around its handy for that."

 

It made no sense to her, but she nodded and followed. Ok, so, no camping beside a tree… why would she have to know this if her warder did? Well… if she GOT a warder. "See that hollow in the ground where the earth dips? You might need to make a bit more room in it, but put a log next to it, and place branches and such over the top. The reason for the log is to put the branches on a slope, if it rains it'll run off to the side rather than working its way through your cover to soak you while you sleep."

 

That one made sense. Ok, no sleeping in a hole in the ground. "Natural hollows like that are pretty handy, easy to keep warm in and unlike hollows where the cold sinks at night, the same can't be said of hollows. On the otherhand, its alot easier to get washed out of a hollow unless you've put up some cover to divert rain, so take a care to do that."

 

Ok, have to include a diversion… why couldn’t they just stay in an inn? "There are other sorts of natural shelters you'll come across. Caves are particularly, good, but we won't be finding any out this way. In Haddon Mirk, the canopies formed by the vines going from tree to tree offer natural shelter in themselves, that and its alot warmer that far south as opposed to here. At any rate, one of the reasons we have shelter is for warmth, so that leads on to what I'll show you next. But first."

 

Aran pulled out a spade, and tossed it to her. She caught it, and glared at him. "Dig a hole, two feet deep and in diametre. Use the spade, and if I think you cheated you're getting a paddling. I'll be back in awhile." Muttering to herself, she took the spade, and watched as he walked away. When he got out of sight, she dug the spade into the ground, and pulled out some dirt. Sticking it in as hard as she could, she got some dirt out. Looking at the dirty spade, she smiled to herself and used the power to make the hole. She even made sure to put a little dirt on her hands, and made certain the entire spade was dirty. No way could he guess this one.

 

He returned, and she grinned slightly. It was almost too easy to get away with channeling. He sat down on the ground, and she channled a bit of air and spirit to make a sort of pillow of air beneath her as she sat down. No point in getting dirty if she could avoid it. He had a pile of wood, and started stacking it. She figured it was a fire… she knew how to make them with the power.

 

"Larger pieces of wood are the heart of a fire because they burn alot slower. The smaller pieces are the tinder to give it that boost, as are these shavings that the fire can consume quickly to get a boost. Kindling are those smaller branches, they help create the heat that'll ignite the larger pieces that'll last throughout the night. There are other things you can use as tinder, dead grass and the like or even animal fats. Can also, if you need to, use animal dung thats dry for a slower burn, but thats more of a last resort for obvious reasons."

 

Note to self- make sure her warder could start a fire. "As to why we use the pit, it helps shelter the fire from a strong wind that could put it out. It also makes it easy to cover the fact you were here because you can simply fill in the pit afterwards. Also, don't use green wood, it smokes too much because its damp, and it gives away where you are to everyone."

 

"But now for the trick, making the actual fire. You'd know how to use flint and steel, so we'll cover a way to do it assuming you don't have your belt knife on you." He set up a fire somehow, and began rubbing two sticks together… it would be a long time before that thing was started.

 

"You do this long enough, you'll create an ember, and you can use the ember to light some tinder like dry grass or such, from there to the kindling wood and then the larger pieces of wood." He handed her the wood, and she glared at him. No! he wasn’t going to make her start the fire, was he? "Hope you're able to do it, or we're eating cold tonight, and I plan on eating meat."

 

Muttering to herself, she started rubbing the bloody sticks together. He sat back and closed his eyes, smiling. Bloody pig-headed man! What right did he have to treat her like… a brat? Still rubbing the sticks, she smiled as she got a spark. He looked to be asleep, so she channeled Fire lightly. But it didn’t go to the sticks… she channeled it onto his pants. Giggling, she shook him awake, ready to soak him with water from the power.

 

“Aran! Your pants! They are on fire!†He woke up, and she doused him with water as he saw the small fire. He glared at her through wet hair, and she fell over laughing. She went back to rubbing the sticks together and got a small flame going. He just stared at her, and she lit the sticks, channeling Air and Fire to get it going. He just sat there, furious, and she giggled again.

 

“You might want to get out of those clothes… you could get ill, or something!†Standing up, she went to their packs as he huffed, obviously furious at her. But what would he do? She tossed him a towel and smiled. “Hurry up and get out of those clothes!â€

 

Christine

The Naughty Aes Sedai[/color

_________________

Christine Segretto~Sister of the Green Ajah~WS2

Deniera l'Spada~Trainee WS4

Carsane Evera, High Seat of House Sadma

 

How much odder can life get?

 

 

 

 

James

DM Member

 

 

Joined: 31 Dec 1969

Posts: 638

Location: Oceania

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:38 am Post subject: Next slab :)

 

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Watching his student in silence, Aran's thoughts were his alone as he watched his student finish with making the fire. Taking the towel as it was thrown to him, he quickly dried his hair, face and hands in short order before tossing the towel back to her. He wanted to push on, and the day wasn't about to end anytime soon so he could use his body warmth to dry his clothing and himself. Wouldn't be the first time he'd done it and it was effective enough. That and he was not undressing himself with her about, the last thing he needed was her to whisk all his clothes away and put them up the tallest tree and force him to climb after them.

 

"Leave the fire for a bit, now that you're on your way to being able to start a reasonable fire, we're going to go find some water."

 

It was perhaps five or so minutes of walking before Aran had decided what he was going to do, he was even going to incorporate it into the whole survival theme. If he was asked later, though he doubted he would be, he could always use the argument of 'alternative teaching method' as a justification. Unlikely to fly, but it was always there as a thought or so he mused as he twirled the spade in his hand.

 

"Look around. There is water all around you. You can wipe the moisture off plants with a rag and wring it dry if you're desperate enough and there is no other source. Rainwater can collect in hollows and such, all you need to do is think of where it could collect and after rains you'll usually find it there. In drier areas than this, you'll usually be able to find that some of the trees store water thats easy to get to from its roots where you can bleed the water out."

 

"Natural springs and water from rapids you can get away with drinking without purifying, the rest of it no matter where you get it from you'll need to. Just boil whatever water you have for ten minutes, and it should be fine. Unless its muddy, or such, and in your more desperate situations you'll have to go with that. Speaking of which."

 

Aran tested the spot with his foot a few times and grinned before handing the spade to Christine. "Well, get digging on this spot, when you get deep enough that water begins seeping" Aran handed her the empty waterskin he'd been carrying in his other hand. "Fill it up, and come back to the camp. If you have trouble finding it, start screaming and I'll come and find you."

 

Trundling off to leave her to her task, Aran got busy when he got back to camp. Getting a few sticks and taking his shirt off, he soon had a way to filter the water. By the time Christine was back, he'd dried himself off for the most part by the fire.. His filter nearby used a few sticks to hold up his shirt and spread it out while facing upwards. Water would filter through the front, then have to filter down through the back of his shirt as a second filter before dripping out.

 

"Go and pour the water on the shirt, not all of it though, it'll only take so much. Water will pass through while the mud retains in the shirt, anything that was missed the first time will be picked up the second. Go grab the pot and put it underneath the shirt to catch the water."

 

She looked a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but Christine went and did it at least. Once it was done, he gestured for her to follow her. "Now thats done, we're going to look at how to find yourself some food. Bring the spade."

 

As they left the campsite, Aran began speaking. "In the end, if you have to you can eat just about anything. Before we deal with snares or anything else, lets assume that there isn't any game about. No rabbits, deer, birds, what else is there? Like I said, you can eat anything if you put your mind to it. I've survived before on beetles, worms, ants and the like, as long as it isn't poisonous is a disease carrier like a cockroach you should be fine. Wood grubs are a good source in particular. Just make sure you remove wings and legs, and if its got a hard shell cook it first."

 

Laughing as he thought he heard Christine gag, he grinned at her. "I'm not kidding, its doable. Snakes that aren't poisonous, lizards and frogs also work in short order. Those are your most desperate measures though. For now, have you noticed how the birds have been flying? Always look out for them, try and see if you can spot any of their nests, like that one up there." Particularly high up a conifer, it took a bit to pick out but on one of the boughs was a nesting place for what appeared to be a pair of sparrows.

 

"Mark that nest well, later on tonight, you're climbing up that tree and taking them out of their nest. Just have to quickly snatch them out and snap their necks, too bad it isn't nesting season or we could have had eggs as well. At anyrate, lets move on a little further until we find a trail."

 

No trails were apparent after a good ten minutes, but something else was. Looking about for a piece of deadfall, one about a metre long soon came to hand from underneath the shrub. Taking his belt knife and whittling it down, he was soon fashioning nooses from what he could find about him. Looking up at Christine who was completely baffled, Aran grinned. "Squirrel pole."

 

"First rule of any trap is to know your prey. In this case, squirrels are curious to the point of stupidity. We put this up there and they'll stay away from it at first, eventually they'll just have to go and investigate. They get themselves caught in the nooses that you balance on the top of the pole while they run across, fall off and strangle. Can usually catch a few that way. Most animals you have to mask your scent, put mud on your hands before you work on a trap and the like, in this case you don't need to bother."

 

Finishing with it, he soon had it up in one of the nearby trees, nooses balanced up to catch the squirrels as they ran through. Dropping back down, he shrugged at her. "I was going to get you to make it but like I said, I want to eat meat tonight. For now though, you get to find our way back. Not too difficult since we didn't try to conceal the way we came through. Look to your feet and you'll see where we disturbed the shrubs underfoot. In the same way you can track people your after, or more important, game. At anyrate, take the lead."

 

 

Aran

Instructor in culinary delights of the wild!

_________________

Freelanders-Unity through Diversity

Shayol Ghul-Antagonists for hire

Warders-Toyboys & Tower Guards

Children of the Light-Enlightened

White Tower-Intrigued

[Wayfarer]

"Leave the fire for a bit, now that you're on your way to being able to start a reasonable fire, we're going to go find some water."

 

She wanted to smack him, but then, when she got so angry that she strung him up a tree with the power, she didn’t want to have to answer to someone about leaving a tower guard unarmed. Of course, what was she supposed to do if he was acting like a light-blinded fool? He walked around, with a spade in his hand, and then stopped.

 

"Look around. There is water all around you. You can wipe the moisture off plants with a rag and wring it dry if you're desperate enough and there is no other source. Rainwater can collect in hollows and such, all you need to do is think of where it could collect and after rains you'll usually find it there. In drier areas than this, you'll usually be able to find that some of the trees store water that’s easy to get to from its roots where you can bleed the water out."

 

Why did this lesson matter? She would have a warder soon, and he would take care of her and teach her what she needed to be taught. There was no reason for her to have to learn this boring info.

 

"Natural springs and water from rapids you can get away with drinking without purifying, the rest of it no matter where you get it from you'll need to. Just boil whatever water you have for ten minutes, and it should be fine. Unless it’s muddy, or such, in your more desperate situations you'll have to go with that. Speaking of which…"

 

He stepped out the ground for a few moments, then grinned and tossed her the spade. "Well, get digging on this spot, when you get deep enough that water begins seeping," She was handed a water-skin bottle, and looked at it for a moment. What was she supposed to do with this? "Fill it up, and come back to the camp. If you have trouble finding it, start screaming and I'll come and find you."

 

He left her there, and she thought he was nuts. She was going to have to dig for… WATER? This man had obviously lost it. She waited until he was out of site, then channeled Water and Earth. She separated a small area of the ground, and brought up the water. She filled the jug, then closed up the hole in the ground. Light, that had been deep. Covering the spade with a little bit of dirt, she channeled Air and made a seat. Sitting down, she relaxed for a little while. She had to at least make it SEAM like she had really done it… like that would ever happen.

 

She went back to the camp after a while, trudging along as though she had really done the work. She had to put on a good act for Aran… he was always suspecting her of something. He had some weird contraption up with his shirt off. She took a few good glances at his body, admiring him. She had always just despised her training master, but now as she looked, he was exactly like the usual tower guard she ran after. He was handsome in the rugged country, and his body was strong and muscular. It was all tan from the work, and she saw something in him that showed her a real man, and not her slave driver.

 

"Go and pour the water on the shirt, not all of it though, it'll only take so much. Water will pass through while the mud retains in the shirt, anything that was missed the first time will be picked up the second. Go grab the pot and put it underneath the shirt to catch the water." She snapped back to reality, and looked at him for a moment, then did as he said.

 

She followed after him, and she cursed at herself, mad about her personal thoughts. She had no right to think of him like that. He was her teacher… wow; she needed some company right then… It was time to return to civilization. "Now thats done, we're going to look at how to find yourself some food. Bring the spade."

 

The walked from the campsite, Christine right on his heels. "In the end, if you have to you can eat just about anything. Before we deal with snares or anything else, lets assume that there isn't any game about. No rabbits, deer, birds, what else is there? Like I said, you can eat anything if you put your mind to it. I've survived before on beetles, worms, ants and the like, as long as it isn't poisonous is a disease carrier like a cockroach you should be fine. Wood grubs are a good source in particular. Just make sure you remove wings and legs, and if its got a hard shell cook it first."

 

She gagged. Eat WHAT? He couldn’t be serious. They were bugs! "I'm not kidding, its doable. Snakes that aren't poisonous, lizards and frogs also work in short order. Those are your most desperate measures though. For now, have you noticed how the birds have been flying? Always look out for them, try and see if you can spot any of their nests, like that one up there." He pointed up at something, and she looked at it. There were birds up in the tree with a small nest. How cute!

 

"Mark that nest well, later on tonight, you're climbing up that tree and taking them out of their nest. Just have to quickly snatch them out and snap their necks, too bad it isn't nesting season or we could have had eggs as well. At any rate, lets move on a little further until we find a trail." Christine stood there in shock, staring at the nest. Kill the birds? But why? She couldn’t hurt them- there was no way. Only if she was truly desperate!

 

Christine stood there in shock, then followed him as they walked. She wasn’t really thinking about anything in particular. He picked up things and fooled around, then looked at his hands. What was he doing now? He seemed to know the question before she could ask. "Squirrel pole."

 

A what? "First rule of any trap is to know your prey. In this case, squirrels are curious to the point of stupidity. We put this up there and they'll stay away from it at first, eventually they'll just have to go and investigate. They get themselves caught in the nooses that you balance on the top of the pole while they run across, fall off and strangle. Can usually catch a few that way. Most animals you have to mask your scent, put mud on your hands before you work on a trap and the like, in this case you don't need to bother."

 

They were what? First birds, and now squirrels? She felt like a murderer. How could they hurt something so cute and innocent? He had it in a tree as she watched in horror, and he jumped back down to her. "I was going to get you to make it but like I said, I want to eat meat tonight. For now though, you get to find our way back. Not too difficult since we didn't try to conceal the way we came through. Look to your feet and you'll see where we disturbed the shrubs underfoot. In the same way you can track people your after, or more important, game. At anyrate, take the lead." They were going to eat squirrels. Light have mercy on her soul.

 

She looked at the ground, then walked slowly. Had she been dragging her feet? She could see the marks on the ground. And so they walked. She just stared at the ground, until there was an area she couldn’t see the ground. Had they walked through there? She saw a broken tree branch a few paces away, and walked to it, then caught up the trail again. A few minutes later, she was lost again, this time their footprints had disappeared in mud. She walked around until she saw a footprint in the grass. There they were.

 

Eventually, she saw the light of her fire ahead, and turned to grin at him. At least she wasn’t a total failure. She went to it, then sat down, weary from the day. She wished that she had another Aes Sedai with her, to Heal her. She looked at him, then sighed. “Want me to Heal your weariness?†He looked at her for a moment in shock, and then she spoke again, sighing. “Well, at least one of us shouldn’t be tired.â€

 

Christine

Bitchy Aes Sedai that hates annoying Tower Guards

[Wayfarer]

Standing over Christine's sleeping form, Aran grinned to himself as he squatted down and proceeded to relieve her of her serpent ring. A quick search made sure she had nothing else on her person of importance, save for the knife at her belt which he left there. Satisfied, he rose and began packing the camp away.

 

After she'd offered to heal him, he'd remarked that she must be feeling particularly energetic and from that point ran her ragged for the rest of the night while he cooked. She'd fouled up collecting those birds, which he strongly suspected was because of her misplaced notions rather than any incompetence on her part. It wasn't exactly the most difficult thing to snatch a sleeping bird and snap its neck.

 

There had been a pair of squirrels caught on the pole, and they'd made a particularly good meal though Christine ate as little of it as she could. More of those misplaced notions, but Aran knew from his own experience that hunger was the best teacher.

 

So occupied had she been that she hadn't thought it unusual that she wanted to sleep after the meal. Part of his cooking, she wouldn't be waking up till the morning. It would give him enough time to take the horses well out of her reach.

 

With the packing done, Aran went through his own saddlebags and withdrew a small letter. While it was customary to use the student's dagger to pin it to a nearby tree, he'd heard a couple of stories of the letter's not being found by the students when the woke up in the morning.

 

Of course, with the students that those stories went with, one wondered whether the letter went missing or whether it went on the tree at all. Regardless, he figured it'd be safe in Christine's bodice. That and it'd give her a shock when she realised what it was, or so he thought as he slipped it down there.

 

Yet just as he was about to stand up, something came to mind. In particular, having his crotch set alight, not to mention he was altogether aware that she'd cheated at least once. He was going to have to do something in particular to inconvenience her, something tha-

 

It took him a well over half an hour, but soon he'd stuffed her clothes, her boots, even her hair with grass. In fact, not only had he done that, but he'd then proceeded to mount a generous pile of grass on her. It would be an interesting wake up call and she'd still probably have bits of grass in her clothes by the time she reached the village in a few days time, Aran certainly felt pretty good about it all.

 

Taking the reins of both the horses, Aran set out into the darkness at a slow pace, the steeds following his steps into the night. He'd still have to keep an eye on her from time to time during her journey, but she wouldn't know that he was around, and that would be good enough.

 

As to what her mood would be by the time she reached the village... Aran laughed as he was lost into the night.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

[Christine]

Waking up, Christine’s head ached. That idiot… she should have expected Aran to drug her, but this was cruel. And her body was so itchy. And why did she smell grass? She opened her eyes and sat up, screaming. This had to be a joke. Where was Aran? And the horses? What about their bags?

 

She climbed out of the pile of grass, and started peeling off her clothes. This could not be happening. As she pealed off her bodice, she saw a note… oh Light! She opened it up, and read that she was expected to meet him in the next village. Christine was furious. She had no weapons other than Saidar and her dagger…

 

She looked at her hand, and saw her ring was gone. No; no, No NO! he had taken her ring, and that was the last straw. Stomping out the grass from the clothes she still war, she threw her shirt on the ground and screamed. She was out in the middle of the woods, alone. Her hair was stuffed with grass, and she felt horrid. That man would pay.

 

She channeled Water into her clothes and washed them, shivering from being cold. She was too tired to start a fire with the power too. After a few minutes, she blew them dry with Air, and put them back on. That MAN! He would so pay for this. And she had to walk… at least she knew where to go.

 

She began walking, and her stomach grumbled. Light, she was so hungry. And what was there to eat? Nothing. This was the worst trip ever. Last time she went anywhere with a man she hadn’t whipped, Lesson or No Lesson. She knew that the village was a few days away, and was afraid of what she would have to resort to.

 

That night, Christine made a fire out of twigs and branches. She had walked a long way, but was still on an empty stomach. At least she had gotten water to drink, she had remembered what he had said about draining water through her clothes. After finding murky ground, she had enjoyed channeling up the Water and then straining it… the best part was getting a clean drink.

 

She woke up the next morning, and her body cried out in pain. Light, if only there was another Aes Sedai with her to help her move. They would be able to Heal each other, and that would come in handy. No wonder they liked to travel in groups.

 

By midday, Christine was starving, and she was willing to do anything to eat. She saw a fruit tree, and hungrily climbed up it, only to find a snake. It was harmless, but it startled her to bad that she fell out of the tree. Gathering her wits about her, she climbed back up the tree, and this time when she got to the snake, she cut its head off with her knife. Really, snake tasted a lot like chicken.

 

She had continued on that day, saving two fruit and some of the snake for that night. She had enjoyed her meal, and held onto the last fruit for the next morning as breakfast. Of course, something else decided they wanted her breakfast, and Christine wanted to cry as she cooked the poor rabbit over the fire. Poor thing…

 

She ate only a little, along with some herbs she had found nearby, then continued. Lunch wasn’t eaten- it was only her third day, and she knew she might be walking another two or three days. That night, she ate the rest of the rabbit, and slept, wondering how far she had left to go.

 

She woke up, hungry, and vowed to not eat again until lunch. It would help. Her feet were sore, but she could feel her body regaining some strength. And even better, she was proud of herself for making it as long as she did. She knew that everyone had expected her, the clean, cute, seductive Aes Sedai, to fail at being in nature. Well, she could prove them all wrong.

 

About midmorning, Christine smelled smoke. She grinned, then smelling meat, and hearing people. She ran, and in a few minutes, stumbled into the town. She looked around, and finally found the inn that Aran had written about in the note. She went inside, and there the idiot sat, smiling.

 

â€Four days… not bad. Did you enjoy your surprise?†Christine walked up to him, and slapped him across the face. He just looked like he was going to grin more. She put one hand on her hip, the other held out to him. “I think I proved my point that I would succeed. I ate snake and rabbit, and I hunted, climbed trees, and even did your stupid water trick. I want my ring!â€

 

 

Christine Segreto

Cool Little Aes Sedai that is WS 3 and kicks butt!