Breakfast as a Novice [Attn: Mystica]

[Quisalas Selene]

Selene had not stayed up late to read the night before, so when she woke up the next morning, My first full day in the Tower, it was not even light yet.  Having been accustomed to a farm life, where rising before the sun was almost mandatory, instead of feeling tired and grumpy she felt better rested than she had since leaving home almost a month ago.  She laid in bed a moment, staring about the spartan room in the very dim light that was only a faint glow on the horizon, thinking. Aes Sedai.  She couldn't help but be excited about the whole thing.  She'd heard the other girls complaining about the chores and the classes and having to defer to every woman in sight, even some of the servants, but Selene couldn't keep the wonder and amazement out of her mood.  She would become Aes Sedai.  While it wasn't anything the girl had even thought of dreaming for, it was so wonderfully exotic and interesting and adventurous.  She held her arms out in front of her, barely able to see her fingertips in the gloom.  She waved her hands dramatically and thrust them forward, pretending she was flinging a fireball at an oncoming hoarde of trollocs, or fades, or even the Dark One himself!  She shivered suddenly, even though the early summer morning was not cold, and decided maybe she wasn't ready yet even to think about taking on That One.

 

Moving quietly, she slipped from between her sheets and automatically bent to straightening them and tucking the corners in nice and neat.  Selene loved her Mum, but the woman had been an absolute stickler for neatness.  For the first time, Selene wondered if it was because she had spent her adolescence here, in this Tower.  She straightened suddenly and looked at her bed, barely able to make out more than its general outline.  Maybe her mom had slept in this very bed.  With a thoughtful smile, she stripped off her shift and washed with the cool water in the faint light of predawn. The old shift and yesterday's dress were both folded neatly and set onto her stool, since she didn't know yet if she was to change to a new dress every single day or wear them until they grew messy first.  So many things she would have to find out about!  She dressed quickly and then took enough time to brush her hair until it was smooth, but didn't bother with all that 100 strokes nonsense her sisters always insisted on.  Once her hip-length hair was free of tangles and laying smooth she tied it at the nape of her neck with a white ribbon and then moved to the door, sliding her feet into the white slippers neatly lined up just to one side of it.

 

She looked at the mostly still forms of her roommate still in bed and then eased open the door silently and moved into the hallway.

 

The hallway was nearly abandoned at this hour, although there were one or two other souls moving quietly through the stillness.  Selene couldn't keep from smiling, early morning was one of her favorite times of day and today was an especially momentous day.  Yesterday had been spent primarily with meeting people, being told rules, settling in, and finding her way around.  Today was the first real day in the Tower and she wondered what it would hold.  In a deserted section of hallway she drew an imaginary sword and slashed at wicked trollocs, firing off fireballs with her other hand and making soft 'woosh' noises, almost under her breath.  She'd just completed a spectacular spin, hair flying everywhere, decapitating seven fades at once, when she caught the sound of silk whispering up ahead and she fell into a perfectly sedate walk just before the approaching woman rounded the curve in the passageway.  Hands clasped together lightly at her waist, head bent just so, eyes on the tiles that marched before her.  She dipped into a curtsy just before the Aes Sedai passed her going the other way without ever raising her eyes to see the woman's face.  She had not yet encountered another Aes Sedai as haughty and rude as the one that had stopped her in the Inn in Tar Valon, so she was beginning to think of that woman as the aberration to the detached serenity most of the sisters seemed to show.  She couldn't help the smile that ruined her Mature and Sedate behavior as she thought of how that woman might have reacted if she'd caught Selene in the act of derring-do.

 

The smile turned to one of wistfulness as she wished she had a good friend to share these giggles and wild adventures with.  Softly she intoned "Ah well," and then pushed through the door into the library.  If it had been quiet in the hallways, it was silent in here.  Not even the usual soft whisper of pages being turned in some unseen corner flavored the air and Selene was sorely tempted to work her jaws until her ears popped, or whisper softly to herself, just to break the quiet.  Instead, she moved quietly but quickly through the shelves, mostly looking at random.  She knew she didn't have much time to choose a book before she would have to scurry off to breakfast, it would not do to be late to anything on her first day.  She wasn't really sure what she was looking for, there were so many books, but she would know it when she saw it.  Something not too complex, not too basic, nothing involving the One Power yet, since she didn't want to be mistaken for someone channeling without proper auth- Ah! Here we go.  She plucked the thin white book from its cozy little spot on the shelves and flipped it open to the table of contents.  Age of Legends... Oath Rod... White Tower.. Ter'angreal.  Ter'angreal? That sounded fancy, what was that? Angreal, Sa'angreal, Selene quietly decided Angreal was the Aes Sedai word for 'wicked cool' and slid her finger further down the table of contents.  This seemed just about exactly what she wanted, a brief and general description of what the White Tower and its Aes Sedai stood for.  She closed the book and looked at the cover.  Embossed in silver over the white embossed Flame of Tar Valon were three simple words.  Servants of All.

 

~

 

White book held against white dress, Selene pushed through the doors of the mess hall to get breakfast.  She was excited to meet the other novices and hoped she would make friends with them, but it was nervousness as well that had brought her to sneak out of the room quietly without spending time alone with her roommate.  She didn't know the girl at all yet, Carina had been out of the room taking a bath when she first got there, and by the time she'd returned from the library after finding out the rules of taking out books, the girl had been fast asleep.  Selene didn't want to risk making a bad impression by waking her up early if they weren't morning people.  It might be better if the two of them got to know each other on neutral ground, like the mess hall, and so Selene didn't join the two or three Novices and Accepted that were in line waiting to get their breakfast and instead sat at a table, close to the door, to read.  She would fetch her own breakfast when she saw Carina come in so they could eat together.

[Mystica]

Carina woke up the next morning, feeling reborn. She turned around in her bed and rolled out of the it, landing on the hard floor with a thud. Bouncing up, now fully awake, she looked around at the unfamiliar place, not knowing where she was. A groan from somewhere opposit her bed made her react on instinct and she was up and at the end of the room, assuming a defensive posture in the blink of an eye. Scanning the room her mind registered the table with the empty food tray, the wash stand and a wite looking cloth on the chair at the end of the bed she just vacated.

 

Memory returned to the young girl fully then and she straightened up from her alert stance. The top bed to the left of the room was empty but the bottom one held a sleeping figure that was murmering something she couldn't make out. Realising that this must be her roommate, Carina drew upon her training as a forest ranger and not a sound was heard as she refreshed herself and got dressed. Folding up her nightshift and making her bed, she wondered what this day would bring.

 

"Today I'm to meet my mentor, she thought. What kind of person is that going to be? Will she prove to be another fake behind a friendly mask or will she be more like Kiyi, honest in her manners and friendly in nature?" Carina didn't much expect the latter, for the few sisters she's ever seen in Malkier never did seem like they made a habbit of showing their true intent, though she wouldn't call them malicious or purposfully devious. "Must be a trait of being Aes Sedai," she thought wondering again if that was what would be expected of her too.

 

By that time, Carina had finished up tidying up herself and her bed and she stepped outside the room without her roommate ever knowing the difference. Not quite sure what to do next or where to go, she started walking down the hallway, following some other novices that all but ran towards something. Maybe they're going to get some breakfast, Carina mumbled and set out to follow them. As she turned a corner, she almost bumped into an Aes Sedai gliding up the hallway back the way Carina had just come from and she skidded to a halt. Dipping into a low curtsey, Carina's face grew hot and she gulped before appologising to the sister.

 

"Watch where you're going, Child! You should know better than to run around like a headless  trollock! Your name?"

 

Bristling inside at the insult, Carina fought her urges to defend herself and kept her gaze on the floor in front of her feet. For had she looked up, the sister would have surely seen the smolthering fire in her eyes.

 

"Carina Al'Tara, Aes Sedai. My apologies, I've only just arrived at the Tower and don't yet know the way to the breakfast hall. I was trying to follow the other novices so that I would not get lost. Forgive my intrusion, please."

 

Dipping another curtsey, Carina stood rigid, waiting for the sister to give some indication as to what she was to do.

 

"I'm not interested in your excuses, Child! Look at me!" the sister barked, immediately followed by a gasp as Carina turned her face up towards her. The girl mistakingly thought her defiance was the cause of that gasp and dropped her gaze once more. But the sister had recognised those features. Recognised and was completely shaken by the confrontation.

 

"Get yourself to the breakfast, Child. Down the hall to your left, the second door on the right" The Aes Sedai walked briskly past her, continuing her path, and if Carina didn't know any better she'd have sworn the sister all but ran away.

 

Sighing to herself, the girl set out towards the directions the sister had given and sure enough, found herself in a bigg mess hall. Several novices and accepteds were already seated at the benches, engaged in soft talks and eating their breakfast.

 

Unknowing what next to do, Carina stood at the entrance and looked around the room, feeling more and more self conscious as several pairs of eyes were set on her. Some even went so far as to point and whisper followed by giggling fits, showing clearly they were making fun of her.

 

"Light, I hope this training doesn't take too long;" Carina lamented softly to herself. "I don't know how much of this injustice I can take."

 

She stood, clutching the hated note in her pocket, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. 

[Quisalas Selene]

Selene's lips moved noiselessly as she read, mouthing the unfamiliar words and testing them, trying to figure out the pronunciation and inflection on each.  Her eyes flicked up to the doorway as more and more novices and accepted filed into the mess hall.  There was still only a handful of the girls in the room and for the first time Selene wondered what she'd do if Carina and Jerinia didn't come to breakfast until later in the morning.  She reached up and untied one of the three ribbons in her hair and laid it in the book as a marker of her place and then closed the book.  She was staring at the cover, mind floating off somewhere thinking about what she'd read so far, Aes Sedai, when a giggle from a nearby novice made her look up, first at the girl and then to the doorway that held the girl's attention.

 

She looked up, and saw a novice in the doorway that seemed to be the one the girls were giggling at.  She tipped her head to one side, looking at the girl with black hair and blue eyes.  She'd always kind of wanted blue eyes, they were so pretty.  The novice's eyes were a particularly nice shade of dark blue, too.  Abruptly, Selene startled up to her feet as she recognized the girl who had been fast asleep when she returned from the library yesterday.  She hadn't been able to see her eyes then.  Selene started to smile warmly, a moment's hesitation making it unsettled and nervous, but she shook herself and started forward, genuine friendliness in her countenance.  She'd found that hoping for the best and not worrying when it would do no good was the only way to make the most of every day.

 

"Carina Al'Tara?" When the girl turned towards her, she took it as affirmation and went on. "I'm Selenessin, we're room mates.  You weren't in the room when I first arrived yesterday and by the time I got back from the library, I was asking about the rules of borrowing books, you'd already fallen asleep.  I got up early today and then decided to wait in here so we could eat breakfast together, if you didn't mind."

 

She flashed another quick smile, holding the book to her chest and trying her best not to fidget in place. "Are you hungry? Sitting in here smelling everyone else's food has made me absolutely ravenous."

[Mystica]

Carina watched the girl in front of her and listened to the flood of words rolling over her without a pause for her to answer the question. She knew instinctly that this girl meant well, though. A fact that was further confirmed by the warmth of the smile and the inviting manner Selenessin was directing at her. Returning the smile, Carina couldn't help but chuckle slightly when she realised that her roommate had been every bit as nervous as she was, which helped to settle her own unease and she visibly relaxed. The giggling gang of twits already forgotten, Carina rushed in when Selenessin stopped for breath.

 

"Well met, Selenessin, yes I am Carina. The MoN hasn't been as informative with me, I'm afraid and I did not know I was to share a room with two other girls. Jerinia, you say? Hm... that must then be the still sleeping girl in our room when I left. I didn't quite look at her to avoid waking her up." Carina looked around the mess hall and cast a longing glance at the food trays the eating attendents were attacking. "I'm starving, actually. I did get some food yesterday, but I'm afraid that it only satisfied my stomach for the night." Grinning at Selenessin, Carina admitted. "You're quite right, those smells are most inviting. Do you know the procedure in here? Are we to get our own food somewhere or do we need to sit and wait till they bring it to us?"

 

Settling herself to, what she expected to be, another rush of words from her newfound roommate, Carina smiled. She noticed the book Selenessin was carrying and got curious as to what it was about. She knew that Tar Valon had one of the most extensive libraries in the known world and was herself looking forward to diving into the animal section. It looked promising, seeing how Selene had been able to already obtain a book for herself and Carina made a mental note to make sure to ask her about those rules. "I hope we'll get along," She mused, though she didn't fear it. The girl seemed friendly enough, yet Carina wasn't yet ready to take that friendliness for fact. Too many times she's bumped into fake masks and deceiving mannerisms. Waiting for Selene to answer her questions, her eyes once more scanned the room, trying to get some information from looking at the behavior of the others here. Observation is one of the key skills a forest ranger needs to perfect, for it can mean the difference between life and death out there in the wild.

[Quisalas Selene]

Selene smiled again and nodded and took one of Carina's hand in her free one, turning towards the other end of the mess hall and leading the way.  She never thought about whether or not Carina might wish not to be touched, or any personal boundaries, she just chatted on as she walked. "There's a line over here where you get your tray, and you can make choices of what you'd like to eat based on what they have available that day.  They're really generous with the food here!  When I ate dinner last night I asked for three refills of the apple crumb cobbler and no one scolded me or told me to be ladylike or anything." She giggled a little self-consciously, both at admitting that her behavior hadn't been ladylike and a little amused that she was too excited at the lack of nagging older sisters to care overly much about propriety. "They may have just not been paying a whole lot of attention to it, I imagine with so many girls dressed exactly the same they just kind of blend in after a short while, but no one ever said I wasn't allowed to take extra helpings either, so I'm sure it'll be fine.  They seem to always have fresh fruit available, which is really nice.  As soon as I find out when I can go out to the stables and see Rao, that's my filly, I'm going to bring her a big apple."

 

Selene reached the end of the line and let go of Carina's wrist, turning towards the girl with an energetic smile.  She clasped her arms loosely around the book held to her chest and tipped her head to one side. "Larindrha Sedai couldn't have told you about sharing a room with me, I arrived after you did.  I wonder if we'll end up with a third girl in our room like there are in the other rooms. There are so many rooms in the Tower, but I wonder if they don't pack us in like sardines so we're forced to make friends and be nice."

 

Selene's nervousness had ebbed enough that she wasn't talking just to fill the silence anymore, now she was talking more because she was excited about getting to know the other girl than anything else.  Her deep brown eyes were alight with cheer that almost seemed too all-encompassing to be genuine, even though she'd given no indications that it wasn't sincere.  Maybe some people really are just happy.  Most of the time, anyway.

[Mystica]

Carina jerked as Selene took her hand and drag her along towards the food line. Her first instict was to yank her hand back, but then the joyfull chatter of the girl seeped through her mental barriers and her eyes popped in disbelief. "She doesn't even realise she's broken the rules of first engagement", Carina thought in confused shock. And then the words Selene had been using settled and their meaning took hold and the Malkieren raised young woman burst out laughing for real now. She let Selene drag her along, showing her the way of getting food and chuckled at her logic for getting more helpings. Her ears perked up at the mention of the girl's horse, though, and she put Selene on a higher step on her ladder of respect when she noticed how the girl genuinly cared for the well being and happiness of her animal.

 

Laughing at the mention of them spending months before meeting their other roommate, Carina wriggled her arm free and took one of the trays from it's pile. "Yes, that would be funny indeed. Though I think I would prefer it not take so long." Looking over the food displayed behind the line, Carina decided on a different collection of cheeses and some buns that were still steaming from the oven's heat. "I will meet my mentor today," She continued to Selene, who was now helping herself to a generous amount of breakfast. "Not quite sure what that will be like, to be honest. I keep hearing that we will have so much to do in a day that we will end up exhausted each day." She stopped to consider the basket of fruits. The choices were enormous, just as Selene had said, and everything looked equally delicious. Finally settling for a green looking thing she's never eaten before and a cup of strawberries, Carina continued as she turned to face Selene. She never got her thoughts out as she gasped, looking at the girls tray. One could feed a Trolloc with that tray!

 

Carina chuckled at the innocent joy on Selene's face and couldn't help but tease. "Hungry much?" Selene cast her a wry smile and shrugged, then turned and started to walk to one of the tables, balancing her precarious 'tower of food' in between the benches. Carina followed, fighting down a fit of laughter once more at the sight of several novices and a few accepteds diving out of the way of the passing 'tower of doom'. Obviously, none of them seemed eager at the possibility that some items from that tray might find it's way to their sparkling white dresses. Selene, completely oblivious to what she was causing, happily sat down at an empty table, the muttering glares of some of her peers rolling off of her unnoticed. Shaking her head, a huge smile on her face, Carina sat down next to Selene with her own, much more modest, tray.

 

"Enjoy your breakfast, Selene". Settling down to eat in silence, as was her custom, Carina started to prepare a bun with the creamy butter she brought along.

[Quisalas Selene]

That Selene's figure could be described as willowy was surely a sign of a strict mother rather than any ingrained restraint when it came to eating.  As she sat down with Carina, carefully rearranging a stack of precariously balanced fruits so she could see over the top of her tray, the very first thing she did was take the two different kinds of apples and slip them both into a pocket of her dress, making it bulge oddly.  If she wasn't able to go out and visit her horse today, she'd eat them later as a snack.  Selene's only hope for retaining something of a figure during her future years at the Tower was that as hard as they worked the girls, she'd probably burn off the calories anyway.

 

With a bright smile to Carina, completely ignoring the other girls around her without even seeming to notice that she was the subject of their ire, she dived into her food.  Well, not literally of course, but almost.  She wanted to chatter and talk, but she did at least have the manners not to do so with her mouth full, and given the size of her breakfast, her mouth was going to be full probably right up until they had to leave.  So she sat beside the girl in companionable silence, the white book sitting beside her on the bench closed, and ate.  And ate.  And ate.

 

She started with the roll, muffin, croissant, and cookie A cookie for breakfast! and while you wouldn't think it to see how fast things disappeared from her tray, she ate rather delicately.  The muffin was dissected, the little bits of berry mixed throughout the dough picked out and nibbled first.  The roll she broke in half and pulled all the soft, fluffy insides out.  She tucked cheese four different kinds into the fluffy breads and ate each wad in a single bite. She then nibbled the crusty outsides into various shapes before devouring it too.  At one point the crust was nibbled into the shape of a horse's head and neck and she grinned and showed it to Carina and mimicked a soft whickering neigh.  Selene managed to find a warmly open delight in just about anything, and she was lucky that the grumpy Aes Sedai she'd met in Tar Valon wasn't there now or she'd likely have been set a penance for playing with her food.

 

But what else was life for if not to enjoy it?

 

Since she wasn't going to eat the apples, apples took so long to eat anyway, the fruit disappeared even quicker than the breads and cheese.  The green thing that Carina had taken one of as well was the first thing she'd chosen and it's sticky, sweet flesh was weird, but delightful.  Selene's napkin saw thorough use during the meal as the girl managed to keep herself from licking her fingers - she wasn't that uncouth.  She dipped her strawberries and blackberries both in the small dishes of sweet creams, she'd taken two, and managed to not spill a single drop or crumb of anything on her dress.  I guess a lifetime of eating like a Trolloc gave one a lot of practice at doing it right. She had taken a tall glass each of tea, juice, and milk and by the time she'd finished with everything else, only half the tea remained.  With an expansive sigh and a quick pat to her tummy, which was only slightly distended after the monstrous meal, she sipped at the drink and grinned at her new friend.

 

"You should eat more, Carina.  A body needs fuel to give it energy and make you strong."  She flexed a bicep, the muscle small but defined under her mostly pale skin. Then she poked her own muscle with a finger and giggled as she let the muscle relax. "I keep hearing how exhausted and busy I'm going to be, and breakfast is, after all, the most important meal of the day." She grinned again. "Especially if it comes with a cookie." 

 

She dropped her hands back into her lap, one of them bumping the bulge of apples in her pocket.  Her mind turned to Rao and then to Larindhra Sedai, wondering how she'll possibly be able to see her horse if novices aren't allowed out of the tower.

[Mystica]

Carina ate her plate, happily enjoying the silence and trying to digest still this new turn her life had taken. More people filled the mess hall by now, and a buzz was heard from the girls talking and whispering, some voices shooting over the others excitedly while others were heard shushing the loud ones. She looked at her roommate, who busily attacked her plate and noticed her propping some apples in her pocket. Grinning, Carine thought that there'd be one happy horse in the stables, if Selene managed to slip out.

 

Her plate was emptied quickly, as she didn't have that much and she sat back, sipping her juice contently. Looking at Selene though, who was eating with such delight and appetite, Carina couldn't help but feel almost hungry again. Maybe I should have taken just a bit more, she thought wistfully, watching how a piece of fruit was carefully welcomed into a ready mouth, without spilling a drop of it's juices onto those delicate looking hands. Carina almost stood up to go and fetch herself another helping, but embarrassement kept her back. Too many prying eyes around. But she filed it away for the next morning. Surely she would taste some of that deliciously looking fruit Selene was so enjoying then.

 

"You are quite right, Selene." Carina replied to the girl's comment on her small breakfast. "Especially sitting next to you, one definately needs more food. Seeing you devower that plate is enough to make a dead man hungry. Those fruits look absolutely delicious and I'm definately going to try some of them tomorrow. Not to mention those apples one very lucky horse is going to be enjoying." Her eyes fell on the book Selene had with her again and she remembered what she wanted to ask her.

 

"By the way, what are the conditions for borrowing books from the library? And if you don't mind me asking, what is that one you are reading now?"

[Quisalas Selene]

Selene fished out one of her two apples and offered it to Carina as she stood up to carry her tray back to the kitchens. "I can split this one in half for Rao and Brownie if I get to visit them today, and if not, I can give it to you too after we see Larindrha Sedai.  Brownie is my brother's horse, he's going to be a warder." Selene stopped and giggled as she returned her tray and then turned to face Carina again, holding the white book in one arm. "My brother Jasine's going to be a warder, not his horse." She grinned and again wondered if an Aes Sedai had some kind of bond with her mount, if it was possible.

 

She perked up considerably, even for her, when Carina asked about the library and her book. "Oh, the library is fantastic! They actually have several libraries here, some of which novices aren't allowed in without accompaniment or a note from a Sedai." A peeved expression flitted across her face at there being books she wasn't allowed to have at, but it was gone almost as soon as it showed up. "When I asked at the library yesterday about checking out books the Sedai at the desk said that all I had to do was to write down my name and the name of the book, including which library it came from, in the ledger.  They keep a record of all the books that all the Aes Sedai and Initiates have ever taken out of the library, isn't that fantastic?  When you return a book, one of the Sedai will mark in the ledger that it's been returned, then it goes onto a cart to be reshelved." 

 

She smiled quickly as she shifted the book into her other hand, walking towards the exit of the mess hall as she spoke.  "I can't even imagine how much time it takes to find where all those books go for putting them back.  I think I'm going to try to spend some of my time in there helping to reshelve the books, so that more people can find the things they want.  There are so many books in there, and I only got to look through the main library very briefly this morning before I came here to meet up with you."  She paused and looked to the doorway as they reached it, glad she had managed to meet up with the girl.

 

"Anyway, this is a really neat book." She offered the thin tome, bound in white leather, towards the girl to look at while she spoke. "It's call Servants of All, which is what Aes Sedai translates to.  Back before the breaking the men who could channel were called Aes Sedai too." Selene shivered unbidden as she mentioned men who could channel but she kept on talking with hardly a pause. "The book was written, I think, for exactly what I was looking for - a basic explanation of what Aes Sedai are and do.  It talks about all kinds of anglers, which are special items made with the One Power to do different stuff.  That symbol there on the front," she traced the teardrop embossed into the cover "that's part of what was once the symbol for all the Aes Sedai." She looked around her to see if anyone was watching or listening and then leaned close as she whispered with all due seriousness. "The dragon's talon is the other half." She nodded, eyes parted wide as she shared this little amazing bit of truth and then with her hands, formed a circle and held it up in front of her. "Together they formed a circle, that was half black and half white."

 

She flipped a few of the pages in the book Carina still held and then pointed to a set of pages that held a detailed drawing on the basic setup and design of the White Tower and then flipped a few more pages until she found a chart. "Look at that there, it talks about the maximum capacity of the Tower.  Can you imagine that many women all being in the Tower at once?  It was built to hold thousands of novices at once." She clasped her hands loosely behind her as the pair of them walked down the hallways that would eventually lead her to the Mistress of Novices's office, she intended to go straight to Larindhra Sedai for her meeting.  She looked up and kind of off into space, imagining the grand hallways of the Tower packed with girls running here and there, more Aes Sedai than she could even properly envision. "Can you imagine how much good we could do, with that many people dedicated to the light and able to heal?"  There was a wistful longing in her voice, a more serious emotion than she'd shown to Carina before, and she shook her head and smiled kind of ruefully.

 

"You should see the library's section on animal books.  They have more books on just animals than all the books I'd ever seen combined before coming here."

[Mystica]

Carina gladly accepted the apple and put it in her dress pocket for later use. She followed Selene to the tray disposal spot and smiled at the enthusiasm of her roommate as she talked about the library. An enthusiasm that worked affectuous and Carina found herself wanting to check out this immense place for herself. It seemed simple enough to get a book out for reading, so that was a nice piece of news. At the mention of Selene's brother training to be a warder, Carina wondered if the two siblings had already made plans to end up bonded to each other. She thought it might be a bit premature to make such plans at this stage, though refrained from voicing her thoughts on the matter. Selene clearly loved her brother dearly and from what she heard the girl say, the feeling was more than mutual. A pang of pain shot through the young woman as she followed the other girl to the door of the mess hall. How would that be, she thought to herself, to have such a bond with someone as these two obviously had? Carina didn't think that she would ever experience such a familiarity, but couldn't stop the flood of wishes that poored through her at the idea of it.

 

Her attention returned to the girl still talking when she thrust the book into Carina's hands and started flipping the pages. Nodding her agreement on the subject of the amount of people the Tower was made to hold, Carina too was caught up in the vision of a Tower full of novices and sisters. But she was a bit more down to earth about it. Obviously, the Tower's function was to serve the Light and the world at large, but she knew that being Aes Sedai didn't stop you from being human. She couldn't help wondering what it would do to a person to live with so many under one roof. Surely tensions and problems would occur on a regular basis, then. And how would one deal with those, considering the nature of the occupants of the Tower? Would the Amyrlin Seat be able to keep on top of it all then? She was, after all, only one woman. Even now, with only a fraction of what the Tower could hold, it seemed to Carina a monstrous task to run it all. Selene then mentioned the part where male channelers were Aes Sedai too in some distant past and Carina involuntarily shook her head in denial, but there it was in the book, the page and proof staring her in the face. A shudder coursed through her spine at the idea of men actually being allowed to channel. She knew that the poor guys couldn't help themselves and were themselves victoms of the vileness of the Dark One, but still. The whole idea was proposterous.

 

At the mention of books on animals, Carina's head perked up and her eyes lit up brightly. "Oh that's fantastic, Selene! I love animals, especially forest creatures. I'm so looking forward to reading those books myself." Leaving the mess hall, Carina turned to face Selene and handed the book back to her. "I think I'm going to go to this library myself now, as I haven't been given any assignments of tasks or classes yet. I'm not scheduled to meet my mentor at the MoN's office till this evening, so I'd like to take advantage of this off day. I'm sure there won't be much opportunity for it later. It's been great meeting you, Selene and I'm glad I have you as my roommate." Carina smiled warmly to the girl and turned to walk away.

 

"Oh," She said over her shoulder with a huge smile, "thanks again for the apple!" Waving again, Carina walked off towards the library in great spirit and with a spring to her step, looking forward to diving into the rows of books. Especially the animal section.

[Quisalas Selene]

Selene wanted to hug the girl goodbye, but she didn't.  She was happy to have Carina as her room mate and she thought the two of them would end up being good friends, but Carina hadn't moved to hug her.  An uncharacteristic flash of uncertainty and self-consciousness kept her from moving towards the girl, but she smiled and waved. "Enjoy the library, Carina.  I could spend all day in there."

 

She turned and skipped towards the Mistress of Novice's office, at least until she passed an Accepted who glared at her for the crime of looking happy and carefree.  She didn't recognize the girl, so chances were the girl didn't know her yet too.  Rolling her eyes, Selene took off at a trot so she'd look busy and avoid the attention of any other women who might decide she looked like she needed chores to do.