Determination falters [Intro thread]

[Opera]

At Edana's comments, Llewelyn tried to take the most ingenuous air. Was he that easy to read ? Somehow he thought he had just been pierced through and now he felt uncomfortable. That's what he'd got for hanging around women. Shera had always that look as well, as though she knew everything he was planning. They probably had a trick of their own.

Light ! Supposedly Aes Sedai were all mighty and omniscient, surely it had something to do with being women in the first place...

 

"Well, I'll be careful in the mornings then. Thanks for the advice, Edana." Turning his attention toward Elyan, he said in a careful tone : "I was meaning to ask of you Elyan. Are you Saldaean ?"

 

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan shook his head smiling. Edana had the habit of surprising him, and today was no exception. He was thoroughly impressed by her skill in reading Llewelyn. Elyan thought that he could read people fairly well, but had noticed nothing until hearing Edana’s comment, then was barely able to conceal his laughter when Lleweln changed his expression to try and look innocent. Quite remarkable.

"I was meaning to ask of you Elyan. Are you Saldaean ?"

 

“I…” He started, then changed his words to speak the truth. He saw no reason to hide this part, aside from perhaps the blow to his pride. “I don’t know…” He muttered finally, looking down to examine his hands. “My mother lives in Andor...” He paused to swallow, “And I never knew my father.”

 

[Opera]

Llewelyn immediately saw how troubled and uneasy Elyan seemed about talking of his lineage. But of course, he couldn't have imagined his simple question would ensue such awkwardness.

 

Parents are part of the identity of someone, by being there to raise their children and give them advices, or, on the contrary by being absent and by such, forcing the children to raise themselves... If Elyan was avoiding talking about his father, then he was probably avoiding thinking about him as well. If his father was linked to painful memories, it would only be a natural reaction, but in the end, he was just running away... And this would hinder him forever in his perception of self.

 

So, Llewelyn wanted to dig a little further, maybe just to help Elyan face his personnal problems on his own, to give him a little push in the back.

 

He tried to measure his voice, to be as soft as possible...

"I see... And... Would you like to know about him ? Or to meet him, someday ?"

Then, in a more firm tone : "If so, I would advise you to start looking in Saldaea. Your features match those of my people, and since you say your mother's from Andor..."

 

[JainFarstrider]

He tried to measure his voice, to be as soft as possible...

"I see... And... Would you like to know about him ? Or to meet him, someday ?"

Then, in a more firm tone : "If so, I would advise you to start looking in Saldaea. Your features match those of my people, and since you say your mother's from Andor..."

 

Elyan shook his head, Llewelyn did not understand.

 

“Why would I have any desire to meet someone who had no interest in me. He left my mother with child after the war was over.” He said still staring at the floor, “Then my mother dumped me off on someone else," He looked up at Llewelyn, a look of pain on his face, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. “My whole life I’ve been a disappointment and a burden on other people.” Driving his fist into his thigh, then getting up he walked to the window, not wanting them to see his face. “Why would I want to try and find him, so I can be discarded again like a piece of worthless garbage.” He said softly under his breath.

 

[U4ea]

Edana shook her head slowly. She'd known Elyan was touching about his past and hadn't really told her anything that she didn't already know about him since she'd been here. If was clear he was upset by this, though, so she stepped in to diffuse it. "Well, for starters, you could be the one disgarding him this time. Although, I'm not sure how one would go about doing that to a grown man. If you figure that part out, please let me know, as there are a few I'd like to dump off, too, while we're on the subject." She climbed onto her bunk and sat, her legs swinging over the edge. "You could always go adopt one, I guess. Hard for someone to discard you if they've never picked you up, right?"

 

She paused and grinned, shaking her head. "I have a wonderful idea. Why don't you go adopt Dragar? He looked like he could use someone around to keep him moving and, really, all you'd have to do is learn when to get out of his way!" She laughed, arching her eyebrow. "I've a better idea, go adopt him and don't tell him that you did. See how long it takes before he starts pulling his hair out and demanding that Thera get her backside back behind that desk so he can go hide in the Guard Tower again! I'm wagering about two hours..."

 

~Edana

cracking jokes...

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan chuckled as he turned away from the window, “That wager probably isn’t too far off, but I think Dragar could do without the frustration, he has his hands full as he is.” Smiling at Edana, “And I sure hope that I am not on that list of men you are seeking to get rid of, I would hate to be on your bad side. I’ve seen the men who are, and have no envy for them.”

 

Growing more somber, “Thanks Edana, you’re a good person, I’m glad to know you.” He turned to include Llewelyn in his words, “Sorry I snapped at you, but I have no love for either of my parents.” He sighed, “I do not know for certain the circumstances in which my father left, and should probably not judge him so harshly.”

 

He looked up smiling, “Anyway, weren’t we going to grab something to eat, I’m getting fairly hungry.”

 

[Opera]

At Elyan's words, Llewelyn felt a little guilty, he had pushed too far.

 

He couldn't help but laugh at Edana's remark, though. He could picture a disgruntled Dragar learning about being adopted... A sight to see for sure. And Llewelyn was grateful that Edana had lightened up the mood.

He glanced at her, thinking that she was a woman to fear. Were all the women who wished to be Warders so strong-willed ?

 

Llewelyn heard Elyan's apology and a prick of guilt made him wince again. "Er... There's no need to apologize, I shouldn't have asked in the first place," he muttered.

 

But Elyan's smile made his worries fade away, and his stomach decided to answer Elyan's proposition with another loud growl to remind him he was farmished. Llewelyn laid a hand on his belly to try to make it stop and blushed. "The sooner, the better," he whispered.

[U4ea]

Edana kept her sigh of relief to herself, glad she'd been able to diffuse the tension between these two. The last thing she wanted to see every day was two people forced to stay with each other who couldn't stand the sight of the other. She already knew how hard it was to avoid someone who was in the same barracks, but the same room?

 

She shook her head and stretched out on her bunk, staring at the ceiling a moment. "You two go on, I'm not terribly hungry this evening." While that was true, she really didn't want to go because she was tired. It had been a terribly full day of swinging lathes and she was exhausted. "I'm also going to take advantage of all of my room mates being elsewhere to catch a nap before one of you comes back and wakes me up with your snoring..." She turned her head and grinned at them both, so they knew she was still joking.

 

~Edana

 

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan laughed at Edana's comment, before walking up next to her bunk. Raising himself on to his toes to look at her face over the edge of the bunk, "Excuse me, you think that my snoring is loud," He smiled, nudging her in the shoulder, "The first night you were here, I thought that I had accidentally fallen asleep in one of the horse stalls." He said trying to hide his laughter, and walking back towards the door. "Just kidding Edana," He said over his shoulder, "You are more elegant than anyone I've known." He said with a small grin.

 

He motioned to Llewelyn, "Come on, i'll show you where the kitchens are," He said turning his smile towards him, "And don't mind Edana, she's just grumpy," He said leading the way out of the room and heading towards the kitchens.

 

"So, you are from Saldaea, huh?" He said glancing at Llewelyn, "What are the people like there, do they all have your eyes?"

[Opera]

Llewelyn grinned while the two were throwing teases to one another. Now, he felt as if this room would be more than a shelter, quite like a new home. He still grinned when he nodded to Edana while following Elyan out of the room to the kitchen.

 

Down the hallway, Elyan asked a most surprising question : "So, you are from Saldaea, huh? What are the people like there, do they all have your eyes?"

So he was minding Llewelyn's comments about him having saladean features...

 

Llewelyn swelled with pride for his country while answering Elyan. "Well, yes, it is a distinctive trait of the Saldaean people, as well as reddish hair colour, or bold noses, high cheekbones... They say that because of those features out of the ordinary, the Saldaeans hold a mysterious and attractive kind of beauty." He glanced over at Elyan. Blood and bloody ashes ! How come nobody had noticed before, or had assumed him saldaean by mistake ? Was something wrong with all these people's sight ? It was as plain as the nose on their faces !

 

"As for what they are like, well, let's say that as a Borderland country, they are proud of their duty in defending against the Blight." He lowered his voice to be only heard by Elyan. "You don't want to mess with a Saldaean girl, though. That's one thing for sure. She'll give you gray hair in no time."

And saying so, he remembered how Shera was mad as a hare in spring thaw when he had pulled a little prank on her. She then made it so he could not sit on his bottoms for about a month or so. He winced in remembrance of the pain inflicted by that holly stick.

 

Llewelyn kept describing his people on their way to the kitchen, he could go on forever on such a topic, sometimes drifting off the general picture to tell him about some of his own anecdotes.

"You see, there was that time when I fell into a mountain of peppers that had just been picked up on the fields - don't ask me how, you don't want to know - and I finally discovered why those peppers were so famous around the world. It's because they're so bloody hot ! After that, my tongue was swelled for a whole week. Now I do understand why they're famous, but I still don't know why people would eat them."

 

His non-stop chatter finally came to an end when they arrived at the kitchen.

 

 

(OOC : feel free to cut him and insert various questions. While he does know a lot about Saldaea, I don't though...)

 

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan watched Llewelyn with a small grin, content to let the young man talk. It was not the first time that he had heard of his Saldaean appearance, nor the first time that he had asked someone about the nation. Still, Llewelyn seemed to fill with pride when talking about his home, not something Elyan was familiar with. He provided the man with an excuse and he had run with it. Elyan admitted that Llewelyn provided an entirely different viewpoint on the place, placing emphasis on what he thought was important, most of that being women Elyan thought with a smile. Other stories he had been told were by wanted men, people who focused on Saldaea’s military and avoiding capture. He enjoyed listening to the more attractive side of the country.

 

Elyan did not have any desire to try the famous peppers, he was partial to food that went down without too much of a fight.

 

Entering the kitchens gave a pause to Llewelyn’s river of commentary, as he looked around the establishment.

 

(OOC: I don’t know what the place is actually supposed to look like, but I’ll pretend like I do.)

 

IC:

 

The door they entered into led directly in front of the serving bar, behind which stood several kitchen aides serving and preparing a variety of foods.  There was a door to his right and another one further down that led into a common area with several tables.  Elyan spotted one of the serving girls that he recognized, older than himself by a few years, but was not hard on the eyes and was normally fairly nice.

 

Walking up to her Elyan said loudly over the noise of the kitchen. “Alvera, my dear girl, I’ll take one order of the special.” He said with a grin, “And may I say that you are looking mighty fine today.” Giving a large smile.

 

She glared at him, but wasn’t able stay cold, laughing as she heaped meat, potatoes, vegetables, and a couple rolls onto a plate.

 

“I’m glad to see your filling out,” She said loudly.

 

“What can I say,” Responded Elyan patting his belly, “Your cooking is just so delicious.”

 

Laughing, she turned her gaze to Llewelyn expectantly.

 

[Opera]

When Llewelyn entered the kitchens, he could see it was much wider than he had imagined it to be. It could welcome dozens of people at the same time. Behind what seemed to be a serving bar, the cooks and aids were preparing a real feast, which scent filled Llewelyn's mouth with saliva.

 

Elyan directed himself toward that bar and heckled one of the serving woman, called Alvera. He put an order and that Alvera woman commented about him filling out. What kind of dicussion was that ? Llewelyn hadn't noticed Elyan was particularly thin. He was athletic for sure, but... Llewelyn arched an eyebrow, considering Elyan in his whole, and only now could he see that the man had not much more than skin over his bones. "You should eat more than once a day or you won't be able to put enough muscles to lift a Warder's sword..." he muttered out of pique.

 

He then noticed he was being stared at, he looked up to the serving woman and discreetly cleared his throat, and said respectfully : "My name is Llewelyn, nice to meet you Ms Alvera. I will be enjoying this kitchen's meals from now on. I will start right now with... erm... anything that could fill up a growing kid's belly. I must admit I am starving." He ended this with a grin as his stomach decided to back up his words with a growl that could be heard over the kitchen's noises.

 

Alvera grinned in response and served him another plate. Llewelyn then followed Elyan after he added some cheesy lines toward Alvera. It seemed the woman pleased him. Well, she was pretty but much older than Llewelyn. Besides, Shera was holding an impregnable bastion in his heart right now. They sat at one table and began enjoying their meal while talking about various subjects.

 

Llewelyn couldn't hold his curious nature and finally asked what was bugging him. "What were you doing before coming to the White Tower, Elyan ?", then, he quickly added : "If it's not indiscreet..." He wanted to know more about his roommate, and even though they had met only earlier in the day, he felt close to him in an uncanny sort of feeling.

[JainFarstrider]

He sat staring at Llewelyn, chewing quietly on a piece of beef. After swallowing he paused for a moment before opening his mouth to respond.

 

"You really are a curious boy aren't you," he said stabbing another slice with his fork but left it on his plate, looking at it. "Alright, if you must know," He said setting down the fork and looking back at Llewelyn, "I was a thief," Getting the reaction he wanted from Llewelyn, but before he had a chance to respond, Elyan continued, "No, not what you think," He said sighing, "I had nothing, and couldn't risk getting a job," Continuing after a slight pause, "Most of the time i was able to provide for myself, feeding off rats and other small rodents, but other times i had to steal what i needed to survive." He dropped his gaze back to his plate, "I only took what i needed and only from people who had enough to spare."

 

He shook his head, looking back up at Llewelyn, "That was another life and not one i'm proud of," Picking his fork up, "What about you, what did you do before coming here, tell me about this novice friend of yours, but only if you want." He said with a grin.

[Opera]

When Elyan answered that he used to be a thief, Llewelyn visibly jumped on his chair before staring at him in bewilderement. That nice guy Elyan used to be a thief !?!

Then, hearing his explanation, Llewelyn let a sigh of relief. So he wasn't the lawless and ruthless kind of thief, he was the trying-to-survive-by-any-means kind of thief, which made much more sense given what Llewelyn had learned about Elyan's personality since his arrival. Yet, there was nothing to be relieved about : that kind of life must have been incredibly difficult and harsh, it must have left scars in his heart.

 

"You're right, Elyan. That was another life. Now, look at you ! You're gonna be a Warder, and you'll never feel ashamed about your way of life anymore," he said cheerfully, trying to lighten up the mood.

 

Yet the mood didn't need lightening as Elyan was moving forward the topic of their discussion on Shera. Llewelyn immediately beamed and began explaining that Shera was a childhood friend of his, a dearest one. "You see, my village is only a day's walk away from Maradon, so many people come and by, and stay the night. Once, there was an Aes Sedai who was headed to the capital who told Shera she could be taught how to channel. So she came here in Tar Valon with that Aes Sedai and her Warder. And I just thought Shera just couldn't be left alone. She can be a real clutz sometimes, but when she starts to dance, she's really beautiful ! Anyway, when the Aes Sedai came by our village, I saw that Warder who was looking really deadly and I thought that Aes Sedai didn't have anything to fear even if she was attacked by a gang of Trollocs, for she had a Warder with her." Llewelyn gulped down his food as he spoke with pep. "Then, when Shera announced she would come here, I decided to come along and be her Warder to protect her just like that other deadly looking one back at the village would protect his own Aes Sedai."

 

He paused a little as his bright mood was tempered a little. "I know it will take time, though. I mean, it takes at least twenty whole years for a woman to become an Aes Sedai, right ? That clutz would take probably much more time..." Yet his voice was soft and warm even as he was calling the girl names.

He snorted before smiling again : "Aaah ! Whatever ! It'll just give me more time to sharpen my skills, I'll be the best of the Warders by then !"

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan joined in with him, slapping the table as his face exploded into a large grin. “ I don’t doubt it,” He said cheerfully, “you’ll have to beat other Aes Sedai off with your lathe.”

 

Chuckling quietly to himself and shaking his head, then sighing as he turned more somber. “She must really be something special,” He said, the mirth fading from his voice. “Still, you would be surprised just how fast some woman progress through the Aes Sedai training, only slightly longer than it takes for us to make it to Tower Guard.” He was of course exaggerating, if only a little. Besides, there could have been one Aes Sedai that made it through her training that quickly, either way he wanted to give the boy hope, which was worth bending the truth a bit.

 

“Well, you can’t be bonded until she is a Aes Sedai and yourself a Tower Guard, but tradition dictates that you can still be promised to each other, a commitment that is only slightly easier to get out of then a bond.” Elyan said still smiling, “It isn’t something that is entered into lightly. The way you talk about her, I won’t be surprised if she is on her way down to the grounds this instant to make sure that some other novice doesn’t try and catch you first.”