The Enemy You Know... [Attn: Elyith]

[TaeaDawn]

There was nothing in the world she abhored more than ignorance. Unless it was being inappropriate, but in her mind they were often linked together. Her world, for years now, had been sheltered and controlled, protected and scrutinized. her time was coming though, a time to put an end to her ignorant and unknowing questions. The world would soon be hers to visit and learn and she had no intention of walking into it blind eyed and empty. She had talked to people about the ways of their homelands, of the way their people saw themselves and their place in the Wheel. Today, she was on a search for another piece of the puzzle. The Borderlands had always fascinated her and she was looking for someone she could talk to about their customs and traditions. Books could only tell you so much, they left out the feel and fragrance of imagination that only a person could give you. Talking to another Aes Sedai would only give her the truth as they thought a young sister should hear it. She wasn't in the mood for lectures or anything else of the sort. She just wanted a conversation, and she was sure she knew just the right place to find it.

 

With these thoughts in mind, Aramina sur Dulciena left her desk full of books and began her search for an Accepted. It didn't take long. In fact she found the subject of her inquiry sitting in the library. She walked over calmly, not bothering to smooth out her green dress as she knew it was already spotless and perfectly pressed. It was the sort of thing Aramina was always sure of. She approached quietly and her voice was low, but warm as she spoke. "Elyith, is it not?" Aramina was newly raised to the Green Ajah and there was no uncertainty in her words. She remembered the other Accepted. "I would like to speak with you for a moment. Am I interrupting your work?" She asked, not waiting for an answer as she took a seat acroos the table from the girl.

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

Ely looked up from her work, startled by the sudden interruption of a solid, sure voice at her side.

 

"Elyith, is it not?" The first thing as she looked up from the desk toward the speaker’s face was a perfectly pressed, green dress. Without much of a pause to wonder what a sister of the Green Ajah could possibly want with her, she found herself instead feeling extensively sorry for the poor servant who had obviously spent hours pressing it. That was before she reached the woman’s face.

 

The woman before her, who spoke to her like an experienced Aes Sedai to a new Novice was Aramina. Ely knew Aramina had only just been raised. Surely the other Aes Sedai still looked upon her as a child! But knowing her place in the Tower… or, more to the point, the punishment for over stepping that place, Ely simply nodded her head and mumbled: “Yes, Aes Sedai.â€

 

Ely remembered very little of Aramina as an Accepted. She wasn’t even sure she had taken one class with the woman. As far as Ely knew, Aramina was from Cairhein, and she hated doing chores.

 

"I would like to speak with you for a moment. Am I interrupting your work?" Ely opened her mouth to reply that she wasn’t, as was a proper reply to an Aes Sedai, before the woman promptly sat anyway.

 

A taken back, Ely quickly wiped the resulting ugly look from her face and folded her arms before her instead. Since Aramina did not seem to wish for her to speak at all, even to answer one of her questions, she would not do her the dignity of asking how she could help her. No, if Aramina wanted any favours from Ely, she would have to make a better impression than this, or she might just find her on the wrong end of a nasty prank… (ooc: *grins*)

[TaeaDawn]

The girl wasn't babbling, at least that was a good sign. Aramina had been an Accepted not long ago but even then she had found among her peers an inordinate amount of slack jaws and inappropriate conduct that would have sent her reeling if she hadn't the focus to keep to her task. Still, the babbling masses had always been good for gossip and Aramina excelled at putting gossip together with fact. It was probably that fact that had kept her tongue and her silence on the matter.

 

Today was different though. Today she needed some information the girl might have and a tight lip wouldn't help her either. She took a deep breath to keep her composure and gave the girl a small smile. "I am interested in learning more about the Boarderlands." She said, straight to the point. There was nothing secretive about her desire to learn about the world. In fact most new Green Sisters left the tower to seek adventure and find their place in the scheme of things. Aramina wasn't the first nor would she be the last.

 

"There are plenty of facts to be found in books and I have done my research there, but I am looking to learn more about the people themselves, how they live their lives, the small details that history never records."

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

Ely was even more unpleasantly surprised when she found that all Aramina had so unpleasantly interrupted her for was to ask her about the borderlands. Thinking that she could have forgiven the woman if her interruption was for something more urgent, Ely wondered what to reply. This subject was not one she should speak of lightly; given the choice she would not speak of it at all, lest she be begin on a tangent that strayed too close to her family or early childhood. Of course, to reply that she would rather not speak on the matter would earn worse consequences than crying in front of a newly raised Aes Sedai, so Ely opened her mouth and began slowly.

 

"Well," Ely sat down her pen lightly and lent forward to fold her arms on the table. She realised crossed arms was a sign of being closed or angry, but she didn't care. Her voice remained calm and light. "I really don’t know what to tell you.â€

 

Ely wasn’t sure if Aramina realised it, but she was biding her time. She needed time to think about where to begin. Anything she could think of lead straight to the obvious but dreaded question about her family or her past. She thought about saying she lived in a farming area for a while, before moving to Fal Moran, but the other woman might ask why she moved. She thought about telling Aramina how much borderlanders value peace, life and beauty, but she might be asked what the three meant in her own life. Anything she could think of lead to the wrong path. Perhaps if she simply began talking and lead off in some other direction of interest, like culture…

 

Without listening to Aramina’s reply to her previous statement, Ely began hastily, hoping to give the woman a few little ideas, and wave her off. Well, as much as one can do with an Aes Sedai.

 

“Well, everyone knows that the things borderlanders value above all are peace, beauty and life. Now, most people know that borderlanders use wishes of peace as a greeting, but few know how deeply the desire runs. For all of the brave, hard outer shells on borderlanders, especially the men, they feel and desire as much as anyone. Bravery is just something that comes naturally for most; living where every day could be your last. If the warriors weren’t brave, they would be dead. So really, their bravery comes from the desire for life. Peace, now that’s something we value because no one in the borderlands really knows what peace feels like, so when you’ve never really known what peace is, the desire for it runs deeper than just some kid who gets picked on every day. And beauty. Between the harsh sickness of the Blight, and the almost unbearable temperatures, when a flower blooms between the stones in the pavement, everyone will go out of their way not to step on it.â€

 

Ely shrugged. She had hardly watched Aramina’s reaction as she spoke, and she dare not waste a second now, or the woman might ask the wrong questions… Ely could have laughed at herself; talking about borderlanders’ bravery to keep from having to be brave herself. It made a lovely ironic joke.

 

OOC: I'm not sure if you already know, but Ely's mother was killed when trollocs raided her farming village. Ely watched her mother tortured to death. Um... after that, the family went to Fal Moran. Ely healed her father where a Wisdom or Wise Woman could not, and that was when it was discovered she could channel.

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina listened as the words came forth, but it was the small things that drew her attention away from the topic. There was something... a tightness of mouth, a hardness of the eye that hinted in something untold, something darker that the girl didn't want brought up, didn't want to speak of. Aramina knew the look. She saw it in her own mirror when she thought back on her days as a Novice, a time she avoided thinking about whenever possible.

 

She took a deep breath and continued listening to Elyith speak. Life. Peace. Beauty. A way of life for people who would never know these things. Her first visit to the Borderlands, she suspected, would be long. A people as complex as that deserved her time, a people of such honor and bravery. The girl before her no less. Regardless of what she fought, the girl was winning some sort of battle Aramina thought.

 

"They honor those things because they don't know it and never can. Why, do you think, it has turned to bravery and not envy?" It was an honest question, but she wondered if the answer would reflect the Accepteds life as well as that of the Borderlanders that she spoke of.

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

OOC: appologies for taking so long. I'll try to keep more on top of things in future!

 

IC:

"They honor those things because they don't know it and never can. Why, do you think, it has turned to bravery and not envy?" Ely knew, even before she spoke, that this would lead to the wrong kind of questions. She simply couldn’t help herself.

 

“We. WE do not know these things and never can.†She knew she had done it now. Aramina had been bound to find out anyway. There was no stopping now. Her voice was harder than diamonds, and ebony eyes sparkled with fire the same.

 

“Our venerance has turned to bravery because bravery is the only thing we have left. The only thing left to hang on to when all else is full of impermanence. The only thing left when lands are destroyed by the Blight, when behind any corner could be the Shaddow, when any moment our family could die.†She bit the last word like a marble chip, and found she did not regret a word of what she’d just said. Aramina deserved whatever pain she gleaned from the speech; whether it was for her story or her harsh tone, after her rude entrance. Elyith did not realise she felt this way only for being blinded by anger.

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina registered the 'we' as she had everything else about the girl. A woman not much younger than herself that Aramina had at one time been of equal rank too. To some that distance irked, especially when it came too close. Perhaps that helped her to loosen her tongue. Her burst of anger gave Aramina more insight into the girl and her people than she was sure Elyith recognized. It was no wonder that so many of her Sisters of the Green went to the Borderlands. The ideals they had were appealing to a Sister sworn to battle who could lose everything she knew and was sworn to keep going.

 

There was so much in that voice. Anger, of course, at being reated so by a young sister who should remember what it was like to have studies and to be constantly be interrupted by Aes Sedai and then berated for not being further along. Anger at having memory brought up that would rather be left buried. But there was determination there also, a resilience that said no matter what, i'll come back from this. It fit into place with all that she had already known of the Borderlands, but somehow listening to this girl made it all real.

 

Aramina sat in silence for a moment, letting the words sink in again, eyeing the girl and the way the anger still flared in her eyes. She stood then and smiled at her. "Thank you Elyith, for your time. I'm sure you have much to do in your studies that I am keeping you from. I think I have what I need now." She started to walk away, then stopped and turned back. "And I am sorry for your loss. If you feel you need anything, please let me know. I am not so far out of the banded dress that I don't remember it."

 

Without waiting for a response, she stole away as quickly as she had come in.

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

Ely stared straight into Aramina's eyes, her own flaming with anger, before she realised that Aramina was an Aes Sedai, young as she may be, and dropped them to the desk. At the same moment, the Aes Sedai spoke.

 

"Thank you Elyith, for your time. I'm sure you have much to do in your studies that I am keeping you from. I think I have what I need now." Ely shook her head in disbelief, still not looking up as Aramina turned away. How had Ely managed to escape more questions? Had Aramina taken the point that she did not wish to speak of it? Was she trying to keep herself from making an almost prohibited friendship with an Accpeted? Was she just plain insensitive? Ely knew the moment she thought it, that the last was out of line, but it didn't really matter.

 

"And I am sorry for your loss. If you feel you need anything, please let me know. I am not so far out of the banded dress that I don't remember it." Ely immediately felt guilty for suggesting, even to herself, that Aramina might be insensitive. But Ely didn't need anyone to talk to, anyway. What good would it do, when she'd already spoken to so many about it... her father, Sheena, Mira... ?

 

Tears welled up in Ely's eyes as she watched Aramina's back as she moved to open the door. She turned her face quickly away as the other woman glanced briefly back. Had she noticed?

 

~*~*~

 

An hour later, when she had found she could concentrate no more, Ely wandered aimlessly through the most secluded parts of the Tower. Dense gardens, back-way corridors and unused floors were the best places to think and to cry without being noticed. Another wave of tears broke upon her soft, wet cheeks as she rounded another corner and meandered down the thousandth empty corridor.

[Elyith_Sedai]

*nudges* OOC: Do you want me to change anything? I wasn't realy sure where else to go :P

[TaeaDawn]

((OMG! Shoot me next time I take this long to respond! I was just looking through the boards and saw this! Sorry!))

 

 

There were too many things in Aramina's mind to settle down so quickly. She had gone back to her rooms after her meeting with Elyith to write down what she had learned. Everything Aramina had ever learned was kept somewhere, but her most private experiences were kept in a journal that was hidden in a hidden compartment in her closet, warded against any other's touch.

 

With that journal safely tucked away again with her personal observations about the girl and Borderlanders in general, Aramina still coudln't sit still. Her mind kept flashing back to the Accepted, her eyes spitting fire at the same time they pleaded guilt and threatened tears. It wasn't acceptable to leave her like that. Aramina of all people knew what it was to be alone and lost, no matter how old the pain. And no matter if she had friends or no, Elyith had been lost when she had spoken to Aramina.

 

Determined, Aramina made her way back to the library to find her subject had already departed. She found one girl who had seen Elyith walking one way and Aramina simply went and kept looking. She would find the girl. In the end, she ended roaming deserted cooridors and empty halls. It was soothing in a way, to be alone with her thoughts, to recognize the part of herself that wanted to save this girl from the events that had shaped too much of herself. It was also saddening to see the White Tower with so many empty rooms. Most Sisters avoided the empty halls for the same reason. No one wanted a reminder of what they had once been, of how strong they were and how respected. Their numbers had dwindled, as were the days in which their power would remain the driving force in the World. It was a cause Aramina was trying to fight for, something she felt that needed to be done.

 

So lost in her own thoughts, she almost missed the soft sounds of someone walking down a cooridor to her left. As she turned, she saw her quarry. She tried to think of something to say to her, but in the end she simply cleared her throat to let her know she was there, and caught up to her quickly, walking beside her in silence until the Accepted chose to break it.

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

As her tears slowly dried, Elyith began to wonder when she would meet someone among the labrinth of marble floors and walls broken by rusty key-holed doors. Surely after seclusion had comforted her for so long, it could not last.

 

As she passed the thousandth cross-corridor Aramina fell in beside her, staring straight ahead. Ely wondered whether it was conincidence, or Aramina had been searching all this time. It was hard to decide, for the woman wore a mask of serenity and was disenclined to break the scilence between them. Ely was determined that it should be her who held on the longest. She was ashamed of her outburst from earlier. Of course, if Aramina had come to find her, that was even more reason for scilence, for Ely did not want the woman under the illusion that she was in need of someone to talk to.

 

Ely had been given what seemed like an Age in the Tower to accept her mother's death. Her choice to aspire to the blue ajah had helped with that. Perhaps it was the will of the Wheel that Haline should have died so that Ely would choose to work in the Blight, plotting against the Shaddow. Perhaps it would be better that way. But, Light, it was her mother!

 

Distracted upon reminiscing about how Ely thought she had come to terms with her mother's death, she broke the scilence to stop her thoughts.

 

"Aramina Sedai, I do not need a shoulder to cry on, and neither need you assume that I do." She said just a little too harshly to hide her true feelings. She sighed inwardly. Now either Aramina would chastise her for speaking so to an Aes Sedai, or she would pitty her.

 

"I am sorry, Aes Sedai, I should not have used such a tone. I only meant to say that I am fine, and I do not need a shoulder to cry on." No, Ely was sure she had made no difference to Aramina's reaction, whatever her change of tone.

[TaeaDawn]

There were things that made Aramina Sedai feel anger or frustration or fury or even pity but the young woman's tears did none of those things. The tone of her words sparked none of those emotions as well. Instead, it sparked an unaccustomed feeling in Aramina. Sympathy. Compassion. Things she felt were better left to those who did them well.

 

Instead she let the girl vent. "That's quite well as I have neither time to listen nor a dress I want sullied with tears." Aramina said in a calm voice. "But nonetheless I find myself here now because I have forced this reckoning on you and I feel that I should apologize for that."

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

Ely looked up quickly in suprise. Aramina's indifferent words seemed to be a manicured hand brushing a disgusting something from her shoulder, then spreading butter to heal the wound she had dug. Only the butter was also cold.

 

"You do not sound as though you care... Aes Sedai." Ely added the title as an after-thought. "If you felt obliged and yet have not the time, why did you not simply write a note and give it to a novice?" What do you want from me? The unspoken question painted itself across her face. Was she about to be drawn into some plan of Araminas?

 

OOC: Sorry, I would have written a longer post, but I'm getting kicked of the computer *cries*

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina gave the girl a small smile. "Don't presume to know all there is to know about my intentions child." She said quietly. She was lenient with most of the girls she had just recently been an Accepted with but there were lines that shouldn't be crossed.

 

"What I care about is that I have upset someone for nothing more than my own ends. I might be Aes Sedai but I am not so cold that I don't recognize my own error in this. Speaking with you was a great help to me, but it gave you nothing in return but pain. I want only to make ammends with you."

 

She wasn't sure why she was doing this. The girl could fend for herself well enough. But still, this was her doing and she recognized the pride in the girl. It was the same thing that had pushed her through her Accepted days after Natalie's death. She might not be able to be a friend to the girl now, but she could at least try to do something for her.

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

Ely felt her eyes narrow slightly and hurriedly wiped her face to what she thought was complete composure. She still wasn't convinced. Aes Sedai never did anything unless it was of some benefit to them.

 

But what could Aramina be gaining from this? She said she is wasting her valuable time by listening to me... Well, I will make it so that she is wasting her time by coming here entirely. I will make sure she leaves with nothing more than she arrived with.

 

She felt sweat readying under her skin. What if Aramina had gotten what she wanted already? The pressures of being an Accepted alone were heavier burden enough. On top of that she still carried her mother's death, tightly tied, but with string so slipery that it required her to keep pulling it taught. Worry about more people finding out that she had been a wilder wobbled procariously on the stack, as did another twenty or so parcles. She did not need an Aes Sedai's plans to add to the load, or she feared it would topple down around her.

 

Elyith returned to deep silence. The Aes Sedai could tie no strings without her words to tie them to, and Ely would leave them to lasso thin air.

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina walked in silence beside the girl for some time. The corners of her lips came up in a barely discernable smile. So, she wanted nothing more to do with her. Aramina could live with that. Her guilt over causing the girl pain had disapated at the girl's silence and was instead replaced with a fair amount of curiosity about what the girl would do under pressure.

 

"I see there is nothing left for me to say then." She said as she stopped walking. "I will leave you to your thoughts then." She said as she began walking the other way. "Perhaps we will speak again sometime."

 

They would. She would make sure of that.

 

[Elyith_Sedai]

One twitch of the corner of her lip was the only thing to mar Ely's perfect silence. She was unsure whether it was a smile at the achievement of staying silent so long, or annoyance at the finding it could count as an achievement at all.

 

The pair had walked for quite some time now along that same hall. Ely considered simply turning aside at the next cross-corridor. Aramina would not expect it, and walk straight on. Then, since she was Aes Sedai, Elyith expected she would not admit to having been left without having perceived it coming, and simply continue walking in another direction. Ely turned her stride to test the plan, when Aramina broke the silence.

 

"Perhaps we will speak again sometime." Elyith turned back mid-step and, trying to stare at Aramina's blank face, barely managed to keep her feet beneath her. The woman had already begun floating serenely off down the corridor Elyith had meant to take.

 

Settling back into a normal stride, Ely frowned. No Aes Sedai did things for as little reason as that. What had Aramina wanted? Had she really given up? It certainly seemed like it, but what kind of Aes Sedai did not push a little harder until they got their way? Elyith shook her head. The Aes Sedai's tone and expression had spoken plainly of finality. Ely was sure the woman was done with her.

 

What did intrigue Elyith was what Aramina had really wanted in the first place. She could not possibly have gained anything from this exchange. She had certainly realised that Ely hadn't accepted her mother's death to the extent she believed. Now that she had parted ways with her in such a final way though, that knowledge did the woman no favour.

 

Sharply spinning to face the other direction, Ely took off at a run. Aramina must speak to one of her friends when she returned to her quarters about what she had gained or lost. Ely knew that she herself would have. If she could find a large pile of washing on the way to hide her face, Aramina would not even notice her eavesdropping…