Research (Attn Carina & Accepteds)

[keyholder21]

The time between her apology and the Sisters’ responses felt like a lifetime. It was as if every second was noticeable: a butterfly flitted from one flower to another; a bead of sweat started forming on Miahna’s neck, a breeze picked up and settled back down again. Mimi felt a twinge in her foot and she ached to flex it. Instead, she stood stock still – as if any sudden movement would anger the women sitting before her.

 

The more confident of the two Aes Sedai nodded to herself and looked around the garden. The main difference between the Sisters was due to posture. Since she had taken that body language class, Mimi was noticing more and more differences between Aes Sedai whereas before she had thought most of them to act the same. The other Aes Sedai – the Sister who had not nodded – was probably new to the shawl. That would explain her lack of confidence quite well.

 

Miahna nearly let out a sigh of relief when the words that tumbled out of the woman’s mouth weren’t that of a punishment, but rather agreement. "You picked a beautiful place for it. Earth happens to be a specialty of mine." Tilting her head to the side, the Sister seemed to be asking something of the other Aes Sedai. "Want to help the poor child out, Carina Sedai?"

 

That was certainly a surprise, and definitely more than she’d hoped for. Those private lessons with Aes Sedai were not rare for an Accepted, they were always agreed on beforehand; many Sisters did not willingly give up their free time on the spot to teach a trainee. The Arafellin resisted raising her eyebrows or smiling at the suggestion. The day suddenly seemed much brighter. The corners of mouth did twist up a little when she heard one of the women mention that she hadn’t ‘toyed’ with the basic weaves in a while – her words, not Miahna’s. It was funny to think that all these years of practice barely skimmed the surface of what she would actually be doing once she gained the shawl.

[Mystica]

Carina jerked herself to stop and schooled her face to serenity without speaking. She was getting better at this already, she felt. She'd only started making a sitting curtsey this time and had been able to stop herself from responding like one of the Accepted. Observing Miahna she noticed, to her chagrin, that the girl had noticed her nervousness and schooled herself to a perfect image of Aes Sedai serenity before replying.

 

"Why not?" She said in a soft, neutral voice, locking eyes with Miahna. She had to get this Aes Sedai business under controle before she could leave the Tower, she realised, or she'd bring shame to herself and the Tower and that would never do. At least novices and Accepted knew how to teach sisters, even those newly raised to the shawl. Well, most did anyway, she growled thinking about those two that had been giggling and pointing at her quite openly the other day. She hadn't sent them to the MoN, not quite sure yet of her authority now, which had only served to empower the brats more in their rude behavior. Luckily, or otherwise quite smartly schemed, the girls had never taken it too blatently far. Carina straightened her back, yet again. That would not happen again, she vowed. Loraine had done her a great favor today.

[U4ea]

Loraine turned her deep blue eyes back to the Accepted, who's posture screamed relief while her eyes held a hint of... was that nervousness or fear? Loraine felt the urge to grin, but reigned it in, knowing it would tip the scales back towards fear. Especially once this poor girl started hearing rumors about the very large booms coming from the practice field the Greens called home. She could hardly show this Accepted any of those weaves, though. "Well, then, Miahna, come have a seat here in the grass and tell me what you're working on that's giving you trouble." She still hadn't moved from her spot next to Carina. "And do try to be specific, as I can hardly be expected to help you with everything you need to know about Earth in one afternoon."

 

Her lips did twitch into a smile as she watched the Accepted for a response. It simply wasn't in her nature to hold fast to that Aes Sedai haughtiness. Light knew there was a difference between serenity and idiocy.

 

~Loraine

;)

[keyholder21]

The other Aes Sedai agreed to help and Miahna instantly felt relieved. She curtsied and moved forward at the request to sit on the grass. She lowered herself carefully, mindful of her banded dress. Grass stains were a pain to get out. Though she was sitting below them on the ground, neither Sister held the haughty air that so many Aes Sedai used with Accepted and novices. Rather, these women seemed at ease and almost friendly toward her. She felt herself relax slightly as she settled into her space on the grass.

 

“Well Aes Sedai,” the Accepted started properly, “it’s often Earth in general. Whereas Air and Spirit come freely, as I mentioned earlier, I often strain to do even the simplest weaves in Earth. I understand that this is common for women, but it still makes me nervous and leaves me wanting to train twice as hard for I never know when I will need to use it. Shaping a stone is about the extent that I can do without sweating – the rest kind of fall apart when I attempt them.

 

I suppose what I’m looking for is to practice some basic weaves that I can use with my limited ability – especially the weaves that I will need for the test for the shawl. Also, perhaps I could get some suggestions from the two of you for substitute weaves that can help me instead of Earth intensive ones.”

 

Taking a breath, Mimi smiled hesitantly at the two Aes Sedai and placed her hands in her lap. She hadn’t expected to have help with her Earth weaves today. Oh she could ask for help whenever she wanted it, but usually the Aes Sedai who were willing to training Tower initiates were swamped with girls in white dresses that wanted the ability to weave this or that, or even just touch the source. Since the ring had been placed on her finger, Miahna had realized that being an Accepted meant figuring out an awful lot on your own. While she was definitely amenable to working on her own, sometimes it was pleasant to have an expert helping you along.

 

“Actually, if you’re willing, I was also curious as to how many of these basic weaves that we learn as Accepted are useful in the field.” She held up her hands as if to hold the two of them off as she continued, “I don’t mean to say that I think they aren’t necessary, but I was merely curious if you’ve found any use for them as an Aes Sedai.”

Edited October 24, 2010 by keyholder21

[U4ea]

;) No problem!

 

 

 

Loraine twisted a weave of Air around a flower just out of reach and drew it closer. The bloom plucked free of it's stem and came to her hand. She smiled down at the blossom, then raised her eyes to Miahna again. "I always hated it that they chose the flower for me. A rose is a poor abused flower. I prefer lilies." She waved to the garden around them and winked. "Pick a flower, any flower!"

 

Once the Accepted had her flower, Loraine embraced saidar and pulled threads together without twisting the weave. "I used to do this just to get used to building this weave. You can't really get better at an element that is a weakness for you, but you can get better at weaving with it." She smiled down at her flower and laid a few threads over it. The flower closed up tightly, twisting its petals up into a tight bud. "Earth allows you to control things that have come from the Earth or the dirt itself. So, since this flower is a product of the Earth, manipulating it requires the use of Earth. Aside from practice, there's really not a practical application for this weave. At least," she shot a loot at Carina, her lips twitching. "I've never met one. So, it's possible to use Air as an alternative, since you can throw enough strands of Air to get the same effect. Play to your strenths, yes?"

 

She smiled and held her hand over the flower, a weave twisting together in a very slow motion to show how the Air was replacing most of the Earth in the weave. "You can't leave it out, completely, but you can minimize how much is actually in the weave." The flower bloomed again, the petals unfurling slowly as the weaves pulled each one free.

 

She nodded to Miahna. "Now, try it the traditional way, then again replacing a thread of Earth here and there with Air until you get the same result..."

 

~Loraine

;)

[keyholder21]

ooc: I'm sorry Elgee, but the PMs aren't working at the moment. Loraine and Carina (or U4ea and Mystica :)), thank you so much for letting me join your string! I didn't mean to hijack what ya'll have been talking about, so I set it up that Miahna could leave after you answer her question. That way, I'll have received my Open RP requirement (:-D) and you two can get back to the serious talk, if you want to. If not, I'd be more than happy to continue here too. If you do want her to leave and you'd like to rp with me again (as I'd love to keep rping with you), perhaps we can start a string once she makes Aes Sedai. I'm trying to get that done before ToM comes out, but I don't know if that's going to happen :/.

 

----------

 

Following the Aes Sedai’s suggestion, Miahna looked about the garden and pondered for a minute before also choosing a lily. The first time she’d entered the Gardens here had been the first time she’d seen the beautiful flower and since then it had remained her favorite – though she preferred lilies of the valley. The large, expansive flower unfolded itself to the sun in a wide sweeping arch of the petals. As there weren’t any in the part of the garden, the Arafellin simply choose a flower from the same area that Loraine Sedai had chosen hers and sat back down in the grass.

 

The Green Sister returned to her bench and embraced saidar. Weaving a few threads together, the Aes Sedai laid them over the flower and the three women watched as the petals came together to reverse nature and return to a bud. She looked at the Accepted while stating, “Aside from practice, there's really not a practical application for this weave. At least, I've never met one. So, it's possible to use Air as an alternative, since you can throw enough strands of Air to get the same effect. Play to your strengths, yes?" As she finished, Loraine replaced most of the Earth weaves with Air to keep the same effect.

 

The Accepted repeated the weaves exactly as the Aes Sedai asked of her. It was remarkable how little of Earth was actually needed for this ‘Earth’ weave. Miahna pondered for a moment on just how many of the difficult weaves she’d been taught had easier alternatives. It wouldn’t be that surprising to find out that, indeed, most of them did. After all, the Sisters were trying to prepare the initiates for anything, but once they gained the Shawl, the world was at their feet for them to shape as they wanted.

 

They practiced a few more weaves, the two Aes Sedai trading off on showing the Accepted some of the more common and then more difficult weaves, and how to replace a few of them with a much easier combination of elements. The sun still shone down on the group, though it had moved a bit in the sky, indicating that it had been at least an hour since the Arafellin had stumbled in on the two older women.

 

“I apologize once again for interrupting, Aes Sedais, and I very much appreciate you taking the time to teach me at such an informal time. If I may, I have one more question before I take my leave.” At a nod from one of the Sisters, Miahna asked something that had been brewing at the back of her head for a few months now.

 

“How did you know that the Ajah you chose was right for you?”

[U4ea]

Loraine smiled softly, shrugging a dainty shoulder. "I was set on a path to the Greens from an early age. My father was a swordsman, though no Blade Master. He set about training my brother, he even hired a Blade Master to train him while he was away. My parents were bringing my brother to the Tower, to train with the Warders, when they were ambushed by Darkfriends. Only the carriage driver survived it and returned to our estate." She sighed deeply. She hadn't though of Mikael in a long time. It was amazing how the pain lingered, even after more than fifty years! "My entire family was wiped out in one fatal blow, leaving me to be raised by the servants of my House. My father wasn't poised to be the High Seat, having a few older brothers to take care of that for him. When it came to me arriving here, a Green came to fetch me. It seemed fitting, as I'd pestered the Master of the House Guard to train me to use a sword."

 

She turned her smile back to Miahna. "It is one of the few decisions in your life that only you can make. The other Ajahs were fascinating, but none of them felt like home the way the Greens did. Even now, as much as I love a good book and could spend an eternity in the library, I don't think I'd have been a good fit for the Browns. Even with Sisters like Carina to keep me company!" She grinned at her companion.

 

~Loraine

[keyholder21]

The garden around them was quiet as the Green answered Miahna’s question. She spoke of being set on a path to her Ajah before she had even entered the Tower and indeed that did seem to be the case. Her past had been filled with sword fighting and unfortunately death. The Accepted felt her heart go out to the Aes Sedai as she spoke of her family. Mimi would be a wreck if anything happened to her family. She loved her siblings more than anything else in the world.

 

The only grief that the Aes Sedai showed though, was a deep sigh and a hint pain that lit up in her eyes and was immediately gone. If Miahna hadn’t been looking straight at the Green, she probably wouldn’t have seen that flash of emotion. It must be difficult to not be able to show your emotion. The woman’s face remained serene.

 

Until she smiled. Well, she has had decades to work through, and with, the pain. She is obviously a strong woman. As the Aes Sedai explained about choosing her Ajah, Miahna realized that she could seek advice from every Sister in the White Tower but it truly was her decision, and hers alone to make. She grinned at the two Aes Sedai at this thought and stood to make her leave.

 

“Thank you Aes Sedai, for instructing me in Earth and for the advice on Ajah choice. I truly appreciate your time today. I apologize once more for interrupting your discussion, and now I leave you to it. I must go prepare for a class that I’m teaching this evening.” The Accepted grasped her banded dress and curtsied properly to the Green and Brown Sisters before turning around and walking back toward the Garden proper and the White Tower.