A Green Thumb... a Chore (ATTN: Kelleen)

[TaeaDawn]

There were few things that made Aramina smile without thought or consequence. Flowers. There was something about the flowers in the Grove that always made Aramina feel stronger, feel refreshed and able to go about her day when everything else had seemed to go astray. In the past few days Aramina did something to make sure she had a haven of sorts to go to.

 

Her quarters had been designed for an Aes Sedai with trhee warders but Aramina had no intentions of bonding. The two furthest rooms remained empty and undisturbed except when she went in to clean them and air them out on occassion. In the room closest to her own, she had created a personal haven, an area of seclusion where she could wrap herself in her own comforts.

 

As you walked in one wall was lined with books. On the opposite wall was her project for the day though. A huge window with drapes pulled back let in the sun and she felt the warmth of it even through the glass. A large wooden container sat against the window, fitted to the encasement and with sturdy legs, it took up the space of a small table. Bags of dirt lay around the base along with boxes of brightly colored flowers that gave off a light fragrance that delicately scented the room. In fact, if she left the door open she hoped it would scent the rest of the quarters too, but she would have to see if that worked.

 

The other wall has a large chaise lounge in dark green. Tairen rugs in a matching color decorated the floor and a tapestry from the borderlands hung behind it to decorate the wall. The shelves on the other side had books and treatisies, things that she enjoyed reading, not things she needed to, along side of nick nacks she had picked up from her travels, a sea folk vase with flowers that had held in their Keeping for more years that she wanted to remember. She smiled as she looked around. This was her innermost space, her place to play and remain sane with all the demands that took her time.

 

She heard a knock in the other room and went back out. She hated to share this space with anyone, but she needed the help to get it done quickly. She went to the door and greeted the girl before her with a polite smile. She had seen her as the flowers had been delivered a few hours earlier and had simply informed her she needed to be at her quarters at this time. She wasn't even sure of the girls name. "Please come in." She said in a calm voice. "I am Aramina Sedai. And your name is?" she asked as she closed the door behind her and began walking into the other room, certain the girl would follow.

 

((Hope this chore is alright :P))

 

[KellySedai]

It had been a pretty common day so far. Kelleen had already had two classes, one that she enjoyed immensely about history and one that she rather disliked involving healing.

 

The bell had tolled for noon and she was on her way to the dining hall. Coming around a corner she noticed that there were several servants carrying boxes of flowers through the main hall. Flowers were always a favorite pasttime of hers at her estate, but she hadn't thought of them in quite a long time. "I need you to come to my quarters after your last class today Child." Kelleen looked around and hastily curtsied without really seeing which sister it was first. She looked up to realise that it was Aramina Sedai of the Green Ajah. Kelleen had made a point to memorize the names and faces of all the Green sisters in the White Tower in her spare time. They were going to be her Ajah sisters in the near future, so she thought she should learn more about them. "Yes, Aes Sedai." she said without hesitation.

 

The sun was still high when she made her way to Aramina's apartments that afternoon. It was always a thrill to be in the Green quarters. She couldn't help her mind wandering to the time when her own apartments would be in these halls, her warders as well. She was sure to curtsy to all the sisters on her way and to see if there were any new faces she hadn't seen before. She knocked on Aramina's door once and within just a moment she answered the door with a smile. "Please come in." She said in a calm voice. "I am Aramina Sedai. And your name is?"

 

"Kelleen Sudora, Aes Sedai." Kelleen curtsied as she answered. Aramina closed the door behind her and began walking to the other room; Kelleen of course followed. As she entered the room a wave of flower scent wafted all over her. It was so calming and lovely, she almost sighed. The walls were covering with books and there were beautiful rugs and furniture. The flowers under the window drew her eyes though, and she looked at their beauty in a dreamy way while awaiting instruction from Aramina Sedai.

 

ooc: This is a great chore! Thanks Taea! :D

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina nodded at the girl and walked towards the back of her quarters to the room that she had prepared. She noted the way the girl's eyes took in the rest of the room and a small smile pulled at the corners of her lips. She was smart enough to keep her tongue in the beginning, at least until they got started. It spoke well of her control at least.

 

Aramina took out a white apron and handed the girl another one so they wouldn't dirty their clothes with the dirt and flowers they would be working in. She also had gloves that she handed to her. Aramina didn't mind getting dirty when the need called for it, but when she had the appropriate items she wasn't about to dirty her perfectly manicured hands.

 

She lifted a bag of dirt with a simple weave of air and dumped it in the middle of her new flower bed. The bag was discarded and she grabbed a small hand shovel and began distributing it.

 

"Do you know much about gardening Kelleen?" She asked, making polite conversation.

 

[KellySedai]

Aramina handed Kelleen an apron and a pair of gloves which she put on without question. If there is one thing she had learned in her short time at the Tower it is that there is never an excuse for a Novice's dress to be dirty.

 

She watched as Aramina used Air to lift a bag of dirt to the empty flowerbed in the corner, and as always Kelleen tried to take advantage and pay as much attention to the weaves as possible. She was not allowed to channel on her own of course, but she still tried to learn as much as she could when able.

 

"Do you know much about gardening Kelleen?", Aramina asked politely after she had begun distributing the dirt through the box. Kelleen picked up a small shovel and began helping her distribute the dirt evenly before answering, "I used to have a lovely flower garden on my family's estate, Aramina Sedai. It was my mother's and I kept it up after she died. It was always calming for me to just dig in the dirt and smell the flowers in troubling times." She could almost smell the fragrance of them now.

 

Aramina asked her what kinds of flowers she prefered and as she listed off several of her favorites she began bringing the plants over and helping Aramina plant them. It was so nice to do something with one of the Aes Sedai. It was too much to hope that Aramina thought of her as more then a Novice, but someday they may have the chance to become friends when Kelleen became Green Ajah.

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina listened to the girl talk as they continued to work the dirt. Without being asked, she starting bringing up the flowers that Aramina needed. Her actions spoke well of her, self starting, able to run with a task when needed. She was articulate and spoke in a warm fashion of her mother's home and the gardens, of flowers that she loved. How would this girl behave in 10 years? In 50 years when the weight of the world began hammering you and the pressure of being a flawless Aes Sedai hounded her sleep?

 

She let out a small sigh. Perhaps, she would remember a day like today and gain strength from it. For Aramina, she knew she would. The caring of the fauna before her brought back memories of her Vigil, of the stark terror of refusal and the young, unextinguishable need to prove herself. As a whole the memory gave her renewed passion for her work and she gave Kelleen a small smile. "How are your studies progressing?" She asked when the topic of flowers had died down. She hoped in a small part to learn more about the girl through her thoughts on her classes.

 

[KellySedai]

"Some better then others I'm afraid, Aramina Sedai. I've always rather enjoyed books about history so I'm doing quite well in those classes, but I'm not doing so well in my classes on Healing. The classes on learning new weaves are my favorites though." Just talking about the One Power made her even more aware of it just beyond her reach. It felt like warm sunshine on her shoulder, and it took everything in her power to not reach out to it right then. She cleared her throat to try and calm herself before she continued. "I try to learn the new weaves as fast as I can Aramina Sedai, but it seems like some of them just don't want to work for me. Did you have problems like that?" Kelleen continues to plant more flowers while waiting for the answer.

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina listened to the girl with a polite smile on her face. It was easy enough to relax as she worked the flowers into her new garden-like area. "Everyone has things that don't work for them in the beginning, weaves they can't quite work out, flows that don't come as easily as they do for others, sometimes teachings that you can't seem to memorize. Everyone has a hard time of it. You are supposed to." She said giving her another smile.

 

"You are preparing to be Aes Sedai and once you reach the shawl the road is not an easy one. You are trained hard to prepare you for those days. But if you have the strength of heart to see you through, then you will reach something few attain. Remember that when you feel like you have faltered. One step at a time will see you to the end of the road."

 

[KellySedai]

Hearing that from another Aes Sedai besides her mentor made her feel much better. She didn't think that Jaydena would lie to her at all, but hearing it from another made it more believable somehow. It was nice to know that she wasn't simply a failure in any case.

 

Kelleen and Aramina continued to plant all the flowers in the bed and Kelleen was really enjoying it. The simple actions and smells calmed her in a way nothing had in a long time. She also quite enjoyed her conversation with Aramina Sedai. There were only a couple of moments where Aramina reminded her that she was a novice, and the rest of the time it seemed as though they were equals carrying out a mutually loved task. It was refreshing. Kelleen could only hope that a good relationship could continue with Aramina Sedai on into the future from here.

 

Before she knew it the bell rang for the second sitting of dinner. She was feeling really hungry now that she thought about it, but she didn't say anything because she didn't want to ruin the good mood they were in at that moment. She would leave it to Aramina to dismiss her when she chose to.

[TaeaDawn]

It was refreshing to work with a Novice that had some initiative and Aramina enjoyed not having to tell the girl what to do each time she needed to do something new. Her conversation was intelligent, if light, though she doubted many novices would try to enter in a full fledged debate with an Aes Sedai about anything unless their classes required it. Novices tried to emulate Aes Sedai, they did not try to speak with them often. Unless they were mentoring them and that was a relationship completely of its own calibur.

 

By the time the bell chimed, the flowers were planted and Aramina was simply making small adjustments. She took her gardening gloves off before turning to the girl. "It looks like our work here is done." She said, with a small smile. She discarded her apron and looked at the small gadren that now adorned one of her 'warder' rooms. The scent was fresh and soothing and she was certain her earlier hopes of fragrancing the other rooms would work. "Thank you for your time Kelleen. I hope I can trust to your discretion about this room?" She asked the girl.

 

[KellySedai]

"Thank you for your time Kelleen. I hope I can trust to your discretion about this room?"

 

Kelleen stood up and said, "Of course, I can understand a want for privacy Aramina Sedai. If I wouldn't be over-stepping my bounds, I would like to ask to come back here and help again. I'm very fond of working with flowers and this seems to be my only outlet. Its very soothing for me, and as I'm sure you can understand, soothing is in short supply for a novice sometimes." She curtsied and waited for a response, hoping that she hadn't offended Aramina in some way. Some people could be very touchy about their private areas.

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina wasn't about to let the child come trapsing into her private sanctuary whenever she felt like it, but it would always need work and since the girl knew about it she might as well let her be the one. She gave her a small smile. "Of course. I will let you know the next time I need to work on it. It would allow us more time to get to know one another." She said as she walked the girl back through her quarters.

 

"Thank you for your help today Kelleen. As I said, I will let you know when it needs work again. And if you find you need anything or have questions that a Sister could help you with, you always know where my door is." She said.

 

[KellySedai]

She couldn't believe her luck! Not only could she come back and help, but Aramina Sedai actually acted like she wanted to get to know her. She almost pinched herself to be sure it wasn't a dream.

 

"Thank you so much Aramina Sedai, I'm at your disposal anytime. I would greatly enjoy getting to know you also." Keeping her eyes down respectfully, she curtsied and left to attempt to get some dinner before it was time for bed.

 

 

ooc: Thank you so much, this was a great chore and I would really like for our characters to become friends. Us too ;)