Lost? I think not... (Attn Shawn)

[TaeaDawn]

There was always something interesting happening in Tar Valon, a fact that made Ursana Tahn Sakhr quite happy that he lived in such a large city. When wonderlust hit too hard, he could always drink it away until events unfolded and he found himself more heavily ensconsed in the Yards again. Tonight was no different than any other night, except that he had given himself a mission. There had been so much that had happened, so many things that had taken place since he had mentored with Aran, and he knew little of the man. Oh, he had an understanding of the type of man he was. He felt for his time in Cairhein he actually had a rather good idea of the man's character, but it was this man in Tar Valon, the character that Aran played, that he wondered about.

 

He'd watched his mentor with the people around him and it never ceased to amaze how many people Aran flocked to in a days time. But more than that, Sana had begun to notice which ones he saw more often than others. And which ones seemed out of place in that group. One stuck out like a sore thumb. She came to the barracks from time to time and she gave them all polite smiles and nods, but it was only Aran that seemed to get warmth from her and only he that got the touch of a hand or any form of physical contact. What was it about Aran that had attracted this Aes Sedai? One who, as he had always heard and seen, was distant and cool with no passion or emotion that he had ever heard spoken of?

 

Aramina Sedai was a mystery in this circle of people. She was seen everyday in the Yards, working with her katana, but he had never seen her working with anyone in particular and when approached she seemed able to send her would-be help scattering with a mere look. So why was she with Aran? And what did her associaton with him say about his mentor? What was she really like?

 

His mission to find out had seemed a simple one at first. Follow the Aes Sedai around a bit and learn who she is. Only there was nothing about this Aes Sedai that had given away anything. In fact, after following her around Tar Valon all day, he had nothing. Rather than give up though, he had followed her back into the Tower. A ready smile and the ability to duck down a hall with ease saved him a few times from certain trouble but he managed to follow her through the day and well into the night actually. He was amazed at how late an Aes Sedai would be up and about. In fact, he was ready to pass out himself and he had a full days work ahead of him in just a few short hours.

 

He looked at the door that the Aes Sedai had just entered and decided it was time to go. He started walking back through the Tower and was quickly reminded of just how big the place was. He was lost.

 

Good going Sana! He thought to himself as he walked through the halls. Just in time for some really important Aes Sedai to come around the corner too I bet. When he finally saw a girl comeing out of her quarters, he realized just how much trouble he could get into if he was caught. The girl was a Novice and he was in their quarters. Blood and bloody ashes!

 

But at least he knew where he was now. He made a hasty exit then, exhaling deeply as he made it out of the White Tower without getting caught.

 

[Asfaloth]

OOC: Sorry for the delay, I had a lot less time over the holidays than I thought I would. But I'm back now so let's get this rolling.

 

IC: This had been a really long day for Shawn. He'd started as usual with his morning workout. Then he'd spent some time with the two trainees he was mentoring. He was pleased with their progress thus far. They were both very dedicated to their training. While he may not have started off on the best foot with Kalush he was pleased to see that she accepted his training just as readily as Maev did. After his work with them he had gone into the forge to work on some projects he had and do some more training as he'd had a few of the apprentices assigned to him recently.

 

And that was all before lunch. After lunch he'd finally gotten a chance to catch up on his own training. He'd spent several hours on it in fact, leaving himself just enough time to grab a quick bite before he had to report for duty on the wall. As if his day hadn't been long enough Cairma had decided to call in on their bet and asked him to serve her shift as well. He kept his promises so he agreed without complaint but this meant staying up for a double shift when all he really wanted was to crawl back to his bed.

 

Finally, only a few hours before dawn, he left the wall and headed back to the room he shared with Dene. Though, these days 'shared' would be a bit of an overstatement as they were not exactly on speaking terms. No matter how much Shawn tried to win back Dene's trust it simply was not forthcoming.

 

This all added up to put Shawn in a rather sour mood, unfortunately for the poor soul ahead of him. Who could that be coming out of the Tower at this late hour? And from a door so near the novice's quarters? It looked like a trainee. Actually, it looked like Sana Sakhr, his former teammate from when he was a trainee as well. Well, friend or no this would have to be dealt with.

 

Sneaking up behind Sana he tapped the boy on his shoulders and then stood with his arms crossed. "Can you explain what you were doing unaccompanied in the Tower, or what you were doing in the novice's quarters?" He spoke in a whisper that was louder than a shout, his voice filled with venom and heat, Sana had to know that apart from any friendship they may have he was serious and so was the trespass.

[TaeaDawn]

He nearly jumped at the hand on his shoulder and just as quickly berated himself for not hearing the other man anyway. What sort of trainee was he that he wasn't aware of footsteps behind him? Oh light, but Aran would have his head if it had been him. The voice that greeted him though was just as bad though. Perhaps worse. He knew that voice, and while ther were normally on a friendly aquaintance level, his tone didn't bode well at all for Sana.

 

He turned to look at Shawn and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what would look worse, sneaking out of the Novice's Quarters or spying on an Aes Sedai to see what he could learn of her and her connection to his mentor. Blood and bloody ashes! If Aran knew he was following the Aes Sedai beause of him who knew what he'd do! The man had already left him in a gaol and set him up to become a thief and he hadn't done anything to bother the man!

 

He had no answer to Shawn's question really. Not an honest one anyway that he was willing to give. So he went with a tiny bit of truth and hoped it saved him a little grief. "I got lost inside the Tower." He said with a shake of his head. "I got completely turned around and when I found myself in the Novice Quarters, I bolted. I swear I only went through the Novice Quarters to find my way back out."

 

He just hoped Shawn believed him. And didn't hold any grudges against Rosheen.

 

[Asfaloth]

His answer had the ring of truth but the hesitation and the look on the boy's face spoke volumes. What he said may have been truth but it wasn't the whole truth, there was more to it than what Sana was letting on here. What had begun as a simple disciplinary action was taking a turn as Shawn's curiosity was piqued. He decided for the moment to give the boy the benefit of the doubt on his reason for being in the Novice's Quarters, especially since he confessed to it willingly, but that wouldn't get him off the hook completely.

 

"Well, it was commendable that you avoided temptation and found your egress so quickly when you realized where you were..."Shawn paused to make sure he had Sana's complete attention before he continued. "But that's not the only rule you broke. Yes, that was the more severe rule, and the one that would carry the higher punishment but tell me something, why were you in the Tower in the first place?"

 

Shawn could see Sana's mind racing as he sought to come up with a good enough excuse. He decided to help him out and try once more to encourage him to speak truth, "And don't lie to me either. There is only one acceptable reason for your being there unaccompanied by a Tower Guard and I know you know you way in and out of the library so you couldn't have been studying. Now, why were you there?" Shawn would have to decide soon what to do with him if he was to get any sleep at all. He could turn the boy over to Ginae or he could handle it himself or he could even let him off, it would all depend on how Sana chose to answer. The truth would serve him best and Shawn hoped his friend would see the wisdom in such a course.

[TaeaDawn]

There was little for him to do. Sana hated lieing. In fact he hated it so much that he wasn't very good at it. He knew that. Knew that the other man would see the lie for what it was. Blood and bloody ashes! Even when Aran wasn't getting him arrested he was getting him into trouble!

 

His choice was decided really. This could be really unpleasant if Shawn caught him in a lie. He just hoped that a tiny bit more of the truth would suffice instead of the whole truth.

 

He let out a deep breath before starting. "OK, so I saw someone talking to a friend of mine. I think that person might be using my friend and so I was following her around."

 

Alright, so it was mostly the truth. He could lie that much at least. And it was true to an extent. Why else would the Aes Sedai be caught up in Aran of all people? His mentor was hardly the type of person a respectible Aes Sedai would hover around, and this Aramina Sedai seemed to be vry respectable.

 

"I was just trying to learn more about her and by the time I decided to stop I was lost in the White Tower and that's when you saw me, coming out near the Novice Quarters."

 

There. Truth. As little of it as possible. LIght, he really was spending too much time with Aran.

 

[Asfaloth]

It seemed that he would get no further information from the trainee than had been given so far. Then again, he didn't really need any more information. Who could have he have followed into the Tower at this time but an Aes Sedai. More than likely the friend was his mentor Aran and the Sister was Aramina, Shawn himself had seen the woman hanging around Aran more often lately. Why the man's mentee felt the need to investigate his mentor's relations though was beyond Shawn's reckoning.

 

"Well Sana good intentions or not, you broke the rules and must be punished for your trespassing. However, I don't think we need to bother Ginae at this time of night. You wouldn't like it much I can assure you, Ginae has garnered quite a reputation for discipline as I'm sure you know." For that matter, she'd probably find a way to blame Shawn even if he wasn't the kid's . "So instead I'll make you a deal. Agree now to whatever punishment I choose and I'll agree not to bring you before Ginae for her form of justice."

[TaeaDawn]

This was an easy enough choice. Shawn was willing to trust to Ursana's good intentions and let the truth lie between them whereas if he went to Ginae he was sure the Mistress of Trainees would filet him left and right until she had all the answers she wanted out of him. Watching the Aes Sedai wasn't all that bad a matter really even if he had gotten careless and broken the rules, but if Ginae found out he was spying on his mentor then his mentor probably would to and possibly the Aes Sedai as well. Best to let sleeping dogs lie if they could.

 

He bowed his head and agreed. "I will agree to your punishment." He said after only a moment's hesitation. After all, he was agreeing to something without knowing the punishment, but beside the humiliation he would get at being brought before Ginae for it, she seemed to know what he hated to do the most and always had him doing it whenever he stepped out of line.

 

[Asfaloth]

Shawn hid his relief at Ursana's choice behind a mask of unreadable expression. He was glad he wouldn't have to deal with Ginae's accusations that this was somehow his fault. The woman was fair and just most of the time but light help the Tower Guard or Warder she suspected of treating one of her precious trainees unfairly or allowing them to fall into trouble they otherwise might not have if they'd been watched.

 

On the other hand, Sana might have been better off choosing Ginae as he would soon find that Shawn could be quite cruel in his punishments. "Good choice. Now remember you agreed to abide by whatever I decide in this matter." Shawn paused to allow that notion to sink in and saw as it did that Sana might have started to rethink his choice. But, he squared his shoulders and a look of determination crossed his young face. Very good. "Your punishment will last two weeks. During that time, any morning that you don't spend with your mentor you will report to the stablemaster and do whatever chores he has for you. In addition, every afternoon not spent training with your mentor you will spend in the armory pumping the bellows of the forge for myself or one of the other masters-not easy work and very hot believe me."

 

Shawn turned away then turned back with an evil grin across his face. "Oh, and one other thing. During these two weeks everytime I serve watch on the wall you will be there to serve as page for me and my comrades, delivering meals and whatever else we need you to do. I'll speak to Aran to see that he excuses you at these times, but it will be up to you to check the duty roster and see when you're needed." Now, in addition to the manual labor and the lesson in humility the boy would also get a chance to see the responsibility that Tower Guards have, a little taste of his future.

[TaeaDawn]

Stablehand in the morning. That he could do. He liked horses and even if it was mucking up stalls, he could deal with that to be close enough to watch the animals a little bit. The afternoons in the armory would be awful. Pumping the bellows was hard work and hot. The evenings on the wall wasn't a problem at all. In fact he rather liked the idea of getting to see more about the Tower Guard's duty on the walls. It was the very last bit that was the real issue.

 

The very last bit, now that was the issue. He had given his word though and there was no way around it. Shawn would go to Aran and explain the details of his punishment. Aran would want to know what he was punished for, if Shawn didn't tell him outright, and then Aran would find out that he had been following one of Aran's friends. Ladies. Whatever he wanted to call them.

 

He took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "Alright. Can I ask a favor though?" He said. He was pressing his luck and he knew it, but it woudn't hurt to ask. He hoped. "I'd like to explain what happened to my mentor myself, if you don't mind? I can explain the arrangements to him. You can talk to him later and verify I told the whole story, but I would just like to talk to him. Do you mind?"

 

It was barely better than letting Shawn talk to him, but at least he could hope to work a little damage control. And confessing always seemed to gain points when you did something people thought was wrong.

 

[Asfaloth]

"Very well, I will give you the rest of the day to find or make the oppurtunity to explain yourself to Aran. I'll find him at dinner to see that you did so. Now, get on with your business, I'll see you this afternoon at the forge."

 

Shawn started walking away and said over his shoulder, "Oh yeah, when you check the duty roster it might help to know that I'm serving Cairma's watches these next two weeks as well as mine so make sure you're there for all of them, day or night." Shawn chuckled to himself at the fitting punishment he'd come up with. Hopefully the boy would think twice before committing himself to rule-breaking actions again.