Moving in (Attn : Cass/Thayetta)

[Hayl3y]

Myrrhi's hands were red and puffy. This is what happens when Aes Sedai suspect you to channel in secret, silly girl, she thought. She had been spending the biggest part of three days scrubbing pots in the kitchen. It looked like the cook had prepared special extra greasy meals only to make her suffer. She had barely had the time to sleep as she had had to go to classes and to study. It had not been possible for her to wander in the garden anymore, the place where she had tried to channel already four times unattended.

 

When Myrrhi arrived to her room, she was surprised to see another girl standing there. "Who are you, what are you doing into my room", she asked.

 

The blacked haired girl sniffed. "I was told that this is now my room, yes. Are you Myrrhi Morrigen, the Andorian girl?"

 

Myrrhi coughed and felt her cheeks getting red. "Yes, this is me, and this is my room".

 

The black haired girl looked more or less familiar. She mustn't have attended Aureli's classes or Myrrhi would have known who she was. Probably a newcomer, and I guess from Tarabon. Even if she looked quite young, she had her back as straight as it was possible to. It seemed she was trying to act like a full raised Aes Sedai. "The Mistress of Novices told me this is my room. Now, she told me to tell you that you had to move out. You have to share the room of a Thayetta girl".

 

Myrrhi tried to calm down. Surely, the girl could not be lying. She would not place words in the mouth of the Mistress of Novices only to make a prank.

 

"I will see to it with the Mistress of Novices. Can I at least take my stuff ?" There was not much to take. Only a couple of items : three books, some shifts and two spare dresses.

 

"Your things have been moved already. Can you leave me alone now ? I need some time to study. I am sure the Mistress of Novices can explain you more, yes ? "

 

It surely didn't sound like a prank at all. Turning away from the door, Myrrhi sighed. Thayetta ? That's that other girl from the class, with the sandy hair. The one that doesn't talk much. At least that one looks intelligent and will let me read my books and do my stuff.

 

It was already quite late in the evening, but Myrrhi didn't want to hurry. She had get used to her room and was not really happy at having to move in with someone. Of course she had been sad, sometimes, not to have any friend. She had wanted to talk to someone of how hard her days were and of how much she missed her sisters. But she had never found the courage to go to someone. Some of the novices in her classes seemed to be very arrogant. And she didn't want to be rejected.

 

Myrrhi had to ask directions three times, to servants, but in the end she found the right door. Well, let's knock!

Edited May 25, 2015 by Hayl3y

[Cass]

Thayetta lay curled up in the foetal position, facing the wall of her room. Her eyes were red around the rims, her skin was pale and mottled around the red, and her lips and nose were puffy. All of her books lay untouched on the desk; right where she'd left them prior to the chimney... incident. She hadn't been able to bring herself to touch them since.

 

She sniffled and curled herself into a tighter ball, feeling miserable and exhausted and at a loss. Usually she dealt with any unpleasantness in reality by losing herself in the story and pages of a book, but today it had been the losing herself in a book that had caused everything to go wrong. She glanced up at the books on the desk again, and prepared herself for the fresh round of tears that was sure to come. She was so tired. And right now her comforts; flame and books, were out of bounds.

 

Knock! Knock!  A rapping at the door made her jump around. Sitting on the edge of her bed, eyes wide, she wiped her face and hastily smoothed her hair, wondering who it was and what they could possibly want at this late hour.

 

She hoped against hope that whoever it was would just go away, although something told her they wouldn't.

 

She stared intently at the handle of the door.

 

It opened.

 

Thayetta blinked.

 

Myrrhi Morrigen. The name bubbled through the heavy fog in her mind, matching with the face Thayett was used to seeing in the croud for Introductory lessons. What in the Light is she doing here? she wondered, waiting shyly for the other girl to speak...

[Hayl3y]

Hearing no answer, Myrrhi opened the door. She needed her sleep and was not ready to wait for Thayetta to be done with her chores, whatever they could be. If she has been caught wandering in the warders yard, she still must be cleaning the ground floor. The girl smiled and shook her head, as she knew very well that Thayetta wouldn't be the kind of novice to do that. Like herself, the other girl had kept a lot to herself but, there was an importante difference. This one had tried to take extra care to respect all the rules, while Myrrhi tended to forgotten about them when she found herself alone.

 

But; to her surprise, the girl was in the room, sitting straight on her bed and looking as if she had been crying a lot. A candle was burning on the small table full of books, near the door. Another book was open on her bed. She had probably been reading it.

 

What am I doing here? I was supposed to find my bed and sleep till the sun would rise and then head for the kitchen. As much as Myrrhi had been angry at being thrown our of her former bedroom and at having to share her living space with someone else, she now felt embarrassed. She had repeated lines in her head while walking to Thayetta's room and in most of them she was showing to the girl that she wasn't happy to be stuck with a roommate, in some of them she was talking like that silly Taraboner who was now occupying her old bedroom with a lot of "yes" and no" at the end her sentences. She had even thought about having to run to the Mistress of Novices would Thayetta be yelling at her and refusing her admittance in her room.

 

Never would she have imagined this situation, facing a fellow novice crying.

 

Feeling her cheeks going red, she looked away. I must act as if i have not noticed that she has been crying. I don't want to shame her... and i don't want to take care of this. Thinking those last words, Myrrh bit her lip with guilt. It was not so long ago that she had been crying in her bedroom too...

 

'My name is Myrrhi" she said, looking at the plastered wall.

 

"My stuff have been sent to your room".

 

Hearing no answer, Myrrhi looked back at ther girl. She hadn't moved an inch and she had not even opened her mouth.

 

"It seems you will have to share your room with me. But if you need time, i will come back later. Maybe some errors have been made", she said then shrugged.

 

As much as she wanted to step away, Myrrhi felt that she needed to do something. Her mind still screamed for her to find a spot to spend the night alone - it would be better to come back in the morning and surely there were spots where she could spend the night without being found -  when she advanced into the bedroom and placed a hand on her future roommate shoulder.

 

"It's gonna be ok, you will see".

 

Turning her back, she stepped slowly towards the door. And if I am found out of my room after the curfew, its gonna be hell for me....

Edited May 25, 2015 by Hayl3y

[Cass]

Thayetta sat shell-shocked on the bed as Myrrhi patted her shoulder awkwardly and then turned to walk away.

 

Despite her exhaustion and embarrassment, she gave a sudden nervous giggle. The situation was impossible. The poor other girl looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. 

 

"I'm sorry!" she blurted, surprising herself. "Don't go-" she sniffed back her tears and blocked up nose in a rush, hurriedly wiping her eyes "- on account of me."

 

She tried a hesitant smile as Myrrhi turned around.

 

"I'm just being a sissy. I'm... I'm not usually this much of a mess, I promise. And I really don't want you to feel uncomfortable." She continued in a rush, afraid that once she stopped blurting things out her usual shyness would return and make things even more awkward than before. "I didn't even notice they had sent your stuff here today...I guess that means we're going to be roomies. When they showed me this room I didn't know I'd have to share. I don't mind though, I'll... " Thayetta blinked and looked around, really seeing the room for the first time that afternoon.

 

The other girl was staring at her like she was crazy, and Thayett couldn't blame her. Usually she barely spoke two words unless she was spoken to, and yet, here she was babbling on at the other girl at a million miles an hour. Embarrassed, she pursed her lips, fell silent and felt colour flood into her cheeks. Panic-stricken, she wondered how she was ever going to live this down, and if she'd ever be able to behave as a normal room-mate should.

 

After a minute of awkward silence she looked up at Myrrhi and gave a shy smile. "I'm sorry. I'm Thayetta. Please, stay. I'm done with crying anyway-" she forced a self-deprecating smile. "-And you can't go back out there after curfew anyway - if they catch you we'll both be stuck doing chores until we're aging Aes Sedai!" Only half joking, she grinned properly this time... and waited to see if the other girl would follow suit...

Edited September 16, 2015 by Cass

[Guest]

Myrrhi let out a happy sigh as soon as she heard Thayetta call her back. She wouldn't have to go through more trouble with the Mistress of Novices, at least for the moment. Nodding nervously, she stepped back towards the bedroom door and immediately closed it, just to be on the safe side. An open bedroom, at this hour, was sure to attract some attention.

 

Turning back towards Thayetta, she was suprised to see that the other novice had bravely sniffed back her tears and had managed to regain enough composure to make Myrrhi feel the most uncomfortable of the two. Despite her puffy eyes, the sandy haired Novice  looked strong ; and, whatever her problems were, she even succeeded to grin after a few seconds ! Not sure about what she should do next, Myrrhi extanded her hand, just like she had seen business partners do back home.

 

- "I will be happy to be your roommate!", said Myrrhi with a small smile. "And i have to thank you for preventing me to get into even more trouble".

 

Biting her lip, Myrrhi hoped that she had done the right thing. I don't even know how to behave properly in this kind of situation. Is that hand shake such a good idea ? Maybe a hug would have been better ... But old Jenny, at home, hated hugs, even she was always crying so much... What if she doesn't want to shake my hand and lets me stand here, like an i... Myrrhi didn't manage to finish the train of thoughts rushing at her: she was interrupted by Thayetta strong hand shake. Her mouth dropped open: she had not expected such an enthousiastic response. But a response was a response and Myrrhi couldn't help laughing.

 

The girls eyes met and they both started to laugh even louder. The situation was so strange !

 

Myrrhi pointed at one of the beds.

 

- "I guess I will be sleeping here?"

 

Thayetta nodded.

 

- "Well, I guess, we need some sleep. I will have to wake up early tomorrow, for some fun in the kitchen..."

 

 

 

[Cass]

Thayett groaned.

 

She had almost forgotten about the morning's kitchen chores. They would be interesting to complete with her burnt and blistered hands. With a sigh, she dragged herself from the bed and slowly, painstakingly undressed to wash properly and get into her night shift. She had been so ready to fall asleep as she was, fully dressed and sore and covered in soot and all, but it was not really appropriate now that she was sharing a room. Or at all, really, if you want to behave like an Aes Sedai, her mind scolded.

 

Resolutely, she headed back to the basin. It was still full from when she had recently immersed her blistered hands. Gingerly, she picked up the washcloth and began to wipe down her soot-covered skin. Rinse, wipe. Rinse, wipe. Rinse, wipe. The water turned murkier each time she rinsed, but Thayetta couldn't be sure the cloth was actually cleaning her skin. The darn soot clung to her in streaks. She could feel it. She gritted her teeth and continued. 

 

Light, I am over cleaning up soot today!

 

Flecks of ash soon danced on the surface of the water, almost like they had danced before her in the air. It was enough to bring back to mind flashes of Drawing on the Power turning to ash itself, catching fire in her hands and crumbling to nothing in the fireplace, over and over again. The fact that she had potentially almost burnt herself out because she had been distracted still stung as much as the raw skin on her fingers and palms. She took a deep breath and shook the images from her mind. It was all she could do to not cry with the frustration and fatigue. The task of cleaning the soot from her skin seemed even more hopeless than sweeping it from the floor. 

 

At last, she had removed most of the cursed black, dusty carbon from her body. Without a looking glass, she couldn't be sure she had done the same with the mess that had been on her face though.

 

Nervously she turned and faced Myrrhi, who was getting ready for bed herself.

 

"Uhm," Thayett didn't really know how to continue as her room-mate turned around and stared at her. The look on the other girl's face was a mixture of curiosity and anticipation and Thayetta-didn't-know-what. Thayett herself was stricken with the horror of asking a practical stranger for personal help. She looked quickly at the floor. Why didn't I just go to bed??

 

"My face," she said, feeling it burn crimson under any soot that might be left, "is it... is it clean enough to show myself in the halls tomorrow?" Her gaze flicked up at Myrrhi for an instant before darting back to the floor. Holding her breath, she waited for the other girl to respond...

[Guest]

"I think so?" Myrrhi hesitated, arranging her shift. She had not bothered to clean herself. She would do that in the morning, as her nightmares would probably leave her sweaty the next morning, anyways.

It was hard to fully check her roommate's face: only a small candle was burning now. "But from here, it looks ok."

 

Seeing that Thayetta didn't look convinced, Myrrhi added, "Maybe we can check our face tomorrow morning? I tend to wake up very early. So, if you want, i can wake you when i am up? That way we will have more than enough time to get ready."

 

" It would be great!" answered Thayetta. She thanked Myrrhi with a smile and climbed slowly on her bed. Myrrhi did the same. The bed was not that different than the one she had slept in so far. It was as hard and as uncomfortable. The bed clothes were fresh from the laundry though and still smelled like soap.

 

"Who's going to blow the candle?" her roommate asked from under her covers. Myrrhi bit her lower lip. She didn't like to go out of the bed once she was in. The candle was on the table between the two bed... someone would have to get up... unless...

 

Both girls looked at each other and started to laugh. They had had the same idea: a little channeling would harm no one. Who would notice a small thread of air, even if it was channeled in the middle of the Novices Quarters. Except maybe fellow Novices, but none would know exactly who would have dared to channel unattended. On top of that, Aes Sedai were rarely seen in this part of the Tower. Most wanted to forget the time they had spent as Novices it seemed. As for the Mistress of the Novices, she had been extremely busy lately and had only come when really necessary.

 

"So, who will take care of the candle?" Myrrhi grinned.

[Cass]

"Who's going to blow the candle?" 

 

Thayetta didn't think she could face it. The flame. The puff of smoke.

 

The shame.

 

Her hands stung, throbbing a regular thrum of pain. A smarting reminder of what she'd almost done. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks, again. Saw the corners of 'Drawing on the Power: Warming to the Flame' curling, blackening, blazing in her hands. Saw the pile of ash and the smears of soot in the impossible-to-sweep mess she had created.

 

Myrrhi grinned at her and began to chuckle. The laughter was as infectious as it was terrifying, and Thayetta found herself giggling, almost madly, at the entire predicament. The girl wanted to channel!

 

"So, who will take care of the candle?"  Myrrhi was grinning at her, expectantly. 

 

Thayett's mind raced. Her laughter stopped short. This was worse even than thinking about snuffing the tiny flame out by hand. 

 

Channelling! Her heart felt like it was about to hammer out of her chest. She had to work hard not to burst into a fresh round of tears. And yet...

 

It would likely only take the tiniest thread of Air...

 

It would be very unlikely that either of them would almost burn themselves out doing that...

 

NO!

 

The list of burnt-out channeler names from the morning's class seared across her minds eye. Her conscience raged so sharply that Thayett found herself jumping out of bed.

 

Startled, she looked at her new roomie. No. No, she would not be channeling again tonight. 

 

"I... I got it," she said, blowing quickly at the tiny flame and jumping back into bed, heart hammering.

 

 

"Goodnight," she whispered after a second, rolling almost triumphantly away from the candle and the curl of smoke that was dissipating throughout the room. 

 

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Sleep. Sleep is what we both need now.

 

Tomorrow is another day.