Thanks! :D

*laughs* yeah, I thumbed through it a bit last night, signed up at the forums and stuff. I'm still a bit lost, but... I'm sure that'll change soon enough. ;)

*laughs* I never trust a drink from a Ghully, but I'll stretch my neck out for the newbie thing, I s'pose. I can't decide if it was good timing or just Ata being persuasive, but... here I am.

What's next? *smirks*

*laughs* we call those Rednecks around here, Ursula. I've dated one or two and married the complete opposite. *smirks* I can even hang out with them and carry on conversations in the odd versions of english they usually speak. It helps that I understand everything the announcers say on NASCAR race day, I guess... ;)

*grins* I remember getting...

MY NEW JOB! Yeah, that was just a few hours ago, but... *grins* it's just fresher in my memory. ;)

So, now I have to go buy school supplies. *rubs her hands together and grins*

Loraine fought the urge to say something about the flicker in the woman's eye, swallowing her newfound forthrightness in the wake of a lifetime of training. First her grandfather, then the Tower...it seemed the stretch of mistrust hung everywhere. She wasn't sure why that surprised her, not being back in the Tower, at any rate.

"I would enjoy that Loraine Sedai. It is always a pleasure to speak of our homeland." Loraine felt the corner of her lip quirk up at that. "As for my decision to petition the Green Ajah, I will not falter and I will learn as fast as I may. I can assure you of that."

"I should hope not, Aramina, especially since someday it will be my back you're guarding with a blade and faltering will hardly make me comfortable in that situation." She smiled, the old Loraine emptying herself into the new one's eyes. It left her feeling cold and she felt Kyn's reaction to it as a blow landed on his shoulder. He may have fallen in love with that woman, but this one was what he fought for. He'd start urging her to leave the Tower again if this kept up, she was sure of it. Ah, but those were thoughts for another time. For now... "As for speaking of our homeland, it's been my experience that it's hardly something anyone actually from it chooses to do, especially if we're given any choice in the matter." She nodded slowly, turning her smile on Jaydena. "Perhaps we can find a quiet place soon, Jade, there is much to catch up on and much news to bring to your ears from my travels."

She stepped back, nodding to the pair of them. "Good day to you both," she said softly. She stepped out again a moment later, watching the pair move down the hall. Her eyes remind me of Grandfather, she thought, losing herself in the haunting memories of a man who spent his days in politics and The Game, hoping to drag Loraine with him, all the way to the crown if possible. She shuddered inwardly and sighed. That was before Sirayn and Lwena had rescued her. But had they really saved her from The Game? Or had they deposited her in the heart of it, instead?

Loraine scrawled notes in her journal as fast as her fingers would go. Her thoughts were jumbled and the need to see it all out in black and white was comsuming her. She had picked up pieces of information while away from the Tower that only now made sense. Knowing what only the Tower can learn has its advantages, even though she hadn't felt at home in the Tower in a long time.

She stopped writing, stretching her back and laying her pen aside, not bothering to cap the ink. She'd be back to her anxious scrawling soon enough and unstopping the ink well would just make her fumble it and make a mess. She pressed her fingertips to the bridge of her nose and pinched, hoping to relieve the pressure enough that the concern coming from her warder through the bond would slack off. If she knew Kyn, he was neck-deep in a spar with a man twice his size and not bothering to use lathes to practice, either. She doubted whether a fresh set of stitches would make writing this any easier.

As soon as she thought it, she laughed at herself and shook her head. They were in the Tower now, there would be no need for stitches. Someone in the Infirmary would heal him and she wouldn't notice the wound once that had been done. Only she would forget something as silly as that.

"And besides," she whispered to herself, her lips spreading into a warm smile. "It's not as if there are a dozen warders in the Yard who are bigger than Kynwric."

A knock from the door startled her and she barely caught the ink well with a weave of Air before it tipped and splattered everywhere. She narrowed her eyes, rising slowly from her desk and moving towards the door, her mind racing as she tried to think of who could be on the other side. She checked her reflection in the mirror on the way and sighed. She had ink smudges on her nose and a few strands of hair had come impossibly loose, hanging down her face in a way that would've had her grandfather screaming for her maid. And promptly firing her, she was sure.

The thought lit her face with humor as she pulled open the door, her smile warming still more as she saw Jaydena on the other side. "This is Aramina Sur Dulciena, she is not yet Green but she is sealed to us." Jade's words drew her eyes to the girl standing beside her and brought back a wealth of memories in a flash.

It was Sirayn standing where Jade was now. She'd walked past this door while on this fateful tour, for it had been empty at the time. The girl's face drew her eye and Loraine felt her smile widening. Another Cairhienin joining the Green Ajah? Light help, but the Blues must be rolling over in irritation.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Aramina, and wonderful to see someone from home. My best wishes on your raising to these halls and I hope you find your decision doesn't..." she paused and flicked her gaze over to Jade before smiling again and sighing. "...chafe as it does so many others. All of us here have been where you are, and if not for the nature of our Ajah, we would most likely not be so stiff about it. I can promise that this will be for the best in the long run, though I pray it doesn't take you a terribly long run to learn that, yourself." She paused and tilted her head slightly. "Come by for tea some time. Being Cairhienin within these halls isn't as easy as it sounds, though I expect you're learning that all to quickly."

(OOC: Sorry this was so long in coming...RL bites)

IC: Loraine pushed away from the table and stretched, leaving the book open and a ribbon marking her place. She hadn't been home very long and the heavy feeling of this room hadn't changed a bit since she'd left. Even Kyn had noticed it, which was why he'd taken himself off to the Yard before the sun was up this morning.

She'd have gone with him, but waiting for the knock on her door kept her in this room, rather than watching him work through his forms. It was one of the list of things she missed about being out in the world, rather than cooped up in this Tower. She sighed. Kyn's emotions must be playing a much larger role in her thoughts than usual, since she'd never once felt out of place here. At least, not until she'd been raised...

She turned towards the door as the knock she'd been expecting rang out and checked her image in the mirror before moving towards it. She pulled it open slowly, a smile lighting her delicate features. There were fine lines appearing in her forehead and she felt that much older for them as they shifted under the deep green emerald hanging on her brow.

Tiassale stood on the other side of the door and Loraine nodded quietly to her before her gaze slid to the woman standing next to her. “Sister, this is Alyria Sedai. She is bound to the Battle Ajah, yet not a part of it.†Loraine nodded, remembering those words better than she'd hoped to, remembering how they'd cut, reminding her of everything that she'd done and everything she still had to do before she could wear a shawl on her shoulders. Moraine hadn't had that problem and it stung Loraine more than she cared to admit, then. She understood it now, but that wouldn't help the woman before her.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Tiassale Sedai, and it pleases me greatly to be here for such an important day for you, Alyria Sedai. I'm sure every door you've opened has offered you some piece of advice to help this day, this shawl, and this choice more easy worn. I will be no different, though I offer some small piece of a thought to keep you on track in your coming trials. Every woman walking these halls has been where you are. We've all fought and clawed for the shawl and faced even worse since. The day will come when this will be more clear for you, no matter how rough it may seem now." She smiled. "I pray that day comes quickly for you, so that you may appreciate all that is about to come your way. For not appreciating it will lead only to heartache later."

Loraine nodded again, her smile widening a fraction. "Congratulations on your current success and may it only serve to light your path for the future, Alyria Sedai."

~Loraine Kilaine

Sister of the Green Ajah

Bonded to Kynwric

I'm here, too! I should prolly add that to my sig, huh? *grins*

* :shock: @ Lannie's sig* The Amrylin's a Cylon!