(OOC: Lol, Ive had steppenwolf in my head all day after reading asharas post:D

Excuse the short shoddiness of this post. I have a RL appointment to run toBIC:)

Sial Daemoa had had a rough day.

Well, perhaps rough wasnt exactly the word. It was entirely her own fault that she had spent the whole day stewing over what Darienna Sedai was going to do to them. The unexpected roommate was not her fault, true, but while not exactly a pleasent surprise, things could have been a lot worse. She could have been forced to share with a bore or a snitch or some uppity noble wannabe. No, rough wasnt the word. She certainly hadnt been suffering as some of the others who had been caught had. She, at least, had no hangover.

As of yet. By the sounds of Darienna Sedais punishment, that would not be the case tomorrow morning. Sial had worked for a bit in The Dancing Bear at home. She had a feeling she knew what would happen.

Still, she eyed the wine suspiciously. Perhaps its poisoned...

Sial laughed at her new roommates right hook joke. Joke was exactly what she assumed it was. Not that she didnt doubt that the girl could fight; the Borderlands was rough, apparently; but more because it did not occour to her that she ever might be on the recieving end of that right hook. In fact, being bested, especially by a girl several years her junior, was not something that even crossed Sials mind. She was not tall and not massively built, more medium, but in her mind she was bigger than she was in reality. That others could view her as little rarely crossed her mind, mainly because that she was relatively little never crossed her mind.

She grinned her urchin grin more at Miyas suggestion of rule breaking. "Indeed. Some rules need to be broken on occasion but it is an unspoken rule that snitches never prosper. I wont tell tales is you wont." The smile faded from her face. "Speaking of rule breaking, perhaps we should prepare for the worst for later. Darienna isnt exactly bloody merciful. We'll probably be hung from the top windows of the Tower for bird food or sent to..."

Sial stopped. It was no use dwelling. They would find out soon enough. Besides, if Miya was to be her roommate then it would be proper to look out for her to an extent, and scaring her with impending doom was not particularly nice. "Umm. Yes. Are you free for this afternoon? Ive got a lesson in a bit so if you are planning to catch up on sleep from yesterday, I wont be around to disturb you."

Mwahaha, maybe this could be why?

Sial looked up as another Novice joined her. Another Cairheinin, to be precise. She found herself wondering that the womans motives were. Perhaps she thinks I look less likely to get in trouble...if thats the way shes thinking, shes going to get a bloody shock. Looking around the table in the least obvious way she could manage, the Novice couldnt help but think perhaps the other Cairheinin, assuming those were the motives, had a point. The braided girl staring at her breakfast looked like she was about to bring it back again and Melianna was snivelling into her half-eaten bowl of porrage. Hardly a candidate to inspire confidence. The Arafellin girl comforting her looked brave enough, but she had also announced that she was new to the Tower at the party; she probably didnt have the sense to anticipate the likely consequences. On second thoughts, looking at the Cairheinin, perhaps she was feeling rough too.

Sial sympathised. That is, she sympathised right up until a little voice in her head made some very cruel, if funny, suggestions. It took a lot of self-control not to bound up to the kitchens and return with some particularly pungent breakfast option, a kipper perhaps, but that might have promted Darienna Sedai to start talking. Hilarious as wafting bacon in front of the hungover might be, it was probably not worth attracting any further attention from the Mistress of Novices. She contented herself with giving the Cairheinin next to her a breezy smile as she continued splurging honey on her roll. "Morning! Lovely day, isnt it?" she said brightly, if quietly. Considerably quietly. Prudence was a virtue.

Sial was more than a little surprised. Miya seemed...pleased. Very pleased. She hadnt expected to get a pledge of gratidute and a vow to return the favour. She had been expecting more to be sneered at or for the younger girl not to care less. Or for things to go horribly wrong. This was turning out...alright...The fact that Miya seemed bareable did not mean she was. She could have been a masterful actress or she could have been putting on a fake personality. Both were not unheard of throughout the world. It wasnt just Cairheinin that could be nice to your face and stab you in the back. The land was full of such people. For whatever reason, however, the dark plaited woman found her gut instinct was that with the Arafellin, that wasnt the case. She genuinely was pleased and she genuinly was trying to be friendly. Unfortunatly (or fortunatly, depending on your outlook) Sial Daemoa was a pessimist. The fact that her little stunt had worked out better than she had hoped only made her sure that sooner or later things were going to go horribly wrong.

She shifted a little all the same at the girls words. Gratitude wasnt something she knew how to deal with very well. Her family did not say thankyou. Her family smacked you on the shoulder and called you a name in thanks.

Sial listened to Miyas suggestion, twiddling the end of her plait and chewing her bottom lip. Seems reasonable enough. I dont want people pawing through my stuff. At the thought of inviting friends to her room, Sial almost laughed. It wasnt that she had no friends, not exactly. Tirzah was a friend, definatly, but in a cousin sort of way. Lillian Sedai might have been a friend but she was her mentor, it was her job to be her friend...That was it, Sial realised. Cutting out all casual aquaintances, like bloody Kirsa, and friends who had moved up in the world, like Salandrian, her entire friendship circle consisted of Tirzah, Lillian and Coal. There was something slightly stinging in that. Not that she cared, of course. She didnt want to be bloody friends with bloody teen Novices years her junior. And if Miya had thought the rule up, it would mean she wouldnt come back to find Kirsa and Melianna sitting on her bed or something.

"Those rules sound fair enough to me. Agreed. Perhaps we should have housekeeping rules too, but we can make those up as we go  along." She nodded briefly, half to herself. Yes, that would work. She still wasnt overkeen on sharing a room but strangely the idea of sharing with Miya was not entirely repulsive. Sial had never had anything like a little sister, or even female cousins that she knew of. Sharing a room could be an experience if nothing else. "Lets make it a rule that if we have a problem, we bloody fight it out and get it over with,rather than long term cattiness. " she suggested. She wasnt sure that she honestly thought Miya was the long-term-cattiness type but you could never know. Sial wandered over to the fireplace and examined it as she spoke, watchign mIya from the corner of her eye

Sial stayed sat on the floor with her knees together and her feet either side of her, skirt making a white puddle around. She let Miya walk around her, feeling a brief flash of irritation as the girl started putting things away. It took a great deal of self control to stop herself grabbing everything she owned and stuffing it under her bed. Of course, the braided girl hadnt actually touched any of her stuff, but that didnt mean she wouldnt...Light blind you, Sial Daemoa, what have you got that she could possibly want to steal? It was true enough. A steeplejacks daughter rarely had posessions of particular worth and Novices of the White Tower had even less. The womans current prize posessions were letters from home and they were very carefully hidden under her matress at almost all times anyway. Miyas indication that perhaps she did not know where Arafel was another irritation, partially because it wasnt too far from the truth. Sials knowledge of the world, excluding her homeland and, to an extent, Tear and Andor and the Aiel Waste too, was all gleaned from books and lessons. Arafel was a borderland; surely that was all anyone needed to know. It wasnt like she was ever going to go there!

The pale skinned woman gave a jerk as Miya mentioned horses. No, the other girl was not stupid. Sial did not know if she herself would have noticed the hair had their roles been reversed. It made her uneasy. She had never been entirely sure as to wether or not Novices were technically allowed horses and had always slunk around letting anyone know about hers in case they took him away from her. Not that she doubted some knew; Eqwina Sedai had been the one to give him to her and Lillian seemed to know everything and then some. Now she eyed Miya carefully. The other girl was new. She probably doesnt know anything yet. That was a relief. Unless Miya was particularly vicious or scheming, she might not have realised that she had unwittingly discovered one of the few levers Sial had. That meant the Cairheinin had a chance to manouver to cover her own back...

"I adore horses.  I couldn't bring mine with me though.  Most of my trip was by boat and it would have cost too much to bring my horse here that way. Would have been nice though, I think I would have enjoyed riding on free days. So where are you from and... for the light's sake tell me there is something fun to do in this Tower when we do get free time!"

That was either an opening for victory or a trap...there was only one way to find out which...

Shifting so she was sitting on her knees, Sial grinned. It was not a pretty grin. It made her look like an urchin stealing apples, despite her age and the fact she was somewhat cleaner than  an urchin would be. Her pose on the floor did not help her case either. It was almost surprising, therefore, how civilised her precise accent and low voice managed to sound. For a moment she just laughed. "Free time? Dont bet on it. You get a freeday once every twenty days but you wont have free time. You'll need it just to catch up on your sleep. And thats if you play by the Tower rules and dont get caught by Darienna." In her head, Sial added the 'Sedai'. She had a tendancy to do so but to voice the honourific might have spoilt the effect of her words. "Since you already have, you probably wont see any spare time until the Festival of Light. Theres fun stuff you can do in free time but it allmost all bloody ends up with the consequence of less free time, if you get my drift."

Fiddling absentmidedly with the end of her shaggy dark plait, Sial looked the girl perching on the bed by the fire in the face and wondered if she had scared her. No, that wasnt likely. Good. Scaring newbies was not her aim today. Now, a touch of confidence, perhaps. "Nice guess with the horse, by the way. You are right, I do have...frequent contact with a horse n the Tower stables." She wasnt about to say outright that Coal was hers, just in case. Claiming that degree of ownership would give the girl a chance to turn it against her. Not that Miya seemed that way, true, but you couldnt be too sure. People were not always as they seemed. A horrible thought occoured to Sial. She visited Coal whenever she could but, before, she hadnt had a roommate to tattle if she was slightly late to her rooms at night. There were several options. One, tell all about the horse and offer him to her roommate for visiting whenever she was bored and, by doing so, get the girl too involved to tattle without telling tales on herself. Two, just tell and hope. Or three, hope she didnt notice.

Standing up, Sial gave a rather over-the-top bow and put on a dramatic voice. "Miya Kiyoshi, as my new roommate, I hereby propose that, for the duration of us sharing this room on good terms, you may visit Coal the horse as often as you like until I say otherwise. Hes a lump, he wont mind extra poking." She grinned. If this wasnt a gesture of goodwill, if a calculated one, then she didnt know what was. Coal was the best thing she had ever owned, even more so than Sooty, the horse her family shared for the business. It was a gesture that could go wrong (everything in the world seemed to be able to go wrong if given the chance) but it potentially had bonuses. Miya would get a share in a horse to fuss over (as well as a share of the trouble should it turn out that an Aes Sedai suddenly decided that Novices and horses should not mix), she would have something in common with her roommate besides sharing a sleeping space and she might-might-have gained a bit of respect. Or trust. Or something. Maybe.

Sial straighened from the bow, her grin receeding to a wicked smile. "I also suggest that since we are stuck with eachother as roomies that we decide on room rules right now to stop us from killing eachother. What do you think?"

It occoured to the Cairheinin that, for once, she might be coming across as reasonably pleasent rather than how she usually came across. It also occoured to her that there was a lot of potential in the idea of corrupting a new Novice. Since they were in trouble from the party already, how much harm could an extra, tiny prank be? Not a big campaign on the scale of the notrios Operation Chicken. Just a minor joke. The kind that careful weasling should avoid them getting caught for. Such as leaving mice in someones bed. If she remembered rightly, some of the other Novices rooms were missing doors...

Sial grinned again. Potential indeed.

Sial

A Bad Influence

Sial Daemoa woke up still in last nights dress and wearing a considerable amount of carpet.

The dress was easily explained. On returning from the disasterous attempt as a party, she had been tired. Very tired. Lessons alone were enough to help a woman sleep at night but combined with extra chores for swearing, a visit to Coal in the stables, a lot of illegal late night scheming and a good deal of wine, it had taken all the concentration she had left to empty a jug of water and fall into bed. The carpet lint was explainable too, if slightly more embarassing. She was slightly ungainly at the best of times and combined with fatigue and alcohol, she had fallen over during her escape from the party. More than once too. Novice dresses gathered fluff, it seemed.

Scowling, Sial rolled out of bed with a groan. She wasnt hungover; the water had seen to that-but that did not mean she wanted to get up. She didnt even consider making her bed today, not that that was a particularly high priority on the best mornings. A stray stand of hay and a lock of horsehair drifted from her own dark mane and drifted to the floor. She grimaced and dragged off the dress, then dumped it but her wardrobe and went to the basin to wash. Feeling less digusting, she changed shifts, pulled on a new clean Novice dress and then attempted to fix her hair. 20 minutes and a comb full of knots later, Sial even managed to look tidy.

20 minutes, however, was too long to spend combing and as a consequence the little dark woman near sprinted to breakfast.

Trotting into the breakfast hall, Sial pushed some newly escaped flyaways behind her ears and absently pushed her sleeves up her arms. There was an interesting scent of food mingling with the low buzz of chatter coming from various bunches of women but it was the same almost every morning and she didnt register too closely.Bread and honey, I reckon she thought to herself as she headed toward the kitchen door, where other Novices on kitchen duty mingled with the cooks and scullions. Having grabbed herself some food, as well as a bizzare purple-brown fruit juice that she didnt equire too closely after she went to find somewhere to sit.

Out of habit, she looked around the room. There were numerous Novices and a good number of Accepted too, though Novices numbered the most. Novices had most to do and no one would get up at this abysmal time in the morning unless they had to. Then she caught sight of someone horribly familiar. The horribly familiar someone started gesturing. Oh blood and ashes...

Sial was no stranger to the Mistress of Novices. Within three months of being in the Tower she had been involved in a particularly specacular prank involving corn, her ally Tirzah and a hoarde of slightly uncooperative chickens. Things had spiralled downward since then. If that was a downward spiral, however, said spiral had gotten progressively steeper over the last seven months. She had gotten more than slightly reckless in her rulebreaking, perhaps due to increasing confidence in the Tower or the fact that her mentor was out of Tar Valon or simply because she was getting older or something else, but whatever her reasons, the result was that she knew the Mistress of Novices face better than she would have liked.

Not all pranks and clumsiness resulted in capture, though, and the Cairheinin found herself mentally listing reasons as to why Darienna could want to talk to her. Then she noticed the Aes Sedais companions. One she recognised but could not name, a Novice whose hair curled at the bottom of her braid and whose expession suggested that she had taken advantage of the wine at the party and was paying the price. The multibraided youngster was called...Maya? Miya?...and was aparently trying to reassure another weeping woman in a white dress. Sial knew Melianna from before last night and couldnt help feeling marginal comtempt for the dark girls weeping; she had to be nearly Sials own age, not a mere child. Then again, perhaps she had very good reason for snivelling. Sial had had a hangover in the past and felt that a day of chores, lessons, an early rise and a meeting with Darienna perhaps merited a bit of a howl, if that was the case. Not that she would herself. Better to be strapped to a side of beef and thrown to the bears than break down with the whole breakfast hall to see.

The Novice breifly considered pretending not to notice and escaping. Very briefly. Darienna Sedai was not daft. If she tried that, she had as good as proclaimed herself guilty. Of course, the Mistress of Novices probably suspected she was guilty anyway. Pessemisticly, the dark eyed woman started predicting the possible outcome of this meeting. Shes going to switch me. No, she'll set me to gutting fish-no, she'll make me write notes for Ava Sedai! Urgh...no, on second thoughts, she'll have me scrubbing out bedpans for forever more-or just throw me out the window! As long as she doesnt leave me to stew like she did that time I threw that lard ball out of the window to see if it would bounce and it-actually, thats not bloody likely. The womans a bloody moose, shes more likely to trample me underfoot and make me into bloody stew...

There was no time like the present. Sial trotted over to the table with as little expression as possible and stopped a good arms reach away from the Mistress of Novices. "Good morning Darienna Aes Sedai," she said rather solemnly, assisted by her native accent. She did not attempt to curtsy. Her curtsies remained appauling and attempting one whilst balancing her breakfast would be an accident waiting to happen. She took a seat away from the other Novices, although unfourunatley closer to Darienna that she would have preferred, and set to noncholently hollowing out her bread roll and smearing it with honey. If Darienna didnt know, she hadnt been too suspicious acting. If she did know...well, there was no helping that now.

Sial Daemoa

(OOC: Excuse the unnecessarily long post; caffine brings 'inspiration' ;D)

Sial stood and listened to the girls sudden explainations. She knew Miya, both from the party and the resulting incicent with Darienna, and she thought she had a measure of her. Though, in reality, the reason she was standing was to give herself what little command she had...that and the fact her own bed was a mess. It wasnt just Sials personal apperance that seemed to always manage to be untidy.

Miya sat down on the spare bed and continued talking, and smiling, and the Cairheinin tried not to wince. Now she remembered what she remembered most about the newer Novice. Miya talked. And talked. She chattered on like a braided canary, perfectly happy with life for no apparent reason and chirping to herself despite her confined quarters. Whats more, she seemed not to be talking out of an ulterior motive or in order to see the effect or even because she liked the sound of her own voice. It seemed Miya was attempting to make conversation just because that was who she was.

That was a novelty.

Sial stood silently, watching the girl. She was very much a girl, too; she couldnt be older than 16, surely. Her brother was probably older than Miya. Her younger brother. The Cairheinin woman tried not to wince. It was always a mistake comparing other Novices to people she knew from Maerone; once she had made the comparison it made it more difficult tenfold to manipulate or bully or hate them. Illogical, but that was the way things were.

"It was terribly lonely." Sial registered that Miya had finished telling her little story. Frankly, she was somewhat taken aback about how blunt the girl had been with some aspects. She herself would never, ever have admitted to being lonely even to her best ever friend, let alone someone she barely knew. Of course, not everyone in the world had the restraint of Cairhein in their upbringing but still...Miya was either innocent as a lamb or thick as two short planks glued together with stupid glue.

"Um... so... it occurs to me, I should probably ask if you'd rather take this bed?  I'm not partial to where I sleep really so it makes no never mind to me.  Whichever you don't want will work fine."

Perhaps it was a calculated offer to lure her into a safe sense of security or perhaps it was simply an attempt to make friends. No, she's not stupid. If she actually is as bloody friendly as she comes across, sooner or later someone with a chip on her shoulder is going to eat her alive.Sial realised that she had been silently standing arms folded, face blank. She had always been slightly territorial and not so many months ago, her response would probably have been one that would have lead to scathing words. However, she had learned something since joining the Tower, and that was to never turn down potential allies.

"You can sleep there if you want," the Cairheinin woman replied, then grinned. "Im rather partial to that one." She indicated her own decidedly untidy sleeping arrangements, then kicked off her shoes and stockings and sat down right there on the floor.

Taking the grin off her face, the woman looked at Miya thoughtfully. "I suppose we should get to know at least a little bit about eachother," she suggested. What she actually meant was that she wanted to know a bit about her unanticipated new roomie. Such as wether or not she was going to knife her in her sleep or burn down their room. Looking briefly at the floor, Sial plucked a very long wiry grey hair from her skirt. Coals tailhair, probably. Why was it that animals got hair absolutly everywhere?

Rather ridiculously she found herself hoping her new roommate was not going to shed as much as her horse did.

The White Tower looked beautiful today. Streams of sunlight poured through the windows, making stray dust mites glow with a strangely simple beauty. Pools of golden light gathered in puddles on the carpeted floors, catching some sea folk porcelain here, a golden rigged chest there. There was a general sense of peace over the Tower, as if no one was in the mood for trouble. Even the servants were few and far between; no one wanted to be inside who could be elsewhere.

So the Novice stamping along the corridor was more than slightly out of place.

Sial Daemoa had been at the tower a good deal of time now, though she rarely thought about it if she could help it. Long enough for her to have gained a measure of confidence, a certain self surety that allowed her to be testing the boundaries of what she could get away with. Short enough, however, for her not to have gained the serene finish that the Tower put on the majority of her residents. Short enough a time for her to still be the scruffy, suspicious young woman she had always been.

Scruffy was the operative word. Try as she might (though she rarely did) Sial seemed to manage to look like she hadn’t changed her dress or brushed her hair in a week (thought thankfully she didn’t smell like that). Her dress was crumpled and creased, the hem frayed at the front where she had fallen over not so many days ago and the sleeves rolled up as far as she could. A generally curvy figure betrayed that she was not as young as her youthful, faintly freckled face suggested, although her eyes were not those of the 16 year old she could pass for. Usually, the Novice had  at least the hint of a smile or a smirk but right now, Sials scowl could have withered the paintwork. The Cairheinin woman stomped along the corridor like a diminutive tempest. She was not best pleased.

Just the evening  before, Sial had been part of an impromteau gathering of Novices. It had been tame enough; ok, she had drunk quite a bit of wine but she wasn’t some teen kiddy, she could take her drink. At least, she had had the wits to scarper from the gathering before it could have been discovered, and she estimated that less than 10 people at the party, counting mights as well as do’s, knew her name or who she was.

It was that that had Sial in such a foul mood. From what she knew, there was no way that she should have been busted unless someone had squealed on her. She herself had been very careful. Yet that morning, the Mistress of Novices Darienna Sedai had swooped on her like a bat with a pipe and requested…no. Darienna didn’t need to request. She didn’t need to command either. She said and people did. And what she had said had ended up with Sial in her office. Again.

That was a problem too. For the most part, Sial was not the kind of Novice to get in trouble, or, at least, not the kind of Novice to get caught. However, just 7 and a half months ago, her mentor had discovered that she had been using the Power unsupervised. Lillian Sedai had not punished her directly but that did not mean Sial hadn’t spent a lot of time squirming guiltily. Whats more, Lillian had then disappeared, to the Borderlands apparently, leaving Sial feeling as guilty as ever for not actually ever apologising properly or thanking the White for not handing her over to the proper authorities. Since then, Sial had been perhaps more reckless than usual. A Yellow who had been studying the human mind might have suggested that, subcoinciously, she was setting herself some sort of penance to sooth her guilt. The trouble was, it was becoming a habit now. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she hadn’t had pnishments right into the evening. Yesterday, for example, it had been swearing that had meant she was out until sundown, although the party hadn’t exactly been her punishers fault. Strangely, today her day was free of chores despite visiting Darienna Sedai but Sial suspected that the woman was leaving her to stew.

Swearing under her breath, the Novice stalked toward her room in the Novice quarters. It was oddly quiet there too. Most were probably in lessons or doing chores. A few of the more lucky were probably enjoying the sun.

Unusually, Sial was lucky in her way too, at least as far as rooms went. She had been at the White Tower for over a year but for that entire time, she had had a Novice room to herself when many had to share with another girl, if not several. Her room was easily big enough for another to share it but for whatever reason, no one had ever been assigned to share with her. Maybe it was because she had joined the Tower later in life than most. Maybe it was because she was not easy to get on with.

No. more likely, it was because she was a bad influence. The Cairheinin woman had gotten off to a shaky start in terms of staying on the straight and narrow, and that was even before her more recent reckless phase. Pranks were not the half of it; the woman was a natural clutz and had caused chaos in some instances without even trying, such as the memorable ‘ink-on-an-Aes-Sedais-cup’ incident. She was quick enough in lessons, assuming they did not involve Earth, but no one would have given her to some innocent, leadable new Novice as a roomie. It was something that the cairheinin had grown used to to the extent that she didn’t even think about it any more.

Kicking open her bedroom door with perhaps more force than necessary, Sial stomped into her room..and stopped short.

Nothing was missing, of course. The desk by the window straight ahead was there and probably had been for the last hundred years by the look of the gouges in the dark wood. The fireplace on her left was, naturally, immaculate (as a steeplejacks daughter Sial dealt with that by habit) which was a contrast to the heap of unmade blankets that was her bed. To her right against the near wall was the wardrobe, to her left the washstand. Nothing was missing.

It was the newly appeared bed that was the problem.

Sial approached the bed gingerly. It was slightly narrower than her own, if longer, and of a lighter wood. In a better position too, with one end close to the fireplace. What in the Light is a trollocing bed doing in my room?! I dont need two! Not unless I move Coal up here and Im not sharing my room with my bloody horse…

A horrible thought came to the Novice. Surely not…they wouldn’t…not after all this time…

Sial Daemoa

Considerably disgruntled Novice:D

Accepted? Sial said without thinking. She hadnt even noticed an Accepted...a little vein of shame and personal disgust bubbled up. How could she have been so focused on the others she hadnt noticed? Bloody Kirsa and bloody Melianna...if they werent here I wouldnt have been distracted... even in her mind, Sial knew she was excusing herself. It was no ones fault but her own that she hadnt noticed.

Seeing Kirsa and another Novice (another Cairheinin by the look of her; she had noticed the Accepted being gone) heading for the door was enough for the dark haired Novice to drop the wine bottle and spring to her feet. "Another time then, Miya," she said in a rather grandois tone with a distracted grin, the first she had handed out that evening, "and you too, Melianna, seeing as you seem to enjoy the idea of these sorts of games so very much." Now was not the time for spiky comments though; Sial had no intention of being last out of the room. No creeping for her this time; she lept toward the exit like a spring foal. After all, why creep for sake of bravado? It was obvious to even the most dim witted there that she was skidaddling.

Skidaddle was what Sial did, though not as coordinatedly as usual-a bit of wine did that to a person. She caught the other Cairheinin by the doors eye and winked. There was nothing wrong with a bit of native comradary after all and besides, if the girl was from their home country she would read into it exactly what she wanted to read. She caught Kirsas eye too and half smiled, half smirked as the conflicting thoughts in her mind about the other girl battled to make themselves known.

The she bounded through the door and ran. For someone with little legs containing a good deal of wine and running in the darkness, she made surprisingly good progress.

No one would be catching Sial Daemoa tonight.

Sial

Running to safety!

This time, Sial was ready for it. She knew this was going to be the topic for the evening. It was typical. The one time she had a chance to pry into peoples backgrounds, the one time she could dig for infomation without worry about people realising, and it was likely to end up with her starkers! This time, though, the Cairheinin managed not to blush scarlet like a silly little girl, though she did flush slightly. There was a trick, she thought, to not going red every time someone said something...inappropriate...for public mention. It seemed to be not thinking about what someone said too much. That made sense, in a way; you couldnt get outrageous mental images from words without thinking about it, but that was easier said than done. If you were eavesdropping for a particular merchant in exchange for coins, you needed to listen to every word around you, listen and pay attention enough to filter who might be relevant.

"Fine," Sial said in response to Meliannas suggestion. "Whatever." What on earths got into her? Last time I met her she was all nervous and dull and pathetic. Now shes just like the others, giggly and...stupid. Urgh. Its probably the influence of her friends here. All them other bloody Novices are al the same...most of them anyway. Bleeding cliques. "If we do that, people will have more incentive to do their dare or tell their truth."

She didnt point out that there was nothing stopping people just up and quitting, nor that there was no way to guarentee someones truth was truthful. She wouldnt, either. Doing so would spoil her own get-out clause. Tapping a fingernail on the top of the bottle, she looked around, managing to appear absent and not quite withit. "If thats the deterrant, who goes first? How do you decide that?"

One thing was for sure; it wouldnt be her. She wouldnt get stuck in that trap, oh no.

Sial shifted her weight and re-rolled up her sleeves. A fragment of straw fell from her dark scruffy hair to her lap, unnoticed. She was plotting. Now that she had worked out her own personal safety mechanisms for this game, she had to think up a way to throw the others...

Biting her cheeks, Sial attempted to return to a normal colour. As anyone who had ever attempted to do that would know, thinking about blushing only made the situation worse and with fair skin and a surprisingly prim view on some things, Sial had been in this situation before. She tried to think of something else for a moment, which was a struggle in itself. I need a get-out clause...that Miya didnt say we couldnt play and then mysteriously drop out one go before our own, now, did she? No she didnt. Ha. I'll bloody be doing that then. Im certainly not...mooning...anyone! Of course, that thought made her colour all over again, especially when she remembered the gender of Warders.

Struggling to keep her distinctly rosy faces expression neutral, Sial eyed the wine bottle in her own hand. It was cold and had the added benefit of concealing her face for a moment so she took a gulp that a tavern drunk would have been proud of. Red wine she thought to herself. It would be red, wouldnt it? It cooled her down a bit if nothing else. Feeling considerably less flushed, Sial looked at her fellow Novices. It occurred to her that she was probably not only the oldest woman present, in the little circle of Novices she was talking to, that was, but likely the one who had been at the Tower the longest.  What didn’t cross her mind was that the others, likely, did not realize that far from being in her mid teens like them, as her height and generally young appearance suggested, she was actually just a month from claiming two decades of life.

Sial being Sial tried to calculate the positives and negatives of her position as she absently swigged from the bottle in her hand. Pro, Im older and have more life experience. Con, if theres something they know and I don’t Ill look like a bloody fool. Pro, Ive been a Novice a year and know where to run in the Tower if we get busted. Con, if we get caught, I’ll likely be punished more for being so bloody stupid after all this time. Pro, Im Cairheinin. Con, Im Cairheinin. Pro, I have no friendship obligations to this lot and can scarper if I need to. Con, they have no alliance to me either and they know where I live. Con, if I run now Ill look like a coward in front of kids Dami’s age. Pro, I have wine-I can get them drunk and leg it when they don’t realize. Pro- The cycle continued in Sials head as she thought, sipping at the wine as if it was water.

On a positive note, she wasn’t red from embaressment anymore. If she didn’t put the wine down, however…

The Cairheinin glanced at the other Novices, then at Miya. “It doesn’t bother me. Whatever bloody consequence you like.” Her native accent and low voice would have been rather civilized if it weren’t for the splattering of swearing. She noticed Kirsa was laughing but she disregarded it. “Who goes first then?”

Sial

Should pay attention to what she is drinking...

Hello to the Warders Div! Are you currently RPing a Trainee with a talent for causing trouble? If so, read on!

White Tower Novices Tirzah Behen and Sial Daemoa will be rounding up Novices and Trainees for a good old fashioned game of Dares. Said game will take place in the halls and grounds of the White Tower and will involve typically childish dares such as crossdressing, pranks and tests of nerve. We have permission for starting trouble but we need to know a rough idea of numbers.

If you are interested in RPing your Trainee in this or want to have a better idea of what it might involve, please post here now or message either me or ashara.

Thankyou! ;D

Are you Bored? Fed up? Does your Novice have a freeday? Think its about time your Novice got into trouble? Then perhaps this is for you!

White Tower Novices Tirzah Behen and Sial Daemoa will be rounding up Novices and Trainees for a good old fashioned game of Dares. Said game will be Tower-wide, suitably ridiculous and may or may not result in punishment ;D We have permission for starting trouble but we need to know a rough idea of numbers. If you are interested in RPing your Novice in this or want to have a better idea of what it might involve, please post here now.

That is all ;D

Ee, congratulations Jaydena! And you too Miya :) Get sleep while you can...

DM Handle: Siemba

Character Name(s): Sial Daemoa

Email Address: lupe_of_doom [at] hotmail [dot] co [dot] uk

MSN Messenger: see above :)

Welcome back Elilliane! And thanks for the link ashara-that was a nice read :)

OOC: heh heh, much appreciated! ;D BIC:

---------------

Sial was not one for physical contact but she didnt pull away from Lillian as her mentor kindly tok her hand and talked as pleasently as ever to her. "It isn't what you would think.  It isn't because you aren't trying hard enough, in fact, it is because you are trying too hard". That got Sials attention and she looked up sharply. Trying too hard? How can you try too hard? If it was the case though, then maybe she wasnt entirely useless...

"You've overpracticed enough that you've ingrained your fire use subconciously as a crutch," Lillian continued almost conversationally. "That is one of the dangers of pushing yourself too quickly. Sometimes one should know when to be patient and, when necessary, know when to take a step back so they may take two steps forward". There was enough evidence, now, for Sial to stop kidding herself that Lillian did not know what she had been up to for the past months. Her mentor wasnt stupid. She knew. They Light only knew how she knew, but she did. The Cairheinin found her eyes flickering toward that sword again. Technically Darienna Sedai was in charge of Novice punishments but that didnt mean other Aes Sedai, and even Accepted, could dish out punishments. Whats more, practicing without supervision deserved a major punishment...Sial tore her eyes from the sword. Lillian was Aes Sedai, she hardly needed metal to help her punish if she wanted to.

"For the next tenday you are forbidden to embrace the source".  Sial couldnt help it. She gaped. Was that the punishment? She opened her mouth to start objecting or pleading or trying to defend herself; she wasnt sure exactly which. She didnt get a chance to find out either because Lillian Sedai just carried on. "If you embrace it for even a moment, I will find out and your week shall begin anew.  Once it is done, we shall re-examine your earth weaving and you shall have the fresh eyes necessary to do so, eyes unclouded of frustration. Your other classes involving saidar are cancelled and other tasks shall replace them.  And when we renew your training, you will not resume your private self improvement sessions".

Ouch. Sial found herself wondering if Lillian had ever been in a fistfight; she certainly knew the basics. 'Bam, I know what youve been doing. Bam, no saidar for you. Bam, I know all, mwahahaaaa.' Lull them into a sense of security, then kick them when they are down. The Novice felt mentally winded. And her mentor wasnt done yet. Standing and picking up her sword (Light, Im buggered now, shes going to spit me!)  Lillian continued, though a little less sternly. "If you wish to study beyond the curriculum, you may come and find me so I can at least supervise you.  If you burn out, you not only harm yourself but put others at risk.  When someone burns out they also lose control and anything can happen. Think about that during the week, and on my offer.  I'll see you at dinner tonight."

With that, Lillian walked away, every inch an Aes Sedai, leaving Sial a trembling wreck.

The Novice sat there for a moment, stunned. For a good few minutes, the only thought she could keep hold of way that there was still a pothole in the ground.

Sial Daemoa, however, was not one to stay down when she tripped. Brushing her wrist over her eyes to dissapate the unshed tears, she smoothed her creased white skirts and stood up on wobbling legs. She had been outmanouvered, that was plain. She had tried to push her luck and she had reaped the consequences. Not as bad as they could have been, perhaps. Then again, she couldnt help feeling that perhaps a beating from Darienna would have been preferable than dealing with Lillian. Darienna was clever and had a wicked sense of humour but at least punishment from the Mistress of Novices was straightforward, if often ironic. Lillians punishment could hardly be called a punishment at all and that made it worse. Punishment from Darienna was like being walloped by your great-uncle and his walking stick; punishment from Lillian was more like someone who had known you from childhood looking at you wih dissapointment. The Novice had no idea if the White Sister had done what she did on purpose or by accident but either way, it had made her squirm more than a beating or a screaming match would have done.

Sial sat down heavily on the bench with one leg under her and thought. Her mentor was giving her help and regardless of how much it would make her squirm, she was going to take it. She had been an assistant to the Maerone reader and the woman had once told her that to relocate a displaced shoulder, you had to hurt your patient for the greater good. Light, not chanelling for 10 days...what will I do then? Bloody chores, obviously, but what else? Getting up and prodding the soil over the pothole, Sial frowned to herself. One thing was for certain; she wouldnt be channeling unsupervised in a hurry.

Sial

Sial narrowed her eyes as both Melianna and Kirsa agreed to play. They hadnt jumped when she had suggested a similar game. Come to think of it, since when had Melianna answered questions rather than looking at the floor like she wanted to become part of it? The Cairheinin had only met the tattoed novice that once but Melianna had come over as shy and dull then; today she was grinning and dancing. Perhaps the Tower has changed her already... As for Kirsa, Sial wasnt sure exactly where they stood. Friends? Enemies? Politely ignoring eachother? Well, she was sure to find out sooner or later.

Miya was prattling. Oh yes, she was obviously young, younger even than Dami at home in Maerone. Sial listened as patiently as she could. Foriegners talked so much! Why was that? The little dark Cairheinin followed the blond braided girl to the corner and took a seat, lounging with one leg under herself. The girl was still talking. Not unpleasently or rudely or offensively, just constantly. Blood and ashes, Im surprised no ones murdered her or gagged her by now. Does she shut up ever? I pity her tutors-they'll get their bloody ears worn out! Not to mention anyone she ends up friends with-her poor roommate! I bet she'll be wishing she had no ears after a week living with her! Still, the thought was half-hearted. Miya seemed open enough and likable enough. And she was younger than Sials little brother-it was harder to hate younger people wholeheartedly and Miya was far from horrible. Irritating, perhaps, but not offensive...

"First we need a deterant for people wanting to skip out on what they pick.  I know the ideas can be kind of twisted but they are suppose to scare us from wanting to just avoid doing what we first pick.  It could be anything like licking the floor to ..." Miya was saying, giggling, "going to the window down the hall to show your full moon to the warder's yard! Any suggestions?"

Sial was a Cairheinin born and bred, not to mention a dabbler in merchants Daes Dae'mar. That meant that, to an extent, she was reasonable at controlling her emotions and none too shabby at acting. It also meant that the younger girls passing suggestion set her face on fire. Show my what to where?! She could feel her pale skin colouring, which only made it worse. What are this lot of children going to get me into?! Public nudity?! Id rather go to Darienna Sedai, confess everything Ive ever done and demand to be flayed within an inch of my life!

Sial badly wanted to say something, but with her face glowing like a beacon in the Festival of Light, it would only attract attention to herself. She found herself wishing that, for a change, her hair was hanging loose so she could hide behind it, rather than being in its usual scraggy plait (with additional straw) hanging down her back.

Sial handed the sword back to her mentor, letting go of saidar as she did so. As always, she felt a pang of regret as she did. Life was sweet but the Power made it sweeter, as if she had been looking at the world through fog until she embraced the Power. The Novice had assumed that after so many months of practicing, legal and illegal, that faint sense of loss would become everyday but time did not make it easier. If anything, it made her want to hold the Power even tighter. That, her tutors had told her, was the danger of channelling but knowing that fact did not make it easier. Strangely, giving back the sword was not exactly straightforward either. She had never held a sword and certainly never channeled through one. It had been...odd...but not in a way that put her off wanting another go.

She was grateful to Lillian Sedai, though the womans mild praise made Sials cheeks pinken. She had always found her mentor encouraging, if infuriatingly clever, which was something to be commended after she had just made a pothole in the ground by accident. The Sister made a point that made Sials ears sharpen."Now, the problem that I noticed with your earth is that its doing something that it shouldn't.  Earth does not explode by itself, you're using another thread with it strangely enough. I'm guessing you're doing it subconsciously, but there is an element of fire in the earth thread thats been woven in there.  You need to be able to use earth by itself, without feeding fire in it to help stabilise your control because it can have disastrous results when used for something larger than your attempt just then." Sial blinked at Lillians words. How am I bloody using Fire by accident? Thats insane! The power takes thought, you cant just bleeding zap things by mistake... Another voice in Sials head quietly suggested that it made sense despite her own mental protests. After all, she had problems with Earth. Oh, she could do the little things, little tricks with the Power that her teachers told her to do, but they always took more effort, more practice than other tricks. She was quick to learn with things that didnt involve Earth...especially Fire and Air. Ah. So maybe Lillian was right...

She embraced the Power once more and watched as her mentor demonstrated and explained. She felt a sting of envy at the way Lillian Sedai seemed to make it look so easy but she stamped on it. "Extend your senses into this clod of earth.  You should be able to find within it a fault like, all you need do is use earth to harden the earth around that line a little, making it more brittle and more likely to snap even though its harder technically. Use as many clods of earth as are needed until you can begin to manipulate that little fault line in every clod sent.  Try again, and I'm here to talk you through it if need be.  Remember, no shame in making a mistake or fault if it could have been averted, reasonably.  Even then, what is done is done, Wheel weaves as it wills. Again."

Again, a little wistful bubble of envy bubbled up in the dark-plaited Cairheinin. Not so much of Lillian herself-though she did secretly admire the Aes Sedai-but of what she could do. For the first time, Sial found herself wanting to...what? I cant be an Aes Sedai. Dont be ridiculous, Sial Daemoa. Dont be a bloody fool. Im a steeplejacks daughter. Im a Readers assistant. I used to work in an Inn, for Lights sake! What am I doing here? What have I been bloody doing for all these months?! Who are these people kidding? Im not an Aes Sedai and I never will be. Eqwina Sedai made a mistake. She should have left me to fail at life in Maerone, rather than bringing me here to fail worse.

The Novice chewed on a nail, twining her plait-end between her fingers, before she caught herself and firmly put her figiting hands behind her back. She kept her face neutral to an extent but there was a tightness to her jaw and her eyes were marginally brighter than usual. Drawing in a little more of the Power-just a little more-she tried to stop listening to herself and start doing what she was meant to.

She reached out very slightly with her senses. Little less than a year ago, that would have seemed odd, reaching out with senses, but with the Power it was as natrual as breathing and as straightforward as reaching out with an arm. Or with that Sword. Her eyes drifted to the sword...No! Pay attention, woman! Stop diverting. Sial tried again. She could see Lillians Weave around the clod, keeping it up, and was halfway to poking it with a wisp of Spirit before she remembered that that wasnt even slightly part of the task and stopped. Even Lillian was sure to have limits and she didnt want to push her luck too far.

Once more, Sial extended her senses to the clod. She felt nothing, just...clay. This is stupid...Im not going to be abl-wait! She had found something. Like clay again but different clay. Marginally flimsier, like fresh dug soil rather than trampled dirt. "I think Ive got it..." Uncoinciously slightly biting her lip, she prodded the clod with her mind. Yes, it was there. Now came the tricky part. Urg. Earth. Why was Earth so horribly horrible? It was an ever dropping spiral, really. Sial was bad with the power (or, at least, she thought she was) so she practiced when she shouldnt except she was so bad with Earth that she didnt practice with it to avoid detection, which lead to her advancing further with the other parts of the Power which made her seem even worse with Earth which made her more reluctant to use it at all, which meant she didnt get any better, which meant she was even further reluctant to use Earth. It was an issue and one that she would have to overcome or live with. How do I harden earth? Add Earth? Wouldnt it be easier to bake it with Fire or add Air bubbles to weaken it or make it soggy with Water or-no, Im going to do this properly. So she did.

That is she tried. However, the wisp of Earth she wove was so pitiful that she didnt think she could feel the faultline changing at all. It was frustrating and the little Cairheinin couldnt keep a scowl off her face or the hint of distress out of her eyes. She drew more Power and tried again but the Earth she wove seemed just as feeble. The clod fault was harder. Bah! its rubbish! Its not even slightly better! Again, she tried. Oh, how she tried. Earth, however, was not her friend and that earth clod hovered on Lillians weaving, mocking her. Sial tried almost as hard as she could in frustration, drawing more of the Power until it almost hurt, then sent out Earth again. Perhaps her frustration limited her abilities or perhaps she was as hopeless as she thought but either way the clod stayed in one piece.

Sial was angry now. Her hands were still behind her back but had balled into fists, fingernails gouging her palm until capillaries started oozing. Fire somehow found its way into her Earth, just as Lillian had said had been happening. Of course, that wasnt what was meant to happen.

Which lead to the clod exploding in a tiny shower of rock and dirt and blue fire.

Sials smokey eyes stayed fixed on the spot where the clod had been. I tried. I bloody tried as hard as I bloody could and I still...I still bloody, bleeding, trollocing-The Novices native emotional reserve trembled. She had tried. She had tried. Sial did not cry. She scorned weepy people. Yet she couldnt help her eyes starting to glisten. She scowled harder, glaring at the spot where the clod had been.

"I-" her voice squeaked and trembled with that single syllable. She gritted her teeth and swallowed. Bloody idiot, get a grip. Or do a runner. Jump on Coal and run home. Except then you'll have proved them right. They knew you were the flighty failure, didnt they? Else why did they give your brother a share in the family business and let you do whatever you bloody wanted? Feircly scrubbing her eyes with a knuckle, she imitated Lillians weave  to lift a fresh clod of Earth from the ground. Except this attempt was no better. If anything, it was worse. Sial sat down on her knees there where she was standing. She released saidar and frowned at the floor. When she spoke, her voice was as steady and calm as she could make it, which was to say perhaps not as much as she would like. "What am I doing wrong?"Blood and ashes, Im not bleeding going to break down like some noble milksop! Id rather open a vien with that trollocing sword!

Sial

Struggling

"I'm Miya Kiyoshi." One of the strangers introduced herself. Why is it that these people are always so forthcoming about personal infomation? Sial realised she should introduce herself. Kirsa had said her name anyway-it was hardly unknown infomation. "Im Sial."

So, does anyone know any good party games to play?  I've heard of a few but not sure how well they'd go over here... like..."   Sial could have laughed. She was getting deja vu. How long had it been since she had been out after dark and followed Rory and Salin, just to end up in trouble with the Mistress of Novices? How long since she had challenged Kirsa, Melianna and Dre to Five Facts or a Forfiet at a party? Somehow her current situation seemed a mix of both. The other girl-Miya?-had said almost what she herself had said then, though Sial had an inkling that Miya was speaking genuinely rather than out of ulterior motives.

Sial was not particularly inclined to any game with the word 'truth' in it. Giving away infomation openly just made things easier for people trying to find it. Still, the last incident was forefront, if not fresh, in her memory. "Truth or Dare? I might know it by a different name...what are the rules Miya?"

Realising she was still standing like some lost little child in the doorway, Sial made her way into the room properly, a wine bottle somehow finding its way into her hand. Her walk was its usual skippy self, which wasnt something Sial herself noticed but it contasted oddly with her much less bright and considerably more complex personality. Then again, Sial did not think herself short. She took a swig from the bottle. Having grown up with numerous uncles and worked in an inn, she was no stranger to alcohol but a year had her out of practice.

Something Miya had said clicked in Sials mind. "Miya, how old are you?" she asked rather shrewdly, though trying to sound conversational and as inoffensive as possible. "You havent been here long, have you?"

Sial Daemoa

Still nosy

"Sial!" That silky voice suggested that she had been spotted and by the worst possible person too. Sial supressed a wince as Kirsa glided over to where she had thought she could spy unnoticed. Unsurprisingly, the girl looked as if she had stepped out of a story, a stereotypical Domani princess character with pristine hair and poise. Surprisingly, however, Kirsa didnt sound unfriendly; quite the contrary. "You should come join us, the more the livlier," the girl said, motioning to a cluster of girls she had been sat with, one of which was Melianna, another Arafellen and a tipsy looking Saldean...or at least Sial suspected that was what they were. She still was distinctly rubbish at desciphering races by looks alone.

Insecure would never be a word Sial would have used to describe herself, even in her head, but uneasy she was as she entered the room. She could hardly not, not after being spotted; that would cause more trouble than it was worth, but she did hate the choice being taken out of her hands. Then again, that was the way Daes Dae'mar worked. You manouvered, sussed your options, then changed your plans entirely when things didnt go the way you planned. That was the way the Maeone merchants had played it, at least. And in this, her options were now clear; she either excused herself and went back to her room and was thought of as boring or unsociable, told tales and was thought of as a sneak or excused herself and then told tales and was thought of as a coward and a sneak. Or she could join the party then either have fun or get into a fight.

Sial had picked her option in under a second. Melianna was either scared of her or thought her an idiot and either option was fine by Sial; the dark girl was not someone who struck her as a threat, though by the dancing she was doing, perhaps she had gained confidence since their last meeting. The other two she didnt know anything about-they looked new but who could say in the Tower?- but Kirsa she knew was younger than herself. Probably around the age of her little brother Dami, at home. as much as the Cairheinin thought of herself as independant, no one truely wanted to be despised...or did they?

The little Cairheinin drew herself up to her full 5'4" (inches matered when you didnt have many to spare) and looked Kirsa in the eye. "Kirsa," she said lazily, sounding surprisingly proper thanks to her accent. "Long time no see." Facing the other Novice, she found herself all too aware of her own hair, unbrushed since that morning and containing more than a few remenants of Coals breakfast, not to mention that one of her sleeves had fallen down from its usual position rolled up her arms and was distinctly creased. Then again, Sial had never held much by her appearence and she was sure that even had she been wearing some Nobles ballgown, she still would look a tramp in comparison to the younger girl. "It would seem that we only meet at parties." She managed to stop herself asking if there had been invites; if there had been, she certainly hadnt been invited. A hint of a smile, almost a smirk, curled around the corners of her mouth. "Perhaps less bloody official than the last one!" she added, the mild swearing spoiling her previous sound of sophistication but making her sound almost friendly. She took a few steps into the room, out of the corridor, but did not bound over to the other Novices. She still wanted an escape route available...

Sial

(OOC: is it alright if I join in? :) BIC:)

It was gloomy, as night had a tendancy to be in the corridors of the White Tower, but not entirely dark. Outside, the moonlight was strong and the little that strolled in through the windows was enough to light a little, highlighting a vase here, a rug-edge there. In some way, that made the shadows more forboding, as if someone or something could be hiding, ready at any moment to pounce on an unsuspecting Novice. Of course, Sial Daemoa was breaking curfew again and that would heighten anyones senses.

Considering that Sial had a tendancy to look on the pessemistic side of life at the best of times, it was surprising that the white clad Cairheinin was out of bed at all. Logic would suggest that one with such a paranoid outlook would avoid any possible circumstance that would cause their worst imaginings to actually become possibility. Logic, however, was not entirely Sials strong point.

Feeling her way along the corridor in the dark, Sial wondered for the fiftieth time why she hadnt remembered to bring a candle. It wasnt as if I was expecting to be out she reasoned even as she stubbed her toe on an unseen chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl that was conveniently hidden in the gloom. It was true-she hadnt been intending to break the rules tonight. Then again, she hadnt been intending to swear in Aes Sedai earshot again either, but she had. That was why she was in this predicament; apparently the words 'blood and bloody, trollocing, bastarding, goat-kissing ashes' were not appropriate from a young woman 1 year a Novice, regardless of weather she dropped a table on her foot or not. It had resulted in her being given a suitably tedious punishment, which had in turn meant that she had been late to visiting Coal in the stables (technically not allowed, but no one had objected in a year and Sial assumed no one noticed) which meant that she had been caught out and was now trying to find her way around the Tower in the dark.

She could channel a ball of light. That was an option, thought she still wasnt entirely comfortable with the One Power as a casual ability. However, light would spoil what little night vision she had...what was that noise? Almost like...talking? And laughing. Bloody idiot, Sial. Thats not likely. You must be hearing things. The little Cairheinin woman continued gingerly making her way down the corridor, limping very slightly on one foot. That toe would bruise- 

Sial blinked and shook her head. She was seeing things now. Surely that wasnt a faint light around the corridor corner?

A sensible Novice would have counted their lucky stars that they had gotten away with breaking curfew from the stables to that point and would have made thier way to their room and kept quiet. Sial, however, was nosy and was no stranger to pushing her luck into the bargain. Now she knew something was going on, she just had to know what!

The dark haired young woman slunk around the corner, confirming that she was not made and that there was, in reality, both light and noise coming from a doorway. Both leaked around the door, a quarter open, and echoed around the silent corridors outside. Sial scowled. It sounded like a party. Not that it surprised her that she hadnt been invited; she was hardly flavour of the month with most of the other Novices, being the type of person that she was. If she had been more open minded, it might of occoured to her that one stuck in a solo punishment all day, then in the stables alone, could hardly be invited to anything but Sial was rather stubbornly certain that the younger Novices were out to trip her up.

One hand fiddling with the end of her long, scruffy braid, Sial tiptoed in white (and decidedly scruffy) Novice slippers to the door and peeped in. There was an Accepted who seemed to be hosting the party, not to mention a hoarde of Novices. Sial scowled again. She recognised some of those Novices. Melianna she remembered to be quiet and unresponsive but it was not the dark woman that had the Cairheinin unimpressed. Younger, self-confident and entirely the Domani, Kirsa was at the party too. Sial hadnt seen the other Novice in more than glimpses for months-the Tower always had work and there was no guarentee that two Novices would ever be together in a chore-and of that she was glad. If she remembered rightly from a particular party around half a year ago, Kirsa was sure of herself to an infuriating degree and though herself better than most. Besides which, the girl thought herself clever.

Sial hovered. She could run and tell tales. There was the possibility that she would get punished too (she had no good excuse of having been here) but she would have got back at Kirsa... what did Kirsa really do to me? It was months ago and all she did was try and be bloody clever. Shes a child really, she might have changed. And whats to say this is her bleeding party? A party would be fun...is that wine?! Blood and ashes, where did they get wine? I want wine. The Cairheinin chewed her lip, trying to decide. Join the party? Tell tales? Run back to her room and say no more about it? Which would be most advantageous for her?

Sial Daemoa

Nosy Novice

If Sials raised by the time you want to do this, I'd be up for it ;D

Heya! Im always up for finding someone new to annoy Sial ;D Maybe not to be her best friend (shes not really a 'best friends' character :D) but perhaps to be her aqquaintance or rival or enemy. Umm, what can I tell you about her? Sials currently a Novice and has been for a little while. She joined the Tower quite old, is Cairheinin, is manipulative and not very easy to get along with, is accident prone, is more than slightly paranoid and, most importantly, is not against prankage. heh heh. I'll RP with you if you want-just message me or start a thread or something :) Mwahahaa