Yes, yes. I have three works-in-progress going. Two RPs going. Well this one's different! Silklantern, the forum I use for this, has different rules, so where Joining the Gaidin must start as a trainee, here I began as an unorthodox... well... you'll see. Anyway, this character has a background. And if you're Rita, REVIEW SO I CAN FEEL BETTER! hmph Please Ritz?
Once again, only the ones written as Lavenda are mine.
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Lavenda spun around the practice yards, deftly performing her forms with two short spears. She noticed a few people had come to watch her- but she had grown used to that. The first Aiel warder. The first female warder from her people. The warder who's Aes Sedai was dead.
It hurt even to think of it. She had died, and there was nothing she could have done about it. They had come in the night...
Lavenda struggled, yelling in rage against invisible gags of air. No! Not Laina!... Solid flows she couldn't see held her tightly against the stone wall, stronger than steel. Nevertheless, she drummed her heels against the walls, her hands opening and closing futilely. Her eyes bulged, as she was forced with the Power to watch them torture her. Her eyes pried open, she sobbed silently, tears running down her dirty cheeks. If she could only reach her spears... Suddenly, one of the attackers raised a knife, and plunged it up to the hilt in Laina's chest. Lavenda screamed, her entire being in pain. Laina! NO! Her limbs were on fire. Her heart was breaking apart... One of the people walked up to her, and clubbed her on the head. Darkness fell around her as the assailants left, leaving her to die by the roadside.
Tears stung the corners of Lavenda's eyes. She shook them away, twirling quickly around to face the other way. She raised a spear to drive it down... and stopped abruptly. There was someone standing a hands-width away. She blinked at them, confused.
"May I help you, Aes Sedai?" she said with a bow.
xxxx
Jacquelynn rolled the set of marbles gently across the back of her hand. She had been doing so for the past thirty minutes, and had still reached no real conclusion about the objects, aside from the fact that they were certainly not ordinary marbles. Not that I didn't already know that. she thought with a frustration uncommon across her motherly face.
Normally she was placid and had her emotions under firm control. It was just that...that she didn't like not knowing things. Of course, that was the entire purpose of her ajah; to discover what ter'angreal did. True, there was nothing quite like the satisfaction of solving the mysteries behind one of them, but sometimes progress was so slow that it could be quite infuriating!
Shaking her head, the Violet Sitter rose from her desk, conceding defeat, for a little while at least. Any White Sister would agree that concentration was impossible when you became overly emotional about the subject in hand. What Jacquelynn needed was a pause, an hour or so to refresh her mind and cool her frustration.
Leaving her shawl where it lay on the back of one of the chairs, the Aes Sedai left her rooms, walking at an even pace with her head high, with the good posture that all learned as Novices, enhanced as Accepted and mastered as Aes Sedai. Occasionally, she passed someone, and depending on their status smiled to them or nodded to curtseys. Several times, she actually paused to speak with another Sister, as easily distracted as any Brown!
Eventually, she did make it outside though, where the sun shone down brightly and a gentle breeze blew to keep the air fresh. It was a pleasant day by anyone's standards and Jacquelynn, who had grown up on a small farm, appreciated fine weather as much, if not more, than most of the people in the White Tower.
She allowed her pace to slow a little, her walk becoming leisurely rather than purposeful as she let her feet choose the path, guiding her down narrow pathways, through avenues of trees and around the back of the stables, leading her out towards the Practice Yards, where the Warders were training. Smiling at their dedication, the Sitter waited for a lull in the training before beginning to make her way across the grounds - she certainly didn't want to be caught in the middle of all that combat!
It seemed that she hadn't quite picked the right moment though, for she had barely gone a few meters when her head was almost taken off by one of the Warders. Smoothing her face to a form of neutrality which left no room for the tail end of her shock, Jacquelynn glanced at the woman before her. The Aiel Warder...who lost her Aes Sedai... The Sitter shook her head at that. She did not know how the Gaidar had survived the loss of her bondholder. It must have been a horrific experience for her, and Jacquelynn could see it in her eyes.
The woman bowed and apologized, but Jacquelynn shook her head, waving away the words. "Not at all, not at all. No harm done, and no need to apologize, Lavenda, isn't it?"
xxxx
Lavenda looked at the Aes Sedai, wondering what she was doing walking around the training grounds so carelessly. A Sitter, as Lavenda now recognized her as, was usually much more aware. Inwardly, she groaned. Not another Aes Sedai to study her or sympathize with her.
"Yes, it is Lavenda, Sitter," she said respectfully, inclining her head in acknowledgement. She hoped inwardly this wouldn't last long. When she stayed still for long, or talked to an Aes Sedai for awhile... Her heart still hurt her, and she didn't believe it would ever stop. She was even considering going to the Blight.
"You may want to consider going around the Training Yards next time, Sitter." Lavenda said, careful not to offend. "It can be... unpredictable... in here." She gestured at the pair in the corner sparring, when one suddenly leapt to the other side of the yard to continue their battle.
Her Aes Sedai was going to die... There was nothing she could do...
Lavenda angrily thrust the thoughts out of her head once more. I will NOT cry in front of another, she thought. I already am enough of a spectacle.
Lavenda focused again, taking in her slightly thoughtful eyes in a face of cool serenity. "Is there something you would like, Sitter?" she asked, then clasped her hands behind her back. A little part of her rose up inside of her. Maybe this woman wanted her as a Warder... Someone to protect... to take care of... to fill the empty space inside.
She snorted at herself. Blood and bloody ashes. She was starting to sound like the milk-sops who were wooed by a different man every fortnight! That was possibly the most unlikely thing to happen. Ever.
She cocked her head slightly, anticipating an answer. She gazed at the sitter's face, trying to figure out what was in her head, and waited.
