((Note: This is a glimpse into Kalla's past. This is 4 years ago, when
both her Gaidin were still alive, and she was still traveling the
countryside at the behest of the Amyrlin. If anyone wants to join in and
say they knew her here, please feel free to do so. In fact, I would enjoy
it if someone would ( ))
Present: Kallandra was walking the Gardens. She seemed to do that a lot, these days.
She had seen a man in town , this afternoon. He had looked like someone she had once known. Someone she should know still today. His face had haunted her dreams, until she had risen from her bed in the middle of the night to pace out of doors. She often thought more clearly when under the moon; tonight was no different.
A reaching tendril of thought joined her to the local pack, and she fell bonelessly to a bench, lost in a waking dream. But this was a true one. and it had happened this way.
*****
Douglas raised his hand, looking most like a dog that had just caught a brief whiff of some puzzling scent and just would not rest until he sought the source of it. Kallandra was, as always, just to his rear, and just to the front of her second Gaidin, Kenneth. The three of them halted as if they were one mind - sometimes they were - though two of them looked askance at the third, wondering what had drawn the attention of Doug.
"There is something. " His voice was low, and soft, almost a purr, but it rumbled with strength. Normally, Kalla swooned when he spoke. She had been in love with Douglas for.. well for too many years to put a number to now.. and yet he had never returned it. Their's was a pretty Bonded triangle; Kenneth cared more for Kalla than he let on, though it wasn't something that affected either of them. In the end, they had worked out a mutual sort of peace; Kalla loved Doug, Ken loved Kalla, they both took turns warming her bed, when the need struck. It was simply the easiest way. Besides, having a love relationship would not have added more to their Aes Sedai/Warder relationship, it was already sweet and complete. What Aes Sedai would need a man for .. love.. when she had Gaidin such as these? Or better yet, if you do love a man, he should be your Gaidin. For Kalla, her Bonds to her Warders was as close to marriage as you might find without actually exchanging vows. When you put your life on the line as many times as she did, and they did, for one another, you just cared more.
Woolgathering over her Gaidin? That was unlike her, and she sternly shook herself back to reality as Douglas spoke again in that dreamy voice, "There is a large group of riders ahead of us on the road. armed. ..Off the road, until we see what or who they are, and who they are after. "
Nodding wordlessly, Kalla and Kenneth complied, all three humans and horses disappearing like so much mist in the wind. They were on the trail of a group of armed robbers pupporting to have a "Dragon Reborn" at their head. The reason they wanted to be off the road was simple; there was the off- chance that hunter had turned hunted. They wouldn't know until the group has passed them by, and they could look. Glances passed between them, words were not needed. Kalla closed her eyes and felt for Saidar, but not embracing it just in case someone with this group could sense a woman channeling. She loosened her daggers in their various sheaths, and extended her wolf senses.
Doug was watching the group, counting the numbers.
After what seemed like forever, the group passed and Doug appeared in front of her with a worried frown. That was enough to alarm Kallandra; Doug never showed emotion like this, at least not unless they were in bed together. His voice was cool, calm, but his eyes were dangerous. "There was a man at their head, a man we all know. a group of ruffians. A large, well-armed group, but a mis-matched one all the same. There were whispered words of attacking the town that we were heading toward ourselves, as bandits. But there is something else they want there, something important to the man. "
Doug swallowed for a moment, then looked at Kenneth and Kalla.
"It was Aesar. I'd know him anywhere."
Kalla swore for about 10 full minutes, and had to be physically restrained from going after the group. The Bonds between her and the two men were reverberating with pure, irrational rage. Douglas, ever the sweet voice of reason, said forcefully, "Kallandra, even you cannot take all 250 of them by yourself!" That paused her. " Did you say 250?" Doug nodded easily, but warily. He was watching his Aes Sedai with narrowed green eyes. "I counted. "
The smile that curved her face was .scary.
"I can take at least 10 or 15 of them by myself. But its him I want. Him!"
Kenneth finally spoke, laying one strong hand on her arm. She was shaking from the effort it took to control the anger, and he could surely smell and sense it both. He was a wolfkin, like her. Or she was like him, more correctly. "Kalla." That one word sliced through the pain, the anguish, and the memories all at once. She stopped shaking. Doug frowned at them both, but it was a relieved frown, and he said with a faint smile to his fellow Gaidin, "You must show me how you do that with her. I cannot." Kalla elbowed both of them, and said loftily, "He did nothing to me!" But he had. She loved Douglas with all her heart, but Kenneth was her anchor, her. something. She thought it was the wolves.
Coming back to herself for the second time in as many hours, after daydreaming about the two men with her, she said angrily, "If I can't go after him, someone needs to do so! He is a dangerous man, and he was supposed to be locked up! The Amyrlin will want to know he is free, and causing trouble again, from the looks of things. " A sudden thought occurred to her. "Douglas, what was the thing? Did you hear any of the soldiers mention it? And WHAT were you doing close enough to hear them talking?" Her booted foot tapped, and she sounded like a mother more than a lover at that moment. Her two overprotective Gaidin never let her endanger herself, but they each did at the very first opportunity.
Doug did not even have the grace to look abashed. He merely answered her as calmly as before, meeting her gaze as steadily as only a Gaidin could do. "I heard no soldiers talking of it, but I have had a . memory." Doug had those sometimes; he was a male channeler, but not one like Kalla had ever known. Sometimes visions came to him, set off by a person, or a conversation, or even a smell. Memories, he called them, though that was not an accurate portrayal.
But this was not his story. It was hers.
"I was remembering a man I met once. He told me that t his town used to be home to one of the Forsaken, before the Breaking. " He paused to let that sink in. "He didn't know which of them, or even if it was true, but what if it was true? Aesar would know. He seems to know everything about them possible, short of being one himself. He might be looking for something. "
Kalla and Ken quieted, as he had known they would. If that was the case, they were going to have a fight on their hands. Aesar would take the town, down to the smallest babe. And he would enjoy it. They had to tell someone.. or face the same scene that still woke her in a cold sweat.
Her son, dead. But more than dead. Mutilated. Cut. Scarred. And he had been alive when they did it to him. Alive. She hadn't been able to save Calen then, but maybe she could save these people now..
Her brain reacted to the stimulation that a battle in the future always offered. "Ken, how far back to the town we stayed in last night? A few leagues? A few hours ride? " Ken was silent, then said with a certainty she envied. "Two hours, on these horses. "
Nodding, Kalla turned to Douglas. He was better able to protect himself for the longest time, if Aesar 'smelled' him. "You know what to do, my Gaidin. Find out what Aesar is up to, find out what he is seeking. Then return to us. as swift as Arin will carry you." Tanned, calloused fingers caressed the smooth cheek, lost in the emerald drowning gaze that was his. Minutes passed. They had said goodbye. Douglas disappeared from view without another word, or a backward glance; he was like that, said emotions made him weak. Kallandra knew he was full of bull; emotions were what made her love him.
With a sigh, she heard Ken's voice again. He didn't speak often, but when he did, it was worth hearing. "He will be fine, Moondawn. " He made the name a caress, so strong she was forced to turn and stare into golden eyes the mirror of her own. It was his name for her, the wolves' name for her as well. But he made it -his- in a way the pack never did. She was very nearly undone by the look in those eyes; as always, he was worth listening to, and worth loving. The only problem was, she couldn't love him the way he wanted her too. Not the way she loved Doug. This was all apparent to him, and he knew it well, but still he held her gently, as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him.
She did not deserve him.
"Come, Kalla. We will return to Fourstones and await Douglas. We will need to find someone to carry a message to the Amyrlin, as well. Someone you trust. We cannot leave, but she must know of this, and regular messages will not do. Not with Aesar on the loose. "
He spoke sensibly, and convinced her to go with him. They made the return trip to Fourstones in a little more than 2 hours, and Kalla teased her Warder gently. "Not always perfect, are you, my Gaidin?" Her laughter was a thing alive, moving between them and through them in a way that made you want to bottle it, and hold it forever close to your heart. It was a laugh completely at odds with the hardened woman that was blessed with it. It made you look at her again.
Kenneth proceeded ahead of her into the same Inn they'd stayed at last night. It was called "The Rose and Stone" and was the best Inn in Fourstones for travelers. It was not the 'best', but it was the most friendly, and the most frequented by foreigners. It was where she would find her messenger too, did all things go as they hoped.
Their room and horses taken care of, the pair appeared in the Common room that evening.
There was a lively musician in one corner, playing a flute and dancing. One of the serving maids spied them and swerved to grab two foaming mugs of ale for them, and settled them at their elbows, within easy reach. She smiled and flashed a dimple at Kenneth - he was very handsome, and the maids knew Kalla mostly slept with the other man - but Ken ignored her. He was too busy watching the doors, and the crowd. Amidst all these folk, strangers, visitors, townspeople, merchants, soldiers, and so many other flavors it was hard to sort them all out, there was a person whom they could trust to accomplish what they needed, and perhaps save a few lives in the process.
Maybe even Aesar's life. Because if Kalla ever got her hands on him again, he was going to die, slowly, and painfully.
Present: Kallandra was walking the Gardens. She seemed to do that a lot, these days.
She had seen a man in town , this afternoon. He had looked like someone she had once known. Someone she should know still today. His face had haunted her dreams, until she had risen from her bed in the middle of the night to pace out of doors. She often thought more clearly when under the moon; tonight was no different.
A reaching tendril of thought joined her to the local pack, and she fell bonelessly to a bench, lost in a waking dream. But this was a true one. and it had happened this way.
*****
Douglas raised his hand, looking most like a dog that had just caught a brief whiff of some puzzling scent and just would not rest until he sought the source of it. Kallandra was, as always, just to his rear, and just to the front of her second Gaidin, Kenneth. The three of them halted as if they were one mind - sometimes they were - though two of them looked askance at the third, wondering what had drawn the attention of Doug.
"There is something. " His voice was low, and soft, almost a purr, but it rumbled with strength. Normally, Kalla swooned when he spoke. She had been in love with Douglas for.. well for too many years to put a number to now.. and yet he had never returned it. Their's was a pretty Bonded triangle; Kenneth cared more for Kalla than he let on, though it wasn't something that affected either of them. In the end, they had worked out a mutual sort of peace; Kalla loved Doug, Ken loved Kalla, they both took turns warming her bed, when the need struck. It was simply the easiest way. Besides, having a love relationship would not have added more to their Aes Sedai/Warder relationship, it was already sweet and complete. What Aes Sedai would need a man for .. love.. when she had Gaidin such as these? Or better yet, if you do love a man, he should be your Gaidin. For Kalla, her Bonds to her Warders was as close to marriage as you might find without actually exchanging vows. When you put your life on the line as many times as she did, and they did, for one another, you just cared more.
Woolgathering over her Gaidin? That was unlike her, and she sternly shook herself back to reality as Douglas spoke again in that dreamy voice, "There is a large group of riders ahead of us on the road. armed. ..Off the road, until we see what or who they are, and who they are after. "
Nodding wordlessly, Kalla and Kenneth complied, all three humans and horses disappearing like so much mist in the wind. They were on the trail of a group of armed robbers pupporting to have a "Dragon Reborn" at their head. The reason they wanted to be off the road was simple; there was the off- chance that hunter had turned hunted. They wouldn't know until the group has passed them by, and they could look. Glances passed between them, words were not needed. Kalla closed her eyes and felt for Saidar, but not embracing it just in case someone with this group could sense a woman channeling. She loosened her daggers in their various sheaths, and extended her wolf senses.
Doug was watching the group, counting the numbers.
After what seemed like forever, the group passed and Doug appeared in front of her with a worried frown. That was enough to alarm Kallandra; Doug never showed emotion like this, at least not unless they were in bed together. His voice was cool, calm, but his eyes were dangerous. "There was a man at their head, a man we all know. a group of ruffians. A large, well-armed group, but a mis-matched one all the same. There were whispered words of attacking the town that we were heading toward ourselves, as bandits. But there is something else they want there, something important to the man. "
Doug swallowed for a moment, then looked at Kenneth and Kalla.
"It was Aesar. I'd know him anywhere."
Kalla swore for about 10 full minutes, and had to be physically restrained from going after the group. The Bonds between her and the two men were reverberating with pure, irrational rage. Douglas, ever the sweet voice of reason, said forcefully, "Kallandra, even you cannot take all 250 of them by yourself!" That paused her. " Did you say 250?" Doug nodded easily, but warily. He was watching his Aes Sedai with narrowed green eyes. "I counted. "
The smile that curved her face was .scary.
"I can take at least 10 or 15 of them by myself. But its him I want. Him!"
Kenneth finally spoke, laying one strong hand on her arm. She was shaking from the effort it took to control the anger, and he could surely smell and sense it both. He was a wolfkin, like her. Or she was like him, more correctly. "Kalla." That one word sliced through the pain, the anguish, and the memories all at once. She stopped shaking. Doug frowned at them both, but it was a relieved frown, and he said with a faint smile to his fellow Gaidin, "You must show me how you do that with her. I cannot." Kalla elbowed both of them, and said loftily, "He did nothing to me!" But he had. She loved Douglas with all her heart, but Kenneth was her anchor, her. something. She thought it was the wolves.
Coming back to herself for the second time in as many hours, after daydreaming about the two men with her, she said angrily, "If I can't go after him, someone needs to do so! He is a dangerous man, and he was supposed to be locked up! The Amyrlin will want to know he is free, and causing trouble again, from the looks of things. " A sudden thought occurred to her. "Douglas, what was the thing? Did you hear any of the soldiers mention it? And WHAT were you doing close enough to hear them talking?" Her booted foot tapped, and she sounded like a mother more than a lover at that moment. Her two overprotective Gaidin never let her endanger herself, but they each did at the very first opportunity.
Doug did not even have the grace to look abashed. He merely answered her as calmly as before, meeting her gaze as steadily as only a Gaidin could do. "I heard no soldiers talking of it, but I have had a . memory." Doug had those sometimes; he was a male channeler, but not one like Kalla had ever known. Sometimes visions came to him, set off by a person, or a conversation, or even a smell. Memories, he called them, though that was not an accurate portrayal.
But this was not his story. It was hers.
"I was remembering a man I met once. He told me that t his town used to be home to one of the Forsaken, before the Breaking. " He paused to let that sink in. "He didn't know which of them, or even if it was true, but what if it was true? Aesar would know. He seems to know everything about them possible, short of being one himself. He might be looking for something. "
Kalla and Ken quieted, as he had known they would. If that was the case, they were going to have a fight on their hands. Aesar would take the town, down to the smallest babe. And he would enjoy it. They had to tell someone.. or face the same scene that still woke her in a cold sweat.
Her son, dead. But more than dead. Mutilated. Cut. Scarred. And he had been alive when they did it to him. Alive. She hadn't been able to save Calen then, but maybe she could save these people now..
Her brain reacted to the stimulation that a battle in the future always offered. "Ken, how far back to the town we stayed in last night? A few leagues? A few hours ride? " Ken was silent, then said with a certainty she envied. "Two hours, on these horses. "
Nodding, Kalla turned to Douglas. He was better able to protect himself for the longest time, if Aesar 'smelled' him. "You know what to do, my Gaidin. Find out what Aesar is up to, find out what he is seeking. Then return to us. as swift as Arin will carry you." Tanned, calloused fingers caressed the smooth cheek, lost in the emerald drowning gaze that was his. Minutes passed. They had said goodbye. Douglas disappeared from view without another word, or a backward glance; he was like that, said emotions made him weak. Kallandra knew he was full of bull; emotions were what made her love him.
With a sigh, she heard Ken's voice again. He didn't speak often, but when he did, it was worth hearing. "He will be fine, Moondawn. " He made the name a caress, so strong she was forced to turn and stare into golden eyes the mirror of her own. It was his name for her, the wolves' name for her as well. But he made it -his- in a way the pack never did. She was very nearly undone by the look in those eyes; as always, he was worth listening to, and worth loving. The only problem was, she couldn't love him the way he wanted her too. Not the way she loved Doug. This was all apparent to him, and he knew it well, but still he held her gently, as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him.
She did not deserve him.
"Come, Kalla. We will return to Fourstones and await Douglas. We will need to find someone to carry a message to the Amyrlin, as well. Someone you trust. We cannot leave, but she must know of this, and regular messages will not do. Not with Aesar on the loose. "
He spoke sensibly, and convinced her to go with him. They made the return trip to Fourstones in a little more than 2 hours, and Kalla teased her Warder gently. "Not always perfect, are you, my Gaidin?" Her laughter was a thing alive, moving between them and through them in a way that made you want to bottle it, and hold it forever close to your heart. It was a laugh completely at odds with the hardened woman that was blessed with it. It made you look at her again.
Kenneth proceeded ahead of her into the same Inn they'd stayed at last night. It was called "The Rose and Stone" and was the best Inn in Fourstones for travelers. It was not the 'best', but it was the most friendly, and the most frequented by foreigners. It was where she would find her messenger too, did all things go as they hoped.
Their room and horses taken care of, the pair appeared in the Common room that evening.
There was a lively musician in one corner, playing a flute and dancing. One of the serving maids spied them and swerved to grab two foaming mugs of ale for them, and settled them at their elbows, within easy reach. She smiled and flashed a dimple at Kenneth - he was very handsome, and the maids knew Kalla mostly slept with the other man - but Ken ignored her. He was too busy watching the doors, and the crowd. Amidst all these folk, strangers, visitors, townspeople, merchants, soldiers, and so many other flavors it was hard to sort them all out, there was a person whom they could trust to accomplish what they needed, and perhaps save a few lives in the process.
Maybe even Aesar's life. Because if Kalla ever got her hands on him again, he was going to die, slowly, and painfully.