Ever since Niconia had arrived in Tar Valon things had been different then she had expected. First she had been drafted as a novice instead of a recruit, then she had been trying her best to have them throw her, but no matter how hard she tried, they seemed more determined to keep her. Bloody Aes Sedai was a mild curse when her punishment chores were being done, enough to make the rudest soldier blush (considering she was a girl still). And even through her bending of rules and acting out she still had an hour to kill before her next class. An hour. In a way Nico wondered if it was a new form of punishment, boring her to death. During the break so far she had searched every hallway for anyone of the girls she had been playing pranks with or playing dares with since she came. But she had found no one. She had even tried the library without success. It could only mean that they were in class or having chores. All of them.

Annoyed and really bored Nico headed out to the Tower Garden. There was nothing left to do except either finding something to do on her own, or to find a new friend. How ever, the rule of the Tower, novices were never left without things to do unless the Aes Sedai specifically wanted it so. So every where Nico looked she couldn't find a soul without something at hand. Everyone was carrying laundry, messages, or other such things, unless of course they were Aes Sedai. But voluntarily asking for something to do, or bothering an Aes Sedai was something Nico still had enough sanity to not do. So she paced down the trail over one of the bridges. So far she had come up with nothing to do by herself, but then suddenly she saw someone. A girl, dressed in white like herself, sitting on a bench reading. Blinking for a moment Nico soon decided that what ever that book was for it could probably be interrupted. If it had been studying, the girl would not only be in a study room or the library, she would have had paper and pen with her at that. So without stopping the blond, blue eyed novice kept on and popped down on the bench next to the other girl. She didn't say anything at first, only studied the girl.

The other novice was shorter then herself, with a similar build. Her copper colored skin told of Arad Doman blood and that put a smile on the Altaran raised girls lips. Domani were famous for their flirting skills. They seemed to be around the same age, but then again age in the Tower seemed a useless thing to try and guess as the one power caused oddities. One thing similar between them though was the color of their eyes. They both had blue eyes.

"Is it just me or does it seem like the White Tower gets more and more boring every day?" Nico offered a joking smile along with that, just in case the girl didn't have the same kind of thought. Nico didn't think the girl wouldn't, but she didn't want to offend someone the first thing she did. It was usually not a good thing to do. "I'm Niconia, by the way, I'm kind of new around here." She extended a hand to greet the other girl, hoping she came off in a friendly manner.

Ah, what a peaceful afternoon. Thank the Light that Lalaine had some time to herself. She had long been settled into the novice life, but that didn't make it any more easy. Calluses had built up on her hands, and her sleeping schedule finally fit with the Tower bells, so she no longer overslept - or at least, the incidents were rarer than before, but breaks were always sought after and savored while they lasted. She had a few hours before her next class began, and she intended to relax for every minute of it. She had dug a book out from under her mattress to read. Lalaine had brought it from home, though she'd hardly had a chance to read it yet since. Thankful she still was that the Aes Sedai had not taken it from her.

It was hardly an impressive book. It was not large, and it did not have many pages. The topic was nothing excited, just some folk tales and romances that Lalaine enjoyed reading. They were foolish things to concern her time with, but they kept her from being too unhappy sometimes, imagining distant places and unrealistic things. It was a lovely thing to be able to read, and she knew that there were several novices who had come to the Tower without that skill. She considered herself lucky in that respect, for she had learned to read and write before reaching age six, and that was young even for those who had governesses, which she had not.

So with a sigh, she settled onto one of the benches in the gardens, where she likely wouldn't be disturbed by any wandering Aes Sedai. The women seemed to use the gardens as a place of relaxation too, where they didn't need errands run. Or so she hoped. Giving a yawn, she opened up the book to page one. She had read it a million times before, but it had been a long time. Once upon a time...

Engrossed in her reading, she did not notice right away when another person sat down next to her. The boy and the girl had just found a house made of candy and... "Is it just me or does it seem like the White Tower gets more and more boring every day?" Lalaine jumped in surprise, finally looking up at the girl next to her. She was a novice, just like herself, maybe around the same age. Her hair was blonde, and she was a few inches taller than Lalaine was. She was smiling, hinting at a joke. Lalaine couldn't help but find the Tower far from boring, but she smiled back nevertheless. There was always something interesting going on...

"I'm Niconia, by the way, I'm kind of new around here." She extended her hand, and Lalaine took it graciously, giving it a quick shake. "Well then, welcome to the Tower, Niconia," said Lalaine, smiling back at the newer novice. "I'm Lalaine Dalsarre, and I doubt I've been around much longer than you have." Lalaine was happy to meet someone new, and the girl certainly seemed friendly enough, though she was more outgoing than Lalaine was now. Perhaps she might have been, if things had not turned out the way they had. "Where are you from?" she asked after a moment, in her soft tone of voice that she nearly always spoke in.

((OOC: Go on LoA tomorrow morning, so probably won't catch this again until Tuesday evening or Wednesday. :)))

As Nico first spoke to the other girl the girl jerked upright. Clearly the Domani hadn't heard or noticed Nico, probably due to the book she was reading. From Niconias side it looked like a story book. Even so the girl smiled back at Nico. "Well then, welcome to the Tower, Niconia. I'm Lalaine Dalsarre, and I doubt I've been around much longer than you have." Smiling and nodding Niconia thanked the girl for welcoming her, then the other Lalaine asked. "Where are you from?" At which Niconia shook her head for a second. "I grew up in Altara. My foster family still lives there. But where I am from I don't know." As she was speaking to the girl, their different dialects seemed more and more apparent to Nico. Even that she herself spoke differently. "I'm guessing you are from Arad Doman?" Nico asked carefully, hoping not to offend. Back home offending someone was a sure way to get yourself into a fight. Nico had plenty of scars on arms and her sides after having moved to Bandar Eban. The people of the city certainly had a hotter temperament then the people back home. "How did you end up here?" Niconia added. Hoping to spur a conversation.

Making friends with other girls hadn't been all to much of a problem lately, well not people she could play pranks with anyway. But she hadn't talked all that much to them and Niconia knew better how to deal with and flirt with boys then talking to girls her own age or there about. What did girls talk about anyway around here? Classes, happenings around the novices, teachers perhaps. Other then that Nico couldn't think of much to talk about at all. Not that she would be able to casually bring up. Perhaps the answer to one of her questions could lead to some fun conversation. She hoped so.

"I grew up in Altara. My foster family still lives there. But where I am from I don't know,” said the other novice, and Lalaine nodded in acknowledgement, trying to picture where Altara was on the map. The lessons at the Tower must have been doing her some good, because she could imagine it, remembering certain dots on the country that were cities as well. Her accent was a bit different than Lalaine’s, but she wouldn’t have placed it as Altaran. She didn’t know the difference between Altaran and Andoran – what was it to her anyway? When novices came to the Tower, they were supposed to forget their pasts. Some are harder to forget than others, she reminded herself grimly. "I'm guessing you are from Arad Doman?" Niconia said questioningly, breaking into her thoughts. Lalaine nodded, giving the other girl a smile for her guessing skill.

After Lalaine had given her a reply, Niconia added, “How did you end up here?” Lalaine’s smile slipped for a moment. She hadn’t really been asked that much, not since coming to the Tower. Those were memories she did not want to stir up, though they seemed to endlessly haunt her through her days. But Lalaine did have some form of honor, and she wasn’t going to lie to the girl. If she thought any less of her for it, then maybe Lalaine deserved it. “I…” her voice faltered for a moment. “I hurt my father, and the Aes Sedai say it was because I channeled.” She did not explain to Niconia that she might have killed him, or why she had needed to hurt him. Looking down at her hands for a moment, she could hear Sloane telling her that he wasn’t dead, that they had to get out of there, and that was all that she could remember really, before getting sick. Light, she had almost died, but had her father?

Glancing at Niconia, she wondered if the other novice would guess her thoughts. She hoped not. Lalaine didn’t want the other girls to think of her as a killer or something like that. It had been an accident, and Lalaine had never meant to… to… Light, she still loved her father, despite the wrong he had done Sloane and even her. She understood his pain, but why had he had to hit Sloane? Maybe something could have been worked out, but the damage was done now… Lalaine waited judgment from the other novice, and hoped that the girl wouldn’t spit in her face or something like that.

As soon as Niconia had asked her question, the hope for a easy conversation died as Lalaines smile slipped away. “I…” The girl said, her voice not quite holding up, “I hurt my father, and the Aes Sedai say it was because I channeled.” The girl looked down on her hands and Niconia just looked at her for a moment. Lalaine was clearly ashamed of what had happened, and it sounded very serious. She had been told that the reason they had not let her go from the Towers was because that exact thing could happen to her as she was born with the spark and it wouldn't be long until her change. Reaching out Niconia put a hand on Lalaines shoulder. "Are you alright? I didn't mean any harm by asking." Niconia hoped that she wasn't offending the girl even more by touching her. One never knew what a foreigner might react to. All she wanted was a friend, and here she went and made a person seem the saddest person in the world. There might be more to Lalaines story about her father and how she ended up in the Towers. But it was Lalaines business and Nico wouldn't ask her when it seemed to bother her so much. After all the two had just met, Lalaine had no reason to trust Niconia with anything personal. Really Nico was surprised the other novice had said as much as she had.

((OOC: I'm terribly sorry that this is so short. But I had no idea how Lalaine was going to react so I couldn't think of anything more to add at all. If you need any reactions from Nico, feel free to PM me.))

Lalaine continued staring down at her lap until Niconia unexpectedly reached out and touched her shoulder. However surprising it was, it was nice, just to feel the comfort of touch from another person. "Are you alright? I didn't mean any harm by asking," said the other novice, obviously showing a genuine concern for Lalaine. She gave Niconia a small smile and nodded. "It's fine," she assured her. "I've made it this far, haven't I?" It was troubling that it still bothered her, however. It was something in the past, and it was frustrating to Lalaine that she was still haunted by it. She couldn't fix what had happened. Why couldn't she cope with it, like she had her mother's death? That too was still sad to think about, but she had made it through those hard times...

After a moment, she added, "Thank you for caring." No one else seemed to care but for themselves at the White Tower. Even the Aes Sedai had their petty rivalries between Ajahs, and Lalaine couldn't understand why. What happened to the giggling groups of novices that wandered around? What about the tests to become Aes Sedai changed that? Lalaine wasn't so sure that she wanted to be ripped apart like that. Light, if she could even channel... She still wasn't sure if she could or not.

The silence was rather uncomfortable, and Lalaine wasn't exactly good at making conversation. She figured it would be best to try, considering how much of the awkwardness she had caused by bringing up her father. She wondered why she had even told that to Niconia. Well, it wasn't like I was going to lie. There hadn't been much else she could have said instead of the simple truth. But I didn't tell her everything. There was, of course, the part where she had been sick for days afterwards, the part where Sloane had assured her that their father wasn't dead, the part where they had finally made it to Tar Valon and they'd dressed Sloane in black and Lalaine in white and now they never saw each other...

Who really cares anyway?

"Does your family want you here?" she asked after a moment, then realizing afterward that that might not help...

((OOC: Sorry, kind of crappy and short... Getting back into the swing of things.))