Ren grimaced at the options for the soldiers and novices to eat. Did the cooks even know the definitions of food? He rather doubted it. He didn’t even recognize some of this bloody stuff. It was more than disgusting. Honestly, this was even worse than usual- and that was saying something. Today all the food was cold, and there wasn’t even any of the fruit that they normally served. It was… depressing. That was simply the best way to describe it.

Molding his face into his normal, innocent-as-an-angel smile, he spooned himself up some of the chicken soup. The soup, which had chunks of frozen chicken in it, looked like it had been rejected by everybody else, and for good reason. It looked like it’s temperature was below freezing. He took his bowl, gave the Mistress of the Kitchens (who hated him) his best innocent smile, and went through the heavy wooden doors to the tower grounds.

This was his favorite part of the towers- the grounds. They really were beautiful, with the huge, thousand-year-old trees providing shade, and the general sense of peace around a person. A lot of the kids hung out to read and walk and study here. Ren loved to just sit in a tree and do whatever he pleased during what little free time he could scrounge up. He usually didn’t manage to scrounge up any, though, so he was often stuck taking his meals out in the gardens just to spend time there. He knew this place like the back of his hand- which trees that were best to climb, which benches were best to take naps on. Not that he would know about the napping, of course. Just, you know, guessing.

If you wanted to get technical, what Ren was about to do was against the rules, but really, what were they thinking, to serve them such awful food? They had to be insane. All of their novices and soldiers were grown people who knew the value of food. Especially the soldiers. Of course, it was much more likely that they were manipulating, trying to make the students break, like everything else on their schedules. I mean, really. No floor needs to be that clean. Ren could deal with the rest of the harsh life, but what he simply could not live with was the lack of good food. It was what he missed the most- well, almost the most. He missed Cendaline the very most. Cendaline’s cooking cut a close second, though.

His mouth filled with saliva at the mere memory of the wonderful meals that she had prepared for him. The pasta with that odd white sauce, and the chicken that was cooked just so… Light, he missed the food. There was nothing better on the planet than Cendaline’s cooking.

He’d been walking through the grounds as he thought, and he was close to the center of the grounds by the time he shook off the memory of great food and started to pay attention to the world again. He looked woefully at his frozen chicken bits. There was nothing in the soup he would eat willingly. At least not while it was still cold. Casting quick glances to either side, he went into the void, feeding all his emotions to the flickering flame in his head, until there was nothing left to feed it. There, at the edge of his awareness, was sadin.

Reaching out, he grasped a pinch of it, but even that little felt as if it would destroy the very being that was him. The male half of the One Power in his grasp, he concentrated on creating a tiny pit of fire. Within seconds, the flame he had imagined formed, floating just above his right hand palm.

Holding the bowl of quickly-heating soup above the new heat source, Ren grinned, enjoying the way his senses were heightened. He could see the green of the grass, he could smell the flowers that were a few feet behind him, and he could hear the bees buzzing, among other things that he could sense. Everything was so… extreme with Sadin raging through him.

Reluctantly, Ren let the flame, and saidin, fade. He let go of the void as well, and sniffed his soup eagerly. Finally, something edible! Thank the Light!

He walked over to one of the benches on the path and began to shovel his newly-heated food into his mouth.

Ky had nearly had enough with this rubbish. "Wear nothing but white"; "do not channel without supervision"; "eat pig slop"; "do not stuff frogs in Marisa's pillow"...well, perhaps that last one wasn't rubbish. But after that stupid Accepted had dared assume Ky had not had the mental faculties to light a candle of all things! Stuffing frogs down her pillow had been the least thing the former Arafellin noble had thought to do as punishment. She could live with the fact that Accepted have say over novices, even if most of them were arrogant and self-centered in their little dominions. Ha, they jumped just as fast as novices when Aes Sedai entered the halls. But she could not and would not put up with those air-headed Blightfeeders treating her like she had never channeled before in her life. She had two years (four years now!) of practice before she came to the White Tower, and she had managed it without a block. The dark-haired girl huffed one more time, dodging a tray held precariously out. She would not stand for it one more time! It would be snakes down Marisa's pillow if she did it again.

She turned a corner, heading out the doors towards the Tower gardens. She could sit behind a hedge and vent all her frustration at a tree without anyone noticing. That would help. Her next class was not for at least another hour; her punishment with Cayana Sedai had made her late for the class going on now, and she could not and would not arrive late. A left at the bush with the blue flowers and a right at the lesser fountain had her planted firmly in the middle of her favorite secret spot. Of course, other novices had this spot as their favorite secret spot as well, but Ky ignored that. She plopped herself down on the stone bench, still angry. Her mother always said that was a fault of hers; Ky's grudges could last for days until she felt properly vindicated. Crossing her arms, she very nearly embraced the Source, out of sheer rebellion. I channeled long before I was at the White Tower, and I did it just fine. Ha! Most of these ninnies think Trollocs are children's stories! How many other of these novices have faced down a Myrddraal and Trolloc with nothing but the One Power? Instantly, she felt a pang of remorse. It had truly only been four years since Kyshiin's death, and to speak so arrogantly of her own actions when her brother died to save her...her head bowed in guilt. What was I thinking? She knew she had quite a bit of humility to learn before she became Aes Sedai.

Her eyes lifted up, still tinged with remorse when for the briefest moment, though a crack in the hedge, she saw a young man, a Soldier, using saidin to heat a bowl of...something inedible, more likely than not. It was quite against the rules. The young woman's face slowly morphed into a smile. That was her kind of Soldier. He was rather attractive, now that she looked a little more closely. Tall, muscular...very attractive. Given that he had broken the rule against Soldiers channeling, she felt rather confident that he would not mind breaking another to speak with her. It had been quite too long since she'd been able to talk to a young man. She did not intend to flirt...exactly. But she did get bored of all the girls at times. Especially the ones like Marisa. She squashed another pang of anger, moving instead out of the hidden hedge along the path the Soldier had taken. When she neared him, she cleared her throat, as a courtesy.

"I hope no one saw that. Though I don't blame you. The food here leaves much to be desired."

Ooc: I apologize, but I won’t be here until Monday- I wouldn’t count on a reply until Tuesday. :pout: Sorreh.

"I hope no one saw that. Though I don't blame you. The food here leaves much to be desired."

Ren looked up, startled. He had only glanced around him, but one would think that he would have seen this girl. He gave her a once over, evaluating her, and whether or not she was going to rat him out. Light, he hated tattletales. The girl- a novice, he realized, not that there was any other kind of girls around- was peering at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She was actually very pretty. Hm, another thing to add to the things that he missed from the world of the free- not that he would ever have flirted of course. Just, you know, look. She looked like a large part of her was Domaini, by her skin color, but there was definitely some other country’s skin color mixed in there. Her dark hair was braided, done up in some stylish, feminine way, and laced with shining bells. A borderlander, if he wasn’t mistaken. He’d traveled for many years, and he could say “Been There, Done that” to things that made other people stare at him. The novice was much shorter than him, but, then again, who wasn’t?

She probably wasn’t going to tell on him, not if she was smiling like that. He returned her smile, and finished off the rest of his pittance of warm soup with a few gulps. With a flourish, he made the bowl disappear. Where? Well, that wasn’t something he was going to reveal. A trickster always had secrets, him definitely included. He stood up, and walked over to where the girl was standing, behind some bushes. Interesting. He hadn’t seen this spot before, but it looked like it was popular. The grass and other plants had been trampled. Probably one of the novices’ spots, or something of the like. Now he got a closer look at the girl, he realized how pretty she actually was. Maybe he could have some fun in this dreary place, finally. The white cotton dress wasn’t the most flattering of clothes on her, but he highly doubted that that was what the Aes Sedai had had in mind when they had chosen the uniform. He didn’t think the soldier’s black and silver wasn’t actually all that bad, in truth. Then again, girls were more fussy, and the Aes Sedai were probably trying to break them, as usual.

Banishing such sinister thoughts from his head for the moment with a mental shake of his head, he spoke to the young lady.

“And would the pretty lady like to tell me her name?”

His eyes twinkled more than usual with laughter. Really, after all the work he’d been doing, he deserved some fun. Besides, if he got caught, he already had a lifetime stuck doing dishes. A change in punishment would seem like a blessing at this point. Change, period, would seem like a blessing at this point. The days here were boring him out of his mind- or what little he had left of his mind. He’d been here for almost a year now. The realization startled him. He hadn’t really been keeping track of how much time had passed since he had first entered the tower, but it was true. In a matter of a month or so, he would have been in the tower for a full year. It wasn’t that surprising that he hadn’t noticed. The days were a blur- you didn’t think about things that the Asha’man didn’t tell you to think about, simply because there was so little time.

Fun, fun, fun His inner self reminded him with a grin.

So he really hadn't seen her. She had not been completely sure when she emerged from her half-hidden recluse. The initial surprise at seeing her was fading away rapidly to study. She could tell his eyes were roaming over her appearance, mostly likely trying to see if he remembered her from anywhere. He probably also thought she might run to the Asha'man, so she tried to look as relaxed as possible so as not to appear...uptight. When he smiled back, she suspected she'd passed whatever mental examination he put her under. He drank a long draught of the soup, making her wonder if he simply planned on having her wait his leisure. When he disposed of the bowl in a flowery gleeman -like manner, she was sure of it: this young man was a show-off. Probably a touch reckless and rebellious, he seemed just the type to take life at his own pace and treat authority like a suggestion more than an actual guiding force. She liked him immediately.

He apparently liked a bit of what he saw himself, given the way his eyes were traveling up and down her white-clad form. Perhaps if he'd been one of the boys from home, she would have reprimanded him--but frankly it had been so long since anyone had looked at her with any kind of interest, that she supposed she might let him off just once. He stopped openly admiring maybe a touch more quickly than she would have liked--oh, Light, what was she thinking? She wasn't desperate, for the love of all that is sacred. She could exist quite fine without being admired by the first decent young man she'd seen in...Oh, pull it together, Ky. You're acting like a tavern maid. So when he smiled at her (oh, good teeth on top of it all!) with that mischievous twinkle, she tilted her head back, returning the smile only slightly. Genuinely, but slightly. The bells in her hair chimed their approval of her self-control.

"And would the pretty lady like to tell me her name?"

"Kysuri Shimasi of Shol Arbela. Well. Formerly of Shol Arbela, I should say. Now of the White Tower, where everything is white, down to the slippers they give you to wear."

Not that she was bitter about the lack of color at all. Of course not.

"And what about the...tolerantly decent-looking young man who cares so little for the illustrious rules of our mutual patrons? Does he have a name as well, or shall I be forced to name him myself?"

Her tone was obviously mocking but in an understated sort of way. It was left up to him to decide if the sarcasm was placed on "tolerantly decent-looking young man" or on "illustrious rules." It wouldn't do at all to make him feel too sure of himself directly after meeting him. Men were like horses; give them too much rein, and they began to think they knew your wishes better than you did yourself. Of course, too tight a rein and they would throw you off. The second part--well, the second part was to see how far he let a pretty girl tug his collar before giving in. Or giving up. She had half a mind to nickname him something absolutely wicked. But she supposed she should find out the extent of his sense of humor first.

"Kysuri Shimasi of Shol Arbela.” It sounded almost as if it was a noble’s name. Ren disliked nobles intensely, but he wasn’t gonna judge her when he didn’t know for certain. Some people pronounced their names that way- with the place added on at the end. Besides, when she continued she sounded nothing like a noble. “Well. Formerly of Shol Arbela, I should say. Now of the White Tower, where everything is white, down to the slippers they give you to wear."

He smiled slightly, amused. She was a lot like Cendaline, in some ways. Cendaline had been very conscious of her appearance, which was a bit like Kysuri’s. Kysuri seemed resentful of the tower rules. Not that he could, or would, blame her, of course. He hated them just as much, if not more… Now the girl seemed to be smiling, slightly, but in a rather teasing way.

"And what about the...tolerantly decent-looking young man who cares so little for the illustrious rules of our mutual patrons? Does he have a name as well, or shall I be forced to name him myself?"

He grinned at her. ‘Tolerantly decent-looking young man’, eh? That was a new one. Most of the women who had complimented him on his looks weren’t quite so educated. That was hardly the only amusing part of her little speech, though. ‘Illustrious rules’ made him chuckle, and ‘Patrons’ certainly wasn’t the word he’d choose. He’d already figured out that she wasn’t the type of girl that would call the rules ‘illustrious’. Not if she was flirting like that. It was strictly against the rules, but it wasn’t like there was anyone here, or he would have been busted for the soup already. Soup heating was, after all, such an offense to the ‘illustrious rules’.

I’d been quite some time since he flirted, and he had forgotten how much fun it was. Esoria wasn’t a person he would flirt with. He suspected that she’d slap him upside the head and storm off. Then again, with Esoria, who knew? Kysuri wasn’t something really serious for him- it was all fun and games. Esoria, well, he rather hoped that he and Esoria could be partners in the Red Shen. She was rather possessive, though, and he suspected she would have a fit if she had any idea of what he was doing. Luckily, she didn’t, and wouldn’t.

For a moment the fear that Esoria would find him and Kysuri flirting, but seeing as it was extraordinarily doubtful, he wasn’t too worried. Besides, he deserved this. Ren gave Kysuri a wink, the laughter now hidden behind a mock serious face.

“Unfortunately, his parental figures forgot to name him, therefore causing him many problems later in life, such as pretty ladies being forced against their wills to make up names for him.”

He nodded in a way that was very melancholy, but his eyes were still twinkling with mischief. He was standing right in front of the girl, and the silver bells were sparkling in the sunshine. He remembered where she had said she was from- Shol Arabela. It didn’t ring any bells right off the bat, but few places did. He didn’t remember having gone there, but he did remember it from the huge map that Jaayl had had- and that was now his. Or at least it had been, before the tower and taken it. He missed all the possessions that the black tower had taken. It really annoyed him that they had taken all his stuff. Some of it was more than just things. They were memories. Not that it mattered to them, of course.

He was smiling throughout her little speech, which she took to be a good sign. He obviously had a sense of humor, and yes, he was definitely flirting back. Light, I miss boys, she took a moment to sigh to herself. After such a long day, there is nothing like a broad-shouldered boy with a twinkle in his eye to make you feel better. Such thoughts were entirely unbecoming to an Aes Sedai, or so they told her. Light, did they really think Greens bonded more than one Warder for safety? Even a Brown would not be that dense. The scene took her back a few years, when she was 16, before Shara Sedai had taken her from Shol Arbela. For a moment, she could feel the weight of jeweled necklaces around her thin neck, feel the breeze on a low neckline, feel the rustle of silk as she laughed at a shameless joke. She felt a pang of homesickness. There had been boys at home but no one boy. There could be no one boy for an Aes Sedai when they lived so much longer than a man's lifetime. It was saddening and liberating at the same time; Kysuri felt her desire to be Green was justified once more. If you can have more than one attractive man around you in your lifetime, why can you not have several all at the same time? She felt very strongly defensive of the Greens' desire to bond more than one Warder. After all, it wasn't as if every Green slept with all of her Warders. It was a insult to the entire Ajah if--her thought process froze in mid-sentence. She was doing it again; getting so caught up in a single line of thought that she was forgetting the rest of the world.

Her eyes refocused on Ren's face just in time to see a flicker of something unknown cross his eyes. She was no Grey, skilled in body language, but she would have ventured a guess that it was either reluctance or anxiety about something in particular. Perhaps he had another novice that he was pursuing. Ky resisted the urge to shrug. If he had, then flirting with her was his own fault. Besides, men were free to direct their attention where they liked. It was the woman's job to keep him interested in her. And it wasn't as if she intended to marry him; she was only flirting, and not very heavily at that. If you're not worried about him having another girl, why are you defending his right to so loudly? that annoying voice in the back of her head chimed in. She lifted her chin, setting the bells chiming a bit once more. I'm not.

The young man was talking again, "...forgot to name him, therefore causing him many problems later in life, such as pretty ladies being forced against their wills to make up names for him."

Oh, Light, he didn't. She nearly laughed aloud. It was practically an invitation to name him anything she wanted! In a second, she contemplated every name from "dog" to "slave" to "boy," but she crossed out each. She wanted to remain playful, not mean. Yet. Perhaps if and when he fell madly and uncontrollably in love with her, she might resort to something like that. But for now, she'd remain just a flirt, not a queen. Her face instantly morphed to a troubled frown.

"Oh, dear. That must have been so hard for you. Well. I shall have to come up with a very good one, to make up for your lack," she pondered for a moment, in mock seriousnes. "I heard an Andoran name the other day that I think is just so distinguished. Reginald."

She was trying very hard not to break out in laughter. Reginald had been the name of an elderly Andoran lord who had once stayed with her father for several months. Picturing the young man before her in those riduculously tight stockings, white wig, and gaudy red tunic nearly made her eyes water with mirth. To put such a pompous name to such an unpompous boy struck her ironic sense of humor. Finally, she couldn't restrain herself any longer. She raised a delicate hand (now, no longer quite so delicate, thanks to the chores of the White Tower) to cover her mouth, as she pretended to cough. It came out a touch too strangled perhaps; she was nearly shaking with laughter.

"Oh, dear. That must have been so hard for you. Well. I shall have to come up with a very good one, to make up for your lack," Ren watched her think about this for a moment, no doubt trying to figure out a way to make up a good nickname for him, if she hadn’t already. It was a daring move to let her figure out a nickname for him, seeing as he had given her complete freedom and he didn’t really know what she was like. "I heard an Andoran name the other day that I think is just so distinguished. Reginald."

Ren kept up his serious face and nodded in a very distinguished way. The novice seemed to be bursting at the seams trying not to laugh, and she finally covered her mouth with a graceful hand and pretended to cough. It was so obvious that she was laughing now that if she had been laughing outright it couldn’t possibly have been clearer. Ren couldn’t find anything quite that funny in it, but he suspected that it had hidden meaning for Kysuri. What mother would curse a son with that name? It wasn’t a fitting name for Ren. Too long. He went for the short things. Short, simple and sweet. Reginald fit him about as much as a horse fit in the skin of a kitten. It sounded almost like a pompous old noble’s name. Then again, maybe that was why Kysuri had chosen it.

Pretending to be a very dignified man, he handed Kysuri his handkerchief, holding his nose up high.

“I am going to let you use my handkerchief to disguise your preposterous laughter. It really is quite rude.”

Ren could barely hide his own grin. The only reason he even owned a handkerchief was thanks to Cendaline. It was even embroidered with an ‘R’. She’d made them for him when he was sick one winter. He was even able to stomp the guilt at using the handkerchief that his ex-fiancee had made him to flirt before it grew and made him run away. Quite a feat, for him. He abandoned the pompous fool within a few seconds. He disliked even so much as pretending that he was any kind of noble. He really hated nobles. They cared for themselves, their money, and their bloodlines. They rarely gave a thought to the people who worked on their land and provided him with that money. His own parents had just been at port in their home town when the nobles had accused them (falsely) of smuggling. They hadn’t even investigated it. They had just hung them. Even his mother, who could have had nothing to do with it. He’d just come home one day and they were gone, with a note from the noble’s guards declaring that they would be hung for smuggling and a certain date for their deaths. That was it.

This isn’t the time, or the place for this, Ren. The mock seriousness had never faltered, and he’d always been good at hiding his emotions, so it was easy to return to the playful mood of a moment ago. He doubted that Kysuri had seen anything. He gave her a playful wink before speaking.

“Reginald it is.”

To be perfectly honest, he really didn't seem to comprehend the hilarity of the situation. But he had never met Reginald Harten, and so it was perhaps to be expected. Ky was much too lost in the image of the young man in those disgusting Andoran tunics prancing around, "hem"-ing and "haw"-ing at her like an old mule. It was quite enough to set her on a bout of fresh laughter. He was doing a marvelous job of playing it up, despite his apparent confusion over her laughter. She knew it wasn't quite as funny a situation as it seemed to her, but she could make herself stop the laughter that cracked through her vocal barriers. When he held out his handerchief, nose in the air, she could only shake helplessly with now unconcealed laughter. Reginald Harten had once handed her a handkerchief very like that, when he commented on the smudge of dirt on her nose. He had "hem"-ed and "haw"-ed there as well.

“I am going to let you use my handkerchief to disguise your preposterous laughter. It really is quite rude.”

That only made her laugh harder, only this time she had a handkerchief to stifle it in. That was exactly something old Reginald would have said, and the similarity was really starting to tickle her fancy. But her self-composure was rapidly returning, and she took the opportunity to dab at her eyes with the handkerchief. It was force of habit that made her do it so daintily; though she wore no eye makeup now, she had always dried her eyes with the least smudging possible. She wiped away all traces of her laughter, as the sound faded into a clearing of her throat. Something rough scraped across her cheek, and she pulled away the handkerchief to look. It was an "R," embroidered in the cloth. Her mirth froze for a moment as she put the pieces together. So there was another girl, one who had made these handkerchiefs for him. And his real name did begin with an R. A lucky guess on her part, she supposed. When she looked up, her own mirth abruptly stilled, she had noticed a change in him as well. The pompous fool he had been playing was gone, although the mischief remained. She forced her own playfulness back to the surface. Not even another girl's favor was going to dampen her amusement.

"Reginald it is," he answered with a wink.

She laughed again, reaching out to hand the handkerchief back, "Good, I'm glad we're in agreement. Though the Reginalds I have known have not nearly been as tolerantly decent-looking as you."

Perhaps she felt a little bad for saddling him with a name like Reginald. But only a little. She tilted her head back, flashing a genuine smile this time.

"So then, 'Reginald,' you must tell me something about yourself. Since I have done you the courtesy of naming you, and so forth."

Ren frowned a bit when Kysuri stared at his handkerchief. He was startled when he realized that she must think that it was from a sweetheart. It was, but that wasn’t the point. This was one sweetheart that he would never see or hear from again. She seemed to get over it, but he wouldn’t be that surprised if she had lingering doubt. Since he didn’t want something so trivial to spoil their little playful banter, he’d have to figure out a way to quiet any doubts. The opportunity presented itself when she spoke. She didn’t mention the handkerchief, but it was an open-ended question that would be easy to mold to fit his needs.

"So then, 'Reginald,' you must tell me something about yourself. Since I have done you the courtesy of naming you, and so forth."

He gave her a deep court bow, over exaggerated in his own special way.

“Of course, pretty lady.” He pretended to think for a moment, stroking the stubble on his chin. “Lets see… I have a younger sister who likes to embroider…” A complete and total lie, but it certainly wasn’t like there was anyone to correct him. In truth he was an only child, without any uncles or aunts or cousins that he knew about, but how was Kysuri to know that? Simple answer: She wouldn’t. He was an accomplished liar, and he never let his mischievous smile slip. He figured he had best give her something else about himself, as well. Not anything of too much consequence, but something that was fun that they could laugh about. “…And I enjoy juggling and magic tricks.”

He grinned at her. He was curious, though, and wanted to know a bit about Kysuri. So far all he knew was that she was a borderlander, she was careful about her appearance, she liked to flirt, and she was very, very pretty.

“Since I gave you two things, I think you should even out the score and tell me a few things about yourself. It’s only fair.”

He hoped that she would give him something real here. He wanted to know something about her before he spend a lot of time flirting with her. It was still a lot of fun, but it would be even nicer if he had something to look forward to through all the classes. He suspected she might be looking towards the future as well, but what would she want him for? A warder? He nearly snorted. He would make a downright terrible warder. He wouldn’t be attentive, he would be annoyed at getting dragged around, and he would hate being used. It wouldn’t work, but that was years in the future, and he wasn’t going to let that destroy what he wanted now.

The bow and his answer was a little comforting, but not very much. Kysuri, like most girls, had a suspicious mind when it came to "boys who might potentially have other girls." His "younger sister" had come right to a convenient place in the conversation. It wasn't that she doubted his veracity; no, he looked quite truthful. She had just learned that "younger sisters" were more often than not "the other girl I don't really talk about." But to be perfectly honest, she was alright with that. Unless the girl was herself inside the Tower, his ties to her would be largely cut off. And since most novices had little time to embroider handkerchiefs for men they were not even allowed to speak to, she was going to place her bet on this particular girl being of the "girl back home" variety. Girls back home had the very fortunate status of "being not here."

“…And I enjoy juggling and magic tricks.”

That explained the bowl-flourish earlier. Perhaps in a former life, he had been a gleeman. That would explain his ability to act and flirt with casual ease; the gleeman that her father employed from time to time had been proficient in both. It also meant he had a calculating alter ego; no gleeman was exactly what he appeared, and more than a few dabbled in the more disreputable side of the streets. She was greatly amused by Reginald, despite the brief roadblock she had experienced a few moments ago. Regardless, she smiled up at him and inclined her head slightly at his next comment.

"Very well, I shall give you two pieces of information about myself. As I said, I am from Shol Arbela, and I learned to use the Arafellin twin swords from my elder brother. I was a rather proficient swordswoman, though I say it myself, but I will admit my skills have greatly rusted to almost nothing while here at the Tower. As for the second...well, since many of the novices define themselves by the Ajah they wish to enter, I suppose you should know that my only possible Ajah choice is Green. They share my dislike of unnecessary restrictions and every Borderlander's desire to fight."

She supposed that was broadcasting her interest in men a touch too loudly (what other unnecessary restrictions could she be talking about?), but honestly, if he was going to flirt shamelessly with her in this fashion, he had to expect her to be a little brazen back. Boys were not in control of every situation, least of all one where they were trying to flirt with a girl. She tilted her head back again to look up at him, the bells chiming away softly.

"Well, now that I know you have a sister and enjoy juggling and you know that I fight like a boy and dislike censure, what else do we have to talk about? We've certainly covered everything important."

So perhaps she was teasing him a little for giving so few specifics. But she could hardly blame him; after all, they had just met.

"Very well, I shall give you two pieces of information about myself. As I said, I am from Shol Arbela, and I learned to use the Arafellin twin swords from my elder brother. I was a rather proficient swordswoman, though I say it myself, but I will admit my skills have greatly rusted to almost nothing while here at the Tower. “

Ren was almost surprised that she had acquiesced to his request. He had expected her to laugh and refuse. In a politely flirtatious way, of course. ” and I learned to use the Arafellin twin swords..” He hadn’t been paying attention the first time, but now it caught his attention. She said she had learned to use them, but had she ever had to? The borderland women were a proud lot, fiery and with a spirit and courage rarely matched, but their husbands were usually good at keeping them out of the fighting. However, accidents occurred on a regular basis, forcing women to fight. Had Kysuri been caught in one of those accidents? He also noted that for her skills to have rusted so badly, she had to have been at the tower for much longer than him. It wasn’t hard, considering he was still viewed as one of the newer soldiers.

“As for the second...well, since many of the novices define themselves by the Ajah they wish to enter, I suppose you should know that my only possible Ajah choice is Green. They share my dislike of unnecessary restrictions and every Borderlander's desire to fight."

This scared him. Not the fighting part, nor the part about ‘unnecessary restrictions’, although the latter was, in a way, part of it. It was the part about the Green Ajah. While he had suspected she was looking at him for a warder, now he was almost certain. It was something the Greens were infamous for- their obsession with warders. He could understand it, but there was no way he was going to become a warder to follow an Aes Sedai around like a puppy dog. He was a grown man, and he would take part in his own future. Almost all his instincts were screaming at him to ‘RUN AWAY’, but he was trying to dismiss them. He kept it hidden, but only barely, and only by turning his back to look for a fruit, although he knew well that there was no more fruit anymore.

Many of the novices wanted to be green- after all they were the ‘Battle Ajah’ and that promised lots of excitement, which oftentimes the Novices didn’t know was not necessarily a good thing. They openly boasted about checking out warders, and Ren was desperately trying to convince himself that it was the few who didn’t change their minds and become more mature that he was afraid of. Not the ones who actually knew what they wanted, and what they were going to be doing in that Ajah, like Kysuri obviously did. While he mainly calmed himself down, he got the last hold on his self control when he actually found a fruit at the bottom of the bush. He had been sure that he had picked that clean, but he supposed that he had only given it a brief look over. He had stereotyped the girl, and as long as he never let her bond him, she was going to be fun.
Light, Ren, be more open minded! It was almost as if Cendaline was talking in his ear, and he smiled, although he directed the smile at Kysuri.

"Well, now that I know you have a sister and enjoy juggling and you know that I fight like a boy and dislike censure, what else do we have to talk about? We've certainly covered everything important."

He laughed, and all the strain was gone. They could be friends, as long as she never mentioned bonding him. He suppressed a shiver at the thought.

“I am afraid, good lady, that I am of the simple-minded race, and must rely on your wit to keep a conversation going”

ooc- I must also rely on your muse.

((Sorry for the delay. Talk about having a lack of muse. >_< Mine died, and she shows no signs of reviving.))

The flicker that passed through his eyes at her mention of swords was amusing. She could see his thought process now. "A girl like that, using swords? Of course not." She was a little surprised he didn't pat her on the head and assure her that she was probably quite good at it. The Soliders and Gaidin-in-training always patronized girls who thought they could fight. Some of them had simply never met a Borderlander girl.

It amused her to know end to see his eyes momentarily widen. He appeared ready to run for the nearest tree when she stated her Ajah so emphatically. She could tell he was a little intimidated by the brazen announcement. She kept her smile inward. Boys should always be a little afraid of the girls they flirt with. It keeps things nicely balanced. It was true; she was always examining men for Warder material, but never really seriously. She had at least ten and likely more years in the Tower; the men aged faster than she, and now was just the time to practice looking for good traits. Regardless, she should probably set his mind at ease a little.

She sighed, a touch exaggerated at his comment, "You'll never win a girl being just simple-minded. Unless you seek the type who talk enough to fill the sea. That way, you would never have to say anything at all. But I will humor you, just this once, and think of a subject to discuss."

Picking a delicate way to let him know I'm not after you. Yet., she continued, "Of course, it'll be several years before I ever come close to the Green Ajah. These Light-forsaken classes take decades to complete to the satisfaction of the Aes Sedai. I'm afraid I know little of how things work in the Black Tower. Are the Asha'man as nitpicky and demanding as their female counterparts?"

She inclined her neck gracefully. Light, was he tall. He was giving her neck a crick simply by standing there. The bells chimed as she moved, settling back into silence as she awaited his reply.

ooc: I didn't see you'd posted- my apologies.

"Of course, it'll be several years before I ever come close to the Green Ajah. These Light-forsaken classes take decades to complete to the satisfaction of the Aes Sedai. I'm afraid I know little of how things work in the Black Tower. Are the Asha'man as nitpicky and demanding as their female counterparts?"

Ren covered his relief with a laugh as she moved away, the shining bells strung in her hair giving off a faint tinkling. He was being ridiculous. He really did think that the world revolved around him, didn’t he? He only barely resisted the urge to shake his head at his foolhardiness. The world didn’t circle around him, although it just might circle around the towers, as they were determined that it did. Sometimes he wondered if they had found a way to make them all Ta’veren, the way they acted sometimes. Things happened the way that they wanted them to happen, and if it didn’t, well then it was obviously someone elses’ fault. Probably one of the Accepted, Dedicated, Novice, or Soldiers did something wrong. After all, the students of the Towers were always getting into things and doing things wrong. He’d long since learned to get over being unfairly used as someone to yell at. Aes Sedai might be serene and nitpicky, but Asha’man were simply silly. In a very serious tone, he carried on the conversation. This was one topic that there was no doubt in his mind that he could find plenty of things to talk about. Of course, it was all anyone really talked about: The towers this, the towers that. What else could they talk about? The Towers controlled their entire lives. Of course they would talk about the Towers.

“Not nitpicky, persay. I’ve made an observation during the time I’ve been at the Towers: When females have a shouting fit, they call it a tantrum, and consider it immature and childish. When a male does it, it’s considered perfectly okay. Odd, isn’t it? See, the Asha’man rarely have the patience that Aes Sedai do, and we had best do what we need to do right within the first three tries- or we get to see one of the male tantrums, oftentimes.” He laughed. “They are indeed perfectionists, to the highest degree. Sometimes I wonder that anyone can ever be raised. Although, I’ve noticed that when someone is raised, it almost seems as if their nose seems to rise an inch or two. Ever noticed?”

That applied more to the Accepted and Dedicated than it did to the Aes Sedai and Asha’man, but it was true for both sets. After the final raising they just seemed more serene and looked down at the others, although there were some definite exceptions.

Ren made as if to sit down on the ground, and then thought the better of it. He didn’t need to get yet another uniform dirty if he could help it. Instead, he made his way to one of the trees, the roots as large as any of the nearby benches. He sat down, crossing his legs much like the Aiel did. He’d been to the three-fold-land once, where they had come from, in a merchant train. The Aiel were impossible to understand, and he’d given up almost immediately. Many of their concepts weren’t understood by anyone but them, and he and Jaayl had been paid well for their trip. With a start, he remembered Shol Arbela. One of the closest towns to the blight, everyone there had seen more battle in a year than most would in a lifetime. H thought back to her mentioning the swords. It made sense that she would know how to use them- and she almost certainly had, that close to the blight.