Shaya was actually very pleased to have the library duty that week. Not only gave it a good oppertunity to hunt for all those books she had on her list without someone questioning her on why she was there so long and it gave her a good excuse to butter up the librarian.
Also, while she was putting back the books where they belonged she got a good feel for which books the Aes Sedai and other members of the Tower read. She had already added quite a few titles to her personal list. The library was big enough to hide away from prying eyes when there was not much work left to do and read a book herself. This morning she was intent on getting the dusting over with as quickly as possible, so she could sneak off to a corner and read in that book she had found on the forsaken.
Brandishing her dust cloth like a weapon, she nimbly climbed up the little stepladder to reach the top shelves and started mopping away the dust with brisk swipes of her arm. Pretty soon clouds of dust were flying around her head and she couldn't stop sneezing.
Climbing down the ladder she went to one of the windows she had opened earllier and proceeded to shake all the dust out from the fabric. Sighing to herself when she saw the miles of bookshelves still to go, she returned to where she had left off and read the titles of the books as she cleaned them.
She had had a very stern preach about treating the books with respect and how some of them were very fragile and very valuable. She was starting to get the sisters of the Brown Ajah quite well by now, at least by face.
None of them had actually introduced themselves to Shaya, nor did she expect them to notice a novice cleaning their precious books. They hardly seemed to acknowledge eachother when they were in here.

Usually they never stayed for long, they preferred the solitude of their own quarters. Shaya moved the stepladdder up a bit so she could move on to the next isle, just when her eye caught a little manuscript that seemed to be pushed in between some books. She had to apply quite some pressure to the other books to move them aside enough to get the thin paper booklet out and she smiled when she saw what was written on the cover in broad penstrokes.

"Tales of a Gleeman
by
Erdon Trabban"

Leafing through the manusscript, it appeared to be a travel journal for a court's gleeman before he had gone to court.
Some of the tales were quite humorous and Shaya found herself giggling. His stories were obviously not written for a younger audiance and she was beginning to understand why the manuscript had been pushed away behind some books when she stumbled upon a passage where the author was describing his lovemaking to a rich courtesan in some detail.

Nanaia had been putting off this particular chore for a while. Perhaps if she thought of it as a mission, it would be more exciting. That was what she used to do aas a novice. Any work she didn't like doing was a mission, a quest. But when it all boiled down, she was just looking for a dusty old book titled, Meditation and Dreamwalking: a Study of the Aiel Wise Ones, author unknown. She had already read the book at least five times and she sighed at the thought of looking at the dusty scraps that were left of the original. It was put among the stories and tales section, even though she had argued with the head librarian that it should be among the books on the lost Talents. She had seemed to still think that the rumors about Aiel Wise Ones being able to Dreamwalk were nothing but tales themselves.

Eight book stands down, three in, and on the top shelf. That she had memerized the exact place was a testimont to her impatience at waiting for a bookish brown to look for it for her. They talked too much and the last Brown was very slow, taking her time as if the Aes Sedai had no other plans. When Nanaia was on a ...mission... she didn't want to converse with every single Aes Sedai in the library. She put on a stiff frown and a stern face and walked quickly, hoping that would deter any of them from slower her down.

Before she turned the corner, Nanaia heard giggling in the area where her book was. She sighed and braced herself. Sounded like a Green sister. But as she looked down the aisle, she saw a quite different sight. A novice, dust all over her face and a cloth nearly black in dirt, with a book open and reading. The girl was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even notice the Red Aes Sedai.

"Girl," Nanaia began sharply. The novice jumped in startlement, and nearly dropped the book. It closed with a quick snap. The look on her face was one that Nanaia remembered having when she had been caught as a novice with...well, she was not going to think about that. The novice was obviously frightened and suitably wary, knowing she was caught lax at her chores, and the Reds were known for being strict. Nanaia thought to herself that the novice may be useful. She wouldn't be one of those chattering Browns who get so swept up in their own thoughts, and she would be quick on her feet. "What is your name?"

Shaya had no idea how long she had been standing there reading, but she was quickly woken up from her reverie when a voice of authority sounded next to her. Shaya didn't think she had ever closed a book so quick and turned around in the same move. She felt like a cat that has been disturbed in his afternoon sleep by the neighbours dog, jumping up on all fours with a bristling tail.
Shaya nearly groaned when she realised it was not one of the Brown sisters that had come to check up on her. The woman before her was definately not a Brown. Her long, red hair flowed down her back like a fiery river and matched the temperament she saw flaring in those grey eyes. The shawl around her shoulder marked her of the Red Shen and Shaya quickly realised she could be in real trouble here. The Red Shen was always on a mission to find Shadowfriends everywhere they went, or so she had been told.

She briefly wondered if they would consider someone with her background a Shadowfriend, even though she made no distinction between "good" and "evil" when she relieved them of their riches. Dropping into a quick curtsy, that was somewhat akward because she was still holding the book and the dustrag, she hurried to answer: "My name is Shaya, Aes Sedai." She wasn't sure if the Aes Sedai had wanted her full name, but judging by the impatience she caught in the other woman's eyes, she decided not to waste any time on full introductions. Most likely the woman just needed something to call her by when she was reported to the Mistress of Novices for being caught reading. In her mind Shaya wondered what she would find herself doing the next couple of days. Scrubbing more pots? Washing clothes? Scrubbing the hallway floors again? She wondered if this Aes Sedai would consider any of them a suitable punishment or if she would come up with something more "creative". Making a conscious effort not to shift uncomfortably at the thought, she waited for what was to come.

Nanaia smiled. The girl would be quick, no doubt about that, since she had been spotted lax on her chores, but no need for her to know that she had no real plans to send the girl off to the Mistress of Novices for punishment. Dealing with Nanaia should be punishment enough, and she was in no good temper now.

She looked at the young girl named Shaya and quickly replaced the smile with one of her stern faces that she was so good at and gripped her shawl tightly. Maybe she was a darkfriend. Nanaia let the thought pass through her, the same thought she always had when she met someone new. Enough time for that later.

"Shaya then. Shaya I need you to find a book I am looking for, and quick. It is called Meditation and Dreamwalking: a Study of the Aiel Wise Ones." Nanaia looked at the shelf the book lay, and noticed that it hadn't been dusted yet, and her frown grew. She pointed up to the top shelf, high above her own head. "It should be up there. Fetch it for me."

The sound respect she had for a sister of the Red Shen temporarily vanished as she was told to "fetch" the book like she was a pet dog.
Anger flashed inside, but she hid it behind a quick cursty. Like there was anything she could do about it? The Aes Sedai could have her jumping through hoops if she wished and Shaya knew it. Still, her jaws clenched as she turned round to fetch the ladder to reach the book.
The ladder was not particularly light and it took her a while to get it positioned safely against the shelve. Shooting up the ladder nimbly, for as far as possible with the akward novice dress, she found the book the Aes Sedai had been talking about. She frowned as she realised the shelve was still covered in a thick layer of dust. Taking out the book as gently as she could, she still got covered as she pulled it down. Making her way down the ladder was slightly less graceful, due to the fact that she kept sneezing her head off.

She finally made it to the bottom and handed the book over with a quick dip of the knees. She was intrigued by the title of the book and wondered if the Aes Sedai posessed any Talent with the subject. She suddenly had visions of the Aes Sedai coming into her dreams and tormenting her and she had to swallow around a mouth that had suddenly gone very dry. She was still learning about the Power and what Talents had been discovered with it, so she wasn't even sure that was possible, but still the thought was very unsettling indeed. She wondered what it was like to hunt down Darkfriends like that. She had been told that the partnership between a female and male channeler in the Red Shen was an ambiguous one, as the members of the Red Ajah had previously been dedicated to hunting down male channelers. She wondered if the men ever truly felt safe. The Aes Sedai in front of her certainly looked like she ate and spit out Asha'men for fun.

The girl was angry, no doubt about that, even though she tried to hide it in her quick curtsy, Good, Nanaia thought, she has some spirit. There are soo many girls in the Tower these days who give up too easily, and this one wouldn't go over to the Dark One in a moment of weakness. She made a mental note to mention to her mentor that this one would go far.

Shaya sneezed loudly as she climbed back down the ladder. Much quicker than any Brown would have managed, even quicker than herself had she tried to climb up that ladder in her own awkward gray dress. She fingered the book for a moment, noting the dust covering it, the pages nearly falling out with age, and saw from under her eyelids a thinly concealed expression of curiosity in Shaya. That pleased Nanaia to no end. Again, too few were fascinated by the arcane knowledge that could be dredged up in the library besides the Browns. Maybe she had been too harsh on the girl when she said "Fetch" so derisively after catching her reading while on her chores. No, she thought to herself, if a novice doesn't have the quick-wits to break rules AND not get caught, she deserves everything that's coming to her.

"Very good, girl," Nanaia began and she looked from the book to Shaya. "Tell me, have you learned anything about Dreamwalking in any of your classes?" Maybe it was time to get to know this young novice, since the Reds had words with so few of them.

Shaya hid her surprise as she shook her head in response to the Aes Sedai's question. She was immediately exited at the prospect of perhaps learning a bit more about the subject. Ever since visiting a Tinker woman at a fair that had told her about the importance of dreams, she had been facinated by the subject.
"No Aes Sedai, there have been no classes available on the subject yet." Shaya thought that perhaps it was something that was taught to Accepted, although she wasn't quite sure if you had to be able to channel.

She thought she had heard her Aiel roommate mention Dreamwalkers before, but she never had a chance to question the girl about the subject.
She was in fact very superstituous about her dreams, but she would never admit it to anyone. Her eyes widening slightly with exitement she risked asking: "Are you a Dreamwalker yourself, Aes Sedai?" Shaya knew it was silly to have such romantic notions about a subject she had only read about once in a book that mentioned Talents. She often wondered if she would prove to have any Talent of any kind for anything. For now it seemed she couldn't even pin her mentor down long enough to learn how to channel, never mind having any Talents. Shaya had to resist the urge of firing questions at the Aes Sedai in rapid succession. She was walking on thin ice as was, speaking before she was asked to.

"Don't know anything about dreamwalking..." Nanaia mutters mostly to herself. It saddened her to think that so little knowledge actually floated about the world. It seemed as if the Towers had a monopoly on knowledge and only the most worthy would be allowed the briefest glimpse. She stopped herself. I'm thinking like a brown now, she thought to herself, but it was true.

Nanaia began to speak, not quite realizing that she was voicing her thought aloud. "Knowledge is the only way to tell the difference between the Light and the Shadow. Only the ignorant are led astray..." She caught herself and refocused on Shaya. "Not your fault, of course. A quick lesson, then. Dreamwalker are real, and the Towers has its share of them. Tel'aran'rhiod, the world of dreams, holds great knowledge, and danger." Much danger, she thought to herself, and some Aes Sedai who have used the dream ter'angreal have never awoken. But knowledge must be shared, she thought to herself. If no one else was willing to do it, maybe it was time to take it upon herself.

"Do not worry" she began with an uncharacteristic smile at the look on Shaya's face. The novice was obviously disappointed that all she recieved were some vague answers that raised more questions than solved them. "Perhaps one of the Aes Sedai will teach a class on Talents. If that happens, I expect that you will be there."

Shaya thought she hardly needed to be ordered to attent a class, she was usually the first in line when it came to learning something new.
In fact, it was scary the way the Tower was pulling her in with it's vast amount of knowledge that had never been available to her on the outside.
She noticed that Nanaia did not answer her question as to whether she was a Dreamwalker herself, but she seemed to knowledgable about the subject that Shaya did not doubt she was.
She also recognised a dimissal when she heard one and the red had obviously lost interest in her for now.
She bowed her head in acceptance to Nanaia's words and murmured: "As you command Aes Sedai".

She had a feeling she would be seeing more of the woman in front of her and she decided that she would have to watch her step better.
It had been a long time since someone had caught her out unaware so maybe it was a sign that she was getting too comfortable in this Tower already. She wondered if they had put her on a slow track on purpose when it came to learning to channel, to make sure they kept her under control. She definately would not put it past them, she mused.
Waiting patiently she waited for the Aes Sedai to go about her business or send her back to dusting.

Nanaia nodded thoughtfully at the novice. The sound of two men walking in their direction made Nanaia cringe. She did not want to have to talk to anyone else today. She held the book in her hands and headed out of the library, leaving Shaya behind her without even a second glance. She should be going back to dusting, and the girl probably would be doing her share of that for the rest of the day, but Nanaia had no doubt the girl would sneak looks into the books around her.

She sighed as she barely managed to avoid an Aes Sedai, seeing her brown fringed shawl in time to turn a corner. Heavy in thought, Nanaia frowned. If all teh novices knew as little as Shaya - and Shaya was among the older ones - then Nanaia had better do something about that. Perhaps it was time to teach a class. It would certainly be another way to get to know the new novices that just keep on pouring in. Yes, a class seemed right, and time enough for the novices to recognize the work of teh Red Shen. Nanaia gave a glimpse at her book on dreamwalking and tucked it under her arm, adjusted her shawl, and marched in the direction of the classrooms.