(OOC: This thread starts in the Tower, but will quickly move on into the city. :D)

She woke slowly, sprawled over her bed. Evei couldn’t hear her roommate’s snores, so she theorized that the other woman was already gone. I must be late, then. She thought, heaving herself up in order to prepare herself for another day of being a novice. Evei froze, and a little laugh escaped from her lips. A novice. I almost wish I was one of those again, even if I had a snoring roommate then. Shaking her head, Evei slipped from bed, her hand clenched about the finger that was adorned with the Great Serpent ring. Every morning, when she woke up, Evei forgot that she was no longer a novice, and had gained the title of Accepted. Because of this, mornings were her favorite time of day. I need to move on. She thought to herself as she slipped into a clean shift. Evei told herself that every day, but it was difficult to come to terms that she had abandoned everything that had ever meant anything to her. With pursed lips, Evei pulled her dress over her head. She took a few minutes to smooth the skirt and stare down at the bands of color before reaching for her brush and dragging it through her matted hair. As an afterthought, Evei snagged her cloak from its hook and swung it around her shoulders. It was cold in the Tower this time of year, and Evei had no wish to spend the day shivering.

After a few moments, Evei was ready to leave her room. She stood in the center of her room for a minute, realizing that she had nothing to do. Evei had no chores, and no lessons scheduled for the day. I might as well go eat. she told herself, and walked our of her room and into the hallway. Evei looked about, surprised to not see the usual bustle of Accepted hurrying to breakfast. I really must be late. She thought, annoyed at herself. Evei quickened her step, and rushed toward the mess hall in hopes that a bit of food would still be laid out. It was unlikely, for the Tower punished those who did not rise with the sun. A few minutes later, Evei pushed open the door to the mess hall and stepped inside. Early on in her career a novice, she had quite a bit of difficulty navigating the hallways, but nearly seven years later, Evei could make her way through the halls with her eyes closed. She glanced about the large room, irritated to see no food in sight and only a few annoyed looking novices cleaning up the mess of breakfast. One of the novices sent her a quizzical glance, but Evei was already sweeping out of the room, giving the girl her best imitation of Aes Sedai.

Evei stopped outside of the door, and contemplated the day spread out before her. It was obviously almost noon, since there was so little disorder in the mess hall. That was fine, though, because she had nothing to do today. Still, it irked her to have nothing to do to keep her mind of her own failings. Without much thought, Evei turned and walked briskly toward the gardens. The place had a good atmosphere for thinking, if she really was going to spend the day contemplating her arches and position as Accepted, even if it was raining. How perfectly melodramatic. Evei thought wryly as she stepped forward into the Tower grounds. She lifted up the hood of her cloak to cover her head as she looked about the garden. As expected, it was deserted, due to the present rain. Evei looked up to scowl at the cloudy skies, before moving off toward a bench. She sat down slowly on the sodden wood and relaxed into the cold embrace of the bench. It felt good to feel something that wasn’t her own despair.

For Evei did feel misery. She no longer had the right to mourn her late husband, not after how she had abandoned his memory in the arches. She could not be angry at her father anymore, not after what she had done to him. Evei couldn’t even feel the usual fury at Ren, for she knew now that the friendship she had longed to have with him and then watched crumble before her eyes a month or so ago no longer mattered. In fact, it would be rather detrimental to our partnership. Evei thought dryly as water pelted down and soaked her cloak. She ignored it in favor of browsing through her own thoughts and feelings. Her emotions were in chaos, filled with happiness at being raised, the knowledge that even being Accepted wasn’t enough, and the understanding and anguish that the arches had changed her into something she never would have become on her own. They made me into the perfect material to become Aes Sedai with no regard to my sanity. Evei mused, entirely without humor. It was true, after all. Now, with her long coveted ghosts banished from her mind, Evei didn’t know what to do other than hate herself.

After all, she had dishonored her husband’s memory, left her father to guilt, and abandoned Ren to death. There was nothing in her to be proud of, other than her ascension to Accepted. Even that wasn’t worthy of true happiness anymore. Evei bent her head, welcoming the feeling of cold water dripping down her neck. The icy feel of it woke her from her own depression. She stood quickly, intent on moving away from the bench that had harbored her self pity. It would do no good to wallow in her self disgust and melancholy. The only thing she could do was keep herself busy until the pain numbed and what she had done faded to the back of her mind. I wonder if I’ll be able to face Ren after leaving him to be tortured. Evei thought coldly as her cloak flapped about her in the wind. She knew that she could never be friends with him again, not after what she had done, and it was likely that her partnership would not be enough for a person like Ren. There is nothing I can do about that. She told herself, her words cruel. With that in mind, Evei set out across the garden, intent on reaching the sanctuary of the library, where she could lick her wounds over a good book.

A head nodded, dark brown hair flopping in front of eyes of an even darker shade of earth. The pale hand in front of the broad-shouldered figures receded, resting beside a seated figure clad in black. The second figure’s smile was smug. A black, unadorned color made it clear that the man was, in fact, a soldier. A second man seemed to be sulking; possibly for the same reason the other was smug. The older man was the only one standing, and the only one speaking. He gestured for the smug man to step up in front of the class. The grin slipped off his face immediately, and only self-control kept the sulking one from grinning.

“If you know so much, Soldier Cardellin, please, tell m-“ the soldier that had been on the loosing side of the debate was whispering to another man, who looked to be only eighteen or so. A thread of air made it’s way to wrap itself around the boy’s mouth. He left holes for breathing, but the boy would be unable to talk otherwise.

“Tell me what Rand al’Thor’s father’s name was. Please, inform the class.” Ren stepped aside, leaning against the wall. The boy was in the spotlight, his mouth opening and closing, no sound coming out. Ren’s present job was to teach them history- he was talking about Rand, and what had happened before the infamous ‘Last Battle’. Last battle, indeed. It wasn’t anything of the like. It was just a large point in a battle that would last Age after Age, Turn after Turn of the wheel. However, that would be the job of another Dedicated, and another class to inform these younglings. His attention was jerked abruptly back to the Cardellin as he took a stab at it.

“Master al’Thor?” His voice raised at the end, making it clear that it was a question. Ren shook his head, escorting the Soldier back to his seat with a strap of air. He had to admit, it was amusing to see the 20-year-old jump. He wondered how long it would take Cardellin to do it again- he was insufferable, but Ren supposed that he would be broken in in time. The Asha’man were very, very good at that. He clapped once, and every eye that had been lingering on the limping Soldier returned to Ren.

“Class dismissed- I want a two-page paper on al’Thor’s family.” His smile had a regretful tinge to it. “Just think- I would have let you off without homework if not for Cardellin there.” Ignoring the grumbling of his students, he strode out of the room. No need for him to wait while they gathered up their books. Ren had a reputation for being a fair, but merciless instructor. One of the students had once let slip his nickname. “Sweetie” Apparently one of his students had a sense of humor. And sarcasm.

His long strides carrying him quickly out of the room, the Dedicated moved toward the Dedicated quarters, intending to grab some sleep before supper was served. He didn’t have anything left to do- He’d already had a class with an Asha’man, and that was the only class that he’d had to teach today. He’d started sleeping well about a month ago, but a few more hours of shut-eye were never passed up. Perhaps he should study the family, just to make sure that he didn’t slip up when he was correcting those papers, but he dismissed it. Until he realized that he’d completely forgotten Rand’s actual father’s name- the biological one. Groaning unhappily, he spun, making his way towards the dreaded place- the Library.

His destination was in the White Tower- the Black Tower relied on it’s counter-part for many things like this- the tests, for instance. No one had been willing to haul those hundreds of books, possibly thousands, to the halls of the Red Shen, although the White Tower had offered to let the Asha’man do it, but they had a condition- they couldn’t be moved by channeling. It could, after all, hurt the books. The decision to leave them had been unanimous. He chose to make his way across the garden. There was a small layer of snow underfoot, maybe an inch or so. He paid it little heed, other than a brief wish that he knew how the Asha’man seemed unaware of the chill, or heat. He wondered briefly what the weave was. The thought fled when his eyes rested on a familiar figure ahead. A striped hem proclaimed that the girl was Accepted, to his astonishment.

He hadn’t seen Evei for almost three months. He hadn’t searched her out- it would be a while before they would need to start training as partners, and if Evei chose to avoid him, so be it. She would come back when she chose… but this was new. For one thing, their chance meeting could be made into a nice time to chat, and for another, she’d been raised. And hadn’t told him. A brief burst of anger flaired, but it subsided before it even reached it’s peak. He remembered what it had been like when he’d first been raised. He couldn’t stop himself from wincing at the memory. They had been more distant ever since.

Hurrying, he caught up with the woman, his trot eating up the ground fast enough for him to catch her unawares. Her face was set in such a melancholy expression that his heart panged in a sort of sympathy. As his eyes traced her face, he saw the lines that showed that her raising wasn’t precisely recent- they were worry lines. That would explain her scarcity- he hadn’t particularly wanted to see Evei, either. Look how that had turned out. He made a fast decision, drawing along side her.

“We need to go somewhere outside the towers. Somewhere in the city. I don’t like your look, and I want to get out of here.” He nodded decisively. So what if they were only supposed to go out with special permission- he wanted a bit of the freedom that he had given up so long ago when he had entered the tower- a couple years short of a decade, if he remembered. He hadn’t been out of the towers since.

(OOC: I’ve got Ren’s permission for Evei to push Ren over. :whistle )

Evei stepped forward, her eyes on the cobblestones under her feet. She would go to the library, and think. She had to find some way to come to terms with herself, this new person that surprised her every time she turned, and then she would find Ren. They would talk... And come to some agreement, figure their relationship out. Somehow. And I need to be as honest as I can about what I did in the arches. I don’t want our relationship to be based on lies and miscommunication. We’re in our formative years as partners, and any misstep now will affect us forever. She thought, before letting out a long, gusty sigh. They had already make more mistakes that Evei could count. So many insults had passed between them that she supposed a few more wouldn’t matter all that much. A little smile passed over her lips for a moment, and she resolved to fix things. Perhaps they couldn’t be friends, she knew they couldn’t, not if they wanted a good working relationship, but they would be partners. If I have my way, that is. The thought was a little rueful, but Evei didn’t let that stop her. She would sort herself out, and then she would find Ren. With a decisive nod, she took another step forward. It was then that she heard him, speaking from beside her. “We need to go somewhere outside the towers. Somewhere in the city. I don’t like your look, and I want to get out of here.”

Evei started, jumping in surprise. “Ren?” She gasped out, whirling to face him. Her feet caught on the cobblestones, and she tripped forward. With a little grunt, she toppled onto Ren, pushing them both over. She could hear his gasp of surprise as her fall pushed him onto the cobblestones, and let out her own when she landed on his chest. “Omf.” She muttered into Ren’s shirt before spitting out the material. She looked up, and took in Ren’s startled expression for only a moment before she started to laugh. She sat up, perched herself on Ren’s chest, and gave into hilarity. She clutched her ribs, her eyes tearing up from her laughter as she chuckled. It didn’t take long before her stomach hurt with each guffaw, but it only made her laugh harder. I decide to go find Ren... And then I literally fall on top of him. Evei knew it wasn’t actually that funny, but the tiny bit of amusement was enough to open the floodgates and let her strained emotions out, though Evei was rather surprised that they were materializing with laughter and not violence. She had been under so much stress lately, for there was more work to be done now that she was Accepted. Essays, classes, block breaking sessions... and the ever present quandary of the arches, which were on her mind every second of the day. Not to mention the question of how to deal with Ren. She had kept it bottled up inside of her, had let it bubble and simmer while nothing showed on the surface. Evei had known that it would all explode soon, and she was rather glad that it was Ren who was witnessing it and not someone else. After a few moments, Evei calmed down and wiped the tears of hilarity from her cheeks. “Hello, Ren.” She said, between hiccups. “How -hiccup- are hiccup- you?”

It took her a moment to smooth her face, but Evei was close to mastering the art of Aes Sedai serenity and didn’t have that much difficulty banishing the expression of hilarity. She looked down at Ren for a moment, and forced herself to remember his words from before. After all, I shouldn’t let my little breakdown get in the way with communication, should I? She thought to herself, seriously. Evei thought for a moment, trying to gather some sort of response. On one hand, she didn’t want to leave the Towers and end up with punishment on her plate as well as her heavy workload. But if she wanted to right her relationship with Ren, there were probably some sacrifices she would need to make. Evei just hoped that she wasn’t giving up her sanity. “Where would you like to go, then, Ren?” She asked him, her words grave. It seemed faintly ludicrous to Evei: she was sitting on him, and yet she was completely serious. Evei couldn’t muster up the determination to move, and was more than happy squashing Ren. Think of it as a welcome back gift. She thought, almost maliciously. Evei pushed her little revenge to the back of her mind, trying not to dwell on how much Ren had insulted her the last time they had spoken so many months ago. “I would like to talk to you and sort out what we’re going to do.” The words were formal, but Evei didn’t let it bother her. Ren seemed more than willing to work things out with her, and that was what mattered most at the moment.

There Ren was, perfectly content to have a nice little chat, and Evei decides to tackle him. Really, what did he do to deserve that one? The cold dew that had gathered on the grass began to soak into his back. Apparently a bit of the water had managed to get underneath his collar. This was one of those moments when he would have loved to be immune to temperatures, like the Aes Sedai and Asha'man he'd seen. What a pain in the ass. He would have thought that the sun had been up in that lovely blue sky long enough for the dew to evaporate, but as Ren's back was discovering, that wasn't quite so. The sky... which was most of Ren's view at the moment. He was about to prop himself up, when he felt something stir on his chest, and a sort of soft, breathy noise emitted from Evei's mouth. His eyebrows shot up.

Evei. It was still strange to call her that- he'd been Esoria in his mind for so long that he'd never imagined that she might have another name, yet she did. He couldn't help but stare as the woman burst out into a laughter. The laughter had too much of an edge to it, though. He could tell that Evei hadn't been the only one who'd been haunted by their arches. Then again, Ren knew that. Every Dedicated he'd seen in private, especially the newly raised ones was troubled by their arches. The arches represented almost everything that a person could love, and destroyed that love. Ren banished the thought from his mind; it seemed as if he was doing that a lot, these days. He should have a special area of his brain reserved for nothing more than thoughts he refused to think about. Put them behind locked doors.

He watched Evei with mild amusement, nothing nearly as close to her apparent breakdown, but it was still amusing. He wormed his arms out from under her legs, until he could fold his hands under his head and watch her, rather than the oh-so-pretty sky. He was almost worried that she was gonna choke and faint. Then again, the thought of Evei fainting like a pampered lady almost made Ren want to laugh. He waited until she exhausted herself, ignoring the wet. He wasn't going to melt. Or freeze, actually, in this instance. When she started hiccuping, though, he just couldn't help it. It was his turn to laugh. Not as much as she had, but it was enough that a soldier aways away looked over at them. Ren had never been known for being quiet.

The solider running away after seeing an Accepted straddling a Dedicated only served to make Ren actually picture the two of them in that moment; of course his chuckles didn't diminish. Ren had little doubt that they looked ridiculous. Almost like they were lovers. He sobered almost instantaneously, but he left a sort of amused smile on his face. No one could say that being a gleeman, a performer, an actor didn't come in handy. He hadn't learned the serenity yet, but he could show any other emotion of his choice. The serenity would come with time and practice.

"Evei, I'm fine. It's always lovely to see you. And how are you doing on this fine spring day?" Ren smiled gamely, as if they were just having a normal chat in the mess hall, as if they hadn't been separated for the last three months. He spoke in a pleasant, cheery voice, smiling up at her. To his surprise, she didn't climb off. Good thing that he didn't really want to breathe. He was surprised that she was even considering going off with him, really. She'd always seemed like such the rule follower, with the occasional break in her routine. He remembered the time when she'd dumped a pot of water over his head with amusement, even if the evening had ended less pleasantly than it'd begun... and he'd got into trouble for screwing up yet another of his uniforms. Evei always did manage to be the death of his clothing.

"I was thinking in the city. I know a lovely little tavern..." He smiled contentedly. He was longing for a good, long drink. It had been far, far too long. A man needed a drink, occasionally. Loosen up, a bit. You can only wind up so tight before you snap, and you fall down. Ren wanted to avoid falling, at all costs. Not when the price was as high as it was- he didn't know what he would do without the tower, not now. Not after so long of living in it, with every moment governed by others. "I agree. A little sorting would not go amiss. However, love, as much as I enjoy a pretty lady straddling my chest, I would appreciate you standing up. Unless..." He raised an eyebrow in an undeniably suggestive manner.

Well. No one ever claimed that he was that smart.

Evei shifted slightly, too glad for the semblance of revenge that squashing Ren represented to get up. She did want to work things out with him and get their relationship back to a partnership, but somehow she could not let the slight torture go. Am I really so different after the arches that I am needlessly petty and a little bit cruel? Evei mused, half afraid of the answer. She forced herself to turn her thoughts away from that. It didn’t matter what the arches had molded her into- she could change herself again if she had to. The only thing that mattered now was gaining some sort of understanding with Ren. I don’t even know if he still wants to be Red. Evei thought to herself, almost having to consciously tell herself not to furrow her eyebrows as she did so. It would be such a bother if she had to find someone else for a partner, or worse: another Ajah. She and Ren had spent so much time trying to build up their relationship, and the arches could have easily just turned their work into ashes. I doubt that Ren has second thoughts, though. If he did, he would just tell me now and not invite me to go drinking with him. Evei glanced down at Ren’s face, taking in the familiar features. Had the arches changed him so much that she would be wrong?

She was unable to stop her eyebrows from arching into her forehead when Ren spoke again. Evei almost laughed. Ren seemed to be the same Ren that she had known months ago, after all. She almost wanted to joke back, let their relationship turn into something light and fun that would give them comfort whenever they needed it. But she knew they needed more of an edge together- it wouldn’t do for them to be too comfortable with each other, too quick to trust. If they took that path, they’d both lower their guard and expect the other to pick up the slack. Of course, if both of them expected to the other to do their work, nothing would get done and they’d both end up dead. Evei didn’t want to face that kind of friendly betrayal, and it would hardly be a beneficial relationship for the kind of work they would face in the Red Shen. No, it would be better not to joke.

“You only had to ask.” Evei told him instead, her tone as icy as it should be. Carefully, she swung her legs to one side of Ren and stood up. She turned back to face him and extended one careful hand, half wondering if he would bother to use her support when he stood up himself. It will tell me only a little bit about him, anyways. Evei thought to herself, half trying to dismiss her curious nature. Their talking would do no good if she tested him all night, after all. Still, it was difficult for her to dismantle such a large chunk of her personality. She’d never be able to stop testing Ren, but she could put it to the side for this conversation. Evei would have to if she expected them to go anywhere at all. She glanced down for a moment, eyeing her attire. “Of course, I’ll have to change into something a little less obvious before we go.” She told him, her words brisk and businesslike.

Evei had some of her old dresses in her closet, and her white cloak would be enough to hide her change of clothes while she was still in the Tower. The cloak would probably raise some suspicion, but it would have to do. “You should probably change into something a little less black, as well.” Evei paused for a moment, thinking. “I’ll meet you by the stables, and we can leave for the city from there.” She wanted to say more, suddenly wanted to blurt out what she had done to him in the third arch, how it had changed her into something she wasn’t quite sure about. Because they’d never be the same again, and Ren would never know why unless she told him. It was such a huge breach of tradition that Evei almost wanted to bite her tongue just to keep the words from escaping. But they were coming out no matter what, even though Evei fought to keep them nothing more than a whisper. “I left you to die, you know.”

Evei turned away from him, walked away into the Tower. She idly wondered if she would find him by the stables now that he knew that he couldn’t really trust her. No, I trust him too much to doubt him like that. Evei told herself, knowing that Ren probably had a story just like hers from the arches. At least Ren would know why she was so different now, so much colder. Evei could feel a tinge of cruelness in her chest, a little urge that made her want to go kick a few puppies. I can channel it into something useful. She promised herself, determination flavoring the words. I’ll make it into something productive and useful. Maybe even good. Everyone had a dark side somewhere in them, but few had the chance to let it out for a cause like she did.

She made it to her room in a haze, pulling off her Great Serpent ring as she walked through the threshold and into her room. It took only a few minutes for Evei to change into a one of her dresses from her Tuatha'an days: a fluttery blue one that probably revealed more than it should. It was the simplest dress she had, though. She slipped her almost empty purse onto her belt and buckled it around her waist. Evei slipped on her sturdy leather boots just as quickly, and pulled the cloak around her until it hid her new attire from view. It took only a few minutes after that until she was standing on the path to the stables, her mind still blurry with the possibility that Ren might not come.

In a way, Ren was almost surprised that Evei obeyed, and so seriously, too. He’d expected at least a smile, or at least a cutting remark. She knew enough of his weaknesses that she would have been able to cut deep enough to make him not willing to come, to talk it out. But she didn’t. Yet, she didn’t joke either. It was the one thing about Evei that Ren didn’t miss, yet it was the thing that would make her such a good partner for him. He hated that many layers, manipulating like that. He could do it, when he had to, but he wasn’t good at it. His version of manipulating was closer to holding a sword to the intended’s throat and telling them exactly what he wanted, and the punishment that they would receive if they didn’t do it. Funny, but it usually worked. His manipulation was obvious, though. The tower’s wasn’t. Evei’s wasn’t. She was doing it now, and Ren knew it. He ignored it, though. She would think of him what she would, no matter what he did.

He ignored her outstretched hand, instead getting to his feet on his own with the balance learned over years as a gleeman. The tower can’t make you forget everything. You still clung to some things. Being around Evei was never fun, but it was enlightening. At least Ren had some idea of how to act around her, even though he could never predict her. He was rather surprised that she was speaking to him at all, though, after what he’d said before. He’d been an ass, and he knew it. She’d always seemed like she was the type to take revenge, though, to Ren; he couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t, now.

Revenge. Funny how it could rule a person’s life, even after you’d let go of it. The arches had forced Ren to let go of the darkfriends, of Jaayl’s death, yet he still hated Darkfriends with a passion that no unaffected bystander could. And because of that, he would always hate them, always long to kill them. Always long for the Red shen. Evei seemed much the same to the twenty-nine year old, yet he couldn’t be sure. He rather doubted that Evei would ever be able to let go of her hate, any more than he’d been able to, yet it was a possibility. She was right- this talk was long overdue.

“Of course.” She always was the practical one. He would have gone out in just his Dedicated’s uniform, but that was stupid. The city was swarming with Aes Sedai and Asha’man, and they weren’t idiots. They would realize that an Accepted and Dedicated out in the taverns and streets of Tar Valon wasn’t doing what they were supposed to be doing, and since Ren didn’t particularly want to get into trouble, again… especially since he’d been so careful to obey the rules, recently.

He was dusting himself off as he heard the woman’s quiet words. His head jerked up in surprise, his eyes wide. He blinked for a moment, before his face fell into a look of astonished amusement. It was the way he dealed with almost everything- find the part of it that you could laugh at in public, then go in private and truly think about it.

“You weren’t kidding when you said we needed to talk, were you?” He said, quietly, his voice filled with dry amusement. He had little doubt what she was talking about- her arches. He would have had to be a complete woolhead not to realize that. He watched Evei until she disappeared before he turned on his own heel and made his way into the tower. He had his own clothes, of course. The uniform consisted of the black coat, mainly. The rest was provided by the tower; black breeches, boots, white shirt, and black coat, but it was all rather anonymous, with the exception of that coat, and the tiny little sword pin on the man’s collar. Ren jogged up to his room. A Solider was on his knees outside Ren’s room, cleaning the hallway. Ren stopped, tapping his foot lightly until the Soldier turned, scrambling to get out of the way.

Ren stepped past him, perfectly aware that it was the soldier who’s seen Evei straddling him. The look that the Dedicated gave the boy was enough to make the Soldier back up slowly. Ren strode into the room without any worries that the boy would say a word about the boy saying anything to someone. Ren would be able to most of his clothing; he’d just have to find himself another jacket. If he even had one.

Evei was already at the stables when Ren arrived. He was surprised- from his experience, women took forever to get dressed, or do anything pertaining to their appearance. He should have known better than to assume that with Evei. Her white cloak hid what she was wearing, but he’d find out soon enough. He hadn’t been able to find another coat, of his own, so he was stuck with his roommate’s. It wasn’t like Stelorin was going to miss it, after all. Rich noble… The coat was deep blue silk, but it had the least amount of embroidery, so it would do. Ren’d kept his pants and boots, and cloak- black was a common color.

He walked past Evei, into the stables, not even looking at her, but giving her her own choice. If she chose to go with him, he was more than welcome, but he was going either way. He mounted his horse, which he’d kept when he’d gone into the tower. He was unsurprised to find Cendore in fine shape. The tower would never be wasteful. Especially not when they had so many Soldiers and Novices to do most of the work for them.

Ren was almost surprised by how little resistance he got at the gates. He would have thought that they would have gotten at least a little, but they were allowed through without so much as a ‘why’? Ren’s fingers tapped against his leg as he rode through the crowds, his heart beating faster. It had been far too long since the last time he was out. So long… and the knowledge that it would be so longer. The gelding felt Ren’s annoyance and pranced, but people stayed out of his way. This close to the tower, it was obvious that a woman and a man in a black and white cloak, respectively, weren’t just normal citizens, but the farther into the city they went, the less likely they were to be recognized.

Ren led the way to a tavern; of course he knew where they were. Ren’d been an alcoholic for almost a year before Cendaline had gotten him out of the habit. Ren dismounted in front of a little place called ‘The Dancing Grolm’. Well, wasn’t that imaginative. He dismounted gracefully, and turned to Evei.

“You ready?” There was a bit of a challenge in his voice, for once. He was curious as to what she would do. She didn’t seem like much of the type to drink. To careful. This was going to be a moment for the scrapbook.