It had been a few days since the incident in the Hallways with the mystery girl, the other soldier, and the Aes Sedai. Elia had fumed over the girls ignorance at first, thinking her to be a silly girl who needed to grow up. But as he thought about it more, he realized that maybe he had deserved to be yelled at like that. After all, just a few months ago, he wouldn't have believed any tales of Trollocs burning down entire towns and slaughtering the entire populace. Unless you knew Trollocs existed, it seemed far-fetched, maybe even psychotic.

So, after he had his daily lesson with Rialt, Elia set out to find this mystery girl. He didn't even know her name. He vaguely remembered her telling the Aes Sedai, but he had been so furious he couldn't remember what it had been. Sujy? No. Sunth? No. He knew it started with "Su" but couldn't remember the rest. He was going to have to figure it out without letting her know he didn't know.

Just then, a strange thought hit him. Were Asha'man or Aes Sedai allowed to marry? Were they allowed to marry each other? Wait....why was he thinking these odd thoughts? He barely knew this girl, had never had thoughts of getting married before, and here he was wondering how long until they would wed. Maybe it was he who needed to grow up after all.

Well, first thing was first. Before he got any more thoughts of getting married, he needed to find the mystery girl and apologize for being so rude to her. He began looking in the hallway outside the Mess Halls where he had found her before.....

Iva had learned a trick the short time she'd spent in the Tower. Everywhere around there were Aes Sedai and Accepted, out to make every novice do as much work as possible. If they found you standing still enjoying the autumn sunlight for only a slight moment, they would give you chores, and they seemed to favor doing the dishes or scrubbing the floors. Ivas hands were constantly wrinkled and her back hurt every night as she laid down to stare at the ceiling and try to sleep. She did not mind hard work; but doing this day in and day out did not make her feel like she was accomplishing something. There was always more dishes to do; more areas to clean. The floor she had cleaned one day was dirty again the next, because of the amount of people running around in the Tower with dirty shoes. Iva could barely round a corner without seeing some poor girl lying on her fours.

But Iva had found a way to get around that. If she looked as if she was on some important mission, the Aes Sedai and the Accepted wouldn't disturb her, mostly. Whenever she wanted some time for herself, she did not sit in her room; they could find her there. No, she grabbed something, a dress, a pair of shoes, a parchment, held it tightly against her chest and strode around in the areas open for novices in the building. Always with her chin up, and her eyes straightly ahead, although she did remember to stop and curtsey briefly to every Aes Sedai she met. She had explored most of the Tower this way; the trick was to not go to the same spot twice, or she might encounter the same people, and they might wonder why she still was wandering around carrying that dress. She could not do it often; lessons and work occupied most of the day's hours, and some of the night's, too, but at least every third day she managed to get away. She accomplished a lot of thinking in these wanderings.

Her mind often flew back to the moment in the hallway when the annoying recruit had walked all over her newly scrubbed floor. She always shook her head to get rid of it; she did not wish to think about him. It was not likely they would meet again. The Tower was big, and novices weren't allowed to talk to men. There was something about him that sparkled her curiosity, though. She had found that he at least was not delusional; from other novices she had heard there were indeed creatures such as Trollocs. So he had not been lying about that. Quickly, she suppressed a shudder, and glanced around her. Not odd that she thought about him now; she had entered the same hallway where they had met.

Iva curtseyed to a passing Aes Sedai who did not give her as much as a glance, her lips curling in a small smile. Being a novice, being invisible, had its positive sides. Directing her gaze forward, she came abruptly to a halt. Who was that? No. It wasn't. It couldn't be. But.. yes, it was, it was that man, that boy, that.. He had seen her, too, but Iva didn't care, she did not wish to be yelled at again. Quickly she turned and began striding away from him, back the way she had come.

Elia was mildly surprised when he saw the girl in the very hall where they had met. It seemed it had been a good idea after all to begin his search for her here in this hallway. He stopped right before she saw him, allowing her to do so. He watched her reaction go from surprise to distaste as she realized who it was watching her, and he really didn't blame her. He had snapped when she had lectured him and yelled back. What he should have done is apologized and then stopped to help her. He really should be trying to make friends here instead of always trying to protect his sister. The two of them were safe here, he didn't need to protect her now.

After the girl realized who stood before her, she turned on her heel and started marching off. As she did so, Elia suddenly remembered her name. Sunniva. As he remembered it, he couldn't help but think a single thought. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. What was wrong with him that he was acting like this? He shook off the odd feeling that had overtaken him and ran to catch up to her. When he did, he grabbed her by the elbow and turned her to face him. He wasn't going to let her treat him like this forever. He was going to apologize and attempt to be her friend.

"Sunniva, right?" he began when he had her attention. "I want to apologize for the other day. I overreacted, and you were right. I acted like a complete jerk, and you really didn't deserve it. I want to make it up to you in someway. What can I do?"

OOC: Sorry it's so short! :unsure:


Thinking he wished to avoid her also, Iva sighed of relief. Though it did not last, too soon she could hear his footsteps behind her, as if he wished to catch up with her. When he grabbed her, Iva recoiled and stumbled backwards, but managed to keep her balance. How dared he! Quickly she glanced about her, to make sure no one else was around. They might misunderstand and think she wished for him to touch her. She must not make any mistakes in the Tower, she must abide the rules. She wished to stay.

He began to talk, and Iva almost stopped breathing, though she made certain none of her feelings were visible. He might be mocking her.. but he did sound sincere. Iva frowned slightly. She guessed everyone could have a bad day, and that must have been one of his. She drew a deep breath and responded. "It's Iva." Suddenly she did not know what to say. That never happened. Frowning with annoyance, and continued, trying to think of something as she went along. "I.. ah.. No need to make up for anything. Although..", she added with a slight curving of the lips which should be taken for a smile, "you could tell me your name."

She crossed her arms over her chest and studied the man. He was taller than her; most men were. Their colors were the same, but she could see clearly he was not from Illian. She recognized the way his clothes were cut and the style his hair was in from when she had stayed in Caemlyn. So he was Andoran. Mentally shrugging, she put the information far back in her head. She did not know enough of Andor to know whether or not it was important.