Ildeus had had enough of his room back in the barracks; isolation had done little good after the unnerving incident in the practice yard. His eyes were still red from going an entire cycle and a half without sleep, but the day wasn't over for him yet. Ildeus could go without sleep, but food was another matter. It had been about a good cycle since his last meal; the one with Mcthadius. May you burn well and often.

Following the sounds of inane chatter and the smells of various cooked and uncooked dishes, Ildeus found his way back to the Mess Halls, which he had passed on the way to his room. The place was amuck with various peoples and platters, all packed in and around for the evening meal. The first thing that caught his eye was, well first if you don’t count the female half of those present, was a cold-eyed Soldier. The Soldier was sitting as if alone, oblivious to those around him. The others at the table were sitting lightly with painted-on smiles and trying to avoid the man’s non-existent notice.

Suddenly Ildeus got a wicked impulse, the dark itching in the back of his mind that he couldn’t resist. He went and sat down right next to the Soldier; the others were more than willing, if not relieved, to make room. Ildeus leaned in and whispered a horrendous reference to the man’s mother in his ear....Nothing! Absolutely nothing; the Soldier completely ignored the dirty taunt. This was turning out better than Ildeus had hoped, here was a man who deserved Ildeus’ best. With a wink and a grin to the others at the table, who by now were petrified, he moved in front of the man’s face and kissed him.

Within a few seconds the Soldier’s entire hand was clasped on Ildeus’ throat. Try as he might, Ildeus could not loosen the man’s grip from his neck. Oddly, other than his arm, the Soldier seemed no to have moved at all. In fact he hadn’t moved at all, his eyes and lips were completely un-phased. Ildeus' breath was failing him, and was all he could do not to succumb to the darkness. Ildeus saw some one out of the corner of his eye, the death grip on his throat lessened slightly. What was it? Was someone trying to save him?

((OOC: You're a strange one, Ildeus... ;)))

Marian was gliding on by with her lunch tray, holding whatever the Tower had in store for her stomach today. Thankfully, they'd had bread rolls out today, so she would not starve. Besides, her food looked vaguely like turkey, and Marian figured that would suffice for a decent meal. She wished they would let her cook something for herself in the kitchens... Pah. She might as well ask an Aes Sedai to clean her shoes. She'd surely be kicked if she did that. Shaking her head, she looked around for a place to eat. There were the novices and Accepted at some tables. At other tables, there were soldiers and Dedicated. Some tables held recruits, training to be Gaidin.

There were some of the novices she had sat with yesterday... She started toward them when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see a soldier grab the neck of another man - a man with red hair down his back. Idiots! Both of them, whatever had caused it! The Aes Sedai and Asha'man would skin them alive! She should just leave them be, allow them to "work out their differences." But the soldier made no sign of letting go... She cursed under her breath, most un-ladylike on her part, and started toward them. Suddenly, she was quite thankful that there was no such squabbling within the female ranks. Perhaps it was because those becoming Aes Sedai were a bit smarter than that... Or they feared the Mistress of Novices' switch.

For the most part, Marian was a kind girl, usually wearing a smile, and eager to welcome others. But this was ridiculous. It should not be up to a novice to stop the useless quibbles between soldiers and recruits or whatever the two were... She reached over and hissed to the soldier, "Let him go, now! Do you want to be flayed by the Asha'man?" The fool hadn't moved a muscle! "By the Light, boy! Let him go!" She jabbed him with her spoon, hard. His grip lessened a bit as he glanced at her. Now it was her turn to be the idiot. Why had she gotten involved? She was only a novice, a young one at that. She could barely embrace the Source, much less...

The other man better appreciate this...

((OOC: Thx; I wasn't feeling very sadistic as I wrote this, so its pretty tame.)

Ildeus found himself breathing better and the pressure from the louse's fingers had severely decreased. The Soldier seemed to be distracted by something or someone; just Ildeus' luck the Soldier really was dangerous. Too bad he wasn't dangerous enough; Ildeus would finish it quickly. Ildeus looked around for what he had seen earlier only to see a girl in white behind him. The girl had jabbed a spoon in the bloody louse! Ildeus’ eyes widened at the sight of it all; the whole thing was ridiculous. Why would anyone save him, let alone this girl! Ildeus could have continued to stumble over the enigma but the returning pressure on his neck broke him back to action.

Turing again away from the girl as best he was able in the circumstances, Ildeus scanned around franticly. At last he saw his prize, the answer to his current dilemma; the idle pepper dish rested upon the table just out of reach. Ildeus extended his arm out to it; his fingertips turned the thing closer little by little to within grasping range. Just when Ildeus thought he couldn’t bare anymore, the pepper tray was in his hand. Ildeus twisted his to face the Soldier; he looked him directly in the dead eyes and laughed; well as much as pressure allowed. He laughed as the Soldier compressed his larynx and he laughed as a fist full of pepper flew in the Soldiers face; the man wasn’t cold eyed anymore.

The powdered fire consumed the Soldier’s face, his eyes watered and his nostrils flared. Ildeus fell to the floor with a thud; his mirth swelled as the man’s hands flew to his face trying to alleviate the pain. Ildeus brought his leg forward in a sweep knocking the Soldier’s chair out from beneath the him. The louse went over backward and joined Ildeus on the floor; Ildeus sprang on top of the man and started hammering his the head. The Red faced Soldier fought back helplessly against Ildeus’ raining blows; for all his strength the man didn’t know how to win a real fight. Ildeus righted himself after he was sure that bloody louse wasn’t going to be getting up any time soon, he delivered a swift kick in the downed Soldier’s side. A dry raspy laugh escaped his throat.

Ildeus had just finished readjusting his garments, a black leather jerkin and matching breeches, when his attention returned to his unlikely saviour. Being saved by the girl in white, the novice, irked him; the fact that he had really needed saving irked him all the more. Still she was quite pretty with those deep brown eyes and chestnut hair....the choice between 'to flirt' and 'to scorn' was clear. Ildeus reigned his features into a disarming grin, brought one closed fist over his bare chest, and another behind the small of his back. Ildeus bowed deeply to the girl and brought himself up back to his full height. “You needn’t have bothered to dirty your hands; but I’m glad of your assistance none the less. You grace me with you presence, I do be Ildeus Sharshain, new found recruit of the White Tower; would favour me with a name.” Ildeus was a compulsive and pathological liar; he would often twist words and twists them again. But if one lies about the truth and then relies the lie, does it not come back and reflect the truth?

Marian glanced at the recruit caught in the soldier's grasp. She saw it as soon as he did... A pepper dish! The fool! He was going to get himself flogged! The recruit shoved the pepper into the soldier's face! And he laughed while he did it! Marian couldn't believe her eyes, in fact, she had had to blink to make sure she wasn't going mad. First a fight in front of Aes Sedai and Asha'man, not to mention Gaidin, and now this! He was out of his mind! There was no question to that! He was laughing!

The recruit fell to the floor with a loud noise, to which Marian winced. Even in the man was a nut, Marian still had some human compassion. That must have hurt... Then again, the pepper must have as well. To her surprise, the recruit managed to kick the soldier's chair out from under him, making him fall as well. He was mad! Blood and ashes, she cursed silently. You'd think he could channel, and there was still a taint on Saidin! Judging by his clothes, however, Marian knew he could not, not to mention that there was no taint on Saidin anymore, or the Asha'man wouldn't live to be so old.

As if all this wasn't enough, the recruit jumped to punch the soldier, in the face! He was hitting a man who could channel, a man who would one day become Asha'man! Idiot! Even if they had some kind of blood feud or anything of the sort... This was no way to act in Tar Valon, not in front of Aes Sedai, Asha'man, and Gaidin. Maybe a tavern... Not that Marian had ever been in one, but she'd heard stories.

The recruit then stood and fixed his clothing. Marian crossed her arm. If he expected... She was furious! Somehow, she managed to keep her cool and not slap him as well. If she got in trouble for getting involved in this, she might just... Fool, she told herself. You are just as weak against him. She watched as he bowed. At least he could manage that... “You needn’t have bothered to dirty your hands; but I’m glad of your assistance none the less. You grace me with you presence, I do be Ildeus Sharshain, new found recruit of the White Tower; would favour me with a name.” He could speak well, but currently, Marian didn't take interest in his speech.

"Marian Skylas," she said in irritation. Why couldn't she have just eaten her meal in peace? Now she was the idiot, getting involved in this. She kept her eyes level and steady, ready to go eat her own lunch now.

Sidivin sat in his corner of the mess hall and ate at his own little table by himself. He never liked eating with others, people always wanted to chatter about something or other while eating and it always distracted him from what he thought was important: the food. The Tower was famous for it's kitchens, or at least it would have been if the common folk could see past the Aes Sedai and Asha'man. They were too busy being suspicious of them to notice anything else.

The mess hall was crowded at noontime. Most of the novices and soldiers, the ones who were not on penance or studying, took this time to grab a morsel of food before running off to their next class or session. The only way he had secured a table to himself was by using an old trick of his. It was a simple illusion; everybody who passed saw a group of burly gruff-looking Asha’man grimly chewing their food instead of the empty table.

Suddenly, there was a commotion further down the line of tables. A quick glance showed him all that he needed to know. An angry looking soldier had a struggling recruit by the throat, slowly draining the life from him. A novice, who looked to be about half the size of the two men, rushed in in an attempt to part the two. Light, what’s going on?

He stood as quickly as he could and ran towards the disturbance. By the time he arrived the soldier was out cold on the stone floor, and the recruit was speaking with the novice. Sidivin’s angry voice boomed throughout the mess hall, even drowning out the idle conversation. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF LIGHT IS GOING ON HERE!?!”

The hall silenced at the sound of the Asha'man's voice. Marian paled. Oh Light... “WHAT IN THE NAME OF LIGHT IS GOING ON HERE!?!” This was not going to be good. She couldn't manage the smoothness she had managed in the courts of Andor. Oh, no... Not in this situation. She curtsied, stumbling over her own feet. She stared at the floor, cheeks burning, though she really hadn't done anything wrong. She should have turned them in to an Asha'man or an Aes Sedai or... Light!

"They were fighting, Asha'man," she said, stammering the words out. "I - I tried to stop it... I'm sorry." She could feel her throat choke up. Light, she didn't want to be in trouble!

((OOC: Sorry. It's short. :)))

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF LIGHT IS GOING ON HERE!?!” Ildeus froze in his attention to the girl; the thundering voice had caught him off guard. Ildeus turned around slowly to where the bellow had come from and then had to crane his neck up to see its origin. The massive Asha'man towered over him; awe over came him before any other emotion. Ildeus stood there null faced and unable reset himself.

“They were fighting, Asha'man, I - I tried to stop it... I'm sorry." Recognition wriggled in a t the back of his mind; the girl was finking on him! Ildeus’ eyes narrowed as he turned to look at the novice; anger flooded his face and his eyes shifted from brown to yellow. The nerve of the girl to implicate me like that, if she thinks I will let her get away… The wheels in Ildeus’ head began to turn. Well this I’m afraid just won’t do, besides this situation may still be salvaged; she never saw me until the louse was choking me. Ildeus quickly suppressed his urge to grin.

His anger danced with a new found joy. Even if I’m going down I’m taking the wench with me! Another impulse, the same kind that started the whole debacle, rooted itself within Ildeus’ head. Ildeus closed his eyes and grasped his anger, he held it tightly and then worked it to one central point; and then the flame appeared. Ildeus was using his minute training in the Ko’Di to regain control of himself, and it worked. He poured his emotion into the flame and backed away.

Ildeus opened his eyes as he turned back to the Asha’man, the whole event in itself had taken no more than a few seconds in real time. Ildeus was ready to test the Ko'Di, the oneness, but he still couldn’t help but gulp at the sight of the Asha’man. Ildeus spoke, his voice was cold or at least as close to it as he could make it. “The Soldier over there picked a fight with me.” Simple, matter-of-fact, and in Ildeus’ head it was also truth. The Soldier had ignored Ildeus, and that was just as good as screaming out a challenge. “He managed to get me in a choke hold, and out of which this lady was more then willing to aid me in.” Another truth as Ildeus saw it, as if there was any other way to see it. Ildeus still continued to grasp the oneness and hoped the colour of his eyes had returned to normal.

Marian watched the recruit's eyes narrow at her - in anger! What in the Light was she supposed to do? It was the simple truth! She did feel a pang of guilt that she was telling on him, at least somewhat. But the Asha'man expected the truth, and Marian wasn't going to get switched by the Mistress of Novices because she had tried to save his bloody life! Not to mention, he should be glad that he was alive, rather than upset at her! It took an effort not to cross her arms and glare back at him.

“The Soldier over there picked a fight with me.” Marian blinked. Perhaps it was the truth. “He managed to get me in a choke hold, and out of which this lady was more then willing to aid me in.” Her anger softened somewhat. She hadn't seen the whole thing, but then again, if he had shoved pepper in the soldier's face... Maybe she shouldn't believe him. Nevertheless, he'd found a way out that didn't seem to get her into trouble. As long as that happened, she was content. She wouldn't rat out his dishonesty, if he was being dishonest. That was his own honor he was dealing with.

She looked back to the Asha'man, hoping that their explanations combined had worked.

Ivon was sitting at a nearby table when the fight broke out. To him it was very entertaining. First the recruit picked the fight, then Eranious started to strangle the young man. Ivon personally disagreed with asfixiation, it was too noisy and left too much room for error. But to each his own. Not only that, but the tiny little novice came over and tried to break up the two boys. That was one of the peaks of the entertainment. Ivon couldn't help but laugh when she tried, like poking him with a spoon would do any good, and once Ivon stared laughing he couldn't stop.

The fight was amazing. The recriut turned the tables so quickly, granted he was fighting "dirty" but to Ivon there was no such thing. At the end of the fight Ivon was practically double over from laughing. His cold mirthless laugh filled the room, a few of his table mates stared at him. Then a voice rang out. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF LIGHT IS GOING ON HERE!?!” At this point the entire mess hall fell silent as an Asha'man. Ivon did his best to stifle his laughter, bringing it down to a low chuckle, still as mirthless as ever. The novice and recruit related their story, which was completely one sided as Eranious was lying incapacitated on the floor. Ivon waited for the man to pronounce his sentence.

OOC: Ivon is just asking for a punishment.