(ooc:continued from... from...various thread...type..places. o.o;;)

Laridian stared morosely into his third cup of brandy- it was the good stuff, of course- he always preferred to start with the finer beverages while he could still appreciate them- then, eventually, he'd switch to normal ale. Like he was about to do now. He could feel the slight buzzing of his head already, and by the next few cups of ale he was sure to have the mug before him start to dance in his vision. For now, he was still able to engage in coherent conversation. Not that there seemed to be anyone interested. The Laughing Maid was usually busier, but for some reason it seemed less lively to him. There were still musicians playing, there were couples dancing, there were even a few lovely lasses making turns on the dance floor, but he was just... uninterested. The events of the day were getting him down and he just couldn't shake off the funk.

First mounds of paperwork, making the day a dull drudgery, until the afternoon, when everything flaming exploded, and he found his Rei dead, the Seeker half mad, and the Rei al'Doon M'Taal in the midst of it. Whatever those bloody ter'angreal were they were bloody trouble. Maybe they were some kind of linking device, linking between men and women allowed one to feel both sides of the source, although only the head of the link could use it… But why would Sidivin feel both, and use neither? Where was the person to guide the flows? Was it the ter’angreal that did it?

His head was starting to hurt. He’d already pored over this thought process three times since his last cup of brandy. Even away from the Tower, surrounded by music, people laughing, and generally enjoying themselves, he thought of his studies. It was, after all, half the reason that he’d become al’Dieb Cha. Still, it would be nice to be able to relax. If only someone would flaming come over and bloody TALK to him, he’d surely wrest himself out of this funk. Not his usual thought, for sure. Normally he’d be out there wooing, instead of nursing his brandy. Bloody paperwork. Bloody explosion. Bloody M’Hael. He paused, and withdrew his thought about the M’Hael. He had gone a bit overboard, but he’d made amends. Plus, he was the M’Hael. Laridian lifted his glass a bit, silently toasting him. Poor bugger was probably at his desk anyhow, filling out… ugh…. Paperwork. The bartender gave him a bit of a look, but went back to passing out rounds.

”Someone really needs to do something about that…we’ll have to start training Soldiers like clerks if this gets much worse.” He laughed inwardly. Well, at least he had stopped thinking about Latham. And about being Rei. All the other bloody Wind Talons were probably wondering where in the name of the Light he was- those scholarly twits didn’t have an ounce of administrational sense twixt the lot of ‘em. He groaned- what happened to that youthful time when he was a mere Soldier, getting into trouble, messing around with Novices, and wishing fervently to be a Rei or even…(gasp!) the M’Hael? Gone like a flash in the overwhelming sea of responsibility. Not that it was the responsibility he minded so much as…as…

“…the flaming PAPERWORK!! Light, if the BLOODY man were here who invented bureaucracy, I’d blast him to the PITS of the Flaming DARK ONE!”
The barmaid who had sidled up next to him, likely to ask if he wanted another glass, thought better of it at his drunken outburst and went to pursue less angry patrons. “Blood and ashes,” he said under his breath.

“Smart move there, Maeronen. Lost yourself a flaming chance.”

Knocking back the small remainder of his glass of brandy, he faced to harsh reality of having to order another drink.

“An ale, if you please.” He waved at the innkeeper, to get his attention, and then motioned at his cup in a very obvious way, doing the classic ‘point-and-gesticulate’ move for obtaining further drink service.

((OOC: I hope you don't mind ;) ))

An other dull day among many, Cayana was getting bored out of her own skull and had even started to regret ever taking on the position of Mistress of Novices. She had also started to think that no one else wanted the bloody position in the first place and that was why she had got it even though she's so young and didn't even have the ageless face, of those channelers that had sworn the oaths, yet. To not have the ageless face had shown some fortune when ever Cayana decided to have fun down town though. Not many knew her as Mistress of Novices here unless they came from the Towers, and as long as she didn't wear her ring no one even noticed she was Aes Sedai. Well, close to no one, there where those who would notice when ever they spoke to her. The oath about always telling truth did make even Cayana speak in the typical Aes Sedai ways sometimes, how ever often she avoided it. The most obvious difference between Aes Sedai and normal noble woman during Danu was the fact of who ignored the cold better. Walking from yet an other inn this evening to an other Cayana didn't seem much bothered by the cold even though her cloak was barely closed and the dress she wore beneath was quite thin for this time of the year. She ignored the cold quite well.

The evening down town hadn't been much fun, just a little different then the last weeks in the tower. Sure she had had some lessons with Mishael in Tel'aran'rhiod, but even they didn't break the monotone work of punishing novices and paperwork. Light, why didn't I just pick up and leave before as I wanted no matter what they thought of it? Cayana had thought that quite a few times, but she knew that no matter how many times she did think it she wouldn't do such a thing without a good reason. No matter how much she longed to make a difference in the constant battle against the shadow she wouldn't leave her responsibilities. The work doesn't even leave time for me to see Rialt anymore. At least not when he can. It was quite annoying.

Stepping into the Laughing Maid the warmth felt quite nice no matter how much Cayana ignored the temperature around her, her fingers started to warm up and was feeling a bit like someone was poking her with needles. She didn't much care, she had felt it more then once this evening walking between the inns and taverns trying to find a place where she could have some fun. But there had been no one who she'd been interested in that had shown any interest back and those that had shown any interest had been people Cayana would rather stay way from. Walking into the common room a mans voice suddenly bellowed “…the flaming PAPERWORK!! Light, if the BLOODY man were here who invented bureaucracy, I’d blast him to the PITS of the Flaming DARK ONE!” The man hadn't been all to far away from where Cayana was at that moment and the shout had made her stop in her tracks. No matter how used to hearing drunks in the inns Cayana couldn't help but to be careful. But the words had made her more puzzled then anything. She didn't realize that the man was Asha'man until he ordered an ale from the innkeeper. Feeling a slight curiosity to why an Asha'man would openly get so drunk as to shout out such things in public Cayana moved closer to the man. She couldn't help but to walk softly and stop just a step and a half away. "Having a nice time, Asha'man?" Cayana asked before noticing his rank and shen. "I mean no offense Rei al'Dieb Cha." She added before taking a step to the side so he wouldn't have to turn around all to far to see her. "I hear I'm not the only one being annoyed with the daily paperwork." She couldn't help but to smile at him. "Do you mind if I have a seat?"

This wasn't the kind of 'fun' Cayana had been searching for tonight, but as she hadn't found anyone to have fun with it was better then to just going back to the tower with out anything interesting having happened. As Aes Sedai she was required to know the ranks of every nation just as well as both the Towers. To have made a slip like she had was a bit... embarrassing. But to see why he was here was more interesting then to think about her own embarrassment and so she waited for the mans response, hoping he wouldn't just want to send her on her way.

((ooc: would it be okay if we took out the bit about the Rei? He probably wouldn't have the uniform yet, t'aint 'official'. Light knows it's taken me long enough to get to where I bloody I am. I am flaming slow. @_@; ))

"Having a nice time, Asha'man?"

Laridian froze, took a look down at himself, and gave a curse, very quietly, under his breath. He had forgotten to take off his uniform. Per normal, he would make sure that if he did anything particularly embarassing, he would be seen as a mere civilian, a nice, rich, good-looking civilian of course, but certainly no one who would have ties to the Black Tower. Now it was too late- he was already a bit drunk, sufficiently so that channeling an illusion, much less Traveling back, was a near impossibility, and not anything he wanted to try.
He turned round and gave the woman near him a chagrined smile, and saw that she gave him a smile back. It was a pretty smile, and...well, so was she. Rather dark in coloring, if not skin. Black hair, nearly black eyes- Laridian certainly wouldn't have kicked her out of bed, as one of the cruder terms went. She even looked familiar, though he couldn't place a name to the face. But then, if she was of the Towers, and looked like that, it was likely he had ogled her at one time or another. He was a fairly studious lecher, if more chivalrous than most.

"I hear I'm not the only one being annoyed with the daily paperwork." She smiled at him. Light, she did have a lovely smile. "Do you mind if I have a seat?"

"Not at all, dear lady." He motioned invitingly to the stool beside him. "I've just had a particularly bad day, and it was largely spent doing hours of flaming paperwork. I was hoping for someone to talk to- not about paperwork, necesarily, but something to take my mind off the bloody mess today. I seem to have forgotten I had my uniform on- probably why everyone was avoiding me." He rubbed his neck sheepishly, even now thinking of what possible effects such actions would have in making her more comfortable. Comfortable was the way to go.
He shook his head for a moment, to clear it- Light, he was a bit drunk. Romance within the Tower was a great deal more work, and someone as young as this might bear a grudge a very long time. Light knew some of those he had 'played' with as a Soldier still hated him with a burning passion. It might be best to avoid trying anything with this one. She might even be an Accepted- she hadn't yet gained the Ageless face. But still... those eyes.
He played off the headshake, hoping she'd think it was over his uniform. "You know how absent-minded we Wind Talons can get. Just like the Browns, sometimes." He grinned warmly. "Asha'man Laridian Maeronen. I'm afraid I don't know your name."

((OOC: no problem, I'll just ignore the fact for now ;) ))

As she had spoken to him the man had seemed to act as if he had gotten caught. Perhaps it was that he hadn't kept the facade of serenity and control of channelers by showing himself as Asha'man in public. He smiled at her when he looked at her, and seemed to eye her as men usually did when they saw her the first time. At this Cayana didn't pay much mind, she was used to it and had been for quite a while. As he motioned her to sit down beside him Cayana did, smoothing her skirts as she was seated. The Asha'man started explaining his outburst and Cayana tilted her head slightly while she listened. As he finished of with "...probably why everyone was avoiding me." as a comment on his uniform she nodded slightly. "Commoners have a tendency to avoid channelers unless they are adventurous..." It was her experience in the matter when ever she had anything on her that displayed that she was Aes Sedai, outside of her manners.

The way the Asha'man was rubbing his neck and shaking his head he did seem a bit uncomfortable or confused and with his comment "You know how absent-minded we Wind Talons can get. Just like the Browns, sometimes." she couldn't help but to smile a little amused and nod at him. It was true, but then again, an absent-minded Brown was as dangerous as any Aes Sedai, at least when it was all a social mask. He was grinning at her and then introduced himself. She was glad he did cause she had no idea who the man was. "Asha'man Laridian Maeronen. I'm afraid I don't know your name." To hear he didn't know her name made her amused smile a little wider for a short moment.

One of the maids walked by. She knew Cayanas face and even though she was afraid she did know that an Aes Sedai left unattended could get grumpy, if not mad, and to anger an Aes Sedai is surely unwise. To spare the girl a bit Cayana only briefly told the girl to get her a glass of wine and the girl left them again. Once she was out of hearing she turned to Laradian and introduced herself. "I am Cayana, Aes Sedai of the Green." There was no need to tell him she was the Mistress of Novices, if he didn't know it wasn't really important. To tell that she was Aes Sedai though was in this kind of conversation. She wasn't planning on hiding herself and she didn't want to be talked down to. "Do you mind if I ask what it is you are trying to get your mind of? It doesn't seem like there is only paperwork that has driven you here tonight." He was to drunk and to alone to be just bothered with paperwork. Cayana disliked it as much as the next person, but to just get drunk wasn't a way to deal with the boredom, it was a way to numb yourself.

Once again the two where interrupted as the maid came back with Cayanas wine, she put it down with a small curtsy and left as soon as she could though so the pause wasn't to long. Picking up the wine cup Cayana tasted it, then put it back down. Well well it was fine, it was mostly for the social part of this conversation then to actually be drunken.

She introduced herself as a Green, and Laridian immediately withdrew any further plans to even attempt flirting. It never paid to get involved with Greens- they tended to be a great deal more ready to Bond people, and he'd once, very early on, nearly been made a Warder by one he'd become entangled with. Afterwards, he had avoided any such activity with all Greens. Well, except for a few, but with those he had taken extra pains to ensure no hard feelings ensued. Usually. Damn, he was a sucker for a pretty smile. Better not to. Don't even think about it you great drunken sot, just converse.

"Do you mind if I ask what it is you are trying to get your mind off of? It doesn't seem like there is only paperwork that has driven you here tonight."
"Oh, nothing much, really," he said, lifting his mug and taking a swig. "Just the death of the Rei al'Dieb Cha, the temporary mental breakdown of the Mahdi al'Tain and the problem of two dangerous and proven to be explosive ter'angreal..." She stared at him as he grinned, driving for as much irony as he could get. Nothing like the look of horrified shock in a woman's eyes to drive home the point that your day truly sucked. "Oh, and did I mention I'm probably going to be the next bloody Rei? Nobody else wants the job, flaming lot of scholarly windbags."

She looked worried now. Really, genuinely, worried. It was almost giving him a rather warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of the stomach, that could possibly have been the alchohol, until she asked about how the Mahdi al'Tain was in hushed tones. Really, for an Aes Sedai, she was displaying a great deal of concern. Maybe she had some scheme going that depended on another of his disputes with the Amyrlin.

"Oh, him. No, he's fine, he's fine. Wouldn't want to be him in the morning, but he's fine." He swigged down the last third of his mug and gesticulated at the innkeeper once again. Service was prompt for a man in uniform.

"Y'see," he said, turning his body towards her and making the appropriate hand motions with his non-ale holding hand, "the Mahdi al'Tain, the Rei al'Doon M'Taal, and Latham- ah, he's the ex-Rei of the Wind Talons- were testing this set of bracelet ter'angreal in Latham's office. Long story short, the Rei and the Seeker leave Latham to it, and JUST as they're leaving, Latham makes the whole room flaming explode. The Seeker runs back in and starts channeling for all he's worth into Latham's body. Me, I'm just down the hall, doing paperwork like I've been doing for the last five hours, and I hear the explosion. I jump up, run in, and try to pull 'im off Latham- he's obviously dead, all that channeling isn't doing a thing to heal any part of him. And get this- this is the best part- he puts a shield up. A SHIELD of Air!"

Laridian laughed, realizing he probably sounded a bit manic, but too drunk at this point to care. "And the worst part... or best, depending on the shade of your humor, is that.... the ter'angreal bracelets were stuck in there with him! The Rei al'Doon M'Taal and I had to wait unitl he bloody well tired himself out. He took him to the Infirmary for some minor cuts from the explosion, I had to report to the M'Hael. I haven't felt anybody channel that much for so long in AGES. He was trying to heal bloody Death, I can understand the impulse, but Light.. a man has to know where to draw the line, you know?"

He took a first swig of the mug he'd gotten, having been too preoccupied in relating his story. "Well, the both of us will probably both wake up with splitting headaches- the toss up will be over whose is worse." He smiled, inviting her to laugh.

"Oh, nothing much, really," Laradian said, lifting his mug and taking a drink. "Just the death of the Rei al'Dieb Cha, the temporary mental breakdown of the Mahdi al'Tain and the problem of two dangerous and proven to be explosive ter'angreal..." Cayana was silent, no questions, only silence. Her eyes where set on the Asha'man before her, even with the oath Cayana couldn't believe what he said. The death of a Rei didn't worry her, ter'angreal didn't worry her but those other words echoed in her head. ...the temporary mental breakdown of the Mahdi al'Tain...the temporary mental breakdown of the Mahdi al'Tain... She just sat there staring at him as he continued saying he would probably be the next Rei of the al'Dieb Cha. The echo was wearing off but the stun went over into worry. A great deal of it and no matter how much she tried to control herself she knew that the worry would show, much more then her liking. "Is... is the Mahdi alright?" She managed to say in a low voice.

The Asha'man of course was surprised to hear the question, at least from an Aes Sedai displaying so much worry the answer made her relax a little. "Oh, him. No, he's fine, he's fine. Wouldn't want to be him in the morning, but he's fine." What in the name of the creator have you done now Rialt? Her worry was slowly slipping away and leaving behind a sense of annoyance. One thing that you would get an Accepted pregnant but you don't bloody go insane or I'll heal you back to health and make you regret it ever happened in the first place... Her thoughts where moving fast with her temper boiling underneath the surface of the mask she was showing Laradian. Cayana was serene now. She didn't display a single emotion as Laradian gave his accounting of the events passed. Hearing about how Rialt had shielded the two off from him with the ter'angreal inside made Cayana want to slap the man. Sure she knew Rialt wouldn't let a man die if he could help it but even Rialt should know when a man is dead. To channel near ter'angreal proven to be dangerous when you didn't know how they worked was insane! As Laradian expressed the same thing she nodded. Idiot...

Watching Laradian take a drink of the next mug he had gotten Cayana only fingered the bottom of her own glass. Trying to make her laugh the man said "Well, the both of us will probably both wake up with splitting headaches- the toss up will be over whose is worse." She did smile, but not in the same manner she had before then added. "Well if you don't slow down the chance is that it will be a close call who's worse off." Her eyes glistened as she said it. It was a really silly thing to say, especially coming from her. But she couldn't help herself. Hopefully he would take it as it was, a joke.

Taking a sip of her wine Cayana tried steering the conversation away from Rialt and headaches caused by this or that. "So you are to be the next Rei of the al'Dieb Cha? A high position and important at that. I wonder why so few want the official posts. Perhaps they dread being caught in all that extra paperwork." Taking an other sip before shaking her head, Cayana smiled the way she had before, Rialt was fine and there where nothing more at stake for her own part. She would surely pay him a visit shortly, but that wasn't tonight. "Perhaps we can talk about something a little more fun then the death of Asha'man," a maid passing by looked at her with big eyes as she caught the words by mistake. Cayana just shot her a glance before continuing. "the Feast of Lights is coming up shortly. Will you be attending the ball?" Cayana would, if nothing else came up. But it wasn't out of her own choice, even with the ball taking place on a free day it was her job to deal with any novices and accepted stepping out of line. There where lines even on free days after all.

The last festivity Cayana had attended was when she had spoken to Rialt for the first time. Actually she had mostly gotten shouted at, but she did give him some well chosen words. Well enough to make him think she was still her mother, well enough to make him show up the next day and tell her about the past. Enough for her to find out why he had started to yell in the first place. She still remembered how chocked Rialt had been once he found out who she was. She had had to heal him as it had taken badly, him thinking she telling him it all because she wanted to expose him. Not a word had left that room except to Rialts warder and she knew how to keep her mouth shut. Cayana only hoped that this ball wouldn't show to be such a challenge. She could use a ball without things concerning her own life or past.

"Well if you don't slow down the chance is that it will be a close call who's worse off."

He laughed. She had some wit, this one. They all did, of course, but he liked her. Very up front. "An excellent point, but don't worry, as I become less coordinated, it'll become harder for me to make the trip from mug to mouth. I'll slow exponentially and eventually will be completely unable to even order another drink, as I'll be sure to have passed out." He smiled again, and raised his glass to her before taking another swig. He'd slow down, though- maybe even stop. Talking with her was enjoyable. He'd needed some human contact beyond "file this", or "report that", or "LIGHT EVERYTHING'S GOING TO EXPLODE-"...

He put down his mug, emphasising his intention to remain sober for a while longer. At least until Cayana felt like leaving.

"So you are to be the next Rei of the al'Dieb Cha? A high position and important at that. I wonder why so few want the official posts. Perhaps they dread being caught in all that extra paperwork."

Laridian only smiled. "You'd be half right, actually. The people who join Shen al'Dieb Cha do it for one of two reasons- knowledge, or power. Arguably the same, but they either hone their ability with saidin, or they learn everything they can. Usually they overlap, which means we have a good deal of historians trying to recreate the Age of Legends. We turn up something new every now and then, but there's a lot left to find. Or discover for ourselves, whichever the case may be. The problem with being a Rei is that it entails a great deal of responsibility, and a good deal of pure management. Most of the time spent as Rei is spent doing things for the betterment of the Shen. One hardly gets time to work one your own research, or to go on digs, or the like. That's the main detterent. Plus, half of them have no idea how to run an archive, much less a Shen."

He gave a sardonic grin. "I, unfortunately, was cursed, cursed with civic minded-ness. My mother, Light bless her memory, was a Lady of the Land, one of the Minor Lords of Tear. She was my only instructor for a great deal of my childhood, and statesmanship was drilled into me before I could even read. During my first few years as an Ash'aman, I made the grave mistake of showing interest in helping run the Shen, and the rest is history. The last thirty years or so I've been working a desk job, doing at least half of the Rei's paperwork. Now I'm the only one who knows how this Shen is run- Light, I did most of it myself, anyways.."

The smile had left his face, and he took another swig of ale to wash the bitterness from his mouth. Likely sensing his discomfort, Cayana smoothly changed the topic to something less likely to get him yelling again.

"Perhaps we can talk about something a little more fun then the death of Asha'man," she said, giving a mildly sympathetic smile. "the Feast of Lights is coming up shortly. Will you be attending the ball?"

Laridian slapped the counter. "I'd completely forgotten! Of course I'll be going." He grinned. "Especially if one as lovely as yourself will be going as well." He made a slight bow. A move to endear himself, nothing more- attempting to seriously flirt with her right now might only disgust her- most women were not fond of drunken men unless they were drunk as well. Laridian had a feeling that this Cayana Sedai was not the type of person who would normally get drunk. If ever.

"What do you think they'll have planned for this year? I hear Ash'aman Sidivin Yahbree will be in charge of decorations, which should make it spectacular. He's the best Illusionist in the Black Tower, the man walks the halls completely invisible whenever he feels like it. I even hear he filches from the kitchens invisible." He shook his head in laughing awe. "Light, this is one of my favorite holidays- I think the only one I like better is the Feast of Fools." By now he was completely ignoring his drink, eagerly attentive to what Cayana might have to say.

Listening to Laradian talk about his shen Cayana couldn't help but to think about the similarities with the browns. The greatest difference though where that brown without paperwork created it of their own notion as they researched something, wrote books and so on and so forth. A weird lot all of them, the Asha'man seemed a little more sane at least. "...Plus, half of them have no idea how to run an archive, much less a Shen." Taking an other sip she responded. "Perhaps you need to train your men better. Wouldn't want the Shen to stand without any form of leadership should something happen to you, now would you?" Cayana didn't say it in the least bit of accusing or mystic way. It was a plain suggestion of better organization. Every Green knew how to run things if they had to, as far as Cayana knew, just as well as who where above you and who the head was. Should the head die or pass on her position the line was closed as soon as it could be. Hierarchy was important to keep intact at all times, you couldn't very well control an Ajah without a leader. It would be poorly run and not at all turned out into anything of use.

Laradian kept on telling about how his mother had been a minor Lady of Tear and therefor he had been drilled to be a leader and how to run things at a young age. "Sometimes having the education of a noble can be helpful, and going from running your shen in practice to doing it in name isn't that big a change, besides, now you'll get the credit for it." She winked and smiled as the topic changed.

The slap in the table made Cayana sit up with the glass in her hand instead. Any more such outbursts and she'd surely have wine all over her dress and that wasn't all to comfortable. His complement made her smile however and she nodded to his bow then laughed a soft laugh. "I will be attending. With my job I'd rather be there then have the entire set of novices and accepted lined up outside of my office in the morning." She shook her head. Had she been able to enjoy one gathering since she became the Mistress of novices without having to deal with such things during the occasion? She couldn't recall one time as she thought about it. "The downside of being the Mistress of Novices." If he hadn't guessed it before he would have guessed it as she responded to wether or not she would be there.

"What do you think they'll have planned for this year? I hear Ash'aman Sidivin Yahbree will be in charge of decorations, which should make it spectacular." Cayana didn't know Sidivin, she hadn't ever met him. How ever she knew he had the talent of illusion and that he could fold the light from conversations with other tower members. "He's the best Illusionist in the Black Tower, the man walks the halls completely invisible whenever he feels like it. I even hear he filches from the kitchens invisible." Cayana couldn't help but to fall into the laughter. "Now are the people in the tower so badly trained they can't spot the ripple of someone moving with a shield of folded light?" She rose an eyebrow, looking amused. Everyone knew that the ripple would be there, to spot it however was not easy. She was sure Sidivin used it to his advantage.

"Light, this is one of my favorite holidays- I think the only one I like better is the Feast of Fools." Cayana smiled. "Why there are holidays even more fun that this one." She said, she couldn't help herself, it was her opinion anyway. "Mabiams day was always my favorite while growing up. To my parents annoyance, not to mention the Aes Sedais." She shook her head lightly. "To bad sometimes Aes Sedai are supposed to behave." She added and winked. Cayana wasn't flirting, not in the least, she was just enjoying the conversation. How Laradian would take it she wouldn't know, as always she spoke freely and didn't hide what she thought. The man probably thought her odd for even a young Aes Sedai. "Tell me, what is it you like so much about the Feast of lights?" She put down the empty glass and folded her hands in her lap. This was an interesting conversation, after all.