A Wink and a Smile
Novice Kaia Ariasca, Written by Jenn
Posted on Thu, Sep 2, 2010 12:41 pm
A pleased smile stole across her face as she fidgeted slightly, smoothing the modified Novice dress over her hips. Jaelle really was a wonder with a needle and some thread; in another lifetime perhaps, the Andoran would have made for a very successful seamstress. The alterations were worked so subtly and so perfectly that Kaia herself couldn’t tell where the adjustments had been made, or how. Outwardly, her novice dresses looked the same as any others. On her however, the neckline dipped an inch lower than the norm, bodice accentuating the swell of breasts, skirts ingeniously defining the curve of waist and hip. What made it all the more devious was that no one could prove anything without having to take apart the dresses at the seams and Kaia doubted that anyone would go to that length of trouble just to admonish her for having the Novice whites flatter her figure a little more. All in all, it was worth the month of Jaelle’s kitchen chores that Kaia had agreed to take over as her part of the trade.
Her hands traced over the length of the tight braid, fingers adjusting the thin white ribbons threaded through the thick raven plaits to better keep it in place, before Kaia felt satisfied that she looked presentable. That she actually cared about her appearance was a sign of her high spirits. She was saved from having to attend Ananda Sedai today, a lesson directly from the Mistress of Novices trumping anything the Yellow Aes Sedai wanted Kaia to do. She did not mind that in the least; it meant being spared from having to deal with Liam and whatever plots Ananda Sedai had spinning about him. Dark eyebrows lowered slightly. That irritating lording may condemn her ‘Domani ways’ but her skills were a lot more respectable than attempted murder.
She nodded faintly in affirmation before opening the door, stepping out of her tiny Novice room. A quick stop by the dining hall where Kaia devoured some kind of sandwich she didn’t really taste and she was off again, headed towards the sunshine and fresh air of the gardens. As she finished swallowing down the last bite, the thought came to her that she couldn’t remember the last time she had actually sat down at the dining hall for a proper meal, if unidentifiable chunks of meat floating about in a floppy egg omelet constituted as ‘proper’.
As she arrived at the designated spot, the first thing that Kaia noticed was the absolute mess. Black soil was everywhere – dirt, her mind supplied helpfully – mounds of rich soil topped with more soil. She felt slightly sheepish at her surprise, her eyes darting to Candance Sedai to make sure that the stately Aes Sedai hadn’t seen her reaction. What had Kaia expected, truly? This was to be an Earth lesson. It only made sense that they would be surrounded by…well, earth…soil. The second thing she noted was that she was not the first to arrive, a handful of girls standing off to one side together, a stray giggle every now and again punctuating the fierce whispering that shot back and forth. Were they mad? This was the Mistress of Novices, not some random Accepted or Aes Sedai. Kaia appreciated the sentiment of being amongst a little crowd of friends, but not in front of those serene, tilted, piercing eyes. Standing away from them was one of the Novices from Kaia’s Water lesson, tall, pretty…what had been her name? Madea?
“Good morning, girls. I trust you came straight from your morning meal to this lesson. Kindly introduce yourselves for the sake of Asha’man Corbin. You’re the first ones here, so we’ll begin shortly.”
The other girls went first, Kaia mentally correcting herself that the tall Novice’s name had been Medaea, not Madea. At Candance Sedai’s gesture, Kaia approached the Mistress of Novices and Asha’man Corbin before dipping into a graceful curtsey. “I am Novice Kaia Ariasca from Arad Doman, Asha’man Corbin.”
As she straightened, she chose a spot away from the still giggling group, making room for the next Novices to introduce themselves. As they filed past, emerald orbs caught pale blue eyes on her. Kaia thought she recognized the face of the much taller, lanky male Novice as the one she had all but landed on during Yasmene Sedai’s water dodgeball game. Niro? Nero? Nero sounded right. Knowing she probably shouldn’t, but unable to really stop herself, Kaia flashed him a playful little wink by way of greeting. She had the satisfaction of watching him colour and hastily look away. She did smile then, amused, but there was no malice to her expression.
((OOC: I hope you didn’t mind me taking a few liberties with your Nero. He’s just too adorable! If he won’t be attending…I’ll blame it on mistaken identity or something.))
In reply to Channelling Lesson: Earth[show]/[hide]
Deftly spinning threads of Air while her hands remained folded at her sides, Candance pulled the chests up from the cart that they had been piled into and moved them, one at a time, so that they were sitting on the ground behind her, lined up in a straight line, equidistant from each other. Many years ago Candance Melhir had realised that she was a precise woman, who liked things kept in a neat and orderly fashion, and now she took pride in living up to her own expectations. It was best to be organised, she felt, and she liked that order to be represented in all aspects of her life.
That done, Candance looked out around the area, checking that everything else was as she wanted it. She was in the Corner Garden of the White Tower grounds, one that was currently being remodelled and landscaped, and the labourers were working hard at it. To the Mistress of Novices, the opportunity had been too good a one to pass up, and she had requested that the labourers let her know when they reached this stage so that she could use it to teach a lesson to the novices. They had agreed, and liked the idea of a day off from their work, which Candance had personally suggested to Melina Sedai for their help.
The garden certainly did not look as it once had when Candance had been a novice; the trees which had grown so large that they were a threat to the structure of the White Tower if they came down in the latest storm were now removed, leaving a large depression in the soil where their root systems had once been. All of the turf had been torn up, and all of the flowers from the flowerbeds had been pulled out. What was left was a large empty field of soil, a brilliant contrast to the surrounding gardens that seemed to be exploding with green. Candance already knew from her own testing that the soil here ran deep, as deep as they would need.
Yes, she had been fortunate with the timing of the landscaping of this garden; it would serve her purposes well.
Looking up at the sun, Candance realised that her students would be arriving soon, which made her wonder where her male counterpart was.
“Where is he?” she mused out loud.
As if summoned by her words, Asha’man Colbin shouted out his greeting to her as he turned a corner into her view from the Training Grounds. Had she not known the man’s tendency to get caught practicing with the blades with the Warders, she would have wondered why he was coming from that direction, but she didn’t need to see the welts on his bare chest to know what he’d been doing.
Drawing up closer to her as he pulled his black coat back on, doing up his buttons quickly, Colbin flashed her a friendly smile and ruffled his dark hair happily. His dark Cairhienin colouring was almost at a contrast to her own greying hair, and his small, petite face would have looked decidedly odd if it had her bold, prominent Saldaean nose or upturned, green eyes.
“Good morning, Candance Sedai,” he said happily, offering her another smile. He was one of the more polite Asha’man currently residing in the White Tower, who seemed genuinely interested in learning more about the ways of the White Tower in contrast to the ways he had been trained in at the Black Tower, as well as the ways of the Warder. She had often thought that his smile was infectious, and he seemed to flash it around to whoever caught his eye. Asha’man Corbin was a genuinely friendly man.
“Good morning,” she replied amicably, “you have been in the Training Grounds?”
“I have! These Warders of yours fight with a fierceness not many in the Black Tower could rival, they’ve certainly been able to teach me a thing or two. I haven’t felt such the keen sting of bruises when I shift in my sleep since I as an un-pinned soldier years ago, still trying to work out how to heat up my meals and washing water!”
As if to prove his point he stretched, reaching his arms up towards the sky, and winced noticeably, flashing her a sheepish smile after he’d returned back to his normal stance. Despite his friendly nature, the man possessed a certain grace of danger, his body held loose as if he was constantly ready for anything. It was something all the Asha’man seemed to have: an air of danger that followed them around no matter how they smiled.
“I’m glad that they’re keeping you on your toes.”
“Yes, you could say that they are definitely doing that!”
“The novices will be here soon,” Candance said, and, once again, as if summoned by her words, the first splash of white against the green gardens appeared, followed by several others. Candance and Corbin stood together and watched as the cluster – a group of giggling girls who had also come from the same direction as Corbin drew closer. As they drew closer, they were able to see that one of the girls was blushing a furious crimson and was the source of the other girls’ giggles and Candance felt her face steel – what had the girls been doing in the Training Grounds?
Upon realising that they were being watched both by the Asha’man and the Mistress of Novices, both of who were watching them quietly, with emotionless faces, the girls quietened (barely managing to stifle their giggles) and scurried up to them quickly, dropping into curtseys once they stood in front of them. They remained down in the curtseys slightly longer than they normally would have, and Candance left it unsaid that they were trying to stifle their giggles once again.
“Good morning, girls,” Candance said smoothly once they had pulled themselves up, “I trust you came straight from your morning meal to this lesson–” she did not need their blushes to tell her otherwise “–kindly introduce yourselves for the sake of Asha’man Corbin. You’re the first ones here, so we’ll begin shortly.”
OOC: Welcome to Novice Earth! =D Post at least 400 words as an introduction and have your novice introduce themselves to Asha’man Corbin. If you have any questions, please email me. =) We’ll continue with this lesson on the 8th.
–Jeremy
