A Not-So-Blind Date [Attn: Tia Tomosan]

[Bella]

A shadow crossed over his mind then, although he did his best to keep as much of it out of his face as possible. She didn't need to know about any of that. He smiled again, although this one was a little more forced. "I suppose you are right," he said, inclining his head slightly towards her. "The value of such personal stories falls to the listener, more than the speaker, to determine."

But didn't everyone have things in their lives that they did not wish to share? Things that they were not proud of? He was simply no different than anyone else...right?

"But you can't blame me for thinking you far more interesting than myself," he finally declared.

Before she could reply, there was a knock at the door. Although he knew it was, more than likely, their dinner being brought, his Gaidin Face dropped into place and he rose to answer it. He pulled the door open a little to look out, saw it was their meal, and nodded to let the man in. This servant was used to dealing with Aes Sedai and Gaidin and Asha'man, so he just carried it in, set it on the table, bowed politely to them both, and left without a word.

[Roan]

Tia Sedai

Tia watched Bryn as he moved to answer the door, and waited until the servant made his exit before continuing their conversation. She pulled her dish closer to her, but waited for the Gaidin to join her at the table once again before she started to eat. Giving him a wry grin as she shook her head slightly, “I am not so sure why you think myself more interesting than you, but in this case I shall listen to my own advice and suggest perhaps I am more interesting than I realize.”

Her look turned somewhat coy as she picked a piece of roasted parsnip with her fork and popped it into her mouth. After washing it down with a bit of wine, she gave a half shrug, “I suppose over then next little while, we shall have a chance to judge for ourselves how interesting we actually are to each other.” Part of her realized how confusing her turn of phrase could be, but suspected he’d get her meaning.

The Green sister pulled her gaze from his and started to slice into the roasted venison the kitchen provided. “I would never dare tell the Mistress of the Kitchens at the Tower this, but I think the Citadel has a better cook,” she said after tasting a bit of the roast.

[Bella]

Bryn had shaken off his shadows once again by the time he sat down and joined her in eating their meal. Her comment and the coyness to her look did not pass him by and he smiled crookedly, although didn't comment on that. It did suddenly make the meal feel a little closer than it had a moment ago...

...but he didn't comment on that either.

Instead, like any good soldier, he began eating the hot meal that was in front of him. After all, it might well just be cold rations for a while after that.

Her comment about the Mistress of the Kitchens made him laugh, though. "Only say that to her if you have a death wish," he said. "I think she is easily the most terrifying person in the Tower. No offense to your kin, but I am sure even Miahala Sedai would agree."

[Roan]

Tia Sedai

Tia laughed softly, “As I said, I would never dare say it to her.” It amused her to think others thought her Memma terrifying, though she’d seen her Memma in battle on more than one occasion, so she also understood the sentiment. “Memma would likely agree, yes. There are certain people in the Tower even she would not cross,” the Green admitted.

She took a bite of the venison, “I mean. . .seriously, how does she get roasted venison so juicy?” Picking up her glass, she washed down the meat with a bit of wine. “Her cooking makes it that much harder to venture beyond the Citadel gates. Trading this in for cold rations is never very appealing.” She looked up with an easy smile, “But if we’re lucky, this first little forray may not take too long.”

The Green took another few bites of roasted veggies, “How long has it been since you’ve been to the Citadel?”

[Bella]

This meal felt...awkward.

Why did it feel awkward? Brynmor ate his food slowly and struggled to understand. When they had first met at her kin's wedding--Miahala was her...great-great-grandmother?--it hadn't been awkward at all. In fact, it had been one of the easiest meetings he'd ever experienced, and he relished that.

When they'd met again at that festival, before it all went sliding into the pit and even a brief war, it had been a little awkward at first with the presence of her parents, but not between he and Tia. And then several other meetings... What was different about this? He could pick out some differences, sure, but they all seemed superficial.

Bryn stifled a sigh at his lack of conclusions and focused on her question.

"Given my unbonded status, I try to make myself available fairly frequently," he replied. "I make regular trips here to the Citadel and lend my aid, either in those venturing out of the grounds or to help train the guards who don't come from the Tower. Although admittedly, it's been a little longer since I've been here this time around since I've been caught up in training duties in the Yards."

[Roan]

Tia SedaiHow awkward can awkward get?

The Gaidin wasn’t the only one who realized things were awkward, and like him, Tia couldn’t quite put her finger on why. She was doing her best not to focus on the awkwardness, but part of her realized she was running out of things to say or ask. What would make things more awkward than an awkward silence?

The Aes Sedai listened to Bryn, but was partly distracted with a slightly growing panic of what to talk about next. It was in the midst of this mild panic that realization dawned on her. She didn’t quite pale, but Tia did set her knife and fork down and placed her hands on the table as she watched Bryn. When he stopped talking and looked up, she said, “We’ve been set up.”

“I don’t understand,” he replied, confusion clear in his expression.

Tia offered him a wry smile, “We’ve been set up. Not just in terms of you being asked to accompany me and be my Gaidin to watch my arse while we’re out here. We’ve been set up. By my kin.”

When he furrowed his brows, Tia repeated herself one more time, “We’ve been set up. I think perhaps with the hopes of something more happening between us than just watching each other’s backs. My kin know all too well what coming here means. . .a lot of time when we just have each other and the horses for company. Oh, I’m going to kill my Mother when I get back.”

Tia’s eyes went wide when she realized how her last sentence could be taken, and back peddled, “I mean. . .not that I’d mind if. . .” She trailed off, not entirely sure what she wanted to say, and didn’t want to make things any more awkward. She felt heat on her cheeks as she blushed and looked down, “That is to say, I’m going to kill her for making such assumptions, but I’m not at all upset with the situation at hand.”

When she looked up once more to meet his intense blue gaze, she felt her breath catch, “I. . .heh. Why is this so awkward? Why is it so hard to just say I find you attractive and I like you?” Her eyes went wide once more as the words came tumbling out and she reached for her wine to take a big swallow so that she would not get herself into any more trouble.

[Bella]

Brynmor Brook was not a young man. He wasn't an old man either, of course, but he was grown. He was far from a boy. And many of his adult years had now been within the walls of the Grey Tower. However, he had never been bonded. He wasn't sure why, but it was the simple truth of it all.

As he had mentioned, his unbonded status meant he went out with many a different channeler on this mission or that. He had known quite a few in his time.

None had ever been like Tia Tomosan.

Bryn watched her with growing confusion as she went from simply talkative to suddenly irate and then flushed with embarrassment. It took him a little while to pick up on what she was saying, and once he did, he just didn't know what to think, let alone say. So many Aes Sedai lived with the idea that romance was no longer for them.

Then, of course, he reminded himself of who this woman's family was. Miahala Sedai was known to have had several husbands and children by most, if not all. This Green was the product of one such union. In fact, more than one. Her own mother and father were raised of the Tower. So clearly, that wasn't an idea held by this family.

Once he realized that, what she said made sense as a possibility...though it still surprised him to think they would do this to her.

With him.

That's when that dawned on him too. If they had indeed done this, that meant she had shown enough to them to make them think she was interested in him... Well, she had just said she found him attractive. Still, to be set up like this seemed to say more than that. And he just wasn't sure what to make of it.

This at least explained why he felt so awkward.

Finally, he just laughed. It was a quiet, almost sheepish sound as he took a long drink of his own wine and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, this is a first," he finally declared. Then he looked at her again, his eyes meeting hers as he smiled crookedly. "I like you too, and also find you quite attractive."

[Roan]

Tia Sedai

Tia almost choked on her wine, but had enough self control to swallow what was in her mouth before slowly and deliberately setting her wine glass down. She didn’t dare take her eyes off of his, because she didn’t trust herself to make eye contact again. She felt the heat on her cheeks as she blushed even more, “You do?” She cleared her throat, “You do.”

The Aes Sedai felt her heart pounding, and part of her wondered if Bryn could hear it. Was it possible for things to get more awkward? She swallowed the nervous lump that appeared at the back of her throat down, resisting the urge to down more wine. What was the big deal, after all? She liked him, and he liked her. At least now they knew, right? It should make things easier, right?

It was Tia’s turn to laugh softly, “Well then. . . so we like each other and find each other attractive. We’re grown adults, so why do I feel like an awkward teenager?” She finally gave in and picked her wine glass up and found it only had a sip left.

Pouring herself more, she held it up, “More? I don’t know about you, but I could use more.” A lot more.

[Bella]

Bryn looked at his wine glass and found that he still had a few sips left, but he understood the appeal of having more. He didn't think he felt quite as awkward as she did, but he knew that he hadn't felt quite like this in a while. And it wasn't that he'd been hiding from women--an impossibility in a place half-filled with them--nor had he been hiding from the occasional liaison.

This felt different than that.

He finished the rest of his wine in one and held out his cup. "A little more," he agreed. He would not allow himself to overindulge, however, no matter how he felt. He was here as her Gaidin and would not dim his senses. However, his tolerance was enough that he could have some more without coming even close to endangering either of them.

"It feels like a long time since I was an adolescent," he admitted. "Although I don't remember being very shy when I was young."

[Roan]

Tia laughed softly, “I. . .was more interested in climbing trees, skipping stones or other such activities until the moment my Memma found I had the spark.” She set her wine glass down, “I’ve only ever been involved with one other person, and that didn’t happen until after I was fully raised.”

Not wanting her supper to go cold, Tia took a bite as she let her eyes meet Bryn’s gaze once more. After swallowing it down, she shook her head, “It wasn’t that I was shy. . .in fact, I’m not sure anyone in my family would describe me as shy. I think Einion is the shy one of the pair of us, though he’s more quiet than shy.

“I’m not sure if our revelation complicates matters, nor am I sure what we should do about it, if anything,” she admitted. “I guess, at least it’s out there in the open and we don’t have to be quite so awkward about it or each other.” Although, it could make things more awkward, she thought to herself.