For the Sake of Fun [Attn: Bella]

[Andy]

It was beyond official at this point, that the recent past and, in many ways, the present, had been difficult upon all of them. He counted his blessings after what ad transpired at the White Tower and afterwards. Well, he counted his one blessing. It was one enough to overpower the trials, for which he would be ever thankful. Yet duty, goodness and sacrifice...they seemed harder these days, or more troublesome to deal with, perhaps. He supposed that it came with experience and, thus, full understanding of the context of consequence. He was not proud of everything he had done, or failed to do, but he had always been quite good at picking himself back up. The White Tower and the months after though, it was hard to say they had done the full and right thing. Context, of course, but still...whichever way he looked at it they had not done the Light's work. Not fully. "Guess you were right Ulthwin, sooner or later you always end up doing something bad for something good" he muttered to himself as he leaned back in his chair, a comfortable one of course, the Blue Halls were suitably soothing after all. He was not waiting to spend the day with such contemplation though, no he had a mind to have a bit more fun than that. It was required, for all, but he could just about manage for two. He knew that she would be back eventually and he contented himself with that. They both had their own important work and he didn't impose himself upon things when he wasn't asked or required. A faint smile came to his lips as he read through the pages before him, remembering his recent meeting with the Captain General. He hadn't had the chance to say anything about it but he was sure it was known about already. He was still pleasantly surprised it had been so agreeable. His experience of mothers tended to be of them glaring at him for being...well...him. The toe of his boot nudged the pack under the table and caused another smile. And so he waited patiently, enjoying an old book for now. He hoped that the next few days would prove to be enjoyable for them both.

[Bella]

[subtitle]Sadira Rose Jolstraer Sedai[/subtitle]
Getting used to the return of that little...knot of being in the back of her mind had been no small feat, and yet it had not turned out to be as long an adjustment as she might have suspected. Having gone decades on her own, without a bond, she would have thought it would have been harder. Yet it wasn't.

Maybe that had something to do with the person involved. Alrim just made things...easier for her. Just his presence, his attitude, when shared with her was something that impacted most every part of her and her life. It had been such when they were just the two individuals, and now would forever be even more so.

The sense of him grew stronger as she returned to the Blue Halls. She could have found her way there with her eyes closed, just following that knowledge.

There was...expectation in that knot, and maybe a little impatience. Not in a bad sense, but in some sort of anticipation. But of what? It seemed unlikely that her return alone would cause such a feeling, but she could not imagine what else it was. Then again, there was that bit of unpredictability to her new warder. Something she liked about him. And needed in her life.

Reaching her quarters, with the adjourning warder room, she opened the door and stepped inside. Seeing him sitting there, clearly waiting for her, made her smile.

"I hope that I have not kept you waiting on me for too long," she said as she shut the door behind her and slid off her slipper-shoes. She put them nearly beside the door, as was her habit. She hated wearing anything on her feet more than absolute necessary so stockings and shoes tended to come off quickly once she was in her room.

Barefoot now, she padded to join him where he sat.

[Andy]

He did his best not to smile foolishly as he felt her approach. It was strange still, how he could track distance as much as direction. Not that he could tell the exact distance but enough that he knew that she would appear shortly. He kept reading his book but he did smile as she became barefoot. He enjoyed her rituals, they were real. Pretences were for the unknown, the unsure, he was neither and he was happy for that. "One might say that the wait was worth it," he said, marking the page so that he could kiss her cheek and close the book, "apparently, according to this book, there was a man who won a hundred duels. I was starting to feel inadequate" he said with amusement as he placed it aside. He had hoped to learn something about tactics and battle but he was as terrible at choosing books as he was clothing. Either way he sliced it he always came up short. He took a moment to lean back and take her in. She may be experienced with such things and be more used to them but he had not had that much time to get used to it, relatively. The emotion through the Bond was real, though, and he he counted himself a lucky man for it. But he was not yet accustomed to it, not fully. He grinned and looked away briefly. "But I was waiting for you, as it happens," he said, leaning down to grab the bag underneath the table almost sheepishly, "I assume that you know I had a visit from your mother? She was very specific indeed as to how I should treat you. She is lucky that I felt the same way because I have a tendency to rebel...so they tell me" he said, taking out a box and placing it before them upon the table. "It's no priceless treasure, and you likely have as much already, but I wanted to get you something because I can, and wanted to. I am told that it is the best silver in the Borderlands. And the sapphires are real. I had it checked by a trusted friend" he said as he removed the lid. Within was a necklace, intricate in its pattern, with three small gems making the centrepiece of the item. Blue for her Ajah, of course. He said nothing more and merely left it there for her to look over. His nervousness would be clear over the Bond but he had yet to fid a way to hide such a thing and he was not sure that he would want to at any rate. "I also had a trip planned, if you would like to get out of the Tower for a bit," he said as he sipped his wine and watched her, "I do know that you like to travel" he finished as he looked into the flames of the fireplace as if he had nothing planned whatsoever.

[Bella]

She watched him curiously as she walked over, sensing his myriad emotions and smiling. At the mention of her mother, she laughed--part amusement and part embarrassment. Yes, she knew of it, although not until after. Even if she had known of her mother's intentions, she would not have been successful in stopping her. She knew this.

When he brought out the box, however, her curiosity was instantly piqued. What could he have gotten her? She certainly didn't require gifts, but had been trained by her first warder long ago that it was rude to argue against one.

She took it and eyed him with teasing suspicion, then took out the necklace and gasped. "Alrim," she said softly. "It's beautiful." And then she caught the rest of his words. "And an outing too? But it's not even the celebration day of my birth." She leaned across the desk and kissed him. "Thank you. I'll cherish it. And I would love to go wherever you lead."

To not be the one making all the decisions and doing all the leading was a relief worth more to her than all the gold in the world, and she had him to thank for that too.

[Andy]

He smiled at her laughter, he supposed it was amusing, looking back at it. Children never grew up in their mother's eyes - that idea amused him also, given the length of an Aes Sedai's life. He said nothing, however, as he watched her accept the gift and felt her response through the Bond. A truly precious feeling, that. "Only on you," he responded simply, stroking her cheek briefly before leaning back into his chair, "and I'm sure there can be something far more grand on the day of your birth. I can be quite imaginative" he smiled with amusement in his gaze. He had known better than to pack for her of course, there were some things he was not sure he had the courage to do despite any words about leading. There was a certain sense of pride, though, at hearing her words. Life was not what one was given to expect as a Drin or Ji in some ways, but it was better. Better because there were no true rules anymore. He remembered being told to choose for dutiful reasons but he would not trade what he had found for all the gold in the nations. Things were more complex at times, he supposed, but he liked complex. "Besides," he said as he pushed himself up and came to stand behind her, fingers finding her shoulders and easing them gently with slow rhythm and gentle pressure, "I have it on good authority that we both work far to hard for our own good, so I thought it was time to. I do remember you saying you liked to travel, dispensing help and justice where it can be seeded," he said, smiling to himself, "I was thinking more for a bit of fun but we could always right a few wrongs if fancy takes us. I did have a nice place in mind, filled with some lovely people. I'm glad you like the idea otherwise I'd have to go and excuse myself from being excused from my duties," he chuckled and shook his head at the thought. "I am ready whenever you are, the day is yet young and those that make the Gateway know where to send us whenever we choose to"

[Bella]

The light flickered quite actively in her steel blue eyes as she looked into his gaze, following him as he moved and came closer to her. Warmth had blossomed within her core, and she could feel it growing and spreading through her. Everything felt a little lighter in and around her, and she simply enjoyed the feeling.

"It seems like you've thought of everything," she said playfully. "I don't have much needing to be rearranged, so I imagine I can be ready to go quite soon."

She shifted herself to lean up and give him a light kiss. "I'm going to pack," she said. "Having spent so much of her Aes Sedai career traveling, this was something she had down to a science. She made her way into her room and then put her things together. It barely took any time at all before she was coming back out of the room with her bag.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going, or must I simply wait and find out?"

[Andy]

"I try," he responded as he retrieved his own baggage and pulled them onto his shoulder, "I fail quite often but it's the thought that counts" he finished, pottering about and putting on his sword as Sadira found her own things. He turned as she came back into the room. "You are good at this, took me three times as long," he chuckled, "and as for where, I can tell you that it is definitely north of here. I did look at south but it turns out they apparently don't like us much down there," he said playfully as he tugged his Fancloak into place. He took a few moments to admire, it was easy to tell himself how lucky he was to be where he was now, with her. She had asked honestly and he owed her a reasonable answer. Games were fun but it was a small thing to say where they were going. She did have a striking gaze. "The Rose's Thorn. Shol Arbela," he told her with a tilt of the head, "the warmest, largest, tastiest and, given the present denizens, the most unusually fun inn that I know. To begin with. From there...well we have time and each other. All that really matters" "Shall we?" he asked, opening the door and waiting for her.

[Bella]

Ah, to the Borderlands. The sweet song in her blood was already singing.

Sadira had not spent a great deal of time in Arafel, since she was of Saldaean and Shienaran descent, but she had visited that section of the Blight Border on her brother's behalf and with him a time or two. And now that she had Alrim, she imagined she would be seeing a great deal more of it. On this very trip, even.

Now that she had Alrim... Even just those few thoughts, that one feeling drifting through her mind, put her to the edge of what she almost might have called 'giddy'...if she was the type of woman to feel such a thing.

When he opened the door and gestured for her to precede him, she moved to the doorway but stopped where her stood in the frame. She smiled, rose to her toes, and kissed his lips. "Where you go, I will follow," she said lightly as she pulled back, stepping away and moving into the corridor that had so long been called home and yet now, seemed entirely new.