Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

The World outside the Grey Tower is a vast place.
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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » August 4th, 2020, 4:37 am

"You are Aes Sedai, my lady," Hiron said with a laugh, which made his somewhat notable girth shake with the sound. "You may call me Hiron. If you bound to my kin, then you are also kin to me. Come in, come in!" He gestured for them to follow him through the double-doors and into a large, ornate foyer. "You will meet my lady wife later. She is sleeping, at present. The young one, you know. Tires us all."

He laughed again, leading them down a long hallway. "I am sure that you are tired from your journey here, so I will take you to your guest quarters. I had originally planned for one room. Is that what you still need or..." He trailed off somewhere between decorous and leering.

Haeden forced a faint, strained, polite smile. "Adjoining rooms will suit us," he said simply. He was not going to do anything that might harm his Aes Sedai reputation, no matter how he felt personally about her. "We appreciate your hospitality and greeting us personally. I know it has been too long since I was here."

"Ah, you have much going on for your life," Hiron said easily, again waving his hand. He seemed to do that a lot. "We are honored for you to attend and celebrate with us now!"

Before Haeden could dredge up any more polite inanities, Hiron stopped at a door, pushing it open and gesturing around. "A suite for your comfort. A sitting room with adjoining bedrooms. This will suit, yes?"

Haeden inclined his head. "Yes, thank you."

Hiron smiled broadly. "Rest, rest! I will see you for dinner tonight." With that, he swept out of the room before saying anything else.

Haeden just stared at the door after him, somewhat perplexed. "I don't recall him being so...cheerful," he finally commented. "I suppose marriage and fatherhood suits him."

Alianora
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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » August 4th, 2020, 9:26 pm

Liaran Sedai
They followed the lord inside, and he continued to go on chattering in what seemed to Liaran to be an overly friendly manner. She stuck close to Haeden's side as they walked, not because she felt unsafe, but simply because the force of Hiron's personality was just a little much for her quieter nature. She shot Haeden a grateful look as he dealt with the subject of where they would be staying. As a woman, Liaran would have had no problems sharing a room with him, but when they were traveling, the needs of the Aes Sedai always came first, and her Gaidin knew that without having to be told. They continued on down the hall until finally being shown to their rooms. Once the door closed, leaving them alone in the sitting room, Liaran sat down in a chair and dispensed with the calm pretense she'd shown around Hiron.

She looked towards Haeden with a shrug. "He does seem....very happy with his place in life," she said carefully. She could think of more than a few members of the Blue she knew with spouses and children, and none of them had ever acted quite like the man she'd just met. This observation made her think that marriage and children had nothing to do with Hiron's behavior, as people did change with time. Bending forward, Liaran pulled off her riding boots, and said nothing further to Haeden. The last thing she wanted was to appear to be rude or insulting towards the family he hadn't seen in many years. Still, she had to admit to herself that she was already dreading the ordeal that dinner with Hiron could be.

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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » August 8th, 2020, 9:54 pm

Haeden, however, had few such bonds of propriety or consideration.

"I don't begrudge him any piece of his life and how happy it makes him," he said, pacing thoughtfully along the small length of the room. His fair features were slightly scrunched with thought and his green eyes active with his rapid-fire thoughts. "If it all works for him, then power be to him...but..."

Here, he paused and frowned outright. "I don't know why, but such overt, constant, effusive joy... I don't know, but it makes me uneasy."

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » August 9th, 2020, 6:58 pm

Liaran Sedai
What Haeden said surprised Liaran, who had not noticed that particular feeling in the ever present bundle in the back of her mind. She gave her Warder a startled look as she reconsidered what she could reasonably tell him of her own emotions. It wasn't that she wanted to hide anything she felt from him, which their bond made nearly impossible anyways. It was only that she hadn't wanted to seem critical of his family, but if Haeden was willing to admit to feeling uneasy around their host, then Liaran felt comfortable sharing her own similar opinions.

Her eyes were on Haeden when she said quietly, "I felt a little uncomfortable around Hiron myself," she acknowledged. "I thought it was just me, that he was only being welcoming and I must be overreacting since...I am not at my best with this sort of social gathering." She looked away for just a moment, not liking to speak of her shortcomings even with the one who already knew all of them. "I don't want to be disrespectful to your family, Haeden, but if you found his behavior strange too, then I don't know what to think."

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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » August 9th, 2020, 9:49 pm

"Neither do I," he admitted with a twist of her lips as he dropped himself into an armchair across from her, his position looking a bit more...insolent than he usually did, but his mind was racing through the possibilities. "Neither do I," he said again, shaking his head as he rubbed the back of his neck.

With a sigh, he continued, "Perhaps I am just paranoid after a lifetime of the Shadow hounding my parents and then simply being trained to be aware and cautious. Hiron's nature seems counter to what I know and am familiar with, so perhaps that's it. I mean, what else can it be?" He shrugged as he looked across at her. "There is nothing of mine that he needs or would want. He has the title and the manor. So what reason for deceit? I can think of none."

Alianora
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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » August 9th, 2020, 11:08 pm

Liaran Sedai
Liaran's eyes followed Haeden's until he sat down, looking troubled. She could feel him concentrating as if he were trying to work out an especially difficult puzzle. She listened to everything he said, then shook her head. "I don't think you're paranoid, Haeden," she said quietly. "I think it's just what you said, that you're trained to be careful and search for threats, even where there seem to be none." She paused to swat a handful of her hair out of her face, then continued, "I may have found Hiron odd, but I don't feel that we're in danger here." It was an opinion that Liaran knew Haeden had to share, or he would have had her Traveling back to the Grey Tower long before this.

For a while, she thought, trying to come up with any reason they might have to be wary of Hiron, but the Aes Sedai found none. She blinked and said, "I can't think of anything either. You have the life you chose, and he has his. Surely his behavior is nothing more than excitement at the birth of his heir." The words sounded good, but Liaran still wasn't sure she believed them, even if she had no reason for it. Yawning, she commented, "I should probably try to rest before dinner." If dinner was anything close to what just the short walk here had been like, she was going to need all the rest she could get.

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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » August 12th, 2020, 7:08 pm

Watching her finally drew him from his dour mood and he cracked a small, crooked smile. "Of course, my Aes Sedai," he said, getting to his feet. He knew she wasn't much for such gestures, but he liked to afford them. "I believe there are two bedrooms--" He pointed to doors on either side of the sitting room. "--which judging by the rest of the manor, either will be gilded and fussy but undoubtedly comfortable."

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » August 13th, 2020, 1:17 am

Liaran Sedai
Liaran smiled and nodded, then got out of her chair to walk towards Haeden. When she reached his side, she rose to her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll see you when it's time for dinner, " she said to him, then gathered up her boots and walked through the door that was closest to her. The room was as lavish as Haeden had said it would be, far too much for Liaran's taste. The large bed in the middle contained enough pillows that she wasn't sure there would be room enough for her. Frowning at it, the Aes Sedai removed most of them and left them in a neat pile in the corner of the room. Once that was done, she took off her riding dress, put it and the boots away, and laid down on the bed.

She woke some time later at the exact time she'd wanted to wake, something she'd learned to do long before she'd ever come to the Grey Tower. After washing quickly, Liaran turned her attention to the chore that getting ready for dinner would be. She'd brought a few of her nicer dresses with her, which for her meant things that rarely left her wardrobe. The one she pulled over her head was a brilliant turquoise silk which reminded Liaran of the ocean. The color was the only thing the Aes Sedai liked about it. The rest of it, with its full skirt and sleeves long enough to nearly cover her hands, made Liaran feel rather confined. She sighed, took a breath, and put on the ridiculous flimsy slippers that went with it.

She left her hair hanging loose to her shoulders after dragging a comb through it. The struggle to make it do anything else wasn't one Liaran could ever be bothered with. With another deep breath, trying not to think too much about what lay ahead, the Aes Sedai walked into the sitting room to see if Haeden was ready yet, and to wait there for him if he was not.

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Bella
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QC: Andraste Alhandra Sedai
Location: New England

Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » August 18th, 2020, 11:38 pm

As it happened, and perhaps without any surprise, Haeden was indeed ready.

He was already sitting in an armchair in the sitting room. He couldn't say he'd spent much time resting while his Aes Sedai had as he'd been suffering a quiet level of agitation. It wasn't enough to prompt worry over the bond, of course, but it was enough to make him not attempt to sleep. He had been up reading until it was time to get dressed.

Feeling her approach and hearing the door, he rose to his feet. He was wearing an elegant but understated blue coat with subtle embroidery in different shades of blue and a hint of green. His breeches were a simple black and his boots were dark, but well-made.

When he saw Liaran, he smiled broadly. He knew--and could feel--that this was not her favorite choice of attire, but he appreciated her tolerance of it for the evening. Walking up to her, he bent over and lifted her hand. The only time he ever lowered his eyes to another person was to her, and he did so now as he kissed the back of her fingers. "You look beautiful, my Aes Sedai."

Alianora
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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » August 20th, 2020, 12:54 am

Liaran Sedai
Liaran looked up at Haeden, curling her fingers around his. She smiled at the compliment. She did not feel beautiful in the irritating dress, but she still liked hearing it from him, and only from him. "You look nice, too," she said to her Warder as she studied him. Like her, he had dressed more formally than he usually did, and Liaran had to admit that the sight was one she enjoyed. Leaving her hand in his, the Aes Sedai moved closer so she could wrap her other arm around him and pull him against her. She wanted to kiss him, but knew that if she started that.....they would probably end up being very late for dinner.

It was with reluctance that she let him go sooner than she would have liked. Liaran's hands fell to her sides as she assumed the serene expression of an Aes Sedai. She dreaded the prospect of spending an evening in the company of the somewhat overly cheerful Hiron, but she was not going to let anyone see that. Only Haeden would be able to see through the mask to her true feelings. She forced down a sigh and marched herself towards the door.

The halls of the house, as she passed through them, seemed excessively decorated to Liaran. The entire place was far more ornate than she preferred, which did not help at all with the discomfort she felt at being there. When they reached the dining room, Liaran paused in the doorway. She observed to herself that it was a good thing they'd stopped for lunch on the way, because she doubted she'd feel up to eating much tonight.

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