It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

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Locke
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It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Locke » March 5th, 2017, 9:04 pm

Alric
People went through great lengths to hide their indiscretions. For Alric, included opening a gateway to the basements of the Novice Quarters early in the morning so that Afanen could sneak back to her quarters. This morning Alric had decided to risk walking all the way back to her room with her.

This wasn't sustainable was it? Stealing moments, sneaking around, unable to be open about their relationship. It was tiring, but Alric wasn't going to quit because of a few impediments. Even when they weren't together, life was much less lonely knowing that the strange little woman cared for him. Her dedication was unexpected, and sometimes a little scary, but he had long since learned not to question it. At least not to her face. There weren't many things that he knew of that would enrage her. That was one. What had he done to earn such loyalty?

As he crept down the hall, his foot came down with a loud creak. Of course, Alric thought, freezing in place. A door cracked open to his left. Mankin’s Laws at work. The enemy never watches until you make a mistake. Now some Novice was staring at him.

“What are you doing out of bed, Novice?” he asked in a low voice. A little authority and an official air could get one pretty far, usually.
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Elan
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Elan » March 6th, 2017, 8:20 pm

Delaine Taborwin
Two weeks in the Grey Tower, and the novelty was beginning to wear off. Delaine had been so excited when she’d first arrived, the excitement had sustained her through interminable hours of chores and attending lectures on subjects she knew already — well, alright, maybe she didn’t know Tower History but she knew just about everything else! Oh, and channelling was also new. If only she could make it work. Surely all the sitting about thinking of rosebuds should have led to something already. But the Accepted teaching her had been very patient thus far, telling her that most Novices took a while before they could reliably access the Source.

But as she got settled in, as things became less exciting and more routine, she was starting to realise life as a Novice wasn’t all that glamorous or fun. Scratch that; it wasn’t glamorous at all, and fun only when one of her classmates gave an exceptionally poor answer to a really easy question. And to top it off, her room was the worst! It was located fairly early along the hallway, which meant that she had a shorter way to run to get to classes and chores than many of her peers — it rankled a little to call illiterate country bumpkins that, but it had been made clear enough to her that her former rank no longer mattered and she could only try to make the best of it — but it also meant that she could hear people walking, or running more often than not, past her door all the time!

…Like right now. Who in their right minds would be going anywhere this early? Was somebody sneaking out? Not very good at sneaking, were they. As she listened, it occurred to her that the steps were heavier than she was used to hearing. No, not a woman’s steps at all. There was a man in the Novice quarters!

Equal parts scandalised and curious, she scurried to the door and opened it a fraction.

A dark-skinned man in black looked back at her, looking distinctly annoyed. “What are you doing out of bed, Novice?”

Delaine let her eyes widen, as though shocked at having been noticed. She had two options: to counter with a question of her own, seeing as she was almost sure the man wasn’t meant to be here at this hour, either. Or she could just… be very, very sorry to have infringed upon his secrecy, whatever its cause, and hope for the best. The hallway was too dim to get a good reading of the minuscule shifts of expression on his face that might give her a solid cue for how to proceed, and so she chose to err on the side of caution.

“I’m sorry, Asha’man,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep, and I thought I heard a noise.”

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Locke
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Locke » March 16th, 2017, 10:36 am

Alric
Voice softening a bit, Alric said, “Best try, kid, your teachers won't care about excuses if you fall asleep in class, trust me.” Turning, he quickly walked down the hall. Tellingly, he was so eager to get out of there that be didn't even correct the girl on his rank.
~~~ He hadn't had much sleep the night before, and now he was being asked to fill in and teach a class. The natural sciences was a subject he knew well, having devoted much of his time in Mayene to their study. Since coming to the Tower, he had rediscovered his love of the so subject. That however didn't mean he wanted to teach a class on it, especially when it was the first class of the day. That said, Alric wasn't a man of half measures and corner cutting. In the little time he had he went over the lesson plan and made sure to cover the key parts while doing his best not to be totally boring.

When the time came, Alric strode into the classroom with a text book under his arm, sword at his hip, and boots shined to a milky finish. He was ready to teach this class.

It took a surprising amount of effort to keep the oath from his lips. The girl from earlier, the one who had seen him in the Novice Quarters was sitting in the front row. Trying not to linger in her, he began the lesson.

“According to Melinda Sedai’s lesson plan, you're learning about birds of prey, in particular, owls….”


As a former officer, he well knew presentations could be boring. He did his best to keep the class engaged, going as far as to use light weaving to create larger versions of the diagrams and sketches from their text book.

“From observation in the wild as well as careful autopsy, scholars have worked hard to determine the mechanics behind, and the reason for the owl’s ability to rotate it's head to such a degree.”

“But why, Dedicated?” asked an Andoran Soldier sitting near the window, “Why do scientists care about such a silly thing as opposed to making crops grow or making a better plow?”

“Because it's bloody fascinating, Mathis,” Alric said propping himself on the front of the teacher's desk. “Sure this probably won't feed people, but wouldn't you like to know more about the world around you? Whether you believe in a Creator or not, this world is amazing. That's why we study it. Maybe in the process we'll learn about ourselves.”

The bell sounded and the students began scrambling to pack. Normally, Alric would have ordered the class to remain seated until he released them, but he as just as eager to be out of there as the rest of them. Once out in the hall, he found himself swept along in a sea of black and white uniforms. That wouldn’t have been a problem if people weren’t bottlenecked at the stairs, or if he wasn’t stuck beside the same bloody girl from this morning. Alric casually ignored her as he waited for the congested hallway to clear.
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Elan
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Elan » March 17th, 2017, 4:15 pm

Delaine
The class that dealt with natural sciences was surprisingly fascinating, especially because it was not a subject Delaine’s prior education had focused on a lot. Politics, history, literature, fine arts, economy, mathematics… But things like birds of prey had featured only insofar as they could be used for hunting for sport.

This particular class was made even more interesting by the fact that Melinda Sedai’s substitute was someone she knew. Not 'knew' as in was acquainted with, but 'knew' as in had seen last night in the Novices’ quarters. And, now in daylight she could see he only had the Sword pin on his collar. Not an Asha’man, then, but a Dedicated; a student of the Tower like Delaine herself, though of a higher rank. What had he been doing in the… Novice quarters… oh, surely not!

It really was quite a natural conclusion to reach. Men sneaking out of women’s quarters in the small hours before dawn usually had a very simple, very natural reason to be doing so. Delaine might be innocent in such matters but she wasn’t ignorant. She knew what was going on — in very, very general terms — when her father went into her governess’ chambers some nights, and she strongly suspected her mother had a similar arrangement with one of her maids, the tall one who was half-Andoran. It really was quite normal… but also not supposed to be happening in the Novice quarters!

She made sure not to focus too much on her speculation at the cost of listening to the lesson… Though admittedly it was difficult to not wonder whom he had been visiting. Maybe the half-Domani, with the freckles? What was her name, Nasrin? She was pretty enough. He didn’t seem entirely her type, but the way people changed when the lights went off could be surprising. No, focus on owls. But they were so dull compared to this!

When the bell rang, Delaine collected her things with no hurry — and though she hadn’t planned it, found herself next to the dedicated in the hallway as they waited for the way to clear a little. She glanced up at him. He was aware of her, she could tell, though he was doing a reasonably good job of ignoring her. “I hope you slept well, Dedicated,” she said in a low voice, smiling slightly up at him, one eyebrow slightly arched. “Is it Nasrin you were visiting? No, she has a roommate, doesn’t she. Maybe Adora? Don’t worry,” she added, “I can keep a secret.”

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Locke
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Locke » March 18th, 2017, 11:29 am

Alric
Mother’s milk, in a bloody cup, Alric thought, preparing to play damage control. How much did she know? She didn’t know about Affie did she? She was listing other girls so maybe not. Looking at her in the daylight, he realized she was a goat kissing Cairhienin, and a bleeding noble by the looks of her. He’d spent years around those sorts. Don’t give her to much to run with. Pulling rank and shutting her down seemed like a quick path, but she would have her suspicions. She might spread rumors. If she was daring or unscrupulous enough, she might even try to blackmail him. If there was an investigation and Affie was found out, she’d be dragged down two. He refused to let that happen.

Putting aside wild thoughts of opening a gateway in the middle of the crowded hallway or simply clubbing the novice and running, Alric answered her. Ignoring her accusations of any untoward behavior, he said, “Your concerns are noted, Novice, I slept fine in my own bed.” Where was the lie? He and Affie had spent the night in his quarters. She’d mostly slept in a tiny ball while he worked. Suppressing a yawn, he said, “Or as well as I could for a few hours. I’ve been burning the midnight oil on a position paper.” He eyed the crowd, willing them to move. What did this girl want?
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Elan
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Elan » March 21st, 2017, 4:27 pm

Delaine
Delaine ducked her head slightly to hide a smile. Or, 'hide', as it was; if he chose to take note of the gesture it was fairly obvious, and what conclusions he might draw… That was entirely up to him. “Of course, Dedicated,” she replied, keeping her eyes lowered and her voice perfectly respectful.

The crowd blocking their way was moving slowly, but it was moving; soon they’d be free to continue on their way and undoubtedly the Dedicated would tell her to run along. Not that she had any intention of hounding him if he wanted to get rid of her; she was merely curious. He had the look and manner of someone who was a fundamentally decent sort, which was not contradicted by his evident ability to disregard the rules for something he considered worth the risk. He could be a valuable friend to have… if she could convince him that she meant him, or his Novice friend, no harm.

That, she had to admit, in the name of being realistic, might be easier said than done. She looked up at him again with a little, wry smile. “And I suppose your paper required you to interview Novices. In the middle of the night.” She nodded as though that made perfect sense. “Yes, that would explain it.”

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Locke
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Locke » March 26th, 2017, 5:42 pm

Alric
Alric gave an amused shrug at the Novice’s comment. “Sure you can go on believing what you wish, but I’ll just continue to deny everything,” he said in an airy tone. Finally the crowed seemed to be moving again, and Alric headed for the stairs hoping he’d never see the novice again.
~~~ Some days since his encounter with the nosey Novice, Alric found himself deep within the library stacks. He was in search of accounts from the War of Power. Sadly, not much remained, especially not the things he was looking for. Most of what remained were accounts of battles and weapons or great heroes and villains. Seeing as the earliest seemed to have been written at least a hundred years before the breaking, and translated and copied several times since, the accounts were of questionable veracity. Alric’s task was all but hopeless. He wasn’t looking for the glitz and glam of battles and heroes, he wanted the the bones and sinew. He needed information about logistics and field hospitals. Most historians didn’t care about that kind of thing. Especially when there were dashing heroes to write about.

There were very few books that actually fit Alric’s needs, but he took what he could because something was better than nothing. Taking his stack of books, Alric took his books and set off down the aisle. As he stepped out from between the shelves, he caught a flash of white out of his peripherals. Guided more by reflexes than anything, Alric stepped back, narrowly avoiding colliding with the unobservant Novice. Blood and bloody… her again?

He didn’t have anywhere to run, they had barely managed not to collide. He let out a rueful laugh. “You know, Novice, by this point, I’ll have to assume you’re stalking me.”
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Elan
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Joined: December 6th, 2016, 10:29 am
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Elan » March 30th, 2017, 6:33 pm

Delaine
Delaine was not used to all this running around like a headless chicken! She’d walked everywhere for her first week, only to end up late for several classes and chores. She’d tried walking fast, and been mostly on time, but she preferred to be more than mostly on time, and therefore running was something she’d have to get used to. A little over two weeks now, and she thought she was getting the hang of it—

Except when there were people in the way.

Alright, maybe she shouldn’t have been running in the Library. She clutched the books to her chest, trying to curtsy and apologise and catch her breath — or rather, decide in which order she should prioritise the actions — but then…

“You know, Novice, by this point, I’ll have to assume you’re stalking me.”

Delaine froze for half a second, then looked up at the man who had spoken. “Why, Dedicated Alric,” she said, fixing a suitably coy smile in place. “We have to stop meeting like this. People might talk.” Then, following an intuition that was rarely wrong, she dropped the wide-eyed act. The slight smile curving her lips was genuine, though she had no idea if he could tell the difference.

“I did not plan this encounter,” she said, meeting the brown eyes steadily. “But now that we’re both here, and if you’re willing to listen, I would apologise for my behaviour that day after the class.” It was not necessary to specify which day or which class; it was obvious that he remembered all too well. “I was bored and curious, neither of which is an excuse. I insinuated things I should know better than to speak of in public. I assure you I mean you no harm; you, or anyone else who might or might not be affected by such allegations.”

Honesty and frankness could be powerful tools in the Game, and someone raised in the House Taborwin could as soon stop breathing as disengage from the Game, but right now she actually had no ulterior motive. Whether he would believe her was another matter, however.

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Locke
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Re: It's Not a Crime [Attn:Elan/Delaine]

Post by Locke » April 12th, 2017, 11:11 pm

Alric
Alric probably didn’t need to take such a confrontational approach. He didn’t know if he trusted the girl, he was pretty sure she was a noble and he’d spent enough time around Cairhienin nobility. He didn't have to be rude though.

“Your apology is noted and accepted,” Alric said in a polite tone. He wasn't eager to loiter about chatting with Novices, but he didn't need to make enemies either. He studied her face, for what he did not know. Maybe she was being honest. His eyes slid down to the books in her arms. A few books on poetry and a few on weave and items of Power. The poetry wasn't Colovear’s style and he thought the ter’angral stuff might be a bit above her level. So, private study then. Alric would be the last to discourage independent scholarship.

Collecting his own books, he stepped out into aisle. “Studying to become an Indigo?” he said, motioning her to walk with him as he made his way out of the library depths.
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