Guilty Unless Proven Innocent (Attn: Andy)

[Craig]

Ravak

Snowflake padded around the room for a short while, seemingly at random, before she settled down in the light coming through the window. Ravak loved her to pieces, but he would have still been happier if Snowflake was as good at being a tracker as she was at being a walking fluff ball.

Ravak used his own senses much in the way his pet should have. He discretely sniffed around the room, tasting the residues of violence on his tongue. That was an ever-present scent of the Yards, and told him absolutely nothing of worth. None of the smells were so pungent as to hint towards recent activity. If Alisha was sparring, this would be her first time training today.

He bent down to have a look at all of the obvious places. There was nothing of interest in her bedside cabinet, nor in her wardrobe, unless an out-of-place dress counted. Ravak thought little of it; the learning ranks did have free days, and some of those included dances. The stitching was not of a particular quality that he'd got accustom to seeing; clearly Alisha and Fiona did not run in the same circles.

Before he got any closer towards ascertaining what was going on, a loud sense from Alrim drew the Gaidin Captain's attention. He watched silently as the Ji'val fumbled around with one of the ceiling beams. His interest only grew when Alrim loosened an object and dropped it to the ground.

"What have we here then?" Both men coughed as the bag was presented. Rav took it before stepping back away from the cloud of dust motes that swarmed around the Arafellin.

The bag contained plenty of loose coins, mostly in silver. One thick gold coin did draw more attention due to the prominence of the Flame upon it. Tar Valon marks weren't an express sign of anything, but they were seldom seen within the limits of the city, let alone the Grey Tower.

Beyond the currency were other objects of interest. A silver brooch depicting a crane; four tiny wooden shapes that may be of Ogier manufacture; an opaque pink gemstone... He rustled around, finding plenty of other knick-knacks of minor worth yet failing to locate a golden ring. Rav sighed, handing the bag back to Alrim. "Hardly the work of a master thief," commented the Gaidin in a low grumble.

Ravak itched at the bottom of his chin through his beard. Not our thief, just a regular thief. Alisha could and would wait until later, namely when Julian was back from the tests. Better for the Tairen to handle it and see Alisha's guilt first-hand then handling it for the Master of Training. That left him - them - with Joshua.

"Let's go. Leave the bag on the bed," Rav said with a dismissive wave. "Leave Alisha to worry about who got to her stash whilst we track down Dedicated Joshua."

[Andy]

Alrim’s eyebrows rose slightly at Ravak’s words, his mixture of seeming apathy and a strange form of mischief. They had found a thief, not the one they had been looking for apparently, but a thief nonetheless. Yet he dismissed it casually? Better yet he meant to cause a certain amount of paranoia in the culprit. He tried not to smile too broadly, it seemed a deliciously harsh thing to do – letting them stew in their own mistakes until finally being dealt with. Doubt he’s giving them the opportunity to mend their ways, he came roaring at me without stolen items. Might not see this Ji again. Anytime soon anyway he told himself as he pulled the sack’s edge to leave the items sprinkled across the bedding. A little flair for amusement. “Simple things, not even worth stealing. Could have shown her a thing or two,” he shook his head and met Ravak’s gaze, “I won’t of course. Unless the Tower needs something stealing, then I could do it” he mused reflectively, wondering if that ever happened. “Now matter, Joshua should be in the Yards I’d reckon. Probably hitting things with his mace…morning star. Well usually something blunt. If he’s not there I’m damned where he’ll be” he stated as Ravak took the lead once more. He was the senior after all and Alrim was the hanger on for this adventure. He wondered whether Joshua would be in the Infirmary by the end of the day. Ravak was not best pleased and if the Dedicated tried to fight he’d certainly get beaten. If he sued Saidin then there would be a steeper price to pay and probably an even messier situation. He hoped the fool was smart enough to give in but he had a sinking feeling in his gut about that. As they broke out of the corridors into the sunlight he scanned for the man, he was the one who knew what he looked like after all. He was usually easy enough to spot – few had his build or hair colouring. This day, however, he seemed to be absent. Alrim went to his usual spot and found nothing. No mace wielders today he noted either, seemed to be a rare weapon for a Warder for some reason. He turned on the spot and pursed his lips, bells jingling until he found what he was looking for – a lead. “Oi Karrie, seen your big lad around today?” “Merrick?” “Nah Joshua, you now, the one you pine fo-“ “Leave it out Bells! Hasn’t come here yet, more’s the pity. Wouldn’t mind having a Dedicated to ht about for a- afternoon Ravak Gaidin, sorry didn’t see you sooner” she bowed after a little start, eyeing Alrim suspiciously. “There he is, coming now. Why, wanted a spar?” another noted, pointing to the entrance of the Yards. Joshua was there alright, though he paused at the finger pointed his way and clearly wondered why he was being singled out, especially in front of a Gaidin. He looked about to turn tail and run for it and Alrim muttered under his breath the he hoped the man did as it would probably mean he was guilty.

[Craig]

Ravak

Karrie's pet name for Alrim did not go unnoticed. Should have cut them out on the first day. That issue was far down on his list of priorities at the given moment.

The lanky strip of a Dedicated froze as he was pointed at. Joshua eyed his accuser, then shifted his vision onto Alrim, then to Karrie, then finally onto Ravak. The gaze only lingered for a second before he was looking around and blinking rapidly. It seemed clear to the Gaidin Captain that Joshua was trying to calculate his next move.

Ravak caught a muttered "guilty" coming out from Alrim. That spurred the Shienaran forward, hands on hilts as he stormed towards the Dedicated. He was intentionally trying to provoke Joshua. Finding yourself getting marched upon by an angry Gaidin either grounded your boots or lit a fire under your arse. What are you going to do, Rav wondered, Stand or run?

Joshua chose the latter. He spun around quickly, sitting off down the straight road towards the Grey Tower at a sprint. Ravak's reactions were only momentarily slower, but then the Gaidin was chasing right after the Dedicated, fancloak flapping behind him in a gut-twisting parade of colours.

"Dedicated, stop!" Ravak bellowed. Several people turned to see where the noise had come from but none of them were Joshua. He continued his flight for freedom, nimbly scooting through and past people. By the time Ravak got to them, they had made a clear path for him. Had it not been for the gathering of outrage that was building in his case, he may have enjoyed his momentary power of dividing crowds.

Halfway between the Tower and the Warder Yards, Joshua swerved east and vaulted over a hedge into the adjacent field. Ravak followed suit, pulling in his cloak before making his own leap over the greenery. There was nothing between Ravak and his quarry now.

"Halt at once!" he yelled without stopping, "or by the Light I'll make you sorry!" That did the opposite of what was intended, spurring Joshua into a quicker run. There's no way some boy outruns me. The distance between the two had neither lengthened nor shortened, so the victor was going to be the one with the most stamina. Rav counted on that being sooner instead of later.

They made their way across the entire length of the field. Joshua rolled over the boundary between this field and the next, weariness clearing starting to show. When Rav got the fence twenty seconds later, he jumped, put one foot on the top of the wooden beam, and pushed off. The gap between pursued and pursuer had halved.

"Stop!" Rav bellowed again. Joshua glanced back, eyes white with fear.

He didn't stop.

Still running, Ravak drew out his sword-breaker from its sheath. The heron-marked blade was the smaller of his two swords and lighter. That made it easier to throw. Within a couple of seconds of drawing it from his belt, Gentle was soaring through the air like a javelin. Joshua yelled as he fell, twice rolling head over heels before coming to a stop on his back. Blood pooled around his right leg from where Rav's sword-breaker had sliced into Joshua's calf.

Dropping down into a staggered jog, the Gaidin Captain retrieved his sword before closing in on his target. The Dedicated clutched at his leg, blood running through and over his fingers. A painful injury but nothing life-threatening.

Ravak moved so he was standing near Joshua's head, peering down with Gentle still in hand. There was little compassion showing on the Gaidin's stony features. "The sooner you tell me why you were running away from a superior officer, the sooner I send for a Healer." He wiped the mud and blood from Gentle before sliding the blade back into its sheath. "Better yet," he added as Alrim caught up, "you answer his questions and if I like the answers, I'll fetch for the Healer. That or you can bleed out. It's up to you."

[Andy]

"Burn me" Alrim muttered as he grabbed the practise lathe from one of the others and gave chase after Ravak and Joshua. The man was foolish in the extreme, though deep down he had known Joshua had no other option. At least this way he could escape, hide whatever he had stolen and then there would be no evidence beyond running out of fear. He was a smart man and Alrim hated that he was being forced to think like a thief to understand him. He'd prefer to think that way of his own volition. As fast as Alrim was Ravak pulled away, fuelled by anger and the fact he was a full blown Gaidin. As he skidded around the corner he saw them both ahead and his mind worked quickly to establish an alternative route, perhaps a cutting off. "Exscuse me...sorry...I said...out of the way damnit" he exclaimed as he bumped into or narrowly missed a number of people as he ran through the corridors, lathe in hand, and kept looking through side passages to see that he was gaining some ground but not enough. As he came to the end and turned right, seeing the archway to the outside again he was breathing hard but pushed himself onwards. He reached the pair just as Ravak was standing over him, weapon in hand, and glaring down. He had thrown his weapon into Joshua's leg. Looked painful but was a trick worth remembering. He covered the last few paces as Ravak gave the orders, wondering whether it was even worth asking. The man clearly guilty of something at least. He nodded anyway and knelt down to be fact to face with Joshua. "Gold ring, silver necklace with leaf pattern, fiery stone about two hands wide, bottle of oilfish oil, engraved mirror from Tear, a ceremonial dagger from Ebou Dar, diamond rings, three....any of this sound familiar?" "Don't know nothing" "You sure?" he asked, fingers pressing at the wound in his leg and getting hissed curses from the man in responses. There was no time for games, he'd die or they'd get the answers. "Gold ring, silver necklace, fiery sto-" "IknowthemIknowthem!" "Take them?" "Burn you" "Where are they and you can get your leg back" "Burn you!" Joshua all but shouted and Alrim saw he was desperate and about to snap in his eyes. In a fraction of a second Ravak was exclaiming as he found his shirt spontaneously begin combusting and Alrim was thrown back to fly into the floor a few yards back slid a bit more on top of that. Even through his pain he could see Joshua trying to stand and...vanishing? Wait, no, it wasn't possible. Unless...Saidin! That was how he had vanished from the same room! He hadn't vanished at all! Alrim pushed himself up and saw the blood upon the ground in a neat little trail. He threw his own lathe at the same place to watch it rebound a few feet further on with a cry of pain and Joshua appeared once again. Just as Alrim closed, trying to jump at the man to stop the madness, he was hit by a warm wave of fire and sent backwards. He batted at his clothing and all but ripped his cloak and top off to stop himself from going up like a candle. "Sto- stop him! Thief!" he coughed as he blinked and saw Ravak picked up by the channeling and a few others close in behind the Dedicated.

[Craig]

Ravak

Alrim's... 'questioning technique' was questionable to the extreme, but Ravak let the scene play out. Better to see what Alrim's intention was within the context of the whole scene instead of making an assumption from one moment. It was distasteful however. Yes, he just scored a nasty gash on Joshua's leg, but he wasn't purposefully making it worse.

Ravak had lost his sense of smell a long time ago. That wasn't a piece of information that came up much and almost no-one was aware of the fact. After all, it wasn't as obvious an issue as other disabilities. At this juncture, however, it was probably good that the Shienaran couldn't smell. Flames engulfed his shirt, and the smell of burnt flesh would - surprisingly - have made the situation a lot worse.

He screamed, both in surprise and in agony. He clutched at his chest with both hands, dropping his sword to do so, and desperately tried to pull his shirt apart. The pain was like sticking his hands into a roaring fire but he persevered. We was only able to fight the instinct to recoil from the pain because being immolated was a worse fate.

Buttons popped free as Rav got his fingertips between the two halves of his shirt and yanked hard. Freeing his arms from the cloth was his next goal, but before anything could happen he found himself spinning rapidly, bouncing off the ground towards one edge of the field. His vision blurred, both from the blast and from the multiple impacts against the ground. After a few seconds of being stunned, the Gaidin Captain took hold of himself and rose to his knees. All that remained of his shirt were a couple of singed strips around his wrists - the rest had burnt away or fallen off. His upper body was a mess of exposed muscle and charcoal-coloured skin. The pain ebbed as he finally had enough concentration to form the ko'di.

Ravak took in the scene. Alrim was on the ground nearby, having taken some fire damage of his own, albeit not to the same extreme. Joshua was... gone. Ravak didn't see the flash of a Gateway, but he didn't need to. Even though the Gaidin Captain couldn't smell his own scorched flesh, he could detect the strong odour of violence emanating off of Joshua. There was a small crowd of trainees that had followed the three of them. Even as Ravak forced his legs to move towards the crowd, something unseen hit into two of them. The shimmering form of the guilty Dedicated appeared before he vanished from sight yet again.

A bloody hand gripped around the green leather hilt of Ravak's heron-marked longsword. Pulling it free and holding it aloft, the Blademaster charged towards the crowd. Towards Joshua. "On me!" he bellowed, pulling in the other trainees into his war charge. None of them were a soldier or Dedicated, but if he could pull apart Joshua's web of invisibility, he would have a small army at his back to aid him.

[Bella]

[subtitle]Miahala Sha'hal Sedai[/subtitle]
It was still within that period where Miahala was getting used to having a bond again, that sense of sensation in her mind she knew to not wholly be her own. It could be difficult, at times, to divest one from the other, though she was well familiar with it and it did tend to come back quickly. It just took a little getting used to.

Normally, it was...fairly normal, blase even. Today, what she sensed was...unusual. Maybe a little concerning, although not enough to bring her from her office, until...

Fire.

She had not been bonded to Caden Ives at the time he was burned. At that time, he had been bonded to the then-Amyrlin seat, Mia's near-sister Lelianna. However, the man had woken from enough nightmares of that moment--suffered pain from it even years later--that she knew the feeling all the same.

This was, of course, far more...intense and she clenched her teeth to keep from screaming out herself.

Her head jerked up from what she had been working on and zeroed in on where she knew her bond-mate to be. She wasn't skilled, at all, in making Gateways, but she was strong enough and, well, old enough to know...enough. She tore open a small Gateway from her office, just enough for her to end up in the Warder Yards. A place she knew all too well.

Nothing would stand in her way. Ravak needed her. What in the Light could have happened to burn him, she had no idea, but it didn't matter.

She ended up on the other side of the fracas, having been unable to go to precisely where he was at but it was close enough. She could see a flickering figure, her near-charred bond-mate, and the small horde he was trying to gather. She could barely put it all together, just what she was seeing, but she knew enough.

Saidar poured into her in a torrent of anger and suddenly the entire area was trapped within a wall of Air. The shimmering, Illusion-clad man who had been fleeing ran straight into it and, surprised, fell back and lost the weave. She knew from the bond that this was the man who had somehow caused the problem, and all her power rained on his.

With Air and Spirit, he was shielded and driven into the dirt. "Stay," she hissed with venom. He had no hope of breaking free of her and hopefully would know how lucky he was that he was not being immolated himself just then, as Mia rank to Ravak.

Desperation threaded beneath it all as she reached it and felt the pain of the burns he had. "I can't leave you alone for a moment, can I?" she whispered, taking his face in her hands and dividing her concentration and Saidar. The weaves holding the fiend at bay remained, while she dropped a Delving and then Healing weave over Ravak and watched the burned muscle and flesh knit together...

[Andy]

The man was crazy! That was the thought that ran through his mind right up until the moment he had been hit by whatever the fire thing had been. The pain had been unbearable though the adrenaline had given him the impetus and energy to try to deal with it. Survival was over-riding his own sense of safety and his hands were burning as they tried to put out the danger. At least he had had his arms up, otherwise he might have had a face full of it. As it was it had done enough damage to his arms and parts of his torso. The fact that he had ended up on the ground was a blessing as his mind took over enough to get him to roll as he ripped at his jerkin. "Argh!" was all he managed to say, long and loud, as he did so. It took longer than he liked and the smell of burnt flesh make him want to throw up just as much as the pain. He managed to get to his knees, the one knee, his jerkin gone and his injuries quite visible. They had stopped burning now but screamed at him angrily. He really hoped that they could be healed at least enough to be usable again. He thought he had himself under control until he saw Ravak's body. That was when he threw up, to the side and stood up spitting. By then the charge order had rung out and Alrim wondered what in the Light kept the man going. Was he part Dragon to match his shiny arm paintings?! He gathered what little of his strength he could and pushed himself up to stumble after the Gaidin, only to see a shining light appear and wondered what they were going to have to deal with this time. He breathed a sigh of relief and fell to his knees as something surrounded them, keeping everyone else out. They hammered upon it he noted, until the woman stepped through and then they stepped back. Oh good...our side his mind told him as he winced with his movements and tried to keep as still as was possible. He watched her approach Ravak after hissing at what he presumed was the Dedicated. He blinked and watched the Gaidin's skin start to return back to its old self. He sighed, a bit of hope. "Uh...co-could I be next? Please?" he asked quietly, none of his usual merriment left in him now.

[Craig]

Ravak

Fury built within him like a raging furnace. Even as Mia appeared through a Gateway, even when the man reappeared and was sent sprawling from his bondmate's administration, Ravak still wanted to tear into him. The bond seemed to crackle with their rebounding wrath. Fortunately exhaustion and a draining of adrenaline stopped him from doing anything foolhardy.

The other thing that stopped him was Miahala herself. Her voice alone, so tender and caring, put a pause to any would-be violence. He couldn't earnestly smile thanks to the intense pain, but his grey-blue eyes softened. Then there was a heat and a cold so extreme that he went blind for a moment. Fire ran through his veins, freezing his blood. Ice coated his body, burning him alive. Time ceased to be a concept as the One Power ran through him.

When the Healing weave faded - once his mind could again recall the experience - he found that he had sunk to his knees. His hands rested on the grass, keeping his upper torso from falling to the ground. With a struggle - and it was a struggle - the Gaidin Captain got back onto weak and shaky legs.

The onlookers had grown in number. Amongst them were the faces of his peers. Rav waved a weak hand towards Joshua. "Clap him in irons and take him to the dungeons. Someone summon the Hall for a judgement." Two sentences and he again stumbled, only on to one knee this time. Both hands rested on his thigh. "Assistance to the Infirmary or my quarters would also be appreciated."

[Bella]

Once she was assured that his wounds were healed, Mia let go of the wall of Air that blockaded everyone. As far as she could tell, she had the culprit settled and on the ground. Someone would come take him, using their own Shield and restraints, and that would be that. She turned sharply to two of those standing by.

"You and you," she commanded, and they jumped. No one would ignore Miahala's commands. "You will take him the infirmary and make sure they give him food and water and rest, and watch over him till I'm there."

"Yes, Aes Sedai," they both mumbled quickly, hurrying over to Ravak's sides.

"Rest easy," she said, this time her voice much softer and for his ears. "I'll be along shortly."

When they had him moving, she turned to see the young trainee who was also obviously affected by whatever flames that wretched Dedicated had set on them. What in the Light had happened here?! She moved closer to him, but did not touch him the way she had with Ravak, of course.

She dropped the Delving weave upon him, finding the same sorts of burns that she'd seen on Ravak, and then wove a Healing. "Be at ease, young man," she said in a low, but gentle voice. When his wounds were healed as well, she nodded to yet one more bystander. "See him to the infirmary as well," she ordered. "Tell them I'll be along once the prisoner is taken away."

[Craig]

Ravak

The Gaidin Captain moved across the field back towards the Grey Tower, supported by the two Ji'val Mia had picked out from the crowd. He tried to avoid focusing on anything beyond placing one boot after the other; a challenge that grew easier as the immediate aftereffects of his Healing faded. Weariness was replaced by a ravenous hunger but he knew better than to divert the Ji'val towards the Mess Hall. He'd been through the ringer enough times by now to know that his next day or two would be spent in bed.

A fine thing for the Gaidin Captain to get the best taken from him by a bloody Dedicated. For thievery no less. Ravak had faced down Darkfriends and slain them on the spot, and most of them had put up less of a fight than Joshua just had. There was a mirthless chuckle that drew out confused looks from the two Ji'val. It was a good, albeit undesired, reminder that there were enemies both outside of the Tower as well as within its walls. Not that Joshua was a Darkfriend. Unless he is? His reaction was extreme.

Ravak directed his attention towards his left-hand side. "Talak, as soon as you're done taking me to the Yellows, I have another task for you."

"By all means, Captain," the auburn-haired Kandori replied.

"Find either Astoria Sedai or Doran Asha'man for me, ideally the former. Go direct to their rooms rather than asking around, and say that I request their counsel in the Infirmary."

"Of course, Gaidin Captain."

"Good lad."