[Fanfic] Birthday Girl (attn: Roan)

The everyday life of the inhabitants of the Grey Tower. This board is for general daily roleplay around the Tower, in the corridors, rooms and halls that make up most of the building.
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Sunny
"Knife of Dreams"
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Joined: July 18th, 2014, 3:23 am
PC: Jaryd Kosari
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[Fanfic] Birthday Girl (attn: Roan)

Post by Sunny » July 26th, 2017, 6:23 am

Jesi
Day followed day, week followed week. Jesi studied ter’angreal, she studied history and maths and law, she did her chores. She wrote essays and did sums and tutored newer novices. She assisted Tia and Jaryd with paperwork, ran errands for Aes Sedai, and consistently forgot to bring Suzika her tea.

She made new friends and enemies, then befriended the enemies and estranged the friends, only to start all over again. She pulled pranks -smarter ones- and laughed when they could not be traced back to her. She read romance novels by the dozen and even tried her hand at writing her own, which she passed around to the other novices to the great amusement of all.

She crept out to meet Paks whenever possible. She learned to Heal so she could soothe the bumps and bruises the other woman suffered from her training. They laughed and joked and made plans to escape only to decide they were ridiculous and make new ones. She saw a question in the other woman’s eyes sometimes, a flash of curiosity accompanied by a sense of breathless anticipation. She didn’t answer. Not with words.

Somewhere along the way, she realized that gilded cage or not, life at the Tower had somehow become tolerable.

-

A gray Drin cloak lay atop two women in the Gardens. Rain dripped through the trees above, landing on the cover with noticeable plopping sounds. Beneath the woolen barricade Paks’ arms encircled Jesi’s shoulders firmly, the Drin’s lips pressed against her hairline even in sleep. The Mayener smelled of sweat and flowers and musk; Jesi wanted nothing more than to bury her head against the woman’s bare chest and forget everything. Was it such a crime to allow that perfect moment of peace to continue just a little longer?

Unfortunately, she could hear birds chirping and the distant sound of human industry. The gardeners would be up and about soon and if they were caught in their current state, both of them would suffer for it. She mumbled something incomprehensible even to herself, then tipped her face up to brush Paks’ lips with her own. “Good morning sleepyhead,” she said with a grin.

The Dark One himself couldn’t meet the levels of mischief in the other woman’s dark eyes as she yanked Jesi closer. “C’mere, birthday girl.”

Later, as cool air blew over sweaty skin and rain dappled limbs extruding from the twisted and damp cloak, Jesi shifted until she lay belly down on top of the Drin. She cupped Paks’s face with gentle fingers as she looked down at her, studying her face with serious blue eyes. “What is it?” Paks looked worried, but Jesi laughed softly, smoothing the frown away with gentle fingers. Then she let the words she had wanted to say for two years slip out of her mouth.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

-

“Happy birthday to me,” Jesi murmured later that day, peering out the window at the gray sky as she nibbled on a honeycake she had stolen from the Kitchens. Thirty-five. It felt like such an arbitrary number now. No one ever talked about the psychological impact of being treated like a child when old enough to have children of one’s own. It felt like she knew enough on the subject to write a five volume thesis.

“It’s your birthday?”

Jesi nearly levitated out of her boots as she spun toward the speaker. The girl who faced her had milky skin well-dusted with freckles, a broad face, wide-set blue eyes, and red hair pulled into two long braids. She was shorter than Jesi, but held herself in a way that seemed to indicate former authority despite her obvious youth.

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Jesi said, once she had regained her composure. “It’s easy to forget in the Tower, but every so often I catch it the day of.” Paks had helped with that this year...in more ways than one. She could not quite stop the smile that spread across her face as she remembered the rest of their morning.

“I can’t imagine not remembering my birthday,” the stranger said thoughtfully. She crossed her hands at her waist. “It’s such an important day. Not because I’m terribly important in the grander scheme, you understand, but because it seems like it will be very easy to forget who I am here, and my birthday is something that is indelibly mine. Forever.”

The Mayener blinked, her mind slowly working through the unexpected speech. “So you remember your birthday because it helps you hold onto yourself?” She asked, curious despite herself.

The other novice nodded. “I mean...I’ve only been here a few weeks, so who knows if it will work, right?”

Jesi shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Jocelynn Hellaine of Amadicia. And you’re Jesinne Molari.” Jesi blinked again and Jocelynn laughed. “Tia Sedai sent me to find you. She said for you to meet her in the central hall of the Tower proper.”

“Well that’s not ominous at all,” Jesi commented, her tone profoundly dry.

“That was all she said, I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t think you would purposely keep things from me for the laughs,” Jesi replied with a smile. She reached into her belt purse and retrieved a second honeycake, wrapped in a napkin and still warm. “You’re right, it’s easy to forget who you are. Thank you.” Jocelynn smiled brightly as she accepted the gift, then hurried off, her braids bouncing with each step.

The journey to the Tower dragged. The rain that had seemed romantic that morning now just felt damp and dreary, and her slippers squished into mud with every step. When she finally arrived at the antechamber to face the Mistress of Novices she felt like nothing so much as a bedraggled, angry, kitten crawling in out of the rain.

Tia was talking to someone Jesi did not recognize when she arrived; muttering a vague imprecation the novice settled onto a bench to wait. Sitting still like that reminded her she was exhausted, and it soon took far too much effort to keep her eyes from drifting shut.

Finally the Green turned to face her, and something about her demeanor brought Jesi to her feet in a second. “Jesinne Molari,” the Aes Sedai said in an oddly formal tone. “You are summoned.”
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False alarm- there's still a song for me; I'm just about around to sing it
There's still a chance for me...and I'm still here singing.

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meble kuchenne na wymiar cennik

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