Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Hama Valon, the city around the Grey Tower.
Forum rules
Welcome to Hama Valon! The aptly named 'mountain guard' is the city that has grown up at the gates of the Grey Tower at the western edge of the Two Rivers. Like all cities, there are quiet quarters with pleasant inns, such as Elman's Creek, which used to be the nearest village when the Tower was young, but was absorbed as the new city grew; its Band of Brothers Inn is still a favorite relaxation spot for many of the Tower's denizens. And again, like all cities the world over, there are less pleasant places--narrow, nameless streets that house hells and other houses of ill repute. Most of the city falls somewhere in between, with hawkers crying their wares in the streets, respectable shopkeepers ready to serve you, and petty cutpurses happy to follow you.

Novices, Soldiers, and drin'far'ji must be accompanied by a chaperon when outside Tower walls or they risk being picked up as runaways and duly punished.
Elan
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 450
Joined: December 6th, 2016, 10:29 am
PC: Jaren Marle, Asha'man
SC: Mael Akashi, Asha'man
TC: Delaine Taborwin, Novice
QC: Valentin Akashi, Soldier
Location: Finland
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Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Elan » March 8th, 2017, 10:05 pm

Jaren Marle, Human Disaster
Jaren didn’t stop on the way from the classroom to the Soldiers’ quarters. The lesson had been a disaster. If he couldn’t learn to Heal… No. He shut the door on that thought, slammed it shut as hard as it was possible to slam a metaphorical door. He’d nearly fallen apart in the classroom already, he didn’t need to repeat the episode here in the hallway. Soldiers scurried out of his way, probably alarmed by the look on his face but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He just wanted to get to his room and—

It was then that it occurred to him, his hand already on the door handle, that there was another reason for the Soldiers’ reaction. He was no longer one of them. Another realisation followed: this was no longer his room. Unfortunately, the realisation didn’t arrive in time. The door opened, letting him into the room he’d only a short time ago shared with Marten.

Even more unfortunately, Marten was there. “What the bloody…” The Soldier looked up from something he was writing. An incredulous smirk spread across his face. “Well, now. Didn’t expect to see you here again, Marle. Missed me?”

Jaren stared for a moment. Then, against all common sense — or uncommon for that matter — he heard himself say, “I’m confiscating your wine.”

The smirk turned into outrage and confusion. “What—”

“I know you’ve got some,” Jaren said, entering the room and letting the door close behind him. “I don’t care how you keep getting it, but you can either give it to me now or to the Master of Soldiers. Your choice.” The Master of Soldiers. That was Jaryd, now. Light, if Marten chose that option and told him what Jaren had tried to do…

The younger man barked a laugh. “So that’s how it’s gonna be, is it?” But he went to the drawer and pulled out a bottle. “You can go to the city now, surely you don’t need me to traffic booze for you?”

Jaren stared at the bottle for a while. He knew this was a bad idea, potentially the worst idea he’d ever had. He could pull rank over Marten, but if he drank the wine, Marten would always have that to hold over his head. Right now he didn’t care. He grabbed the bottle and took a long pull… and made a face. “This is horrible. Where do you get this stuff?”

“I thought you didn’t want to know,” the Soldier said. “And you can give it back if it’s not good enough for your royal ass.” Disgusted both with himself and the excuse of a vintage, Jaren handed the bottle back to its dubiously rightful owner. As he turned towards the door, he heard Marten call out after him, “You’re a disaster, Marle, you know that right.”

Jaren honestly wasn’t sure he could argue against that.
Somehow, instead of heading to his room — the correct one, in the Dedicated’s quarters — he found himself wandering the Tower grounds. What good was he if he couldn’t Heal? No, there had to be something else. He needed a distraction… And it was moments like these that he realised that he didn’t exactly have many friends in the Tower. Well, at least friends he could just drop in on like this. Nasrin was a Novice, he couldn’t just barge into the Novice quarters unannounced. Tristram had seemed like he might have been a potential friend, but the ball had ended on a confusing note and he’d not had a chance to talk to the other man again before the test, and after… it hadn’t seemed like such a good idea.

Light, what had that second Arch even been about? Well, it was not as though he could exactly talk about it with Tristram, so the best course of action was to try to forget about it.

It was without a conscious decision that he finally found himself drawn towards the Warder Yards, but once he realised where he was headed, he also realised that there was someone he might perhaps talk to. Or, if not talk, someone who might perhaps agree to beat him up with a practice sword or something equally entertaining. Light only knew what Johan thought of him — or what Johan considered friendship — but the Ji’val had been friendly enough before.

And Jaren had promised to teach him to dance.

Shoving aside thoughts of whether this was a good night to be dancing — or even thinking of dancing — Jaren headed straight towards the familiar figure at the edge of the training yard and halted at a respectful distance. “Hello, Johan.” He gave a little wave, dredged up a semblance of a smile. Never stop smiling. “It occurs to me that I promised to teach you to dance,” he went on. “Are you busy or could I persuade you to join me for a drink out in the city?”
Spoiler: show
For context, I'm placing this after Lesson Two here, timeline-wise~

Cat
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 374
Joined: November 2nd, 2016, 8:22 pm
PC: Johan Albaer
SC: Tristram Baryn

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Cat » March 9th, 2017, 12:17 pm

Johan Albaer
See no Evil Dancing, hear no Evil Dancing, speak no Evil Dancing.
“Are you sure you should be here?”

“Probably not, but when have I ever let that sort of thing stop me?”

The other man lay on his back on the bench, hands resting on his stomach, eyes closed. A casual glance and you’d think he was sleeping. His name was Tristram Baryn, and he was certainly a weird one. Apparently he was a lord of some Andoran House, but Johan wasn’t so sure he believed it. A lord wouldn’t spare time for someone of his standing, but they’d managed to strike up an odd kind of friendship of sorts. Johan had been doing his usual wandering around the Tower, unable to sleep, and he’d come across the other man singing on the roof of one of the garden sheds. Singing. They’d sworn not to tell on each other, and then had just started talking.

Somewhere along the line, Tristram had also started to help him with his reading. And with reading becoming easier, classes were becoming less frustrating. He didn’t struggle so much, and wasn’t spending the time constantly worrying that someone important would find his secret out. His handwriting was still awful, but at least he could follow what was going on that bit easier. He’d been close to admitting that he couldn’t see the board, but that would have meant a trip to the Infirmary, and there they would have learnt his lies, and then the secret would have been out. He was determined not to let anyone think that he was stupid. He knew he wasn’t, but that didn’t stop him feeling like he was, especially in the eyes of others.

“… so what do you think?” There was a pause, and Tristram sat up. “Are you even listening?”

Johan blinked and gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry.” He was perched on the edge of the bench (after kicking Tristram’s feet out of the way), watching the other Warder students as they practiced. He’d been here for hours himself, and he’d finally decided on a break, and not just because he’d spotted Tristram lurking around the edges of the yard. He didn’t want to spend his entire time practicing; he worried that it he did that he’d burn himself out or injure himself in such a way that even the Yellows wouldn’t be able to Heal him, and then everything would be over.

Tristram shook his head. “I know I like the sound of my own voice, but not enough to keep talking to myself, but, as I was saying, there’s always a job back in Andor if you’d like it. That’s if you don’t mind my mother trying to, well, mother you and fatten you up. You are pretty thin. But.” The man stopped grinning, his expression turning serious even as he stood, gathering the books that had, until now, lay strewn about haphazardly on the floor. Johan had read the cover of one, A History of the Blue Ajah, and immediately lost interest. “A Warder trained guard would be an asset to any house,” Tristram continued. “Think about it, yeah, and let me know what you think? But right now I must be off.”

The Andoran didn’t even wait for him to respond, but left with a final wave, and Johan remained sitting where he was, contemplating the words. It was the kind of thing he had hoped to hear; that there would be something available for him once he finished his training, but it didn’t feel as good or exciting as he would have thought it would. In fact, he felt almost guilty even thinking about it. Could he really just abandon the Tower like that? Thanks for all your help, but goodbye-?

He continued to think about it for a while longer, for well over an hour, barely noticing those around him, trying to figure out what he should do, until a voice made him lift his head. Jaren. He hadn’t see the Soldier for a while, and he immediately grinned, though his grin dropped somewhat at the mention of dancing. He had hoped that Jaren would have forgotten all about that. His thought didn’t linger too much on it, though, as he noticed something.

“You’re Dedicated now?” He raised his eyebrows. “Congratulations! I… I definitely need to buy you a drink for that, so… so… sure. I’d love to.” He reached and grabbed his shirt, pulling it on as he stood and glanced at the other man. “Any preferences? Wine? Oosquai? Ale?” And then he stopped, hesitating. “I hope it wasn’t too bad for you.”

The Test, he meant, thinking of his own.
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Elan
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 450
Joined: December 6th, 2016, 10:29 am
PC: Jaren Marle, Asha'man
SC: Mael Akashi, Asha'man
TC: Delaine Taborwin, Novice
QC: Valentin Akashi, Soldier
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Elan » March 9th, 2017, 4:10 pm

Jaren
“I hope it wasn’t too bad for you.”

The words made Jaren freeze for a second. There was no doubt in his mind what the younger man was talking about. He did remember how they’d first met — well, outside classes, anyway. Maybe they don’t tell you what it is, because if you knew what you were facing, you’d run away. That’s what Johan had said, or something along those lines, an eternity and a half ago. And what if he had known? Would that have changed anything?

No, he would have still wanted to prove himself, he would have still failed them all — Erin, Tristram, Jaryd… even Johan, in a way. Johan had been his Warder, in the last Arch; was there an alternate world somewhere, a world in which Jaryd was dead and Johan had watched his bondmate vanish into thin air? Was there a world in which he’d gained Tristram’s trust, only to betray it? A world in which his sister had died in horrible pain instead of going to the White Tower?

Well, Jaren still wasn’t running. He fixed the smile back in place, a decent effort even if it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll live,” he said nonchalantly. “But I could really do with that drink. I really don’t care what. Well, maybe not oosquai, that stuff is horrible.” Another smile, a little more genuine. “Dancing will be optional, of course. I wouldn’t make you. But I’m not forgetting about it, either, so…” He shrugged. “Shall we?” With that he turned to exit the Warder Yards and head out to the city.

Cat
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 374
Joined: November 2nd, 2016, 8:22 pm
PC: Johan Albaer
SC: Tristram Baryn

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Cat » March 9th, 2017, 4:53 pm

Johan
Johan tried hard these days not to think too much about his own test, but there were still moments where it entered his thoughts, and he still found it hard to sleep. It was getting better, but he still wished he’d never taken the bloody thing. Still, still, and still, and it would still be still for a while longer. It hadn’t proven anything, the test, not really. He had simply done what he had had to; it didn’t make him any more honourable or any closer to being a Warder. As he looked at Jaren, noticing the way the other had reacted, he wondered if the test for becoming a Dedicated was similar. He wasn’t going to ask. It wasn’t his place.

He could definitely do drinks, though, although he actually didn’t drink. He preferred water to alcohol, but that wasn’t going to stop him buying one for Jaren. If the test had been anything like his own, then a drink really was needed. Maybe he’d let the other man teach him to dance, too, albeit only for one round. There was no way he was getting spun around more than he had to, but he could do one. For Jaren. Just.

Quickly returning his practice sword to the rack, Johan hurried back to catch up with the new Dedicated. He smiled. “Oosquai might be horrible, but I’ve heard a small amount of that is the same as drinking a bottle of wine.” He didn’t actually know, and he didn’t plan on finding out. He shrugged his shoulders as they left the Tower grounds. “Either way, you’ll definitely need something if you still want to teach me to dance. And bandages. For your feet. Maybe your head when I trip us over.”
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Elan
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 450
Joined: December 6th, 2016, 10:29 am
PC: Jaren Marle, Asha'man
SC: Mael Akashi, Asha'man
TC: Delaine Taborwin, Novice
QC: Valentin Akashi, Soldier
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Elan » March 9th, 2017, 5:56 pm

Jaren
Jaren actually chuckled at that. “Oh, I will,” he said, glancing at Johan as they walked side by side. “Teach you, that is. And I have faith in your footwork,” he added, deliberately using the term associated more with fighting than other kinds of dancing. Johan had been patient with him, had agreed to teach him to use the sword in the first place. He wasn’t about to forget that. And he had a feeling that after tonight, he’d owe the younger man another one; if Johan truly was going to attempt dancing just to humour him, just to offer a distraction when he needed one though Jaren had done nothing to deserve it…

Well, he wasn’t going to turn it down, but he did hope he could return the favour — in whatever form — some day.

“But please,” he went on with a slight grimace, “don’t ever let me hear you compare wine and oosquai like that again.” He flashed a quick smile to take the edge off the words. “Well. If you simply compare the drinks in terms of how efficiently one will get you drunk, then, maybe,” he said, shaking his head. “And if all you want to do is to get blind drunk, sure, oosquai is likely the fastest way. But you don’t drink wine just to get drunk. Maybe some of the cheap stuff—” like what Marten had found “—but not real wines. Trust me, I’m a professional.”

Cat
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 374
Joined: November 2nd, 2016, 8:22 pm
PC: Johan Albaer
SC: Tristram Baryn

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Cat » March 9th, 2017, 7:28 pm

Johan
The laugh was a sign, Johan hoped, that he could at least make Jaren feel somewhat better. Their first talk had definitely helped him, and he thought it only fair that he return the favour, even if that simply involved being something of a distraction. He needed his own distraction, too, whilst he mulled over just what he was going to do. He had time to make the decision, he knew, but he always liked to plan things ahead and know what direction he was actually going in.

He glanced back at the other man and just smiled, barely paying attention to their surroundings. Oh, he was alert, ready to react if need be, but he’d been to Hama Valon enough times to know how get there without having to put too much thought into where he was going. He was sure that he’d still be able to find the place even blindfolded. He’d done it a snowstorm, after all.

“If I confess something, you have to promise not kill me,” he said. “I’ll just have to trust your words about being a professional. I don’t drink. I’ve never drunk, and I don’t really intend on drinking. I think wine,” and he grinned, “is equally as disgusting as oosquai, if not more. I don’t know how you can like it! And I don’t even know what you mean by real wines.” He paused, grinned again. “Do they have real grapes in the instead of, I don’t know, grapes made from sawdust. I wouldn’t put that last one past half the traders in the Rahad. Chicken stew usually contained more rat.”
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Elan
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 450
Joined: December 6th, 2016, 10:29 am
PC: Jaren Marle, Asha'man
SC: Mael Akashi, Asha'man
TC: Delaine Taborwin, Novice
QC: Valentin Akashi, Soldier
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Elan » March 9th, 2017, 8:34 pm

Jaren
Jaren gasped, feigning indignation, and pressed a hand to his chest in a dramatic gesture. “Disgusting? This is blasphemy!” But he was smiling, feeling lighter than he had since the test. There was something… genuine, about Johan, that made it easy to like him despite the differences in their backgrounds. Jaren wondered how they’d ended up bonding, in the Arch’s world. He still didn’t think he’d ever want a Warder…

And he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about any of that tonight. The smile slipped, but he fixed it back on again. Never stop smiling.

“Honestly, though, I could go on about how you’ve just never tried a good vintage,” he continued, “but that sounds kind of patronising even to my own ears so I’ll just…” He grinned, the expression almost real. “Stuff my professional pride in a box and let you decide what you like and what you don’t. I mean, if you really wanted to know, the differences are in the wine-making process, the quality of grapes, or often in the ratio of higher quality grapes to lower quality, the age of a vintage, the material of the barrel it's stored in…” He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “But I’ll spare you all that.”

And if Johan wasn’t a drinker, that was probably for the best. Jaren couldn’t deny that a part of him wanted to get completely wasted, but if Johan wasn’t drinking, he’d probably resist the temptation as well. He didn’t want to make the younger man have to drag his drunken ass back to the Tower, after all.

“Are we going somewhere specific?” he asked then. “I’m afraid I don’t know many taverns out here…”

Cat
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 374
Joined: November 2nd, 2016, 8:22 pm
PC: Johan Albaer
SC: Tristram Baryn

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Cat » March 9th, 2017, 11:14 pm

Johan
Johan noticed the slip, but didn’t react. Instead, he kept on smiling and walking, never actually looking at Jaren for too long. He didn’t want to make the other man feel like he constantly had to be on his guard, or had to act like everything was all right when it wasn’t. He knew when to look away, to not pry. It was something he had learnt to do with his mother. She’d always tried to seem happy, but sometimes the mask would slip. He’d never asked, never let her know he’d seen; had just made sure that he was there. Oh, he still didn’t know Jaren all that well, but what did that matter?

It didn’t matter at all.

“Hm,” he said, the grin still there. He tried not to pause or to stutter too much, not wanting to let his usual awkwardness to get in the way; the worry that maybe he was wasting people’s time; the doubts that he wasn’t meant to be here. This wasn’t about that. “I don’t know. I think I’d ask you to continue being patronising. If I ever decide I can’t sleep, telling me all about wine will be a great way to send me off. Quality of grapes? Vintage? Barrels? You might as well be talking another language.

“And,” he looked ahead to where Hama Valon was getting ever closer, “I’ve heard the Red Lion is a good place to go. It serves Andoran wine, which, given you’re from Andor and an expert on wine, I’m going to assume is the best, although I still think oosquai would be better…”
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Elan
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 450
Joined: December 6th, 2016, 10:29 am
PC: Jaren Marle, Asha'man
SC: Mael Akashi, Asha'man
TC: Delaine Taborwin, Novice
QC: Valentin Akashi, Soldier
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Elan » March 10th, 2017, 7:07 pm

Jaren
Jaren shook his head with a lopsided half-smile. “No, I really don’t think oosquai is a good idea,” he said. “Even taste aside. Unless you want to have to carry me back to the Tower.” Maybe admitting that out loud wasn’t such a great idea; he didn’t want to alarm Johan unduly, after all. Jaren wouldn’t actually do that to him.

“And this Red Lion sounds great,” he added, with perhaps a touch too much enthusiasm. “Andoran wine… Maybe their supplier is somebody I know.” A thought occurred to him, making him snort. “I certainly hope my father hasn’t decided to branch out all the way here. That might be awkward.”

He lapsed into a silence, then, simply walking at Johan’s side, letting the Ji’val lead. It was a small thing, a practical thing, and his mind was probably reading more symbolism into it than it had any right to, but letting somebody else worry about the destination for a while was oddly soothing. After a while he glanced sideways at Johan again and smiled; the smile was small and tinged with melancholy, but genuinely appreciative. “And if you ever decide you can’t sleep—” You’ll be in good company. “—I’ll be more than happy to talk you to sleep. I’m pretty sure I have a Talent for talking pointless crap.”

Cat
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 374
Joined: November 2nd, 2016, 8:22 pm
PC: Johan Albaer
SC: Tristram Baryn

Re: Just Smile and Dance [attn: Cat/Johan~]

Post by Cat » March 11th, 2017, 4:25 pm

Johan
Soon enough, they reached the edge of Hama Valon, and Johan led the way, cutting through alleys and side-streets because it was quicker than trying to negotiate their way through the main streets where they’d have to dodge countless carts, people, and stalls. He knew roughly where the Red Lion was, and thankfully he had fairly decent memory when it came to remembering directions and layouts. It was one of those things that he’d found invaluable as a thief… not that he was one anymore, and he assumed, since Jaren was letting him, that it was fine for him to lead.

He glanced sideways at the other man, though not for long, and just smiled. If Jaren wanted to talk to him, he would, and until then Johan really wasn’t going to pry.

“I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to carrying you,” he said instead. “It’d give me extra points and practice for when,” if, he added silently, “I’m a Gaidin. I’ll be carrying you out of a dangerous situation, and the Tower is bound to appreciate that. From what I’ve heard, it’s what Warders often have to do. I assume you won’t be willingly to leave, so… even more practice.” He grinned, still guiding them through the streets, and then he sobered, shaking his head. “But I wouldn’t say, either, that you have a Talent for talking pointless crap. I enjoy talking to you, and you gave me a lot to think about the first time.”
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