Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

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Welcome to the Gardens: one of the most tranquil areas of the Tower Grounds. Birds sing in the trees which line the wide paths between beautiful flower beds and serene lakes. There are benches to sit and listen to the waterfall, and there is neatly trimmed grass to lie on and rest. Novices and Soldiers as well as Warders in Training can be seen, sweeping the stone paths as Accepted and Dedicated study from books and relax under leafy trees.
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Craig
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Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Craig » March 3rd, 2017, 9:58 pm

Ravak Darrow, Gaidin Captain
Recent mornings had brought out a new lease of life for the Gaidin Captain. He was now a fixture in the Training Yards prior to dawn, making use of the extra hours he could spend awake now. There was a focus to his training now as he used advanced sword forms against larger practice dummies. His mind was wrapped in the ko'di but he imagined the Trollocs and other Shadowspawn he would have to face. They were an inevitable part of his future existence, not that it made him frightened. Far from it. Knowing that he was a direct part of the fight against the Shadow tapped into his youngest aspirations.

After his morning training ritual, he returned to his office of the Gaidin Captain on the west side of the Warder Hall. Snowflake rested behind his chair, doing her best to absorb all of the heat from the fireplace. Rav lolled back, scratching the husky with one hand whilst writing politely worded letters with the other. His temperament had also improved with recent events, which probably meant that nobles were feeling less abused all across the nations.

Just before lunch, he gave himself a break from playing nice. He left Snowflake behind, as she was more than content with her duties as a white fluffy rug.

The Gardens called out to Ravak. It certainly had nothing to do with the Green Ajah Hall being on the route, and he definitely didn't have a detour to see the Captain-General. Even if he had, the Gaidin Captain and the Captain-General probably had plenty of work-related discussions to talk about.

Probably.

After his brief diversion, Ravak found himself a bench by the lakeside. There was just a touch of shade, enough to keep the light off from his book. He had a lot to learn about the Battle Ajah, but quizzing Miahala twenty-four ten was not the way to go about it, assuming he wanted his bondmate to be in a good mood. Thus a book on the Ajah in the peace of the Gardens.
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Cat
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Cat » March 5th, 2017, 2:30 pm

Johan
Life, he thought, should have gotten easier upon becoming Ji’val. He’d achieved something, actually proven himself, shown himself that there was a high chance that he could do this, but it certainly didn’t feel any easier or better. The test had only made things worse. Oh, he’d passed it, but he actually wasn’t sure he was ready or prepared to make those sort of sacrifices that he had during the arch. Was he really so willing to give life to save the life of an Aes Sedai or Asha’man, and everything else he stood for?

Johan knew he didn’t want to serve someone who would demand that kind of thing from him. Not that he even knew why he was contemplating the whole thing in the first; he still had no intention of becoming a Warder, but it was harder to be here knowing that he was surrounded by people with the view that sacrificing his life for his own family wasn’t enough of a sacrifice, but giving everything up in order to follow an Aes Sedai was. Who got to judge? Who got to decide? Yes, channelers were important, but were they really that important?

For once, he had some free time, and so he found himself in the Gardens. He had no idea what he was doing here, but it was one of the more peaceful parts of the Tower. He could have headed for the Warder Yards, but sometimes there was such a thing as too much training. Sometimes he simply needed a break.

He kept on wandering until he saw someone he had been avoiding. He wasn’t avoiding the man because of who he was – the Gaidin Captain -, but more because of who his daughter was. The memory of that day in the snow was still fresh in his mind, and the fall out after. You didn’t nearly die every day, after all.

He froze, sure that he’d been spotted, and quickly sketched a bow. “Gaidin Captain.”
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Craig
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Craig » March 9th, 2017, 12:37 am

Ravak
Ravak placed a finger in his book as he looked across at the Altaran. Well someone's nervous. He had years of honing his fatherly intuition to know when something was amiss. Rav tried to scour his brain for an issue that would link him to Johan and came up blank. The last time they had any sort of interaction was when the new Ji'val was raised. Since then, well, a lot of things had happened. Just nothing that immediately sprung to mind.

Rav slid a few inches across the bench and gestured to the empty space beside him. "You want to sit and talk?" he asked. Without any more context, he didn't know how best to approach this situation. The frowns of yesteryear had vanished with the Green sister -- his Aes Sedai -- having taken up residence in his head. Now he smiled faintly, unsure if that was goading a reaction or not. "How's life treating you, Ji'val?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Cat
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Cat » March 13th, 2017, 10:25 pm

Johan
Sitting and talking was the last thing that Johan wanted to do. Disappearing was a far more appealing idea, but unfortunately he couldn’t channel, so making a gateway was out of the question. He stood there, completely frozen, wondering what he was going to say. He didn’t know how much the Gaidin Captain knew, but he had to know something. Johan hadn’t just wound up in the infirmary all by himself, and Novices, he knew, weren’t supposed to leave the Tower.

The smile had to be a trick, a way to lure him into a false sense of security before the other pounced. Ravak had to know what had happened. There was no way he couldn’t.

“I don’t think Kaira meant to go to Hama Valon,” he said quickly, the words a rush, knowing even as he said them that they made no sense. How could you leave the Tower by accident? “Please don’t punish her too harshly.”
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Craig
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Craig » March 14th, 2017, 12:36 pm

Spoiler: show
OOC: Probably important to note this is post-MRP, specifically pointing to this post for context.
Ravak
Ravak tilted his head in a fashion reminiscent of his older sister. "Kaira?" Why was Johan raising an issue about his daughter? She'd been out in Hama Valon during the latest attack on the city, but he already knew that. He still didn't know what was up with that little foray beyond the walls, but punishment for novices lay with the Mistress of Novices and not with the Gaidin Captain, surname and familial ties be damned.

The Gaidin's storm grey eyes narrowed. What was Johan doing asking after Kaira? How did any of this affect him?

Miahala suddenly seemed to nudge at the edge of his awareness, and things clicked into place.

"Take a seat." Ravak phrased it as a command instead of an offer this time. "And tell me why what happened between myself, Kaira and Varistan Sedai interests you so much?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Cat
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Cat » March 14th, 2017, 3:00 pm

Johan
Johan didn’t move to take a seat, but instead remained where he was. He wasn’t the type to just happily go along to his death, and he knew that sitting down would certainly be signing his own death warrant. It reduced the chances of escape. Maybe he should have kept silent, but pretending you didn’t know something when you clearly did was another way to get yourself in even more trouble. It was better to always try and be honest.

“Varistan Sedai?” He couldn’t keep the confusion from his voice. He’d never heard of Varistan Sedai, and he certainly didn’t know what had happened between her, the Gaidin Captain, and Kaira. “I’m talking about a month or so back… When there was that storm. I found her in the city and I did all I could to bring her back. I just don’t think she should be punished for it.” He swallowed. “I…I thought you knew.”
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Craig
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Craig » March 14th, 2017, 3:10 pm

Ravak
The set of Ravak's brow shifted. He had yet to decide whether it was to the improvement or the detriment of the Ji'val. "A month or so?" Rav had to scroll back through his memories to recall the storm. It was no longer the sort of thing that specifically stood out, saying he didn't have the Master of Training's duties to reassign all of the classes to indoor rooms.

He scratched at the side of his beard. "I didn't know," Rav said simply. He wasn't exactly talking with Kaira at the moment, not since his other daughter had arrived on the scene. Other daughter: that was still an odd thought. "Sit down," Rav repeated as he thought for what else to say.

There was a storm and Kaira went into it? The hell has got into her. Truth be told, Ravak had little idea what was going on in the mind of his wayward daughter any more. It was almost a relief that she was no longer until his roof, but it gnawed on his conscience that things were going so poorly for Kaira.

But still, she was his daughter.

Ravak's tone turned both inquisitive and worried. "Why are you concerned about how she is punished? Has something... happened to her?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Cat
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Cat » March 14th, 2017, 3:28 pm

Johan
Still not moving, Johan was slowly coming to the realisation that Ravak Gaidin really had no idea what his daughter had been up to, and that he wasn’t feigning ignorance just to trap him. It was just that Johan had thought, what with him ending up in the infirmary as a result, it was something that would have reached the ears of those in charge. Apparently not. He wished, suddenly, that the ground would do him a favour and open up beneath him.

He took a breath, wondering what he should say, how exactly he was going to get out of this. It looked like he really had put his foot in it, and there was probably no escaping now.

“I ended up in the infirmary after, and I didn’t… I mean, so I didn’t see what happened after.” Again, the words came out as a rush, his Rahad accent becoming that bit thicker. “I thought you’d have been told, and I just…” really thought you knew. He took another breath. “She’s fine. I just... she saved my life, so…” so… He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. “It was a good thing she was in Hama Valon.”

…Although he would have been fine, much better off, had he not ran into her there.
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Craig » March 14th, 2017, 3:37 pm

Ravak
Eh? That was the summation of Rav's thoughts and feelings at the present. This conversation was going to all eight corners of the world without making a lick of sense.

Ravak placed the book down on the bench beside himself to order to give this his full attention. "So what you are saying is that you're alright and Kaira's alright?" He bore a quizzical frown. "So then everything is alright, right?"

He really didn't understand the concern now. Oh, there would need to be words had between himself and Kaira, even if it was just a one-way conversation. But on this, two learning ranks went into Hama Valon when one wasn't meant to, and two learning ranks returned no worse for wear? It didn't seem like the sort of thing he needed to know about, aside from you-know-who's involvement.

It was a challenge not to look annoyed, and he wasn't really. If his tone was a little forced, that was just due to the Ji'val's erraticness rubbing off on him. "What is it you're not telling me?"
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Elan wrote:Of course, the problems with observing a chain of command arise when the one in command decides to do something unspeakably idiotic, like taking off on his own for no discernible reason in the middle of enemy territory.

Cat
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Posts: 374
Joined: November 2nd, 2016, 8:22 pm
PC: Johan Albaer
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Re: Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over.) [Attn: Cat]

Post by Cat » March 14th, 2017, 10:36 pm

Johan
What was he not saying? Oh, everything and nothing. The main thing was that he had come into this expecting the other man to already know all the details, but apparently he didn’t, and that made things even more complicated; that made it increasingly clear that he had well and truly gone and put his foot it. Again, Johan found himself wishing that the floor would open up beneath him and swallow him whole so that he could disappear.

“We…” he started and then stopped, trying to find the words and completely failing. His hands clenched into fists as he wrestled with the idea of simply turning and running away. “There was the storm… It was really bad, and we took shelter in an inn, but there was something wrong with the air, and then we were attacked…” He’d almost died, had been moments away from it, poisoned by whatever had killed the innkeepers, but he didn’t think that bit would be of interest to Ravak. His hands clenched and unclenched again, and he took another breath. “I managed to fight them off, and then she got me to the infirmary. I really thought you knew. The Aes Sedai knew, and… I just…”

Just what-? And again he trailed of, running out of words.
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