A Meeting (Attn: Avyra)

[Paradoxical]

Lanian was wandering down the hall's of the Tower bored. He had little to do. It was free time right now and he had already completed what little homework he had been assigned. It hadn't even been difficult homework let along time consuming. Now all he had to do was wander. He supposed he could read but their was nothing particularly interesting to read. There might be something in the Library he supposed. He was walking in that general direction anyway so he might as well drop in.

The corridors he was passing through right now were like any other in the Tower, plain but functional. He continued to walk, lost in thought. If he had still been in Andor then he would simply gone to the pub and got drunk, unfortunately Soldiers weren't allowed to leave the Tower grounds so he couldn't go to a pub in the city and their was little alcohol on the grounds. What little there alcohol their was usually was kept in the kitchen and guarded by the cooks. He'd tried once to get some but had been chased away and warned that if he came back then they would tell the Master of Soldiers. Not something a sane person wanted, regardless of how in need of a drink they were.

Dice would usually have been his other option of entertainment but nobody here seemed to want to play, they were all caught up in their studies and didn't seem to have time to gamble, it was a shame really.

[Avyra]

Avyra was busy rushing around the Tower, mainly to the library. She had been collecting books on battleweaves for her and Seonin to study, and she was currently returning a few of them, staggering a bit under their weight. The tiny Novice couldn't see over them, so she just hoped anyone in front of her could take the hint and get out of the way. She was obviously struggling to carry them, but had turned down a few offerings to help her carry them. She wasn't weak enough that she needed help with books. Suddenly, she slammed into something solid, almost losing her balance as all the books scattered everywhere. Ah heck. It took her a moment to catch her bearings, but once she did, she looked to face her block. And had to look up. And up. The Soldier she had tried to run over was not only taller than Terric, but also broadshouldered and powerfully built. Avyra's shoulders barely reached his hips. She shrank for a moment, craning her head up as she muttered, "Why is everyone here so bloody tall." Then she sighed. "Please don't get in front of me; I couldn't see over those books I was carrying." That were, now, all over the floor.

[Paradoxical]

Lanian looked down from his height to stare at the tiny Novice who he had ran into, or had she ran into him. He had been so lost in thought that he had barely noticed where he was going. That meant it had probably been his fault although judging by the number of books that were lying around she probably hadn't been able to see him either. A mixture of their faults then.

He bend down and started to pick up the various books which scattered around them. He felt slightly bad about it but it was in part her own fault for trying to carry so many books. Not that he said that out loud of course. Telling a women something was her fault was like asking the executioner to swing his axe an hour early. Stupid.

"Sorry about that. I was lost in though." He said as he gathered up a pair of books both of which appeared to be on battle weaves.

"Do you want help to take these where you were going. It's going to be difficult to get their if you can't see where you are going." He offered. He was also slightly intrigued to see why this girl needed to so many different books on battle weaves.

[Avyra]

He started to help pick up the books, and she resisted the urge to snap at him. He seemed nice enough, but she didn't want help. She was just having a very bad time, it seemed.

Avyra picked up the remaining books, sighing. "Fine. I'm taking them to the library to return."

In truth, she did feel a little bad for running right into him, and then snapping. She didn't mean anything by her words. "I'm sorry. Just really stressed." She paused, standing up on her toes so he wouldn't have to reach down so much as she held out her hand. "I'm Avyra. Who are you?"

[Paradoxical]

Lanian looked at the small girl. He hadn't ever seen her before but from the looks of her she was a Novice. She looked slightly annoyed, probably at him bumping in to her. Fair enough as far as he was concerned but still, he had apologized. Wasn't that enough?

Still it was probably best to just pretend nothing had really happened and act normally. "My names Lanian Gamalin it's nice to meet you." He said as he picked up more of the scatter books "but you can call me Lanian and if your taking these books back to the Library I might as well help you. I was going their myself."

Hopefully that might calm her down a bit. It was a pretty big hopefully judging by her current expression. Oh well he had started the plan of trying to pretend nothing was wrong so he might as well continue it. "What were you doing with so many books?" He asked, hoping it might divert her attention away from the pile of books and onto something less annoying. In truth he was curious as to why she had so many books. Especially considering that they were all on battle weaves, a topic he had some interest in himself.

[Avyra]

Once all the books were off the ground, Avyra led the way, now feeling a lot lighter since half of her load was in someone else's arms. Still, her half was rather heavy for her, and she was still obviously straining a little bit. Luckily Avyra was used to walking next to unnecessarily tall people, and she lengthened her stride so that the Soldier, Lanian he had said his name was, wouldn't have to take such awkwardly small steps to stay in stride with her. "What are you doing with so many books?" He asked. She shrugged. "Pleasure reading." No way she was going to tell him what they were really for. She was going to hunt darkfriends. But that would sound very suspicious from a Novice like herself, so she hoped her cover of pleasure reading would be enough. In fact, she was actually enjoying battleweaves. Battleweaves and illusion had become her two new favorite subjects here when it came to channeling.

[Paradoxical]

Lanian watched Avrya carrying the books. She appeared to be struggling but based on how she had acted earlier when he took half the books he didn't think she would appreciate him trying to take more of the books and an angry women was not something he wanted to deal with.

Instead he focused on what she had said. Pleasure reading, on battleweaves. He doubted that. They were interesting. He wouldn't deny it but pleasure reading was still a bit far. It was something you might ready if you have an interest in them but not something you would read purely for the fun of it.

Instead of questioning it he asked "And how were they?" It was a safer question and one which might draw our some answers if she truly was reading them purely for pleasure, which he doubted. If he was really lucky he might even learn something but he doubted it. She would know weaves relating to women while he would need the male equivalents.

He might see if he could find some books on battleweaves for men somewhere in the library. It was something he kept meaning to see if he could find but never getting around to actually doing.

Sorry it took so long. RL happened

[Avyra]

Avyra shrugged. "They weren't too bad." She paused. "They're all interesting." Although he hadn't asked it, she could feel the question still hanging in the air. Why battleweaves? Well, he was bound to ask eventually, so she might as well elaborate. "I think battleweaves are really neat. There's so many you can do; its not just a specific set of weaves. There's always room to experiment." She knew just how completely foolish she looked. This tiny Novice, who couldn't lift some books easily and most certainly could never dream of lifting a sword, wanting to learn battleweaves. Of course it would look foolish. Anything she wanted to learn looked foolish on her. She shifted the books in her arms as they rounded the corner, making sure not to run into anyone or anything. The task was easier now that her load wasn't in her eyes. They entered the library, and she stood on her toes, putting her books back one by one on a desk she could barely see over. She could feel the Brown sister at the desk glaring at her.

[Paradoxical]

Lanian watched her as she explained why she had the books on battleweaves. He didn't doubt they were interesting but for a Novice to experiment with battleweaves... That was dangerous. All weaves were dangerous if they went wrong but battleweaves above all. Although sometime they were more dangerous if they actually worked.

That was something he knew for experience. He thought back to the night years ago when a bolt of pure white lightning has landed down from the sky killing the street thug who had been trying to mug him and his friend. At the time he had though it was pure luck but now. Now he knew the truth. In his panic he had channeled and blasted that thug apart. He had killed the man. It didn't matter that he had been trying to mug them. He had still killed him.

The though sobered him and his face hardened slightly as he put the books down on the desk before the Brown Sister. She was glaring at Avyra and he had no inclination to face that gaze. She looked angry. It was probably something to do with the books, Browns often got worked up over their precious books.

[Avyra]

"There is..." She paused, thinking about how to phrase her next sentence after a moment of silence as they made their way into the shelves. "There is something wrong in the Tower. Something big. Can you feel it?" She paused, looking around. "Rumors fly around. Some talk of darkfriends. If anything, we need to be prepared for something bad to happen." It hurt her to say it, but they might actually be in danger from... something. And battleweaves would help. She could show everyone that she was useful. That she didn't need protection. "What were you looking for in here? Maybe I could help out." She had been spending more time here than ever, and she was sure she could help him find what he needed.