Wide-Eyed Wonder: Janine's Arrival (ATTN: Locke)

[Quibby]

Following at her mother's heels, Janine Alastarn scurried through the crowded thoroughfares of Hama Valon towards the Tower and their journey's end. Even through the thin material that made up the brim of her wide hat, Janine found herself dumbfounded by everything she saw. The clothes from all corners of the world, the accents and voices, the smells. Light, the smells! There were perfumes and spices, leather and heat, and then there was the food. Dotted along the main street leading to the Grey Tower were stalls selling various sorts of food. Sweet, savory, spicy, they blended together in a dizzying concoction that left Janine heady.

Arrival at the gate brought a whole new world of wonder. As her mother and the guard captain at the gate conversed, Janine stared beyond the two. People said that Tar Valon was the most beautiful city in the world: commissioned by Aes Sedai and built by Ogier with absolute autonomy. This was not Tar Valon, but it was still a sight to see. Without a care about the stares that would inevitably come, Janine pushed the brim of her hat up and away from her face. She had to see it all without the barrier she held between her eyes and the world.

Janine's gaze moved slowly across what she could see of the Grey Tower, taking in buildings and people alike. Some people scurried about as if on urgent missions. There were men and women in finer garb walking in a self-assured way that marked them as people of import. One man in particular caught Janine's eye. He was tall and slim, a sword on his right hip. He wore a cloak that was... Janine squinted. The colors were moving! A grin came over her face. A Warder! As she stared, the Warder's pace slowed slightly. His head suddenly snapped around, eyes locking on Janine's own. Hastily, she dragged the translucent brim of her hat over her eyes, hiding them from the man. An unseen tension seemed to release in him, and he offered her a polite nod and a smile, then continued on his way. Janine watched him as he crossed the courtyard, setting his path in her mind. Maybe there would be more Warders where he went.

"Stop staring and let's go, Janine," her mother said with a touch of amusement in her voice. Though she had never been to Hama Valon or the Grey Tower, as far as Janine knew, her mother seemed to know where she was going. Attention to detail and the ability to recall conversations from ten years ago or more were gifts that her mother had. Janine sighed as she trailed behind. On impulse, she slowed her tread and allowed her mother to gain distance on her. She kept going, her intense focus apparently narrowing her world to what was directly in front of her. Another grin crossed Janine's face before she turned and quickly walked towards where the Warder had disappeared. She would not have much time to see what was there before her mother noticed that she was gone, and she intended to make the most of the opportunity.

She was not disappointed by what she found. The square was full of people swinging weapons at each other. Swords, staves, spears, axes, even what looked like a massive hammer, all of it moving with the precision that only came with endless practice. The other kids swinging sticks at each other- at her- back home was nothing like what she was seeing here. As if in a daze, Janine found herself walking slowly through the sparring men and women, wide-eyed behind her-

A sudden gust of wind sent swirls of dust up from the ground, snatching Janine's hat away as it passed. No! Frantically, forgetting everything around her, she chased after the garment. She was vaguely aware of people moving around her, but that did not matter. Janine needed that hat...

[Locke]

Terric

Save for her height, Kiris Jakes could passed as Aiel. Well almost. She was learning though. Terric had taken a special interest in the Andoran woman when she’d asked to lean to fight with short spear and shield. Now, after several months of grueling training, the weapons were beginning to look natural in her hands. It was time to test her progress. While the other Drin, Terric was responsible for were paired off to practice attacks and blocks, Terric and Kiris Jakes faced off with practice spears.

They faced each other, crouched with bucklers just below their eyes and spears poised. Today, Terric had opted for an overhanded grip on his spear, to compensate for their differences in height. While students faced off around them, the two circled preparing for a clash on a whole other order. She lounged. Terric caught it on his buckler, leaving himself purposely open. She pressed the advantage, the ways he’d been taught. Viper quick strikes towards the face, followed by torso blows angled around his shield. She was learning well. Terric expertly blocked and dodged, but that was to be expected.

The Drin over extended herself after her last attack. Sensing an opening, Terric countered with a block, open, and strike maneuver. Catching that attack on his buckler, he stepped into her guard forcing her spear out of line, and stabbing with his own spear. It connected with air. She’d pivoted out of the way. Turing the pivot into a full spin, she gave herself space to attack again. As Kiris Jakes attacked, something caught his attention. A girl! She’d walked out onto the Yards and if she didn’t stop, she’d walk right into their fight!

Instinct took over, action overtaking thought, Terric threw himself in between Kiris Jakes’ attack and the newcomer. He felt two blows to ribs in rapid succession as he bore the girl to the ground. Rolling free, he leapt to a crouch, ready to protect her from being trampled. Kiris Jakes had already stopped her attack, and now stood watching the young woman in confusion and a hint of hostility.

The prospects of immediate danger passed, Terric stabbed his spear into the sand and turned to extend a hand to the girl. “If you want to learn the Dance, there are worse ways than walking out into the middle,” he said with a kind smile.

[Quibby]

"Blast!" Janine muttered as her hat fluttered away yet again, kicked aside by yet another foot. She was scrambling after the irksome garment as carefully as she could, some vague sense of possibly being in somebody's way nagging at the back of her mind. It was difficult to see anything clearly with her eyes pointed firmly at the ground. Always at the ground.

The Light was merciful on occasion; the hat had finally come to rest in what seemed to be a large, empty place in the square. Good. Straightening herself out as best she could, Janine set a calm pace towards the hat, eyes firmly pointed at the ground. Always at the ground.

That compulsion to avoid meeting other people's gaze was probably responsible for the crashing impact that nearly drove the air from Janine's lungs as she was, in turn, driven to the ground. All that Janine could see momentarily was a confusing flurry of motion. The stillness that came after was nearly as startling as the actual tackle. Looking up from the ground, Janine found herself staring at a tall man with red hair casting his gaze around the square. Next to him was a woman, her gaze focused on her. Janine shifted uncomfortably under those eyes, her own eyes falling away from them. Still, a hand entered her field of vision, and a voice bearing an accent with which she was unfamiliar said, "If you want to learn the Dance, there are worse ways than walking out into the middle."

Taking the offered hand, Janine found her feet and looked up to see her benefactor's face. Her gaze kept going up. Light, he's tall! When she finally found the man's face, Janine was relieved to see a smile there. A sheepish, embarrassed smile brought a small amount of light to her own face. "Pardon, Master Warder. I did not mean to interfere." If there was a quaver to her voice, Janine was more than happy to blame it on fear; her heart was still pounding from the shock of the man's unorthodox introduction. "I- I was after my hat, and I guess I wasn't paying attention." Her eyes- her blasted eyes- grew wide as her mind finally caught up with events. And she was still staring up at him. Hastily, she bowed her head, her eyes once again pointed firmly at the ground. Always at the ground.

[Locke]

Terric

The Wetlander girl was a shy sort, refusing to meet his eyes. That or she was afraid of him, stammering and calling him a Master Warder. Well, if Terric had learned anything in his nearly three decades, tackling somebody, wasn’t the best way to make a friendly introduction. That was the same for Aiel and Wetlanders alike. He’d have to try to set her at ease. “Warder, hardly,” he said awkwardly running a hand through his already messy hair, “I’m Terric. I’m a Ji’vale. We’re senior students, training to become Gaidin. I won’t be a Warder unless some poor Aes Sedai decides to bond me.” He was certain Avyra would ask him as soon as they were both raised to the Cloak and the Shawl, but that wasn’t pertinent.

“So, did you come to the Tower to become an Aes Sedai or a Gaidin?” Looking at her sand covered dress, Terric decided she’d have a long way to go if she was a hopeful Drin. Honestly, to run into the middle of a fight because she was chasing a hat. Just maybe, though, that single minded determination could be honed with the right training. Looking around at the various Drin he’d taken under his wing, they’d been hapless in their own ways. Hapless or no, if she wanted to become a Gaidin, he’d do his best to train her.

Kiris Jakes was approaching with a broad brimmed hat in her hands. “Pay attention to your surroundings next time,” she said sourly, thrusting the hat out towards the girl.

“Be nice,” Terric scolded in a cool, but firm voice.

“Yes, Terric Ji’vale,” she said, back straightening. To the new comer, she said, “I’m sorry for my rudeness, ma’am. I retrieved your hat.”

As the girl meekly accepted the hat, quickly settling it in place, Terric caught sight of her eyes for the first time. One was as blue as a clear sky, the other as green as the forests and grasslands of this strange land. Filing it away with a mental shrug, he turned to Kiris Jakes, “Take the students and have them drink water and do stretches. I’ll figure out what to do with our guest.” He set off towards the Tower proper, gesturing for the new girl to follow. Something occurring to him, he said, “I probably should have asked ages ago, but what should I call you?”

[Quibby]

The woman returned Janine's hat with a harsh admonition, and Janine quickly donned the garment, shielding her eyes from her, from everyone. Almost everyone. She looked up again at the tall man's face through the translucent cover of her hat. He hadn't noticed. Everybody noticed. Or maybe he didn't care. Everybody cared.

Didn't they?

"I... I guess I don't know why I came to the Tower, not really," Janine said slowly, still slightly confused and only just coming to grips with the situation. "Ma and Da thought it would be best for me. Ma was actually taking me to the Mistress of Novices, whoever that is. I think they hope that the Aes Sedai can settle me down." She sighed, a touch of anger entering her voice. "That boy deserved the beating he got, though, and I wouldn't do any different."

A sudden thought struck Janine. Pushing the brim of her hat back away from her eyes, she found the Warder's- Ji'vale's- eyes again, searching for a reaction. "My name is Janine, Janine Alastarn. Pleased to meet you, Master Terric." I have to ask. "Pardon me for asking, but do they grow everybody so tall where you come from?"

[Locke]

Terric

So, a potential Novice then. He set off towards Mirin Ronaile Sedai’s office. After years of walking with Avyra, he’d learned to slow down for shorter Wetlander legs. Giving the girl a reassuring smile, he began to answer her questions. “You don’t have to call me Master Terric. Terric is just fine,” he said cringing internally at her over formality. Wetlanders and their titles, at least he’d worked for the title Ji’val. “You are right though, I am rather average height wise among my people. I’m an Aiel, from the Threefold Land. They don’t just grow tall men there. They grow the best warriors in the world.” He knew he was bragging at this point, and he’d seen a few Gaidin who could show even some of the oldest and most experienced algai’d’siswai a thing or two.

As they left the yards and angled towards the Tower proper, Terric said, “I do have a question for you, Janine Alastarn. What did the boy you beat up do?” He looked at her with a critical eye, she did seem rather tall for her age, but she didn’t appear to be much of a fighter. It was just another reminder not to underestimate people, not that he needed a reminder. He’d spent the last few years living with people who could cause things to explode by squinting at them.

[Quibby]

Aiel. Well, that makes sense. Janine had never met an Aielman before. She had hardly met anybody before, if she was being perfectly honest with herself. As Mas- As Terric led the way away from the bustling chaos of the courtyard, Janine could feel some of her tension fading away, tension that she had never realized she was feeling. She always reverted to formality when she didn't know what to do; it was something her parents had taught her, and it had rarely failed her.

And then Terric had to ask her about one of the times it had failed her.

"Um," Janine started. There were words that were supposed to follow, but Light knew where they were hiding. She knew that if she closed her eyes, the whole incident would relive itself in her mind. "Um... I don't know how children behave in the Waste, but we can be cruelty embodied over here. A big nose, funny ears... different eyes..." Janine's voice had gone flat and emotionless to her ears, sure signs that she was growing angry again. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "They all stare, they whisper, they mock. Some do worse things. Rocks, sticks. They called me a spy for the Dark One, used that to justify what they did." She felt her lips pull back in something that was almost a grim smile. "The boy, Behn, was the worst. He and his friends caught me alone one day. They had sticks, like usual, but I managed to get one away from them." The near-smile became a full smile. "Cut off the head, and the rest will die. I went after Behn. Caught him once across the side of the head. He tripped and hit his head hard on a rock."

The smile left, and Janine looked up at the Aielman. "That was a month ago, and he still hadn't woken up when I left. The rocks and sticks stopped that day, though. The rest, the looks and words, just got worse." Gesturing to the world at large, Janine added, "And I guess that's why I'm here now."

[Locke]

Terric

This girl had been kicked around far too often. Terric had seen the signs before, more often this side of the Dragon Wall than he had back home however. Maybe it was because Aiel children were taught Ji’e’toh or because most bullies had a rude awakening once they pushed the wrong child. The craftier ones found themselves dealing with the Red Shields as an adult. Listening to Janine Alastarn’s story, Terric could feel his jaw tightening with anger and disgust. Terric couldn’t imagine what kind of community would go out of its way to make a little girl into an outcast. He couldn’t stand people who let ignorance and fear rule their lives, they usually were the worst kinds of bullies, and Terric hated bullies.

As the girl’s story drew to a close, Terric was left of two minds. Yes it was a shame a child was left crippled and possibly brain dead, but Terric’s own hands weren’t exactly clean when it came to striking back at bullies. In a grim sort of comradery, Terric decided to tell his story. “When I was a boy, probably a few years younger than you, there was this older boy Ganel. He was just a few years shy of being old enough to take up the spear. He was big for his age and liked pushing around the younger children. In the beginning he’d just interrupt their games or occasionally shove somebody, but as he grew older, nobody challenged him and he became even more cruel. He was smart enough to never do anything while an adult was watching, and intimidating enough to stop anybody from telling.”

Leading the girl into the bustling entrances hall, Terric continued his story, “I was a bit older than the kids he liked to terrorize and I decided to stand up to him. I was really tall, my growth had just come upon me, but I was an awkward child, all arms and legs. I didn’t stand a chance against him. I just remember laying on the ground while he hit me and laughed. The pain was nothing compared to my bruised pride. My older sister, wonderful woman, was a Maiden of the Spear, she happened to be back at the Hold and I remember sitting with her as she cleaned my face up. I told her what happened she told me that I’d done the right thing by standing up to him.” He looked down at the girl to see if she was still paying attention. Voice hardening, he said, “Next time I saw Ganel tormenting the younger children, I walked over to him, as calm as can be. He said something to me, I can’t remember but I’m sure it was insulting. I grabbed a toy spear from one of the kids and stuck him across the face with the shaft. I say toy, but the hafts were still sturdy pieces of wood. I kicked him in the nethers and when he went down, I rushed him swinging. Everything went red and the next thing I remembered was Roadin, the tanner pulling me off of the sorda. I don’t regret fighting him, but yes I do regret losing my temper.” He fell silent for a moment remembering. Since that day, he’d begun to keep a tighter rein on his temper, almost never letting it free. Those times when he did usually ended in regret as well.

Passing the Flame and Fang Mosaic on the wall, Terric led her up a majestic staircase to the administrative offices. “Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with any bullies here. If you do, come find me. I’ve seen enough in my life that I think I can put an end to the problem without beating somebody bloody.”

[Quibby]

As mean-spirited as it was for her to think so, Janine could not help but feel some relief that bullies were bullies on both sides of the Spine. It was also nice to know that others stood up to their tormentors. However, relief was not all that she felt. Terric had done what he had done in a moment of rage, but rage was not what Janine had felt at that moment. All she had felt was a moment of cold clarity. The shakes had come later, true, but the entire fight was etched in stone in her memory. Nonetheless, Terric's offer to help her was welcome. "I appreciate that, Ma- Terric. I really do."

The hall and the sudden bustle of people finally caught Janine's attention, and with a squeak of terror she pulled the brim of her hat back down across her eyes. Through the gauzy fabric, though, she studied the hall around her. It was a wonder of architecture, to be certain. Maybe being banished here would not be so-

"JANINE ALASTARN!"

Janine flinched instinctively and ducked behind the much taller Aielman. Her mother was coming up the stairs after them, and she looked livid. Looking up at Terric, she asked in a small voice, "You don't nave any tricks to get me out of this one, do you?"

The Aielman had no chance to reply. Storming her way up the stairs in a manner that would make a charging army proud, Janine's mother rushed past the Warder-in-training, dragging Janine into her wake. Looking back, Janine called, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Master Terric!" Any response was lost in the tirade that her mother immediately began.

It did not stop until they arrived in the office of the Mistress of Novices.

And there it began all over again. Janine was absolutely certain that she was about to lose half the skin on her back before it was over.

Then there was some thing about a jewel.

Within twenty minutes, Janine was being fitted into a white dress while her hat was thrown into a fireplace and her head was spinning wildly. What just happened?