Double Trouble [Attn: Leala]

[Jenny]

Kaira Darrow The Tower library was dreadfully quiet. The silence was almost oppressing. It was very difficult for Kaira to sit still for long, yet her father had told her to stay here and do some homework while he perused the bookstacks.

The six-year-old girl shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Her quill pen tapped against the mahogany table as she studied the paper in front of her. She had been assigned to copy the alphabet. Her parchment was covered with splattered ink, but instead of completing her assignment, she had discovered that certain letters looked like animals if she added ears, four legs, and a tail. Yet there was still something missing. She frowned at the paper. Ah-ha! She dipped her feather into the ink pot and began to trace whiskers. Then she returned to tapping her pen against the table. Hm, perhaps that other letter could look like a duck if she added wings and a beak…

A hand touched her shoulder. Kaira startled and looked up to see a dark-haired girl watching her placidly with bright blue eyes. She was older than her by maybe five or six years, and long-limbed in the way that girls were when they had hit their growth spurt, yet hadn’t quite reached womanhood. Her finger tapped nervously on a large tome in her hands.

“Excuse me. Would you please stop that?” said the girl.

“Stop what?”

“Your pen."

Kaira resisted the urge to flick her pen (and some ink) at the girl. She put her pen down, and then stared pointedly at the girl’s tapping finger.

The girl glared at her.

“What?”

“Your book," said Kaira, impudently. “That's a large book. It looks horribly dull."

[Leala]

Abby Soulane Abby clung to the large Old Tongue lexicon as she stood slowly. The Library was the perfect place to study. It was so quiet, and it was so respectful of the knowledge there. And yet...there was an incessant tapping sound. Her mother had been encouraging her to stand up for herself, even to her mother. It was hard. But, so many Aes Sedai and Asha'man used the Library...what if she were to see that one of them was making the noise? How would she even speak to them? What would she say that wouldn't... Wouldn't... Abby, you are not a novice, her mother's calm accented voice echoed in her head. Should one of them choose to take action if you simply want to speak with them, the worst they can do is send you to me. And she trusted her mother to trust her in turn. Taking a deep breath, she walked silently from her table, still clinging to the book.

She found a little girl sitting at another table, tapping her pen. Not an Aes Sedai. Not even an Accepted or a novice. After spending so much time around children...well, she was used to their noise, but... Squaring herself up as best she could, Abby walked up and tapped the girl on the shoulder.

There was a bit of tension, but children tended to be...reactive. Then, the girl made a comment about her book looking dull. She wondered if the child was really interested in it, and just couldn't understand it. "Oh. This is a guide to the Old Tongue," she said, pulling back slightly. "I'm using it to practice translations of old texts." Abby heard her voice become smaller as she spoke...but at least she was still speaking.

[Jenny]

Kaira Darrow Kaira made a face. “I was right," she said. “It is horribly dull. Light, I hope that I do not become so dull when I grow up. Who are you? And why are you whispering? Oh, you must be shy.”

She looked the older girl up and down, then smiled with surprising kindness.

“You look like you’ve been studying for far too long, hunched over a desk. That’s not good for your back, you know. Let’s do something fun,” she said. Grey eyes glinted with mischief. She stuck out her hand.

“Light shine on you. Please forgive me if I have been rude. My name is Kaira. What is your name? Do you live here, too? Hm, let’s see. We can sneak to the kitchens and ask Weland to give us cakes. Surely my father wouldn’t even notice if I leave for a few minutes! Or perhaps I could show you my favorite tree in the gardens. The weather has been so very beautiful. What a pity that we can’t enjoy it while holed up in here! Oh, this? It’s my homework. Bah! I can do it some other time. Come on!”

Kaira grabbed her new friend by the hand and began to drag her out of the library.

[Leala]

Abby Soulane To say Abby was taken aback would have been an understatement. The brown-haired girl first called her book dull, then insinuated that Abby was dull before moving on. Trying as hard as she could, Abby made an effort to stand up for herself. "N-no, it's really...this is the Library and--" It was clear that this child was not listening, however, as she continued to speak. Her pouting had turned to a kind smile as she continued. Studying for too long? Studying was what she loved, and it certainly wasn't bad for her back...

When the other girl stuck out her hand, Abby blinked slowly and took the somewhat smaller hand in hers and shook. She had spent enough time around younger children to follow their thoughts, but this one was baffling her. She had no caretaker to follow, that Abby could see, and she lived in an isolated place.

Before she knew it, the girl was dragging her away by the hand with plans to raid the kitchen and sneak away from the girl's father. She had tried to point the girl's attention to the paperwork at the table there, but she dismissed it. "Um, um...I'm sorry, Raphine Sedai," she said to the small, dark-skinned Brown as she passed by. "I'll bring the lexicon back..." she said.

The Aes Sedai smiled and waved, "Oh, do go on, Abby. One must make friends that aren't books." Raphine Sedai turned back to her work and chuckled to herself as she was dragged out of her favorite place.

"Um..." she said as they walked through the halls, her left hand in Kaira's strong grip, and her right arm wrapped around the book she carried. "I-I'm Abby," she explained, her voice a little louder, now that they were out of the Library. "I-it's good to meet you, K-Kaira. I live here as well, in the Red Ajah Quarters. My mother is Torianin Sedai. Um...where-where are we going again?"

[Jenny]

Kaira Darrow Kaira grinned and dropped her voice conspiratorially.

"The kitchens!" she said gleefully. "Do you have a favorite cake? Strawberry, blueberry... or perhaps plain?"

She hopped. She skipped. She dragged Abby down the hall and chattered (somewhat quietly-ish?) the entire time. The two brown braids plaited behind her neck bounced as she scampered along with the older girl in tow.

"I'm so glad to have met someone like me! Some of the other Tower children don't really like talking to me because... well, nevermind that. How long have you been here Abby? Why haven't I seen you around more? Haha, you must spend most of your time holed up reading. Do you like to run around and play? Daddy does love taking me to the Library, but he says that being phy-si-cally" - she struggled with that word - "active is important too. Where's your mother now? Oh don't worry. We will be back soon. Or Daddy will start looking for me."

She stopped before a colorful tapestry depicting some long-ago seige of the Grey Tower and peered down both ends of the hall. Seeing no one, she flipped back the tapestry and showed Abby a door.

"I saw Weland going this way once," she explained. "It's a door to the servant's corridors so we can sneak into the kitchens. Come on!"

Spoiler: show

(OOC: Please feel free to have them sneak around the corner, maybe hide in some cupboards, and get to the kitchens! Whee!)