Prestige & Power [Attn: Terric Gaidin & Ji'val Johan Albaer]

[Bella]

Miahala Sha'hal was a woman of many traits and talents, and many things could be said of her... Master diplomat, however, was not chief among them. It was strange that anyone would think to send a Green to any sort of diplomatic meeting when explosions and flashing blades were not anticipated, but there was something else Mia had which bore out in this case.

Prestige.

She was a woman known, with a name familiar to certain familial lines in certain areas of the world. And while she was no Grey, she did know how to control herself and be an Aes Sedai. Thus she was not the best choice, but neither was she the worst. And in this case, her name was her best trait here and so, off into Andor and a meeting with a wealthy and powerful family she went.

And given that she seemed to never be able to leave the Grey Tower grounds without causing some sort of trouble, or attracting it like a magnet, she was to be attended by one of the Tower's contingent of unbonded Gaidin. And a Ji'val, apparently, who was going to get some "on the job training" since while they didn't like to let Mia leave without attending, this wasn't likely to be a troublesome trip.

This time, there would not be any Traveling because part of the "training" was the journey, which was not anticipated to be overly long with the destined "summer" home of the wealthy merchant.

Miahala had asked the Gaidin and trainee to meet her in the stables, where she already had Seren in the aisle and cross-ties as she placed the saddle on his back.

[Cat]

Johan

“Yeah, yeah, love you, too,” Johan muttered as Soup pulled his usual face at him, ears laid back. He’d learned to quickly ignore the grey gelding’s many quirks, and at the moment his nerves about the upcoming mission were far more pressing than his fear of being bitten or kicked, and he had the animal tacked up and out of the stable in half the time it usually took.

It had been something of a shock to find that he was apparently to be sent on a mission with a former Amyrlin, and he hadn’t known how to react at first. He’d heard a lot about Miahala Sedai, and to say that he was worried about meeting her was something of understatement. He had the funny feeling that she could probably eat him alive. It was typical, really. He tended to try and avoid Aes Sedai and Asha’man as much as he could, even here, and now he was being sent off on a mission with one of the oldest living channelers at the Tower. He couldn’t help but wonder what he had done wrong.

He had a small packet tied to the back of the saddle, containing water and some food, and a first aid kit. It wasn’t going to be a long mission, but Johan thought it was better to be safe than sorry. His cloak was tied behind the pack, and he’d chosen to bring along a short-sword as his weapon of choice. It was the one that he was most confident in. The idea of juggling both a horse and a spear and bucker had not been an appealing one.

Leading Soup by the reins, he approached the Aes Sedai and sketched a quick bow. Soup took the opportunity to aim a bite at him, but he managed to gracefully sidestep it. He shot the gelding a glare.

“Miahala Sedai?”

[Bella]

"Miahala Sedai?"

The Captain-General heard her name and turned to see a young man leading a grey horse. She presumed that he was the Ji'val to be journeying with them, although she had never met him herself. She had met the Gaidin who would be traveling with them, but did not see him yet so she let her attention fall on the young man.

Mia, being a tall woman with a slight addition of height with her riding boots, was roughly of a height with him and she took a moment to look him over. His horse was clearly a handful, she could see that right away, but the man had managed to evade him with the fluidity expected from the Warder Yards.

"Yes," she said, inclining her head very slightly in greeting although those slanted, blue-green eyes never left his. Her expression was impassive, and her gaze steady and keen. "You would Ji'val Johan, I presume. We are still awaiting Terric Gaidin, and then we shall be off. Do you know any of what we're set to do on this trip?"

[Cat]

Johan

It was hard not to stare. The woman in front of him was old by Aes Sedai standards, which was terrifying when you considered that Aes Sedai could live for hundreds and hundreds of years. She certainly didn’t look centuries old, and Johan couldn’t help but wonder if it was some sort of lie that channelers told to impress and awe those they dealt with. No one could live that long; it wasn’t possible, and he wasn’t going to believe it. Either way, he was already felt out of his depth, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on Soup’s reins as his nerves deepened.

He forced himself to nod, to stop staring, to take a deep, calming breath, and act like he was expected. He wouldn’t get far, after all, if he froze every time he faced a full-ranked channeler. It was a stupid reaction that had to stop.

“I am, Aes Sedai,” he finally said, pleased that his voice, at least, managed to sound steady even as he realised just who was coming along. Terric. Terric. He cursed under his breath. If the Aiel decided to start correcting his stance or anything like that, Johan swore he would stab him. He didn’t want to seem like a student, or like he was still far from competent. He quickly glanced back at Miahala and added, “And I haven’t really been told what the trip’s about. Only that I’m to accompany you and that it’ll be a good experience.”

[Locke]

Terric

Terric jolted awake with a sneeze. Sitting up, Terric brushed straw out of his hair. The Gaidin could remember flickers of an odd dream he'd had. He had been dicing at a tavern with a beautiful woman on his arm. His opponent had been a Whitecloak, a Child of the Light. When Terric rolled all sixes, taking all the man's arrows, he had tried stabbed Terric. Terric let out a disgruntled yawn, he didn't have time for sore losers, even in dreams.

There were voices coming from below. Not good, he’d overslept. Scratching and brushing straw away, he reached down for his pack and his weapons. Once he was wearing his heavy pack filled with trail rations and other gear, a cased bow, knife, buckler, and his three spears, he allowed himself to drop from the hay loft landing easily next to Johan Ablaer.

“I see you, Miahala Sha’hal, I see you Johan Ablaer. I didn't not delay us did I?” His lips tightened somewhat in embarrassment as he realized he had missed a piece of straw in his hair and the Captain General was staring at it.


While Miahala Sha’hal saw to a few last minute items, Terric pulled Johan Ablaer aside. “Don't worry,” Terric said in a low voice, “This will be your chance to show what you have learned.” He planned to ask the young man for his opinions and suggestions as the mission progressed. Terric also want to see how the kid handled responsibility. “This should not be as eventful as my first trip out as a Ji’Val. We were set upon by Shadow Spawn twice. I managed to kill a Halfman before our friend over there blasted me sky high. All in all, this should be a good time. A little camping, we'll stop in a few inns, chat up some Wetlander nobles and go home. Think of it like a vacation where you'll get a chance to impress an Aes Sedai.” He clapped the young man on the shoulder before leaving to stand next to Miahala Sha’hal and await her orders.

[Bella]

It was one of the more unusual appearances that Miahala had witnessed from a traveling companion, but given the many long decades of her life, it was hard for anything to really surprise her anymore. Dying and coming back to life pretty much removed the possibility from her existence, when all was said and done.

Mia just watched Terric approach with her usual impassive expression, although her eyes shifted for a few moments to the straw sticking out of her hair and she lifted one brow curiously until he realized the point and cleared it.

That done and with nothing more said on her part, she left the Gaidin and Ji'val to one another as she turned back to her horse and finished tacking him up. Saddle and girth set, then bridle put on. Once that was done, she went back to the girth because she knew Seren would've released the breath he held by now and she could tighten it properly.

He swung his head towards her as if to give her an annoyed look, but she just looked back at him. With a soft nickering sound, he swung back forward as she secured her saddlebags. A quick glance suggested to her that the trainee was not particularly enthused with the Gaidin, and she wondered how this trip was going to go.

Mia nodded at Terric and then Johan, before turning and leading Seren out of the stable. Once clear of the stables ceilings, she mounted up and looked at Johan to do the same. The Aiel would be...an Aiel.

"I anticipate we will be on the road for two nights and arrive at our destination late afternoon on the third day. If you have questions, ask now. Otherwise, let's ride out."

[Cat]

Johan

Of course the Aiel would be here already, and of course he’d just have to drop down from the hayloft right next to the innocent little Ji’val happily and contently minding his own business. The string of curses that followed were certainly inventive, but thankfully none of them were spoken out loud as Johan tried to calm his suddenly rapidly beating heart. After the initial shock, he managed to finally pry his hand from around the handle of his sword, which he’d reached for in surprise, and thanked the Creator in the same breath that he hadn’t drawn it, because Terric would have ended up with a sword sticking out of his stomach otherwise. He hadn’t been expecting any threats and so hadn’t been on his guard.

Failure number one: he hadn’t detected the bloody Aiel. How great was he? But then it had been a rather unfair surprise.

Trying his best to keep himself from scowling, from giving into his embarrassment, he instead stared stonily at Terric and only nodded, still too… too… too bloody surprised and irritated to say anything in response to the Aiel’s words. It took all of his self-control not to kick Terric as the Aiel slapped him on the back, and he felt rather disappointed that Soup had not lashed out. The look on the gelding’s face was one of surprise and irritation, too, so maybe he was also reeling from the Aiel’s sudden appearance.

Johan took a deep breath, shooting one last look at the Aiel, before he followed the Aes Sedai out of the stable. He pulled himself up onto Soup’s back, still not particularly graceful, but at least twenty-times better than what he’d been like the first time he’d ridden. He gathered the reins in his hands and turned Soup in a quick circle to check all was well. The grey responded happily enough. His ridden manners were far better than his ground manners.

Drawing the horse to a halt, Johan simply shook his head as he looked back at Miahala, “I'm ready to go. I haven’t got any questions.”

[Bella]

Miahala nodded at the Ji'val and then glanced at the Aiel. Since he didn't have any questions either, she deemed them ready to be off and turned her attention to the path before them. She nudged Seren with her knees and he set off at a walk. While in Tower grounds, she would not urge him any faster. The others were in stride, and they were on their way.

They were passing through the Tower gates before long at all and Miahala looked at the guards in the guardhouse on the ground as well as the ones on the walls. She knew them all, smiled slightly and nodded. They nodded back and waved them on.

Once on the road, Mia felt a sort of peace descend over her. Even though the walls of the Tower were and ever would be her home, she often found it difficult to relax there as much as she did when she was on the move. Too much of wanderlust had infiltrated her blood, it seemed, in the years since her return to life.

She simply preferred to be journeying, to be on tasks and about her life's business. Even if was the less...exciting things, such as this would be, it still was what an Aes Sedai did and she was glad to be doing it. What was life without purpose, after all? She could not live that way, and knew that she never would.

Although Mia was not one who felt the need to fill air with talk, she did feel there was importance in knowing the people that one was traveling with. She glanced first to the Ji'val, wondering if he was always that uncomfortable looking or if it was just the trip. "Is this your first task out of the Tower as a trainee?" she asked.

[Cat]

Johan

It was tempting to kick Soup forward and gallop off. There were a lot of times where he thought about leaving the Tower and never returning. He wasn’t used to staying in one place for so long, keeping to the same task, doing the same thing day after day after day. In some ways, he missed the freedom that growing up on the streets of the Rahad had given him. He’d been the one to decide and control his own life, but he’d made a decision here, to see it through to the end, and he was going to stick to it.

Nevertheless, Soup sprang forward, clearing sensing his mood, and Johan drew the horse back to a walk, glancing at Terric as he did so. There was also the temptation to set off a gallop just to see if, and how long, the Aiel could keep up. He’d heard stories, been shown a lot through training with the man, and he wanted to see if they really were true. Could an Aiel truly run for hours without stopping?

He tore his glance away, tightening his reins as he looked back at the Aes Sedai, and winced ever so slightly. Johan couldn’t say that it was his first task. He remembered snow, remembered rescuing a Novice, fighting armed men whilst being unarmed himself, remembered falling, becoming sick and almost dying, but none of that had meant to happen. He was still surprised that he hadn’t ended up being punished for it.

“Officially,” he finally said, still of the mind that it was better to tell the truth rather than hide it, because the truth always had a way of coming out eventually. “Unofficially, no, although this will be the furthest I’ve gone.”

[Locke]

Terric

Terric loped along at an easy pace, despite his heavy pack. His eyes scanned the woods to either side of their path as he listened to his companions’ talk.

“I think we all have at least one unsanctioned visit to Hama Valon under our belt. I had to fight some men and save a Novice who insisted on charging off into danger. What did you get up to? I hope it wasn't to illegal,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

He knew he probably shouldn't prod at the young man, but he walked about with a chip the size of a boulder on his shoulder. He had made it this far with it, but if he didn't manage to shrug it off, he would be bent double by the time he became a Gaidin.