The Past Undying, Redeux [Attn: Ravak Darrow Gaidin]

[Bella]

Miahala really couldn't quite be sure if what she was seeing was real.

Was a Gaidin of the Grey Tower, the Gaidin Captain no less, truly being defeated by...a tent?

Well, it was always the little things that caught you off guard then, wasn't it? It was the unexpected that would have a go at you, and it was that which you didn't expect to catch you that would do just that. And on the upside, the sight pushed her off the downward spiral of memories into bemusement.

By the time he conceded to the canvas and called out for her, she was already on her feet and right before him. Her keen, decades old senses told her he would need help.

So it was that only moments after he had called for her, she had the entrance to the tent in her hands and pulled open and up. The result was the reveal of Ravak, sitting off-center on the tent base, looking... Well, to say "pitiful" would probably be some sort of besmirch upon his manhood, but she couldn't quite think of another adjective to fit it.

By the time his face was revealed to her and hers to him, Miahala was smiling. It was a full smile, and a sincere show of emotion that made the light in her eyes glitter in a more jovial way than they had just minutes before. But the smile was not mocking. Maybe a little teasing, but full of warmth as well.

She said nothing. She simply waited for him to extricate himself before the pair of them together put the tent back in order. From there she helped get all the gear on the horses, and finish putting their campsite to rights. Little else needed to be said, for they both knew what they were about--assault by tent aside--and saw to it.

The Green was almost...sad to be moving on. She knew it needed to happen, because there was business needful of them, but she had found more... Well, she had just found more in their night there than she had in a while. She was sorrowful to let it go, even though she knew that she must.

Seren and Impala did not seem to share her reluctance as they walked back onto their path, onward to the outpost...

[Craig]

Ravak

The silence between them was good. Rav enjoyed silence every day. After his duties, he would settle in his favourite chair and read by candle or firelight, with just the words on the page and the crackling of the wood to keep himself company. In this instance, it wasn't the solemn solitude he craved, but the lack of mentioning his recent folly. If Miahala had any thoughts on the matter, it probably paled compared to his own internal monologue.

A flaming tent! Blood and ashes man, a tent! Ravak never liked looking the fool, even if he was adroit at it.

Not long after setting out, the Shienaran's lingering concerns about his reputation faded as he resumed his duties. He watched along the horizon for the signs of any other life, occasionally dropped down from his saddle to inspect any tracks he glanced, and sniffed for the trails of anything or anyone that may have crossed by recently. It seemed that all was quiet.

Ravak defaulted into glaring at the world, slightly concerned about the stillness of everything barring themselves and their horses. There was nothing to hear but the sounds of hooves clopping along on the snowy ground. He would have relished the opportunity to see anything amiss, if only to prove to himself that he wasn't going blind from boredom.

Eventually the monotony got to him. He looked around, pausing on Miahala for longer than he had done since setting off. "I'd appreciate if you didn't mention my issues with the tent to anyone." He looked away, embarrassed, when the Green sister's attention came upon him. "I was distracted," he offered feebly.

[Bella]

A half day's ride to the outpost, and then speak with Marwen, Miahala thought as they rode on. She found her earlier reluctance continued to plague her, but she worked with conscious effort to push the reticence aside and focus on precisely what they had come all the way to Shienar for. There was duty before them, and it would be seen to.

What could Marwen need of her? It was obviously not any sort of emergency, else he would not have sent all the way to the Grey Tower for aid...but he made it clear that his personnel was being pulled tight. He just didn't have the men. But for what?

The silence of their ride gave her the chance to bring her thoughts back under control, with less ease than if she were trying to corral her own children. Once upon a time, long ago, she'd had four young ones under the age of ten underfoot. Some days, she would rather have gone out to face an entire fist of Trollocs than try to manage that group.

But those days were, indeed, long past. Even the youngest of them was fully grown and onto his own life. Not that she didn't spend as much time as possible with Sadira and Haeden, as well as Derren and Riahana and Tia and Einion...but they were all adults now. Now it was duty before her.

Right, that. Thoughts of duty. Trying to focus on those.

Every now and then, she thought to speak. Something to break the quiet, perhaps continue the...something that had started forming in the morning, but if he was quiet, and she had her own thoughts to tend to, it was likely best she didn't.

One might think a life as long and...complex as hers would give one all the answers all the time. Oh, if only.

When Ravak spoke, however, it broke the quiet and let her free of the dilemma. She turned her head to look at him with a small, if almost curious, smile. Did he honestly believe that she would have spoken to anyone of it? Why would she do that? And to who? Well, true, some of her frequent visitors might be his concern (namely, the Mistress of Arms), but there'd be no reason to bring that up...

Distracted? The last word caught that line of thought and changed the direction.

"You have my word, Ravak," she said, "that such information shall go with me to my grave. Whensoever I should visit it a second time." Her eyes glinted with that odd humor of hers. If you couldn't laugh about being dead, what could you laugh about? She wanted to ask what had distracted him, while taking down a tent, but debated with herself. Should she? Had she not already been intrusive enough with the matter of the tattoo?

Oh, burn it. She was Miahala Sedai.

"What had you so distracted, if I might inquire?" she said, half-question and half-statement.

[Craig]

Ravak

Peace! Me and my flaming mouth. Did he actually use the word 'distraction'? He meant... something else. Another word. Incompetent perhaps?

"I, er..." he fumbled. Oh burn the woman and her eyes! The humour held in those ocean blue orbs was all too much for his dignity to bear. Well, the dignity he had retained after being wrestled down by a tent. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stalled for time.

Think. Of. Something. Else.

"Er..." He blanked, but crimson rushed up to his cheeks in answer.

[Bella]

Was he actually...blushing?

Miahala determined that her eyes had to be deceiving her, or perhaps the wind was bringing a chill she had yet to notice that was bringing a hint of color to his cheeks, because she couldn't imagine that anything she had to say--especially after what they'd already done--could possibly make a Gaidin blush.

However, just in case... She turned her eyes off him and moved her gaze back to the road. Her curiosity was piqued, of course, but he obviously didn't want to say what it was. Maybe he'd misspoke.

"I assure you that I will say nothing to anyone," she said instead, keeping her voice passive and casual. A woman once more in full control of herself, unlike her own embarrassing slip of emotion back by the fire. She paused and then continued, "I have been theorizing as to what Marwen has called me about.

"His message did not specify, as I've already said, but to call me would suggest something above the grade of what's usually handled by his outpost...though considering it's on the Blightborder, one wonders what that might be." She laughed softly, mirthlessly, letting herself roll into this topic and away from that which clearly brought him discomfort. "Though it might be a lack of manpower. That was implied."

[Craig]

Ravak

Ravak continued to rub at the back of his neck. That's not what I meant! He didn't want her to forget about the whole thing and act as if it hadn't happened! Not that she actually said that, but it was implied, wasn't it? He breathed heavily out from his nose, frustrated at his own inability to voice what he was thinking in a way that made sense.

But then, considering his last liaison with the opposite sex, patience in voicing any heartfelt thoughts would probably be prudent. The musing on Marwen was both pleasantly welcome and put to bed -- bad choice of words -- any further discussion on the more personal matter between them.

"If it's just a matter of manpower, it'll be mostly on you," Ravak conceded. "I may be a bit overqualified to be 'just a soldier', but I can still only cover so much ground and do so much killing. If it's something else, I can track Trollocs for miles, or Myrddraal." He spread his hands whilst keeping a grip on the reins. It wasn't a boast, just as his first comment wasn't dismissive. Just the facts. "And if it's anything else, I only know the theory. Don't touch trees in case Sticks are hiding in them; don't listen to Draghkar; and if the earth begins to move, run."

Rav turned to his companion with a thoughtful look. "Have you dealt with Draghkar in the past? I'm assuming so."

[Bella]

After a hundred and fifty years, is there anything you haven't seen? Mia thought idly. It was one of those rare moments when her age was as much weight as benefit, but she brushed it off. She could not, and would not, change it.

"I have," she replied. "In fact, there was one during a recent excursion beyond the Citadel. In that, however, I was part of a larger group and the attack was highly unexpected." She frowned slightly, remembering it. She recalled being poisoned, and what had followed, although it was a very disjointed memory. Very unpleasant, interspersed with images of Sojin. She wasn't bitter, but didn't want to think of him.

"I was not the one to remove the Draghkar threat in that situation, though," she went on. "I was focusing on removing as many trollocs as possible, and believe me, there were many. And some darkhounds. And a Myrddraal..." Realizing how the story sounded, not even including the poison part, she looked at him with a slight shrug. "It was a busy morning."

[Craig]

Ravak

Ravak laughed. "A busy morning?" he replied in disbelief. How many Shadowspawn had he faced down at the same time? But then Miahala had been with company. Maybe it wasn't so excessive? But then again, this is Miahala. She literally returned from the dead.

He grinned. "Peace woman, what do you do in the afternoons? Gentle a few Darkfriends?" Even as he made the joke, he realised it was in poor taste. It was that entire discussion about Darkfriends that kicked off the events of last night. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. Sorry."

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration at his own tongue. "I need to pause before speaking," he muttered. He shook his head. "And I'll let you do all the talking at the redoubt. You don't need me putting my foot in it."

[Bella]

"You worry too much," she said easily. Frankly, she had one of the most macabre senses of humor of anyone she had ever met, so why would she worry about what jokes he made? She had been amused. She knew she had limits, of course, but they had yet to reach them. "No reason to apologize, neither do you need to worry about the Redoubt."

She remembered Marwen well and knew him for a plainspoken man who was not quick to take offense or easily shaken. Why should he be? He had been in command of a Blightborder outpost for over twenty years.

It brought a soft laugh to her at that moment, which she chose to explain. "He isn't old enough to have known my second husband, but Darien was known to his family. It's part of where our friendship came from," she said. "And Darien Jolstraer could put his foot anywhere, including his mouth, with the best of them.

"And I was able to live with him, and the similarly outspoken children he produced. I have no concerns about whatever you want to say once we are at the Redoubt and with Commander Marwen," she said so plainly it could only be taken as truth rather than kindness. After all, Mia was not usually known for saying things just to be kind.

[Craig]

Ravak

She had no worries? It was evident that Miahala Sedai did not keep a close eye on things over in the Yards. Not that he was proud of it -- well, not that much -- but he had participated in a shouting match with an Aes Sedai in the midst of the yards. And everyone who didn't know about that thought he was a grumpy something-or-other. Did she really not care about all that? She was brave or she was foolish, and Rav doubted it was the latter.

"In which case, I shall endeavour to under perform in comparison to Darien," he said with a mock bow, which was a tricky thing to do whilst riding along. "Although, I may have already failed on the outspoken children part. You've met Kaira already, so I should apologise on her behalf. At least now you see where she got it from." Although, if truth be told, Ravak thought her tongue was an inheritance from her mother and not from himself.

Rav nudged Impala a little closer to Seren. "I'm sorry I never gave myself the time to get to know you sooner. This has already been an absolute pleasure." He smiled. "Assuming that your friend Marwen isn't about to send us to meet a Worm, I would be more than happy to accompany you again, if or when the need arises."