Black Pawn to White Knight [Attn: Ravak Darrow Gaidin]

[Bella]

Miahala smiled at him, once again with that private smile that only Ravak was ever granted vision of. "They are good questions to ask, but unfortunately, I've spent my long life trying to find those answers and without much luck. I've seen people I'd known for years corrupted without knowing a whisper until it was almost too late."

Many images flashed before her eyes and she shook her head slightly, as if to clear them from before her. "We can only seek out all that we are able and fight whatever is before us. We are but human, and can only do our best."

It wasn't a happy answer, but it was the lesson she had learned over the course of her... Well. Yes. Over a long period of time. She was not ashamed of her age--blood and bloody ashes, she barely knew what it actually was anymore--but it did sometimes case an odd twinge when she realized just how much younger was the man she had fallen for.

Oh well. The Wheel Weaved as the Wheel Willed. And the Wheel willed that Ravak and Miahala be one. Of that, she was now sure.
* * * In due course, the pair saw the caravan on the road ahead of them; or just to the side of it, really, as they were stopped. It was a rather pitiful thing, she realized, with just three wagons and a few ragged looking oxen grazing on the opposite side of the road. Although the sun was barely a hint lower in the sky, they were clearly already set up for the night.

"I don't suspect much trouble," Mia commented quietly, wondering why this family was in such a poor state. Perhaps they would find out, or perhaps they wouldn't. She drew Seren to a stop and looked at Ravak with quiet expectation, deferring to him in how best he wanted to approach the situation. Even though she doubted any threat, he was the Gaidin, and her Gaidin.

[Craig]

Ravak

A feeling of shame came over Rav as they drawn closer to the Tinkers' caravan. He had placed them in the same box as arrogant nobles when it came to how they seemed to treat family, but these people were far from rich. He didn't pity them though. He hadn't been born into wealth, so he never had anyone to sneer down at. But he also had no pity for the news they were to receive. His shame and their guilt cancelled out on that point.

Ravak swung down from Impala's back, giving the black gelding a thankful rub on his flank. If Impala could be trusted to wait in the horrors of the Blight, he didn't need tethering in the middle of a westland road. Plus, there was grass for the horses to eat here.

Taking the lead, the Shienaran had to concentrate to keep his hands from raising on his weapons' pommels. That sight was hardly going to endear him to these people. He tugged his fancloak around him, hiding both his swords and arms from view. The fancloak made him look like an armless torso, but that still seemed preferable to shaking his blades in front of them.

Around the three wagons were plentiful signs of life. Candlelight shone out from each wagon, with doors and windows flung open. A few individuals, all far older in appearance than himself and Mia, sat just outside the wagons, or around a singular firecamp. Beyond the fire's flames was one individual with a cittern, meddling with something at the end of the instrument's neck.

Ravak approached the nearest caravan and the nearest of the Tinkers. He bowed formality. "I am Ravak Darrow, Gaidin Captain of the Grey Tower. My companion here is Miahala Sedai. We are hoping to talk with the relatives of..." He paused for a beat. "...of Seira, if it is at all possible."

[Bella]

The pair of elders sitting on their wagon steps that Ravak and Miahala approached looked up warily from their individual tasks, certainly not expecting anyone to come upon them. Their rheumatic eyes didn't seem inclined to worry, however, perhaps thinking themselves too old to stop the pair should they try anything.

They eyed Ravak with uncertainty, and Miahala with more. However, they did not react otherwise. "Lycelle," the man called in a haggard voice that stretched along the narrow confines of their "camp."

From the next wagon over, the back door opened and an old woman stepped out. She was only half Mia's age, but the lack of channeling and a busy life made her features weather-worn and creased. Her attention landed on the Tower pair first, as they were closer to her line of sight as she limped down to the ground.

"This pair is--"

"From the Grey Tower, I know," she said, recognizing them for what they were without having to be told. "Is this about my daughter?"

Now, Miahala stepped forward and inclined her head to the woman. She held her eyes, though, for Mia lowered her gaze for no one. "It is," she said simply. "May we speak privately?" Mia gestured to the road behind them and Lycelle let out a long, rasping sigh before she nodded and hobbled with them.

The three made their way back away from the caravan before Mia stopped. She was a good hand or more taller than the old woman before the stoop of age, but she did not try to make her appearance any more intimidating. She didn't try to make it any less intimidating either, of course, for she was who she was.

"She's dead," Lycelle said softly. "You would not be here otherwise."

"Yes," Mia agreed gently. "I'm afraid that's so." She paused to contemplate her next words. "She was killed, I'm afraid, and we are seeking out the one who did it. I'm trying to learn more about her life than I had known before." Which was not much, truth be told, but she kept that to herself.

Lycelle reached up a gnarled hand and leaned against a tree for support. "I always knew that nothing good would come from a life of violence," she murmured.

Mia pursed her lips slightly but case a glance at Ravak to ensure both of their silence. If they offended her at this point, she would not tell them any of what they needed to know. "I am very sorry for your loss," Mia said, and sincerely. "I am a mother myself and have seen my children pass. It's a terrible loss."

The Tuatha'an woman nodded weakly, pressing her lips together. "Thank you...Aes Sedai." She took another rasping breath that seemed to make her bony shoulders lift her body off the ground. "So. You came a long way. What can I tell you?" She pushed away from the tree and hobbled to a large rock just in the treeline, lowering herself down with creaking joints.

"I wanted to know more about her time before she returned to the Tower. I know that she left the Tower and returned to you, to her family, but then she came back. She never was willing to speak much about why or what happened in the between time. I was hoping you would be kind enough to tell me of it," Mia said simply.

Lycelle nodded feebly again. "We were overjoyed when she disavowed the way of violence and returned to us," she began, brushing strands of grey hair away from her face.

She paused for a long moment, her eyes shifting away as she tried to remember.

"For a time, we were a family again. I hoped that maybe she would meet a young man and marry. Our caravan was bigger then, and we met others often. I hoped for her to settle down, have a wagon of her own, and perhaps children... She was a pretty girl, you know. And when she was young, she was so full of life."

And I have no seen her so far beyond life, Mia thought grimly. She of course did not say anything like that out loud. She was not a cruel woman, after all.

"It just never happened. She always seemed a little restless, like she just couldn't settle down anymore. Like she didn't know if she was a part of us, although we tried. Towards the end... She left us when we were camped just outside a city, here in this very nation, though I do not recall the name of the city anymore.

"I recall seeing her talking with some woman in the city, but she would not tell me of it. After that, she was just never the same. It wasn't long after that where she left us again, with barely a word of good-bye."

Mia frowned a little, thoughtful. "Can you tell me anything about this woman?" the Green asked.

Lycelle pressed her lips together, her eyes wandering off into the trees. "Not much," she said apologetically. "I didn't see her very well, but she was well dressed. Looked to have money. Black hair, tied back hard. And... Well, I couldn't figure out her age. I tried, but it just was impossible to pin down from that distance."

Or because she was ageless? Mia wondered. Seira returned of her own volition, or she had said. Had she spoken to an Aes Sedai? And who?

"Can you recall anything else?" Mia asked, trying not to push.

The old woman was quiet for several long moments, but she then shook her head. "Not really," she said. "It was some years ago now, you realize, and my memory is just not as good as it had been. It was painful for my daughter to leave us a second time, and without even any idea why..." She covered her face with her thin hands.

Mia felt that she would not find anything more out, so she patted the woman awkwardly on the shoulder, again expressed her condolences, and then nodded at Ravak for them to leave.

They did not get far, however, because there was a young woman standing next to their horses. She looked nervous as she visibly chewed on her bottom lip. Mia placed her at perhaps fifteen or sixteen, dark and slender. Her nearly black eyes were wide as she looked between these two strangers.

"I'm Seira's niece," she explained quickly. "Her sister's daughter. I knew her, a bit, while she was back. I was still pretty little, you see, but she was nice to me. She treated me like family." She licked her lips, sidestepping when Seren swung his head around and nearly knocked her narrow frame over. "You're here because she's dead?"

"I'm afraid so," Mia said with a slow nod. "What's your name?"

"Lasy," she replied. "I...I saw Seira with the woman that Grandmother saw her with. I wasn't supposed to be so far from my mother, but I had went off. I was bored. I saw Seira with the woman, and she had the same look... The... Well, she frightened me. Like...you do, Aes Sedai." She admitted this with a feeble, almost apologetic smile. "I think she was one."

Mia tried not to smile with amusement at the idea of her scaring people, thinking back to her conversation with Ravak in the stables before they had departed. The light was growing dim around them, but the moon was partially up and full, casting a silver glow around everything that mixed with the still-present daylight and the burgeoning campfires behind them. They flickered over the girl's face.

"She... She did something, I think. I didn't really think much of it then, but now that you're here... I am trying to remember." She licked her lips again. "She...she put her hand on Seira's shoulder, and then Seira's eyes looked weird. Vacant. Like she wasn't there. It was just for a moment and then they parted ways."

Vacant eyes... The words bounced around Mia's head. Compulsion?

Mia grit her teeth slightly. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions. She didn't want to scare the girl off further, so she kept her tone even as she said, "And that is all you remember?"

Lasy bobbed her head once. "Yes, Aes Sedai. I'm sorry I don't know more. I was little." Someone called her name from the camp and she took off like a shot, making Seren shift sideways a little but he was too trained a warhorse to move far. He snorted as if in annoyance and Mia cast a glance over her shoulder at the caravan before moving to her horse and petting his nose, deep in thought.

[Craig]

Ravak

Lasy returned to the caravans after her summons, leaving the Aes Sedai and Gaidin alone once more. Ravak watched the girl depart, eyeing the caravans with his usual concern. His mood was on an even keel, partially down to the level of concentration coming off from Miahala, partially due to his own impressions of the Tinkers being crushed to dust. They were not, as he had thought, a heartless people.

Rav shifted position to watch the horses and Mia. He could not read her mind, but she was thinking. In time she would reveal her thoughts, so there was no need to press her into talking. There was plenty there for Rav himself to think on too. Seira may have spoken with an Aes Sedai. This Aes Sedai could have been from any of the Ajahs, or from either of the Towers. That seemed like practically nothing to go on, but it was enough. There would be records within the Grey Tower about the journeys that various sisters took during that time period. Even if all he could do was eliminate certain possibilities, it would provide Mia with a shorter list to focus on. Assuming she wants to talk to this sister.

He stepped towards Impala's flank, laying a hand on his steed's side. Would they ride out of sight before opening a Gateway back to the Tower, or would their time out of Hama Valon be extended? Regardless, the Gaidin Captain went to one of the saddlebags and pulled out his thicker cloak, exchanging it for the colour-shifting fancloak.

Belting shut the saddlebag, Ravak crossed the distance to Mia, laying a hand gently on the small of her back. The day was turning to night, and the air was getting colder. Mia didn't need to be out in this weather for any longer than needed, in his regard. "Shall we depart?" he asked softly.

[Bella]

Almost everything that Ravak was thinking was thought by Miahala as well, although she was unaware of the details of it. However, she could have guessed since they were similarly minded on many things. Seira had departed the Grey Tower to return to her family and then she had spoken with an Aes Sedai and immediately returned?

Was this Sister of the White Tower or Grey Tower? Logic suggested that it was the Grey Tower, because that was why Seira would return to it...unless there was a witch from Tar Valon with a grudge.

Miahala had been raised with Grey Tower's innate disdain for the White Tower, which was a feeling almost universally returned.

When Ravak touched her back, she blinked and looked up at him. The quiet swell of the bond with his proximity was comforting and grounding to her. She smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes," she said with a small smile. "There are some things to think about and look into, and they cannot be done here. Besides, I told you it would be a short trip. I would like to see us home again now."