Second Best (Attn: Jenny)

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow

The office of the Master of Arms had been redecorated for its latest inhabitant. Features from his old office were back in place, such as his weapon rack and his desk. The rest of the room was given over to some bookshelves, which no longer flanked the fireplace, and a set of armchairs surrounding a circular table. He had more need for meetings in this role, and Ravak didn't wish to conduct all of his diplomacies from behind his desk.

Diplomacy was on the cards for this morning, although not with the usual adversaries. He was genuinely anxious about the forthcoming encounter and had rechecked his attire a number of times in his private study. He had a dark green shirt on with silver embroidery around the cuffs, and his usual untamed hair was flattened and combed back. The aim was to project confidence even if he didn't feel it.

Closing his eyes, Ravak tried to quell his mind. Mia was in there with him, a calming presence against the backdrop of worry. He tried to focus on her, to leech some of that Aes Sedai tranquillity through the bond. It didn't work that way, but just thinking about his promised made him calmer and more relaxed. She was truly the most wonderful person to step into his life.

Rav opened his eyes to see a shadow lurking near his doorway. As blurry as the shape was, it clearly conveyed who it was that was standing just out of sight. The Master of Arms stood up, walked around to the front of his desk, and pointedly cleared his throat.

"The door's open Kaira. Will you please come in?"

[Jenny]

Kaira Darrow

It had been a long time. Longer than she liked to think about. At first she had been furious, hardly able to think through the red haze of anger and betrayal. Then suddenly the Mistress of Novices piled lessons upon her, perhaps to stop her from getting into mischief. Soon after, the Tower came under attack. When everything blew over, she was dragged by the ear to the Mistress of Novices’ office and disciplined for sneaking out. Ooh she had been too tender to sit for days! Classes quickly resumed and there had been no time for thought.

Before she realized it, too much time had passed. It was too late for apologies, even if she desired it.

The summons had come early in the morning. Kaira rolled out of bed first but Nasrin was quicker. They reached for the note at the same time. Both were sick of wearing novice whites, sick of the bullying of the Accepted, sick of jumping at the beck and call of others hardly more experienced than they. It had been five years – almost six for Kaira – and they had seen countless novices younger and less capable than they don the striped dress of an Accepted. It was infuriating.

I’m ready! she wanted to tell Vanya Sedai. But she knew that the Mistress of Novices would only take that as a sign of immaturity. So they stewed and waited and leapt with anxious anticipation for every note that slid under their door. Instead of the call to be tested, the slip of paper summoned Kaira to another type of test.

She went to the mirror and began braiding her hair with trembling fingers.

It had been a long time. But still not long enough.
----- At the sound of her father’s voice, Kaira stopped picking at the threads of her dress and drew herself up. She slid through the door. And stared.

Ravak’s hair was combed back with nary a hair out of place. And he was wearing embroidery with silver scrollwork. Why under the Light was he dressed so fine? Belatedly she remembered that he had been promoted... to the Master of Arms.

She swept a deep curtsy. And though it was against protocol, she spoke first. She was his daughter, not any of his random supplicants!

“Good morning, father. You look well. Congratulations on your recent engagement.”

She held her hands behind her back, twisting her fingers together. She hadn’t meant to sound so stiff. An awkward tension hung in the air as they stared at each other.

[Craig]

Ravak

Ravak's smile faded as Kaira made her sweeping curtsy. It was fine and appropriate for a novice to make such a display of deference, but this was his baby girl. He'd hoped, perhaps foolishly, that the time apart may have lessened her reluctance to see him.

When she at last spoke, Rav thought maybe she had. At least she said "father" and not "Gaidin"; he wouldn't have coped well from the latter greeting. And... she knows about the engagement?

"Thank you, I..." He spread his hands by his sides apologetically. "I was going to tell you just now, but I see you've already heard." Ravak was sure this news would only antagonise Kaira. Her words did seem strained, but she could have just not mentioned it, or twisted it into a barb. Kaira knew how to play with his heartstrings like a master harpist.

"Will you please sit?" He gestured towards the plush armchairs around the table, taking the nearest one himself. There was a tea set to one side but the water was cold, and he wasn't going to ask Kaira to make it hot like some mere servant.

Sitting opposite his daughter, Rav found himself more pained than before. He had no idea how to bridge the gap that had spawned between the two of them, and he feared that the other revelations he had to tell her would push her further away. More than anything, he loved his daughter. He loved both of his daughters, and of course he loved Mia, but Kaira had been with him first. Growing up, they had been thick as thieves. Nowadays, they seemed like strangers.

The Shienaran's cool grey eyes fell onto his closed hands which rested on the edge of the table. He was projecting none of his confidence now. When he spoke, it was in a quiet voice.

"Kaira, I want you to know that I'm... sorry. A child should never have to deal with their parents' mistakes, but you've had to endure much due to both your mother's actions and my own. I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you because of the transgressions in my past. I never meant to hurt you, and I know your mum never intended that either."

Slowly his gaze rose to met Kaira's, fearful for what he may see in her face. Was it too late to say sorry? He prayed it was not, but it wasn't the Creator to whom he prayed. It was to the brunette before him who'd once loved to be read stories at bedtime and tugged on his beard. What he would do to have that Kaira back again; a Kaira that loved him.

[Jenny]

Kaira

Kaira squared her shoulders and walked toward one of the armchairs and sank into its ample cushion. Her face felt frozen, her lips stiff and tongue too heavy to move. She tried to hold on to this facade of calm. It helped to pretend that she was as unaffected and confident as one of the Aes Sedai that she aspired to be. She glanced curiously around the office and recognized his weapon rack and swords and desk. Familiar furnishings in an unfamiliar setting, just like the man sitting across from her.

That man was now staring into his hands. Kaira could not see his expression. As he spoke, Kaira felt a rise of defiance. Not against her father, but against his mention of her. As far as Kaira was concerned, she would have been better off if she never had a mother in the first place. Mirin had been a Darkfriend and a murderer whose reasons for turning to the Shadow were her own. How could he claim to know Mirin’s intentions…?

Then Ravak lifted his head. All her thoughts crumbled like dust. There was frank pain in her father's expression. She could not hold back any longer. Without even a glance at the door to see if anyone else could witness this unbridled display of affection, she threw herself across the table and wrapped her arms around her father’s neck.

“I know, Daddy,” she said. “I know. I didn’t mean to go for so long without visiting you. I didn’t want to talk to you for a while because I was so angry, but then I realized how silly it was. But there was just so much going on and I never found time to come back. When I did, it felt like it was too late."

She took his face in her hands and then leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.

“I’m sorry for staying away so long,” she whispered.

[Craig]

Ravak

Old age was making him soft. He just wanted to clutch Kaira to his chest and never let go. Then again, she was doing a good job of that herself. For the last few months, he'd grudgingly respected her decision to avoid him. She was an adult after all, even if he still saw his baby girl in her features. She would be an Aes Sedai one day, and Ravak knew well enough how much growing up that involved. Still, her embrace and her words made him wish she was still eight, when life was still a fun adventure, and he could fix everything with a few kind words.

"I'm sorry too," he whispered back. Maybe that was enough. Maybe it wasn't. He didn't want to dredge up the past at any rate, although the past in this instance was a living, breathing individual who would also be Aes Sedai in due course. What had happened between himself and Sinead could not be mended nor undone, and the same was true of Zarayne. Whether Kaira accepted Zarayne or not was neither here nor there, so long as he had her back in his confidence.

Pulling away with reluctance -- he didn't want to be an embarrassing father -- he took his first proper look at Kaira in months. "You've grown." He smiled. She was looking more like Mirin than ever before, not that he would dare say that out loud. It was his fault that Mirin was a touchy subject between them, but Kaira's vehemence against her had spiralled beyond his control. It was a surefire way to start a fight between them.

"Now that you are here, I want to tell you this news properly. I asked Miahala to marry me last night and she accepted my proposal." A smile softened the hard lines to his face as he spoke. "I know you don't know her well, if really at all, but she makes me happy. Happy in a way that only you've been able to do for me in the past, but don't think that doesn't mean I'm not still here for you. You're still my baby girl, and I'll still be your father regardless of anything else. Remember, you can always come to me if you need anything."

"That said, there are other things I need to say. Things you're probably silently aware of, but I need to mention it out loud."

"I am not Mia's first husband, nor her first Warder. Chances are, I won't be her last husband or Warder neither. I don't want to get morbid, but you and Mia, like all channellers, will outlive me. That's just the way the Pattern works. I don't want you to think ill of her for that, neither now nor in the future. These are just the way things are between Aes Sedai and Gaidin."

Rav leant forward in his chair, and pulled Kaira's hands into his own. "There is something else which may genuinely upset you." The smile had completely faded from Ravak's face, replaced by a haunted look. He was fully aware that this revelation may undo everything that had just transpired between them. "There was a reason I asked Mia to marry me yesterday, aside from the fact that I love her and that she makes me happy. Miahala is... with child."

[Jenny]

Kaira

She had already heard of the proposal through whispered rumors, but the news that Miahala was with child surprised her. Another child to compete for Rav's affection? Yet it was not truly a competition. It was difficult, but she knew that it was wrong to view it that way. Even Zarayne had turned out to be tolerable.

"I..."

Kaira paused and swallowed before continuing on.

"I'm glad that she makes you happy," she said. "And don't worry. Even if something happens to you -" and Light willing nothing would "- there is nothing that I would hold against her. Nor her babe." Not yet. She wasn't making any promises.

She pulled away and sat back to perch herself at the edge of her chair.

"I hope you don't expect me to babysit," she said, dryly.

[Craig]

Ravak

Rav chuckled, a wide grin breaking the hard lines of his face. "No, not at all," he chortled. "I certainly don't expect it, but you'd be more than welcome to if you so desire. If may be a while before you have children of your own, but it's not too early to get in some practice." Truth be told, when Rav imagined next having a babe in his arms, he thought it would be Kaira's rather than his own. Apparently the Creator wasn't entirely done with his baby-making skills quite yet.

The amusement faded but didn't entirely depart from Rav's face. It changed into a tenderness for the daughter before him. "I hope you'll be a part of his or her life when they're born. I think you'll make an excellent big sister, and..." Rav smiled again, but only half-heartedly. Occasionally he knew when he was about to say something stupid, and this was one of those times. "And maybe it's something you and your other sister can bond over." There, he had said it. He didn't just want to make a new family with Miahala; he wanted to pull together his current and future family into one cohesive unit. Mia, himself, Zarayne, Kaira, Elia and her twins. Plus all of Mia's family, although that would have to be his fiancée's endeavour. She had at least a hundred years on him, plus more siblings beside.

[Jenny]

Kaira

Kaira mirrored his smile, glad that she had amused her father, but inwardly cringed as he mentioned… grandchildren. Initiates of the Tower were strictly forbidden from romantic entanglements with the opposite sex. And Kaira herself had no urgent desire to fall pregnant and bear children. Watching her aunt toddle about, as swollen as a melon, was bad enough. It was a horribly awkward subject to bring up, especially with her own father, and she gladly seized onto the next topic.

“Who, Zarayne?” she asked. Her lips twisted into a grimace. Then she reluctantly nodded her head. Now that she had offered her apology and found her father’s forgiveness, she would agreed to virtually any demand. She didn’t want to spark another argument so soon. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Maybe,” she said, in a strained tone. “I will try to be more pleasant.”

[Craig]

Ravak

He smiled. It was clear enough that Kaira was not pleased with the proposal, but at least she hadn't spat the suggestion back in his face. "All I ask for is that you try. I don't expect miracles." And that was that. He'd got out both pieces of information and Kaira was still in the room. That was his goal for this meeting. He bore an easy grin as he recognised this.

Rav pressed the back of his hand against the teapot as if he didn't already know it was cold. No orders nor instructions; just suggestions.

"So tell me about yourself," he said, settling back into the armchair. "How are you and... Nasrin getting along? I never had a roommate when I was a Drin, so I don't know what it's like having someone around all the time."

"Are you needing any new dresses or anything?" he asked urgently, suddenly jumped from one topic to another. "You know just to ask if you need anything."

[Jenny]

Kaira

As her father seemed to relax, Kaira also felt the tension ebb out of her shoulders.

“Nasrin and I are getting on wonderfully,” she said. Then she grinned. “I’m sure old Mordjen has been keeping you updated.”

Dresses? Ravak always had such old-fashioned ideas about what a girl would want. What she really needed, she thought, was fewer chores and some ‘accidents’ to befall some of the less kind Accepted. And to be summoned for the test for Acceptance, of course. But to admit any of these things would be a sign of immaturity, impatience, and impertinence, as Vanya Sedai would put it.

Karmatic justice would have to wait.

“No, thank you. I…”

Her gaze landed on the teapot and her expression became sly and mischievous. She leaned forward and rubbed her hands together.

“… what I really need right now is some hot tea,” she declared. “Watch this.”

Concentrating, she opened herself to the Source. It was not easy. No, it would never be easy to stem that wonderful tide of joy, to curb the urge to drink in more.

With difficulty, she tore her attention away from the warmth that lit her from within, and focused on the teapot. She drew out a thread of Fire. It wavered - she was not strong with Fire - but she pressed onward and tucked the strand just so. Then came threads of Water and Air. The weave settled and shimmered. Smiling, she pulled it tight…

Then without warning, the teapot exploded.

Kaira scrambled to pull out a handkerchief and dove forward to mop up the mess… to no avail. It was too much for one poor lone piece of cloth to handle. Cautiously, she peered up at her father and burst into laughter at the expression on his face.

“Please, don’t get me in trouble,” she said. “I won’t tell if you don’t!”