Bringing the Rain, attn: Bella

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Though she had known that her Healing weave had worked, Liaran was still somehow relieved once Haeden confirmed that he was better. She shook her head when he apologized for worrying her. "Don't be sorry," she told him. "You're my friend, of course I'm going to worry about you, and want to help." Does he actually think I wouldn't? Liaran paused for a moment, recalling how concerned she'd been once she'd gotten close enough to clearly see his wounds. Quietly, she said, "I'm just....glad you weren't hurt any worse." She suspected that could have happened quite easily, and did not want to think about it.

After finishing her sentence, Liaran yawned and turned away from Haeden, covering her mouth. How late is it? In her alarm over Haeden's condition, she'd lost all track of the time. Now that she'd Healed him and did not need to worry anymore, Liaran was beginning to feel as though she might be able to return to her bed and actually sleep. "I think I'm going to go back upstairs soon," she commented.

[Bella]

Haeden smiled faintly and nodded. "I think that's a good idea," he said. "You're going to need to rest up as much as possible so you can continue your good works tomorrow." He rolled his shoulders. "I'm for bed myself, given that I'm not suddenly very...very tired." He laughed softly, so softly there was barely a sound.

They bid one another good night then, a repeat of earlier as it were, and he felt compelled to say something more...but he didn't know what, really, so he didn't say anything.
* * * Being as tired as he was--between the fight and the Healing--it didn't take long for the Gaidin to fall asleep, but his dreams were frequent and vivid all through the night. He woke feeling somewhat rested, but there was that lingering edge of emotion... He couldn't remember the dreams, however, so he just had the odd feelings.

He left his room and walked over to Liaran's door, knocking softly to see if she was awake, or maybe had headed downstairs already.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran woke up as the sun was rising, a sliver of light sneaking through the shutters of her room's small window. The Aes Sedai smiled to herself as she sat up in bed, relieved that she'd slept through the night with none of the nightmares she had feared would follow her here. She left the bed then, opening the shutters for a moment so she could see the sky. Thick grey and white clouds covered most of the blue, suggesting to Liaran that the work she'd done yesterday had been successful. There was still more to do, so she dressed herself and got ready for another morning spent out on the hill.

It didn't take her long, and when she was done, Liaran sat down in the room's wooden chair to wait for Haeden to wake up. After last night's Healing, she didn't want to wake him before he was ready, so she did not go looking for him. After a short amount of time passed, there was a knock on the door.

Liaran left the chair to open it, smiling brightly up at Haeden. "Good morning," she greeted him. "Did you sleep well? Are you ready to go or do you need to rest longer?"

[Bella]

Haeden enjoyed that smile the moment he saw it, and he returned it with a small crooked one of his own as he bowed his head to her. "I assure you that I am quite well, thank you," he said genuinely. "Sleep was not long in coming once I reached my bed, and I am not ready to face a new day."

Stepping back, he gestured for her to step out of her room and walk with him. Once she had, the pair started walking down the hall and toward the stairs.

"I hope that you slept well, Liaran," he said. "I'm sure that coming downstairs to find me as I was had to be something of a shock to the sleep pattern."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

"It was a surprise, and not a good one," Liaran said as they walked down the hall and to the stairs. "But I was already awake, so it's just as well that I saw you, so I could Heal you." She suspected that if she had not gone downstairs, the Gaidin might have tried to sleep, injured as he was, and was glad that had not actually happened. Putting a foot on the stairs, she continued. "I did sleep well, better than I have in a while, actually."

Liaran was quiet going down the stairs, but once they'd both reached the bottom, she turned her head towards Haeden. Looking up at him, she asked, "Did you want to eat breakfast before we leave, or would you rather go now?"

[Bella]

Haeden still felt bad that she'd had to walk in on him in that state, although he would never say that he was ungrateful for the Healing since it had made his night go much better than it would have otherwise. And at least she was able to return to sleep and sleep well afterwards, as he would have felt much worse had it been otherwise.

Tilting his head down to meet her eyes again, he offered another one of those small crooked smiles and gestured at the common room. "I can manage either way," he said. "Though I would have imagined that you'd need something to start off the day before you begin another long haul of channeling?"

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran had asked the question more for Haeden's sake than her own. When she was in the Tower, it wasn't unusual for her to forget to eat, but Haeden's words about the demands of her channeling made sense to her. She nodded and said, "You're right, I should probably eat first." He'll make a good Warder, she observed to herself, and was immediately annoyed with herself for the thought. Stop thinking about that. You're here to work. Liaran tried to distract herself by finding a table for the two of them. Taking a seat, she sincerely hoped this morning would go better than last night had.

She was afraid that it wouldn't, as they were both quiet. It wasn't that Liaran didn't want to talk, but that she wasn't sure what to say. Quite against her will, Liaran's thoughts kept circling back to Haeden, and to the Warder bond. Her eyes drifted towards the wall and away from him as she tried to stop herself. She sighed in irritation and tried to force herself to think of the work ahead, of cloud formations, wind speeds, and how much Water she would need to cause a good rain that would not flood the area. None of it was new knowledge to her, and it failed to hold her attention for long.

Without really noticing what she was doing, Liaran's eyes flickered back towards the Gaidin. He hadn't said anymore than she had, which had not been at all helpful in her attempts to distract herself. She didn't usually mind the silence, and often appreciated that neither of them needed to talk all the time when they were together, but it was bothering her now. It felt to Liaran as though something she couldn't identify hung in the air between them, making it difficult for either of them to speak. She studied Haeden, wondering what he was thinking, how he was feeling. Liaran was quickly beginning to feel as awkward as she had last night, and she did not like it. She didn't understand what was wrong this morning any better than she had when she'd lain awake yesterday evening. Frustrated, Liaran decided to ask Haeden about it before the tension between them worsened. She met his eyes as she said softly, "Haeden....is something wrong? You've been so quiet."

[Bella]

Haeden hadn't meant to be so quiet, tangled up in his own thoughts. His eyes continued to roam the room at random, as circumspect as possible, just to keep an eye on things. His training didn't let that stop, even if it was more on the level of a Gaidin's instincts than any conscious effort on his part.

As they had found a seat, snippets of his dreams had revealed themselves to his memory and it was...distracting. Those images were interlaced with images of his fight in the street the night before, thoughts and feelings that came in those moments that he had not allowed himself to consider at the time but that his mind has tackled during his sleep.

"Haeden...is something wrong? You've been so quiet."

His green eyes blinked several times as he brought his gaze back around to her. He half-smiled with a soundless laugh. "My apologies, Liaran," he said with genuine repentance. "I did not mean to me. I just suddenly seem to have a lot on my mind." He rubbed the back of his neck, contemplating how much to say.

"That fight last night seemed to shake a lot loose in my mind, you could say. It's made me think of things, although apparently mostly in my dreams and I'm now remembering it."

He paused when the serving girl came by and asked them what they'd like to drink. Letting Liaran go first, he ordered himself some strong black tea. The young woman left, and he turned back to the Aes Sedai sitting across from him that had managed to confuse him more than he could recall anyone having done before.

Blowing out a soft breath, he looked at the table where his fingertips tapped a wordless rhythm, and he continued, "We spoke of the bond last night, and I suppose it was on my mind. I've realized that I have an Aes Sedai that I would like to swear my sword to, but I fear she would not wish my vow."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Envy flared up within her when Haeden spoke of the person he wished to bond. It wasn't an emotion Liaran felt often, but there was no mistaking it for any other. Her eyes left his immediately in an attempt to hide it. He has every right to choose someone else, she told herself. She knew it was true, but that didn't make her feel any less hurt. Her eyes remained down, looking at the wood of the table in front of her as if it were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Liaran didn't know what to say. Certainly, she wasn't going to tell Haeden, now or ever, of her own realization from last night. She had wanted to, once they'd returned back home, but Liaran now knew it could never happen. If he's really a friend, you should support him in speaking to this other woman. Maybe that was what she should do, but the idea hurt so much Liaran wasn't sure she'd be capable of acting on it.

She was grateful for the distraction when the serving girl came over, offering a short break from the struggle with her own feelings. Her eyes left the table briefly to order, but when that was done, they returned to the table. Liaran understood that her behavior was impolite at best, and outright rude at worst, but she still didn't think she could stand to look at Haeden and allow him to see how much his words had hurt her. Her eyes closed for a second, forcing down the pain and the jealousy she still felt, and when they opened again, Liaran wore the Aes Sedai mask of serenity. It wasn't something she had ever done much when she was with Haeden. After what he'd seen when he'd first met her, Liaran had never seen the need for it with him, but it was necessary now.

Finally, her head lifted, but Liaran's eyes shifted around the room, moving from ceiling to walls to floor as she fought for the control she needed to look directly at Haeden. The words she had to say, as difficult for her as they were to speak, were delivered in a voice that was completely calm and almost emotionless. "I suppose........if you don't want to wait for her to approach you, you'll have to talk to her about it yourself." Liaran hoped she was managing to sound at least somewhat encouraging. She was quiet when she continued, "I...can't imagine....she wouldn't want you....unless she just doesn't want a Warder at all. Even....if she didn't....there's always the chance she could....change her mind someday." I did. The thought was unwelcome, a reminder of how foolish she'd been to allow herself to hope that Haeden might consent to becoming her Warder. Liaran wasn't sure she wanted to know what his reaction to her words would be, and was quick to look away again. Their drinks had arrived while she'd been speaking, and Liaran picked up her glass of water to sip from it. She focused on that instead of Haeden, putting all of her effort into maintaining her pretense of calm.

[Bella]

After he spoke, Haeden fell quiet again and watched her.

Her reaction would be telling, he thought, one way or the other. It came down to a point where he had to know. Haeden was not going to lie to himself anymore, but he was still cautious. It was in his nature. She wouldn't look at him, and when she did, there was nothing on her face. She had stopped being Liaran and become Aes Sedai.

That said a lot more than any expression could.

And when she replied, well, it wasn't exactly smooth. A smile wanted to break out on his face, but he was sure that it would be interpreted wrong and so he kept his face just as impassive until she was done and took a sip of her water.

Haeden folded his arms on the table and leaned forward, feeling emboldened--as odd as it would sound--by her lack of response. "Liaran," he said, his voice low. "The Aes Sedai is you."