Sweeping Away (Attn: Anyone!)

[Trent]

Ayden wiped a bit of sweat from his brow as he made his way down the path between buildings, broom in hand. He'd been back, what, a few weeks now? He was starting to feel back in the swing of things again and had finished off most of his punishments from leaving the Tower, even if it was for his mother's funeral, when he went and mouthed off to an Aes Sedai who didn't take terribly kindly to it. He had been instructed to sweep this path until he came to the end of it. He was starting to wonder if this wasn't a circular path...

He shrugged and kept sweeping. He'd go at least until dinner time. No sense in the Aes Sedai coming to check in on him and getting in worse trouble. At this rate he'd have a better chance landing a job as a servant or stable hand before he ever made Dedicated. He shielded his hand and looked up into the sky, wondering when some clouds would come in and at least give him some shade. Sweat was starting to soak through his uniform and he was dying to take off his shirt like he would back home in Mayene, but apparently that was frowned upon or something. Whoever came up with an all-black outfit for Soldiers to work in the heat deserved something terrible.

The one lucky thing is that he'd been put in a room without a roommate yet, which suited him just fine. He knew it would be temporary until a new soldier joined, but he was enjoying it for the short time he could get it. As he swept a rather attractive Dedicated walked by, a few books in hand, looking like he was headed to the Library. Ayden smiled at him and they made eye contact, and he swore the young man blushed as he walked past. Ayden grinned and went back to his sweeping.

Someone else walking down the path took his mind off of his blushing Dedicated. Said someone didn't walk around him as they made their way towards him. He looked up from his sweeping to see who it was.

[Bella]

Gareth Tomosan Although it wasn't really his custom to act more like a Brown than a Yellow, the truth was that even those outside the Librarian Ajah had to sometimes do research and read books. There were some new things that had been discovered and brought to the Tower during his absence and the over-sized Asha'man (at least according to those who thought his hulking blacksmith's apprentice form was better suited to being Green) was still feeling the rush to catch up on things.

He had never liked feeling behind on anything, and he was among the most skilled of the Tower's healers. He wasn't terribly skilled at much else, so he took pride in that and wanted to continue to do his best.

As such, he was walking along the path with a book open in his hand, reading as he went. Was it the wisest course of action? No, but walking the grounds was one of the few moments of true quiet he seemed to get anymore and it thus lent itself to the task whether wise or not, so he was walking and reading and almost stepped on a poor young man who was sweeping the long walkway.

Just managing to avoid the collision, he looked up. "My apologies, Soldier," he rumbled in that deep-chest voice of his. It wasn't normally custom for the fully ranked of the Tower to apologize to the Learning Ranks, but as a man who equally prided himself on causing no harm... Well, it made sense in his head. Then he noted the broom and looked at the path he was on. A memory was sparked and he couldn't help but comment, "Someone offended Kilyra Sedai, I see."

[Trent]

Happening to look up to see the man coming down the path very quickly, Ayden was ready to jump out of the way of the Asha'man walking down the path with his nose in a book. However, the man noticed him in time to avoid the collision and Ayden relaxed, bracing some of his weight on the broom he was carrying. Ayden would assume that an Asha'man reading while walking down a path would be a Brown, but this one had a Yellow cord on his uniform. Interesting, Ayden thought to himself. Maybe he was researching a natural cure or treatment of some kind.

Before the man could address him, Ayden gave him a respectful bow. Ayden hoped it would soften the blow of being yelled at for being in the way, as sometimes was the case for fully-raised members, especially channelers, but surprisingly, this Asha'man apologized. Ayden blinked, unsure of how to respond. "...uh, no need to apologize, Asha'man. I should have moved out of the way."

Seeming that their encounter was finished, when he was about to keep sweeping, the Asha'man mentioned the Aes Sedai that had given him this chore. Bloody, blasted woman.

He gave a resigned smile, "Is it that obvious?"

[Bella]

Standing just a couple of inches taller than the Soldier, when he often stood more than that (or less, on rarer occasions), he held the younger man's eyes and offered a small, rueful smile. His mind flashed back over the decades to his own time of training, where he had generally been a well-behaved student but could find the wrong side of an Aes Sedai or Asha'man if that person was keen to do so.

"This has long..." He paused, he smirk growing. "...long history of using this path as her personal path of retribution. Many a Novice and Soldier has had to sweep this walkway, feeling like it was never-ending. I having been among them on an occasion or two."

[Trent]

Ayden wiped a bit of sweat off his brow with his uniform's sleeve. "Well, it's good to know others have been through it and survived. There's hope for me yet," he said with a smirk. He turned back to continue sweeping, but stopped himself, considering a thought that had been nagging at him lately. "Asha'man, if you would forgive me being so forward... My name is Ayden Tyre, and I recently returned to the Tower from an absence. My mentor that I had upon first joining seems to have left the Tower for Light knows how long. I can't help but feel as though my progress here is a little stunted from lack of any one-on-one training outside of classes. I would petition the Master of Soldiers... but I have the feeling he's still cross with me for leaving the Tower without permission and I'd rather not earn any more chores for not bringing it to his attention sooner."

Ayden realized he was rambling and set himself. "I know this is an odd request, but, I plan to aspire to the Yellow Ajah, and you are a member of that Ajah. I was hoping, if you don't currently have anyone you are mentoring, that I might request your help?"

Ayden definitely needed someone to assist him in his training. He would ask Seth, who had offered him training in Healing... and he would probably pursue that at some point, but Seth made it difficult to focus. Gareth was certainly not an unattractive man, but at least he didn't have a burning crush that would distract him from being productive. He'd been a soldier long enough, he needed to start having some noticeable progress.

[Bella]

The question rather caught the Asha'man off guard. It wasn't that he felt it "presumptuous" or anything silly like that. (He strongly believed that you learned by asking questions, and that if you did so politely, no harm came from asking a question...) But he had never had a learning rank ask him to be their mentor. He had been assigned to many Yellow aspirants during his years before, but never by one to be mentored...

Still, he admired the man's drive and he wanted to support anyone who pursued the healing arts. He loved to teach others about it, because aside from his wife and children, it was the driving passion of his life. He might like a brawler, but he wanted to heal more than anything. "I currently do not have anyone under my tutelage," he rumbled, "and I am indeed a proud member of the Yellow Ajah. I would be happy to assist you in learning more about it." He smiled and nodded slightly.

[Trent]

Ayden's nervousness caught up to him the second after he asked the question. Given the amount of punishments he had been racking up since his return, today being no exception, his breath caught in his throat a little. Would Gareth be offended at his directness? Would he dismiss him and add some more chores to his already stacked schedule?

His fears were luckily unwarranted and Ayden breathed out a sigh of relief and a grin came to his face at Gareth's positive reply. It was nice to meet a fully raised member of the Tower be not quite a stick in the mud, in Ayden's opinion. Ayden was glad to meet someone he could look to as a role model, an Asha'man that didn't purport himself as a pompous wool-head to others as so many he'd met had, and like his previous mentor had.

"Thank you, Asha'man...sir. Umm, I just realized I don't know your name, sir."

[Bella]

The big Asha'man chuckled as he realized that was true. The question of mentorship had been exchanged before they had even made introductions, but then, things didn't always go according to the usual rules or one's expectations, now did they? "My name is Gareth Tomosan," he said, inclining his head slightly. "And you, Soldier?"

[Trent]

"Ayden Tyre, sir, from Mayene." He winced internally, realizing that the Asha'man probably didn't care where he was from. "Thank you again. I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind..." He trailed off for a second before continuing. Dared he even ask? The man had just agreed to be his mentor, someone in the Ajah he was thinking about joining. Surely he should wait at least a few days, a week would be better, before asking another favor. However, he felt that his training had been stagnant lately and he felt he was ready to become a Dedicated. Besides, since when did he think so much before leaping?

"My One Power Basics class was more than a year before I took my leave of absence from the Tower, and in my time back I've been told in my training that I either need to take it again or have a mentor sign off on my basic channeling abilities. I know I've already asked more than a Soldier should of an Asha'man sir, and I wouldn't blame you for having my punishments here increased, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind assessing my channeling and see if it is something you'd feel comfortable signing off on?"

[Bella]

"Well, Soldier Ayden," Gareth said, "I don't find most questions to be an ill, so long as they are asked with respect." He supposed he wasn't like many of the others of his rank, but he had spent a great deal of his time in the Tower teaching and then a great deal of recent time not even in the Tower at all...it had apparently tempered him. "Your question is not unreasonable and as I've agreed to be your mentor, it is down to me. I am willing to help you on this, but not right now. We will schedule a time to meet and for us to know more of one another, and can do it then."