The Last Hurrah (attn: Jenny)

[Astarte]

So, it had all gone as planned.

Well as best as any truly complicated plan could be said to have done. Betrys had planted out the last of her special seedlings and all it required now was the application of her own particular touch of the One Power and the weave she had developed and it would all come together. Part of her remaining silently nervous about just what was going to end up happening but that didn't mean she regretted enough to turn around and stop; only forwards!

"Mirin?" she called, reaching out her hand at the same time to knock on the door, the final meal had finished a short while ago and Betrys had managed to slip away without anyone collaring her for a conversation or a reminder about some work or assignment and had made her way up to her friends room. It was still strange to arrive at this door and not just walk right on inside the room but she supposed that it was one of the changes in her life that she had to get used too "...Mirin, it's only me" she added and started to try and open the door, standing out in the corridor just seemed liked a seriously bad idea.

She didn't want to end up looking guilty out where anyone could see.

[Jenny]

Mirin's room was small and poorly decorated. Yet it was luxurious compared to the room that Mirin had shared with Betrys as a novice. A small, square Taraboner rug woven in faded blue and green stripes covered the floor, and the mirrored washstand in the corner held a chipped white pitcher sitting in the washbasin. The bed was wide, its covers neatly tucked in. Mirin sat at her desk and puzzled over her new patient's records.

The man had been in an accident involving a wagon and a horse - and afterwards, he insisted that his arms trembled uncontrollably. His family had brought him to the Grey Tower for help. On physical exam, he had seemed to be healthy at rest, but as soon as he reached for an object, his arms began waving wildly. It was unlike anything that Mirin or her mentor, Aria Sedai of the Yellow, had ever seen before. A Delving of the mind saw no damage. So... where was the lesion?

She tapped her pen thoughtfully on her desk, wondering if this problem was truly physical, or even mental. Then, she heard a knock on her door. A familiar voice called out her name. It was Betrys!

A smile lit up her face. "Come in, Betrys," she called. She left her papers scattered on her desk and stood to welcome her friend. She kissed Betrys on the cheek. "How is your day going?"

Then, a mischievous glint appeared in her grey eyes. "And for our little experiment, tell me, is the garden ready?"

[Astarte]

Betrys was used to her friends habit of kissing when she chose to greet her, it hadn't been something she had been all that familiar with before but she had learned to rather enjoy the sensation and feeling of welcome. Besides it also reminded her all the good times they had shared, even if the beginning hadn't been all that smooth.

"Just fine. I was in the Infirmary mixing more tonics and salves" it hadn't been exciting but Betrys still enjoyed it immensely just the same "How about yerself?" she asked, stepping fully into the room and carefully closing the door behind as well. The last thing she wanted was someone wandering past and overhearing the details of their planned prank. That would be a seriously bad idea and utterly spoil all the hard work that she had put in over the course of the last few days with her careful planting out of the pots "Yes! I finished off the last. All it needs it my Weave and they'll all spring up" she grinned, reaching out to clasp at Mirin's hands with the force of her own excitement about the pending display of her all her hard works. Yes, it would probably land her in trouble, both of them in all likelihood but it would a useful way of seeing how effective her idea actually was for protection and defense.

She looked around briefly. Betrys noticed that the room was pretty much the same as her own, it missed the pots of earth, scattered clippings of plant material and the various books that discussed Earthsinging and the application of her talents but that wasn't very surprising given the difference between them when it came to the One Power and using it.

[Jenny]

Mirin beamed at her best friend. She could always, always count on Betrys. She glanced at the marks on her candlewick and noted the time.

"Let us head out three hours after Low," she suggested. "Most will be finishing up their chores or preparing for bed. And, we'll have time to work on our studies until then. Where do you need to stand? In the middle of the garden, or moving about? Will you be casting the weave on all the plants at once, or one at a time? I'll need to set up alarms at the entrances and watch for intruders so you can focus on the plants. Light help us, I hope we don't attract too many curious people with so much saidar being used."

Betrys did not seem flustered by the barrage of questions - she was used to Mirin's inquisitive nature by now. After all, Mirin always insisted on knowing everything when she was plotting their pranks. It was, perhaps, the only reason they avoided detection... most of the time.

She clasped her hands together in excitement. She couldn't wait until the next morning when their masterpiece would be revealed. This would be their most elaborate, most wonderful prank yet!

-----
At three hours after Low, the two women left the Accepted quarters for the gardens behind the Tower. Dark cloaks covered their dresses. They stopped at the entrance and Mirin embraced the Power, letting the sweetness of saidar flow into her. She only drew a small amount, wanting to preserve her strength. They had a long night ahead of them.

Spirit, Water, Fire and Air... her threads of Fire were tenuous, as they always were. But Betrys moved to touch her hand, and, comforted, Mirin guided the weave into place. The weave, small and barely noticeable to all but the most observant, settled in a faint glimmer along the path. Any human who trespassed would trigger a thin thread of Air to chime softly in Mirin's ear.

She smiled at her friend, and they moved on. Three more times they stopped - and three more times Mirin set the weave of warning, each with a slightly different tone. North, south, east, west. All entrances were covered. And finally, they stopped in the center of the gardens.

"Are you ready?" Mirin whispered. At Betrys' nod, she moved a short distance away to watch her friend display her Talent.

[Astarte]

"I've been working on the Weave, it will be released all at once...at least it should be" Betrys admitted, this was after all a huge sort of experiment and not something that she'd been able to practise very often or in fact at all in terms of some of the aspects of this prank and there was a lot of things that could end up going wrong.

"Well...we do wanna hae people turn up Mirin - so attract away? Just at the right time[/b]" she laughed at the whole idea of everyone rushing out and seeing what they done, well mostly she had done in terms of the creation and placement of the plants throughout the garden.

It had been Mirin's help in suggesting it in the first place though. Not that she believed that they'd get caught but she would definitely see about insisting on taking the full weight of punishment if necessary "I am so looking forward tae seeing what people make of it" she added and grinned. The barrage had been expected and was typical of the intensely logical and ordered mind that her friend possessed. Besides as much as all of this was a risk, it was still about having fun when all was said and done and Betrys really hoped that would be the case. Eventually. She was fairly sure that people would be upset, especially those in line to serve out the punishments later on.

Of course, they'd need to be caught first.

Betrys had allowed Mirin to lead the way and to set up the watch, applying only a gentle touch when it looked like she was having some difficulties. Fire had always been a challenge and while it wasn't one that she carried that didn't make her blind to the limits that the Light had apparently placed onto Mirin's shoulders to bear "All ready?" she questioned but didn't wait for an answer before she moved to bend her will to the One Power, connecting and weaving almost as easily as she breathed.

The activation Weave was a personal one, relying heavily on the Earth flows that came most naturally to her at all times. While Betrys hadn't discussed her Earthsinging very often it was part of the song that she heard that was used now to spur the plants and their growth, shooting them up and spreading out their colored and pattern leaves and vines until they were shaped into what could be best described as Trolloc-shaped and fearsome too boot. Which was very much her intention at the moment.

"How does it look?" she asked, not opening her eyes just yet as she finished connecting to each and everyone of her little unassuming seedlings with the touch of her Weave and the One Power.

[Jenny]

Mirin watched, fascinated and a little jealous, as the glow of the saidar appeared around Betrys. It grew brighter and brighter as her friend drank in the Power. Then Betrys thrust her hands downward toward the ground, and multi-colored threads began pouring from her hands, twisting into the earth. Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Spirit – all five elements twined in a dizzying weave to melt into the ground.

Betrys’ face was ecstatic with the joy of saidar. Her eyes were unfocused, looking at something that Mirin could not see. But Mirin could sense the Power spreading underneath her feet, stretching widely across the gardens, reaching for the special plants that Betrys had created.

Ding.

The sound chimed in her ear. Mirin frowned and tore her eyes away from her friend. It had been too much to hope for that this dazzling display of the Power would not attract curious onlookers. Yes, Betrys had work to do – but Mirin, too, had her job laid out before her. East, she thought. She strode toward the eastern entrance.

Two small figures dressed in white crept along the path. The fool girls hadn’t even bothered to throw on a dark cloak for camouflage.

“Saera! Vesra!” Mirin barked, recognizing the novices. The girls squealed and took off running. Mirin embraced the Power and wove threads of Air to snatch them up.

“What are the two of you doing out of bed?” she snarled as she moved closer.

“N-nothing, Accepted Mirin,” Saera said. A twitch from Vesra caught Mirin’s attention. She was trying to reach for saidar! Mirin’s opinion of the girl dropped from foolish to stupid. With two quick weaves of Spirit, she shielded both of them and tied it off. Their expressions finally became fearful as they realized what she had done.

Mirin snorted. Had they really thought that they could overwhelm her?

“For your attempt to lie to me, I will report you to the Mistress of Novices. Take yourself to her office tomorrow morning before chore time. The shields will wear off tomorrow morning. Now, go back to your rooms!” Mirin ordered. She released their bonds of Air.

“Y-yes, Accepted,” they murmured, and curtsied, wobbling unsteadily. But then, Saera looked up. Mirin recognized the curious look on the novice’s face. In class, Saera was one of her brightest pupils. Out of class, however…

“Why are you –”

Mirin hissed impatiently and cut her off with a gesture. “You know better than to question an Accepted,” she said. Her voice was cold and threatening. “If you speak a word of this to anyone, even the Amyrlin Seat herself, I will make your life miserable.” She bared her teeth. “Now go!”

The novices scrambled off. Even before they disappeared past the gate, another sound chimed in her ear.

Ping.

Mirin turned toward the southern entrance and sighed. It was going to be a long night.

-----
When the flow of Power from the center of the garden began to slow, Mirin returned to find Betrys. Tall plants loomed from either side of the path. Their branches were twisted into arms and fingers; their leaves were as sharp as razors. The top of the plant seemed to be carved into a grotesque face that was half-human and half-animal – the face of Trollocs. They leered downwards at her as she walked.

When the breeze shifted, the plants almost looked like living, breathing Trollocs. Despite herself, Mirin shivered. It was creepy… in a good way. Her excitement about the prank grew.

She approached the center.

“How does it look?” asked Betrys.

“Beautiful,” Mirin breathed. She waited for Betrys to place the final touches and complete her channeling. Then, she took her friend’s arm.

“Let’s go before we get caught,” she said.

-----
They hurried to remove the wards from each of the four entrances. As they moved, Mirin told Betrys of her adventures.

“I caught three novices, two Soldiers, and one Accepted,” Mirin grouched. “And guess who the Accepted was?”

Betrys gave her a sidelong look.

Mirin sniffed. “Yes, it was Astoria. I swear that the woman has some sort of vendetta against me. But I have too much dirt on her. She seems so cold and logically minded – but did you know that she is currently juggling – not two, not three – but four lovers?”

She giggled. “No, she wouldn’t dare to tattle.”

They stopped at the western entrance. Mirin removed the last ward. Then, they fled back to their warm beds in the Tower.

-----
OOC: The rest of the night passes uneventfully. Soon, the sun rises on hundreds of plant-Trollocs sitting in the Tower garden. At this point, anyone can post below. Let the fun begin!

[Julio]

Daelar stepped into the gardens, absentmindedly walking along, not looking at anything. The garden sounded normal, and also smelled normal. Not that Daelar specifically thought of that; he would have noticed though, if there was a difference. After a moment, he sat down on the bench.

He heard a noise and looked up. There was a group of trollocs standing there, looking fierce. Almost without thinking, Daelar wove a column of water, earth at the base, and touches of air and fire. He released it, and a column of water burst from the ground in the middle of the Trollocs. One of the Trollocs was on the ground, and most of the others had had many of their leaves and branches ripped off... leaves and branches!?! Those weren't Trollocs!

Whew! I was worried! Those are really realistic Trollocs, though. I'm quite impressed! He sat down on the bench again. He wanted to learn to grow plants like that sometime.