Sail Away With Me (attn: Bella)

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran shot a glare at the closed door as she listened to Haeden talk. What he said about the law possibly being involved with what they'd just seen made sense to her, but the Aes Sedai did not like it, not at all. She thought, with more than a little frustration, of the old man they'd assisted only a short time ago. How many others had been attacked in the same way? Would there be more victims if she and Haeden just left without doing anything else to intervene? She was unhappily certain that she already knew the answers to those questions, and she huffed an irritated sigh, looking down at the floor as she did.

By now, she thought Haeden knew, or should know, that her flare of temper had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the simple fact that there really was nothing else they could do but precisely what Haeden had suggested. Liaran understood that, but she was Aes Sedai, and Blue Ajah, and leaving a city that could be in need of help did not sit well with her. She stood up, stalking over to stand at her husband's side.

"Yes....we should leave," she muttered. Looking up at Haeden, the Aes Sedai added very quietly, "But when we return home.....we will see." By that, Liaran meant that she had no intention of forgetting what they had seen in Bandar Eban. She would have to wait, but once they returned to the Tower, to her Blue sisters and the Eyes and Ears network her Ajah maintained...then Liaran would see what more she could learn about this city and those who dwelt within it.

[Bella]

The Gaidin could see the progression of her thoughts and feelings on the matter in the micro expressions in her demeanor. She was an Aes Sedai, through and through, so certainly no one else could possibly have seen what he did. But he was her warder, and her husband, so that got him +5 to Perception.

When she finally responded aloud, he inclined his head. "Nothing stops us from choosing to return," he said, "should we deem it worthwhile, and perhaps by more direct means."

Before she'd have a chance to reply, the predicted became reality. A man in the uniform of the city's guard entered the room after a clearly perfunctory knock. (That was clear from the lack of time between knocking and entering, that was.) He bowed respectfully to each of them, however. "I'm afraid that there was no one there," he said, "though there were signs of some kind of scuffle. A pair of the guard are looking into it further, to see if we can find where they went."

It was as expected, so they made equally perfunctory farewells and made their way back to the ship...

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

The days passed by, and while Liaran did not, and would not, forget what they had seen in Bandar Eban, the Aes Sedai did manage to push her concern to the back of her mind. She would look into it when they were home, but for now...now was for herself and Haeden alone. There was plenty of time for that, with little more to do than walk the length of the decks and observe the sea around them, but Liaran did not mind. She felt more at peace than she had in a very long time, the slow pace of each day a welcome contrast to their busy lives at home. Still, she enjoyed the times they stopped to trade, allowing her and Haeden to visit places they had never seen, and as they approached the coast of Saldaea, Liaran was particularly interested in what she could learn of the country her husband's family came from.

Rocky cliffs jutted out over the ocean not far from where the raker would dock, and as they slowed to a stop, Liaran turned towards those cliffs, studying them in silent contemplation. She was not alone in this, and when they left the ship, Liaran looked to her husband with a bright smile. Behind her, members of the crew who were not responsible for trading made their own way towards the rocks. For Haeden's benefit, the Aes Sedai explained, "Among my people, it is something of a game to jump from cliffs into the sea, and there is often competition over who will leap from the highest point. I am going to join them, and you can too if you want." While she did not turn away from her husband just yet, Liaran's dark eyes shone with eager anticipation.

[Bella]

As a woman not naturally inclined to outward shows of emotion, Haeden took a moment to enjoy the look in her eyes as she held his gaze.

He wasn't sure that he wanted to jump off any cliffs himself just yet, but he wanted to encouragement her enjoyment and he kind of also wanted to see such a moment without inhibition like this. Haeden smiled warmly. "I will come with you," he agreed. "I look forward to at least seeing how you fare in the competition."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran shrugged and said, “I’m just going to enjoy myself, no matter how I do in the competition.” She flashed a smile at her husband and then moved on towards the cliffs, walking although many of the crew chose to run, laughing and chatting as they went. She might have been walking, but her pace was not slow, and she was not far behind the crowd when she arrived at the base of the cliffs and paused there to decide where to go. As always, the majority of the Sea Folk swarmed towards the highest point, eager to show off among their peers. When she had been younger, Liaran would have joined them, and had on many occasions as a Windfinder, but she made a different decision as she watched them all pass by her.

Climbing over rocks, she slowly made her way towards a cliff that was a little lower than the favored option and extended farther out over the ocean. The Aes Sedai looked down as she moved closer to the edge, smiling at the sight and sound of waves crashing against the rocks below. Behind her stood a cluster of young deckhands, who Liaran guessed did not feel quite ready for the leap from the highest point. Though she saw them watching her, the Aes Sedai said nothing. She did not doubt that it was more than unusual for a shorebound passenger to join the crew in this, but Liaran din Chelai Morning Star was not shorebound, and never would be though she made her home there.

She gave the deckhands no more thought as she positioned herself for the jump, gripping the edge of the cliffs with her toes. After a quick glance down to judge the distance to the water, Liaran raised her arms, lowered her head, and leapt from the cliff. She dove headfirst into the ocean, sinking below the surface with a loud splash. After a couple seconds of swimming under the water, she lifted her head up into the air to take a deep breath. Shaking her head, the Aes Sedai treaded water, reaching up to shove wet hair out of her face. Then she searched the shore before her, using both her eyes and the sense of him through their bond to locate Haeden.

It was hardly difficult to pick out the tall blonde man even without the bond to guide her, but Liaran still smiled when she saw him. Kicking her legs, she began to swim in Haeden’s direction. While perfectly able to maintain some speed, the Aes Sedai did not try to hurry, instead enjoying the simple pleasure of swimming through the ocean that had been her first home. Once she was near enough to be heard, Liaran looked at Haeden and called to him, “Do you want to come swimming while we’re here?”

[Bella]

Although Haeden did not choose to toss himself off the edge of the cliffside into the ocean like his wife and Aes Sedai, he enjoyed watching as she and the others did so. He did not trust his own skills in the water to take that tumble, but there was something so...carefree and joyous in the act itself that he was glad to have been blessed to witness it.

It wasn't just watching Liaran, either--although she held the lion's share of his attention, of course. Still, watching the whole lot of them simply take the most of the moment in this way was something that one did not get to witness too often in lives like the ones that he and Liaran led. The Grey Tower was a place of reserve whenever anyone else was around.

Then again, the Grey Tower didn't have the ocean and cliffs like this. Maybe if it did, they would see people doing the same more often.

Who could say...

As she swam toward him, the ease and pleasure the Blue felt by being one with the deep-sapphire waters washed over him like the tides she rode on. “Do you want to come swimming while we’re here?” she asked. He flashed a smile that was rare to see when others were about, as it was that expression reserved for her, and nodded once.

Haeden wasn't the world's best swimmer, given how little he'd been in water during his life, but he was good enough. He wouldn't be swimming out too far, and he was good enough to make his way back to shore if he had to.

Pulling off his boots, belt, and shirt, he revealed a torso thick and hard with hard-earned muscle and crisscrossed in more than his fair share of scars with varying thickness and ragged edges. Leaving his clothes on the beach, he made his way out to the shallows to meet his water-faring wife.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

As she looked to her husband standing on the shore, Liaran gave him a bright, open smile. For once, the Aes Sedai did not restrain herself to what was considered acceptable behavior for a sister, nor did she worry about what the surrounding Sea Folk thought of her.Her focus was solely on Haeden, and she pulled herself through the water with the ease of her years of experience, thinking only of reaching his side. He was still near the shore, in fairly shallow water, and as she approached Liaran stopped kicking, allowing her feet to drift down and sink into the sand. Walking the short distance to where her Warder stood, Liaran enfolded him in a quick embrace.

Only seconds passed before she let go and took a step back, aware that they were still easily in view of other people. The Sea Folk woman smiled up at her husband, then turned her head to contemplate the deep blue of the surrounding ocean. “How far out do you want to go?” she asked, knowing that while Haeden could swim, he was not as used to it as she was. She would let him decide where he felt comfortable going, and for herself, would simply enjoy the company of her husband, free from the responsibilities that awaited them both back home.

[Bella]

For a moment, Haeden took in their height difference and chuckled to himself. "As long as there aren't any sudden drop-offs in the sand, I can probably make it a ways out without having to even take up my feet," he responded with amusement. He lifted his eyes for a moment and took in the water. "The tide does not seem to be too strong here, either, so I think I'm good for a swim that won't take us too far past line of sight to my things on shore but still get some exercise."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran smiled at Haeden’s comment, then looked away from him, contemplating the options they had that would not take them too far into the water or out of sight of her husband’s possessions on the shore. Once she had an idea, the Aes Sedai raised her arm to point to a section of the beach that was shaded by the cliffs overhead. It was far enough from where they stood that it would take some time to reach, but the way the shoreline curved would still permit an open view of the rest of the area. “How about over there?” she suggested, turning back to her husband to hear his response.