Through Thick and Thin [Retro] (Attn: Jozan)

[Leala Sedai]

OOC:  This is Liana's Turning of the Wheel thread.  It has a character that is now Aes Sedai, but is going back to retro temporarily to be an Accepted.

 

IC:  Ay'Lira stretched and caught her breath as she walked the short distance from her room to Liana's.  The two had stayed friends after being raised to Accepted.  They might be picking different Ajahs soon, but that didn't mean they shouldn't enjoy the friendship they had now.  Every night after dinner, they met in one or the other's room to talk, plan out their day, let out some feelings they had, or just chat.  Today, Ay'Lira's class had almost descended into chaos as a novice had taken on too much of Saidar - again - and nearly burned the classroom down.  Luckily, though, she had been on hand to counteract the Fire weaves with Water and calm the girl down.  That had been the third time the same novice had done that, so Ay'Lira felt it necessary to send her to the Mistress of Novices.  She had kept her nerves from the incident down for the majority of the day, but she needed to talk to someone about it.

 

Arriving at her friend's room, she knocked and waited for Liana to answer.  Really, the knocking was just a formality between the two.  They didn't have a set routine on whose room the other visited, so knocking was a way of saying, "Hey, let's talk here tonight."  Sometimes one would be waiting for a while before the other showed up from business, though.

[jozan]

Liana had been asked to teach a class about the air element as she was talented in that element. And her students had been doing quite well today, some had improved a bit,

especially Wira who had had trouble in the first couple of lessons. Liana was proud of her none the less for what she had accomplished so far.

BUt now she had to go back to her room to get some well needed rest and hopefully talk with Ay'lira, one of her closest friends in the tower. They had been sticking together ever since they were novices. She liked talking with Ay'lira. When Liana was close to her room a bit taller novice knocked at her door. Liana called out to the novice and came over, and when Liana was at her door the novice handed her a letter, then curtsied and walked away.

 

With the beautiful penmanship Liana knew who it was from, and it brought a luminous smile to her face. Mother...I miss you as well, and don't worry I am dong very well here.She thought to herself. She then turned the knob and walked inside her a little bigger chamber compared to when she was a novice. She put down her notes, pen at the desk and sat down her bed and opened the letter.

 

Lia,

 

I am writing you this letter to tell you something that I should have told you a long time ago.

But first, let me tell you how proud I am of you. You are all alone in a new place, but you have not once sent me a letter to tell me to come and get you.

 

After Liana had read some of the letter she had to stop for a short moment to collect her breath a new. Lia was a nick name her mother rarely used and only when there was something that really troubled her mother. Liana wasn't sure she could go on reading the letter, but at the same time she wanted to know what her mother wanted to say after all these years.

 

When you were young I really wanted to tell you, but your father told me to wait. Until you were older and more mature to understand.

Now that I think about it, he was right. He's a clever, and insightful man, your father. I miss him everyday, and still wait for him to come through the door any minute now.

I wish it could've been different...but it is as it is.

 

Liana almost felt like throwing the letter and never read it again, but she must now what was so important. A sudden tear built up in her left eye and rolled slowly down her cheek.

She wept the tear from her fair skin and mustered some extra courage to keep reading.

 

Liana, I am sorry to tell you like this. But I am fatally ill. I will most probably be on my deathbed as you read this.

I have been ill for quite many years now, and I am starting to get really tired.

I don't have the same urge to keep going as before, when you and your father was around. Here, it is getting lonely without you both.

I am truly sorry, Lia. But, you need to focus on your studies and become the best Aes Sedai that you can be.

 

Please, don't grieve for me. For I am not gone, I am always with you.

In your heart, I am there.

 

Your loving mother,

Alina t'Alore.

 

Liana blinked at the letter and put it slowly down beside her on the bed and just sat quiet on her bed. When suddenly a soft knock on the door came, but Liana sat on her bed for a moment without saying or moving. Then she said after a moment with a low-toned voice "Come in." and whoever was there opened the door.

[Leala Sedai]

It could have been because the door was in the way and muffled her voice, but Ay'Lira thought Liana's voice sounded strange when she said she could come in.  She opened the door slowly and peeked in.  Liana was staring out into space as if she had just been dealt quite a shock.  She wasn't crying quite yet, but she seemed on the verge of tears.  Any thoughts Ay'Lira had about chatting amiably about her unruly class flew out the window, and were replaced by thoughts only of comforting her friend, and helping if she could.  She rushed to her friend's side and sat on the bed next to her.  She noticed a letter on the other side of Liana.  Maybe it had something to do with the letter, but it wasn't her place to read the letter.

 

"Liana, what happened?" she asked gently, thinking that if she seemed panicked, it would only make her friend's situation worse.  She thought for a moment that this had something to do with her family.  Initiates were in the Tower for so long without contact with their family that anything could happen while they were away.

[jozan]

The person opening the door was Liana's close friend Ay'lira whom she had been raised with. Liana's friend rushed to her side when she saw that Liana was spacing out.

 

At first Liana didn't notice that she sat down beside her until she gently asked "Liana, what happened?" Liana turned her head slowly toward her friend.

And stared momentarily at her friend with a now slightly more sad face. "Th-this...it can't be true, can it? Why didn't she tell me...?" Said Liana with a saddened voice to her friend.

 

She picked up the letter and stared at it while tears started welling out, and she just couldn't hold it in anymore and just cried out against her friend's shoulder.

"Sh-she is all I have left...why, Ay'lira..why does it keep happening to me." Liana's usually pretty sky-blue eyes began to turn toward a more reddish colour because of all the tears.

 

She felt like screaming her heart out, but didn't so that she wouldn't scare her friend or anyone passing by outside her door. After a moment she decided to hand the letter to her friend, so she could read it because in the state Liana was in at the moment she wouldn't be able to say much. The letter was written on a fine parchment and with a fine quality ink.

 

You could tell that whoever had written it had taking their time to make sure it was in high quality. Her mother had always taken her time when she wrote a letter.

Even if it wasn't supposed to be sent to a noble house or someone of high status, but that was how Alina t'alore was like.

 

When Liana handed the parchment to Ay'lira her hands was shaking because of he weakened state she was in. After handing it over Liana started fingering with

her long black hair, and even lowered her head slightly.

 

OOC: Sorry if it's a bit short...let me know if I should change something. :)

Edited August 16, 2013 by jozan

[Leala Sedai]

OOC:  Looks good to me!  :)

 

IC:  Ay'Lira watched as Liana mechanically picked up the letter that sat next to her and handed it to her.  Ay'Lira read the letter and could hardly believe it.  The letter was short, hardly emotionally or sympathetic for what it contained, and the tone to it made her feel like Liana's mother was blaming Liana for her mental state.  She smothered the anger that threatened to well up and took her friend in her arms.  The sender of the letter wasn't there for her to fuss at, and fussing wouldn't help either way.  Right now, Liana needed her sympathy, not a rant about what was in the letter.  That would just make things worse.

 

"I can't tell you why..." she said.  No one was ever able to tell her why Malkier fell or why her father had to die, his body unrecoverable...at least not to her satisfaction. "But I can tell you it'll get better.  For now, just mourn all you need to.  I'll be here.  I can cover your classes, and you can tell me anything you want.  We'll get through it together."

[jozan]

After hearing her friend's comforting words Liana felt a little a better. They had always been there for each other through the good and the bad times.

It really felt good having Ay'lira by her side at this time. "Thank you for always being there for me." Liana said with a little more cheerful voice.

 

After a moment of talking and sobbing Liana stood up from her bed and brought out two cups. She poured her favorite Saldean tea for her friend and herself.

She used the fire element to heat up the tea. "This herbal tea has quite a bitter taste to it, so not everyone likes it. But it's good for when you're feeling down."

Liana said to her friend while handing her the cup. She took a sip and as she held the cup in her hand Liana’s hands trembled a bit. Her emotions were still fresh in her mind. She just couldn’t understand why her mother hadn’t told her about it before she went to the tower. It really made no sense at all to her.

 

 

“What about you, is there anything that’s bothering you?” Liana wanted to talk about something else than rather keep thinking about her mother betrayal. “Is your class with the novice that keeps taking in too much of saidar going well?” She had finished her cup of tea and used a weave of air to fetch some more herbal tea from the container.

Just before Liana took a sip of her herbal tea tears started welling out again, and she wiped her tears.

[Leala Sedai]

Ay'Lira thought it odd that Liana wanted to talk about her problems, but then it hit her that she probably wanted to talk about anything but what was happening to her.  It probably wasn't the best way to approach things.  Ay'Lira didn't do so well when she bottled things up for too long, but with this happening so recently, she could understand.  "Yeah, that class is going well, except for that one student.  It's the usual.  Some of them are taking too long to embrace Saidar.  Some of them are doing just fine.  But that one novice is the only one who takes on too much every time.  But I think I've figured it out.  I'll try to explain the mechanics again to her, and tell her that if it hurts when she draws it on herself that it's too much, and that every weave we'll be working with won't require every ounce of Saidar she can take in.  Discipline is usually the hardest to teach."

 

She continued on for a while, talking about her day and what she thought the rest of the week would be like.  She watched as Liana sipped at her tea and tried to fight back the tears.  This whole thing made her really mad at her friend's mother, but there was nothing she could do, so she began sipping at the tea, too.  It was bitter, just like Liana had said, so she added a little honey and re-heated it with a weave of Fire.  It tasted much better after that.

 

The only thing she could think to talk about now was Liana and what had happened with her mother.  But she knew her friend didn't want to talk about it.  Maybe if she tried something a little indirect.  "Well...do you think you'll need me to cover any of your classes this week?  I don't mind.  I'll probably have to consolidate a couple of them, or get a sister to help out if it gets to be a problem, but I'll handle it if you need me to."