Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mercury had never experienced so many different emotions in the space of one moment. The first words to register were Clarissa's.

"So...if you bonded him...there's some kind of truce/understanding since...as a Gaidin...he can't do anything to harm you or any other sister unless they harm you first...and assumably the Dragon sent him..so..."

Her fork was set back on her plate as she realized what was going on. She'd heard rumors of Asha'man being able to bond as well, though it was different. "Did you BOTH bond each other?" She stared in shock, waiting for some type of reply from the Mother.

Before she could get an answer, Hawk had given a bow and she turned her attention to him. As she heard his words, she slowly looked at him;Hawk didn't tease...and the emotions from the bond were stable..and determined. She realized that was what he'd been so determined about since last night..and Wolf...he hadn't blocked his bond...he was..dead. How had she missed it? Not wanting to believe it, she fled to Tel'ar'an'hoid, leaving her body to crumple in her chair.

She went to the ocean of lights, and looked around frantically for Wolf's. Nothing. She wouldn't move, none of the lights called to her, or even gave off a particular feel. Her second Warder truly was gone. She woke up and noted with little surprise that at some point during the few minutes she'd been gone, she'd started to cry. She tried to control them but it wasn't working too well. Unable to handle it, she flung herself into Hawk's arms, sobbing. A small part of her wondered how Clarissa was handling it but her tears blurred her vision too much to tell.

"Wes...lets go back to the tower now. I'm sorry to say but...this isn't the right book and it appears that i've forgotten my own writing materials as well. And we should get her back as soon as possible. If you wish you could make a gateway to my room considering there should be no one there. Or we could take the trip back its not to far. Oh well...but I'm rather bored with this book its one i've read over and over and have no desires to do so agian." She stood, smoothing down her skirts before smilling at Wes and going to tuck her book away in her saddle bags. She neatly began to pack things up thinking a bit of night travel would do her good and wondering if the woman would be okay with riding her horse and perhaps Kali herself riding with Wes. They'd not ridden together in ages and it'd be something out of the ordinary.

Smiles as she answers,

“Splendid! I won’t hold back either!”

Watches him curiously as he hurriedly takes their trays away. As he comes back and grabs her hand hauling her out of the room she knows she should be thoroughly embarrassed, but she’s not. She’s laughing hard as he eagerly leads her to the training area. She has yet to get used to his seemingly boundless energy.

“Of course I haven’t! However you shall have to wait here one moment for me to get ready!”

Faye immediately turned and ran full-speed to her rooms, not caring who saw. She quickly donned her sparring outfit and returned to the circle. Unsheathing her sword she took the position of “Panther Waits to Spring.”

“There…..Now I’m ready. Are you ready to loose, fair sir?”

"Oh! The lass thinks that a single lucky blow indicates future victories!"

Smiling, Mog performed an intensely complex pattern with his heron-marked blade that, had he made the slightest error, would've lost him a limb, at best. He accomplished it with almost casual ease, tossing in several flips and bumps that could've been deadly.

"I don't think that you shall have such an easy go of it this time, wee one. Now, if you don't mind, I'm dying to reclaim my title. Come, let us dance."

His body settled on the balls of his feet, his hands relaxed their grip, becoming more fluid, and his eyes seemed to lose focus briefly before sharpening to utter cynosure as his mind entered the Void.

In a deathly, emotionless voice, "Dance with me."

She begins the dance with almost playful, testing strikes. Yurin uses all at his disposal, almost cruelly attacking her blade with the fury of his counter-attacks. He strikes at her with hard, jarring blows, eyes intensely oncetrating as he dismantles her defense and has her side-stepping hard just to avoid his attacks. Several make it through her blocks, but she receives no more than taps from the sides of his blade.

"You aren't trying your hardest.", Death's voice speaks at her through the face that used to hold such compassion and love. This was why he was the Dragon's Battle Leader, he was Death Incarnate. He would've frightenened the Dark One, himself. His relelntless attacks came at her with increasing ferocity and speed as if he was gaining momentum like a boulder falling down a hill.

"Harder! You aren't giving all you have."

His face was dead seriouness as he corralled her toward one section of the enclosure, nothing she tried would pass through the net of steel he wove in front of her, the forms flew so quickly she couldn't distinguish between them anymore.

There was no telling how long she could have gone on crying. Luckily, in the next few moments, she was forced to compose herself at least slightly. There were a series of knocks on the door.

"Pardon the intrusion Mother, Keeper. But I thought I heard something strange..is everything alright Aes Sedai?"

The doorknob began to turn & slowly slid to a fraction of the way open before Mercury opened herself to the Source &-using Air-immediately forced it shut again. There was a squeak of surprise from the other end before Mercury bolted it shut, once again using Air. The last thing she or the Tower needed was for anyone to see her or perhaps the Mother seeming distraught. Composing herself as best she could, she called out that there was nothing strange & the child was to resume her duties & deny audience to the Amyrlin. That done, she shakily created a weave against eavesdropping around the room.

Mercury slowly began crying again, though with less force, less noise, and more effort towards stopping. There was still no reaction from Clarissa. Mercury looked at her old friend. "Mother...are you alright?"

Mercury didn't like the silence as she waited for an answer. All you could hear in the silence was her own soft weeping & sniffling. Between fits of tears, to break the silence, she glanced up at Hawk. "Hawk...how long since he was...since..since you found him?" For a moment, she could feel a strange emotion, golden, coming from Hawk's bond before it was quickly gone. However, a slight sense of unease remained in his mind.

Hawk felt a tingling chill on his forearms as one of the ladies uses saidar around him. Merc's crying subdue a bit and but not much. He have been watching the amyrlins reactionfor a moment now while he is holding Merc. Clarisssa seems to be lost on her own thoughts. A question brought by Merc made him look at her face. Her pretty face is now soaked by her tears, yet he still find her pretty and it strengthened his emotions for her. He think back for a moment before answering her question. Its been a couple of days ago when he found Markis at his sadly state. His skyblue eyes is lost in her eyes, just looking at her. Then he started to talk once again still looking on her face.

I started to go back at the forest when you suddenly disappeared, he started. I felt as if something is draging me to the forest. Then i remebered the day when Markis jump off the ferry. Saying about a trouble in the woods and his brethren needs help. I would have accompany him that day, but someone have to look after you. He said he will be gone a couple of days only, so i let it go. So i made a gateway to the forest and start searching for Markis. I search the woods for a while but cant find him anywhere and its so quiet inside his side of the bond. The place is full of death and you can smell the dead flesh about to rott. Then i felt a reminance of saidin being used, so i followed it to its source. Also i seized saidin at that moment ready to kill. But it was Wes and Kali along with other strangers resting from their adventure. I asked Wes if he have seen Markis around and thats when he told me that he was dead. Wes showed me the direction where i could found Markis body. So i took off at the directon mounted on my stallion.

Hawk paused for awhile and take a breath, he feel warmth inside. He can see that her crying has gone to quiet sobbing and sniffling. He is still holding her, wrapping his arms around her. Hawk look at Clarissa's face, still no reaction from her side, she must have been stuck into a shock or something. Hawk face return back to his aes sedai and continues his report.

I found his body at a big tree, sorrounded by death. He fought well till death and with him he took lots of trollocks. I found it not appopriate for him to stay in such place, so i burried him at the outskirts of Fal Dara his homeland. All of this happened three days ago, he said to finish his report.

His hands start to wander at the back of her dress and sending emotions into her, to comfort her but also to feel her. Afterall she always have been the lady of his heart, even though she dont know it.