Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gray allows herself to collapse onto her bed after her final duty of the day. Her entire body starts to unwind and relax completly as she lays there, eyes closed.

Not too long until I finally get some peace and quiet today. Light, but it feels good to lie down for a moment.

Suddenly there's a knock on her door.

Burn it, I knew this wasn't going to last long.

"Come in, there're no locks."

Daria walks in with a wide grin plastered on her face and sits herself down on the edge of Gray's bed.

"You look like the cat that just ate the canary. Out with it, Daria, what did you find out?"

"Light burn me, you will not believe this at all! I just overheard some sisters, full sisters this time, one's who've been in the Tower for ages, talking about raising some of us!"

"You're right, I don't believe it. Daria, remember the last time you 'oveheard' a sister? And you talked about it? You couldn't sit down for days, but it didn't matter much as you were on your feet with double duties almost all day! And then, whatever it was you heard was to be within days didn't come until a few more months passed. You haven't been spreading this rumor, have you?"

"No Gray, I know better than that. But this time I swear on the Light that I heard them talking about raising some of us! Well, raising some girls. Actually, I don't know whether they were talking about raising Accepted or Novices. And I didn't hear any names or numbers. But I heard them talking about raising! And they never do that unless there's one coming up soon!

"Daria, a full sister's idea of soon could be ages to us! Remember that they have much more patience for these things and can wait us out indefinitely. They raise when they deem it the right time. Perhaps they were simply discussing who of the newly entered Novices will make it to the ring or the shawl? Who knows?"

"I know! They said raising, and in the context at the time it sounded like they were talking about one coming up soon! Don't you trust me?" She looks very hurt that Gray wouldn't trust her word. She trusted Gray and had never done anything to make her doubt her word, why now?

Gray sighs, "I do trust you. I trust that you heard exactly what you think you heard, but I don't trust that it has to do with us. I've had my hopes brought up before about things, and had them dashed to the ground. Shattered. It takes a lot to keep trusing after that. It takes a lot of faith."

Gray's eyes take on a faraway look, and Daria gets the feeling that Gray isn't quite talking about being raised any more. She came to the tower not too long ago, so she missed most of the early bouts between her and Maira, but she knew that part of the story included one of the young warders in training, Ash she had heard was his name. By using the first weave she learned by herself, Daria could listen in on conversations, and she had gathered a few interesting facts about their relationship. More than a few of the stories were most certainly untrue and exaggerated, but there was always a hint of truth in such accusations. What she knew for sure was that Gray did not go down to watch the men train, no matter how much the other girls tried to coax her.

Certainly, it was for the best, though, thought Daria, Novices are strictly forbidden from doing all manner of things with the men, even simply accidentally bumping into one of them in the hall earned reproachful looks! Gray saved herself many punishments at the hands of the Sisters, but would they have compared with the mental punishments she gives herself?

Out in the city, Kakashi moved from inn to inn, monument to monument, enjoying the sights and sounds of each corner of the city. For the time being his mind was completely devoid of thoughts about his dreams involving wolves. He even managed to fit a few dances with pretty girls in some of the inns and taverns before he began his long walk back to the Tower.

The lone survivor of a vicious battle arose from the blood soaked ground, nauseous and confused. The gashes oh his body had stopped bleeding, if not fully healed. Sain had trouble recalling where he was. He knew he was all alone. Only the dead are ever left behind by the Aiel, and Sain was as good as dead to his people.

Good riddance, they probably thought. The outcast was gone for good.

Sain picked up his bow and quiver of arrows by his feet, and returned the bow to its case on his back. Finally, he retrieved a spear from the gut of a fallen wetlander and left the bloody battlefield, not knowing where he was headed.

((AWWWW, CRAP!! I hit edit, not quote! I lost that whole post!... I'm gonna go sit in the corner and cry now... gonk crying gonk ))

((Er....I'm sorry? *pats*))

((I know that. lol. I just figured that with you suddenly vanishing into the Ways, COTM would feel something strange in the bond...or something like that...))

As the presence of the others in her dream fades Shanoa allows herself to float back to the world of lights between dreams and waking. True to Mercury's words the wards around her dreams have been broken, not only by Mercury but also by another darker power. Quickly Shanoa weaves new wards around her dreams adding a few nasty little traps designed to trigger if a dark power tries to eavesdrop on, let alone enter into her dreams.

Having finished her weaving Shanoa tells herself that it is time to wake up and begins to drift back to the waking world, only to find herself being pushed back toward the lights of Tel Aranrihod against her will.

What is going on?

Exerting all of her will Shanoa concentrates on waking up and finds her way still blocked and begins to struggle physically with the unseen force preventing her awakening. In the waking world her body weakly mimics the motions her mind is making in between the waking and dreaming worlds.

I WON'T be trapped again! WAKE UP!!

The second effort breaks through and Shanoa opens her eyes to the filtered sunlight of the Ogier's Grove of Tar Valon. Physically she feels like she has just swum miles to reach the waking world.

How long was I out?

((air of confusion??))
"yes yes...you must know...i would try and...delve it out of you..for lack of a better word...but i dont know how! i WISH there was someone we could go too..."

Jade nodded at both of them, "Then we must find out what this fade wanted from you! If you see the fade again, ask it questions and get answers from it if it is possible!" She was worried, the fade seemed to have wiped Dupre's memory of what had happened with the..'pain?'. "I'd do anything to keep you two safe."

(( razz Couldn't think of what to put after air of: _____? so i just put confusin >.>))