Caution: Slippery When Wet

[Sorin Shirega]

Sorin didn't budge from his place against the stable wall, but he did listen. The Asha'man sounded as if he truly believed his own words about this being a safe place, and Sorin wished he could too. Unfortunately, he did not. For him, the Black Tower, filled with channelers as it was, brought nothing but constant fear. The Tai'Seanchan man thought he'd forgotten how it felt not to be afraid. The idea that he could find safety here, could protect others from the danger he was by staying and learning, wasn't one that Sorin could fully understand. He looked down at his own feet, trying not to think too hard about where he stood, and in whose company.

He shook his head at the question about taming snakes. He had not known that, but what did it matter? For all that he'd compared himself to a snake, Sorin knew he wasn't one. The thing inside him wasn't something that could be tamed. He had tried, was still trying, but it felt to Sorin as if all his efforts resulted in absolutely nothing. Just yesterday, he'd been working on lighting a candle, lost his grip on the weave, and nearly set his own clothing on fire. How he hadn't was a question for which Sorin still had no answer. Cringing at the memory, Sorin tried to stop thinking about it.

He was still looking down when the Asha'man said something that Sorin had never before heard from anyone here. The man spoke of how Sorin hadn't wanted to be able to channel, hadn't asked for it, was scared of it. Surprised by what he heard, the Soldier turned his head in the man's direction, careful to avoid looking directly at him. For a very brief moment, Sorin felt as if the Asha'man understood how it felt for him to be here, trying to learn, but that moment quickly passed.

His eyes were back on the ground again as the man continued to talk about control and learning. Both felt impossible to Sorin, regardless of how hard he'd been trying. To even reach saidin at all required him to do things he didn't want to think about. He'd tried not to, tried it many times, but somehow always ended up digging his nails into his own skin again, desperate to avoid the anger so many of his instructors had shown when he couldn't work fast enough to satisfy them. He'd noticed by now that other channelers didn't seem to need to do what he did, and Sorin worried that there was something very wrong with him, even more wrong than being able to channel.

Sorin stood when he was told to, turning from where he'd been huddled against the wall. He straightened his back and lifted his head, but his eyes remained focused on the grass. For someone like him to look at the Asha'man would be disrespectful, and his mother had taught him better than that. His eyes would be lowered forever for being the thing that he was.

[Dena n’am Damodred]

Dena shuffled her hips in a still imperfect attempt at replicating what she saw around the Tuatha’an campfires. Her Cairhienin upbringing had kept her from asking for lessons right in front of her father (if he was that – light would she ever cease to hear that little voice?!), though she regretted the missed opportunity. This year she was going to be in a tower full of men for the festival of lights, and she wanted all eyes on her.

Burn me, shouldn’t my creator given Domani grace make this come naturally to me?! Something still wasn’t right.

Move those hips! She encouraged herself, and then began gyrating her hips in a more exaggerated motion while tapping to the beat of her own drums as her feet carried her in a circle. She tilted her pelvis as she moved and let her neck relax, silvery bells tinkling as her braids slid across her shoulders.

A knock at the door brought her back to reality with three loud thumps. At least it wasn’t Julian. He wouldn’t have knocked.

Her thin summer shift clung to her sweaty skin as she lifted it above her head and tossed it on a nearby chair. It buried from sight the long since, several times abandoned, forgotten book, laying open on its spine on one arm. Dena grabbed her gown, which had been crumpled on the floor in a heap and shoved herself into it. The dark blue silk was a bit wrinkled, but no one was going to notice she wasn’t wearing anything underneath unless she showed them. Most likely. Besides, it was probably just some soldier dropping something off for Julian before getting back to his very important busily scheduled life.

It was a soldier, but not the one she had expected. She put one hand over her heart as she gasped in delighted surprise. Then she used the other to pull the young man inside and embraced him warmly. Wondering if it felt as different to him as it did to her without an under garment, she released him quickly.

Her words tumbled out of her mouth in her haste to put a little distance between the two of them. Her tone was warm though, as she really was pleased to see him.

“So incredibly sweet of you to come check on me! I’m horribly embarrassed for the way I ran off last time. I’m glad you were just giving me my space and not afraid to talk to me again or something like that.”

Suddenly Dena realized she hadn’t let Cirus do any talking at all yet. As she paused long enough for him to explain why he was there, her eyes flicked over to where her undergarments were in full view. Luckily, his back was to them, but she really didn’t want to give him a chance to turn around. She barely listened to what he said before nodding in complete agreement and urging him back out the door. She locked it behind them and tied up her matching bonnet as she followed his lead to the stable.

Now that they were walking Dena felt freer to think about what he said and though she was embarrassed to have assumed he had been visiting for the pleasure of her company, she was intrigued about Julian letting her be a part of any aspect of his life. She tried to poke at the hard-little rock in the back of her head, but she had enough trouble figuring out her own emotions.

Instead she turned her mind to her companion again and began to interrogate him.

“Am I going to participate in the lesson? I am not sure what I could learn from that, but I am excited by the prospect. Do you think Julian is a good teacher? So far, he is just read this read that’ with me. Is he that way with the men? Does everyone have to begin with books, or is it because I am a woman? I think I am just as capable as any man.”

She hesitated but then continued in the same rapid-fire manner.

“Except for that time with you. Everything was just so new then and overwhelming. Why didn’t you come to check on me after that? Was I that awful, or…” She trailed off finally out of things to say.

They were still quite a distance, and she saw Julian before he saw her, which always pleased her. If he had been holding the One Power he would have spotted her by now, but he was not. That was an important advantage for her. She never had to reach for her powers, they were just there. Her enhanced senses were definitely the coolest aspect so far, and now that she had a better handle on them, they were easier to adapt to. Julian was standing with another man in black whose posture looked sad, and she wondered what was plaguing him.

[Cirus]

Cirus was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he stood there waiting. He wouldn’t dare to knock again so soon but the situation had clearly been urgent if the Tsorovan M’hael had told him to leave. He was close to cursing himself for not moving faster when the door opened and he saw Dena standing there. He let out a huge sigh of relief as he saw a spark of joy enter her eyes. He was afraid he might have pissed her off with their last encounter, one of the few people at the tower who had been genuine with him. The only others were soldiers, and some were as fierce and competitive as the thugs on the streets of Caemlyn had been. Seeing her there with a look of happy surprise… it was a look he hadn’t seen in years, possibly ever.

He certainly wasn’t expecting her to be happy to see him, even less so that she would pull him in and embrace him for a moment. It was a good thing she couldn’t see his face because he was unable to hide his shock. It was a warm and friendly embrace, more than any he remembered having in his life. Certainly the warmest he’d had since his father was alive, the only one to ever show him any kind of affection. Maybe he hadn’t even been that kind… it was impossible to call anything to mind about the man other than that he had been tall. For a moment he thought he might forget why he had come at all, stunned and stirred briefly by Dena embracing him. Before he could process just what had happened she let him go and immediately started talking. He was able to follow along but felt like an absolute bloody fool. He had meant to check on her, to knock on her door sooner but then the Tsorovan M’hael had returned, and he’d had his chores at the stables with Sorrin, and one hundred other things had happened that required him to focus on them. He silently cursed himself, and tried desperately to compose himself to provide an answer to her questions.

“I… I’m glad you are doing well Miss Dena. I did mean to come sooner, truly. I was just swamped by my responsibilities… but I did not forget, mind! I just couldn’t find the time to come visit you…”

He had to sound absolutely pathetic…. Worse still he didn’t think he could find the words to truly explain how he’d felt that day. How worried he’d been that he’d driven off the one person at the Black Tower who’d showed kindness to him out of the goodness of their heart since Gareth or Rhian. He wanted to tell her how much he was grateful for that brief lunch, but Sorin…. Sorin needed help now, Cirus would have to beg for her forgiveness later.

“The T’sorovan Mhael actually requested I come get you. There’s a….” Light, how did he even describe this. “We were in a lesson and a friend needed some help, he thought you might be able to do so.”

Cirus wasn’t sure how else to explain it, nor what to tell her beyond that. Fortunately as they began to walk she filled the silence with questions of her own. He answered as best he could in her rapid fire manner, he had to stop himself from laughing when she mentioned the Tsorovan M’hael holding her back because she was a woman.

“I’ve known very few women with your strength miss Dena, but the ones I do saved my life. If the Tsorovan M’hael is holding you back he won’t be able to for very long.”

Her last question left him a little deflated. Why indeed hadn’t he run to check on her. He almost had…. But the last time he’d seen someone run and cry like that it had been himself doing the running, being chased away by others for not having a family. He hadn’t had the strength to face that possibility.

“I tried… when you ran off I tried so badly to knock on the door….”

He let the words hang there as he tried to consider his next words, he didn’t want to appear weak. He couldn’t afford to be weak, not after Saldea. Not after the fear he’d seen in people’s eyes there.

“The truth is I was afraid I might do more harm than good… and you’re the first person who’s not tried to use an angel on me at this tower in years. There are only two others who I can say that about with certainty, and I didn’t want to drive away a potential third.”

By now they were coming within sight of the stables, and he had a chance to breathe a little easier. The more formal setting was already affecting his walk, and soon he could refocus himself to become stronger.

[Julian Damodred]

Once, Sorin almost looked at him, and Julian thought they might be making a connection, but it slipped away as quickly as it had come. At least he obeyed orders, they surely wouldn’t make any progress at all if the lesson ended in a reprimand before it even began. Almost obeyed orders anyway, the kid still wouldn’t look him in the eye. Julian decided to let it pass though, he wanted this lesson to be a success, and sometimes that meant picking your battles.

Finally, he spotted two familiar figures making their way towards them.

“Here they come,” he said somewhat awkwardly. Then remained silent until they arrived.

“Thank you Soldier,” He said to Cirus, hoping against hope Dena would show some decorum and not embarrass him. By some miracle, her mouth remained closed and he hurriedly rushed to fill the silence before she got any ideas.

“Dena is a student here as well, though not of the One Power, she won’t be affecting this class. I merely needed to speak to her on another matter. I will be with you in just a moment, Miss if you don’t mind waiting.”

“Waiting on you is never any inconvenience at all!” Came the sing-song reply.

That answer sounded more sarcastic than he would have liked, but possibly it sounded less so to the two not feeling her emotions radiating through their own brains. A man could hope.

“Thank you.” The shorter the response the safer, probably.

He then returned his attention to his pupils and embraced the source. Fire coursed through his veins and he wrestled it to do his will. Using threads of water, he lifted the puddles from the ground and heated them until they evaporated. He pointed to a rock at the bottom of the hill that had recently been an island but was now completely dry again.

“While I speak with Mistress Dena, you have one job, keep that rock dry.”

As Soldiers were expected to do everything with the One Power, he did not add that instruction, but hoped the newer recruit would know enough not to attempt it by any other means. Julian was just as curious to see how they approached the problem, as he was in seeing their proficiency with their weaves.

His right hand turned the spigot, opening it about half as much as before, and a slower, thinner stream began to roll down the uneven ground, gaining momentum, before splitting into multiple streams.

He then stepped over, close to Dena, and wove a ward against eavesdropping around the two of them.

[Dena n’am Damodred]

The idea of helping during a lesson was truly exciting to Dena, though she had no idea what use she could possibly be. She decided she liked all of Cirus’ answers very much. Helping was exciting, he was right about her being a strong woman, and she valued his honesty more than anything. Admitting the truth like that wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

“I guess neither of us really knew what to do, so at least we weren’t as alone as we thought. I am very glad to have met you and I hope that we can visit with each other more often now that we got all that out of the way.”

She couldn’t have been in a better mood if she tried, and for that reason only, she remained silent until spoken to, not wanting to mess things up and get sent back to their quarters and lose this opportunity. That all changed of course when Julian said she wasn’t here for the lesson. If that man, called her over to give her some sort of stupid task to do or book recommendation to start on before he came back she was going to scream.

If she didn’t mind waiting indeed! It seemed that all he did was make her wait! She tried to make her response as light as possible, but inside she was more than a little resentful.

She did wait though, and patiently too. It was both fascinating and a little frightening watching the water rise up and disperse. Instantly she wanted to smooth down her hair as she could feel the humidity rise, but it only lasted a second or two and so she resisted the urge. Silk was always so sensitive to such changes.

Finally, he was ready for her, and she suddenly wondered if the sole purpose had been to allow her to see Cirus again, knowing she needed some sort of human connection that he obviously couldn’t provide himself, but no, Julian wasn’t that considerate.

[Sorin Shirega]

Sorin wanted to hide, to turn his face back towards the wall and attempt to forget that he had been left alone with the Asha'man. The Soldier balled his hands into fists as he fought to make himself keep standing up straight as he'd been told to do. He was still struggling to obey, his breathing rapid and his heart pounding, when he noticed two pairs of feet coming closer. He let out a sigh of relief, uncurling his hands. Cirus was back with the woman he'd been sent to find, and Sorin was was no longer alone with a man who could kill him at any time.

He studied the grass, hardly daring to move while the Asha'man talked, and kept his gaze averted from the other three nearby. What was said about the woman's presence here made no sense to Sorin, but since it seemed she wasn't a dangerous marath'damane, the Tai'Seanchan man paid little attention to her. He focused instead on the Asha'man's words, afraid of what the consequence would be if he missed any of them. His fear only increased as the man channeled, drying out the running water, then issued an order to him and to Cirus.

"Keep that rock dry."

Sorin shivered as he watched the water, trailing in slow, thin streams towards the rock the Asha'man had indicated. It wasn't anywhere near the rock yet, but he didn't think they had long before it would be. Green eyes flickered towards the rock, and Sorin knew what he had to do, what he was here trying to learn. Closing his eyes, he reached for saidin, a raging torrent in the back of his mind. He strained to grab hold of it, but as always, it was just outside his grasp. Sorin's head dropped and his shoulders slumped as he repositioned himself, turning his body to the wall. He opened his eyes again and looked around nervously, hoping none of the others had reason to watch him. Then he took a deep breath and slid his fingers under the sleeve on his other arm, driving his nails into his skin.

The pain of it was familiar to Sorin by now, if never wanted or welcomed, one he associated with the feeling of holding the One Power. He reached towards it again and felt saidin rush through him. His eyes were still on the rock, and to Sorin, the water appeared to be dangerously close. Worried about what would happen if he failed at the task they'd been set, Sorin fought saidin and slowly drew out threads of Air.

He wrapped these around the rock, something he'd managed multiple times when picking up hay from the stables or the dishes in the kitchen. What Sorin had not accounted for was the size and weight of the rock, heavier than anything else he'd ever successfully lifted. His eyes narrowed with the effort of it, and he kept his hand under his coat sleeve, repeatedly stabbing into his own arm so he wouldn't drop the weaves. Though Sorin tried hard to lift it higher, he could barely get the rock off the ground and out of the way of the approaching water. It hovered just above the ground, and it took all of the Power that Sorin could hold to keep it there. He didn't look at Cirus, could not make himself ask the other Soldier to help, but Sorin feared that soon, he would let the rock go splashing down into the tiny river.

[Cirus]

“While I speak with Mistress Dena, you have one job, keep that rock dry.”

Keep that rock dry, it seemed a simple command. Yet Cirus watched and saw immediately that it was going to be difficult to do. The water was already flowing back toward the rock, and Cirus had no idea how to get the damn thing out of the water and keep it there. He was strong, far stronger than when he’d first arrived at the tower, but keeping that damn thing dry was going to be difficult.

Cirus was not used to thinking on his feet, he liked to plan, to move with a deliberate pace. His strength wasn’t great, even by the standards of soldiers among those who served within the black tower. That was how he’d gotten this far, smart work, not hard work. Still, he had to do something. He reached out and felt Saidin waiting, be grabbed it, and immediately started fighting. A raging torrent came for him, hotter than iron and somehow still colder than winter.

It took a moment to become in full control of his surroundings again. The prickling pain and at the same time sweet embrace of Saidin made it difficult to focus on the task at hand in the given situation. Danger made it easier, danger made everything easier. It meant there wasn’t time to overthink, only to act and react. He much preferred it, despite the obvious danger of

Cirus watched as threads of air began to weave around the rock, grasping at it and pulling it up. It took a moment for him to register what Sorin was doing, but when it did register it hit Cirus like a ton of bricks. He saw the rock just come off the ground, and he was struck by how simple it was. Get the rock out of the water and you keep it dry. There was nothing saying that they had to stop the water or make the lake deeper. They just had to keep the bloody rock dry.

“Bloody brilliant Master Shirega, bloody worthy of the legacy of the dragon.”

His voice felt like a whisper, but he felt it must have been louder. He didn’t have time to worry about it. He had to act on his plan, the desperate and foolhardy one that it was, it might just work if the two of them worked together. He just hoped that Sorin would catch on, Cirus didn’t think he had the mental capacity to speak as he worked.

He went to work as the words left his mouth, weaves of earth, fire, and air all coalescing beneath the rock. He’d seen some of the more experienced Asha’man create bridges over puddles for their wives on wet days, or even for everyone on busy thoroughfares. He’d been fortunate enough to see one weaved once, and while he didn’t have the strength to wield one across the whole of the lake, he could weave one below the rock. Now he just had to hope that it would float on water instead of being gushed over by it.

Cirus weaved the makeshift raft, bridge, whatever it was, just below the rock. His legs felt ready to give out as he cast the weave below the rock. He could already feel the sweat starting to form across his brow as he worked with several elements at once. This was no sword or weapon that he forged, he could not afford for it to go off before he had finished trying it off.

No… I can’t fail… not here! Not now!

He didn’t know if those were words or thoughts, not that it mattered. He sent the last weave across as the water touched the makeshift raft. If he failed, Sorin would have to carry the rock on his own. He had hope as the water formed under the raft and it started to float on the stream of water, now he just had to hope it would support the rock’s weight or failing that, that the other man could come up with something to hold the bloody thing in place.

[Sorin Shirega]

Sorin fixed his eyes on the rock that swayed before him, barely contained by the weaves he struggled to hold. Saidin threatened to consume him, and he diverted almost all of his attention to his ongoing battle against it. His awareness shrunk to almost nothing but the rock in his tenous grasp and the water flowing slowly towards it, that and the pain that burned in his arm. The Soldier jabbed his nails into his skin again while he continued to stare at the rock and worry about how much longer he could keep it suspended in the air.

The sound of Cirus's voice distracted him from his concentrated, and the rock wobbled unsteadily as the tendrils of Air began to slide free from the hold Sorin had on them. Panicked, he snatched at the threads, biting down hard on the inside of his cheek. A few escaped him, but he clung tightly to the weave, still mostly intact. Only when he had it under control again did Sorin register exactly what Cirus had said.

“Bloody brilliant Master Shirega, bloody worthy of the legacy of the dragon.”

He turned his head quickly, startled and confused, just for a second forgetting himself enough to look directly at the other Soldier. Almost immediately, he realized what he'd done, the insult he'd just given Cirus, and Sorin winced as he turned away again. He shivered as he studied the water, berating himself for forgetting his place.You're nothing but an animal, he scolded himself. You can never have straight eyes again.

His head was beginning to pound, the rock wavering in his grip, and Sorin knew he would have to let it go soon. Unable to take his eyes off the rising water, he watched in surprise as something began to form underneath the dangling rock. It had to be Cirus's work, but Sorin couldn't follow what the other man was doing and didn't dare ask. The weave was nearly finished before Sorin could identify what Cirus had made.

The seemingly insubstantial strands of saidin formed a sort of platform that at least for now rested on top of the water. Sorin looked nervously at the rock, towards the platform, and back at the rock again. The thing was heavy, and Sorin wasn't at all sure that Cirus's creation would hold it, but since he had to set the rock down soon, and couldn't manage to move it, there didn't seem to be any other choice. Slowly, Sorin lowered the rock until it settled into place on top of the raft as gently as he could, and he held his breath while he watched to see if it would remain there or sink into the water below.

[Cirus]

Cirus watched with his breath held as the rock touched onto the platform. It took a moment to realize just what he was trying, the risk he was taking. If this failed it would be on him, Sorin had the right idea and he’d taken the risk of seeing if the rock would float or not. It was his plan to create a raft rather than help his fellow soldier to hold it, or encase the rock in weaves of air to keep it dry. No matter now, the decision was made, and he could only hope that his plan wasn’t one that was too far fetched.

As the rock set on the raft, the weave seemed to bob a little in the water, for a moment he feared the weight of it wouldn’t hold on to what he had created. Yet whether by luck or fate, the rock settled as more water poured in, and the raft seemed to rise with it. He let out the breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. They’d done it, Sorin’s plan to get it out of the water had worked.

“We did it Master Shirega, the rock is staying dry.”

Cirus looked over to his fellow soldier, a look of relief and he could only imagine sweat pouring over him. The holding of the one power had exhausted him more than he would have liked to admit. Sorin wasn’t looking at him, it dampened Cirus’s excitement a bit and reminded him of how the other soldier had initially reacted to him. Running in fear of him and him using the one power. He cast his eyes back over to the rock to observe their handiwork, even as the water seemed to reach a state of equilibrium his raft was holding. Not bad work, he only hoped the captain and Miss Dena would believe the same.

"Never would have been able to do it without your aid sir. You're certainly sharper than me in quick thinking."

He didn't know what he was trying to achieve with the small talk, maybe just make it so Sorin wasn't terrified of him. He knew all to well that feeling of terror, didn't care for it. It had ruled him most of his life, and he hated that it had control over him. He still hated that he felt fear of losing control, of what could happen if he ever let a weave slip or a strand of power fall out of place. Fear was for the weak, letting it control you for those who had the luxury of hiding from the world. He had neither... and he hated being the object of it.

[Julian Damodred]

The shield kept others from hearing them, but Julian would still be able to hear the Soldiers working a few spans to their left.

“They can’t hear us. I’m sure you are curious about why I sent for you.”

“Well yes, a bit.” Dena’s voice betraying her impatience.

Julian scratched the back of his neck as he tried to figure out why exactly he had done so. With his vast stores of knowledge sometimes his intuition was faster than his memory recall and so he often trusted his instincts before fully understanding them.

“Mostly, I wanted to get rid of Cirus for a moment to speak with Sorin alone. He’s still new here and I was trying to get him to open up to me.”

He compressed his lips together, not excited by the prospect of the next part: explaining he also wanted her help.

“A pity you got rid of Cirus then, he seems to be much better with people than you are.” Came her sugary reply.

“Maybe you would be happier in your rooms?”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to tie me up with the One Power so I stay there?”

Julian wondered if maybe he should teach her more about what could be done with the True Source. He would never use compulsion on her, but maybe if she was aware of the possibility…his hand itched to run through his hair, but he kept it firmly at his side. After a deep breath he spoke as calmly as he could.

“I have been a teacher, working with people successfully for longer than three time the length of his life…” His eyes flicked over to check on his students and was surprised to see Sorin taking the initiative.

“Men have followed me into battle…What am I doing? I don’t need to justify myself to you.”

Another breath. Her emotions weren’t nearly as prickly as her words would indicate and he didn’t ask her here to bicker.

“Listen, I’m sorry I rushed to shackle us together before either of us was ready and that I haven’ t been able to give you as much attention as you would like. Think about this though, is this really how you are going to act when I start to let you in?”

She looked down and pursed her lips and he could feel her shame through the bond. Cirus was weaving a bridge now and Julian was impressed. The weave didn’t take a lot of power, but it was fairly intricate. Instead of bracing it though, the weave just sort of sat on the water like an invisible raft.

“Anyway, I thought about having Cirus do laps around the barn, but then it occurred to me that you might be able to help with this new kid. I have seen thousands of new Soldiers, some of them excited and eager, but most afraid like him. I used to be a part of their every day. Before I became T'sorovan M'Hael, I spent a fair amount of time teaching recruits and now, there is a separation. It isn’t easy or wise for me to spend too much energy on any one Soldier. You on the other hand, need something to focus your energy on. He needs a friend. So do you. His cultural cues are foreign to most here. Not everyone has read up on the Tai’Seanchan as much as I have.”

“No one has” Dena interjected with a grin.

“Maybe.” He returned her smile.

“With your nose though, you have somewhat of an advantage, and I can give you a crash course.”

Her smile fell right off her face. “More reading?!”

“I’ll try to make it into a fun lesson. I need to finish up this one first though.”

Julian dropped the shield and turned off the water with a thread of air as he walked over to the two men.

“Sorin, good initiative, you acted quickly and decisively. Cirus, your weaving is really improving, and that was clever thinking as it leaves you both free to deal with this,”

He drew the water up from the ground into three balls placed strategically in the air. One was fairly high above the rock, the other two equally high above each of their heads. He paused before releasing them, quickly throwing up a wall of air to protect himself and Dena from any splashes.

Cirus might be able to split his weaves, but Sorin could not. They would need to work together, and quickly, to accomplish this task.

---

OOC Note:

I thought this was a fun way to end the thread so feel free to close it out. Here is the dialog from Julian for each possible scenario 😊

Total success:
“That was impressive work, both of you. You’ve earned yourselves a break, do as you’d like until your next chores. You are dismissed.”

The rock gets wet:
“You failed your duty but kept yourselves dry. Interesting. Dry off the rock and then you are dismissed.”

One of them gets wet:
“Way to take one for the team [name of wet character]. [name of dry character], help them dry off and then rest up a bit before your next chores. You are dismissed.

Both get wet:
“At least the rock is dry. Dry yourselves and then rest up before chores.”

Everything goes to crap and both of them and the rock get wet:
“Ok, so we need to work on your reaction timing. Clean up all this excess water and then get to work on the rest of your chores for the day.”

[Sorin Shirega]

Sorin stared at the raft floating in the water, momentarily relieved to see that Cirus's weave could hold the rock up. He kept his head down and stayed quiet, not sure how to respond to Cirus's compliment or the Asha'man's praise. He didn't deserve any of it. Saidin still raged within him, and Sorin desperately wanted to let go, but he didn't dare without the Asha'man's permission. The Soldier dragged his nails across his skin, forcing himself to hold on while he waited for further directions.

He gasped involuntarily when the water disappeared, green eyes flickering up to follow it as it rose into the air and formed into balls. One hung over the rock, another over Cirus's head, and a quick glance upward told Sorin that another was suspended over his own. The Tai' Seanchan man looked down at the rock and bit his lip, feeling scared and helpless. What does he want us to do? He knew he had no chance of keeping all the balls from falling, and that dire consequences awaited him if he didn't.

Sorin looked nervously in Cirus's general direction, careful not to look directly at the other Soldier, but if he was worried about the task they'd been set, Sorin couldn't tell. His eyes dropped back down to the rock, and he recalled the Asha'man's earlier words. "He said to keep the rock dry," Sorin mumbled, not sure whether he was talking to himself or to Cirus. He thought he might be able to at least accomplish that much, and as he saw the balls slowly descending, realized that he needed to start trying soon if he wanted any chance of success.

Still, Sorin struggled to make himself begin, worried about the other two balls. He didn't care if he ended up wet, but he didn't know how Cirus felt about it, and was too afraid to ask. Will he blame me for not stopping it in time? He could so easily turn the One Power against me, and so could the Asha'man. The thought only made his fear worse, and Sorin shivered as he attempted to focus on the rock.

Jabbing his fingernails into his palm, Sorin pulled threads of Air from the tangle of saidin and tried to cover the rock with them. He had no idea if it would work, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Air was easier for him to use than some of the other threads, he'd noticed, but the weave he attempted, while simple, demanded that he place all his attention on pulling the threads tight enough to hopefully protect the rock from the water. Concentrating intently on his work, Sorin was aware of nothing outside himself, the One Power, and his self-inflicted pain.

[Cirus]

If Cirus had the strength to muster a smile he would have been beaming, this test had forced him to think on his feet, and he’d come out the other side successful. Of course, he never would have thought of it if Sorin hadn’t lifted the rock in the first place. A lesson that was all too easy to forget, the Asha’man were stronger as a team than any one man could be. It was why legions were divided as they were, and why everyone served the war council.

Of course it wasn’t over. It would be too easy for it simply to be over. Cirus should have realized, should have known better. The captain always pushed men to their limits, and then beyond to prove that their limits were not as limiting as they thought. He was exhausted, he might have another weave in him but he wasn’t sure. Channeling would come down to keeping the rock dry or keeping one of them dry. He knew he didn’t have the strength for both, and he didn’t know if Sorin was capable of both. The other man was certainly a quick study, but Cirus didn’t know how strong he was.

Cirus reached out once more to the One Power, he was straining this time. He expected the pinpricks to begin any moment now, but it didn’t matter. He had to push to complete this, and if they came he would let go. This was a training exercise, as much as it was meant to push him to his limits he didn’t expect it to kill him. He felt the pinpricks saying he was pushing his limits. He couldn’t do it much longer.

As he strained Cirus saw a shield fall over the rock. It would be safe, he could ignore that. He would have to push himself hard to make sure he and his companion were safe. He stared to weave around Sorin, the man had given up his own shield to make sure they wouldn’t fail their mission. Cirus pushed, hard, to make sure he could weave a shield over the other man. As he did so he felt himself getting light-headed, the pinpricks became more like jabs. He was determined not to lose this battle, not here. He wove it just in time, small but it should get the job done.

Now for himself…

That was the thought going through his head when he felt the water splash down on him. Hard, like he’d been thrown into a lake. The impact also left him staggering for a moment in his own weakness, he cursed himself for not paying more attention, for not being faster.

Well, two out of three isn’t so bad.

[Dena n’am Damodred]

As the water balls raised above them Dena held her breath hoping she wouldn’t end up soaked. She squealed as the water splashed onto Cirus’ head, drenching him. She couldn’t be completely sure who had done what, but by the way Sorin was glaring at that rock as he clutched himself, she assumed that was where his focus lie. Which meant Cirus had saved his fellow soldier instead of himself. That was so Cirus.

Hopefully, Julian would acknowledge that and she smiled when he did.

“Way to take one for the team Cirus. Sorin, help him dry off and then rest up a bit before your next chores. You are dismissed.”

And just like that he was walking away. He felt…proud though, and Dena was starting to realize that whether he showed it or not, Julian cared about people. She still thought he cared about books more, but at least he wasn’t completely indifferent to his men.

He hadn’t told her to follow him so she decided this was as good a time as any to make some headway on her friendship quest with Sorin. Besides, she liked Cirus and wanted to help.

She ducked into the stables behind her and ran back out with a few towels that were used to rub down the horses. These were clean of course, but she hoped she wouldn’t offend him with her offering. She jogged over to them and immediately set to work drying off his hair without waiting for permission to do so.

“I know you both do everything with the power, but this the best I can manage.” She explained apologetically. “I thought you were both excellent, not that I understood any of it.”

She flashed a shy smile at Sorin.

“I’m Dena, like Julian said. No one knows why I am here or what I am studying so I have an aura of mystery and I like to keep it that way.”

She winked playfully at Cirus, giving his hair one last tussle.

“Anyway being mysterious and aloof is super lonely so don’t be a stranger…either of you!”

She tossed the towel at Cirus and ran off. It was always best to leave men wanting more.

[The Dark One]

This thread is now complete and closed <3