Reunited Far From Home

[Taivin Rashai]

Taivin stood at the door to his room in the White Tower's barracks, surveying the ordered chaos within. Although, he mused, it wouldn't be his room for much longer. He was due to leave for the Borderlands tomorrow, after all, to serve as escort and guide to two Aes Sedai, one of the Red Ajah and one of the Green, on their mission to the region. His thoughts lingered on the journey ahead, as well as the women he would soon be spending a great deal of time with.

But he ended that train of thought quickly, shaking his head to clear it. He needed to focus on the task at hand: packing up the remainder of his belongings. There would be plenty of time to allow his mind to wander once they were underway, especially since the first part of their voyage would be by ship. Outside of tending to their mounts, Tai didn’t foresee any particular demand for his skills until they disembarked and proceeded on horseback.

With a soft sigh, and another reminder to himself that he only had a few hours left with which to work, Tai crossed the room to the desk next to the bed, covered with books and ledgers, and began to organize them. The bulk of what was left to be crated up was here. Trainees were encouraged to live as minimalists and that was something Taivin hadn't ever struggled with. But he had called this one room home for a decade. And that meant he had accumulated far more odds and ends than he had realized.

Granted, a solid portion of it wasn't actually his. Of the three partially filled crates stacked neatly in one corner of the room, two of them were destined for the mercantile branch his family maintained in Tar Valon, along with the documents still scattered on the desk. Several years ago, once he had settled in at the Tower and adjusted to his new life, an outcome that was made possible largely due to the efforts of Gareth, Taivin had found himself with more time on his hands.

With little to fill those extra hours, and being adverse to any idleness that could invite unwelcome introspection, Taivin had reached out to the branch. It served as the point where all trade from Sidona converged, before being shipped off to their final destinations in the southlands, and accumulated a small mountain of paperwork on the regular. As such, the men and women who ran it had been appreciative of the assistance he had offered.

The third, and smallest, crate held the collection of personal items he intended to ship home, consisting of books, mainly, a handful of souvenirs from around the city, and a scattering of extraneous equipment. Everything else, namely what he needed for the weeks to come on the road, was in a neat pile by the bed, all prepared for tomorrow. The only things required of him for the day was to complete his packing and then to check in with Kiserai one final time for the night.

Tai picked up an armful of records and carried them to the crates, placing them within. He eyed the crate, then the desk, evaluating his progress. Another hour, perhaps, would be sufficient for him to finish. One more hour before he had nothing left to occupy, or rather distract, him from the dark disquiet that had hovered in the peripheral of his mind ever since that moment, a few months ago, when Taivin had last seen his best friend...and the darkness that had enveloped him.

[Natasia Rashai]

The White Tower at dusk was just as intimidating as it was in the light of day. Natasia’s new novice had escorted her to the wing of the Tower dedicated to the Warder barracks, and Natasia found herself moving quickly through the halls eager to be out of them. By all rights she should be more comfortable here than the rest of the Tower, she’d spent years surrounded by Saldaean warriors and knew the lay of barracks and camps like her own home. She wasn’t, though, because despite how much Borderlanders prided themselves on their martial prowess, nothing could match up to the graceful, silent, and deadly presence of an Aes Sedai Warder. She passed a few on the way, quite nearly running into one as he emerged from seemingly nowhere in the lit corridor. She wanted her staff, her sword, her knives, literally any of her weapons, but that was irrational. All of them could likely tie her in knots if they felt like it. So yes, Natasia decided, intimidating was the right word. She wasn’t used to feeling second best in anything.

She was of course not at all nervous about her destination or why she’d traveled to Tar Valon in the first place, not at all. Natasia didn’t do nervous, she’d thrown herself at every challenge or danger she could find at a level that her parents had charitably described at one point as “completely insane.” Nerves were not an issue. So when she stopped at the door she’d been told to expect, she stopped and took a deep breath, seeking calm. Natasia checked the riding outfit she wore until satisfied, then slowly, quietly, and deliberately stepped into the doorway.

Taivin Rashai was instantly recognizable but markedly different than he’d been the last time she’d seen him. That had been a decade ago, and Natasia remembered a. athletic youth built for riding. Now he looked and moved like a swordsman as he packed. That he was alone and, she assumed, introspective was, at least, a familiar mood. Dozens of questions, comments, and demands bubbled just beneath the surface, leaving Natasia frozen in place until she instinctively went to a joke. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway, clearing her throat to get his attention.

“I finally make it to Tar Valon just in time for you to leave? Light, that’s impeccable precision right there.”

She grinned at him. Light, would he even recognize her? She’d been a child the last time she’d seen him.

“It’s good to see you, Tai.”

[Taivin Rashai]

Taivin had settled into a rhythm of packing, flowing from desk to crate and back. Little by little, the mound of documents on the desk dwindled as the crate that awaited them filled. He was at last nearing the end when he felt a shift in the atmosphere of the room. His instincts, honed from years of rigorous martial training, realized that he was no longer alone moments before the rest of his senses became aware of another's presence, a woman at that.

He pivoted in one smooth motion to face the new arrival. It was unusual for women to be here in the barracks. Even the Aes Sedai rarely intruded, preferring to meet with their Gaidin elsewhere. As such he was wary, certain that a woman here had to mean bad news of some kind. But all that stuttered to an abrupt halt as his eyes fell upon her. Because he knew her.

“I finally make it to Tar Valon just in time for you to leave? Light, that’s impeccable precision right there. It’s good to see you, Tai.”

His recognition of her was almost immediate, but it was quickly followed by shock as he studied the young woman before him. She was older, of course. It had been ten years since he had seen her last, after all. She was taller and she had filled out, bearing much more muscle on her frame. And while she still had a certain gangly youthfulness about her, like that of a filly still getting used to standing on her own feet, Taivin could also see those residual traces of childhood giving way to full maturity.

The shock hadn’t really been because of her physical appearance, however. Her mere presence deserved all the credit for that. Her father, his uncle, was fiercely protective of his only daughter. For her to be here, much less by herself, probably meant he wasn’t aware of it. Which meant that Tasia had passed her trial and had claimed a horse of her own. Taivin had been the one to teach her to ride, all those years ago. He had never doubted she would succeed, one day.

But it was still immensely gratifying to see her efforts come to fruition. He would have to meet her chosen mount and companion, before he left tomorrow. Suddenly, Tai realized that he was staring, and had been, since his cousin had entered the room several minutes ago. He hadn’t even reacted when she had spoken to him. Way to make their reunion immediately awkward, he chided himself.

“It’s good to see you too, cousin. Tasia. I believe congratulations are in order?”

Tai glanced out the small window, gauging the time from the light that filtered in through the cloudy glass. It wasn’t quite late enough for the evening meal, but he wanted to talk, and the barracks weren’t exactly the most congenial of places for such things. There was time for them to stop by the stables first, as well. “Give me a few minutes to finish up here, then we can go somewhere a little more comfortable to catch up.

[Natasia Rashai]

Seeing Taivin Rashai, her cousin, friend, and childhood hero, caught so thoroughly off guard was almost enough to make the entire trip worth it by itself. His initial turn and wary gaze were smooth, practiced, wary, and confident, but she watched as his confident manner shattered as he put together that his unexpected guest was his cousin. Her own emotions were a storm inside her, warring anger, joy, excitement, and curiosity, but Natasia didn't intend to let them slip just yet. Instead, she maintained her grin as Tai's brain caught up to the moment and he began to actually speak.

"It’s good to see you too, cousin. Tasia. I believe congratulations are in order?"

Her expression blossomed from a forced grin to a genuine smile, dark eyes dancing with delight. Tai had been her first and only teacher for years before she'd been able to bully others into assisting in her delinquency and being able to show him the fruit of that training felt very good indeed. Her cousin surveyed his efforts around the room before continuing.

"Give me a few minutes to finish up here, then we can go somewhere a little more comfortable to catch up."

Natasia nodded, allowing him to get back to work, but the silence quickly grew awkward enough that she was clearing her throat uncomfortably. She had never been particularly adept at dealing with people; most found her abrasive, even condescending, and she suddenly found herself desperate to make sure that Tai developed a positive impression of his adult cousin. So she straightened and stalked into his room, surveying the mess, and tried not to awkwardly stumble through some words of her own. Light, girl, you weren't this nervous flirting with Aes Sedai! Not that she was nervous now.

"And you're right. Congratulations are in order. I passed the trial five years ago, actually. I'd have visited sooner, but, well, Kaarash took a bit to properly understand, and Father remains as impossible as ever."

Just talking about her father stabilized her mood, because her father was very good at one thing in particular: making her bloody angry. Her voice acquired a pointed edge as she spoke (perhaps ironically, the tone and cadence were absolutely tics she'd picked up from her father). She shrugged. That certainly wouldn't be news to Taivin.

"But, well. Here I am. And there you go."

She looked around, evidence of a journey to come was plainly evident. She wasn't certain what to say, exactly, but she'd never been fond of remaining idle.

"Did you need a hand packing things?"

[Taivin Rashai]

As Taivin resumed packing, albeit at a slightly more accelerated rate, he had to hide a grin at his cousin’s apparent nervousness. It, ironically, actually eased his own apprehension at their unexpected reunion. It would seem, despite all the time that had passed since they were last together, that Tasia hadn’t changed at all. As much as his family had chided him for his restlessness, she had received far more scolding for her “unladylike” energy. It was part of why they’d fit together so well as children; they had been, and hopefully still were, kindred spirits.

He remained silent as his cousin chattered on, content for the moment to simply listen, filling in the missing pieces he hadn’t known of her life. His smile was renewed as he heard the very apt name she had chosen for her mount and companion, then faded as her talk inevitably shifted to family.

His letters from home, and to for that matter, had been mostly filled with pleasantries, touching on heavier subjects, but otherwise avoiding them. It had been clear that his family hadn’t wanted to burden him with the knowledge of anything negative brewing back home. Not that Taivin could blame them for it, considering the circumstances leading up to his departure.

It had taken years for Tai to come to terms with those events himself, only to be supplanted by new worries of how, wrapped up as he had been in his own grief, he had failed his family a second time. Especially Tasia. He had been a source of comfort for her, he knew, as the one family member that hadn't coddled her, the one willing to teach her the skills she would need for the path he knew she would choose to walk. But he wondered now if she knew how much solace she had provided him back then as well. Perhaps it was time to rectify that.

"Did you need a hand packing things?"

The question came just as Tai placed the last of the ledgers into the crate. He mentally ran through his checklist one last time, triple-checking that he had taken care of every task that required his attention. He had left his final letters home, in which he alerted his family of his impending return, in the care of Hamad, at the Sidona merchants’ branch earlier this morning. Men from that same branch would be arriving tonight to collect the crates for shipment. He’d ensured they had the necessary documentation to be allowed access to the barracks...and he was finished packing. Now he was free to give Tasia his full attention, for better or worse.

"I'm just about done, actually. Why don't we put that restless energy of yours to good use and head over to the stables? It's past time I met your Kaarash."

[Natasia Rashai]

"I'm just about done, actually. Why don't we put that restless energy of yours to good use and head over to the stables? It's past time I met your Kaarash."

Nataisa grinned as Taivin turned from his work. It felt almost like the days before he'd left, when they would slip away from her father's watchful eyes to find an adventure. They’d had dozens of them before things became…difficult. Most memories she had of the time were vague and hazy, with all the fuzzy edges dulled by the warmth of a happy childhood. But she remembered her cousin, could even see a bit of him as the man he’d become stepped into the hallway to follow her.

Their walk was quiet for a moment, and that was all it took to replace the memories with the moment. Light, what was she supposed to say? She remembered, so clearly in contrast, the young man who’d been forced to leave Sidona. Taivin had been in a dark place when her uncle had sent him south. He had nearly gotten himself killed more than once. For all her parents had railed against her own recklessness, she had never held so little regard for her own life as Taivin had in the months after Fenr’s passing. She’d been too young to really understand, or help for that matter, at the time. He seemed more at peace with himself now, but she was never a particularly good judge of emotion, at least not when it came to other people.

“I’m surprised you’re free to take the time to do this.”

When she finally spoke, it wasn’t particularly planned. The hallways were free of people, minus the occasional swordsman running about, and she was desperate to fill the silence with something beyond the sound of their steps. She was honestly just shy of rambling. Blood and bloody ashes Natasia. You had weeks on the road to prepare for this.

“What’s it like to live in Tar Valon? I’m not sure I could manage it without embarrassing myself a dozen times over.”

That was especially true in light of her recent interaction with Aes Sedai, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks at the thought. She hurried past the brief pause. No sense in embarrassing herself further.

“I half expected to find out that some Aes Sedai had snapped you up for her own. Either that or find you chained to a training ground.”

Her tone was light, but realistically she had no insight at all into what Warder training entailed. And there were other reasons why an Aes Sedai might take too keen of an interest in Taivin Rashai….

[Taivin Rashai]

Taivin stole sidelong glances at his cousin as they walked down the corridor. His family weren’t exactly tall folk, but they weren’t on the shorter side of the spectrum either. It felt more than a little odd to see that his younger cousin was not far off from his own height, especially since she’d barely come up to his waist when he last saw her. The latter half of his years at the White Tower had flowed seamlessly, almost imperceptibly, but here was a stark reminder of exactly how much time had passed by.

She moved well, though, he noted with a small amount of satisfaction. He had left her all on her own, but she had clearly kept up with her training: skills he had once taught her the basics of. Tai doubted they would have the time for him to find out exactly how much she had improved. He was somewhat reassured to know that she was prepared to walk the path he had always known she would choose, but it would have been interesting to test her capabilities against his own.

“I’m surprised you’re free to take the time to do this.”

It had taken even less time for her to break the silence than he had expected, Taivin thought wryly. She’d always been a bit of a chatterbox around him. He had never minded, despite rarely contributing to the rather one-sided conversations of their youth, and he minded even less now. It was nice to know some things never really changed. “I wouldn’t, ordinarily. But I’m not technically a trainee anymore. Even if I were, I’ve accepted an escort assignment, so I’ve been given time to prepare.”

“What’s it like to live in Tar Valon? I’m not sure I could manage it without embarrassing myself a dozen times over.”

“Do I actually live in Tar Valon? I’m not sure I’ve noticed.” Taivin’s tone was one of quiet amusement, the joke a common one amongst those that lived and trained with the Gaidin. He easily recalled how difficult it had been for him to adjust to the populous environs when he had first arrived. Their hometown of Sidona was technically a bustling city of trade in its own right, but it paled in comparison to the width and breadth of Tar Valon. Not to mention his own, private difficulty in seeing an exponential increase in the number of Viewings.

“If you keep to the training areas and stables, like I have, you’re not likely to run into many people. The Aes Sedai, Accepted, and Novices don’t frequent those areas much either. That’s starting to change but slowly.”

“I half expected to find out that some Aes Sedai had snapped you up for her own. Either that or find you chained to a training ground.”

Tai immediately wanted to refute the statement, to assert that of course he wouldn’t have agreed to a bond because his place was back in Sidona. But the words died on his tongue before he even opened his mouth. It had been subtle, but over the years, he had started to feel as if his birthplace wasn’t home anymore. All his doubts aside, he knew he would be welcome back. But the thought of returning didn’t feel quite right anymore. He was no longer the young man that had belonged there.

It was part of the reason he had delayed his return. He supposed that it wasn’t entirely unexpected, after a decade away, but the White Tower didn’t really feel like home either. He was still wrestling with that train of thought when he realized they had arrived at the stables; he’d guided Tasia here automatically while lost in his own thoughts.