Homeward Bound

[Valeriya]

Elsae pricked herself to the keenest of attentions as this was only her second encounter ever with an asha'man, she was particularly curious about whether or not she could feel one channel.  An echoey sort of silence stretched out like the angst of waiting between droplets in a water clock, and she felt nothing (at least nothing that had to do with channeling), but the terribly dark expression that regarded her scared her.  If he were channeling, then would have been an ominous moment.

He came closer, and while Elsae stood her ground she definitely tried to think through any number of plausible outcomes to go along with this situation.  What actually happened was far from what she imagined.

"Nythadri?"  She asked like she hadn't heard right.  Stranger things had happened, but she had to wonder, just for a flash, if this were real or if it were part of some test.  The Arches felt real at the time, and Elsae had no idea anything was out of the ordinary until she'd decided to walk out of that glowing doorway back to the real Pattern.  

So what was she going to say?  If this were some test, real or imagined, would she really answer any differently?  If Nythadri were lucky she'd be asleep right now, which would require waking her up.  Her fellow Accepted did a fine job hiding it when she wanted to, but it was no secret Accepted were all tired all the time.  Sleep is very important!  Accepted were allowed to have visitors, although Elsae wasn't sure if that rule designated allowable visiting hours.  Then again this had the sound of an emergency, and frankly Elsae was rather keen on knowing what this was all about, as well as ducking out of sight herself.

"Alright then.  Come with me, but we mustn't be seen okay?"  She nodded to herself and led the way.  They took the route Elsae used to get to this part of the Tower, which was definitely not the main hallways.  Any good prankster knew better than that.  Unless they had a cover story that excused them to be out and about at such unusual times of night, which she didn't have, although her mind raced to think of an interesting way to incorporate a man of the Black Tower if necessary.  

He was a man of the Black Tower at that too.  He was tall and walked with so much purpose to every single step.  The longer she was in his presence, Elsae realized her foolishness at being afraid at first.  Then again she'd not had much practice being around people like this.  Asha'man Ramiel was her only encounter with someone wearing the dark cloth of the Dragon, and he was more than kind in the dusty warmth of the library setting.  Perhaps that was it, the setting was far different now than it had been that day.  But Jai wasn't so scary now, not in the same way he was before.  He had cuts on his hands, one eye was bright pink, and his uniform was soggy with snow and she wondered again what was going on.  He barely looked elsewhere beyond straight ahead or back behind them, but when she caught better glimpses, he seemed pale and worn.  Like a ghost hanging angrily on to its purpose in life.  

If so, he was the most beautiful ghost she'd ever seen.  What are you and Nythadri up to?  

The Accepted tower was dark but for a single torch on the wall in the courtyard.  It would have been enough for Elsae to make it to her room especially after all the blindfold practice and her room was the first one on the ramp upward.  "Nythadri's is the seventh door."  She whispered and put a finger to her lips that he remain quiet too.  

She wasn't about to just let a stranger barge in on her friend unannounced like.  What if Nythadri wasn't decent?  Which if she was sleeping that would probably be the case; shifts weren't the most conservative of nightgowns.  What if this Asha'man was here on sinister purpose?  If so, he'd have to overcome not one, but two Accepted to carry out that purpose because Elsae wasn't going to leave until she was sure everything was safe.  Which after the day of War Games, Elsae was pretty sure if they linked together, they could handle quite a lot.  

"Stay out here."  She whispered as her hand slipped on the handle.  Some Accepted locked their doors at night and others left them open for friends to pop by at need.  Els typically left hers unlocked, and she was happy to find Nythadri's was too.  She gently opened the door with the intention to slip inside.  Knocking might wake up Icanthea next door, and Light knew that girl needed to sleep soundly at night.  Thea had a hard enough time keeping her wits about her during the day as it was.  I should pay her a visit tomorrow.