02-21-2018, 06:43 AM
Aspirant or not, the excited gossip heralding Lythia Sedai’s imminent visit to the heart of the Accepted Tower was not enough to entice Nythadri from her room. There was nothing like expectation to dig her heels in the opposite direction, and it was not as though she lacked legitimate occupation for her time. Pledging herself to an Ajah had widened the scope of her education in ways she had not truly contemplated; Aes Sedai who had been reluctant to work with her before re-evaluated an Accepted finally displaying commitment, and so studies that had stunted after she’d caught up on all she had missed while at the Farm again flourished.
She could hear the animated chattering outside as girls passed in a flurry down the winding ramp to the common room. Someone knocked at her door, but she ignored it and it went away. The collective flamboyancy of the Greens was not something she meshed with naturally, nor wished to associate herself with. The mindless enthusiasm of her peers spiked a defensive step back rather than a desire to centre the excitement. Nythadri had cultivated a reputation that expounded her favour for solitude, and she did not wish to tarnish it just because her name was now becoming associated with the most social of ajahs. A Green Nythadri might purport to be, but no typical Green she would make.
So she missed Lythia’s rousing speech, missed the ardency of the challenge cast, the enlivened aftermath of whispering girls (though she could certainly hear the buzz of it through her walls). Some hour or so later, when Nythadri had retreated her studies from the desk to the bed, frozen feet buried in a pile of her blankets and a book balanced against her knees, there was another knock.
“It’s open.”
The door opened on the heels of her beckoning. Nythadri was not particularly surprised to see Mai standing beyond, one hand on a jutted hip, expression artfully still but for the faint traces of a pleased smile lilting the edges of her lips. She was tall and handsome, her robust, proud features set by striking amber eyes and coppery exotic skin. Black hair wound a long braided tail over one shoulder, and she was the kind of woman to exude a sensuous sort of confidence. Though beneath it she was whipcord sharp.
Nythadri had discovered quickly that accepting aspirancy to the Greens had been more than mere words – more, even, than the abstract notion of having a path to follow. The word family sprung to mind, and Nythadri had never been particularly enamoured with that choiceless company; certainly not enough to have it forced on her within the bounds of the White Tower. Mai did not approve of her disinclination to get involved; the arm’s length at which she kept the other Accepted aspiring Green - who, despite whatever opinions they had held of Nythadri prior to her aspirancy, had all made effort to embrace her within their clique. Nythadri had never had an abundance of female friends, nor did she particularly enjoy the fluttering whimsy of female company; at least, not beyond an individual by individual basis.
“You didn’t come down to the common room.”
Nythadri didn’t answer, only stared through those shockingly pale eyes and allowed Mai this moment of maternal superiority. It was Mai’s role to cluck over her fellow Green Accepteds like a mother hen, sweeping them all protectively tight together, only it was not a wing Nythadri was particularly interested in being swept up under. After a moment she tapped at her book, like it was an answer to the unasked question; a gesture designed to frustrate, the insinuation that anything else could be more important than supporting one of the most infamous sisters of the ajah. Mai didn't bite. “Lythia was inspiring,”
she added. The faint traces of smile became an actual smile now, complete with twinkling eyes, as she continued to explain. Mai was of an age or older than Nythadri, and lacked the girlish excitability of the very young; she was calm and matter-of-fact despite the way her expression was lit beneath that serenity. A controlled, fierce passion; the very heart of a Green. It made Nythadri feel rather inadequate. “I put your name down, Nythadri.”
Nythadri bottled a sigh. Of course you did. The predictable outcome, and she didn’t suppose she was truly angry about it. Though she might have to remind herself of the fact, she had chosen Green… if she had a fair idea she wasn’t going to enjoy a lesson marked from the outset as extreme. Perhaps she could do with the distraction, something that didn’t involve hours drafting letters to craft a network in a city she had left behind years ago. She let her legs fall straight, the book landing flat against her lap, blankets rumpling to the end of the bed. Tiredness washed a wave against her mind, eyes blurry from reading. "Right... Right. Okay. But when you say extreme, Mai..."
She could hear the animated chattering outside as girls passed in a flurry down the winding ramp to the common room. Someone knocked at her door, but she ignored it and it went away. The collective flamboyancy of the Greens was not something she meshed with naturally, nor wished to associate herself with. The mindless enthusiasm of her peers spiked a defensive step back rather than a desire to centre the excitement. Nythadri had cultivated a reputation that expounded her favour for solitude, and she did not wish to tarnish it just because her name was now becoming associated with the most social of ajahs. A Green Nythadri might purport to be, but no typical Green she would make.
So she missed Lythia’s rousing speech, missed the ardency of the challenge cast, the enlivened aftermath of whispering girls (though she could certainly hear the buzz of it through her walls). Some hour or so later, when Nythadri had retreated her studies from the desk to the bed, frozen feet buried in a pile of her blankets and a book balanced against her knees, there was another knock.
“It’s open.”
The door opened on the heels of her beckoning. Nythadri was not particularly surprised to see Mai standing beyond, one hand on a jutted hip, expression artfully still but for the faint traces of a pleased smile lilting the edges of her lips. She was tall and handsome, her robust, proud features set by striking amber eyes and coppery exotic skin. Black hair wound a long braided tail over one shoulder, and she was the kind of woman to exude a sensuous sort of confidence. Though beneath it she was whipcord sharp.
Nythadri had discovered quickly that accepting aspirancy to the Greens had been more than mere words – more, even, than the abstract notion of having a path to follow. The word family sprung to mind, and Nythadri had never been particularly enamoured with that choiceless company; certainly not enough to have it forced on her within the bounds of the White Tower. Mai did not approve of her disinclination to get involved; the arm’s length at which she kept the other Accepted aspiring Green - who, despite whatever opinions they had held of Nythadri prior to her aspirancy, had all made effort to embrace her within their clique. Nythadri had never had an abundance of female friends, nor did she particularly enjoy the fluttering whimsy of female company; at least, not beyond an individual by individual basis.
“You didn’t come down to the common room.”
Nythadri didn’t answer, only stared through those shockingly pale eyes and allowed Mai this moment of maternal superiority. It was Mai’s role to cluck over her fellow Green Accepteds like a mother hen, sweeping them all protectively tight together, only it was not a wing Nythadri was particularly interested in being swept up under. After a moment she tapped at her book, like it was an answer to the unasked question; a gesture designed to frustrate, the insinuation that anything else could be more important than supporting one of the most infamous sisters of the ajah. Mai didn't bite. “Lythia was inspiring,”
she added. The faint traces of smile became an actual smile now, complete with twinkling eyes, as she continued to explain. Mai was of an age or older than Nythadri, and lacked the girlish excitability of the very young; she was calm and matter-of-fact despite the way her expression was lit beneath that serenity. A controlled, fierce passion; the very heart of a Green. It made Nythadri feel rather inadequate. “I put your name down, Nythadri.”
Nythadri bottled a sigh. Of course you did. The predictable outcome, and she didn’t suppose she was truly angry about it. Though she might have to remind herself of the fact, she had chosen Green… if she had a fair idea she wasn’t going to enjoy a lesson marked from the outset as extreme. Perhaps she could do with the distraction, something that didn’t involve hours drafting letters to craft a network in a city she had left behind years ago. She let her legs fall straight, the book landing flat against her lap, blankets rumpling to the end of the bed. Tiredness washed a wave against her mind, eyes blurry from reading. "Right... Right. Okay. But when you say extreme, Mai..."