06/28/2000

Courtyard, The White Tower, Tar Valon

Marble tiles gleam from a straight path which leads from the Gates of the
Tower to the wide double doors which announce its entry point. Soft grass
and well planned patches of flowers can be found to either side, with the
occasional shady tree. Accepted and novices sit on stone benches, some
practicing their Power to the dismay of uneasy petitioners passing through.
To the side there is a stable, near the fenced entrance to the clearly
visible yard where shirtless boys go through sword forms through the day.

Guards take the weapons of those wanting to enter, though the Gaidin spread
about the courtyard, seemingly about their leisure, look ready to pounce on
any men who "forgot" a dagger at the gates. Aes Sedai pass through on
various errands, some nodding to acknowledge bows or curtsies. The
atmosphere is busy, but calm.


Denn'ryiel enters the courtyard through one of the many gates in and out,
singing a wordless tune to herself. It's one she's heard singing often when
she's working in the gardens. She's dressed the same as usual, so she's
pretty easy to spot.

Grrrrrrrrrrr. Coming out of the practice yard, Neelkan looks fit to pound
something. He's all squeeky clean and what not, his clothing nice and
fitting as a trainee's should be, but his hair is still sticking up every
which way in spikes of red and white. Over all he looks pretty much the
same, along with the usual angry mood he's often in. He spots the unique
outfit and smirks lightly, his mood becoming less dark and heads over
towards his friend silently, attempting to sneak up outside her line of
sight. He listens to a few seconds to the tune she is singing wordlessly,
and ponders for a moment, and then joins in once he's close enough. Not a
bad voice of the guy considering the fact he's usually using in to yell in
anger at 'Evil Women'(TM).

Denn'ryiel seems to be idly strolling, paying more attention to whatever
thoughts rumble through her head than where she may or maynot be headed.
She is brought out of her reverie at the second voice joining in harmony.
She turns her head to locate the source, and smiles upon seeing Neelkan.
"Light Shine, Neelkan... you're looking much better," she says, somewhat
cheerfully.

Grinning slightly, Neelkan cuts off his wordless singing as she does and
shrugs his shoulders, "Ye'h, feel 'lot better. Good t' not have t' sleep in
a room full'a women!" Did he mean that to sound offensive? Well, no,
because as far as he's concerned Denn is a fluke of nature, and all the
rest of the women are evil. "'n it's good t' actually be able t' walk
'round 'n not feel like I'm gonna fall over at any second!"

Denn'ryiel laughs warm-naturedly at this and nods her head. "If you haven't
felt like you're going to fall over at any second, then I take it you
haven't visited one of Tar Valon's taverns since your release," she says
with a friendly smile. "Are you still up for the ale I promised you?" she
asks.

There's a grin at the mention of taverns and ale, and... deep down Neelkan
knows he should say that he shouldn't. But then when did he ever do what he
should? "Blood 'n ashes, I haven't had a chance yet, no. But 'at sounds
great! Ya up f'r it now, 'en?" He continues to grin rather widely, then
reaches up to brush some spikes of hair out of his eyes.

Denn'ryiel nods her head once, and smiles. "I don't really have anywhere
else to be at the moment. If you're free, then now would be as good a time
as any," she says.

"Great!" Neelkan says rather loudly, then reaches to take Denn's elbow in
his hand and motion her towards the gates, "'en lets get outta 'ere 'fore
some Gaidin pops outta the wood work with a bunch'a chores f'r m' t' do."
He even glances around as if expecting that to happen. He's supposed to be
free right now, but they always seem to find more work for him just when he
starts to relax.

"I understand." Denn nods her head once and walks quickly towards the
gates, without making it look like she's in a hurry. She follows after
Neelkan, however, since he's far more knowledgable about the taverns and
inns than she.


The Shadow's Demise Tavern, The Plaza, Tar Valon

A sleek wooden bar stretches across the back of the room, with giant kegs
full of all manner of drink here. The proprieter of the Shadow's Demise
does his own distilling, as such, there is never a shortage of ale to be
found here. Slightly greasy smelling potatos and sausage dishes find their
way out of the kitchens by way of plump serving maids and onto the tables
of the patrons, most of whom look tired and worried. Dripping white candles
sit within old green wine bottles, casting a soft lambent light about the
area.

A dais is here, where a performer of some variety usually sits, keeping the
patronage entertained. Songs of battle and war are generally discouraged
unless there has been a recent victory, and so slow, romantic ballads float
around the room. Perhaps this is why The Shadow's Demise tends to have an
equal number of male and female patrons. Circular tables, generally kept
clean, are arranged about the room in such a way that people can easily
hold conversations with one another and keep them private.


Tada! Here they are! A nice tavern/Inn with good ale, fairly alright
prices, and good food to boot. But Neelkan is honestly not here for the
food. "I've been 'ere a few times 'fore. 'is is actually where'd I'd been
the night ya helped m' get sober 'nough not t' get in trouble with the
Yellows!" He starts to go over to a table and just plops down in a chair,
not even pulling one out for his friend. Well, no one ever said he had
manners...

Denn'ryiel nods her head once as her head moves from side to side. From the
way she looks at everything, this seems to be her first trip here. In fact
it might be one of her first trips to a tavern. She pulls out a chair
across from Neelkan and takes a seat. "So how is the ale here?" she asks.

"It's pretty good. 'ey had some Apple-'r-somethin' flavored ale last time I
was 'ere..." Neelkan says, glancing around with narrowed eyes as he waits
for a serving person to come over and take an order. After a few moments
one spots them and comes over and the young man says, "I'd a big cup'a ale,
'at Apple-somethin'-'r-other ya had on special a few months back would be
great if ya have it." Then he glances towards Denn, letting her order for
herself.

Denn'ryiel smiles to the server. "I guess make that two... unless it had
cinnamin in it. They don't put cinnamin in ale, do they Neelkan?" she asks,
curiously. "Everything apple usually has it," she murmurs to herself as she
waits for an answer.

The serving girl smiles a little and nods, "It's called 'Apple Delight' and
it just has a hint of apple and cherry in it." So no cinnamon. She takes it
to memory and heads towards where the ale is, while Neelkan grins at his
friend. He honestly wasn't sure she was going to literally drink with him.
He's a little surprised. She didn't seem like an ale-girl to him. But all
he says is, "Ya don't like cinnamon?"

Denn'ryiel shakes her head. "Not really... it usually causes me to sneeze.
So that means no apple pie, or cobler, or cider, or anything like that,"
she says casually. She starting to look a little apprehensive, and her
talkativeness is probably a result of that. "Cherry sounds good though,"
she adds.

"It's pretty good. Lotta the ale I used t' drink back with the bandits
wasn't half as good. Tastes like 'at medicine ya kept shovin' down our
throats!" Neelkan says with a smirk, leaning forward on the table a little
and not seeming apprehensive or anything at all, but then he used to do
this every night. The serving girl returns quickly and lays down the
drinks, then asks for the amount of coins for the drink. Blue-green eyes
turn to Denn and an eyebrow raises. This was supposed to be her treat
right?

"Perhaps that's because half the time we mixed the medicine in with apple
juice," Denn says with a grin. When the server returns, her hands go to her
coin purse without reservation, and pulls out the coppers for the two
beverages, and a small tip besides. She hands it to the waitress with a
gracious smile, before turning her attention towards the glass in front of
her. She tries not to look timid as she picks up the glass, but her sip is
a small, testing one.

Small sip? Well, Neelkan doesn't seem to know how to sip. But then again he
was taught how to drink from a bunch of bandits... Taking to cup in one
hand, he brings it up to his lips and takes two big gulps, drinking it down
about a third of the way, then sets it down after flinching a little at the
taste. Awww. So good to drink ale again. And he's going to say just that,
"Just as good as I remembered! Umm. D'ya like it?" He tags on, for the
first time noticing some of his friends... nervousness.

Denn'ryiel blushes a bit as her head goes back from the glass after her
sip. "Yes... It tastes pretty good. I didn't expect it to be that strong
though." She then looks and sees how much Neelkan drunk, compared to her,
and turns a little redder.

"Ye'h, sorry!" Neelkan pauses for a moment, notcing the blush and wondering
about it. But he doesn't understand people very well, or women in
general... so he looks a little bit confused for a moment, then shrugs it
off, "D'ya want t' get somethin' t' eat also?" He's a little lost at what
to do now. Usually when he goes drinking with someone it's to drink until
one of them drops, and he's pretty sure if he tried that here his friend
would hit the floor first, and... for some reason he doesn't like that idea
much.

Denn'ryiel shakes her head to the apology. "No, it's alright... it might be
pretty weak for all I know, I haven't drunk much. I'll try not to slow you
down too much," she says, and hesitantly picks up her glass and takes a
normal sized drink. "If you want something to eat, I should be able to
afford it," she says, glancing down at her pouch as she sets her drink
down.

A'right... Neelkan shrugs his shoulders and takes her word for it, taking a
more normal sized gulp this time instead before saying, "Don't worry 'bout
slowin' m' down. 'n I don't need nothin' t' eat. Had a good sized meal back
'at the Tower." He nods in the direction that he thinks the Tower is in,
but he's actually a couple degrees off or so. "So when ya were gone, what
'xactly were ya out doin'?"

Denn'ryiel, for a moment, has that look in her eyes that waves off curtesy
and indicates she can live up to the challenge. She follows that up by
trying another normal-sized drink of ale. "I was out Healing, on the front
lines," she says, in answer after she sets her glass down again. "I walked
the places that the fighting had just ended, and healed those as best I
could."

"'at was nice'a ya. I'm sure ya saved a bunch'a people." Neelkan says with
a grin, assuming that some woman had probably found him in a similar way,
only his wounds likely were too sever for full healing or he wouldn't have
been taken back to the Tower... Aw well. Better not to think of that. He
takes another gulp again before adding on, "So is 'at what yer gonna do
f're'er 'en? Stay in the Tower 'n get sent out t' wars 'n stuff 'n heal
people?"

Denn'ryiel continues drinking as well, becoming more accustomed to the
liquid. "Actually, I'll be tending the gardens and teaching students most
of the time. But yes, I will be sent out occaisionally to help Heal."

"Gardens? So 'at mean ya like... flower's 'n stuff? 'r are ya talkin' like
a kitchen garden?" Neelkan asks taking another gulp from his ale. He's
probably only got two or three gulps at most left if he keeps them about
the same size he is. "If ya wanna d' 'at 'en 'at's cool. I don't know how
long I'm gonna end up stayin' 'ere though..." He's already getting
restless...

Denn'ryiel's cheeks are stil flushed, but they look less from embarrassment
and more from inebriation. She takes another drink of ale. "Yes... sort of.
I can do things with plants that others can't... so they keep me around,"
she says, with a somewhat silly smile. The ale seems to be having it's
usual effects.

Neelkan snickers for a second as he realizes he's probably going to have to
half-carry her back to her room. He doesn't seem to be having any effects
yet. He's got a little more resistance though... "So what else're ya good
'at 'sides plants?" He asks before taking another gulp, still grinning.

Denn'ryiel is taking another drink as Neelkan asks the question, and her
smile slips from her face quickly. "Nothing," she replies, somberly. "I can
Heal, but not well. Not even good enough for the Shawl," she murmurs off.

"'ey, 'at's not true.. I'm sure ya got lotsa 'ings yer good 'at, e'en if ya
don't realize it..." Neelkan says, looking a little perplexed at his
friends words, but he shrugs it off a second later, with a little help from
his last gulp of the ale, and waves the now empty cup in front of his
friend, "'n anyway, why would ya want a stingy ol' shawl. Yer unique right?
Yer not one of a hundred some Aes Sedai. Yer Denn!" So there.

Denn'ryiel chuckles a little bit, though it's a hollow laugh. Funny how
she's usually so cheerful when she's sober. "Yes, not Denn Sedai of the
Pruple Ajah, Mistress of the High Pedistals. Just Denn. Denn, the Tender of
Dirt. Denn, the old maid-servant of the Tower."

"No, yer Denn. Ya don't need a title," the young man corrects, grumbling a
little. But then he usually is grumbling about something, so that's nothing
odd. "Who'd want t' be a stuffy Aes Sedai anyway. 'n yer not old." She
looks about twenty-something, right? Well, that isn't old. Right?

Denn'ryiel sighs and takes another drink of ale, larger this time. She's
nearing the bottom of her old glass. She then shakes her head, without
looking at Neelkan. "I am old. Fourty-Seven is old," she states plainly.

Oh Light. It's a good thing that Neelkan finished his ale, or he might have
choaked on it when that revelation is made. His eyes widen, and he jerks up
a little. "/FOURTY/-seven!?!?!?" ... Maybe she's... slurring... Yeah...
Maybe she really said... twenty-seven... She can't be. That... That...
"'at's as ol' as m' ma..." No way...

Denn'ryiel laughs mirthlessly again, and nods her head. "My grandmama was
younger than that when I was born." She drinks her ale, finishing it up.
She's quite drunk by now. But quite serious at the same time. "Denn, the
spinster. If only I had the hag's face to match."

Light. This was so not what Neelkan had prepared himself for. He reaches up
and rubs a hand through his hair, letting his empty cup stay on the table.
"Blood 'n ashes. How's 'at possible? Ya don't look more 'en... ten years
older 'en me?"

Denn'ryiel shrugs a little bit, with her head still down. Her cheeks are
quite a bit rosier than when she entered. "Channellers don't age the same.
That's why all of the Sedai look young, even though some have been here for
two centuries."

"Two... centuries..." Neelkan's having a very hard time wrapping his mind
around this, and he suddenly wishes he were very, very drunk. He's not even
slightly buzzed yet... Sigh. But that does explain why they all looked
young, even if some had white hair... "So.. yer gonna live t' be really
old, eh?"

Denn'ryiel nods her head weakly. "Sorta'... They think lifespans vary upon
how strong a channeller is, so I probably don't have nearly that long," she
confesses. "You... you think I'm a freak again," she whispers, meant for
herself, but in her state it carries.

"A freak? I ne'er thought ya were a freak..." Neelkan says with a small
grumble, kicking the leg of his chair with his heel lightly as he looks
away, grumbling and narrow-eyed. "I just.. don't know if I like the idea of
ya livin' so much longer 'en m'..." He shrugs, unsure how to say that
right, but that seems to be what he was trying to say, then he kicks the
chair leg again before standing up, "Come on, let's get ya back t' the
Tower."

Denn'ryiel doesn't seem to hear. Her head is lowered and is looking
directly at the table beneath her. Her expression is fixed in depression,
though her blond curls obscure much of it. "Alright," she finally whispers,
though she makes no movement.

Moving to stand behind her, Neelkan puts his hands on her shoulders and
leans over a little, "Come on, I don't wanna carry ya back t' the Tower. 'n
don't worry. Yer still m' friend." Even if she is older then his mom...
Which is going to creep him out a little bit for a while still, but he'll
get over it... Eventually.

Denn'ryiel tries to help herself up, and does manage to get vertical with
the student's help. "I... I'm not feeling so well," she says softly, with a
breath tinged with alcohol. Still, there is some grace in her movements.

Light, just don't get sick on him. Not that Neelkan isn't used to it given
the fact he frequents these places. "I know ya don't feel so good. We'll
get ya up t' yer room 'n int' bed 'n ya'll feel... ya'll feel better
tomorrow." After the pounding headache goes away. Heh.