07/09/2000


Infirmary, White Tower, Tar Valon

Square in shape, this room is most often abuzz with activity. It contains
the normal implements of a teaching infirmary, in fact, it is extremely
well stocked with all manner of things: cots, jars, bottles, syringes,
bandages, cloths, cabinets, shelves, books and tables along with plenty of
hot water. The air has that sterile smell associated with the constant use
of redwort, tinged with the unpleasant prickle of witchhazel. While most of
the Healing is done via the One Power at the Tower, there are many minor
medical situations that are dealt with the old fashioned way.

There are several areas curtained off, for patients' privacy as well as for
instructional usages. This is a teaching infirmary for the Yellow Ajah,
after all. Beds in cheerful colors are lined up in neat rows, providing a
comfortable place to sleep after a Healer's tender ministrations. Windows
are kept wide open to all for light and fresh air.


Redd frowns. So cold? The same thing she complained about when she was
first here... his first failed attempt to protect her. He silently refuses
to step back, but he doesn't move forward to interfere. He just watches
silently now.

Christabel walks out of the room after her little speach to Sunan... no
doubt going to go find Raeth.

Sunan seems to half take the Sedai's advice. He is calmer, but doesn't
hesitate to come cloer to Espiria and watch, silently.

There is a crowd around two of the beds in the infirmary. Varcel is
kneeling by one of the beds, holding someone's hand and worriedly looking
at that person. Sunan is his usually 'I want to know' self and watches that
bed also. A Yellow franticlly seems to hunt for various things in the
distance and Redd looks worriedly as well at whomever is in the bed. Vorsha
can be clearly seen in the bed next to that person, but who rests in the
bed with the crowd Neel wouldn't be able to see as yet.

Neelkan swore to himself he would never step foot into this place again. He
swore many, many oaths to himself in fact, but.. he's not exactly here for
the reasons before. No plague, no mortal wounds he has to recover from or
anything. He moves to the side as the Aes Sedai heads out, narrowing his
eyes at her. He should have bowed you know. Rude little bugger! He does nod
his head after a second. That's the most she's gonna get. Then he starts
over towards the nearest yellow, speaking softly to her for a moment... at
least until he notices the room is full of people he knows. What's up with
this? Sunan and Redd? And there's Varcel too. Hrm... He shakes his head,
waving a hand at the Yellow absently, muttering that whatever it is he was
after can wait, then moves over to see why his lil' bro, and his the
'question boy' is here.

Redd frowns quietly at the bed. His eyes don't move from the occupant of
the bed. "I will do better next time..." He says quietly, sounding angry at
himself. "Just give me a chance to prove it..." That line sounds like he's
scared and worried.

The Yellow gets done with her concoction and brings it over to one of the
beds. There is some coughing and sputtering of the person laying there and
then silence again. Her old eyes tip over to Varcel, "You stay with her for
as long as you can. If the rest of you are friends..I'd advise doing the
same. Just keep her awake till morning. Then she will be out of danger."
She glances over to Neel, lifting a brow. "Oh..it's you again. Well, you
will have to find another Yellow to tend you, Neel. I have a serious
patient here that needs me."

Espi coughs and makes a face at the stuff she's given. She moves her head
from side to side, not understanding at the moment that it will help her.
Once it stops, she relaxes again and seems to drift, but she startles awake
again, eyes hanging limpy as though wanting to shut once again.

Sunan turns to Neelkan, and tells hi, in his usual loud voice. "Espiria was
hurt, but I don't know how." Then, turning nback, he offers helpfully to
the Yellow, "I can keep her awakw with some herbs?"

The second he knows a friend of his is in danger, Neelkan has completely
forgotten about himself and the reason he came up here. Instead he moves up
and stands behind Redd, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and looking
down at Espi there on the bed. "Blood 'n ashes." Grrrrrr!!!!! Who's he
going to have to pound into a bloody pulp!?! And he looks fit to do just
that. "Keep 'er 'wake, eh? Well, I'm a bloody expert at 'at." He keeps
himself awake enough nights he ought to be.

Redd moves to Espi's other side now. He was planning on doing this anyway,
perhaps it will help her now that she needs to stay awake. "Espiria? Can
you hear me?"

The Yellow is off tending another of her patients, but she glances over to
Sunan before shaking her head. "No..what I gave her was plenty, Sunan. She
doesn't need any more of the stuff."

Sure enough, Espi widens her eyes and gasps as the stuff finally hits her
system. Oh..she's far from well, but the stuff sure did pack a good punch
for waking her up. She blinks, eyes still trying to focus from loss of
blood as she lays on the bed next to Vorsha. "I...umm...can hear you,
Redd." She blinks, voice soft though and weak. "I'm..soo tired. Neel?
I..heard you too...are you here?" She coughs a bit more, wincing as the
pains in her body ebb and flow. "I..know I heard Sunan too."

Sunan jumps- yes, jumps- over to Espiria's bedside in a single bound, and
states, "I a here to Espiria are you okay what happened." Doesn't sound
like a question at all, too much monotone.

A mischivious grin that just -screams- trouble-maker crosses Neelkan's face
and he says with a laugh, "Ye'h, I'm 'ere! Can't get rid'a m', 'member?"
Much to the displeasure of at least half the Yellow Ajah probably...
Hehehe. He frowns at Sunan and shakes his head at the kid. Geez. Was he
that bad at that age...? (Yes.) WAS NOT!!! (Oh yes you were.) HRMPT! The
young man with white streaked red hair moves to get closer to the bed that
Espi is in, the grin returning as he moves to stand behind Redd again.

Redd smiles a little. She can hear him, that makes it easier. "Espi, a
trainee I met, his name is Aledir, told me something." He pauses, then
continues. "He told me that when he feels he can't go on, he looks at the
birds, who can fly so free. It helps him, so I thought it could help you."
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out something, keeping it cupped. "I
had Johiah Gaidin make this for you." He then holds his hands out to give
it to Espi.

Espiria blinks gently, bleary eyes looking at the small object for a moment
before she feels it in her hands. Not like she could raise her arm to pick
it up. That's why it's a good thing that Redd decided to actually put it
into her hand. She smiles softly, eyes slipping closed as she reaches near
dozing area. Whoops? She's not supposed to do that...is she? She murmurs
softly, "pretty...thank...thank you, Redd." She sighs softly as though
drifting off and it would probably be a good idea if someone made sure that
didn't happen.

Despite what the Yellow has said, Sunan reaches inside his pouch and pulls
out a tiny bottle. Smelling salt. He whiffs it under Espiria's nose for a
second before offering to hand it to her, "Smelling salt. If you need it,
use it."

Shaking his head somemore at Sunan, Neelkan moves away to find a wall to
lean against close by, folding his arms over his chest and watching Espi
for a few moments in a grinning silence. He also seems to be amused by
Redd's gesture of affection. Poor kid. He's not even going to try to top
the younger boys at this point, he's just going to grin and watch. He's
grinning like nothing is wrong... isn't he strange sometimes...

Denn'ryiel enters the infirmary with her daily herb delivery, and almost
drops it upon seeing so many familiar faces back in here. She moves forward
towards Espiria's cot. "What has happened here?"

Espiria coughs a bit, eyes widening slightly as the smell of the stuff. Her
arm even manages to weakly reach up and swat at whatever it is. She makes a
face that tells exactly what she thinks of that scent. "Oh...That's
horrible. Did...I hear Denn?" She shivers a bitm glancing a bit more at
everyone and trying so hard to focus her eyes.

Redd nods quietly. "Denn'ryiel is here." He looks to the others, then steps
back to let them talk to her. He doesn't want to move from her side, but he
wants to let all her friends be there. He looks to Neelkan, the only other
person he could think of besides Wyntere Sedai and Espi for reassurance.
"She's going to be alright... right?"

Still leaning against the wall, one leg lifting to press the bottom of his
boot against the wall as well, Neelkan continues to grin as he sees Denn
enter and says with a shrug, "Ain't got the foggiest, bloody clue what
happened. Guess 'is is our turn t' wait on 'er, huh?" He moves away from
the wall to suddenly leane right over the girl and poke her on the nose
lightly, "Yer just playin' with us so we'll tuck ya in 'n bring ya drinks
'n stuff, aren't ya?" Cocky little bugger.

After handing Espi the salts, Sunan turns to Neelkan, "Neelkan... may I ask
yo a question?" He wonders.

Denn'ryiel turns to spot Neelkan and her cheek flush violently. Getting
embarrassed won't help Espiria though, so she walks up to Espiria's cot.
"Yes, Espi, it's me. May I delve you to find out what's wrong?"

Embarassed of Neelkan's pressense? Should he take some meaning in this?
Well, apparently he doesn't seem to as he straightens up from poking and
proding and mocking Espi to go and lean against the wall again. He smirks
at Sunan, mumbling something under his breath. Something along the lines
of, "Ya'd prolly ask e'en if I bloody well said 'no', kiddo." But he
doesn't say no. Instead he nods his head and says, "Sure. G'head 'n ask."

Sunan smiles slightly, but only for a moment. Then, slightly nervous, he
asks, "I was wondering if you could be my big brother too. Like you'e
Redd's big brother." The apprehension doesn't touch his voice at all.

Denn'ryiel sighs as Espi fades out, and turns away. Obviously some Yellow
has already seen to her, and treated her. "I guess I stopped by too late."
She glances at Neelkan again, and the heat doesn't leave her face. "Maybe I
should come back again, when she's awake."

This causes Neelkan to blink and he rolls his eyes to glance towards Denn,
"Spent m' whole life with big sisters, now I suddenly got people wantin' t'
b' m' lil' bro's. What's goin' on 'ere? 'n ya don't have t' leave unless ya
want." His brow creases a little as he notices that Denn is blushing...
What's going on with that? Neelkan's all around confused here. He shakes
his head again and steps away from the wall and puts a hand on Sunan's
shoulder, "Sure. 'long as I get t' knock ya 'round a little." He bats his
hand at the kid's head lightly.

Sunan smiles, but asks, "Knock me around. What for." Then, turning to Denn,
he halfbows, and greets, "Hello Denn'ryiel Semi-Sedai. Why are your cheeks
pink."

That blasted amulet. Denn'ryiel, without thinking, blurts out, "Because I
ruined my friendship with Neelkan." A look of horror crosses her face, as
she has absolutely no idea why she admitted that. She doesn't come quite to
tears, but she turns quickly and tries to flee the room.

"If I'm gonna be yer big bro, 'at's m' job now! Bat ya o'er the head 'en ya
get on m' nerves!" Then Neelkan's eyes go towards Denn at that revelation
and he blinks twice. What the...? "Waitabloodymoment..." Gah. She thinks
she ruined their friendship? He's honestly surprised she remembered at all.
She was sorta drunk. Pushing away from his newly adopted little bro he
says, "I'll be right back..." and starts after the woman friend of his.
Women. Always make him chase after them or run towards them or run around
for them. Grrr! Hate 'em! "Denn, hold on a moment! Ya didn't ruin nothin',
so just flamin' calm down." Geez. Women jumping to conclusions!! He even
goes as far as to try and catch her arm if he's fast enough.

Sunan looks both abashed and confused simulataneously. "Oops." Is all he
says. "Denn waitstop! Your actions are illogical and outside normal
behavioral parameters!" He follows Neelkan quickly, and asks, "What s going
on."

Neelkan should be fast enough, because Denn'ryiel has enough dignity not to
sprint. She sortof half jogs and half walks real fast. She freezes though
as her arm is grabbed, and turns around with fright and confusion on her
face. "Neelkan? I'm... I'm sorry about..." She looks like she's about to
ramble.

Sigh. She's sorry, huh? Neelkan shakes his head, streaked hair falling to
obscure his eyes partly for a moment. He doesn't answer Sunan and just
looks down at his friend and then says, "'ere's nothin' t' b' sorry 'bout,
Denn." Then he does something that will likely knock everyone in the room
off their feet or respectively, their bed. He leans down, pulling Denn
closer and kisses her right on the lips. People are probably /really/
wondering WHAT happened now.

Sunan still looks confused, "Neelkan, why are you sucking Denn'ryiel's
lips." This bizaree behavior makes him put a hand on Neelkan's neck. "Do
you have a fever."

If people are wondering, none of them are wondering more than Denn'ryiel.
Her eyes go wide, but she is frozen in place as the trainee kisses her.
Fortunately she couldn't blush any more if she tried. And then, to make
matters /more/ confusing, unless it was a quick light kiss from Neelkan,
she closes her eyes and returns it.

Not a quick light kiss at all. Eyes closed, Neelkan moves one arm to wrap
around the woman, then uses the other one to bat away Sunan's hand from his
neck for a few moments longer. The self-confessed woman hater is kissing
the non-Accepted, non-Sedai? No doubt more then a few Tower students
present have their jaws dropped. After a few more moments, he pulls back,
breaking the kiss with a soft sound, then instantly turns to glare at
Sunan. Not the time for questions kid. But he does answer, "It's called a
'kiss'. Ya'll understand 'en yer older." Then he turns back to look at
Denn, that mischvious smirk making an appearance again. "Um... Like I was
sayin'... ya didn't ruin our friendship." His turn to actually flush a
little along the cheeks for a second.

Sunan stares at both of them in turn. "What purpose does this "kiss" serve?
And why does everyone have their mouth open?" He's so confused his voice
actually sounds confused. Now that's unusual.

Denn'ryiel opens her eyes again and nods slowly to Neelkan's statement,
still looking quite shocked. "I'm... I'm glad," she stammers, not making
any attempt to move away. Everyone have their mouth open? You mean there
are others in this room right now? Denn hadn't noticed.

Grinning down at Denn, Neelkan winks an eye lightly at her, then turns his
head to address Sunan's questions again, "Kissin' is a way of.. um..
showin' someone 'at ya care. Didn't yer ma e'er kiss ya on the cheek 'r
nothin'?" Weird kid. Where did -he- grow up. "Mostly men 'n women 'n family
member's 'n stuff." For once he's actually trying to be a little patient
with the kid's questions. Is it because he's adopted him as a lil' bro, or
is it because of the kiss? "'n 'ey're just bein' nosey." he answers the
last question, then grins down at Denn again, not moving away at all
either. Is he gonna kicked out for this...

Sunan nods, very slowly, before he says, "I have something to tell you two.
A secret. Can we go somewhere else?"

Vorsha starts to wake up slowly, her mind coming out of the exausted sleep.

Denn'ryiel is standing very close to Neelkan; his arm is around her in
fact. Sunan is standing just behind Neelkan. Denn nods her head idly to
Sunan's question, though her mind is obviously occupied with trying to make
sense out of the last thirty seconds. He eyes gradually start to become
less wide, and she starts looking more embarrassed and pleased, and less
stunned. But mostly stunned still.

Neelkan nods towards Sunan and starts to lead Denn towards the exit, not
bothering with anyone's looks or whatever. He doesn't care what people
think of him. Especially not the -other- women in the room. "Did ya have a
place in mind?" He asks his new lil' bro as he goes.


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.


Sunan leads the pair over to a bench, "Neelkan." He begins. "I want you to
try to lie. Say... Denn'ryiel has a beard."

Denn'ryiel walks alongside Neelkan, quietly. The journey from the infirmary
to the courtyard was not as enlightening as the not-Sedai would have hoped.
She still looks out of sorts, but more and more pleasantly so. She sits
down upon the bench and smooths her skirts, raising an eyebrow to Sunan.

Neelkan's arm is still around the non-Sedai as he comes out, almost as if
he's unaware of it. At Sunan's request he frowns slightly, then shrugs his
shoulders and opens his mouth, "Denn has..." His voice cuts off and he
frowns more deeply, eyes narrowing. "Denn has..." What the...? "But she
doesn't have a beard!" he finally just blurts out in frustration. Why
couldn't he just say a stupid sentance!? Grrr.

Sunan speaks again, "I have recently discovered that anyone within about 6
feet of my amulet cannot lie." He walks away from the pair, about 7 feet.
"Try it now."

Denn'ryiel looks back and forth between the two friends, curious as to why
Neelkan couldn't say she had a beard. She whispers a lie to herself now. It
seems to work okay for her, but then Sunan has already moved back.

"Denn has a beard..." Neelkan mutters very softly under his breath,
frowning deeply. "No one can... lie 'round ya? Well that bloody well sucks
the big one." He makes mental notes to never talk about sleep around the
boy. Only two people know about that, and he'd have perfered if it had been
kept to -no one-. He looks over at Denn for a moment, biting his lower lip.
His eyes look a little guilty for a second, before going back to the boy
with this lie-proof amulet thing.

Sunan sighs as he comes back. "I'm sorry that it made you tell the truth so
much Denn." Then, he looks serious, turning to Neelkan. "I told you and
Redd about it because we're brothers. But..." He intakes a breath. "I can
remember -vaguely- about Wyntere Sedai discovering it. That's how I found
out. And I don't want the Tower to take it away for study." He now turns to
Denn, "The only reason I told you is because you are the only Sedai I
trust. I want you to stop her from taking it away if she tried too. Or
tries to tell anyone else. Don't feel bad, I trust you, but Mother Trici
always said that rumors spread a lot more quickly if more people know about
them."

Denn'ryiel blushes some more and shakes her head to Sunan. "It's...
alright, Sunan. What's done is done." She looks back at Neelkan and smiles
slightly, before turning to Sunan. "Just be more careful in the future,
okay?"

"'ey bloody well took m' earrin's 'way, 'n 'ey don't make ya tell the truth
'r nothin'..." Neelkan says as he shakes his head, grumbling a few seconds
until he notices Denn smiling at him. He blinks a few times, then looks
back at Sunan, "No damage done. Prolly f'r the best. Stubborn woman prolly
would've ne'er told m' 'at she thought she'd gone 'n ruined e'erythin',
e'en if she hadn't." He winks at said 'stubborn woman' lightly. "So it just
makes it so ya can't lie 'en?"

Sunan nods, greatly exaggerating the motion. "They do. But I've found out
the other person can just noy say anything or say "That, trainee, is none
of your business." But sometimes people just blurtout things too. Like
Savren Gaidin told me a while ago he hadjust been bonded that morning and
didn't know which emotions were his and which emotions were his Aliana
Sedai's and asked me to give him a moment so he could figure out whether or
not he was angry."

Denn'ryiel purses her lips slightly, thinking about what had happened to
her in the infirmary, and several times before. "Sunan, ask me a simple
question, like what color my dress is. I want to see if I can resist
answering."

Hrm. Neelkan narrows his eyes thoughtfully, but his brain doesn't pick up
on much really. He's not the brightest star in the sky. But he's pretty
fiery and emotional and other things that make up for his lack of common
sense and intelligence. "Well, bloody glad ya didn't make m' blurt out
nothin' weird! Like m'..." he stops himself and suddenly glares at the
ground. He was about to blurt out his real name! Arg!

Sunan kills two birds with one stone. "Denn'ryiel, what color is your
dress? Neelkan, what were you about to say?"

Denn'ryiel opens her mouth and right before answering clamps it down tight.
"Light, I almost did it again. Before I even knew what I was doing."

Glaring at the ground, Neelkan just goes and blurts out, "I was gonna say
'at Neelkan isn't m' name." He suddenly kicks the ground and glares even
more. A few of the Yellows know his real name from when he was delerious.
He finally just sighs and looks up and admits, "M' real name's Shun'u
il'Sharil. Neelkan was given t' m' 'en I was fifteen." And became a bandit.
He's able to keep from saying that.

Denn'ryiel puts her hand on Neelkan's shoulder. "We define ourselves by our
deeds and actions, not the names we carry. Don't be upset over it," she
comforts.

Sunan can't help but wonder, "How did you get that name given to you?"

"I'm not really 'at upset 'bout it. Just ne'er liked m' name is all."
Neelkan lifts a hand to rest over his friends for a second, then glances at
Sunan. There's a long pause, then he says, "It was given t' m' b' a friend.
He said it means 'Crimson Peacock' 'r somethin'."

Sunan interjects, "It does? What language is that? The Ogier Tongue?"

Denn'ryiel smiles a little more and decides to keep her hand there. After
all, his arm is still around her. She winces a little bit as Sunan
continues to ask questions. She gives him a 'be careful with what you ask
look,' though she turns to see what the answer will be.

Neelkan shrugs his shoulder, "I dunno. He just said 'at's what it meant."
He never asked questions like that. He was just happy to be allowed to join
and get a cool sounding name! This guy can barely read, he didn't exactly
take the time to learn what language or dialect or whatever his name came
from. And he's being careful Denn. She's the only one who knows that he was
a bandit before he came here, and he'd like to keep it that way. Not that
he's ashamed or anything! He just doesn't want to get accused of things he
didn't do.

Sunan seems to accept this. Then, he mentons casually, "Oh, Denn'ryiel? You
know how you said when you delved me some areas of my brainwere larger or
smaller than they should be? I found out my motor control area is smaller,
my social area is missing entirely, and my mathematics area has expanded
and filled up the place where the social area should be. Savren Gaidin sas
that's why I think about everthing in terms of logic, though I don't know
how else I should think."

Denn'ryiel ahs, and is confused whether she should smile or console Sunan
about that. "I'm sure the White Sedai will keep their eye out for you,
then. The prize logic over everything," she says, with a gentle smile.

Paint Neelkan lost. He just stares at Sunan as if he was speaking
gibberish. While there's nothing physically wrong with the red head's
brain, he's just easily lost on things of this nature. Or of other
natures... or things of most natures. "Logic, eh?" Pah! Who needs it. He
thinks with his emotions, which usually run in overdrive. Especially since
he happens to be a seventeen year old boy...

Sunan turns and stares quizzically at Neelkan, "What do you mean?" It's his
turn t be painted lost.

Neelkan shrugs his shoulders, "I just... don't get logic 'at well. Guess
I'm yer opposite 'r somethin'." He doesn't think. He acts.