07/30/2000

Prison, Cubiyari'Shain

The smells of blood, of waste, of sweat and vomit mingle in a sickening
display. Guards in red and black stand two to a cell, hands on weapons,
despite the fact that the heiar'cue (sinning hearts) are unlikely to
escape, for their only options are a return to Fort Cubiyari'Shain or the
Arena. Neither an attractive prospect. Each cell is about the size of a
closet. What comfort need the heiar'cue? There is room to stand, and room
to sit. The long hallway opens up to a large room filled with chairs,
tables, and a dozen impliments meant for causing pain. A sickening little
dining room. Most of the heiar'cue, no doubt, would prefer to stay in their
cells. Some, the lucky few, are there only for an appointed time. The
interior of each cell contains one other thing. A copy of The Rules, one on
every wall. Even prisoners of war, who have committed no official crime and
may eventually become 'educated' into serving peacefully as one of the
de'sovin find themselves staring at those four little caveats through every
moment of their incarceration.

Strangely, though they must surely happen, nobody ever hears a single
scream from the Dining Room (as it is commonly called in this hellish
building.) Channelers -- the male variety, at least -- would easily see the
weaves of Air meant to muffle sound. Most of the heiar'cue are left
clueless and confused, for they are unable to see what goes on. After all,
those who are merely uneducated or straying slightly from the path -- here
for the relatively small crime of refusing to work, for example, or
refusing to report, need not be terrorized by necessity. Such is the will
of the Asha'Cor (guardian of night).


For once, Neelkan actually has good reason to sleep badly, and amazingly
enough, he doesn't seem to. Not to say he doesn't have dreams, and that
they aren't bad, but he doesn't wake up screaming or anything, which is
good. He just wakes up. Slowly. Ow. He should not have slept on his side.
His back aches, his shoulder hurts... he opens his eyes and lets out a soft
groan, then pushes himself up into a sitting position. He hadn't meant to
fall asleep. He looks around, blinking his eyes to adjust them to being
awake, checking two cells in particular.

Verbena is still impressed that Neelkan managed sleep. She's a long, leggy
type so she's all scrunched up. They don't feed you in here. This is a
problem. You hear dry heaves from her cell and then she settles back into a
small ball of misery, rubbing her head. You can see that she's got the
chills and is sweating pretty badly. Occasionally she snatches at a wall to
staunch a wave of dizziness. Though there is one thing that hints she might
have some spunk left...green nailpolish very carefully covers every one of
The Rules in a neat stripe.

Seeing that Denn is apparently still out, Neelkan turns his attention on
the Aes Sedai and frowns noticeably. It's a real shame they don't feed
them, because he's hungry. Even more then usual because he was recently
healed... He chews on his lip for a moment, then inches over to lean
against the cell door to look at the Aes Sedai, "'re ya a'right?" She
doesn't look alright, and he can pretty much tell she isn't.

The Sedai gives a quick nod. You might note that her ring is missing too.
Lying next to Denn'ryiel in the cell. /Something/ happened last night after
you dropped off. "Its really funny," she says, hoarsely. "When I was
younger I was often forced to go without food for days. Once I got to the
Tower and got used to regular meals, I would get sick like this if I missed
even one."

The young man frowns a little, then runs a hand still dirty with dried
blood through his hair again. Neelkan isn't good at whatever he's supposed
to say here, and he doesn't know exactly what happened when he dropped off,
but he can pretty much assume it wasn't pleasent. Maybe it's better if he
doesn't know exactly. "'ey, Light, don't worry. Ya'll b' gettin' back t'
the Tower 'n regular meals 'fore ya know it."

Verbena lets out a sigh. "I should not have thrown my earrings away. They
might have proven useful." Probably not, they were big round hoops. She
seems to be back on an even keel though. However there is a guilty
undercurrent to her tones.

"Wish I had had m' earrin's." Neelkan says with a shrug. They're just
something he always felt safer having around, ever since he got them. He
glances down into his cell and then half-crawls over to retrieve one of
those bracelets he noticed that rolled into his cell last night and says,
"Ya can have 'is back if it'll make ya feel better." It's about the only
thing he can offer right now. Unless she wants to hear a story about the
torment of growing up with five older sisters in Eharon!

Verbena grins slightly. "Unless you can figure out how to snap it in order
to twist it into a lock pick..." she doesn't take it. She holds on to the
wall for a moment, letting another wave of dizziness pass.

Hmm. Neelkan narrows his eyes at the bracelet for a moment, then gives a
small nod. It's too small to fit on his wrist, so instead he unties the
sash at his waist and loops it in there before tying it on again, "I'll
give it back t' ya 'en we get outta 'ere."

Verbena blinks. He actually does know how he might make it into a lock
pick? Better and better. What else does she have? Not much. A gold
bracelet, higher up, thicker tighter so it escaped her tendancy to snatch
it off and sling it at the Enemy. Burn it all. "I should not have passed up
the opportunity when I had the chance to get us out," she says, a touch
bitterly. Ah, there's where the guilt is coming from. She leans over for
another round of dry heaves. She's glad nothing is in her stomache.

"Don't worry 'bout it. We got a better chance 'en 'ere aren't a whole bunch
of 'ose channelers 'round." Neelkan looks around the cell again, eyes
narrowing now that they've adjusted from being asleep, then he pauses as he
realized what he'd said and glances over. "I wasn't referin' t' ya 'r
nothin'." He pushes himself up, using the bar as support and goes to look
at the far wall for a few moments. Even if he can make the bracelet now
looped around his sash into a lock pick, he'll need some kind of weapon.
Hmmmm.

In the middle cell, Denn'ryiel sleeps half sitting up with her back against
the far wall. Her dreams don't seem to be much of an escape, judging from
the troubled look on her face. Words from Verbena and Neelkan start to stir
the woman, and she opens her eyes. She jumps up with a start upon seeing
her cage, before realization on where she is sinks in. Quick glances to the
left and right reveal Neelkan and Verbena still there.

Verbena shifts, trying to get comfortable when she has to have her leg
sticking out. The splint on it prevents her from trying anything so foolish
as to tuck it back under her. Luckily a narrow foot is able to get through
the bars of her cell. "There's still the guards," she reminds softly,
though the guards seem terribly unworried about talk of escape. They've
heard it all before and seen it happen only twice. And that was with help
from the inside.

Facing the wall, Neelkan lifts his hands and runs them over the surface of
the wall slowly, as if feeling for something. Then he blinks and glances
over at Denn at the sound of her jumping. He offers the best comforting
smile he can, "'mornin', Denn." Like they just woke up in a house and not a
prison... Then he goes back to running hands with dried blood still on them
over the wall. Hmmm.

Denn'ryiel blushes slightly at her outburst. "Morning, Neelkan," she offers
back, though with some fear in her voice. A glint catches her eye, and she
spots the serpent ring in the cell next to her. She reaches down to pick it
up, noting that her own ring is still on her left hand. A momento from a
former occupant of this cell? Denn shivers at the thought. She stands back
up and looks at the White Sedai, biting her lip slightly at the sight of te
splint. She reaches for the Source without thinking, intent on Healing the
leg, but the shield is still there of course. Oh yeah. "Are you alright,
Verbena Sedai?" she whispers.

Verbena looks like death warmed over, appearing quite ill, but she nods.
"The tatooed one seemed intent on repairing, to some extent, the damage
Tetrarch caused." Her voice is hoarse as can be. She seems to have the
chills and keeps rubbing at her head. "Just call me Verbena." She says the
last a little roughly.

"'least he supplied some entertainment 'fore I went t' sleep..." Neelkan
mutters softly under his breath, seeming intent on whatever his fingers are
searching for. Then he glances at the Aes Sedai as she says just to call
her my her first name. He's better as a first name person anyway, but
something about this is troubling him. She looks pretty bad, and when he
was starting to nod off... well... the way she was acting wasn't /exactly/
something he was expecting, and the apparent end result now that he's awake
again... Either way he's frowning at the woman for a few moments, hands
paused.

Denn'ryiel then notices the absense of a ring on Verbena's fingers, and
glances down to her extra one. "Verbena, what did they do to you?" She
knows they torture, and compulse, but she didn't think making people ill
would be one of their punishments. "You'll be alright," she says, having
the lie come easily to her. A justification for it doesn't come as freely
though. For all she knows she could be here for awhile yet.

"They didn't /do/ anything." Verbena says bitterly. She's ill only because
she hasn't been fed. A problem she has had. She then stares up at the
ceiling with a dejected sigh. "Not like you are thinking, at any rate."

There's a small nod and Neelkan goes back to feeling along the wall, even
kneeling down on his knees after a moment. He glares at the wall as if it
was the source of all their troubles and grumbles under his breath, "Ya'll
b' a'right, Verbena. 'n ya too, Denn. Won't let nothin' happen t' either of
ya." He makes a silent promise to himself, one he doesn't voice outloud,
but perhaps doesn't have to. His right hand pauses about half a foot from
where his cell meets with Denn's and his glare lessens for a moment.

Denn'ryiel winces slightly and nods, turning around in the cramped spot.
"Don't worry about me, Neelkan," she says whispering. "I got you into this
mess... I'll... I'll try my best to get you out." She closes her eyes,
silently berating herself for her idiotic behavior. The poor boy was almost
Trolloc food because of her. Her hand clenches the ring, and she remains
silent.

Verbena closes her eyes and shakes her head. Would any one of her Sisters
be reduced to relying on a trainee? She doesn't think so. Christabel
probably would have gotten through the shield by now and slagged half the
building. Of course, Christabel is a heck of a lot stronger of a channeler
than she is, too. If only she'd been paying close attention. She can /sense
saidin/, burn it all. Sbe should have seen the weave that knocked her out
coming.

Rely or not, Neelkan glares at the wall again full force, standing up fully
and then growls at it, grumbling a few curses under his breath, "It's not
yer flamin' fault, Denn, so don't go blamin' yerself. 'r ya either. Was
just sheer flamin' bloody luck 'at we were 'ere 'en 'is whole 'ing went
down 'n the same luck 'at got us in 'ere. 'n..." Suddenly something just
seems to snap in the trainee. He's never been the best with controlling his
emotions and all of a sudden he's pounding the wall with his fists, kicking
it, elbowing it. Like kicking the wall's going to do any good. Is he just
finally having his little break down? The Aes Sedai already had hers...

"Neel!" she calls out, rushing to the bars on his side. "Please, stop...
it's not your fault either. Calm... Calm down, we'll get out of this
somehow," she says with a whisper. Light, she wasn't built to be the strong
one. If Neel breaks, it's only a matter of time before she follows suit.

Verbena looks dully at the both of them. She doesn't know what to do. She
doesn't /know/ what to say. She's supposed to. She's an Aes Sedai! Wait,
she's not calling herself Aes Sedai anymore. "I should have gotten us out
when I had the chance," she repeats.

A small chunk of the wall breaks off, little more then the size of half a
man's fist, and Neelkan stops beating against it, stepping back cursing and
grabbing onto his no doubt scuffled up knuckles and elbow. "Blood 'n ashes
'at flamin' hurt." It usually does when one decides to try to beat up a
wall... Luckily he doesn't seem to have broken any bones in his hand at
least. He takes a few deep breaths, then nods over at Denn. "I'm fine." he
grumbles, then plops down to sit on the floor of the cell.

Something else within Denn breaks as she hears the Sedai's words. It's
enough that her friend goes crazy, if just for a few moments, but for a
Sedai to sound that way... "What ifs don't get us anywhere, Verbena Sedai."
Yes, she used the Sedai again. She is about to say more, when she notices
that they are about to be joined.

"Don't /call me that!/" Verbena shouts. "You're more Aes Sedai than I so
just stop calling me that. And I don't /care/ that you only channel a
bloody trickle! I had a chance to /kill him/, do you understand that? So
just stop calling me that." The last ends in a mumble.

The door to the jail bangs open and Tetrarch comes striding into the room,
a soft, warm glow about him for some reason. He stands tall and darkly
handsome. He has a soft smile on his face as he paces past the three cells,
then turns to come back across them. He smirks at them all. "Good morning
all." he says cheerfully.

The red haired young man is ploped down on the floor of his cell now, with
scuffed up knuckles now. Looks like someone decided it was a good idea to
start pounding on the wall. He looks towards both the women and shakes his
head, scooting over to lean his back against the wall. Right next to where
a small chunk of the wall broke off during his assualt on it. At the
arrival of the Dreadlord, the young man glares, narrowing his eyes half
hidden under red and white spikes of hair and says, "Good-flamin'-mornin'
t' ya too." Though something about that seems to be like he's saying it
sarcasticly... Wonder what that could be.

The one following Tetrarch doesn't seem quite as chipper, but then again he
doesn't seem to be anything at all in the emotion department. Jaq'al half
slinks, and half purposefully strides after the Asha'cor, disdainfully
floating a tray of food in front of himm as if it would be a punishment to
touch it. Nor does he offer such pleasantries.

Denn'ryiel bites back a response to the Sedai. She can give that later.
Denn will have to take Tetrarch's word on the greetings. It's not as though
there's a window nearby where she can see what time it is. She's about to
say it too, but doesn't quite. She has no idea how long she's been down
here, but her throat is starting to feel parched. She notes that Tetrarch
is not alone, and studies the young man behind him for a moment, not caring
if he notices.

Verbena might answer but she's busy leaning over to perform another round
of dry heaves, brought on by her outburst. She groans and throws her head
back. Now the smell of the food is making her even more ill. She clutches
her head and holds on tight. No, no, no, no, no. We are not going to faint,
we are not going to throw up, and we are not going to look at Mr. Cheerful.
Mostly because the man frightens her more than anyone else here. Its not
because he popped her knee, either. Its because he radiates sexuality and
she can't stand it when men do that. We are going to look at the ceiling.
Tetrarch might note that the Rules in her cell, however, have been neatly
painted over with green nail polish in nice little stripes. And that her
ring is missing.

Tetrarch opens the door to Verbena's cell and steps in, using Air to hold
her firmly in place. He doesn't want to bother with her dancer's kicks
anymore. He kneels and places a soft hand on her foot. "I'm sorry." he says
softly, just barely where the other three can hear him. "I do not do this
with people who have eating sicknesses." and he gently Heals the woman of
the current illness. She /might/ notice the small addition of the sleep
weave in there before it causes her to pass out. He steps back out of the
cell, locking the door behind him. Note: Feed her.

At the sight of the food, Neelkan's stomach grumbles despite whatever his
mind and spirit is protesting. Stop that. He actually looks down at glares
at himself. So what if he hasn't eaten in a while. So what if he's even
more hungry then he should be thanks to the fact that he was healed not too
long ago. So what. He crosses his arms and glares. He's too stubborn
sometimes. And he's thirtsy and hungry... but he's stubborn first. Another
ten hours and he might not be able to be stubborn first though...

Jaq'al has the tiniest of smirks on his face. To others it wouldn't even be
a twitch, but in contrast to his normal stoniness it does stand out a bit.
He ignores Denn'ryiel completely for the moment, exuding arrogance in his
disdain for these prisoners. He doesn't bother putting the food in
Verbena's cell because.. well the rats will just finish it off before she
wakes up. He sets the tray down outside the cells, but within reach of both
should they decide they're hungry after all. There is a joyous squeek from
somewhere within the prison, but who knows if the rats are -that- bold?

Denn'ryiel shivers slightly upon watching Tetrarch with Verbena. This is
not what she had expected at all. She had been preparing herself against
cruelty and brutesqueness. The man's actions, even if he is going to
torture her soon enough, disrupt her slightly. Not having been Healed, Denn
is able to ignore, mostly, the food for now. With her current mental
condition caused by the oppressiveness of this place, it's doubtful she
could keep any of it down. But, like Neelkan, that will probably change in
a few hours. And water is another subject all together...

Some people might get calmed down by that. But as soon as Verbena feels the
Air wrapping tightly around her, she goes nuts. She freaks. She thrashes in
the bonds, screaming. Putting her in a little room doesn't bother
her...much...but don't do this. Then the man /touches her/. She shakes her
head in mute terror, turning a bright shade of white. His words barely
register until he stands up, locks the cell, and lets her go, leaving her
to shiver and rock back and forth. The whole thing takes a moment to kick
in due to all the adrenaline, but a few moments later she lets out a long
sigh and sags, slumping her head into a corner and falling soundly to
sleep.

Water... Tetrarch does a few fance tricks with his hands, and a tall cold
glass of water is in one hand. "What's your name, young man?" he asks,
stoping in front of Neelkan's cell. "And this young woman you care so much
about? Her name would be a good thing to tell me as well."

The skin around his eyes tighten as Neelkan sees the water and the food
being sat within his reach, but he pulls his gaze away and looks at the
man's face, still glaring, but with a little more tension, because his body
is protesting his stubbornness. He grumbles a few times, then finally
manages a small smirk, the glare lessening a little, but the tension still
there, "Which name of mine d'ya want? 'n why dontcha ask 'er f'r 'er own
name. She can talk."

Jaq'al throws a glance at Tetrarch's back, arching an eyebrow slightly in
what seems to be mild surprise. It's difficult to tell what he's thinking,
but it might be something like 'he's actually talking to these people?' On
the other hand to one who knows Tetrarch this wouldn't be much of a
surprise... And then, oddly enough for one who seems to praise his dignity,
he sits down crosslegged on the floor, and puts out his hand and a rat
promptly climbs into it. He lifts it up and smiles at is like one would to
a beloved pet or something and then picks up a piece of fish off Denn's
plate and starts feeding it to the little vermin. Appetizing, isn't it?

Denn'ryiel sits down, and looks away from Tetrarch and the water. She
swallows, feeling the growing courseness of her throat, and tries not to
think about that. By turning this way she looks directly at the sleeping
Sedai. What could have made her react like that? Did the man add some
sortof pain or fright causing weave into his Healing? For some reason, that
thought does not cause her to shiver or grow cold, and she absently wonders
why. A quick glance back to Jaq'al causes her to frown, deeply. She can
tolerate rats when she has too. She's not going to do anything further that
will make her look like more of a milksop than she already has.

Tetrarch pours the water out of the glass and into a small ball in his
hand. "Now, I aked you a question. If you hand answered it correctly, I
would have given this glass of water to your friend there." he says, as the
ball splits into three smaller balls. These begin to spin around and around
his hands. "But... you choose to be snappy about things." he grabs one of
the balls and throws it against the wall next to Neelkan's head. "Want to
answer my question this time?"

Flinching a little and glancing over at the ball of water that impacted the
wall near his head. No doubt a few splashes got on him, and he resists the
urge to lick them or anything. He won't. Neelkan grumbles a few times,
keeping his arms crossed there, then glances over at Denn. Blood 'n ashes.
Women. He does curse lightly under his breath, then answer, "M' name's
Shun'u il'Sharil, but most people call m' Neelkan, 'r Neel. Which is why I
flamin' asked which name ya wanted." Then he nods in the direction of Denn
hair bouncing a little, "'n she's Denn."

Jaq'al continues to slowly feed the rat Denn's food, barely glancing at Tet
at his little display. He sighs impatiently and finally speaks up, "How
long before you realize my way is much more efficient, Asha'cor? I have
several people quite skilled in..." well, he doesn't really need to say
does he? "Why not just the woman," he jerks his head towards Denn. "I'm
inclined to think her friend would be happy to tell you anything you wish
to know if urged on by her screams. I've found it a most effective tool,"
he says quietly, lightly scratching the rat under the chin.

Denn'ryiel continues to look away, trying hard not to look at what is going
on in the other cell. She hears the splash and winces slightly, having no
clue what just occured. She assumes it's something less benign that what
actually happened. Though she wants to tell Neelkan not to worry again,
that would only provide them with another lever to pull. After hearing what
Jaq'al has to say, she begins mouthing a prayer to the Creator. Wise enough
not to give it voice, but she might be seen.

Tetrarch spins and backhands Jaq'al sharply. "I said they will not be
tortured, Jaq'al." he growls. The water weavers a moment, but by then he's
looking back at Neelkan, smiling. "Now, Neelkan. I want a few questions
answered. You answer them properly, and Denn will get her water. Answer
them poorly, and you'll see her water drain away. Understand?"

"Whate'er." Neelkan grumbles under his breath, unfolding his arms from his
chest so that he can start to play with his poofy, fluffy, red and white
streaked bangs with his fingers. "What d'ya wanna know?" Not that he knows
anything for them to ask, so he's going to push aside his stubborness, for
Denn at least...

Jaq'al's head jerks to the side as he's smacked, none too lightly, and the
rat goes flying and lands with a squeek. He remains still for a moment
before slowly turning his head front again. The expressionlessness of his
countenance has only increased if anything. He slowly rises to his feet,
and leans back against the empty cell opposite, his arms folding over his
chest. And then he does a strange thing. He grins. Oh it's not a very
pleasant grin, and there's certainly little real amusement in it. It's more
of a scheming grin. The side of his face that was struck flames a bright
red.

Denn'ryiel shivers slightly upon seeing the display of discipline between
Tetrarch and Jaq'al, and the young man's reaction. She turns back towards
Neelkan and a load releases from her shoulders when she sees he's not
injured. That splashing sound must have been just water then. She continues
to remain quiet, knowing nothing she says is going to help her or more
importantly the other two in this case.

Tetrarch nods. "Good." he says with a smile. "It is good to know we've come
to an understanding." Despite being male, and a great deal larger, he does
look a great deal like a dark version of Kaomi. "Now, how did the Tower
know about the attack at Beldar's Gate?

Neelkan's noticed the darker male version of Kaomi bit, but he's not going
to say anything. Maybe he'll ask her about it when he gets back, which he's
determined to do (get back, not ask her...). "I was told I was goin' 'ere
f'r trainin' exersizes. I only joined the Tower program a lil' while 'go,
so I don't know much more 'en ya do 'bout it, 'cept 'at I was told all of a
sudden 'at 'ere was a flamin' army attackin' 'n we had to defend the place
'n I would've stayed out've it if..." He pauses and trails off, glancing
towards Denn for a second. He would have stayed out of it if Denn hadn't
been in it. He didn't give a care about Beldar's Gate... And he was never
good at following orders.

Denn'ryiel gives a small nod from where she is sitting. It seems to be
unconsciously done, though it's not. Just a little something from the woman
to convince Tetrarch that Neelkan is telling the truth. She tries to look
hard at her bootlaces, crossed uner her indian-style as she sits.

Tetrarch smirks. "A Trainee? You expect me to belive that Kaomi sent
/students/ out into that battle?" he says with a snort of his own. "I don't
know..." he starts to bounce one of the balls of water as though he's ready
to give it a toss. "I don't think I beleive you."

"I don't 'ink 'at Kaomi would've sent us int' battle either." Neelkan says
with a shrug, knowing good and well that if the man decides to throw
another ball of water there's nothing he can do to stop it. He told the
truth as far as he knows, and there's nothing more. Though yes, he does
call the Amyrlin by her first name, and probably always will. "But I think
'at most the students stayed within the town durin' the battle. I was only
at the Gate..." Another glance at Denn. Yup. All the fault of a woman.

Tetrarch tosses the ball up, it curves around and down, falling into the
glass with a 'plop'. The other ball seems to disappear, only to have the
glass that much more full. The glass floats over towards Denn'ryiel slowly,
stopping just in front of her. Another glass suddenly appears in the air
just in front of Neelkan. "Drink up." he say as the food, rat free, floats
up and through both bars. "You'll need your strength."

Letting out a small sigh, Neelkan's glad to see he's at least believed to
the point where it seems they're going to get to eat and drink. Need
strength, yes. So that he can escape and take the Aes Sedai and his little
buddy who's about as close to Sedai as one can get with him. He snatches
the cup in the air and drinks a few quick gulps, then pauses and forces
himself to slow down in his drinking. Who knows what they'll make him tell
them to get fed and stuff next time. He puts the glass down and starts on
the food, forcing himself to take it slow, even though his recently healed
body wants to inhale it without even bothering to chew.

Jaq'al watches Neel eat for a moment before turning on his heel to walk
out. "Congratulations Tetrarch," he says quietly, but his voice still seems
to carry. "If you're no longer needing me..." but he doesn't wait for an
answer before walking out.

Denn'ryiel pauses a moment, as if the glass before her were a cat ready to
pounce. Her thirst convinces her to accept the glass though. If they really
wanted to hurt her, they could. They could do much worse than hurt her, and
she knows that. Besides, she owes Neelkan for his answers. She drinks the
glass down, trying not too look too hasty. In the back of her mind she
wonders what he means by needing strength.

Tetrarch nods to them both. A small glow appears next to Neelkan. "Hit that
when the Aes Sedai awakens." he orders. "If you don't want her being so
sick the next time." with that he too leaves.

Looking at the light oddly, still not used to channeling stuff, Neelkan
nods, even though the man has already left. He stops eating and pushes his
food forward, looking around the room again, then smiles at Denn and scoots
over against the wall again. After a few moments he has the little chuck of
wall he knocked off in his hand and he's watching the guards through the
corner of his eye before tucking it into the fold in the sash around his
waist. "Just hold in 'ere, Denn." He'll get them out. Or he's thinking he
will at least! Then he starts to eat again.

Denn'ryiel nods weakly, though she doesn't look too convinced. She glances
up across the bars and up to the ceiling, surveying her entire cell.
"Maybe... maybe we we able to capture people as well..." she whispers, as a
faint hope. She thinks she has heard about prisoner exchanges in the
past... for non-channellers at least. That will let Neelkan get away.
"Thank you..." she then whispers, cringing slightly at what Tetrarch has
done and possibly will do to him because of her. "You should put yourself
before me, though," she says.

"Don't be silly, Denn." Neelkan says with a small snort, after swallowing
the food he's eating on of course. His mother taught him some manners. "All
I did was tell 'im the truth. So don't worry 'bout m'. I'm a man, I can
take care of m'self 'n if I want, I'll take care of both of ya too." Which
he intends to do. He glances over at the guards again, then moves his hand
to his sash and palms out the half-a-fist sized stone and shifts it around,
pulling one of the ends of his sash over. He wraps the stone in the end of
the sash, then ties it off in a few knots, all the while watching the
guards, not what his dirty, scuffed up and scraped, hands are doing. Yup.
Someone certainly was a bandit...

Denn'ryiel props herself up against the back of her cell, and rolls
Verbena's ring around in her hand. "I don't suppose you've gotten to any of
the Gaidins' courses on what the Shadow does to its prisoners," she asks.

"Nope." Neelkan says, finishing the last not and slipping the now weighted
down end of the sash into the fold he had the rock in earlier,
straightening out his sash to try and make it look normal, like nothing was
amiss about it, but one of those bracelets (a rather thin one) is looped
around the fabric as well. "I can imagine though... But no matter what 'ey
d' t' me, I'll be fine. So don't worry 'bout m'." Though if they hurt her
to break him... Well, they can't do anything to /him/...

Denn'ryiel nods her head once, and a small, humorless smile forms on her
face. "I wouldn't worry about it," she says, with a bit of calmness. "I
don't think they know my feelings about you... at least not as well. So if
they torture anyone, it will be me. I can take it," she says, trying to
sound unafraid.

Neelkan stops even attempting to eat and just looks at her through the cell
bars. "Denn... If 'ey hurt ya, I'll kill 'em." And he sounds completely
serious for a change, no joking, jesting, or nervousness at all. And no
fear either. Though of course they won't let him kill them. But he doesn't
care about that at all. He'll still try to.

Denn'ryiel turns her head and looks at Neelkan for a moment, partly
startled. "Neelkan... We... I know you would... but if somethng did happen
to me I'd strangle you if you got killed trying to avenge me. At least, I
would if it were possible," she says, and manages another small smile at
that. After a pause, she adds, "You looked like a Warder at the battle out
there. You have a bright future ahead of you."

"I'll die how I die. 'n I'd rather die defendin' someone 'r fightin' f'r
someone, 'en dyin' in a bed." Neelkan says with another moment of absolute
seriousness, then it fades away and he shrugs his shoulders, going back to
his food, and drinking somemore water. After a little bit of that he
comments on the last part, "Ye'h, well, I told ya I'd surprise 'em all." He
smirks at that, letting it touch his eyes with it's brightness for a
moment.

Denn'ryiel smiles a little more sincerely now. It's not a moment of
happiness; she is still in the next wosrt place to Shayol Ghul. But for a
moment her heart is lighter at least. "You certainly surprised those
Trollocs," she comments, sitting back a little more. Not that the cell
gives her much room to do that. She sits up a bit as she realizes that
funny thing underneath her is The Rules, and looks at the book with
disgust. "I hope none of the students were killed," she whispers.

Glancing up, Neelkan wrinkles his nose lightly at her until she starts to
look in disgust and worry about the students. "I'm sure 'ey're fine, Denn.
'n if 'ey aren't... 'en..." He looks sad for a moment then shrugs. It's the
most he can offer, though if anyone he knew died in that battle he'll
likely be very distraught later. He's kind of touchy when it comes to the
subject of death. He goes back to eating, nearly finished with the far too
small for his stomach meal.

Denn'ryiel nods her head once weakly, and begins eating her own food, but
with no large passion. It's an effort to keep any food down. "I understand
Wyntere was there somewhere, though... I'm sure she would have kept any of
them from getting hurt." It's not a very logical hope, but it will have to
do. "I'm... I'm worried about Verbena. I think she was having a breakdown."
Gee, what a Talent. State the Obvious.

Looking over at Verbena laying there, Neelkan frowns, repering the cool,
respectable White that he met not long ago, and then the... person she
became last night after Denn fell off to sleep. He shakes his head, then
finishes off his food and pushes the empty tray aside, standing up and
moving to the egde of the bars so he's closer to Denn. "Ye'h. I think 'at
somethin' happened t' 'er once 'n it's comin' back t' 'er." He knows how
that is. He has it happen every time a certain thing is even mentioned.
Namely... milk. But he won't admit that. He sticks a bruised, scraped,
still dirty and a little blood (though dry) hand through the bars towards
her, "I'm gonna get both of ya outta 'ere." Just a vow of confidence on his
part. And all he can offer. Though if he can really come through... Doesn't
mean he won't try.

Denn'ryiel nods her head slowly and reaches over to touch Neelkan's hand.
As she draws closer, the tears in her eyes that she has kept back this
whole time are clearly visible. "And I'll try to get you both out too."
Exactly what the shielded gardener is capable of is probably small, but she
means what she says. Maybe there was something in the food. More likely
it's just the effect of having food in her stomach again. Denn's eyes start
drooping with sleep again.

There's a pause, and Neelkan notices that Denn's ready to drop off into
sleep soon again and he moves his hand in further to clasp her own tightly.
"If... if it'll help ya feel better, ya can.. hold on t' my hand while ya
sleep?" It's about the only gesture he can offer right now, he'd offer to
hug her if they didn't have bars seperating them.. He just... bah. He
doesn't know. He's tired too, thanks in part to being healed yesterday
after all that exertion. Not to mention trying to pound a wall...

Denn'ryiel nods her head weakly as she drifts off, and her hand tightens
lightly. Soon her chin rests on her chest as she's asleep once more.