08/23/2000

Lounge, White Tower, Tar Valon

The smell of hot tea, chamomile and orange, fills this room, which seems
designed for no other purpose but to relax and give comfort. Overstuffed
green couches are arranged almost haphazardly about on soft white carpet. A
large stone fireplace provides warmth in the winters, with various small
knicknacks and lanterns upon it. A high bookshelf in the back of the room
has relaxing reading: tales and poetry, nothing of scholarly value.

A small stove to boil tea upon is present, as is a full compliment of every
herbal variety designed to be steeped through water and drank for pleasure.
Small bowls of sugar and milk are spread about on this display, as are sea
folk tea cups and pitchers. Even the serving staff can be found about their
leisure here, and so the means are provided for people to help themselves.


Is there no ALCOHOL in this place?! Zai- er.. Corain is rummaging through
cupboards and drawers and finding tea, tea and more tea. S- er.. he has got
to get out of this place for a night on the town or he's going to go crazy.
Despite the warning he just had to take a peek into the bathhouse, which
didn't help at all.

It's fairly late. The trial let out a short time ago. Neelkan spent the
first few minutes holding himself steady long enough to return all four
(not including the one the novice had) cloaks to the laundry and offering
his apologies to the staff. He then quickly got out and tries to think of
somewhere to be alone. Because he has to be alone right now. He can't go
back to his room. Sunan and Redd and the 'other guy' would likely be there,
and that isn't want he wants, so he slips into the common lounge, it's
usually fairly empty actually, his fan hidden under his clothes now and...
what the--? Are those tears in his eyes? No! No one can see them! They are
NOT THERE. Grrr. He moves deeper into the room, completely missing the
rumbaging until he plops down on one of the green overstuffed couches. Then
he notices and he lets out a long sigh. Figures. He doesn't see who it is
at first though. Just a person...

Corain is pretty good at noticing things so she- he- whatever stops, her
head hidden behind a cabinet door. She peeks around the side of it and
blinks. Having spent plenty of her life in an inn, with a bar, she has
gotten to know the 'unhappy' guy look pretty well, and Neelkan is clearly
upset about something in her eyes. Now for the dilema. She could just walk
out and pretend she didn't see anything. In fact that's probably what she
should do, but when does she do what she should? Slowly she closes the
cupboard and turns around, folding her arms across her chest and just look
at him. Yup, she sees you. She knows something's up. Now what are you going
to do about it? For once she looks serious though, much as it pains her.

Even though he knows there's someone else in the room, Neelkan really
doesn't have much time to care over it. For the last week and more, he's
been everyone's anchor. Everyone's steady ground, and shoulder to sob on.
He stayed steady when him and Denn and Verbena were captured. He stayed
cheerful when the Light lost a battle at the fort. He held firm and let
Redd and Espi sob on him when Wyntere was arrested. He remained that way
for far, far too long. That Black sister could have killed Espi tonight!
Wyntere could have been stilled (which as he understand is worse then
death). And now? Now he doesn't have to be a steady ground anymore. There's
no one he has to support. There's no one he has to hold. He brings an arm
up to cover his eyes, leaning forward in the couch, and just starts to
shake softly. Oh, he's definately crying, but at least he's quiet about it.
And he still has no idea who's in the room. He's assuming it's some Tower
servent that will slip out shortly and leave him alone. He let everyone cry
on him, but he doesn't want to cry on anyone else.

Corain frowns... and frowns some more... but it's a gentle frown.
Normally... well... people crying is hardly fun so normally she avoids them
like the plague. Walk away Zai... he doesn't want you interfereing... you
don't want to interfere, so just... but no. She uses all her stealth to
sneak up on him, but she's not trying to startle him. She puts a hand on
his shoulder from behind the couch and gives it a gentle squeeze.
"Sssssshhhh..." ugh. She's not really good at this comforting stuff.
Nevermind that she of all people probably wouldn't be able to comfort him
even if she was good at it. "Do you want to talk about it," she asks
quietly...

At the feel of a hand on his shoulders, the shaking stops and Neelkan's
stills. Ok. So not a Tower servant that is just going to walk away. He rubs
his eyes ov his sleeve for a moment, then straightens up, letting his hair
fall to obscure his eyes a little. Not quite enough to hide the fact that
he is a little teary eyed here though. He gives a soft, coughed laugh,
"What's t' talk 'bout? Blood 'n ashes. I just helped save m' friend's
life." He glances over and actually smirks lightly at the woman. For once
he's not glaring at her. For once he doesn't have the strength. He's a six
year old walking around in a seventeen year old's body. And for a change he
looks just as vulnerable and hurt as one. And you know what he'd do if you
told him that? He'd deck you. Good. And break a nose or two doing it. Saved
his friend's life, and now he's crying?

"Yeah... well you're crying pu-... Neelkan." Zaidah sighs and hops over the
back of the couch and sits so her back is to one of the arms and she's
facing him, tucking one leg under her and draping the other over the edge
of the sofa. She lets her hands just rest in her lap as she looks at him.
Maybe it's because she really did feel guilty about... well it's not like
she tricked him intentionally! And it's not like she knew he didn't like
women... but aside from all that she still feels guilty because she has
this sinking suspicion that she would have done it anyway, and that she
would have enjoyed the challenge. And now he's crying. Now what the heck is
she supposed to do... sigh. She turns slightly to one side and offers her
shoulder, "here, hit me. It'll make you feel better." Not that she lets
herself get upset often, but when she does this always helps... though it's
usually on a wall or something..

Still a little teary and red rimmed, Neelkan's blue-green eyes narrow at
the offer to hit her. She's strange. Very strange. He shakes his head,
reaching his hand up to rub at his eyes again, then waves it in front of
him, "I'm not cryin'. Just some bloody 'erbs I smelled 'r somethin'." Yeah.
It's just some smelly herbs that made his eyes water. That's all. Then why
was he shaking? Oh hush. "'n I'm not gonna hit ya. I don't hit wo--err...
ne'ermind." He shrugs his shoulders, then rubs at his eyes again, before
running the fingers through his hair. If he didn't look like he was about
to start crying again any second... ... well... no. His story still
wouldn't have been bought likely.

Corain phts in frustration and almost just gets up and walks out. Why
should she care if he's crying?? So what if she sort of owes him?? She
doesn't get up though. Instead she says, "you're a really flaming bad liar,
Neel. And don't call me that again or I'll hit myself for you. Do I look
like a woman right now?" It's a really good thing there's no one else in
here. And actually... no, she really doesn't look like one, what with the
special corset hiding her usual curves, and her hair hiding her face.
Though all that's probably hard to overlook when he knows damn well she's a
woman. "So you either tell me what's going on, or I'm going to drag you out
to the practice yard and beat you to a bloody flaming pulp or until you
start fighting back, whichever flaming comes first!" It'll be good for him,
right? I mean.. what, does he think all darkfriends are going to be guys?
Shouldn't he know by now from living in the Tower that a single woman can
be more dangerous than an army? Maybe even after her 'business' has been
conducted here she'll hang around to show these 'men' a thing or two.
Chivalry is so... Age of Legends.

Yes! He thinks all darkfriends are guys! Women are cruel, unfair creatures,
but they aren't to be hurt! Men are supposed to protect women at all costs!
That's what he was raised to believe. Raised by six women. And six of the
most evil women he's ever known. Anyone with big breasts, he truely dreads.
He hates women! Or so he says. More like he hates the fact that he could
never truely harm one, and he would almost always give into them, and he
would die to protect them if he had to. It's just who he is. Chivalry? He
could write a book on it. If he could write very good. Which he can't.
Neelkan glares at her for a moment as she makes all these threats, but it's
not half as harsh as it could be. "Look 'ere, /firefly/. Nothin' is flamin'
wrong, a'right!? Wyntere was freed! She's not a darkfriend! The real person
was caught 'n stilled! 'n I /HELPED/! I helped save Wyntere Sedai's /LIFE/.
'n helped clear her MOTHER who had been stilled years and years ago!! Why
the bloody /LIGHT/ would I have to be upset 'bout!?" .... Very good
question. He pauses for a minute, cutting off his yelling and then getting
up off of the couch and kicking it with his foot. Grrr. Grrr-ow. Ok. That
feels a little bit better. He's got a stubbed toe now...

Ok, this is good. He's venting. He needs to release all that anger and she
-may- have found a way to help him do it. "That's what I'm blood, light
burned, flaming trying to find out," she adds with the slightest of grins,
"pumpkin." She needs to get -out- of the habit of using that but since he
did start with the nicknames she just has to. She glances down at his
kicking the couch and arches an eyebrow. "What did it ever do to you? Come
on pumpkin, is that the best you can do? -Crying- -and- kicking like a
girl?" Nevermind that that's not really an insult... "You'll never be a
Gaidin at that rate. That's what you want right? To protect some little Aes
Sedai? Gaidin aren't suposed to cry are they," she asks almost as if she
was just talking to herself. Is she -trying- to piss him off? As if he
wsn't already? Well... like I said she's never really been good at this
comforting thing.

"Shut yer flamin' mouth, /CORAIN!/ Ya don't know a bloody thin' 'bout m',
'n don't think ya do!" She wanted him pissed? Well, she got pissed. Neelkan
clenches his fist and looks fit to try to hit /HIM/ because she does look
like a guy. He could do it... he could... ... no he couldn't. He loosens
his fist and stands down from the attack position and says thickly, "Who in
the flamin' Light said I wanted t' be a Gaidin!? 'n I'm not cryin'! I
protect whoe'er the flamin' bloody Light I want, Aes Sedai, 'r no Aes
Sedai. Gaidin, 'r no Gaidin. 'n I /certainly/ ain't gonna b' protectin'
ya!" Well, one thing is good over this. He's not teary eyed anymore...

Corain snorts, and then starts to chuckle softly. And then chuckling
bubbles up and turns into laughter. The trainee wraps his arms around his
waist to hold it in and proceeds to try to laugh hysterically while being
quiet at the same time. "P- p- protect me?!" More laughter. Finally Corain
wipes his eyes with a thumb and starts to catch his breath. "-Boy- what
makes you think you -could- protect me?" Yeah, ok, so he is pretty full of
himself, but it's partly for show too... He lazily stands up and stretches
a little, shaking his head. "To think I would want a -boy- who -cries-
protecting me anyway. You have some very funny notions p- Neelkan." He
looks over, a very.. taunting grin on his face.

"I am NOT a BOY!" Neelkan yells, moving a little closer as he does and
threatening the woman with a fist as he does. Grrr. Grrr. "I am /not/ a
boy, 'r a child, 'r anything else ya seem t' think I am. Ya think 'at
tavern fights 're the worse 'ere is, don't ya?! Have ya e'er FOUGHT a Fade
'fore!? I have! Have ya e'er stood up t' a male channeler, 'fore!? Have ya
e'er spent yer days not wantin' t' go t' sleep cause of the thin's ya saw
in yer dreams!?" Ok. He should have skipped that last one probably. "Light
burn ya! Ya kid of a rat 'n a goat!" Grrr. Grrr. He still threatens with
the fist, but he doesn't move to use it yet at least. Or... unfortunately.
Depending on your perspective.

Corain narrows his eyes and shouts right back, "No. Do you think any of
that -matters- to me? Do you think that makes you a man?" Ok, so it kind of
does but that's beside the point. "Ash! You're -wallowing- in self-pity and
it's really sickening! You think suffering makes you special? Well it
flaming doesn't Neel! If you were smart you'd leave this place behind."
Come to think of it, if Cor was smart he'd run off and forget about the
whole thing, but it's a means to an end... "So if you're looking for pity
you'd better go cry somewhere else 'cause I don't give a flaming -fuck-
about your dreams, or your exploits or if you think I'm the Dark One's m-"
er... "uncle!" He glances over at the fist and snorts a little. "You gonna
use that, or just stand there and blow hot air?" Come on Neel, you know you
want to. "BOY," he adds one more time, just to get under his skin.

"Light burn ya!" Neelkan finally yells, then aims a quick punch right at
her cheek, which he pulls back right before it hits. In fact, it stops to
where his knuckles are actually touching her cheek. Then he growls and
turns around, whipping his hand away so he doesn't get tempted to do such a
thing again. Chivalry? ... Well, he just can't hit her. Now, he could have
hit Cyli tonight. Fifty times. A hundred times. But she isn't Cyli, is she?
He reaches up and rubs his fist as if it really had connected and says,
"Za--Cor, I don't want yer pity, so 'at ya ain't gonna give it is a good
thin'. But I'm not gonna hit ya." He glances around the room once, then
shrugs his shoulders and starts towards the exit. Stay to get provocked
more? You think he's an idiot!? .... Don't answer that...

Corain doesn't even flinch or try to block. Nope, he was going to let him
hit and not do a thing about it. At least not a thing to prevent it.
Retaliation is ok though but boy does he feel even more guilty. Damn it,
damn it, this is all way too serious for his taste... "Fine," he says
sharply, crossing his arms again. Sigh. Damn it. "I'm sorry Neel. Whatever
it is, I'm sorry." Yeah, and he hates every moment of it. He's not going to
try and stop him, in part because he doesn't know how and in part because
he doesn't really want to... er... not all of him wants to. Nope, no good
at the comforting thing at all.