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Samuel walks hand in hand with Sereina to the door of the cabin, backpack tucked under his free arm, the left one. He fiddles around trying to get at his pocket without dropping his backpack for a moment, then gives up. Seizing Saidin he channels a small, probing flow of Earth into the lock. It emits a soft click and he pushes the door open with his foot as he releases Saidin.
Sereina purses her lips at the little show that Samuel performs and chuckles. 'You know, I could have opened the door, dear,' she says as she opens the door the rest of the way and enters the cabin.
Samuel enters after Sereina and closes the door behind him. He casually tosses his backpack into the corner and begins unbuckling his swordbelt, nodding slowly,'I know you could have opened it. Part of the training here is to use the One Power for everything. We need the practice, since we don't get like thirty years of training like Aes Sedai sometimes do.' All this is said in a matter-of-fact voice as he removes the sword and leans it in the corner next to the backpack.
Sereina raises her eyebrows to the wall as she sets up a pot of tea and mutters something to herself before pouring in water from the pitcher and setting it over the fireplace. 'Well next time I'll let you clean the cabin.'
Samuel chuckles softly and sits down in one of the cabin's two wooden chairs. He begins unlacing his boots, then stops, attention focusing on the fireplace. In a tone of mock servility, he says,'As you command, o wife.' Saidin floods into him again, lips twisting slightly from the foulness of the taint. He spins out thin threads of Fire and passes them into the heart of the teapot. As the pot begins to whistle, he releases the weave and pushes away the Power, raising his gaze to the back of Sereina's head and preparing an expression of abject innocence.
Sereina quickly moves her hands away from the kettle as she is bent over near the fireplace. She turns around to look at Samuel but can't do anything but laugh at the expression on his face. 'Thank you very much, o husband.' Sereina straightens up and picks up two cups, carefully lifting the kettle and pours the tea. 'Honey?'
Samuel shakes his head and goes back to unlacing his boots. He glances up from his work just long enough to say,'Just tea is fine. Thank you.' Then he looks back down and slips off his boots. Kicking them aside and leaning back in the chair, he lets out a very relaxed sigh and shoots Sereina a warm smile.
Sereina sets her cup down on the mantle and walks over to Samuel to hand him his tea. 'There you go.' She walks back to get her own tea and sit on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and tucking her skirt beneath her knees. 'Your mother's a very nice woman.'
Samuel takes the cup from Sereina and sips slowly from it. His eyes follow her as she moves around the room and sits on the bed. He flashes her a quick smile, which fades at her comment on his mother. He nods slowly and says,'Yes, she is. She is breaking Tower law for us. No matter what else happens with us, we have to make sure that none of this comes back to haunt her.' He takes another sip of the tea and then adds,'Not that we had much choice, really. Not asking her for help would have been more dangerous to you than asking her for help is to her.'
Sereina nods and shivers, sipping at her cup. 'I understand. Who knows what would happen to you if I did get that sickness..' she shivers again and shrugs. 'Oh well. It worked out for the best in the end, I guess. '
Samuel takes another long sip of his tea, then looks at Sereina over his cup. For a long moment, he chews his bottom lip in thought, then says,'I never really thought about that...'
Sereina chuckles. 'Sorry, didn't mean to bring that to light. But I mean, I shouldn't get it now, should I?' After drinking the rest of her tea in one gulp she reaches back and sets the cup on the nightstand and sits up again, resting her chin on her hand.
Samuel finishes his tea in one large gulp, then sets his cup down on the floor beside his chair. He shakes his head slightly, still frowning in thought, and says,'No, you should be safe from that, now. I just never thought about how it might affect me.' He shrugs and leans back in his chair again,'I just knew we had to get you help for it.'
Sereina nods. 'Well...umm.....thanks.' she turns to look at his empty cup and then back at him. 'Would you like some more?' she asks, already standing up and getting the kettle.
Samuel shakes his head, expression still one of deep though, bells chiming gently as one of his braids bumps against the back of the chair. Softly, he mutters,'No, thank you.' His frown deepens and he says in a hesitant voice,'There is more to it..'
Sereina pauses next to the chair, holding the kettle by the handle. She looks down at him, a confused expression on her face. 'What do you mean?'
Samuel's eyes lower to the floor and he says very softly,'The training may help you, if I am not able to undo the bond.' He shrugs slightly, still not looking up,'If I have enough time, I'm sure I can undo it. If I do not..' He lets out a loud sigh and mutters,'Probably best not to talk of it.'
Sereina lowers the kettle and holds it with her arms straight, confusion still rolling through the bond. 'Probably best not to talk of what? If you don't have enough time for what?' She frowns, the kettle shaking in her hands.
Samuel raises his eyes to look Sereina in the face, then quickly looks away again. In a small voice, he says,'The only way I would not have enough time to figure it out is if I die first. If that happens, having the Power might help you.'
Sereina swallows, nearly dropping the kettle but catching herself in time to set it down on the floor. 'I see...' she says softly. Clearing her throat, she picks up the kettle and sets it over the fire. 'Then our only options are either keeping the bond or somehow breaking the bond with blind luck and perhaps hoping it doesn't kill either of us, right?'
Samuel shakes his head slightly and shrugs again, bells chiming as they bump against the back of the chair. He says softly,'As long as you live through it, it's a success. If the taint does not get me, the last battle will anyway.' He turns and stares out the window, sighing loudly and adding,'I've done what I can to make sure you will survive.'
Sereina nods. She looks at the chair next to him and the bed. 'Well, I guess I should sit down again...' she says distractedly, still looking back and forth from the two.
Samuel's head whips around to face Sereina, braids swishing around him, bells chiming discordantly. He rises quickly from his chair and offers a hand to steady her. Very softly, he says,'I am sorry. I won't speak of it again. When you mentioned how it might hurt me if you died, it just made me think of the other thing that could happen. I won't bring it up anymore.'
Sereina squeezes Samuel's hand and wavers, leaning from one foot to the other. 'It's-it's fine. It had to be mentioned sooner or later anyway. Now is as good a time as any.'
Samuel leads Sereina slowly over to the bed and helps her sit down, then sits down beside her on her left. He slips his right arm around her shoulders and gives her a gentle squeeze, muttering softly,'I'm sorry. I still say and do things without thinking first. I'll try to do better.'
Sereina rests her head on his shoulder, a sigh wracking through her body. 'It's alright, really.' she shook her head, a small chuckle slipping out. 'I can't seem to make myself get angry right now. I guess that's a good thing. I don't like hating you all the time.'
A feeling of awkwardness suddenly washes through the bond from Samuel. His body tenses briefly, then gradually relaxes. He hesitantly gives Sereina's shoulder another squeeze and says softly,'I wish you did not hate me, but I know I deserve it. It does not matter what I do or how hard I try, I do not think I can possibly make up for what I did to you.'
Sereina shakes her head. 'I don't really hate you. It's more of a......Oh, I don't know.' she shrugs, her hand falling on his thigh. 'Oh, I'm sorry.' she blushes furiously, raising her head and pulling away.
Samuel blushes to match Sereina. He draws back from her slightly, then suddenly begins to laugh. He raises his left hand to cover his mouth in an attempt to stifle his mirth, managing to calm to just giggles and then eventually to silence. When he regains his ability to speak, he flashes her a grin and says,'We're silly. Nervous as cats in a roomfull of rocking chairs around each other and not for any good reason. We're joined mind to mind and yet we get embarrassed if we casually brush into one another.' He lets out another giggle, blue eyes twinkling merrily, and adds,'For example, you have an itch right.. there.' And he reaches out in an attempt to scratch an itch he feels on her arm.
Sereina catches his mood and laughs. 'And you have a bitemarch on your chest.' she waves her hand at it but doesn't touch him, fingertips barely brushing his shirt.
Samuel flushes even brighter crimson and starts laughing again, laying back on the bed with his legs still hanging off the side. In between giggles, he spits out,'We're hopeless. Even knowing what we're doing and I can't stop from being embarrassed by it.'
Sereina lays next to Sam, propping her head up with her arm. 'Well...I guess there's a first time for everything?' she gasps, putting her free hand over her mouth and rolling onto her back away from him. 'I cannot believe I just said that.'
Samuel lays back on the bed, trembling with barely contained, and sometimes escaping, giggles. Suddenly another bout of laughter erupts from him as he pounds his bare feet on the floor as well. After a long moment, he catches his breath from it and says while gasping for air,'Light, we're silly, but this definitely beats our fights.'
Sereina looks over at Sam and smiles, still giggling to herself. 'Well, at least we're not angry, I guess. I do so hate feeling pissed.'
Samuel blushes again, a wave of guilt flashing through the bond, then quickly being squashed. He turns his head to look up at Sereina, slowly catching his breath, face still flushed from the laughter and embarrassment. Shaking his head slightly, and with a silly grin on his face, he says,'It feels good. Feeling you laugh, I mean.'
Sereina tilts her head towards Sam and rolls back onto her side facing him, propping her head up with her hand. 'Thanks,' she says, a faint smile on her face. 'Hold still for a second, your braid..' her right arm reaches out and deftly touches the end of one of your braids, fixing the bell at the end.
Another wave of nervous embarrassment flashes through the bond from Samuel as he watches Sereina fix his braid. When she finishes, he lets out a soft chuckle, still looking up at her with that silly grin on his face.
Sereina pulls her hand away and rests her arm on her hip, an eyebrow quirking up amusedly. 'What are you smiling at?'
Samuel giggles again and says,'You. Me. Us. We're just funny.' He reaches up to push a stray strand of hair out of her face and says softly,'Who would have thought that you threatening me with a chunk of wood could lead to us rolling around and laughing on our bed in our cabin less than a week later?'
Sereina looks up at his hand, unconsciously pressing her cheek closer to his fingers. 'Yeah. I'm surprised myself. Before I was hoping that I'd be able to continue living in little dumps so that way I'd be a free girl. But you know, this life is pretty nice, considering.'
Samuel very lightly caresses Sereina's cheek with his fingertips, a jumbled mix of feelings evident through the bond, a week feeling of guilt the most easily recognizable. His smile fades into a look of contemplation as he studies her face, then says softly,'You know.. this story we are telling everyone, about being caught up in the odd Ta'veren events.. What if that is exactly what happened to us?'
Sereina closes her eyes at Samuel's touch, opening slowly and looking into his eyes. 'If that is what happened we certainly can't fight it if we're still tangled.' she raises her right arm to touch your chin gently.
Samuel smiles with just a hint of mischief twinkling in his eyes,'Oh, we can fight. We've proven that. But should we?' His voice is soft, barely above a whisper as he caresses Sereina's cheek lightly with the backs of his fingertips, lowering his own face when she touches his chin to plant a soft kiss on her fingertips.
Sereina blushes and lowers her gaze, shoulders shrugging. 'What else can we do?' the tip of her index finger gently strokes his lower lip.
Samuel kisses her fingertip again, his fingers caressing down her cheek, then tracing on soft fingertip along her neck. In a whisper, he says,'What can we do?' He gives out a slight shrug and traces her collarbone with a light touch as he says very softly,'I don't know. I just do not know, Sereina. I'm so confused right now that even if I only had my own feelings in my head, I wouldn't know right from wrong.'
Sereina swallows, finger slowly pulling away from Samuel's lips. 'I know what you mean,' she says awkwardly skin tingling beneath his touch. She looks up bashfully, cheeks flushed.
Samuel shivers slightly from the echo of feelings through the bond. He licks his lips nervously and shakes his head slightly, fingertip slowly tracing up the other collar bone now. Then he leans back and opens his arms, saying in a whisper so soft it may not even be heard,'Come here.'
Sereina looks a bit uncertain but rolls closer, body near but still not touching. 'Yes?' she asks.
Samuel slips his arms around Sereina's waist and pulls her against him, hugging her tightly, for some odd reason trembling against her. Very, very softly he whispers,'Do you mind if I just hold you?'
Sereina looks down at his arms but allows herself to be touched, head resting at the crook of his neck. 'No, it's alright..' her hand reaches up to play with the tip of one of his braids, the bell jingling in the silence. Her other hand strokes his shoulders, fingers caressing lower to touch his shoulderblades.
Samuel wraps Sereina tightly in his arms, still trembling like a dry leaf in a strong breeze. The flood of feelings pouring from the bond is too jumbled and strong to even begin to decipher. It is unlikely that he knows what he is feeling, even.
Sereina shuts her eyes briefly, focusing her mind upon the bond in the back of her mind. Her hand stops moving on his back, but her other hand still touches the bell in Samuel's hair. 'Why are you shaking?' she whispers, raising her head to look at his face.
Samuel looks into Sereina's eyes and shakes his head slightly. In a hoarse whisper, he mutters,'I don't know. I.. I can't explain.' Guilt flares enough to be distinguished from the rest of the jumble of emotions. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, still looking into her eyes. He swallows hard, then whispers,'All the answers are wrong. I am wrong if I do. Wrong if I don't. ' He shakes his head hard, suddenly, eyes closing tight and just squeezes her snugy against himself.
Sereina presses her cheek to his, eyes shut, both arms twining over your shoulders. 'You think too much.'
Samuel nods slowly, cheek rubbing against hers. After a moment the timbre of his trembling changes slightly, along with the feeling through the bond. Soon it is apparent that he is very softly giggling. Breathlessly, he mutters,'You're right. I think too much.' He turns his face towards hers just enough to kiss her softly on the cheek before turning back. Still shaking from his giggling at himself, he adds softly,'I think I do not want to unbond you, but I will still figure out how because you deserve to be free.'
Sereina nods against his cheek, smiling. 'I'm not so sure whether I want to be unbonded either,' she says, fingers stroking the back of his neck gently. She laughed softly, moving her mouth until her lips nearly touched his ears. 'But don't tell anyone else that,' she whispers.
Samuel suddenly goes very still. A sense of peace seems to descend over him for a moment, then the good spoils it by giggling. He asks softly,'Are you allowed to change your mind the next time we fight?'
Sereina laughs, forehead pressed against his neck. 'We both are allowed to change our minds the next time we fight.' She takes her left arm from around his neck and moves her hand to his cheek, stroking it.
Samuel turns his face towards Sereina's hand and kisses it softly. His arms loosen their hold on her slightly and he begins to stroke her back, slowly. An odd, warm feeling floods through the bond, mixed with a sort of contemplative feeling as Samuel mutters softly,'I wonder..' As his voice trails off, the other feelings are drowned out by a mixture of embarrassment, curiousity and a twinge of guilt.
Sereina strokes her thumb across Samuel's lips, raising her head to look at him. 'Wonder what?' she asks, sighing contentedly, a calm settling over her.
Samuel turns to look at Sereina and turns red all the way up to his hairline. He sputters out,'I.. um, just my mind wandered.. you don't want to know.' He grins suddenly and says,'Thank the light you can only feel what I feel and not read my thoughts.' Abruptly, he gets -that- look. The one that he gets when he realizes that the has yet again spoken before thinking. He snorts softly and says,'I'm not saying and you can't make me!' Then he tilts his head down and kisses her on the tip of the nose.
Sereina gasps in mock fury, a mischevious impulse shooting through the bond. 'Oh, I can't make you, huh?' she asks as she brings his head down for a small kiss on the lips. She releases him again, giggling at herself.
Samuel blinks, a look of slight surprise on his face. He recovers rapidly and gives a slow shake of his head,'No. You can't make me...' He pauses briefly, then adds,'But I may tell you, eventually.. I.. I don't think I could get the words out with you looking at me right now.' He flashes a truly mischievous grin at her and leans back in to kiss her again, lingering this time.
Sereina holds still for a moment, quirking an eyebrow at him. 'With me looking at you? Then close your eyes.' she says, lips caressing the corner of his mouth.
Samuel sighs softly, relaxing against her. His hands continue to stroke her back, moving fractionally lower on each pass. As his eyes drift closed, he mutters,'Ok, so I was wrong. You can make me.' He turns to press a soft kiss to her lips then turns back to mutter in a soft, drifty voice,'Was just wondering what it would be like with the bond.'
Sereina closes her eyes and presses her forehead against his. 'And I just wonder what it's like the first time...' she whispers, fingers lightly caressing his shoulderblades.
Samuel says softly,'Then you'll have no basis for comparison when..' His voice trails off and he flushes red again, hands caressing her back. Softly he says,'I think too much.' Then turns his face towards Sereina's again, tilting his head down to kiss her, gently sucking her lower lip into his own.
Sereina nods, smiling against Samuel's kiss. 'I was just going to say that..' she murmurs, tongue peeking out of her mouth to lick the line of lips.
Samuel pulls back from her, breaking the kiss with strong reluctance. He opens his eyes and looks into her face for a long moment. Word apparently fail him. He just shakes his head and leans in, eyes drifting closed as he stops fighting and gives in, kissing her passionately, arms wrapping tightly around her again and pressing her close to him.
Sereina hugs his shoulders tightly, kissing back. A deep sigh wracks through her body as she moves her hand to his lower back, fingers slipping beneath the hem of his shirt and stroking the skin under.
Samuel moans softly against Sereina's mouth, his hands sliding down the small of her back, then on to gently squeeze her bottom. Without any warning at all, a sharp, sudden wave of guilt passes through the bond from Samuel. His hands flinch off her as if burned and he breaks the kiss, leaning back from her, a pained, frustrated expression on his face. Tears begin to well up in his eyes and he shakes his head slowly from side to side as he mutters,'I can't.. I'm so sorry, Sereina.. but I just can't.. not yet..' He turns to look away, the bond carrying a strong sense of guilt and frustration and pain from him.
Sereina flushes to her hairline past the neck of her dress and she sits up, pulling away. Anger and embarassment and shame echo through the bond strongly. 'Um...yes, of course..' she says, voice quiverring.
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