+- The First Age (https://thefirstage.org/forums)
+-- Forum: Alternate Timelines (https://thefirstage.org/forums/forum-31.html)
+--- Forum: Past Lives (https://thefirstage.org/forums/forum-11.html)
+--- Thread: The Hunt (/thread-312.html)
- Natalie Grey - 11-02-2017
“Child.”
The Aes Sedai’s clipped tones razored the heels of Nythadri’s question, her gaze snapping from the dais as if broken from a trance. Her face was smooth, of course, but there was a tightness about her mouth and eyes; a sudden hardness that no amount of Brown Ajah vagary could cloak with absentmindedness. How much did Fate tell you? Was Liridia surprised by the Seanchan’s presence, or was it simply the sourness most channelers expressed when confronted with that terrible reality? Where does the White Tower stand in all this? There was a third option, of course – that the Sister was just displeased with the brusque Accepted sat before her; the sheer gall of there having been a demand to her tone. Not that Nythadri’s flat stare softened. Fate could not bring her here and then refuse her answers. Surely. This was not some fickle game or some abstract lesson. This was Seanchan.
Liridia’s firm stare suggested a warning, but it was too late now for Nythadri to present a face of meekness; there was so much fire and frustration roiling beneath the surface of her thoughts it would have been a poor attempt had she tried. As it was it was all she could do to swallow a vexed sigh before it escaped, replaced instead by a slight but very intentional purse of her lips. It was probably a foolish choice to even show that much insolence, but Liridia’s permissiveness for much of the day wore a hole through Nythadri’s caution – and Light but she had been so bloody reckless this evening she was surprised she had any restraint left. Poisonous words tainted her tongue. Was the Aes Sedai just going to sit here while Daryen welcomed vipers into the heart of his county? But she curbed her ire, tightened her control – though light it felt more like nocking an arrow – and waited.
The Brown laced her fingers. “How pleasant of you to join us.”
Though the constricted core of her otherwise sugared voice did not make it sound much the pleasure. Liridia’s lips flattened in a way that for a moment shadowed her face with age, and the disapproval there was clear. “I trust you have not been wasting your time, child. Parties hold many pretty distractions for the careless, and it would be a shame to have wasted the opportunity you have been given.”
Slender fingers reached for the stem of her glass, her gaze still firmly on Nythadri. Did Liridia’s eyes burn with the effort of turning away from the Seanchan on the platform? Or did she trust intrinsically to the Warder at her back? Seanchan, Liridia. She wanted to urge the words, to feel the flame of support a common enemy - welcomed or not - should have sparked. She felt nothing. Nothing but waves of disapproval for her prolonged absence from the Aes Sedai's side.
Nythadri’s eyes narrowed, but only for a second. Then her expression smoothed to its usual apathy, pale and detached. Glacial. If there was a barb in the Brown’s words, as doubtless there was intended to be, it would find little purchase; Nythadri felt no shame, not for any of her actions public and private alike. A ripple of grim amusement was quickly banked by a familiar weariness. The one person she should have been able to rely on for alliance, and Liridia was more interested in the politics of Tower hierarchy than the threat under her nose. Or at least insofar as an Accepted would ever be allowed to see. She was surprised to feel disappointment sink like lead in her stomach. The emotion froze over. Quickly. It was no matter. She was accustomed to this.
“If I might be excused, Aes Sedai.”
There were no answers here; at least, none Liridia was willing to impart. It was Fate who held all the cards, all the answers – and it was Fate Nythadri would be wary of, if and when the time came. When, more likely, though with a Brown – even one as unusual as the golden Domani – that “when” might be the moment she returned to White Tower soil or tennight from now. Liridia shook her head, replacing her glass on the table. "No, child. No, I think that would not be wise."
And for the rest of the evening Nythadri felt the unwelcomed iron of the Aes Sedai's protective wing, until later she was escorted to the Travelling grounds and a Gate home.
[[Nythadri's story continues here, following Jai's escapades in Caemlyn]]