If there was one advantage of having been a Novice for the past month, it was that the early hours that was part of the Trainee package, was something that she was already used to. She got out of her bed-which in her opinion, was far more comfortable than her other one-to find that Alwyn's was already empty, while Ashley was still curled up in his. If Tirzah had to take a wild guess, her second roomie was probably dreaming of serenading some Aes Sedai or the other and had successfully climbed up the vines and past the garden wall. For a moment or two she was tempted to wake up with a nice 'sprinkling' of water, but she decided against it. After all, yesterday's events had unfolded so that neither of them could look the other in the eye without also remembering the rest, so Tirzah decided with some spirit that if the lad wanted some shut-eye, he could indulge.  Until his Mentor came looking, that is.

 

Stepping out, she felt the weight of the weather immediately. The sun was already out, and from the looks of it, was ready to cook up quite the swelter. While that wasn't going to be a lot of fun by the time afternoon came, Tirzah had no complaints. This was what she'd wanted and now that she had it, for however short a period of time, she would enjoy it. Greeting the same well-fed character who'd led her to Lash-flapper the day before, she grinned wickedly as she noticed how quickly he took to looking busy. You do that, you do your runs.

 

Arriving at the spot she had last stumbled off from, complaining about Alwyn, Tirzah was a bit disappointed when she found no giant to greet. There was enough to keep her distracted though. People to watch, places to remember. All that was left to do was wait.

 

~Tirzah

"Tirzah!"

 

Laughing as Tirzah whirled about, Big Mac smiled as he clapped the girl on the shoulder.  He was pretty certain that she was going to like the news that he had to broach with her, after all, it wasn't every day that any Novice had an opportunity like this.  Indeed, none of them had such an opportunity unless they were chosen by an Aes Sedai to accompany them for a specific reason.

 

"I'm a bit surprised to find you here girl, don't you know what we're doing today?"  That got a dumbfounded look of confusion.  "I had a talk with a few people, you need to go and get yourself packed.  Bring a spare change of clothes and a couple of other bare essentials, get to the stables and get your saddlehorse packed.  We're going to be traveling out of Tar Valon for awhile, as part of your instruction I'm going to show you to handle yourself by yourself.  How to get your own food, make your own shelter, and be able to live off the land."

 

"That is, if you get your stuff now.  Otherwise I'm afraid we'll have to cancel the trip."  Big Mac was pretty sure of the reaction that would follow those words even as he spoke them.  After all, Tirzah had wanted nothing more than to leave the grounds for a time, now she was going to get her opportunity.  It would even be healthy for her, and not just in the literal sense.  If she actually went and got her stuff so they could get going that was.

 

"Well?  What are you waiting for?"

 

 

Big Mac

Tower Guard

"Yessir! Right away sir! Fifteen minutes sir, nothing more, nothing less!"

 

A swift salute, that made her shoulders straighter than before and her back arch a little in an attempt to look a little more like the miniature soldier that she aspired to be. Her eyes had become twin pools of shining light,  glimmering as they registered the wondrous truth. Her lips had spread into a wide smile, stretching so wide that it would eventually hurt.

 

Okay, maybe that was taking it a bit far with the happy joy dance stuff. Shifting her expression back to something more normal-and something way more realistic, too-she grinned widely before setting right back from where she'd come from. Tirzah looked around as she began to run, speeding into a sprint quickly enough.

 

She wasn't one for flaunting good fortune when it was in her grasp-although she'd be more than happy to tell you all about the misfortunes -but if any Trainee thought him or herself idle enough to poke fun at her, she'd give them a taste of what she had only recently titled as, "I'm going on a trip and you aren't! Now go eat dust!"

 

She was elated though, there was no doubt in that truth. And now that she was done succumbing to all that was wonderful, it was time to follow her mentor's instructions. He'd said to make it quick, so she would. And if that meant waking up Lashley with befuddling cheeriness and demands to help her back, so be it. Besides, if he still wasn't out, he'd be in deep trouble as is.

 

"Pffft, what kind of Mentor do you have, anyway? Wake up, sleepy head! Yes, now! And no, I'm not interested in hearing about any Nerome Gaidin, thank you. Help me pack!" Even as she talked, she was moving around. It was like a little check list had been established in her mind, by the manner with which she went around the small room, picking up things here and there and dumping them by Tinker-face, who still looked like he could do with being doused in a pond or two.

 

"Keep this. Yes, that too. Oh, let's bring you along, you look comfortable! Wait, this is about survival. Hmmm. Scratch all that Asha Dasha, I've got to go thread-bare like!" A few more rounds of that, and they were done. Managing the details with her horse were easier. At first the same surge of joy that she'd initially felt took her- she'd not been able to tend to Gale since first coming to the Tower but the shining coat and toughened body gave indication that he was being taken care of. Most of what she wished to carry was put into the saddlebags, but considering that that wasn't much anyway, Gale would do fine.

 

Precisely ten minutes later, she was back by Mac's side, a little out of breath because all of the unnecessary running-and whooping-she had talked herself into. "Ready to uh,  be ordered around again, sir!"

 

~Tirzah

"Then get on the horse, dolt."

 

*    *    *

 

Having spent the last three days staying at inns along the road to Tar Valon, they had been fairly care free days for the most part because Big Mac had wanted to give Tirzah the chance to become reacquainted with riding her horse.  While the skill wasn't lost, the necessary muscles were and the girl was still feeling it a little.  On the otherhand, Big Mac hadn't seen her smiling so much before so that was a good sign.

 

This day, their fourth, had been spent sallying into the wilderness itself to start the training proper.  Pointing out different edibles plants and the like as they broached the tree line that marked the wood he often used for such training, it was an easy amble that they proceeded at.  After all, there was no need to rush.  They had been alloted a fair amount of time and Big Mac planned to use every day of it for his student.

 

But as the sun began to slowly fall from its zenith, it was time for a new lesson to begin.  Well, for a lesson that Big Mac had been explaining for the past few days to be put to practical use.

 

"Tirzah, your first task.  I want you to find us a place where we can rest the night.  Remember, nowhere that is too exposed but not a place that is too enclosed either where you can be easily trapped.  Do not pick depressions or gullies because the cold sinks into those during the night.  Either a place that has natural shelter, or a place where a shelter can easily be fashioned.  You have one hour at most to survey the surrounding wood and find an appropriate place."

 

"Go on."  Big Mac gestured for her to get cracking.

So, once upon a time, there was this delight called stamina. There was also this other wonder known as the lack of stamina, which the young Novice turned Trainee had found herself acquainted with all too well. It was disappointing in some ways, like when afternoons from the days before had been filled with sun-reddened cheeks and sweat that had stung her eyes and skin, making her fumble around uncomfortably on Gale. Once or twice, it had even unfolded as series of protests that came out in loud snorts and whinnies, but that was around the time old riding lessons with Rakim intervened and settled things down. Today, three days since they'd left the Tower, Tirzah could even say that things were riding along smoothly.

 

It had given her a chance to think too.  Yes, this was the escape that she had been seeking during those weeks of wallowing in self pity, but more than that, Mac had presented her with an opportunity to be simply Tirzah. Not a Trainee, not a Novice, but the open minded, Saldaean whose unrestrained temper would probably be the death of her. Admittedly, Tirzah who was about to go into the wild and stretch the few skills she had by shaping them into sufficient shelter.  Mac had spent the past few days teaching her the necessary theory for it, so now that they were finally approaching regions that held all the necessary ingredients to be classified as a forest, Tirzah's sense of excitement was stirring.

 

She knew what was coming the moment he turned, slowing down slightly as he began to speak. Nodding as she listened, her eyes wandered over the sketchy paths that were present.  They were not so much roads that had been marked out as layers of thick grass that had been wearied down and pressed repeatedly, most likely by travellers not so different from herself.

 

Okay, so maybe a little different- she liked to believe she was fairly unique as a person. Either way, she could follow one and see how deeply it roamed, and make judgement accordingly. Mac had been quite clear on the time limit, but she was determined to impress him by returning back within the hour. Nodding once more, she didn't even bother to depart with any dry comments, since her focus had now bound itself to completing the task.

 

She chose to follow a route between two others, since Tirzah reckoned that paving off right at the start could easily get her back where she started, while going to the third could spin her through webs too intricate for her to weave out of. The path was also a lot more worn down than the others, which could mean that it was also heading to a way out of the green maze. Either way, the popular route would hold some advantages, but she was more concerned about whether it would also attract unwanted attention. After some time spent marking and following the path, she decided to take a cut to the right, where the shade of trees thickened and rolling mounds of grass seemed more lush.

 

What she wanted was a tree. Not just any tree, especially considering Mac's fantastically large size. It had entered her thoughts since the first time he'd talked to her about survival and it was as clear an image now as it had been then. Perhaps even a little sharper, because of being surrounded by an environment that suited the picture in her mind so perfecty. As she headed deeper into the realm, a few caught her eye that were tempting, but not big enough for her Mentor. It gave her hope though, because it indicated that there would be more fashioned so. Her eyes scanned the trees before her thoroughly, flitting from one to the next as quickly as possible. Time was the challenge here, not the shelter itself.

 

Forty five minutes had ticked away by the time she'd returned to Mac. "I've found us a place. It isn't very deeply set into the forest, but I think it should work." Making her way back a second time was easier than it had been to find the trail to where she'd originally started, since she had cut across trees as a way to mark her route. When they reached, she looked towards the site before her one more time to spot any flaws she might not have noticed. Obviously Mac would have his own thoughts and ideas to add, but the idea itself was simple and one that had worked for her before.

 

Uprooted trees were not uncommon in forests. Forest fires or even storms could've easily been the reasoning behind the one they stood examining now- the tree had split into two different halves, leaving a hollow space that could be filled to create a canopy of debris and fallen leaves. Indeed, dead branches that hung limply from the fallen tree would be the perfect lead to add more leaves to, which would make it easier to hide themselves. What had specifically made her choose this very tree was the way it ran off into the thick grass behind, flowing smoothly enough to make escape possible.

"If we lean some sturdy wood against the tree, we can have our basic support up quickly enough. I thought we could use this as we can work to make it look like an extended piece of the destroyed tree. I think we might get some trouble from animals since it is a bit low,  so we'd need to make the roof quite think. Which could keep in heat in too, maybe? Ooh and! If there's rain, let's uh, you know, structure the roof so that it slides off the wood. Or something? Yes? No?" Shrugging, she looked towards Mac. If this didn't work, she could always resort to climbing up the unnaturally large tree she'd seen before and hacking shelter into it. Either way, it was his call.

 

~Tirzah