Sandre drank deeply of the cool water. It had been a long time since he had time to practice. He had spent the last year assisting with a major overhaul of the Tower Guard finances. Too much had happened in the last few years to allow them to be lax on security. Sandre had been pushing for a promotion and after two tours in the Borderlands and a year of 12 to sometimes 16 hour days of desk work he was done, and it was only a matter of time. He was not as strong or fast as he was when he started and he tired quickly. It had been an exhausting year and only now in the last few weeks had he been training. It was taking awhile forcing his body to make the proper movements for sword forms again. He had neglected everything but the job.

 

Skill could be relearned, muscle could be reshaped, what he lost that he could not get back was Edana whom he spotted when he came out this morning, across the yards. She had a couple guys around her. He knew she was dating again and though he did not show her an ounce of emotion his jealousy inside made the flame and void impossible. Now that he was not so busy, he had time to get over what had happened. He did not blame her, nor was there any yelling when they separated. How could he blame her? He had no time for her at all during that year. What made him confused was that she had told him that her job would take priority over him. Sandre accepted that, yet when the job took priority in his life, she wanted out.

 

He shook his head and tried to focus, only making a few moves with the lathes before he spotted a Tower Guard known for using alcohol to get women put his hand on Edana's shoulder. Shortly after the lathe landed on his side. He gripped it and rubbed out the sting, one of the many of such marks he had earned today with his inattention. He shook his head at the guard and put his lathe away. Work called again. Thankfully simple work now. He had to pass out the schedules for the week and he was not looking forward to it. Sandre had earned a reputation as the Captain's pet for working so closely with him the past year. Edana had after the break up been causing more trouble with her temper than she knew. Sandre had convinced the Captain to go easy which resulted in no disciplinary action but Edana was put on trash cart guarding and escorting trainees to the privy at night quite frequently. To her though... he was sure it looked like she was being punished for breaking up with the Captain's pet. He was not looking forward to handing out this weeks schedules. He collected them from the Tower Guard barracks and one by one the Guards showed up to collect. Every week he prayed to the Creator that she would take her schedule, accept it, and move on. He never said a word to her. He didnt even look at her. He showed her no emotion. He just felt it was better if he acted like she was not even there.

 

He spotted her in line and he was thankful he did not have one of those awkward moments where they made eye contact. When she came up she signed the sign in sheet saying she got her schedule and he handed it to her. He almost grimaced when he saw a full week on trash and trainee privy duties. (Who did she upset this time?) he thought. He hoped she would move along and take it out on some Guards in a spar, not this time though. He hoped seeing how they were both in uniform she would be civil at least. "Move along Guard. If you have any questions or complaints take it up with your Sergeant or make an appointment with the Captain." She did not move and he dared not look up. She knew how to read every emotion he was going through just by looking at his eyes and right now he did not want to show her the weakness she had left in him. She was still his weakness. She did not move after a few seconds more so he took a deep breath and reached the flame and the void. His eyes were steel when he finally looked up. "Is there a problem Guard?" He would need a vacation after this. A trip to his old camping site. The line had gone silent and the tension was enough to choke on.

 

He was thankful there was no anger in his voice. His eyes softened slightly when he saw it was not all anger she looked upon him with. "I had nothing to do with your schedule... truth be told I think the trainees like you." That got a few laughs out of the guards and while the tension was cleared a bit in their eyes Sandre still felt it as strong as ever. He wasnt sure the joke had the desired effect on her, so like a fool he tried again, this time to appeal to her sense of duty. "Besides the job comes first right? It doesnt matter what it is." That he wasnt sure helped either... he was very suddenly aware that his efforts to make it seem as though he just wanted to bygones be bygones may have been taken as a challenge. He sighed when it dawned on him this may have been a fight there was no way to win from the very beginning and braced for her retaliation.

 

OOC(Wow writing is hard when you have been away so long. I am sorry if this is really bad. I did edit it some.)

Edited March 15, 201114 yr by Sangreal

Edana's days had melted together in a mash of training kids, making sure they didn't get lost on their way out at night and babysitting the trash. To be honest, she almost didn't mind it, as it kept her off the wall that much longer and with the last visages of winter finally releasing its hold on the Tower, she was glad to avoid the harsh winds and biting cold. If she didn't know exactly why she was parked on duties like these, it probably wouldn't be so bad.

 

She groaned inwardly as the one person she truly tried to avoid most days appeared with his dreaded stack of paper. "It's ok, Eddie," Markam slurred, laying his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure there's a whole new set of babies to potty train. At least most of them are mostly out of diapers, right?"

 

He thought he was terribly funny and he'd been trying to corner her for something lewd for the last two months. "Which is more than we can say for you, right, Markie?" she retorted, patting his hand sympathetically until he dropped it under the guffaws of the other Guards standing nearby.

 

Once free, she turned on her heel and got in line to get her schedule for the coming week. She wasn't sure what she dreaded more, what the schedule would say or having to stand across the table from a man that she...

 

She sighed and shook that thought away, reaching for the ink and initialing that she got her schedule. She didn't even look at it, as she noticed that Sandre never looked up at her. She glanced at the name on the top before looking back at him. She took in his features, which seemed a little gaunt and hollow. He didn't look very good and she opened her mouth to ask if he was alright.

 

"Move along Guard. If you have any questions or complaints take it up with your Sergeant or make an appointment with the Captain," his voice sounded as hollow as his cheeks and she tilted her head. Otherwise, she didn't move. Look at me, Sandre, she begged him silently. "Is there a problem Guard?"

 

When his eyes finally looked up at hers, she felt her breath hitch in her throat. The hard glint in his eyes did little to make him look any healthier. Before she could say anything, he pressed further. "I had nothing to do with your schedule... truth be told I think the trainees like you. Besides the job comes first right? It doesnt matter what it is."

 

Edana barely heard the laughter behind her, she only heard the scorn dripping from his lips. Her concern faded fast in the face of his sarcasm and the flame burning in her chest guttered. She curled her hand into a fist, the schedule balling under the pressure. "You would know more than anyone, I suppose," she ground out, leaning closer. Gone was her intent to keep her nose clean this week. Gone was the control she held on her temper, slight as it was. "Doesn't really matter who you crush to get what you want, either, does it? How it must gall the little rich boy to have to work. Tell me, Kaldun, why haven't you run back to your precious family, yet? Or do they not want to sully their hands with you any more than you want to sully yours with us common folk?"

 

She shoved the desk enough to move it without knocking it over and threw the schedule back at him. "You can tell your leash holder that he's a pig and I'm not spending one more minute babysitting the trash while you're at it. Since you're stuck so far up his backside, he can't help but hear you, right?"

 

Her hands still clenched tight, she turned on her heel and moved away before she hit him. She'd long since stopped caring what the Captain thought of her, which was evidenced by the duties he'd thrown at her for the last year. She just wasn't sure she could stop once she let loose everything she'd been holding in since then. Her eyes burned, her hands itched and she desperately searched for something to keep from breaking down in front of them... him. Weakness was broken and she'd never get the respect back from the other Guards if she lost it now. Even worse, she'd be double damned if she let Sandre know he'd gotten the best of her...again...

 

 

~Edana

"You know better than that Edana." was all he said as she walked away. She had been there and knew the good he had done with the common folk. The amount of coin he had put towards walls and Towers in the Borderlands, the amount of extra shifts he had done so they could have time with their families. Nobility was to serve as well as lead. Not that he did not expect her to mention something about it though. It had always been her biggest argument. That nobility was too different and too pampered to ever truly be an equal among the commoners. Try as he might, he could never convince her otherwise. He turned to look at the Guards who looked back in a stunned silence. "Ok... which one of you did I crush in my attempts to be an overworked desk ornament? Donnal? Harper? Markam are you drunk again? Are you seeing two of me?" Sandre said as he waved his hand "Point to the Sandre that cost you a desk job." The guards roared in laughter. Markam of course did not. A benefit of working the hours Sandre had was that he had finally made friends among the guards. Something he had a hard time of before. "If any of you want my job by all means its yours. Honestly on Thursdays when the mess is making chilli the Captain has some serious stomach issues." More laughing. "No I am serious, its like Mashadar in the office privy by the time he is done, I almost called a yellow." A few jokes to smooth things over and it was back to business as usual.

 

He knew Edana would work what she was given. The job meant more to her than anything. So while he did not want to seem bitter about her harsh words he did allow some trainees to get away with sneaking some rum into the trainee quarters, or rather chose not to act on it. If Edana spent the night holding hair while some trainee was hugging a privy, it would serve her right. But he wasn't bitter, or even jealous for that matter. He knew where Edana took her dates now, if this one time the wenches and barkeep surrounded her with their ridiculous birthday song and a cake that said "Happy 50th Birthday" on her next date well, that wouldnt be bitter it would just be a good darn joke.

 

After arranging the cake he walked back to the Tower with a smile on his face. It had been awhile since he had seen Edana laugh or smile and while he did not think either of these would do the trick he was sure she would look back on it one day. Oh sure he expected her to get some payback, but it would be worth it.

 

OOC Feel free to get him back or turn the tables. :)

OOC: *smirks* Oh, really?

 

IC:

Edana eyed the cake between she and Jonsey, her lips twitching. Fiftieth birthday, eh? Her eyes lifted to his, which were dancing merrily and they both broke out in laughter. She didn't have to guess where this treat came from or who made sure it was dropped off. She was far from fifty. She raised her glass to the staff and winked at the head waiter, knowing he'd been in on it. If he paled a bit, that was his own problem. She was known well enough to know that she could dish it out just as easily and he knew he was far from removed from her scope. She and Jonsey, however, felt generous enough to share the cake with the rest of the patrons, earning her a few "birthday gifts" that left her stumbling a bit more than normal as they crossed the bridge back into the Yard.

 

She clapped her hand over her mouth as she heard her voice echo in the deserted Yard and fought to stifle a hiccup that made Jonsey's laugh replace the echo of her own. She saw a figure shift in the shadows and her lips twitched a bit more. She leaned into Jonsey, using a clumsy stumble to find his lips with hers. It didn't really matter who was on duty, as she had little doubt word would get back to her dear Sandre. His little stunt backfired horribly and she made no fuss as she and Jonsey spent most of the trip back to the barracks with their lips pressed together. She slipped into his quarters, chuckling a little as he sank onto what she hoped was his bed, a soft snore erupting moments later. Ed shook her head and pulled his boots off before tucking him under the blanket before she returned to her quarters.

 

The next morning, she was humming as she left a little shop along a very girlish row of merchants in Tar Valon. The large arrangement of flowers would be delivered at just about the same time as a tall bottle of good scotch, each with a glowing thank you for the lovely birthday wishes. She'd passed Jonsey on her way out and he was smiling about as much as she was. Let the rumor mills make of that what they would, only the pair of them knew the truth. For now, she was happy with the knowing smiles.

 

 

She was still humming as she went about her trash duties, earning her a few sideways glances. It was only when she came upon a particularly foul smelling collection that her next idea bloomed. The handy part of her set of duties is that it put her in a good place for a heads-up on things like inspections. And the latest bit was that there was a particularly thorough inspection of personal quarters that evening. It wasn't hard to figure out that Sandre spent most of his days working at one thing or another, for the doubted seriously that he'd bothered changing THAT habit since they'd parted ways. It gave her plenty of time to fix his quarters before the inspection.

 

Oh, she was not one to make it obvious. No large piles of trash or coating of thick mud anywhere. It rarely took that much to fail an inspection. She tucked small, partially rotted fish into the back of his trunk. Trunks usually weren't inspected, but the smell permeated the room, anyway. She coated his headboard with a light sprinkling of dust, carrying with it more than just a note of bad housekeeping, but also severe... disuse? She pushed dry leaves under the wardrobe and made sure all but one pair of his boots looked as if they'd been tromped through the privies before being lined back up neatly where he had them. And if she took another extra moment to add a book to his collection, this one hollowed out in the center and filled with more foul-smelling gunk to fill his room... well, that was just her sharing. Right?

 

She cleaned up down the hall and nodded respectfully to the Captain and his dutiful inspection clerk as she passed them on her way out to the Yard. Even if the poor man walked into his room right then, he'd never get it all cleaned before that little clipboard appeared in his room...

 

 

~Edana

When the Captain had him and his bunk mate called to the barracks Sandre had no idea what could be the issue. He saw the inspection was active and when he entered the room the smell of... was that fish? Was full in the room. He had to cover his nose to deal with it. The inspector looked over at him.

 

"Ex girlfriend Kaldun?"

 

"Yup." he relplied.

 

"What did you do to her?" The Inspector said

 

"Tipped off the owner of the eatery she had her date at last night that it was her 50th birthday."

 

The Captain who had been standing quietly the whole time winced. "You know how sensitive they are about their age Kaldun."

 

The inspector nodded in agreement as the Captain turned and left. "I want all of this clean and smelling like that overpowering pine soap you use by morning." The inspector turned and left with him but added. "I will be back in the morning to check."

 

Sandre looked over at his roomie who stopped scratching his head. "Last time you looked at me like that Kaldun I ended up on trash duty for a week and you ended up running laps in your bare skin."

 

****

 

A little gold and some schedule changes later Sandre's Tairen room mate was packed for his vacation. Of course it did not look like a vacation, the story the two had spread around was that the Tairen had been warned not to bring cooked fish into the barracks before, the second time the Captain had him discharged. The Inspector of course they had to bribe to go along with it. His roomie didnt mind, he had a new child he had wanted more time with anyways.

 

His next trick once he found the book Edana had added was to check the local book stores for where she got the thing. Sandre included a copy of the receipt inside the book along with the... well whatever that goop was inside, and had his brother drop it off in the Brown's library. If she did not get a tanned hide for that one he was not sure what would. That one of course she may never learn about, but she would always wonder why the Browns would sneer at her.

 

Lastly he took the muddy boots and used them to teach a class on shinning boots. He made sure she walked by and saw him. The look she gave him was worth the failed inspection.

 

The fish in his personal chest... that one kind of hurt. It had gotten into a length of silk cloth Sandre had bought her for their first date. He kept a lock of her hair in there as a memento of better days. The dust was no big deal. He cleaned that up but he spent the rest of the day trying to get the stains and smell out of cloth and hair down by the river. Regardless of the rivalry and the pain he felt at losing her, he still treasured everything she had ever given him. He still wore the dagger she had bought him up his sleeve and tied to his forearm and touched it when he was stressed. It wasnt that he was sentimental or missed her anything, of course not! It was just good quality... that was all.

Edana winced as another Guardsman told her why Sandre's room mate had been discharged. She'd tried rather hard to keep it to Sandre's end of the room, but apparently it wasn't enough. She sighed and made mental arrangements for a package to be delivered to his house, and then another to stop by and talk to someone who could offer him a job. The pay would be better and he could stay home with his wife and new baby that way, too. She prayed he accepted it.

 

She did think it was rather funny that Sandre tried to turn his forced spring cleaning into a teachable moment for the trainees, though. If it weren't for having to spend a night listening to them go on and on about how great he was, her mood might've stayed in a good humor, too. By dawn, she was just tired of hearing his name and tumbled into bed with a grateful sigh.

 

As she did, her eyes fell to the sword belt looped over its peg on the wall near her pillow. She sighed as she reached for it, brushing her fingers over the fine leather and letting her eyes linger on the hilt. She was too tired to fight the memories, so she let them pull her into sleep, cursing even as her dreams were filled with warm nights spent with him. It was the last memory-filled dream that pushed her out of bed the next morning. The day she'd realized the pit she'd fallen into.

 

"Good morning, Eddie!" a girl of about twelve called from the wash line. She was hanging a dress about the size of a sheet from the line over her head. Mistiann was the daughter of a tanner, so she was constantly going on about some new project he was working on for some Lord or Warder and pestering her about needing new leather for braces or a saddle. She was also the only person on the planet Ed let call her Eddie.

 

"Good morning, Ann!" she called back, a basket perched on her hip. She went about her usual laundry that morning, just as she did every third day when she had a morning off and Sandre was putting in extra hours pouring over some menial desk job for the Captain. She was pretty sure she'd heard him muttering about food stocks the night before, but hadn't had the heart to wake him up. Once their clothes were on the line, she sank onto a low stool and grabbed a pair of his boots that were sadly in need of attention. He'd worked so much, the fine leather was starting to look faded. She knew he'd curse something horrible if it cracked, so she'd brought her buffing kit with her and set about returning the shine to the supple leather.

 

"When are you going to marry him?" a voice said over her shoulder. She turned and looked up at Mistiann's mother, who had come to get the sheets that the twelve year old had abandoned when she'd grown bored with Edana.

 

"Who?" Edana asked, feeling a little dumbfounded by the question.

 

"Come on, Edana. No woman cleans clothes and spends her free time buffing boots for a man she has no intentions of marrying. Who is he and am I invited?" The woman was jovial as she said it, dropping down next to Edana and crossing her arms across her chest.

 

"I..." Ed started to reply. She looked down at her hands, her lips parted in shock. She had buff black under her fingernails. Her frantic gaze took in his clothes intermingled with hers on the line before her. She turned back to the woman next to her, her eyes wide and her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

 

"You what, dear? Didn't realize you'd fallen into the trap? Does he not want to make an honest woman out of you?" Edana was saved from answering as she launched into a tirade against men with the wrong intentions taking advantage of girls like her.

 

Except she wasn't a girl.

 

And Sandre did want to marry her. It was her that was keeping them from taking that step.

 

Her hands started shaking and she dropped his boot, scuffing it on a rock she'd been propping her feet on.

 

"...you need to let that one go, love," Mistiann's mother was saying over her shoulder. "It's no good for you to be in a relationship like that one."

 

Edana choked on a cry, clapping her hand over her mouth. She took a few deep breaths and gathered their laundry, thankfully mostly dry and focused her attention on folding them as she put them back into the basket. She gathered her boot kit and Sandre's boots, making her way back to the barracks in a daze.

 

She'd broken it off with him that night when he finally finished his last duty post of the day. She didn't even really tell him the reason why she did it, citing only that he didn't seem to have time for her and she was tired of being alone all the time. She hadn't been able to work up much energy for an argument, then, and that's probably why he'd let her go. This wasn't the storming rage he was most likely used to from her.

 

The early morning light shone on the contents of her trunk and she felt tears stinging the back of her eyes for a second, glad her last room mate had been bonded to an Aes Sedai last week and had moved on to other quarters. She'd never returned Sandre's boots. They'd sat in her trunk ever since she returned to their room that horrible afternoon. Even the scuff from the rock was still there, though she did take them out every so often and work some moisture into the leather to keep it from getting brittle. At least, having the room to herself, she was free to let the tears fall without having to hide them behind excuses.

 

~Edana

He laid in bed exhausted, yet his mind fully awake. The smell of fish didnt quite come out yet and he shook his head with a smile. It was a good trick, he would give her that one. He recalled the look on her face when he had been training trainees on equipment maintenance. There was no hostility to it, and that was the point, he wanted to see her smile again. He rose and walked out into the cool night in a pair of breeches cut off at the knees. Edana's dagger he strapped back to his forearm. She would be asleep, she would not see it. His breath frosted as he gazed at the stars above. He walked to one of the gardens and picked a single perfect rose, walked back to his room where in perfect block lettering so Edana would not be able to read spelled out the words "YOU ARE THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL." And tied the rose to it. He left it on her door. Let her dwell on that one for awhile. Well she would figure out it had to be a Guard who could spell which eliminated at least half of them. He wondered who she would think was calling her fairer than a rose. Likely Jonsey not that he minded... well ok he minded, but if it made her happy...

 

As he walked back towards his room he cursed his luck as Jonsey walked up on him. Of course HE would be on duty that night. "Captain wants you Kaldun." Sandre turned towards the man. He towered over Jonsey as he did most people. "Can I get dressed first?" The twinkle in Jonsey's eyes told Sandre the man would love to present Sandre to the Captain in his breeches...just because it would be funny. Of course Sandre would have done the same. "He said to come now." (Good Jonsey) he thought as he walked off with a smile and shaking his head.

 

As he stepped in he realized he was thrice cursed as he found Markam behind the clerk desk. He cursed under his breath, not only would he have to correct all the man's work tomorrow but now everyone was going to know that he had been to see the Captain in his underwear and likely everything that the Captain had to say.

 

He knocked on the door and was told to enter. The Captain threw down some papers on the desk. "Kaldun with all the pranks going back and forth between you and the guards I wonder why they like you so much." Sandre smiled. The man did not even seem to notice Sandre was in his underwear. "I guess its my winning smile sir." The Captain almost laughed."I heard about the prank with your room mate. Its a bit much Kaldun. You were a fool to let Edana go in the first place now you will be a fool to think that she will actually get that your playing a joke on her. She cares too much for her fellow guards." The words stung. "Let her go?! Let her go. She wanted to go! She didnt offer a choice. She said she was lonely and wanted to go. She did not ask me to take time off or to quit or any of the things I would have gladly done to keep her. Her mind was made up before she ever even told me." Sandre had not realized he had raised his voice to his superior officer. The Captain's louder voice reminded him of his place though. "Don't be a fool son!" When Sandre snapped back to himself the Captain's face softened. "You cannot expect them to wait, I know this, believe me, I know." He removed his ranks and poured two glasses of some strong scotch. "You clear this prank up in the morning." Sandre nodded. "Kaldun, I do not offer advice to my men as an equal, but you are a bloody fool if you dont get that one back. And be quick about it. If I have to see her stomping around here and deal with you causing trouble at the same time I will throw you both into a detention cell until you are a happy couple again. I dont care what it takes, just bring some peace to it" Sandre stood and nodded. "Oh and Sandre, if you do get her back, you cannot marry yourself to this job again or you will end up like me. Old, lonely, and talking to men in their underpants in the middle of the night for Light's sake man put some clothes on!"

 

As he walked out of the office Markam had the grin of an eel. Edana would definitely hear about this, though likely a butchered version of it where Sandre sobbed like a girl in the Captain's office about losing Edana. He shook his head, he would deal with Markam later. As he made it back to the training barracks he realized someone had tipped off the whole barracks that he was visiting the Captain in his underwear. Many of them were at their doors hooting and hollering and holding bags of coin asking "How much?" He smiled and took it with good humor. One guard woman he had never even met before kissed him. He didnt even look for Edana. He didnt think she would be part of this anyways which was good since the dagger she had made for him was still strapped to his arm. For that at least, he was thankful.

 

OOC: I thought I would open up options for this to make it easier to write on. You can decide what she actually hears from Markam and Jonsey and if she actually was awake and watching during his walk through the barracks. She also has that rose and note.

Edana heard the commotion in the hallway outside her door and groaned, wrapping a pillow around her head and praying the whole lot of Guards this barracks would just disappear until sunrise. They were ever a lot to thrive on commotion and no matter how high the moon was outside the window, seemed ever ready to give into it. She fought to shut the noise out until she heard a knock on the door.

 

She cursed as she rolled from her cot, not bothering to change her rumpled shirt and breeches before she jerked the door open. "What?!" she shouted.

 

It was Jonsey on the other side of the door, grinning like a lunatic. "I thought you might like to know that the Captain just demanded I drop your boyfriend off for a midnight meeting in his office."

 

Edana eyed the gathering horde hanging out of their doorways a moment before turning her glare back to him. "I have no boyfriend, Jonsey and I don't see why it's so blasted important to drag me out..."

 

A movement over his shoulder drew her attention and her voice trailed off to nothing as she watched Sandre saunter back into the barracks. Light bless, but the man was tagging about in his skivvies! Her eyes widened as she watched him move, unable to stop the voice in her head that wondered why he wasn't walking towards her. Memories assailed her and her cheeks pinkened. She was snapped out of her reverie as one of the newer Guardswomen pranced up and planted a kiss on his lips.

 

Her hands curled into a fist and she took a step out the door. She had murder on her mind until she felt the prick of thorns on her bare foot. She gasped at the unexpected pain and glanced down. Confusion filled her head as she reached for the rose, its petals perfect and the fragrance wafting into her head as it neared her face. She read the note attached and her forehead creased. Who in the world...?

 

She looked up, her gaze moving over the men along the corridor shouting catcalls at Sandre.

 

"I believe, now that you asked, Edana, dear, that the Captain ordered the elder Kaldun to make up with you and do it fast. There were tears, but I'll let you decide from whose eyes they fell." Jonsey leaned closer, his words brushing over the sensitive skin of her neck and sending a shiver down her spine. "I shouldn't tell you where I found him to deliver the Captain's summons, though. All of his hard work lettering that note so you wouldn't guess would be in vane. Terrible shame, that."

 

She still couldn't utter a sound as Jonsey gave her a jaunty wave and snagged the Guard who'd kissed Sandre around the waist and waltzed her out of the barracks. She turned back to the room, closing the door and leaning against it as her thoughts tumbled over each other in her head.

 

Sandre had left her a rose? What joke was this? Was she going to get sick because she'd allowed he thorns to pierce her skin?

 

The Captain ORDERED him to make up? Who in the name of the Light does he think he is? Fat little cherub...

 

Did she see the flash of the dagger she'd given him on Sandre's arm?

 

Was that Guardswoman making a pass at him?

 

She rubbed her forehead, all thoughts of sleep evaporating and her eyes drifting towards the trunk at the end of her bed. She moved towards it as if drawn and pulled out his boots. He'd given her the rose BEFORE he'd been ordered to make nice with her. Was he trying to confuse her with the lettering or did he just not want her to know he still felt that way about her? Was he trying to make her a little crazy before the one shift she'd swapped to give someone a break from the wall?

 

 

She stopped herself just short of screaming and dropped his boots back into the trunk with a thud. She moved to her desk and pressed the rose between two pieces of parchment paper before she stacked books on top of them to flatten it. The movements were mechanical and habitual and she sighed as she lowered herself back onto her cot to stare at the ceiling. She lasted about an hour before she couldn't stand it, anymore. She climbed out of bed and got dressed, then pulled his boots out again. She sighed as she jotted him a quick note and moved along the corridors to his door.

 

"Even a man in his underwear should have something on his feet in this weather," she wrote, not bothering to disguise her handwriting, but not signing the note, either. With a small smile, she retreated to her room, grabbing her sword belt and cloak as she headed off to her second least-favorite duty post. Especially this time of year. She sighed as she took up her post, saluting the Guard who was finally getting his rest after a frigid night of fighting the wind and boredom. Light help her...

 

 

~Edana

Fully clothed and armored he stood on the wall yelling down to Harper who was supposed to help him with his next prank, one Sandre had decided to cancel in light of the Captain accusing them of being too much. Come to think of it though, Sandre could count the amount of times he had seen the man laugh. If he was wearing a few extra layers tonight it was only because it was cold right? It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the entire barracks had once again seen him march around in nothing. He nodded to himself, assured it was just the weather.

 

He knew Edana was due to be on this wall soon, he had time though didnt he? He was too distracted to notice she was already standing behind him.

 

Sandre: "Harper... how could you lose a thousand pound unconscious bear?" Sandre said as he rubbed his temples with his hand. "I did not hear Edana screaming and cursing followed by that poor bear screaming so whos room did the bear end up in Harper?"

 

Harper: (Yelling back from the ground)

 

Sandre: "No Harper I said third door on the right. I was very specific about this. I wrote you instructions, did I have to draw you a map? It was very simple, you pick the lock, drop off the unconscious bear, leave the fish, Harper why do you still have the fish?"

 

Harper: (More yelling from the ground)

 

Sandre: "No I know we fed the bear already... the fish was symbolic... remember she made my room smell like fish?"

 

Harper: (Yet more yelling in a questioning tone)

 

Sandre: "No Harper I do not want you to go back the thing is probably awake by now. We need to find out whos room you put it---"

 

(The sound of Jonsey screaming and cursing in the barracks followed by a bear running out of the barracks and straight for the river.)

 

Sandre: "That will be all Harper."

 

Harper: (Yelling another question)

 

Sandre: "Yes you can have the fish."

 

With the largest grin he could muster he turned to find Edana behind him, probably on her patrol. How long had she been standing there? The grin was instantly gone.

 

"Local... wild... life..." he said and then swallowed hard. "Actually, we mistook it for Jonsey's bunk mate... they have about the same size and same amount of hair.... and Jonsey's smell." The last he said with a hint of jealousy in his voice. Jonsey didnt really smell but it was hard not to be bitter about the guy trying to date the woman you love. "Which uhm... speaking of hairy situations." She didnt laugh, light why was he so bloody nervous? "I am really sorry about the cake... and the joke with my bunk mate getting fired...the book of goop you left in my room being returned to the browns with a copy of the purchase receipt... and uhm... yeah I think that is it." He faked a yawn and stretch the best he could though he knew she wasnt buying it. "Wow I am tired. I am glad we cleared that up. I should probably let you get back to your patrol." She was blocking his way and he was a little more than intimidated by the fact that she could easily push him off the wall right now and he had little doubt it had crossed her mind. He looked her in the eyes and just for a moment wanted to grab her and embrace her. His hand went up before he caught himself and dropped it and looked away.

Edited April 13, 201114 yr by Sangreal

Edana heard voices from the other side of the wall and moved toward them. Seeing Sandre made her pause, but only until she heard him fussing at Harper, who was apparently on the ground below about... her quarters? She felt her eyebrow arching and a smirk hovering on her lips. He really tried to put a bear in her room? She crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the wall, her cloak lifted off her shoulder, baring the blade on her hip. She waited patiently until the screams erupted from the barracks and had to curl her fingers around her lips to keep from laughing. Jonsey's voice wasn't the only one howling and she had to bite her lip harder. She'd only just managed to restrain her expression when he looked up at her.

 

He started blathering something that was almost incoherent and it was all she could do not to laugh more. He looked so uncomfortable. She was ignoring the little pang of pain as his grin dropped. She looked over his shoulder at the sheer drop on the other side of him and eyed Harper below. A year ago, she'd have happily tripped him over the edge of that wall. She looked back when she heard him stop talking and met his eyes. Her breath caught in her chest and her lips parted as she saw him lift his hand. He caught himself, though, and looked away, his hand dropping back to his side. If it was possible, he looked even less comfortable than he had a moment ago.

 

"You know," she said softly, stepping a little closer and looking over the edge of the wall. "Your first mistake was trusting Harper to handle a bear. The man can barely count and when you start mixing left and right with numbers, it is just confusing for the poor guy." She tilted her head as Jonesy appeared in the Yard below, cursing and demanding to know where the animal had come from.

 

She paused and turned back towards him, stepping even closer. "Your second mistake was the bear to begin with. That's just cruelty to animals. How would anyone retaliate against a bear? Or after you dropped one off, for that matter? It could only result in a bigger animal."

 

"Do you want to know what your third mistake was?" she breathed, dropping her voice into a seductive whisper. She laid her hands on his shoulders, ignoring the warmth of his skin through his clothes as much as she could as she stepped that last little step that separated them. She moved a foot behind his heel as she settled against him, her lips twitching at the cat calls erupting from the Yard below them. She didn't wait for him to answer her before she pushed his shoulders and lifted her foot behind his knee, forcing him over the edge of the wall and dropping him into a cart full of hay that had been delivered for the stables. She smiled down at him from her place on the wall. "You should've held on, Kaldun. It only hurts when you let go."

 

She smirked and threw him a sarcastic salute before turning on her heel and continuing her patrol of the wall, her own words haunting her with every step. Light, how true that was.

 

~Edana

(She intends to push me off the wall... that little witch!... Light I love her!) He thought as Edana stepped close to him all hips and lips. When she pressed against him he couldnt help himself. He reached up for her and grasped air. Landing in the hay cart he looked on either end to see horse refuse, his landing could have been worse. "That was a close one..." He said as he dusted off his arm. "Sometimes Keller!" He yelled to get her attention "Life will not give you the time to wrap your arms around what is worth holding on to, before it pushes you off a wall!" Annoyed he continued to pick the hay off of his clothes and out of his hair with Jonsey and Harper both watching. He hopped out of the cart and walked by Jonsey. "Hey Jonsey... heard you had a rat in your room. Try not to wake the whole barracks next time eh?"

 

The next morning he was finishing up his morning project. He bronzed the boots that Edana had returned to him so that they stuck together but left the inside of the boots hollow with the exception of the feet of them. He filled the bronzed boots with earth and flowers and in the middle of the flowers a bit of hay and left them at Edana's door. He figured he would not need a note for this one. It was a bit heavy.. but it looked nice. Knowing his own luck lately he figured she would stub a toe on it before she saw it though.

 

Still he would not give up and let her have the last laugh on this one. When they met he had pushed her into a river, now she pushed him off a wall. He had a brief chill as he thought about what happened later that day. He stopped for a moment. He had been so serious when he was with her, would she even care to have a Sandre that laughed and joked and generally enjoyed life? Or did she actually like his old dark and brooding nature? Shrugging he walked on. He loved her still that was true, but if she could not accept that his job had changed awhile, he doubted she would care for him as he was now. Which was why the following day as his training class on basic stealth and infiltration was rolling to its conclusion he decided to have a little fun and do a team building exercise.

 

"Ok listen up! Here is your next exercise and it is one you want to do quickly. Now when I give the order you will split up into two teams of six. One team will take this key and enter Guardsman Edana's room, lift her bunk by the legs, and run it once around the yards with her still in it. The second team will take this key and do the same for Guardsman Jonsey's bunk. You will then place the beds in the opposite rooms you acquired them in and try to blend in with the crowds and surrounding trainees as you make your escape. This will not be easy as I expect each Guard to still be in their racks when you put them back down so you will have to rush the door, lift the bunk while pulling the blankets down hard enough to pin the guardsmen, and run the bunk around the training area once while holding the blankets tight. Then vanish so you are not caught. I wish you all the best of luck."

 

They looked confused a moment, then started arguing over who would get to be on the team to get Edana's bunk. With a stern look the arguing ended. He was not quiet about his plan and he knew the Guards were in their beds.

 

(You can decide how this one goes. I will admit though the thought of trainees running neck and neck with beds containing groggy and surprised guards in their bed clothes, in front of everyone, in a race, is rather hilarious. You can feel free to prank him back if you wish. I kind of like this one though, I may make it tradition.)

Edited May 13, 201113 yr by Sangreal

Edana stared at her doorstep, or rather at the flowers erupting from the pair of boots that were standing there waiting for her. She looked both ways before she let her shoulders drop a little at the sight. She recognized the boots immediately, of course. It was a brief few minutes before they were resting on the sill of her single window. She sighed at the sight and went about her evening, falling happily into bed after a rather long day of training and wall duty.

 

Perhaps that's why she didn't wake up right away when her bunk started moving. In fact, it wasn't until the early morning cool air and sunlight hit her in the face before she came fully awake. She had to laugh about this one, but she'd be darned if he thought he was embarrassing her. Instead, she propped herself up on her elbow and waved as the poor trainees carried her bunk on their little adventure. They were silent as church mice as they did it, though, she had to give them credit for that. It wouldn't stop her from making sure they were mucking out latrines all night, but that was a different story. She grinned at poor Jonesy across the Yard who wasn't taking it so well, however, and shook her head. He was making enough noise to cover the hurried footsteps of the poor trainees who were laboring under his bunk.

 

It wasn't until the poor slops missed her room that she even said anything to them. They ignored her, of course, and deposited her bunk in Jonesy's quarters. She cursed a blue streak at them as they snuck out of the room, noting a few faces she'd corner and interrogate for the others later. Not that it would be hard to find out who Sandre had been training this morning. She sighed as she dropped her feet out of her bunk and walked slowly to the door, dragging a blanket to wrap around the linen shirt she'd worn to bed. The last thing she needed was a barracks full of idiots getting a looksie at her legs coming out of Jonesy's room. A glance behind her showed that Jonesy's room mate was nowhere to be seen and she breathed a small sigh of relief at that.

 

Relief that died the instant she stepped into the hallway to head back to her room. A cleared throat behind her made her tense and close her eyes, halting mid-step. "You know the rules, Keller."

 

The Captain sounded rather proud to have caught her himself this time. Was he in on the prank, too? She turned slowly, a hand up in surrender. "I can explain, Captain..."

 

"You don't have to, Guard, I have eyes. What kind of example are you setting for the trainees, sneaking out of another guardsman's room at this hour, so obviously fresh from bed?" She opened her mouth to answer but he cut her off. Why did he have to decide to be sticky about THAT rule on this, of all mornings!?! "In my office, ten minutes. I suggest you spend the time getting dressed, because that blanket doesn't hide as much as you think it does."

 

She closed her eyes again and dropped her head as he brushed past her, unable to face the smirk on his lips as he walked away.

 

Fifteen minutes later, she closed the door to his office behind her. There were too many people in the corridor for her to give in to the rampage rolling through her. She forced herself to walk out of the building, her shoulders back and her head up as she left the Tower grounds and skirted the outside of the wall along the river. It wasn't until she was a good walk from the gate that she dropped onto the riverbank and threw a rock into the river as hard as she could. It landed with a satisfying plunk, but it wouldn't stop the tears of anger as she drew her knees up and dropped her head on them. She let them go, fighting only to keep as quiet as possible as she wrung every last drop out.

 

Truth be known, she'd brought this on herself, with her thousands of pranks over the years, both on Sandre and the Captain, himself. "If you've got enough time for pranks and cavorting around in your shirt sleeves, Keller, then you need more constructive things to do. Henceforth, your leave has been revoked. I am assigning you additional duties on top of the regular set and I expect you in my office every morning at sunrise to start working with Jenks. I suggest you be prompt, as he has little patience for tardiness. I am adding another round of trainings to your schedule and another shift on the wall every other day, as well. Perhaps with a schedule like that, life will be a little more peaceful for us around here?"

 

She'd had no choice in the matter, of course. His word was law. "I expect to see you immediately after the noon meal, Edana. If you're not here with your meal in hand at high noon, your bags better be packed."

 

She raised her eyes and looked at the sun overhead. How very fitting that the catalyst for breaking up with Sandre was being leveled on her. Even if a lot less voluntarily...

 

~Edana

He had heard of the punishment leveled on Edana... from Jonsey of all people, and so Sandre found himself again standing in the Captain's office. He had explained everything of course and though the old man's look was dour Sandre could tell he was stifling a laugh. When he had given his speech to the Captain the old man grinned. "Now I got you both back." He said as he slammed the schedule down triumphantly. Sandre quickly glanced over it. "You assigned us as partners on each other's shifts? Are you sure that is wise?" The dour look came back but Sandre couldnt help but smile. "I will work her shifts if you wish but she wanted that vacation time." He turned to gaze out the window "Have it your way Kaldun. But you go tell her and the story I will give anyone asks is that you begged me to get her vacation time back." Sandre shook his head and walked out of the office. "Crazy old man."

 

He found her by the river. Not where he expected. "You choose odd places to come and let your frustrations out." He said as he walked towards the tree she had threw her knife into all those years ago and ran his finger over the scar left on the tree from it. She looked up at him. She had been crying though she was trying not to show it. He walked over and sat down next to her. "You have your vacation time back. It seems the Captain was playing a prank on both of us. Look." He said as he passed her a copy of the schedule. "It appears I will be walking the wall with you and helping you escort trainees to the potty at night for the next week. I suppose we can prank each other all we want but in the end the Captain always gets the last laugh. I heard about what he said to you. He is not trying to get rid of you if he is letting you anywhere near his office. He heard me rant and rave about you for a year so he knows your not a screw up. I think it drives him nuts when I have to work with him though. Two sad men trying to work in a small office together but unable to stop thinking about the women they have lost and each man being a reminder to the other about that." Sandre shook his head. "Its difficult on both of us."

 

Sandre pulled out his waterskin and took a drink then passed it to Edana. "He got me started on the pranks can you believe that? He may be old but he has quick hands. Constantly would steal my quills if I turned away for even a moment then yell at me for losing my quills. I guess my pranking you was... well... you fell in love with a smiling and care free Sandre and then saw the weight of the world come crashing down on me and got a rather serious Sandre. When you left me it was like a reality check. Maybe you wanted a relationship where your work came first, but that didnt mean that you wanted that from me. So I stopped the long hours and went back to... well having you carted around on your bed around the yards if you want to know. Yet I left little gifts as well. I thought... it would finally be the last straw. You would tell me there is no chance we will be together again but no hard feelings or that you would realize your Sandre had come home, than man you fell in love with. Either way I could stop being at this cross roads, unable to decide which way to go, unable to stop loving you or free to do so again." He shrugged. It had been so difficult to tell her how he cared the first time, yet this second time, it was as casual as stating the sky was blue or water was wet.

 

He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out an apple and reaching into his sleeve pulled out the dagger Edana had made him and began to cut slices. Offering her some first then taking some himself. "But I never intended to get you in trouble."

Ed looked over her shoulder at the sound of approaching feet, knowing only one person who would dare walk up behind her when she so obviously didn't want them there. She wasn't disappointed, though she looked away as quickly as possible. The last thing she needed was his smug expression at seeing her reddened eyes. Her eyes focused on a small rock just to the right of her foot and pondered how fast she could get it and throw it at him. When he started talking, she was set on ignoring him. He made that as impossible as keeping her eyes on that rock. It was an ugly rock, anyway.

 

When her eyes moved to watch him she wasn't sure, but when he finished they were fastened on him. He still loved her? She blinked slowly and shook her head at his offer of apple slices. "I'm sorry," she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from him. She kept her arms tightly around her legs, her fingers tightening on her sleeves. "I'm sorry I never told you the truth."

 

She sighed and looked out over the water. It was easier than looking at him. His soul was bare, hers may as well be, too. "My leaving never had anything to do with you, directly, Sandre. It was just me being frightened out of my wits and unable to think of any other way to stop being scared. I used your constant working and taking on additional shifts as an excuse, because I was even scared of telling you the real reason why I had to..." she shook her head, again, not even wanting to finish that sentence. "I was never made for being someone's wife. I would make a horrible mother. But I found myself slipping into those roles so easily. I was darning socks and patching pants, polishing boots and adding your laundry to mine as if that's what I was supposed to do. I was keeping an eye on the kids at the laundry and listening to gossip by the old mother hens who drag themselves down to the laundry to wash for their families every week. Worse, you'd never asked me to do any of that."

 

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "I did it myself. I'd started a little at a time, helping you when you started working extra shifts and couldn't make it out to get your clothes clean. IT's not like you have an extensive wardrobe that needed serious tending and it was so easy to drop a set into my mess when I drug it down there. In a few months, I was doing it all, telling myself that it really wasn't that much and that you'd do the same for me." She laid her fingers on his lips before he could say anything. "I know you would, you don't have to say it."

 

She dropped her fingers and sighed, looking away again. "I was losing sight of what I wanted, what I said I wanted, anyway. I didn't sharpen my blades for... Light only knows how long. Forgot to oil my sword, too. And it all just hit me that day, while I was holding that boot and the buffing cream, waiting on our laundry to dry on the lines. I had become your wife in every single way except one and it scared me."

 

She tightened her jaw. "And if I had said any of that, that day, you'd have told me to just stop doing them if it made me uncomfortable. It sounds easy that way, but nothing about that day was easy for me." She looked back at him, met his gaze for the first time in a while. "Nothing about that day was easy, Sandre. To this day I don't know how to fix any of it."

 

~Edana

OOC- ALL ONE-HANDED! GO ME!

Sandre listened and nodded when she finished. "I see." he said as he turned his head and focused on the apple and knife in his hands. She had always been able to read him by his eyes. As long as she could not see them, she would not see the moment of sadness that passed through them. By the time he had a new slice sitting on the blade he had regained his composure.

 

"I was hoping to have you back when I left here today. I have woke every morning hoping it would be the day... but I see now that the problem you are having is not one I can fix. You do not want to be my wife, yet you cannot stop yourself from becoming just that." He placed the slice in his mouth and gazed out over the river. "Things were so much easier when we were trainees. We did what we were told, felt what we needed to get through the day. It was easier when we had no control, when our lives were run by our trainers. We knew what to expect when we first woke each day. Each one of us with dreams of being a legendary Warder or the best Guard we could be."

 

He took her hand, not the way a lover would, but rather a friend. "You want to be the best Guard you can, and I had become a hindrance to that. If leaving is what it took to make you happy again then you did the right thing, because that is all I ever wanted to do for you." He shook his head. "I say those words and I know they may be right but I dont feel it. I remember something your father told me once. He said the greatest plans fall apart in the first few minutes of a battle. A General's skill is determined by how fast he can adjust that plan to fit the new situations. Your plan has always been one singular thing, to become a great Guard. Mine have changed so many times over the years because of new situations." He turned to look her in the eyes. "I will tell you this... as a friend... as a fellow Guard. Your plan was failing long before you became a Guard. When it comes to situations where your emotions are involved you act irrationally. You ran from me, you put your brothers on the ground over words, you started a fight with my brother in the mess hall, were you jealous when that Guard in the hallway gave me a kiss even though I did not belong to you? You have friends and people you care about here, if you continue to let yourself make rash decisions rather than adjustments like your father said to, you will never be the great Guard you want to be, because all it will take is one of them in danger and you will obey your heart and not your mind." He knew the words would hurt, he expected an angry backlash, but he knew she would think about it when she calmed down.

 

"I do not mean to make you angry or hurt you Edana. I would sooner take a sword in the gut than cause you pain. You left me for this dream of yours though and if its that important to you someone had to tell you. You cant cut them out of your life, you and I both know that would make you miserable, so you have to learn to adjust. Now for another piece of advise... this one my father told me. Life is not about our accomplishments, but rather the memories we have are what matter in our old age. I really hope that you do not end up an old and lonely Captain and that your accomplishments as a Guard will be enough to warm your heart, but I doubt it." To throw her off he leaned in and kissed her, softly and passionately. That was another thing her father had taught him. Stay unpredictable, a General should be mysterious in his ways. He had no idea he would be using the trick on his mentor's daughter though. "Some day, you will regret running from me. If its sooner rather than later you know where to find me."

 

He got up then and started back towards the barracks to get his camping gear. He hoped she would realize, she may not remember every single night on the wall, but he was willing to bet she remembered most of the time she spent with him. If it was not too late, she may decide that he had become part of her plan, or that she would have to adjust to being a Guard and something like a wife. Really he did not know what to expect from the logic he just dropped on her, but he knew she would be better off for it in the long run, and he had to smile at the thought that this time, she would be pursuing him, though you never have to pursue a man for long.

Edana watched him walk away, her face wiped clear of expression, though plenty were seething under the surface. Irrational, was she?

 

She shook her head slowly as he disappeared and turned her attention back to the river before her. How was it possible he still didn't know her? He, of all people in the world, should know she didn't give a Tinker's damn about being the best Guardsman she could be. She cursed every step along that wall, cursed every trainee who stumbled across the Yard gagging on overindulgence, and barely restrained her complaints about a mirade of other duties that were tossed her way. The only part of her job she really enjoyed was training the trainees, truth be known. It reminded her of her father, who seemed to be the only thing on two legs who ever understood a thought in her head. She curled her fingers together as they hung between her upraised knees. It truly bothered her that Sandre didn't understand that what drove her wasn't pride in her work, as much as pride in her place in the world. Or simply having a place where she wasn't questioned at every step or looked at sideways when she laughed. Was she really nothing more to him than an extension of himself? Being the epitome of what a Guard should be had always been his motivation, after all.

 

Would he even understand she didn't think that way? Would he want to?

 

As if to illustrate even more how little he knew, he believed she didn't regret walking away from him. "Some day, you will regret running from me." She rolled her eyes and leaned back until she was laying in the soft grass and staring at the tree branches overhead. She'd regretted it the minute she'd done it. Had spent every day since then forcing herself not to go running after him. She'd only started meeting other Guards for drinks in the last few months and she'd never been serious about any of them. No, she'd firmly handed Sandre her heart long ago and hadn't seen it since.

 

Which only drew her thoughts back to the original problem. Could she keep her place in this world being someone's wife? She couldn't see herself as a mother. Light knew, she knew almost nothing about it to begin with, her own mother having died when she was so young. But was it possible to be a wife and keep what she'd grown to love, too? Did she even want to keep it? She snorted, trying to imagine herself in skirts doing laundry or cooking. She could count the number of times she'd donned a skirt on one hand and have plenty of fingers left over to throw a knife with accuracy.

 

She watched the sun drop in the sky, knowing she had a duty post to be on in a few hours. Pride demanded that she be there, on time, with her blade shining in the fading sunlight, but her thoughts meandered some more. Her stomach was what ultimately forced her to her feet to make her way back inside the walls. What was that her father used to say? "Pride goes before a fall, Eddie. So cling to it at all costs. The battle's only over when they've defeated your pride or you're dead and have taken your pride with you."

 

And if she was cursing her father under her breath as she relieved the Guardsman on duty, the glimmer of steal hidden only in the cloak she'd draped on her shoulders, at least Sandre wouldn't call it irrational. If that was only because he couldn't hear it, that was his problem...

 

~Edana

going into Spock mode... *grins*

He made it to his room and got his camping gear packed. Granted he would not be able to use it for awhile since he had duty on the wall with Edana and a fitness class for the trainees after that. Still after that he would get his chance. He laid on his bed and closed his eyes for a few minutes before donning his armor and cloak for his duty. He arrived early and relieved the guards on duty and waited for Edana. He had forgotten how much he missed such a simple thing as walking the wall. He watched as a trainee in his morning class thought he was clever and ran off into the night. For a few drinks was Sandre's guess. When the trainee got back in the morning though Sandre would make sure the whole class paid for the trainee's transgression. It was one thing to have an instructor mad at you, it was quite another to have a whole class of your fellow trainees mad at you.

 

What came as another surprise to Sandre was that at one time he would have been standing there erect in the military fashion, staring intently at the darkness for signs of movement. Maybe even chasing that trainee down. Yet as he sat casually on the wall while he waited he was relaxed. He was not any less aware, just that he had learned walking like you had a stick up your bum and staring everyone down did not make you any better of a guard than a relaxed but limber guard. Or perhaps he had stopped caring? He thought about it for a moment and with a shrug gave up trying to figure out which he was.

 

When Edana arrived he wondered what she thought. She had never seen him relaxed when he was on duty before. He gave her a warm smile. "I am sorry I walked away from you today... I just was there to deliver the schedule really... all that other stuff... well..." he stood and walked towards her, he looked her in the eyes the whole time. "Maybe I presumed too much? It is not fair for me to say that your goals have not changed all this time or that I even understand the depth of them. Who can understand the depth of another's dreams after all? My goals certainly have... or rather... for the first time I dont have any... other than to get through my class tomorrow without falling asleep on my trainees."

Edana eyed Sandre as she moved around the section of wall he was on. She noted the difference in his posture, though only an idiot would think he wasn't aware of his surroundings. Her eyes flicked over the shadows lengthening on the other side of the wall as she drew closer to him. She felt her eyebrow arch at his apology for walking away and inched a bit higher as he continued.

 

"I'm not sure you ever understood my goals enough to know whether they've changed or not, Kaldun," she said, her tone flat. "However, it would be ill-conceived, at best, to believe anyone's thoughts wouldn't change in the decades they've been here." She shrugged her shoulders. "Regrets will do that to a person, no matter how hard we fight it."

 

"I'm going to start a circuit along the South wall. Do you know who else is on the wall and gates? That trainee shouldn't have gotten through as easily as he did..." She nodded over the wall at the long-departed trainee's back. "While I'm sure he'll be taken care of the next day, if they're that lax, our work will be tripled in the meantime. Staying awake for training them tomorrow will be all the more difficult that way."

 

~Edana

all business