It had been some time since she had visited the wonderous Inn of her mentor's wife. It were during days that Daemon was far too busy with training the recruits that were assigned under him and also mentoring those that have already reached the Red Cloak of the Tower Guard that iwas not uncommon for Cairma to feel the need for a little mentoring herself. However, as much as she had Daemon in high respect, and almost a father-like figure, there was nothing more soothing than a good heart-to-heart with a member of the same gender. Thwere was always something about how Lady Arie spoke that calmed Cairma to her core.

 

And she needed it now, as questions of loyalty surfaced to her mind.

 

She had grown quite fond of her times with Jaydena Sedai, and felt protective of her, but would not allow her to think beyond a friendship for the woman. But the question loomed in the air although Jaydena never breeched the subject it was still there as if on the tip of her tongue. Bonding.

 

So long had she held the cloak of the Tower Guard and was a firm believer in the freedom it held apart from those bonded to an Aes Sedai. To better herself was a personal quest that should not be hindered by a need to be better to protect a singular individual, but the Tower as a whole. however, the shifting colours of the Warders cloak always caught her eye and a pause for wonder.

 

Reaching the door to the Green Advocate, she pushed open the door to a familiar scene. With a warm smile and thoughtful wishful eyes she walked in.

 

 

Cairma Vishnu

Blade Master

Most people knew Daemon from what he showed into the Yards, and most believed that the Grandmaster of the Path of the Blade has indeed become a weapon, as the Path suggested. In the Yards, Daemon was cold, emotionless and to the point, just like a weapon. Very few remembered seeing him smile and most believed he has forgotten how to. Sometimes, he wondered how would people from the Warder Yards react if they could see him here, in the Gardens of the Green Advocate.

 

As always, a light snickering could be hear in the Gardens. Everytime he thought of this, Daemon snickered. If only the Blademaster circle could see him here, oh they will be shocked!!! Still with a smile on his face, Daemon walked slowly arround the gardens. His absolute favourite place was the pond, much like the one in Sursa Mahdi, but smaller. This place had such an unimaginable sentimental value for Daemon. After he stood for a while at the banks of the pond, letting a little flower flow on it's surface, Daemon headed back for the Green Advocate. And just in time. Arie's voice came ringing from the half opened door.

 

"Daemon, come and calm Kastor and Kolin before one of them gets their hands slapped! "

 

Daemon walked into the room, to see Kastor and Kolin holding their wooden swords he carved for them, tip pointed at Arie, and mischivious smile on their faces. On the other hand, Arie held a wooden spoon, stopping the boys as they tried to make their way to a plate of freshly baked cookies. And there was another witness - Cairma. Cairma has becomed a frequent, and very welcomed visitor to the Green Advocate. Waving hello to her as he entered the room, Daemon stood with hands on his hips.

 

"Ahem!"

 

That made the boys turn towards their father

 

"Now what have I told you about trying to steal your mother's freshly baked cookies?"

 

The boys gave eacho ther a look and decided to make a run for it. Unfortunatly for them their father was quite fast. In a few seonds time, their were both picked up by Daemon, and laughing as their father was tickling them.

 

"Yes, that is right" - he turned to Arie and winked. - "Only I can do that"

 

Arie giggled and shook her spoon threatingly at Daemon, which only gave Daemon an idea. Holding the boys with one hand, he walked towards Arie, his eyes running from her to the plate of cookies. And just when it seemed that he would try and steal a cookie, his arm wrapped arround Arie's waist and pulled her in for a kiss

 

"I will be right back, my love, I'm going to leave the boys in their room"

 

With that Daemon ran up the stairs. A few minutes later he was back. Cairma, already seated by Arie, greated him with a smile.

 

"Good day, Cairma, I'm always glad to see my favourite trainee."

 

Daemon Ronshor

Ooc: Grr.. Arie and her lack of inner monologue..

 

Ic:

 

Arie smiled warmly as she always did as Daemon shoo'd the boys away from her trays of hot cookies. The twins were always into mischief of some kind and kept her on her toes. She loved her married life away from the Tower and she could honestly say that she did not miss the Tower. Infact, she could have sworn that this was the life she was meant to have all along. But even now she still had that restless feeling that stirred her in her sleep. She guessed that Daemon caught on to her restlessness, but she suspected that he also felt the same.

 

Daemon took the boys upstairs to play in their room for a while, Arie started her clean up. Wipping the flour from her hands on her apron she smiled with a friendly nod as Cairma entered the Inn.

 

"Welcome Cairma. I was expecting you." Arie smiled warmly at the woman. Cairma smiled back.

 

"You always know when I am to visit, Lady Arie. Are those cookies that I smell?" Arie chuckled softly as the woman smelled the air with a soft sigh. Motioning to a seat at the bar, Cairma took a seat, leaning her massively large sword against the corner wall.

 

"Cookies are a Healing thing. They entice missed friends to visit." Arie smiled. "It was no surprise to have you walk through the door. But by the look behind your eyes there are a few things that trouble you."

 

The woman sighed heavily. "A few things, indeed. If only it could be a few. They all seem to gather up into many large problems without even having some for on concrete action." Arie passed Cairma a glass of dark black tea that she always had made ready. Taking a seat and a cup of her own (with a touch of cream in hers), Arie sipped her tea and waited for a moment but foot steps echoed down the stais as Daemon re-entered the room.

 

"Good day, Cairma, I'm always glad to see my favourite trainee."

 

Arie chuckled as Cairma's nose wrinkled. "Careful Old Man. It is not kind to call a Blademaster a Trainee."

 

"Careful, My dearest. I've seen her work her blade, and it does rival your own." She winked at Cairma, always loving the mocking serious look that he was never able to make when she was around. She loved her effect on the grissly Man, that he could never help but smile around her. After all, She was his Wife for a reason. "But enough about Age, What can we do for you, Cairma."

 

Cairma fell silent as Daemon took a seat around the bar beside her and across from Arie.

 

"You two were once bonded as Aes Sedai and Warder. What was it like? To have someone in your head like that? Is it purely emotional, or physical?" Arie looked to Cairma with her impassivly Aes Sedai look she achieved millenia ago with thoughts and simple assements of the woman. She waited to see what Daemon would answer, as she had a differentoutlook on the bond due to being the bond holder than the bondee.

 

 

 

Arie Ronshor

Ex-Greenie Inn Keeper

Dreamwalker

"Careful Old Man. It is not kind to call a Blademaster a Trainee."

 

"Careful, My dearest. I've seen her work her blade, and it does rival your own."

 

With Arie backing up Cairma, Daemon had to change his initial tactics. Instead of replying that he still had a thing or two he can teach Cairma about swordsmanship, he just looked first at Cairma, then at Arie, shook his head and sighed heavily.

 

"What can a man do when his own wife joins the ranks stacked against him. Since I have no chance of succeding I better cut my loses short and surrender."

 

That one put very big grins on both Arie's and Cairma's faces, as Daemon took a seat at the table. There was a cup of tea already waiting for him, and some cookies too. After a moment of silence, Cairma spoke.

 

"You two were once bonded as Aes Sedai and Warder. What was it like? To have someone in your head like that? Is it purely emotional, or physical?"

 

Memories of when he was bonded to Arie were the best of his life, so the first reply Daemon gave, came out on it's own.

 

"It's wonderfull!"

 

Being given a puzzling look from Cairma, and a sweet smile from Arie, Daemon thought a bit before answering.

 

"Being bonded to an Aes Sedai is quite the expirience. The benefits from such a bond for a warder are clear - better endurance, something quite usefull, especially for us Ren'Shai. But that you already know, don't you Cairma?" - the woman nods in agreement. - "On the emotional level, the bond goes both ways, you will be able to feel your bondholder emotions, and she'll be able to feel yours, unless the bond is fuzzed. It will be like a small beackon, just outside of your vision, or in the back of your head, and the closer you are to your bondholder distance wise, the stronger the feeling would be. For most bonds the feeling of the bond is just emotional, for some though, it is also physical. For example, if the bondholders have strong feelings for eachother, like Arie and I did, they not only share emotions through the bond, but also physical expiriences. And from what I have talked about this with other warders, when both bondee and bondholder are females, the sharing of physical contact is there even without any feelings between the two of them involved. My guess is that that is due to the same physiology and the same way their mind works. In short, be prepared to have another person in your mind, Cairma, that is how it would feel to be bonded." - he smiled - "And that can lead to some quite amusing situations sometimes."

 

Daemon Ronshor

nani no tame ni umareta no ka

toikake wo suru mae ni

ittai nani ga hoshikute ikite'ru ka

sore dake wo tada tashikametai

Edge - Outlaw Star

 

 

As always the smile on Daemon's face caused Cairma pause before she was able to actually think on what he had to say. A bond with anouther could be seen as two different ways. A plutonic and professional relationship or something similar to what Arie and Daemon had, which could easily be acounted as a marriage. However neither was what she would want, but how would she be able to differenciate between the two? She didn't want to get lost in a sense of caring that she would lose her sense of duty to protect. But it was Arie's voice that spoke through her clouded thoughts as she picked up a cooling cookie from the plate Arie sat in front of them.

 

"A bond is, very simply put, a Balance based on Respect and Trust. To open yourself to a bond you immediatly put yourself as a very large disadvantage as your very thoughts and emotions become as clear as Air to the one you've become bonded to.

 

"It then becomes Respect as you learn to shield each other and respond through the bond. Respect of eachothers private thoughts slowly start to come into play. Even an Aes Sedai has her insecurities and to even have a bonded aware of them can become a large disadvantage to most Aes Sedai who have built themselves a network of power that leaves them no room to appear weak.

 

"In turn, it becomes a partnership as well as a friendship." Arie paused and smiled warmly at Daemon. "Even though the bonding weave is strong and nearly perminant the bond between Aes Sedai and Warder is very fragile. But in turn, it makes a bond a very beautiful thing. When one can learn how to rely on eachother and support eachother with the bond, you will never find yourself alone."

 

Cairma looked carefully at the look in Arie's eyes. It was a rare moment to see emotion in the former Aes Sedai's eyes. She could never imagine the type of power Saidar had on a woman, nor to have it burn away from the inside. She had this discussion with others in the yard on slow nights on the wall but it left no other mark on her. But every time she saw the Lady Arie move through her in, she could not help but wonder if the woman was happy or if she was just going through the movements much like she see's Daemon in the Yards with the sword.But in that small moment Cairma could understand the small glimpse of what Lady Arie was trying to tell her.

 

"You know. You both should go on Vacation. Take a break." Cairma said on a half thought, standing. "Either way, thank you for the cookie, Lady Arie." She bowed her head. "Daemon. You both have given me much to think on." Arie put a hand on Daemons arm and nodded her acceptance and farewell back. Picking up her sword she headed out of the Inn and took the long way back into the Yards.

 

Turning to her husband, she smiled teasingly. "A vacation? You know.. I have never had one of those before." Her smile coudl hardly be mistaken for the love and other idea's she had in her mind.

 

 

 

Cairma & Lady Arie