Giang

[Color Me Fubar]

Kiae recognized the look in the Green's eyes and frowned to herself, feeling a twinge of uneasiness. "I should not have removed the Shield after all. Is Melthin warping her somehow?" she wondered, weaving a barrier between her and the Green, not caring if the woman noticed.

"I suppose not. One should listen to any advice people give, though. That has been my experience," she reprimanded the woman. While still unsure who was more powerful in saidar, she knew for a fact she was older than the woman.  

[Professor Inky]

Esole arched an eyebrow at Kiae's barrier. To Esole, it was just a symbol of her cowardice. Why the woman would just weave a barrier between them without any apparent reason was beyond her.

"Do you think that I am so dull that I can go without noticing my Warder's disappearance during an escalated time of worry? How naive, Yellow," she growled.  

[Color Me Fubar]

"I suppose I'm naive, then," Kiae replied calmly. She didn't care what the Green thought of the barrier, she would rather be safe than sorry in the end. "At least I learned control of the Warders I did have," she said suddenly, narrowing her eyes. "They didn't go against my orders and suggest a Bond with another Sister in their own Sister's absence," she added sweetly, positive Melthin wouldn't have told Esole about that incident.  

[Professor Inky]

Esole suppressed her anger at Melthin's supposed betrayal. She refused to show that the Yellow had gotten through to her. "At least my Warders are alive," she said smugly. She knew it was a low blow but the woman seemed to be asking for it with all her talk of Warders.  

[Color Me Fubar]

Kiae pressed her lips firmly together to prevent her from saying anything about her Warders' loyalty and turned away from the woman in disgust. "No proper Aes Sedai would say such a thing merely to insult another," she thought in disdain. "She has either become warped by the necromancer, or she is not fit to be a Sister. Either way, I will have to watch my back from now on."

Having decided on that note, Kiae returned to finishing her stew before it grew colder, ignoring the Green nearby. She held saidar tightly, however, partly out of anger, partly out of fear.  

[Professor Inky]

Esole forced a winning grin as she turned the other way. "Where has all this come from? I didn't used to be this dreadful," Esole thought worriedly. "Perhaps Melthin's company has been rubbing off on me." The idea made her shudder but she just managed to put it out of her mind with thoughts of her childhood and the good child she had been.  

[Color Me Fubar]

"Ethin, I'd like you to find the horses when you're done," Kiae told him after a few minutes of tense silence. "I intend to leave within in the hour, whether or not a certain Warder deems us worthy of his presence," she added primly. "It's too dangerous to remain here any longer. I believe we should leave Andor completely, perhaps we can find new information elsewhere."  

[Ethin Thayne]

Ethin bowed and retrieved the bowls from Kiae and Esole. "As you wish, Aes Sedai," he said as he bowed once more with a flourish of his cloak. He turned and handed the bowls to the nearest Tinker child before searching for someone who could provide them with horses.

Ethin returned not long after with four nondescript horses. They would suffice for the time being until they came upon a good-sized town where they could purchase better horses. "Kiae Sedai, I have the horses you requested. Shall I go fetch Melthin so we can depart?" he asked in his most neutral of tones. During his time standing next to the two Aes Sedai, Ethin noted their hostility as well as the feelings they were both experiencing. While Kiae Sedai was disgusted, angered and slightly frightened; Esole was triumphant, worried and uncomfortable. Their feelings perturbed Ethin to no end but he chose to remain silent.  

[Color Me Fubar]

"There's no need to go looking for him. He should sense through Esole's Bond that we're leaving, after all," Kiae remarked, getting to her feet with deceptive calmness. "I was thinking of traveling Cairhien - it's large enough that our arrival won't attract unnecessary attention, and any information worth hearing will be there," she continued.  

[Professor Inky]

Esole decided to put their last conversation aside so that she and Kiae could discuss their next destination without any unnecessary, demeaning comments. "I was thinking the same thing. Cairhien is full of so much scum it's bound to have a good concentration of New Order members," Esole said in a calmly, pointedly watching for Kiae's response to her new tone.  

[Color Me Fubar]

"Even if there aren't any New Order members around, there will still be traces of them," Kiae agreed, keeping her tone civil. "And those will be easy to follow. We're just prey here in Andor now - in Cairhien I can become the hunter I was before," she added with a satisfied smile. It had been too long since she had gone on the offensive with the Darkfriends.  

[Professor Inky]

Esole couldn't help but smile when it seemed that Kiae's inner predator came out. "Perhaps we aren't that different," she thought with a smile. "Then it is settled. To Cairhien we go. Melthin can catch up along the way. I will tie his horse to mine," she said, returning Kiae's civil tone.

She walked over and tied the brown dun to the black mare, claiming them as hers and Melthin's. She mounted the black mare and waited for Kiae and Ethin to join her on horseback.  

[Color Me Fubar]

"I wish I still had Hael with me," Kiae grumbled, recalling the gelding with fondness. She could only hope he had been taken by someone and not killed aimlessly by the New Order's minions. The spotted gelding suited her fine, however, so she took the reins and swept into the saddle, relishing the feeling of riding a horse again instead of walking all the time.

(I guess we can wait for Melthin/Ethin to do a final post, then switch to Cairhien?)  

[x_Matrim_Cauthon_x]

Melthin noted so many different mood changes that he wondered if Esole was reading some sort of heart wrenching story. Or she could be fighting with Kiae. Although now there is a feel of urgency. Time to go I suppose. As he added the last touches, he nodded and snapped his fingers. The two before him stood, one woman in a black dress and a black cloak covering her face and mercenary with black leather armor and a black hood drawn over his face. "Agni, Rudra, Let us go to our new destination." I suppose it would be a good time to field test my new creations. With a small hand gesture he turned and exited the room with his two lifelike friends I'm coming Esole. I just had to tie up a few loose ends. As he closed the door. a flame slowly ate away at his notes on the desk of the two puppet schematics and of his research on the puppetry weave's change. Yes. Just tying up loose ends.  

[Professor Inky]

Sensing Melthin's arrival would be soon, Esole looked around as she untied his horse from hers. "Perhaps we should Travel to Cairhien? It would be much faster and the two of us linked would make it much easier," she suggested as she felt around the small pack she had tied at her waist. "If only I could find my bloody angreal!"