-The Next Day-<br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">"I saw my kerchief at the tournament yesterday." She wasn't looking at him.</span></span><br/><br/>Shadow felt the tips of ears turn burn and red like like hot iron! He had been wondering about how he was going try to explain how he had gotten it… or if she had even known it was missing, which was now rather quite obvious that she had.<br/><br/>While his ears, told all beneath his thick locks of raven black hair, Shadow remained his normal calm and stoic self… he turned and looked at her… giving an impassive blank look of… kerchief? kerchief? what kerchief? inwardly he was dreading that she was going to be angry with him! especially now that it was a bit tattered after the tournament and likely never be the same…though he had it hidden safely his pocket.  He wasn’t sure how exactly how to go about apologizing… Yes, I sort I stole it … its ruined now, can I keep it? … or I found it randomly in the bushes, I didn’t know it was yours, I am very, very sorry!*<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">"I'm glad.”</span></span><br/><br/>Shadow blinked… the stoic impassible face cracked, and there was an audible gulp as if he just swallowed a stone… a ghost of a smile briefly touched his lips… howbeit just as felt himself being leaning inward…<br/><br/>she mentioned the Aes Sedai, his eyes went big and he looked as if his face turned white was milk and quickly glanced away, calmly pretending that the he had merely been stretching and not trying to get a kiss!  He just reached back and let out a brutish grunt and ached like he had a knot or an itch in his shoulder.<br/><br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">"Would you..be interested..in coming with me if I decided to go?" </span></span><br/><br/>At the words…. *if I decided to go?”*  Shadow’s jaw fell open as she had been talking about running from the Tower!<br/><br/>“Your leaving!?” he blurted out! Shadow bit his lower lip… words…real still felt…it felt so strange to hear his own voice  and feeling them resonate within his vocal cords of his throat and chest.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">"I don't know if she will ask you to come." Ilia recalled</span></span><br/><br/>Shadow’s ebony black eyes narrowed suspiciously, though he didn’t say it, it was clear that he  didn’t quite like the way she phrased statement *Ask!*  Why would she<span style="text-decoration: underline">ask</span>him? or was he hearing it wrong…perhaps Luna was not asking sort!<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">"I'm a little worried about the testing." </span></span><br/><br/>Shadow glanced down and grunted, his first instinct was to solve problems…this one he knew he couldn’t solve… then came Cadre Coulin’s lecturing voice floating in his head.<br/><br/>*lads, as much as you want to be able to fix every problem. Simple truth is an Aes Sedai… Aes Sedai really don’t need much help fixing things. She can kill faster than you can draw your sword, open pickle jars and  juggle boulders the size of your thick heads… but sometimes… what your Aes Sedai needs most from her warder is just to listen*<br/><br/>He nodded…acknowledging her worries another understanding grunt… and paused… some how a grunt didn’t seem quite…adequate!<br/><br/>“I am coming whether you want me to go or not,” Shadow said at last…it was a little off subject, and then he glanced downward… now worried about the testing as well, ”Is it…is it true… some… some accepted don’t…” he couldn’t really find the words or even thinking the possibility of Illia not coming back or dying…. now suddenly their game of hitting each other blunt swords all seemed like child’s play.<br/><br/>He glanced downward shame faced … feeling like a coward as had fight himself from begging her to just runaway with him!<br/><br/>“I don’t care if you have a shawl or what shawl you pick…I…just… I just want you to come back,” he insisted.<br/><br/>Shadow felt as if he was going to be sick… his stomach was all in knots! He wished he could give her something…some sort of token in return… but he had nothing… the usual sharp objects on his person.<br/><br/>Unclasping the leather sheath from his belt, he offered it up to her… “I…I don’t have a kerchief to give you but…,” he admitted and sheepishly offered up the beautifully etched, and very sharp belt knife…<br/><br/>“Its…uh…for protection…I hear spiders get rather big in that tower,” he remarked with a modest shrug and secret smile on his lips… light! he hoped she didn't know about that little prank... at least he hoped she didn't know it had been him!<br/><br/><a class="postlink" href="http://www.andreandersson.com/wp-content/gallery/work-from-2015/dynamic/Hunter-1.jpg-nggid03378-ngg0dyn-0x360-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg">[ img ]</a>