<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">"You're right." </span></span></span><br/><br/>"I am?" he said in the form of a perplexed question.  Blood and blood ashes! She had never agreed with him before! why now?  Shadow wanted to kick himself! He had only been joking! and now he had ruined the moment!  All the times he wished he was wrong it was right then! he doubted she would ever admit to him being right ever again! Aes Sedai were never wrong!<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-style: italic">"We leave in a few days and we still have to finish getting supplies." </span></span></span><br/><br/>Ilia took on that inquisitive Aes Sedai stance like a natural, the furrowed brow felt if she was gazing down at him like stone wondering how many times she could skip it across the lake!  It was just the green dress, it was just bloody green dress pull himself together! But it wasn't the dress... he could see she had changed! Not in a bad way, light! definitely not in a bad way... "she was much, more muchier, she had more muchiness!" (quote from mad hatter)<br/><br/>She walked to the door, Shadow felt like his boots had been waited down by fifty pounds of led each. His heart sank as he started at the empty door. He opened his mouth as if too say something... but hesitated as she spoke first.<br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline"> "I'll...um.."</span></span><br/><br/>Shadow grinned for a second he thought she was going to ask him to stay or ...or...or find an excuse to keep him around just a little longer.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">"I'll send for you sometime in the morning." </span></span></span><br/><br/>Surely she was punishing him for trying to be a wise ass! Shadow forced himself to smile and ambled over toward the door...oooF.   Shadow grimaced as ran into the wooden door frame...his  masculine chest thumped loudly like a solid oak chest against oaken frame.  Shadow grunted gave the door frame a glower, and then quickly stepped outside with a sweeping graceful bow.<br/><br/>"Goodnight Ilia Sedai," he chimed, giving her a wink... seconds before missing his step! Thankfully the door shut right as he lost his balance and Ilia was not there to witness him tumble head over head heels!  Thankfully being quite strong and limber,  Shadow sprang up to his feet like a spry cat and quickly went his way dusting himself off acting as if nothing had happened...though he had a silly grin on his face as he walked between two sisters... he barely even saw them.  Naturaully they spun around glowering at them.<br/><br/>"How dare you!" shouted a green at him angrily.<br/><br/>Shadow quickly found himself confronted by two large burly warders with flowing green cloaks! "Is this how Cadre Coulen is teaching the cadets to act around Aes Sedai now?" demanded on... why the other gave him a stone faced mad dog stay.<br/><br/>"Oh! sorry!" he exclaimed. Both warders and Aes Sedai were taken aback as they had not accepting Shadow to speak. No body besides Ilia, Luna and Moe had ever heard him speak before!   "Good morning Aes Sedai!" he chimed a little too loudly! Quickly recognizing that he had mis spoke he quickly corrected himself. "I meant happen new year! good day, no good night!" he exclaimed and quickly slipped from their grasp.  Both Aes Sedai and their warders stood where they were staring at one another... The flustered green Aes Sedai glowered at her warders, giving him a nonverbal tongue lashing, which they in turn merely shrugged their massive shoulders and turned back around looking for shadow and scratching their heads as the young cadet had already slipped around the bend.<br/><br/>-<br/><br/>Back in the barracks, Shadow raised up to his room to tell Moe all about the good news! That Ilia still liked him and that.... but Moe's bed was empty and things were cleared out.  The little room and sparse white plaster walls seemed all the more smaller without him... he sighed and settled down on his bed... his ruck was already packed from laat night, why had he been such a cowardly wool head! he shood have just kissed her, but he had blown it, trying to act like some clown prattling on about nonsense!<br/><br/>Shadow lay on his bed and stared at the Ceiling... dam...dam...dam... build a bloody dam! It wasn't cursing if he put the N on the end it Dam. It just didn't seem fair, Moe was probably in the White Tower eating steak and strutting around in that stupid bloody green warder cape on his shoulders.<br/><br/>-<br/><br/>The following morning, Shadow ambled along out to the training yard... 'waiting to be summoned'... how quaint.<br/><br/>"I can't breef!" exclaimed one of younger the cadet's frantically tapping out as whilst Shadow held him by a hold by his own quarter staff.  Shadow dropped him to the floor the second opponent in the circle ran at him, and Shadow neatly parried with his blunt practice sword swept his feet out from under him... the quarter staff whirred his other hand cracked a third opponent over the back of the helmet... and then turned on the fourth cadet... whom... already was huddled in ball on the ground!<br/><br/>Shadow glowered down at the cowardly at what he thought was a Cadet... but it only turned out to be a young servant boy with a broom!<br/><br/>"Wait! wait! wait! I am not a cadet!" he exclaimed in panic.<br/><br/>Shadow frowned, the fourth cadet that was still standing where he was...shaking in his boots... and then glanced back down at the kitchen boy... he said nothing, but he clearly demanded an explanation. .<br/><br/>"Ilia Sedai Summons you," the servant boy exclaimed and darted off.<br/><br/>The fourth Cadet let out a sigh of relief, as Shadow dropped the quarter staff and blunt wooden sword and glanced about for Ilia... and then looked upward toward the Tower... his dark eyes searching the window of her bedroom...wondering if she was looking back at him right now.<br/><br/>-<br/><br/>Shadow took in a deep breath... he was brave with a sword... but... Ilia Sedai. She made him nervous! Just breath he thought himself! Just breath! they were just going shopping! they were just going shopping and he was just going to carry every bloody thing like normal. Shadow fastened on his sharpened black sheathed hand and half sword to his belt and swept an ugly old Orange, miss matching patch worked glee man's cloak over his shoulders... it was the worst collar he thought would look with green... hopefully it would drive her more crazy... as he felt absolutely ridiculous.<br/><br/>With sword in belt, obnoxious orange came fluttering behind him, Shadow artifully marched toward the Tower with his chest puffed out as if he was on official warder business!<br/><br/>Ignoring the odd stares from the rest of the Aes Sedai and warders Shadow dutifully hurried past them and nocked three a clean, rat a tat tat knock on the door.<br/><br/>With a sweeping flourished her gave a low graceful over the top bow. "You summoned me, Ilia Sedai, and I have come," he exclaimed a bit over loudly causing others passing by in the hall way to stop and stare.