It was true... Luna was acting a bit on the wild side, but she didn't care, after hundreds of years being locked up in her little study she deserved to have a little fun and make up for lost time! Light she could have sworn that Tar Valon had grown ten times bigger since the last time she had been outside the tower walls!<br/><br/>"Oh, yes. Shadow should be here any mome-" Ilia's words stopped short as she clamped her mouth shut at the sight of Shadow waltzing through the door. He was a mess! Ilia could feel herself getting upset. Attempting her best at Aes Sedai calm, she gently closed the door behind Shadow as he exchanged his pleasentries and attempted to explain his appearance to Moe. Footpads, really? Unless he was talking about stables in town, Ilia knew he was lying, and there was no way he would have gotten anywhere near the tower like that unless he was skulking about. Ilia couldn't help but frown, a gentle downturning of her lips as she made her way to the pitcher at her desk. Ilia took the glasses and brought them to the table to pour the wine Luna had brought with her.<br/><br/>-<br/><br/>Shadow sensed the tension... although he wasn't bonded yet, he already knew he was in the metaphorical doghouse! He wondered how to come clean... really he hadn't meant to go on such a spending spree, but well... he just wasn't used to having so much money all at once and well... he really liked 'Killer-Rain' He just knew Ilia wouldn't understand what a good horse Rain would be... once she was trained and stopped trying to kill him!  Oh light she was going to be so upset!<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-style: italic">"Shadow is intelligent and a quick learner..." </span></span><br/><br/>At the mention of his name, Shadow glanced up peering through his good eye food...broken chicken bone in his mouth.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-style: italic">I'm sure a few lessons with Moe will teach him all he needs to know."</span></span><br/><br/>Shadow frowned, his attentions turned to Moe clearly confused. Moe brightened up, he leaned back putting his hands and elbows off the table and dabbed his face with napkin and set it neatly in his lap.<br/><br/>Luna smiled proudly, and quickly nodded, "Oh of course! Moesephus is quite the scholar and the gentleman," she assured her... the next time Ilia tried to grab for the wine bottle she would find it stuck to the table by the power... meanwhile food floating onto her plate.<br/><br/>"For practice," Luna explained... Ilia's glass of wine was then floated away, pouring a quarter of it into each wine glass leaving only a sip left for her to drink.  "You never fill the glass all the way up, you do not drink wine, you sip," she explained and took her own glass daintly in her fingers brought it to her lips pinky out and smoothly set it down on the table... the margin of wine had hardly moved.<br/><br/>Shadow frowned, "But...but I am  just a cadet, I wouldn't ever be allowed into one of those things anyway," he laughed... and then his smile faded as he heard how stupid he sounded. "Um... yes... thank you Ilia Sedai," he corrected himself, his face now reddened with embarrassment... his good eye, glanced at the fork...and stiffly picked it up gripping it in his fist like he was hanging onto a serpent by the back of the head and stabbed at the candied fruit.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-style: italic">"Perhaps Moe would be kind enough to instruct us both?" She directed</span></span><br/><br/>Moe gave a gracious bow and Luna clapped her hands excitedly. "Isn't he wonderful! I knew he was special the moment I laid eyes on him, really its so hard to find cadets reading books... when I saw him in the tent reading during the tournament I instantly fell in love!" she sighed and batted her eye lashes at him.<br/><br/>Moe blinked and then brightened up, "r-r-really" he gasped in surprise.<br/><br/>"Of course darling," she teased, "I saw straight through that silly costume, Shadow as wearing," she teased him.  "You are timid, honest, trusting,  dependable, smart, loyal, with a heart of gold and no ill will toward anybody, and ... many other things that I will not utter in public, lest Ilia Sedai burn into flames blushing," she purred... it was then her devilish blue eyes snaked around and narrowed onto Shadow.<br/><br/>Shadow suddenly felt uncomfortable, "You on the other hand... you are sneaky, cunning, proud, closed off, secretive, untrusting, paranoid... clever, devious... and guarded," she declared, she raised an eye brow... threatening to go on.<br/><br/>Silence sank into the room... Shadow felt as if he was being weighed on the scales about to be found lacking.<br/><br/>"Sweet, Stupid, a Survivor,  Incredibly brave and IF I were to die, I know you would see to it that Ilia Sedai would make it back alive," she declared.<br/><br/>Shadow leaned back against his chair... his one good eye wide in fright and worry... those blue eyes pierced right through him, he swallowed hard.<br/><br/>"Now," Luna chimed sweetly and paused taking her time to daintily eat a collared green. She chewed and then swallowed, "Do you want me to tell her or should I?" she inquired, "We are sisters, we will be sharing everything... if you are to be a proper warder... you had best learn quickly that you will not have anymore secrets... none... I know Moe's every thought, sometimes before he even thinks it and he knows mine... when that day comes there will be no secrets, and you like secrets don't you," she declared... she paused for affect.<br/><br/>Moe blushed bright red, and quickly grabbed for the wine bottle...only to lift up the table with it... he smiled nervously and lowered the table back down to the floor.<br/><br/>The tension was building...<br/><br/>Under Luna's ageless gaze, Shadow suddenly felt as if he was wearing nothing but a cheap painted wooden costume. "Um..." he began. It seemed simple enough, all he had to do was confess about the horse and the armor and weapons he had squandered the money on... it was then he glanced upward. Light she looked amazing! she looked like a noble women... well she was greater than that... she was Aes Sedai! Moments ago she had just been a silly girl he had met fawning over him in the stables... but she wasn't a silly girl... the truth was, Shadow was still acting just the silly simple stable boy in a fancy suit of armor.<br/><br/>"I..I fell off my horse," he admitted,<br/><br/>Luna arched a brow,"  clearly she wasn't going to allow any more double talk, Moe folded his arm, followed Luna's stern look of condemnation.<br/><br/>"or rather, I was thrown off my horse and..." tears began running down his face, "and...I sort of ran out of money...I am sorry, I will sell all weapons and the armor, and buy clothes like you said, Ilia Sedai but please don't make me send back, 'Killer-Rain,' " he sniffed...light he had already named her... he had never thought he'd have anything so nice. Well he had hoped, but he never thought he would get so attached to a horse... at least not one that wanted to kill him... well truthfully Killer Rain wanted to kill everybody... accept Matty the goat, but he was quite certain it was merely a matter of time... time he wasn't sure Ilia would have given him, if she had known about what he was up to...or how insane the horse was! Shadow had only met another like her before. The horse wouldn't let anyone else go near it, nobody but its owner, with wouldn't accept apples from strangers unless its owner was present... the man had taught Shadow so many things... sure the man had been a white cloak, but he had never seen any better horse or rider in his life.