<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/fd/Valdar.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Galvren Valynar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=234819.msg11585469#msg11585469)<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Valdar (Newly Risen to Gaidin)<br/><strong>Bondmate:</strong>Open<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>None, yet.<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Evening, Saven 7th.<br/><strong>Place:</strong>The Grounds, Main Yard.<br/><strong>Warning:</strong>N/A<br/><hr/><br/>Tonight was going to be....different, and in more ways than one. Ordinarily, his liaisons with Suana Sedai outside of training were simple, friendly affairs where they just sat and talked and spent idle time with one another in various levels of conversation. Sometimes they discussed politics or philosophy, and other times they just talked about what kind of food the main barracks had decided to serve its recruits that day; there weren't any specific topics of conversation that they always went over or avoided - besides the odd one or two - and there wasn't always a<em>point</em>to the meeting other than to simply sit and chat outside the training grounds and away from prying eyes. Whenever they were in the Main Training Grounds or near the barracks they were usually trying to beat the other one into submission with a variety of weaponry and techniques, so that left very little room for much in the way of actual discussion, and when they bumped into each other around the Tower, Suana Sedai was usually on important Ajah business; being a Sitter meant that she was ordinarily much busier than your "average" Aes Sedai - if there even was such a thing, that was - and could oftentimes only spare a minute or so for the most basic of greetings. Honestly, had Suana Sedai not started inviting him to meet with her in the evenings in her "secret spot" as he called it, then he might well know nothing else about her other than her rank and her skill at arms. As it was...he actually knew a surprising amount about her, and most of that had been volunteered by her directly, believe it or not. She was the sitter for the Green Ajah, as he had previously mentioned, and hailed from the lands bordering the Blight. As such, she was extraordinarily skilled and - despite appearances - had possession of an absolutely unbreakable will. That alone deserved anybodies respect, regardless of their opinion on Aes Sedai, but she was also a veteran of the Aiel War, having fought at the very battle that ended up turning the tide in favour of the Western Realms. To be spending an evening with her at all by direct request had, at first, been a little overwhelming.<br/><br/>See, before she had taken an interest in him - first approaching him about a year ago at that point - she had already been a rather permanent fixture around the training grounds for long enough that everybody had grown used to her presence. To have the Green Sitter coming down to the training grounds was, at first, a huge - and very distracting - honour, and the few people she asked to spar with had understandably massive reservations about getting "into the ring" with such a high-profile Aes Sedai. Arrogantly, they had worried about hurting her...when they should have been more worried about her hurting<em>them.</em>As a long proponent of the staff as a primary weapon, Galvren had instantly recognised the work of a master as she utilised her positioning and her momentum to make up for her lack of physical strength. She weaved and ducked and dodged with the best of them, and it was a rare day when anybody managed to force her to outright block a strike rather than parry or avoid it. Her speed was her biggest advantage over the slower, almost lumbering recruits she had sparred with, and when paired with a weapon as suited to duelling as the staff? Her opponents had had no chance. She did it often, coming down and selecting a specific recruit to spar and train with her on almost a daily basis, and it soon became novelty when she<em>didn't</em>show up...it had still been an honour to have her attend, of course, and (almost) everybody strove to impress her in some way, but it also became routine with its frequency. Of course, the rumours wouldn't leave her alone; she was famous in The White Tower not only as one of the Greens who had served during the Aiel Wars, but one of the only Green Ajah who<em>didn't have a Warder.</em>No details were known, of course - extracting an Aes Sedai's secrets was next to impossible, so they said - but the fact that she didn't have a Warder was not something that could be kept secret. So, of course, the rumours naturally turned to her reason for appearing in the training grounds...she was looking for one, hence why she seemed to favour one over the others. In retrospect, Galvren figured that it was obvious; why else would a Green with no Warder be training with recruits? But at the time? He had put it down to silly hearsay.<br/><br/>That was, until<em>he</em>somehow caught her attention. She'd abandoned her first "favourite," for whatever reason - he had heard him complaining later on that Suana Sedai had called him lazy, which he could believe, so perhaps that was the reason....why would a Veteran want a Warder who she felt to not be making the effort desired of him? - and after a brief stint with a second, had approached<em>him,</em>seemingly out of nowhere, and asked him to spar with her. He had been surprised, of course, and a little overawed - at that point, she was legendary in the Training Grounds at least and definitely amongst the Recruits...and honestly, having her there had been routine, but having her talk to him? That was something else entirely - and had agreed, though with no small amount of trepidation. He knew how good she was, after all, and already knew that he was nowhere near her level. He expected - and received - one hell of a hiding from her, barely able to keep up with just how fast she moved and how fluid and sharp her strikes were. Honestly, he walked away from it feeling more than a little humiliated despite himself, convinced that he'd put on a poor showing. He had been proud of his progress with the staff, but she'd made him feel like an utter novice...so, imagine his surprise when she approached him again a day or so later and outright told him that he was going to be training with her from then on! He had accepted, of course - the only way to improve was to fight and learn from your betters, after all - and that had started almost a year of constant bruises, sprains, sore knuckles and black eyes, but it had also been the year where he had improved the most. There were always whispers in the barracks that she was looking for a Warder - she was a<em>Green</em>without a Warder, which was almost unheard of...since speaking to her regularly, Galvren had gathered that she did have a Warder once before and didn't anymore, and Galvren had left it at that; he knew better than to press an obviously troubling, painful memory -  and honestly, Galvren was ok with that. Though he doubted she would want a raw recruit for her Warder, the idea that perhaps she was testing him was thrilling. To have the attention of a Veteran Green like her, and a Sitter to boot? It was a great, great honour, and of all the Ajah's, Green was the only one that he held as much respect for as he did the Red. He respected all of them, of course, but...the Red had saved his home town, and the Green was literally dedicated to training fighters for Tarmon Gaiden. Which two Ajah's did more to thwart The Shadow directly than those two?<br/><br/>So, he'd trained with her, and he quickly outpaced his other trainees in his weapon of choice. Compared to Suana Sedai, they all moved at a snails pace, unable to keep up with his rapidly increasing skill. Of course, Suana always remained on a whole different level, always staying one step ahead of him...until one day she wasn't. After a gruelling sparring match that lasted much longer than any of their other ones, they eventually fought...to a<em>tie.</em>Neither could gain an advantage over the other, so they just called it. And honestly, at that moment, it was the proudest that Galvren had ever felt about his abilities. He'd managed to fight and not lose to the almost mythical at that point Suana Sedai with her weapon of choice. It was amazing...and he kept doing it. Over the next couple of weeks, they kept drawing, unable to win over the other no matter how much energy they put into the match, no matter what new techniques they attempted...and apparently that impressed Suana Sedai, since soon after that - only a few months ago - she invited him to spend the evening with her in the garden, in a secluded, isolated spot that she had apparently discovered one day when one of her pets had run off into the bushes. There, for the first time, they just...talked, and found that they actually got along really, really well on a personal level as well as a professional level. And after that, it became a frequent thing, especially after Galvren's first victory over her not five or six weeks previous to the current night. If he had thought he felt good at tying with her, imagine how proud he was that he actually managed to beat her! After almost a year of training, he had managed to defeat in single combat a Veteran of one of the biggest and worst wars in living memory, and one of the most difficult in the entire historical record! He hadn't been able to stop beaming to himself all day after that moment.<br/><br/>Which brought him to that night, as he entered the garden as Twilight was beginning to gather around the town. The sounds of the crowds and the faire across the rive in Tar Valon proper were audible even from the centre of the White Tower and, predictably, everybody was either in bed from a long day or down at the faire enjoying themselves. Galvren would have been there himself, had his arm not been bandaged in a sling since his Warder Test...and had he not received the message obviously penned by Suana Sedai herself. Which brought him back to the original point; how that night was different to the others. The first thing was that there was wine mentioned; whereas they occasionally ate together in the small clearing where they met, they almost never drank except on special occasions...so, she had heard that he was cleared from the Infirmary and that his arm was getting better, and sought to arrange a meeting to congratulate him...hell, she'd been there in the training grounds when he'd been shot, so she'd know first hand that he'd passed his test and just how...sickening the crunch from the bolts impact had been. Honestly, he still flinched slightly whenever he heard the "thunk" of a bolt sinking into its target, though he had been told that that was normal and would go away over time. So, the alcohol was the first difference. The second? Well...he was a qualified Warder, now. And if she had indeed been grooming him for some reason as the rumours said - which he thought was a possibility, sure, but didn't actually believe would happen; he was only just graduated, so why would he qualify as a Veterans Warder? Surely she'd want somebody more experienced than he, right? - then tonight would be the night she broached the subject. So there was that anticipation in his stomach; though he knew himself to be inexperienced...well, he wanted nothing more than to be asked to be a Warder, and being bonded to Suana Sedai would be an honour beyond words. Unlikely, perhaps, but still...a hope he held. And the third was obvious; his arm was broken, so he was not about to be able to move particularly quickly or suddenly. The meeting would be a little more ginger than before, just because he'd have to be careful where he moved his arm.<br/><br/>It didn't take him long to reach her special spot, walking as quickly as he could down the deserted gravel path as he passed through the gardens, doing his best to move quickly and yet not move his shoulder too much...Suana Sedai appreciated punctuality, but he appreciated not being in pain, which was why he had set out early to attempt to show up just before the last bell started, as per her note...but he had ended up delayed when a large crowd of off-duty recruits had barred his way as they moved agonisingly slowly towards the exit to the White Tower and the path to the Faire. That was why he hated large crowds; they moved so damn slowly, and with his broken shoulder, he couldn't just shove through them impatiently. He'd managed to get past them and increased his pace, so his current speed was a compromise of sorts between speed and comfort, but he was well aware that he was now running later than he had wanted to. He heard the penultimate bell tolling as he moved down the gravel path and increased his pace - wincing at the sudden movement in his shoulder - straining a little to get to the meeting spot before the last bell finished. Suana Sedai would probably understand, but he did so hate disappointing her. If an Aes Sedai gave you an order, you followed it to the<em>letter,</em>no excuses. She wanted him punctual, and he was going to be punctual if it killed him, and then apologise for not being early. It was that simple. As the path bent around to the left to travel back along the outskirts of the garden, he instead turned right and hurriedly strode off the designated path and towards the small, secluded corner that he and Suana had shared many a conversation and occasional meal in. It was hidden from the path by some conveniently placed shrubbery, so he had to walk around it to gain access, but as he rounded the corner the small burbling river, the efficiently, neatly placed blanket and the lazily-but-still-obviously alert Suana Sedai reclining ever so slightly on top of it. The last bell for the last service chimed out over the grounds just as he turned the corner into their meeting spot proper, and he breathed a soft sigh of relief, wincing a little as he rolled his shoulder in an attempt to loosen it up a little. It had forced a slight, protesting ache from his wound at having to move so quickly, but he had gotten there on time, which was all that mattered.<br/><br/>"Good evening, Suana Sedai," he said, bowing at the waist respectfully, though he was careful not to move his shoulder too much. He noted her customary practical-yet-elegant attire, and had to admire her style. Both a flowing, beautiful dress and one that allowed plenty of movement with the least amount of ways to get caught and snagged as possible...she always did have a head for practical fashion. Him? Not so much. He had attempted to dress in a similar smart-but-practical fashion with a neat white tunic and a boiled leather over-vest that as well as looking semi-formal offered some basic protection and mobility (not that it mattered in his current state), along with some simple black britches and boots, but next to her elegant half-dress half-battlegear, he suddenly felt rather inadequately dressed. Well...it wasn't his fault; fashion was rarely on the Warders list of assigned classes, so he didn't really know how to make something fashionable and practical at the same time. He'd have to ask about that at some point, but not now. He straightened a little, and raised his eyes to her face, though he kept a civil expression. no staring into her eyes defiantly; look her in the eyes, but make sure to blink and have his head slightly angled so as to show deference. He was not about to disrespect an Aes Sedai,<em>especially</em>not Suana Sedai after all the time and effort she has invested both in him and in the fight against the Shadow. "My apologies for being late; I found myself stuck behind a group of particularly slow recruits." He grimaced a little. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, Aes Sedai?" They were friendly, yes, and he could joke with her when appropriate...but that didn't mean he got to drop the honorific and his manners. Even when friends with an Aes Sedai, you<em>always</em>showed due deference and respect. That was just the way it was as far as he was concerned, whether you liked it or not.