<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/c/c1/RedAjah.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Theraeve Valaim (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=234819.msg11557599#msg11557599)<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah<br/><strong>Bondmate:</strong>n/a<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>Kalain<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Early Afternoon, Saven 6th, 990NE<br/><strong>Place:</strong>Training grounds<br/><strong>Warning:</strong>n/a<br/><hr/><br/>Theraeve could try to convince herself all she wanted that she'd come to the training grounds seeking to improve herself, and on some level that was true enough, but it wasn't her primary motivation. It was the exhilaration and danger of the fight that she was chasing, a fight against an opponent trained for that very purpose, one which wouldn't leave her with lingering feelings of regret after it was over. In that sense, she'd actually been fortunate to square off against possibly the most insufferable man that she'd ever met. If they were all like him, Theraeve would surely have adopted the same stance as the rest of her Ajah.<br/><br/>Currently, all she wanted to do was live in that moment, forgetting everything else that weighed on her for however long it might last. As she and Kal traded blows, it was like a pattern that they were creating together, weaving it with their own bodies rather than the Five Powers. A bloody and violent pattern which only grew more extreme the further that they got wrapped up in it. Fatigue settled in and the bruises piled up, but the arrogance of his unsolicited coaching made sure the embers of passion in her belly kept glowing brightly.<br/><br/>Without any cause for restraint, Theraeve surrendered herself to her instincts, which was nothing at all like embracing the serenity of saidar, though no less elating. Lost in the heat and frenzy of battle, it also became easier to overextend and make mistakes, which was precisely what happened after she'd bypassed her opponent's guard with a shot that connected particularly well. Smelling blood in the water, Theraeve went in for the kill, only to be stopped inches short when the uppercut to her stomach nearly folded her in half.<br/><br/>The leather girdle that she wore may just as well have been a sheer wisp of silk for all the protection that it offered her against the vicious blow. With a heavy, almost incredulous gasp, she went down as if her legs had just been sawed off at the knees, landing on all fours. Tendrils of paralyzing agony spread out through her entire torso as Theraeve gasped desperately for air, the suffering playing out visibly over her bloodied face. Bizarrely, even in defeat and with her body screaming in pain, she still found some twisted sense of satisfaction that she could cling to.<br/><br/>With surrender not being a term that she was familiar with, Theraeve used whatever scraps of energy that she could still muster to shakily push herself back up on one knee as if trying to stand, her eyes somehow still glimmering with zeal even as she struggled to draw breath through her mouth. Being too stubborn to give up, she would rather force him to give their fight the proper conclusion that it deserved.