Chapter Text
There was a lot of work to do, but for now everybody was taking time to celebrate the hard won victory. The core five were introducing new friends and companions. Perrin shared with the group how he had met Aviendha in a Whitecloaks controlled town and how he helped her escape and eventually Bain and Chiad. His eyes had yet to turn back to their original brown. Now they were golden that glowed softly in the dim light of the tavern. Nobody pushed, they all had their own private traumas, and secrets they weren’t ready to share yet. However, he had told one person. He had told Moiraine.
He remembered telling her, stumbling over his words, his eyes focused down on his hands as he fiddled with a piece of string. She wasn’t disgusted, or scared, or any other reaction that he was scared of. Instead she was the reassuring rock that he had come to know. She gave him an akward pat on the shoulder, thanked him for tell her, told him to keep it private but that it was his choice if he tell the other four friends from Two Rivers. She promised to try to get some answers and that was that.
Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve shared stories of their time at the tower. They didn’t say much about their time in Falme and nobody pushed. The three women had pulled Moiraine and Lan aside earlier and told them about Liandrin, about what she did, about the presence of black Ajia. Moiraine and Lan shared a glance to each other and at the same time the glance was a full conversation. The only emotion Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve could pick up though was thundering fury and confusingly anxiety and/or concern. Still Moiraine was a rock and reassured them that she would handle it.
Mat and Rand were the two people who omitted the most of their time away.
Mat was vague about his whereabouts before meeting Rand again in Cairhien. He just said that he had been taken captive. He looked over to Moiraine. He had told her, and only her the whole story. She had apologized, tell him that if she had know about Liandrin she would have never had her find him. Even during the apology she kept an emotional distance showing nothing except a brief flash of pain, sadness and regret. However, there were other emotions that flashed over her face that he couldn’t decipher. He may never understand what goes through Moiraine’s head, what she is thinking or even the whole truth of what is happening but he does trust her.
Rand told the group that he was in Cairhien trying to get information out of the flash dragon Loigan about male channeling. He avoided any mention of Lanfear. Of falling in love with her as Selene and still being confused about his feelings now. He didn’t know what to think but he couldn’t help but be concerned for Lanfear sure that she would have showed up by now and worried that something had happened to her.
With the group more or less caught up on each others events of the past months topics turned lighter and ale was drunken faster and with more joy. Soon the laughter filled every corner of the tavern they sat in. Moiriane had rented out the entire place along with a bribe for the staff to keep their mouths shut. Rand didn’t need to be hounded by people wanting to talk and meet the dragon. Soon that would come, him uniting the world to fight the dark one. The others had also been through so much trauma through their journeys, she was no exception. They all deserved a night to forget that it was only the beginning instead of the start of the end.
Moiriane, however, needed some air. Needed to feel the source fully and alone. Needed to scratch the itch to pull at the sources around her and weave until the sun rose. She hadn’t felt it for so long and now it was overwhelming. She just needed a minute to process it all. She gave a nod to Lan who would stay behind keeping an eye on the others. He only asked through the bond that she not close the bond off. He wanted, no needed to make sure she was ok. She promise that she would. Slipping into the deep shadows only the Aiel women noticed her exit from the tavern.
She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and set up to find a quiet corner of Falme near the tavern to channel and embrace the source. The city was in shambles but still standing. Pieces of rubble lay every where with blood staining the ground with either puddles of blood a body once laid in or drips of a survivor feeling the fighting. The city would recover but for now most of the residents had returned to their homes to nurse their wounds or set up camp out site the city walls until they could build a new one.
Everybody was holding their loved ones a little tighter tonight.
In a dark square only lit by moonlight with a small tree did she stopped. It was perfect. Closing her eyes she reached out. First earth. The source started to swirl and wrap around her body. Tear fell down her cheeks her eyes staying steadfastly closed. Now air. It danced around and filtered through her fingers. Fire. It crawled up her legs joining the swirling vortex of source. She could sense the raging fires that still burnt across the city. However, she also felt the small flicker of a candle keeping the dark at bay by a child’s beside as their parents watch over them. Water. It rushed over her like a crashing wave, turbulent and vast like the sea that bordered the city. Spirt. She could feel the sorrow of those who lost people and happiness and joy due to the city being freed. But then she felt another thread.
It was familiar, and close. She wrapped her hand around the strand and pulled. Suian.
She spun around and their she stood. Wrapped in a blue cloak like in the old days, during simpler times.
“Suian…” Moiraine breathed. Moiraine took a step towards her and stopped.
“You didn’t lie” Suian said taking a step forward.
“How? Why?”
“You didn’t stay”
“I..” Moiraine sucked in a breath remembering back to that moment. The guilt that had flooded her when the way gate closed. She knew that she had done the right thing but at that moment she hated doing the right thing.
“Tell me the truth, all of it” Suian had reached her.
“You are angry” it was a statement not a question.
“Furious” Suian agreed, “But if we are going to help the dragon reborn we need to stop letting emotions dictate our actions, we need to 100 percent truthful and forthright”
“And us” Moiraine couldn’t help but ask.
“Let’s both just start with the truth”
“The both of us?”
“I shouldn’t ask of you what I won’t do in return”
“Ok…” Moiraine started to begin.