bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas, @ 2009-12-19 00:13:00
Who: Bethen Avilla & Alderic Thearre Where: The Circle Tower's library. When: Early afternoon. Winter, Cassus 9:42. Summary: The day after her Harrowing, Beth has a chat with the Templar who was supposed to kill her, but luckily for both of them, didn't have to. Rating: G, probably.
She wasn't entirely sure where she was when she woke up that morning. The sheets felt different, stiffer, than the same ones that were softened from years of being washed every week, but the mattress underneath her back was plush, and the lump that was by her right foot was absent. It wasn't just what she felt that was different, but the sounds and the smells, or lack thereof. No snoring from across the room, no creaking wood as the apprentice in the bunk above tossed and turned, no stray scent of rotting food that someone had smuggled in from last week's dinner. It was clean, warm, safe -- and yet, she couldn't help but be slightly panicked. Over twelve years of communal living, of stumbling over someone else's mess and hearing the echoes of laughter and idle chatter bounce off the stonework, had made her unprepared for the silence. Not that she was completely alone -- half-walls and tall bookshelves partitioned the room between several occupants, and there was no such thing as complete privacy within the Tower.
Still, Bethen had never felt so isolated in her life, save for those hours she'd spent wandering the Fade less than a full day earlier, and it was jarring to have woken up so alone when that was one of the last things she could remember. In those first few minutes of consciousness, she couldn't figure out how she'd gotten from the floor of the Harrowing Chamber to the Senior Mage Quarters. After allowing it all to sink in, she vaguely recalled being woken up late in the evening before, some time after they'd taken her down to the apprentice quarters, though they only allowed her a few hours rest before moving her. Someone had guided her by the arm up the long flight of stairs, while a Tranquil carried her trunk behind them. The staircase seemed to wind on forever and ever, until they reached the top step and she could finally curl up in her bed.
Having not had a chance to do so before falling into a deep sleep, Beth's first priority this morning was to take a bath. As much as she wanted to enjoy the full extent of the privileges that came with her new room, there wasn't much time to soak in the tub. She dried herself quickly and slipped on the new robes she'd been given to match her status as a Mage of the Circle. They fit surprisingly well, unlike the first time she'd put on her Apprentice robes, and Petra had to reassure her that she would grow into the shoulders, and the someday, the chest. But she wasn't one to preen, especially when there were things to be done, and people waiting for her. After breakfast, she had a meeting with the First Enchanter, then it was to the library.
Talking with Irving didn't go on for very long; he had only wanted to congratulate her, and discuss schedules for assisting the Senior Enchanters in their demonstrations and lectures. Though he admitted nothing, because playing favorites among mages was not admirable behavior for the man in charge of an entire Tower full of them, the fact that Irving had arranged those time tables prior to the completion of her Harrowing said a lot more of his faith in her than his verbal commendations. Bethen left his office feeling a lot more reassured, even cheerful, about what she had gone through than when she'd gotten up, and made about her usual rounds.
Even though Irving had insisted she take the day off to relax, he knew it was a rather pointless statement -- there was hardly anything more relaxing to her than organizing shelves and fetching requested tomes. If it hadn't been for the change of clothing, one could scarcely tell that she had just faced down a terrible demon and resisted possession, as she milled about the archives, several books under arm while humming a tune to herself.