May 14, 1999.

Supporting Cast: Jarrue

Jarrue knocks once and then lets herself in out of habit.

Caenna rises to her feet, surprised, breaks a cardinal rule. "Jarrue Sedai?"

Jarrue nods absently, door shutting behind her as she enters. "You're not busy, are you?

Caenna shakes her head, reaching to begin to braid hair left loose for a change. "Not at all."

Jarrue nods once more and continues into the room, eyes shifting to note the multi-colored hoop that is tacked onto the door behind her. Smirking slightly, she lets her eyes stray back in your direction and walks closer to your bed where she takes a seat. "Open yourself to Saidar, Caenna," she says, no more introduction than that.

Caenna's eyes widen slightly, then close for a second in concentration. She's getting better at it, the glow encircling her after a few seconds.

Jarrue watches you carefully. Though not the most traditional teacher around, Jarrue's been known to impart /some/ people around here with a trick or two. "I didn't ask you to stop braiding your hair, Caenna. Please... continue.

Caenna's hands take up the familiar task again, saidar still enveloping her.

Jarrue pulls one of your pillows onto her lap as she makes herself comfortable... regardless of the fact that the posture is anything /but/ Sedai-like. "Air, Caenna... reach for it, find it, but don't do anything with it just yet. Just isolate a small flow... or, well... or larger if you're comfortable with it. Focus on that and that alone," she says, eyes sharpening slightly. "What color is it to you anyhow?

Caenna's fingers continue to braid automatically as she gathers a flow of air, braiding it rather instinctively in the same pattern as her hair. "Silver. It's silver."

Jarrue is glad to see that the Air is shaping itself like the braid. It'll make the rest of the lesson easier. "Keep it up, Caenna... the braiding. For now, though, just let the air continue in that pattern, in and out like a wave... but reach for some Spirit now. I want something of equal strength though, so you might need to lessen your flow of Air somewhat," she says. "Color?

Caenna falters a second, searching out the spirit strands being a bit more difficult, and less practiced. "Green. Spring green."

Jarrue fluffs the pillow slightly as she watches you take hold of the second flow. "If you think it's difficult, it will be. But in truth, it really isn't," she grins. "Silver and Green... two ribbons, Caenna... for your hair. Take hold of one in each hand and slowly draw them together. We're going to change the weave though; I want you to spread the air out thin and flat, like a thich ribbon, then lace the Spirit around it -- with the Spirit tighter, more focused. Just wrap the Air with Spirit, again and again.

Caenna's teeth catch in her lower lip as she concentrates, flattening the air weave out painfully slowly. The ribbon of Spirit is clenched tight until it's time to start twisting it. "I don't... like this?"

Jarrue chuckles, twisting your words slightly. "I don't care if you like it or you don't... keep it up... thinner, even; I want the Spirit to be as tight and thin as you can get it before we start having fun with it.

Caenna grins a bit, despite her concentration. The spirit begins twining around air like a festive garland.

Jarrue waits until she's happy with your work and then holds out her hand -- actually inserting it into the space in which you have the two flows working together. "Here and here," she points -- indicating both edges of the flattened out ribbon of air -- "I want you to grab both sides and begin to stretch it... don't think about it, just do it -- the Saidar will understand what you're doing. Wrap it around us both," she says. "Yes, a large sphere of sorts. Once you start stretching, the Spirit should compensate near automatically, keeping to the pattern you've established. Do it," she intones. "Now.

Caenna releases the spirit in her hand, getting the last bit twined. She takes a very deep breath and begins to try to pull the weave like taffy. Trying hard not to think, but making it work somwhow. Somewhat

Jarrue watches, nodding slowly. "Look at me, Caenna, not the Flows. The Saidar is inside you now, working through you like a muscle... just tighten it, stretching it, expanding it without thinking about it... let it happen. Around us both. You've stopped braiding your hair.

Caenna picks up braiding again, the action relaxing her enough that her nonphysical grip becomes more sure, pulls with greater force, wrapping the flows around. She's grinning by now with pure delighted amazement.

Jarrue allows herself a small smile. "Good, ... good, Caenna. It's around us. Now for the fun part. I want you to take control of the Air again. You are locking all sound in here with us, Warding us. Right now the Spirit looks like a stones board... when you're ready, just reach out with your mind and smear it, so that Spirit is lacing the entire inside of the Sphere -- and exert your Will. Want for the Spirit and Air to keep sound in, locking us away from the rest of the World. When the Spirit starts to spread, it'll ripple some... becoming easier once you start. Keep the Air as it is, maintaining the outside of our sphere.

Caenna is hanging onto that half-finished braid, not in a hurry to finish and tie it off. Her eyes narrowing, she studies, the inside of the sphere, mental 'hand' brushing over the green spirit flow, smoothing it out evenly. She comments, "Not as messy as dye."

Jarrue says "At least not right now, no. It'll get worse than dye soon enough though."

Caenna nods, continuing with the overlay. She is silent for about three minutes, then nods again. "Like that?" The air is coated with a thin plastering of spirit.

Jarrue nods. "The basis of the most important weave around... we're now unheard to the world at large.

You say "Just through this? Spirit and air, done like this? Does this always work?"

Jarrue nods, shrugging. "If done correctly, yes... but it's also something that you shouldn't trust too implicitly. If another Sedai wants in, it can become a fight.

Caenna looks startled. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that."

Jarrue chuckles, shrugging rather simply. "Then start thinking about it...

Caenna smiles, "Already done."

Jarrue winks playfully. "Maintain the Ward, Caenna," she says as the glow of Saidar slowly eases to life around the Sedai. "I want to rip through it.

Caenna's smile fades slightly, as she pours more willpower into the weaving.

Jarrue slowly reaches out with a flow of Spirit, letting it ease atop a section of the sphere and then spread out some, creating a small patch of Saidar that is in her control. "I want you to feel what it's like to have another Sedai's weave touching your own," she says, slowly easing against your weave. "Can you feel that?

Caenna nods, haltingly. "I can feel something, at least." Her weave in that section tightens.

Jarrue keeps things easy for you to watch. Though she doesn't alter the patch that she's established on your Ward, she approaches with a second weave of Spirit, this one sharp and straight -- a lance, so to say. It slowly approaches the center of the patch she'd created, then begins easing itself through, fighting to pierce your Ward. "The up side is that you'll know if someone is taking an approach like this; it's overt and challenging. Unfortunately, most Sedai aren't... in fact, were someone to try and violate another's Warding, I'd suspect that she'd be very subtle indeed.

Caenna nods, trying to reinforce the weave. She's watched you make a patch, and she seems to be trying the same thing, trying to add a second layer to the place the lance touches. "I should still feel it, though?"

Jarrue says "You should certainly feel mine, and clumsy Sedai. My only fears are that I've never been able to honestly pit myself against someone who /is/ being discrete. Here goes, Caenna," she says. And, with that, Jarrue turns up the heat somewhat -- her face smoothing as she opens herself more fully to that which defines her: Saidar. Spirit pours along the thin beam that she'd created, pulsing along its length as it pours its strength into a single spot... the spot through which she intends to break your Ward.

Caenna stands very still, struggling mentally to keep her weave intact, and the thin second shell she created. Forgetting the braid, her fingers remain tangled in her hair. And like you, she draws more on saidar, more then ever before.

Jarrue feels the Saidar build within you, her senses hyper-extended for the time being. "This is the hard part, Caenna... accepting your limits. Don't open yourself to more than you can handle, but don't give in too easily either. I will pierce your Ward, it's only a matter of time," she says -- still holding back significantly. "I want you to braid, Caenna," she whispers, voice commanding. "And I want you to feel what I'm doing as much as you are feeling what you're doing to stop me." Slowly, even more Spirit pours along her lance, though now she's twisting it somewhat... boring into your Ward.

Caenna swallows. "You're piercing through the strands of that weave I made... It's not very strong." Her analogies turn easily to her former craft. "It's too loose a weave, that's what the patch is for, to stop up the holes."

Jarrue nods, smiling generously. "Exactly... which is why the next time we practice this weave, you'll tighten the pattern some... and keep tightening it with each try." She withdraws her Flow, releasing Saidar. "You've done better than I expected, Caenna... and I'm not one to offer up compliments easily." More than that, she's not one to try and show off -- and wouldn't have been happy forcing her way through your work with a show of strength.

Caenna relaxes gradually, with a somewhat bemused grin. "Jarrue Sedai? That was..." A small pause, then she forges ahead, childish or not, "...fun. Thank you." Her eyes are shining. And she hasn't dropped saidar yet.

Jarrue grins, setting the pillow aside. "It should be fun... when it's not, it's time to give up on Channeling, Caenna. At least, ... well, at least in my opinion.

Caenna grins. "Can I practice this, if I am very careful?"

Jarrue doesn't really answer. "Novices aren't supposed to Channel unattended," she says: a non-answer at best.

Caenna nods. "I know."

Jarrue nods and stands. "Then we've nothing to worry about, do we?

You say "No, Jarrue Sedai."

Jarrue grins and moves to step outside. "I enjoyed the visit, Caenna. Thanks for encouraging me to stop by." Huh? She goes.

Jarrue walks out of the room, setting the frame on the door swinging.

Jarrue has left.