Fanfic:More Than Words
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Kaia tried to keep her glances over at her fellow Red inconspicuous; the last thing she wanted was to have Jaryd catch her in the act of watching - staring - at him. It was difficult not to. She had known him all of two weeks and yet that heady feeling of intimacy, of familiarity, kept reasserting itself time and time again. In it's wake, it left her dazzled, breathless, and so hopelessly scattered.
She couldn't say what bothered her more: the fact that he confused her, or the fact that she perhaps liked the confusion... as if she were a young woman all over again.
It did not help matters any that somehow she had agreed to share the study space that he had offered. Or that their respective private rooms were linked by said study. Or that he was so very nice to look - she stopped herself abruptly from finishing that thought. Flaming Light, she was doing it again. The petite Domani gave herself a mental shake, reordering her thoughts.
Flawless emerald orbs went to watch him sidelong from lowered raven lashes. It was different today. Something... did not feel right. This was more than her ogling him; he did not seem like his usual self. The Altaran had not stabbed his desk at all since she had taken her seat behind her own desk, nor had he greeted her with his usual colourful smile. Their conversations were curt, oddly stilted, lacking their usual vibrancy. Jaryd made no quips, no jokes, and he had not gotten up to pace. Not once, in the past several hours.
Something was wrong.
There was a small part of her that scoffed at that; two weeks it mocked, and suddenly you are an expert on Jaryd Kosari's well being and his actions? She had no answer to that. It brought home the uncomfortable truth that she had only been with the Asha'man for so short a time, and yet... she knew that something was wrong. Her heart could not answer the questions her mind posed. Kaia simply knew it, felt it in the very marrow of her bones. It made no sense. The hard edge of her stubbornness rose up. Her decision to join the Red Ajah of the White Tower had made no sense either, and yet here she sat, in the same room as the man that had once existed only in the memory of her Arches.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, refusing to go so far as to physically bite down on her bottom lip. The Aes Sedai wrestled inwardly with herself for several moments before carefully composing her features, the velvet of her voice perfect.
“Jaryd?”
“Hmm?” came the distracted reply, and though his black eyes brightened a little when they swung her way, the normally expressive olive-skinned face did not follow suit.
“What is wrong?” To her credit, Kaia did not flinch as the blunt question flew out of her mouth. She was never one for forced subtlety anyway. Jaryd's look of surprise quickly turned into a faint grimace, the petite Domani answering with a little smile. She shrugged slightly, the motion still graceful. “You are not acting like you normally do and I could not help but notice.”
The wiry Altaran took a deep breath and the grimace turned into a true expression of pain.
She was out of her chair and part way across the room before she knew it, her brows lowered. A frown answered Jaryd's questioning look and she stopped only when she stood in front of his desk, green eyes sharp and penetrating. Kaia hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. An uncomfortable thought unfurled inside her mind, slowly expanding across her consciousness. He had been hurt the day he had come into House Riatin... over two weeks ago. Why had he not sought out Healing? But I can… His injuries were not life threatening, or he would not still be sitting here... and if she could not Heal him fully, Lyesia and the Infirmary were close by. Kaia knew what she wanted to do, but she wasn't entirely sure that he would let her.
“You're still hurt.” That was not a question, her hands going to rest on the curve just above her hips.
The black pools of his eyes were still as he regarded her, clearly discomfited. “It is nothing for you to worry about,” he tried to wave it off again.
Her slight frown was eloquent. “You said that two weeks ago.”
The look he gave her was as close to irritation as she had ever seen from him. “Kaia, it is nothing for you to worry about,” he repeated, each syllable perfectly enunciated, each word impeccably formed. “There is no need to trouble yourself.”
The raven-haired beauty nodded slowly, dropping the serene mask she wore. She let him see her, as she was, not merely as a fellow Red but a... friend as well. “Jaryd, please.” She spoke earnestly, her expression unhappy. “You brought me here so that my Stilling could be Healed and so that I could become Aes Sedai again. Let me help you. It's the least I can do. It is no trouble.”
Kaia couldn't say what thoughts ran through his mind, the emotions that chased across the expressive face changing too quickly for her to follow, but the Asha'man finally nodded reluctant acquiescence, his gaze dropping to study the table that separated them. “As you like then.” That was said without any actual heat.
“Thank you,” she murmured softly. “I am going to Delve you, and then once I know what the problem is, I can fix it.” I hope. She embraced saidar, a slight smile coming to her face as sheer joy flooded into her. “This might feel strange.” She spun out Spirit, twisting together the flows until they were the correct size and shape. She passed the weave over the Red Asha'man several times, making note of the bruises and half-healed cuts and scrapes. Passing the weave through him showed no internal damage to his organs, but his ribs were a mess. Kaia kept her annoyance in check, finding not one, but two places where the bones were cracked. Farther up, she found a break that had begun to mend on its own. Calm. She had to stay calm. Jaryd did not need her to upbraid him, regardless of how tempting boxing his ears might be.
“That bad, is it?” came the cheerful quip, the Altaran having entertained himself with watching her face.
“You're lucky you didn't somehow make things worse with your stubbornness,” Kaia shot back hotly, emerald orbs meeting black.
Despite the shadow of pain that lingered around his eyes, Jaryd merely answered her with his customary infuriating grin.
At least he's acting more like himself. I suppose I should be grateful. She released the Spirit weave, her lips pursing thoughtfully for a moment as she gathered all five Powers to her. Kaia spun out threads of Air, Fire, Spirit, Water, and Earth, marveling at how they all came together. It never ceased to amaze her. The intricate web was as beautiful as it was complex, and as she directed the interwoven threads into Jaryd's ribs, she wrapped the mesh of saidar around the broken bone first. Slowly, it mended and she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding when no complications arose. Kaia wove a second web and a third, going to soothe and repair the fractures next. It was thrilling to be able to heal specific areas, and she allowed herself a smile.
The petite Domani eyed the Asha'man as he straightened in his chair, Jaryd unable to hide the pleased smile from twitching across his face. He caught her eye and at least had the grace to look abashed. “Kaia, I am -”
She didn't give him a chance to finish, a veritable pillar of Power coming down on him as she went to Heal his bruises and scrapes, the Aes Sedai finally rewarded with a loud gasp. He pulled straight in his chair, body rigid, before slumping down and relaxing as Kaia withdrew her touch, releasing the Source. Bloody stubborn man. Her fingers twitched at the deep blush silk of her skirts. “You are welcome, Jaryd.” A little smile appeared on her face as she gave him a wary look. “Next time, simply ask me.”
