Kaitlyn
   Reidon had been tracking the Purples for some time now.  It hadn't been very
hard- their trail up the mountain was pretty obvious to a skilled Warder such
as himself.  Especially with the ter'angreal his Aes Sedai had given him.
Pausing for a moment, he leaned against a tree and carefully set his precious
burden down.  Then he took hold of the leather cord around his neck and pulled
it off. 
   Suspended from that cord was the ter'angreal.  It didn't look like much;
merely a round, flat piece of stone, about the size and shape of a coaster,
with a compass rose inscribed on one side.  But it was actually a powerful
artifact which was used to find people and things.  It could be used by
anyone, regardless of ability to channel the One Power, and did not seem to
have any range limitation.  One only needed to know the person or thing they
were looking for.  For example, an Ayenda Vera who was once part of the White
Tower, and who was well-known to Reidon.  When he concentrated on her, holding
the compass rose, the appropriate direction (north-east, for example) would
glow with a reddish light, indicating that the person he sought was in that
direction. 
   After consulting the ter'angreal, he slipped it back over his neck, stuffing
the warm stone down his shirt to swing against his chest, hidden from curious
eyes.  Not that there was anyone out here but him and the animals, at the
moment.  But he knew that the Purple Tower refugees were nearby, because the
ter'angreal glowed brighter the closer one came to the person sought, and this
time it had been very bright indeed.  He caught up his burden and set offagain. 
   Minutes later, Reidon Gaidin made it to the Purples' camp- and immediately
found himself flat on his back on the ground, staring up into the snarling
face of a VERY angry wolf.

   Kaitlyn made sure that Liam was resting comfortably after she healed his
wound, then went looking for Patty.  Before she could find the Anima, however,
there was a commotion at the entrance of the cave.  Some of the Purples were
so exhausted that they didn't even notice; others, Kait among them, raced
over, seizing the OP as they did so. 
   Moonlight Dancing had discovered a man trying to enter the cave, and had him
pinned to the ground.  He wore a color-shifting cloak; that ancient symbol of
the gaidin was still used today, especially when they needed to go into the
wood.  This was no Purple Tower Warder, that was obvious, or Moonlight Dancing
wouldn't have attacked.  He must be from the White Tower. 
   All this Kaitlyn observed in a heartbeat; then she saw his face.  "STOP!"
She leapt forward.  "Patty, call her off!"  Without waiting for her to do so,
Kait stretched out with her own mind.  On rare occasions, she could speak to
Moonlight Dancing, though as far as she knew she was not Wolfkin.  She
desperately hoped the ability would work now.  ~~ANGER~~PROTECTIVENESS~~FEAR~~ 
   Kaitlyn winced at the force of Moonlight Dancing's emotions, then sent
something of her own.  ~~STOP!  He's a friend, a FRIEND!~~  
   ~~friend?~~ 
   ~~YES!  FRIEND!~~ 
   She sighed with relief as the wolf backed away, letting the man stand.
Moonlight Dancing moved to Patty's side.  The Ayenda Vera and Nila who had
witnessed the incident started to voice questions, but Kaitlyn shooed them
off.  She would explain to them later. 
   "Kait?" Patty had not gone with the others.  She was staring at the newcomer.
"Is that-?"
   "Reidon, yes," Kaitlyn confirmed.  "Celisa Sedai's Warder." 
   They shared a smile.  Celisa Sedai of the Brown Ajah was a favorite of anyone
who had ever been a novice in the White Tower.  The kind, entertaining Brown
was a joy to be around, no matter what one's rank in the Tower.  Patty's eyes
widened when she remembered exactly what Celisa did in the White Tower.  She
was researching the time of Tarmon Gai'don- including the work of the Ajahs
during that time.  And one of the things the Yellow Ajah had been working on
in that era was... 
   "Stilling!"  Patty's eyes were trained on the bundle Reidon carried- a bundle
large enough to contain a book. 
   The Warder, recovering from the wolf attack, smiled at the women.  "Kaitlyn,
Patty, it's good to see you both again." 
   Kait gave him a quick hug.  "Celisa found it, didn't she?  And how did you
find us?" 
   Reidon grinned.  "What, you doubt my superior tracking skills?"  He laughed.
"Celisa gave me this thing."  He produced the compass ter'angreal.  "She wants
you to have it, along with this."  He handed it and the bundle to Kaitlyn. 
 "Thank you!"  She was eager to get to work, and called over a Nila, "Please
get Reidon Gaidin something to eat and drink," she told the girl, her mind not
really on what she was saying.  She motioned for Reidon to go with theyoungster.
  "Kait, is that really...?"  Patty stared at the bundle, hope and longing
plain on her face. 
 Kaitlyn hugged her friend.  "We'll find out soon.  Why don't you go get some
rest, while I read?"

   Patty wasn't really resting.  She was lying down beside Moonlight Dancing,
watching Kait read.  The wolf was half-asleep, paying no mind to Patty's
nervous hands twisting her fur.  She had already tried to soothe the woman, to
no avail.  Patty had been coping admirably with her stilling, but now, with
healing so close, she felt anxiety and a keen sense of loss.  She missed
channeling, missed the intoxicating feel of saidar *so* much.... 
   Finally, Kaitlyn stood and came over to her.  She was beaming, which made all
of Patty's anxiety melt away.  Suddenly she knew that everything would be
alright.  She put her trust in her friend.  "What do you want me to do?" 
   "Just sit still and let me do all the work," Kait said, the happiness she
felt carrying through into her voice.  "It's so simple, I can't believe I
didn't figure it out myself!"  Giving one of Patty's hands a squeeze, she
embraced saidar and set to work. 
   After Nynaeve al'Meara healed Logain, Suian Sanche, and Leanne, the Yellow
Ajah had made great strides in understanding what stilling was and how to fix
it.  They had even learned how to heal anyone back to their full strength,
something Nynaeve had not been able to do for the women in that first healing.
But this knowledge had been lost.  Rather, it had been purposely suppressed.
The reasoning behind this was not hard to follow.  The White Tower used
stilling as a punishment; what good would that punishment be if everyone knew
how to undo it? 
   But in Patty's case, this was no punishment.  It was a horrible crime by an
evil woman, and Patty had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now Kaitlyn would restore to Patty all that she had lost.  Celisa had found a
book containing the knowledge of those Yellows, dating back to the days when
Rand al'Thor and the other heroes of old walked the land. 
   In the Age of Legends, stilling was known as severing, a much more accurate
name.  For that was exactly what was done- the channeler's connection to the
True Source, through which they drew upon the One Power, was severed.
Afterwards, they could feel the Source, but never touch it.  Nynaeve used a
weave of predominantly Fire and Spirit to bridge the gap between the severed
edges.  And, when she healed Logain, he returned to his full strength.
Naturally, she used the exact same weave on Siuan and Leanne; however, they
were considerably weaker than they had been. 
   It was only later that people understood why.  While Logain, a man, had been
strong in Fire, and also strong in Spirit, Siuan and Leanne had had different
strengths.  The weaves to heal them should have been composed of different
elements to reflect this.  The elements in the weave needed to be in the same
proportion as the channeler's natural strength in order to smoothly heal that
connection to the Source, and return the channeler to full strength.  That was
where Nynaeve went wrong, and Kait did not intend to repeat her mistake. 
   Ironically enough, Patty's strongest element was Fire, followed by Spirit.
Had Nynaeve been healing Patty using the same weave she had used for Logain,
she would most probably have restored Patty's full strength as well.  Kait
wove a strong weave of Fire, a little less of Spirit, then the rest of the
elements (Air, then Earth, and least of all Water) according to Patty's
strengths.  Very carefully, she probed Patty's mind, seeking out the place
where it felt as if something was cut.  Finding it, she anchored her weave to
both edges, pulling them together and binding them with the weave. 
   Her healing done, she released saidar and sat back on her heels.  Her face
was sheened with sweat, and her hands trembled from the amount of
concentration her work had taken.  Holding her breath, she looked to Patty for
the woman's reaction.  Tears of joy came to her eyes when she saw the telltale
glow of saidar surrounding her friend.  "It worked," Patty whispered.


Patty
   Go get some rest.  Who did Kaitlyn think she was kidding?  Patty
unconsciously twisted Moonlight Dancing's pelt.  The wolf had tried her best
to calm and sooth Patty, but Patty wasn't in a mood to hear it.  Never did the
phrase "so close and yet so far" make so much sense.  Patty tried to will
Kaitlyn to read faster. 
   Finally, Kaitlyn stood and came over to her.  She was beaming, which made all
of Patty's anxiety melt away.  Suddenly she knew that everything would be
alright.  She put her trust in her friend.  "What do you want me to do?" 
   "Just sit still and let me do all the work," Kait said, the happiness she
felt carrying through into her voice.  "It's so simple, I can't believe I
didn't figure it out myself!"  Giving one of Patty's hands a squeeze, she
embraced saidar and set to work. 
   At first Patty felt nothing.  From the look of concentration on Kait's face
it was clear to Patty that she was channeling, but she couldn't see the glow
around her friend.  Patty and Kait had been down this road countless times
before with Kait's attempts to Heal her.  Patty knew she was probing the edges
of the severing, or at least, that was what Kait had done in the past. 
   Suddenly there was a feeling of real Healing.  A breathtaking moment of
sensation along every nerve.  In an eerily familiar way the moment was endless
and over too soon.  Every shred of patience Patty had was gone, and she
reached out blindly for the One Power...  ...and grabbed it.  
   The sweet sensation of saidar filled Patty.  She opened herself up to more
and more.  She knew she was being reckless and in danger of burning herself
out.  But it would be worth it for this blessed chance to be whole once again. 
   Patty felt like she could lift right off the ground and fly.  She was elated,
joyful, happy, ecstatic and those words didn't come close enough to what she
was feeling.  She wanted to share with everyone the pure emotions she felt in
a way that words wouldn't diminish.  But she never could...they would never
understand. 
   Patty looked at Kait, really *looked* at her. She watched the glow of
embracing saidar fade as Kait finished her work.  Kait's face was sheened with
sweat, and her hands trembled from the amount of concentration her work had
taken.  Holding her breath, she looked to Patty for the woman's reaction.
Tears of joy came to her eyes when she saw the telltale glow of saidar
surrounding her friend. 
   "It worked," Patty whispered.  She grabbed Kaitlyn in a tight embrace.
"Thank you, thank you!"  Tears came unbidden as she tried to express her
overwhelming gratitude and love toward her friend. Patty held Kait's shoulders
and looked into her eyes trying to send her emotions through the space between
them.  "I can never....I am so grateful...you can't know..." 
   The emotionally intense moment was disrupted by the form of a giddy wolf
leaping on the two women.  She tried to be petted, and head butt, and lick,
and nip both women at the same time.  Patty let out a whoop of joy and pounced
on the wolf.  Kait tried to escape the madness but was soon tangled in the
mess that was Patty and Moonlight Dancing. 
   Soon, laughing and wrestling with just two others wasn't enough for Patty.
She jumped up, with Moonlight Dancing on her heels, and grabbed the person
nearest the fray.  Poor Jami was startled by being swung up in the air by the
normally reserved Ayenda Vera and Danielle was knocked down from behind by the
exuberant wolf. 
  Patty made her way around the whole cave hugging, tickling, tackling whoever
was nearby.  No one was spared, not even Liam who had to settle for a hair
tousseling in lieu of something more physical.  Patty was like a storm that
had to blow itself out.  There was no point in trying to stop her and they all
understood why she needed to let off steam.  So most people indulged in the
rough housing.  It was a welcome relief from the stress they'd all been under. 
   Patty finally ended up back where she had started and dropped down exhausted
near Kaitlyn.  She still couldn't stop laughing.  She ws giddy and sharing her
mind with an exstatic wolf wasn't helping.  Kaitlyn just watched her friend
with a smile.  


Lia
    Lia was standing, against a tree, by herself, Hap was attending something
or other, smoking when Patty walked by... hugging her briefly, and moving on..
a soft hum escaping her lips..... Moonlight Dancing followed.. skipping like
a Pup, and licking Lia's hand, and even Nightwind's nose...  
   Lia shrugged, " Guess she got herself Healed....  Should have listened to
me.. I know what it's like after all....  Oh well.. It's all good now...
Congrats Patty!" 
   The waft of smoke caught her eye, and she watched it... " You know
Nightwind...  It's funny.....  I was standing like this, just like this...
When I first met Jen.... 
   "She came running at me, a horrified look on her face, Screaming about
there being something evil near me.... Yelling at me to run, like a Poor
Novice, and She the experienced Accepted, would save me......  
   "I think I laughed at her... Then she realized the evil was coming from
me.....   I held such contempt for her then.. like I needed defending, or
maybe that my whole life I had to take care of myself, and now all of a
sudden, someone comes to protect me... from myself...." She laughed to herself
softly.. all but forgetting Nightwind was sitting beside her, batting at her
fingers.  
   "It's odd now, I remember I thought of them all that way....  Jen,
Patty, Vree, Even Dieda....  Dieda's gone now.. no Not dead.. just.. gone.. 
   "It was Hard.. Elayne tried to get me in trouble.. all the time.. saying
I was controling her, and whipping her was the last straw....   Soon after
that.. Well.. We became the best of friends...  
   "Vree though... I hated her.. she had free come and go of Tar Valon..
coulD carry weapons.. and treated me like crap...   I swore I'd kill her.....
I had the chance when she was trapped with Graendal....  I saved her though...
maybe because I knew she was what I would have grown up to be.. Had my life
been different.. not much different though If I remember right..
   "But Jen.. Jen I hated the most....  with her notions of protecting me
like I was some defenseless Baby, then creating the Purple Ajah as a club at
first, and elected to include us poor Novices into it....  But I got to know
her.. and I realized she wasn't as bad as I thought she was.. sure she had a
temper...  but... you know, now that I think about it...  I don't think I'm as
bad as I was myself.....  then.....  I've learned a lot here....  and I now
follow lovingly, out of friendship... Women I used to despise....   
   " Love is odd like that I suppose.."


Jami
   Jami looked about her carefully. No bullies had not been in sight....many
were getting ready to go....she had no more Skittles...which obviously stunk.
Her bag was ready...picking it up,she decided to wander for a bit. Finding a
tree nearby the site, she climbed up, feeling comfortable on a strong branch
filled with green leaves; and tried to see if she could see them clearly.
Good...now I won't be left behind....She had brought her new black shirt and a
silver marker...taking the time, she wrote in really pretty letters the word
"Narf"...smiling, she put down her stuff...feeling the breeze quietly move
leaves and dust across a world made of dirt and water. The sky's beauty
brightened Jami's day...the dusk had set onto dawn...from dawn to noon...noon
to nightfall...from nightfall to  night...to dusk to begin another day. She
saw the crowd starting to get restless. Best go.She climbed down the tree, and
hurried to report with the other Stude. She  wondered what would happen where
they were going....Tear, they had talked about...she hadn't paid much
attention....stuffing her stuff in the bag, she looked about the other
girls...they were pretty smart...she should ask them what exactly was being
planned by the BH.. 


Vree
      The Night sounds creaked around her as she crouched at the mouth of the
largest cave, eyes scanning the darkness for movement.  The rustle of grass in
the night breeze soothed nerves strained to the point of breaking and the
sweet churring of insects had begun to chur its chorus soon after the
prevailing storm had whisked from the area.
      Eyes blurred wearily and Vree knew she'd have to get some rest before
dawn if she expected to be of any use in the evacuation in the morning.
Excitement had riddled the cave all night.  First Patty's Healing, she could
still feel the woman's excitement as she whirled through the cave, tackling
friends left and right in surprisingly strong bear hugs.  Patty's wolf,
Moonlight Dancing, hadn't done much better.  In lumpine happiness she had ran
through the cave at her mistress's heels, bowling over what was left of Studè,
Nila, and Ayende Vera after Patty had gotten through with them.  Then Haplo
had returned.  Vree frowned, she was going to have to get that story from him
sometime.  The man didn't look well..
      A shadow shifted in the darkness, and Vree redistributed her weight into
a more manuverable position.  The shadow drew nearer and Vree relaxed
marginally as she recognized the four legged form of a wolf brother.
      ::Sister,:: the beast sent, ::why do you not rest?  The pack guards this
territory tonight.  The pups are safe.::
      Vree frowned, the mind voice was too familiar.  Visions of the tiny wolf
cub she'd left with her old pack in New Manetherenelle danced accross her
mind's eye.  A bond, judged by the pack to be too strong for safety, had
forced them apart.  The strange wolf drew nearer, puzzlement touching his
thoughts as memory grew.
      Green-gold eyes met gold ones, followed by a whirl wind of thought and
emotion.  Happiness so profound, chased with a grief so deep and aching that
the world surely should have ended.  Abandonment, banishment...  The next
thing Vree knew she was being bowled over by the giant set of black paws on
her shoulders.  She gave a muffled yelp as the large wolf overbalanced her and
she titled over on her rump.
      Vree grinned, "Nice to see you too Shadow."  She ruffled his ears,
allowing a yawn to escape, before rubbing stinging eyes free of tears she
hadn't known were there.  "Well, looks like I'll have to find out how you got
here later," she looked down at the wolf, enthusiastically head butting her
knees, demanding attention.  "Just like a pup!"
      The wolf grinned up had her happily, tongue lolling from his mouth.  He
waved his tail gayly and followed her into the cave compound.
      "Danielle, Timothy!" she called, watching the two as the poked their
heads into cracks and under rocks, obviously look for something... Or some
body... I hope they haven't been picking on poor Jami again...  The two Studè
stopped short, drawing to attention.  Vree was known to be a little less than
steady at times and suddenly having a large black wolf trailing her every
movement probably didn't bode well for friendliness factor as far as Studè
went.  "I want you two," she said, leveling a finger at them, "out there."
She jerked a thumb at the cave entrance.  They wouldn't really be guarding,
just watching the wolves.  If there were trouble, the wolves would let them
know.  "Stay at the cave entrance no matter what.  I don't want you, either of
you," she raised an eyebrow at Timothy's superior sniff, "wandering around out
there and if I find out differently..." she trailed off, drawing something
that suspiciously resembled a gelding knife from a leg sheath, slapping it in
her palm to make her point.
      Timothy gulped audibly and the two nodded.  She wasn't afraid of
Danielle wandering around in the dark.  She doubted to girl had the courage to
leave the light of the cave.  The threat had been meant cheifly for Timothy,
cocky WiT-less boy that he was, and she smiled knowing Timothy had understood. 

       The morning's first rays of light shot over the horizon, granting a
spactacular view to anyone who was awake enough to witness it.  Dewy droplets
sparkled in the purple-red light, inspiring an inner peace that Vree
desperately wished to hold on to.            
      She'd managed to catch three hours of sleep before restlessness drove
her from the small pallet of her sleeping roll and out into the night.  She's
spent the rest of the dark hours paranoidly patrolling the surrounding area.
The sound of voiceS drew her back toward the cave.
      Patty spotted her approach before she could burst in on the group and
give someone a heart attack, throwing a perky grin over Jen's shoulder and
alerting the group of her presence.
      "No sign of pursuit... yet," she added hastily as eyes turned to her.
      "Good," said Jen.  Shadows under he eyes spoke of a night of
restlessness. 
      Not that Mom doesn't have anything to worry about, she thought
sadly.  
      "Okay, we have to get down off this mountain."
      Vree nodded with everyone else.
      "Ya seem ta've fergot yer transpertation, ladies," Haplo reminded them,
muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "not to
mention yer weapons, gear, and wits..."
      "Then we get new transportation, Hap," she grinned.  "I know this
wonderful car dealer at the crossroads south Dragonmount.  I'm sure he'd just 
love to give a wonderful deal on some good wheels."  Her expression said
if he didn't he'd change his mind really fast."
      "Great, let's get going."
       Vree shook her head.  "Nothin' doing, Hap.  Anything large enough to
transport a decent number of Studè or Nila isn't gonna make it up that road."
Vree shrugged, eyebrows drawing down.  "I'm rather surprise your car made it up."
       Hap frowned, it'd been dark last night and he hadn't really noticed the
road conditions.  "Then what?"
       "The only thing I can advise is another grueling trip, this time down
the mountain, and we  redezvous at the dealership.  Hap, you go down first
with whoever's in no shape to trek and the rest of us will follow.  Keep out
of sight, see if you can round up additional weapons," she gave a crooked
grin, "Unfortunately, I don't know any amunition dealers in town."  She turned
back to the others.  "At a guess this should take us about 3 hrs to get down
the mountain.  Since we're going down it should help, both on muscles and on
time.  We take three paths," she sketched  them in the dirt.  One veered east
then west, another west then east, and the last one zigzaged between the two
down the mountain.  "The zigzap paths will take a little longer, but it's also
alot safer.  I don't want anyone falling and injuring themselves and having to
be carried down if we can help it."  She didn't think she needed to mention
that zigzagging up the mountain had been what had kept her group last night.
Though tired, her group had managed to get up the mountain with the least
sprained ankles.
      She glanced up from her sketched map at the ring of silence around her,
then realized this was the most she'd said since the beginning of this little
fiasco. "Well, whadda ya think?" her eyes found Patty then Jen and she waited
for their approval or disapproval whatever came... 


Patty
   "Sounds like a good plan Vree." Patty nodded her approval.  "Liam should
definitly go down with Hap.  He's much steadier on his feet since Kaitlyn got
to him, but why take the risk?"  And, Patty thought to hersefl, he'd be just
as happy to get away from the increasing number of wildlife that this group
seemed to attract.
      "Danielle should probably ride down as well."  Patty shared a grimace
with Kait knowing that Hap wouldn't be too happy with that plan.  But the girl
was totally out of condition and apt to slow them down.  It would be better
for all of them in the long run for her to ride down instead of walk.
Besides, she lived in fear of Hap...she wouldn't give him any problems.
      "The rest of us can split up into three equal groups again.  If I take
the east track, and you take the west, " Patty addressed Vree.  "Then we'll
have wolf scouts on both sides and can give some protection to the group in
the middle."  Everyone seemed alright with this plan, and soon they were on
the move.