The sun is setting early again to the west, most of its rays disappeared behind the thick, snow-covered trees.  The remaining light is amplified by the white snow.
A large dead tree lies here, just the right size for resting on.
Frozen underbrush grows thick between the trees here.

 

Kasim Akylia is loading a horse up with saddlebags and packs.  A tent and sleeping roll are among the packages.

 

Snow crunching beneath her feet, Fayth steps over a random broken branch lying on the ground. Two thick books are tucked under one arm, and she occasionally

snaps her fingers at Summer, to make sure she follows. Covered in a thick coat, all that is truly visible is her face, which is focused mostly between the dog and

watching where her feet fall. She doesn't appear to immediately notice that she's no longer alone. (Fayth)

 

Kasim puts the last pack on the back of the horse, securing it with buckles.  He pats the horse's neck gently and sits down on the tree trunk, facing out of the camp

and north into the wilderness.  The horse wickers in the cold and he pets it again as he takes a long draught from a small flask.

 

The dog stops dead in her tracks, and tilts her head to one side, emitting a high-pitched whine. Fayth turns to look at her, appearing to be slightly irritated at the delay.

"Summer, come." She resumes walking, only to finally notice the large horse in the path. She frowns, and looks around in an attempt to find the person responsible for

the horse. Upon noticing Kasim, she starts with surprise. "Oh my. If you'd been a snake, I'd be dead." (Fayth)

 

Kasim looks back with a start, corking the flask and putting it on a pouch hanging from his saddle.  "Not too many snakes out in winter.  You should pay more

attention to where you're walking, though, hon."  He smiles faintly as he talks, and moves to adjust the bit and bridle on the horse.  After a moment he kneels and

begins to scratch Summer behind the ears.

 

Fayth nods, and offers a faint smile of her own. "Too true, too true, I suppose. Excellent way to get myself killed." She tilts her head at the horse, eyeing the packs

and the bedroll, then glances off into the distance for a moment, tapping her index finger on her chin as if deep in thought. Returning her attention to Kasim again, she

frowns. "Are you taking a trip?"

 

Kasim continues to pet the large dog, which has grown considerably since he last saw it.  It licks his gloved hand tentatively.  "Yes, something like that.  Been here too

long."  He pats Summer on the head before standing up and looking at Fayth, waiting for a response.

 

Fayth narrows her eyes, still frowning. "Well, is it a dangerous mission? And how long will you be gone?" Summer, concluding that Kasim is not in fact the enemy,

turns her attention to the snow in front of his feet, pawing and digging at it until a space without snow is cleared. Turning about nearly a half a dozen times before

finding the perfect spot, she curls up and rests her chin on her paws, watching quietly.

 

Kasim adjusts his armor and equipment before leaning against the horse.  "It's... not dangerous, no.  I don't think so..."  He trails off, and takes his flask out again and

takes a sip of it.  He puts it away carefully before continuing.  "I don't know how long I'll be gone."

 

"...Oh. Well, are you going to need any help? Who are you taking with you?"  Glancing around, Fayth spies a small, snow-covered log a few feet away, and moves

over to it. She brushes off most of the snow, then drags it closer. Tucking her cloak more tightly around her, she sits, waiting for him to answer. (Fayth)

 

Kasim waits a few moments before responding, moving to sit down on a nearby tree trunk.  Unlike Fayth, he doesn't bother to brush the snow off; his armor rattles as

he sits.  "I'm not taking anyone with me.  Except for a horse, that is."  He pulls his cloak tighter around him, rubbing his hands together fiercely, trying to use friction to

heat the gloves up.

 

Fayth tilts her head quizzically and chuckles softly. "I can't imagine a horse would be much company..." She eyes the horse. "No offense." She watches Kasim rub his

hands together a moment, then suddenly the air begins to warm, and the snow within a small radius around them melts away. "That should help. For a short time,

anyway. Though, it might be more prudent to hold these sorts of meetings in one of the tents in the future."

 

Kasim chuckles and nod his assent, sighing quietly at the warmth.  "Well, truth be told, I wasn't expecting anyone to be out here at this time of night.  Most of the

camp should be eating dinner by now, I'd imagine.  What brought you all the way out here in the cold?"  He arches his eyebrows, leaning back on the log slightly, the

dead wook creaking under him.

 

Fayth shrugs. "I was heading back to my tent. I like to take the long way around, to give myself a chance to get all my thoughts straight. Summer appreciates it, I

suppose. And I have this nasty habit of forgetting to eat. I usually have to be forced, otherwise I completely forget. I'm working on some...things...and I lose track

of...well...everything, really." She shrugs again, as if embarrassed. "...And you? Why wait until now to pack up and head out?"

 

Kasim shrugs.  "It's much quieter at this time of night.  Everyone's settled in and is resting, and I can leave undisturbed.  Much easier, I think."  He quickly changes the

subject.  "What have you been working on?  And doesn't that Warder of yours make sure you eat?"

 

Fayth smiles slightly. "He tries. I can be very elusive when I want to be, you know." She pulls the two books out from under her arms and sets them gingerly in her

lap, revealing one of them to be a book of plants and herbs, and the other to be a journal. She stares at them, suddenly fascinated. "I'm working on two theories,

actually. I'm trying to extend the lives of warders, and I'm trying to find evidence that the...gift...is possibly hereditary." She raises her head finally to make eye contact,

and although it's dark and probably hard to tell, chances are good that she's blushing.

 

Kasim meets her gaze for a minute, but doesn't appear to notice if she's blushing or not.  He remains quiet for awhile, as if thinking about the ground in between his

feet as he fixes the spot with a penetrating gaze.  "Two very noble things to be working on, I suppose.  Have you come to any conclusions, yet?"  He stands and

walks over to his horse while talking, rummaging through the pack.

 

Fayth smirks. "When have I ever been good at coming to a decision?" She sighs, and idly traces a pattern on the journal cover with her finger. Her voice gets softer as

she speaks, until it's just barely audible. "I don't know if I'd call it noble. I just...need something to do, to keep my mind occupied. I have this gift. Might as well put it

to some good use. Mostly, though, I just have a hundred books filled with notes and thoughts, but nothing concrete. Nothing's ever concrete."

 

Kasim pulls a loaf of bread out of his pack, tears off a large piece, and tosses it to Fayth.  "Eat something."  He takes his half and sits down next to her on the log,

biting into it and swallowing before he answers.  "Well, nothing is ever concrete around here.  Just moving and stopping, moving an stopping.  ANd I suppose that

you really are quite bad with decisions."  He grins slightly with the last.

 

Fayth stares at Kasim for a moment, and seemingly without thinking about it, she moves closer to him. "It's the stopping that really makes me crazy. Of course, I say

that usually when we're stopped. When we're moving, I think about where it is we're moving to, and that makes the moving worse." She stares at the bread a

moment, as if just realizing she had it, then takes a small nibble. "Thank you."

 

Kasim takes another bite out of his heel of bread, chewing.  "No problem.  Eating's good for you, I hear."  He looks over as she shifts, but says nothing.  "Damned if

you do, and damned if you don't.  It's the way it feels around here a lot, lately.  Everyone else seems so happy, though.  Or at least committed."

 

"...commited. Seems to be a good word for it. If nothing else, we're all doing an outstanding job at pretending like things are fantastic." Fayth scratches at the ground

with her toe, and smiles at Summer when she lifts her head to check on the noise. "And you? Are you happy, or are you just committed?" (Fayth)

 

Kasim shrugs.  "To be honest, I don't really think I'm either.  Not now, anyway.  Sometimes, I wake up and I don't think there's anything here for me."  He looks up

and makes eye contact for a brief second.  "Not anymore, anyway."

 

Fayth winces, but says nothing right away. Instead, she takes a larger bite of her bread, and stares off into the trees while she chews, perhaps gathering her thoughts,

perhaps just staring. She turns back to him, finally, and raises an eyebrow. "And where you're going? Is there something for you there?"

 

Kasim shrugs helplessly, sighing.  He runs a hand through his hair, and shakes his head as if trying to dislodging something.  "I just don't know, anymore.  I mean, I

have no idea where to go.  Everything's so... up in the air, I guess.  But I don't see myself throwing my life away in a pointless and bloody battle with the White

Tower."

 

Almost out of reflex, Fayth spins her head around, making sure their conversation is still confidential. "I'm surprised. Most of the men I've spoken with have shared

with me a certain eagerness to put their blades to use. There are not many that agree with you." Obviously one of the few that agree with Kasim, she doesn't actually

come right out and say one way or other. "...and your Sedai? Does she agree with your decision?" (Fayth)

 

Kasim spits into the snow loudly and suddenly at her last question, melting a small hole in the white cover.  He takes another bite out of his bread, chews slowly, and

swallows.  "I don't have a Sedai."  He takes the last bite of bread, as if to punctuate the sentence.

 

Fayth jumps a little as the spit hits the ground, and jerks her head around to look at him so hard that it probably hurt. She starts to open her mouth and say something,

but stops herself. She raises an arm as if to put it around his shoulder, but again stops halfway. With her mouth half open and her arm half-raised, she seems to freeze,

uncertain and quite uncomfortable.

 

Kasim chews silently for a few minutes, staring at the whole his saliva melted into the snow.  He suddenly reaches over and puts and arm around Fayth and pulls her

close, squeezing her without looking.  "I love you, you know.  No matter what else I've said to you."

 

Fayth moves into the embrace as if that's exactly where she's meant to be. At first, she simply nods. Then, as if somehow that wasn't enough, she speaks. Her voice is

hoarse, and very quiet. "I know. And with our history, it probably doesn't mean much, but I love you, too." She sighs softly. "So much."

 

Kasim nods once and plants a soft kiss on the top of her head.  "It's a shame we couldn't have met under other circumstances.  Might have been luckier."  He pauses

again, still holding her.  "I don't suppose I could convince you to come with me?"

 

Fayth stares at Summer, then off in the direction of the camp, as if considering. She fingers the ring looped on her necklace a moment, then stares down at the books

in her lap. Finally, she sits up, and turns to stare at Kasim. "Never have I been more tempted." She removes the ring from the necklace and places it in one of Kasim's

hands, closing her eyes briefly. "Take this. Keep it with you as a constant reminder of me." She kisses him lightly on the forehead, then abruptly stands. "I have to go.

I have things that need to be taken care of." She snaps her fingers to get Summer's attention, and as Summer stands and moves to stand next to her, she places a hand

briefly on Kasim's shoulder. "I'll be coming for you. As soon as I can, I'll find you. I promise."

 

Kasim remains silent for a moment, and his face doesn't belie any emotion, or response.  In fact, his eyes change and the all-too-familiar look of the Void takes over

his already plain features.  He nods as he touches him on the shoulder, and turns to walk away.  In a practiced motion he mounts his horse, putting the ring in a pouch.

 Without a backwards glance, he digs his heels hard into the flanks of his horse, causing the animal to set off at a gallop, sending white powder into the air.