Reiyona follows you into the garden with a graceful gait, her woollen dress swinging gently about her ankles as she moves. "Well, that was certainly interesting," she says quietly. She casts her green eyes about the garden, as if looking for something or someone.

Saevyna glides smoothly across the length of the courtyard, her white gown barely brushing the ground as she walks. A guard opens the garden gate as the pair of women approach it, standing out of the way so that they may pass through freely. Saevyna's entire state of manner seems to change, although she is careful to hold her mask of serenity, "Well... hrmph. Not very diplomatic for a Gray, I'd say. Were the shawl worn about my shoulders not as new as this snow upon the ground, I may have made a motion to say something."

Reiyona nods at you calmly, then lifts her shoulders slightly before allowing them to fall again, as close to a shrug as she's ever gotten. "Why I did not say anything, also. Only two years with my shawl, a full year less than you, and I would barely be surprised if she gave me more than the rough side of her tongue if I misstepped. She has both strength and years over me." She gestures to the small bench distant in the garden. "Shall we sit? How long has it been since we saw each other last?"

Saevyna traces her way towards the bench, her tiny feet leaving faint imprints as she glides over the snow, "It has been sometime, to be sure." She casts the other woman a warm smile, her eyes strongly reflecting the gesture, "How have you been? The Tower is so drab, and the Ajah Halls..." The woman shudders, although from the temperature or something else you cannot be sure, "I don't think I can reside here much longer. I need a break."

Reiyona gracefully lowers herself to the bench and pats the space next to her. "Too much time it has been, I feel. But, we have now, and that suits me." Her smile is equally warm and her green eyes sparkle like the sun striking the rippling water on a lake. "I have been well enough. My research goes well, though some consider my progress too slow. Still, I am patient as ever. As for residing here, I'd enjoy a repose from the White Tower, also." Her smile softens but does not fade. "But tell me how you have been."

Saevyna does not hesitate as she lowers herself down at your side, shifting to pull her cloak flat beneath her, "I have been well, in most regards. It seems that many wish to impede my progress... especially of my own ajah." She shakes her head in disbelief, her eyes travelling over the barren branches of the trees, their limbs outlined by the ivory-coloured walls like a spiderweb lined with dew, "I had thought it would be wise to depart for some time, and return with a few more years experience. I cannot continue on like this." Her tone was cool and strong, but as she ended, it carried a hint of exasperation.

Reiyona reaches a slender, milk-coloured hand to your knee as if to pat it gently. "All things come in time, and forgive me for this tired old saying, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. We are still newborn fish and if we do not play our cards suitably, Aes Sedai like that Grey," she motions back to the courtyard, "will not hesitate to trump us. Time, Saev, time." She smiles at you. "It's one of the things we have plenty of."

Saevyna's mouth curls into a soft smile at your words, as she glances towards you, her hand raises to scratch at her eyebrow, "As always, your knowledge is most welcome, Rei. There is no need for forgiveness between us, as I hope there never will be. But... you words chime with much truth, like a harmony created by a caucus of sparrows." Her smile hardens and becomes rueful, "I will not be chased away. To stay is to be a thorn on a rose, sharpening with each brush rather than dulling. Soon enough, you are correct... soon."

Reiyona pats your knee gently, then returns her hand to her lap, where she settles it comfortably. "I now will do my utmost to hear exactly what a caucous of sparrows sounds like - and it had better be pleasing to my ear!" She smiles jovially and emits a quiet laugh, which in any other woman might be registration of slight amusement, but in Reiyona is like side-splitting laughter. "I did not mean to indicate that a trip away from the Tower would be the wrong thing to do, Saev, I actually think it would not be such a bad idea. I just can see the other side of the coin, that portents being forgotten."

Saevyna tilts her head towards you consideringly, her lips glistening with a reflective sheen, much like the snowflakes scattered about the ground, "A caucous of sparrows, -Sister-..." She uses the term amusedly, "Is quite pleasing to the ear, but, they often get more than they bargain for. Each bird chirps a different pitch, and one must listen to the entire flock, rather than an individual chime." Winking towards you, she laughs and shakes her head, "Even still, I think trip may not be too far off. Nobody knows more about Waygates than the Ogier..."

Reiyona's smile remains at your comment on the sparrows and she shakes her head slightly, quite apparently amused. "I will be sure to take your advice on listening to sparrows, then." She casts her green eyes to the snow, and they seem brighter because of the reflected light from the blanket of white. "A logical step and one that I doubt would invite any but commendation on your research and duty. But what makes you think the Ogier will reveal more than you already know? They are usually tight-lipped when it comes to Waygates and their guarding of them."

Saevyna reacts by turning her gaze on the barren garden, the package not forgotten, merely lowered to rest on her lap. The end of her nose has begun to color red in the chill, but she doesn't appear to be cold otherwise, "There will be no harm in trying. I have yet to devise a plan, but I am sure that I should come up with one -- nobody knows better than you that I have a habit of leaping before checking to see if there's water." Her chest heaves as she exhales a breath, followed by a lump traveling down the length of her throat, "There is only so much one can do in regards to working in the ogier grove on the island. Some Sisters have long noses."

Reiyona nods slowly as you speak, apparently unbothered by the cold, her milky-white features showing only a hint of colour in her cheeks. She lets out a long breath, not a sigh, and the air clouds in front of her. "That is a habit you manage better than most manage their bad habits, Saev, so I would not be too concerned. I have a hunch that a trip to an Ogier grove outside of Tar Valon would serve you well though." She stares at the snow a moment, then raises her shoulders up, before letting them drop down. "I don't know why, though. As for some sisters having long noses, I've no doubt it serves well to remember that some sisters have reaches just as long."

Saevyna does not laugh at the comment, instead, she takes on a more serious look, "Yes, that is something one must keep in mind at all times. To proceed without caution is to walk into a light hearth blindfolded, especially in Tar Valon." She can be heard drawing in a sharp breath, followed by a poorly stiffled cough, "Even still..." The first words come somewhat surpressed, but her fluidity improves, "I do not want eyes prying into my work too closely, there is much to learn from the books yet. It is a matter of finding what one needs."

Reiyona's gaze diverts to you as you speak, nodding calmly as she listens. "The air has bones it seems," she jests, a quick smile lighting her features before it fades. "How does your research go? I have not come across much relating to Waygates in my own, aside from the general relation of the Shadow to them. In some ways the fields are so related, yet in others the link is as tenuous as a strand of hair." She shakes her head slightly. "Finding what one needs is indeed the greatest difficulty - wading through the useless or misleading information, or simply the unfounded or unreliable, is an exercise in itself, I've found. I've read countless papers discussing the Shadow, yet nowhere does the author even make the attempt to logically prove their opinions. It's most disappointing."

Saevyna shrugs her shoulders, creating a large shift in the bulk of her cloak, "It is time consuming, but interesting. I cannot come across any sort of lead, however... I've jumbles and jumbles of the same information, only worded differently. It's strange, because the taint does not link directly with the shadow... at least, from what I can discern thus far. I've not had the chance encounter of a male so far gone with the taint, that he can be sensed, as can a trolloc or fade. Yet, even though I never have, nor will I likely have the chance, I have my doubts that any amount of taint would lead to that affect. So, there is a large difference." She eyes you with sly interest, but flicks her gaze away from you and back to the package on her lap, reassuring herself that it is still there.

Reiyona nods calmly, her face so impassively expressioned she could only be lost for the moment in thought. After a moment's silence, she glances at you and nods slowly, her eyes staring past you at the snow on the ground. "The taint that allows us to sense Shadowspawn is, from the research I've done, born of the Dark One himself, like his essence, though that is perhaps too strong a word. The taint on Saidin, I suspect, has the same nature, but it could be that the purity of Saidin fights the taint, in a way, and thus provides a buffer against such sensing." She meets your gaze. "That and the taint on Saidin, though it infects a male like a sickness, infects only their mind and body, not their actual essence. I'm not sure how much sense that makes, but they are my initial thoughts."

Saevyna presses her lips together, the glistening line of crimson stretching across her face thoughtfully. Her response is delayed, perhaps as she absorbs your words, or formulates her own, "Assuming that everything the Dark One touches holds traces of this taint, then it would only be proper to assume that there -must- be a property of the one power that prevents the affect we sense from shadowspawn." From the corner of her eye she regards you, a sparkling glint reflected as a ray of sunshine breaks through the winter clouds, "Now, there are different extremes of taint. And the use of taint as a general word, without regard for its orgin, then what is to be said for cities such as Aridhol? Surely it is tainted beyond comprehension... but why is it different?"

Reiyona considers your words for a quiet moment, one hand reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and lingering to stroke the tip of the same lock. "Perhaps your assumptions are founded, but I think we would need to do conduct a good deal more research, or even talk to a man who can channel, to explore that idea further. Still," she pauses, leaning back slightly into the back of the bench, and raising one arm to rest on the top of the bench, "Aridhol taint and the Shadow taint are perhaps different because of the nature of their taints. One is born of the Dark One, the purest evil, the essence of the Shadow, whilst the other was born, at least initially, of humanity. I do not know enough about the Aridhol taint to say more, though." She regards you calmly, as if expecting a response.

Saevyna shrugs noncommitally, smiling towards you, "Of the taint itself, I neither have a specific knowledge. I fear that I don't know how it feels, or it's affects. But, in the matters of origin, you could not be more correct." A soft breeze picks up, sending strands of blond hair across Saevyna's vision, their ends dancing in the air, before falling still as it passes. She reaches up and runs them out of her face lazily, or perhaps hurriedly, but the result is the same -- the merely fall back against her face, "Aridhol was of the Ten Nations, but it's own fall was not to the shadow -- it was to the corrupt nature of society. Fueled on fear and paranoia, it fell from within." Pausing thoughtfully, she dispells quickly as though it only just occured to her, "Perhaps it would be a good idea to study the city. I cannot help but wonder if the taint still progresses, to this day."

Reiyona nods as you briefly relate the fall of the city. "I have both heard about how it fell and read some of the texts, fleetingly. It is indeed an interesting topic, though I for one have enough to keep me occupied with my research without taking on more in respect to Aridhol." She stares at you for a moment with an arched eyebrow. "A dangerous idea to study the city at any proximity, unless you had a decent angreal and one or two dozen sisters at your back, I'd think. Still, given the very rocks are tainted, I cannot imagine you would be able to remove anything safely to study it. Though, naturally, it depends on what angle you wish to approach such research. Perhaps in the years to come, hmm?"

Saevyna releases a brief shower of laughter, soft in both volume and tone, "I don't think any number of Sisters would have much affect on a concentration of taint as strong as that of Shadar Logoth. The entire strength of the White Tower, it is said by some, could not come close to cleansing it." She blinks as though in apprehension, then shakes her head, "I do not think I will -ever- go there, even in the very distant future..." Her eyes narrow again, as though coming across a new tid-bit, but she does not say anything immediately afterwards. She begins a change of subject, "Are you just returning to the Tower, Rei, or was it merely a brief jaunt through the city that you were arriving from earlier?"

Reiyona's smile is ample mirror to your amusement, and her eyes sparkle for a moment. "No, I doubt Shadar Logoth would be on my list of priority visits either, though I do admit it would be an interesting place to see, and certainly relatively safe from the Dark One's minions." She pauses for a moment, shaking her head slightly. "Oh, just a brief jaunt down to the docks. I had word from my mother some weeks ago that a shipment was coming up from Mayene to the borderlands and that she might send a little something for me. The ship has not arrived as yet, though - I expect it in a day or two."

Saevyna moistens her lips, and nods, drawing the cloak closer around her slender body, "The air is dry, here. One of the things I find a hard time adjusting to, here in the north. Perhaps a vacation is due, merely pleasure. I fear I may be coming down with a cold, I can hardly fend off these chills." Sighing with a release of foggy vapour from her mouth, she clasps the bundle towards her lap and rises to her feet, "Forgive me, Reiyona. I need to get inside where it is warmer, the hearth in my chambers will be a welcome comfort. Will you join me in my rooms, and we can continue our conversation? You know you are always welcome."

Reiyona rises elegantly from the chair and smiles slightly at you. "Oh, the weather in Mayene is not so different from that in Tear, but I suppose I have always worn the cold more comfortably than you." Her expression remains amused even as her smile fades. "And yes, go inside, then, before you freeze and I have to thaw you. I'd love nothing more than to join you, but I am meeting a Brown soon to discuss access to some texts denied me as an Accepted. I've gotten to the point where I need to read them again. Perhaps I can join you later?"

Saevyna looks towards you, her face falling in mock disappointment, "No, no. I fear that the offer was given, and it was denied. I will have to make other plans." Following up with a rueful grin, the corners of her mouth twitch earnestly as she tries to surpress it. Finally, she continues, "Of course you may join me later, my rooms are always open to you." With the package held in chilled fingers, despite the heavy velvet cloak, she inclines her head warmly and whispers across the brief space to you, "I've acquired a new item that you may find interesting... remind me when you return to my chambers." That is all she says, before releasing an amused laugh and turning to walk towards the Tower's entrance.

Reiyona grins as you feign disappointment, then shakes her head. "I will see you later then. And my curiosity is piqued indeed, I will certainly remind you to show me the item you speak of." Her green eyes linger on you as you begin to head to the Tower's entrance, and after only a moment's pause, does she give a soft laugh, and turns, heading toward the Kitchen entrance nearby, ignoring the cold.