Staring at the mirror, Raeyn sighed resignedly yet again. “Why, of all people..” she started, cutting off in a tight-lipped glare at her reflected image. Fine dark-golden silk slashed with dark brown velvet in the skirts sheathed the Brown Sister; it was one of the few dresses she owned in the style of Andor, but one she relied upon when dressing to impress. Her normal wardrobe was fairly boring; plain if well-made velvets and silks with little to no adornment in the style of her native Saldaea made up the bulk of her clothing.
Still, having to dress up was the least of Raeyn’s irks this evening, nor her reason for delaying the meeting planned for the evening. She was quite looking forward to meeting this Master Baraka, truth be told. No one outside herself and the most senior members of the Ajah’s Council were aware of the size of the Brown Ajah’s network of Eyes and Ears, but they worked assiduously to expland said network whenever possible. And having a well-off merchant actually based in Tar Valon was too good an opportunity to turn down.
No, it was knowing who her companion on this visit would be for the evening that had the Brown Sister procrastinating. There were very few in the Tower who stood above her, very few, and tonight would be spent the only one of those who mattered. Eqwina was an extremely diminutive woman with a fierceness about her that had nothing to do with their darker affiliations, and caused Raeyn to have a grudging respect for the other woman in spite of her ‘cover’ Ajah.
Regardless of that though, the aged Sister was never really comfortable having to bow her head to anyone… and it really had been quite the shock to return to the Tower and find out how many hand bungled in and out of the job. This woman who was Head of the Yellows though… perhaps she stood a chance of doing a good job in service to their master.
Shaking herself, Raeyn patted down a hair and strode to the rack near the door. She decided to make due without her shawl, but took down a finely-woven dark brown raincloak. Settling it about her shoulders, she went downstairs to meet her Sister.
~*~*~*~*~
Unsurpisingly, she found Eqwina waiting for her in a carriage downstairs. The rain was picking up as she settled herself in across from the other woman. “My apologies for the delay, Eqwina,” Raeyn shot a quick smile to the other woman as she leaned back. Eqwina nodded and murmured a greeting before resuming her brown study of the interior of the carriage. ”Just as well,” Raeyn thought to herself, ”Much too rainy and much too short a trip to really worry about watching the city go by.”
In short order, the two Sisters found themselves pulling up to a stately manor. Nodding a her in polite greeting to the waiting footman, she allowed him to take her cloak and guide herself and the other Sister to his waiting master, Ahdam Baraka.
”Greetings, and welcome to my humble home. It is ever a pleasure to host such noble persons as those of the White Tower. Will you please have a seat?” the young master spoke warmly, bowing as appropriate.
Raeyn eyed Eqwina as they sat; she would follow the other Sister’s lead… for now.