Before he had left Filaree’s office there had been one bit of business left to do. He turned just a page or two back and found where he made his mark what seemed like a lifetime ago. He took the pen offered him as he had taken it from Ingtar on that fateful day, and with neat, even strokes wrote his name in the book before him. It was the first thing he had written outside of his practice with Alhanna, and he had begun then to beam with pride. He had earned his place in that book now.

Adolphus jumped up into his room through the back window, a way he was much more familiar with than the front door, and realized he didn’t have that much to move. His quarterstaff and a few changes of clothing were all he had. Everything else would be in his new room already. Adolphus quickly stuffed everything into his sack and tied it to his quarterstaff. Just the same way I arrived. He thought to himself. I guess so much hasn’t changed. Oh how wrong he was. If things on the outside didn’t look so different, and his eyes most certainly did, there were little things that proved Adolphus had changed.

“How simple things seemed then,” Adolphus paused to bark a quick laugh at himself as he mused aloud. “If I had only known what was to befall me, would I have ever come at all?” As Adolphus let his mind wander as he walked slowly out the front door and over to the Manshima barracks. He let himself remember the smiling young man he used to be. His green eyes that always seemed to be smiling came to him as clearly as if it were only yesterday. Who would have thought that he had spent eight years here at the Tower? He certainly couldn’t believe it, but then there were days he still couldn’t believe he could talk with wolves.

Adolphus snapped back then. He was at the door to his new room. As he opened the door, tears came unbidden to his eyes. What would M’am have given for a rug that fine? How much would even the little frills of this place mean to her? He quickly walked in the door and closed it behind him. His shame was his own, and his best kept secret. Only a handful of people knew of Adolphus’s past, a few to many by his reckoning. Days in Darren came back to him then, in his own private space. Days spent on rooftops and in dark allies living a life that was far from noble. A life so full of shame. He had come out of that now at least he hoped so. How long had it been since he picked a pocket? He couldn’t remember, but the memories he had hurt enough. I’m sorry M’am. I’m so sorry. If only he could face her, maybe then he could say all the things that needed saying. Adolphus knew that would take more courage than he could ever muster.

Stop that now. Today’s a good day. He wiped his eyes quickly and looked himself over in the mirror. The red would fade soon, and if anyone thought he had been crying they would surely think them tears of joy. He had just been raised, after all. He took a calming breath and looked out his window. To far from the ground for my normal exit, I guess I’ll have to use the door for a change. So out the door he went, down the stairs and out into the failing light. It would soon be his time. Darkness would soon fall and Adolphus would feel at home again. He felt so out of place in daylight these days. He decided long ago that spending more nights training than he did days would do that to him.

The moment he hit the first shadow his eyes began giving off their yellow glow. He was so comfortable in the night now that it scared him sometimes. Darkness was supposed to house all kinds of things to fear, but Adolphus hunted them out night after night. The most dangerous thing he had faced in this place though was Novices who had lost their way and Aes Sedai with quick tempers. Those were formidable foes, but they were certainly not the type of things that went bump in the night. He longed for excitement, and hungered for adventure, but there was nothing to find in the Gardens except another bend in the path. How many times had he sat in shadows waiting to happen upon someone? How many sad tales did he have to bear as the golden-eyed watcher of the night? Tonight would be different though. Tonight he would not wait idly by for her to come to him. Tonight he would hunt his prey instead of waiting for it to come to him.

Alhanna. As an Accepted Alhanna had been assigned to teach him to read and write. Now she was Aes Sedai, and looking for a Warder, a Brother of Battle. He didn’t know what to do with himself anymore. She had said she would wait to bond him, but would that really last? How long was it before she found someone better? While she was still an Accepted, time had seemed like it would go on for ages. Every week she would come and give him his lessons, and for that span of time, she was his and his alone. The world itself could have stopped spinning and Adolphus would not notice as long as she was around. He had flirted and joked all the while just to see her smile, but what now? He was one step closer to being by her side for the rest of his life, and it was starting to scare him.

Even with doubts running rampant, he still sought her out. A sniff here and some signs left by her passing quickly found Alhanna’s trail. She had been here not two hours gone. As if his feet had minds of their own, he started after her. Up through the Tower to share his good news. Tonight he would wash away his worries and celebrate his day. Tomorrow the streets and back allies of the city would call to him, as they once had long ago. Tomorrow he could worry about things to come. Today, he would dance the night away.