bearing fruit

[ this isn't unfamiliar.

and yet, at first, it is. rand startles badly in the dream, in the waking. he grasps the strangely familiar crystal on blind instinct; and it's the same that has him digging through the dirt. to air — to the surface — to

what, life? well. to something.

he doesn't know if this is some trick of the dark one's, or ishamael's, or lanfear's. he doesn't know if this is a dream or reality. the edges blur; the edges have been blurring. he doesn't remember the last time he felt safe in his own head. he doesn't — remember.

when he emerges, he's gasping. soil skitters over his shaved head, down his face, down the back of his neck. stains the borrowed white shirt, of fabric so fine he's felt strange wearing it. he feels strange now, truth be told. this isn't unfamiliar. he lifts a hand to the base of his throat, to the curved gemstone there, and he remembers clawing his way out of a different awakening, in a different place. around different people. he remembers another dream of destruction, nearly half a year past. (he's breathing hard. he doesn't notice.) in his mind, he reaches — and hits a wall, invisible and smooth. the One Power glows bright and heady, but saidin is out of reach.

it ought to be a relief.

instead, as someone steps closer, his head jerks up. and without parsing what he's seeing — without recognizing the face — he throws himself into motion. goes to grab this stranger, slam them against the base of the tree. ]

What is this?

[ he snarls, reaching for the sword that's no longer slung across his back.

or,

once he's a little better situated, he's likely to help fellow newcomers. a gentler touch than the terror of first arrival, for all that he's still unsettled by this place and this block on his power. he'll grasp hands and elbows as people try to lever themselves out of the earth, crouch so he can support and pull them upwards. ]

— easy. I've got you.

springstar

[ rand isn't one for parties.

has he ever been, really? and the last one he'd been to was...he pulls away from the thought. too much he doesn't want to think about. too much to think about. too much. the figure he cuts is different to how he'd once looked. no red curls, for one; no two rivers longbow for another. his eyes are harder, hands bearing the callouses from months of practicing sword forms under errol's watchful eye. but still, he's recognizable. tall and broad, green-eyed, and currently

raising his eyebrows, nodding patiently as one of springstar's residents grasps him by the elbow and gives him a wholly inaccurate retelling of what happened with the last oracle. very enthusiastic, though, with their free hand gesticulating so quickly it's a wonder anyone can keep up. rand makes a gentle move to try extricating himself, but to no avail — his captor keeps going, brightly, moving so they can stay in front of him.

over their head, his eyes meet another shard-bearer's. he doesn't quite mouth help, but the plea isn't hard to guess. ]

highstorm

[ here, rand treads warily. well — more warily.

he isn't sure what he thinks of these factions, these cyrus and yima, but what he doesn't believe is the notion of changing his world. you can remake the world in your image, boy. no. no, he's rejected that once, and he'd reject it again. but still, once he'd heard of the fairly open travel between the two cities, he'd been drawn to take a look at highstorm with his own eyes.

he walks through the antiques and baubles market, eyes sometimes lighting on these orbs or those pastries, but he shakes his head at every hawker. he's hardly got the coin to start spending it needlessly. he shouldn't even be here, really. but still, he eventually pauses and asks the nearest person, whether merchant or bearer or bystander, ]

Is there a place where you can find a sword? Or — a smithy. A good blacksmith.

wildcard

[ lmk if you'd like to wildcard or hmu for something more personalized! there will be spoilers for all of season two (to date) so please let me know if you'd like to avoid that! he will also be remembering old cr!! rand's just here for funsies, so have at ♥ ]