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Lan was starving, the smells coming from the kitchen were delicious, but he thought the odds that he got to partake were low. Moiraine was a mess of emotions, and he was wary enough of some of the people that he’d seen as they’d arrived in town that he wasn’t going to leave her alone.
He sat on the bed, waiting for her articulate whatever was wrong. It had been a long day, on the back of several days of poor lodgings and the resulting lack of sleep. The day had been windy and raining, and they’d had a miserly portion for lunch, the last of their rations. The last towns on their journey had yielded nothing useful for their mission.
Lan could feel her frustration through the bond, like a crackly thunder storm. And like a thunder storm, he was’t going to wander into it to take the risk of a lightening strike. But light, he hoped her storm relented soon, being in the middle of storm was exhausting.
As Lan took a deliberate and unnecessary interest in the fire place, he felt Moiraine pacing around the room, with much accompanying muttering and sighing. He’d learnt long ago that she would say what was wrong when she was ready, and forcing the issue would not help.
“It’s all tangled!”. Lan looked up, to see Moiraine looking exasperated, “my hair’s all tangled, I hate it!”. Lan was surprised that hair was the thing that had pushed her frustration to this point but he wasn’t going to argue.
“Well, yes, it was windy today. Want me to brush it?” He took care of her hair occasionally, a couple of times when she had injured a shoulder, and once when she’d cracked a rib.
“I can do it myself, I’m not helpless,” she huffed. She pulled a hair brush from her bag, and begun attacking her hair, forcefully pulling on the tangles and ripping through hair that didn’t comply. Lan considered how to manage to handle stormy Moiraine, and for the moment, decided to leave her to rage.
Moiraine’s storm wasn’t abating, and her frustration grew as she continued raging at her hair. She knew that her frustration ran deeper than her hair, it was so many things. The weather, the lack of progress on their mission, the number of nights they’d spent in spartan inns or in the forest, and most of all, how long she had been away from Siuan. But for now, she was directing all of that frustration to the tangled mess of hair.
“Stop!” Lan had had enough, driven by the headache that she was creating for him through the bond. “I can’t take it anymore, I know this is about more than your hair but every time you rip through your hair, I feel it too!” Moiraine stopped what she was doing, and stared at him, annoyed at the outburst, but also surprised. He so rarely snapped at her, and even rarer complained about the effect of the bond.
“What do you suggest?” Moiraine’s voice had a touch of annoyance but mostly concern, she hadn’t meant to share her frustration with Lan in quite the way she now realised.
“I’ll fix it, come and sit.” Lan dropped a cushion onto the floor, sat on the side of the bed, and held his hand out for the brush. Moiraine thought about arguing, thought about how she shouldn’t get Lan to do something so trivial, that she should be self-sufficient, but decided to hand over the brush, and arranged herself cross-legged at his feet.
Lan had expected more of a fight, and was surprised when Moiraine relented to his suggestion. He considered that she may be more tired than he realised. He arranged her hair across his knees so that he could get to work, lest she changed her mind. Once her hair was sectioned, he examined the location of the tangles, and started gently working them out, gently holding the hair in his hands, picking out twigs and small leaves, working so that it didn’t pull against her scalp. His own headache was beginning to ease, and soon he felt Moiranne’s shoulders drop, and she leaned back against his legs.
With Lan’s careful attention, Moiraine’s hair was soon untangled, and theoretically the task he’d offered was complete. But with Moiraine relaxed, and Lan finding himself also calmed from the task, he decided to continue on. Bringing the brush through the hair over and over, and across her scalp, the hair began to smooth, and shine. The feelings through the bond continued to relax, and eventually, Moiraine leant her head back, resting the back of her neck on Lan’s knees. It was so rare to see her this at ease, and he thought that if he stopped, her burden might return, and he continued.
Moiraine felt the occasional pang of guilt, that she was allowing Lan to take care of her in such a personal way, but mostly the calming movements across her scalp were luxurious, and she let it wash over her. Because the tangles were gone, the brush moving through her hair caused no pain, and the bristles on her skin provided a soothing sensation that was making her mind tingle. The thundercloud that she had been earlier was now replaced by a gentle breeze.
Lan looked at the hair accessories that Moiraine had pushed into his hands along with the brush, as well as several ties and pins that he had pulled from his own pocket. He began to think about how he could style Moiraine’s hair, both to continue the calming feeling for them both, and out of general interest. He styled his own hair the same Malkier way every day, and he was able to style women’s hair in the borderland styles. But he’d seen Moiraine style her hair with braids and twists, the way she had learnt as a girl, and he thought he could replicate some of those elements. Her hair felt different than his and those of the girls he’d grown up with, it was more wavy, looser, and reacted differently to his touch.
“Hmmmm that feels good, what are you doing?” Moiraine murmured, almost to herself.
“I’m setting your hair up, got any preferences?” Lan asked, although they both knew he wasn’t skilled enough to take requests. “I thought that once I’d finished we might be able to go downstairs and get some dinner.”
Moiraine smiled, and deep gratitude for Lan washed through her, and she hoped he could feel it through the bond as well. She knew how lucky she was to have him at her side, for moments like this as well as in pursuit of their mission. “No requests, I’m interested to see what you end up with. It feels so nice regardless of the end result. And yes, dinner.” She paused, knowing what she wanted to convey, but shy to say it aloud, “thank you Lan, for this and everything you do. I’m lucky that you are with me”.
Lan blushed a little, it was so unlike her to be open with how she was feeling. “You’re welcome Moiraine, I’m lucky to be with you too.”
They both sat in easy silence as Lan worked on her hair. Even though it really was beyond his expertise, he was enjoying the task, twisting sections and passing them over one another. Once he was finished he secured it with the pins they had, and invited her to check it in the mirror. It was a combination of a borderland style and a style that she would do herself.
“I love it, thank you Lan. And I feel so much better.”
“I’m glad. Now, I really would like some dinner, are we going?”
“Yes, I’m hungry now too.”
As they moved downstairs, Moiraine found herself holding her head higher than usual, feeling fancy with her hair styled. It clashed with her rough riding attire, and to her surprise, she didn't care, the effects of Lan’s relaxation staying with her. An evening that had started out so terribly had unexpectedly turned out near to perfect.