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Nynaeve carefully walked over to where Moiraine was lying under the trees, making sure not to disturb her. She sat beside the Aes Sedai, placing a hand on her forehead, stroking her hair gently from her face. She was breathing better now, thank the Light, but was still in an unstable condition.
"Burn you," Nynaeve choked, using her other hand to take Moiraine's, squeezing gently. "You scared me to death. And I'm so mad at you, because you took my friends and I from home without any warning. But you scared me to death anyway." She bit off a sob that was trying to escape, then continued. "Light, Moiraine. I'm so sorry for everything. Please, hurry up and get better already. I'd give anything for you to recover. Just please."
She continued stroking Moiraine's hair, trying to stop the tears that were falling down her cheeks. Lan would be back at any moment, and she would not let him see her upset. Not after he'd gone and forced her to go hunting for herbs and plants.
To be fair, they'd been for Moiraine, and as much as Nynaeve disliked Lan, she couldn't help feeling a sense of protectiveness over Moiraine. There was just something about the smaller woman that made Nynaeve want to sweep her under her cloak and keep her there, even though technically, Moiraine was the one supposed to be doing that herself.
The worst part was, Nynaeve was supposed to be mad at the woman, yet somehow, even when she was saying the words, she didn't mean any of them. She knew she did mean the part about being sorry, and wanting her to recover, though. Nynaeve would have given anything for Moiraine to recover- it was almost unbearable to watch her like this, as though Nynaeve was feeling the pain of the Trolloc poison herself.
Moiraine stirred a little, those blue eyes of hers flickering slightly before landing on Nynaeve.
"Lan?" Moiraine asked, a little groggily.
Nynaeve shook her head. "It's me," she said. "Nynaeve. Got a nasty wound there, but the herbs should kick in a little more. Are you feeling better?"
"A little," Moiraine said. "Th-thank you."
Nynaeve shook her head again. "Don't talk," she said. "Just rest. I'll be here when you wake up." She placed a hand on Moiraine's forehead to check for fever, sighing inwardly with relief when she found Moiraine's temperature to have gone down.
Moiraine gave her a wobbly smile, then fell back asleep.
Lan watched from behind a wall of trees, as Nynaeve sat beside Moiraine, holding her hand, the other still stroking her hair gently. He had to admit he was surprised- he hadn't expected that kind of softness from Nynaeve. When he'd talked to her, she'd seemed to be full of edges, but if she was being so tender towards Moiraine, she mustn't have been so bad, really.
In fact, she reminded him a bit of Moiraine. Same drive, same dedication, even the same temper, though Moiraine had come a long way in that aspect. He hid a smile, remembering when he and Moiraine had been little more than children, when she'd bonded him. So many other Warders she could've chosen, and yet she'd chosen him.
Through the bond, she still felt rubbish, but slightly better than before. Whatever herbs Nynaeve had been using seemed to have helped. He was relieved- he likely would've found a Wisdom or Healer eventually, but that might have been too long for Moiraine, and if that were the case, he did not even want to imagine what would've been the result.
He stepped out of the trees towards the two of them. When Nynaeve saw him approach, she quickly placed the hand that was stroking Moiraine's hair on her forehead, pretending to check for fever. He pretended not to notice, before crouching and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you," he said gruffly.
Nynaeve shrugged. "Not a problem," she said, stiffly. "It was the least I could do."
"How long have you been doing this for?" he asked, attempting to make conversation.
Nynaeve stood and stared.
"Most of my life," she said. "You pick things up quickly after a while. I- I could teach you. If you want."
Lan raised an eyebrow. "Would you?"
"Did I look like I was joking?"
Lan shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
Nynaeve shook her head and cut him off. "It's fine," she said. And after a beat, "Just get some rest. Both of you. You'll need it."