In order to keep himself from wringing his hands uncertainly, Thom let one of his daggers slide from his sleeve, fiddling with that instead. If he could pass it off as threatening rather than nervous fidgeting, even better. He didnât really the the strange man meant any harm, but he was ready to protect Moiraine - and even Mat - at a secondâs notice, if need be. Not that he thought it would come to that. But he was ready.
He raised one eyebrow at Moiraineâs weak reply to the man. Well, at least she was consistent. Theyâd both been reluctant to give any details of how she had gotten injured to him, and he had only been a complete stranger to one of them at the time. Something about this man made him uneasy, though. Thom couldnât really see anything he was doing, but he didnât like it. Was he channeling? Was that how he was meant to help her? Thom liked that even less.
He looked over at Mat again, uncertain. Then his gaze went back to the stranger and Moiraine. Was she looking a little better? Was there a little color coming back to her cheeks? Or was that just wishful thinking? He really wasnât sure one way or the other. So, he turned to Mat again, whispering so he was the only one to hear. âDoes she look a little better to you? Or am I just imagining things?â
âToo right she looks better,â Mat whispered, although he wasnât altogether certain that she did. He wasnât sure what was happening. Was the man actually doing anything yet? Or was he just being hopeful that this wasnât one more snake oil salesman out to con the world out of a bit of coin? Mat edged closer to Thom â and, incidentally, closer to the door. As he watched, as it looked like nothing was happening, his skin began to crawl. There was no way this could be a good thing. It had seemed like it at the time, seemed like a brilliant idea really, but now that his initial burst of panic was over, Mat was deeply, deeply second-guessing himself.Â
After all, heâd brought a man who could bloody well channel into the room. The man seemed sane enough, but how could he be?Â
Mat bit the side of his thumb again, trying not to fidget â failing badly.Â
âCome on, Moiraine,â he muttered.Â
He gave Moiraine a somewhat sad but still friendly smile. âSecretive, hm?â he asked, smiling a little more, and he shrugged one shoulder. âFair enough. Thatâs a life I know well. Now, if you donât mind, my lady, Iâd appreciate you not trying to kill me when this is over.â He winked, as if this were all some harmless, merry sort of game, despite the sadness in his eyes. Then, he lay his other hand on her and closed his eyes, exhaling softly before going perfectly still.Â
Saidin and saidar twined themselves together, simply and naturally, as they were always meant to do. There was no taint, no twist of darkness, nothing foul that came along with the magic. The Healing he wove was simple enough on the surface, but if Moiraine had the strength to follow along, she might be able to see enough tiny threads to know it was anything but simple. And, if she did not have the strength, she might feel a calming sensation, like a comb being gently run through oneâs hair, as tendrils of energy moved through her, cleansing away the lingering darkness and poison of her wound before acting on the wound itself, before the true healing began. Â
It wasnât fast. Another Aes Sedai could doubtless have done it in a few heartbeats. But it was gentle, as gentle as floating in a warm pond, bathed in sunlight. And, when it was over, the Blueâs wound would be cleansed, healed, nothing remaining but a scar.Â
The stranger opened his eyes and dropped his hands to his lap, watching her intently.Â
Mat stepped forward. âSheâll be alright now?âÂ
âI hope so,â the stranger murmured. âMy lady? How do you feel?âÂ
THIS DIDNâT SEEM TO BE  the first time the stranger had done this sort of thing, Moiraine observed. He seemed far too confident to not have done this before, far too practiced in his weaves. However he had managed it all without being caught and gentled by the Red Ajah, she wasnât going to question that. She was far too grateful for his help to even begin to question anything he did. Â
It felt odd, whatever it was he was doing. Moiraine was all too familiar with being healed, but this felt different. She couldnât quite place what it was, however, though she could tell it wasnât the same as what she was accustomed to. It drew far more of her energy than she would have expected, though to be fair, the stranger seemed to know what he was doing, and Moiraine had had little strength left to begin with. She supposed it was the first time she had been quite so close to death upon being healed. Perhaps it was to be expected that it would leave her much weaker than she would have expected.Â
Her brow furrowed just the slightest bit upon hearing the question, though she was quick to return her expression back to one of calm composure, despite being unable to completely hide just how drained she felt. Â
For a moment she was silent, merely considering her answer, trying to pay close attention to what was going on with her own body. There was only a dull ache left behind where not too long ago had been sharp pain, like fire coursing through her veins. She imagined it was the sort of ache that would fade in time, once she was rested and had regained her strength.
âExhausted,â she finally admitted in a quiet voice, barely able to even keep her eyes open. âBut... It is definitely an improvement.âÂ
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