Standing in the Shadows of my Idol...

[Reine]

Closed

Follows the events of Lost in the Rain... (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25469-Lost-in-the-Rain)



They were right, when they said
We should never meet our heroes
When they bow at their feet
In the end it wasn't me

Metric ~ Breathing Under Water



Faelynn slowly cracked her eyes open and found herself staring into complete darkness. As a thief that operated mainly a night, this did not disturb her. However, it did make her want to roll over and go back to sleep.

Can’t be morning yet. No sun.

Rolling onto her stomach, she stretched out and took over the width of the bed, settling in under the covers more securely. Just as her mind wandered back to the land of nod, a thought interrupted her.

The sun would not shine underground.

Bolting up, Fae realized it might actually be well passed the morning.

Damnit!

What if Seth was impatiently waiting for her to show up? What if she’d already screwed up on her first day of training?

Cursing herself in several different languages, Faelynn threw the covers back and jumped out of her bed. Only to smack right into the nightstand and end up sprawled on the floor. Staring up at well, she didn’t know since she couldn’t see anything, Faelynn slowly peeled herself off the cold, hard ground and pulled herself up. Reaching across the night stand she felt her hand brush against the match case. Snatching it up, she lit one and watched as the tiny flame illuminated a large chunk of the room to her dark adjusted eyes. Finding the lamp, she reached inside and quickly lit the wick just as the flame burned her thumb.

Dropping the match inside the lamp, she pulled her hand out and sucked on her thumb, trying to dispel the throbbing pain. Closing the glass door, she looked about the room that now belonged to her. Only a few hours ago it had been empty and vacant and perhaps waiting just for her to show up. Only a few hours ago she’d been standing in a room talking with Father, the leader of the Lavinian Thieves Guild, asking him to train her. He had agreed and she knew it only because she had quite possibly saved Jared's life earlier that day.

She’d come to Lavinya on invitation, an old one from years passed, but still an invitation nonetheless. Only an hour in the city and she’d witnessed the thieves guild in action and when she recognized a familiar face in the crowd, she’d jumped at the chance to assist Jared. Following him down an alley, she’d saved his ass from the Guard who would have been forced to hang him for his crimes. After that, she’d met one of her idols, Seth Dahlios, whom had then introduced her to their leader. Father ordered Seth to train her, though the thief had not seemed happy with that order.

Faelynn knew the argument that passed between the two men had very little to do with her a lot to do with things well, she had no knowledge of. But his rejection had still hurt her. She’d grown up on stories of Seth Dahlios and Yari Rafanas (well, other people too, but they were thieves so she remembered them the most) and standing in front of him and having the chance to be trained by him was a dream come true. Father forced him to do it in the end and the only thing Fae could do was prove to Seth she was worth his time and effort. That she could be one of the greatest thieves Althanas had ever seen.

Glancing around the room, she spied the wardrobe in the corner and threw open the old, wooden doors. It only had enough room to fit about half of her clothing in it. But that’s why she carried a Bag of Infinity with her everywhere she went.

Everything she could ever need stuffed into one infinite sack of awesomeness!

Not sure what Seth had in store for her, she grabbed a pair of black shorts and loose fitting top of a nice, dark purple colour. It set off the golden green of her eyes nicely. Completely her other morning rituals, Fae slipped into The Iron Shackles, doing up the buckles on the knee length boots before grabbing Amalia, the enchanted spear her brother made for her, and slipping out of the room.

In the hall, she found herself at an impasse.

No one had bothered giving her a tour last night. Seth had merely dumped her rather unceremoniously on the doorstep to her new room and told her to meet him in the kitchens the next morning. She didn’t know his exact definition of morning or even what time it was, she could only hope if she’d slept super late he would forgive her. This underground stuff was going to take time for her to get used to.

She really only had two options, right or left. Trying to remember from last night, Fae came to the conclusion Seth had walked her here from Father’s study to the left. So she took the right and found herself walking long a long hallway made of ancient stone. Running her fingers along the smooth surface only found them coming away a little damp and occasionally she touched something fuzzy. Hopefully just a weird underground moss. Oh, please let it be moss.

Doors lined either side of the hall, leading off into what she assumed to be other people’s rooms. At some point she found herself in a larger, round room with several branch off points.

“Oh great…”

Just as she was about to randomly pick one, two young looking guys strode out of one tunnel and stopped as they spotted her.

Opportunity found!

“Hey!” She called to them, plastering on her most friendly and flirtatious smiling. Giving them a wave of her hand and hips as she walked towards them, Fae jumped right into her question before either could do more than stare. “I’m looking for the kitchens, or mess hall, can you boys help a girl out?”

One with clearly more brain power then the other spoke up after a moment and pointed down the middle tunnel.

“I-It’s that way.”

“Thanks!”

She winked at them and quickly disappeared down that tunnel, hearing their voices echo after her.

“…have any idea who that was?”

“I heard Seth brought in a stray last night…”

She smiled, the young ones really were easy to manipulate. Just a little sway of the hips and a friendly smile and they usually gave her whatever she wanted. They didn’t even ask her for her name.

Down the torch lit tunnel number two she walked, until she began to smell freshly baked bread. Her nose led her the rest of the way to a large and specious mess hall. The room was warm and inviting, bathed in the gentle glow of dozens of torches along the rounded walls. Benches filled every space they could and at the back of the room she spotted a small kitchen with some furiously working chefs. People already milled about and judging by the activity, she guessed it to still be early in the morning.

A couple of them glanced her way and eyed her up, but she already knew that in a community this small news travelled fast. Most would know her name and how she got here.

Keeping her chin high and not letting a single look or comment bother her, Fae made her way to the back and loaded up a plate with bread, cheese and fruit. Then she found an empty table and dug into her meal with abandon.

[Dissinger]

“That’s quite an appetite,” The words hung in the air, even as another tray dropped heavily onto the table. A glass was set beside it even as a hat rested on the table beside the place setting. Brown hair, untamed and longer than usual hung over the eyes of the newcomer as he sat heavily down on the bench that marked the table the apprenticeship would begin. He took a sip of the beverage before him and winced slightly, before he drank some more. Faelynn sheepishly kept eating, as if the world would end then and there and she was eating her last meal.

A leather vest covered the man’s chest over a white button down shirt. The hands were covered in gauntlets that seemed to leave only his fingertips visible, while at the same time giving him protection on his hands. He looked at the young woman who seemed to stare at him with an idolatry he wasn’t sure he deserved. Brushing stray strands of hair from his eyes the storm roused in them as he spoke his first words, “You dead set on learning the spear?”

“The spear was a gift from my brother. I don’t think I could give it up if I tried,” Faelynn replied. Seth nodded thoughtfully weighing the answer before he spoke up;

“Alright, then I’ll try to find someone who can teach you how to fight with it. In the meantime I will show you how to look at your surroundings and figure out things you might otherwise miss. Understand, I’m not in the mood for games. I’m teaching you things that will save your life, and possibly anyone you work with as well,” A finger was raised and pointed at the girl even as he sighed and sipped his drink, “Today I think I’ll have Jared teach you how to pick locks better. I’ll find your spear teacher in the meantime so I can get that out of the way.”

“Jared?” Her eyebrows rose before Seth chuckled.

“Afraid of him?”

Faelynn pushed the empty plate away from her and leaned forward on the table as if challenging Seth. "And why would I be afraid of Jared?" Seth’s smirk grew into a full bore grin as he ate some food to hide his mirth. Silence reigned for a short moment.

Tapping on table to get her attention Seth spoke firmly, “I’m not the best at everything I do. There are others, who do it better and I won’t lie, I couldn’t pick a lock if my life depended on it. Jared can, and is one of the best thieves to teach you. Just like I can’t fight with a spear out of a wet cloth sack, and I have to find someone to teach you that. If you want to learn how to use a knife, I can not only show you how to use them, but make it look like you’re playing with them while you do so.”

Faelynn thought of the twin daggers hiding under her pillow and Seth's offer and all that he'd just told her. She had stupidly assumed he would be teaching her everything himself, which was impossible. She'd seen him fight and he did know nothing about spears. "Turning down the opportunity to learn how to knife fight from you would be one of the biggest mistakes I could ever make in my life." She took in a deep breath and looked down at her small hands. "I just...don't know if I'm made to fight with daggers. The spear gives me the added advantage of reach, something I just don't have being well...as small as I am."

“Size doesn’t matter, I’ve had a woman half my weight thoroughly kick my ass. It’s a matter of what is going through your head…” He then gently tapped her forehead as he spoke, “So the question is, do you want to prove yourself right by not trying, or do you want a handy backup in case the spear fails?”

She blinked up at him in surprise, somehow feeling like she was sitting across the table from her father. Thoroughly and gently chastised for thinking she couldn't do something. For the first time in a long time, she felt an embarrassed blush creep up her cheeks. "I think a handy back-up would be a good idea."

Seth nodded before he spoke a bit of pride before he finished his drink and said, “That’s thinking like a Lavinian. Now, if you’ll excuse me, you have a lesson with Jared and I have a teacher to find. Shouldn’t take me too long. Just ask someone to take you to Firebrand, hes probably not even up yet knowing the lazy ass.”

[Reine]

Faelynn watched Seth disappear from the mess hall and down into another tunnel. She wondered just who he could possibly find to teach her the spear. Jared had mentioned last night that none of the thieves in here fought with one, which is when she should have realized Seth would try and teach her the art of knife fighting. Should have, but she’d been rather overwhelmed and quite exhausted from her travel and the excitement that followed her arrival in Lavinya.

Speaking of Jared, she needed to find the man. Seth said he’d still be sleeping, which meant she needed to find his room.

Looking around the mess hall at the other thieves milling about, Faelynn spotted a likely target and rose from the table. With a smile, she focused her attention directly on the poor unsuspecting youth and weaved her way through the tables to him.



Ten minutes later, Faelynn found herself standing outside of Jared’s door. The young man, a rather handsome youth of her own age, had prattled on relentlessly and nervously the whole way here. Then he’d offered to go in there and rouse Firebrand himself. But she had turned him away with a light touch on the arm and a promising smile.

Now though, she found herself in a strange situation.

“Jared!” She yelled at the door.

Getting rather frustrated, she kicked the offensive wooden portal with her boot several times. The loud sound echoed down the stone and dirt tunnel and yet she could hear not a single movement from inside. While she considered Jared something of a friend, and he had been in her room last night, she felt that just waltzing in there would be an invasion of her privacy. She had not been asked in and had never been in before. Therefore, her manners dictated that she should not go in now. But Seth said Jared was going to teach her today and she didn’t know what else to do.

Taking a deep breath, Fae grabbed the handle and pushed inward. Surprisingly it wasn’t locked. Poking her head in, Faelynn looked around to no avail. Having no windows could definitely be a downside.

“Jared?”

Silence.

“Jared, get your ass out of bed or I’m coming in here and pulling you out of it!”

That threat usually worked with her brother. Still, she heard nothing from within.

Sighing, Faelynn looked left and right and grabbed one of the lit lanterns off the wall before going back to the darkened portal.

Maybe he’s already left. By the Thayne I hope he doesn’t catch me in here and think I’m snooping.

Pushing the door open more, the thief cautiously entered Jared’s room and immediately turned her nose up in distaste.

This is disgusting!

Clothes were strewn about the floor, the desk and even the bench. Heck, she was pretty sure the shirt he’d been wearing last night barely clung to the side of the armoire. Little trinkets and souvenirs littered the desk and nightstand and his daggers were thrown haphazardly in the corner on top of his rucksack.

And against the far wall lay the man himself. He was lying on his stomach, the sheets a tangled mess around his arms and legs and pulled down to reveal the fact that he was currently shirtless. If her mother could see her now she’d probably have a kitten right then and there. Standing in a man’s room while he was in a state of undress. But he mother wasn’t here and frankly, she didn’t care about Jared’s state of undress…did she?

Unbidden, she remembered Seth asking her if she were scared of him. Why would Seth even ask her a question like that? Looking at his sleeping form right now, she couldn’t imagine anyone being scared of him.

“The only thing scary about Jared is his room…” She mumbled out loud.

Pushing aside some of the junk on the nightstand, Faelynn set the lantern down and paused. Not sure how to wake him. If it were Ferynn she’d just shake the hell out of him, maybe dump some water on his head. But Jared was not Ferynn and she knew she shouldn’t be that friendly with him. Still, yelling at him didn’t work.

“Hey, Jared!”

Tentatively, she reached out and poked him in the shoulder.

Nothing happened.

Looking around the room rather awkwardly, she grabbed his shoulder and gave him a gentle shaking. When that didn’t work, she shook him a little more violently.

“Get your ass out of bed, lazy bones, or I’m dragging you from it!” She probably would if he took too much longer.

[Lavinian Ambition]

To say Jared Cesarino was a heavy sleeper would be the underrepresent the situation. The Lavinian only groaned and rolled over at the legitimate threat, his subconscious mind saying no woman in their right mind would pull his body out of a bed. How wrong he was when he suddenly found himself dumped onto the cold stone floor. Jerked out of his sleep he looked about wildly before reaching behind his back, for a knife that wasn’t there. Looking up at Faelynn his eyes finally gained focus before he swore enough to put a blush on a sailor and said, “What in the seven layers of Sintyre are you doing Fae?”

Faelynn laughed as she looked down at Jared. The messy hair mirrored his confused expression perfectly. Plus, pulling him out of bed had been rather fun, in a strange sadistic kind of way. "I tried being nice, honestly I did. But you didn't wake up, so I had no other choice."

She rested her hands on her hips, enjoying looking down at him for once. "Seth said you would teach me how to pick locks."

“Seth says a lot of things,” Jared bit back before he ran a hand through his hair and grumbled about lazy ass demons. He then sighed as he looked about the room and muttered, “I forgot to do laundry yesterday…crap. Suppose you can’t blame me, I did have a job to do…” Pulling himself off the floor he almost forgot Fae was there as he rummaged through his dresser. He let out a small cry of success as he pulled his last clean shirt out of the drawers and pulled it on without a second thought. Looking about the room a foot started kicking the clothes into a pile as he muttered to himself and said, “Alright, I can teach you. I just gotta figure out when I can do this laundry. In the meantime I think my lock picks are on the table over there, if you would be so kind as to put them back in the cloth I’ll find the lock we can practice on and we’ll go to the training area. Did he even bother to give you a tour?”

Faelynn raised an eyebrow as she watched him kick about the piles of clothing into one rather large pile. Honestly, if he was embarrassed about the state of his room, he should have done something about it earlier. Doing anything now just seemed pointless. She'd already seen it.

"No, he didn't. I've been relying on the kindness and generosity of some rather nice young men to show me around." She gave him a playful smile before turning away and looking for his lockpick set. She remembered what it looked like from before, when he'd used them as a way to calm her mind back in Radasanth enough so she could sleep. Still, it took her a bit of rummaging.

In the end she found them under a sock. Holding up the article of clothing, Faelynn laughed and shook her head. "Some people..." Tossing it aside, she snatched up the lockpicks.

Jared meanwhile was busy dumping all the clothes into a pile before he shook his head and said, “Alright, well I think I can get it done this afternoon. In the meantime I’m going to have to give you the tour, because I don’t think the apprentices will like playing babysitter for more than a day or two.” Going into the corner he picked up his satchel and daggers before they were fixed in their proper positions. Pulling on his boots he looked over at Faelynn before he said, “Hopefully Seth was more social this morning?”

"Hmm? Yeah, he was...different then I would have thought." She looked away, still a bit embarrassed about how much the man had acted like a father to her more than a teacher.

Burying it as quickly as she could, Faelynn turned back to Jared with one of her roguish smiles playing about her face. "And don't worry about the apprentices. At least, none of them seem to mind. They are complete gentlemen, though I would love a tour. It's nice to be self sufficient."

“That’s the idea, get you as self-sufficient as possible. You’re already under scrutiny since Seth is teaching you. No need to compound it more by making you appear needy. It’s going to be a rough learning under him, especially since a few will be jealous, or will hate you because of who’s teaching you,” Jared replied as he rummaged trhoguh his satchel for a moment and carefully took the lock picks from Faelynn. He then nodded his head to the door and spoke up, “Let’s go, I can show you where we can practice lock picks and we can figure out some routes between there and your room.”

Faelynn nodded her head and followed Jared out of his room, glad to leave the disaster behind. Honestly, how did he live like that? "Why would people be jealous of the fact that Seth is teaching me? Or even hate me for that matter? Why don't they just ask him for some lessons? I mean, he's a Lavinian, he practically lives here."

Jared’s mouth opened before it closed. He sighed before he said softly, “Ask him that when you see him, it’s not my place to say.”

[Reine]

Faelynn sighed and rolled her eyes. “Anytime I ever make a comment about Seth, all you say is ‘ask him’ or ‘it’s not my place to say’.”

“Would you like me rolling out your family problems for all to see?” He bit back at her.

Feeling like she’d just been verbally slapped, Faelynn looked away from Jared for a moment to regain her composure. Her hands formed tight fists at her side and she bit down on her bottom lip to hide the hurt. He didn’t have to be a jerk about it. While she didn’t expect him to dump all of Seth’s secrets in her lap, any kind of information on the man would be helpful. All she had of him were stories and legends passed down from one person to another in taverns and pubs and back rooms. She had no idea what to believe of any of it.

They said he was a murderer and a saviour. That he killed his parents. That he raided and raped and pillaged. They were stories of him being in The Bandit Brotherhood, stories of him fighting alongside and against Letho Ravenheart. She heard so many different versions of the same situations, involving the same people she’d begun to doubt if any of it were true.

Realizing that asking Jared anything about the man was a complete waste of time, Faelynn walked in silence as he showed her around the underground compound and maze and warrens of tunnels and rooms. He showed her the path that led to the men’s dorms and the woman’s dorm, and even the couples dorm. Then he took her to the training halls and showed her the quickest way there from the woman’s and men’s.

The training halls were broken up into various different rooms. The first room he opened the door onto revealed a large and mainly open space. The floor lined with mats and the walls covered with practice weapons, almost all of them being knives. People already filled the space, talking and fighting. Those not fighting seemed to be making a raucous of cheering on their friend.

In the next room she found practice dummies and targets, though this one had less people in it than it’s twin. A couple thieves practiced their knife throwing and one or two beat the crap out of a dummy. Closing that door, she followed Jared to the next room, set up exactly like the other two. Only no fighting took place in this room. Instead there were long benches covered in various tools most of which she’d never seen before. She did spot a couple sets of lock picks though and plenty of locks, some of them looking like they’d take a year to break into.

Unlike before, he ushered her right into this room and closed the door behind him. Like the halls, torches and lanterns lay in strategic places, allowing for the best possible light underground. She looked about a bit uncomfortably as she realized they were the only two people in here.

“Are you all right, Fae? You aren’t normally this quiet…” Jared said to her back.

She turned around and looked at him and realized he didn’t even know that he’d hurt her feelings. He was so freaking oblivious that all she’d wanted was him to confide in her a bit and instead he’d bitten her head off. She was in a strange country, with people she knew nothing about and she couldn’t even rely on him to help her out without worry that he might snap at her.

Realizing, she was letting her emotions get the better of her, Faelynn took a deep breath and plastered on her best smile. “Yep, just taking it all in.”

She saw him tense up and knew she failed to pull the wool over his eyes on this one. “Did I do something wrong? If I did, just say something.”

Fae closed her eyes and wished he’d just drop it, honestly. Opening her eyes, she found him watching her intently, as if trying to decipher what she was thinking. She looked away.

“I…” Today was definitely a day of many firsts for her. For the first time she found herself without some sarcastic reply and a quick smile. She actually wanted to tell him that he’d hurt her feelings and that scared her a bit. Scared her because she didn’t open up to people she barely knew. In fact, Ferynn was the only person she trusted without a doubt and would share anything with.

[Lavinian Ambition]

“You…” Jared rolled his hand hoping to real in something from Faelynn. Something seemed off. He had seen it a few times when he pissed off his previous girlfriends, but even this was enigmatic. There was nothing between them, was there? Looking at the younger woman he tried searching her face for something to clear the air between them.

"I...ah," Faelynn felt her face flush, whether from embarrassment or something else she didn't know. "Just...miss Ferynn, that's all. You know, new place and new people can be overwhelming." She turned away from him and took a seat at one of the benches, hoping he'd drop it.

Jared looked at the young woman as he raised an eyebrow at the act. Finally he spoke, “I can understand missing your family. As it stands I think I’m overdue for meeting my sister since I came back into town.” He then carefully pulled out the lock picks before he moved and grabbed a few locks. He then placed them in front of Faelynn before he sat across from her and pulled a lock pick. “In Radasanth I taught you basics, now I’m going to show you how a lockpick set works. Most people think you only need one, and while that might be true, a full set has a few advantages over simple one pick sets.”

Faelynn seemed to relax in the conversation change. He summed it up to not enjoying being put under the elder thief’s scrutiny as he showed her the various picks and explain their uses. Careully he gripped her hand as he showed her the inner workings of the lock and spoke softly, "That's the pins there. These hold the lock so the latch doesn't budge. If we can disrupt enough pins, the lock will release the latch and it will open."

"Yeah, you told me that in Radasanth, this isn't exactly new..."

"What if I told you, that the pins are interconnected in a way..." Jared replied wryly. Moving his arms around Faelynn he intertwined his fingers to show him what he was talking about. "The pins are sitting in the lock like this, the idea is they're forming a lattice that holds the latch down."

"Alright, so how does that help me pick the lock faster?" Faelynn asked looking at his fingers.

Jared shifted to her side, before he spoke, "You just need to figure out where the fulcrum of the lock is. Where all the power holding it down is, once you know that, you can hit it with a pick, and pluck it. Once that happens bam! Open lock!" Faelynn turned to face him and gave him an odd look before her face flushed and she moved out of her chair quickly. Jared frowned bewildered by the sudden move before she said she had to go to the bathroom. Jared scratched his head before he pointed, "Down the hallway seventh door on the left I think...Just be careful Fae..."

Jared shook his head she walked out, past Kid who had a chesire cat smile on her face as she slinked into the room. Sitting down across from Jared she picked up the lock Faelynn was working on, "What do you want Kid?”

“New pupil having problems?” Jared remained silent as he plucked the lock from Kid’s hand. She pouted playfully before she shook her head and got up, stretching her lithe form before she yawned and spoke, “You always were bad at knowing what’s going on in a woman’s head. I wouldn’t be surprised if you figure it out after she finishes training.”

“Would you for once in your life not act like a vampire?” Jared said as he glared venomously at Kid.

She shook her head as she got up and stopped at the doorway, “She looks like she’s cooled off. Just teach her Firebrand, she doesn’t need your bumbling attempts at conversation.” She gave Faelynn a friendly smile and nod as she slunk passed Faelynn who returned to the room.

Jared was rubbing the bridge of his nose before he said softly, “Let’s get back to work…”

[Reine]

Faelynn paced outside the tool room.

Her hurried footsteps a resounding match to the steady tempo of her heart. She watched her feet as she walked back and forth, her mind a jumble of thoughts and none of them lasting long enough for her to grasp them and work it out. All she could tell was that she felt agitated, unsure and really, really confused. Though why she felt all these things was a complete mystery to her.

Replaying the scene on her head didn’t afford her any kind of clues. Jared had been showing her how to move the tumblers in the lock. She remembered some of it from Radasanth, but honestly not much and she had not had the time or the opportunity to practice while she’d been home. Ferynn and helping out at the Blacksmith shop had kept her well and truly occupied.

He’d shown her things like this before, so why had it bothered her this time?

Taking a deep breath, Fae closed her eyes and willed her heart to calm itself. It took a few seconds, but eventually she felt the spike of adrenaline leave her system and everything slowly return to it’s normal state. Straightening her clothes and running a hand through her hair, she went back into the tool run only to run straight into Kid on her way out.

“Uhh…bye?”

She waved as Kid left the room, confused by her sudden friendly demeanour towards her.

“Weird…”

Shrugging it off, Fae walked back to the bench and took a seat next to Jared. She looked at him, like really looked at him, the tussled red hair and stormy grey eyes. Average build and physique, though still with quite a few inches on her; not that that was particularly hard. He didn’t look very different from the last time she’d seen him in Dheathain, as she left him standing on the docks to return home. So why, when he’d looked at her, his face merely an inch or two away, had her heart sudden kicked in to overdrive?

Could it just be nerves?

Training under Seth was going to be hard and the last thing she wanted to do was let him down.

As Jared settled in next to her, the door to the tool room opened once more and in watched the man himself.

Seth strode through that door like he owned it. Well over a foot taller than her, lanky and wiry, and wearing that strange hat again, the man seemed both completely at home and strangely out of place in the underground thieves guild. Fae couldn’t help but wonder exactly why that was.

“I found you a spear instructor.”

“Really!?”

She jumped up from the bench, spilling a couple of the locks on the floor in her excitement. Jared meanwhile did not seem at all pleased with the elder thief’s arrival.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to him.”

Forgetting all about Firebrand, Faelynn practically skipped across the room wondering exactly who Seth had found to teach her. Maybe an old friend of his?

Behind her, Jared cleared his throat, clearly annoyed. “How am I supposed to teach her anything if you’re not giving me time to teach her?”

Seth smirked at him. “Don’t worry, Firebrand, you’ll get your time with her.”



A couple minutes later, Faelynn found herself outside the Thieves Guild and it felt far better than she ever could have realized. Being underground was not only strange to her but taxing. Fae didn’t know she could miss the sun as much as she had until that moment when she’d stepped outside the warehouse and the bright midday sun touched her skin. Sighing blissfully, she closed her eyes and tilted her face up towards it, just absorbing the rays.

When Seth cleared his throat, she opened one eye and peaked at him, the older thief looking at her rather impatiently. Blushing slightly, she fell in step next to him, having to practically speed walk just to keep up with his ridiculously long legs.

No man should be this tall as a rule. It’s unfair to the rest of us short people…

Trying and mostly failing to keep up with him, Fae navigated the city a couple steps behind Seth. He took twist after turn down the dusty streets and avoided eye contact with most of the people. Having done some travelling in her life, the one thing she noticed the most about the people of Lavinya were their rather plain and boring clothes. Fallien citizens loved bright colours and sheer fabrics that hugged the body and protected it from the harsh sun. In Dheathain they wore a lot of vests to show off their scales, loose fitting pants and the Fae race seemed to prefer colourful robes and dresses that hung loosely from their small frames. Here though, they just wore regular old boring shirts, skirts and pants. The colours muted. And a lot of them wore hats to keep the sun from their eyes.

She’d rather take the sun. Hats were just annoying and then her hair looked like absolute crap after she took it off.

Eventually, Fae began to recognize some of the streets Seth led her down. Though she’d taken a completely different path with Jared yesterday and had been running for her life, certain landmarks stuck out to her. When he stopped walking she found herself standing in front of the small warehouse her and Jared had been pulled inside of by Garret and Seth. The place where she’d first met the man standing next to her, also where she’d first attacked him. Completely by accident.

Honestly, when hands grab you from behind and wrap around your mouth and shoulders hauling you into a strange building, there’s not much else to do.

Using the front door this time. Faelynn sighed in relief as she stepped into the cool interior and out of the heat and humidity. Inside, she found the same interior as yesterday. A decent sized room filled with a couple wooden crates and really not much else. She did, however, spot two people standing off towards the back wall, the softly spoken words coming to a halt as the door closed behind her and Seth.

The first thing Faelynn noticed about the woman was her red hair. The second, her breastplate, which must be stifling in this heat, and the third; her death stare. She gave Seth the darkest look she think she’d ever seen. Even worse than the one she gave Ferynn when he ate her last piece of chocolate.

The older guy standing next to her looked strangely familiar. Halfway across the room, Faelynn realized where she’d seen him before; fighting Seth in the middle of the street during the raid yesterday.

“Oh hell no, I am so out of here!”

Turning tail to make it for the door before the Captain of the freaking Guard could get a hold of her and drag her off to jail, Faelynn quickly found herself stopped dead in her tracks. Seth firmly grabbed a hold of her collar and yanked back on it, dragging a rather sheepish Faelynn towards what she assumed to be her certain demise.

[Dissinger]

“Oh no you don’t, I didn’t put all that work in just to have you scram on me,” Seth growled as he shoved the girl back towards her instructors. She stumbled a few steps under the harsh hands of Seth as he looked at the two. He gave a polite gesture towards Faelynn as he spoke, “I know, she doesn’t look like much, but she’s got it where it counts…”

“With all due respect Dahlios, let me judge that,” The man said as he walked forward and looked upon the girl. Black hair was left messy as much as Seth’s while his uniform was clean and tightly pressed. A spear was held loosely in his hands as he casually twirled it into a position ready to strike but less offensive as he moved about the girl. The woman with him remained silent, her eyes never leaving the lavinian Demon even as she gently brushed fingers over the hilt of something hidden inside the longcoat she wore.

Fae chose that moment to burst out;

Fae felt her face flush with anger and before she could think to stop herself, bit back at Seth. "'D-doesn't look like much!?' What the hell is that supposed to mean, Mister 'I've had women half my size kick my ass!?'"

A mischievous smirk lit up the man’s lips as he looked at Seth and spoke, “You’re certain she’s not Lavinian?”

“I’d say give her a week and she’d fit in better than most,” Seth retorted as he took of his hat and nodded to the woman, “You here to watch?”

“Just in case,” The words were curt, forced saccharine sweet in a practiced tone. Her eyes remained resolutely on Seth, who carefully undid his dagger belt before he tossed it to the woman’s feet. She snorted with derision before she spoke up, “Concessions don’t make what you did alright Dahlios.”

“I doubt there’s a thing in this world short of my death that would,” Seth replied. The woman raised an eyebrow in an appreciative gesture before she nodded. Seth then clapped his gauntlet clad hands together and gestured to Faelynn, “She wants to get better with the spear, and I figured who better to teach than someone who can go move for move with anything I come up with.”

“You fight dirty, there’s a difference,” The man replied, “I’ll be teaching her to deal with all the tricks you’re likely to show her when she picks up her own pair of damnable daggers.”

Confused, Faelynn looked from the daggers lying at the feet of the woman to Seth to the man she knew to be the Captain of the Guard. "Okay, can someone throw the new girl a bone here? Because I am so lost at the moment." Hands on hips, Fae stared up, like way up, at Seth and wished for a couple extra inches. "First off, why isn`t he trying to arrest us? Secondly, who's the chick? And thirdly, if he's not arresting us, why on Althanas would the Captain of the City Guard train me to be a better fighter?"

“That makes two of us,” Came the voice of the redhead.

Seth looked to the man as he said, “Well Captain, you want to explain it or should I?”

The man smiled sadly as he shook his head, “No, let me tell her. I’m sure she could use the lesson about Lavinian Politics, and my daughter would probably like to know too.”

He looked back over his shoulders at the red head before Seth let out a low whistle, “She sure grew up…”

“Ogling my daughter aside,” He said with a warning tone entering his voice, “The guard doesn’t hunt the thieves unless they’re actually stealing at the time. It’s been the rule we’ve followed since this cold war began. Think of it like this, if you knew your brother was a guard and you had to do something for the guild, would you appreciate it if he had to hound you relentlessly? Could anyone really ask your brother to apprehend you and bring you in, knowing you are going to die?”

Faelynn immediately thought of her brother Ferynn and the strange relationship they had over her thieving enterprise. "Ah, yeah...I suppose that would make things more complicated. But there are always two sides to everything. I saw you fighting Seth yesterday. You obviously know it was him; there can't be too many giants in this town after all. I just, I mean... if everyone knows how do you people operate?"

Oberon laughed as he spoke, “Murderers get hounded relentlessly, and he didn’t kill anyone. If anything he gave me my first real workout in a while. Though that does remind me Dahlios, we have a pact to make, don’t we?”

Seth nodded as he carefully walked to the woman. Reaching down to the dagger belt he unsheathed a bone dagger only to remain still when in a flash the woman had a gun pointed to the thief’s head. The room got deathly still as Seth closed his eyes and spoke, “You know what the oath requires, now you can pretend I can take your father, or you can let this happen…”

“Not that knife Seth, I want Ebony.”

The hammer on the gun was carefully pushed back into a neutral position before she spoke, her voice colder than the frost swept plains of Salvar, “I swear to the Gods that remain in this damned broken husk of a country Dahlios, you hurt him and I will not stop hunting you until I have ruined everything you have left.”

The gun twirled in a practiced maneuver and was deposited in a holster before Seth carefully pulled out the blackened weapon that was Ebony. He looked at Oberon for a moment before he said, “You sure?”

“I want you to swear on the blade that has taken everything you love,” The captain of the guard replied.

“It’s enchanted, it hurts more than it should,” Seth replied.

“A metaphor for your life, an interesting coincidence,” He replied.

Seth carefully peeled off his gauntlet and watched Oberon do the same. Looking the man in the eyes he drew the blade across his palm and handed the knife to Oberon. He gripped it biting down on a wince of pain before he quickly sliced his hand and offered it back to Seth. Seth then shook hands with him before he spoke, “I owe you big for this Oberon, name your price and I will pay it.”

“You owe me, and when I collect you’ll know,” Oberon replied. He then shook his hand as he said, “that knife, its not natural is it?”

“It exists to cause pain, it has no other purpose,” Seth replied. He then jerked his head towards Faelynn, “May as well do the formal introductions.”

Oberon turned to Faelynn as he pulled out a handkerchief and carefully tied it about his hand to staunch the bleeding, “I am Oberon Delereux, Captain of the Lavinina Guard, and the woman with me is my daughter Alyssa. If I’m going to be training you, understand that its most likely going to be you Seth me and someone else. When she can make it, it will be Alyssa. When she can’t, it may be someone else. There will always be an equal number of guard and thief in this warehouse. I will show you how to fight with the spear, and then Seth will show you how to fight with the knife. We will work together to determine how best to teach you, and to give you the tools you need to last longer than a few minutes in a fight.”

[Reine]

Faelynn nodded her head as her new instructor addressed her. The quick series of events that had just transpired left her feeling confused, slightly scared and really, really unsure of this strange situation. So the guard can only catch the thieves while they’re thieving, which means that potentially outside of doing her job she could be like best friends with half the guard house. Awesome…

Not only that though, Seth had just done her a massive favour. He’d made a deal with the devil in order to get her some training. Though judging by Alyssa’s reactions to him, she wondered if it was the other way around. He was called the Lavinian Demon after all, though she did not completely understand why. Jared wouldn’t tell her anything and she didn’t feel comfortable asking Seth, though she probably should. He was her instructor and he had just made an oath to the Captain of the Guard for her. The mere thought of that boggled her mind. Why would he? He didn’t know her, he’d just met her the other day. None of them knew anything about her. Even Jared. The boy had been too distraught over some ninja when she’d first met him.

It all just left her standing there feeling lost, dazed and confused and more than a little worried.

A bit excited to begin her training, sure. But she felt uncertain about trusting Oberon with that task. Every instinct inside of her said to run screaming for the door at this very minute and never look back. That these people were insane. But this was probably the best opportunity she would ever get to better herself as a fighter. All her passed instructors had been wandering warriors that came through Underwood. The longest she’d ever had one teacher for had been 8 months. So her style and skill were all over the place, not to mention she considered herself mainly a defensive fighter than an attacker.

“I can already last longer than a few minutes in a fight.” Faelynn responded, feeling her back go up a bit. “I may not be able to kick your ass, but I could probably distract you enough to get away and avoid being hung.”

Oberon raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Seth. A wry chuckle escaped his lips before he turned back to her and said. “You’ve already lost then, you underestimated the guard. Take your stance.”

Her brows went up in surprise. She hadn’t known she’d be fighting him right away, but she supposed now was as good a time as any.

Reaching behind her, Faelynn wrapped her fingers around Amalia and pulled the weapon from it’s sheath. Folded in in it’s enchanted state, the spear was merely two feet long. The butt end of it held two spikes that came out as a sort of guard and were deadly sharp, allowing her to use both ends if she so chose. The other one, ended in a six inch spear tip, sharp and deadly and made with the utmost care. Surrounding the tip were two wings that folded out as a guard, each feather shimmering in the faint light of the warehouse and as sharp as any blade.

Twirling Amalia around, she activated the enchantment and the weapon unfolded and achieved it’s full five feet and seven inches. Shifting, she moved her left foot slightly to the side and behind her, her right coming forward, knee bent ever so slightly. Holding Amalia in her right hand, shaft diagonally set across her body in a defensive stance, Faelynn waited and tried desperately to keep her breathing under control as adrenaline began to swim through her body.

"The guard use an ancient fighting style, of an undefeated empire that spanned this whole continent once. It employs tactics and strikes no one could believe a spear capable of, by using every motion of the spear to bring about the next strike, be it a riposte, or a killing blow."

Faelynn nodded her head. “If the empire was undefeated, then why does it no longer span this continent?”

[Dissinger]

Oberon immediately brought his spear forward in a thrust that would have hit Faelynn in the gut. Spinning her spear she neatly parried the blow even as he brought the spear about his shoulders in another swipe for her face. Arching back she brought her spear about, only to watch it bounce harmlessly off his shaft. He grinned as he looked at her, “Unconventional, uncoordinated, uncontrolled…”

He brought his spear upwards almost catching Faelynn’s chin with the butt of his spear, causing the girl to back pedal even as he brought the spear forward not unlike a staff in an attempt to hit her bluntly. He continued at a more relaxed pace as he watched her defend a number of pokes and prods, “Revan fell because of the decadence that had been nurtured in its heart. The nobility made a mistake and let the peasants rot in their towns and communities, while growing richer all the while. This led to the revolution that tore it apart.”

"Sounds like it was a great place to live." Faelynn said sarcastically as she blocked another one of Oberon's attacks. Shifting her stance slightly, she brought the tip of her spear towards his open and exposed torso in a sweeping arch.

Almost contemptuously Oberon batted it to the side; even while she came at him that grin never left his face, “I don’t know, you’re in the heart of that empire now. What do you think?”

"You want the truth?" She wrapped her left hand around the shaft of her spear and did a sudden turn, bringing up the sharp end in an attempt to take Oberon's face right off. He easily slammed his weapon against hers and advanced, pressing her back. She could tell that talking was distracting her, but she also knew that he was holding back just to get a feel for her own skill. "I think this place is messed up. Your ground grows very little to nothing; most of the water is even undrinkable. Your port city is a place that according to every sailor I talked to is anarchy incarnate and yet you're all so stubborn you refuse to leave."

“Pride is a dangerous thing,” Oberon said even as he began another offensive. “It is the double edged sword every Lavinian carries with them, pride in their homes, pride in their families, pride in themselves. It’s so easy to give up on a land with salt sown into its fields, where lawlessness is the norm rather than the exception. It’s easy to say that you cannot make it work. It takes true determination and will to force yourself to believe you can make a difference. If you have no will to force things to work even in the roughest times…”

Suddenly he swept his spear about and tripped up Faelynn pointing his spear tip at her throat, his eyes held a dangerous calm to them before he continued, “Then you have no place here. We may be an embittered and defunct nation, but we still manage to make it work.”

Faelynn kept herself as still as a mountain, her chest heaving from her shallow breathing as she looked from the tip of the spear to Oberon. Her stomach clenched and a sudden spike of arenaline raced through her system, feeling more than cornered and not trusting this man farther than she could throw him; and she doubted she could throw him at all. Clenching the fingers of her right hand around Amalia, she released her grip slightly with her left and quickly channeled magic into her palm. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't believe in giving up then."

Throwing her left hand forward, Faelynn used The Iron Shackles and their added speed boost to knock the spear tip away from her throat and spin herself away from Oberon just as the ball of light exploded. Blinding bright, white light filled the room, followed by a resounding boom.

[Reine]

Faelynn uncovered her hands from her eyes and eased her eyes open three seconds after the spell exploded in the room. She was beginning to use that one an awful lot lately and she didn’t like that. Magic was not exactly something she trusted and relied upon, but when cornered she didn’t exactly have an arsenal of techniques she could call upon. Oberon was far more skilled than she was. He had toyed with her during their entire spar, taunted her and poked and prodded just to see what she would do.

Well, he’d definitely gotten a taste now.

Having closed her eyes, she felt none of the effects of her Flashbang spell, but knew that everyone else in the room would be temporarily blinded and deafened. Though it would only take a few seconds to wear off.

Backing up from Oberon, Faelynn was more than surprised when he started channelling his own magic. A ring of energy surrounded the man and began pulsing out from his position.

“Shit…”

Thinking quickly, she summoned up her Decoy spell. With a quick thought, an exact copy of her stood where she’d been a second before. The decoy matched her perfectly, even down to the wild hair strewn about her face and the fine sheen of sweat that covered her face, chest and arms. Spear held in a ready position, adrenaline fuelled eyes trained of Oberon, the Fae double stood with weapon in hand and waited.

In the meantime, the real Fae took that minute to boost herself up onto some of those conveniently stacked wooden crates. She used The Iron Shackles and jumped from one crate to the next before she reached the top and sat down on the rough wood.

As Oberon recovered rather quickly from the effects of her magic--must have been that damn pulse of magic--Faelynn watched him eye up her decoy with curiosity. His brows drawing up in surprise before he swept his spear towards her. The Fae decoy dodged the first three attacks just like she would have, but her skill was so far below that of Oberon’s and Fae could really tell from up here watching. Perhaps he would make a great teacher, but having done most of her thieving in Radasanth and knowing the consequences for getting caught there, she had a hard time trusting him; especially just on the word of Seth. The man was the Captain, what if he suddenly didn’t want to play by the rules anymore? All he had to do was say he saw her stealing. After all, she wasn’t Lavinian, she didn’t belong in their cold war.

On his fourth strike, Oberon quickly changed tactics and directions and his spear collided with the side of the decoy’s. In the blink of the eye and with a sudden pop the replica vanished from the make-shift arena, leaving just Oberon standing in the clear space, Alyssa and Seth standing off to the side lines and quietly watching the battle unfold as spectators, just like she had now become.

Oberon merely paused, his body still, before he sudden hefted his spear and threw it right at her. Fae et out a small squeak at the sharpened tip embedded itself in the wood between her legs, narrowly missing her by an inch or two.

“I could have crippled you right now.”

She narrowed her eyes at her instructor. Placing the hard sole of her boot on the spear, she braced herself and shoved, dislodging the weapon and letting it tumble back down to the floor. Pushing herself off the crate, she dropped to the ground and landed in a crouch, Amalia still clutched in her right hand.

“And I could have killed you while you were blind and deaf and too busy channelling magic to defend yourself, what’s your point?” She kicked the spear towards him, the sound of metal grating on stone filling the room. “If this were the street I’d be halfway home and safe right now while you’d still be standing here waiting for me to attack you.”

Wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Faelynn shifted her feet and placed her right foot forward, left behind her, spear tip low to the ground and shaft crossing her body in a more offensive pose.

“You going to keep giving me history lessons on your great nation or are you going to train me?”

[Dissinger]

“Oh you like History do you?” Oberon said as the grin on his lips slashed wider. He then began a new onslaught pushing Reine back with each thrust and maneuver. This time moving at his full speed, he witnessed her giving up on using her spear for any kind of defense, and only on dodging the incoming attacks. He let out a derisive snort as the grin faded, “You’re getting sloppy girl. Where was that form you had earlier? Abandoned when it’s no longer convenient?”

Fae narrowed her eyes, her breathing coming out in shallow gasps as she fought to keep her composure, a battle she was apparently using. His skill so frustratingly above her own, that he merely toyed with her, "Oh, don’t worry, it's still here."

She shifted her hands on the shaft of Amalia, grabbing the ring in the middle of the weapon. Her fingers deftly turned it as she sprang towards Oberon. Fae made to go for his legs, then pivoted off her back foot, slammed the butt end of Amalia into the floor and folded the spear upon itself, reducing it to a much shorter three foot state. Spinning Amalia back around, she made one last pivot and redirected herself towards Oberon, spear shifting in her grasp and slashing up towards his chest.

Immediately Oberon moved like a coiled serpent, redirecting her energy and sending her sailing into the nearby crates. Using her landing as a convenient chance to pin her down he moved after her as he jumped into the air, and slammed the spear point first into the dirt next to her head. He then brought his face close to hers as he hissed, “That was incredibly stupid girl. I can only hope to beat such antics out of you.”

Jerking the spear out of the ground he shook his head as he looked at Seth. The thief crossed his arms but one could tell he was not doing so as a means of relaxing, but occupying his hands. He then looked at Faelynn before he called out, “You alright Fae? Anything broken?”

Fae clenched her fingers hard around the shaft of Amalia, her breathing a ragged sound that forced her chest and rise and fall. She stared at the back of Oberon, her golden green eyes boring holes into the back of his skull. As the anger took hold of her, magic began to leech out of her hands, cooling the metal of Amalia. Frost forming along the shaft and spear tip.

Ignoring Seth, she pushed herself up from the ground and threw her spear right at Oberon's back; quickly following after it. A mist rose around her clenched fists as she readied an attack right at the side of his head.

Oberon however reacted again, this time catching Amalia in a clenched fist before letting the girl collide with him. As he dropped his spear he rolled and brought the cold shaft of Amalia against her neck before he raised an eyebrow, “That was two mistakes. You charged a spear wielder, and you threw your weapon away. I’m beginning to wonder what the Demon saw in you that he’d put himself in my debt to train you.”

"I don't need a weapon to beat you!" Fae snarled up at Oberon, his face merely inches away from hers.

The moment she shifted, the pressure of Amalia increased on her neck and Fae opened her mouth to gasp, but found herself unable to draw in air. Too angry to panic, too humiliated to think better of it, she ignored it and reached up to jab him in the eye with her thumb, while her back arched and she pushed the pressure of his body up and off her, her right knee coming straight up to slam against his groin.

His head rocked back to avoid the gouge even as he rolled to bring her atop him in a practiced maneuver. He then placed a boot on her abdomen and shoved for all he had, flipping her over his head. He then grabbed his spear and held the two of them in a defensive stance as he hissed, “You’ve got fire I’ll give you that girl, but you don’t know how to control it and it’s going to burn you alive one of these days.”

Fae lay on the ground winded, her throat raw and sore and the anger still simmering inside of her. Getting back up on to her feet, she stared at Oberon, holding both weapons in his hand. Her eyes darted from Oberon to Seth, his face impassive as he watched them fight. Spotting his leather sheathe still on the ground, Fae grinned and ran for it. She scooped it up off the ground and pulled out two of the daggers before discarding the sheathe and turning to face Oberon.

Uncertain how to wield the small weapons, but unwilling to admit her own defeat, Fae held them in front of her awkwardly. "My name isn't girl, and I'm not done yet."

Oberon merely shook his head before he said firmly, “As you wish. We’ll go as long as it takes.”

[Reine]

Fae drew in a deep and ragged breath as she gripped the daggers in front of her. The things felt small and useless in her hands and unable to do any kind of real damage or give her any kind of protection. But she had briefly seen Seth wield them in the street against ths very man and knew well and good that they could be used against the spear fighter. The only thing was, she had no idea how to do it and Oberon knew that too.

Any one who looked at her right now would know it.

She tried to keep the nervous shake from her arms, but couldn't quite manage it, so she gripped the daggers harder to hide the tremors.

The magic continued to flow unchecked from her hands, a light mist surrounding the weapons she'd borrowed and causing that same frost to form on the blades. Her eyes dilated, the normally golden green that they possessed turning a deeper, darker shade like that of an emerald.

Looking around the room, her eyes lingering on Seth who continued to watch the battle impassively, Fae desperately searched for some kind of plan to offset the foolishness her pride had thrown her in to. Deep inside her head, she knew she should quit and walk away, but admitting defeat wasn't within her nature, and he'd insulted her and Seth, humiliated her, in front of someone she looked up to.

Shifting her feet, Fae launched herself forward. She knew the charge futile, still she did it.

Two feet away from Oberon, she stepped down on her right foot, bent her knee and instead of continuing to run blindly in to him, she tensed and jumped up. The enchantment on The Iron Shackles pushed her over six feet into the air. She flipped over Oberon and came down at his back, crouching low to the ground. Her left foot shooting out and heading straight for his knee.

It connected.

His knee buckled and slammed against the hard ground.. The sound jarring even to her.

Fae shifted and moved to attack him, the daggers out in front of her. But he moved quicker. The two spears came around in an arch, slicing through the air and heading straight for her. She leaned back, thrusting her own weapons up in an attempt to block. But the much smaller blades were unnatural to her. The first spear tip glanced off the dagger harmlessly, perhaps by sheer luck alone, the second sliced through the fabric of her shirt and into her arm.

Blood sprayed through the air.

She cried out and stumbled back, the dagger dropped from her fingers. The adrenaline took most of the pain away, but the wound was deep and she could feel the blood running down her forearm and dripping off her fingers.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Seth drop his hands from his chest and start moving towards them. That red headed woman, Alyssa, cleared her throat, her hand rising towards the holster she kept hidden in her jacket. He stopped levelling a cold glare upon her.

"You don't have to give up," Oberon said, his voice cutting through the pain and the distraction and reminding her she should be focusing, "but you can step down."

She clenched her eyes shut, feeling tears begin to burn at the back of them, and knowing she was finished. Stubborness could only take her so far. Anger could only push her so long. She couldn't even get close to him.

Turning the dagger over in her hand, Faelynn opened her eyes and stared down at the sharp blade and the reflection of her face within; her eyes wild like she'd never seen before, hair a whirlwind mess about her. A drop of her own blood splattered her cheek and she could feel more still freely flowing along her skin, her jacket sleeve soaked and sticky against her arm.

She opened her fingers and let the blade fall from her hands.

"I yield..." Her voice low and sounding hollow.

Still, she stared him in the eyes as she said it.

Oberon stared back at her and nodded his head slowly, as if he approved of what she did. She just felt disgusted with herself.

He moved forward and stabbed the tip of Amalia into the dirt, before he softly said, "You didn't lose, you merely stopped before it was too late. No shame in that."

She felt shamed anyway.

She didn't even think she could look Seth in the face now. Oberon probably thought her a joke. Someone he'd never agree to train. She'd barely been able to get beyond his defenses, no, scratch that, she'd never been able to get beyond them. She lucked out on that kick, but he'd retaliated faster than she could have imagined. True, she could have knocked him flat on his face after she'd blinded him and maybe she should have. But she hadn't.

Walking forward, Fae wrapped her fingers around Amalia and pulled her from the ground. The tip of her own weapon stained red by her blood. She wiped it on her pants before sliding her safely back into her sheathe.

Turning around, she found Seth watching her, but she quickly ducked her head before she could read his expression. Fae didn't want to know what he thought of her right now. Keeping her eyes on the ground, she walked away from the centre of the room, leaving a trail of blood drops in the earth as she went. Finding a spot against the back wall, she leaned there and carefully peeled back the sleeve of her shirt, revealing a long gash in her forearm.

She sighed and wondered how she'd explain that scar to her mother.

[Dissinger]

Looking between the two Seth shook his head slowly as he moved over to Alyssa and roughly grabbed his dagger belt, throwing it over a shoulder. He then carefully picked up each dagger, checking them for blood before sheathing them. Ebony eventually placed itself in the proper holster as he looked at Oberon and said “Whens the next time you’ll see her?”

The older man looked at the young girl before he said, “Same time tomorrow. We’ll make her a Lavinian yet.” He then gestured off the demon. Seth took his cue and turned facing Faelynn as he saw her sulking demeanor.

He gently placed a hand on her shoulder before he said softly, “Good work.”

“Yeah, right…” Fae didn’t seem to have her heart in the words as she pushed off the wall and took position next to Seth. She seemed to look at her arm again as Seth carefully shrugged a sleeve off his coat and rolled up a sleeve, revealing the gauntlet on his right arm and a series of burn marks that crawled over his arm.

“I held onto those daggers for too long once, guy hit me with lightning and the blades kept it arcing back into my arms since the ground was wet. Learned a hard lesson on that one,” He offered. Fae seemed interested in the comment before he patted her on the back, “Going toe to toe with the captain of the Guard and only taking a small scar like that? I think you’ll be just fine.”

"Really?" She looked up at him hopefully. "You mean, I didn't...let you down? He really did hand me my ass on a silver platter and then sprinkle it with insults for good measure."

Seth let out a dry chuckle, "Trust me, he was being polite. You didn't disappoint however, I don't think I could train someone that would give up in a hopeless situation so easily."

She groaned. "If that's him being polite I'm not sure if I want to know how he really feels about me." Still she let a small smile touch the corners of her mouth, knowing that Seth didn't think her a failure lifting some of her sullen mood. "Maybe when I figure out how to fight with those daggers I'll ask for a rematch and show him what I'm made of!"

Seth threw his head back and laughed as he shook his head, "Oh, I would like to see that. Still you're damn lucky you didn't pull ivory from her holster. I don't think she would have taken kindly to that."

"She?" Fae looked up at him quizzically. "You make it sound like your dagger is alive."

"In a way they are, they have a piece of me inside them," He responded coolly. He then looked down at her, "you mean you haven't heard the barflies talk about me?"

Fae felt her cheeks flush and looked away. "Well...yeah, of course. But some of the stories just sounded so ludicrous I didn't know what to believe." She glanced back up at him. "I mean, one guy even told me you were some crazy demon with white hair, three heads and could shoot fire from your mouth."

He scratched the back of his head before he said, "Well I did have white hair for awhile..." He then looked at her, "There is a measure of truth in every tale. Take that as you will..."

"Truth in everything huh..." She looked up at him thoughtfully, a hundred questions flying through her mind and each one jostling to come to the fore front. "So, were you actually in The Bandit Brotherhood? Is Letho Ravenheart your friend or your enemy? Cause I've heard it both ways. Is your sister actually a vampire? Is she here? Can I meet her?"

"Sarah was embraced before my daughter was born, she tends to stay away from Lavinya, figures too much bad blood. Letho and I are acquaintances, and yes, I met Yari Rafanas and Gild Sorrain, and have been a member of the Bandit Brotherhood at times."

Faelynn stared at him in utter amazement. "I can't believe you know Gild too!" Her voice becoming rather high and girlish in her sudden excitement. She practically bounced from foot to foot. "Oh Gosh... I could ask you a million questions about The Brotherhood. No wait...I should ask you more about yourself while I have the chance. Jared doesn't tell me anything, he just yells at me. Okay...calm...breathe..." Fae took a few deep breaths to steady her sudden fit of energy, not entirely wanting to scare Seth away while he was in a sharing mood. "Is your daughter here? Can I meet her? How old is she? Cause I've been listening to stories about you since I was little, but you look like you're in your late twenties..."

Samantha, his daughter was missing. She had been taken by Cassandra Remi’s damnable Cult of Blessed Torture. It was a painful wound that had yet to heal, and bringing up his daughter always plucked it. Still he soldiered on as best he could. His eyes grew distant before he said, "No, my daughter's not here..."

Fae paused in her onslaught of questions, realizing she may have just hit a nerve. She had heard of Seth having a daughter, never heard anything bad about her, could something have happened she didn't know about?

Suddenly, she felt rather awkward standing there, realizing she had been prying into the life of a man who barely knew her and had no reason to answer any of her questions.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean..." She desperately groped around for something to say, but came up rather short. "You...don't even know me and here I am blathering away about your life like it's some bard's story I can pick apart."

He put an arm around her shoulder before he said, "That's alright, I don't tell my own story how can I expect you to know how I feel about it. As for Jared, he hates me, so you can imagine I'm the last thing in the world he wants to talk about."

Fae leaned against his side, feeling strangely like she was having a conversation with her dad at the moment. He could be kind of awkward, and often embraced her like this as they talked. "Why does he hate you? From what I can see, you two are oddly similar..."

"That's why, he's afraid he'll become me, because he was in the unique position to know how much the stories are true. I wasn't a nice person in my youth Fae; I destroyed many lives to selfishly fulfill my desires. Even now I can't get away from what I did, I can only hope what I do now will one day let people forget what I did then."

Fae frowned as she mulled that over. She wanted to ask him more, so much more, about those darker stories she'd heard in the taverns. The white haired demon stories and so many more. "So a lot of those bad stories about you, they're all...true?"

"Depends on the stories. Cavorting with demons I never did, well, not demons. Technically she was a Herald, even if I thought she was a devil in disguise."

Faelynn couldn't help but laugh, feeling the tension break between them. Spontaneously, she turned and gave him a hug, before quickly letting go and skipping ahead of him and out of his reach and retaliation. "Well, I'm glad I'm getting to know this you then. Though if I'd known the younger you, I may have been able to beat some sense into that thick skull of yours." She said, a huge grin breaking across her face.

He shook his head as he saw her dance about in the street before he scoffed and said, "Alright, let’s get you to a tavern so I can feed and water you for the night, and then kick you to bed. You got a busy day tomorrow if Oberon is going to be teaching you, and I gotta figure out when Jared can have his alone time with you."

Faelynn jumped up in pure excitement at the mention of a tavern. "Yes, food! I'm star--hey wait a minute. You make it sound like I'm a plant. I don't need to be watered, you know!" She laughed as she waited for Seth to catch up to her. "I can keep training with Jared in the mornings. He seems to like waking up early." A malicious grin spread across her face at that one. Revenge is best served cold, maybe he'd think twice about yelling at her now.

"Oh? Did Jared say that, last I checked he didn't like waking up till the sun was over head," Seth said curiously as he caught up to Faelynn. "Though I suppose the early mornings would do him some good, build character. Put some hair on his chest..." He then gave Faelynn a conspirator’s wink.

"Put hair on his chest?" Faelynn scrunched her face up as she thought about that one. "Who would ever want a hairy chest?"

Seth chuckled as he said, "It’s an expression for toughening up. Hairy chests apparently translate to tough bastards. Letho always used to call me a weed in a field, too tough to pull out and refuses to die."

Fae laughed at that analogy. She could definitely believe it. "Well, I suppose he could use some chest hairs then! At least he's not still moping about that ninja. Is Letho as big and scary as they say?"

"Let's just say every time we fought I regretted the decision a few moments in, usually when he broke my jaw or shoved an entire row of pews on me..."

"He shoved an entire---wow. I am so glad I've never run into him. He'd probably eat me for breakfast. Speaking of food, where are we going?"

Seth chuckled at the questions glad they had gone less personal as he gestured down the street, “Drunken Rat as always of course. Ol’ man Ratcliff is gonna be swearing you’re a daughter of his by the end of this…”

[Reine]

Faelynn twisted her head around and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She pulled the back of her shirt up just a couple more inches and sighed. The deep purple bruise still lingered, in fact it nearly looked black it was so bad. It had started off a light purple and then quickly gotten worse as the blood pooled and settled in that diagonal slash that cut from her side, across her spine and up to her right shoulder blade.

Hurt too.

Oberon liked tapping it with the butt end of his spear every time he thought she was slacking off or not paying enough attention. That definitely couldn't be helping the healing process either.

The first time he did it, she'd actually dropped her weapon from the shock of it. Her whole right shoulder vibrating in pain. Even Oberon had looked surprised as she fell like a sack of potatoes. A nice reminder of how easily he could beat her, courtesy of being thrown into a pile of crates.

She hadn't felt it at the time, or even later that night thanks to five or six...or seven bottles of ale, but she sure as hell felt it in the morning.

Pulling down her shirt, Fae turned and inspected her newest training wound; a reddish purple bruise across her right jaw. Received yesterday, when she failed to properly block Oberon's charge.

Poking it gingerly resulted in only minor pain, though it really looked like someone was using her as a practice dummy. She even felt like an old suit of armour, battered and bruised and then discarded in the trash.

At least the slash across her arm was healing nicely. Five days now and she could finally keep the bandage off it. It really would make a nice addition to her collection of scars. Now all she needed was one from Seth himself and she'd feel complete.

Snorting at her reflection and her own idiocy, Fae splashed some cold water on her face and then quickly left the bath room. She headed down the hall at a quick pace, the grumble in her stomach pushing her on towards the smell of freshly baked bread, frying meats and whatever other delicacies the cooks had deigned to feed the thieves today.

When she left this place, she really would miss all the delicious stuff they fed her. Cooking for herself was fine, she could do it, but they could do it much better. Plus, she never had to clean up after herself. Bonus!

Entering the kitchen area was like being shoved into a giant, chaotic mess some mornings, and this one was no different. Already the room was full of thieves and apprentices, loud voices filling the large, dome like ceiling and cascading off the walls creating a strange kind of symphony. She moved to the back, where a large window opened up into the kitchens, heat pouring out from the ovens and stoves fast at work to keep up with the demand, and grabbed herself a plate, heaping it with whatever caught her eye. Fresh bread, baked fish, cheese, or some of those strange red fruits covered in little spikes and of course, ale to wash it all down with.

Finding an empty bench, not exactly an easy thing, Faelynn sat down and began inhaling her breakfast like there was no tomorrow. It wasn't just that she ws hungry, which frankly she was always hungry, it was that she couldn't wait to get to Jared's room and wake him up to begin another day of training.

Somehow, her lock picking time with Jared had become one of her favourite parts of the day.

"Whoa...nice shiner, Faelynn."

Blinking, Fae looked up, half a piece of bread sticking out of her mouth, and found Reed taking a seat across from her at the bench. The lanky youth another one of the apprentices here, under the guidance of Garret though, and not Seth. She appeared to be his only apprentice, which as Jared had suspected, was already causing some ripples among the born Lavinian Thieves.

They didn't appreciate her stepping on their toes, apparently.

"You should see what the other guy looks like..." She said with a smirk, her eyes dancing as she looked him over. Even he sported a couple new bandages on his right hand. Apparently Garret was teaching him how to use the bow and you had to work the calluses up.

Reed laughed, the sound deep and pleasant. "Seriously, when are you going to tell me who your spear instructor is?"

She drank half her ale, the light stuff, in one go and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Oh, her mom would be so proud of her lady like qualities.

"I'm not."

It was bad enough the looks she got from people over Seth, She couldn't imagine what they'd think if they found out Oberon Delereux was teaching her to fight with the spear, while his crazy gun wielding daughter watched and glared and every now and again shot a barb her way.

Reed frowned and sat there in silence as she quickly finished off her meal. "I have a busy day, so I'll catch you later!"

She stood up and hurried away before he could say anything else, dumping her plate in the dirty pile and making for the exit. Halfway there she stopped, turned around and went back to the kitchen counter. Grabbing a napkin, she loaded it up with fresh bread, a couple boiled eggs, cheese and fruit, plus snuck a bottle of ale, before quickly running out the room and down the hall towards the men's dorms.

Maybe breakfast will wake him up faster...

Down the hall, around the bend and counting the doors as she went, Fae eventually came to stand in front of Jared's. She juggled her prize in her hands and grabbed the handle, opening it up and walking right in without even knocking. She knew he wouldn't be awake yet. She had basically become his morning wake up call.

Like always the room was pitch dark, but she knew where things were now. She carefully stepped across the room, feeling the pile of clothes out as she went and found his bedside table.

The sound of his light sleeping filled the space.

Placing the overladen napkin there, she felt around for the box of matches, struck one and lit the lamp, allowing a small glow to chase the shadows to the corner. Sure enough, when she turned and looked, the red headed thief Jared Cesarino was still passed out and dead to the world. His mouth slightly open as he slept away another morning.

Smiling, Fae looked at the bottle and then placed the cold glass right on the side of his neck.

It was time for him to get up!

[Lavinian Ambition]

Jared was drifting in the land of dreams. Sleep was next to sacred to the man, which meant that he didn’t think things through at times. One of those things was the idea that sleeping so late with such a persistent pest as Faelynn was a great idea. As the cold glass brushed against his neck he let out a cry or hoarse anger and began cursing up a swarm, his arms flailing about furiously for anything with which to throttle someone. Finally calming down he ran a hand through his hair sitting up and muttered, “You’d think I’d be used to this by now…”

Faelynn giggled, a sly smirk crossing her face, “I’m just wondering when you’re going to learn to wake up before I get here. I can come up with more and more elaborate ways to wake you…if you want.”

Jared glowered at her before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He then gazed up at Faelynn when he realized that more than just his brain had awoken at Fae’s antics. He then gave the girl a cursory glance as he muttered, “Figures I can’t catch a break…”

Fae cocked her head to the side curiously as he looked at the room. It was still a mess and little would change that, it was just who Jared was. She finally spoke up breaking the silence, “A break? Oh, I brought you breakfast and an ice cold bottle of ale!” A soft smile plated across her face reaching even those alluring green eyes she had. It was hard not to get lost in that gaze as he fumbled with the food on the dresser.

Finally grasping some of the morning meal he began eating it as he adjusted himself to hide his predicament. Looking up at the girl he asked pointedly, “You find a chance to practice on that lock I loaned you?”

“Yep! Every night I’ve been working on it,” she chuckled, “Well, to be honest most nights I fall asleep working on it. My spear training is very exhaustive…” Absently she rubbed a fresh bruise, causing Jared to grit his teeth. She thought it was what was best for her, and he couldn’t argue it was taking the soft out of her, but he found that softness endearing. He didn’t want to see it go entirely.

When he felt he had his anger under control he managed, “You have some rough teachers. I thought Seth was against hitting girls that didn’t deserve it…”

“Ah,” she blushed a bit and looked away, “Seth isn’t training me right now…”

Jared wanted to explode. The guy was supposed to be teaching her something and instead he had pawned it off on everyone else. Had he gotten lazier in his old age? Was that even possible? Jared knew the guy liked his shortcuts, but even this was getting ridiculous. “He isn’t training you? What is he doing?”

She seemed caught off guard by the question as she scratched the back of her head, looking about the table and the various tools and pieces of scattered clothing sprawled across it. Anywhere but at Jared before he managed, “Mainly, he just watches. He said he wanted me better with the spear before I pick up knives.”

“What about the other stuff? Stealth, assessment, detection? What about all of that? Has he been doing nothing?”

“Gods Jared, it’s only been five days! I’m sure he’ll get around to it eventually. By the Thayne, what is your problem with him? Every chance you get, you put in little jabs at the guy!” Fae said her voice rising in exasperation.

“Why do you not care about this? He’s the one supposed to be teaching you and he’s done verything but…” Jared fired back, “It’s more than just what he teaches you, it’s also how it’s taught. It’s about the philosophy he’s teaching as he does it. He’s half assing his training…”

“He’s not half assing anything! Seth had to make a blood oath to get me this training, if you call that half assing it, then I’d like to see you do better!” her face flushed in sudden anger he hands balling into fists as she defended her mentor. Jared under stood the sentiment, anyone who knocked his mentor would find themselves laid out for the honor. He still knew better than her, but the blood oath, that was something else entirely.

“He made a blood oath? To who? Who would make him bleed on a promise.”

“What do you care!?” Fae grabbed one of his shirts and chucked it at him, catching him full in the face. As eh scrambled to pull it down she continued her tirade, “You hate the guy and nothing he does seems good enough for you, even when he’s trying his best to help me. Why don’t you put some damn clothes on and do your job, Cesarino. I believe that involves training and not chatting!” The door slammed shut leaving him alone on the room as silence oppressively closed in on him.

She called him Cesarino, which was always a sign he was in trouble with the girl. He Quickly dressed even as he muttered to himself, “Because you’ve set a rough road ahead of you. I don’t think you realize what taking his help means…”

[Reine]

Faelynn paced outside of Jared's room. Her anger a palpable thing inside of her, growing and consuming until she practically saw red. He was supposed to be supporting her in this decision, she had hoped he would understand why she wanted—no needed—to get stronger, as a person and as a warrior and thief. The greatest opportunity in her life lay before her. She could ask for nothing than more than if The Bandit Brotherhood in it's prime appeared and Yari Rafanas or Gild Sorraine offered to train her and let her join their infamous ranks. Yet all she heard from Jared was negativity and condescension.

It's like he wanted her to fail.

Like he wanted her to walk away simply because he didn't like Seth, didn't trust Seth and didn't want her near him. Well, he was just going to have to live with the fact that no matter what he said or did she was not walking away with it and sooner or later he was going to have a learn to keep his mouth shut or she'd shut it for him.

An idea popped into her heard.

Fae had three seconds to mull it over before Jared opened the door to his room and stepped out into the lantern lit hallway. The nearest flame sputtered and sparked on it's perch at the sudden movement of air.

He made no move to apologize, even as her eyes, a molten mess of green and gold, glared up at him.

Damn my shortness! It's so much easier to glower at someone when you're looking down at them rather than up!

Still, even through her anger she couldn't help but feel a soft spot for the red headed thief in front of her, which made her even angrier.

Seething and saying nothing, Faelynn lead the way down the long, narrow and winding corridors towards the training areas. Jared easily kept pace beside her, but she refused to look at him or acknowledge his presence. They passed other apprentices on their way, but none of them spoke to her. Perhaps it was the hard look on her face or her determined and hurried footsteps, the balled fists at her side or the murderous expression in her eyes. She didn't know and didn't care. But either way, they quickly got out of her way and let her through.

Entering the empty tool room, thankfully most of the other apprentices liked a bit of physical activity early in the morning, Faelynn closed the door behind them and locked it. Jared turned to her as he heard the bolt slide home, his eyebrow raising in a silent question.

She didn't bother answering it.

Instead she moved towards the centre of the room and began shoving aside the large benches and tables. Most of them were quite heavy, but the anger gave her a little extra strength, that and she was determined not to ask for his help no matter what.

“Fae...” She heard Jared sigh as she shoved back an especially large wooden bench. The legs squealing across the floor as she was able to move it the last three feet she needed. “What are you doing?”

Her arms strained, her back protested and a sore muscle in her leg gave a bit of a twitch, but she ignored it all.

“What do you think I'm doing, Cesarino?” She growled out between gasps for air.

Moving over to the far back bench and the last one in her way, Fae placed her hands on the edge of the thick wood, braced and tensed her arms and then shoved with her feet. This time she used a bit of the jump enchantment on the Iron Shackles to propel her faster. The bench skidded across the floor and when she turned back she found a decent sized empty space in the middle of the room.

“Redecorating?” He asked hopefully.

She shot him a look that would have killed him, if looks could kill and she was a murdering psychopath. Boy was he lucky.

Taking a deep breath to steady the nervous tingle in her limbs, Faelynn walked into the centre of her newly created ring and stood there. She motioned Jared in and he actually obeyed. Too bad his mouth didn't obey so easily. But it would. Oh yes, by the end of this, it would.

“Here's the deal, Cesarino.” She started, her angry voice enunciating each word. “Your skills against mine. If you win, you can bad mouth Seth as much as you want and I have to deal with it.” A smile spread across her face, probably one Jared had never seen before. Something almost a little sinister looking. “But, if I win, you never talk badly about Seth in front of me again.”

[Lavinian Ambition]

“Don’t bad mouth Seth? I’m trying to warn you about him. You don’t know him like I do-“

"Warn me about the man who's training me? No, Jared, you weren't warning me you were just looking for little places to get in your jabs at him and I'm sick of it. Every time I ask you questions about him, you won't answer, but now all of a sudden you're in a sharing mood on Seth Dahlios!?"

“What do you want me to say Faelynn? You want me to tell you about all the people he’s killed, all the lives he’s destroyed for nothing more than the hell of it? His help always has a price Fae, are you sure you want to pay that price, because one of these days he’s going to ask you to help him, and you are going to find he’s got his hooks so deep you won’t be able to say no…”

"You're not telling me anything he hasn't already told me himself, Cesarino." Fae reached behind her and grasped the hilt of Amalia. She pulled the spear from her resting place on her back, fingers deftly twisting the rings in the middle and spinning the weapon around to unfold it to her full length. It was now or never, before Jared found a way to dissipate her anger, "Now draw your daggers."

Jared looked to her before he shook his head and gave a defeated sigh. Reaching into his satchel he pulled out a pair of leather gloves, pulling them on over his hands before he spoke, his voice calm, “Just because I don’t fight doesn’t mean I can’t Faelynn. Don’t think you’ll cow me by pulling me into an arena I don’t often tread. I’m still a full-fledged thief, and I’ve still killed a man for double crossing me.” He gave her a withering glare as he spoke, “Just because you’re blind to Seth and his antics doesn’t mean I’ll let you continue in your ignorance. If I have to beat it out of you, I’ll consider myself fortunate that I saved you the headache down the road…”

"I wouldn't be so blind to his antics, as you call them, if you'd open up and trust me enough to talk to me. But all I get from you is your condescension!" She didn't even wait for Jared to grab his daggers. She closed that distance between them in only a second or two, the Iron Shackles pushing her across it. Stopping two feet from him, she brought up the butt end of Amalia in a sweep that cut diagonally across his body, from right hip to left shoulder.

Immediately the thief’s hand shot out and gripped the girl at the wrist stopping the slash as the sound of metal upon metal rang through the air. He pushed back, before the other dagger was plucked form its holster as he let his hair fall before his eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line. When he spoke, his voice had a more hollow quality, “Is that what this is about? That I’m belittling you at every turn? That no matter what you do, it’s not good enough? How utterly frustrating…”

He began with a quick flourish, something left over from the imprint of Seth’s soul upon his own as he crossed the room quickly and began his words, “I hate Seth, that’s no lie, but don’t think I hate you by extension.” He slashed outwards with both daggers forcing Faelynn to block the blows before he kicked firmly on the spear shoving the girl back harder. “I knew the man so well one could say I’ve been in his head, and everything I saw sickened me. That man has nothing because he wasted it all away on fruitless bids for power. If I sound condescending its because I’m afraid of losing you on that path as well!” A finger pointed at her.

"Afraid of losing me!? If you'd just talk to me, open up to me, you'd have me anytime you wanted!" Faelynn growled out, feeling her throat tighten up and her eyes sting with tears as she regained her footing. She blinked them back, refusing to let him see her cry, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she cared.

She used the momentum of his shove and pivoted off her right leg, coming up on his side. Switching her hands, she whirled Amalia around and came at Jared with the sharpened spear tip, reflecting deadly in the glowing light of so many torches. The sound of metal filled the air once more as he deflected the blow with ease, but she had anticipated this. As her spear tip turned towards the ground she added extra force, burying it into the hardened earth. Then she pushed her weight up on it, drew her legs to her chest and last out at him with both feet.

She collided with the young thief causing the both of them to fall to the ground, her atop him. The daggers clattered across the floor, uselessly out of reach. His head cracked against the floor as he let out a cry of pain, and immediately grabbed for the back of his head unused to such roughhousing, or rather not expecting it. It had been awhile since Kyo and he had been together and the thief had softened in the years following the ninja’s disappearance. He looked up at the girl, their faces inches from each other before he instinctively reacted.

His lips pressed firmly against hers as he stole a kiss in a moment of lust that the rough treatment had inspired in him.

[Reine]

Faelynn's breath caught in her throat.

Eyes widened in surprise.

A second ticked by and she did nothing. Her mind stalled and all thoughts fled to only one little thing; the feeling of Jared's lips on hers. The tingle in her stomach; a feeling of dancing butterflies that she had never experienced before.

Then she kissed him back.

Her lips parted, and she felt and heard the groan that was torn from his throat as his fingers entwined in her hair, his palm angling her head so he could lay claim to her mouth. She couldn't remember the last time she was kissed like this, if she ever had been. Like he wanted to devour her.

She moaned as his tongue slid inside her mouth, tangling with hers. Her body melted against him, thighs wrapped around his stomach, feeling the muscles there contract and tighten as he shifted beneath her. Fingers buried themselves in his hair, tangling in the soft, silky strands.

Somewhere inside her head, a little voice told her stop. But the feeling that had started in her stomach and began to pool lower over rode that voice of reason and pushed it to the back of her mind.

Then a strange sound she couldn't completely ignore broke through the haze of desire.

The sound of groaning and splintering wood.

Fae broke away from Jared just as the door to the tool room burst open and one of the last people she wanted to see burst in. Her dad would have been the first, mom second, followed by Ferynn and Connaire. Coming in last and currently standing less than twenty feet away from her was Seth, the worried look on his lean, hard face, transforming into barely concealed amusement.

Fae felt herself flush with embarrassment. The laughter he barely hid didn't help matters either.

“I...I...I...” She couldn't seem to find the words to say.

She looked down at Jared, annoyance flickering in his grey eyes as he regarded the older thief. Realizing she was still practically straddling him, Fae scrambled, desperately trying to get off him as quick as possible. She heard a grunt and curse and saw Jared rubbing his stomach, but ignore him. On her feet once again, she straightened her clothes, a disarray of material from their fight, as her eyes darted around the area focusing on anything except Seth. Mind grasping for some kind of excuse, some kind of explanation to give the man before her, but nothing came to mind. She felt like her father had just walked in on her making out with her first crush, which would be impossible right now since her first crush had actually been Seth Dahlios.

Nothing came to mind and she only ended up staring stupidly at Seth more, feeling that blush turn a darker shade of red and spread along her ears and down her neck.

“Oberon's waiting, Faelynn.” Seth said, his voice barely containing the mirth that hid in the depths of his grey eyes.

“R-right!” She practically tripped over her feet in her haste to leave the tool room and Jared behind. She did in fact leave her spear behind. Amalia laying on the ground only a couple feet away from Jared.

She didn't look at him, didn't so much as wave or say goodbye, she just ran passed Seth and out the door as fast as her feet could carry her. In the hall, she took a moment to catch her breath and the pounding of her heart. The small butterflies in her stomach had run rampant through the rest of her body. Her limbs felt like liquid and her knees weak.

She didn't know what to do.

Jared had kissed her.

Worse, she'd kissed him back, and she'd liked it!

More than any time any other man—no scratch that, boy—had kissed her. His had been filled with a need and a desire she'd never felt and it had left her feeling the same way. Did that mean he...liked her? Did that mean she liked him?

She didn't know!

What else could it be though. Every time he smiled at her, her stomach did a little flip flop. Every time he praised her in the tool room during their training she felt the need to work harder and do more just to she could get his approval. On top of that, she looked forward to seeing him each day more than she did spending time with her mentor and the man she had idolized for a good chunk of her life.

Oh, by the Thayne, she really had fallen for him and she hadn't even realized it! How bloody stupid could she possibly be?

[Dissinger]

“Enjoy your moment?” Seth asked as Faelynn retreated from the room. Jared glared at him angrily before he grabbed his daggers roughly placing them in the sheathes near the small of his back. A silent nod to how little Jared used them, they were awkwardly placed, so as to not be ready for someone at a moment’s notice. Seth had commented on it once, only to be told Jared didn’t like the idea of being a murderer at the drop of a hat.

It showed the differences between the two quite nicely.

Jared pulled himself up before beginning the practice of dragging the tables back to their original positions. He continued in Silence as Seth sat upon the table, ignoring the bench for much more than a foot rest as he looked at the Lavinian who seemed to be silent the entire time. Finally he spoke up, “Anger that bottled up It’d be a cinch to make you explode. What’s going on Firebrand?”

Seth was not expecting what came next, “You’re being the shittiest teacher I know, and further you’re being too rough with the girl. What, Samantha wasn’t tormented enough? You gotta make another poor girl try to live up to expectations even you can’t achieve on your best days?”

Hot anger rose up in his chest at the emntion of his daughter so casually from the thief’s mouth. Further it was coaxed ever brighter by the comments that Seth had screwed up his daughter and now was abandoning her to try again. His teeth clenched as a gauntlet clad fist squeaked his displeasure at the rogue and he hissed, “You leave Sam out of this-“

“No, lets bring her into this, I mean let’s take a moment to consider just how fucked up you are Seth. You’re three for three in ruining the women in your-“

A knife embedded itself into the table, slicing right over Jared’s ear as he looked at the kunai. The Lungpopper as Seth preferred to call them quivered slightly, showing the amount of force it had been flung at the thief. The fact it hadn’t cut Jared was a sign Seth had a better reign on his temper than Jared had on his. Then the words began as the knife stopped quaking in terror, “You ever talk of my wife and child like that again Cesarino, and we will not be having a conversation. There will be a funeral, and I will not be held responsible for my actions. Are we clear?”

“As rain water, sir.”

“You got some funny ideas on what I’m doing, so I’m going to explain, and use small words. Hopefully get through that fucking thick skull of yours and save us all another trip to the medical ward. I am teaching Fae by using the assets available to me. I am not the best lock pick, and you’re by far one of the better ones this guild has. I asked you to train her as a nicety and as a plea because I can’t fucking pick my way out of a wet paper sack. I was asked to train her as a thief and as sure as the gods cursed my existence the day I was born, I will do that,” Seth said a finger pointing at Jared in accusation.

“And the bruises? Last time I checked, thieves didn’t get bruises learning stealth and reconnaissance tactics,” Jared’s retort was underlined by the squeal of a wooden bench shoved back under the table as he moved onto the next one. The scent of sweat and combat still hung in the room, but with the door open it slowly began to leech out as Seth shook his head,

“I didn’t give them to her.”

“Bullshit you didn’t, if you didn’t who the hell did?”

“Tell you what Cesarino, since you’re so fucking invested in this girl to the point you can’t see the big picture, you’re coming to her training with her spear instructor. Maybe that will give you an idea of what she’s been putting herself through for her own betterment. Far be it from me to prove you wrong Jared, but I’ll be damned if you make me the villain in everything I do.”

“Maybe it’s because I know you well enough. What’s the angle Seth? What is she getting you that you haven’t figured out what to murder to gain yourself?”

“My daughter back, and that’s the last time I’ll admit to that fact. You tell anyone what I’m doing here and Faelynn will be dating a eunuch, I am not joking about that Cesarino.”

“You hurt her in some way that it would take divine intervention to overcome and I will dip into my blood to exact my revenge on you Dahlios, are we clear?”

Seth’s eyebrows rose at the comment. It was no bluff, Jared was technically the stronger of the two and if he was that angry at Seth he would certainly give into the Siren’s call. The threat held enough weight to make Seth consider it before he spoke, “Do I need to bleed for you to accept I don’t have any plans for Fae beyond teaching her? Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve bled for the girl.”

Jared moved over to Seth and grabbed him roughly by the front of his shirt before he hissed, “This isn’t some fucking joke Seth. You hurt her in some way that won’t go away in a couple of weeks and I swear as sure as the Gods hate this forsaken wasteland that I will not rest until I make your life an absolute hell.”

Seth brushed Jared off him before he spoke his voice calmer than it had been previously, “I get it, she’s your Liliana. I won’t fuck with her. Now grab your gear, you’re coming with me…”

“Where to?”

“You get the luxury of meeting Faelynn’s spear instructor. I’ll just have to make sure he knows to expect you from now on.”

[Reine]

The panicked beats of her heart slowed somewhere in the streets of Lavinya. If you had to guess, she would say between the vegetable stand and the back alley that smelled like things she'd rather not think about. Honestly, the streets she took may have names, but she didn't know them. She recognized the little things really, that crack in the wall, which stand sold what and the colour of the doors on peoples houses and shops. That's how she navigated around Lavinya, that's how she navigated around any place.

The whole trip there, through the dusty and sweaty streets, feeling the hot hot sun beating down on her head and body, Fae thought about Jared. Well, she thought about Seth a little too, but mainly Jared. She didn't really know when she had started liking him, couldn't really pinpoint a time or date. Five days ago if she had told herself she'd end up liking the red headed thief, she'd probably have laughed at herself. He was clumsy, had a thing for ninja's and while good looking, nothing about him appealed to her besides what he could do to further her own development as a thief. Now though, now things were different.

She woke up every morning looking forward to spending time with him. She went to bed each night practising the lock picks he gave her and thinking about him in the process. She'd deluded herself into thinking this rather normal, and perhaps in some aspects it was normal for a teenage girl who liked a boy, but Jared was a man and frankly Faelynn had never liked anyone before.

Well, that's not entirely sure. She'd fallen for Eric Anglekos, but he had died during the war against Zem'Xund in Raiaera and left her with nothing but two daggers to remember him by. Not to mention, her feelings for Eric had never progressed very far. It had been more of an intense lust between the two of them that could have been so much more, except neither had been ready at the time to make that move and now she'd never have the chance again. At least not with him. But perhaps with Jared...

These were the thoughts going though her mind when she entered that small building hidden in the back of Lavinya's alleyways and found Oberon and Alyssa waiting inside for her.

“Where's Seth?”

Fae blinked at the familiar voice and came out of her reverie. She'd honestly been so caught up in her mind that she hadn't even noticed her surroundings. A really bad move for anyone in her profession.

“Seth?” She asked dumbly. Oberon looked at her like she'd lost her marbles somewhere along the route and nodded his head. “Oh, he's probably somewhere behind me. He was talking with....someone...”

“Right...”

Now he really did look at her like she'd lost it, his brown eyes doing a once over of her body, perhaps to see if she'd smashed her head on the way here.

Ignoring her instructor for a moment, he couldn't begin until Seth got here anyway, Faelynn walked over to Alyssa, his red-headed daughter and the every] present observer during her fighting sessions. Fae had barely talked to the girl--err woman--they had kind of exchanged pleasantries once or twice, but she seemed more than content to just leave Fae to her own machinations and not interfere or have an opinion in anything. Today though, Fae wanted to ask her some questions, some slightly awkward questions.

“Um...Alyssa,” she began, scratching at some inch that didn't exist in the back of her head, “I was wondering if I could talk to you about...something?”

The woman raised a slender brow. “Sure, what did you need?”

“Ah well... I...” Faelynn awkwardly looked at Alyssa's father, Oberon, standing less than two feet from them and obviously listening in on every word they said.

Alyssa laughed and got her meaning. She moved the two of them over to a secluded section of the room, behind some tall stacking crates and well out of earshot of Oberon, well unless one of them screamed.

“Okay, so now tell me what's up?” Alyssa said as she pulled herself up on to one of the crates.

Fae followed suit, sitting about a foot away from her. She still lowered her voice though when she spoke, mainly out of embarrassment than worry about Oberon listening in.

“Um, how can you tell if a man likes you?”

Alyssa laughed, “Well, they're not very subtle creatures, so it's usually pretty obvious.”

“So if he...kisses you?” She hedged.

“Oh, then he definitely likes you, either that or he's trying to...well, you know.” She rolled her eyes.

Fae blinked. “No, definitely don't know. That's why I'm asking...” She felt some of that blush creep up her cheeks.

“Oh, well, usually if a guy kisses you that means he's interested." She said, amusement dancing in her eyes.

“Oh...” She looked down at the wooden crate, picking at the soft wood with her fingernails. A small splinter slipped under her nail and stabbed into her skin. She grimaced, but ignore it and continued her small fit of destruction on the wood. “I just, I...don't have any experience with men really and well, I kind of just realized that I like one and I think he likes me and I don't know what to do!” She looked up at Alyssa, her green-gold eyes pleading the older woman to give her some kind of information on how to proceed.

“You don't have any...? How old are you, Faelynn?” Alyssa asked, her brows drawing down over her green eyes.

“18.”

Then those brows shot up in surprise. “Oh, I thought you were older than that. I'm still surprised you don't have much experience with men...but if you're looking for dating advice I may not be your best source.” She laughed. “Not many of the men around here will dare try to date the daughter of the Captain of the Lavinian Guards.”

Fae chuckled, feeling some of the tension leave her body. “Yeah, I see your point.”

“Honestly, if you two like each other than the best thing to do is spend more time together. If you're not sure if he likes you, then you can give him some hints, pay more or less attention to him, see how he reacts when you're around other men. That should let you know if he likes you.”

Fae nodded her head, trying to figure out just how she could attract Jared's attention beyond training.

“So, how should I—”

Just then the door to the warehouse opened up and Seth walked in, with Jared trailing behind him. Fae's eyes widened in surprise, her face immediately turning a deep red colour as she looked at the young thief.

“J-J-Jared!?”

Alyssa looked at her in surprise, then followed her line of site to the red headed Lavinian thief known as Firebrand. The daughter of Oberon laughed as understanding dawned on her, then she patted Fae on the knee and hopped down from her perch.

“You'll be just fine, Faelynn.”

She definitely didn't feel 'just fine'. She felt like she was trapped in some kind of nightmare.

[Dissinger]

Jared’s eyebrows shot off his head about the same time Oberon spoke up “Dahlios, what’s this game? I thought we agreed equal amount of guard and thieves…”

Seth snapped his fingers before he pointed at Oberon, “Right, this was kinda last minute, umm tell you what I’ll wait outside for a guard and when they patrol on by I’ll pull them in with me? I doubt jared could last very long with you, and well you have more than a good gauge of Faelynn.”

Oberon shook his head before he spoke up, “No, I’d rather have you here, I’m assuming that this was your answer to me asking for her to get a sparring partner. We’ll make do for now, but I wish you could have at least told Fae so I could have grabbed someone while we were waiting.”

“I don’t think even she knew this was going to happen,” Seth replied as a mischievous smirk lit up his face. Jared meanwhile was locked onto the captain of the guard before Seth playfully punched the red head’s shoulder, “Snap out of it Jared, its just Oberon.”

“Yeah, the captain of the guard!” Jared looked at Seth before he spun a finger in a circle by his ear, “Are you crazy! Pulling him into this? Do you even know what that means if we’re caught by the trademasters? It’s not just us who pay-“

“I appreciate your concern Firebrand, but you don’t have to be indignant on my account. I think I know far better than you the consequences of these little training sessions. Now, if we can all clear out of here a moment I’m going to have Alyssa grab a guard, and then we’ll start. We’ll have to stay later to make up for the lost time. Jared, you’re at least classically trained right?”

They all filed out before Alyssa gave her father a glance. The old man merely shook his head and gave her a dismissive gesture before he said, “Get one of the younger brats. We need to teach them to cool it anyways. I figure this is as good a time as any. What say you?”

“I think I know just the one. Should take me maybe ten minutes, gotta get to the post,” Alyssa said as she prepared to go. Faelynn chose then to speak up;

"I'll go too!" Everyone looked at her before she spoke up, "Gotta learn the city eventually right?"

Seth looked to Oberon before he spoke up, "You know Firebrand's no good in a fight, I'd say so long as we stay out here, its to your advantage. I can't exactly hide with you staring at me."

The Captain of the Guard merely shrugged before he said, "If She tried anything i have no doubt Alyssa would end it before it properly began. She's like you Seth, she cheats."

Alyssa scoffed at the comment before she spoke up, "I prefer the term pragmatic myself. Come on Faelynn, lets go I'm not sure how long he's going to stay after his shift." In a single crack of Alyssa's coat she was gone, with Faelynn in tow. Jared took the momentary silence to finally answer;

“Yeah I’m trained, whether I’m Seth level of fighting or not is something else entirely, but trained.”

“All I need is to know you can put up a fight Cesarino. How’s your sister by the way?” Oberon asked as he nodded taking in the information.

“Serenity? I haven’t had a chance to catch up with her, was going to do it today but got caught up in Seth’s latest bout of insanity,” He said glaring at the thief.

“Don’t be so hard on the demon, not his fault he can’t think things through,” Oberon said with a wry chuckle before he continued, “I think I’ll have Fae go a round or two with you, see how she deals with a shorter range opponent. Hopefully she doesn’t embarrass herself, but don’t hold back. If she makes a mistake I want you to make her pay for it. Keep the bleeding to scrapes and I think we’ll get the point across.”

“So all those bruises-”

“Well the one on her back was because she launched herself into a pile of crates trying to tackle me. The one on her jaw was because she took a half strength blow with a half assed block, and the others are where I made solid contact to make sure she knew she was done with that round. I mean come on Cesarino, you never got cuts and bruises learning to use your knives?”

Seth gave Jared a pointed look at the Lavinian ignored Seth talking to Oberon, “You go that hard with your daughter?”

“I didn’t train her, because I knew I would be too hard on her. I pulled my teacher out of retirement to train her. If I did it, her mother would kill me, because she’d be limping in every day. As it stands she only threatened to murder me twice during Alyssa’s training, and that was before we brought guns into her regimen. Let’s just say she wasn’t all that happy to hear her darling gal was wielding guns…”

It was then that Alyssa showed up with a guard in tow. He looked at the three of the thieves standing there and readied his spear before Seth let out a harsh laugh, “Really kid, you’re gonna come at me with your toothpick?”

“Captain Oberon, are we bringing them in?” The boy’s voice held a slight quaver at the cavalier retort to his threatening gesture.

Oberon gave Seth a withering glare before he spoke up, “No Raul, we are not taking them in. Now stand down before you embarrass yourself.”

“So we good now?” Seth asked before he pointed to the warehouse.

Oberon looked at the younger guard before he nodded and said, “He’ll do. Let’s get this show on the road.”

[Reine]

Fae walked in silent shock next to Alyssa as they made their way to the guard post.

Jared was with her spear instructor. Jared knew who her spear instructor was. Seth had brought him, on purpose. What that purpose could be she could hazard a few guesses really. One, he wanted to torture her. Two, he'd lost his mind. Three, she overheard something about Oberon asking if Jared was classically trained, which brought to the conclusion that she would be fighting him. She really hoped it would not be option three. Fighting him had not ended well the first time, well, actually it may have ended too well. Neither of them had been a victor, but she had gotten something out of it. Just not what she'd originally had in mind.

She challenged him because she couldn't handle Jared constantly bad mouthing Seth. She had enough stress to deal with in this situation and all she wanted from him, all she'd ever wanted from the moment she'd stepped foot in Lavinya and seen him, was his support in her endeavour. He was a thief, he should understand her need to better herself. What if the Radasanth Guild caught her again? Worse yet, what if she got mixed up with the guards back home? She didn't want to lose a hand or an arm.

Or worse yet, her life.

“So it's Jared, huh?”

Fae flushed, feeling the heat spread up her neck, face and across her ears. “Y-yeah...”

She could see the smirk spread across Alyssa's face from the corner of her eye. “What happened?”

The blush turned an even darker shade of red. “I challenged him to a fight because of the things he was saying about Seth, and when I pinned him to the ground he... he kissed me!”

She felt mortified saying it aloud, but the fact that Alyssa didn't laugh at her made her feel better.

“Did you kiss him back?”

She nodded.

“Did you like it?”

She nodded even more.

Then Alyssa laughed. “Well, that's a good place to start. Firebrand's a good guy. He always tries his best to never injure the guards that attack him, in fact from what I've seen, he hates fighting altogether.”

“Yeah...”

Just then they made it to the guard post, a large stone structure, and Alyssa disappeared inside. Faelynn was more than happy to stay outside and wait for her. When she returned, the young thief almost balked, but quickly hid her expression. The guard she'd brought back was one of the two she'd saved Jared from, the one who's collar bone she'd broken by literally falling upon him.

He didn't seem to recognize her though.

She was wearing different clothes and didn't even have her spear on her, not to mention when she had attacked him she'd been covering most of her face with a scarf.

When his eyes merely brushed over her with no recognition she felt the tense muscles in her back let go. With him in tow though, they walked back to the warehouse in silence. Once there, things got a little interesting for about thirty seconds as macho guard man tried to take down Seth with nothing but a spear. Fae almost burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Probably a good thing she didn't.



Twenty minutes later Faelynn found herself standing in the middle of the warehouse. Normally she'd be standing opposite Oberon at this point, instead she found herself staring at Jared with a mixture of abject horror and uncertainty. He seemed rather calm though, the damn bastard. Maybe he didn't like her. Maybe the kiss had just been some kind of spontaneous moment to him and nothing more. After all, he didn't seem at all phased right now. He merely calmly put those damn gloves back on his hands and waited for her to get ready.

Seth had already returned Amalia; thank fully someone had the right mind to bring the damn thing cause she certainly hadn't been thinking clearly at the time she ran out of the tool room.

Spinning the weapon out to it's full height, Faelynn took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. It didn't really work. Not when she kept looking into those stormy grey eyes and wondering just what was going on beyond them. What thoughts were running through his head and whether or not he wanted to kiss her again as badly as she wanted him to!

Damn it all to the seven realms of eternity!

She needed to treat this like any other match. Needed to treat him like any other opponent. Not like a man she liked, perhaps the first man she'd ever felt these damn jittery butterfly things before in her life!

Once he reached behind him and removed those daggers from their sheathes, Fae knew she had no more time to think and had to react instead. Let instinct and adrenaline overrule her brain. He made no move at her, which she hadn't expected him to in all honesty. Still, she almost wished she'd had.

Dagger fighters are good in close distances only. If I keep my attacks and jabs farther away and try to stop him from closing in the distance, I should be able to wear him down and wait for an opening.

Or so she hoped.

Faelynn finally took the first step and began to walk a slow circle around Jared. They stood only a couple feet away from each other, but she made no move to close it, not yet anyway. Her red-headed sparring partner kept up with her, turning his body in a slow pivot, his grey eyes watching her every step and move, as he waited for that moment. She tested him and took a step forward, his arms tensed ever so slightly. She probably only noticed it because she was looking.

On her second circuit around him, she made her move, knowing one of them would have to. Her spear shot out in a quick jab towards his ribs. Jared twisted his body, dagger slamming in to the sharp end of Amalia and send it flying towards the floor.

And thus, the game began.

[Lavinian Ambition]

His heart pounded in his chest, and it wasn’t just from the exhertion he was putting up. Jare dCesarino was only looking calm, and was using the fight to get those jittery feelings out of his veins. Sure a quickened breath here, a nervous twitch there could be chalked up to the spar, but the kiss and the subsequent talk with the Captain of the guard, he was at wits end with Seth. He understood finally why Seth had not wanted to train her in daggers yet, but even Jared had to question he thief’s sanity at putting himself in Oberon’s debt.

She paced about him and he could see it in her eyes. She was looking for some sign that the tool room wasn’t a fluke. He silently cursed his impulses because while he cared for the girl, perhaps too much he didn’t want to distract the girl form the already punishing training regimen she was on. So when she poked at him, he swatted her spear tip down and saw it dip only marginally lower. Her grip was solid, that was for sure. The rookie guards would have had their spear almost in the dirt from such a contemptuous parry. He merely winked at her, and saw the blush creep up in her face.

I do believe I’m her first crush…well maybe her first approachable crush. I’m pretty sure Seth fantasies keep running through her head…

That made things more interesting to say the least. So when she poked again Jared was already on the move. He swatted her tip harmlessly away and charged within reach, only to find her hunch her shoulders and bring the butt of her spear about in a blow aimed right for his jaw. Without the bracers that Seth used he could not push the advantage and was forced into a stooping duck of his own to avoid it, even as her forward foot pressed against the dirt and shoved herself back giving her room. Spear was brought before her once again and ready even before Jared assumed stance one of his own fighting style.

“Good one, keep him back, you don’t want those letter openers getting in close…” Oberon called from the sidelines. Jared felt a flush of indignation as he watched Faelynn’s eyes looking for something in here. Finally he sensed movement and watched the spear move in short jerks, obvious feints. He had to remember that Fae was the one being trained, not Jared. Jared already knew what Seth wanted to train him in, and it wasn’t anything the red head was interested in.

Jared moved in when she was pulling back one of her feints. Her eyes widened before she brought the spear shaft up before her in a practiced block, at least one good against pole arms. As the thief charged forward they collided, and that’s when he realized what had occurred. Using her spear as a fulcrum, she collapsed under his weight and used her feet to springboard Jared behind her. The sounds of wood cracking echoed through the air as Seth winced in sympathetic pain. Even Oberon groaned as Faelynn got to her feet and looked at the results of her handiwork.

Both men went stone faced as she turned to them and started jumping up and down, “I did it! I finally pulled that move off! In your face Oberon I totally did it and you said I never would!”

Oberon merely nodded as he spoke up, “Yes, yes I did.”

Seth merely covered his face as something devious sparkled in his eyes. Faelynn seemed enamored with the thief when Jared, having pulled the larger splinters out of his back suddenly pounced on Faelynn dragging her to the ground before he pinned her with a knife to her throat. He breathed heavily from the exertion as Seth called out, “Eyes on the Prize darling. You pulled off a good move and had all the advantage. Had you put the spear tip to his throat, you’d have won. Threw it away for the pat on the head now didn’t ya?”

Jared looked Fae deeply in the eyes, and even though he was not the one being pinned he had an overwhelming desire to taste the girl again. Still with the more public venue he only looked down between them as he pulled his knife away and muttered softly, “Sorry Fae. I get a little worked up when I’m in pain…” He then quickly pulled off of the girl as he tried to sheath his blades.

Seth and Oberon exchanged knowling looks before they muttered between the two of them. Finally Oberon spoke up, “Alright you two, hit the tavern. We’re going to call it here, I think Faelynn learned a very important lesson…” Anyone watching the man could tell he was fighting to keep the smirk that had blossomed into a grin on Seth’s face from spreading onto his own.

Finally Seth spoke up, “Take the night Fae, you’ve been working hard lately, hate for you to not get in a little fun too.”

[Reine]

Faelynn stayed on the ground even after Jared got off her. She felt too humiliated to move and honestly just plain confused. He'd fought her with a stoic face, with a distant look in his eyes that said he didn't care, that said whatever had happened in the tool room meant nothing to him. But when he'd pinned her, a little spark had formed in those grey depths, like he enjoyed this cat and mouse game far more than he let on. The words he'd said only added more to the befuddled thoughts that ran rampant inside her. He got worked up when he was in pain? What did that even mean? He enjoyed fighting her? He hated it? Or was that the reason he kissed her all along? He didn't like her, that's why he could look at her now without a hint of anything. The only reason he'd kissed her is because fighting got him excited, perhaps the same way stealing did to her.

Then he moved off her and she couldn't dissect his expression anymore, couldn't feel the heat of his body over top of hers and enjoy the press of his weight. If she had to admit it, she'd say the poking and prodding was enjoyable, but she didn't want to admit it, because she still didn't know for sure what he felt for her, or if he felt anything at all. Maybe he was just after what Alyssa had been talking about, whatever that may be.

A face loomed over her, a grinning expression that peered down with barely contained laughter.

"Little thief want a hand up?" He didn't offer one despite his words.

She narrowed green-gold eyes at him, in no mood for these games. "Shove off, Raul. I don't have the time for you."

He laughed then. "Oh come on, it was so cute. 'Seth, Seth!'" He mimicked her voice, his rising in a girlie crescendo that sounded nothing like her. "'Look at me Seth, I'm over here Seth!' Wam! Hahaha! Flat on your ass, right where you belong.

"You know, there is definitely an upside to being dragged into this ridiculous farce. I get to observe you, so when I do run into you in the street I'll know exactly how to take you down."

She stared up at him in utter disbelief. He'd just watched her fight Jared and he still had no idea who she was. No clue that he'd already fought her. Normally she'd enjoy keeping that knowledge to herself, but with her anger bubbling up to the surface, Fae couldn't stop herself from rubbing it in.

"Observe me?" She laughed. "You're so fucking blind a horde of harpies could have destroyed half your city and you'd never notice. You've already fought me." He looked down on her in confusion and she couldn't believe his stupidity. "Nothing yet? Maybe I should break your other collar bone, that way you'll have a matching set."

His face coloured, whether with embarrassment or his own anger, the thief didn't know and didn't really care. She just wanted him gone, out of her sight.

"You little bitch!" He growled and she absently wondered if his brain capacity could come up with a better insult. "I'll be looking for you." He lowered his voice and leaned down over top of her, his body blocking out everything else and leaving nothing but his sneering face to stare at. "Maybe I won't wait until I see you steal something. All I have to do is catch you alone and thinking yourself so safe because you've got Oberon, but he'd turn you in just as quick. And if I showed up with you in tow, who do you think they'd believe? Your word against mine."

Fae closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Or it should have been deep and calming, but it wasn't. Idiot guard boy just kept prattling on instead of taking her silence as the warning it was and backing off.

"And when you're mentor comes to save you, I'll catch that bastard too. Then I'll get to watch the Lavinian Demon's feet kick their last dance as the noose tightens--"

He never got to finish that sentence. She'd just plain had enough. Once he threatened Seth, Faelynn let all that anger she'd been holding back free. Instead of the outburst that Jared witnessed this morning, a mask fell over her face and left it blank and emotionless. She lashed out with deadly precision. The iron toe of her boot caught him right on the side of his knee and she felt it crumple from the force of her kick. A surprised cry echoed throughout the room as the Lavinian guard landed on his side, hands clutching at the possibly broken appendage.

She rolled, grabbed Amalia and faster than anyone could blink shoved him flat on his back; her knee pressed against his diaphram and spear tip pointed at his throat. Her hands didn't waver. Even with the rapid rise and fall of her chest (the only thing that gave away her anger) the spear tip did not so much as quiver. The sharp edge steady as a rock and just lightly brushing his skin.

"Don't talk about my mentor." Her voice deadly quiet, but firm and enunciating each word as her eyes bored holes into his soul. "Don't think yourself high and mighty and better than those around you when you don't even understand the situation. People like you, with your pride and indignation, are the reason Revan fell, and people like Seth, Oberon, Jared, Garret and Alyssa are the reason Lavinya still stands to this day, even in the fucked up state it's in. So don't think you know anything. Don't ever threaten my mentor again. And by the Thayne and the man who forged this weapon, if the next words out of your mouth aren't those of an apology, I will plunge this into your throat."

He swallowed. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down and the movement pushed his skin against the tip of Amalia. A droplet of blood formed under the point.

[Lavinian Ambition]

The silence was suffocating. Everyone saw Reine take down the guard Rual who had lipped off too heavily towards the girl. Alyssa immediately was reaching into her coat only to see a hand placed firmly over her own. She locked eyes with her father who only shook his head before he whispered, “Let the thieves handle this. It’s their mess.”

Seth looked to Jared who seemed to be moving quickly towards Fae and carefully pulled her back from Rual before he spoke up, “What’s gotten into you Fae? Calm down, he’s just some peon that doesn’t know his place…”

Rual for the first time in his life, remained wisely silent on the matter before he carefully crawled over to Alyssa and Oberon, the latter of which swatted him upside the head. The junior guard rubbed the back of his head in order to alleviate the temporary pain even as he watched the scene unfold. Jared merely kept himself in front of Reine to fend her off from the guards as he looked concerned into her eyes. Finally she brushed a few strands fo loose hair from her face and turned twisting the sspear so it would collapse down to fit in her sheath. Oberon let out a soft sigh as he said firmly, “I’ll see you tomorrow Faelynn, please keep your temper in check then.” With that the members of the guard left, leaving the three thieves in the warehouse along. Rual limping out as he gingerly tested his knee and shot his assailant a dirty look.

Seth merely shook his head before he left to, stopping at the door only to say briefly, “Same time tomorrow.”

Jared looked at Faelynn before he shrugged and said, “Shall we?”

“Yeah, I don’t feel like eating much right now, let’s just go home.”


~*~

Faelynn opened her door and already Jared could see something was wrong. Strewn about the room were a few of her clothes, along with a few items. Had this been his room no one would think of it, but the young woman was a bit of a neat freak, and she wouldn’t have left clothing lying on the ground for the entire day, a few minutes maybe, but a day never.

Fae seemed concerned as she stepped into the room and pushed the door wider seeing her bed overturned and the table knocked onto it’s side. Jared’s eyes widened at the site of the dresser missing all its contents, the wooden drawers strewn about the floor haphazardly. A huge pile of debris rested in the middle of her room, and a good portion of it seemed soaked through.

Faelynn seemed distressed by the turn of events and looked to Jared for anything to solve the mystery. Instead he moved to the table and righted it, before finding the lantern hidden behind the door and igniting the wick. At least they had the common decency not to spill the oil everywhere and cause a potential fire hazard. He looked about the room as she stared at the pile, her eyes seeming to take it in over and over, in utter disbelief at the very before her.

Jared carefully picked up an empty drawer and slid it carefully into the dresser and moved onto the next, the sound of wood upon wood snapping Faelynn out of her reverie before he helped her right the bed. Thankfully the mattress had not been soaked through and so it was a simple matter to get her bed in some semblance of order. Faelynn seemed to move as a robot before she gasped and quickly began digging through the wet pile searching frantically for something.

“Faelynn…” Jared began.

“Shut up, they have to be here somewhere!” Her voice took on a hysterical quality to it before finally she stopped having dug halfway through the pile and reverently extracted a dagger belt. Her hands gently rubbed the moisture from the belt as she carefully set it on the bed and looked upon it with an oddly melancholy gaze. Finally Jared broke the reverie as he spoke;

“You had daggers? Did Seth give those to you?”

She whipped him with a gaze and immediately was on the attack, “No, why? If they were from Seth were you going to take them away?”

"No, I just, was confused as to how you got them. Besides they're yours no reason for me to take them, what am I going to do with them? Go marauding around the world with four daggers killing anyone that gives me the stink eye?"

She was not amused by the crude comparison to Seth, “I got them, that’s all you need to know about them.”

Jared lifted his hands up in defense as he said, "Alright alright I get it, you don't want me prying into those things. Fine, the daggers are daggers, they could be from god herself for all I care, I was just curious, that was all..."

Fae forced herself to take a deep, calming breath as she looked over at Jared. "No... I'm sorry, I'm just...I'm not ready to talk about it."

Jared had never seen Faelynn shut up about anything. Still he observed the daggers for a moment , "Those aren't Lavinian make, the hilts would be smaller because we tend to make ours more utility knives. Maybe Coronian...." He then looked at her carefully before he asked, "Can I see them?"

She stopped halfway through putting some of her drier clothes back in the armoire. Her whole body went as tight as a bow string. She seemed to consider the request for a while, before she continued stiffly folded the clothes that were still dry and put them back in the dresser. Jared was about to give up on seeing them up close before she nodded, “Sure.”

Jared carefully unsheathed the blade before he raised an eyebrow, "Solid prevalida, Seth's were only edged in it. These must have cost a pretty penny. I can also see the blades a bit finer, probably more for skinning. If I had to put a bet on it, I'd go with Dheathain, just because these daggers seem Draconian make. Just on the right side of practical while maintaining a bit of heft." He carefully balanced the blade on his finger before he raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, perfect center balance, these things are also good for throwing..."

She seemed to watch Jared and closed her eyes, almost as if she was arguing with herself or reassuring herself it was okay. She closed her eyes with a shuddering breath as she tried to calm herself. Jared could tell she was emotional about something, but whether it was the room or the daggers he couldn’t tell. Her eyes opened slowly and she seemed to look hard at Jared, her face draining of all color. In a sudden move she grabbed the knife from his hand and shoved it back in its sheath before turning away from him grabbing the belt tightly.

Jared sensed something was amiss and tried desperately to get her to talk, to vent out the emotion she was flooded with, “Faelynn are you okay?”

“Just get out,” She muttered as she stared intently at the dagger belt.

Jared frowned as he put a hand of concern on her shoulder, “Faelynn, are you okay? You know you can talk to me right?”

"I said get out!" She snapped at him and pushed him away from her. "You're not him and you never will be!"

Jared stumbled back a few steps and bumped into the wall as he looked at Faelynn and could see she was refusing to let him see her in pain. Finally catching the hint he moved to the door and carefully began to pull it closed behind him before he looked back over his shoulder, “See you tomorrow, alright Faelynn?”

The door closed behind him and he almost thought he heard the choked sob of the young Coronian before he left the door his heart tearing at the noise.

[Reine]

Faelynn didn't know how long she stayed on the ground for or how long she cried. Eventually the tears dried up, her eyes too swollen to let out any more. Slowly, she became aware of the passage of time once again. The pain in her legs from the cramped, uncomfortable position she was sitting in and the feeling of the dagger hilts digging into her chest.

Reluctantly, she lowered the belt into her lap and stared at the two daggers, nestled among the brown leather. They were just daggers. Nothing more. Yet they meant so much to her. They were Eric and everything she'd ever thought of him. Hard and cold, but protective and the blue sheen of the Prevalida matched his eyes so well. In one light it could look soft and forgiving, and by another distant and as frigid as the Salvaran winters.

Looking around the mess of her room and knowing she should do something about it, Fae stood. Her body stiff. She moved about mechanically, like one of those toys from Alerar. Dry clothes went back in the armoire, wet clothes went in a pile for her to deal with at some later point. Not right now. She couldn't deal with much of anything at this very moment.

Once her room was back into some semblance of order, Fae crawled into her bed and pulled the covers up over her head. Eric's dagger belt lay next to her and she stared at it until she fell asleep, wishing she'd never come to this place.



Seven days later Fae sat alone in the kitchens, a plate of mostly untouched food in front of her. She'd barely talked to Jared since her meltdown in her bedroom. Every time she looked at him now she thought of Eric and she couldn't be sure if she liked him for him or if he reminded her of Eric in some strange way, shape or form. So she ignored him as best she could. They continued their lock picking in the mornings, and she still fought with him in the afternoons, but any idle banter she ignored or answered half-heartedly. He'd probably gotten the message somewhere along the line, but he still tried every day and every day she still shrugged it off.

She also did her best to ignore most of her emotions during her time with Oberon. What he'd said rang true. The thief needed to control herself better. Too many times she let her emotions get the better of her. Better to just hide them and shut them out than explode on some poor person again like she had Jared, twice now, and Raul once. Thankfully that one person seemed to know better and leave her alone. The rest of them though, seemed interested in making her life a living hell.

"Dear Ferynn," Fae felt her back go ram rod straight as the falsetto mocking of her own voice filled the kitchens, "training here is just so much fun!" She had not written it like that. "I've been meeting some amazing thieves and I ran into Jared again. He's just so awesome. I love making kissie faces at him while he teaches me to pick locks."

She could see the group of apprentice boys off to her right and a couple benches over. Their eyes all locked on her as they laughed and jested among themselves loud enough for the entire room to hear them. Blissfully, most of the other nearby thieves didn't pay the any kind of attention as they fought over which one would get to read from her letter next. They'd stolen it from her room. Half finished, she'd been writing it to Ferynn in her spare time, which wasn't very often so it had sat there for days, until she could only assume, one or all of them had trashed her room and decided taking the letter would give them a couple laughs.

"Seth and I talk all the time, we're like the bestest buddies ever! He's such an amazing person."

Her fingers tightened around the fork until her knuckles turned white. No longer interested in her food, Faelynn stood to leave only to have two hard objects strike her in the back of the head. Grimacing, she looked down at the ground and saw two stale buns roll under a bench. At least it wasn't a hard boiled egg like last time. That had really hurt. Taking a deep breath and shoving the anger down somewhere into the pit of her stomach, Fae left the kitchens and headed towards Jared's room for her normal morning lesson.

Pausing at the door, the thief drew a deep, fortifying breath and walked in. Like usual, it was dark inside Jared's room and like usual he kept the lantern and box of matches right on the nightstand by his bed. She felt around by memory, found it all and struck a match, lighting the lantern. Pausing, she looked over at the red head as he snoozed away. The memory of him holding Eric's daggers came back to the forefront of her mind and she felt that lump in her throat grow again. For a brief moment, when he'd held them, she'd opened her eyes and saw Eric. She'd been so happy to see him, but then the image had faded and Jared stood in the wake of his ghost.

Sighing, Fae wondered if she could skip lock pick training this morning. She just didn't think her heart could handle it right now. Placing the lantern on the nightstand, she turned to leave, then froze as she noticed Jared actually moving on the bed. He made some noncommital sounds, the kind he usually made when he slowly woke up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. She didn't know what to do, having been caught in his room already. She couldn't leave now, could she?

Unsure, and feeling awkward and uncomfortable, she watched the redheaded thief sit up and look over at her, his grey eyes soft and looking nothing like the ice of Eric's.

"You look like a shipwreck, did the other apprentices prank you again?"

She didn't answer him for a moment. Not sure entirely what to say. The way the others treated her was not Jared's concern or problem, it was her own. "No, everything's fine. I just haven't been sleeping very well...that's all." It wasn't entirely a lie. She had been sleeping like crap for the last three nights. Her brain a constant whirlwind of thoughts that kept her up long after her head hit the pillow.

He looked at her closer, as if taking in more of her appearance and tone as the sleep slowly faded from his mind. "Is it anything I can help with? I know I'm not your teacher, well I guess I am, but you can always ask me for help, or even Garret. I'm sure if you gave him a look up he could help you..."

"Hmm..." Fae shrugged and turned away from him. "It's nothing you need to worry about." Her tone held none of it's usual cheerfulness or exuberance. In fact, it sounded pretty removed and emotionless. "Come on... time to put your clothes on and show me how to crack more locks. The spiders in my room know I've been practicing lots." Every night. She had nothing else to do besides stare at the walls and pray her mind would shut down long enough for her to pass out.

[Lavinian Ambition]

Jared looked at Faelynn before he got up and carefully pulled her into a hug before he said softly, "I'm sorry Fae, I really am, I don't know what they're doing to you, but I'm sorry you had to put up with it..."

Her body went stiff as a tree the instant he wrapped his arms around her, then, slowly, after what seemed like forever, she began to feel herself relax. He was half expecting her to shove him away and yell at him again. Instead, she just hugged him back. She rested her head in the crook of his shoulder and hugged him as tight as she could.

Jared looked her in the eyes before he said softly, "You can do this Fae, you already have a leg up most of the apprentices don't have. You know you can do this, because you've already done it." He felt his heart race as he looked into those green eyes, feeling drawn into her as he continued, "Everyone goes through it, I did to. Things were unbearable for me my first few months down here."

"I haven't already done it, though! I've never experienced this kind of training before, ever." She looked away from him. But looking away just forced her to look at his chest, which made her realize he was half naked. "My training in Underwood was simple. Dad hired mercenaries and wandering warriors to teach me the spear, any and all of my thief skills are self taught, Jared. Self taught! No one pushed me, but me. No one helped me, but me and no one tormented me to within an inch of my sanity."

"No one helped me either Fae," Jared said softly, "But you know how to steal, you've done it. These kids, we can't afford to give them the opportunities you had, and that gives you the edge. You know why we do things the way we do." He let the words hang in the air as he gently cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. Before he realized it he was kissing her, and from the way she reacted, he wasn't sure she objected to it either.

Fae clung to, feeling adrift in a tumultuous sea and him being the only life raft in sight, the only thing she could rely upon. She kissed him back with desperation, her fingers burying into the thick and tangled strands of his red hair as she pushed her body against his needing to feel every inch of him she could. Finally after a few minutes he pulled away his breathing heavy and his heart racing as he rested his forehead against hers. He let a smile cross his face as he whispered, "I should have done that back in Radasanth..."

Faelynn took a deep, steadying breath, trying to chase away the flutter in her stomach, but it wouldn’t leave. She seemed to gain more confidence from the kiss, even as he saw the desire brewing behind her eyes. "Yes, you should have." She said as she pulled him down and kissed him again.

Jared returned the kiss with a hunger he didn't realize he had as he held onto her with a desire. Finally he pulled out of the kiss before he hugged her close to prevent her from pulling him into another kiss, "I should put a shirt on shouldn't I?"

She felt her face flush. "Oh um... yeah... clothes would probably be a good idea." She laughed, a little awkwardly at first, but then it turned into her more normal cadence as she reluctantly pulled awy from him and smiled, her green-gold eyes dancing with humour and desire.


~*~

They reached the tool room a few jokes passing back and forth between them even as they broke down into laughter. The door was open as usual even as Jared moved through with Faelynn, the two of them both stopped when they saw Seth sitting at their usual spot. His hat was resting on the table beside him as he watched the two come in, and he wasn’t smiling, if anything he had a frown on his face.

“Something wrong Demon?” Jared ventured. He knew Seth wasn’t truly angry, he would have been playing with a knife sizing everyone up around him if he was truly pissed. Instead he was merely frowning for Faelynn’s benefit. He seemed to observe them for a bit before he shook his head.

“Yeah, I came here because I wanted you to take the next week off. I’ve been keeping you from your other duties, so Darith wants you to catch up. I figured I could get to teaching Faelynn some stealth and knife fighting, while you do so and we can figure out how to schedule you for what you should be doing, rather than what I want you to do,” Seth finally said. His words held a bit of weight to them as Jared frowned.

“I’m doing my tasks as assigned, I’m not-“

“Firebrand, you’re relieved.”

There was no room for argument. He looked at Faelynn who seemed worried as she looked back at him before he carefully took off his satchel, and put it over her shoulder, filled with his lock picks and the various locks they had been working on. Finally he placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “You’ll be fine. Just be sure to practice when you can, don’t get rusty on me alright?”

She seemed at a loss for words as she looked between the two men and nodded dumbly, “Yeah, I’ll be sure to practice before bed.”

“Good,” he then pulled her in a tight hug and whispered in her ear, “Remember, none of this is your fault.”

She seemed to cling to him once more and he quickly ventured a kiss on her cheek before he turned and walked out of the room hitting the door frame on his way out with the outside of his fist in frustration. The last few weeks for Faelynn were finally starting to make sense, how they knew things about her. How they had been able to tease the Demon’s Apprentice so much. He shook his head as he walked by Kid who started to open her mouth and hissed, “Not in the mood Temptress, maybe at dinner if you feel you saved up a real zinger…”

Kid’s eyes widened as she watched him continue down the hallway occasionally punching the stone walls.

[Reine]

Fae watched Jared leave the Tool room helplessly. She wanted him to stay, could tell he wanted to stay, but knew neither of them had a choice in the matter. Seth had ordered him and since he was in charge of her training, Jared could not argue on the matter.

Still, seeing his back disappear out of the doorway left her feeling adrift once more, like her life raft had just sunk to the bottom of the ocean. It amazed her how easily Jared could alter her mood. How quickly he could get her to spill her guts. Just an hour ago she'd felt like throwing in the towel and retreating to her bedroom so she could feign being sick. Then he'd cracked that thin shell she'd put up with a simple hug and a couple well placed words.
And a kiss.

Well, calling it 'just a kiss' was like saying Letho Ravenheart was 'just a man', while innately true, they were wholly inaccurate. That let her know he actually felt something for her and that she'd been a fool to even compare Jared and Eric. The two were like fire and ice, night and day. No, perhaps that put Eric in bad light, but they really had very little to nothing in common. She'd just been looking for an excuse to keep herself distant, to stop the chance of getting hurt again.

Remember, none of this is your fault.

When she turned back to her mentor and saw the frown on the hard planes of his face, it felt like her fault. It felt like no matter what she did, it didn't matter. None of it made any difference. Every day she fought Oberon and every day he stood as silent as a statue and watched her get her ass kicked. Watched the newest set of bruises form on her skin and the sweat soak into her clothes. He stopped praising her long ago. Stopped giving her words of encouragement and for the most part ignored her when they went to the Drunken Rat for food afterwards.

"Come on girl, time to get over yourself. This isn't a game to them. This is life or death. He's training you to be a better thief so you can keep your head on your shoulders and nothing else. He doesn't need to praise you. Hell, he doesn't even want to be here. Seth would rather be God knows where doing God knows what and not being forced to make blood oaths so he can stand around and watch you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter. What did you expect, him to pat you on the head and call you a good little girl? Say you're the best apprentice he's ever had? As if, he only did this because Darith ordered him to."

The thought was sobering and most likely the dead truth. Darith had forced Seth to do this. She'd seen it with her own eyes. He probably considered her an annoyance more than anything else.

Yes, she'd idolized him for most of her youth. Yes, she'd had teenage fantasies about meeting the man and little girlie thoughts about him, but the more she got to know him, the more those thoughts seemed about a completely different person. Besides, she hadn't come here to meet Seth or even Jared. She'd come here to better herself as a thief. Stealing trinkets for nobles was fun, but it left her wanting. Wanting what, she really didn't know, but Fae needed to fill it. No, she was going to fill it, with a purpose, and Jared was right. She had advantages that the other apprentices didn't. She'd already stolen, dozens of times. These kids couldn't be given those opportunities, not when the mistakes would cost them their life.

"All right, teach, what's on the menu today?" She asked rather cheerfully, any trace of the uncertainty she had felt this morning gone, as her hand lingered upon the reassuring weight of Jared's satchel.

[Dissinger]

The demon sat at the table silent for a moment, his eyes never leaving Reine as she looked at him. He could see a bit of renewed confidence and was frustrated at the turn of events. While he knew it was a possibility that Jared and her would become something more than friends, he had hoped the red head could at least hold out a little longer with his social inadequacies. Apparently, Seth had underestimated the thief, who had defied expectations and already began shoring up Faelynn’s eroding confidence.

This was an irritating turn of events.

He then looked at the table that sat across form him and said firmly, “How many nails are in that table?” Faelynn looked at him puzzled for a moment, her eyes searching for an answer to the obvious question as to why it mattered. She studied the table for a brief moment before she looked back at him and held a look of confusion. Finally he said once more, “How many nails are in that table?”

“Seventy two nails, all made by a shitty blacksmith,” she finally replied as she looked at her mentor as if he had grown a second head or proclaimed himself a god.

“Are you sure? Or are you giving me a plausible answer to shut me up?” The response came out in a tone that implied his opinion on the matter. She seemed to bristle under the treatment of being talked to as a child who had been caught lying to their parent. He seemed to relax as he saw her puff up a little in an effort to look more regal.

“There are eight boards that comprise the table. Two boards on each bench, and four across the top. The benches are nailed to the table so they count. Each board has two nails, and the boards that hold up the table are done so in a cross fashion that also uses two nails. That’s roughly nine boards with eight nails in them a piece, that’s seventy two nails,” Faelynn said with a matter of pride.

Seth held up his hand, and the sound of metal clinking off stone could be heard as he said firmly, “Your count is off. Had you tried to use that table as a springboard you would have probably knocked yourself out in the process,” Seth could see her face darken at the obvious ruse.

“I sincerely hope the guild doesn’t have such shitty tables that a few loose nails would make them unable to support my weight,” Faeylnn cattily retorted.

“Depends on the nails, and how hard I force you to jump on it,” Seth retorted. He could see her mind shutter to a halt as the words sank in and confusion crossed her face again.

“Are you telling me to get on the table?”

“At that end there,” Seth answered pointing at the far end of the table.

“O-okay,” Faeylnn answered, shocked by the command before she continued, “by your leave master…” Climbing up onto the table she stood on the end closest to the thief, who watched with a stern gaze. She seemed to focus on the board that Seth had taken the nails from, a point he attributed to her thieving skills. Still he knew she wasn’t ready for what came next as he pointed to the far end;

“I said go stand over there…” She moved down table with a rebellious sigh and a roll of her eyes. Obviously Seth knew she felt beneath the task. He waited until she got halfway down the table before he leaned over and slapped up the previously loosened board. It flew up causing the girl to stumble and spread her arms wide in an effort to keep balance as she looked back at him with a venomous glare. He merely shrugged at her and spoke up, “What?”

Dragons had given less hostile stares.

“What was that for?!” Faelynn exploded in a bout of righteous indignation. Her hands on her hips after recovering from the dirty trick, she seemed to search his face for an answer.

“What was what for? You knew the board was loose Fae, you chose to step on it by your own volition,” Seth played a straight face, but he had to admit he had enjoyed the little prank on the girl. It was hard to hide the grin that would have crossed his face at any other point.

Faelynn seemed at the end of her fraying patience as her hands went up into the air in exasperation, “Fine, great, you proved your point. Next time I’ll just do a cartwheel on thin air and save us both the time.”

"You are the thief. Your job is to change the rules of engagement. If you can't do it," He pointed at the door, "There is the door, you can continue being a mediocre thief in Radasanth where they'll pat you on the head like the good lapdog those types of thieves become. So full on their own pride they never realize they're just another employee to sacrifice to the nobility of that shithole."

She straightened up at those words her face flushing in anger, "I am not a mediocre thief! And I may have my pride, but I damn well swallowed it to come here and seek out training." She growled at him, stomping her way down to his end of the table. "You think I don't know where I'm lacking skill? Well, I do! Why the hell else would I come here and subject myself to constantly being ridiculed by people who don't even want me here!?"

"You honestly believe that tripe don't you? I'm disappointed. I thought you were better than to believe your own legend," He could tell those words got under her skin. To have her every accomplishment be called average was a horrible thing for a teacher to say to their student.

It was like a physical blow, those words. She immediately flinched and blinked wet tears from her eyes, hands in tight fists at her side. For once, she stared down at Seth instead of looking up at him, and seemed to restrain the anger of wounded pride her arms trembling with the force to lash out at the theif. Taking a couple deep breaths, Fae tried to calm herself, "This coming from the Demon who killed anyone that got in his way? From the man who even killed his own parents. You'd be the expert on believing your own bullshit legend, wouldn't you?" Her eyes widened as she realized what had slipped out from her lips.

Seth slowly climbed up onto the table before he looked her in the eyes, the life slowly draining from them before he hissed, "You can take all the potshots you want little girl. My legend doesn't scratch the surface of what I can do. I know what I'm capable of, I know for a fact you don't. Otherwise, you'd have shut up by now and eaten your humble pie. The difference between me and you is I don't steal trinkets for a pat on the head." She had struck his wounded pride deep with that last exchange, and it took some will to not tell her to go back home and wash his hands of her. He had to realize he had pushed her to those words, and that she would never have taken that shot had he not been pushing her all this time.

She involuntarily took a step back, and it was all Seth could do not to follow up against her. He then saw her step back into him standing her ground, not letting him cow her. He could see her stubborn pride at the forefront as she continued, "Maybe I'm not the one that needs to eat a piece of 'humble pie', Seth Dahlios. The great and mighty thief who worked alongside Yari Rafanas, who became a demon, who saved a woman, who died but is mysteriously still alive. Who doesn't even know where his daughter is--"

It took every ounce of restraint not to complete the action as Seth reached for the girls throat. The mention of his daughter Samantha was perhaps the lowest blow she could possibly take. How she had found out about his daughter only the Gods themselves knew, but he damned them all for letting it happen. The gauntlet squealed in protest to the leather being strained so tight as he glowered at her, "The day I let a girl who isn't worth the spit to talk about force my hand will be a sad day indeed."

Somehow, the girl had managed to find salt to rub in the fresh wounds she had inflicted;

"And you're not even worth your own damn legend. You're just a coward. I get to hear everyone talk about you in the kitchens. Oh yeah, talk about the great Seth who spends more time running away from his duties in Lavinya, leaving his wife by herself, leaving a daughter to grow up fatherless. No wonder Samantha isn't here, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near you either if you were my father."

Eyes closed before he hissed softly for her, "And to think, if it’s as you say, and I'm the sad miserable wreck you name. How pathetic are you that you begged me to train you." His eyes opened before he said softly, "I went easy on you the last few weeks hoping that Oberon could knock some sense in you, it’s obvious to see we're wasting our time. It's like I always said, you can't polish a turd."

Fae lashed out at him then, her booted foot heading straight for the soft side of his knee. "I don't remember begging, I remember you being ordered!"

Finally he got her to snap. Seth didn't even flinch as the hit connected before the sound of metal upon metal was heard and a knife blade was brought to her throat. He cocked his head as if studying her before he snorted, "You bluff a good game, but we both know the truth. If you had a choice it would have been me back then. Do you regret that decision yet? Are you so hurt over childish pranks on you that you regret coming here yet?"

She seemed shocked at the sudden turn of events. Seth felt she had never contemplated Seth turning those daggers on her ever, and had probably never thought he would threaten her with them. He could see the wheels turning even as she carefully gripped his blade and moved it by force from her throat, the last vestiges of her pride shattering in that moment as she said softly, “No.”
Seth spoke, hoping the words would actually mean something to her this time around, "You are the thief; you choose the rules of engagement. If you cannot change the rules, you don't play the game. That is how this works. If I have to beat it into the back of your skull with my knives, I will do it. Are we clear?"

She took a moment to clean the blood from her hand off on her pants before she looked up at him and spoke, “Yes sir.”

“Good now get yourself cleaned up, since I dismissed Jared I have to be your sparring partner.”

Her eyes widened as she looked about, “Are there daggers I can borrow?”

“Grab yours, no sense in training with anything but your own,” Seth responded as he jumped off the table and gestured her off, “Now go.”

"They aren't mine!" The words were spoken with a rote stubbornness even as Seth shook his head.

"I don't care if they belong to the Queen of Scara Brae herself, grab the damn daggers in your room and meet me at the training spot in Lavinya proper!"

[Reine]

Faelynn fled the tool room, and Seth, as fast as she could. What she really wanted was to get away from all of this, but she needed this training, wanted it. If she had to endure Seth being an asshole to her the whole time she would, but she'd rather go back to him ignoring her and acting like she didn't exist, truth be told. The Seth she had become acquainted with in the first few weeks seemed like a completely different man than this one. Had it all been some kind of act? Just him playing nice and bidding his time? She didn't know anymore. Couldn't even tell who the real Seth was. Didn't know if she wanted to bother either.

Remember, none of this is your fault.

Then whose fault was it?

As she weaved down the stone and dirt hallways, the reality of what she'd said to her mentor settled in her mind. No wonder the man had pulled a freaking dagger on her and placed it against her throat, she'd quite possibly said some of the most hurtful things she could think of. Just because she'd heard all those damn rumours circulating about the guild, didn't mean she had to throw them in his face. Gods, she was a hot tempered mess. She knew it too. Even Oberon had pointed it out to her, but she could never seem to get her emotions completely under control. It's not like she didn't try! She did, she just...failed.

Slipping into her bedroom, surprisingly still neat and tidy and not destroyed by the other apprentices yet, Fae moved to her bed and lifted up the pillow. Nestled underneath were Eric's daggers. She brushed her fingers against them every night before she went to sleep. Just a little reminder of him, what they had shared and what they could have had. Every day she had to tell herself what happened in Raiaera had been a dream. Every day she didn't want to believe it.

Fae ran her fingers over the leather, nicked and scuffed in a couple places, one particular hole along the belt bigger than the others and obviously well used. Bringing these out to the training ground and using them seemed wrong somehow. They were weapons, but to her they were more than that. They weren't just pieces of metal crafted into something sharp, they were pieces of Eric.

Her eyes filled with tears as she stared down at the sheathed Prevalida. Blinking it away, she grabbed the belt and left her room before she could change her mind. She was halfway down the hall when she remembered her hand. She lifted it and stared at the bloody slash, a nice little reminder that though Seth may be teaching her, she didn't know him and couldn't trust him. Heading back to her room, she cleaned and bandaged it before rushing off to Lavinya Proper.

*~*

The warehouse was blissfully empty, well, besides the two of them. Unlike the training grounds in the Guild there was less a chance of people wandering in on them here. Fae didn't need others to witness her folly.

led her to the back of the warehouse, away from the trap door. Dust swirled up from the ground in the wake of his heavy foot falls and danced in the beams of sunlight. She glanced around at the large space, the dusty wooden crates and dirty windows that only let in light where they were broken. She came and went from here every day, but she'd never been to the back end. It looked pretty much the same as the front, only the dust was thicker here, being less used, and if she looked close enough she swore the support beam stemming from the ground up to the rafters had the dings and dents that marked swordplay. Or perhaps knife play would be more accurate.

Her mentor stopped in an area mainly clear of debris. They were surrounded by four large support beams, each bigger than her own waist. A few crates were piled around, blocking some of the view, and the windows let in enough light to see quite comfortably by.

"Take out your daggers." Seth said as he turned towards her.

She looked at him flatly. "No."

He stared down at her, mouth pulling down in a frown. "No?"

"I'm the thief, I make the rules. These were never meant for me to fight with." She stated matter-of-fact.

He laughed at her. He actually threw his head back and laughed at her. The sound swallowed up by the empty confines of the warehouse.

"You think just because you stole some trinkets in Radasanth I'm going to classify you as a thief?"

"But you sai--"

"I'm the thief here, not you. You're just a child playing a game." He cut her off, using his imposing size to try and intimidate her and crowd her back. She didn't let him this time. She was tired of him using his bulk to get what he wanted out of her. She'd fought hulking men in The Citadel before. Size didn't mean anything. It all came down to skill. This time, she held her ground and his eyes narrowed to angry slits as he stared down at her. "I make the rules, not you. Now, unsheathe those damn daggers or get out, I don't particularly care which you pick. The latter will free me of you all the sooner though, so there's the door."

He pointed towards the far side of the warehouse, but her eyes never left his face and the cold look there. If he expected her to just get up and quit, then he didn't know her very well. If he thought he could tower over her and watch her cower in fear of him, then he'd get a rude awakening.

Grabbing the handle of Acheron, Fae pulled it from it's sheath. The blue metal of the blade glinted and practically glowed, even in the light of the warehouse.

Seth snatched it from her. He turned the blade around in his hands, throwing it from one to the other, testing the balance and the weight and tossing it a few times before catching it in his gloved hand. She watched the whole time, fighting back the urge to take it from him. Her hands were tight fists at her side and several times she had to look away and try to convince herself it was okay, that he wasn't defiling them in some way.

He looked over at her and grunted. "I guess they'll have to do."

Fae said nothing. Not trusting herself at the moment and wisely biting her tongue.

Flipping the dagger around in his hand and grasping it by the blade, he turned and threw it. Acheron embedded itself into the support beam closest to them, the hilt quivering from the force he put behind it.

"Go pull it out."

Turning on her heel, Faelynn walked over and grabbed the hilt. Wrapping her fingers around it, she gave the dagger a yank, but the blade remained firmly inside the wood. Wriggling the blade back and forth, she eventually freed it and couldn't help but wonder at the strength it took to force it in that far.

"Now sheathe it and put on the belt." She did as he asked. "That belt is to become a second skin to you. It's to be one of the first things you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off before bed. You are to reach for a dagger instead of your spear, if I catch you doing otherwise there will be consequences."

She snugged the belt, each blade sitting just on the inside curve of her hip and angled slightly so the handle pointed inward. The added weight felt awkward and cumbersome and she couldn't help but wonder how she'd squeeze into the tight spaces she normally did wearing this.

Fae looked up just in time to see Seth throw something at her.

"Catch!"

Instinct, and rather fast reflexes, allowed her to snatch the rock out of the air.

"Now with your other hand."

He threw another rock at her and she tried to catch it, but it bounced off the side of her left hand and hit the ground.

He sighed. "I can't even begin to train you on dual wielding daggers if you can't even catch a simple rock."

[Dissinger]

Practice, was turning rougher than Seth had anticipated.

Perhaps it was when he pulled a blade on the girl in a moment of rash anger that her trust broke. Perhaps it was the constant condescending tone of his voice, and the restriction of time with Jared. He didn’t know, but the girl was reluctant to take his advice anymore. It was his fault, but he had to push her to her limits, to find out where they resided so he could teach her how to surpass them.

He also wanted to see if she had a streak for murder, much like he knew resided in Jared.

He had her taking a knife in left hand and had her doing various slashes and stabs at the post. He knew it was unlikely she’d actually damage the damn thing yet, but he had her do it to build up strength. She was a long way from reaching his level of Talent, in fact he doubted anyone could. Still she was eager to please, perhaps too eager, even with that muted sullen rebellion in her eyes. He watched her go at the post with her bad hand before he finally cleared his throat and spoke up, “How many weapons do you have?”

Fae stopped the forms and looked at him. Her eyebrows raised in confusion before he repeated the question. Finally she seemed to think about it and coming to a conclusion stated, “Eight.”

“Name them,” Seth retorted.

“Two hands, two feet, two daggers, my head, and Amalia,“ was the response.

“Wrong,” The proclamation struck Faelynn far harsher than any of Seth’s other lessons as she looked at him confused. He then moved forward and began to tap her body listing them off, “Your head, two hands, two elbows, two knees, your two feet your daggers and your spear. Fourteen weapons ready for use at any given moment. Unless you like getting your ass kicked you need to be ready for anything, and that means thinking with every potential damaging weapon.”

“The difference between genius and insanity is the degree of success. The fool is the one everyone is quick to point out his failures. Until that one day his failure turns to victory. You should see how fast people are to go back on their opinion when confronted with successes. But don’t get complacent in that success. It can just as easily turn back to being made the fool. If you want to get anywhere you need to make sure that you don’t let others know of the failures, so they don’t see anything but success. This is important for thieves as well as anyone else in life,” He lectured as she went back to doing forms. He could see the cogs turning in her head, slowly processing the nugget of wisdom he gave her.

“Rest up I don’t want to give you to Oberon too tired. He complained the last time I did that. Take a break and meet me at the training spot. Keep in mind what I said, and for the love of god don’t waste your time with Jared. I don’t want you wasting his time; Gods only know he’s probably with his family anyways.”

[Reine]

Another week went by. Fae was beginning to lose track of how long she'd even been here for. Or perhaps it hadn't even been another full week, maybe only a couple of days had gone by. They were all the same, making it hard to distinguish one from the next. From early morning until noon she trained with Seth. She did push-ups, jogging, one handed knife fighting against a pole, he'd even throw things at her occasionally, and if she let her instincts overrun her logic and caught it with her right hand instead of her left, more push-ups and more jogging around Lavinya proper. After a couple days, he'd begun to teach her knife forms, easy manoeuvres and stances to take in a fight.

She did all of this until she could barely feel her arms, then Seth gave her a small reprieve in the amount of time it took to eat, clean up and then head to the warehouse for training with Oberon. If she was lucky, she got a second wind by then. If not, her spear instructor definitely loved showing her, her missteps.

Oberon gave no quarter, but she never complained about being tired or sore, she just did it. More than a couple times she'd stumbled out of sheer exhaustion over a move she should have been able to block. Oberon merely said to her once, and only once, that in real combat there is no time to be tired, no time to rest, unless she wanted she rest permanently. So she'd gotten back up and fought again. Now he only looked at her and she knew that she had to find reserves from somewhere to keep going.

The first time she'd walked in to the warehouse wearing Eric's daggers, Faelynn had felt an immediate change in the atmosphere. Seth had not arrived yet and it was just her, Oberon and Alyssa, and he looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. It hadn't been disappointment, anger or even sadness. It was something she couldn't comprehend, but in the end she felt like she'd somehow let him down and a weight had settled into her stomach. Surprisingly, she'd come to trust him more than Seth over the last couple of weeks.

Leaning against the counter, Faelynn stared at her reflection in the mirror. Water dripped down her body from her hair, following the new contours and lines she had developed. All the softness was almost gone, she could see it now, when she looked passed the bruises and scraps and cuts. The extra weight she'd put on at home had turned to muscle, even as she breathed she could see subtle lines in her stomach flexing and changing. Her shoulders and arms had more definition and when she turned to the side, she could see more muscle in her legs and ass too. She'd never had much of a curvy figure to begin with, she'd always been more on the scrawny side, and she couldn't tell if this recent development helped make her look more woman-like or less. Everyone back home would certainly be surprised when they saw her again.

Grabbing the towel from the counter, Fae quickly dried herself off, trying to be extra careful around the more painful bruises. Her whole body looked like a tapestry gone horribly wrong. Green and yellow in some places, purple and black in others. Everything in varying stages of healing. She looked like a mess, felt like one too.

Hadn't even caught a glimpse of Jared this whole time.

Throwing on her clothes, Faelynn tossed her towel in the used bin, checked herself in the mirror once more and left the bathroom, heading up to Lavinya proper to meet Seth.

*~*

Faelynn climbed out of the trapdoor and met silence. She paused, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise. Normally Seth was already up here waiting for her and the stillness that settled across the dusty floor, seeped into the cracks of the wooden crates and streamed in through the windows, seemed unnatural.

Closing and latching the door, Fae made her way towards the back of the warehouse, her eyes checking the shadows as she went. She tried to shake off the nervous churning of her gut, but it wouldn't go away. She tried telling herself she was being silly, childish even, but it didn't work.

As she reached the back of the warehouse, and the scarred pillar she'd been beating on, Faelynn caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Her mind registered flowing cloth and a tall, familiar form, as her body kicked into action. The person leap towards her, daggers flashing as they broke through a beam of golden light. She jumped back, putting distance between her and her tall adversary, turning her body more to face them fully. Even as her feet touched the ground, Seth had already closed the distance in two long strides.

Years of instinct warred with the newly forming habits Seth drilled into her. Her right hand reached back and grasped Amalia, while her left freed Acheron from his sheath. When her mind caught up to her motions, she left Amalia on her back and pulled Styxx from her right hip.

Seth moved more with a pure ferocity, than speed and grace. He lashed out with a quick strike to her stomach, she stepped back with her left leg, turning her body slightly and bringing her right hand forward in a practised block. Ringing metal pierced through the laboured breathing and staccato heart beats. He pushed his advantage and brought his other hand up towards her head. She ducked under the blow and lashed out at his knee with the iron toe of her boot, but met nothing but air.

"Too slow." He growled out.

He kicked out at her, already recovering from her last move, Fae could do nothing to avoid the blow to her knee. It buckled under the force and the weight of her body. She hit the hard, packed dirt and rolled in a familiar manoeuvre. Coming up into a crouch, Seth lashed out at her again, bringing down his right hand, dagger sailing towards her. She brought both her arms up and blocked it in an x formation. Tensing her legs and putting her strength behind it, she pushed back his arm then pushed her advantage, coming at him with a slash towards his gut.

He batted her attack aside.

"Predictable and pathetic. Don't you have anything better than that?"

She pushed again and came at him with a double slash to his chest. He slammed his fist into her right wrist and she instinctively dropped Styxx, even as one of his daggers, Ebony it looked like, careened off Acheron and sent her left hand flying away.

"I'd have something better if you'd taught me anything else." Fae said as she backed away from him, unsure if he was going to continue this or not. "I can only know what you give me, you're my mentor after all."

[Dissinger]

Apologies for the delay. You know how to get in touch...

“I haven’t heard such a bold face lie in some time. You honestly think that the enemy is just going to stand there and let you think your way out of a situation? Do you think ‘Oh my mentor didn’t cover this’ means they’re just going to walk off and let you be? Are you really so stupid that I’m wasting my time trying to teach you anything, because until I taught you it might as well not matter?” The words were a growl as he sent a savage kick at the girl. To her credit she fell back as he pointed at her, “Had I wanted your life it was mine to take then. Stop making excuses and make a gods be damned choice. Are you going to go for your spear or the daggers?”

Faelynn seemed taken aback at the action before Seth moved in and swung. She ducked under the brazen blow only to feel him tap roughly between her shoulder blades, “Damnit Faelynn, are you even trying anymore? That’s twice I’ve killed you!”

The girl finally managed something, “You aren’t making any sense! You told me you wanted me to only use the daggers!”

This time a punch rocked her jaw. He pulled it enough not to shatter the jaw with his gauntlet, but enough to leave a bruise as he followed up with a kick to feel her block it. Immediately she pushed off with her boots and shot across the floor. Reaching behind her back she pulled out her spear, the extension coming as a second nature to her even as it snapped into place. Finally Seth paced about her watching her guarded stance. Oberon had drilled something into her that was for sure. He moved in to see her not move until he had to commit to action, when he did chose to act she ignored the slash, it was far too shallow to mean much, but it did mean she got a free poke at the thief, who stopped the stab with a mythril gauntlet deflecting the blow to the side. As the point slid by his ear he moved down to go for the killing blow only to find her jerk the spear back and neatly slice along his neck with the barbed tip on the return.

She had finally drawn his blood.

Gripping the spear he stopped her in her tracks as he threw another punch trying to rock her head back and give him some room, only to find her release the spear and draw the other dagger in a slicing cleave. He immediately found himself pushing off his forefoot and watched it slice into the leather vest as he landed in a crouch, a slim smile on his face as Faelynn sheathed the dagger in favor of her spear. He tilted his hand to the side before he spoke, “I do believe you’re actually using your brain for once.”

She only watched him and he could see the seething rage in her eyes as he narrowed his own in return. He could use the rage as he moved in and saw her bring the spear about in a wild swing with so much raw power. Again he moved past it and tapped her chest, hard above her bust in order to get his point across, “Three times you’re dead. I can do this all day, just keep on being an idiot.”

She finally got fed up and dropped her spear as she yelled at him, “What is the point of all this Seth? What are you trying to teach me? What are you doing?”

He tapped her forehead roughly and continued his count only to feel her swat his hand as he kept count, taping various spots he could slide a knife for a death. Finally he tapped her forehead harsh enough to rock her head back as he said, “You are wasting my time. Pick up your knives, pick up your spear, fight me, and show me what you’ve learned. You’re dead twenty times over and I’m beginning to feel Darith picked a charity case, and I have no time for charity anymore.”

She grabbed the spear and took up her stance again as he edged in to test her reflexes only to find them sharp. She was swinging as he committed to moving only to find him contemptuously swat the tip down and another tap under her chin. Finally he snorted as he looked down on her, “Is that the best you can muster, a death glare and a few mumbled words? What a waste of my time, what a waste of Oberon’s time. I should tell him to take me in now for the crime of detaining an officer. At least I can get a good meal or two before I hang.”

His knives clattered to the ground as he turned from her and began to walk away. He was baiting her, and he knew it. It was a desperate gambit, but he had to push her, make her reach her limits. The training room had failed because Jared had gotten her worked up emotionally in the wrong manner, now he was stuck trying to bottom her out one last time, or he would never truly see her break.