Private Tales Eating The Stars Like Salt Out of a Pretzel Bag

[Elias]

"Well, you know how I am," he whispered against her lips, his hardened gaze locking with hers. Playfully, with an impish smile to accompany, he said, "All I'm doing is asking for my shirt back, anyways."

Elias didn't doubt that Niamh would've let him unbutton her the rest of the way. Take it off himself. It was hardly as exciting as playing their normal game of verbal cat-and-mouse.

"Should I say please?"

 

[Niamh]

"Mhm, indeed I do." She ducked her head away from his face, only inches away from his neck. "And if I know you, I know you're lying." She bit his neck lightly at first, then harder. Enough to draw blood.

"We both know you don't give a shit about what happens to this stupid green shirt." She whispered, pulling a little too hard at the next button to rip it off.

"Oops." She shrugged, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she pulled away.

"You can say please all you want, but you owe me after being such a fucking dumbass today I want more than please."

 

[Elias]

Elias let slip a low, husky breath, then a sharp gasp as Niamh sunk her teeth into his skin. He smiled, amused, and softly snorted. No, he certainly didn't give a shit about the blue (he knew better than to correct her in this situation) shirt. He had plenty of shirts.

When she pulled away, his finger traced a line down the shirt's placket and hooked his finger under the next button. Even with a small tug, Elias boasted tremendous strength, and the button gave way, popping off onto the floor and landing next to the other.

A thin stream of red trailed down his neck and blotted the collar of his shirt with vivid crimson.

"Who's the demanding one, again?" The Initiate smirked at his cohort, "What do you want, then? And don't be shy. I'll do whatever you want. Since, you know, I owe you."

 

[Niamh]

She watched the fifth button bounce along the floor to join its neighbor and frowned. "Oh dear. Only three left. Shame." The innocent look that the discord between her eyes and smile gave off was no longer there, replaced by pouting as she crossed her arms.

She turned, as though she was trying to leave at least something to the imagination. As if they hadn't been sleeping together for quite some time now. "Are you suggesting I have ever been demanding?" She turned her head, raising a brow.

"Hmm..." She pondered his question for a moment. This had been the least aggravating conversation she had ever had with Elias since they had met which would have worried her if he didn't follow it up with a smirk and the most smug face she'd seen him pull.

Whatever I want?

For the girl who had never heard no, she was finding it hard to put into words what she wanted. In fact, she preferred to not be in control of what they did. It was the one time she would rather take on the disadvantaged role. "Whatever I want?"

She sauntered back over, this time straddling him in his chair. She licked at the blood that still remained on his neck before whispering. "Dance with me, then." She didn't get off him immediately, instead she planted a few kisses going down his neck. "Come on!"

 

[Elias]

"Whatever you want," he repeated. It was no joke. No ploy. It was a rarity that Elias would willingly offer his neck to the axeman, but there he was with his nape exposed.

He had expected all manners of demands to test the measure of his word. Things that she would ask of him. Humiliating things. Things that would keep him up at night in an embarrassed fluster. Yet all she asked for was a simple dance.

Is that is? he wanted to ask.

"Okay," he said skeptically, tilting his chin up and allowing her easier access to his neck, "I'll do it, alright? Stop the teasing, already."

 

[Niamh]

"Perfect." She smiled as she pulled herself away and forced him to his feet. "I think it may be useful in the future for us to learn this now." She spoke quietly as she pulled him close to her. She began to hum softly to set their pace.

Her body moved in a way that was foreign to what Elias had experienced in all their time together. Gone was the girl whos body was as aggressive as her mouth, replaced by a soft and gentle creature who already seemed to be an expert in her movement.

"Don't step on my feet now. Just follow my body."

 

[Elias]

"What, do you intend on taking me out to one of those boring galas?" Elias had often taken pride in his status. He was the inheritor of greatly powerful magic passed down through the descendants of a very powerful family. But he'd never cared for the minutiae of nobility; politics, balls, parades, and everything in between. Rather, the thought of going to any of them sickened him.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Niamh in this new light. Perhaps just as much of a surprise to her was his familiarity with dancing. He was, after all, still highborn.

"Don't you worry about me," Elias smirked as their steps carried into a steady, slow rhythm, "Just try not to trip."

 

[Niamh]

"Oh there's no way in hell I'd take you out anywhere." She stated as she spun around. "The same little bird that told me about your latest escapades also told me some interesting news. Sometime in the future, you and I will be attending a masquerade ball. Thought it best we prepare now and impress when the time comes, no?"

Secretly, she hoped it sooner than later. They had been part of missions together with multiple of those in their class, but never alone. As horrible as they were together, she was of the firm belief that she was good for him and he was good for her. They could rile one another up to an infinite degree and it just...worked for some reason.

Just try not to trip.

"Unless you have some grand plans to ruin a good moment by tripping me-" As if on cue, their legs became intertwined and the pair toppled over. "I guess you did." Her laughter was genuine as she tried to push him off. Even if it wasn't him that caused the fall, she would pin the blame on him. There was no way she was clumsy. Simply not possible.

 

[Elias]

Perhaps ornithology was worth undertaking, especially if these birds carried so much information with them. Elias certainly wasn't aware of the ball she mentioned. To no avail, he scoured his memory for any recent mentioning of one. Perhaps it was an assignment, then? The question of how she became aware of that might be worth asking at some point.

When Elias stumbled forward, he caught himself before smushing Niamh to the floor, his body making a cage over hers.

"Right," he said, softly laughing along with Niamh. This kind of wholehearted laughter was another of many firsts between them that evening. When her lithe hands pushed against his chest, he didn't budge. He smiled and leaned down, nuzzling into her neck, and breathed a chuckle against her skin, "I am a master schemer, after all."

 

[Niamh]

It was a strangely pleasant moment for Niamh to allow someone else control over any situation, but for once she didn't mind it. She may have found herself willingly stop pushing against his chest as they laughed together for what she thought may be the first time in history.

Niamh's genuine laughter had a mix of panic as he breathed against her skin. The poor girl was ticklish. Extremely ticklish to the point she may consider herself a danger to others if it went on longer than a moment. She attempted to gain some control, wrapping her legs around his torso to try to flip them, but that was no use against the mountain of a man.

"Please..." Her voice was a mixture of panic and laughter as she begged. It was vague on purpose. She was still giving him control over the scenario entirely.

 

[Elias]

Much Later​

Lazular​

What Niamh had said came to pass. How she'd gotten ahold of that information was well beyond Elias. It was a curious thing, indeed, but he never asked. He hadn't said much at all to her during their travels from the Academy to the Falwood portal stone, then the Elbion stone to the city of Lazular.

Their mission was one that saw them far from any help. And there they were. Feuding over something ridiculous.

The heat was sweltering, and the sun was perched overhead in the perfectly clear sky. Not that either of those things bothered Elias in the slightest. He hadn't been to this part of the world ever, but if there was more of the same awaiting him, he could get used to it quickly.

The silence from their travels persisted as they waited for their contact to arrive.

 

[Niamh]

When Niamh had informed Eli that they’d be going on a mission together, she didn’t imagine he’d have ruined it before it even started. It could have been an enjoyable trip. Exciting, even. But no. He was in a mood. And not the type Niamh could fix.

Something had happened between their last night together and now. Niamh had done nothing wrong. She just arrived home from her previous mission. A rather traumatizing one at that. It was Eli who was being too friendly. Welcoming her back home as though they were friends or partners or something more than acquaintances who thrived off of verbally abusing one another for pleasure.

The man had the audacity to be upset with her for being her completely normal self. Of course, choice words were exchanged that, for once, weren’t followed by them tearing each other's clothes off. A terrible waste of time, if you’d ask Niamh.

Nevertheless, she was correct. The two would be sent out on a mission. Ignoring each other for the most part- Niamh making it a point to not even pick around in his head. If he had something to say, he could speak out loud. Until then, she’d wait for their contact, taking bites out of an unpeeled orange every so often as she took the opportunity to tan her snowy complexion.

 

[Elias]

The pair stuck out like a sore thumb, wearing clothes acquired from Elbion for their travels. They waited in an open-aired cafe long enough for Elias to finish a cup of coffee. It was rich and aromatic, and the first sip had been unpleasantly bitter. Then hints of sugar and robust spices hit his palate. When he'd finished his cup of coffee and had grown sick of watching Niamh mutilate that poor citrus, he abruptly stood up.

"I'm gonna go find the contact. Come on," and without waiting for an answer, the boy dropped some small coins on the table and turned onto the street to make his way deeper into Lazular, towards the city's market.

 

[Niamh]

"Hm?" She looked up from her orange, giving him the most dialogue she had since their last encounter. Probably when the proctors had assigned them to this mission. "I thought they were supposed to be meeting us here."

She raised a brow as he tossed the coins and left her there to go find some stranger that, as far as she knew, wasn't even in the vicinity yet. Whatever. He could do what he wanted. Niamh didn't follow immediately, taking the few minutes she'd been given to finish her breakfast and enjoy the warm breezes before getting up and tracking his thoughts towards the market.

It didn't take long to find him. Unfortunately for Niamh, his thoughts had become easy to pick out amongst a crowd. "Any luck?"

 

[Elias]

"No," she had found Elias standing at the far end of the open market where he had a good view of several of the stalls there. He was cross-armed as he watched travelers, traders, and locals all make their way between the rows of vendors who had all manners of goods on display.

The boy didn't give time for Niamh to get comfortable and he uncrossed his arms and strode towards the market to join the flow of foot traffic. They were given little information about the contact except for a single phrase that they would have to respond with a specific answer.

Elias stopped at a stall that displayed boxes of jewelry, his eye caught on a simple silver necklace with a teardrop-shaped blue gemstone.

"Ahhh," the merchant, an old wrinkled man with dark skin and a white scraggly beard called out to him, "That one's caught your eye... Your lady would love that."

"No, well, yes. It has." Elias pursed his lips, "I don't have a lady to gift it to. It's just pretty, is all."

"Then who's that?" The old merchant's eyes flicked to the side, and Elias followed his gaze to Niamh who was approaching from afar. Shrewd old fucker. Elias knew they stuck out, but was it that obvious?

"How much is that one?"

"Two gold ducats."

Elias couldn't help the grimace. They'd been supplied a meager amount of coin for the journey, and it was planned for the contact to supply them as needed to complete the mission. He would have liked to mend whatever issues there were with Niamh before they entered the viper's pit and thought some jewelry would be a good start. But that cost was far too high for his purse.

"Sorry," Elias shook his head with an apologetic smile and turned to meet with his approaching companion.

"Still nothing," he said to her.

 

[Niamh]

Of course his thoughts had barely changed since the last time she'd listened in. "Things would be so much easier if Ral were here." Ralene this. Ralene that. Always with that fucking Ralene. Of everyone in the academy he could be fucking, it had to be some distant cousin of hers and she had to hear about it.

The only changes in his stupid head was the addition of some new girl. Pretty thing. Light eyes and hair somewhere between blonde and medium brown. Niamh couldn't pinpoint whatever color it was. Whatever. Probably the girl he was shopping for jewelry for. Not that Niamh cared. He could do whatever he wanted with his life.

"Yeah, no shit." She crossed her arms and glanced at the stall behind him. New girl had expensive taste. Must really like her if he's actually shelling out gold for someone other than himself.

"Did you want to keep wandering or-" Niamh she paused as she set her hand on his arm.

"She loved me. She did. She loved me." Eli's voice echoed in her head and for a moment she could see another woman standing with him as he swiped his hands across furniture in a foreign room.

She pulled her hand away from him after only a brief glimpse of whatever that was. "I think he's nearby."

 

[Elias]

"You think so?" He said, a single brow raising at her. The girl went through ten moods in five minutes, and Elias could never find out why exactly. He'd come to the realization long ago that there wasn't a thing he could do that would leave her satisfied.

But she kept coming back. Turns out, so did he.

"What makes you think that?"

 

[Niamh]

"Mhm." She crossed her arms tightly across her chest, walking forward ahead of him. Whether or not she was telling the truth, she was not clear. She just wanted to continue on and get this all over with quickly. "Just got a feeling. You coming?"

 

[Elias]

Oh, that's great. So nothing made her think that. Elias took a deep sigh.

Well, he wasn't being any more productive.

Elias leveled his steely gaze with his partner and nodded, "Go on, then. I'll follow you."

 

[Niamh]

"Yup. Sure thing." Elias would see the back of her head move as she nodded. She picked up her pace quickly, not maintaining the lowest of profiles as she weaved in an out of the crowded market in search of whoever their contact was. She hoped to lose Eli in the process to buy herself a bit of time.

Surely this contact would be easy to pick out of the crowd. They must be stupid enough to think of the 'secret word' or something else that would set them apart from the rest of these creatures wandering the streets.

 

[Elias]

Elias' facial muscles were getting a proper exercise today as yet again his eyebrow shot up. Niamh pulled ahead through the crowd, her smaller frame and Dreadlord training making it easy to slip through the mass of bodies without causing a stir. Elias couldn't keep up, at least not without shoving others out of the way. But he was able to keep an eye on her.

He'd have to thank Ventress for that. Good ol' House Sirl training. His family dealt with shadows and what lurked in them. Ven had said it was only appropriate for the only son and possessor of the House's invaluable magic to learn the trade. Just as well, Elias wasn't one to turn down acquiring a few more tools for his belt.

When Niamh came to a stop, as Elias knew she would eventually, whether it be in a huff or for another reason, he used that opportunity to slip out of the crowd. He thought that she would also check her shoulder. See if Elias was keeping up. Perhaps have some smug thoughts about losing him.

When that moment came, and he knew it would come, Elias popped out from Niamh's blind spot and clapped a large hand on her shoulder.

"You serious right now?" He asked her with a mirthful snort.

 

[Niamh]

"I wonder what the price of eggs is today-"

"This will have to win her back-"

"Where'd that little shit go with my-"

She ducked under awnings and changed direction as she passed the stalls, searching for the phrase while also attempting to get away from whatever the fuck was going on with Elias. Whatever she'd just seen...wasn't normal.

It wasn't just some thought he'd had in passing, but she didn't know exactly what it was.

Eventually she would turn a corner into an alley to catch her breath as she pressed her forehead against the cool stone wall. She was going to keep to her word and find this contact if she could just think-

You serious right now?

She tensed up at the hand grabbing her shoulder, letting out a quiet gasp. "The fuck is your problem, Elias?" Her heart was racing as though she were scared, but she refused to let herself believe she was. She had been training for years to be observant. Getting caught off guard was deadly...but none of that explained how she didn't hear him coming. How the fuck did he get there so quickly without mowing half the city down on his way?

 

[Elias]

"I don't have a problem," he said, lifting his hand off her shoulder to give her cheek a light pinch.

Then, before the cat claws came out, the boy took a quick step back and folded his arms across his chest. He stared at her, expectantly. Whatever was going on... they needed it sorted before the gala.

Then he suddenly hissed out, "Reel it in." He warily eyed a group of passersby and then lowered his voice. Softened his tone. "Okay? Focus. We need to talk. But later."

 

[Niamh]

Her face fell into a blank expression as he pinched her cheek and for a moment she was looking at something smoky. It looked like a battlefield in the distance and judging by the cries of nearby men, she was right. Had Elias been wounded while she was away? He hadn't even given a hint of anything interesting occurring while she and two other dreadlords worked on some remote island months ago.

"I..." She followed his gaze, forcing one of those smiles that didn't quite match the look in her eyes. "I'm sorry?" She brushed a bit of dirt off of her hand. "Talk? About what, exactly?"

 

[Elias]

"We'll just talk," Elias wore a small, insincere smile. He shrugged. "Don't fret about it. Come on."

He stepped out, walking with the crowd and checking to make sure Niamh followed. He headed towards the edge of the market, towards the direction they came. Where the crowd thinned and merchant stalls weren't so densely packed, a voice spoke out to them as they passed.

"Ahh, you there. Yes, you two."

Elias stopped. Looked around. His gaze settled on a merchant, draped in layers of clothes. His head was wrapped, but the man's face was weathered and his features carried harsh lines that created a stern expression. Behind him, a wagon was full of rolled-up rugs, linens, and drapes.

"Could I offer you rugs for your home?"

Elias paused a moment, then almost robotically answered: "Do you have any Salitran curtains?"

"Not Salitran, but I have Ragashi."

"How about in burgundy?"

The merchant narrowed his eyes then beckoned them closer.

"Didn't know they'd send some kids," the merchant produced a parsel tied up with a rough string, "Find the temple. Largest building in Lazular. You won't miss it. There's a safehouse there on the western side. Has a balcony. There's a red cloth tied off on the railing to mark it. That's your spot. Take the cloth off when you arrive. I'll be in touch."

Elias casually took the scroll and stowed it away in his travel bag, a small leather satchel, and nodded before turning away with Niamh.

---

It didn't take them long to seek out the safehouse. Unraveling the parsel revealed a key, which they used to unlock the door to the safehouse.

The room was cosy, spacious, and had all the necessities prepared for Elias and Niamh to prepare for the mission and lie low after it was complete. Eli did as instructed and removed the cloth from the balcony, which was just large enough for only one person to stand on.

Elias closed the balcony doors behind him and locked it shut.

"We should see what's all here for us. They said formal wear would be provided for the gala. Invitations should be here, too."