Private Tales Old Reunions

[Alistair Krixus]

"I'm rather good at both. Well, at least the first two, also I have made a few investments that I believe will pay off soon."

Alistair was not a big fan of having money sit in the bank, so he had given his patronage to improve the arts and sciences. There was, of course, the locomotive invention along with several other side projects and industries. Then he also supported many artists that he had also paid to teach Marianna, although she did not seem well inclined to...learning, or maybe it was just listening in general.

A smile of satisfaction split onto his face as the last of Sam's garments were removed, leaving them both in the nude. As the young man he was, Alistair's mind quickly moved to more carnal desires. These thoughts froze at the last sentence as he gave Sam a funny look.

The momentary pause was followed by a burst of laughter at the ridiculous notion that of course Sam was rich. She just did not like to show it off because of course.

"Forgive me, I was not aware I was in the presence of a fellow member of high society." He sarcastically quipped and offered a mocking bow.

"Really though, if you ever want to do something with it, then the Krixus Trading Company is always looking for new investors." That was also a mild joke, but Alistair would not say no if she wanted to join in the enterprise, he would just be more careful about how he spent her money. Primarily for the exact reason that he knew she would not care.

Samantha Black

 

[Samantha Black]

"Forgive me, I was not aware I was in the presence of a fellow member of high society." He sarcastically quipped and offered a mocking bow.

He was lucky she liked him. Narrowed eyes and a derisive snort answered the noble, "Shut up..." though humor still peeked through in the smallest of smirks. If he'd been Elias, she'd probably have clobbered him, but Krixus wasn't nearly as robust in physique as the Sirl Dreadlord and was liable to break instead of bruise.

Instead she stepped away from him and her pile of clothing and armor to make way for the oversized wooden tub situated flush with the floorboards into a set of wooden steps. A hand reached to pull down the lever along the way, shutting off the water as she noted the level beginning to spill over the edge.

Sam stepped down into the tub and into the middle for a full-body dunk. When she resurfaced she moved along to the built in bench to make room for Al.

"I wouldn't say no to a few investment projects," she said at length, wiping water from her face and scrubbing the grime away with her fingertips, "I've been engaged in letters with Elias' sister, Lady Sirl and I'm thinking about investing in some of her own. Wouldn't hurt to ... diversify."

This was not the sort of conversation she usually had with her intimate companions, but she supposed that came with the territory of bedding warriors and soldiers who were more battle-minded than profit-thinking.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair's cheeky grin still graced his face at her reaction, but then stashed it away, if he kept it up too long then he actually would get punched.

He followed her to the tub but paused at the entrance choosing to admire the view before him. He really never got tired of his fun with Sam, especially when it involved her ascending from a pool in the nude like some type of mythological goddess.

Satisfied with the display, he stepped in likely far less majestic as he did not wish to dunk his head beneath and get his hair all wet. Instead, he simply floated over to the bench next to her.

"The Sirls? You wound me." He playfully chuckled once again before continuing, "But yes, it would also give me a better reason to send you more of the fun toys I cook up from time to time."

While the sword was a passion project between the two, that was something Sam could make on her own as long as Alistair provided schematics for any changes. But one of his big new projects was something he planned on showing to the world very soon.

"But please, business is all fun and games. But I think we are here for other fun and games."

Samantha Black

 

[Samantha Black]

"The Sirls? You wound me."

A keen smugness met those words as Al joined her in the tub and took up residence beside her on the bench.

"Jealousy doesn't look good on you," Sam needled back, flicking water at him as she took up a nearby washcloth and began to scrub the day's sweat and grime from herself, revealing all more clearly the canvas of ink and scars beneath. While not a vain creature, she did take pride in her body and there was no better way to have that pride then through showing it. Mythological goddesses were, apparently, equal parts brutality and purity.

The definition of purity was up for interpretation.

An easy smile pulled at the scars on her face as she thought back on her days working in the smithy at the Academy constructing the runesaber. Hours spent toiling at the forge, agonizing over the smallest details, watching Elias sweat buckets as he filled the metal beast with flames of Starfire. She wouldn't think nostalgically about many of her Academy days, but those ones were good to look back on from time to time.

"Toys, huh?" The notion did intrigue her, though she wondered how much use she might get out of his inventions in the field. The Runesaber was a unique weapon for certain, but given the circumstances she typically found herself in on missions it wasn't the ideal tool for the job. It much better suited Alistair and his own work.

"But please, business is all fun and games. But I think we are here for other fun and games."

Her brows arched upward and her scrubbing stilled. Yes, of course they were here for extracurricular activities, though she'd planned on getting to them in due time. After talk of business and projects had waned and she'd made a bit more progress on soaking the day away. You know, when the biting heat of the water had grown soft.

But...

"Aren't you forward," Alistair now had her full and undivided attention as she turned like a gator in the water to set her sights on her newly targeted prey, "forgive me for keeping you waiting, my Lord," there came that needle again as she leaned in closer, the washcloth now left to float in the water as her hand moved to explore more interesting things, "I had intended to spare your pristine, noble body from my military grime...but if you insist."

Dirtying the Lord was rather appealing.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Now Lies? Everything looks good on me." Alistair objected while he went about cleaning his own skin, while far less grime than the woman before him, the trip had still kicked up plenty of dust to cover his tattoos and scars.

Alistair always liked the look in Sam's eyes when they had their fun, it was almost more predatory than her actual combat mode although far more playful in her execution thankfully.

He chuckled as she came closer, "When have you ever complained about someone being forward."

The dig of using his title sent a shiver down his spine at the light stab before Alistair leaned forward and reached out to wrap on his arms around her waist and pull her closer.

"I've never minded getting a little dirty."

He followed the words with a gentle kiss along her jawline while he allowed her hands to explore. Those vary same hands drawing him to his feet slightly as where they were beginning to travel.

 

[Samantha Black]

It had been obvious to her upon first seeing him in Vel Castere that he'd grown, matured, and changed, but goodness. Something must have happened between the last time she'd seen him and now - he certainly wasn't the bungling boy she remembered from Tyr. Even his voice had grown deeper and more assured. Patricide may have had something to do with the confidence, as even Sam knew what it was like to step out of the shadow of one's family.

Perhaps this is simply what happened when a young Lord grew into their elder's shoes. They'd accomplished much the same in different ways, though neither of them had a father or speak of anymore.

"When have you ever complained about someone being forward."

Whatever it was it only grew the attraction. "Very rarely," Sam punctuated the words with a blade-like grin, head tilting to lean into the lips on her jaw. She wasn't complaining.

"But the Alistair I knew from before wasn't forward. Had some practice between then and now have you?"

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"I've had other teachers besides you." He admitted with a smirk in between the kisses.

His hands traveled across her body, greedily exploring all over while Alistair's arms pulled her in closer. It was clear to see from the tension in his body and other telltale signs that he was growing more excited.

"And perhaps I've learned through experience that I can't sit back and wait for everything, sometimes you just have to go out and get things."

To emphasize his point, one of Al's hands reached out to cup Sam's butt as he pulled her closer a full smile gracing his face as he pulled her into another round of exploratory kisses.

"I would ask the same of you, but I know the answer."

Samantha Black

 

[Samantha Black]

Well that was good to hear. Alistair finding other beds to warm and ladies to lie with. The repression of some Initiates at the Academy... Sam didn't know how they made it through. Though now being a Lord he had to take care of where he sowed his seed. Having bastards running amok would do him no favors. At least he needn't worry about that here, with her.

"...sometimes you just have to go out and get things."

Too true.

As for herself? Little had changed. Sam had never experienced difficulty in going after what she wanted, be it title, knowledge, power, or bedmates. She now had all of the former at her fingertips and her pick of the latter.

"I would ask the same of you, but I know the answer."

A grin cut across her expression like a scythe in response to not just his words but his insistent pawing. Sam shifted from the bench and moved to straddle him, ever a cat with a cornered canary. "Good," she replied, the glacial blue of her eyes looking over the strange sheen of his own. How had the loss of his vision changed the experience of intimacy, she wondered. Sam smiled and lifted a hand from the water to cup his chin in a grip that had the potential to shatter his jaw yet treated his Noble visage as porcelain, "I would like to see all that you have learned."

She leaned in, kissed him, and for a curious turn of events let him take the lead on their evening.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"Be careful what you ask for." Alistair shot back with a big grin.

---

Alistair tried to move and all that followed was a groan escaping his lips as his eyes blearly tried to blink away his sleep. He was soar all over and in the best ways possible. Forcing himself to roll out of bed, he nakedly moved for his clothes which were...

There was his shirt on the chair. He found his pants hanging from the door and his coat was...missing. He would have to find that later.

As he got dressed he noticed a few small bruises and chuckled, while Alistair had not been intoxicated last night, his memories grew foggy as he lost himself to the pleasures and the moment.

"Hmm, maybe Sam has to coat...I need that back it was rather expensive."

He had been offered to stay the night and had graciously accepted, sending a magical message to his own entarouge not to worry as he was in safe hands. Peaking out the window Al could see that the sun was up, so maybe mid to late morning. He knew that meant that Sam and the rest of her squad were already likely up and hard at work.

Alistair could have gotten up early, but...he would admit that his mercantile business often allowed him to be a bit lazier than he usually would be on more important business.

 

[Samantha Black]

"Good morning," sounded from the back of the large living quarters.

The Hall did not have guest quarters, and given the late hour after they'd finally retired from the bath house and into the dining room for dinner, Sam invited him to extend his visit for the night in her own bed. She preferred company to an empty bed when given the option, and Al made for good company to keep.

In the Lieutenants top-floor bedchambers she enjoyed not just her private room, but also a small kitchenette, a study, a solar, and a private armory for her various pieces of weapons and armor. Her voice presently sounded from the study where she sat at her desk poring over reports from the last week.

Dressed in an unusually casual attire, Sam looked up from her work when Al strode in and fixed him with a cozy smile, "There's caff on the stove in the kitchen and a plate of breakfast for you on the table."

Sam had been up at the crack of dawn, as she normally was, and had shared breakfast downstairs with her comrades before they left for their own duties.

"Might not be hot anymore... you looked too comfortable to wake."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair turned with a grin on his face as he stepped through to poke his head in the doorway of her office area. His eyes flashed with his magical runes as he took a moment to appreciate Sam in what he considered to be a rare setting for her. She looked as if she would be more accustomed to working with him in this moment, with no armor or weapon, just paperwork.

"Much appreciated. You know this face requires a lot of beauty sleep to keep me looking like I do." He joked before moving back in to devour the cold breakfast.

The food was still good, no matter how much fine dining he had these days, it was always important to remember the slop that Al had been raised on at the Academy...Things could always be worse.

"I don't suppose you've seen my coat? Though there was a lot of clothes and armor being discarded when we got back to the room." He called between his bites of food.

While he had enjoyed his day here immensely, Alistair would need to get to work on some of his own aims in the city. Sam's tattoo needed touching up, he needed to review what items were being sold by his caravan and what they were taking in to bring back to the Capital, and then he also still needed to find a date for Davi.

Samantha Black

 

[Samantha Black]

Yes, of course, beauty sleep for the sleeping beauty. Sam chuckled at this with a shake of her head as she looked back to the reports before her.

The flat was clean and orderly. Despite never having much to her name as an Initiate, over the two years since graduation she'd collected a few things through her travels for missions. Gifts from those she'd helped had been used to decorate the walls. Plaque and medals for her successes presently filled the open space of the wall behind her. Above her bed rested a bleached dragon skull the size of a horse's head (just a little one). In the lounge area where the entry opened into were several weapons given to her by their allies: a sword of elven make from the Elf Queen of Loriden; a hatchet from a small village she'd once rid of a vampire problem; an orcish dagger from a war band of the Steppes; a shield bearing the sigil of the mercenary band The Brothers of Stonewall; and various others she could have countless nights telling the tales of their acquirement.

Most noteably for Alistair: his jacket.

"On the couch in the lounge," Sam's voice echoed out to him.

She'd tidied up their scattered mess in the wee hours of the dawn while he slept. Her armor now rested on an armor form just visible through the open doorway into the armory. Al's remaining articles of clothing had been neatly folded and set on the couch, his jacket laid over the back of it.

"You're welcome to stay here with me for the duration of your trip," she continued as she set one report aside for another, "unless of course you have a need for privacy with your business matters..."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair happily jumped up to find his clothing and continued getting dressed in yesterday's best. He took a moment to admire all of the collection that left a map of Sam's career. It was enough to make Al proud of his friend and a little guilty. It was always easier to wonder if he was doing enough after visiting Sam.

He only had one or two pieces of memorabilia from his adventures, most of his memories unfortunately now being scarred onto his body.

"I'll probably take you up on that. And don't worry, I don't fear my business secrets getting stolen...Because the secret is just I'm better than my competitors."

No the secret was his friend was building and revolutionary vehicle and Alistair was using runic magic to make up for shortcomings...but no one needed to know that bit.

"I don't want to impose myself on you and your squad, especially if you all have important work to do."

Samantha Black

 

[Samantha Black]

"Your ego is showing..." Sam remarked absently over a smirk. Al's ego was a bit of a strange mask, but she enjoyed his humor regardless. If she really thought about it, his humor was one of the main things that kept him in her good graces. Without it, he'd just have been written off as another asshole full of shit.

With a light snort she pushed her seat back from her desk and stood to make her way into the lounge area where he presently redressed.

"It's not an imposition for anyone until I say it is," she said with the finality of someone accustomed to making the rules and giving the orders. Being Lieutenant had its perks, one of which being she was allowed whatever guests she liked so long as it didn't interfere with her work that a higher rank would notice.

There was very little in this world that got in the way of Sam and her work.

"Everything we do is important. If having a guest over interfered with that, then we don't deserve to be where we are." Her frigid gaze looked him over, taking in his fineries while her hands lifted to assist with rebuttoning the clothing she'd only just helped to unbutton more than once last night.

"Besides, I enjoy your company." An easy smile met him at that, "You wouldn't be here if I didn't."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair smiled even as the shiver ran up his spine. To most people, such a comment would imply that he just wouldn't be in the room or the building. However, when Sam said it felt more like she was implying that Al would already have been dead if Sam did not like him...Which certainly could have been true.

"Sorry, a force of habit..." He apologized before digging into his coat pocket and pulling out a piece of paper with runic writing that had an ever so slight glow to it.

"Then consider me a guest." He said absentminded in between his reading, "I need to go make sure I have the last of the materials to renew your runes, but once I have confirmed then we can perform the work one of these nights he offered."

He was still a runic artist, even currently trying to convince the council that some soldiers with even traces of magical talent could be given small runes for basic uses on the battlefield...Unfortunately, runic tattoos were still a rarity in Vel Anir so any chance Al had to stretch his fingers got him excited.

"I suppose if any of your people have any work needed to be done then I can help...Oh, I suppose you may enjoy doing that instead."

Samantha Black

 

[Samantha Black]

"Only ever did tattoos on myself and you," she replied, "and while I'm perfectly happy to experiment with runes on myself, I'm not keen to test on others." At least in most cases when she'd gotten a runic equation wrong, she could find ways to alter them for something else or fix them.

"I have plenty of dragon bone powder in my personal supply," buttons done on his vest, she carefully adjusted it to line everything up, "and some new equation drafts I want you to look at before I put them on my skin." There was no other that she trusted to check her work with runes. Between the two of them, though their knowledge of ancient runes often intersected, they had diverged pathways of study after graduation. This worked as a boon for them both, in her mind. Being able to see inconsistencies or problems in the others work, or knowing of more efficient runes to use outside of the other's circle.

Admittedly, she was looking forward to seeing if he had anything new he could share with her on the subject.

"And I'd like to talk more about investing into your projects at some point," with his outfit settled, she squared herself at his front and gave his robes one last final brush-off for good measure, "so it'll be good to have you here for more than a few reasons." Sam fixed him with a look of self-indulging amusement.

"I'll get you a key for the Hall so you can come and go as you like."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

"That's the best part. Means I don't have to test on myself." He said jokingly, Samantha would know better than anyone that for all of Alistiar's fake bravado, Al took safety measures when in his workspaces to an obsessive level.

Al looked back down to his sheet and swiped his finger over one of the lines, glad that Sam had handled what was obviously the most difficult of the materials for him to work with.

"Oh absolutely, I would love to get a chance to look at all of them I've drawn up some pretty unique pieces, myself, that I will let you look over...I've come into some interesting insights."

The investing projects would surely be talked about more as well, especially if they were going to be at a wedding. It was incredible that when he went to events like that, Al was an incredibly skilled mage and Dreadlord, but people would rather talk about his boring business ventures.

"Keep joking like that and I'll start to think you just want me for my body." He laughed as he put his list away and began putting on his shoes preparing to leave.

"And a key would be perfect, I'll feel like a true guest." He smiled.

Samantha Black