Private Tales Reshuffle

[Elias]

"I notice the lack of any objection," Elias ripostes, a smile growing from ear to ear. He absently paces around the room as he listened to Sam. "An Allirian dwarf. Few years ago, there wasn't a chance of that happening. Sounds like it was a good opportunity for you."

It was another step she took ahead of him. Everyone he knew from the class was growing. Changing. What had Eli accomplished for himself?

He came at a stop behind Sam just as the second gauntlet dropped.

"Think I've gone soft, Black?" He took a step closer to her and placed a hand on her waist. His fingers begin working to unstrap her chest piece.

 

[Samantha Black]

"Mm," Sam sounded in concurrence on the point of working with a dwarf. She'd never personally held much in the way of racist tendencies like most home-grown Anirians, though she had to agree that things were a-changin'.

"It was," she agreed idly while moving next to work free the strappings and belts about her waist, "I learned many things I have long since wanted to know, and I mean to go back to learn more." Delving deeper into the world of forging had opened up an entirely new realm of knowledge to her and Sam was nothing if not a thorough study. She fully intended to return to Alliria to learn more from the master smith ... and perhaps revisit a new friend.

Her side tingled at the action of loosening buckles. She was keenly aware of how closely he was standing at her back. This was a song and dance they had done countless times before - ridding one another of armor and articles of clothing - yet somehow with the new armor, in the new home, it felt fresh. Perhaps it had been the length of time since she'd last seen him.

"Soft?" a pause of confusion, consideration, head tilting his way before her own hands returned to work, "No. Why do you ask?"

 

[Elias]

"Questioning my mettle," his voice is a low hum in her ear. He pauses unstrapping her armor only to grab her hands and stop them.

"Let me do it. Tell me about something else you've done lately."

Elias' hands resume unburdening Sam of her armor.

 

[Samantha Black]

That low hum was something she hadn't realized she missed. The shiver it sent down her spine was as unique to him as his powers.

"You know-" that I was joking, she was going to say, but his hands stopped her. There weren't many people who could tell her what to do or keep her from doing her own work, and that initial line of her jaw drew tight as she clamped her molars together. Didn't like being served or waited on where it wasn't warranted. Didn't want to be treated special.

Like some hapless noble girl who couldn't manage her own wardrobe.

She'd severed herself from that sort of life unofficially years ago, and officially upon gaining her rank within the Knights. But Elias Sirl had a way with things and her, so she relented and dropped her hands with a leveling sigh.

What else had she done?

"I helped broker an alliance between the Western Guard and the Elven Kingdom of Loriden," Sam relaxed, the line disappeared from her jaw, "the Elf Queen agreed to send her army with my Squadron to a location in their lands we believed to be Gilram's main headquarters. Schwarz was there with me. Davi, too. When we got there all hell broke loose. Managed to capture a few of Gilram's exiles, but he wasn't there."

 

[Elias]

"Such a diplomat," Eli quietly snickered. He unlatches the last strap of her chestplate and jostles it to loosen its fit on her. "Gilram's a slippery fuck, eh?"

An alliance with an elven kingdom, even if only temporary and formed due to the circumstances of having a shared foe, was still quite unfathomable even with the progressive direction Vel Anir had taken over the last few years. No wonder Elias hadn't heard of the mission. Perhaps it was still too soon to announce that Elves and the Guard had fought hand-in-hand against former Anirians.

The chestplate comes apart and Eli haphazardly drops the back half on the table next to the pair of gauntlets.

"I had dinner with my sister."

 

[Samantha Black]

"Ehh..." she wasn't sure she would ever refer to herself as a diplomat, but for certain she had been the best option at the time. Noel had been far too impassioned by her fury to manage the talks. No, she'd been far more convinced she was fully capable of sieging Gilram's headquarters and taking him down all by her lonesome. Sam didn't doubt Noel's growing power, but she had little faith in her ability to best the man on her own. They may not have been friends, exactly, but she'd have hated to see Schwarz's potential go to waste for such ... childish reasons.

"Yeah ... don't even mention it to Noel if you run into her. She'll pop a vein." She ducked her head out from the breastplate pieces as he pulled it free, her hands flexing with a barely contained need to do something useful.

Idleness. She hated it.

"Oh yeah?" well that was actually something. Sam shifted a look of vague surprise at this news over her shoulder, "How did that go?"

 

[Elias]

Eli grinned at the prospect of ruffling Noel's feathers.

"Ah, well, fine. We talked about this and that... family matters. Her man. Books. Normal sibling talk, I reckon?"

It had been so long since the two had a moment of peace and privacy together. Eli drops his head to peck Sam's cheek with a kiss.

"Nothing nearly as exciting as hunting down a rogue Archon."

 

[Samantha Black]

So Elspeth Sirl had a man. How very interesting indeed.

"I wouldn't know," she replied in reference to sibling talk, "if siblings talk like friends then I-" the kiss on the cheek caught her so entirely off guard that the rest of the sentence suddenly went poof from her mind.

It wasn't the idea of the kiss --she'd spent more time sucking face with Elias than anyone else-- but the otherwise simpleness of such a casual, tender gesture. Something usually saved for couples ... at least in her mind it was. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. She didn't hate it, but it just felt odd considering their usual physical exchanges had nearly always been that of sparring, training, aggression, or lust, and so ever rarely affection.

Sam blinked, her mind stumbling gracelessly as it tried to jump back into the conversation. Words. What had he said?

"Uh - well, maybe not, but probably less disappointing. We never found our target and we still don't know where he is. No new leads or anything." Why did it suddenly feel ten degrees warmer in here?

Desperate for grounding of routine, her hands began working the buckles at her waist again.

 

[Elias]

Elias partially leans into Sam's back and bends down slightly to rest his chin on her shoulder. He relaxes, lets some of his weight bear down on her as her hands hurriedly go back to work.

We have the time. Enjoy it. Elias mused. They kept very few, if any, secrets from each other. And what was impossible to hide between them were their subtle quirks and shifts in demeanor, tone, and body language. He detected, if only for a moment, Sam's fluster. Elias rubs his cheek against hers, smiling, content with her strength that effortlessly carries the weight of him leaning against her. He was simply happy to just touch Sam again.

It was fulfilling. Like having a feast for his soul.

"I wouldn't be disappointed. The man exists in a different realm of power from us," a pause, "For now. One day we'll stand on that same peak."

 

[Samantha Black]

Her hands stopped next, halfway through unbuckling the strappings for her utility belts.

The stubble of his cheek scraped against her own. What in the seven hells was going on here?

Who was this imposter and what had he done with Elias?

She had no compunctions with physicality and even this sort of closeness ... snuggling, nuzzling, however one wanted to refer to it, wasn't beyond her - though usually it was something reserved for leisure time in bed. But this wasn't really normal for them? For Elias? He entertained her unrepentant snuggles in bed but she couldn't recall him ever being this affectionate before.

And it didn't even feel like his usual flirtations that preceded sex.

Sam frowned, plagued by confusion and the incessant need to get out of her armor. Not even for the want to be naked with him so much as this skin of metal she wore was not suited for her and felt ill-fitted and unnatural. She wanted it OFF.

"Speak for yourself," she side-eyed him, his doofy expression plying a wry smirk from beneath her frown, "you know I'll never be at that level. I'll be lucky to make second level Dread. The only way I'm moving up ranks is in the Guard."

Well if he wasn't going to continue helping then she wasn't going to stop herself. The buckle pulled loose and the belts swung free from her hips to join the growing pile on the table. She next worked on the scabbard belt.

 

[Elias]

Elias didn't know what to say. Sam was ever the pragmatist. Aware of her limits. However, Eli maintained a belief in himself and his potential so firmly that he could envision himself one day equaling an Archon in power. He had no ambition for the title, but he expected himself to be just as great. That has caused him no small amount of frustration.

"Pallatrix made First," he remarks on the old demon. If he could do it with his unremarkable ability, relying on only his honed skills, well, what excuse could anyone else make? Elias shrugged the thought away and sighed.

He contemplatively hummed to himself.

"Say, d'you think we'd get caught together if I drew a bath right now?"

 

[Samantha Black]

The sword and scabbard she tossed to the couch. A weapon she could treat with respect, even one she hadn't made herself, but the armor? If it couldn't hold up to the abuse of a table then it wasn't worth wearing. His comment about Pallatrix did not lift her mood in regards to her own limitations. She didn't pretend to know the Proctor beyond being one of her tormentors for the majority of her life, but she did respect him unquestioningly. Had never seen him in action, only heard or read the stories.

What he did was pretty fucking impressive. And her? She was just a mountain with furious intent. Her specialty was taking a beating and soldiering on well past the drop rates of her equals. It wasn't that impressive, all things considered. Not when compared to the things Ed and Eli and most of the others could do. She was an enhanced soldier with a mind for runic frippery and tricks.

And fuck did she want a long, hot soak in a bath right now. What a brilliant fucking change of topic.

Sam smirked broadly and leaned her head back against his, "Hard to say. Don't know where the others are or when they'll be back. But there's more than one tub in the bath house..." so it wasn't unusual for multiple people to go in at once.

 

[Elias]

"Well," slowly he backed away, but his chin lingered on his shoulder for just a moment longer. In a whisper, he said, "I'll go ahead and make myself useful." And then he separates fully from her.

A marvelous benefit that Sam reaped from their friendship was that Elias could grant what she craved for. The man could keep a bath scalding hot for as long as he wished. Maintaining a steady output of magic to keep some water warm wasn't nearly as strenuous as heating the forge.

"I'd say take your time," halfway out the door to her quarters, Elias casts a sly look back at Sam, "But hurry your ass up."

And he went ahead to prep the bath.

 

[Samantha Black]

A roll of the eyes followed him out. Make up your damn mind, would ya?

Take your time. Hurry up. Let me do it ... but I guess I'll leave halfway through. Sam snorted, shook her head, and returned to peeling off the layers.


The Bath House

Dinner had been ready by the time she tromped down the stairs in loose training clothes. Sam filled a plate and snagged a large pitcher of ale on her way out to the bath house after telling them not to fucking disturb her as she intended to sleep in the tub for the entire night.

Wouldn't be the first time.

Of all the simple luxuries in life she'd lived without at the Academy, a hot bath was one she was willing to splurge on. That their flat had its own small bath house had come as nothing short of a dream to her. The Academy had a communal bathing hall but the water had never been hot and quite often one took their lives in their hands when naked among fellow Initiates. At least before the revolution.

The clothes were quick to go once she'd closed the door behind her and set down the food and ale on a bench by the large, round tub. There would be no show - Elias had seen her naked so many times there was no way he'd have been able to keep count - and she sank down into the hot water with a pleased groan.

"I've been dreaming of this bath for two bloody weeks," the road from the Academy to Vel Castere was a long one and she'd traveled not just on a simple horse, but with a wagon weighed down by smithing and forging supplies. Though she'd not been expecting the water to be steaming hot, so that was a plus.

"I envy you for your always-hot baths, you know."

 

[Elias]

"Don't envy nothin'," Eli says, "I don't feel a thing."

He was glad that Sam enjoyed it, though.

Thanks to the nature of his magic and resistance to heat it granted him, he never did understand the joy of a hot bath after a long day. Or couple of weeks, in Sam's current case. Always in-and-out for him if he was just simply washing up.

Eli submerges himself up to his chin in the water and rests his head on the lip of the tub. He lets himself soak in the water, which was neither warm nor cold to him.

"You're welcome. For making your dream come true."

 

[Samantha Black]

She probably already knew that. As a matter of fact she was sure she did, but it still didn't come across as any less depressing hearing it again. A reflexive, apologetic groan sounded as she leaned to grab soap and loofa from a side shelf to begin scrubbing away two weeks worth of road-stink. Her layover in Vel Anir had at least afforded her a bath, but she'd not luxuriated in it the way she intended to now.

A glance shifted his way with a wane smile, "The simple pleasures are always the hardest to come by..." said rhetorically more than anything, "what about you? Any dreams I can help with?"

Had he set his mind to any dreams or goals since they'd last talked about it?

 

[Elias]

"Nooope," he emphasizes the pop of pronouncing the P, "Dreaming for more than what I have now would just be greedy."

He stares up at the ceiling with a wistful smile.

"Years ago, we wouldn't have imagined things to be like this. It's pretty good."

 

[Samantha Black]

A snort sounded in reply, "Guess I'm greedy then."

She had big aspirations of making General one day, though that was likely many years away. Decades, even, judging by how long it took the current man to claim the rank. He had to die first ... or retire, and she had to be in the right position at the right time elsewise she could be waiting a whole other lifetime for it.

Sam offered another thoughtful hum, "Not much changed for me," she admitted, "revolution or not I was still going to end up here. Might've come in a rank or two higher ... if I survived graduation."

She'd have been pitted against the likes of Noel, Eli, Ed ... the top of their class for reasons. Charon would not even have been a consideration for her.

"Biggest difference is that I've got you and Davi with me now," a pleased smile pulled at her lips as she thought on that, "definitely hadn't seen that coming."

 

[Elias]

Elias intently listened to Sam. He focused on her lips, watching as they formed every word. She would have found a way. Of that he was sure.

"That makes two of us," he caught himself smiling with her before he knew it. "I probably would have ended up in the service of my House."

A response made from unspoken certainty that he would have survived the old graduation test.

"It just would have been the natural order of things, I think."

 

[Samantha Black]

Another person might've asked if serving his house would have really been so bad. But one of the things they had bonded over was their shared disdain for their families. Would she have liked to have ended up serving her wretched house? Certainly not. Had she not been scouted for the Knights, things likely would have gone much differently for her. She may not have found the fire inside to push herself as hard as she had.

She may not have even made it to graduation at all.

Being a Knight may not have been what he'd wanted for himself either, but it had to be better than the alternative. He wouldn't have agreed to come with her if he hadn't felt he'd a better option elsewhere of that Sam was sure.

A hum rumbled within her throat as she lowered herself further into the large tub, until her head sank beneath the water's surface and her breath bubbled up around her. Upon pushing back up she wiped a hand over her face, scrubbing away the dirt from her travels and setting aside the soap in order to pursue closer quarters with him. She drew up to his front, comfortably close to his face as she folded her arms across his chest to lean her weight against him.

"They don't deserve you," a notion she fully stood behind, if only because maybe she was a little greedy but also maybe he deserved whatever life his heart desired even if it meant one that didn't involve being a Knight or fighting at her side, "and they can't have you. They'll have to go through me first."

 

[Elias]

Eli stretched his arms around the edge of the tub and he smiled with all of his teeth. The hot bath had nothing to do with the warmth he felt in his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Sam was a proper flirt and her sharp tongue would betray her hardened, battle-worn features to those that didn't know her. Despite that she would never whisper flattery. She said only what she felt. Her words weren't a shallow, insincere attempt to make him feel wanted, but rather he knew that she genuinely enjoyed his presence. They never needed words to affirm to each other just how close they were. Still, he was overjoyed. So happy, in fact, that he could likely carry deep into the night in high spirits.

Still carrying that beaming smile, Elias lifted his shoulders off of the tub to lean forward and plant a kiss on Sam's lips. It wasn't a light, fluttering peck like he'd left on her cheek, but instead deep and full of energy.

"Stakin' your claim on me, Black?" He says after breaking away. His foxlike eyes slyly narrow ever-so-slightly, "I'll allow it."

 

[Samantha Black]

That smile of his was so infectious, it spread to her through the kiss. Blushing didn't come naturally to her, but affection did, and it did so with purpose. When their lips parted her own smug expression remained and she, too, remained close enough to feel the breath of his words on her mouth.

"Whatever it takes," he'd not denied her yet... not that she made very many demands, but like hell was she going to let his father drag him away from something that could actually serve him well.

She tipped her head back for the simple pleasure of looking at him, arms unfolding from where they crossed at his chest to reach up to loosen the tie from his hair while she leaned in for another slow, deep kiss. Long and luxurious locks of black fell smoothly along his back - hair more beautiful than she'd seen on women for certain. How he managed to keep it so she would never know, but she'd only just ventured into the realm of letting her own hair grow out.

Everleigh had just given her a whole tutorial on how to care for it while she brushed it out in some nameless inn back in Vel Anir.

Sam ran her fingers through it, enjoying the silky feel along her calloused and scarred hands. Their lips broke again, though her forehead remained pressed against his as a hand found firm purchase in the tangle of hair at the base of his skull.

"I'm going to have my way with you all night."

 

[Elias]

"Bold words there, Lieutenant. You'd best not fold on me."

His lengthy reach that was stretched out around the tub coiled around Sam. His hands smoothed across her back, pulling her and keeping her tight against his body. Elias indulged himself in feeling the firm contours and soft curves of their bodies press together in a long overdue embrace.

Eli let his head crane back from the pull of Sam's strong grip. In the quiet that fell between them, he steadied his hungry, expectant gaze with hers.

"Go on then," he whispered an invitation. "Take me."

 

[Samantha Black]

Wasn't sure how she felt about him using her rank during such ... moments. Couldn't say after just one instance. Perhaps the second or third time she'd feel different. Frigid glaciers remained locked on deep, dark seas but for once the slice of a grin at his words did not precede the leap into the evening's activities. Instead something warmer, more sure and wanting and maybe even a touch vulnerable shifted over her face.

Their interludes were often sharp and lustful. Testing strength and dominance. Pushing desires of the flesh to the brink.

She wanted him, but more strongly so she'd missed him and felt no wish to rush into the night like so many countless other nights before. This night felt different. They were free of the Academy, free of the eyes of their tormentors and the threat of death from one wrong move. Sure, relations between them held a bit of taboo now, but they wouldn't be the first within the Military to do so, nor would they be the last. There was a quiet and relaxing notion about the idea that this was actually fine. They could be together and tomorrow the sun would rise in the east and they'd get on with their day before it set in the west. .

So where teeth usually claimed the flesh of his neck with a ferocity of greed at the words just uttered at her ... Sam instead loosened her grip on his hair to affectionately curl nuzzling kisses along his jaw.

"I don't want to take you," murmured into his ear before her slow, nibbling kisses worked their way down his neck, "I want to have you."

She wanted to have him in the tub. Then she wanted to have a nice dinner with him sharing stories with Mess and Cookie and whoever else showed up at the table. She wanted him to join her in her chambers instead of going back to Route's flat where she could have him, and a few drinks, and the rest of the evening all to herself, and then wake up tangled with him in bed the next morning.

She didn't think that was such a terrible demand of having her way with him.

 

[Elias]

Whatever the difference between taking or having was, Elias couldn't say. Following their normal rendezvous, he would often carry aches and pains with him the next day. Exposing his neck to her, he expected whatever Sam was about to do he would feel in the morning. Much to his surprise, which came out as a quiet, sharp gasp, she was unusually gentle with him. Her little kisses tickled his skin and sent his chest aflutter.

"You light a fire in me, Sam."

And normally it would blaze and swell in an explosive fashion. But this fire burned slowly. It would steadily persist through the night, never growing too large nor too small.

By no means was Elias an academic powerhouse. He didn't have the mind of Meredith or Dorian. But in his own way he was intelligent and intuitive. Whatever this mood was between them, odd as it was, he would like to keep it. He reciprocates with nuzzling of his own and trails tender kisses over Sam's collarbones.

The water heats up a couple degrees hotter in response to the lordling's rising passion.