Before the Fall

"You've been assigned another student?" Rielle groaned, putting her fork down. "I thought Carin was going to be your last?"

"He was," Matthias replied, cutting into a sausage. "But Mykel asked me personally to take this one on."

"No," Rielle grumbled. "You're supposed to be joining me in the Inquisition. I need a good researcher for my team!"

"I know." He could hear the defensiveness in his voice, and he hated it. "And if it was anyone else, I'd have turned him down. But, well, Mykel."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Mykel." The bond between trainer and student, she knew, was strong. If Tamara had asked a favor, she knew she wouldn't have refused.

The two ate quietly for several minutes, absorbed in their own thoughts. Absently, Matthias tore a roll in half and used it to mop up some sauce. "Maybe I could still join your team? Train my new apprentice as an inquisitor?"

She shook her head. "You know better than that. We only accept proven Paladins, because of the kind of work we do." She pitched a roll at him, laughing as he missed the catch and it bounced of his forehead. "Dummy. Who is it, anyway!"

"Her name's Aurianna," he answered. "She..."

"Aurianna, hmmm?" Rielle gave him a sly look. "Should I be jealous?"

"Oh, yes," came Matthias' deadpan reply. "Gods know I have a thing for gawky barely pubescent teenagers."

"You're well known for that," Rielle laughed.

Laughing as well, Matthias grabbed her wrist. She squawked as he dragged her around the small table, then wiggled and pressed her rump into him as she landed in his lap. "Oh, absolutely," he whispered into her ear. "Nothing like a scrawny, flat-cheated kid to get me going."

Rielle's fingers twisted in his hair, dragging him into a kiss. "Don't forget inexperienced," she purred as he fumbled at the laces of her blouse.

"Inexperience, yes," Matthias agreed, stroking his fingers over the soft skin between her breasts. "Nothing's more arousing than a woman with no idea what to do in bed."

Rielle tugged at his shirt, dragging it over his head and tossing it aside. "Then," she growled , running her hands over his bare chest, "I'll just have to... disappoint you."

They didn't make it to the bed on the first try, and barely made it on the second attempt. Several hours later they lay tangled together, clad only in sweat and twisted sheets, still idly exploring each other' bodies. "I suppose I can find it in my heart to forgive you," Rielle fraud, kissing his nose.

"That's nice," Matthias yawned, not resisting when she pushed him into his back.

"And besides," Rielle leered, crawling over him and straddling his waist. "You'll still be working under me..."

"Good Gods, woman!" Matthias laughed wearily. "Haven't you had enough?"

"Nope," she grinned, reaching back to strike his shaft. "You're nowhere near done disappointing me..."

---

Jeoram gave ground, taking a spear thrust on his shield and hacking back in an effort to splinter the shaft. His opponent didn't give him the chance, snatching it back in a serpent-swift motion. He stumbled under the force of his missed swing, and yelped in surprise as the shaft snapped around and caught him behind the knees. Armor crashed and clattered as he hit the ground in a graceless heap.

"Do you yield?" Ari asked, snapping the point around to aim at his throat.

In response Jeoram lashed out, grabbing the spear and jerking. Suddenly unbalanced, she fell forward and landed on his chest. They rolled and grappled, the wrestling slowly becoming less serious and more exploratory until it ended with Jeoram straddling her and pinning her wrists to the ground.

"Do you yield?" he grinned.

In response, Ari kissed him right on the mouth. Jeoram' grip faltered, and her forehead crashed into his nose. As he rolled to one side, she grabbed his arm and started to shove him onto his back.

"So. This is how you practice?"

Abashed and blushing, the two teens scrambled away each other. "Lord Matthias," Ari gasped, blushing. "We were... we were just..."

He stood at the edge of the training circle, arms folded behind his back and eyes glittering with amusement. " I know what you were doing," he said in tones of mock severity, " and there is a time and a place for it. But that time is not in combat." He kicked her spear over to her. "And your form was sloppy."

"It," she gulped, "it was just for fun."

"No excuse," Matthias answered. "Sloppy and overconfident will get you killed." With that, he grabbed a practice spear of his own. "Now, come at me."