Fine Lines

[Kysis]

Kysis shrugged as much as he could in his current position, about her remark of them not assigning her anywhere.  Of course they did not, which begged the question of what she did on days when she was not early enough to assign herself, and all of the duties had already been assigned.  He was extremely curious on that point.  That comment on hands on completely brushed away any of the previous question, mind now awake enough to start putting things together wittily (he hoped).  Her leg could wait a moment, at any rate.

"Well, I\'m glad you have taken so much time for hands on training with me."  A devilish grin was on his lips, just turning up slightly one side of their plumpness.  He quickly hid it though, lips lightly at her ear before he nibbled a little to just bolster up his statement.  Kysis knew full well that he had failed horridly at the whole inuendo thing before, and double meanings had been mental slaughter, but he would definitely try.  It helped not being so damn nervous right now as he had been that first double-meaning war, when Lam had been trying to entice him to bed.  Well, perhaps not trying, it had worked in the end, as awkward as it had been.  Now he was a bit more comfortable though still not in his element.

His element had been combat.  Always had been, probably always will be.  Of course, he knew he would have to address her leg since he brought it up.  He noticed it when she was getting out of bed that morning but.... Kysis wrapped his arms around her hips, using it as open-time to think of how he would put this.  The young lord had a lot of experience with injured or overly tensed muscles, and helping them out.  After extremely hard training sessions or tournaments, he and Rico would exchange a bit of muscle work.  Kysis felt that might be useful in this instance, "I would love to work on your leg."

Not as witty as he had been hoping for, but better than saying nothing at all.

[Existentially Odd]

Lam shivered lightly when he pressed a kiss near her ear, gasping in a breath of surprise when he nibbled and sensation rocketed through her.  She leaned into him more noticeably, feeling suddenly weaker as he released her arm and hugged her instead.  She blinked and pulled her head back in surprise when he implied... more than simply massaging her leg.

Her half grin showed the amount of pleasure she felt in him being so tactile and... playful... when she looked at him.  "Well, you know... you\'re welcome to at any time though... I should warn you; my leg could lead to... other places... craving your attention."  She raised her eyebrows, hands on his hips and not making any more move than that, far more interested in his.

[Kysis]

"I\'m sure I can accomodate."  A light laugh issued from him, her realizing his insinuations a victory.  He would probably never admit it to anyone (though someone was bound to notice), but combat had always been... something that made him a touch more friendly.  Thinking the common person might think it strange, he would try to avoid such subjects, though it had come up a few times.  At those times Kysis had declaired the asker uncouth and tell them they needed to pray to cleanse there souls.  But that was back in Kreos.

Kysis took to looking about the room, as much as he could see from beside Lam\'s ear, which was not very much.  Currently he was just thinking in terms of that leg massage, and finding out what had caused whatever kink in had.  Would the desk chair be best for the leg part?  It was a high backed, hard seated chair, so he decided no.  He hardly wanted to be overbearing with any advances he made.

That, and asking how she wished to be positioned as he worked on her leg nearly made him blush in just thought form.  So no, any question with the word \'position\' in it was absolutely out of the question.  Kysis found himself at a block as to what to say or do next, but thought up something anyhow, "Let us get you somewhere comfortable, then?"

[Existentially Odd]

"I\'m sure you can," she giggled, musing on whether she should encourage his flirting or whether she should ask for a delay because she really should be getting to work.

She had to tell Freddy the news about her going away for a start and... her heart skipped a beat as that thought led to recalling her visit with Dagger the day before and how bloody confused she was.  She didn\'t want to think about that any more, or about going back again to get him to elaborate on whether he\'d make some of the changes she wanted if she did stay because... well, she somehow knew that that would put an end to everything with Kysis (his comment that she was settling was enough to hint that her current love interest would certainly become the topic of conversation upon her re-appearance at his door).

Right then, she didn\'t want to fight anymore.  She was rather more interested in just letting everything be and allowing her life to take the less resistant course, for once.  Perhaps the Gods had a better idea than she about who she was meant to be pinning her affections on (and perhaps it would turn out to be neither of the men she was considering) but until they gave her some sort of sign or manipulated events so that it all worked out for the best, she would just... float.  Tormenting herself was a far more abrasive thing than simply enjoying herself from moment to moment and though she gave no consideration to the future in that mindset, she was currently of the opinion that that was a good thing.  It allowed for far less stress and far more enjoyment.

"Yes, alright," she breathed and broke away from him reluctantly (though he wouldn\'t likely see the hesitation in her movements) and heading for the bed.  She dropped her pants and toed off her boots as she went and then lay on her back, towards the middle of the bed.  Her toes found warmth beneath the crumpled covers that made her shiver with delight and she was suddenly glad to be back in bed - halting their training had allowed the cold to leak back into her body but she could see another opportunity for getting warm again, now...

Still determined to make no grand moves, she folded both arms behind her head on the pillow and lay flat in her long shirt (which was gathered up around her waist) and shorty underwear pants (they were knitted wool and only covered the top half of her muscular thighs, leaving most of them bare for his attention... though he could certainly push the loose material up higher, if he wished).  Her legs were slightly spread and their bottom halves were buried beneath the blankets they\'d left shoved down the bottom of the bed as her green-eyed gaze sought him automatically.

[Kysis]

Actually stepping out of his shell and being flirtatious seemed a good thing at the moment.  Lam was much friendlier than the night before, seemed a lot less conflicted.  Perhaps his current mood was just killing his mental capacity (which was always a possibility, but he doubted it), but it was the start to a good day, and the start of a good week.  That added stress of dealing with his sister was gone; the worry and bickering all gone to Ravenshom.  The constant conflict with Rico was also removed, another relief.  Though he felt a lot less guarded, he did not feel in as much of a threat either.  He could open up without fear of their assaults for this next week, and if Rico did find a way to marry Alia off.... Kysis really hoped that was what Rico had been referring to.
 
Kysis was a bit surprised by how quickly she had shed some of her clothing.  And her boots!  Then again, looking at them they hardly seemed to have that ridiculous amount of laces all up them that all of his had, so just flinging them off seemed a serious possibility for her.  Kysis really wished he had a time piece in his room though, just in case she really had to go to work immediately.  Having a terrible time sense of his own, Kysis could not exactly rely upon sun direction or an internal clock of any sorts.  If put in a windowless room, he would be absolutely clueless, even if someone cued him in to what time it was every so often.  That had him a little worried.  Not much, seeing as he had staff who were good with that sort of thing, but still.
 
If it weren\'t for the fact that Lam seemed to be enjoying his mood, Kysis would have gone into the office across the hall and grabbed the time piece there.  The office was not used as much as it used to be, so the little contraption was not getting as much use as it might have been in the other rooms of the manor.  Though he was in a talkative mood, he supressed it, crossing after Lam and crawling somewhat clumsily onto the bed.  He knew which leg it was with the kink but not exactly where, so he asked directly, "So... where exactly was your leg needing some tending?"  Kysis was not sure if he should be asking or just getting to massaging around until he found a knot.  He did not want to seem unobservational.  To him just noticing that she had a slight gimp earlier did not feel like enough, even if it was morning.  He really needed to pay closer attention.
 
It hardly helped that Rico had always been better at spotting half-veiled limps and slight kinks in muscles, not to mention alleviating the pain in them.  They had always been competetive with one another, but there were some things Rico always won.  Such as flirting and massage, which Kysis was feeling a bit more uncertain in his footing for every moment that passed.  Forcing that away for now, Kysis ran his right hand lightly over the thigh in question, fingers brushing the surface in that craving for contact and searching for any irregularities.  For all he knew, it could have been worked out from all that stretching and practicing this morning.  Hopefully he was not too late to do some good.

[Existentially Odd]

"Mmm... he kicked me in the left thigh," she admitted, her tone adding an unspoken \'But you should feel free to touch me anywhere you like\' as she lifted her head briefly and watched his hands run over the nominated area.  "I think it\'s pretty well gone now, after stretching and sparring, but I\'ll never say no to a massage," she sighed contentedly, laying back once more and settling down onto the bed, intent on enjoying the contact that was about to come.

If Kysis didn\'t stop at just playing with the one leg and the whole thing led elsewhere, she\'d be exceptionally (pleasantly) surprised.  It was highly unlikely he\'d be confident enough to seduce her though, so she was fully prepared to be happy with anything that she got.  Having him spar with her was already reward enough, in reality (she began daydreaming of being able to wake up and follow such a routine every morning once they were travelling... and then more often than that when they were completely comfortable with being a couple and perhaps living together?); the touching afterwards was simply a bonus.

"Oh, and don\'t worry about being gentle.  I like it hard - the harder, the better.  I\'m well used to being treated roughly," she laughed as she stared at the ceiling, automatically clenching both thighs at the thought of him digging his fingers in deeply and causing the lightly-frecked skin - covered sparsely with fine, golden hairs - to go taut over rigid muscles.  She\'d known from the beginning of her brawling career as a six year old that her upper body strength would never match a man\'s, so she\'d always worked heavily with her legs; they were sculpted and bulky with muscle as a result, shapely but... definitely not the soft and delicate legs of a lady.

[Kysis]

He as in the Prince?  That was definitely an interesting thought, as the Prince hardly looked like the type for sparring, despite having to have some training for his own defense.  Kysis felt rather terrible after hearing that, seeing as the Prince could land a kick and he could barely even just grab her arm.  Slightly frustrating, but he took his mind away from that, and away from the fact that he would be doing very little good since the problem was already gone.  He honestly felt like this was just wasting some more of her time.... at least he would try making it worth some of it?

Kysis went to work immediately, kneading the thigh in what patterns he knew would loosen it up.  He was entirely used to working with muscle, so he hardly thought of comparing it to a proper lady\'s legs.  In fact, he had not even seen a proper lady\'s legs before, so he had nothing to contrast them with to begin with.  Not that he minded.  He rather liked the presented strength, and the idea of just how much training it had taken to get such musculature.  Kysis understood men and women were different in that respect, but he remembered quite clearly how hard it had been to bulk up at all initially.  It had actually felt impossible at the time, though he kept at it.  He was glad he had, too, otherwise he might have been even a bit smaller than Rico at this point.
 
After a while of attention on that thigh, he moved on to help out the other.  Even if the right one was not kicked directly, it deserved a rub-down for all of the kicks it executed.  The only issue was having to go lightly on his left hand, having to lift it every so often and flex, clinch, then go back to the massage.  Irritating, but better than not being able to use it at all.  He still could not grip a sword properly with it, something he would definitely have the main physician in Kreos look at.  Hopefully nothing important had been severed in that botched catch, Kysis knowing full well that the forge crew would want to see first hand that the weapon could actually be used, since they were non-believers.

"How\'s that?"  From the slight distance to his voice, anyone could tell that his mind was wandering.  It usually was, but he found ways to center it.  Not at the moment, seeing as massaging took very little thought, more feel, so his brain had to be doing something lest it get bored and the motion of his hands trail off.  That would be a bad thing.  Of course, he was also looking for some sort of approval or pointer to get to a point where approval could be given.

[Existentially Odd]

She repressed an exasperated sigh and gave a wry chuckle instead.  Typically, he was all business and not even marginally interested in deviating from the path to success for every task he undertook; everything was approached with the same zeal for accomplishment, the destination more important than the journey.  She could understand that ideal but... she generally found that the journey was most of the fun.

"That\'s great," she told him enthusiastically, propping herself up on her elbows to gaze over her breasts towards him.  Honestly, she sometimes thought that she\'d always be fighting an uphill battle for his comfort and interest... even though she desperately hoped otherwise.  Would she be able to cope?  The darkest, most evil side of her wondered if she\'d end up in a passionless marriage with him... and go off seeking relief elsewhere... no, she couldn\'t (shouldn\'t) even think such things.

With a tentative clench of each thigh, she smiled at him (having to blow that errant red curl away again).  "I do believe you\'ve released all the remaining tension; I thank you heartily."  Her beaming gaze slid off him then, flicking upward to the ceiling window and wondering if she could still arrive at work in time to redeem herself, since getting a massage didn\'t rate as a worthy excuse for tardiness (whereas sex would have been).  He didn\'t seem all that interested in keeping her there, after all.  Without thinking, she continued looking around the room slightly, sighing once more, quietly.

[Kysis]

Though he smiled at being told it was great, he noticed her also looking around.  Dammit.  Kysis knew then he had dwaddled a bit much, or gotten up to late or something.  He sighed, looking to the door, then up to that window.  That time piece was not terribly far away.  All the had to do was get up, go across the hall and....

Was that the front door closing?

Kysis perked into sitting up completely straight, hands moving away as he listened closely.  Who would....  With another sigh was given at that, Kysis leaning over to give a quick kiss before getting off the bed.  He really hated time in general.  It was an evil thing.  If it would just stop running for a little bit, the whole world would be a much happier place and-- Kysis shook his head, knowing he would have to say something, "I\'m sorry.  I\'ve kept you away from work for too long and... and did not even get to where I was leading."

And he felt terrible for it.  Kysis bit lightly at his lower lip as he glanced back towards Lam with a touch of worry.  He really hoped she was feeling better from yesterday, both physically and mentally.  The fact that he was falling short again was hardly helping that, but Kysis was determined to make it up to her somehow, even if he spent all day thinking about it.  In fact... he would definitely have the time to think something up while at the shop.  There was little else to do, unless people actually started coming in again.  That would be a miracle.

[Existentially Odd]

She looked sharply at him, instantly intrigued by the statement that he hadn\'t even got to where he was going.  She still lay on the bed, flat save for the fact that she was propped on elbows, watching him head for the door after a brief kiss.

"Oh?  Where exactly were you headed, then?" she asked drolly, wishing she weren\'t so intrigued and overtired enough from her emotions the previous day to also want to just give up on him.  She was so sick of guesswork and fluctuating emotions; he had to be ten times worse than her at running hot and cold, and she\'d been accused of such a feat many times in her relationships (such as they were).

Still, something inside her was very attached to him already, and rather enjoyed the cat-and-mousework of being his lover.  The masochistic something that also compelled her to go into the wilds of the keep and get herself beaten up whenever she felt like shit, no doubt.

[Kysis]

"Well..." Kysis thought for a moment, licking his lips as they suddenly felt dry.  Lam normally could just spew out some statement that was not completely self-conscious or caring to be proper.... comfortable, actually, now that he thought about it.  It seemed like she was comfortable with how she was, which Kysis took in to consideration as he formulated his next set of words, "just a little work to the other areas I would love to give some attention to."

A smile was added to that.  The entire statement had been a bit forced at first, a serious effort to get out.  Expressing his thoughts to other people was not something he was overly useful.  Kysis\' original opinion on it had been along the lines of: they happen in my head for a reason, if you were supposed to hear them, they would not be silent.  Of course, this was changing.  He now thought that some people were entitled to know what he was thinking, though the whole saying it part was a bit hard coming.

With time though, Kysis was sure it would be easier.  A bit more forcing and mental pain and that bad habit would be broken... right?  Kysis was working on it.  He just hoped Lam had the patience to put up with the wait between currently and then.

[Existentially Odd]

Lam\'s feathers were entirely smoothed by his generous statement - the fact that he used the word love was what impressed her the most, for it succinctly communicated that there was enthusiasm there, things just... somehow didn\'t happen to plan, sometimes.

"Well... later, then," she smiled, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and tilting her head one way and then the other, so that her neck cracked.  Technically, they hadn\'t finished their spar and they hadn\'t warmed down correctly - a fact she felt the need to point out to him - so she felt a bit... out of sorts in that area, too.  "Maybe we can actually have a decent spar, first, then a bath - whose place should it be tonight?"

So many options for working up a sweat, she thought, but did not say.  He seemed ready to move on now, so she supposed it was time to embrace the reality of the morning that had fully dawned, get dressed, have some breakfast and head to work.  She would tell Freddy her plans once she got there... and she would likely need something to fortify her for that unpleasant task.

[Kysis]

There were certain things Kysis had gotten used to, such as the way that early morning spars rarely ever ended in a proper warm-down.  In fact, if Rico was involved, it ended with an argument of some sort and one of them storming out of the room.  At least that was how it had been for the last year.  If it was a session in which Tiberius was present, both men kept their mouths shut and went through all the proper measures to make sure they would not pull a muscle later or overstretch one and not counterbalance it.  Kysis had gotten distracted this morning, forgetting strict form for a more fluid, comfortable setting. Part of it was the subconscious want to not appear like an uptight asshole, the rest was honest forgetfulness.  Kysis would probably remember later in the day, make an apology without first setting up the context, then remind himself religiously any time in the future to do things proper... probably.

"Which would you prefer, m\'Lady?  Mind you, this bed will be about..."  Kysis walked so that he was approximately where the foot of the bed might stand when rotated, motioning with his arms to indicate that the header would be directly against the wall, "here if you happen by in the afternoon."  It just seemed like it would be more convinient if moved, seeing as no one would have to do any crawling over one another unless... Kysis just shut that chain of thought down immediately.   Yes, the bed would be more easily accessed?  He hardly liked the way that sounded either, so he just ended the statement with what was already out as well.

"Though depending on whether or not you wish dinner together... I might suggest your place, seeing mine is lacking a cook.  I would gladly give Matthew access to the pantry here.  What\'s in there has to be used some time..." Kysis had not heard anything since the door closed, though he was still constantly listening.  One of the guards going out?  Unless it was later than he thought, the gate guards would not be rotating shifts yet.  Kysis really wanted to go investigate, but knew that could be done soon enough.  Something for breakfast had to be done, and he was really praying that if any of the guards had left, that it was not Alex.

Kysis wondered just how late he should keep the shop open this day....

[Existentially Odd]

She lifted her bag onto the bed and started extricating her clean clothes while Kysis spoke, laying the neatly-pressed uniform (that looked, sadly, a little worse for wear) and underwear out before she began removing what she was currently wearing.  It wasn\'t that she made a show of getting naked or into her specially-designed underwear, but when he talked about the bed being positioned elsewhere that afternoon, she had to turn and look - but she was doing her best to not offend his modesty with bare breasts and be ready for work as fast as she could, all at the same time.

She chuckled as she sat down to work on her boots, glancing up at him.  "Sounds like we should just go to my place, then.  We can polish off everything that\'s in the pantry for breakfast now," she declared, grinning wofishly up at him, "and Matthew can serve us an extravagant dinner tonight.  In the dining room even, if you like," she laughed.  She was in a fairly good mood, she found, warmed by the knowledge that there would only need to be a few hours of separation before she saw him again.

Of course, those hours would likely be filled with a bit more self-doubt, hesitance and the nervewracking task of finally telling Freddy that she was going away for two months (or near enough to it) with another man who meant... quite a lot to her.  She had to just not think about it until the moment was on her.

When she was done with her boot laces, Lam stood up loudly, stamping her feet on the stone floor.  "Alright, let\'s go!" she commanded, in the manner of a Captain ordering her troops into battle... rather than a kitchen for breakfast.  Still, it would be another long day and she wanted to be prepared; a full stomach was the least of it.

~*~