"Bernar," I began. "Yes, bird-brain?" Bernar asked. "Were you the one who recommended me for second stage training?" I asked. Bernar thought about the question for a moment. "One day you'll understand that it is more than simply more power, to quote Master Pyle," Bernar began. "Not like I knew that before accepting my own second and later stage training, but I have come to learn it in the last few years," he continued.
"You dodged my question, you fuck," I said with a small grin.
"Of course I did, twit," Bernar spat back. "Did you really think I would answer that? No, no. The reasoning for you being chosen had little to do with me, if that helps your birdbrain piece it together," Bernar said.
"Can't beat that argument," I said, looking at the ground away from him. "No, you can't. However, I will say this: If you can fully unlock the second stage, the others will come more easily. I know you've dabbled in it already, but fully locking it in is another story entirely," Bernar explained.
I nodded, receiving a heavy pat on the shoulder. "Now go find Meliss, and get some, little bastard," Bernar said with a grin from ear to ear. "How did you…?" I began. "Leona mentioned that Meliss likes you to me this morning," Bernar interrupted.
My eyes opened wide. "Sh-she told you that?" I asked. "She did, but if you're not there with her, I don't know how much longer that liking of hers will last," Bernar said. "Run, dipshit, run," he said with a chuckle as he pushed his younger brother down the hall. I took a second or two to process all of that, and nearly stumbled when I turned around to go find Meliss.
I can't believe it, Thoma thought. She… likes me? I mean, I'm definitely not the most handsome guy around, so why me? I asked myself.
"Fuck it," he said quietly, and ran off to find her. He went straight to where he thought Leona might be, and knocked on the thick, wooden door. I heard some shuffling going on inside, but no answer came. "Leona? Meliss?" I asked at the door.
The shuffling stopped.
I took a step back, wondering if they really were the ones behind the door, or if I had just interrupted something else entirely.
Still no answer.
I turned around to leave, when I heard the bolt being undone. I turned around to find Meliss' eyes, peeping out of the small crack in the doorway. "Oh, it's you," she said quietly, excitement barely hidden in her voice.
I was puzzled.
"Who else would it be?" I asked. "Edryd was here a few moments before you knocked. He was looking for you," she said quietly. "He knew I was speaking with the others in Pyle's house, why would he come here looking for me?" I asked.
The two of us were interrupted by none other than Edryd himself. "Ah, there you are," he said from a short distance away. "So? What did they want?" Edryd asked, walking up to my side.
"The Master told Pyle about that situation we had over in Codrean. He wanted to see if I knew more about you-know-who," I lied. "What did you tell him?" Edryd asked. "The truth - that we still don't know who it is, and that we still have to be careful," I replied.
"Well, with any luck he'll be able to help us with that," Edryd said. He looked at the crack in the doorway, and found the pair of eyes watching the exchange.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't know…" he paused for a moment. "It's alright, Ed," I said with a smile. "I'll, uh… I'll be going, then," he said, stepping away from us.
The sly bastard gave me a wink and a childish grin that could hardly be out of the corner of his mouth.
"Asshole," I said to myself with a small chuckle.
I looked back at Meliss, who watched the two's brief exchange. "Well?" She began. "Are you coming in or what?" she said quietly. I didn't really know what to say. Obviously, I wanted to go inside, but I was so incredibly inexperienced that all I could do was nod briefly, and cautiously enter the room.
You're acting like an idiot, cut it out, I thought.
"Listen, Thoma," she began, closing the door behind her, and bolting the latch. "This isn't my first time doing something like this, not by a long shot. Granted, it has been a while, but I'm not new to this," she said.
To say that I hadn't expected as much would've been a lie, but for her to come right out and say it almost sent me for a loop.
"Wish I could say the same," I muttered under my breath, trying my best to hide my surprise at her candor with an embarrassed smile. "You've never been with a woman?" she asked.
No way to escape that one, I thought.
"Never really got the chance," I began. "My days, up until recently, have been spent mostly in Codrean; where the female synners there are more focused on their training, rather than messing up the sheets with someone," I said shyly.
Meliss noticed I was genuinely embarrassed by my own lack of experience. "Sorry. I didn't realize…" she said quietly. "It's alright," I said lightly. "No way you could've known that, right?" I said, trying to conjure a smile.
She nodded her head and, surprisingly, turned around, walking over to her bed, which was in the other half of the room. She began taking off her nightgown, slipping the shoulders off as she went; stepping out of it as she walked like it were some sort of practiced dance.
Naturally, I didn't know how to react, and felt that the only thing I really could do was stare at the ground. "Nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to bite you… hard, that is," she said calmly.
I could've sworn I heard the sly grin beginning to grow on her face.
I finally looked up at her, noticing she stood before me wearing nothing more than her skin. She motioned for me to come towards her, and as if I were in some sort of trance, I did so. She helped me undo the laces and removed my jerkin, hose, and boots before motioning to the bed.
I sat down upon the soft, goose-feather mattress, and sunk deeply into it when I did. She approached me, spreading her legs to envelop mine, and kissed my forehead, pressing her chest into my face. She kissed down the side of my face, and I soon felt her soft, supple lips lock with mine.
"Lie back," she said sweetly, pulling her head back a little as she was pushing her hand against my chest. I slowly fell backwards, gazing into her deep, green eyes as she followed me down onto the mattress. She kissed me again, but this time, began to move away from my lips. She kissed her way to the backside of my jaw, down the side of my neck and all the way down my torso towards my hips.
Ah, so that's what that feels like, I thought.