Closed [The Fighting Pit] A Bad Time to Show Up (Euthisa)

[Kovac]

Timestamp: 19th of Winter, 512 AV
Location: The Fighting Pits, Wind Reach

It was cold, and some predicted a hard snow the following day. Kovac questioned his wisdom, or abject lack of it, as he stepped down into the 'pit'. The Fighting Pit was more a depressed outcropping than a hole in the ground, open on three sides and over looking the vast expanse of the Sanikas Pass and the Unforgiving below, far below. How did he get himself into things like this? The archer's antagonist, Rhelar, stepped in as well, on the opposite side. A few bored Cheit and Avora had trickled out to see the fight, settling into the ledges along the mountain wall at the backside of the pit.

Rhelar was a particularly asinine hunter, in Kovac's eyes. An inartan with frustrated aspirations to become an Endal, the man seemed to find blame for his own failure in the half-Vanthan Kovac. Persistent accusations, racial slurs and veiled threats had finally pushed Kovac to open his big mouth and promise to pummel the stout Avoran ginger into silence. In his defense, it was better than eventually snapping and shoving a knife blade in the vagik's gut.

So there they were. Kovac shrugged off his katinu, leaving him bare chested in the chilled air, wearing only his bryda, two sontav and boots. As he swung his arms to loosen his shoulders, he turned to look over the small crowd gathering. That is when the bastard struck.

Kovac felt intense pain in his kidney as Rhelar rushed him and sucker punched him. Kovac crumpled to his knees. "Stupid mongrel, never turn your back on an opponent!" The inartan stepped back, waiting. The half-breed staggered to his feet, turning a scowl to the attacker.

"You petching son of a..." His sentence was finished with a haymaker swung at Rhelar's head, which the man dodged by ducking backwards. Once the swing missed, Kovac snapped it back into a backhand strike, which caught Rhelar in the jaw. The brawl continued, each man swinging and charging, sometimes giving a shoulder check or a head butt. But Rhelar was getting the upper hand, as he wore down Kovac.

Finally, Kovac ended up on his back, face bloodied and bruised. Rhelar, grinning a crimson stained smile of victory, raised his fist to slam into his opponent one final time to finish it. But as he cocked back his hand, a blade appeared in Kovac's hand, which was immediately pressed to Rhelar's neck.

"Get off of me you piece of shyke." Kovac seethed. Rhelar did not relinquish his grin, but he did stand up, stepping away from the prone Kovac. "Just watch your back, half-breed." He muttered before staggering off himself.

Kovac slowly rolled to his knees, then stood. He thrust the knife back into his boot, and shuffled over to pick up his katinu. Cold air chilled his skin as sweat evaporated. Standing tall and wincing at his pain, Kovac looked over the crowd, some wandering off, others pointing and talking amongst themselves.

[Euthisa]

Bundled in her winter clothes, her katinu snug and warm against her body, Euthisa walked briskly through Wind Reach. Snow was expected to fall the next day, and the harsh chill in the air today confirmed this. None knew this, but she was on her way to The Fighting Pit. Ever since she was a Yasi, Euthisa had always had an interest in fighting. She would secretly watch fights when they broke out in the city, but she had always been such a model student and child, she never let it be known she'd taken any interest. This secret followed her into her adult years, and occasionally, and as secretly as possible, Euthisa indulged this interest by attending fights in The Pit. She never checked the fighting schedules, for one reason or another, she didn't wish to know who was fighting on a day she attended. She'd rather just show up.

She was late however. She'd been so warm and cozy in her bed the previous night, she had overslept into the day today. Her boots clacked on the cold ground as she walked, the small wedged heel in them making her every step noticeable. Her hair was down, more added warmth around her neck, and her curls bounced as she walked. She looked at the ground as she walked, not wanting to risk someone recognizing her, her arms folded against her chest. Undiscovered so far, Euthisa took a deep breath and entered The Pit. Not many had shown to see the fight today, Wind Reach's colder weather forced many inside. There were enough scattered in the seats to still hold the fight though. Euthisa made her way to the center of the viewing area and sat down. She'd missed most of the day's fight, but it was still going. At least she would catch the end of it.

An Inartan was fighting a dark-haired man, and had the upper hand. The Inartan knocked the other man to his back and readied himself to finish the job. Euthisa was on the edge of her seat, anticipation rising higher and higher. The dark-haired man had produced a knife, pressed neatly into the Inartan's neck. They muttered to each other, inaudible to the audience's ear, and the red-head staggered off. The dark-haired man got to his knees, and then his feet. He picked up his katinu and turned to scan the crowd. That's the moment Euthisa's skin turned snow white. The man standing there, bloody and clearly in pain, was none other than Kovac, Euthisa's most recent interest. Her hands flew to her mouth, gaping wide with shock, her eyes frozen on her friend. Immediately, Euthisa rose from her seat and ran down to the ring entrance, running then out to her friend. Reaching him, she immediately went to hug him, thought better of it, and dropped her arms to her side as she stood before him. "Oh my goodness, Kovac! Are you alright?!?"

[Kovac]

Kovac had seen the figure moving quickly from the seating area towards the ring, but did not think much of it, probably an adoring fan wanting to fawn over the victor. The defeated Avora slipped on his katinu,the effort eliciting pain from muscles bruised by the impact with the stony pit floor. Wiping the blood from his lip onto the dark sleeve, his gaze caught again the petite figure moving into the pit. A bouncing, curly mane of dark crimson hair crowned the woman's head, and the ivory toned features of Euthisa came into focus.

"Great..."

It was not that Kovac did not want to see the Chiet. Quite the contrary in fact. Ever since they had met by the Falls, Kovac had thought of the violinist. He had promised to take her on a trip, but preparations for winter had eaten up his time, and the peril of the Unforgiving had seemed to increased after the terrible djed storm, with new, more dangerous creatures prowling about. Then winter came, time had passed, and he wondered if she even remembered him. Apparently she had. Yes, as much as he had wanted to see Euthisa again, on the heels of a beating was not the occasion he had imagined for their reunion.

Kovac could see she was shocked, or horrified, at his condition. The Inartan had moved to hug him, a gesture he would have readily welcomed, but she thought better of it. Whether Euthisa hesitated out of concern that she would hurt him, or that it was not appropriate, the Avora could not tell.

"Yes," Kovac managed a small laugh, "...I am fine. Its not the first time I have beat a man's hand so badly with my face." He offered the girl a wry grin. No, he was glad she was here. "What brings a beautiful artist and scholar out to the cold and barren Pit of Brutality?" Kovac's smile persisted, unable to quench it in Euthisa's presence. He dabbed the blood from his lip again.

[Euthisa]

Kovac, always a joker, immediately turned Euthisa's concern and shock into sarcastic laughter. He had won the fight, but was beaten in the process, and still he managed to lighten the mood entirely with just the flick of his tongue. Still displeased to see him in such a state, Euthisa was glad she'd run into him. Too much time had passed since their last meeting, though in her mind, it was only yesterday they were sitting with one another at the Falls. She'd thought of that day and of him constantly in the time that passed, though she well understood he was a very busy man and with winter now here, his schedule had drastically increased. She'd waited patiently to either hear from him or run into him again, knowing inside that such a pair couldn't meet just one time in their lives.

It was unfortunate that their meeting was in such a circumstance, but Euthisa would take what she could get. He complimented her, ever the charmer, and flashed that devilish smile she loved so much. Blood rushed into her cheeks, flushing them a rich crimson to match her hair. "Well I hope his hand took more damage than your handsome face did."

He inquired as to why she was there, a question she couldn't dodge nor manipulate her way out of. Biting her lip in confused torment, Euthisa contemplated her options. No one in her entire life has ever known of her interest in fighting, nor has anyone ever known that she's ever attended a fight. The concept would clash too badly with her "goody good" status, and she had worked very hard to make sure no one found out. Yet here was Kovac, in very clear knowledge that she'd attended a fight, though he hadn't figured out her interest in it overall. She felt she could trust him with her secret, but really thinking on it, she didn't know him that well. Sure, she felt as though she'd known him forever, but she'd really only met him one time, and this was a big secret to trust him with. She was interested in him though, and her final decision was to trust him, for lying to him wouldn't turn out positive in any way.

An embarrassed smile tugging at her lips, Euthisa took a deep breath and answered his question. "I uh.... Well... I like fighting. Ever since I was a child, I've taken interest in it. No one has ever known this though. So I beg you to keep this to yourself. I'm trusting you." Taking a chance, Euthisa gently wiped at the blood so persistently trickling from his lip. Once clean, she placed a delicate kiss on his lips, careful not to hurt whatever wounds there he'd sustained in his fight. Carefully hooking her arm through his, she softly tugged him towards the arena exit. "We should get out of here and get you checked out, before any injuries get any worse, and before someone else sees me here."

[Kovac]

Once Euthisa's look of concern brightened into laughter, Kovac decided he was, in fact, quite happy she was there. The Avora was worried she would see him as nothing more than a brawler, though Wind Reach was a place were disagreements were often settled in some form of confrontation. The Inartan violinist seemed above such brutish pursuits, at least in his eyes. But her own jesting helped to lighten the mood, and dispel his concerns that she thought less of him for his beating.

The dynamics shifted once he asked her about being at the Fight Pit, and Kovac saw hesitation in Euthisa's demeanor. His eyes drifted from the young woman's darting gaze to her mouth as she bit her lip, an indication she was not sure how to answer him, and a momentary distraction for the man. Ivory teeth released her full lip, and her mouth stretched into a tentative smile as she made her confession. Kovac's grin returned, finding the girl's revelation amusing, and her trust endearing. The half-breed felt a thrill as she swiped the drop of blood from his mouth and kissed him tenderly. He had thought maybe the excitement generated at their first meeting had waned over the days. As she linked her arm around his, Kovac knew that it had not.

"I don't need to see anybody about this." Kovac did not want his friends in the Infirmary to see the wounds. Aidara would mock him, or chastise him, and Iosha would fawn over him with concern. "I just need to clean myself up and get a drink of wine." He was as anxious to leave as his friend, and the two of them made their way out of the pit and back towards Wind Reach.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you are a violence junkie." He shot Euthisa a wry grin. He knew she was serious about her secret, but he could not restrain the jibe. The fact that the woman had a secret interest in more brutal sport only made her more intriguing, and knowing her secret added some flare to their budding relationship.

He lead them back into the Warrens, until he came to his room in the Commons. "Would you...want to help?" Kovac gestured to his bloody lip, which renewed in pain as his mouth stretched into a boyish grin. The Avora had the Inartan with him, and he was not yet willing to let her slip away again. He opened the door, leaving it open should she accept his offer. The hunter slid the katinu off, wincing at his sore muscles, and hung it on a peg. The room was spartan but clean. Aside from a bed and a trunk, there was a side table with a water pitcher and a bowl, a couple of baskets beneath it holding sundry items. Another small table with a chair sat next to the door, his lute and a wine bottle sitting on it. His weapons hung on pegs with his long coat. Kovac's gaze turned back over his shoulder towards the girl.

[Euthisa]

Kovac insisted he didn't need to see anyone for his wounds, and Euthisa suspected it was his inner Inartan pride and manly way of being macho that made that decision for him. With a playful roll of her eyes, Euthisa nodded in agreement that he was fine. Or would be. They strode towards the city as Kovac teased her about the secret she shared with him. She'd continued to wonder if letting him in on it was such a smart idea, and his playful gestures at first added to this concern. Looking at him though, Euthisa knew Kovac was only being light-hearted in a serious situation and overall was respectful of her privacy in the matter. She liked that about him.

They reached his room in the Commons, Euthisa's anxiety and anticipation soaring as high as the eagles so frequently did. A flash of deja vu raced through her mind, a situation eerily similar to this having happened with Hess, but this time, the memory didn't cause Euthisa pain. She came to accept that she would always feel sad over Hess, he was the first person she had really cared about, but she didn't dwell on it anymore. And she refused to compare him to Kovac. Kovac was many times the man and friend Hess ever would've been. His childish charm was his best feature, and the one that most attracted the crimson-haired librarian. He was witty and humorous, and he made her smile and laugh, a lot. That was something she needed in her life, to soften her serious demeanor.

He invited her in to help, flashing a bad boy smile she simply couldn't resist. She followed him inside, closing the door behind her, and watched carefully as he took off his katinu. He was in a lot of pain, something that was hard for Euthisa to watch and she was happy she agreed to come in and help. Spotting the pitcher and bowl, she strode over, picked them up, found a towel, and returned to Kovac. Leading him to the nearest chair, Euthisa sat him down to start her work on cleaning him up. Pouring the water into the bowl, Euthisa wrapped the towel around her fingers and dipped it into the water. She knelt before him and began gently dabbing at the the split in his lip. She worked gently but diligently, cleaning up the scuffs of dirt around the wound, and then cleaning the would itself. She was careful not to press too hard and hurt him, but she kept at it until his lip stopped trickling blood.

Next was the filth that covered his toned body from the bottom of the Pit. Smudges soiled his skin sporadically across his body, and working from his head down, Euthisa began wiping them away. She occasionally made eye contact while she worked, but her looks were somewhat fleeting as she was afraid she'd become embarrassed if she looked at him for too long. She was perfectly comfortable touching his body, the slender fingertips of her free hand explored the edge of every muscle and hopefully triggered his every nerve, but for some reason she was still nervous around him. She somehow got the impression that he was far from a newbie with woman touching him and the explorations that usually followed that, but he didn't know that situations like that were still very new to her. She had the bold Inartan instinct bred into their people, but new situations still always made her nervous. She tried to hid it as best she could, and she could only guess at how successful she was.

Finished with cleaning the blemishes from his body, Euthisa's next focus was his soreness. She knew he was in pain and she wanted to help. She put the bowl and pitcher back on the table where she found them and returned to Kovac's side. Running a hand through his hair, she looked at him, finally holding his gaze for longer than a few seconds. "I hope you feel better already. Anything I can do for those sore muscles?"

[Kovac]

When Kovac turned from hanging up his katinu, and saw Euthisa had followed him in, Kovac tried to suppress a pleased smile. It was a test of sorts, gauging her disposition towards him and her willingness to pursue the interests they had kindled at the Falls. Kovac himself measured his own investment. There was a strong attraction physically, and an intrigue in Euthisa as a person, both as a fellow musician, and as someone rather different than himself. What would become of them was as unpredictable as it was with most Inarta, and certainly had been with Kovac's friends.

The librarian assumed the role of healer, taking charge and setting her patient down in a chair. As the woman began to clean his blood- stained lip, her eyes averted for the most part, Kovac exploited the opportunity to study her up close. Clear, emerald eyes focused on her work, set in youthful features of smooth ivory. A smattering of light freckles were visible across the bridge of her feminine nose, and a small colored glass jewel pierced one side of it. Now so close, Kovac could see the clear glass placers that marked piercings in her upper and lower lips. A moment of attention was given to the plushness of her reddened lips, so recently pressed gently against his. Kovac tried to remain still as Euthisa worked, only wincing once as she applied pressure with the cool damp towel.

Much to Kovac's delight, the Inartan beauty did not stop at cleaning his wound. With gentle friction she began to scrub off the dirt that stained his olive-hued skin. Her free hand, the arm adorned with colorful tattoos, made repeated contact with his flesh, and the hunter could feel the soft pads of her fingers riding the contours of the muscles across his torso and his arms. Whether Euthisa's intention or not, her caress sent a scintillation across his nerves, and Kovac exerted some effort to keep his hands on his lap. The archer noted her demeanor, sensing some trepidation from the girl. Not that she was innocent of her actions, but that she was unsure of the course being laid, for she stirred something she may not be ready to face.

The tactile pleasure she provided was briefly stayed as Euthisa completed her cleansing and returned the towel and pitcher to the table. But she renewed her stimulation when her slender fingers combed through his thick black hair, and her bright green gaze finally settled on his own, capturing his intense attention.

"I hope you feel better already. Anything I can do for those sore muscles?"

Kovac's breath hitched, and he swallowed hard as he contemplated whether the auburn-headed girl's question was innocent or suggestive. Regardless of the intent, the result was the same for Kovac, as his stirred excitement spiked into a smoldering flame.

"That felt very good, thank you." To express his true feeling, that it was amazing and arousing, was probably too forward. "The muscles of my shoulders and neck have tightened up after the impact..." Kovac left his statement at that, aware that the intelligent Inartan would understand his inference. His eyes did not leave her gaze, and he believed she saw what her ministrations had begun within him.

[Euthisa]

Their gaze was intense, the attraction between them very apparent, threatening to explode into the room with them. He spoke of where his muscles were hurting, though his deep green eyes never wavered from hers, even after he finished speaking. He captivated her with just his solid stare, flames of desire flickering in his irises. Euthisa couldn't deny that she was well aware of the effect her touch had on him, and she couldn't deny that it was difficult not to react to the playful dare posed in his eyes. He was bold and cunning, something that made him all the more attractive to the librarian. Kovac stirred parts of Euthisa's character long ago squandered and forgotten about. The parts of her that contradicted what everyone knew of her. It was a frightening path to walk, but Euthisa wasn't afraid with Kovac involved.

Allowing a sultry smile to escape onto her lips, Euthisa circled around behind Kovac to begin her work. She began at his neck, gently tipping his head forward and placing her hands across the back of it. Her longer fingers stabilized her hands in place as her thumbs moved in circular motions across his skin. She pressed hard enough to penetrate the muscles, though hopefully not hard enough to cause him pain. She started at the top of his neck, absent mindedly toying with the hair at his hairline while she worked. From there her fingers traveled downwards to his shoulders. Once finished, she moved on to his collarbone muscles and then his shoulders.

She spread her fingers wide across the defined muscles of his back, using both her thumbs and her fingers to squeeze and massage. She steadily worked her way out from his neck to his arms, and down his biceps. The thick muscles beneath her hands teased Euthisa, her mind wandering off in directions it needed not go at the moment. She worked her way back to his neck and after moving her hands just a little lower, repeated the process. She moved back and forth across his shoulder blades like that until she'd massaged all the muscles in and around them. Finished, she walked back around in front of Kovac, placing herself gently on his lap. Her arms went around his neck, again playing with the ends of his hair as she looked at him. "Better?"

[Kovac]

It seemed he could not help himself. It was true, the muscles of Kovac's upper body had tightened up after the fight, their natural means to protect whatever tissue may have been injured. Had they not been tended to, the next morning would find the Avora stricken with stiffness and pain. And Euthisa had been kind enough to offer to minister to his wounds. But they both knew it was a pretense, a convenient avenue for the Inartan and half-blood to explore what had started by the Falls in Autumn.

Kovac tried to relax, letting his head lean forward with the light press of her hand. Euthisa's touch was well measured, seeming to understand that it took some amount of pressure to effectively relieve the knots, while aware that a tender spot may be encountered along the way. Her hands were warm, hands that maintained their softness by tending to tomes and documents, not bows and tools. Slender fingers splayed against the expanse of the archer's strong back, following a course that lead the woman's caring touch across his olive-hued skin and over every corded muscle. Kneading hands trailed over Kovac's shoulders to squeeze sore biceps, releasing stress with a sometimes painful pleasure. The man's breathing deepened, broken only a time or two by a sudden sucking in of air as she pressed into a sore spot.

There was a subtle sigh when Euthisa's hands lifted from his skin, but Kovac's disappointment was short lived, for the Inartan came around and slid onto his lap. Slender arms draped themselves around his neck, and the mongrel was caught off guard by the sudden boldness of the librarian.

"Better?"

Kovac caught her gaze again, green on green as their eyes met. What passed between them in that glance was unmistakable, a mutual confession of stirred desire, tempered by an unspoken respect. A subtle smile crept across the man's face. "Yes, much better, thank you." His hands moved to rest on Euthisa's waist, his eyes darting to the woman's plush mouth. It was inevitable, the natural course any man and woman would take in such an intimate circumstance. The hunter leaned closer, gaze lifting again to Euthisa's emerald irises as he pressed a kiss against the crimson lips of the Inartan. There was a sting as his wounded mouth met the woman's, but the pain was exquisite, and would not deter the affected half-breed.

The kiss was gentle, but whether out of true tenderness or with caution for his spit lip Euthisa could not tell. Kovac let it linger, tasting the librarian's lips before he pulled away. The Avora did not go far, putting only enough space between them for his eyes to focus on the Chiet's, gauging her reaction. Their mouth's still hovered close, the exchange of warm breath brushing against one another's skin.

[Euthisa]

His eyes spoke volumes, telling stories of thoughtfulness and contemplation, desire and restraint. He wanted her, or at least wanted to find out how much he did, and Euthisa saw it all through the waves of emerald she continued to gaze into. Albeit still very much a newbie to the situation, Euthisa trusted Kovac, perhaps more than she should so soon, but she didn't care. She knew if things progressed, he would take care of her, and she'd be in good hands, both physically and metaphorically. Euthisa also knew she would always remain a student, unless she got used to it. The only way to do that, was to try. And she wanted to.

Kovac's hands slipped onto her hips, his touch torching her nerves in a mass of newly ignited flames. She quivered, just slightly, as her mind imagined that same touch, among others, in other places. Handsome features leaned into her, placing a delicate but long lasting kiss upon her lips. Unsure of the reason for the tenderness of his actions, Euthisa reveled in his taste before he pulled away. Much to her delight though, the Avora only retracted a mere couple of inches from her. His breath was warm and intimate on her face, and eyes as clear as gemstones pierced into her.

Boldness and an urge to take direction surged within Euthisa. Gentle hands cupped the back of his neck as Euthisa tilted her head and moved in for another kiss. She did her best to be careful of the split in his lip, but instincts told her if she accidentally hurt him, he wouldn't mind. She deepened their kiss, letting her tongue flick out to lick his lips, asking them to part and let her inside. Lifting her body to sit more appropriately on his lap, Euthisa slid a folded leg on either side of the hunter's hips. Her lips and hands never left their positions as she did so, and once settled on top of him, Euthisa tightened the muscles in her legs against him. Kovac brought a new side of Euthisa to the forefront of her demeanor, and she was excited to see where things would go from here.