What Is a Week-end, iii. [Torin]

[Aurin]

Lake Udori
9 Frost 121

"It's up to you, Timon," Aurin finally said. "It's our last day here. You'll be sleeping in a bed tonight. So do you want more bloodshed? See how Torin's doing with a quarterstaff versus my blades? Or should we have him teach us how to sneak around the forest? I heard he learned all that from a Fae'ethalan when he was a boy. Very nearly got stolen away to join their caravan, even."

They both looked at Torin, the boy curious, the man amused. He was aware this Fae'ethalan had come to Kalzasi, but hadn't met him yet; part of him wanted to remain separate from parts of Torin's life, feeling that he would only ruin them. But he supposed eventually he would meet all his little friends. When Timon looked back at him, he waited for him to make a judgment.

"Why not both?"

Aurin considered, then nodded.

"I suppose that's possible. Torin, d'you want to show us how you sneak so well? We could play a game of hide-and-seek or something like that to see what we learn. Then, after lunch, you could show me how you handle that stick of yours." He smirked and Timon snickered because he was entirely old enough to understand some innuendo.

But it would be a good lesson. Aurin knew how to be stealthy in a city and he supposed some of that would translate, but he wasn't a nature boy. One never knew when he might have to flee through the underbrush and not want to make noise or leave as much of a trail for hunters to follow. And he liked giving Torin more opportunities to teach; it seemed to make him more confident in himself in general, and confidence was hot. Of course, Aurin intended to cheat.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin sighed and shook his head but he was smiling. The redhead man and the blond boy had their heads together and were making no effort to hide their conversation.

While it was true that he had learned some forestry from the Fae'ethalan, most of what he knew he'd learned by doing only. There had never been a chance of him leaving his master to run away with Destyn and his troupe. Though, he realized, if he had ended up with a master more like his second, it was probably he would have left with them, had they allowed. Had he done so, he would be dead now, with all his friend's kin. The thought sobered him momentarily, until he heard Aurin making a joke that took him a moment longer to get than it took Timon.

"Come on then, I'll show you what I know if you wish to learn." Walking away from the pair with the matching wicked grins he found a patch of woods that had gone undisturbed by their camping. The idea that he had things (outside Runeforging) to teach Aurin, particularly things involving subterfuge, was odd for Torin. He realized, as they walked over to join him, that he didn't actually know much about Aurin's past. Where he'd grown up, what sort of life he'd had. His mind had assumed it had always been similar to how it was then, but, of course, Aurin had been a boy once. That thought was decidedly odd; like looking down a hallway and finding it sideways.

Pushing the idea away for later, when he could ask while they were alone, he turned to face his pupils.

The next hour he tried to explain about sounds in the forest; how some carried while others did not, how some were normal and would be ignored by most minds, sentient or animal, while others would alert even the most unobservant of listeners.

Demonstrating how to shift your weight and place your feet in ways that wouldn't disturb the forest floor, wouldn't snap twigs that lay under leaves, or cause the leaves to make more sound than the natural breeze would do on its own. The wind could be helpful too, if it was consistent you could move more freely, both because your sounds would be covered and any disturbances you left would be blown away. He spoke of not brushing against things that would be broken, pick up your scent or that you might get a hair tangled in. Of course, neither Aurin nor Timon really had hair that would get tangled in anything, so he felt a bit sheepish after explaining the last.

When the talking was over he had Timon attempt to do as he'd explained, correcting his posture or footing was easy, as the smith could just move his body to correct it. Feeling how something was supposed to feel helped a lot, at least, for Torin. Timon was slight and took to the work easily, if perhaps too enthusiastically to make some of the slowness required work.

Standing a few feet back and watching as the boy tried to walk across the leaf-covered, half-frozen ground it came to Torin that Timon would likely grow up with a body type more like Aurin's than his own.

When Timon had finished the smith said,

"Alright, bad man, your go." Aurin would probably take to it more easily, as he had practiced stealth before, in different environs.

[Aurin]

Aurin was happy to learn from Torin. A year into things, he knew he would always be the dominant partner, that he would always be teaching Torin things, helping Torin make decisions, and such. Secure in that, it felt good to let Torin have some control of things, to gain the confidence that he might only get from teaching not only Timon, but Aurin, whom he respected so highly.

So he listened because he was always trying to learn new things, hone new skills, and he paid attention. He watched Timon have his turn, nodding approval. The boy was lighter, but he was also hitting one of those awkward phases of growth, so he had his own struggles. But awareness of himself would help in the end. He gave the boy a grin that was only partially a smirk, giving him a wink.

"Yes, Master," he said to Torin, giving him a military salute from some other country. He knew how to be mindful of his feet, aware of the rest of his body, so he tried to engage those skills with what he was learning about the outdoors. The terrain was different, but the skills related. When he erred, he slowed down, putting silence at a greater value than speed. He wasn't going to sneak up on a bear today, but he showed some success.

"I'll work on it," he promised. Duly impressed by how well Torin did with all this considering his bulk, his eyebrows rose in question, whether Torin thought they could manage to learn more or practice more, or if they were going to swing at each other with quarterstaff-sized branches next.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin's body didn't seem to realize he had gone from a boy small for his age to a man larger than most humans. When he was in the woods he was a boy again, needing the stealth to both move and hide himself.

He blushed and then tried to pretend he hadn't when Aurin flipped their roles on him. Having to take hold of himself to not stammer through his advice after watching the redhead. Timon was leaning against a tree wearing an expression that looked like he was trying to learn Aurin's smirk; it did not help Torin regain his equilibrium.

They continued to discuss how to best move at different times of the year until Torin was feeling himself again, at which point he caught a gleam in Timon's eye as the younger boy said,

"Now we play hide-and-theek." Stepping forward lightly he tapped Aurin's side and said, "You count firths."

The two blonds looked at each other for a moment before they turned and ran into the woods as though they were both twelve.

Timon broke west and Torin sort of northeast, each of them bolting at a run for a moment before they were out of sight and then trying to use their stealth skills.

Torin kept on until he found a large pine tree with enough foliage to hide even his bulk from a casual inspection. Reaching for the highest branch he could from the ground he pulled himself up, grinning as his limbs recalled how to move among the limbs.

Timon attempted to sneak in a way so obvious that anyone who had been able to see him would have immediately known he was up to no good, until he found a rock large enough to crouch behind and listen.

[Aurin]

"Hide and seek?" he asked dubiously, but dutifully shut his eyes. "Idiots," he muttered as they scampered off, but the smirk that twisted his mouth was fond. He counted slowly, but he only counted to ten. Of course, he had heard their initial flights, and began to stalk in the direction Timon had gone. Though they were playing a game, he had to fight the urge to reach out with this trick to find them, to know exactly where they were, so he could get to them and protect them should the need arise. He might yet cheat, but first he was going to see how well their stealthy techniques worked, as well as his own.

He found paths where there was less to avoid, walking softly as he could. Focusing on silent breathing, he kept his ears perked for Timon's. The sprint might have winded him a bit, enough to give himself away. Hazel eyes were less accustomed to looking for hiding spots in the forest than in the paved jungle of a city, but he acclimated. In the end, Timon's cleverness backfired; where he had doubled back to mask his direction, Aurin kept going and when he turned to look behind him, he could see a thatch of blond hair. With a smirk, he crouched so he couldn't be seen, and then took a twig and deliberately snapped it to see if he would bolt back to camp.

When he didn't, Aurin smiled and began to triangulate where he thought Torin might be. He didn't worry quite as much about making noise now, wanting Timon to hear him wander off. People had tried to get the drop on him before—literally—so he also looked up from time to time. He was creeping again, hoping to flush Torin out as Timon hadn't been.

When he found a bit of a hiding space himself, he crouched into it, turning to some flat-faced boulders that might bounce the sound of his voice in a way to misdirect.

He said, "I'll always find you."

[Torin Kilvin]

The thing was, Torin knew, as he darted into the frozen foliage, that Aurin had not one, but two easy ways to find him if he wanted to. There had been no rules to specify that the redhead couldn't use either his rune or the dowsing compass in the game. The smith assumed his firefox friend would recognize the intention of the exercise and try to find him without their use, at first. Cheating, or using things that others might think of as cheating was, Torin was beginning to understand, how the other man had survived most of his life. Many of the things done weren't what Torin himself would consider cheating, but they were ways to bypass the normal social idea of how things were done.

The thought of doing such things sent an excited thrill into Torin, like getting away with something naughty as a child. Which, he never really had, never really had even tried, so, now, introduced to the idea as an adult, it held a certain fascination for him. Not to be used in his own business, of course; it needed to build a reputation. But in the other business, Aurin's. Not the theater, the Other Business. Portions for Foxes seemed to be coming along as nicely as his forge, though it was quite hard for him to judge. Would Aurin tell him if things were going badly? Suddenly, he wasn't sure.

Turning his mind back to the game at hand, realizing that just being in a tree made his mind wander as it had in his childhood, he watched Aurin at a distance, stalking through the underbrush quite well considering.

When the redhead got quite close the blond didn't hold his breath, but he began to breathe very slowly. He waited till there was a prolonged gust before dropping, carefully and controlled, till he was hanging from a branch a few feet off the ground. He left himself fall when Aurin took a step into a pile of leaves. It was at just that moment that, without looking at him, Aurin repeated the half-vow they'd made together on the year mark of their meeting.

With a smile and a sigh he answered from behind the other man,

"I know."

[Aurin]

So it hadn't gone exactly as he planned, but Torin had revealed himself. Aurin turned on a dime out of habit, but didn't pull a blade. That was progress, perhaps. He smirked and wondered if Torin thought he was cheating. There was cheating and there was changing the rules of the game, or finding loopholes that the rules of the game failed to address. But he hadn't used a magic trick; he had just known the words would be tantamount to a command if Torin heard them.

"Sneaky boy," he cooed at him as he stepped closer and kissed him, his hand on Torin's jaw. It was a little rough for a couple of days without shaving, and that was nice. He whispered a couple of terrible things he could do to Torin right then and there before Timon even thought to come looking for them, but he didn't enact them. He just wanted to stoke the fire in Torin's heart and his loins, remind him of his unceasing desire. It was unlikely anything would happen until they got home and there were walls between them and Timon.

He just liked how submissive and service-oriented Torin got when he was aroused without a proper outlet. Aurin, at least, was aware that Timon had a city boy's education about these things. Soon, he might sit down with him and have a talk. This trip was sort of a belated celebration of his birthday and he was now, officially, a teenager. But even a city boy's education would have gaps and misinformation, and Aurin didn't want the boy getting into the wrong kind of trouble. Torin might clam up and blush at the idea of speaking plainly to the boy, but Aurin wouldn't.

[Torin Kilvin]

The praise, for it was praise, however the words were usually used, brought a smile to the large blond's face that it was beginning to know; one of pride. The touch only reinforced the idea that Torin was doing something praiseworthy and he kissed back rather more confidently than he often did.

The physical effect of the 'threats' was as it always was, but the mental reaction was also a little different. He laughed, though in delight and some embarrassment, rather then melting into a mindlessly needful version of himself. His conscious was beginning to understand when Aurin intended to carry out his threats in the immediate, and when the threats themselves were intended to be their own reward for the time being. Both were great, but knowing (sometimes knowing, there were plenty of occasions when he still couldn't tell) helped the smith feel like he was in on the situation instead of being tossed about helplessly by it.

Aurin wouldn't endanger or intentionally upset Timon more than the two of them ragging him playfully would do.

Taking a chance Torin found his voice, something he certainly struggled with when Aurin informed him of his intentions, and made what he hoped was a flirtatious reply to some of the threats; playing into them, digging himself deeper. Having no idea that the redhead was considering giving Timon the sort of talk a father was supposed to give his son, Torin leaned in for another kiss, trying to sate himself for the moment, holding Aurin by the collar of his thick coat.

When he made himself pull away he said,

"Let's see if we can sneak up on Timon? If we catch him he has to be the chaser, which might leave us a few minutes to... further discuss your proposals." He tried to say it as he would to a client but there was far too much wreckless heat in his voice.

[Aurin]

Aurin observed the power his words had over Torin, the thoughts on his mind largely telegraphed on his face. He was good at reading people, but he had been reading Torin for a year now, and Torin laid himself bare for him in more ways than one. He liked the confidence, knowing he had helped build it from the ground up, and that he still was the lodestar by which Torin navigated life. It was a responsibility, and it was a bond, but Kalzasi had changed him. Arry, Torin, and the others who were part of his portions had changed him. It was uncomfortable in many ways, though he recognized it was probably for the best.

"All right," he said with a wicked grin. The boy was young; his heart could stand a fright. He turned Torin around by the shoulders, then leaned in to kiss his neck, then bite him where his shoulder met his neck. It was just a little reminder of rougher things to come, and then he gave him a slap on the rump to get him moving, though he caught up and slung his arm around his shoulders. They were far enough away they didn't need to sneak just yet.

But when they did get near enough, he let his arm drop and pointed in the direction they needed to go. Silence was golden when on the hunt, and the fox and his hound were on the hunt now, even though he knew where the boy was hiding. Well, unless he had moved since then. There was no telling; most boys his age weren't the most patient of people. Soon he would be rolling his eyes at them, though, so giving him a fright would poke holes in upcoming self-importance. He was already doing what he could to foster real confidence.

Then he motioned Torin should go to the right while he went to the left so they could come at him from both sides. He hadn't really taught Torin thieves' jive, so he made do with more obvious gestures—at least he hoped it made sense.

[Torin Kilvin]

R E V I E W

Lore:

Aurin:
Stealth:
Over Frozen Ground
Sneaking Up on Someone
Over Forest Floor
Avoiding Branches
Not Leaving a Trail in the Forest
Using Natural Sounds as Cover
Knowing Which Types of Sounds Carry
How to Place your Weight Silently
Being Taught

Deception:
Drawing Someone Out

Torin:
Stealth:
Over Frozen Ground
Using Forest Features to Hide
Using Forest Terrain
Over Forest Floor
Avoiding Branches
Not Leaving a Trail in the Forest
Using Natural Sounds as Cover
Knowing Which Types of Sounds Carr
How to Place your Weight Silently

Points: 8 each, Aurin may use for Semblance

Injuries/Ailments: None

Loot: None

Notes: These two can't keep their hands to themselves even for children's games? Gross.