Needle in a Haystack [Torin]

[Aurin]

Sated in more ways than one, Aurin just teased bits of Torin's body while he dressed.

"Well, I was going to teach you some grappling basics, which we could do here, but you're getting dressed and it's early, so we could walk out to the Lake and do it out in the open. I suppose the weather's nice enough for it." After a little more groping, he started pulling his trousers on as well. If they found a remote and private enough spot near the lake, they could strip down to less than their trousers for the lesson. It would be distracting, but there were always distractions in a fight, so it was best to practice with them.

Then again, he didn't know that it would be helpful for Torin to get aroused whenever he fought someone, his body remembering who he practiced with. He exhaled through his teeth, thinking he would have to focus on making sure the young smith could protect himself before he had his way with him again. The young man was strong, no doubt, and full of energy, but someone with training knew how to minimize those advantages. At least if Torin knew some shortcuts to take someone down and keep his own feet, he might have some more advantages. If he was going to stupidly throw his lot in with Aurin, there was always a chance old dangers could come back to haunt him and they might target Torin.

Unarmed combat first, then he could learn some weapon skills. He ought to know the basics of the weapons he created, at least. But there were things one could learn about fighting that ran the gamut of weapons or lack thereof. Aurin was confident he could teach Torin some of that, then perhaps he might hire some experts to teach Torin the use of various weapons. After all, education was one of the things that had drawn the country boy to the worldly man in the first place.

Rather than take food with them, he opted to pick something up en route. He let Torin lock the door behind them with an ash steel key, and then they were on their way. There was food enough for a late luncheon by the water tucked into a rucksack, and then they ambled toward Lake Udori. When they neared the shore, he showed a bit of largesse.

"Find us a place to stop." They had gone camping before, of course, but they hadn't hired horses to take them farther from Kalzasi this time.

[Torin Kilvin]

The constantly reassuring touch he had come to expect when alone with Aurin was feeding his attachment as little else did. It made him feel wanted and desirable, beautiful even. He wanted to be as good at returning the touch and the feelings it gave him as his Master but he knew he was nowhere close. His touch was clumsier and more obviously needy.

Aurin would teach him, even if just by continuing to do it, and Torin would learn.

Nodding eagerly and nearly tripping over his trousers as he got into them he said,

"I could hire us horses, as you did the last time. It's only fair. We could get some food and ride out, do lessons, have a picnic." The idea of being at the lake again together was not doing good things for the tightness of the trousers but the lad was growing used to that particular discomfort around Aurin. At least his new clothes fit him better. He'd been near ready to burst through what he'd had when he left home.

Aurin opted to walk, but they did pick up a lunch on their way. As they went he discussed more of his solid plans for the purchase and keep of his own forge. His financed were laid bare before the redhaired man, as well as the prices of what was needed. He had some already and some he could get second-hand easily, but his runeforging equipment would almost certainly have to be made. He also shared the meeting and conversation he'd had with the young Lord and Lady Luekos only the day before, how interested the Lady had been, and the invitation to visit their manor house in the city and discuss how they might hire the majority of his time once he did have his own shop.

He was all but jubilant as they reached the lake, cool Searing breezes pouring off it to brush away the sweat of the long walk. His future was looking bright for, perhaps, the first time, he was actually looking forward to it. Aurin probably knew something of House Luekos and might be able to offer him some advice there too.

Setting down his satchel and the water skin they'd filled and taken alone he stripped out of his boots, coat and shirt, standing in just his trousers and barefoot on the sand. Digging in his satchel he pulled out a leather strip and used it to tie back his hair like he did when he was working. Taking a deep breath he faced Aurin, nervous but excited.

"Well, bad man, are you going to give me bruises today as well?"

[Aurin]

The walk was nice. Part of him wanted to run, to sprint and see how fast they were, how much stamina they had. He used to push himself until he was ready to vomit, but he didn't often push himself that hard anymore. Perhaps Torin was making him soft—though that thought almost made him laugh out loud.

He listened to Torin speak his business into existence, paying close heed to every financial bit he offered, cobbling it together in his mind and asking cogent questions. Some of them Torin had answers to, others he hadn't considered. It was good; Aurin could assure him that there was time to figure those things out so he didn't need to beat himself up for not thinking of them in the first place. That was why he brought his ideas to people like Aurin, who had some experience to offer him. But by and large, Torin was thinking along the right lines and was eager for input, which was good. It was difficult to learn when one thought one knew best all the time. He was proud of Torin, and he told him so.

"House Leukos," he said, searching his memory. "Sworn to House Briathos. Cintamani Pavilion? I think that's their home in the Promenade, but from what I understand, they are rarely in the city. Of course, I memorized a lot of shit about the powers that be that hasn't yet been exceptionally useful for me, but House Briathos is all about the magic. They basically run the Circle of Spells. Not a bad contact for the world's best runeforger-to-be to have."

When they arrived, Torin was quick to strip down, which made Aurin smirk as he watched. A coppery eyebrow rose when he left his trousers on and his smirk sharpened, but he crossed his arms over his chest and walked a slow perimeter around the young man, who would have been formidable if Aurin didn't know he was basically a big puppy.

"Don't I always?" he asked archly from directly behind Torin, though he didn't touch him. When he was before him again, he faced off. "All right. For now, I just want to teach you a few things that I hope will become knee-jerk reactions for you. We can talk about stance and space and all sorts of different things, but if tomorrow you're walking late at night and someone comes at you from the front..." He stepped close and took Torin's hand, bending it back and manipulating it to do what he was telling him. "Heel of your palm up under their nose." He brought the heel of Torin's palm up under his nose so he could feel where to aim. "You'll break their nose and they'll likely tear up and hunch over, and then I want you to fucking run. Don't feel bad. Don't look back. Any medic worth their salt will be able to set a broken nose."

He made serious eye contact with Torin. "Do you understand?"

[Torin Kilvin]

The conversation about his business (it still felt odd to think the words, let alone say them aloud,) was just what he wanted; encouraging enough that he didn't feel like an idiot child muddling his way through, and instructive enough to fill in the gaps he knew existed in his knowledge but couldn't see himself. He flushed, more with pride than embarrassment, when Aurin stated his pride blatently. Torin's old master had sometimes told the boy he was proud but the occasions had been rare. It seemed the same would be true of Aurin, and he wasn't sorry for it. Earning the pride of his mentor was something to strive for, not something to be strewn about like chicken feed.

Listening to the information about House Luekos had him tilting his head, considering.
"I would like to memorize information about the Houses, if you can suggest a book or, if you have time, to teach me? Seems like it would be useful, for both our businesses if I knew more. Help me pick my clients with informed care and know a little more about what information might be useful to you.

"Not... always." Was Torin's attempt at a cheeky reply. As it was spoken when Aurin was behind him and he shivered from thinking about how vulnerable that made him, the effect was somewhat ruined.

His eyes trained between Aurin's face for clues and how he was positioning Torin's hand and body. Making the motion several times, toward Aurin's nose, in slow motion he let himself be corrected before making it again, faster and not directed at his teacher. Once it looked like he had it right he nodded his understanding and let his hand drop.

"Will I feel it? The breaking?" He sounded neither eager nor worried, his tone almost eerily the same as it was when he was learning anything, filled with a pure curiosity that didn't leave room for judgement. After a moment to consider the answer he got he looked down at the sand and scuffed it with one foot.

"I'm not great at running. I was smaller than the other kids growing up so running just meant they got their blood up and enjoyed attacking me more. When I got taller I'd already learned to fight a bit, so as my arms got longer and the forge put muscle on them running was less effective than just bloodying them a little. Should I practice running too?"

It seemed like an odd thing to learn, how to run, but he supposed it was like anything else. Watching Aurin he made a face the older man would recognize as the boy considering something before looking up at the sky in an obvious attempt not to be looking at the redhead while he spoke.

"Could you, uhm," He cleared his throat, swallowed, "Could you hit me? In the face, with your fist, I mean. I haven't been hit like that, not really, not since I was really little and I don't want to be afraid of it, or sort of shocked into not reacting, if someone who means me harm does it."

Reluctance was written all through Torin's body, but determination was there too. He was willing to accept unpleasant things to learn, had always been. Squaring himself he returned his eyes to Aurin and said,

"Don't go easy, I don't want to think I know what to expect and be surprised."

[Aurin]

"Of course," he said. "I'll dig up an old peerage roll. It won't have all the latest deaths and births, but we can chart out who owes fealty to which Great House. It's good to know how power works above us. It helps us to prepare for when it might affect us."

When things turned toward pugilism, his eyes grew hard and sharp. If he was going to teach Torin these things, he was going to drill proper technique into him so he was able to hurt those who needed hurting and not those who didn't. Torin could do some damages with wild haymakers, but people he didn't intend to hurt might catch a fist. Precision was as important as strength.

"You'll feel it and you'll hear it," he said matter-of-factly. "Bones breaking, they're like a wet snap. Bones bend a little before they break, too. They're wet when they're inside us. It's only after we die that they dry out." He nodded along, letting Torin speed up, but they stopped before he got as fast and as hard as he could go. Even if you miss, you could catch their chin. Enough power and their head will snap back. Not likely to break their neck unless you go all berserker on them, but it'll still stun them a bit.

"If you need to put them down for good, though, a little combination can work. Break their nose with your fist, then jam it up into their brain with the heel of your palm." He wasn't too solemn, but he was certainly serious when talking about mortal issues. The only scenario in which he could see Torin actively trying to kill someone was in defense of him, or possibly Timon. That was a little daunting, but it wasn't as though Aurin hadn't killed people before. It was a little strange to know someone would kill to protect him.

"We can jog back to the city," he promised. "Do some sprints along the way, perhaps. Best to start slowly so you don't hurt yourself. I know you know, but strength in the forge will help you with some things, but not with others. So yes, we can train that too."

Aurin gauged Torin for a moment, then nodded.

"All right, just relax. I'm going to give you a hook, so it's going to come in from the side. That'll make your head whip around, but probably it'll just leave you with a sore jaw. Don't want to give you a black eye or a bloody nose or a split lip for you to explain to your master." He made a fist and showed Torin what was going to happen. "Thumb goes around the knuckles so it doesn't break. Going to hit you with the first two knuckles because they're the strongest, and they make a straight line all the way to the elbow. If you miss and hit too hard with the weaker knuckles, you could break your hand. That's counterproductive. All right, are you ready?"

When Torin gave him the go-ahead, he assumed an easy stance, one foot ahead of the other for balance, twisted to get his whole body into the torque, and popped the big blond in the jaw. He didn't go easy on him, but he didn't put a lot behind it. The fact that he used his whole body made it seem like he was doing less, but the strike landed squarely. In a real fight, Aurin aimed to cause as much pain and damage as possible to put the person down. If it got to the point where his silver tongue couldn't prevent a fight, he wanted it over as quickly as possible.

"All right?"

[Torin Kilvin]

The boy kept practicing the motion while his master spoke, getting used to the way his body felt, letting it tell him when he was doing it right, in ways they wouldn't injure him. When it did feel right he snapped his palm forward at the air several times as it would need to be done to a person. Trying to imagine the subtler movement that would shove the tiny bone fragments up into a person's mind was harder, both tactically and emotionally. He would do it, or, he would try to do it, if someone was threatening someone he cared about, probably without thinking. Hoping that such never happened was just leaving himself open to lose things he could not afford to.

The mention of him going berserk on someone opened doors into places he didn't want to face so he shut them again quickly and came back into a neutral stance. He groaned, barely audibly but knew Aurin would catch it as soon as he'd done it, when the redhead informed him that they'd be running back to the city. A good long walk was fine, could walk all day, Torin could, but running had not been something he'd been particularly given to since he'd hit puberty. Things changed so fast and even if they had slowed down his balance had still been questionable the last time he'd really tried to move at any speed. Perhaps now it wouldn't be so bad, he'd only grown an inch the whole of the last year.

Putting the dread of sprinting out of his mind he made himself relax as Aurin prepared to hit him. It was surprisingly easy, just watching his man step near to him, fluid and loose.

"I doubt he would believe I'd been fighting even if I came up and told him I had." He huffed out the last word like laughter, knowing it was true. He made fists instinctively as it was explained to him, following along with the tutorial with both his hands as they hung by his sides. A simple nod with eye contact was his reply to the readiness check, not wanting to open his mouth and possibly fuck something up, nor get over nervous and clench his jaw.

Watching Aurin move was lovely, even in violence, then pain exploded across his face.

Torin was tough, used to pain, but there is something specific about being hit hard in the face that takes one by surprise. He had watched it coming and it had still surprised him to his bones, how it felt. He stumbled back a step or two before catching himself. Shaking his head, but slowly, he blinked, opened his mouth and closed it testing his jaw and then nodded, saying,

"Okay." Just as he might when learning anything else. His mind tried to apply the same sort of force and attack type to other parts of his face, to see how it might feel. His body still remembered what the fists of peers felt like. "What else?"

[Aurin]

Aurin was getting better at reading Torin even when he wasn't using a magic trick. The younger man didn't hide things well, and Aurin had spent enough time observing how he reacted to things that he knew his tells and his twitches. And so he noted the flicker of fear when he mentioned berserker rage, but it wasn't a truth he would spare the apprentice. One had to know what one was capable of and how to prevent that outcome if possible.

He smirked at the groan.

"Good thing you didn't back-talk," he said slyly, "or I would have to find a nice stick and whip you all the way back to town."

That Torin's master wouldn't believe him capable of getting into a fight made parts of Aurin shift. He was a good man; Aurin would try to make it so he could be a good man always, even when life tried to throw things at him to make that difficult. After he struck that lovely face and Torin recovered, he stepped in, set his hand gently over Torin's jaw.

"I know you know," he said, "but I hit you because you asked me to. Not because I'm angry or you've done something wrong." He forced eye contact and waited until Torin could acknowledge that before moving on. "Next, I'm going to punch you in the gut." He put his hands on Torin's body to help him connect what he would say with what he wanted his body to do. "I want you to tense up your muscles here when you know it's coming. They can tighten up into armor for your guts. If you don't, a punch can do real damage. Here, around back, your kidneys are back here. You don't want to get punched there or you'll be lucky to just piss blood for a week. Try not to flinch. It's not about acting brave or tough, but it won't help you do what you can to minimize the pain and damage. Try to turn a little so I catch you here on the side. It might crack a rib, but those are there to protect your insides. I'm not going to hit you hard enough to crack a rib, all right?"

His hands came up to tousle Torin's hair, again forcing eye contact and waiting for confirmation before he stepped back, assumed his casual fighting stance, got some torque going again, and paid close attention so he could pull the punch if it was going to hit where he oughtn't.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin bit his lip, hard, at the jovial threat spoken around Aurin's dangerous smirk, fighting not to let chemicals that wouldn't be helpful flood him. Even as he was acknowledging how unhelpful such chemicals would be he blurted out,

"Can't you use the stick first, as a motivation to run?

The thought fled him as they returned to the seriousness of their purpose and he was struck. Almost as soon as he'd processed through the pain Aurin was there, close, touching his hurt. Confusion flashed through his eyes briefly and he was about to say he was alright, but Aurin knew, and spoke an answer before his boy could object.

The part of him that was still quite young pressed into the touch, and more so into the words. He needed to hear them. Oh, he'd have been alright without, but they eased away the soft knot that had formed when his instinctive mind had watched the body he trusted torque itself to attack him. With Aurin close and comforting he leaned in, pressed their lips together with none of the haste or lust of their banter. It was a reassurance and reconnection, Torin keeping himself open and acknowledging that this was done out of care for him.

When the lesson continued his mind didn't stray as teaching hands were placed on his body here and there, explaining vulnerabilities and ways to lessen damage when it came. Nodding along he tightened or moved his body as instructed to show he understood.

Flexing and relaxing his abs several times in a row till he got a feel for tightening the whole area at once without specific purpose he glanced up at Aurin and gave him a more distinct nod,

"I'm ready."

He tried to turn into it, did alright, caught the fist mostly on his bone. Which, fuck, hurt. He shook his head a little as he stepped back, like a startled horse, as his breath came out in a rush. His wind wasn't gone, it had just been a reaction to the pain, and... something else.

A memory came, a much larger fist glancing off his ribs as a woman's voice shrilled an objection. He didn't put his hand over the spot, it didn't hurt that much, but he did blink and stare at the ground for a long moment, eyes distant until he could banish the past. Swallowing he met Aurin's eyes again.

"Yeah, I think I like that less. Do the other side."

The lesson progressed, Aurin showing him how to take and minimize different types of strikes, showing him the basics of making the strikes himself. It lasted for hours, their feet left marks all through the lake sand until the blond boy was sweating and warm all over. Dropping his arms from the defensive stance he'd been working on he glanced at the sun, now past its midday mark.

"Do you think we could swim before we eat?"

[Aurin]

That using Torin as a punching bag required some steeling of his will might not have surprised anyone else, but it did surprise him. It troubled him as well, knowing that vulnerability could be an exploitable weakness. He took some efforts to maintain distance from the people he cared about: Arry, Ashoka, Elwes, Torin. It kept them safe, kept him safe, and even if safety was an illusion, it allowed him to sleep at night. But expediency used to be enough for him to do things; now he had to push past a desire to protect even from the little things.

He would think more on that later. Torin's enjoyment of pain amused him, provided leverage. But he noticed when it unlocked beasts from the deep dark, and he watched as Torin fought them back down.

The training went well, he thought. He could be an exacting taskmaster; all his had been and he knew no other way that didn't feel like useless coddling.

Aurin laughed at the question. "Have you ever turned down food for a bath?"

But he was quickly pulling off his boots, doffing his trousers, and running into the water to sluice off hours' worth of sweat. He swam out far enough that he had to tread water rather than touch the ground below. He liked the feeling of weightlessness. And he could put off eating until it was convenient. That might not have been healthy, but he was expedient even with his own health. Everything was a calculation, even his relationships. He knew that was odd to anyone else, but it was the only way he knew how to be.

When Torin came closer, he asked archly, replying to a question ignored hours previous. "But if I beat you with a stick before we run home, won't you trip over your own wood?"

[Torin Kilvin]

The remaining time they spent was split between teaching Torin to take a hit and teaching him how to make the same hits count when he executed them himself.

"Yes!" He answered in playful indignation at the question as to his bathing habits, "You've never smelled me after a whole Searing day spent in the forge. I always wash before I come to you. Sometimes I can't eat until I'm at least not covered in soot and sweat."

Slipping from the remainder of his clothing he followed the redhead into the water, entirely unaware of the nudging crisis brewing in his man's head. The time spent swimming was soothing on the bruises he now carried, mild though they may be, over his well-muscled form. He swam a few laps, hoping to warm up the muscles he didn't use very often before he was made to run back to the city. It amused him to think that he was usually far more exhausted returning to his little room from his days off than he was from working.

When he was relaxed and felt clean he waded back up to shore and they shared the meal Aurin had bought for them. It was simple food that could be eaten with their hands and they shared the waterskin between them as they spoke of small things. They didn't both dressing, laying out bare, soaking up the sunlight into their skins as they dried and rested, let the food work its way through them before expecting their bodies to do more.

Torin ended up in a half-doze with his head resting on Aurin's shoulder. He wasn't sure how long he drifted but when a cloud passed over the sun the change in light woke him to stretch and yawn. They kissed then, because they wanted it, because it was comfortable and right that they should do so.

When they had had their fill of that also they rose and dressed slowly, packed up what little was left and, as good as his word, Aurin ran them in sprints and jogs, back to the city.