Chapter Text
Late summer afternoons were always difficult, Lahabrea reflected. The term was nearly over, the time for relaxation and celebration coming fast, and on cloudless days like this one, the weather was almost irresistibly lovely. He could not truly fault the nearly half of his students staring or glancing longingly out the windows. Yet neither could he let their attention wander freely, not if they were to pass his stringent exams. He released a soft sigh. Some fresh air and sunshine would do them good, he supposed.
"Let us relocate to the stands." His proclamation was greeted by surprise and then growing excitement. "Gather at the large training field, near the pavilion. I will meet you there."
The students rose from their desks and filed out, chatting amongst themselves. Lahabrea spent a moment longer, reviewing his notes to be sure he remembered to cover the relevant material, then began gathering up his papers.
Azem whirled, slicing his blade in a backwards arc. It sang through the air before clanging into the blade descending toward his back, staggering his opponent backward. He followed the swing, feet leading his turn as he drew his sword back to guard, presenting his shield instead. He caught the next blow and turned it aside, seizing the opening to strike—one clean thrust directly to the heart. The aetherial construct evaporated, and Azem reclaimed his aether, spinning around.
Two more of the constructs raced toward him, cutting different angles. He narrowed his eyes, studying them. The wicked spear carried by the rightmost one posed him the greatest danger, but the axe-wielder would harry him relentlessly, making it difficult to take the lancer out. And it would go down much more slowly. He backed away to the left, circling to keep them both in sight as they approached.
The axe-wielding construct lifted its heavy weapon, swinging it around in a whirling attack. Azem grinned, ducking low and to the side, slipping past and taking the lancer behind it by surprise. A furious exchange of blows ensued, Azem turning and side-stepping to keep the lancer between him and the axe-wielder until he could dispatch it. He faced down with the remaining attacker through the evaporating remains of the other, and grinned.
They met with a clash, trading blows. As Azem had anticipated, this one did not go down as fast as the lancer had. In fact, it didn't seem to be going down at all. Azem panted, blinking away sweat, peering closely… aha! The faint wind-like caress of a healing spell wound around his opponent. His mistake, really, for dismissing the threat the fourth construct posed. He bided his time, fighting his way around until he had eyes on the healer.
At the next opening he struck, staggering the axe-wielder, then half-closed his eyes, focusing. Holy energy answered his call, and he channeled it through his sword, sending it to sear and burst upon the healer. Once, twice, three times… with the fourth spell it fell, dissolving. With the healer dealt with, it did not take Azem long to wear down his final opponent, finishing it with a long diagonal slash and reclaiming the last of his aether.
He straightened with a sigh, wiping sweat from his brow with one arm… He frowned. Apparently he had gathered a crowd. Engrossed in the battle as he had been, he hadn't even noticed. Not that it was unheard of, but this was a rather larger group of onlookers than he was accustomed to drawing.
"Ah, Azem! I should have recognized you at once."
He turned at Lahabrea's voice, brows rising. "Esteemed Lahabrea." He glanced once more at the crowd. "Are these yours?"
"Indeed." Lahabrea strode over to him. "My apologies. I had no idea you were using the grounds. We shall relocate to a smaller training field and leave you in peace."
"That will not be necessary. As you may have noticed, I just finished my exercise. Please, feel free to avail yourself of the space."
Lahabrea studied him through the mask. "If you insist, then."
"I do. In fact," Azem grinned, "if you like, I can serve as your practice dummy. I assume this is the advanced binding magicks class?"
Lahabrea, already beginning to turn to his students, refocused on him abruptly. "You assume correctly." He folded his arms, fingers tapping on his elbow. "I take it you have no other pressing duties?" At Azem's nod he smiled. "I would not wish to bully a student with my magicks, but I am sure you can handle it. If it is truly your wish, then I accept the offer." His smiled broadened. "It should prove to keep their attention rather better than demonstrating on a created combatant, to be sure."
Azem chuckled. It reminded him of his own studies. He had always preferred those classes which involved practical application. Doubly so when that meant they would go outside, or to one of the grand gymnasiums in more inclement weather. He glanced at the students in the stands. A good number of them seemed to be watching him. He had given them quite the show, he supposed, and surely they had begun to wonder why he yet lingered.
Beside him, Lahabrea removed his mask and affixed it to the front of his robes. This prompted a stir among the students. Of course; for demonstrating on a construct he would have no need to remove it. Against a fellow Convocation member, however, he would need every edge. Doubly so given Azem's particular skill at arms.
"Let us start at some remove. I will try to bind you. You may evade the bindings, shatter them, or attempt to disrupt my concentration by attacking me, though I would be most grateful if you would refrain from injuring me in the process. I will start out slow so they may watch the particularities of battle casting. I would request that you do the same for me out of deference to the students."
"Of course," Azem assured him. "This will be fun."
Lahabrea gave him a look of tolerant exasperation, for once entirely unhidden by his mask. "Are you ready to begin?"
Azem turned, jogging a good distance away. He had seen Lahabrea's aetherial shackles in action on a few occasions—though never before turned on him—and he knew maneuvering room would be key. In fact, he'd do well to keep his distance; Lahabrea would probably try to close it. Less distance meant less time to react to the binding spells. Of course, if he chose to attack instead, that proximity could turn on Lahabrea fast. He grinned. This was going to be an interesting challenge.
Lahabrea turned to his class as Azem moved away, casting a quick spell to amplify his voice. Instructing them to pay close attention to his form and technique under the pressure of combat took but a moment, and he turned to see Azem apparently ready. A thumbs-up was returned, and Lahabrea grinned.
He intended to enjoy this.
He made his first cast slow, deliberate. Essentially a review for any in the stands who hadn't been paying as close attention as they ought. Azem did not dodge, as he expected. Interesting. Instead he took a broad, stable stance as Lahabrea's shackle caught him about one arm. To Lahabrea's surprise, he reached out, grabbing hold of the chain. He barely had time to brace before Azem pulled on it, hard. But Lahabrea wouldn't be taken off-balance so easily as that. The chain strained, then snapped under their combined strength.
Even at this distance he could see Azem's grin, bright white flashing against sun-kissed skin. Lahabrea's eyes narrowed. Show-off. Were his primary purpose not to demonstrate technique for his students, he'd wipe that grin off his face in a hurry. But he was willing to be patient. Not just for his students, in truth. The chance to spar with Azem was rare, valuable.
The chance to beat him was far more precious.
And so he twisted his face into a snarl, a blatant challenge. Dual-casting aetherial chains was no mean feat, managing the necessary motions and focus separately with each hand. It was a good lesson for his class, a reminder that a practiced caster did not need both hands. In combat, that could prove the difference between victory and defeat, especially should one hand be injured or restrained.
Both chains lashed out at once, and Azem threw himself to the side, rolling swiftly to his feet. Wise. Breaking two chains as he'd done the first one would be much more difficult. Lahabrea frowned, watching him, pacing a few steps closer. Azem didn't let him close the distance, circling and backing away. Another chain, more quickly cast, shot toward him. He struck out with a closed fist, smashing it before it could catch him. An impressive display. Lahabrea grinned. Beyond all expectations, he was having fun.
Again he began to dual-cast, this time staggering the spells so first one chain lashed out, then the next. It was actually harder to do than casting simultaneously, and mutters rose from the stands at his display. Azem deflected the first chain with a blow, but the second one went just short, and he sidestepped. Lahabrea grinned, yanking hard as the spell struck the ground. It ricocheted, coming up to wrap around Azem's calf. His reward was widened eyes before the traveler spun into a low kick, snapping the chain.
Back and forth they moved through the open space, Azem avoiding or breaking the aetherial shackles he sent one after the other. Soon he would likely close the distance… The traveler's combat style was unpredictable, keeping Lahabrea on his toes. His normal battle predictions were of little use, forcing him to rely on reflex. More than once he anticipated how Azem would dodge, only to send a chain uselessly the wrong direction. But the challenge was something he had missed, heart pounding and sweat sheening his body in the afternoon warmth.
His next salvo saw two solid hits, shackles binding Azem's left arm and leg, but the traveler hurled a short blade at him. He ducked aside, the opening enough for Azem to break free. He frowned at the blade, sticking out of the dirt. Had his aim been off…?
No time to ponder it. Azem charged in, lightning-fast. Still off-balance from his last dodge, Lahabrea lowered his weight, raising one arm to shield himself and casting with the other. He caught the traveler's kick, deflecting it rather than taking the full force of the blow, and lashed out with a chain. It caught right where he wanted, the leg supporting most of Azem's weight, and he jerked, making him stumble. A few more tugs kept him from regaining his equilibrium as he moved back, putting space between them once more.
It didn't take Azem long to break the shackle, but Lahabrea was already casting again. Alternating hands, he sent one, two, three spells lashing toward him. Again Azem flung a blade at him. He watched the windmill of his arm, the bright spark of sunlight from the blade… and grinned. He held his ground, shackles catching on the traveler as the blade inscribed its arc to thunk into the dirt between his feet. For a moment their gazes caught, Lahabrea smirking in dark triumph and Azem grinning with good humor.
The next blade would not miss, Lahabrea realized.
But for now he had an upper hand, and he took relentless advantage of it. Azem shattered one binding, but he manipulated the other two in one hand, casting another at the same time. It was a race; with two shackles he could keep Azem off-balance, but if he broke one the other would follow in short succession. If he got a third attached first, it would only become easier to bind his opponent.
His hand shot out, sending the aetherial shackle toward Azem's unbound leg, but he dropped, rolling once before springing to his feet. Somehow he didn't get tangled in the leading chains. Taking advantage of his new positioning, he managed to break one before Lahabrea could unbalance him once more. He batted aside Lahabrea's next shackle before freeing himself from the last one still binding him.
Once more they circled, testing one another back and forth. Lahabrea feinted a cast, trying to make Azem flinch. No luck. He grinned. That was fine. He began rapid-casting again, staggering his spells. Azem dodged three, then once more threw his knife. Lahabrea sidestepped, ducking. Azem seized the moment to charge in once more, a second blade in his hands. No time to dodge; Lahabrea created another chain, holding it in both hands instead of sending it at Azem. Pulling it taut, he blocked the blade swinging toward him.
"Nice," Azem grunted. "Never seen that before."
Lahabrea grinned and kicked toward Azem's knee. The traveler fell back, leaving Lahabrea with just enough room to cast once more. At this range it was much easier to aim his spells with precision. He sent the shackle to bind about Azem's neck instead of a limb. It seemed to catch him off guard; he stumbled, eyes wide, leaving Lahabrea an opening to send more shackles forth. Deflect, hit, deflect, dodge, hit, shatter, hit, hit… Sending power coursing through the aetherial shackles, he shouted, dragging Azem to his knees. The traveler fought, straining, for long seconds… then dropped down, unable to resist further.
For a moment he stood, breathing hard. Azem raised his head, gaze boring into him, jolting him forward. His eyes burned, and for a moment Lahabrea feared he had pushed his colleague too far… His steps slowed as he recognized that particular light—hunger. Desire, even, if he didn't miss his mark. His face warmed. Hands suddenly unsteady, he banished the chains, taking Azem's hand and drawing him to his feet. Those eyes followed his, not once breaking the contact, and his heart gave a stutter. He remembered how Azem had looked when he fell to his knees, how it had felt to bring a powerful combatant low… He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry.
Azem's blood boiled in his veins, the thrill of the fight, the fury of it, of pitting himself against a powerful opponent. A day ago he'd have said Lahabrea would be no great sport. Sure, they had both harnessed their power severely in this particular contest—it was intended as a teaching demonstration. But he had clearly underestimated the speaker's prowess in battle. On his knees, staring up at him, his heart fit to beat out of his chest… Lahabrea was a vision, his hair tousled, skin gleaming with sweat. The mask on his chest rising and falling with each deep breath.
Damn, if they weren't in public…
He couldn't take his eyes off Lahabrea, riveted as he stalked closer. Heart hammering, he just stared as the chains evaporated. Lahabrea's touch on his hand stirred him to his senses, and he stood, still breathing hard.
"Well fought, Azem. Thank you once more for the demonstration." Despite the professional words and tone, Lahabrea's eyes burned with a most intimate heat. Azem's heart leapt, and when Lahabrea leaned closer the blood suddenly rushing in his ears made it harder to hear his next words. "If you would like a more personal display of my gratitude, kindly come to my office in an hour." Cheers from the stands brought Lahabrea's head back. Apparently the students had quite enjoyed the spectacle. Lahabrea sighed, still clinging to Azem's fingertips. "Make that an hour an a half," he amended wryly.
His eyes searched Azem's face. Azem smiled in response, a touch crooked, and squeezed Lahabrea's hand. "A most generous offer. I would be delighted to accept." His smile turned impish. "And perhaps express my own appreciation of your skills. I enjoyed our match as well."
Lahabrea brightened at his words, grinning back. "Then please excuse me for the time being. I suspect this is one lesson the students will take readily to heart, thanks to your assistance."
It was with some reluctance that he released Lahabrea's hand. Not for long, he promised himself. Just a little while. He turned, smiling and waving to the crowd of students before heading across the practice field toward the walk that would lead home.
Well. That had been revelatory in a few ways, hadn't it? To think that Lahabrea would have any interest in him… although he supposed they each had gained a new respect for the other during the course of their sparring bout. He had actually lost focus there at the end, to his surprise. Being suddenly collared wasn't something he had expected. Nor had he expected it to awaken such a powerful response in him. Being bound, being forced to his knees… all things he would have expected to hate. Although, with a trusted comrade holding the chains…
The image flashed before his mind's eye again—Lahabrea gleaming in the sunlight, chains flashing out nearly too fast to see. Lips parted around a cry, those bright eyes alight with triumph… He had been transcendent. Stunning. His face went warm to think of slipping off to the speaker's office later, of getting to put his hands on the sculpted physique that must be hiding beneath those robes. Mayhap he would let Lahabrea chain him again…
He hurried home before his thoughts could run away with him and leave him too pent from anticipation. He had time to do a thorough stretch routine and shower, and he'd be wise to take full advantage of it.