Zev thread prompt - first kiss
The Kiss
Zevran lounged against the railing, looking down at the sparring session in the courtyard below. Tarzi, house Arainai's Weapon Master was putting the newest addition to his cell through her paces. The dark-haired woman had been part of a House Arainai cell in one of the southern cities of Antiva. The rest of her cell had been slaughtered when their attempt on a minor noble had turned sour. The noble had apparently been warned of their plans and even Rinna had barely escaped with her life. It had been several weeks since she had been reassigned to Taliesen's cell; her broken ribs and badly sprained ankle had kept her out of the practice yard until today.
Her movements were smooth and graceful, scarcely reminiscent of the shy, awkward child he remembered from the apprentice barracks. She jumped and spun with almost no hint of the pain from her barely healed injuries, she reminded Zevran of the sleek black hunting cats that stalked through the coastland forests in predatory silence. There, Tarzi had tapped her, a thin line of blood streaking her wrist in payment for a careless overextension. A wry grin twisted the blood elf's lips as he remembered many a similar correction from the Weapon Master. Once a Crow passed the apprentice stage they did not practice with blunted weapons, and a sparring session with Tarzi always resulted in blood and bruises.
The grey-haired Weapon Master drew the woman into the same set of maneuvers again, this time she pivoted and jumped instead of overextending; she was a quick study. Zevran decided she was worth watching, if merely for the aesthetics of her movements.
Two months later, a steamy summer night found their cell guarding an Orlesian diplomat's house. He had hired Crow protection to avert an attempt to remove him from The Game. A light drizzle did little to cool the silent watchers in the sweltering heat. Zevran was keenly aware of Rinna crouched in the shadows to his right, her presence a still spot in the restless breeze and light rain. His fascination with the newest member of his cell had continued; her sharp wit as attractive as her skills in weapons and stealth.
There, across the courtyard, a shadow slipping over the wall. Zevran kept his breathing even, if their information was correct this was only the vanguard. Their contract was to eliminate the bard and all of his companions. The shadow stole across to a tiny servant's gate and, within moments, had the lock opened and was ushering in more stealthy figures. He glanced over to Taliesen's position across the courtyard, careful to move only his eyes. The deeper shadows beneath a stand of magnolia trees concealed the rest of their force; Taliesen's group would take care of the main force, Zevran's job was to secure the gate and prevent their quarry from escaping. He and Rinna would also locate any enemy scouts left outside the walls and remove them. He frowned a little at that thought, their role tonight was similar to Rinna's mission in the strike that had resulted in the deaths of all of her cohorts. With a mental shrug he returned his attention to the task at hand. Now all the opposition was inside; it was time to move.
They slunk from shadow to shadow, concealed in the darkness and rain. Zevran left Rinna to guard the gate while he slipped outside to look for enemy reinforcements. One on the roof across the plaza, and three, concealed by the flapping curtain of the fruit stand; he signaled Rinna to take the roof as he started the process of approaching the group at ground level. They needed to be quick, to be back in position to stop anyone trying to escape from Taliesen's ambush.
Zevran's tiny crossbow twanged as he took the first lookout in the eye from scarcely ten yards away. His shot would alert the other two, but it evened the odds considerably. Trusting Rinna to secure the archer on the roof, he moved across the plaza, burying a dagger in on man's neck while they were still trying to support his first target. Some quick dagger work and the third man was down – quick and neat. Zevran was scarcely breathing hard when Rinna rejoined him, her own target down. Taliesen's group scarcely took longer and in the space of less than fifteen minutes they were done with the task and headed back to the House.
Zevran trailed his comrades, his heart still racing with the exhilaration of the chase, the shear predatory joy of matching wit, skill and speed against an opponent. Rinna dropped back with him, stopped for a moment to gaze at the moon as it crept from behind a cloud. Her eyes gleamed like justice and Zevran found his hand on her jaw, his lips seeking hers; a kiss of shared victory, a kiss of kindred spirit, a kiss because she appealed to him as no other woman had.
Its effect was electric; he felt the surge in his blood, the breathless gasp she made in shared experience. It was their first kiss, but it wouldn't be their last.