"I think you are the most flexible man I have ever met," Beka watched as Tamerlane straightened from the stretch he had been doing. He had bent forward while standing and could actually rest his forehead against his knees.

"I can bend the other way as well," Tamerlane leaned back slightly. Beka watched as he slowly arched back, reaching over his head, until he finally touched the ground with his hands. After pausing for a moment, he slowly brought his legs over out of the backbend and stood facing her again.

Beka stretched out her arms.

"I can do that too," Beka shook her head like it was nothing. Tamerlane began stretching like Beka as he walked over to her.

"I haven't done this in months," Tamerlane stood in front of Beka. "I don't have the time or the quiet to practice."

"Take off your vest," Beka reached out and slowly unzipped the front. Tamerlane shrugged it from his shoulder and tossed it on a cabinet of some kind. Beka turned her back to him and slowly raised her arms over her head.

"Let's get started," Beka looked over her shoulder. Tamerlane moved slowly up behind her. Beka waited until he settled in behind her. His hands rested on her waist a moment before he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Beka felt a tingle run through her body as his hands ran slowly up her sides, up her arms until his hands found hers. Once he had caught up, Beka slowly fanned her arms down to her sides.

XXXXXX

"Tamerlane," Tyr's voice intruded into the quiet of the space he and Beka were sharing. They had spent the last thirty minutes slowly going through the positions of Beka's relaxation exercises. Tamerlane caught Beka's arm as it fell from the position they were in and pulled it back. He continued through the next two with her. His fingertips touched her wrist lightly when she Rev Bem'd it.

"Tamerlane," Tyr barked again as he leaned in the doorway. He stood watching Tamerlane encouraging Beka to continue whatever they were doing. He waited a few more minutes before stepping over a pile of rubble to get into the room. "What did I tell you about spending time alone with an unbonded female?"

"Not to do it behind closed and locked doors. There is no door, no lock," Tamerlane offered with a smile as he looked in Tyr's direction. Tyr rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You would be surprised how many of the Volsung unbonded spend time together without chaperones."

"I know they spend time in groups without chaperones," Tyr agreed. "However, they know how to act when alone without chaperones."

"I'm not going to …" Tamerlane stopped when Beka moved her leg against his as she changed poses. Tyr had distracted him and now he was in Beka's way.

"You won't find us squirreled away somewhere doing the horizontal rhumba," Beka offered as she nudged Tamerlane's arm out of her way. He was half a step behind and falling.

"How did you find me?" Tamerlane asked as he remained focused on Beka and fell into position with her. He was surprised Tyr had found them. Tamerlane and Beka had navigated the piles of rubble and debris at the end of the corridor past the storage areas into a section of the station that had breathable air but was uninhabitable due to the destruction inside. He thought he had found a place that would give them a little privacy. As far as he knew no one ventured into the uninhabited parts of the station.

Tamerlane moved a little closer to Beka when she seemed distracted by Tyr. His body molded quite nicely to hers throughout the convolted motions. He glanced over at Tyr questioningly.

"I did not find you," Tyr nodded toward Beka. "I followed her."

"We were together Tyr," Beka commented with a hint of annoyance as she went back to a neutral starting position and eased away from Tamerlane. Tyr was disturbing her practice. And Tamerlane was no longer focused on her or the goya routine. "If you followed me you followed him."

"No Beka," Tyr corrected as he looked over the pair before him. He was highly irritated that Tamerlane was distracted by Beka being there already. "I followed your scent. I know it well."

"What?" Beka fired a glance in Tyr's direction. "My scent? Are you outta your freaking mind?"

"He's telling the truth," Tamerlane looked at Beka's back a short distance from him. He found himself annoyed at Tyr for disturbing them and at Beka for letting Tyr win. "Nietzscheans have exceptional olfactory sense. If he knows the scent, he can follow it with ease if the trail is recent."

"Are you telling me I smell?" Beka sniffed the air. Tyr rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"No," Tyr and Tamerlane replied in unison.

"Although I find it interesting that you," Tamerlane looked over at Tyr. "Remember her scent so well."

"I lived with Beka for years," Tyr replied as he leaned in the doorway. "And they do say that the sense of smell is strongly tied to memory."

"It must be deeply ingrained in your memory for you to follow it still," Tamerlane felt himself bristle at the thought.

"She has a unique scent," Tyr replied. Tamerlane nodded his agreement.

"Could you quit talking about me like I'm not standing here?" Beka looked over her shoulder at Tamerlane. "What do I smell like?"

"Citrus," Tyr replied with a smirk.

"Orange blossoms," Tamerlane murmured as he moved slowly back to her. She didn't ease away so he thought perhaps she would accept his presence back in her space again. "You are the only person I have ever encountered that carries a soft scent of orange blossoms with them everywhere the go."

"She drinks too much of that tea," Tyr replied. "It seeps from her pores."

"I like it," Tamerlane whispered to Beka as he encouraged her to move into the next position that had been forgotten when Tyr came in.

"Were you hoping to find Beka or were you looking for me?" Tamerlane's hand slipped to Beka's waist pulling her a little more firmly against him before realigning himself with her. He liked the feel of her body close to his. Plus he felt this odd urge to prove something to Tyr.

"There are quite a few people gathered in the sparring area," Tyr shook his head. He noted the ease with which Tamerlane touched Beka. There was a comfort between them that it had taken years for he and Beka to share.

"Mikel mentioned it to me earlier," Tamerlane replied softly. His arms followed Beka's to her side to her neutral position again. His fingers slid gently between hers as they stood still. He knew the time was over. She was done with the practice for now. Tyr had ruined it.

"Perhaps you might attend," Tyr prodded. Tamerlane gently caressed the back of Beka's hands. She felt the shiver run through her body as she remained silent, eyes closed, trying to block out Tyr and focusing on Tamerlane.

"Perhaps," Tamerlane replied. He had been participating ever since they had joined the pride. He wondered why Tyr thought he needed to hunt him down to ask. He looked over as Tyr still stood there. "Anything else?"

"I'm waiting," Tyr leaned back against the wall.

"Do women spar around here?" Beka's voice broke the silence of the room as the two males looked at each other. She found herself irriated that Tyr was interrupting her time with Tamerlane now that she actually had time with Tamerlane. It didn't seem that Tyr was leaving without him either.

"Yes," Tamerlane replied. "Since the pride is small, all females are encouraged to learn to defend themselves as well as other things."

"Any women sparring tonight?" Beka asked as she looked over at Tyr.

"Yes," Tyr replied. "Are you interested in participating?"

"Five minutes ago – no," Beka moved away from Tamerlane. She looked at Tyr. "Now – I feel the need to beat the crap outta someone."