(And welcome to the first of *many* sparring sessions, in which characters get to know each other, show off, and generally beat the crap out of each other. Oh, and irritate the healers.)

Sparring Sessions

Drelasa was waiting for them. She didn't have much in the way of armor but a leather outfit. A short sword hung at her side. She smiled at them as they came up. "Which one of you wishes to dance with me first?"

The rest of the Companions, upon hearing about any sort of sparring, happily went about setting up an area to Ravenlight's specifications to practice in. It certainly was keeping them busy and happily so. Drizzt had known a safe place, about fifty yards from the house. Miraculously, it hadn't already been covered by tents: he directed them to set up a few boundaries around it, to designate it as the place to fight. They heard Drelasa's question and looked from one to the other. It wasn't that they didn't want to spar; it was simply that none of them had any idea what her skill was, and therefore, what they might expect when they crossed blades with her.

Drelasa's smile was right on the edge of wicked glee. "Come on, then." She crooked her finger at Zak. "I promise I do not bite. This isn't a brawl, after all."

Only a few noticed Veleth and Nevano throw a few gold pieces together in a small pile between them.

Zak appraised the way she moved as he walked into the designated space, and a slow smile grew. "No. This will be interesting."

The companions gathered, watching in fascination: they'd never seek Zak before, but they could see his resemblance to Drizzt-and they, too, could read the movements of a highly skilled fighter. It would be interesting.

"Of course it will be, dear." Drelasa said. She watched him just as closely, never losing her smile. "My husband used to tell me that one of the best ways to get to know another is through a spar. Many cannot help but allow their true nature through in their swords. Noble hearts show through even in the bloodiest of fights in how careful they are to end the suffering of their opponents quickly. Cruel hearts will allow a cut to go just slightly deeper than necessary. Not that I expect to see cruelty here."

"Your husband was a wise man." Zak prowled, blades at the ready.

"That he was." She drew her short sword. First glance she didn't seem nearly as skilled. "Shall we then?"

Nevano dropped a few more coins on the pile.

Zak started; light, quick. Nothing flashy, nothing complex. He was sounding her out. The Companions were snickering and elbowing each other...but the former Weapons Master knew better than to take any apparent lack of skill at face value. Drelasa casually matched him strike for strike, not showing any particular skill; but her movements were a hair too fluid, too second nature, for her to be a mere amateur.

"Clever." There was a brief flash in the crimson eyes of the warrior facing her. He sped up, just a little.

Drelasa continued to keep pace, settling more into a stance of someone who had trained long hours. She seemed very pleased with her sparring partner. "Flattery will get you places, dear."

"It would seem our audience doesn't see what I do." A slow, fierce grin appeared-not quite feral, but fairly near it. "Let's see what you're really capable of."

"I was wondering when you would stop toying with me like a cat with a mouse." She bared her teeth in her smile. "Shall we show the young crowd that age is merely a number?"

Zak erupted into motion, blades flashing. Drelasa's eyes sparkled in excitement and she happily dove in. While her skill was nowhere near as fast or as powerful, she moved with a speed that belied her initial presentation, as fluid as a mer half her age. She refused to give an inch to Zak, forcing him to work for whatever he gained. Judging from the grin on his face as they circled, her blade clashing easily against his two, he was enjoying this as much as she was.

Drelasa side-stepped the left sword and ducked low beneath the right, one knee dragging the ground. She pushed off hard, managing to get her shoulder into his stomach. It wasn't as hard as she wanted it to be but it was a hit. Unfortunately, it left her off balance. She knew better than to even think to linger. This one was quite possibly the most skilled warrior she had even seen. Her hit was merely to prove she could, not one she hoped would give her an advantage. She allowed her momentum to keep carrying her forward, ducking into a roll and to her feet, repositioning herself as fast as she could.

He followed her effortlessly, giving her a quick nod of approval for the hit; which he might have felt, but not much else. His blades snaked forward at the same time.

Considering she was far more magically inclined than she was a warrior, Drelasa considered that hit an enormous accomplishment. She knew she wasn't going to win this but she wanted to see how long she could last against someone like Zak. That and this was a rush she hadn't had in years. That he was a rather handsome thing didn't hurt at all.

Zak continued to push her, probing her weaknesses, before he finally ended it. A swift feint that had her blocking air, a strike to keep her blade out of the way-and the tip of his other scimitar rested suddenly at her collarbone.

Far from looking dismayed at losing, Drelasa threw her head back and laughed, throwing the Companions for a loop. "Oh! What a thrill! I haven't had the pleasure of fighting like that in years. Especially not against someone as skilled as you."

Nevano dropped the last few coins to the pile before Veleth smirked and swiped the whole thing up.

"I was pleasantly surprised myself." He stepped back, lightly sheathing his blades. "Pleasant warm-up, that; anyone else?"

"Merely a warm up?" Drelasa raised an eyebrow, eyes flashing mischievously."Is that what you tell to every woman who is first in line? My, my, I would love to see what you would call a workout."

"She's teasing," Drizzt said, before Zak could actually react. "But if you really want to see him work..." He met his father's eyes and grinned.

Drelasa laughed again. "Of course I am, darling. But by all means, this is something I must see." She vacated the ring and went over to Veleth and Nevano. "And I want half of that bet."

Drizzt entered the ring, drawing his blades. The Companions knew what a fighter he was, and leaned forward, falling silent. The Altmer drew a little closer themselves. Zak drew his own blades. Both were smiling in anticipation. Nevano and Veleth quickly made an even larger pile of coins.

When their blades chimed, it was clear this was a warm-up in preparation: but at the same time, they moved faster and in more complex patterns just to warm up than most people would have used during an actual match.

After about thirty seconds, their eyes met, locked-and the match actually began.

All around the ring, jaws about hit the ground and bounced off to places unknown. Drizzt and Zak flowed back and forth, incredibly fast. Their blades rang off each other, never striking hard enough to clash. They twisted, whirled, shifted-always in near-perfect concert. If one moved, the other shifted to match at once: strikes were blocked, parried, returned, and blocked again in the same motions.

Nevano's eyes flashed occasionally. Apparently, he wasn't the only one interested.

For a few moments, they looked as though they were perfectly mirrored. Then they changed again: this time, they weren't just pacing each other-and no one could really believe that what they'd just seen had been the two pacing each other. Now, they were both looking for weaknesses: probing, testing, pushing. They changed fighting styles, switched patterns: hunting for anything that would give them the advantage.

A few of the coins glowed red and the seal changed to a snake clenched in a fist. Veleth swiped those coins out of the pile without really taking his eyes off the fight.

Now they were really going at each other, hammer and tongs. They were still using the flat of the blade-but if any of the strokes had landed, it went without saying that they would have hurt. And they moved with unbelievable speed and precision. The turf beneath them was growing torn and ragged from the swiftness of the turns and blocks.

There was no sound, other than the clashing of steel. Whether they knew it or not, everyone had started holding their breath. None of the Dunmer remembered common anymore. Several Dunmeri mutters, and a few Velothi, slid by.

Finally-they couldn't see how it happened, or what slip led to it. But suddenly, the combat stopped, both blades locked. It took them a few seconds to realize that one of Drizzt's blades rested lightly against Zak's neck-and that one of his was only a few scant inches from the same position.

Several coins from the pile glowed and disappeared, and laughter echoed, not all that pleasantly, in the distance. Nevano and Drelasa raised an eyebrow and looked over at Veleth. He rolled his eyes and shrugged. Boethiah appreciated the show, but he wasn't worried she'd replace him. She liked his brute strength too much.

It was doubtful that either fighter had noticed. They disengaged, panting...then laughed, sheathed their blades, and hugged each other, before leaving the ring.

"Wow," Farkas said simply. "You two are really good."

"Ohm gahrudi edur hla." Nevano said.

Zak looked at him, puzzled. "What?"

"He said that was an understatement." Veleth said

Zak shrugged. "In Menzoberranzan, you were good, or you were dead in short order. I was determined to survive." He smiled at Drizzt. "And to make sure he did, too."

"I'd say you succeeded." Veleth said.

Zak looked him over. "Not that tired...you want a round?"

Veleth opened his mouth to decline; he did not want to get murdered by a pissed off Thalmor healer, Ravenlight and his mother-there would be nothing left of his soul to send off to wherever-but cut off with a small cry as the sound of burning flesh interrupted. He spouted out an impressive string of cusses in both common and Dunmeri and yanked his shirt off to reveal his line of stitching had been seared fully closed. Veleth cursed again.

"Well, that's one way to get a Daedra Lord to undo the damage they did." Nevano snorted and handed over his sword. "Here. Boethiah wants to see how sheer strength stands against speed and finesse."

Zak grinned and went back to the ring. Veleth followed. Normally, in a simple spar, he'd keep to only the basics and keep the beast in its cage. Boethiah wasn't about to allow that. She was curious. Things would get very interesting.

Nevano again dropped coins in a pile. "Oh, this one will be good."

Veleth felt the rage beast in his belly just about purr in anticipation. Zak was fast, incredibly fast, faster than Nevano...but not faster than Boethiah. He certainly stood a chance. Boethiah wasn't going to let this spar be short. She wanted a show. Apparently, she was bored with waiting for them to go after vampires and her titan pet was too full to keep her occupied.

He nodded at Zak, signaling he was ready. Best to not waste time, lest Boethiah get annoyed and decide to change something else.

Zak was no idiot. He knew that fighting someone nearly a foot taller than him, and with longer reach, was chancy-and there had definitely been something strange about how that injury in Veleth's chest suddenly burned itself shut. He was prepared for anything. He braced, then went in.

Veleth barely felt anything those first few strikes, ignoring the beast growling that those were boring. Though he wasn't about to put his full strength into the first few blows, Zak was definitely stronger than his small frame suggested. Strong enough to make him sweat. Veleth couldn't stop the amused smile. He kept his feet still. Let him think he was big and stationary...for now. Ramp up the interest level in short order.

Zak probably would have quickly guessed that Veleth was faking even if he hadn't heard Farkas' curious question of, "Why isn't he moving?" from the sidelines. He'd fought big, dumb, and stationary...he'd also fought, big, fast, and agile, and he strongly suspected he was going to be dealing with the latter. He stopped dancing-not stopped moving, but keeping it down to just the minimum needed to keep away from Veleth's blade. He'd need his energy later.

Veleth tested with a few strikes of his own, very pleased at how quickly and easily he was parried, but blocked as much. He knew better. Two blades, when used correctly, could easily off-balance a heavier weapon. He had zero doubt Zak knew how to use weight to his advantage. Sheer strength wouldn't be enough...but it would certainly help wear him down. Neither of them were at full strength, Boethiah had pushed him hard earlier, but they had enough in them to show off their full abilities. He pushed a bit harder and faster, moving a little bit but not pushing, his weight shifted ever so-slightly on his toes. If Zak exploded on him, he was able to move and quickly.

The explosion did not come...yet. Zak felt Veleth up his game, and responded, just a little quicker, just a little more complex. He smiled a little; this was going to be interesting. He started to push, to test, to see a little more of what this one could do.

Veleth pushed a bit harder, a bit faster, seeing if he could find where Zak's true strength lay. The rage beast pushed at him. He was going too slow! Patience. It would come.

They were still sounding each other out: probably a wise thing, as Zak had no illusions about this one. Still...it would be good for both of them. He responded to Veleth's push-still not with everything, but giving more now.

Veleth gave one hard strike, enough to make sparks fly a bit, very curious how Zak would react. It was instinctive; he barely realized he was going to react. He felt that strength, and knew not to be there; he felt the blow, and vaulted, twisting his body up and past, to land on the other side of the larger fighter, landing a sharp blow to one arm with the flat of his blade as he did.

Veleth accepted the hit, smirking a bit. There it was. Now they understood each other a bit better.

He switched tactics then, instead of pushing, he stalked a bit, letting the rage beast out of its cage but holding it tight. It liked to find the holes. Knew where the best place to strike was. He reeled his strength back, almost teasing strikes out.

Zak felt the bait-and felt his own darker side stirring at that. So, you want to play? The grin that spread across his face was decidedly feral. Let's play. He gave-not everything, but enough to make it look like it.

Veleth returned the feral look, quickly ramping it up to match, suddenly moving faster and his strikes much stronger. His eyes didn't quite glow but there was a definite brightness there that wasn't there a moment ago.

They danced around each other, their skills quickly rising to the fore. At first, it just looked as though they were enjoying it. But slowly, it became clear that this was becoming more than just a sparring match. Blows were aimed too quickly, too hard: movements were too aggressive. And something strange was happening to the combatants themselves.

"So...bets on how badly Ravenlight is going to chew them up and spit them out for taking it too far?" Nevano muttered. Several handfuls of coins made an appearance.

Drizzt, unnoticed by anyone, turned on his heel and headed for the house. Both of them were tapping into a darkness not easily held back...and it would take something pretty drastic to keep them from killing each other once they really let loose.

Nevano glanced at his arms. "Might have to test out how well this works..."

The fight in the ring was rapidly turning into something both impressive and terrifying. Both combatants were moving incredibly fast, and sparks were flying from their weapons with each stroke. Nevano let it go on for a few more moments before he noticed tell-tale signs that it was going to go very badly. Veleth's eyes were blazing red and his skin was starting to turn black. Zak's red eyes had turned nearly black and his strikes were no longer with the flats of the blades. Both of them had the capability of severing a limb entirely.

"Okay, I think the gods have made their point." He stood up, taking off the bracers. "Gahmerdehn am as San Rouan, this needs to stop."

The scars on his arms seemed to shimmer briefly, or that could have been a trick of the light on scabs, but before the next strike could hit, both combatants were held in place by two daedra in the form of scaled naked women with massive bat wings for arms, clawed feet that could easily eviscerate a man through the thickest armor and talons longer than a forearm. Even Veleth's strength was no match for the winged twilights.

Nevano walked between them. "Put the rage beasts back in their cages. You two...are stupidly strong, but that darkness that gives you that strength tends to get a bit too excited at a challenge. Save it for when you are scaring the piss out of vampires."

"What the hell is this?" A voice spoke, very quiet, but resonant, and no less angry for that. "Do I seriously have to keep watch over all of you every second to keep this sort of thing from happening?" The Bosmer was there. She was the one moving, and possibly speaking. But they could all see the dragon: massive, snow-and-scarlet, and moving right along with her. Neither one looked pleased.

Nevano held up a hand. "In their defense, they would have done an easy spar but higher beings got very curious and started to place bets...and were spurring them on to make it interesting. They're calming down now. I don't think they managed to draw blood on each other, somehow. Though if they move, those claws will certainly cause some damage." Nevano considered the twilight's claws. The two daedra bared their fangs in what might have been a smile, clicking their claws together.

Veleth shook his head, his skin fading back to its normal gray and his eyes no longer glowing. He panted a bit, getting his head back straight, the beast grumbling as it shrank back into its corner.

"For some odd reason," Ravenlight said, her voice rumbling as the Dov lent her strength, "I would have thought it was clear that I did not want sparring going beyond a friendly training match or so." Her foot started to tap. "Do I really need to spell out what 'a friendly training match' implies?"

"Boethiah took bets." Veleth said flatly.

She glared at them both for a second longer. Then-the dragon they could all see threw back its head and roared. There were possibly words in the sound-but no one could pick them out or understand them, aside from one word which might have been 'Boethiah'. The Bosmer did not appear to move. Veleth flinched, realizing that Ravenlight had turned her ire on Boethiah herself, chewing her out for pushing them along.

The Companions stared, not sure if they were more impressed or alarmed. The twilights laughed before vanishing.

Veleth stumbled as he was released. "Ugh...vith."

Nevano shook his head. "Seems the Daedra Lords get bored. Like certain warriors."

The dragon vanished. Ravenlight gave Zak and Veleth a long, hard look, then turned on her heel and went back into the house without another word.

"I suggest you both sit out the next few rounds." Nevano said. "Or I can bring in more winged twilights and Trueflame can brand both your hides. I'm sure I can get it hot enough for Dunmer skin."

"Yeah I...I think that's probably-what in Oblivion happened to your arms?" Veleth stared, just noticing the injuries.

"Uhh..." Nevano froze.

Drelasa stood, legs stiff like an angry wolf. Nevano panicked when he saw that. Drelasa was going to kill him. Hopefully Azura was amused and feeling a bit merciful to allow him to abuse this gift a bit...

A winged twilight swooped out of nowhere and scattered several Companions, as it snagged a chipmunk before taking wing and disappearing. When everyone looked back to where Nevano was...there was empty air.

"Run now, little ass." Drelasa said grimly, eyes flashing and arms folded. "This isn't over. I'll flush him out later." She shooed a hand at the Companions. "Show is over. Go spar yourselves. And let the warning stand. No letting Daedra Lords take over. Well? Pick up your jaws and get moving! Go before this sunshine suddenly becomes a thunderstorm."

Farkas was the first to stand, stretching his back a little. "I wanna spar. No dancing, though; not for me." He looked at the Companions. "Who wants to go against me, eh?" Nevusa coughed next to him. He glanced down at her and grinned. "Okay then. Let's see what you can do!"

She happily bounced up, taking out the hand axe and knife.

"Oh, you're like Athis!" He laughed, unsheathing his own longsword. "Little against big. Don't worry. Just the flat; I remember."

"Yes but for all his talk of Ashlanders, they are all sighing in exasperation." She grinned while Athis squawked in protest. "Light armor, light weapons...fights like he's armored like Veleth. Ashlanders do not brawl. They will get in close."

Farkas sheathed the sword. "Well, if you want in close; see if you can hit me with those before I stop you!"

She grinned sweetly at him, fluttering her eyes...then seemed to disappear. She ducked in low but to the side, grabbed his belt and swung around him using his belt as a fulcrum. She scaled his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and held her knife to his throat. She leaned in close to his ear. "Always go where they least expect. Move quick. The front and sides are always protected. The back is not."

"True." He didn't seem perturbed, even as the others laughed at how fast she'd got around him.

"They can laugh. I'd get them even faster." She let him go. "Except they'll like it even less. They are smaller."

"Little ones can be hard to hit. But you just have to hit them once." Farkas glanced over at Veleth. "I'd fight him, only he's still in trouble."

"I'd let him calm down." Nevusa said. "When he's himself, he is fun to spar with. The other part? It won't let you walk away without hurting a bit."

"Yeah. The other part wouldn't be fun." Farkas looked around. "Hey, Gen, Sine! Come and give me a session."

The wild-looking pair came forward. They'd switched out some of their Forsworn equipment for more standard weapons and armor when they'd joined, but their background was more than obvious in their clothing, facial markings, and way of fighting. They looked decidedly pleased as they came forward and entered the ring.

"No blood," Drizzt warned, "and don't break anything. Otherwise, you're fine." He walked over to Zak as the fight began. "Are you all right?"

Veleth had backed way off, putting a good amount of distance between them.

"I don't know." Zak looked both disturbed, and...oddly ashamed. "I felt...odd. I don't know..." He rubbed at his eyes. "It started as just...instinct. Anger. You know."

Drizzt nodded.

"But it started to turn into something else. Something I don't...I didn't recognize it."

"Veleth has...a patron of sorts," Drizzt mused. "Not quite a demon, but fairly close. Boethiah. I suspect she was pushing; urging you both to...more than you'd wanted."

"It didn't happen with Drelasa, and it didn't happen with you, and I could...feel something watching while we were sparring." Zak scowled. "But when he started pushing, something...answered. Something I know damn well I've never felt before. And I don't think it was the same thing that he had, because it..." He shook his head. "I don't know how to put it."

Drelasa went over to her son. "This little rage beast is starting to get a bit out of control."

"I know." Veleth grunted. "It's fine against something that needs to be killed but it's starting to not distinguish."

"What are you going to do about it?" Drelasa asked.

"I'm...not sure. Most times I can keep it in check but...this last time..." Veleth growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I suspect Boethiah isn't best pleased with my lack of veneration but she knew that choosing me." Veleth looked furious with himself. "For now, I just need to avoid fighting with anyone friendly. Until I can figure out what she wants."

Drelasa nodded, though she looked very worried about her son.

(Well...something interesting seems to be going on with certain folk! As always, please leave a review. It's nice to hear from you guys.)