The town of Cellis was where the staff and some of the students who had family lived while attending the Academe Celestine. Everything in Cellis was in some way related to the school and the various forms of Celestial Magic taught and studied there.
Even in the bright morning sunlight, the influence of the night could be seen in the way the town was built of non reflective stone, street lamps were set low so as not to beam light upward and in any way inhibit the many telescopes all trained on the sky. Three observatories were placed on the mountain behind the school itself and could be seen jutting out from the mountainside as their ship came into the docks.
She could see lots of large balconies and terraces all over and every building had observation areas on their roofs...it made her heart absolutely soar with excitement.
Cellis was protected, the school had existed since before the Holy Wars, was well over 1000 years old and Cellis had withstood clan wars, attempted invasions and the revolutions Bosco had gone through until the country had finally adopted its current culture and laws. Nobody set foot on the shores, let alone the streets of Cellis unless they had been invited, the wards and protections of the school were legend, the Celestial Realms themselves aided it's defense. She had always wanted to come here, and looking at it now as the hovership approached, took her breath away.
It took her mind nicely off of how she had woken up that morning too. Crawling into bed beside her still chuckling Guildmaster hadn't been easy but she'd managed. Sleeping next to more than six feet of walking talking female fantasy come to life was another thing. She'd tried hovering at the far edge of the makeshift bed but had then succeeded in falling off said bed with a resounding thud and very undignified screech. Kaleb had appeared peering down at her from the bed with one of his elegant brows raised and clearly barely contained laughter quirking his full lips.
"I...well fuck...I just don't know how to sleep next to you OK?" Lucy huffed and Kaleb laughed, helping her up but then yanking her down on the bed and settling her next to him.
"I'll put you to sleep." He said smiling and she'd barely gotten to frown at him before her mind clouded, all her racing thoughts stilled and she was out like a light. She'd slept soundly too, no crazy dreams or anything, the wonderful scent of the sea, the gentle tropical breeze as the ship sailed along and the sound of the sea beneath them all added up to a peaceful setting to sleep in. The lounge was even comfortable thanks to Virgo.
When she woke up though, she was using her new guildmaster as a pillow, had a hand buried in his silky hair, another resting on his thigh in a dangerously high position on that thigh with her cheek pressed against a heavy well defined and firm pectoral. Fortunately, she'd woken up before Kaleb had, and had carefully untangled herself...yeah, she'd been around her team way too much, she was too used to snuggling into her team mates at night…
Still, when she had sat up, looked down at the man sleeping beside her, she'd been taken aback by how young he looked when he was asleep, she knew only that he was older than Bickslow, younger than Farron and she knew Farron was...Gods...Farron was 27, Bickslow was 24 so Kaleb was right in there...plenty close enough to her own age and...already he held so much responsibility, had accomplished so much…
She knew he watched over his guild, he checked his lacrima tablet often and was always responding to messages, issuing orders, sending people here and there to make sure somebody got help with this or that.
He was shirtless, in some soft dove gray sleep pants, the blankets shoved mostly off during the night because the tropical weather was warm. He was just...so incredibly built, like Laxus and Gajeel and she wondered then if he was one of the brothers Bickslow had said once could lift as much weight as Laxus, who she knew benched over 900lbs now.
He was all silvers and golds, whites and masculine beauty, almost god-like with how each feature seemed to compliment all the others. She'd smiled faintly, unconsciously running her fingers through the ends of his hair where it was spread on the pillow and draped over a bare shoulder. Soft, like silk, shimmering platinum blonde with silvery white highlights.
Wonder if all his hair lightened… her pervy brain was active even this early and she was again grateful he was asleep. Shaking her head her hand reached almost on its own to push the blanket aside, his sleep pants hung how on his trim hips and a trail of trimmed platinum blonde hair ran from his navel down beneath the waist of the plants….
That answers that… She slid from the bed, shaking her head again, forcing her thoughts to clean up, she didn't want him waking up to her having indecent thoughts about his body. She ran water over her hands and splashed her flushed face, grateful they were arriving in Cellis because another night and she damn well just might ask that fateful question of her seemingly willing guildmaster.
She'd gotten Virgo to supply some less racy clothes, and pulled on her favorite blue and white outfit, tying her hair into a ponytail before pulling on her boots, belt, keys and whip and leaving the little bathroom stuffing her pajamas into her little travel bag and emerging to find Kaleb up, standing leaning on the rail looking out over the sea toward the coastline that was fast approaching, his long hair free of any restraints and recently brushed out judging by the way it moved.
"You have no bag...I swear your hair is brushed out though, I saw you before you woke up, it was not perfect." She accused and Kaleb smirked holding out his hand and a large suitcase appeared, flashing out like a requip spell.
"Exactly, requip magic. Something they'll teach you while we're here. You won't be carrying your keys out in the open where they can be taken from you anymore." He said firmly nodding toward her hip where her keyring hung and she grabbed it, beaming at him.
"I...I get lessons while I'm here?!" She asked and Kaleb smiled.
"Yes, of course, you don't think your evaluation would take two weeks do you? The Dean is going to have you work with one of the senior professors here, they'll teach you the fundamentals all Celestial Spirit mages learn here during their 10 day orientation, then the final days will be your evaluation for your level ranking in the guild.. Now, you'll still be Raijinshuu, so on a team with likely at least 2 s-class mages, we'll see how Freed does but i know Laxus was one in Fiore, Bickslow is S-class, so I'm betting Laxus at least will make rank, Freed might too and I'm hoping you will as well." He said.
Lucy squealed with excitement, bouncing a little and squeezing her keys, feeling them warm in her hand, sharing her excitement. She'd have danced around too except Kaleb untied his sleep pants and let them drop to the deck while he reached to his case and started pulling out clothes, standing before her in the skimpiest underwear she'd ever seen on a man.
Was it...oh Gods, the man was in a silk..thong. Kaleb looked at her and she blushed and started to turn but found she couldn't.
"Nope, I stopped you, you'll start getting over the squeaky shy stuff now. You're not allowed to look away. You will stand while I change. There were times in Fiore you saw your teammates because there was no way around it, well, all men and women will become as easy for you to deal with. You can't be shying away from people at the Academe, you're free to say no to propositions, free to not indulge in others, but you can insult people, hurt them, make them doubt themselves by acting like you're horrified about looking at them and you WILL stop doing it." He said firmly and she felt his hold on her release, her cheeks on fire.
"I..never thought of it that way." She admitted,
"No, because you were raised where nudity is like some sort of sin, virginity is rather revoltingly linked to purity and given like some sort of twisted gift from controlling pompous men to other controlling pompous men. A man can sleep around all he wants, take mistresses and society laughs, old men can marry untouched little girls decades younger than them, can force sex on them, beat them, impregnate and even kill them by forcing them to bear children too young and that's ok where you come from, but a woman who enjoys her body and indulges in it freely is seen as dirty, sex only for a woman, out of wedlock is a sin, for a man it's an achievement he's patted on the back for. Here we grow up respecting each other, boys and girls are raised as equals to a point, but men are honestly raised to revere our women, respect them, honor them because they give us the chance to create life." He said as he stripped down to nothing and then pulled on another silken bit of underclothing this time dark gray.
Gods his legs were just muscle...his ass...yep, eyes locked on target, Lucy couldn't help herself and Kaleb stood for a few moments letting her stare before pulling on the barely there underwear he favored.
Soft pale gray slacks, followed by a silk suit coat like Farron had worn , a formal Boscan suit coat, single sleeved and open down the front to display clan tattoos. White boots that looked like they were made of butter soft gold choker he always wore with the crystal in the center sporting the seal of White Sea and then he pulled his hair up in a grey leather band and tied it back in a low loose tail before turning back toward her and sliding a thick gold band up his arm that locked in place above his thickly muscled bicep.
"Lucy, when you turn away from people like that it's insulting, childish, and doesn't reflect well on you, so, work on it. I know…" He smiled softly when her mind started flying into the gutter.
"You find me and my brothers attractive, good, I'm glad you do, Cristoff is kin so he won't indulge you but any of the rest of us would including me. I am your Guildmaster but I am also a 25 year old healthy unpromised, unengaged man with a strong sex drive, I need it as much as any Boscan does and I'm not afraid of it, nor do I worry about sharing my body with Guild, pleasure is pleasure, a couple of hours of passion is relaxing and helps me to think clearly, it might do the same for you so...consider it. There...I've propositioned you, you didn't even need to do it." He smirked and waved his hand, the large suitcase vanishing back into storage.
He stepped right up to her, tipped her chin up and kissed her then, nothing deep, just a gentle brush of his lips over hers.
"I promise, when you're ready, if you wish to end your abstinence without worrying about relationships, judgement about your experience or any of that, I will share with you, it will not be painful, your friend isn't totally right, but your discomfort depends on the experience of your partner, as long as you're honest with them? Any Boscan can make sure you experience nothing but pleasure. I'll even help you get private sessions with sudehpah if you wish, it might be a fine idea, so think on it. But for now, Lucy, stop looking at me and go look at Cellis." He turned her toward the rail and her mouth had fallen open and she'd been staring raptly the entire way into the docks and through the process of the ship docking.
She forgot all about her embarrassment from earlier, asking Kaleb dozens of questions until they could finally get off the ship and once clear of the docks, start walking through the town. "Nobody meeting us?" She asked.
Kaleb smiled "No, they aren't that formal here, too busy training, researching, learning and everything else, believe me, they know exactly where we are and will be out soon enough. See?" He waved a hand ahead of them and Lucy pried her eyes off the beautiful woodwork on the front door of one of the houses they were walking past to look where he'd pointed.
Sure enough there were two people approaching them. A Tall slender man with dark silver hair and well kept beard and a woman with blue eyes so pale they almost looked white, her gaze was haunting, but, she had a friendly smile that quirked into a bit of a smirk when she looked over Lucy.
"Master Kaleb, It's always good to see you, I have two young mages who will be petitioning to join White Sea this coming year." The man said. Kaleb bowed respectfully toward the man who returned the gesture then took the womans offered hand, she didn't let him bend to kiss it though, instead stepping into him and greeting him with a kiss on the mouth.
The gentleman with the beard rolled his eyes after seeing Kaleb try twice to pull away winking at Lucy and clearing his throat.
"Professor Fairinell, if you would allow Master Kaleb to breathe maybe we could handle introductions and get to the business at hand?" He said loudly.
The Professor growled but pulled back, releasing Kaleb, her eyes locked on the Guildmaster who shook his head at her before turning to the older man and Lucy could almost SEE there was some sort of mental exchange that had happened between Kaleb and the now frowning woman.
She turned a dark look on Lucy but then snapped her eyes back up to Kaleb. Then Lucy was sure as the Dean introduced himself to her that there was some sort of conversation happening between her mindbender Guildmaster and the Professor.
She was right too, and Kaleb remembered now this womans rather aggressive approach with him the last time he'd been to Cellis. She'd propositioned him and he'd refused her, busy with working through guild issues via his com and tablet lacrimas.
This time she'd wasted no time at all, when he tried to pull back he'd asked her to let him go and she'd mentally purred back that she didn't want to.
I want to wrap my legs around you, lick all over that beautiful body, feel those lips all over me...share pleasure with me Master Kaleb, I will see you well satisfied… She had purred.
I decline, tempting though you are, as before, I have a great deal to get done and I need no entanglements distracting me. I am only here to see this mage ranked… He'd replied firmly.
He tried to pull back again and she held on, her determination going up, her need for him, he was exotic, handsome, young, and not someone she'd already shared with before like all the other acceptable men in Cellis, she was now old enough the Dean had banned her from sharing pleasure with new students, limiting her only to seniors and most of them paired off during their time at the Academe by then and were not available.
Kaleb was a walking dream come true for her, tall,sexy, powerful and judging by the way he carried himself, agile in bed, as gorgeous as he was he likely was well experienced as a lover and Gods did she want to see those Lavender eyes cloud over with lust, while his suit coat hid her view of his groin the rest of him was spectacular and if his cock was in proportion with the rest of him...she'd be screaming his name all night. A wizard saint...he'd probably have amazing stamina…
Kaleb heard all of her thoughts, all of her speculation about his potential and it was all things he'd heard before. She had only one agenda, one level of thinking and it centered around getting him into her bed as many times as possible while he was here. He was NOT interested.
You getting your satisfaction from her then? She's nothing special, magic aura is strong, but she's a half trained prude who can't even watch people kissing...please… Fairlina tried again
Let me go or I'll make one hell of a scene… He warned and she had finally released him with another mental plea.
Reconsider… that he shook his head at and turned to face the dean.
At her dark look toward Lucy and the venomous thoughts that went with them he maintained his light talk with the dean about Lucy, what he hoped for her, her team, where she came from and stabbed into the woman mind.
You will treat my mage well, I am only here to see her ranked, started down the right path, she's been through hell and doesn't deserve it, I am not sleeping with her, she is only a new mage and a friend of two of my brothers….He snarled at her, letting it hurt, letting it reverberate until she took a step back and wavered a little wide eyed.
"Jilly are you alright? I told you a mimosa was not wise so early in the morning!" The dean said with concern, reaching to steady her.
Kaleb took a step closer to Lucy, leveling icy eyes on the woman who was waving the dean away.
"You may be right, I think maybe we should start with breakfast, a little food in my stomach will set me right I'm sure and I know the cargo ship doesn't serve meals so you two must be famished. I am Jilly Fairilin Lucy, it's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled extending a hand to Lucy who shook it and returned the smile brightly.
"Well, pleasantries aside, lets go see to breakfast then we'll have our tour." The Dean said smiling and led the way, Kaleb fell in beside him, Jilly wasn't caring that he was catching her thoughts, she seemed to want him to know what she was thinking, imagining him naked, with her riding him on a plush bed, scene after scene in between talking with Lucy in a high pitched voice as if Lucy were stupid.
She couldn't do more than one thing at a time in her head, and right now, Jilly was focused on Kalebs rejection, playing the woman scorned far too well.
"I am hoping she makes s-class, if not though we'll make certain she gets the training and work she needs to advance. This is the Lucy Heartfilia who holds several of the Zodiac keys and who was instrumental in downing the leaders of Tartaros during the faces assault." Kaleb was telling the Dean.
"Heartfilia, yes, I met your mother when she was 6 Lucy, she wanted to come to the Academe but her parents wouldn't allow it, didn't want her in Bosco or growing up so far from home. Your line has quite a history with Celestial Magic and I look forward very much to meeting your spirits." The dean said smiling back at her and giving his colleague a somewhat disapproving look that had her overdone smile faltering.
Kaleb was done allowing the woman to be rude to his mage, Lucy had no idea what was happening and damn well deserved better so he'd told the dean what his professor had done, and shared his concern the woman would harm his mages opportunity here over a ridiculous desire for him.
The dean had turned to give his colleague a quelling look and the woman settled, glaring at Kaleb resentfully, but worried he might have said something to the dean.
As they sat at the cafe just outside the gates of the school the dean turned to Jilly.
"I have changed my mind about assignments Professor, once we're done with breakfast I would like you to see the two Bramson girls out to their mother, be sure to stay out there until they're done with the ritual their clan is asking of them too, we can't have any real harm befalling them." He said and Jilly gaped at him.
"But...Dean Kalperden...I am your highest ranked Celestial mage evaluator, I'm sure Master Kaleb would agree he should have only the best for one of White Seas mages." She said looking at Kaleb who shrugged and smiled at the dean.
"I'm perfectly fine with the change Dean, as long as Lucy gets ranked, I'll even teach her how to requip her keys myself." Kaleb said smiling at the waitress who almost dropped the pitcher of iced tea she had brought over.
Lucy watched the whole thing, positive something was happening she wasn't privy to. She'd seen how the woman had clung to Kaleb, and how he'd clearly rejected her advances, hadn't missed the veiled nastiness the woman was aiming at her now either. She could tell from Kalebs glances back toward them as they had walked he wasn't missing the sing song condescending way the woman was talking to her, as if she were some clueless 5 year old or something.
"Well, I'll be frank Jilly." The dean said firmly, interrupting the woman as she had started trying to insist he change his mind.
"Your behavior with the Guildmaster when we greeted them was unacceptable and I don't want you working around him or his mage, I know how you chase men Jilly, but we are Boscan, we do not refuse a "No" or try to force our will on others no matter how badly we want them and you need to remember that, so GO, NOW pack your things and take the twins to their ceremony, you'll be gone out there at least 4 weeks,Master Kaleb and Miss Heartfilia will be long gone by then and maybe you can stop sneaking around trying to fuck my young students because if you approach one more, ONE, I will see the knights come and remove you for trying to have sex with children!" He said. His voice low, quiet, but intensely firm and harsh and his eyes, formerly so calm and kind, had lit up and were glowing.
The woman paled, looked wide eyed and down right sick, casting an accusing eye on Kaleb.
"Oh no, don't blame Kaleb for this Jilly, I knew already about your tryst with Kell, the boy is 15! Not even old enough to drink and you are in your 40s, that alone is enough to remove you from your position, now I'm contemplating whether or not to hand you over to the knights for it, so do as I command or just leave Cellis, and go back to Pelerno." The dean said.
Jilly bolted to her feet and hurried away, the Dean heaving a sigh and smiling at Lucy.
"I did know, I just wasn't certain how I wanted to handle it, she's very good with most of the students, we just get beauties now and then and she can't seem to help herself, this latest one though, I was appalled when I saw the monitors, he's tall for his age, but still, child molesting...I spoke to him and he was more than willing and very happy about it all, he has no family, I was actually going to see if you might sign for him Kaleb, make him a ward of White Sea." The dean said as the waitress brought their food.
"Will the professor be returning, I saw her run down the street…" The woman asked.
"No Cherrise, pack her meal would you please? I'll take it to her she had an urgent matter to handle." The Dean said smoothly and the waitress' worried look melted into a smile.
"Yes sir Dean sir." She said and hurried off.
"I'll sign for him, White Sea will cover all of his expenses and assure him a place with us. I'll have Thane assign him quarters at our main hall so he has a place to come for the holidays. What type of mage is he?" Kaleb asked and Lucy smiled faintly, he hadn't even hesitated.
"Heavenly Body magic, he's still a little wild with it, but coming along well. He would LOVE having someplace to go for the holidays and i know White Sea puts on an amazing Christmas celebration." The dean was smiling now.
"We do our best, I have the guild seal with me, I can process him while I'm here, make him an official mage with us. That way he'll have proof of affiliation should he need it when he travels to the city." Kaleb responded and the Dean nodded.
"Wonderful, I really can't thank you enough, he's a fine boy, just needs guidance, he'll be thrilled to meet you, Kaleb, perhaps you could talk with him while you're here? I'll have all his information sent to your aid." The dean said.
Kaleb nodded and the rest of the meal was spent going over Lucys information. The Dean made warm delighted sounds every time she pulled out a key. He didn't touch any of them but did hold a glass to his right eye and scrutinize each closely.
"I love seeing keys with handled luster to them, shows you use them, handle them often. You seem fond of Canis Minor…" He smiled nodding toward Plues key and Lucy grinned, running a finger down it and summoning the spirit who popped out and wobbled to her with a happy sound.
The Dean grinned "Oh he looks so happy!" He said brightly.
Kaleb sat back and watched the two interact, Dean Kalperden, he had known would make a great impression, the man was a Celestial Spirit mage himself, adored the magic and everything about it and was a good man. He tended to turn a slight blind eye on some things, which was why Jilly had gotten so out of hand, but, Kaleb trusted him, and he had no thought shielding skills so was an open book to the Mindbender mage, which just made Kaleb like him more. All his secrets bare and the man was just...a good person. Had a little thing for women with beauty marks, but then his wife had one and he was devoted to her.
Lucy, he saw, felt, heard, was as enamored with celestial magic as the Dean was, and the two animatedly discussed each of her spirits, the Dean telling her when the first sightings of their keys were and a brief history of some of the mages they had worked with before her.
"Really, I am happy you're here Miss Heartfillia because I would love to extend an invitation for you to try out for a position as a student here. Our testing won't be until next year, that's when the opening will happen and we'll have space, it would be for an 8 month trial term of schooling, then, after 8 months we determine what more you need from us since as an adult mage, you don't need to work on maturing with your magic." He said and Lucys mouth fell open, she looked wide eyed at Kaleb who was smiling calmly, sipping at his wine.
I knew an invite was possible, the guild will accommodate your time away, even pay your expenses while you attend the Academe if your accepted. He told her.
Tears brightened her eyes.
"You would need a sponsor of course...a high ranking mage willing to attend ranking meetings…" The Dean said, giving Kaleb a meaningful look.
The Wizard Saint was smiling and nodded to the Dean.
"I'll sponsor her myself, and White Sea would cover her expenses, tuition, everything." He replied and the Dean grinned.
"I actually hadn't even hoped you'd sponsor her yourself Master Kaleb, I was just hoping you'd suggest someone, but I will absolutely accept that pledge. So I can put Lucy down as attending the testing next year?" He asked and Lucy was nodding vigorously.
Kaleb grinned "Put her down for it, I'll bring her." He agreed and the Dean pulled out a scroll and unrolled it, standing to lean over it and waving a hand over it, it lit up, glowing on the table as words started filling the blank parchment.
"This is a magically binding commitment, it basically states that You Lucy Heartfilia, have agreed to attend testing next year for a potential spot in our school, it does not promise you the spot, only the right to apply for it. Furthermore, it states you, Master Kaleb of White Sea, will be her sponsor while she is here, responsible for overseeing her progress with us, attending meetings and being there as a supportive person for Lucy while she attends classes, you will also sign for White Sea as guarantor of coverage of all of her expenses and tuition while she is in classes here if she wins the spot." The Dean explained. Lucy reached out and felt a sharp stab in her palm and a pen appeared for her to sign with, she felt her magic get pulled to make the ink.
Kaleb moved forward then, and signed in both of the places the Dean indicated and Lucy watched in amazement as he did. She had been in White Sea for less than a week and already the Guild and it's Master were making long term commitments for her benefit.
After lunch they toured Cellis, the Dean showing them where the little market area was, the grocery, then, into the school.
Lucy had never been anywhere that captivated her as much as the campus of the Academe Celestine. The stonework was laced through with Stellarium, to allow starlight to power everything and to feed the bioluminescent plant life in hydroponic gardens all about the campus.
"The lights of the Grass Sea naturally lend themselves to helping your vision, while at the same time, they do not impede our use of telescopes and other heavenly body viewing devices both mundane and magical. For that reason, all of the lighting throughout the school is powered through Stellarium conversion, something our researchers worked out a little over 500 years ago. The school has stood here for more than a thousand years and, to our knowledge, is the oldest school in Earthland." He told them as they walked.
"Does it help with the use of Celestial magic? I...I'm wondering because I...feel different…" Lucy admitted and it was true, her magic was just about buzzing inside of her, she felt giddy with it.
"It does indeed, light from heavenly bodies feeds our magic, for a Celestial Spirit mage the light of stars, usually so faded and diluted by distance from the sources, isn't much of a power up, but, amplified and condensed by the Grass Sea, which gathers star and moonlight and radiates that back in the glowing colors, and the Stellanium all through these halls, you get a far greater effect." He explained and Lucy nodded,.
Oh she was getting affected alright! She felt amazing, happy, giddy, like nothing in the world could hurt her, she could handle anything!
The dean exchanged smiles with Kaleb as they watched her grin and giggle behind her hand. Both had seen mages react this way their first time at the Academe. Cristoff got silly every time he came here.
They continued their tour, from the beautiful study areas, the massive library, the classrooms, each with a large balcony or terrace where starlight could reach them and work under the stars was easy. Lucy got steadily more and more confident, more and more bold and giddy.
"She's drunk on magic." Kaleb observed and the Dean smiled.
"Good, it means she will do well here, and have ample access to her magic for her studies and evaluations. I'm happy you're here, as with the others your very body pulses with Immaculate light Kaleb, the holy Lacrima in the Citadel collects that light from the sun moon and stars so it is a concentrated, very potent power Celestial Mages benefit from being near. Lucy can...gain comfort, strength, from your presence, don't be surprised if she…" The dean was saying.
Lucy whirled between them "I feel amazing! This is the most beautiful place on Earthland! You...you are so...fucking...gorgeous...have I told you that?" Lucy said, suddenly stopping her swaying and spinning to look at Kaleb raptly.
"..if she gets a little flirty or clingy..or both..you'll be able to mange her won't you? I have you sharing a suite, separate rooms of course but they are joined with a shared bath and lounge area." He said. Kaleb smiled, nodding.
"We'll be fine, I'm used to this sort of thing, Hestor was worse." Kaleb sighed, bending a little as Lucy leaned upwards, studying his eyes.
The Dean laughed "Yes...yes he certainly was handsy wasn't he?" He chuckled. He led them to the suite then.
In truth, Hestor had been oddly handsy when they'd come to do a re-evaluation for his celestial mage. He knew the man well, had known him for almost a decade and while they spoke, the man was aloof and detached, the change in how he had acted had caught Kaleb off guard. He did, however, have respect for the man because they'd known each other for so long. Grenlow had gone back and forth with the male mage as he'd grown and attended classes, but when the man had found a few keys a year ago, Kaleb had felt the spike in power and a strange and sudden darkness that had concerned him.
Bringing the man back had only been the right thing to do. Hestor had been shot through with embarrassment after the visit, actually apologizing to Kaleb and looking like someone different during that conversation. Though the man had wanted to let it go further than it could, Kaleb knew it was just the magic of the Academe that was affecting him and it would break the long and hard earned trust that he'd built with the man, something he wouldn't, and couldn't, do to the man.
It had been a test of Kalebs own self control at the time too, because Hestor pressing against him, those steel blue eyes so full of want...they had known each other a long time, Hestor often was part of Kalebs own team on missions and important jobs, he was White Seas only Celestial mage and Grenlow had valued him, and encouraged Kaleb to do the same when he had taken over the guild. There was a real fondness there.
The darkness, they'd learned, was just the keys he'd contracted, but The Dean had warned him that there was a danger growing that Kaleb had to watch for. He wouldn't go into details, which had left Kaleb confused because even his normally open book mind had been clouded by magic until his thoughts had slipped onto the evaluation process for the silver haired male.
"You'll stay here for the duration of your time here. Rest, dinner is at 7, she'll need time to adjust to being at the school so I'll have it sent up to your suite. Keep her here tonight, we'll get started on things in the morning." The Dean said brightly, chuckling watching Kaleb catch Lucys hand before she grabbed his ass.
"Have a good evening Master Kaleb." He chuckled, bowing and leaving Kaleb to deal with his magic drunk mage on his own.
Once the door closed he focused, trying to get some sense of Lucys thoughts, figure out the goals she had with her wandering hands. He was pretty tolerant, random touches and such were normal for him, if he walked through the guild hall on a Friday night he expected them. So he wasn't annoyed or bothered really, he could always put her into a stupor or something if he needed to.
She seemed most bent not on getting him into bed, but more...exploration. She was fascinated and deeply attracted to the male body in general and she'd had so little...access. He made a mental note to get her signed up for sessions with a good Sudehpah as soon as these evaluations were finished.
Still, that left him with a choice, reject her and risk her feeling humiliated, ashamed and embarrassed, or try to guide her through her drunken state. It just wasn't in his nature to deliberately do any of those things to anyone but his brothers and then only to a point because he did love his family, so, he went with the later.
He'd watched over Cristoff before during his full moons, all of the Pradesh siblings had, they had a lose rotation among them that even included their father in doing so. Until Cristoff found his mate, he would need to be watched over during full moons, protected. The few times his siblings hadn't been able to physically be there to watch over him, bad things had happened to him. There were too many people in the world willing to take advantage of a drunken, handsome, flirtatious young mage pumping off pheromones that made all the most decadent ideas come to mind easily.
While watching his brother, women and men alike became very aggressively needy of pleasure, they wanted it from Cristoff, because he was the source of their feelings, and Cris tended, because of his empathic abilities, to make those needs pretty strong. Then of course Kaleb stood out in Boscan crowds, and at clubs, social functions, even walking busy city streets, he got groped, people wanted to touch him, his body, his hair. So, he was pretty skilled at handling a handsy person.
The challenge was his own desires. Part of him wanted to take the beautiful woman to his bed and let her have every wicked thing she was thinking about and then see what else she came up with as they went. However, that would be taking advantage of her, and that wasn't in his nature either, he was tempted, but wouldn't do it.
Instead, he directed her to the couch in the shared sitting area and tried to help her regain some control of herself. No small task, her hands were trying to be everywhere he subconsciously wanted them to go and she kept letting her mind drift into delicious imaginings someone with her lack of experience shouldn't have been able to come up with.
"Lucy, Lucy would you like to play a game?" He tried. Her mind was so agile, so eager to learn and work, he figured games would pique her interest and he wasn't wrong. She stilled, smiling at him "What sort of game?" She asked, then her eyelids drooped and her eyes slid to his chest, he actually regretted wearing one of his Boscan suits, it left his chest pretty bare and she was very distracted by it.
"Can we play strip poker? Suck and Blow?" She asked hopefully, reaching out to touch him again and he caught her hand.
"Riddles and Puzzles." He replied and that got her which delighted him, she stopped and met his eyes, her smile getting more present less curled with wickedness.
"I love riddles." She said and he smiled, adding another reason to the growing list of things he liked about this Celestial Mage.
"So do I, we'll take turns, asking riddles or working mental puzzles." He said and she reached for him again, this time running a finger down his chest.
"I stump you I get a kiss, I answer yours I get a kiss." She said dreamily and Kaleb drew a breath reaching over and making her eyes return to his by lifting her chin, ignoring her finger sliding down his chest to drift along the ornate clasp on the front of his jacket that sat just above his navel.
"Agreed, I stump you, you lose a kiss, I answer yours the next kiss you would have gotten for answering me is only on the cheek or forehead." He returned and she frowned but nodded.
She looked at him expectantly and he reminded himself not to cheat, he'd cut himself off from her mind when it was her turn.
"I can be quick and then I'm deadly,I am a rock, shell and bone I was made into a man, I'd make people dream,I gather in millions by ocean, sea and stream." He said. It was a simple one, but he knew she was struggling to think well right now.
Her frown and immediate reining in of her wayward thoughts so she could focus was what he was after. Enough of this and she'd sober up and get control of herself again and they could have a quiet evening, he might even get to call Thane and do some catch up work on what he was sure was a growing mass of things needing his input for the guild.
She did struggle to think it through, a lot, because she was so distracted by how good she was feeling, how she was tingling all over and how looking at Kaleb made those tingles tend to congregate between her legs and make her want to get his body into hers, painful or not she just ached for the intrusion and while Gregorys dick had been nothing but searing white miserable pain the whole time it had been in her, a part of her believed Cana was right, a more experienced less drunk partner probably wouldn't inflict that much pain on her.
It wasn't like there had been any foreplay either, and for whatever reason her somewhat addled mind now could recall it all better than her sober sharp mind could.
Kaleb drew a breath, being pulled into a traumatic memory wasn't something he'd been expecting, but as Lucys mind worked to sober itself, she tried to reason with her amorous behavior and confront her own issues with intimacy in general and it just...happened.
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