An Atypical Interview

by SirSigil

Between being a student and an instructor, Rean has spent so much of his life within education. When Sara offers him a chance to start an exciting new career as a bracer though, he doesn't need to think long about it. The interview process however, is not quite what he expected it to be. Post CSIV (Rean x Sara).

An Atypical Interview

A light fog hung over the peaceful town of Legram and its nearby lake like a blanket of ethereal cotton. It was all encompassing, and Rean thought that it would almost be an unsettling place if the townsfolk weren't so lovely and welcoming.

"Good morning." A gentle faced old man took his cap off to Rean as he passed by. "Lovely weather for it, eh?"

"Good morning." Rean smiled, politely letting the man pass first. "Yes, it is." He agreed, without having the slightest idea of what 'it' was.

The old man merely chuckled amiably and carried on his way.

Rean just shrugged to himself and moved on as well. He soon found himself before the Aprikoze Inn. The tavern was the sole drinking establishment of Legram, and as such would be the most obvious place where he'd find one Sara Valestein, even if they hadn't have already arranged to meet there.

Entering the inn, Rean didn't need to spend more than a mere moment looking around to find her. With a smile, he saw the cerise topped head of Sara sat at the bar. She had a flagon in hand that was rapidly being emptied. Another two flagons that had surely already been relieved of their contents stood on the countertop beside her.

Shaking his head fondly, Rean walked over to join her. "A bit early isn't it? Even for you?" He teased as he approached.

Sara didn't even turn at hearing his voice. Mid swig, she casually raised her free hand to flip him off. The flagon eventually came down with a satisfied sigh.

"My, that's a mighty fine way to greet someone, especially if you're wanting a good time later." Sara teased.

Rean chuckled as he joined her at the bar, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "I'm sure you'll forgive me in time."

He ordered a drink for himself and another one for her. After so long together, he'd all but given up trying to lessen her intake of alcohol at all. At least he knew that he didn't need to worry about her, she could hold her liquor better than a concrete elephant after all. In response, Sara had given up trying to make him into a heavy drinker. Relationships were all about compromises after all.

"So, why'd you want to meet here?" Rean asked.

"Ah, of course." Sara began with a smirk. "I never told you, did I?"

"That was the point of my question." Rean drawled with a smirk of his own.

"Quiet you." Sara swatted at his arm irritably and reached for a pamphlet that was on the bar top. "You know how the Bracer Guild's been reopened throughout Erebonia, right?"

"Hmm hmm." Rean nodded. "You're no longer a criminal now."

Sara flashed him a curious look. "What do you mean 'no longer'?"

Rean blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Anyway, I was talking to Toval the other day, and he showed me this." Sara held out the pamphlet for Rean to see. It had a few artfully drawn pictures of men and women with all manner of armaments squaring off against all manner of beasts. "Look here, you see this-"

"Hang on, what did you mean by-"

"Ah tch, tch, tch, tch, tch!" Sara cut back in with a scowl. "Don't interrupt. Well, Toval showed me this. The Guild's doing something of a recruitment drive in the Empire, hoping to get its numbers back up to pre-Blood-and-Iron-Chancellor levels, and look here: 'Apply now to get the chance to be trained by some of the greatest bracer's the Erebonian Empire has to offer!'" She quoted from the page.

"Ok?" Rean nodded vaguely as he peered at the pamphlet. "And …?"

Sara dropped the pamphlet to the bar top with a scowl. "Don't you see what this means, Rean?"

"The Bracer Guild is low on numbers?"

"Well, yes, but more importantly it means that this is your opportunity to finally become a bracer!"

Rean sat back a little, his brow raised as he considered. He and Sara had spoken about that very possibility numerous times over the years. While it had always intrigued him, it had been something far off in the future, like a carrot on a mile long stick.

"We could go back out on missions together again." Sara turned the pamphlet around so she could look at the artistic representations of the bracers with a smile. "It'd be just like the old days."

"You mean like our old field trips across the country?" Rean couldn't help but smile himself.

Ever since the end of the various wars and curses that had plagued Erebonia, the two of them hadn't been able to go out on missions together at all. At times, it had been enough of a challenge just for them to meet up occasionally, what with Sara on missions across the continent and with Rean so busy at the Academy in Leeves.

"Exactly," Sara nodded but then smirked, "though you'd have to put some actual work in these days."

Rean guffawed. "Hey! I worked hard during those field trips."

"Field trips that were carefully curated by yours truly." Sara indicated herself with a regal hand gesture and an innocent smile. "Bracer work isn't nearly as clean or simple you know."

Rean shook his head with a chuckle. She knew just as well as he did that the field trips they used to go with Class VII were anything but clean or simple most of the time.

"But, if you're up for the challenge," Sara's smile lost all its teasing for a moment, "I know you can do it, Rean. I know you do good work at the academy and all, but you could do so much across Erebonia. Hell, across all of Zemuria if you wanted to. You could have adventures you've never even dreamed about- we could, together."

Rean looked back to the pamphlet and considered. He already knew full well that the life of a bracer was nothing like the romantic adventure it was portrayed to be in story books and radio shows. It would be hard, hard work, but Rean had never been afraid of that.

He nodded. "Alright, I'll do it."

"You mean it?" Sara questioned carefully even as that smile of hers rose in magnitude.

"Why not? We've always talked about it. So … yeah. Why shouldn't I go for it?"

"Ha-ha! Yes!" Sara did a happy little tap dance with her feet on the footrest of her barstool. "I knew you couldn't resist!"

Rean couldn't help but smile wide. "Of course I couldn't resist. How could I pass up the chance to spend more time with my awesome girlfriend?"

Sara let out a warm little chuckle as she swooped in. "Now that's the right answer, mister." She closed the distance between them with a deep kiss.

When Rean was finally allowed up for air, he was grinning ear to ear. "Ok. Well, I guess I better go get this ball rolling then."

He made to get up, intending to head over to the Bracer Guild just across the street, but Sara had thrown a hand out to catch his arm.

"Hold your horses there, Schwarzer." Sara smirked. Her expression had Rean frown in concern, for there were a few more teeth in it than he'd have expected from a friendly smile. "You don't need to head down to the Guild to apply."

"Oh?"

Sara rolled her eyes. "Are you forgetting? I am a bracer myself you know."

"Oh, so can you just make me a bracer then?"

"Pretty much. Although, you will have to go through the interview stage first."

Rean blinked. "An interview?"

"Absolutely." Sara nodded, her expression solemnly serious. "I need to be sure you can handle everything a bracer's life can throw at you after all."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense." Rean smiled, though his eyes narrowed a little. "But, you've already seen what I can do, both at the Academy, and then in the civil war, the Jormungandr Project, and, well, everything, right?"

"That may be so, but I've still got to hold a proper interview, Rean." Sara gave him a stern look. "It's not fair to the other candidates otherwise."

"Other candidates?" Rean's eyes narrowed a little further. "Who else is there?"

"Well, no one if you must know." Sara smirked.

"Then why do I need to-"

"Oh Rean, I can't give you the job just because you're the only candidate, now can I? That would hardly be proper. No, as a professional bracer, I've got to go through the proper channels. I can't just show you favouritism just because you're dear to me, Rean."

Rean supposed that made sense at least, even though they both knew fully well that Sara had been witness to most of his trials over other last few years, and that they far exceeded anything the average bracer could hope to come up against in their careers. She'd even been the one to push him to apply for the bracer position in the first place. He had a sneaking suspicion that her reticence to simply make him a bracer there and then had less to do with professionalism as she'd said, and more to do with her own personal amusement. Still, that little glint of mischief in her eyes was awfully enticing. He decided that he would play her little game, for now at least.

"Alright then, I'll take your interview." Rean smiled.

"Excellent!" Sara smiled that toothy smile once more. She pulled out a clipboard and pen from seemingly nowhere. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Right now?" Rean blinked.

"Of course." Sara nodded sagely. "A bracer must be ready to act at a moment's notice. Surely you must know that already, Rean?" She tutted softly and with a shake of her head, she made a note on her clipboard.

Eyes narrowing slightly, Rean forced a smile. "Of course, I'm always ready for the challenge."

"Now that sounds more like it." Sara smiled. (She didn't make a note that time). "So, where do you see yourself in five years?"

"Five years?" Rean queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm hmm." Sara nodded sagely.

"Why does that matter?"

"Answering back to your interviewer are you?" Sara tutted disapprovingly, she made another note on her clipboard. "That's rather poor form, Mr Schwarzer."

Rean would have been tempted to chuckle were his eye not twitching. Was she only going to write down whenever he missed whatever standards she'd set? "I just- How does that question help you gauge how good I am for being a bracer?"

"It's all about your ambition, your drive." Sara smiled sweetly as she enunciated each word. "As your potential Instructor in the bracerly ways, I need to be sure that you have the commitment and the determination needed to reach the full limits of your potential. One way of ascertaining that at interview, is by finding out what long term goals you have for your future career … I'll just put you down as 'unsure'."

She began scribbling on the clipboard again.

"Hey, hang on!" Rean reached out a little but Sara pulled the clipboard close to her chest and out of his reach. "How about: … I see myself becoming an S ranked bracer by then."

"An S rank?" Sara asked, face a mask. "Are you sure about that?"

Rean winced a little. "Yes?"

One elegant eyebrow raised higher a fraction. "That's a rather high bar don't you think?"

Rean suppressed a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff. "But- What's the point of setting goals for yourself if you're not going to challenge yourself?"

"Realistic goals, Mr Schwarzer." Sara emphasised the word with clipped pronunciation. "There's no point aiming for the sun if you can only ever reach the moon."

"Alright …" Rean drawled, eye twitching a little. "An A rank then, like yourself."

"Giving up on your stated goal so easily?" Sara shook her head disapprovingly. "My, that's not very bracer-like, is it, Mr Schwarzer?"

Another note on the clipboard.

"Sara …" Rean's teeth were clenched.

"That's 'Miss Valestein' to you, Candidate." Sara smiled sweetly. "I will also allow 'Instructor', if you're feeling formal."

Rean fixed her with a glare before sighing. "Instructor, I-"

"That's better." Sara nodded.

"I think … that it's important for one to be flexible when looking to the future." Rean began, desperately pulling drivel from thin air in the hopes that it would suffice as some sort of answer. Aidios, he hated interviews. "After all, given the disturbances to the bracers' operations in Erebonia until recently, the bracers have had to adapt to … um, trying circumstances."

Sara nodded a couple of times. "Hmm, you seem to have a moderate grasp of the local political situation at least, that's good to hear."

She made one slight motion of the pen on her clipboard, one that could have possibly been a solitary tick.

"You say 'moderate'," Rean carried on with what he hoped was a winning smile, "but actually, I was a pretty central figure to the events that led to the bracers' reinstatement in the Empire, along with bringing about peace."

"Perhaps you were, Mr Schwarzer. Perhaps you were." Sara gazed down at her clipboard with a smile and a shake of her head. Then she lifter her gaze back to him. "However, I'd need a reference to support your claim."

"A reference?" Rean's eye twitched again. "Really?"

"Absolutely." Sara's eyelashes fluttered so very prettily that Rean was slightly less inclined to stab her. Only slightly though. "After all, anyone can claim to have helped the bracers in the past. Anyone with a sword and a penchant for fighting monsters in the wilderness can claim to be a friend of the people. We at the Bracer Guild need to be sure that we're hiring the very best candidates."

"Ok then, how about one 'Sara Valestein'? She's an A ranked bracer, you know."

"Hmm." Sara took to perusing her clipboard again. "Miss Valestein is an awfully reliable and competent referee."

"And awfully beautiful and badass too." Rean tried with a smile. He left out the 'irritating' he felt was most accurate to her character in that moment.

"Ah, and therein lies the rub." Sara smiled at him innocently. "You appear to be romantically entangled with the lovely and magnanimous Miss Valestein, so I'm afraid her opinion would be awfully biased."

Rean was starting to get tired of this game. "Alright," he drawled slowly, "how about Toval? Toval Randonneur?"

"Mr Randonneur could hardly provide the candidate with a reference when his responsibility is to assess my findings from your interview, a second pair of eyes, as it were."

Rean noted that he had been relegated to simply 'the candidate' now. He racked his brains for someone he could trust that Sara might find suitable. "Ok, then I nominate Major Neithardt."

Sara ruffled her nose a little. "That stick in the mud? Are you sure that's wise?"

Apparently not. "Prince Olivert then?"

"The Debaucherous Prince?" Sara raised an eyebrow. "Hardly the most suitable person to be giving a reference, wouldn't you agree?"

"Major Claire Rieveldt?" Rean chanced, already knowing the likely response.

Sara didn't disappoint as she merely scoffed.

"Altina Orion?" Rean sighed. He was just throwing names out now.

"Your own student? Don't be silly, Mr Schwarzer."

"Campanella then." Rean folded his arms sullenly.

That at least got a chuckle out of Sara. "Of Ouroboros?"

"Why not?"

Sara chuckled again, though perhaps she picked up on his growing annoyance and decided to change the game a little. "Well, if you're going to be silly about this, Mr Schwarzer, then perhaps we should move onto the next stage of the process, we can always sort out a suitable reference later."

From there, Sara continued to bombard Rean with question after question. Most of it was at least fairly suitable to the role of a bracer, such as queries about Rean's combat experience, preferred weapon and the like. All of it was information that Sara already knew of course, but she seemed more than content to play ignorant.

It was the more random questions that Rean found particularly vexing, such as questions about his diet, his favourite radio shows, or when he'd last gone to the dentist.

Then of course, Sara being Sara, there were also some questions that didn't belong anywhere near any sort of interview.

"So, your beautiful and utterly fabulous girlfriend has made you a delicious home cooked meal, succulent roast beef, the finest Liberlian wine, all the trimmings, the whole shebang. How best do you show your appreciation for her fine efforts?"

"Oh Aidios." Rean put his head in his hands, already fearing where she was going.

"Do you, A: Drop to your knees before her in supplication and proceed to thoroughly eat her out?"

Yep, she's gone there.

"B: You lie down on the settee – or the bed upstairs, that's always an option – and invite her to sit on your face?"

Why did she have to go there? Rean tentatively glanced about the room. Though he was fairly sure that there was no one close enough to overhear them, he could feel their judgment all the same.

"Or C: You feed her the meal yourself, using your own fork to offer up the meat, and your mouth to deliver the wine … while fingering her at the same time with your free hand, of course."

"Of course." Rean sighed. He had a sneaking suspicion that he'd be receiving a home cooked meal in the not too distant future that he needed to be suitably grateful for.

"Well, I need an answer, Mr Schwarzer." Sara pressed with a devious smirk.

"Well … I presume a combination of the three?"

Sara's eyebrow rose slightly. "In which order?"

A moment of prolonged thought followed.

"C, A, then B?"

"Hmm, acceptable." Sara nodded sagely. "I would have also accepted C, B, and then A."

"Well, at least the food isn't going to get cold." Rean mumbled.

"Precisely." Sara smiled, perusing her clipboard once more. "Now then, I think that's the interview stage just about done. Well done, Mr Schwarzer."

Thank Aidios, Rean muttered silently to himself.

"Now, I think it's time for the practical assessment."

"Oh?" Rean raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

Sara wagged a finger at him with a smirk. "Now, now, now, Candidate, it wouldn't be fair to give you a heads up beforehand. Wouldn't want to give you an undue advantage now, would we?" She made to stand. "Come along then, all will become clear soon enough."

xxx

Sara led Rean out of the inn and through Legram to where the stone dock stood out above the shimmering waters. A few small boats were tied up to the jetty, bobbing gently in the calm waters of Lake Ebel.

Before Rean could so much as open his mouth to ask for more information again, Sara had strode over to the side of the dock and had deftly hoped into a rowboat moored there.

"Come on then." Sara turned a smirk at him.

"So, what have you got planned now?" Rean asked but he duly boarded the rowboat.

"So impatient." Sara tutted at him as she helped herself to a seat at the bow of the boat. Apparently he was to row. "You'll find out soon enough."

Rean sighed with the hint of a smile, resigning himself to ignorance for the time being at least. He also resigned himself to the labour of rowing and took both oars in hand as he sat down. "Could you at least point the way?"

"Of course, it's just over there." Sara turned and pointed out over the lake.

Rean squinted at the vague destination. It wasn't the furthest possible point from the dock, but it wasn't exactly a short jaunt either. With a sigh, Rean lowered the oar blades into the water and began to cast off.

"Hmm, this is nice, isn't it?" Sara smiled content as she leaned back in her seat, the perfect picture of idleness. "A girl could get used to this sort of thing you know."

"Uh huh." Rean muttered as he rowed. He was already starting to feel the burn in his shoulders. He was hardly out of shape by any means, but he never needed to use the same muscles he employed for rowing when wielding his tachi.

"I hope you're not tiring already?" Sara eyed him knowingly, reaching for her blasted clipboard. "That wouldn't bode well for the practical test you know."

"I'm fine." Rean ground out between lightly gritted teeth. "You don't need to worry about me."

Sara murmured something to herself and made a quick note on her clipboard.

Rean wanted nothing more than to hurl the damn thing as far as he could into the lake.

Instead, the Ashen Chevalier practiced patience. He settled into a steady rhythm and focussed on that instead. Still, despite his annoyance with her, Rean couldn't help but smile fondly when Sara smiled softly at the school of fish that swam up to the boat, following along curiously.

"Hey, look at that Rean." Sara pointed them out.

"I see them." Rean paused in his rowing a moment, peering over the side.

The fish were a myriad of colours, metallic blues and greens and reds that shimmered like starlight below the surface.

"Aren't they gorgeous?" Sara murmured with a soft smile.

Rean looked to her. "Yeah."

"Probably best not to fish these ones though."

Rean chuckled. "I'll try not to."

Sara brought her eyes back up to fix him, and the stationary oars, with a smirk. "Oh I see. Taking a rest are we?"

"Just admiring the sea life." Rean assured her with a smile. "Well, lake life."

Sara tutted disapprovingly. "Letting your guard down? Not very bracer like at all, Mr Schwarzer, not very bracer like at all."

Rean guffawed. "Oh come on! You asked me to look."

"And you should have politely refused and kept your attention on your surroundings." Sara shook her head gravely. "In the time you spent admiring the fishes, the boat could have been attacked by a giant squid, and you could have been pulled overboard to a watery grave."

Rean narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. Then he cast a surreptitious glance out across the still waters. He was certain that there was no such thing in the lake, but he was hardly an expert on such matters.

"If that's the case, then why were you fixated on the fish too?"

Sara chuckled harshly. "Please Rean, I'm the professional bracer here. I am always fully aware of my surroundings."

"Uh huh." Rean muttered, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"Is that a tone of disagreement I hear?" Sara trilled in amusement. She turned back to her clipboard. "Arguing with your Instructor is not a wise idea I must say, Mr Schwarzer."

Rean forced a smile. "Of course not, as you say, Instructor."

"Good boy." Sara smirked.

They reached the far side of the lake soon enough. Sara hoped ashore and let Rean worry about mooring the boat to the lakeside.

"Now then, it shouldn't be much further now." Sara smiled as she set off up the hill.

"Where are we going?" Rean tried once more.

"Patience, Mr Schwarzer, patience." Sara urged. "A good bracer is always prepared for the unknown."

"This whole day is a bloody unknown." Rean muttered under his breath. When he got up that morning, he'd been hoping to have a nice meal and maybe a walk by the lake with his girlfriend. He didn't expect any of this nonsense.

"What was that?" Sara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing." Rean smiled.

Sara took his answer in stride with a smile and carried on.

They soon found themselves moving their way deeper into the forest, picking their path through and around all manner of trees and bushes. Rean silently wondered what in Zemuria Sara was up to, taking him so far from any sort of civilisation, but the Purple Lightning would not be coaxed into giving up any answers.

"Here we are." Sara finally murmured after a while.

"Really?" Rean asked with a dubious look. He gazed around at the trees and shrubbery that surrounded them still. "And where is 'here'?"

A deep roar of some sort of monster shook through the trees all of a sudden.

Sara turned to face him fully, smirking evilly. "Your practical exam, of course."

Rean almost rolled his eyes. "You want me to fight monsters?" He almost added 'is that it?' but he didn't want to tempt fate.

"Very astute, Mr Schwarzer." Sara nodded. "There's a group of foul beasties up ahead and I need you to go clear them out. Do you think you're up for the challenge?"

Rean tried on his most confident, winning smile. It wasn't one he got to use often. "Of course, just you watch, Instructor."

"And watch I shall." Sara promised him with an awfully toothy smile. "Try not to disappoint now."

Rean smirked. He nodded then he drew his tachi free as he stepped up through the brush. He almost chuckled when Sara gave his backside a quick slap as he passed.

He had barely left the cover of foliage before the first monsters had spotted him. Calling on his years of training with the sword, Rean swiftly got to work.

At least this latest test was something that Rean could see being useful for a bracer interview, though it was nothing Rean hadn't faced before. Even though he was taking on the horde all on his own, he was still far too strong to consider the monsters a true threat, even without needing to rely on his ogre power.

Soon enough, the clearing was made quiet, save for Rean's slight panting.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad." Sara nodded slightly as she stepped up towards him, a somewhat begrudging respect on her expression as she made yet more notes on her clipboard. "You seem to have the hang of those at least."

Rean hefted his blade up onto his shoulder as he turned to face her. "I aim to please."

"Well I hope you continue to do so, Mr Schwarzer, because the next wave should be coming along any minute now."

"The next what?" Rean blinked.

A sudden roar shook through Rean. He whipped his head around to find a gargantuan monster bearing down upon him as it barrelled into the clearing. Rean instinctively rolled to the side to avoid being bulldozed over. He took a few steps back to take the beast in. It looked like the hideous offspring of a giant tiger and an even larger bear.

"Ah, right on schedule." Sara smiled, happy. She'd already retreated to the relative safety of the treeline. "Be careful now, he's a big one!"

"Did you- Did you plan this?!" Rean demanded.

"Eyes on your opponent, Rean!"

Rean bit back many a colourful curse as he was forced to block the beast's flurry of incoming strikes. Gritting his teeth, Rean dug deep to awaken that old power hidden within, and charged.

It took a long time, but eventually, after many strikes of the blade, the beast fell down dead. Rean wagered that it would have gone down a lot faster and a lot smoother had Sara decided to help at all, but instead, the Purple Lightning had been content to observe from the bushes. Her 'help' consisted purely of the occasional encouragements shouted here and there.

Rean calmed his ogre power to nothing, and gave the corpse a tentative poke with the tip of his tachi to make sure that is was actually slain. He let out a heavy sigh of relief when it didn't stir.

"Yes, not bad at all." Sara nodded in something like approval as she stepped into the clearing once more. She jotted yet more notes down on her clipboard.

"You could have helped, you know." Rean panted out, throwing a glare at his current girlfriend, former instructor, and full time tormentor.

"No, no, no. This is your interview, Mr Schwarzer." Sara reminded him with a sweet, innocent smile. "We're not here to assess my fighting capabilities, are we now?"

Rean decided to bite back the angry retort he felt brewing. "I don't suppose I've passed yet, have I?" He asked with the slightest hint of a hopeful expression.

Sara hummed to herself as she gave her clipboard a long and careful inspection. "Hmm, you know … I think you have, just about."

"Thank Aidios." Rean breathed a sigh of relief. "You've got everything you need then?" 'At last' was left unsaid.

"Well, that all depends on you, Mr Schwarzer." Sara smiled the most evil smile in the universe.

Rean felt his stomach sinking again. He cursed himself a fool for daring to hope that it was all over. "What do you mean?"

Sara took to examining her notes with a serious expression. "Well, while you may have the credentials to become a bona fide bracer, there is still the matter of who should be the one to deliver your training."

Rean blinked so very slowly. "What are you talking about? You've been my interviewer this whole time! Surely you're my Instructor?"

"Oh Mr Schwarzer, I believe there's been some sort of a miscommunication somewhere." Sara chuckled lightly. "You see, all the stages of your interview thus far have merely been to assess whether you could make it as an apprentice bracer. I'm afraid if you have a particular bracer in mind to mentor you, you will need to apply to them directly and undergo a further interview process."

Rean's eye twitched more than a couple of times. "Sara, I-"

"Instructor Sara." She reminded him with a trill.

"Instructor Sara, you know I only want you to be my mentor."

Even as he said that though, Rean thought of the last few hours and wondered if he wasn't being hasty. Toval wouldn't put him through this whole charade, surely? Fie was always an option too. Or maybe he should go abroad. He'd heard good things about the bracers in Liberl after all.

"Aww, the flattery is appreciated, but I'm afraid to say that it will not sway me in the slightest." Sara smiled sunnily. "Shall I take that to mean that you would like to apply for the position of my apprentice?"

"Yes!" Rean near growled, before he could have second thoughts. He'd made it through Sara's games so far, he was determined to see them through.

"Very good." Sara smiled wide. "Because it just so happens that I have a vacancy available."

"Let me guess, am I the only candidate?" Rean muttered dryly.

"Perceptive as ever, Mr Schwarzer." Sara chuckled as she walked forward. She patted him on the cheek twice as she passed him. "And don't worry, the interview process is a lot different this time."

Thank Aidios, Rean thought gratefully.

Sara jerked her head at him to follow. "Come on, it's getting late enough as it is. We'll want to get there before sundown."

"Where are we going now?" Rean asked with a sigh as he sluggishly jogged to catch up with her.

"You'll see." Sara trilled with a most devious grin on her lips. "Now keep up, Instructor Sara doesn't appreciate slackers."

xxx

Although those second and third thoughts returned to hound Rean and his better judgement, he stuck to his decision and to Sara's side. She led him on a winding path through the forest and up the mountain trail. It was getting increasingly dark as they went on and on and the sun fell further and further towards the mountains across the lake in the West.

"Here." Sara smiled upon reaching another new clearing. "This will do perfectly."

Rean stepped into the clearing proper, following her gaze out to the gorgeous scene laid out before them. The setting sun cast the lake in a gorgeous warm orange, bathing the valleys and mountains around in a warm glow.

"It's a beautiful view, isn't it?" Sara murmured with a soft smile as she gazed out over the sight. Then, she turned back to Rean. "Well, that light won't last forever, so you'd better get started."

"Get started on what?"

Sara merely wagged her eyebrows at him. Then she took a few steps over towards a pile of rocks at the edge of the clearing, reaching down to fiddle with something.

"I shouldn't really be giving you any assistance whatsoever, but seeing as you have been such a good boy and all …" Sara purred.

She brought out a clinking pile of tarps and what must have been metal poles and rods gathered together.

Rean frowned at the collection. "Is that a tent?"

"Indeed it is." Sara nodded with a smile.

"We're camping out here?" Rean had thought that they'd head back to town once Sara had had all her fun messing with him. Oh how foolish he was.

"Of course." Sara chuckled as though the question was ridiculous. "A good bracer needs to be able to live anywhere and everywhere when out on a job, whether that's up on a mountainside, in the depths of a dark cavern or in a five star hotel." She looked back out over the peaceful landscape around them. "I should really be testing your survival skills in a more hostile environment than this, but this will do."

Small mercies, Rean thought to himself with a smile. "Ok, well, I better get started, hadn't I?"

Rean struggled for the better part of an hour getting the tent up. Well, technically he managed to get tent up in about ten minutes, but Sara soon knocked it all over after deeming it unsuitable for any self-respecting bracer to lie in, so Rean had painstakingly rebuilt it again until it had met Sara's standards.

"Very good." Sara smiled with a nod at last. The sun behind her had all but vanished over the mountains by that point.

"Thank Aidios." Rean muttered, between all the questioning, the rowing, the fighting and then this, he was exhausted. "Is that it?"

Sara's smirk was so very evil. "Very nearly …"

"Oh come on!" Rean almost cried. "What else is there?" He didn't care about becoming a bracer anymore, he just wanted some rest.

"Just one last little thing, I swear." Sara promised, fluttering her eyelashes so very prettily. "Pretty please?"

Rean sighed. He could never say no to those eyes. She surely knew it as well as he did. Against all his better instincts telling him not to, he nodded. "Alright, what is it?"

Sara chuckled. She stepped forward and laid one arm around his neck and shoulders, and then the other.

"Now …" Sara began in a sultry murmur.

Instead of finishing her thought, she suddenly leaned in and planted her lips on his in a deep, deep kiss. It seemed to go on forever, and when she'd had enough of that, Rean was seeing stars.

"Now it's time for the real interview." Sara purred deliciously.

"Oh?" Rean couldn't help but smile a little.

Sara's eyes flashed in delight and promised mischief before she leaned in to whisper by his ear. "And don't worry, this time all you need to do to pass is to say yes to every …" she pressed a kiss to his cheek, "little …" another one to his neck, "thing." And finally, a burning kiss to his lips.

With that, Sara started pushing Rean back and back into the tent. Once inside, she gave him a shove so that he fell backwards. He didn't have any time to do much beyond register the slight small pain in his back, for Sara set herself upon him. Every touch and every kiss was as desperate as if they'd be her last, yet each one promised so many more to come.

Though fatigued as he was, Sara didn't let Rean get any sleep until she'd had her way with him many, many times over. Rean didn't mind, he reasoned that if he were to die of exhaustion up in that tent on that hill, it would be at least be a damn good death.

xxx

The morning sun brought the warmth of a new day over the valley, but Sara didn't need the fresh heat. She smiled to herself as she held Rean in her arms, his head cradled to her chest. The Ashen Chevalier dozed blissfully, and he had every right to, he'd been so damn shattered from the day before.

Sara had wondered if she'd been going a little too far with everything she'd put him through the day before, but she wagered that she'd probably made up for it and then some as the day had turned to night. She could quite happily tease her man to the moon and back, but she also knew how to thoroughly satisfy him as well.

Her body ached with delicious pains and pains, gifts she'd received from the night before. She'd been mildly surprised that Rean had responded so readily to her lust in his weary state. Though after everything he'd been through over the years, she supposed that it probably shouldn't be all that much of a surprise that he'd push through such trifling barriers as a lack of energy, especially when he had such an appealing goal in sight.

Sara smiled as she gazed down at her lover and former student. Such a handsome lad he was. She didn't like to make a habit of watching him in his sleep, she found it creepy really, but she couldn't help but admire him from time to time. She reckoned that she'd like him better in an altogether different state however. Maybe she'd simply reach down and start stroking him where she knew he'd feel it most, then he'd wake up and they'd pick right back up from where they left off the night before.

Before she could put any of her devilish ideas into action however, Rean began to stir in her arms. He blinked himself awake slowly, his lips turning into a smile when he recognised her.

"Morning sleepy head." Sara smirked.

"Morning." Rean sighed blissfully.

"Sleep well?"

"I'll say." Rean leaned away just to stretch his neck a little, but soon came back in to snuggle. He sighed against her chest as his eyes fell shut again, still sounding fatigued.

"You still tired?" Sara chuckled.

"Uh, yeah?" Rean murmured as though the question was ridiculous. He opened on eye to glare at her. "Someone was determined to tire me out."

"Hey, don't pretend you didn't enjoy it." Sara smirked, poking him in the nose for good measure. "Pretty sure every damn thing with ears for miles around can attest to that."

Though blushing slightly, Rean nodded. "Oh that part, I liked. It was everything before then that was a pain."

Sara chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Rean eyed her dubiously. "Was any of that even necessary as an interview?"

"Of course it was! Most of it was necessary in fact." Sara lied easily, crossing her fingers behind Rean's head as she did so. She had maybe a full sheet of paper at most that she actually needed to hand in to the guild, most of which was just Rean's personal details that Sara knew off by heart anyhow. "When we get back to town, I'll be handing the most important bits back to Toval, you'll see."

To his credit, Rean gave her a long, appraising stare. Then he chuckled under his breath. "Alright." He murmured, before leaning in to snuggle once more.

They lay like that for a while, basking in each other's warmth as the sun slowly rose up and illuminated the valley below them. It was so tranquil, and Sara could easily have stayed like that forever.

Before she could concoct a way to go about that however, Rean suddenly put a hand to his forehead. "Oh Aidios." He groaned.

"What is it?" Sara asked with a frown.

Rean's face was a grimace. "I just realised, I'll have to submit my resignation to Principal Le Guinn now, won't I?"

Sara let out a long low whistle. "Oh yeah, good luck with that."

"She'll kill me."

"Eh, maybe a little." Sara half shrugged.

Rean glowered. "You don't sound concerned at all."

Sara chuckled. "Well, you are the famous Ashen Chevalier, the illustrious Rean Schwarzer, head of Class VII, saviour of Erebonia. Surely you can face disappointing one little old Golden Rakshasa, right?"

"Uh huh." Rean drawled sceptically.

"What's more, you're my new bracer apprentice. You're supposed to be ready to face danger at a moment's notice." Sara teased. "Consider it your first real test."

"Is it a test of survival?" Rean scoffed.

Sara chuckled. "You could think of it that way."

"Well, I hoped you liked having a boyfriend." Rean sighed. "Living was fun while it lasted."

Sara snickered. "Oh come on. Stop being so melodramatic, you're not actually gonna die, you know."

Rean eyed her with a glare. "Have you met Aurelia before?"

Rolling her eyes, Sara put on a smirk. "Does the big and powerful Ashen Chevalier need little old me to put his resignation letter in for him?"

Rean actually seemed to give the idea serious consideration for a moment. "No." He shook his head eventually. "No, it'd probably be worse if you did that. She'd just hunt me down anyway."

"Most likely." Sara nodded. She gave him a long, cautious look. "Ok, Rean, if it's really that much of a bother to you, you don't have to-"

"Are you kidding?" Rean exclaimed, expression confused. "Of course I still want to be a bracer, Sara. Hell, I wouldn't have put up with everything you put me through yesterday if I didn't."

Sara blinked then chuckled. "Well, when you put it like that …"

Rean smiled, he turned to look out over the lake as the morning sun slowly peeked up and over the mountains that surrounded them. "Besides, going on adventures with you across the Empire, all of Zemuria even? It'll be just like old times, and that sounds like heaven to me."

Sara had to bite her lip to keep her goofy grin down. "Yeah, I won't lie: I was hoping you'd say something like that."

Rean looked back into her eyes. His own were so very sincere. "And I meant it. Sara, there's nowhere I'd rather be than by your side."

"Even after everything I put you through yesterday?" Sara asked with a hint of a grimace.

Rean seemed to weigh it up for a moment. "Even in spite of that, yes."

Sara chuckled under breath. She had to lower her gaze just to keep her composure. After a moment of chewing her lip, she brought her eyes up again with a hungry look.

"Well, don't worry. Whatever Le Guinn puts you through, I'll be sure to make it worth your while." Sara sang seductively.

"Oh really?" Rean's smile was delightfully goofy. "How so?"

"Well …" Sara began slowly as she pushed him onto his back and moved over to straddle him once more, pinning his hands back above his head, "maybe a little more of last night, for starters."

"For starters?" Rean breathed as Sara leaned in to nibble at his neck.

"Hmm hmm." Sara smirked as she pressed kisses up his jaw. "In fact, maybe it'll be a lot more. I've got quite a few other courses in mind for you."

"Well, how can I say no to that?" Rean chuckled. "You did once promise me the full course, remember?"

"I remember." Sara purred, gazing into his eyes lovingly. "And I intend to keep my promise, partner."

Sara delighted in that wide smile that took over his lips. So much so that it was almost a shame to take over those lips with hers, but Sara had always been greedy in a way.

She was so greedy in fact, that she ate him up then and there, and then went back for seconds, and thirds and – even though it was so early in the morning – she had her desserts there as well.