p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It was almost nightfall when they arrived at the camp and the cart stopped to let everyone off. Drannor stumbled slightly as he got off of the old rickety cart, his legs had gone numb from having them in the same position for so long. He watched as Thalia stretched out her legs and wings with a big yawn. "Man in pooped, I'm going to head to my tent. Tell Captain Handsome I said hello!" She giggled as she flew off and Drannor's cheeks flushed as he shook his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"There were no secrets between him and Thalia, she knew how he used to be known as a girl before joining the army. That secret was spilled when she tended to his wounds and started questioning why he had layers of linen wrapped around his chest. She also knew about his attraction to Captain Hadir, or Captain Handsome as she liked to call /And boy was he handsome, a tall and well-built half-elf with piercing green eyes a chiseled jawline, and pale silver hair. To top it all off Drannor got on very well with Hadir they would often share a drink as he would tell Drannon of his past triumphs. But it was something that simply couldn't be especially since Hadir was a captain let alone twice his age, even if he didn't look it. And to top it all off Drannor's mother would not approve of such a match since Hadir was a half-elf and 'Humans are not to be trusted, in any form.' Which Drannor thought was a load of rubbish but he dared not go against his mother, against his mother he was a coward./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor sighed softly as he walked to the Commander's tent. He'd been given orders once the commander had left to meet him once he had arrived. "Sir it's Drannor." He called out and immediately he heard the call of Hadir's gravelly voice. "Ah Drannor come in, you've come just in time for some mead." Drannor lifted the red tent flap and stepped inside. Inside the tent was a large rug covering the dirt ground a bed on the left side of the tent and an oak table with two chairs on the right side. At the foot of the bed was a large chest which Drannor assumed was where the commander kept his clothes and personal items./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"At the table, Hadir was sat putting another silver goblet on his table next to his own and filling it to the top with mead. "Come sit and tell me how your journey was." he smiled at Drannor as he complied and sat down next to Hadir. "Well to put it bluntly you could do with buying a bigger cart and some cushions, I think I still can't feel my backside." /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir chortled at Drannor's blunt honesty. "So still like how it was when I was your age then. How are you feeling about tomorrow?" br /"Anxious. Not really about tomorrow as such, I'm more anxious about dying and not knowing what the future brings, not knowing love or a lover's touch." Drannon replied looking down as he frowned softly and took a sip of his mead, a blush dusting his cheeks. He immediately regretted saying such a thing to his commander, how embarrassing. He could not even make the excuse of being drunk, he'd barely touched his drink./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir frowned softly himself and took a drink of his mead before gently lifting Drannor's chin and looking into his violet eyes that seemed so young. "You know I won't think badly of you if you decide to go home right now, neither would your friends. I won't sugarcoat this for you, this year's test will be more deadly and dangerous than any other year. The council has upped the stakes the wars are getting bigger and more complicated so they need better fighters. Do you still want to do this?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor looked back into his eyes intently, he felt like he could melt into those green pools that seemed to hold so much care and gentleness for him. "Yes, I've never doubted my decision. I want to help others...Even at the cost of my own life, Even if I die with so many regrets and thoughts of what-ifs. I can fight, so I must for those who can't." He responded without even having to think about it. Hadir looked away dropping Drannor's chin, he was hoping that Drannor would leave. He knew Drannor was good at fighting but with the odds stacked against the new recruits he didn't think any of them would make it out alive. For each time the council upped the risks fewer and fewer recruits came back and the ones that did, come back changed, with a haunted look in their eyes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir took another drink as he remained deep in thought, He'd known Drannor for five years now and had grown to care for him, more than was professional. Perhaps he could offer an experience Drannor may never experience after tomorrow. He knew the young elf was attracted to him and he could not deny that he felt a similar attraction to him as /He decided at that moment to take a chance, he put down his goblet and took Drannor's off of him as well. Drannor looked up at his commander in confusion the action of taking his goblet from him was quite sudden and out of the blue, His mind began to race wondering if he'd done or said something wrong. That was until he felt Hadir's rough lips press against his only briefly but it sent shockwaves through Drannor all the same./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor could swear that his heart stopped as his cheeks went a bright red and he froze wide-eyed staring at his commander, his handsome commander that just kissed him. "Y-you kissed me?" Drannon stood up with a start as he touched his lips. Hadir watched him clear his throat as his blush receded slightly. "Why?, You're my commander and friend...It's hardly appropriate. What if someone finds out? We'll get kicked out!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir stood up and put his hands on Drannor's arms. "Breath. Dran look at me." He paused waiting for Drannor to meet his eyes. "No one will know and if someone were to find out they could hardly do anything. I kissed you because I wanted to, I've wanted to for a while now...If you don't want this tell me now and we will never speak of it again. things will continue as normal. But we could continue tonight, pretend to have no responsibilities. Tonight may be the last night that you can do so."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor felt like his cheeks would never stop burning. All of this was rather sudden and too much for him. He flinched away and stepped back as Hadir brushed his hand against his /Drannor's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds before he fled the tent and rushed to his own small one next to Thalia's. He sat on the straw mattress in his tent and pinched the bridge of his nose as he breathed, frustrated with himself. He'd just had everything handed to him on a platter the man he admired and thought impossible to attain, willing and placed in front of him yet he ran away scared. I may not be scared of monsters but Mother is right I am still a coward, he thought to himself. And now it wasn't like he could go back to Hadir. The Captain probably thought of him as a right fool or a child. He could die tomorrow, yet he let the opportunity slip right through his fingers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"These thoughts continued to plague him throughout the night until sleep finally claimed him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"There were no secrets between him and Thalia, she knew how he used to be known as a girl before joining the army. That secret was spilled when she tended to his wounds and started questioning why he had layers of linen wrapped around his chest. She also knew about his attraction to Captain Hadir, or Captain Handsome as she liked to call /And boy was he handsome, a tall and well-built half-elf with piercing green eyes a chiseled jawline, and pale silver hair. To top it all off Drannor got on very well with Hadir they would often share a drink as he would tell Drannon of his past triumphs. But it was something that simply couldn't be especially since Hadir was a captain let alone twice his age, even if he didn't look it. And to top it all off Drannor's mother would not approve of such a match since Hadir was a half-elf and 'Humans are not to be trusted, in any form.' Which Drannor thought was a load of rubbish but he dared not go against his mother, against his mother he was a coward./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor sighed softly as he walked to the Commander's tent. He'd been given orders once the commander had left to meet him once he had arrived. "Sir it's Drannor." He called out and immediately he heard the call of Hadir's gravelly voice. "Ah Drannor come in, you've come just in time for some mead." Drannor lifted the red tent flap and stepped inside. Inside the tent was a large rug covering the dirt ground a bed on the left side of the tent and an oak table with two chairs on the right side. At the foot of the bed was a large chest which Drannor assumed was where the commander kept his clothes and personal items./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"At the table, Hadir was sat putting another silver goblet on his table next to his own and filling it to the top with mead. "Come sit and tell me how your journey was." he smiled at Drannor as he complied and sat down next to Hadir. "Well to put it bluntly you could do with buying a bigger cart and some cushions, I think I still can't feel my backside." /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir chortled at Drannor's blunt honesty. "So still like how it was when I was your age then. How are you feeling about tomorrow?" br /"Anxious. Not really about tomorrow as such, I'm more anxious about dying and not knowing what the future brings, not knowing love or a lover's touch." Drannon replied looking down as he frowned softly and took a sip of his mead, a blush dusting his cheeks. He immediately regretted saying such a thing to his commander, how embarrassing. He could not even make the excuse of being drunk, he'd barely touched his drink./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir frowned softly himself and took a drink of his mead before gently lifting Drannor's chin and looking into his violet eyes that seemed so young. "You know I won't think badly of you if you decide to go home right now, neither would your friends. I won't sugarcoat this for you, this year's test will be more deadly and dangerous than any other year. The council has upped the stakes the wars are getting bigger and more complicated so they need better fighters. Do you still want to do this?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor looked back into his eyes intently, he felt like he could melt into those green pools that seemed to hold so much care and gentleness for him. "Yes, I've never doubted my decision. I want to help others...Even at the cost of my own life, Even if I die with so many regrets and thoughts of what-ifs. I can fight, so I must for those who can't." He responded without even having to think about it. Hadir looked away dropping Drannor's chin, he was hoping that Drannor would leave. He knew Drannor was good at fighting but with the odds stacked against the new recruits he didn't think any of them would make it out alive. For each time the council upped the risks fewer and fewer recruits came back and the ones that did, come back changed, with a haunted look in their eyes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir took another drink as he remained deep in thought, He'd known Drannor for five years now and had grown to care for him, more than was professional. Perhaps he could offer an experience Drannor may never experience after tomorrow. He knew the young elf was attracted to him and he could not deny that he felt a similar attraction to him as /He decided at that moment to take a chance, he put down his goblet and took Drannor's off of him as well. Drannor looked up at his commander in confusion the action of taking his goblet from him was quite sudden and out of the blue, His mind began to race wondering if he'd done or said something wrong. That was until he felt Hadir's rough lips press against his only briefly but it sent shockwaves through Drannor all the same./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor could swear that his heart stopped as his cheeks went a bright red and he froze wide-eyed staring at his commander, his handsome commander that just kissed him. "Y-you kissed me?" Drannon stood up with a start as he touched his lips. Hadir watched him clear his throat as his blush receded slightly. "Why?, You're my commander and friend...It's hardly appropriate. What if someone finds out? We'll get kicked out!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hadir stood up and put his hands on Drannor's arms. "Breath. Dran look at me." He paused waiting for Drannor to meet his eyes. "No one will know and if someone were to find out they could hardly do anything. I kissed you because I wanted to, I've wanted to for a while now...If you don't want this tell me now and we will never speak of it again. things will continue as normal. But we could continue tonight, pretend to have no responsibilities. Tonight may be the last night that you can do so."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Drannor felt like his cheeks would never stop burning. All of this was rather sudden and too much for him. He flinched away and stepped back as Hadir brushed his hand against his /Drannor's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds before he fled the tent and rushed to his own small one next to Thalia's. He sat on the straw mattress in his tent and pinched the bridge of his nose as he breathed, frustrated with himself. He'd just had everything handed to him on a platter the man he admired and thought impossible to attain, willing and placed in front of him yet he ran away scared. I may not be scared of monsters but Mother is right I am still a coward, he thought to himself. And now it wasn't like he could go back to Hadir. The Captain probably thought of him as a right fool or a child. He could die tomorrow, yet he let the opportunity slip right through his fingers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif, 'GNU Unifont'; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"These thoughts continued to plague him throughout the night until sleep finally claimed him./p