Soul Fires

Author\'s Notes: All characters, places, etc. belong to ME! HAHA! No citrus here, but more character background and bonding. (No, not bondage. Sorry.)

Peredur lay on his bed. The newness of the room was making it difficult for him to fully relax, and he found his thoughts drifting back to Taan’s kiss.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been kissed by a fellow student. Not long after his father had brought him to the Collegium, his classroom aptitude had attracted the attention of teachers and students alike. Soon, he was placed in classes usually reserved for second and third year students.

Lyralin had approached him after one particularly dry lecture. She was a second-year, but she had been openly watching Peredur from the day he had first entered the classroom. Apparently, her distraction was beginning to affect her studies, and she needed some help practicing the techniques.

The tutoring session hadn’t lasted long. The distraction of his presence was magnified ten-fold as he earnestly tried to walk her through the exercise. His own easy mastery of the process wasn’t helping matters either.

“No, no. Visualize first. Get it set,” he instructed for what seemed like the fifteenth time.

“All right,” she said, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. “Got it.” Her eyes opened, staring forcefully at the space just above her cupped hand.

“Now, focus...” he continued, waiting for her nod, “and release.”

“Phos tetra,” she spoke. Four spheres of light wavered in her hand.

“Good,” he breathed. “Now, instruct them.”

Slowly, the four spheres rose in formation, but as they reached eye-level, they suddenly fused into a shapeless lump and flared briefly before vanishing. Peredur looked back at her, expecting to see his frustration mirrored in her eyes. Instead, she seemed honestly surprised and pleased by her progress. Without warning, she embraced him. He stiffened, inexperience over-riding conscious action. As her lips brushed his, she sensed his withdrawal.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling back. “I – got carried away.”

Before he could react, she was gone. The moment had passed, and he wasn’t sure what he had done.

The next day, Lyralin paid full attention to the instructor. Within a week, she seemed to be grasping the material. She never approached him after that. For some reason, that hadn’t sunk in until now. As Peredur stared at the dark ceiling, it occurred to him that this should have bothered him.

He wondered why it didn’t.

In fact, even thinking about that kiss didn’t have any effect on him.

Taan’s, on the other hand...

He felt a flush creep over his face. The kiss hadn’t lasted any longer than Lyralin’s, and it had been just as unexpected. He still wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react to it, but what his mind couldn’t wrap around, his body had no trouble interpreting.

With an irritated huff, Peredur tried to find a more comfortable position. The new mattress was accomodating enough, but mind and body conspired to keep him awake far longer than he would have liked. Sometime after midnight, exhaustion trumped them both, and he yielded to half-remembered dreams.

* * * * * * *

All too soon, there was a knock on his door.

“Perry, you awake yet?” The voice, muffled by the polished wood, was very familiar.

With a groan, he untangled himself from the sheets, seeking out a pair of pants.

“Just a minute,” he called out. Suddenly, he noticed the position of the shadows. “Please tell me I’m imagining the time?”

“No such luck,” came the answer, less muffled now. “Nobody saw you at breakfast, so I thought I’d check back here. On the bright side, classes don’t start until tomorrow.”

Peredur turned to see the door had swung open, and Taan was standing just outside. There was a faint smile on the Fire-path’s face. Peredur shrugged into a clean shirt, busying his hands with the lacing until he was sure they were steady.

“Come on, you look fine,” Taan laughed. Peredur fought to maintain his composure. Surely he was misinterpreting the comment. He steadied himself and stepped into a pair of sandals. The day was warm, and there was no need for anything heavier inside the grounds.

As he straightened, he saw that Taan was still leaning against the doorframe. “I take it you’ve got nothing planned for today?”

“I had a couple of ideas.” Dark blue eyes glittered. “I was thinking I could rope somebody into showing me around this place. Interested?”

Peredur’s breath caught briefly. “If you don’t mind stopping by the kitchens first. I’d like to see if I can get an early lunch – or at least a snack.”

The two young men headed for the low, spacious building that housed the dining area and kitchens. As Peredur had suspected, the large communal room was empty, and only dimly lit. Brighter lights were visible through the archway that led to the kitchens. Seeing this as a good sign, he led the way around the shadowed tables to investigate.

“Hello?” he called, as he crossed into the brighter area, blinking after the trek across the dining area.

“Well, now. I never thought I’d see the day you overslept.” The cheerful baritone would have been more than enough to identify the speaker, but the spattered apron was the artist’s mark.

“I won’t have time for it after classes start, Maeth,” Peredur laughed. “I’m just sorry I missed your creation this morning.”

“You know I don’t do repeat performances,” the kitchen-master chided, waving a soup ladle at the teens. His serious expression was quickly spoiled by a rolling laugh. “But, I can set you up with a preview of my next showing. Just don’t go trashing my clean tables.” He disappeared into the controlled chaos of the prep area. Taan started to follow him, but was held back by Peredur’s hand on his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t do that,” the young Spirit-path warned. “Maeth is very picky about what goes on in his domain. Believe me, you don’t want to tick off the people that handle your food.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Not a bit. Oh, he’d keep it edible, but you’d be experiencing some new spices for a while.”

Maeth emerged from the bustle with a pair of paper-wrapped bundles. “I s’pect it would be rude to only feed one of ya,” he said, handing each of them a package. “That should set you up until lunchtime.”

“Thank you, Maeth,” Peredur said. “I really appreciate this.”

“Ahh, off with ya,” the kitchen-master interrupted, waving the two young men away. They took the hint and headed back across the dining area and out into the full sunlight.

“Where to now?” Taan asked.

“Someplace to enjoy my sandwich,” Peredur replied. “There’s a stand of trees behind the apprentice quarters that I’ve been using as a study area for some time now. Although if our hallmates haven’t changed too much, I may have to find someplace quieter this year.”

Taan looked pained. “That bad? I’ll help you look.”

Peredur led the way around the buildings to the promised sanctuary. The cluster of trees shaded an area easily the size of one of the suites in the apprentice quarters. Near the middle, a smoothed stump stood in a spotlight of sunshine. Peredur smiled and gestured at the clearing.

“Welcome to my personal study hall.”

“You realize that we’re probably the only people who consider that a good place, right?” Taan smiled back at him as they sat down next to the stump.

“Means that there won’t be many people traipsing through here.” Peredur replied as he unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. “Maeth never does anything halfway.”

For a while, they ate in comfortable silence. The sounds of the campus were pleasantly muffled, and a light breeze rustled the branches above them.

“Perry?” Taan had stretched out in the warm sunlight.

“Hmm?”

“Does it ever – bother you?”

“What?”

“Being here. As different as we are.”

Peredur stared off into the distance, his arms draped loosely across his knees. “I never really thought of it. After my father heard that he had a prodigy in the family, there wasn’t much of a choice in the matter.” As he spoke, his fingers traced uneasy patterns in the air before settling on his upper arms. “He couldn’t get me here fast enough and bragged to the caravan all the way here from Seprikas. I think even the horses were tired of hearing about it by the end.”

There was a rustle in the grass as Taan shifted position. The silence was now awkward, and Perry flinched when he felt a light touch on his arm.

“Hey, sorry.” The quiet voice spoke of honest concern. “I get that sort of thing from teachers all the time, but I doubt my parents even mention me any more.”

Perry’s grip on his own arms loosened, and he turned to face the Fire-path. “Why’s that?”

“They aren’t too happy with the choices I’ve made. See, I wasn’t recruited. I just wanted to learn, so I showed up at Remmerock one day. I’m a quick study, and that’s how I ended up here. My father figured I’d follow in his footsteps, and my mother – well – she wasn’t too thrilled that I was getting interested in ‘something so dangerous’.”

Perry sighed. “And so here we are.”

Deep blue eyes mirrored forest green. “Would you trade it?”

A tilted smile crossed Perry’s face. “Probably not. Crazy, isn’t it?”

“No crazier than me putting myself here by choice.”

“Want to see the rest of the asylum?”

“Hmm, I probably should. Getting lost going to classes isn’t the best way to start the year.”

Perry unfolded from where he was sitting, and offered Taan a hand up. As they walked out of the copse, the sounds of the other apprentices drifted back into focus.

“I guess you don’t need to find another study hall,” Taan laughed. “The trees seem to put up a pretty decent noise shield.”

You’re welcome to join me if the suite gets too noisy,” Perry replied. I know how bad this group can get.”

The rest of the day kept them far from their hallmates. Even the other transfers seemed uninterested in learning more than the route to the kitchens and the sword-field. Lunch came and went unnoticed as Perry and Taan visited the more esoteric reaches of the Collegium. By dinner time, they finally made their way back to the kitchens.

“You realize that if you don’t eat, you’re going to pass out in class, don’t you?” Maeth shook a wooden spoon at the two stragglers.

Perry ducked his head in mock contrition. “It won’t happen again, sir,” he apologized.

“Good. You’d be dealing with the Healer’s cooking at that point.” A wink took the edge off of the admonishment.

After dinner, the two apprentices headed back towards their quarters. As they approached the building, Perry suddenly stopped.

“Taan, about last night,” Perry started.

The Fire-path froze. “Yes?”

“I was wondering – what made you decide –“

“To kiss you?” The words came out in a rush, like the swift tug of a wound-dressing being removed.

Perry blushed. “Yes, that.”

Pale fingers ruffled through dark hair. “It – I don’t know. It felt right at the time, and afterwards I just hoped you wouldn’t freak out.”

Perry was silent for a moment.

“You’re not freaking out, are you?” The shadow of the building hid his expression. Hope and resignation tangled in his voice.

“No, I’m not. I only asked because it felt right to me, too.”

Author\'s Note: Aren\'t they cute? I\'ve also finished the portrait of Peredur and will upload that tonight over on deviantArt. I\'ve also managed to find a beta for my next Sephiku story, so work will begin on that shortly.