44th of Winter, 518AV
Without winter, the air was not as crisp as it should have been. Lani did not realize how utterly humid winters could be without snow, especially this far up in the mountains. The heavy coating of dead leaves from the fall was now clumped together with the rain and mud, and although she hated wearing boots, it was a necessity today. Thick leather soles protected her padded feet from the sloshy uneven mud, and whatever dangers it could be hiding. She was not a complete idiot, and knew that one should not stomp through the wild, but the wet ground made it hard as she followed Narth to the little clearing they had begun practicing at. Where his feet made small dainty patters against the dead leaves, her clumsy boots sucked at the mud, sounding off loud squishes as she followed suit. She tried to step on the leaves where she could, mimicking the red-haired warrior she followed, but with her luck she managed to find only a few that could quiet her footsteps.
When they did reach the small clearing, she examined the underside of her boot, finding a thick caking of leaves and mud ringing the side of her shoe, and she remembered why she put up with the uncomfortable leather on days like these.
The trees were bare above them, but a faint mist had settled around them, creating thick humidity in the air, but helping cool them off ever so slightly. Lani glanced up to admire the view for a moment. Although it was not the lush sunny environment that most people craved, she almost adored this muddy wet day surrounded by dead vegetation, and so utterly alone. Well, except for Narth.
”Nice day,” She commented adding a hint of sarcasm into her tone, although she did genuinely think it was a nice day. Narth snorted, and her black gaze slid to find his face, crowned by the prickly attire of dead branches that hung around him, weighted down with the recent rain. He was unravelling the small bundle he had brought with him, procuring two wooden swords from it, and wiping them down with the bottom of his shirt, revealing a slightly tanned portion of fatty skin. He was a very muscular man, but he was also an Endal, and so he ate well, making him rather large in general with all of the muscle that he acquired from his work being generously coated in fat and hair. But in the moment, dressed in the Inartan clothing and with recent scuffs and bruises from some unknown fight, his bare arms tensed as he wiped them off, accenting the uncomfortably strong triceps just right in the dim morning mist, and Lani felt a small surge of arousal course through her abdomen. He looked just a little more deadly than usual today, and she was just a little too into it.
”You know,” Lani laid a hand on her hip, resting just above her own sword and slowly took a few steps towards the man, letting her hips sway just a little more than they would with the natural movement. ”We have to go to bath after this. Want to get muddy?” She questioned, closing in on his personal space and smoothing a hand over his forearm with the offer. Of course, as usual, her mind had thought up more seductive words than what had come out. Her weak grasp on the language tended to disadvantage her seduction tactics, although she was getting better… in both. It was Narth’s idea to teach her the talon sword, and she wanted to learn desperately, but she was a women subject to her own body’s whims. At that moment, tumbling in the mud seemed a far better idea than earning more bruises than lessons with the wooden swords.
