[OPEN] Peace Bore a Heavy Price

[lifeofendurance]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: Aleron and Nathaniel are hosting an BSG boxing match open sparring session to work out personal griefs within the Inquisition.
WHEN: Drakonis 30, All Day
WHERE: Just outside Camp Shady (aka, the Warden's Camp outside Skyhold)
NOTES: More information, including the rules, can be found here. You do not have to have signed up to participate. Non-combatants can come and just cheer for their favorites or appreciate fine bodies getting physical. Please note in your subject line if you're spectating, healing, or open for fighting.



Just outside the site where the Wardens have established themselves, a space has been cleared. Its boundaries are marked with some wooden posts driven into the ground with loose ropes stretched out between them. A copy of the rules has been nailed to one of the posts. It flaps in the wind, but seems to stay in place with but little fraying as the day wears on:

1. No magic.
2. A volunteer healer will determine whether someone is fit for a bout.
3. Conduct the fight honorably. If someone surrenders the fight, it ends immediately and without question.
4. Don't deliberately incapacitate someone to the point where they won't be able to perform their duties after the fight is over.
5. All weapons must be blunt, even blades.
6. Challenged chooses the method of competition.

At the end of the fight, participants are to consider their issue resolved and move forward.

Off to one side, a basic triage is set up for combatants who have taken their licks. Volunteer healers are present to offer treatment for injuries and to determine who remains fit to fight. Their decision is absolute.

For the spectators, there is ample room to stand around and watch. One of the merchants from the pilgrim's encampment has caught wind of the impromptu event and decided it's a grand time to turn a profit. He's got a cookpot set up and is hawking fine treats like fennec-on-a-stick, druffalo kebabs, and smoked nug legs. He's also selling wooden cups of ale for five coppers, but it's questionable if there's more water or ale. Let the buyer beware.

Comments

[ombranera]

Turns with time in between, I should think. To give him time to cool off afterward should things become...heated.

[ Which they might. Zevran knows his skills, after all, and Anders is terribly charming. ]

[pinprick]

You're both very optimistic. [He gives a tic of his chin.] Anders, you're first.

[justice_is_blond]

I'm first? You mean all I had to do after months and months of flirting was come up with a challenge, and then...

[He shakes his head, smile saying that he's clearly teasing as he closes the distance between them. No touching below the waist means that he leans forward rather than completely crowding Nate. Anders' hand goes to Nate's cheek, thumb rubbing along it as he meets the archer's eyes.]

Is there a reason I shouldn't be optimistic?

[His voice is low and promising, just barely above a whisper.]

I know you, Nate.

[He slides his hand to cup the back of the archer's head as he comes in close... to brush his lips lightly over Nate's cheekbone and not his lips. Direct is not the name of the game here.]

I find you beyond impressive, and you know I mean that.

[Another light touch of lips to cheekbone, higher this time, closer to Nate's ear, and Anders steps back and raises an eyebrow at Zevran. Damn straight Anders is going to use everything he knows. Bring it, Crow.]

[pinprick]

[Well, all right. Anders doesn't have any moves Nathaniel hasn't seen, he supposes, but something still makes him blush when his voice goes low like that. But the blush fades fairly quickly when Anders touches him and it...it's not weird. Or uncomfortable. It almost feels familiar. Nathaniel remains stone-still during the near-kiss, the touch of lips against his cheek, the murmur in his ear as if unmoved. He's reminding himself, mentally, that this is all an act. If Anders really wanted him, he would have moved well before now.]

Not bad, [he says lightly.] Personal, but safe. Still, you're just getting warmed up.

[ombranera]

Oh ho, he has charms. Who knew?

[ Zevran crackles a soft laugh as Anders steps away, speaking only after Nathaniel seems to have settled himself again. Breaking the spell early- well that would be cheating and this? Is meant to be done in all due fairness. ]

Whenever you are ready, Ser, I shall take my turn.

[pinprick]

Go ahead.

[ombranera]

[ Zevran does not have the benefit of knowing Nathaniel all that well, nor the benefit of living with the man- but observation counts for a great deal. Closeness, a low pitched voice, a roundabout means of getting to the point. He considers his options for a moment, eye going warm and half lidded as his gaze drags from Nathaniel's feet in a long line to his face.

No touching below the waist- that he can do. But there were no rules about looking. ]

There are marvelous things to be said of longbowmen. Their strength, their endurance- [ He takes a step closer, not quite as deep into Nathaniel's space as Anders had been but close enough to slip a hand out and curl his fingers about Nathaniel's wrist, tugging it up to hold between his hands. Callouses meet callouses as he traces the line of Nate's palm, voice low and intimate and considering. ] The deftness of hand, keenness of eye.

[ Zevran meets Nathaniel's gaze as he lifts his hand, brushing his lips to the thin skin of his inner wrist, breath a wash as he speaks against his pulse. ] And you are a marvel all your own, are you not?

[ He releases Nate's hand with one last soft kiss to his palm before stepping back, posture going from sultry to casual in a heartbeat. ]

[pinprick]

[The thing about Zevran is his accent. His accent, aimed at you, makes it impossible not to smile. Even though Nathaniel knows this is all for show, he can't help but consider whether hitting him up afterward might be a lot of fun. It must be part of how he uses his charm. The same accent on anyone else wouldn't necessarily be charming in and of itself.

Still, as he avoids looking at the man, his eyes wind up landing briefly on Anders before he glances away. That's one disadvantage Anders has, perhaps. Zevran has the added benefit of mystery. And yet there's some strange bias Nathaniel feels in Anders' favor, as if he wants Anders to make him forget there's nothing between them nope nope nope forgetting he thought that nope. Fair, unbiased seducery judging.]

Well. First round goes to Zevran. Give me a minute, and I'll give you gentlemen a minute to consider your strategies.

[justice_is_blond]

[There's the slightest feeling of jealousy when Zevran kisses Nate, and as it's absolutely ungrounded Anders pushes it away. Especially when he's glanced at, as if to say this is how it's done. Nate's words confirm it, and he sighs. His Nate. Not even close.]

If we're gentlemen, Purrelden's a mabari.

[Anders reaches up to rub a temple, feeling the stirring that comes when Justice wants to make a point. This is a waste of time, yes, but it's not a harmful one, and it's not like there's anything else he could be doing. No one's over in the injured area at the moment save healers. He could be talking, but it's not going to be useful right now because everyone's focused on fights. He'd be more likely to be challenged than anything.

In short, this is a perfectly fine way to spend the afternoon. It is.

As soon as Nate signals that he's ready, Anders' expression goes from amused to intent again. The wrist move was ingenious, but he's not going to copy that. Not quite.]

He talks about longbowmen in general. But I know specifics.

[His hands go to Nate's biceps and travel up, following a path his eyes have taken many times before, massaging the muscles as his gaze flickers between that and Nate's eyes.]

The way you hold your ground.

[He's reached Nate's shoulders now, and he wraps his arms around the man, one hand resting on a shoulderblade while the other goes through Nate's hair and gently urges the man's head back just a little.]

The way you stand strong, confident, in the face of everything.

[He'd started at cheek before, and Anders kisses there again, a continuation, before trailing a line of slow kisses down Nate's jaw to the pulsepoint on his throat.]

Your heart.

[There are some things he won't say, things that aren't fair game here. How Nate's quite possibly the best person he knows. How Anders would be a dozen times dead without him, and might as well be because there's a gap there he'd not noticed until Nate had filled it again. But there are some things that can be said.]

How large it is, how powerful it is.

[He adds tongue to the kiss on the pulsepoint before sucking lightly. No mark will be left, but there's no way Nate will be forgetting it quickly.]

How to make it pound.

[He smiles against the spot briefly before stepping back and glancing over at Zevran. Anders is outmatched, but he's not going to make this easy.]

[pinprick]

[Zevran made him smile, but...

Well, he'd wanted Anders to make him forget they weren't together encouraged Anders away from being safe, so here he is getting what he wanted. His eyes cloud, and he finds himself leaning into the embrace. There are warm, dry lips against his skin, and he is caught off-guard by how he feels about it. How much he wants to hold on to Anders and chase these feelings until he finds their source, like tangled strings.

If he didn't look convinced before, he does now, when Anders steps back and Nate feels suddenly cold.

He clears his throat and turns around to rub at his eyes. It's not his eyes that are the worst problem, mind you. There's something else, and it's not just the flames crawling all over his skin.]

Give me a minute, [he says hoarsely, sitting down and breathing deeply. Genlocks. Shrieks. The b-word. The b-word never fails. Whew.

He stands up again.]

All right. Zevran.

[ombranera]

[ Well.

Shit.


Anders never made mention that there was more than idle attraction between them. A game of seduction is only fun when everyone is aware and no feelings can be hurt by the teasing. There are precious few ways he might play this that will not escalate and cause some manner of upset in the next round- provided there is a next round. He could attempt to make a decisive win here but Nathaniel looks thoroughly preoccupied and Anders might be bruised by the decision, or it will go another round, escalate further, and the mockery of what a man wants will be dangled before him and the joke made of it will cut deeply.

Complications.

Zevran leans against the fence and glances from Nathaniel to Anders and back again, brow quirked. ]

If you need a little longer, I can wait. I would rather stir a flame from a dead hearth than build upon embers someone else has set.

[justice_is_blond]

[Meanwhile, Anders is feeling smug. He's teased for forever to no effect, had been wondering if he even had a shot after the first round, and now Nate's clearly showing that he'd enjoyed that. He relaxes against the fence as well, patient. Nathaniel can take all the time he needs. Anders can get through to even the most resistant. ...So long as they don't hate him. He should probably not try seducing someone who does.]

That's fair of you. Though I'll note you copied my initial approach somewhat, built upon it.

[Except Zevran is raising an eyebrow. Anders wonders if he's missing something here. He glances between Nate and Zevran, and isn't sure what it would be. Nate's said he's ready. Anders' expression turns a little puzzled, but really, he might be looking for additional meaning where there is none.]

Then again, I wasn't certain that would work. He's ignored my flirting for as long as I've known him.

[pinprick]

This isn't at all making me uneasy, the two of you discussing my state like it amuses you, [Nathaniel growls. But he does take the extra minute. The furnace is plenty cold when he gives Zevran the nod.]

Go on.

[ombranera]

Amuse? Hardly. I find your being worked into a state terribly attractive and somewhat distracting.

[ And this is said before he slips into the posture, the voice, the training. It is offered as an offhand fact, something simple and true before the game begins again. He still is somewhat uncertain how to do this thing, the sudden addition of complications has a small part of him uneasy. It has ever been the wiser course not to stray where he might tangle threads further. Anders oblivious, Nathaniel resistant likely for reasons he cannot guess at but must be valid beyond 'they are both likely to die soon'. He won't make assumptions.

But he will make a play.

Common is abandoned entirely- Anders' words have weight, have meaning and that is not something he can offer. The language of Antiva may be unfamiliar- but the intent? Is easy enough to gauge. Like honey on leather it drips past his lips as he again takes Nathaniel by the wrist, murmuring low, warm poetry into the skin of his palms and wrists, brushing kisses there, resting one in his own hair, one at the small of his back- implicit permission to draw him in as he would wish.

And by the time he is done? He likely would wish.

Or at least that is the hope. Playing the sultry, foreign lover card is the best way to differentiate himself from Anders and to be different is the idea- even if it is likely not what Nathaniel wants most. Zevran steps in close, continuing to murmur soft, appreciative Antivan against his skin as he noses along his collar, trailing up as much as Anders had trailed down. Light and languid- he takes his time as he would if he were going at this in truth, lips and breath and the odd swipe of tongue marking a path from chest to throat to the lobe of his ear, teeth nipping as light as he can manage (without an idea as to Nathaniel's preference it's best to play it safe) when he reaches his prize.

To kiss him or come close to it he must rest his hands on Nathaniel's shoulders and lift himself onto his toes- emphasizing how small and slight he is against the admittedly much larger man is part of the play. He is small, he is fine, he could be carted about easily- many find that alluring. He takes great care in how he drags his lips along Nate's jaw, the corner of his mouth, barely brushing their lips together as he waits for any sign that being this close, this intimate is unwelcome. If there is none he presses onward, for all the build up? The kiss itself is surprisingly chaste, dry and warm. Something gauging.

He drops back onto his heels at that, stepping away and clearing his throat. ]

And this round goes to...?

[ Anders, he's fairly certain. He does not mind it. ]

[pinprick]

[Ordinarily something like this might be very exotic and stimulating. Nathaniel has never been much for fetishizing foreigners, though. More urgently, he's distracted thinking about Anders. Anders is right there and watching someone else kiss him. Nathaniel remains still, allowing the attentions, but not reciprocating. More and more, he's simply impatient to get it over with and let Anders have another turn so he can figure out if this thing is what he thinks it is.

When Zevran is done, he clears his throat.]

Anders. [Wait. That's really unfair to Zevran. No, no it's not. That act wouldn't have been Nathaniel's thing even without Anders.]

Another minute, gentlemen. [He's feeling oddly nervous, like a boy awaiting his first kiss. Is Anders going to try kissing him?]

[justice_is_blond]

[It's quite the sight to watch, and for all his talk about making Nate's heart pound, Anders can feel his own respond to the scene. Zevran is lithe and gorgeous, Nate distinctly handsome. One is all golds and browns, the other pale with night-black hair. They're beautiful.

He has to take a breath of his own after, hearing the both of them clearing their throats and fairly certain that yet again, the round went to Zevran. There's a great deal of art to what the elf does and Anders is not his match here. ...Except Nate says he's won, and Anders blinks in surprise. Maybe that's what the brow earlier had meant, Zevran knew he'd scored the point even before starting? That could be why he'd taken such a different approach this time.

Of course, that means there's going to have to be a tie-breaking round and that's a little intimidating. Zevran's gone for the lips. The bar's been set. He'll just have to make it worth it.]

Take your time.

[He's not the one that was just kissed and spoken to in Antivan by Zevran, and he's even a little fired up by it. He's going to have to ask Zevran to do that to him sometime, clearly.]

I'd not rush after that either.

[ombranera]

[ Had he pride to wound, that impatience would cut deep. As he seems to know the truth of the matter better than either man involved? He does not mind it all that much. It is what it is. No amount of skill or seduction can make up for Sentiment.

Zevran steps aside and hops up onto the fence, giving himself a little distance, eyes still carefully flicking from Nate to Anders and back again. ]

Should I send Vitta for water? I myself am becoming a touch parched.

[pinprick]

[Nathaniel nods his head and gestures toward the water bucket over there somewhere, with a dipper in it.]

New rule: the winner buys the three of us drinks after this.

[justice_is_blond]

Is that so?

[He's trying not to watch Zevran too much, but the glancing between them is... Well, maybe it makes sense. Zevran likely loses at seduction as often as the sun decides to travel backward across the sky, so he's trying to figure out how to win the final round and the game.]

I don't remember agreeing to that. Maybe I should let Zevran win.

[As if he he needs to let that happen. If anything, it's covering himself for the inevitable. Anders nods thanks to Vitta when she comes around with the water, taking his drink in turn. He doesn't sound serious in the least as he talks.]

I had a braided belt in mind for my coin, after all. There's a pretty one that could support the weight of cat and potions both.

[ombranera]

I will win on the merit of my own skills or not at all- [ He won't win this anyway, it's fine. ] I do have my pride, Anders.

[ No, no he doesn't. Pride is for other people. Vanity is his in spades of course, but pride? That is not for Crows or former Crows. He takes the dipper of water with a quiet word, waving her over to Nathaniel next. ]

Besides- you know I am quiet a cheap date. No reason to worry after your coin.

[pinprick]

[The banter washes over Nathaniel as he tries to clear his head, tries not to think of how lovely the curve is on the slope from Anders' neck to his shoulder, or the shade of his hair. He drinks deeply of the water and dabs delicately at his lips with the edge of his sleeve to remove a drop from the little patch of hair under his lip.]

The tiebreaking round, gentlemen. Zevran first.

[Because, in the interest of fairness, Zevran should get his chance while Anders's scent isn't still in Nathaniel's nostrils. And maybe the first time was a fluke. Maybe his humours are out of whack. Maybe Zevran really is as attractive to him as Anders and he just hasn't figured out how yet.]

[ombranera]

Really now?

[ And he had just become settled and comfortable on the fence- though it does give him an idea. Less time spent on his toes if he simply stays and draws Nathaniel to him. Still he cannot think of any real way to play this that will be fun and fine and easy- he has half a mind to disqualify himself by reaching for something he shouldn't simply so he might be done with his part and watch these two sort themselves out about one another.

But- fair is fair. For once. Tugging on that same sultry mask as is familiar

Zevran reaches out to grasp Nathaniel's wrist (again, look, hands are a thing for him as much as they are for others), to tug him ever so gently. Reeling him in to stand in the space between his spread thighs- but not so close as to touch. All at once the best possible trick comes to him and he smirks as much to Nathaniel as he does to Anders as he nudges Nate to turn about. Casually possessive his arms slip about Nathaniel's waist, his chin tucks over his shoulder, lips barely brushing Nathaniel's ear as he speaks softly. No one else might hear unless they were right on top of them.

Probably against the rules- but if he has to continue to watch such obliviousness on either of their parts? He might cry. ]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have more than teasing, with him? [ A completely different tack than before. ] To have more than his smiles, more than a few idle comments? To have his mouth against yours? He truly does have a way with his tongue when given proper incentive.

[ One of his hands lifts, carefully, to rest over Nathaniel's heart, eyes flicking to Anders as he continues. ]

Though that is not to say he cannot beg sweetly as well. On his back or on his knees he is a wonder to behold. Can you imagine having him under your hands, under your mouth? How he might beg for you to stop teasing him and take him? His back arched to writhe against you, the grip of him around your cock- if wound tightly enough he loses a hair of control and his skin lights up with crackles of lightening. It is like making love to a thunderstorm with how he clings and cries out. The bite of his nails in your back, the slick clasp of his body around you- or would you have him ride? Those hands tangled in your hair, thighs straining as he takes every inch while still smirking, still crackling those little breathless laughs between each moan, well within reach should you wish to take his mouth as he takes his time and oh, when he comes? Like staring into the sun with how bright and blinding he might be, can you imagine the sound of your name on his voice?

[ This is most definitely cheating, but Zevran is not so kind a man as to not. He pitches his voice low, takes on Anders' voice and intonation, and moans. ]

Nate, maker, please-

[ Words more than anything, but words have weight, words have meaning, and he murmurs all of this with the same sultry affection that he can offer. Aside from a single soft press of his lips to Nathaniel's jaw and a pat on his chest when he releases him- Zevran does little more than reach for a cup of water he'd balanced next to him on the fence. ]

He might need a moment.

[pinprick]

[Andraste's blood.

Nathaniel has half a mind to turn around and shove Zevran off the damn fence. He is too much of a gentleman to do it, especially to an elf or a mage, so instead he staggers back to his camp stool and sits carefully. His face is flaming red and he is sweating, and so hard it hurts.

The images don't go away. They won't go away. Anders is going to be all over him in a few minutes and he has to be able to pretend nothing is different. He's going to have to be collected enough to give the prize to Zevran, because Anders would suspect something if he won after that performance.

He leans forward, head in hands, still red as a beet. It takes at least ten minutes for him to calm down. It feels like an hour. Putting those thoughts away is not easy, nor is their absence as welcome as he hoped. But when he has recovered, he stands and manages to look ironically professional.]

Anders?

[Doesn't look yet. Looking will bring back the images.]

[justice_is_blond]

[This show isn't nearly as good as the last time... until Nate starts turning red and sweating, and not looking at either of them. As the archer staggers to his seat, all Anders can do is look at Zevran. What on Thedas did the elf say? All he did was talk and Nate looks like he's about ready to come on the spot. Granted, Zevran can talk beautifully, and Anders knows it. Maybe he just sketched out what he'd do if there were no restrictions. The more Anders thinks about it, the more likely that is. The look he shoots Zevran says he thinks talking someone through a sex act is cheating.

How is he supposed to beat that, anyway? Anders sips his water and waits, finding little comfort in the fact that he won't be buying the drinks. He doesn't like losing, but maybe that means he should have challenged someone else to seduction.

Like Aveline.

When his name is called, Anders pushes up off the fence. Last go. At least he can make sure Nate enjoys it.

He starts simple and slow, looping his arms around Nate's waist and looking into the archer's eyes before nosing the little patch of hair Nate had brushed water from. The things look ridiculous on most men, but Nate carries it well. Frankly, he carries most things well.]

I've no idea what he said, but it doesn't matter. Words are one thing - empty - when not acted upon, and all he gave you was a kiss on the jaw.

[There's a confidence he doesn't feel in his voice as he shifts to his toes to give himself the height he needs for his next move.]

Words are never as good as deeds.

[Anders kisses his mouth then, starting soft and slow with a nibble of Nate's bottom lip before pressing in earnest, mouth opening, tongue darting out to try to lure Nate's into playing. One of his hands leaves Nate's waist and he takes his time dragging it upward, along stomach, chest, and neck before tangling it in Nate's hair.

He'll lose, but he'll lose with the delectable taste of Nate's lips on his tongue and the smell of the man in his mind. There are far worse ways to go down.]

[pinprick]

[Everything is going fine until Anders nuzzles his chin, and Nathaniel's nose is filled with the scent of his hair. Then, there are lips.

Oh Maker, there are lips.

There's a frozen moment where Nathaniel simply allows Anders to do as he pleases. Then, something gives and the dam breaks. All those images Zevran planted in his head come raging back, as does the erection he spent so long cooling off from. He surges forward, meeting Anders' kiss like a starved man, and doesn't stop, marching forward and backing Anders against the nearest tree, shoving him against it and pinning him there. Everyone who is attending can see what's happening. He doesn't even care.

Maker have mercy, he gives up.]

Time to find somewhere less public? [he murmurs, for his ear only. Hopefully, some part of Anders was sincere about this, or Nathaniel will feel like such a fool.]