Day 41: Hatching a plan

Though Lucas had meant to meet up with Eldwyn a little more often than once a week, they had both been too busy. Whenever Eldwyn had a day off from her job in the Fearless Hog, Lucas had been occupied with teaching swordsmanship, and vice versa.

He shouldn't complain, though. Reinhold had mentioned him to some friends of his, and two of them—or their parents anyway—expressed interest in joining the lessons. Lucas had found another student on his own as well, and yesterday, the four of them had had their third training session together.

He had driven them hard, and he could already begin to sense the kind of camaraderie beginning to develop between them that he remembered from military training—both as a student and a teacher. That wasn't exactly what he had been hired to cultivate, but it was the only way he knew how to teach, and they took to it surprisingly well.

Maybe it was something about this new generation. None of them showed much in the way of the noble arrogance that he knew well from his time in the army. It might have something to do with the sacrifices both Human and Elven society had had to make during the war. All of them had been born during the war, and though they were all rich or high-born, they had grown up with more hardships than children should have to endure. Some had lost their homes; Elves mostly after their surrender, Humans mostly in the disastrous first half of the war. Others had lost family members or friends. Even the few that hadn't knew someone who had. Both races had suffered immensely, and perhaps this was how it showed.

At the end of yesterday's session, he had become a little worried that perhaps he was pushing them /too/ hard, and that they would give up. In the army, that was not just expected, but actively sought: the soldier's life did not suit everyone, and it was best to weed out the rejects early. The war was over now, though. He wasn't training them to be soldiers, and he wanted all four of them to succeed. If even one of them dropped out prematurely, he would consider it a personal failure.

However, they were more resilient than he expected. When he told them that they would meet again in 3 days, they had simply accepted it. Even Iselde—who was most prone to complaining—had merely inclined her head in acceptance. It was possible they'd simply been too exhausted to protest, but he would've expected to see defeat in their gazes. There had been nothing but a quiet determination to keep going, no matter what he threw at them.

Still, slowing down just a little would probably be a smart move. They weren't in a rush, after all.

In any case, there was a more urgent matter to consider first. Audrey had sent him a message asking him to come to the Fearless Hog at closing time. The note had been terse, containing little else. He didn't think there was anything seriously wrong, but it still gave Lucas a bad feeling.

It was already dark when he set out for the bar. Save for a couple of drunks staggering home and a pair of guards making their rounds, the streets were empty.

By the time he got there, the door was already closed, but when he knocked, Audrey let him in.

"Thanks," he said as she closed the door behind him.

"Glad you made it," she replied with a tired smile.

"So what's this all about?"

"I'll let her tell you herself." She replied. "Eldwyn! He's here!"

A few seconds later, Eldwyn emerged from the back room. She was wearing her waitress uniform and Lucas couldn't help but eye her body for a moment. She was a little disheveled from a long day, but she still looked sexy to his eyes.

"Um, hi." She said.

No kiss? No hug? Not even a smile? His unease deepened. "Hi."

"Let's sit," Audrey said after an awkward silence.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked after they'd settled down around one of the tables. They were both acting very weirdly, and his apprehension was building.

"I, um..." Eldwyn started to say, before trailing off.

"Out with it, girl," Audrey interspersed bluntly.

"Um, you remember last week? When I, um... you know..."

"When you gave a stranger a hand job through the glory hole in the back?" Lucas finished.

"Wait, you knew about that?" Audrey exclaimed, then turned back to Eldwyn before Lucas could give the obvious response. "You never told me he knew!"

"I suggested it. Well, sort of."

"'Sort of'?" Audrey asked skeptically.

"I planned to be in the other stall, but it was occupied already by the time I got there." Lucas explained. "It just... happened. Eldwyn did nothing wrong."

"That's what you think," Audrey said, glowering at Eldwyn to continue.