In Which Jadin Betters Himself

July 18, 1177

"Uh... you're not going to make a habit of this, are you?"

The other man blinked. Had it been cruel, asking that? Maybe he was hungover after all--a very bizarre kind of hungover, but hungover nonetheless. "Of what?"

"You know. Doing stupid stuff like running off and looking in ponds and whatnot." Good Lord, this fellow was something else. He'd have to introduce him to Searle and Lonriad. They'd get a kick out of him, no doubt. "Actually, now that I think about it, keep it up. It's funny."

"Right." His companion held up hand and stretched the fingers, examining the back of it. Must've been playing some knife game at a bar earlier or something. "That's what's funny."

Damn right it is, pal. Wait... "Huh?"

The man's eyes bulged, like he'd said too much instead of not enough. Odd. "Er... sorry, just forget I said that. It's none of your business."

Oh. Chuckling over his own stupidity, Jadin winked. "This is about how that dress got here, isn't it?"

A small smile broke on the stranger's mouth. Amusing as his neurotic behavior was, it was kind of a relief to see him unruffled. "Yes, actually. But let's just leave it at that."

"Aww, why?"

"Because if you have two brain cells to rub together, you won't believe it."

Damn. Must've been a wild, wild story. "Can I at least wonder about it later? My life's been a little tame ever since I started trying to be more faithful to my wife. Seriously, I haven't even been with a dozen different women yet this month." All right, maybe it had been a dozen. Or maybe a baker's dozen. Did it count if she'd only used her mouth?

The man shrugged. "Guess I can't stop you. Just replace me, all right?"

"Well, that's a given--no offense." There seemed to have been none taken; satisfied, Jadin gestured toward the pond's edge. "Want to sit?"

The stranger obliged. Jadin launched himself backward and sighed as he hit the soft earth. Xeta would take the dirt as proof that he hadn't been to the brothel, and then maybe he'd be rewarded later for his good behavior. It really did pay to be neighborly. "So. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Uh... no." Kind of a slow answer for such a simple question. Then again, the man had spent the night in a pond after what must have been some pretty earth-shattering sex, so... "I'm from Dovia."

"Ah, all right." That made sense. All this business of Lorn and Rona's had attracted quite the international crowd, after all. "You must be here for the tournament. Are you competing?"

The man flushed, a few freckles suddenly obvious even from where Jadin sat. Not that he didn't understand; Lorn's sisters did that to men. "Aww, don't be embarrassed. You'd hardly be the only one after Lady Rona, you know. She's gorgeous. Small, curvy little thing, with pretty gold hair and the kind of eyes they write songs about. And that rack? Damn."

A couple of twitches ceased control of the stranger's brow. Oh dear lord--was he jealous? Over a girl he probably hadn't even met yet? How adorable. He'd have to tell Rona about this if he saw her before the day of the tournament. "Oh, don't be worried about me, if that's what you're thinking. I'm married to her sister, so I won't be competing. And old Izzy who was with me, he'd better not be competing, because he's married to my sister. Save the rage for the arena, friend."

The young man said nothing, the twitches unyielding. Christ, did this one ever fall hard! Ah, but he was just a kid, really. There had to be some way Jadin could apologize... "Say, do you have a place to train? My brother Searle has a nice stretch for jousting at his place."

"Oh?" If nothing else, the look of immediate hostility had vanished.

"Uh-huh." Jadin sprung to his feet, taking a few steps forward as the stranger followed suit. "He probably wouldn't mind if you wanted to train there. Say, maybe we can make a session of it. Mind if I leave you while I fetch my brothers? Izzy will probably be back soon."

All he got was a blank stare. Stunned speechless by the flood of sheer gratitude, no doubt. Jadin gave his new friend a pat on the shoulder and smiled. "Great. When Izzy gets back, the two of you can go and get Sparron, all right? Izzy knows who he is. Then the three of you can meet me and my brothers at Searle's castle. Sound good?"

Still lock-jawed, the young man nodded. God, it felt good to help people. Maybe he'd reward himself tomorrow by seeing if the rumors of the pretty new addition to the pleasure house had any basis. "Excellent. Say... what's your name, anyway?"

Well. At least the response to the question of his homeland didn't sound all that bad now.

"Er..."

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