Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Here's a quick side-story depicting a scene from Kavar and Sirian's past. Enjoy! Thanks to all my reviewers! Please be sure to review or else I'll lose inspiration.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

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Kavar wasn't sure if he'd ever had a day worse than the one he was having now.

Not only had he been running late on his weapons deliveries, he'd managed to screw up the blade Yullivar had been working on for the past three weeks. He could still see the anger in the older man's eyes when he had discovered his thirteen year old apprentice standing in the middle of the workshop looking guiltily down at the twisted piece of metal that had once been an almost finished war blade.

So here he was, standing in the fighting ring, angrily whacking at one of the many stuffed dummies that lined the practice circle.

"What are you doing?" Kavar whirled around, the staff he often used during training held tightly in his grasp. He blinked his golden eyes once, twice, and forced himself not to turn around and run.

The eyrien girl before him, perched precariously on the practice circle's fence, grinned a lazy, arrogant smile that made his mouth go dry.

"If you're trying to work out some temper, it'd be better to have someone who can hit back." Her tone wasn't mocking, but Kavar felt his already frayed temper shorten.

"Unless you know someone to practice with, keep your suggestions to yourself." his snappish reply only made her grin wider and Kavar felt his anger turning to wariness.

Brushing a hand through her long, curly black hair, the girl hopped down from the fence and approached him. He had seen her around the camp every now and again, but he didn't know her name. He knew she didn't live in the camp itself, but she was a frequent visitor.

"I'll spar with you if you'd like." The look on his face must have been full of doubt, because the girl lifted her chin and stared down her nose at him, bristling.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't beat you into the ground." She looked lovely when she was riled. But...

"Eyrien women are not supposed to use eyrien weapons. It's against traditions and-" He didn't see her move, but the next thing Kavar knew, he was lying flat on his back, ears ringing as his mind took a moment to register the pain blooming near his temple.

Hell's fire.

"Start talking like that again and I won't hold back."

Once he was sure he could sit up without getting dizzy, Kavar pushed himself up from the ground and blinked owlishly at the girl before him. Her dark membranous wings were flared out and her feet were set in a fighting stance as she held a shortened version of the traditional eyrien training stick. She wasn't smiling and he could see temper flashing in her eyes.

He had no doubt that she wasn't lying about holding back.

"Where did you learn that?" Her grin was his only answer and he barely got to his feet in time to block the next move.

"Come on now, you need to work out some temper so come after me!" He didn't think twice. Moving fast, he aimed a blow low and snarled in frustration as she blocked him and jabbed him sharply in the side. It was a mocking hit. She blocked his next several moves, continuing to mock him with light jabs in the openings she could find.

"You can do better than that! Come on now. Or are you afraid of a little girl?" His answer was a roar that tore out of his throat as his temper snapped. He didn't see anything but his target and slowly began to take the offensive. His moves were gaining speed, becoming sharper as she blocked. He could see the sweat on her skin, but didn't let up. Both of them were losing their breath when a voice suddenly shouted somewhere to the left.

"Looks like little Kavar finally found someone to match him at sticks." Ceasing his onslaught of attacks, Kavar's back straightened. He knew that voice.

"It's a girl to. Hey girl who gave you a training stick? You know that's against the rules in the camp!" Kavar's glazed eyes focused on the three older eyrien warlords leaning against the fence, wicked smiles plastered on their faces.

"If you want a pair of balls sweetheart, all you need to do is look over here." A chorus of laughter erupted after the comment and Kavar bared his teeth angrily. Glancing next to him, the young warlord prince rocked back, stunned by the look of pure hate that crossed his sparring partner's face. Her expression changed quickly, replaced by that lazy, arrogant smile that made his knees go weak.

"Darling, if you had any real balls, you'd be in this ring with us instead of trying to start a pissing contest you can't win."

The humor rolling off of the three warlords was quickly replaced with something sharper, deadlier.

Shit. No.

Kavar sent a panicked look next to him.

"What did you say you little bitch?" The girl tossed her hair over one shoulder, placing her hand on her hip and continued smiling.

"Looks like I struck a nerve there. What's the matter? Can't face a little girl because you know you'll get your ass handed to you?" All three men snarled and Kavar sent a message to the girl beside him.

*What are you doing? These guys are almost through with their training. They're on a whole other level*

*Do I look like I give a damn? If you can't handle it then leave.* Kavar flinched at the venomous tone that filled the psychic link between them. No. She didn't look like she gave a damn. And as sure as the sun didn't shine in hell, he wasn't going to leave her alone with these three men.

"Bitch, you don't know who you're messing with. First we're going to beat the shit out of you two, then I'll show you some real balls."

Kavar felt his temper rise at the threat. It didn't take a genius to guess what the warlord meant by that.

Moving instinctively, Kavar turned slightly, feeling the girl do the same so they were back to back. The three warlords circled them, calling in their own sparring sticks.

And then they moved.

Kavar could feel his muscles straining as he blocked blow after blow, and judging by the heavy breathing behind him, his partner was getting as tired as he was. A shout and a snarl was enough of a distraction to have the warlord Kavar was focusing on, turn his attention elsewhere. A rookie mistake. A single blow to the ribs and a sharp hit across the man's forehead and the older eyrien was down for the count. Swinging around, Kavar noted the second eyrien male on the ground, bleeding, and he felt his eyes widen as he watched Sirian glide across the sparring field, dancing away from every attack the last of the warlords made. She pivoted on her right foot, curving around to land a blow across the warlord's knee that had him falling to the ground with a pained shout. Then a flash of light against metal and Kavar leaped forward, barely managing to take the brunt of the blow the warlord would have landed on the young girl's outstretched wings. Hot pain shot through his upper arm and his own snarl was outdone by the inhuman shriek beside him. Cold fury washed across the battleground and Kavar watched the enraged eyrien girl slide out from behind him and tackle the opposing warlord to the ground.
"KAVAR!" turning toward the shout, Kavar felt the blood in his face drain as he watched Yullivar's quick approach, despite the limp in his step. Before he could say anything, two other men appeared and Kavar recognized them as Yullivar's friends. Both men moved toward the girl, who was still doing her best to claw the screaming warlord's eyes out, and paused when she snarled at them. Yullivar didn't waste any time and grabbed the young girl by the waist and lifted her in the air, tossing her over his shoulder. She screamed at the older man in eyrien and Kavar felt his mouth drop open.

He'd never heard a girl say those words before.

Yullivar ignored the girl's swearing and kicking, grunting once when her foot landed a blow to his collarbone.

Limping over to the water trough usually used for soaking after a fight, the older warlord prince simply dumped the screaming female into the water. Shocked into silence, the now wet girl stood with her eyes open wide, fury still rolling off of her in waves.
"You men take care of these boys, I'll handle the children."

"I do not need to be handled! That bastard HURT him!" Since she was pointing an accusing finger at him, Kavar blinked and moved closer to Yullivar.
"Girlie, I'd stop speaking and fast lest you want me to dump you into the mountain lake." The threat was sincere and Kavar, who had been tossed in those freezing waters several times before, winced. "Now you can come with me and help me look at Kavar's arm, or you can stay out here and soak for a bit." The girl narrowed her golden eyes at Yullivar but remained silent. Grunting in approval, Yullivar waved a hand that signaled for them both to follow. Since his body was finally beginning to register the pain in his arm, Kavar didn't argue; and thankfully the girl didn't either as she scrambled out of the water and followed squishily behind him.

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Arm bandaged and a hot meal settling in his stomach, Kavar sat outside of the shop staring at the sky, lost in thought.

He and the girl had explained what had happened as best as they could, and Yullivar had simply listened, asking only a question here and there.

Since Kavar had been fuzzy on the details near the end, the girl filled them both in.

After she had gotten the warlord to his knees, she had planned on backing off to end the fight. The warlord had chosen that moment to switch his training staff to a bladed stick and Kavar had "went and jumped in front of the blade like a complete moron, completely disregarding the fact that I (the girl) could have dodged it myself". At least that's how she had put it. After that delightful explanation, Kavar had taken his turn to fill her in on the very end bits. He hadn't been aware that he was bleeding until she had jumped on top of the warlord and...
Kavar swallowed the lump in his throat.

He had heard that women were more vicious than men when they went cold, but he never really grasped the concept. Most eyrien women stuck with tradition and never touched an eyrien man's weapon, let alone learned to attack someone like that.

He heard the soft footsteps coming up behind him, but didn't turn around. The girl plopped down beside him and sighed, looking dry and fluffy in a pair of his own worn out clothes.

"Sorry about that." Kavar looked next to him and noted the sorrow in her eyes. The look made his chest tighten and he shook his head.

"No, no. It's not your fault. And it doesn't hurt that bad." The girl snorted once and shook her head, a smile working it's way across her lips.

"No, not your arm. That was your own damn fault. I meant I was sorry that I egged those guys on. There wouldn't have been a fight if I would have just kept my mouth shut." Kavar thought back, recalling the vicious look in the men's eyes.

"Oh I doubt that. They were out for blood. We just happened to be there." Her look suggested she didn't quite believe him, but she smiled nonetheless.

"You're not half bad with a stick you know." The compliment made Kavar's heart leap and he couldn't help the unabashed grin spreading across his face.

"Speak for yourself. I've never seen anyone handle a stick like you and-" the rest of his sentence was cut short as the eyrien girl leaned forward, pressing her lips against his.

She tasted like honey.

He sat there stupidly as the girl broke the kiss and stood up, her lazy, arrogant smile plastered across her face.

"Well, see you around Kavar."

As she turned to leave, Kavar scrambled to say something, anything.

"Wait! What's your name?" The girl turned at the waist, and looked him over... twice.

"Sirian." Stretching her wings, she launched herself into the sky and headed east.

It had turned out to be a very good day.

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