No More Games

Writers: Estelle, Miriah
Date Posted: 9th February 2020
Series: The Assassin's Story

Characters: Lusilk, Varlin
Description: Lusilk remembers how Varlin got his scar and some very important lessons.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 2, day 5 of Turn 10
Notes: Flash back occurs approximately 11 turns ago, before Thread
began to fall.

Lusilk

Lusilk spread her fingers over the letter from the Weyrhealer,
rereading over the description of the man who had come to visit her.
She remembered his face clearly. How could she not? He had been such a
large part of her training, how she approached life, her skills...so
much more. Her fingers trailed over the description, particularly the
scar on his cheek. She remembered clearly how it had happened and the
lesson that came with it.
----

Varlin came out of the cothold, his pack slung over his shoulder, and
followed the familiar path around the side of the building to the loft.
For once he'd no urgent need to lie low, having confined his activities
to places further afield, but the weather was getting colder and there
were uneasy rumors abroad of large clutches and Wings drilling in the
skies above newly opened Weyrs. Certainly sweepriders in the sky were a
more frequent sight. Being holdless had never been easy, but he sensed
it was about to get much harder.

That made any advantage he could find for himself even more important.
So he didn't linger in the loft, but once he'd dropped off his gear he
set out for the forest clearing. He hadn't seen Lusilk yet, but he
expected she'd seen him arrive and would be waiting.

Six turns hadn't added a great deal to her height, but she'd found
that now she was gaining curves, many of the men that came to her
mother's cothold showed far too much interest in teaching her other
skills rather than the ones she wanted to learn. Those that dared to
try often learned very quickly that she was skilled in the knife she
carried up her sleeve. But thankfully, there were a fair few that took
her burgeoning skills seriously. She was quick and she was quiet,
skills that were far more valuable to the local bands than anything
she might learn to do in a bed chamber; even more satisfying was the
fact that she had gained a reputation for being able to get out of
tight spaces, move quietly, and had a light hand when it came to
pilfering from the Lord Holder.

One of those men, the only one she really respected, was entering her
glade. Lusilk waited while she crouched on a thick branch, a slow
smile spreading on her lips.

He stopped at the edge of the clearing, motionless and listening
intently. There was no-one in sight, nothing but the hum of insects and
the faint calls of avians and the wind rustling the fallen leaves,
but...he was being watched. He felt it in the hairs rising on the back
of his neck. She was close.

"All right, then." He stepped out from the trees. "Let's see what you've
learned since I was here last."

She didn't immediately drop down to meet his challenge. That would've
be far too predictable. Instead, she waited and watched. He wouldn't
relax, she knew that he knew she was there, but she could at least try
to catch him by surprise. So when what she felt was an appropriate
amount of time, she slipped out of the tree and into a quiet crouch. A
grin spread wider on her face as she went around the glade, moving
behind him.

Varlin took another cautious step forward, moving lightly on his feet,
poised to respond to the slightest hint of her presence. His eyes
scanned the trees. Nothing. She was getting good at this... Slowly, he
let his posture loosen a fraction, let out a breath as if in
embarrassment. As if he'd decided he was alone, after all.

The sigh brought a grin. Perfect! He didn't think she had showed as
planned. Lusilk had to resist rubbing her hands together in glee. With
a tongue thrust out of the side of her lips in concentration, she
crept out of the woods behind Varlin, then leaped at his back.

But he was no longer there. Varlin sidestepped her rush with a smooth
pivot to his left and dropped into a fighting stance as she turned to
face him, his belt knife gleaming in his hand. His lips twitched. "Not
bad. If I'd been one of Lord Rorrigraf's thugs, you might have got me."

"Shaffit, Varlin!" Lusilk spun to face him, her own belt knife drawn.
But his compliment swelled her chest with pride. She'd almost got him!
For the first time, she'd almost got him! Welcoming his familiar
stance, she feinted with a lunge. "I've gotten better since you were
last here."

"Aye, I can tell you've been practicing." He leaned to the side to avoid
the follow-up thrust he knew was coming, then circled, keeping his
distance so he could take the measure of her improvement. He'd little
time to watch, though, before instinct warned him and he dodged sharply
to avoid another cut. He grinned. She _was_ getting faster. That was
what he liked about Lusilk. She'd worked at this, she'd learned from the
others and most of all, she was smart and creative. Already, she was
more than a match for the clumsy, rote-learned technique of the average
guard.

It wouldn't be enough for him to hold back, not any more. Varlin
concentrated, saw his opening and darted forward for a touch.

Lusilk answered his grin with one of her own, using her smaller size
to her advantage. It was something she'd learned many men weren't
accustomed to, especially when they were used to fighting other men.
They always were so confident that their size was their advantage and
she'd proven more than one wrong. Varlin's sudden dart forward
however, wasn't expected. In a desperate move to counter and not get
pierced with his blade, she pivoted to the side and made a wild slash
down towards his face with the tip of her dagger.

He'd just grazed her tunic as she turned and he was about to follow up
when her move caught him by surprise. He'd not expected she would strike
there and he barely managed to lean out enough that the blade missed
being buried in his eye; instead, it sliced a stinging line across his
cheek, along the bone. A breath hissed out through his teeth but he
didn't hesitate, moving lightning-fast to hook an arm around her from
behind and bring his knife to her throat.

He released her and stepped back, raising a hand to the cut. His fingers
came away stained darkly red. "What happened? You should have kept moving."

"Varlin!" She choked out his name and went still as she felt his blade
on her throat, for an instant thinking that her strike would cost her
her life. She felt that bolt of fear and trembled for only a moment
before he stepped away, allowing her to breathe in relief. But when
Lusilk turned and saw his wound, she dropped her knife in shock. "Oh
Faranth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to actually cut you, Varlin. I'm
so so sorry. She hurried forward, reaching up to attempt to touch his
cheek.

He stared at her, eyes grim and cold, all his pleasure in her
improvement vanished in an instant as the blood trickled down his
cheek. Then he stepped back out of her reach and brought his free hand
down in a stinging backhanded blow to her face.

"You're sorry? What did you think I was trying to teach you?" He spoke
with a biting edge of contempt in his voice. "Were you planning to
drop your weapon and apologize to the Lord Holder's guards when you
cut them? This isn't a game, Lusilk. Fight to win, or don't fight at
all."

She fell to the ground with the blow, her hand flying up to cover a
quickly reddening cheek. A trickle of blood pooled at the corner of
her mouth as she stared at him in shock. She'd been struck before, but
never by him, had never expected it. But even as much as she knew he
was right, Lusilk felt an immediate answering bolt of shame,
humiliation, and anger. So instead of acting contrite again or simply
accepting the admonishment, she scrambled for her little dagger,
jumped up and lunged at him.

"Good." He blocked her strike - just, and stepped smoothly to the side,
watching her eyes, recognizing with satisfaction the blaze of fury in
them. "Don't lose your control with your temper, though. Keep thinking.
How did you get me before? How will you do it again?" He parried another
vicious thrust. "No. I could see that coming a mile off. Think of the
tricks I taught you. It's all about misdirection."

She was too angry at him to speak and her cheek throbbed, but she did
think, controlling her temper enough to plan. So, she did exactly what
he wouldn't expect; she got closer. Instead of avoiding his reach
advantage, she stepped into his reach and jabbed upwards towards his
chin with her dagger. As he attempted to parry the blow, she hiked her
knee up and struck him directly in the groin.

Varlin grunted with the sudden intensity of the pain and doubled over,
managing to stagger out of reach of her blade but still off balance as
she followed him. He threw up an arm instinctively to block the next cut
and felt the blade slice through his sleeve before he could back up,
cursing, and fell back into a defensive stance again.

He puffed out a breath which turned into a laugh at his own chagrin.
"All right. I asked for that." This time, he saw that the rage in her
eyes wasn't yet spent and dodged as she came at him, hooking out a leg
to trip her.

Her leg was caught by his foot and she fell back hard, her breath
exploding out of her chest as the wind was knocked out of her. Gasping
for breath, she didn't release her dagger, still holding it out even
as she tried to catch her breath.

"Good. Get up." Varlin stepped back a pace as she did so, keeping a wary
eye on the blade. He knew she was capable of pretending to be hurt worse
than she really was. It was a favorite trick of his, too, to use against
bigger men. He straightened, letting his own knife hand fall to his
side. The side of his face ached with a dull, throbbing pain, but he
ignored it. "I won't hit you again. Next time you give up like that,
I'll cut your throat myself. It'd be kinder than letting the guards take
you. Do you understand?"

Breathing hard through her teeth, Lusilk struggled to her feet, but
the grip on her dagger never wavered or waned for a moment. Even young,
there was a fire and determination in her eyes as she faced him down,
holding her blade out. "You ever hit me again, I'll slice your balls
off. My mama puts up with that. I don't. Don't you worry, neither.
You won't ever get the chance to cut my throat. Next time I'll keep
cutting!"

He grinned crookedly, then winced as the movement pulled at his wound
and he tasted blood. "Duly noted." All trace of anger gone now she'd
proved herself, he sheathed his dagger and cautiously probed at the
ragged flesh. "You think you could clean this? Or shall I ask your ma?"

She didn't sheathe her blade, still eyeing him with anger. She sniffed
derisively, crossing her arms over her chest. It was the first time
she'd landed a real blow on him, and now that she saw it and felt her
own cheek pulse with a deep ache that she knew would be a colorful
bruise, she wasn't at all sorry. "Get mama to do it." She couldn't sew
worth a fecking damn herself. She thought about that for a moment, then
gave a smirk. "On second thought, I'll do it."

Varlin considered whether he'd rather pay the no doubt exorbitant price
Lusena would charge to treat the wound, or let the girl near it with
that look on her face. Neither was appealing. "Shards. I'll do it
myself." He'd a little redwort in his pack, and a needle. "But you can
hold the glass for me and watch. You'll need to know how if you go on
the way you're going."

She sniffed, but didn't turn down the offer to learn something new.
"Fine." She finally sheathed her dagger. "I'll go sneak some numbweed
from mama's cabinet. This time. Next time, you gotta pay me for it."

The man snorted and turned to walk back towards the cothold. "If there
ends up being a next time, I'll deserve the penalty. There'll be no more
play-fighting." He glanced back at her over his shoulder, a dangerous
gleam in his eye. "You're running with the big boys now, Lusilk."

Instead of frightening her, Lusilk looked pleased and proud at the
pronouncement, her chin lifted. He thought she was ready! His backing
carried weight with many of the local holdless and thieves. If Varlin
thought she was ready, they would know that she was serious and she
could begin taking real part in jobs. "It's about time."
----

Lusilk smiled grimly at the memory. Play-fighting had indeed ceased
after that; she'd proven to him that she was worthy of more. Their
relationship had changed that day, growing from a type of
apprenticeship to what could almost be considered a journeyman, if one
made the comparison. He had also started looking at her differently;
to him, she'd made the transition from childhood.

So much had changed. Not immediately, but it had. And now, she would
be forced to face him as an equal. But was she? Could she look into
his familiar scarred face, meet those blue eyes and live to see the
next day? She didn't know.

Last updated on the May 31st 2020

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