Orlando Alleandruin

Tournament Nights

A late night flurry began to lay a fresh blanket of new snow along the tournament grounds as most of the camp still lay still.  As a heavy gust of wind blew spats of it through the canvas flap to their tent, the knight stirred in his sleep, waking slowly to focus lichborne eyes in the darkness of the night.  Carefully untwining himself from his still-slumbering partner, Orli slipped out from under the layer of thick furs to pad silently across the rug-lined floor. Aided by the dim blue light of the arcane heater that stood guard in the corner of the enclosure, he reached for the ties to the door to secure them once more, looking over his shoulder to ensure that his companion did not wake.  He stood for a moment, fondly looking over the sleeping elf in the center of the tent before returning to his side, carefully peeling back the blankets to insert himself once again into their bed.

Saeil shifted as he arranged himself, his unnatural warmth radiating towards the knight’s own chill.  Orli smiled softly as their bodies fell into familiar pattern, two souls quickly becoming a tangle of limbs.  “I didn’t mean to wake you…” the deep whisper offered as solace, a hand raising to caress the cheek that now faced him.  With a soft smile, he offered a kiss as compensation, lips finding lips in the near black of the night.

“You know don’t mind…”  Came the familiar reply, quiet as a prayer in the stillness of the camp.  Morning would come in a few hours, and so would return the hectic bustle of the tournament.  The event so far had come as a welcome reprieve from the horrors of the outside world, no wars would be fought on these sacred grounds, only knights playing at them.  A few had raised fists and voices, but the Peacekeepers served to quickly quell any rising animosities and direct the crowds back to the games at hand. It seemed almost an odd privilege to be lying so close to a lover in these times, but the pair took every opportunity to lose themselves in one another.  

“I love you, don’t you know?”  Orli whispered against the warmth of Saeil’s lips, finding his comfort there in the softness of his partner’s flesh.

“I thought you might…”  The customary retort followed with a smile as words became actions that would fill the small hours of the morning.