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"Lesia?" Ela asked. "I have no idea - " He stopped mid-sentence as a tall, beautiful, dark-skinned woman walked over.
"Eladehl?" she asked, offering him a nervous smile.
"Let me guess." He gestured her closer. "Lesia?"
"Yeah." She laughed weakly. "Apparently, I'm supposed to be the initiator. So you know, I've never..."
"He knows," a girl said beside her.
I didn't know Lesia, but I recognized her guardian from my grappling course. She wasn't overly large, broadly built, or anything else. She was still a very capable fighter, and her eyes were running over Ela as if assessing him as a threat. Then she looked at Wraythe. It didn't take a genius to figure out she didn't stand a chance of stopping him.
So Wraythe offered his hand. "Ela's guardian," he introduced himself. "My job is also to stop him more than protect him."
The girl smiled. "Darnie, and I think we're in grappling together. All of us, except you." She looked at Anver last.
"Took defensive techniques instead," he explained. "I'm just here to see how my friends were matched. My ward's currently gloating about her assignment."
So Lesia looked at me. "Any advice for me?"
"Don't be scared of him," I suggested. "Besides, I think Ela likes it rough."
"Mhm," Ela agreed. "Giving, receiving, I'm good either way. Don't worry, Lesia, I'm not going to lose it. Oryll's just trying to see how much we can take."
"Yeah, I know," she agreed. "Who'd you get, Nariana?"
"Nyrren?" I said, hoping she knew the name.
Lesia and Darnie shared a look, and then Lesia sighed. "Nyrren may not make it to graduation. He didn't want to be a Priest of the Body. He never asked for this, and his specialty is exotics. The man loves fetishes. He looks nice and easy-going, but he's a freak."
"Second-year?" I guessed.
Lesia nodded. "Yep. So don't be surprised when he wants to suck on your toes or shit on you. Something!"
"Which is probably why he ended up on the Path of the Body," Talin said. "There's a need for the weird."
"Isn't that the truth," Lesia said. "You remember him, don't you, Talin? Used to pick his nose and eat it in second year?"
"Thatguy?" Talin asked, and then he groaned. "Ok, yeah. I don't remember what he was like after fifth year, though."
"Quiet," Darnie said. "Kept to himself, made good enough grades to not get called out, but never so good that he was used as an example either. He had the room beside me in ninth year, which is the only reason I know. He has almost no interest in men, either."
"Could be worse," I admitted. "I mean, half the time it feels like Oryll's trying to assign me to the most problematic person available. This guy sounds like he's just weird. I can deal with weird."
"Who's his guardian?" Talin asked.
Darnie grimaced. "Wobem. Red hair, freckles?"
"He's aguardian?" Talin sounded shocked.
"Not a good one," Darnie admitted. "Like I said, the pair of them have been right at the edge of failing since our Choosing Day."
But Lesia and Ela had pulled away and were talking on their own. It actually seemed friendly, and I couldn't miss the way Lesia kept smiling at him. Granted, my partner did have that effect on people. Evidently Darnie noticed it too, because she reached over for her desire's arm.
"We should start planning your session," she said.
Lesia smiled at her and nodded. "Make a list of what's out of bounds, Ela. I'll try to see if I can earn an excellent from you."
"The list is easy," Ela told her. "Death is my hard limit. Anything else is on the table. I prefer pain to shaming, but only because I'm pretty sure you can't shame me."
