<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">A Not-So-Old Flame</span></span></div><br/>"I need no help, I have contacts. We can even go to the Embassy tomorrow and perform the rituals there. Does that work for you?"<br/><br/>At this point Retario was done with his meal. "Ah, that was quite filling. Say, if you're not in a hurry, would you care for a game of Three-Dragon Ante? I'd rather not bet real money; we can use tokens in lieu of gold."[/quote]<br/>“Uh, yeah, that’s great!  This is the most amazing thing, of course I’ll drop everything tomorrow!”  Sitting back and pushing back his plate, he wasn’t even hungry to finish.  But a card game to take his rampant mind busy while it pondered things sounded good.  Taking his hand, Kleris added some sugar cubes to the ante and examined his cards.<br/><br/>][Bluff 7+16=23, triple earnings]<br/>With some strategic planning with his flights, Kleris was able to steal from the ante with weaker cards, then with card combinations and a reversal of strength, ended up creating and taking the whole pot of sugar cubes.  “Ha ha, the dragons will be pleased with their sugary hoard…” he chuckled, putting the cubes back into their bowl.  “Thank you.  I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then!  Good day, Retario,” he gave a little curtsey and excused himself from the inn to head back to campus and prepare for the next day.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">Night with Rachel</span></span></div><br/>Raising his hand to the door, it quietly swung open without his touch.  It was a common enough cantrip around campus for public walkways, but was a definite invitation in the case of Rachel’s room.  Entering and looking around, everything was elegantly decorated and simple, much less school dorm and more boudoir.  Topping it off was the presumably nude Rachel reclined in the bed, waiting.<br/><br/>“Um, thanks.  I don’t really know much about wine besides red and white.  This is fine…”  Trying not to stare at the girl walking to him with just a sheet hugging her curves, he busied himself pouring the wine.  He  could feel her breath in his ear as she whispered, her warm body pressed up against his back.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"I want to get to know you..." she whispered in Kleris' ear. "What makes you tick, what brings you joy, so I can better bring you joy as well..." She moved to kiss him on the lips, letting the sheet fall…</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>His heart beat quickly, his body trembling as he turned around and saw her in her lingerie.  He’d seen the girls showering, even had sex, but this was some much more mature seduction making him nervous as well as excited, losing focus.  As she pulled him back onto the bed, pressing against each other, he was surprised that she continued the conversation.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"But before we get any further, let me know more about you," she said. "I'd rather you tell me right here instead of going about prying in your mind again. What do you like to do?  Believe it or not, us demons don't have a lot of free time in the Abyss.  Too much time plotting, scheming, watching over inferiors seeking a knife in the back to ascend the demonic ladder, and avoid attracting the wrath of your betters. Sex is my best release, but it doesn't have to be the only one, now does it?"<br/><br/><em>Resist. Humor her, sure, but do not let her gain power over you.</em><br/><br/>"I saw you in the Redhurst Play. You were quite the skilled actor. Is it something you did on your own accord, or was it part of an obligation?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>It was hard enough to focus on her casual questions as it was, but trying to also heed Horishkad was stretching his attention.<br/><br/>“Well, there’s a lot of classes, and extra studies to keep up with it all, that takes up most of my time.  But they’re all very interesting, and there’s practicing with friends outside of class.  Sometimes I go to the lab to work on projects like my crown, either sculpting or enchanting.  Outside of schoolwork, I’ve mostly been catching up on all the extracurriculars a magic school has to offer.  I’d never heard of most of these things until I met new people and they introduced them to me, like Spellflag and magical plays and wizard duels.  I don’t think I’m going to join the Spellflag team or be an actor, but it was fun to try it and see what it’s all about.  Plus I meet a lot of new people and make some new friends  at it.  I think that’s been the best part of school, is meeting all the new people, and finding the connections and friendships that bring us closer together.”<br/><br/>Somehow that brought the focus back to the two embraced in bed, Kleris’ thoughts of friends and casual acquaintances turning to the flirtatious and downright dirty encounters he had with students and strangers.  As Rachel leaned in and kissed him, his heart skipped and he returned it with the hormonal lust of a new, novel partner, reaching down to caress her body and feel the fancy underwear hugging her.<br/><br/>“So yeah, um, meeting new people and learning what new things they do is great for, um, expanding your horizons…” he murmured, giving a half-hearted nod to Horishkad’s warning, hoping their conversation had inspired Rachel to explore a more mortal lifestyle.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">Day 84, the Riedran Embassy</span></span></div><br/>Putting on a more casual travel dress and robe, rather than a school uniform, Kleris met Retario outside Redhurst and followed to the Riedran Embassy, looking around at all the more professional and elegant architecture, in contrast to some of the more slap-dash and eclectic forms he saw in the lower districts before.  Beyond just the bustling city people, too, were the foreign guards and visitors of the embassy.  They seemed serious about keeping unauthorized people out, but apparently Retario was right about having special permission to enter with a guest on business.<br/><br/>After entering and leaving the guards behind, Kleris wondered what history Retario might have with the embassy besides his nationality.  "So have you done much work for the embassy or government before?  Or is this normal for a native to have business access to the compound?"  He looked around and absorbed all he could, sensing this was a rare privilege; he just wish he knew what this script was.  It was something to look up later, perhaps, if the library had any information on Riedra.