(no subject)

[spearthrust]

1

[ Tomorrow will be filled with the clang of swords and the sound of men falling; tomorrow will decide if they live or die. Though he hates unnecessary bloodshed, Ephraim can feel the battle lust in his blood singing to him.

Tonight is the calm before the storm. The morning is so close that all of his nerves are on fire. Waiting has always been the hardest part.

He approaches you and, depending on how close he is to you, either places a hand on your shoulder or stands a few feet away from you. ]

You should rest. You'll need all your energy for tomorrow.

2

[ Ephraim has never enjoyed social functions, but he makes an appearance at this one for duty's sake. After fifteen minutes, he's bored out of his mind, and, well, his time would be much better spent in the training yard. He takes a cursory glance at the room to see that no one is actively trying to speak to him (though he doesn't look very hard), then strolls to the back door.

When he reaches the exit, he sees that you're also slipping out and flashes you a bright smile. ]

Making your escape too?

3 modern au

[ Ephraim is engaged in a game of pickup soccer and accidentally kicks the ball at you / he is slightly intoxicated at a bar, overheard something you said and likes it, and proceeds to clap you soundly on the back / exams are next week, but Ephraim is skipping lecture and doing his best to convince you to do the same ]

totally didn't reuse a prompt from four years ago

Comments

( 3 )

[strategician]

[ The sight of a familiar face across the bar registers all too quickly as one he'd prefer to avoid, but it's too late; Ephraim has seen him. There's no way Innes's sense of pride will let him make an embarrassing attempt to duck out now, so he'll do rather the opposite, taking it upon himself to approach his classmate, frowning. ]

Why aren't you going to lecture?

Re: ( 3 )

[spearthrust]

[ Books have never been Ephraim's strong suit, but he doesn't really need them for the sports scholarship he's on. He's skipped class to do some extra training with the team. Not sitting inside a stuffy room has put him in a solidly good mood. All easy smiles, he cheerfully raises his glass to his fellow student. ]

Innes! Are you my father, here to scold me about not going to class?

[strategician]

[ Innes doesn't have a glass to raise in return — exams are approaching, after all — but he'll least acknowledges the gesture with a nod. ]

Hardly. Just wondering what possibly compels you to do so when your grades will almost certainly suffer as a result.

[ Not that he minds that outcome, of course, because let's be real, one of them is way more overly invested in this supposed "rivalry" and his name starts with "I" and ends with "s..." ]