Cheers

Chapter 13: A Gentleman's Agreement

Tim had drank far more than he intended to that evening, and he blamed the fact that he was spending most of the night talking with his boss and putting up with that damned demon and trying to figure out the man who was probably as uncomfortable as Tim was.

Ok, so he was drunk and couldn't remember whose idea it was to challenge the 'Prince' to a sword fight, but Tim was pretty sure it was still a good idea. He grinned as he had to jump the last few feet to the roof, seeing as how the ladder didn't extend that high for some odd reason. He hauled himself onto the roof and frowned when he saw Murchadh standing there, watching him.

"Was there another ladder or something?" Tim frowned, the man moved as silently as he did and Tim had just assumed he was being followed.

"No." Murchadh flashed him a grin, then the glamour that was over the man shimmered and fell, leaving Tim facing off against a lithe, predatory looking creature with black skin, glowing purple eyes and a long white braid. "It's barely over a story, I climbed."

Murchadh's teeth were as pointed as his ears were, making him look like a dark, evil version of what Tim knew to be an elf.

Tim scowled and glanced over the side of the building, then back over to the other man, "so that's what you look like?"

"They call my people the Blood. Because we're so good at spilling it, I suppose." Murchadh shrugged as a pair of swords shimmered into his hands. "I assume you were told to leave your weapons at home like I was, will these do?"

The craftsmanship was excellent, eclipsed only by the swords that Urdu had given him several weeks ago, and Tim nodded as he took the two blades, testing their balance and shifting them in the low light to take a look at their near blue metal. "These'll do."

There was another pair of swords in Murchadh's hands when Tim looked up at the man, watching the elf test the blades out himself, before falling into an easy stance. Murchadh's movements were smooth, like the flow of water as he warmed up his body. Tim would have rolled his eyes, if he had thought that the man was showing off at all, but something about the Prince's aloofness told him that Murchadh probably didn't care what anyone thought about him.

Tim wasn't normally talkative but his sparring partner took that to a new level, seemingly content with the silence as they both fell into stance. They both nodded to signal their readiness and Murchadh launched into a quick attack, putting Tim on the defensive until he could figure out the man's pattern of moves.

Murchadh was fast and skilled, far more skilled than most fighters Tim had been fighting of late, though a small part of Tim's mind told him that he'd still put money on Urdu if they were to battle. Still, Tim grinned as they moved back and forth across the rooftop, exchanging parries, slashes and hits, with only the screech of metal making any sound.

Tim managed to get up under Murchadh's defenses, but too close to redirect his blade, instead having to be happy with tossing the man through the air. Most vampires would have hit the ground after a toss like that, but Murchadh flipped in the air and caught himself on his feet, landing in a crouch and offering Tim a grin.

"Good one."

Tim didn't let up, following through with another attack that launched them into another silent dance of blades until he found himself making small talk, of all things. "So you've fought in the Legions with Baltha and Urdu?"

Murchadh gave him a weird look, redirecting a couple slashes and shifting to send Tim off balance, "I was in the Legions, but not Lucifer's."

"Right." Tim wasn't entirely sure what that even meant, or what wars Lucifer would have been fighting, other than hunting down rogues like Urdu did now. He spun out of the way of Murchadh's attack, back on his heels for a few moments before countering and launching his own attack that had the other man backing up across the roof.