Tiene's first day of official training arrived, and she was both excited and nervous. She had been desperate to take her mother's blades, but her father explained it was early days, she would not be using real daggers. Novices trained initially with wooden ones.

Unable to hide her disappointment, after due consideration, she had to admit it made sense. It wouldn't do if she wounded, or worse, killed her trainers on the first day, after all. She couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of such a thought.

Rushing about getting herself ready, she had been but a blur in the house. It took her three changes before she finally decided on appropriate clothing; it had to be practical and nothing to restrict her movements.

Yathas was explaining the importance of breakfast as she shot out the door with a half-eaten moonberry muffin in her mouth and fighting her way into the sleeves of her jacket. She waved goodbye and hurried on along the street towards Murder Row.

Turning a corner, having rammed the last of her breakfast into her mouth, she ran straight into Dar'Khan.

"Ar'aan!" she mumbled through a mouthful of moonberry muffin. "'orry."

The magister grinned. "Why, if it isn't my intended!" He made a flourish of bowing, taking her hand, kissing it.

Tiene glanced around making sure no-one over-heard or saw Dar'Khan's display. It was unnecessary now, even though he was utterly delectable. 

She inched back as he leaned down to look closer at her. She was chewing furiously to try and get rid of her breakfast, but muffins weren't the easiest of foods to swallow quickly. It caked the roof of her mouth and all around her gums, making coherent conversation impossible.

Dar'Khan smiled as he flicked a crumb from the corner of her mouth. "Lucky muffin," he whispered.

She blushed, not knowing why, but sensing some deviant inference from the tone of his voice and look in his eyes. "'Skoosh muh," she managed, nearly choking.

"Squeeze you? Why Tiene my lovely! We have not even kissed - yet!" He teased her. 

Tiene blushed more and the food caught in her throat, causing her to cough. Now she was betwixt ejecting the semi-chewed muffin on the ground between his feet or trying to stifle the cough and keeping her mouth closed. Her face was reddening with the effort even more than it had through her embarrassment a moment ago.

Dar'Khan unclipped a flask from his belt and uncorking it, offered it to her. She furrowed her brow. "It is just water, Tiene. Take a sip. It will help wash that down."

She accepted the flask, nodding gratitude, and drank, very slowly, so as not to make matters worse. Gradually, the muffin was swallowed, leaving her palet clean. She ran her tongue around her gums and teeth before attempting to speak. "Thank you," she managed, handing the flask back. Although she still felt a little embarrassed by the whole situation, she had to muster enough bravado to maintain her dignity. "Excuse me, is what I said by the way; not squeeze me."

"Are you sure?" He cocked an eyebrow at her, and the corner of his mouth curled into a teasing smile.

"Quite sure. Now, I have places to be." She side-stepped to move around him.

He extended his arm, catching her on the way past. "Come now, dearest," he said, drawing her to him.

Once more, Tiene was flustered. He held her very close. Too close. She suddenly felt like one of the forest squirrels, trapped by a lynx. 

"No dagger today, my lady?" His mouth was inches from hers.

She had to think quickly. Looking over Dar'khan's shoulder, she waved and shouted, "Inaris!"

The magister turned, momentarily loosening his hold of her. Inaris was nowhere to be seen. He realised he had just been played for a fool.

Turning his attention back to Tiene, he found he was duped once more. She had vanished. As he looked down the street, his attuned eyes spied her, stealthed. "Clever girl," he said, low. He could not help but chuckle as he watched her heading to Murder Row.

Finally, outside the Students of Shadow, Tiene stood for a moment or two watching aspiring young rogues already being put through their paces. There was no denying she felt a little nervous; her heart was thundering.

She was going to be the newbie, which no doubt would be evident to all inside. She had found out all the other trainers and specialists' names the day before, so she made a mental note of who was present now.

Zelanis, another male trainer was present. He was a grade higher than Nerisen. His hair was slicked back from his face and teased out in spikes at the back. Tiene thought he looked particularly odd with his long sideburns which were also spiked giving him almost a cat-like appearance. He was nonetheless, extraordinarily agile and judging from the way he attacked the dummies at the rear of the hall, also lethal.

At a table near the centre of the hall, was Darlia, supplier of poisons. With the variety of vials, oddly shaped glass containers, herbs, pestle and mortars, it was clear she didn't just supply, she manufactured the lethal liquids as well. Tiene silently prayed she also had antidotes to counteract any accidents involving budding students. 

While Darlia's speciality was making poisons for coating weapons, she was also an outstanding dagger wielder in her own right. The beautiful high elf's colouring was apt for her profession — red hair, signifying the danger that lurked beneath her delicate but deft fingers.

Tiene smirked as she saw Nerisen engaged in hushed conversation with the stunning Cel. Is he perhaps arranging his dinner date? She wondered. Inaris will be upset.

Behind them was the final trainer in the guild. Quiet, unassuming, Elara. At least, she was until you armed her with daggers and orders - or so rumour had it anyway. Her beautiful auburn hair was worn loose, hiding her delicate features as she sat on the floor, arms knotted around her knees, waiting patiently for her students.

Tiene noted the rogues were all striking in their own ways, and all very personable. The familiar niggle of self-doubt flared. She saw herself as bland and gangly compared to the beauties in the hall. Even the men outshone her! She stepped inside, peeking around a pillar at the door and watched some of the students in training.

There was one girl and five boys. The girl was very pretty, and getting admiring looks from two of the boys. Tiene had never experienced that neither - a boy paying her attention. 

Lately, she had found herself wondering about such things. With no mother to guide her and no-one who she could call a particularly close friend, she had relied on listening in to other girl's conversations in the passing. That was how she found out the necessary things a young woman needed to know. And still, she was none the wiser.

She had learned, or rather, overheard about the weaponsmith in Farstriders Square, however, who liked to fool around with his customer's daughters. Tiene made a concentrated effort to skirt around his premises when making her way home. Many felt sympathy for this man's poor suffering wife who stayed at home, allegedly broken-hearted. But, whispers were abounding that she was finding attention elsewhere too. 

She trembled slightly as she remembered Dar'Khan holding her so close just minutes ago. He didn't count as a potentially interested party though. Their dalliance has just been for pretence, but - it just wasn't right to feel the kind of things Tiene felt when he was near. Or was it? That unbalanced mix of sheer delight, sweet anticipation, a smattering of fear, constant blushing, all topped with strangely delicious sensations in her lower abdomen - was that normal? She felt her face flush, yet again.

Still, she doubted a man looking for a wife would ever look her way anyway. She was feisty, sometimes a 'moody little miss', quick to rise to anger and always wanting to do more than just humdrum daily things - like chores. She hungered for excitement, to explore new places, meet new people.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons she was so rebellious against her father's vision of her being a stay-at-home type of girl, with a husband and six screaming children running around her feet.

But in here, the world of a rogue, an assassin, a thief...she believed she could excel at something. With sound guidance and proper training, it wouldn't matter that she was dull and uninteresting, it would be to her advantage.

Knowing what she did about her parents now, she was determined to succeed. It was something on which she could truly focus. And, if The Crimson Blades accepted her -.

"You're late, Firefury!"

She jumped. Nerisen stood behind her, arms folded, looked down with a stern expression on his face. Tiene didn't know how to react; this was not how he spoke to her yesterday.

A moment later, his mouth broke into a smile. "Only teasing you," he said.

She smiled a little hesitantly. "Sorry, Nerisen. I bumped into - an acquaintance on the way over and we got chatting."

"Well, you're here now, so let's start your training." He turned and headed out of the guildhall into the street. 

Tiene followed, a little bemused they were leaving the place where she needed to be. 

Nerisen turned and saw her confused expression. It was one he had seen many times on the faces of new students. "What do you know about rogues, Tiene?"

The question had to be a test, she deduced, so she paused and thought a moment. "Thieves and assassins, who operate mainly for themselves, unless in a guild or employed by someone who pays a good coin." She was pleased with her answer and stood, smiling expectantly at Nerisen.

"And?" he coaxed, eyebrows cocked.

"And what?" she replied, disappointed he didn't congratulate her on her definition.

"What else do you know?"

"Well..." She stared at the ground, thinking furiously, trying to get her brain to come up with a decent answer. "We're ...good at what we do?" she said finally, knowing it was lame.

With a 'here we go again' type of smile, Nerisen sighed. He'd had high hopes that she may have known more with her parents having been such exceptional examples. Then again, Inaris had informed him that she had only found out about them recently and such things had never been part of dinnertime conversation in the Firefury household.

He gestured for her to follow and he made his way out through Murder Row. "If you want to be one of us Tiene, you must proceed with baby steps and familiarise yourself with our history, or to be more accurate, with some of the finest rogues that have come to pass and those that were, and indeed are pioneers for our craft and abilities. We shall find such information at the library."

Tiene was gutted. Her first lesson was going to be theory? She just wanted to get down to mutilating, garrotting and rupturing the foe. The thought of spending hours trawling through books in the library about dead people really didn't appeal to her. 

She recalled her father telling her that sometimes training could be boring, so she would just have to persevere.

Once they reached the Walk of The Elders, Nerisen seemed oddly lost. 

Tiene was confused. The library is a mere ten feet away, why is he looking around in all directions? This was going to be a long day, she decided. With arms folded, she stood, tapping her foot impatiently.

The rogue trainer glanced over his shoulder at his irritated student. He suppressed the urge to laugh. She was going to be a challenge to train in so many ways. Amused by her apparent chagrin, he decided to stretch it out a little, just for the fun of it.

A few minutes passed before she finally vented her frustration. "Nerisen. The library is just over there!" she said, pointing at the domed building to their right.

"I know," he replied, keeping his back to her so she would not see him grinning.

"Well, I thought we were going to the library!" she huffed.

"Yes. We are." He stifled a laugh as he heard her emit an irritated sigh.

She was getting gradually more and more agitated, and soon she started to mutter under her breath, although Nerisen could hear her perfectly well. "Oh for the love of...."

"Dar'Khan! There you are!" Nerisen greeted the magister, and the two shook hands, exchanging greetings. Tiene huffed again.

"Ahh, Tiene, my lovely," Dar'Khan drawled. "So you are the new student? I wondered where you were off to in such a hurry this morning."

"Oh, you know each other?" Nerisen asked her. She nodded, curt. How did he not know that, when he was so friendly with her brother?

"Yes," Dar'Khan agreed. "She was gulping down her breakfast, running away from me to...you, as it happens."

Nerisen smiled. "Well, if you would be so kind as to portal us to the library please, time is getting on."

"Are you serious?" Tiene gasped. "It's over there!" Again she pointed to the building to their right.

The two elves laughed lightly. Nerisen turned to face Tiene properly for the first time since they had arrived in the Walk of the Elders. "Did I say it was this library we were going to?"

"You said we were going -" She stopped. Now she understood. He had been testing her patience, something you need as a rogue, and as such, she reckoned she had just failed lesson one.

Dar'Khan found this amusing she could tell; he stood, arms crossed with one hand raised to his face, tapping his chin with his forefinger and grinning. "Oh my lovely, you are so feisty!" He turned momentarily to Nerisen. "That's what I like about her, you know? She has so much - spirit." He grinned.

Tiene was fuming, and she struggled to keep her temper at bay. She hated being ridiculed and spoken about as if she were some tempestuous imbecile.

Swallowing her angst, she took a deep breath and deliberately blanking the magister, asked Nerisen which library they were going to.

He told her it was a surprise and nodded to Dar'Khan, who then conjured a portal in front of them. Nerisen beckoned Tiene, and together they passed through the blue and purple swirls. It snapped shut behind them, and she was surprised to see Dar'Khan had travelled through behind them.

"Are you coming to the library as well?" she asked, none too pleased at the prospect. He had embarrassed and annoyed her enough for one day.

The mage bowed in his usual flamboyant manner. "Alas no. I have pressing business nearby, however, well fairly nearby. I am going to visit Dalaran. The young Prince Kael'thas requests news from home."

Tiene's ill-temper dissipated instantly. "The Prince? You know the Prince?"

The Magister grinned. "Of course I do, Tiene. Would you like me to pass on your regards?"

The golden-haired elf guffawed. "As if it would mean anything to him," she muttered, feigning dismissiveness.

"He is our future king," the Magister replied, "and you will be one of his subjects, my lovely. Of course, it will mean something to him."

Tiene spurned his comment with a wave of her hand.

Dar'Khan laughed lightly and opened another portal before he said farewell to Nerisen. He turned his charismatic smile on Tiene again. "By the way, next time I make you breakfast, dear Tiene, eat it before you run out on me."

She stood, speechless, as he stepped into the portal and vanished.

Nerisen was chortling behind her. She blushed furiously. "He is making fun of me," she said, irritated. "I was at home! Ask Inaris."

Her trainer nodded, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. Turning to face the top of the rise, he indicated the building that sat atop the hill.

"Welcome to the rogue's academy, Tiene. This is Ravenholdt Manor."

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