What Makes a Soldier

Life, Relationship change

Natalya and Gregory train together and decide to have sex before the showing where Gregory is chosen to join the military as a foot soldier on the front line to fight the Flottenheim rebels.

Natalya coughed as Gregory's foot hit her squarely in the gut and she collapsed from her stance. "Oh come on," he teased her. "You could have easily dodged that." Natalya looked up and rolled her shoulders back as she got back into position. He let loose a flurry of blows and she just barely avoided the worst of them. As he swiped at her, Natalya had to force herself to watch his arms carefully but in doing so he took the opportunity to sweep her legs out from under her, sending her to the ground. "Shit!" she muttered under her breath. "Hopefully you do better than this tomorrow," Gregory teased her with a friendly smile. "It's been a long day," she said defensively, trying to find an excuse for her distraction. In reality, Natalya was feeling a bit confused as they sparred together. She got to her feet and lifted her arms before half-heartedly bringing her leg up to try and hit his face but he easily dodged her tiny foot and laughed at her. "You seem to be having a rough day, Ivanhoff," he observed. "We've been at this for hours," she argued in her defense. "I suppose we have," he mused, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I guess I'm a bit nervous for tomorrow," he admitted. "Perhaps I also enjoy spending time with an opponent who normally knows what they're doing," he gave her a playful wink. She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her smile at his jests. He gave her a soft smile and Natalya felt her skin start to turn red as she studied his glistening chest through his sweaty undertunic. "I need water," she decided abruptly, walking over to her waterskin that was lying on the ground a few feet away. Gregory relaxed his stance. "Wanna call it?" he asked her, raising his brow at his superior performance for the day. "Sure," she told him. He grabbed a sweat rag and wiped his forehead and head off. Unlike most elves, he kept his hair cut fairly short, probably because of the kinky texture to it. Natalya had often seen some of the high-elves poking fun at him for it. "So," he asked her, "you think one of us will get out of here tomorrow?" Natalya shook her head as she drank thirstily from her waterskin. "Doubtful," she said after finishing the water that was left. "We're still young," she pointed out, "and wood-elves." Gregory nodded. "It's a shame," he said. "I really hate this place." Natalya chuckled at him. He smiled at her. "Hey, Nat?" he asked her, his tone becoming softer as he faced her. "Yeah?" she replied. He took a couple steps toward her and looked around to make sure they were alone before leaning down to her ear. "I... I was wondering..." he said nervously. "Just in case one of us does leave tomorrow and I find myself regretting not shooting my shot when I had the chance, would you maybe want to come up to my room with me for a bit?" he asked her, his dark skin flushing a bit. Natalya felt her heart skip a beat at his request as she looked into his pretty dark eyes. She felt herself growing excited at the idea but a bit worried. She knew the other high-elves were constantly having sex with each other but she had never been invited to such occasions. She looked up at Gregory and felt her skin start to turn red. "Are... are you sure?" she asked him, surprised that he would find her appealing after constantly being berated for being an ugly wood-elf by some of the meaner, older high-elf males. He smiled sweetly at her. "Of course," he told her. "I must admit, the reason I've been asking you to practice lately is because I've been trying to work up the courage to ask. I know neither of us have really... done it before." He swallowed nervously as he waited for her response. Natalya smiled at him. "Okay," she said, a smile touching her lips. Gregory smiled a little too excitedly. "Shall we, then?" he motioned to the door. Natalya nodded and followed him out into the hall. Luckily the halls were fairly empty and they didn't pass any judgmental eyes as she entered his little room. Gregory closed the door behind them and turned to look at Natalya who was nervously standing in the center of his room, worried about how to start this. Gregory walked up to her and gently pulled her into his arms, pressing their bodies together. It was rather easy to be with him after being so physical with each other for the last few hours. "I haven't done this before," she whispered, not wanting to disappoint him. "Me either," he giggled sweetly. He leaned his face down toward Natalya's and she nervously leaned up and felt their lips meet. It was a very weird, unusual sensation but Natalya leaned into it and found she rather enjoyed the feeling of his warm lips on hers. She gently caressed his chest through the large slit in his thin linen shirt. He pulled his lips away and smiled at her. "You're so beautiful," he told her sweetly. "Do you want to keep going?" he asked her, making sure she was enjoying herself. Natalya nodded and started to pull his shirt off, finding herself desperate to admire his strong body. He helped her and she caressed his strong chest and shoulders. He was quite beautiful. He had elegant, handsome features and beautiful brown, caramel skin and dark features. He leaned down and kissed Natalya's neck sending a shiver of excitement through Natalya. She found herself breathing heavily as she felt his hands start to caress and squeeze her body. She felt his pelvic area grow hard and she instinctively pressed her own against him, exciting them both. Gregory pulled her shirt off and admired her breasts a moment before pulling her to the bed. He settled on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "I'm a little nervous," he admitted, giving Natalya a friendly smile. "Me too," she said, giggling in his arms. He gently laid her back in his bed and pulled her pants off. He kissed her breasts before pulling his own pants down. Natalya swallowed nervously, never having seen a naked man before. He chuckled at her response and took one her hands and placed it on him, prompting her to start caressing him. "Sorry if I'm bad at this," she told him, but he sighed happily. "You seem to be doing quite well," he assured her. He leaned in and kissed her and Natalya relaxed into his embrace. He reached his hand down and started rubbing her, exciting her as he slipped a finger inside her. She gasped in surprise at how easy and good it felt. This excited Gregory and he gently pushed her back down into the bed and pulled his finger out and rubbed her before gently slipping inside her. Natalya gasped as she got used to the sensation. "This feels so good," Gregory said, giving her a surprised smile. Natalya giggled in agreement and they got into it as they started trying different positions and techniques together. After a while, Gregory finally came as she laid beneath him and she moaned in pleasure feeling him pulse inside her. He was dripping in sweat as he huffed above her. "Do you want to cum again?" he asked her as he caught his breath. She sighed happily. "It seems a bit unfair," she giggled. "I've done it so many times now and you only get one go at it?" she asked him. He started pumping into her again. "You know," he said, getting back into it and growing hard again. "I think I have another round in me yet," he said happily. Natalya smiled and reached her hand down to pleasure herself as he started pounding her again. "It's quite fun, right?" he asked her as he worked. Natalya nodded. "It is," she agreed. "It's... easier than I thought it would be," she suddenly gasped in pleasure as her body started convulsing from her orgasm. This excited Gregory and he pounded into her harder. "You're so fucking sexy," he said, caressing her dainty leg that he had pulled up to his face. He nuzzled it and kissed it affectionately. "Why did we wait so long to do this together?" he asked her, still huffing. Natalya gave him a flirty, happy smile. "I'm glad we did, though," she told him. He smiled at her and leaned down and kissed her, caressing his hands through her red locks that were loose around her face. "Ahhh!" he exclaimed as he came again and moaned in pleasure on top of Natalya. He finally pulled out and collapsed next to her in his now very sweaty bed. They giggled as he pulled her into his arms. "We have to do this again," he told her. "Yeah, we do," she agreed. He kissed her affectionately. "I guess I should let you get some rest, huh?" he asked her reluctantly as he admired her body. "Yeah, big day tomorrow," she commented. Gregory sighed and laid back in his bed. "I hope it goes well," he said nervously. "Oh please," Natalya said. "You're one of the best, you'd get picked for sure if you were a high-elf," she pointed out. "Yeah," he said, leaning back to her to kiss her again. "But I'm not," he said. She curled up into his arms and kissed him. "You're so beautiful," she told him, caressing his chest. "I'm glad you think so," he replied. "Luckily for you, you have very pale skin for a wood-elf. That and your pretty red hair will get you farther than I'll ever get," he said as he caressed her messy hair from her face. She sighed. "I wish that weren't true," she said as she sat up and shook out her gross hair that was all matted from their activities. Gregory sat up and kissed her on the cheek. "We should do this again," he said. Natalya nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "We'll talk after the showing," she decided as she stood up and slipped her clothes back on. Gregory nodded and gave her a friendly smile. "Be safe getting back to your room," he told her. She nodded. "Goodnight, Gregory," she said, gently kissing him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Nat," he told her as she slipped out the door. Natalya made her way to her room and slipped in quietly as she smiled with delight and enjoyment. She threw her pants off and went over to the chamber pot in the corner of the cold room and relieved herself before changing into her night frock and climbing into bed. She closed her eyes and as she meditated she remembered moments from her past-self's memories of love-making, finding the experience fascinating. There were a few memories that were foggy, though. She could make out a high-elf with snow-white hair but they were fleeting and different from her other memories, as if she wasn't allowed to see them. She found this frustrating and she tried to press her brain harder but this only caused the memories to grow foggier. She eventually gave up on it and let her thoughts wander. In the morning, she got ready and braided her hair and headed down to the dining hall that was already bustling with excitement from the showing. She fixed a plate and joined Gregory who was sitting with Mariya and Yusuf, two humans they sometimes hung out with. Natalya sat down across from Gregory who gave her a welcome, shy smile. "Good morning," he told her warmly. "Good morning," she replied. "Do you feel good about today?" she asked him. He nodded. "Especially after all the work we did last night," he said, giving Natalya a playful wink. She smiled coyly. "I should hope so," she commented. "We were working pretty late," she played along. Gregory smiled and they ate the rest of their meal in silence until Headmaster Fiske got on the podium to address the dining hall. "Good morning," he said in a cold, formal tone. "This morning we welcome Marshal Novikoff from the KAV to proceed over the showing," he announced, gesturing to the high elf who was standing next to him in a decorated black and red uniform. The high elf had long blond hair that was pulled from his face with a formal braid. His face was very sharp and he had bright blue eyes, and he seemed stoic and hard to read. "Please make your way to the arena once you finish eating," he finished before stepping away and leading Marshal Novikoff out of the hall. Gregory quickly scarfed down his meal. "See you in there," he said, standing before the others were finished. "I'm going to go stretch before we get started," he told Natalya. Natalya nodded to him and focused on her bowl of soup. It was a pretty basic soup of potatoes and broth and an occasional shriveled carrot. She was excited for the showing but she didn't really think anything would come of it. She was still quite young for an elf. When she finished her meal she hurried into the arena and found a seat by herself toward the front. The other students filtered in and she saw Gregory who walked over and sat down next to her. "Hey," he greeted her. "Hey," she said. He looked sharp and focused making Natalya feel like she should be more focused than she was. "Good luck today," she told him. He gave her a friendly smile. "You too, Nat," he said as Fiske stood and the crowd hushed and rose to attention as they faced the giant Lenisilian Flag that hung over the far wall. The giant black star in the center loomed down ominously and Natalya felt herself growing nervous as they sang their national anthem. When they were done they sat down and the showing began as Fiske called students up to show off their skills. Natalya was called before Gregory to compete with Lukas, a high-elf who was about twice her age. He was a good opponent and Natalya had to focus hard to hold her ground. He eventually had the upper hand and Fiske called it, sending them both to their seats. Natalya sat back down next to Gregory, feeling annoyed with herself. "You still have plenty of time," he assured her. Natalya shrugged and leaned back, trying to avoid his pity. After a couple more rounds, Gregory was called up and he stood confidently and walked into the ring with Vladimir, an older high-elf with whom Gregory was often in competition. They began and Gregory immediately established dominance over the high-elf, quickly winning the first three rounds. Fiske called it and Gregory sauntered back over to his seat next to Natalya. "Good job," she told him, impressed by his skills. He gave her a nod but he was still nervously focused on the next few students. Finally everyone who was set to go had gone and Fiske and the marshal leaned over and whispered to each other. After a few tense moments, Fiske stood and started calling students down. "Turgenev, Kuznetsov, Orlov, Goncharov, Babanin, Zaitsev, and Vinogradov," he said, calling the students by their last names. Gregory perked up as he heard his name called and he slowly stood up in surprise before making his way down with the others. Natalya felt her heart sink as she realized he was getting out of here and she was staying. The group of students also included Lukas as well, much to Natalya's annoyance. Marshal Novikoff stood to address the young elves standing at attention before him. Fiske waved everyone else out and Natalya reluctantly left, unable to catch Gregory's eyes as she made her way out of the arena. She headed up to her room and sat down on the bed and considered all the ways she had messed up during the competition. After about a half hour she heard a knock on her door and she walked over and opened it to see Gregory there, with a packed bag slung over his shoulder. "I'm leaving," he told her, seeming a bit more disappointed than she would have thought. "Are you joining the KAV?" she asked him. He shook his head in a very small motion. "I'm to join the army as a soldier," he explained. "I'm heading to Leniscow, as well as most of the others who got picked. Sounds like the emperor is planning another attack on the Glitterfjell rebels," he said, sounding a bit fearful. "I just wanted to say goodbye," he said sadly. "We probably won't meet again, Natalya," he said quietly, taking one of her hands and squeezing it affectionately. "At least you're getting out of this hellhole," she said, offering him a half-smile and a shrug. He smiled at her attempt to make him feel better. "Good luck, Nat," he told her. "You too, Gregory," she said, standing on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek. He smiled sweetly at her. "Well, I guess I'm off," he said, straightening himself out. "Goodbye," he told her. "Goodbye," she replied as he started walking down the hall. Natalya felt her heart drop. She had to figure out how to get out of here. How to survive. She knew she needed to get better if she was going to get into the KAV instead of becoming a simple foot soldier. She had to become the best. She might as well start now. She threw on some workout clothes and headed down to one of the training rooms, committing to expending her focus and energy on her new goal.