Much Larger

Life, Identity

Natalya gets her first solo job assignment and her and Dimitri make love for the first time.

Natalya hurried to the dining hall, anxious to try and see Dimitri. They hadn't been able to be alone together since their job in Flottenheim and they both had busier schedules now that they weren't training anymore. She made it to the hall and saw Dimitri eating in their usual corner. She quickly fixed a plate and plopped down in front of him. "Hey," she said. "I haven't seen you in days," she said, trying to meet his eyes. He continued to look down at his plate. "I know. You're a real soldier now, what did you expect would happen?" he asked her flatly. She shrugged. "I don't know. I've mostly been posted at the watch towers, which is pretty boring and extremely cold," she complained. He nodded. "Welcome to the real world. Our fun days of beating the shit out of each other every day are behind us," he said, giving her a short glance. Natalya wanted him to look at her but he seemed to not be wanting to draw attention to themselves. Natalya saw Milosh walk in and walk over, much to Natalya's displeasure. As he did, he spat on the floor beneath her. Dimitri gave him a look. "Novikoff!" he scolded him, defending Natalya, much to the pleasure of his snotty brother. "Don't disrespect someone who's a higher rank than you," Dimitri called him out. Milosh smirked at Dimitri. "I won't bother myself with addressing someone who only had a title because the General has a kink for redheads," he whispered viscously at them before turning on his heel and walking away from them. Natalya felt sick to her stomach. Dimitri glared at Milosh as he sauntered away. "Don't bother with him," Natalya told Dimitri, trying not to make a fuss over Milosh. She was used to his rudeness at this point. Dimitri huffed and looked back down at his plate. "He's a shithead," he muttered under his breath. Natalya shrugged. "I'm used to it," she said, turning back to her pathetic helping of carrot stew. After a moment, Dimitri sighed. "Post duty. I'll see you around, Sergeant," he said formally as he stood to go. Natalya gave him a sad look and ate the rest of her meal in despair. After a few moments, an officer walked in and headed straight for her. She felt her stomach do a flip flop, knowing what would come next. "Sergeant Ivanov! General Pufuktin would like you to report to his office," he said. "Yes, Officer." She saluted him and stood to put her tray away. As she did, she saw Milosh raise his eyebrows at her across the room in a smirk. She turned away and hurriedly left the dining hall. Natalya went to Pufuktin's office and knocked on the door. "Come in!" he called out from his desk. Natalya walked in and closed the door behind her. "General." She saluted him. Pufuktin was sitting at his desk and he beckoned her to take a seat. "Sit, Sergeant," he told her. When Natalya was settled he looked up at her from the papers in front of him. "How did you feel about your assignment in Flottenheim?" he asked her. Natalya found this odd and wondered if he knew about her moment with Dimitri. "It was fine. I was a bit nervous but-" He shook his head and waved her off. "What exactly happened?" he asked her. "Sergeant Novikoff gave me a very vague description of what exactly occurred with the targets and I want to know the details. Who shot who first and how and what was the plan?" He looked up and met her eyes with a crazy, desperate look in his own. Natalya saw Fenneck Frostear's folder in front of Pufuktin with a dagger stabbed through the sketch of the ranger's face. "Well, we entered the forest before the sun rose and we split up, thinking it would be better if I lured them one direction and Dimitri would surprise Frostears from behind. I sat down under a tree and yelled out for help. Erikur Oblonsky ran to me and knelt down and asked what was wrong and went to help me and I stabbed him, killing him almost instantly by stabbing him in the heart. The other one never ran toward me, I never actually saw his face. I heard him call for my target and I decided to hide in the trees as he passed by. I realized Sergeant Novikoff didn't hit him and I decided to find Sergeant Novikoff-" Pufuktin cut her off. "Why didn't you go after Frostears?" he asked her intensely. Natalya felt flustered. "Well, I... I was scared. I wasn't sure I could take him if Dimitri hadn't. I also wasn't sure if I was supposed to because he wasn't my target," she told him. Pufuktin absentmindedly twisted the dagger in the picture angrily before remembering that Natalya was still there. "These Glitterfjellians are dangerous," he informed her, trying to give her some context for his anger. "They are trying to expand their conquest into other parts of Lenisily. I've been trying to nail down a particularly nasty halfling from there who has made quite the reputation for himself as an active insurrectionist across Lenisily. All thanks to these crazy progressive extremists in Flottenheim," he said still fidgeting with his knife. "I am quite proud of you for being able to take out Oblonsky. It is a great win for us as a country. He was a powerful spellcaster, you see," he complimented her before turning his attention back to the mission. "What exactly happened next, with Novikoff?" he asked her suspiciously. Natalya swallowed. "I snuck through the forest until I found him in the underbrush with three arrows in his chest. He said that the ranger Frostears had shot him with all three at once," she explained. "I kept checking back to see if he would come back and I quickly tried to bandage Di- Sergeant Novikoff and I managed to help him limp back into the mountain pass where we traveled as quickly and as far as we could go before we had to stop and I could more properly tend to Sergeant Novikoff's wounds. It never seemed like the target followed us," she said. "He seemed really distressed when I heard him call out to my target, Oblonsky," she said, thinking that might be the reason he hadn't chased them into the mountains. Pufuktin pondered this for a moment before giving her a long look. He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair, yanking the dagger out of the picture as he did. "There were rumors they were gay lovers," he said with disgust. "Absolute pagans there in Glitterfjell," he said in disapproval. "They took over Flottenheim and turned it into a blasphemous place with all sorts of crude lifestyle choices. Baegla, their leader, is a rug munching witch for Corellon's sake!" he exclaimed in disapproval. He sighed and gave her a comforting look. "I have another job for you," he told her, peaking her interest. "In Vladigrad, there is a half-elf who has been spreading rumors and lies about their Duke, Duke Orlov. I need him to disappear and I trust you to handle this." He handed her the folder and she opened it to see the information and instructions she needed. "This will be much simpler than the Glitterfjell job I sent you and Novikoff on," he told her. "Spend the evening looking over your notes and a carriage will be ready to take you to Vladigrad tomorrow morning at dawn." Natalya nodded. "Of course, General," she replied formally, excited to have something interesting to do. Natalya felt the haze come over her and she looked up at Pufuktin and batted her eyes at him. "Perhaps I should thank you for such an opportunity?" she suggested. He smiled and beckoned her toward him. She was in her room by the time the effect wore off and she swallowed through the nausea as she poured over her notes. She studied late into the night and as she was about to put her things away she heard a knock at the door. She cautiously stood up and went to the door and saw Dimitri standing there, looking nervous. She looked around and saw the hallway and common area was empty. "Can I come in?" he mouthed to her. She nodded and let him in and he walked over and sat down on her bed. Natalya closed the door and smiled at him excitedly. He gave her a small, nervous smile. She went to him and he picked her up into his strong arms and kissed her fiercely and pulled her down into the bed. "Hold on!" she said, quickly moving the folder and papers she had been working on that were scattered across the covers. Dimitri kept kissing her as she moved them and she giggled as he finally pressed her down into the bed and made love to her. They had to be quiet, but she didn't mind. It felt wonderful to have him inside her. He was so much gentler than Pufuktin and much larger. Natalya felt a little overwhelmed at first realizing just how much bigger than other elves he was but she soon found herself enjoying it. When they were finished, he laid back on her pillows and caressed her hair as she curled up next to him. "I love you," she told him sweetly. He smiled. "I love you too," he said as he caressed her naked body admiringly. "You're so beautiful," he said. She smiled. "So are you." She caressed the scars across his chest and sighed. "Don't think about that right now." Dimitri's hand pulled her fingers away from the scars and up to his clavicle. "I'm sorry I haven't seen you lately," he told her sadly. "I just wanted to make sure we were being safe and smart about this," he told her before gently kissing her again. She sighed happily. "I know. I just miss you," she said sadly. He nodded. "Me too. I heard you have a job? Milosh is pissed about it," he said happily. She nodded. "In Vladigrad, I leave tomorrow morning," she told him. "Well good luck," he told her. "If anyone asks why I was here, it's because you wanted some advice on your first solo job. That's why I went ahead and risked this," he explained. Natalya nodded understandingly. "I wish we had more excuses," she said, playfully caressing his skin. He smiled. "Me too. I should let you rest, unless you do have any questions?" he asked her as he sat up. Natalya suddenly realized she did have something she wanted to ask him about. "Dimitri," she started. "Yes?" he asked her. "Why did General Pufuktin send us into Flottenheim to take out two magic users for my first actual job?" she asked him, trying to understand why they were given such important, dangerous targets. Dimitri sighed and shrugged. "Because we're the best? Pufuktin knows it. The thing is though, while we may be the best, we're also disposable. He can risk losing us. We're low-lives Nat," he explained. Natalya sighed. "What do you think about the General?" she asked him. Dimitri looked around cautiously as if they could be heard. "What are you talking about?" he whispered to her nervously. "What is your impression of him? Do you trust him?" she asked Dimitri. He swallowed. "We shouldn't talk about such things. Do you have any questions about the job?" he asked her. Natalya nodded in shame for bringing up such a thing and explained her plan and her target and Dimitri gave her some pointers and nodded in approval. "I've taught you well," he said proudly. "You'll do great. Don't let your nerves get the best of you though," he told her. "I won't. I promise," she told him. He kissed her romantically for a few more minutes before finally pulling away. "Good luck tomorrow," he told her. "I love you," he said, enjoying the words as they left his mouth. "I love you, too," she said giddily back to him. He gave her one more quick kiss and disappeared into the hall. Natalya fell back onto her bed feeling blissful and enjoying the smell of Dimitri's sweat on her blankets and she bundled them around herself to meditate.