Theo and Everett’s Training Duel

Theo and Everett’s Training Duel turns a flash of jealousy into a public sparring match, revealing how Theo can defend his relationship with Luc without losing control of the encounter. After finding Everett flirting with Luc during guard training in Ashenhave, Theo steps in when Luc cannot duel an ordinary guard. The contest becomes both a demonstration of Theo’s fighting skill and a pointed lesson for Everett: attraction does not entitle him to Luc’s attention, and Theo is not an easy rival to overcome.

Context and Stakes

The confrontation grows out of a week of harvest work and preparations for Ashenhave’s festival. Garris has asked Luc, Bryony, and Khal to observe the town guards and recommend improvements to their training. Theo, meanwhile, has been visiting Ala, one of the people weakened by the ghost-touch crisis, and notices that Everett watches Luc with more than admiration. He and Luc are open about their relationship, so Theo expects Everett not to make a move.

That expectation fails when Theo stops by a training session to bring Luc lunch. Luc is correcting Everett’s stance, standing close behind him to adjust his position. Everett leans into Luc, sets his hips deliberately, and flutters his eyelashes in an attempt to seduce him. Luc does not appear to understand what Everett is doing. Theo’s jealousy rises sharply enough that he briefly considers releasing Malthios to destroy the guard. Khal notices Theo and calls out to him; Luc immediately moves away from Everett, brightens at the sight of Theo, and hurries over to kiss him.

The kiss confirms their intimacy in front of the guards, but it does not settle Theo’s irritation. When the group turns to testing the guards’ skills in spars, Luc explains that he is not cleared to duel anyone below the high-adventurer level. Theo volunteers to take his place, noting that he has not practiced properly in several days. He chooses Everett to go first, while Everett appears to regard the match as an easy chance to defeat Theo and perhaps win Luc’s affection.

The Sparring Match

Khal calls the start. Everett charges, but Theo sidesteps and catches his ankle, sending him off balance. When Everett recovers and swings, Theo catches his wrist, uses the force of the attack to turn them both, then releases him so that he staggers away. Theo returns to a relaxed posture with his hands behind his back and reminds Everett to focus on his form. The watching guards answer the exchange with a mixture of insults and encouragement.

Everett attacks again. Theo blocks the blow with his forearm; the wooden strike stings, but Theo’s magic rises to heal any injury. At the same time, he closes the distance, tangles a leg with Everett’s, and punches him in the stomach. The combination leaves Everett off balance and nearly knocks him over. Theo could press the attack, but instead steps back and relaxes his stance. His restraint makes the contrast plain: he is not struggling to keep up with Everett, but choosing how much force to use.

Theo taunts Everett about losing his form and asks whether he needs someone behind him to hold him up. Malthios approves of the barb, even as Everett snarls and attacks again. Theo dodges the swings and catches Everett around the ankles once more. Everett avoids being tripped, but the effort disrupts his balance. Theo knocks his sword arm aside and drives a knee into his stomach, sending him hard onto his back. He then steps away to let Everett recover rather than continuing to strike him.

The Match Ends

Everett’s face reddens, and his anger begins to give way to desperation as he tries to get up. Garris intervenes, telling Theo that he has made his point. Theo answers with apparent innocence, then adds that Everett may be less distracted now. The chief’s decision ends the spar before Theo can turn his advantage into further punishment.

Bryony remarks that she had thought Theo was going to kill Everett; she also says that Garris is calling the match because he owes her three gold. The comment registers the gap between Theo’s controlled technique and the violence his jealousy briefly suggested. In the ring, he has repeatedly created openings and stepped back, but to an observer the ease with which he dominates Everett makes the encounter look dangerous.

Relationship and Significance

After the match, Theo gives the others a softer smile and turns to Luc, who watches him with undisguised awe and a more heated expression. Theo pats Luc’s head and quietly suggests that Luc should be less hands-on with the guards so that none of them gets the wrong idea. The private admonition follows the public kiss: Theo has made clear that he and Luc are together, but he also recognizes that Luc’s physical closeness while instructing the guards can invite attention he does not intend.

The duel therefore resolves more than a training exercise. Theo answers Everett’s flirtation directly, but the answer is measured rather than lethal: footwork, leverage, a punch, a knee, and finally a deliberate pause. His capacity to draw on healing magic while fighting makes him more than a healer in the guards’ practice yard, while his choice to stop short of serious harm keeps the contest from becoming a simple act of revenge. The match also exposes a small asymmetry in the couple’s situation: Luc is oblivious to Everett’s advances, whereas Theo sees them immediately and feels their threat. By the end, Everett has been defeated and warned, Luc has come straight back to Theo, and Theo’s remaining concern is how to keep Luc’s friendliness from being mistaken for invitation.