I wouldn't put my money on the other guy. [TEMPY&GRIM]

It had happened last night before going to bed as Martina had been going over her schedule for what she had to do for the next day, the woman noticed a particular detail that had her waking up feeling more energetic then she usually was. She had a few hours in the morning free to do whatever she wanted. Feeling the restlessness of having not worked out in quite awhile, Martina made her way toward the battle stadium as students were walking to their morning classes. The Headmistress was dressed in clothes that clung to her body, the only thing that was really loose was the jacket she had on a person making it so that she could easily take it off if she really wished.

Finding that the battle stadium was completely empty, Martina took a deep breath of the winter air before directing her attention toward some training dummies nearby. Soon enough the Headmistress got to work striking the wood and straw with surprising speed as she used a variety of fighting moves. After this went on for about thirty minutes the older woman took a momentary break to drink out of the water bottle that she had taken with her and just as well removed the jacket that she been wearing earlier.

Turning back to the training dummies once more, Martina continued on with the various moves that she had been using only just a few minutes earlier. For most people during the winter season it was easier to work out in the gym, but to Martina she found using the fighting skills she had against the dummies a sort of stress relief and much more interesting as opposed to running on a treadmill or lifting weights.

A jaunty sailing tune prefaced a deep male voice saying, "Ms. Harlequin said that I'd find you here." Soren knew better than to sneak up on the headmistress. Especially when she was so focused. He was leaning against one of the goal posts nearby, a couple bottles of water loosely grasped in one of his hands.

It was cold, but he didn't feel it yet- he'd left his jacket at the worksite. They'd made very good progress in such a short period of time. It was a testament to Soren's style that he was as covered in mud and building materials as his workers- he was the type to lead from the front. Dirt and sawdust were smeared across his right cheek and on his forehead. His white t-shirt would never be the same again, not that it was a problem (he'd just buy some more), and he was lucky that fashionable jeans these days were distressed and stained to look like they'd seen hard labor.

He had gotten a good workout in that day, just through working. His shirt was damp from sweat, clinging to the muscles he worked hard to maintain. His hair spiked in odd places, especially near his forehead, due to the perspiration.

"The conservatory is coming along. We're actually ahead of schedule and under budget." He gave her a lopsided smile, "Looks like I'll be out of your hair sooner than we thought."

It wasn't even necessary for Martina to stop as Soren happened to find her. "She knows me too well," Martina said between quick breaths, dipping low as a chain reaction caused one of the dummies to swing around that would have hit her shoulders if she had otherwise not dodged. "Oh, that's a shame." Martina then blurted out, stopping suddenly as she realized what she had said and narrowly avoided getting hit in the leg. Putting a distance between her and the training dummies, Martina took a deep drink out of her water bottle - letting out a tiny gasp of air as she pulled the water bottle away. "I mean that it is good that things are going along smoothly," she then said to him with an almost awkward expression.

It was strange the sort of emotions she started to associate with Soren as opposed to how she had been feeling about Nikolai. The woman though was of course all too used to liking a person, but unlike with Nikolai where she couldn't understand and control herself - the feelings she had for Soren seemed to be logical. Almost like he was pushing her to feel in such a way. Taking another drink of her water bottle Martina started to walk back over to the dummmies. "I don't suppose you're here to work out with me," she said to him in a brisk tone.

Soren was waiting for exactly that sort of reaction from Martina. He pretended not to take specific note of her response. Instead, he replied to her amended message, eyes lingering on her well after she'd finished drinking water (which was a simple action made very attractive by the way she did it). "It's rare to have an upgrade on such an old property go so well. The people who built your school were well beyond their time."

His eyebrows shot up when she said that bit about working out with her. He recovered and offered a grin. "Not my original intent, but I would love to. What's your game? Sparring? Weapons or no?" He was good at heavy weapons or hand-to-hand. Anything between was doable, but his victory was less assured. From what he'd seen of Martina's ability, she'd give him a run for his money, but he felt confident in the practice he'd had over the ages.


He dropped the water bottles next to the goal post and paused, considering. Then he shrugged off his shirt too. Why? Because he didn't want to tear it. Also, because showing a little skin at this point might work in his favor.

"Yeah, that's my family for you..." Martina said to Soren in a tone that suggested she was less than pleased with this fact. Making a few movements to stretch her arms and upper back, Martina looked surprised as Soren appeared to be game for her not exactly thought out proposal. "Hand to hand," Martina replied quickly - the one form of fighting that she knew she was the weakest at. As Soren took his shirt off, Martina stepped back in surprise - a soft touch of color rising up in the Headmistress's cheeks. Turning away from the were-dragon for just a moment, Martina bent down and tied her tennis shoes tight before standing back up and facing Soren once more.

There was just a bit of distance between them, so Martina hesitated for a moment before closing the distance just a tiny bit. "I typically like to call it quits when someone ends up on the ground," she said to him an innocent manner - popping her neck in preparation of the quick movement that went with actually sparring with a person instead of a wooden dummy.

Soren grinned at her. "Hand to hand? So close fighting then. I approve." He was pleased at her blush, which he had spotted just before she bent down to tie her shoes. He took advantage of the opportunity and stretched his arms, his muscles rippling in anticipation of the exertion. He was already warmed up from the effort of building a conservatory.

Soren nodded. "So all I have to do is get you on your back. Got it." He said this with a straight face and, quick as a flash, darted forward and dropped, sweeping his legs out with the intention of unbalancing Martina. If anything, Soren was a man who went right to the point.

Before she expected it, Soren closed the distance quicker than she thought he would. As he swept his legs out, Martina jumped up in response and grabbed a hold on Soren's so as to jump behind him. Her initial goal being to put her back to his, feeling a small smile creep on her face as she did so.

Once she had her back to his, Martina moved to deal a quick blow to Soren's side - her intentions being that he would hesitate more than anything else. In doing so, Martina did have a difficult time in not being distracted with the significant amount of muscle that Soren had. Why was it that she was suddenly reminded of Nikolai as this was happening as well? Mentally shaking the distraction out of her mind, Martina returned to focusing on the practice once more.

Soren was pleased that she'd dodged him. He commented as she put her back to his, "Let's make this interesting. How about the loser grant one favor to the winner?" He admitted to himself that he was somewhat rusty, especially since he wasn't trying to kill her. It's not like he practiced combat for the purpose of wrestling his opponents to the ground, in a potentially sensual way.

Martina was fast, but he could see an opening and took it. He moved just slightly and caught her hand in his. He shot a wink at her and tugged on her hand, intending to pull her into his arms. "I promise that I won't ask anything too much from you."

"Just one favor?" Martina responded quickly, her interest obviously peaked by the offer. As her hand was caught, Martina frowned and struggled for a moment until she was pulled into Soren's arm - her cheek landing against his bare chest. Feeling just a bit embarrassed at the situation she found herself in, Martina's thoughts strayed as she felt the heat Soren was emitting from his body remembering for a moment that Nikolai's temperature had been about the same. Was this man something more than just a man?

"What favor is that then?" she asked him, attempting to move her hands up onto his chest to push away. As far as Martina was aware, Soren could lift her and put her on the ground in any manner he wished from the position they were in right now.

Soren swept her down in a smooth move similar to a dip in a dance. "A date with me." He didn't pull her up out of the dip. Instead, he eased her to the ground gently and firmly. While he had been pleasantly surprised that the fight was over so quickly and so painlessly, he didn't show it.

He murmured, "I've worked alongside you for weeks, but I couldn't figure out how to ask. Thank you for helping me past that obstacle." He did get up at this point, though, not wanting to make the woman feel intimidated or out of control. He had a feeling that both of those would be bad ideas at this point in their 'relationship'. He offered her a hand to help her up to her feet.

"I would understand you declining my offer, but I hope you do not. It's my treat, and a chance for you to kick back for once. You're a busy woman, yes, but all work and no play can cause a decrease in performance." He smiled lopsidedly. "At least, that's what the latest research is saying."

Martina was speechless as Soren spoke, the combination of being held against his muscles along with being asked for a date was almost too much for the woman to consider. "I... I don't see any problem with," Martina spoke realizing that her childhood problem of stuttering was starting to show. As she was set on the ground and then let go, Martina pushed herself up to her elbows feeling as if she sat up too quickly she might faint once again. "Relaxing is a good thing, but you understand I can't devote an entire evening to spending just with you," Martina may have sounded a little harsh - but the woman was still focused on the idea that there were still students missing and if she was seen slacking off too much then that would give her a worst image in the village public eyes then she already had.

Soren smiled, then tilted his head down at Martina. "Just join me for dinner, and I'll consider myself a lucky man." He stretched his shoulders a little while he stood there, moving more to keep warm than to stay limber. Their fight hadn't been that long, after all.

He sighed happily and walked over to where he'd dropped his shirt. "After the conservatory is completed, don't hesitate to call me for any other jobs that need doing." He pulled on his shirt in a single, well practiced motion. It felt clammy against his skin and he made every attempt to ignore it. However, he did wince when it settled into place.

Soren was on the verge of saying something else when the vice-principal entered the arena. She called over to Martina, "Headmistress, there's an urgent call for you in your office."

"Well, you did win after all." Martina thought out-loud, realizing that the game had only partially been set to her own standards in the first place. "Very well then," she then said - looking surprised as Caroline called for her. Glancing back at Soren as she started to get up and grab her water bottle, Martina hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Come by later and we'll work out a good date time," she said to him with what seemed to be an unsure tone. Maybe it was just the situation that she was over-thinking, but despite how pleasant the idea of going out sounded Martina couldn't help but think it would be more necessary for her to be at the school. Soon enough the Headmistress made her exit out of the battle arena - heading back to her office in the mean time.

Cade was seated at his class, pondering a few things as he marked his students’ tests. One of which was his wondering of whether or not he was that good of a teacher considering how badly most students had done, but plenty of students did struggle with math regardless of the teacher. He couldn’t be too self-degrading, it was math after all and you either get it or you don’t, at least that’s what he thought anyway.

His wandering eye peered out the window and he noticed someone was down in the battle arena. Being that it was usually empty during the time of day normally, he was quite curious who it was. His boss giving those dummies one hell of a beat down, who could blame her really. If Cade was in her position and had parents complaining about their missing children day in and day out he’d probably be off the deep end at this point in time, which was probably why he wasn’t in charge of anything. Linking his mind back to the kidnappings though instantly reminded him of what Jenna told him to inform the Headmistress about. She looked like she wasn’t going anywhere any time soon, so Cade garbed his winter jacket and left his class at a casual pace.

Once Cade arrived at the arena, he was quick to notice that the boss lady was long gone, that or he somehow mistaken the incredibly large gentleman for her. He decided that it wouldn’t be wise to inform either one of them of his mistake if that were so. Either way he shouldn’t have sat on the information he had longer than he had already.

“Good evening sir” he greeted while rolling his hand in a fancy sort of manner. “You’re not staff are you? Anyways not my business, the Headmistress was here earlier right?” He questioned as he continued to approach the rather filthy looking man.

The were-dragon arched an eyebrow at the newcomer, having been lost in thought after Martina's departure. So far, his plan was falling into place nicely. The only thing that continued to nag at him was the absence of his rival. Nikolai had been gone for two weeks. This was helpful for the seduction of his mate, but there was also the slightly disconcerting idea that Nikolai had... abandoned Martina without warning and without reason.

Then again, it wouldn't make sense given Nikolai's personality and hitherto-dismal luck with women.

The man who'd arrived on the scene was just a few inches shorter than Soren, not extraordinary in build (at least, from what Soren could see through the winter getup), and blond. The most interesting thing about the guy right off the bat was his eye color- orange.

Soren's response came quickly. "Evening. I am not staff, but you might call me a contractor. The name's Soren Karlsson. You?" He fished in a pocket and withdrew a temporary badge with his name and a picture. "I suppose it is your business if you are staff. I understand that security has been an issue these past few months."

As for the headmistress, he wondered how much the guy had seen of their fight, or if he (like so many others) assumed the headmistress's location would be the arena if she wasn't in her office. "She was. She just went back to her office to take a call."