More fic!
Author: fidrich Title: First Time Rating: C for implied murder; otherwise pretty tame Characters/Pairings: Young Jonathan Teatime. Warning: I've made this a B because there's no real description of violence, but it's strongly suggested/implied.
Like many students, Teatime didn't wait until he graduated from the Guild to take on his very first assignment.
Such an arrangement was covertly approved of by the teaching staff, even if it meant that untrained youngsters were taking on work: if they botched the job, well, it was entirely unofficial and had nothing to do with the Guild proper, and if they did well, it was a testament to the Guild's teaching. Students felt that it prepared them for the final exam: no last minute can-I-or-can't-I moral dilemmas.
Not that Teatime had ever been in any doubt. In fact, he was one of the youngest students to go this route, completing his first successful contract at 14.
It was wonderful. He felt superhuman, he felt utterly alive; he felt nothing but glee and joy and the swoop and fall of perfect movement. When he'd finished he was flushed, breathless, grinning broadly. He was also covered in blood and his wrist had been broken in two places, but it was worth it. He crawled back to the Guild, to his dormitory, and collapsed into bed - he didn't even need to try to ignore the stares of his dorm-mates. He was too elated.
In the morning he was treated to a lecture about etiquette and hygiene, someone having complained about the bloodstains on his bedsheets. A small amount of money was added to the account the Guild looked after for him.
Teatime didn't even bother to see how much his first life had been worth.