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Hello!Just a preface here, but I'm glad you picked this book.
I will write for any gender, preference, race, or character. I also write smut.
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The winds of Eastmarch held a strong chill, one that nipped your spine and spread bumps over your skin. Cold stone and snow met your boots with each step you took. It was dreadful...Your body ached and your fingertips were practically blue. The time spent on Solstheim did nothing to accustom you to this weather, as most your time was spent near the Whiterun and Falkreath holds.'At least it's not as bad as the Pale,' you thought to yourself. In the words of your loyal sellsword, Teldryn, the Pale was like the "northern part of Solstheim... rife with freezing cold weather and full of unfriendly creatures." It, too, was dreadful... All you could think of was your warm home. How terribly you wanted to feel that comforting air and relax in its nature.Your thoughts were interrupted, though, as a voice sounded behind you."(Y/N)?" a gloved hand met your shoulder and stopped you. Teldryn stood a small distance behind. His hand would have sent warmth to your body, if it weren't for the armor he wore. You hated how it covered every part of him. In battle, it proved useful... though, when you were home or between jobs, it only served to make you wonder.Your eyes drifted to the goggles on his helmet. Another curiosity struck you: making you ponder what his eyes must look like. He was a Dunmer, that much you knew, so you could picture his appearance... dark skin, eyes of either red or black. However, that's as far as you could spectate."It's getting rather dark, isn't it? And this damn cold's beginning to ware on us." In your imagination, you'd forgotten he was speaking. You knew there was still a long distance to travel... Nonetheless, he was right.After a short pause, you decide, "There's a city not far from here..." Your eyes drifted up, as you saw the faint, dark outline of stone walls. "Windhelm... just up the path a ways. Familiar?""Very." He seemed discontent. He shook his head, before you could question him. "It'll have to do... Come on, now. Let's get going."You didn't respond this time, as he gently nudged you forward.---------------------Not long after the conversation, Teldryn and you were at the towering gates of Windhelm. These entrances never ceased to impress you. Teldryn, on the other hand, rarely seemed phased. His travels had taken him well across Tamriel, allowing him to see all it offered. His expectations grew, along with his knowledge.As you sighed and had the gates opened, white puffs surrounded your lips. You were shaking by this point. Teldryn noticed this, though there was nothing he could do.. a strange feeling of, almost, guilt hit his stomach. He didn't understand it."We can stop for the night and rest in Candlehearth Hall," you suggest. His protest stopped you as you stepped forward."I... can't go in there," again a discontentment and sorrow fulled his tone. It made you feel... something. What, you couldn't place.You turned to face him. "...why not? To my knowledge, Windhelm has no other inns, or-""I'm a Dunmer, (Y/N). And this is Windhelm." You were still clueless. Teldryn sighed and stepped to side of you, guiding you elsewhere. "We aren't as welcome here, as the Nordic natives. Now, I'm sore and in no condition to brawl another drunken ex-soldier. Let's be on our way, quickly."You understood, to some degree... that feeling grew inside you, but was quickly shadowed by confused. "Where will we stay, then?""The Gray Quarter is better for us.. I'm sure your capable of imagining how it's gotten the name..."His hand was still on your upper arm as he showed you the way. The contact distracted you from your curiosity of how he knew the city's layout and attitude toward his kind.----------------------Teldryn had taken you to a shady corner of Windhelm. There were few buildings there, one of them being the New Gnisis Cornerclub. It was like an inn, though more barren and... filthy.At the moment, he lay in a single bed, positioned near a blank wall. The floor was covered with tankards, ale, and scraps.You sat against the opposite wall, studying the floor. Downstairs, few Dumner were gathered around a table. You wondered how your friend could sleep through the noise they spread. It kept you alert and awake.He still wore that damn armor. He'd passed out in it, after a few rounds of the Sujamma you had. You managed to carry him up the stairs and just barely got him in bed.Earlier that night, while he was drinking and you were apart, the others seemed to recognise him. When you helped him through his stupor he told you he'd lived here before. To think he "lived" like... this... for so long, hurt you. You weren't sure why, but you harboured an attachment to him. With that, came a level of worry and care. Everytime he followed you into trouble, you couldn't help but wonder... would the both of you make it? Would you die? Would he?...what would you do, without him?"Stop it," you scolded yourself. You knew he felt nowhere near the same. You were just his employer. He may have been friendly, yes, but at the end of the day, he was only by your side for the payment.You still didn't care, despite knowing that truth.With a quiet sigh and a pinch of your nose, you stood. The remaining bottle of Sujamma would clear your mind, for sure.
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Staying sober was never your strong suit. Between your adventures as Dragonborn and the schedule you held, drinking wasn't always an option. You never got a hold over yourself, the lightweight you were. And Sujamma was quite strong... 'What would he see in me?' you drunkenly question yourself. 'Sure, I'm the Dragonborn.. most of Skyrim and Solstheim knows of me. Though, I'm not as beautiful as some may hope. I'm not as intelligent, or strong, or perfect.' You thought over the many flaws you owned. 'I've been nowhere, and I know nothing... unlike him.' Your eyes lazily drifted back to Teldryn. He stirred in the bed and muttered something every once in a while, though, you couldn't understand it. His back rose and fell with each drowsy snore... '..he's been everywhere. He knows everything, compared to me." You now knew what you had been feeling all this time. Heart-broken. Heart-broken over the lies you convinced yourself to be true.. over your insecurities and imperfections. Deep in thought, you hardly felt the tear trailing down your face. It started out as one, then two... three, then four... and turned to a waterfall. You hugged your knees against your chest and pushed your face against them. Your shoulders heaved and you knew you were nothing near silent. But, you couldn't bring yourself to care."...(Y/N)...?" the cracked, slurred voice made you go stiff. You shied back against the wall and tried to condense yourself. A heavy stumble of boots on cheap wood echoed through the room, and didn't stop until merely one step away from you... Teldryn stood above you– not towering, but simply studying. You wouldn't look at him... you couldn't look at him. Not now. "Oh, don't act like you haven't heard me." He sounded as casual as he always did... bastard. He slowly lowered himself down in front of you. "Would you at least look at me...?" All you could manage was a stiffled, "no." He let out a low chuckle, and gently gripped your arms.. His gloves smoothed them over, before he pull them down and nudged your head up. "Let me rephrase, then." He sounded more serious, this time. "Stop cowering, and look at me." To anyone else, his response would have been cold.. careless. But, you had been with him long enough to decipher Teldyrn's tones and underlined meanings. He looked at you for a moment, before realising you weren't about to explain anything. "By the three... I can't stand this," he cursed and moved his hands up to his helmet. To your suprise, he pulled it off and onto the floor next to him. Your eyes widened. He was... attractive. More so then any Dumner you'd seen... more so than anyone you'd seen, truthfully. "Yes, yes. There's a first time everything..." he sighed and slowly pulled off his gloves, as well. "Now, would you stop your gawking and speak, (Y/N)?" as he concluded, he flashed you a shadow of a tender smile. Your breath hitched and your body started to relax. He had that effect over you. As you calmed, you began to think... "I... can't," you admitted, with a shake of your head. "And why's that?" You realised there was no good answer. Either you admitted how cowardly you were, or you tell him the truth. "It's..." your voice trails off slowly and you look down. "Teldryn, I'm sorry. I can't."His lips pursed and his hands tightened for a moment. "Please?" he softly asked of you. "I've seen the way you've been looking at me, the past while. I've noticed your change." He ran a hand down his face. "...i haven't upset you, have I?" he sounded as if he were joking. "Some what," you blurt without quite thinking. This only made him frown. "I... I just mean.." you start to stammer, before he cuts you off. "(Y/N). I'm not about to play cat and mouse, with you... I've heard how you craft your words, and I know you can do better than whatever... this... is. So, you can either speak to me... or, I can go back to sleep."Your eyes trailed down his grey completion, to his hands, and back up again. He was so purely.. enticing in that moment, that you couldn't help yourself. Between the way he way looking at you and the tone of his voice... you just couldn't refrain. Your hands lurched forward and held the edges of his jaw... Your lips met his firmly, though only for a fleeting moment. Then, you realised what you had done. You cursed and dropped his face, scampering back to the wall.. "I'm... Teldryn... I'm sorry, I didn't...."He brought his hand up to his mouth and dragged a single finger over his lips.. he then looked to you again.
He held your gaze, as he reached out and grabbed you. His strong hands finely held you in place, as he returned your kiss. You were paralysed.. "Was that all?" he whispers upon pulling back. "You've been so riled up over this... tension?" he laughed again. He knew he was right. You looked up to him with nothing more than adoration.. and nodded. The two of you smiled. Nothing else had to be said. You both knew exactly what the other felt and thought, now. The silence was comforting, only amplified when he leaned down and kissed you once more.
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"Finally," you hissed as your blade slid from the fowl Ash Spawn's chest. One after the other, they had attacked you. "..insufferable."You grimaced at the pile of ashes laying in front of you, and carefully stepped over it. The relentless attacks had already left your boots and gauntlets crusted with ash, dried blood from the vermin and the flakes of what they left behind. The last thing you wanted, or had time for, was cleaning the caked gunk away. It would all be worth it, though. You were on yet another trip to Tel Mythrin.. as you wanted to check up on the place. The last time you were around, was to assist Neloth with his experiments. It was rather fun. ...even if he had momentarily blinded you... ...and didn't seem to care, or hold any concern toward you. All he ever seemed to be worried over were his damned experiments. Never once stopping to ask about you, or your adventures. Despite knowing this, you couldn't bring yourself to care. You simply enjoyed being near him. For whatever reason that may be, it's all you could think about sometimes. Just being in his company, made you forget the barrings of time or your other tasks. You... just couldn't care about those things. -------Tel Mythrin had an odd landscape– one you'd never witness on the plains of Skyrim. Though bizarre, it was beautiful... the mystery of it made everything so much more euphoric. All this, of course, because of Neloth. It wasn't so much Tel Mythrin that made you smile, more so the knowledge of who resided inside. As you were involved in your thoughts, you'd lost focus on everything else. The next you knew, you were standing inside the Main House. All was as usual. Talvas was stalking around, with nothing obvious to do. And Neloth.. he was hunched over a table, reading something. It wasn't until you approached his direction, that he spoke. "I don't recall inviting you into my tower. I do hope you make this worth my while." His tone sounded, almost, as if, he were poking an attempt at humour. It made your lips curl into a soft smile."Oh, I will," you stood near him, but kept a respectful distance. The fear of scaring him off plagued you from ever getting too close. "Do you need any assistance?"His sideways glance at you made you tense. "...with your experiments..." you finished, a bit softer. "Perhaps later. For now I have a slightly more personal request," his bluntness never ceased to suprise you. Neloth closed the book in front of him and slowly stood. "Come now."You instantly followed him, to somewhere that appeared to be a bedroom.. once you both stood inside, he closed the odd doors. They appeared to be more like vines or branches, than the average door. They intricately twisted and intertwined, blocking anyone from getting a clear view of the inside.. "You're not here to study, Lady (Y/N). None have yet to be so blessed with my presence."You smiled and looked up his way. His eyes fell on you coldly, though the more you stared, the more they seemed to soften on you. "Nor, are you here to stare."'None have yet to be so blessed with your presence,' you thought to yourself, with defeat. It only reminded you more of how you longed for him. "Then what is it you want?" you asked, with frustration. Neloth only looked your way with a sharp intensity. "Don't interrupt me, Lady (Y/N).""I've called you in here, to discuss your... infatuation. Oh, yes, yes, I'm aware of it. You're terrible at keeping secrets," he scoffed. "Infatuation?" you chirped, keeping up the act pointlessly. All it served to do was make Neloth's eyes roll. "Yes.. 'infatuation.'" There was a cocky air to his tone. Much more so than usual. "I'd like to here you admit it aloud..." the elf's eyes suddenly, but intensely, met your eyes upon the conclusion of his sentence.. For once, you had nothing to quip back with.. nothing to remark, or casually snark. All you could do was sit still, and try to ignore how your entire body tensed in his gaze.. "..sometime today, I mean. I've far better things to occupy myself with, should you refuse." Neloth stood closer to you now. Much closer than you would ever have dared. In fact, he was so close, you could feel the slight warmth he gave off. It wasn't strong, though it was still there.. fitting. Gazes were locked. Your hands were balled. Yet, he stood straight up with an indecipherable expression. His lips pursed, before he uttered, "So be it." He seemed, almost, disappointed... "Fine," you said before he could finish his sentence. You didn't care if that would push him even further. Not now, at least... "I... have an.." you paused, dry-throated. It was impossible to find the right word, or at least one that kept your dignity in tact.. "..an interest..."Neloth's normally still lips curled ever do slightly at the edges. It was an odd sight, though one you enjoyed seeing. "Good."That's all he said. There was no speech over why you weren't fit for someone such as him. There was no disgusted rant.. There was nothing you had expected. All he had said was, "good," before once again leaving the room... leaving you there to wonder what had just happened... and smile.