Wow, I can't believe I actually wrote this, and all in one go, too! I got this idea ages ago, but never wrote down anything for it, but I was playing Skyrim earlier, and it suddenly entered my head again, so I quit, started writing, and did all this in one go. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Bethesda owns everything but the idea and my OC, Elene.

Heat

The first time she killed a dragon (Mirmulnir, at the Western Watchtower) it felt warm. The soul that is. A warmth spread through her, kinda tickling her nerve endings, and it felt rather pleasant. The next few dragons were the same, warmth suffusing her until the dragon soul was a part of her. Each dragon taught her more about the dragon tongue, and each unlocked shout helped her to get stronger.

But then the warmth changed into heat.

The first time that happened was in Winterhold. Elene was expecting the warmth, but it ended up being incredibly hot. It was so hot, in fact, that in the middle of a mild snowstorm, she had to take off her armour in order to cool down. Luckily she was alone, no one was there to see her strip off rather shamelessly.

Elene was a little nervous of killing another dragon after that, and rightly so, since it happened again. This time Lydia was with her, and they were at the sulphur flats south of Windhelm. The Jarl had put a bounty on the dragon, and Elene had reluctantly agreed when Lydia suggested they go kill it. They were a little strapped on cash, what with all of Elene's 'fortune' having recently being used up to pay a bunch of workers to build a house on a piece of property she'd acquired in Falkreath. (It was worth it, though, the place was gorgeous.)

The area was already incredibly warm, what with the hot water boiling up from underneath the ground, so absorbing the dragon soul certainly didn't help matters. And Lydia noticed, too.

"My Thane?" she questioned. "Are you alright? By the Divines, you're sweating!"

She put her hand against Elene's forehead, then drew it back quickly. "You're burning up! What's happening?"

Elene started to yank at her armour. "Help me get this off," she rasped at her housecarl, and Lydia complied. "Do you know any frost spells?"

Lydia shook her head. "Sorry, my Thane," she told her as the last of Elene's armour came off and she stood naked and shaking before her (Lydia kept her gaze averted).

"Then I need to get to the closest body of water. Cold water, preferably."

That ended up being the river to the north west, and once they finally made it there (with Lydia taking care of the wolves and bears along the way) Elene jumped in without waiting to drop the cloak that had been draped over her for modesty's sake. The water was appropriately cold, and once she was done, Lydia helped her pull out her spare armour from her pack, as Elene fully intended to wash the one she'd been wearing before her super sweating moment.

Once that was done, Lydia asked, "What happened, my Thane?"

Elene shrugged. "I overheated," she said. "The dragon souls have always been warm before, but now they're downright hot. I'm more than a little worried that one day, one of the souls is going to roast me alive."

"That's terrible," Lydia noted, then said, "I wish I knew a frost spell, so I could help in the future."

Elene nodded, then something occurred to her, and she searched through her pack and pulled out a book. "Here," she said, handing it over to Lydia. "That's a frostbite tome. I already know it, so I was going to sell it."

"Where did you get it?"

"That hag in Witchmist Grove had it on her."

Lydia learned the spell in the few hours it took to walk back to Windhelm, as Elene still wasn't feeling one hundred percent, and when they got there, Lydia insisted that they get a room in Candlehearth, and that she would go and collect the bounty while Elene rested up. She reluctantly agreed, and when Lydia came back from the Palace of Kings, Elene was sound asleep.

OoOoO

Seven more dragons, and with each one, Elene overheated. Lydia was with her for five of them, putting her new frostbite spell to good use. With one of the other two, Elene was with Iona, whom she'd already clued in about the little 'problem'. Iona already knew a couple of spells, though she'd admitted that she rarely used them. She'd proudly declared that she was a warrior, not some milk-drinking mage, then said there was nothing wrong with being a mage when Elene, who'd already been accepted into the College of Winterhold at that point, glared at her.

The final one had been after Ysgramor's Tomb. Farkas, Aela and Vilkas were exploring the old tomb, but Elene hadn't wanted to stick around, and had begun the journey back to Whiterun, where she needed to take Nettlebane to Danica. She'd had it for awhile now, but kept forgetting to give it to the priestess. Elene had decided to head west along the coast, toward Dawnstar, and about halfway there, a dragon had swooped down on her, taking her by surprise.

The dragon had been one of those tougher than normal ones that had been turning up lately, one of the souls she'd absorbed telling her that they were legendary dragons, and only Alduin and Paarthurnax were stronger than them. The blast of energy it sent at her had nearly keeled her over, but in the end, Elene had killed it, and now she was naked in the snow, practically bathing in it as her body temperature sky-rocketed. And it didn't seem to want to go down, either.

For what felt like hours, Elene lay there in the snow until she began to feel even slightly normal, and she decided that, from now on, she was going to make sure there was someone with her who could 'ice' her when this happened again.

OoOoO

It wasn't long before another change happened when absorbing the souls came along. Elene was in Haafingar with Farkas, the two of them exploring the remote, north-western area of Skyrim, when a dragon swooped down. They were near Lower Steepfall Burrow, and once the dragon was dead, Farkas was more than a little surprised when Elene suddenly wanted to go swimming in the ocean's icy waters.

"I told you that I get overheated when I absorb a soul," she reminded him as she stripped off the last of her armour.

"Yeah, but I didn't really expect you to want to jump into the freezing sea," Farkas replied, unabashedly staring at her.

Elene ignored him and threw herself into the water, instantly getting relief. Well, at least a little. Her skin was cold now, but her insides were still hot, and pooling in one spot. One particular spot that Elene had kinda been ignoring since she'd come to Skyrim, despite the many 'offers' she'd received, even from Farkas. Just great, this was the last thing she needed! But the feeling was getting stronger now, even as her body cooled, her libido fired up as the heat seemed to transfer instead of dissipate.

Elene looked over at Farkas, who was still watching her, and she wondered… No! She couldn't! Farkas was her friend, and she didn't think about him like that, despite his more than obvious flirtations. He wasn't the only flirt in Whiterun either. Vilkas liked to flirt with her too, and Athis. And just the other day, Belethor had winked at her suggestively. Elene might avoid Whiterun because of that, if it were the only place it happened, but it wasn't.

But then, Elene wasn't the only woman Belethor winked at, or that Athis came on to, so maybe it was just that men were oversexed pigs. Probably.

In any case, doing anything with Farkas would probably end up complicating things, because aside from the fact that he was an incorrigible flirt, Elene knew for a fact that he was also genuinely interested in her, something Aela had warned her about weeks ago when Elene had considered giving in, in a moment of weakness. And like she'd said, she didn't really think of Farkas that way.

"Something wrong?" Farkas asked, snapping Elene out of her reverie.

"No, nothing," she told him, and walked out of the water, resolutely ignoring the ache that still burned inside her.

OoOoO

Delphine was dumbfounded. That was the only way to describe the look on her face after they'd killed Sahloknir above Kynesgrove. "What are you doing, Dragonborn?" she demanded as Elene tried to 'cool off'.

"What does it look like?" Elene snapped at the rather annoying Breton. "I'm damned well overheating, that's what!"

"Overheating?"

"When I absorb the souls, I overheat," Elene said. "A dragon's soul burn's hotter than their fire breath, if they have fire breath, that is."

"Can I do anything to help?" Delphine asked.

"Only if you know a frost spell," Elene told her. "They help get my temperature down. Though I have to admit, it's been slowing off."

And that was a fact. The heat of the dragon souls had started to fall off since she'd taken a dip in the north sea, with Farkas ogling her the whole time. It was a good thing, she supposed, but that heat was not completely disappearing, it was pooling in her loins, and it got stronger each and every time. Right now, Elene was horny as hell, so horny in fact, that even the fifty something Delphine was looking quite hot.

Five minutes and three frostbite spells later, and Elene was putting her armour back on and explaining to Delphine everything that had happened. The Breton had nodded understandingly here and there, and had even once uttered a wish that she had a few of the old books from the Blade's old archive to see if this was normal or not. Elene had never heard of this happening to Tiber Septim, though obviously that was because he'd never absorbed a dragon soul.

In the end they'd parted ways, with Delphine promising to check the lore she did have to see if anything was in there. But it wasn't until three months later, when Elene had been to Riften to 'collect' Esbern, that they'd learned anything.

"Ah, yes," Esbern said as the three of them trudged along on their way to Skyhaven Temple. "I do recollect something like this in the Blade's archives back in the Imperial City. If I recall correctly, it should eventually even itself out."

"Really?" Elene asked sceptically. "Because it's been about fifteen dragons now, and it's only getting worse."

"All illness's get worse before they get better, Dragonborn," Esbern said sagely.

"Are you saying I'm sick?"

Esbern cleared his throat and said apologetically, "A poor example perhaps, you are not sick, Dragonborn. Your body is merely adjusting to the heat of the dragon souls. Though I doubt you will ever stop feeling warm, at the very least, it should become manageable soon enough."

"What about that other thing?" Delphine asked, and Elene wanted to smack her for bringing it up."

Esbern once again cleared his throat and said a little abashedly, "Yes, well, um… Maybe with that, you should find someone who wouldn't mind, er, helping, you out when you need it."

Elene could have sworn that Esbern was blushing.

OoOoO

Headed up to High Hrothgar for the meet with Tullius and Ulfric, Elene and Lydia- the latter of whom was travelling with her now, frostbite spell ever ready- ran into a dragon, fighting it on the mountain path. When they made it up to High Hrothgar, Elene was still incredibly hot, a fact noted by Delphine and Esbern before they all went in to sit down. Esbern asked if she was alright, and when she nodded (lying without talking, the easiest way to get away with it) they all went in and took their seats.

The negotiations were incredibly boring, with both sides pulling her in to make decisions they could have easily done themselves. In the end, Elene kicked out Elenwen, handed Riften over to the Imperials (she was sure Maven would love that) and made the Stormcloaks pay up for Karthwasten. Jarl Ulfric hadn't been happy with that, but Elene couldn't give a damn. Once that was done, both sides agreed to the ceasefire, and with Odahviing's name under her belt, Elene and Lydia headed out.

By the time they reached Ivarstead, it was quite late, and the two women agreed that staying the night at the inn was a good idea. Rift guards were still about, though that would be changing, and soon. Elene and Lydia weren't the only guests who'd come down from the negotiations, though. Ulfric Stormcloak and Galmar Stone-Fist had booked in for the night too, as had Delphine and Esbern. Lydia had steadfastly ignored them, she was a loyal citizen of the Empire, after all, and soon she'd retreated to their room to get away from them.

Elene, on the other hand, stayed in the main room, nursing a cold mead.

The heat from the dragon soul she'd absorbed earlier still hadn't dissipated, and soon frustration drove Elene out into the night air, considerably cooler than it had been earlier. Once her body temperature stabilised, it tended to stay high, but bearable. It was taking longer for it to go away, but Esbern had been right, her body was adjusting. The heat was tolerable now, at least, once she'd been doused in ice. The other heat though… that wasn't getting better, and even now, she was still incredibly horny. But she could control it.

"Dragonborn."

Crap! Elene turned to see that Jarl Ulfric had followed her out. "My Jarl," she said, respectfully inclining her head. "What can I do for you?"

He acknowledge her inclination, then said, "I wanted to ask you, what side you stand on in the war."

Elene blinked. "Excuse me?"

Ulfric came closer then, and Elene's pulse began beating rapidly in her ears. "Truce aside, I want to know what side you would fight for in the end," he told her.

"Um…" Elene bit her lower lip, trying to ignore the fact that the heat pooled inside her had risen again. Dibella, she needed to get laid, but not with the Jarl of Windhelm!

"I am obligated to remain neutral, as my position as Harbinger of the Companions demands it of me," she told him, her gaze averted in the hopes of willing away the heat.

But the Jarl of Windhelm wasn't having any of that. He moved ever closer and reached out, taking her chin in his hands and forcing her to look up at him, and he said, "Perhaps you should say that again with more conviction whilst looking me in the eye, Dragonborn."

Elene couldn't think, the blood was rushing to her heard, filling her ears with the sound. Ulfric appeared to notice something was amiss, as he studied her carefully, then he seemed to understand what was happening, and he quirked a slow smile, one that filled Elene with foreboding.

"Is something wrong, Dragonborn?" he asked, moving closer as Elene tried to pull away, trapping her against the back of the inn.

"N-nothing's wrong, my Jarl," she told him, cursing herself for stuttering. Damn, she wished she'd taken Esbern's advice and found a bunk buddy somewhere!

"It doesn't seem that way," he practically purred as he leaned into her ear, the hand holding her chin releasing to stroke her cheek, melting her into a puddle of goo.

Elene cursed the dragon with all her might as the Jarl's lips came down upon hers, then there were no coherent thoughts anymore as her own hands came up to his head, her fingers running through his hair. The two of them were all hand and lips, groans and grunts as their bodies pressed together, but before anything serious could happen, Elene's knight in shining armour, so to speak, came to the rescue.

"Let her go!"

The two of them pulled apart and Lydia was there, sword drawn and pointed at the Jarl. Ulfric pulled back a little, but kept his hands on Elene's hips as he stared her housecarl down.

"I don't think she wants me to let her go," he said, a slight threatening undertone in his voice.

"My Thane is not in control of herself," Lydia said. "If she was, she would never do this with someone like you."

The last two words were said with a sneer, and Elene felt Ulfric stiffen. Before he could do or say anything, though, she found the strength to push him away, and she grabbed Lydia's hand and marched them into the inn. Once inside, Lydia and Elene started packing.

"I shouldn't have left you alone, my Thane, I'm sorry," Lydia apologised. "I knew you were still feeling off since the dragon."

"You don't need to apologise, Lydia," Elene said. "I shouldn't have gone outside alone. And besides, it's not like Jarl Ulfric knows what's going on, it's not his fault. It's mine. Actually, scratch that, it's the dragon's fault."

"What's the dragon's fault?" a voice asked, and the two women spun around to see the Jarl of Windhelm in the doorway, arms crossed in a way that demanded answers.

But Elene wasn't inclined to give them. "It's nothing," she said, and with their knapsacks completely packed, she and Lydia left, not looking back.

OoOoO

The next few days were spent preparing to call Odahviing, giving Elene no time to think. At least, not until she was upon the red dragon's back, headed for Skuldafn. She had no idea how what it would take to 'fix' her, then realised that she basically had an expert on the subject with her. Leaning forward, she decided to ask Odahviing about it.

"Can I ask you something?" she yelled over the wind. "Do you know about what happens when I absorb a dragon soul? With the heat, I mean?"

"Ah, you are experiencing the bahlok, the hunger, now, are you?" he said rather unhelpfully.

"Hunger?" Elene asked.

"It has long been noticed by the Dovah that when the Dovahkiin absorbs a soul, they also absorb the fire with which our barmah, our father, created us," he told her. "It burns as heat at first, then with the bahlok of the mating heat. You feel the heat the Dov do when they mate, and will each time a soul burns anew within you."

They flew in silence for awhile, then Odahviing said, "I would suggest, Dovahkiin, that you find a mate to quench your barmah before it consumes you. The fire will go away, but the mating lust never will."

With those ominous words, they reached Skuldafn, and Odahviing took her in for landing.

OoOoO

Upon returning from Sovngarde, Elene went straight to Riften and told Iona to get out, nicely of course. She wanted to be alone so she could absorb everything that had happened lately, and having Iona puttering around Honeyside wasn't going to help. There was a lot to go through, everything from the heat of the dragon souls, to her lust, what had happened with Jarl Ulfric, and what Esbern and Odahviing had told her.

Odahviing. That great beast had called her brit bron, which she knew meant beautiful Nord, but would a dragon even know what was and wasn't beautiful for a human? But she had the feeling that he wasn't actually referring to her looks, more her soul. She supposed that dragons were in tune with the souls of creatures, not matter whether a rabbit, a giant, a human or another dragon. She supposed he was complimenting her in his way.

In any case, Elene had decided that he was right, she needed to find a mate. But who? Elene hadn't really been attracted to anyone, without the dragon heat, anyway, so she had no idea where to start. No one here if Riften properly caught her eye, though she couldn't deny her Second, Brynjolf, was quite a dish. But he was far too happy with the bachelor life, seducing the lovely ladies and picking their pockets once they were putty in his hands (as he'd tried to do to her when she'd arrived in Riften that first time, unsuccessfully, of course).

Elene wanted to avoid Windhelm, after what had gone down with Jarl Ulfric in Ivarstead, and there weren't many people even in Winterhold. Everyone in Markarth was either spoken for, or unacceptable in many different ways, and the only single person in Falkreath she would consider was a bit of a bigot. Benor in Morthal was an option that she considered, she'd impressed him when she beat his ass in a brawl, and he'd expressed an interest, so she kept his name on the table, so to speak…

For some reason, her mind kept coming back to Farkas, and even Vilkas. Plus there was Eric in Rorikstead, whose services as the mercenary, Erick the Slayer, she'd hired from time to time. He was kinda cute, in a farm-boy-who-wants-to-be-a-warrior kind of way, but he was just that, a boy. Elene was thirty now, (she'd reached it a few months ago) and she knew Eric wasn't even twenty yet. But Vilkas and Farkas were a few years older than her, and as far as she was concerned, they were more viable options.

So it was down to Vilkas, Farkas and Benor, though she eventually crossed Benor off her list. A visit to Whiterun was on the agenda, then, and a few days later, after checking up on the guild and telling Brynjolf off for trying to get in her pants once again, Elene headed out.

OoOoO

Whiterun was bustling with activity when she arrived. Extra guards had been posted inside the city walls, as well as outside, as Balgruuf had received information from Tullius that Ulfric was in the planning stages of attacking Whiterun. Elene wasn't sure that she wanted to get involved, she'd already told the esteemed Jarl of Windhelm that she was remaining neutral. But could she really? She was the Dragonborn after all, and her joining with either the Stormcloaks or the Empire might tip the balance, at least in the moral stakes.

In any case, that wasn't why she was here. Elene stopped in to see Lydia, then headed up to Jorrvaskr, where she found Farkas watching as Vilkas gave Ria instruction. "There she is!" Farkas exclaimed once he saw her, getting up to gather in a bone-crushing hug, the pack she had over her shoulder falling to the ground. "Our hero, the Dragonborn!"

"Let me down you lug!" Elene cried, whacking at him, while trying to keep from laughing. "You're going to crush me!"

"We can't have that now, can we?" he said with a grin, placing her back on her feet.

Elene grinned back. "No, it just won't do," she agreed, noting that Vilkas and Ria had stopped their training and were coming over.

She knelt to pick up her bag, Farkas also bending to help her. A few things had fallen out, including an amulet of Mara she'd been meaning to sell, but had decided to keep at least until she decided what she was going to do about her little 'problem'. Farkas seemed to freeze at the sight of it, as had Vilkas, who'd reached them by now. Ria knelt down next to them.

"An amulet of Mara?" she said, slightly suggestive. "Are you going to put it on, Elene? These two have been waiting for you to do that, you know."

"Shut up, Ria, and go inside," Vilkas ordered her, and the young Imperial left, unaffected by Vilkas's harsh tone.

Once she was gone, Vilkas asked, "Are you going to put it on?"

Elene shrugged. "I'm not sure," she told him. "I was thinking about it."

"For me, or Vilkas?" Farkas asked, then answered his own question, "Of course not for me. You told me ages ago in Haafingar that you don't see me that way."

"I didn't feel that way about anyone back then," she told him. "I'm still not sure how I feel, but it's definitely not the same."

Elene stood, her bag once more secured over her shoulder. "Would either of you accept if I did?" she asked. "The two of you like to flirt with the ladies, after all, especially after a few bottles of mead."

"We may flirt, but when we take those vows before Mara, it won't be like that anymore," Vilkas assured her.

"Exactly," Farkas agreed, and the twins glanced at one another and nodded. "Do you want to do this?"

Elene took a deep breath, put the amulet on, then turned to the man of her choice and asked, "Interested in me, are you?"

The End

So, who did she pick? I don't know. I was going to make it Vilkas, cuz I love that pairing to death, but that earlier scene with Farkas made it seem wrong, but then I didn't want to do it that way, so I decided to leave it hanging, and you, reader, can just decide on your own who she picked.

So, hope you loved it, please review, and wish me luck in maintaining this writing streak for my other stories. ;P

Elene: Anglo-Saxon name meaning the name of a poem.