Histskin

by Dibellan Arts

Neetrenaza, an Argonian dockworker, discovers that there's no lover like an egg-brother. [Neetrenaza/Scouts-Many-Marshes. Slash, slash, slash. Possible kink. Mature readers only]

1. Part 1

-o-

Part 1

Neetrenaza and Scouts-Many-Marshes left Black Marsh together when they were both fifteen years old.

The sprawling coastal city of Lilmoth was full of travelers in those days—travelers bursting with tales of wealth and adventure. Neetrenaza worked for his father, who owned one of the most successful inns in the city.

One day while the boy was tending to the bar, he overheard an imperial peddler boasting of the piles of gold he had made in Skyrim. Skyrim was a land of immeasurable opportunity, the man said. One could scarcely walk into the forest without stumbling upon a heaping chest of treasure. And there was plenty of coin to be made for anyone with a good sword arm.

Neetrenaza had thirteen older brothers; there was no chance that he would inherit the inn when his father died. Visions of a vast land glittering with snow and coin danced in his head. If he could not make his fortune in Black Marsh, what was the point of hanging around? He became convinced that the great frozen north held his only opportunity for wealth and prosperity.

Scouts-Many-Marshes was Neetrenaza's best friend; naturally, he was the first to hear of Neetrenaza's plan to migrate. "Patience, egg-brother," Scouts-Many-Marshes said. "Let us think on this for a time. Eagerness must be tempered with caution."

But Neetrenaza would not wait. He was tired of slaving under his father and brothers. He'd never been one for tidying rooms and making beds anyway. He wanted adventure. He wanted to seek his fortune and he wanted Scouts-Many-Marshes to come along with him.

"Think of the gold to be made," he wheedled. "Come! Let us go together. We will be wealthier than our fathers ever were."

Finally, Scouts-Many-Marshes gave in. As for himself, he was a baker's apprentice. The promise of his master's business was not unappealing to him, but he could tell that Neetrenaza did not want to leave home without him. Besides, if all that the peddler had said about Skyrim were true, it would be foolish to stay behind.

So the boys bid their families goodbye and boarded a ship bound for Morrowind and, eventually, Skyrim. The voyage was long and rough. Neetrenaza became very ill and probably would have died if Scouts-Many-Marshes had not been there to nurse him back to health. But they finally arrived in Windhelm.

There Neetrenaza's expectations were dashed to pieces. The Nords he met on the docks pointed and leered at him. They called him "lizard" and refused to allow him or Scouts-Many-Marshes to enter the city. Even the elven captain of the ship became hostile under the influence of the Nords.

Additionally, it was cold—very cold. Being coldblooded, Neetrenaza's limbs quickly grew stiff in the icy wind. The trees on the other side of the river did not look inviting; on the contrary, they looked tall and foreboding. The last thing he wanted to do was venture into them looking for treasure.

Stunned and greatly disappointed, Neetrenaza sat on the edge of the dock, staring into the water. Perhaps the peddler had been exaggerating. How foolish he'd been to hinge his future on the word of a complete stranger. A drunken stranger at that.

Though Neetrenaza was all for turning around and going home, Scouts-Many-Marshes advised his friend to be patient. "We have only just arrived," he said, patting Neetrenaza on the shoulder. "Who knows what the rest of Skyrim is like? We will work here until we have earned enough gold to buy swords and armor. Then we will venture forth on our own."

Neetrenaza brightened. He was very glad that Scouts-Many-Marshes had decided to come along. Windhelm did not seem so dark and cold with Scouts-Many-Marshes there.

They spotted an old Argonian unloading cargo nearby and gave him a warm Black Marsh greeting, which he enthusiastically returned. His name was Stands-In-Shallows and he had worked on the docks of Windhelm for over sixty years. He was sure that Torbjorn Shatter-Shield would hire them if they were willing to work hard. Though they would not be allowed inside the city, they could stay in the Argonian quarters near the docks.

And so they worked from sunup to sundown, unloading cargo from the great vessels that made port in Windhelm. At first they were hopeful. Though the pay was minimal, they did not have expensive tastes. Surely it would not take long for them to afford a couple swords and some iron armor.

But alas, Torbjorn Shatter-Shield charged them an arm and a leg to stay in the Argonian assemblage. And the necessities that they bought from Khajiiti peddlers—mainly candles, food, and clothing—were overpriced, as the Khajiit disliked argonians on principle. As a result, Scouts-Many-Marshes and Neetrenaza were going nowhere fast.

Frustrated, Neetrenaza took to drink. Scouts-Many-Marshes begged him to control himself, for he was burning through their savings like fire through horker oil. But Neetrenaza was a man of passions; his joy was boundless and his sorrow was bottomless. Without hope, his heart grew so heavy that he simply couldn't bear it.

The years passed. The Argonians grew tall and sinewy. Scouts-Many-Marshes grew a spectacular set of blue feathers on his head and his pale blue scales darkened to greenish indigo. While his horns curled around his head, Neetrenaza's grew straight back. Neetrenaza's scales changed to a regal hunter-green. His eyes were as bright and fresh as new spring grass.

Whenever he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the river, he was impressed with the way he was filling out. He wondered what might have happened if he had stayed in Black Marsh. Surely the girls would have flocked to him; he was very handsome.

But there were no girls here. No Argonian girls, anyway.

-o-

The year that Neetrenaza and Scouts-Many-Marshes turned twenty-three, Shavhee arrived on a ship from Morrowind.

Descended from a long line of slaves, she was finally freed when her old Dunmer master died without an heir. Unable to afford passage to Black Marsh, she sailed to Skyrim instead, hoping that she would be able to find work and eventually earn her way back to her ancestral home.

Scouts-Many-Marshes, Stands-In-Shallows, and Neetrenaza welcomed her warmly. She was beautiful with her prominent profile, dark green scales, and long, elegant horns.

It had been so long since any of them had seen a female Argonian. Stands-In-Shallows was particularly enthusiastic, though he admitted that he was much too old for little Vhee, as he affectionately called her. "One of you must marry her," he told Scouts-Many-Marshes and Neetrenaza. "Take her to the temple in Riften and marry her in the old way."

But money was tight, and an Argonian wedding band consisting of three flawless amethysts and a considerable amount of gold plating would not come cheap. Additionally, neither Neetrenaza nor Scouts-Many-Marshes felt comfortable bringing up the subject of which of them would be the one to wed Shahvee. Scouts-Many-Marshes privately felt that it would be his companion, since he was the more hot-blooded of the two. And Neetrenaza felt that Scouts-Many-Marshes was the better option, since he was intelligent and level-headed.

Two years passed and neither of them made a move. Shahvee knew nothing of their plans and simply worked and saved her coin.

One day a clean-shaven, blue-eyed Nord came strolling down to the docks in a set of fine ebony armor. Though he was nothing but polite, there was an air of affluence about him that turned Shahvee's head. To everyone's surprise, he approached her and chatted with her for hours before leaving again.

The next day he returned with the Amulet of Zenithar that had been stolen from Shahvee shortly after she arrived in Windhelm. She was delighted. She looked upon the Nord with an affectionate expression that neither Neetrenaza nor Scouts-Many-Marshes had ever seen before. Within three days the Nord returned with a different sort of amulet about his neck and proposed to Shahvee. She said yes.

Her Argonian friends could hardly believe it.

Neetrenaza was angry. "What could a Nord possibly want with our Shahvee?" he spat as he paced around the Argonian assemblage after breakfast the next morning. "I tell you, something isn't right here."

Scouts-Many-Marshes shook his head. "Egg-brother, calm yourself. We should be happy for her. She's getting out of this mess, after all."

Stands-In-Shallows was of the same mind. "This is so," he rasped.
"Why are you so upset, Neetrenaza? If you had wanted to marry Shahvee, you could have. Be comforted that she made a good match."

"A good match?" Neetrenaza hissed. "No match with a Nord is a good one. You know that this is so, old one. It violates our ancient traditions."

He continued pacing around the dimly lit room, kicking at a patch of dusty cobwebs in frustration. Shahvee's things were piled on her bed; she would return from her wedding in Riften, pick them up, and head off to Solitude to live with her new husband.

It simply wasn't fair.

"We were a family," Neetrenaza said, shaking his head. "We were a family and now we're broken. What more can the Nords take away from us?" He sat down on the end of his bed and buried his face in his hands.

Scouts-Many-Marshes and Stands-In-Shallows exchanged uncomfortable looks. Scouts-Many-Marshes had never pretended to love Shahvee, though he was very fond of her. But his enigmatic friend could have easily harbored a passion for her without his knowledge.

"Neetrenaza, did you feel for Shahvee?" Scouts-Many-Marshes asked carefully.

"No," Neetrenaza said bluntly. "I do not feel for anyone. But we were a family…"

Scouts-Many-Marshes got to his feet and put a hand on Neetrenaza's shoulder. "We are a family," he corrected, smiling. "Do not fret, egg-brother. The old one and I are not going anywhere."

Neetrenaza looked into the eyes of Scouts-Many-Marshes. It was true that the bond between them was stronger than any bond between himself and Shahvee. Neetrenaza was sure that if Scouts-Many-Marshes had been the one to leave, he would have never gotten over it.

Still, he could not help but feel that the Nords had cheated him out of yet another of life's great treasures. It was unlikely that he would ever find another Argonian woman to marry.

"Well, let us get to work," Stands-In-Shallows said. "It is almost dawn and the Nords will be waiting for us."

Neetrenaza made a scathing sound in the back of his throat. But he followed Scouts-Many-Marshes and the old one outside. No matter how much he hated the Nords, he had to please them or starve.

Such was the life of an Argonian in Skyrim.

-o-

Neetrenaza's grievances did not right themselves over time. On the contrary, they only grew worse.

He had been hot-blooded in his youth, it was true, but now he was so consumed with lust that he could hardly stand it. He realized that he had never been very attracted to Shahvee, but he had always viewed her as the object of his eventual gratification, and now that she was gone, he was certain that he would never be satisfied.

Sometimes the Jarl would post female guards on the docks. When he did, Neetrenaza would jeer at them on principle, but if the opportunity to bed one of them had arisen, he would not have taken it. For one thing, they were Nords. Their voices were guttural. Their body odor was strange and unpleasant. And they were fat. As they stood watching Neetrenaza with their hands on their great hammy hips, the Argonian privately thought that they were bigger than barges.

He did not share his opinion with Scouts-Many-Marshes in case his egg-brother disagreed, but Neetrenaza could not help but feel that he was of a similar mind. Scouts-Many-Marshes was much less vocal about his hatred of the Nords, but he hardly pretended to be fond of them either. Once he crept up behind a female guard and mimed pushing her off the dock, mouthing the words Luskhiil heeex (horker swim). Neetrenaza jammed his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

In truth, Scouts-Many-Marshes was the only person that Neetrenaza was truly fond of. Old Stands-In-Shallows was kind, but quiet and reclusive. He was more of a mentor to Neetrenaza than a friend.

Scouts-Many-Marshes and Neetrenaza often talked of their plans for the future late into the night.

"I have heard the cat merchants say that there is much treasure to be found in old Nordic ruins," Neetrenaza said into the darkness several months after Shahvee's departure.

Scouts-Many-Marshes rolled over. "Perhaps, egg-brother. But do not let this get to your head." He grinned in the light of the dying fire.

"Get to my head? What do you mean?"

"My friend, when you stumble upon an idea it swoops from the sky like a bird of prey and carries you off," Scouts-Many-Marshes chuckled. "When will you learn to think?"

Neetrenaza sighed. "I am simply trying to save us from this cursed half-life. If we could only find some treasure—"

"Treasure is rare, otherwise it would not be worth so much," Scouts-Many-Marshes brushed him off. His eyes flickered in the dim light. "I was thinking we could work as mercenaries. After we learn the sword, of course."

"That is dull," Neetrenaza said, waving his hand dismissively.

Scouts-Many-Marshes smiled and shook his head. "You are foolish," he said. "But I am fond of you."

For some reason, Neetrenaza's mouth went dry. He had never told Scouts-Many-Marshes how much he cared for him, but a part of him had always longed to. Scouts-Many-Marshes was tall and strong and wise. He'd taken care of Neetrenaza for as long as either of them could remember.

"Can I ask you something, egg-brother?" Neetrenaza said, looking up at the dark ceiling.

Scouts-Many-Marshes turned toward him. "I suppose you already have."

"Do you ever…" Neetrenaza swallowed. His tongue suddenly felt too big for his mouth. "Do you ever feel… stirrings?"

It was silent for a moment. Then Scouts-Many-Marshes laughed softly. "Of course I do. It is a part of youth, is it not?"

Neetrenaza was relieved that his companion was not offended by his vulgarity. "I feel them all the time," he confided, "every waking moment. I do not know how to stop them. Sometimes I think that they are going to burn me to a cinder."

Scouts-Many-Marshes shrugged. "Well, there is a pretty simple way to fix them." He seemed to deliberate for a moment, then added, "Perhaps I will show you sometime."

"What did you say?" Neetrenaza gasped, his eyes widening. "You mean there is a way to stop the stirrings without…"

"Mating?" Scouts-Many-Marshes finished. He sat up and dangled his legs over the side of his rickety bed. "Yes. I do not know if others do it, but it has always helped me."

"Oh, what is it, egg-brother?" Neetrenaza gasped. He was wide awake now, his eyes bright and luminous. "Please show me. Free me from this torment."

Scouts-Many-Marshes smiled indulgently. He looked toward the back of the room where the old one snored. "Alright," he agreed, "but we must be quiet."

Mystified, Neetrenaza watched his friend close the distance between them and plop down on the end of his bed. "Remove your trousers," Scouts-Many-Marshes instructed quietly. Neetrenaza noticed that there was a rather hungry look in his friend's eyes.

Neetrenaza pulled his shabby trousers down his legs and let them fall to the floor. The air was cold; it made his scales tingle.

Without any warning, Scouts-Many-Marshes pressed a finger to the slit in the scales between Neetrenaza's legs.

Neetrenaza hissed. "Egg-brother…"

"Be quiet," Scouts-Many-Marshes warned. "Do you want me to show you or not?"

Neetrenaza opened his mouth to retaliate, then closed it.

Scouts-Many-Marshes began to stroke Neetrenaza's slit. Then he massaged it with the base of his hand until the entire area grew into a big, hard mound. The slit fell open, revealing something pink and shiny and wet inside.

"Egg-Brother," Neetrenaza said in a scandalized voice. "You are making me hard."

Scouts-Many-Marshes smiled slyly. He looked his friend in the eye before whispering, "Yes, and see how little time it is taking. You must be burning up, as you say."

If Neetrenaza could have blushed, he would have. "How is this helping?" he hissed. "If anything it is only making it—ah!"

His cock sprang from beneath the folds in his scales. It was long and pink and wet with a bulbous tip and a smooth, slippery surface. A string of lubricant dribbled from the tip and ran down the shaft.

Scouts-Many-Marshes made a gratified sound in the back of his throat. "Egg-brother, I must say, the Hist has endowed you."

Neetrenaza could scarcely breathe. Whatever Scouts-Many-Marshes had in mind, it wasn't going to lessen his stirrings one bit.

"Now you must remember to be quiet," Scouts-Many-Marshes said in a low, rough voice. "Trust me, my friend, this will help."

Neetrenaza nodded. He could feel Scouts-Many-Marshes's warm breath wafting across is cock and it rendered him quite speechless.

Suddenly Scouts-Many-Marshes wrapped his hand around Neetrenaza's cock. Neetrenaza gasped involuntarily. His eyes bugged out of his head.

"Shhh," Scouts-Many-Marshes cautioned. He looked Neetrenaza in the eye before pressing down on the tip of his cock with his thumb. Neetrenaza threw his head back. His jaws came together with an audible snap.

"Egg-Brother," he moaned.

"Shhh," said Scouts-Many-Marshes, more tenderly this time. "I know it feels good, but we must not wake the old one."

Neetrenaza could hardly care less if they woke the old one. Pleasure surged through his body like an electric current. His entire pelvic region was humming with it. But he pressed his lips together for Scouts-Many-Marshes's sake.

Scouts-Many-Marshes began to work his hand up and down Neetrenaza's shaft. Neetrenaza's cock was so wet that his friend's fingers glided over it effortlessly. Before long, loud squelching and heavy breathing broke the stillness. Stands-In-Shallows snored on, completely oblivious.

It was pleasure such as Neetrenaza had never known. He began to thrust into his friend's hand, his eyes rolling back into his head, his breath coming in shallow gasps. Then, without warning, the pleasure exploded and surged through him, coursing down to the tips of his fingers and toes. He groaned as a stream of cloudy liquid burst from the tip of his cock and flew into the air, raining down on his head in great gooey droplets.

It took a long time for the warmth to recede from his limbs. He could only lie there, breathing heavily and clutching Scouts-Many-Marshes's wrist.

Smiling, Scouts-Many-Marshes pulled his arm out of his Neetrenaza's grip and handed him his pants. "See now," he said in a low, quiet voice. "Wasn't that nice, egg-brother?"

Neetrenaza could only nod. He swallowed loudly and his Adam's apple bobbed dramatically.

"Now you must get some sleep," Scouts-Many-Marshes said, patting his friend on the arm. "We have seven ships coming in tomorrow."

Neetrenaza nodded. But long after Scouts-Many-Marshes fell asleep, Neetrenaza lay staring at the ceiling, his thoughts in a jumbled heap. What had just happened to him? Why was his heart pounding so?

Finally he rolled over and pressed his face into his pillow. He had always been able to fall asleep more easily that way.

But he could not get the hungry yellow eyes of Scouts-Many-Marshes out of his head.

-o-

For Neetrenaza, the next day was intensely awkward.

Scouts-Many-Marshes did not act any differently. He whistled and rolled barrels down the gangplank in the same robust manner as usual. But Neetrenaza could not forget his expression from the night before.

He knew that Scouts-Many-Marshes was willing to do just about anything for him. So it would not have been entirely out of character for Scouts-Many-Marshes to perform a sexual act upon Neetrenaza for the sole purpose of relieving him of discomfort. But his eyes—his eyes! And the smirk that hung around the corners of his lips when Neetrenaza came. How could those things be explained?

For the first time, Neetrenaza noticed just how striking Scouts-Many-Marshes really was. He was tall and lean. His shoulders were much wider than his hips. And his legs and tail were long and muscular; the effect was really quite pleasing. His dark, bluish-green scales glistened in the sunlight as though they were wet.

Neetrenaza shook his head as though to clear it. What was he doing? Just because Scouts-Many-Marshes had rendered him a simple service, he was letting his mind run away with him. It was just as Scouts-Many-Marshes had said. He was a dreamer.

When they got into their beds that night, Neetrenaza rolled over and pretended to fall asleep immediately. Usually he looked forward to the time that he got to speak to Scouts-Many-Marshes, but now he was shy of him.

"Neetrenaza?" Scouts-Many-Marshes asked quietly.

Neetrenaza rolled over, making a show of blinking blearily. "Hmmm?"

"Are you upset about last night?" Scouts-Many-Marshes asked. He stared up at the ceiling, his prominent nose and jaw silhouetted in the light of the dying fire. His bright eyes seemed to glow against his dark scales.

Neetrenaza sighed. He should have known better than to think that Scouts-Many-Marshes would not sense that something was wrong at once. He had always been able to read Neetrenaza like an open book.

"I am not… upset."

A slow smile spread across Scouts-Many-Marshes's face. "What are you then?"

Neetrenaza bit his lip. "Confused."

"Ah," Scouts-Many-Marshes sighed. He leaned back on his pillow and closed his eyes as though the matter had been resolved and he was going to sleep.

"Scouts-Many-Marshes, you were right, my mind is running wild," Neetrenaza burst forth, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Where is it running this time, friend?"

Neetrenaza shook his head. "Somewhere it is not permitted to go."

Scouts-Many-Marshes sat up in bed. As he turned to look at Neetrenaza, the firelight danced across his scales. "I am surprised at you, egg-brother," he said softly. "You were never one for setting boundaries for yourself."

Was it just his imagination, or did Neetrenaza detect a seductive purr in Scouts-Many-Marshes's voice? "I am not the one setting the boundaries," he said uncertainly.

"Who is, then?" Scouts-Many-Marshes wanted to know.

"Nature, I suppose..."

Scouts-Many-Marshes chuckled. "Well Neetrenaza, I will tell you right now, nothing comes more naturally to me than my love for you."

Neetrenaza sat bolt upright in bed. Had he heard correctly? Or was he imagining things again? "Your… love?" he breathed.

"Yes," Scouts-Many-Marshes said, smiling broadly. His pointed teeth gleamed in the dim light.

"But—how?" Neetrenaza gasped.

Scouts-Many-Marshes shrugged. "It comes easily. You have always been very fine looking and strong. But more importantly, you have a mighty heart. Your emotions rule you. You feel everything around you with fiber of your being; it is beautiful. I have always adored you for that."

Neetrenaza could not believe what he was hearing.

"Me, I am so systematic and boring that I often wonder if I am alive at all," Scouts-Many-Marshes went on, smiling sadly. "The strongest thing I ever felt was feelings for you."

A lump rose in Neetrenaza's throat. "I—I don't know—I mean, I don't know what to—"

"You do not have to say anything now," Scouts-Many-Marshes said quickly. "Or ever, unless you wish it. I will understand if you want nothing more than friendship from me."

Neetrenaza studied his companion carefully. There was fear in his great yellow eyes. How strange. What was he afraid of?

"I… I would like to sleep on it," Neetrenaza murmured. He didn't feel awkward or confused anymore. But he did feel slightly stunned.

Scouts-Many-Marshes nodded. "That is fine. I am… sorry if I have upset you. But I had to let you know. Sometime." He smiled nervously, then got back into bed.

Neetrenaza made no reply. He stared up at the ceiling for a long time, his eyes glowing in the semi-darkness.

Another set of eyes glowed from the adjacent bed.