This is part of a daily writing challenge I came up with for myself over on tumblr in order to get back into writing on a consistent basis. Using a random number generator, prompts are taken from the book, The 3am Epiphany by Brian Kiteley, and then paired with random music from my mp3 player to set a specific mood. The filled prompts cover several different fandoms, but are collectively known as the 3am Series. Others in this series are listed in my profile but for better organization I highly recommend checking them all out my Ao3 profile~
(Descriptions of the actual prompts themselves are located on my tumblr under the tag, '3am-challenge.')
Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, nor any of the characters/races/locations therein. I do, however, own Casath. Kiktar is property of my partner and is used with permission.
3am Challenge Day 13
Prompt: #48 - Cooking (600 words)
Song: The Lord of the Rings: The Musical - The Road Goes On
Characters: Casath (male Dunmer/Champion of Azura), Kiktar (female Khajiit/Dovakiin)
The fire crackled nicely in the large stone fireplace, encasing the whole of the main hall with its cozy glow.
It had been a good while since he'd been home – what with running off to do Lady Azura's biding and then chasing after the caravans to visit his father on the way back. An altogether productive journey but his armor afforded very little heat and he'd missed the feeling of being warm.
Newly washed and dressed in a clean set of clothes, Casath knelt beside the hearth to examine a massive hunk of venison impaled on the iron cooking spit. "So far, so good," he murmured, tugging off one of the leather gloves adorning his hands. He prodded gently at the skin of the meat, testing the amount of give with a calloused, charcoal-colored fingertip. "Yep. Just about done."
"You'll take any excuse to stick your hands into fire, won't you?"
Tilting his head to face the speaker, Casath allowed a playful grin to stretch across his face. "I am a Dunmer, my love, fire is my plaything." Sore muscles protesting, the dark elf pushed himself onto his feet with a soft grunt.
His wife chuckled. It was a gravely sound, harsh and clipped; a perfect match for her heavy Elswyr accent. "You amuse me, husband," she rasped, furred tail flicking lazily. "Just because you are fireproof does not mean you must bathe in it."
She stepped forward then, and wrapped lithe arms around her mate's shoulders. "This one has missed you."
Casath beamed. "I missed you, too, Kik."
They stood like that for a long moment, just holding each other and resting their foreheads together. As exhausting as his journey had been, Casath knew that Kiktar would have had it so much worse on her own trip. Khajiit were desert creatures, after all, and High Hrothgar was just about the coldest place you could get to on the entire surface of Nirn.
The fire popped and hissed and by and by the dark elf begrudgingly pulled back in order to check for wayward sparks. "This should be ready in a bit," he said, giving the meat a good couple of turns to look for any undercooked spots. He glanced up as Kik padded closer and leaned in. "If you needed to go change out of your armor…"
The Khajiit huffed. "Always trying to get me undressed." She sniggered as Casath gave her a look of mock-indignation and swatted at him playfully with her tail.
Kik rested a hand on her husband's shoulder and used it to help herself down onto the hearth beside him. She sat quietly for a moment, watching him crank the spit handle a few more times, before reaching over to the small iron pot just off to the side of the fire's core. Delicately – as she wasn't immune to flame like Casath was – Kiktar took hold of the wooden spoon and slowly began to stir the thin mixture inside.
"I am in no hurry," she said quietly. Taking a spoonful of broth, she ladled it carefully over the venison.
They took their time, just sitting in silence before the fireplace as dinner finished cooking. Every so often Casath would check to see how tender the meat was and once in a while Kik would spread another bit of broth over the top. They didn't speak much beyond the occasional murmur.
Rain began to fall softly outside, and the glow of the wall sconces burned low. The children were still in Whiterun, not set to join them for another day. All was quiet. All was calm.
Since my partner and I both play Skyrim, we've started shipping our dragonborns. Kiktar is his female Khajiit, and Casath is my male Dunmer. I even adopted Lucia and Sophie (he adopted Sissel) in the Hearthfire DLC just so these two could have kids. The bit about Casath and the caravans is based off a little headcanon I have where Casath's family actually traveled with a Khajiit caravan for a while as guards. As a result, Casath has a great respect and affection for the Khajiit race as a whole.