Iriala was back and after her and Argis subtly threatened me I broke. I regaled the group with where I'd been for a fortnight. I tried to keep it simple, leaving out my birthright, but Iriala and Argis knew too much about how the Forsworn operated. I would either be tortured or killed, not kept alive for fun, so I had to fill them in on everything. And I mean everything. From how I'd been raised in a Reachmen camp to how Ondolemar had been acting strangely lately. I neglected describing our last encounter beyond that of letting on he had gotten aggressive and I wanted to avoid him until things cooled down.

Faendal was upset but beyond that there wasn't much anyone could do. Iriala scrounged another set of clothes for me from her seemingly bottomless dresser. Faendal and Argis offered to burn Ondolemar's borrowed clothes but I politely declined, washing and folding the set with intentions to return them at some point. Other than that I wasn't sure what to do with myself. A few days of moping around later I was dragged outside by Faendal and forced into a hunting trip. Argis stayed at Vlindrel Hall, apparently needing a break after accompanying Iriala, but the dark elf quickly invited herself on the hunt. I didn't mind, in fact I felt a lot safer knowing the Dragonborn would be coming along. No bandits, Falmer, or Forsworn would stand a chance against the lithe powerhouse.

"So this contract – " Iriala began, tossing an armful of freshly chopped logs into the fire, sending a swirl of glowing golden orange sparks into the night air.

"Deal," I corrected, seasoning the raw venison while Faendal built a small structure to skewer and roast the meat on. The dark elf rolled her red eyes.

"Whatever. Does it still stand?" she prompted, crouching down and adjusting some of the firewood, helping it along with a spell of incineration that had everyone jumping in their skin and coughing at the sudden billowing black smoke. I turned over the chop, rubbing herbs and salt over the other side while blinking against the eye drying ashy cloud.

"Do I think the he'll continue to threaten to tell the Jarl about my past unless I meet with him? Yes. Do I think he'll actually do it? Not really," I handed Faendal the chops, wiping my hands off on a rag as he set up the food to roast over the fire on a rotatable metal pike. Iriala blew her hair from her eyes, settling down on an overturned pot to watch the flames. "What are you going to do?"

"Fredas I'll show up like usual, give him back his clothes and answer anymore questions he could possibly have. Loredas morning I'll take a cart to Falkreath and set up there for a while, live as a hunter or just thieve my way through life. Not sure yet," I leaned back, twisting my head so my neck popped a few times. Faendal couldn't hide the tension in his brow, even from across the fire. "Isn't Falkreath too close? If Ondolemar decides to track you there isn't much ground to lead him astray with. And Jarl Siddgeir's thrown his weight in with the Imperials, he wouldn't try and defend you against any Thalmor business."

I scoffed, waving a hand, "there are no Jarls short of Ulfric Stormcloak that would lift a finger against the Thalmor, Faendal. Don't be naïve." The wood elf sighed but kept to himself, rotating the spit and crossing his arms against the chill. Iriala's eyes were narrowed; a look I'd learned meant she was thinking.

"I don't think he means you any harm, Sosile," she muttered carefully, for once her voice sober and serious. I pulled the new sabre cat line cloak tighter around my body, "how do you figure that?"

"For one he's still having you watched," she nodded to her left, making Faendal and I squint into the dark. I didn't see anything but wasn't about to mistrust the eyes of the Dragonborn. "What you described doesn't sound like a man after his property, no, only madmen, mercenaries, or lovers would charge into a hostile camp like that."

The frosted wind bit into my skin, my face flushing a flustered red as I hunched back defensively. My jaw set and I glared into the fire, looking for a rebuttal short of calling Iriala a liar. Luckily poor pure hearted Faendal was spluttering in indignation, buying me a few precious moments.

"Ir-Iriala!" Faendal shouted accusingly, "he's a Thalmor, he can't, he wouldn't – not that I feel this way at all," he clarified, looking at me before turning back to the Dunmer, "Thalmor don't see any other races as more than animals, even the other mer are lessers. There's just no way he would see Sosile as - as a lover."

"And you think I don't know that? I've travelled all over this damn province too many times to count; I've met Thalmor from Solstheim to Winterhold to hidden backwater Talos shrines – by Boethiah, I've been to the damn embassy and spoken with the First Emissary Elenwen. I'm very aware of how they think and behave and I can tell you from experience that Ondolemar's the odd one out of the bunch." She took a deep breath, turning to pin me with a near glare, "I'm not telling you that he isn't dangerous, you should be more careful than ever. If he really thinks of you in that way then he's likely to feel conflicted, threatened. We all know how beasts behave when backed into corners," she finished ominously. My mouth twisted, caught between trying to play this all off as a cruel joke and genuinely panicking. I rubbed my sternum under the cloak, noting the frantic heartbeat beneath.

"I really don't think he's, uh, interested in me but his actions have been questionable for someone of his position," I relented, stuffing my hands in my armpits to keep from pulling out my own hair in frustration. Faendal sat across the fire, moaning and holding his face in his hands while Iriala's mouth twitched.

"Are you interested in your high elf, Sosile?" she asked with a sly grin. My face was near on fire, I threw my head back and stared up at the stars in hopes the elves wouldn't notice the horrible blush. I searched the sky for answers, for anything that wasn't a lie but wouldn't make me admit to anything. Briefly I entertained the memory of when he'd forced his long fingers into my mouth, the masculine moan he'd barely let out from his throat when I'd swallowed and slid my tongue over the digits. My cheeks must have been an iridescent cerise by the time I forced the scene from my mind.

"I'm, it's not – okay. He's easy on the eyes," I hung my head in shame. The Dunmer laughed darkly, her eyes glinting mischievously as Faendal cried out into the open night air, clamping his hands over his ears and shaking his head. I bit my lip, glaring at the elves as I frantically tried to defend myself, "he talks rudely sometimes, well most of the time, but he's only ever helped me out," when I caught Iriala absolutely grinning I felt like admitting all that made me lose some kind of battle. Defensively I continued where I should have kept my mouth shut, "I could have done worse, and he's been considerate of me even if he's also been a little forceful."

"Oh?" Iriala's dark ears perked, her eyes lighting with wicked curiosity as she leaned towards me, "so you're into the dominating type, like when he uses that militant forceful hand on you?"

"Please stop, I don't want to hear this," Faendal quietly begged.

"Oh shut up, we all had to hear about your obsession with that Imperial for years on end before she wizened up and married the bard," Iriala snapped, making the Bosmer flinch.

"Come on, that's a little harsh," I interjected, but quieted when the Dunmer raised a hand.

"No, what's harsh is pinning your hopes and dreams and happiness on another person. That's a stressful and unfair thing to do to someone, there was no way any woman could ever live up to the perfect creature he'd constructed in his mind. They would have never worked out, not while he still held her on a pedestal," she said. I pressed my lips into a line, studying the toes of my boots. Faendal had turned quiet; his shoulders slumped as he continued to turn the spit. "You're right," he relented, looking as dejected as a wet pup.

"That I am. About both your situations. Sosile," she snapped, making me nearly jump to attention at the force in her voice, "you need to make a decision about the Altmer and be prepared for the fallout. I've no idea how he'll react, in all honesty, but Falkreath is lovely all year round if things get too hot," she advised. I nodded, rubbing my thighs against the cold night air, "I'll keep that in mind."

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AN: Replies!
LadyDragon1316: You're so nice, gosh I'm all bashful now! Writing is hard but it's encouraging to hear I'm legible haha!
junosuhon: *flexes pecs* AW YEAH *giant muscles burst buttons off shirt* TIME FOR THAT ELF TO TAKE HIS ROBES OFF!
BubbleFettTea: Thanks for pointing that missing word out on chap 7, I goofed up BUT IT'S FIXED NOW, THANKS TO TEAM WORK *explosive high five in front of sunset*