Dovahkiin POV:
I take a few steps back to avoid Ria and mumble my thoughts on the situation.
"My kissing isn't that bad.". Ria shakes her hand to get me to quiet down, but remains hunched over and gagging. I try to keep myself from getting insulted. My friend finally picks herself up and explains why she just vomited everywhere.
"Yeah, that was nasty.". Her eyes seem to grow in size.
"Not that you're nasty! It's just-". She motions at her mouth.
"You tasted like.". She motions towards the dead body a few feet away from us. Well, shit. I turn towards her and try to remain calm.
"I am so-". My voice is cracking, so Ria goes ahead and stops me.
"Don't worry. Simple mistake.". I nod and try not to make eye-contact. It meant a lot to me that Ria was willing to put up with the fact I eat other people. I just leaned forward and kissed without even thinking about it. Thankfully, the Imperial seems to want to move past the moment.
"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up. We don't want anyone seeing you with blood all over you.". I nod and follow her out. While we walk Ria tells me about what she has in mind.
"I figured we could go get cleaned up, then go back to your place. Maybe get everyone together and form a plan?". I nod and tell her what I'd like to do as the current plan.
"I think all of us need a few days off to get everything out of our systems.". Ria nods before asking about it.
"What do you have in mind?". I elaborate and use prior knowledge of Solitude to think of fun things for us to do.
"Adharanji will probably want to stop off at the whorehouse. Obviously, neither of us want to do that.". She nods in agreement.
"And my dog and Odahviing probably wouldn't get service if they went there.". Ria chuckles and I continue.
"I'd imagine Odahviing would want to get his wing attended to by actual healers, then go flying with me. But that won't take forever. He'll probably want to lie in the marketplace by himself. Provoking innocent bystanders and the such.". Ria chuckles again.
"My dog is going to follow one of us the entire time. I'm not sure what you want to do before I get back. That is, if you want to do something together?". She nods and adds to the conversation.
"I'll need to get in touch with The Companions. Then, you and I can get together. Any suggestions?". I nod.
"I was thinking you and I could always go see the battles down by the docks. Soldiers fight animals against one another in a tiny arena near the shore. Odahviing and Adharanji could always join us, or do something together. I think they've taken to one another.". Ria smiles and meets my eyes. I briefly stop walking to hear what she has to say.
"That sounds like a lot of fun. I promise I'll go and not interrupt your plans like last time.". I recall when I was interrupted while eating dinner with my parents because a courier told me Ria needed me. It wasn't that big of a deal, but it's probably best not to acknowledge the apology. It's tiny enough it'll blow over.
"Sounds like a plan.". I begin walking again and see the alleyway to the bathing house up ahead. Ria has no idea where it is, so I take the lead. As we're entering the bathing house I tell Ria another plan I have.
"The Bard's College is going to hold some celebration soon. Some burning of some king or another. I think it'd be nice if Odahviing, Puppy, Adharanji, you, and I all went together.". I examine the empty bathhouse and smile. Just a single, gigantic tub that takes up almost all of the room. And empty. Guess nobody wanted to bathe with a killer. I begin stripping, but hear Ria's response.
"That sounds nice. And why is your dog suddenly 'Puppy'?". I finish taking off my clothes and try to explain.
"I need a name for him. Calling him 'dog' is stupid because he'll always be a dog. Calling him 'puppy' is good because he's a dog and not a puppy.". Ria snorts and just keeps undressing. I turn away to give her a tiny amount of privacy. I examine the clear water once before walking down the steps into the center of the tub. Ria splashes in like a dying trout behind me.
I consider saying something to her about it. Then, I decide to ignore it and go about cleaning myself. My pelt's already grown to a somewhat thick length, so it'll take me some time to undo all the tangles. And get the blood out of the hair on my chest. Thankfully, Ria is patient. She's already done cleaning herself while I'm still working on my chest, but the Imperial remains and keeps me company. I can't look at her (too busy staring at my soapy chest and trying to figure out where the bloody tangles are the worst); however, Ria still starts up a conversation with me.
"So, how often do you need to eat people?". I shrug and think for a few seconds before answering her as honestly as I can.
"It really depends. If I'm on the road I'll eat someone any time I can. If I'm in town or city, then I'll just slip down to the hall of the dead once a week or two. Mostly the traveling eating is to conserve on food and always have something fresh in my stomach. People meat is protein, so it'll give me more energy than eating berries or plants.". Ria's voice goes into a weird pitch as she asks her next question.
"Why not pack more food, or hunt? Even fishing sounds easier. Nobody can arrest you if they catch you eating a tasty salmon.". I pray to Namira that the eating people won't get between us, then answer Ria.
"Namira gave me my gift. Not using it would displease her. Besides, there are more bandits than deer.". Ria tries to keep the questioning going.
"Again, why not fish? And there are a lot of deer. Enough that I'm sure you've run across them while walking.". I put more energy into scrubbing my chest and focus on keeping my voice calm while talking.
"Fishing takes too long when there's nowhere to camp in the middle of Skyrim. Deer aren't unheard of, but bandits are still easier to find and kill. Deer generally don't stand and fight when a predator comes along.". Ria keeps trying.
"So, nothing besides humans to eat? No hawks, no dogs, no horses, no deer, no-". I end the conversation by cutting across her sentence.
"Bandits are easier to catch. Bandits can be eaten raw with more ease. Bandits fill me up more. Bandits have committed crimes. Bandits are tastier.". Ria falls silent and I move onto washing the rest of my body. As I keep washing I glance at Ria. She doesn't look sad or angry. Just confused. I finish bathing and try to see if anything's bothering the Imperial.
"Is me being a cannibal going to get in the way of a relationship with us? Because I want to know now rather than later.". Ria takes a few minutes to think as we get out, dry off, and get dressed. I'm putting on my outer-most pelt when Ria answers.
"I'm just worried.". I turn towards her and find the much shorter woman reaching for me. She places her hands on my shoulders and explains what she means to me.
"What if someone catches you? You've been in hiding for a year and just came back. Seeing you chowing down on someone's insides might convince people you've gone savage. You're a Khajiit, being seen as savage isn't a good thing.". I can understand what she means. An Imperial or Nord eating someone will get drug off to jail. An Argonian or Khajiit chowing down on someone will get stabbed first, then drug off if they're still kicking. However, I'm still afraid that Ria has other concerns she's not voicing.
"Is it about me going to jail, or you being uncomfortable?". She shrugs and comes clean.
"A little of both. Seeing you eat a whole body is different than seeing you eat chunks or threatening to eat someone.". I try to find a compromise I think will please us both.
"Alright. No eating whole bodies in front of you. Only chunks.". She nods and I keep going.
"I'm not stopping, though. If I'm alone I'm eating someone whole without taking the time to cut some meat off.". Ria scrunches her face up, but slowly nods. I reach my hands (one dead and cold) up and rest them on her hands.
"We both okay? No more concerns over me eating things that can talk?". Ria weakly nods, but gives me a little warning.
"Just be careful. I'm not going to give up my ideals because you're sexy.". I scoff and roll my eyes at the word 'sexy'. However, I don't say anything for fear of starting a more serious argument. Thankfully, no argument arises and we're able to safely make our way out of the bathing house and into the marketplace. Odahviing is already there. Currently, he's lying on his back and using the stone ground to scratch his back. Also currently, the shopkeepers are cowering and citizens are watching from the edges of the marketplace. When the citizens and shopkeepers see me walking towards Odahviing they quickly clear out.
Maybe it's for the best right now. My dragon friend cracks an eye open when I touch his shoulder. A large smile splits his scaly face as he rolls onto his stomach. Ria, meanwhile, picks through the remains of whatever is left at the shops around the marketplace. Odahviing swings his head round, so his eye is now in front of my face. I know he was considering seeing a healer (he use to talk about seeing one when we first went into hiding if we were ever in civilization), but I doubt he's seen one yet. I still ask just to be safe.
"Did you manage to get the queen to command a healer to come look at your shoulder and wing yet?". Shockingly, he nods in confirmation. I smile at my friend and ask the most important question.
"Have you flown yet?". He shakes his head.
"The city's big enough I'm able to walk around without needing to take flight.". My smile grows and I talk over my shoulder to Ria.
"Would you mind being by yourself for a few hours?". Ria calls back to me.
"No. I can go talk to the Companions while you're gone. I don't mind.". I give her a small warning.
"Don't talk to strange people and I'll be back eventually.". Ria laughs, and her laughter fades as she walks away to wherever she needs to go. Finally, I make Odahviing an offer he can't refuse.
"Care to fly?".
Note: I'm almost ready to fully announce the next story that'll be posted. 'The Last Dragon' is coming along nicely. Expect the romance to progress quickly and the last few chapters to be the climax of the story. Sorry for this being drug on for so long. I'd intended for it to end by now, but the original ending (way back at the confrontation with Irileth) had too many holes in the plot to use. Sorry. Anyway, either 'Revelations 5' or 'Luck Be a Lady'. Honestly, I really can't decide. I tried to load up my saves from either game to see what I like more.
New Vegas looked good. Level 50, idolized by the NCR, Veronica and Rex, Caesar assassinated with a chainsaw to the face, very evil karma, Big Boomer, and power armor. Literally my perfect game right before the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. I loaded it up, played for about twenty seconds, and watched it crash. Literally every save in New Vegas is now either corrupted or freezes whenever I try to load it.
Fallout 3 was another story. Again, perfect. No Megaton, Dogmeat, power armor, very evil karma, level 30, and with over a thousand stimpacks. Only I can't play it. Not because it crashed or won't load. Because my only weapon is a Tesla Cannon with 10,000 electron charge packs. I have no memory of hoarding all of those EC packs. I don't even remember finding a Tesla Cannon. All I know is 'Big Guns' is my highest skill and apparently a teenage me thought 'this extremely slow weapon that can only load one shot at a time looks perfect for every combat situation'. It's a minor annoyance, but it definitely makes combat less enjoyable. Sadly, all other combat skills are low enough that big guns are really the only thing I can fight with.
Anyway, I've rambled enough. Long story short, I'm going to start a new game in New Vegas and Fallout 3 and see which one I prefer and which one I could probably write a story about.