Ceabhail:

Today's been a day.

...

Oh, and enjoy =^^=

"And so… what happened at the watchtower?" The Jarl of Whiterun glanced from me, over to Delphine, and then over to Lydia. "And why are you shedding?" The Jarl looked over to me as I pulled a long string of peeling scales off my right arm.

"Histskin, sir." I replied, plucking half an arm's length off me. "I was injured in the fight, and the Histskin activated. It heals my body, allowing me a second chance to get up and fight." I crumbled up the dead skin, flicking off my fingers, onto the ground. The Jarl glared at it with pure disgust. As if given a silent command, one of the royal guards rushed up to the dead skin, picking it up and carrying it over to the bonfire behind us. He cast it into the fire, which caused the fire to turn blue for a split second. Huh… my dead scales turn fires blue. That might come in handy later.

"So, what happened at the watchtower?" The Jarl asked us.

"I jumped in the air, landed on the dragon's neck… and I stabbed him with my trusty pickaxe." Merura, the teenage Nord blacksmith-in-training for the Companions, was smiling from ear to ear.

"The Companions bravely engaged the winged beast." Vilkas replied. "A lot of guards died, some Companions burned to death. The watchtower was destroyed in the fight. There was a huge dragon, and our weapons did nothing to harm it. All arrows and crossbows were meaningless, bouncing off his thick scales. We would have been defeated surely if it weren't for the Argonian." Vilkas pointed at me. "She had one of those Jedi weapons on her."

"Jedi?" The Jarl asked. He glanced over to me. "Are you one of the Jedi acolytes then?"

I shook my head. "No, I just happened to have the weapon on me. I was tomb raiding earlier and collected it."

The Jarl nodded. "It's a powerful weapon to be sure. Able to fall a dragon?" He glanced from me to Vilkas.

Vilkas nodded. "It wasn't easy though, sire. She worked for it. Almost died for it. But that's not the whole story. When she fell the dragon, it did something."

"Something?" The Jarl was gripping his chair harder, leaning forward.

"Yes, sire. Something. It started to glow… melting away… into streamers of energy. Pure colorful fire. And it soared through the sky… flowing into the Argonian girl." Vilkas pointed to me. "Sire… she's…"

"Dragonborn." Jarl Balgruuf smirked. "The gods have given us the method of defeating the dragons. A Dragonborn… wielding an energy blade." The Jarl almost laughed. "And she's an Argonian." He shook his head. "At least you're not a Khajiit."

He has no idea just how close I was to be a Dark Elf. That would cause several civil wars in this world. With how racist Nords were… yeah. I'd be sacrificed in a minute. And I'm glad I'm not a Khajiit. Furballs are the one thing I never want to experience. Still haven't stuck my head in a river to see what water-breathing is like. I think that's going to be a hard pass though. Too many psychological barriers to keep me from doing it. Probably.

Ky stood right beside me, and felt a small growl forming in her throat.

I responded by patting her on the shoulder. "Stay calm."

She purred a small laugh as she glanced at me. "She will behave."

"Well, this changes a lot." The Jarl said with a sigh. "I do believe some kind of award is to be given to you fine warriors." The Jarl glanced at us. "Lydia. You've done a lot for this town."

"Here it comes." Lydia's smile was beginning to poke through.

"I hereby grant you the title: Thane of Whiterun."

Lydia's face relaxed, and she threw her head back, smiling as she reveled in the title awarded to her. "Thank you, sire."

"And for the rest of you…" The Jarl scratched at his chin. "The Khajiit, you will gain access to this town. You will be granted a badge of office. A guard title. Everyone here gets access to a plot of land within my Hold to build your own steading, if you so choose. Everyone here will be granted a guard title. And a gold prize of 1,000 gold coins."

"A guard title?" I scratched at my head, and with it, peeling off half of my scalp with me.

Lydia glanced at me. "It's like a Thane only… lesser. You don't get special privileges."

"So… we're… Housecarls." I almost couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"No." The Jarl shook his head. "Housecarls are assigned to Thanes to serve them. You are… less than Thanes. Knights."

Oh! Okay. I thought Thanes and Knights were the same thing, just different regions. Huh… I'm not a Thane.

"You all are hereby welcomed to the court as full members of the privileged class." The Jarl declared. "That would be reward enough for most wanderers. A badge to serve as your right to collect bounties, guard Hold caravans, start up your own businesses, build your own steading. Welcome to sit in the courtroom, partake in any formal parties, eat your filling. Warm by the fire." The Jarl seemed to see the small confusion on my face. "Perhaps, it's lost to an Argonian?"

Ky was also scratching her face. "Is this… a good thing?"

I shrugged. "I mean… it's not bad. Just… not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" The Jarl looked genuinely surprised.

I shook my head. I didn't need to push this. This was more than I could want. "I was expecting a handshake and a 'well done'. Nothing more."

The Jarl laughed. "Surely, not. You've done this Hold a service. And you earned your place here at the court." But, not as a Thane, I guess. A Hero of the Hold… and I guess Lydia's been earning those good guy points. I just kind of… walked in with a dead dragon over my head. "And there is something we need to discuss…"

The Jarl's brother, a massive Nord, looked at me. "Didn't you hear the thundering Thu'um as you entered Whiterun? It was the Graybeards, summoning you to High Hrothgar."

I nodded. Oh yeah… them. They'll have to wait. Try to act dumb. "High Hrothgar? What's that?"

"The tallest mountain in Skyrim, nestled on top of the 7,000 steps. I made the journey once, climbed the steps…" The Jarl sat back in his chair, as if remembering his earlier youth. "Fought a troll."

I nodded. "Okay… so… these Graybeards, surely they aren't just a bunch of racist old men who are so pacifistic that they won't just… force me to sit on top of their extremely cold mountain, meditating on the meaning of life?"

Delphine glanced at me. "That's exactly what they'd have you do."

The Jarl's brother took a defense chest puffing stance. "A summoning by the Graybeards is a tremendous honor."

The Jarl nodded, pinching his fingers together. "One does not simply ignore the Graybeards' summons."

"Well, one does not simply climb 7,000 steps of a really tall mountain." I've climbed several mountains though. Almost died on one. Long time ago. Knee still cracks sometimes when I stand up wrong.

The Jarl bellowed as he nodded. "It is quite a journey. Two days if you take your time. And I do suggest you take your time. If you wish, I can prepare a carriage to take you to Ivarstead. We can have you there in matter of afternoon. You can sleep on the carriage."

I shook my head. "I'll head there shortly, but first, I'm needed in Riften."

"A dragon you need to hunt?" The Jarl's brother asked.

I shook my head. "No… an old fossil, well, two old fossils. And… an old friend."

"Well, then… before you go." The Jarl stood up. "We will have a party. The likes of which have never been seen in this Hold since the capture of… whatever the name of the dragon that gave its skull to look over my throne." The Jarl gestured to the dragon skull hanging on the wall above the throne.

I'm… I'm tired. "Can it wait until tomorrow evening?"

The Jarl smiled. "We will gladly hold a feast in your honor, Dragonborn. And all who fought the dragon. You are all invited. Come back by tomorrow evening, six-ish, and we'll get the festivities underway."

…

I slowly trudged back to the inn, hoping that I could close my eyes and forget this day ever happened. The sun was already beckoning the eastern side. Jeez… was it close to four in the morning? Ky trudged alongside me, Recorder too. Ky was bouncing on her paws, acting like she wasn't even the slightest bit tired by the whole day, while Recorder shared my exact sentiments.

"Day… 45. And the Dragonborn trudges on… dragging her companions with her… even though, my feet are bleeding through my burned boots." Recorder was holding up a small recording device.

"Day 186…" I replied. "The Dragonborn is just as tired. She always wants to sleep."

"Day 2…" Ky replied. "Ky is feeling feline!" She purred. "We fought a dragon. And we won!" Her voice squeaked. "Ky will always remember this day. Until the day she dies."

I smiled. "Yeah… I shat my pants only twice."

"Only?" Recorder chuckled. "I filled my boots." She sighed. "And I really need to take them off…"

And on we went until we climbed down the stairs to the inn. And once we reached the door, we were greeted by the inn owner. She opened the door to the inn, took one look at us, and closed the door. Basically slammed it in our faces.

I slammed my hand on the door. "I want to sleep!"

"You're covered in dirt, you smell like soot. I will not let you in until you bathe!" The innkeeper called through the door.

All three of us sighed collectively as we turned on our heels. "Sleep outside?" I looked at Recorder and Ky.

Ky smiled at me. "Ky suggests a quick bath."

Recorder sighed. "I think I'm okay for that too."

So… baths are a thing then? I did install the bathhouses mod so… there had to be one nearby.

"Back up to the palace then?" I felt my feet crying out at me. I'm sure the palace had their own bathhouse. And if nothing else, there was that small lake we could walk down into.

"The bathhouse is right back there." Lydia, who was walking behind us, pointed to a smaller building right beside the inn.

My feet cried out in joy. "Lydia… I love you." I wanted to go glomp her, but my exhausted body kept me from doing so.

That's when I noticed Lydia was carrying a towel in her hands. Ah… she was planning on bathing too. "I…" She scratched her chin as she looked away from me. "I don't really know how to feel about that." I could see a small blush forming on her face. Aww… she loves me. Just like in the game.

"Okay, girls. A quick bath and then… we get to go to bed!" I raised my hand triumphantly. Ky followed me, and Recorder half-assed raised a fist. Lydia chuckled as she followed behind us.

Reaching the bathhouse was easy. Getting inside it was easier. Getting undressed was hard, especially for me. I reached up, pulling off my layered mage clothes, and with it… the entirety of my chest and back scales, most of my legs, and whatever remained of my arms. Pulling my boots off, I pulled my feet apart. I basically left a full scale version of my foot inside my boots.

"Guess I'll have to wash my clothes." I sighed. "I really need some new clothes."

Lydia glanced at me. "You don't have any clothes?"

I shook my head. "Kind of… lost all my stuff. These robes I picked off a dead mage in Helgen."

"Helgen… you were in Helgen." Lydia glanced down.

I nodded. "Yup. I was there… when the dragon attacked." It just occurred to me… this would have been the perfect place to begin the actual story… and have the Helgen scene flash back to where it all started. But… I'm not doing that flashback twice so… everyone knows how I got here by now.

"I lived in Helgen." Lydia said. "My parents… lived in Helgen."

Ouch. "Did they make it out?"

Lydia shook her head, pulling off her shirt, and grabbing her towel. "No… they weren't lucky." She turned on her heel and left the changing area, heading into the bath.

I sighed as I grabbed my own towel. "Well, that soured the mood." I looked at Ky. "Don't forget to comb your fur before you enter the bath."

Ky nodded. "She always carries a brush." She pulled out what looked like a long brush. She was already brushing her furry leg. "She will join in about… 10 minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Recorder almost scoffed. "I'll be in bed by then."

…

Ten minutes later…

"I could stay here all night!" Recorder sighed as she reclined further into the hot water.

I moaned in agreement, allowing myself to float in the nice hot water. After days and days of trudging through caves, fighting Titans, scouring ruins… and fighting dragons… I'm happy to finally be in some fucking hot water. I don't have any soap, but I don't care. I'll just rub my body until there's nothing but new shiny scales covering me. I won't smell like roses, but… it's good enough. My clothes were already washed and hung up to dry. Whenever they're dry enough for me… I'll head up to the bed and sleep. Gotta say though… I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I could just sleep here. I could find a slightly warm bath and just… doze off inside it. I can breathe underwater… even though I haven't tried it yet.

"Ky is ready now." My Khajiit friend, covered in a towel, walked into the room. She slowly dipped herself into the bath, purring herself to delight as she dropped the towel and cannonballed in. Splashing me and Recorder in the process. Lydia was resting on the other side of the bath. Somewhere along the way, Merura joined us, and she was currently sleeping next to Lydia, resting her head on Lydia's shoulder. I get the feeling she treats Lydia like an older sister. Or maybe mother? It's hard to tell. They know each other though. If Lydia wasn't currently brooding, as is her fashion, I'd talk to her. But… I think she's mad that I survived, and her parents didn't.

…

[Lydia Silver-Sword]

I'm so nettled. So very vexed. "This Argonian… she looks young. Maybe younger than me. And yet… she survived Helgen, owns a Jedi weapon… survived a dragon breathing down on her… and managed to kill the dragon. And then… of all things… is revealed to be the legendary Dragonborn.

I should be happy. She saved our town. She saved the villagers from the virus-bearing monsters attacking us… and then stepped up and killed a dragon, all with a broken leg. She treats everything like it's a joke, even though she seems to understand the severity of her words and actions. She vexes me. And yet… she has to be strong. I want to spar her. See how I compare to her. She survived where most would die. And she has Thrawn's respect. Or fear. I can't underestimate her. I'm a Thane of Whiterun now… I'm the hero of this Hold. And if I want to live up to it… I need to be able to take someone like her down.

Would she be open for a match though? Is she one of those thrill-seekers? Or is she more reserved?

Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I could see her making a foam mustache, laughing and making sounds like an old man, trying her best to annoy the Imperial girl. And it was working. She was definitely annoying the Imperial girl.

"Shut up!" The Imperial girl slammed her fist on the Dragonborn's head. And that caused the Khajiit to hiss a war cry, jumping on top of the Imperial, throwing all three of them underwater. They're… a weird trio of friends. Kind of relaxing to be around though. Not unlike the Companions I grew up with.

I reached over, rubbing the back of Merura's head. So far, she's stuck by me. The little orphan I found living in a cave outside Whiterun. Nearly starved, needing a home. I'm glad I offered her a place to stay. She's been a good sister. I was worried when I saw her in the battle; I didn't know she followed behind me and the other Companions. She's reckless… more like me than I would like. I was hoping that when she took up apprenticing in the Sky Forge, she'd stop following me out into the field, but it seems that she is just going to follow me regardless of her learning how to smith. I should see about getting her a Skyforge Sword or axe. Just in case she needs it. Get it enchanted too. I'm a Thane now; I can request such expensive gear. I just need a high-paying quest to cover the majority of the expenses.

Huh… they've been underwater for a while now.

…

[Back to me.. wait… did we switch perspectives? Who's talking about me behind my back?]

Huh… so… I can breathe underwater. Having two fully grown people fall on top of me underwater forced me to take a deep underwater breath. Recorder and Ky were still wrestling with each other, and me… I was getting my water gills. It's… odd. It's like smelling and tasting all at once. You know how you can smell a lavender, and you can barely taste the smell of the flower? It's kind of like that. And warm water… kind of tastes like a gentle hot breeze feels when you breathe it in. And now… I know for certain… breathing underwater… not psychologically damaging. It's confusing, for sure, but… natural. Like I was made to do this. I'm happy I crossed this bridge sooner rather than later.

I sighed as I pushed my head back up, letting the water just… flow out of my neck, and I switched to breathing through my nose… which was an…. Interesting transition. And far as transitions go… this was on the top three. The top had to be turning into an Argonian.

The rest of my scales washed off while I was underwater. I was squeaky clean, and I'm pretty tired. But… even though I was exhausted, I was having too much fun. As Record and Ky surfaced from the bath, taking deep breaths, I laughed as I splashed them. I caught them completely by surprise too.

"Oh, you got it in my mouth!" Record gagged, turning away from me, coughing.

"Well, I'm getting tired." Lydia said from the other side of the bath. She gently nudged Merura's head. "Meru… time to wake up."

"Five more minutes?" She mumbled under her breath.

"No… we need to go now. We got to get you cleaned up and ready for bed." Lydia cooed as she lifted the unconscious girl and carried her out of the bath.

"Hey, Lydia…" I watched as she walked away. I drew her attention to me. "It was fun… fighting a dragon with you."

She smiled. "One day, Dragonborn… I want to fight you. May we cross blades one day?"

Um… do we have to?

I smiled. "Um… sure. Just not tomorrow. I'm busy."

Lydia nodded. "I will hold you to that, Dragonborn. And you'll have to tell me about that story you heard of me."

I smiled. "I'll write you a copy. Might be heavily revised though." Don't want her to kill me after all.

I turned my attention back to my fellow bath-mates. "So, girls… should we get dressed and get to bed?" We've been here for an hour, I'm almost sure of it. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Record was already snoring, and Ky was cuddled up next to her. Huh… I ship them.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." I sighed as I started pushing myself out of the bath water… and immediately fell back inside. Huh… I'm so tired, my muscles so relaxed… I can't…leave…the…bath. Huh… this has only happened 20 times in my past. How odd that it would follow me here. But… I can't stay here. I mean… I could, but… I shouldn't. I'll prune. Or rather… my friends'll prune.

"Girls!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I can't get out of the bath!"

Ky's ears twitched and she immediately bolted awake. "I'm here." She shook her head. Her eyes focused on me. "Oh… you need help?"

I nodded. "I can't… I can't feel my legs!"

That got her attention. "I'll come and help." As soon as she stood up, she fell right back into the bath. "Or… I will rest here for a while longer." Oh no… she's been hit too! This can't happen to us. Not here… not now.

I stretched my hand out for the changing room. "Lydia… I need you!"

She poked her head through the changing room hanging sheet. "You are so dramatic."

I sheepishly smiled as she walked back into the bath, grabbed me by my shoulders, and hulled me out of the water.

"Thank you, Lydia. I love you." I replied with a heavy smile.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "S-shut up." She dropped me flat onto my back. "You're out of the bath, just… let yourself cool off for a few seconds. You should be fine in a minute. If nothing else, the cold ground will force you to get up.

Yup… I could already feel the icy coldness of the stone slab. Perfect. I love this place. And while I was laying here on the cold hard ground, Lydia was busy pulling my friends out of the bath as well.

"Thank you, Lydia… I respect you." Ky said as she was dragged out of the bath.

Lydia only sighed, going after Record next. Record was still out cold though. Lydia dropped her next to me, slapped her gently on the cheek a few times, which caused Record to squint her eyes open, looking around.

"I fell asleep in the bath… didn't I?" Record sounded annoyed.

Lydia nodded. "And now, you should dry off and head to bed. It's almost morning."

Record groaned, sitting up. "If I go to bed, the sweetrolls will be cold by the time I wake up. This is a problem."

Lydia sighed. "I'm sure Hulda will cook some up fresh when you lot wake up. I might join you for late breakfast. Now… you should all get some sleep. You've all had a long day. Me included." Lydia nodded goodbye to me as she turned heel and walked back to the changing room.

I struggled to sit up; my body wanted nothing more than for me to just sleep on the cold pavement. I was tempted to let myself, but… just imagine how a nice warm bed would feel right now drove me to flip myself around and crawl my way back to the changing room. My clothes were still sopping wet, and I found a small brown leather dress waiting for me. Well, small as in… I'm sure it belonged to Merura. Lydia must have left it here for me. That's nice of her.

I managed to fit myself into the dress, and I guess Argonians are smaller than I thought, or skinnier, because I fit into the dress made for Nord children. Huh… that might be a problem when I go actual shopping for clothes tomorrow. I have a credit of 1,000 gold coins now. I'm basically rich. I own land, have money to do stuff with. And if I team up with Ky and a few others, I'm sure we can build a really nice farm land or something. And living alone… that's not really my thing. I like company. With our funds and what we can earn later, if we combine our land together… we could actually make our own settlement. That would be nice, especially if I end up living here after all this is over.

Record changed into one of her spare shirts, and I almost asked for one of hers, but I'm sure she'd just give me a glare. Ky just threw on her leather armor, sighing a relief as the three of us left the bathhouse. The sun was definitely starting to rise, and I felt like I was dying inside. I couldn't wait to be done with this day. The longest day ever.

The three of us, now freshly washed up, walked into the inn. Hulda, the inn owner, nodded to us. "Your beds are ready. Just follow me."

We had to trudge up the stairs, and we all groaned the whole way up. And when we finally got to our room, there were four beds, and Hadvar was already asleep in one. I was happy to plant my face into the nearest bed, and as soon as I hit the bed, my body gave out. Time for some fucking sleep.

Cearbhail:

So... very... tired...