They left Morthal the next day, leaving the mysteries of the eerie town behind them.
Idgrod's vision, even though not tangibly useful against the dragons, gave Aeyrin some much needed ease.
It has been a while since they saw Delphine and the lack of communication from her was somewhat discouraging. There was no new information on the return of the dragons since the events at Kynesgrove.
Ulfric knew nothing, despite the odd timing in Helgen, the dragons were still appearing and killing them provided nothing but pain either.
They haven't exactly been hanging around ancient ruins lately either, so there was no progress on learning new Shouts.
But Idgrod's vision provided some assurance and hope for future endeavors.
Aeyrin even started to train her Shouts again, learning to control them better whenever they found a suitable place, after the uncomfortably close call with Karnwyr.
With no actual destination, they discussed their next course of action.
Aeyrin wanted to return to Windhelm to continue her pilgrimage, or to visit the College to get more dragon lore, however, the idea of returning into the mind-numbing cold was… unpleasant.
She more than readily let Bishop convince her to take a break in their adventures and enjoy some respite.
His ulterior motives were hardly subtle, but she didn't really mind. In fact, since they couldn't really enjoy much privacy in Whiterun nor in Morthal, it sounded rather perfect.
Besides, he did look like he had someplace he wanted to take her and she was dying to see if he could ever top the beauties of the Rift or the hot springs of Eastmarch.
They traveled through the cleared passes back south, leaving the cold behind. Well… it was still cold, but it was at least bearable.
They pressed further without making camp on the way. The journey was getting long, but they had plenty of time before sundown.
They finally reached a familiar location – Brittleshin Pass.
"So… my guess is the Companion's work is useless because more bandits always move in. We're gonna have a fight on our hands," Bishop smirked as they stopped in front of the old metal door into the ruin.
"There was no-one on the way here. We'll be careful, but the pass should be clear," Aeyrin shook her head at him with a smile.
Impressive, how optimistic she could always be.
Huh… he would have called it stupidly naïve just some time ago.
"Wanna make a bet?" he chuckled at her, winking conspiratorially.
She gave him a suspicious look, before answering: "I don't know… It didn't work out so well for me the last time…"
Bishop smirked. Yeah, right, as if she didn't enjoy every second of being ordered around by him. They should definitely repeat that now that he didn't need to adhere to any restrictions. Well, some restrictions still, but soon…
He didn't really ask if she was ready to sleep with him yet. She was not about to tell him on her own and he kind of liked the fact that he could still be rejected.
It was more thrilling that way.
"You just know you're gonna lose," he snorted at her with a smug smirk.
"Am not! Fine! Same terms as last time?" Aeyrin pouted, flushing a bit at the suspected insinuations of their bet.
Bishop looked at her for quite a while, studying her face with a strangely conflicted expression.
Was he suddenly unsure of his victory? Or was it something else? He was the one who suggested the bet after all…
"We'll… leave that for another time, princess. Let's just go, before the sun goes down."
…
The pass was surprisingly empty, making Aeyrin gloat the entire time and taunt Bishop about knowing he would lose the bet.
He didn't really mind if that was what she thought.
Truth was, he didn't really want the excuse of that bet lingering over them. And it wasn't as if he needed the help. He could see in her eyes that she kind of hoped to lose. Then she wouldn't have to initiate things herself, or even acknowledge that she wanted the same. He didn't get why she had such trouble expressing her own needs – he could see what she wanted, but she always let her reservations get the better of her.
They made their way to the other side of the pass undisturbed, emerging in a lush patch of forest by Lake Ilinalta.
Bishop ushered her down the hill towards a small old pier with a fishing boat near it.
"Good. It's here. I was worried we were gonna have to swim," he grinned, getting into the boat, his pack slung on the bench beside him as he grabbed the oars.
Karnwyr gave him a questioning look for a while and she noticed Bishop shaking his head at the wolf briefly.
He barked as if in understanding and ran off into the surrounding trees, likely to spend his night hunting.
"Where are we going?" she raised her brow at him. Karnwyr usually ran off on his own when they were… preoccupied. They must have been going somewhere less accessible.
"Somewhere nice. Just get in," he smirked and inclined his head to the boat.
He slowly rowed them to a small island smack dab in the middle of the lake.
The sun was just starting to set, the pink-red hue in the skies illuminating the scene in a fiery beauty.
The island was small, enough to perhaps fit their camp but other than that, there was only water around them. The ruins of an old fort were visible to the north and a picturesque mill to the south.
On the edge of the island, there was a standing stone surrounded by smaller monoliths, making a perfect semi-circle. The magic glinted from the small spots denoting the positions of the stars, The Lady engraved in a beautiful image around the constellation.
"It's so beautiful here…" Aeyrin sighed, moved by the scenery. The setting sun added so much magic to the small island, but what was more important was the company.
Alone, without anyone or anything disturbing them… well… supposedly a dragon could still swoop in, but she wasn't going to think about that.
She ran her hand over the cold standing stone, the magic stars the only thing emanating light and warmth on the thing.
"You know, there are some legends about these things," Bishop approached her, placing his hand on hers.
"They're not legends. These stones are aligned to heavenly objects. They provide blessings. Like the shrines to the Divines," Aeyrin said, stopping the movement of her hand as his covered hers, enjoying the new source of warmth on the stone.
"Yeah, not those legends. The Nords believe that if you… 'use' one of these, you change your fate," he snorted mockingly, obviously not impressed by the insinuation.
"I could use it and check the empty 'Book of Fate' again. Maybe I'll avoid my imminent death," she chuckled a bit.
She wasn't even sure if she believed in predestined fate. If the choices in one's life would not matter, then what purpose would it serve for Mundus? She shook the thoughts of fate and destiny from her head – it made her think on her place in Skyrim again, on the dragons and her role in their defeat.
She did not want to think of these things now.
"You know, I was born under The Lady," she smiled a bit, as he wrapped his free hand over her stomach. Not that she could feel much with her armor still on, but being close to him was always both comforting and exciting.
"Of course you were, princess," he chuckled. It fit her perfectly.
He moved his hand from her stomach to brush back her hair, messy from the wind and travel.
"What about you?" she asked after a while, pondering. The Shadow or perhaps The Steed?
Bishop stayed quiet for a while. He never really cared about this, but Liesl was obsessed with astronomy when she was a kid – she was pestering everyone about their birth signs.
It didn't mean anything…
"The Serpent…" he grumbled, remembering how excited his sister was when she found someone in their family born under the rare sign.
Aeyrin gave him a curious look, smiling lightly and a bit sadly at the same time.
"'The most cursed and the most blessed'…" she said quietly, turning in his arms towards him, her face to his chest as she played with his armor between her fingers.
"Let me know when the 'blessed' part comes," he scoffed derisively, watching her trace her fingers across the black leather.
She didn't answer but looked up at him with a bashful smile, her face blushing, eyes hiding behind her lowered lashes a second later.
He thought to laugh at that, but the only thing he managed was an affectionate smile.
"We should make camp. It will be dark soon," she disentangled herself from his arms reluctantly after a while, returning to their packs and rummaging for their camping supplies.
They rushed through preparing the fire and some dinner as the night fell, leaving their armor and boots off by their packs.
…
Bishop leaned in immediately after they finished eating, draping his arm across her waist and nuzzling his head into her neck, kissing and nibbling on her skin slowly.
She moved closer to him, straddling his lap after a while as his mouth never left the side of her neck. Her hands roamed through his hair and she pressed herself closer, moaning slightly under his ministrations when he grabbed at her backside with both his hands, squeezing her to him tightly.
She ran her hands down across his back down to the hems of his tunic, draping it over his head eagerly and throwing it somewhere without looking.
Bishop did the same with her own shirt, throwing it towards the bedroll by the campfire, his hands moving to her breasts immediately as she grabbed his face in her hands and pulled his lips to her into a deep long kiss.
The slow languid mood was starting to falter quickly as their movements got more frantic, touching and teasing each other eagerly.
"We should… ah… get rid of… the grime…" Aeyrin panted between heavy breaths and gasps as he slid his hand inside her trousers to run his finger over her naked flesh.
He pulled away from her reluctantly and freed her to stand up, following her quickly.
They got rid of their remaining clothes in a matter of a second, stepping into the cold water.
Aeyrin usually hated having to wash up in the freezing waters of the wilderness as opposed to the warm baths in inns, but Bishop was quick enough to warm her up, running his hands over her and pinning her close to him.
They worked on washing off the sweat and grime of each other rather meticulously, before the cold started to seep in, despite their ministrations.
Bishop ushered her from the freezing water after disentangling himself from the tight embrace that was warming them up.
She lay on the bedroll by the slowly dying fire, surrounded by small colorful mountain flowers, as he settled himself on top of her, his eyes roaming over her still wet glistening skin in the faint light, stroking over the contours of her body with the back of his hand gently.
She brushed her hands over his pecks, moving lower over his abdomen until she was slowly running the tips of her fingers over his hardness teasingly, the effect of the freezing water now long gone.
A growl formed low in his throat as his mouth descended on hers, his tongue probing her hungrily.
He pulled away after some time, looking into her eyes searchingly as she continued to tease him. He looked like he was trying to determine something before he dipped his head lower, his tongue running over the edge of her pointed ear.
"So… princess… you think you're ready to take things further?" he breathed against her ear in a low voice, brushing her hair from her face before moving his hand to her breast, squeezing her eagerly, nipping at her earlobe.
She gasped under every little bite of his teeth and a soft scratch of his stubble against her cheek, his cock rubbing against the top of her slit pointedly.
She nodded, arching her back under his ministrations, her hand gripping around his girth firmly.
Bishop increased on intensity the second he felt her head nod against his, grabbing her hands and removing them from his body, pinning them down above her head.
He moved his mouth to devour her breasts, sucking on her hardened nipples for a while before he positioned himself lower, planting a deep kiss at the top of her slit. He let go of her arms and placed his hands under her buttocks, lifting her up towards his face.
Jolts of pleasure shot through her with every stroke of his tongue, her body quivering excitedly under him.
He sucked on her nub hard, making her arch back and explode with a loud moan, her hands grabbing his hair roughly, pressing him towards her even more.
Her knees felt weak but he didn't let up, moving his fingers down and inserting two of them inside her, curling them and spreading them between their thrusts. He slipped his tongue back inside her, at times replacing his fingers, making her whole body burn, her heart threatening to leap from her chest.
She let out another loud moan as she came again under his touch, feeling him withdraw after a while, moving back face to face to her while he placed his fingers in his mouth, sucking her taste off of them before descending to kiss her deeply and languidly.
He looked into her eyes intensely after a while, a question hidden in his gaze. She gave him another determined nod, her flushed face decorated by a demure smile with just a hint of trepidation in her eyes.
He placed a gentle reassuring kiss on her forehead before he moved his hand down and spread her legs a bit further apart, running his fingers through her slit teasingly, the head of his cock pressing against her entrance.
She waited with bated breath as he pushed forward slowly, feeling him enter her slightly, spreading her a lot more than she expected.
She let out a high-pitched gasp at the sensation, her skin on fire. He leaned in to kiss her deeply, watching her flushed face after a while as he waited for her to get used to him a bit.
He pressed further in after a spell, filling her, moving deeper slowly and steadily until she felt a sharp sting of pain rush from below through the rest of her body, making her hiss through her teeth, closing her eyes firmly.
"Fuck… Aeyrin…" he gasped her name, a deep groan of pleasure escaped his lips before he kissed her again, now more gently, as a throbbing pain coursed through her groin, making her take several tentative deep breaths.
He waited without moving for what seemed like a long time, rubbing over her breasts gently, kissing her neck slowly. The strain and the need was palpable on his face, but he waited still, watching her breathing and her expression, enticing her with his gentle touches steadily.
Soon enough his lazy treatment started to relight her body with anticipation, the pain dissipating, replaced by only an unfamiliar feeling of being filled. The desire became overwhelming again, and she gave him a surprisingly lustful look to spur him on.
Bishop started to shift again when he felt her relax, his cock throbbing in her wet tunnel as he moved himself deeper inside her, then slowly out and back in.
There was another sting of pain as he moved too deep once, but it was much milder than before and he moved back a bit immediately, letting her take another deep breath tentatively, still getting used to his size inside her.
He was definitely too big for her, but it was starting to feel rather good.
He groaned as he started to move in and out slowly again, his hands kneading her breasts, his mouth sucking eagerly on his favorite spot on her neck as the electric jolts of pleasure started to course through her body with every thrust.
Her hips started to move against him instinctively when he quickened the pace, grunting against her neck as she felt herself clenching him inside her, the throbbing and twitching of his member becoming more and more pronounced when he rubbed against a place deep within, sending shivers down her spine with every second.
She arched her back under him, wrapping her legs over his hips instinctively, allowing him to slide deeper yet, this time with no pain accompanying the movements.
His thrusts became faster and shallower, jerking her whole body with each one, her breasts squeezed tightly under his hands as they gasped and moaned almost in unison.
She felt his balls slap against her backside with every thrust, the intensity of the movements getting somewhat forceful, stirring her inside with the frantic dizzying passion of their joining. She could feel herself getting close to the edge again, any pain or discomfort she'd felt before long forgotten, her mind only filled with pleasure and the thoughts of him filling her.
She felt the buildup inside her scream for release and then a powerful shock wreak through her entire body, her walls pulsating around his throbbing member, squeezing him tightly. He let out a loud grunt against her neck only a second later, the clenching of her insides making him shudder in pleasure.
She felt him spend himself deep inside her, warmth spreading through her core pleasantly, making her mewl under him.
She tried to catch her breath, her insides still pulsating wildly around him as he went for a few more lazy thrusts.
Their heavy breathing was the only thing echoing across the lake, aside from the sounds of the torchbugs and dartwings buzzing around in the moonlight.
Bishop brushed her hair from her forehead as he watched her face, still flushed with an affectionate smile, the sweat on their bodies turning cold in the late night air.
Aeyrin returned his smile, her hand stroking over his stubbly cheek when she raised herself up on arms much weaker than she expected and leaned in to kiss him.
"How're you feeling, sweetness?" he smiled, running his hands languidly over her slowly quietening body, stroking her sides, her hips, then back up again.
She wasn't sure if the smile she gave him was more affectionate or desirous. She wanted to answer further after a while, but gasped deeply instead as his hand moved suddenly to her slit to tease her again, his cock still sheathed inside her.
He chuckled and moved to kiss her neck again, tracing a warm line with his tongue down her collarbone.
They gradually started to explore each other once more, their calmed bodies heating up all over again.
She raked her fingers across his back as his hands continued to tease her mercilessly, his semi-erect cock hardening again inside her, making her squirm against him at the sensations.
He grabbed her by her hips, flipping them over suddenly, eliciting a surprised yelp from her as she was now straddling his hips, half-impaled on his member, her hands on his chest, supporting her weight.
"You up for another round?" he smirked at her, sitting himself up and burying his face in her breasts, biting and suckling on her skin.
She moaned loudly as his hands, still on her hips, encouraged her to move down onto him.
She started to slide up and down, a bit sore from their previous activities but very soon hit with more jolts of excitement, making her ignore any discomfort readily.
He thrust up inside from below as her movements quickened, impaling her hard and fast onto him, her name escaping his lips once again as he pressed his face between her soft breasts firmly.
"Aah! Bishop!" she cried out as she felt him enter deep inside her again, the shallow thrusts now constantly keeping her pressed to his lap.
Another surge of pleasure passed through her body, making her arch back, squeezing him tightly in her depths.
His hands dug deep into her firm hips, his teeth biting around her hard nipple and she felt him explode inside her again.
They spent some time resting in tight embrace, caressing each other's heated bodies.
She didn't even notice the cold air for one second.
They indulged each other several more times that night, the entire time spent in blissful haze of lazy teasing and hungry passion.
They finally fell asleep exhausted in early morning hours, hiding in the bedroll from the cold air against their sweat-covered bodies.
…
Aeyrin and Bishop spent three more days on the secluded island, their days and nights spent entangled in each other.
The need for supplies was the only thing that was pressing them to leave their haven.
Bishop even managed to shoot a slaughterfish through the water to provide them with more food and therefore more time to stay hidden from the outside world. His cooking really did get a lot better with Lydia's tips; it was still not as good as hers, however.
It did give Aeyrin an excuse never to prepare food again – he was simply better at it, it was only logical.
She got away with lazing around the camp while he prepared their meals, although he did insist on getting 'rewarded' properly for his hard work every time.
If only they could have stayed like this even longer, ignoring the dragons, the war and all the troubles always right at their heels.
Having only each other in their secluded haven.
