"How'd she do?"
Aeyrin smirked at Bishop when he appeared at the door of Breezehome with a small sack filled with meat and the wolf by his side. He and Lydia took quite some time with their hunt. She had managed to polish her equipment and sharpen her mace a long time ago already and now she was idly waiting at home until the two of them returned.
"She sucked. Me and Karnwyr were the only ones who caught anything," Bishop grinned at her with amusement before he walked towards the kitchen cupboards and stashed the meat into the pot with several ice wraith teeth in it to keep the produce fresh.
He let Lydia go ahead to the Bannered Mare while he was on the actual hunt to make things believable.
She was so eager to tell Saadia the good news. Heh… she was so obvious. This whole business was not about any kind of atonement or rectification. But if she needed to tell herself that, what did he care?
But… it did feel rather good to foil Thorn's business deal nonetheless.
They both got their story straight. They were hunting, Lydia wasn't good at it and, eventually, they came upon a small group of bandits. That was just in case there was any hint of battle upon them, but they had been rather meticulous with that too.
In any case, he really hoped that this was the end of things.
There was no other choice, but he hated keeping things from Aeyrin more and more as the time passed.
She didn't deserve this duplicity in any way, but he was still convinced that it was the right thing to do. Just seeing Lydia so broken up over what happened the night when he killed Neeshka was enough for him. And that wasn't even the worst thing that could have happened. He could definitely drag people into much deeper shit.
He still didn't know if Lydia had figured out that he used to work for Thorn, but, at the very least, he was confident that she wouldn't talk about what he's told her to anyone. Not after she got herself so tangled up in it anyway.
He sat down by the table at Aeyrin's side and draped his arm across her back, pulling her firmly towards himself.
That always made him forget about his concerns.
"Lydia's at the Mare, drinking away her defeat," he chuckled meanly. "Let's go to bed, love. Before she manages to barge in again."
…
They lay on the bed, exhausted.
It was likely past midnight already and Lydia had yet to come back from the Mare – it seemed like she might be staying there into the morning hours. Not that it surprised Bishop much. But, luckily, that only meant that he and Aeyrin had the entire night to themselves. Still, just in case, he had ordered Karnwyr to alert them this time if anyone walked inside the house. Lydia's interruptions really didn't need to become a tradition.
Bishop ran his hand through Aeyrin's hair lazily; her body was curled to his side as they both still tried to steady their breaths in the afterglow. His fingers traveled across her arm, brushing against the side of her breast, then upwards to strum over her lower lip gently.
Aeyrin loved these moments with him. Her head was so pleasantly void of any worries and her thoughts were only on him, on what they've just done and on what they might possibly do again in a little while. She loved how gentle he got after and there was always this sweet anticipation filling her, waiting for the moment when his touch would turn hungry and insistent again.
His fingers continued to brush against the side of her neck until he started feeling around one of the chains from her necklaces. A little moment later, His touch turned towards the silver ring which was dangling on her collar. He played with it often in their more idle moments together. The look in his eyes always turned a little more contemplative when he did.
Oh! She almost forgot about her little present when she was fussing over him at the temple. And then Lydia was around a lot and it didn't seem like the best time.
But now was perfect.
"Can I ask you something?"
He chuckled briefly. That question always meant that it would be something which he wasn't comfortable answering. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to care at that moment. And it wasn't as if saying 'no' would deter her from asking anyway.
"Why did you give me that ring?" She placed the palm of her hand on the back of his and laced her fingers with his while he continued to play with the worn silver ring on her neck. She was still a little apprehensive about asking this, but she was determined.
He frowned at her, but he didn't look angry. More… pensive.
"I told you, love, it suits you better," he murmured after a while of silence. His brows were still creased and his eyes were still fixed on the ring between his fingers.
"Don't give me that," she smiled while shaking her head lightly. "You know that you don't have to tell me. I was just thinking about it and… well…" Even just starting this subject made Bishop look decidedly more uncomfortable, but she didn't know how else to explain her intentions. She was still a little worried that he would take her gift the wrong way. "I understand that… maybe… no matter what happened… I know that you wanted to protect him… to take care of him."
Bishop didn't answer, predictably enough. His brows were still creased deeply and his gaze was still on the ring rather than her eyes. He didn't tell her to change the subject though. He actually looked like he was thinking about what she was saying. That was unusual for him in such touchy matters.
"And I… I thought maybe… that maybe you felt like you… didn't deserve to have it…" she added sadly. She knew that he really didn't like it when she 'analyzed' him, as he often put it, but she still couldn't help but try to ease his mind about the past with this gesture, even as little as she could.
"Don't you want it?" he asked after a while of silence. His voice was strangely hoarse. He didn't address her 'analysis' at all, but, then again, she never expected him to. But now she was even more worried about how it came out.
"I do. I love it and I love that you've entrusted me with it," she kissed his lips gently in reassurance. It would probably be better to make her point quickly before he really got the wrong idea. She disentangled his hand from the ring before she briefly turned away to rummage in her the pack by the side of the bed.
She turned back to him after a while with one of her hands clenched into a fist as she reached out with the other to gently stroke over his stubbly cheek. He finally looked up into her eyes, but his face was filled with confusion. His gaze kept darting from her eyes to the clenched hand lying on the bed. He was clearly looking for any hint of where she was heading with this conversation, but the fact that he didn't chastise her for making assumptions made her certain that she had guessed correctly.
"I just… I wanted you to know that… whatever was in the past… whatever you did that… that would make you think you didn't deserve it… I just hope that you know that… the man I know… he would. And I… I don't want you to think that I am trying to replace anything or… that I want you to forget the past. I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me… that you've been there for me through all of this." Now it was her who avoided eye contact with him. Her cheeks blushed at her own words while she tentatively took his hand in hers and fumbled with something in her clenched fist.
She gently slid the new ring onto his finger before she could finally meet his eyes again. She looked at him with a palpably uncertain expression. She really hoped that she didn't cross the line by giving him something so similar to Jules's ring. He had been so quiet the entire time.
Bishop stared at the ring for a while as a myriad of expressions flashed across his face, none of which she managed to decode.
Before she could try to explain further, to make sure it really didn't come out wrong, he wrapped his arms around her with surprising speed. He clutched her to his chest firmly, squeezing her against his form as if in desperation.
She draped her arms around him in return while she let out a sigh of relief. Soon enough, however, his embrace turned even more forceful. He pressed his hand on top of her head and pushed it under his chin while her body was pinned to his in a fierce hug.
"Bish, you're suffocating me!" she half-cried out and half-chuckled. Her voice was muffled considerably by his body.
"Yeah… it's only fair. You're making me all choked up," he let out a little chuckle too. His voice actually did sound like it faltered a bit.
He eased his embrace after a little while, but he kept his arms around her as he captured her lips with his tenderly. They continued to kiss and contentedly rest in each other's embrace for a while. Until every movement of his that, at first, exuded love and gratitude, steadily turned into hungry gropes and squeezes of need and passion. It only took a few minutes before the tension grew heavy in the air again and the previous anticipation turned into impatient eagerness.
"I love you so fucking much, sweetness," he murmured into her ear before he teasingly nibbled on her earlobe. Aeyrin's hands managed to move in between their bodies and she began to stroke over his bare chest and abdomen. She didn't need much encouragement before she got into the frantic and needy state right alongside him and, soon enough, one of her hands slid straight between his legs to tease his cock.
He clutched the nape of her neck in his hand and pulled her into a deep kiss. His tongue twined with hers eagerly and before he withdrew a bit to bite into her lower lip. She let out a sigh, letting her hot breath tickle his face while she squeezed him between her fingers.
She kept stroking him more and more frantically and aggressively. After all their previous exertions, as well as the moment that they had just shared, neither of them was inclined to torment each other anymore with prolonged tension and suppressed release.
He turned to lie on his back and he grabbed her by the hips to flip her onto his laps instantly. She didn't wait any longer before she sank down on him, impaling herself upon his hard cock, eliciting a low groan from him. She let out a moan of pleasure at the contact as she felt him fill her. She squeezed his cock with her walls and started sliding up and down on him eagerly. After a few motions, he straightened his back and sat up, enveloping her in a tight embrace and dipping his head to her neck to suckle on her skin there on his favorite spot.
Aeyrin briefly remembered the encounter with the vampire near Solitude. How could such similar contact of lips and teeth feel so different now? She moaned under his lips' caress and the sting of his teeth while she buried her hands in his soft hair.
They moved against each other with frantic hard motions. She gasped every time his cock penetrated her as deep as it could while her hips pressed firmly into his legs. She gripped his hair in an even tighter clutch and she yanked his head back, planting her lips on his to continue kissing him in between their strained moans and groans.
She squeezed him with her inner muscles again, eliciting a deep shudder from his entire body. He couldn't hold out any longer and he buried himself deep inside her with a loud groan. His movements slowed considerably while he came inside her once more that night. She pushed herself up and down on him several more times, moaning in pleasure as his cock pressed against her depths.
He snaked his hand down to her slit and he began rubbing her quickly, making her twitch and strain against him with one final jolt of pleasure. Her back arched deeply and her hair cascaded down from her shoulders to tickle at her lower back.
Their movements slowed at last. His cock softened inside her while the last vestiges of her climax ebbed away and the pulsating of her depths got slower and sparser with every second.
She didn't leave his lap yet and instead she rested her torso against his chest lazily.
Bishop started stroking her hair and whispering some pleased words of contentment in her ear. She could barely hear them as her entire body, including her head, kept buzzing pleasantly.
"Can we stay like this forever?" she chuckled lightly before she rested her head on his shoulder.
If only they could.
While the lack of encumbrance of their obligations has been a pleasant diversion, they knew it was going to be short-lived.
Sooner or later, the cruel real world would come calling back.
…
"I'm a little surprised that you didn't want company last night."
Aeyrin pondered, turning to Lydia while the three of them shared breakfast.
They spent two more days at Breezehome with no other immediate avenues, especially after Farkas's odd excuses. Even though they were counting on the new contract and more time adventuring, this was a pleasant diversion. There was no need to rush into the fray again, not when they didn't actually have some urgent matters to attend to.
Lydia has been going to the Bannered Mare every one of those nights for a couple of drinks, but it usually took much longer for her to return than it should for only 'a couple of drinks'. This time, she came back early in the morning and she was clearly hungover. Bishop offered to make breakfast instead of her with surprising thoughtfulness, when he saw the state that she was in. He was getting rather good at it too. Still not as good as Lydia, but his cooking was steadily improving.
"Oh… I just… didn't want to bother you…" Lydia scratched the back of her head with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Not this again! I told you not to do that!" Aeyrin said admonishingly, but she couldn't help blushing deeply alongside her. It wasn't as if she and Bishop couldn't spend time together in the wilderness whenever they wanted. They didn't see Lydia that often to refuse her company.
"That's not why she didn't want us around…" Bishop snickered while he gave Lydia a sly wink.
Both the women gave him a confused expression at that.
"Oh come on! You are clearly pining after that barmaid," he laughed heartily at her confusion. It was so obvious. Why would she pretend otherwise?
"WHAT?!" Lydia gaped at him incredulously, staring with her mouth ajar and cheeks even redder than before.
"She talked about that Redguard on our hunt. Had all that fire in her eyes…" Bishop wasn't fazed in the slightest by her confusion and he determinedly continued his amicable mocking.
Aeyrin couldn't help but notice how those two seemed to be really bonding. It was rather surprising, especially since they didn't seem this much at ease with each other the last time they were in Whiterun. Or for that matter, right when they returned this time. They must have gotten closer on their hunting trip.
"T-that's ridiculous! Why would you say something like that?! I'm not pining after anyone!" Lydia scoffed at him with that incredulous expression still etched on her face.
"Oh, don't be embarrassed, Lydia. I think it's great. Saadia seems really nice. She's always been nice to me, at least," Aeyrin nodded at her encouragingly. She might have believed Lydia's denial, but her blush kind of gave her away. Was this how transparent Aeyrin was when she used to rebuff Bishop's flirting? No wonder he never thought that she didn't want him.
"No… you're completely wrong! There's no pining after any barmaids!" Lydia retorted again adamantly, but the expression still didn't change.
"Come on, I think it'll be good for you. You'll be here less," Bishop grinned at her meanly, earning a punch to his shoulder from Aeyrin. "Well… unless you start bringing her here…" he snickered at Lydia again after a while.
"What?! N-no! I would never! Aeyrin, I promise, I am not bringing anyone here!" Lydia turned her eyes to Aeyrin. She seemed strangely desperate to convince her.
"Why not? You can bring anyone that you want here. It's your home too. It's actually your home more than it is either of ours," Aeyrin tried to reassure her again. After offering them 'privacy' so many times, she had assumed that Lydia would be more at ease with something like that.
But she did understand her embarrassment. If someone assailed her with all these insinuations, she'd be so red that they could see it all the way in Cyrodiil.
Although it was kind of fun.
And Lydia should know that they supported her in finding someone whom she cared for. It wasn't as if Aeyrin needed her as her 'housecarl', to put her duty first. She had no duty to her, not really. At least she had a place to make a home and some steady money influx from the Jarl. There was no need to deprive her of anything because of what she was 'supposed' to be doing.
"You two are just intent on torturing me, aren't you?" Lydia scoffed half-bitterly and still half-nervously.
But before they could even laugh back at her, a knock on the door interrupted them, saving Lydia from any further embarrassment.
"Lucky you…" Bishop smirked at her while Aeyrin got up to answer the door.
It was barely even surprising anymore to see the familiar dark-haired Imperial behind the threshold.
"Imperial Courier Service," he nodded politely as he passed Aeyrin two pieces of parchment. One was the familiar bulky letter from Master Therien and the other was a very small folded note.
She closed the door behind the courier and she unfolded the small note curiously.
.
42'9, 70'8
K + R
.
She stared at the numbers in confusion before it finally hit her.
Map coordinates!
This must have been the location of the skooma dealer's main operation! Karliah likely wanted to provide some measure of 'encryption' to the note. She might have been getting a little paranoid, just like Delphine, but, then again, it could have been for their benefit, to ensure that nobody found out about their hand in toppling Mercer.
Aeyrin rushed upstairs, confusing both Bishop and Lydia to some degree, before she returned with her map in hand and splayed it on the large table. She passed the note to Bishop while she traced her finger over the map eagerly until it finally rested on a spot up north – a short distance from Morthal as well as Dawnstar and Winterhold – a point in between the three towns.
Bishop caught on quickly and he studied the spot that she was pointing on while rubbing his fingers on his chin in deep thought. "Looks like Fort Fellhammer. I would have expected one of the armies to be occupying it, but I guess not…" he determined finally.
"Good! We can head out today," Aeyrin nodded at him somewhat overeagerly.
Fuck, he needed to rein her in a little once they got there. She was likely already imagining burning the whole fort to the ground. They needed to be careful here and they definitely needed to make sure that no one would get out of there alive to report their actions to Mercer. Reckless assault was not the way to go here and he knew how reckless she could get when it came to the skooma dens.
But she wasn't unreasonable. They would discuss proper tactics once they knew what numbers they were dealing with. For now, he only nodded at her. As pleasant as their stay had been, it would be nice to get back to adventuring already.
Aeyrin rolled up her map somewhat excitedly while Lydia only looked at them in confusion. She never pried much into their business, at least, but she still looked a little dejected that she had been so left out of the conversation. There was no way they could tell her the details though… that was a long story and it was probably not the best idea to spread it around anywhere.
Aeyrin quickly grabbed the map, instead of explaining, and ran back upstairs to place it back in her pack.
Before she would return back downstairs, she sat on the bed and opened Master Therien's letter with curiosity.
.
Dearest Aeyrin,
I am so pleased that, with all the troubles that have been hounding your journey, you still keep your pilgrimage in mind. I understand that it is hard to discern from the written word only, but it feels to me that your journey has already helped you find the path towards the purpose and fulfillment which you could not find in our halls. I hope I am correct about that assumption. It is comforting to think that, despite the turmoil, you still manage to uphold your values and think about how to help those who are oppressed unrightfully.
Upon reading your letter, I have contacted some of the brothers and sisters whom I knew to be sincerely interested in finding out more about Talos. We have met and discussed the proposition of this priestess Jora. Suffice it to say, there are many of those who are eager to undergo this endeavor.
We have not spoken to any initiates and younger congregation members yet. We were cautious not to cause open dissent outright, but some of the more senior members are already eager to journey to Skyrim and speak with the priestess.
I myself am sending a letter to Jora along with this one to you. Rest assured, dear child, things are in motion. We will proceed carefully, but we will be steadfast. And know that none of this would have been possible without you.
It warms my heart to see you write of your companions and journeys fondly. I have no doubt that you are avoiding the more tumultuous stories to spare this old man the worries, but I am not ignorant to the truths of the world. It is important to have a safe haven, be it a place, a person or a memory. I hope with all my heart that you found that in the harsh north.
I am thinking of you and praying for you every day, my child.
Please, write to me again soon.
May your faith be your everlasting guide.
Yours, Therien