Lydia POV
Lydia had only just finished changing when she left the room and she was greeted with the sight of Resh no longer with a sizzling face. She didn't have time to admire the scar left behind before he started to head towards the exit.
"Where are you going?" Lydia called when she saw her Thane leaving the tavern without her.
"I have things to do," he stated bluntly, not giving her much to go on before pushing open the door.
Lydia stopped him before he took another step forward, "What things?"
"Things I have to do on my own. I'll be gone for a few hours at least, so I decided I might as well let you and the elf have another day in Whiterun," he said, gesturing towards Brelyna who was dashing back to her room with a half gleeful half lusty look in her eye.
"What am I meant to do then? Brelyna and her new friend can shag till their hearts content. But what about me? I have nothing to do," she complained. Being left alone would be the most sinfully boring thing she could think of. She wouldn't have anyone to talk to because her only friend would most likely be enjoying someone else's company and she would be forced to listen to it.
"I don't know, join in? I'm sure they wouldn't care. Do anything you want. You can't come with me, though." Lydia turned bright red at his suggestion and was too embarrassed for her to protest. And she was too busy hiding her blush to notice that he had somehow managed to slip away without her realising. Lydia hated it when he did this. If she was going to spend the day in boredom, he had better be doing something important. Otherwise it wouldn't just be Brelyna who left a mark on his face.
Resh POV
Resh was glad he got out of there quickly. He felt guilty enough not telling Lydia the truth. But if she kept pressing, he would probably end up having to lie, which would be even worse. He thought back to what he said to distract her and wondered if she actually would try joining in with the happy couple. He doubted it though, considering how embarrassed she seemed to get.
It was daylight so he would most likely have to find a good place to hide in a forest or cave so as not to be seen by people. Anyone who would see him probably won't react in a very friendly manner, either running away or 'trying' to kill him out of fear. Travelling through the farms around the city didn't take very long and Resh was by the city edge in minutes. It helped time-wise that he was running. But still, it wasn't long before he reached the edge of the mountains. The concealed gaps in the stone would be a great place to shed in daylight because there would be enough space for his whole length to hide.
He stripped down quickly, wanting to get this over with. It wouldn't be as hard, and therefore faster, this time to remove the layer of skin because he could just tear away at the ridge left by his newly acquired scar. It would still hurt, but not as much because there would be less gauging involved.
He grunted as he was forced to bear the pain from the original feeling of cutting into his face. He wished he had taken some alcohol with him to help dull the pain, but he knew it would probably make him reckless and cut up the new skin underneath. Once he had managed to pierce the top layer of skin it all started to flow as easily as usual. As he peeled, he started to smell the scents of people getting closer. How he hadn't noticed people following him on the way to cliffs he did not know, but he would just have to deal with it.
Resh cursed when he looked over the rocks to check. There were more of them than he had thought. They were probably bandits as well, judging by their weaponry and armour. They must have perceived him as a potential victim when he disappeared into the cliffs and thought of him as an easy target. He counted six in total, three Nords, an Imperial and two Elves. He didn't really care which kind. Why did they have to try ambushing him now of all times?
It's not like he can stay how he is as a Tsaesci and go out to attack them because then guards and other citizens might see him how he is and think him as a monster. And being naked with half his skin peeling off isn't exactly the best way to fight, especially if he had to soon revert back to his human form. As he changed he pondered what he must look like half shed in his Nordic form. It must have looked very strange if anyone had seen him, one half of him would have been all flaky from air getting under the still attached loose skin, but the other side of him would be fine. People would most likely mistake him for a vampire burning in the sun.
Luckily for him the raiding party didn't comprise of any archers, so as long as he avoided any fatal melee blows he shouldn't get too injured. Even without his own weapon he would have his superior strength and his magical capabilities to deal with them with.
When the group rounded the corner into the mountainous gap he was in they seemed to recoil in shock at the sight of him. It was understandable really. Most of them had probably never had to fight a completely naked man with peeling flaky skin and flames burning his hands. Resh used their split second of shock to his advantage and immediately went to lighting the Imperial on fire. The man's dying screams snapped the rest of the group from their confusion and they started their attack.
The first blow came from the Nord with the large war hammer. Luckily, since that sort of weapon moves slowly because of the strength required to make it work, Resh had a chance tackle him before the attack bandit didn't have much time to react before a large hand grasped onto his head and twisted, snapping his neck before he could so much as blink. After realising he wouldn't go down easy, even without weapons, the remaining four attacked all at once hoping numbers would be the best way to deal with him. It was a sound tactic in theory, but it didn't work in practice.
Resh grabbed the Elf's blade when it arced towards him. Of course it would leave a cut, but it was nothing important. Besides, when he finished shedding the mark wouldn't even be there. Using the momentum from the moving blade he had caught, Resh threw the Elf into the other Nord that had attacked, impaling him upon his own friend's weapon. The Elf's weight on his blade and his dying thrashes brought the Nord down onto the floor, powerless to stop the descending adversary. He was trapped under his comrade's body when Resh's foot came down, and the sharp kick, caving in his skull stopped any attempts of removing it.
Resh turned to his last enemy only to find a motionless corpse in its place. He didn't remember killing the final Nord. But then again the whole fight had happened fairly quickly. He didn't want to take any chances though. The atmosphere around him still felt kind of off.
Examining the body, Resh came to the conclusion it definitely wasn't him who killed the man. He would have remembered forcibly removing the skull off the man's head. What else could have done it though? There weren't that many creatures he knew actually able to do something like that. Perhaps a troll or maybe an enraged Orc, but he had never know either of the two to be that silent. There were very few things he knew which could sneak past him without him at least noticing their presence. So the idea that someone could just waltz into his fight and kill one of his enemies without him realising infuriated him.
He stayed on his guard when checking around the area. For someone to be that sneaky, he would need to watch out in case he was the next target. He hoped not, especially since it seemed they had the strength he did. It had been at least five minutes of checking around the area and he had yet to find anyone. Perhaps someone had just felt the need to help him and leave without showing themselves. Regardless, Resh still had to finish shedding, so he reverted back to his snakelike form and got back to work.
He had only just started to peel at his skin again before he could feel something wrong with the air around him. It was hard to explain, but it felt as if someone was nearby. But he couldn't see them. He only just managed to pick it up but he could ever so slightly hear the sounds of stones rolling down a small slope a few metres from where he was standing. Whoever, or whatever it was had lost now. Someone could only be so stealthy before being discovered. Whoever it was had pushed their luck by hanging around. Resh had to stifle a growl as he prepared to grab whatever was around the corner. No one made him look like a fool and got away with it.
He hesitated. Resh knew something was wrong with this. He could taste it in the air.
Resh snapped around as soon as he felt the movement behind him and grabbed the throat of his assailant who was diving in his direction. Unfortunately, the unknown attacker was stronger than he expected and the momentum carried them both to the floor in a jumbled heap of body parts, himself in the less 'in control' position of the two.
He was physically stronger than the aggressor, so threw them off the first chance he got. And that was only after receiving several hard blows to the stomach. By the time he got off the ground, the attacker was already on him again. Whatever they were, it was much faster than a human should be. Much faster than even his own kind should be.
He barely had time to react before he felt a familiar four fingered hand close around his mouth, and another by his neck, threatening to twist and snap. *You're getting slow, Resh. If it wasn't for our kind's agelessness I'd say you're turning senile.*
Resh POV
Could it really be her? Resh thought she had died. If she hadn't, this was the best day he had ever had, face burning notwithstanding. He couldn't believe it, but he only knew one person who could fight that well, and the painful hold on his neck proved it.
The hold released after a few seconds and he fell to the floor. A golden hand greeted him to help him up, all four fingers of it. It was definitely Kayce. Resh was overjoyed and let out a rare smile.
*I can't believe you're still alive! How did you know where I was?!* Resh asked cheerfully, hugging her as hard as he could, lifting her off the ground in the process.
*Oh please, it wasn't that hard. I doubt any of these other races could kill a dragon. Don't get me wrong, they have their other uses. ButI knew it would be a Tsaesci to kill the first dragon in years. So I went looking for you. You've always been one to overachieve,* she scoffed, stretching her spine when he put her back down.
Resh smirked, *Speaking of me doing well at things, are we going to pick off where we left off? I believe I had you close to screaming…*
Kayci laughed at that, *Sorry Resh, but I'm going to take getting ambushed by some Imperials while about to have sex as a sign that it's time for a new dawn in the 'relationship world.'*
A small amount of hurt crossed his mind but Resh decided that her reasoning had some grains of sense so decided not to object. It was to be expected, really. She'd been raised slightly different, so believed everything was some kind of sign. *Fine, but don't go sleeping around with everyone you see.*
*It won't be everyone…* she trailed off, smacking him playfully when he started grinning again.
*Of course it won't… Just any willing man or woman of any race, with any semblance of attractiveness…* Resh joked. A true joke, but a joke nonetheless.
*You make me sound like a slut,* she laughed.
*There's not really much I can say to that, Kayce…* She was about to speak up about him saying her name wrong again, but he continued, *May I point out the day I walked in on you and two Khajiit, I'm never going to get over that sight. Where you got all the rope in the deserts of Elsweyr I'll never know.*
Even Kayci turned red at that, and she was never one to get embarrassed easily. She quickly regained composure. The only reason she didn't knock him out was because of their reunion. *Fair enough. I guess I am a bit of a slut. But when it comes to our own kind, you're no better,* Kayci argued.
*Yes, that's because I have enough self-control not to mate with other races,* Resh muttered, still annoyed that she was going to pick a few savages over him.
*You say it like it's a bad thing,* his friend said, rolling her eyes.
*That's because it kind of is. Not once have I had to halt an entire expedition for a whole week because I took a shine to nine Bosmer maidens!* Resh exclaimed, remembering the trip to Valenwood. He and the others had to go hunting so many times to escape the noise being made.
*That happened once! And in fairness that's because you were always a lower rank than me. You're not allowed to lead an expedition if you're always under me,* she told him, taking pride that she was a more important person in the military than him.
*'Always under you?'* Resh asked smugly. *I do believe when we were together it was the other way around. I remember being able to hold you down quite well. You definitely weren't my superior in that situation.*
Kayci grinned, *What about that day in Cyrodiil where I had the rope, oil, and those toys and then-*
*Ok, fine! Not all the time! And you are to never tell anyone what happened that night. It wasn't bad, but not the sort of thing everyone should know about,* Resh blurted quickly, remembering the embarrassment of that day when she was in charge.
Kayci smirked again and then looked down to the bodies around them.*I haven't eaten since I started tracking you, food or otherwise. Do you want to have those bandits? I'll have the Elves. Those High Elves always talk about how superior they are, and I agree. They taste delicious,* she said, practically licking her lips at the sight.
*I can't really eat that. I promised a friend of mine that I wouldn't eat any intelligent races.* He felt stupid explaining it to Kayce and he could see from her facial expressions that she obviously thought it was funny.
*You made a new friend? That's great. And to think I thought you would never get along with anyone. What are they like? Guy or-* She didn't get much further before Resh cut her off.
*Yes, I've made a few new friends. It's not that big a deal. And could you please refrain from trying to have sex with any of them?* Resh asked, trying to stop her from teasing him before she got into the full swing of things.
*That depends… Are any of them hot?*
For some reason Lydia came to mind, but he shook his head, *I don't look at humans and elves the same way you do,* Resh replied.
*That's a 'yes' then,* she assumed. *Where are they?*
Resh sighed, and pointed to Whiterun. It's not like there was much he could really do to stop Kayce getting what she wanted. One way or another, she was probably going to end up in bed with at least one of them. Most likely both.
Changing back to their human forms they both set off back to the city.
*By the way, you can hardly call me senile. I'm two weeks older than you!* The two looked at each other for a few seconds and then started laughing.
Resh couldn't believe he had his best friend back. He wondered what the others would think…