Resh POV

The Tsaesci groaned as he dragged himself up off a snowbank where he had apparently fallen asleep and leaned up against a tree for support. His mind hammering away in pain, he could only imagine what state Kayci was in considering how much more than him she drank.

Once fully awake Resh almost felt this little place was 'peaceful', despite all the disgusting snow the blizzard had seemingly stopped, and their little makeshift camp was almost cozy. The fire they had was long since gone, and there were numerous bottles of whisky dotted around the area, but the place actually looked pretty nice.

The best thing about it though was the fact there was no noise, and the massive hangover he was currently sporting was a huge fan of that. If he heard anything too loud he felt like his brain might shatter. Fortunately Tsaesci hangovers didn't last particularly long due to their metabolism and poison resistance, but needless to say they wouldn't be setting off to the embassy for about an hour.

Strangely enough Kayci was no where to be seen, he knew she was somewhere in the camp but where he couldn't say. If she had been taken, or gotten lost he would've known and done something, so she must've just been sleeping somewhere in all this snow. Which would have been a problem if not for those enchanted rings they had.

A twenty minutes of searching Resh started to get worried, he really should have found her by now and she could've wandered off somewhere. He didn't really know that much about what happened last night because of all the alcohol, but what he remembered entailed lots of drinking, reminiscing, bonding and Kayci being slapped by a pissed of Atronach more than a few times.

He heard a groan from above and looked up, it seemed somehow Kayci had fallen asleep hanging off a tree branch. How she could even get up there in the first place with her injuries and having only nine fingers was beyond him, let alone even managing to sleep there.

Resh smirked as he thought of an idea, and then kicked the tree with a bit of force, shaking it and waking up the other Tsaesci, who jumped up, realised where she was, yelped, and fell out of the tree into a pile of snow.

"Fun rest?" he asked innocently at the extremely pissed off looking woman. It seemed his interruption of her sleep hadn't helped her hangover very much as Kayci hand a hand on her forehead to brace for her headache.

"You're such a prick," she growled, backhanding him as hard as she could, due to her current state it was fairly weak and merely glanced off his arm doing nothing.

"Maybe so, but even you have to admit that was hilarious," he laughed as she brushed snow off herself. "That noise you made in surprise was just too funny."

"It was not funny," she hissed at him, "How did I even get up there anyway?"

"I have no clue," Resh laughed, "My guess is you ran away from something and hid up there, maybe you pissed off sparky too much?"

Despite being severely hung over Kayci couldn't help but grin at that. "She loves it otherwise she wouldn't answer my summons. Her death glares say 'no' but her flame throwing says 'squeeze my arse again Kayci'."

"If you say so," Resh replied, happy that Kayci seemed to be attracted to someone who wasn't a racist, even if it was a Daedra. "We should be setting off soon. We have plenty of time to get there, but I think the sooner the better."

"Just give me a few minutes," the woman moaned before yawning and preparing to sleep. Resh groaned before hoisting her over his shoulder and packing up all the stuff as she slept. 'The things I do for this woman…'

Brelyna POV

"What are you doing Lydia?" the Dunmer asked in exasperation, pushing the Nord away before their lips met, "I'm not going to sleep with you regardless of the rush of hormones you are having."

"Why not?" the woman in question moaned, this child was making her turned on by pretty much anything, and although she wasn't attracted to Brelyna in a lesbian way she still really wanted to have sex for relief, and if Resh wasn't around why not her?

"For one I still love Kayci, even if she's not here with us and I don't feel comfortable cheating on her when I made a point to stop her doing so," Brelyna argued, mildly surprised she still felt this way just as much as she had before even now knowing what Kayci was. "And I can't imagine Resh would be very happy either, he already hates me so I can only imagine what he'd do if we had sex. Plus I'm pretty sure he likes you enough to not want the mother of his child sleeping around."

Sighing Lydia pulled away no longer trying to steal a kiss, "Fine, I guess that makes sense… what should I do though? if I'm not travelling with him and can't cheat on him how am I meant to deal with this?"

"I don't know Lydia," the Elf answered honestly, wanting to help the woman more, but deciding that there was nothing she could say which wouldn't just be a lie.

A look of worry spread across the Nord's features, "You're not going to tell him about this are you? I'm not sure if he gets jealous or not."

"No, I won't," Brelyna told her, and the other woman exhaled in relief, "But, you will. It's not my place to say, but this really is his business and you need to talk it out with him and come to a solution, we can't have you trying to fuck everyone you come across, not without his consent that is."

Lydia gave it a few moments before huffing in annoyance and folding her arms, "Damn carpet chewing Elf," she muttered, before nodding her agreement that she'll agree to tell Resh.

Brelyna held up her arms in mock offense at the women's derogatory and hormone fueled comment, "You are the one who wanted a taste…"

Hey guys and gals out there, as a few of you may know me and 'SpiritOfJazz' did a collaboration one-shot about Kayci and her wonderful character Isobel… you can guess what happens next. Also please check out her story too as it is really good and I really enjoy reading it. It was great working with her, so thank you 'SpiritOfJazz' for the opportunity.

Resh POV

Whoever had built the embassy really didn't trust outsiders at all. But then again that was to be expected when it comes to the Thalmor, especially in the land of Nords, who were notorious for hating the Elves as of their religious oppression. Plus Nords were all pretty racist anyway.

It was strange though, the place was built like a fort, with gates and defences everywhere, as well as guards patrolling up and down every few moments. Even with the tense situation in the region Resh thought they were overdoing it a bit, the embassy wasn't likely to be attacked or robbed from, regardless of where it was stationed due to the sheer consequences of making an enemy of the continents largest faction

Resh was suddenly struck with the silly idea they had prepared for his arrival but wrote that off as ridiculous. There was a Thalmor party tomorrow so it was likely half the guards were guests themselves but still needed to work before it began, or were here to ward off anyone who wasn't invited and make the Thalmor look strong to anyone who was.

"Should we be Elves?" Kayci asked, interrupting his thoughts on the location and its tenants. "When we last saw… Elenwen… she saw us as Altmer, and even if she knows that we're Tsaesci it might be better to appear that way."

The larger Tsaesci frowned at her pause when she said 'Elenwen' because her tone changed slightly for the word, but chalked it up to her being nervous after seeing an ex-lover after so long. He thought about what she actually said and his face returned neutral again. "That's actually not a bad idea. The guards probably have orders to only let in two Altmers with our names anyway."

He was secretly pleased she was feeling that way, with any luck she might 'go off' Brelyna and actually pick a partner who wasn't abusive. And despite being at odds with the Thalmor for a variety of reasons anything was better than that Dunmer he loathed.

"You say 'actually' like it's never happened before," Kayci muttered, before shifting to be an Altmer, she hoped Elenwen wouldn't see her, it would be really awkward to see her considering how cruel Kayci was by ditching her without a word.

He laughed while he followed suit, ending up even taller than his Nordic form when being an Altmer, although he was admittedly a lot less bulky. "Because it rarely does…"

"What about when I got you to get back to Lydia?" Kayci pointed out, that was a good idea she was sure neither of them regretted.

"And that turned out perfectly didn't it?" he sighed sarcastically, "It definitely hasn't resulted in me looking after a pregnant Lydia has it? or soon having to raise some Nordic child of mine? what a great idea that was."

Kayci looked horrified at his words. "You don't like how things turned out?!"

"When have I ever seemed like a do? of course I don't, but it's not like I have much of a choice is it? surely you can't be so naive as to think me and Lydia are all 'lovey dovey' like you are in every relationship you've been in? children are a big deal, one I didn't want to have by accident. Not everyone can be as carefree and reckless as you."

Kayce started shaking her head in denial, not believing what she was hearing, she knew he was having a rough time but she thought he was just exaggerating when he said how difficult things with Lydia were. "You're joking aren't you? you can't seriously be saying this, you've known her for almost a year! you have to be in love with her, it's like a tenth of her life!"

"How short do you think humans live for?" he asked confused, wondering if she had just worked it out wrong or genuinely not known. "You are aware she must be about 25 right?"

"Don't change the subject! when we get back you and Lydia are going to get along. I don't care how you manage it, but it'll happen! I'm your superior, I can force you to be together if I want!" Kayci frantically exclaimed, unable to believe the situation, she just imagined that after Resh killed a few dragons they could all just live happily ever after with a child each and in loving relationships. But unfortunately Kayci was realising now that was less and less likely, dashing her farfetched dreams.

"No you can't. You can't order me around on social and romantic relat-"

"I bet you weren't even joking when you said you'd leave back to Akavir either, were you?!" she shouted, causing a few of the Thalmor to glance over at the two's noise they made. They looked away when the large high Elf glared at them and continued on with their work.

"That's because I was being serious. What could possibly make you think I want to raise a Nord any longer than is needed? I'm only here to make sure Lydia survives the actual birth, which apparently with live births the chances are fairly low. After that, regardless of the outcome, I'm going back, once Lydia and the dragons are dealt with I'll have no reason to stay here. I'll just go back home, and get in a proper relationship, one that'll last longer than another 20 years and I can have kids I won't outlive either."

Suddenly she looked as if she finally understood, "Aah I get it, you're afraid of all this longevity shit. Don't worry, I'll tell you how to deal with that. In my eyes the way I see it is th-"

"Listen, that is one of the many reasons I don't want to stay with Lydia. Now, we can have this conversation inside, just act normal and they might have a room set out for us," Resh hissed at her as they walked over to the gatekeeper, they were expected so it's likely a room was prepared for the two. Any hopes he had of her complying immediately dissolved when she started asking the Thalmor where she could get a fancy hat like his, needless to say they'd be lucky if they were allowed to stay the night inside.

Resh POV

Yesterday night had been very confusing in Resh's opinion. He just didn't quite understand what Kayci's plan was, she seemed to spend the whole night trying to stay completely out of sight. It's not like she needed to, seeing as the room the Thalmor had sectioned out for them was empty, and had no one trying to enter.

Taking an educated guess he presumed it was to do with avoiding an awkward situation with Elenwen, Resh really needed to sort that out if he wanted his friend to ditch Brelyna, he was going to make sure they talk one way or another.

If there was one thing these Altmer understood it was how to treat a guest, granted this was of course an embassy where diplomatic situations occurred frequently, so they aimed to please. Also as him and Kayci appeared as High Elves too, so it was likely they were getting preferential treatment rather than if they were Nord's.

They had a good few hours before they actually needed to leave their room so Resh decided he might as well see if he could find some food around here and leave Kayci to stay sleeping. He hadn't had a meal in so long, and last time it was that Thalmor assassin, so to actually eat something from them again seemed fitting.

And perhaps he'd also manage to get the whole situation sorted out with Elenwen before the party started. That way once it did he could ensure she and Kayci spent as much time conversing as possible with no distractions.

As he went to the main hall and grabbed anything nearby that was edible Resh wondered what he would be spend his time doing if Kayci was hopefully going to be preoccupied. Seeing as it was going to involve a lot of high-up people and nobles of various kinds the Tsaesci reckoned he could try and make a few connections and find any useful information out.

The most obvious guess at who else would be there is whoever runs the Skyrim legion of the Empire. The Stormcloaks had already pissed him off to the point where he wanted them all dead, so Resh was half considering joining if it would give him a chance to kill that bastard Jarl who threatened him, and that Nord in Riverwood who sold him out on what he was. Also he reasoned that if he played his cards right he could work his way fairly high up and infiltrate the faction to learn their movements and troop inventories.

Other than that he had no clue who was going, probably someone influential so perhaps the owner of some mines, or a large company.

Strangely the amount of Thalmor seemed rather sparse in the mornings, of course there were guards doing rounds and sizing him up, but as for any important people he seemed to be the only person around. Then again he supposed they probably had work to be dealing with so were in no state to greet him.

Taking things into his own hands Resh headed to the first emissaries office unprompted, he wondered if she would be annoyed at his intrusion but decided he needed to get this out of the way with first.

"Elenwen," he stated to get her attention, walking over to the seat by her desk.

Elenwen didn't even look up at him and continued to sort through her files. "I've been expecting you," she told him, even with her lack of interest her voice still sounded cold and calculating, "Ancano told me you would be coming to my little gathering, among other, more important things of course. Why did you not come and talk with me yesterday though? I was informed you already arrived."

"I thought I would be invited to speak with you, or at the very least greeted by someone, even that 'Ancano' you mentioned," Resh grumbled, only now getting annoyed at the poor service in the embassy.

"Resh, we've met before, albeit not under such diplomatic conditions because of my newfound knowledge, but nevertheless you know I am a busy woman. I can't spend all my time tending to the needs of guests, but as you're already here I get the feeling you want to talk about why you're here?" she asked, looking up at him in a way that almost would have unnerved him if he wasn't the one with the physical upper hand.

"I have a reason I know the main reason I am here, but before we even reach that topic I just want to speak about that 'arrest' warrant on Kayci," Resh told her, eyes narrowing. He knew it was slightly odd that he was trying to fix his friend up with the woman who ordered her capture, but it was fairly obvious that was mostly a ploy to arrange a meeting, and that the Thalmor didn't really mean her any harm or interrogation.

"Consider it gone," she said immediately, much to Resh's surprise at how quick she was to cancel it. "Believe it or not, but the Thalmor does not want any wars, nor any diplomatic issues at all. Let alone from a race that took over the entirety of Tamriel, with a small force I might add."

"I'm going to assume you want something in return however?" Resh queried, knowing how things always came at a cost.

"No, I ask for nothing other than that when you speak to your kind you tell them of the Thalmor's hospitality, and enjoy the party and accommodation I have planned," she explained, giving him a smile, it obviously wasn't something she did often, and didn't look very natural, but Resh didn't say anything, he knew how diplomacy worked and accepted her offer shaking her hand.

"Needless to say you've been better than the other factions. The Empire killed most of my group and tried to have me executed! and then there's those Stormcloaks who spend their whole time being racist to anyone who isn't a Nord, trying to threaten me, and getting out spears when I retaliate by throttling their leader," Resh growled, of all the political groups he had seen so far the Thalmor were definitely his favourite, not by much though, considering they too have also tried to kill him, but they had also done less to offend him in his opinion.

"I hope you remember that next time you talk to your leaders. Out of interest what happened to that assassin Ancano hired to kill you?" Elenwen asked nonchalantly, "It's worth noting I advised him not to but he did anyway because you offended him."

At that Resh felt even more favoured towards the Thalmor now knowing it hadn't been an official attack, "I was hungry, and the guy stabbed me, so he got what was coming for him."

"Shame, he was a good agent. If you could refrain from anything like that while the guests are here that would be great," she replied, almost laughing, a quality which sounded rare on the ambassadors lips.

"Deal," Resh smirked, noting the lighthearted tone in her voice, "In return though it'd be great if you could do me a favour."

"If it stops you from eating my soldiers, anything," she grinned, for a split second Resh detected an undertone in there somewhere, but ignored it and carried on.

"Kayci is here as well to attend the event, and she seems embarrassed to meet you, don't bother tell me what she did I've heard it all before and worse… she gets around a lot. But regardless, I know it's a lot to ask considering she ran out on you, but can you try and talk to her? she's in a relationship already, I won't get into details, but the partner is awful so it'd be great if you intervened, as far as I know she liked you a lot considering how much time she spent with you

Elenwen had to restrain a frown, she didn't care about that slut, the Altmer wasn't even attracted to her, or any woman for that matter. The whole interrogation of Kayci had been a purely information based ordeal and nothing more, the fact some of it involved sexual activity didn't reflect her disposition towards the woman at all, it was just a way to try and 'break' her and show a power play, hence the reason most of it was done by either guards or equipment, allowing for Elenwen to avoid touching her.

Still she had to remain civil for the purpose of this meeting despite no longer having any need whatsoever to even associate herself with the other woman anymore, she had pretended to be interested in the Tsaesci the first time they had met, so she could do it again if push came to shove, even if she wasn't into other women. "I'll try to, although if she doesn't want to talk to me I'm not going to force anything."

"Thank you," Resh said, extremely pleased with how the Elves were dealing with this so well and diplomatically. If his kind still cared about his reports when he got back he was definitely going to suggest something peaceful to do with the Thalmor, "I never really spoken you before, but so far I am fairly pleased, I like you. The Thalmor really know what they're doing when it comes to putting the right people in charge. Consider you and my kind on good terms if I can work things out."

"Excellent," she smiled again, this time it was far more genuine, turning into a leer is it gave him a once over. "Think of yourself as a friend to the Thalmor now, more importantly a friend to me. If things don't go as planned with Kayci planned I expect something to happen between us instead, it will be like furthering and strengthening a goal of diplomacy between our people and building bridges."

He blinked in shock, and despite being more than a little bit turned on by her commanding tone, replied with. "I'm sorry but I'm actually already in a relationship," before thinking about Lydia and remembering everything he had said to Kayci about things not working between he and the Nord, "Although I guess it doesn't matter that much. But please, try to patch things up with Kayci, that would mean a lot."

He guessed that the Elf wouldn't be a bad choice in mates if he really didn't want to be with Lydia, plus his subconscious had in a way made the decision for him, seeing as how it conveniently let him forget to mention how being 'the Dragonborn' meant he would now have no pull within his kind whatsoever, making him of no use to the Thalmor…