Chapter 24

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The trip to Ivarstead was relatively uneventful. They only encountered wolves and occasionally a brown bear, and the bandits they had fought had been few and far between. They kept to the main road, and Jane soaked up the beautiful sights while they walked, completely stunned by Skyrim in real life, which was so much more impressive than seeing it on a television screen.

"Two more days at the most, I think," Nazgurat spoke to the group while they sat on the edge of a bridge, looking out at a waterfall. They had stopped to eat, and figure out how much further until they reached the village.

"I am excited to meet the Greybeards," Lynne commented, and Jane agreed with her, her long legs swinging back and forth while they dangled down from the small stonewall.

"It is said that they have a considerable amount of knowledge, with not just Dragon lore and speech."

"They are a race all of their own," Nazgurat snorted, taking a bite of the cheese Bo had offered him. "Why they would want to live so high up on that mountain in complete isolation is beyond me."

"Lets keep going." Bo stood up, trying to ignore the painful lurching of his stomach as his anxiousness started to rise again. He shouldered his pack and helped Jane up from her seat, tightly clenching her hand as they continued on the cobblestone road and up the hill.

"Is everything alright?" Jane inquired, looking up at Bo.

"I am just feeling nervous, nothing new."

Jane nodded and squeezed his hand, feeling a sense of hopelessness. She wanted to help Bo, to sooth his thoughts and tell him everything would be all right, but she knew he was smarter than that. Fear of the unknown clouded his mind, and Jane didn't know what to do.

A river ran along side the road, and at some point it was calm enough so that the group decided to stop and camp there, so that they could bath, since it had been several days since they left Whiterun. Once again they built a fire and began preparing a meal.

"You guys can bathe first," Lynne told Nazgurat, pointing to a small sheltered area further down the river. "We'll finish cooking and then Jane and I can bathe after supper."

"Okay, we'll be back." The Orsimer gathered clean sets of clothes and stripped off their armor until they were only in their shirts and pants. Then they climbed down the bank of the river and followed it until the camp disappeared from sight behind a small sheltering of trees and rock.

Jane remembered the bar of soap in her pack, and quickly pulled it out, turning to Lynne.

"Bo forgot the soap," Jane commented meekly, glancing down the river.

"Well, I guess you should go give it to them."

Lynne chuckled quietly as she watched Jane bound across the camp and slide down the bank, jogging in the Orsimer's direction. She crept up to one of the trees and peeked around the trunk, seeing that Nazgurat was already in waist deep into the cold water, growling as the cold bit at his skin. Bo was shirtless, and in the process of removing his breeches when Jane showed up, and she watched in silent delight as he pulled his pant down and stepped out from the legs, revealing all of his toned green backside to her. Jane grinned, clutching the bar of soap, enjoying the view immensely, and watched Bo slowly wade into the river, growling at the cold as well.

Jane shifted around the tree to get a better look at the Orc as he now stood knee deep in the dark waters, shivering, and Jane could only imagine the multitude of Goosebumps that must be rising on his rich green skin. His back muscles rippled as he tensed from the bite of the frigid waters, and she felt an ache of longing in the pit of her stomach as she watched him move further in, his firm buttocks disappearing beneath the blue. Jane had noticed the dip in his hip, and several other battle scars, noting he must have seen some worthy fights in his lifetime. She was about to call out from her spot behind the tree, to warn the boys of her presence, when the moist soil beneath her feet suddenly shifted, and she slipped in the developing mud, falling towards the leave strewn ground with a crash.

Jane heard splashing as Bo and Nazgurat rushed out from the water, calling out, and Jane cried out loudly:

"It's just me! Jane!"

"Jane?" Bo called, confused.

Jane squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her self up. She shuffled forward, her hands raised up and the bar of soap clutched in one hand. Her armor was wet and muddy from her fall.

"I-I uh…you forgot the soap. I was bringing it over."

The Orsimers had hastily covered their privates with their discarded shirts, their faces blushing a deep red though Jane could not see.

"Take it silly! I will go back now." She tossed the soap in their direction, and Bo easily caught it, too embarrassed to say anything.

"Okay," Jane continued, backing up. She shuffled one foot back and reached out blindly for the tree. Her hand smacked the rough bark and she hissed in pain.

"Jane, Jane!" She felt a hand on her shoulder and Jane opened one eye, peering up at Bo.

"We are covered." Jane chanced a glance down, and realized he had his breeches back on, and she blushed.

"Okay, have a good bath."

Bo watched Jane as she darted away from him, splashing through the river and running back towards the camp.

"I think she was watching you," Nazgurat called to Bo. He was already submerged in the water again and turned to face the Orsimer with a grin. "Never seen someone's face turn so red."

Bo coughed, quickly removing his breeches again and wadding into the water. He tossed the bar of soap to Nazgurat and ducked under the water, letting the coldness numb his body; quenching the fires of longing that burned inside him. He resurfaced, gasping for breath, and was hit in the head by the bar of soap flung at him by the other Orc.

"She turns you on eh?" Nazgurat chuckled, running his hands through his soapy hair. "Have you fucked?"

"No!" Bo growled, scowling. "We have not… no. We… have not kissed, let along…that."

"Never kissed?" Nazgurat repeated incredulously, freezing mid scrub. "But you sleep—"

"I know!" He barked back, "That started back after we met. She was freezing to death on our way to Windhelm from Kynesgrove; I slept with her to keep her warm. It just…continued. She comforts me."

"Hmm," Nazgurat grunted, dunking his head into the water. When he straightened up he continued to question Bo.

"You want her though, yes?"

"Of course," Bo groaned, vigorously scrubbing his arms. "I have never… never… never been with a woman."

"Never had sex?"

"Never done anything of any kind, until I met Jane."

"And what of Jane?"

"She said the same thing, though that baffles me. She is so beautiful I find it hard to believe."

"I just assumed... you two…you are so close."

"I know it's confusing." Bo sighed, slapping the water in frustration. Nazgurat sank lower into the water, floating idly in one spot while he watched the younger Orc struggle to explain his thoughts.

"I guess I just haven't gotten over my race. I have only recently come to accept the fact that she wants to be with me, I was in denial until a week ago. This is such foreign territory for me… I'm probably being stupid."

"You are being completely stupid," Nazgurat replied, earning a spray of water thrown at him. "She wants to be with you, any fool can see that. Don't fight it, you might never get another chance with a human as good as Jane."

"I know, I know…" Bo sank down into the water and brooded. "Have you and Lynne had sex?" He asked after a minute.

"No…"

"We are both stupid."

"I know."

They were silent for some time, staying in the water until their skin started to wrinkle, and they realized that they should probably get back to the women. The Orsimer climbed out from the water and hastily dried themselves with the towels they had brought, and changed into their clean clothes in silence. They mad their way back to the camp, where Lynne and Jane sat near the fire chatting to each other.

"There you are!" Jane cried, lurching to her feet. "We thought you drowned!" She clasped her hands together dramatically, and they all laughed.

"You think us that weak?" Bo joked, crushing Jane to his chest as she hugged him. "Two grown Orsimer bested by the river?"

Everyone laughed again, the sound was music to Jane's ears, and supper was handed out. They ate and chatted, watching the sunset, completely at ease until Lynne jumped up.

"Come on Jane, I bet you don't want to bathe in the dark!"

"Right!"

The women grabbed their clothes and took the bar of soap, heading for the bathing spot the Orcs had used.

"I still can't believe you spied on him!" Lynne exclaimed, stripping out of her armor and under clothes.

"I admit it was a nice sight, and I'd do it again, just not get caught!"

Lynne laughed, moving towards the river. She started to make her way into the nearly pitch black water, barely shivering as her Nord blood gave her a high tolerance to cold.

"You didn't… see…Nazgurat did you?" Lynne asked, watching the younger woman hesitantly dip a toe into the water, pulling it back quickly with a gasp.

"Fuck that is cold!" She cried, inching backwards. "And no, I didn't see anything besides his chest, he was already in the water when I got here."

"Ah, okay." Lynne replied, and she began to wash her hair, relieved that Jane had not seen Nazgurat's… delicates. She would have been extremely disappointed it had been Jane who had seen him and not Lynne, as she still disliked Nazgurat's view about sex and wished to change it.

Lynne heard a great splash, and turned around to find Jane resurfacing from the water, gasping at its coldness.

"Soap!" she cried, holding out her hand, and Lynne passed it to her; watching with an amused expression as Jane quickly scrubbed her hair and body, ducked under the water for several seconds, and then ran back out of the river.

"That's one way to do things," Lynne commented, laughing at Jane as she hastily dried her self and slipped her pants on, tripping on one of the legs.

"S-s-s-shut u-up," Jane stuttered, shooting Lynne a playful glare. She stood, hoping from one foot to the other while she waited impatiently for Lynne to finish bathing. Once they were both ready they ran back to the camp, grateful for the now full fire that burned nice and warm.

"Brrr!" Jane murmured, leaning on Bo's arm. She wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered, feeling Bo shift beside her, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Cold water?" He asked, feigning innocence, and Jane elbowed his side with a growl, causing Bo to growl back and then burst into laughter.

"Come on," he whispered, leaning close to Jane and breathing in her sweet soapy scent. He lay down on their bedroll and pulled her down beside him. Bo wrapped their blankets around them and held Jane close to him, chuckling when Jane burrowed her face in his shirt, still shivering.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you earlier," she mumbled, clenching the fabric in her hand.

"You…I was embarrassed, but not because of you."

"I want you to feel comfortable around me," Jane replied softly, keeping her head bowed.

"I am very comfortable around you…I think I just need time to adjust."

"Adjust to what?"

"Having a relationship," Bo replied, stroking Jane's hair. She turned to head to look up at him, staring into her favorite pair of blue eyes.

"I understand, it is the same way for me. Like I said, we'll take things slow, for both our sake."

"I still find that hard to believe."

"What is?"

"That you have never had a mate. You're so beautiful, it baffles me."

Jane blushed, looking down again, and after a moment she looked back up the Orsimer.

"I wish people could see what I see. Appearances aside, you're such a wonderful person. And appearance included, you're a very handsome Orsimer, men don't have what you Orcs have." Jane smiled, reaching up to stroke one of Bo's tusks.

"You're a wonderful person Jane," he whispered, swallowing nervously. He wanted to kiss her so bad right then and there, but his nerves were screaming at him, and he froze up.

But Jane made no move to kiss him, as they lay in the semi darkness, staring into each others eye; she looked back down and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. It took every ounce of strength not to claim the Orc's lips right then and there, but he had appeared to get a little nervous, so she pushed that urge down.

"Then we are perfect for each other."

"I agree."

Jane snuggled closer to Bo, and sighed quietly; grateful for the time they spent together.

I never want to leave this place, she thought to her self as sleep started to call her. She could hear the sound of Bo's heart beat if she listened closely enough; it's rhythm soothing her. I don't know what I'd do without Bo.