Chapter XCIX – Festivities

The Nords never wasted a good opportunity for celebrations.

From the moment Bishop and Aeyrin woke up in their bed at Braidwood Inn, they could hear the patrons in the common room.

It was the last day of Evening Star. Last day of the year 202. The Old Life Festival.

People all over Tamriel were intent on celebrating the past year today and ushering in the new one. And Skyrim was no exception, apparently.

Even as Bishop and Aeyrin dressed themselves to grab some breakfast, they could hear the constant laughter and cheers from the next room. They weren't planning on celebrating today, though they hadn't really talked about that as an option. Their plan was clear – getting back on their previous track and going to explore the Pale right after a good meal.

When they left the room, they were greeted by an odd sight. Well… it was odd for Aeyrin. Bishop had seen this scene before a lot of times. The stupid Nordic celebrations. Everyone was wearing a cheap horned metal hat adorned with mountain flowers of all colors wrapped around it as a wreath. The room had at least twenty people in it – probably the whole population of the tiny mining settlement of Kynesgrove – and everyone was already in their cups, laughing merrily with plenty of food on their tables to boot.

"What are they wearing?" Aeyrin chuckled at the scene. Did someone distribute those helmets? She had never thought to walk in on something like this.

"It's a Nordic thing," Bishop smirked. "I don't know why. Everyone who celebrates the Old Life stuff wears them today."

Aeyrin kept looking around the room, watching the people in their revelry with a smile on her face. It was pretty funny probably. Bishop didn't get these traditions, but… there was nothing wrong with drinking the year away.

"You know, we can stay for a while longer than just a quick meal," he chuckled at Aeyrin. She looked kinda excited about the happenings and he was in a pretty good mood after being by her side again. He would probably not be too annoyed by the drunkards today.

"You wanna wear the helmet, don't you?" she giggled at him.

"No. I wanna see you wear it," he snorted in response.

They looked at each other briefly and both shrugged in unison. It could be pretty fun to participate for a while before they headed out. Nothing urgent was pressing them on, so they walked towards one of the tables. This time they did not pick one of the most hidden ones in a shadowy corner to stay in their own little world, but they chose the only one left in the middle of it all.

The innkeeper, Iddra, was by their table almost immediately. And she had two of those impressive hats in her hands and a big smile on her face. Her cheeks were also tellingly flushed from the alcohol.

"Are you two gonna be joining us for the celebrations?" she beamed at them.

"For a bit," Aeyrin returned her smile.

At that answer, Iddra promptly placed a helmet on each of their heads. Aeyrin couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Bishop. She never thought she would see him in something so overly Nordic and so flowery at the same time. It was definitely a sight to remember.

"How do you still look good even in something this ridiculous?" he smirked at her and she promptly blushed and straightened her helmet with a flustered movement.

"Right back at you," she snickered, but it only elicited a doubtful scoff from Bishop.

"You both look great," Iddra grinned at them. "Now, breakfast is half the price in the spirit of the festivities and I'll get you your drinks right away."

The innkeeper practically skipped away. Everyone seemed in such a good mood.

"Well… that's not a bad start," Bishop smirked. He hated these celebrations whenever he was unlucky enough to find himself in a city on this date. Everyone was plastered in the morning already and people kept bugging him, trying to make him join in. He liked to drink in peace.

But… he did enjoy shit like this with just a few people. Like drinking with the miners in Darkwater Crossing. And with Aeyrin, he did enjoy the more companionable drinking in taverns too, surprisingly enough. He mostly still preferred disappearing into a shadowy corner and enjoying having her all to himself, but from time to time, shit like this could be fun. Like their nights at the cornerclub in Windhelm. He briefly thought about stopping by Windhelm instead of heading to the Pale right away, but… those elves had wild nights on a regular day. He didn't even want to imagine them tonight.

Iddra was back promptly with two plates full of food. They didn't even order anything specific, but it looked like she went all out. There was a steaming potato soup, a small snowberry crostata and thin slices of horker meat baked to crispiness on each plate.

"Enjoy. I'll get you your drinks right away," she smiled at them before she rushed away again. They barely even dug into the food before she was back with a full tankard of mead for each of them. "Dragon's Breath," she smirked proudly. "Go big or go home. We're all drinking the right stuff today. And it's also… fitting," she snickered at Aeyrin.

Aeyrin remembered this stuff all too well. She and Bishop drank it their first night in Ivarstead. They made their first bet there, for the usual terms, and they had that archery competition to determine the winner. It was certainly a night to remember and she still recalled how strong the drink was.

"Won't say no to that," Bishop chuckled as he grabbed a hold of his tankard.

"Hold on. I wanna toast with all my patrons today," Iddra stopped him from drinking and she rushed away once more, only for a few seconds. She was back with her own tankard promptly.

"To the Old Life," she raised the mug and Bishop and Aeyrin followed suit with their own. The liquor burned pleasantly as it went down and it left a nice warmth in the stomach.

"So, I have to ask," Aeyrin looked curiously at Iddra once they all put down their drinks and the innkeeper joined them by the table for a while. "What's the story with the helmets?"

"Oh! Right. You're not from around here," Iddra nodded in realization. They did know each other a bit, but it was from more than a year back – when they came here with Delphine to chase after the dragon burial patterns. It was natural that she wouldn't recall everything about Aeyrin or Bishop very well. It's been such a long time. And one Old Life Festival had already passed since then, although the two of them spent the last one in the wilderness without even realizing the date. Though they did celebrate together eventually.

"It's a tradition," Iddra explained proudly. "The helmet symbolizes our endurance. Perseverance through the past year. And the flowers symbolize Kyne's spirit of renewal and ushering in the new fresh year in turn."

"Oh, that's really beautiful," Aeyrin smiled. She didn't really expect something so poetic.

"Where are you two from then?" Iddra asked curiously as she took another swig from her tankard.

"I'm from Cyrodiil," Aeyrin answered. Bishop kind of was too, in a way, but she didn't know if he wanted to present himself like that. Skyrim had been his home for such a long time and he was born here too. "People don't wear hats there for the festival. But they do wear the most brightly colored clothes they can and lots of jewelry to symbolize happiness and prosperity in the new year."

"Oh that's nice. How many of them get robbed?" Iddra smirked.

"I'm… not sure," Aeyrin chuckled. It was a good question. But she still liked that tradition down south. People from the temple never really got to participate though, they were supposed to always wear their temple robes and no excessive adornments. Though their robes weren't exactly drab – they were all pleasantly light blue and had different adornments for Masters, priests, clerics and initiates.

"So what about you? Any fun adornments where you come from?" Iddra turned her attention to Bishop.

"I'm from Skyrim. Just never bothered to ask about those helmets," Bishop smirked at her.

"Do you have any other customs today?" Aeyrin looked at her eagerly. The helmets were fun and symbolic but she knew that there was always more to it, at least in Cyrodiil. People often made self-binding promises to keep in the following year and they would all gather in the center of any town at midnight to usher in the year together. The congregation gave out blessings to everyone who asked there.

"You mean besides drinking yourself under the table?" Iddra smirked. "There's a game everyone likes to play."

"Oh? What kind of game?" Aeyrin instantly perked up. Bishop only chuckled at her eagerness. He didn't know what this game was, he never really paid attention to the celebrations, but he did know that Aeyrin would definitely want to try it, whatever it was.

"It's not for three people. You have to have more," Iddra shook her head. "Eat your food, I can get more of us to play after."

The innkeeper rose from the seat again in order to let them eat in peace, but the rowdiness of the room didn't really allow for much 'peace' anyway. Someone had already started to sing by the bar, without any instruments, all those usual Nordic tunes.

But Bishop and Aeyrin were still in a pretty good mood. The food was good, the drink was strong and Aeyrin was excited about the prospect of the game. Bishop wasn't as thrilled about shit like that, but he was pretty sure it was gonna involve a lot of drinking so that at least made it better.

They barely managed to finish their food before Iddra stepped onto the bar and clapped loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"I think it's time to make a round of the game, isn't it?" she chuckled merrily. Her suggestion was instantly met with loud cheers.

"So, for those coming from us from down south," she grinned at Aeyrin as she continued. "And for those who for some unfathomable reason never played before, I will explain how we play. Each one of us will say one thing that they haven't done or experienced in the past year but hope to in the next. Everyone else who has done that thing takes a drink. And everyone who has done that thing in the last week has to drink a half of whatever's left in their tankard."

Bishop only chuckled at the rules. Yup. He knew it. A drinking game. Though that wasn't hard to tell by how people usually looked on this day from early in the morning until the late hours.

They were still planning on traveling today, but hopefully the cold air outside would sober them up on their journey.

"I'll start!" one of the women patrons stood up from her seat. She looked a bit drunk already. "I haven't earned more than thirty drakes in one week," she grumbled bitterly. She was probably one of the miners. They didn't usually earn much, despite the hard work they were doing.

Most of the patrons cheered at that and they took a hold of their tankards. A couple of other people didn't – maybe miners as well – and Iddra's young son. Maybe Iddra wasn't paying him for helping at the inn. Or maybe he wasn't helping. He didn't look like he was.

Aeyrin and Bishop looked at each other briefly before they both grabbed their tankards. With how they earned their money in bulk, it wasn't really hard for them to earn much more than that in one week, even if the next weeks held absolutely no money for them. But neither of them had certainly earned anything in the last week so they each took one gulp.

"Alright, I have one!" another woman stood up – the Dunmer mage who was ensuring the mine's safety, from what little they remembered of the locals from their last prolonged stay. She looked around the room with a smirk on her face and suddenly the point of the game became clear – to get everyone else drunk quickly. "I haven't slept with anyone all year."

The room erupted into cheers again. It was kind of hard to tell whether they were cheering for the person complaining or because they were excited to drink.

"Rough year," Bishop smirked at her before he took the tankard with a disturbingly proud expression and began to drink steadily. Aeyrin squirmed in her seat in the meantime, trying to look inconspicuous as she took her own tankard. Now she had to drink half of it. But, on the upside, it looked like a lot of people in the room did so it wasn't that embarrassing.

"Tell me about it," the Dunmer snorted, but she didn't seem all that upset. She seemed pleased that she had gotten so many people to drink. "Alright, who's next? I want a drink!"

"Alright, alright! I'll go!" a man stood up this time – Iddra's husband. "I haven't slept outside all year."

"What? It's supposed to be what you wanna experience next year!" one of the miners piped up. "Why would you want to sleep outside?"

"I like the fresh air," the man snorted in response. It did get the majority of the room cheering again as they grabbed their tankards.

Bishop did wonder a bit how much he should drink. Technically, he didn't sleep outside all week. But he was supposed to. It was just a stupid game. He wasn't going to jeopardize his surprise because of a stupid game. He began to down half of what was left in his cup while he watched Aeyrin take one tentative sip.

"Now me," another woman stood up. She looked very similar to the first one that played. Maybe they were sisters. "I haven't had anyone tell me that they love me all year."

"This game is fucking depressing," Bishop scoffed before anyone could cheer at that.

"You're looking at it wrong," Iddra smirked. "It's supposed to make you appreciate what good you had this year. Appreciate that you can cheer and drink." At her words, people cheered again as they took their tankards.

Well… she kind of had a point. Bishop's eyes rested on Aeyrin again who had been struggling a bit trying to drink half of her remaining strong drink. It did kind of make him appreciate that he could drink to this.

"I want to drink already!" Iddra's son grumbled loudly. Apparently he hadn't had a drink at all yet.

"Drink now," Iddra gave him a surprised expression. "Didn't I tell you I loved you a few days ago?"

"Mama!" the young man whined with a mortified tone in his voice as he slid down in his seat with his face beet-red.

"Iddra! Don't embarrass the boy," the innkeeper's husband scowled at her and Iddra only waved her hand dismissively at that. She didn't look like she was that bothered by her son's discomfort. Instead, she looked around the room again until her eyes rested on Bishop and Aeyrin.

"Alright. Let's hear from our illustrious travelers," she chuckled. "Your turn."

Aeyrin waited for a while if Bishop would save her from public expressions, but he seemed to be deep in thought, likely wondering what to say. She did know what to say. She got how this game worked now and this had been on her mind in the past few days anyway. So she stood up tentatively as a sly smile kept forcing its way into her expression.

"I haven't been to the province of my birth all year."

Everyone in the room erupted in cheers. Even Iddra's son looked satisfied and the Dunmer grabbed her tankard as well. It looked like all of them would get to drink plenty.

Bishop smirked at Aeyrin before he drank half again. He didn't have much drink left after and even another half of it was barely two sips so he gestured towards Iddra to get more. She was surprisingly quick with refilling everyone's drinks, regardless of her own inebriation.

"Alright, that will put a spring in our step," Iddra chuckled at Aeyrin as she refilled Bishop's drink. Her attention moved to him in a second. "How about you? What didn't you get to do this year?"

Bishop kept thinking. There were a few things he hoped for in the next year that he didn't get to… experience. Most of them had to do with his future with Aeyrin. He couldn't say any of it though. And honestly, he wasn't able to think about much else just then.

"Nothing," he sighed in defeat. He didn't even realize that his eyes were still fastened on her as he continued to speak. "I'll pass. I got everything I could possibly want this year." Fuck, he didn't even realize how wistful he sounded when he said that. Aeyrin instantly blushed at his words and she gave him an affectionate smile. But that was getting too mushy in public; he quickly took a deep swig of his drink, regardless of the game.

"Pfft, everyone remembers some shit sooner or later," Iddra's husband scoffed.

"We'll come back to you," Iddra winked at him. "Now, someone better have something that will get me drinking!"

It seemed like they planned to play this game until everyone was under the table.

Well… Bishop and Aeyrin weren't really in an urgent rush. They could indulge for a little longer.

…

The journey passed surprisingly swiftly like this.

Maybe it was reckless. Maybe it was dangerous. Maybe they should have stayed at Braidwood Inn and slept it off after lunch. It was the best thing to do. The smart thing to do.

But they didn't feel like sleeping it off. And they didn't feel like staying cooped up. And they felt like being alone with Karnwyr, just the three of them again. And they kind of felt like getting outside and traveling until they reached the snowy regions. For some reason, it felt like fun, drudging themselves through snow.

Those ideas would have abandoned them soon enough if they didn't insist on continuing the celebrations. Iddra had so many bottles of the Dragon's Breath stuff stocked. It would have been a shame not to take advantage of that.

It wasn't their smartest decision.

But today of all days, everyone celebrated, right? Even bandits and assassins. Probably even trolls and dragons, right?

Well… maybe not all of them.

"Look, look! Another one!" Bishop called out to Aeyrin as he peered into the snowy passes near Irkngthand. He was so loud that it instantly echoed through the area and alerted the troll he was currently pointing at. "So fuckin' many of them!" He almost sounded impressed. Though this had only been the second troll they have encountered on their journey. At least Aeyrin was pretty sure of it. She only remembered one before.

"Get it! It's coming at us!" she yelped as she scurried to hide behind Bishop. She wasn't sure why. She could fight it herself, couldn't she? But she felt a little uncoordinated and she remembered Bishop shooting at the last one too. He could take care of it before it reached them.

Bishop took his bow in his hands with some difficulty and notched an arrow. Things were swaying a bit, but he never missed his targets. He aimed, he shot and then there was the wailing moan of the wounded creature, ringing through their ears. It was exactly the same this time.

"Good boy!" Aeyrin giggled and clapped her hands in excitement. Did she really just call him 'good boy'?

Bishop looked at her, over his shoulder, with a both confused and amused expression. He didn't exactly mind that much in his state, it was more funny than anything, but he didn't expect that at all. But only when he did look at her, he noticed that her attention wasn't on him. She was looking towards the ground and still clapping.

His attention moved to where she was looking. Karnwyr was running towards her with a chunk of troll flesh in his maw. His whole head was covered in blood, but Aeyrin didn't seem to mind at all as she knelt down and rubbed him behind his ear proudly.

"Wait… when did he get there? Didn't I just shoot it?" Bishop pondered out loud.

"Nah, you missed," she snickered back at him. "Oh wait. I think you missed the first one too. All this feels familiar."

Hmph. She was definitely misremembering shit. He must have killed at least five of these by now. But in any case, this creature was taken care of, whether by him or by Karnwyr. There were more fun things to focus on now.

"So, whose turn is it again?" he asked as he fastened his bow onto his back once more.

"It's mine!" Aeyrin called out with excitement. "Alright. Let's see… I… I… oh! I didn't almost burn in a corpse furnace this year," she giggled. They've continued the game for their entire journey, trying to get the other one to drink. It was significantly easier with only the two of them. Which was probably a good thing. They weren't really capable of too much elaborate thinking right then.

"Fine, fine," Bishop snorted. With his hands free of his bow, he once again reached back into his pack to pull out the bottle of Dragon's Breath. "At least it was just almost," he smirked before he took a deep swig and passed the bottle to Aeyrin.

"Now, I didn't charge into a fucking magic… field thing… to die. Basically," Bishop gave her a self-pleased nod and inclined his head towards the bottle. They continued to walk through the passes, towards the Nightgate Inn again, but this time, they weren't planning on stopping. If they wanted, the could make it much closer to Dawnstar, camp somewhere half-way there, possibly at Fort Fellhammer again, and then reach the city by noon the next day. If they got up at dawn. And sobered up quickly. It was a good plan. Expedient.

"I didn't do that… thing. Nothing like that," Aeyrin protested. "I didn't go there to die!"

"You know what I mean. It counts. Drink," Bishop scowled. She could have died and it almost killed him not to be able to stop her. The least he would get now was having it acknowledged by her taking a swig.

"Fine," Aeyrin grumbled. Though she did want another drink. She couldn't feel the cold at all when she kept drinking, even though it was definitely freezing and snowing.

She kept wondering about her next round and she was coming up short. She was running out of ideas and she kept thinking about their past. She needed to get him on something, but it felt like she had already used everything.

Or did she?

"Oh! I know!" she chuckled maliciously. "I didn't sleep with more than one person this year." She had him.

Bishop scowled and grumbled briefly, but then his eyes widened in sudden realization instead. "Wait. Me neither." That was quite an odd thought for him, given his past. But he did feel kind of proud about that.

"Oh… right… that was… last year, hmm…" Aeyrin stammered a bit. She kept thinking about their times together, even all the way back to their first visit to High Hrothgar and Ivarstead. They weren't even really together back then. But that was all more than a year ago. Time got funny by Bishop's side. Sometimes it felt like it all went by too fast and other times, it felt like the time stood still and the world stopped going while they were together. "Alright… never mind," she mumbled.

"You wanna play this way then?" Bishop scoffed. "Fine. I didn't kiss Raven this year." There. That definitely happened this year, as much as Bishop hated that it did happen at all.

"Wait… what?" Aeyrin gave him a confused look. "'This year'? Did you kiss Raven another year?" He would not keep that from her, would he?

"No!" Bishop shook his head vehemently. "Fuck no! It's… that's just how the game goes." That was not how that was supposed to come out.

Aeyrin took a drink wordlessly, but she was quiet after. They both were. They continued to walk through the passes silently for a while, only concentrating on the road, swaying a bit in front of their eyes still.

"This game's getting kinda mean," Aeyrin sighed quietly after the silence felt too long.

"Yeah," Bishop sighed as well.

"Maybe we should stop." She didn't want to keep trying to come up with things from the past anymore. It could be a dangerous territory now that so many of the nice memories were already said.

They walked forth for a little while again without a word, but then Bishop suddenly stopped in his tracks. He grabbed Aeyrin by her wrist, stilling her in her own strides. He ushered her to turn towards him as he faced her himself.

"Wait. I have more," he shook his head. The mood shifted way too fast from the merriment and he didn't like it. He wanted to fix it. Aeyrin was looking at him so uncertainly, as if she was expecting him to stir some unpleasant memory again.

"I…" he took a deep breath. He still felt unsteady on his feet, but at least he could talk properly. Well… he was convinced of it at least. He could have been slurring a bit without realizing it. "I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with you this year because of my own stupid mistakes."

Aeyrin gave him a small smile. She definitely looked relieved that the conversation didn't turn more sour, but a regretful sigh escaped her lips right after. "I can't drink for that." That would mean that it wasn't true for her and that wasn't the case. She made her own stupid mistakes that prolonged their separation.

Bishop only nodded in understanding. The mood shifted again, but it wasn't bad. It just felt oddly wistful now.

"I didn't…" Aeyrin started to talk quietly again. "I didn't get to celebrate your birthday with you this year because of my own stupid mistakes."

Bishop smiled at her fondly and brushed his gloved hand over her cheek. He didn't really care about that shit and he suspected that she didn't really regret that the most about their time apart. But she was just trying to say something nice as he was. But this wallowing in self-pity and flagellation was already enough. He just wanted to get back to their merry mood and the general friskiness that came along with it.

"Hmm… you did promise to make it up to me next time, so I'm good with that," he chuckled and he wrapped his arm around her waist. He never liked it when they were all armored, when he couldn't feel her against him properly, but he still pulled her a bit closer to himself.

"I will," she smiled warmly. She was definitely planning on it, even if it was a long time away. As necessary as it had been back then, now the time they spent apart just felt like such an unfortunate loss.

"Well, that kinda brings me to my next round," Bishop smirked at her. He took a step forth, forcing her to take one back, and another, and another, before she found herself with her back pressed to the rocky wall of the mountain lining the pass. Bishop's head dipped lower, towards her ear, and she could already tell what kind of a thing he was going to say, based on the puffs of breath tickling her skin and the tantalizing low voice he used.

"I didn't get to fuck you nearly enough times this year," he murmured into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"I… I don't really know how to drink to that," she chuckled a bit, but she could already feel her breathing quicken. It was all too easy when she was drunk, but she didn't particularly mind just then. And was she supposed to drink? What was 'enough'? They've certainly made up for lost time at every opportunity, but then again, who in their right mind would complain about more?

"No more drinking," Bishop whispered.

She almost dropped the bottle from her hand as Bishop leaned down to fasten his lips on hers. She managed to steady her grip though and she wrapped her arms around his neck, twining them there as they both eagerly deepened the kiss. Things always heated up so quickly between them when they were drunk. Well… things tended to heat up quickly regardless.

It wasn't even anything to question. The snow, the open road, none of it bothered them. Aeyrin pressed herself closer to him, but the movement made her tilt the bottle she was still holding in her hand. She barely even noticed it, but she could feel something cold spread beneath her hands and Bishop's surprised shout told her what happened sufficiently. She must have spilled the mead behind his neck.

Though he didn't really seem to mind beyond the initial shock. He began pressing her into the rock behind her back more and more, squeezing her around the waist in his arms. Aeyrin didn't bother with the bottle anymore. She tossed it aside, into the snow and concentrated fully on him. She ran her hands in his hair eagerly and began to bite teasingly on his lower lip. Every time her teeth nipped on it, she ran her tongue over it right after, as if to soothe the 'wound'.

Bishop's hands went over to the buckles of her lower armor. He wasn't even planning on bothering with the rest. He was too impatient, too eager and it was not the best place to completely undress her anyway.

Aeyrin's hands kept tangling in his hair while she deepened the kiss. It was as if she couldn't tear herself away. She wasn't sure if she was still heated from the strong mead or from the exchange. Her hands kept roaming, even though she couldn't feel anything under her chainmail, but suddenly one of her hands caught in his hair and she yanked it way too hard on instinct.

"Ah! Fuck!" Bishop growled and thrashed, but that only made it worse. His hair tangled in the rings of her chainmail glove and she didn't really know how to remove it like this. It would take some concentration and deftness that she couldn't muster just then.

Bishop didn't seem to care again about the hand caught in his hair. He kept kissing her, pressing her to the rocks, but every now and then, a small hiss escaped his lips when her hand moved.

"W-wait, Bish, I need to…" she tried to calm him down, though reluctantly, in order to extract the glove, but Bishop would not let go of her.

"No more waiting. Just take that thing off and turn around."

Gods, he sounded so… commanding just then. It made her shiver again. It always did when she could see how much out of control he was getting. And she wasn't feeling much different. She quickly helped herself with the other hand and slid out of the glove. It remained hanging in Bishop's hair, the chain rattling every now and then when he moved, but it was more funny than anything. And neither of them really cared anymore.

Aeyrin just wanted to do the same. No more waiting. She turned around and leaned her hands against the rocks, arching her back until her buttocks pressed into his groin. Bishop let out a half-frustrated and half-excited groan at the contact and his hands went right to her lower armor again. He unbuckled everything surprisingly swiftly and she only heard pieces of metal sink into the snow with the occasional clank before Bishop hooked his hands under every layer of chain and clothing around her hips.

When he bared her to the freezing air, yanking her garments down to her knees, he didn't even give her a moment to catch her bated breath before he moved one of his hands around her to press his fingers against her slit. He was still wearing his leather gloves and the contact felt strangely intense. Aeyrin let out an instant moan as he touched her, but he didn't move his hand too fast to overwhelm her. He only pressed his fingers against her without rubbing too much. Maybe he was worried about the gloves hurting her.

He didn't have to do much anyway. She was more than ready, especially as she heard the rustle of leather and buckles when Bishop used his other hand to free his cock from his clothes and armor.

Bishop didn't wait any longer. He positioned himself against her entrance and thrusted inside her in one swift motion, eliciting a lustful moan from her lips. Fuck, he needed this. Not that they hadn't indulged themselves last night a lot, but that hardly made up for any of the drunken teasing on their journey.

He gripped her hips tightly as he began moving himself in and out of her at a rapid pace. Aeyrin kept pressing herself onto him, meeting his movements. None of them wanted any more teasing and prolonging this.

Aeyrin kept squeezing herself around him, moaning in time of his thrusts and he could see how her hands, one bare, one armored, kept grabbing at the stone under them as if she was trying to grasp a blanket in her grip.

He couldn't take that much longer. The sounds she made, the sight of her arched back and bare ass like this. The sight of his fingers digging into her flesh and his cock plunging into her, it was all threatening to send him over the edge all too soon. Fortunately though, he wasn't alone.

The second he felt Aeyrin shudder and squeeze around him extra tightly, he hilted himself deep inside her and let out a long groan in his own release.

They stayed like that for a while, panting and trying to collect themselves. It felt like several minutes had passed already before he slipped out of her and she finally straightened her back. Before she did anything else, she turned around to look at him.

They were in quite the state, both still panting and with their privates bared to the cold air. Bishop had a shimmering chainmail glove hanging in his hair and they were both still kind of drunk.

Well, nobody could accuse them of not celebrating the Old Life Festival properly. Drunken sex out in the open was surely a staple of the festivities.

It definitely made their journey to the Pale even more interesting.

And their travels were still far from over for today.