FSE

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"Will there be anything else?" the Imperial barkeep asked.

_I can't believe she makes me do this._I hesitated, resting the tray of breakfast on the counter. He had that not-quite-honest smile that innkeepers wear when talking to patrons. I cleared my throat. "Why is this place called the Winking Skeever?" I asked.

His face lit up. "Well, when I was a boy, I had a pet Skeever. And he used to wink."

I waited for him to finish. Knives and plates clattered and scraped in the background. I picked up my tray. "I supposed that's as good a reason as any," I said.

"_I_thought so," he said. Another patron pushed past me. I turned to the staircase leading up to the rooms. I stopped and looked back. "Why would you keep a giant rat as a pet?"

"They were smaller back then," he said, as if that explained everything. His face was serious.

I hurried up the stairs, hoping to get up before Tsartia awoke. I imagined waking her up, with a tray of hot breakfast ready for her. I pushed open the door and she was sitting upright on the bed, the sheets held up to her neck. She gleamed when she saw me, "I was wondering where you were," she said.

"Just getting breakfast," I said.

"Not yet. Come over here." She let the sheets fall, revealing her naked body. Sunlight streamed through the window behind her, the orange light wrapped around her body, shining through the thin fur on her sides, making her glow. Her necklace was perfectly balanced between her breasts. The tip of her tail was poking out from under the sheets, swishing back and forth in a way that might have been unconscious. When I looked back at her face, she had a slight grin that curled up the corner of her mouth.

"You don't have to stare," she said.

"Well, what do you expect if you're going to be naked in front of me? It'd be rude not to." I put the tray down on our bedside table and she pulled me towards her. She gently but firmly pushed me down on my back and crawled on top of me. The weight of her thin, lithe body pressed down as she slithered on top of me, her furred legs on either side of mine. Her body yielded easily to my touch, like water as I ran my hands down the curves of her waist.

"We can eat later ..." she crooned. She started moving her hips back and forth rubbing against my crotch, softly purring.

She began slowly kissing me, her soft lips caressing mine and her delightfully fuzzy whiskers tickled the corners of my mouth. And then very gently, she bit my lower lip. I didn't resist, kissing her back and drew my hands up her legs, up her side. Her eyes were closed, mouth slightly open, making barely-perceptibly moans that turned me on more than her rubbing. Her mouth left mine, and she started lightly nibbling along my jaw to my neck. The feeling of danger, knowing that her inch-long canines were less than an inch from my throat, made my heart pound. I relaxed and let continue, trusting her completely. Her hands moved down my chest and started working my belt free.

"What's gotten into you?" I murmured.

"I was dreaming about you, and when I woke up -" With surprising quickness, my belt was undone. "you were gone." With both hands, she started to work my pants free. "Now I want to do it for real."

I leaned up on my elbows. "What happened in your dream?"

She looked at me with her piercing, green eyes, a predatory look that I might have mistaken for hunger, if I didn't know her. Supporting herself on her hands, she leaned in until her mouth was next to my ear. "Let me show you," she whispered.

Good enough for me. I squirmed out of my pants, giving her a smile of satisfaction.

Without wasting a second, she took my already hardening cock in her hand and gave it a few quick strokes, just to make me fully hard. She leaned down and drew her tongue from the base to the tip on one long, slow movement. The bumpy, almost rough texture of her tongue sent electricity through my body. As she ran her wet tongue along the entire length, moving it between her lips, kissing it. She continued stroking it, varying her pace

She was crouched above me on all fours, giving me a delicious view of her lower back and backside - a pattern of speckled brown markings in a pattern of subtle curved lines. The lines seemed to draw the eye to her butt - or maybe it was just me. Her tail didn't stop swishing back and forth.

"Why are you so good at this?" she gave me a look under her eyebrows, eyes flashing. She held my cock with her hand and slowly withdrew it from her mouth. "I'm good at a lot of things," she said with a wink, and put it back in her mouth, taking me all the way inside her nose rested against my crotch. For a while she kept her head still, but moved her tongue around my penis, and suckling it while the back of her throat tickled the head. She very slowly, deliberately, started moving her head up and down. Every minute or so, she changed the angle of penetration, making me feel the different textures of her mouth - the ridges on the roof of her mouth, the smooth, undulating surface of the inside of her cheeks and the slippery, hard surface of the sides of her teeth. It all was accompanied by the hot, wet feeling of the bumpy texture and wavelike motions of her tongue which constantly caressed and slid over my cock.

My hands hurt from gripping the sheets so hard. "Yes, you are," I gasped. I could have sworn I saw her grin.

She watched me, gauging my reaction. She'd quicken her pace, taking me all the way into her mouth, driving me closer and closer to to climax until I felt like I would burst. Then just as I started to tense up, she slowed down and just suck on the tip, allowing me to catch my breath. Then she'd speed up again and repeat.

I'm going to cum if you don't stop," I said.

She managed to smile, even with her mouth full. She popped it out of her mouth and said, "That's the point, _sweetheart."_She put it back in her mouth and then she did something completely unexpected: from the back of her throat came deep, throaty humming, not unlike her purring, but lower, more solid. I made her entire mouth vibrate and shot waves of ecstasy through my whole body, making me buckle over in pleasure, gripping on to her head. It quickly drove me over the edge. I swore loudly, "Tsartia, I -"

Without warning, a wall of pleasure hit me, leaving me reeling. All I could do was hold on to my Khajiit tightly, trying not to hurt her as I gripped the back of her head, still slowly rocking forward and back between my legs. I could feel my cock pulse lividly, almost painfully as I came deep into her mouth. She let out a "Mrf" as I unconsciously thrust against her, trying to bury my cock as deep as possible.

I rode out the entirety of the orgasm, my penis throbbing against the roof of her mouth as I emptied my balls down her throat. The room was filled with the wet slurping sounds from her mouth, mixed with my own grunts and her moans.

I let out a long, slow breath as it eventually ended. She took my cock out of her mouth and licked it clean. I lay on my back, looking up at the ceiling. "How in Oblivion did you do that humming thing?" I said breathlessly.

She crawled up into the crook of my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. "It's a Khajiit thing."

Eventually I got my breath back. "If I knew that you people could do that, I would have started looking for a Khajiit to date a long time ago." I squeezed her closer and kissed the top of her head.

She wrapped her arms around me and purred in response.

***

The air smelled fresh, the morning was bright and cool, and I could feel the warm glow of the sun as it climbed towards its peak. I tightened my belt and adjusted my bow on my back, letting it rest between my shoulders, where it always did. My hand found Tsartia's and we walked together west, heading to the gate. We walked in silence, following our long shadows as they led us out of the city. I heard a single clear cry that pierced the morning air. We looked up. A pair of eagles were gliding in slow, lazy circles around the tall spires of the city.

Tsartia's hand squeezed mine. "I can't wait to get to your house," she said.

I squeezed hers back. "Well, it's not big, but it's cozy. There's only one bed, but that shouldn't be a problem." I could see her smile out of the corner of my eye. "My workshop takes up most of the bottom floor, where I make all my stuff. It's a bit cluttered right now." We passed under the gate, clear blue light filtered through the small windows, and cast little rectangles on the ground.

"What kind of things do you make?" she asked.

"Well, anything that the town needs, really, whatever is too complex for Lod, the blacksmith. Sometimes it's just clever toys, puzzles for the children of the town. I made an astrolabe once. I tried making a telescope one time but I don't have the proper tools to form glass."

"What's an astrolabe?"

"It's a model of the solar system. Everything revolves around Nirn," I pointed downwards, at our own planet. "the big ball in the center. Tamriel is one continent, and Skyrim is on the northern part. Orbiting around Nirn are the moons, Masser and Secunda, and the Aedric planets and the planes of Oblivion ..." I remembered the few times I tried explaining this to the people of Falkreath and the uninterested indifference that I was met with. "Sorry, I'm rambling. It's probably not very interesting."

"No, keep going," she urged. "What else? What are the Aedric planes?"

"Those are the realms of the Aedra, the Ancestor Gods who created the mortal world. The planes of Oblivion float farther out, those are the realms of the Daedra, the gods who did _not_take part in Creation and who aren't our ancestors."

She looked at me with a curious expression, "How do you know all this?"

"Well, I read a lot, mainly. Books fill most of my shelf. If you want to know more about what I was talking about, The Anuad and The Monomyth tell of the creation of the mortal world. I have a few books on each of the provinces of Tamriel, and of each of the province's history and geography ...when you don't sleep, you have quite a bit of free time." I said, and I actually laughed. But she was serious.

"I can't wait to see it," she said.

"Thanks," I said. "It took me quite a few sleepless nights to make."

She was silent for a moment. "When I was in the plantation, we learned our letters, so we could read instructions, telling us what to do for the day, What field to work, and how much to pick, and where to put it. But I've never really learned anything else," she spoke quickly. "I want to know more about Mundus, and the planes of Oblivion. I want to know the name of every star in Aetherius."

We stopped, and I held her close. "I promise you, when we get to my house, you can read every book I own. When you're done them all, we'll travel to the Imperial Library in Cyrodiil, and you can spend a month just reading. And in a year from now you'll be more learned than anyone you know."

She squeezed me tightly. I kissed her on the middle of the road, not caring if anyone saw us. We parted and she drew her finger across my thin beard.

"You should shave," she said.

I ran my hand over my rough chin. "Doesn't it remind you of home? Now we match."

Her ears flattened against her head in an unmistakable gesture of annoyance. "I have fur, not hair," she said.

"That's basically the same thing."

Her eyes narrowed. "No it's not! They're completely different."

"What's the difference?"

"I don't know, but they're not the same thing. It's like the difference between leaves and moss."

I stopped and let go of her hand. "Leaves and moss aren't _remotely_similar."

"I know, but I'm just speaking in terms you can understand."

"Okay, fine, but - stop laughing." It was hard to keep my face straight. "I know the difference between fur and hair. But they're still _much_more similar than leaves and moss."

"Okay. Fine," she admitted. I took her hand again and we walked for a bit in silence, leaving the city of Solitude far behind us. The stone path gave way to hard-packed dirt, and sodden leaves made squishing sounds underfoot.

"But they both grow on trees," she said.

I stopped. "That doesn't mean anything! Bosmer grow in trees too."

Her laugh echoed in the hills. "Are you serious?"

"We don't, like grow out of the ground, if that's what you're asking. But we do build our cities in them."

"Cities in trees ... were you born in a tree, Bosmer?"

I could feel my face redden. "Maybe," I said quietly. She giggled and hid her mouth under her hand. I could see the smile in her eyes and the slight twitch of her tail. "That's why we can't harm them or pick the plants of Valenwood. Every Bosmer in Valenwood must follow this rule, called the Green Pact."

"What if you want to build something out of wood?"

"Then we import it from other provinces. It's expensive, but that's how we do things there. We have to respect the trees if we live in them. The greatest, Falinesti, actually moves, it migrates north to south during the year. Or at least it used to. Since the start of the Fourth Era it's rooted itself to the coast."

"But your home in Falkreath ...?

"It's just a normal house. On the ground."

"Good. I think I'd get sick if it was moving around. But I'm just happy you'll let me stay there. It'll be nice actually working for honest pay, for once. And actually having a place to stay, a real bed and privacy ... you know, before last night, I don't think I've ever slept in a real bed before."

"What?Really?" I couldn't keep the shock out of my voice. "What did you sleep on at the plantation?"

"Piles of straw if we were lucky, sometimes the bare floor..." Her eyes darkened and she looked at the ground. "But not anymore, now that I have you." She squeezed my hand.

I squeezed hers back. "You're welcome to share mine. Although it might be small for the two of us."

"That's okay, one of us will just have to lie on top of the other." She grabbed a handful of my shirt and pulled me in closer, whispering in my ear. "Or if there's no room, we can do it on the stairs, or on the kitchen table, or anywhere you want."

I winked at her. "Or outside if nobody's looking."

Her look was at once adorable and arousing. She looked around, leaned up so her mouth was near my ear. "Why not now?" She glanced down at my crotch. "I didn't get to finish this morning."

I glanced around nervously. There were several people, including a guard, within sight. "Don't you want to wait until we get home? We could have privacy."

"I could wait." She wrapped one arm around my shoulders and with the other, stroked my crotch with her palm. "But I don't want to. I can't help it if you make me want to do it all the time. I haven't had a lot of experience." She stood on her toes, playfully nibbled on my ear. A shiver went down my spine.

I asked her a question which had been on my mind for a while. "Have you ever ... been with anyone else?"

The question didn't seem to phase her. "No, at least, never with a male."

"Oh," I paused. I looked back at her so quickly it hurt my neck. "Wait, what?"

"When I was in the plantation, there was an argonian, a maid who would clean up around the master's quarters. She was allowed to move in and out of the buildings during the day. We got to know each other and sometimes me and her ... what?"

I had a weird, glazed-over expression and what probably looked like a creepy smile. "Keep going!" I said. "Sometimes me and her met and did things together," she finished.

"What kind of things?" I drew her close.

She looked at me sideways and smirked. "You'd be surprised what an argonian can do with her tongue ... They're very flexible."

I made a kind of "Hmhmm" sound. She laughed. "I'll tell you once we get home. I'll go into _lots_of detail."

"You'd better. Sound like it'd make a good story."

I thought about the mechanics of that. Did they use toys on each other, or just their mouths and fingers? I would have loved to watch it. I looked around. There was a grove of trees off the trail, just enough to conceal us.

"Okay, I changed my mind. Let's find a private spot in the woods," I said.

"What changed your mind? Are the trees turning you on?" she teased.

"No!" I said, probably louder than I needed to. "I just liked your story."

She looked around at the sparse trees around us. "Alright, let's go."

We ran off the trail, into the sparse woods a bit. Fuzzy patches of yellow-green moss clung wherever it could. White pines surrounded us, not quite thick enough to conceal us. If I crouched down I could see the trail, easily. "We're not that far from the road, someone could see us. Or hear us," I said.

She made a pouty face. "Aww, are you afraid now? It's not like having sex in the woods is illegal."

"I'm pretty sure it _is_illegal. And I'm not afraid,I just don't want to be seen."

She made an exaggerated sigh. "I thought Bosmer were braaaave ..."

That did it. I held her against the tree, and holding her arms up with one hand, undid her cloak with the other. It seemed to excite her. She let out a happy "Mmmmm."

"We_are_brave. And virile, too. We're better at it than any other race."

"Prove it," she said, eyes flashing devilishly. "I bet you can't make me cum faster that I did to you this morning."

"Is that a challenge?"

"It's a dare," she said.

Still holding her up, I started working her robes free. I fumbled with the soft material. I didn't want it to tear but at the same time I wanted it to come off as soon as possible. "Finally," I said when it yielded. Then with one deft movement, she pulled her hands free from mine and wrapped them wrapped around my back, hooking them under my belt. Before I could move, it was undone. "I'm always surprised at how fast you can do that," I said. An exaggerated wink was her only answer. I undid my pants and let them fall around my ankles, revealing my skin to the air. She turned and leaned forward against the tree, slowly swaying her rear back and forth in front of me. Her tail swung back and forth like a grass blowing in the wind.

I ran my fingers through her short fur, letting the hairs stream through my fingers. I followed the tight, smooth muscles of her heart-shaped buttocks as they curved gracefully down, past the tight, puckered ring of her anus directly beneath the shock of fuzzy fur from the base of her tail. The muscles that formed her legs moved apart, in between was smooth mound of her pussy, pink and swollen with arousal, and visibly wet with a short tuft of brown fur grew directly above it.

She looked back at me over her shoulder, her big green eyes stared at me lustfully. She moved back so her butt was rubbing against my crotch and started swaying her hips back and forth seductively, her tail lifted up and out of the way. The view, coupled with the motion, got me hard quickly.

I rested my already hardening penis on her butt, just under her raised tail. The stripes on her back were a series of curved s-shapes, dark brown against her grey fur. They ran over the tight, subtle bulge of her muscles like water over smooth stones, moving up perfectly mirrored across her spine, up to the nape of her neck where they merged into one m-shaped curve.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked. Her fuzzy tail flicked against my chin, the soft hairs tickling my skin.

I snapped back to the present. "Just admiring the view," I said.

Holding on to her waist with one hand, I held the base of my cock in the other and let it slide down the mound of her pussy, parting the thin, wet lips, and slowly pressed it inside. The inner velvety folds of her sex parted, letting the head pass through the smooth walls. Her insides were hot, a welcome change from the cold morning air.

Halfway in, I stopped. I watched her, her eyes were closed, ears back, biting her bottom lip. I slowly backed out, until the just the head was inside her, feeling the tight rings of flesh that gripped my shaft and slid wetly along its length. Then I plunged back in, getting a fraction of an inch deeper with every stroke until I was nearly buried to the hilt. I watched her mouth open slightly in a silent gasp, and for the first time, noticed the barely-perceptible curl that appeared on the tips of her ears. A grin appeared on my mouth. I was in control of her now. I went slowly, getting her worked up so I could give her a satisfying finish.

She opened her eyes. "Stop teasing and do me properly," she said.

I sunk in an inch deeper. Saw the ear curl and her claws tighten on the tree. "I told you Bosmer are better," I said.

"Mmm, yes," was the only reply.

I stopped moving, leaned over till my mouth was directly behind her ear. "Say it," I said.

She gasped. "_You're_better."

"That's right," I whispered, and with one stroke, plunged the rest of the way inside her. She let out a long, drawn-out gasp of pleasure and her knees buckled. I held her up with my hands on her waist. I started moving faster. I worked up a steady pace, she matched my rhythm and pushed back at me when I thrusted in. I could feel her pelvis moving under her furry skin as she was pushed back and forth by my thrusts. I looked down at where my skin ended and her brown and grey furred bottom started.

I moved closer so I could thrust deeper inside her. "Move back a bit," I said. She moved down and pushed her behind closer to me. The angle of penetration changed, I felt the texture on my cock when it pressed against a different part of the inside of her. Her reaction was immediate. She inhaled sharply and tensed up her whole body. I could see her claws grip the tree trunk, visibly sinking into the bark.

I kept thrusting as I was before, but I reached around. moved my fingers down, between her legs and found the sensitive nub of her clitoris. I slid my finger over it, and back. Her body tensed, and she arched her back. She looked back at me, eyes lidded, mouth slightly open in a pleasured grimace, "You're so -"

Whatever she was about to say turned into, "Hhaaa ..." as I doubled my pace, slamming into her harder, my hips making a dull thud against her furred buttocks, forming a bulge that moved up her flesh like a wave. I moved my finger across her clitoris in a spiral, changing direction and pattern - every time I did, she let out a soft gasp that spurred me on.

I could feel she was getting close, as her muscles started clamping around the shaft of my cock, the ribbed texture becoming more apparent to my increasingly sensitive penis. Her vocalizations started getting louder, more feral, turning from moans to growls. Her ears were flat against her head, eyes tightly shut. Then I thought of something I knew she would like. I leaned forward until my head was just above hers and gently nibbled lightly on her ear. With a gasp, a shiver ran through her body, that turned into a convulsion that rocked both of us. She let out a cry, and her claws raked across the tree's surface, revealing lighter wood beneath and making spirals of bark that grew from her claw tips like the tops of ferns.

I had to hold on to her tightly with my one remaining hand, she was moving enough that I almost slipped out. I could feel the pressure welling inside my balls as well, as seeing her overcome with pleasure almost drove me over the edge as well.

She stopped moving, and panted, steam streaming from her mouth. "Okay." She took a breath. "You win. That was definitely better than last time."

I moved both my hands up her body till they we holding on to her, just below her collar. "I'm still not done with you," I said. "Can you go for a bit more?" She breathed heavily and nodded. "My turn," I said. I rammed into her, hard and fast. She squirmed and writhed beneath me as I pounding against the sensitive flesh. I was only at it for less than a minute more when I felt the pressure welling in my already sensitive cock. I let out a groan, gripping her waist as my body tensed up and thrust deep inside her as my orgasm took me. I leaned forward till my chest was touching her back, and my head was behind hers.

Our legs were touching, mine inside hers and I felt the fuzzy fur against my bare legs. I wrapped my arms around her chest feeling it expand and contract with her heavy breathing. I leaned forward until my face was just over her shoulder, next to her head. With feline flexibility, she turned her head towards mine and kissed me deeply while I continued to empty my balls inside her, until it eventually subsided. I stayed inside her, holding her and my breathing slowed to normal. I was sweating, even in the cold morning air. Steam rose from both our bodies.

"Hey, Del." I looked up. "Does this turn you on?" While maintaining eye contact, she ran her tongue across the bark.

"No!" I said. "That can't taste good."

"Tastes like you," she said.

"No it doesn't," I said. I pulled out of her and went to the nearby stream to wash up. I splashed cold water over my face and looked down into the water. When the ripples settled and my face came into focus, I stopped. I brushed the hair out of my eyes. I barely recognized myself. I was only 54, still young for a Bosmer. Normally, I thought I looked older than that. But now my eyes looked less sunken, they were brighter, and the bags under my eyes had almost disappeared.

Tsartia's face appeared behind mine. "Do you think they enjoyed the view?"

"What?" My heart jumped and I looked around, thinking someone had seen us.

"I mean the trees. When we were in the Four Shields, you talked about when you were in Valenwood, you could speak to trees. Were you being serious? Do they speak back?"

"Oh. I was serious, they can speak. But not here. The trees in Valenwood are special."

"Have you ever tried it with the trees here?"

"Well, no," I admitted. "I never saw the point."

She motioned towards the closest one, as if to say, "go ahead."

Reluctantly I put my hand on the tree, feeling the rough, wrinkled bark. I closed my eyes, and listened. I could feel the life strumming strumming softly under my fingers, the tree's long, slow heartbeat. But no thought. "Hello?" I asked it. Nothing.

This is stupid, I thought to myself. I opened my eyes. "Either I can't do it, or it just had nothing to say. I don't want to talk about trees anymore."

But she couldn't resist one more quip: "Why, is it turning you on again?" She tried to grab my crotch, I jumped back. "Cut it out! And no, it's not." I shook my head at her, trying my best to look mad but it didn't work. "I know some Khajiit jokes too."

"Tell me."

"How do you know when a Khajiit has been in your house?"

"How?"

I paused for dramatic effect. "... It's empty."

She snorted and her whiskers visible drooped. "That's not funny."

"We should get going," I said. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I left my front door unlocked when I left. I was just planning on being gone the day."

"Well, hopefully your house is still standing when we get there."

I made sure to step out of her reach. "Don't worry, there aren't any Khajiiti in Falkreath." I ran back on to the road, laughing maniacally.

We passed through the northwest of Skyrim quickly, pausing to rest and eat only once at midday. Then it was back on the road. We came to the borders of Falkreath Hold in late afternoon, approaching from the southwestern side. The bare, rocky cliffs and grey pines gave way, and the small town came into view. Together we walked under the west gate, passing by plain buildings of wood and stone; a general store, an inn, a blacksmith. I led Tsartia by the hand, practically running." It's on the west side, past the temple." Ignoring the glances of the people in town, I pulled her along. "Just around the corner. It's ..." Still holding on to her hand, I rounded the corner and stopped.

My heart dropped in my chest, leaving an empty, cold spot. I closed my eyes, slowly took a breath, and opened them. I could hear Tsartia say, "ohhh ..." very quietly, and out of the corner of my eye, saw her bring her hand to her mouth. She said something I didn't hear. She repeated it, louder, "You're hurting my hand," she said. I let it go.

My home had been burned to the ground. Only the blackened oak frame marked where it once stood. They stood amidst piles of rubble, splintered logs half-buried in the ash. A pair of beams that had fallen together in a downwards curve stood there, like a grinning mouth of a skull. Smoke slowly drifted away from a few spots where embers glowed faintly.

I tried to swallow and couldn't. My heart thrummed in my ears, loudly. I saw all of my work, gone. Every septim I earned. The astrolabe I wanted to show Tsartia, the books she was going to read, burned into nothing.

My legs felt weak and I dropped to the ground and stared. My eyes blurred. Distantly, I felt Tsartia's hands on my shoulders. I drew a shaky breath and whispered, "It's gone." I drew my hands over my mouth and squeezed the bridge of my nose. "That was everything I owned."

I heard her soft, calming voice. "At least you weren't inside when it happened." My eyes dried but didn't get clearer. I saw red.

"This wasn't an accident. This was-" I narrowed my eyes. I saw a woman crouched in the ruins of my home, digging through the ash. Without thinking, I made straight for her, my hand reaching for my dagger. She was busy searching through the wreckage, and didn't hear me until I spoke.

"What happened here? What did you do?" My voice had an edge to it I didn't recognize.

The woman looked up at me, then down at my knife. Slowly, she raised both ash-covered hands. "I had nothing to do with this, I found it like this, this morning." Tsartia caught up to me and held my free hand with hers. My breathing slowed somewhat but I kept my hand on my knife.

"Stand up," I said. Shakily, she rose to her feet, arms still out. She was a Wood Elf, like me. Bright orange eyes, wide with fear. There was a smudge of black char on her cheek's fair skin.

"I'm guessing this is your home then," she said. "I don't know who did this, but the guards are looking out for a suspicious-looking elf that was seen here early this morning. That's when the fire started. They said he was a very tall, mean-looking guy with black robes. His face was beaten up. Only had one eye."

A shiver ran through my spine, raising the hair on my neck. My hand gripped the knife hard enough to hurt. I took a deep breath and let it out.

"You can ask the guards if you don't believe -"

I spun and slammed my knife into a beam of wood. The blade sunk deep and stuck fast. My heart hammered in my ears. Why didn't I kill the bastard when I had the chance? Stupid, so stupid. My idiotic attempt at heroism cost me everything I owned. I tried not to shake, and swallowed my anger down as best I could.

I looked back at the woman, who took a step back. "Did you see where he went?" I asked.

"No. I never saw him. Honestly. I only know what the guards said. You can ask them if you want."

I tried to wrench my knife out from the beam but it was stuck. "I believe you. I know who you're speaking of, we've met before," I said. "His name is Felcrothen." I rubbed my palms over my eyes and tried to slow my breathing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just ..." I indicated at the mess of ash surrounding our feet.

"No, I understand," she smiled weakly. I looked around. The entire top floor of my house had collapsed, into an unrecognizable mess of broken, charred beams. Here and there I could recognize bits of my home. The corner of my kitchen table, a couple of iron hinges.

"My name is Delrien. This is Tsartia. We're ..." I paused, not sure what to call us.

"Traveling together." Tsartia said.

The woman seemed to notice her for the first time and nodded. "You can call me Annwel," She said.

I offered my hand which she shook. "Well met, Annwel. And I'm sorry again. I'm usually not like this."

"It's okay. I'd probably have the same reaction."

I started rocking my dagger back and forth, slowly working it loose out of the beam. "What brings you so far from Valenwood?" I asked. "I don't see many of us up here."

"I'm an alchemist. Of sorts. I had just finished selling my potions to Zaria at Grave Concoctions." She motioned towards the alchemist's shop on the opposite side of town. "I travel around Tamriel, finding the best ingredients and selling them abroad. I just got back from an expedition in Elsweyr."

"You've been to Eleswyr?" Tsartia jumped in excitedly. "What's it like?"

"It's hot, lots of sand. But the borders are marshy, especially near Valenwood to the west. It's a long journey, but it's worth it, there are plants that grow there that don't grow anywhere else. That's where I usually harvest."

"What sort of plants?" I asked.

She dug ash out from underneath her fingernails. "This and that," she said without looking up.

I bent down and picked up a scrap of burned leather, a piece of a book cover that read, _nce in the fi._I let it flutter to the ground. "How in Oblivion did he know where I live?" I wondered out loud.

Annwel shrugged. "Maybe he just asked around."

"I can see how he'd find my house once he got to town. I'm the only Bosmer who lives here. But how did he know I live in Falkreath? Did the guards say where he was going?"

"Last they saw, he was heading south, along the path to Cyrodiil. Hopefully not along the same path I'm taking. I'm planning on heading back the same way I came."

"Why wouldn't he be heading north, back to the Embassy?" I wondered. Finally I managed to pry my dagger free. I rubbed the ash off the blade and stuck it back on my belt. Then it clicked in my mind. Valenwood lay to the south. If he was willing to come to my town to burn down my house, would he also be willing to travel to my former home? It wouldn't be hard to find my family if he knew their last names. I tried to remember what I said to him when we parted."I am Delrien Fleetford, son of Dalten Fleetford, of Greenheart." But he couldn't have remembered that, he was barely conscious. Could he? Was my family now in danger?

A plan grew in my mind. Elsweyr and Valenwood shared a border. If we traveled with Annwel, we would be going along the same road as Felcrothen, and we might catch up with him on the way. Then I could stop him before he reached my home.

"Alright. Well, thanks for the information," I said. "I'll ask the guards if they know anything." Briefly, we shook hands.

"You're welcome. And remember, I can give you a ride if you're going anywhere."

"Thanks, but -" I stopped just short of saying, 'I'm already home.' I looked back at Tsartia. She was holding her elbows, looking downwards. "We'll think about it," I said back to Annwel. "When were you planning on leaving?"

"An hour or so.But I'm not in a hurry, take as much time as you need."

"Okay. We're going to have a walk and decide.

Tsartia and I left, and wandered the streets of Falkreath. "Are you alright, Tsartia?" I asked. "You seem quiet."

She opened her mouth and closed it. She paused. "It's just," Her eyes darted around in fear. "if he's after us, I want to stay as far away as possible. And I was just disappointed. I was looking forward to having privacy with you." She smiled with her mouth, but not with her eyes. I made a mental note to ask about it later.

I nodded silently. Maybe going after Felcrothen was a bad idea. Was it worth endangering both our lives over? Well, I'd have plenty of time to think about it on the trip. "I don't know what to do now," I said. "I thought we could live in peace here, and you could find work. But now I've lost everything." A sharp jolt of pain touched my heart like icy fingers.

"Not everything," She said, looking up at me. She drew close to me and I put my arm around her shoulder. Together we walked by the tall pines and short houses that filled the town. We passed by a farmhouse. The mother, Indara was outside, watching her daughter play in the dirt amidst the potato crops, getting dirt over her clothes. Indara had the look of a mother who was tired of scolding her child and had finally admitted defeat. I remembered making a wooden toy horse for the girl last year. I struggled to remember her name.

We had circled the town and were back at the ruins of my home. I walked up the remains of the steps and saw something half-buried in the ash. I nudged it with my foot. It was a melted, misshapen lump of brass, different-coloured stones surrounded it, some still attached. I picked up the remains of my astrolabe. It was still warm.

"Aren't you going to miss Skyrim?" Tsartia asked. "This is your home."

I looked around at the bare skeletons of trees, the dull, grey mountains that jutted up around us. I looked at the ashen ruins of my old home.

"No," I said. "I won't miss this place. Valenwood is my home, it always has been." I dropped the blob of twisted metal. I walked to Tsartia and hugged her. "There's nothing here for me." I said. "The only reason I moved here was to get as far away from that battlefield as possible." Speaking of it brought back old fears, the memory of fire and pain, choking ash and... Tsartia must have seen the distress in my face. She hugged me back and radiated warmth that calmed me. "But obviously, only if you want to go," I said. "Do you?"

"With her?" she said.

I could see Annwel near the West gate, tossing a bag into her cart. "She seems fine to me," I said. "Do you want to go?"

"Delrien, until two weeks ago, I spent my entire life on 40 square miles of swamp. I want to see as much of Tamriel as I can before I die."

I kissed the top of her head. "Okay. Valenwood it is."

We met with Annwel near the west gate. She was standing near the cart, smoking on a pipe, looking thoughtfully at the forest. When we got closer she looked up and dumped the contents onto the ground. There was a acrid, smoky smell in the air I couldn't identify. "Do you think we're ready to go?" I asked.

She looked back at the woods. "There's too much bark on these trees ..."

I paused. "What?"

"I thought you asked what I was thinking."

"No, I asked if we're ready to go."

"Oh," she laughed, a strange, drawn out, a up-and-down kind of giggle. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I looked back at Tsartia. She raised an eyebrow at me, a funny gesture on her feline face. Annwel stepped up onto the driver's seat and said, "We'll be traveling straight South until we pass the border into Cyrodiil. We should pass it by nightfall, where we'll make camp tonight. From there we'll take the Orange Road southeast."

"That sounds good to me."

She took the reins. "Hop in, and we'll be off."

***

The cart creaked and rocked as it rode along the well-worn paths that led to Cyrodiil. It wasn't much faster than walking, but it was nice to sit back and not walk for once. I looked down at Tsartia. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and even.

In the driver's seat, Annwel looked back at us. "So how did you two end up traveling together?"

"We met a few days ago," I said. "She was captured by Thalmor agents. One of them was Felcrothen, the one who they saw here this morning. I tried to rescue her but got myself captured too. We managed to escape together, made our way to a village called Dragon Bridge -" Annwel nodded. "- but ran into the same Thalmor again. They took Tsartia, leaving me behind. I went after their leader. I almost killed him, but spared his life at the end. Apparently Tsartia had already escaped and was waiting for me back at Solitude so we met up there. That was just last night."

Annwel slowly stroked her chin. "What brought you to Skyrim?"

"Well, that's a bit of a long story. I grew up in Greenheart, in Valenwood. Joined the army. There was a battle, I did some things I regretted and ended up wandering for a while." I felt the top of Tsartia's furred head tickle my neck. "But I'm better now. It was rough, before that. I felt trapped, like I was in a cage."

"Being trapped in a cage isn't that bad. One time I once spent an entire day locked in a coffin but that was part of a joke."

I couldn't tell if she was serious. "Why would there be a lock on a coffin?" I asked.

She looked back at me, face serious. "Those were strange times," she said.

"When? How old are you?"

"I'm fifty-four," she said, eyes still on the road.

"Ha. Me too. I guess year 145 must have been a good year for Bosmer," I said.

"Do you ever miss home?" she asked.

A pang of homesickness struck me for the first time I could remember. "I guess I do. I'll be happy to return soon."

"Greenheart. I've never been down that far south. Lived in Falinesti most of my life. You know how it used to migrate north to south during the seasons?"

"Of course," I said.

"Well, ever since it stopped at the end of the Third Era, it's been looking worse. It's not as lush, leaves are falling more than they're growing." She kept her eyes on the road but I could hear the concern in her voice. "It might have something to do with the Thalmor. They could have poisoned it. They're in control of the province, now."

My thoughts quickly went to my family, still living in Greenheart. I watched the trees slowly pass us by. I wished I could urge the cart faster. We were traveling steadily uphill, crossing over the mountains that bordered Skyrim and Cyrodiil, where the air was cold and thin. Annwel spoke up again. "A lot of people are moving away from Falinesti. I couldn't find work there, so I started traveling and finding whatever work I could. I was a guard in Skingrad for about a month."

"What was that like?" I asked.

She was silent for a moment. "It was like ... giving a hand job to an obese middle-aged baker in exchange for a half-dozen stale loaves of bread he was going to throw out anyway."

"That's quite ... visual," I said.

"Thanks. Then, a few years ago, I realized how much money could be made in alchemy, so I've been traveling to Elsweyr to get ingredients ever since, selling them in Cyrodiil and Skyrim." She paused, and said, "You'd be amazed how much people would pay for Moon Sugar here."

"Wait, Moon Sugar?" I said. "Isn't that illegal? And dangerous?"

"It's not illegal here," Annwel turned back and said, "I've tried it, it's not that bad. It can be fun, if you ever want to try."

"Do you have any on you now?" I asked.

"Not much, but enough for you to try if you want."

I leaned forward. "I don't want to _try_it, I just don't want to be sent to prison if we get caught with it."

"Relax," she said. "I said it's not illegal. And I don't have that much. If we do get caught I can just bribe the guard."

I leaned back again, running my fingers through my hair. "Is that what you were smoking earlier?"

She looked back at me again. "Have you ever tried driving a cart all day with no one but a horse to talk to, while sober?"

"No, I haven't," I admitted.

***

Night fell. We stopped and made camp for the night. Annwel dug through the cart and found an axe, Tsartia and I went to gather firewood. I picked up a decently-sized log, the bottom was wet, but I pulled the bark off and the wood underneath was dry. I watched Tsartia out of the corner of my eye. She was avoiding my gaze.

Her voice broke the silence. "Do you like Annwel?" she asked, without looking up.

The question took me by surprise. "Ann's alright. I haven't talked to another Bosmer in a long time so nice to hear news from home."

She looked up. "Ann?"

"That's what people call her. You call me Del."

She exhaled loudly. She looked away. "I think we have enough wood," she said, and left walked past me, leaving me bewildered. _What did I do?_I asked myself.

***

We sat around the brightly-burning fire, watching as it crackled and tossed sparks into the still air.

"I could go for a mug of Rothmeth right now," Annwel said.

"Mmm," I said. "I haven't had Rothmeth in years."

"What's Rothmeth?" Tsartia asked.

"It's a Bosmer alcoholic drink made from fermented meat juices. It's very salty and spicy."

She had a look of revulsion on her face.

"I know it sounds disgusting, but it grows on you quickly. It's one of the only alcoholic drinks you can get in Valenwood."

"I don't think I'd like it. Why don't you just drink normal alcohol?"

"The Green Pact, remember? We can't harm the plants."

She frowned and drew her legs up to her chest. She kept silent.

"If we make it to Valenwood, Annwel said, "the first stop's always Arenthia. There's a pub there called the Redwort. I stop by every time I'm in the city. I don't know how they make it, but it's the best I've ever tasted." Annwel looked up at the branches surrounding us. "I always miss it when I'm gone too long. The leaves will be turning gold now."

I picked up a pine cone and turned it over in my hands. "I miss it too," I said quietly. "I have a book, A Pocket Guide to Valenwood, that goes into detail about all the cities and locations of the province. It's one of the only pieces of home I have." I picked off a few scales from the pine cone and let them fall to the ground. "I mean I used to. It's probably just ash now," I said.

I heard Tsartia inhale loudly through her mouth. She stood up and left the clearing without looking at us. Once she was out of earshot, Annwel turned to me and said quietly, "Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know," I confessed. "She's been acting weird ever since we left Falkreath. I mean, we haven't been together that long, but I can tell something's troubling her."

"Been together? Wait, the two of you, you're a couple?"

I glanced up at her then looked away. I didn't mean to say that. "Yes."

She looked at me with a mix of confusion and disgust. "You realize they're the enemy, right? Our people have been fighting them since -"

"She's not _my_enemy," I said. "She has nothing to do with the fight between our people. She's never even been to Elsweyr." I didn't feel like mentioning her past.

"Still, it isn't natural."

I dropped the pine cone. "I don't care. I like her anyways. And that's good enough for me."

"How old is she?"

"What's your point? She's younger than me, but that doesn't matter. but that's because Khajiit don't live as ..." I stopped. The truth slowly dawned on me. I glanced back at her.

"_That's_my point. She's what, twenty? She has maybe another thirty, forty years left before she dies. We Bosmer can live for another century or two after that. Are you prepared to watch her grow old while you stay the same, watch her die when you're not even middle-aged? What would be the point in that? Maybe you like her, but it'll never be more than a casual relationship, she's just too different."

I watched the ground, stirring a circle into the soil with my foot. "That must be why she's so cold recently. Maybe she's thinking the same thing. I don't know why I haven't thought of it earlier." I stood up. "I have to tell her," I said.

A little ways into the woods, just out of sight of the fire, Tsartia was standing at near the base of a tree. She was facing away, arms held tightly across her body. I approached her and held her, For the moment I didn't say anything, I closed my eyes and felt the warm fur of her cheek against mine. "Are you alright?" I asked. She was silent. "I want to tell you something," I said.

"So do I," she said. "Something I should have told you a long time ago."

So she came to the same conclusion. Maybe it was better this way.

She cleared her throat." When I was being interrogated in the Embassy, Felcrothen asked about you. He threatened to torture me. He seemed like the type of person who would it to get information out of me." Her voice was hollow, distant. And the words came out in a rush: "He told me something about saving the world because Elves and Khajiit aren't meant to be together. I didn't know what he was talking about. But maybe he's right. I know I'm not good enough for you. You have a job, and skills, you're useful. He asked me about you, where you lived and worked. And ... I told him. I told him you lived in Falkreath. I thought you were already dead, so it didn't matter anyway. I wasn't strong enough to not tell him." She rubbed her palms on her eyes. "So that's why your house was burned down. Because of me."

For a long time, I didn't say anything. My mind was blank. I ran my hands through my hair and walked some distance away. The fire that had burned in me earlier today was rekindled, just as hot as it was before, but now it was directed at someone who I could see. I turned back and walked up to her, hands clenched and stiff at my sides. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" I demanded through gritted teeth.

She shrank back. "Because I didn't want to admit it. I just wanted a place to live, and to be with you. Now I've ruined both those things." I could hear her voice choke up.

With great effort, I crossed my arms and took a deep breath. I could hear the fire pop and crackle behind me. She looked up at me, eyes wide and filled with tears, her ears back, whiskered drooped down. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I said coldly.

"Don't be like this. I know I messed up, but I don't know how to fix it."

"Well, lying to me and crying isn't going to fix it," I said, and immediately regretted it, but I didn't apologize.

"I just found out something about us," I said.

"What?" she choked out.

"How long do your people usually live?"

"Sixty years or so. Sometimes more."

"Did you know Bosmer can live five times that?"

"Yes, of course I knew that."

I faced her and took a step forwards. "That didn't bother you?" I asked.

"No. I didn't care. Did you?"

I searched her eyes and they revealed no answers. "I need to be alone for a bit." I stormed off deeper into the woods, leaving her alone. She didn't follow.

Once I was out of sight, I rested my forehead against a tree and closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't her fault, but there was a nagging voice in my head that kept saying, yes it is. I held my breath and listened to the sounds of the woods, something that always calmed me. I heard the faint buzzing of nighttime insects and the distant flutter of a bird's wings. The tree I was touching made a gentle, groaning creak like old bones as it swayed in the slight breeze. I slowly let out my breath. People make mistakes, I thought to myself. But it usually doesn't end with someone's house burning down. I opened my eyes and sighed. Distantly, I could see the campfire blazing between the tree trunks.

I went back to it and sat down heavily between the crook of a tree trunk. Tsartia was out of sight, and Anwel was in the same spot she was when I left. I cast my hood over my head and watched the wood burn. The night was getting colder. I sat closer to the fire. The wind changed and the smoke blew into my face, stinging my eyes. I shielded my face with my arm and let out a heavy, annoyed sigh.

"You sigh a lot," Annwel said.

"I haven't had a very good day," I said. "I just found out that it's_her_fault my house was burned. She told the one who did it where I live. I lost everything I owned because of her. I know it's not her fault but I'm still mad at her."

"Well, if you ask me, it sounds like it _is_her fault." I didn't say anything, but just watched the fire."What are you going to do, then?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said. "It's not like we're even a real couple. I mean, we just spent one night together. Sometimes I think ..."

"You're just too different?"

That's not what I was about to say, but ... "I guess we are. I do like her, though."

Annwel fidgeted in her seat. "If you don't mind me asking, why?"

I tossed a few sticks into the fire, even though it didn't need it. "That would take a while. She did help me get through some issues from my past. I don't want to get into it now. But she's the first person to believe in me in a long time."

"Is she also the first person you've told about your past?"

I thought for a second. "Yes."

"Can I speak plainly, then?"

I glance up at her. "Sure."

"Maybe you only like her because you were lonely. You could have fallen for anyone. At least that's what I think."

I sat back against my tree, thinking.

"I should go tell her," I said.

"I think she wants to be alone for now."

I remembered not to sigh. I looked up at the sky. "Do you still have Moon Sugar left?" I asked.

"Yes"

"Let's try some of it. This day can only get better."

She reached into her cloak and pulled out the same pipe we saw her using earlier. With it, a small bag tied together. I watched as she poured a small amount of white powder into the bowl. She lit it with a burning stick from the fire, put it up to her lips and inhaled slowly, letting the crystals burn evenly. She exhaled and handed me the pipe. The crystals were slightly smoking, giving off a sweet, odor. Annwel was looking at me expectantly. I put it up to my lips and inhaled. I had smoked before, just but only plants in Skyrim, and not for a while. This was different. It felt less natural, more toxic.

"Hold it in as long as you can," Annwel said.

The smoke felt heavy in my lungs, it made my eyes water. I felt a slight tingling that started in my fingertips and ran from my ears to my toes. I passed it to Annwel, she lit it again and took a deep drag. I coughed, the smoke streaming out of my mouths and encircling my head. She passed the pipe to me. Hesitantly, I took another lungful. This time it was more tolerable.

"I don't feel anything," I said. Which wasn't exactly true, I felt a bit less tired. Before I knew it, the pipe was in my hand again. The substance smelled sweet, like melted sugar. I narrowed my eyes and peered closely at it. It looked exactly like sugar, too. "It's not literally sugar, is it?" I chuckled. The phrase "literally sugar" stood out in my mind. For no reason at all I laughed and said, "If I owned a bakery I would name it Literally Sugar and sell candy." I paused. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I think it's working," Annwel said.

"I don't think I can lift my arms," I said, which for some reason was hilarious. "Why is it called skooma?" I said. "What does that even mean? If it grew in Skyrim it would be called Skyrooma," I said without thinking.

I sat back against my tree. It was so damn comfortable, I wished I could bring it home with me. I rubbed its mossy roots. If I had to turn into a tree I'd want to be this one. Or maybe one in a park or garden, that way people would come and visit me and I wouldn't be lonely.

I closed my eyes. I saw lights dance across my eyelids, multiple colours flying randomly, until they merged and spun together in unison, forming layers like an onion - each layer was made of thousands of sub-layers, moving, spiraling and sparkling with multicoloured electric bolts.

I stared into the fire. Orange and yellow flickered in and out of existence. I could see shapes in the flames that resolved into figures, animals that disappeared as soon as they appeared, and were forgotten, and replaced by new ones. I looked up at the night sky. Nirn's two moons were out. Masser, with its rusty hue like raw flesh, and blotchy purple smudges across its pockmarked surface like the face of a corpse. Emerging from behind it was the bone-white and pale grey sphere of Secunda. They looked balefully down at me.

"Did you know," Annwel said. I startled. I forgot she was there. "There's an old Khajiit legend, where they managed to stack their bodies on top of one another in a giant pile, and it reached the moon. And some of the Khajiit are still there today."

I laughed. "What? Are you serious?" I asked

"I'm always serious. That's what happened."

I stared up at Masser. I wondered how far away it was. It was almost full. I remembered something to do with the position of the moons determines a Khajiit's breed, or something. I would have to ask Tsartia about it when -

I jerked up. "How song is it -" It was hard to form words. "How long has it been since, since we started?"

Annwel looked up. "I don't know. Half an hour, maybe?"

It only felt like a few minutes. I looked around. "Have you seen Tsartia since then?" she shook her head.

My heart started racing. What if something's happened to her? Why did she leave? Oh right, I told her I needed to be alone. Damn it! Why? I stood up too quickly, making my head feel woozy. I swayed and held on the the tree for balance.

"If she's out there, she'll see the fire," Annwel said.

"But what if she's in trouble?" I said.

She shrugged. "You sent her off. She'll come back if she wants to."

I realized I was breathing heavily. My breath was hanging in the cold air, hovering, like a ghost. "No. I have to find her." I wandered out of the clearing.

"You don't even know where she went!" Annwel said. "Come back!" But I was already gone.

I stumbled through the thick woods, listening and watching. If I was her, where would I go? I kept the moons to my back. I could feel them watching me through the gaps of the trees. The wind whistled faintly through the leaves. It carried voices with it, whispers whose words I couldn't make out. Where was she? I decided to ask the trees. I put my hand on one. It hummed with life, loudly. I felt vibrating, yellow-green energies, screaming like plucked lute strings. So much more powerful than yesterday. A minute passed, the tree became aware of my presence. I passed the idea of Tsartia to it. Eventually an answer came back. Not a word, just a feeling.

"Trouble."

"_Where?"_I asked frantically. Ages passed. Particles of light sped through tightly-wound cords, tight enough to snap.

"_Don't know,"_came the answer at last. I broke off the connection. The moons stared down at me like eyes in hideous face. People said they were the corpse of Lorkhan, the Missing God. Masser was his rotting flesh, blotchy purple and red. Secunda, bone-white and ashy grey. I stumbled back. They were pulsating, growing bigger and bigger but strangely, stayed the same size. They were reduced to tiny specks of light that filled the entire sky.

Was she dead? She thought I was dead before, when I was poisoned. This must be my punishment. Lorkhan's corpse watched me, judging me. I saw the forest from above, it stretched in all directions, never ending. I couldn't see myself. Where was I? Frantically, I looked for myself in the trees, an endless forest of green.

Was I awake?

I sat down to catch my breath and leaned against a tree trunk. I closed my eyes. I could feel my heart trying to burst free of my chest. The screaming of wind, the humming of every living thing near me. Surrounding me. I held my head in my hands and waited for it to stop.

***

When I woke up, my whole body felt dry, like I had been wrung out like a cloth. I coughed. My mouth tasted like dirt. I shivered in the damp, cold morning air. Summer was coming to an end, especially quickly here, up in the mountains that bordered Skyrim and Cyrodiil. I brushed the hair out of my eyes, leaves and pieces of sticks fell to the ground. Slowly I stood up, using a tree for support. I looked up. The sun had just risen, painting the thick clouds above it in deep red and gold.

I looked around. Nothing looked familiar. I could hear nothing but the faint sound of insects buzzing. A leaf fell and I watched it spiral down to the ground. I was utterly, and completely alone. And she was gone. I sent her off and now she was somewhere in the vast, cold emptiness of the woods.

I didn't even know what direction I had come from. The tree behind me had low, evenly-spaced branches. I climbed it and emerged from the top of the sea of green. Dark clouds hung above me, heavy with rain. A single fat drop of rain landed on the back of my hand. Then another, on my face. Drops started pattering down onto the leaves around me. If I strained my eyes, I could just barely make out the tiny, faint outline of the White-Gold tower, far to the southeast, in the center of the Imperial City. To my north was the dim outlines of the mountains of Skyrim. I squinted. I could see the faintest wisp of smoke about a mile ahead. Maybe it was from our campfire from last night? I climbed down and dropped to the ground.

I tried to remember something from last night. Something about a face chasing me. And before that ... I searched my brain but it was like trying to swim through mud. Then I remembered. "Tsartia ..." I called out weakly. My voice trembled in the cold morning air. The woods stayed silent.

Was it really Tsartia I was mad at? Because of what she told Felcrothen? She was being tortured, after all, anyone could have cracked under pressure. I thought about what I kept in my house. I would miss my books, and certainly the money, but all the worthless trinkets I've made for no reason other than to keep myself awake ... I frowned. All of that was useless as, and did nothing but remind me of my past, all the memories of sleepless nights that have been burned away. Maybe it was better they were gone. I looked up, at the cold grey sky. No, I wouldn't miss it anymore than I'd miss Skyrim. All that could be replaced. She couldn't.

I ran north, to our campsite, keeping the rising sun to my right. I entered a clearing. It was definitely our camp, the fire was still faintly smoking. But it was empty. Near the fire, on top of the log Annwel had been sitting on last night, there was a piece of parchment. I picked it up. A hastily scrawled note, blurred with blots of rain but legible:

Delrien and Sarshia (?)

When I woke up this morning I couldn't find either of you and I have to get going. I'll be traveling down the Orange Road, then along the Gold Coast, if you catch up with me you're more than welcome to join me again.

Cheers,

--Annwel

p.s. Don't ever try moon sugar again.

I folded the note into my pocket and looked around the camp. Our footprints covered the ground, hundreds of tiny puddles. I crouched down. I easily distinguished Tsartia's catlike prints, and followed them as they wound away from the camp, heading steadily west, back to the trail we were on yesterday. I hurried through the dense woods. The trail was getting harder to find as the rain washed away the prints. I paused, doubled back a bit, squinting at what was left of the trail. It harder to distinguish them from the puddles that were forming. As I watched, they disappeared. The rain poured unceasingly, mercilessly and erased the last traces of the trail. At last I emerged out of the woods, back onto the trail that wound north and south, but there was no trace of her trail left. I dropped to my hands and knees, frantically looking for any evidence of what direction she went, but there was nothing. My reflection looked up at me from the puddles. I remember looking at it only yesterday, thinking the face looked younger and happier. I looked at them now and it was the same face I'd always been used to - the same tired, empty eyes. A dozen Delriens watched me, waiting for an answer. "I don't know," I told them. I looked away. "I don't know what direction she went."

The dim light of the morning was fading as the sun went behind some clouds. In the distance, distant drums of thunder boomed, echoing in the mountains and the icy rain stabbed down like thousands of tiny knives. What now? Do I go to Valenwood, alone?

I ran my hands through my hair, sending icy water streaming down my back. I pressed my palms to my eyes, hard enough I could see red and purple patterns swirling on my eyelids. She would be lost, alone in the wilderness she'd never been in. She would probably head south, to Elsweyr. She always wanted- I froze, the hair on my neck and arms raised. If she went too far, she could have encountered Felcrothen, going down the same road. I didn't want to think what he would do to her alone, in the woods.

I looked back at my reflections. "No," I told them. "I'm not going to lose her again." I stood up and pressed on. I turned south, initially keeping my head down and looking for more signs, then pickup up my pace and ran. The freezing rain poured down, drenching me through my clothes. Water splashed up with every step I took, drenching my legs and filling my boots with water. I kept going. Pausing to a walk when it felt like my lungs would burst, then running for as long as I could.

It was past noon and the rain had lessened somewhat, when I came across a stream that ran alongside the path. It turned into the woods, into a little pond surrounded by a grove of trees. I smiled to myself, just barely. It reminded me of the place me and Tsartia spent the night, after we escaped from the Thalmor. Was it only four nights ago? It looked like a nice place to rest for a bit. I stepped off the trail and leaned against a tree and breathed. My fatigue finally caught up with me. I grimaced as my legs seized up and my chest tightened painfully.

I limped over to the log, looked up and stopped. There was a figure sitting cross-legged, wearing a cloak and a long hood. It was Tsartia. She was watching me. Her cloak, dark green and covered with splotches of mud, had camouflaged her. "Come closer," she said. Her voice and expression was hard to read.

She stepped off the log and approached me. She took off her hood, rain streamed from her downturned ears and her fur was matted down on her body. She held on to my jacket and pulled me close. "I'm so sorry," she said.

Relief washed over me like a wave, and my fatigue evaporated. I held her tightly, pressing my face against her cheek. It was cold. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have sent you away."

"No, I'm the one who left. Seeing her with you made me realize how different we are. I thought, once we get to Valenwood you'll be among your own people, and you won't have to settle for me."

"Settle for you? Tsartia, you have no idea what you've done for me. Before I met you I was alone, pathetic and miserable. I know it hasn't been that long but it feels like ..." I paused, searching for words that would be decent enough "It feels like my whole life, I've only been able to see in shades of grey. Then I met you and it's like I can finally see in colour."

I furrowed my brow. "Wait, Khajiiti can see colour, right? Or are you ... I'm sorry if that was offensive."

She laughed, a sweet sound that was like the breaking of clouds. "No, we can see colour." She looked up at me. "Is that really how you feel? You're not mad about your house?"

I waved it away. "I know I'll miss it, and it's going to be hard with barely any money, but there's nothing we can do about it now. I can always make a new one. We can build it together, in Valenwood."

"With imported wood from Cyrodiil?"

I smiled. "Yes."

We embraced tightly. I took off my coat and draped it over her shoulders. I held her close, shielding her from the rain. "No, Tsartia. I don't want anyone else. I'd rather have you than any elf in Tamriel."