Skyrim
Tale of Two Souls
Chapter 4
Walking outside of the house of Alvor and his family was Usshin and Ne’Ma the two getting ready for a trek to Whiterun, the capital city of this hold. Quickly waving goodbye to the man in question who had been kind enough to give them a few items, mainly some warm clothes, food, and in Usshin’s case a good steel sword to replace the cheep iron one he had gotten from Hadvar at the barracks back at Helgen. Ne’Ma now wearing an old dress that belonged to Alvor’s daughter, she seemed to enjoy the puffs of wool at the hands, neckline, and around the trim of the dress intended to help keep her warm and Usshin was still wearing the mages robes he had taken from the dead mage however underneath he had on one of Alvor’s old flannel shirts and a pair of pants, they where like bags on the vampiric cat but they would help keep him warm . . . . if he actually had a need to worry about such a things. Taking a last look back to Alvor, the smith in question now wearing a thick apron over his clothes, who was heading to the forge just on the other side of the building and waving goodbye to him who waved back with a piece of sausage hanging from his mouth, jokingly Usshin says to Ne’Ma as they took to the road leading out of town,
“Man really likes his pork doesn’t he?”
Nodding with what could only been seen as a silent giggle Ne’Ma then takes her fathers hand and pulls him along the road, none of her usual energy lost from the curse wrapped around her throat which made the old cat feel a little better watching as she tugged on his hand when he wasn’t moving quick enough. Nearing the edge of town leading the short stone bridge at the end of town which ran over the river and lead to more road on the other side. Walking over the bridge brought Ne’Ma to glance over the side then looking over to her father and pointing to the school of fish swimming underneath. A spark of wonder glittered in her eyes as she watched the fish swim by, then Usshin quickly had to grab her shoulder as the young girl intended to jump into the river to chase them. Shaking his head no Usshin then says as the young girl took her foot off of the rail of the small bridge,
“Ne’Ma, they were kind enough to give us these clothes, lets not ruin then right off the bat huh?”
The young girl lets out a silent sigh then nods, glancing once more at the fish swimming by before following her father across the bridge.
~A few hours later, high noon, about half way to Whiterun~
Letting go a silent sigh the young argonian walks alongside her father, the old cat trudging along the road glancing up at the sun every now and then and hurling a vulgarity at the star in question. It wasn’t the heat or the lack there of as the current situation stood, it was the sun itself, it had been about two and a half days since his last feeding and as such the sun was starting to drain him, an event that he was normally protected from by the powerful enchantments he had woven into every stitch of his personal robes; but he didn’t have his robes and as such only regular cloth was between him and the sun and as such the life started fading away from the old cat and his vampiric features became more distinct with the prolonged exposure. Ne’Ma had seen him get like this from time to time but only when he would forgo feeding almost a week at a time, not only two and a half days, however she knew how to fix it, she’d have to feed him. Tugging on his hand the young girl noted the smoke coming from under his sleeve, donning on her how important his robes where in their travels but that was beside the point at this point in time, with the sun at high noon her poor father was literally roasting under his clothes where she was still a little cold; she knew he wouldn’t last till they got to Whiterun.
Usshin ignoring her at first as he fought to keep upright, the cat just kept trudging along only looking down as the young girl yanked on his hand and pulled him off the road and toward the shelter of the shade cast by a large tree. Once there he looked a little better but only just, it wasn’t true shelter from the sun and she knew it would only buy her a few seconds at best. She knew what to do, he had told her about it one day long ago, that vampires are resilient to the sun for a day right after feeding and knowing so she lowered the collar on her dress and tilted her head, giving her father the order to feed even without the ability to speak. He shook his head no then says slumping down the tree as he spoke,
“Not out here Ne’Ma, it’s to public, and last I heard nords weren’t so tolerant of vampires like you’ve grown to be, don’t worry I can wait till we get to . . . . To the inn at Whiterun.”
Even in the shade smoke once again started puffing out of his clothes like it was a chimney and he was the fire wood as the sun went back to its job of grilling him. The girl could only shake her head and sigh as the stubbornness of her father got the best of him, even as he was struggling to get back to his feet he kept claiming that he was fine. She knew that if he didn’t burst into flames before they got to the town, the fact that he was smoking would tip off the guards that something wasn’t right. Thinking quickly she looked around and managed to spot a small cave or perhaps an abandoned mine of some kind she didn’t know which, however it was shelter from the sun and a private place to feed her father and nodding to the idea she tugs on his hand, gently at first as to not cause him more pain as his flesh burnt, then pointing to the cave a little ways from the road. The pain being to much, he is unable to put two and two together and face palming the girl then grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the cave, intending to not let his stubbornness get the best of him again.
Making a dash for the entrance to the cave forced her to bring her father under the sun much longer then she would have wanted but it was necessary and once she managed to get him moving they were able to make it there before he heated up to much and then once inside he started to look worlds better however he quickly tore off his robes and started to try to put out a flame that had sparked on his tail; an act that normally would have amused the young girl had she known he’d be fine afterwards. Working in tandem the two of them quickly put out his tail in a nearby puddle that had formed do to condensation from the roof of the cave, where afterwards the young girl began silently scolding her father for not being more careful. He laughs a little as his daughter had a silent little tantrum about his lack of foresight before saying,
“I’ll admit, it was foolish of me to think I could last all the way to Whiterun in broad daylight, but what do you want from me? If I had asked if we could stick around till nightfall wouldn’t that also be a sign that things might not be right, plus it would have been night three by then, my fangs would have been as long and sharp as daggers, a dead giveaway”
The young girl stops almost mid sentence, closing her mouth then nodding, then poking him a few times to try and make her point. However after taking a moment to cool her head and calm down she then took a seat on a nearby rock, then hooks a finger toward her father then patting a spot next to her. He nods and sits next to her, just being out of the sun made the old cat feel better but he knew they had to get to Whiterun sooner rather then later so when she once again lowered the collar of her outfit he nodded then quickly went about feeding off of the young girl. Like so many times before the cat bit into her neck using the same place he always used as to not damage her scales and quickly trails of crimson began flowing down her nape as she let out a gasp that was more comforting sounds then pain filled sounding; being very careful as he was accustom to, to keep himself and her still as wary of his own strength and the frail nature of the neck of his daughter which he was now suckling from. It didn’t take very long till he had drank his fill and she could not safely provide any more and letting go of her neck he looked at the young argonian in his care, he always did hate feeding on her, her bright green scales and surprisingly ashen under skin now very pale do to blood loss but all the same she smiled up at him reassuring him that she would be fine and that she loved him with all her heart. He quickly tended to the slightly bleeding holes in her neck with his magic, mending her wound with all the skill and ease as a master of the craft.
Once done with the event of the feeding both father and daughter sat side by side calming down before deciding to do anything else, Usshin handing a snack to Ne’Ma in order to help her recover a little, and indeed it helped. No sooner had she finished her bread and jam did she go about exploring the mouth of the cave they had rushed inside of. To say she was excited to explore would have been an understatement but when her father called her back she nodded and rejoined him. They both knew the task at hand was important, indeed if a dragon attacked riverwood before the guards could be dispatched to defend them the people living there would stand no chance of survival. After a few moments more of resting and a few drinks of water they once again emerged from the shelter of the cave and back into the light of day, their destination being the city of Whiterun. With his hungry stated and the sun no longer roasting him the old cat moved much faster and with more spring in his step then before even going as far as to pick up Ne’Ma and carrying the young argonian on his shoulders, Ne’Ma letting out a silent gasp as her fathers thick and coarse mane tickled and teased her uncovered mound, then laying her head on his as she found these strange feelings very enjoyable, if she could speak he might have heard her mumble, the words “that feels strangely good”; She delighted when he bounced her a little as he walked along, the cat completely and utterly having forgotten her lack of panties when he wrapped her legs around his head.
The rest of their trip went rather uneventfully, when they weren’t walking side by side, the young girl would chase any of the large number of random insects the would flutter past them or when the one moment when Usshin had stopped to tend to a hunter who had sprained his ankle evading a wolf; the cats magic made short work of the mans wounds and he repaid his kindness in turn with some of his recent kills, fresh rabbit meat and some venison and a small amount of hides. Having gotten bored, the young girl then remember the strange feelings she felt when she he had given her a piggy back ride before, and then feigning that she was tired, she got her father to give her another piggy back ride. Like the first time his still and coarse mane rubbed against her virgin mound as he walked, the girl almost going limp on him as it started to feel better then before. The cat slowly realized what she was doing up their, having felt a few trails of moister running down the back of his neck, however he didn’t bother to stop, part of him didn’t care and that’s the part that won, he even went as far as to start porously flexing his neck and shoulders making her rub against him more; Quite frankly if she had the ability to make any noise at all she would have been loudly moaning, Usshin then looking up at her as she suddenly grabbed a hold of his head and started thrashing around a little, the cat knowing what he had just done when he felt the large amount of liquid running down his back, and part of him felt guilty, however as she calmed down she laid on his head, Usshin feeling her silently panting and gasping for breath.
After he had stopped for a few moments to give Ne’Ma a chance to recover from her . . . .experience and himself a chance to dry himself he knew he‘d have to give her ‘The talk’ soon but that would be something for later. Once ready to go they then walked to Whiterun, past the farms and then the stables and then to the slightly fortified pathway that lead to the gates. The pathway looked just a little in disrepair but still was manned by guards toting the standard guard attire as well as sharpened steel swords and recently crafted longbows. The young girl clung to her father as they walked up the path, all to aware of the guards watching their progress, but they were not stopped till they reached the gate where a guard said as they approached holding his hand out to order them to stop,
“Halt! The City is currently closed with the dragons about. Official business only.”
The cat nods then says looking to the guard,
“I’ve come on behalf of the citizens of Riverwood, they call for the jarls aid.”
The guard nods then says looking to one of his comrades with a nod, the man then opening the gate,
“Very well then, go on through, you’ll find the jarl in Dragonsreach on the hill in the back of the city.”
Nodding and thanking the guards, they wait till the gate is opened and once so they enter the city. Once inside the first thing they see is a small smithy, where a nord man, and a redguard woman were arguing about swords, and directly across from them was another shop displayed as the drunken huntsmen by the sign on the path. Past that they entered a circler plaza, a few stalls and shops lining the area as well as an inn, they’d most likely be spending the night there tonight if they could get the coin for it. First thing was first however, they had to go see the jarl, and tell him about riverwood’s plight. As they entered the second upper level of the town where a large dead tree sat, as well as a temple, a longhouse that sat up on a hill and several houses that went off to their left. Beyond that past a large flight of stairs was Dragonsreach, the jarls keep and place of residence and looking up to the large building on the hill Ne’Ma pointed to it then looked up to her father, Usshin then saying,
“Yes Ne’Ma, that is where the jarl lives, shall we go see him?”
She nods not sure what to expect, then leads the way skipping to the stairs with her father in tow. They quickly climb the stairs, passing a few guards who where on their way down, and once on the landing to Dragonsreach they saw a few more guards watching the entrance to the keep itself as well as what Usshin could only guess was the prison. Nodding to the guards, they nodded back and allowed the two to pass without so much as a question, and opening the large doors lead them into a large hall, fancily decorated with fine oaken tables and other such furniture, many braziers kept the hall not only lit but warm aiding the large bonfire that was placed right in the center of the hall. Past the large fire sat a throne where sat the jarl, who was discussing things with his advisers, and as they approached one woman, a very alert dark elf turned her head instantly detecting their presence, and drawing her blade she hurried to stop their advance. Once closer to the cat and his daughter the woman said in a very demanding tone of voice,
“What’s the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors.”
Something about her tone, general posture, and attitude for some reason really irked the old cat who then said without even thinking as he stepped forward,
“I’m here to see the jarl, stand aside elf.”
Oh she didn’t take to kindly to that at all and no sooner had he tried to pass her did she grab his arm and say in response, the venom in her voice almost palpable,
“And I told you that the jarl isn’t receiving visitors, but what should I expect from a khajiit, you’re kind is always getting into trouble.”
Usshin instantly turned on his heels, and in the beat of a heart the two where just about at each others throats, the guards where about to intervene but where stopped by the jarl who idly waved his hand at them, then chuckled a little as he watched the elf yank and the cats fur who then responded by tugging on her ears. The childish display lasted for a few moments till they both heard the jarl say,
“Well hello there little one, what can I do for you?”
With the cat having a hold of both of the elf’s ears and the elf in question with two fist fulls of Usshin’s cheeks, they both looked over as the young argonian girl waved to the jarl, then gave a polite little curtsy, Jarl Balgruuf then saying as he looked over to the childish display before him,
“That will be enough of that Irileth, I want to hear what they have to say.”
Still gripping the cats face she then says as she lets go,
“As you wish my lord.”
Once untangled from each other both the cat and Irileth approach the jarl who then asks as he pats Ne’Ma’s head,
“Quite the sneaky one she is, neither of you noticed that she had slipped away, she doesn’t say much either does she?”
Usshin nods rubbing the back of his head a little as he said,
“Well there was a little bit of a mishap several days ago, perhaps we could talk about it at length later on.”
Nodding the jarl then sits back in his throne as the cat goes on to say,
“However we have something to discuss sir.”
Nodding he then says, waving for one of his servants to being him a drink,
“Then please go on.”
Nodding Usshin says, as Ne’Ma rejoined her father and the jarl got his drink,
“I’ve come on behalf of the citizens of Riverwood sir, Helgen was destroyed by a dragon not but two days ago, and my new friend Alvor fears riverwood will be next and request that you’d send troops to defend the town.”
Nodding the jarl sets aside his goblet and asks,
“Alvor, he’s the smith right?”
The cat nods to confirm the jarls question, who then goes on to say,
“Reliable solid fellow, and if I remember correctly not one to be prone to flights of fancy.”
Looking up to the cat he then asks, a very serious look on his face and in his tone of voice,
“And you’re sure Helen was destroyed by a dragon? This wasn’t some stormcloak raid gone wrong?”
Nodding the cat then responds,
“Aye, The imperial troops had captured Jarl Ulfric, some of his men, and by a strange twist of fate me and my daughter.”
With a bit of a sour look on his face, the jarl says,
“Jarl Ulfric, I should have known he’d be involved in this.”
The cat nods then resumes his tale
“Yes, they were getting ready to deal with the lot of us when the dragon flew over head, it was mass chaos sir; me and my daughter barely escaped with out lives with the aid of one of the imperial lieutenants.”
Sitting up in his chair, the man then takes a firm tone of voice as he says,
“By the gods, Irileth was right!”
Then looking to the man at his right hand side the jarl then asks,
"What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"
Looking to the jarl, Irileth says as she approaches him,
“My lord, I agree with the cat, Riverwood is in the most immediate danger, we should dispatch a contingent of guards at once.”
However as she finishes her statement the man Proventus states as he also approaches the jarl,
"The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation! He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him."
However the jarl then stands and says looking to the man in question,
“Enough! I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people!”
Then turning the elf Irileth, he then says,
"Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once."
She nods then says as she turns to carry out his orders,
“Yes, my jarl.”
As the elf leaves to carry out her orders, the man Proventus turns away to carry out his duties, leaving the Jarl, Usshin, and Ne’Ma to finish their conversation, the Jarl then saying as he offered his hand to the cat,
“Well done. You sought me out, on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it.”
Nodding then letting go of the jarl’s hand, he looks up as the man stands then says,
“perhaps you’d be willing to do another thing me. Suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and... rumors of dragons."
The cat nods, following the jarl to a medium sized room just off of the main hall, where inside a man wearing a set of hooded robes can be seen looking off into space as he looked at a map, then shaking his head a little and turning around as the jarl said,
"Farengar, I think I've found someone who can help you with your dragon project. Go ahead and fill them with all the details."
The mage looks to the father daughter pair then back to the jarl who continues on to say,
"This is a priority now. Anything we can use to fight this dragon, or dragons. We need it, quickly. Before it's too late."
Nodding the mage says as he once again glances at the cat, almost like he could tell that this cat was a powerful mage,
"Of course, Jarl Balgruuf. You seem to have found me an able assistant. I'm sure they’ll prove most useful."
The Jarl nods then says looking to the cat,
"Succeed at this, and you'll be rewarded. Whiterun will be in your debt."
The cat nods then asks before the jarl leaves,
“Speaking of debts sir, it is growing late in the day, and I’m afraid that do to recent events I have no coin to pay for a room for myself and my daughter tonight, I don’t suppose we could by chance borrow some? I’d repay it without question.”
The jarl thinks about it for a moment then says,
“I’ll do you one better, I already owe you quite a bit, here’s what I’ll do.”
He takes a scrap piece of paper from Farengar’s desk and grabs up a nearby quill, then quickly scrawling something on the paper, and after retrieving some small item from his pocket, takes a candle from the desk then spilling a fair amount of wax onto the page and then pressing the item onto the spilled wax. Once finished he says as he hands over the piece of paper,
“Go a head and take this, it will allow you to let the citizens of the city that you are my personal guest and that you are to be treated well, and that I’ll pay for anything you need later on, within reason of course.”
The cat nods then says as he carefully pockets the piece of paper,
“My thanks sir, I promises not to abuse your hospitality.”
The jarl then says as he once again turns to leave,
“Not a problem, my friend. Finish this task for me and I’ll see if I can help alleviate your financial woes.”
The jarls then leaves, but not before giving the young argonian’s feathered head another pat, then once alone with the mage Farengar, the man says,
“Shall we cut to the chase, I can tell just by looking at you that you are by far a greater mage then myself, I require someone to go to the ruins of Bleak Falls Barrow, where within I need you to find an old stone tablet, which will undoubtedly be interred in the main chamber.”
Usshin looks at the man as he talks, then as the explanation of the job is about finished, a far off look fills the old cats face, almost as if he was remembering something from the far past, then after the man finishes Usshin says,
“The dragon stone, you’re looking for the dragon stone aren’t you?”
The mage nods then asks,
“Ah so you’ve heard of it then? Yes it is suppose to be a map of dragon burial mounds, I believe if I can translate this map it could help us figure out the current state of affairs.”
The cat then says with a nod,
“That wouldn’t be a problem, a little dungeon is a simple task for me.”
Nodding the mage then says,
“Well then, normally I’d wish you luck, however I have a feeling that you don’t need it.”
The cat nods, then shakes Farengar’s hand and then along with Ne’Ma the cat turns to leave the hall. Once outside, the sun was indeed on its way down, however there was still a small amount of light left in the sky, and looking down to his daughter the cat says giving her head a pat,
“Why don’t we see if we could acquire some clothes and perhaps some underwear for you, even with that nice dress your nethers must be cold.”
The girl gives a nod and a silent giggle remembering the event from earlier and the blush that filled his face as she could tell he was remembering it too, she then follows her father down the steps and back down to the plaza where all the shops sat. With a little conversation with one of the people finishing up their day in the plaza, the father daughter pair found out that they could find the items they needed from Belethor’s General Goods store and with a short trip from the inn to the store in question they walked inside as a breton man, who was about to close up shop for the night, but being one to always look out to make a sale, he quickly says as he turns to greet the pair,
“Welcome, Welcome to my shop, please tell me what I can do for you.”
After a short conversation and Usshin showing the man the Jarl's note, Belethor then shows them to several crates and says,
“I do apologize that my wares are not properly displayed, my store is small and I have limited space for displays, however I do have many fine items for you to choose from, please feel free to pick your favorites.”
The man watches as the pair look through the crates of his clothing wares silently hoping they’d pick something expensive seeing as the jarl himself would be paying for it, a few zeros would not likely be noticed by the jarl who had not done the shopping or known the actual price. After picking out a decent undergarment for himself, and making sure that Ne’Ma had picked something tasteful and not to expensive, she had decided to pick out two pairs of panties, a pair that matched her eyes and a pair that was nearly the same color as her scales; her father having tried and failed to talk her out of the second pair after seeing in private how . . . Nude the underwear made her look even with it on. After making their selections Usshin then said as he approached the man,
“Well then now that the delicates are taken care of, perhaps you can help me with something else.”
The man nods taking his place behind his counter once more asking once there,
“And what is it that I can help you find?”
Usshin nods then asking for a piece of parchment and a pen, quickly scrawls down a rather large list of items, Usshin then saying,
“I don’t expect you to have all these items in stock, however if you can get them for me, I’ll make it worth your while.”
The man nods, going over the extensive list of items, then asking as he looked to the cat in question,
“Alright, well some of these items are pretty pricy and I’m guessing that cheep knockoffs are a big no, no as well?”
The cat nods then says,
“That is correct I need everything on this list and I need them to be real, not cheep knockoffs. But don’t worry, as I promised you will be compensated for everything and a little something extra for your troubles.”
The man nods then says shaking the cats hand,
“Very well, you have a deal sir, I’ll look into my contacts and suppliers and look into getting these items for you, I’ll let you know when I have them all.”
The cat nods then thanks the man for the underwear and leaves the shop so the man could get ready to go home. Ne’Ma was getting tired at this point, and tugging on her fathers sleeve, she held her arms up as he looked down to see what she wanted, to which the cat smiled, rubbed her feathers and picked her up, the young girl silently yawning and laying her head on her fathers right side shoulder. With their light shopping out of the way Usshin went back to the inn where with some help from the inn keeper informed her of his current status and asking for a good room for the two of them, Ne’Ma already having fallen asleep in his arms. After getting to their room on the second floor Usshin was picking at a meal the inn keeper’s assistant was kind enough to deliver to his room, Ne’Ma having woken for a little to eat her dinner then fell right back to sleep.
With the young argonian silently snoring in the warm folds of the large comfortable bed, her dress having been hung up so Usshin could clean the dust off of it, however the cat was at that moment in time, mindlessly chewing on a piece of chicken, a thousand mile away look on his face as he recalled what he had seen when he was talking to the mage Farengar, which was him, in some dark cave like area; He couldn’t truly make out what it was he was doing however one thing he was sure of, in his hands was a large stone tablet, he was carving something into it, he then placed it inside what he thought was a stone coffin, he then turns to a strange wall with some kind of tool in his hand; however that is where the memory ends and once again looking at his forgotten meal, he says softly,
“But is that just a dream . . . Or was it something I tried to forget?”
A confused look on his face, he quickly finished his meal and then removed his robes leaving himself in the bag like attire that he had been given by Alvor, and once he had hung up his robes he moved to join Ne’Ma in the bed, the young girl sprawled out under the blankets with her legs left wide, showing her virgin womanhood tightly wrapped in the jade green panties she had picked out; being frank Usshin couldn’t tell the difference between flush and felt and for a moment a thought crossed his mind, however he quickly shook his head, banishing the thought from his head, then mumbling under his breath,
“Ne’Ma, I haven’t had sex in over a century, you are officially poking the daedra here.”
With a sigh he then lays down next to the young girl, who instantly in her sleep wraps her arms around his waist rubbing her head against his chest, that familiar feeling that she could recognize even in her sleep, the cat then as he noticed the familiar smile on her sleeping face and the warmth of her body as she held onto him, and remembering a time long ago when he slept cold and alone he smirks, caressing her muzzle with a finger and says softly,
“For so long I was alone, all I knew was solitude and now well, clearly, I must have done something right in my long existence for the divines to have sent me such a sweet little angle. However I fear that if I don’t put an end to things like today’s events . . .”
He leans in for a moment then kisses her forehead, closing his eyes as he did, then saying softly as he pulls away,
“I fear that I won’t be able to control myself, I pray that my strength holds.”
The young girl turns over in her sleep with a silent yawn, then cuddles into her fathers arms, the cat then laying down on the pillow and pulling her close, then after a few moments and nuzzling her little feathers, he falls asleep, to dream what dreams my come to him that night.
~End of Chapter~
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