Work Text:
“Auri? Are you OK? You’ve been particularly quiet this morning.” Nevaleth asked.
“Hmm? Oh… no, I’m fine.” She stuttered.
“Are you sure? If you want to talk about it I’m always available.” Auri sighed and shook her head before signing to Thistlefoot to fall back a bit. Together Nevaleth and Auri were riding on the shore of Lake Ilinalta, just behind Lakeview Manor. Auri was a stout, redheaded bosmer. She had two small antlers poking out of her forehead as was usual for bosmer. Her hair was curly and stretched down to about her clavicle. She was wearing a set of light armor, mostly made of leather but with pieces of thin metal covering the most vulnerable areas. On her back was a large bow and a bunch of arrows stored in a beautifully decorated quiver. Nevaleth was a, slightly taller than average, dunmer with short, flowy purple hair. Her eyes were a bright blue from being a devout follower of Azura. She too was wearing light leather armour and on her hip she carried a large elven war-axe. Though she primarily used her proficiency of destruction magicka to fight. Just to the right of them you could just about see the tips of Bleak Falls Barrow where Nevaleth had retrieved the Dragonstone from not too long ago. They had come from the cold and awful city of Windhelm where both of them had been discriminated against for being elves and been pestered out of the city. Now they were headed for Falkreath where they would spend some time before going on new adventures through the almighty and beautiful nature of Skyrim.
“Did those nords in Windhelm bring you down or is there something else going on?” Nevaleth said.
“It’s not that… I just… I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Auri’s head drooped and faced the ground below her. As the sun was setting Falkreath came into view. Falkreath was no small city, but it paled in comparison to cities like Whiterun and Solitude. Just outside the city they could see its enormous graveyard where probably hundreds if not thousands of dead people lay. As they walked past the city’s gates some heads started to turn and face the two newcomers, some recognised Auri and nodded at her. Auri felt quite at home in Falkreath as it’s situated quite close to her pod and she’d come here to buy rotmeth from time to time before she had met Nevaleth.
When they entered the Dead Man’s Drink, Valga greeted them, “Welcome to the Dead Man’s Drink.” Auri and Nevaleth paid for a room and, after a drink, went to sleep.
Auri woke up in the guestroom of The Dead Man’s Drink. Indicated by the orange glow that came from the opaque windows that still let some light through, a new day was just dawning. Auri noticed that it was unusually warm for Skyrim’s sake but she went with it. After putting on her armour she left her room and found only a lightly smoldering fire in the centre of the tavern. She thought nothing of it and walked past the wood remains to knock on Nevaleth’s door.
“Nevaleth? Are you Awake?” she asked quietly. No answer. She assumed it was just because it was early and then decided to go on an early morning walk. As Auri opened the front door a warm, orange glow pushed in, a fire. She stepped outside to find the forest alight with flames, in the background she heard a pitiful cry for help. At this sight Auri froze and staggered back.
“T-this can’t be real, not again, not again.” She was brought back, way back. Auri thought she had heard that voice before, so carefully she stepped out of The Dead Man’s Drink and wandered closer to the voice. Suddenly she recognised it, it was her sister. She ran there without thinking, dodging flame spouts and avoiding loose, burning branches. She ran as quickly as her short legs could, but she tripped over a rock. Though Auri was too focused on saving her sister that she didn’t notice the pain. As she tried to get up a branch fell onto her pushing her into the dirt and ash below.
“Sis! I- I- n-not again, not again, Y’ffre.” Auri yelped before her vision started to fade and she stopped feeling the ground she was laying on.
Auri shot up from her bed, drenched in sweat, with her heart pounding like a drunk bard with a drum. She saw Nevaleth standing next to her bed.
“I heard you yelping from outside and decided to see if you were OK.” Nevaleth started. Auri panted for a while longer, deciphering what just happened.
“I-it was just a nightmare.” Her head drooped as she calmed down and got up and pushed Nevaleth out of her room.
“Let me get dressed, I’ll see you in ten.” Nevaleth simply nodded and let Auri do her thing. Auri then started to silently cry as she thought of Valenwood, what had happened, her family.
“I can’t go back, there is nothing left for me there but regret.” She whispered to herself.
“Auri? It's been over ten minutes now. Are you coming? We’ve got a long road ahead of us.” Nevaleth said after knocking on her door.
“I’m coming.” Auri quickly looked at her reflection in a vase that stood on the bedside table, trying to compose herself before exiting the room.
“Hey Auri?”
“Hm?”
“Are you really OK? I know you didn’t want to talk about it yesterday, and I’m not trying to push you, but… I’m a little worried. If you do feel like you need someone to talk to, just know that I’ll always listen to you.”
“I-I… thanks.” Auri paused for the next minute or so before continuing. “I-I miss Valenwood. But I can’t go back, not now, not ever.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“N-not here. I-it… eugh.”
“Don’t fret, I’ll take you to the calmest place I know, will that help?”
“Y-yes… thanks.” Nevaleth instructed her horse to turn. Together, Auri and Nevaleth walked past Falkreath towards the east. They followed the road in silence before reaching a small path.
“We’ll take a right here, into the mountains.” Nevaleth said quietly and instructed her horse to follow the small dirt path that meandered through the mountains. Together they traveled for another hour and a half or so before they approached a cave entrance.
“Here, Ancestor Glade. I hope it makes you feel a little closer to home.” Nevaleth said. Auri looked at the dark cave entrance and hesitated going in.
“Don’t worry, I’ve cleared the cave out, before I met you I’d sometimes come here to rest.” Auri nodded before getting off of Thistlefoot, signing that it should stay put, and entered the cave.
In the cave there were five trees, each covered in white and pink blossoms. They stood below Auri and Nevaleth, in a sort of valley. The trees were lit by a hole in the top of the cave. They walked down further along a path that was presumably laid out by the people who had first discovered this safe haven.
“The light here, it reminds me of the way the light would shine through the great Graht-Oaks back in Valenwood.” Auri said, ‘’Thanks for bringing me here, it’s really pretty.” Together they sat down, bathing in the light that shone through the cave’s roof. Nevaleth laid down their bedrolls so that they had a comfortable place to sit whilst they were here.
“Do you feel comfortable enough here to talk?” Nevaleth asked, her face gentle but inquisitive.
“That nightmare I had this morning, I dreamt of a forest fire, one where my sister needed saving and again I fucked it up.” Auri’s head drooped as she started tearing up.
“Again?”
“It all happened so long ago, when I was still living in Valenwood. Me and my sister were so close, we’d lay on beds of moss and watch the stars twinkle in the skies. One time, we were hunting a royal stag to feed our family. We had been following it for a few days when, one night, when we were sleeping peacefully in a tree not unlike these here, we got swarmed by hoarvor. Those awful creatures attacked me and my sister, I fought them with all my might but there were too many. I was able to shoot three with my bow but four others dug their claws in my sister's chest. I couldn’t let anything happen to her, she was my everything, I couldn't lose her this early. So I-I…” Auri started stuttering and a tear drooped from her face onto the floor. Nevaleth sat closer to Auri and she lay her arm around her. “I grabbed a burning bone from the fire, bu-but… I dropped it. It did scare away the hoarvor and save my sister… but the forest started burning up. It took two days to get the fire under control, hundreds if not thousands of trees burned. I fled, I fled and did not look back. Even though I miss my home dearly, I cannot go back. Only regret awaits me. I broke the Pact, I betrayed Y’ffre, and so I’m condemned to fade in the darkness once I die. My name will be forgotten, erased, and my song will be forever silent.” Auri and Nevaleth sat still, without uttering any word, for what felt like an eternity. The silence was a very sad kind of silence, not awkward, or loud, but sad. In the background some moths flew about, even they looked as if they were flying slower and lower than before.
“Why can’t you go back? Will they not forgive you for an accident?” Nevaleth said, breaking the silence.
“The penalty for breaking The Green Pact is death, it's not something that’s just forgiven.” Another silence ensued. “I haven’t talked about what happened in Valenwood with anybody else. Thank you for listening and understanding.”
“Hey, I would’ve done the same if I were to find myself in that situation.” Auri started smiling, she wiped away a tear with the back of her hand and pulled Nevaleth into a big hug.
“You’ve been so kind to me,” Auri said with her head resting on Nevaleth’s shoulder. “You’ve taken me to this beautiful place, all because I felt a little homesick. You listened to my story, and even knowing the truth you haven’t judged me. And truth is, what I did for my sister, I’d do it all again. Not only for her but also for you. You’ve come to mean very much to me.” Auri pulled out of the hug so that the two of them could look into each other's eyes, but still rested her arms on Nevaleth’s shoulders. “Nevaleth… I love you.” and before Nevaleth even had a chance to reply Auri planted her lips onto those of Nevaleth. At first she was surprised but she joined in and kissed Auri back. Their armoured chests pressed together, and their kiss deepened. Suddenly Auri pushed Nevaleth over onto one of the bedrolls and she landed on top of the dunmer, flashing her fangs. Nevaleth's eyes opened wide and she started blushing.
“A-auri…”
“I love you.” Auri said before falling onto Nevaleth and again initiating a deep kiss. Auri felt how Nevaleth’s arms tightened around her and how she kissed back with such passion. They kissed for a while longer, bathing in each other's smell and enjoying the pressure of their hug. Their surroundings blurred in the heat of the moment, it was almost as if they’d entered outer space and were one entity, peacefully floating in the vast emptiness of it all.
Auri then reached over to the buckles of Nevaleth’s leather armour, and undid one of them. Nevaleth’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
“Auri… ” She instinctively grabbed the bosmer’s hips, “are you sure?”
“I’m sure if you’re sure.” Auri said.
Nevaleth giggled, grabbed Auri’s buckles, and whispered in her ear: “Pretty sure.” She then unbuckled Auri’s armour, and lugged it to the side, aweing at her body. Auri took off her bracers and then unbuckled Nevaleth's Armour.
“Come here… Nevaleth.”
Auri and Nevaleth lay on their sides, pressed up against each other. Auri’s hand rested on Nevaleth’s hip and she moved her head to give her another kiss.
“Maybe we should talk for a bit.” Nevaleth suggested. “Where do we go from here?”
“Well that’s mostly up to you. Though I’ll make one thing clear. I will not marry you. I will not move into your wooden house and cook meals for you. And I will not sit around at home, waiting for you to come home for a quick romp every now and then. That, I won’t do. If you want to end it right here, I will be distraught, but I’ll understand. I was lucky to have you, even if just for one night.”
“Oh Auri, of course not, I won’t force you to become a house-wife, I need you by my side, adventuring.” Nevaleth touched her forehead to that of Auri and closed her eyes. “I would never want to end this, I love you too much for this to end.” Auri then smiled and kissed Nevaleth gently.
“I love you too Nevaleth, I’m glad that you want to continue adventuring with me.” Auri then snuggled up and pushed her head against Nevaleth's chest. Nevaleth responded by draping her arms around the small bosmer. They tried to fall asleep but after what had just happened both of them just kept on smiling.
“I’ll love you to oblivion and back.” Auri said
“Well, I'll love you to oblivion and back twice!”
“I’d take on Mehrunes Dagon for you.”
“I’ll do it twice!”
“You never give up do you?” Auri giggled as she laid her hand on Nevaleth's cheek.
“I love you, Auri.” Nevaleth said as she gave Auri one last kiss before the sleep finally got to her.