Chasing Shadows

Evening had settled in the little hideaway ruin that they had set up as home. It was far enough away from detection that Alyssia was sure the chances of having unwanted visitors (namely any kind of law) was almost nil. At least the warrior had hoped. And sure enough since they had discovered it and cleaned the underground cellar up it had been pretty comfortable. In fact, the two women had spent a good amount of time discreetly cutting a few trees down to make a variety of functional furniture over the weeks. They now had a few tables and chairs, a sturdy bed (the first frame, much to their amusement, had cracked almost in half during a rather...exuberant...lovemaking session. And so the second bed was made with extra care.), even a bookshelf and nightstand.

A fire pit had been cobbled together from a variety of stones, though no flames crackled in the makeshift hearth this night. It was unusually warm and, always one to complain quickly about the heat, Alyssia had refused to build a fire. Even to cook with. And so Lindi let the grouchy Breton have her way, though not without a good deal of teasing.

But tonight her jibes fell on deaf ears and instead of eliciting the return playfulness that was typical of her partner, Alyssia's responses were either non existent or little more than grunts of acknowledgment. For the past few hours, the woman had sat at the table pouring over maps and paperwork that she had recovered from Garrik's personal safe on the night that she had gone seeking her brother. What information she had on where he had gone was scarce. And now finding the tomb he had apparently been seeking in Eastmarch had become an obsession for her. Whatever he was after, she needed to find out. And if possible, find it first. But she always seemed one step behind her crafty half sibling and sometimes the frustration of that made her bitter and fouled the woman's mood to the point where she was almost unbearable. In public, she put on her easy going playful mask. But in private, only Lindi knew how dark and brooding Alyssia could get.

The elf's head turned as Alyssia muttered to herself in exasperation and slammed the map she had been scouring down on the table. “Bloody 'ell this is givin' me a 'eadache! It could be any one o' these three tombs. But why? Wha' the 'ell does he want in some ol' dusty Nord barrow?”

Tsking to herself, Lindi sidled up behind Aly's chair and slid her hands over the woman's shoulders. The massage went a long way to help relax the tension, causing her companion to sigh heavily and slump back.

“Didn't that old Altmer say something about a weapon?” Lindi's head tilted, looking down at the mess of red hair that made up the top of Alyssia's head. Smiling slightly to herself, she lifted one hand and ran it gently through the silky strands. This caused an unconscious growl to escape Alyssia's lips as her head rubbed against Lindi's fingers eagerly.

After a moment, the scalp massage ended...leaving the warrior in a slightly better mood. “Look at this.” Alyssia murmured, holding up the map and pointing to three X's that she had marked on the vellum with charcoal. “Luckily they aren't too far apart. We could set up a base camp near 'ere.” Her finger slid over to what looked to be a small river that flowed through the little valley. “We'll 'ave to take some climbin' gear.”

“I'm sure someone in Windhelm knows the area. Maybe we could hire someone who could guide us?” Lindi's suggestion made her lover frown, little crinkles forming between Alyssia's crimson eyebrows. “Oh don't look like that.” the Bosmer scolded gently, “It's really not so bad. It may save us time and resources.” Then she added, “If they know any of the local history, we may be able to find out some more information on who was buried there.”

Alyssia kept frowning.

Rolling her eyes, Lindi threw her hands in the air and turned to walk away. Before she could take a step, however, she had been caught up in Alyssia's strong arms. With a little squeal, she was yanked onto the Breton's lap. Sneaky fingers found themselves under her shirt and skittering over her belly. Alyssia laughed in amusement as her victim flailed, whacking her about the shoulders in between fits of hysterical giggles. They played like that for a few moments, Aly nearly sliding out of her chair howling in laughter as Lindi turned the tables on her. But soon enough their mirth had been spent and both sat there panting hard, the smaller Bosmer curled up in Alyssia's arms.

Once Aly could breathe again, she murmured softly. “It's a good idea.”

Reaching out, Lindi picked up the map from where it had been dropped on the floor and looked it over closely. “It's going to take a long time to explore all those barrows.” Now it was her turn to frown. Slinking through dangerous catacombs wasn't exactly her idea of fun. And the thought of having to do it three times over was something she really didn't want to do. Anything that could make their search go more smoothly she was all for.

“I just need to know wha' he's after. It ain't no weapon. Khel don't need weapons.” Alyssia smirked coldly, remembering what Garrik had told her that night. “The only thing Khel 'as ever been after is power. Probably magic. I wouldn't be surprised if some Mage or Sorcerer was buried down there an' he thinks there's a chance o' getting' somethin' o' theirs. A spell-book maybe...I dunno.” Sighing in aggravation, her head fell back wearily.

Lindi frowned again, seeing just how tired her lover was. She couldn't remember the last time that Aly had been blessed with a decent night's sleep. She had always been plagued by dreams. Ever since Lindi had known her. More than once she had been forced to shake her companion awake, calling her name to in attempt to release her from the fevered grip of whatever held her mind at the time. But lately it had been more frequent and the dark circles that were starting to form around Aly's eyes were the physical scars of those night time battles. “Why don't you come to bed?” Her voice took on a seductive tone as she reached out to caress Alyssia's cheek with soft fingertips. Just as the woman's head raised, eyebrow quirking questioningly...Lindi had turned and straddled her lap. Grinning down with a mischievous look in her azure eyes, she began to untie the lace that kept her target's tunic closed.

Chuckling softly, Alyssia's own emerald gaze began to glitter in the candle light as her hands slid up over the woman's thighs. “Is tha' an order or an invitation?” She leaned forward and nuzzled softly at the hollow of Lindi's throat...letting another soft growl rumble from her chest.

“Both.”

“I suppose it's our last night in an' all our packin' is done. Might as well make the most o' it.” Alyssia laughed a bit. “But maybe I like you righ' 'ere for now?”

“Well you are comfy...” The smaller elf giggled quietly.

“So I's told....”

Then their lips met and the world fell away. The warrior's darkness temporarily flooded by the light of the woman atop her. They would take every moment the moons gave them. As if it were the last time they would ever touch. Because neither of them knew what the morning's journey would bring.

Alyssia would sacrifice her life to stop her brother.

And Lindi knew that anyone who stood in their way would be collateral damage in Aly's eyes.

Someone had to keep her from being reckless.

Someone had to hold her back from succumbing to the same darkness as her brother.

So long as it was possible, that someone would be her.

(To be continued...)