"Aw look, little Breton looks lost" Talen remarked his forked tongue briefly flicking over his sharp teeth as his eyes landed on the human making her way down the path past the blacksmith he and Druseth were currently outside of. Druseths back had been to the road up until this point and slowly he turned his head long enough to look. And look he surely did for a long moment his expression mostly void of anything even amusement like the Argonian. The lizard had a point though, there were scant Bretons passing this way since the war had started. Even if just harmless traders they risked potentially being called spy's and assaulted by angry locals. And boy could the locals here be nasty shits! Argonians certainly had a mean streak as Druseth knew well having been around them his whole life. First his father who'd been a slaver, then his brief time fighting them when he'd first joined the army and now a days his relationship with several shadow scales and pirates like Talen was.
"You're staring…." Talen suddenly pointed out with a snigger already moving to wrap an arm over Druseths shoulder where they were both now watching her interaction with probably the only other human in town. A Nord stablehand. Didn't look to be trying to assist her with whatever she'd asked however and he was continuing off across the bridge that crossed the river that cut through town.
"I am not… ok maybe what? She kinda looks like Cali" He muttered under his breath.
"Cali? So you did sleep with Falvis's hatchling mother!?" Talen asked mocking shock for a second. As if! The Argonian was a snoop and a gossip he'd probably found out ages ago from Dranos and his loose lips while fucked up.
"And? Maybe Tilenas mine" Druseth snickered with a wicked smirk as he finally seems to lighten up. Both were now heading into the street to follow her. At a decent distance of course. Still engaging so it wouldn't look to suspect.
"You dog" Talen teased with a dry snicker, eyes moving back ahead. "Why not go say hi? You never talk to anyone anymore might do you some good" The lizard suggested suddenly slowing to a stop as he looked over to Druseth with a bit of a more serious expression.
"What!? Wait…. Why would I do that? No seriously I don't do mortal interaction you should know that" Druseth replied quickly. No, looking was one thing but he absolutely hated having to figure out the whole social thing which he'd never been that great at. Shit when he'd met his actual love of his life which may never change, he'd stolen the necklace she'd wanted for her and … well now a days it was safe to say that wouldn't have impressed anyone. Some girls might have even been offended.
"Are you scared to talk to girls? Starting to seem like you are! Your wife may she rest in peace you met when? You were like ten? And the only other girl you were interested in was a friend and sleeping with a friend as well? You ARE!!!" Talen mocked noticing the rather nervous look on the elfs face as he looked to the ground briefly then after the blonde.
"I am not!" Druseths argued back quickly looking offended.
"Are to…. You're cheeks are literally red! Ha! Druseths! The guy who can look a Jarl in the face and tell him death has come knocking but a girl is absolutely the most terrifying thing on the planet!" Talen hooted snickering quietly and so hard he nearly sounded like a hissing snake for a moment.
Druseths moved to cross his arms and glared now "I can talk to girls, I don't know what you're on about swit!" He snapped now officially looking a bit moody as he moved to start walking again.
"Oh? Then do it! Or are you going to throw me another lame excuse we both know is more or less untrue" Talen smarted back as he moved to walk close behind him. "Tell you what. You actually manage to talk to her and I'll give you a discount on the ride back to Morrowind" He added moving up to put an arm over Druseths shoulder again. A large toothy grin was soon across his face yet again as his bright yellow eyes met Druseths dark blood red ones.
"Ok…. I will" Druseth replied finally and if he could have framed the look of shock and amusement on the lizards face, he just might have. Shrugging the Argonians arm from his shoulders a bit moodily he moved to speed up so he was walking at a bit of a faster pace. Ahead she was slowing due to two large guars pulling a wagon crossing the road with a good sized load baskets of fish. Probably heading for the market area Druseth assumed as he finally slowed as well to glance towards the man with the whip driving the cart then finally his red orbs moved to glance to the side where the blonde now stood. Yeah definitely stood out in all that pink…. And her blonde hair. Not only the only human for miles besides Styrbjorn but she stood out like a whore in the temple of Akatash.
"Lost princess?" He asked finally a bit of a smile pulling at the corner of his thin lips.
"That's one way of looking at it," Serena replied, "but I prefer to think of it as exploring." How the hell had she ended up here, anyway? She, her husband, his boyfriend, *his* boyfriend, and some other friends had been playing with portals and she had somehow managed to fall through. Well, more accurately, someone had pushed her. She hadn't seen who, but she did hope some of her other friends had fallen through as well. Trinket had zipped through the portal at the last second and he flew at about shoulder height beside her. Other than that, she'd just been looking for her friends, but it didn't seem like there were many other humans here.
She took a good look at the man speaking to her. She wasn't sure if *he* was human, but he wasn't bad-looking, either. He was certainly native to here, though.
"Care to show me around?" she asked with a little smile.
"Exploring?" For a long moment Druseth looked at her with a hint of amusement. Ok that was definitely a new one. Well for here anyway, places like Lilmoth got far more tourists where as this place? Not so much. The locals were alot moodier and didn't take to visitors all to well. Shit... Even he occasionally got looks from them as if he'd been the one enslaving their ancestors. Actually his father had but that was far from important.
"Well of course.... Granted if it was the inn you were looking for you past it. Biggest mud hut just a few blocks back" He replied with a chuckle. "But ... If it's shopping, food, money lenders or stables you're after it's further this way. The busier side of town" He added with a faint smile as he moved to take a few steps ahead and walk backwards.
"So if you aren't lost why Stormhold? Or are you just passing through? Boat would have been easier if you're shooting for somewhere like Lilmoth" he added. See he only about half believed her. Exploring the god damn SWAMPS!? The bugs alone down here we're nasty and the worst one's were the ones that quite literally latched on to suck you dry and were the damn size of a human hand. Thankfully the city had some sort of way to repel them mostly it seemed. The fires burnt around the outside from what Talen told him. Put off a bad odor those insects weren't fond of.
"An inn would be nice," Serena thought aloud, "but no, I was genuinely exploring. Stormhold is... earthier... than where I was living for a while. I don't really know how to explain it, but I just kind of landed here." She shook her head slightly. "It's complicated. But yes, please, take me to the city. It'll be more fun wandering around with a partner. I'm Serena, by the way," she murmured, nuzzling the male's arm. "What's your name?"
"That's certainly a way to put it. Place is a bit primal" Druseth sort of muttered the last bit as not to say it loud enough any of the locals would hear him. They didn't take kindly to insults especially from his kind even if they weren't meant as insults and were simply facts. Her explanation however he didn't put to much thought into and merely took it as, well she probably had. Portaled in by accident, or sailed in from the river which ran on the other side of the city. There was truthfully alot of options.
"Serena, Pretty name... I'm Druseth" He replied casually with a bit of a clever smile as he moved to continue up the muddied street which was beginning to get a bit more filled as they went. Argonians coming in and out of there houses, and they were nearing the school where currently seven little Argonians were playing some sort of game with a ball bouncing it off there head like one might a volleyball in the real world. Of course it was like a instinctive reaction however that the moment one spotted Druseth especially they were scurrying closer to the front of the tall mud built school building and whispering or staring. Racism died hard around here.... Then again he had his elders such as his father to blame. Who as far as he'd last heard had actually been arrested recently for being caught with slaves which were now outlawed.
"You know of all the places to want to see this one isn't the best. The only interesting thing about this shit hole is probably the haunted ruin outside of town" He replied with a bit of a chuckle sort of shaking his head. He for example was here on business. Not because he wanted to be here, in fact he'd tried to argue with Elam for almost two days about giving him a different contract. It hadn't worked.... The old dark elf was a stick in the mud and had merely ended up giving Druseth shit for thinking he could be privileged just for being only shy of one of the elders and that his incompetence was the only reason he hadn't been promoted. 'Thanks Elam tell me how you really feel. What a twat!'
"Primal is a word for it," Serena agreed equally quietly. "Actually, I find it charming. I grew up on a farm, but then I moved to a big city as an adult. This is new to me, and I like it."
She smiled and gave a little squeal at the compliment. "Hi, Druseth. It's nice to meet you," she purred, giving him another little nuzzle. "That's a nice name, too, you know. I've met a few Drew's, and a few Seth's, but you're the first Druseth."
She eyed the lizard people with mild interest. She was almost used to seeing them by now. A few of them had similar coloring to Trent's pet lizard, Flail, and Serena found herself wondering if Trent would get along with these fellas.
"You know, I would say the same thing about my own hometown," Serena said with a teasing grin, "but people sightsee there all the time anyway. Wait, did you say 'haunted ruin'? What's it haunted with? And if you don't like it here, why *are* you here? Not that I'm not grateful, mind you, considering that here is where we met, but you're talking an awful lot of shit about a place you also happened to be."
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