Good Morning! (Farkas)

A/N: This has been sitting in drafts forever and in the queue even longer oops

 “Good morning!” A cheerful voice says. What?! I blink and open my eyes, turning toward the direction of the sound. I can feel all the blood in my face leave as I turn back looking at the ceiling, back toward the sound, blink a few times, and look again back at the ceiling. “You’re not dreaming.” And I sigh, putting my hands over my face. What happened? Putting my hands back down by my sides I look in the direction of the voice to find Anna sitting there on the bed. “Why are you here? Why am I here? Why am I not wearing a shirt and Where are your clothes?!” I ask sitting up “As for the clothing or semi lack of it, might I remind you it is summer and the temperature is rather warm? As for why I am here, had a nightmare, came here, you let me stay. Why are you here, um...it’s your bedroom?” With a sigh I lay back down, this is going to be awkward to explain. Wait a minute, I look at Anna “You said good morning, that would imply I was asleep…” Anna nods, “Well, that never happens.” I remark, on top of the lack of physical need for sleep, a side effect of lycanthropy is terrible nightmares. Something must have calmed me down enough to allow me to stay asleep for more than an hour or so…interesting

Suddenly, the doors burst open and Vilkas stops in his tracks and goes to say something “It’s not what it looks like. No comments please.” I clarify, raising a hand in the air in his direction. He makes a noise “Oh I’m sure, and what exactly does it look like?” He asks with a note of sarcasm in his voice “I...have no idea.” Vilkas closes the doors “What it looks like to me is that you two did something, and I don’t want to know what or why, and that you ended up here.” Anna lets out a stifled laugh “Oh no, it’s not that scandalous, not at all. I had a nightmare, couldn’t sleep, came here, and he let me stay. But, considering this is his room and his bed, got to lie down somewhere? That’s it.” Vilkas gives her a mostly satisfied but still not entirely convinced look “Why are you only wearing an undershirt then?” He questions and Anna rolls her eyes “You two are most definitely twins. I got the same question from him not five minutes ago. It is summer and therefore it is warm so what do we do when it is warm? We wear lighter clothing to compensate! By the nine why is that concept so hard to understand- rhetorical question, it isn’t.” Vilkas and I both make a slightly offended noise at the sarcasm. “Fine, understood, but still- you should probably get out of here before someone else passes by and comes to more scandalous conclusions simply by association. Also- here…” he throws a shirt at her “Put this on, just give it back later. It’s mine originally after all…” he explains glaring at me. I am nearly positive I did not steal it, more likely Tilma put it in the wrong twins room by accident. Anna throws on the shirt and casting an invisibility spell silently slips out and down the hall back to her assigned quarters, leaving only my brother and I.

“What did you do?” Vilkas asks in a more accusatory tone “Nothing, if you listened to a word of the explanation that was just given.” I reply, getting out of bed “No offense if I’m not entirely convinced.” He responds “Offense.” I retorte, throwing on a shirt “She had a nightmare, end of story.” Vilkas leans against the doorpost “She’s an adult, and as far as I know not a lycanthropic adult, so she should have gotten a glass of milk and gone back to bed. Not wander around in the middle of the night looking for someone to cuddle her back to sleep like a child.” Suddenly he makes a face and goes to grab his foot and Anna appears from another invisibility spell, now fully clothed once more with the shirt in her hand “Need I remind you that some people have ptsd and/or other reasons where getting back to sleep is difficult?” Vilkas’s face contorts, he’s not the biggest fan of being corrected. “Did you have to step on my foot?” He squeaks out. Anna replies with a simple, unphased, “Yes.” Hands him the shirt, thanks him for letting her borrow it, and leaves.

Later that afternoon I find Vilkas still trying to apologize for his behavior earlier, and while Anna seems to have forgiven him, I don’t think she entirely has. Nor do I think that he entirely trusts her, for whatever the reason. “You’re staring, you know.” Aela points out, standing next to me as I watch the two of them talk “Observing.” She makes a noise “Well those two seem to be getting along as well as ever.” She laughs slightly before asking what happened now. “Vilkas was inconsiderate.” She sighs “And since when is that a new thing?” She’s right, while capable of being very kind, he’s not always the most considerate, and takes a while to warm up to people. “She had a nightmare and came to me because she knew I would be awake, and he was somewhat mocking her about it.” Aela rolls her eyes as if to silently say she’s not surprised in the slightest. As Kodlak has pointed out before, Vilkas can be a bit hotheaded or easily agitated at times, he is simply edgy all in all, even if he knows you. I would know that better than anyone, for sure.

Time passes as Aela and I sit on the bench near the door watching Vilkas and Anna continue to talk before they go their separate ways, Vilkas to work on some swordwork with Athis, and Anna exits the yard entirely, heading toward the plains district of Whiterun. “You know where she's going?” Aela and I question at the same time to each other as we watch her round the corner. “No idea…” the two of us mutter in reply.

By mid-evening Anna returns, she’d gone to run a few errands and pick up a book, apparently, and luckily had stopped for dinner, as by the time she gets back things are mostly cleaned up. I find Vilkas to ask him more about their discussion earlier, and as Aela and I had guessed, it was mostly apologies and back and forth of why it’s not always nice to make assumptions about people.

Bird Of Prey (Valan)

  Prompt: A bird of prey

I really need to find a time one of these days to write Jiub a letter thanking him for dealing with the Cliffracer problem on Vvardenfell. While there are certainly still other things that want to kill me for no reason, not having to deal with those flying demons makes getting from place to place much easier, especially along the coast. No longer do I have to keep my eyes to the sky looking for another bird of prey ready to attack when going to visit Tel Fyr, or almost anywhere else along Azura’s coast. While the lack of the feathered bastards is a relief having them gone is almost strange, I don’t miss them, but I feel their absence. Just like I feel Jiub’s a sense now that I think about it, sitting at my desk late one night. The rest of the tower is asleep, not that many people live here anyways, by comparison to other Telvanni towers mine is quite small…not to mention built on top of a grave. I should sleep, or continue looking over what Eno has for me to do, as feeling over the stack of documents I recognize the raised seal of the Morag Tong. The thought of Jiub however stays in my mind, I haven’t seen him in quite a long time now, the last I heard was he moved to the city of Kvatch in western Cyrodiil having dealt with Morrowind’s bird of prey problem. Perhaps he has now moved on to eradicating the mountain lions that prowl that western region? We had communicated by letter for some time during the time I had spent on Solstheim and we were unable to catch up in person. With nothing better to do and unable to sleep I take a large piece of paper and some ink, beginning to write a letter. It requires me to write quite large and as much light as I can get but I do have enough usable vision left to read and write large print. Colored ink, such as the dark red I use to write against the off-white paper makes it easier for me to read due to the contrast. “Dear Jiub, I hope you are well.” I begin writing before pausing and thinking what it is I would like to say. “I heard you had moved to Kvatch recently, having rid Vvardenfell of cliffracers (which I greatly appreciate) and I hope you are enjoying your time there writing, it is a beautiful city in springtime. Should you find yourself in The Imperial City anytime soon, I will be visiting for a few weeks in around a month. Do let me know. Respectfully, Valan Velothi” I press a stamp at the bottom that lists all the various titles I’ve collected before folding the letter, tying it with an extra piece of string, and melting some wax in order to stamp it closed with a seal. With my thoughts written out I can finally sleep, I’ll send the letter off in the morning when I head to Sadrith Mora to once again do errands for Neloth.

Morning comes quicker than expected. Since I am still exhausted I find myself sleeping until the early afternoon until one of the guards wakes me informing me that if I need to do things today I should get up, as the longer the day goes on the worse the weather is looking. With a bit of complaining I do get up in the end and quickly throw on the nearest pair of clean trousers and a shirt, Neloth isn’t worth getting dressed up for. Grabbing the letter and my coat I thank the guard who had woken me and begin to make my way to the small island. Sadrith Mora as expected is practically empty aside from the usual vendors in the market and a few mages here and there. I drop the letter with someone from the mages guild who can get it where it needs to go for a small fee before getting what Neloth needs this time. The man has an unhealthy obsession with canis root tea, but at least he pays me to get it. “Neloth you old bastard I have your tea and the groceries you asked for!” I yell up to where he sits scheming and experimenting as usual. Placing the bag on a nearby table though it’s still somewhat wet from the rain I go up to see what it is the old wizard is up to this time. It turns out, not much, he sits reading a book on opinions regarding necromancy. “I got your tea and the salt rice you wanted.” I tell him, leaning against the doorframe. He looks up from his book and makes a noise of approval before getting up with an over exaggerated groan to go get his coin purse. Noticing the piece of paper the mage from the guild had given me to send the letter to Jiub he points it out and asks what it is. I consider telling him it’s not his business but decide there’s no harm in telling him in the end. “I sent Jiub a letter, he moved recently.” Neloth scoffs “Of course he did, there’s no more birds of prey to hunt. Maybe he’ll move on to mountain lions…or perhaps the dark brotherhood.” The old man drops some coins in my hand and invites me to sit for a cup of tea. While I tend to prefer black tea, canis root tea isn’t so bad, especially if it’s free…and it is so very rare to get a gesture of kindness from the old wizard. The two of us sit and talk over tea, discussing politics, the temple, Jiub and his vendetta against birds of prey, and what seems to be a slowly gathering darkness in the west. For now we can only wait and see, I just hope my letter reaches Jiub okay.

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day Twenty-Eight: Lost Or Loss (Xiran)

A/N: That's a wrap on Flash Fiction February 2025 I hope you enjoyed this month of short stories and snippets!

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day 28 Prompt: Lost Or Loss

For a tiny island you would think that Solstheim would be relatively easy to navigate, after all there is only one real port settlement. If Thirsk Hall and the small village in the north east are not counted the only other permanent settlements on the island are according to my map the Imperial settlement of Raven Rock with its mine and port, the nearby fortress under Imperial control, and a number of ruins housing who knows what scattered throughout the northern half of the island. I continue looking at my map of the island and talk to the sailors responsible for ferrying me from Vvardenfell to the little outpost of the Empire stuck between Morrowind and Skyrim in the Sea of Ghosts. What they tell me gives me the impression there is really nothing there at least at the current moment, which validates what I’ve researched on Solstheim and its history. It is an island seemingly plagued by loss in some form or another. Arriving by boat from Ebonheart to what will be my new home I’m rather surprised at the state of things despite the warnings from the sailors. There is one primary functional dock, a few houses, a central market, a larger structure that I presume houses higher ranking officials or mine operators, and a barracks. I give one of the sailors a look that silently says “wait take me back with you!” as I step off the ship onto the rickety wooden dock. Unfortunately this is where I’ve been assigned, and unless I get reassigned somewhere else, this is where I’ll be until further notice. I don’t expect to get any notice, at least not anytime soon. It would take a major loss for the Empire to give up control of this place, as the ebony found here is a valuable resource, even if there isn’t much else of value here. Unless the Empire gets up and leaves I’m to remain here to advise, investigate instances of crime involving special populations, and if necessary report back to my superiors in House Redoran should the Imperials break any treaty agreement rules. Despite the settlement being quite small I still manage to get lost on my way to where I am supposed to meet my new captain, and arrive late as a result. “Detective Yu, special operations unit on loan from Ebonheart, nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand to the captain of the guard, a balding Imperial man in his mid to late fifties who sits drinking a cup of what I believe to be coffee and reading a newspaper, who ignores the gesture. “You’ll have a room in the inn, be in tomorrow by nine, there’s work to do.” is all I’m told as he continues reading the paper. Scratching my head as I walk out in search of the inn I wonder how this assignment will work practically. He didn’t seem particularly sociable. Oh well, his loss, perhaps he’ll warm up to me over time, or I’ll get a new superior at some point. The sky darkens with the oncoming wall of night, torches and lanterns are lit around the settlement to provide some semblance of light. Wandering around, looking at the new surroundings I come to a sudden stop in the center of the market as I come to a realization. I’m lost. And I forgot to ask where the inn is. Flagging down a passerby I’m pointed in the direction of my destination. It’s structurally sound but not particularly nice, though I’ve seen worse. I'm used to better accommodations. Despairing about the situation I drop my things on the bed of my new living quarters, not bothering to unpack them. I want to go back to Ebonheart!
 

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day Twenty-Seven: A Strange Demand (Valan)

A/N: The Mages Guild having Wolverine Hall really does confuse me and I forget the actual reason it exists, only that most of them are not very nice whenever encountered, despite sometimes successful attempts to raise their disposition.

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day 27 Prompt: Demand

Why the old grump can’t get his own groceries is beyond me. I find myself thinking that very familiar thought once again as I’m shoved out the door of Tel Naga with a list and told to be back by tea time. Yes, Master Neloth is a very powerful wizard. Yes, he is old and supposedly has arthritis that makes his knees hurt. Yes, he has risen through the ranks and taken the necessary exams and trials to be considered at the rank of a Master and serves on the council. All that still doesn’t explain why he can demand that I of all people go run his petty errands. He has a representative on the council who attends meetings, and other staff around the tower, that exist for this very reason. At least he pays me, however little an amount it may be, it's better than nothing, I think that's why I still agree to the silly demand whenever it arises. Wandering through the little market near the gateway inn and the docks I pick up nearly everything on the list except for a few things that require a trip to the alchemist and a very brief stop in Wolverine Hall that cannot be obtained elsewhere. I don’t like going to Wolverine Hall if I can avoid it, the people there are never very nice or hospitable, and can be quite rude. I’m not even sure why we have an outpost of the Mages Guild here, after all Sadrith Mora is the seat of House Telvanni, and we do not exactly get along with the Mages Guild for a variety of reasons. It was likely another strange demand that was included in the treaty made with the Imperials to incorporate Morrowind into the Empire and allow settlement on Vvardenfell in certain areas. In exchange for the opening of ports the demand for House sovereignty was made and to be able to maintain religious freedom. After another unpleasant interaction with a particularly annoying enchanter I find myself back at Tel Naga with the list all checked off, and just in time for tea. Given my encounter with the enchanter I’m almost relieved to be back here. Neloth may demand many a random thing from me, but at least there is tea, and he even seems respectful compared to the other wizards I’ve encountered today. That is certainly something I never thought would be something even remotely possible, while we sit sipping our tea, I find myself grateful for it.

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day Twenty-Six: You Stole My Horse! (Isabelle)

A/N: Newbie assassin very confused about ghost man and his demon horse and weird friend who has her same first name.

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day 26 Prompt: You

There is a flash of bright blue and purple light as suddenly a portal opens and out steps, or more accurately stumbles, a strange man. I’m not sure if he is actually a man at all…or at least a living one. He looks like your average young man, except for one very obvious difference, which is the fact that he is semi-transparent and blue. Astrid looks very pleased at the turn of events where the man does not. Dressed in a set of robes with a hood, pants, and a pair of shoes with a sword at his side the what I assume to be a spirit of some sort looks both like he would fit right in at the sanctuary and looks perhaps two hundred years out of date. Nearby a horse as black as midnight with eyes that would look more fitting on a Dunmer given their red color, which almost seem to glow slightly, makes a noise as it stops drinking from the small pond by the sanctuary's entrance. Seeming to recognize the noise the semi-transparent man turns to Astrid with one hand on his sword as if he is about to draw it. “You! You stole my horse!” he accuses angrily. “I leave for all of five minutes and Issy goes to deal with another world ending problem and you steal my horse!” Astrid neither confirms or denies the accusation, only giving him an unamused smile. “Isabelle, this is Lucien LaChance. He served the brotherhood in life, and continues to do so in death. He is a servant of the Night Mother and faithful child of Sithis, should you need assistance that spell will summon him.” Astrid explains to me confirming my suspicion that the man is in fact a sort of ghost or spirit as I expected. As she concludes her explanation he very obviously does not seem happy with the idea of being summoned at random. She then takes her leave going back inside, leaving only me, the strange rather upset ghost, and the horse. Ignoring me he goes instead over to the horse petting her and talking to her, at one point I notice he slips her an apple- where he got that I have no idea. “You know, one of my good friends is also called Isabelle, though I’ve always called her Issy. So, you’ll be Isabelle and she’ll be Issy to differentiate between you two. Otherwise it would be confusing- two Isabelle’s with black hair who are part of the brotherhood, who would have thought?” he continues petting the horse “And this is Shadowmere, my old friend. I was wondering what happened to her after Issy went off and when she came back there was no Shadow waiting for her. My guess she was taken was correct, it seems.” That’s peculiar, though I can see how such a thing could happen, and it certainly explains why the ghost and Astrid do not seem to be on the best of terms. Horse stealing and rule breaking and unprompted summoning all seem like easy ways to get on this very strange spirits bad side. I allow him to take his horse back, as I already have one myself. To be honest, I’m glad he takes her back…I find her a bit creepy with the red glowing eyes. To each their own, I suppose? Now that the matter is taken care of we have things to do, and I quickly find that the ghost is not much for conversation but will make comments, rhetorical questions, and general remarks nearly constantly. It could be worse, he’s only around for a limited time before going back to wherever it is he goes, and this time with his beloved horse after too long a time apart.  

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day Twenty-Five: The Power Of Friendship (Issy)

A/N: Issy has an odd group of friends with very specific skills and one with a really weird bloodline, and is grateful for all of them even if they are a strange bunch

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day 25 Prompt: Friendship

Growing up I never had many friends, a few close ones here and there that would eventually part ways due to circumstances far beyond our control. Sometimes I think I’m cursed to be alone, it certainly seems that way from time to time, something always happens. Friends move away, lose touch that can’t be picked up again, develop different values incompatible with my own, sometimes in the process of growing up we just end up in different circles…some of them die, like so many others I encounter. It makes me grateful for the people I have in my life now, even if they will not be here forever, they are here for now. Their friendship and even their presence means more than they could ever know. Sitting by the temple of the Divines in the Imperial City one spring day as the weather has finally turned from eternal rain to warm sun and reflect on the concept of friendship. The circumstances of many of my current friendships came about by chance. Baurus and I wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t accidentally taken that piece of bread, Martin and I would never have crossed paths if Baurus hadn’t pointed me in the direction of Jauffre after the emperor's assassination, and I wouldn’t have met Cyrus or Caroline if I didn’t have to escort Martin to Cloud Ruler Temple. Likewise if it weren’t for a series of misadventures and questionable decisions I would not have met Lucien, or in reality met for a second time many years later as he recognized me from his days running up and down the docks where I would go to watch the ships with my brother and father. I do not know how long any of them will be in my life, but I will cherish the moments I have with them, however many or few those moments may be. When the hour grows bleaker by the minute they give me strength and hope to carry on even when all seems lost. It dawns on me then as I sit there plucking at the grass, is defeating enemies with the power of friendship actually a real thing? If your friends consist of three high ranking Blades agents, a professional assassin, and a bastard emperor supposedly of the bloodline that has the blood of dragons running through their veins, I suppose the possibility of such a thing being true isn’t impossible.

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day Twenty-Four: Great Potential (Lin)

A/N: Only four more days left of Flash Fic Feb! Time flies, I've really enjoyed this years collection of prompts, and I hope you have too.

Flash Fiction February 2025 Day 24 Prompt: Potential

Watching from afar the practice at hand I’m impressed with what I see. Xiran works with the girl she has taken under her wing, correcting her movements where necessary, and ensuring that she is counting the amount of steps she takes to know exactly where she is in relation to other people or props at all times. In the case of the girl, this is an especially important skill to learn, as unlike many of the other students in the school she is almost completely blind. According to Valan she has some usable vision, but is extremely nearsighted, apparently she was unaware of the existence of the Ministry of Truth floating over the city near the palace of Vivec until her father told her about it. Still, despite this, she has potential. Looking at a pamphlet sitting on a table detailing the opera school's upcoming performance I find it is a tribute to the various styles and traditions related to the ancient art that have developed over the centuries. A former performer herself, Xiran volunteers as a teacher in her spare time to pass on her love of the art to the younger generation, that is a trait we share relating to our respective performing arts- hers vocal and mine dance. The two go through a routine I quickly pinpoint as being from the northeast based both on the style of vocals in addition to the elaborate costume that includes sections of a well known opera that I have seen many times before. For a girl of her size she has a very powerful voice and displays deliberate movements as she makes her way across the stage, including an impressive stunt involving not one but two swords…which I hope for everyone's sake are blunted so as to not cause harm. With the grace of an experienced professional, though dressed only in a basic shirt and pants rather than a costume of equal brilliance, Xiran follows until the routine is finished with a dramatic flourish. From my place at the back of the dark theater I clap upon their conclusion, an action to which the two bow in gratitude, the girls elaborately decorated hat nearly falling off in the process. She really has potential. I will watch her progress with great interest, and make a mental note to drag Ling to the opening night of the performance, case files be damned. There are more interesting things to see after a work day is done than the same dusty old papers.