.The Biggest Give-Away.

Avrusa sat silently at the common room table, an old, well-loved book in her hand and open to the latest page she was reading. Her younger sister shuffled about quietly, cleaning up the room after supper. All was peaceful as the sun had set not long ago, the older mer relaxing her bones after tending her fields all day.
Both whipped their heads up toward the front door as the silent monotony was broken by the movement of the doorlatch, both on edge as neither was sure what could have been behind it. However, both startled women looked up at the familiar, light-skinned face of none other than Thurvayn, who gave an appologetic smile when he saw their worry.

"I appologize," he started as he slipped into the house with little more than a rustling of his cloak following his movement. "I didnt mean to startle the both of you."
As he shut the door behind him, the fact he was again standing in her house made Avrusa's heart nearly skip a beat. She stood excitedly, putting her book onto the table in front of her.
"Oh Thurvayn..! You've returned!" She cried softly as she shuffled quickly over to him to embrace him in a tight hug, burying her face into his traveling coat; it smelled fadedly of arcane fire, making her wonder just what had happened while he'd been gone. "It has been several days... I was worried you would not come back..."
"Avrusa..." He said in a tone that spoke of disappointment; when she looked up, she saw he had on a soft smile. "I told you I would do my best to return to you, my dear~" So that's what the disappointment in his tone was for; disbelief in him holding his promise.
"I still couldnt help but worry..." She said, her eyes meeting his strange, spooky, odd colored ones. Those eyes... they told of the warmth in his heart, but they just felt so very cold...
Whatever made them cold wasnt very apparent as the mutt chuckled good-heartedly and dipped his head to welcome a kiss. Avrusa didnt hesitate to return the gesture, meeting her lips to his and letting the spark between them kindle a flame.

The Dunmer lingered for as long as the mutt allowed it, Thurvayn eventually pulling his head back just a few inches. Both watched one another in silent study, an alive spark warming whatever had been so cool in his eyes before. It was odd to her, seeing affection and wanting for her in a man's eyes again; never did think it a bad thing, as she had grown inexplainably attatched to him in return. She could only hope he could tell.
She took one of his hands in her own and pulled him back toward the table where she'd previously been sitting. "Come, rest. You must be exhausted."
He chuckled. "You must forget I am a warrior, Avrusa...~ "
"That does not mean you do not get tired from travelling and your work," she said with an almost scolded tone. She had worried for him quite a bit, since she was stll unsure of just his capabilities. "Did you eat before you arrived, dear?" she asked, looking to Aduri incase his answer had been no.
"Yes, my dear, I did on the way here," he said with a tone politely indicating that she neednt bother.

As the pair sat, Avrusa's younger sister watched the mutt with intreague. "You have been gone awfully long. Even I worried you would not return."
When Thurvayn chuckled, Aduri seated herself.
"I am ever so curious what happened! I really wish to know!" The youngest mer piped in.
"Aduri..." Avrusa scolded.
Thurvayn merely chuckled and shook his head. Avrusa couldnt tell if he was humoring the girl and was annoyed by her questions, or if he were brushing them off without a care of being asked so blundtly of his work.
The eldest mer dove into his tale of how he aided the Dragonborn, a very old friend of his, to sneak into a Thalmor party. He laughed about how she and Violet had covered his skin in a fine white powder to hide his blue tone and make him more Altmeri since he already had the height, though joked that his eyes were untintable and had to wear a deep hood. However, he went on and explained how he disguised his voice with old speechcraft tricks to buy Anura time enough to sneak in and find the Blades even the most meager portion of information or logbooks of what the Thalmor wanted with the province. They had been successful and fled without raising too much of an alarm.
He then described the dragon the pair encountered, the women listening to the tale just about on the edge of their seats as he told of the huge beast, spewing fire that erupted from mere words and shaking the ground with its huge bulk as it landed. He told of how even the experienced mers had trouble killing it, though when they did, how the dragon's own soul was absorbed by Anura, as easily as he himself absorbed magicka with his Atronach birthsign.

Hours went by and the youngest of the mer began to fall asleep, even through the dramatic events the mutt recounted. He stood and led her to bed before he had to carry her yet again, but rejoined Avrusa in due time.
He was giving a soft smile still as he sat beside her and took one of her hands in his own, making her heart flutter. "I hope I didnt bore you to sleep~" he said with a lighthearted tone.
Avrusa chuckled, giving him a smile in return. "I have told you before, you are not as boring as you think you are~" She patted his hands with her free one.
"Yes well, the evidence is against your argument tonight~" He joked.
Both shared a laugh before Avrusa noticed his expression fall, ever so very slightly. She wondered if she had been mistakened.
"I have set up wedding arrangements with the Temple in Riften~" He said softly, his voice steady with a pleased tone, though his eyes... they had turned cold again, she noticed.
While initially she smiled, the change in his expression confused her. "Thurvayn... is something wrong...?" Her heart fluttered again, though this time in fear that he thought she was inadequate, that he was questioning if he'd done the right thing.

The mutt's face fell into a nervous, contemplative state. His eyes searched hers, those spooky irises of his bitter cold, though asking ... asking what...? She couldnt tell.
"I..." He stuttered to a pause to regain his voice. "Avrusa... Before you make such a decision... I must tell you something..."
She watched him quietly, trying to read his expression. What possibly could he tell her that would make her go back on saying yes to him? "Anything, dear..." she said softly.
Thurvayn bit his lip, looking to have an internal fight before he closed his eyes and scrunched his face. He sighed heavily and opened his eyes to look to her, the fight apparently won by one of the sides. "My dear... I lied about why I left Morrowind. It is surely powerful enough to make that decision for me, so I must share and make you aware as well..."
Her brows furrowed as she watched him.

"2E 177... Summertide... I was called upon by Lord Vivec to perform a rather dangerous task He knew I had accomplished in the past, and trusted me with. I and a squad of equally talented Ordinators were sent to Molag Mar to rid a family burial of vampires."
She sat watching him quietly, not seeing much of a problem with what he was telling her already. She nodded and he continued.
"I was foolish... A foolish, foolhardy young Altmer I was... I ran into that burial with my fellows, believing I was indestructible." His voice faltered and he shook his head with a pause. "I was critically injured in the fray... all but one of my team being killed. The lone survivor limped out, leaving me presumably dead..."
Avrusa covered her mouth in shock.
"...However, I'm not sure how long I was down in that tomb, but I healed... slowly but surely I regained my strength and was able to get up and walk out." He closed his eyes in obvious mental pain. "When I opened the door, I was hit with the midday sun... It burned me like no other, and I retreated back into the dark... It was then I learned I'd been infected. ..I became one of the monsters that I'd nearly died trying to extinguish."

The Dunmer's jaw hung slack as she registered the news. It sounded absurd; she nearly wanted to smack him for lying to her. Yet... His expression when he opened his eyes begged her to understand; she now understood the longing in those odd-colored eyes--he longed for someone to accept him for what he was.
"I had to leave Morrowind or else be hung in front of Lord Vivec himself for my own failure... I'd tried all my young life to be a Dunmer our Lords could be proud of, and after making such a name for myself, I'd failed harder than I ever had. I couldnt let that happen...
"I moved to Cheydinhal to study alchemy and find a cure... But in a thousand years, I never found one..." He grimaced. "I have never once been back on home soil since... I was so very lost, fought every day to return home, even for a glimpse of Azura's Coast..." he said with a pitiful whine in his voice. "But now... it's all gone."
He looked to her finally, no doubt seeing the shocked and confused face she sported. He just about wilted, as he seemed to take it badly. "I have lived longer with it than without.... I am not the monster that we were all warned of back home, I do not wish to kill you--even the fear of how you would react has made me lie this entire time to one whom I've tried to gain her trust..."
"Thurvayn..." she said softly, moving to put her hand to his cheek. He made a motion that could have been interpreted as shying away from a harmful touch, however, he stayed still and allowed it.

"My dear... I do trust you..." she said softly with a touch of a smile on her lips. She stroked his cheek softly with her thumb, looking into his eyes with a comforting gaze. "Never once did I fear for my safety around you. You have been nothing but kind and gentle to me, and even protected me when you've hardly known me...That does not speak to me of a coldhearted killer." She could hear a touch of nervousness in her own voice, which she regretted whole-heartedly. The fact such a powerful creature was right there did make her uneasy, but she knew it was him, the same Thurvayn that had been so kind in the past.
He watched her with eyes that pleaded for her words to be true, but dared not speak.
"But... I can tell now how you're so strong, and look not a day over 100," she chuckled, her nervousness translating through even with lighthearted jest.
He gave her an incredulous look. "Whatever will I do with you...?" He said after quite a pause of studying her, his lips breaking into an unsure smile.
She chuckled and moved to wrap her arms around his neck, hugging him close as he put his arms around her back. Her nervousness waned as he made no moves to harm her, just to cuddle her close. She nestled her face in against his neck as he kissed her ear and hair with gentle lips, not once her mind accusing him of lulling her into a false calm.

When they pulled away, he watched her with calmer eyes, the coldness dimmed yet again. She could only explain that feeling one way... "Your eyes..."
He nodded. "The biggest give-away... Though, ironically that doesnt tip off as many people as I'd have thought."
"Do you... have..."
"Fangs? Yes." He chuckled a bit, sounding somewhat more at ease. "However, they are rather small when I'm not influenced by the infection."
Giving a toothy grin, Avrusa studied his upper teeth, not really able to tell them apart. His canines were the same length as his incisors, but bore a sharp point that looked like they'd merely been worn away with normal use.
"That isnt very threatening," she pointed out with obvious teasing in her voice.
He had to laugh, shaking his head and giving a normal smile, though his tone slightly disbelieving still. "Not worried for when I kiss you then, I take it."
"No, not at all~" she chuckled, moving to press her lips to his again.


--

Part 6 of 7

i cant seem to finish things in a timely manner. but, finally this got finished.

i have to give moar credit to ~OreoNova13. normally i absolutely hate switching POV in the middle of a story, but i realized that she made a good point of that if i went with Avrusa's POV, it'd get a good look into thurvayn's character without looking directly into his brain. i think this turned out better than i expected.
_{i still hate switching POV's though. it personally annoys me to all hell and back}

however, i'm rather stuck for the last part. so, it'll be quite a long time coming i'm guessing x:

_{i really cant draw hands.}
i've never drawn a sad thurvayn before. it was a bit heartbreaking LOL

either way. enjoy~..?

TES and Avrusa (C) bethsoft
Thurvayn and art is (C) to MEEEEE