In Over His Head

He should have been terrified, and in truth he very much was. The rational side of his brain was ringing all sorts of alarm bells, the logical voice in his head said flatly "...this is it... this is how you die..." But at the moment it was being overruled by the more primitive part of his brain, the primal part responsible both for the survival and continuation of the species. For at this moment, the giant woman had pinned him against the wall of the shop with her rather prodigious bosom, and he could feel the warm satiny soft skin of her breast against the bottom of his cheeks on either side of his face. And while it was a lovely feeling, probably the softest thing he'd ever been allowed (or in this case, forced) to touch, he knew it would not end well.

"N-no.. no!" Edovan stammered, eyes flicking back and forth in a panic. He was trying to form words but his brain was in a pink haze, his mind foggy, and he was starting to sink further still into the canyon of her cleavage. "I found them!" he gasped finally, as his face sunk further, somehow. "I-I found them in my pocket!" he mumbled, voice lost amongst her flesh, hoping she would believe him.

Yagaritte looked down at him, as his face had reddened beyond that of just the cold. She was suddenly aware that tiny man's face was buried in her breasts and that more importantly HE was aware. . His voice seemed so strained and muffled that she started to laugh, but stifled it, eyes glimmering like someone who'd found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. This was a true jackpot! She decided to have a little fun with him.. She intentionally loosened her death grip on his collar and straightened her back, pressing into him even more, pushing her chest against his face further, pinning his head back against the stone. She could see the blush reaching now even to his ears. If it were possible, she thought, his whole body... hair, clothes, and all, would blush in embarrassment at this moment. She laughed again, enjoying her power over him. Her anger abated somewhat, she continued to tease him

"What's the matter little mouse? Don't you find me attractive? Don't you like my breasts?" she asked, her voice taking on a noticeably sexier tone, husky and heavy.

She knew how to play it, and she knew the answer to that question already. He was practically glowing red. There was the most imperceptible hint of a nod, though he did not look up into her face, his eyes squeezed tightly closed. She wasn't about to let him go though. She decided to use this opportunity to gather what information she could, for there is never a better time to do so, then when you basically hold a man's life in your hands. Or cleavage. Either works.

"Good," she said, slowly leaning her neck down to bring her face as close to his as possible. "Because if you don't start talking, and giving me answers I like... you...little mouse...are going to drown in them."

She spoke slowly and deliberately, and the 'them' was an obvious reference, even to someone whose brain had all but turned to mush. She smiled, an overly wide smile that was more predatory than friendly as she bared her perfect teeth.

"I see the large staff you are carrying, you're some sort of mage, I take it. Did you use magic to take my herbs?"

Edovan squeezed one eye open, looking up into her face after a few moments of silence. She was not blushing at all, as though she were used to crushing men to death with her enormous chest. In fact, her eyes had that familiar mischievous twinkle, and he knew that meant danger.

"I found them in my pocket!" he gasped into her cleavage.

Her mouth curled up into a smirk, and her eyes did not stop their twinkling.

"Ohh, nooo..." she teased. "Looks like you're getting heavy... I can barely hold you up..." she said in mock distress.

She released his collar and placed her hands flat against the wall on either side of him. She held him in place by the sheer pressure of her body against his, but she shifted her angle back ever so slightly so he began to sink again.

Oh, this was too easy! Panic lit his face as he realized how much of a compromising position he was finding himself in.

"No no no, it's true... y-y-you must have... they must have...!" he trailed off helplessly, his mouth and brain worthless in this particular predicament. He took as deep of a breath as he was able, and tried again. "It must have fallen in my pocket when you dumped your bag on the... mrmmrmmffff!!" The last of his sentence was lost amongst her breasts, never to be found again. She paused at that, biting her lip in thought, her wolfish grin gone for the moment, her face softening just so. It was actually plausible, and something she had not considered. His slow descent halted momentarily.

"So you've followed me?" she asked, instead, deciding not to let him off the hook just yet.. How else would he learn? Her tongue flicked out and licked at her peachy-tinted lips. That was a move that always drove others insane. "I didn't know I had a stalker," she added, as Edovan squeezed his eyes tight again. It appeared he didn't have an answer for her.

Edovan tilted his head back as far as he could, to take another breath. He started to struggle a bit, which only made it worse, as Yagaritte's breasts were a force to be reckoned with, a fact she was well aware of. She let her hand fall down from the wall, setting it on her hip.

"I'm not a stalker, I swear!" he huffed, having gotten his breath back, staring back up at her more boldly than he had done anything since they had first met. She raised an eyebrow at that. Maybe he had a little fire in him after all. As she looked down upon him, she noticed then that he had a rather handsome face. Large slightly angled soft eyes, those sculpted elven high cheek bones. His skin was darker than nords, but smooth and flawless, and his tousled brown hair still had a particularly well-kept sheen reserved for those of a higher class.

Yagaritte leaned back imperceptibly, giving him just enough room to breathe, but kept pressing against him with her lower torso so he remained at the level he was. She still wasn't done with him. "Then why are you here?" she asked him, pushing a strand of hair from her face, annoyed. Why did it never stay where she put it!?

Her breasts were no longer pressing in on his face, but still touching, and still far too close for comfort. Edovan diverted his gaze upwards, into her face, which was also beautiful and scary, but somehow less intimidating than her breasts.

"I'm a not a stalker," he repeated, far more calmly this time. "I just... I just wanted you to have y-your herbs..." he added, holding his hand up again, open. The small bundle was still there, slightly crushed and a little sweaty.

Yagaritte tilted her head, she started to reach for the bundle from his palm, but hesitated. She was suddenly suspicious. That didn't make any sense. Did he know know their worth? Could it be an elaborate plot orchestrated by the thieves' guild? But no... what purpose would that serve? She thought back on her many, many past liaisons. There were any number of men, women, angry wives, even angry husbands who might want to pull a fast one on her. But they would all be here in person. ..

Perhaps he was telling the truth after all? But that begged a different question. Why would some foreign man, who only happened to be in same place as her for a brief moment in time, care if she were reunited with her missing herbs?

She looked down at him there, his cute tiny blushing face peaking out from the deep valley of her cleavage. "Hmmm , she thought., I see TWO reasons right here"

"You sure that's all you wanted?" Her voice had gone husky again. Her eyes flashed and the predatory grin was back. "Maybe you really wanted these..." She said, as she pressed her arms together, squeezing his rather pleasing little face even tighter between her peaks. If that's what he was really after she might be willing to oblige. But only after she'd had her fun with him her way. She brought her leg up between his and not so subtly pressed her knee up into the fabric of his tailored breeches.

He was really starting to struggle now, a full on struggle with feet kicking, hands trying in vain to push her away. Not that it made any difference, she was much more powerful than he was. She was enjoying this far more than she should. She hadn't had this much fun in a while!

"Told you so," The logical voice in his head flatly intoned. Well, this was the end. The walls were closing in around him, the pressure was increasing, and it was getting darker as his face was buried in flesh, mouth and nose now completely covered and sealed by the soft but heavy mountains rising up around him. His vision was starting to narrow as darkness seeped in slowly around the edges, his mind dimming. He could hear and feel the vibration of the steady thumpthump of her heart. It called him like a drumbeat into the darkness.

He had a half delirious thought that if he died here, they should damn well bury him here, right here in the ivory-pink mountains that had been his undoing. Then, he could hear that melodious laugh for eternity. Feel it rumble through and all around his bones, a warm, pleasurable feeling that would last forever..

"This wouldn't be so bad..." his lizard brain said.

"Let's just rest right here..."

Logical brain nodded in silent agreement.

It struck him, then, just as the last bit of light was fading, as he had accepted his fate. A jolt of electricity passed across his synapses, instantly snapping him to full awareness. The one thing he could say that might appease the amazon bent on burying him alive in her bosom. Or at the very least, give her pause. The TRUTH. He had wanted to get her her herbs back of course. But that wasn't the real reason he had been freezing himself, wasting his precious energy on a fool's chase.

Yagaritte was staring down at him as her power trip faded. Oh gods... is he turning blue? She realized then that he was no longer kicking or putting up any struggle, just hanging limply between her arms. But just as she was about to release him (and possibly try to administer a different kind of mouth to mouth), she saw him stretch his head upward one last time.

Edovan took a deep breath and then blurted loudly: "Your laugh!!"

The words hung there in the silence.. She stared at him quizzically for a few seconds, her composure a bit shaken. She lowered her leg, tilting her head as she straightened up some. "My... what??"

"Your laugh... th-th that's why I followed you..." Edovan said, even as he gasped for breath. His head felt fuzzy, muted, muddled.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her brain was working furiously. Yagaritte knew men, she knew plenty of them, and they were all the same. They all wanted something from her, usually with very little in return. Her praise, her body, a job... some even wanted her to "punish" them, a fate she may or may not oblige, depending on her mood and how much ale or whiskey she may have consumed at a particular feast night. She knew men, alright, and could take them or leave them at her own whim. But this small one was different. He was not some wealthy dilettante, with a thing for tall girls, or lecherous old noble who wanted to keep her for his collection (long story, that. She still had his best furs as her camping bedroll). She had determined, within this short amount of time, that this man, this diminutive, shy man, could not have stolen her herbs. He had never stolen anything in his entire life.

She stared down at him again and was suddenly conscious of two facts:

First, were his eyes always that golden? They looked so big and soft and kind, but somehow tinged with a deep sorrow. One that caused her heart to clench in her chest.

Second, why was she was still all but smothering him with her breasts??

Her heart skipped two beats this time. This was no slimy weasel to be trapped, this.. was a perfect, skittish fawn, the kind you never expect to see until you barge into a clearing in the woods and he's just standing there, staring at you like the damn Prince of the Forest..and you exhale and he darts away into the trees leaving you momentarily breathless and and yet somehow changed forever...

or, at least for the rest of the day.

For the first time in her adult life Yagaritte didn't know how to handle a man. It was very unsettling. She wanted to talk to him, find out more about him, but he probably just wanted to get as far away from her as possible now, after she had tried to end his life by breasticide.

She placed her hands at his sides and gently, gingerly leaned back, slowly lowering him till his feet were once again on solid ground. She breathed an internal sigh of relief to see that the color had settled back into his face, no longer red, no longer blue.

She slowly took the package of herbs from his still outstretched hand. She tucked the herbs into her belt to keep them safe, and then gently began to unruffle and smooth out his now rumpled clothing. "You'd better hurry home," she said, looking back at the sun, which had almost set entirely during their conversation. It would get colder soon, and some unsavory things happened in these streets under the protection of night. "I'm sure your pretty little wife is missing you dearly," she added nonchalantly.

Edovan blushed again, shaking his head fervently. (Wife!? He'd never even courted a woman before, much less married, or lain, with one.)

Yagaritte laughed at his reaction, she had suspected as much, but she had to be sure. Not that NOT being single had ever stopped her before. Yagaritte was of the firm opinion that if anyone was in a strong relationship they wouldn't stray, so the fact that someone wanted to stray with her meant their relationship was in trouble anyway. She herself had had many marriage proposals over the years, but had no truck for that kind of folly. If you don't tie yourself to anyone they can't cut the cord between you. Still with someone as pure as this little fawn she would have at least thought twice before bagging and tagging him!

She adjusted her satchel closer to her body. It wouldn't do to leave herself open to pickpocketing. And definitely no good for the fool who would try it.

It was time to lay out the bait. . "A strong young man like you still unattached? What a pity. Well, I must be going now little mouse.. Thank you, for bringing back my herbs. Maybe I'll see you around? ," she said, pressing a small coin into his hand, that seemingly came out of nowhere.

With that, she turned abruptly and strode off, heading back towards the town center. She furtively glanced behind her to make sure he was watching and added just the right amount of swing to her hips, not enough to be sent to a brothel, but enough to send the signal she intended.

"Wait.. what just happened?" Edovan's mind raced. One second he was about to blackout in the ample bosom of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the next she was just striding away!? Did he say something wrong? That he complimented her laugh...really, was that it? True or not, he doubted that was something women longed to hear. Or had she taken a good look at him and decided he was too small to be of ANY use in ANY capacity? He blushed again at the thought. One thing was for sure, his rational brain still needed to find a source of income, some food, and hopefully a warm place to stay for the night. And the one adventurer who had ever given him more than a passing glance was now quickly disappearing from sight.

"Oh gods he's right behind me..." she realized. Soo maybe she didn't know this man.. He was following her, and that was problematic. Where she lived..was not a place she wanted him to find out about on a first date. She quickened her stride. He wasn't even making any pretense of tailing her. He was just right there two steps behind her, looking for all the world like they were traveling somewhere together. She sped up again. HOW was he keeping up? Dam wood elves were faster than she thought.

Her strides were at least three times as long as his own, and he practically had to run to catch up to her, and jog to keep up. She did not stop, and did not acknowledge that he was there, absently adjusting her satchel, or her daggers, or her hair. She headed directly for an inn, a trip she seemed to have memorized. She tipped her fingers at the homely woman behind the counter as she passed through the enormous oaken doorway (it seemed they were quite familiar with one another), leading Edovan into a brightly lit restaurant on the base level of the inn, bustling with patrons and servers.

Yagaritte was frantic. He wasn't supposed to FOLLOW her. She was executing a long game. He was supposed to go home to wherever he was staying and then the next day he would ask everyone in town about the giant strawberry blonde with the scary daggers and everyone would say "oh that's Yagaritte" and then she would appear right there in the exact same spot in the setting sun. You know, the one where she tried to smother him?

Hadn't she nearly killed him?

Why was he RIGHT THERE???

The woman waved a rag at Yagaritte, and then pointed at Edovan. It was unusual for her to be accompanied by someone so... small. Just so very, very small. Yagaritte rolled her eyes and stopped suddenly, causing Edovan, who was far more preoccupied with the hundreds of delicious smells coming from the inn's kitchen, than with following Yagaritte, to crash into her. "Tsk," she intoned, putting a hand on his head and pushing him away from her. "Go home little mouse, this inn is the Horny Boar," she said, turning him back towards the door. "And not a place for you."

Edovan dug his heels in. "W-w-while it might be true that I don't care much for boars... least of all lusty ones... I h-have just as much a right to be here as you do.." he said with more than a little conviction, struggling against her grip, trying to turn back towards her. He had had too many cold nights, too many missed meals, and his desperation was driving him to be bolder than he had ever dared before.

Boldness wasn't breaking her grip on him though as she palmed the top of his entire head the way a child would palm a ball of string. He could feel her warmth radiating into him.

"Besides... you owe me!" he added, his fear making him...well, fearless.

She had to think of something quick. He REALLY didn't belong here.

"Do you have gold for a room?" Yagaritte asked, spinning him around abruptly, and with ease. He was but a doll compared to her. She crouched down so that they were face to face, she took his chin into her hand again, as she had done before, and forced him to look into her eyes. "Do you have gold for a meal? Gold to tip this kind woman here?" she asked, waving an arm at the woman behind the bar.

And just like that, his ballooning new found courage he had discovered.. deflated. She had poked a hole the size of very large thing in his feeble attempt to believe that he might possibly belong in the same room as someone as beautiful as Yagaritte.

She was right. Clearly he had misread the situation. He didn't know a thing about girls after all. He'd just assumed since she had actually talked to him, touched him (nearly killed him?) that maybe she might be different. But she didn't need him to do anything for her..she was a goddess. All his boldness had been stripped away by the harsh reality of her words. He ceased pushing against her hand and just stared down at the muddy floor.

He was just about to turn to go when, Margara, the woman behind the counter, laughed. It was not as elegant or beautiful as Yagaritte's (Edovan was sure nobody's was, in the whole of Tamriel), but it was kind. "Yagaritte, deary, be kind to this little one," she said, coming from behind the counter. Her dingy skirts were tied up, kept free of the ground, which was dusty and dirty with the muddy bootprints of a hundred patrons. "Remember, you were in his position once," she reminded Yagaritte gently.