In Over His Head

Now it was Yagarittes turn to look defeated. She dropped her head, breaking her gaze from Edovan's. Margara took Yagaritte's hand gently and took it away from Edovan's chin, squeezing it tenderly as she did so. "Do you like sweets, little mouse?" she asked him. Yagaritte stood up and silently went over to the bar, dropping her satchel at her feet as she sat down. Her back was to them, and she ignored them. A barmaid quickly brought her over a pint. Yagaritte took it and chugged it.

Why had she seemed so sad suddenly? And what did the woman mean about Yagaritte having been in his position before? Edovan had to draw his gaze away from Yagaritte, shaking his head to clear it before he looked up. He nodded at the woman, who was smiling down at him. While she was clearly Nord, she was not nearly so tall or well-built as Yagaritte was, and she shared none of her beauty. She gently moved him toward a small table near to the fire, and produced a bit of chocolate from the depths her skirts. "Nibble on this while I fetch you something from the kitchen," she said.

Edovan took the chocolate gratefully and sat down, unable to believe his sudden change in luck. He reached to pull his staff from his back, and carefully set it against the empty chair beside him. The dark red crystal atop it seemed to come alive in the jumping light of the fire. He unwrapped the chocolate and took a small bite from the corner. It was clear this was from the woman's personal stash, as it was already half gone. Not that Edovan cared, he was happy to have anything to eat, much less chocolate, which was a luxury he hadn't been afforded in quite some time. But even as his heart sang with the joy of a promised meal, he couldn't help but turn back to look at Yagaritte, who was still occupying a stool at the bar. There were now two empty steins in front of her, and she was gulping down a third. Edovan bit his lip, unsure if he should call out to her, or let her be. It seemed she wasn't suited for company at the moment, for even as he watched her, she irritatedly waved off a man who had taken the empty stool beside her.

She should not be sad. He thought. Even though less than an hour ago she was literally squeezing the life out of him, he felt somehow responsible for her sudden change in mood. Was she sad because of him? Did he need to leave? It made sense if she was penniless once, that just being around him might conjure up all sorts of unpleasant memories from her past. He wanted to hear that full throaty laugh again. See her smile light up the room and make everyone at ease. He was suddenly very conscious of his fine tailored clothing. Ripped and scorched and frayed now, it had clearly seen better days, but it still stood out somewhat. Back when it had been presented to him as a gift by his parents for finishing his third year studies at the Stormhaven Academia Magicka, he was pretty sure the coin used to purchase it could have bought everyone in this inn more than a few nights stays with money left over. He knew better than anyone how sudden changes of fortune can affect people. He imagined it was much the same looking back for her as it was for him looking forward. Edovan looked wistfully at the warm fire. Took a long huff of the air scented with hot food. Well. This had been nice, but there was nothing for it. She was right. He didn't belong here. He knew then what he needed to do.

When the innkeeper returned with large bowl of thick steaming soup and some fresh bread rolls, she found the chair empty. The remainder of the chocolate was sitting on top of a neatly folded but slightly stained and wrinkled silk handkerchief, along with a small pile of meager coins. Margara set the food down on the table, and reached for the coins. Perhaps the young man his misinterpreted what she'd meant? She had no intention of taking his coins. She was a little sad to think he'd slipped off into the night alone, cold and still hungry..

Or at least he had tried to. Apparently he had almost made out the door as Margara spied him again. Unluckily for him, Maraga wasn't the only one who saw him leaving. He had caught the eye of Bernadette, the most infamous of her... maidens, so to speak. Infamous because though over average size for a Nord woman she inexplicably had a thing for the smaller patrons of the Boar. Margara clucked her tongue. Bernadette's "tastes" were a bit too exotic/dangerous for the uninitiated. They had experienced only one real close call so far, but still It was better to be safe than sorry.

"Where you goin, love?" Bernadette drawled, slipping with the speed of a cobra between Edovan and the doorway, just a moment before he had been able to escape. She pulled him around and looked down into his eyes hungrily as his back went up against the wall. Her scarlet dress was done up in a noble's fashion, it showed off its owner's tall but curvy hourglass figure quite well, but was obviously tailored with less fine materials, lacking the minute details of a true noblewoman's dress. It was a nice charade, but only held up because her dress was usually in a rumpled pile on the floor.

Everything about her was red. From her dress to her long curly fire red hair. Her lips were painted an obnoxious red, a shade that men usually fell prey to, as it made her mouth extra pouty, and particularly sensual. Her full breasts of course, were as propped up and pushed together as they could be, practically at her throat. They, too, were painted, a rosy tint that matched that of her cheeks. If she had been an animal in nature she was either trying very hard to attract a mate or warn of possible danger.

In Bernadette's case it was an emphatic "both".

"You've only just arrived..." she trilled, biting her lip as she pressed her hips against the top of his chest and hooked a very long shapely leg around him from behind., she slid down him a bit, her hand sliding up his thigh with little reserve. Once again, he was pinned against a wall, at the mercy of a much larger, more powerful woman.

Margara approached Yagaritte and nodded towards the door. "Looks like your little mouse has found himself some trouble," she said, taking the empty steins from the table and dropping them into a basin of soapy water. She propped her elbows up on the bar and watched them silently. That poor boy...

Yagaritte jerked around and found Edovan with Bernadette, the woman practically trying to mount him in the middle of the room. She grinned, then chuckled to herself. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to watch... at least for a little bit. There was little in the world as entertaining as this, she thought.

"I... I..." Edovan stammered, squirming against Bernadette's advances. He looked past the wide hips of the painted woman over at Yagaritte, who waved at him as they caught each other's eye. HELP ME! he mouthed. Yagaritte simply shrugged and pointed at her ears, miming that she was unable to hear him, and therefore unable to help.

Bernadette leaned down and put her mouth against Edovan's ear, her breath hot and smelling of alcohol, with a hint of mint. Her tongue flicked out at his lobe. "Come on, love... don't be scared," she purred, bending over him, nibbling now at his ear lobe. The hand she had on his thigh moved between his legs, and she cupped him there ever so gently. "I can be gentle... or rough..." she continued, and at 'rough' she squeezed his cock through his pants. Edovan's legs gave way at that, and he slumped downward, sliding slowly down the wall at his back, his face as red as a summer apple and burning with embarrassment. His collapsed moved him from the frying pan into the fire however, as his face was now level with her pubic bone, which was pressing painfully through her skirt against his nose. .

"Ooohh you know JUST what I like......" she drawled, quickly lifting her hem with one hand and grabbing his head from behind with the other. She drew him between her legs under her skirts and pinned his head to the wall.

From her vantage point at the bar all Yagaritte could see was Bernadette with her legs slightly apart grinding her pelvis toward the wall, with a pair of boots protruding toes first from under her skirts and two arms flailing at the sides of her hips. She burst out with laughter at this ridiculous scene, and finally got up from her seat at the bar. She strode over to where Edovan and Bernadette were, near the door. The shameless woman had already started to moan as she rhythmically rolled her hips in small forward circles with slowly increasing speed.

She tapped on Bernadette's shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, towering over the other woman. She still had a smirk on her face.

Bernadette slowly turned from the wall to face Yagaritte, careful not to dislodge the hapless bosmer still lodged between her thighs, the front of her skirts piled on top his head. She looked up at Yagaritte haughtily and scoffed. "I don't see your name on him," she said, her fingers still curling into Edovan's hair as she slowly ground against his face. "And he didn't say no," she added grunting as she thrust her hips forward.. Which was truthful, but he also hadn't said much of anything.. and couldn't now if he wanted to.

As if to respond to her statement Edovan made a quick attempt to disengage, but she deftly hooked her upper leg up over his shoulder curling her shin around his back possessively, both hands forcing him even further down into the generous gap between her thighs. "Beside, he's too small for you, but just the right size for what I like." she smiled wickedly up at Yagarrite and gave a sharp upward pull on the hair on the back of his head as she tilted her hips forward. He seemed to somehow recede in to her. Edovan emitted a wet, muffled squeak.

It was still a ludicrous scene, but Yagaritte had had enough. The little bosmer had started to make drowning noises. And, she thought, with more than a twinge of guilt, he was already one over his daily quota of being suffocated by strange women he'd barely met.

She reached down and grabbed the back waistband of Edovan's breeches and with a speed and grace that startled both him and his aggressor, plucked him from her thighs, hauled him up through the air and brought his body against her own, his back against her front. She put an arm across his chest, the top of his small head safely nestled protectively in the nook between and under her breasts.

"He's mine," she said simply, narrowing her eyes dangerously at Bernadette.

Bernadette was momentarily startled by how quick he had disappeared from her still tingling nethers, but quickly adjusted. She rolled her eyes up at Yagaritte, crossing her arms over her chest, standing firmly.

"Why don't you let him decide," she dared. This was clearly a contest for her now. They had known each other from around the inn of course, but they had never had cause to cross paths before, and she was sure no man in the world would choose this massive, clumsy woman over her.

Yagaritte laughed at that, the sound radiating all around Edovan, flesh jiggling atop his head. He was still pressed firmly against her body, the obvious possessiveness with which she held him was a small comfort, and a protection from this woman who meant to.. well, he honestly didn't know what she meant to do. Drown him and rob him? She's would have been so dissapointed, he thought.

"You're foolish to think he would have part of... WHATEVER it is you plan to do with him," she said, looking down at Bernadette, who though quite a bit taller than Edovan, was nowhere near as tall as her. Compared to Yagaritte, Bernadette was all but a dainty little girl.

Bernadette smirked, leaning in towards Edovan. "He knows exactly what I plan to do with him," she purred, talking directly to him now. She pointed a finger at his nose and then pulled up her skirt in front exposing her firey red bush, and pointed at her nethers. Then she drew her finger upward against her skin tracing an invisible line up from her pubis to her pelvis between her hip bones and patted her abdomen and grinned a wide wicked grin. As she finished, she licked the side of his face, her hand dropping her skirt and coming up to grab his hair, pushing her fingers through it. Edovan squeezed his eyes closed, equal parts terrified, aroused, and extremely confused. He started the day a lonely man with nary a companion, and now he had two women who were fighting over his company, one who had tried to kill him already and one who apparently wanted to try another even more exotic method. Logical brain was beginning to wonder if maybe he had been better off before. Lizard brain was just thrilled to have breasts on his head again.

Yagaritte flicked her ear, sighing in annoyance. "Off with you, little girl," she said, as Bernadette recoiled. She reached up and held her ear, baring her teeth at Yagaritte. "Go on. Run off," she repeated. Bernadette all but hissed and turned away from them, storming passed Margara who had just approached from behind.

"Don't you harm her face," Margara warned. Bernadette was one of her best girls, of course, and she liked to keep them in good shape. Yagaritte waved her hand. She was fine, and it hadn't even been her precious face, besides.

She dragged Edovan back over to the table where his dinner was still sitting, only it was starting to get cold. "You'll eat your dinner," she told him, pushing him back into the seat and shoving a spoon into his hands. She acted as though nothing had just transpired, as though she hadn't just claimed him as her own. Margara came over and plunked down the coins Edovan had left on the table, she smiled down at him, warm and genuine, and left again without a word, bustling back behind the counter. Yagaritte took the seat across from his and sat down, crossing her legs, and her arms. "Eat," she repeated, as Edovan stared at her dumbfoundedly, the spoon slack in his hand.

Edovan was at a loss. He grabbed his previously abandoned kerchief from the table and began thoroughly drying his face. His head was spinning, and slightly damp. And the smell of the painted woman was still thick in his nostrils. He still had no idea what was going, but sitting across from her now he was still concerned about Yagaritte. First she had been sad... then she said he was hers? Hers how? Admittedly, she could have said it just to scare the painted woman away, though Edovan had no doubt she didn't need any help in that department. He bit his lip, then started speaking slowly, halting between each word as if he didn't know what the next one would be.

"I..don't. ..you...and then.. but she..and then YOU..." his voice trailed off but there was specific emphasis on the "YOU" that spoke volumes. He stopped and looked down at the floor again. It was then that he noticed that Yagaritte and Margara and his attacker (who was already dragging some short Dunmer up the stairs) were far from the only women in this room. There were dozens of them, scattered all over. All very attractive Nords as well, though none as tall (or as beautiful), as Yagaritte. Some were dressed regally while others wore outfits he had never even seen before, just strips of cloth with beads! Some were lounging, some talking to patrons. A few were dancing for a group of rowdy Nords in the corner, each with glasses in their hands and eyes on their assets. He'd been so focused on Yagaritte, and then food, and then trying to sneak out, that he hadn't even noticed. The Horny Boar... of course! God's he was thick sometimes.

Yagaritte grinned. "Now you get it?" she asked him, as she saw him look around the room, his face lighting up with realization, then reddening. "You're a bit on the slow side, aren't you?" she added, chuckling. Of course, she was only teasing, and didn't mean any harm by it.

Edovan blushed deeper, if that were possible. "No!" he spurted. He looked down at the bowl of stew in front of him. "...well, maybe a little," he admitted. "But I was... I was distracted!" he finished, sighing. So now she thought he was a simpleton. Perfect.

Still grinning, Yagaritte leaned over the table and reached to pet his head carefully. "You're not slow.." she said with as much honesty as possible. As much fun as it was to tease him, she truly didn't want him to think that she actually believed that little bit of misinformation. Edovan swallowed thickly... that... that had been the gentlest touch she'd bestowed upon him, a hand that was so massive, but incredibly gentle, that he only just felt it atop his head. She made a face, though, as his hair was still damp with Bernadette. She silently wiped her hand on her breeches.

"Yagaritte... why..." he sputtered, putting the spoon down. He was hungry, and it was gnawing painfully at his insides, but he couldn't let this moment slip by, this was a tender moment, and though he knew next to nothing about her, even he could sense her walls were down, at least momentarily. Yagaritte looked at him, waiting. "Why were you s-sad... earlier..." he finished, not really able to look into her eyes. He was terrified that he would see that sadness there again, and he wasn't sure his heart would be able to take it.

Yagaritte smiled sadly , and indeed, her eyes lost some of their sparkle. She closed them and exhaled. "When I first came here, I was like you," she said quietly, looking back up at him now. She reached for a bit of the bread Margara had brought with Edovan's stew, and held it between her fingers. "I was penniless, I was homeless..." she continued, turning the bread over and over in her hand. She tore a piece off and squeezed it absently between her fingertips. "I was.. kicked.. out of my home by my father, nothing to my name but the clothes on my back and a pendant necklace from my mother," she said. "She thought I would be able to sell it for gold, but I couldn't part with it..." She cleared her throat, reaching absently to the thin silver chain that disappeared into her armor. "My little sist--" she trailed off, the look of pain in her eyes doubling, glossing over as she looked beyond Edovan, into the past. She was quiet for some time, contemplative, her hand still at the chain around her neck. She seemed to shake herself free of her memories, her eyes focusing again, gaining back most of their usual devious glinting. "But that's enough about me," she said, seemingly slipping back into her usual self. She ripped a huge bite out of the bread and chewed it happily. "Eath your theww..." she said, talking with her mouth full as she waved her hand at his bowl.

He wanted of course to ask her more about what had happened.. But he also didn't want her to be sad again. Edovan sat quietly for a few seconds, looking contemplative. Then he dipped his spoon into his stew and stirred it around. Thankfully it still steamed a bit and was actually just now at the perfect temperature for eating. He leaned over the bowl and inhaled the aroma. His mouth was salivating in anticipation. He savored the moment. He was just about to take a large scoop of the rich dark broth when he suddenly paused, looked around the room then looked back at Yagaritte. Then he looked around the room again.. then back at her. He seemed to be working something out in his head...

Yagaritte laughed heartily as she watched him, his facial expression saying everything that was going on in his brain. "Keep your mind out of the gutter," she said, completely amused. "I'm an adventurer," she said flatly. "Don't get any ideas," she added, still chuckling.

"Oh..no.. I would never..." Edovan blushed again.. but looked secretly relieved. "I mean...you are certainly pretty enough...." his voice trailed off as his logical brain put the steam brakes on the thought lizard brain was about to say out loud. Now an even rosier shade of crimson, he dug into his soup in earnest now. He started slowly, savoring each bite but soon was picking up speed with each spoonful. In no time he had downed the entire bowl..and was sopping up the last savory bits with a large hunk of bread when he suddenly paused. "Did you want the last piece?" He looked at her and smiled as he extended the still dribbling bread in her direction.