Unicorn boy
Unicorn boy
Includes: 1st person reader, OC character(s), Ohmes Raht reader, masc!reader, Vivec, other canon characters, canon environment
CW: Cursing, Stalking(?) Lmk if more needs to be added.
Word count: 2611
Part one/Part two
The explanation fell out of me like running water as soon as we sat down on the big decorative pillows. Behind the many silk curtains and hanging ornaments, the hospitality of fellow cats rarely let me keep secrets for long. All this time away, even before Morrowind. It had made me forget the closeness and humour of other cats. Say for M’aiko…
“So a meeting with the God King, you say? You’re pulling our tail, surely…”
Jo’dul purred, seeming more entertained than suspicious if anything. I sipped at the matcha with a light shrug, savouring the familiar taste of gossip I didn’t know I missed. I moved the drink back to Jo’dul and faced the straw towards him. Laying it all out with words had me realise how insane this whole ordeal actually sounded. How unlikely it actually was. It left an insecure and anxious feeling deep in my stomach, as if I was leading myself astray with confirmation bias and paranoia.
“Almost hope so. This one hasn’t a single skill one wouldn’t find in one of their buoyant armigers. Understand, this plan is not to impress him, just to sneak by the most prying of eyes. A Khajiit and a Dunmer god has yet to be seen in cahoots with each other- Not that this one knows if that’s even the intent! He is… Hard to read.”
“Jo’dul hasn’t heard of an illusionist buoyant armiger, though. Much less a buoyant armiger quiet enough for espionage ….”
That might be it, actually. I fell quiet for a moment then, glancing over my shoulder and back at the bouncer who I had come to know as Khayla by now. Her tall figure sheltered us away from the main road, giving us some privacy from patrons and other merchants. She was eagerly listening along, though I understood that her silence was mostly to intimidate the outside onlookers. I heard the merchant sip at the cup I handed back to him.
“You think he’s in need of a go-between, then?” I thought out loud, my eyes having laid rest on the bright grey dirt outside, past Khayla’s broad shoulder.
“A liaison, mayhaps.”
I looked back at Jo’dul as if shocked back to the present, with maybe a bit too much hope in my eyes. Enough for him to notice, at least.
“Your expression tells that you’ve been speaking the truth with this story. This one thinks he’ll play a part in it then, something to come home and tell my kittens about. Not everyday you indirectly aid an elven god to get a friend.”
The last word was accompanied with a wink. I couldn’t decide whether I felt relieved or embarrassed. Or if he meant ‘friend’ at all.
“..You have this one’s thanks. And gold, of course.”
“Of course.”
He laughed. And that was that.
The sky was turning black as I reached St. Delyn, necklace clutched in my hand underneath my long sleeve. The dell’arco bulbs were to be used soon, or they’d go soft and lose potency. It was a bit of a sudden farewell to my new merchant friends when I noticed the time, but they understood well enough. Khayla even gave me a hug on the way out, which thoroughly crushed my lungs and bushed my tail. With a bit of a heave, I even promised to write to them sometime. I usually never promise things like that. They were a useful contact to have, though… And a kind one.
…The chances were slim, but I did end up also asking them about M’aiko anyway. Just the passing thought of him made me realise I actually missed him. As I expected, they hadn’t met him on their journey. But they promised to keep an eye out when met with my disappointed expression.
“Many adventurers approach us to stock up on rations and gear.” Khayla mentioned, in a small attempt to keep my hopes up.
“And it’s not the first time we have aided sword for hires, we’ve made a reliable source of trade for mercenaries over the past few months here.”
It was stupid of me not to just ask M’aiko how to reach him. But how was I to know he’d be gone with the wind by morning, paying for my breakfast on the way out? It was a shitty breakfast too, and it tasted even shittier knowing the cheeky bastard paid for it as an apology for leaving. But he WAS still a mercenary. He was probably off on his next swashbuckling adventure on the other end of Tamriel by the time I bought my flat. I ultimately just thanked the merchants for their time and hospitality in the end, pocketing my hope away for the time being.
With a twist of the key, I stumbled in through my door. Fumbling for a good minute in the dark before I found my flint and steel for the brazier. The fire revealed the mortar still on the floor with the rest of the ingredients, waiting for me to use them. I locked the door again. Then found the pliers to get the diamond out of the necklace.
I didn’t sleep that night. My pestle proved to be slightly too weak for diamond, leaving me with brute strength and badly remembered spells as a last resort. I got a good arm workout from it, likely some diamond splinters on the floor that my feet would find later, and at last a fine glittery sand. The rest of the process was luckily much easier. Pasting bittergreen, crushing the dell-arco… It was like making a really bad salad. I put it all to a boil once I had picked apart my lantern and turned it into a sufficient burner, letting it simmer for an hour while I went to get some dinner.
An hour or so after midnight, when the night wind became too cold for me, I closed the balcony door. And it was in the silence then, that I sat down to let my constant stream of thoughts take over. I poured a drop of ciciliani into the boiling mixture. I could get arrested for this, if I got caught in the wrong lighting. Was I really sure about Vivec actually wanting to see me? Was this flat actually paid for by them? Another drop. I was acting out of impulse, I knew that. I could have done a lot more background checking before settling on just paying a visit. Once my patience for schemes ran years. Another drop. What was it they said to me? It had been weeks, and I hadn’t noted it down. ‘I look forward to our next meeting, friend.’ I whispered it out loud, as if telling my potion a secret. His tone still rang clear in my head. Another drop. I could be completely wrong.
…
…At some point I dozed off when I was waiting for the mixture to cool down, near dawn. If it wasn’t for the murmur of the shops outside in the plaza, I would’ve likely rested for hours more.
The potion had cooled down, finally showing that purple-red shimmer in the otherwise transparent liquid. I had made it correctly.
With sluggish movements, I reached for the cheesecloth and funnel. Lining the cone with the fabric and pouring the mixture into a bottle so the diamond sand could get filtered away. I took a small swig of the potion and started counting, looking intently at my hand fade away….. The potion lasted a good six minutes. When my hand came back into view, I picked up my quill and noted it down. My stomach growled at me for drinking such a sharp liquid before eating anything. I reluctantly started cleaning up my tools to make way for breakfast.
Walking up the palace steps only took some three minutes. -Ish… And walking past the temple canton, that was.. If I used a spell to get to the temples first, so as not to be seen, maybe I could wait it out by the wall and then use the potion once I knew the Archcanon was making the trip up to the Lord. Then I’d just follow him and slide in through the door while it was opened. That’s not the WORST plan… That would even leave a couple of minutes for me to find a corner to be in once the invisibility would wear off. Now I just had to figure out the Archcanon’s routine. That should be easy from my balcony.
I took my plate and notebook with me, starting to jot down whatever pattern I saw. In the beginning it felt random. The Archcanon, a slightly scrawny looking fellow with red hair and ill-fitting important robes, seemed to run up and down the stairs frequently, sometimes with papers in his hands, sometimes with another person in tow. This was good news to me at least, as it left a lot of chances for me to follow along. The random visits showed themselves to be more timed though, after the fifth hour of looking. It was every hour at the halfway point.
Now, I had no idea what event or situation would require such a tight and timely schedule, but that was NOT good news. That probably meant something important was going on, and that people would be more alert as a result…
…Was the plan to do it today? The potion wouldn’t go bad for a whole week, so that wasn’t a concern. But in my tired mind, that feeling still nagged at me. What I had previously called impulsiveness. I felt like I was on a deadline. As my hand trailed off the page, that simple thought took over. I really felt like there was a deadline. Like I was studying for some sort of exam. I tried finding footing in my thoughts, sifting back in my notebook in hopes that I had transcribed some of that conversation I had with the God King. I almost forgot to look over the railing to keep tabs on the archcanon, suddenly having to multitask on this new little idea. Past a couple of sketches and small unfinished paintings, I seemed to have quoted something near a study of one of the statues I saw on the plaza across my own: ‘A social networker, then. I won’t pry into why you’ve ended up here in Vvardenfell, of all places. However…’ followed by some question marks.
I frowned at the paper. It’s not enough to go on. But I still remembered how they looked at me when they said it. Like they were sizing me up, challenging me even. I was getting frustrated. It had to be today.
I didn’t pack a blade, nor did I hood myself. I wanted to have open palms for the meeting, however stupid it might be to not be able to defend oneself. But I didn’t do all of this to be defensive anyway… The potion was neatly tucked away in my belt pouch and the additional illusion spell was already glittering at my fingertips in anticipation. I had packed my notebook as well, at this point having grown irritated at my former self for not taking proper notes. So now that was strapped against the back of my belt as well, gently pressed against the small of my back. I wasn’t going on a month-long journey or anything, best keep it light and secure. I took one last glance at the temple, seeing the Archcanon stepping down to his offices like clockwork. I had an hour to get myself in position.
Everything was timed and going as planned. So far. I had decided to drink the potion first and then use a spell, because then I could at least control when I would like to be seen when I arrived. It was safest to take my normal route out of the canton, sauntering out of the waistworks and heading East to reach the middle, lest any suspicion should arise. Once I had settled under a plaza bridge’s shadow, I continued counting the minutes in my head as I kept an eye on the temple doors in the distance. I had memorised the routes of the ordinators already, more out of habit than of need, so I was confident enough to not get caught at the start line… And just when I wanted it to happen, the Archcanon stepped out of the temple. He seemed slightly nervous..? I didn’t have time to think about that. I downed the potion, letting it take effect just before I stepped onto the temple canton’s bridge. I pursued.
Walking close to him, I managed to get a better look. Middle aged, not holding anything this time… And so unmistakingly nervous. Looking around like he was expecting to see me somewhere. He fiddled with his hands so much that he forgot to lift his robes over the stairs, making way for a lot of stumbling. That made me worried, but it was too late to back out now. We were already up the first steps towards the palace, and the counting I had to do in my head to time the potion didn’t let me rethink my actions.
Right before the six minute mark, I switched over to hiding with a spell. We were almost at the top of the stairs now, and I thought I had actually made it. I wasn’t seen, I had gone through the worst hurdle and now the buoyant armigers were saluting the archcanon.
“Shh..” He hissed back, and I knew then in my gut that I had been found out. It didn’t matter how much my heart sank, the door was opened before I could think to turn around. And just when I DID have that thought, Vivec called out.
“Come inside you two, we don’t have all day.”
…
The sound of the door closing behind me broke my concentration completely, giving the Archcanon a little spook as I appeared. I must have looked just as startled, because the God-King started to giggle. I would have felt offended in any other circumstance, but all I could think to stutter out was a question that’s been eating at me since last time we met.
“Did-…. Did you actually want to see me?”
“Why of course. I pushed you along, even.”
He remarked, a knowing smile plastered across his blue and yellow features. He did push me. Against the railing by the Foreign Quarter. I felt a bit nauseous.
“…I didn’t see who pushed in the crowd. This was a test, wasn’t it, you said-”
“What I say will always need interpretation and afterthought. And you did so, and came to the right conclusion. Just in time as well.”
Whatever point I had died on my tongue. I felt played with, but somehow not maliciously. My whole face felt warm and stuffy with a weird mixture of embarrassment and… Something else. I looked away from his smile, lest I started stumbling too. The Archcanon cleared his throat then, and Vivec seemed to perk up.
“Ah, yes! As entertaining as this is, we’re on a deadline.”
They declared, dropping down on their feet as if getting off an invisible perch in the air. And then they touched me. On my shoulder, a warm and gentle hand started leading me to the side as the Archcanon hurried after us into Vivec’s private quarters. I looked up at him with wide eyes, in some silent plea for answers. The hand squeezed to calm me.
“I have decided to take you along to Mournhold, for a little job of espionage.”