The Bound - A Tale Of Tamriel

9

9

i. Tilly.

Tilly returned, after a couple of hours and had brought a curious companion along with her. The others rose to meet them, each of them trying to hide their scrutiny of Tilly's friend.

"This is Finds-Things-Not-Lost." Tilly acted as if she was showing off her friend, instead of introducing her, "I told you I'd find her if she was here."

Finds-Things-Not-Lost was a short, heavy built Argonian. Wearing what could only be called a cacophony of colour; crushed velvet, wide legged, pants a violent purple, a lemon coloured silk shirt with long collars tapering to a sharp points, a vivid, bright red, sequinned waistcoat and calf-length leather boots, dyed a startling green, that pointed and curled up at the toes.

The Argonian, herself, was almost as colourful, with scales that at once looked purple, at other times green as each scale caught the light of the sun as she moved. Her face had a white skull on it that was neither painted or a tattoo, but something more unnatural, eldritch, and a crest of multicoloured feathers swept backwards from the back of her head to her shoulders.

"I extend the claw of greeting to you all!" Finds-Things-Not-Lost moved from one member of the party to the other, shaking each of their hands in turn, with vigorous up-and-down pumping. "My beautiful Tilly says you are on quite an adventure."

Tilly enjoyed the shocked faces of her bound companions as Finds-Things swept through the group like a miniature storm. No sooner had she introduced herself than she was off towards the horses, making swift inspections of each one in turn. Checking hooves, teeth, tails. She was quick, but thorough in her examinations.

"You're Tilly's friend?" It was Öenthir that recovered from the Argonian whirlwind first.

"Oh yes." Finds-Things swept back to the group, her lips curled back in an unsettling Argonian approximation of a smile, and put her arm around Tilly, her tail curling around Tilly's legs, "More than friends."

"You were lovers?" A choked exclamation came from Itagaki who didn't even attempt to hide her jaw dropping.

"Well. We fell into bed, we fell out of bed. We laughed, we fought." The Argonian hugged Tilly with her arm, almost lifting the dark elf from her feet. "We were young!"

Tilly, as well as all the other bound companions, felt the intense feeling of jealousy that emanated through the binding, and Itagaki was quick to compose herself, staring at the floor in embarrassment.

"Tilly said you would buy our spare horses." Revna was eager to move on, to save Itagaki from further scrutiny, "Are they of interest to you?"

"Aah! And you must be 'The Big Khajiit Oaf' Tilly mentioned." Finds-Things sized up Revna's massive frame, from feet to her head, "You really are the fine specimen she said you were. My, my!"

"Forget it, Finds." Tilly hauled the Argonian back before she started groping the Khajiit, "Unless you're a tall, blonde, Nord man with mead for brains, you won't be of interest."

"Pity. Such a pity." Finds-Things smoothed down her garish waistcoat as Revna tried to look anywhere but at Tilly or the Argonian. "But, let us not talk of such crude things as 'buying' and 'selling'. Tonight you will accept the hospitality of my most modest abode. We will eat. We will drink. We will sing and tell each other tales and, in the morning, we will discuss the distasteful matters of business. Come!"

And she was away, heading back to the gates of Abah's Landing.

The others looked at each other and then, with haste, picked up their things and packed them onto their horses, grabbing the reins and tugging until they were all following the bright attired Argonian down the hill towards the city.