Dolmas stood in awe of the woman who had come out in the dress and pink house shoes, as she seemed to drop everything and just pull the twins into a hug that made Lyanna smile.
All it did for Dolmas was make him uneasy.
Inevitably, the reunion was done and the pair of outsiders were presented to Alice and Titus' parents.
"Oh..." Was all she said, and Dolmas' brow furrowed. That was that then, she was going to the obviously troubled dunmer out on his ear.
To his surprise, her eyes went wide and she turned to face Alice, hugging her again.
"Oh sweetheart! Yes! Yes, of course they can come in! Oh your dad'll be so happy that you've found someone and that you Titus have found somebody new since Njada."
Dolmas was confused , and the look on his face amplified that point a hundred fold. Why did she seem to flip flop so fast?
"Please, come on in and make yourselves at home. Alice and Titus' little sisters are in the kitchen and they'll get you both something to eat."
The four came in from the street, and immediately Dolmas was hit with a something that he hadn't known. The air in the home was warmer than it was outside, but it wasn't from the cooking fire. There was something there that made the air thick and hard to breathe. Before Dolmas could discern what it was, the woman from the door came back with what seemed to be venison. Then the smell hit his nose, and his mouth water.
That was definitely venison, and it was the best he had ever seen or smelled. It might have been from his recent bout with death, but he was surprisingly famished, and the sight of the meal only doubled it. She sat it at the table and the others all gathered around it, and began to eat. The woman spoke again, smiling, as she seemed to be humored by how Lyanna and Dolmas seemed to be tearing into their food.
"Please, make yourselves at home and eat as much as you like. Simus'll be home soon and then you can tell us where you all have been. In the meantime, Dolmas and Lyanna, why don't you tell us a little about yourselves? Titus brings a date home often enough, but this is rare for Alice. Two in the same night is unheard of!"
Dolmas didn't need to hear he twice, as his starved body tore for the food, a sign that the man was near feral. OR at least, something close to it. But his mind was still listening enough to realize she had asked Lyanna and himself to speak about themselves.
THIS will be interesting. I may not have to do anything to muck this up. YOU'LL do it for me.
Glad someone is enjoying themselves.
Dolmas was going to speak, or probably more like stammer, but Lyanna beat him too it.
"Well, I was born in Markarth." She seemed to pause, probably trying to filter what she said. Lyanna didn't seem like the secretive type, at least not to an large extent, but she seemed to be holding back. "I lived there until I was nine. Then... the circumstances wouldn't let me stay any more. I had to run away, so I tried to go north to find Solitude. Instead, a... group of warriors and historians took me in, raising me as their own and teaching me everything I know." Dolmas' belief that she was filtering her story was confirmed wit hthat last statement. He wondered why. Then the realization slapped him in the face, nearly causing him to scoff at himself disbelievingly.
Titus was a werewolf. She had ties to the Vigilants. Obviously that was a rune trap to watch for. She continued. "So, I learnt to fight, I learnt to live, I learnt to smith and craft. I made my sword, enchanted it, and so on. I left my friends, traveling Skyrim and helping against any threats. Eventually, I came to Rorikstead, and met these two." She pointed to the twins, and continued. "The rest, I suppose, should wait until everyone's here." She then looked to us, showing a grim look.
Anyone who had been through what they had and that were expected to tell of it would.
After another bite, Dolmas realized the torch had been passed to him, and it was his turn to tell about himself. He swallowd hard, thinking about how we was to respond.
He was NOT going to unleash the beast of the story again, especially for strangers, no matter how important they were to Alice.
He took the easy road and followed Lyanna's example.
"I wasn't born in Skyrim. I was born on the Isle of Solsteim, in a village around Raven Rock."
What next?
"I was an only child, to a mother and a father, who loved me dearly. Much like Lyanna, unfortunate circumstances came into my life and caused the deaths of my parents. I've been on my own ever since."
Dolmas reached for Alice's hand, for support, and continued, a carefully falsified smile playing upon his lips.
"I found my way to Rorikstead on accident, and ran into these three while we were there." He paused and looked to Alice again, smiling softly. "I haven't left their sides since."
He looked back to his hosts, hoping that would be enough.
"But I am of a mind with Lyanna. The rest should wait until everyone is present. It is quite the tale."
