Earanwensighed and twirled her pipe. It was a delicate little thing, thin and carvedwith intricate swirling patterns, which she kept more to complete her look thananything else. She’d never been much for smoking before, but then a lot canchange in… how long had it been?
By the—well,by herself, she was alreadyforgetting.
She breathedout a puff of smoke, watched it spiral lazily into the air, disappear intonothing, spread out into everything. The sweet sharp bitter taste lingered onher tongue.
What had shedone?
What had she done, really, when you camedown to it. Saved the world. Lost it. Whatever.
Lost him.
Bastard. He hadn’teven given her the time to understand it all.
Not that shewould have, if she was being fair. Understanding and acceptance, that was… well,she tried, but that was his strength far more than it was hers. He must have thoughtshe’d be alright, anyway. That she’d handle it. Carry on without him, honor hismemory, all that.
He alwaysdid have more faith in her than she deserved.
Remember when you taught me fate?
Said it'd all be worth the wait
Like that night in the back of the cab
When your fingers walked in my hand
Next day, nothin' on my phone
But I can still smell you on my clothes
Always hoping that things would change
But we went right back to your games
Long nights, daydreams
Sugar and smoke rings, I've been a fool
But strawberries and cigarettes always tastelike you
Headlights on me
Racing to 60, I've been a fool
Strawberries and cigarettes always tastelike
Blue eyes, black jeans
Lighters and candy, I've been a fool
But strawberries and cigarettes always tastelike you
Lucien and Cass in "If you break his heart I'll tear off your limbs." "Bold of you to assume I'm scared of you."
Thank you so much for the wonderfully adorable prompt, my dear! I super appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy the final outcome! Sorry for taking so long to get around to this, but I believe you can clearly see why it did when you notice the length! But in any case, thanks again~
Introducing your family to the one you are dating is never easy foranyone; but for some, it is even more of an ordeal when your family consists ofseveral high ranking members of the local mafia faction, and the one you aredating is actually a respected policewoman, who was, in fact, personallyresponsible for throwing your ass – the very same ass who was equally andhappily apart of said mafia faction – into the nearest jail cell following acrucial contract gone horribly awry.
So, to say Korbin was concerned with the concept of bringing homeand introducing his girlfriend Cassandra to his adoptive eldest brother Lucien,was indeed the greatest of understatement in the history of all known understatements.
After practically sweating large enough bullets to be used in hisactual pistol throughout the course of the uncomfortable dinner together, of whichhe spent most of it complimenting Lucien’s cooking, and trying not to noticethe glare his brother and his girlfriend were giving one another in the midstof his pitiful attempts to somehow break through their shared silence, Korbinfelt himself go lightheaded and nearly topple out of his chair when Luciensuddenly asked for a moment with Cassandra alone.
Grasping onto the table to steady himself, he forced a painfulsmile. “Oh, but of course, brother! Whatever you want!” He tells himwith an air of cheerfulness, and yet both his heart and his stomach were in theprocess of doing duel somersaults together as he pulled himself up from thechair and gathered their empty plates. Oh, that pot roast was certainly notgoing to be nearly as delicious the second time around.
Rounding the corner and making his way towards the stairs, hewondered just what on earth Lucien would say to her, what he would do, and ifhe would even have a girlfriend to make plans for a future apology date with bythe end of the night.
For several moments, they simply stared at one another with the verysame expressions they wore during dinner. Lucien’s hands were neatly foldedunderneath his chin, Cassandra leaned partway onto the table with one hand, andtheir darkened gazes priced the other harsh and judgmental frowns. Neithermoved an inch, neither spoke a word, and neither dared to turn their back onthe other.
They simply watched, and waited, until Lucien finally broke thesilence between them at long last.
“I couldn’t help but take notice of the badge hanging upon yourbelt when you walked arm in arm with my brother,” Lucien acknowledges in asmooth tone. “Thus, meaning you are of the police force, something I findrather surprising considering –”
“–Considering that Korbin, much like yourself, are part of theungodly criminal syndicate me and my fellow law enforcers have been seeking toabolish for several months, now?” Cassandra interrupts before he is ableto finish, reaching down with her other hand and placing her badge upon thesurface of the table in clear sight without breaking eye contact.
Lucien’s frown tightens, and a slight edge overtakes his words.“Mafia, actually,” He corrects, and Cassandra smiles inwardly whenshe hears the newfound tone in his voice as he waves a dismissive hand. “Ishall have you know that those you seek, and still fail to locate time andagain, have nothing to do with the family in which myself or Korbininhabit.”
“And I shall have you know I am no mere rookie policewomanfresh off the streets,” She says with a chin nod towards her badge.“If you turn your eyes to the golden lettering in front of you, you wouldsee I am, in fact, acting deputy chief of the jurisdiction. Unless, of course,your sinister glare is forbidden to even gaze upon an item born ofjustice?”
Lucien pauses briefly, not allowing her the pleasure of knowing hisreaction to such silver-tongued words, and then slowly pushes the badge to theside as though it was nothing more than a mere trinket. Leaning more heavilyupon the table, his voice shifts back into its natural composure.
“Where did you first meet my brother?” He asks simply.
Cassandra laughs, and leans back in her chair with an amused smile.“I’m truly surprised you do not already know.”
“Perhaps, I do; but for the sake of our discussion –”
“—I do believe the more proper term would be interrogation, actually.” Shequips in a playful voice that seems almost natural.
Lucien doesn’t flinch, only breathes in carefully before beginninghis sentence once again. “But for the sake of our discussion”– He places a tight emphasis upon the word –“Simply regale me with the details of your first encounter.”
“If you must know, our first legitimate interaction was fromthe other side of iron bars. When I first drug him into the police departmentin handcuffs and quite literally threw him into a cramped holding cell…”She turns her head as she explains, absentmindedly tracing her fingers over thetexture of the wooden chair as her voice trails; and although her words arefirm, even harsh in nature, there is a gentleness lurking just beneath thesurface.
Turning back around in her chair, she bends forward and places herhead in her hands, and Lucien easily sees the smile spreading out over herhidden features from between her fingers.
“Can you believe the darling fool had the audacity to flirtwith me? Even whilst I was threatening to silence him with every law known toman, he still attempted to win me over in the vain hope of a shorter sentencing!”
Lucien resists the urge to smile himself. “And were you… wonover in the end?”
Cassandra looks up and her smile swiftly turns into a smirk inresponse. “I do believe you already know the answer to that question, orelse I surely would not be here this night.” She readjusts her posture andgives Lucien a once over with her eyes. “And you? What is your story,then?”
“My story?”
“Come now, I gave you the information you so desired, thus do Inot have the pleasure of knowing every intimate detail of yours and Korbin’sfirst meeting?” She questions with a light shrugging of her shoulders; hervoice now softer and genuinely curious.
Lucien runs a hand over his chin. “And how do you not know ourfirst meeting was not in the delivery room after he was born?”
Cassandra laughs, but her eyes are slightly offended. “Do nottake me for a fool, Lachance!” She shouts between tickled breaths. “Iknow very well you and Korbin are not of blood relation.”
“Do you? And just what is it that gave it away?” He museswith a raised eyebrow, his voice light and filled with humor. “Was it theheight difference? The hair color, perhaps? Or maybe –”
“—The way he canhardly go a single conversation without gushing in some way in regards to his ’beloved adoptive siblings’,” She interrupts once more,using her fingers to place air quotes around the phrase of choice. “Hiswords, of course, not mine.”
Both Lucien and Cassandra share a laugh on behalf of Korbin’s endearingeccentricities, and neither think to question just how utterly peculiar theconcept is, or the fact that Lucien did not actually answer her question whenasked. After a moment, the laughter between them fade backinto a familiar silence, and while their smiles surely linger upon their lipsand there is a far more relaxed air between them, they slowly go back topricing one another with equally inquisitive stares.
Watching carefully, and waiting, and wondering who would dare tomake the next move; be it in words, or in actions, neither were truly certain.But before long, it was Lucien that once again chose to step forth and throwdown the hypothetical gauntlet… by placing his hand upon her badge andpushing it towards her end of the dinner table.
She instantly slapped her hand down and caught it before it slid offthe table completely. When she had finished fasting it back to its place uponher belt, and looked back up, she saw that Lucien had placed his own hands backunderneath his chin, and he was grinning from ear to ear.
To most people, perhaps such a sight would have been a cause forgreat concern, or even prompted them to feel a cold chill run up the base oftheir spin and choose to turn on their heel before rushing to the nearest meansof safety they could find, but she was not most people.
She simply mirrored his stance and grinned just as widely in turn.Whatever it was he wanted, whatever his reasoning for such a display, she wasmore than prepared for it and whatever else would surely follow in its place. And perhaps, insome way, she was even slightly eager for it.
However, instead of the over the top sight she expected to befallher, it was nothing more than a single drawn out, and quietly spoken threat.
“You should know, my dear girl… if you even consider the ideaof somehow breaking his heart at any given point in this relationship, I willnot hesitate to track you to the most remote corner of the world and tear everylimb from your miserable little body,” His eyes narrow, and his voicedarkens considerably.
“Understand there would be nowhere you could possibly hide frommy unending wrath if I find out you did not do everything within your power tokeep his childish smile perfectly in place and care for him as he rightfullydeserves. In an effort to make myself more plain: If you think to hurt him,know I will do the very same to you, but tenfold. Do I make myself clear?”
Cassandra simply scoffs with a wry smile. “Quite the boldassumption to actually believe I am somehow frightened of you in any possibleway.”
Another pause spreads between them when Cassandra finishes speaking,and then just as quickly as the silence falls, it is interrupted and then brokenby the sound of Lucien suddenly clapping his hands together and standing fromhis chair to his full height.
“Well now, with all of that properly settled, I do believe thatour business together is concluded for the time being!” He holds out hishand, and carefully helps Cassandra – who is not even remotely shocked by thisdramatic change in personality, and rather takes it all in stride, for shebelieved her darling had to have gotten such habits from somewhere – to herfeet, and wraps an arm around her shoulder as he slowly leads her out of thekitchen, and towards the living room to regroup with Korbin.
Before they are able to fully cross over the threshold, Korbin comesrushing down the stairs two at a time, and nearly tackles Cassandra fromLucien’s grip.
“Oh, dear sweet Sithis, you are actually stillalive after all!” He cries emotionally, pulling her into her arms with arelieved smile.
Cassandra hands tremble in surprise from the sudden embrace, and shereaches to wrap one around part of Korbin’s back, and the other to carefullygrip the arm of the couch and keep her from tumbling from the extent of hisweight. Her voice stammers in an attempt to make sense of everything, and whena faint flush overtakes her cheeks when she at last realizes, Lucien finds itwonderfully amusing.
Of all things she endured this evening, it was his brother’s owntouch that ultimately caught her off guard and became her undoing.
He politely clears his throat to make his presence known and tries notto chuckle in fondness upon seeing the two of them lost within their own worldfor a brief moment.
Pulling back – after planting a gentle kiss to Cassandra’s cheek – Korbinlooks over at his brother by the staircase with a hidden smile upon his lips,and down to his girlfriend still enveloped within his arms with a wide-eyedstare, and giggles boyishly.
“So, do I dare ask how it went between the two of you? I mean,when I heard the sudden noise, I honestly feared the worse, but…” Hepoints a finger at Lucien and narrows his eyes in contemplation. “…Fromwhere I’m standing you don’t seem furious, nor in the process of emptying theentirety of your clip to somehow vent your emotions, and you"—he placeshis finger upon Cassandra’s forehead—"thankfully don’t seem sprawled outand dead from being caught up in the aftermath of a literal explosion of anger,so… so, that certainly must mean it went well! Or, at the very least, farbetter than I first expected it to!”
He quiets down and awaits the reply to all his rambling with aneager smile over his lips; and yet, when one does not come from neither lovedone, Korbin’s expression sobers, and he winches uncomfortably.
“It… did go well… didn’t it?”
With a shake of her head, Cassandra bends her knees and slipsout of Korbin’s hold; making her way to the front door of his and his sibling’sshared home with a chuckle all her own.
“Ah now, my love, I do believe if you are searching for an answerto that specific question, you would do best by asking your brother’s opinion directly…”She halts her step, remaining halfway out the door and thinking back overeverything she had learned, and everything she intentionally did not, throughout the surprisinglyentertaining dinner, and then turns her to address Korbin more easily – eventhough the warm smile following her words were actually to both the youngestand eldest at once.
“…I shall be awaiting your return to my side within the comfortsof my car. So, do try your best not to linger too long.”
As she leaves his sight, Korbin feels himself go lightheaded and nearlytopple over once again, but for an entirely different reason than before. Hisgrin spreads, and his boyish chuckle returns, and it is only when the familiartouch of a warm hand coming to rest over his shoulder that he is finallybrought back down to earth.
Shifting his gaze to the side, he looks at Lucien with a mixture ofworry and embarrassment flickering in his eyes, and he unconsciously runs hishands over his knuckles; his voice softening into a whisper.
“…Lucien, please tellme it went well.”
Lucien tightens his grip upon Korbin’s shoulder as a means ofreassurance, and closes whatever distance is between them. His voice equally asquiet, and yet with just the faintest hint of playfulness in his tone.
“Icould surely do that, my Silencer, but instead I shall ask for you to tell me how you believe it went.”
Korbin blinks in surprise to his words, and his hands fall limp at hissides. “W-Wait… wait, what?” He sputters in confusion. “Why wouldyou want me to do something like that?”
“You were listening the entire time, weren’t you?” Lucienasks with a knowing smile. “Or am I somehow mistaken?”
Korbin’s eyes widen, and heraises his hand in objection to what he is hearing; opening his mouth to voicehis argument, and prove to Lucien that he is, without a doubt, very muchmistaken, and how dare his brother think to accuse him of such childishbehavior when this evening was anything but.
However, instead of the profoundwords which would silence Lucien in an instant, all that actually falls fromhis lips is simply a flustered squeak, and the dark tint that accompanies the sound, and spreads over his cheeks only causes Lucien’s smile to grow.
“Ah, just exactly as Ithought,” Lucien tells him, and smooths over the creases of Korbin’s dressjacket with his hands. “Thank you for confirming it for me, Korbin; now, backonto our prior discussion of yourthoughts on the matter?”
Korbin steps away from hisbrother’s touch and runs a nervous hand over the back of his neck.“Lucien, I’m not sure what it is you want me to –”
“—You heard our failedattempts at pleasantries, did you not?” Lucien interrupts the oncomingramble before it has a chance to begin. “And how I then shifted theconversation into inquiring about yours and hers first proper meeting?”
“Yes, I was actually quitesurprised to hear she was so open about it, especially considering –”
“—Considering Iintentionally was not when she asked for the same about ourselves?” Luciencuts him off once more, waving a hand to Korbin’s silent nod, as he then folds themboth over his chest.
“I merely believed if she was indeed as curious asshe seemed, I would stand aside as to not overshadow the chance of bestowingthe overly exaggerated details yourself. After all, it is not every day whenyou are able to learn of a fourteen-year old’s theft of a high-quality pistolfrom said pickpocket’s mouth directly.”
Korbin chuckles at his phrasing.“You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Absolutely not, mybrother,” Lucien answers him with a smile, before moving onto a change ofsubject outside of fond memories from long ago. “In any case, if you wereable to hear all of that from your place atop the staircase, then you soclearly heard what followed soon thereafter.”
“Do you mean when youthreatened to, quite literally, rip her limbs off if she broke my heart in anyway, shape, or form?”
Lucien’s smile turns into a devious smirk.“The very same.”
“Oh, believe me, I definitely heard that part.” Korbintells him with a sharper tone than he had intended. His expression twists, and he lets out a careful sigh when he realizes; uncertain as to whether he shouldbe flattered for his brother caring so dearly about his emotional wellbeing, orsimply be exasperated with Lucien’s unwavering determination to adhere to hisown personal definition of the term ‘protective’.
“And yet, somehow, youstill remain rather unsure as to how you believe the evening went, or how Ifelt regarding the company you choose to keep?”
Korbin’s eyebrow twitches asLucien unknowingly makes his decision for him. Exasperation, it was mostcertainly exasperation he felt while listening to his brother’s words.
“Lachance,if I have learned anything in all my years of knowing you, I know droppinga body full of holes in our backyard could mean you’re feeling positively ecstatic, whereas a veiled threat could mean you are only seconds away from anuclear explosion of anger,” Korbin places a hand over his head,and rubs over his temples with an uncomfortable frown.
“So, you will just have toforgive me if, at this point, I honestly don’t know what to think anymore.”
Lucien barks a laugh. “Verywell Korbin, then allow me save you from the oncoming headache,” He movesforward and places his hands back upon his brother’s shoulders, the genuinesmile spreading over his lips matching the softness in his eyes. “I likeher.”
“Wait… you… you do?” Korbin’sannoyance instantly fades, and his eyes begin to sparkle at how incrediblywonderful those words sound in his ears. “Really?”
“Really.” Lucienrepeats in a gentle tone, reaching up and patting the side of Korbin’s cheekwith his hand.
Gasping in response, Korbin quicklywraps his arms around Lucien’s shoulders and lifts him into a crushing embrace.“My dear brother, you truly have no idea how much hearing you say thatmeans to me!” He twirls in a small circle as his voice amplifies until it becomes nothing more than a joyous scream born ofappreciation.
He squeezes Lucien to his chestone final time before placing him back upon the, thankfully very still, carpet, and then quickly rushes for the front door without hardly a second glancetowards the slightly dizzy brother over his shoulder.
“This is wonderful, absolutelywonderful! I knew it would all work out in the end – I never had any doubt, ofcourse – but this is far better than I could have ever dreamed!” He babbles onmostly to himself, forgetting to shut the door behind him as his voice echoesloudly from the driveway.
“I cannot wait to explain this to Cassandra! She isgoing to be just as overjoyed to learn that you actually like her, that youaccept her! I can already see her sweet smile in my mind, and it is simplybeautiful! Oh, darling! We were just talking about you! You will never in amillion years guess what happened!”
And as Korbin’s voice eventually fades into silence followed by, rather ironically, the slamming of a car door, Lucien simply leans against the wood and watches the two of them speed off from sight with a smile.
7. How much do they utilise the power of Thu'um? Do they actively try to expand their inborn abilities through research and exploration? Or are they less invested?
By the time Lilia found out she’s the Dragonborn she was reeling from the destruction of the Dark Brotherhood and general years of traumatic violence, she’s got more money than she knows what to do with, and she’s dealing with like, puberty and general teen angst. She was all chaos and no direction, so meeting the Greybeards and seeing their quiet, meditative lives really resonated with her. She studies the Thu’um more than she uses it, and when she does practice it’s with their guidance or with Paarthunax.
11. If they had a pet or magical familiar as in ESO (excluding the dogs in Skyrim) what creature would it be?
I can really only see Lilia with her dog ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
12. Which standing stone have they used for the longest and why?
I’m basic and just get the thief guardian stone and leave it
15. What is their personal LEAST favourite place in Skyrim- somewhere that annoys them, or comes with bad memories, or otherwise?
Obviously the big one is the prison where she woke up at the start of it all. But besides that, she really dislikes Sky Haven Temple. Going there means she has to deal with Delphine and the new-old Blades, and they represent everything that the Grey Beards aren’t. Delphine wants conflict and action, while Lilia just wants calm and peace. The whole place is like High Hrothgar’s twisted twin in her mind.
17. What’s their style- do they tend to wear armour and if so, what sort? Otherwise what’s their average day-to-day clothing?
She wears armor most of the time, but as she gets older it gets more elaborate and refined. Currently her go-to is the Crimson Archer set from Immersive Armors. When she’s not in her armor, she tends towards Colovian-style clothing (soon as she has the money to afford it).
29. What do they do post-Skyrim, once all the main quests are finished? What happens to them in the aftermath?
In short, she takes over the empire and kicks Aldmeri ass. Girl is the most powerful woman in Skyrim, both combatively and politically, she killed the previous emperor, and she’s a descendant of Martin Septim. If anyone can take the throne and fix that train wreck, it’ll be her.
But she does spend a few years before that settling down with Erik and starting her family. She deserves to be happy.
31. In their opinion, who is the best dog in all Skyrim?
I have this mod that adds a German Shepherd named Judah, and he has kept Lilia safe through many a hardship.
Hello! Once you get this you have to answer with 5 things you like about yourself, publicly, then send this on to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is super cool!)
1: how short i am (bc i can climb shit!!! look at me go!!!)
2: smal hamds. so i can hold. my bf’s fingr
3: i have surprisingly soft cheeks??? it’s nice
4: i made frens v easily when i started school!!! it was heckin radicl i’m becoming less introverted
5: i know how to self defense!!! i am smal but i can kic ur as
