Spies in the Mountains

Military action

Natalya and Fenneck find two KAV agents trying to sneak into Flottenheim.

Natalya felt Fenneck kiss her neck from behind as she stirred the apple cider over the fire pit. His hands wrapped around her and she giggled as he pulled her into his chest. "Good morning, my love," he whispered into her ear in elvish. "Good morning," she said as his tongue danced on her neck. She turned and kissed him and he pulled her down onto the furs. They kissed and loved on each other until the pot of cider started to boil over. "Damn it! Move!" Natalya giggled as she pushed Fenneck off of her to grab the cider to pull it from the heat. They laughed and he attacked her again after she had set the pot down safely. "Fen! We should go on a patrol or something!" she said laughing as he passionately covered her in affectionate kisses. "Or," he said between his kisses. "We... could stay here... all day... and just do this..." He started reaching under her blouse and Natalya stopped him. "Seriously Fen, we haven't left the cave in a whole week." She was still giggling and smiling at him. "Yes darling, but, I have a very good argument for staying inside." He reached up to kiss her neck but she moved away. "And what would that be?" she asked him. He looked up at her with his big green puppy dog eyes and begged her. "It's warm and cozy in here and it's quite cold and gross out there." He looked down and started caressing her body. "Also you're more likely to take your clothes off if we are in here than out there." She rolled her eyes at him and gave him a stern look. "Fine," he groaned. He hopped up and went to put his winter clothes on. They changed out of their comfortable, linen pajamas that Naertho had made them and put on their warm, hide armor and strapped their weapons on. Natalya didn't want to leave the cave either but she had a strong desire to move and release some of the tension built up between herself and Fenneck. Not having sex was both easier and harder than she thought it would be. It was surprisingly easy to lie in Fenneck's arms for hours just lovingly kissing and caressing each other and not feel the need to stab herself with his elvish longsword. However, it had been over thirteen years since she had had sex and she was starting to feel the need to release some of that tension, and it was a lot of tension. She didn't know how Fenneck had managed to not have sex for over a hundred years. He kissed her one more time before they braved the cold, dark mountains. There was a full moon in the sky which cast a haunting glow over the snow covered mountains. Natalya and Fenneck made their way toward the pass into Lenisily. Normally there was nothing to report or see and after a few hours of walking around aimlessly they would return to their steamy, warm cave. As they crested a cliff and looked down into the ravine below, Fenneck stopped and pointed at a lump in the snow below them. Natalya looked at it quizzically and looked at Fenneck who was drawing his bow. Natalya drew her own and notched an arrow. Fenneck aimed his bow at one of his lonely apple trees that hung out over the ravine across from them. He aimed carefully and fired an arrow at the tree. Natalya watched as an apple's stem was severed perfectly from the branch and rolled down into the ravine toward the lump. She realized this was a futile attempt to kill the sexual tension between them as she felt her self get excited watching his casual control over the bow. She suddenly saw the lump move and she aimed her arrow as Fenneck notched another. She suddenly saw a hooded figure come out of the what she assumed was a snow covered tent. The figure looked to be an elf from their slender build. They walked cautiously toward the apple. Natalya recognized the uniform and focused her bow. She looked at Fenneck from the corner of her eye for permission to shoot. He gave a very slight nod and she released her arrow. The arrow hit the KAV soldier squarely in the back. They let out a yelp and turned to feel Fenneck's arrow lodge into their arm. Fenneck quickly drew another arrow and sent it scraping their shoulder as they tried to get back into the tent. Another figure emerged from the tent and sent an arrow hurtling through the air. It hit Natalya in the shoulder as she tried to move out of the way. "Fuck!" She grunted. She drew another arrow, in spite of the pain, and shot the new figure in the chest. The first KAV soldier now had his bow ready and fired at Fenneck, hitting him in the leg. Fenneck notched two arrows and hit both of them in the chest. Natalya couldn't help herself from admiring his skill. She couldn't wait to be back in the cave with him to feel his strong shoulders and tell him just how good he was with a bow. Her distraction cost her as an arrow hit her squarely in the chest. She grunted from the pain and fired an arrow back but it only grazed the soldier. She stumbled back as her chest seared in pain. Fenneck, seeing Natalya in pain, leapt from his perch and rolled down into the ravine. He drew his short swords and ran toward the soldiers. Natalya felt another arrow hit her leg and she sent an arrow back hitting the soldier in the chest. Fenneck gracefully swiped at the soldier who had hit Natalya and managed to rip a gash into his shoulder, causing him to drop his bow. He jumped back and drew his daggers. The other soldier sent another arrow at Natalya, hitting her in the clavicle. She fell back into the snow and gasped for breath. She felt panicked as she saw her blood seep into the snow around her. She laid there for a moment and she became scared that Fenneck was no longer in her sight. She moved just enough to be able to see into the ravine below. Fenneck swiped at the other soldier's leg and arm causing him to also drop his bow and reach for his daggers. The other one swiped at Fenneck but missed as Fenneck gracefully rolled out of the way. The other managed to hit Fenneck in his back as he rolled. Fenneck turned toward him and sliced his chest, spraying them both in a shower of blood as his sword flew through the air. She felt a wave of relief that she and Dimitri hadn't tried to fight him that day in the woods as she watched him tear into the KAV soldiers. She watched the soldiers swiping at him and doing very little damage against his agile frame. She could also tell Fenneck was angry. He moved with such strong and passionate intention. He wanted these soldiers to suffer. He wasn't going to let them hurt his people. Natalya watched in awe as he gracefully turned and beheaded one of the soldiers with his two swords before dodging the other and turning to ram them both up into the soldiers stomach, lifting him off the ground from the momentum. "Prince Fenneck Frostears, Glitterfjell scum," the soldier spat down into Fenneck's face in Lenisilian. "Why are you trespassing onto Glitterfjell's land?" Fenneck asked him intensely, pressing his swords into the high elf's chest. "Wouldn't you like to know!" the soldier said as blood started to bubble and flow from his mouth. Fenneck quickly drew his swords from the soldier and let the body fall limp into the snow. He turned and climbed up to Natalya. "Nat, are you okay?!" he asked her frantically as he sat down next to her in the snow. "I'm... fine?" she said hesitantly as she realized she was losing blood quickly. Fenneck laid his hands on her chest and slowly drew the arrows out as he healed her. "Thanks," she breathed as the last wound closed. "Of course my love," Fenneck said, upset and seemingly distracted. He always got this way after he was angry. Natalya reached up and pulled his face down to hers to feel his lips and distract him from his pain and fear. After a moment he pulled back and slid down to the bodies. Natalya followed him. She knew exactly what he was looking for and where to find it. She reached into one of their pouches and pulled out the bounty. She saw Pufuktin's name reflected back at her in shiny, golden ink. "They were looking for you," she said as she read the bounty. "They always seem to be," he said passively as he rifled through their things. She felt guilt rise up inside her. She knew she should tell Fenneck about Erikur. They had put it off for so long. "Fen, I... I had a job once..." she started cautiously, but Fenneck stopped her. "Don't." He met her eyes and she felt a sense of fear overcome them both. "The things you did in the KAV are none of my business, Natalya. The things you did were... they weren't your fault." His eyes burned into her skin. "I don't want to know," he told her intensely. "Fenneck-" she tried to beg him. They both knew. They should just get it over with. He shook his head at her, getting upset. "No, there is nothing you could tell me that could change the way I feel about you! It can only bring us pain!" he exclaimed sadly. His green eyes begged her not to do this. "Okay," she conceded slowly. He nodded and turned back to the bodies. "Do you recognize them?" he asked her. Natalya walked over and studied the two high elf males. They seemed quite young and Natalya didn't recognize them. "No," she told him. Fenneck found some tools and weapons that they carried back to the cave but they left the bodies for the wilderness to consume. When they made it back to the cave, Natalya walked back out as Fenneck settled down to study some of his books. He had been quiet and upset since they had left the bodies. She stood outside on the cliff and felt her tears start to fall down her face. She felt so guilty for the pain she had caused him. Over the years she had pieced together fragments of he and Erikur's life together and just how painful it was for him to lose him. She sat down on the edge of the cliff and started to sob. "Natalya," Fenneck called out softly from the cave. She quickly tried to wipe her tears away as he approached her. "It's getting cold out, Natalya. You need to rest. Please come inside," he begged her. She stood up and turned to look at him. He was in his comfy pajamas now and he looked like he was in a lot of pain and stress. She nodded and followed him back into the cave. He pulled her into a tight hug when they were inside, prompting her to start crying again. He squeezed her tightly and she felt him start to sob as well. "I'm so sorry, Fenneck!" she cried out, unable to keep it in any longer. He squeezed her fiercely. "I know, Nat. I know," he told her sadly. He pulled back and looked into her face. "I'm sorry I keep putting this off. It just hurts so much!" he sobbed. "I killed Erikur," she finally admitted out loud. She felt a wave of relief finally getting it off her chest. He nodded sadly. "I know," he told her. They looked at each other for a while, hurting and crying. After a moment Natalya decided to get it all out. "He was the first person I ever killed," she told him. She watched his face scrunch in pain. "I'm so sorry, Natalya! I'm so sorry," he said, cupping her face in his hands. "He would have liked you," he told her, offering a sad smile. Natalya scooted closer to him. "He seemed so pure and beautiful. I hated it. I hated killing him. He looked so betrayed!" she sobbed into Fenneck's chest. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily, releasing all the pain and tension the years of putting this off had built up. He pulled her over to their bed and took off her cloak, dropping it onto the ground and proceeded to pull off her snow covered shirt. She leaned down and removed her boots and her pants and Fenneck pulled her into their bed. They laid down in each others arms and Fenneck gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry I've avoided this," he told her. "I know it's caused you a lot of pain and guilt to feel like your keeping it from me. I also hate that I've kept him from you. He... he meant so much to me," he said passionately. She squeezed his hand. "I just feel so guilty," Natalya told him. He shook his head. "I forgave you a long time ago. At first I was angry and I really wasn't sure if I could handle this but... you were following orders Natalya. You were doing what you had to to survive. I don't blame you," he told her. "When did you know?" she asked him. He pursed his lips. "I knew the moment I met you. Catherine and I went back into the forest and the tree spirits told us that it was a red-headed wood elf and a half-elf. The day we found out about Staladin's death... Catherine and I both assumed it was the same KAV soldier." Natalya looked down in shame. "That day... You almost killed Dimitri. I was able to heal him with magic, by some miracle, but... why didn't you come back to finish him? Or to find me?" She asked him. Fenneck took a deep breath. "Because I... I couldn't leave him. Everything kind of went black..." he said sadly. "I sat there crying into his chest for hours. The next few days all kind of blur together." Natalya gave him a somber look. "I'm so sorry I hurt you," she told him. "Did... did you love him? I thought you told me you hadn't been with anyone since Evelyn?" she asked him. Fenneck nodded. "Yes, to both of those questions. He was my best friend growing up and after Evelyn died and the revolution, we started living together in my tower room, just as friends. Growing up we had a casual relationship with each other, pretty naturally. The first time we had sex was one night while he and Alexei were hanging out in my room and we all figured it out together," he said, blushing a little at the memory. "But I had decided not to have sex again until I met my thiramin but we still had a pretty fluid relationship with one another. It was complicated to me, but it... worked," he explained. "Not unlike how Alexei and I were before you and I became a thing. We would spend nights wrapped up in each others arms and we kissed quite freely with each other. I wasn't too eager to commit to a serious relationship though. I was still dealing with my guilt about Evelyn and I really did want to wait for my thiramin. So I ended up pushing him away and denying him many times over the years and he would insist that he was happy being what we were to each other." Fenneck sighed. "The day he died, we woke up and... well we had a fairly emotional morning. I confessed to him how much I had been wishing that we would feel thiramin for each other and he told me that he loved me and that he wanted to be with me and that it was okay for us to be together without it. I had a panic attack, as I often do, and then we went for our walk. When we made it to the forest he stopped and..." Fenneck's tears twinkled in firelight as he pushed though his story. "He told me how beautiful I looked out there and I went to him and... I told him I loved him and then we kissed against a tree and I... I decided to be with him..." Fenneck gave Natalya a sad frown. "That's when I heard your voice for the first time," he croaked as he started crying. Natalya cried into his chest as her heart broke for Fenneck and the pain he had endured. "He's why I ran away. Why I decided to leave so I wouldn't hurt you anymore than I already had by taking him from you," she told him. He took a heavy sigh and squeezed her tightly. They held each other like that for a long time, crying and dealing with the grief and guilt they both felt over Erikur's death. Despite the pain, Natalya felt a sense of relief. They could finally be honest with each other and Natalya felt closer to him than she ever had.