FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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The day wore on, but the blessed relief from the heat she had gained from her skinny-dipping lasted well into the afternoon when some high fluffy clouds offered occasional shade as they drifted overhead. It was a gorgeous day and, despite the dangerous situation she'd put herself in earlier, her attitude had been restored to one of high hopes and a generally sunny outlook.

In the distance she heard the familiar clop-clop of a horse approaching slowly from behind her. When a rise presented itself, she looked back and saw the metallic gleam of a Legionnaire perhaps a half-mile behind her. She didn't really mind them, but they saw too much of violence - and were too damn good at it. Still, if she judged her distances well, her arrival at the Imperial City should be safe. By the time he caught up with her at his current pace, and then went beyond her, he would still be within shouting distance by the time the city walls became visible.

She knew the highwaymen around Kvatch a lot better than those farther away, and the thieves' guild didn't guarantee that all thieves were members, after all. But it was awkward to have someone approaching slowly from behind. She turned to see if the Legionnaire was close enough to greet, but he was still a bit too far behind.

Another glance and she saw that it was, in fact, a she inside the metal armor. She noticed the ridiculous breast-shaped curves on the breastplate.

"That," she thought to herself as she turned back, "was a man's idea. Or a terribly vain woman's."

Finally it was time to acknowledge the guard and she stopped at the side of the road.

"Hail Legionnaire!" she said, perhaps a little too formally.

"Hail Traveller," said a high-pitched voice from within the helm. "Where are you bound, if I may ask?"

"I am Quill-Weave," she introduced herself as the horse came plodding up to her. "An author of some small renown. I'm bound for Chorrol by way of the Imperial City. I travel these roads fairly often, but you're the first female Legionnaire I've ever seen here. Are you new?"

Quill knew better than to ask her name. It just wasn't done. Soldiers of the Imperial Legion were to be considered nothing but killing machines to lawbreakers and ironclad defenders of justice to honest citizens. Names tended to break that image.

"To this route, yes I am. Recently promoted. My last patrol was between... well, a little known route. I single handedly took down a band of thieves last month in fact. Rather proud of that."

Quill-Weave wondered if she might have known the band, but didn't pursue the question.

"Not many women in the Legion," she noted.

"Three, counting me, that i know of," said the woman on horseback.

Quill was intrigued. "Ma,am, if you don't mind... I am an author after all, and you interest me. Mind if I walk with you a bit?"

The woman looked down from her horse and smiled at Quill. She was young. Probably in her twenties.

"Certainly citizen," she said as she reigned in the horse and jumped down from the saddle without even using the stirrup. "I'll walk with you!"

"Agile too," Quill noted mentally.

"What is it you'd like to know about me?"

"Well... how did you become a Legionnaire?"

"Oh. Long story. But I'll make it brief. Not really too keen on wifery, parents tried to set me up with a boy that liked me. Too bad, that. He was a nice guy too. But when people tell you what to do - at my age then - well, you go and do the opposite thing. I left for the City. Turns out I kick ass pretty well. When I got to the city, some guys tried to take me, and I let them know their mistake. Well, the captain of the guard just happened to be watching. Didn't do a damn thing to stop them, I noticed, but when it was all over... Talked me into it really. I was a guard the next day. A year later, promoted. A year after that, I became a Legionnaire!"

"So now you wear the boob-armor?"

The Legionnaire took off her helmet and shook out her hair. It was ridiculously long and blonde, and Quill-Weave felt no jealousy whatsoever. Probably.

"Yeah. They make us wear that. As if my boobs need special protection. It's pretty pathetic. One day I'll hire a blacksmith to get rid of them."

"At least they didn't add nipple protection."

"I bet they wanted to. Lord knows what they'd come up with for the codpiece if they thought about it."

"So... you kick ass. Anything else you do?"

Her companion grinned. "Other than taking care of my horse? Yeah. I have a social life, if that's what you mean."

"Among the other guards I assume?"

"Guards?! Hell no. Other Soldiers. Guards are dull. At least we get to travel."

"Ever think about striking out on your own? Become an adventurer?"

"Thought about it. Not for me. I like a steady income."

"That would be nice," Quill-Weave sighed.

"Oh. I guess authors don't get paid regularly."

"It's really not easy. I mean - it's not dangerous like yours, but you do live in constant fear that your next book won't sell. I've got a friend, she does romantic fiction. Cranks those suckers out like dough through a cookie-cutter. She doesn't have to worry - change some names, scenery and bam! New story!"

"You could do that. Write that kind of thing, I mean," said the soldier.

Quill thought about that. "But... it wouldn't be fun! Well, not to me. The same story over and over? Guy meets girl. Love ensues. Crisis happens. Couple break up. Crisis resolved. Couple fuck. You know?"

She saw the blush at the word.

"Oh, sorry. I'm a little crude sometimes I'm afraid. I just... you're a soldier after all."

"It's okay. I'm just not used to it."

"Really? I would think soldiers..."

"I'm sure they do. But not around me. I'm a fucking prima-donna."The word sounded like it was pried from her lips under torture.

Quill stopped and gave the Legionnaire a disapproving look. "No. Don't. It doesn't work if it's forced. If you don't cuss, don't try. It's obvious."

"Sorry. So what kind of books do you write?"

"Oh, I dabble in different things. Crime and Destitution mostly. Some nonfiction though."

"Ah. I thought so. I've seen your books in our library. Never read one, but I've heard of you!"

Quill-Weave shrugged. "No matter. Do you read?"

Surprisingly she saw the girl blush again. "A little... when I'm on patrol and nothing's going on. Which means pretty much all day long."

Quill was now intrigued for real. Readers are a rare commodity in Cyrodiil. "What do you read?"

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know," she protested a little too forcefully.

"What?!" Quill demanded.

"It's... kind of embarrassing."

Quill cocked her head to one side. "What? Erotica? Look girl, we're all sexual creatures here. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Huh?! NO! Not that!"

"...because if so I've got a little book in my pack you might like."

The soldier scrambled for her own pack and drew out a worn book. The lurid picture on the outside told her everything she needed to know. Worse than erotica. Romance! And yes, there it was... Casta Scribonia in cursive underneath the shirtless muscular khajiit model on the cover. She'd never seen such long hair on a khajiit. But it did make him... "

"Oh," Quill said.

"I can't help it. I like them!"

"It's okay. Really it is. Obviously it's not the sort of stories I like to tell, but there is a certain charm to them. I didn't mean to insinuate that there's something wrong with them. Casta is very inventive, even if they are somewhat formulaic."

"Oh! Do you know Casta Scribonia?"

Quill wasn't sure if she should reveal too much. But this Legionnaire was a reader, and actual readers were such rare and wonderful creatures!

"I'm going to meet her tomorrow in fact."

"Really! Oh, that must be wonderful! To know the person who brought these people to life I mean."

"Characters. They're characters," Quill said, tiring a bit now. She had her own characters, after all. It's not like Casta was the only author out there! Though probably for this particular reader, she was.

"I can ask her to drop by and meet you sometime. I'm sure she'd love to meet one of her fans," Quill said, all the while thinking "I know I would!"

"Oh, could you? Look, my name is Ashley. I'm off midweek every week. Please ask her to stop by the Compound!"

"I will,"

"Thanks so much!" she said as she donned her helmet again. "It would mean so much to me! But there's the city. I need to get back to work. Thanks again Quill-Weave!"

"No problem," Quill said, seeing the spire of the great tower in the distance but feeling a little dejected. Still, she had her own readers out there somewhere. She must. She kept getting the royalty payments.

"Oh, before I go," Ashley said after mounting, "What's one of your books I should read? I promise I will!"

"I guess any would be fine. Red Crater is pretty popular. I'd say it's one of my best, but I find the one I'm currently writing is always 'my best' to me."

"Red Crater. Got it. Have a good trip, Quill-Weave!"

"You too!"

She watched the Legionnaire set off at a trot towards the city in front of her as she crossed the Red Road, and the traffic picked up. The amber light of the waning sun glinted off the fake boobs on her breastplate.

"Her real ones are probably as firm as the steel ones," Quill thought morosely. "Youth is wasted on the young."