The Saga of Laprima Donnaugh Options

[Renee]

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Clavicus Vile

When the dream began, she found herself lying in a cart, lying in hay, lying still, half-hiding from the others. Part of her wanted to be out there with them, while another part felt quietly content to stay right there. Right in that haypile. Staying still, and keeping quiet. It's this latter, secondary part which attained.

The scene was heavily pastoral. Lots of trees, green with foliage. Sunlight and blue skies. A few puffy clouds, a perfect sort of day. The sounds of others around her. The cart she was in had been drawn off to the side, placed in shadow. The horse which had brought it here must have been tethered somewhere else. As she lay in the cart, she began to feel rather lonely. Sad, and lonely, despite the others cavorting nearby.

They were there for her. All of them, gaily awaiting her presence. Dressed in finery. The women wearing whites, pinks, and light blues. Maids and maidens. The men, dressed more somberly, but the sounds from their revelries were no less delighted and cheerful.

Where is she? Where is Laprima?

Someone was calling. A man, sounding a bit tipsy with wine, perhaps. Yet his voice contained an edge of concern. And then, the voice of one of the ladies...

We should go find her! She's probably near! She's going to miss out!

She sank lower, hiding within hay. She could hear them coming, getting nearer, occasionally calling out to her. She cowered. Not with fear, but with some sort of distress. Lonely she was, and part of her did want to join the others.

She scrunched within the hay as footsteps approached and circled the cart. She held her breath. Eventually, the footsteps moved on. Small relief; she exhaled. They hadn't discovered her. So she took a chance. Got situated upon her arms, and raised her head about a foot, attempting to peer over the cart's side. As she did so, she noticed there was a knot in its wooden planking. For no reason at all (other than, this is a dream, and in dreams we sometimes do strange things) she pushed upon this knot, and the knot fell out, leaving a hole. She squinted her left eye, viewing outside of the cart, only to see vague shapes of the departing couple, heading off into a cabin. Still calling out, still calling her name.

...And that's when she noticed the man with the dog.
...He stood off to the side of the meadow, nearer to the woods.
...He stood in shadow. He wore a jerkin of white and black. He beckoned to her.

You there! I can see you, he said quietly. Despite using a soft tone, she could hear his voice clearly, in the surreal way which dreams can magnify. I can see you, and I mean no harm. Why do not you approach me?

She felt a stab of fear. How can he view me, hiding within this cart? But then, she relaxed. For the man was merely a boy. A boy she recognized from her youth. And this boy was her brother.

Laprima! he called. Come hither, posthaste!

And so she did.

She rose from the cart, took a moment to brush stray strands of hay from her clothings, and then ran swiftly toward her brother, skirts ruffling below. She noticed that the dog which had been there a moment ago had vacated, or vanished. She looked to her brother as she drew nearer. And her brother smiled up at her in his typically mischievous way. A smile she hadn't seen since they were, in fact, both children. Her previous feelings of loneliness were gone.

You should depart! her brother said to her, dancing around her with gaited elan. Head on! Depart hence toward Solitude! And do as they say! ... These folks you see in their fabled costumes, all of them here, are of nothing to you! ... To us! .. They mean nothing! ... A wretched lot! ... So onwards must you go! ... Your man, he awaits your presence! And you shall be in high company! Just dandy! Just peachy!

She felt elation at his words. Her brother, right there before her. 'Whatever is to come, would be fine,' he was telling her, seemingly tapping within her thoughts, her hopes, her fears.

Elija, she said to him.

Yes, sister!

She was weeping by now.

Her hands raised to embrace him. But just then, a flash of emotion overcame her. A mixture of revolting sickness, and sweet delight. She recoiled, stumbled backwards in disgust...

Laprima Donnaugh awoke, bolt upright, her eyes teary. Her bed quarters around her, her 8 year-old feline dozing by her side. She'd just had a dream. Her thoughts were racing, so she consciously made an effort to remember all she could. ... Her brother .... A cart ... Some people walking by in gay costume ... A dog by the side of the forest ... Slowly, she pieced it all together. After a minute or so, she sat up in bed, inked her quill and began to scribble words quickly in her journal.

After she had recalled all she could, she realized she was in agreement with her brother. She would head to Solitude.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 24 2022, 02:42 PM

[Renee]

Spring has sprung in Maryland. The weather is really nice lately. This means two things: 1). I'm going to be outside more often and 2). this might be the last Laprima of Spring 2022. I stop playing Skyrim when it starts getting warm. So maybe this'll be the last one, or maybe there will be one more, we'll see.

@ Acadian-- YES!!! Yes, exactly. Drug dealers never seem to use their product. The ones that do screw things up. I'm not saying this will happen to him, but yes... astute observation, there. Chamany also misled his girlfriend, and got her involved in something she'd normally not consider. Tsk, tsk.

@SubRosa -- Beverly Hills Cop. Axel Foley discovered the cocaine was packed in coffee! Which he'd seen before in his home turf of Detroit. (Pretty sure he was in Detroit.)

The skooma scene is a combination of speed and acid. We had pink hearts in high school in the '80s, really bad stuff for a teenager to be dealing with. They'd pick you up, and you'd be UP, but then they'd also let you down just as fast. That crash was horrible! .. Laprima just dealt with a crash. And yes, the visuals were LSD or shroom-inspired.

@Lopov -- From her perspective, Laprima is torn about her money. She's delighted, because she's going to realize she doesn't need to mooch off her relatives anymore. But the money is also "dirty". So she doesn't know what to do about it, yet. But I think she'll keep it.

Because from my perspective, it'll be fun to have a rich character!

But what if Sybille overheard Laprimma's and Chamany's conversation?

Whoa.


@macole-- Sky Pilot! Just you wait and see, sir.


@WellTemperedClavier -- Ah thanks. And glad you have joined us in Fan Fiction, and can't wait to read your story as well. Daria's a doll.

I rolled Laprima in 2017, and over the years came up with a bunch of ideas for her story. But the problem was, I couldn't get to her because I hadn't finished Skyrim's main quest yet! I really wanted to get the MQ done first. But I'm a slow gamer. So this didn't happen until last year, January 2021, by then I had dozens of Laprima ideas written on a Notepad page.

So yeah, some of the ideas come from all that time, but others (like her interest in architecture) show as I'm writing.

The grand buildings and lofty perch sell the idea that this is an important place with a lot of authority--exactly how the Empire's showcase Hold should look.

I know, right? Have some cake, Clavier.

Next story should be up in a few...

[Lena Wolf]

The skooma scene is a combination of speed and acid. [...] And yes, the visuals were LSD or shroom-inspired.

I got surprised by that scene, I must say. Going by the effects assigned to skooma in vanilla Oblivion, it is more like Speed or Cocaine or a similar stimulant, not a hallucination-inducing substance. But of course you are free to imagine whatever you like there! So then skooma from Black Marsh makes you see things...

I'm enjoying your story, even if I don't comment every time. Others beat me to it, and I don't feel like repeating things...