Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer Options

[Fawkes]

Poor Teresa, she must feel extremely embarrassed, she gets interrupted by no one other than Buffy!
Really bad timing! Haha, and you perfectly described the scene like always of course

"I don't know what to say," the knight breathed. "Except that I will not forget what you have done today. Or that you are my friends. Whenever you have need of it, you shall have my bow. And my discretion of course."

Teresa found herself looking at Tadrose, and saw the other elf was looking back at her. Teresa was gratified that at least she was not the only one blushing.

I rather like this part, can't really place my finger on it, but it just makes me smile.

[Olen]

Quite the part... starting off with them getting rather close in the post battle rush. They did pick the most romantic place, but then the best is often impulsive. The practical issues of trying to get intimate in armour amused me too.

Then an interruption from Buffy of all people. That I didn't see coming, it was very neatly done though, not forced and it removed the need for a trip to Leyawin and dealing with the artefacts and leaves them free to carry on enjoying the wilds.

As ever the characters were excellently written. Teresa overthinking things wildly, she just doesn't see that Buffy sees her as an equal and potential friend and assumes the worst. Her embarrassment at being caught was very her too, I can't imagine Teresa taking the 'yes that is exactly what we were doing - so what' attitude. I also wonder how much Tadrose was flushed from embarrassment and how much might have had other causes...

I'm going to call this a cliff hanger too - I want to know what they do next. If they have any sense it will involve finding a pleasant glade in the forest

[King Coin]

Teresa finally got what she’s been dreaming of… and maybe Tadrose is as well! For a second I thought they were on the upper deck doing this in full view of the villagers. I went back and saw this was before they exited the ship.

BUFFY! Too bad everyone’s romance is getting interrupted these days though. Still nice to see Buffy!

When the bliss wore off poor Teresa just wanted to dig a hole and jump in and pull it in after her.
Buffy with her usual grace set both of them at ease thought!

I really like how you combined the mages guild mission with this one. I think this is one of my favorite chapters. Great end to it as well. Maybe they’ll take some extra time going back to Bravil eh?

Hot?...Blimey...*Loosens collar*... ...

[SubRosa]

liliandra nadiar: You know Teresa and Tadrose so well. Unfortunately for our stringy wood elf, you are right on all counts.


McBadgere: I take it that as male confirmation that Girl on Girl Is Hot?


Acadian: That last episode was much nicer than the one today. Even with the interruption, Buffy's presence was a welcome sight, as she was able to explain who Kalthar was, and why he was in such a hurry to get away from Leyawiin. Not to mention she took that nasty helmet off their hands, and spared T&T that extra trip.


Grits: No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition Buffy. I am sure she has comfy chairs and fluffy pillows too. That tree-singer remark is something that I did not plan, but rather just rolled out of Buffy's mouth. Far be it from me to argue with her (after all, I am not the boss of her! ), so I kept it in. I liked it because it also reinforces Buffy's own understanding of wood elf culture.


mALX: I am glad to see that Buffy was such a big surprise. I was hoping she would be a happy inclusion for all. Unfortunately for Teresa, this chapter is not over yet. She will not be happy when it does.


Fawkes: Hey, it's that guy Fawkes! (sorry, I could not resist ). Tadrose blushing is not a sight one often sees. It helps show that she is just as human elven as the rest of us.


Olen: The armor issue helped insure that scene did not go too far, even without the intrusion of Buffy. You cannot get very busy in armor. As you noted, Buffy was in there to explain the rest of the backstory of who Kalthar was and why he was in a hurry, as well as wrap up the loose ends after his death.


King Coin: Even with the post-battle euphoria, I don't think Teresa would be willing to get it on in full view of the village! It would be bad enough if they just heard it all through the tent. Thankfully for T&T it was Buffy, and not someone like Sir Mazoga trailing Kalthar. Now that would have really been awkward!


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: Out last episode found Teresa and Tadorse - overcome by passion after the battle - fall into each others arms and start furiously making out. However, an interruption by none other than Buffy cut things short. The bosmer bowgirl put the two embarrassed elves at ease with her tact, and explained that she was pursuing Kalthar from Leyawiin. He had stolen the Bloodworm Helm from the Mages Guild, as well as a medallion from the guild head. T&T returned both to Buffy, and asked her to see that the reward for Kalthar's capture was given to Grantham's widow. Next, in our final episode of this chapter, Teresa has a chance to talk to Tadrose alone.


Chapter 41.11 – Nothing is Trivial

After gathering up the ectoplasm left behind by the wraiths, Teresa led the way down to the shore. They found that the villagers had moved closer to the wreck. She also noted a ship out in the bay, and a longboat pulled up to the strand nearby. She imagined that had to be Dame Buffy's transportation. Then Tadrose was coming down the broken mast behind her, and Teresa turned to lend her a hand. Although she had to admit it was less because the Dunmer needed help, as it was an excuse to touch the other woman.

Tadrose avoided Teresa's gaze however, and did not stop to say anything. Instead she made her way directly to the villagers, and told them what had happened. Many exclaimed that they had seen the battle on the top deck, and cheered and clapped for the two mercenaries. The farmers promised to bury the dead, and Teresa imagined that the broken hull of the ship would provide them with firewood for the winter. The vessel was clearly never going to float again.

She did not see the Leyawiin knight. Teresa imagined that Buffy had indeed gone down into the ship to insure that Kalthar was well and truly dead. The forester did not blame the other wood elf for being thorough. Not when she had sworn to bring him in.

Teresa was glad when they finally extricated themselves from the farmers, and made their way up the bluff. Again, Tadrose avoided her gaze, and Teresa wondered what might be wrong? Was she still embarrassed about being seen by Dame Buffy? Or was it the presence of the villagers that made the other woman so shy?

It took every ounce of her willpower to keep her hand from taking the Dunmer's as they followed the path up the cliff side. But Teresa controlled herself, this time, and vowed that once they were alone things would change. That moment finally came as they crossed the now-deserted fields. Teresa darted ahead of Tadrose, so that the armorer could not avoid facing her.

"Tadrose," she grinned. Teresa reached out and took the dark elf's hand in her own. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Teresa I…" the armorer stammered. She pulled her hand away from Teresa, and looked away. "I am sorry. I do not know what came over me. I should not have behaved so poorly. I know there is no excuse."

"What are you talking about?" Teresa blinked.

"I know about you and Ancondil," Tadrose finally did meet her eyes. "I would never come between you two. I never meant to… I never-"

"What are you talking about?" Teresa interrupted. "Between Ancondil and me? What do you? You don't think that he and I are…" Teresa felt her eyes grow to the size of saucers. She wanted to laugh out loud. But she could see that Tadrose was deadly serious.

"I won't get in the way," the Dunmer continued, seemingly oblivious to Teresa's consternation. "I think its best we pretend nothing ever happened. He is a good man, and good for you. I can see how happy he makes you."

"Tadrose, are you daft?" Teresa cried. She stepped closer, and grabbed hold of Tadrose's upper arms. "Ancondil's just a friend of mine. I'm not sleeping with him. For Dibella's sake, he's a man!"

Tadrose blinked, and stared back in confusion. "But… you spend hours alone in his room. You talk about how he reads you poetry. He takes you to the theater every week. You even make dinner just for him."

"I like his poetry, and his music, but that doesn't mean I want to fetch him!" Teresa insisted. Now her hands fell to her hips. "We go to The Globe together because you always turn me down. He only goes with me so I don't have to go alone. And I make dinner because he works late contracts sometimes. I need the practice if I'm ever going to live on my own some day. Besides, who else will eat my vegetarian meals?"

"Tadrose," the wood elf's voice softened. Her hands reached out to gently take those of the other woman. "You are the only person I have ever wanted. I have been dying to hold your hand since I first met you. To kiss you, well that has been more than I could ever dream of. You are all I want. You and no one else."

"Teresa, I…"

"What is wrong Tadrose?" Teresa felt herself biting her lip. "These past few weeks - these past few days - I thought that we really did have something special. Isn't that why you came? This time we've been together, it's the happiest I've ever been."

"Teresa…"

"What damn it?" The wood elf felt her heart pounding in her chest. What was happening? What had gone so wrong? How had Tadrose gone from being her lover to a stranger in the span of moments? "Talk to me? Don't you feel anything for me?"

"I…" Tadrose shook her head. Teresa reached out and gently cupped her cheek in one hand. She turned the dark elf's face back to her own, and stared intently into her crimson eyes. She did not know what to make of what she saw there. Was it love? Or dread? The wood elf said nothing, and simply waited for the other woman to find her words.

"I can't do this," Tadrose finally whispered. "Not again. Not with anyone."

"Why?" It took all of Teresa's willpower to keep her voice from rising. To stop herself from screaming. Instead, her voice was as soft and gentle as a spring breeze. "Is it because of what happened in Morrowind? Because of that man?"

Tadrose nodded, and the wood elf now saw tears forming in her eyes. "I fell in love once Teresa," she said in a quavering voice, "and it destroyed me. I cannot go through that again."

"Tadrose, I don't know what happened." Teresa picked her words carefully. She felt as if she was standing upon the brink of a great precipice, and that the tiniest false step would doom her relationship with Tadrose forever. "I don't know what he did to you. But if you tell me, we can face it together. I'm never going to hurt you Tadrose. I lo-"

Now Teresa turned her head away. Oh Dibella, she had almost said it! Almost said she loved Tadrose. Did she? Did she really? Could she bear to say it, if Tadrose was just going to reject her anyway?

"Sometimes you have to roll the hard six," she remembered Pappy once saying. Granted, it had been about fighting, not love. But at the moment, Teresa saw little difference between the two.

"I love you Tadrose," she said resolutely, looking Tadrose directly in the eyes. "I want to be with you, and I'll do whatever it takes. If whatever happened is something you're ashamed of, don't be. Even if I don't understand, I know I won't love you any less. No matter what happened to you, or what you had to do."

Now the tears rolled freely down the dark elf's cheeks. Teresa felt her own vision blur as the same water built up in her eyes. "I am sorry Teresa," Tadrose said. "I just cannot be who you want me to be."

"I only want you to be you!" Teresa insisted. "Just like you are now."

"You do not know me Teresa," Tadrose stared down at her feet. "You do not know what it was like. I saw my dau-" She looked up at Teresa again, and spoke in a stronger voice. "I cannot be your lover, I cannot be anyone's."

"Then who was kissing me in there!" Now Teresa could not contain the shout that escaped her lips. "Who picked me up and laid me over a crate! Damn it Tadrose, if you don't feel anything for me, just say so. I'll never bother you again. Just tell me!"

"Teresa, I…" The dark elf stared at Teresa. The Bosmer felt her heart break like a pane of glass under a hammer. "I am sorry I hurt you. I did not mean to lead you on, or to lose control. It will not happen again."

The Dunmer stepped past Teresa, and began walking to the road. Teresa did not turn to look. Instead she found herself falling to her knees in the mud. She stared down at her hands. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop the tears from spilling down her face.

Tadrose had slipped through her fingers.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 26 2011, 06:53 PM

[Olen]

...

Poor Teresa, I didn't see that coming at all. Looks like she has more work to do, if it's not hopeless. Tadrose's reaction makes me wonder though, she didn't kill it off completely which makes me think she does want it on some levels at least. It also suggests there might be hope, though Teresa would probably have an easier time elsewhere. Certainly she's in an unpleasant place.

Brilliantly written dialogue. You caught the awkwardness on both sides and the slightly angry edge to Teresa's dismay and disappointment. In fact the emotion of this piece was spot on.

I am very interested to see where this leads in chapter 42. The fallout will be significant I suspect. They are exceptionally strong characters to drive the piece so well.

Nits:
but that doesn't mean I want to fetch him - from the way 'fetcher', the only form of the word found in game, is used I wouldn't think it meant that. It's certainly an insult (UESP suggests 'thief') but that doesn't quite fit. Equally I don't think there is a certain translation so yours is as valid as any.

who else will eat my vegetarian meals?" // "Tadrose," - As Teresa continues speaking I believe it would be normal to omit the bolded inverted comma before the paragraph break. I could be wrong or both may be correct though.

This post has been edited by Olen: Dec 22 2011, 06:30 PM

[liliandra nadiar]

Well isn't that a kick in the gut? On the plus side, Teresa (should) now know that Tadrose dose care for her in some form that beyond friendship. On the minus, the smith stated that she's going to play 'hard to get, Tamriel style'. Now the question remains, after the bout of depression this is bound to cause her, how will Teresa go about beating some sense into Tadrose.

Also what her reaction will be to finding out about Tadrose's daughter.

Nit:The forester did the blame the other wood elf for being thorough. Concidering the context around it, did you mean 'did not blame'?

[McBadgere]

I take it that as male confirmation that Girl on Girl Is Hot?

*Nods vigorously*...Yes, yes it is...And I'm a simple man with simple tastes... ...

Athough I have to disagree with the commentator in that piece...Most men quite simply don't think that deeply about it... ...

Aaamywho...

Excellent chapter...Brilliantly written, and a complete contrast to the previous...Delights...

I'm loving the way you can jump from one state to another with each chapter...Really does keep us on our toes... ...

Soooo sad, I really do hope this works out for her... ...

Nice one... ...Well, from a certain point of view anyways... ...

[King Coin]

Oh jeez I thought that Teresa made it clear that she wasn’t into men!

Damn! I did not see this coming at all, even though it makes complete sense; I thought they had finally broken through that. I was so happy for the two of them too.

I guess Tadrose is not ready for a relationship. The past still weighs heavily on her mind. I’m very curious about this daughter of hers and what has become/became of her. You may have mentioned this before and I missed it, but how long ago did all this happen with the forbidden lover?

[Grits]

Oh no. How heartbreaking for both of them. As Olen said, the dialog and emotion throughout were exactly right. I can't imagine that they'll both give up, but I can't guess if Teresa will persist or Tadrose will relent. What a great episode!

[Acadian]

How delightful of you to make several references that gently move Dame Buffy toward her exit in the first half of this episode. You are a gracious host indeed.

And so Teresa is drenched by a bucket of surprise.

Somehow I get the impression that Tadrose knew perfectly well that Teresa and Ancondil were not rolling in orcishly carnal splendor. The Dunmer is far too sharp for that. Rather, it seems Tadrose was using Ancondil as an excuse to avoid discussing aspects of her own past.

The fact that this was as painful to read as broken glass drawn across skin is testimony to your skill with the raw emotions pouring from this pair of elves.

’Teresa felt her eyes grow to the size of saucers.’
This delightful bit of imagery was most welcome when you provided it.

So now what, Teresa? Tadrose sounded pretty fatalistic, but something tells me we may not have seen the end of T&T yet. When things seem their darkest and all that. . . .

For KC, I’m sure SubRosa will have more to say on this when she pops back up, but in the meantime, you can review Tadrose’s thoughts on her daughter in Chapter 37.3 (Post #1511).

This post has been edited by Acadian: Dec 23 2011, 04:52 AM

[D.Foxy]

Life is so full of surprises, isn't it? As Chuck Yeager writes so well in his autobiography "We had conquered the unknown only to be bitten in the boat by the unexpected".

There's a reason why love is complicated - it just is. Just as there's a reason the old saying "the path of true love never runs smooth" arose.

Rosa, the passages -

She felt as if she was standing upon the brink of a great precipice, and that the tiniest false step would doom her relationship with Tadrose forever

and -

"Sometimes you have to roll the hard six,"

... are true. Very true. In war. In Love. In Everything.

One final cliche - which is true, for all that it's a cliche -

"It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all"

[SubRosa]

Olen: Teresa certainly could have picked an easier person to fall in love with! But then, so could have John Crichton. I suppose that is what they get for going after a character played by Claudia Black.

I have always imagined that Fetcher was a replacement for a four letter English word that also starts with F. Like Farscape has Frell. So that is how I have always used it. I am going to leave that comma in, because it is preceding a speech tag. I suppose I could take the speech tag itself out, but I wanted to keep it in, as it comes before a break in the dialogue where we see some physical action.


liliandra nadiar: Thank you for wrangling up my stray not. I will need it, since the next few episodes will definitely not be pleasant for Teresa. Starting with that depression you predicted. I laughed at your remark about beating sense into Tadrose. You will see why in a few weeks.


McBadgere: I am a little surprised at how many people are surprised. I am following the standard romance movie playbook with this little arc. Two people meet, are crazy for one another, then halfway or three-quarters through something happens to break them apart. But it all wraps up with happily ever after (usually - in the glbt movies someone tends to die instead). I guess not many people watch chick flicks around here.


King Coin: Tadrose is indeed not ready to be with someone else. She does not have issues, she has a subscription! To be honest, I was half expecting to find people calling for her head. I guess I did a decent job of showing her own emotions through all of the breakup.

Acadian ninja'd me by a few days with the forbidden lover info. Back in 37.3 Tadrose mused this:

All the others might know that little girl as Seryne, and indeed, she only knew herself by that name. But she would always be Sere to Tadrose. She would always be her daughter of love and peace.

But Sere was a name for another time, and another world, Tadrose thought. Along with names like Tyrela, and Indoril. They had no place here, thank Mara. At least in Bravil her baby girl would grow up never knowing the murderous politics of Morrowind's Great Houses. She could be an ordinary girl, and grow up to lead a quiet life. Hopefully it would be filled with a love of her own, and a family to surround her.

Then in 37.4 she thought this:

Goddess, how strange it was to feel so for another after so many years! It had not been since Morrowind, when she had been Teresa's age. But she had been younger then, and foolish enough to let her feelings rule her body. Balen Dres had taught her the folly of that. Had that been only a decade ago? Sometimes it felt like a lifetime had passed since she had lived in Mournhold.

Grits: I have been through this scene myself more then once. I am sure many others can say the same. So I channeled the memory of those feelings to try to make Teresa and Tadrose come alive. Not only the despair, but the anger and the guilt. Next chapter will all about that persistence and relentation, and will wrap things between T&T for once and all.


Acadian: It is more that Tadrose was using Ancondil as a reason to keep from getting involved with Teresa. That made her safe, not an option for romance. Unfortunately for Tadrose her house of cards had to eventually come tumbling down.

Painful a read is what I was hoping for. I am afraid the next few posts will be no better.


D.Foxy: I love the Chuck Yeager quote. So true in so many aspects of life. I've stood on that precipice before, and rolled the dice. Like I am sure many of us have. All too often I have gotten bitten that area the forum filters out. Like you said, that is just amore. To have the good times, you have to suffer through the bad ones as well. I wanted to show that in these two chapters.


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: In our last episode, Teresa finally had a quiet moment to talk to Tadrose. Things did not work out as she hoped, and instead of declaring her love, Tadrose told Teresa that she could not be her lover. She admitted that she had been in love once, and that it had destroyed her. None of Teresa protestations would sway the dark elf, and in the end she walked off, leaving Teresa alone in the mud. Next chapter finds Teresa back in the Fighters Guild a week later, playing backgammon with Ancondil.


Chapter 42.1 – What Do You Want?

20th - 21st Sun's Dusk, 3E433

Teresa looked away from the backgammon board as Ancondil moved the last of his chips off of it. The forester stared across the sitting room, and her eyes rested upon the window to the street outside. Droplets of rain splattered its surface, and Silver Avenue beyond was shrouded in twilight.

The wood elf frowned. It had rained the day she and Tadrose had left go hunting trolls. Had that been only a week ago? It seemed like a lifetime. A lifetime since Tadrose had told her that she did not want her. A lifetime since her future had been burned to ashes by the Dunmer's rejection.

"Well that dragon has the most lovely shade of pink scales I have ever seen," Ancondil declared behind her. "Why, I would have to say the lace on its feathers is even more delicate than that on our commander's underwear as well. Would you not agree?"

"Hmm?" Teresa murmured. She turned to look back at the Orisimer. As usual, he was dressed to the Nine. This time it was in red velvet decorated with purple silk and shining brass buttons. He stared at her earnestly, and the wood elf fumbled for something to say in reply. "Yes, of course."

The elegant orc shook his head. "Teresa, you have not been listening to a thing I have said, have you?"

"Of course I have," the forester lied. "I just, well-"

An uproar from across the room rescued her. Along with Ancondil, Teresa looked to where Chance, Morghak, and Vincent were throwing dice against the back wall. They had cleared away several tables to give themselves plenty of space. Even the rugs had been pulled back so they could play on the hardwood floor.

"Dragon eyes!" the Breton hooted. "Pass those bones over here!"

Morghak shook her head, and tossed the dice to Vincent. The smaller man deftly caught both in mid-air, and grinned back at the orc. "Hey, don't feel bad, the Lucky Lady is with me today," he said. "That reminds me, I heard a great one this morning. Why was the werewolf arrested in the butcher's shop?"

The others shook their heads and stared at the Breton.

"He was chop-lifting!"

Chance and Morghak groaned, and Teresa stared back at the window. But once again Ancondil's words cut through the fog that gripped her mind.

"So how is your armor?" he asked. "Did Tadrose repair it yet?"

"No." The sound of the Dunmer's name felt like a troll's claw twisting in Teresa's stomach. "The burned leaves grew back on their own. They just needed some sun and water, and a bit of magical healing."

"Remarkable!" the Orisimer declared. "I have heard of such things, but had never truly believed in a living suit of armor."

The forester shrugged, and continued to stare at the window.

"Teresa, there you are." The wood elf felt her heart leap into her throat at the sound of Tadrose's voice. "I thought I might have missed you again."

Teresa turned her head to the armorer, who stood in the doorway to the foyer. The dark elf wore her usual smithing clothes: worn leather pants and a soot-stained flax shirt. But Teresa noted that her hands were clean, as was her face. She must have just finished in the forge, the wood elf thought, and washed up with a spell.

"If you have the time, I thought I might show you how to use your magicka to recharge Ravenfeeder."

"Oh, there is no need to bother," Teresa found herself saying. "Henantier said he can teach me how to do it."

"Are you sure?" Tadrose asked. "I have the time. We could do it right now."

"That is alright." The words came unbidden to Teresa's lips once more. She felt as if someone else was talking through her, and she was just sitting and watching it all happen. "I know you have other things to do."

Tadrose sighed heavily, and shook her head as she faded from the room.

Teresa stared down at the game board - still filled with her white pieces - and swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. Her blood roared in her ears, and she felt as if she had just survived a battle. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep from shaking. Damn, she silently cursed, why did the dark elf do that to her?

"Teresa," Ancondil's voice slipped into her ears like a silken whisper. "What is amiss between Tadrose and yourself?"

"Nothing." Teresa again found herself speaking without conscious thought. "There is nothing between her and I."

Ancondil glanced back at the trio throwing dice in the corner. They appeared to be completely absorbed in their game. Then he turned back to the forester, and went on in a quiet tone. "Teresa, everyone has noticed. Even Morghak. Tadrose walks on eggshells whenever she is around you, and you have been giving her that same frosty shoulder since you two returned last week. What transpired out there? Why did the two of you return after only two days?"

"Nothing," Teresa frowned. "Nothing at all."

"Then what is amiss?" Ancondil slid a hand across the table and laid it next to her own. "It seems you cannot pay attention to anything. You are stumbling into the rest of us at practice, and Commander Vitellus flattened you twice just this morning in hand to hand. You cannot even play a game of backgammon without drifting away."

"Well maybe I don't want to play this stupid game!" Teresa could not contain the anger that exploded from her. She watched in horror as her fingers swept across the board, flinging her white checkers into the air. The wooden pieces clattered loudly against the table, and scattered across the floor beyond.

Teresa found herself on her feet. Her face was as hot as Red Mountain, and she felt her lower lip begin to tremble. The dice game went silent as Chance, Vincent, and Morghak all turned to stare at her with befuddled faces. Ancondil too, looked up from the table. His face was a mask of serenity, yet somehow that only made Teresa more furious.

"Why can't you people just leave me alone!"

She turned to the door, and stumbled against her chair. Pain shot through her legs as she nearly lost her feet. Cursing, she grabbed its sturdy wooden back and hurled it out of the way with a clatter. Finally storming from the room unhindered, she made her way to the front door and stalked out into the rain.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 27 2011, 02:25 AM

[Grits]

What a nice picture of evening at the FG. Dice game, a groaner from Vincent, Ancondil's pleasant company that Teresa is ignoring, and of course Tadrose is still working. Teresa's armor re-growing is really neat!

Teresa certainly seems depressed and angry, and clumsily storming out in front of most of the guild won't make a happy memory. Yikes. I can't imagine Pappy will let it go if her work is suffering. Rough times for Teresa.

[Acadian]

I love Ancondil as the epitome of elegance and strength. Dressed to the Nine indeed. His blathering about dragons and lace to ‘test’ Teresa’s presence was both hilarious and clever as can be; I can just imagine how much fun you had writing it! And of course this so very very Ancondil passage:
"Teresa," Ancondil's voice slipped into her ears like a silken whisper. "What is amiss between Tadrose and yourself?"

I join Grits in applauding Teresa’s living armor that favors sunlight and a sip of water to a repair hammer and forge. I hope the Dunmeri forgemistress realizes that perhaps the wounded wood elf needs the same treatment as her armor to once again restore that faint smile.

Poor Teresa. Filled with hormonally charged emotions that she doesn’t fully understand. The way you portray her words and actions as almost out of her control is spot on. Well done!

Nit: ’He face was as hot as Red Mountain, and she felt her lower lip begin to tremble.’
You meant ‘Her’ or course.

[McBadgere]

In a sense...Been there...Done that...And I mean, in a sense... ...

Most excellent...

Sooo sad...

Gut wrenching in fact...Aaand I've just thought about...*sigh*...

The sound of the Dunmer's name felt like a troll's claw twisting in Teresa's stomach

*Nods*...Yup...Been there...Still happens in fact...And I've been with the wife...*thinks*...Many years...

Brilliant write as ever...

Nice one... ...

This post has been edited by McBadgere: Dec 27 2011, 07:41 AM

[King Coin]

Thank you for those quotes.

Sounds like a perfect end to an uneventful day at the Fighters Guild Bravil Chapter.

The wood elf felt her heart leap into her throat at the sound of Tadrose's voice.
This line strikes me as very sad now.

Her temper has returned in force! I remember what almost happened in the Imperial City when her friends rejected her. I wonder if Pappy's going to intervene here. She certainly can't go on a job like that.

[liliandra nadiar]

And from a state of listless disinterest in the outside world to a volcanic explosion of undirected anger. Yep, Teresa's pretty firmly in a state of rejected love sickness. At least she hasn't done another tour of the bars. Yet anyways, I do hope her destination is somewhere more... healthy, like the Mage's Guild to see a friend or two hopfully.

I've got bets on who will be saying the chapter title, I'm all but certain on how it'll be asked, as well as the rough situation, now to find out who.

Short bit but pretty charged in emotion.

[Olen]

You've certainly hammered home the point about Teresa being in the angry/ depressed stage. Lots of emotion boiling there, you also got the overspill onto the other characters. That Ancondil tried to sort it out, in spite of the likely result, suggests that she's trying his patience along with the rest of the guild.

I also liked the 'everyone has noticed. Even Morghak' line. It characterises her well, and carries on the slightly gossipy edge Ancondil has.

Tadrose doesn't seem to know what to do. She seems to be in the pretending nothing happened and it can all go back as it was stage, which tends not to work, and certainly won't in this case. That she isn't doing anything to sort it out, or going for the ignoring option does suggest that she isn't so sure she made the right decision. My bet is now that if they do get together it will be Tadrose relenting as much as Teresa persisting, saying that I'm not exactly an expert in romance plotting...

Now what will Teresa do? I do wonder if there might be some brief fling with someone else soon... perhaps a visit to a certain island...

[SubRosa]

Grits: Teresa's armor re-growing was an idea I got from several people commenting that they liked how the miran-talurn armor was in essence a living suit of armor. Of course watching Farscape - with a living ship - also helps.

Pappy will be poking his head into things in a few more episodes, although perhaps not in a way people might expect. He is in an uncomfortable position in all of this, because he did encourage Teresa to go for it. Not to mention the fact that he is used to being the one humping and dumping the 18 year old girl...


Acadian: Ancondil's line about the lace dragon underwear was pure joy to write. I just had to keep laying it on to make it sound more ridiculous.

Out of control is just what I wanted to portray with Teresa. One of the things I loved best about the original Die Hard film was at the very beginning, where John meets his wife for the first time in six months, and gets in an argument with her. She leaves, and he literally bangs his head against the wall for being such a schmuck. But he still couldn't help doing it in the first place.


McBadgere: Being around the ex after a bad breakup is sheer misery. That is why I made a rule to never date people I work with. Once down that road was enough for a lifetime. It is much better when you never see them again after that.


King Coin: It did sound like a nice night. Right up until Teresa blew her stack! You are quite right, she cannot do a job with her head the way it is now. We will be seeing more about that in a few episodes.


liliandra nadiar: No tours of the bars in Teresa's future. Rather one of the stable soon. I would not bet against you on who says the words in the title! That will be in the final segment, a few weeks from now.


Olen: Teresa has a habit of trying other people's patience. She is definitely high maintenance. Hopefully she is worth it. You pretty much have Tadrose figured out to a tee. Trying to be friends and pretend nothing ever happened is a common female response, and never works well in the end.


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: Out last episode caught up with Teresa a week after her breakup with Tadrose. She was distracted, depressed, and eventually lost her temper when Ancondil tried to get her to talk about what was going on between her and Tadrose. Next, we take a look at what her nights have now become.


Chapter 42.2 – What Do You Want?


The night pressed in around Teresa, cold and clammy as a wet zombie. She pushed her way through the darkness, toward the flickering, amber light ahead. It swung gently in the breeze, and after a moment she realized that it was the lantern hanging in front of the Wawnet Inn. A moment later the two story building loomed out of the darkness before her eyes, and her feet took her unerringly to the door.

She let herself in, and glanced at the common room down the steps to her right. So usually filled with Weye's boisterous townsfolk, it now stood bare and silent. Her gaze moved to her left, along the stairs that curled up the corner of the building. She thought she heard something from that direction, and made her way up to the second floor.

She stared down the corridor that ran the length of the upper floor. Unlike the other doors that lined the hallway, the one to Nerussa's room stood open. A wash of golden light spilled out from the open doorway and into the corridor, pulling Teresa's feet like a lodestone.

Teresa heard voices coming from the room. Stepping to the door, she gaped in horror at what she saw within. Standing in the center of the bedchamber were Nerussa and Tadrose, both naked as the days they were born. Their hands roved over one another, as did their lips. It was not the awkward and uncertain fondling of new lovers, discovering one another's bodies for the first time. Rather it was the smooth caresses of long-time mates, familiar with every inch of the other's flesh.

The two pulled their lips from one another long enough to turn and look at Teresa. Then a long trill of laughter trumpeted from Nerussa's throat. Tadrose joined in a moment later, and pointed one finger at the gaping wood elf.

"Look at the freak!" the Dunmer taunted.

"Abomination!" Nerussa chimed in. "Is it even an elf?"

"No one will ever love a corpse-skinned failure like you!" Tadrose spat.

"You aren't good enough for a real woman," Nerussa added. "We all have standards. Run back to the gutter that spawned you. That's where you belong, with the other worms."

Teresa did turn and run then. But the hallway stretched out before her, seeming to go on for miles. Her legs pumped with all the speed she could muster, yet still the sound of the two women's laughter filled her ears. She felt her skin flush with heat, and had to swallow hard around the lump that had lodged itself in her throat. She did not look back however, instead she kept her eyes locked on the hallway before her.

After what seemed like an eternity, the corridor dissolved away into mist. She found herself racing through a stone arcade. One shop after another flashed by to her right, while a wide courtyard stretched out into the darkness beyond the curving archways to the left. Then before her she saw the sign for Jensine's New and Used Merchandise. She stopped before the door, and it yawned open at her barest touch.

She saw Jensine standing at the counter inside. Teresa's heart slowed, and she felt relief flood through her at the sight of the familiar Nord. The red-haired shopkeeper's back was to her, and she did not turn, not even when Teresa called out her name. Finally, the wood elf stepped up behind the Nord, and laid a hand upon her shoulder.

"Jensinse," Teresa said. "Is my mother here?"

"You don't have a mother, do you freak?" Jensine whirled to face her. But it was not Jensine. It was Tadrose. Her eyes glowed a brilliant red in the suddenly dark shop, and her fingers seemed to twist into claws. "No one knows what you are! Not even a skooma-sucking beggar would take you in, would they?"

"No," Teresa moaned. "This isn't real. This isn't happening. Where's Simplicia?"

"Simplicia's not here anymore," Tadrose grinned like a wolf sizing up a baby elk. "She's gone. She said she didn't want to ever see you again. That's why she left. She can't stand the sight of you. You whining little brat!"

Teresa shook her head, and backed away. This was all wrong. All of it. She knew it was a dream. All she had to do was wake up, and it would all be over. But try as she might, she could not break loose from the nightmare's grip. So as the sound of Tadrose's laughter scourged her, the wood elf fled once more into the dark.

The flickering light of a torch lit the way ahead. Again Teresa found herself in a familiar place. It was a prison cell. The same cell that she had been locked in after she had been arrested. Standing there in the middle of the room was a man. He wore a robe of purple and red brocade, decorated with ermine fur that grew around his neck like a lion's mane. His face was hidden in darkness, and as Teresa approached him, he began to speak.

"You have no idea what you can do." While soft, it was a voice that could level mountains with its intensity. Teresa's breath caught in her throat. Only one man in the world had ever spoken in such a way. Uriel Septim, the Emperor of Tamriel.

"But I know what you are." Now his voice changed. It became harsh, like razorblades, and distinctly feminine. A pair of glowing red eyes burst to life in the darkness shrouding his head. Then the rest of his features came to light in that terrible glow. It was Tadrose again, sneering back at her.

"Prole!" she hissed. "You're nothing but an orphan from the gutter. Your real mother didn't want you, did she? No one wants you. She left you in the trash, where you belong. You're just a mistake of nature. You aren't a Bosmer, or an Ayleid. You're just a filthy mongrel. You aren't good enough for me. You never were, and you never could be.

"Stop it Tadrose!" Teresa cried, "Stop!"

"Oh poor baby," the dark elf taunted. "Go ahead and cry. I only pretended to love you. I was just playing with you, so I could have a good laugh when I threw you back in the sewer. Look at you, tramp. How did you think I could ever love you? I'm an aristocrat! You're just a prole. A thief who can't even steal a sweet roll without getting caught. You disgust me!"

"No!" Teresa's eyes flew open, and she sat bolt upright in her bed. Her white skin was beaded with sweat, and her breath came in ragged gasps. She felt her stomach churn violently, and clamped one hand over her mouth in fear that she would throw up. Wincing down the bile that burned in her throat, she sat there in the dark, shaking like leaf.

"That is not Tadrose!" she whispered to the darkness around her. "That is not Tadrose..."

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 29 2011, 08:31 PM

[Olen]

There's a lot of emotion in this part. The dream shows how conflicted she is - she still wants Tadrose but hates her for the rejection. With all this emotion I do rather wonder what will happen next.

Along with the more obvious cause I also noticed that Tadrose's rejection has opened another wound along with it. Her feeling of inferiority was back in the dream, and so probably in the subconsious too. Her worry that she's below others certainly won't help things. And now she seems to be having the parents issues too, I think this is the most explicit worry on her part that we've seen about who (and what race) her parents might have been.

It all looks like a rather explosive combination for the Bravil guild.