Nate rolled to his side, pulling himself stiffly back up onto the bed. Laying himself out, he let himself settle down. His body was almost sore from the orgasm. He had foursomes that hadn't taken so much out of him. Tolan laid back down, groggily mumbling out. "Ugh... I need more sleep. I can't remember ever being so... tired." Nate ran his hand down his front, cursing when his hand came back wet. He hadn't cum in his pants since he was a teenager. Reluctantly, he got up to change and clean himself up. Putting on fresh pants, he splashed his face with water from the water jug when Dumbuk finally returned. Nate straightened up, drying his exposed chest as he asked him casually. "Well? What happened?" Dumbuk averted his eyes from him but informed him seriously. "They believe it came from the room next door to us. The married couple. Orgasm spell or something... no one knows. But... they aren't complaining either. It's got the whole upstairs feeling... good?" Nate chuckled, setting the cloth down as he said neutrally. "I bet. With how stressed out the people of Riften are... A good fake fuck is probably just what they need." Nate pulled his shirt back on, going back to the bed as he told him over his shoulder. "Well, after something like that. We should all sleep better."

Nate could feel the tension between himself and Dumbuk now. He was used to being avoided, but not for something as innocent as a kiss. Did a kiss mean something more to an Orc? He was too tired to ask. He'd address it later. Turning over, he let himself drift off. He was slumbering deep, until Tolan clapped his hands loudly and called out. "Alright! Time to get up!" Tolan opened the curtains to let the morning sunshine in, causing both Nathan and Dumbuk to groan and roll over. Tolan swatted them, commanding firmly. "Let's go! No time to waste! We've got to get those supplies and get on the road!" Nathan slowly sat up as Dumbuk growled out. "I'm going to drag your carcass down the road..." Tolan huffed, telling them seriously. "How can you be hunters? A true hunter rises with the dawn!" Dumbuk narrowed his eyes on Tolan, retorting darkly. "The Dawnguard hunts Vampires... they don't come out in the daylight..." Nathan chuckled softly, climbing slowly to his feet to stretch and add. "Nothing good happens in the morning... the parties are all at night." Tolan groaned, telling them like a stern parent. "Too bad. Get your butts downstairs in two minutes!" Nathan saluted, then yawned.

Making their way downstairs, Nathan huddled over his cup of thick black coffee. It was cheap and horrible, but better than nothing. Dumbuk was thinking the same as he gulped down his third cup. Tolan was the only one wide awake and waiting to collect the fish jerky from a male Argonian that was attending the bar. Nathan briefly saw the female go upstairs with a tray and was a bit salty. He wanted to get married just to stay in bed and get room service. The place was buzzing with people that whispered and chatted about last night. It was even clear that a few romances had started because of it. Since Tolan wasn't sitting at their little round table, Nathan took the opportunity to tell Dumbuk discreetly. "If you want to forget last night, I can do that." Dumbuk shifted in his seat uncomfortably, uttering back in a low tone. "I'd appreciate it. I... wasn't myself." Nathan shrugged carelessly, sipping his coffee as he said lightly. "Sure. I get it." Dumbuk leaned closer, seriously growling back in a whisper. "No. You don't. You kissed that... You know. For me to..." Nathan lowered his cup, giving Dumbuk a hard stare as he said flatly. "Really? You're afraid I've got vampire cooties? What are you...? Six? Of all the things you should be worried about. My wine is more lethal than his-" Nathan stopped talking to smile as Tolan approached the table.

Tolan set down the paper wrapped fish jerky, telling them as he separated the bundles. "This will get us to Ivarstead, but I'm thinking that if we hunt between here and there, we might be able to head straight on through to the Hall of the Vigilant. What do you think?" Dumbuk nodded, replying softly. "Sure. We should be able to find a wolf or a deer. Riften has rich hunting. We might even run into some Orc hunters to trade with along the way." Nathan started to nod but stopped. His eyes were distracted by the hairs on his arms rising. There was a lot of energy building in the air. He could feel it. Slowly rising, he told the others as he stared into his coffee cup. "Guys. Let's get going. Now." Nate dug out his money to pay for the drinks and started to coax them to the door. Tolan raised an eyebrow, asking swiftly. "What? Why?" Nathan got him out the door, telling him calmly. "I'm just eager to go. We got what we needed and-" Nate was cut off by the sky crackling with a thunderous boom. Over the wind that followed, a cluster of voices bellowed out. "DO-VAH-KIIN!" Everyone in the bustling outdoor marketplace stopped and gasped. Dumbuk looked to Tolan with a shocked expression. While Tolan uttered out. "The Greybeards? They are still alive? But... that means that the..." Tolan looked to Nathan, who stiffened and stated back. "Don't look at me. I'm not the Dragonborn. I'd think I'd know if I was. You know how many taverns I would have blown up by now?"

Tolan dropped his shoulders, mumbling out. "Good point... Still though, for their voices to reach all the way out here. Then... Ulfric must be..." Nathan scoffed, shoving between Tolan and Dumbuk to cross the bridge as he told them sourly. "Oh, don't tell me you believe that crap. If Ulfric is the Dragonborn, then I'm a dragon!" Nathan only got halfway across the bridge when a loud roar bellowed out over the lake that spanned out before Riften's hold. Behind him, Dumbuk chuckled out with amusement. "Wow! That was great impression, Bard. How did you do that?" Nathan slowly turned around to look at Dumbuk, answering uneasily. "I didn't..." At the sound of heavy flapping, everyone turned to look out at the lake. Soaring over the trees in the distance was a large green dragon that was headed right for Riften. Nathan stared at it in disbelief like many others. There was just no way the legends were true. Even if they were, they should have all been extinct. Nathan started to gesture for Tolan and Dumbuk to get across the bridge, telling them shakily. "Guys, time to run." Guards dropped their unlit torches as the dragon drew closer and a Nord woman screamed out. "DRAGON!" Nathan bolted across the bridge, just as the Dragon crashed into the tavern's roof! The collision sent thick clouds of dust into the air as splinters of wood rained down over everyone. The dragon slid across the roof, its claws digging into the building to slow itself down from its full speed.

People panicked and ran in all directions. Some of the people trying to escape the tavern were knocked off the bridge in the chaos to fall to the canal water below. Nathan was separated from Dumbuk and Tolan by getting shoved off his feet to the ground. Rolling to the side to keep himself from getting trampled, he hugged the end of the bridge and looked up to see the dragon's massive head scanning the scattering groups of people. Growing frustrated, the dragon called out in a thundering voice over all of Riften. "Dovahkiin! Krif, Strumsossah!" Nathan blinked; he'd heard a lot of languages but this one was not one of them. He only knew what 'Dovahkiin' meant because he'd heard about it when his mother told the old story. Anything else... he had no clue. He could only guess that the dragon was looking for the Dragonborn. For a little bit, Nathan was in awe of the dragon. The stories just didn't do them justice. They were so grand looking, and he could feel the magical energy rippling from it like heat waves. Even seeing it, he wasn't sure it was real. Maybe a Mage trick? People began to scream as the dragon's attention fell on them, then Nathan yelped as the dragon unleashed a mouthful of molten flames over the marketplace! Without waiting, Nathan's awe of the dragon vanished into pure horror. He couldn't stay here. Scrambling up to his feet, he ran for the city gates.

He had just reached the gate, when he heard a weird noise before what he guessed was the dragon falling off the roof! The ground trembled so violently that Nate stumbled and fell across the ground as he passed through the gate. Nathan's feet barely got traction as he ran to the stables. Walter and Agro whined wildly as they saw him. He tried to lift the latch to get Walter out, when the dragon leapt over the wall and landed on the other side of the gates! Letting out a low curse, Nathan jumped over the stable door and into the stall with Walter. Peeking over the door, he saw the dragon snap its jaws at someone standing before the gate doors as they closed. The wooden doors blasting apart as its massive head went straight though them. Without thinking, Nathan snapped his fingers to unlock the stable latches, allowing the horses to rear and bolt from the stables. Grabbing onto Walter, he ran alongside him a bit before hopping into the saddle as the horses dashed across the road. Getting settled in the saddle, Nathan glanced back to the dragon who freed its head by breaking through the stones of the gate, sending stones flying everywhere. Turning himself invisible, Nathan yanked Walter to the side of the road by the lake and shifted in the saddle enough to make Walter fall over. Walter whined, but Nate covered his eyes and whispered in his ear to calm him.

Farther ahead, someone yelled out. "Head for the woods!" As they bolted toward the woods, the dragon whirled around and took to the air to follow them. Nathan held his breath as the dragon flew overhead. He hoped that by laying still that they wouldn't draw attention. It had worked. Shifting back down into the saddle again, he tugged on the reins to pull Walter up onto his feet and encouraged him straight across the road and into the woods. Nathan wanted to look for Tolan and Dumbuk but could only think about the horses. Staying deep in the woods, he coaxed Walter into a run to see if he could find the other two horses. He could hear crackling of flames and the trees breaking somewhere close by, but he was too deep in the woods to care. He was not crazy enough to fight a dragon. If the old stories were true, his magic was useless, and no weapon could kill it! He was a bard not a warrior. He rode back to the road after feeling like the dragon was distracted. As he rode out onto the road, he yelped, and Walter nearly crashed into Tolan's horse. Tolan's horse reared, before Tolan happily chuckled out. "You made it!" Dumbuk turned his horse around, yelling out. "Come on! Let's get the fuck out of here!" Nate nodded, whirling Walter around to bolt after them.

Their horses thundered down the road at full speed. While they raced along the road, Dumbuk yelled out to him. "Did you see the size of that beast?!" Tolan chuckled, answering over the horses. "YA! I'm afraid I'm not THAT kind of hunter! He's out of my job description!" Nathan laughed, saying loudly. "No shit! Give me vampires any day!" They all laughed, glancing back on occasion to make sure they weren't being followed by it. When their horses needed a rest, they slowed them down to let them walk. All of their adrenaline had run out, allowing Tolan to say more casually. "You know what this means?" Nathan chuckled, mumbling out. "Brown pants are going to come back in style?" Dumbuk laughed, but Tolan shook his head to say more seriously. "No. The end of days is coming... Dragons are returning. Vampires running around unchecked... Bad things are coming. Mark my words..." Nathan shrugged, mumbling out. "I'll admit. The dragon is a surprise. But that's just one dragon. It was probably sleeping, and someone woke it up. Nothing to panic over." Tolan shook his head, telling them firmly. "No. It's not! There are at least three dragons! When I came through this way, the people around Whiterun said that the Dragonborn killed a white dragon! Yet, the Dragonborn told the Jarl that a Black dragon had attacked Helgen! Now this green one shows up... That's one too many. Something is going on."

Nathan rolled his eyes, grumbling out a bit flatly. "Isn't Skyrim obsessed with death enough? First the war. Then vampires. Now dragons... What's next? You going to tell me that the Vampires unleashed dragons upon us!" Tolan stared at Nathan with a humorless expression as he said. "Who said they didn't? Think about how long Vampires live for. How strong they are. What if they did know where a few were and waited to wake them. Or worse! What if they are vampire dragons!" Dumbuk began to snort as he laughed, and Nathan chuckled as he looked up at the daylight. "Well... HE didn't burst into flames. So, I'm going to say he is... just a normal dragon." Tolan groaned, muttering out to them sourly. "Fine. Laugh at me. We'll see if you are laughing when I prove you both wrong." They rode on a bit farther before finally setting up camp on the side of the road. Dumbuk managed to hunt a deer and he set to work to cook up the meat for their dinner. They agreed to eat as much of the deer as they could, saving the fish jerky and making deer jerky from the leftovers to see them through the next leg of the journey. After eating, Nate took his clothes to the stream to wash them. He wanted to clean them now so that they'd be dry by morning.

While he worked on them, he felt like he was being watched and looked over his shoulder. Dumbuk approached him, dropping a bloody cloth into the river as he washed his bloodstained hands from cutting up the deer. Nathan squeezed the water from his clothes without a care, until Dumbuk told him soft enough that Tolan wouldn't overhear. "I don't think you have cooties..." Nathan smirked, giggling very lightly to himself. Dumbuk shifted a little to face him a bit better when he told him honestly. "I know you like... Escher..." Nathan blinked in shock. That was the first time he'd heard Dumbuk call Escher by his name. Dumbuk lowered his eyes to the ground, his fingers tracing the grass as he told him under his breath. "I didn't mean to confuse you..." Nathan held back a snort, grinning out with reassurance. "You didn't confuse me. I don't belong to Escher. I do have feelings for him, but... we both are complicated. And... I don't know what we are right now... So, you are fine." Seeing Dumbuk relax a little, Nathan added sweetly. "Kissing like that... I never would have guessed you had never done it before." Dumbuk jerked his head up, his cheeks looking a bit flushed.

Nathan chuckled, collecting his stuff to get up. Patting Dumbuk's shoulder, he told him truthfully. "You ever wanna try that again... I'd like another go. You're my first Orc." Dumbuk raised an eyebrow, asking curiously. "I am?" Nathan nodded, informing him casually. "Ya. Not many Orcs at the Arcane University. Or in the Bard's College. So... Ya. I don't know much about your race." Dumbuk smirked slightly, going back to washing his hands. Nathan went to his tent, hanging his cloths up to dry. Tolan was already in his tent, fast asleep. Nathan adjusted his sword on his hip and sat down to tend the fire. He was on first watch tonight. Dumbuk went into his tent after washing up, but after an hour or two slipped back out to join him. Nathan eyed him, asking softly. "Can't sleep?" Dumbuk exhaled, shaking his head grimly upon answering. "No... I don't know what is wrong with me..." Nathan sat up to look him over, prompting Dumbuk to say quickly. "I've never... felt anything like that. It sounds silly... but I've been training so much to overcome pain that..." Nathan stabbed the fire with a stick, telling him lightly. "All work and no play does that to you. I'm not surprised you feel that way. Happens to a lot of soldiers. It's why they pay for sex. Just to get some form of contact with someone who doesn't want to kill you."

Dumbuk scooted closer to him, whispering a little embarrassed. "But... shouldn't I crave contact with another Orc?" Nate looked up with a neutral expression. He was pretty sure where this was going. Propping his head up on his hand as his elbow rested on his knee, Nathan chuckled out. "That depends on you. Sometimes we all want to try something a little exotic. Something outside the normal. For instance... I slept with a Khajit at the Mage guild. She had the softest and warmest fur I'd ever felt. But I only did once." Dumbuk raised an eyebrow, asking genuinely curious. "Why?" Nathan blushed, turning his back to Dumbuk and pulled up his shirt to show him. Looking over his shoulder, he told him with a sigh. "She scratched me up good. Took three mages to heal the damage... but the red lines remain." Nathan tensed as Dumbuk's fingers touched his back, following the lines up to his shoulder. Dumbuk's fingers, then moved down his spine, telling him coolly. "I can't feel them. It all just feels like... soft skin." Nathan slowly lowered his shirt as he shivered, chuckling out. "Ya... Well, I try to take care of myself." Slowly turning back to face the fire, Dumbuk tapped his arm and pulled his fur cover away from his chest to show him the three scars over his pectoral muscle. Pointing to it, he chuckled out to Nate. "I got scratched too. Sabre Cat. She snuck up on me while I was hunting a nice big Elk."

Together they shared a laugh and few drinks as the night pressed on. It was interesting to hear Dumbuk's war stories and he practically had a scar for every single one. It was the most Nathan had laughed in a while, and he was sure Dumbuk felt the same. To Be Continued...