Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20160605202324/@comment-24685738-20160607002652

Psychomantis108 wrote: "I shave my head sometimes but I think Miri likes it long." Jude shrugged, gently patting the necka covering parts of his hair.

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"Dunno... Two wild children on an island full of snooty altmer? The possibilities are endless." Elis beamed, seeming quite excited at this prospect.

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"That's... Fair enough." Talin muttered, kneeling down by her chair. He didn't know what was wrong anymore, he'd wanted to be with her, on some level at least, since High Rock. There were so many complications along the way though and now he'd dug himself into this huge hole. Diana couldn't be a side dish, she practically was with her husband most of the time and equally, neither could Talin.

His mind kept wandering back to the fact that they could never marry or build a future based on this relationship, no matter how fond he was...

Maybe their relationship was a little more important than the kind that he'd had with Nissa or Naomi? That there was a level of closeness that was... unique.

Or maybe he was just a pig, who wasn't satisfied with being in one relationship. That thought had crossed his mind, dozens of times but it wasn't really about him. He didn't care if he ended up going celebate with both Nissa and Diana, he could still love them the same way.

Hell, at this point, he had not choice as both of them were to... impactful on his life and he was on their's... "You mean one snooty child and me." Adder retorted jokingly, with a chuckle.

Diana sat down beside him, quietly, staring outside of the camp as she lost herself in thought. She had loved Talin in some form or another since Levi had left her with him back in the Imperial City. It had been years, and now she finally had what she wanted... right?

What was wrong with her?

She and Talin had fit so well, all those years ago. But it was different now, she supposed. She had grown out of the everpresent shadow of fear and doubt that was Levi, and he had been possessed by a tyrranical mage who controlled his every movement.

They were almost the same in that regard, but Talin had come out of it with a woman he could love, and Diana had come out of it with... nothing. Levi was still around and could reverse her attempts to free herself at any moment. Nissa did the same with Talin, drawing her back in with love and respect and no fear. Talin offered Diana a real love that Levi had never been able to give her, and Diana couldn't give Talin anything that Nissa couldn't give him, besides the fear of Levi's wrath.

Diana was expendable.

Was that it?

Had Levi damaged her too much for her to truly be loved by anyone else? As long as he was alive, Levi would always be able to damage her love. If she didn't love him, he would hunt her to the ends of the earth so that she couldn't be happy.

Diana thought she loved Talin. No, she knew it. But Talin had said it himself: He couldn't be around her, he couldn't save her whenever Levi was around. And with his abilities, he could be around at any moment.

Was that it?

Maybe the real reason she was so furious with Talin wasn't because he had ignored her. No, she and Levi hadn't talked for extensive periods when she still loved him and she had been fine with that.

Maybe she was upset with Talin because... because he couldn't save her. Levi owned her, Levi was the lich that possessed her, Levi was a tyrannical king, Levi was her Tharn. Talin couldn't save her, and she resented him for that.

Maybe Diana needed to accept that and let go of the knot of hatred and fear that resided in her core. He provided her a love she had never known. When she confronted him, he tried to apologize. He didn't hit her, he didn't tear at her soul, he didn't throw her to the ground...

Did Talin love her? He had said he did, but how could she believe him? Levi had told her he loved her, and that had led to her marrying him. Maybe Levi did love her, in some twisted and decrepit way, but he had done unforgivable things to her.

Talin hadn't, yet, but maybe he was too busy with Nissa to attempt it.

Nissa wasn't the real problem, Diana knew that, but the Dunmer was a reminder that there was always someone out there that Talin loved more, someone that Talin had thought dead that had led to him getting together with Diana.

Diana shivered slightly, as she felt the wind hit her skin. The cold was the worst thing about being with Levi. But Talin ignited a warmth inside the blonde Imperial that, as far as she could remember, Levi never had. Her love for Levi had been based on the mystery and the inner power that he possessed, and when that disappeared, she couldn't bounce back from it. But her love for Talin was... something else. There was something that was truly there for her.

She didn't know if there was something that he felt like that for her. Talin was the love of her life, she just didn't know if she was his.

Why take that chance and abandon him, though? She thought, slowly looking to the black-haired Imperial. He seemed to be lost in thought as well, so she could look without interrupting him.

She touched her face, feeling that tears had begun to fall at some point during her thought process. She wiped them away, and then Diana took a deep breath...

And then she leaned forward and crashed her lips into Talin's, in a desperate attempt to fill the chasm that was beginning to develop between them...