Vingalmo stood stiffly by a table on the mezzanine, waiting. One slender hand rested on the balustrade, gripping the stone in preparation for an uncomfortable meeting.
He heard a muffled exchange; the tremendous chakka-cLanKa-cLonK of the portcullis' gears, and then a tense minute of silence before the main doors banged open.
He could smell fresh snow on the wind that stirred the foul air of the keep, exploring its gargoyle-choked corners and fluttering the ragged banners in the hall.
...Three people, by the sound of it.
Precise footsteps descended into, echoed briefly, and then — there! Entering the vestibule, eyes snapping up to him, glowing with more than zeal, accusing. Sharp.
His erstwhile countrymer.
He forced a smile.
It was not returned.
The Thalmor captain was a little taller than himself, and preceded his agents up the stairs, narrowed eyes hardly leaving his own. He was followed by a smaller, lilac-haired mer, bird-like and wary, and then by the last, this one with his hood up. Something both familiar and strange about him.
Someone else ghosted into the room, and, with a jolt, Vingalmo realised he'd miscounted: the extra was a well-built Dunmer wearing soft shoes, who skulked after them, head on a swivel. At the captain's signal, he remained at the bottom of the steps with his back to the wall, one wind-burned and sinewy hand at his belt. No doubt he had an array of hidden weaponry on him.
The Justiciars were also armed, not with maces, as he'd been expecting, but with swords of ebon-steel.
A cool display, the old vampire thought to himself.
However, his blood-senses could detect their hearts thumping; they were afraid, though their faces remained inscrutable.
The leaders reached him and stopped, gloved hands folded before them.
No five-fold felicitations for the monster, then, thought Vingalmo, bitterly.
The living Elves were close enough to smell, and the nostalgia of...before...of thousands of years before...hit him unexpectedly, and he had to blink rapidly and clear his throat.
"You are not long in Skyrim, ceruval," he said to the captain, before he could stop himself.
The tallest elf's expression didn't change, nor did he acknowledge the observation: "Vingalmo, I presume."
The vampire inclined his sleek head. "I have long foregone my Kinhouse and Clan connexions," he admitted. "Plain old Vingalmo it is."
The other snorted. "I don't believe that for a moment."
"Why not, Nafarion 'cal Llarethiiath?" retorted the vampire, taking care to ennunciate the name he knew the noble hated.
The Thalmor grimaced. "Because your connections are what led us to this little rendezvous." (His disgust at his surroundings was badly disguised. Any tentative hopes the vampire had had of pleasant conversation over wine evaporated). "And I'd prefer Ntalym."
"Nat-al-im," repeated Vingalmo, with only the barest hint of mockery. "How...unusual. Did you choose it yourself?"
"How about we get down to business," said the mer, nailing him with a glare that lasted several seconds too long.
Loud, thought Vingalmo. Almost nervously so. He almost laughed. Ah, to be young and impetuous again! To inhabit a delusion of knowing how the world works.
He feigned contrition. "Of course. But haste is unbecoming." He didn't need to elaborate; haste was the province of the short-lived.
"Lack of haste is what got us into this mess," interjected the silvery older Justiciar, primly. "To win against Man, we must, on occasion, employ His approach."
Vingalmo met the intelligent amber gaze appraisingly. He might have been imagining it, but he felt the mer had been deliberate in his use of "us" and "we", and he liked him a little better for that.
"Who said anything about a mess?" he replied, all innocence. "I was under the impression your High Council had it all under control. Ancano 'cal Ceyım, isn't it?"
"Indeed," affirmed the other. "You know well of what I speak."
"Hm," Vingalmo smiled, thin-lipped. "Shall we?" he motioned to the round wooden table and attendant chairs; bare and unfussy.
Wordlessly, the captain sat, as though trying against all logic not to make contact with the wood, and the attaché moved to stand at his shoulder, gazing down at him.
Protectively close, observed Vingalmo. And that gaze is oh-so-soft. How delicious!
Under the guise of sitting himself, he inhaled deeply and found he could not easily distinguish the two; either they shared robes (unlikely, given the height difference) or one's scent was on the other's collar. He filed that information away for later.
Almost unbidden, his attention slipped past the two, to the third Altmer, presumably their junior and lucky third, who stood some way back, staring down into the vestibule with his arms folded.
"Ahoy," Vingalmo called lazily, hoping to be able to see the other's face. The hooded mer turned to him; empty golden eyes found his briefly and flicked away again.
It was enough. The force of the shame lurking there touched something savage in the vampire.
While the other Altmer rummaged for some papers, Vingalmo reached out with his senses once more — yes, the faintest magical thread tied thrall and master! He could even see it faintly, now he was expecting it: hair-thin trails of blue-and-red sparks, just outside of normal perception. Advanced stuff.
The captain, hands now steepled before him, was treating him to A Look once more, the disdain on his face now quite plain.
And so Vingalmo went, metaphorically, for the throat.
He leaned in slowly, faux-conspiratorial, and whispered: "How is it that a talented necromancer such as yourself comes to hate and fear the dead so much?"
-----------------------
Just an exceept that popped into my head after making this post recently!
Vinnie is a wily old character in my hc; he outwardly agrees with Valerica that his Lord, at least, should not gain Auriel's Bow.
I'll work out details and write the negotiations so long as I can make them entertaining; both sides are trying to use each other...
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Some tense negotiations were going on, (because diverging from canon is like, a hobby of mine -- who knew?! -- but the glitch that allowed it did spark an idea for the fic-in-progress...)*
My two Thalmor despise vampires, but if you've been ordered to uncover an artifact linked to Auri-El??
You gotta parlay with folk you REALLY don't like. (Or, in Ancano's case, had wanted to like but were sorely disappointed by).
--- Dart
Update: snippety-WIP! =^.^=
-------------------
A tome of interest to both parties.
-------------------
"A'ight?"
Commander O. put in an appearance on the way back to Northwatch. I think Ancano might have said 'Hello' back, but honestly, meeting that old CeyThalmor had put him in a Mood.
---Nat
Two can play at the covert-lexicon game, Nat. What were you two arguing about when I came back?
--- Ancano
-----
Edit:
@kauchenoe couldn't resist zooming in, and has made this handy clarification of their sour little expressions 🤣🤣:
some of my vingalmo headcanons that absolutely no one asked for??
“Morning” routines
I would say that Vingalmo runs on an odd sleep schedule. Obviously, being a vampire… He wakes up early for a vampire, honestly. He’s up at any time of day or night, it’s unsurprising to find him quietly reading in the early afternoon, avoiding the others in the castle and gathering his bearings for the evening to come.
He prefers to wake up when the others are still asleep. He likes to take his time waking up and looking in a way that he feels good about.
He needs nothing to wake him up, admittedly. He hates having to be woken by anything aside from his own internal clock, and would like to keep it that way.
He actually is favorable towards the morning, all things considered. He finds it… Almost peaceful. He would probably be able to enjoy hearing the transition from quiet to bustling within a town, but in the castle, that is when many settle to sleep. So, he likes it for that reason alone as well.
I believe that he, easily, will groom himself before he will feast. He does not like to appear unpresentable! Who do you take him for?
He doesn’t bathe to wake up. He does it as part of his unwinding activities before he sleeps, or as needed.
I think if he was to prefer a “breakfast drink”, he’d lean towards a strong tea. Not really seeing him as a coffee guy. Maybe some sort of potion to start off his morning if there was one that did what he wished it to?
He seems like a guy with refined tastes. He probably doesn’t eat much actual cuisine, but if he did, he’d probably need a savory breakfast. I simply cannot see him eating any sort of sweet one.
And if he was eating a mortal breakfast, I like to imagine that he enjoys a sort of savory pastry, maybe with a little sauce to dip it in on the side? And something with eggs.
He prepares his outfits before he goes to sleep. He likes them to be ready for him when he wakes up, and it also streamlines his planning for the day ahead.
He spends a LOT of time getting ready, I would say. He seems like the type to have a 10 step haircare routine and an 8 step skincare routine and he does a little make up before he goes. He cares a lot about appearances and such…
From waking up, to getting out of the coffin bed, he definitely only needs 5 or so minutes. Maybe less. He wakes up, lays there, takes in his surroundings for only a moment, before sitting up and brushing his hair away from his face. He steps out of the coffin, stretches, and that’s it. He’s up.
Personal hygiene
I like to think that Vingalmo, caring deeply about his appearance, would bathe quite frequently. Anytime he needed, and anytime it was convenient for him. Also to unwind. To feel the water against his eternally cool skin, probably feels sort of nice. Even if it will never truly warm nor chill him.
Generally, he’s going to be bathing in the morning, but ONLY because that’s when he goes to rest. In terms of his internal clock, that’s around “bedtime”.
I think he’d use specific scents as perfumes. He seems like someone who enjoys refined tastes? I can imagine that his favorite sorts of perfumes are ones that blend the smells of particularly deadly flowers and then herbs he enjoyed from the Summerset Isles. He probably has a more subtle smell, one that really shines when closer. It doesn’t command a room. It’s soft but remains. I can imagine it now, the smell of nightshade, deathbell, jarrin root, and some extracts from trees and berries from the Summerset Isles. What do I imagine this to smell like in real life equivalents? Cashmeran base notes with sort of orange blossom/jasmine heart notes and dark cherry + slightly peppery top notes. A slightly spicy/woody and floral smell, that’s more subtle and dark rather than actually flowery.
His soaps are very much plain, he probably doesn’t care how they smell so long as they aren’t miserable, because he’s going to put his own scent over it regardless.
This being said? He probably has specific products for himself. He seems like he cares a lot about his grooming habits. I can imagine him having specific soaps and oils for things, and wouldn’t be inclined to use the same soap for every bit of himself.
When he bathes, it’s a pretty easy routine. He does his hair first, then pulls it up to keep it off of his skin, and subsequently does his body before redoing his face once he’s out of the bath.
I think you can expect him to take about 20 minutes for the initial bath, then another 15 or so minutes on the face stuff after the bath, and another 20 for his entire haircare + styling if he’s doing that.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
