Though Sapphire spent most of her time in the Bee and Barb fishing unobservant drinkers, she retreated to the Cistern on her bad days. The days when her hands would shake a bit too much and her feet were heavier than ever. The Cistern was moderately pleasant. It was relaxing to be in like company. A cold wide room with moist bricks and muddy footsteps. This was home.
She sat in her bed scraping dirt from beneath her fingernails when Vex stomped in, heavily scowled. She had oozing bumps trailing up her arm. Sapphire watched her fill a bowl with water and a chunk of charred skeever hide, and then set it on the spit to boil. With a stained rag, Vex wiped her arm and bit her lip in what looked like both pleasure and pain.
"These jobs are bullshit, Tonilia," Vex growled as the other woman approached her. "The last client had me swipe a steel ingot. An ingot!"
"Did the ingot give you that infection?" Tonilia asked with a wry smirk. She took a bite of her cream treat and wiped her mouth with her finger, not bothered by the viscous weeping of Vex's arm.
"It was a gods damned frostbite spider that caught me on my way back from Windhelm."
"By the eight! I didn't know you were allergic, love," Delvin said as he walked to her.
"Because it doesn't matter," she quipped. "I can still get jobs done. Quite successfully, might I add." She leaned against the wall waiting for the water to bubble.
Delvin angled forward to Vex's arm, eyes squinting at the long rash that stretched from wrist to elbow. She jerked away as his fingertips got close. Sapphire couldn't see any blood on her arm, but the large bumps are rosy and swollen. Delvin turned to see Sapphire watching him closely and joined her on the bed. He smelled like dead rat and old mead, but she didn't protest. Instead she tapped him on his thigh to say 'hello'.
"An ingot! Can you believe it? I'm losing my regard!" Vex yelled.
"Aww, I got your regard right here," Delvin answered with lips pursed.
Vex responded with a tight glare.
"It's called word play. I'm implyin' that we should, you know, tumble around a bit, eh?"
"Piss off, Del. I knew what you meant."
Fwip sounds echoed lightly through the Cistern as well as low mumbles. Sapphire had seen Niruin and Brynjolf's new protege retreat to the training room a few hours ago. It was finally quiet enough that she could hear them. Delvin leaned back against the wall next to her, thumbing a leather ribbon and tying different knots. Sapphire put down her blade and she and Delvin passed the leather back and forth, tying and untying.
When the water started to boil, Vex pulled the pot to the top tier and dropped in a clean rag. Tonilia and Thrynn, clearly drunk, were balancing books on their heads and racing around. They were lucky Mercer was nowhere to be found.
Brynjolf's protege was a Redguard with a wide smile and tired eyes. Sapphire avoided her for the most part, out of jealousy, though she would never admit it. She was continuously frustrated with her place in the Thieve's Guild. She fished and forged ledgers. She couldn't break into a place as well as Vex, but she was fairly decent. She wanted Brynjolf's attention for years, but instead he found a woman on the street he'd never known and took her under his wing.
Niruin and the protege stepped into the Cistern, whispering and trading coy smiles. Sapphire made an audible gag which Delvin nudged her for.
"Be polite," he said with stern eyes, though barely containing a smile of his own. "How are you, Fatima?"
The Redguard peeked up at the sound of her name. "Oh hi, Delvin! I'm doing quite well," she grinned. Niruin followed behind her as she neared the pair sitting on the bed. They exchanged a few flirtatious words, which caused tight lips from both Niruin and Sapphire. Vex eyed the small group, wrapping the hot rag on her arm.
"So, Fatima. I've been meaning to ask you..."
Sapphire quickly stared in her lap, no longer fingering the knotted leather strip. Oh gods no, Delvin. Don't. Just don't. Her body tensed.
"...You and Tonilia..." he started to say and Sapphire's eyes grew wide. She looked up to see both Niruin and Vex with their mouths gaping. Thrynn and Tonilia were on the other side of the room, giggling to themselves and fumbling over their feet.
"Are you two related?" he finished the question having it punctuated by a chorus of sighs from the three others watching the exchange.
"Delvin. Shut up," Vex spat with a roll of her eyes. Fatima's mouth formed a thin line and she took a quiet breath, shaking her head. Niruin placed his arm around her waist and offered to get her a few drinks from the Ragged Flagon. She happily obliged while Delvin sat confused.
"What? What did I say? I just wanted to know if-"
"Del, just stop," Sapphire cut him off and patted his knee.
"Well now everyone is just being very rude. Here I am trying to get to know the new girl and-"
"Why would they be related, Del? Are you related to Cynric or Herluin?" Sapphire asked.
"What? No, we don't even look alike. What's that got to do with anything?"
Sapphire and Vex sighed again, in unison. Vex added, "Just think about it a while, Del. You're a bright enough man."
He stood up from Sapphire's bed, brow furrowed and lips tucked. With his hands on his hips, he slowly began a march in the direction of Thrynn and Tonilia.
"Noooope! Don't ask her, either!" Sapphire shouted out.
He turned around, flustered, and slowly made his way to leave.
Vex shook her head, lightly rubbing the rash on her arm with her fingertips through the rag. "How can something so wrong feel so good," she moaned.
"Should I leave you and your rash alone?" Sapphire asked.
"Gods, probably," Vex bit her lip. "Or maybe I have a job for Brynjolf after all..."
Sapphire hopped up from the bed and made her way to the Ragged Flagon. She wasn't quite ready to go back out into town again, but the dwindling company of the Cistern made her feel a bit lonely.
AN: I've written this 100 times and it's still not anything good. But! It was a practice in group dialogue/dynamics. ... I'm a growing girl... (tips and constructive criticism are much appreciated!)