Contrary to Aneril's expectations, Vareysa hadn't been a problem since they started traveling together. In fact, she'd been of great help whenever Aneril worked with Razum-dar, even though she'd scoffed when Aneril accepted Ayrenn's offer to recruit her as an Eye of the Queen.
Despite Vareysa's apparent distaste for throwing one's lot in with a single sovereign, she did demonstrate a taste for coin and impressive finesse with her blades, and was thus more than happy to aid Aneril in her assignments. Aneril found herself getting embroiled in combat more often, acting as an agent for the Queen, but she rarely emerged from these battles with injuries worse than a stray sword slash or burn wound. Having an assassin's blade guarding her back gave Aneril more space to breathe during fights; often, she would deal with her handful of foes before spinning around to face the rest, only to find that they had fallen as well, their blood staining the wicked sharp edges of Vareysa's blades. Normally the Dunmer's smirk and wink would irk her, but it was a good sign to see in battle – it meant the tides were in their favour.
Outside of battle, Aneril would handle the likes of diplomacy herself, honing her fledgling skill with surprising agility, though she still met the occasional stonewall – especially when delving into the shadowy depths of the Veiled Heritance. That was when Vareysa would have Aneril sit tight while she slipped away for a few hours, before returning with incriminating documents in hand…and cheeky requests for a drink or kiss, as a reward for her hard work. An eye roll was usually all that she got, but Aneril had tossed her some coin for drinks now and then, even if she knew full well Vareysa didn't need it.
Weeks passed as Aneril slowly made her way from southern Auridon to the north, performing her duties and restoring order to the towns in turmoil, with Vareysa at her side. Since the Dunmer hadn't brought any trouble down on their heads, Aneril was more inclined not to bother Vareysa with questions whenever her companion went off by herself, presumably on some private business.
A hundred questions rose to her lips, however, when Vareysa took her off-guard by falling through the open window of their inn room.
Aneril had shed her armour for the night, stretching her muscles before climbing into bed, when a knock on the window pane caught her attention. Fire crackled along her hands as she whirled around, muscles coiled to meet the intruder – who had been invisible at first, until the cloaking spell wore off.
Vareysa gave a pained groan as she tumbled onto the floor, careful not to land on her right, where a dagger was buried up to its hilt, just below her ribs. Aneril dissipated her magic and went over to the Dunmer, who moaned through gritted teeth as Aneril propped her up against the wall.
"What happened–?"
"First things first – my backpack," Vareysa breathed laboriously through paling lips, then cracked a tight smile when Aneril grabbed the pack with all urgency. "Small pouch inside. With vials of dark green liquid. Give one."
Aneril rummaged in her pack, finding the pouch and vials described, then uncorked one and handed it over. Vareysa snatched it from her hands, fingers trembling as she lifted the vial to her lips, and downed the potion in one go.
"What is it?" Aneril asked.
"Antidote," Vareysa panted, pointing at the dagger still embedded in her side, then waved Aneril over. "Help me with this. And be careful–!" She cried out in pain when Aneril touched the hilt. "Barbed!"
"Just who hates you so much?" Aneril set an arm across Vareysa's clavicles, gripping the dagger carefully as the Dunmer yanked a scarf from her pack. "Other than me, that is."
"I'll write you a list after this," Vareysa said breathlessly. "You can cast healing magic, right?"
"Wait–, you can't?" Aneril asked, unease mixing with incredulity, and she lowered her arm. "No, I can't do it well. I can only heal superficial wounds, but I can't close deeper wounds fully–"
Vareysa grabbed her wrist before she could let go of the dagger. "Good enough. Now, do it."
"We should get you a healer–"
"Just do it!" Vareysa hissed. She rolled the scarf up and shoved the wad of cloth into her mouth, then gave Aneril a nod.
Dread rose to her chest in rapid thuds, Aneril wrestling with her better sense as she adjusted her grip on the hilt. She glanced back at Vareysa, who had screwed her eyes shut, her breaths shallow and uneven. Aneril composed herself, then held Vareysa firmly against the wall with an arm.
"One," Aneril said, then wrenched the dagger out.
Vareysa's scream was muffled against the scarf, which dropped from her slack mouth as her head lolled forward in a daze, while her body was kept upright by Aneril. Tossing the wicked dagger aside, Aneril slapped at Vareysa's cheek when she seemed on the verge of passing out. Placing a hand over the wound bleeding red into Vareysa's black bodice, Aneril fought down her misgivings and cast her best healing spell, soft golden light about her hands working into the deep wound. But it soon became obvious that the spell was not enough – the blood flow barely lightened under Aneril's focus.
"Relax," Vareysa panted, grasping her arm. Turning her pain-clouded gaze towards Aneril, she said, "Work from the inside out. Knit the organs, then the flesh."
Aneril's head was already shaking from side to side even as she concentrated, brows furrowing. She could feel herself tremble minutely under Vareysa's grip, but repressed the shame at her own inability, and forced herself to relax. Closing her eyes, she recalled her mentor's lesson; don't force the healing – guide it, and seek to take the pain from the afflicted. She reached out with her magic, mending the deepest depths of the wound first, and pulled back slowly, torn flesh knitting back together in the wake of her magic…until it stopped halfway.
"I can feel it working," Vareysa said tiredly, though she sounded less faint.
"But that's all I can do for the moment. I should bring you to a healer…"
"No, I'm fine. Don't want to…expose myself." Vareysa's voice quietened as if she was speaking to herself, rummaging around in her pack and pulling out a bundle of bandages. "Should've stocked up on restoratives earlier," she grumbled under her breath. With Aneril's help, she shed her leathers and bloodied bodice, then bound her wound and put on a fresh shirt.
"Thanks," Vareysa muttered. She swayed to the left, setting one hand on the floor as she tried to get up, only to fall back down with a pained grunt. "Fuck."
Aneril sighed, and held her in place when she tried again. Carefully, she slid both arms under Vareysa's back and legs, and lifted the Dunmer off the ground with ease. She ignored her companion's weak but mischievous smile, setting Vareysa on her bed gently. Pulling the covers up to the elf's chest, Aneril asked, "Dark Brotherhood?"
Red irises peered up at her in mirth. "Really? Gonna interrogate me while I'm weak?"
"Best time to do so." Aneril pulled a stool over and sat beside the bed, making it obvious that she wasn't going anywhere. "So, are you?"
Vareysa huffed. "No."
"Independent."
"…Only after we crossed paths."
Aneril cocked her head. "What's that mean?"
No answer.
"Alright…" Aneril passed a sharp eye over her companion's face, then asked, "Are you from Morrowind?"
A faint smile. "Yes."
"Then…Morag Tong."
"Not all assassins from Morrowind are Morag Tong," Vareysa informed her placidly. "But yes."
"What are you doing so far from home?"
"Business."
"Litan."
"Yes."
"And you said you became independent after we crossed paths," Aneril continued, even as Vareysa's eyes fluttered shut. Whether out of exasperation or exhaustion, she couldn't tell, but there were no protests yet. "I didn't realise one could leave the Morag Tong."
"Not exactly."
"Why are you 'independent' now?"
"Issues." Vareysa's usual chattiness had disappeared along with her energy, it seemed.
"Is that why you were stabbed?"
The Dunmer chuckled, glancing back at her. "By them? No. It was an injured party."
Aneril nodded slowly, even though none of her questions had been answered in full. "Will this be a problem in the future?"
"Ah. Don't worry, pretty face." Vareysa smirked, gesturing at her bandaged wound. "This was merely a…courtesy. To let me know they're pissed off."
"Petty."
"Tell me about it. Now," she sighed, shifting under the covers. "As much as I love chatting with you, I'm tired and would like some sleep. Good night."
With that, Vareysa shut her eyes again. Aneril suspected 'tiredness' wasn't the entire reason why she wanted to rest, but the Dunmer's pale complexion stopped her from pushing any further. Instead, she stood from her seat, and went to tidy up Vareysa's backpack, replacing her belongings and setting it by the side of her bed. Then Aneril picked up the bloody barbed dagger, which had fallen onto the scarf that Vareysa had used as a gag.
Her eye twitched as she held it up to the candlelight, examining the large bloodstains on soft fabric. The scarf held some sentimental value for Vareysa, who would often wrap it around her neck when she went to sleep, then fold it neatly for safekeeping when she woke the next morning.
She wouldn't like what her 'business' had done to her prized possession.
As expected, Vareysa whined the instant her eyes landed on the bloodstained scarf the next morning, tremendously upset by its dirtied state. Aneril had tried soaking it overnight, but the dark splotches still stood out visibly against soft periwinkle blue. So she had to drag the pouting Dunmer to a washerwoman, who was more than glad to have it done by the end of the day, what with the premium Vareysa had paid her for quicker service. Aneril bit her tongue during the exchange, but Vareysa seemed to have no trouble with it, and was happy enough when she reclaimed the clean scarf, rubbing it briefly against her cheek with a smile on her face.
Minor emergency settled, Aneril decided to stay in town for a few days longer, until Vareysa's wound had healed. But her plans were thrown for a loop when she was approached for help by a fellow Eye, who needed her to tackle a bandit camp far to the east of Firsthold, acting as a distraction while her comrade infiltrated the bandits' main camp. Aneril had agreed, thinking to leave Vareysa in the city while she took care of business. But her companion refused to be left behind, insisting that she was well enough to fight again…and that she might kill someone in her boredom should she stay.
Resisting the urge to strangle the woman for the umpteenth time, Aneril agreed despite her misgivings. And as they traveled north, she took care to rest more often, making sure that Vareysa's wound hadn't opened up during their trek. Vareysa shot her bemused glances whenever she called for a stop, but never objected to resting her feet, and Aneril noted how she would fidget with her bandages, as if they were bothering her. She deflected questions about her well-being, putting up a confident mask in response to Aneril's tentative displays of concern, and the Altmer soon left the issue to rest. The assassin would know her own limits, after all.
When they finally reached the bandit camp in the woods, Vareysa had volunteered to scout quickly about the camp, and returned with a detailed report on their patrol sizes and locations. With that, they split up as usual – Vareysa blending into the shadows beneath the trees, circling to flank their foes and pick away at their numbers quietly, while Aneril attracted the entire camp's focus by charging through the front.
The assault went smoothly; Aneril sent out larger torrents of magic to draw the bandits' attention each time Vareysa dropped out of the shadows, and she was able to cut down a good number of thugs before the assassin's presence became known. By then, the battle was already over. Aneril drove her sword through a bandit crawling weakly across the ground, then looked up at Vareysa, who had sheathed her daggers and stood with shoulders hunched, leaning against a stack of crates for support.
"You alright?" Aneril asked, sheathing her own sword.
"Yeah." Vareysa waved her away, plucking a red restorative potion from her belt pouch. "Go search the camp. I'll be with you shortly."
Aneril watched her drink down the potion, then drop the empty vial and sit on the edge of a crate, pressing one hand to her still-healing stab wound. Judging it prudent to finish their business here quickly, Aneril started to search the camp, looking for valuables and equipment that they could repurpose or sell for gold, and scavenging potions for future use. It was routine, and Aneril went about the task diligently, until she stopped at a particularly large tent.
Empty crates were stacked on the left, and similarly empty cages lined the right. But at the back of the tent was a single occupied cage, housing a white senche-tiger cub. Aneril frowned as she approached the cage, kneeling down to look at the cub, which seemed to be on edge. It paced about its cage skittishly, peering up at Aneril with a cautious look in its eye. Remembering the key she had picked up from a bandit's pocket, she pulled it out and took another step towards the cage, noting how the cub backpedaled, as if trying to put more distance between them.
Aneril unlocked the door as gently as possible, not wanting to startle the cub, which was still crouched in the far corner of the cage, with its baby fangs bared.
"Aneril? What's the hold up?" She heard Vareysa's voice as her companion entered the tent, and came to stand behind her. "Oh, tiger. One of those white ones, too. What's it doing so far away from Elsweyr? Or Valenwood?"
"Smuggled, maybe."
"Yeah. It looks frightened." Vareysa hummed, then knelt beside Aneril. She poked a hand into the sack she was holding, then pulled out a paper package, tugging at the tied string to reveal a small stack of meat. "Here, try luring it out."
"You raided the pantry?" Aneril said, humour tinging her tone as she took a small cut of meat.
"A girl's gotta eat."
Aneril laid the red meat down by the cage's doors, then shuffled back a little, giving the tiger enough space for it to dare approach the offering. They waited a few long seconds, before the cub finally took careful steps towards the door, its deep blue eyes fixed on the alluring meal before it. Then, with one last glance at the women, it pounced and tore into its food hungrily, chomping down with what seemed like the utmost bliss on its face.
The meat disappeared in a few quick beats of Aneril's heart, but she was more than happy to lay a second, bigger piece on the ground, just a little closer to her. The cub didn't seem to mind their proximity though, and hopped forward to indulge in its second serving, little claws digging into the meat as it wolfed down its meal. When the second was done, it looked back up at them expectantly, and Vareysa laid the last piece down in front of it, the cub leaping on top of the meat when she had barely taken her hand away.
Aneril snickered at the sight and waited for the cub to be done eating, before stretching a hand forward to pet its head gently. It flinched from her touch, ears twitching as it stared up at her, then her hand. Aneril held still for a moment, then lowered her hand slowly, resting it on top of the cub's head with only the lightest pressure – a silent promise not to harm. When it didn't move away, she started stroking down its short white fur, getting a low purr in return.
"Think it likes you," Vareysa said, as the cub padded forward and mewled up at Aneril, clambering into her lap.
"Mm." Aneril cocked her head thoughtfully as she lifted it in her arms, pulling her head back when the cub tried to lick her face, and sated it with a scratch between its ears. It chuffed contentedly, curling up closer to her. "We're not really in a position to keep pets though…"
Vareysa let out a laugh. "You didn't just consider keeping a tiger as your pet, did you?"
"No," Aneril growled, feeling her cheeks grow warm as she hugged the tiger closer to her. "We'll…try to drop it off in the city. Maybe there'll be someone willing to take it in…"
"You sound reluctant already," Vareysa teased.
Aneril glared at her, though it did little to deter the grin from growing on her companion's lips.
Their trek to Skywatch was uneventful, still with constant breaks for Vareysa to rest, and with their new companion gamboling beside them as they walked, slinking between their legs with happy chuffs. They made it back to Skywatch in good time – Vareysa's wound was healing much too slowly, and the cub was draining their bare rations too quickly. After leaving Vareysa at the inn, Aneril carried the cub over to the docks, trying to find someone sailing to either Valenwood or Elsweyr, who was willing to take the tiger along with them.
But she had no luck despite spending much of her daylight searching for a kind soul to bring the cub home. The only one who expressed interest in the cub was a merchant, who had a calculative gleam in his eye that sparked Aneril's distrust, and she quickly made her excuses to leave. When she returned to the inn room at sunset with the cub still in her arms, Vareysa regarded her with no small amount of amusement, and mentioned that Aneril might have gotten attached to the little thing. Aneril had denied it then, sending yet another glare in the Dunmer's direction, and it didn't help that she fell asleep with the cub curled up in bed next to her.
Since they weren't able to drop the tiger off at Skywatch, they decided to travel back to Vulkhel Guard, hoping to try their luck at the docks there. In the meantime, Aneril grew a little worried that the cub might be nurturing some form of attachment to them – not to mention hers to the little thing, but she would rather swallow an acid-coated barbed dagger before admitting that to Vareysa.
Aneril watched as the tiger poked around at the campfire, then walked over to where Vareysa lay in her bedroll. She scratched behind the tiger's ears, gazing up at the starlit sky with a languid smile, before she jerked at the feel of paws prodding at her scarf.
"Hey, hey!" Vareysa sat up, adjusting the scarf about her shoulders. "No touching!"
The cub mewled and climbed into her lap, but its attempt to touch the scarf was foiled when Vareysa lifted it in her hands, and held it at arms' length.
"No touching my scarf, cubby. Not with those sharp claws." She shook it playfully between her hands and smiled at its throaty growl, then set it on the ground, sending the cat back to Aneril with a pat on its butt.
"What's with your scarf, anyway?" Aneril asked, picking up the cub when it approached her. "It's like you love it more than your daggers."
"That's because I do." She wrapped the scarf around her neck, running her fingertips down the blue fabric. "It's my mother's. She gave it to me before I left home."
"Really," Aneril replied drily. "You don't seem like a sentimental type."
"What, just because you think I'm a cold-blooded killer, doesn't mean I don't have any loved ones."
"No, it doesn't." Aneril gazed at her curiously. "To be honest, I took you to be…one without family."
Vareysa laughed, quiet and smooth, as she lay back in her bedroll. "Well, I used to be. I was an orphan, but then I met my mom." She wore a gentle smile. "She caught me trying to steal a sword from her smithy. Was going to turn me in, but I cried, and she had a change of heart."
"Then…she just took you in?"
"Nah. She just fed me at first, but then I kept staying around, so she asked if I wanted to live with her. Never said 'yes' faster in my entire life." Vareysa let out an airy sigh. "Ah, children. So quick to throw their lots in with people."
Aneril rolled her eyes when Vareysa shot her a pointed look. "They tend to follow whoever gives them food too." She raised the cub cradled in her arms, and Vareysa breathed another chuckle at the silent jab.
"You know, I kinda miss her. Maybe I should head back to see her soon."
"That'd be for the best," Aneril drawled, setting the cub down.
"Aw, so quick to throw me away?"
"I'd dump you into the ocean without a second glance."
"Well, now. Who's the cold-hearted one, hm?"
"Still you…murderer." Aneril snorted when Vareysa laughed. Gently stroking the cub, which had curled up beside her with its tail flopping about lazily, Aneril settled in and took first watch for the night.
A/N: ESO had a flash 50% discount on the white senche-tiger pet and my weak, big cat loving ass hit the buy button before I knew it.
So Aneril gets a senche too. Vareysa will have her own animal companion as well...in future.