Gregor came to Jinx's door as the sun was setting. When he knocked she called out for him to enter where he found her stretched out across the bed flipping once again through her book.

"Aren't you ready to go?" He asked her, crossing the room to sit next to her bed. She gave him a look before turning back to her book.

"I do not intend to look to eager." Though she was anxious to get going, she refused to show it. She had been staring at the same page, waiting for it to get dark enough.

Gregor leaned back in his chair. "Instead of staring at that book, let's go downstairs and mingle with the people." He stood up, but she looked like she was not going to budge. "Oh come on, you know you want a pint!"

Her serious face broke and she closed the book. "Fine we can have a drink before we go."

"That's my girl!" He held out his hand and she took it for him to lead her downstairs to be greeted by the bard's drums. All around them people were laughing and some were even dancing.

"I wonder what the occasion is?" She yelled over the noise so Gregor could hear her, but he just shrugged his shoulders before walking over to the bar, leaving Jinx amongst the rowdy crowd. The drums were getting faster and more elaborate, and Jinx could swear she heard another drum. More people were starting to stand and dance or cheer, and Jinx found herself drawn into the merriment. She began to twirl about, moving her feet to the beet. At first, her movements were thought out and planned, but then the music began to fill her and she started to dance wildly with energy. Some stopped to watch and a few even cheered. The room's energy began to rise and everything became a blur of movement and sound. Jinx was lost inside the party, but she did not mind. It was not until she ran into Gregor's large chest and fell to the floor that she was brought back to reality.

He smiled down at her, holding the pints. "I'm not so sure you need this." She laughed before pulling herself up and grabbing her drink. They moved to a table where they watched the excitement from afar. Gregor told her how the imperial army won a big battle that took over a fort in Stormcloak territory. The people were celebrating this victory. Across the city, there were parties and music. They laughed over the excitement and enjoyed watching the people laugh and dance. Gregor watched a young Nord solider.

"What do you think my chances are with her?" He nodded over to her and Jinx turned to look. She was surprised to see the woman because she was familiar. The same short golden hair and large profile. Even the scar on her cheek was the same. Jinx had seen the woman before.

"I wouldn't write it off as a sure thing. She might be young but look at the imperial armor. Plus she just refused free drinks." Gregor sighed before leaning back.

"Damn shame, she is a pretty little thing. You know she looks mighty strong. I bet she is a fantastic solider."

The more Jinx stared at the girl, the clearer it became. The girl was from Helgen, she was the one saved by the Dragons attack. She wondered why she was now wearing imperial armor when she was a Stormcloak before. She remembered how the girl struggled to stay behind to help the people and how she was pulled away by a fellow rebel who was too afraid to stay behind. Jinx grinned before turning back to her drink. The girl realized she was on the wrong side, or maybe she was a spy. Jinx didn't know nor did she really care, but she was sure it would make an interesting story.

Once their drinks were gone and a second one along with it, the two left the inn to wander over to where the Argonian stood before. There was no one waiting for them and they were about to turn to leave when Jinx spotted a note stuck in the stonework. She pulled it out and tried to read it by the moonlight.

"Well what does it say?" Gregor asked impatiently, looking about nervously, waiting for a trap to be sprung.

"It says to head to the docks and look for him." They both exchanged looks, already not liking this deal.

"Maybe we should head back to the inn and forget this?" Jinx muttered as she scanned the note again, but Gregor disagreed.

"No. I'm going to get my sword, you get your bow, and we confront this." He cursed himself for not grabbing his greatsword before leaving, anyways.

They headed back and prepared. Jinx thought to put on her armor but as she looked over the cracks and damaged leather she realized it would be a mistake. In battle, it would provide little protection, and if there was no battle it would make her look cheap and untrustworthy. She simply grabbed her bow and nearly empty quiver before heading downstairs where she met with Gregor before leaving the city.

The walk from the gates to the docks was stressful and silent. Each was worrying about different scenarios and calculating how to deal with them. If there was any sort of attack, even a dragon, they had some plan between the two of them, though most were jumping off the dock and swimming to safety, but at least it was some sort of plan.

Jinx spotted the Argonian. He only had one companion with him: a female Argonian stood next to him. Jinx stopped Gregor and jerked her head in their direction. Gregor nodded before sitting both his hands behind his head as if he was strolling causally, but Jinx knew at a moment's notice he could whip out the blade and cleave one of them in two before they could even realize it. Jinx decided to be a bit more blunt with her approach. She pulled one of her dagger out of her boots and fondled it as they approached. She was prepared to throw it into someone's chest if need be.

When the man saw her blade he lifted his hand. "Come now honored friends, there is no need to be so cautious!" He glanced at Gregor with suspicion and a bit of fear. "We are here to discuss business!"

Jinx sneered. "If we are supposed to believe you are our partner in this, then why don't you give me a name?" The female glared at Jinx who returned the look before turning back to him.

"Alright, my name is Jaree-Ra and this is my sister." Jinx noticed how he did not give her name, but she did not care. Names meant nothing. She just needed to make sure she could sway him. He continued talking "So I suppose you want to know why I brought you here?" He pointed to a light off in the distance, "That light house is why. My sister and I plan to take a ship and some valuable cargo by wrecking it into the rocks, but that light stands in the way." Jinx sighed. These were not practiced thieves, but common marauders or pirates. Ships were expensive, but they did not care if they wrecked a few to get a handful of coin. Already this looked like a waste of time.

Gregor spoke, "If you need the lighthouse put out, do it yourselves. It is not that hard of a job."

Jaree-Ra shook his head impatiently. "No, no. If the guards notice the light is out, they will scramble to relight it! I need someone there to put it out when the ship is close." He paused to look at his sister. They shared a look before he continued. "This ship is carrying supplies for

the rebel soldiers, so it is not like we are messing with government property! There is a lot of gold coming in on that ship and we prefer to have it instead of traitors."

Jinx chuckled, turning her eyes to the dagger in her hand. " I hope you are not trying to win us over with patriotism, because that is a waste of time. We are here for gold and contacts, not the greater good, so let's drop the act. What are you willing to pay us? What is our share?" She paused to meet his eyes, "And don't try to cheat us, we are very good at math."

The Argonian did not hesitate before he answered, "Twenty percent of all gold and profit from what we sell."

Jinx shook her head, tucking the dagger into her belt. "No. Obviously this is a dangerous task or you would send your own men, which I assume you have. Make it forty or we walk." Both Argonains frowned in unison before Jaree-Ra answered. "Twenty five percent is as high as I am willing to go."

"Make it thirty and we will even say thank you." Gregor answered this time, running his palm over the visible hilt of his sword. He knew wit would get them nowhere, but they were skittish and would respond to subtle threats.

The Lizard glared at him before giving a curt nod. "You have a deal. The boat we plan to take is called the Ice Runner and is scheduled to dock late tomorrow night." He turned to leave before pausing. "Mess this up and my men will find you."

Gregor gave a loud snort before turning to leave.

"One more thing, friends," Jinx tuned to look at the female Argonian. Until then, she had remained silent. "We are leaving a small boat at the base of the Lighthouse. When you are finished putting it out, meet us at the Ice Runner."

Jinx crossed her arms while shifting her weight. "How are we supposed to find the crash in the dark?"

The Argonians chuckled before Jaree-Ra answered. "Trust me, you will be able to find it."

They both turned and walked down the docks, disappearing in the shadows before a guard rounded the corner. He came because he heard hushed conversation, but when he came to the spot they were gathered before, there was no one in sight. Gregor and Jinx slipped into the shadows and were creeping away while the guard looked about confused. As they snuck away from the dock, Jinx felt her stomach turning with nerves. The deal was already sketchy, and they had given into their demands far too easily, but when Jaree-Ra's sister spoke it made her skin crawl. There was a malicious glee when she told them to meet them at the crash site. When she looked to Gregor, she could tell he was concerned as well. Gregor had dealt with many shady businessmen in his days as a fence, and he knew how such arrangements went. There was usually very little room for negotiation. Jinx should not have been able to talk them into another coin, she knew it as well. She knew only desperate or unseasoned criminals were ever wiling to give more of a share, and the Argonians were neither. They were in over their heads, and there was no way out but to go forward. Even if it meant death by fire, they could not turn back now. Both refused to start a new life running from a group of marauders with a grudge.

Back in Jinx's room, they both sat silently, trying to look as calm as they possibly could so as not to upset the other. Jinx was flipping through her book without really looking at anything. She tried to force her face into a studious expression, but instead it just looked pained. Gregor was fiddling with a strap on her bag as if he was fixing it, but Jinx knew there was nothing wrong with her pack. As he fiddled with it her broken leather armor spilled out a bit and Gregor pulled that out.

"I hope you don't intend to wear this tomorrow. This wouldn't even block a rock."

Jinx closed her book then turned to him. "It is pretty useless. I would be better off just going into battle naked. At least then I could dodge faster."

Gregor gave a nervous laugh. "It might distract them." His sentence faded off and he went back to fiddling with the leather. It was cracked in quite a few places, but it was still holding together. All it needed was a few new pieces of leather to patch it up and it would be fine. He folded it up and sat it beside his body on the bed. Tomorrow he would take it to the smith and try to repair it himself. He still remembered a few tricks his grandfather showed him about repair work, and it would be better to have a well armored friend instead of a target if things went as bad as he thought they might. After a few more minutes of silence, he picked up the armor and let himself out.

Once he was gone, Jinx breathed a sigh of relief before setting the book down. She ran her hand through her hair only to get it tangled in the locks.

"Damn it" She still did not grab a comb. She looked at the dagger she had set on her desk, wondering if she should jut chop it all off. As practical as she could be, she still had the Dark Elf pride and vanity. Her hair was beautiful when she took care of it, but she just never remembered to. She pulled the hood of her outfit back over her head. Even though she was alone, she still wanted to cover it.

Once her hair was covered, she tried to keep thinking about it as a distraction. She refused to think about the situation and she refused to plan anymore. She thought she worked best when there was no plan, but of course she was wrong. She leaned back in her chair and thought about her time in Bruma. When she was still a young thief with hardly any skill she thought it would be a good idea to break into the Lord's home and try to make off with a few of his valuables. She did not map out any escapes or even bring an extra set of lock picks. One night she just walked past an open door and slipped inside. That was the closest she had ever been to being caught. The only way she made it out was to steal some servants clothes and walk about as if she worked there. She barely escaped with her freedom, but was able to make off with an expensive bottle of wine. That night was the night she met Gregor. He saw her sitting in the tavern staring at the bottle. He recognized it was far too expensive for a little Dunmer to buy so he came over and became her first fence. He bought the wine from her then popped it open and shared a glass with her.

She smiled and shook her head. That was nearly ten years ago and neither of them had really changed. Jinx got smarter and Gregor got more grey in his hair but that was about it. She had no idea how old he was, but humans died relatively young in comparison to dark elves. It made her sad to think she would outlive him by so long, but at least she had the memories.

Thinking back to the past distracted her long enough to feel the weight of the day and start to drift to sleep. She barely was able to strip before falling into bed. That night, she dreamed no dreams. In the room next door, Gregor tossed and turned about his bed, trying to fight off the shadow enemies of his dreams. The dream ended, and he bolted out of bed just as the sun was peaking over the horizon in the distance. The sky outside his window was just a bit of pink when he turned to look at it. He ran his hands through his hair before standing up. His bones creaked and reminded him of his age. He was no old man, but he was far too old to be chasing wenches and going on heists. He was at the age where most Nords settled down from the adventure with a pretty woman and had little ones to help with the chores that hurt his big bones. Art of his wanted that life, but it was not for him. There were enough people out there following the norm. There were enough people getting married and having little ones. There were enough merchants and farmers in the world. There were never enough adventures or scoundrels. The life of a rouge was meant for him, not sitting around waiting to die next to someone who barely loved him in a moldy straw bed.

He smiled and looked at his pack. Everything he owned was tucked away in there. He did not have a house or a horse. He only had his pack and Jinx. If he died with only that he would have lived a good life. He shook his head, then grabbed the armor he promised himself he would repair. In the distance, he could hear the smith pounding away at steel.

Jinx woke much later then Gregor, refreshed and alert. She rolled out of bed to pull her clothes on and strap on her weapons, including her nearly empty quiver. She frowned at it, remembering she intended to fill it the day before, but had forgotten. She grabbed her coin purse to tuck it into the folds of her robes as she hurried downstairs where she asked one of the patrons where the Fletcher was. He told her to go to the smith up the stairs and it was around there. She thanked him with a smile that distracted him as she swiped some of his breakfast. She turned quickly and started to eat as she walked out. No one took notice, even though she was so obvious about it. She rolled her eyes at the passive patrons. They would not notice is she stripped their clothes and redressed them all as bar wenches and cooks.

When she climbed the stairs, she found Gregor talking to the woman he'd been staring at the night before. She paused as the realization hit her. The age gap between the two was definitely noticeable. Normally, she did not notice how old Gregor was, but standing next to the youthful girl she realized he was definitely approaching fifty years old. She wanted to smack him for preying on such a young girl, but the closer she got she realized he was not flirting with her, rather they were talking about smithing.

"If I was not so found of my sword, I would be here working the forge for the army." She placed her hands on her hips and beamed at the fire. "My pa taught me how to work the forge before he passed."

Gregor crossed his arms. "Why are you not working at his forge instead then?"

She shook her head gazing above the roofs of the surrounding buildings. "He willed it to an old friend of his. He did not think a daughter could run a smith as well as a man could." She shrugged as if she could shake off the injustice of her family, but Gregor slapped a hand on her shoulder.
"The smith here seems to have his hands full and I am sure you have time between deployments. He would be very happy to have an extra pair of hands. Even if they are girl hands."

The soilder smiled before giving him a nod. "I need to go see my captain, but if there is any spare time I will ask if I can be stationed at the forge."

"There you go girl!"

He turned back to the armor's bench and saw Jinx. "What are you doing here?" She noticed him using a deer's hide to cover whatever he was working on. Normally, she would pester him, but she let him have his secrecy this time.

"I need to get some arrows before we head out tonight, and I might try to find a better bow." She jerked her head to gesture to the poor wooden one. She had the thing since she was a girl, but now it was beginning to splinter and crack.

He pointed to the fletcher's shop. "It's right there if you want to head inside. Do you have enough gold for that?" She shrugged before wiggling her fingers. If she did not have enough coin to buy a bow she would try to lift one.

Gregor shook his head disapprovingly. "I would not go doing that in the daylight. I would hate to have to do this job alone because you are too busy having your fingers sliced off by the prison guard."

She took a step back in shock. "That is the punishment here?"

"Not in Skyrim, but apparently the folks at the prison here are particularly brutal and would not mind to slice off a few fingers just to hear the screams." They both paused realizing how dark their conversation had turned. Instead of continuing, Jinx turned on her heels and went into the fletcher's, where she did have enough coin to get what she needed, though she hated parting with gold for something she could have gotten for free. She had to check herself from rolling her eyes and glaring at the man as she handed him his money before she practically stormed out of the shop where she ran head first into Gregor. He laughed at her before helping her off the ground with one good pull. Once she was on her feet, he waved for her to follow him to the armor's bench where he handed her the fixed armor with little fanfare.

"Wait, how did you–" She let her sentence fall as she ran her hand over the leather. It was soft but strong and she felt the different kinds of leather patched together. "Thank you." That was all that need to be said on the matter. Neither was big on sentiment.

The sun barely began to set, yet Gregor and Jinx were already at the light house. They agreed being early would be best since they did not even know if they could put the light out easily. When they arrived, they realized the light was cast by a giant flame and nothing more. There were able to find buckets by the docks which they filled with water and set near the flame. They were in for a long wait since the Ice Runner was not scheduled to dock until late that night, maybe even early the next morning, and Gregor decided they would wait until they could hear the boat cutting through the water before extinguishing the light. Until then, they sat in silence, looking out across the water. There were no guards patrolling the area, so they were safe to sit on the stone ledge and let their feet dangle in the air. Just one slip could end it all, though, so both sat as still as the stone.

About an hour pasted before Gregor looked to Jinx. "You were joking before, right?"

She turned and raised an eyebrow, unsure what he was referring to.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, unsure whether to continue or not, but after a long moment of silence he turned back. "I mean about me bedding you. That didn't happen did it?"

Jinx snorted and shook her head, amused he even remembered it.

"Good."

Jinx gave him a horrified look that he was so relived not to have bed her to which he raised his hands and shook his head. "I'm not saying you aren't pretty or anything! I just mean that I respect you and it would be wrong. We do business together and things like that get in the way."

She nodded. "Honestly, I don't care if you think I'm 'pretty or anything'." Her tone was mocking, but she was not lying. "I just care about coin. Sex and emotions get in the way of that." He gave her a sideways glance. "So have you never had a lover?"

She shook her head no.

"Have you even thought about it?"

"There was a Khajiit. He was very kind to me once when I was injured. I seriously considered it until I found his hand in my pocket one day." She sighed. "We were too similar for our own good."

Gregor was so shocked he almost fell off the way. "You mean to tell me you were attracted to a beast?" He was just a few octaves short of shouting, causing Jinx to send him a warning look.

"What does that matter? We live in a age of all sorts of interracial love."

Gregor felt sick just thinking about it. "Yes, you see elves, humans, but to think about a beast like that just is not right."

"Oh don't give me that. I was not about to make it with a cow or horse. We had an intellectual connection that caused me to be physically attracted to him. Is that not what you look for when choosing a mate?" Gregor could not argue with the girl, but he felt responsible for her. Her grandfather was a great man and a smart scholar, but he obviously did not make sure his granddaughter had any sort of social awareness.

"I would rather hear you say you wished to be with a woman then say you wanted to be with a beast."

"Is that wrong too? Who is anyone to judge another person's love no matter how strange it might seem to them? It really is none of your concern!"

Gregor had to keep himself from shouting. "You are my concern! I worry about you!" Jinx's anger fled and she just stared at the Nord next to her. He had been there since the beginning of her career as a thief. He had bought off guards and fished jobs for her for ten years now, but she always assumed it was business, that that was all it could be. For him to be concerned was strange.
"Well, you don't have to be concerned. Khajiit have different taste in physical affection than the other races. It makes interracial relations difficult. Not really worth my time." Gregor grunted but on the inside he was sighing with relief. His stomach began to calm and his throat became parched. He reached into his pack and pulled out two bottles of the Juniper berry mead. He sat down next to Jinx and pulled out the cork in his.

Jinx picked up the bottle and looked it over. "This the stuff you got in Helgen?"

Gregor finished his gulp then nodded. They both stared at the bottles with heavy hearts. "Do you regret leaving them to die?"

Gregor shrugged before taking another gulp. "We could not have saved those people. How were we supposed to take down a dragon when the military couldn't even do it?"

Jinx pulled out the cork, fiddling with it in her hand as she took a small sip. "We could have made sure they were ok. We could have helped them escape or something."

She stopped, knowing that what she was saying was silly. If they would have stayed they would have been dead. She sat the bottle down on the ledge and moved her hand to the sword, then up to her armor. If only.

"Well, the mead tastes wonderful. I hope the girl is still alive and brewing it." Her weak attempt to lighten the mood was met with an overly eager laugh form Gregor. They both wanted to pretend it was okay. They both wanted to believe they did the right thing and tried not to think about it too much, but the smell of burning bodies was a hard stench to forget. They sat and made forced banter until the sun sank behind the horizon and the land became dark. They were silent, listening for the Ice Runner's approach.