It was fuzzy, and dark. Erik felt as though he was floating, and a peculiar warmth travelled up and down body. He tried to turn his head, attempting to see through the cloudy veil, but found he couldn't. Trapped in his body, he followed the pulsing warmth as it moved from his toes to his feet.

Coolness suddenly spread across his forehead, and trailed down his temples. The warmth faded, and a slight pressure on his forehead awakened a million other feelings: pain, mostly, all across his arms and legs. It bit at him like tiny needles, pricking at his skin. He opened his mouth, suddenly in control of his body.

"Siona?" he said, his voice only a shade above silence.

His eyes opened slowly, and he found himself staring up at her face, concentrated on his arms. She ran her hands over his skin, leaving behind a soothing glow as her fingers lightly prodded at the pink flesh, his head in her lap. She hadn't noticed he was awake yet.

He turned his head a fraction, trying to look around. What did he remember? Fire. Lots of fire, in a quick burst. And an excruciating pain. Well, there was his armor: blackened and ashy. A pile of charred rags sat to the side. And that's when he realized he was in his underwear. He blushed furiously.

"You're awake!"

He looked up at Siona, who was staring at him with a mix of surprise and - was that tenderness? "What happened?" he rasped. She picked up a small golden bowl, filled with water, and tilted it towards his mouth. He drank it in great gulps, the liquid spilling out the sides of his mouth and down into the curve of his jawline.

"You triggered one of the traps," Siona explained as he finished the bowl of water. "You passed out from the pain, and I brought you into one of the bedrooms, and barred the door, just in case. I didn't want to put you onto a bed until I was sure you would be alright."

Erik looked around; he saw stone beds to either side of where he lay on the floor.

"I wouldn't suggest you move; I've been trying to reverse the damage." She resumed moving her hands over his arms lightly. Erik saw now that her fingertips were glowing with a golden light. "I won't be able to remove all of the scarring, but I can do my best to minimize it."

"How long have I been out?" he managed to cough out after a moment.

Siona hesitated. "About two or three days. I'm not sure; I can't tell down here." She wiped a hand across her forehead. "I know I've slept three times, and I've eaten six. We're running low on food supplies, though."

"What about the researchers?" he asked, gaining his voice a bit more as Siona gently laid down his head on the floor and moved to work over his legs with gentle hands. She paused at the question before sighing.

"I had you healing in here, but I went out to look for them while you recovered." She shook her head. "I know that so far, Erj and Krag are dead, and I don't have high hopes for Staubin. This place is crawling with Falmer," she said in disgust, fists clenching and unclenching. "There is one place I haven't looked in. I thought I should let you heal before we searched for Staubin."

Erik looked at her as she ran her hands over his legs, the pain slowly receding. "Thank you," he finally said. Siona looked up at him, and turned absolutely crimson.

"I just..." she began before cutting herself off and clearing her throat. "I mean, I would feel guilty if you died on my watch. You know. It's not exactly a good feeling." She hesitated. "And I think you're important, so you dying wouldn't exactly help anything."

Erik blinked before resting his head back on the floor and staring at the ceiling. "You think I'm important?" he asked thickly. Siona's hands stopped moving and she slowly straightened.

"Erik. Really." She moved to look him straight in the eyes, bent over his head. "Do you think I ask anyone to come with me? Anywhere?" She smiled; Erik was thrown off by the genuine gentleness behind it. "I've known you're important since I met you. You're going to do great things someday, I can feel it."

They smiled at each other for a bit, Siona's hand next to his bare shoulder as she hovered over his chest, blue eyes moving down his chest to right over his heart.

"Erik, what's this from?" she asked, her fingers gently touching a small dented discoloration in the flesh. His eyes flicked over to her face.

"Archery practice with a couple of hunters from around the village," he said. "One of them was teaching their child with me, and he accidentally shot me."

Siona looked at him in horror. "That's awful!"

He chuckled. "Well, they were only practice arrows, so they didn't pierce the skin too badly. But scars aren't a bad thing. They're like individual reminders of memories." He smiled. "Good or bad."

Siona unconsciously touched her shoulder. "I can understand that," she said quietly. Her eyes met his and they stared at each other. Erik found himself drawn into her gaze, strangely distant, while she struggled not to do something stupid. There was a moment of silence, and Erik suddenly flinched in pain.

"Agh!" he howled, his right leg spasming. Siona moved quickly, running her hands over the dry and scabbed skin, her cheeks burning. The scabs slowly faded as she pressed her stubby fingers to the skin, cursing herself inwardly. Idiot, you're not interested in him, you're not interested in him...

His expression of pain slowly faded and he let out a pent up breath of air. "Well that hurt," he said flatly. The corners of Siona's mouth pulled down and she bit her lip.

"Sorry. I should have been paying attention," she muttered.

"It's not your fault."

She hid her red cheeks as she continued working on his legs. "This should be enough to have you right as rain in a few hours," she remarked. 'I'll start making dinner. Or what should be dinner. I don't know."

Erik attempted to turn over onto his stomach. "No!" Siona yelped. He stopped abruptly, bewildered at her panic. "If you move anymore, it won't work, and you'll be in massive pain," she said cautiously.

"So I have to stay in one position for the rest of the time?" he groaned.

"Something like that," she replied. "But I'll keep you company."

"Hmph." But he didn't move.

Siona began to pull apart a loaf of bread into pieces small enough to feed Erik in this state. She pushed each scrap into his mouth gently, letting him swallow before she would continue. After a while, the loaf was gone, and Erik was back to staring at the ceiling.

They passed the hours in silence, Siona cleaning Erik's charred armor to the best of her abilities and Erik staring listlessly at the ceiling. After a while, she scooted over to Erik, her fingers probing the fleshy bits of his knee and the inside of his arm. She nodded.

"You should be fine, now. I'll let you look at the damage yourself. The only scars that should stay are on your shins and your arms, where it went under your armor." She grimaced at the thought before withdrawing her fingers. "Take a look."

Erik slowly clambered to his feet, letting his hands move over his arms. The skin was pink and shiny, smooth to the touch. There was no tenderness, but it certainly felt...different, somehow. He bent to look at the scars on his legs. They swirled across his shins, like strange tattoos. He looked up at Siona with a crooked grin.

"My first war wounds," he said. Siona smiled back at him before glancing back at the pile of charred, bloody rags on the ground.

"I hate to make your do this, but I guess you'll have to wear your armor without anything underneath it. Uh," she said, her face going crimson as her eyes flicked down to his underwear. "I mean without your clothes. You can wear, um, that, of course."

They stared at each other with red faces before Erik scrambled to strap on the glass armor, muttering a hasty apology to Siona, who pretended not to hear him as she focused fixedly on putting her own armor on. After a moment, they turned to look at each other with embarrassed half smiles.

"Ready?" she asked.

"I suppose so," he replied. "But where exactly are we going?"

"Well, Staubin, I believe, went to the control room. So we're going there." She unsheathed her sword, testing the blade's edge against one finger before slamming it back into its sheath.

"Do you know where that is?" Erik asked cautiously. Siona nodded. "Then let's get going."

They exited the bedrooms, sneaking back into the main room. Erik flinched at the startling sight of many dead Falmer on the bridge, turning to Siona.

"Did you do this?" he whispered. Siona nodded grimly.

"There must be a city of them hidden away. Too many of them, overall." She grimaced. "I imagine we'll run into even more of them."

She opened a door and they scurried inside as fast as their crouching would allow them. Erik tried to study as much of the ruin as he could, but Siona was on a mission. Finally, after much walking, a few quick fights with unsuspecting Falmer, and much catching up on Erik's part, they found themselves in front of a door. Siona pushed it open and paused; Erik finally reached her after being many paces behind, his face tight.

"Are you alright?" she asked unsurely. Erik hesitated before nodding. Siona scowled at him, pushing her finger into his face threateningly. "Dragonshit. What's wrong? And don't you dare tell me 'nothing', because that's a dragonshit answer, too."

Erik let out a sigh before stepping forward and grimacing in pain. "It's my right leg. Been feeling wonky ever since I stood up."

Siona groaned in reply, pinching the bridge of her nose with gauntleted fingers; there were marks when she removed her hand. "That was the leg that was in so much pain earlier, wasn't it?" He nodded, and her shoulders slumped. "Alright. This is just a guess, Erik, but it's possible that you're going to have a damaged right leg for the rest of your life, unless we can get you to an experienced healer." She hesitated. "I know one, but it would take us a while to get there..."

"Siona." The sound of him speaking her name made her look up, startled at the strange tone it had. "I'll be fine. We can wait. For now, let's just keep going."

She hesitated. "I just think it wouldn't be good on your leg, and I told your father I would look after you and - "

He held up one hand and she fell silent. "I am an adult, Siona, and older than you, so I'm going to tell you to quit worrying about me. I appreciate the concern, but we are in the middle of something right now." He gave her a weary, crooked smile. "Besides, isn't adventuring overcoming what the world has to throw at you?"

Siona gave him a look. "Really, you're going to play my own words against me?" But she smiled in spite of herself. "Alright, let's keep going. But this conversation isn't over," she added warningly, holding the door open for Erik as he limped inside. He rolled his eyes.

"Really, you and my father are practically the same person," he muttered, though a smile twitched across his face.

The control room was dark, and dank. It smelled of wet earth to Erik, like that of the dirt after rain, but mustier and stale. He limped on, relying heavily on his good leg, Brightarc at the ready. Wary this time, he stepped around a trap, focused on the ahead, even though he had no idea where he was going.

Siona let him continue on, following slowly behind. She felt sick to watch him drag his right leg a bit, feeling like it was her fault, but she tried to steady herself. It's not your fault, she told herself. He probably moved his leg at one point, or it was irreparable. Something. You did your best, and hey, he's not dead! That's a step up, right? Nonetheless, she let out a slow breath of air and watched him as he took the lead.

Good for him, anyways. He was right - adventuring was about continuing on in the face of all the problems that you could possibly face. Siona remembered bleeding from extensive dragon wounds as she ran to the closest town for healing. She had nearly died. Erik was lucky to have a friend with him when he got in trouble this time, but he wouldn't always have the Dragonborn to save him... Dread suddenly filled her. Erik would have to leave her sometime, after all. Oh, gods, what was she fretting about? Of course he was going to leave her! In her mind, she cursed Mara for the unwelcome burden of her emotions. This would be so much easier if her heart didn't start cartwheeling every time she saw the red-headed Nord...

She shook her head, almost missing the sight of him nailing a stray Falmer between the eyes with a well-calculated shot from his bow. She blinked as it toppled, giving a final twitch as it died. Siona stared at Erik, who looked calm and determined. Was this the whelp that had gone bounding after every bunny in the brush almost two weeks ago? True, he wasn't a hardened, wise adventurer, but he had certainly improved... Matured would be a better word. He had become more of an adult.

Erik noticed a sudden movement at the top of the stairs and quickly strung up another arrow, pointing it at the movement. Yet another Aedra damned monstrosity. He could feel Siona staring. Why wasn't she doing anything? he wondered before letting the arrow fly.

It pierced the Falmer in the shoulder and it screeched, jumping down to attack Erik head on. He let the bow drop, pulling out the glass sword in a quick movement. The Falmer attacked from the right. Erik lashed out with the blade. It sliced into the Falmer's middle, and the creature hissed, raising a strange axe to slam it against his helmeted head. The blow left Erik feeling dizzy, and he stumbled, wincing at the pain in his leg. Changing his grip on the sword, he stabbed upwards. The blade skewered the Snow Elf with a slick, wet squelch, lifting the grey figure into the air. It made a squeak similar to the death squeal of a dying rabbit before the breath left its body.

Erik let the elf slide off his sword and removed his helmet, rubbing the throbbing spot where the axe had fallen. He glanced back at Siona. "How much farther?" he asked, biting back a wince as a twinge of pain flew through his leg.

Siona shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I've been here before."

"You're so helpful."

"I try."

They continued onward, more slowly than usual as Siona let Erik lead, watching closely for any traps and such. However, it was Erik who found the corpse.

"Well, I guess all of this was a waste," he said gruffly, shifting his weight to his good leg. Siona knelt beside Staubin's body to wrench the partially open and bloody journal from his stiffened hand.

"I worried that this was the case," Siona murmured as she turned the pages, reading closely. There was a moment of silence before she looked back up at her companion, confusion plain on her face. "There's a switch somewhere close by, apparently. Staubin was trying to get to it, but he...well, died." She looked down at the corpse before looking back up at Erik. "I think we should go hit the switch."

Erik shrugged. "I guess."

"Well, it's supposed to awaken the city." Siona snapped her fingers. "It'll start the defense mechanisms, and probably eradicate the Falmer. We might be able to get out in the ensuing chaos, even with your, uh, leg."

"Sounds good," Erik said distantly, gazing at the stairs ahead of them. "Maybe the switch is that way?"

He began to limp up the stairs, Siona following closely behind. They came to the first level, and Erik frowned.

"Well, it's not here," he proclaimed. There was a strange clicking and whirring. The two twenty-somethings turned to the source and found themselves staring at metal spheres.

"Ysmir's beard, what the hell are those things?" Erik asked before being shoved aside by Siona. She planted herself in front of the red head, taking a deep breath. Erik's eyes widened as the spheres broke apart, stretching upwards to form humanoid mechanisms with frightening looking arms. No, they weren't friendly.

"FUS RO DAH." Siona's thu'um blasted the two across the room as they raised their arms to attack. The impact of hitting the stone walls broke off some pieces and severely denting the metal. The whirring died down, and they stopped moving in a blast of sparks. Siona straightened and adjusted her helmet.

"What were those?" Erik repeated in confusion.

"Dwarven spheres," she replied. "The Dwemer ruins are crawling with defense mechanisms like that. That's the weird thing about this place: no machines, just Falmer. But apparently, this switch of Staubin's will awaken them, and the Falmer will be distracted enough for us to escape."

"This plan makes a lot more sense now," Erik mused, his mouth twitching as a flash of pain went up his leg.

Siona folded her arms. "Were you even listening earlier?"

"Not really. But let's go flip a switch."

They continued onward, Siona eradicating the Falmer standing in front of the switch. Erik hobbled to the lever, and, wrapping both hands around it, pulled hard. There was a grinding of gears, a grunt from the generators, and suddenly, the ruins began to hum.

They hurried away, Erik's face set in stone as he tried to ignore the pain playing the nerves in his leg like a lute. They hurried out one door, and he stopped to gape at the gigantic metal man battling three Falmer.

"That's a Centurion!" Siona shouted over the clanking and the screeching. "I wouldn't suggest tangling with one unless you want to die, what with your leg."

Erik nodded, and they hurried on, past the fighting mechanisms and through the ruins, until they had traversed past Nimhe's corpse and through excavation site, until they tumbled out the front doors, Siona calling to Calcelmo for help as Erik melted to the floor, his leg feeling as though it was on fire all over again. In his pain, the edges of his vision began to go black, the lump on his head throbbing. Siona took him by the shoulders, her shouting fading with his vision as the mages quickly approached, magic crackling over their hands. Soon, everything was black, and silent.