Dagmvar, the Khajiit, and I all rush together near the fire. For a moment all we do is clutch one another and check everyone for wounds. Finally, we all take a step back and Dagmvar repeats, "What was that?". I shrug (holding back my sarcastic reply of 'a dragon'), but the Khajiit is continuing to look where the dragon went. She swallows and whispers, "I think it's after me.". Dagmvar and I scoff, then I realize the woman is still looking at where the beast flew away. I slowly walk over, place a hand on her shoulder, and assure her, "It's not after you. It's just a dragon.". The thief cringes slightly, then looks at both of us. After a short while she leas in and whispers, "Can you follow me?".

I shrug and follow the woman a short ways away into the trees. My friend looks around, then gulps and nervously explains, "I've seen a dragon before.". I once again try to calm her down. "It's probably nothing, and I'm certain you didn't see a dragon. It was probably a kind of flying monster, and you were probably just young or something.". The woman bristles slightly and huffs. "Considering it was a few days ago, I doubt it was a flying bird. I was at Helgen, and a damned dragon burned the place down! I KNOW what I saw.". I freeze and can't think of something to say. News of Helgen's demise has traveled fast, and the attack is now common knowledge.

I shake my head and insist, "You're a foreigner. Why on earth would you be at Helgen?". The Khajiit looks around once again before telling me, "I was at Helgen because I was going to be executed.". She looks absolutely ashamed as she fills in the obvious question, "I was going to be executed because I was caught with my hand in a noblewoman's pocket, then ran away when the guards tried to catch me.". She can't meet my gaze as she finishes, "That's why I came to Riften. I was given a new start, and I nearly went back to my old ways.". I reach out, but she cringes away and whimpers, "There's more.". I don't touch her and she's nearly in tears as she says, "I came on this trip for the promise of gold.".

I shrug and tell her, "We ALL came on this trip for the promise of gold.". She shakes her head. "I didn't come for the pay. I came for the promise of a million.". I realize what she says, but I gulp and whisper, "Say it. Make sure I know what you were going to do.". She looks like the lowest criminal in the world as she confirms, "I was going to try to steal all of the money from Dagmvar, or whoever in Oblivion was carrying Maven's share back to her. I'd even planned on stealing along the way. You know, someone's sword here and someone's boot there. Things people would miss, but could replace. Things fences would want.".

For a moment all we do is stand there, and I see tears welling in the woman's eyes. I manage to find words. "Why are you telling me all of this? I never pressured you.". She nods and whispers, "I wanted to. I didn't want to be,". She thinks for a moment before finding the word. "Dirty. And, the guilt has been crushing me.". I adjust my weight to buy me some time, then carefully word my next phrase. "Thieves don't feel guilt for stealing.". It came out blunter than I would have liked, but the Khajiit nods and agrees, "Thieves don't feel guilt for stealing. And, if I'm being honest I don't think taking something from Valindor, Asbjorn, or Dagmvar would weight on my conscious.".

She hasn't been meeting my gaze for the entire conversation, but now she looks me in the eyes for the next part. "But what would weigh on my mind is what you would think of me if you found out. Or even the thought that I would have to hide that from you.". I can't speak, struggling to find words. When I finally manage to think of something it's yet another question. 'Why would it bother you to steal from me?". She shrugs and lamely excuses, "You're my friend. Friends don't steal from friends. I knew if you found out about my attempted stealing you wouldn't want to be my friend, and I don't think I could handle that.".

I take one step closer and accuse, "Are you still going to steal anything?". She shakes her head and promises, "I won't take a single piece of gold that I haven't earned. Please, just stay my friend. I won't do anything, I promise. Please?". I don't even have to take a moment to consider it. I nod and take another step forward, lashing out and capturing her in my arms. For a moment the woman freezes up, then realizes what I'm doing and relaxes into my embrace. Then, all the feelings begin boiling inside of me. The thief was brought to Skyrim to die, and she didn't plan on changing her ways. She'd come on this trip to make a large fortune of gold, then most likely run away into the sunset.

She hasn't exactly given up thieving, but she won't steal from a select group of people because of me. She's willing to change (well, suppress) a part of herself so she wouldn't disappoint me. That's not exactly healthy in a relationship, but it's still extremely sweet. At least, I find it sweet in this instance. My already established crush on her flares to life, already fed and growing from the Khajiit's recent actions. Does she like me? Would she like me if I did something? I don't know, but there's a burning urge in my gut to find out. Before I can stop myself I grab the woman's sides, lean her back, and trap her in a kiss.

For a moment she lies completely still, then slowly begins kissing back. I don't push it any farther than a chaste kiss with my mouth closed, but it still appeases me. However, I make the kiss last longer than it really should. Not for my own pleasure, but because I'm terrified of what the Khajiit will say once I finally give her a chance to speak. I only pull back once I've felt the kiss is getting ridiculously long. The thief has stopped crying. Instead, she's standing there and looking at me like I've grown another head. She opens her mouth, waits, then closes it again. The woman finally blinks and seems to rouse herself to action. Another blink and a weak, "Not the reaction I expected when I told you I was still a thief.".

I hesitantly smile and lean my forehead against her own. She doesn't pull back. I think of something to say in response and explain, "Not my normal reaction. If anyone else had told me they'd planned on stealing I'd do my best to get them out of the group,". I swear I can see her growing slightly pale beneath her dark fur. "but you're not everyone. And, I trust you to keep your claws off of anything that doesn't belong to you.". She looks like a murderer who's heard the Hold she's in doesn't believe in execution. "Really?". I nod. "Really. If you say you aren't going to steal, then I trust you not to steal.".

The woman seems to chew over the information, then does something that I was hoping for. She leans up (standing on the tips of her toes) and manages to kiss me again. I'm forced to break the contact off early when I can't stop myself from smiling. The thief seems a little upset at the early break, but doesn't say anything about it. Instead, she asks, "What's this mean for us?". I shrug and offer, "What do you want it to mean?". She looks at the ground and shuffles her feet as she mumbles, "I don't know.". It's obvious she's not going to think of anything, so I pick up, "Would you like me to kiss someone else?".

When she vigorously shakes her head I tell her, "Good. I don't want to, but it's still nice to know you wouldn't approve of such things. Now, I wouldn't like you kissing other people either.". She nods and I finish, "So, that obviously means we want to be something.". When she remains silent I inwardly gather my courage and ask, "Do you want to be in a relationship with me?". A third kiss is my answer. I take the chance to slowly wrap my arm around her, then simply enjoy the kiss. However, eventually reality sets in and I'm forced to accept we need to get heading back. Our prolonged absence will be too suspicious. I pull back, take her hand in my own, and whisper, "Come on, Dagmvar's waiting.". She nods, allowing me to lead her away.

Dovahkiin POV:

I wait until Mjoll is asleep, then slide out of the sleeping bag. I carefully sneak over to the tent flap, then stick my head out. It seems everyone's fast asleep. Perfect. My movements are careful as I sneak out of the tent and over to the animals. My donkey looks at me and blinks his one remaining eye. I'll have to think of a name for him later. But he's not the animal I'm going to ride tonight. I take Asbjorn's horse and get onto it. The beast isn't thrilled about me riding him, but he goes where I want. We've moved all of the cows to the first pin today, but none of them are in the second one. That means our camp is still fairly close to Rfiten, and it only takes me half an hour of hard riding to reach the city.

I tie Asbjorn's horse to a tree and crouch down. Am I really about to do this? The thought of Mjoll enters my mind and I realize I don't have another option. Well, I do, but I don't want to take that option. It only takes me a second to climb over the wall and fall to the streets below. Once I'm there I take my assassin's hood from my belt and out it on. I'll probably have to change my armor after this (assassin's armor is rather recognizable), but Mjoll's face when I give her the loot will be worth it. I'll just have to make up a story about buying the goods, or having them all along. Whichever one she finds more believable.

Now that I'm fully armored I blend into the night, and running down the streets unseen isn't hard. I even manage to slink right past a guard, although the woman seems occupied with some stain on her tit. It takes a while, but eventually I find a shop that isn't closed. I manage to peak inside the window. A man is idly playing with a ring at the counter. His bald head shines in the torchlight as he gets up, scratches his filthy beard, and puts the ring in his pocket. Looks like closing time. Perfect. I hide in the shadows as he leaves, locking his store behind him. I could easily pickpocket the ring from him, but I don't want to. I've had an almost month long dry spell, it's time to have some fun.

I sneak behind the man until he's near a dark ally, then strike. He doesn't even have time to scream as I smack my hand over his mouth and drag him into the ally. I flip him around, jam my dagger against his throat, and demand, "Ring. Gold. Jewelry. Valuables. Now.". He eyes me, then smirks and says, "You're Brynjolf's woman, aren't you? You can tell that fat lard he's not getting a coin, now leave before I yell for the guards!". I press my dagger even harder, a single drop of blood falling on my thirsty blade as I command again, "Give me the goods. I'm not with the guild and I don't want to have to hurt you.".

That's a lie, but he just needs to believe it. However, the foolish man smiles and says, "Killing is against what you thieves do.". Damn, I'll need to really scare him. I use my free hand to pull down my cowl, revealing my yellowed and ugly teeth as I repeat, "Give. Me. Your. Valuables. Now.". He makes a gagging sound and spits. I scream as the slobber and snot hits me right in the eye. My scream is loud, but I doubt the guards hear it. However, they'll definitely hear my roar of anger I aim at the shopkeeper. The man seems to realize his mistake and begins trying to grab his things. He holds out a ring, necklace, gold, and a few gems. I snatch them up, then smile as I shove my hand over his mouth.

My blade enters his stomach and he begins fighting. If he was stronger he might be able to throw me off, but unfortunately for him he's weak. I pull out my knife and jam it right back in. I repeat the process again and again and again, splattering both of us with blood. Finally, the dull-eyed man's head hits the wall and he slides to the ground. I kneel down and whisper to the quickly dying man, "I'm not with the guild.".