Screaming-Eagle let out a stifled yawn, blinking sleepily. What a strange dream she'd just had… well, dreams were just that: dreams. Light was beginning to filter in through the window in her room, the dust and sand caught in its rays blown away by a gentle breeze coming from the lake. She tried to lay onto her back and sit up.

A spike of pain jolted up from her stub of tail.

She bit back a scream and dropped to her side. Her breathe eased when the pain slowly subsided and faded in the background of the rest of her senses. She rolled on her belly and pushed herself up. Her wound was now pulsing, a hot throb she was beginning to hate, but she couldn't turn around to see it well enough. She supposed it had reddened overnight.

Screaming-Eagle got out of her silk nightgown, a present from… an aunt from Cyrodill, she guessed. Had she seen that female once in her entire life? She shrugged, taking her dark gray, furred Archmage robes' top and sliding it on. It was all in the past, she wasn't part of her family anymore… if any of them managed to get off this burned-out husk, that was. Unlikely, but once Phoenix killed this Benny she would've had all the time in the world to research a solution to this problem. Who knows, perhaps we may find a house to call our own here. She thought as she pulled up her black pants.

Her eyes watered up the moment the fabric touched what remained of her tail.

She grit her teeth, belted the bottom of her robes on and turned to look at the stub that came out from where her tail was supposed to be – or she tried to, at least. She couldn't go on like this. She had no potion to help her with pain specifically, only with wounds. Asking Keram-Rei for more without making herself sound like an addict and him laughing was nigh-impossible. Magic, on the other hand… high-level spells required a concentration she didn't have at the moment, while lower-level Restoration… yes, that could prove itself useful in the most basic of healing spells.

Screaming-Eagle hovered a hand over her tail, closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Her fingers automatically traced the ideograms for 'Cold' and 'Relief', accompanied by 'Cleanse' in the case an infection had developed overnight.

She smiled in relief when the throb dulled away into a pleasant, although unfamiliar, warmth. She tentatively touched it with her index finger, ready to bite her other hand in pain, but she barely registered anything. She let out the breath she'd been holding, donned her satchels and leaned against the wall to put her black boots on. Everything slid perfectly in place. Once she was sure she hadn't left anything in the room, she took her staff and used it to aid herself to walk.

She was impressed at how fast she was recovering. It had taken a night's rest to make her perfectly capable of standing on her own. She was slow to walk, sure, and she needed to make a cane out of her staff… but it was amazing. She had lost her tail, it was vital in balancing her steps, and yet she could already stand. Incredible, the sort of medicine these humans had created. Undesirable side-effects, sure, but with this kind of benefits she could turn a blind eye on them.

It was then she noticed the faint snoring to her right and turned. She frowned.

Why was Phoenix sleeping here?

Screaming-Eagle stared for a few more seconds at the form of the girl on the bedroll in perplexity. There was no mistaking her for anyone else: the bloodstained hair and clothes, the smell, the frame, the sprawled position she had assumed and how she had completely discarded her blankets. After a few seconds, she shrugged and decided to poke at her foot with her staff. The girl stirred and turned the other side.

She sighed. With a shake of her head, she knelt next to her and shook her shoulder.

"Whussit Maria?" Phoenix mumbled before her eyes came into focus. "Wa-wait… Eagle? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Rebecca." Screaming-Eagle said with a raised brow. "What happened?"

"Ah, damn if I know…" Phoenix groaned, rubbing her eyes and taking her black hair out of her sight. She blinked twice before she sat up cross-legged. "Last thing I remember was Maria sleeping and… I guess I fell asleep after that."

Screaming-Eagle frowned in suspicion, stroking at her chin. What might have happened for the girl to find herself here, still asleep, when…

She chuckled. Of course.

"What?" Phoenix asked and tilted her head, her filthy hair falling to the side.

"Oh, he's back." Screaming-Eagle said nonchalantly.

Phoenix's jaw dropped as her eyes widened. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"My knowledge on werewolves is less than stellar, but given his little escape last night… I believe it is entirely possible." Screaming-Eagle explained with a flick of her wrist. She hid a wry smile at the girl's bewilderment. "Why? Werewolves are capable of so much more. A pack may slaughter two giants and a small herd of mammoths. I have seen them do it."

Phoenix nodded slowly. Then, she abruptly slumped on her bedroll and yawned annoyedly, her hands pressed against her eyes. "Why did you have to wake me up, Eagle?"

"The sun is shining, I find it unwise to sleep any further." Screaming-Eagle dutifully responded. She giggled. "Besides, I wanted to know why in Oblivion you were here. So, are you going to get up or no?"

"Five minutes." Phoenix groaned, further covering her face with her blanket. "Give me five minutes."

"I will be counting." Screaming-Eagle scoffed as she helped herself to her feet with her staff.

She heard the girl half-mutter, half-laugh something behind her, but she ignored her and went for the door. One hand on her impromptu cane, she turned the rusty knob and pulled the door open. It creaked on its hinges, or what little remained of them, and she took a few steps into the now-lit hallway. To her left was the exit, perfectly closed. Before her was Maria and, if her suspicions were right, Eyes-Of-Silver's room. To her right there had to be Naeera and Keram-Rei's accomodation. A pang of jealousy surprised her, but she was quick to suppress it. She focused on the rotten wood of the doors, walls and floors, on the dust and sand that had gathered in centuries of abandoment, on the…

On the door that creaked to her right.

A yawn that could only be classified as sensual (if yawns could even be sensual she wasn't sure) told her it was Naeera who had exited the room. The gray female was clad in her dark, light armor and not in that horrible and dissolute… suit, if there was enough fabric to classify it as more than undergarments. Her sleepy steps didn't make so much as a sound on the floorboards, as if the floor were made of cotton. She stretched a little too much for her liking before turning her head, closing the door behind her and waving. "'Morning. Slept well?"

Screaming-Eagle managed not to snort and nodded curtly. Despite the cheerful manners and friendliness, she couldn't bring herself to like the female. She knew she meant well, but she didn't appreciate it. She also didn't appreciate the sheer promiscuousness the female seemed to radiate – less than all the fact she had slept in the same room as Keram-Rei. "Yes."

Naeera tilted her head with an obliviousness that bordered on ridiculous. "Rough night?"

"Rough awakening." Screaming-Eagle corrected her with a forced smile. Now that she thought about it, there was no reason for her to keep talking to Naeera. For all her good intentions, she couldn't bring herself to indulge in a conversation with someone she didn't like. It was pure hypocrisy.

"Oh, I don't sleep most of the times, I just rest." Naeera said with a shrug and leaned against the wall, giving her a strong feeling this was going to turn into a discussion she wanted to avoid. "What about the girl, Phoenix?"

"She will wake in five minutes." Screaming-Eagle told her, doing her best not to make her annoyance show. What was taking Phoenix so much to get up? "If she doesn't, I will personally drag her outside."

Naeera snickered heartily, scratching at her feathers, when she snapped her fingers and arched her brows. "You know, I have an idea."

Whenever she wasn't the one suggesting them, Screaming-Eagle tended to be diffident of others' ideas - much less one coming from a distasteful figure such as Naeera. They weren't well thought-out, they usually omitted the eventuality their course of action went wrong, they had no backup plans and they were, among other things, stupid. Since 'get lost' wouldn't have been polite nor in line with her new style, she resignedly decided to shrug. "What sort of idea?"

The sound of shuffling footsteps interrupted Naeera. Screaming-Eagle turned in time to see Phoenix yawn loudly and try to untangle her hair, her stained brown leather armor covering her thin frame and her Pip-Boy set on her forearm, along with a pistol on her hip and a couple of grenades inside her belt pockets. She could've kissed the girl for the interruption. "I'm up, less than five minutes."

"Oh, good, this way I don't have to wait to tell you, too!" Naeera exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

Phoenix narrowed her eyes and jerked a thumb towards the female. "What's she talking about?"

"I was thinking: we've been through the desert and we're near a lake." Naeera began with an enthusiasm Screaming-Eagle certainly didn't share. "The males are either sleeping or aren't here, so there's no risk of any of them sneaking up on us. Why don't we have a bath together?"

Screaming-Eagle all but froze at the sentence.

"I'm cool with that." Phoenix said with a disarming calm. She gestured at herself to prove her point. "I needed one anyway."

"A… a bath?" Screaming-Eagle repeated, attempting not to panic.

Naeera shrugged. "Yeah, a bath."

"T-together?" Screaming-Eagle managed before gulping hard. She was fine with talking, she was fine with walking, she was fine with all sorts of activities to get to know someone else better – even Naeera. Something that involved her not wearing anything in front of two people, whomever they may be, wasn't one of those activities. "I… I…"

"Come on!" Naeera encouraged her, patting her shoulder and smiling broadly. "It's going to be fun!"

"I-I… I have already cleaned up." Screaming-Eagle desperately tried, torn between panic at the situation and anger at Naeera's unwanted expansion. "With magic. Yesterday, as a matter of fact."

"Wait, that's the reason for the sea essence, is it?" Naeera asked, a brow raised in fascination.

Screaming-Eagle avoided sighing in relief and limited her reaction to a nod. "Exactly. As you can see, there is no-"

"No offence, you now smell like a swamp." Naeera dismissed her with a flick of her wrist, before grabbing her own and happily dragging her outside.

No matter how short and lithe she looked like, the gray female was strong; stronger than she would have given her credit for. The grip was tight, but it didn't hurt. Dazed by the surprise and outrage at the gesture first, and by the rising sun slapping her face as they pulled around the corner of the building then, Screaming-Eagle had no choice other than to come along. She wasn't at full strength, not by a long shot, and she could do little to oppose Naeera's overly friendly (and overly unnecessary) manners.

This, however, was a golden opportunity to think about what to do and what to say. She had rarely talked to anyone up to this day and she didn't have the faintest idea what to do in a situation like this. The only person to have ever seen her naked was her nanny. The last time, however, she had been no older than ten and the reason had been the same: a bath. Unlike then, however, she was a good thirteen years older and in company of two females she had met less than twelve hours before. Well, yes, she could feel the beginning of a friendship between her and Phoenix, but Naeera…

With her barely noticing, Naeera left her wrist. Screaming-Eagle shook her head and took in the new surroundings she hadn't even noticed.

The office building was all but hidden by an aground platform and a few boats she identified as 'yachts', their state of abandonment rendering them nearly unrecognizable from the pictures of luxury boats taken from one of the Overseer's books. She was a few feet from the lake, littered by boat wreckages and floating pieces of harbor. It looked like a graveyard, the lined piles of wood and rust that had once been boats now looking like the bloodied, yellowed ancient bones of vanquished giants. The reek of still water and dank wood filled her nostrils, and she couldn't help but grimace at the unpleasantness of the smell and at the greenish hue of the water. She noticed the air was beginning to grow warmer, a hot breeze blowing from the west.

She had barely registered where she was when she noticed with discomfort Naeera had already slipped out of her light armor. She averted her eyes, just to notice Phoenix was doing just the same, and ultimately looked at her feet. Embarassment didn't even come close to what she was feeling. What was she supposed to do now?

"Huh, that's weird." She heard Phoenix say, perplexed. "I thought…"

"We're reptiles, what did you expect?" Naeera replied with audible amusement. "We don't lactate."

Needless to say, Screaming-Eagle was starting to get extremely uncomfortable. She shifted the weight on her feet a little, then closed her eyes. "Can I… bathe on my own?"

"Come on, don't be such a baby!" Naeera laughed and set a hand on her shoulder. She would've wanted to bite it off, but resisted the impulse. "We're just having a bath. What's wrong with that?"

Screaming-Eagle wanted to snap back something at her, she really did, but she failed to find anything to say. She just grimaced harder and shut her eyes closed even tighter. There wasn't anything she could come up with, she'd never been a great liar in the first place. "I-"

"You're embarassed, I got it." Naeera said sympathetically, probably with a smile. Divines, didn't she hate it when people tried to make her 'come out of her shell' – as if she'd ever asked them to in the first place. "Listen, I'm not trying to force you, but… we're all friends here, there's nothing wrong with having a bath with your friends, is there?"

Screaming-Eagle laughed sarcastically. "Naeera, I hardly even know you."

"Hey, but you know me better, and I know you!" Phoenix encouraged her. Her voice sounded more distant than Naeera's, almost as if she were already in the water. "Besides, from what I've heard, lakelurks only come out during the day or when their caves are disturbed. It's still morning, we have plenty of time for a bath. You don't want to find out what lakelurks are. Come on, Eagle – at least help me clean up decently!"

Screaming-Eagle let out a shaky sigh and, after a moment of indecision, she gave a nod. She opened her eyes and immediately raised her head to look no lower than Naeera's feathers. She was a female, she didn't need someone else to remind her what a female looked like. Naeera – at last – let go of her shoulder and strolled into the water where Phoenix was waiting, already thighs-deep in it. The movement of Naeera's hips spoke volumes of her.

She shuddered and dismissed the disgusting thoughts concerning the other female's backside with a firm shake of her head. She waited for a few seconds in indecision before taking off the top of her robes, followed shortly after by her pants. She set them on the nearest, least rotten wreck and drew in a deep breath. Her undergarments almost fell on their own accord, and she simply put them on top of her robes. A minuscule part of her mind relished at the thought of being naked, while the great majority of the rest of her common sense beat it into submission and just told her to get this over with. The sooner she got into the water now, the sooner she would've gotten out later.

With the aid of her trusted staff, she hobbled into the lake. She was unused to conventional baths; it had been years since she had learned of that little cleaning Alteration spell. However, like all Argonians, she couldn't suppress a smile at the contact of her scales with water. Her gills bristled in pleasure. It was a welcome change from the cold lakes and rivers of Skyrim where she used to fall into either in distraction or to use them as a means of escape. The fresh water on her ankles slowly rose the further she got in, up over her hips – whereas Naeera and Phoenix had the water reach their lower ribs.

"You know, you could let go of that." Naeera observed with a raised brow and an impish smirk, glancing at her staff. "Or you could hand it over, you know."

She and Phoenix giggled, while Screaming-Eagle just shook her head at the nonsense and planted it in the sand. She failed to see the ilarity in all that. "I doubt you would know how to use it."

Naeera laughed openly at her statement, making her grit her teeth. "Oh, I think it's the other way around, Screaming-Eagle."

Screaming-Eagle clenched her fists and let out a low growl, staring right into the gray female's eyes. "Do you think yourself better than an Archmage?"

"No, of course not, I…" Naeera began, puzzled, before she frowned and looked at her with suspicion. "Wait, do you even know what I'm talking about?"

"Naeera, don't push it." Phoenix intervened, her eyes switching between the two. "Eagle, don't pay her any mind. We came here to take a bath, remember? Then let's fucking bathe. No arguments, no fights, nothing except bathing."

"Yeah, fine, fine." Naeera said, raising her arms in surrender. She then cupped her hands, took some water and poured it over her feathers with abundant movements that put her breasts in prominence. Why did she even possess breasts? She was a reptile, for Akatosh's sake. "Nothing, I just… nevermind."

Screaming-Eagle snorted and nodded once, then replicated the gray female's moves. Only, she put but a fraction of the sensuality the other seemed to use in each and every task, from walking to yawning. It didn't make any sense, who did she have to impress while she scrubbed her feathers and her neck? Why such vulgar gestures would be considered impressive she didn't know, but she decided not to think about it. Pointless, just pointless. They were here to wash themselves. There was no need to think about making enemies.

"So, Screaming-Eagle, where are you from?" Naeera asked, probably either oblivious or uncaring of her not-so-veiled hostility.

"Gideon." Screaming-Eagle simply replied. Why did all discussions end up with having someone ask her questions? Wouldn't it be simpler if they stuck to the matter at hand?

"Oh, you're from Black Marsh!" Naeera exclaimed and smiled. "I'm from Riften, born and raised."

Screaming-Eagle narrowed her eyes on her. She had yet to hear of a honest Argonian born in Riften. Well, of anyone honest, truth be told. That city was a snake pit.

"Yeah, I get that look a lot." Naeera chuckled. This confirmed she just didn't care. "People always think I'm either a thief or a whore. That's probably what you're thinking, too, right? 'Oh, look, she's from Riften, eww'."

Screaming-Eagle bit her lip in a sting of guilt. Had she even thought for a second what Naeera might have lived? She had to be one of the hundreds of people who had judged her without the faintest idea of what she had been through. "Gods, I… I didn't mean to…"

"Nah, it's fine." Naeera shrugged as she washed her belly. Then, she grinned. "I'm actually both."

Screaming-Eagle's arms fell along her sides, her eyes wide and her jaw slack.

"Say what now?" Phoenix managed after a few moments. She was still absentmindedly scrubbing at her neck.

"I was the only Dragon-Footed Argonian in the whole city - I was considered a pretty exotic sight." Naeera half-spoke, half-giggled. "Men of all races always wanted to give me a ride, and I won't deny I've had my fair share of ladies, too. You couldn't possibly imagine the money I made… best of all?" She grinned. "I had a lot of fun doing it. The thief thing? Well, I'm still a thief. That armor isn't just for show, you know."

"Don't tell me you're part of some secret thief organization." Phoenix murmured with a quickly-broadening grin.

"Oh, but I am telling you!" Naeera laughed, followed suit by Phoenix. "I'm actually their leader. We're the Thieves Guild. We live in the underground, we steal from the rich and both try to help the poor and line our pockets… there was one time, in a big city called Solitude, when-"

"Enough!" Screaming-Eagle snapped with despise. She glowered and bared her teeth at the gray female, who looked back at her in puzzlement. "I cannot believe I have followed to such an ignoble, disgusting, lascivious, impertinent…"

Naeera rolled her eyes with a huff. "Let me guess: harlot."

"Harlot!" Screaming-Eagle repeated, furious beyond words at Naeera's lifestyle and at the pride she took in it. She grabbed her staff and snorted contemptuously. "I will not tolerate the humiliation of your presence any longer." She turned to the astonished girl and nodded politely. "Goodbye, Phoenix."

She turned on her heel (a bit more difficult with her legs underwater) and stormed off to the shore, her staff slamming into the water with each step she took. There was no way in Oblivion she was going to keep talking to someone so mischievous and depraved. The very thought of selling herself, giving away her own body for money sent shivers down Screaming-Eagle's spine. What a despicable female. To think she wanted to be her friend! Friends with a prostitute? Her? Impossible.

Just as she got out of the water, she heard Naeera's snorting laughter. "Why are you so angry? You don't even know what a courtesan like me does!"

"Nor do I want to know!" Screaming-Eagle shouted without even turning back, finally glad of her ignorance in the matter.

She ignored any further attempt to persuade her and took her staff in both hands, slashing the symbol for 'Wind' through the air. A sudden gust of air hit her and took all the water from her scales before fading. She marched towards her robes and cast 'Purification', then proceded to do so on Phoenix's. It wasn't the girl she didn't tolerate, it was the harlot talking and bathing with her that got on her nerves. Extremely and unpleasantly pesky people she could at least try to accept, but not Naeera. A criminal, a prostitute, a thief – from Riften, of all places!

Screaming-Eagle huffed as she got into her undergarments, then her pants and boots. She nearly ripped her upper robes with her horns in outrage before she shook her head and drew in a long breath. She counted to ten, then exhaled. She couldn't let disgust and anger take hold of her, she needed to be focused. Emotions deviated her from her routine. She couldn't afford to simply ignore the existence of all the other people: Keram-Rei, Phoenix, Maria, Eyes-Of-Silver, the rest of humanity on this accursed, ruined, radioactive world… there were so many people she actually liked around her, she didn't need one to ruin her day. She wouldn't have been accepted as a custodian at Winterhold, had she let this sort of things happen. No, she was rational mind – she needed to stay that way.

Her breaths were long and calm, regular and ordered. She walked back to the office building, aided by her staff. She ignored the air's rising heat and the smell of roasted meat carried by the breeze. There was only the path before her, nothing else. No boats, no people, no water, no harlots, nothing. Just her and the walk.


Her feet and staff thumped rhythmically on the ground, her heartbeat was slowing down to more manageable speeds, and her mood was slowly reverting back to complete and utter calm. She could just ignore Naeera, it wasn't a problem. The problem was the influence a female like her could have on Phoenix. Who knew how twisted her view of life was or how she could have warped that of the poor girl. Maybe-

"Ah, good morning, Screaming-Eagle!" A cheerful voice like rolling thunder called slightly to her left. She raised her eyes to see Eyes-Of-Silver looking at her, smiling and slinging his pristine axes onto his back, clad in his massive Dragonbone armor – even his clawed feet. The office building couldn't have been farther than a hundred feet in front of her.

"Yes, good morning…" Screaming-Eagle grunted with a shake of her head.

"Most definitely not a good morning." Eyes-Of-Silver corrected himself, a perplexed expression falling on his face. "May I ask what troubles you?"

"Your friend is a slut, that's what!" Screaming-Eagle suddenly exploded, and crashed the bottom of her staff into a nearby rock. It cracked under the blow. "I do not want her to come close to me, and yet she wants to be my friend!"

Eyes-Of-Silver creased a brow in surprise. "As I understand this… the fact Naeera was a prostitute makes it difficult for you to get close to her in any way, thus you refuse to accept any attempt of communication and socialization on her part. Why?"

"Because she was a harlot!" Screaming-Eagle underlined, her staff indignantly pointed towards the lake. "She sold her body for gold, it's unacceptable!"

"That is hardly reason at all for your behaviour, though." Eyes-Of-Silver pointed out with a casual shrug. "We are on Nirn no more, our past lives matter little – as you, of all people, are bound to know. We must stay together to survive and we cannot afford any form of hostility… and you decide to antagonize a member of our group because her lifestyle or choices do not coincide with yours?"

Screaming-Eagle nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Yes."

"Then may I ask why are you talking to me?" Eyes-Of-Silver inquired with a bright smile. "I am a high-ranking member of the Companions of Whiterun, I am little more than a mercenary – how am I any different from Naeera? I have fought and killed for money, mostly, and because I want to feel the rush of battle, whereas her area of expertise was pleasure. To add to that, I am surely a beast in your eyes, a bestial servant of a bestial Daedra with only bloodlust and mating on his mind, yes?" He spread his arms and shrugged. "Well, have I not proved you wrong? Do you see me attempting to seduce you or outright assail you, Screaming-Eagle?"

His point of view effectively made sense. He was no beast, no; despite his size, scars and equipment, he was far more polite and elegant than Keram-Rei could have ever hoped of becoming, that was sure. Commendable manners and an accent that made hers sound like a farmer's in comparison were just two of the things that definitely classified him as more rational than savage… on the contrary, there were common people wilder than the animals they owned.

"This changes nothing." Screaming-Eagle finally growled, stubborn, shooing the thoughts away with a shake of her head. "One thing is selling your services, one thing is selling yourself. You fought for a purpose and, no matter how disreputable, you helped people. Naeera?" She snorted. "Naeera has sold her dignity, what made her a female in the first place. I will not tolerate her presence anywhere near me."

"I know when someone may change their mind… yours is set in stone." Eyes-Of-Silver murmured sadly as he rubbed his chin. "But know this: I find her to be cheerful, lovely and vital. In my opinion, her only goal was having another friend. Your words, whatever they may have been, are bound to have hurt her in some way."

"I don't need a friend like her." Screaming-Eagle scoffed, grimacing as she walked past him and casting him one last glance. "I respect you, Eyes-Of-Silver, but I cannot lower myself to respecting a loose female like her."

His only response was a shake of his head. She kept her pace and saw the office building in all its decadence, the flaked paint covering little of its walls. Not far, not at all.

She saw Keram-Rei sit cross-legged by the entrance, clad in his Stalhrim armor and tending to a fire upon which was a large chrome grill. She knew he was cooking meat, but now that the whirlwind of indignation and disgust had faded she noticed something was wrong. She'd never been an expert on cooking meals - perhaps on eating them - but she knew whatever he was cooking had an odd quality to it. For one, it smelled too fresh… and the implications alone were enough for her to gag.

Keram-Rei's head snapped around at the sound, only for his tense features to soften with a sigh. "Hey, good morning. Where have you been?"

"Bathing." Screaming-Eagle said apathetically. She knew him better than anyone else - she knew better than to snap at him. Of course, half a day of silence and an exchange of amused looks from him and glares from her wasn't much in the way of 'knowing better', but it was something.

He flinched imperceptibly, then shook his head. "Alright. What about Phoenix and Naeera?"

"They were bathing with me." Screaming-Eagle continued with a shrug. "I had an altercation with Naeera, thus I left."

Keram-Rei now winced visibly. She saw the muscles on his jaw clench and heard him hiss a curse before he inhaled deeply and turned to meet her eyes. "What happened?"

Screaming-Eagle grit her teeth and pulled her mouth in a grimace. "Naeera used to be a prostitute."

"Holy shit, you serious?" Keram-Rei blurted out. She glowered at him, making him lower his head. "Well, not the most honorable of professions, and I in no way approve her choice, but… don't you think it's just a bit dumb? You know, you're the first who shouldn't care about her past life. I mean, you're forbidden from remembering your own, like me, like Eyes-Of-Silver, and probably like her, too. We're exiled, we're renegades."

"Pardon me?" Screaming-Eagle mumbled, her interest caught by his words. "What do you mean when you say 'we'?"

"It's a really complicated story and these steaks are almost ready." Keram-Rei told her, getting to his feet, kneeling in front of the crackling fire and taking a small pile of white plates. "Long story short, I burned down a Hist tree."

Screaming-Eagle grunted in acknowledgement. Her eyes fell upon her black staff, and she realized with surprise she didn't really care about what she'd done to get it. Not exactly the same as incinerating one, granted, but it was still taboo.

But then again, why in Oblivion would she even care? She was nobody now, she was as good as a Dunmer slaver in the eyes of her people. The very same common people she hadn't cared about for all these years, the family she hated, the miserable slaves and outlaws all over Cyrodill. Who knew about Argonian traditions here, in the Mojave?

She suppressed a smile.

Nobody.

"Breakfast's ready." Keram-Rei informed her with a nod of his head, cutting her thoughts short. "I don't doubt Eyes-Of-Silver noticed, last time I checked he wasn't far from the piers, so it won't take him and the other two long to come back. Do you mind waking up Maria?"

"Of course." Screaming-Eagle spoke softly.

She walked through the open entrance and went for the first door on the left. She opened it delicately, careful not to make any loud noises, but it creaked its disagreement with her.

A mop of red hair jolted up at the sound. "Mr. Wolf?"

"No, it's me, Eagle." Screaming-Eagle told her as she got closer, earning a disappointed 'oh' from the little girl. "But he'll be back from the lake in moments."

Maria's blue eyes shone at the news. "Really?"

"Yes, I have just talked to him." Screaming-Eagle chuckled, getting the hair out from the child's view. "Come on, breakfast is ready."

Maria hopped to her feet, already wearing her little green dress and shoes, and gingerly followed her out of the cramped office and outside, next to a Keram-Rei busy with white plates and… not only meat, it appeared. Three plates had unusual steaks on them along with knives and forks, while one contained scrambled eggs and a fork and the last had a few homemade cookies on it, accompanied by a glass of milk.

Screaming-Eagle planted her staff in the ground like a flag, took one of the steaks and sat on the ground to the left of Keram-Rei, while he put the fire out with a freezing spell. The wood crystallized and the flames coughed once before dying away. Keram-Rei gave the child the cookies and milk, to which she frowned with suspicion.

"What are these?" Maria asked, visibly confused as the awe at the ice spell vanished.

"Something you need if you want to grow up big like Mr. Wolf." Keram-Rei explained as he sat back in his original position.

Maria devoured the cookies with a speed she couldn't imagine possible for a child. Crumbs were stuck all around her mouth and on her dress, but it didn't seem to matter to her as she picked her glass up and downed the milk in one go.

Screaming-Eagle heard two sets of footsteps approach, one light and the other much, much heavier, although she suspected the owner could be unheard if he wanted to. She barely recognized the presence of a third one, to which her blood began to boil. She suppressed the anger and focused on the brown steak.

It was absurdly lean, there wasn't a trace of fat on it. Yet again, she knew the smell wasn't quite right, but she didn't know why. Although cutting it with her knife was hard, she finally managed to carve a piece. She took a tentative bite and, despite the gummy consistence (even for her teeth), she discovered the taste wasn't horrifying. It was far from delicious, but Keram-Rei had managed to make it edible. That made the worst part was cutting it.

"MR. WOLF!" Maria shrieked, startling her. The little girl ran off towards Eyes-Of-Silver, jumping and holding on to his right leg.

Eyes-Of-Silver laughed heartily and plucked her up, enveloping her in his enormous arms like a father did with his child. With how close they were, he may as well be her father, as far as she was concerned.

Phoenix let out a chuckle and walked up towards the extinguished fire, frowning at the ice. "What the… what happened?"

"I put it out." Keram-Rei explained, handing her the scrambled eggs and the fork. The girl took them in a heartbeat and began wolfing her breakfast down.

Naeera took one of the steaks the same time as Keram-Rei and went next to Phoenix, throwing a tentative glance in Screaming-Eagle's direction. Her glower was more than enough to make her turn away. No, focus, Screaming-Eagle, focus. She thought. After chewing the last bite of meat, she looked at Eyes-Of-Silver and made a mental count of the plates.

"Did you forget about Eyes-Of-Silver?" Screaming-Eagle asked Keram-Rei, who was eating his breakfast in a sandwich.

"Nope." Keram-Rei spluttered, apparently uncaring of talking with his mouth full. "Werewolves eat rare meat, even when in their normal form." He jerked a thumb towards the male in question, who was busy exchanging very exciting tales, by the look on Maria's face. "He ate the rest. You know, what I didn't cook: offal, skin, the roughest meat, the head… picked the bones clean."

"Yes, I… I understand." She replied weakly. She was putting enough effort in trying not to throw up what she'd just put in her stomach. That, though, raised another question. "What is it that you cooked, though?"

"Some sort of reptile Eyes-Of-Silver brought me this morning… pretty big thing." He answered with a shrug as he gulped down the last of his sandwich. "I have no idea what it was, but he said it was good to eat."

"Hey, how big was it?" Phoenix chimed in, interrupting her conversation with Naeera.

Keram-Rei stroked at his chin and pensively looked at the sky, before he snapped his fingers. "About Maria's size."

Screaming-Eagle's eyes widened. What sort of reptile was it?

"Oh, nice choice." Phoenix remarked with a grin. "Geckos are a bit gummy, but they're very nutritious and they're spread all over the Mojave."

Screaming-Eagle blinked.

She had just eaten a… giant mutated gecko steak?

"Don't worry!" Phoenix exclaimed at the sight of her… well, everyone's face. "They aren't radioactive, nor poisonous. They're just gummy."

"Huh." Keram-Rei managed to grunt, looking at his plate with distaste. "I think I'll… bring you along if food's running low."

"Anytime." Phoenix chuckled, then she gave her plate to Keram-Rei and cleared her throat. "Everyone, eyes on me."

Screaming-Eagle nudged at Keram-Rei's side and stood up with him. Eyes-Of-Silver and Maria had gotten closer, the werewolf still holding the child like an infant, while Naeera took a step back.

"Great, thank you very much." Phoenix said with a little bow of her head. "Now, Keram-Rei and Screaming-Eagle know me a little, but Naeera, Maria and… Silver-Eyes?"

"Eyes-Of-Silver." The large male corrected her without the slightest hint of annoyance.

Phoenix nodded briefly and gave him a thumbs-up. "Alright, as I was saying: you have no reason to trust me. I'm just one of the millions of strangers on this world to you, and-"

"Pardon me, but I have already intended the nobility of Keram-Rei and Screaming-Eagle's mission." Eyes-Of-Silver interrupted her, raising his metal hand while keeping Maria with the other. "I need no further encouragement, only a question: do you intend on destroying the Legion by whatever means necessary?"

"I'd bomb them to hell and beyond if I had an army, sure." Phoenix growled, anger flaring inside of her at the mention of the Legion. Screaming-Eagle winced at the thought of what she had done last night.

"Then I shall stand by your side until death." Eyes-Of-Silver nodded solemnly, a wolflike grin twisting his scarred features.

"I'll follow Mr. Wolf and all of you, too!" Maria piped up, determined.

"What little I've heard of the Legion is enough for me." Naeera announced and patted Phoenix's shoulder. "Plus, I can kill people in lots of ways. I'm in."

For once, Screaming-Eagle found herself agreeing with her.

"Just like that?" Phoenix muttered, surprised. She then shook her head. "Anyway, we're headed for New Vegas, the largest city in the Mojave. There we'll find Benny, the guy who tried to kill me – I want to return him the favor. The place where he's holed up will be filled with guards, but we'll think of a good plan before getting into the Strip, don't worry. What we'll be doing now is finding good armor and weapons for me and… well, you've got good armor. I think I'll try to teach you how to shoot. You're going to need it."

"We are going to need something to hide ourselves." Screaming-Eagle informed her with a pained expression. "I will not be able to use our disguises for a week, at least."

"Don't you have something to use like robes in your magic pockets?" Phoenix asked, hopeful. "Everyone's going to either try to kill you or run away screaming. I've heard of an intelligent Deathclaw that used to wear a robe a long time ago – you could do the same thing."

The Argonians exchanged an uncertain look.

"I have no spare robes." Screaming-Eagle sighed with a shake of her head.

"No luck." Naeera added.

"I am afraid I have no similar item on me." Eyes-Of-Silver explained.

In the meantime, Keram-Rei got four large squares of cloth out from his satchel and set them on the ground before him. They looked light enough not to be a problem in the desert, and all of them were dyed a single color. They were blue, green, red and plain brown.

"I believe the colours to be a little too… convenient." Eyes-Of-Silver hummed as he set Maria on the ground, a brow raised as he took the folded would-be robe in his hands. "Did you purchase these garments based on the Warrior, Mage and Thief nebulas? Why the brown, then?"

"You're going too deep, I can't even remember when or why I bought them." Keram-Rei stopped him, frowning. "I've got to agree, the colors' coincidence is weird, but it's nothing more than that. Are they good?"

"Oh, I certainly do like the idea of wearing the heraldry of my Guardian Stone openly, it only felt curious to me." Eyes-Of-Silver snickered and unfolded the robe, throwing it on his form. It left little of his clawed feet to be seen, and otherwise covered the hands and head entirely. "Red, symbol for force and blood."

"Blue, pure like the Magicka that flows in all of us, like the lightning cast to smite my foes." Screaming-Eagle muttered as she wore hers. It should have felt like a blanket in the heat of the desert, but in reality the fabric was as light as it looked. She liked aura of mystery it gave her, even more so than her own robes.

"You know, I never understood why we thieves got green." Naeera wondered aloud, half-perplexed, half-disappointed. She couldn't help but sigh in relief at the thought of not having to cope with the female showing off her body. "Black works a lot better, but I guess green just… stuck. Some Illusion spells are green, though."

"It doesn't matter." Keram-Rei barked, already wearing his brown robe. The idea he gave Screaming-Eagle was one of absolute indifference, of someone nobody would talk to and nobody would be interested in - same thing for the others, despite their brightly-colored robes. It was perfect for avoiding trouble. "We can't get these off if, like Phoenix said, we don't want to be shot or we don't want to scare people. If someone's brave enough to ask, we are horribly mutated or diseased. If someone's stupid enough to attack us, we will scare them away by taking our cowl off and saying we're Deathclaws. If we have to fight, these things will only get in the way; throw them away and get them back when we're done. Apart from when in a fight, get these off only when we're completely sure there's only people we can trust with us and we can't be seen by anyone else. If there's an accident and you lose your robe or it gets caught in something, we'll still use the Deathclaw excuse. If we get attacked while trying to explain, we'll answer in kind."

"That's great." Naeera exclaimed as she nimby moved towards the front door. "I'll be taking the bedrolls."

Screaming-Eagle narrowed her eyes in thought under her cowl, utterly ignoring the thief. Basic plan, with peaceful and intimidating responses to menaces to make wasteland dwellers steer clear of their path. Fights were covered, calm situations too… accidents, even. It was an extremely simple plan, but at least Keram-Rei had the decency to think of most possibilities. There wasn't an approach for every possible situation, but it was a sound plan and she didn't want nor need to make a list of all the technicalities and particulars. It could work.

"One problem's taken care of then!" Phoenix cheered with a grin. She cocked her hunting rifle and held it at ease across her chest. "From what I've heard in Boulder City, there's a new trading outpost at the crossroads of the U.S. 93 and the U.S. 95. It's east of Boulder City, we can't miss it." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Thing is, we can't use your horses to get there. We'll have to go on foot."

"How far is it from here?" Screaming-Eagle asked, worried, gripping her staff tight.

"Oh, I don't know…" Phoenix hummed pensively. "About seven miles."