Chapter 36: Pep-Talk

Rune, in a very kind gesture, allowed me to sleep in his bed for the night assuring me all the while that if he piled up enough blankets, the floor would be just as comfortable as the creaky beds. I thanked him for the offer but declined, stating I was Horax's problem so the elf would just have to roll over and make room. The sight of us fighting over blankets did little to refute the nature of our relationship assumed by the other guild members.

Horax was kind enough to let me sleep until 8:30 which I learned in his book, was unacceptably late. I sat up on my bed and stretched my arms high above my head. The sound of falling water was certainly soothing, even if it was from a sewer.

"Breakfast is in the Flagon." Horax said, tossing a black shirt next to me. "Come with me. I want to introduce you to the rest of the family."

"Oh, family you say. And do they know about your other 'family?'" I asked, slipping the shirt over my head.

"Eh, more or less." Horax shrugged and handed me a pair of long new brown boots since mine weren't quite dry yet. "Of course, Delvin and Brynjolf know for sure. I had to tell them. Our guilds often rely on each other for various business schemes. The rest have found out by word of mouth." I followed, nodding my head as I laced up my boots. I frowned shortly after finding out that they fit a few sizes more than snugly. "And if you're wondering if I ever gave a formal speech, then no. It's something I don't really talk about with those who don't need to hear about it. It might be best if you kept that information to yourself." He added with wink.

My capacity to wolf down plates of food in a matter of minutes impressed my fellow eating companions. At least that was what I preferred to believe. Rune watched in shock, perhaps a bit of horror too, while Delvin cheered me on and slapped my back whenever I choked back on a large mouthful. Horax rolled his eyes every time I reached for another pastry. I practically cleared his pantries during our short stay in breezehome and he wasn't fond of the idea of restocking the guild's larder because I ate everything. Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten since I left the Shivering Isles. Vex squinted at me from her seat across the room with Tonilia.

Delvin chuckled when Horax finally took my plate away from me. My belly, a rather vocal creature, began rumbling because it was either upset at Horax or upset at me. I clutched it tightly in an attempt to keep it's ambiguities silent. Delvin helped himself to a healthy does of morning mead. "So Leles, Horax and I had a long talk about you this morning. We were all so very curious to learn just how it was you two became so well acquainted."

"Oh and what was it that you told them?" I asked as I pulled the cup of tea to my lips and leaned back in my chair, attempting to ignore the emphasis on the words "well acquainted."

"Nothing but the truth, Leles."

I rolled my eyes and finished off my tea. "Oh great, that explains absolutely nothing." I gathered up the dishes on the table, most of which were mine, and placed them in a large wooden tub. "So don't be mad at me when someone asks me a question and I say something I wasn't supposed to say."

I started off towards the wash basin with the tub of dishes before Horax rose from his seat and interrupted. "Uh-uh. Leave the dishes. I have some work for us today."

"Work?" I questioned.

"Yeah, and we're getting you a horse today. Come one." Horax beckoned me to follow as he gulped down the last red droplets of his flask. I sat the tub on a nearby barrel only for it to come crashing down, bringing all the scraps of food along with it. Horax stood with his palm to his face while the rest of the flagon turned towards me.

I averted my gaze, feeling my face flush so hot I could cook enough eggs on it to feed the guild. "At-at least they're all wood." I croaked adding a pathetic giggle before racing out to the cistern and up into Riften.

"You're smooth, Leles. Mhm, really know how to leave a lasting impression."

"Stop please." I quivered, pressing my face into Horax's black cloak as Shadowmere carried us over the rocky mountain. Below us was a valley of fog and wind. Somewhere in front of us lay the Black-Briar Lodge.

"Do you see that watchtower? That's where we're going."

Luckily for me, the second floor entrance appeared unguarded. Horax slipped off to scout while Shadowmere and I hid in the watchtower. Why I was even there made no sense to me. Maybe Horax just wanted me to experience more excitement since apparently, I hadn't been exposed to enough life threatening situations. I paced around the dirt in my clunky boots. If anything went wrong, I thought, I'd jump on Shadowmere and be gone in 2 minutes. Finally the elf poked his head in the doorway.

"All clear." He motioned for me to come out with a jerk of his head. Like oblivion I would.

"I don't understand why you couldn't have just bought me a horse. It's not like you're low on gold or anything."

"I thought this would be great for your first heist. "

Nope. I didn't hear that correctly. The wernicke's area of brain just skipped and all of the sudden I couldn't comprehend whatever language we were speaking. "My first... what?" I whispered.

Horax babbled on excitedly. "The opportunity fell right into my lap and me, being the considerate gentleman I am, decided who better to pass it along to than you." He appeared genuinely happy for me, as though this was something I had begged him for.

"A-a heist?"

"Yeah! Isn't it exciting. I've put quite some thought into this and I believe you'd make a decent thief, you know, with some practice. Even Brynjolf agrees we should try it out." I was not in the slightest bit convinced that this was his idea of 'practice'. I continued with my frozen stare of disbelief. "Leles, stop that! Be excited! Be adventurous. Look at how small and light you are. Why, it's impossible to think you wouldn't make a good thief. Your physique is practically identical to that of a prepubescent 12-year-old!"

"Is that a fucking joke?" I cried, more in shock than anger.

"Uh- what, no." The elf's smile vanished. "No, it isn't."

"You expect me, me, me who can't even handle a tub of dirty dishes, to sneak into a house full of mercenaries from the second floor down to the basement, steal a document, make it out alive,and then ride off into the sunset?" I paused to give him a hard shove "Horax, what the hell?"

Horax furrowed his eyebrows and stepped in closer to me, pulling several degrees of heat from my body and leaving me with prickly hairs on my neck. He leaned over my small frame and snarled through bared teeth. "You are going into that house, Leles."

With all the anger flushed from my body, I was reduced to a tiny raisin capable of only small squeaks. "No- Horax no, I-I- I can't do that."

"You are going into the house from the second floor down to the basement,"

"Horax, please!" I begged.

"stealing those documents,"

"Stop! No, I don't want to die." I yanked hard on his cloak before he pulled both of my wrists away with one hand.

"And then riding off into the fucking sunset because I am not taking you back." He threw me off to the side and whipped himself around. I scrambled to my feet and raced after him with several tears flying off my cheeks. Horax was a very fast walker, and I was extremely panicked.

"Oh, please, Horax!" I begged him once more, gripping the straps of armor at his knees.

"Leles, stop it!" He plucked me up by my forearms and shook me lightly until I was silent. " For Talos sake, pull yourself together! Don't you realize where you are? Are you so dense you don't even realize what you are? This is Skyrim and you are the bloody champion of a Daedric Prince. Sure, you're a shrimpy girl, and sure you've hardly touched a blade, but you've got the blood of a Daedra in you! You don't survive a day in this world by crying and begging. You've got to get off your ass and grow up. You know I'd never let any harm come to you, Leles. I- you're the little sister I never asked for. And no, I never wanted you either but according to the laws of the Universe we are supposed to take on the world together. So you better cut this shit out and learn how to do something beside follow me around. If you're supposed to be my other half in the saving of this world, you better fucking act like it." He ended his rant with a tight squeeze, wrapping his arms tightly around my shoulders and crushing my head to his chest. "Oh, Gods be damned."

And he was right. I had no other choice if I planned on surviving. If Skyrim, Tamriel, all of Nirn planned on surviving, I had to learn how.

A/N:

i personally believed Leles needed a strong ass kicking or something to get her out of her wimpy stage.