Hey, just a content warning. There's a scene with some surgery gore. It is the fourth scene specifically. For those who maybe are sensitive to content lie that, its absolutely fine to skip that.

4E 195 Sun's Height

Lexius didn't care what state the city was in when he finally spotted the gates. Everything was flooded and damaged. Lexius was very aware of how damaged Garlas Malatar got during the storm. He nearly died when the water poured down the stairs leading to the lower chambers. His heart sank when he saw the ruins of the camp outside. The tents and notes were scattered on the ground, ruined, wet, and torn.

But the months of ruined work wasn't what Lexius was thinking about.

There was no conversation between the young man and Alastaros about returning to town. They packed as much as they could and left. Neither of them spoke as they lugged the left over notes and tools back to town past the flooded, blocked road.

The destruction was worse than he imagined. At least two trees had blown over into the city streets. Bits of fences and roof tiles littered the road. People worked to assess the damage. Still, the scene was put to the back of Lexius' mind.

As soon as he dumped the crate he carried, Lexius ran towards the harbor. He slipped on a puddle going down the stairs to the docks. He was pretty sure his forehead was scratched. But Lexius still didn't care.

Then he saw them on the deck of the boat.

Rostam was busy directing some of the other sailors as they pulled the sail down from the main mast. They had to yell over the gorans of sailors trying to untangle the overrated bedsheet. The secondary mast was completely split in half. There was considerable damage to the hull and Lexius was sure the ship was still taking on water.

Lexius took a deep breath in and ran up the gangplank. Rostam barely glanced over when Lexius charged at them.

Before Lexius could pin him to the ground, Rostam hugged their arms around the taller man's neck. Lexius, taken aback, only stared into their eyes. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw that Rostam was all right.

Rostam was perfectly fine.

Lexius let out a nervous chuckle and buried his face in Rostam's shoulder.

"Are you… okay?"

"I'm just so glad you're fine," Lexius mumbled. "I just needed to see you an d make sure you were okay."

Rostam grinned widely, "Oh? I'm all-"

"Rostam, what in Azura's name are you doing?"

The two of them turned around to see a broad shouldered Dunmeri woman staring at the two of them. She smiled coyly when she noticed Lexius snuggling his face into her first mate's neck. Rostam gently lifted Lexius off of them and addressed the captain, "Would it be all right if I took a few minutes?"

The captain arched her brow. Rostam was unsure of the answer they would get. Lexius, anxious to get a few minutes alone with Rostam, mustered up the nastiest glare he could. Unfortunately it probably wasn't as menacing as he hoped given how exhausted he felt.

The captain laughed heartily and slapped Rostam on the back. "Be back in an hour. We still have work to get done."

The couple didn't even let the captain finish talking before running off to the lighthouse. Lexius lost his footing as he rushed up the stairs after Rostam, only to trip and fall on his face again. Rostam looked back with exasperated concern.

"Lexius?"

"Yes, love?"

"Your forehead is bleeding more now."

Placing his hand to his forehead, Lexius felt something wet dripping slowly out of a cut on his forehead. The blood on his fingers wasn't surprising. He wiped his palms on his shirt and took Rostam's hand. They rolled their eyes.

"Just sit down for a second," Rostam muttered. They forced Lexius to sit down on a low wall looking towards the ocean. "Let me help you. Every single time you come back from a job, there's something wrong."

"This wasn't from Garlas Malatar. I got this falling for you," Lexius said with a grin.

For a moment, Rostam was dumbfounded. They shook their head before a smile grew on their face. "I, uh… Why did you say something so cliche?"

"Because I could." He waited for Rostam to answer. But Rostam didn't. Instead the expression on their face grew dim. Lexius grabbed ahold of Rostam's hand before they could start wiping the blood away. "Hey, hey, hey. Are you alright?"

"Well, no not really. The ship is pretty much destroyed and we're going to be here for another month or so for repairs. The captain isn't surprised but a lot of the other sailors might quit to find better work."

"That's not what's bothering you."

Rostam shrugged, "I suppose not. The entire town almost started flooding and you were gone. You were gone, Lex."

Lexius placed Rostam's hand on his cheek then sighed. "I was… terrified too. But I'm here now. And I'm not leaving. I'm like the plague that way."

"Don't say that."

"Well, in any case, we've been together… what? Three years?"

"Yeah, about that long."

Lexius gave Rostam's hand a squeeze. "Right. After three years, I'm not just gonna let something stupid take me out. Not even that storm. Besides, we still have to get married at some point."

Now, the smile came back to Rostam's face. They laughed warmly for a minute before they tried to stifle the joy. Lexius noticed how hard they were trying to be serious. "I thought we agreed not for a while."

"Wishful thinking," Lexius shrugged. "The captain said we could take a while, right." Rostam hummed affirmatively and placed their head on Lexius' shoulder. "Let's just stay here then."

Rostam said nothing but didn't move, perfectly content to stay right where they were. Lexius smiled quietly to himself.

…

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at how wrecked everything looks. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face last night."

"Well, not when the lightning was striking. At least there was light that wouldn't go out the moment you step outside. Even if it booms afterwards"

Vilkas stifled a chuckle. He kicked a fallen roof tile from out of his way while Marisol was content enough to step over them. The both of them looked horrible after a night of almost no sleep. Marisol's hair was a frizzy mess, not nearly as put together as usual. Somehow, the dark circles under Vilkas' eyes were darker even though he was sure that wasn't even possible.

From the corner of his eye, Vilkas watched a team of guards breaking down the ruined remains of an abandoned warehouse. Waterlogged planks and crumbling stones were piled on the side of the road with other bits of garbage.

He almost didn't notice the rouge brick that was flying towards his face. Vilkas tried to dodge, but after such a restless night, he was too slow. In a matter of moments, the brick collided with his forehead. He yelled and stumbled backwards.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" the Nord muttered through the sharp pain between his eyes. It'd been a while since he'd been clocked in the head by something hard, and he didn't miss it.

"Sir, are you okay?'

Vilkas waved off the guard and shakily stood up. "I'm fine. Just watch out, for Gods' sake." The guard nodded and went back to the worksite to be chided by the others. Vilkas didn't stick around to watch.

Marisol followed close behind, glancing over her shoulder every few steps. She placed her hand gently on Vilkas' shoulder. The man tensed. "Vilkas, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's fine."

"If you say so," the Bosmeri woman said with an eye roll. Vilkas pretended not to notice. They were half way down the docks when Marisol looked over her shoulders with a confused look. Vilkas answered wordlessly with an arched brow. Marisol whispered half to herself, "I must be hearing things. It sounds like Valleri is yelling again."

"Vilkas!"

Marisol was wrong. Turning around, Vilkas saw Marco running at him at full speed. The boy was out of breath and his face was red. How long had he been running? When he was closer. Vilkas saw the rage and panic in Marco's face.

"Oh, shit. Marco?"

"Where the fuck is my sister?"

Vilkas blinked, unsure of what to say. He'd nearly forgotten about her. Marco's scowl deepened the longer Vilkas stalled. By now even Marisol was staring.

"With… Skeeva?"

"Don't fucking lie to me! That was the first place we checked."

Exchanging a harried glance with Marisol, Vilkas couldn't figure out what to say. He wanted to walk away from the frothing boy. But his feet were stuck to the ground. The expression on Marco's face didn't change.

Marisol shrugged, "I don't see what the problem is. Vilkas isn't Valleri's babysitter."

"Shut up Marisol! This isn't about you."

"Fine!" Vilkas shouted finally. He stepped back from Marisol and Marco and took a deep breath to calm down. "She went back to Garlas Malatar to warn Lexius and Alastaros about the storm."

"And you didn't stop her?"

"I tried!"

"Like Oblivion you did!"

Marisol bit the inside of her lip as Vilkas and Marco continued arguing. With a sigh, she stepped in between them. "Shut up, you two, and stop acting like a pair of children. Just ask Lexius. He got back to town earlier today. If what Vilkas says is true, he's probably seen her."

Vilkas and Marco grumbled after they realized she had a point. The trio split up as they searched the ruins of the dock. Vilkas nearly tripped on splintering wooden beams as he searched for Lexius. Rostam's captain eventually pointed him to the lighthouse. He found Lexius and Rostam there, taking a breather from fixing the ship. Lexius looked up when he heard the Nord approaching.

"Have you seen Valleri today?"

By now, even Rostam was paying attention. Lexius stared at him in confusion, "That's not really how you greet an old friend."

"Listen, this is important-"

"Oh! Marco and Marisol are here too."

Vilkas nervously rubbed his eyes. He was more exhausted than he realized. "Stay on topic, Lexius. Have you seen Val?"

Lexius and Rostam exchanged a wordless look before the taller redguard shook his head. "No, can't say that I have. Why?"

Blood going cold, Vilkas panicked. This wasn't good. None of this was good. His eyes focused on the fuzzy mid-distance as his mind played the memory of Valleri leaving over and over again. Finally he looked around to see the dreadful expression on Marco's face. He knew too.

"Vilkas? What happened?"

Marsiol pat Vilkas' shoulder and stepped forward. Her voice was even and almost emotionless, "She went into the storm looking for you and Alastaros last night."

"I just let her leave…" Vilkas muttered under his breath. "I… I just let her…"

"We didn't see her at all. The road was blocked by some fallen trees. It would have taken her hours to get to the ruin. We would have at least seen her. Are you sure she isn't in town?"

"What do you think we've been doing all day?" Marco yelled. He was about to lunge at Lexius. Marisol had to hold the teenager back before he did any harm.

"Considering how bad the storm was last night," Rostam started, "I can only imagine how bad it was off-road. She could be anywhere by now."

Vilkas gulped and pretended that he wasn't shaking like a leaf. Without thinking much, he ran back towards the city gate. He didn't get far when he heard the others yelling after him.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm going to go search for Val. I let her go and now she could be dead," Vilkas yelled back. His voice was sharper than he meant. Everyone was too tense to react. Besides, Vilkas was too wound up to care. This was bad. All of this was bad. And he knew it was his fault. He could have gone with her. He should have gone with her.

Rostam didn't falter as he walked over to the Nord, doing their best not to set Vilkas' nerves off any further. Somehow they looked the calmest out of the five of them. "Look, we're not letting you go alone. Besides, there's a better chance we'll find her when there's more of us. Marisol, Marco? Go tell Uriel what's happened."

Marisol lingered after Marco ran off to find his father. Her face was twisted into a dissatisfied frown. "Vilkas, are you sure this is a good idea?" she whispered, hoping to keep their conversation private.

Vilkas took a deep breath in, but the concern was still thick in his voice. "She wouldn't be gone if it weren't for me."

"But we should leave this to professionals."

"I am a professional. This is my job. And Valleri's one of my closest friends. I can't...abandon her."

Marisol took a hold of Vilkas' hands in an attempt to hold his attention. Disappointment flooded over here when she saw him perk up and stare at the bushes by the light house. She looked over her shoulder to see the leaves rustling. Someone stepped out of the bushes and ambled towards the gate. Vilkas' eyes widened as he turned to follow the woman. Even Marisol couldn't believe her eyes. Rostam and Lexius gasped.

"Valleri?"

The Imperial was hunched over and shambled towards the gate like a zombie. In her wake were bloody footprints. Her shoes were missing. Her clothes were torn and soaked through with blood and water. She gripped her left shoulder so tight her knuckles turned white.

All Vilkas was able to focus on was the dead expression on her face.

He broke away from Marisol and grabbed onto Valleri's left forearm. The Imperial let out a blood curdling scream and struggled to pull away. When she was too tired to scream, Valleri fell limp. Vilkas gently lowered her to the ground.

"Shit, shit, shit."

"Vilkas, what do we do?"

The Nord's eyes darted from Valleri back to the gate for a few moments before he started barking orders. "Lexius, go to Ulia and tell her that Valleri needs medical attention. Rostam, go with him."

The couple ran off with no protest. Vilkas struggled to pick himself and Valleri up from the splintering dock without agitating her arm further. It was only when he had the Imperial in his arms did Vilkas realize how torn up she was. Blood from her back and arms soaked through his shirt.

"Vilkas" Marisol muttered, placing her hand on his back. "Do you have to go?"

Taking a deep breath in, Vilkas almost didn't know how to answer. "Yes. I'll come check on you when Valleri's taken care of, okay? I promise."

For a moment, Marisol scowled when she saw Valleri. She sighed and nodded her head, "Okay."

…

Madame Hayn already had her back workroom cleared and ready when Vilkas made his way into the house. The old woman nearly screamed when she saw her daughter. Vilkas would have been impressed by Ulia's composure if he wasn't so distracted. By now, Valleri was beginning to wake up, but she was still far too out of it to be okay.

Vilkas placed Valleri in the chair Ulia pointed out and followed the woman to the kitchen. "Where was she when you found her?"

"Valleri? She was walking back from the beach when we found her."

"She was walking?"

Vilkas cringed, "It was more of a shamble. She hasn't said anything since we found her earlier. She probably has a concussion."

"Obviously!" Ulia snapped. She rubbed her temples in frustration. "There's more pressing issues right now. Take this and make her drink some. it'll help." The old woman all but tossed a heavy dark bottle into Vilkas' hands. "It's the strongest I have right now."

"Oh," Vilkas whispered when he realized it was alcohol Ulia was referring to. Without saying anything else, he went to the workroom. Rostam and Lexius were crowded around Valleri. Rostam was distracted by the strange vials and plants around the room while Lexius kept an eye on his friend. Vilkas lifted the bottle for Lexius to see. "Ulia told us to give this to Val."

Lexius' eyes narrowed, "What is that?"

"Alcohol apparently." Vilkas took a whiff from the bottle only for his nostrils to burn. "Help me lift up her head."

Lexius did as he was told. Most of the alcohol was dribbling down Valleri's chin. Before the two of them knew what was going on, Valleri started coughing up. Vilkas and Lexius glanced at each other questioningly. "Is that-"

"Sea salt? Yes," Vilkas whispered. Lexius used his sleeve to wipe the stale water off of Valleri's face. At least now Vilkas was sure that somehow Valleri ended up in the bay. He could only picture how terrifying the experience was.

"Are you trying to drown her?" Rostam spoke up from the back.

The two men blanched in horror. Lexius shook his head, "No. At least not on purpose." Rostam rolled their eyes as Vilkas and Lexius started cleaning up Valleri.

Ulia entered the room when Lexius was finished wiping the sand and dirt off of Valleri's face. The trio watched as she donned a face mask and a heavy leather apron. The healer cut the sleeve off Valleri's ruined shirt, speaking as she did so. "Did you give her the alcohol?"

"As much as we could."

"Good." Ulia prodded the part of Valleri's arm that didn't look quite right. Even through the dark purple bruising, there was a strange bulge just under the skin. Ulia barely had to touch the skin for Valleri to squirm. "Lexius, come over this way to assist. Rostam, Vilkas; stay here and hold Valleri down. I don't want her thrashing around and I need both hands to fix this."

Rostam tried to muster a smile to reassure Lexius before taking their spot above Valleri's shoulders. Sick to his stomach, Vilkas tried to empty his mind and keep as much weight as he could on Valleri.

"Lex, hand me that rag and the brown, opaque vial on the counter."

The burning scent of rubbing alcohol permeated through the room as Ulia cleaned the dirt from the bulging spot on Valleri's forearm. When she was satisfied it was clean enough, Ulia paused. She nodded in Vilkas direction to let him know she was ready. Taking a clean scalpel from Lexius, the older woman cut into Valleri's skin. Blood oozed from the cut while Valleri screamed and thrashed.

Ulia's face twisted into a pained scowl as she placed the scalpel into a bucket of hot water and dipped her hands into some soapy water.

Vilkas scrunched his eyes closed as he tried to think of anything other than what was happening. All he had to do was keep Valleri down.

"All right. This will be the hardest part. If I don't get this right, the arm won't heal."

Almost on the count of three, Ulia used an iron grip to keep Valleri's left arm in place as she placed her fingers into the incision. She whispered a continuous string of apologies to her daughter while she pulled and pushed the bone back and forth, guiding it back into place. Eventually, Ulia took a fresh scalpel and widened the incision. There was a squelching noise as Ulia moved the skin back to get a better look at the broken bone.

Valleri's thrashing only worsened. She threw her head backwards, knocking it hard against Rostam's chin.

Vilkas cracked an eye open to see Ulia using a towel to mop up the blood from the open wound. When she pulled the towel back, Vilkas gagged. The bone gleamed red under the light above them and set against winding strands of muscle. Small blood vessels wound their way across the surface.

Vilkas reminded himself he'd seen worse. He'd seen worse. This shouldn't have set him off so much.

With a groan, Ulia pushed the bone one final time and the broken ends slid together. She checked to make sure any nerves or bits of muscle didn't get caught between both ends. Exhausted, Ulia sat back in her chair. "This is as much as I can do for now."

"What about restoration magic?" Rostam asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"It's a nice thought, Rostam. But only a nice thought." Ulia's lips curled into a smile for a moment. She sighed and saw the shocked expression on Vilkas' face. "Are you all right?"

Vilkas blinked then nodded his head. His hand curled tightly around Valleri's. The Imperial was out cold.

"The first time is always the worst. You did good, Vilkas." The kind words made the Nord feel a little better. Ulia took her suture kit from the counter and lined up the incision as best she could. "You three can leave if you like. All I have left to do is make sure everything else is clean."

"I'd like to stay here, if that's okay," Vilkas mumbled.

Lexius gulped and spoke up, "I would too."

"That would… be wonderful. Thank you."

"I should probably head back to the ship," Rostam said. Their eyes glanced nervously about the room.

Lexius smiled as he kissed Rostam's cheek. "Yeah, go make sure the captain isn't going to yell at you."

Ulia stood up from her seat, wiping her bloody hands on her apron. "I'll show you out, Rostam. Lexius, can you begin closing up the incision?"

Nodding his head, Lexius did as he was told, wiping excess blood away every few minutes. Vilkas couldn't bring himself to break the silence. Still shaken up, he continued to hold Valleri's hand, hoping that she'd be fine.

From the hallway came Ulia's choked sobs.

…

After cleaning and stitching up her countless cuts, scrapes, and bruises, Ulia had Vilkas carry Valleri up to her bed. The Nord pulled up a chair next to the bed and watched. Valleri's breathing was still ragged and her skin was mottled with bruises. But at least her arm was in a sling.

At least Valleri was safe.

Vilkas perked up when he heard Valleri waking up. It was gradual at first. All Vilkas noticed was her eyelids fluttering open and closed. Then she was looking around the room. Finally she turned her head to look at him with confusion.

"Vilkas?"

"You're… awake. You're awake!" The corner of his eyes stung as he teared up. He rubbed them away as he tried not to look too relieved. Coughing, Vilkas pulled his chair closer to Valleri.

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You're in your room. We found you wandering the docks looking like someone tried to murder you."

"I'm not dead?"

"No. I think you walked back in town just in time to get some help."

Valleri blinked slowly. With a sigh, she stared momentarily at the ceiling then tried to prop herself up. She breathed out through clenched teeth, giving up on sitting upright. Valleri laughed bitterly and let her head sink into her pillow. Vilkas watched on worried, "Maybe you should take it easy."

"Gods, everything hurts." Valleri looked at the sling around her left arm, scowling. The stitches were still red and inflamed.

Vilkas got out of his seat and went to the desk where Ulia left some supplies. He mixed a brown, foul smelling powder into some water and handed it back to Vallier. "Your mother said this should help."

Doing her best to sit up again, Valleri took a sip of the concoction. Immediately her face twisted in protest. Vilkas sat back down in his seat. He took the cup back from her and placed it on the bedside table. "Ulia said it'd take a month or so for your arm to heal up. Even then it will probably be stiff for a while."

"I guess I should consider myself lucky that I didn't break more than my arm."

"Val?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to you?"

Valleri turned her head, staring at him with wide eyes. It was as though she'd forgotten. Before he knew it, she was crying. She looked anywhere but Vilkas' direction, seemingly terrified of being judged.

"Valleri, I'm not… Val, I was worried about you. I'm just relieved. I want to help if I can."

Valleri placed her right hand over her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears anymore. Her tone was thick with disbelief and her words sounded as though they stuck in her throat. "I got pulled out to sea. I think I died for a while. I was at the island. That one I'm always seeing."

"Valleri, you're not making any sense."

Removing her hand from her face, the Imperial stared at the ceiling again. Only now did Vilkas see exactly how deep the bags under her eyes and how sunken her cheeks were.

"I suppose not. Coming to grips with what happened is… difficult."

"You should probably sleep. You'll feel better after that."

Vilkas slapped his knees and rose from his seat. His hand gripped the door handle when he heard Valleri speak up. "Could you stay here? Until I fall asleep maybe? I don't want to be alone right now."

Pausing, the Nord gulped. Finally he nodded, "Yeah. I'll stay."

Without pausing, he crossed the room back to Valleri's side. This time, he sat on the floor next to her. She rolled onto her side to him, letting her hand dangle over the side of the bed. Vilkas took it gently. The gesture made Valleri smile a little.

There was some strange mark on her wrist. Or was it another cut or a scar? The man couldn't bring himself to inspect it closely, but he was sure that it wasn't there before. Valleri noticed him staring and turned her wrist away.

Before he knew it, Valleri's eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly. There was no more wheezing or fighting against her lungs. Her expression was peaceful. Vilkas leaned his head against the wall.

Wasn't he supposed to go meet Marisol? It was too late now. Besides, if she knew what happened, Marisol probably wouldn't be too mad. Valleri needed him more right now. Vilkas glanced out the window to see the moon shining through. It was late. Even Vilkas was tired. Clearing his mind, it wasn't long before he was asleep as well.