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"You know about those shadow things around you?"

Mercer Frey's heart shift by the whispered question. As if the assassin had given them strength by suddenly pointing at them, they feeling more real than the thief would have liked them to. The shadows, that always followed and creeped around him, spoke: "She sees us? She knows! Your taint, your crimes!"
The shadows spoke in hissing, gurgling voices and their presence covered him in cold touches of caressing hands. Mercer could feel them smiling, how excited they were as someone saw and made him to pay attention to them. Despite how much he always tried not to, ignoring their attempts for his attention.
And he had thought that no-one else could see them.
"What shadows?" the older Breton scoffed, glowering at the woman who seemed visibly disturbed by what she was seeing.

Oh, Morgene thought in her head and felt guilty. As also regret.
Seeing how her question made those misty creatures with hoods, pearly eyes and mouthless faces more vibrant. She wasn't supposed to pay attention to them, wasn't she? As how the man questioned her, while it was clear that he knows about them. And now he knows that she knows. It was though very hard to ignore them when there was so many and all of them drawn to the man. Like the shadows in the Cistern were alive, crawling towards him. They spoke with dead tongues that she couldn't understand and one of them reached in a pleading way. Its hands reached for hers and she quickly stood up from the table to avoid it.
The Breton woman laughed, nervously, and grinned at the unfriendly guildmaster: "A- Hah! Got you."
She took steps away, backwards, smiling at the staring man: "Just a joke, because, you know, thieves? Shadows and all, so... You are- Krhm, covered by shadowy thingies."

Coughing Morgene just wanted to get away from the unnerving sight, the opportunity appearing as she stumbled at someone walking behind her. She took the annoyed Niruin by pulling him in front of her: "This guys understand the joke!"
She quickly walked away after that, leaving confused thief to look at her and then at Mercer. The elf didn't want to get mixed up into this and as Mercer didn't seem interested, the archer went back to his own business. While assassin was leaving the Cistern, Mercer could hear the shadows mocking him: "She knows, she knows! She saw us! She'll tell everyone. You traitor, you murderer! Nocturnal wants it bac-"

His hands on the table squeezed into fists with whitening knuckles. He stood up and got to his desk to try and focus onto something else, till the shadows would be less real.

In the Ragged Flagon people were also awake and up. Vekel the man had cooked something that made Morgene concern second breakfast, as she sat down and joined Delvin's table. The man was looking through some papers, glancing at her before greeting with amused tone: "Mornin', didn't stay for cuddles?"
"Good morning, and no." The woman yawned: "Can't throw all the bait at once. Gotta leave something to be nibbled for more."

"Maul hates fish," the senior member of thieves revealed. The assassin gave surprised look, not because of the fact but because it was given in the first place. She wouldn't complain though, taking it gladly. Watching him working she told about the Cistern: "I maybe angered Mercer."
"He gets pissy easily," the Breton man said and read some document before writing with a quill. "Just avoid him and it won't come biting back at you. Don't tell anyone I said all that, though."
"...Why are you telling me all this?"
Delvin put down the quill and looked at the member of Dark Brotherhood with thoughtful expression. The bald man tapped against his empty mug while forming an answer in his head. "Maul's a big boy, he can make decisions," the thief started in quiet enough voice, that others around didn't hear: "But he needs some fun too, while dealing with all the Black-Briar's crap. You seem sane enough, to not use him as a pincushion."
Elbow on the table Morgene leaned against her hand, pondering and then asking: "So are you like the nice uncle of this family?"
"At least you called me an uncle, and not grandpa," Delvin muttered, picking up a paper.
"Oh, we have a grandpa in our family," the assassin smirked, standing up. She made a mocking show of Festus Krex: "A very grumpy one, who threatens to burn your asshair and complains young people not showing respect, hrmp!"
Having a laugh from Delvin, Morgene lowered her waving fist and went to the counter. She was very happy when Vekel gave back the stuff, which she had left in the tavern when leaving with Maul. Not single a coin, potion nor spoon was amiss. Even the bee statue was among them! It could be from desire not to flip the assassin's wig, but she believed it was from companionship not to steal her stuff.

"Thank you Vekel," she sweetly said while hugging her bag and sitting at the bar. The slim Nord put down just cleaned tankard and with a grin leaned against the counter: "Sure, anything for paying customer." Silence, the two of them staring at each other. The man waited. It took a moment for the smiling woman to wonder: "Yes?" Which made the friendly tavern owner to turn somber: "Your tab. From last night. There's no handouts here."
"Ah, right, right," Morgene nodded, starting to look for her coin purse: "Give me mead while at it?" Vekel didn't serve nor go anywhere however, waiting for his money. That gave a pretty clear view of the man and his attitude towards business. Nazir would like the guy, maybe, though did Vekel dislike curved swords? Pouch in hand the assassin asked, how much and the Nord answered.
...The sum was bit pricey. Actually, more than she had septims in hand at the moment. This created an awkward, tensed up situation.
"I'll be visiting Riften more in the future, so I'll just pay my debt in pieces each time?"
Vekel didn't agree to it. He didn't know her enough and the tab was too big to wait for the money that long.
"I'll pay it next time, all of it? Plus interest?"
Still no. Huffing the Breton leaned against the counter too: "Okkay, what do we do then? Marinated me in tar and feathers? Waste of recourses though..."

Vekel thought about it, pondering the assassin's skills and what he needed. Morgene waited for her punishment with pouting face, chin resting on the wooden surface. She wanted a drink already. Would Vekel deny serving her till the tab was payed? By bees, if he would let her, she could pay it next time! She wasn't poor, she was a successful antihealer, she has nice nest egg.
"There is a place in Windhelm," the Nord started and the Breton's brow quirked. "Called Calixto's House of Curiosities. I have a buyer with, shall we say, an odd taste in collecting things. They're interested in parti-"
"Waaaait wait wait," the woman shook her hand at the frowning man. "You want me to steal something?" Vekel nodded, and Morgene turned around on her barstool. Delvin Mallory was putting his documents into a neat stack, when called: "Oi, uncle Delvin!" The older Breton gave perplexed look at the two in the bar. Morgene motioned at her armored body: "What color is my gear?"
Glancing at her, then at Vekel, the thief answered black and red. Then he shook his head when asked, was he colorblind. With this fact presented, the assassin turned towards the bartender: "Are you colorblind?" Arms crossed the Nord shrugged: "Thought you would be interested at trying something different from your line of work." The assassin tried laughing but instead coughed and swallowed, hoarsely speaking: "I'm good, I love my job. You sure I can't pay in murder? I can do good murder, or even torture? Just give me a target." Vekel the man declined. He didn't have anyone in his shitlist, and he would actually get money from this. More than Morgene was actually owning for him. But she didn't need to know the details, so to soften her up a bit, the Nord took out a bottle of mead and served it to her. The Breton didn't touch it, just glanced suspiciously.

"If you do this, I will not only forgive you the bill, but also support you with Maul. With anyhow I can."

Morgene took the bottle with the widest grin ever and agreed to the deal. There surely is someone in Windhelm needing dagger into their back and Riften, with Maul, wouldn't go anywhere! Right? Better not, or she will be very upset.

Woken up alone, cold and with a headache, Maul hadn't enjoyed of the morning. He surely was behind his schedules for the day. Just more things for Maeven to be mad about. Also his places ached from sleeping in a hay pile on a floor.

The Nord grumbled while putting clothes back on. He really hadn't been straight in his head last night. Then there was the missing assassin, already left and nowhere to be found. It struck him odd as wasn't she supposed to... Well, be crazy about him or something? He expected seeing her when he entered the Cistern, yet did not see black and red, nor reddish blond. Instead, trying to comb his wild bedhead with his fingers, Delvin Mallory the gaffer approached with a letter in hand. "Still alive I see," then the Breton gave a dirty smirk while asking: "How was it? Got your rocks off good, right? It's rare when they're nutty and sweet at the same time."
Maul gave the best menacing glare he could, even as Delving kept grinning. Pervy old man.
The thief chuckled all-knowingly, telling while passing: "By the way, Morgene left you the bee statue at Vekel's place. She got to leave for an important mission, said she would be back."

The surprised, happy face didn't go unnoticed by the senior member. For what that tug of a smile was, didn't matter much to him. He got to deliver a letter for Astrid, as Morgene had asked. The girl would own him one though. The Breton man stopped by the guildmaster's desk, telling Mercer Frey of the latest gossip.