"How long were you down there, anyway?" Atreus asked curiously as they walked through the marsh, drawing Serana's eyes to him as she thought on the question for a moment before giving him a light shrug. "Good question...it's hard to say, though...I just feel like it's been a long time..." She said simply before thinking on it a little more in the hopes of figuring it out for herself and giving her companions a more solid answer.
"Who is Skyrim's High King...?" She asked after a moment before Atreus raised his eyebrow lightly and shaking his head a little bit. "I think it's still being sorted out...unless you've heard anything about that damn mess being taken care of..." He answered, turning his attention to Ysmir when he said the last part only for the man to chuckle lightly before giving a light shrug.
"No, as far as I know, it's still a matter of debate." Ysmir said simply as Serana listened to them curiously before shaking her head lightly. "Oh wonderful...a war of succession...good to know the world didn't get boring while I was gone; who are the contenders?" She said curiously before Atreus shrugged a little bit.
"Heard a lot about an Ulfric Stormcloak whenever I stopped in the cities...something about him murdering the last High King with his voice and starting a rebellion, but that's the extent of my knowledge..." He explained simply, which made Serana raise her eyebrow lightly and study him for a moment before Ysmir chimed in.
"Aye, many in Skyrim support Jarl Ulfric because he stands up for traditional beliefs...the Empire supports Jarl Elisif because of the support they gained from her and her husband Torygg, though." He elaborates as Atreus took the details into account and more or less just brushed them off before Serana stopped in her tracks and looked to them with a heightened curiosity.
"Wait, Empire...? What Empire?" She asked in a kind of quick tone before Ysmir looked to her with his eyebrow raised, part of him figured that she must have known about the Cyrodilic Empire, but considering that none of them knew how long she had been locked in the tomb, it seemed very likely that she may have been around sometime before Cyrodil's rise to power.
"The Empire from Cyrodil…" He answered simply, making her look between him and Atreus for a moment as her curiosity was replaced with surprise. "Cyrodil is the seat of an Empire...?" She asked with a noticeable disbelief, earning a light nod from Ysmir before Atreus shrugged lightly. "A crumbling Empire from what I've heard, but yeah...still an Empire." He said simply as Ysmir looked to him for a moment and gave a light shrug.
"You're not wrong...it ain't what it used to be." He said simply as they turned their attention back to Serana, who looked like she was deep in thought at the moment before she finally shook her head and looked back to them. "I must have been gone longer than I thought...definitely a lot longer than we originally..." She started after a moment before taking a breath and looking between them with an increased sense of urgency.
"Let's hurry, please...I need to get home so I can make sense of all this..." She finished in a quick tone before Atreus gave her a light nod in understanding as he met her eyes again for a moment. "We'll have you home before you know it...you have our word." He said in a noticeably softer tone as Serana met his eyes and gave him a content, grateful nod in response.
"Thanks..." She said contently before she and Atreus took a moment to collect themselves and started walking forward again as Ysmir watched them quietly and just shook his head lightly as an amused smirk played across his lips.
As the trio continued their trek through the marsh, Atreus kept his eyes open for any signs of trouble just in case something decided to try and catch them off-guard and attack them whenever an opening presented itself, although despite his best efforts to keep his eyes forward, he found his gaze drifting to Serana every now and then, which led to him eventually being completely distracted by her.
Whenever he started noticing how distracted he was, he made a point to look away as quickly as possible so that neither she or Ysmir would notice as he didn't want to risk making her uncomfortable or let either of them catch him with his guard down; Ysmir looked back just in time to catch Atreus glancing at Serana before quickly looking away and trying to act like he wasn't distracted by her, which made his smirk grow a bit as he shook his head lightly and turned his eyes forward.
Part of him wanted to address the change in demeanor with Atreus, but he figured that it wouldn't be a good idea considering his attempts to ignore it. "So, Serana...what can you tell us about your home?" He asked simply, making her look between them for a moment before thinking on her answer for a moment; she still wasn't sure how much she wanted either of them to know about her or her family.
"There isn't much to tell besides what I've already told you; it's my family home...not the most welcoming place, but depending on who's there, I'll be safe." Serana answered simply, which made Atreus look to her with a noticeable concern in his eyes, although he tried to keep it from showing. "Someone you don't want to see...?" He asked curiously, making her look to him as she tried to think of the best way to answer them.
"My father and I don't really get along..." She said in a simple tone before her eyes dropped as she felt a mix of disgust and disappointment at her statement. "Ugh." She muttered in disgust, which made both men look to her for a moment. "That bad, huh...?" Atreus asked simply, although Serana kept her eyes down and just shook her head again.
"Saying it out loud just makes it sound so...common. 'Little girl doesn't get along with her father'; read that story a hundred times." She said in a kind of disappointed tone before letting out a quiet sigh and turning her eyes forward so that she wouldn't let it bother her as much; although part of her really didn't want to sound like she was complaining about 'daddy issues' around them considering how nice they've been to her so far.
Atreus didn't respond to this right away, but her change in demeanor and the way she talked about the subject told him that she wished things between her and her father weren't the way she described it. "I'm sorry...for what it's worth." He said in a kind of quiet tone, making her look to him for a moment before giving him a brief, but genuinely appreciative nod before leaving it alone.
Even though she wouldn't say it out loud, she couldn't help appreciating how much Atreus seemed to care about her feelings, although she chose not to read into this behavior much as she still wasn't entirely sure about his or Ysmir's intentions for her yet; for all she knew, they could have been trying to coax her into lowering her guard and earn her trust so that they could kill her when they believed she was vulnerable.
Ysmir looked to Atreus for a moment and gave him a content nod as his smirk grew a bit, which made Atreus raise his eyebrow lightly before tilting his head a bit. "Something on your mind, Ysmir…?" He asked in a dull, but kind of curious tone before Ysmir just gave a casual shrug in response.
"No, just listening...and making sure nothing sneaks up on us while I'm at it." He said casually, although Atreus wasn't completely buying it; he could tell the man found something amusing, but he wasn't sure what or why just yet.
Once the cloak of night covered the land again, the trio soon found themselves approaching the Karth River that separated Hjaalmarch's marshes from Solitude's shores, which made Atreus look around curiously before turning his attention to Ysmir. "This is our quickest path, huh?" He asked simply as he kept looking around for a boat or something that could help them get across without getting wet.
"Aye...not the most convenient way to Solitude and definitely not the driest, but it's the fastest...only other option is to go around until we reach Dragon Bridge then work from there, but that'll take awhile; especially considering we'd have to go through the Reach to even have a clear path there..." Ysmir explained as he and Serana watched Atreus look around for a moment before he shook his head in disappointment then looked back to them.
"Well, looks like we're getting wet...unless you know where somebody stashed a boat that we could borrow." Atreus said in a dull tone before Ysmir shook his head lightly in response. "Sorry, no boat around here that I know of...it's either this or travel in the opposite direction until we stumble across a clearer path." He said simply, making Atreus look between his companions and the water for a moment before shaking his head lightly.
"Okay, let's go swimming." Atreus said with a shrug as he made his way to the water, although before he could get a good start, they heard movement to the left that drew everyone's attention to the source and made them throw their guard up in preparation for trouble.
"You both heard that, right...?" Serana asked them quietly as she went for her dagger while Ysmir pulled his battle axe from his back and Atreus went for his bow, both men giving a light nod in confirmation when they had their weapons ready. "Aye, I heard it..." Ysmir confirmed quietly.
"Me too..." Atreus added as their eyes followed the movement for awhile, although there wasn't enough light for them to actually make out anything that would help them identify whatever was stalking them; that was when Atreus thought of something that could help them figure out the culprit much quicker. "I have an idea...Serana, you might want to shield your eyes for a second." He said simply, making them both look to him for a moment as he nocked an arrow then pulled it back while Serana reluctantly did as he asked.
"Ljösta!" Atreus cried as he loosed the arrow, causing the projectile to emit a bright light that illuminated the area significantly and gave them enough time to figure out that their previously unknown stalkers was a group of medium sized frostbite spiders, which were being led by a giant one, that headed straight towards them, although the light from Atreus' arrow seemed to cause them noticeable discomfort and gave the trio enough time to prepare themselves for the creatures.
"This shouldn't take long...let's deal with the smaller ones first then we'll take the big one down together." Ysmir said quickly as Serana lowered her hand when the light from Atreus' arrow died down before they each gave a content nod; Serana started pelting a few spiders with her magic while Atreus fired arrows at the others with almost lightning speed, which gave Ysmir enough time to ready his axe then take a deep breath.
"WULD NAH KEST!" He shouts before charging into the group with a blur and using the momentum from his charge to cut down five of the smaller spiders and even take out a couple of the big one's legs so that he could finish the last two that tried to close in on him before they could get their bearings. After Atreus and Serana finished off any stragglers, she looked to Atreus before motioning to Ysmir and the giant spider. "Go help him keep it busy, I'll cover you." She said in a quick tone, making Atreus give her a light nod as he draped his bow over his shoulder then pulled Leviathan from his back and charged forward.
Ysmir circled the giant spider for a moment as he tried to bait it into attacking him before it swung one of its front legs at him only for him to cut into it with his axe then pierce the spike through one of its eyes, making it let out a pained squeal as it stumbled back; he took advantage of this moment and took out another leg while it tried to use its fangs to bite down on his.
He moved his foot just in time and watched the spider stumble back to its feet and prepare to lunge at him, although upon hearing Atreus coming towards him, he smirked lightly and waited for the spider to lunge before stepping out of the way as Atreus threw Leviathan; the axe flew through the air and cleaved itself deep into the spider's head, freezing it long enough for Ysmir to finish it off with a clean decapitation after Atreus called his weapon back to him.
When the spider fell, Atreus and Ysmir looked to each other as the latter gave a content smile and a nod while Atreus gave a light shrug in response. "Yeah, you're right...it didn't take long." He said with a light chuckle as Serana approached them, although when she noticed another set of shadows moving towards the two men, she raised her guard and prepared to attack whatever it was.
"Atreus! Ysmir! Look out!" She called to them before striking the creatures with ice spikes and lightning, which made Ysmir look behind Atreus and prepare to cut down the rather burly, bestial creature as it raised its arm to attack him. Atreus glanced back for a moment and dodged the creature's attack while Ysmir cleaved his axe through its flesh, making it let out a monstrous roar as it stumbled back, although it seemed to recover from the wound quickly; that was when Atreus and Ysmir noticed that there were three of these creatures.
"Trolls." Ysmir said as he bashed the first one in the head while Atreus got back to his feet then switched Leviathan out for his blades then cut into the second, which didn't recover anywhere nearly as fast as the first when the weapons' flames creeped across its flesh.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!" Ysmir shouts, shrouding the trolls in a torrent of fire while the combination of his fiery breath and the flames from Atreus' blades finished the second off as the inferno weakened the last two significantly, which gave Ysmir enough time to finish the first one off while the third slowly regained itself. The beast, now infuriated by the death of its brethren, charged at Ysmir before Serana mercilessly pelted it with her magic as Atreus cut into it with his blades to distract it until Ysmir charged forward and cleaved his axe through its knee to cripple it.
The troll took advantage of this and knocked Ysmir's legs out from under him, although the man rolled out of its way before it could try to crush his ribs then got back to his feet quickly as it stood back up; it prepared to engage the trio again, but before it could get a good start, the current silence was broken by an ear-splitting shriek as a dragon swooped down and snatched the troll up, catching all three of them off guard as it casually dropped the creature some distance away from them then circled around to engage.
"Finally...something actually worth fighting." Atreus said simply as he sheathed his blades and went for his bow, earning a laugh from Ysmir while Serana joined them and waited for an opening. "Nothing scares you, does it...?" He asked in an amused tone as he replaced his axe on his back before a ball of dark purple energy formed in his left hand, earning a brief laugh from Atreus.
"Not enough to stop me." Atreus answered simply as Ysmir conjured a bow and a set of arrows out of thin air, which made Atreus look to him for a moment and chuckle lightly. "Huh...looks like you have some tricks up your sleeve." He said with a simple, but noticeably impressed tone as the two men nocked their arrows while the dragon flew towards them.
When it was close enough, the dragon unleashed its fiery breath on the trio as it glides over them, causing Serana to dash to her right as she fired ice and lightning at it while Atreus and Ysmir strafed in opposite directions and pelt it with arrows. The dragon circled around once more as the projectiles pierced its hide while the trio switched their positions so that they could take the beast from all sides until it stopped and hovered above Atreus for a moment; upon further inspection, they noticed that the dragon had reddish orange scales, green eyes and was significantly bigger compared to some of the more common dragons.
After a moment, the dragon reared its head back like it was taking a breath, something Atreus remembered during their fight with the draugr in Dimhollow and from watching Ysmir fight, which made him drape his bow over his shoulder and raise his shield before it unleashed the full force of its fire breath on him; while he kept the beast occupied, Serana and Ysmir continued their assault and Atreus used the opportunity to pull Leviathan from his back.
"FO KRAH DIIN!" Ysmir shouts, unleashing a torrent of frost and ice on the dragon when it finished its assault, making it let out an irritated snarl as the frost bit into its scales before turning its attention to Ysmir; Atreus took advantage of this and threw Leviathan at the beast, the axe planting itself deep into the dragon's hide and making it snarl before he called it back then threw it once more to increase the damage while it tried to shake off the consistent assault.
The dragon flew away in order to try and catch them off-guard as Atreus called Leviathan back to him again, making the three of them watch its movements carefully so that they could properly counter its attacks while Serana and Ysmir kept throwing projectiles at it whenever they found an opening; by this time, Atreus had switched back to Talon and fired on the dragon mercilessly in order to keep it busy.
This time, the dragon set its sights on Serana and glided towards her as it prepared to douse her in an inferno, which caught Atreus' attention and made him rush towards her as it inhaled while she and Ysmir kept firing at it; just before the dragon's fire rained down on her, Atreus had wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, got her to the ground and raised his shield in order to protect them from the flames, which surprised her and almost made her instinctively attack what she at first assumed was another enemy until she caught his scent and realized what happened.
As the dragon glided over their heads, Atreus took Leviathan and threw it as he and Serana stood again, causing the axe to pick up momentum as it glides through the dragon's hide, leaving a significant gash in its side as ice crept across the wound before he called it back to him. The dragon circled around once more and directed its attention to Ysmir, who was still mercilessly pelting it with ethereal arrows without slowing down or hesitating; after a brief moment of recovery, Atreus retrieved Talon before he and Serana started firing on the dragon again as they started closing in on its position.
Once it had a clear shot, the dragon prepared to unleash its fiery breath on Ysmir, although as it took a breath in preparation for its assault, Ysmir did the same and waited until it opened its mouth to release its Thu'um before attacking. "FO KRAH DIIN!" He shouts, sending a blast of ice down the beast's throat and stunning it for a moment as it continued its flight, which gave Atreus and Serana enough time to rejoin him as they each kept firing at the beast while it circled around once again.
"We need to get him on the ground, it'll be a lot easier to finish him off, then...I have an idea on how to do that, but it's kind of crazy." Ysmir said simply, making Serana look to him as Atreus responded with a light chuckle. "Sounds like fun...what do we need to do?" He said simply before Ysmir looked to him with a content grin as the dragon let out a roar at their backs, which let them know it was getting closer.
"I need to stand over there with your eyes on me...Serana, you stand over there and keep us covered; now Atreus, when I say the word, be ready to give me a boost." Ysmir explained as Serana looked between them for a moment and shook her head a little bit. "You're sure this is going to work...?" She asked simply, making Ysmir shrug lightly as he turned to face the dragon while Atreus got to his position and waited for his cue.
"Only one way to find out." Ysmir answered simply, making her look to the dragon before her gaze went to Atreus, who didn't look at all phased by the fact there was literally a dragon at his back then looking back to Ysmir and giving him a brief nod as she went to her position and kept her eyes on the beast. Ysmir banished his bow, pulled his axe from his back and dug his heels into the ground as he prepared himself to attack; upon seeing this, Atreus dropped to one knee and got ready to give him the boost he needed.
"Now!" Ysmir called out as he sprinted towards Atreus at full speed, making him raise his shield arm as the wind from the dragon's wings rushed by him and made him breathe in; once Ysmir was close enough, he raised his shield before his comrade stepped up on it, which made him rise to his feet and use the momentum to send Ysmir into the air. After jumping from the shield with Atreus' help, Ysmir raised his axe in preparation for his attack before taking a deep breath and aiming the weapon at the dragon's wing.
"WULD NAH KEST!" He shouts before flying forward and swinging his axe as he used the momentum from his shout to increase the power behind his attack, which caused the axe to bite deep into the dragon's wing as soon as it made impact and rip through the leathery skin that allowed the beast uninterrupted flight then cleaving through one of the thinner bones that held the limb together; the dragon let out a pained roar as it lost its balance and glided over its enemies long enough to crash to the ground before Ysmir landed behind Atreus.
As the dragon tried to recover from its injury, Ysmir went to Atreus' side as Serana rejoined them with a surprised, but impressed look in her eyes before they turned their attention to the dragon and approached it with their defenses up. When it started rearing its head back, Atreus threw Leviathan at its neck and sent the axe cleaving through its flesh as Serana fired ice spikes at it before they each charged at it while it recovered from the damage inflicted by the frost axe after it returned to its wielder's grasp.
When they were close enough, Serana pulled her dagger as Atreus lunged at the beast with his axe raised before slamming it down on the ground, causing a cluster of ice spikes to shoot out of the ground and bite into the dragon's hide while Ysmir cleaved his axe through its neck when it reeled its head back to strike him.
"SU GRAH DUN!" Ysmir shouts, imbuing his axe with a powerful wind before mercilessly swinging it at the dragon with lightning speed and inflicting crippling damage that made it retaliate by snapping at him, although he used the weapon's shaft to defend himself while Serana plunged an ice spike through the beast's eye as Atreus brought Leviathan down on it's neck, making it release Ysmir's weapon as the man used it to cleave a deep gash across its throat.
The dragon tried to fight back after the blow, but was met with a barrage of lightning fast blows from Ysmir and a series of ice spikes from Serana that was followed by a deep cut from her dagger, which made it turn and snap at Atreus, causing him to slide back for a moment before lunging and punching the beast's head so hard that he knocked scales and teeth loose, even disorienting it enough for Ysmir to jump in the air then bring his axe down on its neck once again to finish it off.
Once the dragon let out its dying breath, the trio took a moment to breathe as the beast's flesh started burning away before an ethereal energy left its remains and was absorbed into Ysmir's body, a display that Serana and Atreus watched with intrigue until the spectral light diminished as Atreus approached him with Leviathan propped on his shoulder. "Care to explain that...?" He asked in a simple, but somewhat wary tone before Ysmir looked to him.
"Do you know the stories surrounding the Dragonborn...?" Ysmir asked curiously so that he could see how much Atreus knew about the legend before explaining all of the details, although when he noticed him raise his eyebrow with a sense of realization, it pretty much answered the question for him. "You mean the rare warriors who are born with the souls of dragons, devour their souls upon killing them and have a natural ability to use their power as easily as the dragons themselves...?" Atreus suggested curiously, earing a light nod in confirmation from Ysmir.
"Aye, that about sums it up..." He said simply, making Atreus study him for a moment, although he noticed a look in his eyes that suggested a sense of caution that could evolve into distrust if the wrong move was made, which made him assume that it may have been connected to whatever bitter opinion he had for the Gods of Nirn.
"I know I probably should have said something sooner, but I really don't like flaunting my nature...I'm not ashamed of it, but I feel like revealing myself as Dragonborn upon first meeting someone makes me seem...arrogant; which is something I try to actively avoid." He explained calmly in the hopes that Atreus would accept his reasoning behind not revealing his nature sooner.
Even though Atreus felt like he should be angry for Ysmir's not telling him the truth or the fact he was so closely connected to the Gods due to his dragon blood, he knew he really didn't have any room to judge considering he was hiding his true nature and understood his reasoning behind it; in a way, he respected him for not openly flaunting it like most beings who wielded such power would. "Fair enough..." He said simply as he placed Leviathan on his back then turned his attention back to the river.
"We should go..." Atreus added simply before earning a content nod from Ysmir, who replaced his battle axe on his back and strolled forward. "Aye..." He said contently without missing a step as Atreus and Serana followed him, although when she reached Atreus, she took a quiet breath and went to his side.
"Hey. Thanks for...you know." She said in a noticeably soft tone as Atreus looked to her before giving her a light nod. "You're welcome." He said simply as their eyes met again for a moment before they each regained themselves and walked to the bank of the Karth River without another delay.
Upon reaching the shore, they stumbled across an elderly fisherman who had heard the commotion from their battle and came to investigate, although upon realizing that Ysmir was the Dragonborn, he offered to take them across the river so they wouldn't have to swim; when they made it to the other side, Ysmir paid the man and the trio made their way into Solitude before stopping at 'The Winking Skeever' tavern so that they could plan their next move.
"It's this island here." Serana said as she pointed out a speck of land that was situated off of the North-Western coast of Skyrim and near High Rock's borders, which made Ysmir nod contently as he marked the location on his map. "Alright, now we have a solid location...now, to figure out how we're going to get there since every ferryman we've spoken to seems so skittish about the place." He said simply as Atreus took a relatively long swig from his bottle of mead.
"My family usually keeps a boat to help us travel between here and the island...hopefully, it'll still be there." Serana explained simply, making Ysmir give a light shrug before speaking again. "Sounds good...we can walk from the harbor and make our way along the coast until we find the boat then it should be as simple as rowing across." He said contently as the trio used their remaining time to just relax for a moment before continuing their journey.
As they sat and had a few drinks, the bard who entertained the patrons began playing a soft, almost melancholy, yet soothing tune on her flute that made Atreus stop before taking another swig from his mead and listen for a moment; when he listened a little longer, he learned that the melody sounded eerily similar to a lullaby his mother used to sing to him as a boy whenever he was distressed or restless and he started getting lost in it.
It didn't take long for the tune to make him drop his reserve completely as the memories of his mother returned with her voice replacing the flute's music in his mind and making his icy eyes drop; after a moment, Serana and Ysmir noticed this change and looked to him with a mix of curiosity and concern, the latter of which grew when they noticed tears threatening to form in his eyes.
"Atreus...?" Serana said in a calm, but somewhat worried tone, although he didn't respond, which made her shake him lightly to try and get his attention. After the melody faded, Atreus started looking around before noticing the concerned looks in his companions' eyes and was about to ask them about it before he felt a tear creep down his cheek, which made him quickly wipe his eyes, retake his original reserve and stand up.
"I'll...meet you both outside...here's my share for the drinks." He said in a calm, but noticeably quick tone before tossing a coin purse on the table, taking what was left of his mead and walking out of the tavern without another word, making Serana and Ysmir look between the door and each other for a moment.
"What brought that on...?" Serana asked with curiosity and concern in her tone before Ysmir shook his head lightly, the same concern present in his gaze. "Best guess is that it had something to do with the music...maybe it...reminded him of something." He said in a somewhat surprised tone, making Serana look to the door again before rising from her seat as she looked back to Ysmir.
"Maybe we should check on him..." She said simply, making Ysmir nod in agreement before responding. "You go ahead, I'll meet you out there after I pay our tab." He said simply before she gave him a light nod then made her way out of the tavern quietly.
After stepping outside, she looked around for a moment to see if she could find Atreus, but she didn't see him anywhere, which made her assume that he went somewhere a little more private, which made her start sniffing the air before she picked up his scent and followed it; before long, she found him hidden in the shadows and leaning against the side of the tavern with his gaze turned to the sky.
"Atreus..." She called out in a soft tone, drawing his icy gaze to her after a moment. "Ready to go...?" Atreus asked simply, although she could tell by the tone in his voice that he had been crying a little bit despite his efforts to hold it back, which made her approach him quietly before actually answering.
"Ysmir's paying for our drinks then he'll be out shortly...but, that's not why I'm out here." She said before stopping at his side; his eyes dropped for a moment before he looked away when he realized what made her come looking for him.
"I'm fine, Serana..." Atreus said in a somewhat dull tone, although she could tell that something was bugging him and for whatever reason, she wanted to at least try and help him feel better. "You're a good liar, but even the best liars have secrets they can't really keep hidden, no matter how hard they try...what's wrong...?" She said simply, making him let out a dull chuckle before shaking his head lightly, although he didn't answer her right away.
"Just...followed the wrong trail of thought and ran into a few old ghosts...I'd rather not talk about it." Atreus answered after a moment, making her give a light nod in understanding as she let out a soft sigh. "That's fair, I guess...it's never easy talking about something that...sparks powerful feelings, especially when you've spent so much time trying to suppress them..." She said in a soft tone before shaking her head lightly and adjusting her stance a little bit so that she stood right in front of him.
"But, if you change your mind and feel like talking about it...I don't mind listening." She said in a soft tone as she instinctively placed a comforting hand on his cheek, which made him tense up for a moment before their eyes met again and coaxed him into relaxing a little more.
Normally, Atreus hated feeling this vulnerable around others regardless of how well he knew them or how much they got along, he knew that such vulnerability was something a very cunning opponent could take advantage of, but being around Serana made him feel like he could make an exception; which made him a little more paranoid, but he ignored it when they started losing themselves in each other's eyes for a moment.
Things went quiet between them when this happened and it seemed like they were both just trying to figure out what brought this on before the silence was broken by Ysmir clearing his throat to get their attention, which drew their eyes to him as he watched while hiding an amused smirk. "We ready to go...?" He asked in a simple tone, making Serana lower her hand as she and Atreus regained themselves and approached him.
"Yeah, we're ready..." Atreus said simply before quickly wiping his eyes again to try and cover up the fact he had shed some tears, which made Ysmir look between them for a moment as he gave them a light shrug. "I can come back in a few minutes if you're...sharing a moment." He said in a simple, but noticeably witty tone, which made Serana avert her eyes for a moment as she subtly nipped her lip before Atreus just shook his head lightly.
"No, it's fine...we need to keep moving, anyway...I'm sure Serana's ready to get back to her home and we don't need to delay her any longer..." Atreus said simply, making Ysmir raise his eyebrow lightly before looking between them for a moment then just nodding his head lightly. "Alright, then...let's go." He said simply as the trio quietly made their way out of the city and headed for the harbor so they could finish their journey...
(Not really going to change the A/N here too much since it's still kinda relevant and that any changes made in this one are pretty self-explanatory.)
Okay, another stupidly long chapter, which was completely unintentional, but I underestimated how long this one would go on for; a good few of them will most likely be pretty long and drug out, but I'll try not to make it TOO much of a trend.
So, on that note, I'll just leave it at that, if you have questions that don't reveal big spoilers, ask away and I'll see y'all in the next one, which is now finished and will be waiting on you before you finish this Author's Note.
Adios...