"Who's this joker?"

"Far from a joke my friend. So, I'll politely ask again. Let my friend go or suffer the consequences."

All three bandits started laughing. The slick haired one smiled, casually moving towards Skoref.

"Who the hell do you think you are boy? Me and my men have been in more fights than those useless guards. We eat boys like you for breakfast and pick our teeth with the bones."

"Don't call me boy!" Skoref yelled.

"You got the sword." He opened his arms for a free shot. "Make me."

Skoref's eyes told a separate story from his body. His eyes were stern. Stretched from not blinking. His knees were trembling. Ready to buckle at any moment. Palms sweating over the sword's handle.

"Run away before you get killed!" Shouted Braxen. The redguard smacked her across the face. "Shut up. Harik, stop playing around and deal with him. It's cold out here."

Harik remained in the same open armed pose. "Well?" Skoref let out a battle cry and swung downwards. Poor technique allowed Harik to easily dodge it. He punched Skoref in the jaw, who fell hard. The shield rolled away into the grass.

"Run while you still have the chance boy. You can't take him." Braxen thought.

Skoref tasted blood. All across his teeth. He struggled to his hands and knees. Harik delivered a swift kick to the gut. Skoref went back down, holding his ribs. This type of pain is different from what he experienced as a kid. A cut here. Sore ankle there. He finally realized everything Braxen tried to warn him about. This isn't the end. Not like this. Skoref once again pulled himself up. From the dirt to his feet, standing limp like a puppet on strings.

Harik seemed amused. "This kid got heart. I like that. Take your lumps like a real man!"

Skoref managed to crack a faint smile upon being a called a man. He balled up a fist. One last shot. Skoref threw a right hand. Harik caught it, twisting his wrist. Skoref dropped to his knees, screaming in pain.

"Come on lad. I'm not even twisting that hard. Don't make me regret what I said."

"No...my...hand." He cried. His rash begin to flare up, even more than usual.

"Harik! Stop with the shit!" Yelled the redguard.

Harik looked over to his boys. "Alright, alright. Hold your horses. "He turned back to Skoref to meet a blazing inferno, erupting from Skoref's hand. Harik's head became engulfed in a flame that lit up the night sky. Everyone sat in shock from the amount of fire being presented. Skoref's hand was released, and the flames stopped. What remained what a black, charred skull. Harik toppled over as smoke seethed from his body.

"Harik!"

Skoref grasped his hand in awe. He stared at the other bandits who stared back. Skoref held up his palm like a weapon, aiming between both men. "You guys want some of this? Hah!"

With both men distracted, Braxen snatched the steel dagger from the bald one, slicing his throat. She climbed on top, stabbing him repeatedly. The redguard took off running. Skoref attempted to channel his flame once more, popping a fireball. It hit the redgaurd, blowing a hole in his chest.

"WOOOOO!" Skoref jumped in celebration. "That was incredible! We showed those bastards! We-ow." Skoref leaned on a rock, holding his jaw. Braxen rushed to his side, covered in bandit blood.

"Skoref, are you okay?" She frantically asked. He stopped groaning for a moment to laugh. Braxen was confused. "What is so funny? You were almost slaughtered!"

"You called me Skoref." He kept laughing. It was contagious as Braxen's harried face turned into a relived one and she began laughing as well.

"These damn female emotions." She choked up a bit. "Thank you for saving me."

"It's what I do." He mumbled.

"Hilarious. Let's get back to Riverwood."

"About that. Turns out they were pretty pissed about that lute. I went back and all of our stuff was thrown out."

Braxen nervously scratched her head. "Sorry."

"We'll make do. I took our stuff to the hill just behind a farm near the meadery. We can camp out there for the night."

Arm and arm, they carried each other to the campsite. The cold was unbearing, possibly in the low twenties. Braxen had gathered some loose kindle to start a fire as Skoref figured out how to use this new fire ability. He studied his hand like an ancient scroll for ten minutes. Braxen shivered under her blanket. "Light this fire soon. I still need you to fix my clothes."

"One thing at a time. I can't believe that rash was actually magic. Nords aren't typically gifted with spell casting. This is a blessing." Edna's story became fresh in Braxen's mind. If it was true, then Skoref might be more powerful than he knows. Skoref examined his palm up close. A small flare blew out, setting the tips of his hair on fire. He immediately jumped into a pile of dirt, rolling back and forth to put it out.

Braxen just shook her head. "Hurry up and light this fire before I start calling you 'boy' again."

"Don't worry about me or anything. I'll roast myself for you." A flick of the wrist shot a small fireball from his hand, igniting the campfire. He sat on a log, feeling very proud. "Think I'm getting the hang of this. Now I can sew that tear."

Braxen stood up to remove the blood splattered dress. Skoref covered his eyes as it came off her body. He blindly waved his hands around trying to grab it. Braxen raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing now?"

"My granny told me that I must respect a lady in her vulnerable moments."

"You look like an idiot. You've already seen me naked. Come get this dress." Brazen peered between his fingers, trying to grab the gown. He played around with grass, irritating Braxen. She snatched his hand, giving him an up close view.

"Have you ever been with a woman?"

Skoref made a puzzled face. "My granny."

She smacked him upside the head. "Not like that. Have you ever had sex?"

His pupils got large. "No."

"Why does that not surprise me." She went back to her bedroll and covered up. "When we get to Windhelm, I'm taking you to Black Cats. One of Skyrim's finest brothels. My treat."

"Ew, isn't that dirty?"

"As dirty as you want it to be my friend. I spent many of nights there. Gallons of the finest ale. Women all over me. Waking up stretched out over a nice, plump set of breasts. Man those were good times. Then I got married."

Skoref had begun stitching the dress. Torn from the collar to the chest. A decent sized tear, but not too big to repair. "You sound disappointed."

"Not at all. Funny enough, Black Cats is where I met my wife. Midan was one of the women I frequented. Shiny black hair and a smile that could turn a black night into a bright one. She would talk to me for hours upon end. Laying on my chest under the moon. Telling her secrets that I wouldn't tell men that I shed blood for. What we had became more than sexual. It was..."

"Love."

"Yeah." Braxen whispered. "Love. The boys told me I was mad for loving a whore but, I was all that she wanted and she was all that I needed."

"That's beautiful. I didn't think you had such a romantic side."

"Yes. If you tell anyone-"

"I know, you'll kill me."

Braxen chuckled and Skoref followed suit. She dug a bottle of mead from her bag. Opening it and taking a huge swig. She passed it. Skoref saluted and took a drink. A hot fire with a cold bottle of ale wasn't the worst way to spend a night. When passing the bottle back, he noticed Braxen rubbing her chin while staring at him..

"I don't like that look you're giving me. What did I do wrong?"

"Ever since we've meet, I've been racking my brain about someone you remind me of. Now I know."

"This should be good."

"When I first became a captain, I was assigned to a group of rookies. No veterans. Everyone was in standard form, except for this one guy named Dabi."

"Dabi? What kind of name is that?"

"Beats me. Anyway Dabi was very short. Shorter than you in fact. Very weak to the point he had to hold a regular iron blade with two hands. No way in shape for combat but he wanted to be a Stormcloak so bad. We kept him around for other tasks like horse cleaning and cooking. He held out hope that one day he would join us on the battlefield."

"Doesn't sound like what I would do."

"He was a good kid. Made us laugh when his armor never fit. Somehow he made jokes about cabbages funny. A pleasure to be around." Braxen's smiled faded as she stared into the fire.

"I guess this is the part where everything goes bad?"

"Aye. We never expected Dabi to fight. The boys would mockingly train him. Making him run drills that had nothing to do with battle. To his credit, Dabi didn't complain once. One day, my team of five was delivering supplies to a nearby camp. We walked into an Imperial ambush. Completely outnumbered but we managed to hold them off. When the smoke cleared, Dabi had taken multiple arrows to back. Shielding another Stormcloak from the fire."

Skoref finished the last stitch. He handed the dress back and quietly sat back down.

"Any man dying on my watch hurt. Dabi's death hit me harder than anything I've seen in my time. Dabi deserved so much better. He didn't belong out there with savages like us. Turns out he was an orphan who grew up in Windhelm. No parents or siblings to speak off. As we buried him, it finally made sense that we were his only family. It changed me. That's why I'm rough on my men. Pushing them to the limit. That's why I'm hard on you Skoref. I couldn't forgive myself if I let you die."

By this point, Skoref bundled up under his bedroll, invested in this story. "I understand."

"Do you?"

"I mean, we could both die and I am scared at that fact. I'm not a warrior, nor do I want to be. Take me for what I am. I'll do my best and if we work together, things will be alright."

"That means a lot. I know realize I'm extremely limited to what this body can do. As you say, let's work as team. Tomorrow is a new day and we'll take Windhelm by storm. For now, rest is my only concern."

"Right. Right."Skoref admired the night sky. "Hey Brax, that fireball was pretty cool huh?"

"It was."