There was an odd air in the manor today— it was frigid like the outside, yet encapsulated in the warmth of tea, snowberry to be exact, all coming from a 'woman' sitting at the table in the living area, who most certainly did not come by invitation.

"Ah, just the person I wanted to see!" said the 'lady,' Sheogorath by name. She donned a fine purple dress that Irina had seen her wear back in the Blue Palace, with her hair tied into her signature neat, little bun that the books depicted her wearing. With a pale hand, she waved the Bosmer over. "Come. Sit! SIT!" She exclaimed. "I don't have all day," A pause. She scrunched up her nose a bit, then burst into laughter. "Well, actually, I do."

Irina stood solid in the doorway, hair a mess and clothes stained with tavern ale. She pushed a hand through her hair, closed her eyes for a moment, opened them wide, and showed the most genuine look of befuddlement when Sheogorath didn't disappear with the blink. Finally, she muttered. "Is this a dream?"

"Are you going mad, dear? A dream? I don't like dreams much. They're too easy to manipulate, too easy to mold. Which makes them fun for housewarming parties, but much else is bland. I prefer to do my business in the mortal world when it comes to you mortals," Sheogorath said. "So, no. This isn't a dream. Now—"

The door closed behind Irina, and she could soon feel the wind tug the hem of her shirt as though it were a dog. She was dragged towards the table, fumbling for stability, until her butt finally hit the wood of the chair across from the Daedric Prince. The chair shot forward, forcing Irina to also shoot forward and brace herself with her hands. She let a curse slip from between her teeth. Sheogorath simply smiled at her. The same smile she always wore.

"Let's chat."

Irina straightened herself out and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, all the while looking at the Daedra with mild annoyance. Silently, she hoped it would muddle the fear she felt in her heart. "Don't care to be a polite guest, do you?"

"I do apologize, really I do," Irina looked at her with a half-lidded stare. But Sheogorath was never the one to pay attention to any displeasure she caused her companions. "But I am very excited to catch up with a not-so-old buddy of mine. Oh, how long has it been, Dragonborn? Weeks? Decades? Years? Hard to tell when you've been hanging around for eternity."

"Three months and I'm doing fine, thank you. Though I do ask why you are here?"

Sheogorath moaned. "Oh, by me, I forgot how uptight you were; you're like old Jygalagg. I thought you would have overcome that by a smidgen, a tinsy smidgen, but it seems to run in your blood. The blood of elves that is. And also dragons, Alduin was a dick when I spoke to him last, and that had to be the day before he got blasted through time." Sheogorath said. "Speaking of the scaly bastard, you finally got around slaying him, didn't you? Took you long enough."

"It wasn't exactly an easy task. Alduin is a god."

"See, that's the issue with you mortals. Gods topple as easily as men if you put enough sweat into it. Or you have fate on your side, such as your case."

Irina laughed. "And what does it take to topple a Prince?"

Sheogorath shrugged. "A red amulet and a martyr. A very stupid martyr, at that," She said. "But to go back to Alduin, you still remember your dearest older brother, don't you?"

Irina tensed. Alduin was a sensitive subject, not exactly one she liked to indulge. "Not exactly 'older sibling' material, but yeah, I do. It'd be strange to just forget something like that."

"So I assume you remember shooting his big, scaly heart with that arrow of yours. Correct?"

Irina nodded slowly. "That's right."

"So in your brain, he is dead."

She responded slowly. "Yes."

"But—" Sheogorath paused. Irina looked at her in anticipation.

"But…"

"What if I told you he is not exactly dead."

A huff of air that couldn't be called a laugh came out of Irina. She looked at the Mad God as though she had grown a second head. "Isn't that what happens to all spirits of Aetherius? They don't die. They disperse and reform elsewhere. It's written in the books."

"And the books are right. See, I had a similar reaction when your dear father, Auri, came to me and told me that. "Sheogorath said. "But there is a small thing that makes this matter, the disappearance of your brother, so— strange."

"And what is that?"

"He didn't go back to Auri-el's place in Aetherius. No, he truly… poof!" she splayed her hands out for effect. "Disappeared! Completely. As in not on Nirn. And that caused quite the uproar among the Divines, especially Auri."

"I can imagine," Irina muttered. A loose Alduin. That doesn't bode well for the soul. Everyones', to be exact. "Have they found him?"

"I'm getting to that," Shoegorath snapped. "So dragon-man gathers every Divine, A'edra, and even Daedra, he could think of in a big room at his place. He talks about how his first child is missing, and accusations fly," Sheogorath chuckled to herself. "You should've seen it. Divines and Daedra were turning on each other alike. Stendarr was completely lost, and even sweet ole' Mara almost ended up throwing Secunda at Talos—"

"You said you were getting to the point."

"Oh yeah, I did say that. Anyway, all Oblivion breaks loose. Auri threatens to kick us all there if we don't settle down, so, sadly, we do. He tells us to go searching for the overgrown lizard, and we do. I come back empty-handed, and most others do too. We all get into an argument over whether Auri's gone senile or not when in storms Clavicus, looking as if he fought off Hircine, with his mutt Barbas in tow. He says the dog sniffed something out."

A couple of words came from her mouth, none of which Irina understood. However, she could understand the intent because right when Sheogorath finished, something (as that was undoubtedly the best way to put it) popped into existence right above the Daedra's hand. Sheogorath pushed it over to Irina, who couldn't help but scoot back as the object came sloppily rolling towards her.

She looked at it. It appeared to be ahead, judging from the placement of (what could be assumed to be) eight small, black spider's eyes that circled around its cranium. Its skin was the most sickly green Irina had ever seen, with the color gradually paling at the top until it was a light yellow. It had no nose. Instead, a gaping maw covered about half its face with dozens of rows of little sharp teeth.

It was like nothing Irina had ever seen. Completely and utterly foreign.

"What is it?" Irina asked. She couldn't keep the awe out of her voice.

"Well, a creature, obviously. Just look at it," Sheogorath replied. "You can touch it. There are hundreds more."

Irina quickly ran over to the fireplace and retrieved a long poker. She nudged the head and watched as the sheen of its slimy skin gently rippled under the poker's touch. "Where did it come from?"

"Somewhere."

Irina raised her brow. "Somewhere as in?"

"Somewhere."

Irina gave her a look, and Sheogorath scrunched up her nose. It was unnerving to see a Prince so quick with words fail to gather them.

"It's not a realm," Sheogorath replied but quickly backtracked. "No, no, that's not right. It is a realm, but not in the… complete sense that you mortals think of. That most of us think of."

Irina watched silently as Sheogorath collected her thoughts. "It's like a realm of Oblivion, but take that realm out of Oblivion and place it in the farther reaches of Nirn. Actually, no, wait, it would be more accurate to compare it to Aetherius but, much, much bigger and but not as big as Nirn. Nothing can be as big as Nirn. But this place reaches outside of Anu's influence. Certainly Padomay's. That is if Mora is right."

"So, in simple terms, you don't know where this… thing came from?" Irina said.

"We do, but—"

"You don't know where this place is," Irina finished. "You don't know all the specifics of it."

"Bingo, mortal." Her voice was nonchalant, teetering on the edge of boredom. As if they were only having a friendly chat about horker stew. As if Sheogorath hadn't barged into her home, her home, uninvited and put something strange on her fucking table. As is Alduin wasn't prancing around somewhere doing—

She took a breath. 'Good thieves keep their cool,' it was her first lesson. She continued. "What does all this have to do with me?"

"Remember that dear, ole' brother of yours? He is currently inside of whatever realm this thing came from."

"Fucking Alduin," Irina muttered. She held her head in her hands, gripping tightly onto her greasy hair. It grounded her in a way. "Can I guess what you're going to say next?"

"As you wish."

She looked at the Daedra tiredly. "You're here to tell me that I'm to get him, right?"

"Right you are! I always knew you were smarter than most."

She pushed herself up from the table. She should've known this was the case as soon as the name 'Alduin' was uttered from Sheogorath's mouth. Nothing good comes out of Daedra. Absolutely nothing." By Yffre's roots, of course. Of course," she rapped her knuckles on the wood of the table. "May I ask, why me?"

"You should take that up with Auri. It was he who volunteered you. I must say it was an excellent choice. Who better to go than the last dragon herself?"

Of course, it was Auri-el. Well, damn him. Damn all the eight, or nine, or ten, or however many fucking divines there were.

"How would I even retrieve him?"

Sheogorath shrugged." Just set up a big net and catch him like a bee. But instead of stingers, you have to be mindful of fire. And claws. Really sharp claws."

"The only reason I was able to triumph over him in Sovngarde was because of the scrolls. Because they said, I would. I doubt the same thing will happen twice."

"Well, then that's too bad."

"Yeah, it is," Irina said. "Because I'm not going."

The Prince's hand paused. She looked at the Bosmer with a stare so piercing it could shoot through steel. Lucky for Irina, she'd been stared down by much worse. "Excuse me?"

"It is, as I said. After Sovgarde, Alduin is no longer my destiny."

Sheogorath laughed. It wasn't in that shrill, happy tone that Irina had heard her use in Pelagius's mind when the Mad God had made a joke, but a rather low and strained one. Dangerous. A buzz went through Irina. There was not a trace of alcohol left in her at this point.

"This isn't a request, mortal. It's a command."

"Even commands may be disobeyed, Lord Sheogorath," Irina replied. She made sure that her voice was steady. "I am sure there are thousands of other people on Tamriel who would be eager to follow through with the command of Auri-El."

"But none of those people can breathe fire," Sheogorath said. "Well, a few can with enough wine and magic. But none of them have that 'gift' from your father. None of them, except you."

"Then he'll have to give his 'gift' to those willing participants."

Sheogorath hummed. "Allow me to give you some advice, Dragonborn. The Divines are finicky and slippery and free in all regards, except for whims and wills. They're staunch with those, to the point where they strangle. Say I leave. You get to spend the night drinking away merrily. But what of tomorrow? Do you think your father is the type to give up? Because a mortal told him to?" An intensity had crept into her voice. "You are the blessed of your dear father. The favored children— that I cannot deny— but Dragonborn, you are a piece of his whim, of his will. He doesn't see you as the person you see in the mirror. All he sees is one of his many children, a powerful child, but a child nonetheless."

"What are you saying?"

"If you think you can withstand Auri-el's wrath, then, by all means, I will leave you in peace as you wish. But you're smarter than that, Dragonborn."

Irina was quiet. In that silence of the house, there was only her breathing and the crackle of the fireplace. There were only traces of her. This was her house. Not Sheogorath's. Not Auri-El's. Not the Divines'. Her's.

"There are certainly more of his children to choose from," Irina continued, though she faltered slightly. "There's Odahviing, Paarthurnax, all hundreds of his damned kids, more resilient than I'll ever be. More suited to this type of hunt," she could feel the anger rising through the thin layer of skin. She wanted to scream, to yell, to shout Auri-El out of his damned sky. "Why not them?"

"Don't know. Don't care to know either. Most of the time, it's better that way for all parties involved." Sheogorath said. She tapped the edge of her cup. "So what will it be, Dragonborn?"

"I—" Irina stumbled. The room was suffocating. The smoke had overpowered the scent of snowberry and bonded into every piece of furniture. She could taste that charred scent in the back of her throat. Had it ever left?

She couldn't recall if it had. She could still taste copper and feel the rope scratch at her wrist. Dust was in the air from those fallen buildings, and it clouded her sight. Elle was just as blinded. Maybe that's why all she could see was the sun. And two dots of red. Bright red.

Red. Yeah, there was a lot of red on the leaves that day. A memory so bright that even Auri-el can't rival it. It burned at her skin. Like the smoke, it never left.

"Time is ticking. And falling. Swimming as well, oddly enough." Sheogorath commented.

Keep calm, she told herself. What can you gain from this?

There was certainly something to gain. Something she needed. If Auri-el wanted to give her another damned quest, then wasn't it at least courteous to pay her back in kind?

Irina took a breath and looked up. There was a resoluteness present that hadn't been there before.

"Alright, Mad God. I'll go dragon hunting."

Sheogorath clapped her hands. "Splendid! Now—"

Irina quickly cut her off. "But I have a request."

"You love interrupting, don't you?" said Sheogorath. "But fine. Spit it out."

"I would like something in return. A contract of sorts."

"A contract, eh? You do have enough sight to see that I'm not your beloved father, right? If you're blind, that will make Alduin hunting pretty hard."

"I can see perfectly fine, thank you."

"Then your ears must scramble because I'm not the one putting in the request."

"But you are part of the group, that is. A new realm doesn't just concern the Divines, does it?"

Sheogorath was quiet. Her golden eyes studied the woman before her up and down as though she were a snake. Damn sure acts like one, Irina thought.

A strange smile formed on the Daedra's red lips. It was small and half-baked, but it was enough to show Irina that she did at least arouse some interest in the Prince.

"That is true; there can be no denial. Fine Dragonborn, tell me your desires, and do tell me what I will get from dutifully making such desires come true," she leaned back in her seat. "If the return is stupid, then I will warn you that there's a small chance that I may take your tongue as compensation," she raised a brow. "Is that okay with you?"

"Perfectly fine," Irina said. "I don't think this is particularly hard. Can you wake someone up?"

Sheogorath laughed once again. This time it was in her usual tone. "What an odd thing to wish for! If I were you, I'd wish for omnipotence. The power to turn men into ash with just a daring look. The ability to turn wine to water and watch kingdoms fall because of it, but here you are wishing to wake someone. An odd one, you are."

"It's not that simple," Irina said, with much more force than she'd liked. "She's been asleep for a long time. A couple of years."

Sheogorath whistled. "And how'd she end up like that?"

"Is that important?"

"It is very much so. If she was lulled to sleep by one of my good friends, then that makes things much harder. Especially if it was Vaemina. No one wants to disturb Vaemina."

Irina shook her head. "Nothing of that sort. No mortal magic either. Just a… stupid mistake of my youth."

"Ah, I've heard that one before too many times, from too many mouths," Sheogorath said. "I will do as you wish, mortal."

A sense of relief and slight euphoria came over Irina. "I thank you very much—"

"— But I do wish something in return."

Irina paused. She looked at Sheogorath, confused. "I thought you already agreed that my task was to find Alduin."

"Yes, that is what the group wants. But us Daedra, dear mortal, are very selfish. Just as you mortals, oddly enough."

Irina clicked her tongue. She had already gone so far. If the Daedra was willing to fulfill her end of the bargain, then so be it. "So what is your price, Lord Sheogorath?"

Sheogorath hummed and tapped her cheek. Every second passed felt like a year. She was unmoving for a solid minute until she perked up and looked at Irina with glittering eyes.

"I want something interesting," said Sheogorath. "Something that would make even me shoot up in surprise."

Irina huffed. "You set a high bar.."

"That is true, but I think that the favorite of Auri-el would have no trouble with that matter. Oh Dragonborn, you have already surprised me many times in the past."

"How so?"

"I thought Alduin would've been having baked Bosmer when you fought at the tippy top of the world. But look at you now," Sheogorath beamed. "All safe and sound in your little stone house. For now, at least."

Sheogorath got up from the table and crossed over to where Irina stood. They were only an inch or so apart when she stopped. Upclose, Irina could observe the true inhumanities of the woman before her. The stark white color of her hair that didn't fit in with her youthful face. The lack of color on said face, besides the splashes of rogue, black, and purple that had been applied by makeup. Her eyes were completely black, save for the two bright spots of yellow within them. The way they were shadowed by the firelight made them feel like they were two flames by themselves.

Sheogorath held out a hand. She smiled sweetly, just as she'd done in Peligus's mind.

"Shall we shake on it, mortal?"

Irina looked at the hand displayed in front of her and then at the woman.

'There is no question,' Paarthurnax had said on the throat of the world. She could still remember the way her body shivered under his voice. 'You are doom-driven.'

She paused for only a moment before slowly reaching out her own hand and connecting it with the Daedra's. It was cold. The pointed black fingernails grazed her skin.

"We shall," Irina replied.

Sheogorath gave her a firm handshake and then quickly retracted it. "Now," Sheogorath said. With a snap of her fingers, a long black staff popped into the air and fell right into the Daedra's hand. "Let's get to the real fun bits."