Cearbhail:

So, this is a little slow chapter. With everything else going on, big battles, explosions... everything... there is this little bit where Vatu and his friends are just riding in a carriage to the ruin holding the Aedra killer. And... well... you'll see.

=^^= Enjoy...

[Nisha]

Dear diary,

Today's been something, been a really long day. Where to start? Well, we got to go to a beach, you know… after trekking through a long desert with a hot sun. After three minutes, THREE MINUTES, of walking in sand that came up to my knees, I decided to jump on my brother's back and make him carry me through the desert. I didn't know it would be ten or twelve miles though. And we kept trekking on to Rimmen where we were supposed to meet up with some friends or something like that. So, when we arrived to Rimmen, the first thing we did was hit the beach. We were supposed to meet our friends there. I was so happy to get into the water that I almost didn't even change out of my robes and into a swimsuit. And… apparently Lilly has a Khajiit friend that's my age and she happened to have a bag filled with her clothes and stuff. Whoever it was seemed to like deer pelts and stuff. Whatever, I took one of her swim suits and jumped into the water. It felt great. Met some Khajiits too. It felt great to play with some kids my own age for once.

Meanwhile, Vatu was hanging out with Lilly, our blind little seer. Uncle J'skar was also hanging out with him, afraid that getting in the water would somehow disrupt his necromantic body or something like that. You know, I keep forgetting he was a lich now. He just seems so lifelike. Anyway, I played with Babette and some Khajiits, and pretty much forgot about our worries until some smelly guy covered in crap came running up to us, telling us that our contacts were found out and captured. Well… so much for that fun day at the beach, I guess. We had to go save our new friends, and as soon as we found them, all war broke loose. People were screaming, dying, and Lilly was dead set on me saving one little oddball blue-fur named Prashin. He's odd, but… I don't know. He's kinda funny. I think we'll be good friends. He's coming with us to see the end of the journey. He's the Mane, I found out. Our leader or something like that. I don't really know anything about that. I'm from Cyrodiil; we don't have a Mane there.

But anyway, we finally met our contacts after almost losing a whole town to some Khajiit army. I saw Prashin totally own a field commander, forcing him into exile over killing a whole town of civilians. Serves him right. Vatu almost lost himself when he saw a boy and his little sister facing the death of their parents. Reminded him too much of us, I think. Anyway, we finally met up with our guys, met a bunch of new Khajiits and we're on our way to the pyramid with the device we need to somehow stabilize the world/kill all the Aedra if we need to. And boy… is it boring. I bet everyone else is getting some action, some finale battle worthy of writing, but… no… we're just sitting in a carriage, talking.

Nisha Ernard.

…

So, we've been at it for a couple hours now. The carriage we were in, I think it belonged to our new friends. The leader, a muscular old Khajiit by the name Jode or something, was sitting in the front seat directing the giant Senche down the stretch of desert sand. Yup… back in the desert. It's ok, we have water. Plenty of water. I wish we had a canopy though. I'm sick of all this sun. I swear, I'm going to move somewhere colder, with lots of snow. Maybe. Not sure. This hot sun wasn't helping. I was back to sitting in my swim suit since it was too hot to hide in my mage robes.

Everyone was pretty quiet. I mean, sure, we started out with introductions and all that stuff. And then we had a general debrief as well as what our new mission was. Then, casual conversation about what we want to do after our war was over, as well as what we liked to do. I wasn't really interested in any of that though. I knew what I wanted. I just wanted to go back to the Imperial City with Vatu, get back to my studies at the Arcane University, and just… I don't know. I never really knew anything except running, trying to find a way to live, and relying on my brother to keep us alive. He's done it for the past five years.

The past few months… I've learned a lot about myself, stuff I've never had to think about. You know, about what it would be like to lose him. I lost my parents very young, and I didn't quite understand that. I knew that they weren't coming back, but… Vatu was there. He kept me safe, he kept me company. He was literally the only thing in my life that actually mattered to me. In the past few months, I had to accept that he would leave me. It started at the university. He was training to be a battlemage, I was training to be an alchemist. He would go off on his training mission, and… I had to accept and embrace that. It wasn't fair of me to keep him from doing what he needed to do for himself. He always watched over me, so why should I continue to hold him down? I knew it would be hard for me to let go of him, and then… well… the whole Aedra Crisis began. And so much stuff happened. I had to learn a lot about what I was capable of, even killing someone. Joining an army to stay close to my brother.

I've had to adapt myself a lot to this war. Seeing people die, learning to stand and fight when I knew that I wasn't a fighter. I had to do it a lot with Vatu when we went on our little 'raid' on the ruins for things to sell to merchants in order to pay for food, but… war is different from sneaking around ghosts and zombies, or killing goblins over a turkey leg. I've seen my brother die several times, and several more turn into a raving lunatic with no remorse for killing an entire village of people being controlled by necromancers. And now… after so long, we were coming up on the end of our journey. The temple, or pyramid, whatever it is, it's just down this stretch of desert. We'll do what we need to do and then… one last battle. One last war, and we'll all live happily ever after.

I wrapped my arms around my brother, leaning my head against his arm. He turned to look down at me, smiling weakly and patting me on the head with his other hand. Uncle J'skar watched from the other seat, nodding to me. He knew something I didn't; he knew something we all didn't. He was normally the talkative one in the group, but he'd been silent ever since we got into the carriage. Our newest friends were all either sleeping or making out with each other. The tall buff black-fur was nuzzled against the white-fur, both of them sleeping quietly. The couple next to them: an orange-fur like Vatu and I, and a Bosmer, were making out. Babette was sleeping, and Prashin was looking out at the desert. He looked pretty excited, but from what I gathered, he had never been out here before.

"So…" The black-fur teenager sitting next to Vatu looked towards him. "Are you single?"

There was a choking sound from him and he leaned forward. "Umm…" He looked so lost that he couldn't even begin explaining to her all the crap that was going on with him. Well… I'm sick of other people trying to steal my brother from me. I'm shutting this down right now.

I growled as I looked over at her, leaning forward so she could see me past my brother. "He's mine." I growled to her. "You can't have him."

The girl looked down at me, arching her eyebrows. "Oh?" She looked from me over to him, and then back to me. "Wait… aren't you his sister or something?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I am. You're still not getting him." I'm not letting her get in the way of my brother finding love with Primrose, or even big-nose.

The girl continued to look down at me with astonished eyes. She finally sighed, shrugging. "Then, I guess I'll just have to win you over too." Wait, what?

She looked away for a second, ruffling around in her belt pouches. She smiled as she found something. She pulled it out and… wow. That… that just might win me over. A sweetroll. A beautiful, delicious… perfectly frosted sweetroll.

The girl smiled devilishly at me. "Let me date your brother and… I'll give you all the sweetrolls you'll ever need. My family is really good at baking… and I'm really good with moon sugar." She waved the sweetroll in front of my eyes, making me track its movements. It was… weird. I almost wanted to pounce on the sweetroll and bite its throat. Shabla instincts. She was doing this to me on purpose.

"But…" I almost sounded like I was in a trance. "Primrose and big-nose… they want to date my brother too…"

"Do they offer you treats?" The girl asked, continuously waving a sweetroll in front of my eyes.

"No…" Well, Primrose didn't need to offer me treats. I actually liked her.

Vatu sighed at this whole display. He was finally out of his trance. "Umm… stop trying to bribe my sister."

The girl looked at him. "I'm not trying to bribe her; I'm trying to be her friend. Get to you through her."

Vatu started rubbing his temple. "Shab…"

She smirked at that. "Admit it, you're not saying 'no' to dating me, are you?"

I paused as I looked up at him. He looked lost in his world. I think he was trying his best to keep his cool, and I didn't want my brother to run off like he did a few weeks ago. I thought I had lost him, and it almost killed me inside to think that I'd never see him again. I couldn't have him running off on me, leaving me absolutely alone. I needed my brother, he was the only family I had left. I had to keep him safe from her. So… I had to become something I absolutely hated.

"I hate black-furs!" I screamed to the girl. It stirred everyone in the carriage awake. Even the couple sucking face abruptly ended their make-out session to look down at me.

The girl looked down at me with a blank stare. "Are… are you furist?"

I really hated myself, but… I nodded. "Absolutely. You panthers are all the same." Gods, it felt like poison to even say it.

"Panther? You would call me that?" She genuinely looked hurt, and that made it harder for me to actually continue saying it. But… I had to protect my brother, even if it meant doing this one thing. The girl pulled her sweetroll back, shaking her head at me. "And to think I actually wanted anything to do with you."

The other black-fur looked over at me. "I hate Khajiits like you."

"She's not furist." Vatu said, shaking his head in disappointment. "She's just doing what she thinks is right." He looked down at me, nodding thanks to me before looking at the two black-furs. "Ok, I'm going to say this once: My sister is not furist. She's not. What she is though… is a liar. And a good one. She's just trying her best to get me out of a situation without getting me hurt somehow, even if it means getting herself hurt." He looked over at the girl. "I'll… I'll think about it. You have to understand something though. I'm a Sengar."

That drew some stares. "Sengar?" The orange-fur asked. "You mean… really? You're really a Sengar?"

The carriage driver looked back at us. "Thought I smelled it on you." He paused, looking closer at us, Vatu and me. "Wait… no…no…" He started laughing. "You're J'mhad's children aren't you?" He looked over at J'skar. "And, I remember you, J'skar. You were so little back then. I thought I recognized your name, your scent." The carriage driver laughed, shaking his head. "Such a small world, even after all these years." He nodded as he looked at Vatu and me. He continued looking for a few seconds, nodding in appreciation, tears developing in his eyes. He finally smiled, saying, "I used to fight alongside your grandfather, J'mvar. Man, he and your father, not to mention your uncle right there," He pointed at J'skar, "were some of the strongest warriors in Elsweyr. They pretty much saved all of Elsweyr from becoming sunny beach property to the Argonians."

Vatu nodded. I was surprised to hear anything about our grandfather. I never knew anything about him. "So… how did he die?"

"Die?" The carriage driver asked. He looked up at the sky, lost in his own world. "Huh… that's the oddest thing. He was sent on an assignment with other Sengars to find and kill the Warlord of Black Marsh. He never made it out, but the Warlord was assassinated, we know that. But, it ended the war. Your grandfather probably gave his life to kill the Warlord, which ended our war with Black Marsh." He turned back around and started directing the Senche through the desert. "He was a hero."

The girl looked from the old driver back to Vatu. "Ok… so… what's being a Sengar have to do anything with dating me? If anything, it just makes you more appealing."

"Dating?" The other black-fur asked. He looked between Vatu and her. "Junna! No! You're not dating anyone yet!"

Junna, I thought that was her name, hissed at the other black-fur, who I think was her brother. Kind of like how Vatu was my brother. "Stay out of it, Daan. I can date whoever I want!" She wrapped her arms around my brother's other arm, like how I had. I almost wanted to pull him towards me and away from her. I think that would have led to a pulling match between me and her, and my brother would more than likely get annoyed with that. He just stared off into space like he couldn't believe this was happening. He probably forcibly detached himself to keep himself calm. I couldn't add to that by starting a pulling match. I'd let her have this little victory… for now.

Daan rolled his eyes. "You know Dad will never approve of you dating anyone yet. You're only 15."

She stuck out her tongue. "That makes me an adult! I can make my own decisions. Like becoming a firedrake." She looked past Vatu and me over to Prashin. "I look forward to working for you, Mane… sir."

Prashin looked over at her, smiling widely as possible. "You seem like a nice person. I'll add you to my royal guard once you graduate."

That was all she needed to hear. She looked from Prashin over to her brother, smirking at him. "Hear that? Dad can go suck it. I have a career once I graduate. No more paddy farming for me." She hugged Vatu closer to her. "And I'll have a wonderful Sengar boyfriend, with a new little sister to play with. Oh, it will be wonderful."

Daan rolled his eyes again. "Oh, brother."

"Yes?" Vatu answered with a small grin, which did not help Daan's position on the whole thing.

I prodded Vatu in the side with my finger. "And what does that mean?"

Vatu shrugged. "I give up. I seriously give up. Life hates me; it just really hates me. I try to get away from Primrose, Nexa, Crassi…"

"Hey!" She screamed at Vatu from the other side of the carriage. "I'm with Travis, not you."

"Doesn't mean I can't try to get away from you." He mumbled back.

"I can date you if you want." Lilly said next. Vatu groaned.

That woke Babette up. She looked around. "Wait… if everyone wants Vatu.." Her eyes sparkled as she looked over at me. "We could be sisters!" Oh no… please don't. "Hey, Vatu! In a couple years, I'll be considered an adult!"

"Enough!" I screamed to everyone. I stood up on my little seat, pointing at my brother. "No one but Primrose is dating my brother! I'll even accept big-nose! Or… maybe this Junna girl. I don't know yet! But no one else on this carriage or this planet, or the other dimensions, or even the various other versions of our time space world-based bridges created by a time-traveler, will date my brother! Ever! And he's emotionally unstable because of his red eye thingy going all crazy on him. If you keep pushing him like this, he will snap, and he will kill everyone. And then he'll freak out, run away, and I'll be alone forever! And I don't want that! So, no one is going to push his buttons! No one but me!"

I felt so flustered after saying it, but I couldn't let this go on anymore. I had to protect my brother, the way he was always protecting me. He couldn't take this emotional onslaught of embarrassment and everyone pushing themselves on him. And I had to add to it by screaming his problems to everyone, but he was trying to tell them himself, so in a way, I got him to say what he needed to say.

Everyone just looked at me, wide-eyed, quiet. I sighed as I started settling myself back down to my seat. I wrapped my arms around Vatu's one arm and leaned my head against him. I closed my eyes and just let myself just sit there. It was quiet for a few seconds before I heard Junna say, "So… that's the issue? You get too emotional and your Sengar-ness takes over?"

"Yeah." Vatu said quietly.

"I have something for that!" She replied happily.

That got me to open my eyes. When I looked over his chest, I could see her rummaging around her pouch. "Let's see… health potions, magicka potions… diet potions… mane dye… oh! Here it is!" She pulled out a green vial.

"What is it?" I asked as I looked at the potion. I think I've seen those before. A stamina potion?

"It's a weird little potion. It's a Sengar potion. It forces one into a state of Sengar." She looked at Vatu, smirking. "If you take sips of this… you'll slowly become a Sengar. And, if you can learn how to control it little by little… you'll be able to control your Sengar-ness." She looked back at the carriage driver. "Isn't that right, Risan?"

"Do'Risan. I didn't become honored to have someone not pronounce it. And… it is how we trained our Sengars." He looked back at Vatu. "Sipping the potion will force you into Sengar mode, but it won't be for long. It will be a small weak pulse, but it will be weak enough for you to control your actions. The more you sip the potion, the stronger it will get. It's a great training device, Vatu. If you wish to learn how to control your bloodline… that is a good tool for you to use."

Vatu looked down at the potion, sighing. "I guess I could give it a try." He looked over at us. "If I go… well… you know… well, you know what to do." He popped the lid and brought it to his lips. He barely even tipped it before he pulled it away. He gagged for a second, and I thought he was going to hack up a furball or something. "Wow… tastes like the blood of my enemies."

The old man chuckled. "Probably is…"

Vatu quickly convulsed. And I saw his eyes immediately turn crimson. I'd never really watched him go like this. But… then Vatu blinked, looking around at us like he was flashing. He shook his head, his breathing quickening to the point where I thought his chest was going to explode. I hated seeing him like this. Was he like this every time he turned Sengar? Gods… and I was going to have to deal with this in a couple years too. Let's see… I'm 11 so… four years from now? Something like that.

Just as quickly as his eyes changed to crimson, they turned back to amber. His breathing started to slow down and he reached for his chest like he was having heartburn or something. "Wow…" He groaned out. He started rubbing his eyes, leaning forward. "I feel like I just drank a whole bottle of brandy."

Do'Risan laughed. "Probably did."

"Are you ok?" I wanted to ask but Junna beat me to it. She was putting her hands on his chest, trying to act all cute and innocent, all concerned like as she looked into his terrified eyes. I shabla hate her already. So, I tried to reach over to push her out of the way so I could climb on his lap and ask him myself. Well, we hit a rock in the sand or something and as I tried to get up, I fell out of my seat and onto the floor.

"Nisha? Are you ok?" Prashin asked as he jumped off his seat to help me up.

I sighed as I rolled over, letting him take my hand to pull me up. "Yup, fine."

"That looked like it hurt." He said as he pulled me up to my feet.

I nodded. "Yeah." The stinging in my knees and my head are what hurt the most. I looked over at my brother to see him relaxing as he sat back in his seat. Whatever he was feeling, it was fading away. Good. I hated seeing him in pain. Gives that girl one less reason to clamp herself around him too.

I plopped myself back down next to Vatu, Prashin jumping up right beside me. "So, Nisha..." Babette asked from the other side of Prashin. When I turned to face her, she looked lost for words. "Are you really furist?"

I felt my fur pull up as embarrassment spread over me. Oh yeah… that was a thing. I totally just said that I was. I thought everyone had forgotten it by now. Daan and Junna were back to looking at me, as well as the white-fur. And Prashin, who was a blue-fur. Crap… For some reason, I really didn't want him to hate me. I hated that I even suggested that I was.

I quickly shook my head. "No, of course not." I looked at Junna and Daan. I forced a smile. "Sorry, about saying what I said. I just… I hate watching my brother suffer. And it thought… you know, getting you to hate me would get you away from my brother."

She nodded. "Oh, that I can understand." She looked at Vatu, leaning against him. "So… can I date him?"

Vatu's response was rolling his eyes and looking away. He was so done fighting this stuff that it wasn't even funny anymore. Probably was going to have nightmares about it soon enough. Ha! Sorry, I shouldn't laugh at that. Even if it is very true… very true. Wink, wink.

I only shrugged. "Can I still have that sweetroll?"

The carriage came to a sudden stop. "Well, we're here. According to the map, this is the location."

Lilly nodded as she started to stand up. "Yup, we're here. Ready your magicka, everyone. We're digging for a buried pyramid."

Junna smiled as she tossed me the sweetroll. "Enjoy it quickly. We have work to do." Don't we all…

Cearbhail:

I just want everyone to know... I know exactly how I'm ending my problem with Vatu's love triangle. Sit on that any way you wish to think of it. I have it perfectly figured out. And... begin suspecting things!