"Welcome, little one, to your own head."

Elana blinked. But maybe that was just an illusion, because there was no way Mirmulnir could truly be in front of her again. He did just say she was in her own head. But how was that possible?

The ancient dragon sighed. "You must learn to keep your thoughts to yourself. They're liable to run away with you."

I don't understand-

"You threw yourself in front of a knife, Elana, and now you are unconscious. Was there some other outcome you expected when you went running unarmed towards an attacker?"

I'm not speaking how is he-

"This is your mind, hatchling! Pay attention to it! You can guard your thoughts and keep them from me. You have done so before now. What is so different?"

Elana glared at him, variations on 'I wasn't stabbed then' begging to be let out. She would not let him have victory, so she calmly stared back at the waiting dragon. When he realized she was doing as he said, Mirmulnir smiled.

"See? Now you had me worried there. Same with the wolf. But if you'll notice, there isn't any pain to register. Look."

At his urging, Elana turned and looked. She saw nothing but a blank expanse, but there was no pain. There was no shouting body angry at her for doing the right thing. Elana imagined tilting her head, then turned back to Mirmulnir to find the wolf had joined him.

"The silly thing didn't believe you were here."

"What does this mean?"

"It means there's a healer working on you, healing your body. You want to come back, to open your eyes to the world and communicate. However, it would seem the healer deems you not ready to start ordering her around. So for now, you are stuck awake in your mind but asleep in your body. I think the most advanced healers I had known called this a coma."

This isn't real?

"Control, Elana. I am glad you are picking up some of the dragon tongue I inadvertently use with you. Now pick up this."

"I am trying. You want me to re-adjust my head."

The wolf got up and started lazy, comforting circles around what Elana assumed must be her legs. Though if she was inside her head, then she wasn't really standing. Or talking. Or breathing.

"I do not understand this anymore than you do, hatchling, though I wish I did. But this conversation is most certainly real, else every other exchange we had would not be real. How then would you know how to say 'slayer of fools?'"

"Hold on. I'm feeling strange." There was a prickling sensation all over and a very sharp pulling at her ribs. "What's happening?"

"I believe, dovahkiir, you are waking up."

"What-"

"-is going on?"

The healer who was standing over her blinking eyes was pushed aside by Vilkas. "Elana, you're awake!"

She scrunched her eyes shut to the light and sounds. "Yes. What happened?" When she opened her eyes again, everything was a little easier to handle. "I do remember why I'm in what I assume to be…actually no I have no guesses."

"You had killed the attacker, so all I had to do was figure out how to keep you alive. That was no small feat, seeing as you are apparently out of health potions and none of the guards wanted to get near us. Blissfully, this woman helped me get you inside her room at the inn. She's been using potions and Restoration magic to heal you."

The woman nodded. "You'll have to forgive me; I may have made you sleep longer than your mind wanted. But your body needed rest."

"My mind did wake before the rest of me." The woman blanched. "If it was good for me, don't worry about it. What's your name by the way?"

"Margaret. I thank you for saving my life."

Elana's eyes widened. "You were the woman attacked?"

"As I told your fellow Companion, I am an Imperial investigator here due to all the Forsworn attacks, and likely stuck here due to the escalating war. But so few in this city will help. I've been threatened by so many guards. It's a new one each time, since flashing my credentials from the Empire still gets me somewhere in this city. If the Stormcloaks take it, I hope I'll not be run out."

"We'll see that the Jarl understands you're a good woman who should be helped to the utmost," Vilkas interjected.

Elana felt a flash of something unpleasant. If she didn't know better, she'd say it was jealousy. "Can I get up now?"

Margaret shook her head. "Not yet. If anything, I would recommend going to sleep." Elana started to lift herself up anyway. "I said, no!" The investigator pressed gently against the warrior's shoulders, at which point Elana melted back down. "Do you understand why now?"

"Yeah. Can I have some chamomile tea?"

"Of course," she said, just as Vilkas asked to talk to her outside. When Margaret handed her the cup of tea, Elana tried to drink it down without at thought as to that conversation.