The smoke hit the back of his lungs, his chest rising as he drew in more until the lightness in his head told him to stop. Eyes closed, he pulled the hose from his mouth and let the smoke free in a long, slow breath that took the cares of the last few days along with it. He looked up at the rising cloud and smiled, then slid his eyes to Bralsa, who sat across from him on the floor by her bed.

"That's good," he said, leaning back against the wall, savoring the clove and hints of gold kanet.

"It had better be," Bralsa said. "Cost me a shiny septim!"

Vanya nestled in close beside him and he offered her the hose. "Want to try it?"

She nodded, sitting up a little as she took it. "It's been a while," she said, wetting her lips. "Don't judge me if I choke."

"Start slow," he advised, watching intently as she closed her mouth around the tip and inhaled. She hadn't been interested in trying his pipe before and though he didn't mind, he could admit he'd always had selfish reasons for offering. As she lowered her hand, the smoke that curled from between her lips and the slight smirk as she blew out the remainder was a nearly obscene seduction that made him regret the presence of the others in the room.


She handed the hose back to him, uncertain whether the shiver that ran through her was from the smoke or the heated look in his eyes.

"What do you think, Feathers?" Rodane asked, reminding Vanya that they weren't alone. She looked to her left and snickered when she saw Scouts-Many-Marshes blowing little streams of smoke from his nostrils.

The argonian grinned at her and puffed the rest of it through his sharp teeth, causing her to laugh. "It's not Reef Tallow," he said. "but it's passable."

"Not having my insides turn to stone is more than passable," Bralsa asserted.

The breton nodded in agreement, his mouth hanging open as he let smoke waft out lazily. "I've always been partial to foxglove blends," he said, smacking his lips. "This stuff makes my throat numb."

Bralsa arched her brow, catching Vanya's eye. "Good for blowing 'O's."

Vanya pursed her lips as she reddened, casting a quick glance at the men who, thankfully, did not seem to be in on the joke. The dunmer chuckled as she laid her head back against the mattress, drawing deeply.

"Don't take this for granted," Teldryn said, offering Vanya the hose. "It's rare enough to get gold kanet in Blacklight, let alone anywhere else." He looked at her with a grin as she put the tip in her mouth. "Didn't think I'd ever smoke it again."

A loud crash from the hallway got everyone's attention and Vanya startled in the midst of her inhale, causing her to cough violently. Rodane hopped up and headed for the door while Teldryn whipped back around, pulling the hose from her hand as she wheezed, her eyes watering.


"Breathe," he said, channeling a calming spell into his hand as he pressed it to her chest. Her coughs slowed to ragged breaths and she sniffled, wiping her wet cheeks and nose with her hands.

With her outburst under control, he got up to join Rodane by the door. If whoever was in the hallway was not in peril, they would be soon.

"...Xuth!" a deep, raspy voice said and Teldryn's anger was tempered with confusion when he saw a bulky, brown colored argonian scooping dirt up around a small plant, pieces of a broken pot strewn about. "Xuth! Xuth!"

He and Rodane shared a look.

"This is the last cutting Teeba- Ei has," said the argonian desperately. "All the others perished! It's the last one Teeba- Ei has!"

With the plant nested into a pile of dirt in his palms, he looked up at them with pleading orange eyes. "Do you have a bowl that Teeba- Ei could use?"

Teldryn shook his head and laughed at the ridiculous sight and turned back into the room as Rodane called over his shoulder. "Bralsa, you got a bowl in here?"


"Yeah," she said, craning her neck. "On that shelf by the door, but it's got my..." Rodane grabbed the bowl and dumped the contents on the top of the shelf. "...Oh, sure. Go right ahead," she finished sourly, shooting Vanya an exasperated look as she settled back down.

Vanya reached out her hands as Teldryn approached, a silent request for him to help her up. He grasped her hands and pulled her up easily.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little light-headed. Not sure if it's from the smoking or coughing. I'm gonna get some water."

She headed around the bed for the small table against the opposite wall, scooting aside the chair to stand as she picked up a cup and filled it with water from the silver pitcher. She took a sip and her eyes widened over the rim of the cup when she saw the brown argonian following Rodane into the room, dwarfing the breton by more than his head and shoulders. She'd seen him from afar the other day at Dreyla's house and his size had not been a trick of the eye. She swallowed with difficulty from the numbness in her throat.

"You know," Rodane said as he approached the table, his hands full of pieces of the broken pot. "My ma could fix this with her magic." He set the pieces on the table and turned to face the Argonian, who was holding the bowl that carried the little green shoot tucked haphazardly into what he could gather of the dirt. "Guess that doesn't really help since she's all the way in Bravil, does it?"

"Teeba- Ei will return the bowl when he buys a new pot." His voice was like a rake being dragged over rocks.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Rodane slapped the argonian on the shoulder then paused for moment with a slightly pained look, shaking out his hand as he walked back to the circle around the molghelu.

Vanya looked up at the imposing figure next to her, a mountain of scales with two horns curling back from either side of his head, one of the horns sporting a stack of rings that made her wonder if they were merely decorative, or if they meant something as they would for dunmer. He was so different from the others and now that she could see him up close she noticed he had many scars and chipped scales. She dropped her eyes when his orange ones flicked toward her briefly, feeling incredibly awkward for staring so openly. Smooth, Vanya. His fingers were trembling slightly as he fussed over the tiny plant in the bowl and she took pity on him. He seemed really shaken up, or nervous. Either way, it seemed as if it was all he could do not to crush the poor little thing as he pressed the dirt around it.

She smiled, setting her cup on the table and gesturing toward the bowl. "May I?" He stilled for a moment, then nodded as he slid the bowl her way. "What kind of plant is this?" she asked as she began righting it, trying to prop it up with the soil.

"A Somnalius Fern," he answered. 'It is nothing special. A common thing to find in Blackwood."

"Where's that?"

"It is where Teeba-Ei was raised, in Cyrodiil." Vanya hummed genially, encouraging him to continue. "Er...Bogwater, on the Topal Bay." She glanced up at him sideways with a smirk. She still had no idea where he was talking about, though that wasn't really his fault. She raised her eyebrows and he fidgeted a little. "Sometimes Teeba-Ei and Okura would travel to the border of Blackmarsh to climb the abandoned tower. The ruins of Gideon could be seen through a spyglass. Gideon is where Raj-thtithik...er...Grandmother used to live. She used to say she was glad to be in Blackwood, because Blackmarsh does not have Somnalius Fern."

Vanya frowned a little as she looked back at the small frond. That seemed such a trivial thing to be glad about.

"Her hut was covered with them, huge, like one big fern."

"That sounds lovely," she said as she reached for her water to moisten the soil.

"It was," he rasped, quieter. "It was."

Vanya took a deep breath, suddenly awash with an overwhelming melancholy. Whether it was from the effects of smoking or the tone of his voice, she couldn't say, but she felt she understood what this little plant meant to him. It was a token, a memento of an idyllic past.

"What's it for?" she asked hoarsely, hoping to steer her mind into more comfortable territory.

"It is for Teeba- Ei," he said plainly and she laughed, trying to suppress it while her eyes burned, welling up. She almost clarified that she'd been asking about alchemical properties but decided against it. It didn't matter.

With the baby fern looking no worse for wear, except one little bent leaf, she slid the bowl back toward its owner. He lifted it carefully in one hand, appraising, then turned his eyes on her. "It is good that you were here or she might have been lost."

Why did he have to go and say that? She'd been doing so well. Her lip quivered uncontrollably and Teeba- Ei shrank away, tilting his head in confusion. "Thank you," she squeaked out, sucking in a breath as she wiped the tears that were streaming from her eyes.

"Uh...uh..." Teeba- Ei stammered, setting the bowl back on the table.

"What the fuck did you say to her?" She jumped a little as Teldryn appeared beside her, cornering the argonian between her and the table.

The argonian raised his hands, which were trembling again. "Teeba- Ei didn't..."

"Teldryn, stop!" Vanya lunged forward and grabbed a handful of his shirt, yanking him around to face her."I'm fine!" The skepticism that transformed his expression was staggering. "Really!" she assured, wiping the wetness from her cheeks to try and look more convincing. She looked around then, very aware that all eyes were on her.

"Really, I am." She shrugged. "It must be hormones or something."


Had he heard that correctly? He glanced over to the group on the floor, then back to Vanya. Rodane snickered.

Clearing his throat, he repeated under his breath, "Whore moans?"

"Yeah, hormo-" Her eyes went round and she gaped for a moment before sputtering and breaking into a raucous laugh. He watched her- only slightly less perturbed than the others- as she tried to get control of her giggling. "S-Sorry..." she croaked, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands, then dropping them with a sigh. "I mean, it must be the tobacco getting to me."

He squinted doubtfully, though the confused tension in the room dissipated with her excuse.

She huffed, raising her chin. "I think I should have some more, don't you?"

He chuckled as she batted her lashes playfully. "If you like."

She turned her gaze to Teeba-Ei. "You should join us, if you're not busy." The only indication the argonian was not made of stone was the twitching of his nostrils and his widened eyes, glowing like two miniature suns as he stared down at her.

"You'll get used to her," Bralsa called from her place on the floor. "She says weird shit all the time."

Vanya scoffed and headed back across the room, muttering, "Thanks for that."

Teldryn eyed the argonian suspiciously before following her, wondering what had transpired between them to garner such a reaction. Though he did find himself sympathizing a little; he had been blindsided more than a few times by her emotional responses. As he settled down next to Vanya on the floor, now a little amused by the whole situation, Scouts-Many-Marshes said something in Jel to Teeba- Ei, beckoning with a scaled hand. Finally, the monolith began to move, making his way toward the group with tentative steps that seemed entirely incongruent with his size.

Rodane scooted closer to Bralsa, patting the space between Teldryn and himself. "Right here, Big Horn." Vanya slapped her hand over her face, smoke wafting from behind it with a groan as she shoved the hose in her other hand in front of Teldryn.

Teeba-Ei lowered to the ground with all the grace of dwemer centurion, crossing his legs. "Er...Thanks," he said as he situated his thick tail around one side.

The grinning breton held out his hose for the argonian. "Take mine, she'll share with me," he said, cocking his head back toward Bralsa, who blew smoke at the back of his head in response. Teldryn took a long draw.

"That's the best you can come up with?" Scouts-Many-Marshes drawled. "Big Horn?"

"You got something better?" Rodane retorted, waving a hand toward Teeba-Ei as if that was all the explanation necessary.

"You could use his name, you know," Bralsa snarked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Rodane leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder. "Hmm, Nightshade?"

Bralsa swatted at his head and he raised an arm to block with a yelping giggle. A rumbling chuckle came from Teeba-Ei as he finally brought the hose to his mouth. Teldryn blew smoke upwards, passing the hose back to Vanya.

"Ought to call you Stampcrab the way you lumber about," Scouts-Many-Marshes said with a snicker. "I thought Neetranaza was going to dig under your scales after you stepped on his tail yesterday."

The larger argonian exhaled a plume of smoke with a grim look. "Neetranaza was not happy."

"Stampcrab," Rodane repeated, then shook his head. "Nah...Ooh! Lumberfoot!"

"That's even worse..." Scouts-Many-Marshes retorted.

Teldryn was beginning to tire of the conversation and looked over to Vanya who was blowing a thin stream of smoke through pursed lips as the others began bickering over what to name their new friend. She handed him the hose, sitting up straighter with the look of someone who had just come to a momentous realization.

"Godzilla," she said loudly, positively preening with a broad smile when the room fell quiet. Perhaps the tobacco really was getting to her.


A quick scan of their faces confirmed the depth of their confusion and Vanya could only laugh, every second of silence adding to her mirth. They were all staring again, but for once she didn't care. She drifted over against Teldryn, giggling into his shirt as he put his arm around her. Slowly, the others began to talk once more, chuckling and repeating the name. The conversation was no more than murmurs to Vanya's ears, her friends' voices muffled and indistinct as if she were a part of the smoky haze in the room. With her head pressed to Teldryn's chest, listening to his lungs expanding as he drew deeply on the molghelu, she remembered something Geldis had said to her so many months ago.

'I can assure you that most living here are wishing to be somewhere else as well.'

This place wasn't anyone's home, not really, and they'd all come here in different ways. The sounds of their laughter made her smile and she wrapped her arms around Teldryn's waist tightly. Maybe together they could create their own.

'That's supposed to make you feel better, by the way.'

Finally, it did.