Author's Note:

Dear all, thank you for still reading, if you are :D I know that the separation is dragging on and I'm sorry, but healing process is often a slow thing, unfortunately :(

From the name of this chapter, some of you might already guess – it's not gonna be pretty :D But, on the other hand, this chapter is also an important turning point, of sorts. Things often need to get worse before they get better.

A do hope that you're all still enjoying the book :) I'm still working on writing more and more of it, I'm currently at chapter 75 already and I can't wait to share it all with you :3

Chapter XVI – Quicksand

Aeyrin gave Bishop a brief nod before she headed straight towards his table.

She looked kind of morose. She didn't even try to smile at him. That wasn't a great start.

"Hey," she slumped down into a chair opposite him and gestured for the innkeeper right away. After ordering a drink and some food, she looked at him expectantly, waiting to hear what prompted their reunion.

"You alright?" he scowled at her. He knew that their last encounter didn't exactly end on a high note, but it seemed to him that he was much more upset with her than the other way around. And it was not like he expected that to last anyway. As painful as it was to have her leave, it would never make him want to actually stay away for long.

She shrugged. "Just… a bad week, I guess. Or two." Scoffing, she shook her head a little, but she didn't elaborate further.

Week? Try months!

Bishop decided not to voice that thought though. He stayed silent for a while, but afterwards, he couldn't help but prod at least a little: "Where'd you go?"

"Whiterun. I wanted to see the Companions," she sighed. The innkeeper brought her drink and food in the meantime, interrupting her. If she even wanted to elaborate, Bishop couldn't tell. She seemed to be much colder towards him than he had expected her to be.

"Why's that bad?" he probed again. He knew why he would dislike that idea. But she always enjoyed their stays at Jorrvaskr. Actually… the Companions hadn't been that bad lately. Aela was pretty fun. And Athis was kind of a dick, but… tolerable. Sometimes Bishop enjoyed listening to him badmouth those two dimwitted brothers incessantly. But that was likely over now. For multiple reasons.

"Well… not 'bad'… I guess. Just… odd. They've been acting strange," a pondering expression spread on her face. "Oh! And you're the talk of the town, by the way," she gave him a disgruntled look.

What was she upset over? It was her fault!

Alright… not entirely. He should definitely not point that out.

"I heard," he scoffed. Lydia had told him all about the bounty and how the news spread through the city like wildfire. Everyone there would recognize his face now. Lydia didn't say much more on that topic, but he suspected that Aeyrin's reception in Whiterun couldn't have been exactly warm either, since everyone knew who she had been travelling with. Maybe that was why she seemed upset.

"So… what do the famed bounty hunters think of it?" Bishop narrowed his eyes. This was one thing that he'd been wondering about. He hated to admit it, but if the Companions put their mind to it, well… even one of them would be a challenge for him in combat. He had no doubt that those two assholes that kept pining after Aeyrin had half a mind to go hunting him all over Skyrim only to drag him across the Hold border and straight to the Jarl. Or to just kill him outright. But it was not like it would be for the first time.

"I… would stay clear of them, if I were you," Aeyrin gave him an uncertain expression in response. She wasn't sure if she should mention just how eager Aela was about claiming that bounty. Especially after what Vilkas had implied. Even if Bishop would never admit it, Aeyrin knew that he cared about Aela. There was no need to hurt him with that information. It would not have helped anything anyway.

"Figures… it's a lot of money," he sighed deeply, but a second later, he tried to force a cheeky grin. "One of these days I might turn myself in for the money. I can always escape later."

She couldn't help but smile at the idea. There were definitely major flaws in that plan.

"So… what was 'odd' at Jorrvaskr?" he continued to ask her.

She still wanted to confront him about Saadia, but… she also kind of wanted to know what he would think about the Companions' strange behaviors. He definitely had more experience with being secretive.

"Odd. I… I know that it's not a new thing that they keep the other members out of the loop on their Circle-business, but… this time it got too strange," she started to explain what happened at Jorrvaskr. She told Bishop about Aela's insistence to wait for her, about her strange interaction with Vilkas, about the sudden excursion to the giant camp and about Vilkas's surprising monologue in the cave. None of it made any sense to her. She never mentioned what Vilkas had said about the reason why Aela wanted to talk to her though. It was only a guess in any case. And besides, with how strangely Vilkas was behaving, she wasn't sure if she should believe the theory.

"So what happened then? Didn't you see Aela?" Bishop looked at her with creased brows. He'd always known that there's been something weird going on at Jorrvaskr. Karnwyr could tell after all. But this seemed only like snippets of random information, none of it really tied together into anything that made sense to him.

"No. I left right after the giant camp," Aeyrin shook her head at him. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to know what Aela had to say. But what harm could there be in hearing her out at least? But not at the cost of spending any time around that Ysolda woman and risking getting tangled up in a discussion over things that she'd rather avoid. Seeing Saadia was bad enough.

"Why? Aren't you curious?" Bishop smirked at her. He certainly was. It must have been important if Aela still insisted on talking, months later. Maybe she just wanted Aeyrin to join that Circle of theirs. It would make sense. The Dragonborn would of course make them even more prestigious. Well… maybe not in Whiterun, currently.

"I am! But… I… I just didn't want to come back to Jorrvaskr," Aeyrin stammered hurriedly.

"Why?" he narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. She clearly omitted the important part there.

"I just… didn't want…" she tried to make an excuse again before she let out a deep sigh and shook her head at herself. Why keep this a secret? He knew how awkward this would have been for her after everything. It wasn't as if he would question her decision on that. "The contract was for that woman… Ysolda. Vilkas was all eager to take her back to Jorrvaskr so that she could do some private showing of her goods. I was trying to avoid her."

Instead of answering, Bishop only nodded curtly in understanding. He could already imagine how much Ysolda was enjoying him being hunted in the entire Hold. She would, without a doubt, never spare Aeyrin either an uncomfortable lecture or an even worse interrogation.

"Besides… I don't know why, but it felt like Vilkas really didn't want me to go see Aela. I just can't figure out why," Aeyrin pondered again.

"Isn't that all the more reason to see what she wants?" Bishop smirked at her. He certainly wouldn't take anything that Vilkas had to say at face value. "I wouldn't trust Vilkas of all people if I were you," he scoffed. He remembered all too well what that man was capable of.

"I don't. Not really. I have no idea what he's hiding, but… I hardly think that he would mean me any harm or anything like that," she shrugged. She believed that Vilkas was not out to do something sinister, but that didn't mean that she believed everything that he was saying. Such as the insinuation about the talk with Aela. Aeyrin was planning to see her eventually, despite Vilkas's theories after all. And she still even wasn't sure if this strange behavior had anything to do with their planned talk.

"Oh you never know what he's plotting," Bishop grumbled disdainfully. He had never told Aeyrin about the time when Vilkas tried to get him killed. Should he? It might make her see more clearly what he is actually capable of. She might not believe him, she might think that he's imagining things, but still… he promised himself that he'd be honest with her. This was important for her to know now, to have all the information and to deal with the Companions' secrets accordingly. No more mistakes like that. It took too much, but he had learnt his lesson.

Aeyrin gave him a curious and doubtful look.

"You remember when you first joined them? We went to clear the Brittleshin Pass sometime after that… with Vilkas," Bishop asked.

"Of course. You got wounded there," Aeyrin nodded thoughtfully. She was starting to get really curious about where he was heading with this.

"Yeah… that… wasn't exactly an accident," Bishop grumbled morosely.

"It rarely is," she giggled. Obviously the bandit wanted to kill him.

"Not what I meant. It was… Vilkas. He kind of… arranged it that way. He shoved that bandit right at me, right where he could attack when I wasn't ready for it," he explained somewhat nervously. It was something that would be hard to take seriously, he knew it. He knew that she would think that he's biased against Vilkas because of their… not so friendly interactions.

"Why… why would he do that?" Aeyrin scowled. It seemed like a strange thing to do. She knew that Vilkas wasn't particularly fond of Bishop, but to try to have him killed and to stage is as an accident? It seemed like too much trouble to go through for no good reason.

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Bishop shrugged. Even if Vilkas actually had any intentions towards Aeyrin, this would seem like a strange way to go about it. Especially since back then, there was hardly any relationship between the two of them to speak of. And for anyone to go through that trouble simply because of some infatuation for a girl they had just met, it seemed strange. But he couldn't really think of any other reason.

"Maybe it just seemed that way in the heat of the battle," she looked at him searchingly, but her brows were still creased in deep thought. She was obviously pondering on the reason why Vilkas would do this. It was kind of comforting that she questioned more his recollection of things than the fact that he could actually be lying to her.

"I can't say that it isn't at least a little possible," he sighed. "But… I know what I saw. Look, I didn't mean for you to confront him about it or anything, I just… with how weird he's being now, I thought that you should know. I don't think he can be trusted. No matter what. Maybe… maybe what Aela wants to tell you actually has something to do with it." He would certainly sooner trust Aela than that ice-brain.

"Well… it's… something to consider," Aeyrin mumbled softly. She hoped that he wasn't right. She hoped that it was just battle-haze, altering his perceptions. It was certainly possible. She could see no other motive for this. But… she doubted that Bishop would lie about this. Especially not after what happened between them. To risk lying to her about her friend would be risking what was left of any trust between them for very little payoff, if any. "Why didn't you tell me back then?"

"Back then? You know how things were between us. I didn't think you'd believe me," Bishop sighed.

"Oh good, you knew how I'd react without even trying to ask me. I love this talent of yours," Aeyrin scoffed at him.

Well… it was fair. He really did have a tendency to do that.

"I'm sorry, sweetness. You're right. I also didn't want him to have any fucking satisfaction of me tattling on him. He failed. It was enough for me. It's not like I would ever let my guard down around him in any case. And I didn't think what he did was any actual danger to you. I didn't think he would mean you any harm. But… I don't know. I don't know what all this is about, all his strange behavior. Can't say I'm that convinced of it now."

Aeyrin nodded. At least he admitted his fault now, without making pointless excuses about 'protecting her'. And… maybe he did have a point. Maybe she should be more wary of Vilkas. Maybe Aela really had some suspicions about him too. He certainly seemed to suggest that Aeyrin shouldn't even hear her out. There must have been a reason for that.

Next time, she would definitely listen to whatever Aela had to say. No matter how long she had to wait for her. But she certainly wasn't going to go back to Whiterun right away. It obviously wasn't that urgent, especially since she wasn't anywhere near the other Companions now to get tangled up in the secrets. And she really didn't want to run into Saadia again. Or Lydia.

That reminded her once more about what she wanted to confront Bishop with.

"You know… you've been really… talkative about everything lately," she muttered bitterly.

"That transparent, huh?" he smirked, though it was not like he minded. That was the point. He wanted to show her that he regretted what he had done. He wanted to show her that he could be trusted and that he trusted her. With everything.

"It's not that. It's just… a bit more than I would expect. I didn't exactly appreciate you telling Saadia about everything that happened in Falkreath," she growled. She had no idea why he would feel the need to tell her. If Saadia needed to be reassured about her… problem, he could have just said that the bandits were dead. There was no reason to divulge everything.

"Saadia?" he raised his brows at her. "I didn't say anything to Saadia. I did talk to Lydia. She probably told her."

"Why did you tell her everything?" Aeyrin's voice rose slightly. Bishop had kept her in the dark for months and months about things that directly affected her life and now he goes blabbing about everything to people that have no need for such information?

"Shit, I don't know, princess, maybe because she's been a fucking wreck ever since I dragged the…" he stopped himself quickly and quieted his voice into a heated whisper. "Ever since I did that to her. Maybe because she needed to know that her whole damn life won't end up ruined over something I did. Are you really surprised she told Saadia? Saadia needed reassurance too after being hunted for years. And… fuck… ever thought that maybe I just… needed to talk to someone? Sure as fuck couldn't talk to you, could I?"

She stayed silent. Saadia had said the same thing. Aeyrin still didn't get the impulse of dragging all of this out again and again. Why couldn't everyone just forget it and act like nothing happened? She certainly wanted to!

"I just… she accosted me on the streets. Yelled at me for… for avoiding Lydia. I don't want to have to deal with that. Saadia barely even knows me and she just confronts me with… all that," she still scowled angrily. She knew that it wasn't exactly Bishop's fault that Saadia had decided to do that, but still.

"Can you blame her? She's probably just worried about Lydia. None of this was her fault and still she had to deal with all of it," Bishop sighed.

Everyone was so intent on defending Lydia it seemed.

"She still lied to me," Aeyrin spat angrily.

"Do you have any idea how many fucking times I had to convince her again and again that it was for the best not to tell you," Bishop let out an exasperated laugh. Aeyrin looked like she wanted to retort something, but he raised his hand and stopped her instantly. "You don't need to say it, yeah, I probably should have told you a long time ago. But back then, this was something I was sure of," he sighed. He still wasn't that sure if he should have told her sooner. He hated lying to her and things certainly didn't turn out as well as he had hoped, but… it could have gotten worse. A. Lot. Worse.

"I… I just didn't want to deal with it," Aeyrin mumbled morosely.

Bishop sighed again and reached out with his hand to touch hers. He couldn't help but think that maybe she should deal with everything. He understood why she wouldn't want to. He was like that for a long time, especially after Jules died. But talking to her helped. She reassured him time and time again that it would. Why was she so adamant no to take her own advice?

But… he had a lot of time to stew in his own sorrow before he even met her. Maybe he needed to give her more time to process shit on her own a bit too. He wanted to bring up what Jora told him. But… right then it seemed not right to confront her with that too. Maybe a little later, when they got away from this topic for at least a while.

"I'm sorry you had to, sweetness," he said quietly. Although… if she really wanted to avoid someone, she had countless ways of doing that. It was a bit strange that she let that happen, if she was so adamantly against it.

Aeyrin only nodded at him, but she didn't pull her hand away from him for a while. Not until she actually had a need of it to finish her food.

"So… what have you been up to? More errands for Karliah?" she smiled softly at him after a spell, obviously eager to change the subject.

Dammit, he didn't want to bring that up just yet. But… maybe it was better to get it out of the way.

He took a deep breath to tell her about Jora, to ask her why she had been ignoring both her and Therien, but then he noticed something.

That fucking innkeeper. He kept staring at them, listening with rapt attention. Has he been listening to them the whole time?! Well… it was not like there was anyone else in the common room right then, so he probably couldn't even help overhearing, but still. It was definitely not something that Bishop should discuss in front of strangers. Especially if they actually ended up revealing something about the dissidence among the priests. Soldiers came here all the time. The innkeeper could have been talkative.

"Not here," he only nodded at her conspiratorially.

Aeyrin turned her head back briefly to look at the innkeeper – much less subtly than Bishop would have liked. After that, she stuffed the last piece of her meal into her mouth and drowned it in the rest of her mead quickly.

"You have a room?" she asked after a bout of overly eager chewing.

Bishop stood up and ushered her into a room nearby. She quickly grabbed her pack from the ground and hurried after him.

She threw her pack onto the bed once she closed the door behind them and she started to finally unclasp the rest of her armor aside the gloves that had already been discarded into her pack.

Bishop sat down on the bed idly, watching her. He was still in no mood to get into another serious discussion. He sorely missed the times when they spent most of their time together just talking about nothing in particular, laughing together. There didn't seem to be any time for that now. After what had happened last time, when she left again, he was all too aware of their time together like this being limited. He needed to tell her the important things first.

Aeyrin stashed her armor into her pack and took off her heavy boots before she sat down on the bed cross-legged next to him. Being anywhere with him like this, just idling on a bed, close to each other, it always brought back fond memories. She knew that she had asked him about his travels, but suddenly, she felt tired of talking. She was hoping that when she saw him, they would be able to spend some time together just… getting distracted from the outside world.

She really needed to distract herself. And the closed door to their room was all too tempting of a reminder of just how easy it would be.

She slithered a little closer to him and nuzzled herself into his side. He gave her a surprised expression, but he certainly didn't pull back. She knew that last time, he was far from happy about her leaving in the morning, but… she still hoped that he wanted the same.

She adamantly ignored her trepidations and craned her neck to plant a gentle kiss onto his jaw.

He was still for a while. He didn't exactly expect this. He thought that they were in for another uncomfortable discussion instead. But… as much as he told himself that he would have to go through the same thing again in the morning, that he would again have to watch her leave, unable to do anything about it, he still couldn't resist. He couldn't resist the prospect of being with her. And he couldn't help but hope that it would end differently this time around.

She planted another now much longer, lingering kiss onto the side of his neck and, with a sigh, he nuzzled his head to hers. She instantly responded and gently placed her hand on his thigh. Her kisses turned more eager and passionate as she ran her lips over his rough stubble with her teeth occasionally nipping the skin of his neck.

Bishop shifted in his position to fully embrace her, untangling her from her cross-legged sit. He kissed her instantly, slipping his tongue into her mouth to glide along hers. Her hands grabbed at the shirt on his back, crumpling it in an eager grip while the occasional muffled moans echoed against his mouth with their lips locked together.

They tumbled down onto the bed together in a tight embrace. Aeyrin barely managed to yank his tunic off of him before he started to kiss her hungrily again. He gripped her firmly by her buttocks and pressed her against him without even an inch separating their bodies. In contrast to the first few seconds of hesitation, now he continued to grope her eagerly with one hand squeezing her ass, constantly trying to push her more onto himself, and his other one sneaking into the tight spot between their bodies and cupping her breast through her shirt.

Her nails dug into the skin of his back with each of his tight squeezes of her body. She draped her leg over his thigh to feel him even more as he rubbed himself against her through their clothes. Instead, however, he pulled away a bit and his hand moved from her bottom to the front. He snuck his fingers inside her trousers and undergarments instantly and he started to rub them between her folds. Her nails dug deeper and she parted from their incessant kiss with a loud moan escaping her lips. She didn't wait much longer before she reciprocated the same treatment and, with some difficulty as her body quivered under his touch, she undid the lacings of his trousers and ran her hand over his cock.

Bishop moved his mouth to her neck and sucked greedily on her skin. The frantic and fast paced ministrations threatened to undo her all too quickly. She couldn't help but let out high pitched gasps under his treatment. His hand was still teasing her, fingers rubbing her clit or moving inside her while his tongue ran over the now sore spot on her neck. His other hand still played with her breast as the fabric of her shirt lightly scratched her skin. She squeezed his cock firmly and quickened the strokes of her hand. He seemed no further from his release than her after the fast and frantic exchanges.

They both continued for a time as their breaths mixed in their collective moans of pleasure. Bishop was the first to lose himself in the moment. He bit into her shoulder with a deep grunt and pressed his hips more towards the bed to avoid staining her clothes accidentally.

His treatment of her hardly slowed, however, and he continued to tease her relentlessly. It didn't take her much longer before she let out a loud moan and clenched her thighs around his hand, trapping it between her legs.

They barely managed to catch their breaths when a loud banging on the room door startled them.

"Settle down in there! Nobody wants to listen to that!" the innkeeper's voice echoed from behind the door rather more clearly than they would have expected. The room suddenly didn't feel so isolated from the rest of the world.

Bishop only rolled his eyes and scoffed.

That asshole had no problem with listening to us before.

Aeyrin, however, instantly grabbed his hand and yanked it from inside her clothes. A furious blush decorated her cheeks and she hid her face in the blankets with a muffled groan. She didn't even think of anyone overhearing them! She wasn't even bothered by it before. She was so concentrated on forgetting absolutely everything in Bishop's embrace. This was mortifying.

Maybe people could hear them back in Morthal too. There were so many people there that day! And… they were at it practically the entire night! Oh Gods!

Bishop slowly stroked over her hair while she still kept her face adamantly buried in the blankets. Well… that was likely the end of it. He knew her too well to know that she could get over her embarrassment now. He, however, felt really tempted to piss off the innkeeper more. Besides, they've barely even done anything. He was already planning so many other things that he would do with her. Fuck.

She finally raised her head to give him an embarrassed look and he only shook his head at her with an exasperated sigh. He would never understand why she would care so much about what some grouchy innkeeper and one loner Orc thought. But in the end, he gave her a reassuring nod and gently kissed her on the top of her head as his hand still stoked through her hair. He had to admit… it was still pretty damn cute how flustered she got.

He would never get tired of seeing that.

Aeyrin cuddled herself into his embrace and let out a relaxed sigh. If nothing else, at least she could spend the night in his arms. It was still way too early to sleep though.

"So… you were going to tell me what you were up to?" she giggled lightly. Her voice was significantly quieter than before, as if she was worried that the innkeeper could hear even the idle conversation.

Well… maybe if he was standing by the door and pressing his ear to it. Bishop would hardly put it past the man.

He let out another sigh. He knew that this might be a dangerous topic, especially after how upset she was about him talking to Lydia about her. But there was not much else to do now. And he still needed to talk to her about this. Maybe now, when they've… relaxed considerably, she would be in a better disposition to actually get through this.

"I went to Windhelm."

"You did?" Aeyrin perked up instantly. He nodded, still with a bit of an uncomfortable expression, before he straightened himself to lie on his back while she curled around him with her head on his chest. She immediately looked up at him with palpable curiosity on her face. "What happened there? What about the Butcher? And the orders?"

"The killer is… silent. No new murders, no sign of anything. The orders didn't change though, since they never caught anyone. Things are still shitty. Now they've added house searches to it. But… I talked to that Free-Winter guy. Apparently he's trying to keep things mild at least. He's making sure the Stormcloaks don't overstep laws, pays bail for some of the imprisoned elves, stuff like that," Bishop explained.

"Hmm… well… at least someone is there to help people," Aeyrin nodded while she idly played with the hairs between his pecs. "I wonder why the killings stopped."

"My guess? He's waiting for things to calm down, for patrols to die down and for people to feel comfortable again. You barely run into anyone on the streets there, even now, months later. He doesn't have a lot of other options than to bide his time," Bishop shrugged. It's what he would have done. Whatever the motivation was, unless the Butcher was in a hurry to kill those girls, why risk it?

"So, either the city stays like this, with everyone afraid and bullied, or the killings start again… lovely," Aeyrin scowled. Windhelm was only getting worse. Maybe if Ulfric hadn't been so quick to get her out of the way, she could have helped. Maybe they could have found some clue in Susanna's house, or maybe they could have actually questioned the elves as their friends, not their enemies. They certainly knew the circumstances of Susanna's death. Why weren't they even questioned on them by the guards? People knew that she and Bishop were Susanna's friends. Why didn't anyone ask about her life or how she could have gotten herself into that situation? What kind of investigation was that despot running?

"I… uh… ran into that priestess. Jora," Bishop finally broached the subject, interrupting Aeyrin's thoughts. "She gave me a letter for you. She thinks that the old priest is watching her and she didn't want to risk sending it herself in case he stole it or something, I guess. She… said that you haven't written back to her for a while and she was getting worried." He reached out for his pack by the bed and rummaged around for the letter. Jora was trying to be so inconspicuous in the tavern. She gave it to him hidden in a prayer book, like she was just trying to show the way to some drunkard. To be fair… he was pretty drunk by the time she showed up.

"Right," Aeyrin snatched the letter from him. She quickly leaned to the foot of the bed towards the floor for her own pack and stashed it somewhere inside. She'd read it later. Someday.

"Why are you ignoring her? She thought you were dead or something," Bishop creased his brows. It was a bit worrying that she didn't return to his embrace at his words and only remained sitting at the foot of the bed.

Aeyrin merely shrugged noncommittally in response. "Well that's dramatic. There wasn't much to answer and it slipped my mind. Besides, didn't she figure that she'd likely have heard if I actually died?"

"Sure, if you wanna trust the rumors in Windhelm. Sweetness, come on, she hardly would have gone through all that trouble if she didn't need to talk to you. What's going on?" he prodded.

"She's just keeping me up to date on stuff. They don't need my help. Not… not now anyway. I told you it slipped my mind. I don't get why she would make it sound so dire," Aeyrin scoffed in turn. So she didn't feel like answering Jora's probing questions, so what? It was not like it was urgent.

Jora could not take a hint for the life of her, it seemed. Every letter was the same – it gave a brief update on the situation, and then it politely asked how Aeyrin was and what she was doing. Aeyrin thought that it was clear enough that she had no interest in the small talk in her last response where she pointedly only sent the 'thanks for the update'. Then Jora kept prodding and asking what was going on. Why? She didn't care! Aeyrin knew how this worked. It was like a priestly impulse – Jora just had to ask, it was a reflex. It didn't mean she cared. What would she have done if Aeyrin actually let her know just how crappy life has gotten? Nothing but fill pages with platitudes of 'looking to the future while reflecting on the past' and 'letting faith be your comfort'. What was the point? She'd heard them all a thousand times before.

"She told me that Therien wrote to her. That you haven't gotten back to him either," Bishop scowled at her. What was with her avoiding everyone? He knew that it was what he used to do too, but… there weren't actually many times in his life when he had someone who… cared about him. She did! So many people were concerned for her and wanted to see her. He got not wanting to talk about certain things, but it wasn't as if she had to.

He saw the old patterns of his own behavior in hers. The way he avoided Jules when he didn't want him to know how much shit he'd been taking in order to keep him safe. It ruined them. It was Bishop's own damn fault that they couldn't trust each other when it came down to it. And as much as he understood the impulse to distance oneself, he knew how… how easier everything was when he had someone. When he had Jules, or when he had her. Besides, she wasn't like him. She loved being around people and her friends.

Well… he had no doubt that she would come up with some silly excuse for not talking to Therien too.

"What?! Why is she even talking to you about this?!" Aeyrin snapped suddenly and an angry scowl appeared on her face.

Fuck, there it was again. Quicksand.

"Probably because she can't talk to you," Bishop scoffed at her.

"So?! Does that mean she has to discuss who I do or do not talk to with random people?! Why is everyone so intent on discussing every stupid detail of my life behind my back?!" Aeyrin fumed with a fierce frown as she hopped up from the bed before she began pacing back and forth in front of the door. "And you! Why are you prodding me about every little thing! We just talked about it! I don't want to be constantly accosted by these questions! And it's not like you would ever care about things like this, so why?!"

"What? Why would I not care? I care about you!" Bishop sat up on the bed and looked at her incredulously. Where did she get the idea that he would be so unconcerned about her?

"That's not the point! Who I talk to is none of your business!" she yelled back at him.

"Maybe, but I was worried about you. As much as you like to think I'm capable of just ignoring it, I'm not! I love you and I get worried about you. And so do they. Why is that so fucking hard to understand for you?! Because you don't?!" he stood up from the bed sharply but he wasn't even sure why. He wasn't really sure what to do with himself at that point.

"I never said that!" Aeyrin gave him a hurt look. It almost seemed… feigned.

"You didn't need to. If you did care, you wouldn't find it so baffling that I do," he spat at her angrily. It was a bit heartbreaking to see her so callous about everyone around her who wanted to see her, wanted to make sure that she was alive and well. He'd never seen her ignore everyone else's worries so blatantly.

He understood how easy it was to get preoccupied with one's own misery. Gods knew that he had fallen into that well plenty of times. But that didn't mean that he would just sit by while she made the same mistake. This wasn't like her. Taking care of other people always used to make her feel better. That was why he wanted her to care about them, care about how worried they were. He knew that it would help her too. Well… aside from the other selfish reasons. He couldn't help but wonder if she even cared about how he feels at all. She certainly didn't seem to every time she left his side.

"Of course, there you go being manipulative again! Don't you dare turn this over on me! You are the one sticking your nose into things that don't concern you!" she yelled again, seething.

Bishop wasn't sure how to answer that for a while. He stood by the bed, stunned. He knew all too well what it looked like when she let her anger take over, barely aware of anything in her path. He never thought that he'd be at the receiving end of that. She was like a wounded animal, lashing out at anyone trying to help. She always used to say that everyone needed help sometimes. She never thought that it was a weakness. Why was she so adamant at avoiding it now?

"I'm just trying to help you, princess, I..."

"I don't need your help! I didn't ask for it! Why would you think I'd be fine with you constantly discussing me with everyone?!" she interrupted him instantly. It looked like she practically snarled at him.

"You're acting like a fucking child! Can't you get it through your thick skull that I was concerned for you?! Can't you for one fucking second think about someone else's side of things?!" he was getting pretty damn angry himself. She seemed so callous to ignore his concern for her. Did she really not get it? Did she really not care about him the same way anymore to understand?

"Of course you were concerned. You're always concerned for me! And look where that concern of yours got us!" she sneered.

That caught him off guard yet again. Not that he could deny that accusation… it was his overzealous concern for her that caused all this. But… it still hurt to hear that spewed at him like that. She had told him many times that she didn't blame him for what happened. But it didn't feel like it.

"Shove your concern! I don't want it anymore!" She adamantly drove the point deeper.

He stared at her, uncertain how to respond to any of that. If there ever was a point when he actually started to drown in the quicksand, this was it.

Aeyrin breathed heavily with her eyes full of fire, teeth gritted and fists clenched. She pierced him with her look but instead of saying anything, she bent down and grabbed her pack. She slung it onto her back and turned on her heel, right towards the door. She didn't seem to care in the least that she was still barefoot and with her clothes crumpled every which way.

Shit! He could not let it end like this.

Bishop darted towards her in an instant. He tried to sound somewhat composed, but he was sure that he failed badly: "Wait, fuck, let's just calm down and…" When she didn't turn back to him, his hand moved instinctively to grab her wrist, to stop her from leaving.

"Don't touch me!" her voice echoed across the room, still so full of rage. She immediately yanked her hand from his grasp and made a determined step towards the door.

He could not let it end like this.

He practically jumped in front of her and blocked the door. To say that this went poorly would be a vast understatement, but he needed to fix this. The conversation just got out of hand. Why could she not just wait and talk this through?

"Stop! For one fucking second, just stop running away all the time!" he raised his hands up as if he was trying to calm an attacking animal. Well… it kind of felt like it.

"Open the door, Bishop!" she sneered at him. Her eyes still held the same fury and intensity.

"No!" he yelled right back. He had no idea what else to do. How the fuck was he supposed to talk to her like this?

Before Aeyrin could respond, the familiar voice of the innkeeper echoed from behind the closed door again: "Just so you know, this is in no way better than before!"

Bishop snapped his head back instinctively with a deep scowl. Could that fucker not just lay off for a while? What business was this of his?!

"FEIM!"

Bishop barely even registered what happened. The second he got distracted, she plotted the course of her escape. Her translucent blue form shimmered in front of him while he still pressed himself against the door. Although he did realize quickly just how pointless the stance was now.

She walked through him – literally. She passed over him and the door both, leaving him strangely tingly all over. He quickly opened the door and stared after her. But it was all he could do.

He was left there standing half-naked in the common room, watching as she broke into a run and disappeared right through the front door.

What if this time she was gone for good?