Chapter LXXII – Plans and Pleas

Aeyrin almost let out a shocked squeak as the large doors moved.

The owner of the barn was probably checking in. For whatever reason, since the barn was empty. Regardless, they were likely going to get in trouble, aside from having to suffer the embarrassment of being found there completely naked. What if the owner decided to call the guards? She was probably going to be named a thane of the Hold. How would that look? Everyone in Solitude would be talking about this in a matter of minutes.

Luckily, the height of the platform, the shadowy corner, and Bishop's body kind of blocked her from being visible from the lower lever. She clung to Bishop's flank instantly, burying her face into his shoulder in hopes that she would escape the scene that was sure to follow.

Bishop didn't seem as concerned as she was. He barely made the effort to reach with his arm for a piece of previously discarded clothing nearby to at least cover his crotch. He stayed completely silent and motionless – it seemed like he was confident that their position would likely prevent their detection, but Aeyrin couldn't relax like that. She even considered reaching for Bishop's pack and looking for his invisibility potions, but that would make a noise and she definitely didn't have any time for that. She was not moving from her position – that, at the very least, hid her naked body from view.

It only took a second before the doors swung open fully and a man entered. They both watched him with bated breaths as he looked around the barn in confusion. He wasn't very visible from their angle, but soon, they noticed the familiar head of black hair and the packed leather bag over his shoulder.

Was that… a courier?

And not just any courier. Their courier.

Bishop and Aeyrin shared an inconspicuous shocked look. How was this possible? They've already kind of accepted the fact that the very same man always delivered their letters. They've had a lot of fun at times sharing their theories on the reason for it. The most plausible one was that there were many couriers out there, assigned to different people. They've seen other couriers at times after all, delivering to people in the cities. One of the more far-fetched theories included a group of at least ten brothers, all identical, running around Skyrim and delivering letters. And then there were the theories about pacts with Daedra or very powerful illusion magic.

The fact that the man, or men, could always find them, sometimes even only moments after they've arrived in a city, too early for rumors about their presence to spread, was a bit more baffling. Not entirely impossible, maybe… until now.

There was no way that anyone could have known that they were in this particular barn. Not a chance.

They wanted the letter that he was delivering. It could have been a report from Karliah. Or it could have been the much awaited answer from Master Therien. But they didn't make a sound. Shocked and curious, they stayed silent and watched the courier with palpable intrigue.

He had found them in this barn. Would he find them in their hiding place?

The man looked around in utter confusion. He even twirled in the spot to get a view of the place. He didn't look up though.

After what seemed like quite a long while, the man raised his hand. Much to their surprise, it briefly shone with a bright-yellow magic light and then, suddenly, he looked exactly where he needed to – straight at them.

Awkward silence filled the room as the courier's face visibly reddened. Aeyrin was still clinging to Bishop's side, hiding herself as much as she could with her face even redder than the man's, while Bishop only stared at him in surprise.

"Ehm…" the courier finally broke the silence by clearing his throat. He averted his eyes from the two of them diligently, but he still reached into his pack and pulled out a letter. He stretched out his hand with the letter towards Bishop, but he didn't say anything at all. Perhaps he couldn't. They didn't even know who the letter was for, but it hardly mattered.

Aeyrin nudged Bishop to get him to reach for the letter at last. Anything to end this horribly embarrassing moment. But he didn't. He didn't make a move as he still stared at the courier. And when the awkward silence almost got unbearable, he finally broke it.

"Hold on. What the fuck was that? What was that spell? How do you always find us? How the fuck did you find us here?" he hurled the questions at the man. They were valid questions. But as curious as Aeyrin was about them too, she just wanted this moment to end already.

"Uhm… it's… it's a…" the courier stammered, still adamantly avoiding any eye contact. "A clairvoyance spell, sir. The Imperial Courier Service uses the spell to find travellers. When I first delivered a letter to you, I marked you so that I can find you easily. It's… it's harmless, I promise, sir. I realize that magic is… not very liked here, but…"

"It's fine," Bishop interrupted the man before he started his defensive speech. It was not like he minded a courier of all people finding him. He'd heard about this kind of magic but he never knew how it worked. He just knew that there was some 'clairvoyance' magic used to find stuff. Now he knew. And he knew how the courier always found them so quick. Mystery solved. And in the end, it was pretty boring, unlike many of their previous theories.

After another impatient nudge from Aeyrin, Bishop finally reached out to get the letter. The moment he did, the tense atmosphere in the barn shifted and the courier let out a very audible sigh of relief. He was practically out of the door within a matter of a second, without as much as a grunt goodbye.

Bishop only smirked at that reaction before he turned to Aeyrin. Her face was so red and she kept hiding it in his shoulder, even though the man was now gone. The sight of her like that only made him chuckle affectionately.

So fucking cute.

He wrapped his arms around her eagerly and captured her lips in a hungry kiss. He could never resist that blushing face. Ever. He was still clutching the letter in the hand resting on her back, but his other one slipped in between her tresses as he gripped her hair a bit to tilt her head closer to him while his tongue ran over hers.

"Mmhmp," Aeyrin let out a noise that could only be described as half-moan and half-protest. She pulled herself away from him with palpable reluctance, but there was a chastising expression on her face. "No. None of that. We're getting out of here before someone else decides to visit," she groaned.

"Mmmh, come on," Bishop's grip on her hair got firmer as he briefly kissed her lips again. "We can stay a bit longer. We just solved a mystery for the ages. We need to celebrate." His lips descended on hers again to punctuate the point and he deepened the kiss immediately with eagerness.

"It doesn't count as…" Aeyrin protested, but she got promptly interrupted by another kiss. It took a lot of effort for her to pull back again. "It doesn't count as 'solving the mystery' when you outright ask for the answer. You basically gave up."

"Whatever," Bishop laughed. "I'm still satisfied. Now… let's get you satisfied," he winked at her and he kissed her again quickly before she could object. He dropped the letter idly and, instead, ran his hand along her back until he gripped her buttocks in a firm hold, pulling her against his body.

"Bish," she whined in half-hearted protest but another kiss silenced her promptly. It didn't take long before Bishop's hand snuck to her front instead and began teasing her between her legs. There was no way that she could resist this now. And… nobody was probably going to come inside again.

And after he ran his fingers through her folds, sending shivers down her spine, she was past the point of caring about anything else anyway.

…

Aeyrin opened the crumpled envelope eagerly.

The letter got a bit forgotten with how their morning had developed. And they may have rolled around on it a bit more than was necessary, but it didn't really matter. It was not as if crumpling it made it illegible. She used the brief time while Bishop was putting away the bedroll to read it at last.

The letter was addressed to her and she quickly recognized the neat handwriting of her old Master.

Finally, she would find out about Jora's odd message. At least she hoped as much.

.

My dearest Aeyrin,

thank you for telling me what you know about lord Free-Winter. A word from him has already reached me and the man seems sincere in his intentions, but I will consider his offer carefully. We cannot risk exposing our plans to the wrong people, but at this stage, his involvement might be the safer step to take. It would open him up to culpability along the rest of us. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the information. Jora's letters have been sparse and I fear for her ability to write freely, as well as for her safety. I am glad that your banishment from Windhelm has been lifted so that you can check in on her from time to time.

Regarding the note you have received, please, do not concern yourself with this matter. Jora has been gathering information on the Thalmor's records on suspected Talos worshippers in Skyrim. She was hoping to have the records stolen from one of their bureaus, marring the Thalmor prosecution of these people. But I have asked her to refrain. This endeavor, while noble and worthwhile, is very dangerous to both our mission and to whomever she would decide to employ for this task. It appears that she has decided to involve you, much to my dismay. Please, my child, do not take such foolish risks. Forget Jora's message, I will be sure to try and convince her to abandon this task for now. She should have never involved you in this by any means. This is not the time to bring attention to us and I will not have you put yourself in such danger. You have too much to contend yourself with already, my dear. Focus on your path and let this old man take care of things.

In any case, I hope that you are faring well and that you are taking care of yourself. I am very glad that you were speaking more positively in your last letters. You have endured much, my child, but you have always been strong. I have faith in you and so do others. I wish that we could see each other again, it has been too long. But I understand the necessity of you remaining on your path. Many rely on you in the north now, but always be sure to take a moment of peace for yourself. A healthy spirit can make any task much less daunting.

I think of you often. Be safe, my dear. And may your faith be your everlasting guide.

Love, Therien.

.

"So what's the word on that… agent?" Bishop interrupted Aeyrin's reading when he assumed that she had enough time to finish. He was a bit impatient to hear the answer. That note from Jora still made him nervous.

Aeyrin did have the time to finish the letter, but she spent a minute rereading various parts in deep thought. She barely even remembered where they were and that they should probably already leave the barn soon.

"Oh… it's… I think it's the name of an agent who has a list of suspected Talos worshippers in his… 'bureau' here. Jora wanted to have it stolen," she answered absentmindedly. Jora was quite bold with that plan, that was for sure.

"Really?" Bishop's concerned frown turned into a grin. He was really worried that Jora wanted the man assassinated. That would have been hard to pull off and probably not a smart thing to do. He'd had enough trouble with shit like that. But this was much better. And exciting. A little heist during their stay in Solitude sounded good to him. "Alright. Sounds fun. Where's this 'bureau', or whatever?"

"No," Aeyrin shook her head at him resolutely. Was it her imagination, or was he flexing, along with that smug grin on his face. Gods, he was already planning to steal from the Thalmor. Again. She knew that he enjoyed missions like these, but this was not Karliah's operation with meticulous planning and every last detail worked out to perfection. This was a name, a place, and a vague idea about what to look for. Master Therien was definitely right about letting this one go. "We're just gonna let this one go. It's too risky."

"What?" Bishop gave her a genuinely shocked look. "Why? I can break into a… bureau. It's like an office, right? I've broken into an embassy," he scoffed.

"With a plan. And you almost died there!" Aeyrin scowled at him in turn. Master Therien was right. This was poorly thought out. He was right.

"I can come up with my own plan," the smug smirk returned to his face. "Why are you just dismissing this? We were worried about Thalmor already knowing shit, or about assassinations. This is just stealing. It's easy. You know I can handle it." He honestly wasn't even sure why he was so insistent. It was a risk, of course. Every heist was a risk. And it was not like he needed some kind of an adrenaline fix – he'd had enough in the catacombs. But her reaction completely threw him off and he couldn't help but protest. This was some stupid righteous cause to help religiously prosecuted people. It was right up her alley. And she didn't even think for a second about how this could be accomplished?

"Just forget it, Bish. I won't have you take such risks for a piece of paper. And it could jeopardize the cause too. It's not worth it," she shook her head again.

"Really?" Bishop raised his brow at her. This felt… really uncharacteristic to him for some reason. And at that moment, he really couldn't help but push back. It was almost like a strange role-reversal. She was the one being careful and rational while he was advocating taking risks to save some stupid sods' necks. He was not that excited about a heist, but there must have been a reason for such adamant refusal on her part. What wasn't she telling him? "I'm not connected to your 'cause'. You really think that if anyone catches me raiding a Thalmor… bureau, they're gonna think 'ooh, a religious dissident'?" he chuckled. "Besides, I won't let anyone see me."

"I don't even know where this bureau is or anything. It's not worth it, Bish, let it go," she shook her head again. She didn't even want to imagine what the Thalmor would do to him if they caught him snooping there.

"I'll ask Gulum-Ei. It's at least worth it to see what he thinks and explore the options," Bishop smirked at her. No matter what, at least this was doable. It still felt strange to be convincing her. He should probably be happy that, for once, she didn't actually want to risk their necks to save some strangers. But he loved that she usually did. This just felt weird.

"I… I don't know. We don't really know Gulum-Ei that well," Aeyrin cringed. Why was he so insistent? He would surely get another dangerous heist assigned by Karliah soon enough. There was no need for this.

"What did the letter say?" Bishop narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. She was probably omitting something important.

"Nothing. Just what I said," Aeyrin gave him a confused look and, much to his surprise, she handed him the letter. Now it didn't really look like she was leaving something important out. Still, he opened the letter to look it over briefly.

There was a moment of silence as he read before his brows rose in a palpably surprised realization.

"Wow." His lips quirked up in amusement as his eyes still remained fastened on the letter.

"What?" Aeyrin responded with confusion. What did he find funny?

"Nothing," he almost snickered through that word, but he finally handed her the letter back.

"What?!" she insisted.

"I just… never saw you this… obedient about something like this." His smirk threatened to split his face by now.

"'Obedient'?!" she repeated the word incredulously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just that I usually have to pretty much drag you away from risks and danger when you think it will help some poor fucker you've never even met, but one word from Therien and you're a dutiful little initiate again," he laughed. It was more funny than anything else. Maybe he should get some tips from the old man about how he had achieved this. It would be useful for the next time she wanted to go jumping on dragons or throwing herself into deadly magical fields or something.

"This has nothing to do with it!" Aeyrin defended herself quickly. "I'm not risking my life. It's not like I could ever pull off a heist anyway. And I'm not risking you. Master Therien is right." When Bishop's face lit up at that sentence, she started to feel even more defensive. "Stop that! I mean it. He makes a good point. I don't get how you, of all people, don't see it."

"Aaw, and what about all the poor Talos worshippers who're gonna get tortured and killed because they have an amulet hidden in their pocket or some shit like that?" Bishop gave her a challenging look. Now he was just doing it to make fun of her.

"S-stop it," she gritted her teeth. She did feel bad about refusing to do this for those people. They were in so much danger and Bishop was really good. They could help them that way. But Master Therien always knew best. He always gave her good and rational advice. He had never steered her wrong. He surely knew the best approach here.

Oh Gods. She did sound obedient.

"So, what was it?" Bishop grinned at her while he squatted in front of her to get to her eye-level. "What did the little initiate have to do when she misbehaved? Or is it just the whole 'never disappoint your father… person… whatever'?"

"Shut up," she growled at him. "It's not…" she still had her teeth gritted, but slowly she was realizing that… he wasn't exactly wrong. She appreciated Master Therien's advice in this. And she knew that he was just concerned for her. She really couldn't imagine any scenario where her old mentor would ever encourage her to risk her life like this. It was natural that he had deterred her. But he didn't know how easy this task would be for someone like Bishop. It was worth at least considering, if it saved lives. Jora had the right idea, even if she hadn't thought it out much.

Her expression eased and she gave Bishop a demure smile. Maybe it was a little funny. "We usually got cleaning duty when we misbehaved," she smirked. She hated cleaning duty. Everyone did.

Bishop chuckled at that heartily before he leaned in to plant a brief affectionate kiss at the top of her head. "So fucking cute." His smirk never disappeared from his face while he straightened back up again. "So?"

The question hung in the air for a little while before Aeyrin let out a resigned sigh.

"I'll think about it. We'll discuss this later. Right now, we should really leave already," she gestured around the barn pointedly.

They had definitely overstayed. It was probably a good idea to leave this place now rather than get stuck here discussing their plans.

…

The two of them were finally back in the city, heading towards the Palace.

They had considered renting a room at the Skeever beforehand – another bath would do them good after the night they've had. A proper one, with warm water. And they could leave their heavy packs there too. But who knew? Maybe that would be a waste of money. Maybe they would get a brand new mansion right there and then. There would be no reason to go to the crowded inn in that case.

Karnwyr was certainly relieved to see them. It even made them feel a bit guilty. He had clearly been worried – it was obvious from the way he excitedly rushed towards them only to flatten his ears and whine when he finally reached the two. He was used to doing his own thing in the cities through the nights, but obviously disappearing into the catacombs to battle and never even greeting him after their success did have him concerned.

But now they were all happily reunited and on their way to settle the business with Potema once and for all.

They moved through the streets with Karnwyr still clinging to their feet, until they got interrupted in their strides.

"Aeyrin!" A familiar voice echoed through the streets just as they walked by the Castle Dour courtyard and the wolf bolted forward to go off on his own. He was probably already anticipating some boring delay.

Bishop let out an annoyed groan preemptively. He was hoping to postpone dealing with the paladins for as long as they could. But it was apparently inevitable there. They really were everywhere in the city. Didn't they do shit somewhere where people actually needed someone ready for battle? Or were they just here to play nobles?

They turned around to see Azshan already approaching them. He rushed down the hill leading from the courtyard, surprisingly unarmed and only dressed in some very expensive-looking clothes. He reached Aeyrin soon and enveloped her in an excited hug.

"I'm so glad you came. I was worried you were going to leave me to fend for myself at the ball," he chuckled against her hair while he squeezed her in his arms. She couldn't help but chuckle at his overt excitement too, but she instantly felt a little bad that she was going to refuse him.

Bishop couldn't help but roll his eyes at their exchange. He probably wouldn't have minded a mere greeting that much ordinarily, but he couldn't help it. He was still at least a little suspicious of Azshan after his encounter with Casavir. He may have been pinning this on him unfairly, true, but it was better to be cautious, right? He definitely didn't like him touching her at all. Though… granted, that may have been for a whole other reason.

They finally parted and Azshan's eyes rested on Bishop. It seemed like there was a strange moment of silence, but it may have been shorter than it actually felt.

"Bishop," Azshan nodded with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Good to see you again."

"Is it?" Bishop scoffed. He couldn't fathom why. They didn't really end on a high note the last time they saw each other, what with Azshan attempting to get him chased out of Haafingar without much regard.

"Sure," Azshan shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't really care about the answer. His casual tone seeped through everything he said, making everything that had happened before seem like a mundane occurrence. "Sorry about that stuff back at the court. You know, with the banishment and all," he nodded briefly in acknowledgment, but when Bishop gave him a scowl in return, his voice got a bit more defensive. "Then again, I'm not really that sorry, since, you know, I thought you tried to poison my friend to have an affair. So…" He gestured with his hands as if he had nothing to feel bad about.

To be fair… did he? If he really had nothing to do with the poisoning, his reaction was kind of justified, as much as Bishop hated to admit it to himself.

"Whatever," Bishop merely rolled his eyes in response. He definitely didn't feel like discussing this anymore.

"Let's just… move on, alright?" Aeyrin gave them a weak smile, hoping that this topic would be over with quickly. It still made her uncomfortable to think back on, even after all this time.

"Right," Azshan nodded resolutely and the familiar grin appeared on his face again. "I heard you were in the city. But then you apparently disappeared into the catacombs and never returned," he smirked.

"Yes. Turns out, we survived," Aeyrin giggled at him. It only now occurred to her that probably not only Karnwyr worried about them through the night. But Azshan didn't really seem angry or even relieved. It was very likely that his assumptions weren't that dire yet.

"Good on you. I'm glad you're putting those spells to good use, raiding tombs and all that." His chuckle rang through the streets as he reached out to ruffle her hair affectionately.

Just before he withdrew though, his hand lingered in her hair above her ear and his expression turned into one of curiosity.

"Is that… straw in your hair?" He made a confused grimace. Aeyrin felt him pull something out of her hair promptly until he presented her with a stalk of straw. "Why is there straw in your hair?"

Aeyrin's face went beet-red instantly and, instead of an answer, she made a stammering sound. Dammit, she could have just acted inconspicuously and none of this would have been so obvious, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't help the blush spreading over her face at the recollections and Bishop's self-pleased smirk really didn't help alleviate the embarrassment.

"You know what? Forget I asked," Azshan cleared his throat briefly after he noticed the reactions that his question got. He quickly tossed the stalk of straw aside somewhere on the paved street before he gave Aeyrin a somewhat amused grin again. "Let's just move on to why we're here. The ball."

"Yeah. Listen, Azshan, I…" Aeyrin started to explain, but Azshan promptly interrupted her by putting his hand on her shoulder in a surprising gesture of reassurance.

"You don't need to worry about a thing." His smile turned even brighter. "Everything will be arranged and taken care of. All you need to do is get dressed and then come with me and have some fun at this thing. It's gonna be exciting this year, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah… 'exciting'," Aeyrin cringed. This was one excitement that she could do without. "Azshan… these balls aren't really… for me. I'm sorry, I just wanted to come see you and let you know in person." Aside from coming to actually see Casavir to find out what all that poisoning mess was about. But she couldn't really mention that to Azshan. "I didn't really feel… comfortable at the last one," she lowered her head. She really didn't want the repeat of that. The only redeeming part was Bishop's presence and the 'afterparty'. But they didn't need to go to a ball to do that.

"What?" Azshan's smile disappeared instantly. "No. You have to come. Please. What do you expect from stuffy old Cas? Of course you wouldn't enjoy going with him. But come on, this is me we're talking about. We always have fun," he tried to give her another grin. Though she did enjoy Casavir's presence back then. It was really just the ball that she minded. The gossip, the dirty looks. Ugh. She really didn't want to repeat that.

"Why do you want me there so badly?" She gave him an uncertain look. She still didn't understand why he would want someone so awkward at these high-class functions at his side.

"We haven't seen each other for a while. I just wanted to do something special." Azshan's look turned painfully pleading and genuine. She kind of felt bad for refusing him, but she really didn't want to attend the ball.

"We could do something else. Anything. We could go see if the Bards College holds some performances anytime soon. That would be fun," she tried to sway him once more. And this was something that she would actually enjoy.

Azshan gave her a disgruntled look in return before he let out a deep sigh of defeat. She almost thought that he would actually drop all this ball nonsense, until he spoke. "Alright, look, it's kind of important that you go to the ball with me. Cas has really tarnished our reputation here. We're still dealing with the fallout. Sometimes it's not pretty. And the fact that people think that the Order has made an enemy out of you is really not helping things," he shook his head regretfully.

That was the same thing that Elisif was worried about. Strange, they made it seem like people should be almost throwing parades when she showed up in Solitude like some sort of savior. Nobody seemed that concerned about her when she was here. None of the nobles wrote to her, asking for help with the dragons. It was almost like she had become some abstract concept in this city. Nobody actually seemed to need her, but they all talked about needing her. It made her probably even more nervous than if everyone was constantly approaching her, asking for help. She liked helping people. She didn't like being talked about and being used as a political token.

"You coming to the ball with me would put a stop to some of the rumors," Azshan looked at her pleadingly. "It would show people that we were still on good terms, that the Order's not keeping you at arm's length. It would really help us a lot. Please, Aeyrin."

Gods, it would feel really bad to refuse now. She hated that she was talked about like this, but… it wasn't Azshan's fault. Or the Order's. Presumably. And they had to deal with all of this. It was just one night. Maybe she could survive it for their sake.

Bishop couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh at their exchange. Great way to manipulate her into going. And wouldn't showing up at Azshan's side only create more rumors that she would have to deal with? Bishop really didn't want them to go together. For multiple reasons. The last time was bad enough, even if he had decided to crash the party. He wasn't really that worried about Azshan doing the same things that Casavir would – like trying to deter Aeyrin from their relationship or making a move himself. By now, the man had all too many opportunities to do that already and he didn't. Not even when Bishop and Aeyrin were separated. Still, he didn't exactly relish the idea of anyone parading around with his girl on their arm. And she would hate the ball again. Why was this really even worth considering?

Besides, he still had plenty of suspicions about Azshan.

"You're coming too, Bishop, right?" Azshan's voice interrupted his discontent thoughts when the paladin turned his attention to him again.

"What?" Bishop's eyes went wide. That was not expected. Bishop had assumed that Azshan wanted to parade himself around with Aeyrin as his date. That man would likely enjoy the rumors that it would create. The last thing he expected was to be invited along. And not even reluctantly after Aeyrin would insist or something.

"Really?" Aeyrin's surprise was no lesser. Although it was a pleasant one. The ball would surely be more manageable with Bishop around.

"Of course, you're welcome to come too," Azshan smiled. "I thought that was obvious. I would have mentioned it in the letter but… I didn't know what your… situation was," he gestured to them uncertainly. It was understandable. The last time he saw Aeyrin, she was alone and refusing to talk about her relationship with Bishop. "The more the merrier, right? I'm bringing a date as well. And as tempting as it would be to show up with a pretty girl on each arm, this will be fun too," he chuckled heartily.

As much as Bishop hated the idea of going to another ball, this was very much preferable to having Aeyrin go alone with Azshan. Well… apparently not 'alone'. The fact that he was already bringing someone else too was a bit comforting though. And Aeyrin looked a little relieved about this arrangement as well. If this ball had to happen, this was probably the least painful way to get through this. And the food and drinks were good last time at least.

"I… I don't even have my dress here," Aeyrin rubbed the back of her neck nervously. She still wasn't thrilled about going, but it was a bit of a more tolerable prospect now. Still. They needed something to wear first. "It's all the way back in Whiterun. I don't know if there's enough time to go back for it." Besides, it would mean separating again so that Bishop would not get caught in the Hold. She didn't love that idea just then.

Instead of answering her concerns, Azshan let out a hearty laugh. But when he got nothing but confused looks in return, his expression turned incredulous. "Oh, honey, you can't wear the same dress that you did last year. That's crazy talk."

"What? But… but I can't afford a new one. Not… here," Aeyrin gestured around the streets of Solitude. They didn't have that much money anymore. Definitely not enough to waste on expensive clothes. Maybe if they could buy some cheap thing from a general store, but not anything that Azshan definitely had in mind. And what did it matter what she was wearing anyway? This was ridiculous.

"Just relax. I'm paying for everything, of course," Azshan chuckled. "You're going to run out of excuses real soon, by the way." A smug smirk decorated his face. He was right, that was probably the last excuse she had. And she did want to help him out. It was a little concerning to yet again catch a glimpse of how much money the paladins actually had to throw around, but… that was probably not something she should concern herself with.

Aeyrin gave a brief asking glance to Bishop and he couldn't do much else than give her a nod. He did still roll his eyes to signal his annoyance with all this. But she obviously wanted to go to help Azshan out. There was not going to be any deterring her anymore, he knew that. Maybe only if Therien wrote to tell her that it was a bad idea to go to the ball.

"Alright, Azshan. We'll go," she nodded at him, still uncertain. But it made her feel all warm inside when Azshan's face lit up with excitement.

"You're the best. We're gonna have so much fun, you'll see," Azshan wrapped her in another tight hug while he ruffled her hair as usual. She instantly worried that he would find another stalk of straw there and question her on it. Although he had probably put two and two together by now, unfortunately.

"When is this thing?" Bishop interrupted them a little morosely. He couldn't help the tone. This development still held a measure of annoyance for him.

"Oh. It's on the twentieth. So still more than a week away," Azshan smiled. "There's plenty of time to make preparations. I'll let you know when I've arranged the clothes fitting and everything. So don't go disappearing into the catacombs again or something," he chuckled.

Bishop gave him a deadpan look while he mouthed the word 'fitting' silently. What the fuck did that entail? This was going to be torture.

But he had a good point. There was still a lot of time before the ball. It was the time they could use to find Casavir and to actually get something out of him regarding the poisoning. The suspicions were still there and it was better to be safe and find out what Casavir knew before the ball. As much as Bishop hated the idea of seeing the tin-head again, it was the best choice for now. Whoever it was that had poisoned Aeyrin, was likely still in the city after all. They needed to find out whatever they could.

"Alright, I have to get back to the Castle," Azshan nodded resolutely. "I'll contact you soon." He squeezed Aeyrin around the shoulders while he gave Bishop a subtle nod in farewell. He turned on his heel only a moment later to get back to the courtyard ahead.

When he was out of earshot, Aeyrin let out a defeated sigh. "Another ball, I guess. But… at least you'll be there the whole time." Her morose expression turned into a demure smile within a second and she stepped towards Bishop to nuzzle herself to his side.

"The fuck's a 'fitting'?" he growled. He knew it was something to do with clothes fitting, obviously. He just kind of dreaded finding out what it would involve. Couldn't they just get something out of a store like he did the last time?

Aeyrin's chuckle got muffled by his shirt as she pressed her face into him. "I guess we'll find out."

"Yeah. Still… before we do suffer through that shit, you wanted to meet with the tin-head, remember? We should get him somewhere to talk privately," Bishop reminded her while he rested his hand on her head idly, combing through her hair. He could feel another tiny stalk of straw hidden in her tresses after a few seconds, but he decided not to point that out.

Aeyrin pulled back from him slightly, but not enough to have him stop stroking her. She gave him a half-amused and half-incredulous look.

"Who are you today?" she chuckled. "First you're all for stupid risks to save random lives and now you want to see Casavir?"

"Tell me about it," he smirked in turn. "Don't forget going to a… 'fitting' eventually. The world's gone mad."

"Or you have," she snickered at him.

It was a possibility. At times, it did feel like it today. But he was sure that being somewhere alone with her again, either in their new lavish mansion or at the Skeever, would help things a lot.

Hopefully that would be soon.