Prompt: Brand-Shei
Focus: Mixed


These Ice Wraiths are lucid, serpentine creatures of magic, as if conjured from the frozen tundra and glaciers of Skyrim itself. At one with an environment that makes them nearly invisible-

"'Keeth."

-these ethereal apparitions are the death of many Nords, if not by their sudden, unholy strike that casts their entire body through their target, then by-

"'Keeth...?"

-the malady of Witbane, a curse of infection that dulls the intellect and makes the target even more the victim.

Something hard, wet, and cold flew into Derkeethus' face, and he felt himself jump out of his seat as he let out a surprised yelp, his copy of Herbane's Bestiary tumbling to the floor. As he smacked the offending projectile out of his lap, he felt another one hit him just below his sleeve, and he glanced over at his partner, trying his best to give her an annoyed stare. The stifled chuckle he got in response gave him a sinking feeling that it wasn't worked.

The fact that she then bounced another small chunk of ice off of his nose wasn't lost on him either.

"Now you're not even trying," He remarked, drying himself with the corner of his shirt.

"Well, you finally started paying attention," She quipped, taking a sip of her cocktail. Ordering it was the first thing she had done once they got to the Bee and Barb – Derkeethus considered, half-seriously, if this was the reason why. "Call it a free lesson in adventuring."

"What a generous thing to do," He said dryly, slumping back into his chair. "But what were you calling me for?"

She was quiet, staring into her glass in an uncharacteristic show of hesitation, her eyes suddenly lacking their seemingly-boundless vigor. This, if anything, was a cause for worry. Even if they had only spent about a week together, Derkeethus figured he already knew her well enough to care about when she wasn't acting normal.

"Er..." He mumbled, trying to figure out the best way to go about this. "Is something wrong, Tal?"

Tal? Wow, way to come up with a stupid nickname. He winced inwardly as his companion looked at him in surprise, and he quickly tried to avert his attention elsewhere. Why was he so flustered? Why was she so flustered? This was stupid.

"It's..." She began, and he looked at her out of the corner of her eye. For what it was worth, her abrupt shyness was rather amusing. "I wanted to know what you made of Brand-Shei."

"Brand... shei..." That had certainly been a curious encounter. A Dunmer, raised by Argonians, who was apparently related to one of those old Dunmer houses that ran Morrowind long ago? Talk about a history straight out of a book. "That was the Dunmer we met, in the marketplace, right?"

"Right, right..." Now she was absently sipping at her drink bit by bit. What had her so preoccupied like this? It was weird. Not normal. He cleared his throat, thinking hard before speaking.

"Well... I think it's a little farfetched," Derkeethus spoke methodically, trying as best as he could to keep her from acting any more weird. "But I can't really say I'm in the best position to judge. I was raised by the miners in Darkwater Crossing, lived there all my life. To be quite honest... I'm rather sheltered."

She frowned. He frowned. That wasn't meant to happen. "I still want to help him, though! It's really up to you. You saved my life; my help is yours."

"I was raised by a Dunmer."

Oh.

Well, that would explain her behavior.

"I..." ...was at a loss for words. How in Oblivion was he even supposed to respond to that? He didn't know. He didn't know. "I don't know..."

"It's fine," She said with the quietest sigh, before glancing out the window. "You had no way of knowing..."

She trailed off, more words on the edge of her lips, and so Derkeethus stayed quiet. "I didn't know my parents. Neither did my egg-siblings. My father said that he was visited one afternoon by an old friend, who was keeping the egg clutch safe from... certain people, and he was asked if he could take one. He said he could, and here we are."

"Certain people?"

"Certain people," She nodded stoutly, making an annoying slurping sound as she polished off her beverage. "But I never bothered... trying."

He blinked. That was a strange place to stop talking. "Trying?"

"Trying to find my parents," She gestured lamely, exhaling a breath she didn't seem to realize she was holding. "My past. I'm glad to help him try and find his, but..."

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "But what?"

She looked at him, and he felt himself smile warmly at her. He could tell him. He wanted her to tell him. She trusted him, right?

"I'm so old think it's too late to try and find mine."

What?

"You... what?" He found his thoughts skidding off course until they started repeating over and over. What. What. What. "That's... ridiculous."

Her eyes went wide, and she let out a little grunt of confusion. He shook his head, trying to recompose himself.

"He... Brand-Shei's way older than you are, judging from both his looks and his story. He's an elf, after all. They live longer than the rest of us. I bet he feels much worse. Who knows how long he's been looking with how old he probably is."

She smiled bashfully at him, poking his nose. "They live longer than us... yeah. I bet it'd be hard to top, say, two hundred years."

"Sheesh," He couldn't help but feel a little sting in his chest. That certainly was old. "I don't think he's that old," He thought for a moment. "Well, maybe."

Her smile grew larger and she gave him a wink, which made him have a little flutter in his chest. How odd. "I think I feel better now. Thanks, 'Keeth."

He returned her smile before turned around, pulling out a rag and his pickaxe. He grimaced at the thin film that covered its tip. He hated mudcrabs. "Anything of yours need cleaning?"

She shrugged, hopping out of her chair with a cheeky grin on her face. "No, but I'm not missing out on a chance to see that rusty old thing potentially fall to pieces."

He rolled his eyes as they made their way out of the inn and out to the waterfront. "It's not that old, either."


A/N: "The Streets of Whiterun" is an absolutely wonderful track to write to. It's really the reason why I finally decided to finish this after starting it months ago and then putting it off during the rest of school.